South Africa: Nxesi appointed as acting Minister of DPSA

This story has been published on: 2022-04-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 recoveries reported in South Africa now stands at 3 611 123 - reflecting a recovery rate of 97.0%, as the country reported 889 new cases of the disease. In a statement released by the Department of Health, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases reported in South Africa is 3 722 954 with 889 new cases r... See more
Five children drown in Thanh Hoa

Five children have drowned after swimming in a river in Thanh Hoa Province.

Five children have drowned after swimming in a river in Thanh Hoa Province on April 4.

The five 12-year-old girls went to swim at Moc Khe River in Thieu Hoa District on the afternoon of April 4, according to the Thanh Hoa Police.



"We were informed of the missing children at 10 pm the same day and immediately sent a rescue team," police said. "We found two bodies at 1 am and three others at 11am on April 5. The girls are students of Thieu Duy Secondary School."












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Sri Lanka's president declares state of emergency amid mass protests

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2nd Chamber of Istanbul Regional Court dismisses appeals by lawyers in Hrant Dink case

European Parliament: Ankara deliberately 'destroyed' its chances of joining EU

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YEREVAN.  At the invitation of President Alen Simonyan of the Republic of Armenia National Assembly (RA NA), a Georgian delegation, led by chairman Shalva Papuashvili of the Parliament of Georgia, has arrived in Armenia Tuesday on an official two-day visit.

The meeting of the Speakers of Parliaments of Armenia and Georgia began with a private talk, which was followed by the debate in the extended format, the NA informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Welcoming the guests, Alen Simonyan has documented that our country is concerned about the further development of special good-neighborly relations with Georgia. Alen Simonyan has reminded that that position is also expressed in the Action Plan of the Government of Armenia for 2021-2026.

Both sides congratulated each other on the occasion of the establishment of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Georgia.

The parties have recorded that the deepening of relations in many spheres of the two countries is of mutual importance.

The RA NA President expressed conviction that the mutual trust, the strengthening of continuous dialogue and cooperation would promote the regional security and stability.

The rise of the important role of parliaments after the constitutional amendments in Armenia and Georgia was voiced. The sides considered the cooperation between the legislative bodies one of the important directions of the relations between the states.

During the discussion the closer cooperation between the Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Groups was spoken about. Proposals were sounded from both sides also on other formats of cooperation of parliaments, which would be documented in the near future.

Touching upon the regional security issues and the 44-day war aftermath, Alen Simonyan has noted that the high level of relations between Armenia and Georgia is one of the important factors ensuring the security in the South Caucasus.

The Head of Parliament considered urgent the distinct response of the international community for preventing the humanitarian crisis, as well as the immediate involvement of the international humanitarian structures without obstacles in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

The colleagues also exchanged views over the membership in the European Union, discussing the priorities of the Euro-integration of Georgia.

After the meeting in the extended format the Speaker of Parliament of Georgia left a note in the Book of Honourable Guests of the National Assembly of Armenia, afterwards planted a fir in the NA Park.
Do you want to successfully market to Generation Z?

Make sure you are transparent in your approach to marketing and sales and make sure that you use short, snappy videos in your advertising.

These were some of the tips members of the University of Miami School of Communications Orange Umbrella offered participants at the Borrell Miami 2022 Local Advertising Conference early last month.

The students of Orange Umbrella, a full-service student-run communication consultancy that offers advertising, marketing, media relations, and other similar services to outside clients, spoke before an audience of hundreds of decision-makers in the communication and media world on a panel called Marketing Masters of the Future.

Orange Umbrella uses experiential learning to heighten the educational and professional development of its students. It is among a growing number of student-run businesses launching on college campuses around the country. Since it was founded in 2017, the groups clients have included companies such as Sobe Promos, Audubon Florida, Growers 2 Home, and various University of Miami departments and entities.

By joining Orange Umbrella, students can take what they learn in other classes and apply it to the real world, said Melissa Jane MJ Barnes, managing director for Orange Umbrella. Orange Umbrella is a job that pays in class credit. The benefit is that students get to learn all the facets of the professional environmentworking with and presenting to clients, managing team members, meeting deadlines, navigating feedback loops, etc.in the comfort of a classroom setting with their peers working alongside them.

In the case of the Borrell Local Advertising Conference, the company leaders asked students to offer an inside track on how to attract Generation Z audiences and employees.

Conference participants included members of local advertising and marketing firms, as well as others from the newspaper, radio, and television industries.

Ayden Roche, an account director at Orange Umbrella and a sophomore studying entrepreneurship and marketing at the Miami Herbert Business School, said his group offered the conference attendees advice on how members of Gen Z receive their news as well as how to attract them as employees.

Roche said the majority of Gen Zers obtain most of their news from social media such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. They use their mobile devices to read their news and very few use print newspapers or magazines. Since they are used to obtaining their news instantly, they have limited attention spans, thus they are attracted to short videos.

One of the most important ways to draw viewers is to use short videos because you can tell a story in a short amount of time, said Roche. Studies show that you need to grab the viewer in the first few seconds.

The use of formal language to convey a message is also a turnoff to Gen Zers, Roche said. Instead, a relaxed, more direct way to communicate is valued, which may include jokes, Roche pointed out during his presentation.

Dont shy off trying new things, be open, he said. Our generation wants to know everything and relate to brands and influencers as if they were our friends. You see now more brands shying away from formal ways to communicate and using advertising as if they were texting their friendsshort phrases. I think it is effective.

As for attracting and retaining Gen Z employees, Roche said that Gen Zers tend to like workplaces that value inclusion, diversity, flexibility, and teamwork.

Mia Porter, a junior who is majoring in Africana studies and sociology, is also the director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Orange Umbrella. During the presentation, she addressed how Gen Z members are drawn to workplaces that will appreciate their contributions and their values.

When I am looking at a job and the employer is telling me that Black Lives Matter but I as an African American woman look at your leadership team and there are no Black leaders, no Black managers, and your retention is low, that is a negative to me, she said.

She also noted that she found the great resignation (a COVID-19 phenomenon where millions of people have resigned from their jobs) inspiring. It shows that the pandemic has revealed that many employees will not stay in jobs where they do not feel valued and/or adequately compensated, she maintained.

We are seeing the great resignation, she said. People began to realize that life is too short just to stay in an office doing things that they dont enjoy doing or that they are not rightly compensated for.

The audience at the Borrell Conference received the presentation very well, according to Barnes.

Presenting at the Borrell Conference was a testament to our students expertise, Barnes stated. The leaders of the host company, Borrell Associates, sought out our students because of Orange Umbrellas reputation in the South Florida community and because they noticed the incredible pipeline of talent coming from our organization and the University of Miami.
The Supreme Court was informed on Monday that the first tranche of Rs 150 crore out of the total sum of Rs 1,500 crore, meant for construction of stalled Amrapali housing projects, has been directly paid to the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC). A consortium of seven banks have granted final approval to infuse Rs 1,500 crore. Senior advocate and court-appointed receiver R. Venkataramani, in a note, said: "In compliance with the order dated March 28, on March 31 the banks disbursed a sum of Rs 150 crore, though the actual requirement/request by NBCC was for Rs 540 crore. The disbursal of loan was subject to certain pre-condition compliances, as set out in the sanction letter(s) of each bank." Venkataramani added the remaining amount could not be released as banks said that for disbursal of funds, they would require equitable mortgage by deposit of title deeds as a pre-condition. A bench of Justices U.U. Lalit and Bela M Trivedi was told that one of the reasons is connected with observations made by the top court in its July 2019 judgment, and some clarification was sought. "The banks have expressed genuine concern that creation of security by way of equitable mortgage by deposit of title deeds, is a precondition. That, as the order mentions that the lease stands cancelled, there is no title document as such which can be deposited with the banks, even though the lease deeds in favour of various Amrapali companies have been shared with the banks," added the note. The court receiver added that the judgement said all leases in favour of Amrapali Group of companies stand cancelled, which would mean that there would be no title document, which could be deposited with the banks. It was suggested that the top court could substitute Amrapali Group of companies with the court receiver. The bench pointed out that the expression used in the judgement is "vest in court receiver" or "right of the lessee shall rest in court receiver", and directed the authorities concerned to withdraw the lease deeds of Amrapali projects, in connection with NOIDA and Greater NOIDA, and provide them to the court receiver, for creating equitable mortgage in favour of the consortium. On March 28, the top court directed the consortium seven banks -- Bank of Baroda (Rs 300 crore), Punjab National Bank (Rs 150 crore), Bank of India (Rs 100 crore), State Bank of India (Rs 250 crore), UCO Bank (Rs 200 crore), Indian Bank (Rs 300 crore), and Punjab & Sindh Bank (Rs 200 crore) -- to begin disbursing the sanctioned funds for the construction of stalled Amrapali housing projects by the next day. The bench added that the process should begin the next day in order to ensure that NBCC receives it by March 31, for the purpose of construction. On March 7, the Supreme Court had directed the consortium of banks to follow the footsteps of Bank of Baroda, which has issued a sanction order to grant funding for the stalled Amrapali housing projects, and take a decision on funding the projects within two days. --IANS ss/vd ( 533 Words) 2022-04-04-22:14:01 (IANS)
Amid the hike of fuel prices, the Karnataka government has revised the electricity tariff in the state for financial year 2022-23, applicable from April 1, with consumers now having to pay an additional 35 paise per unit. The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has approved increase in energy charges by 5 paise per unit and along with it, there is an increase in fixed charges ranging between Rs 20 to Rs 30 per HP/KWh/KVA to the consumers to the recovery of gap of Rs 2,159 crore. The hike has been done considering the proposals of the Electricity Supply Companies (ESCOMs). The overall average increase accounts for 35 paise per unit for FY 23, which accounts to increase by 4.33 per cent. The ESCOMs had sought an average increase of 185 paise per unit, accounting for 23.83 per cent increase, for a proposed revenue deficit of Rs 11,320 crore. The revision is necessitated to recover the revenue deficit of Rs 2,159 crore which includes Rs 1,700.49 crores deficit for FY21. In order to enable the ESCOMs to carry out their business of supplying the electricity, which is the basic need of the society, the increase in the tariff has become inevitable. The KERC has also approved Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) of KPTCL, ESCOM's for FY 23 to FY 25. Energy Minister V. Sunil Kumar has earlier hinted about the possible revision of in power tariff revision, saying the development works taken up in the sector warranted a hike, and that increasing power tariff is inevitable. --IANS mka/vd ( 270 Words) 2022-04-04-22:26:04 (IANS)
At present, GST on health insurance services is levied at a standard rate of 18 per cent.

"Health insurance, like majority of other taxable supplies, is standard rated at 18 per cent. In pre-GST regime also, health insurance was standard rated," Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

"A significant relief in GST has been provided by way of exemption to above stated insurance schemes catering to economically weaker sections of the society and differently abled. Further, healthcare services are also exempt from GST."

Health insurance schemes catering to the needs of economically weaker sections of the society and differently abled, such as the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, the Universal Health Insurance Scheme, the Jan Argoya Bima Policy, and the Niramaya Health Insurance Scheme are fully exempt from GST.

According to Sitharaman, representations to reduce the GST on health insurance were placed before the Council in its 31st meeting held on December 22, 2018 and in its 37th meeting held on September 20, 2019.

"GST Council did not make recommendation for reduction of GST," she added.

--IANS rv/vd

( 222 Words)

2022-04-04-22:28:03 (IANS)
New Delhi [India], April 5 (ANI/SRV): Meraki- Beacon of Light 2022 Closing Ceremony was organized by Ignite India Education at Taj Yeshwantpur Bangalore. Ignite India's Meraki is an annual event organized by Ignite India Education which provides a platform for all students of classes 8th to 12th to showcase their talent. This year's Meraki event witnessed more than 25,000 entries, 2045 finalists and 255 winners in Fashion Show, Fashion Styling, Architecture Projects, LawProjects, Management Projects, Hair & Make-up, Fashion Styling and other competitions. Several schools participated this year including Harvest International, Army Public Schools, Jyoti Niwas PU College participated along with many other schools from across India. This year Meraki witnessed participation from over 25000 students across India, of which, shortlisted students were presented before an eminent jury Mr Hamen Das, Akash Kumar Gupta, Prof Laikta Verma, Nitish Kumar, Venus Malik, Annechira Shiva, Ananth Acharya, Firoz Khan and many other prominent faces of different industry, who not only judged the event but also provided the students with many constrictive ideas to enhance their work. This year Meraki gave away prizes over Rs. 10 Lakh worth including Cash Prices, goodies, vouchers and workshops. Furthermore, many students will be provided with internship opportunities to felicitate them to understand the working culture in different industries. Colleges like United world Institute of Design (Ahmedabad), Lovely Professional University, Istituto Marangoni (Mumbai), Whistling Woods International (Pune), JD Institute (Bangalore), MITID (Ujjain) with 5 others were the Education Partners with the event and to felicitate the students with immense knowledge through their professors. The students and parents were engaged in conversation through Career Fest, a platform where various dignitaries from different industries engage in awareness and enable the students to make an informed choice about their careers. Anjana Prabhu & team and Yamini Hariharan & team won the combined first prize in the fashion show event bagging a cash prize of Rs. 12,500 each followed by Saanvi's team standing second and Binitha's team standing third. Vaishnavi, Prachi, Harika, Sweezal, Ankitha form Mount Carmel PU college, Rithika NPS HSR, Ramya Army Public School, Harshitha, Aishwarya, Nishka DPS East, Anahita, Kiran Christ College, Vaishali NIFT Bangalore, participated as a model & stylist in fashion show and Mount Carmel PU College, Bangalore Student's team won the 1st Prize. The list of winners of the event has been shared on Ignite India's Meraki website- www.igniteindiaedu.com. Renowned Designer Govind Kumar Singh founder of Design Label RAINUSH and Mr Krishna Nand Singh Chief Operating Officer IGNITE INDIA felicitated the closing ceremony. The winners are awarded cash prizes, vouchers, certificates, goodies and workshop invitations. Ignite India Education is inspired by the former President of India Bharat Ratna Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam's vision of "India Beyond 2020". Our aim is to fulfil his vision by empowering society and transforming India into a developed nation through education. Design, Management and Technology professionals manage this initiative and we help in providing quality education with the view of producing a new generation of creative and innovative minds. Ignite India was established in 2006. Ignite Study points are available across the country including New Delhi (Headquarters), Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Patna. The objective of this Initiative is to guide, mentor and inspire young minds who want to pursue careers in the fields of Architecture, Design, Fashion, Fine Arts, Management and other new-age career opportunities. Ignite India is spreading awareness among the new generation and providing preparation classes for entrance exams of Architecture, Design, Fashion, Management, Law such as NATA, NID, NIFT, CLAT, IIT UCEED & CEED. This initiative is managed by Design, Management and Technology professionals and is committed to transforming India into a developed nation. The company is committed to spreading awareness among new generations and providing preparation classes for different entrance exams for new-age career opportunities. Ignite India was established in 2006. Ignite Study Points are across the country including New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Patna etc. The objective of this initiative is to guide, mentor and inspire young minds who want to pursue careers in the fields of Architecture, Design, Fashion, Fine Arts, Interior, Law, Hotel, Management and other new-age career opportunities. To know more visit: www.igniteindiaeducation.com This story is provided by SRV Media. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)
Kolhapur (Maharashtra) [India], April 5 (ANI/PRNewswire): Ghodawat Consumer Ltd. (GCL), the FMCG arm of Sanjay Ghodawat Group (SGG), has achieved a momentous milestone of crossing INR 1400 crore revenue in FY22. Founded in 2013, GCL has focused on constant product innovation, customer-centricity, affordability and quality, creating a unique brand identity for itself. These value-based practices have enabled GCL to achieve 1,400 cr in revenue with a growth of 40% YOY and are on track to achieve INR 2000 cr revenue in FY23. GCL started its journey by manufacturing edible oils and with increasing consumer acceptance, trust and notable success, the company was encouraged to expand and diversify its product portfolio to include staples, impulse and non-food categories. GCL's "Fizzinga" - carbonated drinks, Frustar - fruit drinks, Star Water and RIDER - Energy Drink are among the top-selling products in the beverages category. A new inclusion is the dairy division offering of Star Ghee, Hapy Milkshakes and Star Flavoured Milk. The wide-ranging products are manufactured at GCL's state-of-the-art facilities under the supervision of its adept team who adhere to the most stringent manufacturing protocols. "STAR" brand Atta, Edible Oil, Jaggery, Pulses, Rice, Salt, Sugar, Snacks and assorted namkeen's are now household names in Maharashtra and Karnataka, and so are the "Ayurstar" range of personal care products and the "Klemax" range of homecare products. GCL also has a range of bakery products that would make you fall in 'Love at First Bite' in categories like Cakes, Muffins, Rusk and Wafer Biscuits. Elated by the achievement, Shrenik Ghodawat, MD - GCL, said, "We have made it our mission to change the experience of everyday food, merging innovation and technology to give consumers fresh and wholesome products. At GCL, we work on providing our customers with best products at affordable prices, greater ROI for distributors and one distributor for multiple category products for retailers ease of stocking. The premise behind our business model is that the consumer utilizes at least one product from GCL in the entire day. That is why we have invested in state-of-the-art infrastructure, high-quality packaging & raw materials, and skilled team to deliver the best possible results. We will continue to focus on maximizing the value for all our stakeholders." GCL has pledged to be plastic neutral and carbon neutral by 2030. All the manufacturing facilities of GCL are solar-powered and generate their own electricity through co-generation. With a profound opportunity to help, build a more sustainable future, this endeavour isn't just born out of an environmental basis but also includes social concern for the planet we share. Sanjay Ghodawat Group (SGG) is a prominent Indian business conglomerate that has a presence in various high-value business verticals. Aviation, Consumer Products, Education, Energy, Mining, Realty, Retail, and Textiles are some of its key business domains. SGG was founded in 1993 and since then it has witnessed impressive growth under the splendid stewardship of its Founder and Chairman - Sanjay Ghodawat. It has a strong base of millions of customers globally, an employee strength of over 10,000, and a student base of over 16,000. SGG is moving ahead with great vigour and bringing significant changes in people's lives with its wide range of high-quality products and services. For more information, please visit www.ghodawat.com This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)
New Delhi [India], April 5 (ANI/BusinessWire India): American India Foundation (AIF) with support from Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Mastercard recently launched a 100-bed portable integrated care center at Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College and Hospital, New Delhi. The second wave, starting April 2021, was much more severe and challenged the public health system with an extreme shortage of oxygen supplies resulting in an unprecedented number of morbidities. To ensure future preparedness, there emerged a great need for the augmentation of the healthcare system including hospital beds equipped with Ventilators, Oxygen Concentrators, and other medical supplies to meet the current and future crises of this nature. The newly upgraded facility Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College and Hospital includes 82 oxygen bed units and 18 ICU bed units. The portable facility is 100% oxygenated and will boost the hospital's ability to treat and care for those affected by COVID-19. The portable care center is constructed with a durable all-weather, all-terrain PVC inflatable structure, supported with a hybrid onsite oxygen generator backup. Each unit is also supported with turnkey solutions ready to operate with infrastructure such as furniture/Air conditioning/Toilets. Prof. K. Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India, said, "Rapidly developing and implementing surge-capacity in our health-care system is an important ongoing effort all over the country. Government efforts are supplemented by partnerships with industry and NGOs with an aim to refurbish existing hospital infrastructure to improve critical care. These include facilitating state governments' systems in a manner uniquely required of them. The initiative by AIF is one such where a few hospitals are being launched and/or commence their functions this month. Keeping up the momentum, learning from these experiences, will be important to accomplish the goals of all such partnerships." Inaugurating the facility, Hon'ble Shri Satyendar Jain, Health Minister, Delhi, thanked "the American India Foundation and all those who donated to the construction of this hospital in the service of mankind." Speaking at the event, he said, "The 100 bedded care center also has its Oxygen PSA plant of 250 liters per minute (LPM). Through this facility, the government aims to increase the capacity of health infrastructure in hospitals in Delhi, keeping in mind the situation that had surfaced in the past due to the surge in COVID cases." Dr. R K Manchanda, Director, AYUSH said, "this facility shall also be used as a research center for integrated research of Ayurveda and Unani in collaboration with modern medical science. This hospital has been facilitated by American India Foundation and supported by Mastercard, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs, and, we thank them all for being a part of this humanitarian project." "To ensure sustainable relief and preparedness for future emergencies, AIF is working with state and local governments and other civil society organizations to provide critical aid in this crisis. Partnering with state governments to augment the health infrastructure is part of our core strategy for COVID-19 relief. We thank the government and our partners for providing us with an opportunity to serve the people in critical need of intervention through these portable beds fitted with oxygen concentrators, ventilators, and other medical supplies," said Nishant Pandey, CEO, AIF. "Mastercard is honored to partner with India's government and AIF to facilitate the rapid construction of these portable hospitals. These will not only provide immediate relief to individuals and families who need it but also contribute to bolstering the country's healthcare infrastructure and resilience in the long term. Mastercard's commitment to India is unwavering and we stand ready, alongside our partners, to respond to current and emerging needs quickly and with the full backing of the company's resources," said Nikhil Sahni, Division President, South Asia, and Country Corporate Officer, India, Mastercard. "Goldman Sachs continues to support India during this pandemic with both relief and recovery efforts. This facility, in partnership with AIF, will strengthen the existing medical infrastructure to further save lives and support communities in the years ahead," said Ravi Krishnan, Chief Administrative Officer, Goldman Sachs Services in India. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)
Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India), April 5 (ANI/PNN): Sandeep Goyal along with his partners Shubham Bansal, and Ankit Agarwal is launching a superior range of environment-friendly, cost-efficient, and 100 per cent electric two-wheelers under their flagship brand - Wroley E-Scooters. "This is bound to happen. With sky-rocketing fuel prices and environmental issues, it is high time we, as a developing nation, should switch to electric vehicles. The consumer has realized this as the running and maintenance cost of petrol-powered two-wheelers are already burning a hole in his pocket. Wroley E-Scooters will come fitted with the best-in-class, superior Lithium-ion battery having an output of 48V and 60V depending on the model. The battery will completely charge in 4 hours to cover a distance of 75 to 90 km in a single charge which will come to a negligible 0.10 to 0.15 paise per km. WroleyE-Scooters will be hitting the market by the mid of April 2022 with three attractive variants called Platina, Posh, and Mars. All three models are loaded with a host of advanced and contemporary features including reverse mode, anti-theft sensor, side-stand sensor, cruise control, parking sensor, etc. keeping in mind the convenience and comfort of the consumer. A high-speed variant of Wroley E-Scooters is scheduled for a launch in the 3rd quarter. As Wroley E-Scooters are 100% electric, it is needless to mention that these will be completely emission-free and non-polluting but besides these will also be extremely cost-effective in comparison to other electric two-wheelers available in the market when it comes to operational and maintenance costs. The most powerful component in Wroley E-Scooters will be its battery which is the heart of every electric vehicle. The Indian two-wheeler landscape is destined to get greener with each passing day. Thanks to the electric revolution introduced by players like Wroley E-Scooters. Now it is the turn of the Government to realize this and work on the infrastructure for a smoother and rapid transition." said Sandeep Goyal, Founder and Director, Wroley E-Scooters in a recent interview. "Wroley E-Scooters was set up with the perspective of exposing the Indian electric two-wheeler market to a new wave of high quality and superior electric two-wheelers enabling the consumer to experience the amazing advantages and the real pleasure of driving an electric two-wheeler," says Shubham Bansal, Founder & Director, Wroley E-Scooters. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)
Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], April 5 (ANI/BusinessWire India): The Open Group, the vendor-neutral technology consortium is hosting a virtual event "Creating Next-Generation Architects: A Roadmap to Fruition" on April 9, 2022. On February 16, 2022, The Open Group announced the India Academic Initiative in Architecture (INITIATE) program. The INITIATE Work Group has been established to drive the program with the active support of the member community. The Work Group will focus on integrating Enterprise Architecture as a subject into the academia, and enabling institutions to design, develop, and deliver courses on EA based on the TOGAF Standard and other standards of The Open Group at the graduate and post-graduate levels. In this event, the INITIATE Work Group will bring together the experience, journey, and practices of thought leaders and experts from Industry, Government, and Academia in building the next generation of architects and how academic institutions can adopt and develop a sustainable program in architecture based on industry practices and standards. The Open Group India on this occasion invites Enterprise Architects, thought leaders, faculty members, and students from academic institutions of India to be part of the virtual event. The event is open to any professional engaged with academia, and any academic leader wanting to be at the forefront of integrating Enterprise Architecture in the broader context of digital transformation into the academic curriculum. This will cover the entire spectrum of business architects, data architects, technology architects, IT architects, solution architects, platform architects, digital architects, security architects, and transformation architects. The event will begin with an inspirational keynote address by Santosh Prasad, Partner & Service Line Leader, Hybrid Cloud Transformation Services Client Innovation Centre, IBM Consulting, IBM India and will bring into the conversation the voices of - proven technology leaders and renowned faculty members from organizations like Wipro Technologies, Larsen & Toubro Infotech, Tata Consultancy Services and reputed Indian Management schools like the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon & SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai, and International universities like Pennsylvania State University (US), University of Jyvaskyla, (Finland) into the conversation. The event aims to act as a bridge between the industry and academia, and set the tone to establish a platform for working collaboratively. "In conceiving this program, our mission is to enable the development of the next generation of Enterprise Architects who have the skills and knowledge to lead critical digital transformation and innovation activities," states Dr Pallab Saha, General Manager, The Open Group, India. "The unique and distinctive characteristics are in its foundational pillars, the 6Cs - curriculum, career, credentials, contemporary, collaborate, and community. Collectively, the 6Cs capture the essence of what this is all about and work in tandem to create a virtuous and symbiotic ecosystem. We are confident that INITIATE will play a critical role in raising the standards of architecture practice and profession in India, propelling our journey towards a digital economy." Key Speakers at the event include: -Dr. Pallab Saha, General Manager, The Open Group, India -Santosh Prasad, Partner & Service Line Leader, Hybrid Cloud Transformation Services Client Innovation Centre, IBM Consulting, IBM India -Sridhar PV, Chief Enterprise Architect, Head - Architecture Council, Wipro Technologies -Dr Aditi Divatia, Associate Professor, Information Management, S.P Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai -Anurag Seth, Vice President and Head of Talent Transformation, Wipro Technologies -Sandeep Deb, Chief Technology Officer, Larsen & Toubro Infotech -Shashi Bhusan, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Business & Technology Services, Tata Consultancy Services -Minakshi Kargeti, Member Relations and Program Manager, The Open Group, India -Dr Brian H Cameron, Associate Dean for Professional Graduate Programs and Clinical Professor of Information Systems, Smeal College of Business, Pennsylvania State University -Dr Arunabha Mukhopadhyay, Dean (Programme) and Professor of Information Technology & Systems Area, Indian Institute of Management Lucknow (IIM Lucknow) -Dr Anjali Kaushik, DEAN-Strategic Initiatives and Professor, Information Management, Management Development Institute, Gurgaon -Dr Pramod Damle, Former Distinguished Fellow IDRBT- RBI's Institute of R & D in Banking Technology, Former Professor &HoD, YASHADA - Government of Maharashtra apex academy for Class-I Officers, Former Professor &HoD, Consulting - Symbiosis' B-school for Telecom Management -Dr Mirja Pulkkinen, Senior Researcher and Lecturer, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland Agenda and registration details can be found here https://events.opengroup.org/website/36684/ The event will start at 11 AM IST and finish at 2 PM IST. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 5 (ANI/BusinessWire India): TalentSprint, a global edtech company and a market leader in transformational deeptech programmes, and the National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM), an autonomous Apex Institute established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Banks, today announced a collaborative effort to create talent for the next generation of banking and financial services. Radical technology adoption by the BFSI sector has raised the value of tech-savvy professionals and fueled the need to re-skill and up-skill BFSI professionals for the digital-first era. Consequently, new age bankers and finance professionals must combine their domain knowledge with digital skills to be future-proof. Digitalization is no longer a novelty in the financial services sector. Banking, finance, tech or consulting professionals working in or for the BFSI sector are at a crossroad today. The path ahead for them is to build expertise in transformational digital technologies that are disrupting the industry. To facilitate this learning, TalentSprint and NIBM have curated the first-of-its-kind Advanced Programme in Banking and Leadership for a Digital World. This programme is aimed at participants who aspire to be digital-first professionals and spearhead digital transformation initiatives within their organizations. Commenting on the launch of the programme, B V Chaubal, Chairperson, Central Depository Services (India) Limited (CDSL) said, "The Advanced Executive Programme is being launched at the right time as the banking ecosystem is changing as never before. Modern day bankers must display tech-savviness along with analytical capabilities. They are required to be competent enough to deliver new age products and services that promise enhanced customer experience. In particular, speed, safety and security are non-negotiable. This Programme offered by NIBM and TalentSprint will cover the key aspects of Digital Banking and Finance and act as an enabler to gain modern leadership skills." "The Advanced Programme in Banking and Leadership for a Digital World gives high level exposure to professionals in digital technologies that are in-demand, thus empowering the future leaders of digital-first banking. This programme is the right stepping stone for budding leaders in banking and finance", said Dr Partha Ray, Director, National Institute of Bank Management. Dr Santanu Paul, MD and CEO, TalentSprint, said, "Innovation, regulation, technology and customer expectations are rapidly changing the banking and financial services sector. This specially curated programme addresses industry requirements and aims to build the capability of senior banking and finance professionals by enabling them to make the best use of digital tools." The Advanced Programme in Banking and Leadership for a Digital World is a case-study driven six-month programme that will provide professionals with a comprehensive understanding of digital transformation in banking and financial institutions. Supported with capstone and LIVE banking projects, the executive-friendly programme will ensure that the participants become digital experts and are well-equipped to lead digital initiatives in their organizations. The Programme will be taught by a team of leading researchers and experts in digital banking led by Programme Director, Dr Arindam Bandyopadhyay. The online, instructor-led learning will conclude with a certification ceremony during the 2-day campus visit at the state-of-the-art NIBM campus in Pune. The programme will be delivered on TalentSprint's digital platform ipearl.ai. To apply for selection into the first cohort, applicants can visit the Programme page, nibm.talentsprint.com/apb Programme Eligibility: Banking, Finance, Tech or Consulting Professionals with minimum 5 years of experience in the BFSI domain Programme Director: Dr. Arindam Bandyopadhyay Certifying Authority: National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) Duration and Format: 6 months | Hybrid Cohort start date: July 2022 Programme Fees: INR 2 Lakhs Link to apply: nibm.talentsprint.com/apbl This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 5 (ANI/NewsVoir): India's leading drone manufacturer, ideaForge Technology Private Limited has partnered with PV Lumens LLP, a rapidly growing distributor of safety, security, connectivity and productivity solutions to distribute its best-in-class UAVs across India. Through PV Lumens' reseller network, ideaForge will be able to increase its reach and penetration across the Indian market. Drones are a high potential and fast-growing sector that is receiving a lot of attention from the Indian government as well as the Industry. The Indian government is focused on utilising the power of drones as a technology enabler for widespread benefits such as improvement in farm productivity, faster and better disaster management, digitisation of land records, and better surveillance and security of borders and critical establishments. The relaxation in drone policies will help the drone sector by bringing it to the forefront, increasing adoption, and accelerating India's growth. As the pioneer of India's drone industry, ideaForge is committed to contributing to the country's digital growth, and as part of that goal, it is constantly evolving its products and business model to assist in achieving those objectives. With PV Lumens extensive distribution network, ideaForge will be able to expand its presence across India, grow its customer and partner base, and serve them better. "We are excited to work with PV Lumens," said Vishal Saxena, VP Business, ideaForge. "The collaboration with PV Lumens to strengthen our distribution network is an important development for our company and the entire UAV ecosystem. This partnership will help in faster proliferation of UAV technology into our customers, and will enable our Value-added resellers, partners and System Integrators to turn around faster in response to customer needs. Also, the extent of financial solutions that will emerge from this partnership will definitely add value into the entire ecosystem." Chaman Pansari, Director at PV Lumens LLP said, "We are pleased to partner with ideaForge, the leading player in Indian drone industry. Drones have a wide spectrum of applications across Defence, Security, Agriculture, Survey and Mapping, Operations and Maintenance, Logistics and many more. Our alliance with ideaForge will augment our existing Safety, Security and Maintenance solutions and open newer avenues of growth for both, ideaForge as well as our customers." As part of the collaboration, PV Lumens will distribute all of ideaForge products across India. All resources, support documents, and training required to execute the plan will be provided by ideaForge to the PV Lumens team. With ideaForge's best-in-class UAVs and PV Lumens extensive partner network, experienced business development team, and expertise in distribution management, both are confident of gaining competitive advantage and achieving their strategic goals. ideaForge (iF) is a pioneer in the drone space in India. It leads the Indian market as the largest player in the domain with focus on Security & Surveillance and Mapping & Surveying. Its drones have flown over 220,000 missions and have a utilization rate of an ideaForge drone taking off every 6 mins or less. All of the Indian Defence & Homeland Security Forces, several Government Departments and Industries use iF drones daily for either security or mapping. Having built the entire tech stack by itself, iF is known for delivering autonomous drones that promise best-in-class performance and reliability. iF's drones are 'Built like a Bird, Tested like a Tank', to ensure that its systems can survive almost any terrain, altitude and weather conditions. Its innovative technology stack also bagged the Indian National Intellectual Property Award for 2020 for iF. For more information, please visit www.ideaforge.co.in. PV Lumens (PVL) is a diversified distribution enterprise offering Safety, Security, Connectivity, and Productivity solutions from industry-leading brands that are pioneers in their respective technology and innovation. PVL has nation-wide presence across 18 locations in India serving over 2000 customers. Led by promoters with a rich experience in distribution over the last 30 years, PVL has expertise in establishing and managing efficient and structured distribution. PVL strength lies in its value-added distribution activities such as marketing and business development, experienced technical pre-sales and post-sales support and prompt customer service. For more information, please visit www.pvlumens.com. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 5 (ANI/PNN): inDriver, an international ride-hailing platform Headquartered in California, is all set to start its services in Kolkata. With zero surge, zero payment for service, inDriver aims to make it a transparent business model for both passengers and drivers. It is the only app that allows users to negotiate their cab fare before booking the ride in real-time. Unlike typical ride-hailing apps, inDriver aims to offer a unique service by allowing passengers and drivers to negotiate the fare of the ride. If the passenger receives multiple offers, they can take their pick based on the driver's ETA, the price, the vehicle model and the driver's rating. The driver can also choose a particular order based on the price and distance, the passenger's rating, the pick-up location and the number of inDriver trips the customer has already taken. "We are excited to launch inDriver in Kolkata, the city of joy. inDriver is a service that allows drivers and passengers to find each other, and to independently agree on all the terms of each trip. The passenger can use our app to offer their price and get counter-offers direct from nearby drivers. In turn, drivers have the right to decide for themselves which ride requests suit them best, and can suggest their own prices. For example, through our app, passengers will pay Rs.140 for travelling from New Market to Alipore and Rs.230/-for travelling from Kyd Street to VIP Bazar" said Pavit Nanda, South Asia PR Manager, inDriver. To book a ride, download the app, just enter point A and B in the app, the fare you are willing to pay and choose your driver. It's simple and fast. inDriver puts the power back in the user's hand. Passengers can select the most suitable driver based on what is important to them - fare, driver rating, estimated time of arrival. It is the only ride-hailing app in India which allows the passengers to suggest a fare for their selected route. Nearby drivers receive the fare and route information and can either accept the offer or bargain for more money. Passengers then see multiple offers from drivers and can pick the one they want based on things such as fare amount, driver ratings and type of vehicle. On the other hand, the driver has the possibility to choose only the most profitable trips and to make a counter offer to the passenger, something that no other service offers. "The number of active drivers in the city is growing fast. As of now, the number of registered drivers is over 4000. All our driver partners are highly experienced and have completed the full document-verification process. With the launch of inDriver in Kolkata, users can now enjoy higher chances of getting a ride with shorter waiting times, and avoid surged fares during peak periods", added Pavit Nanda, South Asia PR Manager, inDriver. In the first stage, inDriver is offering Zero Percent Service Fee to Drivers, giving them the possibility to test the benefits of the platform, which has great differentials in comparison with its main competitors. The drivers can download the application in their phone or call at 01171279985 to register with inDriver. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)
Green hydrogen will be produced by using electricity from the existing 1 megawatt (MW) floating solar project of NTPC Kawas.

This will be blended with PNG in a predetermined proportion and will be used for cooking applications in NTPC Kawas Township. Initially, the percentage of hydrogen blending in the PNG shall be around 5 per cent and after successful completion, it shall be further increased, the Ministry of Power said in a statement.

NTPC is the premier energy utility in the country with an installed capacity of 69 GW, with a diversified fuel mix. The NTPC group plans to achieve 60 GW of RE in a decade and is executing several pilot projects in the green hydrogen space.

"This hydrogen blending project at NTPC Kawas is a pioneering effort and the first of its kind in the country. This is a step toward the decarbonization of the cooking sector and self-sufficiency for the energy requirements of the nation," the ministry said.

A formal agreement between the two companies was signed on Tuesday. (ANI)
India's semiconductor manufacturing, which is important to meet the country's strategic needs, has attracted good interest from global companies, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Communications and Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw has said. In a bid to give a boost to semiconductor manufacturing in the country, the government has launched a programme called Semicon India Programme with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore. The programme launched on December 15, 2021 seeks to support the development of the semiconductors and the display manufacturing ecosystem in India. "Semiconductor manufacturing, which is crucial to meet the strategic needs of the country, has attracted interest from global companies as a good number of applications have been received under the programme," Vaishnaw said addressing members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) on Monday evening. The minister apprised the parliamentary consultative committee that several state governments like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are in talks with the companies to set up semiconductor manufacturing plants/fab complexes. The MPs present in the meeting included Preneet Kaur, Radha Mohan Singh and K R Suresh Reddy. Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications Devusinh Chauhan were also present at the meeting. The subject of the meeting was 'Semiconductor Policy and Ecosystem'. A presentation was given by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to inform the committee regarding the potential of growth of the electronics sector in general and the semiconductor sector in specific. The emerging market and large export potential of the compound semiconductors were also focused upon. MPs were informed about the measures being undertaken by the Ministry of Electronics and Information technology to promote the electronics manufacturing in India and to support the semiconductor and display ecosystem and allied sectors in the country, the Ministry of Electronics & IT said in a statement. The Semicon India Programme aims to provide attractive incentive support to companies / consortia that are engaged in Silicon Semiconductor Fabs, Display Fabs, Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors (including MEMS) Fabs, Semiconductor Packaging (ATMP / OSAT) and Semiconductor Design. (ANI)
Rise in domestic petrol prices, due to high crude oil costs, is comparatively lower than other countries such as the US, Germany, the UK and France, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told the Parliament on Tuesday. Lately, global crude oil prices have risen due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Participating a debate in Lok Sabha on the fuel price rise, Puri defended the Centre and said that price of petrol have been raised by Rs 9 over 12 or 13 days, whereas the international prices have shot up. He cited figures, which compared petrol prices between April 2021 and March 2022. The Minister pointed out that in the US, during this period, the increase in petrol prices was 51 per cent. Similarly, in Canada, the increase was 52 per cent, while in Germany and the UK, it was 55 per cent, in France, it was 50 per cent, in Spain, it was 58 per cent, in Sri Lanka, it was 55 per cent, and in India, it is just 5 per cent, he said. The minister said that domestic petrol price in terms of percentage increase was one-tenth of what it is elsewhere. On Tuesday, state-run oil marketing companies raised key transport fuel prices for the 13th time in the last 15 days. Consequently, in the past 15 days, petrol prices have increased by a little over Rs 9 per litre in the national capital. These prices were revised for the very first time on March 22 after a gap of more than four months. The OMCs revise the transportation fuel cost based on various factors such as rupee to US dollar exchange rate, cost of crude oil and demand of fuel amongst others. The final price includes excise duty, value added tax and dealer's commission. Lately, crude oil prices have been volatile on fears of tight supplies due to sanctions against Russia. The crude oil price range is a cause of concern for India as it may ultimately add Rs 10-15 in petrol and diesel selling prices. At present, India imports nearly 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements. --IANS rv/vd ( 371 Words) 2022-04-05-20:36:01 (IANS)
'Squid Game' director Hwang Dong-hyuk has announced that he's developing 'Killing Old People Club', a new film inspired by a novel penned by Umberto Eco, the revered Italian intellectual and essayist, reports 'Variety'. Speaking during a session at MipTV along with his producer Jun Young Jang at February Films, Dong-hyuk revealed he had already penned a 25-page treatment note about the project, which will surely be "another controversial film", as he put it. "It will be more violent than 'Squid Game'," teased Dong-hyuk, adding that he might have to hide from old people after the film comes out. The project has the working title 'K.O. Club', according to 'Variety'. The critically acclaimed creator said he will now return home to South Korea to write the second season of 'Squid Game' and hopes to have the show stream on Netflix by the end of 2024. Dong-hyuk said the biggest praise he got about his superhit Netflix show came from Steven Spielberg, who told him he wanted to "steal (his) brain". Dong-hyuk said he had met Spielberg during the AFI Awards Luncheon last month. "Steven Spielberg told me, 'I watched your whole show in three days and now I want to steal your brain!," the Korean director recounted, according to 'Variety'. "It was like the biggest compliment I ever got in my life because he's my film hero. I grew up watching his movies." --IANS srb/ ( 251 Words) 2022-04-04-21:36:04 (IANS)
The Cannes Film Festival, on Tuesday, confirmed the premiere of Baz Luhrmann's highly anticipated rock and roll feature film 'Elvis'. As per The Hollywood Reporter, the Australian director, screenwriter and producer Baz Luhrmann will present the world premiere of his film along with Tom Hanks, Austin Butler and Olivia DeJonge. According to the Cannes festival, the film "explores the life and music of 'The King' Elvis Presley (Austin Butler), seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks). The story delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker spanning over 20 years, from Presley's rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the most significant and influential people in Elvis's life, Priscilla Presley." 'Elvis', produced by Bazmark and The Jackal Group, will be released by the Warner Bros in North America on June 24, and in the rest of the world from June 22. Filmmaker Baz Luhrmann had made history in Cannes by being the only filmmaker to have two feature films open the Cannes Film Festival; 'Moulin Rouge!' in 2001 and 'The Great Gatsby' in 2013. "In 1992, he was a sensation at the 45th edition of the Festival with his first film 'Strictly Ballroom', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section," said the Cannes organizers praising the acclaimed 'Elvis' director. (ANI)
Actor-comedian Whoopi Goldberg opened up about Will Smith and Chris Rock's altercation, which took place during Oscars 2022. Goldberg believes that Smith will bounce back from the recent controversy surrounding him. Goldberg spoke about the slap controversy and its impact on Smith's career during Monday's episode of 'The View', reported Variety. She predicted that Smith's career will go back to normal after he slapped Rock at last weekend's 94th Academy Awards -- comparing him to Louis C.K. and Kanye West being honoured at Sunday's 64th Grammy Awards. "Some people found that controversial, but the show didn't have anything like last week's controversy, which is fine," Goldberg said. "Also some of Will Smith's future projects are in question. The question is, does he have a path back? Yes, of course he does. ... He'll be fine, he'll be back. No worries," she added. Her comments come after some projects that Smith was previously attached to have been shelved by Netflix and Sony, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Goldberg's 'The View' co-host Ana Navarro argued in favour of Smith's comeback, saying she did not agree with Netflix's choice to drop its planned Smith-starring project. "He's had over 30 years of a career, where he's had a very positive image, been a positive role model, he's been very philanthropic, he's done all sorts of things," Navarro said. Navarro added, "None of us should be judged by our worst moment. We should be judged by our entire career. And yes, this is going to be with him the rest of his life. It's going to be in his obituary. This is not going away. But should it define his life? Should it define his career? No, absolutely not. So I think Netflix and all those are making a mistake, and I hope they reconsider, because we should be able to separate his art from what he did." Goldberg previously acknowledged that Rock "was the victim" but argued that the Oscars producers "made the right decision" in not removing Smith from the show. "This is not the first time craziness has happened onstage, but this is the first time we've seen anybody assault anybody onstage," she said last week. 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. Smith announced on April 1 that he was resigning from the Academy. He still faces suspension, expulsion or other sanctions from the Academy, which condemned his violent actions following the Oscars 2022 ceremony. The next Academy board meeting is scheduled for April 18. (ANI)
After breaking streaming records with 'Squid Game', director Hwang Dong-hyuk has set his next project. 'Squid Game' is getting a second season, and Hwang is scripting that new season, but the filmmaker also has another project in the works. As per E! News, Dong-hyuk said that he is working on a film that is "more violent" than 'Squid Game'. Dong-hyuk revealed that he's developing a new movie titled 'Killing Old People Club', inspired by a novel penned by Umberto Eco, the revered Italian intellectual and essayist. Speaking during a session at MipTV along with his producer Jun Young Jang at February Films, Hwang shared that he has already penned a 25-page treatment about the project which will surely be "another controversial film," he said. "It will be more violent than 'Squid Game,'" teased Hwang, adding that he might have to hide from old people after the film comes out. In addition to 'Killing Old People Club', the director is due to return to South Korea, where he will finish writing the second season of 'Squid Game'. Dong-hyuk said that he hopes to release new episodes by late 2024. He credited Netflix for believing in his vision, sharing that they were the only company to bet on the gritty series--he finished writing it in 2009--which follows impoverished individuals as they compete in childhood games with the goal of taking home a cash prize. Those who fail to win are killed. "I waited and waited, and I made like three features," he remembered, adding that when he pitched it to the streamer in 2016 they said they "love[d] it." Dong-hyuk suggested that Netflix was the best home for the series because other companies thought it was "too violent and investors would have been so worried." The show made history during awards season, becoming the first foreign-language series and first Korean series to earn a nod from the Screen Actors Guild in January. Actors Jung Ho-Yeon and Lee Jung-Jae took home the awards for Best Actress and Actor in a Drama Series. Following their nominations, Dong-hyuk credited the stars for making the show a success, saying in a statement, "I want to truly thank not only the cast who have been nominated today but also all of the supporting and the near-300 background talent. Squid Game would never have been what it became without the devotion and hard work of every single one of you. You deserve all the glory and credit." Rolling off the awards season, Hwang said the biggest praise he got for his hit Netflix show came from ace filmmaker Steven Spielberg who told him he wanted to "steal (his) brain." Hwang said he met Spielberg during the AFI Awards Luncheon last month. "Steven Spielberg told me 'I watched your whole show in three days and now I want to steal your brain!" said Hwang. He added, "It was like the biggest compliment I ever got in my life because he's my film hero. I grew up watching his movies." (ANI)
Actor Harrison Ford has joined the cast of the Apple comedy series 'Shrinking', which features Jason Segel in the lead role. The show, which was first announced in October 2021, is being written by Segel alongside 'Ted Lasso' co-creator Bill Lawrence and 'Ted Lasso' star, writer, and co-executive producer Brett Goldstein, reported Variety. 'Shrinking' will follow Jimmy (Segel), a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people's lives, including his own. Ford will play Dr Phil Rhodes, described as a down-to-earth, sharp as a tack "blue collar shrink," blunt but with an ever-present twinkle. Phil is a pioneer in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy who has built a successful practice over the years that he shares with his two young proteges, Jimmy and Gaby. Fiercely independent, Phil has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's, which forces him out of his comfort zone as he grapples with intrusive friends, his estranged family and his legacy. The role will mark Ford's first-ever television starring role. The iconic actor is best known for starring in film franchises like 'Star Wars', 'Blade Runner', and 'Indiana Jones', the last of which is currently prepping its fifth film with Ford returning as the titular globe-trotting archaeologist. He is also known for starring in films like 'The Fugitive', 'Witness' (which earned him an Oscar nomination), 'Patriot Games', 'Sabrina', and 'Working Girl'. Ford also starred in the film 'The Mosquito Coast', which was recently adapted into an Apple drama series starring Justin Theroux. Coming back to 'Shrinking', the comedy series will be executive produced by Segel, Lawrence, and Goldstein. Lawrence executive produces via Doozer Productions, with Doozer's Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer also executive producing alongside Neil Goldman. Warner Bros. Television, where Doozer is under an overall deal, is the studio. (ANI)
American filmmaker Michael Bay, who has directed Will Smith in 'Bad Boys' and 'Bad Boys II' has weighed in on the actor's recent slapping controversy at the 2022 Oscars. According to Deadline, even though Bay wasn't watching the Oscars so he missed everything that went down, however, due to his history with Smith, the director was flooded with text about the incident with many aiming to get his thoughts on the issue. Recently, while promoting his new film 'Ambulance', he did have some thoughts about what happened at this year's Oscars. "First of all, it's wrong, to begin with. But that's all people are talking about. And I don't really care. Hollywood gets really self-absorbed. There are babies getting blown up in Ukraine right now. We should be talking about that," Bay said. As per Variety, he only had this to add about the incident at the Oscars, "I've worked with him. He's not that guy. I've never seen him lose his cool like that. I thought it was a set up because I saw his smirk. I've been on set when Will has screwed with people and joked with people. It was a slap. Not a punch. He's very good at fighting, he's trained at that. It's wrong to begin with. Then I knew the yell... he was mad." Since the 2022 Oscars, Smith has both apologized to Chris Rock and has resigned from the Academy. In a statement announcing his resignation, Smith wrote, "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." (ANI)
As the wedding season is gradually approaching its conclusion, it seems like B-town's most adorable couple, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor, are in line to get hitched while following the age-old Bollywood tradition of discreet marriages. Adorably called 'Ralia' by some fans, the couple has often teased netizens with glimpses of their relationship. The celebrity sweethearts have recently sparked wedding rumours, and if reports are to be believed, they will be taking the plunge by tying the knot this April. While the news of their wedding can be interpreted as that of a match made in heaven, Alia and Ranbir's love story isn't a typical 'guy-meets-girl' romance, with details about the couple's timeline mostly shrouded by secrecy. So let's look back at how it all began! Not many people might know, but Alia had reportedly said that she first had a crush on Ranbir when she was just 11 years old. The actor had revealed that she was auditioning for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Black' where the suave star was working as an assistant director, and she fell head over heels for him. Years later, after Alia had made her Bollywood debut as an actor in 2014, she expressed her desire to marry Ranbir during one of the episodes of Karan Johar's talk show 'Koffee with Karan'. Not just that, Ranbir too showed up that year to promote Alia's film 'Highway'. Following that, both Alia and Ranbir were linked to several Bollywood celebs over the years, however, rumours about the two dating each other were also rife back then. When the actors got roped in for filmmaker Ayan Mukerji's 'Brahmastra' in 2017, those rumours gained more momentum, and it was finally in 2018 that the duo made head turns by marking their first appearance as a couple at the wedding reception of Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja. Both of them were dressed in their traditional best, complimenting each other perfectly. Soon after making the appearance, Ranbir confirmed their relationship to a magazine. Back then, he had stated that their relationship was "new" and that he didn't want to speak much about it. This was followed by several more appearances on many occasions, including family weddings and cozy lunch or dinner parties. When in September 2018, Ranbir's father, Rishi Kapoor, got admitted to a medical facility in New York, the couple was often snapped visiting him together. Alia also rang in the 2019 New Year celebrations with Ranbir's family and the pictures of their gathering went viral on social media in no time. The entire gang seemed like one big happy family. The same year, while making an appearance at an awards ceremony, Ranbir and Alia openly proclaimed their love for each other. The actors had won Filmfare awards for best acting in their respective roles that year. In December 2020, Alia also accompanied Ranbir and his mother Neetu Kapoor to Armaan Jain's wedding celebration. Almost every time they stepped out, Ranbir and Alia made headlines for their adorable chemistry. That year, there had been strong rumours about them tying the knot, but it did not happen, and COVID might have been a contributing factor to that. Later, Alia's 2021 Instagram posts proved that the duo was still very much in love. The couple had even flown to Rajasthan to celebrate Ranbir's 39th birthday. Alia shared a picture from the calm, natural setting as she wished Ranbir a happy birthday. She also shared a post with Ranbir on the festival of Diwali, which left fans excited and craving for more. In the picture, Alia and Ranbir could be seen in an embrace while gazing deeply into each other's eyes. In December 2021, during the motion poster launch event of 'Brahmastra', the adorable couple was seen at their candid best. They answered several fan questions while subtly engaging in some adorable PDA. On being asked by a fan, "When will you marry Alia or someone else?" Ranbir wittily replied, "Haven't we seen a lot of people getting married in the last year? I think we should be happy with that." However, turning towards Alia, he cheekily added, "Humari kab hogi?" to which a visibly blushing Alia replied, "Why are you asking me?" Now it remains to be seen whether Alia and Ranbir will take their relationship to the next level and breathe life into their marriage rumours by tying the knot this April, or will fans still have to wait for the union of their favourite Bollywood couple. (ANI)
National Award-winning filmmaker Shyam Benegal who directed the Bengali language film 'Mujib: The Making of a Nation' based on the life of the founding father of Bangladesh - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - says the language was never a barrier for him in making the film. Shyam told IANS : "I did not know the Bengali language, even though I am familiar with the sound of the language. But I never fear losing the nuances in translation. Nothing is lost in translation. They (actors) knew the language I speak, I know the emotion I want in the performance. You see, when we are speaking in a language, the thing is in the idiom." "A spoken language is different from the way it is written on paper. And spoken language is far more idiomatic than written one. The Bengali, Bangladeshi people speak is slightly different from what the people of West Bengal speak. But in writing, it is the same Bengali language. So for me, not knowing the language, was not a problem to make the film 'Mujib'." However, his relationship with Bengal and Bengali culture goes a long way. When Benegal was a youngster, one of his elder brothers who used to stay in Kolkata back in the days, used to send him different books and magazines by post. "Back then I was not familiar with the city of Kolkata, in fact then, it was Calcutta (smiled). Calcutta was the hub of literature, politics, and cultural discussion in 1940s and 50s. I remember one of my uncles, who was a part of Bose's All India Forward Bloc, was also a huge admirer of Bengali literature. I was eight or nine years old I guess...when he would come to our house in Hyderabad, read out Bengali books aloud. Then he would translate that in English for me." The veteran filmmaker said that such memories of his childhood somewhere stayed in his mind and eventually all came out, when he made films like 'Bose' and 'Arohan'. "I would say my friendship with Bengal, and the city of Calcutta started with 'Arohan' when I shot the entire film over there," he recalled. The protagonist of the film 'Mujib' is played by Bangladeshi actor Arifin Shuvoo. Asked about his thought behind the casting, Benegal said, "He is a very good actor, a method actor. Earlier he had worked on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Since he is a performer, he also acted few speeches by Rahman as part of his live performance. He managed to get the nuances right. He was absolutely steeped in the process. The actor has that fire that we saw in those speeches of Bangabandhu. The audience will see once the film comes out." The film 'Mujib: The Making of a Nation' is jointly produced by the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) and the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC). It is likely to release at the end of this year. --IANS aru/kr ( 505 Words) 2022-04-05-19:44:14 (IANS)
Referring to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said India's economic condition is even worse than the neighbouring island nation. Attacking the Centre over the fuel price hike, Banerjee said the central government should discuss the "economic crisis" in the country with all political parties instead of using the central agencies against the States. Briefing mediapersons, the Chief Minister said, "Sri Lanka's economic condition is bad but India's condition is worse than Sri Lanka's. Fuel prices have been hiked here. The Central government should call all political parties to discuss the economic crisis in our country rather than using Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (against States)." "People should wake up. They took the votes in Uttar Pradesh and after seven days increased the prices of everything as return gifts. The country's economy is getting ruined. They are hatching a conspiracy against the States. All states must see and the Opposition must be together against these things," she added. Meanwhile, Ram Gopal Yadav, Samajwadi Party MP said that Sri Lanka-like situation can happen in India as well. "They (Centre) won't have enough money to even roll out salaries to government employees. They have a Rs 4.27 lakh crore FCI subsidy due in 2 yrs. They don't have any money; this government has gone bankrupt," he said. Sri Lanka is currently battling a deep economic crisis. On Sunday, 26 Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers resigned en masse from their positions amid rising public anger against the government over the economic crisis. All 26 of them signed a general letter, consenting to resign paving the way for a new Cabinet to be formed. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will continue to be in the office and all other members of the Cabinet have tendered their resignations to the PM. The country's government on Saturday blocked access to social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube, but lifted the ban on Sunday afternoon after the PM's son Namal Rajapaksa spoke against it. (ANI)
The ruling BJP is resorting to various conspiracies to divert attention from the economic crisis in the country, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday. "The price of petrol and diesel have been hiked 11 times during the last 13 days. There has been an exorbitant hike in the price of cooking gas as well. The country is going through an acute economic crisis. The government should hold meetings with all political parties in the country and discuss it. But the ruling party of the country is resorting to conspiracies to divert public attention from this economic crisis," she told media persons here. Banerjee also said that several fake developments are made viral in the country to instigate people. "Often people are reacting to that without checking the authenticity. There are attempts to malign my image. But I know how to counter that," she said. She also said that the Union government is silent about the academic future of the Indian students who have returned from Ukraine. "The Union government should take the responsibility so that the students from Ukraine can complete their studies in the country. I have already written to the Union government on this count. However, I am yet to get a reply. But I have decided that the state government should arrange for the same for the students from West Bengal who have returned from Ukraine." On the latest incident about the viral video that showed Giasuddin Mondal, an expelled student of Aliah University and having links with her Trinamool Congress, heckling and abusing the Vice Chancellor, the Chief Minister said that the police has taken prompt action by arresting the offender. "The students can have some grievances. One of them resorted to abuse for which he has been arrested," she said. Meanwhile, Vice Chancellor, Mohammad Ali, said after this grave insult, he is no more willing to continue in Aliah University. "I wish to go back to Jadavpur University and I have also written to JU authorities on this count," he said. --IANS sumanta/vd ( 353 Words) 2022-04-04-19:34:02 (IANS)
Police sources said militants fired at and injured Sonu Kumar Balji of Chotagam village of Shopian.

"He has been shifted to hospital for treatment and the area has been cordoned off for searches.

Militants earlier shot and injured two non-local labourers in Lajurah village of Shopian.

Militants also shot at two CRPF troopers in Maisuma locality of uptown Srinagar.

One of the injured CRPF troopers later succumbed in the hospital.

--IANS sq/vd

( 101 Words)

2022-04-04-20:36:03 (IANS)
Creation of 13 new districts by YSRCP government in Andhra Pradesh on Monday has riled up the opposition parties which called the process of reorganisation "unscientific" and "politically motivated". Main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena Party (JSP), led by actor politician Pawan Kalyan, slammed YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government for the manner in which they reorganized the districts. They alleged that the government did not take into consideration people's opinion. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy formally inaugurated 13 districts, doubling the number to 26, in a major administrative overhaul, which he claimed is aimed at decentralisation and taking the governance close to people. However, the TDP and the JSP did not agree that the reorganisation of districts has been done for people's good. TDP national President and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu described the formation of new districts as "unscientific" and "politically motivated". The TDP would certainly come to power in the next elections when it would correct all such mistakes being made by the present regime, he said. Naidu alleged that the government did not take into consideration the objections and protests made by the people against new districts and revenue divisions. Interestingly, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy said he obliged opposition leader Chandrababu Naidu's request and accorded revenue division status to Kuppam on the latter's request. "On the appeal made by Kuppam MLA (Chandrababu Naidu), we included Kuppam in the list of 21 new revenue divisions," he said. Chandrababu Naidu, who was Chief Minister for 14 years, failed to make Kuppam revenue division but we made it, he said. With the inclusion of 21 new revenue divisions, the total number has gone up to 72 from 51. The new districts were formed in accordance with the public opinion after due consideration of 17,500 representations from the people, the Chief Minister said, adding that the government had taken various factors into consideration, including sentiments of the people in carving the new districts. However, Pawan Kalyan said district reorganisation was done by ignoring people's opinion. "The rulers moved forward as per their own perception without considering and valuing the public opinion in the process of reorganization of districts in the state," he said terming reorganisation "lopsided". He asked why the government didn't take the people's aspirations, issues of distance in the new districts and other constraints into consideration. "Similarly, there is not even a proper story on the long-pending demands for the districts. The tribal people of submerged mandals will face so many hurdles in the district formed with Paderu as headquarters. People of Etapaka and Kukunuru mandals have to travel at least 300 km to reach the district headquarters," he said. On Rampachodavaram as district headquarters, he said that even Rayalaseema people's opinion was not taken care of. There are demands for districts with headquarters in Madanapalle, Hindupur and Markapuram. "Opinion was not taken from people, parties and people's organisations. There was no debate before issuing the draft notification. Even the memoranda given by the people have not been considered," Pawan Kalyan said. He announced that Jana Sena will extend support to the protests launched by the people against the loopholes in the reorganisation process and inconvenience caused to them. He said the party would take responsibility for rectifying the mistakes and reorganise the districts based on the people's convenience. --IANS ms/vd ( 570 Words) 2022-04-04-20:38:03 (IANS)
Chandigarh could be the new flash point between the BJP, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after AAP recently passed a resolution in the Punjab Assembly urging the Centre to "immediately transfer Chandigarh to Punjab". On Monday, Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana, Depender Singh Hooda, submitted a notice in the Upper House highlighting Haryana''s claim over Chandigarh. Hooda''s notice under Rule 267 said, "The claim that Chandigarh was created as capital of Punjab is misleading. It''s a violation of the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966." Not only the Congress, but the BJP too has opposed the move by AAP. The BJP-ruled Haryana will convene a day-long special session of the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday. A cabinet meeting was held on Sunday under the chairmanship of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who has condemned AAP moving a resolution in the Assembly to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab. "Condemnable. They should not have done this. Punjab should first go to the Supreme Court for resolving the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue. The Hindi-speaking areas were not given to Haryana, which delayed the rest of the issues. They should first be ready to hand over the Hindi-speaking areas to Haryana," Khattar said, adding that Chandigarh is and will remain the capital of both Haryana and Punjab. Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh came into existence through the Punjab Reorganisation Act passed in 1966. Last Friday, the Punjab Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution moved by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, urging the Centre to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab. The issue was triggered on March 27 after Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the Central Civil Service Rules will be implemented for all employees under the Chandigarh administration, which was opposed by different political parties in Punjab. If the Central Civil Service Rules are implemented, all employees will get the pay scale under the Central rules. As per the rules, retirement age will be enhanced from 58 to 60 years, while the maternity leave will be extended to two years from the existing one year. --IANS miz/arm ( 353 Words) 2022-04-04-20:42:01 (IANS)
"Nagalim", the land of Naga tribals, had been "invaded" by India and Myanmar and the Nagas have neither been a part of either by consent or by conquest, NSCN-IM General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah has said, the group announced on Monday. Adressing the General Assembly of Unrepresented Nations and People's Organisations (UNPO) in Washington DC, he said that the Nagas had been living in their own free country till the British forces occupied a part of it in 1832 while the rest called free Naga area remains as free as ever. "On the eve of the departure of the British, the Nagas of the British-occupied Naga territory declared their independence on August 14, 1947 and joined with their brothers in free Naga area. In 1950, the Indian Constituent Assembly invited the Nagas to join the Union of India, but it was rejected by the Naga people," the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim leader said. He alleged that with a view to legalising its military occupation of "Nagalim", the Indian government "imposed its will" upon the Nagas in the form of the so-called 16-point agreement in 1960. However, it was rejected outrightly by the Naga people. Muivah reportedly delivered the address at the UNPO, a 44-member organisation, last week, but the speech was released to the media by the NSCN-IM on Monday. The Naga leader said that realising that seeking a military solution to the political problem is a futile exercise, the Indian government invited the NSCN leadership for political talks leading to a cease-fire agreement between the government and the NSCN signed in August, 1997. "After 22 years long intensive negotiations with the government involving six Prime Ministers, the historic Framework Agreement was signed on August 3, 2015 in the presence of the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi)." Muivah claimed that the government also recognises the legitimate right of the Nagas to territorial integration of all Naga areas under one political roof. "Since the unique history of the Nagas and the sovereign right of the Nagas are recognised, it is understood that the Naga flag and constitution are ingredients of their sovereignty," he stated. However, the former government interlocutor and then Nagaland Governor, R.N.Ravi, currently Tamil Nadu Governor, had, on a number of occasions, rejected the separate Naga flag and constitution. On this, Muivah said that in spite of all facts, commitments and agreements, the Indian government has started misinterpreting what has been mutually agreed upon and going back on its word. "In the event of breaking down of the current negotiations, we foresee serious human rights violations again in Nagalim." Muivah also told the UNPO "to look into the fragile situation of the Indo-Naga political talks and take a positive role from your end so that the current peace process is brought to a logical conclusion." --IANS sc/vd ( 483 Words) 2022-04-04-20:46:03 (IANS)
The Communist Party of India-Marxist, which has turned into a minuscule political force in Tamil Nadu, has decided to rework its public strategy, and in its recently-concluded state conference held from March 30 to April 1, decided that the party cadres would henceforth participate in temple programmes. In the old days, the CPI-M was at the forefront of hefty campaigns against religious beliefs, especially against temples and their rituals, but as times change, its Tamil Nadu unit has decided to actively take part in temple festivals, amid fears of RSS and BJP stamping their presence. Talking to IANS, CPI-M state Secretary, K. Balakrishnan, said: "The party is involving itseld in the cultural activities attached with the temple festivals and these are events where people attend in large numbers." The CPI-M feels that it has to be proactive in religious programmes or will be left out of mainstream society. Senior CPI-M leaders of Tamil Nadu are, however, downplaying the decision of the party's state conference and a member of the Tamil Nadu Secretariat told IANS that the party has nothing to lose in embracing religion. "Party has always been trying to reach out to the masses and there is no point in shying away from religious affairs as the people are actively involved in these programmes. Party state committee has already clarified that we will be participating in cultural programmes," the leader said. The CPI-M has seen the growth of BJP in southern Tamil Nadu and the saffron party has always been promoting Hindutva politics and has struck a chord in the area, especially Kanniyakumari district. "There is no ideological shift and the final decision will the be taken at the Party Congress to be held from April 6 to 10 at Kerala's Kannur. You can see party comrades in temple administrations in Kerala and comrades actively participating in Durga Pooja celebrations in West Bengal... there need not be much discussion on the party participating in temple programmes in Tamil Nadu," party leader and Secretariat member, P. Shanmugham told IANS. He said that 95 per cent of the people of Tamil Nadu are believers but not communal and the party has decided to counter certain forces who are trying to hijack the religious people and convert them into communalists. The ruling DMK has also climbed down from its earlier stand of verbal attacks against temple-goers and present Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin has already announced a budgetary allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for the renovation of temples. --IANS aal/vd ( 434 Words) 2022-04-04-21:42:02 (IANS)
The Mumbai Police on Monday grilled BJP's Leader of Opposition (Council) Pravin Darekar for over four hours in connection with the alleged irregularities during his tenure at the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank (MDCCB) Ltd. Following the summons issued on Sunday, Darekar reported at the MRA Marg police station, which lodged an FIR on March 14 based on a complaint by Aam Aadmi Party state general secretary Dhananjay Shinde. "I will fully cooperate with the police. If needed, I will join the probe again. Today, I have answered all queries and provided whatever information was sought to the best of my knowledge," Darekar said after stepping out of the police station on Monday evening. Earlier, several BJP MLAs and hundreds of party workers expressed solidarity with Darekar and staged protests outside the police station as he stepped inside for the probe, alleging that he was being targeted by the state government as part of vendetta politics. Among other things, Shinde alleged that Darekar cheated the government and the MDCCB by impersonating as a labourer to contest the bank's elections as a Director in the workmen's category. He further said that Darekar served as the MDCCB Director and two terms as the Chairman, after which a probe was ordered by the Maharashtra Cooperative Department and he was disqualified in January 2022. Shinde also said that it was during Darekar's tenure that an alleged misappropriation of MDCCB's funds to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore took place and sought his resignation as Leader of Opposition. Prior to AAP, Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari had filed a complaint against Darekar in September 2021 with the Ghatkopar police station, claiming that he had mis-declared his professional credentials in his election affidavits and hence was liable for action. Darekar - who continues on the MDCCB board for the current term (2021-2026) - has consistently denied all the allegations hurled against him in the matter by Shinde and Tiwari, with the latter urging Union Minister for Cooperation Amit Shah to clarify the party's stand in the matter. The BJP leader reiterated that the police are working under tremendous pressure, with the Commissioner of Police (Sanjay Pandey) personally monitoring the investigation. Monday's development came a few days after the cyber police station recorded the statement of the Leader of Opposition (Assembly), Devendra Fadnavis, in connection with the infamous phone-tapping scam unearthed last year. --IANS qn/arm ( 413 Words) 2022-04-04-21:50:02 (IANS)
Soon after the Congress put in an application before the office of the Speaker of the Goa Assembly, seeking to nominate its senior MLA Michael Lobo as the Leader of Opposition, Lobo told reporters that his first priority would be to leverage pressure on the BJP-led coalition government to restart mining in the state. Lobo said that restarting the mining sector, which has been virtually non-functional since 2018 following a Supreme Court order, would kickstart the state's economy and give a fillip to employment. "The first issue we will take up is resumption of sustainable mining to help the youth, truck owners and others who are unemployed. Let us see what suggestion the Chief Minister gives for resumption of mining," Lobo said. "Restarting mining is necessary because of employment and revenue generation in order to assist the state's coffers. The budget is going to be flat if mining does not restart," he added. The mining issue has been hanging fire in Goa ever since the apex court banned extraction and transportation of iron ore from 88 mining leases in March 2018, while also directing the state government to re-issue mining leases. In his budget speech, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said that the state government is keen on harvesting iron ore from 'dumps' (low grade iron ore) in order to rejuvenate the sector. Last year, the Goa government had started the Goa Mineral Development Corporation to streamline ore extraction procedures. --IANS maya/arm ( 256 Words) 2022-04-04-21:58:04 (IANS)
The accused, identified as Sunil Kumar Meghwal (23), Deepak Kashyap (25), Deepak (26), Krishan Gopal Kashyap (22) and Chanderbhan Nayak (22), were arrested from Hanumangarh in Rajasthan.

Furnishing the details, DCP P.S. Kushwah said the accused persons were wanted by Delhi Police in the shootout incident of March 30 for extortion of Rs 1 crore from a real estate businessman office in Uttam Nagar.

"They shot the businessman inside his office for extortion, causing gunshot injuries to him in both legs. He is still admitted to the hospital," Kushwah said.

On April 2, an information was received that jailed gangsters Kala Jathedi-Lawrence Bishnoi had hired sharpshooters from Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan to extort of Rs 1 crore from the businessman.

On Sunday, the police conducted raids in Sri Ganganagar (Rajasthan) and apprehended one of the five accused persons, Sunil Kumar Meghwal.

Based on his inputs, raids were conducted in Hanumangarh and four more shooters of the gang were arrested.

--IANS uj/arm

( 205 Words)

2022-04-04-22:18:03 (IANS)
The IFSO unit of Delhi Police has arrested three more persons in connection with the multi-crore Chinese loan application fraud and extortion racket, taking the total number of arrestees till now to 11, an official said on Monday. The racketeers were allegedly duping innocent people in the name of providing loan and extorting money from the people on the pretext of repaying the loan amount. The three arrested persons have been identified as Harpreet Singh and Pankaj, both residents of Uttam Nagar, and Jitender, a resident of Kapashera village. Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO), K.P.S. Malhotra, told IANS that during interrogation, it was revealed that Harpreet Singh and Pankaj were the key persons for maintaining the recovery group. Harpreet and Pankaj were acting as managers of the loan recovery group. Through technical surveillance, the hideouts of Harpreet and Pankaj were identified in Haridwar, Malhotra said. During interrogation, they disclosed that they were directly receiving instructions from two Chinese nationals, namely Akira and Amy. During interrogation of the persons arrested earlier, it was revealed that they were receiving SIM cards for calling the victims from Jitender, who after his arrest revealed that he received the SIM cards or WhatsApp numbers from another person who is yet to be arrested. The case came to light after a woman lodged a complaint with the IFSO unit of the Special Cell, alleging that she was being abused and threatened by some unknown persons who were sending her morphed and vulgar photographs to her family members, friends and relatives through social media. "The complainant had taken a loan from a loan app namely Cash Advance (Danakredit); she repaid the same in time. But after repaying the said amount, she started getting threat calls and messages on WhatsApp from Cash Advance employees," Malhotra said. It was further observed by the complainant that the alleged scamsters were using the profile picture of a 'senior police officer'. --IANS uj/arm ( 335 Words) 2022-04-04-22:42:03 (IANS)
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday said that the Chandigarh issue is not something that can be "passed unilaterally in the Assembly" adding that it should be resolved by "sitting together". Taking a dig at the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab which recently passed a resolution reiterating the state's claim on Chandigarh, Khattar said that "there must be a hidden agenda behind this". "Chandigarh issue should be resolved by sitting together, it's not something that can be passed unilaterally in Assembly. They've (AAP) not been in power for 4 days and are raising these controversial issues; there must be a hidden agenda behind this," Khattar said while speaking to the reporters here. The Chief Minister stressed that Chandigarh will always be the capital of both Haryana and Punjab and said that the public will "see their (AAP's) agenda." "The Punjab public will see their agenda. We will not let it reach its goal. Chandigarh was, is, and will be the capital of Haryana and Punjab," he said. Row over Chandigarh came to the fore after the Punjab Assembly on Friday passed a resolution reiterating the state's claim on Chandigarh. The move was made after the decision of the Central Government to implement Central Service Rules on Chandigarh employees. Congress marked its entry into the row as it held a meeting of the Legislature Party at Haryana Bhawan in Delhi on Monday in which 24 MLAs were present. "Today, in the CLP meeting, we discussed the resolution passed in Punjab Assembly regarding Chandigarh. We will oppose this resolution strongly because Chandigarh belongs to Haryana," Hooda said after the meeting. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann last week moved a resolution in the assembly seeking the transfer of Chandigarh to the state. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the state has been able to set an example before the country in the field of good governance only due to the active participation of the general public. Continuous efforts have been made in the areas in which Madhya Pradesh lagged behind 15 years ago from today, and was called a Bimaru state, as a result of which Madhya Pradesh first became a developing state and now stands in the line of developed states. The model of development through public participation has been implemented in Madhya Pradesh. The usefulness of this model was proved in the last two years in the control of Covid pandemic, the Chief Minister said as per an official statement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also emphasizes on people's participation for development. He is our motivator. Madhya Pradesh will work to accelerate the pace of development in various areas with constant public participation, Chouhan said. The MP chief minister was addressing the launching ceremony of Madhya Pradesh Good Governance and Development Report 2022 at India Habitat Center in New Delhi on Monday. Several Union Ministers, State government ministers, senior officers of Government of India and All India level Administrative, Police and Forest Service officers of Madhya Pradesh cadre were also present in the programme. Chouhan said that Madhya Pradesh has achieved success by being a leader in the implementation of many schemes under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi. The Prime Minister's direction has been important in the achievements of Madhya Pradesh. PM Modi is no less than a boon for the nation. In Madhya Pradesh, roads of length 3 lakh km were constructed under various schemes. The generation of electricity has been increased from 05 thousand MW to 21 thousand MW. Madhya Pradesh, which has received Krishi Karman Award several times, has left behind Punjab and Haryana in wheat procurement. Gold-grained wheat of Madhya Pradesh is exported to many countries including America. Now efforts are being increased to export wheat. An Export Promotion Council has also been formed in the state. Irrigation area benefited from irrigation schemes in Madhya Pradesh has exceeded 43 lakh hectares. With the approval of Ken-Betwa scheme, Prime Minister Modi has taken an initiative to benefit a large area of Madhya Pradesh. Other river linking projects are also being implemented in Madhya Pradesh. The growth rate of the state at 19.7 per cent is the highest in the country. Madhya Pradesh is contributing 4.6 per cent to the country's economy. Gross domestic product has increased by 200 per cent in the last decade. Chouhan said that the state government has made a provision of Rs 48 thousand crores in the infra sector and Rs 10 thousand crores in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Rs 12 thousand crores have been spent in the works of Jal Jeevan Mission. The success of Ladli Laxmi Yojana has become an example for the country. There are 43 lakh Ladli Laxmis in the state. Continuous work is being done in the field of empowerment of the girl child and women. The Chief Minister said that 15 years ago, the state government called Panchayats of workers, farmers, women, craftsmen, students and other sections and received suggestions regarding the nature of the schemes. The sentiments of the people were fully respected. As a result, many practical schemes were created and their implementation has been successful. Madhya Pradesh is the first state which enacted the Public Service Guarantee Act. People who do not provide services on time are punished. Best services are being provided to the general public through Samadhan Online, CM Helpline, one-day samadhan and other information technology based practices. He said that unnecessary laws have been abolished. Many certificates are made available in due course of time. Self-attested documents have been validated. In the field of cleanliness, now only Indore but the entire Madhya Pradesh will set an example.Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste, State Water Resources Minister Tulsiram Silawat, Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel, Singapore High Commissioner Shri Walk, MPs of Madhya Pradesh and officers of Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service of Madhya Pradesh cadre posted in New Delhi on deputation, CEO of Institute of Good Governance G.V. Rashmi and ACEO Lokesh Sharma were also present in the programme. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh, in the last 15 years, has traversed the path from a "BIMARU" state to emerge as a developing state, and will soon figure in the list of the developed states of India, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Monday. Launching the first edition of the "Madhya Pradesh Sushashan and Development Report (MPSDR) 2022", prepared by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis (AIGGPA), in presence of Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitendra Singh, Narendra Tomar, various ambassadors, and UN agency officials, he said that his state is the fastest growing state in the country with a growth rate of 19.70 per cent. "The state contribution in Indian economy has increased from 2.6 per cent to 3.6 per cent. We are working under the guidance of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We used to be called a 'BIMARU' state, if we see the journey of 15 years, Madhya Pradesh has become a developing state out of Bimaru state," he said. Chouhan noted that the special efforts are being made for Madhya Pradesh wheat to be recognised across the world, while the state is number one in the production of pulses and oilseeds, and has outpaced Punjab and Haryana in rice production. About the state government efforts for encouraging agricultural production, he said that the increase in irrigatedn area is behind the bumper production of crops in Madhya Pradesh. Seven and a half lakhs areas were irrigated which has been increased to 43 lakh hectares in the state, he said. Chouhan, however, said that there are some areas like education and health where more work needs to be done. The Madhya Pradesh Sushashan and Development Report 2022 is the first of its kind document that brings forth the unique governance practices of Madhya Pradesh which includes community engagement and participation, robust policy measures, efficient delivery systems, evidence-based decision-making and comprehensive monitoring. It aims to document and discuss the features of good governance, its monitoring framework, and its implications in key sectors in the state. The MPSDR 2022 comprises 12 chapters categorised into five sections. The first section on Good Governance comprises two chapters including an introduction to good governance and various initiatives undertaken by the state over the last 15 years. Some of the initiatives taken by the Madhya Pradesh government in this context includes the establishment of the School of Good Governance and Policy Analysis, Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act, 2010, the Atma Nirbhar Madhya Pradesh Roadmap, Samadhan Online, CM Helpline, Lok Sewa Kendra, Ankur Mission, Jan Sunvai Programme, ease of doing business, etc. have been detailed out in this section. --IANS avr/vd ( 455 Words) 2022-04-04-23:12:02 (IANS)
India continues to depend on imports to meet 50 to 60 per cent of its edible oil demand.

The country imported nearly 13.5 million MT of edible oil during 2020-21. Due to a sharp price rise in the international market, the total cost of imports during 2020-21 was Rs 1,17,000 crore.

"The emerging scenario of increasing edible oil prices has impacted domestic costs as well, leading to a renewed interest in domestic production," the NDDB said.

It said it has initiated a number of measures to support the Karnataka Cooperative Oilseeds Growers' Federation Ltd (KOF), a state level apex federation comprising of 3 regional oilseeds growers' unions spread across 15 out of the 31 districts in the state.

During 2021-22, KOF and its member unions together handled more than 38,500 MT of edible oil and had a combined turnover of about Rs 630 crore.

--IANS uj/vd

( 192 Words)

2022-04-04-23:22:01 (IANS)
The airline further informed that all the passengers were safe after the return of the flight to Nagpur airport.

"IndiGo's Nagpur-Lucknow flight, returned to origin after take-off, following a suspected momentary technical snag, today. The pilots followed the standard operating procedures and returned safely to Nagpur airport. All passengers are safe," said the airline.

Following the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered an inquiry into the emergency landing of the IndiGo flight at Nagpur airport after smoke was seen coming out of the aircraft, said a senior DGCA official. (ANI)
BJP top brass held a meeting at the party office in New Delhi on Monday to formulate the plan for programmes to be held on the party's Foundation Day on April 6 and planned to screen the address of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in every booth of all the states. The address of the Prime Minister is likely to be followed by the address of a senior party leader who would speak on the history and struggle of the party, said the sources. Party senior leaders including party National President JP Nadda, National General Secretary (Org) BL Santhosh, CT Ravi, Kailash Vijayvargiya and others were present at the meeting. In the meeting, an outline of the programmes to be held throughout the month was also discussed. According to the sources, the BJP is planning to include every wing of the party in the programme this year. Many state units of the party are said to have completed the preparations for the address of the Prime Minister. According to the sources, LED screens would be installed at every polling booth to facilitate the people in attending the Prime Minister's speech and also getting to know more about various schemes of the government. The party is planning to celebrate the day in every state. The birth anniversary of Babasaheb BR Ambedkar on April 14 would also be celebrated on a large scale. Along with this, his statue will be garlanded in public places. The BJP will organise various programmes beginning on April 6 till April 20, the outline of which has been prepared, said the sources. (ANI)
The incident took place on March 31 at around 8.30 pm after which the police registered an FIR upon the complaint of the victim. However, the accused has not been arrested so far.

The victim is identified as Anirban Guha.

Guha who is an Assistant Commissioner in the Union Ministry of Animal Husbandry told police that his car stopped on March 31 evening, after which he went in search of a mechanic. Upon returning, he found the glass of his car broken and his bag was stolen. The bag contained department stamps, important documents, office and house keys, Rs 10,000 and other items.

The police have started the search for the accused. (ANI)
"The deceased, Uday Pinker (32), had gone for a picnic with his four companions, and allegedly jumped into the river after having lunch, and liquor," informed Kasturba Marg Police after interrogating Pinker's alliances.

Police said that the body, sent for post-mortem, was taken out after three hours of search operation led by the fire brigade and the Mumbai Police.

"The park remains closed for the general public on Mondays due to which no one could hear the screams while the 32-year old was drowning in the lake," police added.

The police have registered a case under Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and started further investigation. (ANI)
Maharashtra Energy Minister and Congress leader Nitin Raut reacting to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray's comment to remove loudspeakers from mosques said it is "our responsibility to keep the country united." "India is a country of different languages, religions and cultures, it is our responsibility to keep the country united. It is really sad that people are giving such statements about religion, it shows their mentality," Raut said here on Monday. Raut's remarks follow Thackeray's call last week for the removal of mosque loudspeakers. The MNS leader had also given a stern warning to the Maharashtra government to play Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers outside the mosque if the mosques do not remove loudspeakers for Azaan. Shiv Sena had also come down heavily on the MNS leader's remarks. Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Sunday said that the law of the land prevails in Maharashtra and the Home Minister will do everything as per the law. "Raj Thackeray was talking about taking down the loudspeakers installed in mosques yesterday. First, see in which all BJP ruled states Azaan has been stopped, loudspeakers removed from mosques...This is Maharashtra, where law of the land is followed," Raut had told media persons in Mumbai on Sunday. (ANI)
"Tributes to Babu Jagjivan Ram Ji on his birth anniversary. Our nation will always remember his remarkable contribution be it during the freedom movement or after Independence. He was widely admired for his administrative skills and concern for the poor," PM Modi tweeted.

Popularly known as Babuji, Jagjivan Ram was one of India's greatest Dalit icons, who fought for the rights of the underprivileged.

Throughout his political career in in which he was a parliamentarian for a record 50 years, Jagjivan Ram strove for a just and egalitarian society.

He was the Defence Minister during the India-Pakistan War in 1971. Babu Jagjivan Ram was also the Deputy Prime Minister between 1977 and 1979.

During India's Independent movement, he founded the All-India Depressed Classes League in 1935 that worked towards equality for the 'untouchables'. (ANI)
The convoy of Raees Khan, an Independent candidate from Siwan narrowly escaped death after his convoy was attacked by a group of miscreants armed with AK-47s in Bihar's Siwan district on Monday night. The incident took place around 11 pm at Mahuwal village when Raees Khan was returning home from the office after the voting ended in 24 seats of the Bihar Legislative Council on Monday. One local has been killed, who was returning from a wedding ceremony and four others were injured in the attack. Four to five armed men attacked Khans' convoy when it was crossing the Mahuwal village. A car, which was behind the convoy was also attacked and a villager named Vinod Yadav (30) died after multiple bullets hit him, along with two others injured in the same car. Two of Khan's supporters received bullet injuries, one supporter identified as Bablu is critical. Criminal turned politician Khan, better known as Khan Brothers are the most famous criminals since the death of Shahabuddin in Siwan. Khan alleged that he was not provided with a security guard during the election even after he had requested the District Magistrate about it. Superintendent of Police Shailesh Kumar Sinha reached the hospital at night, met the injured, and took details of the incident. He also inspected the incident spot late at night. Vowing to take revenge, Former Janata Dal (United) JDU MLA Shyam Bahadur Singh said, "Our brother Raees Khan somehow survived in the incident and account of the incident will be taken and the people who opened fire will not be spared." (ANI)
Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was imposed in the Karauli district of Rajasthan on Saturday and the internet was shut down after stones were pelted during a religious procession that day. Earlier curfew was imposed in Karauli from 6:30 pm on April 2 till 12 am on April 4.

The Rajasthan police on Monday arrested 46 people and detained seven others for interrogation following a stone-pelting incident during a religious procession in Karauli on Saturday.

The Inspector-General (IG) of Police, Bharatpur Range, Prasanna Kumar Khamesra said, "After stone pelting took place during the procession in Futa Kot area Main Bazaar Karauli on Saturday, the police acted promptly and arrested 46 people and detained seven people for interrogation."

"13 accused have been arrested in connection with the incident in the case registered at Police Station Karauli and 33 people have been arrested for violating curfew order. 07 people have been detained for questioning. A total of 21 two-wheelers and four-wheelers were also seized by the police," Khamesra added.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday held a meeting with senior officials on the law and order situation in the state. This comes after violent clashes in Karauli city of Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Congress had also formed a three-member fact-finding committee over the Karauli incident.

The Committee includes MLAs Jitendra Singh and Rafiq Khan and Karauli district in-charge Lalit Yadav. The panel will visit Karauli and submit its report to Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee. (ANI)
Two armed miscreants were killed in an encounter with police in Assam's Chirang district in the wee hours of Tuesday, officials said. The encounter took place at the Khungring area under the Runikhata police station in Chirang district and one Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) was injured during the gunfight. "Based on secret information a police team of Chirang district launched an operation at Choudhaguri village, near Khungring at around 1.30 AM and the encounter took place," Dr LR Bishnoi, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) told ANI. "Two armed miscreants were killed during the encounter and Additional Superintendent of Police Prakash Medhi was also injured. One among the deceased persons was identified as Mahanta Narzary, who was a former member of the National Liberation Front of Bodoland (NLFB)," the top Assam cop said. "The ASP received bullet injuries in the wrist of his right hand, and was rushed to a hospital," the cop added. The police had recovered two 9 mm pistols from the encounter site. (ANI)
"We have recovered 92 swords, two kukris (curved knives), and nine scabbards worth Rs 3.7 lakhs (3,70,000) from the courier company," said Krishna Prakash, Commissioner, Pimpri Chinchwad Police.

"The consignment was sent by Umesh Sood and was supposed to be delivered to Anil R/O Aurangabad," he added.

The consignments came to light after the police urged a vigilance officer at the firm to scan the parcels kept over there. The police had found the consignment on the first day (of search) itself.

"During the investigation, the police nabbed another batch of 5 swords worth Rs 15,000, sent by Maninder of Punjab to Akash Patil of Ahmednagar," police said.

The police have shown concern regarding the dangers involved if the batch of swords could get into the wrong hands ahead of the Municipal Corporation elections.

"All the accused involved have been identified and further investigations into the matter are underway," police said. (ANI)
At the ceremony, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh said that the force will not tolerate such "craziness".

He saluted the fallen soldier, and said, "We'll not tolerate this (terror attacks) craziness. We salute the soldier who has sacrificed his life for the nation. Our work to maintain peace will continue."

Yesterday, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha condemned the terror attack, and said, "I strongly condemn dastardly terror attack on civilians and CRPF personnel. My deepest condolences to the family of martyred HC Vishal Kumar and prayers for the early recovery of the injured. Our security forces will give a befitting reply to perpetrators of despicable attacks."

In a series of terrorist attacks in the valley on Monday, a Kashmiri Pandit was shot at by terrorists in Shopian.

Earlier, two CRPF jawans suffered injuries in the terrorist attack at Maisuma in Lal Chowk in Srinagar. Following this, one jawan Head Constable Vishal Kumar, who was injured in the terrorist attack succumbed to his injuries. (ANI)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday told the Special CBI Court that former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh was trying to evade CBI questioning in the Rs 400 crore money laundering case and that is why he is citing health reasons and is admitted to hospital. The investigating agency's statement came during a hearing at a special court on Monday. CBI has taken custody of ex-Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze and two of the close aides of Deshmukh, Kundan Shinde and Sanjeev Palande. CBI has taken custody of these three to carry out further investigation into the alleged corruption and extortion case against Deshmukh. These three accused were in judicial custody of the Special PMLA Court in the money laundering case against Deshmukh. CBI on Monday took custody of these three after getting approval from the Special PMLA Court and special CBI Court. CBI was also allowed to take custody of Deshmukh but because Deshmukh was in the hospital the probe agency could not take his custody despite Court orders. On Monday, CBI produced Sachin Waze and the other two in a Special CBI Court after taking them into custody. CBI sought ten-day custody of all the three people and also wanted to take Sachin Waze, Sanjeev Palande and Kundan Shinde to Delhi for investigation but a special CBI court in Mumbai allowed CBI to take custody of the three till April 11 only and investigate the matter in Mumbai itself. While arguing their case in the special CBI court, the probe agency through its lawyer argued, "the former Home Minister is trying to evade CBI questioning and that is why he is citing health reasons and is admitted to hospital." The lawyer of CBI also told the court that they are investigating this corruption case where prima facie over 400 crores corruption is involved. "There are so many shocking details of this case which cannot be discussed in open court," the CBI said. Arguing their demand to take all accused to Delhi for further investigation CBI lawyer said, "there is a need of confrontation of all these accused with each other and other witnesses of this case so they are needed to be taken to Delhi," but the Special Court refused CBI's demand and directed them to question these three accused in Mumbai itself. CBI objected to Anil Deshmukh's claim about his health and told the court that the agency had already taken orders of the concerned courts for taking Anil Deshmukh into custody last week but due to Gudi Padva on Saturday followed by a Sunday they could not take Anil Deshmukh's custody from jail and when they reached Arthur Road jail to take custody, they were told that Deshmukh is admitted to hospital. "So, it might be the case that Anil Deshmukh is playing tricks to evade the CBI investigation," the CBI said. CBI requested the special court to ask for a detailed medical report from JJ Hospital where Anil Deshmukh is admitted. Replying to CBI's arguments lawyers of Anil Deshmukh and the other three accused argued in court that the statements of these accused are already taken by CBI in this case. So there is no need for custody to CBI in this same case. The Court also objected to CBI's demand for permission to take these accused to Delhi which the court agreed with and asked CBI to question these three in Mumbai itself. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to list next week, a plea filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee challenging the Delhi High Court order. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Abhishek Banerjee urged the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing of his plea. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana said that it will list it next week. Trinamool Congress's (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira Banerjee have challenged the Delhi High Court order dated March 11 which dismissed their pleas. Filing the plea through advocate Sunil Fernandes, Banerjee's requested the top court to quash summons and restrain ED from seeking their presence for questioning in Delhi. They pleaded that they can be questioned by the ED at Kolkata and sought a stay on the High Court's order. The petitioners have asked the apex court to decide whether the ED can assume pan-India jurisdiction to summon persons from anywhere to Delhi. "Whether the respondent can assume pan-India jurisdiction to summon any person at the place of their choice while exercising powers under Section 50 PMLA?," the plea questioned while adding that High Court has failed to appreciate that the couple is permanent residents of Kolkata and the entire alleged cause of action and the place of the alleged offence, is in West Bengal. The search and seizure operations recorded in the FIR/RC took place in West Bengal wherein allegedly stolen coal was recovered and all the accused persons named in the FIR/RC are permanent residents of West Bengal, it added. Seeking relief from appearance in Delhi, the plea stated, "Direct the Respondent (ED) to summon the Petitioners under Section 50 PMLA only at Kolkata (for Petitioner no. 1 -Abhishek Banerjee) or only at their residence (for Petitioner no. 2 - Rujira Banerjee), as the case may be, during the pendency of the present proceedings." The High Court on March 11 dismissed their plea and following this, the ED issued fresh summons to Banerjee and his wife to depose before the financial probe agency's office in Delhi on March 21 and 22. Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, was grilled for eight hours straight by ED officials when he last appeared at the agency office in Delhi in September 2021. Approaching the top court, Banerjee said he belongs to the TMC and was a leading figure in keenly contested Assembly Elections in West Bengal in April-May 2021 (around the same time when the FIR was registered) wherein his party trounced the political party at power in the Centre, and "thereby giving justifiable cause to "target" and "fix" the Petitioner no.1 (Banerjee) by misusing the Central Investigation Agencies". The contention of the petitioners is that this entire case against them is nothing but a political witch-hunt and cannot be brushed away lightly as done in the impugned order (of the High Court), the plea drawn by advocate Fernandes said. "The Petitioners' contention of political victimization is further fortified by the inscrutable and inexplicable insistence of the ED to interrogate the petitioners at their New Delhi office instead of their full-fledged office in Kolkata. The ED seems more interested in causing prejudice to the Petitioners herein rather than sincerely and expeditiously investigating the alleged offence," it added. The plea further stated that the High Court order is "misconceived, erroneous and deserves to be set aside". The High Court had dismissed Banerjees' plea who had challenged the September 10, 2021 summons issued to them and had sought direction to the ED not to summon them for their appearance in Delhi since they are residents of West Bengal. The 34-year-old MP represents the Diamond Harbour seat in Lok Sabha and is the national general secretary of the TMC. The ED lodged a case under the provisions of the PMLA based on a November 2020 FIR registered by the CBI that alleged a multi-crore coal pilferage scam related to Eastern Coalfields Ltd mines in the state's Kunustoria and Kajora areas in and around Asansol. Local coal operative Anup Majee is alleged to be the prime suspect in the case. The ED had claimed that the TMC MP was a beneficiary of funds obtained from this illegal trade. Banerjee has denied all charges. (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Monday reached Mumbai to investigate the Gorakhnath Temple attack case and learnt that the accused Murtaza had not met his family members for the last three years. Yesterday, the team visited Navi Mumbai where the accused Murtaza used to live earlier with his family. UP ATS team has reached Mumbai to investigate the Gorakhnath Temple attack case. Yesterday, the team visited Navi Mumbai where the accused Murtaza used to live earlier with his family. Murtaza did not meet his family members for the last 3 years. Notably, the father of the accused has said that his son is mentally not stable and had no plan to commit the offence. "He is not mentally stable. Since childhood, he is suffering from depression. He also received medical treatment," Munir Ahmed Abbasi, the father of the accused told ANI while adding that due to some developments (in his mental health), the accused believed that police were after him. "He had no planning and did this due to his current mental state," Abbasi added. According to Uttar Pradesh Police, a man forcibly tried to enter the Gorakhnath Temple premises and attacked the on-duty police personnel with a sharp weapon on Sunday. The accused has been identified as Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi, a resident of Gorakhpur. The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to hand over the probe to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said the man who attacked two police personnel at Gorakhnath temple has been arrested. "He is a resident of Gorakhpur. A sickle has been recovered from him. An FIR has been lodged against him. There could be a terror angle in it. The case will be transferred to ATS," he said. Police said the accused Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi, after being presented in court on Monday, has been sent to judicial custody. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said strict action will be taken based on the investigation. (ANI)
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana Deepender Singh Hooda, on Monday, in a scathing attack on Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, termed Punjab's resolution on Chandigarh, unconstitutional. Hooda added, "The resolution of Punjab over Chandigarh is in violation of the Act under which Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh were formed in the year 1966." "Today at a special Vidhan Sabha session, Haryana will pledge that no one will encroach on the rights of its state. There are three matters in question long pending, firstly it is water from Sutlej-Yamuna link canal, secondly its Chandigarh statehood issue, and lastly Hindi-speaking region of Punjab, which we Haryanvi's claimed to be ours," added Hooda. He further said, "Punjab has suppressed the water of Haryana's share, even after the Supreme Court's decision in favor of Haryana. Apart from water, Haryana has the right to over 400-Hindi speaking villages of Punjab as well as Chandigarh. To sort out the issue, if we have to go to the President, Prime Minister, and Governor regarding this issue, we will go." It is also to be noted that on Monday, under the leadership of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party was held in Delhi on the issue of Chandigarh, the strategy to go-ahead has been discussed. (ANI)
Under the 'Scheme of Financial Assistance to States for Capital Investment', the Union Ministry of Finance, on Monday, has released the remaining fund of Rs 162 crore for the development of Uttarakhand. The amount of Rs 365 crore (3,65,00,00,000) has already been released and now the remaining Rs 162 (1,62,00,00,000) have also been sanctioned by the union government. Thus, a total of Rs 527 crore (5,27,00,00,000) has been issued to the state for the purpose of its development. "Uttarakhand is moving towards the path of development with the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the cooperation of the Central Government," Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for issuing the required amount. On 29 March 2022, Dhami proclaimed that the state government is committed to making Uttarakhand the number one state of the country by 2025. An official statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) had announced that for the financial year 2022-23, there would be a need for withdrawal of funds from the Consolidated Fund of the state, under which, according to the provisions mentioned in Article 206 of the Constitution, a four-month vote on the account has been presented in the House for the withdrawal of committed items. He also said that the state government is committed to fulfilling the promises and resolutions made to the people of the state along with the resolutions of the Governor's address. (ANI)
One of the accused in the 2017 actress assault case, has moved Supreme Court challenging the Kerala High Court which rejected his bail plea. In his plea filed through advocate Sriram Parakkat and Satheesh Mohanan, applicant Sunil NS has challenged the 29 March 2022 order passed by the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam, which dismissed his bail application. The advocates said that the Sunil NS bail application has been dismissed by Kerala HC solely on the ground of an apprehension that releasing the petitioner on bail would amount to giving a wrong signal to society. The lawyers also submitted that the applicant Sunil NS has been in judicial custody for the last five years and two months ever since 23 February 2017. "Examination of almost all witnesses is over and the investigating agency has started a further investigation and invariably there will be much more witnesses to be examined after further investigation and there is no likelihood of the case coming to a conclusion in the near future, " the petition read. "The applicant (Sunil NS) has not moved any other Court seeking the same relief and shall not move a similar application during the pendency of this application," the petition said. The applicant also submitted that he has surrendered himself before the court earlier, but was forcefully taken into custody by the police from inside the courtroom. "This alone is sufficient to show that there is no possibility of the accused fleeing from justice," Sunil NS's lawyer said adding that the conduct of the applicant throughout the trial was impeccable and it never caused any obstruction. The Kerala High Court on March 29 rejected the bail plea of Sunil NS alias Pulsar Suni, in the 2017 actress assault case. The actress, who has worked in Tamil and Telugu films, was abducted and allegedly molested inside her car by a group of men, who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017. She later escaped. (ANI)
The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday wrote to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and sought his intervention and remedial action against the sociology textbook for nurses which listed the merits of dowry. A letter was also written to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Secretary Rajesh Bhushan for action in the matter and to intimate the Commission within seven days. NCW, in its letter, stated: "As stated in the media reports, the material suggests that getting a share of parental property in dowry is one of the "merits" of the regressive practice. In the book's cover, it is reported to be written according to the syllabus of the Indian Nursing Council. The page is from the Textbook of Sociology for Nurses by TK Indrani, under the heading, "The Merits of Dowry"." The Commission said that dowry is a deep-rooted social evil in India, and portraying it in a positive way would undermine women's empowerment. "The matter is of serious concern and the Commission has taken cognizance. It sends a very wrong message to the students about the prevailing menace of 'dowry'," the letter further read. Indian Nursing Council on Monday condemned the "derogatory content" in the Sociology textbook for nurses wherein merits of dowry are listed, adding that it does not endorse any author or publication nor has it allowed any author to use the name of the Indian Nursing Council for their publications. A chapter in a sociology textbook for nurses sparked a row yesterday as it has claimed that the system of dowry is actually good for society and even helps parents of "ugly looking girls" to get them married off. The book is called 'Textbook of Sociology for Nurses' by Author TK Indrani lays and it is part of the curriculum for second-year B.Sc. students. Taking note of the content and the outrage it faced on social media, the Statutory Body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare-- INC condemned the "substandard content" and said, "It has been brought to the notice of the Indian Nursing Council that some authors of Sociology for Nurses are quoting INC syllabus to publish substandard content in textbooks. INC strongly condemns any derogatory content which is against the prevailing law of the land." INC also issued a clarification and said that it only prescribes syllabus for nursing programs, and the same is listed on its website. "It is clarified that INC only prescribes syllabus for various nursing programs which is placed on its website. Indian Nursing Council as a policy does not endorse any author or publication nor has allowed any author to use the name of Indian Nursing Council for their publications," the statement read. Notably, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi had flagged the issue and has also written to Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan over the contents of the textbook. In her letter, Chaturvedi listed the content of the textbook wherein one of 'advantages' as stated in the textbook states: "Ugly looking girls can be married off with attractive dowry will well or ugly looking boys". Another point in the textbook states: "Because of burden of dowry, many parents have started educating their girls. When the girls are educated or even employed, the demand of dowry will be less. Thus, it is an indirect advantage." Calling out the textbook for its content, the Shiv Sena MP said, "It is appalling how such derogatory and problematic text remains in circulation and that a textbook elaborating the merits of dowry can actually exist in our curriculum is a shame for the nation and its constitution." Demanding immediate action, Chaturvedi said that it is extremely unfortunate that such outdated ideas prevailed despite dowry being a criminal act. "It is even more concerning that students are being exposed to such regressive content and no action has been taken so far. Such reinforcement of the dowry system is offensive and should be actioned upon immediately," she added. She has also requested Pradhan to "immediately stop the circulation of such regressive textbooks and take them off the curriculum." "I also request you to take strict measures in this regard and ensure that in future such anti-women content is neither taught or promoted, especially by the academic institution, and, that the textbooks are reviewed and approved by a panel," the MP added. (ANI)
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court order which had directed an organization to comply with the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 while solemnizing Arya Samaj marriages. A bench of justices K.M. Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy issued notice to Madhya Pradesh and other respondents on the petition filed by Madhya Bharat Arya Pratinidhi Sabha. The top court has also stayed the order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The petitioner society has challenged the Division Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court order dated 8 October 2021. Vide the impugned judgment, the Division Bench of the High Court has upheld the Single Judge's Judgment dated 9 December 2020, vide which it was directed that the petitioner society, while solemnizing Arya Samaj marriages has to comply with the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954. "No one other than the competent authority under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 can issue marriage certificates," the High court had directed further. According to the petition, the society was constituted in the year 1951 and is the nodal society, having jurisdiction over all Arya Samaj Mandir affiliated to it in Madhya Pradesh. Senior advocate Shyam Divan and lawyer Vanshaja Shukla, representing the Madhya Bharat Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, have submitted that the High Court has committed an error in transgressing into the domain of Legislature, by in effect directing that Arya Samaj marriages conducted by the Arya Samaj Temples under the jurisdiction of the Petitioner Society in MP have to solemnize the said marriages in consonance of the provisions of the Special Marriage Act. "That neither the Arya Marriage Act nor the Hindu Marriage Act provides any prerequisite conditions similar to Sections 5 to 8 of the Special Marriage Act, for solemnizing marriage between two Arya Samajists," said the petitioner. "Thus, the High Court has wrongly directed that the Arya Samaj Temples should solemnize the marriages after complying with the provisions of Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Special Marriage Act, which provide for prerequisite conditions viz, a notice of intended marriage, publication of the notice, marriage notebook, objection to the marriage and the procedure," added the petitioner. The petitioner said that the judgment of Madhya Pradesh HC can set a bad precedent for all the marriages conducted by the Arya Samaj society across India and abroad. (ANI)
On 17 August 2022, the CBI had registered an FIR against the All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary KC Venugopal, former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy, Congress MPs Adoor Prakash, Hibi Eden and Congress MLA AP Anil Kumar for alleged sexual exploitation of the woman entrepreneur, who has been one of the major convicts of the Solar Scam case.

Nair had alleged that she was subjected to sexual abuse by the accused when she visited them at the official residences of the ministers, MLA hostels and hotel rooms, to apprise them of the solar projects.

Solar Scam is the case of embezzling Rs 42.7 lakh (42,70,000) from Kozhikode native Abdul Majeed on the pretext of the solar company.

Abdul Majeed was allegedly cheated of money on the claims that this company (Saritha Nair and Biju Radhakrishnan) could install a solar panel in his house and office. (ANI)
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday informed Lok Sabha that the budget for the Indo-China border in the year 2021-22 under the Border Infrastructure and Management (BIM) has been increased six times as compared to the previous financial year. Responding to the question asked by Member of Parliament Dilip Saikia on the funds allocated by the Government in view of the security of border areas of the North Eastern States including Assam during the last three years, the Minister of State in the MHA, Nityanand Rai in a written reply mentioned that the funds allocated for the security of border areas of the NE States have been utilized within the stipulated time frame. He further provided the details of the funds allocated under the Border Infrastructure and Management (BIM) Scheme to secure border areas of North Eastern (NE) States including Assam during the last three years. The government has increased BIM funds for the Indo-China border areas from Rs 42.87 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 249.12 crore in 2021-22 i.e. around six times. The amount was Rs 72.20 crore in 2019-20. In a similar way, Rs 20 crore was allotted for the Indo-Myanmar border in the year 2019-2020, it was decreased to Rs 17 crore in 2020-21 but it was increased around three times to Rs 50 crore in the year 2021-22. He further replied that in the Indo-Bangladesh border, the budget for the year 2019-2020 was Rs 407 crore that was decreased to Rs 294 crore in the year 2020-21 but in the year 2021-22 it was marginally increased to Rs 303 crore. On being asked about the steps taken by the Government to strengthen the safety of border areas along with the borders adjoining neighbouring countries, Rai replied that the Government of India has adopted a multi-pronged approach to strengthen the security along international borders, which inter-alia includes deployment of Border Guarding Forces along the international borders, effective domination of the borders by patrolling, laying nakas, manning observation posts, vulnerability mapping and holistic review of deployment periodically, establishing new Border Outposts (BOPs), deployment of surveillance equipment, strengthening of intelligence network, erection of border fencing and floodlighting and deployment of technological solutions in non-feasible areas like riverine gaps. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called on BJP leaders and workers to offer voluntary labour (shram daan) to build more and more ponds in their areas ahead of the summer months. PM Modi gave this call at a meeting of BJP Parliamentary Party held at Ambedkar Bhavan on Tuesday at which he, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and others were present. The Prime Minister, during the meeting, gave directions to observe a Social Justice Paksha Pakhwada (fortnight) from April 7 to 20. PM Modi stated that as the temperature is rising continuously, the problem of water may become more prominent in the coming days. So he asked all the leaders to perform "Shramdaan" and construct more and more ponds in their area. Prahlad Joshi said, "A program called the Social Justice Paksha Pakhwada will be celebrated from April 7 to 20. During this fortnight, we will have different programs for 15 days." "On one day, we will be undertaking the pond sanitation program and also go to the Anganwadi. We will do many such programs and all our MPs have been called by the Prime Minister. He said that during the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, everyone should devote 15 days to service in their area," he said. The Prime Minister has called for a special program on Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Jayanti. On Wednesday, on the auspicious occasion of BJP's foundation day, PM Modi will virtually address all the BJP workers, Joshi added. "On April 7, Ayushman Bharat program and Jan Aushadhi Kendra program have been scheduled, on 8th, there is a program related to PMAY scheme, on 9th there is a program on Har Ghar Jal Ghar, and a program related to Jyotiba Phule, on April 11 has been organized," Joshi added. "On the 12th, the MPs have been directed to visit the schools and motivate the children to take the Covid-19 vaccine. On the 13th the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana and a visit to the PDS Center under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Kalyan Yojana will be undertaken," Joshi said. He said that Ambedkar Jayanti will be celebrated at booth level on 14th, and on 15th Tribes Day will be celebrated to talk to the Scheduled Tribe friends and to reach out to them about various schemes. On April 16, the Government of India has a plan for the workers who are in the unorganized sector. On April 17, financial inclusion which is a very big program, has been scheduled. On April 18 Kisan Samman Nidhi, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and other such programs will be discussed. On 19th, a mass nutrition campaign, which will be done by visiting Anganwadi, and on the 20th a program to give glory to the unsung heroes of Independence will be held. The program has been prepared under the guidance of the Prime Minister. On Wednesday, Prime Minister will address all the party workers at 10 am. Every year Foundation Day is celebrated on April 6, and this time due to the Parliament session we are celebrating it in Delhi, so tomorrow at 9 am, all the MPs will meet in the annexe hall and the party's symbolic cap has been given to everyone to wear. (ANI)
BJP MLA Krishnendu Paul on Monday met standard ninth student, Ankurit Karmakar, of Assam's Karimganj district who has designed 'smart shoe' for the visually impaired and said that the state government will extend full support to help him achieve his dream of becoming a scientist. Paul visited the student at the behest of Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma. Speaking to ANI, Paul said, "It is very good news for us that, Ankurit Karmakar has designed a smart shoe to help the visually impaired people. When our Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma came to know about the young boy's work, the Chief Minister instructed me to meet him." The MLA also said that he has passed on the Chief Minister's message to the boy. "He wants to become a scientist. Our Chief Minister and our government will extend full support to the young boy in future and that message has been given by our Chief Minister," he said. In a bid to help visually impaired people, Ankurit Karmakar, a ninth standard student from Rowland's Memorial High School in the Karimganj district has designed a sensor-enabled smart shoe that allows visually impaired people to stay safe from obstacles that come along their way. (ANI)
A tea party has been organized at the house of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut in Delhi with MLAs elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for the first time.

After the tea party at Raut's house, a dinner party has been organized for all these MLAs at the house of NCP leader Sharad Pawar.

Talking to ANI, senior leaders of Maharashtra Congress Prithviraj Chavan, who is also a Member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly informed that the first time MLAs elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly by the Lok Sabha Secretariat have been called to Delhi for an orientation program for 2 days, that is from April 5 to April 6.

"To mark the occasion, we have also kept a dinner party," he added.

Prithviraj Chavan said that both the meetings will be a courtesy meeting only. (ANI)
According to new research, millionaires are more risk-tolerant, emotionally stable, open, extroverted, and conscientious than the general population. The findings of the study were published in the journal 'Humanities and Social Sciences Communications'. The data used for the analysis of personality traits come from the SOEP, a representative random sample of the German population. In 2019, a subsample of more than 2,000 high-wealth individuals was added to the SOEP. The SOEP now surveys more than 1,100 millionaires whose net worth averages around 4 million euros. "This means that the very wealthy are now overrepresented in the SOEP, making it possible to analyse this very small population in a meaningful way," explained SOEP researcher Carsten Schroder, who initiated the top-wealth subsample. The results have shown that the typical millionaire personality profile is especially pronounced among self-made millionaires, who see themselves as having made their money on their own rather than through inheritance. The profile is less pronounced among millionaires who attribute their wealth primarily to inheritance. Within the sample of millionaires, those whose personality traits correspond most closely to the typical profile have the highest wealth. In the rest of the population, a weaker form of this personality profile can be found in individuals who have worked their way up through their own efforts: Although they are not millionaires yet, they see themselves as having earned their money on their own and, therefore, as self-made. Johannes Konig, a research associate at SOEP and lead author of the study, explained, "Taken together, the results suggest that personality is a relevant factor in wealth accumulation." Coauthor Mitja Back, Professor of Psychological Diagnostics and Personality Psychology at the University of Munster, added, "This is the first study to describe the personality of millionaires using robust data. Since the rich wield particular influence over societal decision-making processes, and since personality has a determining influence on the way people think and behave, the investigation of millionaires' personality traits is of great social relevance." (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government of "step-motherly" treatment towards the three municipal corporations in Delhi --North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and East Delhi Municipal Corporation. "The three municipal corporations in Delhi are not functioning properly due to the step-motherly behaviour of the AAP party," Shah said while introducing the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passage. The bill aims to merge three municipal corporations of Delhi into a single entity by seeking an amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. The Act was amended in 2011 by Delhi Legislative Assembly to trifurcate the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi into North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporation. The bill was passed by Lok Sabha on March 30. The Home Minister said it is necessary to unify the three municipal corporations into a single entity so that it can work in a proper manner. "AAP's step-motherly attitude towards these municipal corporations has resulted in dissatisfaction among their employees, and the three units are functioning in different ways despite being part of one city," he said. Noting the importance of the three municipal corporations, Shah said over 250 protests have been witnessed in the last 10 years by the employees of these corporations. The Home Minister stressed the need to merge the three municipal corporations into a single, integrated and well-equipped entity to ensure a robust mechanism for synergised and strategic planning and optimal utilisation of resources. The Union Cabinet had, in the last week of March, approved a bill for the unification of three municipal corporations in the national capital. The bill provides for appointment of 'Special officer' who will essentially discharge the functions of the elected wing of councillors in the interim till the first meeting of the new corporation is held. The bill proposes to completely omit the section on director, local bodies in the amended act that governs the functioning of the MCDs. Delhi Municipal Corporation was trifurcated into three municipal corporations including South Delhi Municipal Corporation, North Delhi Municipal Corporation, and East Delhi Municipal Corporation in 2011. (ANI)
Kerala Agriculture Minister P Prasad on Tuesday said the prices of vegetables are unlikely to increase in the state as the state government has started a system to bring veggies directly from neighbouring states. Speaking to reporters today on the matter, Prasad said, "Agricultural products, especially vegetables, are the ones we are most likely to have trouble with. Therefore, the Department of Agriculture has prepared well in advance of the matter. Rising prices of petroleum products are causing a major crisis in the supply of vegetables we are currently consuming from neighbouring states. So we have come up with a system to bring these directly from there." "Last time we had reached an agreement with the governments of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, government agencies and farmers' groups in the face of rising prices, including that of tomatoes. In many places, they had come directly to the storage of vegetables by signing an MoU with them. Due to its continuity, the problem of price hikes is unlikely to arise here in the case of vegetables. The decision has been made to intervene if it is noticed anywhere, and the system has been set up," he said, Kerala Minister mentioned that the permanent way is to grow more vegetables in Kerala. "Getting out of an item just because it is overpriced is a temporary crisis management. The permanent solution is to grow vegetables in Kerala. By 2021, we have been able to produce more than double compared to 2016. The aim is to achieve self-sufficiency by producing the vegetables required for Kerala here." "Until then, if there is any shortage, the Department of Agriculture has decided to procure it directly from the neighbouring states and sell it cheaply. Arrangements have been made to procure more from the farmers of Kerala. Therefore, all interventions will be made by the Department of Agriculture to prevent price hike related to agricultural resources. The system for monitoring it from time to time is functioning under the leadership of the Secretary, Department of Agriculture. It will make it more active. The idea is to look at whatever is in short supply in our market, what is going to increase in price, and so on," he said. With the thirteenth revision in the fuel prices in 15 days, petrol and diesel rates have gone up by 80 paise each on Tuesday. With this, the total increase in fuel rates is now Rs 9.20 per litre. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party has invited diplomats of foreign nations on Wednesday on the occasion of the party's foundation day in a bid to establish better relations and dialogues with other countries. The event named 'To Know BJP' will take place at the party headquarters in New Delhi which will be attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, national president JP Nadda, party spokespersons Sudhanshu Trivedi, Jay Panda along with officials of the External Affairs Ministry. "So far envoy of France Emmanuel Lenain, European Union's Ugo Astuto, Portugal's Carlos Pereira Marques, Switzerland's Ralf Heckner Poland's Adam Burakowski, Romania's Daniela Sezonov Tane, Bangladesh's Muhammad Imran, Singapore's Simon Wong Wie Kuen, Slovakia's Robert Maxiam, Italy's Vincenzo De Luca, Hungary's Andras Laszlo Kiraly, Vietnams' Pham Sanh Chau and Norway's Hans Jacob Frydenlund have confirmed their presence to the event," read the BJP's official release. Mostly, envoys of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) nations, along with some Asian and European nations have been invited to the event. According to BJP Foreign Affairs In-Charge Vijay Chauthaiwale, the party aims to foster friendly relations with foreign country envoys. The event will begin with JP Nadda briefing the envoys about the activities that the BJP is undertaking. It will be followed by a short documentary on the party, individual interaction with envoys and a tour of the entire party headquarters. "We aspire to start a similar dialogue with other countries too. This is our first such interaction programme. We will go ahead and have a similar one to one interaction with the political parties of friendly nations," said Chauthaiwale. Chauthaiwale added that different leaders from BJP will be engaged from time to time in these discussions. "We have also prepared a coffee table book which consists of the work undertaken by the party starting from the days of Jan Sangh till COVID-19. That book will be presented to the foreign ambassadors who will be present at the event," Chauthaiwale added. Stressing the importance of interactions with foreign envoys, BJP leaders quoted the visit of Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba to the party headquarters which helped them clear many misconceptions about the party and initiatives of BJP led state governments. "PM Deuba visited BJP Hq here in Delhi and then went to Uttar Pradesh. The delegation raised the misconception they had about the Nepali temple in Varanasi. The rumours were spread that the Nepali temple was removed during the construction of the Varanasi corridor. The Nepali delegation raised the issue and UP CM Yogi Adityanath clarified to them that an encroachment near the temple has been removed, and the temple in safe and secure. They were happy and satisfied with our explanation and they also tweeted about it," said Chauthaiwale. BJP is aiming to rectify any such rumours around the party with such interactions with foreign delegations. The BJP will organise various programmes from April 6 till April 20 to celebrate the party's foundation day. (ANI)
The Parliament on Tuesday passed a bill to merge three municipal corporations of Delhi into a single entity. The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was passed in the Rajya Sabha with a voice vote after a reply by Home Minister Amit Shah. The bill was earlier passed by Lok Sabha. Amit Shah said that the bill seeks to unify the three municipal corporations into "a single, integrated and well-equipped entity" to ensure a robust mechanism for synergised and strategic planning and optimal utilisation of resources. Shah also accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi of "step-motherly" treatment of three municipal corporations of the national capital--North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and East Delhi Municipal Corporation. "All the three municipal corporations of Delhi are not functioning properly due to the step-motherly behaviour of the AAP party," Shah said. The Home Minister said it is necessary to unify the three municipal corporations into one entity so that these can work in a proper manner. Shah said AAP's "step-motherly attitude towards these municipal corporations have resulted into dissatisfaction into their employees, and the three units are functioning in different ways despite being part of one city". The bill proposes to appoint "Special officer" who will essentially discharge the functions of the elected wing of councillors as in the interim till the first meeting of the new corporation is held. The Bill aims to merge three municipal corporations of Delhi into a single entity by seeking an amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. The Act was amended in 2011 by Delhi Legislative Assembly to trifurcate the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi into North, South, and East Delhi Municipal Corporation. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on March 30. The bill proposes to completely omit the section on directors, local bodies in the amended act that governs the functioning of the MCDs. (ANI)
The Tis Hazari Court on Tuesday dismissed the bail applications of eight persons arrested by Delhi Police in a case related to the violent protest and vandalism outside the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently. The Additional Session Judge Naveen Kashyap on Tuesday while denying bail to eight arrested persons namely Chander Kant Bhardwaj, Naveen Kumar, Neeraj Dixit, Sunny Jitender Singh Bisht, Pradeep Kumar Tiwari, Raju Kumar Singh, and Bablu Kumar, noted that such protesters had no regard even to the directions issued by Delhi High Court which were communicated to them. "There is no doubt that the right to assemble and protest by a political party is a fundamental right. But having noted so, it can also be noted that such a right is subject to certain restrictions and not an uncontrolled one," the Court said. Court further noted that, in the present case, it is not a simple case that they protested and ended their protest then and there. "As per the investigation carried and reply filed by the Police, despite telling protesters and their leaders, including the present applicants, they can protest at a particular place, they did not comply with the same," the Court said. "Not only this, it is not at one stage but at three different security layers of barricades, they violated the directions of the concerned police officials," the Court said. The Court added, "Not only this, prima facie, it appears that present accused persons are out of those accused persons who even caused damage to the public property and injury to the police officials. Thus, prima facie it is clear that their fundamental right to peacefully protest is exceeded by them knowingly / intentionally." "Further, it is rightly stated by the police officers concerned that investigation is at the very initial stage and they are still investigating the other offences which are committed, if any, including under sections 149 IPC. It is further stated that they are still awaiting a reply to the notice given to the concerned official of CM house regarding the CCTV footage and the damage to the boom barrier. Further, even the period to seek police remand is not yet over. Therefore, having regard to the manner in which the present offence is committed, the very initial stage of the investigation, and the role assigned to the present accused persons, this Court is not inclined at this stage to grant them regular bail," said the Court. Recently, the Delhi High Court sought a status report from Delhi Police over the incident of violent Protest and vandalism outside the Delhi Chief Minister and also directed to preserve the CCTV footage of the incident. In Delhi HC, the plea sought direction for the constitution of a Special Investigation Team to undertake an independent, fair, and time-bound criminal investigation with respect to the attack and its perpetrators. Petitioner also alleged that the attack was done by Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) workers and appears to have been carried out with Delhi Police's tacit complicity. "Visuals from outside Kejriwal's residence on March 30, showed protestors casually walking through the police security cordon, kicking and breaking boom barriers, breaking CCTV cameras with lathis, throwing paint at the gate, and attempting to climb over the entrance gate, while Delhi Police personnel simply looked on, doing little to stop the protestors," stated the plea. "Saurabh Bhardwaj, sitting MLA from AAP stated that the party strongly supports the right to protest peacefully, even if such protest is against the Delhi Government, it is submitted that in the name of protest, violence cannot and ought not to be permitted and condoned," plea stated. (ANI)
The Competition Commission of India (CCI), a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, in its order dated April 4, 2022, has ordered an investigation against Zomato and Swiggy based on the information filed by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) last year. NRAI looks forward to a positive outcome of this investigation which will pave way towards providing a level playing field for all stakeholders in the ecosystem, said NRAI in a statement issued today. The CCI has launched investigations into Zomato and Swiggy (Bundl Technologies Pvt Ltd) related to dealings with restaurant partners, neutrality, alleged unfair pricing, and other aspects. According to the statement, NRAI is extremely happy to note that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) vide its order dated April 4, 2022 has ordered an investigation against Zomato and Swiggy based on the information filed by the NRAI last year. "We are very happy that the CCI saw merits in our submission which highlighted Restaurant Industry's concerns," it read. It may be noted that the NRAI has been engaging with both the aggregators and the concerned Government authorities in the past few years to resolve existing pain points of the Industry vis-a-vis operations of the aggregators. These pain points were acutely amplified during the pandemic when Restaurants and Cloud Kitchens were struggling for survival by way of their increased dependence on these aggregators. In the absence of a sustainable solution, NRAI filed information with CCI on July 1, 2021 highlighting the concerns and issues related to the functioning of food aggregator platforms which should ideally operate as a neutral market place. Zomato said that CCI has mentioned that prima facie, it has not found concerns on levy of commission or alleged bundling of services. "The Commission has mentioned that it has prima facie not found concerns with respect to our independence on levy of commissions or alleged bundling of services, while it would want to investigate aspects such as preferential listing of restaurant partners and pricing parity across platforms, etc," Zomato said in a BSE filing. "We will continue to work closely with the Commission to assist them with their investigation and explain to the regulator why all of our practices are in compliance with competition laws and do not have any adverse effect on competition in India. We intend to promptly comply with any recommendations given to us by the Commission," Zomato said further in a BSE filing. The competition watchdog in its order on Monday said, "The Commission is of the view that prima facie a conflict of interest situation has arisen in the present case, both with regard to Swiggy as well as Zomato, because of the presence of commercial interest in the downstream market, which may come in the way of them acting as neutral platforms." It also said it warrants "a detailed scrutiny into its impact on the overall competition between the RPs vis-a-vis the private brands/entities which the platforms may be incentivised to favour". The regulator's investigation arm, director-general, will submit its report within 60 days on the issue." (ANI)
Patil today called a meeting in view of the ongoing controversy on loudspeakers in mosques. The meeting was held with the State's Director General of Police, Mumbai Police Commissioner and Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order) and other officials.

After the meeting, State Home Minister Patil said, "We called a meeting to discuss the law and order situation in the state. The situation is peaceful and no specific orders have been given to the DGP and police officials on the issue of loudspeakers."

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on April 3 morning played 'Hanuman Chalisa' at high decibels from loudspeakers that are installed at its office in Ghatkopar in Mumbai. The development comes after MNS chief Raj Thackeray on April 2 had warned to play Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers outside mosques if they do not remove loudspeakers for Azaan.

Home Minister Patil also reacted on the question of ED attaching properties of Shiv Sena's MP Sanjay Raut.

Patil said, "The Central government is misusing the central agencies and the ED's action is just a political vendetta to destabilise the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state." (ANI)
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday paid tributes to freedom fighter Babu Jagjivan Ram on his 115th birth anniversary. Speaking after paying floral tributes to Babu Jagjivan Ram on the occasion of his 11t5 birth anniversary, Bommai said, "Born in a poor family in Bihar, he had to endure insult and humiliation. Overcoming all the odds he went on to become the Deputy Prime Minister of the country. He is a great leader who discharged his responsibilities with efficiency and diligence." "He was the voice and pride of the Dalits and weaker sections. He strived to deliver justice to the oppressed classes. The Green Revolution he ushered in as the Union Agriculture minister enabled India to attain self-sufficiency in feeding its hungry. India became self-sufficient in food grain production with the inspiration and leadership of Jagjivan Ram," the Chief Minister said. He added, "He has contributed immensely towards the country as the Defence Minister as well. His ideals and principles are our inspiration. We will pay our real respects to the great leader by providing greater opportunities for the SC-ST communities." Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday paid tributes to freedom fighter Babu Jagjivan Ram on his 115th birth anniversary and said that the nation will always remember the remarkable contribution of the veteran leader who was admired for his administrative skills and concern for the poor. "Tributes to Babu Jagjivan Ram Ji on his birth anniversary. Our nation will always remember his remarkable contribution be it during the freedom movement or after Independence. He was widely admired for his administrative skills and concern for the poor," PM Modi tweeted.Popularly known as Babuji, Jagjivan Ram was one of India's greatest Dalit icons, who fought for the rights of the underprivileged. Throughout his political career in which he was a parliamentarian for a record 50 years, Jagjivan Ram strove for a just and egalitarian society. He was the Defence Minister during the India-Pakistan War in 1971. Babu Jagjivan Ram was also the Deputy Prime Minister between 1977 and 1979. During India's Independent movement, he founded the All-India Depressed Classes League in 1935 that worked towards equality for the 'untouchables'. (ANI)
According to GSM Arena, the early 2018 flagships are now off Samsung's lists of devices eligible for security updates.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S10 series were moved from monthly to quarterly updates, now that they are over 3 years old.

The Galaxy S9 series is following the path of its predecessors as back in early 2021, Samsung demoted the S9 from monthly to quarterly security updates, when the Galaxy S8 was completely taken off the list. The same thing had happened to the Galaxy S7 phones a year earlier.

As per GSM Arena, the Galaxy S9 series' last major update was to One UI 2.5 package, which it received in late 2020. (ANI)
Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops, stationed at the disputed Line of Actual Control with India in eastern Ladakh, have started learning Hindi language, indicating they are not moving back CCTV-7, China's military TV network devoted to the PLA, has recently broadcast visuals of PLA soldiers deployed near Pangong Tso learning Hindi. It showed a notebook of a soldier which says: "Hum Chini Sainik hain. Yeh humare commander hain. Hum batcheet kare? (We are Chinese soldiers and this is our commander. Shall we talk)?" The state media broadcast headline stated: "Mastered Hindi in 4 months! He negotiated with foreign troops on the front line of border defence." This clearly stated that Chinese soldiers, deployed at disputed locations in eastern Ladakh, have started learning Hindi and they are there to stay. On his recent visit to India, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during his talks with Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, had stated that China and India should not let the border issue define or affect the overall development of the bilateral relationship. He reiterated China's stated position that the LAC standoff should be placed in its "proper position" while the two sides take forward ties in other spheres. To this, both Jaishankar and Doval, in their separate meeting with Wang, sent a clear message that the disturbed situation will continue to hold up normalisation of bilateral relations and asked for speedy disengagement of troops at all friction points in Ladakh sector in order to set the stage for de-escalation along the LAC. Jaishankar said that 15 rounds of military talks and eight rounds of diplomatic talks had resulted in disengagement at several friction points but more needs to be done. "This needs to be taken forward since the completion of disengagement is necessary for discussions on de-escalation to take place. I would describe our current situation as work in progress, obviously at a slower pace than desirable and my discussions with (Wang) were aimed at expediting the process," he had said. Jaishankar said he was "very honest" in conveying "our national sentiments" that tensions created by China's troop deployments since April 2020 "cannot be reconciled with a normal relationship between two neighbours". --IANS sk/vd ( 382 Words) 2022-04-05-19:28:10 (IANS)
Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Maharashtra Congress MLAs at 10 Janpath in Delhi on Tuesday to discuss the political situation of the state. The meeting was held before NCP chief Sharad Pawar's dinner and after Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's high tea meet. More than 22 MLAs were present in the meeting that lasted for almost one hour today. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has invited Maharashtra MLAs for dinner on Tuesday, as the leaders from all the parties are here for a training program in the Parliament. The training program is for all the first-time MLAs as per the parliamentary system of the country. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut also invited Maharashtra MLAs for High-tea at his Delhi residence. Suresh Narayan Dhanorkar Congress leader from Maharashtra after the meeting with Sonia Gandhi, said, "Sonia Gandhi ji gave us time, she spoke to all of us, development fund which comes should be equally distributed." On being asked about MLAs' meeting with Sanjay Raut and Sharad Pawar, Suresh Dhanorkar said, "It's important to take everyone along." Speaking to ANI, Congress MLA from Maharashtra Kunal Patil said, "Rahul Gandhi is travelling to different states and meeting the State leaders, MLAs. Last week, he went to Karnataka for three days and held many meetings with leaders of the states." "He is taking this step to strengthen the party. In Maharashtra, he will visit next week this is what we have been informed, Rahul Gandhi will meet every leader and MLA in person," Patil said. He also said, "After the meeting with Sonia Gandhi ji every MLA here is happy. I think we will again take Congress to heights in Maharashtra." While Congress MLA Vikas Thakre said, "The meeting held with Sonia Gandhi was based on the present political situation of Maharashtra, and how to strengthen the party." "It was a good meeting with Sonia Gandhi ji, discussion on present political situation held with her," said MLA Amin Patel. Sources said that Maharashtra Congress MLAs wanted to meet Sonia Gandhi and discuss the political situation of the state. (ANI)
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot heaped praises on a 31-years old constable, Naitresh Sharma for showing courage and performing his duty, keeping his own life on the line during the Rajasthan's Karauli incident that took place on Saturday. Speaking to ANI, Constable Naitresh Sharma informed that he saved three women and one baby girl who were trapped in a burning house during the stone-pelting incident in Rajasthan's Karauli. Chief Minister Gehlot informed the cop that he has asked top officials to promote him to 'Head Constable'. "He congratulated me, appreciated my work and also told me about promotion from Constable to 'Head Constable'. I saved a baby girl, her mother and two other women who were trapped in a burning house (during April 2 Karauli violence)," the constable said. Earlier on Tuesday, Gehlot also lashed out at the Centre for Karauli communal violence on Saturday and said that the Central government should take responsibility and condemn recent communal violence in Rajasthan. On Monday, the Rajasthan police arrested 46 people and detained seven others for interrogation following a stone-pelting incident during a religious procession in Karauli. The Inspector-General (IG) of Police, Bharatpur Range, Prasanna Kumar Khamesra said, "After stone pelting took place during the procession in Futa Kot area Main Bazaar Karauli on Saturday, the police acted promptly and arrested 46 people and detained seven people for interrogation." "13 accused have been arrested in connection with the incident in the case registered at Police Station Karauli and 33 people have been arrested for violating curfew order. 07 people have been detained for questioning. A total of 21 two-wheelers and four-wheelers were also seized by the police," Khamesra added. Rajasthan CM on Sunday held a meeting with senior officials on the law and order situation in the state. The curfew in Karauli has been extended till April 7. After communal violence on Saturday during a religious procession, a curfew was imposed in the district by the administration till April 4. Meanwhile, the Rajasthan Congress had also formed a three-member fact-finding committee over the Karauli incident. The Committee includes MLAs Jitendra Singh and Rafiq Khan and Karauli district in-charge Lalit Yadav. The panel will visit Karauli and submit its report to Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee. (ANI)
Malaysian model offends in Hoi An

Malaysian model Siew Pui Yi caused offence after posting a photo wearing only an ao dai tunic without the trousers on April 4. The post on her Instagram received over 300,000 likes within 12 hours and lots of comments, which also included many criticisms.









Malaysian model Siew Pui Yi caused offence after posting a photo wearing only an ao dai tunic without the trousers on April 4



One Instagram user commented, "You should respect the ao dai. Another wrote, "Please take down this photo because it is offensive to Vietnamese culture." Some others showed their anger both in Vietnamese and English, saying "We don't welcome you to Hoi An."



Speaking on the issue, head of the Hoi An City Department of Culture and Information, Tong Quoc Hung, said that they were trying to find the woman's address to issue a warning about her outfit on April 5.



"This wasnt the first time someone has posted revealing photos during their visits to Hoi An," Hung said. "However, we now can only give warnings to them as there is no legal way of addressing the problem."



The Malaysian model usually shares photos wearing revealing clothing. It is said that Siew Pui Yi came to Vietnam a week ago. She has also posted a photo in which she wore a white bikini while sitting on a boat on a local river.
According to earlier circular, a short leave for aprroximately two hours a day was granted to the Muslim employees of the department during the Ramzan i.e. from April 3 to May 2 or till the date of Idu'l-Fitr is declared, subject to the condition that they will accomplish their work during the remaining office hours so that the office work do not suffer.

"Now the competent authority vide their order has decided to withdraw the above said circular with immediate effect," reads the circular issued on Tuesday, adding that the said notice is for information and compliance of all concerned.

Ramzan is globally observed by Muslims as a month of fasting and prayers.

--IANS uj/shs

( 155 Words)

2022-04-05-19:47:48 (IANS)
A Bhopal based Congress MLA Arif Masood has raised objections over a circular issued by the party office asking the cadres to celebrate the upcoming 'Ram Navami' and 'Hanuman Jayanti' and to recite the 'Hanuman Chalisa'. Masood, who is a prominent Muslim leader of the Congress in the city, said the party was setting a 'wrong precedent' by issuing such a circular. Masood asked why such directives were not issued for the Congress workers to celebrate Ramadan and the festivals of other faiths. Masood said that he has no objection to celebrating Ram Navami, Hanuman Jayanti or any other religious festival, but the political party (Congress) which treats all religions equally should not issue a circular referring to one particular religion. Talking to IANS, Masood said, "I have questioned the circular issued by Congress to its leaders. I have no objection to celebrating any festival, be it related to any religion. But, being a political party, Congress should not have issued such a circular. We take along all the religions." He stated that the Congress has always respected all religions equally since its inception and should not follow the BJP's ideology. "Issuing such a circular is the BJP's ideology where religions are treated differently. The Congress has always treated all religions equally and that is why people have faith in it. If we issue a circular to celebrate Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti then such a letter should also be issued about Ramadan and festivals of other faiths. This is not a good tradition for a political party," he added. A circular, issued on behalf of state Congress president Kamal Nath on April 2 asked the party leaders and workers to organise religious programmes on April 10 and April 16 to mark Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti, respectively. Masood's statement gave an opportunity to the BJP to take a dig at the Congress. BJP leader and state home minister Narottam Mishra, who never misses an opportunity to take on the Congress said, "Masood's objection is justified. The Congress is only concerned about Muslim votes." "Masood is not able to digest that Congress leaders who used to organise 'Iftar' parties are now visiting temples," Mishra said while talking to reporters on Tuesday. --IANS pd/bg ( 391 Words) 2022-04-05-20:12:07 (IANS)
The second wife of a fake doctor was arrested by the Odisha police for helping the him in cheating his other wives, an official said here on Tuesday. The fake doctor, Ramesh Chandra Swain, had married at least 18 women from different states and duped them with lakhs of rupees. He was arrested by Odisha police on February 14. Swain, a matric fail, use to introduce himself as a doctor, a senior officer of Health Ministry and the Medical Council of India. He had married to at least 18 middle-aged single women including lawyers, Delhi school teacher, police officer and doctor, and acquired their money before abandoning them. Swain married the women through various matrimonial sites. During the investigation, the police found that the second wife had helped him in cheating other women, said Bhubaneswar DCP, Umashankar Dash. "Initially, we requested her to help the police in the investigation. However, she had not cooperated with the police and later remained at large. Our team first raided places like Prayagraj and Varanasi to catch her. However, she had already left the places," Dash said. Following further investigation, the police were able to arrest the second wife, a medical practitioner, from Ranchi on Monday. She has been brought to Bhubaneswar on transit remand for interrogation, the official added. She helped the fake doctor in duping other women and was absconding since Swain's arrest, said the DCP. The woman, identified as Kamala Tirky, was employed at Jamnagar in Gujarat. Earlier, the police had arrested Swain's driver and another woman who claimed to be Swain's sister, on the charge of helping him to get married multiple times and duping the women of money. --IANS bbm/shs ( 296 Words) 2022-04-05-20:28:02 (IANS)
West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee on Tuesday said that he will raise the issue of "external interference" in different matters related to the state Assembly in the conference of Assembly Speakers at Assam next week. "The national conference of Assembly Speakers will be in Assam on April 11 and April 12. I will be attending that conference. In the meeting, the issue of external interference in the assembly affairs will be raised and discussed," Banerjee told media persons here, in a hint towards Governor, Jagdeep Dhankhar. Banerjee also said that recently he had a meeting with his counterparts of Odisha and Delhi and they cited the same problem. "The Governors in many non-BJP ruled states are often interfering in the Assembly matters. The same thing is being witnessed in West Bengal. We will discuss these issues in the Speakers' Conference." There has been an ongoing tussle between the Governor and the Mamata Banerjee government on various issues. Even recently, the Governor and the Speaker have entered into exchanges on various issues. On January 26, on the occasion of the National Voters Day, Dhankhar came to the assembly premises to pay floral tributes to B.R. Ambedkar and there launched a scathing attack on the state government, the Chief Minister, and the Speaker, while the latter was also present in the Assembly premises. Soon after that, Biman Banerjee told the media persons that the Governor had been behaving like a representative of a particular political party. He also said that he will have to consider in future whether he would allow the Governor to come to the Assembly, according to the latter's sweet will. --IANS src/vd ( 288 Words) 2022-04-05-21:08:02 (IANS)
Responding to a US journalist during the recently-held security dialogue, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, explained that Pakistan had to look for other sources when the West denied defence equipment to the country, The News reported. An American journalist had asked the Army chief how he viewed the Sino-Pak security cooperation in the next decade. Bajwa said that many of the defence deals, which were concluded, have been cancelled, and asked, "So what do we do? China is Pakistan's neighbour and a very important friend. It has helped us in many ways." Bajwa told the scribe that Pakistan was denied military equipment from the West, though deals had been finalised. Giving examples, the Army chief said that Pakistan had procured T-129 helicopters fitted with US-made engines from Turkey, but the US refused to allow third-party certification. Similarly, he said that Germany refused to provide Pakistan engines for submarines, adding that France too did the same under pressure from India, which is a big buyer (of French weapons), The News reported. "So what do we do," Bajwa asked, telling the American journalist, "It's your (the US) responsibility to maintain the balance. If you are tilted to one side outright, we will have to find sources to get weapons to save ourselves." "So you (the US) need to carry out introspection if your policy is right," Bajwa told the journalist categorically. Bajwa further said that Pakistan is not looking for camp politics, rather it would prefer to maintain a balance. He said Pakistan had historically shared good relations with the US and had been part of Seato, Cento and Baghdad pacts, adding that Pakistan supported the US on Vietnam and Afghan issues. He added that the Pakistan Army was largely built and trained by the US, saying, "The best equipment we have are the American equipment. We still have deep cooperation with the US and our Western friends. Months back the US Air Force was here for a routine exercise with our air force," The News reported. Bajwa asked the American journalist to look at the "muck you (the US) have created there (in Afghanistan)... we are trying to clean that. So we have paid a lot of cost (for that support). So what are you doing about us? Are you maintaining a balance or not?" --IANS san/arm ( 408 Words) 2022-04-05-22:46:01 (IANS)
Brussels [Belgium], April 4 (ANI/Sputnik): Brussels officials are discussing the issue of banning the supply of Russian gas, coal or oil, this is a moral issue, Dutch Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag said on Monday. "Currently, Brussels is discussing and considering the issue of a ban on coal, oil or gas. So far I can not say anything more. But this is a very important issue, this is a moral issue," Kaag said during a joint briefing with her Spanish counterpart. At the same time, a number of countries have already opposed the embargo on gas supplies from Russia, including Austria, Hungary and Moldova. (ANI/Sputnik)
This decision was announced after an emergency general committee meeting of the country's Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) to discuss the imposition of the emergency law and the severe drug shortage, the Daily Mirror reported.

GMOA Secretary Dr Shenal Fernando said this decision to announce the emergency health situation was taken to protect the lives of patients.

During a meeting, the GMOA revealed that there would be a severe drug shortage in the country due to the poor management by the government.

The Sri Lankan newspaper said that the current drug shortage will move into a very serious situation in the future if the present economic crisis continues.

Earlier, the government had declared the public health service an essential service on February 12.

"After declaring the health services essential, the government should have ensured the supply of essential medicinal drugs in the country," Dr Fernando said.

Therefore, the government and the health ministry should take full responsibility for the emergency drug shortage, he added.

On Saturday, Sri Lanka has imposed a three-day island-wide curfew after mass protests erupted in Colombo over public discontent with the government's efforts in dealing with the economic crisis that has gripped the country.

Sri Lankan President on Friday had declared a country-wide state of emergency to ensure "public security and maintenance of public order." (ANI)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned that time is running out for countries, corporations and others to adopt critical measures to reverse greenhouse gas emissions, but the crisis can be averted primarily by substituting renewable energy sources for fossil fuels. He made these remarks in response to the sixth UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report issued on Monday. "The jury has reached a verdict. And it is damning," Guterres said in a statement. "This report ... is a litany of broken climate promises. It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track towards an unlivable world. We are on a fast track to climate disaster." Echoing the conclusions of the panel, Guterres said that inaction would result in major cities finding themselves underwater and the world experiencing "unprecedented heatwaves, terrifying storms, widespread water shortages and the extinction of a million species of plants and animals." Climate scientists and other experts on the panel said if the world does not strengthen its policies toward renewable energy, global warming could easily surpass the 1.5 degree centigrade level that the world needs to not overheat and roll as high as 3 degrees by the end of the century. Politics over-reliance on fossil fuels and the costs to transition away from fossil fuels appear to be the biggest reasons why countries are reluctant or resistant to begin that move toward low-carbon economies, according to the panel. "Every year that you let pass without going for these urgent emissions reductions makes it more and more difficult," the panel Chair Jim Skea said. "Unless we really do it immediately, it will not be possible to limit warming to 1.5 degrees. Every fraction of a degree matters. Even if we go beyond 1.5, that doesn't mean we throw up our hands and despair." In an op-ed article penned for the Washington Post, Guterres described the latest IPCC report as "a litany of broken climate promises", which revealed a "yawning gap between climate pledges, and reality." WHO chief wrote that high-emitting governments and corporations "are adding fuel to the flames by continuing to invest in climate-choking industries. Scientists warn that we are already perilously close to tipping points that could lead to cascading and irreversible climate effects." An increasing share of emissions can be attributed to towns and cities, the report's authors stated, adding just as worryingly, that emissions reductions clawed back in the last decade or so "have been less than emissions increases, from rising global activity levels in industry, energy supply, transport, agriculture and buildings". Striking a more positive note - and insisting that it is still possible to halve emissions by 2030 - the IPCC urged governments to ramp up action to curb emissions. The UN body also welcomed the significant decrease in the cost of renewable energy sources since 2010, by as much as 85 per cent for solar and wind energy, and batteries. "We are at a crossroads. The decisions we make now can secure a liveable future," said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee. "I am encouraged by climate action being taken in many countries. There are policies, regulations and market instruments that are proving effective. If these are scaled up and applied more widely and equitably, they can support deep emissions reductions and stimulate innovation." To limit global warming to around 1.5C (2.7F), the IPCC report insisted that global greenhouse gas emissions would have to peak "before 2025 at the latest, and be reduced by 43 per cent by 2030". (ANI)
The Supreme Court of Pakistan adjourned Monday without ruling on the dissolution of parliament that has led to the ongoing political and constitutional crisis in the country. A five-member bench resumed hearing on the case filed a day earlier when the Pakistani lawmakers were prevented from voting on the no-trust motion. Pakistan Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that even if the speaker of the National Assembly cites Article 5 of the Constitution, the no-confidence motion cannot be rejected. "Does the speaker not have any option to reject the no-trust motion? Are you saying that the speaker dishonestly rejected the no-confidence motion?" Bandial was quoted as saying by The News International newspaper. Pakistan Justice Chief made the remarks while hearing the suo moto case related to the prevailing crisis in the country. "The speaker cannot reject the no-confidence motion even if he refers to Article 5 of the constitution," he said. Justice Bandial further added that his fellow judges had expressed concern over the constitutional crisis the country was facing. On Sunday, Pakistani President Arif Alvi dissolved the Pakistani parliament following Khan's advice. Imran Khan made the proposal minutes after parliament's deputy speaker rejected a motion of no confidence in him as "unconstitutional." The decision to cancel the no-confidence vote angered opposition parties, who said they would appeal the decision in court. Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Hussain had said a snap parliamentary election will be held within 90 days. Pakistan media has criticised the dissolution of the National Assembly in the country, saying that whatever happened on Sunday violated all rules governing proceedings in the House, particularly those dealing with the motion of no-confidence. In an editorial published on Monday, the Dawn newspaper said that Imran Khan could have played the political game like a true sportsperson and still emerged stronger from the loss given the sharp narrative he had spun leading up to the vote. (ANI)
As Pakistan continues to stare at a pronged political and constitutional crisis, a US expert explained how Imran Khan is trying to play a "US card" to build up his support base. On Sunday, Pakistani President Arif Alvi dissolved the Pakistani parliament following Khan's advice. Imran Khan made the proposal minutes after parliament's deputy speaker rejected a motion of no confidence in him as "unconstitutional." Pakistan media and opposition parties criticised this decision saying that it violated all rules governing proceedings in the House. Pakistan's PM has based this decision on claims of "foreign conspiracy", which he says aims to oust him from power." He even named a senior American diplomat as the person who was allegedly involved in the "foreign conspiracy" to overthrow his government. "It's highly unlikely that any US official would get involved in Pakistan's internal politics. I think Imran Khan is trying to play the 'US card' to build up support from his base," said Lisa Curtis, a regional expert who served in the previous Bush and Trump presidencies. Curtis was responding to a question regarding Imran's allegations that the US was supporting a movement to topple his government. She made these remarks in an interview with Voice of America Deewa. "It's highly highly unlikely that any US official would get involved in any way..US officials are very careful to stay out of the country's internal politics so this is something that Imran Khan concocted to build up his support from his base," she was quoted as saying Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper. Lisa Curtis, who is now Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, said the Biden administration has been trying to work with Pakistan on several issues including Afghanistan and "there is absolutely no reason for the US to seek regime change in Pakistan". She argued that the US is not concerned about the change in the civilian set-up in Pakistan as "any change in the civilian political system really has a very marginal effect on the issues that the US cares most about". "The US government wants good relations with whatever government is in Pakistan... the political situation of Pakistan has nothing to with the US." (ANI)
The US has realized that China is cutting lucrative deals in South America as more nations are joining China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The revelation was made by US senators on Thursday during a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing, reported RT. Speaking about the looming threat of Chinese influence in Latin America, they said that the South American nations have been distancing themselves from the US; a region long considered Washington's own backyard but which has recently been wooed by Beijing's deep pockets and big infrastructure projects. With little to compare by way of US-built projects and efforts in the region, countries like Ecuador - or Argentina, which signed on to the Belt and Road Initiative in February - are willing to take quality risks in return for the certainty of Chinese money, RT cited experts. "China has a plan. We don't have a plan," Sen Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) explained, while officials from several US agencies discussed their strategies. Beijing's trade with the region has soared by over USD 300 billion from 2002 to 2020, with USD 160 billion directly invested during that time. 20 of the 31 Latin American countries have signed on to be part of the Belt and Road, China has financed infrastructure projects in another five nations, and several countries have been persuaded to drop diplomatic relations with Taiwan - a clear sign of increasing closeness to Beijing, reported RT. The US, meanwhile, is struggling to even fill regional ambassador spots in Latin America, with political disagreements tying up eight appointments, and four languishing without even a nominee suggested filling them. Sen Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee) lamented that China was "literally eating our lunch" in the hemisphere once considered the US' default sphere of influence under the Monroe Doctrine - and all that with only 9 per cent of Belt and Road spending being devoted to Latin America and the Caribbean as of last year. For its part, China does not appear to be threatened by its rival's realization that it has competition, pointing out that Washington has long taken Latin America's allegiance for granted. "The United States has regarded Latin America and the Caribbean as its own 'backyard', and has been putting pressure and threats at every turn," RT quoted Chinese US embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu as saying. "Who is a real friend, who is a fake friend, who ignores the rules and spreads chaos." "I believe the relevant country will make a correct judgment," he said. (ANI)
In an unprecedented event, hundreds of Muslims broke their fast and offered congregational Taraweeh prayers at New York City's Times Square in the US on the first day of the holy month of Ramzan. Taraaweeh is -- a part of the Holy Quran is recited each day during Ramzan until its completion. On Saturday night, 1500 meals were provided to Muslims on the pavements of Times Square, the city's busiest artery, which was then followed up by hundreds of Muslims taking part in the Taraweeh prayers. Times Square is a major commercial area and tourist destination in midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is one of the "most visited tourist attractions" which draws around 50 million visitors a year, as per media reports. "We actually are doing this so that we can become closer and more contentious of our creator, our lord, Allah," SQ, one of the organizers of the gathering said, according to CBS News. "We're here to explain our religion to all those that don't know what Islam is all about," he said, adding that "Islam is a religion of peace." A person attending the Taraweeh said that there are a lot of misconceptions about Islam. "There are crazy people throughout all cultures, all religions, and those small groups of people do not represent the majority ... We're encouraged to pray, fast, do good deeds, give charity," the man said, according to CBS. Ramzan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, during which the followers of Islam fast between dawn and sunset, pray for peace and guidance, give back to the community in the form of charity or zakaat or engage in humanitarian activities such as feeding the underprivileged and introspect to enlighten their souls. This annual observance of Ramzan is regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam. It lasts between one sighting of the crescent moon and the next. (ANI)
Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday informed senior party members that he will not step down as Sri Lankan President but is ready to hand over the government to whichever party proves that it has a majority of 113 seats in Parliament. According to Daily Mirror, Rajapaksa held political meetings on Monday even as public protests continued against shortages of essential goods and electricity power cuts. Parliament is scheduled to convene for the first time today, since the public protests and with Speaker, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena presiding to conduct a vote to determine which party holds the absolute majority of 113 seats in the 225-member assembly. On Sunday, 26 Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers resigned en masse from their positions amid rising public anger against the government over the economic crisis. President Rajapaksa invited opposition parties to join the cabinet and form a unity government to tackle the crisis. Daily Mirror newspaper reported that with the exit of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and some government MPs threatening to sit independent, the government has lost its two-third majority. The SLPP is however, now trying to hold on to its 113 seats so that it could continue in government even with a simple majority and Mahinda Rajapaksa could continue as the Prime Minister. If the government fails to show its numbers today then a proposal will be made to the Speaker to call for a debate to decide on the new Prime Minister and as President Rajapaksa has decided, the government will be handed over to the new party, Daily Mirror reported. The country's government on Saturday blocked access to social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube, but lifted the ban on Sunday afternoon after the PM's son Namal Rajapaksa spoke against it. (ANI)
Sri Lankan police have warned protesters not to take the law in their own hands and said strict action will be taken against those involved in violence during the agitations. The police arrested several protesters on Monday night and said they are relying on scientific and video footage to nab violators in the coming days. "There were reports of protests and demonstrations in various parts of Sri Lanka yesterday, some of which involved arson, incursions and other acts of violence. Arrests have been made of the perpetrators, some of whom have been identified on video evidence and will be arrested in the near future," Sri Lanka Police said in a statement. They say that strict action will be taken against those involved in violence during the protests. "Violent means to arrest protesters, using scientific, technical, and video evidence. Accordingly, all are requested not to engage in violent or violent acts," the police said. On April 4, protesters in large numbers were seen marching toward the residences of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The protesters displayed their anger and broke the barricades put up to stop the protesters from running toward President and Prime Minister's houses. The Sri Lankan police said they have not banned protests, but said protestors should act in a peaceful manner. Meanwhile, an emergency health situation has been declared in Sri Lanka from today, due to a severe shortage of medicines in the country. This decision was announced after an emergency general committee meeting of the country's Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) to discuss the imposition of the emergency law and the severe drug shortage, the Daily Mirror reported. The island nation is facing an unprecedented economic crisis. 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. The country is witnessing at least 13-hour daily power cuts. Sri Lanka's currency has been also devalued by almost SLR 90 against the US dollar since March 8. (ANI)
A number of Balkh religious scholars on Monday urged the Taliban to reopen girls' high schools as soon as possible. At a meeting in Balkh, they asked the Taliban to immediately reopen schools for female students in grades 7-12, saying that the need to educate girls is felt by Afghans more than ever, and the Taliban should not allow girls over grade six to be deprived of an education, reported Tolo News. "We believe that a country with scientific cadres in all fields and disciplines will move toward progress and excellence, and men and women with religion and virtue can train an awake, purposeful, and committed nation," said Abu Hamid Hamidullah Hamidi, a religious scholar. The religious scholars urged the Taliban's supreme leader Hebatullah Akhundzadeh to reopen girls' high schools as soon as possible. Religious scholars consider the education of girls more important than ever and say that banning girls from receiving an education is not religion-based and that girls can be educated by observing the Islamic hijab, reported Tolo News. "We ask the Amir al-Mu'minin Hibatullah Akhand and other officials who are related to this issue to open schools as soon as possible," said Sheikh Mohammad Saeed Hashemi, a religious scholar. Since the beginning of the school year, girls' schools above the sixth grade have been closed in the country, which has provoked global and domestic reactions. (ANI)
The Taliban on Monday claimed that it has restrained the violent activities of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Afghanistan. The claims were made to the Chinese media by acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi, who said that ISIS has not been able to conduct any attack in the country in recent months, reported Tolo News. He also said that Afghan soil will not be a threat to any other country. "Daesh had no operations in the last four months. We could say that Afghanistan is a secure country right now and we are committed to the pledges we made to the world, the pledge that Afghanistan's soil would not be used against any country," he said. China reportedly has good ties with the current Afghan government. The diplomats of the Taliban have been accepted by the Chinese government; however, Beijing has yet to formally recognize the Taliban. Muttaqi called his recent visit to China constructive. In late March a delegation of the Taliban, led by acting Minister Muttaqi visited China, where they held several rounds of talks with top diplomats and envoys of foreign countries, reported Tolo News. "The meeting was positive and fruitful. We hope such meetings will bring good outcomes and the Afghans can hear good news," Muttaqi said. He also reiterated Taliban calls for economic policy to facilitate investment in Afghanistan, reported Tolo News. "Afghanistan's presence in big economic projects will not be possible unless big problems are solved in Afghanistan..." said Jawid Sangdil, Political Expert. (ANI)
Amid the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa has called for abolishing the Executive Presidential system. "For nearly 20 years every leader promised to abolish the Executive Presidency but only strengthened it," Premadasa said in a strongly-worded speech in parliament on Tuesday reminding the Parliamentarians about the necessity to introduce a new electoral system. Sri Lanka must abolish the all-powerful executive presidency and strengthen Parliament without paving the way to a similarly dictatorial premiership while ensuring adequate checks and balances, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said. It is pertinent to mention that since the introduction of the presidential system in 1978, every election which ensued was fought on the promise to abolish the presidency. However, once elected all presidents chose to ignore the election promise. But as the nationwide protests gripped the island nation due to the severe economic crisis, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Saturday imposed a State of emergency. Reiterating his demand, he said, "but this time it's different, it seems the people of Sri Lanka will make sure that it gets done." Earlier, he said that the country is calling for wholesale change. "It's a melodrama that is being enacted to dupe the people of our country. It's not a genuine effort towards bringing some sort of relief to the people of our country. It's an exercise in fooling the people," Premadasa said. "Whole country is calling for wholesale change. What we ask for is a pathbreaking wholesale change that brings about relief to the country, not relief to politicians, not a game of musical chairs where politicians exchange their position," he added. Meanwhile, newly-appointed Finance Minister Ali Sabry has resigned on Tuesday. [{9edb88d0-4e20-495a-93cc-5c7e2bfce27c:intradmin/Sabry.jpg}] In a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, he wrote, "After much reflection and deliberation and taking into consideration the current situation I am now of the view, for your Excellency to make suitable interim arrangement to navigate this unprecedented crisis." He said that when he resigned as Minister of Justice on April 3, it was not his intention to take up any post thereafter. Sabry along with three others was appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday. Ali Sabry was sworn in as the Minister of Finance; Dinesh Gunawardena was sworn in as the Minister of Education; Prof GL Peiris was sworn in as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Johnston Fernando was sworn in as the Minister of Highways. He said that he joined as Finance Minister to maintain parliamentary democracy and the stability of the system. He said he became a minister after the requests made by the business community. Sri Lanka is battling a severe economic crisis with food and fuel scarcity affecting a large number of the people in the island nation. The economy has been in a free-fall since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sri Lanka is also facing a foreign exchange shortage, which has, incidentally, affected its capacity to import food and fuel, leading to the power cuts in the country. The shortage of essential goods forced Sri Lanka to seek assistance from friendly countries. On Sunday, 26-member Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers submitted resignations amid rising public anger against the government over the economic crisis. Meanwhile, the 36-hour long curfew that was imposed on Sri Lanka on Saturday evening at 6 pm was lifted on Monday morning at 6 am but the country is still under a state of emergency. Earlier on Saturday, India delivered 40,000 MT of diesel to Sri Lanka to help ease the power crisis in the island country. As part of the US 500 million oil line of credit (LoC) extended by India to Sri Lanka, this was the fourth consignment of fuel delivered to Colombo. Further, India has supplied around 200,000 MT of fuel to the island nation over the last 50 days. (ANI)
On Monday, a number of European countries announced a decision to expel Russian diplomats.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik that Moscow will respond to the expulsion of 15 Russian diplomats from Denmark.

Commenting on this, Zakharova indicated that "appropriate measures will be taken against employees of the foreign institutions of this country." (ANI/Sputnik)
The strong and long-standing bilateral defence relationship between both nations was re-affirmed during the meeting, the Indian Army said.

"General MM Naravane #COAS called on Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence, #MINDEF, #Singapore & discussed regional geopolitical developments. The strong & long-standing bilateral defence relationship between both Nations was re-affirmed," the Indian Army tweeted.

Chief of the Army Staff also called on Brigadier General David Neo, Chief of Army, Singapore Army and discussed the roadmap to further enhance defence cooperation between both countries.

"General MM Naravane COAS called on Brigadier General David Neo, Chief of Army, #SingaporeArmy and discussed the roadmap to further enhance defence cooperation between both Nations," Indian Army said.

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) also reviewed the Guard of Honour at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), Singapore. The COAS complimented the Guard for an impeccable Turnout and Parade.

General MM Naravane is on a three-day (April 4 to 6) visit to Singapore.

On Monday, the Chief of Army Staff visited the Battle Box Bunker at Fort Canning which was used as an emergency, bomb-proof Command Centre during the World War II.

During his visit, he was briefed on the cultural and historical significance of the place.

"General MM Naravane #COAS visited the Battle Box Bunker at Fort Canning, #Singapore & was briefed on the cultural & historical significance of the place. The Bunker was used as an emergency, bomb-proof Command Centre during World War II," tweeted Indian Army on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the Army Chief also laid a wreath at Kranji War Memorial in Singapore and paid tributes to the soldiers who laid down their lives during the Second World War in Singapore.

The Army Chief is also scheduled to call on with the Minister of Defence, Chief of Singapore Army and other senior dignitaries where he will discuss avenues for enhancing India-Singapore defence relations.

The COAS will also visit the Infantry Gunnery Tactical Simulation and Wargame Centre, Regional HADR Coordination Centre, Info Fusion Centre and the Changi Naval Base. (ANI)
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Netherlands, Wopke Hoekstra on Tuesday termed India as an important player on the world stage and said that Amsterdam attaches tremendous importance to the friendship between the two countries. While cherishing its friendship with India, Hoekstra told ANI that the relationship blossomed in past, and is great in present times and is poised to be better in the future. Talking about the importance of the three-day visit of President Ram Nath Kovind and First Lady Savita Kovind, he said, "To us, this is of tremendous importance, and we truly cherish this friendship with India -- such an important player on the world stage. I also feel delighted, privileged and honoured to have the President and First Lady here. This shows the tremendous importance of this relationship." "This is a relationship that has blossomed in the past, which is great in the present and will be even better in the future," he added. Earlier, President Kovind and Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Hoekstra named a new breed of yellow tulip flowers 'Maitri' - symbolic of the special and enduring friendship between India and the Netherlands. "President Ram Nath Kovind and the First Lady Smt Savita Kovind visited Keukenhof in Amsterdam. The President named a new breed of yellow tulips 'Maitri' -- symbolic of the special and enduring friendship between India and the Netherlands. President Kovind was received at Keukenhof by the Dutch Foreign Minister & Deputy PM @WBHoekstra. President Kovind spoke about the multifaceted partnership between the two countries & vibrant people-to-people connect," read President House's tweet. Deputy PM Hoekstra, meanwhile said that the visit of President Kovind signals the depth and breadth of friendship, bilateral relationships, and trade relationships between the two countries. "India and the Netherlands celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations. Today President Kovind and I named a tulip 'Maitri' (=friendship). At this time, it is important to discuss our shared values with an important partner like India and continue to strengthen our cooperation," tweeted Hoekstra. "It is a friendship we cherish, a great bilateral relationship and it also is a signal that we are both willing to invest and make this blossom even more in future and in years to come," said the Deputy PM. Talking about the Indian diaspora in the Netherlands, he lauded their efforts and contributions. "We are proud to have Indian diaspora, they are very much involved in our society. They are very much involved in business and in all other aspects of life. We cherish them being here, making a big contribution to our society," said Hoekstra. President Kovind is on a visit to the Netherlands at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. This is the first presidential visit to the Netherlands in 34 years since the visit of President R Venkataraman in 1988. (ANI)
The chef Trevor Teich at his restaurant Claudia Dec. 14, 2021, which received its first Michelin star. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Four Chicago restaurants were named first-time recipients of Michelin stars Tuesday, a designation key to anointing royalty within the dining industry and among tourists and foodies.

Three of the first-time winners launched with fanfare in 2021: contemporary French-tinged Claudia, which finally opened its own space after operating as a pop-up since 2013; Esme, which burst out of the gate with an ambitious $200 tasting menu; and Bucktown Filipino restaurant Kasama, which started with breakfast and lunch in 2020 before adding its dinner tasting menu late last year, earning swift raves from local and national press.

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[ Review: Kasama was supposed to be a neighborhood cafe. Its become one of the best restaurants in the world. ]

The fourth, Middle Eastern-themed Galit, opened to strong reviews in 2019 in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. The fact Galit had been open three years made Tuesdays announcement a surprise, chef and owner Zachary Engel said. He got the call Tuesday morning while interviewing a candidate for an open cook position.

I was pretty astounded actually, he said. I never thought hummus would win a Michelin star, you know?

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Andres Clavero, left, co-owner and general manager and Zachary Engel, executive chef and co-owner of Galit, after being notified that the Lincoln Park restaurant had been awarded a Michelin star on April 5, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Engel credited changes at Galit since the most stringent pandemic restrictions that likely appealed to Michelin inspectors, including a turn toward larger plates, experimenting with more unique ingredients and launching a tasting menu.

It was wanting to shake off the cobwebs and trying things that were more fun to cook and challenging, he said. Its funny because I just wanted to give the cooks something to look forward to and to work on that wasnt putting falafel in a compostable (to-go) box.

[ Chicagos 2022 Michelin star, Bib Gourmand restaurants, mapped ]

Claudias Michelin star comes after a particularly adventurous path for chef-owner Trevor Teich, who operated the restaurant as a pop-up anywhere from two days a month to three days a week until opening in Bucktown last year. The restaurant is named for his mother, who he said has been an ardent supporter.

This is a monumental achievement for the team and everyone thats believed in Claudia, which has been going on for a long time, Teich said. Its monumental. I dont have any other word for it. Creative, thoughtful cuisine is still alive and well, and thats what were doing.

Chef Trevor Teich in his restaurant, Claudia, on Dec. 14, 2021. The Bucktown restaurant received its first Michelin star on April 5, 2022. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Fine-dining staple Alinea remains Chicagos only three-starred restaurant, which Michelin defines as exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey. Alinea has held the three-star designation since the first edition of Michelins Chicago guide, in 2011.

Ever, Moody Tongue, Oriole and Smyth all maintained two-star ratings (Excellent cuisine, worth a detour) in the 2022 guide. Chicago restaurants keeping one-star ratings (High-quality cooking, worth a stop) are: Boka, EL Ideas, Elizabeth, Elske, Goosefoot, Mako, Next, North Pond, Omakase Yume, Porto, Schwa, Sepia, Temporis and Topolobampo.

[ Review: Claudia is a Choose Your Own Adventure of food nostalgia ]

Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides, said in an interview Tuesday that the Chicago selections stand out for their homegrown talent and the vibrancy and diversity of the cooking style.

Carrots with cuminy-orange glaze, Bulgarian feta and hazelnut duqqa at Galit. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Galit is the first Middle Eastern Chicago restaurant to earn a Michelin star; Kasama is the citys first Filipino restaurant to earn a star.

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The Michelin Guides chief inspector for North America, who remains anonymous in interviews, called Chicagos dining landscape so distinct in its own personality.

The chief inspector noted that three of the first-time star recipients worked as chefs at other Chicago Michelin-starred restaurants: Teich worked at L20 and Acadia (both now closed); Kasamas Tim Flores and Genie Kwon came from Oriole; and Esmes Jenner Tomaska worked at Next.

[ Review: Galit delivers a Middle Eastern masterpiece from James Beard-winning chef Zach Engel ]

Its really interesting and impressive to see local talents growing and growing and helping to evolve the dining scene, the chief inspector said.

Though pandemic restrictions posed challenges when assembling the 2021 Michelin guide, inspecting restaurants for the 2022 guide was largely business as usual, he said. The pandemic did, however, provide a useful backdrop when evaluating restaurants.

The pandemic was a challenging time, but it inspired us in terms of how chefs were able to use adaptability and resilience and creativity to not just get through it, but to excel, he said.

Michelin also awarded Sommelier of the Year to Bonhomme Group wine director Colin Hofer for his work at Porto, and the Exceptional Cocktails Award to Julia Momose at Kumiko.

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Kumiko partner/creative director/mixologist Julia Momose received the Exceptional Cocktails Award from Michelin Guide. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Five restaurants dropped off the Chicago list, including Acadia, which had two stars and announced a temporary closure during the pandemic. Acadias closure turned permanent last fall following allegations from former workers that chef and owner Ryan McCaskey fostered a toxic workplace.

Restaurants with one star dropping off the list were Entente, Spiaggia and Yugen. All have closed permanently.

Korean restaurant Parachute, which has operated only as a takeout business from its sister restaurant, Wherewithall, through 2021, will remain in the Michelin selection, but without a star due to its extended closure. Owners plan to reopen the Avondale restaurant this year after a remodeling project, and Michelin inspectors will return to the restaurant, the chief inspector said.

Last week, Michelin named seven Chicago restaurants as first-time Bib Gourmand winners, meaning they fell short of earning stars, but still provided good food and more affordable prices.

[ Review: I was deeply skeptical of Esmes $200 tasting menu, art-focused concept. I was wrong. ]

A total of 23 restaurants in the Chicago region have Michelin stars that represent 39 cuisine types, according to Michelin.

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

Michelin inspectors said about the following about the four restaurants given first-time stars:

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Claudia (Bucktown/Wicker Park; contemporary cuisine): Uber cool and contemporary ... intensely creative prix fixe. The bento box  featuring the likes of a scallop cracker with preserved egg yolk, squid ink madeleines, yellowfin tuna nigiri stuffed with foie gras, and a caviar-topped potato beignet  sets the stage for an exquisite and memorable meal.

Esme (Lincoln Park; contemporary cuisine): The minimalist, well-lit space evokes an art gallery, complete with a high-concept tasting thats aimed at blurring the boundaries between art and dining: The multicourse meal features a variety of creative and unexpected dishes, each offered on custom pieces made by local artists.

Galit (Lincoln Park; Middle Eastern cuisine): Even familiar dishes offer surprising depth, like creamy hummus or crackling-crisp falafel with mango labneh.

Kasama (Bucktown; Filipino cuisine): An experience that is ambitious, clever and distinct, mixing Filipino traditions with contemporary notes.

jbnoel@chicagotribune.com

Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here.
Former Punjab minister Abdul Aleem Khan on Monday launched a verbal attack against caretaker Prime Minister Imran Khan as he accused the latter of keeping at stake the entire Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to save his position, reported local media. Expressing his displeasure at being maltreated during the PTI regime in the province, Imran Khan's once-close confidant, Aleem Khan, accused him of patronising corruption and said that the appointed Usman Buzdar as a "puppet chief minister" to expel challenge against him and his cronies minting money through corruption, reported the Dawn newspaper. Aleem further said that he kept sending Imran Khan messages concerning Buzdar's corruption and the caretaker premier's replies, that are safe with him, would be revealed to the world soon. "Now, I will not sit silent, and speak the truth about what has been going on in the past three-and-a-half years of the government," the media outlet quoted him as saying. Aleem said that he had also informed Imran Khan regarding the posting of commissioners, deputy commissioners and superintendents of police by bribing officials in the chief minister's secretariat, reported the media outlet. Notably, massive scale transfers and postings in the bureaucracy, from senior positions to the assistant commissioner level, were made during the PTI's tenure in Punjab. Further slamming the caretaker prime minister for sidelining him despite both of them struggling together to build the party and helping Imran Khan clinch the prime minister's office, Aleem said, "I regret that I spent 10 years for a person, who was not loyal to the nation". "Instead of appreciating me for the struggle, I was targeted in Punjab and now I'm being declared a traitor for meeting the US ambassador," the media outlet quoted him as saying. Notably, a day earlier, former Punjab governor Chaudhry Sarwar had also accused Imran Khan of pressurising him to take 'unconstitutional and unlawful' steps for ensuring the victory of the ruling party's nominee Parvez Elahi in the chief minister's election. (ANI)
Food vendors in Sri Lanka are accusing the Rajapaksa government of selling everything to China adding that the country has nothing and it had bought everything from other countries on credit. Prices of fruits and vegetables are skyrocketing in Sri Lanka amid economic and political crises. A fruit vendor, Farukh says, "3 to 4 months back apple was sold at Rs 500 per kg, now it is Rs 1000 per kg. The pear was sold at Rs 700 per kg earlier, now it is sold at Rs 1500 per kg. People don't have money." He added, "Sri Lankan government sold everything to China. That is the biggest problem. Sri Lanka has no money as it has sold everything to China. It is buying everything on credit from other countries." They expressed their dissatisfaction and anger saying that the prices are going up each day and they do not have any cash left with them. Another food vendor, Raja said, "There is no business. Gotabaya is of no good and he needs to leave." Amid the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa has called for abolishing the Executive Presidential system."For nearly 20 years every leader promised to abolish the Executive Presidency but only strengthened it," Premadasa said in a strongly-worded speech in parliament on Tuesday reminding the Parliamentarians about the necessity to introduce a new electoral system. Meanwhile, newly-appointed Finance Minister Ali Sabry has resigned on Tuesday. Sri Lanka is battling a severe economic crisis with food and fuel scarcity affecting a large number of the people in the island nation. The economy has been in a free-fall since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sri Lanka is also facing a foreign exchange shortage, which has, incidentally, affected its capacity to import food and fuel, leading to the power cuts in the country. The shortage of essential goods forced Sri Lanka to seek assistance from friendly countries. On Sunday, 26-member Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers submitted resignations amid rising public anger against the government over the economic crisis. Meanwhile, the 36-hour long curfew that was imposed on Sri Lanka on Saturday evening at 6 pm was lifted on Monday morning at 6 am but the country is still under a state of emergency. Earlier on Saturday, India delivered 40,000 MT of diesel to Sri Lanka to help ease the power crisis in the island country. As part of the US 500 million oil line of credit (LoC) extended by India to Sri Lanka, this was the fourth consignment of fuel delivered to Colombo.Further, India has supplied around 200,000 MT of fuel to the island nation over the last 50 days. (ANI)
A welcome ceremony of President Ram Nath Kovind along with his wife and the First Lady Savita Kovind was held at Dam Square in Amsterdam on Tuesday along with a reception by King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima of Netherlands. President Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind also participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Dam Square. The Indian President inspected the Guard of Honour with the King of Netherlands Willem Alexander. President Kovind is on a three-day visit to the Netherlands at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. This is the first presidential visit to the Netherlands in 34 years since the visit of President R Venkataraman in 1988. The visit comes at a time when India and the Netherlands are marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Earlier, President Kovind and Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Hoekstra named a new breed of yellow tulip flowers 'Maitri' - symbolic of the special and enduring friendship between India and the Netherlands. Deputy PM Hoekstra said that the visit of President Kovind signals the depth and breadth of friendship, bilateral relationships, and trade relationships between the two countries. "India and the Netherlands celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations. Today President Kovind and I named a tulip 'Maitri' (=friendship). At this time, it is important to discuss our shared values with an important partner like India and continue to strengthen our cooperation," tweeted Hoekstra. "It is a friendship we cherish, a great bilateral relationship and it also is a signal that we are both willing to invest and make this blossom even more in future and in years to come," the Deputy PM further said. (ANI)
As the political crisis in Pakistan turned into a constitutional crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) funding to the country is expected to hit another 'pause'. IMF's resident representative in Islamabad, Esther Perez Ruiz said that the fund would engage once the new government is formed. The fund of USD 6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan hit a deadlock when Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a major relief package involving a tax amnesty scheme and energy price cuts, as reported by Dawn. This comes after a constitutional vacuum has been created by Imran Khan as he urged President Arif Alvi to dissolve the National Assembly. After days of exchange rate depreciation generated feared that IMF had ended or put on hold the programme with Pakistan. When contacted, IMF's Esther Perez Ruiz said, "The Fund looks forward to continuing its support to Pakistan and, once a new government is formed, we will engage on policies to promote macroeconomic stability, and inquire about intentions vis-a-vis programme engagement," she said, adding "There is no concept of suspension within IMF programmes" The Ministry of Finance also claimed that the two sides "remain engaged in data-sharing and reform discussions as part of EFF," adding that there is no truth to speculation about the suspension of the programme," reported the newspaper. (ANI)
Leader of Opposition in Pakistan and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday denied receiving any letter from the country's President Arif Alvi regarding the proposal of names for the appointment of caretaker prime minister. "As I speak, I've not received any letter from President Alvi regarding interim PM. Once the letter comes, then we'll have a discussion with our leaders and partners," Shehbaz Sharif said. "But Arif Alvi and Imran Khan Niazi have violated and trampled the constitution. A decision on this matter should first be taken. The rest of the things will be seen later," he added referring to the dissolution of the National Assembly after rejecting the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan. Yesterday, the President's Secretariat shared copies of letters written to interim Prime Minister Imran Khan and Shehbaz Sharif, asking them to propose names for the post of caretaker prime minister, Dawn reported. "Caretaker prime minister shall be appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the outgoing NA as per Article 224-A(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan," the Dawn reported citing the letters from the President's Secretariat. In addition, talking about Sunday's National Assembly proceedings and the "threat letter" on the basis of which the deputy speaker dismissed the no-trust resolution against Imran Khan without voting, Shehbaz said that the deputy speaker's ruling had declared 197 members of the Parliament as "traitors" calling upon the Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to clarify on the matter "Niazi has shamelessly accused the entire Opposition in NA of being traitors. I demand of Army Chief & DG ISI to furnish proof that we have committed any treason or we have used foreign funding or support in our no-trust motion. We will not let coward Niazi get away with these charges." the PML-N leader said, adding that they would put this demand in front of the Supreme Court as well. On Sunday, Pakistani President Arif Alvi dissolved the Pakistani parliament following Khan's advice. Imran Khan made the proposal minutes after parliament's deputy speaker rejected a motion of no confidence in him as "unconstitutional." The decision to cancel the no-confidence vote angered opposition parties, who said they would challenge the decision in court. Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Hussain had said a snap parliamentary election will be held within 90 days. (ANI)
Refuting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's claims, military leadership told a National Security Committee (NSC) that the United States had threatened or was involved in the conspiracy to seek the ouster of the PTI government. Post the meeting headed by Imran Khan that took place on March 27, the NSC issued a statement wherein the committee expressed serious concerns over the non-diplomatic language used in the cable, saying it was tantamount to interference in the internal matters of Pakistan. Even Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri also used the NSC statement and rejected the no-trust vote against the National Assembly. PM Imran also claimed that NSC endorsed the government's view. However, sources in the relevant quarters told The Express Tribune on Monday that a wrong impression was given about the military leadership endorsing the view of the government. Saying it was the assessment of the Pakistani ambassador after his meeting with the US officials, the source rejected the govt claim that the US had sent any letter to the government. "Can the government show any action it has taken between March and March 27," the source pointed out. Not only the source but even the Pakistani Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was also reluctant to endorse the conspiracy allegations by the prime minister, as per the newspaper. After Pakistani President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly after the deputy speaker rejected the no-trust vote against the PM, the political turmoil turned into a constitutional crisis. Pakistan's Election Commission has said that it won't be able to conduct general elections in the country within three months due to various legal and procedural challenges, local media reported. Meanwhile, Imran Khan will continue as the Prime Minister until the caretaker Prime Minister is appointed, said the President as the SC is looking into the matter of National Assembly dissolution. (ANI)
Amid the ongoing economic crisis in the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka on Tuesday has decided to close its embassies in Norway and Iraq along with the Consulate General in Sydney, Australia with effect from April 30. "Following a recent decision by the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has initiated action to temporarily close down the Sri Lanka Embassy in Oslo, the Kingdom of Norway; the Sri Lanka Embassy in Baghdad, the Republic of Iraq; and the Sri Lanka Consulate General in Sydney, the Commonwealth of Australia; with effect from 30 April 2022," a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement said. "The decision with regard to the temporary closure of the two Missions and Post was taken by the Government of Sri Lanka following careful deliberation. It is part of a general restructuring of Sri Lanka's diplomatic representation overseas, undertaken by the Foreign Ministry in the context of the current economic situation and foreign currency constraints faced by the country," the statement further said. The move comes as the country deals with the worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948 with prices of essential commodities like fruits and vegetables skyrocketing. The Sri Lankan government statement emphasized that the closure of the missions would not affect the bilateral relations of Sri Lanka with the countries. "The decision to close the resident Missions in Norway and Iraq, undertaken as a temporary measure in the current context, would not in any way impinge upon Sri Lanka's bilateral relations with the two countries which are maintained at an optimum level of friendship and cordiality," the statement said. Following the closure of the two resident Missions, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Stockholm, Sweden will be concurrently accredited to Norway, and the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates will be concurrently accredited to Iraq. The consular jurisdiction of the Consulate General in Sydney will revert to the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Canberra, Australia in order to continue carrying out the routine work of the diplomatic missions. Amid the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa has called for abolishing the Executive Presidential system. Sri Lanka is battling a severe economic crisis with food and fuel scarcity affecting a large number of the people in the island nation. The economy has been in a free-fall since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sri Lanka is also facing a foreign exchange shortage, which has, incidentally, affected its capacity to import food and fuel, leading to the power cuts in the country. The shortage of essential goods forced Sri Lanka to seek assistance from friendly countries. On Sunday, 26-member Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers submitted resignations amid rising public anger against the government over the economic crisis. Meanwhile, the 36-hour long curfew that was imposed on Sri Lanka on Saturday evening at 6 pm was lifted on Monday morning at 6 am but the country is still under a state of emergency. (ANI)
Earlier in the day, the Italian foreign ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador to announce the expulsion of 30 Russian diplomats, declaring them personae non gratae.

"The Russian Ambassador expressed a protest in connection with the unmotivated decision of the Italian side, leading to a further deterioration of bilateral relations. He stated that this step would not go unanswered by the Russian side," the diplomatic mission said, adding that there was no evidence that these diplomats' actions somehow threatened Italy's security.

The 30 Russian diplomats must leave Italy with their families within 72 hours, the embassy added. (ANI/Sputnik)
According to the notification, PA Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari moved the assembly session to the rescheduled date at 11.30 am, reported the Dawn newspaper.

Notably, the session was originally scheduled for Wednesday at 11.30 am after Sunday's session was adjourned amid ruckus by the opposition and government lawmakers.

The session, aimed at electing the new leader of the house, is expected to witness a tough fight between PML-Q's PTI-backed Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and PML-N's Hamza Shehbaz

In order to be elected as a chief minister in the 371-member house, a candidate will need at least 186 votes, according to the media outlet.

Meanwhile, PTI workers on Monday besieged a hotel in Gulberg where hundreds of PML-N MPAs were staying besides the defiant lawmakers of the ruling PTI.

Shouting slogans against their party fellows inside the hotel, they demanded the PML-N 'release' their lawmakers - said to be around 20 of them, according to the media outlet.

As the charged workers tried to forcibly enter the hotel, some PML-N lawmakers also started raising slogans against Imran Khan, further deteriorating the situation.

Further, the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz has claimed that the PA deputy speaker might suspend over 40 opposition as well as PTI dissident lawmakers to prevent them from voting in the crucial session.

He also warned Imran Khan against considering Pakistan his personal property by indulging in unconstitutional acts. (ANI)
As the political crisis turned into a constitutional crisis in the country, Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing over the dissolution of the National Assembly till Wednesday, local media reported. The case was filed against the "unconstitutional act" of the National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri. Speaker Suri had disallowed the vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday -- a move that the Opposition said was a blatant violation of the Constitution, Geo News reported. A five-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Bandial and comprising Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Aijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel resumed hearing this afternoon. During the hearing, CJP Bandial also directed NA speaker's counsel Naeem Bokhari to present the minutes of the crucial NA session held on March 31 to debate on the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan, according to Geo News. At the outset of the hearing, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani walked to the rostrum to present his arguments. "This is a civilian coup. A stance was created through an alleged cable which is based on malafide intent," Geo News quoted the Senator as saying. Rabbani added that the no-confidence motion against the prime minister was tabled on March 28 but the NA session was adjourned. "Deputy speaker's ruling is illegal [...] no-trust motion cannot be rejected without voting on it," Rabbani said. "Voting is mandatory within the given duration as per the Constitution". PPP's counsel said that the no-trust motion cannot be rejected under the Constitution. "It can be dismissed only when if those who submitted it take it back and the speaker can reject it only after voting is held on it," Rabbani said. He also requested to form a judicial commission to probe into NA proceedings and asked for a stay on Sunday's assembly session case, Geo News reported. "The court should consider the misuse of authority instead of the proceedings within the assembly and see whether the speaker can apply Article 5." After Rabbani completed his arguments, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan presented his arguments before the court. He narrated the NA's proceedings since the session of March 28 when leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif was allowed to table the no-trust resolution against Imran Khan till April 3, the day fixed for voting on the motion, the Pakistani newspaper reported. Khan said that a debate had to be held on the no-trust motion on March 31's session under Rule 37 but it didn't happen. He asked if Suri, as the deputy speaker, had the authority to dismiss the resolution in this way. "The entire case is based on the question whether the deputy speaker can give such a ruling," he added, according to Geo News. After Pakistani President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly after the deputy speaker rejected the no-trust vote against the PM, the political turmoil turned into a constitutional crisis. CJP Bandial had taken a suo motu notice of the constitutional crisis that erupted after the incident. "Any orders and actions that Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi regarding the dissolution of the National Assembly shall be subject to the order of this court," CJP Bandial had said taking the notice on Sunday. (ANI)
Wayne Kusy, a self-described "toothpick folk artist" and musician, at his apartment on April 1, 2022, in Chicago. He said he has been making toothpick sculptures "all his life." His first one being a toothpick teepee and largest, to-date, is a 25-foot replica of the Queen Mary which used 814,000 toothpicks. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

A toothpick is a humble thing, ubiquitous but so commonplace as to be ignored.

Not so for Wayne Kusy. For most of his 61 years, toothpicks  thousands of them, millions of them  have been essential parts of his life.

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He has used them to create an astonishing and artful armada, a gathering of ships made of toothpicks and glue and his patient energies. They have been shown in galleries and museums and featured on television and in magazines. He should be famous, but he is not and that is OK with him.

Most people wouldnt recognize me on the street, he told me a few years ago. But I have become kind of well-known in the folk-art world.

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Kusy was born and raised in New Mexico and Rogers Park and for decades has lived in a third-floor walk-up in Lincoln Square. Like many youngsters, he played with Legos and, in grammar school, he used popsicle sticks to build a class project. In fifth grade his first ship sailed into his life when he used 3,000 toothpicks, give or take, to fashion a boat, a small boat.

I was always fascinated by ships, he said. In part, it was their incredible size. They are, just think about it, buildings that float. I had to know, How do they do that?

To satisfy his curiosity, he turned himself into a historian, searching out, finding and studying deck plans, blueprints and mechanical drawings. He read books, ogled photos and watched videos. Understandably, he also followed a more conventional higher learning path, studying marketing at Loyola University and later web design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He has spent his for-profit career as a web designer.

He is, of course, a self-taught artist. Though there are now more than a few examples of toothpick artistry on the internet, when Kusy began, there was virtually nothing in the way of example or instruction.

On his own he became skilled at making toothpicks do what he needed them to do by trial and error, becoming an expert at using pliers to crush and mold toothpicks into pliant form. I first met him nearly 30 years ago, when he showed me his Titanic, a 75,000-toothpick ship nearly 10 feet long. It had taken him more than five years to make.

Then came a giant Lusitania, a 16-foot, 194,000-toothpick giant and a Queen Mary, 25 feet long and comprised of 1 million toothpicks.

He told me then, What I do is never boring.

But it is time-consuming, each boat taking years to create, in part because of Kusys attention to detail, such as the making lifeboats and handrails.

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Now there are people (perhaps you, now reading this) who might think Kusy is nuts.

He is not. He is thoughtful and smart and self-effacing.

I will tell you that during all these years I have thought of what I do as a hobby, he said. But recently I have started to really believe that I am an artist.

Others were quicker to give him that label.

In 1994 when his Titanic was exhibited at a River North gallery, owner Celeste Sotola said, Wayne is in the truest sense an artist because hes a loner, he doesnt follow anyone elses lead, and the amount of time he spends on his art is a real symbol of his dedication.

The amount of time was and remains two to three hours every day.

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When he participated in the inaugural exhibition of the short-lived but wonderful gallery called Chicago Center for Self-Taught Art Museum, its director, Yolanda Saul, said, The first time I saw the Titanic I thought it was amazing. I feel honored that he has agreed to loan us his work for the show. There are other artists who work with toothpicks, Kusy told me without jealousy or pique, but few if any have been at it as long as he.

He has never been in this for the money. He did sell his Titanic for $15,000 to a Los Angeles museum and it now rests in the Philharmonic Center for the Arts in Naples, Florida. His Lusitania is in the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, and the Queen Mary resides in the National Museum of Ship Models and Sea History in Sadorus in downstate Illinois, near Champaign.

Though he has a sponsor, Franklin International, the makers of the glue that holds his sculptures together, surprisingly, no toothpick company has been wise enough to similarly endow him. He continues to buy his own toothpicks and admits he is currently having trouble finding them, saying, I am jonesing for toothpicks.

Long a guitar player on open mic nights and in some local bands (one called Heavy Mental), he recently created a wooden one: five musicians  each about a foot tall  formed his Wood Zeppelin, with is accompanied by a nifty stop motion animation music video made in his living room with a little help from his friends.

This came about because I had been commissioned by the Village of Algonquin to build a 45-inch model of the SS Algonquin from 1841, he said. About the same time, someone had suggested I document the construction using time-lapse photography. I thought it was a good idea, and the Algonquin was a small vessel. It took three months, but I shot 4,200 photos as I built the ship. The end result is on YouTube. Doing that inspired me. I thought if I can get a ship to animate, how about some rock n roll characters.

That ship is now on display in Algonquins Village Hall and Kusy is laboring on another major work, a sculpture of the SS Bremen, a German ship built in 1929. He traveled to Germany to do research.

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His apartment also has four smaller ships in various stages of completion. They have been commissioned by boat owners who admire Kusys work, found him on his lively and information-filled website and were able to pay his modest fees, which involve hundreds rather than thousands of dollars.

One of these is a boat owned by a woman in Florida.

She had me come down so I could see and photograph her boat, said Kusy with his typical enthusiasm. It took me forever to get there but she flew me back on a private jet. Now that was something.

rkogan@chicagotribune.com
India and Nepal on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new building for Shree Bal Mandir Secondary School in Udayapur District under the Government of India's grant assistance of NRs 31.13 million. The project was undertaken in the Education Sector with grant assistance from the Government of India at the cost of NRs 31.13 million under the India-Nepal Development Cooperation as a Community Development Project. The foundation stone was laid by Dr Narayan Khadka, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Government of Nepal and Namgya C. Khampa, Charge'd Affaires, Embassy of India, Kathmandu for the construction of a new school building of Shree Bal Mandir Secondary School at Triyuga Municipality, Gaighat in Udayapur District, said a press release by Embassy of India in Kathmandu, Nepal. Shree Bal Mandir Secondary School is an old established school in Udayapur District. Once completed, the school will shift to its new premises. Currently, 1100 students are enrolled in the school, about 70 per cent of which are girl students. Since 2003, India has taken up over 523 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) in Nepal and has completed 467 projects in the areas of health, education, drinking water, connectivity, sanitation, and creation of other public utilities across all 7 provinces of Nepal at the grassroots level. Out of this, 71 HICDPs are in Province-1, including 8 completed projects in Udayapur District and another 8 projects under various stages of completion. India and Nepal enjoy a multi-faceted and multi-sectoral development partnership that is reflective of the closeness of the people of both countries. "Today's laying of the foundation stone reaffirms the continued commitment of the Government of India in complementing the efforts of the Government of Nepal to create infrastructure in priority sectors like education," the press release read. (ANI)
The demonstration, which commenced near the Aluthkade Magistrate's Court, later proceeded towards the Attorney General's Department, reported Colombo Times.

The lawyers are protesting the Attorney General's move to withdraw certain lawsuits and also against the soaring prices of commodities that have gravely affected the day-to-day lives of the general public.

A protest letter with president Gotabaya Rajapaksa regarding the economic crisis in the country was officially lodged by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, as per the news portal.

Amid the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa has called for abolishing the Executive Presidential system.

Sri Lanka is battling a severe economic crisis with food and fuel scarcity affecting a large number of the people in the island nation. The economy has been in a free-fall since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country is also facing a foreign exchange shortage, which has, incidentally, affected its capacity to import food and fuel, leading to the power cuts in the country. The shortage of essential goods forced Sri Lanka to seek assistance from friendly countries.

On Sunday, 26-member Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers submitted resignations amid rising public anger against the government over the economic crisis.

Meanwhile, the 36-hour long curfew that was imposed on Sri Lanka on Saturday evening at 6 pm was lifted on Monday morning at 6 am but the country is still under a state of emergency. (ANI)
The Indian embassy in Kathmandu has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Government of Nepal and Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, Soulukhumbu for the construction of Khumjung Khunde wastewater management project. As per a release issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, the community development project shall be built under India-Nepal Development Cooperation with the financial assistance of the Government of India at a total estimated cost of Nepali rupees 41.13 million. "The construction of this project will improve the health and quality of life of the people living in Khumjung village, Solukbumbu providing them with safe water and improved sanitation, which are essential for improving the public health," read the release. Since 2003, India has taken up over 523 High Impact Development Projects (HICDPs) in Nepal and has completed 467 projects in the areas of health, education, drinking water, connectivity, sanitation and creation of other public utilities across all seven provinces of Nepal at the grassroots level. Amongst these, 78 projects have been undertaken in Province-1 Nepal including two projects in Solukhumbu District. As close neighbours, India and Nepal share wide-ranging and multi-sectoral cooperation. The implementation of this project reflects the continued support of the Government of India in bolstering the efforts of the Government of Nepal in the upliftment of its people, therelease added. (ANI)
"Today 5 April, Estonia summoned Vladimir Lipaev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Estonia, to present a diplomatic note on the closure of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Narva and the Consular Office of the Russian Embassy in Tartu," the ministry said in a statement.

"Estonia also decided to expel and declare as persona non grata 14 of their staff, including seven employees with diplomatic status," the statement added. (ANI/Sputnik)
Washington [US], April 5 (ANI/Sputnik): The world is becoming more unstable and the likelihood of a significant international conflict between the great powers, including China and Russia, is increasing, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said during congressional testimony on Tuesday. "We are now facing two global powers, China and Russia, each with significant military capabilities, both who intend to fundamentally change rules based on the global order. We are entering a world that is becoming more unstable. The potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing, not decreasing," Milley told the US House Armed Services Committee. At the same time, the US military stands ready to deter and fight and win any country that seeks to attack the United States, Milley said. The United States is witnessing the greatest threat to peace and security of Europe in the world in the past several decades and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine is threatening to undermine both European and global peace and stability, the general noted. On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested help to defend them from attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the operation is solely targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and the civilian population is not in danger. (ANI/Sputnik)
More than 7.1 million people have been internally displaced by the ongoing war in Ukraine with over half of them women, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Taking to Twitter, IOM wrote, "More than 7.1 million people have been internally displaced by the ongoing war in #Ukraine, over half of them are women. The main needs include cash, medicines & health services. We continue to deliver humanitarian aid to the people in #Ukraine, whenever and wherever possible." Moreover, IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino said, Humanitarian corridors are urgently needed to allow the safe evacuation of civilians and ensure the transportation and delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid. More than 50 per cent of displaced households have children, 57 per cent include elderly members and 30 per cent have people with chronic illnesses, according to the survey. More than one-third of displaced households indicated that they have had no income in the last month, the IOM added, reported CNN News. With more than 4.2 million people refugees having left Ukraine for neighbouring countries, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a total of at least 11.3 million people have been displaced since the Russian invasion began in late February. (ANI)
Noting that reports of civilian killings in Ukraine's Bucha town are "deeply disturbing," India on Tuesday condemned these killings and supported the call for an independent investigation. Speaking at the UNSC meeting on Ukraine, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti said India continues to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation and reiterates its call for an immediate cessation of violence and end to hostilities. He said India continues to emphasize that the global order is anchored on international law, the UN Charter and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states. Tirumurti said diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option to end the Russia-Ukraine crisis. "We have emphasized right from the beginning of the conflict the need to pursue the path of diplomacy and dialogue. When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option. In this context, we take note of the ongoing efforts, including the meetings held recently between the parties," he said. Trimurti said the situation in Ukraine has not shown any significant improvement since the Council last discussed the issue. "The security situation has only deteriorated, as well as its humanitarian consequences. Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing. We unequivocally condemn these killings and support the call for an independent investigation," he said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the killing of civilians in Bucha, a suburb of Ukraine's capital Kyiv. Reports have said that more than 300 people have been killed and the total number of casualties was likely to increase as the whole city is checked. Hundreds of civilian residents were found dead on the streets, by their homes and in mass graves. Ukraine accused Russia of the Bucha massacre. However, Russia has denied the allegations and said that it was Ukraine propaganda. Trimurti said keeping in view the dire humanitarian situation in Ukraine, India has been sending humanitarian supplies to Ukraine and its neighbours, which include medicines and other essential relief materials. "We stand ready to provide more medical supplies to Ukraine in the coming days. We hope the international community will continue to respond positively to humanitarian needs. We support calls urging for guarantees of safe passage to deliver essential humanitarian and medical supplies," he said. He said the impact of the crisis is being felt beyond the region with increasing food and energy costs, especially for many developing countries. "It is in our collective interest to work constructively, both inside the United Nations and outside, towards seeking an early resolution to the conflict," Trimurti said. He said humanitarian action must always be guided by the principles of humanitarian assistance - humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. "Allow me to reiterate the importance of UN Guiding Principles of Humanitarian Assistance once again. Humanitarian action must always be guided by the principles of humanitarian assistance, i.e., humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. These measures should never be politicized," Trimurti said. "We continue to emphasize to all member states of the UN that the global order is anchored on international law, UN Charter and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states," he added. (ANI)
The mixing of state and religion in Pakistan has provided a dangerous cocktail for Pakistan's population and the blasphemy laws are taking their toll on the people of Pakistan, reported a Canada-based thinktank, International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS). In a recent incident, a woman teacher at a girls' seminary in Dera Ismail Khan was killed by three of her female colleagues after the relative of one of the killers had a dream that the teacher had committed blasphemy after which the killers were ordered to slaughter her. The victim, Safoora Bibi, aged 21 was killed by three of her students at Jamia Islamia Falah Al-Banat, situated in the Anjumabad area on Dera Multan Road, at around 7 am. The students accused of carrying out the fatal attack have been arrested. According to the First Information Report filed by the local police, the three girls, Umra Aman, 24, daughter of Deen Badshah and Razia Hanifia, 21, and Aisha Noman, 17, daughters of Allah Noor, allegedly stabbed Safoora Bibi in the neck, killing her. The FIR states that Safoora Bibi had just gotten off a rickshaw and entered the madrassa gate when she was attacked by the three students and died on the spot. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) stated that the actions of the three seminary students were both "frightening and incomprehensible". HRCP expressed concern over the cold-blooded murder of Safoora Bibi in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Province. Its statement read, "The HRCP is horrified by the cold-blooded murder of a woman by three female seminary colleagues in DI Khan on allegations of blasphemy. That the accused claim their allegations and subsequent actions were based on a 13-year old girl's 'dream' is both frightening and incomprehensible". (ANI)
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that he had decided to declare a number of employees of the Russian permanent mission personae non gratae.

According to the document, the secretary-general of the European External Action Service invited Russia's Permanent Representative in the EU Vladimir Chizhov on Tuesday afternoon to brief him on the decision. (ANI/Sputnik)
CDRI is a partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and knowledge institutions that aims to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development. The CDRI Secretariat is based in New Delhi, India.

CDRI claims to promote the rapid development of resilient infrastructure to respond to the Sustainable Development Goals' imperatives of expanding universal access to basic services, enabling prosperity and decent work.

As of April 2022, 30 members, consisting of 23 national governments and 7 organizations have joined CDRI.

By becoming a member of CDRI, Madagascar will be able to work together with other member countries to promote resilient infrastructure and help in creating a safe, resilient and sustainable future globally, a press statement said.

India's Ambassador to Madagascar Abhay Kumar said, "I'm delighted Madagascar has joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. It will help Madagascar to be better prepared for the natural disasters such as cyclones it faces almost every year."

"We are delighted to announce Madagascar as the newest CDRI member. We look forward to working together to promote #resilientinfra & create a safe, resilient & sustainable future globally," CDRI said in a tweet. (ANI)
More critically to the movie's overall resistibility: There's a thin, crucial line in stories such as these, and with protagonists such as Lou, between life-affirming positivity and sociopathic exuberance. Clarke is seriously delightful on talk shows, sharp and funny. On "Game of Thrones," in case you hadn't heard, she has become a phenom as Daenerys Targaryen, Khaleesi of the Dothraki, Mother of Dragons, the hostess with the mostest on the ball. The prospect of playing someone like Lou, who doesn't deal with dragons or rape or nudity, must've been mighty appealing to Clarke. She's more than actress enough to handle a role requiring both comic and dramatic chops.
In a veiled reference to the Philippines taking a strong stance against Chinese expansionist policies, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting with his Philippines counterpart Teodoro Locsin said that it is important to avoid "improper measures" from damaging the stability of the South China Sea (SCS). "It is vital to prevent improper measures from disrupting or even damaging bilateral relations and the stability of the South China Sea," Wang Yi stressed according to a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement. He also said that "the two sides should eliminate interference, and calmly and properly manage differences, so as to prevent the overall China-Philippines relations from being affected," while offering Chinese infrastructure projects to the Philippines. "China also stands ready to continue to provide COVID-19 vaccine assistance for the Philippines according to its needs and strengthen public health cooperation," Wang said. Wang Yi also said, "We are ready to work with other parties to take the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea as an opportunity to pool consensus on peace and stability, step up consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, and make joint efforts to build the South China Sea into a sea of peace and cooperation," the Chinese statement said. China claims nearly the entire SCS based on its so-called 'nine-dash line' that the international court ruled without merit five years ago. The Philippines has taken an aggressive stance against Chinese vessels violating its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the SCS, running patrols against Chinese vessels, China has responded by the so-called, "close distance manoeuvring", where the Chinese vessels move dangerously close to the Filipino ones, often ramming into them. Last week, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported an incident close distance manoeuvring that took place on March 2 during Philippine maritime patrol operations around the Scarborough Shoal, locally known as Bajo de Masinloc. "Coast Guard personnel have monitored a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel with bow number 3305 that conducted a close distance manoeuvring of approximately 21 yards towards BRP Malabrigo (MRRV-4402) while the said PCG vessel was sailing at the vicinity waters off Bajo de Masinloc," the PCG said in a press release. "This constrained the manoeuvring space of BRP Malabrigo (MRRV-4402) -- a clear violation of the 1972 International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS)," it added. Last May, a PCG-manned vessel, reported the first incident of close distance manoeuvring involving a CCG vessel. The second and third incidents involved two CCG vessels that conducted close distance manoeuvring with BRP Capones and BRP Sindangan (MRRV-4407) during the PCG's maritime capability enhancement exercises in Bajo de Masinloc in June last year. CG Admiral Abu said that the Philippines is fully aware of dangerous situations at sea, but these will not stop the country's deployment of assets and personnel in the country's exclusive economic zones (EEZ). (ANI)
As Sri Lanka continues to be witnessing massive protests against the government amid a severe economic crisis, a small group of protestors has gathered outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's son's house in Los Angeles, USA, with protestors calling on him to ask his father to leave his post. The protester asked President Gotabaya to step down from his position. The protester said that people in Los Angeles are with Sri Lankans, reported the Daily Mirror. Moreover, fresh protests erupted outside Sri Lankan Parliament on Tuesday, with people demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. "We are peacefully asking for Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the President and Mahina Rajapaksa, the Prime Minister to go home and leave the people alone and peaceful," a protestor said. The country is reeling through a round of protests from a wide section of the society, with Food vendors in Sri Lanka accusing the Rajapaksa government of selling everything to China adding that the country has nothing and it had bought everything from other countries on credit. Prices of fruits and vegetables are skyrocketing in Sri Lanka amid economic and political crises. A fruit vendor, Farukh says, "3 to 4 months back apple was sold at Rs 500 per kg, now it is Rs 1000 per kg. The pear was sold at Rs 700 per kg earlier, now it is sold at Rs 1500 per kg. People don't have money.""Sri Lankan government sold everything to China. That is the biggest problem. Sri Lanka has no money as it has sold everything to China. It is buying everything on credit from other countries," he added. Members of the hotel association and its staff members also protested outside the tourism board in Colombo in heavy numbers in rain. Sri Lanka is also facing a foreign exchange shortage, which has, incidentally, affected its capacity to import food and fuel, leading to the power cuts in the country. The shortage of essential goods forced Sri Lanka to seek assistance from friendly countries.On Sunday, 26-member Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers submitted resignations amid rising public anger against the government over the economic crisis.Meanwhile, the 36-hour long curfew that was imposed on Sri Lanka on Saturday evening at 6 pm was lifted on Monday morning at 6 am but the country is still under a state of emergency.Earlier on Saturday, India delivered 40,000 MT of diesel to Sri Lanka to help ease the power crisis in the island country. As part of the US 500 million oil line of credit (LoC) extended by India to Sri Lanka, this was the fourth consignment of fuel delivered to Colombo.Further, India has supplied around 200,000 MT of fuel to the island nation over the last 50 days. (ANI)
To mark the 32nd anniversary of "Baren Revolution" different socio-cultural organisations and civil society platforms, Alems and Ullemas took part in processions-cum human-chain programmes in Akto County area of Xinjiang province of China and other parts of the world. The Baren uprising of the Baren Massacre erupted on April 5, 1990 in East Turkistan's Akto Country. Baren Township, near Kashgar, saw weeks of Chinese state terror and brutality as part of its deadly 'One Child Policy' of population control. China's government routinely forced millions of women in Occupied East Turkistan to abort their babies. Sammilito Islami Okkyajot (SIO) organized a seminar-cum-discussion at National Press Club in Dhaka city. During the discussion leaders of Islami Okkyajot and other like-minded Islamic parties demanded the government to cut-off Diplomatic relations with China over genocide and brutal persecution of Uyghur Muslims by Chinese authorities. Bangladesh Social Activists Forum (BSAF) conducted a human chain and a bike rally to mark the occasion of Baren Revolution and Uighur Genocide and atrocities by Chinese authorities. During the procession, the participants demanded justice for Uighur. The programme was attended by more than 100 participants with bikes and posters highlighting Chinese atrocities against Uighurs were flashed. Jatiyo Ullema Kalyan Parishad (Chowgacha unit) organized a protest rally and human chain at Jessore demanding to stop Uighur Muslim persecution by China and urged the world community to be vocal on the issue. Separately, another protest march highlighting the Uighur issue was carried out by Sunna Islam Qawmi Madrassa at Jessore. In another programme, Jagroto Muslim Janata, Narayanganj branch conducted a protest rally urging to boycott China and to stop persecution of Uighur Muslims. About 500-600 protestors carrying banners and posters attended the protest rally. Protestors urged for a worldwide protest against Uighur Muslim persecution by China. The protest was attended by prominent personalities from a cross-section of society. Muktijoddha Mancho carried out a discussion and demonstration against the Chinese atrocities on Uighurs and commemorating Baren revolution in front of National Museum, Shahbagh near Dhaka University between 3-4 pm on April 5. Also a short picture exhibition and protest meeting was held at Central Shaheed Minar. The protest meeting was presided over by the founding chairman of the organization Tawfiq Ahmed Tafshir. He said that Muslims of Bangladesh along with the people of East Turkistan stand up to defend and fight against the Chinese government forces. (ANI)
According to the agency, the police are conducting an inspection at the airport.

False bomb alerts have recently been received almost daily on Air Serbia flights from Belgrade to Moscow and St. Petersburg. Some planes were returned to the Nikola Tesla airport, while others underwent counter-sabotage screening before departure.

Serbia has been pressured about its decision to double flights between Belgrade and Moscow after the European Union closed its airspace to Russian planes, President Aleksandar Vucic said on March 12.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow, which includes airspace closures and restrictive measures targeting numerous Russian officials and entities, media, and financial institutions. (ANI/Sputnik)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday appealed to the United Nations and the world community to interfere in the ongoing conflict and stop the atrocities against civilians. Zelenskyy made the remarks while speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting where he also called for fair representation of all the regions in the most powerful organ of the United Nations. "UN needs to act immediately, its system must be reformed immediately... There must be a fair representation of all regions in the Security Council. The Russian military must be brought to justice," Zelenskyy said. "Civilians were crushed by tanks, women were raped and killed in front of their children. What Russian military did in Bucha is cruelty. The UN Charter has been violated literally. The massacre in Bucha is only one of many examples..." the Ukrainian President further said referring to the massacre of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha which was abandoned by the Russian Forces on April 1. "Maximum access for journalists, maximum cooperation with international institutions, involvement of the International Criminal Court -- complete and full accountability. I'm sure that every member state of the UN should be interested in this. For what? In order to punish once and for all those who consider themselves privileged and believe that they can get away with anything," Zelenskyy further said while calling the Russian actions as "war crimes". "So, show all the other potential war criminals in the world how they will be punished if the biggest one is punished," he urged the UN Security Council. The strong remarks by the Ukrainian President came, even as Under-Secretary-General for political and peacebuilding affairs Rosemary A Dicarlo informed that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has received credible allegations that Russian forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times during the course of the conflict while adding that allegations that Ukrainian forces have used such weapons are also being investigated. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also spoke at the UNSC meeting and talked about the damage to the global economy while also recalling the Bucha massacre. "I'll never forget the horrifying images of civilians killed in Bucha. I immediately called for an independent investigation to guarantee effective accountability. I was shocked by the personal testimony of rapes and sexual violence emerging now," Guterres said. "Serious damage is being done to the global economy, particularly to developing countries... We're already seeing some countries move from vulnerability to crisis & signs of serious social unrest. With all the warning signs flashing red, we have a duty to act," he added. Since Moscow's war on Ukraine launched on February 24, at least 1,232 civilian Ukrainians have been killed, according to the United Nations. The actual figures, however, are expected to be much higher, as casualties from front-line areas aren't counted due to a lack of data. At least 161 children have been killed and 264 injured by Russia's war, according to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office. Meanwhile, US State Department is supporting efforts to document Russia's war crimes in Ukraine. "An international team of prosecutors is heading to Ukraine to collect, preserve and analyze evidence that will hold Russia accountable," tweeted The Kyiv Independent. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will reply to the debate in the Lok Sabha on the situation in Ukraine on Wednesday. The discussion was initiated by RSP member NK Premachandran and Congress MP Manish Tewari on Tuesday with members from several parties lauding the government for its efforts to evacuate Indian students from Ukraine and also expressing concern about their future studies. The four union ministers - Hardeep Singh Puri , Kiren Rijiju, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Gen VK Singh - who went to countries neighbouring Ukriane as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special envoys during the evacuation effort also took part in the debate. Congress members talked of the relevance of principles of non-alignment in the complex geopolitical situation created by Ukraine-Russia crisis. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Puri said Operation Ganga, which was undertaken to evacuate the stranded Indians from Ukraine, was one of the most well-coordinated and successful evacuation missions anywhere in the world. Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia said several countries had shut down their missions in Ukraine due to the conflict and "it is only India that had its mission functioning until the last Indian citizen was brought back". "When war began, we heard a lot of remarks - why were advisories not issued on time? India is one of those leading countries that first issued advisories. We issued advisories on 15th, 18th, 20th & 21st Feb - four advisories," he said. "PM Modi took command into his hands, as 'pradhan sevak', as protector of every Indian citizen. Meetings were held day and night. As Hardeep Puri said he was in Guwahati, I was in MP. We received a phone call at 11.30 pm calling us back to Delhi, to be sent to Romania & Moldova," he added. Scindia said IndiGo operated 35 flights, Air India operated 14, Go First operated 6 flights, Air Asia operated three, Air India Express nine, SpiceJet nine and four C-17 Globemasters of IAF did sorties and evacuated Indian citizens safely. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen VK Singh said "the work that our country has done, no other country has done". He also talked about efforts made to evacuate Harjot Singh, an Indian student in Ukraine who had suffered bullet injuries. Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said Indian embassy staff contributed to the evacuation work by risking their lives. Participating in the debate, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah lauded the effort of the government in bringing back Indian students. He said Russia "felt threatened" by the Ukraine's moves to join NATO. He recalled that Russia had signed an agreement with India that they had not signed with any other country. "India was the only country that the Russians, our Ambassador then was D.P. Dhar, signed an agreement with - they signed it with no one - that war on India will be war on Russia. Never forget that," he said. Farooq Abdullah said India "is a neutral country and never took sides". "We are friends with America and we are friends with Russia. We are not enemies of any of these countries. That is one of the biggest things that the country has achieved from the Nehru's time. Whatever one may say, it was because of Nehru's foreign policy of keeping neutral with friends on all sides that we could move forward and take this country from out of poverty and bring it to the level of a developed country," he added. Congress member Shashi Tharoor said Russia-Ukraine crisis has geopolitical implications. "In the short-term, there are some very, worrying consequences. I would say that the Ukraine war has exposed India's strategic vulnerabilities in a tough neighbourhood, but nothing else. It would raise some fundamental questions for our security," he said. "We are seeing Russia and China getting more and more close to each other and if Russia is weakened as a result of this misadventure, which it almost certainly will be, its weakening can only give China the upper hand in that relationship. In these circumstances, the neutralisation of Russia, or even Russia coming along with China is a matter of great concern to us," he added. (ANI)
US State Department statement said both agreed to remain closely coordinated on developments and looked forward to meeting again soon.

"Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar today to review regional and global priorities, including the situation in Ukraine. They agreed to remain closely coordinated on developments and looked forward to meeting again soon," said State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar earlier said that they discussed the latest developments pertaining to Ukraine.

"Spoke to @SecBlinken ahead of our 2+2 consultations. Discussed bilateral issues and latest developments pertaining to Ukraine," Jaishankar tweeted.

India and United States are scheduled to hold a 2+2 dialogue in Washington on April 11.

Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will meet their counterparts Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh will also have other meetings scheduled on the sidelines. (ANI)
King of Netherlands Willem Alexander on Tuesday hosted a State Banquet in Honour of President Ram Nath Kovind and the First Lady Savita Kovind at Royal Palace Amsterdam. President Ram Nath Kovind in his speech during the state banquet thanked the Netherlands King for the cordial welcome and warm hospitality. "I am deeply touched by the kind reception accorded to me and to my delegation," President Kovind said in his banquet speech. "This year marks a milestone in our bilateral journey as we are jointly celebrating the 75th anniversary of our diplomatic relations that reflects the depth of India-Netherlands partnership," he added. President Kovind said that this year, India is also celebrating 75 years of its independence and reminded how the Netherlands was among the first nations to recognize independent India. "After seven decades, it remains one of the foremost reliable partners of India." "It is my pleasure to be here in your beautiful country, the land of tulips; the birthplace of famous painters, scholars and explorers; and a fulcrum of modern trade and commerce. As the saying goes, 'God made the world and the Dutch made the Netherlands'. The unique ability of the Dutch to plan and prepare for future challenges as reflected in your motto of 'Meten is Weten' is worthy of high praise," he said. Ram Nath Kovind further said that as two thriving democracies and two economic giants, India and the Netherlands are natural partners. We share a common outlook on multilateral solutions to global challenges. "Pluralism, inclusiveness, respect for cultural diversity and rule of law are a part of our common ethos." "The Netherlands is an important player in the Indo-Pacific and EU. As key advocates for a free and open Indo-Pacific, we share a common commitment to work for global peace, security and prosperity. The Netherlands can also play a pivotal role in strengthening India-EU ties in areas of connectivity, energy transition and trade & investment," President said. President, in his speech, said that the history of India-Netherlands relations dates back more than four centuries. "While the paintings of Rembrandt show the creative influence of Indian miniature art, Marius Bauer captured impressions of India in his paintings. Professor Hendrik Kern one of the leading Indologists in the Netherlands taught Sanskrit to Dutch students in the mid-nineteenth century. Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda and Jiddu Krishnamurti were hosted by the Dutch with great enthusiasm and have inspired many." "In recent years, we have witnessed strong momentum in our bilateral relations. We were honoured to receive Your Majesties in India in 2019. I recall our discussions covering diverse areas of cooperation," he further said. President Kovind appreciated the role of the Netherlands, especially in bilateral cooperation. He said that the bilateral cooperation between the two countries is extensive and diverse, covering trade and investment; science and technology; water, agriculture and health; renewable energy and space, among others. "Robust trade and investments form the bedrock of our bilateral relations. Dutch companies have long been household a name in India. With an investment of USD 38 billion, the Netherlands has consistently been among the largest investors in India." President also thanked the Netherlands for its solidarity with India during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Our mutual support during the pandemic has highlighted the synergy in the area of healthcare and has shown that we can partner to develop and produce vaccines for the world." "Today, the Netherlands is home to the largest Indian diaspora in mainland Europe. They form a living bridge between our countries and include the Surinami-Hindustani community that represents a unique synthesis of Indian traditions and Dutch values. It includes professionals as well as Indian students who are making a positive contribution to the Dutch economy and society," he added. President said that he is confident that strong bonds of friendship and multifaceted partnership between the two countries will continue to flourish. "I thank the Dutch leadership for devoting personal attention to strengthening our partnership. Together we can achieve common goals." President Kovind is on a three-day visit to the Netherlands at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. This is the first presidential visit to the Netherlands in 34 years since the visit of President R Venkataraman in 1988. (ANI)
Netherlands is looking forward to India's December Presidency of the G20, King Willem Alexander said on Tuesday during a State Banquet at Royal Palace hosted in honour of President Ram Nath Kovind. King Alexander in his speech said that the country is honoured by President Kovind's visit to the Netherlands. "This is a special year for your country. Seventy-five years ago, India gained its independence. The international community welcomed a new, self-assured country full of amazing potential and talented people. ...We feel privileged to celebrate the 75th anniversary of independence with you, and we congratulate the people of India on all their diversity," King of Netherlands said. During his speech, King Alexander recalled his 2019 India visit, saying that it's hard to believe how much has changed since then. "A few months after our last meeting the world was hit by a pandemic that has sorely tested us all. I know how severe the impact has been in India. And in the Netherlands, too, we have wrestled with the terrible effects of this crisis. I am grateful that we were able to support each other actively in that difficult time." "In August 1947, the Netherlands was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with independent India. Our ambassador was present in the Indian parliament when Nehru proclaimed independence," King said in his banquet speech. The King further said the Netherlands is proud that the friendship between the two countries has only deepened in the past 75 years. "And we are grateful that, over the years, we've been able to welcome so many Indians to our country, as students, researchers, IT specialists and entrepreneurs. A number of them are here with us this evening." Willem Alexander said his wife, who supports the UN Secretary-General as Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, has told him about India's impressive achievements in combating poverty. "Hundreds of millions of people have gained access to financial services. An incredible leap forward." "As an economic power, India has a decisive role in global efforts to reach the UN Sustainable development Goals. The eyes of the world are on India, and they're full of expectation," he added. During his address, King further noted the effects of climate change, which is damaging our living environment. "The earth's natural resources are under threat, and our economies are under pressure. Agriculture, in particular, is feeling the impact," he added. "The Netherlands has the technology to ensure that, in times of drought, not a single drop of water is wasted. And we're proud we can share it with you. Obviously, it's just as important that we tackle the cause of climate change and transition together to renewable energy. That's an area in which we can learn a lot from you." He noted how over a third of the electricity in India comes from renewable sources. "I'm confident that we can strengthen each other further. For example, with offshore wind energy," he added. Praising India's cultural riches and diversity, the King of the Netherlands said that diversity deserves to be cherished and protected. "India is the land of Bollywood and brilliant scientists. Of the Himalayas and high-tech. Of Mahatma Gandhi and megacities. Of the Ramayana the rule of law," he said. (ANI) +
People wait in line for free COVID-19 tests.

People wait in line for free COVID-19 tests on Dec. 21, 2021 in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago. Credit - Taylor GlascockThe New York Times/Redux

When Senators announced on Monday that they reached a deal for $10 billion in additional funding for the coronavirus response, many public health experts were dismayed that the package will not include aid for vaccines abroad. But another area that is likely to get shorted is the program that has covered the costs of coronavirus tests, treatments and vaccines for uninsured Americans. That lack of funding could not only hurt the most vulnerable Americans, experts say, but also fuel future outbreaks of COVID-19.

The program for uninsured people began winding down late last month. The Biden Administration repeatedly asked lawmakers for $22.5 billion more in emergency pandemic relief, warning that the government would soon not have enough vaccines for every American to receive another booster and that it would run out of money to buy more monoclonal antibodies to treat the coronavirus.

The new funding bill is less than half of what the Administration requested. This will obviously not meet all of those dire needs in this country, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a press conference on Monday. The new bill will go toward purchasing more COVID-19 vaccines, tests and therapeutic drug treatments. Psaki said the Administration will continue to push for global coronavirus aid, but that may not happen until later this spring. It remains unclear whether the domestic response will get any additional support.

In the meantime, the uninsured program stopped accepting claims for COVID-19 testing and treatment on March 22, and will not accept claims for vaccinating uninsured people after April 5. Hospitals, community health centers and pharmacies around the U.S. are already confronting the end of federal funding; many tell TIME they are worried that without a way to pay for testing, treating and vaccinating the 31 million Americans without insurance, the U.S. may be left flat-footed in the next phase of the pandemic.

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Pulled the rug out from under us

When Dr. Wendy Williams, the chief medical officer for Coastal Family Health Center, a group of community health centers along Mississippis gulf coast, found out last month that the federal COVID-19 program for uninsured people was ending due to a lack of funding, it felt like somebody pulled the rug out from under us, she says. Her clinics patients include many Spanish and Vietnamese speakers, migrant workers, and people who work on ships docked in the areas ports. About 50% of them do not have health insurance.

Throughout the pandemic, Williams and her staff have relied on the federal program to help them test, treat and vaccinate their patients. With less than a week of notice before the March deadline, they scrambled to submit as many claims as possible. But Williams estimates the center has between $250,000 and $500,000 in testing and treatment costs that will never get reimbursed because staff couldnt submit those claims in time.

While large hospitals or private labs can now begin charging uninsured people, or turn them away, community health centers and safety net hospitals have a mission to serve these patients. Were a safety net. We cant turn people away, Williams says. But it just makes it difficult in this environment that were living in. We had budgeted for that, we knew how much we were going to get back from the uninsured portal so we could plan, and now we cant do that.

Community health centers and safety net hospitals often operate on thin margins. Without federal support, many will begin paring back the services they offer, says Dr. Ron Yee, chief medical officer of the National Association of Community Health Centers. When health centers are pressed and their margin is gone, they start cutting those enabling services of transportation, translation, enrollment, health education, he says. And this is a really critical time to have all those services because were in catch-up mode because of the pandemic.

Safety net hospitals, which also serve large uninsured populations, will likely will cut back on social services, reduce clinic hours or put off plans to upgrade their facilities, says Beth Feldpush, senior vice president of policy and advocacy at Americas Essential Hospitals. Staffing is also a major concern, she adds, since many health care workers have left the field during the pandemic due to retirement or burnout. Hospitals that have more capital at their disposal in the first place will have an easier time paying out more money for contract labor, Feldpush says. For our members and for their staff, theres almost a double hit here.

Expensive tests and treatments

As the deadlines pass for providers to submit COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccine claims, some providers are asking uninsured people to cover the significant costs themselves. Early in the pandemic, some uninsured patients were charged tens of thousands of dollars for COVID-19 treatment. Since the uninsured program was created in May 2020, it has paid more than $19 billion to hospitals, community health centers, laboratories and other providers.

Some large labs that have received significant funds from the program have already changed their policies. Quest Diagnostics, which operates one of the largest networks of labs in the country, has notified clients that they can no longer expect to be reimbursed for testing uninsured patients. Those without insurance can now pay $125 through QuestDirect or $100 if they order through a physician affiliated with Quest.

Labcorps at-home COVID-19 testing kits now cost $119 for those without insurance. And Curative, which operates 13,000 testing sites across 18 states, has stopped providing testing to uninsured patients in all locations where there are not other funds in place to pay for the cost. The company is working with state and local partners to explore other backup funds for uninsured patients, and is piloting programs to charge for testing at two sites, but in states with large numbers of uninsured residents, the lack of federal funding could mean many cannot access testing. We are deeply concerned about this recent development and the impact it will have on uninsured patients, said Pasquale Gianni, a Curative spokesman.

Smaller companies are facing similar problems. In De Queen, Ark., pharmacist Elee Coleman is worried about how the end of the uninsured program will affect her familys pharmacy, De Queen Health and Wellness Pharmacy, which her parents own. Coleman says their shop, which has provided some 15,000 COVID-19 shots, 1,000 COVID-19 tests, and 1,400 monoclonal antibody treatments to patients, has been a lifeline in a rural county, where many are uninsured and roughly 60% of the population is Hispanic. Hispanic Americans have seen disproportionate illness and death from COVID-19. The pharmacy is still waiting on about $150,000 in reimbursements from the federal government that it now doesnt know if it will see, plus another 70 claims that it couldnt submit in time, like Williams in Mississippi.

On March 16, when the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced the uninsured program was ending, it told providers that submitted claims will be paid subject to the availability of funds. The agency declined to say how much money is left in the program. It is still processing claims submitted before the deadlines.

In recent months, as Omicron swept across the country, the uninsured program was spending about $2 billion per month on claims, according to a HRSA spokesperson. While that could vary as the pandemic changes, experts say its clear the $10 billion in new funding that Congress is aiming to pass is not sufficient. Right now, when claims for testing and treatment services are low, dedicating what would have to be a small share of that $10 billion to fund this program might extend it for a little while longer, but there certainly would not be enough money of that $10 billion to support this program during another COVID wave, says Jennifer Tolbert, a director at the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) who has been tracking the COVID-19 uninsured program. That simply just leaves very little money to fund this program.

Coleman says she and her parents have not yet decided if they will continue to offer COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccines to uninsured customers. But the end of this funding will be a huge loss for our store, she says. Its going to impact the community a lot, not just our pharmacy.

Continually caught off guard

While coronavirus cases have been dropping and health care providers are no longer overwhelmed with demand for COVID-19 tests and treatments, the pandemic is far from over. Hundreds of people are still dying every day in the U.S. The prevalence of the BA.2 variant is increasing and the Food and Drug Administration recently approved another booster shot for Americans 50 years and older.

Yee warned that although COVID-19 vaccines will remain free to all patients, some uninsured people may avoid seeking COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccines out of fear they will be charged. During previous surges, community health centers played a key role by encouraging these patients to seek care, he says. Weve pushed a lot of those visits away from emergency rooms and hospitals, when they had those surges when they were running out of ventilators and they were overwhelmed, Yee says. This could be put in jeopardy if we dont have proper funding going forward.

In addition to relieving the coronavirus related burdens, community health centers treat many people who have avoided other health care during the pandemic, Yee adds. If community health centers cut back on services, or people choose not to seek heath care because they fear the price tag, uninsured peoples health problems are often exacerbated. That leads to more hospitalizations and more costs to the countrys health care system in the long run.

The cost of all these things have been put on holdyou can have more hospitalizations for depression, you can have people that are having heart attacks and strokes, you can have people with diabetes that is out of control, Yee says. Were gonna end up way behind in terms of care and access, but also the cost to the federal government.

Tolbert, of KFF, worries that Congresss decision to allow funding to lapse now is short-sighted at this point in the pandemic. We have been continually caught off guard in our response to COVID-19, she says. Now is the time when you want to be shoring up resources, in case that there is another surge so that we are better prepared.

Williams of Coastal Family Health Center in Mississippi, says the funding is ending too soon.

If theres another surge, and we have to test and treat thousands and thousands of people again, those resources have to come from somewhere, she says. God willing it doesnt happen, but if it does, I honestly dont know what well do.
BUCHA, Ukraine  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Russians of gruesome atrocities in Ukraine and told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that those responsible should immediately be brought up on war crimes charges in front of a tribunal like the one established at Nuremberg after World War II.

Zelenskyy, appearing via video from Ukraine, said that civilians had been tortured, shot in the back of the head, thrown down wells, blown up with grenades in their apartments and crushed to death by tanks while in cars.

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They cut off limbs, cut their throats. Women were raped and killed in front of their children. Their tongues were pulled out only because their aggressor did not hear what they wanted to hear from them, he said, recounting what he described as the worst atrocities since World War II.

Over the past few days, grisly images of what appeared to be civilian massacres carried out by Russian forces in Bucha before they withdrew from the outskirts of Kyiv have caused a global outcry and led Western nations to expel scores of Moscows diplomats and propose further sanctions, including a ban on coal imports from Russia.

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Zelenskyy said that both those who carried out the killings and those who gave the orders must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes in front of a tribunal similar to what was used in postwar Germany.

Moscows U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said that while Bucha was under Russian control, not a single local person has suffered from any violent action. Reiterating what the Kremlin has contended for days, he said that video footage of bodies in the streets was a crude forgery staged by the Ukrainians.

You only saw what they showed you, he said. The only ones who would fall for this are Western dilettantes.

Associated Press journalists in Bucha have counted dozens of corpses in civilian clothes and interviewed Ukrainians who told of witnessing atrocities. Also, high-resolution satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed that many of the bodies had been lying in the open for weeks, during the time that Russian forces were in the town.

The dead in Bucha included a pile of six charred bodies, as witnessed by AP journalists. It was not clear who they were or under what circumstances they died. One body was probably that of a child, said Andrii Nebytov, head of police in the Kyiv region. One person had a gunshot wound to the head.

The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court at The Hague opened an investigation a month ago into possible war crimes in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy stressed that Bucha was only one place and that there are more with similar horrors  a warning echoed by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

When and if they withdraw their troops and Ukrainian troops take over, Im afraid they will see more mass graves, more atrocities and more examples of war crimes, he said.

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Stoltenberg, meanwhile, warned that in pulling back from the capital, Russian President Vladimir Putins military is regrouping its forces in order to deploy them to eastern and southern Ukraine for a crucial phase of the war. Russias stated goal is control of the Donbas, the largely Russian-speaking industrial region in the east that includes the shattered port city of Mariupol.

Moscow is not giving up its ambitions in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said.

While both Ukrainian and Russian representatives sent optimistic signals following their latest round of talks a week ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow wont accept a Ukrainian demand that a prospective peace deal include an immediate pullout of troops followed by a Ukrainian referendum on the agreement.

In televised remarks Tuesday, Lavrov said a new deal would have to be negotiated if the vote failed, and we dont want to play such cat and mouse.

Ukrainian officials said that the bodies of at least 410 civilians have been found in towns around Kyiv that were recaptured from Russian forces and that a torture chamber was discovered in Bucha.

Zelenskyy told the Security Council there was not a single crime that Russian troops hadnt committed in Bucha, and he likened their actions to those of the Islamic State group.

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The Russian military searched for and purposefully killed anyone who served our country. They shot and killed women outside their houses when they just tried to call someone who is alive. They killed entire families, adults and children, and they tried to burn the bodies, he said. They used tanks to crush civilians just for their pleasure, he said.

On Tuesday, police and other investigators walked the silent streets of Bucha, taking notes on bodies that residents showed them. Survivors who hid in their homes during the monthlong Russian occupation of the town, many of them past middle age, wandered past charred tanks and jagged window panes with plastic bags of food and other humanitarian aid. Red Cross workers checked in on intact homes.

Many of the dead seen by AP journalists appeared to have been shot at close range, and some had their hands bound or their flesh burned.

The AP and the PBS series Frontline have jointly verified at least 90 incidents during the war that appear to violate international law. The War Crimes Watch Ukraine project is looking into apparent targeted attacks as well as indiscriminate ones.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the images from Bucha revealed not the random act of a rogue unit but a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities. He said the reports of atrocities were more than credible.

Only non-humans are capable of this, said Angelica Chernomor, a refugee from Kyiv who crossed into Poland with her two children and saw the photos from Bucha. Even if people live under a totalitarian regime, they must retain feelings, dignity, but they do not.

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Chernomor is among the more than 4 million Ukrainians who have fled the country in the wake of the Feb. 24 invasion.

Russia has rejected similar accusations of atrocities in the past by accusing its enemies of forging photos and video and using so-called crisis actors.

As Western leaders condemned the killings in Bucha, Romania, Italy, Spain and Denmark expelled dozens of Russian diplomats on Tuesday, following moves by Germany and France. Hundreds of Russian diplomats have been sent home since the start of the invasion, many accused of being spies.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the expulsions a short-sighted measure that would complicate communication and warned they would be met with reciprocal steps.

The U.S., in coordination with the European Union and Group of Seven nations, will roll out more sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, including a ban on all new investment in the country, a senior administration official said, speaking on condition to discuss the upcoming announcement.

Also, the EUs executive branch proposed a ban on coal imports from Russia, in what would be the first time the 27-nation bloc has sanctioned the countrys lucrative energy industry over the war. The coal imports amount to an estimated 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year.

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EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen denounced Moscows heinous crimes around Kyiv.

Just hours before the latest proposal was announced, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that to prevent new Buchas, the West must impose the mother of all sanctions  on Russian oil and gas.

A few months of tightening your belts are worth thousands of saved lives, he said.

But Western nations are divided over how far to go. While some are calling for a boycott of Russian oil and gas, Germany and others fear that such a move could plunge the continent into a severe economic crisis.

Lederer reported from the United Nations. Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine, and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
A former senior Ecuadorean official accused of pocketing millions in bribes and moving the money to South Florida wont have to stay behind bars as he awaits trial in Miami federal court.

But his bond  totaling $18 million  is going to cost him dearly.

Carlos Polit Faggioni, Ecuadors ex-comptroller who faces arraignment on Wednesday, has to put up $1.2 million of his own money as part of his bond package. The money will go to his bail bondsman, and its not refundable.

If he can come up with the money and show that its clean, the 72-year-old Polit will regain his freedom at least until trial under a package approved by Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Becerra on Friday. Becerra imposed the high bond, which is also secured with properties owned by Polits family members in South Florida, after prosecutors proposed bail of $11 million.

Initially, they had wanted to detain him because they considered Polit, who has dual U.S.-Ecuadorean citizenship, a risk of flight. But his defense attorney, Fernando Tamayo, pushed for bail.

Since his arrest on money-laundering charges a week ago, Polit has been held at the Federal Detention Center. He previously lived in a high-rise condo along the Miami River, and he also owns three other real estate properties in Miami-Dade County.

Astronomically high bonds are not uncommon in the South Florida annals of fraud, corruption and money-laundering cases, especially those involving government officials and business people from Latin America.

Last August, a Venezuelan businessman accused of stealing a fortune from oil and food contracts in Venezuela had to secure a $50 million bond with luxury properties in South Florida and a vast sum of money from his Swiss bank account.

Naman Wakil, who was born in Syria before immigrating to Venezuela and later settling in Miami, had to complete the transfer of $21.3 million from his Swiss bank account to the federal court registry in Miami. Meanwhile, federal authorities placed liens on more than a dozen properties, a plane, a yacht and local bank accounts to cover the balance for bail.

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In Ecuador, Polit was tried and convicted of extorting a Brazilian engineering contractor, Odebrecht S.A., in absentia because he had left for Miami before the 2018 trial in his native country. In his job as comptroller, Polit had been tasked to protect Ecuadors government from public corruption and misuse of funds.

According to his indictment, Polit is accused of conspiring with a relative, an Odebrecht executive and an Ecuadorean businessman in transferring ill-gotten bribery payments from the engineering firm through a series of shell companies and bank accounts in South Florida between 2010 and 2017.

The indictment says Polit solicited and received bribe payments from the Odebrecht senior manager in exchange for using his official position and influence as comptroller of Ecuador to prevent the imposition of large fines on Odebrecht by the comptrollers office relating to Odebrechts construction projects in Ecuador.

Polit was paid $8 million by the unidentified executive to influence official actions by the Ecuador comptrollers office in order to benefit Odebrecht and its business in Ecuador, according to the indictment filed by prosecutors Michael Berger and Alexander Kramer.

Polit told the Odebrecht executive that he used another co-conspirator, an unnamed relative, to make the cash disappear,  the indictment says.

The case, probed by Homeland Security Investigations, is built upon an electronic trail of financial records and cooperating witnesses.

Three years ago, McClatchy-Miami Herald and other news media collaborated on an investigative project that zeroed in on Odebrechts parallel off-books accounting system. Leaked documents showed links between Polits Miami-based son, John Christopher Polit, and a U.S. shell company, Ventures Overseas LLC, which became a pass-through for the alleged bribery payments by Odebrecht.

John Polit, a former securities broker in Miami, was also convicted in Ecuador of being an accomplice in connection with his fathers case. But his conviction in Ecuador was overturned in 2020, and he has not been charged in his fathers federal case in Miami.
The pandemic has spurred more Americans to do their shopping online, and shopping for medications is no exception. In addition to the mail-order business of big chains, such as CVS and Walgreens, and established online vendors, like Amazon and Costco.com, there are now many online pharmacy newcomers, including GeniusRx, Honeybee Health, Ro Pharmacy, ScriptCo Pharmacy, and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co.

But while in many cases they offer rock-bottom prices, shopping for meds online is not the only way to save. Here are some others.

1. Use GoodRx Coupons at a Walk-In Pharmacy

GoodRx is a company that provides free coupons that give you discounts on meds. Available on its website or via the GoodRx app, the coupons can save you 80 percent off the list price of generic drugs at certain pharmacies. For more savings, consider joining the GoodRx Gold program, which gives you access to more than 1,000 meds for less than $10 per prescription. An individual membership costs $10 a month; for $20 a month you can add five family, friend, or even pet members. Bonus: Primary Gold account holders also get telehealth doctor visits for as little as $19.

2. Check Out Discount Programs at Walgreens and Walmart

Signing up for the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club Program lets you fill prescriptions for hundreds of generic drugs for $7.50, $10, or $15 for a 30-day supply, or $15, $20, or $30 for a 90-day supplyno insurance needed. The membership costs $20 a year for an individual or $35 for a family. Walmarts free Prescription Program makes dozens of drugs available for $4 for a months supply or $10 for a 90-day supply. Bonus: Supermarkets like Kroger, H-E-B, and others also offer discounted generic drug programs. Check those in your area for details.

3. Look for Generics Offered by Your Insurer

If you have an Aetna health insurance plan, for example, you can use the Aetna Rx Discount Pharmacy Card (PDF) at participating pharmacies in the insurers network to get preferred rates.

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Call the number on the back of your insurance card to find a pharmacy near you. Or if your drug coverage is through CVS/Caremark, you can get discounts on several dozen select generics if you fill the prescription at a CVS pharmacy or through CVS.com.

4. Search for Copay Coupons or Patient Assistance Programs

Getting a discount on the cash price of a branded drug is a little trickier than for a generic, but its still possible.

Drugmakers offer copay discount programs if you sign up, but only if you have insurance. For people whose income meets certain thresholds, a drug companys assistance program may supply drugs free, even to some people without insurance.

Youll find manufacturer discount programs for branded drugs on the GoodRx website or app.

Bonus: Check out NeedyMeds for free assistance with finding and filing the paperwork for many manufacturer programs.

5. Ask Your Local Drugstore for a Discount

Unlike chain pharmacies, which have set cash prices, your community pharmacy may have more leeway with pricing medication, says Doug Hoey, PharmD, CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association. And Brandy Letson, PharmD, owner of Cashiers Valley Pharmacy in Cashiers, N.C., says your local independent pharmacy can sometimes meet or even beat low prices at a chain or online pharmacy, but you have to ask.

Editors Note: This article also appeared in the May 2022 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site.





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A Super 8 Motel on I-65 near Elizabethtown (Google Maps)

The I-65 Killer, also known as the Days Inn Killer, has been identified by police as Harry Edward Greenwell more than 30 years after he allegedly raped and murdered three female motel clerks along Interstate 65 between Indiana and Kentucky in the late 1980s.

The case went unsolved for decades before Indiana State Police, the FBI and officers from the police department in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, announced the suspected serial killers identity at a press conference on 5 April.

Authorities said Mr Greenwell - who died in 2013 - was finally identified through investigative genealogy which showed his DNA was a more than 99 per cent match to crime scene evidence.

The animal that did this is no longer on this Earth. Im not going to say his name. I think we need to focus on the victims today, Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said at the multi-agency press conference.

The first woman attacked and killed by the mysterious assailant was Vicki Heath, a 41-year-old mother of two who had recently gotten engaged before she was found dead beside the trash cans behind the Super 8 Motel in Elizabethtown on 21 February 1987.

Investigators said subsequently that the motels lobby betrayed signs of a struggle and it emerged that Heath had been assaulted and shot twice in the head with a 38-calibre pistol.

The killers second and third victims were both slain on the same day: 3 March 1989.

Mary Peggy Gill, 24, a night auditor at a Days Inn motel in Merrillville, Indiana, was found dead in the buildings parking lot by a passing motorist, having met the same fate as Heath.

Her family said she had loved baking, cross-stitching and painting, according to The Indianapolis Star.

The last victim was Jeanne Gilbert, 34, a mother of two who also worked as a part-time auditor at the Remington Days Inn, near Remington in the same state.

Both Gill and Gilbert had been fatally shot with the same .22-calibre and the attacker had robbed both premises, making off with $426 in total.

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A fourth woman working the night shift at a Days Inn motel in Columbus, Ohio, was sexually assaulted and stabbed in 1990 but managed to escape the scene and the DNA retrieved from the incident enabled police to conclude that her attacker was the same man responsible for the other slayings.

She described her assailant as six foot tall with greasy hair, a grey beard and green eyes (one of which was lazy), wearing a beanie hat, a flannel shirt and jeans.

A police composite sketch of the I-65 Killer, a serial murder who stalked the highways of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio in the late 1980s (FBI)

A year later, another woman survived a similar attack in Rochester, Minnesota, that may also have been linked.

Police officially considered the matter a cold case until 2008 when fresh analysis of the DNA evidence was commenced.

Two years later, the affair was confirmed as being a serial killer spree.
An 83-year-old American nun was kidnapped overnight in the troubled north of Burkina Faso, her diocese said Tuesday.

"Overnight Monday to Tuesday, unidentified armed men went to the community of nuns at Yalgo parish in Kaya diocese. They kidnapped Sister Suellen Tennyson from the Congregation of Marianites of the Holy Cross," it said in a statement.

Northern Burkina Faso is a flashpoint for attacks by Islamist insurgents who started making bloody cross-border raids from neighbouring Mali in 2015.

Their campaign has claimed some 2,000 lives and displaced some 1.8 million people.

"Suellen Tennyson was taken away to an unknown destination by her kidnappers who before leaving vandalized rooms and sabotaged the community's vehicle, which they tried to drive off," the diocese of Kaya added in its statement.

Tennyson had been in service at Yalgo since 2014, said the statement, which was signed by the bishop of Kaya, Theophile Nare.

The State Department said in a statement that it is "aware of reports of a U.S. citizen missing in Burkina Faso," adding that it is working to confirm the reports and is monitoring the situation.

An undated photo showing Suellen Tennyson, left, and others in Burkina Faso. / Credit: Sr. Ann Lacour via Karen Swensen

One of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso has been ruled by a military junta since January. Mutinous colonels seized power as anger mounted over the failure of the country's elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, to roll back the insurgency.

Kabore's successor, Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, has declared security to be a priority. But a surge of attacks in the past two weeks has claimed about 80 lives, both civilian and military.

In April 2021, three Europeans who had been reported missing after an attack in eastern Burkina  two Spaniards and an Irishman  were "executed by terrorists," authorities said at the time.

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MOMBASA, Kenya (AP)  From wind farms across the African coastline to geothermal projects in the east African rift valley, a new United Nations climate report on Monday brought the continents vast clean energy potential into the spotlight. If realized, these renewable energy projects could blunt the harshest global warming effects, power the continents projected economic development and lift millions out of poverty, the report said.

The U.N.s Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change report comes at a time when Africas renewable energy business is already booming. Many African nations are intensifying efforts to embrace alternative renewable energy pathways and shift away from fossil fuel dependency, with countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa taking the lead on large-scale clean energy adoption.

Yet Africa has attracted just 2%  $60 billion  of the $2.8 trillion invested in renewables worldwide in the last two decades and accounts for only 3% of the worlds current renewable energy capacity. Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) or 2C (3.6F), in line with the 2016 Paris climate agreement, will involve even greater energy system transformation, the U.N. report said.

That means more renewable energy intiatives, such as Kenyas Lake Turkana Wind Power, launched in 2019 some 600km (372 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi and making up 18% of the countrys energy production, are needed. Its CEO, Phylip Leferink, said large projects like these can be replicated, but it remains logistically challenging.

The wind conditions in the north of Kenya are rather unique for the continent. You will be hard-pressed to find another location in Africa with a similar wind regime, Leferink said. (This) however does not mean that there is no potential for other wind projects in Africa; there most certainly is. Especially the African coastline, from Djibouti all the way south around South Africa and up north again up to Cameroon, has good wind potential and certainly warrants initiatives in this regard.

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The project is already in good company, with off-grid solar power also contributing to the countrys energy production. In Nakuru county, some 167km (104 miles) northwest of Nairobi, James Kariuki signed up for M-Kopa solar power, a pay-as-you-go low-cost financing for off-grid solar power to his home.

When I installed solar power into my home, I ended up making considerable savings from the use of kerosene lamp for lighting and charcoal in my house, Kariuki said. Hospital bills for my family have since gone down and we now have internet and watch international sports in my home.

Since 2012, M-Kopa has powered over 225,000 homes in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania with off-grid solar power. Kenya has also been expanding its geothermal and bioenergy capacity for several years.

These initiatives are a firm step in the right direction, according to report author and energy expert Yamina Saheb.

Renewable energy sources are definitely an important mitigation strategy for Africa, offering its citizens decent living standards by developing infrastructure and buildings that do not require carbon intensive solutions, Saheb told the Associated Press. The whole continent could go solar including PV (photovoltaic) and thermal solar and some countries could also go for wind.

Solar energy initiatives such as the Noor Ouarzazate complex in Morocco, Benban solar park in Egypt and South Africas Redstone solar park have sprung up across the continent. The four nations attracted 75% of all the renewable energy investments flows in the region.

Africa has a world-leading capacity for even more solar power initiatives, the report said, with a solar photovoltaic potential of up to 7900 gigawatts. Plans are also underway to explore the potential for geothermal energy in the east African rift valley system and nations dotted around the continent, such as Angola, Sudan and Zambia, are investing in wind and hydropower.

A transition to clean energy is also economically attractive in some circumstances, the IPCC report said. The U.N. estimates that Africas continued uptake of renewable energies will see the creation of more than 12 million new jobs. China remains the largest lender of Africas renewable energy investments followed by the African Development Bank, World Bank and the Green Climate Fund.

This latest IPCC working group report on mitigation is a clear indicator that Africa should harness the immense renewable energies opportunities available within the continent to power economic growth and build resilient infrastructure, said Max Bankole Jarrett, an energy expert and former Africa regional manager at the International Energy Agency. Africas vast renewable energy sources should be a priority not just for the continent but also for the world racing to fulfill the net zero ambition.

53 African nations have already submitted their voluntary national determined contributions under the Paris climate agreement which details energy plans and outlines targets to curb emissions. 40 of those countries have included renewable energy targets.

Africa suffers some of the most severe effects from climate change, despite being the lowest greenhouse gas emitting continent with the least adaptive capacity. Swathes of the continent still lack access to electricity and cooking fuels: The International Energy Agency estimates some 580 million people were without power in 2019, and the World Health Organization says about 906 million are in need of cleaner cooking fuels and technologies. But providing universal access using non-renewable energy sources would lead to increased global emissions, the report warned.

Climate action is a key component in meeting the sustainable development goals, it said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Hagerstown-area man charged in separate cases last year with assaulting his girlfriend and later shooting a friend in the leg was ordered Monday to serve four years in prison.

Desean William Newton, 30, entered Alford pleas to assault charges in both cases during an appearance before Washington County Circuit Court Judge Dana Moylan Wright. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but an acknowledgment by a defendant that the state has sufficient evidence to obtain a conviction.

In exchange for the pleas, other charges, including attempted first- and second-degree murder in the shooting case, were dropped under an agreement outlined during the proceeding.

Wright accepted the agreement and noted that the shooting appeared to be accidental.

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Newton entered an Alford plea to first-degree assault in the shooting case and was sentenced by Wright to 15 years in prison with all of it suspended and to be served consecutive to the four-year term she imposed for his Alford plea to second-degree assault in the other case.

He was also placed on five year's supervised probation after his release and was given credit for the 380 days he has already been in custody.

Assistant State's Attorney Chris McCormack told Wright that had the shooting case gone to trial, the prosecution would have shown that on March 7, 2021, the Washington County Sheriff's Office responded to the 10000 block of Bridle Court south of Hagerstown for a report that a man had been shot. He said the victim was found with a gunshot wound to the leg and was uncooperative with police.

Deputies interviewed witnesses and learned that Newton and the victim were among a group of friends that went to Bridle Court from Mitzi's Gentleman's Club nearby in Funkstown after the intoxicated victim had become aggressive with club employees, McCormack said

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Newton pulled a gun out while attempting to get the victim into a car to leave and the firearm discharged, according to McCormack.

"We don't believe the defendant was trying to kill his friend," McCormack said in explaining the appropriateness of Newton's Alford plea to first-degree assault.

In the other case, Newtown was accused of pushing a woman and strangling her with both hands at his Bridle Court home on Feb. 21, 2021. Newtown told police the woman was his girlfriend, but the woman told investigators that they had broken up earlier, according to the charging document filed against Newton.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Man charged with shooting friend, assaulting woman, gets four years
Tens of thousands of Alaska Airlines passengers have been impacted since Friday as the airline continues to deal with staffing shortages.

On Monday, 30 flights were canceled at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

At least ten more flights scheduled for Tuesday have also been canceled.

In total, the airline has canceled at least 361 flights, impacting more than 43,100 customers, in just the past four days.

The cancellations started the same day as members of the Alaska Airlines Pilots Union held an informational picket for a new contract following two years of failed negotiations.

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Were simply seeking work rules and scheduling flexibility, said Will McQuillen, the Alaska Airlines MEC chairman for the Air Line Pilots Association. What youre seeing is something that we warned the company about starting late last fall, and ongoing warnings issued throughout the spring, about the fact that attrition was becoming a material concern, that they would not have enough pilots to operate the schedule as the seasonal flying spooled up come spring and summer.

The union insists that all the pilots taking to the picket line were already off the clock and ultimately their contracts were to blame for the flight frustrations.

In a statement, Alaska Airlines says theyre committed to reaching a collective bargaining agreement that recognizes the contributions of [their] pilots and supports them with increased pay, job security and greater work flexibility.

But even if a new contract is finalized, the union says it could be months before more hiring takes place and staffing is up to par.

Alaska Airlines say they filed for mediation in October 2021 and their next session is scheduled for later this month.

In a previous version of this story, we incorrectly reported that Alaska Airline pilots were striking because of an ongoing contract dispute. That report was incorrect and we regret that mistake.
Amazon's Tallahassee footprint is growing.

Property records obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat show the world's largest online retailer paid $3.4 million for nearly 30 acres on the southside of Northwest Passage off Capital Circle Northwest near Home Depot.

The land is about 15 miles away from the construction zone that will become Amazon's capital city fulfillment center, hailed as the biggest economic development project in the city and county's history.

The latest land deal involving Amazon Services LLC, the buyer, and Northwest Passage LLC closed on Sept. 28, deed materials show.

Amazon has purchased land located on Northwest Passage behind the Home Depot on NW Capital Circle in Tallahassee.

The broker behind the transaction was tightlipped about the company's plans for the parcel.

"I can say they were a pleasure to deal with," said Stewart Proctor, managing director for Ciminelli Real Estate Services in Tallahassee, adding it took about about a year to complete the deal.

Permit materials indicate the proposed project is seeking approval to develop 10 parcels of land.

"The development of the site will be completed in one phase and is proposed to include one building, a total of 123,115 square feet and a maximum of 32 feet in height (one-story)," documents said. "The building will include approximately 12,000 square feet of office space and the remaining building space will be utilized for housing products and goods."

'Project Cyprus' is born

Pending approval, the site will be the next opportunity in front of the city and county's economic development organization.

According to a city of Tallahassee permit agenda released Friday, the Amazon property is connected to "Project Cyprus," described as a 123,115 square-foot warehouse facility on 47.80 acres.

The Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality regularly assigns pseudonyms to projects that may create a significant number of jobs and require incentives to seal the deal. It is unclear what type of incentives may be involved with Amazon's expansion.

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Project Cyprus is an active confidential project we are working on, said Cristina Paredes, OEV's director.

When asked what other details she can provide, Paredes pointed to information available in the public deed that shows Amazon purchased property on Northwest Passage.

I can confirm Amazon purchased that land out there," she said. "However, what they plan to do with that land thats part of their strategic acquisition as they move forward is not something I can comment on at this time.

Amazon has purchased land located on Northwest Passage behind the Home Depot on NW Capital Circle in Tallahassee.

Amazon in Tallahassee:

This year, OEV has already worked closely with Amazon and its efforts to build a massive robotics fulfillment center that was referred to as Project Mango. The company is slated to create up to 1,000 new jobs with a starting pay of $15 per hour.

Tax-funded incentives for Amazon include $2.5 million over six years between 2022 and 2027 and a one-time $500,000 reimbursement on development fees in the first year, based on its corporate performance, metric fulfillment and reimbursement request.

'A very positive thing'

The latest Amazon acquisition involves about 18 acres that are currently under contract that are next door to the 30 acres Amazon recently purchased. It wasn't immediately clear if the company is purchasing that land, too  although that appears to be the case based on the permit application.

Tuesday afternoon, Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey retweeted the Democrat's article about Amazon's apparent expansion plans.

"Amazons expansion here in the capital city is a further testament to the fact that Tallahassee is a great place to live, work, and play," Dailey tweeted. "We welcome the continued investment in our community and the jobs it will create."

Amazons expansion here in the capital city is a further testament to the fact that Tallahassee is a great place to live, work, and play. We welcome the continued investment in our community and the jobs it will create. https://t.co/wvldMjZGt2  Mayor John E. Dailey (@MayorOfTLH) October 12, 2021

Stewart said the undeveloped property Amazon purchased was already zoned for industrial and said Leon County has a very limited supply of land in this category.

He said the property will be "significantly improved" with the construction of the new facility.

"I think it's important for critics of growth to be aware that when a property like this or the property for the other Amazon property, when it gets developed, the increase in property tax revenue is something that needs to be looked at as a very positive thing," Stewart said. "Tallahassee has so much property that is off of our property tax rolls, between the city, the county, the universities."

If approved, this will be the first Amazon location within the city limits.

This summer, Amazon began construction of its massive robotics fulfilment center on 170 acres at 6720 Mahan Drive, the north side between Interstate 10 and Thornton Road.

The company purchased five parcels for $22.7 million from Tallahassee businessman DeVoe Moore, owner of the Tallahassee Antique Car Museum.

About 65 miles away, Amazon recently opened a last-mile facility in Marianna. The company plans to open 1,000 small delivery hubs in cities and suburbs all over the U.S., according to people familiar with the plans, Bloomberg News reported last year.

It's not immediately clear whether Amazon's newest investment in Tallahassee will be a last-mile warehouse.

Contact TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com or follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.

Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat using the link at the top of the page.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 'Project Cyprus': Amazon expanding in Tallahassee with warehouse
An Amber Alert has now been canceled after Faith Collins, 3, was found safe and sound (Fox 13 Seattle)

Police have canceled an Amber Alert after a kidnapped three-year-old girl in Bothell, Washington, was found safe and sound.

The child, Faith Collins, had gone missing at about 2:30am on Tuesday after her horrified mother turned around to see her car being stolen with her daughter still in it.

Faith Collins mother returned from her friends house and took her first child into her apartment unit, the alert explained. While she was inside, she heard a screeching sound from tires, and when she went out she realized her vehicle was gone while the child was still inside.

At about 6:30am, however, police found Faith safe in Snohomish County, along with the car, Fox 13 Seattle reported.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow
(Bloomberg) -- Analog Devices Inc. said revenue in the current period may exceed its previous forecast range, indicating that demand remains strong and downplaying concerns that customers are stockpiling inventory.

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Chief Financial Officer Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah said Tuesday that the chipmakers sales growth is trending toward the higher end of its guidance for the fiscal second quarter and may beat the target of $2.8 billion, plus or minus $100 million.

Longer-term, the company sees revenue growing in the range of 7% to 10%, Mahendra-Rajah said at an event for investors. The company remains confident it will be able to report gross margins, the percentage of sales remaining after deducting costs of production, of more than 70%, he said.

Analog Devices specializes in analog and embedded computing components, a sector led by Texas Instruments Inc. Analog chips convert real-world things like sound and pressure into electronic signals, and the rush to add automation to factory equipment and buildings has stirred new demand. The move toward driverless cars also is fueling the market.

Like many of its peers, the company has posted a surge in sales and earnings over the last 12 months as it rushed to fill orders from automakers and other customers desperate for supply and willing to pay more to get it. Revenue across the industry jumped 32% in February to $52.5 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Sales of chips have increased more than 20% for 11 straight months.

That rise has fueled concern that shipments are outrunning end demand for the products that use chips. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index has fallen 17% this year -- following three annual advances of more than 40% -- as investors bet that the industry is peaking.

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Mahendra-Rajah said that while investors are worried that theres an accumulation of chip inventory -- the usual precursor to a downturn -- Analog Devices isnt seeing it.

Theres a concern by customers that theres no inventory available for them, he said in an interview. Theres still demand that needs to be met.

Like other management teams, Analog Devices leadership is arguing that the chip industry is no longer primarily dependent on computer and smartphone demand. Semiconductors are used in many more devices -- ranging from industrial machinery to vehicles -- and that diversification makes companies much less vulnerable to the sudden drops in orders that have characterized its past, Mahendra-Rajah said.

His boss, Chief Executive Officer Vincent Roche, also repeated a forecast being made by several industry CEOs that the semiconductor business, which took about 45 years to reach $500 billion in sales, will double in size to $1 trillion in total revenue over the next decade.

The shares of the Wilmington, Massachusetts-based company fell 2.8% to $159.98 at the close in New York amid a broad market decline. Though the companys stock has dropped 9% this year, it is performing better than shares of many of its chipmaker peers.

(Corrects spelling of CEOs name in the 10th paragraph of story published April 5.)

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A CTA Red Line train operator was pushed onto the tracks after trying to help a customer recover a cellphone that had allegedly fallen onto the tracks at the North Side Granville station Monday night, Chicago police said.

Around 8:35 p.m., theL operator was about to continue the trains route south when he heard someone asking for help for a cellphone that had fallen into the tracks at the station in Edgewater, authorities said. He exited the train to help and when he turned to look at the tracks, someone pushed him from behind into the tracks, according to officials.

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The Chicago Transportation Authoritys policy says that if a customer drops an item onto the tracks, they should notify personnel, who can retrieve the item, a CTA spokesperson said via email.

A CTA Red Line train moves through the Granville station in the Edgewater neighborhood on Dec. 11, 2018, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

The man did not come into contact with the electrified third rail, officials said.

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The CTA worker was taken to AMITA Health Saint Francis Hospital Evanston Monday night for minor injuries and was released in a matter of hours, the CTA said.

No arrests have been made and the case remains under investigation.
WASHINGTON (AP)  By announcing they will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, three Republican senators are marking the historical moment by building legacies of their own.

Every senator has a voice, and some choose to use theirs. The three Republican senators  Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney  have broken with their party at critical junctures, despite the political risks of standing alone.

The three said separately that they dont expect to agree with all of Jacksons rulings from the bench. President Joe Bidens nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer will likely join the liberal wing of the high court, and is not expected to tilt its 6-3 balance toward conservatives. But the senators also indicated the Harvard-educated judge is more than just likable, well-qualified and possessing the judicial temperament to do the job. They said she is deserving of confirmation.

As the other Republican senators line up to oppose Jackson, the support from the three outliers gives Biden the bipartisan backing he was seeking for the historic choice, but may do little to shield them from the blowback of party leaders and activists back home.

The votes from Collins, Murkowski and Romney also serve as a rejection of the soft-on-crime attacks leveled at Jackson, some tapping into dangerous conspiracy theories, reminiscent of racist arguments senators made against the first Black nominee to the court, Thurgood Marshall, a half century ago.

Voting for the historic nomination, Murkowski said it was not only worth the political risk, but a rejection of a Senate process that is growing worse and more detached from reality.

Its a measure of the nations polarizing times that what could be seen as a milestone for the country  the first time in the courts 233-year history it wont be made up of mostly white men  has devolved into another bitter, grievance-laden, political brawl.

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Jacksons nomination is advancing through procedural hurdles, including another vote Tuesday, and is on a glide path to confirmation in the Senate by weeks end.

While Democrats hold a narrow majority in the 50-50 chamber, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to break a tie, her vote is unlikely to be needed.

The confirmation of the nations first Black woman to the highest court in the land will resonate for the rest of our nations history, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday as he launched the weeklong procedural steps toward confirmation.

It wasnt always guaranteed that Jackson, who was confirmed by the Senate to be a federal appellate judge just a year ago, would win over Republicans this time.

One key Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who voted to confirm her for the lower court, led the opposition during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on her nomination.

Along with other Republicans, Graham saw political value in using Jacksons hearing to dredge up complaints about the partisan treatment of previous Supreme Court nominees during the Donald Trump era  from Brett Kavanaugh, who faced accusations of sexual assault from his high school years that he strenuously denied during his 2018 confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court, to Amy Coney Barrett's fervent Catholic faith.

If we were in charge, she would not have been before this committee, Graham said about the Republican side ahead of the panel's deadlocked vote Monday. "You would have had somebody more moderate than this.

But personal political legacies can be as strong a draw for senators, who like to think of themselves as one of the 100 distinct voices in the Senate, despite the pressure party officials and others bring to bear on a vote.

Collins, Murkowski and Romney have all proven over long careers in Republican Party politics that they can be independent brokers.

They have shaped brands at home and beyond, occasionally displaying a centrist streak but also being willing to work pragmatically across the aisle with Democrats rather than reflexive opposition.

Collins, who won re-election in 2020, has long gone her own way to vote for a president's judicial nominees, regardless of the party of the president in the White House. A notable exception was Barrett, whose confirmation in October 2020 she said she could not support so close to the presidential election.

Collins expressed hope that the Senate could get back to a place where there is bipartisan support for qualified Supreme Court nominees because its important for public confidence in the court. The court is not supposed to be a politicized institution.

Romney, the party's 2012 presidential nominee and the only Republican senator to vote to convict Donald Trump during both trials of the former president, has emerged as a new force in the Senate, helping to broker bipartisan deals on issues like infrastructure and COVID-19 aid. He declined to back Jackson just a year ago for the lower court, but once he had a chance to meet and review her record he said she "more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity.' He would run for re-election in 2024.

Murkowski faces perhaps the most precarious political climate because she is up for re-election this year in Alaska where Republican Party leaders have censured her over voting to convict Trump in impeachment over the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, among her other stances.

Alaska party leaders have endorsed Kelly Tshibaka, a Trump-backed candidate, ahead of the August primary. In the states new election system, the top four primary vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the general election where voters will rank their choices.

Yet, if anyone knows how to use political independence as a political currency, it's Murkowski who in 2010 won a write-in campaign  voters had to write in M-u-r-k-o-w-s-k-i for Senate  after she lost the primary bid and party backing to a more conservative challenger.

Murkowski shrugged off the political attacks that could come from her decision to back Jackson as worth the risk.

Is there any safe place in this polarized time?" she said.

___

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri, videojournalist Rick Gentilo, and Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, contributed to this report.

__

EDITOR'S NOTE: Lisa Mascaro, the AP's chief congressional correspondent, has covered Capitol Hill since 2010. Follow her on twitter at www.twitter.com/LisaMascaro
Ukrayinska Pravda

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - FRIDAY, 6 MAY 2022, 15:42 The Security Service of Ukraine reports that it has captured 11 of the occupier's snipers as a result of a special operation in the Kharkiv region. Source: Security Service of Ukraine spokesman Artem Dekhtiarenko Quote: "In the Kharkiv region 11 Russian snipers were taken prisoner during a special operation run by the Security Service of Ukraine.
The BA.2 subvariant of the omicron variant continues to rapidly spread throughout the U.S., now accounting for about 72 percent of all new Covid-19 cases, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new CDC estimate is up from about 55 percent a week ago, when the subvariant, which is thought to be more contagious than the original strain of omicron, became the dominant variant of the coronavirus circulating in the country.

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Despite its spread, health experts see no cause for alarm in the U.S.

That's because there is no indication the subvariant is more severe than the original omicron strain and because the high level of immunity in the country from vaccines and previous infections is unlikely to make it a major threat.

I would not be hugely concerned about BA.2, said Dr. Christopher Murray, a professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington and the director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

A sudden rise in BA.2 cases in Europe and other parts of the world last month raised concerns among some health experts and officials that the U.S. could experience a troubling rise in cases, as well.

However, Covid case counts remain low in the country  as of Tuesday, the seven-day average of Covid cases is at about 29,000, down by 19 percent from two weeks ago, according to an NBC News tally.

Case numbers are increasing in a handful of counties, but most people in the country live in areas with low community spread, the CDCs director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said at a news briefing Tuesday. Cases counts are ticking upward in counties in the Northeast, in particular.

She encouraged everyone to stay up to date on their Covid vaccinations.

Last week, Walensky signed off on a second booster dose of the Covid vaccines for people 50 and older, four months after their first boosters.

Murray said he expects BA.2 to remain at low levels in the U.S. for at least a few more months as the weather gets warmer.

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"Right now were in this period where immunity is high and were heading into the summer and transmission tends to be a bit lower," he said, "so the combination should lead in the Northern Hemisphere to pretty low levels after the BA.2 wave."

It's still possible cases could spike in the U.S. because of the subvariant, although the spread may be limited to certain areas of the country.

"Its not unexpected to see a spike in cases," said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto. To what extent a rise in cases will affect states or countries will depend heavily on their own policies, he added.

But any rise in Covid cases can be consequential. "People are still going to get sick, some people are going to land in the hospital, and some people are going to die, whether its a big wave or a small wave," Bogoch said.

Murray said he is more concerned about the fall, when immunity provided by the second boosters begins to decline, leaving vulnerable groups of people once again susceptible to the virus.

U.S. officials appear to be looking toward the fall, as well: Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administrations top vaccine regulator, suggested last week that the agency could authorize yet another booster shot for vulnerable people later this year.

Murray said another concern is that a new variant could emerge that's more virulent than omicron and BA.2.

"The critical issue for everybody is not whether theres a new variant. Its whether there will be a new variant thats more severe," he said. "If it's something thats more transmissible than omicron and more severe, itll spread so quickly that adjusting vaccines to that new variant will probably not get done in time."

Dr. David Boulware, an infectious disease physician at the University of Minnesota Medical School, shared concerns about new variants, although he said antiviral pills from Pfizer and Merck should still be effective.

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The Biden administration is expected to announce another extension to the student loan pause this week, multiple sources told The Hill.

The announcement could come as soon as Wednesday and would extend the moratorium on federal student loan payments and interest accrual past the current May 1 expiration date.

President Biden is facing pressure by a growing number of Democrats to continue the freeze for several more months, with nearly 100 lawmakers across both chambers citing inflation as justification.

The measure was first put in place during the pandemic as a way to offer relief to those struggling to make loan payments. While its unclear when the new extension would end, Biden has faced calls to allow borrowers to pause payments until after the midterms.

The president last extended the suspension in December. Loan payments were first put on hold in March 2020 under former President Trump and have since been extended five times.

The White House and Department of Education did not immediately respond to The Hills request for comment.

Whether Biden will act to forgive $10,000 in federal student loans per borrower is a looming question after he supported forgiving at least that much in the 2020 campaign. Progressives and activists pushed for more time to pay back debt publicly and privately this week and are seeking cancellation of an even larger sum.

Advocates and other Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have pressed for $50,000 per person or to cancel debt entirely.

A year ago, Biden requested a memo from the Department of Education to determine his authority to forgive student debt through executive action. Since then, the administration has not publicly announced if the memo is complete.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said a decision on the student loan pause needs to be made before May. She said the administration will factor the impacts of economic data on ranges of groups of people, including students.

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Last month, White House chief of staff Ron Klain also signaled that the White House would extend the freeze. The Biden administration reportedly told companies in recent weeks to not send out notices about student loan payments resuming.

Amie Parnes contributed.

Updated 1:14 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
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The U.S. Department of Energy intends to commit $2.25 billion for projects to store carbon dioxide underground and help fight climate change, it said on Thursday. The funding for carbon storage validation and testing over the next five years will come from the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden last year. "The goal here is that at the end of the day, you do actually have commercially available facilities for storage," said Emily Grubert, deputy assistant secretary for carbon management at the department.
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an extradition request by Turkey for an opponent of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and member of the Hizmet organization of cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Businessman Yakup Sagar, 54, moved to Brazil with his family in 2016 and received refugee status. He owns a shirt factory in Sao Paulo.

A top court chamber of five justices voted unanimously to deny his extradition, saying the Turkish request did not fulfill the requirements. The request alleged that Sagar was wanted for trying to destroy the Turkish state.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who handled the case, said the request had no facts to back it up, adding: "It is certain that there is no possibility of an absolutely impartial trial if extradition is granted."

Ankara declared Hizmet a terrorist group in May 2016. The movement says it has millions of followers worldwide.

Sagar is the second Erdogan opponent Brazil has refused to extradite.

In 2019, the Supreme Court denied a request to extradite Ali Sipahi, a Turkish citizen and naturalized Brazilian who owns a restaurant in Sao Paulo. Sipahi was arrested and later set free when the court rejected the request.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito, writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
A Medford Police officer jumped into the Mystic River, and pulled a teen from the water, Monday night.

Police responded to Ship Avenue for reports of a person in the water, shortly before 9:40 p.m.

One of the Medford officers observed a person floating in the middle of the river according to a release issued by the Medford Police. That officer jumped into the water to pull the person to safety the release goes on to say.

Other Medford officers assisted the officer that jumped in, and helped bring the person to the bank of the river.

The person that was pulled from the water was breathing, but in a semi-conscious state. according to officials.

Police have only identified the individual as a white male in his late teens.

The person was taken to Mass General Brigham as a result.

The victims family has been notified. Police are not releasing the identity of the teen.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Market watchers were taken aback when Cathie Woods flagship Ark Innovation fund fell 24% in 2021. This year, the widely popular ETF logged an even bigger loss in just the first quarter alone.

According to financial analytics firm Morningstar, Ark Innovation (ARKK) was the worst performing U.S. equity fund in its universe of coverage during the first quarter of 2022. The exchange-traded fund registered a loss of 29.9% in the three months ended March 31, dragged down by a sell-off in high-growth, technology stocks during the period.

U.S. tech funds bore the brunt of declines last quarter at an average loss of 13.7%  the worst quarter since 2018, per Morningstar data. Still, ARKK fared worse than its stylistic peers. By comparison, the QQQ Nasdaq 100 ETF, used as a proxy for tech stocks, was down roughly 9.7% through the same period, and the Russell Midcap Growth Index registered a 12.6% drop.

ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) continued a sharp decline that started in late 2021, logging a first-quarter loss of 29.9%.

ARKK was dragged down by sharp losses in some of its biggest holdings: streaming company Roku (ROKU), which represented 6.5% of the fund as of March 30, lost more than 45% for the year-to-date; Zoom Video Communications (ZM), a 6.3% holding, fell more than 40%; and Shopify (SHOP), comprising a 2.7% stake, was down more than 50%, per Morningstar.

Tesla Inc. (TSLA), which at 9.8% makes up ARKK's biggest position, has been a relative outperformer, closing the quarter out only 1% lower year-to-date as of March 31, though holding onto gains from 2021 and masking the performance of some of Ark Innovation's smaller components. The picture could have been much worse without ARKK's stake in Tesla.

Inflationary pressures, subsequent Federal Reserve interest rates increases, and Russias invasion of Ukraine weighed more broadly on U.S. equities to start the year, but value stocks held up far better than shares of growth companies. The Morningstar US Value Index gained 2.4%, while the Morningstar US Growth Index lost 12.0%, the firm indicated.

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On top of its struggling performance, Morningstar downgraded its analyst rating on ARKK from Neutral to Negative last week, citing issues with the fund's risk management and ability to navigate the space it aims to explore.

The firm favors companies that are often unprofitable and whose stock prices are highly correlated, Morningstar strategist Robby Greengold wrote in a note. Rather than gauge the portfolios aggregate risk exposures and simulate their effects during a variety of market conditions, the firm uses its past as a guide to the future and views risk almost exclusively through the lens of its bottom-up research into individual companies.

Despite losses and criticism of her approach, Wood has stayed the course and continues to promise that her bets on disruptive, innovation-focused companies will pay off in the long term.

Catherine Wood, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Ark Invest, speaks at the 2021 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., October 19, 2021. REUTERS/David Swanson

Manager Cathie Wood has since doubled down on her perilous approach in hopes of a repeat of 2020, Greengold wrote, when high-growth stocks helped the fund notch a return of more than 150%. He notes, however, that Woods reliance on her instincts to construct the portfolio is a liability.

Also adding to its reason for the downgrade, Morningstar pointed out that Ark has a poor succession plan for Wood, 66, the firm's majority owner and lone portfolio manager. The firms director of research Brett Winton is in line to succeed Wood if needed but lacks the portfolio management experience, posing a key-person risk. Moreover, Morningstar pointed out that Ark Invest struggles to retain talent and sees analysts come and go, many of which lack deep industry experience.

Wood has suggested that risk management lies not with her but with those who invest in ARKs funds, Greengold wrote. Its tough to see why that should be so.

ARK could do more to avert severe drawdowns of wealth, and its carelessness on the topic has hurt many investors of late, he added. It could hurt more in the future.

ARKK was down 5.45% to $66.66 as of 1:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday.



Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc

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A man from Frankfort has been indicted on charges of rape and sodomyafter committing sexual crimes against a 7-year-old girl , according to court records.

William Jackson, 36, was interviewed by police last month at Second Street School, according to court records. Jackson admitted guilt in regard to the alleged incident, according to court records. The sexual assault took place in May 2020 and involved a 7-year-old victim, according to court records.

Jackson was indicted in Franklin Circuit Court March 29, court records show. He is scheduled to be arraigned April 8.

Jackson was arrested March 21 and is being held on a $250,000 bond.

Frankfort Independent School District Superintendent Houston Barber said Jackson previously worked as a bus driver for the district, but he is no longer employed there. The crimes Jackson is accused of were not connected with his position with the school system.

Herald-Leader staff writer Karla Ward contributed to this report.
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the unsealing of a court filing containing excerpts of grand jury testimony by Tim Mapes, the former chief of staff to House Speaker Michael Madigan who was indicted last year on obstruction of justice charges.

The order by U.S. District Judge John Lee came after Mapes attorney, Andrew Porter, filed a motion to dismiss under seal last week out of an abundance of caution, since grand jury testimony typically is kept secret.

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But since the charges against Mapes are directly related to that testimony, both Porter and Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz on Tuesday agreed that what is contained in the defense motion can be made public. Lee directed the clerk of the U.S. District Court to unseal the motion, but the filing was still not visible on the docket as of Tuesday evening.

Mapes, 66, of Springfield, has pleaded not guilty to lying to a grand jury investigating sprawling corruption allegations against Madigan, including an alleged scheme by utility giant Commonwealth Edison to bribe Madigan by paying his associates as lobbyists and consultants in exchange for the speakers help with legislation in Springfield.

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The 11-page indictment alleged Mapes repeatedly lied during a March 31, 2021, appearance before the grand jury when asked about Madigans relationship with his longtime confidant Michael McClain, who was charged in 2020 with orchestrating the ComEd bribery scheme.

Mapes also lied when he said he had no knowledge that McClain had communicated with two unnamed state representatives in 2018 on Madigans behalf, the indictment alleged. The Tribune reported they are Rep. Bob Rita of Blue Island and former Rep. Lou Lang of Skokie.

Mapes is one of the closest advisers from Madigans extremely small circle of trusted associates to face federal charges. He has denied wrongdoing and maintained that federal authorities are attempting to squeeze him to give up incriminating information on Madigan.

His attorneys have said in court filings their defense will include that Madigan kept information close to the vest and kept private conversations with others private, and that McClain often talked mysteriously, cryptically, and oddly  including about and when referring to Madigan.

Madigan and McClain were indicted last month on racketeering conspiracy charges alleging a range of corruption schemes spanning more than a decade, including the scheme involving ComEd. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Mapes attorneys, meanwhile, filed a second motion on Friday asking that references to him being granted immunity by prosecutors be stricken from the indictment against him.

Mapes attorneys say there was no legal reason for prosecutors to include the references to immunization and speculated in their filing that prosecutors were putting other witnesses on notice about the weapons at its disposal if they didnt testify as expected.

One possible motive for adding such language to the indictment is to send a signal to other witnesses with whom the government was attempting to meet in 2021 concerning its investigation of Mr. Madigan, the motion stated. While the government may have had a motive to publicize to other potential witnesses the weapons at its disposal, the fact of immunization has no relevance to the charges against Mr. Mapes.

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Lee gave prosecutors two weeks to respond. A status hearing was set for June 1.

Mapes indictment in May 2021 caught many by surprise, particularly since he was granted immunity from prosecution by the U.S. attorneys office and warned by the chief judge before his testimony before the grand jury that failing to answer truthfully could result in criminal charges against him.

In 2018, Mapes lost his public positions as Madigans chief of staff and House clerk when a staffer accused Mapes of sexual harassment over several years and fostering a culture of sexism, harassment and bullying that creates an extremely difficult working environment.

Mapes had received an annual public salary of $208,000 working for Madigan. He also lost his position as executive director of the Madigan-run Democratic Party of Illinois. He now receives an annual public pension of $141,306.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg read the names of the six killed in the mass shooting during a vigil Monday evening attended by grieving relatives, friends and community members. So we gather here to remember the victims and to commit ourselves to doing all we can to ending the stain of violence, not only in our community but throughout the state, throughout the country, and throughout the world, Steinberg said.
Senate Democrats, backed by three GOP senators, voted on Monday night to break a deadlock on Judge Ketanji Brown Jacksons Supreme Court nomination, paving the way for her to be confirmed by the end of the week.

Senators voted 53-47 to formally discharge Jacksons nomination to the full Senate. Its the first time the Senate has had to take the procedural step for a Supreme Court nominee since 1853.

GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mitt Romney (Utah) voted with Democrats to make Jacksons nomination available for a full Senate vote.

Collins announced last week that she would vote for Jackson.

Meanwhile, Murkowski and Romney said in statements on Monday that they would back Jackson, becoming the second and third GOP senators to support her, respectively.

I will support the motion to discharge Judge Jacksons nomination later tonight, and her confirmation later this week, Murkowski said in a statement.

Romney added in a separate statement that he had concluded that she is a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor.

While I do not expect to agree with every decision she may make on the Court, I believe that she more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity, he added.

Mondays vote puts Jackson on track to be confirmed as the first Black, female Supreme Court justice by the end of the week.

Despite Republican obstruction, Judge Jackson has enough votes to get confirmed by the Supreme Court on a bipartisan basis. The Senate is going to keep working until she is confirmed, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Monday.

Schumer is expected to move on Tuesday to formally tee up an initial vote on Jacksons nomination for Thursday. After that Republicans could delay a final vote on Jacksons nomination until Friday if they eat up an additional 30 hours of debate time.

Jackson, if shes confirmed, would also be the high courts first former public defender.

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The limited GOP support comes even after Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that he conducted outreach to roughly 10 Republican senators.

But Republicans were largely expected to oppose Jacksons nomination. Only three GOP senators voted for her current position last year: Collins, Murkowski and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who was widely viewed as being a no vote and ultimately came out against her Supreme Court nomination.

Murkowskis previous support of Jacksons appeals court seat made her a vote to watch. While Romney was considered a swing vote because he had been open minded in her nomination and hit back at some GOP criticism over her sentencing decisions.

The three votes also line up with an expectation by Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) that the three GOP votes she got in 2021 was likely the high-water mark for how much Republican support that she would get for the Supreme Court.

The Senates vote on Monday night comes after the Senate Judiciary Committee tied 11-11 on Jacksons nomination earlier Monday. It was the first time the committee has tied on a Supreme Court nominee since Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991.

The votes come after a four-day Judiciary Committee hearing late last month, where Jackson faced tense moments with multiple GOP senators on the panel.

Republicans focused a significant portion of their time questioning Jackson on her sentencing decisions in child porn cases, while also homing on on her work related to Guantanamo Bay detainees and her judicial philosophy.

The GOP line of questioning sparked some pushback from Republican senators, including Romney.

Murkowski on Monday that some Republicans were super great during the hearing and some were not.

I think there was a level of personal attack that was unwarranted, she said.

Updated at 8 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) has signed into law a bill protecting residents right to get an abortion without interference from the state government.

Today I signed into law House Bill 22-1279, Reproductive Health Equity Act  which codifies a persons fundamental right to make reproductive health-care decisions free from government interference. In the State of Colorado, the serious decision to start or end a pregnancy with medical assistance will remain between a person, their doctor, and their faith, Polis said in a statement on Monday.

I want to thank the sponsors and the General Assembly for ensuring that regardless of what happens federally, in Colorado these vital and oftentimes difficult decisions will continue to be made by Coloradans alone, free from government interference, he added.

The move comes amid growing concerns that the Supreme Court could in this term overturn Roe v. Wade, which enshrined the right to an abortion nationwide.

The bill passed through the states Democratic-controlled legislature last month, overcoming opposition and a filibuster from Republicans.

As the federal legal landscape surrounding reproductive health care evolves, Colorado can now thankfully continue to assure individuals that their intimate right to choose how and whether to proceed with family planning and pregnancy is protected at the state level, Polis said in his statement.

Again, I thank the sponsors and proponents for passing HB 22-1279. The Reproductive Health Equity Act will preserve Coloradans right to choose how to utilize reproductive health care services by codifying existing protections into state law, he added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Less than a week ago community members in Brookline gathered following the tragic fatal shooting of Devonte White.

Today they again packed a neighborhood church demanding the violence stop just hours after another murder took place in the neighboring South Hills community of Carrick.

Watch the above video to hear from community leaders about the uptick in violence in the region.

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Another team of inspectors was out at the Orlando free-fall ride where a 14-year-old fell to his death nearly two weeks ago.

This time, inspectors hired by Tyre Sampsons family were allowed on-site by the park owners to conduct their own review of the ride.

READ: ICON Park calls for FreeFall, SlingShot rides to suspend operations following teens death

Family attorney Benjamin Crump says this is one of the worst tragedies he has ever seen.

I think this is the worst tragedy captured on video that I have ever seen. We believe this was completely preventable, Crump said.

Tuesdays inspection focused on the seats, harnesses and safety measures of the ride.

READ: Safety expert: I have serious concerns about harness in teens death on Orlando FreeFall

The inspection is just the beginning of a process that is expected to take months.

On Monday, state inspectors spent the day taking a detailed look at the mechanisms of the ride, in addition to conducting a 3D scan of the ride to be used in reconstructing the accident.

Sampson family attorney Michael Haggard said this is about more than just answers  its about making sure something like this does not happen again.

READ: 9 things to know about the Orlando FreeFall at ICON Park

Whether the sensors triggered wrong and let it go up when it wasnt properly locked or whether he came through because of the design of the ride. It all comes together that is why we will probably be out here again to do some additional tests, Haggard said.

Haggard said that the family plans to file a lawsuit in the coming weeks.

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
For many Muslims in Connecticut, this month is the first Ramadan since 2019 that can be observed with nightly prayers in mosques and  at least for some  with large iftar dinners.

I went to one last night. It was joyous, it was celebratory, said Farhan Memon, chairman of the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations. We are getting near to the old normal  weve seen mosques open up to having evening dinners in a way that hasnt happened in two years.

As the holiest month of the year in their religion gets underway, the states Islamic residents are looking forward to the return to communal worship and Ramadan evening meals together  all of which were halted in early 2020 by the pandemic.

In talking with the Courant this week, several Connecticut Muslims offered their thoughts on progress toward improved public acceptance of Islam  and challenges that remain.

Hamdens schools will make Eid al-Fitr an official holiday starting next year, for instance, a major victory in the eyes of Mariam Khan, who became the first Muslim on Hamdens school board when voters elected her in November.

Whats really exciting is that this happened because of student pressure and the support from teachers, said Khan, a 19-year-old Yale University student who began community organizing in high school.

Khan was one of the primary voices calling for Hamden schools to close for Eid al-Fitr so that Muslim students could be home with family for the holiday, which marks the end of the Ramadan period of daylight fasting. New Haven schools already list Eid as a holiday; Waterbury holds classes, but gives students the option of taking the day off.

Khan is now working to get more Hamden Muslims to vote and to run for office.

Thats what community engagement looks like, said Khan, who also advocates for community-based interfaith dialogues.

There are so many religious traditions that will be fasting at some point in the year  theres so much shared across religions, and I think we forget that, she said.

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Khan also sees an urgent need to reduce Islamophobia, noting that the decision to make Eid a Hamden school holiday was made the same year that an arsonist burned the Diyanet mosque in New Haven.

Islamophobia is rampant, and you cant have the celebration of Ramadan and Eid without recognizing that its dangerous sometimes to be Muslim or wear a hijab, she said.

At CAIR, Memon sees two sides of the Muslim experience in Connecticut. His organization continues to get frequent calls from parents whose children are bullied at school because of their religion or for wearing a hijab, but he also sees growing acceptance on other fronts.

We have made some progress because of the increase in the number of Muslims in our schools, he said. Theres more awareness, and awareness leads to policy shifts. The media didnt cover the start of Ramadan 20 years ago, he said.

Memon says making Eid a holiday for students and workers would help, partly because it would build Muslim Americans sense of belonging.

Along with schools, businesses should do more to accommodate Muslim workers who are required to work on Eid, according to Memon.

Allowing workers on overnight shifts to temporarily swap with day or evening shift coworkers would help during Ramadan, he said.

Employers who have Muslim employees working should demonstrate they value them and make reasonable accommodations so they can attend Friday prayers, he said.

State Sen. Saud Anwar, a medical doctor, said theres been progress in the past 20 years, but plenty of space for improvement.

Were blessed because were becoming more and more inclusive as a state, Anwar said. We recognize the shared future is the only way forward.

The real progress will be when we see people of the Muslim community being a part of all professions, from law enforcement to the military to working at grocery stores, being engineers or lawyers or business people, he said.

Anwar would like to see more municipal police departments and volunteer fire departments actively recruiting Muslim candidates.

I would love to see more Muslims in law enforcement, the military, the fire department. There have been past issues that created some mistrust (by the Muslim community), Anwar said.

But some of that mistrust is unfounded. If more (Muslim) people are part of law enforcement, it would help break down down barriers, he said.
Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero/The Daily Beast/Getty

For the first time since the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Southern state lawmakers can once again redesign election districts without federal oversight.

That means several GOP-dominated legislatures can shape state and congressional voting maps without first seeking approval from the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C. Without the constraints of oversight, seven Southern states are alleged to have established racially discriminatory election maps: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, according to the Brennan Center, a public policy institute of New York University Law School.

Each of these states devised maps that raise concerns over the fair representation of Black communities in the legislatures and Congress. The districts were conceived under a system of discriminatory mapping known as gerrymandering.

To challenge the denial of fair representation, Black voters across the Southand pro-democracy alliesare fighting back in the courts.

America Just Gave Black Folks the Finger on Voting Rights

The Voting Rights Act (VRA) was one of the signature achievements of the Civil Rights Movement. It codified into federal law the protection of Black voters in the South, and by extension, minority voters in other regions. The law was anchored in the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified after the Civil War, which states: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

The VRA addressed the broad range of machinations used to suppress the Black vote under Jim Crow: poll taxes, white primaries, literacy tests, economic intimidation, beatings, and lynchings. For example, Section 2 of the law prohibits states and localities from devising qualifications or prior requirements that diminished the voting rights of minority communities; Section 5 required states with a history of discrimination to obtain federal preclearance before changing voter qualifications or districts.

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Under the preclearance provision, Blacks were able to establish a foothold in local and county legislatures, and were on the verge of gaining statewide influence in the South. The law has been used to expand the political representation of marginalized groups through the establishment of majority-minority districts, minority-coalition districts, white cross-over districts, and districts with a reasonable degree of minority influence.

In recent years, however, VRA opponents found favor in the U.S. Supreme Court to prolong the old ways of white dominance.

The court in 2013 nullified Section 5 in a case known as Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder. The ruling released states from the obligation of preclearance.

Since then, the GOP South has engaged in wide-ranging attacks on Black voter participation. Until now, though, the legislatures have not had the chance to redesign maps of representation.

This changed with the 2020 Census, the data used to reformulate state and congressional districts every 10 years. Each district holds approximately equal populations; if shaped adequately, they can further the goals of one person, one vote and enable the representation of common interests and locations.

Such is not the case in the aforementioned Southern states. The Brennan Center suggested that rigged maps in Texas, North Carolina, and Georgia alone could potentially deny Black voters influence in up to nine congressional seats than under the preclearance requirements.

Thats because preclearance would have forestalled the dilution of Black representation through mechanisms such as packing, where minorities are concentrated in a few places with limited legislative presence; and cracking, where they are dispersed into many districts with little influence, according to Power on the Line(s): Making Redistricting Work for Us, a May 2021 report researched by the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and other civil rights organizations.

It can take years, and tremendous efforts in the courts and on the streets, for communities to unwind the discriminatory effects of rigged election districts.

Take North Carolina, where the GOP responded to the 2010 census by devising a map for the state legislature that packed Black communities into fewer districts than justified by the population growth, according to a lawsuit filed by Black state voters and described in the NAACP LDF report.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2017 ruled that North Carolinas map was unconstitutional, but the victory came at an unacceptable cost. By the time of the SCOTUS ruling, the map had already been in place for years. During that period, the state GOP curtailed early voting, ended pre-registration for youths aged 16 and 17, eliminated same-day registration, and instituted a strict voter-ID requirement.

Following the 2020 Censusin which North Carolinas population surge of almost a million residents earned the state a larger congressional apportionmentthe GOP crafted maps that used packing and cracking schemes to dilute Black representation. Advocates successfully challenged the maps in the state courtsand had the midterm primary elections delayed from March to May to litigate corrections.

Black voters in Alabama are also fighting back, contending in lawsuits that the state GOP failed to account for population growth in a new map for congressional districts. And most importantly for the representation of a Black community that comprises 27 percent of the electorate, a three-judge federal panel agreed with advocates that the Alabama GOPs map violates the VRA and should be corrected. However, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling in a 5-4 decision, allowing the maps to remain in effect while the case is litigated in the lower courts.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, voters are challenging the GOP-drawn maps for state and congressional districts. Causing notable controversy has been the packing of Black votersand the cracking of other racial minority communitiesin the suburban Atlanta congressional districts. (Blacks comprise about 35 percent of the Peach State population.) Advocates filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing the GOP legislature of diluting Black representation in Congress and in the state legislature.

Its hard to believe were doing this again, but nearly six decades after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, Black voters still must advocate for districts that represent their interests. As in the past, the usual arenas of appeal are state and federal courts, local and state legislatures, mayors and governors. By December 2021, about 28 lawsuits were filed in objection to new congressional maps on the grounds of race discrimination, according to the Brennan Center.

Biden Must Fulfill His Promise to Protect the Black Vote

And it all stems from the way that SCOTUS effectively neutered the VRA in 2013.

Congress had an opportunity to address the denial of the vote and representation in January by passing the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, a merging of two Democrat-sponsored voting rights bills, the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Act. But the bill died on the Senate floor.

Had it passed, the law would have established new protections against racial discrimination in voting and election administration. The John Lewis Act alone would have rekindled provisions in the VRA weakened by the Supreme Court.

However, there is still a chance for Congress to revisit the issue and get it right. That chance is the bipartisan talks over a prospective bill known as the Electoral Count Act, which would reform how votes for president are verified by the Electoral College and certified by Congressand to avoid a replay of the Jan. 6 insurrection chaos.

Still, the ECA may be the last best hope to address the discrimination in voting unleashed by the Supreme Court. Democrats and moderate Republicans must incorporate into any proposed bill the key provisions of the John Lewis Act. Its time to end the racial chaos in our democratic system.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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By Marianna Parraga

(Reuters) - Cuba is struggling to cover a fuel deficit as imports from Venezuela and other countries remain below historical levels and global prices boosted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine make purchases almost unaffordable, according to analysts and data.

The Caribbean country, which is dependent on fuel imports mostly from political ally Venezuela to cover more than half of its demand, is since last month dealing with diesel and gasoline shortages leading to long lines in front of stations.

Insufficient fuel imports are another major hurdle for Cuba's economy, struggling to recover following the coronavirus pandemic and harsher U.S. sanctions imposed by the administration of former President Donald Trump.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has provided Cuba with more than 32,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude since 2019 even amid U.S. sanctions on both countries. But fuel volumes sent to the island have fallen as Venezuela has struggled to produce refined products for its own needs, according to vessel monitoring data.

Cuba imported some 70,000 bpd of crude and fuel in the first quarter of the year, below the about 100,000 bpd the Communist-ruled island typically requires to meet normal demand, tanker monitoring data from Refinitiv Eikon showed.

More than three-quarters of the shipments came from Venezuela, but the OPEC-member nation has sharply cut fuel shipments to Cuba from almost 44,000 bpd in 2020 to 21,000 bpd in 2021 and 22,000 bpd in the first quarter this year, the data and internal documents from state-run oil company PDVSA showed.

Cuba's information ministry and Venezuela's PDVSA did not reply to requests for comment.

Venezuela's oil exports to Cuba https://graphics.reuters.com/CUBA-OIL/IMPORTS/zjpqkddyapx/

Before the pandemic, Cuba's fuel demand reached 137,000 bpd of fuel oil, diesel, gasoline, cooking gas and other refined products, according to Cuba's National Statistics Office.

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Even though the nation this year is consuming some 110,000 bpd of fuel, it still needs imports to make up for insufficient domestic production, said Jorge Pinon, director of the University of Texas at Austin's Latin America and Caribbean Energy and Environment Program.

"Cuban refineries are not 100% operational. The Havana refinery, the only facility with a catalytic cracker, is running at around 70% of capacity, while Cienfuegos is doing sporadic runs of 10,000 bpd and Santiago is not in service," he said.

Catalytic cracking units are key for motor fuel production.

Diesel demand for power generation in Cuba is growing, Economy Minister Alejandro Gil said last week. Cuba relies in part on small distributed generation plants that tend to consume more diesel than larger centralized facilities.

Since September, Cuba has not received any diesel cargoes from Venezuela, according to the tanker tracking data and internal PDVSA documents, which has forced Cuba to go to the open market for increasingly costly diesel.

The nation exceeded its imports budget by $49 million in the first two months of the year due to high fuel prices, Gil said. "A 40,000-tonne diesel shipment that last month cost $35 million-$36 million, now costs $58 million," he said.

Cuba's seven aging thermoelectric plants, which provide 62% of the country's power, are the "Achilles Heel of Cuba's energy sector," Pinon said. "Outages due to delayed maintenance to the thermoelectric plants have caught them by surprise in a moment of low diesel inventories. That is causing a domino effect at gas stations."

Hours-long lines in front of stations were visible in Cuba's capital Havana in late March as the government began fuel rationing in at least one province.

Venezuela's diesel provision to Cuba was among the arguments used by Washington to suspend in 2020 the authorizations it had extended for the South American country's oil-for-fuel swaps with foreign oil producers.

The island's energy and mining minister, Livan Arronte, said Cuba - which remains under a U.S. embargo limiting free trade with the country - is paying freight tariffs and other costs 20% higher than importers bringing fuel through the same routes.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
(Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)

Acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono has been accused of multiple instances of sexual harassment.

The director is best known for films such as Love Exposure and last years Nicolas Cage-starring English-language horror Prisoners of the Ghostland.

A report in Japans Shukan Josei magazine features accounts from multiple female actors, who allege that the director offered them film roles in exchange for sex.

The alleged behaviour was said to be linked to Sonos acting workshops, perVariety.

The filmmaker has not yet responded to the allegations, though his forthcoming workshop has reportedly been cancelled.

The Independent has contacted a representative of Sono for comment.

Shukan Josei quotes an executive at a Japanese film distribution company as saying (per The Hollywood Reporter): Even now, there is a director who has no qualms about saying If you screw me, Ill give you work.

His films are acclaimed and many actresses want to appear in them. He uses that to assault women as if its nothing. That director is Sion Sono.

Sono is married to Megumi Kagurazaka, a former model who has starred in several of his films.

In 2019, Sono was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack, causing a delay to the filming of Prisoners of the Ghostland.
Fully vaccinated teachers and school staff are guaranteed pandemic-related paid leave under a bill Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law Tuesday.

The legislation retroactively returns to teachers sick days they used this school year because of the pandemic. Paid leave extends to employees needing to care for family members or loved ones stricken with the coronavirus.

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Were not only taking actions that recognize the important work that teachers and school support staff do, Pritzker said, adding, were also sending a message to future educators that this is a profession in Illinois that you should choose.

Pritzker vetoed a previous version of the bill that would have protected COVID-19-related leave for all teachers, regardless of vaccination status. The governor argued only vaccinated teachers should receive the benefits.

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The bill passed both chambers of the General Assembly last month, with votes largely along party lines. The previous version of the measure, which would have guaranteed pandemic-related leave for teachers regardless of vaccination status, passed in October with strong bipartisan support.

Dan Montgomery, a high school English teacher in Skokie and president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, applauded the measures concern for employees personal lives while prioritizing the work they do.

Our North Star has been, How do we keep people safe?  Montgomery said before the bills signing. How do we keep schools open and in-person safely, and how do we care for the children and their families in our charge?

Dan Montgomery, president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, speaks during a rally for striking Proviso High School District 209 teachers, counselors, social workers and librarians outside Proviso Mathematics and Science Academy March 4, 2022, in Forest Park. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

This bill is a sign that when you have good public servants of goodwill, who devote themselves to trying to figure out whats the right thing to do, we can all work together and get it done, Montgomery said.

Montgomery said in a statement the overwhelming majority of teacher union members, and his organization continue to encourage all eligible employees to get vaccinated and boosted.

Not only have teachers spent the past two years concerned about the health and safety of their students, Pritzker said, but they often have children and other family members to worry about.

Perhaps more than any other profession, educators have borne this burden, Pritzker said. Were extending employee paid leave to cover their childrens needs, too, ensuring that if an employees child gets sick or has to isolate and quarantine, they have one less thing to worry about.

cspaulding@chicagotribune.com
When former President Obama appears at the White House on Tuesday, Democrats say it will provide a much-needed boost to President Biden, who has been lagging in the polls.

Obama remains extremely popular with the Democratic base, and his return to the White House comes as Biden has struggled to boost his poll numbers in the face of a flurry of challenges, most notably soaring inflation.

I think this comes at the right moment, said one Democratic strategist. We need a jolt of energy right now, and no one brings that more than Obama.

Biden and Obama will promote the Affordable Care Act, the former presidents signature piece of legislation during his time in office.

Obama has remained out of the spotlight since leaving the White House in 2017, only reemerging in key moments during the Trump and Biden administrations. At those times, he has voiced his support for Biden on issues including the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, Bidens Build Back Better framework and voting rights.

The former president has not visited the White House since Biden took office, including privately, two sources said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday the two speak on the phone regularly and are real friends, not just Washington friends. The presidents will also have lunch together on Tuesday, she said, carrying on their tradition of weekly lunches during the Obama White House.

Their reunion, Democrats say, will be a full-circle moment of sorts, invoking nostalgia and a longing for the Obama era while marking one of the most significant legislative accomplishments in years.

From the historical perspective it does make a nice narrative arc from Obama and Biden passing the law to Obama returning to celebrate how its grown and been protected under now-President Biden, said Democratic strategist Eddie Vale. And it will be a good event and a good speech as one always gets from Obama.

But Vale cautioned that no one should be anticipating Obama magically solving all of our problems.

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If Democrats want to have wins to run on in 2022 and 2024, they need to buckle down and get more bills on Bidens desk, he said.

Matt Bennett, a former Clinton White House staffer and co-founder of centrist think tank Third Way, called it smart for the Biden White House to get Obama involved given the newfound popularity of his signature health care law.

Bennett noted the potential added benefit that popular and talented former presidents can really help the incumbent craft and carry a message.

One White House official downplayed any political aspects of bringing Obama into the White House, saying the former president has championed the law informally bearing his name for years and it made sense for him to be there to promote new efforts to strengthen the legislation.

Biden and Obama both attended a funeral service for former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in August and appeared together at the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York in the fall fall. The two also recorded a Zoom conversation last summer to promote sign-ups for the Affordable Care Act.

Obama is expected to return to the White House again in the coming months at the unveiling of presidential portraits of himself and former first lady Michelle Obama.

Even though they live within miles of each other, Obama and Biden have rarely seen each other since Biden took office, sources say, including privately. While Biden campaigned on being the popular presidents vice president, he has kept a distance as president.

Im not sure it would be helpful to him to have Barack Obama looming in the shadows of his presidency, said one source with knowledge of their relationship.

While the two presidents share a close bond over their mutual history in the Senate and later in the White House, a quiet tension has also existed. During the 2016 presidential race, Biden and his team were frustrated by Obamas push for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be his successor.

And later in the 2020 presidential race, Obama remained neutral, refusing to back anyone in the Democratic primary, including his former vice president. Biden has recounted that he told his former partner not to endorse him in the race, but sources close to the former president say that never happened.

Last year during a CNN town hall, Biden acknowledged that while he had been in the Oval Office many times as vice president, I had never been up in the residence while Obama was president.

Still, there is plenty of goodwill between the two men, sources say, and the Biden White House includes dozens of former Obama aides, including chief of staff Ron Klain and press secretary Jen Psaki.

Obama was one of the most sought after surrogates on the campaign trail in 2018 and 2020, along with Michelle Obama. A 2018 Gallup poll put Obamas approval rating at 63 percent, while a May 2020 Fox News poll showed Obama had a higher favorability rating than either Biden or then-President Trump.

Biden cant help but hope that rubs off on him given his anemic approval ratings, which have Democrats worried about whats coming in this falls midterm elections.

Anytime you have a popular ex-president, that is never a bad thing for a White House to be associated with, especially when you think of the history between President Biden and President Obama, said Democratic strategist Joel Payne. That said, President Obama presents limited value for the Biden White House right now given the multiple crises they are managing in real time.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark said on Tuesday it would expel 15 Russian diplomats, in line with steps taken by other European Union countries, after reports of mass graves being found and of civilian killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

"This is another example of brutality, cruelty and war crimes, which apparently have taken place in Bucha," Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod told a press briefing.

The move comes after several other European Union countries including France and Germany on Monday said they would expel Russian diplomats.

Moscow, which claims images of executed civilians in Bucha were fake products of Ukrainian and Western propaganda aimed at discrediting Russia, said it would retaliate for the expulsion, RIA Novosti reported.

The Danish foreign ministry said that it did not want to cut diplomatic ties to Moscow and that the Russian ambassador and the rest of the embassy were not part of the expulsion.

The Danish Security and Intelligence Service said in a report earlier this year that the Russian embassy employed several intelligence officers involved in espionage.

"We want to send a clear signal to Russia that espionage on Danish soil is unacceptable," Kofod said.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Communal workers prepare to carry a corpse in a body bag in a street of Bucha, not far from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on April 3, 2022. SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images

Images of a massacre of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine, have shocked the world.

Russia claims the killings are a hoax or conspiracy meant to frame its military.

But Russia's claims fall apart under close scrutiny, experts told Insider.

Images of dead bodies littering the streets in Bucha, Ukraine, have appalled the world.

Multiple witnesses say they were the victims of Russian soldiers who beat, tortured, and executed scores of civilians when they took of control of the town in early March.

But Russia has denied the accusations, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov describing them as "fake."

Joe Ondrak, lead investigator at Logically AI, told Insider that Russia was operating a "two pronged" disinformation strategy, seeking to portray the Bucha killings as a hoax, while also blaming Ukraine for the deaths there.

"On pro-Russian Telegram channels discussions abound about how the mainstream media will not report on the atrocities committed by the neo-Nazis and the Ukrainian forces against civilians in Bucha," he said.

The reality is that Western media has extensively reported the atrocities, but attributed responsibility to Russia, based on evidence from the scenes.

At the heart of the defense made by the Russian foreign ministry in a Telegram post is the claim that its forces withdrew from the town on March 30. It argues that this date means they cannot have killed the civilians.

They said that no evidence came to light before April 4, when media organisations entered Bucha. They said the bodies were not in a state of decomposition consistent with their being killed during the Russian occupation.

Mounting evidence is emerging to undermine Russia's argument, said Givi Gigitashvili, who analyses Russian disinformation for the Atlantic Council.

He told Insider that Russia's propaganda about Bucha fits to a clear pattern that it has used before.

"When Kremlin does not like facts, it tries to twist them," he said, noting that the claims tend to appeal to a Western conspiracist audience.

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An Ukrainian soldier patrols in an armoured vehicle a street in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, on April 2, 2022, where town's mayor said 280 people had been buried in a mass grave and that the town is littered with corpses. RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

March 30 - April 1

Gigitashvili said that Russia's claim it withdrew its forces on March 30 is contradicted by a report in Zvezda TV, a news outlet run by the Russian ministry of defense.

Zvezda reported that its forces were conducting "clean up" operations in Bucha on April 1. A day earlier Ukrainian authorities had said that the town was still under Russian control.

Imagery of atrocities began to emerge as soon as early as April 1, Gigitashvilis said, when Ukrainian forces first entered the town.

Shocking videos soon spread showing civilian bodies lying on the street emerged on Ukrainian Telegram channels. The New York Times reported that the footage was taken by a Bucha council member.

This undermines the Russian claim that no evidence of atrocities emerged before April 3, and shows the bodies were already present when Ukrainian forces entered the town.

Russia has tried to undermine the video, with Russia's Canadian embassy tweeting that the bodies filmed in the footage can be seen to move, suggesting the people were still alive.

On closer analysis, the movement can be seen to be a mark on a windshield, as noted by open-source analysts at Bellingcat and BBC Monitoring.

April 2

Russia has tried to portray the fact that images began to emerge from Bucha only after Ukrainian forces retook the town as suspicious, claiming it was only "on the fourth day" (after Russian forces left) that the pictures appeared.

But when Ukrainian forces took back full control of the town on April 2, they first had to conduct extensive operations to de-mine the area and make it safe, said Gigitashvili.

This meant that it was only on April 3 that most journalists and officials were able to enter the town and record evidence. But not all.

The first images of the bodies lying in the streets were taken by journalists from Agence France-Presse on Saturday, April 2, while the security operation was underway.

AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 2, 2022

Satellite images

Satellite footage from Maxar Technologies published by The New York Times provides further evidence undermining Russia's argument, with the footage showing bodies lying in the street from March 11.

At that point Russia by its own account was in control of the town. The position of the bodies in the images correlates to positions of bodies in subsequent photographs and film footage.

The condition of the bodies

Russia has claimed that images of the bodies show that rigor mortis, or a stiffening of the muscles after death, has not set in, meaning they could not have been killed while its forces were in the town.

A pathologist who has investigated war crimes told BBC News that rigor mortis often lessens after 4 days, meaning that the state of the bodies is consistent with them having been killed during the Russian occupation.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Elon Musk has become Twitter's largest shareholder after buying a 9.2% stake in the company. Patrick Pleul/AP

Conservatives have asked Elon Musk to restore former President Donald Trump's Twitter account.

Musk disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter on Monday that makes him the company's largest shareholder.

The Tesla CEO has publicly taken issue with Twitter's content-moderation rules.

Conservative figures are urging Elon Musk to allow former President Donald Trump back on Twitter following Monday's announcement that the Tesla CEO had bought a 9.2% stake in the social-media giant.

In the days before the announcement, Musk had tweeted several times questioning the platform's content-moderation rules and musing on whether a new social-media platform was needed.

On March 25, he also tweeted an informal survey asking his followers whether Twitter had adhered to the principle that free speech was essential to a "functioning democracy." Of the roughly 2 million respondents to the poll, 70.4% voted no.

With Musk becoming Twitter's largest shareholder, requests to reinstate Trump's account  which was permanently suspended on January 9, 2021, after the Capitol insurrection  started to surface Monday evening.

"Great job Elon Musk! Now reinstate President Trump!" the conservative author Brigitte Gabriel tweeted.

"Now that @ElonMusk is Twitter's largest shareholder, it's time to lift the political censorship. Oh and BRING BACK TRUMP!" GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado wrote.

Errol Webber, a Republican "America First" candidate running for a California House seat, said "everyone" who had been barred from Twitter should be reinstated.

"Will the new majority shareholder return freedom of speech to Twitter?" wrote Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who said the act would "require courage" because "the regime is heavily investing in a certain industry and threats will undoubtedly come."

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"Yet the freedom of speech restored will enable us all to defeat them," Greene added.

Conservatives in particular have long taken issue with large social-media companies' content-moderation policies. Critics, including Musk, often frame such policies in terms of free speech, though the First Amendment's protection from censorship applies to government restrictions and not ones from private companies like Twitter.

Trump's Twitter account was permanently suspended over the company's concerns over "the risk of further incitement of violence" in the wake of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

The former president has since created his own social-media platform, Truth Social, which he has touted as an alternative to mainstream social-media sites. The platform experienced technical difficulties at its launch in February.

While Musk had not directly addressed the requests as of Monday evening, the Tesla CEO alluded to his new Twitter shares again by surveying users on whether they wanted a button on the platform to edit their tweets and comments.

It is not immediately clear how much control Musk seeks to exercise over the social-media platform. As Bloomberg noted, the billionaire owns what is considered a "passive" stake in Twitter  which usually indicates an investor doesn't intend to take an active role influencing the company.

Musk could still reconsider his position and file to take a more active stance in the company, as Bloomberg reported.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Floridas Catholic bishops again are urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto something reasonable and humane that the Legislature has done to minimize abortions. DeSantis vetoed this program last year  which was a mistake. He should approve it this time.

Despite the harsh 15-week ban the Republican leadership passed this spring that the governor signed into law, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops wants church doctrine to also control how Florida women prevent unwanted pregnancies. Thats far beyond the proper separation of church and state and it elevates doctrine over common sense.

The surest and safest way to minimize abortions is to have fewer unplanned pregnancies. Abstinence, the method that some preach, often gives way to human nature. Contraception is more reliable, but some methods are more reliable than others.

After passing the bill (HB 5) prohibiting abortions after 15 weeks of gestation with no exceptions for rape, incest or human trafficking, the Legislature took one responsible step to partly offset it.

Senate President Wilton Simpson saw to it that the budget included $2 million to provide women with hormonal long-acting reversible contraception or HLARC, for short. It refers to intrauterine devices or IUDs, and implants inserted under the skin of the upper arm. Those would be in addition to present contraceptive services. The Department of Health program is described in detail on Page 130 of the budget thats on its way to DeSantis desk.

Planned Parenthood describes HLARC as the most effective forms of reversible birth control. Theyre safe and effective for most women and teens and can be removed at any time at a health center if youre ready to get pregnant.

Nascent human life

The bishops argue that these methods, unlike condoms or birth control pills, do not prevent conception  that they stop a fertilized egg cell from implanting in the uterus. In Roman Catholic doctrine, thats abortion. The bishops letter to DeSantis, a Catholic, calls it ending nascent human life.

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But thats not accurate. The primary mechanism of IUDs and implants is to prevent fertilization, according to the American College of Gynecology.

Their letter also claims that HLARCs have negative side effects on women who use them, that some of the Department of Healths contracted providers might include anti-family agencies like Planned Parenthood, that contraceptives are already widely available to women through Florida Medicaid, and that increasing access to contraception  fails to reduce unintended pregnancies or decrease abortion rates. Thats also refuted by surveys of women who use these methods.

The conference attached no supporting data to the letter.

Medical side effects are a matter properly left to women and their doctors and are no one elses business. So is the choice of method. IUDs and implants are more reliable than pills someone can take or barrier methods that someone neglects to use in a moment of passion.

The anti-family pejorative is a cheap shot that is unworthy of the church. Family planning promotes healthy families. In a 2016 poll, much cited since, the Pew Research Center found that only 8% of Catholics agree with the church that contraceptive usage is morally wrong. Some 41% said it is morally acceptable and 4% said it isnt even a moral issue. Barely half, 51%, considered abortion morally wrong.

The claim regarding the influence on abortion rates persists despite having been refuted.

Increased access to contraception significantly reduces unwanted pregnancies and abortions.

A controlled study in metropolitan St. Louis, which provided no-cost birth control to some 9,000 women and adolescents, reduced abortion from 62% to 78% below the national rate, according to a Washington University report.

In 2016, the Guttmacher Institute said in a major report that abortion declines began in 2008, three years before states began to pile on new obstacles. It said the percentage of unintended pregnancies ending in abortion did not decline, meaning that the drop in abortions owed to improved contraception.

According to Guttmacher, the lower incidence was notable among groups that had the highest rates of abortion, including Blacks, Hispanics, low-income women, women in their 20s and those with low educational attainment.

Pregnancy and poverty

In remarks to the media, Simpson emphasized the economic benefits to such women, to their children and to the state if they can reliably postpone pregnancy until they complete college or start a career. If not, he said, its very difficult for that mother to ever get out of poverty.

We have a lot of underprivileged children in this state, he added.

Describing himself as pro-life my entire life, he said there are many ways to approach pro-life.

The reversible contraception program is an essential one.

Half of our population cannot afford these devices, Simpson said.

It would be timely for Floridians who agree with Simpsons humane initiative to let the governor know that. Hes already hearing from the other side. This is his e-mail address: governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com.

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The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson, Opinion Page Editor Krys Fluker, Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick and El Sentinel Editor Jennifer Marcial Ocasio. The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board includes Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney and Anderson. Email at insight@orlandosentinel.com.

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Elon Musk will join the board of directors at Twitter. (Associated Press)

A day after it became public knowledge that he bought a 9% stake in Twitter, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk is now also set to join the social media platforms board of directors, according to new regulatory filings.

A report filed Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission states that on the day before, Twitter agreed to appoint Musk to its board with a term expiring at the Companys 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. For that period, plus 90 additional days, Musk will not become the owner of more than 14.9% of Twitters outstanding stock, the agreement states.

Im excited to share that were appointing [Musk] to our board! tweeted Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, who took on the leadership role in November after serving as the microblogging platforms chief technology officer. Hes both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need.

Musk responded : Looking forward to working with [Agrawal and the] Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!

Twitter currently lists 11 other members on its board, including Agrawal; co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey; and leaders from Salesforce, Mastercard and Stanford University.

Musks intentions with his stake in the social media platform remain unclear. The richest man in the world is now the companys largest stakeholder, but his investment is a passive one, meaning that he isnt allowed to pursue control of the company.

Musk has already hinted that hes unhappy with how the platform handles free speech issues, perhaps setting the stage for some sort of future activism around the sites content moderation policies.

In a string of tweets posted soon after he bought his stake, the tech magnate wrote that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square and thus must adhere to free-speech principles in the name of democracy.

What should be done? he asked. Is a new platform needed?

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In an email to The Times, Twitter spokesperson Adrian Zamora said that site policy decisions arent made by shareholders or the board.

Twitter is committed to impartiality in the development and enforcement of its policies and rules, Zamora said. Our Board plays an important advisory and feedback role across the entirety of our service. Our day to day operations and decisions are made by Twitter management and employees.

Heady questions about speech and censorship are not the only things Musk may try to hold sway over. Since news of his stock purchase broke, he has been posting and replying intermittently on Twitter, offering his 80 million followers thoughts on the sites scourge of cryptocurrency-shilling spam bots  the single most annoying problem on the site, he wrote  and the long-debated addition of an edit button that would allow users to retroactively change their tweets.

A poll he posted asking whether users wanted such a feature had more than 4 million votes by Tuesday evening, with responses leaning about three-fourths in favor.

Using Twitter polls to gauge public opinion is shaping up to be a hallmark of Musks tenure as co-owner. A week and a half ago, he asked his followers whether Twitter rigorously adheres to an ethos of free speech; more than 70% of respondents said no.

In response to someones prediction that hed continue using Twitter polls to influence site policy, he remarked : If the people vote overwhelmingly for something, it is at least *a* data point!

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union has declared 19 Russian diplomats personae non gratae for "engaging in activities contrary to their diplomatic status" and ordered them to leave host nation Belgium, the bloc said, joining EU members in expelling envoys.

"Based on the decision by High Representative Josep Borrell, 19 members of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the EU in Brussels have been declared personae non gratae for engaging in activities contrary to their diplomatic status," the bloc said in a statement.

The decision to revoke the immunity of the diplomats at Russia's mission to the EU follows similar decisions by a host of EU countries, including France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and Spain, accusing envoys of spying.

The EU said its decision was also in protest at reports of civilian killings in Ukrainian towns that were under Russian control since Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. The EU said they were "atrocities." Moscow says they were staged by Kyiv.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott, editing by Marine Strauss)
SPRINGFIELD  A group of Democratic state legislators made another anti-crime pitch Monday with measures aimed at showing support for law enforcement and countering the Republican narrative that their partys policies are facilitating an uptick in violence.

The legislators who laid out a plan at a news conference in Springfield were mostly from the more moderate wing of the Democratic Party, which has found itself somewhat at odds with progressives in the effort to come up with a winning formula for anti-crime legislation.

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The legislators offered plans to give police officers greater incentives to stay on the job at a time when police forces across the country are seeing an exodus of cops, and to increase funding for officer wellness programs. Its unclear how much money the Democrats are seeking for that  but they said the current state budget includes $5 million for addressing the mental health of cops and firefighters.

Rep. Dave Vella, D-Rockford, speaks at a news conference about an anti-crime package from Illinois Democrats on April 4, 2022, in Springfield. (John O'Connor/AP )

We have to look at comprehensive ways to support law enforcement and to make sure that we can really bust through those barriers that have prevented first responders from accessing the desperately needed mental health support that they need, said state Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, who is considered part of the Democratic progressive wing but whose Northwest Side district of Chicago includes many cops and firefighters.

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Some of the Democratic-led legislation introduced on Monday mirrors proposals made by Republicans several months ago that didnt gain much traction from the majority party. Those include a push to improve training for police officers across the state and set aside money to hire more cops.

Asked why there were no Republicans joining them in their support, state Rep. Dave Vella said we think that our ideas are better.

We always try to be open to all ideas, but the ideas that came out from the other side were just more putting more people in jail and thats not working, and it costs the taxpayers too much money, said Vella, a Democrat from Rockford.

House Republican Leader Jim Durkin on Monday continued to criticize the Democrats for passing last years Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (or SAFE-T) Act. Democrats say the law, which includes an end to cash bail for nonviolent offenses beginning in 2023, is meant to address inequities in the criminal justice system, while Republicans have argued it weakens the power of law enforcement and emboldens criminals.

Democrats in Illinois have repeatedly attacked our police and justice system. Today, they are trying to rewrite history, said Durkin, of Western Springs. Until they wake up and repeal their pro-criminal SAFE-T Act, there will be no safe communities in Illinois.

On the House floor Monday, Savanna Republican Rep. Tony McCombie made air quotes as she questioned whether the Democrats latest package can be characterized as pro-law enforcement.

Also among the proposals introduced by Democrats Monday was allowing retiring sheriffs, investigators, security employees and probation officers to buy their badge and service gun, and creating a grant program for child care centers to provide after-hours and nightly child care for first responders.

The Democrats also proposed enhancing the ability of county prosecutors to go after groups suspected of running a criminal enterprise.

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The wave of anti-crime-themed bills from the Democrats began last week and comes as Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and all 177 state legislators face reelection this year.

Instead of endorsing more traditional law-and-order approaches that have been championed by Republicans, the Democrats over the last year have steered millions of dollars to violence prevention groups that employ ex-felons to mediate streets conflicts and connect those most prone to violence  either as a victim or perpetrator  with mental health therapy and other social services.

But theres been a rift in recent weeks between some moderate and progressive Democrats in the General Assembly on crime issues, perhaps most notably with the Senates rejection of Pritzkers choices for the Prisoner Review Board. Some Democrats have sought to get behind the kind of tough-on-crime policies traditionally favored by their rivals across the aisle.

For example, a measure backed last week by moderate Democrats in the Senate proposed a tougher approach to organized retail crime, which has generated headlines through both smash-and-grab burglaries at high-end stores and large-scale operations targeting railroad and trucking cargo, and has garnered bipartisan support.

That was followed by proposals from more progressive Democrats that included a co-responder model under which police officers and social workers would work together to address mental health emergencies; more counseling for crime victims; and an expansion in the states unfunded witness protection program, for which Pritzker has already proposed $20 million.

State Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, D-Chicago, explains her legislation to expand mental health resources for first responders on April 4, 2022, in Springfield. (John OConnor / AP)

In cities like Chicago, theres been a decadeslong, deeply rooted distrust of police officers in Black neighborhoods. Aside from Sen. Doris Turner, a Democrat from Springfield who is Black, the other roughly dozen legislators on hand at Mondays news conference were white. But Vella assured reporters that the Democrats latest wave of anti-crime policies has the support of his Black colleagues.

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Asked how those policies would improve the trust of the police within the Black community, Vella said, I think this is a first step toward that ... These ideas are smart, next-century ideas about policing. We would hope this will give young Black youth the ability to trust police officers.

Members of the House Black Caucus whove focused on crime legislation over the last few years have said Democrats need to balance a law-and-order approach to fighting crime with the need for investment in underserved communities most beset by violence. State Rep. Justin Slaughter, a Chicago Democrat who was one of the main sponsors of the SAFE-T Act, downplayed any pressure his party may feel to curry favor with a voting base thats more sympathetic to law enforcement.

Its not necessarily pressure as much as it is concern, Slaughter told the Tribune last week after an event in a downtown Springfield hotel. Yes, theres that element of whats happening politically with the other side of the aisle, mainly Republicans who are, in my opinion, misrepresenting the reforms weve made.

But its more so also just a concern, generally, for public safety, he also said. I think its more so important to not feel the pressure but address the concern around how to bring about sustainable long-term strategies to public safety.

The Democrats will continue to work on a compromise on the issue before Friday, when the General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn its spring session.

Chicago Tribunes Clare Spaulding contributed from Chicago.

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jgorner@chicagotribune.com
A ruling by the European Union's top court has reaffirmed that national law cannot rely on a claim of combating serious crime to deviate from the prohibition in EU law on general and indiscriminate collection of electronic comms data.

Although the court has signposted some targeted exceptions it suggests may be permissible for gathering digital evidence in bulk to fight serious crime, such as by targeting places with a high instance of crime or a high volume of visitors (such as airports), or other locations which house critical infrastructure.

The referral to the CJEU, which followed an appeal in a case related to use of mobile phone data to secure a murder conviction in Ireland, saw a long list of EU Member States joining Ireland to press for the court to take a broader interpretation of how law enforcement authorities can retain and use data, as the Irish Times reported earlier. But the bloc's top court rejected any blurring of the line between national security and serious crime -- instead reiterating that EU law precludes the general and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data relating to electronic communications for the purposes of combating serious crime.

"While the privacy and electronic communications directive allows Member States to place limitations on the exercise of those rights and obligations for the purposes inter alia of combating crime, those limitations must comply with the principle of proportionality," runs a CJEU press release on the judgement. "That principle requires compliance not only with the requirements of aptitude and of necessity but also with that of the proportionate nature of those measures in relation to the objective pursued.

"Thus, the Court has already held that the objective of combating serious crime, as fundamental it may be, does not, in itself, justify that a measure providing for the general and indiscriminate retention of all traffic and location data, such as that established by [EU] Directive 2006/24, should be considered to be necessary.

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"In the same vein, even the positive obligations of the Member States relating to the establishment of rules to facilitate effective action to combat criminal offences cannot have the effect of justifying interference that is as serious as that entailed by legislation providing for the retention of traffic and location data with the fundamental rights of practically the entire population, in circumstances where the data of the persons concerned are not liable to disclose a link, at least an indirect one, between those data and the objective pursued."

The broad interest in the case hints at how many other national laws may be operating on similarly shaky ground vis-a-vis bulk data retention -- whether in relation to serious crime, or national security.

On the latter, the CJEU has repeatedly made it clear that general and indiscriminate data retention regimes are not legal -- although the court did allow, in a ruling back in October 2020, that where a Member State faces a pressing national security threat then temporary bulk data collection and retention, limited to what is strictly necessary, may be allowed.

The CJEU's ruling on the Irish referral today emphasizes the need for public authorities to strike a balance between the general/public interest in catching a criminal and individuals' fundamental rights under EU law, which include a right to private life and respect for personal data.

The court rejected submissions by Member States for a workaround that would have meant particularly serious crime could be treated in the same way as a threat to national security "which is genuine and current or foreseeable" -- and thereby allow for time-limited general and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data for the purpose of combating crime.

"Such a threat is distinguishable, by its nature, its seriousness, and the specific nature of the circumstances of which it is constituted, from the general and permanent risk of the occurrence of tensions or disturbances, even of a serious nature, that affect public security, or from that of serious criminal offences being committed," the press release says on that.

So the implication is Member States which have been pressing this line of argument to try to workaround the EU law -- and 'legalize' their illegal bulk data collection regimes -- are facing a bit of a dead-end.

Great points here, on how the G.D. case law also blows a hole in the questionable dance of the Conseil dEtat in the LQDN case, particularly around blurring criminality and national security. Real reform in France, not judicial dancing, is needed for compliance with EU law. https://t.co/cGHa8Y1Ckl  Michael Veale #UCUStrike (@mikarv) April 5, 2022

In the ruling, the CJEU has sought to provide tighter steerage for public authorities on alternative courses of action they may take to gather digital evidence -- with the court saying it's confirming earlier case law by holding that EU law does not preclude legislative measures for the purposes of combating serious crime and preventing serious threats to public security that provide for:

the targeted retention of traffic and location data which is limited, according to the categories of persons concerned or using a geographical criterion;

the general and indiscriminate retention of IP addresses assigned to the source of an internet connection;

the general and indiscriminate retention of data relating to the civil identity of users of electronic communications systems;

the expedited retention (quick freeze) of traffic and location data in the possession of those service providers.

Albeit, the ruling also stresses that any such measures are subject to the limits of what is strictly necessary.

My experience as @terrorwatchdog suggests that people are much more sensitive about powers that they perceive as targeting the community and they are about powers of general application. /5  David Anderson (@bricksilk) April 5, 2022

More on the cited exceptions from the ruling:

" ... a targeted measure for the retention of traffic and location data may, at the choice of the national legislature and in strict compliance with the principle of proportionality, also be set using a geographical criterion where the competent national authorities consider, on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory factors, that there exists, in one or more geographical areas, a situation characterised by a high risk of preparation for or commission of serious criminal offences. Those areas may include places with a high incidence of serious crime, places that are particularly vulnerable to serious crime, such as places or infrastructure which regularly receive a very high volume of visitors, or strategic locations, such as airports, stations, maritime ports or tollbooth areas (see, to that effect, judgment of 6 October 2020, La Quadrature du Net and Others, C511/18, C512/18 and C520/18, EU:C:2020:791, paragraphs 150 and the case-law cited). "It should be borne in mind that, according to that case-law, the competent national authorities may adopt, for areas referred to in the preceding paragraph, a targeted measure of retention using a geographic criterion, such as, inter alia, the average crime rate in a geographical area, without that authority necessarily having specific indications as to the preparation or commission, in the areas concerned, of acts of serious crime. Since a targeted retention using that criterion is likely to concern, depending on the serious criminal offences in question and the situation specific to the respective Member States, both the areas marked by a high incidence of serious crime and areas particularly vulnerable to the commission of those acts, it is, in principle, not likely moreover to give rise to discrimination, as the criterion drawn from the average rate of serious crime is entirely unconnected with any potentially discriminatory factors. "In addition and above all, a targeted measure of retention covering places or infrastructures which regularly receive a very high volume of visitors, or strategic places, such as airports, stations, maritime ports or tollbooth areas, allows the competent authorities to collect traffic data and, in particular, location data of all persons using, at a specific time, a means of electronic communication in one of those places. Thus, such a targeted retention measure may allow those authorities to obtain, through access to the retained data, information as to the presence of those persons in the places or geographical areas covered by that measure as well as their movements between or within those areas and to draw, for the purposes of combating serious crime, conclusions as to their presence and activity in those places or geographical areas at a specific time during the period of retention."

As a counterpart, CJEU provides lots of precisions & flexibility re/ various permissible exceptions to fight serious crime. It seems to authorize #dataretention for vast geographical areas (entire cities if high crime?) & places with lots of visitors. Big discussions ahead 5/5 pic.twitter.com/SXRZLapPGf  Theodore CHRISTAKIS (@TC_IntLaw) April 5, 2022

The court rejected another workaround type argument -- which had posited that serious-crime-fighting authorities should be allowed to dip into mobile data which had been gathered in bulk, in a general and indiscriminate way, to address a serious threat to national security which is genuine and current or foreseeable.

"That argument makes that access depend on factors that are unrelated to the objective of combating serious crime," notes the CJEU's press release. "In addition, under that line of argument, access could be justified by an objective of lesser importance than that which justified its retention, namely safeguarding national security, which would be contrary to that hierarchy of public interest objectives in the context of which the proportionality of a retention measure must be assessed. Furthermore, to authorise such access would deprive of any effectiveness the prohibition on carrying out general and indiscriminate retention for the purpose of combating serious crime."

The court further held that access to personal data such as traffic and location data by competent national authorities must be subject to a prior review -- carried out either by a court or by an independent administrative body -- and that a review decision must be preceded by the proper requesting procedure (aka "a reasoned request by those authorities submitted, inter alia, within the framework of procedures for the prevention, detection or prosecution of crime").

The CJEU also makes it explicitly clear that a police officer cannot stand in for the requisite court or independent body in this scenario. So, basically, sign-off on data access by a police officer does not qualify as a valid decision review body and will not let Member States pull off another quick 'n' dirty bypass of EU law (not legally anyway).

A national court also cannot eschew its responsibility to strike down national legislation that's incompatible with the EU directive on privacy and electronic communications, the CJEU further held -- which looks pertinent for France where the government has been seeking to use the national courts to do just that in recent years (via Politico).

On the specific point of case referral -- as to whether the retained mobile traffic and location data should be allowed to stand as evidence in the murder case -- the CJEU has bounced the matter back to the Irish courts, emphasizing that a ruling needs to comply with the principles of equivalence and effectiveness. So whether that evidence gets thrown out or not remains to be seen.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell will travel to Kyiv this week for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, an EU spokesman said on Tuesday.

The meeting will take place "prior to the pledging event #StandUpForUkraine on Saturday in Warsaw", EU spokesman Eric Mamer wrote on Twitter.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Don't forget to use private mode viewing. (Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Don't forget to use private mode viewing. (Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Last fall, Ronelle, a 23-year-old law student in New Hampshire, was bored and doing some maintenance on her LinkedIn page.

Though she wasnt particularly missing her ex, it had been a while, and she was slightly curious to see what he had been up to lately, professionally speaking.

She clicked on his page.

An hour later, she received a text from said ex: Viewing my LinkedIn, eh?

After I got over my mini heart attack, I immediately ran to my settings to see where I had gone wrong, Ronelle, who asked to use her first name only, told HuffPost.

Apparently there are multiple options for how you appear when you view peoples profiles, she said.

Indeed, there are! Ronelle, like so many of us before her, learned the hard way that, in most cases, LinkedIn will notify a user when you view their profile.

Poking around to see what that one braggart former co-worker of yours is up to? They can see that on LinkedIn!

Looking up your old high school crush to see if they ever got out of town? They can see that on LinkedIn, too!

Curious if Shaq is still part of the Papa Johns corporation? Yes, he is, and he can see that you checked on LinkedIn! (Yes, Shaq has a LinkedIn page.)

being notified when someone visits your profile on LinkedIn is the most chaotic feature of any social media  mattfred (@itsmattfred) August 8, 2020

How to View LinkedIn Profiles Anonymously

Naturally, you probably want to make sure your ex  or anyone else, for that matter  cant see you perusing their profile. To do that, you simply have to enable private mode in your privacy settings.

To find this option, head to the LinkedIn website and click on the Me icon on the top right corner of your profile. Then click on the Setting & Privacy option from the drop-down menu.

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(Photo: LinkedIn)

(Photo: LinkedIn)

From there, click the Visibility tab on the lefthand side.

(Photo: LinkedIn)

(Photo: LinkedIn)

Once youre clicked onto the Visibility tab, click on the Visibility of your profile & network subtab. This page will give you the option to change whether your LinkedIn browsing is visible or private. Click private mode if you no longer want people to see you snooping around!

(Photo: LinkedIn)

(Photo: LinkedIn)

And thats it. Youre a stealthy browser now. People will still see that someone viewed their profile after youve viewed it, but theyll only see that an anonymous person viewed it.

Keep in mind, though, if you have a Basic (free) account and choose to browse in private mode, you wont be able to see whos viewed your profile either. If you upgrade to a Premium account, you can browse in private mode and still see the list of people who viewed your profile in the last 90 days.

Ronelle is now using private mode. But like anyone whos ever accidentally clicked on their exs LinkedIn page, shes still a little scarred from the experience.

My settings are set to private now, but I still avoid looking at anyones profile if its not for work because Im scared that I may have accidentally switched the setting! she said. If its absolutely necessary to keep tabs on your ex, stick to Instagram or Twitter.

Also on HuffPost

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Related...
Krista Atkins died at the Pegasos voluntary assisted dying clinic in Basel, Switzerland, in 2020 (Pegasos Association)

The family of an American woman who died by assisted suicide in Switzerland has threatened to take legal action against the clinic where she died.

Krista Atkins, 40, of Cohasset, Massachusetts, paid $15,000 to die at the Pegasos Association in Basel in June 2020, the same clinic where Arizona sisters Lila Ammouri and Susan Frazier died on 11 February.

Ms Atkins was physically healthy at the time of her death but had suffered from severe mental illness, according to Exit International director Philip Nitschke, who advised her on ending her life.

Dr Nitschke told The Independent that Atkinss family had tried to prevent her from travelling to Switzerland and were actively hostile to her wish to end her life.

She seemed to be in a battle with the family, he said.

Days before her death on 6 June 2020, Ms Atkins brother Joshua Atkins, an associate professor of anaesthesiology and critical care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, wrote to Pegasos warning them against going through with the suicide.

In an email provided to The Independent, Dr Atkins wrote: I also believe, limited European case law to the contrary, that (voluntary assisted dying) in this instance is likely unlawful given the diagnoses she carries. I need you to understand that should Krista die in your care I shall feel compelled to use the extensive resources and networks at my disposal to fully investigate the circumstance of her death.

Shortly before her death, Krista Atkins wrote a note which was left with Pegasos rejecting her brothers claims.

It came to my unfortunate attention that my brother, Josh Atkins, recently contacted, on the eve of my death, the organisation Pegasos, who has graciously helped me achieve a peaceful death at their clinic on June 6, 2020 after many months of intensive evaluation of my case, she wrote in a note supplied to The Independent.

Ms Atkins said her brother was unqualified to diagnose her mental illness or assess her prior treatments, adding she had been extensively evaluated by Pegasos and two forensic psychiatrists in the United States.

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Dr Philip Nitschke, the director of Exit international, advised Krista Atkins on how to end her life (Getty Image)

Ms Atkins wrote that her family were deeply Catholic and harbour a strident disapproval of self-determination.

Prior to her death, she told Dr Nitschke she hadnt been in touch with some members of her family for more than a decade.

Dr Nitschke said Pegasos determined she was eligible to choose to die under Swiss law.

Its not really whether she had a mental illness or not. The fundamental question to ask in Switzerland is whether she had mental capacity.

I dont think they were denying those background mental issues, but she was certainly in a position to give informed consent.

Switzerland is the only country in the world that allows those who are not suffering from terminal illness to end their own lives.

Dr Joshua Atkins did not respond to email or phone requests for comment from The Independent.

According to The Daily Beast , Ms Atkins family is filing a legal claim against Pegasos.

While I understand Pegasos service may seem altruistic, I believe their vetting process is too loose and needs to be tightened, especially in cases involving those suffering from mental illness, a family member told the site.

Its unclear whether a suit has already been filed, or in which jurisdiction.

Lila Ammouri and Susan Frazier died by voluntary assisted suicide at a clinic in Switzerland (Screengrab/Facebook)

Ms Atkins first contacted Exit International in 2017, seeking advice on how to end her life, director Dr Nitschke told The Independent.

She was in frequent email contact with Exit over the next three years, joining a forum for those discussing end of life options and acquiring information on how to end her life.

After exploring several DIY methods Ms Atkins wanted the certainty of the Swiss option, Dr Nitshke said.

Dr Nitschke said he wasnt aware of any other instances where aggrieved family members had taken legal action against assisted dying clinics.

According to an obituary by the Philadelphia Enquirer , Ms Atkins mother Eileen Ann Atkins, a psychiatric nurse, died in April 2020 aged 73 from dementia and Covid-19, two months before her death in Switzerland.

My mother was a wonderful woman, Krista Atkins told the site. She deeply cared about people who were the underdogs in society.

She recognised that people are thrown into situations that are not their fault. She had enormous compassion for people who were born into terrible circumstances.

The obituary states their father, also Joshua Atkins, died in a car accident in 1983 when Krista was four years old.

Pegasos did not immediately respond to a request for further information on the lawsuit or about the circumstances of Ms Atkinss death

The clinic describes mental illness as a vexed issue on its website.

At Pegasos we believe that you can still have mental capacity even if you suffer from long term depression. The most important thing is to tell us of your mental illness and then we can work with you for the best outcome.
Apr. 5The Biden administration is designating a giant swath of waters off Alaska's Bering Sea and Arctic coasts as critical habitat for ringed seals and bearded seals.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last week that the area would encompass waters extending from St. Matthew Island in the Bering Sea to the edge of Canadian waters in the Arctic.

The snow- and ice-dependent seals were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2012, but the listings faced court challenges, delaying the designation of critical habitat.

The Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group, filed a lawsuit against the agency in 2019 for not completing the designation in time, leading to a settlement with a commitment by the agency to determine critical habitat in April this year.

Alaska's Republican U.S. senators decried the move. The area covers more than 260,000 square miles, about the size of Texas, said Sen. Lisa Murkowski in a prepared statement on Monday.

[U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to visit Alaska this month]

"It is an abuse of power, inappropriately leveraging the Endangered Species Act," Murkowski said in the statement. "The domino effect this could have on fisheries, shipping, arctic infrastructure, responsible resource development, and more  is quite serious for Alaska and all who live, work, and raise families here."

"NOAA's designation of critical habitat for both species allows these crushing federal regulatory burdens to take effect across broad swaths of the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas, further locking up our lands, waters and resources," Sen. Dan Sullivan said in the statement.

The agency acknowledges that the proposed designation would likely result in restrictions on oil and gas activities, marine transportation and other industries, the statement from the senators said.

Reduced sea ice is threatening the seals, which rely on the snow and ice for protection from predators and the elements, the Center for Biological Diversity said.

"This is fantastic news for these ice-dependent seals," said Emily Jeffers, an attorney with the conservation group, in a statement. "We can't save them without protecting the places they live."

The critical habitat designation will not restrict subsistence activities by Alaska Native communities, according to NOAA.
When it comes to violent crime in Baltimore, April has so far proved to be as gloomy as the proceeding three months. Three people were killed and two others injured in multiple city shootings last Sunday alone, keeping the pace of homicides in 2022 ahead of last year. A 38-year-old Johns Hopkins acute care surgeon was shot during a carjacking on his way to work at 7 a.m. Friday morning. Shootings with multiple victims are up and so are robberies. Cars recklessly spinning out doughnuts to an audience at busy city intersections has apparently become a thing. The Baltimore Police Department has struggled to recruit new officers and remains understaffed by hundreds of positions.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Police Commissioner Michael Harrison and members of the Baltimore City Council have insisted that reducing violent crime remains their top priority. Gov. Larry Hogan has certainly made considerable political hay on the subject (calling it the No. 1 concern of Marylanders) as well  although often proving more forceful in his partisan criticisms of local leaders than in taking meaningful corrective action at the state level. Yet, in the Maryland General Assembly, efforts to date have been mostly directed at what is often termed a holistic approach to criminal justice, addressing the social ills that can worsen crime, including systemic racism, poverty, addiction and mental illness.

Much of what has been accomplished in Annapolis so far on this front can be found in the states $58 billion annual operating budget with its added support for social programs and public education, most notably $800 million for the Blueprint for Marylands Future, the sweeping K-12 education reform given final approval last year, despite Governor Hogans opposition. And lawmakers have also gone further in areas where there is broad agreement among Democrats such as their decision to ban ghost guns that are assembled from parts that allow purchasers to sidestep restrictions on gun ownership, a convenience for violent felons or other criminals seeking a weapon without an identifying serial number.

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But, to put it mildly, this is not enough. A handful of Senate bills aimed some of the thornier public safety issues have so far languished in the House of Delegates. They include legislation to create a state firearms enforcement center within the Maryland State Police to track guns crimes statewide and makes theft of a handgun a felony, a compilation of data on sentencing in cases of violent crime with the information posted by judicial circuit (and not by individual judge as the Hogan administration had initially requested) through a data dashboard available to the public, and a greater transparency regarding the status of offenders supervised by the Division of Parole and Probation.

The apparent hesitancy among House Democrats might have something to do with concerns over aggressive policing and racial bias in the criminal justice system, which has so often resulted in far harsher treatment for Black men than for others. Governor Hogans longtime push for mandatory minimum sentences remains a non-starter in both the House and Senate  and to us, as well. But given the seriousness of the citys homicide problem with more than 300 fatalities recorded annually since 2015, it would seem perfectly reasonable to consider whether violent offenders are getting sufficient prison terms or whether parolees are not receiving proper supervision from the state. Not every defendant deserves early release. Sometimes, public safety requires that repeat violent offenders be kept under lock and key.

At the very least, Democrats ought to understand that public concerns over Baltimores continued high homicide rate are likely to influence voting this election year. Higher teacher salaries or a beefed up curriculum, while worthwhile on their own, are an insufficient response to the ongoing crime crisis. Why not, for example, approve legislation to allocate more money to allow police to serve arrest warrants in a timely manner? A backlog of arrest warrants was seen as a factor in the shooting death of the husband of a city police lieutenant in late January, the delay giving the defendant who was wanted in connection to an earlier armed robbery the opportunity to commit that homicide.

None of that argues against continuing to fight the good fight against social injustice, racism, substance abuse and all the rest. Just as Baltimore must prosecute criminal behavior by bad cops while supporting the work of honest, dedicated police officers, state lawmakers must recognize that the city needs to get tough on repeat violent offenders while continuing to address the underlying circumstances that contribute this plague of killings.

Baltimore Sun editorial writers offer opinions and analysis on news and issues relevant to readers. They operate separately from the newsroom.
BELMAR, NJ - Two seats are up for grabs on the Belmar Council this year, plus a mayoral spot, according to the municipal clerk's office. Two candidates are seeking the mayors position, while four others are eyeing the council seats.

Incumbent mayor Mark Walsifer and current councilmember James McCracken are vying to keep their seats for another term. Councilmember Tom Carvelli will not be seeking reelection this year. Read more: Belmar Councilman Won't Seek Reelection

Who is running for mayor?

Walsifer has lived in Belmar since 1967 and is a retired Borough of Belmar police officer. He retired after 25 years of service as detective sergeant, according to his municipal profile. Walsifer was elected to the Belmar Board of Education and served for 17 years. He was elected to the Belmar Council in 2016 and was elected mayor two years later. Hes a member of the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh and the Belmar Fishing Club.



McCracken previously served on the Fredon Township Committee for over seven years and served as deputy mayor and mayor during his time there. Hes a former rotarian, has been involved in various chambers of commerce and has been a Belmar resident for over 26 years. He currently serves on the board of trustees of the Belmar Fishing Club.



2021 Belmar Council candidate Gerald Buccafusco will be trying his luck again in local politics in 2022, this time seeking the mayors position.

Buccafusco is a licensed attorney and served in the New Jersey judiciary for over 23 years. He's been a Belmar summer resident for 60 years and full-time resident for seven. The candidate argues for a "more thoughtful approach to new development" and prevention of administrative overreach of eminent domain.

Last year wasn't Buccafusco's first try for a seat on the council, either. In 2020, Buccafusco also attempted to unseat Democrat councilman Thomas Brennan.

"I'm proud to run on the Democratic ticket for mayor," said Buccafusco. "With the constant increases in taxes and other expenses that this Administration has pushed onto Belmar taxpayers, I believe my experience and commitment will help us move Belmar in a more positive direction."

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Who is running for Belmar Council?



Alongside incumbent McCracken, seeking a spot on the Belmar Council is Katrina Clapsis, Mark Levis and Maria Rondinaro.

Rondinaro is a licensed clinical social worker, small business owner and community volunteer, having served as a Belmar Community Policing Block Captain. She also fundraises for the Friends of Belmar Library, volunteers for the Rescue Ridge Animal Shelter and is an active member of the Belmar Elementary PTO, according to a release.

She has also been noted for her work helping Belmar seniors find COVID-19 vaccination appointments and transportation, the release said.

"Unfortunately, this administration has done a poor job of communicating and working with the community. I'm out there every day, with different local groups, and they know that with me they have a leader who will listen," said Rondinaro.

Levis is a Marine engineer and former lieutenant in the Navy Reserve. He also served as a Belmar councilmember in 2018. He also served as chairman of the Belmar Harbor Commission from 2015 to 2018.

During his time on council, he coordinated a pilot program with Rutgers University to test drones to assist lifeguards with water rescues, spearheaded the creation of the Belmar Parks Commission and "uncovered numerous failures within the sanitary sewer system," the release said.

"There's so much that needs to be accomplished in Belmar, but this Administration just isn't moving the needle," said Levis. "I've proven that I know how to get things done and so I'm running this time to get to work for our community, I know we can do better."

Clapsis was not immediately available to provide a biographical statement to Patch.

The deadline to file for candidacy in New Jersey was April 4.

Stay tuned with Patch for more updates regarding the upcoming election.

Are you running for local office in 2022? Contact Nicole Rosenthal at nicole.rosenthal@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Patch.

Thank you for reading! Have a news tip, correction or comment? Email nicole.rosenthal@patch.com. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter here.

This article originally appeared on the Manasquan-Belmar Patch
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Never leave home without these flight attendant-approved travel essentials. (Photos: Amazon, Away, Herschel, Nordstrom)

With flights back to full capacity, travel restrictions lifted and summer vacations on the way, you may already be dreaming about your next travel destination. But before you can touch down in paradise, there's a list as long as a CVS receipt of things to pack and do before you jet off. We talked to the people who have literally made flying their job  flight attendants  to get their expert recommendations.

With 10 years of experience as a private flight attendant, Cindy Kowalewski has traveled to 100 countries including Seychelles, Myanmar, Maldives, Slovenia and many more.

Valerie Fraser is an in-flight crew member, photographer and foodie who catalogs the best dishes for every layover and leisure trip on her secondary Instagram account @flightattendantfoodie.

Now let's get ready for takeoff with their tried-and-true must-haves.

In-Flight Essentials

The molded foam won't smear your makeup or leave behind creases. (Photo: Amazon)

"My must pack items are an inflatable neck pillow, Macks Dreamgirl earplugs, a big warm scarf that can double up as a blanket, and a sleeping mask. I love Bucky 40 Blinks Eye Masks, because they have molded cups, cute colors and patterns, and are so comfortable," says Kowalewski.

$12.50 at Amazon

The ceramides in this cream will help your skin retain moisture. (Photo: Amazon)

"Flying can dehydrate your skin like no other, so I have to have a good lotion on hand," says Fraser. "One of my favorites is from La Roche Posay."

$20 at Amazon

This hydrating lip mask smells like berries.

"I always bring a hydrating lip balm when I fly. A flight attendant friend just gifted me the Laneige lip sleeping mask and I really like it," Kowalewski says.

$22 at Sephora

Fun colors make simple outfits appear trendier. (Photo: Nordstrom)

"I always pack: extra underwear in case of delays, a swimsuit for sunny destinations and a pair of leggings, so I can run downstairs at a hotel without putting on a full outfit. I also make sure to pack a comfortable pair of sneakers for walking," says Fraser.

$130 at Nordstrom

Get wrinkle-free duds from a tool that's about as small as a curling iron! (Photo: Amazon)

"I keep a mini steamer in my bag when I travel, because hotel irons arent the best," Kowalewski says.

$49 at Amazon

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This hat comes in two sizes so you can find the best fit for your noggin. (Photo: Nordstrom)

"When youre really on the go, Panama style hats can hide a lot of thingsespecially that unwashed, messy hairand will still make your outfit look fab! Rag & Bone has an exceptional one," says Kowalewski. For a more affordable option, try Nordstrom's $39 version (It comes in three colors!).

$230 at Nordstrom

This set of three packing cubes will keep all your clothing organized within your suitcase. (Photo: Herschel)

"I really love my Herschel packing cubes. The set I have comes with a wet bag too, which is perfect for when I have a bathing suit that didnt dry completely," Fraser says.

$40 for three at Herschel

This bag rolls up for easy storage or packing.

"For an everyday travel bag, I cannot live without my Longchamp. Its water proof  and with travel something always explodes in my purse  so its easy to clean up," Kowalewski says. "Be sure to pack your carry-on with possible delays or detours in mind. Bring a snack, refillable water bottle, change of clothes and a great book."

$145 at Nordstrom

Key features of this bag are a built-in lock and removable USB charger. (Photo: Away)

"I love all the colors of Away luggage," says Kowalewski. "I have pink and it's easy to spot when it comes through the baggage carousal because it's unique. The lie-flat design and two compartments easily separate my clothes to stay organized."

$295 at Away

The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.

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COVID-19 vaccines for children to arrive on May 10

The first batch of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate children aged 5-11 is expected to arrive in Vietnam on May 10, according to Deputy Minister of Health o Xuan Tuyen.













A vial of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. VNA/VNS Photo



The vaccines are part of a donation from Australia, he said on Monday at a press briefing for the Government's regular meeting.



Apart from Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines (Comirnaty) approved for use in children aged 5-11 years old, Vietnamese health authorities said they had expanded the emergency use authorisation for Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (Spikevax) to include children from 6 to 11 years old.



The Ministry of Health on Sunday worked with the Australian Ambassador to Vietnam and the Director General of Pfizer in Vietnam, and both agreed to deliver the vaccine to Vietnam as soon as possible.



Tuyen said the ministry had initially proposed to buy 21.9 million doses of vaccine. However, during the negotiation to sign the contract with Pfizer, several international organisations and countries, including the embassies of Australia and the Netherlands in Vietnam, announced donations of vaccines for the country to immunise children.



As a result, the ministry is adjusting the quantity of Pfizer vaccines purchased.



Concerning parental willingness to vaccinate children aged 5-11, the ministry coordinated with agencies to conduct a survey, and 60-80 per cent of respondents agreed to administer youngsters with the vaccines.



Tuyen said that the ministry had built a plan to increase public information and organise training sessions for localities to vaccinate children.



Experts have confirmed that COVID-19 vaccines cause no negative impact on child genetics or future fertility, so children should be vaccinated to reduce the risk of severe disease and hospitalisation.



In reply to parental concerns, Dr Tran Minh ien, director of the Vietnam National Children's Hospital, said COVID-19 vaccines had no effects on the development of puberty or future fertility of children aged between 5 and 11.



He explained that the essence of this vaccine is that messenger RNA components, when entering the cell, create proteins and coordinate with immune cells to produce antibodies. The messenger RNAs do not enter the human genetic cell reservoir.



He added that the immediate side effects in children after getting COVID-19 vaccines would be the same as in adults, so there was nothing to worry about.



Hanoi inoculates children aged 5-11 from second quarter



Hanoi plans to administer vaccines for children from 5 to 11 from the second quarter of this year following a vaccination plan issued on Monday by the municipal People's Committee.



The city targets over 95 per cent of children from 5 to 11 years old to be inoculated with two full jabs, based on the number of allocated vaccines. Measures will be taken to ensure vaccination safety.



The vaccine will be administered to children by age, starting with higher aged children and gradually moving to the youngest.



Vaccinations will be mainly carried out at mobile vaccination sites at schools. Children who do not go to schools or need to delay vaccinations will be inoculated at medical stations or health facilities.



The Hanoi People's Committee on Monday approved the education department's proposal to resume in-person learning in first to sixth grades in all of its 30 urban and outlying districts and townships from April 6.



Hanoi is the last locality allowing primary students to return to class after nearly a year of virtual instruction.



The capital city's decision will help increase the rate of students studying in person nationwide to 97 per cent from April 6, according to the Ministry of Education and Training.
Richard Irvins campaign for governor is acknowledging it sent out mailers blasting Republican primary rival Darren Bailey that violated a state election code requirement by not disclosing who paid for them.

The mailers, which began appearing in mailboxes late last week, came from a post office box in Aurora, where Irvin is mayor, but failed to directly disclose that they were paid for by Irvins campaign as required under the election code.

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A letter sent to the State Board of Elections on Sunday by Irvins campaign attorney, John Fogarty, acknowledged the violation and blamed it on the printer who sent the mailing. Fogartys letter said the placement of the postal permit used on the piece covered up the required disclosure.

Fogarty said the campaign was informing the elections board immediately of the violation and said that a new version of the mailer with the legally required disclosure would be sent to voters.

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Richard Irvin, Republican candidate for governor, arrives at the Illinois State Board of Elections in Springfield to file his campaign petitions on March 7, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

The mailer features a photo of Bailey, a state senator from Xenia, in between photos of President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama with the headline: Bailey breaks with Trump. It goes on to quote Bailey from a campaign event discussing his decision to pull a Democratic ballot in 2008, saying, I might have voted for Biden.

Bailey has said he voted Democratic in the 2008 primary as part of a strategy to deny Hillary Clinton the presidential nomination.

The reverse side of the mailer contends Bailey voted Obama into office, repeats Baileys line about Biden and goes on to attack his votes to raise property taxes as a member of a local school board.

Reject Obama-Biden Republican Darren Bailey, the mailer read.

The decision by the Irvin campaign to attack Bailey over a perceived lack of loyalty to former Republican President Donald Trump is at odds with Irvins efforts to avoid discussing any allegiance to Trump and the influence the former president holds over the GOP electorate.

In an interview with the Tribune two weeks after announcing his candidacy in mid-January, Irvin would not definitively say whether he voted for Trump in 2020, or if he believed the former presidents baseless assertion that the election was stolen.

Irvin contended questions about Trump were a distraction being pushed by first-term Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker to avoid discussing his record as governor. But all of the Republican candidates who had announced at that time were questioned about their allegiance to the former GOP president.

State Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, poses for a photograph at his office on April 29, 2020, in Louisville, Illinois. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Irvin cast a Democratic ballot in the 2016 and 2020 presidential primary elections, saying it was a way to vote for local conservative Democrats who could help advance his mayoral agenda.

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Bailey has questioned Irvins Republican credentials and has touted his support for Trump.

In reaction to Irvins mailer, Baileys campaign retweeted a tweet from David Smith, executive director of the evangelical conservative Illinois Family Institute, a group opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage.

Wow! The Richard Irvin campaign is lying like a rug in an attempt to discredit the best GOP candidate in the primary race for #Illinois governor, Smiths tweet said.

Under the states election code, a political committee that makes an expenditure for a pamphlet, circular, or radio, television and print ad that mentions the name of a candidate in the next election without that candidates permission shall ensure that the name of the political committee paying for any part of the communication, including, but not limited to, its preparation and distribution, is identified clearly within the communication.

A spokesman for the State Board of Elections said a public complaint alleging a violation of the election code would be required for the board to consider any action.

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A teenager charged in a shooting at New Hanover High School last year pleaded guilty Monday.

A 16-year-old pleaded guilty to charges from a shooting at New Hanover High School on Aug. 30, after appearing in court Monday afternoon.

In August, the teenager was arrested by the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office and faced several charges.

The incident left one student with non-life-threatening injures after a fight started in the walkway with dozens of students gathered around watching before shots were fired.

School and emergency officials put New Hanover High School into lockdown and students were later evacuated and sent to Williston Middle School, before being released to their families in groups at the MLK Community Center.

'Nothing ever changes': Months after New Hanover school shooting, parents want more done

More: New courthouse details released in New Hanover High shooting case

The teenager was sentenced a minimum of four years and a maximum of five years and 10 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections. Samantha Dooies, assistant to the District Attorney, said the juvenile will serve time in a facility for juveniles until turning 18.

Assistant District Attorney Ashton Herring spoke to the judge about how the juvenile father's said the teenager was bullied around the start of school, which led to the fight.

The 15-year-old victim suffered injuries on their finger and leg, which required surgery.

While presenting to the judge, Herring added that she would be remorseful if she didn't mention the impact the incident had on the county, while mentioning a video of backpacks . She spoke about how students went to classrooms for shelter in fear, not knowing if a shooter was in the classroom or close by.

Herring said parents also expressed fear of sending their students back to school, while some made decisions to do homeschooling.

More: Threats against Wilmington-area schools erupt after New Hanover High School shooting

"I don't think that our community is ever going to be the same from the events that transpired on Aug. 30," Herring said.

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In defense of the juvenile, attorney Brian Moore said the incident started because a kid was being bullied and deciding to arm themselves after being jumped. Moore said it was wrong, but added his client's intent was not to commit a school shooting and kill many people.

"This isn't Columbine, this isn't Sandy Hook," Moore said. "This isn't a student walking in with a mask and trying to shoot as many students as he can."

When law enforcement came to arrest the student, Moore said the teenager didn't try to run and cooperated with officials. He brought up military soldiers having PTSD after serving and receiving help for it, but mentioned how students like the juvenile can't receive help - instead of going to a place he said will cause more PTSD or stress."

Previous: New Hanover High School shooting: school canceled Tuesday, crisis team available

Wilson said he didn't want to sentence a 16-year-old for anything and encouraged the juvenile to better themselves and become a mentor to other young people so they wouldn't make the same mistake.

"This is your worst hour and I hope it doesn't determine the rest of your life," Wilson said. "But that's going to be up to you."

According to court officials, the juvenile is planning to finish their education, get a GED and psychological treatment while serving time. Before leaving the courtroom and after facing the judge, the juvenile turned around and faced the public gallery with family members, officials and TV cameras.

"My life is not over," the teenager said. "I want everybody to know that."

Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Former New Hanover High School student pleads guilty in shooting
Over two years after a Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank executive director quietly departed the organization, William Freeborn pleaded guilty to official misconduct and theft.

The Delaware Department of Justice's Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust announced the two convictions against 67-year-old Freeborn in a news release Tuesday.

Freeborn confessed to knowingly accepting at least $28,000 in unauthorized cash deposits for properties that, despite his misrepresentations, did not yet belong to the land bank.

PREVIOUSLY: Former executive charged, but what's next for Wilmington land bank?

BACKGROUND: Former Wilmington Land Bank director and City Council member accused of misusing office

QUIET DEPARTURE: Wilmington Land Bank without a director for second time in two years

State prosecutors claimed that between February 2019 and May 2020, Freeborn knowingly accepted cash deposits for property the land bank didn't own.

Under the plea, Freeborn paid $28,000 in restitution for the misappropriated money and stipulated to a mechanism for any forthcoming claims; agreed to never again hold a position controlling finances of any nonprofit or government agency/program; and is prohibited from having contact with the Wilmington land bank, the Wilmington Housing Authority or any members or employees of either organization.

Bill Freeborn, the former executive director of the Wilmington Land Bank, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, to official misconduct and theft after quietly departing the nonprofit in March of 2020. In this file photo, Freeborn chats with workers after the kick off a revitalization project in West City Center on Tuesday, June 4, 2019. Renovation and new construction is planned for a handful of houses on this W. Ninth Street block over the next year.

He also must complete 50 hours of community service for the city of Wilmington and serve one year of probation in addition to a suspended one-year prison sentence, according to prosecutors.

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If you abuse the publics trust we will hold you accountable, Attorney General Kathy Jennings said in the news release. The defendant used a position of public confidence to unethically and illegally secure thousands of dollars for his personal benefit. His acceptance of responsibility will bring closure and compensation to his victims, bans him from managing the publics money, and requires him to volunteer for the people of Wilmington as part of his probation.

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While Freeborn departed the land bank in March of 2020, Wilmington land bank officials spent that year refusing to explain the circumstances surrounding his departure. Just over a year later, on April 27, the state Department of Justice announced charges against Freeborn, but even then, land bank officials declined to comment and steered focus to its work and mission.

At the time, the nonprofit issued a news release assuring the public that Freeborn's misdeeds did not impact the "financial strength" of the land bank.

In the April 27 news release, board chairman Richard Gessner said they would "not allow the poor decisions of a former executive director to interfere with the positive affect (sic) that the WNCLB is having in preserving deteriorating neighborhoods."

Rick Gessner, board chair of the Wilmington Land Bank, speaks at the kick off for a revitalization project in West City Center on Tuesday, June 4, 2019. The organization plans to renovate a handful of empty houses in the area.

The Justice Department learned of the misappropriations after land bank staff and board members recognized "financial irregularities" and contacted the State Department.

For a period of 90 days, additional claimants may submit documentation, under penalty of perjury, to the Division of Civil Rights & Public Trust for restitution at publictrust@delaware.gov or 302-577-5400.

Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com, or by calling 302-598-5507. Follow her on Twitter at @mandy_fries.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Former Wilmington land bank executive pleads guilty to taking $28K
By Stephane Mahe and Ingrid Melander

SPEZET, France (Reuters) -Strolling around a small town in northwestern France, beaming to crowds shouting "Macron President!," Emmanuel Macron sought to revive a lacklustre campaign whose increasingly uncertain outcome rattled markets on Tuesday.

Macron is still ahead in opinion polls but his far-right, eurosceptic rival Marine Le Pen has been closing the gap, and a poll on Monday put victory within the margin of error, unnerving investors ahead of Sunday's first round.

With Le Pen's ratings boosted by months of canvassing small constituencies, the 44-year old president, who has only started campaigning, spent hours talking with voters in the Brittany town of Spezet's main square, taking selfies amid cheers and a handful of boos.

"You can count on me ... on my determination. I will, in the coming days and weeks seek out, one by one, the confidence of our compatriots, to (have the mandate to continue) to act in the years to come for our country, for Europe," he said.

Macron easily beat Le Pen five years ago with two-thirds of the vote in the second round. But though polls https://graphics.reuters.com/FRANCE-ELECTION/POLLS/zjvqkomzlvx/index.html see both qualifying this time too for the April 24 runoff, they put Macron's lead at just 3 to 6 points - the former being within the margin of error.

France's benchmark CAC-40 index abruptly lost ground on Tuesday, with traders citing election nerves, while the spread between French and German 10-year government bonds stood at its widest in two years.

"Markets woke up on Le Pen," said Jerome Legras, head of research at Axiom Alternative Investments.

SOFTENING LE PEN'S IMAGE

Since her 2017 defeat, Le Pen has patiently worked on softening her image, striving to appear as a potential leader rather than a radical anti-system opponent.

Polls show this has worked on a growing number of voters, with a survey saying the once vilified candidate has become the second most-liked politician in the country.

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The candidacy of Eric Zemmour, who is even further to the right than Le Pen, has, by contrast, helped Le Pen appear more palatable to voters.

"I always try to have the most reasonable view possible, and one that defends the interest of France," she told France Inter radio.

Le Pen has continued to improve on her pre-first round polling, at 23% versus Macron's 27%, two polls showed on Tuesday.

However, some 59% of those surveyed expected Macron to win a second mandate, the poll by OpinionWay and Kea Partners for the Les Echos daily and Radio Classique showed, still the most likely scenario, all polls show.

Macron focused a half-hour speech in Spezet on how crucial Europe was for France - stressing, without naming her, Le Pen's lingering euroscepticsm.

"Projects that turn their backs on Europe are harmful and deadly ... for our future," he said, concluding with a resounding: "Vive la France, et vive l'Europe!"

While she has ditched plans to leave the euro, which had put off many voters in the past, Le Pen's platform aims to hollow out the European Union by giving preeminence to French law, and replace the bloc with a "European Alliance of Nations".

"A victory for Le Pen would almost certainly worsen the public finances and place a question mark over France's place in Europe, unnerving investors," Jessica Hinds of Capital Economics said in a note.

CAMPAIGN EARLY

Le Pen, who has taken great pains to stress her love of cats more than her anti-immigration views, has not changed the core of her far-right party's programme.

She would end a number of welfare benefits for foreigners, stop family reunification, give preference to the French for jobs and social housing, ban the hijab in public spaces and kick unemployed foreigners out of France.

She defended those views on Tuesday.

"Being French should give you more rights than being a foreigner," she said.

But this is not what she has focused on in a campaign pegged on purchasing power, which has struck a chord with many voters.

"I have been campaigning seriously, I've been in the field for six months... Others chose not to campaign, including the president of the republic," Le Pen told France Inter.

(Additional reporting by Julien Ponthus, Sudip Kar-Gupta; Writing by Ingrid Melander, editing by Ed Osmond, Hugh Lawson and Nick Macfie)
It was the final Saturday of winter, but the air was warm when Rachel OBrien of Ithaca headed out for a late afternoon walk around her Fall Creek neighborhood with Freddie Mercury, her 4-month-old kitten.

She had rescued him a few months before, driving to a Pennsylvania animal shelter with her dad the day after Christmas after seeing him on a website.

Freddie was black, with a brownish sheen in certain light, and tiny, about 5 pounds. He came with the name, given by the shelter staff in honor of the late lead singer of iconic British rock band Queen.

And OBrien, 20, came with a Freddie Mercury tattoo. It was the first tattoo she got, as soon as she was old enough to do so.

That is my cat, OBrien recalled of the moment she saw Freddie online.

While Freddie had mostly been an indoor cat, enjoying the company of O'Brien's roommates cat, Izzy, he had gone on occasional walks with O'Brien, secured in a tiny cat harness.

He had been a little nervous that day, O'Brien recalled, but he never tried to get away so she wasn't worried as they headed out near the Fall Creek Playground on March 19.

Not far into their walk, Freddie was startled by a person walking and started freaking out, she said.

Described as a liquidy little man by OBrien, Freddie suddenly flipped out of his harness and dashed away down Queen Street.

OBrien ran after him.

I've never run so fast in my life trying to catch him and I still couldn't catch him, she said.

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Freddie Mercury, a rescue kitten belonging to Ithaca resident Rachel O'Brien, went missing from Fall Creek in mid-March. He was found nearly a week later in New Jersey.

Searching for Freddie

OBrien, whose father owns Lincoln St. Diner, has lived in Fall Creek since she was a baby. She knows every street and alleyway.

She spent the next days scouring the area for Freddie and putting up flyers with his photo. She posted on social media and set out a cat trap that a neighbor lent her.

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"I just spent like every waking moment pretty much trying to find him," O'Brien said. "It's terrible. It's what everybody goes through when their pet is missing."

O'Brien received a few messages from people saying they spotted black cats in Fall Creek or South Hill. She's very appreciative they reached out, but none of those cats were Freddie.

Days passed and O'Brien was overwhelmed with thoughts of Freddie, so small and helpless. He's her baby, she said, and he was gone.

'I found your cat'

It was March 25, around 10 p.m., when O'Brien's phone rang.

It had been 6 days since she had seen Freddie and his return seemed more unlikely each passing day.

"Once you do a certain amount of stuff, you have literally no control over the situation and you just have to hope for the best," O'Brien said.

As she prepared to go check the cat trap, her phone rang. She didn't recognize the number and thought it might be spam or a well-meaning person who thought they found Freddie.

On the other end was a little boy.

"I found your cat," he said.

"How do you know?" O'Brien asked him.

Freddie Mercury, a rescue kitten belonging to Ithaca resident Rachel O'Brien, stare out the window. Freddie went missing from Fall Creek in mid-March and was found nearly a week later in New Jersey.

"Your number is on the collar," the boy said.

He described Freddie perfectly, O'Brien said, and when the young boy tried to pronounce the name inscribed on the kitten's collar "he had no idea who that was."

"Freddy Murky?" he said.

O'Brien asked for the address, ready to pick Freddie up that night. When the family told her, she thought it odd that she didn't recognize the street name. She'd lived in Ithaca her entire life and never heard of the street they told her.

She typed the address in Google Maps and was shocked by the location: Freddie was in West Berlin, New Jersey. Almost 250 miles away from Fall Creek.

Kindness of strangers

The next morning, O'Brien and her mother drove to West Berlin, New Jersey. It's a 4-hour drive from Ithaca.

The family told O'Brien that Freddie had simply walked up to their home to play with their cats and children. While they were not certain how he got there, O'Brien said they seemed to be under the impression that he was let out of a car near there.

They fed him and kept him safely inside until O'Brien could get there.

"It came down to the kindness of this random family," O'Brien said. "Not everyone would do that."

O'Brien said Freddie lost a little bit of weight on his adventure, he didn't have any cuts, scratches or signs of trauma; his silky black coat was still flawless.

Freddie slept in O'Brien's lap during the long drive home, waking only to eat pieces of deli turkey hand-fed to him.

Freddie Mercury is cuddled by his mom Rachel O'Brien on the car ride back to Ithaca from New Jersey. The kitten went missing from Fall Creek in mid-March and was found nearly a week later, 250 miles away from home.

He's been as happy as ever since his return, O'Brien said, just more vocal.

"Now he yells a lot," she said.

As for walks around Fall Creek, O'Brien said that Freddie will now be strictly an indoor cat.

"The likelihood that anything this miraculous is ever going to happen again, I'm not gonna get this lucky," O'Brien said. "I'm not going to risk it. I'm going to keep his little booty inside."

Follow Kate Collins on Twitter: @kcollins213. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on Ithaca Journal: Freddie Mercury, a lost Ithaca cat, found in NJ, 250 miles away
WASHINGTON  Ukrainian society must be cleansed of Nazi elements, a leading Russian intellectual wrote in an essay published on Sunday, as Ukrainian soldiers sifted through the gruesome aftermath of a slaughter of civilians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

The article, titled What Should Russia Do With Ukraine? was published on the website of RIA Novosti, a news agency controlled by the Kremlin. Its author, Timofey Sergeytsev, is described as a political technologist. He previously worked for Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Kremlin president of Ukraine ousted during protests in 2014.

Faithfully echoing the arguments that have been proffered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sergeytsev even puts the blame on the civilian population. A significant number of common people are also guilty of being passive Nazis and Nazi accomplices, Sergeytsev writes. They supported the Nazi authorities and pandered to them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech in Moscow on March 18. (Alexander Vilf/AFP via Getty Images)

Sergeytsev has made outlandish, outrageous claims in the past, Oxford expert on Russian affairs Samuel Ramani told Yahoo News. But in this case, the article represents mainstream Kremlin thinking.

Ukrainian activists translated the article into English after the Russian-language version was circulated widely on social media.

This is what real #Russia wants, the activists wrote.

As naked an endorsement of genocide as youll read in a state-owned media organ, wrote Russia expert Michael Weiss on Twitter about the Sergeytsev article.

The article amounts to a genocide masterplan, Berlin-based Russia expert Sergej Sumlenny told Yahoo News in a text message. He predicted that Sergeytsevs musings would be used as justification for more atrocities like the one at Bucha.

Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February under the fictitious pretenses that the nations leadership was rife with Nazi extremists. Although there are far-right elements in Ukraines society, and its military, they constitute an out-of-power fringe, as they do in other European states. Russias claims are rendered especially absurd given the fact that Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is one of the few Jewish leaders on the world stage. Zelensky and some of his predecessors have sought to orient the nation away from Russia, toward the West, thus incurring the Kremlins ire.

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Russia is not just after piecemeal annexation of territory, Ramani told Yahoo News of Sergeytsevs lengthy musings. Its about suppressing the Ukrainian identity, and it equates any kind of expression of Ukrainian nationalism with Nazism, even when those expressions of national feeling are being voiced by Zelensky, who had family members who fought against the Nazis in World War II  and others who perished in the Holocaust.

A local resident views the destruction in Svitylnia, Ukraine, on Friday. (Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images)

In his RIA Novosti article, Sergeytsev essentially calls for the elimination of Ukrainian national identity. The name Ukraine cannot be kept as a title of any fully denazified state entity on the territory liberated from the Nazi regime, he writes. The peoples republics, newly created on the territories free from Nazism, must and will develop on the basis of practices of economic self-government and social security, restoration and modernization of systems of essential services for the population.

Zelensky addressed the article in a call with Romanian politicians on Monday, saying it would be used as evidence in a future tribunal of Russian war crimes. He said the article called for the annihilation of everything that makes Ukrainians Ukrainian.

Putin has long seen Ukraine as part of a broader, Moscow-led Slavic empire, a vision articulated by intellectuals who have provided a philosophical backing for the Kremlins aggressive aims in Ukraine and elsewhere. Although Ukrainians share cultural, religious and linguistic similarities with Russia, they have long bristled at being treated like a junior partner. Ukraine has been its own nation since the dissolution of the Soviet empire in 1991.

Sergeytsevs article is a window into how the Kremlin apparently continues to see the Ukraine invasion, despite seemingly abandoning its denazification project last week amid mounting military losses.

Regime change is no longer a public Russian condition for peace. But whether the Kremlin truly seeks an end to fighting remains unclear.

For one, the Kremlin continues to promote its unfounded claims of Ukrainian extremism, with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev writing in a Monday social media post that a passionate segment of Ukrainian society has been praying to the Third Reich for the last 30 years. Literally.

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting near Moscow on March 16. (Yekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik, Government Pool/AP)

Going even further in his RIA Novosti essay, Sergeytsev argues that Ukra-nazism poses a much bigger threat to the world and Russia than the Hitler version of German Nazism. Russian media has been full of lurid stories about the supposed slaughter of ethnic Russians by Ukrainian troops. Outlandish conspiracy theories about bioweapons laboratories funded by Hunter Biden, the presidents son, and George Soros, the Jewish philanthropist, have also proliferated widely in Russian media  and without any evident skepticism.

Adolf Hitler was responsible for the deaths of millions of Russians and Ukrainians, as well as the extermination of 6 million Jews. Russian propaganda has latched on to the fact that there were also Ukrainian collaborators who worked with the Nazis during Hitlers invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Those Ukrainian nationalists hoped to secure independence from the brutal Soviet rule, which was itself responsible for millions of deaths in Ukraine.

Zelensky and his supporters argue that if any regime represents modern-day Nazi Germany, it is the one found in Moscow.

Its important to spread this article, the Ukrainians who posted the English-language version of Sergeytsevs essay wrote. The world should be aware of Russian methods, crimes, and plans. Putin will not stop until he is stopped.

_____

What happened this week in Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out.
Georgia and more than three dozen other states are asking some social media sites to let parental control apps help monitor the content.

Channel 2s Dave Huddleston spoke with some experts about how easy it is for kids to run into inappropriate material.

Titania Jordan is chief parenting officer for Bark  a website that monitors childrens online activities to keep them away from inappropriate and sexual content.

A lot of parents think, Not my kid. My kid would never. Or they think, If my kid does, Ill know about it. Im here to tell you, you are wrong, Jordan said.

She said that predators are constantly trying to reach out to kids. Jordan showed Huddleston how it only took seconds before someone asked if they wanted sex with children and drugs.

Yo, hit me up. The boy got that gas, Jordan said reading a message.

Jordan also pointed out pictures of children with explicit questions. She said parents also have to be aware children can get into trouble.

Some emojis have a double meaning.

TRENDING STORIES:

Lets do the peach emoji, since were in the state of Georgia. Well  booty, is what Jordan said the emoji means.

The emoji leads to pictures of womens rear ends.

The word seggs means sex and when you see the term a plug 

A plug is a hookup for drugs or other things on the DL, Jordan said.

In November, Channel 2 Action News did a special on protecting your children online from predators and explicit material.

Just last week, Georgia and 43 other states sent Snapchat and TikTok a letter asking the companies to allow third-party parental sites like Bark to help monitor those sites for inappropriate content.

TikTok said it cares about protecting and supporting younger users and Snapchat said it has safety settings available that parents can use to keep kids safe.

IN OTHER NEWS:
Low-income Chicago renters facing eviction will soon have access to free legal assistance under a new city program, Chicago officials said Monday.

The city has selected legal service providers for the $8 million, three-year pilot program, which is intended to boost housing stability and limit the fallout from the eviction process. They will provide legal defense, in and out of court, and assistance such as referrals to housing counseling for eligible renters who are at risk of eviction.

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The program is expected to begin later this year, though no exact date has been set, Department of Housing spokeswoman Eugenia Orr said.

A rally to halt evictions caused by unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic at Daley Plaza outside eviction court in Chicago on Aug., 17, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

The announcement comes months after the states moratorium on evictions expired, and as thousands of tenants have sought help paying rent during the pandemic through assistance programs.

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When the program begins, Chicago will join other big cities such as New York and San Francisco in providing legal help for certain tenants facing eviction. The Chicago program has been praised by housing advocates, but Michael Zink, a housing attorney who is active in the small landlord association Neighborhood Building Owners Alliance, has previously described it as an antidote to something thats other than the problem for small landlords.

Chicago Department of Housing officials said in a statement legal assistance is one of the best ways to prevent evictions. Landlords are more likely to have legal representation than tenants, and unrepresented renters are much more likely to lose their cases and their homes, regardless of the merits of their case, they said.

Just as the Department of Housing works to expand housing access and choice for all residents regardless of income or ZIP code, through the Right to Counsel pilot program, we are working to ensure that those vulnerable to eviction have the legal representation they need to help them remain in their homes, housing Commissioner Marisa Novara said in a statement.

The program will be funded with federal dollars.

Renters will be eligible if they make no more than 80% of the areas median income, or $74,550 for a family of four. Someone in the household must have experienced financial hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they must be at risk of housing instability or homelessness.

The Department of Housing expects many renters will access the program through the Early Resolution Program, which provides legal aid, mediation and case management in eviction cases, but does not offer full legal representation to tenants. Renters will also be able to seek assistance outside the resolution program.

Services will be provided by two legal aid groups: the Lawyers Committee for Better Housing, working with Legal Aid Chicago and an agency known as the Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services; and Beyond Legal Aid, which will provide services through a network of community legal aid programs. Both groups will receive one-year contracts, with the option to renew them for two additional years.

During the pilot, the Chicago Bar Foundation will evaluate the programs success at preventing evictions and work with city officials and a local company to examine the costs and benefits of the program.

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Eviction has immense collateral consequences, said Debbie Reznick senior program officer at Polk Bros. Foundation, which is funding the Chicago Bar Foundations evaluation, in a statement. The displacement and instability caused by the eviction process can exacerbate physical and mental health issues, disrupt childrens educations, impact job performance, and ultimately lead to illness, unemployment, and homelessness. Learnings from the evaluation of the Right to Counsel pilot program will inform efforts to expand and sustain legal representation and other supportive services for tenants facing eviction.

sfreishtat@chicagotribune.com

gpratt@chicagotribune.com
A camper fell 20 feet to her death while on a river trip through the Grand Canyon, park rangers said.

Margaret Osswald, a 34-year-old from Salt Lake City, Utah, was near Ledges Camp on Monday, April 4, when she fell to her death, the National Park Service said. She was found unresponsive.

Due to darkness, Grand Canyon National Park requested Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) emergency helicopter response, park rangers said in an April 5 news release. DPS arrived on scene at Ledges Camp at approximately 8:30 p.m. and pronounced the individual deceased.

Osswald had hiked into the canyon to meet the other members of the river trip, which was in its sixth day.

The death is under investigation.

Last month, Mary Kelley, a 68-year-old from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, was found unresponsive after entering the Colorado River, the National Park Service said.

Members of her boating group pulled her from the water and began CPR, park rangers said.

Park rangers were flown into the location with the park helicopter and all resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, officials said in a Friday, March 25, news release. Kelley was on day nine of a multi-day private boating trip.

Park officials did not say what led to Kelley becoming unresponsive in the water. The woman entered the water near Hance Rapid, which park officials called a highly technical and powerful whitewater rapid.

Many tourists take commercial river trips on the Colorado River, according to the National Park Service. Some take single-day or half-day trips, while other trips can be up to 18 days.

Multiple people died on the Colorado River in 2021. A 63-year-old died in June on the sixth day of a private boating trip, according to McClatchy News.

In April 2021, a 60-year-old woman died in a boating accident when a commercial river trip motorboat overturned, officials said. The accident also injured two others.

68-year-old woman dies on Grand Canyon National Park boating trip, rangers say

Hiker illegally led a massive 139-person group through the Grand Canyon, officials say

57-year-old hiker found dead 200 feet below Grand Canyon trail, park officials say
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen killed 15 Nigerian soldiers and wounded more than a dozen others during an attack on an army base in the northern state of Kaduna, two army sources said on Tuesday, in the latest attack on security forces by armed gangs.

The gangs, designated as terrorists by the government, have caused havoc in northwest Nigeria by attacking villages, towns and schools and kidnapping hundreds of students.

An army officer at the military base in the town of Birnin Gwari in Kaduna told Reuters that gunmen on motorbikes used rocket-propelled grenades and other heavy weapons during an attack that lasted more than two hours on Monday evening.

Eleven soldiers died during the attack while 19 were injured and taken to three different hospitals in Kaduna. Four soldiers later succumbed to their injuries, the officer said.

"These are not ordinary bandits I know that we are fighting. The bandits took away several weapons from our base," said the officer, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

An army spokesman did not respond to several calls and messages on his mobile phone on Tuesday.

Birnin Gwari shares a border with the states of Zamfara and Niger, which are among the hot spots of armed gangs.

Another soldier at the Kaduna base said three military vehicles were destroyed during the attack and several guns were missing from the armoury.

A situation report from the base to the army headquarters in Abuja seen by Reuters said the situation "is calm but highly unpredictable."

Nigeria's military is stretched as it fights an Islamist insurgency in the northeastern part of the country and the armed gangs in the northwest.

(Reporting by Maiduguri newsroom; Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Paul Simao)
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Welcome to Mondays Overnight Health Care, where were following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. Subscribe here and view the full edition here.

2021 was the worst year on record for road rage, with more than 500 people being shot, according to a new report from a gun control group.

The federal government on Monday paved the way for more COVID-19 resources. Well look at the Senates deal for $10 billion in additional pandemic funding and the White House announcing more free coronavirus tests for people on Medicare.

For The Hill, were Peter Sullivan, Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi. Send us tips and feedback at psullivan@thehill.com, nweixel@thehill.com and jchoi@thehill.com.

Lets get started.

Senators reach COVID-19 deal, leave out global aid

Senators in both parties have reached a deal to provide $10 billion for the fight against COVID-19, but the agreement leaves out funding for the global virus response, according to Senate aides.

The agreement could clear the path for Congress to finally pass some new funding for the virus response, which the White House has been warning for weeks is urgently needed to allow for purchases of more vaccines, treatments and tests.

However, the $10 billion deal is less than half of the $22.5 billion the White House initially requested. Even that full amount was only for short-term needs, and the White House said it would need to come back for more money later. That means another COVID-19 funding fight could soon come down the pike as well.

The shrinking size of the COVID-19 funding is due to a fight over how to pay for the measures. Republican senators have insisted that any new COVID-19 funding be paid for and have resisted any plan for new funding that was not offset.

Read more here.

Medicare recipients get 8 free COVID tests a month

People on Medicare are now able to get up to eight free COVID-19 tests per month at participating pharmacies, the Biden administration announced Monday.

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The move comes after a similar initiative launched in January for people with private insurance, in response to the surge in demand for testing due to the surge in cases from the omicron variant over the winter.

But people on Medicare were initially left out, leading to a push to figure out a way for tests to be free for them as well, especially given that seniors are among the groups most vulnerable to the virus.

The new program goes into effect Monday. People on Medicare, including Medicare Advantage plans, will simply have to show their Medicare card at a participating pharmacy, and they can get the tests for free, with the pharmacy billing Medicare directly.

Participating pharmacies include CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Rite Aid and many major grocery chains. The full list is available here.

The system for people on Medicare has fewer hurdles than people with private insurance face. Those with private insurance often have to pay upfront for their tests and then seek reimbursement from their insurer  a cumbersome process.

Read more here.

SORE THROAT, FATIGUE ADDED TO OFFICIAL NHS COVID SYMPTOMS LIST

The United Kingdoms National Health Service (NHS) updated its COVID-19 advice this week, adding nine new official symptoms of the virus, including sore throat, headache and fatigue.

The news comes as infection rates have been steadily rising in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and as the government winds down its free COVID-19 testing program. Only people deemed to be at serious risk of illness qualify for free tests starting this month.

In the U.S., the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have already relied on the longer list of symptoms, but the U.K. body has listed just three symptoms for the past two years of the pandemic: high temperature, continuous cough, and loss of smell or taste.

British health experts have praised the latest move to expand the symptoms list after criticizing the shorter list in the past.

Weve been sharing the wider symptoms of COVID for almost 2 years because we were following the science, provided by the amazing ZOE contributors! Tim Spector, lead scientist of the independent ZOE project, said on Twitter.

Read more here.

Advocates sound abortion rights alarm ahead of midterms

Progressives and advocates are sounding the alarm about strict abortion bans across the country and want Democrats to make abortion a major issue ahead of the midterm elections.

Inspired by Texas, red states are moving rapidly to restrict abortion access. Arizona and Kentucky voted to approve a 15-week abortion ban. Idaho recently banned abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy and allowed private citizens to sue abortion providers. Oklahoma is on the verge of passing a near-total ban on abortions.

Looming over it all is the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule this summer on a case that could roll back the legal protections in Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that established the right to an abortion.

Abortion rights advocates said Democrats need to unify and drive home the message that if the constitutional right to an abortion ends, Republicans will be responsible.

The stakes have never been higher. The impact has never been clearer, said Jenny Lawson, National Campaign Director at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. It is hitting people in a very real way right now and it will continue to do so as the Supreme Court makes this decision.

And unless Democrats treat the erosion of abortion rights like a crisis, advocates said, they risk letting Republicans control the narrative.

Read more here.

WHAT WERE READING

NIHs cancer chief, Ned Sharpless, to step down (Stat)

CDC, under fire for covid response, announces plans to revamp agency (Washington Post)

Covid and Diabetes, Colliding in a Public Health Train Wreck (New York Times)

STATE BY STATE

Could more Texans be traveling now than before the pandemic as COVID numbers fall to all-time low? (KXAN)

COVID Cases Rising in Mass. Could It Signal Another Surge? (NBC Boston)

States are ready to live with Covid. Congress funding fight is making that hard. (Politico)

OP-EDS IN THE HILL

The brutality and absurdity of Chinas zero-COVID policy

Thats it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hills health care page for the latest news and coverage. See you Tuesday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The South Dakota State Capitol stands on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, in Pierre.

It was another busy legislative session the last three months, with topics ranging from marijuana, critical race theory, impeachment, lasting effects of COVID-19 and more.

Hundreds of bills touched on education, and dozens of those related to building projects in higher education, technical education and even with the Department of Education.

Support for the public higher education system amounted to approximately $288 million from all fund sources, the Board of Regents reported, with $61 million in general fund support, $60 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and $166 million in other fund authority.

More: Education is a hot topic in South Dakota this Legislative session. Here's what bills we're watching.

Seven bills introduced on behalf of the Board Regents passed. Heres what will go to each campus, everywhere from Spearfish to Sioux Falls:

The logo for the South Dakota Board of Regents.

Black Hills State University

Health sciences addition at Black Hills State University-Rapid City: $15 million total

As laid out in Senate Bill 43, this will authorize the Board of Regents to contract for the planning, site preparation, renovation, furnishing, equipping and construction of a health sciences center at the Rapid City campus. This will facilitate consolidation of nursing education in West River at a single site.

$8 million comes from federal fund expenditure authority from ARPA, more than $5 million from the higher education facilities fund (HEFF) and $2 million from donated funds.

Multimedia lab equipment: $112,500

This is for the purpose of purchasing multimedia equipment to support the communications program at BHSU.

Education lab upgrade: $77,792

This is to upgrade a secondary school-level science education lab and associated technology, and to purchase elementary school-level resources and materials at BHSU.

Dakota State University

Cyber program extension: $90 million project

Dakota State University announced Wednesday a $90 million initiative to grow the cyber-research industry in the state and expand to Sioux Falls. Here's an artist's rendering of the DSU Applied Research Lab that will soon come to Sioux Falls.

Roughly $30 million in general funds as laid out in Senate Bill 54, $50 million in donations as laid out in Senate Bill 130, $10 million from the city of Sioux Falls and $250,000 from Forward Sioux Falls will go toward this project.

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More: Gov. Kristi Noem signs bills to help cover $90M funding needed for DSU's cybersecurity lab

This project will open a new applied research lab by fall 2025 in Sioux Falls near the Sanford Sports Complex to support national security and defense, offer workforce and economic development opportunities and establish South Dakota as a cyber state.

Athletics event center: $28 million

A new athletics events center comprising a football stadium, athletic fields, track, associated spectator seating, restrooms, concession stands, locker rooms, media area, classrooms, labs, training areas, e-sports area, offices, club room and more is coming to DSU.

With the funding secured in House Bill 1021, the Board of Regents can now contract for the planning, site preparation, construction, furnishing and equipping of the center.

Northern State University

Lincoln Hall: $29.5 million

The Board of Regents is planning to demolish, remove and dispose of structures at Briscoe Hall and the existing Lincoln Hall to build a new 50,000 square foot Lincoln Hall in its place. The entire cost of this project is covered by ARPA funds.

South Dakota Mines

Incubator building acquisition: $7.25 million total

The Board of Regents acquired the incubator building at South Dakota Mines on behalf of the college. $5.25 million in general funds and $2 million in other fund expenditure authority went toward this purchase.

South Dakota State University

Basketball arena remodel: $53 million

BROOKINGS, SD - MARCH 24: Tylee Irwin #21 of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits looks for a teammate against the Drake Bulldogs during their Sweet 16 game of the WNIT Tournament at Frost Arena on March 24, 2022 in Brookings, South Dakota. (Photo by Dave Eggen/Inertia)

This will go toward the design and renovation of, and the construction of an addition to, the Stanley J. Marshall Center at SDSU. $43 million in donated funds, $4 million in SDSU funds and $6 million from HEFF will go toward the project.

More: Regents say tuition costs to increase at South Dakota universities if Gov. Kristi Noem's budget passes

Cottonwood Field Station multi-purpose facility: $6 million

This uses general funds to contract for the design, renovation and construction of a multi-purpose facility at the Cottonwood Field Station of the Agricultural Experiment Station in Jackson County.

High performance computing and data storage for system use: $1.9 million

Funds will purchase a high performance computing cluster and high velocity data storage for SDSU which will provide access to data processing for vital applications including engineering, biotechnology, biomedical sciences, and precision agriculture technology. It will also be for the general use of students and faculty members.

Wecota Annex demolition: $800K

This funding will allow SDSU to demolish, remove and dispose of the 21,288 square foot structure to the west of Wecota Hall.

University of South Dakota

Wellness center addition: $25 million

Renderings of the new Wellness Center expansion on the USD campus from the west street view.

This major addition to USDs wellness center will add a 50-meter competition pool, wellness pool, hot tub, steam room, extra locker rooms, offices, meeting rooms and more, from other fund expenditure authorities.

More: University of South Dakota plans, completes major construction projects on campus. Take a look

Discovery District biomedical facility: $15 million

$15 million in general funds will go toward providing grant funding for the design and construction of a new biomedical innovation facility on the grounds of the USD Discovery District research park in Sioux Falls.

More: Abbott's vision for USD Discovery District includes a $15 million facility where there isn't one

National Music Museum: $2 million

General funds will go toward equipping the museum at USD with educational exhibits for the display and security of the museums collections.

BOR system-wide

Water, wastewater and storm water projects: $22.65 million

Of the $60 million in ARPA funds going to multiple state departments, the BOR will receive $22.65 million for eligible state agency water, wastewater and storm water projects.

CyberAg partnership between SDSU and DSU: $1.25 million

General funds will go toward creating the precision agriculture cybersecurity CyberAg partnership between SDSU and DSU. Developing undergraduate and graduate curricula, engaging in research, and providing associated outreach programming and communication to address agricultural security threats is all part of this work, as laid out in House Bill 1092.

Matching funds for NASA grant to tribal institutions: $300K

These funds from other fund expenditure authority will award a grant to an accredited tribal university to NASAs Marshall Space Flight Centers cooperative agreement entitled Enhancing Research in Additive Manufacturing Processes for Lunar Application and Planetary Use in Tribal Housing Development.

Three technical colleges and one center

The Department of Educations Cultural Heritage Center will receive $8.8 million in general funds to renovate and modernize the center.

Lake Area Technical College is receiving $7.5 million in general funds to build an advanced manufacturing laboratory space and classrooms at LATC.

Mitchell Technical College is receiving $5 million in general funds to build an agriculture and diesel power laboratory and multi-purpose space on campus.

More: Southeast Technical College announces $10M in funding for new healthcare simulation center

Southeast Technical College is receiving $4.5 million in general funds to purchase equipment for a health sciences clinical simulation center on campus.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: USD, SDSU and more to see major building projects after 2022 session
BANDUNG, Indonesia (AP)  An Indonesian high court granted an appeal from prosecutors and sentenced an Islamic boarding school principal to death for raping at least 13 students over five years and impregnating some of them.

Herry Wirawan had been convicted by a three-judge panel at Bandung District Court in February and sentenced to life in prison. He had been accused of raping girls between 11 and 14 years old from 2016 to 2021 at the school, hotels or rented apartments in the West Java city. At least nine babies reportedly were born as a result of the rapes.

His case drew a public outcry as there were several victims over several years. Police said the victims were too fearful to tell anyone.

The Bandung High Court judges in their ruling Monday agreed with prosecutors' appeal for the death penalty and for Wirawan's assets to be seized.

What he had done had caused trauma and suffering to the victims and their parents, said the ruling the court released on its website Tuesday. The defendant had tarnished the reputation of Islamic boarding schools.

The lower court had ordered Indonesia's child protection ministry to pay $23,200 in combined compensation requested by the victims and between $600 and $6,000 for medical and psychological treatment for each girl, instead of seizing Wirawans assets.

But the high court ruled for his assets to be seized, including a foundation he owned, and auctioned to benefit the victims and their children.

The judges also ruled that nine children born to the victims should be handed over to the Children and Women Protection Agency with periodic evaluation until the victims are mentally ready to care for their children, and the situation allows for their children to be returned to the victims.

The appeal courts judges denied prosecutors' request for chemical castration, saying someone sentenced to death or life imprisonment may not be subject to other punishments, other than the revocation of some rights.

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Wirawans lawyer, Ira Mambo, said she would advise her client to appeal the sentence to the Supreme Court. They have seven days to do so before the court decision becomes final.

Wirawan pleaded guilty and apologized to his victims and their families during the trial.

West Java police began to investigate the case and arrested Wirawan last May when parents of a victim went to the police after their daughter returned home on a holiday and admitted she had just given birth.

The case didnt become public until November, when court proceedings began. Police said they waited to publicize it to prevent further psychological and social damage to the victims.

In January, President Joko Widodo said he was concerned about cases of sexual abuse in Islamic boarding schools and called on parliament to speed up deliberations on a bill on sexual violence. Conservative lawmakers and Islamic groups want the bill to include prohibitions on extramarital sex and homosexual relations.

____

Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.
MADRID (Reuters) - Likening the Russian bombing of his country to the bloody air raid on the Spanish town of Guernica by Nazi Germany, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Spain's parliament on Tuesday the West must do more to force Moscow to abandon its invasion.

Shortly after addressing the United Nations Security Council, Zelenskiy told Spanish lawmakers to contemplate the current situation where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are living in fear without water, food or medicine, and he called on Spanish companies still operating in Russia to leave.

Earlier on Tuesday, Spain followed several other European countries and pledged to expel 27 Russian diplomats.

"Imagine that people now - in Europe - live for weeks in basements to save lives. From shelling, from air bombs. It's April 2022, and the reality in Ukraine is the same as in April 1937. When the whole world learned the name of one of your cities - Guernica," Zelenskiy said.

Adolf Hitler sent aircraft in support of Francisco Franco's nationalist forces to strike the Basque town on April 26, 1937, killing as many as 1,600 and wounding hundreds. The tragedy drove Pablo Picasso to paint a masterpiece of the same name.

Calling for further international sanctions against Moscow, Zelenskiy praised Spanish companies that have stopped operations in Russia while singling out some businesses still working there.

"I know that many of your companies have already stopped financing the Russian military machine through taxes. I am also grateful to your state and society for its principled position on sanctions," he told a packed lower house in Madrid.

But he appealed directly to blasting equipment provider Maxam, ceramics group Porcelanosa, and capital-goods manufacturers association Sercobe to stop doing business with Russia.

Porcelanosa said it has not initiated any new sales in Russia since the invasion, but had fulfilled contracts with distributors signed before the war.

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"In March the Russian market represented only 0.009% of the company's sales...equivalent to 197,000 euros," the company said in a statement.

Neither Maxam nor Sercobe responded to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Nathan Allen, Belen Carreno and Emma Pinedo; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Leslie Adler)
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid condemned on Tuesday Russia's "war crimes" in Ukraine, intensifying Israel's criticism of Russia since the fighting in Ukraine started.

"The images and testimony from Ukraine are horrific. Russian forces committed war crimes against a defenseless civilian population. I strongly condemn these war crimes," he said in a statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett condemned the killing of civilians documented in the Ukrainian town of Bucha but stopped short of accusing Russian forces of responsibility.

Israel has been restrained in its criticism of Russia, citing Bennett's efforts to broker peace. Israel also wants to keep channels open to the Russian military in Syria, where Israel often mounts air strikes on Iranian assets.

"We're shocked by the terrible sights in Bucha - awful scenes - and we condemn them. The suffering of Ukrainian citizens is immense, and we're doing everything we can to assist," Bennett said during a televised news conference.

The discovery of the slain civilians, some of them bound, after the withdrawal of Russian forces from the town has stirred a global outcry. Kyiv deemed them evidence of genocide. Moscow has denied responsibility and accused Ukraine of trying to smear it.

Bucha has opened up rifts within Bennett's cross-partisan coalition. One liberal cabinet minister described the killings as a Russian war crime, while another, rightist partner suggested that Russia's counter-accusations should be heeded.

(Writing by Dan Williams and Henriette Chacar; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Alistair Bell)
A Bloody Mary, mimosa or other spirit with that early Sunday morning breakfast at an Arlington Heights restaurant? Village officials are considering a request from area restauranteurs to be allowed to sell liquor as early as 8 a.m. on Sundays, which would require a change to the current liquor code.

At the March 21 Village Board meeting, Assistant Village Manager Diana Mikula shared a proposal to consider requests by area restaurant owners for earlier Sunday liquor sales as some liquor license holders have to wait until 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. to sell alcoholic beverages on Sunday.

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Four restaurants in particular  Egg Harbor, Scratchboard Kitchen, Honey Jam Cafe and Hey Nonny  requested the change, according to village officials.

They said it would greatly benefit their customers and they believe they could be more marketable, Mikula said of the owners requests.

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She said that Egg Harbor owners offered testimonials, requesting a 7 a.m. start time since the restaurant closes at 3 p.m.  noting that 11 other Egg Harbor locations in the Chicago area have no restrictions on the sale time of alcohol.

Mikula told the board she conducted market research of Sunday liquor sales times in surrounding communities. She found that out of 21 communities, 10 have a start time earlier than 8 a.m. on Sunday.

Staff believes 8 a.m. is a reasonable request, Mikula told the board. We think it would be appreciated by the restaurants who have been asking.

It would also be consistent with the liquor sales times of 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday, she said, adding she was looking for consensus among board members to modify the code. She said the change proposal would come up for a board vote at a later date.

I have no objection to 8 a.m., said Mayor Tom Hayes. But 7 a.m. is too early for me, especially on Sundays.

Trustee John Scaletta believes the change would put local businesses on a level playing field with surrounding communities.

Ive never been to a restaurant that Ive seen anything out of hand, Scaletta said of early liquor sales. He said many restaurant patrons are often celebrating birthdays or baptisms on Sunday mornings. All they want is to share a mimosa with somebody or have a Bloody Mary. Its not asking too much. Ive been pushing for this to move along.

Trustee Nicolle Grasse agreed with the change and recommended removing the Sunday sale time stipulation from the liquor code for all licenses. Mikula said the Sunday indication was important for end times since class AA liquor licenses allow for a 1 a.m. shut down while class A ones have to stop at midnight.

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Trustee Jim Bertucci suggested staff redefine the many classes and categories in the liquor code, particularly with the recent introductions of classes for salons and breweries selling alcohol. He also suggested the history behind the later start time for liquor sales on Sundays was because there was the thought there should be no alcohol until after church.

Trustee Mary Beth Canty agreed that the villages liquor code needs updating.

This is a real opportunity for staff to look at these liquor licenses and clean some of this up, Canty said. It makes it easier on staff and businesses on what we actually need. Anything we can do to make it more efficient.

Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.
THE HAGUE (Reuters) -A man accused of leading Sudan's feared Janjaweed militia pleaded not guilty to dozens of war crimes charges on Tuesday, at the start of the International Criminal Court's first trial over the Darfur conflict.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman is charged with overseeing thousands of pro-government Janjaweed fighters during the peak of fighting from 2003-2004 and being responsible for atrocities including murder, rape, pillaging and torture.

"I am innocent of all of these charges," the septuagenarian told judges after the charges were read out at the start of his case.

Abd-Al-Rahman voluntarily surrendered to The Hague-based court in June 2020.

He has regularly denied the charges and his lawyers have argued in earlier stages of the proceedings he was not the janjaweed militia leader also known as Ali Kushayb.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said the trial was a momentous day for those in Sudan who had been waiting for justice for nearly two decades, likening their wait to a fast.

Referencing the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Khan said the trial was "an Iftar (breaking of the fast) of sorts for the millions of Sudanese throughout the world that have been yearning for this day to come."

The trial comes amid what humanitarian groups say is an upsurge of inter-communal violence in Darfur since the end of the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission there.

Decades after the worst of the fighting, 1.6 million people are still internally displaced in Darfur, the United Nations estimates.

Darfur's conflict first erupted when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Sudan's government, accusing it of marginalising the remote western territory.

Sudan's then government mobilised mostly Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, to crush the revolt, unleashing a wave of violence that Washington and some activists said amounted to genocide.

Abd-Al-Rahman has been accused of 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity and could face up to life imprisonment if convicted.

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Prosecutors say he was a key Janjaweed leader that the government of Sudan relied upon and who participated knowingly and willingly in crimes.

They dismissed earlier statements by Abd-Al-Rahman that he is not Ali Kushayb.

"Witness after witness saw him, heard him, recognised him. Witness after witness knew Mr Abd-Al-Rahman from before. This is - the prosecution says - a strong case," Khan said.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Anthony Deutsch, Hugh Lawson and Andrew Heavens)
STORY: The refugees, aged between six and 66-years-old, were seen arriving at Tokyo's International Airport on a special government plane that was arranged by Japan's foreign minister during a trip to Poland.

They join about 400 other Ukrainian refugees already in Japan, most of them having entered on a 90-day visa, which they can then convert to a special one-year working visa.

Officials have not said if Japan will lay on more special flights or how many refugees might be allowed in.

Japanese resident, Hironori Murakami said he strongly support the government's gesture, and hoped that Japan would open its door to more refugees.

Another resident, Mayumi Oogaki said she believes the Japanese government should have acted sooner to protect refugees from crime and to help relieve the burden on countries surrounding Ukraine.
Apr. 5Title game

What a charge by the Kansas Jayhawks to start the second half. Wow.

(Side note: Or as Mark Emmert said afterward, "Congratulations to the Kansas City Jayhawks" live on CBS. What a complete and total buffoon. Yes, we all misspeak  or mistype  from time to time, but this is the NCAA's biggest event. It's one shining moment if you will. And Emmert had one job. One. And when he corrected himself, I'm pretty sure he said the University of Kansas, rather than Kansas University. One job, Mark. One. There is not a more incompetent executive making seven figures anywhere in America. Rob Manfred should send Emmert a monthly bottle of high-dollar vino. Truly.)

The Final Four was truly awesome. Sure Villanova at full strength would have/could have made the other semifinal more competitive, but here we are.

(Side note, part II: Congrats to Joey B for winning the "First 1 Out, Last Double Digit Seed Dancing" contest. Tied with Doug D and Chris B with the perfect entry  Baylor the first 1 to go, Miami the last 10-or-higher seed to be playing  Joe T's entry of 415 total points in the semifinals and finals was the closest to the actual total of 447. Great job. Now everyone in the Masters pool.)

So what are our takeaways? There are many.

I'm glad to be done with the Coach K  gag, gag  ceremonial hypocrisy tour. Yes, Coach K built a dynasty and his numbers put him with all of the great college basketball coaches ever to do it. (Side note, part III: Coach K is not even in the same team picture with Nick Saban, so zip all of that.)

I'm happy for my friend Lamont Paris, who is headed to South Carolina for an extra comma and an extra digit in that annual paycheck. Knock 'em dead Lamont. You deserve the bump, and thanks for a memorable Mocs run.

I wish the best Auburn team of my lifetime  and the best Auburn player since Chuck  had finished this drill better. Alas. That's the magic and the misery of March. I know UT fans and UK fans especially feel that way.

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It also reminded me of one of our rules, and it's a rule because it's always true. Here's Weeds with another beauty  "Real tomato ketchup Eddie?" "Nothing but the best."  on college hoops. His college hoops superlatives are, well, super.

And, as Weeds noted, the game needs to be fixed. No, it's not about the holier than thou sanctimony about Kansas winning it all with five Level I violations hanging over its head. PUH-lease. College hoops has been dirtier than a middle schooler's room since I was a middle schooler with a cluttered closet, and to pretend we're outraged now because we have hard evidence from the FBI is disingenuous. (Side note, part IV: Yes, Emmert and his crew have mismanaged every step of every facet of this, but, if we are expecting something different from Emmert and his cronies, well, that's an 'us' issue friends.)

Nope, the game needs to be officiated much, Much, MUCH better. I enjoyed the return of college hoops  man the fans make more difference in college basketball than any other sport if we're being honest  and watched more this year than I have in a decade.

And the officiating is a real problem. Block/charge is a clown show. Missed out-of-bounds, terribly long reviews, rabbit-eared officials, all of it. Fix it. Now. (Side note, part V: A side detractor about replay in basketball  and some in baseball too  is it does away with the make-up call. Like if a ref knows he missed an over-the-back foul on a rebound that is knocked out of bounds, he could wink-wink, nod-nod, fix it by giving the ball to the other team. Not now.)

Still, with all emotions and need for change, this morning the realization should be clear that this year, the best team won it all. At least in my consideration, all things considered, Kansas likely was the best team  and the most complete team  all season. Sure there were some double-digit losses in there, but the combination of handling their business in conference and then come tournament time, the Kansas City Jayhawks were a worthy champion, right Mark Emmert?

Masters contest and top five

Ah Masters week, good times.

And of course, we're going to offer the "Masterfully Mastering the Masters, Masters degree not required" contest. If memory serves it's the oldest of all our contests. Again, good times.

The rules are easy, and are the same as always. Send me five golfers, top four count, and for the place each player finishes, you get that many points. Low score wins. A perfect entry would be 7  the winner which would be 1 point, and three players tying for second, which would be 2 each  and good luck with that. You can leave them in the comments if you wish, or you can email me at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.

So, this week we're offering our riffs and takes on Augusta National and all the things that make it magical. Today, let's discuss the traditions that make this the tradition unlike any other.

Here's my top five:

1. Patrons come first. Yes, 51 weeks out of the year, the 300 or so Augusta National members are likely to be titans of industry or cutthroat lawyers willing to swing briefcases for an extra buck. This week though, the green jacket crew is not overly concerned with the greenbacks. They will cut short commercials if needed. They will allow dads to have lunch and a beer for $6  try that at Chili's, never mind any other professional sporting event. They are kid-friendly and customer-oriented. The golf is amazing. The grounds are impeccable. But the interaction is humanity on its best behavior.

2. The grounds. Friends, they spare no expense to make this look like God's home course, and the colors and magic and mystery are as real in person as they are on your flatscreen. In fact, the two things that can never be conveyed through the coverage are the never-ending undulations and the God-awful smell of fertilizer that is spread everywhere off the fairways if the rain comes.

3. The competition. Major championship golf is fun. It brings out the best in the best. But Augusta National is every bit the star of this event, unless Jack or Tiger are looking to put on another coat. You know this course better than your own club. You remember Louis' 2 on 2, and Phil from the pine straw on 13 and Tiger  sweet buckets, Tiger  on 16 with the Nike commercial chip of all time. Plus, the Masters is the lone major that its champions must go get. It's not about the US Open's demands to remind the globe that par is a good score or the British Open's overarching arrogance, which is only superseded by cosmos reminding them every year, that you don't mess with Mother Nature.

4. The green jacket. Admit it, it's the coolest trophy in sports. Sure Lord Stanley's Cup is awesome, and an Olympic gold medal would be boss. But, you could be the 25th player on an NHL champion or the back-up sweeper on a winning curling outfit and get those. A green jacket makes you legendary. Yes, even you, Trevor Immelman.

5. The logo. Think this is a reach? Think again. If you have been, when you see someone wearing the unmistakable America outline with the flag planted over Augusta and the identifiable font of 'Masters' on an article of clothing or a visor, you can't help but exchange a knowing nod. If you haven't been, you become envious when you see the logo and mumble, "Man, I'd love to go." And if you ever give a Masters souvenir away, well, that will be the best gift that person received that Christmas.

Thoughts?

Georgia gambling

The epicenter of American sports is in Georgia this week.

Augusta National welcomes some folks for a little golf tournament starting Thursday, which is the same day the World Series championship banner will be dropped at Truist Park when the Atlanta Braves open the MLB season against Cincinnati.

Stage, however, does not equal stakes for Georgia sports fans, however. At least not this year.

Monday was the deadline for the state legislators to get a bill on Gov. Brian Kemp's desk before the end of the legislative session. But the Georgia House and Senate were unable to come to terms on a bill. Their divide was as wide-reaching as a 12-team parlay.

And Peach State lawmakers' inability to legalize sports betting will be a lose-lose proposition for the state.

It's a shame too, because it will take months  if not longer because it took Tennessee 18 months to go from legalized to actual open betting books  to get the system in place when the legislation is reintroduced next year.

And the money is real, because consider this: There are 10.7 million people in Georgia, according to the 2020 census. By comparison, Tennessee has 6.8 million people and has collected $35.5 million in state taxes since gambling was legalized in November of 2020.

Now add in a hidden gem in the betting world that Georgia holds  Hartsfield International Airport, which moves more than 110 million travelers through its facility each year. Considering early arrival requirements, layovers and delays, Hartsfield could become the busiest sportsbook in America if Georgia had legalized sports wagering.

But right now, the only sure thing in Georgia is one that too many sports fans are familiar with: Gotta wait 'til next year.

This and that

 Rest easy Estelle Harris, who was the forever loud and forever funny mom to George Constanza on "Seinfeld." She was a treasure.

 OK, some college basketball announcing notables. First, in last night's title game, the incomparable Bill Raftery dropped, "There's nothing like a little Remy late in the evening." So well-played sir. Smooth as a fine liquor, sir. Second, Hubert Davis  and Tony Vitello over the weekend  may give hope to the in-game coach interview for the future. Finally, the women's title game featured a Manning-like Megacast with Sue Bird and Dianna Tarusi with multiple guests. No this is not a jab at the ethics of ESPN  what?  considering that UConn was in the title game and two of its greatest players were hosting the simulcast on ESPN2. Nope, this is how we need a parental advisory on these Megacasts and unleash these former athletes/commentators. The highlight was Tarusi blending some middle school boys humor and the South Carolina nickname in this clip, which I would normally quote but pretty sure the moderators would strike it. Watch it  and Sue Bird's reaction  here. And it was not the only one, friends. Here's another.

 And yes, I know the Braves start this week. And we are sorely short of Braves chatter today. So it goes. Braves and baseball previews start tomorrow. Deal? Deal.

Today's questions

True or false, it's a Tuesday. (Happy Masters week, Ernie. I got the contest entries from you and Mrs. Ern.)

True or false, you checked back at least five times to see if the comments worked yesterday. (That's a monster true for me.)

True or false, "Seinfeld" had the greatest collection of recurring side characters in TV history.

True or false, you have made a legal online wager in Tennessee this year. (Side note: If you are a Georgia resident who has made the drive to Tennessee to make a wager and want to discuss the news of Monday, shoot me an email por favor.)

True or false, Tiger plays this week and makes the cut.

True or false, the best team in college basketball won it all this year.

You know the drill, answer some T or Fs, leave some T or Fs  provided the comments kerfuffle has been corrected.

As for today, April 5, let's review.

Wow, it was 35 years ago that Fox TV premiered with "Married With Children" and "The Tracey Ullman Show"  which is where "The Simpsons" started as side characters.

Yeah, let's stick with Augusta.

Rushmore of sports logos  not teams but events or leagues or venues.

Go.
The full Senate is expected to vote this week on confirming Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, and confirmation looks likely after two key Republicans' endorsement. CBS News political reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns spoke with Anne-Marie Green and Vladimir Duthiers about what to expect as well as the upcoming House vote to recommend contempt of Congress charges against two former Trump administration aides.
It was a late night at the State Capitol as lawmakers debated bills that will impact your familys life.

It was their final chance to pass bills before the session ends for the year.

A controversial election bill long thought dead was back in the House Monday night and it passed.

That bill, among other things, would give the Georgia Bureau of Investigation the power to investigate allegations of voter fraud on their own.

Democrats say its just more rehashing of the November 2020 election.

Democrats pushed back hard on the bill.

Here we are still rehashing an election held in 2020, state Rep. Bee Nguyen, D-Atlanta, said.

It would also require elections offices to establish ballot storage procedures and chains of custody.

The Senate essentially killed the bill, but House Republicans resurrected it on the final day.

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Lilburn Democrat Jasmine Clark said it would put an undue burden on elections offices around the state.

Its already hard enough to recruit poll workers. This bill will make it worse. It will make it harder, Clark said.

The bills sponsor declined to comment after it passed along party lines.

Longtime medical cannabis oil advocate Dale Jackson is upset over what he says is the mess the current process is in of awarding licenses to companies to produce and distribute low THC oil.

This all boils down to litigation, Dale Jackson | Medical Cannabis Oil Advocate

Right now, six companies tentatively have those licensed, but the process was so flawed, the state is trying to come up with a new process.

Jackson said that could cause a delay that will only hurt patients who need the oil.

If I cant see a path to get at least one license this year, then Im going to have to take measures into my own hand. Im not waiting three more years again, Jackson said.

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Gov. Brian Kemp addressed the legislature, thanking them for passing much of his agenda, but acknowledged theres a long way to go.

This has been an historic legislative session, Kemp said. Good luck the rest of the evening, keep chopping and god bless you and thank you for your service.

The elections bill must still pass the Senate, which already killed it once.

Still out there: That medical cannabis oil bill, but its so complicated now, there is a real doubt it may pass this year.

RELATED NEWS:
LEESBURG, VA  Several restaurants around Leesburg and western Loudoun County recorded violations during recent inspections from the Loudoun County Health Department. The most recent round of inspections occurred between March 23 and March 29.

Many COVID-19 restrictions around the state have relaxed, so health inspectors are returning to conduct some restaurant inspections in person. However, some visits, such as those for training purposes, can be conducted virtually.

Violations at restaurants typically focus on factors that can contribute to food contamination. The local health department can also perform a re-inspection to ensure that possible violations have been corrected.

For every observed violation, the inspector provides a specific corrective action that can be completed to rectify the violation. Sometimes these are simple, and violations can be corrected during the course of the inspection.

Here are the most recent restaurant inspections in the Leesburg area, according to the Loudoun County Health Department.

Noku 1607 Village Market Blvd #108 Leesburg, VA 20175 Date inspected: March 23 Total violations: 6 In walk in cooler there was cut lettuce not covered. Lettuce 50F on ice bath and pork 47F in prep cooler are at improper cold holding temperatures. On the menu there is no indication of what food items that are served raw or undercooked. In walk in cooler multiple food items stored on floor. Observed in soda ice bin a container of lemon stored directly on ice. Observed ice scoop handle touching ice in soda ice bin.

Lightfoot Restaurant, 11 North King Street Leesburg, VA 20176

Date inspected: March 23 Total violations: 2 Items in the prep line cooler and salad prep cooler - cold holding at improper temperatures. Prepared, ready to eat (soup) is not date labeled to use/discard within 7 days.

Plaza Azteca, 1608 Village Market Blvd #125 Leesburg, VA 20175

Date inspected: March 23 Total violations: 1 2 door reach in cooler not hold proper cold holding temperature of 41F or below. (Not being used)

TGI Fridays #307, 235 Fort Evans Rd NE Leesburg, VA 20176

Date inspected: March 23 Total violations: 4 Handwashing sink at bar recorded a temperature of 87 F. Hand sink at the bar did not have hand-drying provisions available during the time of inspection. Sanitizer portion of the 3 compartment sink at the bar was not registering adequate sanitizer concentration levels (0 ppm) Serving plates located in dry storage area were observed partially uncovered and exposed.

Burger King #8159, 970 Edwards Ferry Rd Leesburg, VA 20175

Date inspected: March 23 Total violations: 1 Ceiling has leak. The ceiling in front of the 3 basin sink is leaking from recent rain.

Zion Springs LLC, 16660 Mandileigh Ln Hamilton, VA 20158

Date inspected: March 25 Total violations: 2 Observed no verifiable manner that all employees are aware, to report to the person in charge, information about their health and activities as it relates to diseases that are transmissible through food. Observed no irreversible measuring temperature devise for high temperature dish machine.

Bua Thai, 19326 Promenade Dr Leesburg, VA 20176

Date inspected: March 29 Total violations: 9 Food employee prepping RTE papaya without gloves. All hand sinks (kitchen, bar, and restrooms) need signage to remind food employees to wash their hands. Observed a variety of foods in both prep coolers uncovered. Noodles 44F, cut lettuce 50F and raw shelled eggs 50F at an improper cold holding temperature. Observed sticky, sweet sticky, and brown rice without a date mark. Observed food items (cut tomato) in black bin on the counter without a time to discard. Observed cooked chicken 65F cooling in prep cooler in metal container packed tight and high. Observed noodles and raw chicken being stored on the floor in the walk in cooler. In the bar the hand sink was turned off because the hand sink leaks.

Silk Restaurant & Banquet, 1500 Market Street East Leesburg, VA 20176

Date inspected: March 29 Total violations: 2 Handsink in food prep area does not have hot running water. Observed 59F. As per owner / PIC, all repairs to facility have been made. This is not corrected. The tiles, cove base, ceiling tiles have not been repaired.

Sidebar, 24 South King Street Leesburg, VA 20175

Date inspected: March 29 Total violations: 1 Observed no consumer advisory on the online menu for foods offered raw or undercooked. Food items include beef, fish, and select mixed drinks with a raw egg. Facility utilizes placards that allow the customer to scan the QR code to pull up the menu.

Jersey Mikes Subs, 522 Ft Evans Rd Leesburg, VA 20176

Date inspected: March 29 Total violations: 1 Tuna salad in the walk-in cooler did not have a means of date marking to indicate preparation date.



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Some restaurants recorded flawless inspections. Here are the locations that had no violations during their recent visit from the health department:

This article originally appeared on the Leesburg Patch
An Oak Forest police officer was in serious but stable condition Monday following a shooting Sunday inside a Food 4 Less grocery store in that city in which police exchanged gunfire with a 21-year-old Calumet City woman who later died from her injuries.

State police are investigating the shooting that happened at about noon in the store, at the northeast corner of 159th Street and Central Avenue.

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The officer, who identify has not been released, was wounded in an exchange that started a few blocks west of the store when Oak Forest officers were called to help a motorist needing assistance. The woman, Ketura Wilson, later died at a hospital.

The Cook County medical examiners office, following an autopsy, said Monday that Wilson died from multiple gunshot wounds and ruled her death a homicide.

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Jackie Human, who was shopping with her husband at the grocery, said the shooting occurred near the stores delicatessen counter, where they had ordered items moments earlier.

If we had gotten just one more thing at the deli we would have been right in the line of fire, said Human, of Oak Forest.

Going to the grocery store is a Sunday routine for the couple, and Human said Monday she was still shaken a day after the shooting.

The thought that something like this can happen, it changes the way you think about things, she said. I could have gone in the store and never come home.

Police said they initially responded just before 11 a.m. to a retail center in the 6000 block of West 159th Street for a call of a motorist needing assistance.

They were attempting to take a woman, later identified as Wilson, to the hospital for a mental health evaluation but she was able to flee, according to state police, who are investigating the shooting because an officer was involved.

Oak Forest officers followed her to Food 4 Less, where they attempted to negotiate with her, at which point she pulled out a handgun and went inside the store, where she and police exchanged gunfire, according to state police.

State police said the officer suffered a nonlife-threatening injury, and an Oak Forest spokeswoman said Monday the officer remained hospitalized.

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Human said just before shots were fired, she heard what sounded like a fight.

Then I heard gunshots, a lot of gunshots, she said. It was intense.

Human said she heard at least 10 gunshots.

It was repetitive, just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, she said.

Human said she and her husband and some other customers quickly made their way into a storeroom at the rear of the store.

We were inside the storeroom for maybe five minutes, she said. We didnt know what was going on.

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At the time of the shooting the store was not overly crowded, but there were a lot of people with families, with their children, and a lot of elderly shoppers, Human said.

When it was clear that it was safe to leave the storeroom, Human said she walked past the wounded police officer who was on floor.

He was laying where I had been standing about four minutes earlier, she said. I keep picturing that officer laying in the spot where I had been standing and it scares the hell out of me.

Human said she and her husband have permits to carry concealed firearms, and both had guns in their possession when they entered the store.

She said that as she waited inside the storeroom, she was bracing herself for a possible encounter with a shooter.

Thank God that didnt happen, Human said. That is not anything I would want to do.

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Some customers at the store Monday said that while they were aware of the Sunday shooting, it would not deter them from patronizing the store.

I know that can happen anywhere but I cant not do things like going for groceries because of it, said Audrey Whipple, of Tinley Park. They have the best prices. Everybody else is too high.

Stan Winters, of Oak Forest, said he thinks the shooting was just something isolated and he is not worried about continuing to shop at the store.

I moved out of the city 10 years ago and this is nothing like being in the city, he said of the prevalence of shootings or other crimes.

Human said she and her husband want to eventually move out of Illinois and in the meantime plan to shop at stores farther southwest of Oak Forest, such as in Frankfort, where she believes crime is less of an issue.

She said she was a victim of a violent crime when she was 10, and that I have always had the desire to protect myself and enrolled in firearms training and applied for a concealed carry license when Illinois began allowing it.

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Apr. 5Maine House members overwhelmingly passed a joint resolution Tuesday in support of the people of Ukraine in their battle against Russian invaders.

The resolution's sponsor, Rep. Rebecca Millett, D-Cape Elizabeth, said she was part of the first Peace Corps mission to Ukraine one year after 92 percent of that country voted for independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

"Like Maine, the winter days were short and cold, but we were quickly warmed by the welcoming spirit of Ukrainians," Millett said. "The following two years, I learned of their proud heritage, their love of poetry, song and dance. The bloody tragedies of world wars soaked into their lands and their psyche."

Millett said she worked with government officials to forge a new path forward.

"Over the past 30 years and with each new generation, Ukraine has forged its identity as a sovereign nation with elections, popular movements and an unwillingness to fall back into the clutches of Russia," she said. "The taste of freedom and self-determination is strong."

While the Senate has yet to vote on Millett's resolution, it was co-sponsored by all but three members of the Legislature.

The resolution recognizes the shared democratic values of Mainers and Ukrainians, condemns Russia's invasion, and expresses solidarity with the Ukrainian fight to preserve freedom. It also expresses support for the U.S. response to Russia's invasion, including sanctions and military supplies, and encourages Mainers to find ways to support the people of Ukraine.

A force of roughly 200,000 Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine that were under the control of Russian-backed separatists.

Putin predicted a swift victory, but Russian forces have been stymied by fierce Ukrainian opposition, especially in the battle for Kyiv. U.S. authorities believe Russia is giving up trying to take the nation's capital city and are refocusing efforts on the eastern part of the country, while continuing their assault on the coastal city of Mariupol.

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Russia is accused of committing war crimes. After Russian troops left the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, reports emerged of civilians, including women and children, who appeared to have been executed and left in the streets, some with their hands bound.

An estimated 4 million people have fled the fighting in Ukraine, and thousands are estimated to have died.

The three sitting lawmakers who did not co-sponsor the resolution were Sen. Bradlee Farrin, R-Somerset, Rep. Jeffrey Evangelos, I-Friendship, and Rep. John Andrews, R-Paris. Evangelos and Andrews voted against it Tuesday.

Andrews was the only lawmaker who spoke against the resolution from the House floor Tuesday.

Andrews said he supports Ukrainians and opposes Putin's invasion. But he could not support the resolution because he worried about the United States escalating its involvement in the conflict.

"American escalation is not the answer," Andrews said. "Those in this chamber must listen carefully to hear the drums of war. They're beginning to beat slowly on our shores. We, as a legislative body, must not join the band."

After the vote, Evangelos said he opposed the resolution because he thought it was one-sided and ignored concerns expressed by Russia about NATO looking to expand eastward.

"No one is looking at the other side," Evangelos said, adding that he was not taking sides.

"I don't support war," he said. "I'm neutral. I'm not rooting for anyone. The resolution should have called for peace and respected the rights of the Russian people who are living in the east and it didn't."

Farrin could not be reached for comment.

Prior to the vote, Millett urged her colleagues not to take American democracy and security for granted.

"As we gather here in the State House engaged in a debate of ideas and policies, let us be grateful for the privilege to serve our communities and the state of Maine without fear of reprisal, of invasion, of destruction and death," she said.
A man accused of attempted murder was found not guilty after a jury trial Friday, nearly five years after a night club shooting in Greenville County.

Jurors found Ortagus Demetrice Bennett, 41, not guilty in the attempted murder of Fredrick Wilson, a bouncer at Club Luna at 6119 White Horse Road.

Jurors deliberated around seven and a half hours before reaching a not guilty verdict, according to the 13th Solicitor's Office.

Greenville County Sheriff's Office deputies charged Bennett in 2017 with attempted murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

Deputies were called to the club around 3:30 a.m. April 9, 2017 where Wilson, the bouncer, was shot.

Investigators determined Wilson was escorting Bennett out of the club when a fight broke out and Wilson was shot. The club's armed security team detained Bennett immediately, according to previous coverage of the shooting.

Wilson served as a witness during last week's trial and took the stand Tuesday. He said Tennessee rapper Young Dolph was performing that night and Wilson was told to clear a pathway so that Dolph could enter the club.

Bennett was in the way and was told to step aside to let the artist by but refused to move, Wilson testified on Tuesday.

Wilson then heard multiple gunshots, he told jurors on Tuesday, and had not initially realized he was shot. He said his chest felt hot and when he touched the area he saw blood on his hands.

"I was told I fainted," Wilson said.

Initial: Man charged with shooting bouncer at Greenville nightclub

Bennett was found not guilty to attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. His possession of a weapon by a convicted felon charge had already been dismissed in November 2017.

He was represented in the trial by defense attorney Culver Kidd.

"I'm very happy for Mr. Bennett. I don't think the criminal court system will have to deal with him anymore," Kidd said.

Tamia Boyd is a Michigan native who covers breaking news in Greenville. Email her at tboyd@gannett.com, and follow her on Twitter @tamiamb.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville man accused of attempted murder found not guilty
The death of a Marion County Jail inmate several months ago was listed as a suicide. An internal affairs report by Marion County Sheriff's Inspector Sgt. Roselynn Collazo states "there were no violations of operational directives" and notes that detention staff and medical personnel "responded quickly and appropriately."

But the case still raises some questions. Why weren't security cameras in the cell area working? How did no other inmates in the area notice what was happening before it was too late? Since the inmate, Mark Anthony Francis Benedetto, had twice before been on suicide watch at the jail during previous stays, why wasn't he so designated this time?

Illness at the lockup:Jail inmate released for COVID-19 care dies

Elderly man sick:Ocala jail inmate, 86, dying of COVID-19

Health care worker at the jail: Nurse at Marion County Jail dies of COVID-19

Mark Benedetto

One of the deceased inmate's brothers isn't satisfied with what he has learned.

"I feel it's negligence. They could've saved him. The job of the guard is to sit there and watch that camera and they didn't do that," Kevin Benedetto said.

It started with an arrest on Jan. 17

Mark Benedetto was arrested at 12:31 p.m. on Jan. 17. The charges: grand theft of a motor vehicle and possession of marijuana less than 20 grams. Benedetto was booked into the jail at 12:57 p.m.

An internal affairs probe at the jail showed that Benedetto was present for headcount at 6 a.m. the next day and was in bed at 6:30 a.m. At 7 a.m., he was in a dayroom area and at 7:30 a.m. on his bed.

Half an hour later, Benedetto was found hanging from a sheet that was tied around his neck and secured to a bunk in a holding area known as Bravo section. The holding section where Benedetto was found is a temporary housing area where inmates are detained before going to first appearance or sent to a pod.

There were six other inmates in the holding area with Benedetto. Each said he did not see anything.

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Checks every 30 minutes

Detention Deputy Howard Cromwell told a detective investigating the death that he checked the booking holding area every 30 minutes. He said Benedetto was the only inmate awake when he did his 7 and 7:30 a.m. checks. Cromwell said there were no problems in the area during his checks.

Cromwell said when he checked the area at 8 a.m., he noticed Benedetto's body was toward the bunk bed. He said the victim's stomach was facing the ground, his arms were by his sides, and he was in a kneeling position. Benedetto's head was hanging from a bed sheet that was attached to the bunk bed, according to Cromwell.

An internal review showed no deficiencies or failures to follow protocol in the death of Marion County Jail inmate Mark Benedetto.

The detention deputy called for help. A colleague came and cut the sheet. CPR was performed until a nurse arrived. Paramedics transported the victim to Ocala Regional Medical Center.

When Benedetto arrived at the hospital and personnel were removing his clothing, they found a plastic bag with a white string tied around his scrotum. Inside the plastic bag was an off-white, solid substance. It tested negative for drugs. No one is sure what the substance was or why it was there.

Benedetto was brain dead on Jan. 23 and died three days later. On Jan. 28, a Medical Examiner's report list the cause of death as anoxic encephalopathy and asphyxia via ligature hanging. The manner of death: suicide.

6 other inmates; no one saw anything

Detective Daniel Pinder interviewed three of the other inmates and jail Investigator Nathan McClain interviewed the others. The inmates were Charles Brown Jr., Christopher Grubber, Jon Hite, Franky Leyva-Morales, Theodore Roberson and Danzell Simpkins.

Mark Benedetto died by suicide in January at the Marion County Jail. Six other inmates were in a cell area with him, but no one saw anything before it was too late.

Brown, Gruber, Hite and Simpkins remain at the jail. Reporters are not allowed in the jail due to COVID-19 restrictions, so the Star-Banner could not interview them. Leyva-Morales and Roberson have been released; however, Leyva-Morales couldn't be reached for comment.

Reached by phone, Roberson told a Star-Banner reporter that he was sleeping on the morning in question. He said he woke up when he heard "the commotion."'

"When I woke up, he was dead," Roberson said.

Roberson said "no one else was awake" at the time of the incident, either.

"He (Benedetto) was acting normal like everyone else," he said.

From Pinder's report: One of the inmates, whose bed was above Benedetto's, said he didn't have any problems with Benedetto. A second inmate said Benedetto was "laughing and joking" hours earlier. He said the man did not mention anything about taking his life. A third inmate said Benedetto traded him his eggs for a milk. That inmate said Benedetto "seemed normal" and called the suicide "unexpected."

From McLain's report: One of the inmates said the night before, he and Benedetto talked. He said the man told him he saw "spirits," and a "man in the window" in another cell. The inmate said Benedetto told him he normally doesn't sleep well, but overnight he had a good night's sleep.

During breakfast, the same inmate said, he noticed Benedetto's sheets were missing. He said he asked Benedetto about the sheets. Benedetto didn't answer him.

Report: Many US jails fail to stop inmate suicides, investigation reveals

A second inmate said he was asleep and only woke up when the detention deputy entered the cell. A third inmate said he didn't see anything.

"There were multiple people in the cell and no one saw or heard anything? That's weird," Kevin Benedetto said. He has a hard time believing that everyone was asleep and no one saw anything. He himself has been held in that part of the jail in the past and is familiar with the layout.

A psychological history; twice before on jail suicide watch

According to records that are part of the investigation, Benedetto had a psychological history that included bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Each inmate who is booked into the Marion County Jail undergoes a physical and mental health screening.

Records reviewed by the detectives show Benedetto had been on suicide watch at the jail during two previous stays: Dec. 29, 2017 and Jan. 13, 2018. The reason for the first suicide watch wasn't explained in the report viewed by the detectives. The second suicide watch was ordered because Benedetto, at the time, had "expressed thoughts of suicide to jail staff."

Sheriff's Office officials said whenever someone is taken into custody and transported to the jail, that individual is given a physical and mental screening.

On this last trip to the jail, Benedetto's screening did not reflect any signs that he should be placed on suicide watch. The Sheriff's Office said prior placements on suicide watch do not affect how an inmate is classified on a subsequent trip to the jail.

Kevin Benedetto said his brother did have some medical issues, but doesn't think he would end his life.

Mark Benedetto worshipped with an Ocala church and ministered to the homeless.

"He wasn't ready to go. I talked with him before he got arrested and he wanted to go to St. Louis," Benedetto said.

He said his brother was involved in the community, worshipped as a member of Living Waters Church, and for a few years ministered to the homeless with another faith-based organization.

"He did things to better the world," Kevin Benedetto said.

Cameras were not working

A report from jail investigator McLain notes that the security camera in the part of the jail where Benedetto was held had been offline since 8:15 a.m. the prior day. It has since been fixed. A faulty part had to be replaced.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office operates the county jail.

If the camera had been working on the day of Benedetto's death, would it have made a difference?

Sheriff's Office officials don't think so. They said the camera provides "a wide-angle type view to encompass the entire holding area." An inmate like Benedetto could be out of view.

"It may have been something we could have seen afterwards," a spokesman said.

The spokesman said guards in that area "are directly watching the inmates and doing their routine checks, but not watching the cameras." He added that "it doesnt look like it is something where it is continually monitored," the way a passageway or an exit door would be.

Deputies said regular checks continue to be done at 30-minute intervals. Inmates considered to be suicide risks are "checked more frequently and closely," at 15-minute intervals.

Also, when inmates are on suicide watch, items such as sheets are not not given to them.

"While we can always work to improve on what we do day in and day out, the examiners found that we already had the proper policies in place and did not recommend changing those," the spokesman said.

A troubling past at the Marion County Jail

Three years ago, there were five deaths at the county jail. The deaths were investigated by the Sheriffs Office or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Four of the five were classified as suicides. The other was ruled a homicide and an inmate was charged with murder. A jail detention deputy was disciplined for the death.

In the wake of those deaths, Sheriff Billy Woods brought in three national experts to examine jail operations, but the review did not result in any major policy changes.

In 2018, the latest year for which full national statistics are available, there were 1,120 deaths in U.S. jails, according to the U.S. Justice Department. That was nearly 2% more than 2017 and the highest number since 2000, when the Bureau of Justice Statistics started tracking that metric.

"Suicide remained the single leading cause of death in local jails in 2018, accounting for almost 30% of deaths," the bureau wrote in a report published last month. The next highest leading causes were heart disease and drug/alcohol intoxication.

Dataset now available: Mortality in Correctional Institutions: Jail Population Distributions, 2000-2017. https://t.co/0EGyEcnGfh #BJSstats  Bureau of Justice Statistics (@BJSgov) April 29, 2021

On Tuesday, the County Commission approved a request to have a contractor upgrade the jail's video surveillance network. The project is expected to cost nearly $1 million.

According to background information for the project, the present equipment "has exceeded its useful life and is in need of replacement."

Sheriff's Office officials said the camera improvement project has been in the works for a couple of years. They said the plan is to replace and upgrade the entire system, making it "more functional and efficient."

Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala jail suicide leaves inmate's brother with sorrow and questions
Nearly 11 years ago, Qi Shi was shocked when a male student asked her if she was good at math. Shi, who is Chinese, was then a school counselor at Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. Some Chinese are, but some arent, she responded.

The experience, and her research about immigrants and English as a Second Language students led to her work today in the diversity field.

As a Chinese woman in America, its hard. The hardship is about biases, discriminations and/or how people see you [and] what people expect from you, she said. Those kinds of biases and prejudices and discriminations and microaggressions can happen. I wouldnt say it happens all the time, but it can happen.

As the newly appointed director of Loyola University Marylands Center for Equity, Leadership and Social Justice in Education at the School of Education, her job is to mentor faculty members. In addition, she provides assistance to those working on projects about diversity who apply for grants and scholarships. While smaller projects traditionally struggle to get funding, the center, which will launch July 1, will welcome projects of all sizes.

Shi, whos responsible for raising money to sustain the center, said Loyola and the School of Education Deans Office will fund it for the first two years. She declined to say how much money the school will invest.

A previous center called the Center for Innovation in Urban Education shut down because the faculty  in part  didnt use it, she said.

I feel excited and nervous at the same time  excited because of what could happen, and nervous because I havent done this before, she said.

Shi, 40, whos from Harbin, China, now lives in Ellicott City. She earned a bachelors from Beijing International Studies University in 2003. In 2009, she received a masters of counseling from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Four years later, she earned a Ph.D in counselor education and school counseling and guidance services from the George Washington University, according to her LinkedIn profile.

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Her research experience prepared her for the director role, she said, particularly after applying for and receiving a grant from the National Science Foundation two years ago for a study about Latina English learners experiences in science, technology, engineering and math. That experience taught her how to manage grant money, she said.

The center will cultivate and strengthen sustainable partnerships with the community, so that research can be conducted in a way that can have deeper, meaningful impact to our community, she said.

On a practical level, that means she will get feedback from the community and use it to meet their needs.

Desvan Moody, of Mount Vernon, is a graduate student in Loyolas school counseling program and a former student of Shis. Moody, who met Shi in 2019, said her passion for the diversity field will be an asset.

I personally think that [talking about diversity] is important because in the world that we live in today, there is such a need for the stories of all identities and intersections of those identities to be heard and seen and honored and affirmed, he said.

Karen Phillips, who has worked with Shi since 2020, is a graduate student at Loyolas school counseling program and a research assistant for Shi. Shi has been a mentor to her, she said.

She has a really inspiring vision around programming and research from an equity and inclusion lens. Her leadership is really going to help, she said.

Shi has two daughters, ages 7 and 9. She and her husband, who is Spanish, travel every summer to China and Spain in an effort to teach their children about their heritage. While she said her children havent faced discrimination, she has faced barriers while trying to assimilate as a foreigner, she said.

I hope they can just be proud of who they are, and that is beautiful  something that can be celebrated, she said.

This article is part of our Newsmaker series, which profiles notable people in the Baltimore region who are having an impact in our diverse communities. If youd like to suggest someone who should be profiled, please send their name and a short description of what they are doing to make a difference to: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Editor Kamau High at khigh@baltsun.com.
There are growing calls on Texas Governor Greg Abbot to grant her clemency to Melissa Lucio who faces execution later this month.

The 53-year-old domestic violence victim and mother of 14 has been on death row since her trial over the 2007 death of her two-year-old daughter.

Her lawyers argue she falsely admitted to killing Mariah after hours of intense police questioning and that she died from falling down a steep staircase outside their apartment in Harlingen, South Texas, and not from being beaten.

Lucio was worn down by her grief and being abused throughout her life during the aggressive interrogation and finally admitted to a crime she didnt commit, her lawyers say.

On 18 October, the US Supreme Court denied a petition to hear Lucios case, paving the way for the state of Texas to set the date for her execution  to be carried out by lethal injection on 27 Aprill

In a bipartisan letter to Governor Abbott, 83 Texas House members called it a miscarriage of justice. Kim Kardashian, who has campaigned in several high-profile death row cases, also joined calls for clemency.

Most compellingly, in an editorial in The Houston Chronicle on 3 April, Johnny Galvan Jr, a juror at her trial wrote that he was misled about the facts of the case and succumbed to peer pressure in changing his sentencing vote from life in prison to the death penalty. He now says he was wrong to do so.

Key Points

Background to Melissa Lucios death sentence

Juror calls for retrial of woman he sentenced to death for murder of her daughter

How the femme fatale stereotype is dooming women to death row in the US

Kim Kardashian urges clemency in Melissa Lucio case

Revisiting the Julius Jones case

14:00 , Oliver O'Connell

In November 2021, Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt called off the execution of Julius Jones, a Black death row inmate who has long maintained his innocence in the 1999 murder that put him behind bars. The announcement came just hours before Jones was set to die by lethal injection.

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After prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, Governor Stitt said in a statement.

The Jones family, as well as supporters of the large Justice for Julius movement, were at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in the town of McAlester when they learned the news, the culmination of a two-decade campaign to free Julius.

Josh Marcus reported on the case for The Independent.

Oklahoma governor stops Julius Jones execution with last-minute decision

Lifelong trauma led to false confession

12:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Lucio, 53, would be the first Latina executed by Texas and the first woman since 2014. Only 17 women have been executed in the US 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.

(Provided by the family of Melissa Lucio)

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, according to Vanessa Potkin, one of Lucios attorneys who is with the Innocence Project.

Lucio had been sexually assaulted multiple times, starting at age six, 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.

AP

Wake up  to speak out for justice and stand up for life!'

11:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Texas representative Jeff Leach calls on faith leaders to speak out for Melissa Lucio as the bipartisan group of lawmakers calls for action on the case urging the state to grant a reprieve from execution because of all of the evidence that points to her innocence.

My closing message yesterday directed to our faith leaders & Pastors, some of whom are still piously & wrongfully burying their hands in the sand & sitting on the sidelines on #MelissaLucios case. I urge them to wake up  to speak out for justice & stand up for life! #txlege pic.twitter.com/8jSay5VKSJ  Jeff Leach (@leachfortexas) March 25, 2022

What have Texas lawmakers said?

09:30 , Oliver O'Connell

On 25 March, 83 Texas House members signed a letter asking the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to either cancel or commute Lucios impending execution.

Representative Jeff Leach, R-Plano, who describes himself as a conservative Republican and a death penalty supporter, led off a news conference calling the trial of Lucio a miscarriage of justice, Spectrum News 1 reports.

I have never seen a more troubling case than the case of Melissa Lucio, said Mr Leach, the chair of the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee. The six of us, in conjunction with our House colleagues, are asking for the Board of Pardons and Paroles to spare her life and delay her execution, which is currently scheduled in about a month on April 27.

Mr Leach was joined by Representatives Joe Moody, D-El Paso; Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston; Lacey Hull, R-Houston; Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas; and James White, R-Hillister.

Typically, Republicans have been hesitant or reluctant to talk about the question of the integrity of the death penalty, and I think thats the wrong approach. I know its the wrong approach, Mr Leach said. I encourage legislators to ask the tough questions and to review the documents, the transcripts, the case file, to call us or call her attorneys, and to figure out where you are on this case, one way or another.

His colleague Mr Moody, added: It is easy to dismiss people like Melissa Lucio. In fact, the system is set up for us to forget her and treat her as less than human. Thats the way its been set up for years and years. For years, in this body, it was easy to ignore issues that touch the justice system because we think of those people as less than human and we throw them away. No more.

What options are available for Texas authorities?

08:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Governor Greg 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 to the Associated Press. A spokesperson for Governor Abbotts office did not return an email seeking comment.

Mr 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 victimised again if his son was executed.

Lucios supporters have said her clemency request is similar in that her family would be retraumatised 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 Governor Abbott and the board.

AP

Which US states still have capital punishment, and who uses it the most?

06:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Twenty-seven states across America still have the death penalty.

They are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky. Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Uta,h and Wyoming.

Find out more:

American death map: Which US states have capital punishment and who uses it the most?

Kim Kardashian urges followers to sign petition

04:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Kim Kardashian tweeted: Please sign the petition to urge Governor @GregAbbott_TX to stop her execution. https://bit.ly/3tDg8g4 Its stories like Melissas that make me speak so loud about the death penalty in general and why it should be banned when innocent people are suffering.

Her 2-year old daughter Mariah fell down a flight of stairs and two days later passed away while taking a nap. After she called for help, she was taken into custody by the police.  Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) April 5, 2022

Please sign the petition to urge Governor @GregAbbott_TX to stop her execution. https://t.co/IqDBxzCh3b Its stories like Melissas that make me speak so loud about the death penalty in general and why it should be banned when innocent people are suffering.  Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) April 5, 2022

Why end the death penalty?

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The Independent and the nonprofit Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) have launched a joint campaign calling for an end to the death penalty in the US. The RBIJ has attracted more than 150 well-known signatories to their Business Leaders Declaration Against the Death Penalty - with The Independent as the latest on the list. We join high-profile executives like Ariana Huffington, Facebooks Sheryl Sandberg, and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson as part of this initiative and are making a pledge to highlight the injustices of the death penalty in our coverage.

Editorial: Why it is beyond time for the US to end the death penalty

Kim Kardashian urges clemency in Melissa Lucio case

01:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Kim Kardashian has spoken out many times about criminal justice reform in the last few years. She has called on Texas Governor Greg Abbott to grant Lucio clemency after she falsely pleaded guilty following hours of questioning.

I recently just read about the case of Melissa Lucio and wanted to share her story with you. She has been on death row for over 14 years for her daughters death that was a tragic accident, Ms Kardashian tweeted on Tuesday. Her 2-year old daughter Mariah fell down a flight of stairs and two days later passed away while taking a nap. After she called for help, she was taken into custody by the police.

Melissa is a survivor of abuse and domestic violence herself and after being interrogated for hours and falsely pleaded guilty. She wanted the interrogation to end, but police made her words out to be a confession. She is scheduled to be executed on April 27 in Texas, she added.

She urged her followers to sign a petition to urge Governor Greg Abbott to stop her execution.

Its stories like Melissas that make me speak so loud about the death penalty in general and why it should be banned when innocent people are suffering, Ms Kardashian added.

Kim Kardashian urges clemency for domestic violence victim facing execution

How being a bad mother, bad wife and bad woman became a death warrant

Tuesday 5 April 2022 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Women are vastly outnumbered by men on death row across America. But experts say the small number who are sentenced to death usually break societys expectations of a good woman. Melissa Lucio is one of them as Rachel Sharp reports.

How the femme fatale stereotype is dooming women to death row in the US

Juror says he was wrong to succumb to peer pressure over death penalty

Tuesday 5 April 2022 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

One of the jurors who sentenced Melissa Lucio to death has written a newspaper editorial claiming he was misled and pressured during the mothers trial for murdering her two-year-old daughter.

Johnny Galvan Jr wrote in The Houston Chronicle that he was wrong to succumb to peer pressure and change his vote from a life sentence to the death penalty, or theyd be there all day if he didnt.

Justin Vallejo reports.

Juror calls for retrial of woman he sentenced to death for murder of her daughter

Background to Melissa Lucios death sentence

Tuesday 5 April 2022 21:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death in 2008 after being convicted of killing her two-year-old daughter Mariah the year before. Her lawyers argue a confession was given under duress and she says herself that she did not do it, and has aksed Governor Greg Abbott for clemency with her execution date less than a month away.

Rachel Sharp reports on the case for The Independent.

Mother on death row for daughters death asks for clemency as execution date looms

Kim Kardashians previous campaigns for death row inmates

Tuesday 5 April 2022 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Kim Kardashian has spoken out on behalf of death row inmates in the past. Most recently she campaigned for Julius Jones, who was granted a reprieve from his execution in Oklahoma.

The Independent published this report by Jade Bremner ahead of the governors eventual decision.

Kim Kardashian speaks out against death penalty ahead of Julius Jones execution

Ms Kardashian was also devastated in late 2020 when Brandon Bernard was not granted a reprieve in Texas, as Joanna Whitehead reported at the time.

Kim Kardashian West speaks out after death row inmate she supported is executed

Revisiting the Julius Jones case

Tuesday 5 April 2022 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

In November 2021, Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt called off the execution of Julius Jones, a Black death row inmate who has long maintained his innocence in the 1999 murder that put him behind bars. The announcement came just hours before Jones was set to die by lethal injection.

After prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, Governor Stitt said in a statement.

The Jones family, as well as supporters of the large Justice for Julius movement, were at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in the town of McAlester when they learned the news, the culmination of a two-decade campaign to free Julius.

Josh Marcus reported on the case for The Independent.

Oklahoma governor stops Julius Jones execution with last-minute decision

Lifelong trauma led to false confession

Tuesday 5 April 2022 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Lucio, 53, would be the first Latina executed by Texas and the first woman since 2014. Only 17 women have been executed in the US 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.

Melissa Lucio (The family of Melissa LucioT)

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, according to Vanessa Potkin, one of Lucios attorneys who is with the Innocence Project.

Lucio had been sexually assaulted multiple times, starting at age six, 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.

AP

Wake up  to speak out for justice and stand up for life!'

Tuesday 5 April 2022 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Texas representative Jeff Leach calls on faith leaders to speak out for Melissa Lucio as the bipartisan group of lawmakers calls for action on the case urging the state to grant a reprieve from execution because of all of the evidence that points to her innocence.

My closing message yesterday directed to our faith leaders & Pastors, some of whom are still piously & wrongfully burying their hands in the sand & sitting on the sidelines on #MelissaLucios case. I urge them to wake up  to speak out for justice & stand up for life! #txlege pic.twitter.com/8jSay5VKSJ  Jeff Leach (@leachfortexas) March 25, 2022

What have Texas lawmakers said?

Tuesday 5 April 2022 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

On 25 March, 83 Texas House members signed a letter asking the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to either cancel or commute Lucios impending execution.

Representative Jeff Leach, R-Plano, who describes himself as a conservative Republican and a death penalty supporter, led off a news conference calling the trial of Lucio a miscarriage of justice, Spectrum News 1 reports.

I have never seen a more troubling case than the case of Melissa Lucio, said Mr Leach, the chair of the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee. The six of us, in conjunction with our House colleagues, are asking for the Board of Pardons and Paroles to spare her life and delay her execution, which is currently scheduled in about a month on April 27.

Mr Leach was joined by Representatives Joe Moody, D-El Paso; Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston; Lacey Hull, R-Houston; Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas; and James White, R-Hillister.

Typically, Republicans have been hesitant or reluctant to talk about the question of the integrity of the death penalty, and I think thats the wrong approach. I know its the wrong approach, Mr Leach said. I encourage legislators to ask the tough questions and to review the documents, the transcripts, the case file, to call us or call her attorneys, and to figure out where you are on this case, one way or another.

His colleague Mr Moody, added: It is easy to dismiss people like Melissa Lucio. In fact, the system is set up for us to forget her and treat her as less than human. Thats the way its been set up for years and years. For years, in this body, it was easy to ignore issues that touch the justice system because we think of those people as less than human and we throw them away. No more.

What options are available for authorities?

Tuesday 5 April 2022 18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Governor Greg 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 to the Associated Press. A spokesperson for Governor Abbotts office did not return an email seeking comment.

Mr 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 victimised again if his son was executed.

Lucios supporters have said her clemency request is similar in that her family would be retraumatised 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 Governor Abbott and the board.

AP

Which US states still have capital punishment, and who uses it the most?

Tuesday 5 April 2022 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Twenty-seven states across America still have the death penalty.

They are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky. Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Uta,h and Wyoming.

Find out more:

American death map: Which US states have capital punishment and who uses it the most?

Kim Kardashian urges followers to sign petition

Tuesday 5 April 2022 17:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Kim Kardashian tweeted: Please sign the petition to urge Governor @GregAbbott_TX to stop her execution. https://bit.ly/3tDg8g4 Its stories like Melissas that make me speak so loud about the death penalty in general and why it should be banned when innocent people are suffering.

Her 2-year old daughter Mariah fell down a flight of stairs and two days later passed away while taking a nap. After she called for help, she was taken into custody by the police.  Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) April 5, 2022

Please sign the petition to urge Governor @GregAbbott_TX to stop her execution. https://t.co/IqDBxzCh3b Its stories like Melissas that make me speak so loud about the death penalty in general and why it should be banned when innocent people are suffering.  Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) April 5, 2022

Why end the death penalty?

Tuesday 5 April 2022 16:40 , Oliver O'Connell

The Independent and the nonprofit Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) have launched a joint campaign calling for an end to the death penalty in the US. The RBIJ has attracted more than 150 well-known signatories to their Business Leaders Declaration Against the Death Penalty - with The Independent as the latest on the list. We join high-profile executives like Ariana Huffington, Facebooks Sheryl Sandberg, and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson as part of this initiative and are making a pledge to highlight the injustices of the death penalty in our coverage.

Editorial: Why it is beyond time for the US to end the death penalty

Kim Kardashian urges clemency in Melissa Lucio case

Tuesday 5 April 2022 16:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Kim Kardashian has spoken out many times about criminal justice reform in the last few years. She has called on Texas Governor Greg Abbott to grant Lucio clemency after she falsely pleaded guilty following hours of questioning.

I recently just read about the case of Melissa Lucio and wanted to share her story with you. She has been on death row for over 14 years for her daughters death that was a tragic accident, Ms Kardashian tweeted on Tuesday. Her 2-year old daughter Mariah fell down a flight of stairs and two days later passed away while taking a nap. After she called for help, she was taken into custody by the police.

Melissa is a survivor of abuse and domestic violence herself and after being interrogated for hours and falsely pleaded guilty. She wanted the interrogation to end, but police made her words out to be a confession. She is scheduled to be executed on April 27 in Texas, she added.

She urged her followers to sign a petition to urge Governor Greg Abbott to stop her execution.

Its stories like Melissas that make me speak so loud about the death penalty in general and why it should be banned when innocent people are suffering, Ms Kardashian added.

Kim Kardashian urges clemency for domestic violence victim facing execution

How being a bad mother, bad wife and bad woman became a death warrant

Tuesday 5 April 2022 16:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Women are vastly outnumbered by men on death row across America. But experts say the small number who are sentenced to death usually break societys expectations of a good woman. Melissa Lucio is one of them as Rachel Sharp reports.

How the femme fatale stereotype is dooming women to death row in the US

Juror says he was wrong to succumb to peer pressure over death penalty

Tuesday 5 April 2022 15:40 , Oliver O'Connell

One of the jurors who sentenced Melissa Lucio to death has written a newspaper editorial claiming he was misled and pressured during the mothers trial for murdering her two-year-old daughter.

Johnny Galvan Jr wrote in The Houston Chronicle that he was wrong to succumb to peer pressure and change his vote from a life sentence to the death penalty, or theyd be there all day if he didnt.

Justin Vallejo reports.

Juror calls for retrial of woman he sentenced to death for murder of her daughter

Background to Melissa Lucios death sentence

Tuesday 5 April 2022 15:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death in 2008 after being convicted of killing her two-year-old daughter Mariah the year before. Her lawyers argue a confession was given under duress and she says herself that she did not do it, and has aksed Governor Greg Abbott for clemency with her execution date less than a month away.

Rachel Sharp reports on the case for The Independent.

Mother on death row for daughters death asks for clemency as execution date looms

Tuesday 5 April 2022 15:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Welcome to The Independents rolling coverage of the appeal for clemency in the case of Melissa Lucio, currently on death row in Texas with an execution date set for 27 April.

In addition to the latest developments in the appeal, we will provide you with the backstory and facts behind the case, and explore the current application of the death penalty in Texas and across the United States.

Lifelong trauma led to false confession

Tuesday 5 April 2022 22:06 , Oliver O'Connell

Lucio, 53, would be the first Latina executed by Texas and the first woman since 2014. Only 17 women have been executed in the US 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.

Melissa Lucio (Provided by the Lucio family)

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, according to Vanessa Potkin, one of Lucios attorneys who is with the Innocence Project.

Lucio had been sexually assaulted multiple times, starting at age six, 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.

AP
Seven men from a local gang involved in violence that led to a shooting death of a beloved garbage collector in 2014 have pleaded guilty in state court.

The shooting took place in Pittsburghs Hilltop neighborhood.

According to our partners at Trib Live, the seven men were members of the Zhoove gang based in Beltzhoover. At the time, they were fighting with members of a gang from Arlington called Darccide.

On October 13, 2014, 29-year-old Omar Hodges was waiting in his car for his crew to pick him up for work when he was shot.

Neighbors told Channel 11 News at the time that they heard six to seven gunshots in the area of Brownsville Road at Birmingham Avenue in Carrick around 7 a.m.

The Trib reports that Hodges got out of his car and was taken to the hospital but died.

In May 2019, Pittsburgh police told Channel 11 that nine people were arrested after a years-long investigation into a turf war between gangs involving bounties of up to $20,000 on the heads of rival gang leaders.

Police said Zhoove and Darccide engaged in an all-out turf war.

The Trib reports that in the state court case, two people entered pleas last week with five more pleading on Monday.

According to the Trib, the pleas include the following:

Corey Cheatom, 34, Chris Brown, 29, and Holman Brown, 30, who all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit third-degree murder in Hodges death and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault in another shooting.

Cody Duncan, 30, who pleaded no contest to aggravated assault in another related shooting.

Lance Gardenhire, 46, who pleaded guilty to two counts of solicitation for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in two shootings.

Sheraun Davis, 38, and Shakeem Davis, 31, who pleaded no contest last week to conspiracy to commit aggravated assault in a related shooting. Both were sentenced to non-reporting probation.

The Trib said the five who pleaded on Monday will be sentenced at a later date.

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A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to 95 years in prison for murdering two Elgin men in a staged drug deal near Wing Park four years ago.

Travaris D. Stevenson, of Chicago, and an accomplice arranged to meet the two victims, Raymond Dyson, 29, and Mark McDaniel, 26, to sell them a pound of marijuana on April 29, 2018, according to the Kane County States Attorneys Office.

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Stevenson got into the back seat of Dyson and McDaniels car while it was parked in the first block of Longwood Drive, prosecutors said. He then shot Dyson in the head and McDaniel twice in the back before fleeing, they said.

Elgin police caught the two suspects a half-mile from the crime scene about 20 minutes later, according to the report.

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A Kane County jury found Stevenson guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and armed violence in November 2021.

During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented more than two dozen photographs from the defendants mobile phone that showed him posing with numerous guns, including AK-type weapons and multiple other guns with extended magazines, many of which included laser sights, a news release said.

Stevenson was on parole when the photos were taken and prohibited from possessing firearms, the release said.

He was also awaiting trial on Cook County charges in an unrelated drug deal shooting that took place a month prior to the Dyson and McDaniel murders, prosecutors said.

Judge David P. Kliment sentenced Stevenson to 35 years in prison for the first-degree murder and added 25 years because Stevenson personally fired the gun, 20 years for the armed violence and 15 years for the second-degree murder, the release said. The terms are to be served consecutively.

State law mandates Stevenson serve the full murder sentence and at least 85 percent of the armed violence sentence. He is eligible for day-for-day sentencing on the second-degree murder sentence, the release said.

The murders of Mark McDaniel and Raymond Dyson show why there are laws that prohibit selling large amounts of marijuana, Assistant States Attorneys Greg Sams said in the release.

Those sales are fraught with the high risk of violence as participants on both sides usually are armed with guns, believing the other side may have motives other than a peaceful drug sale. That is what happened in Elgin on April 29, 2018.
Apr. 5Staring out the airport window at the heavy fog blanketing the Russian city of Volgograd on March 2, Craig Blair wasn't exactly sure how he was going to make it home to Columbia Falls.

With the war in Ukraine raging just 100 miles to the west, Blair was anxious about being able to leave the country and had already seen his flight to Moscow canceled by the inclimate weather the day before.

For now, all he could do was sit, wait and pray.

BLAIR had been deep in the woods outside the city when the news came of Russia's invasion of Ukraine the morning of Feb. 24. There, he had been helping conduct the same camp teaching English as part of a Russian youth ministry that he had been a part of for more than a decade. Blair had faced hurdles and adventures getting in and out of the country before, but this time would be different.

"It seems like every trip back there over the past few years has been an adventure for me, having to deal with Covid and crossing borders and now this," Blair said. "I knew there was a conflict brewing, but I wasn't concerned about my personal safety. My friends always watch out for me when I am over there."

Blair's fascination with Russia began while working with Campus Crusade for Christ in college when he met a group from Moscow at a conference in Manila in 1990.

"This was before the collapse of the Soviet Union, so I was very intrigued as to what was happening over there," he said. "I had been envious of some of my college friends who had been traveling behind the Iron Curtain during those years and I also wanted to be a part of that."

Blair wound up taking his first trip to Moscow just a year later as part of a choir group that performed on Easter in the Palace of Congresses in the Kremlin. According to Blair, the concert was broadcast to more than 100 million viewers in Russia.

"There was some political unrest at the time, but it was a great trip," Blair said. "I remember one of the Russians remarked that 'I thought we were enemies, but we have met you and you are just like us.' From that point on, God had grabbed my heart for Russia."

Story continues

Blair wound up living in Moscow from 1993 to 1996 while working with a ministry there.

After traveling back and forth between the U.S. and Russia for several years, Blair once again made Moscow his home from 2005 until 2011, helping teach school children ethics and morals based on the Bible.

The combination of Putin coming to power and Blair's father's battle with cancer led to Blair's return to the U.S. in 2011, but much of his heart remained in Russia.

"There was less openness to our schools, not because of anti-Christian sentiments, but because the Russian Orthodox Church was gaining more political favor," he said. "If you were not Orthodox, then you were looked on with a lot of suspicion."

Blair eventually found his way back home to Columbia Falls after he took a job with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Montana in Lakeside in 2013.

Having already worked with his friends in Volgograd to start the English camps for the Christian Missionary Alliance youth ministry there, Blair has been traveling to the city twice a year since 2012.

THIS TRIP was not the only time Blair had encountered his share of adventure trying to get in and out of Russia. One trip saw him bounce back and forth between Ukraine, Belarus and Russia in search of the propper entry and exit paperwork while a trip in the summer of 2020 involved skirting around Covid regulations.

"I came through Paris and was assured I would be able to enter the country [Russia], but I still got stopped by the guards in the Moscow airport," Blair said. "I was told I could not enter Russia as a foreigner coming from France, but was told if I was willing to fly to a country they were accepting foreigners from, then I could enter the country. I wound up flying to Turkey and back while they kept my luggage waiting for me."

This time around, Blair was at the camp when the news of the invasion of Ukraine reached him.

"When my friends first heard the news of the invasion, there was a general feeling of disbelief," he said. "Everyone thought there would have to be a quick resolution to the situation and that it would not be allowed to drag out. You see what is going on and you just think, how can this be happening?"

While he was able to fulfill his commitment to the camp, he made the decision to change his travel plans and come home nearly a week before he had originally intended.

Politics and the weather decided to work together in an attempt to crush his plans.

"First, we heard the airport in Volgograd was closed, but it turned out it wasn't," Blair said. "Then my friends in Moscow told me all the flights to Europe had been canceled."

Working quickly, Blair got on the phone with his travel agent and began finding a new route home, eventually finding one going through Istanbul in Turkey, Chicago, Dallas and eventually to Spokane.

JUST ONE last hurdle remained (or so he thought), a negative Covid test was required within 24 hours of travel leaving the country. After being tested, Blair prepared to leave Volograd March 1, only to see fog set in so heavy that his original flight was canceled. The plane was able to land the next day and he reached Moscow inside the 24 hour window of his negative Covid test and was able to fly to Istanbul.

After connections in Chicago and Dallas, Blair touched down in Spokane on March 3 and drove back to Montana the following day, glad to be home.

"The trip was never really dangerous for me, but there was some concern as to whether or not I would be able to get out of the country," he said. "Now my heart is not only concerned for the Ukrainian people, but also my friends back in Russia. The sanctions have really affected their lives. I know several people who have already lost their jobs and some who can't access their money in banks."

As the sanctions have taken their toll, Blair says he is afraid the hardships they cause may change the Russian people's view of Westerners.

"Every Russian person I spoke with never wanted this war and were shocked and, in many cases, ashamed of what their country is doing. I am worried that the world looks upon Russians now with hatred," he said. "I fear these sanctions are just going to turn the Russian people against the West. We are definitely moving into a new Cold War if things keep continuing the way they are going. It will take us years to once again realize we are just people and there is no need for us to be enemies."

While Blair is safe at home after his latest adventure in Russia, he can only hope he will one day be able to see his friends there again.

"I don't even know if I will be able to get a new visa in the future," he said. "Was that my last trip to Russia? I would hope not, but I just don't know."

Reporter Jeremy Weber can be reached at 758-4446 or jweber@dailyinterlake.com
The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the convictions of Keith Carnes, a Kansas City man who contends he is innocent in a 2006 murder and that prosecutors failed to disclose evidence.

Carnes, 51, will be released from prison within 30 days unless Jackson County prosecutors seek to retry him.

The states highest court determined Carnes met his burden of arguing that the state failed to disclose material evidence, in what is known as a Brady violation, that could have helped his case. His other claims were denied.

Christopher Iliff, legal director of Miracle of Innocence, which supported Carnes, said there was copious evidence of his innocence. Iliff said he was delighted the court issued its order within six days instead of taking a month or more.

Its an indication that there was a manifest injustice that needed to be rectified, he said.

The non-profit will provide Carnes with a phone and other resources once he is released from prison, Iliff said.

In a statement, Chris Nuelle, a spokesman for the attorney generals office, which opposed Carnes release, said the office defended the conviction and that the decision to retry him rests in the hands of the Jackson County prosecutor.

The Jackson County Prosecutors Office said it was reviewing the situation Tuesday afternoon.

And we await any other information the Missouri Supreme Court sends to us, the prosecutors office said.

Carnes was convicted of armed criminal action and first-degree murder in the killing of 24-year-old Larry White, who was fatally shot Oct. 6, 2003, in a parking lot at 29th Street and Prospect Avenue in Kansas City. He was sentenced to life in prison.

His lawyers contended that witnesses interviewed by police recanted their testimony and alleged they were intimidated by authorities.

The Missouri Attorney Generals Office filed a motion opposing Carnes release, arguing that he was trying to put a different spin on already presented evidence.

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Kent Gipson, a lawyer who has represented Carnes for about seven years, called Tuesday a good day but said the road to obtaining Carnes freedom should have been easier.

The AGs office in Missouri responds to post-conviction innocence claims, which Gipson said should change. Under both Republicans and Democrats, the office has resisted nearly every wrongful conviction case to come before it in the last 20 years.

The attorney general never concedes anything, Gipson said. And we need an avenue to file something in the court where the person was convicted and deal with the local prosecutor.

Recanting witnesses

In Carnes case, two witnesses, Wendy Lockett and Lorraine Morrow, maintained for nearly a decade that Carnes chased White into the parking lot and shot him multiple times. Lockett said she recognized Carnes because of his eye patch, which no other drug dealer she knew at the time had.

But in 2014, Lockett recanted her testimony, alleging that she had been coerced into identifying Carnes.

Morrow also recanted her testimony that year. In a visit to then-Assistant Prosecutor Amy McGowans office, she recalled pointing to the picture of a man named Reginald Thomas, not Carnes, in a photo lineup. But McGowan allegedly pressured her into identifying Carnes by saying other witnesses had pointed him out.

McGowan also prosecuted the case of Ricky Kidd, a Kansas City man who spent 23 years behind bars for a double murder he did not commit. Kidd was exonerated and freed in 2019.

Further complicating Carnes case, Lockett testified in a court hearing last year that her original testimony actually was accurate and she was harassed into recanting by Carnes supporters.

At the same hearing, Morrow said she was suffering from too many medical conditions to remember the night of the murder clearly. Thomas also maintained then that he was with family on the night of the murder.

Another witness, Kermit ONeal, said he was a friend of Carnes in 2003. He alleged that police intimidated him and attempted to put words in his mouth when recounting the night of the murder.

ONeal said White had a heated exchange with another dealer about selling drugs on his property and warned him not to come back prior to the shooting. The other dealer was not Carnes, according to ONeal.

Carnes remained Tuesday at the South Central Correctional Center in Licking in south-central Missouri.
This article is part of a collaboration between The 74 and the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Rosemary Miranda was excited to send her first-grade daughter Isabella to school knowing she will be able to remove her mask after the Los Angeles Unified School District lifted its mask requirement late last month.

From my perspective with children with disabilities, its better because due to sensory issues they cant keep it on all the time, said Miranda, explaining that Isabellas attention deficit hyperactivity disorder makes the mask uncomfortable and distracting to wear for hours.

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Outside Eastman Avenue Elementary School in East Los Angeles, parents and other caregivers offered a range of opinions on LAUSDs recent decision to make masks strongly recommended but no longer required in schools.

Miranda frequently reminds Isabella, 6, she must continue to sanitize her hands frequently and to be cautious when around other children.

She is plainly relieved Isabella doesnt need to mask up all day. She still wears her mask, but she pulls it down when she needs to, which is great now, said Miranda.

At the end of February, Governor Newsom announced masks would not be required indoors, but still recommended.

But LAUSDs update of its mask policy took longer than the state and other California schools districts because L.A. Unified had to negotiate an end to the mask with United Teachers Los Angeles.

The two sides reached a tentative agreement on March 18 to make wearing masks indoors optional for K-12 students and staff. In a memorandum of understanding, the two sides agree masks would be strongly recommended inside schools, but not required.

UTLA educators, parents, and our school communities have fought for LAUSD to be the vanguard of health and safety in public education across the nation during this pandemic  an accomplishment due in large part to the weekly testing program and the strong safety protocols weve bargained with the district, UTLA president, Myart-Cruz said in a statement. As we monitor the trajectory of the virus, we will continue to put health and safety first.

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Grandmothers Marina and Estella, who asked their last names not be used, said they feel more confident in sending them to school wearing their masks.

Its much safer for the kids to keep their masks on, said Marina, as she picked up her grandchildren at Eastman Avenue Elementary School. Sometimes a lot of parents will know their kids are sick and send them to school like that without thinking about everyone else.

Estella said she understands how frustrating wearing a mask can be, especially for younger children, but the safety of her grandchildren is her top priority.

We would also like to not have to wear the mask, and sometimes I wont have mine on while outside, but its not the time to remove them completely yet, Estella said.

Ana Sanchez, a mother of two LAUSD students, said she is not yet ready to remove her kids masks.

[My son] has talked to me about the mask being optional but he said hes going to keep his on until [the pandemic] calms down, Sanchez said. He just feels more secure by wearing the mask when inside of class.

In a statement released on March 18, LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho shared his enthusiasm for the change.

I strongly support ending the indoor mask requirement and am committed to continuing to uphold our science-based approach to COVID-19 safety and protocols, Carvalho said.

We know some in our school communities and offices will continue to wear masks, while others may not. Please consider your situation and do what is best for you or your child.

Weekly testing for students and staff will still be required. If COVID-19 conditions worsen, UTLA and LAUSD will meet again to change safety protocols as necessary.

Destiny Torres is a graduate student at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism pursuing a master of science degree in journalism. She earned her bachelors degree at CSU Dominguez Hills. She is passionate about culture and social justice issues.

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An aging mob hitman who escaped from federal custody when he failed to return to a halfway house near Orlando, Florida, last week was captured Monday near Miami, the U.S. Marshals Service said.

Dominic Taddeo, 64, was apprehended without incident by U.S. marshals and members of a regional fugitive task force at about 11 a.m. in Hialeah, a city in Miami-Dade County, officials said.

He failed to return March 28 to his assigned residential re-entry center in the city of Wildwood after an authorized medical appointment, the Marshals Service said.

Its statement described Taddeo as a "mobster who escaped federal custody by walking away from a halfway house near Orlando."

His failure to return prompted the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to place him on "escape status." It's not clear what he was doing in Hialeah, which is 273 miles south of his assigned housing.

In February, Taddeo was transferred to the halfway house from Federal Correctional Institution Coleman Medium, a medium-security prison in Sumter County, Florida, according to the Bureau of Prisons and the Marshals Service.

He was assigned to community confinement at the halfway house for a year, according to information from both government agencies.

Taddeo's crimes included the killings of three men for a mob syndicate from the area of Rochester, New York, the Marshals Service said.

He was convicted of federal racketeering in the early 1990s and pleaded guilty to weapons offenses, drug crimes and enterprise corruption, among other offenses, the Marshals Service said.
A Wisconsin mother was arrested after her eight-year-old son died from apparent strangulation (FOX6)

A Wisconsin mother was arrested after her eight-year-old son died from apparent strangulation.

Oliver Hitchcock died two days after he was found unresponsive by his father at an apartment in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin.

Authorities say that the youngsters mother, who has not yet been named by police, was taken to hospital with self-inflicted injuries. She was later released from the hospital and transferred to Sheboygan County Jail, where she remains.

The initial response I can say was due to a strangulation, Police Chief Eric Miller said.

The alarm was raised when the boys father called 911 and started what police described as life-saving measures before he was transported to Childrens Wisconsin hospital in critical condition.

Police have referred a charge of first-degree intentional homicide for the boys death, and one count of attempted homicide related to another incident.

Investigators say there are no other suspects in the incident.

A Wisconsin mother was arrested after her eight-year-old son died from apparent strangulation (FOX6)

Chief Miller said that the second count against the woman came up in the investigative process and is being handled by the Sheboygan County Sheriffs Department.

Police say they will not name the mother until she is formally charged this week.

Olivers uncle on his fathers side said the boy was a sweet, smart kid who liked airplanes and playing Minecraft.

Its horrible that it happened. It just doesnt make any sense, Eric Hitchcock told WISN.

I just couldnt believe it was true. I mean I just talked to his mum two days before and things were normal and we had a good conversation. Its just unbelievable.
Donald Trump sits with Russias president, Vladimir Putin (Reuters)

Donald Trump is not known for careful remarks that always reflect the truth, but theres one subject on which he seems to veer from reality the sharpest: Russia.

The former president ended his one-term stint in the White House in January 2021 after spending four years publicly contradicting journalists, other Republicans, and even his own intelligence agencies on issues of US-Russia relations and Moscows campaign to influence US politics through misinformation on social media. But his warm words for Vladimir Putin and the Russian government wouldnt end there, as the US president would frequently touch on the subject after leaving office in interviews, at campaign-style rallies, and elsewhere.

Some of Mr Trumps statements on Russia didnt rise to the level of outright lies or incorrect claims, of course; in many instances, the 45th president merely diverted from norms by appearing to wholeheartedly embrace a foreign leader denounced by US officials and Americas allies around the world as a murderer and brutal autocrat.

In recent weeks, much of the former presidents past statements are being revisited amid Russias invasion of Ukraine and the assertion of Mr Trump and his allies that he was tough on Russia and Mr Putin and would not have permitted such a war to break out under his watch.

With that in mind, lets take a look at some of Donald Trumps greatest hits when it comes to Russia and its work to put him in office in 2016, from before he was sworn in to the present day.

1. The first and last joint press conference

When Donald Trump met in Helsinki, Finland, with Vladimir Putin in 2018, the shockwaves resulting from their conversation reverberated for months.

Emerging from a private meeting with the Russian leader, Mr Trump stood alongside Mr Putin, a rare enough occurrence for any US president, before doing something that would go down in history: publicly contradicting the conclusions of his own intelligence community, and siding with Russia on its explanation for interference in the 2016 election.

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(AFP)

"President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be," Mr Trump told shocked reporters, while many US officials and his own aides likely felt that same sense of surprise.

The US intelligence community had concluded in a report, published publicly more than a year earlier: We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump.

The damage that Mr Trump inflicted with his words was immediate, and White House aides attempted to walk his statement back. But it followed a long pattern of Mr Trump casting doubt on the explanation for interference in the 2016 election released by US intelligence officials.

2. Hunter Bidens supposed $3.5m gift

While very real criminal investigations into the workings of the Trump Organization, as well as surrounding the January 6 attack on Congress continue, Donald Trump has remained focused on crimes he has baselessly alleged that the Biden family is involved with.

Among the latest of his allegations against the Biden family is the charge that Hunter Biden was the recipient of a gift of $3.5m from the wife of Moscows former mayor through an investment firm he supposedly co-founded.

Hunter Biden (DNCC via Getty Images)

The problem? Hunter Bidens attorneys have strongly denied that he had any involvement in the investment firm in question, and was not a co-founder, as Republicans have alleged. Mr Biden did co-found a firm known as Rosement Seneca, but has strongly denied any involvement in Rosemont Seneca Thornton, the firm which received the $3.5m.

Mr Trumps claim in this instance is actually based on a finding of a report from Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which too stated that Hunter Biden received a wire transfer for $3.5m from Elena Baturina, widow to Moscows former mayor Yury Luzhkov. Mr Bidens lawyers have said that reports finding is in error, as it is based off the same assumption that Mr Biden is involved with Rosemont Seneca Thornton.

3. I have nothing to do with Russia

Throughout the 2016 campaign and into the early months of his presidency (when the Russia intelligence community assessment was released), then-candidate Trump repeatedly insisted that he had no business in Russia or interests in the country beyond an old business deal.

What do I have to do with Russia? You know the closest I came to Russia, I bought a house a number of years ago in Palm Beach, Florida," Mr Trump said at a press conference shortly before taking office in January of 2017. "There was a man who went bankrupt and I bought the house for $40m and I sold it to a Russian for $100m including brokerage commissions.

That wasnt true. It was later revealed that Mr Trump had pursued plans for a Trump Tower Moscow, and in 2019 Buzzfeed News reported that Mr Trumps then-attorney Michael Cohen had lied to Congress about the scope of his Russian business dealings. Mr Trump was found in the Mueller Report, which investigated his connections to Russia, to have potentially known this. The report stated: There is evidence ... that the president knew Cohen provided false testimony to Congress regarding his business dealings.

4. Nato nonsense

One of former President Trumps favourite claims to return to on the issue of US-Russia relations is his persistent falsehood regarding the participation of Nato-aligned countries in the alliances defensive pact.

Mr Trump has repeatedly insisted that he was responsible for countries like Germany vowing to contribute more to the Nato alliance, even declaring to the UN Security Council in 2019, while he was still president: I was able to, over the last couple of years, increase their contribution, referring to Nato countries.

[O]ver the last couple years, I had them increase by $130bn, he went on to falsely claim.

There is one Nato-aligned nation that significantly increased European defensive spending during the Trump administration  the United States, which as Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltentberg noted in 2018 had increased by nearly half since Mr Trump took office.

Since Trump became president, US funding for military presence in Europe  the European Deterrence Initiative  has been increased by 40 per cent, Mr Stoltenberg said at a Nato summit that year, quipping [a]ctions speak louder than words. Mr Trump had vowed to decrease spending to Nato if US allies did not increase their own contributions.

As for other nations in the defensive pact, spending increases for European defense far predate Mr Trumps presidency. A graph of Nato member-state contributions compiled by the organisation itself shows that military spending began steadily increasing in 2014 following Russias invasion of Crimea, and that trend did not change in a meaningful way up or down during the Trump presidency.

5. I sent the Javelins

At a post-presidency rally in Florence, South Carolina earlier this month, Mr Trump made one of his most brazen attempts yet to alter his legacy on the issue of Russia.

Addressing the invasion of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian militarys fight against Russian forces, Mr Trump declared: I sent the Javelins that Ukrainian forces are using against Russian tanks and other vehicles. It was one of several statements the ex-president and his allies have made in recent days attempting to take credit for US aid to Ukraine, which has suddenly become an extremely popular political issue.

While not an outright lie, as noted above, the statement clearly falls into the realm of an attempt to misrepresent the truth given that the 45th president was famously impeached (for the first time) in 2020 after it was revealed that he had tried to pressure Ukraines now wartime leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, into opening a highly political criminal investigation into claims that Joe Biden or his son broke the law in the country with their past business dealings.

At the time, the Trump administration was actually holding up military aid to Ukraine, rather than letting it be transferred unimpeded. And while Mr Trump didnt mention the military aid shipments on his call with Mr Zelensky, the decision to hold up the aid was made around the same time as the July 2019 conversation and the aid was not released for months.
The mother of Nakota Kelly, a 10-year-old boy who disappeared during a weekend visitation with his father, has filed a tort claim against the Indiana Department of Child Services seeking damages for wrongful death and negligence.

A tort claim was filed on behalf of Hayley Kelly, Nakota's mother, in a Marion County Superior Court Tuesday morning. Nakota disappeared during a July 2020 court-ordered visitation weekend with his father.

Kelly told IndyStar in September 2020 she had made multiple formal complaints to DCS regarding Anthony Dibiah's abusive behavior toward the boy prior to that weekend but they had gone unheeded.

'Letting my son down': At least 5 abuse complaints came before boy warned of his own death

"I feared he would hurt him and put marks on him and would run with him," Kelly previously told IndyStar. "I never thought he would kill him."

Dibiah is now charged with Nakota's murder. The boy's body has never been found.

When reached by IndyStar, a spokeswoman for DCS said the agency had no comment regarding the case. Dibiah's public defender, Brian K. Lamar, declined to comment on the ongoing criminal case and could not comment regarding civil matters.

This is a family photo of Nakota Kelly at age 4. He was allegedly killed by his father, Anthony Dibiah, earlier in 2020, at the age of 10. His mother, Hayley Kelly, says this photo really shows Nakota's personality.

The weekend of July, 17, 2020, Nakota was scheduled to be with his father for court-ordered visitation. But Nakota and Dibiah had recently gotten into an argument, Kelly previously told IndyStar, and the boy had hung up on him.

Oh, Im dead. Dont expect me to come home," Nakota told his mother that week, according to court records. My dad is going to kill me."

In a probable cause affidavit, investigators said Nakota had previously told DCS caseworkers he was afraid of his father, who would hit and yell at him. According to those court records, there was an active DCS case involving Nakota at the time of his death.

That Friday, Kelly dropped Nakota off to his father following a Little League game. Because of the game and the drive to Kokomo, the halfway point between their homes, visitation started later than usual.

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At drop off, Kelly told IndyStar that Dibiah said he'd never compromise with her again on their son's visitation.

The evening of July 18, according to court records, Dibiah called a relative and screamed: "I just killed my son!"

Indianapolis police knocked on the door of Dibiah's apartment and heard someone inside, but no one answered. Without reason enough to enter the apartment, according to court records, the officers left.

The next morning, investigators allege Dibiah called a friend, whom he also told he killed Nakota.

Returning to Dibiah's apartment, police found blood, hair and brain matter. Investigators said surveillance footage shows Dibiah making several trips to load something into his Jeep's hatchback. Footage also showed him making stops at the apartment complex's trash bin.

Police searched a nearby wooded area and the trash bins and found nothing.

That afternoon, Missouri State Highway Patrol found Dibiah in his Jeep and detained him.

Dibiah's jury trial, originally scheduled to begin last November, is expected to begin May 23, online court records say.

Former IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert contributed.

You can reach IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at holly.hays@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis mother sues Department of Child Services for son's death
Sherilyn Hoye is grieving the loss of her son, who was among the six killed in the downtown Sacramento mass shooting. Joshua Hoye Lucchesi, 32, was born and raised in Sacramento. After losing her son, Sherilyn looked through old photos and reminisced about how he changed her life. I never wanted kids, and if I said if I was to have a kid, I just wanted a boy. And I was blessed with a boy, Sherilyn said.
Aspiring NASCAR racer Hallie Deegan said Monday that she skipped a recent event after an obsessed fan, caught in a catfish scheme, threatened to kill her boyfriend.

Deegan passed on last week's Freedom 500 in Bradenton, Florida, apologizing to fans and telling them she had to "deal with something on the personal, safety side."

In a 15-minute YouTube video Monday, Deegan and her boyfriend, race car driver Chase Cabre, explained that an obsessed male fan once sent her an eight-page handwritten letter "stating that he was dating me, in a relationship with me for months and months."

She looked up the man's name and "figured out that he was getting catfished by a fake Hallie Deegan account," said Deegan, who drives in the Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR's third tier, behind the Cup and Xfinity Series.

Deegan, 20, said she has kept an eye on the man's social media accounts and that he is convinced that Cabre is abusive and that she is "practically being held hostage."

"And so this guy ends up getting wrapped in this whole deal believing Chase beats me," Deegan said. "And I would normally not be worried about this, if the fact wasn't this person, this guy, lives near my race shop, near where I live, my home. It makes me uncomfortable. It makes me scared. You shouldn't be scared at your own house."

The situation had been escalating recently, the couple said.

"It pretty much changed a few days ago, when he posted stuff saying he was going to practically come and kill Chase," Deegan said. "And his exact words were not 'going to kill Chase,' but he's going to come and he is going to be the last thing Chase ever sees."

Deegan then posted audio of an altered voice, purportedly that of the obsessed, 36-year-old fan.

The man, via social media, gave Cabre until "sundown" to get out of town or face consequences, the couple said.

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"'Chase sun's down. You know what I said. I'm a man of my word,'" Cabre said, quoting the man. "At that point, somebody who lives not, I wouldn't say close, but not too far away, where it wouldn't be impossible. It makes you a little skeptical and worried inside."

Deegan, Cabre and her father, the famed motocross racer Brian Deegan, have tried to tell the fan to back off but to no avail, the couple said.

Deegan has been in contact with police, the FBI and NASCAR security, but she said she doesnt want the man arrested. She said she fears he would only be slapped on the wrist for making verbal threats and become even more agitated.

The couple said they've decided to stop looking over their shoulders and go back to their normal lives, which means racing Wednesday night at Millbridge Speedway in Salisbury, North Carolina.

"I'm over this. I'm completely over this," Deegan said.

She will get back into Truck Series competition Thursday with the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia, her manager said.

NASCAR spokesman Mike Forde said Tuesday, We have measures in place to increase her safety on and off the track."

And Cabre added: "We're doing everything in precautionary measures to make it go away and to make everything stop."
A 68-year-old South Haven man was killed Monday when his car collided with a Union Township school bus, which wasnt carrying students.

The Porter County sheriffs office said the victim, identified by the coroners office as John Francis Nunez, disregarded a stop sign as he traveled eastbound on County Road 450W. The bus, going southbound on 650W, struck the car in the intersection.

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Police responded about 10:44 a.m. and emergency responders attempted lifesaving measures. The coroners office was dispatched at 11:55 a.m.

An autopsy and toxicology results are pending.

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Both vehicles sustained heavy damage in the crash in a rural area, south of Indiana 130.

 Carole Carlson
Along with its premium scripted lineup, Newen Connect is launching a pair of timely investigative documentaries, Ukraine: Identity on the Frontline and Wagner, Putins Shadow Army, which are providing insight into the current war.

Now filming, Ukraine: Identity on the Frontline is being co-directed by Ksenia Blochakova, the Russia correspondent of the news channel France 24, and Philippe Lagnier, a journalist working at Newen-owned production banner Capa.

More from Variety

Ukraine: Identity on the frontline is a one-hour documentary featuring interviews with intellectuals, politicians

and experts who tackle the question of identity which is crucial to understand the situation in Ukraine. This primetime doc, commissioned by Arte in France and in Germany, is expected to air on May 24.

Chloe Persyn, who joined Newen Connect last month as head of factual distribution, said Ukraine: Identity on the Frontline illustrates the banners capacity to turn around in-depth documentaries exploring complex geo-political issues in record time.

Wagner, Putins Shadow Army, co-directed by Blochakova and Alexandra Jousset, sheds light on the Wagner Group, a private Russian military force which is known as Putins shadow army.

Wagner, Putins Shadow Army, drew more than one million viewers on France 5, the French broadcaster, so it was a huge hit and it sold to a flurry of TV channels around the world, said Persyn, who previously worked at the Paris-based documentary banner ZED. Deals were closed with Al Jazeera, ZDF in Germany, NHK in Japan, YLE in Finland, Radio Canada, Belgiums RTBF, Switzerlands RTS, Denmarks DR, Spains RTVE, RTV Slovenija, HRT and Shahid, s

Persyn described Wagner, Putins Shadow Army, as an unprecedented investigation into Putins secret weapon and shows how this army is acting in different countries, from Ukraine to Syria and Mali.

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Both Wagner, Putins Shadow Army and Ukraine: Identity on the Frontline are produced by CAPA Presse, the news division of CAPA, the Newen-owned banner behind the Canal Plus prestige series Versailles and Marie-Antoinette.

Aside from these political titles, Newen Connects factual branch is also ramping up its roster of documentaries with culture or arts themes, like Olivier Monssenss documentary biopic revolving around the relationship between film icons Romy Schneider and Alain Delon. The documentary, commissioned by Arte and co-produced by Belgium broadcaster RTBF, will air on May 29 to mark the 40th anniversary of Schneiders death.

Newen Connect is also repping Elizabeth II, a documentary by Julie Robert about the life of Britains Queen Elizabeth.

The French company has several anticipated scripted shows screening at Canneseries, notably Beyond Signs and Circles of Power.

Beyond Signs which is playing out of competition, is produced by Hanoi Productions and revolves around the relationship between an 8-year-old boy who has paranormal visions and a psychologist who is helping police catch a serial killer. The show stars Louane (La Famille Belier) and Soufiane Guerrab (Lupin).

Circles of Power, meanwhile, is competing at Canneseries and is directed by Oscar-winning helmer Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. The ecological thriller is set in Northern France where farmers start suspecting the presence of dangerous substances in the seeds which are supplied by a global agrochemical giant.

Newen Connect is also pursuing sales on its female-driven procedural HPI which was a huge ratings hit on TF1 and sold to more than 90 territories, as well as its mystery thriller The Opera. Both shows were renewed for second seasons.

Other series on Newen Connects slate include Syndrome E, adapted from Franck Thilliezs international bestseller, and Ammo, a Norwegian psychological thriller series with Cleve Broch (Max Manus) and Mariann Hole (Halvbroren).

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ABUJA, Nigeria (AP)  A Nigerian court has sentenced an atheist to 24 years in prison for making social media posts it found to be blasphemous against the Islamic religion in the West African nations northern region.

Mubarak Bala, an ex-Muslim, was sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges of blasphemy, his lawyer told The Associated Press. The sentence was the climax of a lengthy trial during which he spent nearly two years in prison.

Bala is the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria and activists say his conviction illustrates the risks of being openly faithless in northern Nigeria, which is predominantly Muslim.

Prosecutors in the northern Kano state accused Bala of making Facebook posts that insulted the Prophet Muhammad and the religion of Islam and attempted to cause a breach of the public peace, according to court documents provided to AP by Balas legal team.

Bala long maintained his innocence over the charges of blasphemy but he changed his plea to guilty only after enormous pressure for the past few years, said Leo Igwe, founder of the Nigerian Humanist Association.

Bala expressed frustration over the delay in his trial, Balas lawyer James Ibori told AP. He thinks the judge is compromised  and that he would rather just have closure."

Bala was tried in a secular court but could have risked a death sentence in Nigerias Islamic courts that operate in other parts of the country's north.

Bala's prolonged stay in prison and eventual conviction caused anger among some Nigerians and activists who accused authorities of a flawed prosecution process. He should not have been charged under Kano state law, his lawyer Ibori said, because he was not in Kano when the offense was allegedly committed.

While in prison, Bala had been denied access to health care, kept in solitary confinement and forced to worship the Islamic way, his lawyer has told AP. The Kano state government denied any wrongdoing in the trial and said the judgment could be appealed.

With Balas conviction, humanists and nonbelievers in Nigeria are now potential criminals  who can easily be thrown into jail just for expressing their views," said Igwe of the Humanist Association. Humanists have become endangered citizens of Nigeria.
U.S. military forces have not conducted any counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan since withdrawing all troops from the country last summer, but military officials insisted on Tuesday that they have the capability to monitor and neutralize threats there despite logistical challenges.

Pressed by lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Richard Clarke, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, acknowledged the withdrawal has reduced intelligence resources in Afghanistan and response times to potential threats.

When asked if that has meant limited operational effectiveness in the region, he replied I cant sit here and say that it has not.

But he also insisted that those challenges  and the lack of strikes  do not mean that his forces are completely unable to provide over-the-horizon monitoring.

CENTCOM needs more resources to counter Afghanistan terror threat: nominee

Over the last 20 years, we have developed exquisite [intelligence] capabilities, he said. We can conduct counterterrorism missions over the horizon, and we have exhibited that in the past.

Clarkes comments were the latest from senior military officials in recent weeks acknowledging shortfalls in the militarys ability to police Afghanistan.

In testimony before the committee last month, U.S. Africa Command leader Gen. Steven Townsend warned lawmakers that America may be backsliding because of a lack of reliable, on-the-ground intelligence in areas like Afghanistan and Somalia.

In February, Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla  then the nominee to lead U.S. Central Command  said monitoring the operations of terrorist groups in the Afghanistan region was extremely difficult, but not impossible, given how far away American military assets are positioned now.

Defense Department officials have said that they have to launch surveillance drones every few hours from far away military bases to provide continuous intelligence gathering over Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Establishing a closer base would cut down on fuel and time costs.

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Christopher Maier, assistant secretary of Defense for special operations, on Tuesday said officials have made progress setting up closer sites.

However, defense officials still have not announced any formal agreements, despite months of diplomacy. Republicans on the Senate panel said they want to get that done.

Our current strategy for countering terrorist groups in Afghanistan assumes an immense amount of work and risk, said Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb. I am deeply concerned by the lack of intelligence collection capabilities that we have for Afghanistan.

Terrorist groups in Afghanistan could launch international strikes within six months, officials warn

Committee ranking member Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., called the counterterrorism responsibilities a daunting challenge for SOCOM.

You are already stretched thin and shouldering the burden for the fight against terrorism, he said. And after our Afghanistan withdrawal, Im concerned we are taking too much risk there.

Military intelligence officials last fall said that terrorist groups like Al Qaida and the Islamic State could have the ability to attack western targets by this summer or fall if left unchecked.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  For the second time this week, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un berated South Korea for touting its supposed preemptive strike capabilities against the North, saying her countrys nuclear forces would annihilate the Souths conventional forces if provoked.

In a statement carried Tuesday by North Koreas state media, Kim Yo Jong called South Korea Defense Minister Suh Wooks recent comments about preemptive strikes a fantastic daydream and the hysteria of a lunatic.

She stressed that North Korea doesnt want another war on the Korean Peninsula but warned it would retaliate with its nuclear forces if the South opts for preemptive strikes or other attacks, which would leave the Souths military little short of total destruction and ruin.

North Korea has repeatedly stated it would preemptively use its nuclear weapons when threatened by rivals as it accelerated its development of nuclear bombs and missiles, which Kim Jong Un sees as his strongest guarantee of survival.

In another statement directed toward Suh on Sunday, Kim Yo Jong called him a scum-like guy and warning that the South may face a serious threat because of his comments.

Her statements come amid tensions over North Koreas accelerating weapons tests this year, including its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 on March 24, as her brother revives nuclear brinkmanship aimed at pressuring Washington to accept the North as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions.

Some experts say the North may up the ante in the coming months, possibly test-flying missiles over Japan or resuming nuclear explosive tests, as it tries to get a response from the Biden administration, which is distracted by Russias invasion of Ukraine and an intensifying rivalry with China.

The renewed tensions have been a major setback for outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in, a dovish liberal who had staked his presidential term on his ambitions for inter-Korean rapprochement.

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During a visit to the countrys strategic missile command last week, Suh said South Korea has the ability and readiness to launch precision strikes on North Korea if it detects the North intends to fire missiles at South Korea.

Watch: South Korea has rocket launch, days after North's test

Seoul has long maintained such a preemptive attack strategy to cope with North Koreas missile and nuclear threats, but it was highly unusual for a Moon administration official to publicly discuss it.

In case (South Korea) opts for military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty  a dreadful attack will be launched and the (South Korean) army will have to face a miserable fate little short of total destruction and ruin, Kim said in her latest statement.

South Koreas government didnt immediately respond to her comments. Seoul had issued a low-key response following Kims earlier comments on Sunday, urging Pyongyang to refrain from further raising tensions and return to dialogue.

Moon met Kim Jong Un three times in 2018 and lobbied hard to help set up his Kims first summit with then-President Donald Trump in June that year.

But the diplomacy derailed after the second Kim-Trump meeting in 2019 where the Americans rejected North Koreas demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a limited surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

Kim has since vowed to bolster his nuclear forces and sped up weapons development despite limited resources and pandemic-related difficulties. North Korea has also severed all inter-Korean cooperation while expressing anger over U.S.-South Korea military exercises and Seouls inability to wrest concessions from Washington on its behalf.

Before its resumption of long-range testing last month, the North had spent the much of the past three years expanding its arsenal of nuclear-capable short-range missiles threatening South Korea.

Experts say those missiles, which could potentially be armed with tactical battlefield nuclear weapons, communicate the Norths threat to use smaller nuclear arms even during conventional warfare to overcome the stronger conventional forces of South Korea and the U.S. The U.S. stations about 28,500 soldiers in the South to deter North Korean aggression.

Moon's term ends in May, when he will be replaced by conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, who could possibly take a harder line on Pyongyang.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Bidens special envoy for North Korea, Sung Kim, plans to meet his Chinese counterpart in Washington to discuss the North's growing threat. China, Pyongyang's major ally and economic lifeline, has repeatedly called for the easing of U.N. Security Council sanctions against the North, citing the economic toll on civilians. ___ AP writers Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore follows in the footsteps of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in that just as that 2018 predecessor featured virtually no crimes, this third installment in the Harry Potter prequel franchise boasts no genuine secrets. The revelation that Dumbledore is gay is both not a bombshell (since it was overtly implied by the last film, following years of public declarations by J.K. Rowling herself) and the sort of tepid eye-opener that only the most die-hard of Potterphiles will care aboutsomething that can also be said about the endeavor as a whole. Functional yet never magical, this perfunctory bit of IP exploitation is a reminder that all good things come to an end, even if the powers-that-be keep milking them for all theyre worth.

How the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary Special Shunned J.K. Rowling

Directed by David Yates, whos now helmed the past seven series entries and could likely use a new sandbox in which to play, The Secrets of Dumbledore includes neither trans characters nor anti-trans sentiments, which should keep it from taking center stage in creator and co-writer Rowlings never-ending TERF war. What it does have, mercifully, is a considerably less convoluted plot than The Crimes of Grindelwald, which tangled itself up in knots to no appreciable end. Rowling and franchise vet Steve Kloves streamline their script as much as is humanely possible, thus providing a measure of momentum that was absent from the prior outing. In terms of pace, the film proves relatively swift, and if it still gets bogged down in a few unnecessary detours, it generally maintains course throughout, culminating with a sweet and satisfying coda.

Picking up where The Crimes of Grindelwald left off, The Secrets of Dumbledore finds Hogwarts professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlisting beast whisperer Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), his brother Theseus (Callum Turner), muggle baker Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), and two additional wizardsLally Hicks (Jessica Williams) and Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam)or a world-saving assignment: thwart the plans of Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen), who wants to wage war against humankind in order to solidify magical peoples place atop the evolutionary food chain. Dumbledore cant personally take down Grindelwald because, when they were young lovers, they struck a magical pact that prevented them from engaging in direct combata convenient twist (carried over from the last film) thats further complicated by Grindelwald obtaining and killing a magical creature that gives him the ability to see into the future. To cope with that situation, Dumbledore concocts a scheme which none of his accomplices understand completely, thereby creating confusing moves and motivations that Grindelwald cant decipher.

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Theres no mention of the fact that Grindelwald now looks like Mikkelsen rather than Johnny Depp, and thats not the only thing elided in The Secrets of Dumbledore; the sidelining of original franchise co-lead Katherine Waterston is also painfully conspicuous. Such clunkiness is felt elsewhere as well, be it in Williams assuming Zoe Kravitzs role as the proceedings heroic person of color (and apparent Theseus romantic interest), Queenies (Alison Sudol) continued, contrived decision to stick with Grindelwald despite wanting to be with her beloved Jacob, or the handy discovery that Grindelwalds foresight-bestowing creature has a twin sibling that winds up in Newts care (thereby giving him a counter to his adversarys power). As with her previous Fantastic Beasts screenplays, theres a sense that Rowling is making up new rules and paradigms and then immediately devising expedient ways to circumvent them, which neuters a good deal of the dramas stakes.

Grindelwald is an intolerant us-against-them tyrant and The Secrets of Dumbledore casts his political ascension in obvious Nazi terms, replete with Germanys ministry of magic conspiring to make him a candidate in the election for leader of the wizarding world. How Grindelwald might reconcile his Hitler aspirations and his homosexuality, however, is never properly addressednor is Jewish Jacobs horror over this turn of eventsjust as Dumbledores original kinship with Grindelwald (and his cause) is skimmed over lest anyone pay too close attention to its unbelievability. Yates distracts audiences from focusing on far-fetched and/or illogical elements with lots of CGI razzle-dazzle. Much of that is impressively mounted, albeit in a now-familiar manner; there are only so many times one can see men and women produce wonders via their wands before it all becomes old hat.

A fundamental shortcoming of the entire Fantastic Beasts franchise is that, unlike the Harry Potter saga, Newts relationship to the grander battle against Grindelwald is tangential; instead of having a personal connection to the fight (as Harry did with Voldemort), hes simply a nice guy swept up in a larger sociopolitical storm. Redmayne continues to do his usual twitchy-weirdo routine, but he feels less central to the story than ever before, since Rowling makes him and his cohort blind pawns of Dumbledore, whos also not much of a charismatic presence, this despite Rowling giving him some additional family-tragedy baggage and Law embodying him with the right mixture of nobility, composure, and soul. The films title notwithstanding, Dumbledore is a likable puppet master whos not very enigmatic, including when it comes to his preference for mena topic that he discusses with the casualness of someone who doesnt think hes saying anything surprising.

Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Trading in Depps ornate hair and costuming for a more straightforward suit-and-tie style, Mikkelsen is the finest aspect of The Secrets of Dumbledore. Yet hes denied an opportunity to truly enliven this tale, which prefers to waste time on Grindelwalds minionand supposed weapon of Dumbledore destructionCredence Barebone (Ezra Miller), a petulant bore who, like most everyone else, comes across as a narrative device masquerading as a flesh-and-blood person.

The fact that one can understand whats going on from moment to moment is, in light of The Crimes of Grindelwalds head-spinning complications, a small relief. And Yates stewardship remains efficient, full of lucidly imaginative set pieces that never quite overwhelm the materials emotions. Unfortunately, this tentpoles clockwork maneuvers are so rote that theres no suspense during its times of great peril, and no elation over its triumphs. Its merely more of the same spectacle that Rowling has been peddling for decades, carried out with reasonable panache but generating diminishing-returns excitement.

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a new campaign denouncing Floridas new Parental Rights in Educational Bill, what critics refer to as the Dont Say Gay and invited Floridians to move to the Big Apple.

On Monday, Adams announced the launch of digital billboards and creative ads denouncing the recent passage of the bill in five Florida cities.

According to a new release, the campaign reaffirms Adams commitment and unconditional support for the LGBTQ+ community.

The new legislation bans instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade.

New York Citys response is to double down on its commitment to preserving the right to free speech and building a city that welcomes everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the release.

The new campaign is making a direct call to Floridians who are under attack.

I am the mayor of New York City, but I have a message for Floridas LGBTQ+ community  come to a city where you can say and be whoever you want, said Adams. Floridas Dont Say Gay bill is the latest shameful, extremist culture war targeting the LGBTQ+ community. Today, we say to the families living in fear of this state-sponsored discrimination that you will always have a home in New York City.

Read: Central Florida students taking final FSA tests before state adopts progress monitoring

In total, there will be five unique piece of creative art that will run across digital billboards and social media.

Educators work every day to make New York City public schools safe and supportive environments for LGBTQ+ youth, said New York City Department of Education Chancellor David C. Banks. From what we teach, to how we care for young people, we create schools that affirm and lift up the students and honor who they are. Children bring the totality of who they are into our classrooms, and the cruel actions being taken across this country to attack LGBTQ+ children is contrary to everything we believe in as educators.

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Along with the digital campaign, the outdoor campaign will run in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach from April 4 through May 29.

Read: State Department launches new cybersecurity bureau

The New York City Anti-Violence Project stands in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community of Florida, said Beverly Tillery, executive director, New York City Anti-Violence Project. Attempting to silence and deny LGBTQ+ people, especially youth, the support they need is violence and can lead to poor mental health outcomes, interruptions in education, and youth homelessness. If you are an LGBTQ+ survivor of violence and need help, you can call or text our 24-hour, bilingual hotline for support and referrals: 212-714-1141.

Read: Bojangles giving away $1M in free gas

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Tuesday that would expand coverage under the Affordable Care Act by allowing the cost of family health insurance to be used as a reference point when determining who qualifies for subsidies.

Under existing rules, the so-called family glitch in the ACA requires the cost of health insurance for a single person to be used when determining the level of federal subsidies available for those seeking coverage. If the cost of insurance available through a job for one person is less than 10% of household income, then it is considered reasonable and no subsidies for plans through the federal exchanges are available  even if the cost of private health insurance for a whole family is far higher, as it typically is. Bidens executive order changes the rules to allow the cost of family insurance to be used as the deciding factor for those seeking such coverage.

White House officials said that as a result of the change, about 200,000 people would gain new coverage and nearly 1 million would see their premiums go down.

Obama pays a visit: Former President Barack Obama visited the White House for the signing ceremony and paid tribute to Bidens effort to keep the ACA alive as it hits 12 years old, while reminding his fellow Democrats of the imperfect nature of political compromise. "The reason we're here today is because President Biden, Vice President Harris, everybody who's worked on this thing understood from the start that the ACA wasn't perfect, Obama said. To get the bill passed, we had to make compromises. We didn't get everything we wanted. That wasn't reason not to do it.

At the ceremony, Biden playfully referred to the comment he made back in 2010 when Obama signed the ACA into law: This is a big [expletive] deal, he famously whispered to Obama in a remark that was not intended for public consumption but was broadcast for all to hear. Before signing the bill Tuesday, Biden jokingly warned Obama, Let me remind you, its a hot mic.

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More favorable views: The ACA  derisively referred to as Obamacare in its early days, a name the former president embraced, neutralizing much of the sting  has been controversial from the moment it passed, with a majority of voters expressing disapproval of it during much of Obamas two terms in office. Republicans made a lot of noise about repealing the law, but those efforts failed and talk of repeal has gone quiet, at least for now. And the law itself has risen in public opinion over time.

A recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 55% of respondents had a favorable opinion of the ACA, while 42% had an unfavorable opinion. As The Washington Posts Emily Gruskin writes, the law grew more popular during the 2016 presidential election, and Americans opinions on the ACA improved to net positive as President Donald Trump and Republicans tried to repeal it, and since then have continued to climb. Last October, a record 58 percent of Americans were favorable toward the ACA, and 41 percent were unfavorable.

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WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden on Tuesday proposed a way to increase the number of dependents who can get subsidized insurance under the Affordable Care Act, a fix to what has been called the "family glitch."

The proposal: If a workplace plan for a whole family costs more than 10% of a family's income, then the worker's spouse and children could get help purchasing a private plan through the Obamacare marketplace.

The Affordable Care Act is stronger than its ever been," Biden said at a White House event attended by former President Barack Obama. "And today, were strengthening it even further.

The change, which would take effect as early as next year, could allow an estimated 200,000 people without insurance to gain coverage, according to the White House.

About 1 million people might be able to switch to a more affordable plan.

The change, which must complete a rule-making process, is the biggest step the Biden administration can take without Congress to improve affordability under the ACA, according to Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan research group.

North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, accused the administration of usurping Congress' authority. She said the change will chip away at employer-sponsored coverage and increase the cost of Obamacare borne by taxpayers.

No Republican voted for the Affordable Care Act, and GOP lawmakers tried unsuccessfully during the Trump administration to repeal it.

"We need to keep up the fight," Biden said of Republicans' "unrelenting" attacks on the ACA.

Insuring America: Millions of people could lose health insurance coverage when the COVID-19 emergency end

President Joe Biden, joined by former President Barack Obama, signs an executive order Tuesday aimed at strengthening the Affordable Care Act.

Obama, making his first return visit to the White House since leaving office, smiled broadly and waved to members of the audience who had worked on the law.

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Saying he was quoting a famous American, Obama called the ACA a pretty big deal  a cleaned-up version of Bidens 2010 description of the law that he hadnt realized was being captured by a microphone.

"Barack, let me remind you, it's a hot mic," Biden later ribbed back as he turned to sign an executive order.

Before diving into the health care discussion, Obama had joked that there had been a lot of changes in the White House since he was there. Secret Service agents have to wear aviator sunglasses. The Navy mess has been replaced with a Baskin-Robbins. And there's a cat running around.

Bo and Sunny would have been very unhappy, Obama said of the dogs that scampered through the White House during his administration.

"Welcome back to the White House, man," Biden said. "It feels like the good old days."

The exception? When the two had lunch before the event, they didnt know who should sit where, Biden said, referring to presidential protocol.

Former President Barack Obama joins President Joe Biden in the East Room of the White House.

The largest expansion of health care since the ACA's passage in 2010 occurred through the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill Biden signed into law last year. That pandemic package increased Obamacare insurance subsidies to those who were already eligible for help through state and federal marketplaces. It also made help newly available to people earning more than four times the federal poverty level.

But the boost expires in December.

Legislation to extend the expanded subsidies was part of Biden's "Build Back Better" plan that stalled in the Senate.

Fixing the "family glitch" has been in the works since Biden signed an executive order, during his first days in office, directing agencies to review the actions they could take to make health care more accessible and affordable.

The administration wants to change when insurance coverage offered by an employer is considered unaffordable, making the worker's family members eligible for a subsidized marketplace plan.

Currently, a workplace plan is considered affordable if coverage solely for the employee costs less than 9.83% of the worker's household income. That calculation doesn't take into account the cost of including family members on the plan.

The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that 5.1 million people are affected by how the IRS initially wrote the regulation when interpreting the ACA. Most have insurance through an employer but are paying high premiums.

For various reasons, not all of those affected would take up marketplace plans once the glitch is fixed. For example, because only the family members  and not the worker  would become eligible for a marketplace plan, some may find it more convenient to keep the entire family on one plan.

More: Record 14.5 million Americans sign up for Obamacare during open enrollment for 2022 plans

President Barack Obama signs the Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010.

A record 14.5 million people bought an ACA marketplace plan during open enrollment for 2022 coverage.

Besides temporarily expanding subsidies,the administration quadrupled the number of people available to assist with enrollment through HealthCare.gov.

Maureen Groppe has covered Washington for nearly three decades and is now a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. Follow her on Twitter @mgroppe.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden, Barack Obama at White House for Affordable Care Act changes
Calling Hugh Scott the worst of the worst, a Lake County judge sentenced him to 103.5 years Tuesday in girlfriend Davita Wards 2018 death.

Scott, 37, of Gary, was convicted by a jury last month in her June 2018 murder.

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He received 65 years for murder, 16 for aggravated battery, 2.5 for arson and 20 for a habitual offender enhancement.

Scott has denied his involvement.

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Judge Samuel Cappas said although the case was circumstantial, strong evidence pointed to Scotts involvement, including the fact he was treated at Loyola for severe burns on his legs just after her death.

Ward was found shot dead on June 17, 2018, inside a 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix that had been torched on 2400 block of Noble Street in Gary, charges alleged.

He was charged three years later in August 2021.

At the time of her death, documents alleged Ward had been in a volatile and abusive relationship with Scott. At one point, she wrote in Facebook messages to Scott she was afraid of him and he was crazy.

After Tuesdays hearing, Wards mother and stepfather, Davona and Simon Lillie, said they were grateful for justice nearly four years after her death.

For the family, it was a lot of misery and sleepless nights, they said.

Davita was a kindhearted and loving woman, they added. Davona Lillie wore a pin in court with her daughters picture.

Ward was a Gary West Side graduate who worked in the laundry department at Sebos Nursing Home in Hobart and was a licensed cosmetologist who loved braiding hair, according to her obituary.

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At sentencing, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kasey Dafoe said Scott had a fairly significant criminal history with 28 criminal arrests  and 10 misdemeanor and eight felony convictions.

About one-third involved domestic violence, she said. Defoe and co-prosecutor Veronica Gonzalez asked for 96 years for Scott.

His defense lawyer, Lemuel Stigler, noted Scott finished his GED during one round in prison. He asked for 51 years in prison, noting he would be about 75 if he finished the minimum 75% required by law.

At that age, Scott would not really be able to do anything else, he said.

In court, Scott offered sympathies to Wards family and denied a role in the crime. The trial narrative was a movie that prosecutors created and set him up as a main character, he said.

No witnesses pointed to his involvement, Scott added, only prosecutors and Lake County Sheriffs Department Criminal Investigation Division Cmdr. Michael Stewart, the lead detective. Investigators took Facebook messages out of context, Scott said.

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Wards family lost a wonderful person and I lost a friend, he said. I am not that monster they are pointing me out to be.

Gary Fire was called at 11 p.m. on June 16, 2018, to put out a car fire. Hours later, at 1:30 p.m. the next day, someone called Gary Police saying there was a charred body in the back seat of the car.

A co-worker told investigators Ward said the man she was dating physically abused her and she couldnt escape from the relationship, charges allege. The woman didnt know the mans name, but said Ward asked for a dentist recommendation after he knocked her tooth out, according to the affidavit.

Scotts identity was discovered partly through her Facebook account.

Another time, the co-worker said Ward told her he choked her until she blacked out. She personally saw choke marks on Wards neck, charges state.

Im gonna have to kill you, Ward recalled he told her. You gonna tell the police what I did. I dont want to go to jail, so Im gonna have to kill you.

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Ward filed a May 25, 2018, police report that Scott was stalking her and broke out windows where she lived, investigators said.

Ward left her house around 3 p.m. on June 16, 2018, to go to a party, her father said. He lived with her and reported her missing the next day.

Cappas said Scotts story that he burned his legs on Memorial Day when he had some lighter fluid and got into a fireworks accident doesnt make sense to me.

Anyone who was burned that badly  with Community Hospital triaging him to Chicago  would need to get treated immediately. He was treated on June 18. The timeline fit just after Wards death, he said.

She was likely forcibly unconscious lying down in the back seat when she was shot in the head, Cappas said, citing evidence. He couldnt conclusively say if she was choked. Then, the car was torched.

The evidence showed the cars door was open about four inches. Most likely, the flames escaped the car and burned him, the judge said.

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For Wards family to have to see her charred body was horrible for any parent to go through, he said.
Its been more than 40 days since Russia invaded Ukraine. On Monday, President Joe Biden called Russia president Vladimir Putin a war criminal. Ohio lawmakers spoke with News Center 7 about whether President Bidens response would change the United States involvement in the war.

Congressman Warren Davidson told News Center 7s that he doesnt think the US should change its stance on its involvement in the war.

I dont think this is our war to fight, Davidson said.

Davidson said he was horrified to see the videos that emerged over the weekend and he has access to even more information than civilians see each day through classified briefings. Still, he doesnt want the US to change its stance militarily.

>> OSHP: Language barrier leads to pursuit that ends in Englewood

Dont expand the war, Davidson said. We should be supportive of Ukraine, but we shouldnt be fighting this war.

Davidson voted with most of Congress for a huge military aid program to rush weapons to allow Ukrainian armed forces to defend their country.

Davidson and Senator Rob Portman said they think the Biden Administration can do more to help Ukrainian refugees and pay for eventual rebuilding. It comes in the form of the expensive assets, like $70 million yachts owned by Putin and Russian oligarchs that have been seized.

Instead of freezing assets of Putin and these oligarchs in Russia, instead of freezing, lets actually seize those assets, Portman said.

Portman said selling those items and using the funds to pay for a Ukrainian relief fund is valuable.

>> 2nd primary election could cost taxpayers up to $20 million; redistricting maps still in limbo

In a statement to WHIO, Senator Sherrod Brown said he supports the critical military assistance to enable Ukraine to defend itself, and powerful sanctions against Putin and his allies to ratchet up pressure on Russia to halt its brutal invasion of Ukraine.

We have sanctioned Russian parliamentarians and the parliament itself, dozens more Russian arms merchants and defense firms that have enabled this war, additional Putin cronies, and broad sectors of Russias economy. As long as Putins invasion goes on, we will continue to lead the world, turning up the heat and weakening Russias war machine, Brown stated.

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Davidson said he believes another way to fight Putin is in energy production. He said the US and NATO allies in Europe should refuse to buy oil and gas from Putin. and that the Biden Administration should encourage increased production of the two here.

They should reverse that policy and focus on energy independence, Davidson said.




(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc labor organizer Christian Smalls said on Tuesday more than 50 warehouses of the e-commerce giant in the U.S. reached out after its warehouse in New York City voted to form the first union at the company.

"Since we WON @amazonlabor has been contacted by workers in over 50 buildings Nationwide not including the several buildings overseas and counting," Smalls, a former Amazon employee, said in a tweet https://twitter.com/shut_downamazon/status/1511342516104310795?s=21&t=KCk9yetOfN2WTRYcN0R.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Employees at Amazon's fulfillment center in the borough of Staten Island secured a majority by voting 2,654 to 2,131 in support of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), according to a count released on Friday by the National Labor Relations Board.

(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Apr. 5The parent company of an Androscoggin County mill has been acquired by an affiliate of a Florida-based firm, the company announced on Monday.

Pennsylvania-based Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC was bought by an affiliate of Miami-based H.I.G. Capital, a global alternative investment firm, for an undisclosed amount, the company said.

Formed in 2018, the leading producer of specialty paper in North America ran mills in Chillicothe, Ohio; Spring Grove, Pennsylvania; Stevens Point, Wisconsin; and Jay, Maine. The four mills operated 11 paper machines altogether and produced more than a million tons of paper annually.

In April 2020, a large explosion severely damaged the mill in Jay, causing wood pulp to rain down on the surrounding area. More than a year later, Pixelle sued a Florida contractor over poor welds it claims caused the explosion.

Pixelle acquired the Jay mill in 2020  along with the mill in Stevens Point  as part of a $400 million deal from Verso paper company.

Verso's deal with Pixelle was announced in November 2019, just three months after Verso unveiled a plan to invest $120 million into three mills, including the one in Jay.

Pixelle's sale is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, the company said.
The parents of Christian Hall, the 19-year-old fatally shot by Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) in December 2020, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the agency and two prosecutors with the Monroe County District Attorneys Office last Wednesday.



The suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, accuses PSP officials, Commissioner Robert Evanchick, Monroe County District Attorney David Christine and First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso of protecting the officers that shot Hall by releasing misleading details about the incident.



Hall was going through a mental health crisis when he wound up on the bridge at the Route 33 southbound overpass over I-80 in Hamilton Township on Dec. 30, 2020. As seen in an unredacted video, Hall had his hands up in the air for 14 seconds before PSP officers fired seven shots that ultimately killed him.



One of Halls familys attorneys, Ben Crump, who also represented George Floyds and Breonna Taylors families, described the teens raising of his hands as the universal sign of surrender. However, the Monroe District Attorneys Office deemed the shooting justified under the circumstances caused by his actions, which they believe had created a threat of death or bodily injury.









In a statement after the shooting, PSP claimed that Hall pointed the gun  which later turned out to be a toy gun  in their direction, which forced them to open fire. [Hall] retrieved the firearm and began walking towards the Troopers. At which time, Hall pointed the firearm in the Troopers direction. As a result, Troopers fired striking Hall, PSP said.



The suit filed on Wednesday alleges that the version of the video released by the agency was redacted and pixelated to mislead the viewer into believing that Hall was aiming for the officers. But the unredacted video, which was subpoenaed by Crumps co-counsel, Devin Jacob, shows that Hall kept his hands in the air even while bullets were impacting his body.



The suit claims that the unredacted video is undisputed evidence of the PSP and DAs office attempt to cover up the unlawfulness of the homicide. In a statement, the familys attorneys also noted that PSP tried to force Halls parents into entering a confidentiality agreement before releasing the video.



Just like George Floyds unlawful homicide, the involved Troopers who committed this unlawful homicide took time to deliberate before they decided to end Christian Halls life. We obtained justice for George Floyd and we will obtain justice for Christian Hall, Crump and Jacob said.





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The suit seeks monetary damages of an unspecified amount. Mancuso, in response, reiterated that the shooting was justified and accused the familys attorneys of pushing a false narrative.



The circumstances surrounding the use of deadly force demonstrate that such force was justified under the circumstances known to the officers, Mancuso said in a statement. The attempts by the attorneys to mislead the public and now the filing of a frivolous suit against the DAs Office is yet another example that they are motivated not by the pursuit of justice but the allure of monetary gain.





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Aleksandra Makoviy wrote important information about her daughter on her back in case she was killed in the war and the child survived. Provided to Insider by Aleksandra Makoviy

Some Ukrainian parents are writing important information on their children in case they are found alone.

Aleksandra Makoviy worried what would happen if she was killed, but her 2-year-old, Vira, survived.

Makoviy told Insider that she and her daughter have since fled to the south of France.

Some Ukrainian parents are writing important information about their children on their skin in case they are killed or separated.

Aleksandra Makoviy was at home in Kyiv on February 24 when Russia first attacked Ukraine. She feared what would happen if she was killed and her 2-year-old daughter, Vira, was found alive.

With shaking hands, she wrote the girl's name, birthday, and contact information on Vira's back, Makoviy wrote in a post on Instagram, which has since gotten immense attention on social media.

On Sunday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that at least 400 children have been injured and 153 have been killed in the war  though the full number of casualties is not yet known.

Makoviy, who gave Insider permission to use the photos and story of her daughter, said they have since fled to France, where they were met with volunteers who found them housing and clothes.

Wearing a dress donated by a mother in France, 2-year-old Vira Makoviy touches flowers. Provided by Aleksandra Makoviy

"Now we are staying in France," Mokoviy told Insider by phone Tuesday. "We are absolutely safe and everything is OK, except for the war."

Makoviy said she's grateful for the volunteers who have helped her family since they fled through Poland.

Read the original article on Insider
Lights on a police car. Oliver Helbig/Getty Images

City officials of Erie, Pennsylvania, said a shooting occurred at a local high school.

One person was shot but is in "good condition."

Erie Public Schools said the building is currently on lockdown.

Pennsylvania officials confirmed on Tuesday that one person was shot at Erie High School.

"The individual is in good condition and has been transported to the hospital," city officials said. "More information to follow as we receive it. Please continue to avoid the area."

According to city officials, there is a "high presence" of police on the premises and students are safe.

City of Erie, Pennsylvania (@CityofEriePA) April 5, 2022

Erie Public Schools released a statement to families on their Facebook, saying that the school is on lockdown and echoing officials warning to stay away from the area until further instruction.

"The building is on hard lockdown with a police presence on campus," the statement said. "We are coordinating with law enforcement and are arranging an intentional dismissal process, including parent pick-up, now."

The district added that dismissal will occur once they get a green light from the police.

This story is breaking. Please check back for updates.

Read the original article on Insider
LIMA, Peru (AP)  Peru's government allowed a Copa Libertadores match to proceed on Tuesday shortly after it had called it off amid protests over rising fuel and food prices. The confirmation that local Sporting Cristal and Brazil's Flamengo will play came 2 hours and 30 minutes before kickoff.

President Pedro Castillo announced the decision to end a curfew in the capital Lima as local media debated his administration's decision to suspend the match at the National Stadium.

Perus capital and its main port were under a tight curfew instituted by Castillo for most of the day in response to the violent protests, with armed soldiers and police deployed to enforce the measure.

Three hours before the time the match was supposed to start, the country's sports authority said in a statement that the Copa Libertadores match would not go ahead.

South American soccer body CONMEBOL, which had also confirmed the suspension on Twitter, later reversed course to say the match would still take place.

The Peruvian capital is scheduled to host another Copa Libertadores match on Wednesday between Alianza Lima and Argentina's River Plate.

Defense Minister Jose Gavidia told journalists Tuesday that the curfew was motivated by intelligence indicating there had been plans for broader violence, especially in central Lima.

___ AP Sports Writer Mauricio Savarese contributed to this report in Sao Paulo.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Phoenix police seek assistance locating two men suspected of a shooting that left a 39-year-old man dead Saturday afternoon.

Phoenix police are asking for help locating two men suspected of a fatal shooting of a 39-year-old man dead Saturday afternoon.

Officers received reports of a shooting at a QT gas station near 75th Avenue and Indian School Road around 12:15 p.m., according to the Silent Witness poster.

When officers arrived, they found the man with gunshot wounds, police said in a press release.

Police said they believe a man wearing a white tank with the word "Hustler" on the front and dark colored pants shot the man. Police described the man as Hispanic and said he fled the scene on a large bicycle at the time of the shooting.

The first man was seen with a man known as "Slow Motion." Police said the second man is Black and was wearing dark clothing.

The man who was shot was taken to a hospital, but died as a result of his injuries.

No additional information regarding the shooting was released.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Phoenix Police Department or Silent Witness at 480-948-6377 or 480-837-8446 for Spanish.

A reward for up to $200 is being offered.

Reach breaking news reporter Amaris Encinas at amaris.encinas@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @amarisencinas.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix police release suspect photo in gas station shooting
Watch: First official trailer for Danny Boyle-directed drama, Pistol

Fans have been given the first look at Pistol, the Danny Boyle-directed drama about Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.

Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams looks almost unrecognisable as late punk legend Jordan, with the actor seen showcasing a selection of eye-catching looks in the rebellious teaser clip.

Jordan, who died on 4 April - became an integral part of the punk scene during the 1970s, performing with the punk band and working with designer Vivienne Westwood.

Read more: Punk legend Jordan dies aged 66

The punk icon "died peacefully in the company of her loving family" after battling a short illness, her partner Nick confirmed in a statement.

In the trailer, Maisie is seen sporting two gravity-defying blond hairdos along with Jordan's signature extravagant makeup and typically vibrant clothing.

Maisie Williams as punk icon Jordan in new drama, Pistol (FX/YouTube)

Pamela Rooke, also known as Jordan, smoking a cigarette, UK, 1978. (Chris Moorhouse/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Jordan  born Pamela Rooke  previously discussed what she told Williams about playing her: What I said to her was, Youre in a position of playing a role that is very strong, a strong woman, and a woman set apart, really."

She added: "I decided that I wanted to be me, like a walking work of art, if you like, and I was totally and utterly unshakable. So she had to bring that to the role.

Elsewhere, the rebel-rousing teaser also features news footage from the era along with snippets of the series that highlight the band's status as antagonists of the British institution.

Watch: Set for Sex Pistols TV series spotted filming along the Southbank in London

Formed in 1975, the punk band scandalised the British music scene with hits such as God Save The Queen and Anarchy in the UK. They went on to split in 1978 after releasing one album.

The upcoming series will see Toby Wallace take on the role of Steve Jones, with Jacob Slater as Paul Cook, Anson Boon as John Lydon, Christian Lees as Glen Matlock, Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious, Sydney Chandler as Chrissie Hynde, Talulah Riley as Vivienne Westwood, Emma Appleton as Nancy Spungen and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Malcolm McLaren.

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Former Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams transforms into punk icon Jordan for new series, Pistol (FX/YouTube)

The six-parter, written and created by Craig Pearce (Moulin Rouge!, The Great Gatsby), is based on a 2016 memoir by Jones titled Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol.

The official synopsis for the show reads: "Pistol is a six-episode limited series about a rock and roll revolution. The furious, raging storm at the centre of this revolution are the Sex Pistols - and at the centre of this series is Sex Pistols founding member and guitarist, Steve Jones.

The Pistol cast as iconic punk band, Sex Pistols (FX)

"Jones hilarious, emotional and at times heart-breaking journey guides us through a kaleidoscopic telling of three of the most epic, chaotic and mucus-spattered years in the history of music.

Sex Pistol bandmates John Joseph Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten), drummer Paul Cook, bass guitarist Sid Vicious (born John Simon Ritchie) and guitarist Steve Jones (John Mead/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

"Based on Jones memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, this is the story of a band of spotty, noisy, working-class kids with 'no future,' who shook the boring, corrupt Establishment to its core, threatened to bring down the government and changed music and culture forever."

Pistol will premiere exclusively on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland on Tuesday 31 May.

Watch: Johnny Rotten loses high court battle to stop Sex Pistols songs being used in new TV series
"The world is beautiful. Just listen."

That's the comment that got the most "likes" during the livestream of the Shanshui Folk Music Troupe. An introduction to the main members of the band might grant one a deeper understanding of the words.

Zhong Huile, the vice and executive chief of the band, is not blind, but almost. He suffers from congenital cataracts and can only see things within 10 centimeters; It was with this poor eyesight that he learned to play the normal flute, the oboe-like suona, the dongxiao, an end-blown bamboo flute, as well as hulusi, a kind of gourd-shaped flute. He has gained a reputation for his woodwind versatility among both bandmates and, a loyal army of online followers.

Zhong is also one of the two co-founders, together with Liu Jidong, as well as the executive director of the band. It was him that arranged its move to Xi'an and Zhejiang, as well as coordinating its internal relations and proposing the foray into livestreaming.

Liu, who is director of the band, has mobility issues in his legs and cannot walk well. However, he is good at business relations and is always on the hunt for more opportunities. Alongside Zhong, it was Liu that invested into the startup fund in 2008, and pulled together the resources for the band to survive.

Chen Mengjing is Zhong's wife, as well as his partner in performance. She had infantile paralysis when she was one year old, which left her with leg issues. Yet, she overcome the difficulties and learned guzheng, as well as other stringed musical instruments.

She is nicknamed "Chang'e" by fans of the band's livestream, because their most famous song is Song of the Heavenly Palace, derived from the TV series A Journey to the West, in which the fairy Chang'e is a main character. She and Zhong perform together in their own livestream, as well as with the wider ensemble.

Gao Xinxin is a special member of the band. When the livestreaming began and everybody was playing their instruments, Gao was just sitting there. Many viewers asked in the comment section who she was and why she appeared in the livestream.

All questions were answered when she opened her mouth. She sang only one phonetic syllable, "ah...", but it was the highest note of Song of the Heavenly Palace and her voice impressed everybody. She is visually impaired, but her heart is full of sunshine.

Erhu is a traditional Chinese stringed musical instrument, similar to a violin, which requires the player to hold a bow in the right hand to play it. Yet because of Wang Zhao's disability he holds the Guinness World Record included him as "the world's first left-hand erhu player", and his followers refer to him as "left-hand erhu".

Life might have closed some doors to them, but, through their own efforts, and with the help of modern technology, they have opened new windows to the world.
WARSAW, Poland  Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Baszczak on Tuesday signed a deal worth about $4.75 billion to buy 250 M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 from the United States.

We are strengthening the Polish military, and we are deterring a potential aggressor, Baszczak was quoted in a statement released by the ministry.

Deliveries are to begin this year, with 28 tanks to be procured to the countrys armed forces. In addition to the tanks, the contract also comprises a technical support and logistics package, as well as training and ammunition for the tanks, according to the ministry.

Polish defense officials have said the acquisition will enable the countrys military to counter Russias flagship T-14 Armata tank. The procurement will allow Warsaw to replace its outdated Soviet-designed T-72 and PT-91 tanks with a new tracked vehicle platform. The Polish land forces also operate Leopard 2A4 and Leopard 2A5 tanks acquired from Germany.

Meanwhile, Polish officials are in talks with their U.S. partners to accelerate the procurement of other American weapons Poland has ordered for its military.

On March 26, during President Joe Bidens official visit to Warsaw, Polish President Andrzej Duda said he had asked his U.S. counterpart to accelerate, as much as possible, the acquisition programs that are currently being carried out.

Based on the concluded contracts, this year, we are to receive the first Patriot missile systems, and soon also the HIMARS artillery rocket systems, and the F-35 fighter jets of the latest generation, Duda said.
Police believe this friendship ended in murder Sunday near the Rutherford-Wilson County line.

Police are searching for Jorge Reyes, who is wanted in connection with the Sunday shooting death of Rigoberto Riso Hernandez, 35.

Reyes, 43, is charged with first-degree murder. He is believed to live in the Couchville Pike area.

Reyes worked in the construction industry in Middle Tennessee. Officials believe Reyes and Hernandez knew each other for a long time, and were friends.

Information about Reyes: Call the Sheriffs Office dispatch at 615-898-7770

The incident occurred over the weekend, near the Rutherford-Wilson County line, according to the Rutherford County Sheriffs Office. Reyes has been entered into the National Crime Information Center.

The only other known family members the suspect has are in Texas and Mexico,Detective Sgt. Steve Craig said. We feel he may be headed toward those family members.

Information about Reyes:

Call the Sheriffs Office dispatch at 615-898-7770

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Police believe this friendship ended in murder
Producers of the upcoming Paramount+ series Tulsa King is looking for extras in Oklahoma City.

The series has been filming in Tulsa, prompting road closures in downtown Tulsa. Now, cast and crew members are headed to the capital.

Producers are looking for the following roles:

Men between the ages of 25 and 40 to act as New York City cops. Those with actual law enforcement experience are preferred. Must be clean-shaven. Filming will take place April 13 and 14.

Men and women between the ages of 25 to 50 to act as ATF and FBI agents. Accepting all applications for all ethnicities. Filming will take place on April 18.

Pedestrians, Pedestrians with cars (no white or red cars), bank tellers, bank employees, business men, business women, older women, older successful ranchers, indigenous customers, and a maintenance worker. Filming will take place April 19.

Mobster men between the ages of 30 to 60. Must look tough and be available to film on both April 20 and April 21.

RELATED>>>Sylvester Stallone to star in mobster series set in Tulsa

If youd like to apply, youll need to email the following information to submit.freihofercasting@gmail.com:

Two pictures, including a headshot and a full body option. Please do not wear hats or sunglasses.

Name your pictures YourName_Closeup.jpg and YourName_Full.jpg. Youll also need to size them under 250KB.

Include contact information: name, phone number, email address, and physical address.

Title the email as: UTP- (Name of Role) Ex. UTP - Airport Folk, Cowboys, Flight Attendants, ETC.

If you have already been booked in a role, please do not apply for a second time.
Prosecutors closed their case Monday in the trial of Michael Barisone, a former Olympian charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting twice a tenant on his Long Valley farm before attempting to shoot her fiance.

"The state rests," Christopher Schellhorn, a supervising assistant prosecutor for Morris County, said just before the lunch break.

Jurors socially distanced inside a courtroom in the Morris County Courthouse have heard from 14 witnesses since the trial started on March 28 including police officers, crime scene investigators, Barisone's girlfriend and employees and the victim Lauren Kanarek and her fiance Robert Goodwin.

The defense began calling their witnesses Monday afternoon.

Defense attorneys have argued Barisone was suffering from temporary insanity at the time of the Aug. 7, 2019 shooting following a months-long dispute with trainee Kanarek and Goodwin that had triggered a prior mental health history and left him in fear for his life. Barisone's attorneys have not contested prosecutors' claims his client pulled the trigger, but they have asserted he reacted in self-defense.

Morris County news: 'Chicken or egg?' Nonprofit will take Superfund site if EPA agrees to remediate it

Barisone has appeared frail and restless in court since the start of the trial, often contorting his face in pain or shock  a marked change since his many years at the helm of the elite equestrian sport of dressage.

In just over six days, prosecutors presented evidence they say points to Barisone knowingly obtaining a gun, loading it and using it with enough inference to prove he intended to cause death.

Ex-Olympian Michael Barisone went through several emotions during his attempted murder trial in the Morris County Superior Courthouse on Wednesday, March 30, 2022.

Among the experts called to the stand was Morris County Sheriff's Office Detective Andre Zaharopoulos, who served as the prosecutors' expert in shooting reconstruction.

Zaharopoulos testified that he was advised en route to Barisone's Long Valley farm after the shooting that Kanarek had been shot twice and a third bullet struck the door on the back patio. It was "downpouring" rain at the time, he said.

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Zaharopoulos testified that after analyzing the scene, he found two shell casings, or leftover debris from a bullet being fired. He determined that the bullets fired traveled in an upward angle  about 14 degrees  but could not determine at what height the shooter was at when it was fired.

Since Zaharopoulos was unable to determine the height of the gun when it was fired, Barisone's attorney Edward Bilinkas opined that the shooter could have fired the weapon amid a struggle while on the deck or while on their back.

"If someone on the ground fired the weapon, that is consistent with your analysis, correct?" Bilinkas asked.

"It would have had to have been closer to the truck," Zaharopoulos said, referring to a truck driven by Barisone, who had parked near the patio of the house before allegedly getting out.

Goodwin described the shooting from his perspective, recalling the struggle that ensued after his fiancee was shot. A one-time U.S. Marine, Goodwin said he punched Barisone in the forehead and then placed him in a chokehold while Kanarek grabbed Barisone's arms to hold them down. She also struck Barisone in the head, Goodwin said, in an attempt to "stop him from murdering us."

Goodwin said he did not know how many times he punched Barisone, but said he did so because he and Kanarek were in a "fight for their life." Kanarek struck Barisone multiple times with her cellphone and their dog Rosie, who was loose at the time bit Barisone as well as Goodwin, he added. Goodwin said he broke Barisone's arm during the struggle.

Jason Gould, a detective with the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit, testified that while in a room in the intensive care unit at Morristown Medical Center, he heard Barisone say, "They destroyed my life in the last six months, they took it all away, I'm sorry this happened." He said Barisone said the statement after receiving one dose of fentanyl for pain relief. Bilinkas, during cross examination, asked if Gould initially wrote in his notes that Barisone said "I'm sorry this happened," and Gould said he did not.

Jason Hensley, a patrol officer with the Washington Township Police Department, said he traveled with Barisone to the hospital following the incident and overheard him say "Is this real? I need to wake up" several times in a "robotic" voice.

Once dignified, now disheveled

Cristianna Cooke-Gibbs, the health officer in Washington Township, was among the first witnesses for the defense to take the stand Monday afternoon. She had known Barisone for many years through their many interactions and recalled him as an "elegant, competent and dignified man."

But when she was called to his home a day before the shooting for a construction complaint filed by Goodwin, she noticed a very different man: Barisone was "upset, undone and disheveled."

"He was not the competent guy I remembered," she said. "He was a very different person."

Larry Davidson, who had delivered farm supplies to Barisone, said he was hired by Barisone to keep watch of the property late at night because Barisone had expressed concerns over Kanarek living there. He described Barisone as being "out of it" and often walking the property late at night.

Fire inspectors in Washington Township, who responded to the property due to Goodwin's complaint, a private investigator hired by Barisone and an EMT with St. Clare's Health System were among others to take the stand Monday.

Defense attorneys are expected to introduce upwards of 20 witnesses and experts this week. It is still unclear if Barisone will take the stand.

Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Michael Barisone trial: Prosecution rests against ex-Olympian
By Emma Farge and Pavel Polityuk

GENEVA/LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) -A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been released after being held in the Ukrainian town of Manhush while trying to reach the Russian-besieged city of Mariupol.

A senior member of Ukraine's government said the ICRC team had been freed overnight after being detained by Russian forces occupying Manhush, about 20 km (12 miles) from Mariupol.

"The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team that was held by police in Manhush on Monday was released last night. This is of great relief to us and to their families," the Geneva-based ICRC said in a statement.

It said the team was focused now on "continuing the humanitarian evacuation operation" from Mariupol, where tens of thousands of residents are trapped with few supplies after weeks of bombardment by Russian forces surrounding the port city.

"This incident yesterday shows how volatile and complex the operation to facilitate safe passage around Mariupol has been for our team, who have been trying to reach the city since Friday," the statement said.

The ICRC did not say how many of its personnel had been held in Manhush. It said last week that its team trying to reach Mariupol consisted of nine people.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the ICRC team had been sent back to the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is under Ukrainian government control and much further from Mariupol than Manhush.

"After negotiations, they were released during the night and sent to Zaporizhzhia," she said.

'VERY DIFFICULT' SITUATION

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday Ukraine's efforts to push back Russian troops from Mariupol were facing difficulties and that the military situation there was "very difficult."

He said Turkey had proposed a plan to help remove the wounded and dead from the city on the Sea of Azov, but cautioned that the initiative depended on the will of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Each side has blamed the other for the failure of repeated efforts to open "humanitarian corridors" to deliver supplies to Mariupol and evacuate civilians.

Reuters witnesses in Mariupol, where the city mayor says up to 170,000 people are trapped without power and have limited food, Russian-backed troops have been collecting bodies of local residents and what appeared to be Ukrainian soldiers.

A local resident, whose mother was killed, said she was planting tulips to raise her spirits. "What else should I do now, just lie down and wait? We already have somebody lying over there. Waiting to be collected," she said.

Mariupol is seen as a strategic prize for Russian forces that invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 as capturing it would create a bridge between Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and two Russian-backed separatist enclaves in eastern Ukraine.

The mayor's office in Mariupol has estimated that nearly 5,000 people have been killed in the city since Russian forces laid siege to it.

Russia says it does not target civilians in what it calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine. Ukraine and the West say the invasion was unprovoked and unjustified.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Lviv and Emma Farge in Geneva, Writing by Timothy Heritage, Editing by Mark Heinrich)
WASHINGTON  A fourth House Republican who voted to impeach Donald Trump is leaving Congress.

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., one of ten House GOP members who supported impeaching Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection, told colleagues in a floor speech that "even the best of stories has a last chapter" and "this is it for me."

Trump quickly took credit for Upton's refusal to seek re-election, while Upton supporters and other Republicans said his decision stemmed from redistricting and not the ex-president's backing of a challenger.

"UPTON QUITS!" Trump crowed in a written statement. "4 down and 6 to go. Others losing badly, who's next?"

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton

Upton followed the retirement footsteps of three other House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump and later decided opted against seeking re-election: Reps. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, John Katko of New York, and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.

Ten Republican impeachment votes: OnPolitics: Republicans who voted to impeach Trump face his 2022 picks

Support for the GOP 10: Applause for 10 Republicans who stood up to Trump: Reader views

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, the highest ranking Republican to vote for impeachment, is still seeking re-election, but faces a Trump-backed challenger in an August primary.

Trump has also vowed revenge on the other GOP impeachment supporters: Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Peter Meijer of Michigan and David Valadao of California.

Other Republicans said retirements had more to do with the fact that members like Upton found themselves running in new and more difficult congressional districts.

Upton's new district included another House Republican incumbent, Rep. Bill Huizenga, who had Trump's endorsement.

In a speech to the House, Upton cited his work on jobs, the economy and COVID vaccines. He did not mention Trump or impeachment.

"As I reflect back, there have certainly been more highlights representing the wonderful and diverse corner of Southwest Michigan," Upton said. "These folks are truly the salt of the earth and I love em all  even a few that dont always love me!"

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Republican strategist Doug Heye said not everything in Republican politics is about Trump.

"Every 10 years, district lines change and members retire," Heye said. "We know this."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump impeachment voter Rep. Fred Upton to retire
Niklas Hallen/AFP via Getty

Weve been hearing for years about how the U.S. two major political parties have realigned on economic issues, and the new breed of MAGA Republicans arent like the old corporate Reaganite Republicans. Theyre populists. Ive even heard the claim that, however conservative they may be on social issues, their economic views approximate those of democratic socialists like Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Now, the House just passed a measure to cap the price of insulin at $35 a month. And yet the loudest MAGA-ites all voted against HR 6833the Affordable Insulin Now Act. Take a look at the roll call. Marjorie Taylor Greene voted nay. Madison Cawthorn and Lauren Boebert? Nay, nay. Paul Gosar, Louie Gohmert, and Matt Gaetz? Nay, nay, and nay.

You can argue that politicians of many different ideological hues are often corrupt (or simply insincere) and fail to live up to their crowd-pleasing rhetoric. And thats true. But these are supposed to be the hardest corethe GOPs equivalent of Bernie or the Squad. And they couldnt even vote to throw the tiniest bone to suffering people at the expense of corporate profits. (37.3 million Americans, or one in every 10 Americans, has diabetes, according to the CDC.)

What the Left Keeps Getting Wrong About Free Speech

The idea that the price of insulin is just being cappedrather than made free to those who need itsays depressing things about the level of resistance to more meaningful reform among our political elites. Medicare for All is supported by well over half of the American publicand a public option in healthcare is backed by an even bigger majority. The insulin issue is a perfect demonstration of why these proposals resonate with so many people.

Try to imagine this happening in other scenarios.

Imagine that before the police investigated death threats from a stalker, you had to pay a fee at the Police Departments reception desk. Or that when you stood on your front lawn watching your house burn down, the local fire captain approached you with a portable card reader so you could swipe or tap your debit card before he let his men take out their hoses and get to work. Would you be concerned with making these services more affordableor would you regard the very idea that they would be treated as commodities as a moral abomination?

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You cant be denied entrance to an emergency room because of your inability to pay. (Youll just be bankrupted by the bill if you live.) You can, however, be denied life-saving insulin.

As of last August, there were 3,600 campaigns on GoFundMe that mentioned diabetes or insulin. In one disturbing case that went viral a couple of years ago, Shane Patrick Boyle died after falling $50 short in his GoFundMe effort to raise $750 to buy a month of insulin. He succumbed to diabetic ketoacidosis while rationing his last vial of insulin, which made his blood acidic. Its a horrendously painful way to die.

As conservatives never tire of pointing out, someone has to pay for free services. Yet when it comes to services ranging from fire protection to K-12 public schools, the moral calculation is its better for everyone to pay for them through progressive taxation. That means no one has to think about money when they call 9-1-1 or enroll their child in school. This concept has become so baked into how we understand what it is to live in a civilized society, that the very thought of charging for these things at the point of service sounds like the stuff of dystopian science fiction.

If that calculation should be applied to anything, it should be medicine. Charging a diabetic for their insulin is like charging someone on a future colony on the moon for their months supply of breathable air.

Bill Maher Didnt Change. Hes Always Been a Cringe Centrist.

Given all that, its pathetic that the best President Joe Biden can do is push for a limit on how much people are shaken down for the privilege of continuing to draw breath. And it was telling that in the same State of the Union speech where he introduced the idea, he announced that new anti-viral treatments for COVID were going to be offered for free. COVID is a unique crisis and, thus, centrists are willing to situationally support Medicare for All. The 100,000 people who die every year of diabetes, though? That just feels like business as usual.

It's also worth noting that the Affordable Insulin Now Act wouldnt have saved Shane Patrick Boyle, who lost his benefits because hed moved across state lines to care for his ailing mother. It also wouldnt help many of the thousands of people currently raising money to pay for their insulinwho dont have health insurance at all. The only thing the Act would do is stop insurers from passing on more $35 a month of the cost to diabetics.

And even that was too much for the allegedly populist and anti-corporate MAGA wing of the GOP. Its a ludicrously tiny infringement on the Divine Right of Corporations to make as much money as all possible, at the expense of suffering people. That was too much for the MAGA populists.

If you can see this shameful episode and still believe that economic populism exists in any meaningful way on the American Right, I have a whole series of bridges to sell you.

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Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe said on Monday that the finance ministers of the euro zone discussed the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the euro area economy, and they saw significant challenges.

Addressing a news conference following a Eurogroup meeting in Luxemburg, Donohoe said the growth of European economies will slow down this year due to the conflict, although "we continue to see positive growth in 2022 for many economies."

The trade policy must therefore remain flexible, he added.

It was still too early to assess the effect of the conflict on the economy, European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni said.

Gentiloni also said that he did not believe that EU economies would go into recession, thanks to a year of positive growth last year.

Asked about the possibility of a gas embargo on Russia, Gentiloni said that they know any sanctions would have impacts on the European economy, and if they want to use economic tools, they have to face the cost.
NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP)  Residents of a five-story apartment building near Miami have been evacuated after an engineer said its foundation was unsound, as officials heighten focus on the safety of aging buildings following last years deadly Surfside condominium collapse.

The evacuations Monday and Tuesday were at the Bayview 60 Homes tower, built in 1972 in North Miami Beach, and came during one of the structures recertification inspections required by the county every 10 years, following its initial 40-year recertification.

That process has drawn new scrutiny after the Champlain Towers South collapse last year killed 98 people as it was having its 40-year check. Miami-Dade County is moving toward requiring the first major recertification to take place after only 30 years, and municipalities have stepped up action to remove residents from faulty buildings when necessary.

North Miami Beach has been especially proactive, also evacuating a 10-story condo tower shortly after the Surfside collapse.

Bayview 60 resident Austin Harper said he was surprised to see sheriffs and municipal officials posting notes on the buildings 60 apartment doors early Monday.

They said you have until 2 p.m. tomorrow to vacate, so I said, OK, you know  not really much you can do with that, Harper told reporters outside the building Tuesday while residents carted boxes, lamps and mattresses into moving trucks.

Harper said many of the elderly people living in the building will have trouble relocating. For me, Im more of bachelor life so I can move out easily. Some people have lived here 10 years, plus,'' he said.

The building had been undergoing repairs since July to try to meet recertification requirements. But an engineer then informed the building owner that the foundation was shifting and residents should be removed immediately, City Manager Arthur Sorey told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The engineer copied the city in on the email late Friday but since it was after working hours, city officials did not see it until Monday morning, Sorey said. He said as soon as they did, they contacted the building owner and came up with a plan to evacuate everyone.

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We did speak with the owner and advised the owner that they should have closed the building, Sorey said. But once we got the information, we went out and did what we needed to do to protect the lives of North Miami Beach residents.

He said residents were given until Tuesday afternoon to retrieve smaller items, and that they would be able to remove larger furniture starting Friday. Officials will limit the number of people in the building, however, he added.

Residents were given three-day hotel vouchers for now, and the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust and the American Red Cross would help with housing for those having difficulty finding accommodations, Mayor Anthony DeFillipo said.

In addition, the buildings owner is returning April rent and security deposits within 72 hours, Sorey said.

One thing to note is the rents in this building that just closed are between $1,500 and $1,900 a month. And If you know anything about South Florida that is very cheap rent right now and affordable, Sorey said. Thats going to be the issue right now with those individuals trying to find something along the same lines and the same price. Its going to be very hard.

The building is in a section of North Miami Beach known as Eastern Shores, which features apartment buildings on finger canals along the Intercoastal Waterway. The one and two bedroom apartments are about 750 square feet (70 square meters).

Shortly after the Surfside condominium collapse, North Miami Beach officials ordered the evacuation of the 10-story Crestview Towers Condominium. Residents of that building, which is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the collapsed Surfside site, have not been allowed back.

After the collapse, Miami-Dade County began surveying high-rise condominium buildings to make sure they met safety standards. Some other smaller buildings around the county have also been evacuated since June.

___

Frisaro reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Associated Press writer Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.

___

A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled Mayor Anthony DeFillipos name.
Coverage on this live blog has ended, please click here for the latest developments.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the United Nations to act against Russia, saying the Russian military must be held accountable for war crimes and alleged atrocities in Bucha and elsewhere in the country.

"Now the world can see what Russian military did in Bucha, but the world has yet to see what they have done in other occupied cities and regions of our country," Zelenskyy told the Security Council in an address Tuesday.

He said those responsible should immediately face war crimes charges in front of a tribunal like the one established in Nuremberg, Germany, after World War II.

He said Russian forces "killed and tortured" at least 300 people in Bucha, near Kyiv, before troops pulled out of the besieged town.

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced $100 million for Ukraine that was expected to be used for Javelin anti-tank missiles.

The announcement follows repeated pleas from Zelenskyy for more weapons to fight Russian forces.
Many luxury brands, including Chanel, Hermes, Prada, and LVMH, have temporarily closed their stores in Russia. AFP via Getty Images

Several Russian influencers and socialites say they've been barred from purchasing Chanel goods.

One influencer accused the fashion house of "Russophobia" for restrictions at a Dubai outlet.

Another socialite said some Russian shoppers had pulled strings to acquire luxury goods.

Several Russian influencers and socialites say they've been barred from purchasing Chanel items and were told it was the brand's policy not to sell to customers who intended to bring the products back to Russia.

Anna Kalashnikova, a Russian socialite and influencer, posted on her Instagram account on Sunday accusing Chanel of "Russophobia in action." She said she hadn't been able to buy a pair of earrings and a bag at a Chanel outlet in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

"Since I often come to Dubai for Fashion Week, Chanel managers recognized me, approached me, and said: 'We know that you are a celebrity in Russia, we know that you will take your purchases there, so we cannot sell you our brand items,'" Kalashnikova said in her post.

She said the experience reminded her of how "Coco Chanel was not only mistress of a Nazi" but was a fascist agent.

"The actions of her legacy, her brand make you think about the biography of Coco Chanel. Supporting fascism and Russophobia is so low," Kalashnikova said.

Drawing attention to Coco Chanel's links to Nazi Germany appears to echo the Russian government's dubious framing of its war against Ukraine as a military operation meant to root out Nazis in the Ukrainian government  a government led by a Jewish president.

The unprovoked nature of Russia's late-February invasion led to historically strict sanctions by governments including the European Union.

In a statement to Insider, a representative for Chanel said that the brand complies with "all laws" that are applicable to its operations and employees, including trade sanctions.

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"This is why we have rolled out a process to ask clients for whom we do not know the main residency to confirm that the items they are purchasing will not be used in Russia," the representative said.

"We recognize that this process of walking through the law has caused disappointment to some of our clients. We are currently working on improving this approach and we apologize for any misunderstanding this may have caused, as welcoming all our clients, regardless of where they come from, is a priority for Chanel," they added.

The Russian interior designer and influencer Liza Litvin posted an Instagram story  seen by Fortune and the Daily Mail  detailing a similar experience of not being allowed to purchase Chanel items in Dubai.

In the post, Litvin said she had to sign a document at a Chanel outlet declaring that she didn't live in Russia and wouldn't wear the bag on Russian soil.

"I went to a Chanel boutique in the Mall of the Emirates. They didn't sell me the bag because (attention!) I am from Russia!" Litvin wrote in the post, per Fortune.

At the same time, a Ukrainian socialite, Snezhanna Georgieva, said some Russian shoppers had managed to find back doors to negotiate the purchasing of Chanel items, per the New York Post.

"I will love it when these brands are back," Georgieva said. "But we know some boutiques that are still open when a regular customer calls them."

On Friday, the pro-Kremlin tabloid Pravda ran a rebuttal to Chanel's stance from Maria Zakharova, a representative from the Russian Foreign Ministry, who accused the brand of supporting Nazism by not selling products to Russian customers.

"We just opened a closet, from which 80-year-old skeletons that had not yet decayed had fallen out," Zakharova's statement said. "We are a very patient and forgiving country. We have forgiven everyone for everything, we have turned the page and made way for the future. However, if this way is a ring road, we will break this vicious circle."

Vogue Business reported on March 4 that luxury stores in Russia were seeing a threefold increase in shoppers, with people "trying to buy as much as possible while they can still afford it." Several days later, luxury brands like Burberry, Chanel, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Kering announced the temporary closings of their stores in Russia.

Read the original article on Insider
Apr. 4One wigeon gets the wave started.

The skittish duck floating among dozens takes flight first. Two follow, then 10 more and, a half-second later, they've all lifted off in a storm of flashing white wings and sparkling water droplets.

Migrating waterfowl, hundreds and thousands of them, are a common and beautiful spring sight at the Saltese Flats Wetlands Area west of Liberty Lake and east of Barker Road.

In just a few years, Saltese Flats has gone from a small, private pond surrounded by agricultural land to a publicly accessible, recovering wetland ecosystem. Its water levels fluctuate throughout the year, and the site is well-known among local bird watchers. Birders have seen 194 species at Saltese Flats, which puts the area behind only Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, Eloika Lake and Philleo Lake among Spokane County birding hot spots.

It's been a dramatic change.

Before the 1890s, the site was often full of water. Farmers drained it before the turn of the century, and for more than a hundred years it was mostly hayfields.

In 2010, Spokane County started acquiring the property. The 500-plus-acre acquisition serves a dual purpose. It was always going to be a conservation project but it was, and is, an insurance policy, too. If the county's ever forced to stop discharging wastewater into the Spokane River, it'll likely start pumping treated water 15 miles to Saltese Flats instead.

Over the past decade, Spokane County and conservation groups have made major investments at Saltese Flats. The area has been opened to the public and ecologically transformed.

Three years ago, the county began installing a trail system. There's a parking lot now. The county built a water control system.

"We're putting the water on there on purpose and trying to hold it as long as we can," Spokane County Water Reclamation Engineer Ben Brattebo said.

A $2 million learning center is under construction, atop a hill on the north end of the site. It should be completed by early next year. The center will include classrooms, teach visitors about wetlands wildlife and give people an opportunity to look out over the area. Benches, signs and more trails improvements are on the way.

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In addition to the accessibility changes, a restoration effort, funded by a handful of sources, is aimed at returning Saltese Flats to its natural state.

Birders say all the improvements are welcome. There's now an easily accessible wildlife refuge close to town, where before there was just a small pond and hayfields.

"I give kudos to the county," birder Tim O'Brien said. "The Saltese was not a Spokane birding destination 10 years ago."

O'Brien emphasized how much Saltese Flats has changed since 2019 following the construction of a trail system.

"They opened the whole area to public access," he said. "And whammo, that just let us get out there and see what's there, and that's been amazing."

In winter and early spring, thousands of waterfowl visit the wetland, covering the water with a smorgasbord of ducks, geese and swans. Saltese Flats is a pit stop for many species that breed in Canada.

"When the water's there is definitely the time to be there," O'Brien said.

Chris Bonsignore, manager of conservation programs for Ducks Unlimited, estimated there were 10,000 to 20,000 waterfowl at Saltese Flats when migration peaked two weeks ago.

Northern pintails, American wigeons and mallards are the most abundant ducks. Hundreds of elegant tundra swans stop over, too.

Migrating shorebirds, which often hang out on the muddy edges by the water, start to show up later in spring, O'Brien said.

"My excitement is, what are we going to find here come late April, early May?" he said. "It's a treasure hunt now that we have great habitat for shorebirds."

Late spring and early summer are a slow time at Saltese Flats. Most of the water has drained into the ground and Saltese Creek by that point, leaving the wetlands dry except for two small ponds. Only the nesting species remain, including western meadowlarks and several species of sparrow.

By mid-August, the fall migration begins. That's an exciting time for birders, too, O'Brien said. It's common to find "rarities"  species that typically wouldn't migrate through Eastern Washington but have lost their way.

Late fall and winter are quieter times at the wetland, although O'Brien said he had the opportunity to see short-eared owls in 2021, hunting over ground that's covered in water for part of the year.

As habitat restoration efforts continue, Saltese Flats should become an even better place for birds.

Bonsignore said Ducks Unlimited and the county have spent the last couple of years trying to eradicate reed canary grass, an invasive species that had taken over much of the wetlands.

Removing the reed canary grass and flooding the ground has allowed native plants to come back, Bonsignore said. In many areas, Ducks Unlimited didn't need to put down fresh seed  plants sprouted to life from the dormant seed bank.

Seeding efforts have taken place as well, helped by several grants, and Bonsignore said Ducks Unlimited is planting dogwood, willow and cottonwood. The shrubby dogwood and willow, and the cottonwood trees, will increase habitat diversity.

Bonsignore said that to help waterfowl, it's important to have healthy ecosystems.

"We want to restore the ecosystem to as close to natural as we can get it," he said.

The restoration effort has just begun, Bonsignore said. As native plants return and the county ensures consistent seasonal flooding, the landscape will change.

"We're very early on in the process," Bonsignore said. "In five or six years, this is going to look very different."

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Chris Bonsignore's name.
(Sandra Cisneros, Instagram.)

For some writers, writing is just part of the day job. But for Sandra Cisneros, the internationally celebrated author of House on Mango Street and Martita, I Remember You, writing is a matter of life and death.

I found, especially when I went through severe depressions, its because I wasnt writing, Cisneros said. I have gotten sick when I havent written in urgent times. I have nightmares, I have dreams. I always feel dreams are poems your body writes and you have to analyse them.

In an interview with The Independent about her upcoming appearance in the Santa Fe Literary Festival, Cisneros talked about the joy of owning a house, the importance of gaining independence as a woman, and her favourite: writing.

Cisneros is appearing at the festival alongside other high-profile authors such as Margaret Atwood, John Grisham, Asma Khan, and Jonn Krakauer, add to the significant depth and breadth of the line-up

Some people go to meditation or the church. And when I write, that is my meditation, thats my church, thats my analyst, thats my way of avoiding taking medications. It keeps my face clear, Cisneros said.

There is a certain light that radiates from Cisneros. Everything around her is colourful: from her personality to her beloved house in San Antonio, which was painted a bright periwinkle purple. Even now, talking from her bed, her pillows are decorated with a bold floral embroidery.

But as upbeat as Cisneros is, she is also a master of grief, and knows how to turn it into art like few others. While some shy away from loss and hurt, Cisneros said these emotions, more than any others, drive her impulse to sit down and write. Her belief is that being happy you can always write about later. Grief, on the other hand, demands urgency.

Sandra Cisneros and Nahui, her pet. (Sandra Cisneros, Instagram.)

Its like when the rug is on one side of the washing machine and you have to hear the buzzer and youve got to stop the machine and relocate whatever thats locking this washing machine so it can function, Cisneros said. I think grief is like that for us; it really breaks our heart into such pain that theres no way we can make it go forward until we attend to it.

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Cisneros always finds an unexpected way to explain things. Its a talent she undoubtedly got from her mom, whose unique phrases appear repeatedly in Cisneros work.

After the massive success of The House on Mango Street, she was frequently asked if, and when, she would write a novel. And, even though she went on to write several, Cisneros is deeply passionate about poetry. Poets, she believes, are the truth tellers (the opposite of a poet is a politician), the brave ones, the authentic ones. Cisneros believes authenticity is one of the best qualities a writer can have.

Before, I was trying to write like everybody else and I didnt realise the real key is to write like nobody else. What is it that I know that nobody knows? What can I write about that nobody else can write about like me?

Sandra Cisneros photographed at the town she now calls home in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. (Keith Dannemiller)

And even though there are still economical and societal pressures that come with being a celebrated author, what compels Cisneros to write, even nowadays, is the passion for her craft.

If youre doing it for the wrong reasons, to get published, to get an award, or to buy a house, then youre never going to be a great writer, Cisneros says. Great writing comes from writing from your heart and writing with love on behalf of those you love with no personal agenda. Thats what great writing is. Thats what I learned.

The inaugural Santa Fe Literary Festival will be taking place between 20-23 May 2022. The four-day event is set to explore issues at a time of extraordinary change  in politics, race, immigration, the environment, and more. The Independent, as the events international media partner, will be providing coverage across each day of the festival as well as during the lead up with exclusive interviews with some of the headline authors. For more on the festival visit our Santa Fe Literary Festival section or visit the festivals website here. To find out more about buying tickets click here.
Saudi Arabias state oil producer is set to hike prices across regions as the kingdoms advantage in the market grows amid the Ukraine crisis, blowing past an April record.

Saudi Aramco on Monday hiked prices on shipments to Asia for May to $9.35 above the benchmark. The increase is $4.40 above the April level, itself a record.

The move came the week after OPEC+ decided to raise oil output gradually despite calls from the U.S. to step up output. U.S. prices, meanwhile, are set to increase $2.20 a barrel while they are set to increase by $3.00 a barrel in northern Europe.

While the increase is likely to have major geopolitical implications, it did not come out of nowhere, according to Giovanni Staunovo, a commodity analyst at UBS Group AG.

The official selling price (OSP) is set by a number of factors ranging from local market conditions to refinery yields, he said, so a major increase had been expected already.

Another factor which might have also influenced the OSP price setting was the decision of the U.S. administration to tap its strategic oil reserves, Staunovo told The Hill in an email.

Higher OSP in Asia might increase demand for U.S. barrels, with more U.S. crude exports this might eventually prevent a build in U.S. commercial crude inventories. U.S. petroleum inventory data is closely tracked by financial market participants.

I think the Saudis are coming from a position of strength, given the cut in oil [imports] from Russia, given that many countries are sanctioning Russian oil  it presents an opportunity for the Saudis to raise prices, especially for some of their advantaged crudes that may be preferred by U.S. refiners, added Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

De Haan added that while theoretically the spike could prompt U.S. refiners to look elsewhere, they are a little bit of a captive audience for the Saudis, and so theres not a whole lot of choices right now.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the European Union is considering a ban on Russian oil imports, a step the U.S. took in March. As the E.U. imports far more Russian oil than the U.S., this would absolutely strengthen Saudi Arabias position, according to Kirsten Fontenrose, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Councils Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative.

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Any other oil that comes off the market is going to strengthen Saudis position, Fortenrose told The Hill. Theyre really the only the only swing producer we have right now, on this kind of oil. America has been producing certain kinds, but not in the same way.

Fortenrose added that the Saudis have both market-based and geopolitical incentives for the oil hike. Washington-Riyadh relations have frayed under the Biden administration, which has taken the Saudis to task on human rights violations.

The Saudis have sent really clear signals for the last weeks, maybe even months about how they think theyre being mistreated in the relationship and how they think they keep receiving asks for America with no gifts, Fortenrose said.

If they were in a position right now where they thought, oh, no, we need to really ingratiate ourselves with the Biden administration or were looking for them to approve something large and so we better behave, thatd be one thing, but theyre not in that position right now, she added. They keep being asked for things.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Getty Images)

I prefer to stay out of politics." Those were Elon Musks words when the tech exec was forced to respond to a claim by Texas governor Greg Abbott that he supported the states anti-abortion laws.

If so, Mr Musk has a funny way of showing it. Over his decade-plus of public fame as the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, the South-African-born tycoon has attacked everyone and everything, from Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders through individual regulatory officials to Covid rules, trade unions, and "pronouns".

In early December, he hammered US president Joe Bidens flagship infrastructure and social spending bills for granting unnecessary subsidies to the electric car industry and increasing the "insane" federal budget deficit.

"We dont need the tax credit," he told the Wall Street Journals annual CEO Council. "I would say... can the whole bill. Dont pass it, thats my recommendation."

He also called declining birth rates "one of the biggest risks to civilisation", saying that society "will crumble" if people dont start having "more children".

In late January, Mr Musk continued to hammer president Biden, calling the US president a damp sock puppet in human form.

Biden is a damp  puppet in human form  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 27, 2022

The 50-year-olds exact politics can be hard to pin down. He has donated often to both Democrats and Republicans while variously declaring himself a "moderate", a "socialist", and "socially liberal and fiscally conservative".

On 13 December, TIME magazine named the tech mogul its 2021 Person of the Year. The man from the future where technology makes all things possible is a throwback to our glorious industrial past, before America stagnated and stopped producing anything but rules, restrictions, limits, obstacles and Facebook, the magazine said of Mr Musk.

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Mr Musk made renewed headlines this week as he became Twitters largest shareholder with a 9.2 per cent stake in the company, after which he began proposing a series of possible changes to the site.

So what does Elon Musk really believe? And, given that he is the worlds second-richest person with an estimated net worth of $219bn (167bn), what does that mean for the rest of us?

Where has Elon Musk put his political donations?

Mr Musk's descriptions of his own politics have occasionally been confusing. The most consistent theme has been that he is "socially liberal and fiscally conservative", or even "socially very liberal". He has claimed to be registered as an independent and said: To be clear, I am not conservative."

At another point he claimed to be a "socialist", but "not the kind that shifts resources from most productive to least productive". He later said we should not take it too seriously.

Instead, let's put Mr Musk's money where his mouth is and look at his political donations. According to data gathered by the non-profit lobbying watchdog Open Secrets, Elon Musk has given a total of $1.2m to politicians, parties, political action committees (PACs), and referendum campaigns since 2002.

That money went almost equally to Democrats, with $542,000, and Republicans, with $574,500, with another $85,000 going to two broadly left-wing referendum campaigns in California. The balance has fluctuated over the years: in 2006, 2013 and 2017 he donated overwhelmingly to Republicans, while in 2015 he gave exclusively to Democrats.

He has also given a total of $30,000 to a PAC set up by SpaceX, which donated 54 per cent of its total to Democrats and 46 per cent to Republicans. Many of the individual politicians he gave to were state legislators in California, where Tesla was formerly based, and Texas, where SpaceX has long maintained rocket testing and launch facilities.

Meanwhile, SpaceX itself has spent about $9.7m on lobbyists and Tesla has spent $5.5m. The former company relies on government contracts for much of its revenue, while the latter is subject to plenty of regulation. "SpaceX's campaign to win political support has been systematic and sophisticated," wrote the Sunlight Foundation in 2013.

The way Mr Musk explains it, these donations do not really signal much about his own personal beliefs. Instead he describes them as simply the cost of doing business in America.

"In order to have your voice be heard in Washington, you have to make some little contribution," he told the Huffington Post in 2013. "But... I haven't found Washington to be as corrupt as a lot of people think it is, meaning it's not as coin-operated as some people may assume, and I'm very actually grateful for that, because if it were we would have zero chance."

Socially very liberal? Musk has sent mixed signals

What about Mr Musks social views? He clearly has a strong libertarian streak, favouring "direct democracy" over representative democracy and proposing that future Martian colonies should allow any law to be overturned by a vote of 40 per cent of the citizens.

He has also advocated releasing people imprisoned in the US for cannabis offences before the drug was legalised, and indeed partaken in it himself during an interview with podcast host Joe Rogan.

Direct democracy by the people. Laws must be short, as there is trickery in length. Automatic expiration of rules to prevent death by bureaucracy. Any rule can be removed by 40% of people to overcome inertia. Freedom.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 16, 2018

Selling weed literally went from major felony to essential business (open during pandemic) in much of America & yet many are still in prison. Doesnt make sense, isnt right.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 6, 2020

Mr Musk has donated to more individual Democratic politicians than to Republicans, and often praised specific Democrats in a way he has rarely done with their opponents. Way back in 2005, he gave $10,000 to Californias Proposition 82, a proposal to increase taxes on the rich to pay for universal pre-school for four-year-olds, although it did not pass.

When Donald Trump was a candidate for the Republican nomination, Mr Musk said of him: "I feel a bit stronger that he is probably not the right guy. He doesnt seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States."

On the other hand, Mr Musks statements about social issues have rarely been as vociferous or clear as his economic views. Indeed, he has often sent contrary signals and occasionally seemed to flirt with social conservatism.

Last spring, for instance, he told followers to "take the red pill", a phrase used by white supremacists and anti-feminists to describe the process of being radicalised into their worldview.

At the time, he was engaged in a crusade against Californias Covid lockdown policies, which he described as "fascist". He had declared early in the pandemic that "the coronavirus panic is dumb" and that there virus would be gone from America by the end of April.

That July he tweeted the statement "pronouns suck", which was interpreted by many as a dig at transgender people (since pronouns themselves are a fundamental and inescapable part of the English language).

His then-girlfriend Claire Boucher, aka the electronic musician Grimes, certainly read it that way, responding: "I love you but please turn off ur phone or give me a call. I cannot support hate. Please stop this. I know this isnt your heart."

Pronouns suck  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2020

In December 2020 he tweeted a meme likening cisgender people who state their pronouns on their Twitter profiles, which is a common way of expressing solidarity with trans people, to oppressive Redcoats in colonial America. He later clarified: "I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an aesthetic nightmare."

And in September, Texas governor Greg Abbott, to whom Mr Musk donated $10,000 in 2014, claimed in a CNBC interview: "Elon had to get out of California because in part of the social policies in California, and Elon consistently tells me that he likes the social policies in the state of Texas."

Mr Musk rebuffed him, but ambiguously and mildly, with nothing like the fire and brimstone he has mustered against trade unions or tax proposals. "In general, I believe government should rarely impose its will upon the people, and, when doing so, should aspire to maximize their cumulative happiness," he said. "That said, I would prefer to stay out of politics."

In general, I believe government should rarely impose its will upon the people, and, when doing so, should aspire to maximize their cumulative happiness. That said, I would prefer to stay out of politics.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 2, 2021

Pro-capitalist and anti-union

Far more consistent has been Mr Musk's belief in free-market capitalism. Declarations of socialism notwithstanding, he is an ardent economic liberal who is deeply skeptical of government interventions in business.

That was the basis of his attack on Mr Biden's Build Back Better Act on Monday, saying the bill's tax rebate of up to $12,500 for people who buy electric cars is an "unnecessary" handout for an industry that is already taking off.

He backed that up with a revealing philosophical argument about the difference between corporations and nation states, framing them as different methods for allocating capital  that is, money and other resources needed to produce goods and services  to useful ends.

"It does not make sense to take the job of capital allocation away from people who have demonstrated great skill in capital allocation," he said, meaning business leaders, "and give it to an entity that has demonstrated very poor skill in capital allocation, which is the government.

"Government is simply the biggest corporation, with a monopoly on violence  and where you have no recourse. So how much money do you want to give that entity?"

You can see this thinking all through Mr Musk's history. He has strongly opposed trade unions, especially in his own companies, as a barrier to efficient operations, and skirmished repeatedly with Bernie Sanders over his proposals for an income tax on billionaires.

He claimed in October that Mr Biden "seems to be controlled by unions" and in 2018 tweeted that Tesla employees who attempted to unionise would lose their stock options, which regulators have claimed was illegal.

When he does endorse government intervention, he tends to favour measures that minimise government bureaucracy and avoid officials picking winners. Rather than subsidies for green industry, he wants a carbon tax, and says he lobbied the Biden administration to create one.

His argument is that the price of fossil fuels doesn't properly reflect their cost to the environment, meaning companies are basing their decisions on false information. Taxing carbon would correct that balance, allowing the free market to figure out in its own way how best to cut their emissions. That said, none of this stopped him from accepting billions of dollars in government subsidies for both Tesla and SpaceX.

Similarly, Mr Musk has long argued for a universal basic income to support human workers whose jobs, he believes, will soon be replaced with artificial intelligence (AI). In some ways that's a pretty left-wing idea, since it would involve spending enormous amounts of taxpayer money.

Yet it has also been favoured by some conservatives such as Richard Nixon and free market economists such as Milton Friedman, who felt it would prevent government bureaucrats deciding who deserves benefits and avoid punishing recipients for finding work.

Green power has often been Musk's red line

Another point of real consistency has been global warming and clean energy. Back in 2006, Mr Musk gave one of his biggest ever single donations  $75,000  to Proposition 87, a California referendum campaign to impose a special tax on fossil fuel extractors.

Since then, emissions have often been his red line. In the early years of Donald Trump's presidency he joined a White House advisory council, saying that "the more voices of reason that the President hears, the better". But when Mr Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement, Mr Musk quit, saying: "Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world."

And when Mr Musk was persuaded to get into Bitcoin recently  a natural fit given his libertarian outlook and his penchant for technological solutions for political problems, to say nothing of his fondness for controversy  it was the currency's prodigious carbon emissions that led him to rethink.

"Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using Bitcoin," he said in May. "We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel.

"Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at a great cost to the environment."

Where Mr Musk has supported Mr Biden, that too was connected to carbon. Just after the inauguration, he told Fortune: "I'm super fired up that the new administration is focused on climate... I feel very optimistic about the future of sustainable energy with the new administration."

A technocrat with astral ambitions

Through all these issues, there is one strain of Mr Musk's politics that does not easily map onto traditional left-right devices: technocracy.

Back in the 1930s and 40s, Mr Musks grandfather Joshua Haldeman was the Canadian leader of the original technocratic movement, which believed in replacing both politicians and bankers with whoever had the most expertise.

Elon Musk, capitalist extraordinaire, does not exactly take over his grandfather. Like the movements founder William Henry Smyth, though, his statements suggest a strong underlying belief that scientists and engineers can solve political problems that are intractable to others.

As the historian Jill Lepore has argued, Mr Musk inspires numerous followers with an exotic brand of techno-capitalism that she calls "Muskism". She says that many of its ideas are drawn from science fiction, sometimes very old science fiction, meaning that alongside rockets and cars it is also selling "visions of the future".

He thinks we may live in a simulation; he regularly references Scottish sci-fi author Iain M Banks; and hee is especially preoccupied with the dangers of AI, which he calls "the most serious threat to the survival of the human race". He is worried not only about mass automation of white collar jobs but also the rise of a theoretical hyper-intelligent AI that is too powerful for humans to restrain.

"With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon," he said in 2014. "In all those stories where theres the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, its like  yeah, hes sure he can control the demon. Doesnt work out."

Both that and global warming feed into Mr Musk's conviction that colonising other planets  becoming "a multi-planet species"  is crucial to humanity's long-term survival. However seriously you take that, it is clearly an important goal that shapes the rest of his politics.

I am accumulating resources to help make life multiplanetary & extend the light of consciousness to the stars  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 21, 2021

Two things are notable here. One is that these issues are not very well known outside the tech industry, and to prioritise them suggests that you believe everyone else is missing a trick.

The other is that Musk is not attempting to meet that future through government action or massive collective institutions like formal movements or trade unions. Instead, he wants to solve it himself, through hierarchical top-down for-profit companies run by him where he decides how to allocate capital.

In other words, he is his own kind of technocrat: a talented engineer and huge nerd who thinks engineers and nerds can design better systems of government and economics than currently exist.

For evidence, look at his troubled Hyperloop project, which is trying to build a new form of public transport while eschewing any input from traditional transit experts, who say that he has essentially invented very inefficient buses. (It is also among the beneficiaries of Mr Bidens infrastructure bill.)

That is why Prof Lepore describes Muskism as containing "a lot of feudalism", saying: "Its like there are these lords and the rest of us are the peasantry and our fates are in their hands because they know best... the presumption that Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, the two wealthiest people in the world, get to decide the extraterrestrial fate of humankind is a bizarrely regressive notion."

Mr Musk has his own bullish answer to such claims. "To anyone Ive offended, I just want to say, I reinvented electric cars and Im sending people to Mars in a rocket ship," he said on Saturday Night Live in May. "Did you think I was also going to be a chill, normal dude?"
WASHINGTON  Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) does not seem bothered by far-right figures saying his colleagues support pedophilia because they support Ketanji Brown Jacksons Supreme Court nomination.

I dont feel any responsibility for the words of other people, Hawley told HuffPost on Tuesday.

Hawley was the first to criticize Jackson by calling her soft on child pornography offenders last month. He argued that she wrongfully handed out light sentences to people who possessed child sexual abuse images, even though her record in those cases was typical for a federal district judge.

Hawleys criticism resonated with far-right conspiracy theorists who believe Democrats are involved in child sex trafficking rings, and on Monday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) declared that any senator who supports Jacksons nomination is actually pro-pedophile.

You are either a Senator that supports child rapists, child pornography, and the most vile child predators, Greene said in a Twitter thread. Or you are a Senator who protects children and votes NO to KJB!

Fifty-three senators, including Republicans Mitt Romney (Utah), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) voted Monday for a procedural motion to advance Jacksons nomination. All are now pro-pedophile, according to Greene, who likes to boast that she represents the base of the Republican Party rather than its fringe.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) speaking Monday during the Senate Judiciary Committee markup on the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. (Photo: Tom Williams via Getty Images)

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) speaking Monday during the Senate Judiciary Committee markup on the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. (Photo: Tom Williams via Getty Images)

As with the issue of supposed fraud in the 2020 election, Hawley does not use the same language as the more zealous members of his party  but he doesnt like to contradict them, either.

When asked what he thought of calling a vote for Jackson pro-pedophile, Hawley didnt directly disagree. But he did volunteer that pro-pedophile is not an accurate description of Jackson.

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I dont think that Judge Jackson is pro-pedophile. I think she has a judicial philosophy where she thinks these crimes  are over-sentenced, over-criminalized, Hawley said. I dont think shes in favor of this activity, but I think shes got a philosophy that leads her to treat these criminals leniently.

In arguing that Jackson was soft on offenders in child pornography cases, Hawley has relied on the fact that her prison sentences were shorter than federal guidelines, but mostly ignored another fact: that most district judges sentence beneath the guidelines as well. Fifty-nine percent of cases involving possession of child sexual abuse imagery in 2019 resulted in sentences less severe than the guidelines recommended, according to a report published last year by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

The reason for the lower sentences in cases involving child sexual abuse images, according to the commission, is that the more widespread use of computers has made the guidelines obsolete. Their original intent was to differentiate the severity of offenses at a time when it was more difficult to obtain vast numbers of illicit images.

Hawley told HuffPost he believed Jacksons sentences in child pornography cases were actually more lenient than those of her peers on the bench. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Monday that her sentences were 33% shorter than the national average from 2015 to 2019 in all criminal cases.

Judge Jacksons sentences were appropriate exercises of discretion as a judge applying the law to the facts in difficult cases, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a floor speech Tuesday. And its interesting to me how the senator from Missouri has carefully drawn lines to exclude Trump appointees to the bench whove done exactly what this judge has done as well.

The idea that Democrats support pedophiles has been a mainstay of far-right conspiracy theories for years. In 2016, a North Carolina man traveled to Washington, D.C., and fired an assault rifle inside a pizza restaurant as part of his effort to investigate a supposed Democratic-run child sex trafficking ring operating out of the basement. The so-called Pizzagate story was a predecessor to the QAnon movement, whose adherents helped storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Hawley said he was not familiar with Pizzagate or QAnon, even though it was Jackson herself who sentenced the Pizzagate shooter to four years in prison in 2017.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Related...
Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney on Monday brought to three the number of Republican senators to say they would vote in favor of supporting Ketanji Brown Jackson as Joe Bidens nominee to the US supreme court.

Murkowski of Alaska put out a statement on Monday evening saying: After multiple in-depth conversations with Judge Jackson and deliberative review of her record and recent hearings, I will support her historic nomination to be an Associate Justice on the US supreme court.

Then Romney, the Utah senator and former presidential candidate, issued a statement in which he praised Jackson as a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor. He congratulated her on her expected confirmation.

I intend to vote in support of Judge Ketanji Brown Jacksons confirmation to be an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. My statement: pic.twitter.com/uGaxx8sJn5  Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) April 4, 2022

Last week the Republican Susan Collins of Maine was the first from her party to say she was a yes on Jackson, guaranteeing a bipartisan aspect to her confirmation days after an acrimonious Senate confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill.

Jackson is unlikely to need any Republican votes but the support of the moderates Murkowski, Romney and Collins, at least, will be a huge fillip to Joe Bidens efforts to appeal across the aisle.

In a statement, Murkowski said her support stemmed from a rejection of the corrosive politicization of the review process for supreme court nominees, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year. While I have not and will not agree with all of Judge Jacksons decisions and opinions, her approach to cases is carefully considered and is generally well reasoned.

Earlier on Monday, a deadlocked Senate judiciary committee voted on partisan lines to advance the nomination of Jackson, putting Bidens nominee on track to become the first Black woman confirmed to the supreme court.

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Following days that included harsh questioning from Republicans and debate over Jacksons judicial record and qualifications, the committee vote was evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, 11-11.

The tie forced Democrats to deploy a rare procedural move requiring a separate vote to discharge Jacksons nomination from the committee to the Senate floor.

A vote on that discharge petition took place in the Senate on Monday evening, where it was approved by 53 to 47, clearing the way for the Senate to debate and ultimately give final approval of her nomination.

The panels split decision will delay but not derail Jacksons nomination to replace the retiring justice Stephen Breyer, the most senior member of the courts minority liberal wing.

But the committee vote along party lines underscored the intense partisan acrimony that has come to define modern supreme court nomination proceedings.

Opening the meeting on Monday morning, Dick Durbin of Illinois, the committees Democratic chair, praised Jacksons impeccable qualifications and said her experience as a public defender would bring a missing perspective to the court.

Hers is a uniquely American family story, how much hope and promise can be achieved in just one generation, Durbin said. Im proud we can bear witness to it.

The committee spent the morning debating Jacksons nomination, sparring over many of the same issues that the senators discussed with her privately during their one-on-one meetings with the judge and publicly during days of hearings that included personal testimony and combative rounds of questioning about her judicial record.

But before the vote could occur, Democrats briefly recessed the meeting to await the arrival of the California Democrat Alex Padilla, whose overnight flight to Washington had been diverted due to a medical emergency onboard and was delayed.

Like the full Senate, the committees 22 members are evenly divided between the parties, meaning Democrats needed Padillas vote to force a tie and advance Jacksons nomination.

Democrats and the White House hope to confirm Jackson to the lifetime position on the court before Congress recesses for the Easter holiday on Friday. The 51-year-old was confirmed by the Senate to the US court of appeals for the DC circuit last year with the support of three Republicans: Collins, Murkowski and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

Related: Ketanji Brown Jackson to receive rare Republican vote as Collins says yes

Graham has said he will not support Jacksons nomination to the supreme court, calling her an activist to the core, outside the judicial mainstream.

If confirmed, Jackson would make history as the first Black woman and only the sixth woman to sit on the court in its more than 200-year history. Her confirmation would, however, do little to change the ideological balance of the court, in which conservatives outnumber liberals 6-3.

During the morning debate, Durbin lamented Republican hostility toward Jackson, accusing senators of leveraging vile and discredited attacks on her record and character.

She stayed calm and collected. She showed dignity, grace and poise, Durbin said. It is unfortunate that our hearing came to that, but if there is one positive to take away from these attacks, it is that the nation got to see the temperament of a good, strong person truly ready to serve on the highest court in the land.

Republicans had sought to portray Jackson as soft on crime, a line of attack dismissed outright by the American Bar Association, which testified that she was strongly qualified for the position.

Republicans on the committee appear uniformly opposed to Jacksons nomination, starting with the ranking member, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who announced he would not vote to confirm Jackson because she and I have fundamental, different views on the role of judges and the role that they should play in our system of government.

Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, compared proceedings on Jacksons nomination to Festivus, the holiday celebrated on the TV series Seinfeld.

Theres been a lot of airing of grievances, Booker said, adding: Ive heard things that are just ridiculous.

During more than 30 hours of hearings last month, Jackson pledged to be an independent justice who would decide cases from a neutral position. She defended her record while reflecting on her personal story as the daughter of public school teachers in the segregated south.

The NAACP condemned panel Republicans.

Its a stain on the committee that this vote was not unanimous, NAACP president Derrick Johnson said, urging Jacksons confirmation. History will be watching.
 Flash

China hopes Russia and Ukraine would stick to peace talks until a ceasefire agreement is reached and the only thing that China wants is peace in Ukraine, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Monday.



Wang made the remarks during a phone conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Kuleba briefed Wang on the Russia-Ukraine situation. China is a great country which advocates the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and plays a key and active role in safeguarding peace, he said.

He added that Ukraine wishes to maintain communication with China and hopes that China would continue to play an important role in achieving a ceasefire in his country.

Wang expressed appreciation for the efforts of the Ukrainian government and all sectors of society in assisting the safe evacuation of Chinese citizens from Ukraine, stressing that Chinese leaders and the Chinese government highly value the safety of every overseas Chinese citizen.

He said he hopes Ukraine would continue to take active and effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens remaining in the country. Kuleba, in response, pledged his country's utmost efforts in this regard.

Noting China's stance on the Ukraine issue as promoting dialogue and peace talks, Wang said Chinese President Xi Jinping has comprehensively expounded China's position on multiple occasions, which serves as an important guidance to address the current challenges.

It is China's historical and cultural tradition as well as its consistent foreign policy to safeguard peace and oppose war, Wang said.

On the Ukraine issue, China does not seek geopolitical interests, nor will it watch the event from a safe distance while sitting idle, or add fuel to the fire, Wang said, stressing that the only thing that China wants is peace in Ukraine.

China welcomes peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Wang said, adding that no matter how difficult the talks would be and what differences they would have, the general direction of peace talks should be held until a ceasefire and eventual peace are achieved.

Wang said the conflict will eventually come to an end, and what is important is to think over the past misery and preserve sustainable security in Europe.

China believes that the principle of indivisible security should be adhered to, and a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture should be built upon dialogue on an equal footing, Wang said, adding that based on its objective and impartial position, China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in its own way.

Wang said he believes that Ukraine is capable of making choices that are in the fundamental interest of the people of the country.

Kuleba said he agrees with China's views and expressed appreciation for China's humanitarian assistance.

He said Ukraine is dedicating to peace talks with Russia to find a lasting solution, and the country is willing to become the gate of Europe.

Wang said he hopes this gate will lead to peace in Europe, development in Ukraine and cooperation between China and Europe.
Rachel Fournier, a member of a bargaining committee for grocery workers, is shown at UFCW Local 770 headquarters in Los Angeles as members made signs in March. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

A union representing 47,000 Southern California grocery workers tentatively signed a new three-year contract with Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions, averting a strike they had authorized last week.

The contract will be put to a vote next week by rank-and-file members of seven United Food and Commercial Workers locals representing employees at 540 stores from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.

The union delayed releasing details of the agreement until members ratify it. But it praised the result, which it said included higher wages and improved benefits for essential workers who have toiled through difficult conditions during the two-year pandemic. Ninety-five percent of UFCW members voted to move ahead with a strike if supermarkets refused to substantially raise their pay.

This is a great agreement that will help turn grocery store jobs around and make tangible improvements in our lives," Rachel Fournier, a cashier at a Los Angeles Ralphs store and a bargaining committee member, said in a statement released by UFCW 770, which represents 18,000 workers in the Los Angeles area.

Another bargaining committee member, Manny Estrada, a pharmacy clerk at a Vons in Grover Beach, called it "a big deal. Grocery store workers have served our customers throughout the most difficult moments of our lifetime. Weve kept the stores open and have contributed to the companies success. This is a well-deserved contract that we look forward to ratifying soon."

A spokeswoman for Albertsons, which also owns Vons and Pavilions, confirmed that a tentative agreement had been reached.

Robert Branton, vice president of operations at Ralphs, said in a statement, We are pleased that this agreement allows us to put more money in our associates paychecks and secures healthcare and pension plans.

Tyson Kehm, left, and Andrea Garcia, help make strike-ready signs at UFCW Local 770 headquarters in Los Angeles on March 21. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

The top tier wage hike will also apply to workers at Food 4 Less, which reached an earlier settlement linking its contract to Ralphs'. Both chains are owned by Kroger, one of the nation's largest grocery companies.

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The agreement came together about 6 p.m. Monday after a 30-hour bargaining session at a hotel. Negotiators reportedly dragged patio furniture into the bargaining area to catch naps. For the first time, the bargaining included not just union officials but also working grocery clerks  a strategy that allowed members to draw on their firsthand experiences during negotiations.

UFCW's bargaining hand was strengthened by a labor shortage that has enabled workers to switch jobs in California and across the U.S. as they seek higher wages amid a spurt of inflation.

Militancy among the rank and file was also driven by fury over their eroding wages since a devastating 2003-2004 strike spurred by the companies' push to slash pay and benefits. In the last negotiations in 2019, UFCW workers authorized a strike, but a contract was agreed upon two months later, averting a work stoppage.

In interviews, many grocery workers pointed to Kroger Chief Executive Rodney McMullen's 2020 compensation of $22.4 million, his highest ever, and the near-doubling of Krogers operating profit to $4.3 billion from 2019 to 2021, even as the companies fought extending hazard pay for workers.

Union activity is also on the rise across the country, spurred in part by the pandemic, with nurses and teachers striking over workplace conditions, and employees from companies such as Amazon and Starbucks seeking to unionize.

In the Los Angeles area, 10,284 grocery workers in Local 770 alone contracted COVID-19 over two years, according to data provided to the union by the stores. Although white-collar employees could do their jobs from home, grocery workers had to work at stores or lose their positions. Cashiers and clerks say they endured abuse from some customers when they reminded them to wear masks or stand socially distanced from one another.

Bargaining over a new contract began in January but stalled in early March. Preparations for a strike soon began on both sides, with the unions mobilizing their members and Ralphs advertising for temporary workers to cross picket lines.

Ralphs had also emailed its nonunion staffers asking who among them had truck driver licenses in anticipation of the Teamsters union refusing to drive across the lines to make deliveries.

Raymond Smith, 35, works at a Ralphs in Sunland, Calif. He makes $18.25 an hour and can't afford an apartment, he says. (Margot Roosevelt / Los Angeles Times)

Negotiations resumed a week ago but made little progress at first. On Saturday, a deal did not seem imminent. UFCW 770 posted a statement on its website saying the companies "have been disrespectful at the bargaining table and have barely budged in their offer."

The union, which had filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, also said, "Both companies continue to play games at the bargaining table while committing unlawful practices that violate your legal rights as a worker."

Ralphs responded Sunday with an equally combative statement, saying, "UFCW locals collected $23 million in membership dues from Ralphs associates, yet if their members choose to walkout, strike pay from the union would be $15 per hour."

Any activity by the union in the coming days, besides negotiating an offer that puts more money in our associates pockets is nothing but mere propaganda by UFCW, Branton said in the statement.

The UFCW had proposed that the highest-paid longtime workers  food clerks who include cashiers and shelf stockers  get a $5 hourly raise by the end of a new three-year contract. They currently earn $22.50 an hour after five to seven years. The companies had offered $1.80.

A third of the workforce falls into the food clerk category.

The union also sought to close the gap between those higher-paid employees and another third of grocery workers  general merchandise clerks, including deli food preparers and nonfood stockers  who now earn a maximum of $17.02 an hour. The union proposed a raise of $8 an hour by the contract's third year, saying they perform work similar to the higher-paid food clerks. The companies offered $2.

The lowest-paid third of workers, baggers and clerk's helpers, earn slightly above the state's $15-an-hour minimum wage, a rate the UFCW proposed to increase.

Besides substantial wage bumps, the union sought higher minimum hours for part-timers. In recent years, the supermarkets have moved more than two-thirds of their workforce to part-time status, making it hard for employees to make ends meet.

Store-level health and safety committees, which could address pandemic concerns, were also on the bargaining table.

"I'm 35 years old and I can't afford my own apartment," said Raymond Smith, who fulfills online grocery orders and ferries them to customers' cars at a Ralphs in Sunland. He makes $18.25 an hour after four years, and must live with his sister and brother-in-law, he said.

"During the pandemic, we all got to see that we were just numbers on a page. We learned the company doesn't care. Honestly, we're not asking for that much. We just want to be able to live and be happy and not have our families broken up because our work life is so hard."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Illinois State Police announced the arrest of Ricky J. Norwood Jr., 31, of Centralia, Tuesday on a charge of first-degree murder in a 2015 shooting death.

On Aug. 23, 2015, 24-year-old, Dustin Rhynes was found dead with a gunshot wound in a Centralia alleyway, said a press release by the Illinois State Police.

Norwood was formally charged with first-degree murder on March 8, 2022, in the Circuit Court for the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Illinois in Marion County. Norwood was arrested on April 4 by the Marion County Sheriffs Office and is being held at the Marion County jail on a $1 million bond.

No further information is available at this time.
Tyler Oliverbrooks Acker said he didnt have much time to react the afternoon he and his friend were shot in St. Petersburgs Historic Old Northeast neighborhood.

They were driving in the neighborhood of large homes and narrow streets on March 27, 2019, when an encounter with another driver turned violent.

As soon as I looked up, I saw a gun, Acker, now 34, said from a witness stand in a Pinellas courtroom on Tuesday.

It was the first day of testimony in the trial of William Shutt, also 34, who prosecutors say shot at Acker and his friend, Quentin Hicks, 42, during a road rage incident.

Hicks was killed. Acker was hit in the leg.

Shutt is charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.

Shutts defense lawyer, Roger Futerman, told jurors during opening statements Tuesday that his client acted in self-defense.

Futerman said Hicks yelled Im going to f - - king kill you at Shutt, and that Acker yelled, too. Further, Futerman said, Shutt thought he saw Hicks reach down, as if he were grabbing a gun, before Shutt fired.

During testimony Tuesday, Acker denied that he and Hicks yelled at Shutt and said Hicks hands remained visible throughout the episode.

Futerman said Hicks had been under the influence of ecstasy, a drug that can cause irrational behavior. However, Acker said, Hicks was not acting irrationally and that he hadnt seen his friend consume any drugs.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Traverso noted in opening statements that Shutt did not call 911 after the incident to tell police that he had shot someone in self-defense. Nor did he tell his girlfriend what had happened. On his phone, however, he searched for information about countries that didnt allow extradition back to the United States, she said.

The shooting occurred as Acker and Hicks were on their way to visit Ackers father, a day laborer who was working on a home in the Old Northeast neighborhood. Acker was visiting from California and had spent a night out on the town with Hicks the night before.

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Hicks was driving with Acker in the passenger seat when he entered the Old Northeast. Believing they had the right-of-way, they drove through an intersection before they were cut off by Shutt. They traveled down the road and turned. The vehicle came back, and Shutt taunted them, Traverso said.

Hicks and Acker then pulled up next to Shutt at the intersection of Bay Street NE and 17th Avenue NE. It was there, prosecutors said, that Shutt pulled out a gun and fired at their car.

Hicks and Shutt drove off in opposite directions, and Hicks crashed into a tree at First Street N near 20th Avenue NE as he died.

Shutt was arrested a week after the shooting. He has been held without bail at the Pinellas County jail since that day.

Police said that prior to the shooting, Shutt had stockpiled expensive weapons and saved videos and articles on his phone about mass shootings and murder. During Shutts bail hearing, a St. Petersburg police detective said she also had found connections between Shutt and alt-right groups. The detective was not allowed to further explain those connections after the defense objected and the judge upheld the objection.

According to a search warrant that police filed in the case, Shutt also confessed to shooting into an antique store while drunk when he was living in Delaware.

Testimony continues Wednesday.
A Stone County judge announced Tuesday afternoon that the criminal case against three Ride the Ducks Branson employees  charged for their roles in the 2018 tragedy where 17 people drowned as an amphibious duck boat sank on Table Rock Lake  would be dismissed.

"Calling this a tragedy is an understatement," Judge Alan Blankenship said before issuing his decision to dismiss the cases against duck boat captain Kenneth Scott McKee, operations supervisor Charles Baltzell and general manager Curtis Lanham.

The three men had been charged in state court last July each with 17 counts of involuntary manslaughter. McKee also faced endangering the welfare of a child charges.

Blankenship, in his decision, said that the prosecution needed to prove that the defendants acted "recklessly and knowingly" on the day in question to be found criminally culpable. After reviewing the evidence he did not think the employees acted in a way that reached that threshold based on precedent and the statutes outlined in Missouri law.

Previously: Three Ride the Ducks employees charged in connection with 17 deaths in 2018 duck boat sinking

"The court feels a great sadness for this needless loss of life and the impact on the victims' family and friend," Blankenship wrote in his decision. "However, because the court does not find sufficient evidence to support the mens rea or intent required for the charges at issue... the court dismisses each count against each defendant."

Each count of involuntary manslaughter had a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, however, the endangering the welfare of child charges for McKee carried possible life sentences.

The judge had been deliberating whether or not to let the case move forward to trial court since December when a multi-day preliminary hearing was held during which the state was tasked with proving there was probable cause that the defendants had committed the felonies.

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More: What happened during the Branson duck boat tragedy?

Prosecutors argued that the trio was negligent in letting the ride take place when severe weather was approaching. The boat took on water and sank during a storm, 17 of 31 passengers died, nine of which were from the same Indiana family.

Lawyers for the defendants have maintained that this was a tragic accident and not a criminal act.

Following the decision J.R. Hobbs, a lawyer for McKee speaking on behalf of all of the defendants, said they respect the court's decision.

This was a tragedy for all involved," Hobbs said, "and because of that we have no further comment on the matter."

Stone County Prosecutor Matt Selby said he was "disappointed in the results" and the state was considering whether to refile the cases or appeal the decision, which should be announced within the next couple of days.

McKee, Baltzell and Lanham were initially charged in federal court, but a judge threw out the case there after determining that Table Rock Lake was not a navigable waterway under federal jurisdiction. However, the U.S. Attorneys Office appealed that decision and is continuing to litigate the case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Previously: Following the tragedy in Branson, will duck boats ever ride again in Missouri?

Jordan Meier covers public safety for the Springfield News-Leader. Contact her at jmeier@news-leader.com, or on Twitter @Jordan_Meier644.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Judge says Ride the Ducks workers not criminally culpable for tragedy
The Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision Monday made it easier for people to sue the police for malicious prosecution.

The ruling revived a lawsuit brought by a Brooklyn man who sued after being arrested and jailed for two days based on officers mistaken belief he had sexually abused his newborn daughter. Criminal charges against the man, Larry Thompson, were later dropped without explanation.

The majority opinion overturned the ruling of a lower court that had dismissed Thompsons malicious prosecution claim on the grounds he had failed to show his prosecution ended in a favorable termination.

But the opinion Monday established that relatively little is required to clear this legal bar, with the majority holding that plaintiffs need only show their criminal prosecution ended without a conviction.

Previously, federal courts in New York and some other parts of the country required plaintiffs to prove that their prosecution ended in acquittal or some other affirmation of innocence for a malicious prosecution lawsuit to survive.

The question of whether a criminal defendant was wrongly charged does not logically depend on whether the prosecutor or court explained why the prosecution was dismissed, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority. And the individuals ability to seek redress for a wrongful prosecution cannot reasonably turn on the fortuity of whether the prosecutor or court happened to explain why the charges were dismissed.

The majority noted that Mondays ruling does not remove other barriers to malicious prosecution claims, including various evidentiary hurdles and the doctrine of qualified immunity.

The courts three most conservative justices issued a fiery dissent authored by Justice Samuel Alito and joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch.

What the Court has done is to recognize a novel hybrid claim of uncertain scope that has no basis in the Constitution and is almost certain to lead to confusion, Alito wrote.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A suspect in a 2020 murder in Yonkers was arrested in North Carolina on Monday.

Yonkers police said Jerome Wilson was wanted in the Aug. 25, 2020, shooting death of Chazz Mitchell in front of a building on Oak Street.

Yonkers police detectives, working with the Westchester FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Violent Criminal Apprehension Team, tracked Wilson to a residence in Charlotte, where he was taken into custody without incident on Monday.

Wilson is accused of shooting Mitchell in the abdomen during a fight outside the Oak Street building. Mitchell was taken to St. Joseph's Medical Center in Yonkers, where he died.

Reward offered: Police seek suspect in Yonkers shooting death

Growing concern: Proposed zoning change at Rye senior living complex

Fatal fire: Woman who died in New Rochelle was building superintendent

Yonkers police, at the time the shooting, said it was not a random event. About a month later they offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to Wilson's arrest. Police did not say if any of the reward money was ever claimed.

Wilson is being held in North Carolina pending extradition proceedings.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yonkers murder suspect arrested in North Carolina Monday
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

An Orange, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas.

Joshua Welch, 50, pleaded guilty on Sep. 20, 2021, to production of child pornography and was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

Those who choose to harm a child will quickly find themselves the number one target of law enforcement, said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. No stone will be left un-turned to stop child predators. Our law enforcement partners are dedicated to protecting our most precious population. Thank you to those men and women who work tirelessly to make our community playgrounds and our virtual playgrounds a safe place for all children.

According to information presented in court, in April 2021, federal agents in Beaumont received information from federal agents in Syracuse, NY, regarding an internet user who had uploaded images containing child pornography and sent them to another user. An investigation had determined the initial sender of the material was in Orange, Texas. On May 17, 2021, federal agents issued a search warrant at the residence on East Ashford Park in Orange and encountered Welch. Welch admitted to producing the child pornography images and downloading. He also admitted to visiting other internet websites to view images of child pornography. Welch was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 2, 2021.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Orange County Sheriffs Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Grove.

This article originally appeared on Herald Democrat: Texas man pleads to producing child porn, gets 240 fed prison sentence
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is one step closer to making history as the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. She's expected to be confirmed later this week now that three Senate Republicans are supporting her nomination. CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion joins Anne-Marie Green to discuss why the senators are breaking party lines.
A suspected drunk driver was racing home from the bar when she killed two people, according to documents filed Monday in court.

Mariana Souza, 28, told investigators she was going at least 50 miles per hour as she headed south on Steptoe Street on Sunday night, according court records. She told officers she was heading home from a Richland bar.

However, a witness estimated she was going 75 mph in the 40-mph zone, Kennewick Officer Roman Trujillo said.

When the traffic light turned red, Souza told police she didnt have time to stop. Her Chrysler Pacifica minivan sped into the intersection and slammed into the side of a Ford Escape crossing in front of her.

The two people inside the SUV were dead before police and firefighters arrived.

Two people died at the corner of Steptoe Street and Gage Boulevard Sunday night after a SUV and minivan collided.

Police have not released the names of the victims. They are expected to release the names Tuesday morning.

Souza was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland to be checked for minor injuries. And thats where she talked with Kennewick Officer Brandon Leander.

Two people died at the corner of Steptoe Street and Gage Boulevard Sunday night after a SUV and minivan collided.

Mariana spontaneously stated that, It was my fault, Leander wrote.

She smelled of alcohol and her eyes were droopy, so police received a warrant for a blood sample to be tested for her alcohol level.

Two people died at the corner of Steptoe Street and Gage Boulevard Sunday night after a SUV and minivan collided.

She made her first appearance in Benton County Superior Court on Monday afternoon on a 72-hour hold for two counts of vehicular homicide, Judge Alex Ekstrom set her bail at $500,000.

Souza speaks primarily Portuguese, and a court interpreter was not available for the hearing. So is expected to make another appearance in court on Tuesday.

Mariana Souza, 28, makes preliminary appearance via a video link Monday afternoon in Benton County Superior Court. Shes facing possible vehicular homicide charges.

The crash was one of four suspected DUI related crashes over the weekend in the Tri-Cities.
USAID supports launching of Mekong Innovation Initiative

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Vietnams Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) today launched the Mekong Innovation Initiative to help Vietnam advance the digital economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) through developing a more robust, digitally-ready workforce and mobilize resources to support innovation in the Mekong Region.





At the launching event



The launching event in Can Tho City saw the attendance of USAID/Vietnam Mission Director Ann Marie Yastishock, MPI Vice Minister Tran Duy Dong, Director of MPIs National Innovation Center and leaders from 13 provinces in the Mekong Region.



The Mekong Innovation Initiative will help address a growing demand for digital skills across Vietnams economy by training 500 individuals in the Mekong Region in digital transformation and e-commerce skills, unlocking new employment opportunities. This program builds on Vietnams own investments in reforming its workforce and supports Vietnam in advancing its Fourth Industrial Revolution Strategy.



Representatives from the private sector, universities, and training institutions, joined USAID, MPI, and local governments at an event to launch the program. The event featured presentations and discussions on current opportunities to advance a culture of innovation in the Mekong region, how policy can be reformed to promote innovation, and the workforce investments needed to fuel a knowledge economy.



The opportunities are significant for Vietnam to realize the potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and thrive through this economic transition, but to do so requires enabling its digitally equipped workforce to power a knowledge-based economy across many sectors, said Ann Marie Yastishock, USAID/Vietnam Mission Director, during remarks delivered at todays event. USAID is excited to expand our collaboration supporting Vietnam in finding innovative approaches for supplementing conventional degree paths and accelerating the digital transformation of Vietnams workforce.



In his remarks, MPI Vice Minister Tran Duy Dong added, The Mekong Innovation Initiative will expand interest in digital opportunities and motivation to join the digital transformation and help combine resources to accelerate innovation for the Mekong Delta.



The Mekong Innovation Initiative is supported by USAID Vietnams Workforce for an Innovation and Start-up Ecosystem (WISE) activity, which Vice President Kamala Harris announced during her visit to Vietnam in 2021. WISE is a collaboration between USAID and MPIs National Innovation Center that focuses on expanding digital skills within Vietnams labor market to improve the upward mobility and competitiveness of Vietnams workforce. WISE will support the Mekong Innovation Initiative to develop the digital labor force of the Mekong Region. This is part of WISEs commitment to bridge urban-rural and gender digital divides, helping to ensure that the digital economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution opportunities are accessible to all of Vietnams population.


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Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Panamanian Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes on Monday in Tunxi, east China's Anhui Province.



Wang said that since China and Panama officially established diplomatic relations five years ago based on the affirmation of the one-China principle, bilateral ties have ushered in a new chapter.

China is willing to take the fifth anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to facilitate political mutual trust, pragmatic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and multilateral coordination, to foster more propellers of China-Panama friendly ties, Wang said.

Noting that facts have proved that the establishment of diplomatic ties between Panama and China was the correct decision, Mouynes said that Panama values mutual trust with China and will firmly adhere to the one-China principle.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine issue, among other issues.
I tried a Publix chicken tender sub for the first time. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

On a recent trip to Florida I stopped at Publix to try one of its famous sandwiches.

Friends told me that a chicken tender "Pub sub" is the way to go, so that's what I ordered.

After trying it, I can see why so many people make the sandwich their lunchtime go-to.

I recently left New York for a week in Florida to soak in some warm weather and see my grandma. We drove to pick up some groceries at the legendary Southern supermarket, Publix, and I took the opportunity to taste something I've only heard amazing things about: a Publix chicken tender sandwich, or "Pub sub" for short.

After trying the chain's delicious sheet cake on a road trip through Atlanta, Georgia, I decided I had to give this sandwich a go as well.

So, I walked up to the impressive deli counter at the Publix location I visited in Delray Beach and placed my order for a chicken tender sandwich. While the item is on the menu, you can customize the size of the sub roll and the other ingredients you'd like in your sandwich. I went with a half-size sub roll, chicken tenders, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and honey mustard for $6.79.

The Publix employee seemed to have a tried-and-true method for loading up the bread. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

I watched as the professional behind the counter did their thing  layering the fried chicken, cheese, veggies, and sauce in a calculated order. I was surprised that the chicken was the first thing to go down onto the bun, but once I bit into the sandwich I understood the method (I'll get to that later).

The first thing the Publix deli employee did was hollow out the roll to make room for all of the toppings I asked for. Then, they chopped up around four large chicken tenders and drizzled them with a generous amount of honey mustard. Next came the layer of cheese followed by the tomato slices and then, finally, a mountain of shredded lettuce.

Somehow, they got everything to fit into the boundaries of the 6-inch bread and wrapped it up in paper beautifully.

This sandwich seemed to weigh a lot  I could tell just from carrying it to the car. I couldn't wait to tuck into the sandwich, but I had some other stops to make before I could try it, plus I wanted to see how well it would keep as I often pick up a sub to eat hours later at the beach.

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Two hours later, I unwrapped the sandwich at my grandma's house and was pleasantly surprised to find it tasted fresh.

It tasted fresh and delicious even hours after I bought it. Rachel Askinasi/Insider

The chicken was still crunchy under the weight of everything else; the lettuce was still crisp; the tomato still juicy and intact. But I was most impressed by the bread, which was somehow still dry. Typically when I order a deli sandwich and don't eat it right away, the bread gets soggy around the edges and loses its outer texture. But not this roll.

In that moment, the Publix employee's stacking method made total sense to me. I realized that the way each ingredient was layered was key to holding the whole thing together and ensuring it would stay tasting fresh for longer. In my opinion, that's what makes this the perfect beach lunch  you can pick it up in the morning, stick it in your beach bag for hours, and by the time you're ready to dive in it's still delicious.

Read the original article on Insider
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Bucha, Ukraine. Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo

Ukraine said at least 300 civilians were killed in Bucha, a town near Kyiv.

Ukraine's president and prosecutor general said nearby Borodyanka could have a higher death toll.

Ukraine said people in Bucha were shot in the head with their hands tied and women were raped.

Ukraine said the town of Borodyanka, near Kyiv, would likely record a higher death toll than Bucha, the town where hundreds of civilians were estimated to be killed and Russia was accused of war crimes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about Bucha in a Tuesday speech, where he added that the death toll could be higher in other cities that Ukraine recently reclaimed from Russian forces. Ukraine said it retook control of Bucha earlier this week.

"There is already information that the number of victims of the occupiers may be even higher in Borodyanka and some other liberated cities," Zelenskyy said.

"In many villages of the liberated districts of the Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions, the occupiers did things that the locals had not seen even during the Nazi occupation 80 years ago. The occupiers will definitely bear responsibility for this," he continued.

Ukrainian officials said about 300 people were found dead in Bucha after Russian forces left the town. But Zelenskyy said the death toll there would likely rise as officials and investigators looked through the town.

Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine's prosecutor general, also said Borodyanka likely had a higher death toll than Bucha.

She told Ukrainian TV that "in fact, the worst situation with civilian victims is in Borodyanka," The Guardian reported.

Russia has been accused of war crimes in Bucha, and Zelenskyy accused Russia of genocide there.

The Zelenskyy advisor Oleksiy Arestovych said on Sunday that some victims there were shot in the head with their hands tied behind their back, and that some women there were raped before they were killed.

US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" over the events in Bucha and said he was planning more sanctions.

Read the original article on Business Insider
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the U.N. Security Council for the first time Tuesday at a meeting that is certain to focus on what appear to be widespread deliberate killings of civilians by Russian troops.

The dead were discovered after the withdrawal of Russian forces from a town on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, and have sparked global outrage and vehement denials from the Russian government that it was responsible.

The United Kingdom, which holds the council presidency this month, announced late Monday that Zelenskyy would speak at the open meeting called for Tuesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy is to address the U.N.s most powerful body virtually after it receives briefings from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, his political chief Rosemary DiCarlo, and U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, who is trying to arrange an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and met with senior Russian officials in Moscow on Monday and will shortly be heading to Ukraine.

Videos and photos of streets in the town of Bucha strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians, some with their hands tied behind their back, have led to global revulsion, calls for tougher sanctions on Russia and its suspension from the U.N.s premiere human rights body, the Human Rights Council.

According to Ukraines prosecutor-general, Iryna Venediktova, the bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from Bucha and other Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian troops.

Associated Press journalists have reported seeing dozens of bodies in various spots around Bucha, northwest of the capital. The bodies included a group of nine in civilian clothes who appeared to have been shot at close range. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs. A bag of spilled groceries was near one of the dead.

Russias U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, accused Ukraine and the West on Monday of a false flag attempt to blame Russian troops for atrocities in Bucha that he charged were committed by Ukrainian nationalists. He called video of bodies lying in the streets a crude forgery, and insisted that during the time that Bucha was under Russian control, not a single local person has suffered from any violent action.

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At a news conference, the Russian ambassador showed brief video footage of the smiling mayor of Bucha on March 31 calling the withdrawal of Russian forces a victory of the Ukrainian army and never mentioning any mass atrocities, dead bodies, killings, graves or anything like that. He also showed footage from Ukrainian television on April 2 showing Ukrainian soldiers entering Bucha, with no dead bodies in the streets.

He said Russia would present further "factual evidence to the Security Council on Tuesday.

Nebenzia was asked whether he believed videos of Ukrainian family members speaking about the deaths of loved ones killed by Russian troops were also faked. He responded: This is warfare. In warfare anything happens. You cannot exclude that civilians are dying. That is a sad fact of life.

But he again charged that the Bucha videos were staged."

Britains U.N. ambassador, Barbara Woodward, called the images from Bucha harrowing, appalling, probable evidence of war crimes and possibly a genocide, and she said the Security Council needs to think about how we deal with that.

The council remains paralyzed on taking any action on Ukraine because Russia as one of its five permanent members has veto power. But the 193-member General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, has condemned Russias invasion and demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of Russian forces and protection for civilians.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced Monday that the United States will soon introduce a General Assembly resolution that would suspend Russia from the U.N.s premiere human rights body, the 57-nation Human Rights Council, saying there are increasing signs that it committed war crimes in Ukraine. The council is based in Geneva but its members are elected by the 193-nation General Assembly.

Thomas-Greenfield told NPR late Monday that the U.S. plans to seek a vote as soon as possible this week, and possibly as early as Thursday.

Any resolution to suspend Russias membership rights would require support from two-thirds of member countries that vote yes or no. Assembly resolutions are not legally binding -- unlike Security Council resolutions -- but they do have clout as a reflection of global opinion.

Russia had sought an emergency meeting of the Security Council to discuss Bucha on Monday afternoon, but Woodward told reporters that with Tuesdays council meeting already scheduled we didnt see a good reason to have two meetings back-to-back on Ukraine.

Nebenzia was asked if the U.S.-led effort to suspend Russia from the rights council and Britains refusal to hold an emergency Security Council meeting Monday at Russias request would affect talks between Moscow and Kyiv.

This will not facilitate or encourage, or be helpful, to what is happening between Russian and Ukrainian peace talks, Nebenzia said.
Photos posted to the Facebook page of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine show the bodies of five men found in a "torture chamber" in Bucha. Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine

"Prosecutors together with police officers of Kyiv region found a torture chamber in the city of Bucha," an official post said.

The bodies of five men were found with their hands tied in the basement of a "children's sanatorium."

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is investigating the men's deaths as war crimes.

The bodies of five men with their hands bound were found in a "torture chamber" in Bucha, officials from the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine said in a Facebook post.

"Under the proceedings of the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor's Office and surrounding Prosecutors' Offices of the Kyiv region, criminal proceedings are being investigated for violations of laws and customs of war (article 438 BC of The Ukrainian Constitution)," the post read. "Prosecutors together with police officers of Kyiv region found a torture chamber in the city of Bucha."

The bodies of the men were found in the basement of a "children's sanatorium," the statement said. Their deaths are being investigated as a war crime.

"Soldiers of the Russian armed forces tortured and then killed unarmed civilians," the post continued, adding that prosecutors and police are investigating the crime. "All measures are taken to determine the circumstances of every war crime and person involved in the Russian aggression in order to bring them to justice."

Reports of Ukrainian civilians being left dead in the street and mass graves being excavated have increased in recent days as Russian troops have reportedly begun withdrawing from the region.

Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, was under Russian military control for weeks, the Kyiv Independent reported and, as the town has been retaken, the bodies of hundreds of civilians have been found.

Translations by Nikita Ilyich Angarski.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Ukrainian mother wrote her contact details on her young daughters back so she can be reunited if they are separated during the bloody Russian war.

Sasha Makoviy shared an image of her daughter Vira with her birthday and telephone numbers written in pen on her skin.

She said in an Instagram post: I signed Vira in case something happened to us, and someone would pick her up as a survivor.

In the photo is Vira's back on the first day of the war. I signed it with my hands trembling very much. But why tell you?

You already know what it's like to wake up to the deafening and powerful sounds of explosions that can be heard for tens of kilometres. I was shaking for the first hours like you.

Then an even crazier thought flashed through my mind: 'Why didn't I tattoo her with this information?

The post was shared Iuliia Mendel, former spokesperson for Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Sasha shared a second image of a hand-written contact card placed in her daughters jacket, showing the details of her parents (Instagram)

It comes as Ukrainian authorities said on Sunday they were investigating possible crimes by Russian forces after finding hundreds of bodies scattered around towns like Bucha outside the capital Kyiv, after the Russian troops withdrew from the area.

An AFP reporter said they had seen at least 20 bodies in Bucha, while the towns mayor, Anatoliy Fedoruk, said more than 300 residents had been killed.

The Independents Kim Sengupta spoke to residents who described bodies being left to rot in the street like rubbish.

Ukraine said over 100 children have been killed since Russia began its invasion in February. More than 100 pushchairs were lined up in the western city of Lviv last month to commemorate the children who have been killed since the start of the war.

Destroyed Russian military vehicles are seen on the street on 4 April, 2022 in Bucha (Getty Images)

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 3,455 civilian casualties in the country: 1,417 killed and 2,038 injured since Putins forces began its offensive.

Meanwhile, president Joe Biden has called for Russias president Vladimir Putin to stand trial before international authorities as a war criminal.

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He is a war criminal, Mr Biden told reporters on Monday. He added that his administration would continue adding pressure to the situation via sanctions targeting Moscow.

Western-led sanctions have been blamed for a hard economic shock in Russia that has led many businesses to close and the Ruble to lose value.

Im going to continue to add more sanctions, said Mr Biden, while refusing to give specific details.

This map shows the extent of Russian invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Images)

Mr Biden also addressed remarks from Mr Zelensky in which he accused Russian forces of committing genocide in Ukraine.

Russian forces attempted to strongly deny committing war crimes over the weekend amid a downpour of shocking images suggesting otherwise; many civilian centres across Ukraine have reported non-military targets including hospitals being struck and apparently deliberately targeted by Russias military.

Military experts largely agree that Russias invasion has stalled across the country and shifted its goals from the capture of Kyiv and overthrow of Mr Zelenskys government to the capture of some key cities including Kharkiv.

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a video appeal to Russians on Tuesday, calling on them to share reports about "atrocities" committed by their troops in Ukraine, saying if people knew the truth they would not support the war.

The United States and European countries, including Britain, have accused Russia of war crimes after the release of graphic images of civilian deaths and mass graves in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, outside Kyiv, over the weekend.

Russia, which says it has launched a "special military operation" to "denazify" Ukraine, has rejected the allegations, saying they were part of a forgery to denigrate the Russian military.

"The Russian people deserve the truth, you deserve the facts," said Johnson, speaking partly in Russian, in his message published on Twitter.

"The atrocities committed by Russian troops in Bucha, Irpin and elsewhere in Ukraine have horrified the world ... The reports are so shocking, so sickening, it's no wonder your government is seeking to hide them from you.

"Your president knows that if you could see what was happening, you would not support his war."

U.S. President Joe Biden has described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal in the wake of the grisly discoveries in Bucha, and the United States has said it will seek to build a war crimes case against the Russian leader.

Russia has said Biden's comments were unacceptable.

Johnson called for Russians to use Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections so they could access independent information about the war to find out for themselves.

"And when you find the truth, share it. Those responsible will be held to account. And history will remember who looked the other way," he said, adding in Russian: "Your president stands accused of committing war crimes. But I cannot believe he's acting in your name."

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Paul Simao)
Another day, another superyacht confiscated on the high seas.

US authorities seized a luxurious $90 million vessel owned by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg on Monday, as part of wide-ranging Western sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

More from Robb Report

The 255-footer in question, which goes by the name of Tango, was docked at the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca in Spains Balearic Islands. Spanish authorities executed a court order placing a freeze on the vessel after the US Department of Justice obtained a seizure warrant seeking forfeiture due to Vekselbergs alleged US bank fraud, money laundering and sanctions violations.

Members of the Spanish Civil Guard and US law enforcement agents boarded the Tango early Monday to detain the vessel.

Spanish and US authorities seized the superyacht on Monday. - Credit: Francisco Ubilla/AP

Francisco Ubilla/AP

Today marks our taskforces first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It will not be the last, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. Together, with our international partners, we will do everything possible to hold accountable any individual whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue its unjust war.

Vekselberg, who helms a Russian conglomerate known as the Renova Group, was hit with new penalties by the US government on March 11. The Justice Department said the billionaire bought the yacht in 2011 but used shell companies to hide his ownership and avoid bank oversight into US dollar transactions related thereto, including a December 2020 stay at a luxury resort in the Maldives.

The superyacht Tango is estimated to be worth million. - Credit: Francisco Ubilla/AP

Francisco Ubilla/AP

In addition to the superyacht, all of Vekselbergs assets in the US have been frozen. Stateside companies are also barred from doing business with him and his entities. Its not the first time that the billionaire has faced sanctions from the US, either. He was first sanctioned in 2018 and is currently facing sanctions from the EU and UK.

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Italy, France, Finland and the UK have seized superyachts with connections to Russias wealthiest individuals in recent weeks, but this marks the Justice Departments first seizure under the task force KleptoCapture.

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Click here to read the full article.
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast

Juliette Bryant was at a Cape Town cocktail lounge with a friend when an associate of Jeffrey Epstein approached her. This guy is bothering me, the woman, an American actress named Naja Hill, told them that night in September 2002. Can I hang out with you guys?

Bryant, who had just turned 20, understood that women must look out for one another and welcomed the beautiful stranger to join them. When Hill learned Bryant was an aspiring model, she suggested they find her billionaire friend Jeffrey, who she falsely claimed was the owner of Victorias Secret and could jump-start Bryants career.

Hill, who had emphasized Epsteins celebrity contacts, shared that the financier was currently at a chic restaurant nearby with none other than former President Bill Clinton, and actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker. She asked Bryant if shed like to meet them. Bryant and Hill then hopped in a car, giddy at the opportunity to make their acquaintance.

I was a silly young 20-year-old and thought it sounded like such an amazing opportunity considering the people he was here with, Bryant told The Daily Beast, in her first in-depth media interview about surviving Epsteins sex ring. She also spoke to BBC Two for its new series about Epsteins former girlfriend and now-convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The show, House of Maxwell, premiered on Monday.

Thats what gave Epstein credibility, Bryant added. The fact that he was with Clinton.

Juliette Bryant at Jeffrey Epstein's private isle in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Courtesy Juliette Bryant

According to Bryant, when she arrived at the restaurant, Clinton stood up to shake her hand and didnt let go, even when he began speaking to someone else. He just kept holding onto my hand, Bryant told us. It was like a dream. It was so bizarre.

She would also see the famous Democrat again the next day, after Hill invited her to join their entourage and show Epstein her modeling portfolio.

Bryant crossed paths with Clinton and Epstein as they toured Africa on a high-profile humanitarian trip, during which the former president, his Secret Service team, and others flew aboard Epsteins private jet dubbed the Lolita Express. Clinton has not spoken publicly about this journey or his multiple other flights with Epstein aside from a 2019 statement which claimed he knew nothing about the late sex offenders terrible crimes.

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Hill did not return messages left by The Daily Beast, nor did reps for Tucker and Spacey. Angel Urena, a spokesman for Clinton, referred us the previous statement, which read:

President Clinton knows nothing about the serious crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York. In 2002 and 2003, President Clinton took a total of four trips on Jeffrey Epsteins airplane: one to Europe, one to Asia, and two to Africa, which included stops in connection with the work of the Clinton Foundation. Staff, supporters of the Foundation, and his Secret Service detail traveled on every leg of every trip. He had one meeting with Epstein in his Harlem office in 2002, and around the same time made one brief visit to Epsteins New York apartment with a staff member and his security detail. Hes not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade, and has never been to Little St. James Island, Epsteins ranch in New Mexico, or his residence in Florida.

Epstein ensnared Bryant in his trafficking scheme not long after this Cape Town rendezvous under the guise of offering her modeling jobs in the U.S.

But moments after she set foot on American soil, Bryant was whisked off to the money managers home in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he raped her repeatedly over two weeks before taking her to Palm Beach to continue to the assaults. The sexual abuse would continue at Epsteins homes around the globe until 2004.

I was completely conned, Bryant said. I wouldnt go with some random man to the Caribbean. He seemed legitimate. Clinton gave him credibility.

Now a mother and business owner in South Africa, Bryant says she is coming forward to stand up for victims of trafficking worldwide, and to contribute her own pieces to the jigsaw that is Epsteins mysterious network. Lately she wonders why Epsteins prominent friends like Clinton arent under further scrutiny, or why his assistants like Sarah Kellen, who allegedly sent her to Epsteins room to be abused, arent facing criminal charges.

In late 2019, Bryant filed a lawsuit against Epsteins estate which alleged the financier raped her repeatedly for years at his homes in Paris, Palm Beach, and New York, as well as at his compound in New Mexico and private isle in the U.S. Virgin Islands. (She settled with the Epstein Victims Compensation Program a year later.)

Jeffrey Epsteins Pilot Dishes on Flights With Donald TrumpBut Claims He Never Saw Underage Girls

I want to back up the other girls, Bryant told us. I want to move on with my life, but I cant. I was a witness to it. Every piece of the puzzle matters, no matter how small the piece.

Those details, Bryant says, are still fresh in her mind. Twenty years later, she has more questions than answers. And she believes that Epstein and Maxwell were more powerful and dangerous than people could ever imagine.

Every day is still hard, she said. I dont feel OK a lot of the time. But Im just grateful to be where I am and to be alive.

Epstein was so clever he made everyone feel like it was their fault, she added. People need to realize that this man was so evil and capable of so much.

When Bryant met Clinton and Epstein, she got the impression the men were closeor at least friendly enough to apparently share a suite at the luxurious Cape Grace, a 5-star hotel on the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

Jeffrey really liked you, Hill told her on the phone the next day. Can you come to the hotel and show him your modeling book? Hill informed her that Clinton was also giving a speech that day at a local university of technology and invited her along. Bryant joined the groups motorcade, which included a police escort, sitting in the back of a van with a Clinton adviser.

Bryant remembers Spaceywhom more than a dozen men would later accuse of sexual abuse and harassmentfilming some of Clintons remarks and the audience using what appeared to be a digital camera. Spacey, she said, was standoffish and thought we were a bit of a nuisance, while Tucker was friendly but didnt interact with her very much. (In her lawsuit, the influential trio is described only as a former high U.S. Government official, a famous actor, and a well-known comedian.)

When the speech ended, Bryant says, all returned to Cape Grace and she grabbed her modeling book from the car. She was told her casting would be in Epsteins room.

She took the elevator to the suite and met three of Epsteins female assistants, who she was told worked for the agency Karin Models, in a large sitting room. Bryant remembers encountering Kellen and another young woman in particular. Reached by The Daily Beast, that woman confirmed meeting Bryant during the South Africa trip and said she had recently joined Epsteins circle, too. She denied ever working for a modeling agency or claiming to work for one. You have to realize, leading up to this, I was still very much in the dark, the woman said of Epstein and Maxwell. I saw these two wealthy people who were saying, Hey, do you want to come on this trip to Africa with Bill Clinton? As someone in their early twenties, all of that sounds really great. You dont know whats lying beneath it all.

Getty Images

Bryant told The Daily Beast she approached the three assistants, who sat at a long table and paged through her portfolio. While they did that, Clinton walked through the room and said, Hi guys. He and Epstein were sharing the presidential suite, Bryant recalled, adding that Clinton then retired to his own private room in the suite. (Bryant wasnt the only survivor to meet the former president. Chauntae Davies, then 22 and traveling with Epstein, was photographed giving Clinton a neck massage during the Africa tour.)

Asked whether Clinton and Epstein shared a suite, Urena said that the former president did not stay in Cape Town following his university event. Instead, he flew to Johannesburg where he, amongst other things, met with Presidents Mbeki and Mandela, Urena said in an email. Epstein and Maxwell did not travel to Johannesburg.

The assistants then told Bryant she could proceed to Epstein, who reviewed her portfolio and declared, Youve got the most perfect figure Ive ever seen. Youre perfect for Victorias Secret. While Hill had previously told her Epstein controlled the lingerie company, Epstein informed Bryant that his best friend Les Wexner owned it.

I was so excited, because my family was struggling financially, Bryant told us. I thought I was going to make a difference for my family. Id been praying for something good to happen, and thought, Oh my God. My dreams are coming true.

Epstein and his traveling companions left the country that day. Soon after, his longtime assistant Lesley Groff called Bryant to set up her upcoming trip to New York. Bryant hardly had any funds, she says, so Epstein offered to cover her travel costs and deduct them from her future modeling work. Epsteins employees, she added, arranged for her visa. Groff, through an attorney, denied any wrongdoing in connection to Epstein. After several years of multiple investigations, prosecutors have not filed any charges against Lesley Groff because, at no time during Lesleys employment, as part of Epstein's professional staff, did she ever engage in any misconduct nor have any knowledge of any wrongdoing, her lawyer Michael Bachner said.

Bryant says she believed she was safe; her mother spoke to Epstein before he purchased her plane ticket and he said he reserved an apartment for her at an East 66th Street building where he housed models, employees, and distinguished friends. He assured my mother that this would not only be safe but would be a huge, life-changing opportunity for me, Bryant said.

An aerial view of Epsteins estate on the Caribbean island of Little St. James. Nick Heinemann/Getty Images

It was Bryants first time out of South Africa. When she got off the plane, she was awestruck by the chauffeur waiting for her with her name printed on a big poster board. Like for celebrities, Bryant recalled. I was like, whoa. I couldnt believe it.

Epsteins driver brought her to the Manhattan apartment, and within minutes of setting down her luggage, the rooms telephone rang. Kellen was on the line and announced, Pack your things. Youre going to the Caribbean. Bryant hadnt slept throughout her 20-hour flight, didnt have money or a cellphone, and didnt know what else to do but comply.

She embarked on a flight out of Teterboro with passengers including Epstein and Kellen. When she sat down, Epstein began groping her crotch area in a sexual manner, and Kellen allegedly laughed at her.

Bryant says she immediately realized Epstein wasnt the benefactor he professed to be but some sort of sexual predator.

They didnt put my name on that flight log so if I vanished, my family would think Im in New York, Bryant told us. I think Id realized by that point that Id been conned. I realized if I didnt do what he wanted, my days were numbered. It just completely freaked me out.

At Epsteins Virgin Islands lair, Bryant says she was trapped, without any means of contact with the outside world. I started being called to his bedroom, Bryant said. He never mentioned modeling again.

Bryant said Kellen started ordering her to Epsteins room, which was pitch dark and ice cold, to be sexually abused three times a day. Her lawsuit details the horrors she experienced: Epstein would use massage devices on her, force her to perform oral sex, and rape her.

During her two-week stay, she witnessed another girl perform oral sex on Epstein as they watched a movie. I started crying and ran out of there, Bryant told The Daily Beast.

Epstein transported Bryant to Palm Beach for a week after the Caribbean nightmare.

Before she left Florida, Epstein delivered an ominous warninghe said he worked for the CIA and was putting her and her family members on a list. A girl had once accused him of rape, he warned, so he planted drugs in her apartment and had her sent to prison.

Hes a master manipulator, Bryant said. I always felt like he was watching me through my phone or computer. It messed with my head very badly.

Bryant wasnt the same when she returned home. She says she began drinking to numb the pain, developed eating disorders, and struggled to feel content. Because Epstein bragged about his political connections, she was terrified of him and believed he was one of the most powerful people on Earth. At the time, she didnt tell a soul about his degrading abuse.

And when he demanded to see her again, she obeyed. Flight records reveal Bryant traveled between New York, the Virgin Islands, Palm Beach, Paris, and Albuquerque with Epstein and his associates.

Bryant estimates she spent about eight weeks with Epstein between 2002 and 2004. In that time, she was forced into sexual servitude and says she witnessed dozens of other girls visit Epsteins homes and remain on call to service him.

Looking back, Bryant believes she and the other young women in Epsteins orbit were stuck in a sort of Stockholm Syndrome. Wed all be sitting there and hed call whichever one he wanted, Bryant said. He tried to create jealousy. It was almost Stockholm Syndrome, you start to side with your captor because youre petrified.

Obviously we were raped, molested, but theres more to it: mind control, Bryant added. It was a very difficult situation to be trapped in as such a naive young girl.

The creepy businessman used every opportunity to flaunt his high-powered friends and appeared to call them a lot, even in his vehicle which had three or four phones. I heard him talking on the phone about buying a fleet of helicopters for $20 million, Bryant recalled. He sat at his desk and on the phone a lot. He wasnt actually doing work. I dont know what he was doing. It was more like communicating.

Epstein used to talk to Clinton on the phone a lot and said he was friends with Fidel Castro, Bryant said.

Juliette Bryant at Jeffrey Epstein's property in New Mexico. Courtesy Juliette Bryant

Bryant says Epstein claimed to sometimes work with Clinton. When she asked why Clinton needed to work since he had just been president, Epstein answered that he needs $1 million a year to pay for daughters security because of death threats.

The decor of Epsteins homewhich included photos of himself, Maxwell, and world leadersseemed to back up his alleged ties to masters of the universe. Meanwhile, a woman who worked for Epstein for about 15 years told Bryant that shed served tea to the wealthy pervert and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Bryant says Epstein also consorted with Hollywood VIPs including director Michael Bay, who she claims visited Epsteins private island. He had a bit of a meeting with Epstein, Bryant recalled. It didnt look like they were that close but it looked like a business thing. An attorney for Bay, however, told The Daily Beast in an email: Mr. Bay has never been to the Virgin Islands and never dealt with Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell was a name-dropper, too. I remember one time she came back to Palm Beach and said shed been at an Oscars party with Ralph Fiennes, Bryant said. (The English actors name is listed in Epsteins rolodex, along with contact information for his cousin Susannah.)

In Paris, Bryant stayed at Epsteins apartment with Maxwell and Kellen, who allegedly forced her to do a nude photoshoot for Epstein. A naked photo of Bryant would later be displayed in the financiers bathroom thereone of many nude photos of girls that hung throughout his properties like trophies. I remember walking down the corridor and there were girls who couldnt even speak English, Bryant recalled.

So many other girls I saw there Ive heard nothing of since, she said. Where are they?

Ghislaine was there and she was always off with Sarah Kellen, she added of her stay in France. I used to think they were lesbians they were so close.

Bryant said Maxwell was frequently at Epsteins homes and arranging massages for him but that the socialite often ignored her. Shes a very, very frightening woman, Bryant said. You felt scared to even say anything to her.

Juliette Bryant says Jeffrey Epstein and his associates brought her to his private isle in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he repeatedly abused her. Courtesy Juliette Bryant

On one occasion, she says, Maxwell flew her in a helicopter to Epsteins Virgin Islands property. She was terrible. I thought I was going to die. I remember Epstein said she was getting her license, so it was practice, Bryant said.

She ran everything, Bryant added of the British heiress, and made sure everything was just as Epstein liked it.

Bryant also believed Epstein was monitoring his guests via surveillance cameras, an assertion other victims including Davies, Maria Farmer, and Virginia Roberts Giuffre have shared.

One night at his Manhattan mansion, Bryant opened her bedroom window to climb out onto the balcony and light a cigarette. A security guard for Epstein approached her the next day and told her he noticed the temperature had changed in her quarters. He then guided her to what appeared to be Epsteins camera room, which contained dozens of TV monitors lined up against a wall. He said, I just want to show you something, Bryant said. I think he was warning me. He showed me all the cameras.

The security man informed Bryant he had the exact same setup in his own house in New Jersey and watched the footage 24/7.

From Bryants perspective, Epstein seemed paranoid at times. Epstein always had platters because I think he was scared of being poisoned, she said. There were platters of food for everyone, and hed pick off other peoples plates. It was weird.

Bryant says that her last trip with Epstein was to New Mexico, where she and another victim accompanied him to the governors mansion for a brief visit. There she met then-Governor Bill Richardson, who was listed in Epsteins infamous Little Black Book of society contacts and whose political campaigns received donations from Epstein and his employees.

Her lawsuit doesnt name Richardson but refers to him as another important government official, and states that Bryant believed that Epstein had brought her there so that the official could look her over. (Bryant does not accuse Richardson of any misconduct, but Giuffre claims Epstein and Maxwell sent her to the former politician to be abused. Richardson adamantly denies this, and in 2019, his spokeswoman said, To be clear, in Governor Richardsons limited interactions with Mr. Epstein, he never saw him in the presence of young or underage girls.)

Bill Richardson and another man looked at us and shook our hands and went back into their room where theyd been. It was just so weird, Bryant said, adding that Epstein never explained why they visited Richardson in the first place.

Jeffrey Epstein Accuser Names Powerful Men in Alleged Sex Ring

While in New Mexico, Bryant says, Epstein didnt take her to his bedroom and sexually assault her as he usually did. Instead, he laid her on a table in a small room and pressed her stomach and pelvic area, examining her in the way a doctor would.

She couldnt shake the feeling something more was going on. Why else go through so many girls? she asks now.

Epstein was known to dangle the prospects of paid college tuition or acting and modeling jobs to the multitude of girls and young women he molested.

While Epstein offered Bryant $4,000 a month to work for him, and even more money to recruit new victims, she says he never paid her a dime. Her dreams of modeling, something shed been working toward since age 14, were dashed.

He tried to make us feel like we were worthless, Bryant said of Epstein. I dont even know how to explain it. We were so scared of him.

Epstein used to poke me in the stomach and say I was fat, she added. He was controlling in a subtle way.

Bryant believes Epstein cut ties with her because she was too obstinate and refused to recruit young victims for him. The final straw was when she appeared at his Manhattan mansion around midnight, feeling sick, several hours before she was supposed to get ready to serve drinks to a cadre of renowned scientists aboard his private jet.

She had visited a bar with an assistant to Epstein, even though she and fellow victims werent allowed to leave his Upper East Side property. We werent really allowed to go out, but I really wanted to since she was going, Bryant recalled.

But Bryant began to feel unwell, and believed someone had spiked her drink. The assistant, who kept the house keys, instructed her to return to the townhouse and push the front-door buzzer. Epstein was livid at the interruption.

Epstein wasnt expecting to be woken by the bell ringing and was furious, Bryant said. Tickets were promptly arranged and I was sent home six hours later.

He thought I was going to cause too much trouble for him, because Im a wild card, Bryant added. I used to miss my mom and cry. I think he thought I was a pain and not worth the trouble.

By this time my life had fallen to pieces and I was a gibbering wreck.

Even after Bryant escaped his clutches, Epstein would sporadically contact her over the years.

In 2011, the sex offender had an employee email her a nude photo that hed snapped of her in Palm Beach, as a sick sort of memento. Bryant says Epstein took the picture after barging into her room. Hi Ju, JE asked me to send this to you :))) the message from the assistant read.

Two years later, Epstein sent her a connection request on LinkedIn. And in November 2015, he emailed Bryant seeking referrals for new employees. The message, reviewed by The Daily Beast, stated, Im looking for new assitants [sic], anyone you know.

Epstein emailed her again in January 2017, asking whether she knew Sarah Ransome, another survivor of his abuse who sued him, Maxwell, and Kellen over his sex-trafficking enterprise. His email arrived days before Ransome filed her lawsuit in Manhattan federal court under the pseudonym Jane Doe 43. (The case was settled in 2018.)

At the time, Bryant did not know Ransome, who was trafficked by Epstein in 2006 and 2007, but considered Epsteins out-of-the-blue message as a veiled threat.

Epstein also emailed her, she says, about a month before his July 2019 arrest and asked her to send him nude photographs.

The multimillionaire intimidated her, and she was too ashamed to tell loved ones what had happened to her, even as they helped her pay for therapyand even as she was hospitalized multiple times for panic attacks stemming from his abuse.

Bryant didnt come forward until after Epsteins death; she told The Daily Beast she was too afraid to speak up while he was alive.

But seeing other accusers like Giuffre, Annie Farmer, and Ransome speak out has inspired her to join the growing chorus of women demanding justice.

With Maxwell behind bars, and her sex-trafficking conviction no longer in the balance, Bryant feels especially empowered to finally share her story.

I never realized I was sex-trafficked because I didnt realize what sex trafficking was, Bryant told us. I think people should be educated on trafficking and how many people go missing.

She hopes standing up now will help support other survivors and encourage more of them to speak out about what they witnessed and endured under Epstein.

Ive spent my life being so ashamed but I suddenly realized I have nothing to hidethey do, Bryant said of Epstein and his accomplices. I want to speak out for all the people who no longer can.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Mariya Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova - Itar-Tass News Agency/Alamy Stock Photo/Reuters/Evgenia Novozhenina

Brussels plans to hit Vladimir Putins daughters with sanctions as it responds to alleged war crimes with punitive measures including a ban on Russian coal imports.

Katerina Tikhonova and Mariya Vorontsova, whose lives are shrouded in secrecy, are on a draft list of targets including politicians, propagandists, oligarchs and their family members.

The hit list, which is subject to change and will involve asset freezes and travel bans, will be put before ambassadors from the European Union on Wednesday for approval.

The move is largely symbolic as it is unclear if Ms Vorontsova, who co-owns a healthcare investment project, and Ms Tikhonova, who runs an artificial intelligence institute at Moscow State University, have assets outside of Russia.

The EU is also expected to ban coal imports, worth about 3.3 billion, in its first move against the Russian energy sector.

The European Commission said that it was working on more sanctions targeting oil, but there are no plans to hit the more significant gas imports.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the commission, said: We all saw the gruesome pictures from Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have recently left. These atrocities cannot and will not be left unanswered.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president - Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images

Germany, which is dependent on Russian gas, has ruled out an immediate embargo on gas, which means that EU sanctions would not have the unanimous support necessary to be approved.

The move came after Liz Truss called on European allies to set out a timetable to end Russian oil and gas imports ahead of Wednesdays meeting of Nato and G7 foreign ministers in Brussels.

The Foreign Secretary said that Western sanctions were pushing the Russian economy back into the Soviet era, and demanded even tougher action to stop the war in Ukraine, including more weapons for Kyiv.

She said that the UK had frozen 266.3 billion of Putins war chest and made more than 60 per cent of his 461.5 billion of foreign currency reserves unavailable.

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On Wednesday, the US is expected to ban all new investments in Russia, in its latest round of sanctions.

The measures, which will be taken in co-ordination with the G7 and EU, will include a ban on all new investment in Russia, increased sanctions on financial institutions and state owned enterprises in Russia, a US official said.

Further sanctions on Russian government officials and their family members are also anticipated.

Europe steps up sanctions

Russian embassy in Dublin - Damien Storan/PA Wire

EU ambassadors will discuss a full transaction ban on four Russian banks, as well as an embargo on Russian boats accessing EU ports with some exemptions for agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid and energy.

Russian wood, cement and liquor and seafood, such as vodka and caviar, will also be banned. The imports are worth about 4.6 billion a year.

The EU is expected to ban Russian and Belarusian road transport operators and prohibit the sale to Russia of quantum computers, advanced semiconductors, sensitive machinery and transportation equipment worth 8.3 billion annually. It will exclude Russian companies from public procurement tenders in EU countries.

Brussels expelled 19 Russian diplomats from Belgium on Tuesday for engaging in activities contrary to their diplomatic status.

Russias ambassador to the EU warned of retaliation as Putin warned that Moscow would carefully monitor food exports to hostile nations.

Romania, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Sweden also expelled suspected spies a day after France and Germany ordered diplomats to leave embassies in Paris and Berlin. About 184 diplomats have been expelled from European embassies since Monday.

Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Ireland complained that it was running out of fuel for heating and hot water after Irish companies refused to deliver supplies because of the war.

The embassy begged the government in Dublin to intervene after its boiler contract and fuel card account was cancelled by separate companies.
The editorial board of The Washington Post is arguing the press and major social media platforms can learn a lesson from how allegations of corruption against President Bidens son Hunter Biden were treated when they first surfaced weeks before the 2020 election.

For now, whats more compelling than the assorted accusations about the Bidens behavior is this question: Why is confirmation of a story that first surfaced in the fall of 2020 emerging only now? the Post said in an editorial published on Sunday. When the New York Post published its blockbuster exclusive on the contents of a laptop said to have been abandoned at a Delaware repair shop by Hunter Biden, mainstream media organizations balked at running with the same narrative.

Social media companies, including Twitter, took even greater caution when allegations of corruption hit Hunter Biden, the Post noted.

Twitter blocked the story altogether, pointing to a policy against hacked materials, and suspended the New York Posts account for sharing it; Facebook downranked the story in the algorithms that govern users news feeds for fear that it was based on misinformation, the editorial continued. This series of events has prompted allegations of a coverup, or at best a double standard in the treatment of conservative and liberal politicians by mainstream media and social media sites.

A federal investigation into Hunter Bidens taxes and lobbying activities is ongoing.

There are reasons news organizations should wait to verify information before turning it into a story, the newspaper argued, pointing out that social media companies have faced increased scrutiny in recent years to suppress fast-spreading misinformation, especially during an election cycle.

None of these dilemmas have easy answers, the Post concluded. The lesson learned from 2016 was evidently to err on the side of setting aside questionable material in the heat of a political campaign. The lesson learned from 2020 may well be that theres also a danger of suppressing accurate and relevant stories.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Darrell Brooks appears Monday, April 4, 2022 in Waukesha County Court in Waukesha, Wis. He is charged with killing five people and injuring nearly 50 after plowing through a Christmas parade with his sport utility vehicle on November 21.

WAUKESHA - Darrell Brooks Jr.'s trial for an 83-count criminal case tied to the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy will remain on the October schedule, and for now in Waukesha County.

Whether it remains in the county will be the subject of a change of venue hearing on June 20.

In a motion hearing Monday, Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow ruled that the trial for the 40-year-old Milwaukee man cannot wait until 2023, as Brooks' defense team had hoped.

The decision followed an anticipated motion, filed April 1, from Brooks' defense attorneys asking for the scheduled Oct. 3 trial to be adjourned to a much later date. In a separate hearing earlier in the week, attorney Jeremy Perri suggested the defense might need at least a year, though in Monday's hearing he only specified that the trial be delayed until March "at the earliest."

Arguing for a delay

In several instances, Perri has referenced the need to line up expert testimony supporting his client's case, though he gave no indication what that defense would center on.

"Our best estimate in terms of when the defense would be ready to proceed and be prepared for trial resulted in us realizing that October is not realistic," he told Dorow.

In response to questions from Dorow, Perri acknowledged he had few specific reasons to support his request, adding his review of 1,300 pages of discovery documents presented by prosecutors has only been preliminary in nature, not in-depth.

Judge Jennifer R. Dorow presides over a hearing for Darrell Brooks Monday, April 4, 2022 in Waukesha County Court in Waukesha, Wis. He is charged with killing five people and injuring nearly 50 after plowing through a Christmas parade with his sport utility vehicle on November 21.

"What can you point me to, or set forth for me, that would say 'If we don't get this adjournment, we would be prejudiced in this way,' whether it'd be the unavailability of a certain witness or for closing a line of defense?" Dorow asked.

"I can't at this stage," Perri responded.

The lack of specifics is a key point, prosecutors said in response to the defense motion.

"Mr. Perri represents to the court that they have made a reasonable request that's not out of line," Waukesha County District Attorney Sue Opper said. "That may be true, but it is frankly too difficult to assess with the information we have before us."

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In preparing her trial order, Dorow concluded that the "balancing act" the court faces  between the time the defense said it needed to prepare its case on one side and case law and victims' rights on the other  she was forced to favor the latter, absent any specifics by the defense.

The court also heard from victims and their families who all objected to any adjournment.

But major questions remain about jury

Brooks' defense team has also sought to secure a fair trial for their client in two concurrent actions, including the option of using a 19-page questionnaire for prospective jurors delving deeply into their backgrounds and, more significantly, the possibility that the trial could be held elsewhere.

Since February, defense attorneys Perri and co-counsel Anna Kees indicated their intent to ask for a change of venue, citing the intensive media coverage of both the parade incident and subsequent court proceedings during which Brooks was charged as a mass-murder defendant.

Brooks, 40, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

In addition, Brooks' attorneys cited other attention that drew people to the incident. including overwhelming community support of victims, expressed in millions of dollars in donations, dozens of vigils and even a visit to Waukesha to support victims by first lady Jill Biden.

"While publicity is certainly relevant to determining the issue in the present case, additional factors also demonstrate that, in this case and in Waukesha County, the passions and prejudice negatively affecting the defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial are so great that a change of venue is necessary to ensure a fair trial," the attorneys wrote in their February motion.

In court on Monday, Perri and Kees reiterated that it all adds up to a situation in which only a jury from outside the county could more fairly assess Brooks' guilt or innocence.

As part of her trial order, Dorow set dates assuming a change of venue is denied. Those dates include the process of sending out questionnaires to the entire pool of potential jurors for October.

The questionnaires, which court officials are in the process of finalizing, are expected to be mailed out by April 15 and returned one month later, giving attorneys time to confer on any potential conflicts.

Witness and victims' names will remain under seal, as will the long list of specific questions that jurors will have to answer to determine their impartiality, Dorow ruled.

The process would quickly become moot if Dorow decided on June 20 to grant a change of venue.

One element that his attorneys have hinted at in previous hearings is whether Brooks was intentionally trying to run down parade attendees and participants or was swerving in an attempt to evade police.

Perri has argued that the thousands of people with connections to victims or who witnessed the shocking scene during the parade could easily influence the outcome of a trial.

Six people ultimately died, and more than 60 others were injured, in the incident on Nov. 21 in downtown Waukesha.

The criminal complaint, thrice amended, is largely built around those people. Brooks faces six counts of first-degree intentional homicide with use of a dangerous weapon (his vehicle), 61 counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with use of a dangerous weapon, six counts of hit and run involving death, and six counts of homicide by vehicle involving the use of a controlled substance.

Dorow estimated the trial, including unusually complex jury instructions tied to the 83 counts and jurors' considering ofeach count individually, could result in a trial process spanning four weeks.

In addition, Brooks faces four other charges: two felony bail jumping counts tied to a Milwaukee incident involving a woman who is the mother of his child, and two misdemeanor counts of domestic abuse battery involving the same woman in Waukesha minutes before the parade incident.

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha judge affirms Darrell Brooks trial will still be in October
By Nellie Peyton

DAKAR (Reuters) - West Africa is facing its worst food crisis on record driven by conflict, drought, and the impact of the war in Ukraine on food prices and availability, aid agencies said on Tuesday.

There are about 27 million people suffering from hunger in the region and that number could rise to 38 million by June, a 40% increase from last year and a historic high, said 11 international aid organizations in a joint statement.

Large swathes of West Africa, including parts of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, are facing Islamist insurgencies that have forced millions of people off their land. Along with Chad, those are the countries most affected by hunger.

The region has also seen worsening floods and droughts due to the effects of climate change, making it harder to farm. Cereal production in 2021/22 was down 39% year-on-year in Niger and 15% in Mali, according to West Africa's Food Crisis Prevention Network.

On top of that, global food prices have surged and trade has been disrupted due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Border closures due to COVID-19 have also had a negative impact, the Food Crisis Prevention Network said.

"What is new and worsening is mainly all the displaced people and abandoned land because of conflict, but also we are witnessing new drivers," said Assalama Dawalack Sidi, Oxfam's regional director for West and Central Africa.

Six West African countries import 30-50% of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The Ukraine war also risks redirecting much-needed funding from the region, Sidi warned.

"Many donors have already indicated that they may cut funding for Africa to pay for refugees in Europe," she said.

(Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Top, from left: Adam Fox and Barry Croft Bottom, from left: Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta

First, they asked for a dictionary. Then they asked for a legal definition of the term "weapon."

On Tuesday, the jury in the Gretchen Whitmer kidnap plot case re-emerged from the deliberation room with another request of the judge: Can we see the transcripts of the witness testimony?

Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker said no, and urged the jury  which was allowed to take notes during trial  to focus on what they remembered, and the evidence they have been given, including the secret audio recordings of the defendants and the written transcripts of what was said in those recordings.

While the case transcript is not ready yet, Jonker said it's expected to be around 3,400 pages long by the time it's finished. He advised jurors that if they had the entire transcript, they may focus too much on certain parts of the transcript, rather than taking the entirety of the evidence presented in the trial.

Jonker added that it's up to the jury to weigh each witness' testimony separately.

"There's a richness in oral testimony that words alone don't capture," Jonker told the jury. "Pay attention to them in the context of everything you learned about the speaker."

More: 'Honey, I'm building explosives': 12 Key moments in Whitmer kidnap plot trial

More: Jury in Whitmer kidnap plot pauses deliberations with a question: 'What's a weapon?'

The prosecution and defense both agreed with Jonkers' decision to not release any transcripts from witness testimony. The jury does have access to the audio recordings admitted in evidence and their respective transcripts.

"Words are important, but sometime they mask the full agreement," Jonker said.

The jury which is made up of six women and six men, many from northern Michigan  re-entered its chamber for deliberation around 8:40 a.m.

The jury is deciding the fate of four men charged with plotting to kidnap the governor out of anger over her COVID-19 restrictions. They are also accused of plotting to blow up a bridge near Whitmer's vacation house to slow down law enforcement.

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The jury also is considering an entrapment defense  that is, the FBI set up the defendants and persuaded them to commit the crime.

Two co-defendants, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks, previously pleaded guilty to kidnapping conspiracy and testified against the others at trial, telling jurors there was no entrapment. The defense called them liars at trial and urged the jury not to believe them, claiming they are only trying to spare themselves a lengthy sentence.

Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks were arraigned in federal court in Kent County, Michigan, faces charges related to what the FBI says was a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Garbin got six years; Franks hasn't been sentenced yet.

The others face up to life in prison if convicted.

On trial are Adam Fox, 38, of Potterville; Daniel Harris, 24, of Lake Orion; Brandon Caserta, 33, of Canton and Barry Croft, 46, of Delaware.

All are charged with kidnapping conspiracy; three are charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction; two are charged with possession of an unregistered destructive device; one is charged with possession of an illegal short-barrel rifle.

Tresa Baldas:tbaldas@freeperss.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer kidnap plot jury asks for testimony transcripts
Whoopi Goldberg has dismissed speculation that Will Smiths career has been irrevocably hurt by the Oscars slap controversy on 27 March.

Goldberg was discussing Smiths future Hollywood prospects on Monday nights (4 April) episode of The View amid backlash over his altercation with Chris Rock.

The King Richard actor slapped and swore at Rock over a joke the comedian made about Smiths wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at the Oscars live ceremony. His behaviour was widely criticised by fans and celebrities alike, and prompted the Academy to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him.

Ahead of the Academys forthcoming decision over appropriate punitive action on 18 April, a heartbroken Smith resigned from the Academy last week.

While accepting the Best Actor winners resignation from the Academy, president David Rubin also clarified: We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr Smith for violations of the Academys Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on 18 April.

The Academy board members include Laura Dern, Steven Spielberg and Goldberg.

While discussing Louis CKs widely condemned Grammy win for Best Comedy Album on Sunday (3 April), Goldberg, 66, began by saying: Some people found that controversial, but the [Grammys] didnt have anything like [the slap], which is fine.

CAN WILL SMITHS CAREER RECOVER FROM SLAP? After the actor resigned from the academy and some of his future projects are reportedly in question following the #Oscars incident, #TheView co-hosts discuss his path forward. https://t.co/65KouKy9Jl pic.twitter.com/VQeIiud1JZ  The View (@TheView) April 4, 2022

Also some of Will Smith s future projects are in question, Goldberg continued, adding: The question is, does he have a path back? Yes, of course he does... Hell be fine, hell be back. No worries.

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On Friday, it was reported that Netflix had put their forthcoming film with Smith, Fast and Loose, on the backburner after the Oscars incident.

The Hollywood Reporter claimed Netflix had previously put out calls for a directorafter filmmaker David Leitch opted out of Fast and Loose in favour of a Universal movie starring Ryan Gosling.

However, after Smith struck Rock at the Oscars, the streamer quietly moved the project to the back burner.

Will Smith strikes Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars

The Independent has reached out to Netflixs representatives for comment.

Goldberg, who is a serving governor for the Academys Actors branch, first addressed the slap during last weeks episode of the US talk show, stating that it was a lot of stuff [that] probably built up.

I think he overreacted I think he had one of those moments where it was like [God damn] it, just stop. I get it, not everybody acts the way we would like them to act under pressure. And he snapped.

Sometimes you get to a point when you behave badly, she continued. I myself have behaved badly on occasion.

During Mondays episode, Goldbergs co-host Sunny Hostin said she imagined companies like Netflix were worried about the audiences reaction to new Smith movies after the slap.

I think its a valid discussion. Joy [Behar] and I were talking about this on Friday  can you separate the art from the artist? she asked.

Goldberg responded: You have to, because if you dont, none of us can be artists.

Everyone of us steps in poo at some point.

Smith, in his resignation letter, said he will accept any further disciplinary action that the Academy board deems appropriate.
Spring break passengers wait in a TSA security line at

Spring break passengers wait in a TSA security line at Orlando International Airport. While COVID-19 face masks are still required, crowds have increased over last year. Credit - Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Thousands of travelers were stranded in airports over the weekend as thunderstorms in Florida curtailed operations and technology issues left one of the largest airlines scrambling to recover during the spring break travel rush. More than 10,000 U.S. flights were canceled or delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware, with another 5,085 delayed and 779 canceled on Monday.

Absolute madness, one person wrote on Twitter to Southwest Airlines. Very disappointed, another wrote to JetBlue Airways. Some passengers said they waited on hold with airlines for hours, while others stood in long lines to speak with an agent to get their canceled flights rescheduled. Southwest alone canceled 920 flights between Saturday and Sunday, with 43% of its scheduled Saturday flights delayed. On Sunday, JetBlue canceled 25% of its flights. Alaska Airlines, Frontier, Spirit and American Airlines also reported similar delays and cancellations.

Heres everything that went wrong.

Inclement weather

Heavy rain and damaging winds across central Florida on Saturday were the main cause of air travel disruptions over the weekend. At one point in the afternoon, forecasters were tracking a tornado threat in between Jacksonville and Gainesville, prompting air traffic controllers to institute a flow constrained area over that part of Florida.

The Federal Aviation Administration had to briefly halt flights at several airports in the state because of the extreme weather conditions, and other flights had to be rerouted away from the storms. The weekends problems were exacerbated by it being peak spring break travel season, with close to 2.3 million travelers screened at airports on Friday.

Over the past several days, severe weather in the southeast and multiple air traffic control delay programs have created significant impacts on the industry, JetBlue said in a statement. The airline claimed the cancellations were necessary to help reset our operation and safely move our crews and aircraft back in to position.

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Technology issues

In addition to the inclement weather in Florida, the nations largest domestic carrierSouthwestsaid it also faced intermittent technology issues early Saturday morning that impacted its scheduling.

The airline briefly paused departures as part of overnight maintenance prior to the storm in order to perform checks on a backend system that it reset. The maintenance was planned, though Southwest did not specify how or why it became an issue that led to delays.

However, these technology issues only impacted some of the airlines earliest flights on Saturday, hours before the storm hit.

Staffing shortages

Alaska Airlines, a frequent flyer around the Pacific Northwest, seemed to be dealing with a separate issue over the weekend that led to even more flight cancellations: a staffing shortage and ongoing contract negotiations with its pilots.

The airline canceled nearly 300 flights between Friday and Sunday, affecting more than 37,000 customers, as off-duty pilots picketed in several U.S. cities over stalled negotiations. The cancellations began the same day the union representing Alaska Airlines pilots organized outside the carriers terminals in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Anchorage.

Pilots there have been without a new contract for three years, and continue to bargain for more flexible schedules and increased job security and wages alongside the Air Line Pilots Association. But the union claims its picket lines are not to blame for Alaska Airlines cancellations since pilots only organized on Friday, and the airline canceled 161 of its flights on Saturday and Sunday when pilots werent demonstrating. Rather, it says pilot attrition is the cause. Alaska Airlines failed to properly plan for increased travel demand and take the steps necessary to ensure it attracted and retained pilots, the pilots union said in a Friday press release.

Consulting firm Oliver Wyman projects there will be a shortage of pilots that exceeds 12,000 by 2023 due to an aging pilot population and strong use of early retirements. A series of now-deleted viral TikToks from late February chronicling how a JetBlue flight cancellation left people stuck for at least 48 hours in Las Vegas raised concern that pilots had gone on strike, but there have been no such reports.

Alongside other carriers, we continue to be impacted by a national pilot shortage and the required training regimen to bring new pilots onboard, Alaska Airlines acknowledged in a statement Saturday. Capt. John Ladner, Alaskas vice president of flight operations, wrote in an email to pilots on Friday that the carrier will offer 150% of their pay to pick up extra flights.

Brett Snyder, author of the Cranky Flier airline industry site, says airports havent been this busy since before the pandemic began two years ago, when airlines saw record-low passengers and deep financial losses. But with 65% of the nation now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, combined with pent-up demand amid the busy spring break season, airlines are left scrambling to rebuild their networks and employee ranks, as some 400,000 airline workers were fired or furloughed in the last two years. That means they may have less slack than theyd like, and something like the bad weather Florida experienced this weekend can create havoc more easily, Snyder says.

What to do if your flight is canceled

With 304 U.S. flights already canceled on Tuesday and another 29 on Wednesday as of press time, travelers should be prepared for more unexpected flight changes to occur throughout this week. The first thing travelers should do when their flight is canceled, experts say, is look up their ticket information and review airline-specific policy.

Airlines are legally obligated to provide a full refund to customers if a flight is significantly delayed and the passenger chooses not to travel, but ultimately its up to the airline to determine what constitutes a significant delay. Passengers who choose to take the next available flight are not entitled to compensation under federal law, though some airlines may offer refunds if the delay is their fault or caused by mechanical issues. Southwest, however, has not publicly offered refunds for flights delayed by its weekend technology issues.

If youre at the airport, get in line to speak with an agent, Snyder says. Passengers will typically be given a few options, such as a seat on the next available flight, their money back or travel credits that expire in one year. Passengers can also call their airline directly, but given the long wait times and potential challenges with dialing international phone numbers, Snyder recommends also sending a Tweet to the airline. Some airlines will also post updates on social media with a list of alternate options available.

But for travelers caught in the wrath of Floridas weekend storm, experts note that airlines are not obligated to arrange any accommodations, so travelers will have to fend for themselves when it comes to meals and overnight lodging.

For travelers who booked their flights through an online travel agency, such as Expedia or Orbitz, the process can be a little more difficult. Customers are advised to contact the agency directly to resolve any issues, and the agency can then request a refund from the airline on the travelers behalf.

What does this mean as travel season ramps up?

Although some airlines are resuming near normal operations, the recent string of flight disruptions isnt over yet. On Tuesday, 114 flights on Spirit Airlines are still canceled, and the delays have created a massive backlog for airlines with the effects reaching airports all across the nation, from Boston to Las Vegas to Dallas.

Experts warn the staffing shortages at Alaska Airlines and across the industry are most likely a lingering problem that could lead to continued delays and cancellations in the coming months. But extreme weather events are less predictable. A flight cancellation is always a possibility for travelers at any time, Snyder says. Airlines can never predict the weather well enough to be able to schedule everything perfectly, so things can be derailed.
WISCONSIN RAPIDS  A 64-year-old man facing a charge of attempted first-degree intentional homicide pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Wood County Circuit Court.

Tommy J. Ehrisman also pleaded not guilty to a charge of strangulation and suffocation. Wood County Circuit Judge Todd Wolf found there was enough evidence in the case to continue it and ordered a status conference scheduled for June 29.

According to the criminal complaint, on Feb. 16, Ehrisman said he went into the bedroom of a Wisconsin Rapids home where a woman was sleeping. Ehrisman said he put a pillow over the woman's face and tried to suffocate her, according to the complaint.

The woman said Ehrisman had told her he had been thinking about smothering for the previous several nights, according to the complaint. She said that on Feb. 16, he walked into the bedroom, put a pillow on her face and pressed down, making it difficult for her to breathe, according to the complaint.

The woman said she turned her head to grasp for breath. She said she saw stars and thought she was going to black out. The woman said she was fighting and biting at Ehrisman, and he eventually stopped suffocating her, according to the complaint. The woman said Ehrishman told her to call police, according to the complaint.

Ehrisman said he did it because of financial and medical problems, Wisconsin Rapids Police Sgt. Dean Fleisner said Tuesday during the court hearing. According to the complaint, Ehrisman was suicidal, despondent and said there was no place to turn other than ending lives.

Ehrisman currently is in jail pending a $200,000 cash bail. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 43 years in prison.

Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KMadden715, Instagram at @kmadden715 or Facebook at facebook.com/karen.madden.33.

MORE NEWS: Wood County authorities release name of Saratoga woman killed in Thunder Trail house fire

MORE NEWS: Wisconsin Rapids Fire Station 1 renovations provide safer, more comfortable workspace for firefighters

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Wisconsin Rapids man pleads not guilty to trying to smother woman
A woman calling herself Shay Johnson is now said to be a fraud as the victims family doesnt know her

A woman acting as a spokesperson for the family of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson is not known to them and is reportedly an adult entertainer who was fired this week after news of her deception broke.

I feel terrible about it, William Sierer, the owner of Flash Dancers told the Orlando Sentinel in a phone interview, calling his former employees actions unconscionable.

Sierer added, We are part of the community here in Orlando, and I feel terrible about the tragedy, he said. I wish we could help in some way.

As previously reported, Shay Johnson has spoken at events, including a march outside of the Orlando FreeFall. She called for it to be demolished after the teenager fell to his death while on the ride at ICON Park last month.

Sampsons mother told Orange County detectives that she does not know who Shay Johnson is, Orange County Sheriffs Office spokesperson Michelle Guido said in an email Thursday, according to the report.

Guido noted that Johnson telling reporters that shes related to the boy does not constitute a crime.

Legally known as Lewishena Lavonia Browning, she has been reportedly jailed at least four times in Orange County, Florida, and is currently awaiting trial on felony arson and criminal mischief charges after allegedly setting an ex-boyfriends car on fire last fall.

ICON Park attractions, The Wheel, left, Orlando SlingShot, middle, and Orlando FreeFall, right, in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday, March 24, 2022. (Stephen M. Dowell /Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Per the report, the fire also damaged six other vehicles and an awning at the West Vue Apartments. Evidence in Brownings case includes a Google search for the victims girlfriends address and another where she wrote, What is the best thing to set a car on fire lighter fluid gas.

Browning was injured in the fire and was treated for burns at the Orlando Regional Medical Center.

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The post Woman pretending to be Tyre Sampsons cousin is an adult entertainer facing arson charge: report appeared first on TheGrio.
With its stock down 26% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Xylem (NYSE:XYL). However, stock prices are usually driven by a companys financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. Specifically, we decided to study Xylem's ROE in this article.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors money. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.

View our latest analysis for Xylem

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations)  Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Xylem is:

13% = US$427m  US$3.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2021).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.13 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Assuming everything else remains unchanged, the higher the ROE and profit retention, the higher the growth rate of a company compared to companies that don't necessarily bear these characteristics.

Xylem's Earnings Growth And 13% ROE

To start with, Xylem's ROE looks acceptable. And on comparing with the industry, we found that the the average industry ROE is similar at 13%. Despite the moderate return on equity, Xylem has posted a net income growth of 3.3% over the past five years. A few likely reasons that could be keeping earnings growth low are - the company has a high payout ratio or the business has allocated capital poorly, for instance.

We then compared Xylem's net income growth with the industry and found that the company's growth figure is lower than the average industry growth rate of 9.1% in the same period, which is a bit concerning.

Story continues

Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. What is XYL worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether XYL is currently mispriced by the market.

Is Xylem Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Despite having a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 47% (implying that the company retains the remaining 53% of its income), Xylem's earnings growth was quite low. So there could be some other explanation in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.

Additionally, Xylem has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 36% over the next three years. The fact that the company's ROE is expected to rise to 17% over the same period is explained by the drop in the payout ratio.

Summary

Overall, we feel that Xylem certainly does have some positive factors to consider. However, given the high ROE and high profit retention, we would expect the company to be delivering strong earnings growth, but that isn't the case here. This suggests that there might be some external threat to the business, that's hampering its growth. Having said that, looking at the current analyst estimates, we found that the company's earnings are expected to gain momentum. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Authorities on Monday said they caught Dominic Taddeo, a convicted New York mobster and hitman who had fled from federal custody last week.

Taddeo was serving a roughly three-decade sentence for multiple offenses  including killing three people during mafia wars in the 80s. His sentence was set to finish by the end of 2022 before he escaped from federal authorities last Monday.

The U.S. Marshals Service from the Southern District of Florida and the Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force said they nabbed Taddeo near Hialeah, a city in Miami-Dade County, around 11 a.m. on Monday, according to a release.

U.S. Marshal Bill Berger of the Middle District of Florida said they pursued leads across the country and combed through Florida after Taddeo failed to return from an authorized medical appointment following his in-state transfer from a medium-security prison to a halfway house.

The tenacious work of the involved deputy marshals and the cooperation between our offices resulted in the quick capture of Mr. Taddeo, Berger said in a statement.

From 1990 to 1992, Taddeo, 64, was convicted on federal racketeering charges as well as multiple other offenses, including killing three men when he worked as a hitman for the La Cosa Nostra, a Rochester, New York, crime family.

Taddeos flight last week was the second time he has attempted to evade authorities. In the late 80s, the mobster took off while he was out on bail for federal weapons charges, launching a two-year manhunt.

Before his transfer to a halfway house in Florida, Taddeo was an inmate at a medium-security facility in Wildwood, Fla., where he had made a request for a COVID-related release from prison. The judge denied his request.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the United Nations on Tuesday to act and reform its system which gives Security Council permanent member Russia a veto, saying everything must be done to ensure the international body works effectively.

In a passionate address to the United Nations Security Council, Zelenskiy described in detail grim scenes in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, saying Moscow wanted to turn Ukraine into 'silent slaves'.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday in an address to the United Nations Security Council will be asking for more help from Western allies in the countrys fight against Russia.

The Ukrainian president will be addressing the council as the war continues into its second month, according to multiple reports.

In a video on Monday, Zelensky said that the death toll could rise as Ukrainian forces target areas occupied by Russia and as Russian troops withdraw.

Russia has previously said its forces would decrease in areas such as Kyiv and Chernobyl as a sign of good faith during peace negotiations, but Ukrainian and U.S. officials say the Kremlin made the move in an attempt to focus fighting in the more eastern parts of Ukraine.

Zelenskys address comes as images of civilian deaths from the Kyiv suburb of Bucha have sparked international outrage with a number of officials accusing Russia of war crimes including sexual violence against women and executing citizens.

President Biden on Monday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin should face trial for war crimes he says have been committed in Ukraine.

The Pentagon called the images deeply troubling, though it said it could not confirm the atrocities in Bucha.

Zelensky called the actions genocide.

These are war crimes and will be recognized by the world as genocide, Zelensky said. We know of thousands of people killed and tortured, with severed limbs, raped women and murdered children.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague would be the system that could put Putin on trial, but has little enforcement power for its rulings.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a dramatic video appearance at the United Nations on Tuesday called on the body to remove Russia from the Security Council days after evidence circulated of executions and other atrocities committed by Russian troops in his country.

Zelensky said Russia should be removed from its place as a permanent member of the Security Council, where it holds veto power, arguing that it was time to reform the global peace-keeping body.

We are dealing with a state that is turning the veto [in] the U.N. Security Council into the right to die, Zelensky said in his remarks. This undermines the whole architecture of global security and allows them to go unpunished.

The main thing is today, its time to transform the system, the United Nations, he told the Security Council.

Photos of civilians apparently killed by Russian troops in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha  including at least one person whose hands were tied behind their back  suggested Russian troops had indiscriminately shot and killed civilians during their occupation of the town.

Satellite images indicated that bodies had been left in the streets for weeks, contradicting Russian suggestions that the photos were staged.

The Ukrainian presidents speech was accompanied by a graphic video showing harrowing images of some of the carnage discovered in Ukrainian cities that were under Russian occupation.

Among the images included what appeared to be the body of a man at the bottom of a well, the unclothed body of a child who was blindfolded and lying on top of other dead bodies, charred bodies piled on top of each other and trenches filled with bodies.

There is no provision or mechanism to remove a permanent member of the Security Council written into the U.N. charter. The five permanent members are Russia, the U.S., United Kingdom, France and China.

Each permanent member holds a veto power to reject measures brought up for a vote on the Security Council. These can include imposing sanctions or authorizing the use of force to maintain or restore international peace of security, although the council has yet to take up such measures related to Russias current war in Ukraine.

Story continues

China, which has abstained from votes related to Moscow in the Security Council instead of using its veto, has largely offered support for Russia before and during the invasion and would be unlikely to support removing Russia from the Security Council.

Russia has used its veto power in the Security Council to reject statements of resolution condemning Moscows invasion that began on Feb. 24, although two votes in the General Assembly have garnered a majority of member states voting to condemn Russia as the aggressor.

If Russia is not removed from the council, Zelensky said the body should just be dissolved.

If there is no alternative and no option, then the next option would be dissolve yourself altogether, he said.

The Ukrainian president proposed a global conference to convene in Kyiv to discuss reforms to the United Nations.

It is now clear that the goals set in San Francisco in 1945 for the creation of a global security international organization have not been achieved, and it is impossible to achieve them without reforms, he said.

Zelensky detailed some of the most harrowing circumstances of the victims found on the outskirts of Kyiv after Russias retreat. He said that people were shot in the back of the head after being tortured, some shot on the streets and that civilians were crushed to death in their cars by tanks.

They cut off limbs, slashed their throats, women were raped and killed in front of their children. Their tongues were pulled out only because the aggressor did not hear what they wanted to hear from them, Zelensky said in his remarks. He also called for a Nuremberg-like trial against Russia  a term that refers to the international military tribunal held in the aftermath of World War II.

The Russian military, and those who gave them orders must be brought to justice, immediately for war crimes in Ukraine, he said.

The U.S., allies and other top international leaders have said that atrocities uncovered in Ukraine allegedly inflicted by Russian forces constitute as war crimes, and efforts to document the events are being shared with relevant bodies carrying out investigations.

Of these include an investigation by the International Criminal Court, the office of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General and investigations by other regional countries in eastern Europe.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that he has also directed an independent investigation into the atrocities discovered in Bucha, adding that he was deeply shocked by personal testimony of rapes and sexual violence.

I deeply regret the divisions that have prevented the Security Council from acting not only on Ukraine, but on other threats to peace and security around the world, Gutterres said. I urge the council to do everything in its power to end the war and to mitigate its impact both on the suffering people of Ukraine and on vulnerable people in developing countries around the world.

Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, also updated the council on the latest casualties coming from Ukraine, saying that the top U.N. body monitoring human rights had confirmed 1,480 civilians killed, and 2,195 injured since Feb. 24, but that the actual figures are considerably higher.

The revelations of atrocities that have come from Bucha raise even more concern over the fate of civilians in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which has been under an intensive siege by Russia for over a month and is viewed as an indispensable front for Moscow to connect by land with the Crimean peninsula, which it controls.

While Russian forces have pulled back their troops from Kyiv, Ukrainians, the U.S. and NATO have said that such a move is aimed at repositioning the military in Ukraines east to focus on areas where it has established more dominance, in particular the eastern Donbas region and in the south from the sea of Azov.

The U.S. and others have said indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas in Mariupol and the bombing of hospitals, schools, and shelters marked with the words children likely constitute war crimes for targeting civilians. Journalists have documented civilians killed under alleged Russian shelling as they attempt to escape the city under supposed humanitarian corridors.

Martin Griffiths, the U.N.s Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in a briefing to the Security Council that Mariupol is the center of hell.

We restate here that civilians must be allowed to move to safer areas without the fear of attacks, at their own choice and at their own selection, Griffiths said, adding that he had communicated to officials in Moscow to establish a pause in the fighting to provide humanitarian assistance.

I came away from these meetings, believing that we have a very long road, a long road ahead of us, but it must be traveled, he said.

Updated 1:37 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Volodymyr Zelensky RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the United Nations Security Council via video link on Tuesday, offering stark descriptions of Russian atrocities against Ukraine and a heartfelt plea for international assistance, The Hill reported.

"They cut off limbs, cut their throats. Women were raped and killed in front of their children. Their tongues were pulled out, only because the aggressor did not hear what he wanted to hear from them. This is no different from other terrorists, such as [the Islamic State]," Zelensky said.

He added that the images of dead civilians found in Bucha were "only one of many examples" of Russian brutality. "The world has yet to see what they have done in other occupied cities and regions of our country," Zelensky said.

Zelensky also accused Russian forces of deliberately "creating mass starvation" in besieged cities like Mariupol and of causing "a global food crisis that could lead to famine in Africa, Asia, and other countries." Russia and Ukraine jointly produce around 30 percent of the world's wheat exports, and the war between the two threatens food security for millions of people worldwide.

The Ukrainian president then expressed frustration with the United Nations' failure to take more drastic action against Russia. "Where is the security that the Security Council needs to guarantee? It's not there ... It is obvious that the key institution of the world, which must ensure the coercion of any aggressor to peace, simply cannot work effectively," Zelensky said. He also called for Russia to be removed from the Security Council.

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Gruesome images, stories from Bucha and other Ukrainian suburbs draw vows of new Russian sanctions, justice
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday demanded that Russian officials be tried for war crimes after hundreds of Ukrainian civilians were found dead in the Kyiv suburbs amid the withdrawal of Russian forces from the region.

In a video address to the U.N. Security Council, Zelensky called for trials similar to those held in Nuremberg, Germany, in the late 1940s.

The Russian military and those who gave them orders must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes in Ukraine, he said. There can be no exceptions.

Zelensky, who visited a mass grave in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha on Monday, described in graphic detail the carnage that he said was carried out by Russian forces there.

They shot and killed women outside their houses, he said. They killed entire families, adults and children, and they tried to burn the bodies.

Zelensky said there was evidence of civilians who were shot in the back of their heads after being tortured.

Women were raped in front of their children, he said. Throats were slashed. Tongues were cut off.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a video address to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. (John Minchillo/AP)

Zelenskys plea came after shocking images emerged from Bucha, one of a number of suburbs abandoned by Russias military. Dead bodies littered the streets, some with their hands tied behind their backs, apparently shot at close range.

The images sparked a fresh wave of condemnation from Western leaders, who called for investigations into the alleged war crimes.

While speaking to reporters at the mass grave in Bucha on Monday, Zelensky said the slaughter should be recognized by the world as genocide. President Biden said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be tried for war crimes, but stopped short of calling it genocide.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels earlier Tuesday, U.S. Secretary State Antony Blinken said there was clear evidence of "deliberate" acts carried out against civilians by Russia in Bucha.

"What we've seen in Bucha is not the random act of a rogue unit," Blinken said. "It's a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities."

Story continues

In his Tuesday address, Zelensky also called for Russia to be removed from the U.N. Security Council for violating its charter, which calls for peace.

Ukraine needs peace. Europe needs peace. The world needs peace, he said.

How are Ukrainian forces taking out so many Russian tanks? Use this embed to learn about some of the weapons systems the U.S. is sending to the Ukrainian army.
BUCHA, Ukraine (AP)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian troops of gruesome atrocities in Ukraine and told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that those responsible should immediately be brought up on war crimes charges in front of a tribunal like the one set up at Nuremberg after World War II.

Zelenskyy, appearing via video from Ukraine, told council members that civilians had been shot in the back of the head after being tortured, blown up with grenades in their apartments and crushed to death by tanks while in cars.

They cut off limbs, cut their throats. Women were raped and killed in front of their children. Their tongues were pulled out only because their aggressor did not hear what they wanted to hear from them, he said, recounting what he described as the worst atrocities since World War II.

Likening the troops actions to those of Islamic State, Zelenskyy said: The Russian military and those who gave them orders must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes in Ukraine.

Anyone who has given criminal orders and carried them out by killing our people will be brought before the tribunal which should be similar to the Nuremberg tribunals, he said.

STORY: Russia faces global outrage over bodies in Ukraines streets

Over the past few days, grisly images of what appeared to be civilian massacres carried out by Russian forces on the outskirts of Kyiv before they pulled back from the capital, have stirred global revulsion and led Western nations to expel dozens more of Moscows diplomats and propose further sanctions, including a ban on coal imports from Russia.

Zelenskyy stressed that Bucha was only one place and that there are more with similar horrors.

The Kremlin has denounced the images as fake and suggested the scenes were staged by the Ukrainians. But high-resolution satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed that many of the bodies had been lying in the open for weeks, during the time that Russian forces were in the town.

Story continues

The head of NATO, meanwhile, warned that Russia is regrouping its forces in order to deploy them to eastern and southern Ukraine for a crucial phase of the war, and said that more horrors may come to light as Russian troops continue to pull back in the north.

When and if they withdraw their troops and Ukrainian troops take over, Im afraid they will see more mass graves, more atrocities and more examples of of war crimes, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

STORY: Alleged atrocities are punch to the gut; 410 bodies removed

Ukrainian officials said the bodies of at least 410 civilians have been found in towns around Kyiv that were recaptured from Russian forces and that a torture chamber was discovered in Bucha.

Zelenskyy told the Security Council there was not a single crime that Russian troops hadnt committed in Bucha.

The Russian military searched for and purposefully killed anyone who served our country. They shot and killed women outside their houses when they just tried to call someone who is alive. They killed entire families, adults and children, and they tried to burn the bodies, he said. They used tanks to crush civilians just for their pleasure, he said.

On Tuesday, police and other investigators walked the silent streets of Bucha, taking notes on bodies that residents showed them. Survivors who hid in their homes during the monthlong Russian occupation of the town, many of them past middle age, wandered past charred tanks and jagged window panes with plastic bags of food and other humanitarian aid. Red Cross workers checked in on intact homes.

Associated Press journalists in the town have counted dozens of corpses in civilian clothes. Many appeared to have been shot at close range, and some had their hands bound or their flesh burned. A mass grave in a churchyard held bodies wrapped in plastic.

LOCAL IMPACT: Ponte Vedra-based company sends cutting-edge wound care to Ukraine

The AP and the PBS series Frontline have jointly verified at least 90 incidents during the war that appear to violate international humanitarian law. The War Crimes Watch Ukraine project includes details of apparent targeted attacks as well as indiscriminate destruction of civilian buildings and infrastructure.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the images from Bucha revealed not the random act of a rogue unit but a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities. He said the reports of atrocities were more than credible, and that the U.S. and other countries will seek to hold the culprits accountable.

Only non-humans are capable of this, said Angelica Chernomor, a refugee from Kyiv who crossed into Poland with her two children, and who had seen the photos from Bucha. Even if people live under a totalitarian regime, they must retain feelings, dignity, but they do not.

Chernomor is among the more than 4 million Ukrainians who have fled the country in the wake of the Feb. 24 invasion.

Russia has rejected similar accusations against its forces in the past by accusing its enemies of forging photos and video and using so-called crisis actors.

As Western leaders condemned the killings in Bucha, Italy, Spain and Denmark expelled dozens of Russian diplomats on Tuesday, following moves by Germany and France. Hundreds of Russian diplomats have been sent home since the start of the invasion, many accused of being spies.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the expulsions a short-sighted measure that would complicate communication and warned they would be met with reciprocal steps.

In another show of support, the European Unions executive branch proposed a ban on coal imports from Russia, in what would be the first sanctions from the bloc targeting the countrys lucrative energy industry over the war. That coal imports amount to an estimated 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year.

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen denounced Moscows heinous crimes around Kyiv.

The 27-nation EU has been a steadfast backer of Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24 and has already pushed through four rounds of sanctions  but Ukrainians officials have begged for more.

Just hours before the latest proposal was announced, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that to prevent new Buchas, the West must impose the mother of all sanctions  on Russian oil and gas.

A few months of tightening your belts are worth thousands of saved lives, he said.

WHITE HOUSE: Intel shows Putin misled by advisers on Ukraine

But Western nations are divided over how far to go. Some are calling for a boycott of Russian oil and gas imports, while Germany and others fear that such a move could plunge the continent into a severe economic crisis.

Western weapons have enabled Ukraine to mount a stiffer than expected resistance to Russias overwhelming firepower. That resistance stopped Russian forces from overrunning the capital and other cities, and many troops have now withdrawn from areas around Kyiv.

But Western and Ukrainian officials say Russia is merely regrouping for another offensive.

Moscow is not giving up its ambitions in Ukraine, NATOs Stoltenberg said. We expect a further push in the eastern and southern Ukraine to try to take the entire Donbas and to create a land bridge to the Crimea Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. Russia-backed separatists in the Donbas have been fighting Ukrainian troops for the last eight years.

___

Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Ukraine; Edith Lederer at the United Nations; and Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
Tye River and Rockfish River elementary schoolers recently enjoyed a variety of agriculture and education activities thanks to the Nelson County High School FFA chapter. Fourth graders from eight classes met farm animals, planted tomatoes and made their own butter and cups of edible soil at stations organized and taught by FFA students.

At the livestock station, FFA students Houston Bryant and Daniel Campbell showed hogs, sheep, cattle and chickens to fourth graders eager to pet a hens downy feathers and answer Bryants questions about what cuts of chicken they eat.

At the Farm Equipment Safety station, Chris Bryant of James River Equipment represented the farming vehicles he loaned to the chapter for the event. Chris Bryant said he partnered with the chapter because its important to educate a new generation of farmers about the equipment theyre going to be using.

Equipment is such an important part of agriculture, Lily Folley said.

Folley is an FFA senior student at NCHS. She said helping lead the build a burger station at the FFAs last Food for America event inspired her interest in agriculture education. Folley will attend Virginia Tech in the fall and plans to major in elementary education.

She explained the purpose of the Food for America event is to educate younger students about where food comes from while advocating for farmers.

A lot of people underestimate farmers and what they do, she said.

Folley and junior FFA student Sydney Ellis were members of a committee that planned the April 1 event. Ellis said FFA students had been organizing since early February and borrowed some station ideas from the chapters last Food for America event but updated them for todays elementary schoolers.

NCHS Agricultural Science teacher and FFA advisor Cole Ramsey explained Food for America is a national curriculum and program.

Our kids have taken the idea and the formatting of it and made it their own, he said.

FFA stands for Future Farmers of America, but Ramsey said most of his students dont graduate directly into a farming career. Instead many enter the workforce in industries related to agriculture or pursue farming-related degrees such as agricultural or environmental science and agricultural business.

Our students leave with a skill set. Whether they go into nursing or whether they go into business or other careers not related to agriculture, theyre leading with that set of leadership skills: event planning, how to run a meeting and how to speak in front of people, Ramsey said.

Ramsey has taught agriculture production at NCHS for five years. Farming and education run in the family: Ramsey, whose father was an agriculture teacher, was raised on a cattle farm and has been involved with FFA "pretty much from birth," showing sheep, cattle and pigs at livestock shows.

Ramsey said his classes are so experiential. In NCHS agriculture and horticulture classes, students learn how to start and tend a plant, harvest a crop and raise sheep and pigs.

We have four ewes and a ram. The students manage that whole flock as part of their classes, everything from shots and vaccines to feeding to marketing the lambs when theyre done. They handle it all, he said.

Ramsey was proud of his students on April 1, but his pride extends throughout the school year.

I teach the best students at Nelson County High School, hands down, and I tell anybody that, Ramsey said. Its a sign over my door in my classroom. The group of kids that we have to work with, they come in as great kids and they leave as great leaders.

Ramsey said he will work with the same group of students from middle school up through graduation through FFA and his classes.

Its like a family thats not your family. Its one backbone thing that will never change. You always have those people to back you up, Ellis said of FFA.

Shes interested in pursuing either agricultural education or welding when she graduates.

I want to be able to do that for other kids in the future, she said.

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WASHINGTON  Jury selection began Monday for Thomas T.J Robertson, a former Rocky Mount police officer accused of crossing his law enforcement partners during the U.S. Capitol riots.

Robertson is charged, among other things, with using a wooden stick to block the path of Metropolitan Police Department officers during a chaotic rebellion by Donald Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.

Off-duty at the time from a job he no longer holds, Robertson wielded the stick at a formation of police officers who were trying to prevent the advancing mob from overtaking the Capitols lower west terrace, a federal indictment alleges.

The 49-year-old has been held without bond since last summer. He appeared in court wearing a dark blue suit and tie and a face mask, which he removed one time to show a smile when he was introduced to 75 prospective jurors seated in the gallery.

Jury selection will continue Tuesday. The trial is expected to last until Friday at the earliest, and could extend into next week.

Robertson has not denied being inside the Capitol, but maintains he acted peacefully and did nothing illegal.

Among the potential witnesses is Robertsons fellow police officer, Jacob Fracker, who agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of a plea agreement. He will be sentenced later. Both men were fired from their jobs with the Rocky Mount Police Department shortly after they were arrested last year.

Of more than 750 people from across the county charged with participating in the insurrection, about 225 had pleaded guilty though early March, according to a count by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia.

Robertson is just the third defendant to contest the charges and go to trial, although others are scheduled in the coming weeks and months.

A jury convicted a Texas man in February of storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun. In a second trial, a judge heard evidence without a jury before finding a Cowboys for Trump founder guilty of entering restricted Capitol grounds. But he acquitted the New Mexico man of a second misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.

Robertson faces six charges: Obstructing an official proceeding, interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder, entering a restricted building while armed with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct while armed, disorderly conduct with the intent to impede Congress and tampering with evidence.

As the case began in Washington D.C.s federal courthouse  just one block down Constitution Avenue from where the riots took place  Robertson quietly examined documents at the defense table as the jury pool was questioned.

Unlike jury selection in many criminal cases, this so-called voir dire process started with the assumption that everyone had heard at least something about the alleged offense.

As one potential juror put it: It caught the attention of the world.

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper asked the members of the pool if, apart from their general knowledge about the insurrection, they knew anything about Robertsons case. He also inquired if what they had seen or heard would affect their ability to be fair and impartial.

Some expressed little doubt.

They had no business doing what they were doing. They were 100% wrong...My personal opinion: They dont deserve no slack, one woman said shortly before she was struck for cause.

Another said: It wouldnt be fair to him if he served on Robertsons jury.

Most were willing to sit in judgment, while struggling to reconcile their personal views with the responsibility of jury duty. I would hope so, one woman said when pressed about her impartiality after suggesting that other groups of Americans may have been treated more harshly by the legal system than Trumps supporters.

Despite Trumps repeated claims of a stolen election  which he repeated before urging a crowd of supporters that included Robertson to fight like hell, shortly before the insurrection started  courts have found no credible evidence of widespread voter fraud.

At one point, defense attorney Mark Rollins objected to prosecutors asking potential jurors from what news source they got their facts, suggesting it was an attempt to discern their political views.

Cooper allowed the line of questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Aloi and Risa Berkower.

One potential juror who called himself a liberal said he thought he would be able to make a logic-based decision, based on the evidence. But he worried aloud about how his wife, who he said shares his political views but is guided more by emotion, would react if there was a verdict of not guilty.

He was excused.
The lowering of the legal age of adulthood in Japan on Friday has sparked concerns that it may be more difficult to support women under 20 who have been coerced into appearing in pornographic videos.

Last year, nonprofit group Paps held 81 consultations about forced appearances in porn, with 20 of them involving people under the age of 20, the former age of adulthood in the country.

Lawyer Kazuko Ito, secretary general of nongovernmental organization Human Rights Now, warned that porn talent agencies may be scouting people in junior high and high schools to make them debut as porn actors as soon as they turn 18.

Victims are often solicited by talent agencies to become television personalities or models, and forced to sign delegation contracts, according to the international human rights group. In many cases, victims realize that they will be in a porn video only after being sent to a shooting location, and are told that they will have to pay a penalty if they refuse the work.

They could be forced to give up their portrait rights under contracts with video production firms. Videos, if released on the internet, could stay online virtually forever.

Previously, the sales of videos featuring 18-and 19-year-olds could be halted by exercising the right to annul contracts signed by minors without the guardians consent.

But the revised Civil Code, which sets the new age of adulthood at 18, prevents such victims from cancelling their contracts through this route. ...continue reading
Katie Reynolds has been volunteering at CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs for almost a year. She volunteers in the Emergency Department on Wednesday afternoons. She helps clean and disinfect rooms after patients leave, bring patients blankets and water, and helps restock rooms with sheets and towels.

Katie said she enjoys volunteering at Mercy because its a great learning opportunity. She said its very interesting getting to see what goes on in the hospital, especially in the Emergency Department. Her favorite part is getting to talk to the nurses and EMTs about their experiences.

Outside of volunteering at the hospital, Katie is a busy student spending time with her friends and doing homework. Her hobbies include reading, baking, journaling and online shopping. She currently is reading Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate and loves watching NCIS each day.

In addition, she also enjoys spending time with her family. Her favorite family vacation is to Wyoming every summer to go hiking, kayaking, and spend time with her cousins. She loves long car rides and spending time with her older sister and brother. Katie said she also spends her Sunday mornings helping with preschoolers at First Christian Church.

National Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 17-23. Mercy Hospital wants to celebrate and thank our volunteers for their commitment and dedication. To learn more about volunteer opportunities at CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs, call or email Lisa Gronstal at 712-328-5394 or lisa.gronstal@commonspirit.org.

 CHI Health Mercy Hospital
Vida Stabler was a 1970s teenager the first time she saw her own people, the Umoho, represented in artwork.

She walked with her Omaha Central High School art class across the lawn north of the school and entered the Joslyn Art Museum.

What she found, in a collection of watercolors including a portrait called Omaha Boy, would influence her career spent teaching the traditions of the people also known as the Omaha.

That expertise recently brought Stabler, now 64, back to the museum and again in front of the paintings of famed artist Karl Bodmer. Now, it was she who commanded the audiences attention.

Museumgoers fanned out around her as she sat and pointed to the frame behind her on the wall: Omaha Boy.

What would his life have been like, she asked, this child of her tribe standing for a portrait in 1833? Who was this boy posing at a trading post a few miles from where, a century later, the Joslyn would be built on the lands of the Umoho?

Stablers answers to those questions are why the museum invited her and other Natives  including people whose tribal ancestors are depicted in the paintings  to take a leading role in the current exhibit, Faces From the Interior.

The exhibit, on display through May 1, features 90 watercolor portraits Bodmer painted after an epic 1830s journey up and down the Missouri River. His portrait subjects: Native people of the Northern Great Plains.

The collection, considered a defining body of Western art, is now on view oh-so-close to where Bodmer once set up his easel.

But the paintings arrived here only after a wild journey. They went by boat to Bodmers Paris studio, then languished in a German castle before a post-World War II discovery brought them back stateside. Omaha energy company Northern Natural Gas bought the collection and loaned it to Joslyn in 1962. The loan became a gift in 1986, after Northern became Enron  but before Enron became infamous.

Faces is the first Joslyn exhibit focused solely on Bodmers portraits. Its also the beginning of the museums effort to study the works from an Indigenous perspective, said Joslyn chief executive Jack Becker.

Its a collection that should be seen from multiple points of view, Becker said.

Native artists, activists and educators now have a voice in how these works  their own family portraits  are displayed and interpreted. Their insights tie the challenges their tribes wrestle with today to the pressures that U.S. policies put on the people Bodmer painted.

Visitors walking the gallery can experience these contributions: companion art pieces, video documentaries, written and audio messages.

Stabler, speaking at a gallery talk, looked at Bodmers painting of the Umoho boy wrapped in a bison robe. She saw his forehead streaked with vermillion, the bangles circling his wrist, a plume tied in his hair.

If ever I saw an elegant young Umoho boy, that was him, Stabler said.

She said he would have lived in a warm earth lodge. He would have collected wood and hauled water. He would have learned about his tribal clan in the ceremonies that brought people together in a circle representing the cosmos.

Hes not much different, she said, from the children she teaches today, at Umoho Nation Public School in Macy, the Omaha Reservation town, pop. 1,045.

Were resilient, she said. Even though we live in a whole different world, there is something beautiful and innate about our children.

Stablers approach to preserving her language and teaching it to her students was influenced by Bodmer and his employer.

In 1832, Bodmer was hired by a German prince, Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, on a mission to study the plants, animals and people of what he called The natural face of North America and its aboriginal population.

The prince sensed he was running out of time. Settler encroachment, disease and U.S. government policy had already decimated some Native tribes.

Arriving in Boston on Independence Day, 1832, Maximilian wrote, I looked in vain for the original American race, the Indians; they have disappeared from this region. Steaming up the Missouri past Bellevue in Spring 1833, he saw survivors scarred and blinded by smallpox.

The princes and artists trip to visit Northern Great Plains tribes fell squarely between Lewis and Clarks expedition, begun in 1804, and the Homestead Act of 1862. From open prairie, to private ownership, in less than one lifetime.

What Maximilian and Bodmer brought back to Europe in journals and paintings is now considered one of the most accurate pre-photography records of the American West.

Recently, Omaha artist Steve Tamayo studied the Bodmer painting Wahktageli, Yankton Sioux Chief to recreate the mans feathered headpiece in three dimensions for the exhibit.

Tamayo, a member of the Sicangu Lakota tribe, worked in his studio, teaching his grandson, Izzy Tamayo, at his side. He cut cloth, trimmed eagle and hawk feathers, stretched sinew and deer hide, and mixed mineral pigments to craft the piece. Each notch in a feather and each red stripe represent a battle achievement, he said.

Bodmers documentation is meaningful to Tamayo in light of government policy that aimed to strip Native people of culture and language. As an artist, he tries to revive cultural identity.

Working with the Joslyn is an awesome opportunity to show that this way of life still exists, but we need to teach the next generation.

The portraits have helped Lestina Saul-Merdassi of Omaha reconnect with her heritage. She recently greeted museum visitors in the Dakotah language, then translated: Its good that you are all here, and I greet you all with a heartfelt handshake.

Looking up, she explained, I had to read that off my phone, because Im in the process of relearning my language.

Saul-Merdassi, a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate tribe, is an addiction counselor, a powwow dancer and an advocate in the MMIW movement to raise awareness of missing and murdered indigenous women.

She saw herself in one of the few portraits Bodmer made of a woman.

When we talk about our history, not everything is all powwows and beauty, she said. Some of us are still healing from what our ancestors went through. By turning to tradition: Were on the mend.

The exhibits perspective is part of an orientation shift happening in the art world, said exhibit curator Annika Johnson, the Joslyns first-ever associate curator of Native art. The new role will continue into the future thanks to an endowment established by museum board chair Stacy Simon.

Johnson works to build relationships with Native people within and beyond museum walls. She launched a Native art advisory committee, opens the Joslyns archives to Native elders and tribes and mentors Native students.

This work to preserve and share Native art and history is crucial, said Stabler, who learned something from the Bodmer collection.

If we dont write things down, maybe were going to miss something, she said. Will we have the time to teach that lesson, or tell that story? Or will they be forgotten?

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.
An increasing number of former Polisario members are fleeing the camps where they are forced to stay in southern Algeria as they see a dead-end for a separatist scheme amid rising support for Moroccos territorial integrity and its autonomy initiative for the region.

Moroccan media, Le360, talked to a new group of Polisario members who managed to flee to Spain, the former colonial power that expressed straightforward support last month for Moroccos sovereignty and its autonomy plan.

After the recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara by the US and the recent support to the autonomy plan by Germany and Spain, I think this initiative (autonomy) is the only solution that is able to resolve the conflict, said Salkoun Ould Bakar.

Mahfoud Kadiri Ould Najm, another Polisario member, said conditions are worsening in the camps and the population held there is viewing autonomy as the only way out for this conflict.

For decades, Algeria has rejected all calls by Morocco and the UN refugee agency to register the population held in the camps.

Morocco has often called the international community to stop using the Sahraouis in the camps as political pawns and urged Algeria to ensure respect of human rights in the camps, where it has forsaken thousands to the mercy of the brutal militia.

Recent reports by international NGOs and the media pointed to violence endured by the camps dwellers who get fired at if they attempt to leave the camps without prior authorization from Algerian authorities.
Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel have agreed to step up cooperation in the fields of culture and sport in line with the US-brokered Abraham Accords seeking to strengthen peace, coexistence and dialogue to advance the culture of peace among the three Abrahamic religions.

An agreement to this end has been inked on the sidelines of Expo Dubai 2020 by Moroccan minister of culture Mehdi Ben Said and his peers of UAE, Noura Al Kaabi, of Bahrain Ayman bin Tawfiq Al Moayyed and of Israel Healy Trooper.

The signatories pledge to develop partnerships, hold joint cultural & sport events, exchange experiences and enhance consultations. The United States also pledges to support cultural industry, related business opportunities and services between the three Arab countries and Israel.

Following the signing ceremony, the Moroccan minister held talks with Israeli, Emirati and Bahraini peers on bilateral relations and cooperation prospects.

In another development, the Moroccan Foundation of Museums (FNM) and the International Council of Museums (ICOM Israel) signed, last week in Rabat, a memorandum of understanding to strengthen professional and cultural ties between the two institutions and support the exchange of know-how in the field of museology and cultural heritage.

The MoU, signed by the FNM President and the Director of ICOM Israel, aims to share museum best practices in areas of common interest, including the implementation and use of information and communication technologies in archiving operations, exhibition exchange and art lending.

This agreement aims to contribute to the development of training and promote the sharing of expertise and experience in the museum sector to then benefit our African brothers, president of the FNM, Mehdi Qotbi, had said.

Qotbi said that ICOM Israel is willing to collaborate and share with the FNM the fascinating works and collections of great artists who have marked the world scene such as Picasso and Marc Chagall.

For her part, the director of ICOM Israel, Samira Raz welcomed her presence in Morocco, describing as historic moment the signing of this memorandum whose symbolism is that of a wonderful bridge in the museum sector and exhibitions.

The museum sector is huge and can build bridges between Israeli and Moroccan artists including through the exchange of exhibitions. Culture opens the way to a real dialogue between countries, she said, commending the existence of a museum in the Kingdom dedicated to the Jewish memory.
The Algerian diplomacy is receiving one setback after another as global powers and influential countries put nails in its separatist plot in the Moroccan Sahara where it has defended for decades the unfeasible referendum option.

Spain, the former colonial power in the Moroccan Sahara, has supported the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty as the most serious, credible and realistic basis for a peaceful settlement of the artificial dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.

This bold Spanish position that shows a willingness to strengthen ties with Morocco and maintain regional stability was near to traumatic for an aged military junta that is holding Algeria hostage.

Algiers diplomacy said it was surprised and showed its real face as the genuine party to the conflict by recalling its ambassador to Madrid and threatening to hike gas prices to Spain.

Algerian diplomacy has better prepare its ambassadors elsewhere to return home because the wave of support for Moroccos autonomy plan will only gain momentum after Spains Sahara move.

The US, Germany, France, Israel, majority of the Arab World and Africa and influential countries in Latin America such as Chile and Brazil all back Moroccos territorial integrity and the vast majority of the worlds countries back a UN process, which stopped calling for a referendum years ago and which also describes the autonomy plan as serious and credible.

A changing dynamic in favour of Moroccos autonomy plan as a win-win approach has dealt a final blow to the referendum option which proved its infeasibility.

Morocco is not negotiating its sovereignty over the Sahara but rather a political solution to the conflict, king Mohammed VI said in a landmark speech commemorating the Green March last November.

Why Algeria rejects autonomy as an idea in itself

As a newly created country, Algeria followed the French colonial legacy maintaining a heavy centralized rule. Despite the vast swathes of lands that Algeria inherited from French colonialism, the military junta that ruled the country since the 1960s, concentrating the administration and decision-making in Algiers.

Demands for autonomy or limited local rule emerged in the Kabylie region and in the impoverished though oil and gas-rich south. The repression with which Algeria responded to calls for more decentralization created radical movements including the home-grown Kabylie independence movement.

In recent days, another independence movement emerged in the deep Touareg-inhabited south where an attack had targeted a military post on the border with Mali. The group calling for the independence of Algerian south issued a statement that augurs ill for the Algerian map.

Algeria has also shown vehemence in opposing an autonomy proposal that Morocco suggested in 2013 to end the crisis in northern Mali by granting the Touaregs of the Azawad local rule. Analysts believe Algerian secret services stepped up support for extremist groups in northern Mali to avert the autonomy project.

For Algeria, autonomy means dismembering a country with artificial borders and for Morocco autonomy means strengthening its sovereignty and a continuation of its decentralization and regionalization policy.
The five-week sprint to Nebraskas May 10 primary election began with Mondays mailing by county clerks of early voting ballots to those who already asked for them.

A series of legal deadlines will follow for Nebraskans to turn in new or updated voter registrations and requesting and returning early ballots in time to be counted.

The key dates and times to remember:

 In-person polling places will be open May 10 during the same 12 hours statewide: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. MT.

 Ballots completed outside those locations must be in the possession of the voters county election office  usually the county clerks office  when in-person polls close.

 New or updated voter registrations must be completed by May 2 if done at the county election office or by April 22 if done online or at other authorized locations.

 Registered voters wanting early ballots mailed to them must officially request them by May 2. Early ballots may be cast at the clerks office until polls close May 10.

Voters also may appoint an agent on Election Day to pick up and deliver a ballot to them to complete. They must be picked up no later than one hour before in-person polls close (7 p.m. CT or 6 p.m. MT), and completed ballots must be returned by the time the polls close.

Information and deadlines may be found online through the elections division of the Nebraska Secretary of States Office (here) and Lincoln County Clerk Becky Rossells office (here).

Rossell, who doubles as county election commissioner, urged voters to visit the Nebraska Voter Information Lookup site (here) to review their current information on file.

By entering their name, address and county, they can find out their election precinct and polling place, whether theyre registered with a political party and the status of their early ballot request if they made one.

That has a wealth of information for people who look at it, Rossell said.

Its especially important for voters to double-check and update their information this year, she added, since election districts have been redrawn after the 2020 census.

People who show up at the wrong in-person polling place can cast provisional ballots there to be verified after the polls close.

But if someone requests an early ballot and his or her address has changed, he or she could receive the wrong ballot for one or more races, Rossell warned.

If they look at a race on their ballot and it doesnt look right or (they) are questioning it, they should let us know, she said. Once its completed and turned in, theres nothing we can do.

County residents can ask questions by calling Rossells office at 308-534-4350, extension 4110, or via email at election@co.lincoln.ne.us.

Other important primary reminders:

 Nebraskans registered with a recognized political party will vote on that partys candidates for federal offices, Nebraskas top statewide offices and county offices.

All Nebraskans will vote in nonpartisan races for the Legislature, city offices, school boards and most multicounty boards.

City and school board races will only appear on the primary ballot when more than two candidates have filed for an open seat. Other city and school candidates otherwise advance to the Nov. 8 general election.

 Voters registered as nonpartisan may request a special ballot to vote in a given partys congressional primary.

In 2022, that option is limited to the 3rd Congressional District race in west central Nebraska. Neither of Nebraskas U.S. Senate seats is up for election.

 Besides county election offices, new or updated voter registrations may be completed through April 22 either online (here) or at offices of the states Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Education or Department of Health and Human Services.

 People registering in Nebraska for the first time must present or include a copy of their current state identification (usually a drivers license) or a copy of a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that shows their name and current residential address.

 Printable forms to register to vote or request an early ballot may be found here.

Both blank and fillable PDFs are available, but either must be completed, printed out, physically signed and submitted to the county election office to be valid.

 Lincoln County residents may mail, fax or hand-deliver voter registrations or early-ballot requests to Rossells office in the courthouse at 301 N. Jeffers St., Room 101, North Platte, NE 69101. The fax number is 308-535-3522.

Completed and signed early ballot requests also may be emailed, Rossell said. People may either scan or take a photo of them, but applications should be printed on 8.5-inch by 11-inch paper, she said.

 Besides mailing or hand-delivering early ballots, voters can drop them in the county dropboxes at the courthouses south door or in the County Sheriffs Office parking lot across the street at 302 N. Jeffers St.

Ballots must be sealed in their official envelope, which must be signed and dated as indicated. That corresponds to signing the precinct book when voting in person.

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This article was featured in One Great Story, New Yorks reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly. Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty

On a sunny day late last spring, three leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement  Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Melina Abdullah  sat around a table on the patio of an expensive house in Southern California. The women were recording a YouTube video to mark the first anniversary of George Floyds murder, and they discussed their racial-justice work and the difficulties they had faced over the year.

For me, the hardest moments have been the right-wing-media machine just leveraging literally all its weight against me, against our movement, against BLM the organization, Cullors said. Im some weeks out now from a lot of the noise, so I have more perspective, right? While I was in it, I was in survival mode. She was referring to an April 2021 article in the New York Post that revealed her purchase of four homes for nearly $3 million. The disclosures had contributed to the idea that there is a disturbing gap between the fortunes of the movements most visible figures and on-the-ground activists across the country, and Cullors resigned as executive director of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation on May 27, within a few days of the patio chat.

I think theyve attempted to cancel us, but they have not been successful in canceling us, Abdullah said at another point in the conversation. Theyve attempted to say  and Im just gonna say it  She bought some damn houses. We gonna cancel her. Garza cut in with a comment seemingly addressed to critics: Yall dont know shit about what it takes to live in a box here.

None of the women acknowledged the house behind them. Its far from a box, with more than 6,500 square feet, more than half a dozen bedrooms and bathrooms, several fireplaces, a soundstage, a pool and bungalow, and parking for more than 20 cars, according to real-estate listings. The California property was purchased for nearly $6 million in cash in October 2020 with money that had been donated to BLMGNF.

The transaction has not been previously reported, and Black Lives Matters leadership had hoped to keep the houses existence a secret. Documents, emails, and other communications Ive seen about the luxury propertys purchase and day-to-day operation suggest that it has been handled in ways that blur, or cross, boundaries between the charity and private companies owned by some of its leaders. It creates the impression that money donated to the cause of racial justice has been spent in ways that benefit the leaders of Black Lives Matter personally.

On March 30, I asked the organization questions about the house, which is known internally as Campus. Afterward, leaders circulated an internal strategy memo with possible responses, ranging from Can we kill the story? to Our angle  needs to be to deflate ownership of the property. The memo includes bullet points explaining that Campus is part of cultural arm of the org  potentially as an influencer house, where abolition+ based content is produced by artists & creatives. Another bullet is headed Accounting/990 modifications and reads in part: need to first make sure its legally okay to use as we plan to use it. The memo also describes the property as a safehouse for leaders whose safety has been threatened. The two notions  that the house is simultaneously a confidential refuge and a place for broadcasting to the widest possible audience  are somewhat in tension. The memo notes: Holes in security story: Use in public YT videos.

In an emailed statement on April 1, Shalomyah Bowers, a BLMGNF board member, said that the organization bought Campus with the intention for it to serve as housing and studio space for recipients of the Black Joy Creators Fellowship. The fellowship, which provides recording resources and dedicated space for Black creatives to launch content online and in real life focused on abolition, healing justice, urban agriculture and food justice, pop culture, activism, and politics, was announced the following morning.

Bowers also said in the statement that BLMGNF had always planned to disclose the house in legal filings this May, that it does not serve as anyones personal residence, and that purchasing property via private LLCs is customary in real estate as a way of protecting assets from litigation and liability. The statement did not address why, if the house was primarily intended to be a creative space, relatively little content has been produced there over the course of 17 months.

Even if everything about the house is above board, the general air of secrecy is out of step with the transparency that is expected of charitable or tax-exempt organizations. The size of the acquisition could expose the group to criticism. Thats a very legitimate critique, says Jacob Harold, a former CEO of GuideStar and the co-founder of Candid, an information service that reports on nonprofits. Its not a critique that says what youre doing is illegal or even unethical; it might just be unstrategic. Why arent you spending it on policy or, you know, other strategies that an organization might take to address the core issues around Black Lives Matter?

Even an appearance of impropriety or mismanagement threatens to deter donors and harm the larger movement for racial equity. On this score, some of the harshest criticism of BLMGNF has come from within. Internal emails dating to 2016 show activists voicing concern about how donations were being spent and how the organization was being run, and frustrations only continued to mount. In the fall of 2020, ten city chapters issued a public statement rebuking the global network for its opacity, and the families of some Black victims of police violence have complained that they have seen little of the funds that have flowed to the movements most visible facet.

George Floyds death triggered an outpouring of contributions to BLMGNF, and in October 2020, the organization received an infusion of $66.5 million from its fiscal sponsor  an intermediary commonly used by fledgling nonprofits to process donations. Two weeks later, a man named Dyane Pascall purchased the seven-bedroom house that would become known as Campus. According to California business-registration documents, Pascall is the financial manager for Janaya and Patrisse Consulting, an LLC run by Cullors and her spouse, Janaya Khan; Pascall is also the chief financial officer for Trap Heals, a nonprofit led by Damon Turner, the father of Cullorss only child.

Within a week, Pascall transferred ownership of the house to an LLC established in Delaware by the law firm Perkins Coie. The maneuver ensured that the ultimate identity of the propertys new owner was not disclosed to the public. After the transfer, Black Lives Matter leaders began using the house in various ways, including as a set for recording videos and staying overnight when they didnt feel safe at their own homes. The propertys upkeep  cleaning, pool maintenance, security  has been handled by a loose mixture of people working for BLMGNF, Janaya and Patrisse Consulting, the Bowers Consulting Firm, or other entities. Bowers, who also serves as BLMGNFs deputy executive director, has in the past overseen payments to Trap Heals from entities that Cullors leads, including an $86,000 fee from a nonprofit called Reform LA Jails and a nearly $150,000 fee from the Black Lives Matter Political Action Committee.

On the secure-messaging platform Signal, in a text chat named BLM Security Hub, around two dozen participants from BLMGNF, Bowers Consulting, Janaya and Patrisse Consulting, and various other organizations and companies commingle. One conversation from June 2021  after Cullors announced her resignation  concerns her assistant confronting a man who had been found snooping around the premises. Paul Cullors, Patrisses brother, whose title is head of physical security, updated the group on the situation. Earlier entries in the Signal chat show him performing the same role for properties Cullors purchased with her own funds, which she has said came from book and media deals. Other internal records indicate Cullorss mother was approved for a cleaning job at Campus and that Cullorss sister signed the same kind of nondisclosure agreement as other employees at the property, although its not clear if the sister worked there.

Cullors has also used the Campus house in ways that are probably not in line with what Black Lives Matter donors intended for their dollars. Back in April 2021, Cullors uploaded a video to her personal YouTube channel titled I Try Baking a Family Recipe for the FIRST Time *INTENSE*  the first in an intended series called Patrisse Tries, in which she would attempt unfamiliar tasks. In the nearly 13-minute clip, she prepares a peach cobbler with her aunt at the Campus kitchen island, making use of its soapstone countertops and high-end appliances. (Other videos from Cullorss personal YouTube channel also appear to match images of the houses interior shown in real-estate listings.) Its an example of how Cullors acted as both the head of BLMGNF and cultivated a lucrative public profile at the same time; when she quit the organization, she said it was to focus on media deals shed signed with a book publisher and Warner Bros. (A lawyer for Cullors declined to comment on the record.)

Nonprofit experts say that any apparent intermingling of resources among BLMGNF, Cullors, and outside entities might jeopardize the charitys tax-exempt status. Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School who specializes in nonprofits, said the details of the houses management deserve closer scrutiny. If there are problems with the groups tax filings, there could be civil and criminal liabilities for the people and organizations involved. He said that investigations by state and federal agencies could be warranted. Theyre all indicators that the money may not be going where its supposed to be going, he says.

Other conversations on the BLM Security Hub chat show efforts to monitor social media for negative mentions of BLMGNF, with members using their influence with the platforms to have such remarks removed. Its currently not possible to share the Posts article on Cullorss home purchases on Facebook because the sites parent company, Meta, has labeled the content abusive. At other points, Bowers and his associates direct a private investigator to look into BLMGNF detractors and journalists, including me.

BLMGNF was awarded tax-exempt status from the IRS in December 2020, two months after the houses purchase. The distinction meant the group would have to disclose information about donors and expenditures in an annual filing known as a 990. But BLMGNF has not submitted those forms for 2020 or 2021. It also has problems at the state level: The Washington Examiner reported in February 2022 that Californias attorney general told the group it was considered delinquent. BLMGNF has since retained the high-profile Democratic lawyer Marc Elias and maneuvered to get more time to formally submit data from 2020 by switching from calendar-year to fiscal-year tracking. In the meantime, contributions to the group have been essentially shut down. AmazonSmile suspended the organization from its platform in February 2022, and BLMGNF has removed donation links from its own website.

The group informally released a batch of financial information in February 2021, when it said it had taken in more than $90 million in 2020 and still had $60 million on hand. The house was not mentioned. Soon after the report, local activists went public with complaints that they felt unsupported by BLMGNF despite their pleas for help. Two mothers who lost their sons to police violence demanded the organization stop using their names to raise funds.

Real-estate purchases have been a problem for the BLMGNF outside of the U.S. as well. In the summer of 2021, BLM Canada announced that it was purchasing a mansion in Toronto and hoped to establish a Black community hub. Conservative-media outlets later reported that public-property records indicated the transaction involved a transfer of approximately $6.3 million to a Canadian nonprofit, M4BJ, that was established in part by Janaya Khan, who was born in Toronto. Two BLM Toronto organizers released a resignation letter expressing their frustrations. We have written this because our many attempts to bring up concerns were met with denial, gaslighting, and a refusal to acknowledge requests for accountability, the organizers said. We were told that concerns about financial transparency and community accountability were rumours, not a big deal, and whispers from so-called counter-organizers.

Tory Russell, a prominent activist in Ferguson, Missouri, said that he felt depressed when he learned about about the California property. Its a waste of resources, he said. While Black Lives Matter at the national level is flush, hes seen local activists fall into poverty and become homeless. Last year, Russell put out a video with Michael Brown Sr., whose son was killed by a police officer in August 2014, demanding money from BLMGNF to help people living in Ferguson, and hes since been struggling to raise $1.2 million for a community center. They shouldnt be walking around no Black people, no Black communities, he said of the organizations leaders. They should be somewhere in shame.

In the patio video marking the anniversary of George Floyds death, the conversation among Cullors, Garza, and Abdullah turned to the people who have faulted their leadership online. Who the fuck are you? You aint done shit, Abdullah said. Garza added that she discounted criticism from people she didnt know personally. I dont need to be accountable to you, she said. I dont know what accountability looks like with people that I dont know and have never talked to.

Cullors told the women at the table, My therapist told me, she said, What youve been through, most people would not survive  And I dont feel like Im just surviving. I feel like Im really thriving.

Update: After this article was published, a spokesperson for Khan said in a statement, Janaya Future Khan has no knowledge of this house and has never had access to the financials of BLM. They have never received payment for any work done for BLM. The Janaya and Patrisse LLC was created and controlled by Patrisse Cullors. Khan was not an officer of the account or officer of the company. Khan separated from Cullors in September 2017 and left BLM shortly after.

One Great Story: A Nightly Newsletter for the Best of New York The one story you shouldnt miss today, selected by New Yorks editors. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us.
The Auburn Police Department arrested a Pennsylvania man in connection to a burglary at a business located in the 1600 block of East University Drive in Auburn.

On April 2, police arrested Samuel Charles Post, 38, from Philadelphia, Pa., on warrants charging him with burglary third degree, theft of property first degree, possession of burglary tools and attempting to elude a police officer, according to a police report.

Police said the department received a report of a suspicious vehicle in the area, a short time after the burglary occurred.

Officers located the vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, according to the police report.

Police said the vehicle fled a short distance before the driver exited and fled on foot. The driver was apprehended and identified as Samuel Charles Post.

Post was also identified as the burglary suspect as police recovered multiple items that were stolen from the business from his vehicle as well as tools used to force entry into the business, according to police.

Post was transported to the Lee County Jail and held on a $14,000 bond.
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he Taiwanese Initiative in the Office of International Programs will host a lunch seminar series on April 12 and 14 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in 2222/2223 Student Center. The Brown Bag Lunch Series is open to everyone and free lunch will be provided.

The Brown Bag Lunch Series offers an opportunity for the Auburn community to gain a better understanding of the Taiwanese culture and learn more about the Taiwan landscape while enjoying lunch in an exciting, educational environment, said Ssu-Yu Chang, Taiwanese language and culture instructor in the Office of International Programs.

On April 12, Jason Chang will speak about Taiwan, the beautiful island that lies roughly 100 miles off the coast of southeastern China. Chang is a Taiwanese native who spent his early years on the island before moving to the United States in 1982 to further his education. He obtained his doctoral in Pharmacology at Ohio State University then trained as a post-doctoral researcher at Washington University. Later, Chang joined the Department of Neurobiology and Development Science at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to conduct scientific research and teach students brain behavior and cell biology. Finally, after a 28-year career, he retired in 2020 and moved to Auburn, Alabama.

The seminar on April 14 will be led by Kai-Jing Liu and focus on interesting facts about the Mandarin language. Liu obtained her bachelors in English and her masters in teaching Chinese as a second language from Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages in Taiwan. Sharing Chinese culture and language with students is one of Lius passions. Throughout her career she has experienced several teaching opportunities and has taught a variety of Mandarin courses to students from diverse cultural backgrounds, levels and ages. She is now a Fulbright language teaching assistant at Emory University.

These lunch seminars are an outcome of the joint agreement between Auburn, the National Cheng Kung University, or NCKU, in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Atlanta. The goal of the agreement is to promote joint educational and cultural collaboration, and in turn establish a long-lasting friendship and cooperative partnership that enhances the educational experience at Auburn and NCKU.

To learn more about the Office of International Programs and their events throughout the year, visit here.
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Following internal searches, Auburn University has selected interim deans for three of its colleges to provide leadership to more than 14,000 students and 800 faculty and staff collectively. The interim appointments follow the announcement of key leadership transitions as the university prepares to launch national searches for permanent deans later this year.

Karen Rogers, associate professor and associate dean for graduate studies and research in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction, or CADC, has been appointed acting dean; Joe Hanna, Regions Bank Professor and associate dean for research and faculty affairs, has been selected as interim dean of the Harbert College of Business; and Steve Taylor, professor and associate dean for research in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, will assume the role of interim dean.

Offering a wealth of shared administrative experience to the interim roles, Rogers, Hanna and Taylor have each served Auburn in various leadership capacities during their careers at the university. Widely regarded for their ability to work with campus stakeholders, all three are credited with advancing their colleges strategic goals and unit-level objectives. In addition, each has provided critical support to strengthening resources, initiatives and personnel across their colleges and increasing scholarly productivity and student growth.

Karen Rogers, Joe Hanna and Steve Taylor are highly respected administrators, teachers, and scholars who have had a significant impact on Auburns campus, Interim Provost Vini Nathan said. Through their interim roles, I am confident they will provide the continued momentum needed while offering unique perspectives to the colleges.

About acting dean Karen Rogers

A noted scholar in settlement patterns, architecture and urbanism in the Americas, Rogers joined CADC in 2007 as an associate dean for external affairs, transitioning to associate dean for graduate studies and research in early 2012. Working with members of the college, Rogers has helped its academic units strategically elevate design thinking and building skills by creating innovative educational, research and outreach programs. In addition, Rogers oversees several of the colleges initiatives focused on developing sustainable and equitable solutions across the built environment and product development.

In addition to her demonstrated leadership experience, Karen Rogers possesses the skills, talents and knowledge necessary to lead the college in the coming months, Nathan said. Without question, her ability to bring teams together to achieve shared goals aptly reflects CADCs culture and values.

Before Auburn, Rogers lived and worked in Bogota, Colombia, where she served as dean of the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Los Andes and was the founding director and curator of architecture at the Bogota Museum of Modern Art. She holds a doctorate in the history and theory of architecture from the State University of New York, or SUNY, Binghamton, and a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from Yale University. Rogers is the recipient of the Henry Luce/American Council of Learned Societies dissertation fellowship in American Art and Architecture and Georgia OKeeffe Museum Research Center Resident Scholarship in American Modernism.

In March, Rogers began serving as acting dean following the appointment of Nathan as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.

About interim dean Joe Hanna

Since joining the Harbert College of Business in 1999 as a faculty member of supply chain management, Hanna has held various academic and administrative appointments. After serving as department chairperson and playing a key role in the growth and development of the supply chain program, Hanna began serving as associate dean for research and outreach in 2011. He also briefly held the position of interim dean in 2018 during a prior leadership transition. Working with leaders in the college, Hanna has helped to advance the college through a period of continued growth in student enrollment, faculty and staff and has supported the development of several new academic programs and research initiatives.

A supply chain management researcher who focuses on third-party logistics strategy and performance issues, Hanna is the current Regions Bank Professor and remains active in his professional field as an educational advisor to numerous companies, industry organizations and government entities on supply chain topics.

As a long-time educator with considerable teaching experience and administrative insights, Joe is a strategic thinker who understands the vision and goals of the Harbert College of Business, Nathan continued. I have worked with Joe for several years and know he is deeply committed to the success of the college and its students, faculty and staff.

Hanna has published more than 60 refereed journal articles, is co-author of multiple books and has made numerous presentations at various academic and practitioner conferences. Before his academic career, Hanna had a successful business career working for Phillips Petroleum Company (now ConocoPhillips), Phillips 66 Chemical Company (now ChevronPhillips Chemical Company) and Coopers and Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). Hanna holds a bachelors and masters degree in accounting and a doctorate in business from New Mexico State University.

Hanna will oversee the college beginning May 16 until a permanent dean is selected to replace Annette Ranft, who was recently named dean of the School of Business at Wake Forest University.

About interim dean Steven Taylor

A faculty member in biosystems engineering for more than 30 years, Taylor has held several leadership roles in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, including serving as associate dean for research since 2016 and as head of the Department of Biosystems Engineering from 2003-16, where he also served as director of the Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts.

As associate dean for research, Taylor oversaw the coordination and promotion of the colleges research across all academic departments and research centers. Under his leadership, the colleges research enterprise experienced an unprecedented period of growth, including increases in contracts and grants from $26 million in fiscal year 2017 to more than $74 million each of the past two years.

In addition, Taylor played a leading role in the colleges efforts to fund and construct the Advanced Structural Engineering Laboratory; purchase property in Huntsville to create the Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus; and he oversaw the creation of the Auburn University Transportation Research Institute, the National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence and the Interdisciplinary Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems.

Taylors academic background includes professional practice in education, research and extension. His technical expertise is in structural wood engineering and forest engineering, emphasizing the engineering aspects of the forest products sector. His research focuses on engineering for forest operations and improved utilization of forest biomass for energy feedstocks and structural products. Working with faculty teams, Taylor led the Department of Biosystems Engineering through the assessment and creation of new undergraduate and graduate programs and four successful Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, or ABET, reviews. Taylor has generated more than $68 million in total extramural funding as a Principal Investigator, or PI, or as a co-PI throughout his career. He holds a bachelors and a masters degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Florida and a doctorate from Texas A&M University in the same discipline.

In addition to his many years of service to Auburn, Steve Taylors understanding of the colleges research, teaching and outreach mission, combined with his outstanding leadership, ensures he is well prepared to lead the college through this transition, Nathan said. I am confident he will carry the college forward during this important time and ensure it is well-positioned for the next dean.

Taylor assumes his role immediately, and his appointment follows the selection of former dean Chris Roberts as Auburns 21st president beginning in May.
Too bad Jason Momoa can't act.

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i guess his heart isn't in it unless he's able to play out raping women

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He's a one trick pony

If his character is like the one in see (basic warrior) he'll do just fine

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In more important news, I just got back from Hawaii and it was amazing 

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I'm here for this. I feel like this will be a passion project for him and he will make sure it is done right and hopefully not white-washed.



But do y'all think he's pissing off the rock with this? I feel like this is something he would like to do.

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I was wondering where The Rock's King Kamehameha's action/epic/documentary movie was when I read this.

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I just read up on that. He is so booked that I feel like it must be way down the line if it hasn't started yet unless it's going to this year.

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More than one story can exist

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Really interested to see this when its ready. Learnt a lot about the colonisation of Hawaii when I visited just prior to the pandemic and Id had no idea just how much the US screwed them over (Im from the UK so its not something were taught about.

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They didn't teach it to us in the US much either. I hope it's changing in schools now.

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That sadly doesnt surprise me.

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yep, i didnt even know about it until i was an adult and thats only bc i am a huge history nerd. no discussion in any of my classes through college.

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us *screwing them over.

its still going on!

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We teach is pretty extensively in 11th grade US history. There's a lot that went into it and how badly the US and the Dole company fucked over the entirety of Hawai'i and the royalty there.

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Ooh this sounds interesting!

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Good for him.

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This sounds really good. And with the way Apple spends money, its going to look amazing.

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That's great news. I will definitely check it out once it's released

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from an indigenous point of view.



The one point of view I'm always looking for but never find.

I will watch this.

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Apple is going all out with all of these new series in development or premiering

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This sounds like a really cool idea but i don't trust him to write anything...



Remember when he would tear pages out of books and weird shit?

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I wonder if the show will cover aspects of this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2bjjwv4134&t=8s

I watched this TedEd about it a few weeks ago, and also learned how little this is ever taught in American history.I wonder if the show will cover aspects of this video:

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He's a dummy but I appreciate how passionate he's about getting this history on screen. Cautiously curious 

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Did anyone watch the other Apple series with him in it, See? I enjoyed that.

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I did

Enjoyed it too. That kind if role suits him

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Im watching it. Like the first season the best. But happy its renewed for season three

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I want a series on Liliuokalani tbh

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lol oh that's right her daughter is kind of an idiot i forgot about that

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I got excited thinking that this was about Nancy Jo Sales.

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same lol

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omg I did too

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not me about to bag on her bc i thought she was the twilight lady

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Oooh I'm curious I usually like the upper-class(?) aesthetic of her films lol.

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Speaking of Nancy Meyers, I listened to Terry Zwigoff's interview on Gilbert Gottfried's podcast from a while ago, and Terry claimed Jack Nicholson tried really hard to get out of shooting Something's Gotta Give to do Bad Santa instead, and that he basically only signed on to SGG because of a contract clause, lol. After he revealed that he said something like, "Was I not suppose to say that? I don't know, I have zero fucks to give anymore," lmao

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Omg my old yt lady fave! I wonder who she will put as the lead.



Her daughter . Yeah.

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loooool your icon!!

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tucker blessed me  Amanda would be a great lead

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Perfect world is she uses Goldie Hawn and Harrison Ford for something. Id kind of like it if she could use Pine and Affleck in some capacity too then shed have use all the Jack Ryans lmao.

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Oooh Id love that. Or team her and Steve Martin up, they did a movie in the 80s and that throwback would be fun.



I feel like Pine is too pretty for her and both Afflecks are too brunette lol

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ur icon is how i dance at my cat before i go to kiss her a million times

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She came off so badly in that NY Mag piece from last year (or was it the year before? who remembers). So privileged and unaware of her own privilege. She got defensive at the idea of her kitchens/homes being fantasy porn for people because they're normal for her.

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Im excited? I watched all her movies recently and while ultimately I didnt care for most of them I feel a smidge of affection for her. I need to post that freaking ranking I made.

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Let us see 



I think she engendered a lot of fondness with 1998s parent trap

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Home Again had a fabulous kitchen with an island too!!!

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Why did I think she was dead 

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You're probably thinking of Nora Ephron, heh

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I always get them mixed too.

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It took me a while to realize this isnt related to Pretty Wild.

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Give us that vanilla decor you Hamptons Queen.

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She better show us the best kitchen ever. Thats all I require from her. Her rich white lady aesthetics

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Was Home Again the one where Reese gets with one of the Wolff brothers because yikes

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The European Union is considering proposing a full ban on imports of Russian coal after footage continues to emerge of alleged war crimes committed by Russian troops withdrawing from Ukrainian towns, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing sources with knowledge of the discussions.

The European Commission plans to propose coal to be included in the upcoming round of sanctions against Russia over the atrocities in Ukraine, two EU officials separately told CNBC.

Coal use in the EU had the lowest energy import dependency on Russia in 2020, according to data from the EUs statistics office Eurostat. Still, Russian coal provided 19 percent of the EU use of solid fossil fuels.

The EU has vowed to slap a new round of sanctions against Russia, following numerous reports and eye-witness accounts of war crimes committed by the Russian army retreating from Ukrainian cities and towns. There is still resistance among some member statesprimarily Germanyabout directly targeting Russias energy exports, but the latest atrocities in Bucha outside Kyiv prompted more calls from within the EU for energy sanctions.

All 27 EU member states must agree to a coal import ban, if it is to be discussed.

On Monday, the European Union condemned the killing of unarmed civilians by Russian forces and vowed a new wave of severe sanctions would follow against Russia in a matter of days, including potential sanctions against Russias oil, gas, or coal exports.

Europewhich collectively depends on Russian natural gas and oil for around one-third and one-fourth of its demand, respectivelyhas refrained from targeting directly Russian energy exports fearing that sanctions or an embargo could lead to a deep recession in the major European economies, including the biggest one, Germany.

Germany has so far been one of the staunchest opponents of an energy embargo on Russia, but after photos of Russian atrocities in Bucha and other Ukrainian towns emerged, the mood appears to be shifting even in Berlin.

The EU should discuss a ban on the import of Russian natural gas, Germanys defense minister Christine Lambrecht was quoted as saying on Sunday.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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The Biden Administration is looking for ways to increase the amount of crude oil it imports from Canada, according to Wall Street Journal sources. But the Keystone XL is still persona non grata.

Canadian crude oil is a relatively close substitute in weight for the Russian crude that the United States banned after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.

But additional pipelines are not one of the methods that the White House is considering to transport crude oil to the United States.

The only other options for increased imports from Canada are increasing the flows through existing pipelines and shipping the crude oil by rail. Both options are limited in their capacity, and rail transport comes with a steeper cost.

Canada has said that most of its pipelines are running at or near full capacity. It has the ability to send an additional 200,000 bpd to the United States via railbut at a greater cost than shipping it via pipeline.

But as enthusiastic as the Biden Administration is to bring down crude oil and gasoline prices in the United States, it is not enthusiastic enough to reconsider the Keystone XL pipeline that President Biden nixed on his first day in office. Instead, the Biden Administration is holding onto two apparently opposing dreams: the Presidents green agenda on the one hand and lower gasoline prices on the other.

The White House has argued that if the President moved today to revive the Keystone XL pipeline, it would not be in service to alleviate prices today.

Canada has been eager for the Biden Administration to reconsider the pipeline that would bring 830,000 bpd of crude oil from Alberta to Nebraska, where it would meet the existing Keystone pipeline. Canada also hasnt been shy about chastising the United States for canceling the Keystone XL pipeline and for begging for more crude oil from OPEC, Iran, and Venezuela.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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Price-sensitive Asian buyers are already shying away from the spot market and may turn to coal and oil products instead of LNG.

Europes determination to wean itself off Russian gas means there will be high demand for LNG for years to come, which could have an impact on Asian energy markets.

Asia is the worlds largest LNG market, but demand growth in the region is slowing as competition from Europe for cargoes heats up.

Asian demand for LNG is being hampered by sky-high prices of LNG cargoes due to intensifying competition from Europe, which is working around the clock to reduce its dependence on Russian pipeline gas supply.

Europe is now the top destination of record-high U.S. LNG exports, while price-sensitive developing economies in the Asia Pacific are steering clear of the spot market and switching to coal and oil products as the price of LNG is unsustainable for them.

The European resolve to cut reliance on Russian energy, starting with gas, will keep LNG demand and spot prices elevated for years to come, analysts say. This, in turn, will slow the growth of Asias LNG imports compared to estimates from before the Russian war in Ukraine.

Europe Becomes Top LNG Destination Market

Europes natural gas and power crisis at the end of 2021 had already made the continent the preferred choice of spot LNG cargoes, months before Putin invaded Ukraine and upended global energy flows. Dozens of tankers with liquefied natural gas from the United States were heading to Europe in December 2021, where the gas and energy crisis had pushed regional LNG prices way above the Asian LNG benchmark and 14 times higher than the U.S. Henry Hub price. At least another ten LNG cargoes were diverted from Asia to Europe.

The top five countries of destination for U.S. LNG exports in January 2022, a month before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, were the UK, France, Spain, and Turkey, followed at a distant fifth by South Korea, the U.S. Department of Energy said in its latest LNG Monthly in mid-March with data for January.

U.S. LNG exports hit an all-time high record in January, per EIA data, and the largest share of those exports headed to Europe.

Then in February, Putins war in Ukraine made Europe rethink its gas dependence on Russia and prompted the European Union to seek independence from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030, starting with gas. Diversification of gas supply, with a hike in LNG imports, is a key near-term pillar of that plan.

At the end of last month, the EU and the United States signed a pact under which America will boost LNG supply to Europe to help it replace at least part of Russian pipeline gas supply.

The extra 50 bcm/year offered by the US would only cover about a third of the 155 bcm/year of imports from Russia that EU leaders want to replace. But in the context of a larger European strategy to find alternative supplies of gas, both pipeline and LNG, and to curb demand, US exports could make a significant contribution, Ed Crooks, Vice-Chair, Americas, at Wood Mackenzie, says.

Asian Demand Growth Stalls As Prices Spike

For the short and medium-term, European LNG demand is set to be strong, keeping global spot prices elevated and drawing cargoes to Europe at the expense of Asia. Growth in LNG demand has shifted in recent months to Europe from Asia.

Asia is still the largest market for LNG imports, but its purchases in the first quarter of 2022 fell by 10 percent compared to the same quarter of 2021, per data from WoodMac cited by The Wall Street Journal. Major markets such as China, Japan, and India saw LNG imports dropping by 11 percent, 14 percent, and 25 percent, respectively. Asian power generators have been switching to coal from gas, while some industries in India have turned to naphtha or furnace oil instead of the costly natural gas, Wood Mackenzies vice president Valery Chow told the Journal.

In a report last month, WoodMac said: Tightness and uncertainty in the European gas market are driving record-high volumes of LNG to the region, while demand in the rest of the world is slowing down in response to high prices.

Related: U.S. Drilling Activity Has Risen 60% In One Year

LNG demand in the Asia Pacific region is expected to drop this year, with Chinese demand forecast to remain flat, while growth in Southeast Asian demand will not be high enough to offset the declines in Japanese and Korean imports, according to the energy consultancy.

Non-APAC imports growth is concentrated in Europe, Wood Mackenzie said.

The European drive for replacing Russian gas as soon as possible will keep demand growth in Europe high and spot prices elevated through the middle of this decade, analysts and industry players say.

Europes farewell to Russian gas will be a long goodbye; it will take most of the decade for the continent to wean itself from those supplies, which now account for more than 40 percent of its gas imports, analysts at the European think tank Bruegel wrote in an op-ed in The New York Times last month.

At the same time, price-sensitive buyers in Asia are likely to continue shying away from spot LNG purchases, expecting high prices through 2025.

The LNG market has been evolving in an unfavorable manner for buyers as the supplies are forecast to be tight during the 2021-2025 period while demand is picking up after the pandemic, PV Gas, the state firm of Vietnam, said last month, as carried by Reuters.

This will lead to a strong price rising trend over the next years with no signs of easing in the short term, says PV Gas.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Venezuela and the pariah dictatorial regime of Nicolas Maduro are once again back in the international spotlight. President Joe Bidens decision to ban Russian energy imports in the wake of President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine saw the Whitehouse seek other sources of crude oil as global energy prices spiraled even higher. That saw the Whitehouse send an official mission to Caracas with the goal of initiating a dialogue with President Nicolas Maduros dictatorial regime. This was the first-ever such event since Washington severed ties with Venezuela, including closing the U.S. embassy in Caracas in early-2021. While Biden denied he would ease sanctions against Venezuela to boost U.S oil supplies, the visit triggered a substantial political backlash both domestically and in South America.

Washingtons strict sanctions, particularly those introduced by then President Donald Trump in 2019, have had an outsized impact on Venezuelas crumbling oil industry and energy infrastructure. They are also a significant contributor to the environmental crisis unfolding in Venezuela, which is the worlds 11th most biodiverse country. National oil company PDVSA has for two decades struggled to retain sufficient skilled labor and raise the necessary capital required to maintain, overhaul and replace aging and corroded energy infrastructure. Experienced industry managers, engineers, geologists and technicians started fleeing Venezuela in the early 2000s as Chavez progressively purged PDVSA of what his regime viewed as unreliable managers and employees. The crisis impacting PDVSAs operations, assets, and infrastructure progressively worsened because of ever-stricter U.S. sanctions, which started in 2015 with President Barack Obama declaring Venezuela a security threat. The deterioration of Venezuelas energy infrastructure accelerated further as crude oil prices slumped toward the end of 2014 seeing the international Brent benchmark plunge to under $30 per barrel in February 2016. Weak oil prices were exacerbated by the tighter sanctions, aimed at toppling Maduro by cutting Venezuela off from global energy markets, imposed by Trump, and then the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic which caused crude oil prices to plummet once again. As a result, Venezuelas oil output has plunged to less than a third of what it was in 1998 the year that Chavez won the presidential election. Despite claims that Venezuelas national oil company is pumping one million (Spanish) barrels per day, the latest data provided by PDVSA to OPEC shows the production of 788,000 barrels daily for February 2022. That number falls to 680,000 barrels per day, which is 14% lower, if secondary output data is considered. Related: Baghdads Bold Move To Take Over Kurdistans Oil Sector Is A Blow To Russia

Source: OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report March 2022, U.S. EIA and PDVSA.

While the deterioration of Venezuelas oil production because of rapidly disintegrating industry infrastructure and a lack of condensate is well documented, the growing environmental damage occurring in Venezuela because of oil industry operations is not widely documented or acknowledged.

PDVSA ceased publishing operational data during 2016, which included no longer reporting oil spills, pipeline outages and other environmental incidents. That sparked considerable conjecture about the accuracy of the production data provided to OPEC, with it believed that PDVSA is overstating its crude oil output and the transparency of the national oil companys operations. Reports from independent thinktanks indicate that there has been a sharp increase in the volume of oil spills and other environmentally damaging incidents since 2016. Between 2016 and 2021 it is estimated that there were around 200 oil spills, with the Venezuelan Observatory of Political Ecology (OEP  Spanish initials) claiming there (Spanish) were 73 such events between January 2021 and November 2021 alone. Most spills during 2021 occurred in the Falcon and Zulia states, 39 and 19 respectively, which are where PDVSAs key facilities and operations are located.

Venezuela Oil Spills January 2021 to November 2021

Source: Venezuelan OEP.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Observatory of Environmental Human Rights (OVDHA  Spanish initials) announced it had (Spanish) identified 199 oil spills between 2016 and 2021. The OVDHA identified 68 spills alone during 2021, which is a startling six times greater than the 12 reported for 2016. According to the OVDHA 90% of those spills occurred in six states, Anzoategui, Monagas, Zulia, Sucre, Falcon y Carabobo, where Venezuelas petroleum industry is located. That is an incredibly high number for a country that only pumped on average somewhere between 552,500 and 635,250 barrels per day during 2021. To put that number into context, only six tanker oil spills globally were recorded during 2021 and the worlds largest oil producer the U.S. is believed to only have suffered three major spills that year. The OEP also reported it had identified eight explosions and fires at PDVSA facilities in 2021 which emitted large volumes of noxious gases and chemicals into the atmosphere.

Those numbers underscore a worrying trend in Venezuela that the volume of oil spills and other environmentally damaging petroleum industry incidents are spiraling out of control. Images taken by NASA show that Lake Maracaibo, which is the largest such body of water in South America and has been at the center of Venezuelas oil industry for over a century, is covered in crude oil slicks as are its shores. The primary sources of that crude oil are aging heavily corroded submerged oil pipelines, many of which analysts believe are not even mapped, above surface storage tanks and drilling platforms. The petroleum contamination and environmental damage is believed to be so extensive that the investment of more than $2 million per month in a clean-up effort two decades ago was inadequate and saw no major improvement to the lakes ecology. Petroleum spills in the Bay of Venezuela as well as along the countrys Caribbean coastline are quite common with fisherman and residents regularly complaining of oil slicks on beaches and coastal waters.

The spike in spills and other environmentally damaging incidents can be blamed on Venezuelas dilapidated oil infrastructure which continues to crumble because PDVSA lacks adequate capital to invest in maintaining, repairing and overhauling corroded storage facilities, pipelines and refineries. There is also evidence of a culture at PDVSA and in Maduros regime of pump as much crude oil and refining as much fuel as possible regardless of the environmental risks, particularly those posed by heavily corroded facilities. The Chinese and Russian energy companies pumping crude oil in Venezuela typically do not operate to the same environmental standards as major Western oil companies like Chevron, Equinor or TotalEnergies. Since Equinor and TotalEnergies exited Venezuela during the second half of 2021 global supermajor Chevron is the last major Western energy company with operational assets in Venezuela. The integrated energy supermajor has five onshore and offshore producing operations in the crisis-riven country, four of which are in partnership with PDVSA and three pumping heavy or extra-heavy crude oil. While the energy supermajor is currently prevented by U.S. Treasury restrictions from producing crude oil Chevron is ideally positioned to provide the necessary capital, technology and skilled labor required to resurrect Venezuelas ailing oil industry.

Urgently needed investment in infrastructure overhauls, maintenance, and improvements, which will lead to a lower incidence of oil spills and other environmental damaging events, can only occur if Washington eases its current strict sanctions on Venezuela. As repeatedly demonstrated U.S. sanctions, particularly those introduced by the Trump administration, have failed to spark regime change and unseat Maduro. This indicates that their utility has declined, and they are no longer capable of achieving Washingtons desired policy outcome regarding Venezuela. In fact, they are potentially doing greater harm than good by not only magnifying the humanitarian and environmental crises engulfing Venezuela but strengthening Maduros grip on power. It will be major Western energy companies like Chevron which will need to make the massive investment required to rebuild crumbling energy infrastructure, boost crude oil production and conduct environmental clean-ups. If the Biden administration does not act fast to provide relief, the enduring legacy of Maduros authoritarian regime, the oil industry, and Washingtons sanctions will be an environmental catastrophe that will scar Venezuela for years if not decades to come.

By Matthew Smith for Oilprice.com

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While the UAE is entirely capable of countering Houthi attacks, the economic and social impact of the perceived security threat is one that the country will be desperate to counter.

In 2020, the UAE withdrew from the Yemen war after it at come to a stalemate, but when the Houthis moved toward the oil-rich governorate of Marib, the UAE renewed its involvement.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been exposed to a recent wave of drone and missile strikes from Houthi militants in Yemen. These attacks are in retaliation to a change in the UAEs strategy in its intervention in Yemens civil war. The UAEs robust defense systems have been able to thwart Houthi attacks. However, the UAEs continued intervention in Yemen risks provoking Houthi rebels into adopting military tactics that target civilians. The mere risk of such an attack would negatively affect the UAEs perception of security, which is crucial for the UAEs success as an economic powerhouse in the Middle East.

A not-so-local Civil War

Since 2014, Yemen has been ensnared in a Civil War with multiple international participants. The conflict began when the Houthis, an Iran-backed Shia militia from Yemens North, violently attempted to overthrow the internationally recognized government of President Saleh. As the Houthi insurgency accelerated, Sunni-majority countries in the Gulf intervened in a coalition to support government forces.

Since 2015, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have engaged in hostilities through a military campaign that has seen the use of airstrikes and the backing of local militias to prevent a Houthi takeover. The involvement of regional powers has essentially turned the civil war into a proxy war between Sunni Gulf states and Iran. The protracted conflict has destroyed the country and created what the United Nations has described as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

By late 2020, the conflict in Yemen was heading toward a stalemate with the coalition forces being unable to end Houthi control over the capital city, Sanaa. As a result, the UAE announced it would start disengaging from the war. However, in late 2021, the Houthis moved toward the oil-rich governorate of Marib. To prevent the group from controlling oil rents, the UAE renewed its involvement in the conflict by backing the Giants Brigade, a local Sunni militia, to fight against Houthi advancements.

Houthi Response to the UAE

In response to revamped UAE intervention, the Houthis, and other groups sympathetic to their struggle, have retaliated through a campaign of attacks against the UAE using low-cost missile and drone systems. On February 2, 2022, the UAEs Defense Ministry announced that it had successfully destroyed three drones heading toward the UAE with hostile intent. The attempted attack was claimed by the Iraqi True Promise Brigades, a relatively unknown terrorist organization that sympathizes with the struggle of the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The attempted strike in February is just the latest in a string of attacks. On January 31, 2022, an official spokesperson announced that the countrys defense forces had successfully repelled a ballistic missile strike originating from Yemen. A similar incident happened on January 24, when U.S. Central Command announced that it had stopped two ballistic missiles launched from Yemen and headed toward the capital Abu Dhabi. On January 17, drones laced with explosives flew into an oil storage facility on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi. The attack came at the hands of Houthi rebels in Yemen and left three people dead, and destroyed three petroleum tanker trucks.

Related: Venezuelas Oil Industry Is Causing An Environmental Catastrophe



Is the UAE safe?

While this recent wave of attacks is worrying, the UAEs defensive capabilities ensure that it can protect itself from a barrage of aerial attacks from abroad. However, these attacks and the UAEs reaction to them risk undermining the perception of the countrys security.

For decades, the UAE has been an island of stability in a region noted for political and economic turmoil. The country ranks as one of the safest countries and its pro-business environment has attracted foreign investment that has turned the UAE into a hub for international commerce. While domestic stability is ensured through authoritative governance, defense from foreign threats is possible through initiatives that have provided the UAE with sophisticated weapons systems. In recent years, the UAE has spent billions on state-of-the-art security systems to defend its borders. This has included U.S. manufactured THAAD and Patriot PAC-3 missile systems. On January 16, just a day before the lethal Houthi drone strike, the UAE signed a $3.5 billion deal with South Korean weapons manufacturers to provide surface-to-air missile systems. Alongside these purchases, the US cooperates with the UAE by providing air and naval power. Indeed, the UAEs focus on protecting itself makes some security analysts believe it is one of the best-defended countries in the world.

These defense systems ensure the well-being of the UAEs infrastructure and population. Yet, they are not as effective in protecting the perception of safety, a necessity in the growth of the UAEs economically vital business and tourism sector. Following the January 17th drone strike that killed three, UAE markets dipped as investors feared further attacks. When the Houthi launched more strikes, local markets again slumped despite being intercepted by the UAEs defenses.

Forecast

The analysis above shows that whilst the UAE is militarily superior and can repel any material threat posed by the Houthis, the mere perception of a threat is sufficient to erode the domestic perception of stability and therefore influence the UAEs business climate. This illustrates a particular vulnerability that the Houthis can exploit: fear. The Houthis do not need to score a massive attack on the countrys heavy industry to damage its economy. Rather, a targeted attack on the countrys softer targets can shatter the countrys perception of safety inducing reputational costs that are harder to repair. The Houthis will utilize terrorism against the UAE so long as they remain engaged.

Related: Baghdads Bold Move To Take Over Kurdistans Oil Sector Is A Blow To Russia



Indeed, the likelihood of Houthi terrorism in the UAE is more pronounced than ever given its offensive posture in the war in Yemen. In response to Houthi aerial attacks, the UAE has bombed locations in Yemen said to store weapons intended for the UAE. This action, coupled with continued intervention in the civil war, will possibly goad the Houthis to seek retribution. Hampered by a reduced weapons stockpile that, regardless, is ineffective against Emirati defenses, the Houthis may turn to terror tactics that can skirt past expensive missile defense systems.

The Houthis have already implemented terror tactics such as suicide bombings in Yemen. Therefore, it is foreseeable that similar tactics be exported to the UAE. Attacks against civilians in the lavish shopping malls and hotels of Abu Dhabi and Dubai would rock the countrys economy, impacting the sectors of the economy that rely most on the perception of security to flourish. In particular, the tourism sector, which is particularly susceptible to terrorism and accounts for 12.2 percent of the UAEs GDP, may be the worst impacted sector as a result of potential Houthi terror attacks.

Knowing full well the cost a terror attack would induce on the UAE economy, it can be expected that the UAE may seek to mitigate this threat by deploying more police throughout major cities. While effective, this defensive presence comes with its own series of costs. The image of armed troops on busy street corners and outside landmarks might make civilians feel protected, but in doing so it evidences the existence of a threat. With threat comes the concern, one which complicates the idea of UAE as a pillar of stability and security in a region otherwise known for the opposite.

By Global Risk Insights

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Former President Donald Trump recently made the false that he had filled the nearly-empty SPR during his presidency.

The Biden Administration has been scrambling to lower gasoline prices, and Americas Strategic Petroleum Reserve is playing a vital role in the administrations strategy.

I have often noted that presidents have few ways to impact gasoline prices in the short term. However, one of the ways they can make a short-term impact is to release oil from the nations Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The U.S. created the SPR in 1975 following the 19731974 oil embargo, to protect against future oil supply disruptions. Although it is supposed to be used for severe supply disruptions, politicians have historically used it to try to stem rising gasoline prices  especially in election years.

Thus, in this election year  and with gasoline prices on the rise  one of my 2022 predictions was The Biden Administration will announce additional releases of oil from the SPR ahead of the midterm elections.

A Prediction Fulfilled

Last week President Biden announced the largest SPR release in the history of the reserve. The White House released the following statement:

The scale of this release is unprecedented: the world has never had a release of oil reserves at this 1 million per day rate for this length of time. This record release will provide a historic amount of supply to serve as bridge until the end of the year when domestic production ramps up.

Indeed, we have never seen a release of this magnitude before. If the full release is realized, it will reduce the SPR inventory back to levels last seen in the early 1980s.

President Trumps Odd Claim

The announcement prompted an odd response from former President Trump. Through his spokesperson, President Trump claimed:

So after 50 years of being virtually empty, I built up our oil reserves during my administration, and low energy prices, to 100% full. Its called the Strategic National Reserves, and it hasnt been full for many decades. In fact, its been mostly empty.

Theres just nothing about that statement that is true. As you can see in the graphic below, the SPR levels have never fallen below 500,000 thousand (i.e., 500 million) barrels of crude oil since the 1980s.

Related: Oil Prices Rebound Despite Biden's Best Efforts

In fact, the highest level ever for the SPR was in 2010, when Barack Obama was president. Further, there was actually a net decline in the SPR when President Trump was in office. When he took office in January 2017, the SPR contained 695 million barrels. When he left office four years later, the SPR contained 638 million barrels. So not only is the claim of filling it untrue, but the level of the SPR actually declined while President Trump was in office.

One thing President Trump did propose was to top off the SPR when the Covid-19 pandemic was crushing oil demand. In March 2020 President Trump directed the Department of Energy to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to its maximum capacity by purchasing 77 million barrels of American-made crude oil.

That directive may be the source of President Trumps confusion on the issue. However, 1). The directive was never carried out; and 2). The SPR was already within 13% of its highest-ever level when that directive was issued. So its not as if the SPR was empty at the time.

What Happens Next?

Donald Trumps claims aside, what will be the impact of this release? And is it a wise thing to do?

Given the magnitude of the release, it is likely to have a substantial downward impact on oil and gasoline prices over the next few months. Whether that decline can be sustained is really dependent upon just how quickly U.S. oil production continues to ramp up  as well as what happens with Russian oil supplies.

Its highly unlikely that U.S. production will increase by 1 million BPD in the next six months, but that timing will also mark the end of the high-demand season in the U.S. So its possible that the impact will be sustained. Further, six months from now is just before the November elections, so additional releases could be announced if the current releases dont have the desired impact.

Of course, the SPR was put in place to guard against severe supply disruptions. We are not experiencing a severe supply disruption. Yes, we have banned the import of Russian oil, but that oil will make its way to other customers. But imagine that we do deplete the SPR to the lowest levels since the 1980s, and then a severe supply disruption does take place.

An analogy to this would be deciding to insure your $500,000 home for $200,000. You could probably get away with it, because your home is unlikely to be destroyed in a natural disaster. But, if it was, you may find yourself in deep trouble when you are unable to replace your home.

Thats the risk of a depleted SPR. If we have no severe supply disruptions, it may be looked upon as a bold move that helped bring oil prices under control. But if there is a severe supply disruption in the next few years, it will be viewed as an incredibly foolish and short-sighted move that put the U.S. at greater risk. History will be the judge of whether this was a good idea, but it is definitely a move that comes with risk.

By Robert Rapier

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The latest oil price rally seems to have sparked the interest not just of private equity firms after years of crowding the ESG space but of other investors, too. With oil prices in three-digit territory, producers are raking in cash, and more and more people want in. What's their best bet?

According to one Canadian fund manager, the local oil industry is the best pick. It's geopolitical-risk-free, Eric Nuttall says, and it is not as capital-intensive as U.S. shale. To add one more point to Nuttall's, Canadian heavy crude is in great demand as Russia and Venezuela, two other major sources of heavy crude, are both under U.S. sanctions.

The sanctions have yet to bite, according to Nuttall. The International Energy Agency warned that Russian oil exportsnormally about 7.5 million barrels daily of crude and oil productsare about to plunge by about 3 million bpd in the coming weeks because of the sanctions. According to Nuttall, OPEC will not be able to replace these lost barrels. Prices have higher to go.

"OPEC has not been reinvesting. We'll see the exhaustion of OPEC spare capacity in six months," Nuttall told Forbes' Christopher Helman last week. The U.S. shale patch is struggling with labor and material shortages. According to Nuttall, "shale will be lucky to replace its production."

In this context, Canadian producers, according to him, shine. MEG Energy, for instance, can maintain its current production of 100,000 bpd without additional spending on exploration for more than three decades and make profits even if oil slides to $50 per barrel, Nuttall told Forbes. ARC Resources, Cenovus Energy, and Pipestone Energy are also among the fund manager's picks.

This is not to say that Canadian oil is without its problems. The energy policies of the federal government in recent years have made substantial production growth challenging in that the regulatory load for the industry has increased, as has pressure to reduce emissions, of which Canada's oil industry is the biggest producer in the country.

Indeed, until the pandemic, Canadian rig operators were moving south of the border because there was little demand for their services at home. Now they seem to be coming back, as what is to all effects and purposes a global oil shortage, pushed prices high enough to embolden the Canadian oil industry to expand.

Related: Baghdads Bold Move To Take Over Kurdistans Oil Sector Is A Blow To Russia

The federal government, meanwhile, has signaled a change in attitude towards the oil industry. Amid the U.S. ban on Russian oil and product imports and Europe's continuingand deepening-energy crunch, Ottawa is willing to help.

Acknowledging the pipeline shortage that has plagued the Canadian oil industry for years now, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson last month said that "the ability to fully utilize that, at this point in time to help to stabilize global energy markets, and to assist our friends and allies in Europe is definitely something that we are looking at."

He did note, however, that emission reduction targets remain a priority, despite Ottawa's willingness to help. "Canada is very open to discussion about how we can help, but help in a manner that is consistent with long-term climate objectives," he said in March.

It is this conflict between the federal government's climate ambitions and the reality of energy demand around the world that has been at the root of difficulties for the Canadian oil industry. Environmentalist opposition to pipelines led to the shortage, and emission reduction plans led to the abundance of red tape that oil investors need to overcome to benefit from the country's abundance of oil.

Canadian oil producers are probably safer to invest in than Aramco or U.S. shale drillers, most recently threatened by a windfall tax, despite these challenges. Over the long term, however, with all the climate ambitions of the government and likely any successive governments, Canadian oil may not be as appealing.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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The EU is planning to replace Russian gas with LNG imports, coal, and even fuel oil, with a relatively small amount of the gas to be replaced by wind and solar.

The soaring prices of key metals and the length of time it takes to implement renewable energy projects have meant Europe is turning to fossil fuels to solve its energy crisis.

Germany is preparing for gas rationing. Frances power grid operator is asking consumers to use less electricity. In the UK, protests are breaking out over the latest electricity price hike that plunged millions of households into what one local think tank called fuel stress. Europe has a serious energy problem.

The problem dates back years and points to a persistent complacency on the part of European governments that whatever happens, there will always be gas from Russia. After all, even during the Cold War Russia pumped billions of cubic meters of gas to European countries. Now, things are different, and its not just because of the war in Ukraine.

Europe has been enthusiastically trying to reduce its dependence on all fossil fuels, not just Russian gas, for a few years now. The EU recently boasted that in 2022 renewable energy sources accounted for 37.5 percent of gross electricity consumption, with wind and hydro constituting two-thirds of the total renewable energy output. Why, then, one wonders, would Germany have to brace for gas rationing and France ask its citizens to consume less electricity? Now that has a bit to do with the war in Ukraine. The war seems to have whipped EU governments - and Downing Street - into a frenzy seeking to distance themselves from Russia in every possible way, up to and including cutting Russian gas imports.

Russian President Vladimir Putins demand for payment in rubles for the gas Russia supplies seems to have only increased the desire of European governments to ditch the gas, and the three Baltic states already announced theyd stopped buying Russian gas from April 1. For now, they are using gas from storage. For later, theres either LNG arriving at the Klaipeda terminal in Lithuania or an interconnector with Poland. Lithuania is calling on the rest of the EU to follow its example. Interestingly, the Baltics do not appear to have replaced their gas dependence with wind and solar dependence.

The same is true for the rest of the European Union, too. Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that renewables across the EU were crowding out natural gas. The report cited a study by environmentalist think tank Ember, whose lead author said

These are moments and paradigm shifts when governments and businesses start taking this much more seriously. The alternatives are available, they are cheaper, and they are likely to get even cheaper and more competitive. Renewables are now an opportunity, not a cost, Charles Moore explained.

So why the struggle for gas now? Why not really step up the construction of new wind parks and solar farms, and show Putin what Europeans are made of? This is one of the most awkward questions of current times, its answer necessarily includes references to the price of copper, steel, polysilicon, and pretty much every metal and mineral commodity. In addition to that, building these facilities takes time, more time than, for instance, switching to LNG (if you have import terminals) or coal.

Indeed, in a recently released plan to reduce the consumption of Russian gas - and oil and coal, too - the European Commission bet heavily not on wind and solar but on more gas and coal.

Related: America Is Finally Taking The Battery Metal Shortage Seriously

According to a breakdown of the plan, published by German Die Welt, the EU will seek to replace 50 billion cubic meters of annual Russian gas consumption with LNG from other sources and another 10 billion cubic meters with pipeline gas from other sources. Thats a total of 60 billion cubic meters out of the annual consumption of 155 billion cubic meters of Russian gas. Another 20 billion cubic meters, according to the plan, could be replaced by using more coal, per Industry and Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton.

This is the same Europe that has been calling for and working towards the end of coal. It is the same Europe that planned to shut down all of its coal power plants before 2030 in order to meet the Paris Agreement emission reduction targets. This same Europe is also betting on replacing natural gas with fuel oil to replace another 10 billion cubic meters of Russian gas.

In total, the European Commission seems to be planning to replace more than half of its Russian gas consumption with other fossil fuels. In comparison, wind and solar power are expected to contribute some 22.5 billion cubic meters in replaced Russian gas, with 10 billion cubic meters from wind and 12.5 billion cubic meters from solar. Thats not a whole lot for a region that is set on becoming the greenest on the planet in short order.

It seems, then, that the reality of energy supply and consumption is reasserting itself as the EU finds itself in a gas pickle. If its plan involves so much more consumption of fossil fuels, then fossil fuels must be easier - and quicker - to come by and, just maybe, cheaper, than wind and solar. Otherwise, why pick them over renewables?

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Last week, Crude oil prices posted their biggest one-week loss in nearly two years thanks to an apparent breakthrough in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Front-month U.S. WTI crude (CL1:COM) plunged 12.8% to $99.27/bbl and while Brent (CO1:COM) fell 11.1% to $104.39/bbl, the biggest weekly percentage declines for both benchmarks since late April 2020.

There was no shortage of bearish news for the oil markets.

Previously, European countries walked back threats of sanctioning Russian oil after Russia promised to scale down military operations in the north of Ukraine. The promise sparked hope that the war in Ukraine may finally begin to de-escalate.

Russia could, however, still be in line for fresh sanctions: the flow of "bloody money" to Russia must stop, Kyiv's mayor has said as the West prepares new sanctions on Moscow after dead civilians were found lining the streets of a Ukrainian town seized from Russian invaders. Since Russian forces withdrew from northern Ukraine, turning their assault on the south and east, grim images from the town of Bucha near Kyiv, including a mass grave and bound bodies of people shot at close range, have prompted international outrage.

Upside risks from the disruption of Russian exports have been met by downside risks from recession and China's coronavirus outbreaks.

Markets reacted negatively after Shanghai extended lockdowns to the entire city. The lockdowns have been imposed indefinitely amid growing public anger over quarantine rules after city-wide testing saw new COVID-19 cases surge to more than 13,000. Chinas zero-COVID strategy is likely to lead to even more lockdowns that are likely to significantly lower oil demand for the Asian giant. China is the worlds biggest importer of crude, and falling demand might help ease market tightness.

Related: Venezuelas Oil Industry Is Causing An Environmental Catastrophe

Meanwhile, the oil price bull run has hit the skids after President Biden said on Thursday that the U.S. would release 180M barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the next six months in the largest release in SPR history, while threatening to impose penalties on domestic drillers for failing to use federal oil permits.

The SPR move "may halt oil prices from skyrocketing to $150-plus, and in the short term will weigh on prices. However with war still in course and Putin demanding to be paid in rubles... it's not going to crush the price of oil," Spartan's Peter Cardillo has told the Wall Street Journal.

International Energy Agency "IEA" member states are also making plans to release their own strategic oil reserves. During a press conference last Thursday, President Biden said he expected allies to release 30-50mb, in addition to the U.S. release.

Hedge Funds Dumping Oil

With all these negative catalysts, its hardly surprising that the oil-buying mood has dampened somewhat.

According to Reuters, hedge funds and other money managers sold the equivalent of 15 million barrels in the six most important petroleum futures and options contracts in the week to March 29, including the liquidation of 10 million barrels of previous bullish long positions and the initiation of 6 million barrels of new bearish short positions.

That marked a sharp reversal from purchases of 16 million barrels the previous week--and could have been worse since the report came before the SPR announcement by the Biden administration.

Related: Baghdads Bold Move To Take Over Kurdistans Oil Sector Is A Blow To Russia



Oil fund money flows are also suggesting that the sector could be overbought.

After pulling in $1.75B over the past year, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLE) has recorded $1.46B in outflows in the month of March as Russia's war on Ukraine shines a spotlight on energy security and also signifies a potential top for oil and gas stocks as market players take profits. In contrast, renewable energy funds have recorded $642 million in inflows in the month of March, breaking a 3-month losing streak that saw $1.9B in outflows. Higher and volatile oil and gas prices have been making the case for renewables more attractive.

That said, funds remain significantly more bullish about the outlook for refined fuels and middle distillates rather than crude, reflecting the low level of diesel and gas oil inventories around the world. Even in distillates, however, bullishness is stemming from low inventories and the impact of the conflict on Russia's exports was tempered by concerns about economic slowdowns evident in the United States, Europe, China and the rest of Asia.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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Turning down the thermostat by just one or two degrees Celsius could save some 10 percent of the energy that the EU imports from Russia, the Financial Times reported in the latest sign that European governments are hard at work encouraging people to reduce their energy consumption.

The report cited estimates made by a Brussels-based economic think-tank dubbed Bruegel. According to Bruegel, the EU could save 130 terawatt-hours per year if all Europeans turn down the thermostat and the water boiler. For context, the same researchers estimate Russian energy imports at 1,700 terawatt-hours annually.

Turning down the thermostat was also one of the suggestions made by the International Energy Agency to help Europe cope with record gas prices.

"The average temperature for buildings' heating across the EU at present is above 22C," the IEA said in its plan. "Adjusting the thermostat for buildings heating would deliver immediate annual energy savings of around 10 bcm for each degree of reduction while also bringing down energy bills."

Separately, national governments are also calling on their citizens to reduce their energy consumption. The Dutch government, for instance, launched a whole campaign promoting lower heating degrees in order to reduce the country's dependence on Russian gas.

"Our energy bills are rising, we need to become less dependent on gas from Russia, and we want to fight climate change," the campaign said, also advising the Dutch to "Put on a warm jacket or jumper, socks and slippers."

The vice-president of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, recently advised people to take shorter showers and, "when you turn off the water, say 'Take that, Putin!'"

Shorter showers are also being advised by other government officials as one way to conserve energy and reduce dependence on Russian gas.

Meanwhile, Europe is going through a cold spell, with temperatures in France hitting the lowest for this time of the year since 1947a certainly unfortunate coincidence as European governments call for lower energy consumption.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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The government of Kuwait resigned on Tuesday as the political impasse in one of the largest OPEC producers deepened ahead of a vote of no-confidence in Parliament.

Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah tendered the government's resignation today, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

The Speaker of the Parliament, Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim, said that the National Assembly had canceled Wednesday's session for the no-confidence vote after the prime minister's resignation. Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received the resignation. The crown prince took over most of the Kuwaiti emir's duties at the end of 2021.

The political leadership in Kuwait is considering the resignation, KUNA reports. The government was in power for just over three months, and was the third one installed last year amid a political impasse between the government and the elected officials of the Kuwaiti parliament.

The parliament in Kuwait has more powers than similarly structured bodies in the biggest oil producers in the Middle East, including votes of no-confidence against senior members of the cabinet and the power to pass or not pass legislation.

The political constraints in the decision-making in Kuwait prompted Fitch Ratings to downgrade earlier this year Kuwait's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to AA-, from AA.

"There has been a lack of meaningful underlying fiscal adjustment to recent oil-price shocks and the outlook for reforms remains weak, despite some positive political developments as part of a national dialogue. While we assume a debt law will be agreed in 2022, this has been under discussion since 2017, reflecting slow processes for decision-making in Kuwait," Fitch said in January.

"Political divisions remain, despite the national dialogue, and are likely to prevent broader reform of Kuwait's fiscal rigidities," the rating agency added.

Kuwait is currently OPEC's fourth-largest producer, behind Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In February 2022, Kuwait's oil production averaged 2.61 million bpd, per OPEC's secondary sources.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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The crown jewel of energy production, nuclear fusion using a projectile, may have been cracked in a major scientific breakthrough by a start-up in Oxford.

First Light Fusion (FLF) was praised by business and energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, after it announced it had achieved the reaction in its Kidlington laboratory.

The experiment fused two atoms together at very high temperatures, with FLF using a 22-metre gas gun to fire a 100g projectile at 20 times the speed of sound, according to the Telegraph.

Those behind the project said it was a world first, and more efficient and cleaner method of producing energy through fusion than its rivals.

This comes as the UK looks to wean itself off Russian energy, and move towards net zero, by reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

Downing Street is expected to unveil the UKs energy security strategy on Thursday, which will likely include a ramp up of renewables, nuclear power and North sea oil and gas exploration.

However, the potential of fusion power could be transformative for the energy sector, and the government is likely to watch future developments over the coming years with interest.

Kwarteng heralded the British-born technology which could potentially revolutionise power production in the coming decades and that it was investing in the sector so we remain at the forefront of the global scientific endeavour to make safe, clean, limitless fusion energy a reality.

Dr Nick Hawker, co-founder and chief executive of First Light Fusion said: The design used to achieve this result is already months out of date.

As soon as we reach the maximum with one idea, we invent the next, and that incredible journey of discovery is what is so exciting.

Ian Chapman, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority chief executive, said: Fusion promises to be a safe, low carbon and sustainable part of the worlds future energy supply, and we support all advances in this scientific and engineering grand challenge.

These results are another important step forward, and we are impressed that First Light have arranged independent analysis of their result.

By City AM

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Developed economies allies of the U.S. and the EU are expected to replace around 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude oil with grades from other producers amid self-sanctioning, but the biggest developing Asian oil importers havent raced yet to buy heavily discounted Russian crude because of short-term contractual obligations with Middle Eastern producers.

Thats the estimate from energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, which sees part of the Russian crude typically purchased in the West being replaced by buyers from developing importers such as India and China.

European self-sanctioning has resulted in up to 1.2 million bpd of Urals crude displaced. Japan and South Korea have also turned down Russias ESPO grade going to Asia from Russian Far East ports. This resulted in sharp declines in ESPO weekly export volumes in the week ending March 25. Export volumes, however, have recovered for the week ending April 1, WoodMacs analysts note.

Global crude oil trade will rebalance by crude swapping between self-sanctioning advanced economies and developing markets, managing consultant Alex Sun said in a statement.

We estimate advanced economies such as the EU, Japan and South Korea could swap about 650,000 b/d of Russian crude oil  400,000 b/d of Urals, 170,000 b/d of ESPO and 80,000 b/d of East Russian lights - with similar grades and volumes predominantly from the Middle East procured by China and India, Sun added.

The reshuffling of the Russian barrels is very attractive for buyers such as China and India due to the hefty discounts of Urals now. But refiners in China and India face challenges in taking up too much Russian crude in the short term because of contractual obligations with Middle Eastern producers, the managing consultant added.

In addition, China hasnt shown yet too much appetite for Russian crude because of several factors, WoodMac said. These include expensive freight for Russian cargoes due to the sanctions, challenges with payments and tanker insurance, the fact that a Urals voyage takes double the time compared to Middle Eastern grades going to China, and Chinese refiners long-term contracts with oil exporters from the Middle East.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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More employees will receive extra pay if they decide to work into the summer at the Omaha Public Schools.

At Mondays school board meeting, members approved a pay increase for principals, assistant principals, social workers and psychologists who agree to work a summer school session this year.

The hourly rate will be $50 per hour for principals, $45 for assistant principals, $45 for psychologists and $40 for social workers. The new rate will be in effect only for this summer.

The change was sparked by the districts decision to expand summer school programs to serve more students affected by the pandemic. The resolution says OPS will need a significant number of employees who normally work only during the regular school year to work during summer school.

Summer school, which is called Next Level Learning, was expanded to all students in 2021 and district officials have also worked the programming into their most recent plans for federal COVID-19 relief money.

About $14 million in pandemic funding will be allocated to student academic support initiatives, such as lengthening summer school for middle school students from a half-day to a full day of learning.

At the school boards March 21 meeting, members also approved a pay increase for bilingual liaisons and sign language interpreters who work summer school this year or in 2023. Liaisons will receive $30 per hour and interpreters will get $35.

Summer school teachers received a boost in compensation on March 7. The teachers, who were previously paid $28.50 per hour, will now get $40 per hour this year and in summer 2023.

Omaha-area school districts have been creating incentives over the past few months to attract and retain staff amid a continuing shortage.

Initiatives include stipends that will be provided to student teachers in districts including OPS, Westside and Millard. Westside is also offering free tuition to Midland University for paraprofessionals who want to become teachers.

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INDIANAPOLIS  The Indiana State Police said Tuesday that they used genealogical data and crime scene evidence to link an Iowa man who died in 2013 to the killings of three female motel clerks and sexual assault of a fourth in Indiana and Kentucky from 1987 through 1990.

Harry Edward Greenwell, who died at age 68 in New Albin, Iowa, in January 2013, was the I-65 killer, State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield said during a press conference in Indianapolis. The killings earned that moniker because they happened at motels near Interstate 65.

Greenwell had an extensive criminal history and had been in and out of prison several times, even escaping from jail on two separate occasions, he said. He was known to travel frequently in the Midwest.

Greenwell was born in Kentucky and died in Iowa of cancer, according to his obituary.

Fifield said evidence linked Greenwell to the Feb. 21, 1987, killing of Vicki Heath, 41, who was sexually assaulted and fatally shot while working a night shift at a Super 8 Hotel in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. It also linked him to the March 3, 1989, killings of Margaret Peggy Gill and Jeanne Gilbert.

Gilbert, 34, was slain while working the night shift at a Days Inn in Remington, Indiana, while Gill, 24, was killed while working at a Days Inn in Merrillville, Indiana. Both were sexually assaulted and fatally shot.

Fifield said investigators also linked Greenwell to the Jan. 2, 1990, sexual assault of a 21-year-old female clerk at a Days Inn in Columbus, Indiana.

This victim was able to escape her attacker and survive. She was later able to give an excellent physical description of the suspect and details of the crime, he said. She is the only known victim to have survived the vicious, brutal attacks of this killer.

Fifield said the state police crime lab matched ballistic evidence in the Gill and Gilbert slayings, and later matched DNA evidence linking the Heath and Gilbert killings to the Columbus attack.

He said one of the primary factors linking the four crimes was their proximity to I-65, which runs from Gary, Indiana, to Mobile, Alabama.

Fifield said investigative genealogy, the use of DNA analysis in combination with traditional genealogy research and historical records, generated a significant and important lead in the four cases.

Further investigation and kinship lab testing by the Indiana State Police lab of crime scene samples positive identified the suspect. The match was 99.9999% positive. It is this scientific breakthrough that ultimately led to the identification of the I-65 killer, Harry Edward Greenwell, Fifield said.

He said investigators continue reaching out to other police departments in the Midwest because there is a distinct possibility that Greenwell committed other unsolved killings, rapes, robberies or assaults.

Fifield was joined at the press conference by members of the FBI, the Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and Columbus, Indiana, police departments, and relatives of some of the victims.

Gilberts daughter, Kimberly Gilbert Wright, said her family was very grateful for law enforcements efforts to identify her mothers killer and helping bring some type of closure to her family and the other victims relatives.

Shes still in my familys hearts, she said of her mother. We talk about her as if she hasnt gone. My brother and I were fortunate enough to have spent the last seven months of her life living with her and experiencing the joy that she could bring to every day of our life.
BLOOMINGTON  A 17-year-old Dolton boy is charged in McLean County for a shooting and carjacking last August in Bloomington.

The teen is charged with two counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking (Class X felonies), and one count each of aggravated battery with a firearm (Class X felony) and vehicular hijacking (Class 1 felony). He remains in custody in lieu of posting $25,035, and he is due in court April 22 for an arraignment.

He is the last of three suspects arrested in the Aug. 29, 2021, shooting and carjacking on Pine Cone Court at an apartment complex in Bloomington. Kavion A. Anderson, 19, of Hazel Crest, and a 17-year-old boy were arrested in Country Club Hills last October.

The boy charged Monday is accused of shooting a 36-year-old Bloomington man, who was working as a ride-share service driver. Prosecutors have said that Anderson told police that the 17-year-old charged Monday fired a .22 caliber handgun at the driver.

The man suffered a gunshot wound to his right thigh and a broken wrist, court documents said.

Court documents said the victim arrived to the apartment complex around 7:30 p.m. Aug. 29, 2021, to pick up a rider with a username that read as a dash: -.

The victim said three males approached the vehicle and one asked for assistance with placing luggage in the vehicles trunk, court documents show.

As the victim bent down to pick up luggage, he was pushed to the ground and shot in the leg, court documents said.

The 36-year-old man ran toward the drivers side door and hung onto it as the car drove away. The victim let go of the door and fell to the ground, which led to further injury, including a broken wrist, court documents said.

A witness in the parking lot reported observing a car driving recklessly with its trunk open, according to court documents.

The vehicles security system company assisted Bloomington police with locating the car, documents said, and the company deactivated the vehicles engine while it was in Country Club Hills.

County Club Hills police stopped the vehicle and arrested two individuals in October 2021, whose cell phones were seized by police.

Court documents also said that text messages retrieved from the cell phones show conversations relating to planning, execution, concealing, or discussion of vehicular hijacking-related activities.

Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather

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NORMAL  McLean Countys Mental Health Action Plan has drawn concern from Normal council members, who say the progress has been underwhelming.

Weve been doing a lot of talking but what do we have to show for it? Trustee Kathleen Lorenz said Tuesday, noting she believes the county has had too few outcomes related to behavioral health in the last six years.

On Monday, County Board Chairman John McIntyre and County Administrator Cassy Taylor gave an update to the Normal Town Council on the plan and the work done in the area of behavioral health since the town entered an intergovernmental agreement  along with the city of Bloomington  to raise sales tax from 1.5% to 2.5% in 2016 and use the added revenue to support the countys efforts.

Taylor said the funding has been divided evenly between four areas:

Integrated case management

Building debt service

Behavioral health services

Criminal justice service

Of the roughly $23.3 million received from the town and city to date, the county has spent about $9.5 million, leaving roughly $13.8 million remaining.

McIntyre said this funding helps the county to complement existing services in the community and provide for additional services.

During the meeting, Lorenz said the council has in the past taken issue with an entity that had excess reserves, and has had concerns when members dont see measurable results. I see some similarities here with this tonight, and that concerns me, she said.

The countys Bridge Academy was also a point of discussion.

Because the program, which Taylor said assists students who cannot participate in traditional schooling because of hospitalization risks, was proposed by the Regional Office of Education, Lorenz questioned whether the towns money should go toward individual providers like the ROE directly instead of the county.

She said Tuesday it is the council's duty to be "good stewards with this money, these public dollars."

An adolescent outpatient center was proposed but never materialized because no agency stepped forward in response to a request for proposals.

That was supposed to be a project funded directly by our sales tax, Lorenz said. ... As a result, it appears that the Regional Office of Education has decided to take the lead with the Bridge Academy.

Trustee Kevin McCarthy, who serves on the county Behavioral Health Coordinating Council, said the county issued requests for proposals for the adolescent outpatient center twice but it did not receive any proposals either time.

We use words like 'coordination' and 'collaboration' in this arena, and those are easy words that roll off our tongues in meetings. In the terms of service provision in our community, those are much harder terms to actualize and execute on, he said.

Having spoken to service provider representatives who helped to create the requests for proposals but chose not to bid on the project, McCarthy said he believes that speaks to some reticence in our community of service providers to work together."

He suggested the outcome might have been different if providers had been willing to partner to submit a proposal.

Lorenz said Tuesday she has faith in the local social service providers and their ability and willingness to collaborate on behavioral health issues. Having been on council when the ordinance was passed, she said she's been disappointed by the accomplishments made since then.

"Lets get past the history and start doing something," she said.

During the meeting, McCarthy said while some responsibility for the difficulty in making progress in the area of behavioral health service should be placed with the county, he does not believe it all should be.

He also shared Lorenzs concern related to the countys large fund balance, though he pointed to Taylors explanation earlier in the presentation.

We are anticipating the cost of EIJS (electronic integrated justice system) and would like to have funds available for that, she said, noting that system will be implemented within the next two to three years. Weve allocated our (American Rescue Plan Act) dollars through the county for the EIJS project as well as well be using some of the reserves that we have not allocated thus far.

Lorenz said Tuesday while she understood the county was saving for this system, she had concerns that they are "trying to build the perfect system" that could quickly become outdated.

Trustee Stan Nord asked why the additional funds were not used to pay down the countys debt related to the expansion of the Law and Justice Center in 2018.

City Manager Pam Reece said the bonds were callable and could not be paid down outside a specific timeframe.

McIntyre said the county board has taken a conservative approach to funding the behavioral health initiatives, working to secure grants to support the plan and make the board the payers of last resort.

Those initiatives include the McLean County Triage Center, 200 W. Front St. in Bloomington. McIntyre said the center has faced roadblocks and a slow start in part because of the pandemic.

Last year, 297 people used the service, which is meant to help those with mental health concerns, substance abuse disorders or emotional crises at an emergent level that may not need treatment in a hospitals emergency department.

Taylor said the center has had a 131% increase in usage so far in 2022, and raising awareness of its availability could increase its use further. The Triage Center has 13 staff members, including security, and is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. seven days a week, not allowing for overnight stays.

Nord said he wondered about the staffing level of the Triage Center considering the total visitors in 2021 averaged about six people per week.

I have no idea if thats good or bad; its just, it seems like a question to be asked, he said of the ratio of staff members to patients.

The council did not take action on the action plan, but Taylor said the Behavioral Health Coordinating Council will vote to approve the plan on Friday.

Contact Kelsey Watznauer at (309) 820-3254. Follow her on Twitter: @kwatznauer.

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BLOOMINGTON  McLean County Board members will vote next week on two contracts for the sheriffs department to obtain body-worn cameras and new Tasers.

The body camera acquisition will align the McLean County Sheriffs Office with a state law mandating all police agencies to be equipped with body-worn cameras within a certain time. McLean County must have body cameras by Jan. 1.

McLean County would spend nearly $328,000 for 53 body cameras from Axon Enterprise, Inc. on a five-year contract. The front-loaded contract would require the county to pay $260,000 in the first year and about $17,000 in the four years after.

Sheriff Jon Sandage said in a letter to the McLean County Justice Committee that Axons products outperform its competitors and the county has had a yearslong relationship with the company.

It is going to be required, but our officers overwhelmingly want them because they know how well they protect them, and how useful they are as far as evidence when it comes to going to court, Sandage told The Pantagraph.

Existing county technology would be able to integrate the body cameras gunshot detection alerts, and video and audio streaming. The technology also would activate all other body cameras within 30 feet, Sandage wrote.

The sheriffs office is asking the McLean County Board to approve another five-year contract with Axon Enterprise to acquire new Tasers for jail correctional officers. McLean County would spend about $31,000 over five years for eight Tasers and accompanying cartridges.

Sandage said the new model, the Taser 7, is an upgrade from the McLean County Jails current X26P Taser, which the county has had for roughly five years. He also said the jail already has instructors to train staff on the upgraded models.

The Tasers have proven to be an extremely useful intermediate device which can be deployed in a variety of volatile situations to safely incapacitate and gain compliance, Sandage said. These devices are excellent alternatives which substantially reduces the risk of injury to inmates and staff.

Justice Committee members unanimously passed the two contracts Tuesday.

The McLean County Board will consider the contracts at its monthly meeting April 14.

In other business, the McLean County Finance Committee was expected to vote Wednesday after press time on several items, including a contract with Florida-based Evergreen Solutions to conduct a salary study for McLean County employment positions.

The (finance) committee felt this would respond to the growing concern with recruitment and retention of qualified staff in several departments; and address the mission to establish the county as a premier employer in central Illinois, McLean County Administrator Cassy Taylor wrote in a letter to the finance committee.

The contract would run from mid-April to Sept. 30 at the latest, and it includes an aggregate payment of $48,500.

Evergreen Solutions would provide management consulting services to McLean County as may be reasonably requested by the county in relation to a research salary study.

The finance committee also will consider a lease with Eastland Mall for an early voting location for the 2022 elections.

The $13,500 lease would be for a nearly 13,000 square-foot unit at Eastland Mall, 1615 E. Empire St., Bloomington, from April 15 through Dec. 31.

The lease also would allow McLean County to sub-lease a portion of the unit to the Bloomington Election Commission.

Early voting for the June 28 primary election runs from May 19 through June 27. Early voting for the Nov. 8 general election is from Sept. 29 through Nov. 7.

Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather

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SPRINGFIELD  Flanked by members of law enforcement advocacy groups, about a dozen Democrats from both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly called a news conference Monday to tout proposals that they say will help with the recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers.

The lawmakers touted a proposal creating a Law Enforcement Recruitment and Retention Fund, bills focusing on officer mental health, the creation of a grant program for off-hours day care, and a measure requiring counties to pay their sheriff 80 percent of their states attorneys pay.

There was not, however, any appropriations bill tied to the new funds, meaning funding would have to be provided in the budget process which is scheduled to wrap up Friday.

Rep. Dave Vella, D-Rockford, said the measures came out of a House public safety working group.

This public safety working group has gotten together to come up with real commonsense ideas on how to get things done in a new way  the old way doesn't work, the old way that the people on the other side of the aisle are throwing out don't work, he said. These are new ways that will hopefully take us into the next century with cleaner streets, safer streets.

It was the second news conference in the past two weeks in which Democrats addressed rising crime as the party faces near constant attacks on the issue from Republicans seven months ahead of an election that will see every seat in the General Assembly up for a vote.

Unlike at last weeks news conference touting witness protection and community investment programs, the majority party on Monday was accompanied by law enforcement groups that have staunchly opposed the criminal justice reform known as the SAFE-T Act which Democrats passed in January 2021.

At the news conference was Illinois Sheriffs Association Executive Director Jim Kaitschuk and Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police Executive Director Ed Wojcicki.

Members of the Sheriffs Association have been among the staunchest opponents of the SAFE-T Act, citing such provisions as reforms to use-of-force standards and officer certification, as well as an end of cash bail beginning next year, as contributing factors to officer resignations.

While opposed to the SAFE-T Act, the law enforcement groups previously worked with lawmakers on two trailer bills that softened use-of-force guidelines and pushed back implementation dates of decertification standards among other changes.

Kaitschuk, after the news conference, told Capitol News Illinois he viewed the measures proposed Monday as separate from the SAFE-T Act, and declined to directly answer whether he believed they would counteract any real or perceived negative effects on officer recruitment that resulted from the 2021 criminal justice reform.

This wasn't about the SAFE-T Act, he said after Mondays news conference. This was about efforts to recruit and retain. And this has been a  it hasn't been just one thing that caused the issues in terms of recruitment and retention. Back in the 90s, we had a lot of federal funding that came to hire officers, those officers  one, the funding went away, and two, those officers are obviously, they're my age, so theyre retirement age, so they've moved on to other careers and retired.

The measures laid out Monday are a message from lawmakers that we do care about law enforcement, Kaitschuk said, making recruitment and retainment easier.

The Law Enforcement Recruitment and Retention Fund, contained as an amendment to House Bill 3863, would be subject to the appropriations process, but would allow the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board to award grants to local governments, public higher education institutions and qualified nonprofits for the purpose of hiring and retaining officers.

Preference would be given to efforts that bolster departments with the greatest need and ones that diversify police departments. The fund would be allowed to accept gifts.

Another measure, contained in House Bill 1568, allows retiring officers to purchase their service weapon and badge, and makes a change to police pensions from current law pertaining to the deferred retirement option plan for law officers. Lawmakers said the law as written disincentivizes working past age 55, but the bill would change that, they believe, while remaining revenue neutral.

That measure also calls on ILETSB and the Illinois Community College Board to report recommendations to the General Assembly for establishing minimum requirements for credit transfers satisfying the requirements of law enforcement and correctional intern courses.

An amendment to House Bill 4608 would allow for body camera video retention for evidentiary value and allow grant funds to be used for data storage costs.

An amendment to House Bill 1321 creates the First Responder Behavioral Health Grant Fund, also subject to appropriations, that would provide grants to local governments, law enforcement agencies, fire districts, school districts, hospitals or ambulance services, for expenses related to behavioral health care for first responders.

That measure would also allow ILETSB to establish statewide minimum standards for mental health screenings for officers.

An amendment to House Bill 4364 would create the Fund Mental Health and Substance Use Prevention Fund, also subject to appropriations, to create grants to local governments and public universities to provide mental health and substance use prevention to people who are incarcerated.

An amendment to House Bill 1571 creates a child care grant program, also subject to appropriations, to fund providers who expand after-hours and nightly child care for children of first responders and other late-shift workers.

Another measure, in House Bill 3893, extends from Jan. 2023 to Jan. 1, 2027, the expiration of a law that allows law enforcement to use a device to record a conversation during an investigation of certain offenses, including murder, drug and sex offenses. It also extends the expiration of the Illinois Street Gang and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Law by one year to June 11, 2023.

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SPRINGFIELD  Public school, community college and public university employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are now entitled to paid administrative leave for any days they miss this school year due to coronavirus-related issues.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday signed House Bill 1167 into law, which provides those employees as many days off as needed to abide by public health guidelines and mandates related to isolation and exclusion. The law applies to any employee of public educational institutions, including support staff and contractors.

It also applies retroactively to days missed this school year.

It ensures that if a teacher has done their part to keep their classroom safe for their most vulnerable students, they won't have to worry for a second about their pay or their paid time off if they get COVID, or if they're required to isolate, or if the school has moved to e-learning and their work can't be done at home, Pritzker said during a bill signing ceremony in his Statehouse office.

Lawmakers initially passed a bill during last years fall veto session that provided paid leave for any education employee who had to miss work due to COVID-19, but Pritzker vetoed that measure in January because it also would have applied to unvaccinated employees.

At the same time he issued that veto, however, Pritzker announced he had reached a negotiated agreement with teachers unions, school districts, colleges and universities on a bill that would include a vaccine requirement for the benefit.

Work in legislation is difficult. People don't always agree. There are struggles and differences of opinion, said Dan Montgomery, president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. And we've seen around the country, and certainly around the state, that those tensions are inflamed during COVID. But this bill is a sign that when you have good public servants of goodwill, who devote themselves to trying to figure out what's the right thing to do, we can all work together and get it done and do it in a way that is better for learning, teaching, and the kids and their communities of the state.

Angela Bulger, a special education paraprofessional in OFallon, said she has already missed eight school days this year due to COVID-19  once when she contracted the virus and again when her 7-year-old daughter was exposed to the virus at school.

As a new employee, I am allotted 11 sick days, she said. Without this legislation, any additional days missed because of COVID would also mean a cut in pay because I have no more earned sick days.

The original bill passed the General Assembly in October with near-unanimous support, but the inclusion of a vaccination requirement to be able to receive the benefits sparked Republican opposition. They argued that unvaccinated employees who have to stay home to care for a sick family member would be deprived of a benefit that a vaccinated person in the same position would receive.

But Pritzker defended the vaccine requirement as a way to encourage more people to get vaccinated.

What we're trying to do, of course, is to encourage people to do the right thing to keep their students safe, to keep the rest of the school safe, by being vaccinated. That's the whole purpose of that provision in the law, he said.

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Dr Michael Ayamga-Adongo, an Economist and Head of the Applied Economics Department of the University for Development Studies says the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) may eventually create room for the government to keep borrowing.



He explained that relentless efforts to make E-Levy work in the country was an attempt to assure investors that government had the political mandate to implement sweeping revenue measures.



He said, "this may halt investors leaving largely as we see now and possibly create room for more borrowing."



Dr Ayamga-Adongo, who said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tamale, noted that the E-Levy would rekindle investor trust in government to keep lending to it.



Last week, Parliament passed the E-Levy bill into Act, which was subsequently assented by the President.



Following this, the Minister for Finance announced that the collection of the E-Levy would begin in May.



Dr Ayamga-Adongo said the introduction of the E-Levy in the quest to stabilize the economy could make the country more indebted in future.



He said, the fact is that Ghanas sovereign spread is in thousands and our economy is designated as a debt distressed one."

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Qingming, time for remembering heroes and observing traditions

Xinhua) 08:37, April 05, 2022

People prepare to lay flower baskets to the monument at the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs' cemetery in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, April 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Yao Jianfeng)

BEIJING, April 4 (Xinhua) -- As Tomb Sweeping Day falls on Tuesday this year, Chinese people are preparing to worship ancestors and pay tribute to their loved ones who died.

This day is also known in China as Qingming, literally "clear and bright." It is one of the 24 dates that divide the solar year and has been observed for thousands of years.

The tomb-sweeping tradition has its poetic twist, inspiring Chinese poets through the centuries to create verses that blend the joy of springtime with the sorrows of the mourning.

Writer of the famous poem "Qingming," Du Mu of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) once wrote:

"A drizzling rain falls like tears on the mourning day; The mourner's heart is going to break on his way. Where can a wine shop be found to drown my sad hours? A cowherd points to a cot amid apricot flowers."

On Qingming, Chinese people also pay their respects to heroes and martyrs.

President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, often emphasized the importance of remembering heroes, carrying forward their spirit, and honoring revolutionary martyrs.

"The Chinese nation is a nation that worships heroes, makes heroes and has numerous heroes in its history. The spirit of heroes still exists in the age of peace. We must uphold the spirit of heroes, who sacrificed their lives for the Party, the country as well as the Chinese people," Xi said.

As the country's top leader, Xi led by example. During his domestic inspections, Xi often took time to pay tribute to memorial facilities dedicated to revolutionary heroes, present floral baskets, tour museums and visit families of the martyrs.

Heroes emerge in peacetime, too. Doctors, nurses and first responders are considered heroes in the country's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

At a meeting to commend anti-virus role models in 2020, Xi paid his respects to those who died fighting the virus.

"I would like to take a moment to mourn the loss of the heroes who gave their lives in the fight against the virus, and our fellow countrymen and women whose lives it has taken. Our thoughts are with them," he said.

Poverty fighters are on Xi's mind too. Under his leadership, China launched a "war" that eliminated absolute poverty in eight years. The battle was hard fought, with over 1,800 people -- many of whom were cadres who assisted in the fight -- sacrificing their lives on the front lines.

At a gathering in early 2021 to mark poverty relief results, Xi acknowledged the fallen heroes, saying that their sacrifices will "never be forgotten by the Party, the people and the republic."

Throughout the past decade, more attention was given to heroes and martyrs. A date was designated as Martyrs' Day. Laws and regulations were passed to better protect the martyrs' reputation and their families' rights and interests.

SPRING OUTING

As Qingming heralds in the warm weather and regular rainy showers, it presents an opportune time for plowing and sowing.

The Chinese term "Taqing" refers to a spring outing when people get out and enjoy the spring blossoms. It is one of the most important and long-lasting customs of Qingming.

After families sweep tombs, they often take a moment to savor springtime. Activities like planting trees are usually associated with this season.

Last week, Xi and other Chinese leaders took part in a tree-planting activity in Beijing. Xi participated in this activity as China's top leader for 10 years in a row.

Xi stressed that he also wanted to make a personal contribution to building a beautiful China and to encourage the whole of society, especially young people, to push for ecological advancement and for China's environment to continue to improve.

"Since the 18th CPC National Congress, we have adhered to the notion that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets to fully promote the development of ecological civilization, advance afforestation and improve living environment in both urban and rural areas," Xi said. "A beautiful China is becoming a reality."

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
The World Bank has released GH 42 million through the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project 2 (GPSNP 2) to support the government to pay two cycles of arrears of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) for 344,000 beneficiary households.



The ongoing global economic challenges, which have been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, have increased the economic strain domestically, leading to progressive delays in LEAP payments.



A statement issued in Accra said this had in turn impacted LEAP beneficiaries, notably the poor and vulnerable who naturally suffer the most.



We are happy to support in the interest of beneficiaries to assist the government with the LEAP payments to avoid eroding gains made over the years and safeguard beneficiary households wellbeing and their resilience to shocks, it said.



Mr Pierre Laporte, the World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, said these payments would be completed in April 2022 and would help cushion the government in the interim as efforts were made to identify and provide sustainable, and reliable funding for the LEAP programme and social protection interventions, in general.



The LEAP programme is one of the Government of Ghanas flagship social protection programs, initiated in 2008.



The programme seeks to smoothen consumption of targeted extreme poor households, specifically focusing on poor within the following categories: orphans and vulnerable children, the elderly (65years and above) severely disabled, and pregnant women or mothers with children under one year.



It also aimed to increase access to basic social services like healthcare through the enrollment on the National Health Insurance Scheme, as well as boost human capital by encouraging beneficiary households to enroll their school-going aged children in school.



It said per the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project (GPSNP) 2 programme design, beneficiary households receive cash grants through electronic payments every two months and the cash benefit sizes differ, depending on how many persons in the household are considered eligible to receive the grant.



The benefit ranges from GH32 to GH53 per eligible beneficiary, per month.



The statement said over the years, the government had progressively increased the programmes beneficiary reach from 1,645 beneficiary households in a few districts at initiation in 2008, to a current reach of 344,023 beneficiary households in all districts across the country.



Additionally, the government had demonstrated its commitment to the programmes implementation by progressively increasing its contribution to the program.



It is currently funding approximately 80 percent of the total funding of the programme, with development partners support comprising the remaining 20 percent.



It said particularly within global economic downturns, such as the current one on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be important for the government to identify ring-fenced funding to ensure regular payments of social welfare programmes.



The World Bank remained committed to working with the government, through both technical and financial support, in its agenda to support the poor and vulnerable populations, through needed social assistance programming.

Source: GNA









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The family of Andrew Donkor, a youth of Teleku-Bokazu who was shot dead, is seeking justice for their relative.



According to the victims brother, Thomas Donkor, the shooting of his brother was not an accident but a deliberate act.



The demand for justice comes after Andrew Donkor was allegedly shot dead on Friday, April 1, by security personnel at the forecourt of the Nkroful Magistrate Court during the prosecution of some illegal miners arrested by Adamus Resources Mines.



Thomas Donkor stated that his brother was not rioting but was present at the Nkroful Magistrate Court to support his colleagues.



What I demand now is justice because there is clear evidence according to witnesses that my brother was not even at where the crowd was but sitting somewhere making a phone call. So Im beginning to think this was out of malice or deliberate.



Why should there should be shooting when the crowd were not rioting but were just there to support their people. If you want to give a warning shot, you dont rather shoot an innocent person, he questioned.



Thomas Donkor added that four more bullets have been retrieved from his body by doctors at the hospital which means it was deliberate, so we demand justice. We want o know the military person that fired the shot and explain why he fired at somebody who was not armed.



Meanwhile, wife of the victim, Doris Donkor has called for the dismissal of the soldier who fired the shot.



He is the only person who provides for me and my children. I want the soldier to be dealt with and dismissed from the service.



She stated that her husband only told her he was going to the district assembly only for her to be informed of his death.



I commit the person who shot my husband into the hands of God. I plead with the government to punish the soldier for me, said Mrs. Donkor.



On her side, mother of Andrew Donkor has asked government to build a house for her and the wife since Andrew was the breadwinner of the family.

Source: Ghanaweb.com









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The Ghana Police Service says it has Interdicted the police officer who pulled a gun on a civilian around Liberian Camp on the Winneba Road to make way for a full scale investigation into the matter.



He has been identified to be a police Sergeant stationed at the Central Regional Police Command.



Interestingly, the Service is still hiding the identity of their own although he was captured on video by a member of the public which necessitated his arrest.



A statement issued by the police on Monday April 4, 2022 said the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) has also commenced investigation into the conduct of the police officer.



Both the criminal investigation and the professional standards investigation will run concurrently.



It would be recalled that over the weekend, the attention of the Police Service was drawn to a video in which a person wielding a pistol was captured engaged in an argument and a subsequent fight with another person.



Police immediately commenced investigation into the incident resulting in the arrest of the person and subsequent retrieval of the weapon after public outcry on social media.



Preliminary findings show that the person who was seen wielding the weapon is a police Sergeant.



Police said its investigation further shows that the Police Sergeant lodged a complaint of assault against his assailants alledging that he was attacked by a group of persons one of whom was wielding a cutlass.



Meanwhile, both parties are assisting police in investigations.

Source: daily guide









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Two suspected armed robbers have been shot dead in intelligence-led operations conducted across the country in the month of March, 2022 says the Ghana Police Service.



According to the Police, a total of 28 other robbery suspects were arrested in the course of the operations.



Names of the suspects who are being prosecuted in various courts were given as Zakaria Gomna, Ayenduo Sule, Ahmed Abubaku, Emmanuel Frimpong @ Attah Panin, Seth Frimpong, Stephen Arthur, Awudu Yusifu, Selasi Agorsor, Musah Inusah, Kofi Aszilevi Atta Essau and Kassim Mohammed.



The others are Kwaku Okyere, Collins Atobia , Prince Tei Larbi, Prosper Beesi, Francis Mensah, Salifu Illiasu, Yahaya Zakaria, Omar Abubakar, Amadu Osmanu, Aliu Mohamadu, Evans Akolgo, Abotitogum Agonga Joseph, Sophia Johnson, Umaru Garage and Abuchy Abu.



The Police Service commended all the Police commands and the special anti-robbery task forces that participated in the operations.



We would also like to express our gratitude to the communities that assisted the police in these anti-armed robbery operations.



We would like to assure the good people of Ghana that we shall continue with the fight against robbery and all other crimes to ensure a safer and secure environment for all, the statement from the Ghana Police Service said.



We therefore seek your continued help and support in this fight, for we are very much aware that we achieve more when we work together.

Source: daily guide









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The Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has described the just-ended National Standardised Test (NST) as very successful despite delay in the distribution of test papers to few communities.



He commended teachers, supervisors, invigilators and all other stakeholders who contributed in diverse ways towards the successful conduct of the maiden edition of the National Standardised Test across the country.



Dr Adutwum, who was visibly excited about the successful conduct of the test, disclosed this to the media on Friday in Accra.



He explained that the data collected during the exercise would go a long way to inform the government about the current stateof numeracy and literacy at that level of education for the right remedial measures to be put in place.



To be honest with you, I must say that although the exercise was very successful, I received reports of some challenges in the distribution of the test papers in some communities leading to delays in the starting time of the papers in such communities, the Minister said.



Dr Adutwum said, now that the test was over, the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service and other stakeholders would be meeting to look at the conduct of the test and other matters after which the necessary remedial measures would be put in place to plan on the next move.



The maiden edition of the test saw about 561,595 primary four pupils in public schools writing the test.



In all, a total of 2,609 examination centres and 15,911 schools were used as writing centres with an average of 200 pupils per centre.



The Education Minister had earlier in the day visited some of the test centres in Accra to ascertain how the test was being conducted.



Some of the centres he visited are the Osu Presby Girls and the Labone Senior High School which were also being used as test centres.



At the Osu Presby, a total of 242 pupils wrote the test while 151 pupils also wrote at the Labone SHS.

Source: graphiconline.com









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The Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, has visited the market women at the Takoradi temporary market whose shops were destroyed by fire early Monday morning.



The Minister, who went to the scene at the time it happened to have a first-hand information consoled the affected women and said they were going to put measures in place to begin the construction of the affected area within the week.



More than 100 shops in the early hours of Monday got gutted by fire at the Takoradi temporal market, a place provided by the city authorities to pave way for the reconstruction of the Takoradi Market cycle.



Among the affected shops included wig shops, cloth shops, tailoring shops, hairdressing salons, plastic shops, and foodstuff shops.



The fire, which started around 2:18am on Monday, April 4, spread through the other shops especially, at the part close to the Ahenfie Hotel destroying properties worth millions of Ghana cedis.



Persons whose shops were affected and located close to the section of the market which the fire gutted, rushed to the scene to salvage some of their wares but to no avail.



Mr James Obeng Junior, Sekondi-Takoradi Metro Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) told the GNA that the affected portion of the market would be assessed to find out the extent of damage caused.



He said the affected area would be closed to enable them to have thorough investigations into the cause and assessment of the damage.



He announced that after the assessment, a recommendation would be made to the Regional Minister for consideration so that affected traders could be compensated for the loss.



Mr Obeng Jnr, however, indicated that the other part of the market which was not affected would be opened for business.

Source: GNA









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The 'gunman' who was recently seen brandishing a pistol in a video that has gone viral has been identified as a Police Sergeant.



According to the Ghana Police Service he is stationed at the Central Regional Police Command.



Speaking in an interview on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', the Director-General of Public Affairs at the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Kwesi Ofori said the officer has been interdicted and criminal investigation is ongoing.



"In line with our rules and regulations, he has been interdicted for investigations to continue. Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) is looking at the administrative conduct of the officer and CID is pursuing the criminal aspect of it," he said.



Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Police Service says Preliminary findings show that the person who was seen wielding the weapon is a police Sergeant stationed at the Central Regional Police Command. The said policeman has been interdicted to make way for a full investigation into the matter.



Investigation further indicates that the Police Sgt. lodged a complaint of assault against his assailants alleging that he was attacked by a group of persons one of whom was wielding a cutlass.







Source: Peacefmonline.com









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A former Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Konadu Apraku, has cautioned against the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy (e-levy), saying it can affect the fortunes of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in future elections.



He stated that direct taxes on individuals is distressing and can be destructive if not handled prudently because the basic economic principle behooves the government to direct businesses to generate resources.



The government should tax businesses to generate resources but individuals direct taxes such as the e-levy can sometimes be distressing and destructive since it is basic economic principle the lesser you tax business and the government reduces its expenditure the better off it is for the nation, he noted.



He indicated that it was business that could carry the government and higher taxes are not desirable as an economic standard and the lower the taxes the greater the prospects for progress, growth and development adding that we are politicians, in the final analysis, the people are the ones who will give their verdict, if it is as bad as they think it is and the government insists on it, they must be prepared to pay a big price.



Whatever be the case, the government must expand the tax net for bigger companies because they are the ones that are powerful and evade taxes, the medium and small ones need protection and the greater burden ought to be borne by the private sector, Mr Apraku observed.



The government will from May 1, 2022 charge a 1.50 per cent rate on electronic transactions that are more than GH100 on a daily basis however, critics of the proposal have warned that the levy will negatively impact the Fintech space, as well as hurt low income earners and those outside the formal banking sector.



The e-levy has been source of tension in Parliament since it was introduced in the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy and tensions culminated in a scuffle between the Legislative in Parliament in December 2021.



The government has contended the levy will widen the tax net and can increase revenue generation by an estimated GH6.9 billion in 2022 and there are also concerns the government may securitise proceeds from the levy to raise extra revenue.

Source: The Ghanaian Times









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The termination of the appointment of the Managing Director (MD) of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Mr Yaw Kwakwa, was within the labour laws of the country, Mr Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Minister of Transport, has told Parliament.



He said the termination of appointment of persons holding public offices was governed by appropriate legislation and persons holding offices in the GACL were not exempted from these legislations.



He added that Section 17 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) had made provision for notice of termination of appointments.



Mr Speaker, guided by this Act, the letter that I signed on the 4th of February, 2022, was issued without prejudices, Mr Asiamah stated on the floor of Parliament in his response to a question by Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza, Member of Parliament (MP) for Adaklu and Ranking Member for Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament.



The MP wanted to know from the Minister of Transport what necessitated a letter dated 04/02/2022 signed by the Minister to the Board Chairman of GACL, calling for the termination of the appointment of the MD.



On what necessitated the sacking of the MD, the Minister maintained that his action was within the ambit of the labour laws of the country.



I dont think that I have done anything ultra vires per the laws of Labour Act and Companys Law.



Mr Asiamah said that under the labour laws, the employer was not bound to give reasons for the appointment of a person or for the termination of a persons appointment.



Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, said the circumstances leading to the termination of the appointment of the Managing Director of the Ghana Airport Company was in relation to some developments at the Kotoka International Airport between McDan Aviation and the Ghana Airport Company, and Mr Kwakwa insisting on right thing being done.



Does the Minister hold the view that the Chief Executive was dismissed as a victim of political victimization? Mr Iddrisu asked.



In response, Mr Asiamah said: Mr Speaker, my good friend, the Minority Leader made the assertion that the former MD suffered a political victimization. Mr Speaker, I reject it entirely.

Source: graphiconline.com









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The government has spent about GH5 million on providing amenities at the Adjen Kotoku Onion Market to ensure that the place is conducive for traders.



The Ga West Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Clement Wilkinson, said the amount was used for the construction of sheds, paving of the ground, installation of streetlights and the construction of washroom facilities and a mosque.



Part was also used to secure an additional parcel of land for the expansion of the market.



Mr Wilkinson disclosed this to the Daily Graphic after an inspection tour at the market on March 27, 2022.



Before the relocation, the MCE said, only two sheds had been erected at the market, but now we have added 12 sheds, making them 14 in total, he said, adding that that alone cost about GH1.5 million.



The project is being sponsored by both the assembly and the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), so I cannot tell exactly how much has been spent on each project, but I know that in total about GH5 million has been spent, Mr Wilkinson said.



The tour was to inspect ongoing projects and also get first-hand information on the challenges confronting traders at the market.



The Daily Graphic, about a month ago, published an article about its observations on the plight of the traders, more than six months after they had been relocated from Agbogbloshie to Adjen Kotoku in Ga West.



The publication highlighted the inadequate amenities and limited sheds in the Onion Market.



In the publication, the traders complained about limited washroom facilities, outdoor lighting and lack of potable water, a mosque and storage rooms.



During the tour by the MCE, it was observed that the assembly had begun the construction of a mosque at the market, scheduled to be completed in six months.



It had also connected pipe-borne water to the market, a development which had significantly improved the water situation for the over 1,000 traders.



More development



Mr Wilkinson said the construction of the washroom facility, which is yet to commence, was expected to be completed in October this year.



We have done so much for this market, more than any other market in this municipality, because we want to create a harmonious environment between the traders and the inhabitants of the community.



Its not possible for us to provide everything at the same time; its a gradual process, but we have completed the major parts of the project, he said.



He said although some aspects of the project had not yet commenced, money had already been paid to constructors, while land had been secured for construction.



Revenue



Asked if the assembly was raking in enough revenue from the market, he said revenue collection at the market commenced recently, explaining that the assembly gave the traders some grace period for them to adapt to the area.



We have estimated that we can make between GH200,000 and GH300,000 per year and we are going to use some percentage of it to expand and maintain the project, he said.



He said about 50 truckloads of onion were offloaded at the market each day, attracting about 1,000 traders from about 18 communities in five regions in the country.



That, Mr Wilkinson said, had increased the market value to about GH15 million per year.



This shows how prominent this project is and the government is doing its part to improve it. More things are in the pipeline and the idea is to ensure that this also improves the economic situation in the area, he added.

Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Bantamahene, Baffour Owusu Amankwatia VI, has expressed concern over the continuous vilification of the chieftaincy institution by Ghanaians over what he termed as abuse of office.



He said chiefs had been accused of being accomplices in the illegal mining menace (popularly known as galamsey) and the lack of discipline in society.



However, he said chiefs had no hand in the allocation of concessions for mining and more often than not are not even consulted when allocating the land for mining, but we are the first to be accused when things go wrong.



The Bantamahene said it was high time prominent people in society, including royals, started defending the chieftaincy institution and educating the people on its role in society.



Baffour Amankwatia VI made the call when the owner of Yesu Dea Transport, Yaw Amponsah Marfo (popularly known as Agya Ewiase), presented a brand new 14-seater Toyota Hiace minibus to the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs.



He said chiefs had over the years (since the advent of democracy) lost almost all their powers, including their powers of summons that enabled them to compel people to respond to their calls.



He, therefore, called on particularly those who had benefited from the roles chiefs played to defend the institution when people tried to drag it in the mud.



Mr Marfo said the presentation was in response to an appeal made by the Registrar of the Regional House of Chiefs, Kofi Owusu, to help the house with a means of transportation.



Appreciation



The Mamponghene and Vice-President of the Regional House of Chiefs, Dasebere Osei Bonsu II, received the bus on behalf of the chiefs and expressed his appreciation to Mr Marfo for the gesture.



He said since becoming a chief, it was the first time an individual had donated a vehicle to the house. He, therefore, commended the benefactor for the donation.



He said Mr Marfo had made a similar donation to the Mampong Traditional Council and also constructed a fully furnished police station and residential facility for the police service within the Mampong Municipality.









Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has disclosed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has returned to renting his favourite luxury private jet after the passage of E-levy.



According to him, the president now rents the luxurious private jet more cunningly to hide it from the prying eyes of the Ghanaian public.



In a post on his social media handle, the Ranking Member of Parliaments Foreign Affairs Committee explained that President Akufo-Addo travels onboard a commercial flight from the country while the rented luxurious private jet awaits him at his destination airport.



President Akufo-Addo has for the umpteenth time ignored the precarious state of the Ghanaian economy and abandoned Ghana's US$36million Presidential Jet in favour of his most cherished ultra-luxury toy  the LX-DIO which now rents for US18,000 an hour.



It is clearly a helpless costly addiction which sadly, the Ghanaian taxpayer must pay for. The President's latest misconduct appears to be the most deceptive thus far.



His new meet-me-there-strategy is a well-hatched one to create the impression to Ghanaians back home that hes indeed repented and now committed to flying commercial only to catch up with his chartered aircraft in transit for the rest of his travels, parts of Mr. Ablakwas post read.



The legislator indicated that the luxurious LX-DIO private jet now rents at US$18,000 per hour adding that it is imperative to note that so far, the Ghanaian taxpayer must cough up an astronomical US$465,000 in luxury rental charges.



At the current exchange, that is a scary GHS3,505,515.49. This will mean that since May last year, the Ghanaian taxpayer has spent at least GHS28.5million on President Akufo-Addos ostentatious travels he continued.



President Akufo-Addo travelled via a commercial flight to the Dubai Expo held on Monday, March 7.



This drew praise from Mr. Ablakwa who had been on the heels of the president imploring him to use the Presidential jet which he says is in pristine condition.



President Akufo-Addo, who has defiantly flown on ultra-luxurious chartered executive jets for all his trips outside Africa since May last year, deserves some credit for finally listening to an outraged public and surrendering to legitimate patriotic pressure from struggling Ghanaians reeling under an economy in tatters.



I sincerely applaud President Akufo-Addo for flying commercial to the Dubai Expo as he left Ghana yesterday [Monday, March 7], he added in a Facebook post.





Read Below The Full Post of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa



Good evening, folks.



I know many of you have been waiting keenly for our consistently unimpeachable and authoritative flight tracking details of President Akufo-Addos latest travel to the United States of America and the United Kingdom.



As always, we appreciate your high interest, generous encouragement and most importantly your patriotic partnership in ensuring that there is greater transparency and accountability in the governance of our dear and only country.

Unfortunately, I do not have good news for you. Our crusade to get the President to keep his promise of protecting the public purse and our resolve to end naked profligacy still requires more work.



With the pretentious notion that the obnoxious E-Levy has been secured to rake in more revenue to finance his lavish indulgences, and after hurriedly granting a presidential assent of dubious validity, as President Akufo-Addo knows very well that 136 NPP MPs cannot purport to constitute a decision-making quorum; President Akufo-Addo is back to his old ways of Russian Oligarchic travels.



After a momentary glimmer of hope when he was compelled to fly commercial to Dubai last month, many had thought his penchant for egregious betrayal of the Ghanaian people by his obstinate dissipation of scarce taxes on his sybaritic lifestyle despite a hitherto loud promise to protect the public purse now belongs to the past.



More so, considering his government's public posture of massive expenditure cuts as a direct response to the current economic crisis.



Apparently, we were merely deceived; President Akufo-Addo has for the umpteenth time ignored the precarious state of the Ghanaian economy and abandoned Ghana's US$36million Presidential Jet in favour of his most cherished ultra-luxury toy  the LX-DIO which now rents for US18,000 an hour.



It is clearly a helpless costly addiction which sadly, the Ghanaian taxpayer must pay for.



The President's latest misconduct appears to be the most deceptive thus far.

His new meet-me-there-strategy is a well hatched one to create the impression to Ghanaians back home that hes indeed repented and now committed to flying commercial only to catch up with his chartered aircraft in transit for the rest of his travels.



So, President Akufo-Addo left Accra for Washington on Thursday 31st March, 2022 at 11:52pm aboard a United Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with call sign UAL997.



Before the President landed at 6:40am at the Dulles International Airport in Washington on the 1st of April, the ubiquitous luxury LX-DIO had landed at same airport the previous day at 12:27pm waiting for President Akufo-Addo.



President Akufo-Addo couldnt wait to fly his favourite US$18,000 an hour LX-DIO from Washington where he departed at 10:13am and arrived at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina at 11:22am  a flight time of 01:09. It is important to acknowledge that there were more than a dozen available commercial flights with business class tickets not exceeding $700 in value.



The President kept the LX-DIO with him as he addressed Bishop T.D. Jakes summit and then flew aboard the same extravagant jet yesterday the 2nd of April, 2022 at 9:28am US time and arriving at the London Stansted Airport at 9:40pm UK time. A flight time of some 7hours 54minutes.



At this point, it is unclear if the President will return to Ghana with the LX-DIO on Wednesday or if he would stick to the new deceptive strategy of being seen in the Ghanaian jurisdiction aboard commercial flights while hiding his elaborate chartered arrangements from the prying Ghanaian public.



It is imperative to note that so far, the Ghanaian taxpayer must cough up an astronomical US$465,000 in luxury rental charges. At current exchange, that is a scary GHS3,505,515.49.



This will mean that since May last year, the Ghanaian taxpayer has spent at least GHS28.5million on President Akufo-Addos ostentatious travels.



How duplicitous is that for a government that claims to be cutting expenditure drastically in the wake of widespread excruciating hardships and economic mismanagement, and yet our President has the conscience to spend a whopping 3.5million Ghana Cedis attending a church service and a fanciful tourism event in London.



With this terrible example from the President by attending events at great cost to the taxpayer that cannot be classified as priority, one wonders how the presidency can enforce its recent ban on ministerial international travels.



Be assured, this latest meet-me-there-strategy shall be vigorously exposed and defeated.



Our tracking continues; we shall keep you updated.



For God and Country ???????? ????????

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.

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There appears to be turmoil in the camp of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) following the alleged interdiction of three key officers of the party.



The interdiction of the three,the first National Vice Chairman, Onzy Nkrumah; the General Secretary, Nana Yaa Akyempim Jantuah and the National Youth Organiser, Osei Kofi Acquah last Friday, had been described as unconstitutional by eight elected national party executive members.



Interdiction



At a press briefing last Friday, the Communications Director of the party, Sylvester Sarpong Soprano, said the Central Committee of the party took the decision to interdict the three individuals as their actions and inactions contravened the partys constitution.



According to Mr Soprano, the interdicted persons had consciously and consistently thwarted all efforts by the Central Committee (CC) to carry out its mandated duties.



Rebuttal



However, a statement signed on behalf of the eight elected national executive members by the National Organiser, Mr Yirimambo Moses Ambing, said the Chairperson, Nana Akosua Frimpomaa Sarpong-Kumankumah, was a subject matter in court to prevent her from holding herself out as the chairperson of the CPP or from involving herself in any official activities of the party.



It must be put on record that the illegal meeting on April 1, 2022 was without the knowledge or consent of any of the duly elected eight national executive of the Convention Peoples Party, it stated.



On the alleged out of court settlement, the statement said the settlement was entered into without the notice of functional national leadership.



All eight national officers unanimously rejected the terms of settlement and decided to set aside the settlement in the court of law, it stated.



May 5 application



Meanwhile, the Accra High Court will on May 5 this year hear an application filed by Nana Akosua Sarpong-Kumankumah asking the court to dismiss a suit challenging her eligibility as party chairman, reports Justice Agbenorsi.



At the hearing in court yesterday, counsel for Nana Sarpong-Kumankumah, Mr George Mensah, notified the court of the motion for the dismissal of the suit.



However, Mr Wayoe Ghanamannti, counsel for the plaintiff, Onsy Nkrumah, indicated that neither he nor the Court had been served.



Mr Ghanamannti had wanted to move an injunction application against Nana Sarpong-Kumankumah but it was the considered view of the High Court that moving the injunction was not apt since the motion for the dismissal of the suit had not been heard.



The court, therefore, fixed May 5 for the lawyers for Nana Kumankuma to move the motion praying the court to dismiss the case against her.



Background



Mr Nkrumah in March this year filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of the Chairmanship position.



The suit was on the grounds that Nana Sarpong-Kumankuma did not poll the mandatory 50 per cent +1 vote during the August 22, 2020 elections.



According to him, the Chairman polled 43 per cent, making her ineligible to be declared winner of the top race.

Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Image of Proteus anguinus with inset showing a 3D rendered image of a proteus head. Credit: Gregor Aljancic

A showcase of evolutionarily designed sensory organs is revealed through high-resolution images of the head of the exclusively cave-dwelling blind salamander, Proteus anguinus. The proteus is an evolutionary masterpiece of an unusual set of adaptions for surviving in lightless caves. Even its physical appearance is unique, to the extent that locals in the 1600s believed it was a baby dragon. The research here, carried out by an international collaboration led by Czech scientists Jozef Kaiser and Marketa Tesarova, was aimed at gaining detailed information about these unusual evolutionary changes. The scientists used X-ray computed microtomography (microCT) scans to produce stunning 3D reconstructions of the soft tissue in the head of the proteus, allowing them to directly view the extensive changes that have occurred in the salamander over time. The research has been published in the journal GigaScience.

Proteus anguinus lives in pitch-dark karst caves in Central and Southeastern Europe. It is also known as the olm or "human fish." The work in this study brings to light extensive details of the proteus' unique evolutionary mechanisms. Additionally, since these images and 3D models are digital data, scientists from all over the world can also access and use these in their own research, which is particularly valuable, given the proteus is endangered and making physical samples nearly impossible to share. The published article includes colorized 3D reconstructions and an easy-to-explore online model (which is also viewable using a VR headset). Additionally included is a video abstract showcasing live and animated images, helping highlight the main findings.

The proteus is the largest cave tetrapod, and the only European amphibian that lives exclusively underground. It is a carnivorous creature, lives off small crustaceans, and swallows its prey whole. Often highlighted as one of the animals with the strangest adaptations to survive, it is snake-like in appearance, colorless, and can live up to 100 years. Due to living in an underground environment, one of its adaptations is starvation resistance allowing it to survive up to 10 years without eating. Proteus also has both gills and lungs, unlike most amphibians that as adults lose their gills and move out of the water.

Early naturalists were fascinated by this creature of darkness, including Charles Darwin, who described the species as a "wreck of ancient life." The work in this study using advanced modern-day imaging technology, finally allows centuries-old questions about this strange creature to be answered.

For their research, the scientists used X-ray microCT scanning technology and 3D modeling from multiple samples, including getting images from a closely related surface-dwelling salamander, the axolotl. This provided the researchers with a range of data to assess the changes in the form, shape, and structure of organs of proteus.

The researchers make note of the breadth of analyses these data provided them, saying:

"We accessed several collections to cover developmental stages from larval to adult specimens. Thus, the data can be used to study developmental and evolutionary differences between the stages. Also, making data of proteus and axolotl accessible allow to make an exemplary comparison between cave- and surface-dwelling paedomorphic salamanders."

The ancestors of the proteus lived above ground and had functional eyes, but once they began living in lightless caves, selective pressure for retaining vision was gone. The result has been that the proteus' visual organs are small and incompletely formed, leaving them blind. As a holdover from their ancestors, however, the rudiments of eyes are present in the early stages of life, and the loss of eyes happens during development from juvenile to adult. Because the data generated by the researchers includes images from both juvenile and adult proteus' heads, researchers can get far better information about changes of visual development and loss, including changes in position, shape and size as the animal grows into adulthood.

Loss of unnecessary elements can happen during evolution, but if survival requires new mechanisms, physical or behavioral changes appear. For the proteus, without vision, other sensory organs needed to change to allow them to obtain food and other resources. To investigate such changes, the Czech research group did microCT scans at different stages of the axolotl to look at different parts of the skull and sensory organs for comparison. The new microCT data and 3D modeling available provide such high resolution, researchers can now get extremely fine details of these changes, rather than more basic changes, such as the proteus odor sensing organ is much larger in the proteus than in axolotl.

Although research using these new data have focused on investigating physical changes, these could also aid in another area of evolution research: investigating behavioral changes important for survival.

Author Lucia Mancini, from the Elettra Sincrotrone synchrotron facility in Trieste (Italy), highlights the significance of imaging methods that use electromagnetic radiation (a synchrotron):

"The application of advanced 3D imaging technologies can give insights into the living strategies of the proteus. In fact, thanks to the combined use of synchrotron and laboratory-based analyses, future studies could help to model the mechanisms of behavioral adaptation, to better understand the habitat use."

Her colleague Edgardo Mauri from the Speleovivarium Erwin Pichl adds, "The data will allow us to study perceptive abilities through three-dimensional models and to research behavioral responses in relation to chemical cues, auditory frequencies or emission of signals."

Given the rarity of the proteus, it is extremely difficult for researchers to obtain physical samples. Now that these imaging resources are available in a shareable digital format, scientists throughout the world can take advantage of this resource to gain new insight into evolutionary mechanisms. Such studies, as well as providing new basic understanding of how species change over time, with climate change and its impact on survival of species, can improve understanding of evolutionary needs for survival.

Explore further Scientists overcome inaccessibility of caves through molecular genetic approach

More information: Marketa Tesarova et al, Living in darkness: Exploring adaptation of Proteus anguinus in 3 dimensions by X-ray imaging, GigaScience (2022). Journal information: GigaScience Marketa Tesarova et al, Living in darkness: Exploring adaptation of Proteus anguinus in 3 dimensions by X-ray imaging,(2022). DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giac030

Provided by GigaScience
Credit: University of Surrey

Researchers at the University of Surrey and the University of Milano-Bicocca have partnered with SAGA Space Architects to investigate the psychological impact of social isolation in harsh environments, such as on the moon. This research formed part of the LUNARK project which explored how humans could survive on the moon and have successful habitats there in the future.

The LUNARK project was the first ever Arctic simulation of a lunar mission. As part of the project, two space architects, Sebastian Aristotelis and Karl-Johan Srensen, designed an airtight, portable, foldable pod that enables its occupants to live self-sufficiently. From September 2020, the architects lived inside the pod for 61 days in northern Greenlanda place that reflects the harsh environment of the moon and its freezing temperatures. The pod was built to withstand external threatswhich was tested in the arctic simulation in the form of a visit from a local polar bearand was designed to leave no trace of waste in the environment.

To investigate the impact of social isolation on the men, the researchers measured their perceptions of time, their positive and negative emotions, levels of satisfaction of basic psychological needs (e.g. self-esteem and control), behavioral intentions (for example, whether they developed aggressive tendencies) and coping strategies. To record this data, Sebastian and Karl-Johan kept daily diaries and completed a 20-minute questionnaire daily.

Credit: University of Surrey

Konstantin Chterev, Psychology Ph.D. student at Surrey and co-author of the study, said:

"Research to address the technical challenges of human missions into space is growing at a rapid rate. Therefore, it is critical that we explore the social-psychological aspects of individuals' experiences of confinement within these habitats. We know that social isolation is among one of the main risk factors in these environments, but we still have a lot to learn."

The two space architects were limited in how much they could communicate with the outside world. They had no access to the internet but could use a satellite phone to send daily messages (up to 160 characters) to the headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The results showed that, for both space architects, their desire for social contact increased over time, whereas negative feelings of alienation, depression, helplessness, and unworthiness did not. Talking about personal matters and engaging in leisure time was associated with a decrease in these negative feelings, but also increased the desire for social contact. Furthermore, engaging in leisure activities increased the perceived speed of time.

"Space travel will likely become more frequent in the next few decades, due to the opening of the private market, NASA's plans to send people to the moon this decade, and government agencies in China and India joining the space travel race. With more organizations involved in sending people to space, we need more studies to focus on the mental health impacts involved in long missions in extreme and confined environments. Work like this will be able to inform future training and the planning of schedules in extreme environment expeditions and lunar missions, in which it is crucial to balance mission-critical tasks and physical well-being with protecting psychological well-being and mitigating the negative effects of long-term isolation."

Explore further Koons on the Moonsculptures to be placed on lunar surface

More information: Paolo Riva et al, Social isolation in space: An investigation of LUNARK, the first human mission in an Arctic Moon analog habitat, Acta Astronautica (2022). Journal information: Acta Astronautica Paolo Riva et al, Social isolation in space: An investigation of LUNARK, the first human mission in an Arctic Moon analog habitat,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2022.03.007
The crew consisting of pilot Larry Connor of the United States, commander Michael Lopez-Alegria of Spain and the United States, and mission specialists Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe from Canada and Israel. Credit: Axiom Space

It's not long since billionaires were competing to get to the "edge of space." Now, the first set of private citizens are getting ready to take a SpaceX shuttle up to the International Space Station (ISS). Unlike the short "joyrides" of Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, this mission will be reaching the roughly 400km altitude needed to dock with the ISS.

The mission by the US commercial aerospace company Axiom Space is a major step forward in private space travel, and is part of a plan to build a private space station. With Russia recently pulling out of collaborating on the ISS, the world will be watching to see whether the private sector can be trusted to provide reliable access to space for peaceful exploration.

The Ax-1 mission is planned for launch on April 6, using a SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraftthe same as that used by astronauts in 2020onboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The mission is planned to last ten days, eight of which will be on the ISS.

With the high altitude and long duration, the preparations have been lengthy. The concept mission has been a plan since the founding of Axiom Space in 2016 by Iranian-American businessman Kamal Ghaffarian (who also founded the private nuclear reactor company X-energy) and Michael T. Suffredini (who's had a long career at NASA). And while NASA is funding some of the costs, each of the four participants is reportedly having to provide their own contribution of $55 million (42 million) as well.

The onboard astronauts will feel weightless for the majority of the ten days and be at risk from the dangers experienced by all astronauts, including radiation exposure, muscle degradation and potentially some bone loss. Although with such a short mission, these risks are exceptionally low.

Unlike standard American trips to the ISS, mission control is in Axiom headquarters in Houston rather than on NASA property. While this is the first time it has been used for a full mission, it has previously been used for research looking at how items on the ISS change over time. This resulted in the MCC-A (Mission Control CenterAxiom) being validated as a payload operations site by NASA.

The crew

The astronauts onboard are all private citizens, with the mission commander, Michael Lopez-Alegria, a previous NASA astronaut. The other three members, Larry Connor, Eytan Stibbe, and Mark Pathy are described by the company as "entrepreneurs" and "investors."

Although if you are thinking of a stereotypical suited investor going into space, then think again. The backgrounds of these three men are very impressive and suggest any of them could already have been chosen as a space agency astronaut, with a private pilot and a military pilot among them.

Blue Origins New Shepherd spacecraft landing with parachutes. Credit: wikipedia, CC BY-SA

Looking more into their backgrounds, it is clear that philanthropy is at the heart of those chosen for this mission, with each known for giving back to their communities. As part of this, the astronauts are planning to carry out research during their time at the ISS looking at how space travel will affect the health of future astronautsincluding effects on vision, pain and sleep. Experiments on food growth are also plannedall of which are current topics that need researching for future private space endeavors.

This is a very positive and welcome step forwards. It is usually the case that space agency-collected data is made available to researchers (usually after an embargo period). If private researchers are willing to do the same then it heralds an age of accelerated research and technology.

First private space station

The Ax-1 mission is the first part of a plan by Axiom Space to produce the first private space station. This is no small feat; ISS itself had to be built in pieces, then sent up to be constructed in space. The total mass of a 420-ton space station simply isn't feasible to launch into space in one trip. For comparison, this is the same as launching 70 James Webb Space Telescopes at once.

It took over ten years and 30 launches to finish the ISS. Axiom's plan is to actually construct the space station onboard the ISS, initially building a habitation module (Axiom Hub One), which is estimated for launch in 2024. No doubt, once operational, this module will accommodate and join with more modules as funding comes in for the company.

With the ISS planned for decommission sometime after 2030, there will be a need for an open and international space station. While a space station costs a lot to maintain, NASA and ESA at least will likely pay a rental fee to use facilities on such a private space station.

A lot of private firms will be watching the Ax-1 mission to make a decision on whether to pursue their own programs. Success would mean that there could suddenly be an influx of investment and plans for future space station modules or entire stations. If this is the case, space agencies will have to accept that they will not be able to compete with the private sector. Instead, they would be wise to focus on renting private space and performing open access research.

I wish the first four private astronauts luck with their mission and hope they bring lots of data back for both researchers and the general public to learn from.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Leech that has regurgitated part of its blood meal. Credit: Naomi Pierce and Chris Baker

Scientists looking to measure the biodiversity of wild animals have added a surprising tool to their arsenalblood-sucking leeches.

In a new study led by a team of Harvard researchers, DNA samples extracted from the blood meals of leeches were used to map which animals live in the Ailaoshan Nature Reserve in Yunnan, China. The findings from the study show that these samples can be used to find out which wild animals are present across large, protected areas such as national parks and helps establish leeches as a surveillance instrument for animal conservation.

"This study shows how leech-derived DNA can be used to estimate biodiversity on a scale that makes it useful as a real-world conservation tool," said Chris Baker, a postdoctoral fellow in Naomi Pierce's lab at Harvard and one of the study's lead authors. "We're offering a way to measure the biodiversity of wild animals and, in particular, a way to measure biodiversity directly."

The research uses DNA extracted from more than 30,000 leeches to survey over 80 species of vertebrates, including amphibians, mammals, birds, and squamates. The leeches were collected over a three-month period by forest rangers throughout the 260 square mile nature reserve, which stretches for nearly 80 miles along a mountain ridge in Southern China.

The work, published in Nature Communications, addresses a major practical challenge in measuring animal biodiversity by providing a way to do so in detail over large spaces. Protected areas are often set aside with the goal of conserving wild animal communities, but it is costly and time-consuming to monitor those communities directly.

"You can set out automated cameras, you can set out acoustic recorders, or you could do it manually with people out into the field to survey things, but it's difficult to do that on a really large scale," Baker said. "These surveys tend to be either limited in the spatial scale that they can cover, limited in the frequency with which they can be done or limited in the resolution that they can provide. We wanted to be able to use environmental DNA as a way to be able to address this problem. instead of having to rely on proxies, like forest cover or the budget of forest rangers."

Leeches turned out to be perfect for the job.

One reason is that they are abundant, at least in tropical environments. They also feed on a broad range of animals, from large bears to small mice. Their sit-and-wait feeding strategy means wherever they are collected, it's highly likely the animal they fed on was in that area, making them easy to map. It also means they digest their meals slowly from one meal to the next. Scientists from China's Kunming Institute of Zoology that the Harvard researchers collaborated with, for instance, could still get animal blood from the leeches four months after the last feed.

The researchers looked for DNA sequences present only in vertebrates to identify the animals the leeches fed on. Past studies have shown this was possible, but this is believed to be the first time that a DNA analysis has been done at such a large scale.

The Harvard and Kunming Institute researchers coordinated with about 160 volunteer park rangers to collect the leeches. The team in China extracted DNA from the samples, arranged the sequencing, and investigated which animals the DNA belonged. The team at Harvard analyzed the locations of the animals using a technique known as multi-species occupancy modeling, which accounts for ecological patterns.

The team was able to identify 86 vertebrate species. Some of those species are listed as near-threatened or threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. These included the Asiatic black bear, the tufted deer, the stump-tailed macaque, several types of frogs, and an antelope-like creature called a serow.

The study also showed encroaching pressures on the reserve from human activity such as farming, livestock management, and poaching. DNA from cows, sheep and goats, for example, was recovered from leeches collected within the reserve, especially close to the edges. It suggests that animals from surrounding farmland are being grazed within the reserve where they could start competing for resources or otherwise degrading the habitat.

The researchers are optimistic that the results from their study can be used as a baseline to help track changes in Ailaoshan's wild animal populations going forward, and that the method could grow as strategy for the improved monitoring of wild animals in tropical and subtropical areas where leeches are abundant.

They also see broader applicability in terms of tracking zoonotic reservoirs for diseases, since leech blood meals can also be screened for the viruses they contain. This is especially relevant considering the COVID-19 pandemic was believed to be harbored by animals, such as bats, before being transferred to humans.

"You can use the leeches to look for what kinds of viruses they're carrying," said Pierce, Hessel Professor of Biology in OEB and Curator of Lepidoptera in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. "It's a pretty effective way to sample a great diversity of wild animals, and if we think that [zoonotic disease reservoirs] are really something to worry about and monitor, this is a good way to do it."

Explore further Tracking endangered mammals with the leeches that feed on them

More information: Yinqiu Ji et al, Measuring protected-area effectiveness using vertebrate distributions from leech iDNA, Nature Communications (2022). Journal information: Nature Communications Yinqiu Ji et al, Measuring protected-area effectiveness using vertebrate distributions from leech iDNA,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28778-8
The UN warns that nearly half of insect pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, risk global extinction.

Far from the flowery fields that are their natural home, honey bees imperiled by pesticides in rural Colombia are finding sanctuary on university campuses in the bustling capital Bogota.

Even though hives are banned from the city due to the risk the insects' stings can pose to humans, universities enjoy an exemption for research purposes.

At the University of Rosario, biologist Andre Riveros very carefully feeds a bee some sugar water, watching attentively as it stretches its straw-like tongue, or proboscis, towards the sweet liquid.

The university boasts a rooftop apiary in a bamboo structure some six meters (nearly 20 feet) high, surrounded by trees and flowers.

Here, Riveros and his team study a colony of bees in the hopes of developing a food supplement that will offer the critical crop pollinators protection from insecticides

"Pesticides end up affecting some (neurological) regions that, for example, affect learning and memory and (the bees) end up with damage very similar to Alzheimer's," Riveros told AFP.

"We are trying to find a solution for the problem of bee disappearances," he added. "We seek to shield the bees, in essence."

The team's work focuses on the Apis mellifera, or Western Honey Bee, one of about 20,000 known species worldwide.

Hundreds of hives have been killed off in Colombia in recent years.

Hundreds of hives have been killed off in Colombia in recent years, and investigations into the cause have pointed to fipronil, an insecticide banned in Europe and restricted in the United States and China.

Fipronil has been widely used in a profitable avocado and citrus boom in Colombia, though the Latin American country suspended its use in some crops for six months last year.

'Fleeing the fields'

Elsewhere in Bogota, the EAN University boasts its own hives, perched on a six-story building overlooking the city of eight million people.

Beekeeper Gino Cala extracts honey from the hives as part of his work to instruct and assist universities in the management of urban apiaries.

But Cala told AFP Colombia's bees "are fleeing the fields" partly due to the "indiscriminate use of agrochemicals."

"These insects are extremely relevant and important... because they help guarantee part of the food security of Colombia and the world," he added.

The Apis mellifera or Western Honey Bee is one of about 20,000 known species worldwide.

About 1.4 billion jobs and three-quarters of all crops around the world, according to a 2016 study, depend on pollinatorsmainly bees.

Scientists in Colombia are trying to develop a food supplement that will offer bees protection from pesticides.

From the EAN University grounds, Cala's bees help to pollinate plants in surrounding areas.

About 1.4 billion jobs and three-quarters of all crops around the world, according to a 2016 study, depend on pollinatorsmainly beeswhich provide free fertilization services worth billions of dollars.

In recent years, bees in North America, Europe, Russia, South America and elsewhere have started dying off from "colony collapse disorder," a mysterious scourge blamed partly on pesticides but also on mites, viruses and fungi.

The UN warns that nearly half of insect pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, risk global extinction.

Despite the city ban, there are private beekeepers in Bogota who sell products such as honey, pollen or beeswax.

The fire department of Bogota says it attends to eight bee sting-related emergencies on average every day.

Explore further Colombia's apiarists say avocado buzz is killing bees

 2022 AFP
Historical Specimens from the collections of the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History. Credit: Tel Aviv University

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have found changes in the morphology of many birds in Israel over the past 70 years, which they interpret to be a response to climate change. The body mass of some species decreased, while in others body length increasedin both cases increasing the ratio between surface area and volume. The researchers contend that these are strategies to facilitate heat loss to the environment. The researchers state that "the birds evidently changed in response to the changing climate. However, this solution may not be fully adequate, especially as temperatures continue to rise."

The study was led by Prof. Shai Meiri and Ph.D. student Shahar Dubiner of the School of Zoology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. The paper was published in Global Ecology and Biogeography.

Prof. Meiri explains that according to Bergmann's rule, formulated in the 19th century, members of bird and mammal species living in a cold climate tend to be larger than members of the same species living in a warmer climate. This is because the ratio of surface area to volume is higher in smaller animals, permitting more heat loss (an advantage in warm regions), and lower in larger bodies, minimizing heat loss (a benefit in colder climates). Based on this rule scientists have recently predicted that global warming will lead to a reduction in animal size, with a possible exception: birds living in the human environment (such as pigeons, house sparrows, and the hooded crow) may gain size due to increased food availability, a phenomenon already witnessed in mammals such as jackals and wolves.

Historical Specimens from the collections of the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History. Credit: Tel Aviv University

Relying on the vast bird collection preserved by the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at TAU, the researchers looked for changes in bird morphology over the past 70 years in Israel. They examined approximately 8,000 adult specimens of 106 different speciesincluding migratory birds that annually pass through Israel (such as the common chiffchaff, white stork, and black buzzard), resident wild birds (like the Eurasian jay, Eurasian eagle-owl, and rock partridge), and commensal birds, that live near humans. They built a complex statistical model consisting of various parameters to assess morphological changesin the birds' body mass, body length and wing lengthduring the relevant period.

Shahar Dubiner says that their "findings revealed a complicated picture. We identified two different types of morphological changes: some species had become lightertheir mass had decreased while their body length remained unchanged; while others had become longertheir body length had increased, while their mass remained unchanged. These together represent more than half of the species examined, but there was practically no overlap between the two groupsalmost none of the birds had become both lighter and longer. We think that these are two different strategies for coping with the same problem, namely the rising temperatures. In both cases, the surface area to volume ratio is increased (by either increasing the numerator or reducing the denominator)which helps the body lose heat to its environment. The opposite, namely a decrease in this ratio, was not observed in any of the species."

These findings were observed across the country, regardless of nutrition, and in all types of species: resident birds; commensal species living in the human environmentwhich, contrary to predictions, exhibited changes similar to those of other birds; and migrants. A difference was identified, however, between the two strategies: changes in body length tended to occur more in migrants, while changes in body mass were more typical of non-migratory birds. The very fact that such changes were found in migratory birds coming from Asia, Europe, and Africa, suggests that we are witnessing a global phenomenon. The study also found that the impact of climate change over time on bird morphology is 10 times greater than the impact of similar differences in temperature between geographical areas.

Dubiner continues that their "findings indicate that global warming causes fast and significant changes in bird morphology. But what are the implications of these changes? Should we be concerned? Is this a problem, or rather an encouraging ability to adapt to a changing environment? Such morphological changes over a few decades probably do not represent an evolutionary adaptation, but rather certain phenotypic flexibility exhibited by the birds. We are concerned that over such a short period of time, there is a limit to the flexibility or evolutionary potential of these traits, and the birds might run out of effective solutions as temperatures continue to rise."

Explore further Migratory birds have lighter-colored feathers

More information: Shahar Dubiner et al, Widespread recent changes in morphology of Old World birds, global warming the immediate suspect, Global Ecology and Biogeography (2022). Journal information: Global Ecology and Biogeography Shahar Dubiner et al, Widespread recent changes in morphology of Old World birds, global warming the immediate suspect,(2022). DOI: 10.1111/geb.13474
This photo, from Sept. 6, 2007, shows Brazilian free-tailed bats taking flight in a cave near the Kansas state line in Comanche county in south central Kansas. A fungus that causes deadly white-nose syndrome in at least 12 other species of bat has been found in Louisiana on Brazilian free-tailed bats  a species that can carry the fungus without developing the disease. Credit: Bo Rader/The Wichita Eagle via AP

A fungus that has killed millions of bats nationwide has been found in Louisiana, but no bats in the state have been sickened by it so far.

The disease it causes is called white-nose syndrome because bats develop fuzzy white patches of fungus on their noses, wings and other hairless areas. The disease also dehydrates bats and wakes them from winter hibernation, using energy that they can't replace because the insects they eat aren't flying around. The syndrome has killed so many northern long-eared bats that federal officials recently proposed listing them as endangered.

Louisiana is the 41st state where the fungus has been found; the disease has been confirmed in 38 of them, Marilyn Kitchell, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's white-nose syndrome spokesperson, said in an interview Tuesday.

"The news about the fungus ... being found in Louisiana is not surprising but is discouraging," Winifred F. Frick, chief scientist at Bat Conservation International, wrote in an email. "This is especially bad news for species like the tri-colored bat that have suffered major population declines from this disease throughout the southeast."

Bats hunt down insects and pollinate some plants for what's estimated to be a $3 billion annual boost to U.S. agriculture.

Scott Crocoll holds a dead Indiana bat in an abandoned mine in Rosendale, N.Y., in this January 2009 file photo. The fungus that causes deadly white-nose syndrome in at least 12 species of bats has been found in Louisiana, where three species are susceptible to the syndrome. Credit: AP Photo/Mike Groll, File

In Louisiana, the fungus was identified on Brazilian free-tailed bats, a species that can be infected without developing the disease. The species is among 12 found in Louisiana. Three other species found in the state also can carry the fungus without becoming ill and three, including tri-colored bats, are susceptible to the syndrome, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Nationwide, the syndrome has been confirmed in 12 of the 47 bat species found in North America, according to the White-Nose Syndrome Response Team website. The fungus called Pseudogymnoascus destructans, or Pd, has been found on another eight species where the disease has not shown up, Kitchell said.

It could take years for white-nose syndrome to show up in Louisiana, if it ever does, Nikki Anderson, a biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said last week.

In Mississippi, where the fungus was found in 2014, the disease was identified during this past winter, according to a national tracking map.

This undated photo from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows little brown bats with the fuzzy white patches of fungus typical of white nose syndrome, which affects at least 12 species nationwide. Louisiana is now among 41 states where the fungus has been found on bats, though the disease has not shown up in the state. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP

"This lag time is unusual," Kitchell said in an email. "Most often, confirmation of disease follows about one year after initial detection of the fungus."

Bats in Arkansas and Texas, the two other states bordering Louisiana, have developed the syndrome, Anderson said.

Kitchell said the other states where the fungus has been found without the disease are California, where the fungus was first identified during the winter of 2018-19, and New Mexico, where it was reported in 2021 and scientists worry that it may spread to Carlsbad Caverns.

This photo, from Sept. 6, 2007, shows biologist Cherrie Nolden from Kansas Wildlife and Parks examining a tiny Brazilian free-tailed bat, in south central Kansas. A fungus that causes deadly white-nose syndrome in at least 12 other species of bat has been found in Louisiana on Brazilian free-tailed bats, which can be infected without developing the disease. Credit: Bo Rader/The Wichita Eagle via AP

In Louisiana, the fungus was identified in samples taken from two colonies totaling about 900 Brazilian free-tailed bats roosting in Natchitoches Parish culverts in March 2021. The department only recently got the results from confirmation testing, Anderson said.

She said biologists swabbed samples in early 2021 from about 2,000 bats in culverts across the state, which has no caves. About 300 were from the groups where the fungus was identified. The fungus was found on 50 of them. Forty-one were in a colony of 363 bats and nine in a colony of 538.

This photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a tricolored bat with the white fungal growth of white-nose syndrome on March 5, 2013, in northwest Georgia. The fungus has been found in Louisiana, on a species that can carry the fungus without getting sick. Biologists worry that it might spread to susceptible species in Louisiana, including tricolored bats. Credit: Pete Pattavina/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP

"If we follow the trends in the Southeast, we could be three to eight years out" before symptoms show up, Anderson said.

She said Louisiana's warm winters may give bats that develop the disease a better chance of survival, because insects are available year-round.

"But Texas stays pretty warm, and Texas is getting mass mortalities" in a species of bat called cave myotis, Anderson said.

 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Sharks have been around for 450 million years, outliving the dinosaurs and soldiering on through several mass extinctions. Yet their numbers in the open oceans have plummeted by an alarming 70% over the past 50 years and many are endangered.

More than a third of shark and ray species are now threatened with extinction, driven by overfishing, habitat loss, pollution and climate change. This means that with environmental pressure increasing, time is running out to save the world's sharks. As apex predators, sharks are crucial for maintaining the stability and health of marine ecosystems.

Yet unsurprisingly for species that roam extensively below the surface in the world's oceans, there is much that remains unknown about the impacts that environmental changes are having.

Hard data about shark populations is required to inform conservation strategies and manage catch limits on the high seas, especially when these ocean areas often lie beyond national jurisdictions.

Researchers are therefore employing new methods to improve knowledge of sharks, including the use of genomic techniques that can help uncover their genetic history. Knowing more about how shark populations have changed over time can provide information about environmental pressures, how closely individuals are related and how much genetic diversity is being maintained, explained Professor Einar Eg Nielsen, a population geneticist at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in Lyngby.

"You may see that in general a species is doing well. But it may mask that it's doing good in some areas and badly in others," he said.

"You need information on the populations in order to manage them in a proper way. But if you don't have genomic markers with sufficient resolution, then you're unable to disentangle the population structure."

Jaw samples

That's why the DiMaS project he co-led conducted genetic research on sharks. The initiative was aimed at expanding information on sharks' recent history to help assess how they may react to future climate-change and fishing-related pressures.

The team focused on the shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus), which is fished commercially but also unintentionally caught as by-catch in seas globally. The species is classified as endangered on the IUCN's Red List, generally considered the definitive inventory of conservation status for the world's species.

Researchers amassed almost 1,000 samples of jaws and vertebrae spanning three centuries from museums, national fishery institutes and personal collections, including modern samples from fishery institutes. After separating out the lower-quality ones, they then selected half for genomic analysis.

"The problem with these beasts is that they are all over the place, so it's difficult to get really good samples," said Prof. Nielsen. "But by joining forces with other institutions, we were able to get more samples so we could look at temporal patterns."

Despite their severe decline in numbers, the resulting analysis has revealed some potential cause for cautious optimism about the makos' long-term prospects for survival because the team found that their genetic diversity had not reduced significantly in recent years.

High levels of connectivity between different shortfin mako populations may have helped this, said Dr. Romina Henriques, formerly at DTU, co-leader of DiMaS, and now a population geneticist at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

"The fact that there is this strong connectivity suggests a greater resilience," she said.

Connectivity wobbles

Yet things are not quite so straightforward. It seems that the level of connectivity has changed over time and that some historical populations may have been more isolated and therefore potentially more vulnerable, said Dr. Henriques.

"What I found very interesting is that this connectivity wobbles through time, so you have some populations of shortfin mako that appear more differentiated than others," she said. "What we think is that you probably do have some isolated populations, but there's quite a bit of movement."

Another caveat is that with their potential lifespan of 30 years or more, shortfin makos are relatively long-lived. Given that pressures from fishing only ramped up in the second half of last century, it may simply be that not enough time has elapsed for any recent population declines to have filtered through to a decrease in genetic diversity.

But regardless of what further research finds, the widespread movement of shortfin mako sharks and links between populations highlight the need for fishing and conservation to be managed regionally rather than just in individual areas, said Dr. Henriques.

"It means that conservation has to not just be national-based, but it has to be regional-based," she said. "It doesn't matter if two or three countries decide 'no more mako fishing,' because they will naturally move away from the protected areas."

Depleted oxygen

Another important area of research is how climate change may be affecting the ocean habitat of sharks through its effect on oxygen levels, leaving the animals more vulnerable to overfishing.

Because warmer waters dissolve less oxygen, studies suggest that climate change is depleting levels in the oceans and leading to the expansion of so-called oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). It is thought that this could, in turn, be squeezing the areas of the ocean where many sharks, fish and other marine animals can exist into a smaller space.

"One hypothesis is that sharks are vertically compressed into that top layer, into a smaller and smaller volume of water, and this lends itself to higher catches made by fishers," explained Professor David Sims, a marine ecologist at the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth and the University of Southampton, UK.

On the basis that much about these effects is currently unknown, the Ocean Deoxyfish project that Prof. Sims leads is exploring the phenomenon in sharks, as well as tunas. "Ultimately, what we want to do is to be able to predict the distribution of sharks in an ocean-deoxygenated world," he said.

Such exploration has been aided by the developments made in tagging devices that can be attached to sharks' fins. "Over the last 20 years, there have been real advances in marine telemetrymarine biologging, as it's calledusing miniature electronic devices to track sharks to inform about their movements, behavior and ecology, and also their interaction with the environment," said Prof. Sims.

In the early stages of Ocean Deoxyfish, the results have broadly borne out the researchers' hypothesis. In a study in the OMZ in the tropical eastern Atlantic off Africa, the team found that the habitat of blue sharks was vertically compressed. Their maximum dive depth seemed to be around 40% less compared with other areas, potentially heightening their vulnerability to fishing.

Cycle of doom

However, the picture is complicated because sharks may also benefit from increased opportunities for foraging in these compressed zones as the prey themselves seek to avoid hypoxic waters with low levels of oxygen.

"There's a self-perpetuating cycle of doom going on," said Prof. Sims. "The sharks are seeing opportunities for feeding, but the fishers are also taking advantage of an opportunity of being able to catch more sharks per unit time."

The Ocean Deoxyfish researchers are developing increasingly sophisticated tracking tags that will record oxygen levels in addition to sharks' movements and typical measurements such as temperature, pressure and depth. The data will be uploaded straight to satellites, avoiding the need to retrieve the tags.

The new tags will also capture video footage of what Prof. Sims describes as a 'shark's-eye view' of the animals' behavior, enabling the researchers to see what they're doing when they dive. He added that blue sharks do seem to have the capacity to at least undertake some dives into low-oxygen water, which he thinks may be associated with them feeding on squid that can tolerate these waters.

"It'll be amazing to capture that and find out what they're doing down there," he said. "What we're hoping is that we'll have these tags catching the pursuit of these deep-water cephalopods [such as squid] in the oxygen-minimum zone."

Ultimately, he hopes that projects like his will contribute to the long-term management of sharks and other species that live in the ocean.

"Overfishing is reducing these populations to levels that they've never been at before," he said. "There has to be interaction between climate change research and fisheries management to a greater degree than there has been."

Explore further Rezone marine parks to better conserve sharks
A Mexican navy vessel patrols the Gulf of California as part of efforts to save the critically endangered vaquita porpoise from extinction.

Mexican naval vessels, spotter planes and conservationists are patrolling the upper Gulf of California in a race against time to save the world's rarest marine mammal from extinction.

Mexico's navy and the environmental organization Sea Shepherd are working together to prevent the vaquita porpoisewhich counts Leonardo DiCaprio among its celebrity defendersdisappearing forever.

The species is critically endangered, due to illegal gillnets used to catch totoaba, a large fish whose swim bladder can fetch thousands of dollars in China thanks to its supposed medicinal properties.

The navy stepped up surveillance in January amid criticism from the United States that Mexico was not doing enough to protect the vaquita, the smallest porpoise on the planet.

The deployment came after researchers sighted eight specimens of the mammalknown as the "panda of the sea" for the distinctive black circles around its eyesbetween October and November.

There are estimated to be fewer than 20 individuals left in a small area in the Gulf of California, the only place in the world where the vaquita is found, according to Sea Shepherd.

Navy personnel and activists from the conservation group now monitor the area every day, looking for illegal nets and preventing fishermen from approaching a "zero tolerance zone."

A handout pictured released by the Mexican Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources shows scientists with a six-month-old vaquita porpoise calf in the Gulf of California, in Mexico, in 2017.

In the skies overhead, naval aircraft look for boats venturing into forbidden waters, in the latest phase of "Operation Miracle"launched by Sea Shepherd in 2015 to try to save the vaquita.

"The efforts that we've seen, specifically seen over the last three or four months, mean the vaquita has the best chance that they've had in decades," Sea Shepherd CEO Chuck Lindsey told reporters.

'Fighting chance'

During a tour of the area for media, including AFP, Mexico's navy said it had recovered 70 nets so far this year, compared with 172 for all of 2021.

Gillnets form invisible barriers under the water that can span several hundred feet and trap not just totoabas but also vaquitas, whales, dolphins, sharks and sea turtles, according to Sea Shepherd.

"As we see a dramatic reduction in the illegal nets in the water, we know that the vaquita have a fighting chance," Lindsey said.

Sea Shepherd is working with the Mexican navy to stop vaquitas getting caught in illegal gillnets.

Conservationists have previously been involved in a number of violent confrontations with fishermen while working with Mexican authorities to remove illegal nets.

The vaquita grows up to a length of around 1.5 meters (five feet) and a weight of 50 kilos (110 pounds).

It has been listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 1996.

In 2019 UNESCO added the Gulf of California's islands and protected areas to the World Heritage in Danger list due to fears of the imminent extinction of the species.

From dawn, Mexican authorities now check that fishermen in the upper Gulf of California have the necessary paperwork, and later check their nets.

But "they should check beyond the breakwater. There are many boats that don't have permits," fisherman Roberto Lopez told reporters during an inspection.

Officials also scour beaches for nets washed ashore.

A Mexican navy officer guards fishing officials recovering a net during an operation in the Gulf of California to protect the vaquita, the world's smallest porpoise.

DiCaprio, diplomacy

International attention on the vaquita's plight grew after DiCaprio in 2017 asked his millions of social media followers to sign a petition calling on Mexico's then-president Enrique Pena Nieto to do more to protect the porpoise.

Last August, the Hollywood star accused President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's government of abandoning the vaquita, "effectively ensuring that the remaining 10 or so porpoises will die in gillnets."

Saving the vaquita has also become a source of diplomatic friction.

In February, the United States requested consultations with Mexico under a North American free trade pact on efforts to protect the species.

It was the first time a government has invoked the environmental provisions of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which took effect in July 2020.

A fisherman walks next to a mural of a vaquita porpoise in San Felipe in northwestern Mexico.

There are estimated to be fewer than 20 vaquitas left in the Gulf of California, the only place in the world where they are found, according to conservation group Sea Shepherd.

Without a resolution, the move from the Washington could lead to imposition of tariffs, although US officials said at the time that it was premature to discuss punitive action.

In the meantime, the Mexican navy promises round-the-clock protection for the vaquita.

"The work that the navy has done, as in other places, is to protect the environment. We're doing that here every day," Admiral Luis Javier Robinson told AFP.

Explore further Mexico announces new plan to protect near-extinct porpoise

 2022 AFP
U.S. Forest. Credit: USGS

NASA's GEDI mission has reached a major milestone with the release of its newest data product, which provides the first near-global estimate of aboveground forest biomass and the carbon it storesfilling a key gap in climate research.

The data enables research into how Earth's forests are changing, what role they play in mitigating climate change, and the regional and global impacts of planting and cutting down trees.

With the new data product from GEDI, the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation, ecosystem and climate researchers can quickly locate their regions of interest and study forest structure and carbon content with greater precision than in the past.

The new biomass product release comes as GEDI is within a one-year mission extension and represents the culmination of critical advancements in spaceborne lidar (a type of laser) research.

Counting carbon in Earth's forests

GEDI is a high-resolution lidar instrument designed specifically to measure vegetation. From its vantage point aboard the International Space Station, GEDI rapidly bounces laser pulses off the trees and shrubs below to create detailed 3D maps of forests and land formations. The resulting data product, processed and gridded at a 1-km (0.39-square mile) resolution, allows researchers to study questions about forest ecosystems, animal habitats, carbon content, and climate change.

In its first three years in orbit, GEDI has captured billions of measurements between 51.6 degrees north and south latitudes (approximately the latitudes of London and the Falkland Islands, respectively).

The new data product combines data from GEDI with airborne and ground-based lidars to construct a global biomass map that reveals the amount of vegetation contained in an area.

The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) is a full-waveform lidar instrument that produces detailed observations of the three-dimensional structure of the Earths surface. GEDI precisely measures forest canopy height, canopy vertical structure, and surface elevation which enhances our understanding of global carbon and water cycle processes, biodiversity, and habitat. Credit: NASA

"One big area of uncertainty is that we don't know how much carbon is stored in the Earth's forests," said Ralph Dubayah, GEDI's principal investigator and a professor of geographical sciences at the University of Maryland. Trees pull carbon from the atmosphere to fuel their growth. But scientists need to know how much carbon forests store so they can predict how much will be released by deforestation or wildfires. Approximately half of plant biomass is composed of carbon.

GEDI's new product is not the first global biomass product, but it is the first to include well-described uncertainty for its estimates using advanced statistical models. This means GEDI's biomass estimates also come with a sense of how accurate those measurements are. "That is, for each 1-kilometer estimate of average biomass, the mission knows how confident that estimate is," Dubayah said.

The GEDI team has compared their results to forest inventories from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data, and found that GEDI's biomass estimates compared favorably to both. Cases where the GEDI product differed from the inventories highlight opportunities for further study and calibration.

"We can apply this framework to estimate biomass for entire countriesfor example, many countries in the pan-tropical regions don't have national forest inventories," said John Armston, GEDI's lead for validation and calibration and an associate research professor at the University of Maryland. "Now we have the means to provide an estimate of aboveground biomass with known uncertainty that can be used to support climate reporting and a broad range of applications."

In many countries of the world, Armston said, there is big interest in using GEDI to examine forest and woodland definitions for carbon monitoring, but also to characterize ecosystem structure for biodiversity assessments.

"Resolving the structure of different forest and woodland ecosystems with much more certainty will benefit, not only carbon stock estimation, but also our understanding of their ecological condition and the impact of different land management practices," he said.

Laying a foundation for future missions

The team will continue to refine its biomass estimates going forward, and has extended the mission to January 2023, providing time to collect even more data. Additionally, the International Space Station recently adjusted its orbit from 262 miles (421 kilometers) above Earth's surface to about 258 miles (417 kilometers). The lower orbit will allow GEDI to have more uniform coverage, meaning fewer gaps in its data from east to west, giving the mission a more complete view of Earth's temperate and tropical forests.

"With GEDI being able to collect data all the way to 2023, we're getting closer to collecting data at the same time as the next generation of lidar and radar missionslike NISAR (NASA-ISRO SAR, launching in 2024)," said Laura Duncanson, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland and one of GEDI's research scientists. "Eventually, the best products won't just be based on GEDI, but on a combination of satellite data sources."

Explore further NASA forest structure mission releases first data
Groundwater irrigation enables farmers to grow lush crops in Californias Central Valley, but the underground water resource is dwindling. A NASA study offers a new tool for managing groundwater. Credit: California Department of Water Resources/Dale Kolke

Researchers have untangled puzzling patterns of sinking and rising land to pin down the underground locations where water is being pumped for irrigation.

Scientists have produced a new method that holds the promise of improving groundwater managementcritical to both life and agriculture in dry regions. The method sorts out how much underground water loss comes from aquifers confined in clay, which can be drained so dry that they will not recover, and how much comes from soil that's not confined in an aquifer, which can be replenished by a few years of normal rains.

The research team studied California's Tulare Basin, part of the Central Valley. The team found that the key to distinguishing between these underground sources of water relates to patterns of sinking and rising ground levels in this heavily irrigated agricultural region.

The Central Valley makes up only 1% of U.S. farmland, yet it grows an amazing 40% of the nation's table fruits, vegetables, and nuts annually. Productivity like that is only possible because farmers augment the valley's 5 to 10 inches (12 to 25 centimeters) of annual rainfall with extensive groundwater pumping. In drought years, more than 80% of irrigation water comes from underground.

After decades of pumping, underground water resources are dwindling. Wells in the Tulare Basin now must be drilled as much as 3,500 feet (over 1,000 meters) deep to find adequate water. There's no way to measure exactly how much water remains underground, but managers need to make the wisest use of whatever there is. That involves monitoring whether water is being drawn from aquifers or from loose soil, known as the water table. In this large region with tens of thousands of unmetered wells, the only practical way to do that is by using satellite data.

A research team from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in Northern California set out to create a method that would do exactly that. They attacked the problem by combining data on water loss from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow-On satellites with data on ground-level changes from a ESA (European Space Agency) Sentinel-1 satellite. Ground-level changes in this region are often related to water loss because when ground is drained of water, it eventually slumps together and sinks into the spaces where water used to bea process called subsidence.

This map shows changes in the mass of water, both above ground and underground, in California from 2003 to 2013, as measured by NASAs GRACE satellite. The darkest red indicates the greatest water loss. The Central Valley is outlined in yellow; the Tulare Basin covers about the southern third. Extreme groundwater depletion has continued to the present. Credit: NASA/GSFC/SVS

The Tulare Basin is subsiding drastically: The current rate is about one foot (0.3 meters) of sinkage per year. But from one month to the next, the ground may drop, rise or stay the same. What's more, these changes don't always line up with expected causes. For example, after a heavy rainfall, the water table rises. It seems obvious that this would cause the ground level to rise, too, but it sometimes sinks instead.

The researchers thought these mysterious short-term variations might hold the key to determining the sources of pumped water. "The main question was, how do we interpret the change that's happening on these shorter time scales: Is it just a blip, or is it important?" said Kyra Kim, a postdoctoral fellow at JPL and coauthor of the paper, which appeared in Nature Scientific Reports.

Clay vs. sand

Kim and her colleagues believed the changes were related to the different kinds of soils in the basin. Aquifers are confined by layers of stiff, impermeable clay, whereas unconfined soil is looser. When water is pumped from an aquifer, the clay takes a while to compress in response to the weight of land mass pressing down from above. Unconfined soil, on the other hand, rises or falls more quickly in response to rain or pumping.

The researchers created a simple numerical model of these two layers of soils in the Tulare Basin. By removing the long-term subsidence trend from the ground-level-change data, they produced a dataset of only the month-to-month variations. Their model revealed that on this time scale, virtually all of the ground-level change can be explained by changes in aquifers, not in the water table.

For example, in spring, there's little rainfall in the Central Valley, so the water table is usually sinking. But runoff from snow in the Sierra Nevada is recharging the aquifers, and that causes the ground level to rise. When rainfall is causing the water table to rise, if the aquifers are compressing at the same time from being pumped during the preceding dry season, the ground level will fall. The model correctly reproduced the effects of weather events like heavy rainfalls in the winter of 2016-17. It also matched the small amount of available data from wells and GPS.

Kim pointed out that the new model can be repurposed to represent other agricultural regions where groundwater use needs to be better monitored. With a planned launch in 2023, the NASA-ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission will measure changes in ground level at even higher resolution than Sentinel-1. Researchers will be able to combine NISAR's dataset with data from GRACE Follow-On in this model for the benefit of agriculture around the globe. "We're heading toward a really beautiful marriage between remote sensing and numerical models to bring everything together," Kim said.

Explore further Critical groundwater supplies may never recover from drought

More information: Donald W. Vasco et al, Using Sentinel-1 and GRACE satellite data to monitor the hydrological variations within the Tulare Basin, California, Scientific Reports (2022). Journal information: Scientific Reports Donald W. Vasco et al, Using Sentinel-1 and GRACE satellite data to monitor the hydrological variations within the Tulare Basin, California,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-07650-1
Dr Nic Rawlence. Credit: University of Otago

A new method of obtaining ancient genomic data without damaging source material has been developed by University of Otago researchers, creating new opportunities for museum and archaeological collections worldwide.

"Ancient DNA doesn't have to be destructive," says lead author Lachie Scarsbrook. "Our new method allows the reconstruction of genetic whakapapa without destroying the very bone that's kept its secrets for thousands of years."

The research, published in the international journal Molecular Ecology, presents a new method of obtaining genomic data from small vertebrate remains that causes no visible damage to the underlying bone.

"This will not only facilitate analyses on materials in museum collections that are either too small to be destructively sampled, but also more rare and valuable materials, both culturally and scientifically," Mr Scarsbrook says.

The study, undertaken when Mr Scarsbrook was completing a Master of Science in the Department of Zoology, used contemporary and extinct populations of Hoplodactylus geckos as a case study, and represents the first mitochondrial genomes obtained for any New Zealand lizard.

The newly sequenced DNA data allowed researchers to understand and show how tectonic activity, climate change and human impact have influenced Duvaucel's gecko (Hoplodactylus duvauceli) populations regionally within New Zealand.

"Deep splits between North and South Island populations reflect long-term isolation prior to the formation of Cook Strait, while South Island populations show genetic breaks geographically consistent with maximum ice coverage during the height of the last Ice Age," Mr Scarsbrook explains.

"The significant loss of genetic diversity in both North and South Island populations is testament to the impact of humans and introduced predators. Our research is having meaningful and direct impacts on the conservation management of Duvaucel's gecko."

Supervisor and co-author of the study, Dr. Nic Rawlence of the Otago Paleogenetics Laboratory says that one of the upshots of this research is that knowledge of New Zealand's geckos at the time of human arrival is now a clean slate.

"It was previously thought that you could only distinguish between bones of different gecko species on the basis of size, but amazingly CT scans and ancient DNA showed that we could in fact distinguish different geckos using shape alonesize got thrown out with the bathwater," Dr. Rawlence says.

"It turns out size doesn't matter after all, meaning what we know about New Zealand's geckos at the time of human arrival is now a paleontological clean slate."

Currently completing his DPhil in the Palaeogenomics and Bio-Archaeology Research Network at the University of Oxford, Mr Scarsbrook says the research also speaks to the process involved with making scientific progress.

"We first attempted to obtain mitochondrial genomes using a different method, and after months of time in the laboratory, we failed to produce usable data."

"After going back to the drawing board and making some changes we achieved our goal, which just goes to show that perseverance in the face of failure is key if you're going to help make scientific advancements."

Dr. Rawlence says the continuing research program will use these new techniques to reconstruct the lost ecological history of New Zealand's gecko and skinks (where size-based identifications have confounded scientists), and frogs and tuatara, in partnership with the Department of Conservation and Maori iwi.

"The long-term conservation of finite specimens is of huge concern to curators globally, so what Lachie has developed will not only unlock molecular secrets but potentially vast swaths of natural history and archaeological collections globally to similar genetic analysis."

Explore further Penned release of green geckos has potential to help preserve threatened native species

More information: Lachie Scarsbrook et al, Ancient mitochondrial genomes recovered from small vertebrate bones through minimally destructive DNA extraction: Phylogeography of the New Zealand gecko genus Hoplodactylus, Molecular Ecology (2022). Journal information: Molecular Ecology Lachie Scarsbrook et al, Ancient mitochondrial genomes recovered from small vertebrate bones through minimally destructive DNA extraction: Phylogeography of the New Zealand gecko genus Hoplodactylus,(2022). DOI: 10.1111/mec.16434
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LAKE GEORGE  The Lake George Central School District Board of Education announced on Tuesday that it has chosen a new superintendent.

The school board intends to appoint John Luthringer, director of instructional technology for Queensbury, at a special meeting this Friday, according to a news release from the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES on Tuesday.

Luthringer is expected to begin on July 1 and has been offered a salary of $167,000.

Lake George has such a rich history of excellence and I am excited to dedicate myself to living the mission and vision of the Lake George Central School District, Luthringer said in the news release.

The Post-Star asked Luthringer why he thinks he was chosen for the position.

I have a student-centered and collaborative approach, he replied.

He said what he looks most forward to is the small-school feel. He said he is excited to be part of the Lake George community, which he loves.

We are confident that John Luthringer will guide and advance Lake George CSD with steady strength and a mission-focused approach, Tricia Connor Biles, president of the school board, said in the news release.

Christopher Clancy, assistant superintendent for instruction and special programs at Canastota Central School District in Madison County, was the other finalist in the search. The process was led by BOCES District Superintendent James Dexter.

Luthringers administrative career began in 2014, as the assistant principal in the William H. Barton Intermediate School in the Queensbury district. After two years, he became the principal until 2019, when he took his current position.

Prior to entering the administrative side of school, he was an elementary teacher.

In a previous conversation with Luthringer, he said that, as superintendent, I will make sure students are getting the support they need in regards to mental health.

He mentioned that one of his priorities as an administrator is paving a way back to normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic. While COVID numbers are on the decline, schools across the state are still dealing with the ramifications of the pandemic, he said.

Luthringer will replace Doug Huntley, who has served as the interim superintendent for Lake George since 2021.

Drew Wardle is a reporter for The Post-Star. You can contact him at 518-681-7343 or email him at dwardle@poststar.com.

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MOREAU  The Town Board will no longer provide Zoom links for residents to virtually attend board meetings now that the building is open to the unmasked public.

A message on the towns website states meetings streamed via Zoom will end after 3/21.

Town Supervisor Todd Kusnierz told the Post-Star the decision came after no longer needing to use the platform to comply with the states open meetings law.

Kusnierz said the town has been streaming meetings for about two years, since April 28, 2020, due to the pandemic.

What we found was that once the public could attend meetings in person again, the public stopped tuning in live. Since there is a cost associated with the service, the cost benefit could not be justified, he said.

A copy of meeting schedules and agendas for the towns various boards are posted on the towns website to inform the public of upcoming meetings and the items that will be discussed.

The town of Queensbury is taking a different approach and will continue the livestream option of all board meetings.

Town Supervisor John Strough said board members believe it is their duty to be as open and transparent as possible.

Given the new technologies, like Zoom and others, and the fact that they have become a de facto way of life following the pandemic, I believe our constituents have come to expect that we use these new technologies to better enable their government to be easy to access and open in communications, Strough said.

Many municipalities offered this option after board members were unable to meet in-person and were forced to find other avenues of communication with the public. This was a requirement for local boards to stay in compliance with the open meetings law in New York state, which allows the publics right to witness the governmental decision-making process.

The South Glens Falls Village Board just resumed in-person meetings in March, while most local governments have been meeting in-person since 2021.

The Lake George Village Board still offers Zoom links for interested residents to attend meetings virtually.

Despite the reopening of many town halls and office buildings, remote access to town, planning and zoning board meetings has remained available online in many communities.

Jana DeCamilla is a staff writer who covers Moreau, Queensbury, and Lake George. She can be reached at 518-742-3272 or jdecamilla@poststar.com.

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It appears that state Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, and Assemblyman Matt Simpson, R-Horicon, will run unopposed for reelection this year unless someone runs as an independent.

Warren County Democratic Chairwoman Lynne Boecher said Friday that no Democratic candidates had expressed interest in running, and it would be a tough task for any last-minute candidate to circulate nominating petitions in time for the April 7 deadline for party nominating petitions.

Independent candidate petitions are filed in late May.

Stefanik on Ukraine

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, speaking on national television on Sunday evening, had harsh words for Russia President Vladimir Putin.

Make no mistake: Vladimir Putin is a war criminal and there will be accountability on the global stage, she said, speaking on the Fox News program Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy.

Stefanik said the United States should play a greater role in providing Ukraine with anti-tank, anti-aircraft and anti-ship weapons.

Stefanik issued a congressional office news release about her remarks on the show and posted a video of the segment on her campaign Twitter feed.

Oil spills legislation

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, on March 29 announced that legislation she introduced regarding oil spills on the St. Lawrence River was added to U.S. Coast Guard budget authorization legislation that passed the House.

The legislation would include the St. Lawrence River in a Coast Guard program that studies the impact of oil spills in Great Lakes waterways and establishes procedures for responding to freshwater oil spills.

The St. Lawrence River is not included in the program now.

Today, following my advocacy, we are one step closer to this critical provision becoming law, Stefanik said, in a news release.

In other regional political news:

PAC endorses Castelli

Democratic congressional candidate Matt Castelli on March 30 announced that VoteVets, a national political action committee that supports veterans running for office, endorsed his candidacy.

Castelli, a former CIA counterterrorism official from the town of Saratoga, is one of two candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, in the new 21st Congressional District.

Petitions filed

Republican congressional candidate Liz Lemery Joy said on Saturday she was set to file Republican nominating petitions with 10,000 signatures, significantly more than the 1,250 signatures required to get on the ballot.

It was amazing, she said.

Candidates often collect more than the minimum number of required signatures as a show of grassroots support, and in case some signatures are disqualified.

Joy, a former blogger and speaker from Schenectady, is challenging Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, in the 20th Congressional District.

In the 21st Congressional District, Matt Castelli on Tuesday announced he submitted Democratic nominating petitions with 4,000 signatures.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, on Monday announced she filed Republican nominating petitions with 9,505 signatures and Conservative nominating petitions with 1,595 signatures.

Substance use prevention

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, announced that the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, at a legislative hearing this week, will review substance abuse treatment and recovery legislation he recently introduced.

The legislation would extend for an additional five years a federal program that provides block grants to states and municipalities for substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery programs.

The legislation would also add recovery support programs and hepatitis virus screening and referral to services that could be funded from the grants.

Working Families endorsement

The Working Families Party has endorsed Democrat Thearse McCalmon of Schenectady in the new 46th state Senate District.

McCalmon, a BOCES adult education instructor, is one of three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Daphne Jordan of Halfmoon.

The other candidates are Andrea Smyth-Massaroni of Troy, the president and CEO of the New York State Coalition for Childrens Behavior Health; and Michelle Ostrelich of Niskayuna, a Schenectady County legislator.

Campaign cash

NY-21 Democratic congressional candidate Matt Castelli on Tuesday announced that he raised more that $260,000 for his campaign in the first quarter, his best fundraising quarter so far in the election cycle.

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.

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HUDSON FALLS  When Agnes Kearon takes her dog for a walk around the village of Hudson Falls, she cant help but notice the amount of empty storefronts, vacant buildings and trash littered in the yards of many houses.

In response, Kearon decided that it is time to do something about it. She started a group called Lets Make Hudson Falls Great Again on Facebook this past Friday. Since Monday, the group has grown to over 40 followers.

The group will meet at Juckett Park in Hudson Falls at 10 a.m. on Saturday. From there, they will walk around the village and discuss what a group of concerned citizens can do to help Hudson Falls.

Kearon grew up in Fort Ann, and she came back to the area three years ago after having lived in Massachusetts and Saratoga Springs. She found an affordable house in Hudson Falls, which, coincidentally, she bought from a house flipper who had saved the building from dereliction, during which it stood vacant for 15 years.

There are many buildings that need saving in Hudson Falls, according to Kearon.

I want to find teams, clubs, organizations, individuals, anyone. It takes a village, Kearon said on Monday.

While walking in the vicinity of Juckett Park and Main Street, it is not hard to find the things that Kearon is talking about: trash in peoples yards and on the streets, rows of vacant storefronts and abandoned buildings.

Kernon said she wants to bring people together to communicate and to start cleaning the village.

She has contacted the Village Hall a few times, but it is difficult to get in touch with the mayor as he is part-time, she said.

She said she hopes she can work with village officials to help lead and facilitate projects in the village, and shes hoping money from the American Rescue Plan Act might help.

I would like to organize a cleanup of the village, and maybe these funds could help with that, she said.

Washington County received nearly $12 million in pandemic relief funds. The county received the first half last June and will be receiving the second half this June. Counties and municipalities are seeing how best these funds can be used to heal damage done by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vacant buildings and empty storefronts is not unique to Hudson Falls, said Bill Nikas, president of Phoenix Rising, a village initiative focused on revitalizing Hudson Falls.

You go into Glens Falls and youll see empty storefronts too, he said.

Nikas said owners of these buildings should make the vacant buildings less ugly and more appealing to potential buyers.

There are a lot of great businesses in Hudson Falls. Some businesses folded during the pandemic. When businesses go, the owners of buildings should make sure they beautify the building, Nikas said.

Some of the vacant buildings and storefronts on and near Main Street have been neglected and are, therefore, run down.

He said the village is currently looking for whats called a quality-of-life officer, someone who issues warnings to those who may leave furniture in the front of buildings or trash in their yards.

The village has been without a code enforcer for two years now as well. Youll see, once we have one, there will be a lot of changes.

Kearon said she does not want to shame people about some of the conditions of peoples front yards.

I want to find out what is causing all this stuff in these yards, she said. Do you have a physical or mental disability? Or is it a vendetta against the neighbors?

Nikas said he is not opposed to working with Kearon.

Lets Make Hudson Falls Great Again will take a 2-mile route throughout the village starting on Main Street.

According to the groups Facebook page, Kearon hopes the group will share observations, inspire ideas, socialize and schedule upcoming events and actions.

She hopes she can get as many people as she can involved at the next Village Board meeting on April 11.

If it rains on Saturday, Kearon said the group will meet in the Sandy Hill Arts Center on Main Street at the same time.

Drew Wardle is a reporter for The Post-Star. You can contact him at 518-681-7343 or email him at dwardle@poststar.com.

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CAPE MAY  Coast Guard teams scrambled Tuesday morning after a disturbing report from a beach walker in Wildwood Crest: 10 life vests had washed ashore with no one in sight.

The Coast Guard began the initial search near Cape May Point with a 45-foot response boat, combing the shoreline for signs of debris, said Lt. Daniel Nelson, the stations commanding officer.

The boat was found about 400 yards off the beach in Cape May, in the area known as Poverty Beach on the east side of town not far from the Coast Guard training center. It was sunk about two feet below the waterline, Nelson said.

They were able to identify the owner of the boat, and Coast Guard officials made contact. Nelson said the owner had moored the boat off the beach before sunset Monday night and there was no one on board at the time.

The vessel had apparently overturned and sunk overnight.

World War I-era American submarine discovered on ocean floor off Cape May CAPE MAY  With war looming on the horizon, and a new generation of German U-boats under con

The Coast Guard did not identify the owner. Nelson described the vessel as a cabin cruiser but did not know the size of the vessel. Cabin cruisers are typically between 25 and 45 feet long. According to Nelson, a small section of the bow could be seen above the water.

Questions remain, Nelson said, including why the owner moored the boat off the beach. As of Tuesday morning, the boat remained where it sank.

The owner is trying to develop a salvage plan for the vessel, Nelson said.

The call came in about 7:25 Tuesday morning, and the vessel was found by 9:30 a.m.

State Police said the incident is under investigation.

Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill

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GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  Retired Rear Adm. Kevin Sweeney, a former chief of staff to U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, will discuss Russias war against Ukraine and the U.S. response in a one-hour presentation April 6.

A Conversation with Rear Admiral Kevin Sweeney, is sponsored by the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University and The Press of Atlantic City.

The event will be held over Zoom at 4:30 p.m. April 6.

Other panelists include John Froonjian, executive director of the Hughes Center, William Hughes Jr., a principal in the law firm of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, and Buzz Keough, executive editor of The Press of Atlantic City.

Sweeney is a highly respected national security expert with decades of leadership experience both in and out of government.

He was the primary adviser to Mattis across the full spectrum of national security issues, from great power competition to counterterrorism missions. He oversaw the Department of Defenses strategic initiatives and daily operations around the world. Sweeney served more than 32 years as a surface warfare officer before retiring from the U.S. Navy in 2014.

He also is founder and principal of KSweeney Consulting LLC, a national security consulting firm, and a senior adviser at McKinsey & Company and The Roosevelt Group. Sweeney serves on the Board of Directors for Airbus U.S. Space & Defense and Fincantieri Marinette Marine, among service with other boards and organizations.

There will be no live audience. To participate in the event, register at stockton.edu/hughes-center. The discussion also will be streamed via YouTube Live on both the Hughes Center website and The Press of Atlantic City website. The program will be archived by the Hughes Center for future viewing.

Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin

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CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE  A couple dozen neighbors came prepared to face off against Mike and Robin Halpern, owners of a small vineyard in Upper Township with a dream of opening something called the Ocean City Winery.

The five members of the Cape May County Agricultural Development Board came prepared to rule on a detailed site plan, having already decided that the five-acre property a few miles outside Ocean City itself is a commercial farm properly falling under their jurisdiction.

Everyone, naturally, brought lawyers. But this hour last Thursday was anything but happy, as the 80-seat winery plan appeared to hit a significant snag brought on by several cascading legal maneuvers that left all sides, well, perhaps needing a drink.

This just seems like a colossal waste of everybodys time, said Alfred Natali, one of five unpaid members of the Cape May County Agricultural Development Board, and himself the founder of Natali Vineyards in Cape May County. And thats before we ever get to the merits.

Tensions have been rising along the vineyards behind Bayaire Road that once were home to a tree farm, but now are the property of the Halperns, who moved to the area from Collingswood with a dream of opening a winery. The neighbors seem prepared for a long fight, while Halpern has a system where he is alerted if neighbors cross over from their backyards onto his property. One was recently warned about trespassing.

Ocean City itself is a dry town, and both sides agree that the branding of the proposed winery about two miles outside Ocean City is clever and likely to draw a lot of shoregoers.

But neighbors have protested the plan, saying the site is, in fact, too small and too wedged into a residential neighborhood. They have objected to Halperns use of spray pesticides, and to an 80-person capacity they say will lead to some very un-farm-like noise and drinking.

The Halperns say their plan is well within the laws of New Jerseys Right to Farm act, which views wineries as an acceptable commercial enterprise for farmers. They say the five-acre measurement, the minimum required, is accurate, though neighbors have questioned that.

The Halperns say they have tried repeatedly to accommodate neighbors concerns, agreeing not to hold weddings, limiting the hours and capacity, and moving the entrance to the proposed winery off the local residential street and onto Route 9.

But, it turns out, that accommodation meant involving an easement from a residential lot the Halperns own, which technically does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Agricultural Board.

This led to several questions Thursday. Were neighbors of the residential lot properly notified, in addition to neighbors of the winery site itself? Can the Agricultural Board rule on a plan that involves a nonfarm property?

Does the issue call into question the ruling back in October that the Halperns property is a commercial farm? (The Halperns say no. The solicitor for the board seemed to think it might, and the lawyers for Upper Township and the neighbors were happy to entertain the possibility.)

Colin Bell, attorney for the Halperns, said the couple would simplify the matter by moving the entrance across the property line to be contained within the limits of the initial lot identified as a commercial farm.

But that switch triggered another round of objections, as Richard King, representing the neighbors, and Frank Corrado, appearing for Upper Township, both insisted that the change in the plan was significant and needed to be resubmitted. The legal question of whether this now would require the board to start over again in considering the propertys farm designation went unresolved.

Its a big deal to make that change, Corrado said.

John Batastini, solicitor for the board, further unsettled matters by repeatedly referring to an expected appeals process that he thought could take years.

Bell said they will resubmit the most current plans. But the board still has to decide whether any of this means they need to look again at whether the property qualifies as a commercial farm. Theres no date for a future meeting.

After the hearing, Mike Halpern said he was undeterred by the process, even though the delays essentially give the neighbors what they want: no winery, at least for now. Its another attempt to hold us up, he said. It motivates me to keep fighting.
Every cellphone and land line in New Jersey is charged a 90-cent monthly fee that is supposed to fund 911 services in New Jersey, but instead the state has been diverting it for its own use since 2009, according to county officials.

And in spite of the state being flush with billions in federal COVID-19 funding, borrowed money and record tax revenues, Gov. Phil Murphys fiscal year 2023 budget still keeps this years $126 million in fees, said New Jersey Association of Counties Executive Director John Donnadio.

The association held a news conference Tuesday in Flemington, Hunterdon County, to draw attention to the issue.

Counties and municipalities are the primary providers of 911 services, Donnadio said.

We want the state Legislature to include funding for county and municipal 911 centers (in the budget), Donnadio said. We have been asking for a number of years.

County officials said some counties have funded a strong 911 system, while others cannot afford to do so, but all struggle to keep their systems updated.

Middle Township to join Cape May County 911 dispatch MIDDLE TOWNSHIP  The township will partner with Cape May County for emergency dispatch serv

Being the commissioner who oversees emergency management in Cape May County and led the creation of our central dispatch center, it is terrible to see these funds diverted from counties, Cape May County Commissioner Director Gerald Thornton said in a statement. These funds directly go towards saving lives because the better the equipment that counties procure, the quicker the response times can be for emergency situations.

Jonathan Young, first vice president of the counties group and a Camden County commissioner, said his countys phone customers pay $6 million a year in fees and the county gets nothing back to help it fund its emergency telephone system.

It imposes a system of double taxation, Donnadio said.

Phone customers pay the fee, then must pay more in taxes to cover the costs of running 911 systems.

In an Assembly Budget Committee hearing Monday, an assemblywoman asked state Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio if the administration planned to stop diverting the 911 fees at any point.

In this budget, $17.8 goes into it (state 911 equipment), but the remaining goes into law enforcement, rural policing and other allowable expenses, Muoio said.

A bolt from blue for centralized dispatch The City of Cape May already was considering a shift of its 911 emergency response system to

I know its allowable, countered Assemblywoman Annette Chapparo, D-Hudson. My concern is diverting funds and not putting them into the 911 system is a strain (on local communities). Do we plan on adding more?

Muoio said the administration did not, but the budget is now in the Legislatures hands.

In this budget in particular, its a $50 billion state budget with zero back to counties and municipalities to provide basic public safety service, Donnadio said. They couldnt find somewhere to provide grant funding ... to regionalize and deliver services?

The Legislature is now holding budget hearings and must pass a budget in June.

The state has diverted about $1.5 billion in 911 fees since 2009, Donnadio said.

We are also asking for Congress to adopt the recommendations of the Ending 911 Fee Diversion Task Force, Donnadio said.

The task force, under the Federal Communications Commission, recommended the federal government clarify that states must use the fees for 911 system development, or face fines. A federal law created the fees but was not clear enough about allowable expenses, the group said.

New Jersey isnt the only state to divert the fees, but it is the worst offender, according to the counties association.

Federal law allows the state to enact laws to fund the 911 system, Donnadio said. Initially we did well until 2009 under Corzine; he started to divert 911 fees during the recession.

The state found a loophole that allows them to pay for operating expenses in the Department of Law and Public Safety.

Theyve been doing that ever since, Donnadio said.

The state uses about 10% a year for its state 911 centers, but the rest funds State Police and other public safety costs, Donnadio said.

(The fee) was intended to enhance and improve the 911 system. The state can circumvent the intent of the law by using it for other public safety, Donnadio said. That should be funded, but not with 911 funds.

REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post 609-841-2895 mpost@pressofac.com

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Five to six days in a row will have rain somewhere in South Jersey. One to three inches of rain will be likely, which will help to quell the drought south of Route 30. Meteorologist Joe Martucci explains when the wettest days will be.
An 18-year-old man who suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound in a shooting Monday night in downtown Rock Island is facing a felony weapons charge.

Malachi Joseph Michael McDuffy, of Rock Island, is charged in Rock Island County Circuit Court with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. The charge is a Class 4 felony under Illinois law that carries a prison sentence of one to three years.

According to Rock Island County Circuit Court records, McDuffy is accused of having a black Glock 22 without the appropriate permits and while not on his own property or the property of another from whom he had permission.

According to a news release from Rock Island Deputy Chief of Police Timothy McCloud, the investigation indicated that McDuffy was involved in a shooting incident with as yet unidentified suspects in a vehicle that fled the area.

Officers were called to the scene in the 2100 block of 3rd Avenue at 7:13 p.m. and found evidence of gunfire as well as a blood trail through the alleyway linking the 1800 blocks of 2nd and 3rd avenues.

McDuffy was taken to UnityPoint-Trinity, Rock Island, where he was treated for his gunshot wound.

Just after 10 p.m., he was then sent to the Rock Island County Jail, according to his Rock Island arrest report.

McDuffy was officially charged Tuesday after investigators obtained an arrest warrant.

McDuffy was being held Tuesday night in the Rock Island County Jail on a bond of $30,000, or 10%.

According to Rock Island County Circuit Court electronic records, McDuffy lives in Mississippi and is on juvenile probation in Rock Island County.

The investigation into the incident is continuing.

Police ask that anyone with information about this incident to call the Rock Island Police Department at 309-732-2677 or Crime Stoppers of the Quad-Cities at 309-762-9500, or submit an anonymous tip via the P3 Tips mobile app or submit a tip online at qccrimestoppers.com.

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Kathy Yungen, Gregg Johnson and Tracy Jones were only 11, 8 and 1 year old when their mom died due to complications of pregnancy caused by preeclampsia. Their mother's death could have been avoided if she'd had easier access to an abortion, they said.
A warrant was issued Friday for the arrest of an Iowa man after the 35-year-old sent a series of threatening emails to dozens of elected officials in Lincoln and across Nebraska, according to court filings.

The Nebraska State Patrol first began its investigation into Thomas Blobaum in May 2021 after a state senator reported an email Blobaum had sent to more than 40 members of the Legislature calling for the torture of a Lancaster County judge who had previously presided over a case against him, according to the affidavit for Blobaum's arrest.

In the months since, Blobaum has sent more than a dozen emails with veiled and specific threats toward Lincoln attorneys, the mayor, local police officers, the county sheriff's office, a host of state senators, Gov. Pete Ricketts and U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, according to the affidavit.

Most of Blobaum's grievances with the officials appear to stem from what he described as his "wrongful" prosecution. He was convicted in Lancaster County in January of violating a harassment protection order.

In the emails, Blobaum made several references to a loaded gun that he said he often carried with him, though family members told the State Patrol he doesn't own or have access to firearms.

The Creston man has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Police haven't yet arrested Blobaum.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com. On Twitter @andrewwegley

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At a party of liberal activists to mark the end of the Senate confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, and her likely confirmation as the first Black female justice, the mood in the downtown Washington club this week was upbeat even before funk star Chaka Khan took the stage.

Im glad they enjoyed it, because this crowd has little else to celebrate in the months and years ahead.

Even amid the partying, folks lamented the likelihood that the Supreme Court, by the end of its term in June, will effectively strike down the half-century-old constitutional right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade. They also know that Jacksons expected replacement of retiring Justice Stephen G. Breyer after this term  a swap of one liberal for another  wont change the conservatives 6-3 stranglehold on the court.

And that means more defeats ahead at the courts hands, and on social issues that have majority support nationwide.

As emboldened Republicans made clear during the week of Jacksons hearing, at the Senate Judiciary Committee and elsewhere, conservatives are playing a long game that doesnt stop with curbing abortion rights. Republicans are now openly questioning other familiar court precedents on reproductive, racial and LGBTQ rights that go to Americans most intimate decisions about whom they marry and whether they have children.

Perhaps the only person more unnerved than supporters of these rights is the courts chief justice, John G. Roberts Jr.

Roberts is a strong conservative who opposes abortion and same-sex marriage. Yet hes also protective of the institution of the Supreme Court and its public image, which was scuffed even before the biggest furor yet involving right-wing power couple Clarence and Virginia Ginni Thomas left many Americans (further) questioning Justice Thomas impartiality.

So Roberts is less likely than Thomas and the four other conservatives to chuck the courts precedents, especially widely popular ones, as they take the front lines of Republicans culture wars. Proposals on the left to enlarge the court to restore some balance  ideas that President Biden and most congressional Democrats are resisting  could well gain traction if the court is seen as lurching too far right. Worse, Roberts knows, the court could lose the mainstream support essential to its legitimacy.

Contrary to Roberts prudence, however, other conservatives on the court and off are barreling ahead in hopes that the rights lopsided majority can brake, even reverse, the rights won in past decades.

That explains the otherwise inexplicable three-minute video that Tennessees Sen. Marsha Blackburn released before Jacksons hearing, previewing a theme shed return to  with saccharine snark in her best Bless your heart style  as she interrogated the nominee. The Republican senator singled out as wrongly decided a 1965 ruling, Griswold v. Connecticut, that is little known to most Americans but enjoyed by countless: It established a right to use contraceptives.

Last month in a debate, three Republicans running to be Michigans attorney general also condemned Griswold. Its not that conservatives are opposed to the pill and its alternatives, though some are. Rather, they consider Griswold a sort of judicial original sin: By creating a constitutional right to privacy, the court 57 years ago (by a 7-2 vote, by the way) laid the foundation for later rulings on abortion rights, interracial and same-sex marriage, and more.

Which brings us to Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana and his attack last week not only against Griswold and Roe, but also Loving v. Virginia. That wonderfully named 1967 ruling struck down state laws against interracial marriage  making the Thomases marriage possible, and Jacksons, and so many millions more over 55 years.

While Braun soon retreated after facing blowback, the video of his session with Indiana reporters made clear that he meant what he said, and his remarks were in fact philosophically consistent: If, as he argued, the Constitution doesnt establish a right to privacy  its not explicitly mentioned  then Loving was just as wrongly decided as Roe and others based on that privacy right; its up to the states to decide whether their residents can get abortions and marry someone of a different race or the same sex.

A reporter twice asked Braun whether his reasoning extended to Loving. Yes, he said without a pause. If youre not wanting the Supreme Court to weigh in on issues like that, youre not going to be able to have your cake and eat it too. I think thats hypocritical.

Unlike Braun, fellow Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas isnt retreating from his criticism of Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 ruling establishing a right to same-sex marriage. That decision, he told Jackson during his questioning of her, created a conflict between what people may believe as a matter of their religious doctrine or faith and what the federal government says is the law of the land.

Now dont get me wrong, Cornyn added. Im not arguing the merits or lack of merits of same-sex marriage. I believe the states and the voters can choose what they will.

There we have it: Republicans are not only anticipating the end of a nationally recognized right to abortion, but also looking to build on that victory to target other rights we thought were settled law  as Republican nominees to the Supreme Court call Roe while theyre seeking Senate confirmation. Wed be back to a patchwork of state laws, where we once had fundamental rights.

We wont be partying then.

Jackie Calmes is an opinion columnist for the Los Angeles Times in Washington, D.C. 2022 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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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 blog posts 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.

Former President Donald Trump famously called Putin a genius. Tucker Carlson, the political showman of Fox News, described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 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 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.

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?

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.

Ian Buruma is professor of human rights at Bard College. His latest book is "The Churchill Complex." 2022 Bloomberg L.P. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Tasia Birds medical career is taking her back to nature. Bird is turning her passion for herbalism into a business. Tasias Apothecary officially opened April 2 in the Fairmont Creamery. The shops hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Ive always been interested in herbalism my entire life, Bird said. I think more people are interested in it more because of the state of the world. Its waking people up to alternatives other than pharmaceuticals.

The hand-crafted products she makes and sells promote a lifestyle of wellness and self-care.

We need health care, not sick care. How do we keep our bodies well, not just treating symptoms? Bird said. Western medicine is amazing for a lot of things, but when it comes to preventative care, its not that great.

Bird previously worked throughout the United States as a surgical neurophysiologist, assisting during surgery to avoid or reduce complications to the patient such as paralysis, hearing loss or stroke.

Basically, what we do is keep an eye on the brain and nerves during certain surgical procedures, Bird said.

Injuries she suffered in a car accident in 2020 prompted her to make a career change, and she focused her health care on becoming a trained and certified doula. She used her love of herbalism to create maternity and baby products.

People started asking for different stuff, lip balms and stuff for headaches, and I started making literally everything, Bird said. It kind of evolved into its own thing from there.

Although opening and running Tasias Apothecary will be her full-time job, Bird said she is still taking about one doula client per month.

Tasias Apothecary already has some of its maternity, baby, bath and body products for sale online at tasiasapothecary.com/, along with teas, books and foraging supplies. More items will be available in the store in downtown Rapid City. Bird also will sell some of her products at the Spring Pop-Up from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 30 at The Monument in Rapid City.

Bird will offer soaps and bath products, body butters and body oils, tinctures, immune support products and healing teas. Allergy relief items and more are being developed.

I love it. Its so rewarding and so much fun, Bird said. Its so much different than any other job Ive had.

While shes passionate about making items to promote wellness, Bird hopes her store fosters a greater interest in herbalism and foraging to find natural materials. Her store will sell foraging supplies, books about herbalism and foraging, about 40 organic herbs by the ounce, jars, vials, mortar and pestle sets, and more for do-it-yourself herbalists.

I wanted to be able to supply products I put together, and I wanted to provide the materials (for people) to really dig in on their own without having to order online or drive to Denver to get what they need, Bird said. I am carrying my favorite foraging supplies. South Dakota has a lot of foraging up in the Hills.

Ive always been really called into nature. Ive always felt this pull toward nature and honestly, it provides everything we need if you know where to look, she said.

If people cant find a product or supplies they need, Bird said she will try to find it or create it. She hopes people will try making some of their own at-home remedies as well as trying her products.

Bird also plans to price foraging supplies and ingredients for at-home remedies as affordably as possible.

I want to empower people and make it easier for them. You can forage in the wild and craft your own products as long as you can do it responsibly and not take more than what you need, said Bird, who encourages sustainability.

Follow m.facebook.com/tasiasapothecary/ for more information about Birds products and new store.

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Those who would like to sit on the Chadron City Council, at least for the next seven months, can now submit their letters, as during Monday nights meeting council formally accepted the resignation of member Keith Crofutt with great appreciation for his dedication, work and perspective.

In a letter, Crofutt stated his resignation is effective March 31, and the decision was not made without great consideration. Crofutt further stated in his letter, I hope you all continue to try and make the best decisions for Chadron, with integrity, and absent personal agendas. Crofutt was contacted, but declined further comment on the matter.

City Manager Adam Edmund explained that, by statute, Mayor Mark Werner must proffer forward a name of someone to fill the vacancy at the next council meeting, April 18. The council will vote on whether to accept the candidate, but failing a majority vote in favor the mayor will proffer another name at the following meeting until a candidate is selected. That person will then sit on the council at least until the Nov. 8 general election.

The election ballot itself will now have two separate races for Chadron City Council  one for the seats held by incumbents Cheryl Welch and Werner, the other for the newly-vacant seat. The person elected to the vacant seat will fill out the remaining two years of Crofutts term.

There are six candidates aside from the incumbents, and any of the six are eligible to apply for the vacant seat. As for whether any of the losing candidates from the May primary election are eligible for it in the November general election, Edmund said more research is needed to determine that.

It was also noted during the meeting that people should research about what being on the council entails, and write letters clearly stating their reasons and qualifications for being on the council. Deadline to have letters submitted is Thursday, April 14.

There will be a new business coming to town, as council approved the rezoning of 341 and 349 West Third Street from R-2 Urban Family Residential to CC Community Commercial. The rezoning allows for a Scooters Coffee, which will be primarily drive-thru, to be built where the former Bruns Coin Laundry, Lariat Car Wash and Ice Cream Shop were.

Hay Springs residents Jay and Jessamyn Voss have been working with the coffee franchise to open a Chadron location. The estimate is that the new business will bring 20-25 jobs, most of them part-time.

Some environmental study is still being done, though the sale is expected to close by the third week of April and the business open in May.

There was some concern that customer headlights would be bothersome to neighbors, but a fence blocking the lights will be erected on the south side of the property. Zoning/Building Official Janet Johnson said Scooters has been exceptional to work with and very thorough, and the neighbors are delighted.

Five parcels were declared as substandard and blighted, and in need of redevelopment under the Nebraska Community Development Law. Those parcels are: west of Maple, Sixth to Eighth Street; Department of Roads parcel east of Maple Street; Department of Roads parcel west of Maple Street; the old hospital property, 800 block of Morehead; and a parcel west of Highway 385, 10th to 16th Street.

Casey Schumacher raised concern the blight designation was getting into the arena of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) housing, which he noted is a big problem in the State of Nebraska.

When Tax Increment Financing is your number one economic development tool that shows me your taxes are too high, Schumacher said. He further cautioned the use of TIF could cause a large portion of community needs to land on the backs of other entities.

Marguerite Vey-Miller provided a letter in support of the designation, noting that The purpose of designating land as blighted is to make the way clear for development of the property. Designating land blighted allows access to development funds from [the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).] . . . .If Chadron wishes to have money invested in the properties proposed for the blighted designation, then a vote for the blighted designation is a sensible step.

Vey-Miller further pointed out in her letter that declaring a property blighted is not an insult to neighbors or something that causes loss in property value, but is a legal term that qualifies property for financial benefits in redevelopment.

Also during the meeting, Julie Lawrence was introduced as the new public transportation supervisor. City Manager John Sutherland noted Lawrence has only been on the job a few days and already has some good ideas shes working on.

A proclamation was read declaring April as The Big Event Month. According to the proclamation, The Big Event, scheduled for this Saturday, has fostered relationships between the City of Chadron and Chadron State College since April 2013. It creates service-learning opportunities for Chadron State College students, faculty and staff and encourages a tradition of gratitude and volunteerism in the City of Chadron. The City recognizes the positive impact The Big Event has on both the community and Chadron State College.

Chadron State Communication Professor and Department Chair Shaunda French-Collins expressed appreciation to the community for the support theyve provided to keep The Big Event going. With it being the 10th year for the event, French-Collins said any CSC alumni that have been on Big Event staff are invited for a dinner this Friday.

Street Superintendent Casey Keim reported that during the next fiscal year, the department will be installing new street signs along high traffic routes including the downtown district, Highway 20, 10th Street and Ridgeview. The new signs will be three inches larger, going from the current six-inch size to nine inches, which will make them more visible.

In other Street Department news, it was noted at the meeting by City Manager John Sutherland that the current Streets budget does not provide adequate funding for street repairs. In an effort to maximize the available funding, the Street Department will be handling a street project themselves rather than contracting it out.

Looking at the numbers, Keim estimated that the same project done by contractors at a cost of $162,000 could be done by the city team for about $40,000. Keim further added work on major projects such as Highways 20 and 385 could still be contracted out.

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Rapid City Area Schools would leave the decision for a possible three-pronged chief officer approach to lead the district up to the community.

Board President Kate Thomas said the next steps would be a community discussion for a non-superintendent-led school district. She said the board asked Colorado District 49 to present their format on Monday night in a special session simply as an alternative to consider in the future.

The next steps would be talking to the community, finding out if that is something that they would be willing to look at, but not just the community, it would be the teachers and the principals, Thomas said. Thats the most important because without their want of something and that type of leadership, it wont work at all.

Thomas said the district is currently looking for an interim superintendent to replace Superintendent Lori Simon, who is leaving after this school year.

Really we want to have somebody whos invested in this community and these kids whos not necessarily going to be leaving after their terms, she said. We want somebody who can really be held accountable and hold feet to the fire because they love this area.

Thomas said even if teachers and community members decided to change leadership styles, it would take about two or three years to implement the change.

Colorado District 49 is led by education, business and operation chief officers. Brett Ridgway, the business officer, and Peter Hilts, the education officer, said their district turned to the group leadership style after going through seven superintendents in eight years.

Hilts said the five-member school board in 2010 made the decision to operate without a superintendent to try innovative zone leaders and a team of chief officers based on a business model. He said the district relied on expertise and experiences people have had.

Ridgway said that churn was creating a lot of volatility and record turnover.

We needed the stability for our students in particular and for our families, so this model has actually done that very well, he said. Its created an era of stability because its no longer person-dependent.

The Colorado District has about 29,000 students and nine charter schools. Hilts said they also have about 1,900 employees, and those in the schools have more decision-making authority than the chief officers. He said because of their model, a great amount of trust and communication is required. He said they prefer teachers or principals or others within the district have direct conversations with people they need, like a transportation director.

I love it when I find out about a problem after its just been solved, Hilts said. In fact, most of the time our involvement is an indication that something isnt as smooth as it should be, and so its an opportunity for us to get in and get out quickly. But often, its a good opportunity for us to step back and let smarter people who are closer to the situation with the problem or the opportunity to lead from their level.

Ridgway said teachers and principals are in the best position to address problems.

Hilts said his job, along with the other chief officers, is to figure out how to get the resources for schools to perform at their best.

Ridgway said the district frequently surveys faculty and staff and those in the district to find out their thoughts on how the district is being run and ways to improve. Hilts said based on surveys that went out during bad weather days, members of the district requested an earlier call time for a delay or cancellation. He said now they make the call the night before and err on the side of caution.

Ridgway said after the presentation that all three chief officers report to the school board, which has since changed from at-large representation to district elected. He also said the district tries to be fairly open to a variety of expertise via experiences rather than just looking at resumes.

Correction: This article was corrected at 12:13 p.m. April 6 to reflect the correct spellings for Peter Hilts, Chief Education Officer for District 49, and Brett Ridgway, Chief Business Officer for the district.

 Contact Siandhara Bonnet at siandhara.bonnet@rapidcityjournal.com 

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The leader of the South Dakota House says impeachment proceedings into Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg will cost state taxpayers at least $87,000.

Republican South Dakota House Speaker Spencer Gosch said Friday the House Select Committee on Investigation racked up the bills on attorney fees while it looked into the events surrounding a fatal crash with a pedestrian in 2020, the Argus Leader reported.

The committee this week issued a formal recommendation that Ravnsborg, 45, should not face impeachment. Before its decision, a special counsel directed the nine representatives through 10 separate meetings and hundreds of documents, videos, recordings and other materials.

Rapid City attorney Sara Frankenstein, the special prosecutor, said in an email Saturday that she personally logged 208 hours working with the House Select Committee on Investigation. A paralegal working under her also billed 84 hours. Additional clerical work is not reflected in those hours, Frankenstein said.

That file was over 10,000 pages, not to mention how many hours of video and audio recordings, said Gosch, who also served as committee chairman. She and her team did a thorough and meticulous job.

A House committee concluded its months-long inquiry last week by voting 6-2 on party lines to recommend that Ravnsborg, a Republican, be cleared in the death of Joseph Boever, who was walking near a rural highway. The attorney general last year pleaded no contest to a pair of misdemeanors and was required to pay fines.

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For Dusty Johnson to continuously spiel he works for South Dakotans then to vote down the no-brainer bill to cap the insulin price was a slap in our face. You, sir, can not put a spin on that action that only says you are in the pocket of big pharma.

Fact check, there are no gold mines along Rapid Creek. The real danger to Rapid Creek is actually the city, which has received fines for surface water violations.

Senator Mike Rounds said he wasn't trying "to stump " judge Ketanji Jackson with legal questions in his interview with her. As a non-lawyer and former insurance salesman with only an in-state college bachelor's degree, there wasn't much chance of that ever happening had he tried.

We have children in South Dakota who go hungry. What are our US Senators and Representative doing to retain this federal program? Have they lost sight of their constituents?

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On March 17, Benefis Health System began construction on its $44 million, 64,000-square-foot Helena Specialty Center. It is being built on 3.25 acres where the Capital Hill Mall used to stand on Prospect Avenue. It will have 34 exam rooms and mostly focus on providing primary and specialty care services. It is expected to open in late 2023.

Since 1896, Shodair Childrens Hospital has cared for Montanas most vulnerable residents. It now provides acute, residential and outpatient psychiatric care for Montana children and adolescents, and clinical and laboratory medical genetic services to residents of all ages. Three-quarters of its patients are on Montana Medicaid and 99% are from Montana.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who met with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Monday evening, formally announced his support Tuesday for her confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Given the gravity of a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, my practice is to withhold any decision on a nominee  regardless of my previous positions on that nominee for other judgeships  until I carefully review their qualifications, observe their appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and personally meet with them, Kaine said in a statement.

I have done so and now offer my unqualified support for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be a Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Jackson is likely to win Senate confirmation by the end of the week and become the first Black woman on the high court. Three Republicans have announced that they will vote for Jackson  Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah. They are likely to join the Senates 50 Democrats in backing the judge.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., formally announced his support of Jackson after meeting with the judge earlier Monday afternoon.

Kaine and Warner  like Jackson  are graduates of Harvard Universitys law school.

Kaine, a former civil rights lawyer, cited Jacksons qualifications, including what he termed her strong track record as a federal public defender, distinguished service as a federal trial and appellate judge, and multiple attestations to her character and fairness, and that her confirmation would make history.

He said he is particularly drawn to two aspects of Jacksons experience  that she would be the first former public defender on the Supreme Court and that she would join Justice Sonia Sotomayor as the second trial judge on the current court.
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Many Alabamians have been waiting to get the COVID vaccine until one is approved by U.S. regulators. Pfizer won approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday. Does that change your mind on getting the vaccine?

You voted:
 "No Check We Won't Write: A Report on the High Cost of Sex Offender Incarceration" | Main | With SCOTUS nominee now on path to confirmation, time to fret again about the lack of USSC nominees from Prez Biden 

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this AP article discussing the case of Melissa Lucio, who is scheduled to be executed by the state of Texas in three weeks. Here are excerpts:

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....

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....

Lucio, 53, would be the first Latina executed by Texas 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....

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....

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.
 Might Texas be on the verge of executing an innocent woman? | Main | Brennan Center concludes is terrific essay series titled "Punitive Excess" 

April 5, 2022

With SCOTUS nominee now on path to confirmation, time to fret again about the lack of USSC nominees from Prez Biden

As we approach a full 15 months into the Biden Administration, I must yet again return to expressing my frustration that there has not yet been any nominations to the US Sentencing Commission. As I have noted in a number of prior posts (some linked below), due to a lack of Sentencing Commissioners, the USSC has not been fully functional for the better part of five years, and the USSC has not had complete set of commissioners in place now for nearly a decade. The USSC staff continues to produce lots of useful research and reports, but the FIRST STEP Act's passage in December 2018 makes it particularly problematic for the USSC to have been completely non-functional for now three+ years since that law's enactment.

Though I harped on this front a lot last year, I did not complain too much recently about the persistent lack of nominees while the Biden Administration was selecting and seeking the confirmation of a replacement for US Supreme Court Justice Breyer. But, after yesterday's developments (news here), it seem quite clear that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be confirmed to replace Justice Breyer. So, with this SCOTUS transition now seemingly settled, I will return to full-time fretting about the lack of USSC nominees from Prez Biden.

I have heard buzz from a variety of sources leading me to believe a slate of nominations could be imminent. These nominations cannot come soon enough, especially given that already three month have passed since Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justice Barrett, issued a statement respecting the denial expressing "hope in the near future the Commission will be able to resume its important function in our criminal justice system." As all my posts below detail, I have shared this hope, so far still unfulfilled, for quite some time.

One of many reasons sentencing fans should now hope for imminent nominations for the US Sentencing Commission is the inherently uncertain (and political) nature of the confirmation process. I am hopeful that, because nominations to the USSC have to be bipartisan, there will be Senators from both parties eager to move the eventual nominees through the confirmation process efficiently. But I am perhaps naive to believe that good government functioning could come before possible political opportunism in this setting (especially during an election year). Moreover, even if the confirmation process goes quickly and smoothly, the process is still likely to take months, while more than a thousand federal defendants are getting sentenced in federal courts every week.

A few of many prior related posts:

April 5, 2022 at 12:38 PM | Permalink

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Chinese diplomats and Belgian officials pay tribute to the Chinese workers who fought and died during World War I in a ceremony in Poperinge, Belgium, April 5, 2022.

Over a century ago, many Chinese young people were recruited to help the United Kingdom and France during World War I, but many of them lost their lives and never returned to their homeland. (Xinhua/Pan Geping)

BRUSSELS, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Over a century ago, many Chinese young people were recruited to help the United Kingdom and France during World War I, but many of them lost their lives and never returned to their homeland.

Chinese diplomats and Belgian officials on Tuesday paid tribute to the Chinese workers who fought and died during the war in a ceremony in Poperinge, Belgium, next to the French border.

"Their stories are not as widely shared as in war movies, but they are an extremely precious memory for the city of Poperinge. The people of Poperinge will never forget the contribution of Chinese laborers," said Bryan Vanderhaeghe, deputy mayor of the city.

Wreaths and flowers were laid in front of a monument built in 2017 to commemorate the 13 Chinese laborers who were killed in an attack by German troops who bombed the village of Busseboom, 2 km from Poperinge.

This is a time to pay tribute to deceased workers and also an opportunity to declare friendship and reflect on the future of Sino-Belgian relations, said Cao Zhongming, Chinese ambassador to Belgium.

"China will work with all countries in the world, including Belgium, to jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and a world of peace, tranquility, prosperity and development," Cao said.

During World War I, 12,000 Chinese laborers came to the Poperinge area to help with cargo handling, road construction, and ammunition handling, according to Vanderhaeger.

From 1916, more than 140,000 Chinese people, aged 20 to 35, were recruited by the United Kingdom and France to perform support work for their military forces on the western front, where they labored in the rear echelons or helped build munitions depots. 

Chinese diplomats and Belgian officials pay tribute to the Chinese workers who fought and died during World War I in a ceremony in Poperinge, Belgium, April 5, 2022.

Over a century ago, many Chinese young people were recruited to help the United Kingdom and France during World War I, but many of them lost their lives and never returned to their homeland. (Xinhua/Pan Geping)
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Sioux City Police responded to a call at 10:40 p.m. Sunday after a female said her boyfriend pointed a gun at her and proceeded to shoot it next to her head. Police say the woman ran for help in a westside neighborhood while the suspect chased her with the gun.
SIOUX CITY -- City Council members sought to provide reassurance to the public Monday in the wake of an uptick in gun-related incidents that have occurred in Sioux City in recent days.

"I do think we are seeing an increase in serious crimes," Councilman Alex Watters said. "I spoke with the city manager, as well as members of our police force. I can assure you they're doing everything they can to address these situations."

Capri Rogers, 34, of Sioux City, was arrested Saturday night on several felony charges, including kidnapping and firearms violations, following a shooting incident in the 1800 block of Jackson Street. Sioux City police found a maroon Honda Odyssey with the front passenger window shot out and a bullet hole in the hood, as well as "multiple projectile impact holes" in a garage.

On Sunday night, officers responded to a 911 call after a female said her boyfriend, Agustin J. Sanchez Jr., 35, of Sioux City, pointed a gun at her, proceeding to shoot it next to her head. Sanchez allegedly fled the scene in a vehicle, which he crashed in the 4000 block of Jackson Street. Officers located the gun inside of the vehicle. Sanchez has been charged with attempted murder and other felony charges related to the incident.

Then, early Monday morning, police were dispatched to Uncle Dave's Bar in the 1400 block of West Third Street, where they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound.

These three incidents occurred less than a week after a 16-year-old was shot multiple times by an unknown man, while he was walking in the 700 block of 18th St., the morning of March 29. The teen, who was taken to MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, told authorities that the man started a physical altercation with him. During that altercation, the suspect produced a handgun and shot the teen, who then ran from the scene of the shooting, according to police.

"A lot of these situations are stemming from previous situations, or might be populations that our police force has really been focusing and concentrating their efforts on and are doing everything they can to curb that violence," Watters said.

Overall violent crime in Sioux City increased by 4% last year, while total crime decreased by 3%, according to preliminary data released in February by the Sioux City Police Department. A total of 423 violent crimes were reported in 2021, compared to 407 the previous year. In a statement released along with the data, Police Chief Rex Mueller noted that many of the violent crimes reported were gun-related.

"Our police are dealing with this situation where our state has become a constitutional carry state and guns are around," Councilman Matthew O'Kane said. "It's a very tense situation to have to do your job in, so if you see an officer out, they definitely need the support of their community behind them."

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SIOUX CITY -- A judge has denied a defense request to move the trial of a man charged in a fatal Memorial Day shooting in Luton out of Woodbury County.

District Judge James Daane said media coverage of the shooting, Marvin Hildreth Jr.'s arrest and subsequent legal proceedings have been factual and accurate and he could find no good cause for a change in venue.

"At this time, the court finds a substantial likelihood that a fair and impartial trial can be preserved with a jury selected from Woodbury County," Daane wrote in his ruling, filed late Monday in Woodbury County District Court.

Hildreth, 21, of Whiting, Iowa, has pleaded not guilty of second-degree murder and going armed with intent. His trial is scheduled for May 24.

His attorney, F. Montgomery Brown, filed for the change of venue in August, saying media coverage of the case has been extensive and, along with the continued display of Hildreth's mugshot and information about other unrelated criminal cases in which Hildreth may or may not have been involved, would prevent him from receiving a fair trial in Woodbury County. Brown had asked that the trial be moved to Polk, Johnson, Blackhawk or Linn counties.

Daane granted Brown's request that in lieu of moving the trial, he be allowed to submit a questionnaire to potential jurors prior to trial to determine the extent of their knowledge of the case. Woodbury County Attorney Patrick Jennings did not object to the request for a questionnaire. Daane said the questionnaire will be subject to his approval before it is sent to potential jurors.

Hildreth is charged with the May 31 shooting death of Russell Mohr, 40, of Mapleton, Iowa, at a home at 1932 250th St. in Luton. He's accused of shooting Mohr several times in the chest and also shooting Carrie Pauley once in the hip before driving away.

According to court documents, Hildreth told investigators he went to the home to help with a disturbance.

In a search warrant application filed with the court, a Woodbury County Sheriff's deputy said that Pauley reported that Mohr had come to the home, forced his way through the front door and threatened to abduct and do bodily harm to her. Pauley said Mohr was trying to force her into a pickup truck when Hildreth pulled up.

Pauley said Hildreth had words with Mohr, then fired several shots, striking Mohr numerous times in the chest and Pauley once in her leg, before driving away without saying anything. She gave a description of the car Hildreth was driving.

Hildreth was arrested a short time later near Sloan, Iowa, without incident. A gun was found in the back seat of the car he was driving.

During a later interview at the hospital, Pauley told deputies she had called Hildreth for help after Mohr broke into her home.

Brown has filed notice he plans to use Iowa's "stand your ground" law, which allows justifiable force by a person to avoid injury or a threat to one's life, as a defense.

Brown also has filed a motion to suppress statements Hildreth gave to sheriff's investigators, who Brown says continued to interrogate Hildreth after he asked to call his father. Daane has yet to rule on the motion.

If convicted of second-degree murder, Hildreth would face a 50-year prison sentence. He remains in custody in the Woodbury County Jail on $500,000 bond.

Hildreth faces charges in Monona County in connection with a June 2020 incident in Onawa in which he is accused of firing a shot in the air during an assault.

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SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man charged with shooting a woman has pleaded not guilty of attempted murder and other charges.

Carlos Mejia, 21, entered his written plea Monday to charges of attempted murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon and willful injury. His trial was set for June 21 in Woodbury County District Court.

Sioux City police responded to a call of a burglary on March 14 at a home in the 1900 block of Ingleside Avenue, where the caller said a woman armed with a knife had broken into his home, forcing him to fire a shot at her.

According to court documents, Mejia had arranged for the woman to come to his home to get money from him to buy methamphetamine. When she arrived, she sent another woman to the door to get the money. Mejia sent that woman away and asked for the victim. When the victim came to the door, Mejia was waiting for her in the kitchen. He fired one shot as she tried to flee.

The woman was struck in the lower abdomen, and the bullet exited her side. She was treated at a local hospital and released.

Mejia's attorney, public defender Laury Kleinschmidt, on Friday filed a notice of defense that Mejia was acting in self-defense and defense of others.

Mejia remains in the Woodbury County Jail on a $40,000 bond.

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SYDNEY, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Australian authors from the newly-released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report have concluded that "transformational change" would be needed in every sector to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The report, titled Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change, was written by 278 scientists from 65 countries and regions and released to the public on Monday night local time.

The report noted that while the overall growth of greenhouse emissions had slowed in recent years, they were still at their highest levels in human history.

Peter Newman, Distinguished Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University and Coordinating and also the lead author on chapter 10 of the report, said the solutions to climate change were now within reach.

"While we roughly knew what to do 10 years ago, the past three years have seen a dramatic acceleration in solving this issue as the solutions are mainstreaming," said Newman on Tuesday.

He noted that solar and wind were now the cheapest forms of energy in history as their cost has plummeted over the last decade.

A March report from climate and energy think tank, Ember, revealed that in 2021, 10 percent of global electricity came from wind and solar, and combined with other forms of clean energy, this figure reached 38 percent of global energy use.

Newman said that "progress is never fast enough" and governments would need to reform the economy to fully address the problem.

Thomas Wiedmann, an expert in sustainability at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the lead author of chapter 2 of the report, said that global inequality was at the heart of the slow pace of change.

According to the report, the richest 10 percent of the world's households, including those in Australia, contribute about 40 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions while the bottom 50 percent contribute less than 15 percent.

"And half of all emissions from aviation are caused by the top 1 percent alone," said Wiedmann.

Wiedmann said that "transformational change" in every sector and region would be needed over the next several years to reach the 43 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 as outlined in the Paris Agreement. "Incremental change is not sufficient." 
WASHINGTON (AP)  Home-district projects for members of Congress are back, sprinkled across the government-wide $1.5 trillion bill President Joe Biden signed recently. The official tally shows amounts modest by past standards yet spread widely around the country  and that understate what lawmakers are claiming credit for.

The bipartisan measure, financing federal agencies this year, contains 4,975 such projects worth $9.7 billion, according to an Associated Press examination of items attributed to specific lawmakers in documents accompanying the bill. The listed projects, long called earmarks, ranged from $4,000 for evidence detection equipment for Huntington, West Virginia, to $350 million to help restore Floridas vast but imperiled Everglades.

The projects' reemergence after an 11-year hiatus, with transparency requirements and other curbs, marks a revival of expenditures that let lawmakers tout achievements to voters and help party leaders build support for legislation. While still vilified by some, especially conservatives, as emblems of influence peddling and wasteful spending, they've been embraced by lawmakers from both parties, who cite Congress constitutional power of the purse and say they know their local needs.

Retiring Sen. Richard Shelby attained $126 million for two campuses of the University of Alabama, his alma mater, including for an endowment for its flagship Tuscaloosa campus to hire science and engineering faculty. There was also hundreds of millions to improve the city of Mobile's seaport and airport, part of an eye-popping $648 million he amassed for his state, according to the AP's look at the legislative documents.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was next at $361 million. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had 203 projects for New York, more than anyone else, ranging from $27 million to upgrade Fort Drum's water systems to $44,000 for neighborhood improvements in the city of Geneva, the AP found.

Explore the data:

Tip: Searching by your Congress member's last name in "keyword search" will be the easiest way to find earmarks in your area. Note: About 150 members of Congress did not get earmarks.

Read the full report:

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A warrant was issued Friday for the arrest of an Iowa man after the 35-year-old sent a series of threatening emails to dozens of elected officials in Lincoln and across Nebraska, according to court filings.

The Nebraska State Patrol first began its investigation into Thomas Blobaum in May 2021 after a state senator reported an email Blobaum had sent to more than 40 members of the Legislature calling for the torture of a Lancaster County judge who had previously presided over a case against him, according to the affidavit for Blobaum's arrest.

In the months since, Blobaum has sent more than a dozen emails with veiled and specific threats toward Lincoln attorneys, the mayor, local police officers, the county sheriff's office, a host of state senators, Gov. Pete Ricketts and U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, according to the affidavit.

Most of Blobaum's grievances with the officials appear to stem from what he described as his "wrongful" prosecution. He was convicted in Lancaster County in January of violating a harassment protection order.

In the emails, Blobaum made several references to a loaded gun that he said he often carried with him, though family members told the State Patrol he doesn't own or have access to firearms.

The Creston man has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Police haven't yet arrested Blobaum.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com. On Twitter @andrewwegley

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She and her family know well the stark beauty of their homeland: endless blue skies hovering above amber waves of grain sweeping to the horizon. Breathtaking architecture lining rows of lush lilacs and stately trees. Smiling faces bustling about crowded sidewalks.

The view from Kyivs Independence Square in Ukraine was so different just two years ago.

Thats when Emily Stepanyuk, a freshman journalism major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and her family last visited their country, last saw all the bustling bazaars and happy faces.

Now those laugh lines have given way to frowns. Her father comes home sometimes as late as 2 or 3 a.m. to his wife, a mother expecting her seventh child, working through endless phone calls  the uncertainty of whether the rest of his family is still alive  haunted by the millions of Ukrainian children struggling to survive the daily assault of Russian bombs and bullets.

Every time her father checks his social media or her mother receives a phone call from home, the stories deepen their frown lines. The stories of limbs being torn off, mothers and children fleeing for their lives, husbands and fathers dying on the front lines, childrens and maternity hospitals being bombed, the helpless elderly being left behind.

Had the Stepanyuks not left for America, they would be living that nightmare.

Its been rough. I try not to think about it, because then it just goes into a rabbit hole, says Emily, a first-generation Ukrainian American teenager.

So much of the time, she feels helpless, stuck working and studying, unable to do anything for her people back home, juggling a full-time academic schedule and working at her fathers trucking company.

Despite being born in America, she was raised as a Ukrainian: eating borsch, never walking into someones home with shoes on, listening to Ukrainian folktales at bedtime, speaking Ukrainian before knowing a word of English.

Its upsetting and really hard seeing not only the Ukrainian people suffering, but also how it affects my family here, she says.

* * *

The story of how Emily Stepanyuk's family ended up in Lincoln  a city 5,000 miles from its ancestral home  started 33 years ago when her great-grandmother and great-aunt came to America in 1989 to escape religious persecution.

They came here for the American Dream. A better life and better jobs, Emily says.

Her parents arrived in 1996. They didnt know much about America, but decided that if the Lord brought them to Lincoln, then that was where they would stay. They had heard something improbable: In America, you could practice any religion you wanted and nobody would bother you.

So, 26 years ago, with a single suitcase and $400, her parents set sail for this new land, leaving behind dozens of close relatives.

Once they settled in, they quickly realized they didnt have a church to go to where their language was spoken. Because their faith was so vital, they began to gather and hold small services with a few other families who also had come from Ukraine and Belarus. That church, eventually named the House of Prayer, opened its doors with 15 members. Today, it boasts more than 350.

How to help Organizations in Lincoln and across Nebraska have set up ways for you to help the Ukrainian people. Among them: House of Prayer, Lincoln, housofprayerne.squarespace.com Operation Safe Harbor Ukraine, Lincoln, operationsafeharborukraine.com

Since Feb. 24, when Russia officially invaded Ukraine, the members have been glued to the news, desperately seeking information and updates on the situation in their beloved homeland.

To help their fellow countrymen, to maintain their Christian spirit, Ukrainians in America are sending missionary and relief teams to the border to comfort, organize and help the Ukrainian people to safety.

We are helping evacuation efforts in Mariupol, Gorodyanka, Gostomel and other difficult places where people are suffering and have direct needs, says Emilys father, Oleg Stepanyuk. We support the chaplain ministry in Kyiv that ministers to the troops on the front lines and to the families of the fallen soldiers. We are helping the effort of setting up mobile field hospitals and providing humanitarian aid to the refugee hubs in western Ukraine and eastern Poland. We have and are sending missionary teams to help transport people from the war zone to the refugee hubs and then to the places for their long-term resettlements.

Emilys mother, Natalia Stepanyuk, also is broken over the state of her homeland.

Its horrible that people are dying. People and children, Natalia says. Buildings are being destroyed, everything that was built and everything that people lived in. Its all left behind as people flee. Imagine if there was bombs being dropped on you and everywhere around you.

It has hit the father the hardest. The daughter can see how devastated he is, how hard hes working to help in every way he can.

This is the country I grew up in, Oleg says. It will always be home and there will always be freedom in our hearts. That is not something you can take away with force. We will continue to pray and show our support, even when it is hard to stay hopeful.

Every evening, when it seems theres no end to the horror, the father and mother kneel at the bedside with their children, praying for their loved ones, praying for their country.

And they pray, too, for something else  they pray for the Russian people.

* * *

On a recent Sunday, Emily and her family sat in the church founded by her grandfather. They and hundreds of parishioners listened intently as the deacon gave each of them some strongly worded spiritual advice:

No one should be hating the Russians. Instead, we should be praying for everyone. Rather than being divided during times like these, we need to stand united and do everything we can do to help.

Emily has faith that she will one day visit Ukraine again. She will look out onto a restored city, filled with the sights and sounds of daily life. And she will see the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag flying high  after all the missile explosions and all the tanks and all the bombs.

Its more than just a flag, says Emily. Its a symbol of hope and perseverance.

She still remembers vividly what it was like just standing there with her family gazing out across their homeland, seeing how broad and blue the sky was that afternoon, how endless the sweep of the yellow wheat field.

Emily pauses.

You know what Im talking about, she says. Those colors are the colors of our flag.

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South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg's errant driving in 2020 twice caused police officers to hit their brakes to avoid collisions, records released by the states Highway Patrol showed Monday, but he just received warnings until he struck and killed a pedestrian on the shoulder of a highway.

The Highway Patrol's scrutiny of the attorney general's driving record is coming to light ahead of the state House meeting next week. Lawmakers will consider a majority report from a Republican-controlled impeachment investigation committee that recommended he not be impeached. However, Gov. Kristi Noem is pushing for Ravnsborg's ouster, and the Highway Patrol is offering a public briefing for lawmakers on Wednesday.

The Highway Patrol records showed that a week before the Republican attorney general hit Joseph Boever walking on the shoulder of state Highway 14, he had been pulled over on the same highway for illegally pulling out in front of a police car at an intersection in Huron, roughly 70 miles from where the fatal accident happened. Ravnsborg displayed his badge identifying himself as the state's top law enforcement officer and later told Huron police officer Tanner Dornacher that he thought the intersection had a four-way stop sign.

Dornacher gave Ravnsborg a verbal warning, but he also noted in a written account roughly seven weeks later that Ravnsborg seemed unsure about the highway's driving lanes, stopping his vehicle in a weird spot inside one of the lanes. Before driving away, Ravnsborg asked Dornacher if the highway had two lanes and whether he could drive in either of them. Dornacher told him he could.

As the attorney general has recounted the fatal crash to the public and criminal investigators, he has been unable to explain how his car hit Boever on the shoulder of Highway 14 in a spot where the highway narrows to a single driving lane in either direction.

Ravnsborg last year pleaded no contest to a pair of misdemeanors in the crash, including making an illegal lane change. He has cast the crash as a tragic accident, insisting he did not realize he hit a man until he returned to the scene the next day and found his body. A spokesman for Ravnsborg did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his driving record.

Ravnsborg had also been issued a warning for making an improper lane change less than two months before the crash. Highway Patrol Trooper Nathan Moore wrote in an account of a July traffic stop that Ravnsborg drove out of his lane on a road in Sioux Falls, nearly causing a collision.

I had to hit my brakes and swerve to avoid being struck by the SUV," Moore stated in his account.

Ravnsborg racked up eight traffic stops, mostly for speeding, between taking office in 2019 and the crash, but had only been issued warnings. In five of those stops, Ravnsborg either identified himself as the attorney general or displayed his badge, the Highway Patrol found.

Those traffic stops came on top of a long history of driving violations. Ravnsborg had been pulled over more than 25 times, crash investigators found. However, he was in no danger of having his license suspended in South Dakota, where accumulated speeding tickets do not count against a driver's record.

The attorney general's driving record may also not matter much to lawmakers deciding whether to impeach him. The South Dakota House tasked the impeachment investigation committee with looking at Ravnsborg's conduct specifically surrounding Boever's death. Republicans on the committee last week all voted for a majority report that argued his actions in the crash did not rise to the level of impeachment because they were not done as part of his official duties as attorney general.

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While President Joe Biden was in Brussels and Warsaw showing U.S. solidarity with Ukraine, the 38-year-old autocrat who rules North Korea made a bold bid for the president's attention.

For the first time since 2017, Kim Jong Un test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17, the largest road-mobile missile ever launched.

While it flew 600 miles from Pyongyang into the Sea of Japan, the mammoth missile flew for 71 minutes, reaching an altitude of 3,852 miles.

Had it been fired in a normal trajectory, its missile warheads could have reached Washington, D.C., and every city in the USA.

As any first strike on the United States with such a weapon would ensure the destruction of Kim's dynasty, regime and country, clearly, this ICBM test is a bid to demand new negotiations with the U.S.

Kim's goals are to have the U.S. lift sanctions, recognize his regime, remove U.S. bases and troops from South Korea, and start up trade while he steadily expands his arsenal of missiles and nuclear warheads as both an insurance policy and an instrument of extortion.

The U.S. and South Korea have both expressed skepticism about the launch, believing Pyongyang may have test-fired an upgraded and older Hwasong-15 that carries a single warhead.

But Kim is not the only Asian autocrat on the move.

China's President Xi Jinping and Russia's President Vladimir Putin lately sent a flotilla of 10 warships -- destroyers, frigates, corvettes -- five Chinese and five Russian -- through the Tsugaru Strait between Japan's home islands of Honshu and Hokkaido and then back again through the Osumi Strait off the Japanese island of Kyushu.

This is believed to be the first joint Chinese-Russian naval patrol ever conducted in the Western Pacific.

Beijing has also begun anew flying fleets of dozens of jet fighters and bombers into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone, to test the island's defenses and send a message to Taipei as to whom it is that the island truly belongs.

China also continues to press its claim to Japan's Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, even as it completes the militarization of Mischief Reef, Subi Reef and Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea.

Last week, the New York Post reported:

"China has equipped at least three islands it has built in a disputed area of the South China Sea with anti-aircraft missile systems, fighter jets and laser and jamming equipment -- a buildup that threatens all other nations in the region, a top US military commander said."

Adm. John Aquilino, who heads the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, is quoted as telling the Associated Press that China's activity in East Asia is part of "the largest military buildup since World War II."

To what end?

China's Navy now has 355 warships if all vessels from corvettes to carriers are counted. That is 50 more vessels than the U.S. Navy, though the U.S. Navy has many more missile tubes for firing weapons and Beijing has no warship of the size or firepower of a U.S. aircraft carrier.

Yet, again, China seems on the move far beyond what it claims as its territorial waters in the South and East China Seas.

Last week, in what Australia's former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called "one of the most significant security developments ... in decades," the Solomon Islands revealed that it was signing a security pact with Beijing that would permit the establishment of Chinese bases there.

Among the Solomons chain is Guadalcanal, familiar to U.S. Marines from the first days of fighting in the Pacific in World War II.

The Solomon Islands are 1,400 miles from Australia, and the alarm in Canberra at the prospect of a Solomons-China security treaty is shared by New Zealand.

Again, what would be the purpose of Chinese security ties to unthreatened islands so far from China but so close to Australia?

Beijing appears to be playing a long game, the goal of which is domination of East Asia and the Western pacific, severance of the U.S. alliances there and the expulsion of American power back to Guam and Hawaii.

Consider the state of play:

China's partners in East Asia, North Korea and Russia possess nuclear weapons. But none of America's allies -- Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines -- has ever tested a nuclear weapon.

Nor has Taiwan, which spends a piddling 2% of GDP on defense, despite the growing menace of Beijing. In the final analysis, all of our allies and partners on the far side of the Pacific depend for their defense on America.

Yet of all those Asian nations allied with the United States, every one is more economically dependent on their trade with China than they are with their trade with the United States.

Before the Ukraine crisis exploded with the invasion ordered by Putin's Russia, the foreign policy consensus was that America would be making a historic "pivot to Asia." For that is where the challenges of the future to America's global primacy would appear to come.

That may still be true.

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Photo taken on April 5, 2022 shows detainees released from a jail in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (Photo by Sanaullah Seiam/Xinhua)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Authorities released 231 detainees from the central jail in the southern Kandahar province on Tuesday, jail director Sayed Akhtar Mohammad Agha Hussaini said.

The inmates including 220 drug addicts and 11 criminals, according to the official, had been held for three to six months in the jail to get punishment and also medical treatment and all were set free following doctors advices and court's decision.

A total of 1,200 drug addicts have been held in the jail over the past seven months and set free after receiving medical treatment and rehabilitation, the official said. 

Photo taken on April 5, 2022 shows detainees released from a jail in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (Photo by Sanaullah Seiam/Xinhua)

Photo taken on April 5, 2022 shows detainees released from a jail in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (Photo by Sanaullah Seiam/Xinhua)

Photo taken on April 5, 2022 shows detainees released from a jail in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (Photo by Sanaullah Seiam/Xinhua)
Former President Donald Trump  whose various slanders against his real and perceived political foes made him the most libelous president ever to hold the post  is now suing Hillary Clinton and others who highlighted his suspicious behavior toward Russia during and after the 2016 presidential campaign. If and when Trump submits to being deposed by the defendants, well believe this is something more than his usual empty bluster. If that doesnt happen (prediction: it wont), Trump should be on the business end of a major frivolous-litigation judgment.

In addition to the unprecedented penchant for insults and lies, Trump is the most litigious president in Americas history. For decades, he was known for throwing around frivolous lawsuits, often based on his inability to brook even the mildest criticism. USA Today tallied it up in 2016, and at that time hed been party to some 3,500 lawsuits, almost 2,000 of those as the plaintiff.

He has sued people for saying hes worth less than he claims (this despite his documented habit of lying about his own wealth). As a real estate developer, he once sued the Chicago Tribunes architecture critic for disputing Trumps prediction that he would build the worlds tallest building. He once sued a small drugstore company  whose owners werent related to him but happened to be named Trump  for using their own name on their company.

And, of course, Trumps 2020 reelection campaign went to court almost 60 times with its bogus claims that the election was stolen  a claim he could never prove because it plainly wasnt true.

The 100-plus-page federal lawsuit Trump filed in Florida against Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, the Democratic National Committee and others alleges they created a false narrative that his 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia, designed to destroy his life.

A few small problems here: One, Comey effectively handed the presidency to Trump by implying days before the election that there was something to the meaningless controversy over Clintons email servers (which Trump relentlessly promoted), only to acknowledge later that there wasnt. Two, Trumps behavior during the campaign invited suspicion about Russia (as when he publicly called on the Kremlin to hack Clintons email, and Russia promptly did). And, three, Trump ultimately won the election.

Come to think of it, maybe Clinton should be suing Trump.

Trumps lawsuit almost certainly will get thrown out like most of his actions do  or, more likely, he will drop it himself as soon as he is faced with having to be deposed under oath. His history indicates that he views litigation as just another version of his rallies: a consequence-free way to tweak his enemies and salve his ego. In this case, though, there should be consequences. Nothing would spell justice in this case better than a frivolous-litigation ruling against Trump.

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Theres not a lot of filler in Jennifer Egans radiant new novel, The Candy House, a sequel of sorts to her 2010 Pulitzer-winning bestseller, A Visit From the Goon Squad. But one sentence in the new novels penultimate chapter does strike me as unnecessary. Recalling a character whos struggling to complete a novel, an authorial voice-over drops in to explain that only fiction lets us roam with absolute freedom through the human collective. Paeans from a novelist to the unique powers of fiction do register as a bit self-serving, but the reason Egan doesnt need to tell us this is because shes spent the previous 13 chapters gloriously proving it.

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Like Goon Squad, The Candy House comes together in pieces. Each chapter is told from a different perspective selected from a group of interconnected characters, many of whom also appear in Goon Squad (although you dont need to remember them well to follow this one). The novel is broken up in time, the earliest chapter being set (sort of) in 1965 and the latest in the 2030s. That sort of refers to the abiding presence in the novel of a new technology that enables people to export all their memories and upload them to an online repository, where (if their owner so chooses) others can view them too, along with the accompanying thoughts and feelings. The person who narrates the 1965 chapter, which describes how four young bankers leapt into the counterculture at a pot farm in the redwoods, is the daughter of one of the men. Shes witnessing a moment of liberation in her fathers life but also the beginning of the end of her parents suburban marriage.

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The Collective Consciousness is the product of a company named Mandala, founded by Bix Bouton, the protagonist of the first chaptera charismatic entrepreneur whose genius lay in refining, compressing, and mass-producing, as a luscious, irresistible product, technology that already existed in crude form. Hes a bit Mark Zuckerberg, a bit Steve Jobs, except Bix is Black, first drawn into the world of the internet by the belief that, when disembodied, Black people would be delivered from the hatred that hemmed and stymied them in the physical world. Bixs first big idealifted from an obscure anthropology monograph containing algorithms that calculated how trust and influence formed in a Brazilian tribewas a social media platform that made him rich and famous. Own Your Unconscious, his second breakthrough, was also lifted from an academics research and allows people to deposit a copy of their memory to a sexy bit of tech shaped like a luminous cube. The uploading and sharing part, called the Collective Consciousness, was more of an afterthought, but as is often the way with new tech, it soon became the main attraction.

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If A Visit from the Goon Squad is about time and music, The Candy House is about experience and art, although the novels four sections (Build, Break, Drop, Build) refer back to the musical structures of Goon Squad. Egan isnt especially interested in spinning out all the potential ramifications of the Collective Consciousness, which are considerable and bit distracting. One chapter mentions that thousands of abusers have been convicted based on the evidence of their victims externalized memories, viewed as film in courtrooms, leaving the wider impact on criminal justice, among other institutions, a tantalizing mystery. Instead, The Candy House contemplates what role the imagination could still play even when other peoples livesand the forgotten periods in our ownhave become easily and totally available.

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One character, the junkie daughter of a music producer, uses the device to relive a dearly remembered trip to London she made with her dad at age 16, only to learn that he occasionally regretted bringing her along. How could revisiting that time in its unfiltered state improve upon the story her memory has made? she realizes. Not only is the notion of finding out exactly what other people think of you pretty terrifying, but the raw memories pose a threat to the stories we make of them afterward, stories that construct our lives.

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This is an inversion of that much-used Joan Didion quote, We tell ourselves stories in order to live, which Didion meant as a pitiless observation of how we cloak the ephemera of experience in an illusion of meaning. Egan thinks otherwise, maintaining that knowing everything is too much like knowing nothing; without a story, its all just information. Forming it into a narrative is living (even if, as with Didion, the story you tell about yourself is that youre a neurasthenic cynic above such consolations). Egans case in point is this novel, a collection of chapters about people figuring out who they are.

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As in Goon Squad, Egan rifles through an assortment of fictional styles and motifs to tell these peoples stories. Theres a former boy wonder desperate for his next brainstorm, a teenage girl agonizing over her social status, a recovering drug addict whose attempted suicide provides another man with the chance to heal an old wound. One bravura chapter, reminiscent of the famous PowerPoint chapter in Goon Squad, is told in directives conveyed to an undercover agent through an implant in her brain. Best of all is a chapter consisting entirely of emails and texts exchanged by over a dozen characters. It begins with one woman seeking a private conversation with an aging movie star and spreads to nearly a dozen participants, each trading favors to get what he or she wants, a web of transactions that ultimately results in the joyous reunion of the Conduits, a rock band that appears in Goon Squad, and a documentary film.

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All of this feels more at ease than Goon Squad, a novel Id never thought of as betraying any strain until I read The Candy House. There was no pressing reason for the PowerPoint chapter in Goon Squad to be written in PowerPoint besides proving that Egan could do it, but the email/text chapter, titled See Below, could only be written in this form. The chapter is an illustration of how human connection works, facilitated by technology, yet not so different from the Brazilian tribe studied by anthropologist Miranda Kline, who is dismayed to see her monograph monetized by Bix into a surveillance platform disguised as a community. Witnessing all these differently motivated agendas gradually coalesce into a creative force is an exhilarating delight.

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Technology, specifically the alluring Collective Consciousness, is the candy house of the novels title. That also includes art-stealing file-sharing platforms, denounced by Miranda Klines twin daughters, who take over their fathers music production company:

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Nothing is free! Only children expect otherwise, even as myths and fairy tales warn us: Rumpelstiltskin, King Midas, Hansel and Gretel. Never trust a candy house! It was only a matter of time before someone made them pay for what they thought they were getting for free.

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Never trust a candy house is also the advice of Miranda, who becomes an eluder, part of a movement of individuals who install a robotic proxy in their existing digital identity and then vanish into the offline world. One of their leaders, Chris Salazar, is the son of Bennie Salazar, a central character from Goon Squad. Chris calls his organization Mondrian, presumably in tribute to his grandmother, who kept an authentic Mondrian painting in a modest tract home so impossible to secure that no company would insure it. Her solution is to camouflage it by filling the house with Mondrian merch: candleholders, vases, umbrellas, tea trays, glasses, place mats, towels, throw pillows, framed posters, coffee-table books, and a needlepoint footstool. No one, she explains, with a legit Mondrian would ever acquire such crap.

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Sometimes the best place to conceal the real is amid the fake, which could be the motto of fiction: the lie that tells a truth. Chris starts out working for company seeking to turn what it calls stockblocks, narrative components from movies (Funny Best Friend Gets Serious to Talk Sense Into Protagonist; Crowd Rises to Its Feet in Unexpected Tribute), into mathematical formulae, although to what end he cant tell. Later we find him running Mondrian behind a nonprofit front that organizes Dungeons & Dragons games for recovering addicts. As a dungeon master, instead of dismantling stories, he makes them, collaboratively with others. In The Candy House, D&D represents one of several alternatives to the candy house of technology and information. Being made of imagination, it offers a portal to another universe, much like each of the chapters in Egans novel. Egan opens windows on entrancing new worlds, in which what happened depends on whos telling the story. A candy house, on the other hand, is just a trap. You think youre going to eat it, but it ends up eating you.
Theres a vast, underappreciated supply chain that provides for your kids school lunches. This market has been set up to accommodate D.C., because the government has made a lot of rules for that program, which feeds more than 30 million kids. During the pandemic, school lunches became harder to pull off, so Congress cut schools a break at the beginning: A lot of the requirements about what school lunch had to look like were lifted, schools got more money to spend on food, and school lunch itself was made universally free for every kid, instead of costing $1.25 or more. But now, these measures are set to expire on June 30, thanks to Congress. Helena Bottemiller Evich, a senior food and agriculture reporter at Politico, says that school administrations are really upset about these lunch adjustments expiring, and everyones unsure of what to do next. On Tuesdays episode of What Next, I spoke with Evich about what could happen should Congress allow these school lunch benefits to fall by the wayside. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Helena Bottemiller Evich: To be perfectly honest, I think the vast majority of parents have no idea this happened. There was so little press coverage of this that I almost can guarantee you this: Virtually all parents who have been using this program dont know that its coming to an end this summer.

Its an institution that I think we dont think about a lot, but millions of children depend on it every day. For many kids, the most substantial food they get every day is at school. They might get breakfast and lunch, maybe even also a snack. Food insecurity is a significant problem in this country. Folks who havent eaten school meals or havent ever been in a family that was worried about paying rent or buying groceries, maybe they dont fully get how crucial this is for many people. But the impact is quite broad.

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Mary Harris: Before the pandemic, I remember hearing all these stories about school lunch debtkids who would owe a lot of money and maybe couldnt get lunch because their parents couldnt pay that off. It sounds like during the pandemic, that whole thing just went away.

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It did go away. We used to read gut-wrenching stories about kids who were essentially racking up debt at school. You would hear these stories of some schools that would do these horrible things like just give kids peanut butter on bread or something because their family owed money to the school, so they couldnt get the regular meal.

Describe to me exactly what happened in March of 2020. How quickly did things change and how?

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So when the first round of shutdowns happened during the pandemic, the vast majority of schools all of a sudden went online. Kids were at home. For the millions who were relying on school meals, this immediately raised a question: What are we going to do to keep them fed, to make sure these kids have access to food? The U.S. Department of Agriculture recognized pretty quickly that there was a need to grant flexibility so that schools could pack up meals to go and parents could come pick them up. Schools could pack up a week of meals at a time so parents didnt have to come every day. They also loosened the rules on what types of food schools could serve.

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It sounds like USDA kind of opened up the wallet and said, Do what you need to do to keep kids fed. I wonder if you ever thought an investment of this kind was something you would see.

Before the pandemic, there started to be a little bit of momentum around the idea that schools might one day have universal free meals, but it seemed like this far-off possibility. Then the pandemic happened and schools got to experience what it was like. Now, I have yet to talk to a school leader who wouldnt want to keep it this way.

Do we know what kind of a difference it made for students to have access without question to meals through school?

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I dont know if we know yet. But we did see this: We basically doubled SNAP spending during the pandemic, increased the benefits to try to make sure families werent missing out on the support that they were used to. The easiest way to do that to give it to all children in certain places where they were having school closures. So with all of this together, one of the things we learned is that food insecurity didnt go up during the pandemic, which is pretty surprising because of how much economic disruption we had. Its a pretty remarkable data point to learn during a pandemic: If you massively ramp up aid, a country can blunt a spike in food insecurity.

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Supply chain shortages and resignations made getting food in school kids bellies a lot harder over the past year. Over the past few weeks, stories have started cropping up about school districts that cant even get ahold of basic staples. For school nutrition experts, this means that now is not the time to scale back support. But Washington reduced it anyway. When did you realize that this system of waivers that had made school lunch easier to provide might not survive?

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In the final days of negotiations over the big spending bills that keep government funded through the rest of the fiscal year, I started getting calls from sources on the Hill essentially saying, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has really dug in against extending the waivers. There was a lot of shock, and it was unexpected. I think it was maybe another day or two before the final deal was struck, and indeed, the waiver extension was not in there.

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It just so happened that the School Nutrition Associationwhich represents more than 50,000 school nutrition front-line workers and nutrition directorswas in town, so it had a conference in D.C. There was a top USDA official that was scheduled to just talk to that group, and she said that as of right now, the waiver extensions are not in the bill, as a full disclosure to the to the group. There was an audible gasp in a room of several hundred people.

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We should lay out exactly what this would mean: that the schools get less money to move food.

Food costs way more. The supply chains are wracked. Labor costs more. The schools are struggling with staffing generally. Most immediately, in the summer, there are going to be a lot fewer sites across the country serving free meals for any students who need them. Instead of the government giving school meal programs more time to get back to normal, its asking them to meet a lot more red tape with fewer resources in a very short amount of time.

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Republicans main defense for cutting funding for the school meals program is that President Joe Biden never made a budget request asking for the moneybut Biden did send his secretary of agriculture to the Hill to advocate for it. Democrats, meanwhile, have made some statements decrying the lack of funding for school meals, but they still agreed to sign on to a spending bill without it. Its still possible that the waivers might get rescued from the congressional chopping block, but not likely.

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Youre not seeing lawmakers own the anti-school-lunch-funding stance publicly, which I think is interesting. I think there is a desire everyone has to try to get schools back to normal, but youre hearing a really strong Republican push to not continue a lot of pandemic programs longer than they feel is necessary. I also think it is completely fair to ask how big of a priority this really is for Democrats, because its not something we see in political talking points right now. You dont hear Majority Leader Chuck Schumer talking about this, and I dont think weve seen anything from Biden. So I dont know how far theyre willing to go or how much theyre really willing to fight over this, and as weve learned, there arent that many trains that leave the station now in Washington in terms of legislation. So its hard to see what the other options are here.

Its a chaotic way of running things. Theres not a lot of certainty. And even now, with a decision having been made, theres still uncertainty, right? Because theres still some hope that maybe Congress will fix this in some other way. And I think the feeling from schools is that its an added stress at a time when they feel like they shouldnt have added stress on their plate.

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PARISPosters have gone up across France for Sundays presidential election, a 12-way contest that pits the centrist incumbent, Emmanuel Macron, against a range of challengers of varying degrees of seriousness. Some hardly get recognized in the street; others are fixtures of protest marches and television specials; only one, the anti-immigrant candidate Marine Le Pen, appears capable of running a close race against the president in the runoff on April 24.

This two-round system, a so-called jungle primary followed by a head-to-head matchup, has been a feature of French politics since the 1960s. Historically, this has given voters the freedom to vote with their hearts in the first round, because the second round has usually boiled down to a battle between the two establishment parties, Socialists versus Republicans. The far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marines father, upset that dynamic in 2002; the fresh-faced former finance minister Macron, who started his own party (La Republique En Marche!) in 2016, has ended it.

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Instead, in a crowded field where Macron seems to have locked down a spot in the runoff, but second place might still be up for grabs, voters, pundits, and politicians have been riveted by the polls and are strategizing about the vote utilethe useful vote. Things have come to the point where some of the presidents own supporters might vote against him in the first round, in the hopes of delivering a more favorable matchup in the second. Its so beautiful when a democracy resembles Koh-Lanta, the comedian Alex Vizorek said this week, referring to the French version of Survivor.

The vote utilethats me, Valerie Pecresse, the president of the Parisian region running as the mainstream right-wing candidate, offered last week. Pecresse has struggled to distinguish her platform from the presidents. Instead, she has accused him of copying her ideas, such as investing in nuclear power, raising the retirement age from 62 to 65, and reforming the welfare system. The less doctrinaire members of her party have flocked to the presidents coalition; even the last Republican president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is suspected of supporting Macron. Meanwhile right-wingers more fixated on immigration, public safety, and culture war issues have thrown their support behind the far-right candidatesMarine Le Pen, and, to her right, the grotesque polemicist Eric Zemmour.

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Pecresses pitch, basically, is that what has failed to set her apart in the primary will become an asset in the runoffthat shes more likely to triumph over the president than her toxic right-wing rivals. It was a position that made more sense a month ago, when she was hovering around second place in the polls. Since then she has switched places with Le Pen, who is now favored to advance to the second roundand is creeping closer and closer to Macron in head-to-head polling.

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For a quarter-century, the French political establishment has considered the prospect of a President Le Pen unthinkable. Le Pen pere was tainted by, among other things, his support for the Vichy regime and the record of the French military in its colonial wars. But his daughter Marine, now in her third presidential contest, has led a 20-year campaign to de-demonize the National Rally party her father founded in 1972, jettisoning some of its extreme positions (like exiting the European Union) and extreme members (like her dad). Its working. She still wants to systematically expel Frances undocumented immigrants, end the right to birthright citizenship, and give French nationals priority in hiring, housing, and benefits, but she has run most of this campaign as an economic populist. Her party performs best in the de-industrialized regions of Northern France that were once left-wing strongholds.

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Shes gotten help from the center, where Macrons conservative cabinet members have parroted her voters anxiety about the influence of Islam, helping to legitimize her views, and from the right, where the ex-journalist Eric Zemmours extraordinarily nasty campaignhed like to require children born in France to have French nameshas served to make her own look moderate.

On the left, meanwhile, the prospect of a second MacronLe Pen runoff is filling voters with dread. The question of the vote utile is front of mind this week, because the left has four candidates dividing up the first-round vote, and only one of themJean-Luc Melenchonappears capable of making it to the runoff. And so progressive voters are trying to make up their minds: Is a vote for Melenchon the only way to keep Le Pen from the runoff? The vote utile on the left is for Melenchon, the former socialist candidate Segolene Royal said in February.

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Melenchon, who is polling a few points behind Le Pen in third place, is a loose analog to Bernie Sandersa veteran politician who has been in and out of the Socialist Party. At the moment, hes out: He founded his own party, La France Insoumise, often translated as unbowed, and came within a hair of making the runoff in 2017. He was greeted with selfies and cheers when he marched with striking teachers in January, and he has called on the French to summon their better nature in welcoming the countrys immigrants. Melenchon says hes the unity candidate on the left: If you really intend to build a dam in the second round [to stop Le Pen], he said last week, I have a more interesting proposition for you: Build the dam in the first round by voting for us!

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Still, not all the gauche likes him or trusts him, especially when it comes to stopping the extreme right. After Melenchon lost the first round in 2017, he declined to rally behind Macron in the runoff and is similarly noncommittal about the Republican front to stop Le Pen this time around. Not all French leftists agree with his platform, either, which includes price controls, a new constitution, and an exit from NATO. At some point you need a president utile, not simply a vote utile, countered the Socialist ex-president Francois Hollande last month.

A vote utile for whom? an older Socialist voter told me on Sunday. For Putin? I found her outside the rally for Anne Hidalgo, who occupies the mirror position of Pecresse on the left: The standard-bearer of the French political establishment, heading for near-certain defeat. Hidalgo is the mayor of Paris, best-known abroad for her quest to rid the city of cars. Like Pecresse, she is trying to carve out space between Macron and the fringe. Fortunately for her, theres more space for that on the left, after Macron lurched right during his term. Unfortunately for her, there are also more candidates on this side of thingsHidalgo is contending not just with Melenchon but with a green party candidate, Yannick Jadot; a communist, Fabien Roussel; and a couple of smaller fish as well. Its never a good sign when you feel obliged to address your audiences suspicion that voting for you might be a waste of time, but thats how bad the polls have been for the mayor. Macrons a right-winger; Melenchon is a dead end, she told a theater full of supporters, dismantling each of their records. Vote with your heart.

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The problems for the once-proud Socialist Party are numerous. First, its last president, Francois Hollande, disappointed voters with a disastrous term, marked by the terrorist attacks of 2015 at the Charlie Hebdo office and the Bataclan Theater. In a moment of apt symbolism, the party attempted to save some cash by selling off its Parisian HQ and moving to the suburbs.

Finally, there is Emmanuel Macron, who has chosen to participate in the campaign with the urgency and enthusiasm of a man doing his taxes.

Second, the French left has lately seemed incapable of reframing the national debate to be about somethinganything!besides immigration and Islam. As the reporter James McCauley wrote recently, In a moment of rising anxiety about national identity, especially in the aftermath of the Islamist terror attacks, the left simply has no vision. It merely seems to respond to grievances from the right, allowing its opponents to dictate the terms of a discussion that it might take in a different direction. This is perhaps the French lefts greatest failure: its failure, and even its fear, of imagination.

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The biggest issue for the Socialists, however, is simply the reluctance of likeminded voters to coalesce around them. Its an obstacle that everyone saw coming a mile away, which is why leftists organized an interparty primary in January, in the hopes that most of their choices could be convinced to drop out. But one by one, the candidates decided that they would not quit, and the primary was won by yet another left-wing politician, Christine Taubira, whose impeccable credentials were tempered by the fact that she had been accused of playing spoiler in one presidential election already, in 2002. In the end, she did not get organized in time to qualify for the ballot for this weeks contest. While the working-class primary didnt get anyone to quit, at least it didnt add another name into the mix.

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Finally, there is Emmanuel Macron, who has chosen to participate in the campaign with the urgency and enthusiasm of a man doing his taxes. His official candidacy has been underway for less than a month. He has refused to debate the other candidates. He has held all of one rally, a polished, spectacular affair at which he (and he alone) spoke for more than two hours to a crowd of 25,000. His team seems to have calculated that his handling of the coronavirus crisis and his role as Europes chief wartime diplomat would serve as a campaign of its own. When youre up 61, 62 after the first two sets, youre not going to risk a heart attack on the third, one of his advisers told the Parisien newspaper recently.

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His record is almost certainly enough to see him through to the second round. Frances unemployment rate is at a 15-year low, its COVID-19 vaccination rates are among the highest in Europe, and the specter of Islamist terrorism has mercifully receded. He is leading the first-round polls, with a projected 2530 percent of the vote.

But the line between looking presidential and looking aloof is thin. His lead in the projected runoff against Le Pen has evaporated from 16 points to 3 in the last month. The critical refrain is that Macron has served as a president of the rich, a precocious megalomaniac whose expressions of contempt for the unvaccinated and the unemployed are still ringing in voters ears. A late-breaking scandal that involves his government spending tens of millions of euros on McKinsey consulting contracts hasnt helped.

To win, Macron will need the left-wing beavers to build that dam again. Its not going to be as easy as it was five years ago. Polls show a good chunk of Melenchon voters would defect to Le Pen, for example. Meanwhile, abstentions for the first round are projected to near 30 percent, a record in a country where 8 in 10 adults typically vote for president.

Last year, the left-wing newspaper Liberation called for testimonials from the voters who had built up the Republican front in 2002 and in 2017, but would not do it again. The paper received hundreds of letters. They were tired of voting for something they didnt believe in, tired of being taken for granted, and tired of Macrons entreaties to the xenophobic right. They say Macron has ignored them for five years. If the polls are right, hell have two weeks to win them over.
There is something uniquely unsettling about the Russian atrocities in Bucha, the Ukrainian village, not far from Kyiv, where residents bodies were found with hands tied behind their backs, bullet holes in their heads, bodies dumped in ditches or left to rot in the streets.

Most of the civilian deaths wed seen so far in this warthe results of Russian bombs, missiles, and artillery shellshave had an air of abstraction. Those who dropped or fired those weapons were too far away to see the consequences. They and their victims can regard one another as faceless cogs in a war machine.

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But the murders in Bucha require a monstrousness, even if the number of their murders are much lower than those inflicted from out of sight.

Are these war crimes? Certainly. Acts of genocide? Possibly. However theyre described, they will prolong this war, intensify passions on both sides, and make a negotiated peacealready increasingly unlikelymuch more difficult still.

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Those who committed these deeds, up close, must have regarded their prey as something less than human. The survivors of these crimes must view the perpetrator as inhuman as wellthough with greater justification. It is hard for combatants or politicians from the two sides, animated with such venom, to sit together in the same room and make peace or discuss compromises.

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Dehumanization is a time-tested psychological tactic in warfare; it makes it easier for humans to kill each other, and, whether intentionally or not, it encourages atrocities. In some wars, racism or sectarianism has injected the requisite stream of virulent hatred by turning the enemy into the other. But in the Russia-Ukraine war, the people on both sides are of the same Slavic background. Vladimir Putinlike many other Russians, by the waydoesnt even regard Ukraine as a real country, but rather as a part of Russia.

This may be why, to whip up popular support for his colonial adventure, Putin has concocted the notion that the government in Kyiv is a Nazi regimeinvoking the most bone-chilling enemy in Russian history.

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Whether intentionally or not, he has played into Volodymyr Zelenskys efforts to galvanize Ukrainiansas well as the international communityby pronouncing Russias most savage acts of violence as genocide. One of his top advisers, Mikhailo Podolyak elaborated the point, tweeting that the purpose of Russias military operation is the humiliation and extermination of Ukrainians.

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Its debatable whether the mass killings in Bucha, Mariupol, and elsewhere strictly constitute a genocidewhich legally means the killing of people in a particular race, religion, or nationality in order to exterminate the entire group. But that shouldnt distract from a more consequential point: If Putin and Zelensky and those around them believe that the purpose of the war is to exterminate Ukrainians because theyre Ukrainians, or to wipe out Ukraine as a nation for whatever reason, then this war is going to continue for quite a while longer.

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Under these circumstances, one side or the other would have to face the prospect of total defeat before accepting any compromises. And, for the moment, neither side is near a state of total defeat; both sides have cause to believe that they can, in some stretched meaning of the word, win.

Where, then, does this leave the United States and its allies? What should we all do?

Along with several other NATO leaders, President Biden, who this week said Putin should stand trial for war crimes, has stepped up military aid to Ukraine. Even before the revelations at Bucha, he sent more than $2 billion worth of weapons, with still more on the way, and supplied considerable intelligence information.

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But they have stopped short of crossing two red lines: They will not send their own troops or pilots to fight directly against Russians; and they will not turn over combat aircraft because the planes have the range to strike targets inside Russia, and some over-excited Ukrainian pilot might cross the border.

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The only reason for not crossing these red lines is clear: Russia has nuclear weapons, and Putin has threatened to use some if the U.S. or NATO intervenes directly in this war. Maybe hes bluffing, but, if so, its the sort of bluff that the nuclear powers have learned not to call. Prudence in this realm is what has kept them all from blowing up the world these last several decades.

This is the tragic asymmetry of the war: To Ukrainians, who are fighting for the survival of their country, this is a total war; but to Americans and our allies, it isnt, and we cant afford to let it become one.

And yet the soaring violence and the appalling inhumanity in Bucha, Mariupol, and other Ukrainian towns are stirring demandsnot just from Zelensky, but among citizens in the aiding countries, including the United Statesthat we do more.

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The demand has a logical, as well as an emotional, basis. If the war is going to go on for a long time; if we are on Ukraines side; and if Russia is going to kill more and more civilians, as Ukraine captures or liberates more territory, then we should do as much as possible to help Ukraine win this war quicklyshort of actions that might lead Putin to go nuclear.

That essentially means doing more of what were already doing. We could send still more arms, more quicklysay, 500 switchblade drones instead of 100. All types of weapons should be on the table for transfer, except for nuclear weapons (obviously) and missiles of a range that could strike Russia. Biden should rethink his ban on sending Soviet-built MiG-29s fighter jets, which Ukrainian pilots know how to fly. Yes, some of those pilots could fly one across the border, but if this didnt happenor even if it did once or twicewould Putin be moved to push the button? Seems unlikely.

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Finally, I assume that intelligence agencies are trying to figure out whether the atrocities in Bucha are part of some genocidal policy in the Kremlinor simply the sort of crime that sometimes happens in a brutal war when soldiers, many of them conscripts, lack competent leaders, find themselves surrounded on all sides, are forced to beat a retreat, and lash out at anyone and everyone who might be considered the enemy. Not to minimize these recent horrors or to excuse anyone who commits these most dreadful of crimes, but wars have brought out even more appalling horrors in the past, including among American soldiers. (See, for instance, My Lai, where the men of Charlie Company killed more than 500 Vietnamese civilians, up close, in one day, just because they were Vietnamese.)

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If Putin wants to wipe out Ukrainians as a race or nationality, theres nothing to do but help Kyiv win the war swiftly. If this isnt Putins real aim, then there may yet be hope for a negotiated settlement.

Its a dim, distant hope, however. Both sides still have a lot of fighting to do before either of them gives up. And the combination of civilian atrocities and maximalist rhetoric makes the politics of a peace treaty difficult. Even if Putin and Zelensky dont believe their rhetoric about Nazis and genocide, they have roused many of their people to believe it, and it will be hard to coax them back down. It will be very difficult for Zelensky to sign a peace deal that gives Russia any newly occupied Ukrainian territory. Putin has more flexibility, owing to his one-man rule in the Kremlin and his total control of the media. For that reason, and because he is the aggressor in this war, the biggest concessions in any deal should come from him.
Last week, Meta, Discord, and Apple admitted to a deeply bizarre and troubling mistake: They had all handed user data over to hackers who forged law enforcement emergency data requests via compromised email accounts. Its a scary situation not just because user information was disclosed to hackers posing as government officialsthough, of course, thats a huge problembut also because theres no straightforward way for the companies or law enforcement officials to solve this moving forward, at least not without having to face huge trade-offs.

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Emergency data requests are a way for law enforcement officials to obtain information without having to go through the standard legal processes to obtain a search warrant or subpoena authorized by a judge. Obviously, those legal processes are in place for a reason and provide valuable checks on law enforcement access to data, so emergency data requests are used only for, well, emergencies. If officials have a reason to believe that there is an urgent need for the data they are seekingsomeones life is at risk, for instancethen they can submit these requests via email or online portals without having to obtain a judges authorization. The company that receives the emergency request can then decide whether to turn over the requested information based on the nature of the request and whether it meets their criteria for an emergency. (Since these requests are not court-issued warrants, companies can decide whether or not to comply with them.)

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Security reporter Brian Krebs linked these fake emergency data requests to the Lapsus$ hacking group in late March. Last week, two teenagers in the U.K. were charged with cybercrimes linked to Lapsus$, which has drawn attention recently for breaching several major tech firms, including Microsoft and Nvidia.

Krebs noted that a hacker linked to Lapsus$ and its predecessor, the now defunct hacking group Recursion Team, had posted in an online forum offering to sell compromised government email accounts that can be used for subpoena for many companies such as Apple, Uber, Instagram, etc. The postings suggest that the hackers rely on compromising email accounts belonging to police departments and using those emails to submit emergency data requests to tech firms. Apple, Meta (the parent company of Facebook) , and Discord all turned over customer information in response to forged emergency data requests, according to a report last month by Bloomberg.

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Its a clever tactic for extracting information from tech companies because there are no simple or easy solutions. Companies could decide to stop responding to any emergency data requests for fear that they might be forged, but that would potentially jeopardize peoples safety in cases where the requests were legitimate and actually served a valuable purpose. We dont know how often these requests are literally life and death situations, of course, but Apple, for instance, on its page describing the procedure for making such requests, dictates that emergency requests should relate to circumstances involving imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to any person  for example, instances where law enforcement believe a person is missing and in danger. And based on the fact that Apple fulfilled 90 percent or more of the emergency requests it received in 2019 and 2020, the company seems to believe that many of the requests being submitted worldwide meet this standard. All of which suggests there could be significant costs to companies deciding they no longer wanted to respond to such requests, or even just that they would respond more slowly after verifying that requests hadnt come from hacked accounts.

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Another possibility would be for Congress to legislate stricter security measures for emergency data requests. Sen. Ron Wyden told Krebs on Security that he was requesting information from tech companies and federal agencies about fraudulent emergency data requests. This isnt a totally new concernWyden and other lawmakers had already been worried about the potential for hackers to forge court orders even before the recent news broke. In 2021, Wyden, together with other senators, introduced the Digital Authenticity for Court Orders Act, which would require courts to use cryptographic digital signatures when issuing court orders in order to make it harder for scammers to forge such documents. But even if it were passed by Congress, that bill would have no effect on emergency data requests, which do not require a court orderthough they could conceivably also require digital signatures.

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More importantly, requiring digital signatures would not solve the problem of compromised government and law enforcement accounts being used to issue fraudulent data requests. Because just as hackers can steal credentials and get access to law enforcement email accounts, they could also very plausibly steal the credentials needed to issue digital signatures. Theres no easy technical solution to this problemand the non-technical solutions all require taking the time to verify that the request a company receives really is coming from the entity who appears to have submitted it, a process that undercuts the core purpose of emergency data requests in circumventing the process for obtaining a court order.

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As Berkeley security researcher Nicholas Weaver put it in an interview with Krebs, Its a fundamentally unfixable problem without completely redoing how we think about identity on the Internet on a national scale.

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There are countries that have tackled the problem of how to manage online identities at a national scale. For instance, in Estonia the government famously issues everyone a digital identity in much the same way that other countries issue citizens passports. But the United States is a very long ways from such a centralized government-issued digital identity framework that could enable companies to verify the identity of senders of online data requests. And even if such a framework existed, it could still be susceptible to compromises and theft.

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That means that it will probably continue to be up to individual companies to vet the emergency data requests they receive and decide whether they want to respond. Theres just no way to respond to online requests immediately and also do a careful job verifying who submitted them online. And when the stakes are trying to find a missing person or protect someone who is in immediate danger, that verification process may not make senseeven if it could stop companies from responding to fraudulent requests. Its possible that moving forward they will be more wary of providing information in response to these requests and that may be a good thing if fraudulent emergency data requests are on the rise.

But its difficult to see how companies could decide to stop responding to such requests entirely, or even implement a very time-intensive vetting process to establish their authenticity, given the urgency of these requests. In the end, its quite possible that responding to a few fraudulent requests will be seen as a reasonable price to pay for being able to help law enforcement in emergency situationsand its quite possible that calculus will be correct.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Welcome to State of Mind, a new section from Slate and Arizona State University dedicated to exploring mental health. Follow us on Twitter.

I was a senior in college studying psychology when my boyfriend was murdered. In my shocked state of grief, I couldnt focus on schoolwork and asked for extensions on papers and projects. One professor said Id get over the loss quickly since the romance was new.

A friend snorted when I told her about the professor, telling me, Shes probably got a theory that level of trauma correlates directly with the amount of time spent in a relationship. Right now, shes drawing a graph on the quantity of distress you should be feeling. Later, another professor told me the opposite. She thought the loss might be worse because so much possibility was cut off.

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Since then, Ive wondered: How long was I allowed to grieve the tragic death of the first man I loved? Worse yet, back then I wondered whether my grief was even valid.

A psychologist for 30 years now, I talk often with patients and students about how we measure the merits of grief. How do we decide who deserves to mourn and what that should look like? How long should grief last? Now my field has something of an answer. A new diagnostic categoryprolonged grief disorderwas adopted recently into the official psychiatric diagnostic handbook, DSM 5-TR. To meet criteria for the disorder, a grief response must interfere with a persons functioning for more than a year and be characterized by strong yearning for the deceased, as well as at least three of eight psychological states (disbelief, intense emotional pain, meaninglessness, loneliness, avoidance of reminders, numbness, lack of engagement, and identity disruption).

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This diagnosis, which comes after decades of research, has been controversial. Some worry the diagnosis represents an attempt to pathologize grief. And its true that theres no clear timeline on mourning. Typically, we can return our attention back to the present from an intense focus on the past somewhere over the course of six to 18 months following the death of a loved one. Though we might continue to long for the person weve lost, eventually we can re-engage with our lives.

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But a small, though significant, portion of people cannot, and this takes a toll. Researchers have found that people who meet the criteria for the newly established prolonged grief disorder are at greater risk of poor physical health, lower quality of life, and even suicide. For these reasons, there are real advantages to including this syndrome in psychiatrys diagnostic system. We need tools that help identify who may need specialized treatment. Inclusion in the DSM 5-TR also expands access to health care by allowing for insurance coverage for psychotherapy.

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At the same time, critics are correct that we need to take care not to pathologize bereavement. As a young woman, I wasnt helped by a therapist who assumed I would have been over the murder a year later. I wasnt. But now I wonder: Did I need to be diagnosed with a disorder? At first, I thought it was natural that I was still grieving. I felt even more isolated when people implied otherwise. Diagnostic labels can add to those feelings of stigma and lead people to view themselves as abnormal. But they dont always have this effect. Many survivors of trauma find that a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder validates suffering and points toward pathways for healing. (As a survivor of a loved ones violent death, I had symptoms of both disorders.) This new diagnosis for grief may offer a similar opportunity.

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The emotional markers of the syndromepersistent longing and emotional pain such as sadness, anger, disbelief, guilt or regretare common responses to loss. Many of us who have lost someone we love may always experience some degree of these feelings, even if we do move forward in life. But theres been less attention paid to another criterion of prolonged grief disorder: Duration of bereavement exceeds expected social, cultural or religious expectations and norms. By definition, then, being diagnosed with the disorder doesnt pathologize normal grieving, because its focused on the abnormal.

This does, however, create a challenge: How do we define those expectations and norms? We have many unspoken beliefs in our culture about grief that converge to construct a hierarchy, leaving many who mourn at the bottom. Often, we think that the closer someone is to a person who dies, the harder or more significant the loss. If you lose the person to whom youre married, you get a new label. Once a spouse, now youre a widow or widower. But what if you were someones fiance? We dont expect that to be as difficult. Theres no external signifier to identify whats changed inside. If your boyfriend or girlfriend has died, that should be easier to manage. An ex-spouse, even easier. In fact, a large number of bereavement studies are based only on spouses. We know much less about other grief trajectories, yet we make judgments all the time about who gets to feel what.

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Whats more, our culture instantiates these assumptions. Many employers, for instance, allow bereavement leave only for immediate family. I was entitled to two days off from my job when my father died but none after the death of my best friend, even though she was more family to me than almost anyone. Ironically, I could have used more time off after she passed, because her death was unexpected and ugly. My fathers was peaceful and didnt surprise me. Why not let employees decide for themselves what they need? Our implicit equations about grief hold no room for contextwhat the deceased means to the bereaved or the circumstances surrounding the death. On occasion, Ive even caught myself making these judgments. When a young man I treated in therapy sobbed on my sofa for his pet who had died a decade before, I learned a lot about the power of love for ones dog. When we grieve outside these cultural lines, our suffering may deepen from others absence of understanding.

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We should consider whether our cultural assumptions and practices about grief contribute to the need for this new diagnosis. When death happens, compassion for the bereaved gets sliced up like a pie, and people are served pieces sized from these formulas. Popular perspectives on grief dont account for densities of hope, desire, and longing. Sometimes we judge people who dont measure up in flat-line formulas as wanting attention. Or worse yet, we view them as liars. A woman whose boyfriend dies in a car wreck tells everyone he had just proposed but they hadnt told anyone yet and we think: Really? Maybe shes just saying that so she can be called his fiance, so her grief can be recognized. But who are we to judge when people want as much compassion as they can find? Even if the woman in that scenario is lying, she probably does so because we as a culture have such stingy ideas about grief. If we had more empathy for these feelings, perhaps wed see less disorder.

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Many religions and non-Western cultures observe annual rituals on the death anniversaries of loved ones. In Judaism, theres a Yahrzeit; in Catholicism, an anniversary Mass; Hinduism has Shradh; Vietnam, Ngay Gio. These traditions allow for a periodic, communal sharing of grief that may be felt privately all year round. With these rituals, people honor their loved ones and grief every year for the rest of their lives. Secular, Western culture makes no space for this kind of recurrent immersion in sadness and reflection. We expect people to move on, especially if we have judged their proximity to the person not close enough, the relationship not important enough, or the mourner too needy and weak.

As we recognize with a new diagnostic label how suffering from grief can thwart our lives, we also need to examine the assumptions we make that erase the many faces of mourning. Ive reclaimed my own, as I finally accepted and honored my feelings about the horrible loss I suffered. I may not have needed a diagnosis, but I would have been helped by a therapist who had an understanding of the complexities of traumatic grief. I continued on with my life and peace has mixed in with my pain. But that pain does not go away, and I know Im not alone in that way.

State of Mind is a partnership of Slate and Arizona State University that offers a practical look at our mental health systemand how to make it better.
Epidemic is not imminent.

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The National Criminal Agency (NAKA) is investigating the case of a businessman prohibiting Ukrainian refugees from entering his shop. An announcement, written in Ukrainian was displayed on the shops front door.

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In order to protect the health of Svit-Podskalka residents ALL Ukrainian refugees are banned from entering this shop as there is a chance of the transmission of dangerous diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, etc., read the announcement police published on Facebook.

Unfounded news

In recent days, unfounded news circulated on the internet and social media, alleging that various diseases were detected among the war refugees from Ukraine.

A National Criminal Agency investigator took over the case under suspicion of the crime of apartheid and discrimination against of a group of people. An investigation is currently under way. No more information can be provided at the present time, police wrote on social media.

Health Ministry: we are prepared

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that generally affects the lungs and usually spreads by inhaling tiny droplets from the coughing or sneezing of an infected person. In Slovakia, the disease is practically non-existent, mandatory country-wide vaccination dropped in 2012. HIV is a sexually transmitted infection that over time causes a condition in which the progressive failure of a persons immune system occurs.

Increase in positive Covid cases expected, but refugees from Ukraine are not to blame Read more

Together with Covid, these infections are more prevalent in Ukraine than in Slovakia. According to the World Bank, the incidence of tuberculosis was three people per 100,000 in Slovakia in 2020, whereas in Ukraine it was 73 people per 100,000 in 2020. As for HIV, there were 1,582 infected people in Slovakia in 2021, whereas in Ukraine there were 260,000 infected people in 2020, according to the data provided to the SME daily.

Additionally, a more drug-resistant variant of tuberculosis is prevalent in Ukraine. The Slovak Health ministry says that it is prepared, stocking drugs, and no epidemic is imminent. Moreover, the state is providing refugees with medical care free-of-charge, which should limit the spread of disease.
CANBERRA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) has backed calls to import samples of lumpy skin disease to help scientists develop a vaccine.

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a viral disease that is spread to cattle and water buffalo by biting insects, causing welfare issues and significant production losses.

Australia's cattle industry has expressed major concerns about LSD reaching Australia amid an outbreak in Southeast Asia and called for Australia's top scientists to be given access to live samples of the disease to develop a vaccine.

CVO Mark Schipp, who recently visited parts of Indonesia and Singapore fighting outbreaks, said Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) scientists at the Animal Health Laboratory should work on an LSD vaccine.

"The facility has shown it's a highly secure laboratory, with no disease escaping from that facility," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

"We need to be able to work with the virus, firstly so we can diagnose it should it arrive in Australia, and secondly so we can work on an effective vaccine rather than a live vaccine."

Schipp warned that if LSD reaches Australia, it could devastate the 40 billion Australian dollars (30.1 billion U.S. dollars) red meat industry.

"An outbreak here would have serious trade impacts across the live animal trade, for exporters of dairy products, genetic materials, hides and some meat products, in addition to animal welfare issues and significant production losses." 
Plateau railway new engine for Tibet's economic growth

Xinhua) 09:22, April 05, 2022

A Fuxing bullet train enters Nyingchi Railway Station on the Lhasa-Nyingchi railway in Nyingchi, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 31, 2022. (Xinhua/Han Xile)

LHASA, April 4 (Xinhua) -- On a sunny spring day, a green Fuxing bullet train ran through the mountains along the Yarlung Zangbo River, heading for Nyingchi, a city known for its peach blossoms in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

Liu Lili didn't want to miss the peach blossom season. Working in a clothing store in the city of Xigaze, she bought a C893 train ticket from Xigaze to Nyingchi, planning to visit her sister there and enjoy the peach blossoms together with her.

"When the train passed through the Lhasa station, I thought most passengers on the carriage would get off. To my surprise, they also headed to Nyingchi to see the flowers like me," said Liu, 25.

This was the first spring since the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway opened for operation on June 25, 2021. The first electrified railway in Tibet, with a designed train speed of 160 kph, has cut the travel time from some five hours by bus to three and a half hours.

On the platform of the Lhasa railway station, 36-year-old station worker Tashi Dondrup watched passengers board the C893 train.

Tashi Dondrup, a native of the regional capital Lhasa, had to take a plane in 2002 when he headed to school in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, because there were no trains in Tibet. After he started working in 2006, he witnessed the development of rail transport in the plateau region.

In July 2006, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway linking Lhasa and Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, went operational, ending the pre-railways period in Tibet. In August 2014, the Lhasa-Xigaze Railway opened for operation as the first extension line of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. In June 2021, when the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway was put into operation, Fuxing bullet trains ran in the plateau region for the first time.

The Lhasa railway station has witnessed explosive growth in passenger flow, surging from 2.24 million in 2007 to more than 4 million in 2021.

"The original four waiting halls can no longer meet the demand. We are now renovating the station to provide another two rooms for passengers to wait for trains," Tashi Dondrup said.

Now, bullet trains have connected Lhasa, Nyingchi, Shannan and Xigaze, whose combined GDP accounts for more than 70 percent of the region's total. Railway transportation has further driven the economic growth of the cities.

Sonam Tobgye, a farmer from Changzhug Township, Nedong District in the city of Shannan, often takes the train to Lhasa to visit his daughter. His home is located at the foot of Yumbulagang, Tibet's first palace, dating back more than 2,000 years, which is a popular tourist attraction in Shannan.

The 67-year-old said the new railway not only makes travel easier, but also brings more tourists, as well as tourism revenue, to his hometown.

"Some of my fellow villagers sell souvenirs, some run tea houses and some provide horse-riding services for tourists. Their wallets have become much fatter," he said.

Near the Nyingchi railway station, Nyima Chodron operates a Tibetan restaurant with her husband. The farmer from a nearby village said their restaurant has received more customers since the operation of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway, with the profit reaching 100,000 yuan (about 15,746 U.S. dollars) last year.

"I believe more guests will come when the epidemic ends," she said.

Government figures show that the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents in the city of Nyingchi reached 41,346 yuan and 21,767 yuan, respectively, in 2021, up 13.3 percent and 15.8 percent over the previous year. The number of tourists in the city exceeded 10 million, and the tourism income reached a record high of 8.3 billion yuan.

Railway figures show that the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway has transported 977,100 passengers since its opening. Up to 40,000 tonnes of cargo has arrived in Nyingchi by train.

Local villager Penpa, 38, used to transport materials for the construction of the railway. After the railway opened, he started a logistics company, with four trucks delivering cargo, such as daily necessities, feedstuff and construction materials, from the railway station to elsewhere in the city.

"The railway freight charge is at least one-third lower than road transportation. I believe I will have more business in the future," he said.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
PHNOM PENH, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Ministry of Education and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday jointly revealed alarming new findings about learning loss experienced by Cambodian students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The results emerged from the ministry's latest National Grade six Learning Assessment, which was conducted in November 2021 on more than 6,000 students in 230 schools across Cambodia and found that children had fallen behind in their learning during the pandemic, said a joint statement.

"Compared to the last equivalent learning assessment in 2016, the percentage of students who failed to demonstrate basic proficiency increased from 34 percent to 45 percent in Khmer language and from 49 percent to 74 percent in mathematics," the statement said.

Schools in Cambodia were closed for 250 days during 2020 and 2021, the equivalent of almost two thirds of the two school years. The learning assessment results reveal that although all students experienced learning loss after these closures, the impact was not evenly distributed.

"These are worrying results," said Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron. "We worked hard with all our partners to put in place remote learning measures for students when schools were closed during the pandemic."

Naron said the studies have shown that these measures did help to maintain learning for many, but the learning assessment results confirm that these activities simply couldn't be enough to compensate for all that is lost by children when they are not learning in a classroom.

"It's now time for us all to try and help Cambodian children catch up with the learning they have lost, a process that has begun but must now be accelerated with the support of every partner in the education sector," he added.

Foroogh Foyouzat, UNICEF representative in Cambodia, said globally, learning loss is perceived as one of the most damaging consequences of the pandemic, but Cambodia is one of the few countries that have proved its extent with hard data.

"We must also invest more in early grade mathematics and Khmer literacy," she said. "Young students need a solid foundation in these core subjects for better outcomes in later grades. At UNICEF, we pledge an all-out effort with all our partners to help make this happen."

Schools throughout the southeast Asian nation have reopened since November last year after most of the population have been vaccinated against COVID-19. 
COLOMBO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's newly-appointed Finance Minister Ali Sabry resigned on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after his appointment on Monday.

Sabry said he had accepted the portfolio only as an interim measure.

He said he was also willing to step down from his parliamentary seat if the president wished to appoint a suitable person to handle the situation from outside the current Parliament.

Sabry also told local media that his resignation was to pave the way for establishing an interim government.

Sabry and three other ministers were sworn into the new cabinet on Monday after Sri Lanka's cabinet ministers offered to resign from their positions on Sunday night in response to calls from the protests amid economic instability and a severe fuel shortage in the South Asian country.

Sri Lanka has for days been facing public protests calling for immediate measures to be taken by the government to solve the economic crisis, hours-long power cuts and shortages in fuel and other essential supplies.

The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) lost its parliament majority as 42 members of parliament on Tuesday announced they would sit independently.

On Monday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa extended an invitation to all political parties to join the government to find solutions to the ongoing crisis. 
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who met with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Monday evening, formally announced his support Tuesday for her confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Given the gravity of a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, my practice is to withhold any decision on a nominee  regardless of my previous positions on that nominee for other judgeships  until I carefully review their qualifications, observe their appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and personally meet with them," Kaine said in a statement

I have done so and now offer my unqualified support for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be a Justice of the United States Supreme Court."

Jackson is likely to win Senate confirmation by the end of the week and become the first Black woman on the high court. Three Republicans have announced that they will vote for Jackson - Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah. They are likely to join the Senate's 50 Democrats in backing the judge.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., formally announced his support of Jackson after meeting with the judge earlier Monday afternoon.

Kaine and Warner - like Jackson - are graduates of Harvard University's law school.

Kaine, a former civil rights lawyer, cited Jackson's qualifications, including what he termed her "strong track record as a federal public defender, distinguished service as a federal trial and appellate judge, and multiple attestations to her character and fairness," and that her confirmation would make history.

He said he is "particularly drawn" to two aspects of Jackson's experience - that she would be the first former public defender on the Supreme Court and that she would join Justice Sonia Sotomayor as the second trial judge on the current court.
"Pinwheel, pinwheel, spinning around. Some residents will surely remember the song about the childhood toy that spins in the wind.

At the corner of P Street and Ninth Avenue in Gering, passersby will surely see the blue and silver pinwheels planted in the ground at the CAPstone facility. Each April, volunteers and staff for the organization are joined by caseworkers from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, local law enforcement and others for an afternoon of placing the pinwheels in the ground.

The childhood toy takes on a symbolic meaning in April: Each one represents a child interviewed by CAPstone forensic interviewers as part of a child abuse or other investigation at one of the organizations centers.

Its about Pinwheels for Prevention, Executive Director Monica Shambaugh said. What we really want people to realize when they come by here is that these 525 pinwheels represent only a fraction of the amount of kids in the Panhandle who are abused or neglected daily.

We see the worst of the worst. ...Child abuse and neglect happens every day to lots of children and what we really need, if you see something say something. Thats what were promoting.

In 2021, the child advocacy center interviewed 525 children in one of its based in Gering, Alliance, Chadron or Sidney. Shambaugh said that is down from the highest year for the organization  540 in 2019  but up compared to 2020, when 474 children were seen. Numbers were down in 2020, following a pattern that many who specialize in child abuse investigations cited as occurring nationally due to children being at home for months during the pandemic.

Children interviewed or provided services through CAPstone are referred through DHHS child protective services or law enforcement as the result of investigations.

Those interviews are for children who have experienced physical abuse or neglect, which included domestic violence, Shambaugh said. They might have been in a dangerous environment, such as a drug-endangered environment or located in a kidnapping or human trafficking.

Other efforts to promote prevention of child abuse and awareness efforts are also circulating in the community. At some homes, people have changed out their normal porch lights for a blue one to promote and support child abuse prevention. The City of Scottsbluffs public works staff have changed out some of the light bulbs in the pedestrian pathway to blue. On Friday, many of the volunteers in the pinwheel project were wearing blue, another visual way to support of child abuse prevention and awareness.

Shambaugh reminds everyone that everyone is instrumental in preventing child abuse. In the state of Nebraska, everyone is a mandatory reporter of child abuse, though some occupations, such as health care and teaching have a more stringent requirement for reporting suspected abuse. Even if a person has reported child abuse in the past, Shambaugh urged him or her to continue reporting incidents.

You never know, she said. It may be that one time that you call into child protective services or law enforcement that they can finally do something and help that child or that family.

During the month of April, CAPstone will also offer additional Child Abuse and Neglect 101 (CAN 101) training. On Tuesday, April 5, a training is planned in Chadron, 4 to 6 p.m. Other trainings are slated on April 12, 4 to 6 p.m., in Scottsbluff; April 14, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., in Alliance; and April 26, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Sidney.

Shambaugh said that sign-ups for those trainings are still being accepted and people do so by calling 308-632-7274.

Also in the upcoming months, CASA and CAPstone will partner for the annual Light of Hope fundraiser. This year, the two organizations will bring in Sasha Neulinger, the founder and vice president of Voice For The Kids and a co-founder and Head of Production at Step 1 Films. He made his director debut at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival with his autobiographical documentary, Rewind.

The documentary is about Neulingers experiences as a childhood sexual assault survivor. The documentary received a Critics Choice Award for Best First Feature Documentary and three Emmy nominations, Outstanding Social Issue Documentary, Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Editing.

Neulinger had been sexually abused by two uncles and a cousin as a child. One of his uncles, Howard Nevison, had been an esteemed cantor at New Yorks Reform Jewish Temple Emanu-El, and coverage of his prosecution generated a lot of attention from the media. Neulingers documentary also examines how secrecy can lead to generational abuse, with Neulinger learning that his uncles had also abused his dad and his brother.

On Aug. 31, Neulinger will speak at a showing of his documentary at the Midwest Theater. On Sept. 1, hell speak at the Light of Hope event.

Major fundraising for Neulingers visit has been completed with the help of donations from local businesses, churches and others, but other opportunities to sponsor or help the two organizations fundraise are available through either organization.

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Two elected Banner County officials and a county employee pleaded no contest to charges they faced in connection with a drunken party that involved sexual activity at the county courthouse.

Harrisburg residents Monty Stoddard, 58; Bernice Huffman, 47; and Caily Reece, 32, each entered pleas to the amended charge of attempted public indecency, a Class III misdemeanor, during a court hearing in Scotts Bluff County Monday. Initially, each had been charged with public indecency, a Class II misdemeanor, and consuming alcohol on public property, a Class IV misdemeanor. However, Nebraska Assistant Attorney General Douglas Warner entered a plea agreement into the cases Monday morning prior to a hearing before Judge Kris Mickey Monday, April 4.

Stoddard and Huffman are both elected officials with Stoddard serving as the county treasurer and Huffman as the county assessor. Reece works for the county clerks office.

Warner outlined the basis for the charges during Mondays hearing. On Dec. 28, 2021, he told the court, Sheriff Stan McKnight had been going home for the day, at about 5:15 p.m., when he noticed that all the lights at the courthouse were dark, but the vehicles of Stoddard, Huffman and Reece remained. Later, McKnight checked the surveillance at the courthouse, where cameras are stationed both inside and outside of the courthouse.

On the surveillance video, McKnight observed Stoddard, Huffman and Reece drinking from shot-sized paper cups and pouring from a tall bottle of clear alcohol, believed to be whiskey or other hard liquor, Warner said. The sheriff observed Stoddard, Huffman and Reece involved in sexual activity, with Warner identifying all three as being involved in different acts that included fondling, oral sex and intercourse as events transpired. The acts occurred in the assessors office and McKnight observed the defendants involved in different activities over a period of a couple of hours.

As part of the plea agreement, Warner told the court, he filed charges that he thought were appropriate for the circumstances, and additional charges wouldnt be filed in the case. The plea agreement does call for Warner to recommend a sentence of a fine, though the court is not bound by Warners recommendations in its sentencing. A Class III misdemeanor is punishable by up to three months jail, a $500 fine or both.

Attorneys for all three defendants indicated they had completed alcohol evaluations and classes prior to Mondays hearing. The defendants were scheduled for sentencing on May 20.

The Star-Herald did reach out to the attorneys for the defendants, seeking comment. Stoddards attorney, Sterling Huff, and Reeces attorney, Stacy Bach, both responded, declining comment and citing professional rules of conduct that they say prevent them from commenting on the case. Bach said she would also advise her client not to comment. Huffmans attorney, Jonas Longoria, did not respond to the Star-Heralds inquiry.

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OMAHA -- 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.

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Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer says she will not support Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Fischer said Jackson was not clear about her judicial philosophy when she met her. "She instead described certain steps when examining a case, including looking at the public meaning of the laws text," Nebraska's senior senator said.

Fischer said she believes justices must adhere strictly to the text of the Constitution as written without limiting the rights it guarantees.

"Given these considerations, I will oppose her nomination," Fischer said in a press release.

Nebraska's other senator, Ben Sasse, had already signaled he will vote against Jackson's nomination.

Fischer's announcement that she'll oppose the nomination is not surprising. Only one Republican senator  Susan Collins of Maine  has signaled they will vote to confirm President Joe Biden's pick.

The final Senate vote is expected to come late this week. With Collins' support, Democrats have at least a one-vote cushion in the 50-50 Senate.

Jackson, who would replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, would become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

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STOCKHOLM, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Sweden has decided to expel three Russian diplomats, the country's Ministry for Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

"It is quite clear that they conduct illegal intelligence activities in Sweden," Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde said at a press conference.

Russia has around 35 diplomats in the Scandinavian country. 
New Hope Baptist Church, at 149 New Hope Road in Statesville, is hosting a free Womens Conference on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Nicki Koziarz is a two-time ECPA bestselling author and speaker with Proverbs 31 Ministries. She speaks nationally at conferences, retreats, meetings and hosts her own podcast. An evangelist at heart, Koziarz inspires others to become the best version of who God created them to be. She and her husband and three girls run a small farm just outside of Charlotte, which they affectionately call The Fixer Upper Farm.

In her new book, Flooded: The Five Best Decisions to Make When Life is Hard and Doubt is Rising, Koziarz shares her own struggles with doubt and the man with the arc who became her role model for faith.

When Nicki speaks, she inspires women to encounter God in powerful ways, believe in the power of Jesus to overcome the impossible in their lives, and unite the church from generation to generation, states Sharon Johnson, Womens Conference coordinator at New Hope Baptist Church.

Terry Myers, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church, invites the women in the Iredell County community to attend the conference from 5:30-8 p.m. There will be light refreshments and special music by Kaylee Sherill. You can register online at https://form.jotform.com/newhopencmedia/womens-conference, or by emailing newhopencmedia@gmail.com, or call Sharon Johnson at 704-902-5951. Space is limited, so pre-register by Wednesday.
Joe Kleins 145-mile and 14-day adventure on the Appalachian Trail started and ended with brutally cold nights last month. He noted it was in the single-digits with sustained 30-40 mile winds above 4,000 feet in elevation.

Preparations for the two-week hike from Georgia to North Carolina took longer than Kleins journey, with numerous hours of meal preparation, research and day-hikes for training along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Longtime Floyd County resident, Klein spoke with a local friend who recently completed a thru-hike, and he also spoke with Tommy Bailey, a Floyd author of The Appalachian Trail, Step by Step: How to Prepare for a Thru or Long Distance Section Hike.

Other friends lent assistance, helping freeze-dry the venison sausage, stew and scrambled eggs Klein made for the hike.

Klein started the trail on March 11 with his friend Scott Schwarzer, an experienced section hiker who recently retired and is now on a thru hike to Maine.

I climbed over 5,000-foot peaks, often several times in the same day. In comparison, the Buffalo Mountain is 3,900 feet, said Klein, who reported no blisters, but his ankles did swell up a bit.

Schwarzer, who is the inspiration behind Kleins decision to do the hike, emphasized the importance of trekking poles, which act as another set of limbs that provide stability when tackling tricky terrain, and non-cotton clothing, which wicks away moisture and keeps you warm, even when wet.

The pair set off from the approach trail in Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia with Klein in his FloydFest biking jersey and a Republic of Floyd patch on his 42-pound backpack. Its customary to personalize your gear, Klein said.

It takes approximately 5 to 7 months to hike the roughly 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail from the approach trail in Georgia (which adds an extra 8.8 miles), or from Springer Mountain, where the first white blaze trail marker is, to Katahdin, Maine.

You put on every layer you have and get into your down sleeping bag at 7 p.m., aka hikers midnight, and wait it out and sleep if you can, he said, adding when the sun rises, you get moving so you can warm up.

Three-sided open shelters, provided by AT Conservatory clubs, are located along the trail every eight to 10 miles and are especially appreciated in cold and rainy weather. Privies, water and somewhat flat tent sites are accessible at the shelters, which sleep approximately six to 14 people.

Fellow hikers become like family, or tramily, on the trail, lending support and sharing resources. There are trail angels who offer supplies and feed the hikers hot food when the trail crosses a road.

Most of them are hikers who know what its like, said Klein. He recalled one morning being treated to hot coffee and Kentucky Crepes, a hotdog wrapped in a pancake smothered with peanut butter, maple syrup and hot sauce.

It was a weird combination, but we were so cold and hungry that it tasted great, he said.

Kleins trail name became Overflow Joe, for a mishap when he over poured purifying water, and his enthusiastic personality.

Hikers bond over the challenges of weather, terrain and food. They resupply every five to six days, coming down off the trail and into towns to shower, do laundry and get hot meals  as many calories as you can eat, Klein said.

One of his happiest moments on the trail came when he walked a magical valley through Mooneys Gap, his Irish ancestral name.

It was a gentle open valley with abundant water streaming across the trail, he said.

Klein got off the trail at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in North Carolina, where he got into a pair of Crocs and waited for a family member to pick him up.

Klein said hes thinking about a bookends section hike, meeting up with Schwarzer in the fall for the last two weeks of his hike into Maine.

Im considering a lifetime goal of section hiking two or three weeks a year, he noted.

In all the excitement of completion and family reunion, Kleins hiking shoes were left on the sidewalk, but some of his new friends with trail names like Disco, Come-along and Lil Chap retrieved his shoes and texted him a picture of them before putting them in the mail.
TVs wackiest principal knows her job is on the line in Abbott Elementary. An anniversary gathering provides the catalyst for another marriages doom in a pivotal episode of This Is Us. An HBO documentary celebrates the career of skateboard pioneer Tony Hawk. Ken Burns Benjamin Franklin biography concludes with the statesman helping draft the Declaration of Independence.

9/8c

If theres a breakout star among Abbotts excellent ensemble, it would be Janelle James as the schools outrageously self-obsessed principal Ava Coleman, whose days of carefree primping may be numbered. She only got the job because she blackmailed the superintendent (Reggie Hayes) over an affair, but now that shes lost that leverage, Ava is going to have to rise to the occasion and get serious. She knows she cant charisma my way out of the situation when making a presentation to the school board to keep her struggling school from losing its funding. Her job could also be in the balance, and while the teachers arent what youd call fans, they rally to help her if only to help themselves. A fun subplot for the fabulous Sheryl Lee Ralph as veteran kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard has her considering compromising her considerable moral standards to secure a grant shes applied for over 10 years.

9/8c

Another pivotal episode in the tear-jerking family dramas final season brings the siblings together again for the 10th anniversary of Rebecca (Mandy Moore) and Miguel (Jon Heurtas)with flashbacks to a memorable 10th-anniversary dinner for Rebecca and Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) when the Big Three kids were at a very different stage of development. In the present, the festivities are upstaged by another crisis for the estranged Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Toby (Chris Sullivan) involving their adorable young son, and while Kate has Kevin (Justin Hartley) and Randall (Sterling K. Brown) for emotional support, she and we know things are likely never to be the same again.

9/8c

A brutally honest documentary profile celebrates the 40-year career of skateboarder Tony Hawk, who evolved from booed outsider to living legend. Now 53 (and a recent Oscar presenter), he and his peers are challenged to reflect on whether all of those concussions and broken bones were worth it to reach the top of the burgeoning sport.

8/7c

The second and final chapter of Ken Burns masterful biographical profile of the iconic Founding Father takes us into the heart of the American Revolution. A gifted diplomat, Franklin wins French support for the colonys battle against British rule, helps craft the Declaration of Independence and is instrumental in the formation of the U.S. Constitution. Mandy Patinkin reads Franklins still-vibrant words.

Inside Tuesday TV:

black-ish (9:30/8:30c, ABC): Its one thing for the kids to leave the nest, but the Johnsons are rattled when Pops (Laurence Fishburne) and Ruby (Jenifer Lewis) decide to move out to see the country from their RV. Another sign that this groundbreaking sitcom will soon be gone for good.

Big Restaurant Bet (10/9c, Food Network): Like a series version of Top Chefs Restaurant Wars, this six-episode competition finds chefs vying to prove they have what it takes to launch their own eatery. Theyll have to impress famed restaurateur and Food Network star Geoffrey Zakarian, who pledges to invest $250,000 in the winners dreams. The first challenge starts small, with the contestants asked to create a simple one-bite dish that reflects who they are and their restaurants concept.

Ronny Chieng: Speakeasy (streaming on Netflix): In his stylized return to Netflix, the comedian presents a stand-up set from New York Citys intimate Chinese Tuxedo bar and restaurant, reflecting on race relations, the pandemic and other hilarious topics.

(streaming on Netflix): In his stylized return to Netflix, the comedian presents a stand-up set from New York Citys intimate Chinese Tuxedo bar and restaurant, reflecting on race relations, the pandemic and other hilarious topics. Star Trek: The Motion PictureThe Directors Edition (streaming on Paramount Plus): To celebrate First Contact Day, the streamer premieres a remastered, restored version of the 1979 movie that relaunched the TV franchise onto the big screen, with 4K Ultra HD and enhanced visual effects with Dolby Vision for those who are into such things.
Longview Mayor MaryAlice Wallis and other city staff flew to Massachusetts last week to visit a food digester facility managed by Divert, the company planning to move into the Mint Farm Industrial Complex.

Wallis, City Councilor Ruth Kendall, Director of Community Development Ann Rivers and Public Works Director Ken Hash on Thursday visited the facility at the distribution center for Shop & Save Supermarkets in Freetown.

The group toured the plant to get a sense of how the Longview plant would work if and when it began operating. Divert purchased four lots from Mint Valley in January for to construct a 15-acre plant designed to take in food waste from hundreds of grocery stores in Washington and Oregon to create natural gas and a solid compost-like material.

We wanted to better understand their business and make sure its well-founded and makes sense, and it does, Kendall said. We wanted to understand why they picked Longview and we liked their reasons.

Hash said the visit alleviated many of his concerns about the direct impact of the plant. Because the digester process captures the gas from the broken down food, there was very little smell that escaped. The noise and traffic were on par with other factories of its size.

I dont see a lot of problems on the ecological side of things, Hash said.

The biggest takeaway for Hash was Divert is primarily a company focused on reducing food waste and not a natural gas company. Talking to Diverts staff and seeing the quantity of food shipping through the process made Hash reconsider how much food he might waste.

When I came back, I started looking through my fridge. Do I overbuy food because somethings on sale, buy a whole bag of oranges and only eat two-thirds of them? Hash said.

Divert tracks the amount of food waste that comes to its digesters from supermarkets and sells the data back to grocery store chains to help them create less waste in the future.

The Stop & Shop Green Energy Facility opened in early 2016 to take in old food from more than 200 Stop & Shop locations in New England. Over its first five years, the process created 25,800 megawatt-hours of electricity from food waste, enough to power more than 3,000 homes for a year, according to a Stop & Shop press release.

Divert manages a similar facility in Compton through a partnership with Ralphs grocery stores. Longview staff said they chose to visit the Freetown location because of the schedule for the visit and because it is a newer setup than the one in California.

The Divert plant in Longview would have a few key differences from the one in Freetown. The Mint Farm location would not be part of a grocery store distribution center, which would add on delivery mileage but allow it to pull food from multiple chains. Instead of using the gas to power the rest of the distribution center, the Longview plant will feed directly into Cascade Natural Gas pipelines and be supplied to customers.

Hash said Divert is getting ready to begin the environmental review and permitting process for the Longview facility. The company wants to have the plant up and running in 2024.

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Editors note: Information is provided by the Cowlitz County Corrections Department and local law enforcement agencies. Each individual named in this report is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Harassment  Kelso officers Monday arrested Holly Marie Frederickson, 36, of Kelso, on suspicion of felony harassment.

Child rape  Longview officers Monday arrested a 38-year-old Longview man on suspicion of third-degree child rape, promoting the commercial sexual abuse of a minor, immoral communication with a minor, viewing a minor engaging in sexually explicit activity and witness tampering. (Editors note: The Daily News does not name arrestees of child crimes until suspects are charged to ensure alleged victims arent identified before the suspect has been formally accused of a crime.)

Stolen vehicle  Longview officers Monday arrested Aaron Timothy Destin Weese, 33, of Longview, on suspicion of possession of a stolen vehicle.

Assault

70 PH 10 and West Side Highway, Castle Rock, Monday. Report of a 70-year-old man touching a female employee on the face and asking her to go in the woods with him.

Burglaries

1000 block of Luebke Road, Toutle. Monday. Report of chainsaws, two fishing rods, a bag with fishing tackle and a 1985 red Honda FourTrax ATV stolen from unsecured residential shop. ATV recovered and needles found nearby.

1000 block of Mount Pleasant Road, Kelso. Monday. Report of side door of garage kicked in and .22 rifle and 20-gauge shotgun missing.

3800 block of Ocean Beach Highway, Longview. Monday. Report of a man with a knife kicking in an apartment door and throwing items around to find his girl.

600 block of 14th Avenue, Longview. Monday. Report of several vehicles damaged over the weekend at a business.

Stolen vehicles

400 block of Brierwood Court, Castle Rock. Monday. 2021 Grand Design 35-foot RV, VIN 573CT3326HDD00297.

2100 block of 38th Avenue, Longview. Monday. Dark green 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe.

400 block of Oregon Way, Longview. Monday. Silver 2001 Honda Accord.

600 block of Mitchell Avenue, Woodland. Monday. Black 2011 Bison 12-foot dump trailer. Washington 8125VW.

Thefts

1300 block of Caples Road, Woodland. Monday. Report of package stolen.

1000 block of Eighth Avenue, Longview. Monday. Report of rings stolen.

500 block of Seventh Avenue, Longview. Monday. Report of shoplifting.

1800 block of Schurman Way, Woodland. Monday. Report of two catalytic converters taken from work trucks over the weekend.

Vandalism/malicious mischief

600 block of Olson Road, Longview. Monday. Report of tires slashed.

600 block of Columbia Street, Kelso. Monday. Report of front passenger window of vehicle broken.

Vehicle prowls

400 block of Cowlitz Way, Kelso. Monday. Report of a man trying to enter a vehicle with people in it.

3000 block of Hemlock Street, Longview. Monday. Report of an orange and white STIHL chainsaw valued at around $700 stolen from vehicle.

2900 block of Ocean Beach Highway, Longview. Monday. Report of someone taking bank cards and passport from vehicle.

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WASHOUGAL  The largest habitat restoration project along the lower Columbia River is coming to a close this spring. Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, east of Washougal in Clark County, is slated to reopen May 1 after almost two years of being intermittently closed to the public.

Flood prevention and fish migration

The roughly $31 million project to decrease flooding and increase salmon and steelhead migration was funded, in part, by the Bonneville Power Administration, the Washington Department of Ecology, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation.

Updates included removing a roughly 2-mile levee that separated the Columbia River from nearby Gibbons Creek, which officials say reopened a natural pathway for salmon and steelhead migration and will prevent the creek from flooding. Before removing the levee, fish could only bypass the embankment through a fish ladder, which is a series of pools built to allow fish to swim over obstacles like dams. The fish ladder was removed.

The Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership reports the levee was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1960s to prevent the Columbia River from flooding the refuge. However, the levee exacerbated Gibbons Creeks flooding, which often spilled into the Port of Camas-Washougal property and forced the port to use an expensive pumping system to remove high waters, reports the partnership.

If you go What: Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge reopening ceremony. When: 10 a.m. May 7. Where: Steigerwald Lake Wildlife Refuge, 35001 Lewis and Clark Highway, Washougal. Cost: Free. Info: bit.ly/3DDgNS2.

The Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership says a different type of levee, which allows the river to meander more naturally, was added in 2020 and 2021 in the east and west to protect the port. Port of Camas-Washougal Chief Executive Officer David Ripp said the updates protect the ports industrial park, which is the economic engine for our community, and greatly reduced our operations and maintenance costs.

The Washington Department of Transportation also raised nearby State Route 14 roughly 3 feet to align the road with the Columbia Rivers 500-year flood stage level.

Refuge expansion

The Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge is comprised of four refuges along the lower Columbia River, including the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife says the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge was built to create habitat lost during the 1987 construction of the Bonneville dam, which BPA uses to generate electricity in the Northwest.

The restoration project also created more than 115 acres of new wetlands, officials report. More than half a millions trees and shrubs and 14,000 pounds of native seeds were planted.

The Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust sold 160 acres to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services to expand the overall refuge. The refuge parking lot also was expanded and relocated and roughly 1 mile of a new trail was added.

Officials report roughly 90,000 people are expected to visit the refuge annually.

This article has been updated to correctly explain how U.S. Fish and Wildlife received 160 acres from the Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust. Fish and Wildlife purchased the land.

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NASA has been developing. capabilities to protect the Earth from giant killer asteroids that can destroy our home planet. How secure are we?

The term near-Earth object or NEO refers to any celestial body of a significant size. The starting point is to find out those objects whose orbit brings them close to Earth. These include asteroids, meteorites and comets. According to NASA, there are more than 27,000 such NEOs floating around our planet and hundreds fly by our planet every year. And they dont just fly past us. Just a month ago, we witnessed asteroid EB5 getting pulled by the Earths gravitational force and hitting Earth in the western coast of Greenland. With the threat of asteroids looming over our head, humanity is not waiting for the eventuality to happen. NASA has been working on an interplanetary defense system for a while now and with every passing year, it is getting better at this job. But, if an asteroid were to strike the Earth tomorrow, could we defend ourselves? Read on to find out.

High asteroid strike probability for Earth

Scientists have revealed that the Earth did not always have so many space neighbors. In fact, a long time ago, there were barely any asteroids near our planet. However, around 290 million years ago, the probability of an asteroid striking the Earth increased dramatically, according to an article by National Geographic. And ever since, we have been in this high probability zone. The last large asteroid impact was in 2013 in Chelyabinsk, Russia when a 20-meter wide asteroid exploded and injured more than 1,500 people. We have had asteroid impacts even after that incident, but none so devastating.

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Similarly, the last large-scale asteroid destruction on Earth can be traced to 66 million years ago, when a 10 kilometers wide asteroid wiped out dinosaurs from our planet and caused an ice age. So, if another planet-killer asteroid like that was headed towards Earth, would it mean certain extinction for all life on Earth or could we protect ourselves from it somehow?

NASA believes that it can protect us.

NASA vs planet-killer asteroids

NASA has been developing its capabilities to obliterate these projectiles before they hit Earth. We received the biggest evidence of it with 2022 EB5. NASA was accurately able to predict its impact location and time even though it discovered it just two hours before impact on Earth! Why it is important is that these are complex analysis and NASA earlier used to take days to give an accurate model of prediction. However, this incident has confirmed that NASA will never be blindsided by an asteroid again.

Further, NASA is constantly watching all the 27,000 NEOs. The American space agency does not claim that it has discovered all the asteroids around Earth, but it remains confident that around 90% have been discovered. And this is possible due to NASA Planetary Defense programme called Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

But observation and prediction is not everything. Even if we were able to successfully observe and predict the impact of an asteroid, we cannot protect ourselves from an extinction level activity. NASA disagrees. The Planetary Defense Coordination Office or PDCO was established in 2016 by NASA for this exact purpose. The department is tasked with observing and predicting any asteroid that can be potentially hazardous to the Earth, then flag it to NASA. NASA would then call an emergency meeting with not only the US government but all the major governments of the world to plan countermeasures. While the best course of action at the moment remains to shoot nuclear powered rockets into space and blast the space rocks into smithereens. However, NASA is working to develop more efficient ways of fighting off asteroids as blasting an asteroid may break it into many pieces and these may well crash into Earth in many places, possibly making things worse. Another method at its disposal is to nudge the asteroid away from Earth through a spacecraft!.
India has banned as many as 4 Pakistani and 18 other YouTube channels in an attempt to stop fake news and misinformation. Check the full list of banned YouTube channels.

India has just banned 4 Pakistan YouTube channels on the allegations they were spreading fake news and misinformation that could affect national security, foreign relations and public order. The ban on Pakistan YouTube channels was directed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting which blocked a total of 22 YouTube channels. The other 18 channels belonged to various other publishers. The decision was taken in accordance with emergency powers of the IT Rules, 2021. So far, the government has issued bans on 78 YouTube channels but this is the first time action has been taken against Indian YouTube channels.

Explaining the decision, the Ministry said that the YouTube channels were posting fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc.. Interestingly, the decision comes less than 24 hours after the Karauli riots in Rajasthan where communal violence took place. The Ministry stated that it suspected organized behavior noticing the content posted from these channels. It said, The content ordered to be blocked also included certain anti-India content posted from multiple social media accounts operated in a coordinated manner from Pakistan.

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India bans 4 Pakistani, 18 Indian YouTube channels

The entire operation was not limited to just the 22 YouTube accounts. The Ministry also banned three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account and one news website, all relating to the same offense of spreading misinformation and fake news. The problem of fake news has been rising a lot, with different platforms taking countermeasures to stop its spread. Just a few days ago, WhatsApp banned almost 1.5 million Indian accounts due to spreading fake messages, spams and other reports.

The list of blocked Pakistani Youtube channels include:

DuniyaMeryAagy,

Ghulam NabiMadni,

HAQEEQAT TV,

HAQEEQAT TV 2.0

The Ministry has also issued orders to ban the Twitter and Facebook accounts of the DuniyaMeryAagy. The Twitter accounts of Ghulam NabiMadni and HAQEEQAT TV have been blocked as well.

Here's the full list of 18 other YouTube channels that were banned today:

iARP News

AOP News

LDC News

SarkariBabu

SS ZONE Hindi

Smart News

News23Hindi

Online Khabar

DP news

PKB News

KisanTak

Borana News

Sarkari News Update

Bharat Mausam

RJ ZONE 6

Exam Report

Digi Gurukul

Dinbhar ki khabrein

It was observed that a significant amount of false content published by these Indian YouTube based channels related to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, and aimed at jeopardising Indias foreign relations with other countries, the Ministry stated.

The reach of these YouTube channels were also quite deep with the Ministry revealing that the cumulative viewership of the banned YouTube channels crossed 260 crore. With a high viewership, the government was concerned from the perspective of national security, India's foreign relations, and public order.
Indian Govt blocks 22 YouTube channels under the IT Rules, 2021. The list involves 4 Pakistan-based news channels.

Indian Government blocks 22 YouTube channels as part of the latest drive to eradicate fake news. Out of these 22, there are 18 channels that are completely based out of India, while the rest of the four are based out of Pakistan. The move was undertaken under the emergency powers of the IT Rules, 2021. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has also released the list of all the YouTube based news channels that are involved in the ban.

"Multiple YouTube channels were used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc. The content ordered to be blocked also included certain anti-India content posted from multiple social media accounts operated in a coordinated manner from Pakistan," the government said in a statement.

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India blocks 22 new YouTube channels

"The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, utilizing the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021, has issued orders on 04.04.2022 for blocking of twenty-two (22) YouTube based news channels, three (3) Twitter accounts, one (1) Facebook account, and one (1) news website, said the statement.

The list of blocked Indian channels include ARP News, AOP News, LDC News, SarkariBabu, SS ZONE Hindi, Smart News, News23Hindi, Online Khabar, DP news, PKB News, KisanTak, Borana News, Sarkari News Update, Bharat Mausam, RJ ZONE 6, Exam Report, Digi Gurukul and Dinbhar ki khabrein.

The list of blocked Pakistan-based channels include DuniyaMeryAagy, Ghulam NabiMadni, HAQEEQAT TV and HAQEEQAT TV 2.0. Additionally, the directive also orders the Twitter and Facebook handles of the DuniyaMeryAagy. The Twitter account of Ghulam NabiMadni and HAQEEQAT TV are also blocked.

"Multiple YouTube channels were used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc. The content ordered to be blocked also included certain anti-India content posted from multiple social media accounts operated in a coordinated manner from Pakistan. It was observed that a significant amount of false content published by these Indian YouTube based channels related to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, and aimed at jeopardising Indias foreign relations with other countries, said the ministry.

It is said that these blocked channels have a total viewership of 260 crores and were involved in dissemination of fake news as well as coordinated disinformation on social media on various burning topics, which included Ukraine War, Jammu and Kashmir, and more.
Hot carrier solar cells (HCSC) can prevent the thermalization of highly energized photocarriers like electron-hole pairs. This is ensured by a process called energy selective contacts (ESC), in which these photocarriers are extracted from a specific energy level and moved into valleys between energy levels. Credit: Ferry, Whiteside, and Sellers, doi 10.1117/1.JPE.12.022204.

For a greener and more sustainable economy, building better and more powerful solar cells is a key research goal within the clean energy sector. But, in a typical single-junction solar cell, performance is capped at what is called the ShockleyQueisser limit (a theoretical limit for the maximum efficiency that a solar cell can reach). Efficiency determines how much of the light energy (photons) absorbed by the solar cell can be converted into usable electric current. The ShockleyQueisser limit puts the maximum possible efficiency at 33.7 percent for semiconductor-based solar cells.

Over the years, scientists have explored and developed new paradigms for solar cell designs and materials, in attempts to inch closer to and even surpass this efficiency limit. They have not yet been successful, but the prospects are improving thanks to recent research.

Poor efficiency of solar cells can be due to many factors. One major reason is the thermalization of excess energy. During this thermalization, the excess energy absorbed by a charged particle (electron and hole) pairthat is, more energy than the particle needs to become mobile within the material's structure and generate electricityis lost to the lattice structure of the material as heat. Studies show that in a typical single-junction semiconductor solar cell, nearly 50 percent of the absorbed solar energy is lost to thermalization. If this energy could be captured and converted to electricity as well, solar energy would become a tremendously powerful sustainable resource.

Decades ago, two scientists, R. T. Ross and A. J. Nozik, proposed a new type of solar cell called the hot carrier solar cell (HCSC) in which this excess energy could be harvested before it was lost. In an HCSC, the idea is to isolate the particles carrying excess energy (hot carriers) and store them in the lattice structure such that the energy is not lost. Subsequent experiments have proven the possibility of isolating hot carriers. But no operational HCSC has been built to date.

Now, a report published in Journal of Photonics for Energy (JPE), by researchers from Arizona State University and the University of Oklahoma in the United States, led by David K. Ferry, presents the many conditions that must be fulfilled for a HCSC to be realized and explores ways to fulfill these conditions.

According to JPE Editor-in-Chief Sean Shaheen, "The paper elucidates a novel pathway to realizing hot carrier solar cells, which can exceed the typical efficiency limit on solar cells. The proposed pathway involves use of satellite valleys in the band structure of semiconductors, where hot carriers can be temporarily stored without losing energy. While it does not provide a complete solution to the problem, it provides a different way of understanding and designing hot carrier solar cells that could motivate other researchers to pursue specific device structures based on the concept."

Semiconductors conduct electricity when a charged particle at a lower level of energy, called the valence band, gains enough energy to jump over across an energy gap to reach a high energy level, known as the conduction band, where it is free to move. The novel approach proposed involves isolating hot carriers within higher energy valleysor local maximaamong the conduction bands. Ferry explains, "The valley photovoltaic approach helps by reducing the loss to heat by changing the kinetic energy of the particle into potential energy; that is, changing the form of energy from one that can be lost to one that is stored."

The scientists were able to elucidate this approach in an indium-gallium-arsenide and aluminum (InGaAs/InAlAs) based semiconductor material that is sensitive to light, and therefore, a potential material for solar cells.

The paper presents the essential groundwork for future research on enhancing the efficiency of solar cells, opening doors to a potential third generation of solar cells that work very differently from existing ones and could break through the ShockleyQueisser limit, realizing the dream of Ross and Nozik.

A solar-powered economy is on the way, with a potentially brighter future for us all.

Explore further New record for solar cell efficiency signals bright future for solar tech

More information: David K. Ferry et al, Pathways to hot carrier solar cells, Journal of Photonics for Energy (2022). David K. Ferry et al, Pathways to hot carrier solar cells,(2022). DOI: 10.1117/1.JPE.12.022204
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Throughout the latter half of 2021, as it became clear that Russia was massing a large portion of its conventional combat power on the eastern borders of Ukraine, analysts offered contrasting predictions about the role cyberspace would play in an armed conflict. These predictions capture an ongoing debate about whether conflict in cyberspace is destined to supplant conventional conflict or exacerbate it.

As the war has evolved, it's clear that analysts on both sides of the debate got it wrong. Cyber operations did not replace the military invasion, and as far as we can tell, the Russian government has not yet used cyber operations as an integral part of its military campaign.

We are political scientists who study the role of cybersecurity and information in international conflict. Our research shows that the reason pundits on both sides of the argument got it wrong is because they failed to consider that cyber and military operations serve different political objectives.

Cyber operations are most effective in pursuing informational goals, such as gathering intelligence, stealing technology or winning public opinion or diplomatic debates. In contrast, nations use military operations to occupy territory, capture resources, diminish an opponent's military capability and terrorize a population.

A tactical role for cyberattacks?

It's common in modern warfare for new technologies to substitute for traditional military tactics. For example, the U.S. has made extensive use of drones, including in conflicts in Yemen and Pakistan where crewed aircraft and ground forces would be difficult or impossible to use. Because drones allow the U.S. to fight on the cheap with much less risk, they substitute for other forms of warfare.

In theory, cyber operations could have played a similar tactical role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But the Russian government has yet to use cyber operations in a manner that is clearly coordinated with military units and designed to smooth the advance of ground or air forces. When Russia invaded Ukraine, hackers disrupted access to satellite communications for thousands of people, and it was apparently a concern for Ukrainian defense officials. But overall, Ukraine has managed to maintain internet access and cellphone service for most of the country.

Russia has sophisticated cyber capabilities, and its hackers have worked their way into Ukrainian networks for many years. This raises the question of why Russia has not, for the most part, used cyber operations to provide tactical support for its military campaigns in Ukraine, at least until this point.

Separate roles

In recent studies, we examined whether cyber operations mostly serve as complements to, or substitutes for, conventional conflict. In one analysis, we examined conventional military campaigns around the world over a 10-year period using the Militarized Interstate Disputes dataset of all armed conflicts. We also focused on the conflicts in Syria and eastern Ukraine. Our results suggest that cyber operations are generally not being used as either.

Instead, nations tend to use these two types of operations independently from each other because each mode of conflict serves different objectives, and cyberwarfare is most effective for gathering intelligence, stealing technology or winning public opinion or diplomatic debates.

In contrast, nations use traditional forms of conflict to control tangible assets, such as capturing resources or occupying territory. The various goals offered by Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine, such as preventing Ukraine from joining NATO, replacing the government or countering fictitious Ukrainian weapons of mass destruction, require occupying territory.

There may be other reasons for the lack of overlap between cyber and conventional fronts in Ukraine. The Russian military could consider cyber operations ineffective for its purposes. The newness of cyber operations as a tool of war makes it difficult to coordinate with conventional military operations. Also, military targets might not be accessible to hackers because they might lack internet connectivity.

In any event, evidence that the Russian government intends to use cyber operations to complement military operations is thin. Our findings suggest hacking groups in previous conflicts faced considerable difficulties in responding to battlefield events, much less shaping them.

How Russia is using cyber operations

The main target of Russia's digital campaign in Ukraine is ordinary Ukrainians. To date, Russian cyber operations have sought to sow panic and fear, destabilizing the country from within, by demonstrating the country's inability to defend its infrastructure, for example, by defacing or disabling websites.

In addition, Russia has been using information campaigns to attempt to win the "hearts and minds" of Ukrainians. Prior to the start of the conflict, White House press secretary Jen Psaki warned of a 2,000% increase from the daily average in November in Russian-language social media content. This suggests that the purpose of these information operations was to make the case for Russia's intervention on humanitarian grounds and to build support for intervention among the Ukrainian public. The Russian government's domestic actions emphasize the value its leadership places on information operations.

A supporting role

Hackers' actions tend to occur out of the public eye, rather than in the flamboyantly violent manner favored by Hollywood cyber villains, which means it's difficult to know for sure what's happening. Nevertheless, the lack of overlap between cyber and conventional military operations makes sense operationally and strategically. This is not to say that the informational focus of cyber operations has no effect on military operations. Good intelligence is essential for success in any military conflict.

We believe Russia is likely to continue conducting information campaigns to influence Ukrainians, its domestic public and international audiences. Russia is also likely to seek to further penetrate Ukrainian networks to access information that potentially assists its military operations. But because cyber operations have not been thoroughly integrated into its military campaigns so far, cyber operations are likely to continue playing a secondary role in the conflict.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition March 9, 2020, in Washington. Musk is joining Twitter's board of directors, one day after it was disclosed that the Tesla CEO took a 9% stake in the social media platform. Twitter Inc. said in a regulatory filing that it entered into an agreement with Musk on Monday, April 4, that will give the billionaire a seat on its board, with the term expiring at its 2024 annual shareholders meeting. Credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File

Twitter's largest investor, billionaire Elon Musk, is reversing course and will no longer join the company's board of directors less than a week after being awarded a seat.

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced the news, which followed a weekend of Musk tweets suggesting changes to Twitter, including making the site ad-free. Nearly 90% of Twitter's 2021 revenue came from ads.

However, a number of the tweets posted by Musk over the weekend regarding potential changes at Twitter no longer appear on the platform.

"Elon's appointment to the board was to become officially effective on 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he would not be joining the board," Agrawal wrote in a reposted note originally sent to Tesla employees. "I believe this is for the best."

Agrawal didn't offer an explanation for Musk's apparent decision. He said the board understood the risks of having Musk, who is now the company's largest shareholder, as a member. But it, "believed having Elon as a fiduciary of the company, where he, like all board members, has to act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders, was the best path forward," he wrote.

The rapidly evolving relationship between Musk and Twitter began exactly one week ago when regulatory filings revealed the mercurial billionaire had amassed a 9.2% stake in the social media platform, making him its largest shareholder.

Twitter gave Musk a seat on the board on the condition that he not own more than 14.9% of the company's outstanding stock, according to a regulatory filing.

While Musk has been one of Twitter's loudest critics, the sudden withdrawal from the board, which became official Saturday, could signal that the rapidly evolving narrative between Musk and Twitter will become more acrimonious.

"This now goes from a Cinderella story with Musk joining the Twitter Board and keeping his stake under 14.9% helping move Twitter strategically forward to likely a "Game of Thrones" battle between Musk and Twitter with the high likelihood that Elon takes a more hostile stance towards Twitter and further builds his active stake in the company," wrote Daniel Ives, who follows Twitter for Wedbush.

That, according to Ives, could mean that Musk will join with another major investor to force "strategic changes at Twitter," or that he will try to force the company to move in a new direction by rattling board members and executives.

In a letter to employees, Agrawal wrote that, "There will be distractions ahead, but our goals and priorities remain unchanged."

Shares of Twitter Inc., which jumped nearly 30% after Musk's stake became public last week, fell almost 2% at the opening bell Monday.

Musk posted a few cryptic tweets late Sunday, including one showing a meme saying, "In all fairness, your honor, my client was in goblin mode," followed by one saying "Explains everything." Another, later tweet was of an emoji with a hand over its mouth.

He now has a 9.2% stake in Twitter, raising questions about how he might try to reshape the social media platform as Twitter's biggest shareholder.

Musk's 80.5 million Twitter followers make him one of the most popular figures on the platform, rivaling pop stars like Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga. But his prolific tweeting has sometimes gotten him into trouble, such as when he has used it to promote his business ventures, rally Tesla loyalists, question pandemic measures and pick fights.

In one famous example, Musk apologized to a British cave explorer who alleged the Tesla CEO had branded him a pedophile by referring to him as "pedo guy" in an angryand subsequently deletedtweet. The explorer filed a defamation suit, although a Los Angeles jury later cleared Musk.

He's also been locked in a long-running dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over his Twitter activity. Musk and Tesla in 2018 agreed to pay $40 million in civil fines and for Musk to have his tweets approved by a corporate lawyer after he tweeted about having the money to take Tesla private at $420 per share. That didn't happen but the tweet caused Tesla's stock price to jump. His lawyer has contended that the SEC is infringing on Musk's free speech rights.

Musk has described himself as a "free speech absolutist" and has said he doesn't think Twitter is living up to free speech principlesan opinion shared by followers of Donald Trump and several right-wing political figures who've had their accounts suspended for violating Twitter content rules.

But what's really has been driving Musk's Twitter involvement isn't clear. Other preoccupations with the service include arguing to make Twitter's algorithm viewable by the public, widening the availability of "verified" Twitter accounts, and blasting a profile photo initiative involving non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.

Musk has also called "crypto spam bots," which search tweets for cryptocurrency related keywords then pose as customer support to empty user crypto wallets, the "most annoying problem on Twitter."

Twitter's CEO and other board members have praised Musk, suggesting they might take his ideas seriously.

Agrawal's initial actions since taking over from co-founder Jack Dorsey in November have involved reorganizing divisions without making major changes. The company has long lagged behind its social media rivals and boasts far fewer users.

 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The overall process of testing the reproducibility and robustness of the cancer biology literature by robot. First, text mining is used to extract statements about the effect of drugs on gene expression in breast cancer. Then two different teams semi-automatically tested these statements using two different protocols, and two different cell lines (MCF7 and MDA-MB-231) using the laboratory automation system Eve. Credit: Journal of the Royal Society Interface (2022). DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2021.0821

Researchers have used a combination of automated text analysis and the "robot scientist" Eve to semi-automate the process of reproducing research results. The problem of lack of reproducibility is one of the biggest crises facing modern science.

The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, analyzed more than 12,000 research papers on breast cancer cell biology. After narrowing the set down to 74 papers of high scientific interest, less than one third22 paperswere found to be reproducible. In two cases, Eve was able to make serendipitous discoveries.

The results, reported in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, demonstrate that it is possible to use robotics and artificial intelligence to help address the reproducibility crisis.

A successful experiment is one where another scientist, in a different laboratory under similar conditions, can achieve the same result. But more than 70% of researchers have tried and failed to reproduce another scientist's experiments, and more than half have failed to reproduce some of their own experiments: This is the reproducibility crisis.

"Good science relies on results being reproducible; otherwise, the results are essentially meaningless," said Professor Ross King from Cambridge's Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, who led the research. "This is particularly critical in biomedicine: If I'm a patient and I read about a promising new potential treatment, but the results aren't reproducible, how am I supposed to know what to believe? The result could be people losing trust in science."

Several years ago, King developed the robot scientist Eve, a computer/robotic system that uses techniques from artificial intelligence (AI) to carry out scientific experiments.

"One of the big advantages of using machines to do science is they're more precise and record details more exactly than a human can," said King. "This makes them well-suited to the job of attempting to reproduce scientific results."

As part of a project funded by DARPA, King and his colleagues from the UK, US and Sweden designed an experiment that uses a combination of AI and robotics to help address the reproducibility crisis, by getting computers to read scientific papers and understand them, and getting Eve to attempt to reproduce the experiments.

For the current paper, the team focused on cancer research. "The cancer literature is enormous, but no one ever does the same thing twice, making reproducibility a huge issue," said King. "Given the vast sums of money spent on cancer research, and the sheer number of people affected by cancer worldwide, it's an area where we urgently need to improve reproducibility."

From an initial set of more than 12,000 published scientific papers, the researchers used automated text mining techniques to extract statements related to a change in gene expression in response to drug treatment in breast cancer. From this set, 74 papers were selected.

Two different human teams used Eve and two breast cancer cell lines and attempted to reproduce the 74 results. Statistically significant evidence for repeatability was found for 43 papers, meaning that the results were replicable under identical conditions; and significant evidence for reproducibility or robustness was found in 22 papers, meaning the results were replicable by different scientists under similar conditions. In two cases, the automation made serendipitous discoveries.

While only 22 out of 74 papers were found to be reproducible in this experiment, the researchers say that this does not mean that the remaining papers are not scientifically reproducible or robust. "There are lots of reasons why a particular result may not be reproducible in another lab," said King. "Cell lines can sometimes change their behavior in different labs under different conditions, for instance. The most important difference we found was that it matters who does the experiment, because every person is different."

King says that this work shows that automated and semi-automated techniques could be an important tool to help address the reproducibility crisis, and that reproducibility should become a standard part of the scientific process.

"It's quite shocking how big of an issue reproducibility is in science, and it's going to need a complete overhaul in the way that a lot of science is done," said King. "We think that machines have a key role to play in helping to fix it."

Explore further New tool tackles reproducibility crisis in science
A foreign policy expert and former diplomat with more than 25 years of experience in international affairs told an audience in College Station on Monday that Russia is the greatest geopolitical threat to the United States.

During a discussion hosted by the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Paula Dobriansky, who served as Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs during the George W. Bush administration, said the U.S. faces challenges and opportunities from an era of a great power competition primarily caused by Russia and China.

Beijing has also become closely aligned with Russia politically, economically and militarily, and Russias invasion of Ukraine has sparked fear about whether China may advance toward Taiwan, Dobriansky said.

Weve witnessed a lot of intimidation campaigns that have been waged not just towards Taiwan, but India, she said. Were seeing intimidation campaigns waged against Australia and then Lithuania.

China has refused to abide by World Trade Organization rules and has committed intellectual property theft and human rights abuses, Dobriansky said. And China has tested a nuclear capable hypersonic missile, she said.

That backdrop is just a challenge for us in so many of those different spheres. Its not just the military, its also a political battle of ideas. Its also an economic challenge, Dobriansky said.

But Dobriansky said Russia is a greater threat than China because of the number of nuclear weapons it holds as well as its ability to destabilize other countries. Unlike China, Russia does not derive its power from its economy, she said.

It definitely uses proxies, it uses economic instruments, it excels at disinformation campaigns, election interference, corrupt relationships, and also uses energy as a weapon, and weve seen that with regards to countries in Europe. It definitely works hard to undermine our own interest, Dobriansky said.

Traditional warfare has taken a back seat to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, unmanned systems, space, and cyber attacks, all of which both China and Russia have invested in, Dobriansky said.

The power competition has created opportunities, she said, such as building transatlantic relationships, environmental stewardship to improve global health, and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The opportunity is bringing these issues to the forefront. Im not saying theres an easy solution to that, but its making a greater awareness, Dobriansky said.

Dobriansky, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomacy, said the United States need to have a strong defense to be prepared in what she called a very challenging time.

Its not only about the military base that we have, its about a strong economy and its also about our moral narrative, really standing up for what we believe, she said.

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FERRUM  These days, family is the first thing people ask Roman Bohdan about.

Is my family safe? Thats, in most cases, the first question, Bohdan said.

Bohdan is an assistant professor of business at Ferrum College. He has lived in the U.S. since 2014, but comes from Lviv in western Ukraine, a county currently being invaded by its eastern neighbor, Russia. Russian forces havent reached Lviv yet, but Bohdan said he has been making daily calls to his mother, who still lives there.

Theyve decided to stay until its not safe. They dont want to be refugees, Bohdan said. ...For the younger generation its easier to adapt and start from the beginning, but for them its very difficult. ... I was asking my mom to just leave but I realized its not that easy.

Bohdan moved to New Orleans eight years ago, where he earned his doctorate in financial economics. He came to Virginia four years ago to teach at Ferrum College. Hes not the only Ferrum College staff member from near Ukraine, but Mariya Dzhyoyeva, assistant professor of modern languages at Ferrum College, is much newer to the area, having come to Virginia from Toronto four months ago.

I was born and grew up in Crimea where I have completed a Ph.D. in Russian linguistics. Later, I studied Spanish in the U.S. and Canada and completed a Ph.D. in Latin American literature at the University of Toronto, Dzhyoyeva said in an email to the News-Post last Wednesday.

She identifies as Ukrainian-Canadian.

Im proud of the courageous fight that Ukraine is putting up and of everything Canada is doing to help, Dzhyoyeva said. ...While most know that Crimea is a predominantly Russian-speaking region, many outside the peninsula dont realize that it has a very unique and well-defined regional identity that I cannot categorize as either Russian or Ukrainian. ... Despite growing up as a Russian speaker and majoring in Russian, I have never seen Russia as ancestral home or identified with its culture.

Thats part of what Dzhyoyeva wants people in the U.S. to know about the invasion of Ukraine.

I want them to know that discrimination against Russian-speaking population that was used as an excuse for the invasion is a total and utter myth. As a Russian-speaking person who grew up, studied, and worked in Crimea under Ukraine, I can say that I have never, not once, experienced any sort of discrimination or limitations based on my first language or culture I identified with, Dzhyoyeva said.

Rather, Dzhyoyeva said, Russia has been a cultural transgressor.

The unique mix of cultures, from ancient Greek to medieval Italian to Turkish, Ukrainian, Tartar, and Russian was appreciated and supported by Ukraine and has been completely erased by Russia after the 2014 invasion (of Crimea), Dzhyoyeva said.

Russia has also claimed the invasion is necessary to fight Nazis in Ukraine. Bohdan attributed the effectiveness of that claim to the brainwashing of the Russian population and said its a necessary excuse to garner support for the war against Ukraine.

Russians would never go and fight against Ukrainians because many of them have family, some connections, Bohdan said.

Dzhyoyevas perspective on the role of propaganda is further informed by having watched Russia invade Crimea in 2014.

Despite the disinformation campaign that Russia has waged against Ukraine since the invasion of Crimea, at least two things became abundantly clear. One, alleged ukrainization has been replaced by real russification in its worst, primitive, chauvinistic form that completely disregards all moral norms. Two, international sanctions may not stop Russia. The saying that emerged in Crimea in the days following the Russian takeover, Even if stones fall from the sky, that will not matter. We are with Russia, tells us everything we need to know about the level of influence that the state-sponsored propaganda exercises over ordinary citizens. Although there have been reports of multiple arrests of protesters within Russia, this is nowhere near to being enough to reverse the authoritarian machine, Dzhyoyeva said.

Bohdan believes economic sanctions imposed by the U.S., United Kingdom, European Union and others will help weaken support for the war, though.

Most of the Russias middle and high classes have property outside. Some even have dual citizenship. If they cant use that they will become very angry, Bohdan said. More importantly, the inner circle near Putinthose oligarchs, billionairesif they cannot access their money outside, they will not be happy.

Bohdan also spoke about closing the airspace above Ukraine.

Theres been shelling and bombs. Russia cannot conquer on land so they do air raids, Bohdan said.

Bohdan believes that, and a little military help, would go a long way. He said there are many people who would fight, but the country lacks the resources to do so.

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KEARNEY  Three businesses in Kearney and Loup City have failed alcohol inspections.

On March 25, Nebraska State Patrol investigators conducted the inspections at 35 businesses in Buffalo and Sherman counties. Three business  Margaritas and Joys Table in Kearney, and Colony Inn in Loup City  sold alcohol to a minor. Two businesses failed to check the minors identification, an NSP news release said.

At each business the clerks were cited for procuring alcohol to a minor. The businesses will be referred to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission where their liquor licenses could receive sanctions or be suspended.

A list of the businesses that passed the inspection was unavailable.

Police reports on the people who allegedly sold alcohol to minors also will be forwarded to the Buffalo County Attorneys Office for possible prosecution. The charge is a Class I misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, carries a punishment of up to one year in jail and a fine.

The inspections were funded with grant funds from the Nebraska Department of Highway Safety.
Pandemic Learning Loss

Nationwide Tutoring for All Students is Goal of New Nonprofit Accelerate

Initiative Aims to Scale Up Impactful Tutoring Programs and Embed Tutoring as Permanent Part of Public Education, Leaders Say

A new nonprofit called Accelerate launched today, bringing together local, state, and federal education leaders, philanthropists, and researchers in a national effort to bring research-based, high-impact tutoring programs to every student in U.S. K12 public schools  and to make tutoring a permanent part of the nations public education system.

Accelerate CEO Kevin Huffman said in a video call this afternoon that the nonprofit is inviting state and local education agencies, community leaders, and tutoring providers to join its initiative; selected participants will receive financial and operational support to design and implement tutoring programs and then scale those programs proving effective, he said.

We are asking school districts, states, community leaders, and tutoring providers to apply to a competitive process (through which) we will be awarding more than $10 million in grants and building a community of grantees who are seeking to launch and scale innovative approaches to tutoring, Huffman said. Our hope is this will result in more than a 150,000 students receiving direct tutoring support while  and this is important  while we learn from that work through research partnerships, and then help other districts and states get better.

Accelerate formed to fund and support innovation in schools, launch high-quality research, and build a federal and state policy agenda to support schools efforts to implement impactful tutoring programs that will extend beyond the pandemic, said Huffman, who formerly served as the Tennessee commissioner of education.

We are emerging from an incredibly difficult time in this country, and our students  particularly the highest-needs students in the country  have faced enormous challenges that have exacerbated long-standing gaps in our education system, Huffman said. We can't just turn the page from the pandemic and move on. ... We have to address the very real gaps in opportunities and outcomes that exist, and we have to support schools and teachers who are under duress and are trying very hard to address those gaps.

He noted that so far, 37 states have opted to use a total of $1.7 billion in pandemic relief funds for tutoring programs in public schools, but those plans vary widely and will cover tutoring for, at most, the next three years. Some states are implementing tutoring programs in 85% of districts, others just 10%, Huffman noted, citing a new report out today by FutureEd on state-by-state post-pandemic tutoring plans.

The question is whether tutoring is being done in a quality way that will drive impact and lay the groundwork for tutoring to become part of the fabric of public education after this one-time surge of federal funding ends, Huffman said during todays video conference. Nothing is more important than the foundation that kids can get through high-quality tutoring done right to leverage this impact.

Incubated by nonprofit America Achieves, Accelerate has raised $65 million of its first-year $100 million goal, thanks to initial support from Arnold Ventures, Citadel CEO Kenneth C. Griffin, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Overdeck Family Foundation, according to a news release.

In addition to Huffman, Accelerates leadership includes board member and Executive Chair Janice K. Jackson, CEO of Hope Chicago and former CEO of Chicago Public Schools; board member Susanna Loeb, director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform and the National Student Support Accelerator at Brown University; and Jon Schnur, CEO of America Achieves. The Annenberg Institute and University of Chicago will lead Accelerates research and data analysis efforts as it looks for the best possible student outcomes resulting from tutoring programs it funds, the nonprofit said.

Accelerate will focus on several early goals, Huffman said:

Supporting innovative practices in districts and states. Building an effective research base with help from research partners at University of Chicago and Brown Universitys Annenberg Institute for School Reform. Developing policies at the federal and state level that allow schools to implement tutoring programs that work, to ensure tutoring and high-impact individualized learning is sustainable for the long-term, and to build better supports for schools.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona joined the video conference to express support for Accelerate and its tutoring initiative, noting that only about 40% of low-income students currently have access to tutoring programs.

This means that opportunity gaps lead to achievement gaps, which are widening for too many students, especially those who have been historically marginalized, Cardona said. The body of evidence (shows) that tutoring provided at least three days per week for at least a half-hour works for our kids and not only improves academic achievement, but importantly, it also promotes confidence, encourages independent thinking, and builds with strong, meaningful relationships between caring adults and kids.

Learn more about Accelerates tutoring initiative and apply to participate and receive grant funds at Accelerate.smapply.io.
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CARBONDALE  Two more Carbondale residents have been charged with firearms violations, according to the States Attorney Joseph Cervantez.

Taniskia Morning, 44, has been charged with two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, Class 3 felonies.

Javarr Underwood, 18, has been charged with one count of unlawful possession of a stolen firearm, a Class 2 felony, and possession of a firearm without a valid FOID license, a Class A misdemeanor.

Morning and Underwood are just two of the individuals arrested in Jackson Countys as they attempt to crack down on gun violence, Cervantez said.

The local law enforcement agencies have been making great strides against gun crimes, Cervantez said. We are all working together in order to get illegal firearms off of the streets.

Morning and Underwood were arrested as a result of the execution of a search warrant at Mornings Carbondale residence on March 30, 2022.

Members of the Carbondale Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriffs Department executed the search warrant as part of an ongoing firearms investigation.

Items including four firearms were allegedly located within the residence resulting in the arrests of Morning and Underwood.

If convicted, Morning faces a mandatory sentence range of two to ten years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

If convicted, Underwood faces up to seven years in prison.

Both are being held in the Jackson County Jail.

States Attorney Cervantez requested bonds of $250,000 for Morning and $100,000 for Underwood.

Their preliminary hearings are scheduled for April 19, 2022.

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From actors to athletes, check out this updated list of famous Salukis who went to SIU Carbondale.
Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP since 2017, will speak at Southern Illinois University Carbondale on April 11. Everyone is welcome.

Johnson will discuss Leading the Fight for Justice, Equity and Equality from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Student Center Ballrooms. A meet and greet will follow from 4 to 5 p.m. There is no cost to attend.

It is truly monumental to have Mr. Derrick Johnson visit SIU and the Carbondale community, said LaShonda M. Stewart, director of the Chancellors Scholars Program, which is coordinating the event. Stewart and Johnson were classmates at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi. His visit is highly significant because he could have visited any other university, but he chose to visit us. It will be a wonderful occasion to highlight and reinforce SIUs commitment to antiracism, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Lifelong commitment to advocacy

Johnsons commitment to equality and social justice is long-standing. He formerly served as vice chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors and state president of the Mississippi State Conference NAACP and has long been a member and leader of the organization.

A native of Detroit, he attended Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi, and received his law degree from the South Texas College of Law in Houston. He has served as a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School and as adjunct professor at Tougaloo College.

A veteran activist, he has dedicated his life to defending the rights of other people. While state president of the Mississippi NAACP, Johnson led important voting rights and equitable education campaigns and successfully managed two bond referendum campaigns in Jackson that brought in $150 million for school building improvements and $65 million toward construction of a new convention center.

Throughout his career, he has advocated for affordable health insurance options, expanded Medicaid eligibility and an investment in community-based health care infrastructure through strategically located community health centers. As national NAACP president, he has guided the organization in re-envisioning, and it has been active in a variety of campaigns and initiatives, including the 2018 Log Out Facebook campaign in response to reports of Russian hackers targeting African Americans, the Jamestown Partnership recognizing the 400th year since enslaved Africans arrived in America, and the 2020 We Are Done Dying campaign to expose inequities in the American health care system. He has worked to elevate the visibility and influence of the NAACP in general, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit people of color particularly hard.

We are proud to welcome a guest of Derrick Johnsons caliber to SIU and look forward to hearing his inspirational words, said Paul Frazier, vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion. The world is such a contentious and fractured place, but at SIU, as we celebrate more than 150 years of success and diversity and imagine and work toward an even better future, one of the strategic pillars we will build on is diversity, equity and inclusion. Who better to give us valuable insights than Mr. Johnson?

For more information

Johnson will also participate in the Phi Kappa Phi honor society induction ceremony and reception later the evening of April 11 at Morris Library.

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Dr. Alison McLetchie, assistant professor in the South Carolina State University Department of Social Sciences, has been elected president of the Society of Ethnomusicologys Southeast and Caribbean chapter (SEMSEC).

The Society for Ethnomusicology was founded in 1955 to promote the research, study, and performance of music in all historical periods and cultural contexts.

The Southeast and Caribbean chapter includes the societys largest geographic territory: nine U.S. states -- Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina -- plus all the countries in the Caribbean basin.

Membership also extents to individuals from parts of Central and South America. As a result, the chapter is also the most linguistically diverse.

McLetchie served as the secretary-treasurer of SEMSEC for the past three years, and she was one of the organizers of this years symposium and chair of the panel: Research Trends in Caribbean.

McLetchies goal for her tenure is to increase chapter membership and introduce the discipline to undergraduates and encourage them to consider a career in the field.

Other members of the chapter executive are vice-president and program chair, Dr. Sarah Politz, University of Florida; and secretary-treasurer, Dr. Alexandra (Alex) Carrico, University of South Carolina. Abigail Lindo, University of Florida is the graduate student board member, and Danielle Davis, Florida State University is the student board member-elect.

McLetchie is an SC State class of 2000 alumna having received a bachelor of science in psychology. She went on to earn a master of arts degree in anthropology and certificate in museum Management in 2003, and a Ph.D. in sociology in 2013, all from the University of South Carolina. Her work in ethnomusicology focuses on Caribbean Catholic music, Calypso, the impact of COVID-19 on Carnival celebrations and Caribbean Carnivals in the U.S. Southeast.

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Orangeburg County is asking volunteers to step up and help clean up and combat litter.

Litter is ugly, Orangeburg County Council Vice Chairwoman Janie Cooper-Smith said during a Monday afternoon press conference.

She said litter hinders the areas ability to attract businesses and tourists.

It is really bad for our environment, Cooper-Smith continued. I think people should know it and they should be fined for it because it is a crime.

The press conference, held in the median of Rowesville Road, served as a chance to discuss litter enforcement and the statewide 2022 spring Clean Where You Live and Work challenge.

Litter enforcement

Palmetto Pride and S.C. Litter Control are encouraging law enforcement agencies to target littering, uncovered loads and illegal dumping.

The Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office has named April Zero Tolerance for Litter month. There will be countywide enforcement of litter laws.

The fine for littering in Orangeburg County is $465. If found guilty, the penalty includes a mandatory five hours of community service.

Orangeburg County Department Manager for Litter Control Marie Canty said law enforcement officers can pull people over if they have unsecured loads in the back of their trucks.

It doesn't mean something has to come out that load. It just means that it is not secured, Canty said.

Last year in Orangeburg County, 215 litter citations were issued. The county had 651 community service hours completed.

While all the 2021 cases havent yet made their way through court, so far for 2021, the county has collected a total of $19,632.96 in litter violation fines. We still have 53 litter citations pending in court with potential fines of $24,645, Canty said.

Over the last month alone, Orangeburg County employees picked over 16,500 pounds of trash just in the county, Canty said.

The county also has a litter machine that was recently used at the Elloree Trials and picked up over 1,000 pounds.

Palmetto Pride Executive Director Sarah Lyles said the Zero Tolerance for Litter campaign combines enforcement and awareness.

Orangeburg County has been a leader in litter control enforcement for the past many years, Lyles said. What you have done with your ordinances and working together with volunteers and Keep Orangeburg County Beautiful and your local law enforcement efforts is exactly what is needed to change the behavior that creates litter.

Lyles said litter enforcement falls upon business owners, truck drivers and personal vehicle drivers.

If you have a truck, make sure it is properly secured, and if you see litter in your communities, get out there and help pick it up, Lyles said.

Lyles said state elected officials have increasingly made litter a priority over the past year, especially on roads going in and out of landfills.

Orangeburg County's litter codes have served as a model for other counties, she said.

Clean Where You

Live and Work

Under the Clean Where You Live and Work challenge, volunteers are being encouraged to clean areas of the county where they live or work. The focus of the campaign will be on Orangeburg County roadsides.

Volunteers are asked to pick a day and time this month for when they want to conduct a cleanup.

Volunteers can call Orangeburg County Code Enforcement at 803-533-6162, Keep Orangeburg County Beautifuls Lisa Rigden at 803-534-2409 Ext. 8903 (lrigden@orangeburgcounty.org) or Diane Curlee at 803-534-2409 Ext. 8918 (dcurlee@orangeburgcounty.org) to register and pick up bags, grabbers, gloves and vests.

Groups are encouraged to get involved.

Volunteers can call the Orangeburg County Code Enforcement to pick up bags after they are filled. The phone number is 803-533-6162.

The cleanup challenge is sponsored by the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office, Keep America Beautiful, Palmetto Pride, Keep South Carolina Beautiful, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, Orangeburg County Litter Control, Keep Orangeburg County Beautiful and the Orangeburg County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Its spearheaded by Orangeburg County Code Enforcement Director M.E. Clarkson as well as Canty and Orangeburg County Litter Control Officer Sgt. Antonio Williams.

For more information on how to get involved in the Clean Where You Live/Work Challenge, visit: orangeburgswcd.com

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Straight-line damaging winds are forecast to be the greatest threat The T&D Region faces this afternoon into the evening.

The region could also possibly see some tornadoes and flash flooding, especially in low-lying or poor-drainage areas, according to a Columbia National Weather Service Tuesday weather briefing.

Thunderstorms are forecast to develop after 1 p.m. with the peak of the severe weather to be between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., according to the NWS.

"Areas of tree damage expected," the NWS said in the briefing. "Wind damage is also possible to mobile homes, roofs and outbuildings."

"Confidence is moderate that some thunderstorms will produce damaging winds," the NWS said. "The threat of tornadoes is less certain."

The time window for the severe weather is forecast at 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. today.

Due to the severe weather, Orangeburg City Council canceled its regularly scheduled 6 p.m. Tuesday meeting and rescheduled it to this coming Thursday at 6 p.m. City Council meetings are held in the city gym.

The Orangeburg and Calhoun County school districts dismissed students early Tuesday and canceled all after-school activities.

In addition:

* Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College announced that due to the possibility of inclement weather, it will close at 1= p.m. Tuesday, April 5. All afternoon and evening classes are canceled beginning at 12:30 p.m. for the remainder of the day. The college will resume its normal operating schedule Wednesday, April 6.

* South Carolina State University will cancel classes and dismiss nonessential employees at 2 p.m. Tuesday in light of approaching severe weather. The Washington Dining Hall and The Pitt quick-serve dining area in the Student Center will close at 4:30 p.m.

Maintenance crews will place sandbags at potentially vulnerable locations in Belcher Hall, Davis Hall, Hodge Hall, Crawford Engineering Building and Lewis Laboratories. Faculty and staff are asked to vacate these buildings by 2 p.m.

Students and employees are advised to take an abundance of caution when outside and/or traveling. Residential students are advised to remain in their residence halls throughout the inclement weather.

Emergency contacts: Campus Police 803-378-4754 and afterhours maintenance 803-596-6030.

Essential personnel are to remain on campus per supervisors instructions.

Also, S.C. State's Spring Honors and Awards Convocation has been rescheduled for Wednesday, April 6, beginning at 9 a.m.

The event had been scheduled to post today at 3 p.m. Tuesday via SC States YouTube Channel. The program will remain available for later viewing.

* Orangeburg County will close early today, April 5, 2022, at 1 p.m.. This notice does not include Emergency Services, Sheriff's Department, Detention Center, EMS, Buildings and Grounds, or Public Works, because they have their own inclement weather procedures.

Should you need to perform any monetary transactions, please do so on the county website at www.orangeburgcounty.org or, if it is safe to do so, in the dropbox at the County Administration Building.

Should circumstances change, the county will make operational adjustments accordingly. Updates will be provided at www.orangeburgcounty.org, Orangeburg Countys main phone line at 803-533-1000, Emergency Services at 803-533-6265, local media outlets, and the countys Facebook page.

* City of Orangeburg offices will be closing at 3 p.m. Tuesday due to inclement weather concerns.

* As a result of potential severe weather, the April 5 Orangeburg City Council meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 7 at 6 p.m. at the City Gym.

* Voorhees College announced the closing of campus at noon Tuesday. The Womens Legacy Lecture Series, scheduled for 11 a.m., has been canceled and the carnival will close at noon.

Employees and students are urged to monitor Voorhees e-mail accounts for updates and visitors may monitor the Voorhees website (www.voorhees.edu) and area media outlets for updates.

* Claflin University offices will close, and classes will end at 2 p.m. Tuesday. All other on-campus events are also postponed.

Students are encouraged to check Moodle for instructions from their professors. Updates will be sent by email, posted on social media, and sent through the emergency text messaging service (Panther Alerts) to alert the campus community of when the university will reopen and when classes will resume.

The T&D Region is at what the NWS classifies as an "enhanced" risk of severe weather. An enhanced risk means numerous, persistent and widespread severe storms are possible

The severe weather can be blamed on a warm front that will lift northward this morning.

Another round of thunderstorms will occur on Wednesday ahead of a cold front. There is some potential for strong or severe storms in the afternoon, most likely in the southern forecast area. The severe weather threat on Wednesday is not as great as today.

The remainder of the week is expected to be sunny and slightly cool with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. It is forecast to warm up Sunday into Monday of next week.

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During a recent speech to petroleum executives from around the world, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called on oil companies to open the taps on fossil fuels. The secretary noted that America is now on a war footing following Russias invasion of Ukraine, and in this moment of crisis, we need more supply."

It was a painful reminder that Americans are struggling, and skyrocketing fuel costs are digging deeper and deeper into the pocketbooks of families. Longer term, the Biden administration is committed to clean energy, and President Joe Biden has vowed that his administration is using every tool at their disposal to protect American families and businesses from rising prices at the gas pump."

Unfortunately, not all of those tools make sense  for consumers, for the climate or for our energy security.

Thats why its baffling to see the White House bending over to accommodate the demands of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela to score a few more barrels of oil. We cant rely on hostile nations to protect our energy security or the interests of U.S. motorists.

Rather than petition human rights abusers overseas, we need to take advantage of the options readily available on U.S. soil, especially when there are clean, domestic alternatives that can deliver immediate savings. Gasoline may be setting records for cost, but so is the discount on homegrown biofuels. In fact, a gallon of U.S. ethanol is trading around a dollar below its petroleum-based counterpart.

The only thing stopping more Americans from tapping into that savings is the limited availability of higher ethanol blends like E15. Even adding 5% more ethanol to the standard E10 blend can make a big difference, with E15 retailing at more than 50 cents per gallon cheaper than regular gasoline in some parts of the country.

Yet, without action by Biden, retailers offering E15 will be forced to take it off the market on June 1. Outdated federal gasoline regulations inadvertently prohibit selling E15 in the summer, a legal quirk that consumer advocates like GasBuddyhave suggested the Environmental Protection Agency fix to save consumers money and extend domestic fuel supplies.

Nationwide, E15 could save drivers an extra $12 billion or more. Even better, it is a fuel made from plants  grown on U.S. soil by U.S. farmers  that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 46%, according to scientists.

We dont need to beg leaders in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who dont even accept the presidents phone calls, to protect Americas energy security. We have enough spare ethanol production sitting idle  largely due to COVID  to replace every drop of gasoline made from banned Russian oil imports.

A broad, bipartisan coalition of House and Senate leaders, including top Democrats like Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith of Minnesota, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan have joined the chorus calling on Biden and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan to increase quickly the supply of lower-cost biofuels available to motorists.

The EPA has taken the same step in response to fuel shortages in the past, and with fuel prices breaking records, adding more biofuels to mix should be a no-brainer. Its certainly a better option than sending our hard-earned money to a criminal regime in Venezuela.

George Miller, a Democrat, is co-chair of the Carbon-50 project and is a former chairman of the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee and the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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Scientists have decoded the entire human genome

In 2003, the Human Genome Project made history when it sequenced 92% of the human genome. But for nearly two decades since, scientists have struggled to decipher the remaining 8%. Now, a team of nearly 100 scientists from the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) Consortium has unveiled the complete human genome -- the first time it's been sequenced in its entirety, the researchers say.

"Having this complete information will allow us to better understand how we form as an individual organism and how we vary not just between other humans but other species," Evan Eichler, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at the University of Washington and the research leader, said Thursday. Read more here:

Study shows link between THC, CBD exposure in the womb and childhood obesity

Pregnant women who were exposed to cannabis products that contained THC and CBD were more likely to have children with increased fat mass and blood sugar levels at age 5, a new pilot study found.

"There's this misconception that cannabis is safe," said study author Brianna Moore, an assistant professor at the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora, Colorado.

"So some women may use it in pregnancy, thinking that it's a safe alternative to other medicines, even prescribed medications," Moore said. Read more here:

Why does coffee make you poop?

For some people, coffee jump-starts their bowel movements in addition to their energy.

Despite the drink's popularity, there isn't a lot of research on why coffee sends many people running to the bathroom within minutes of consuming it.

"In some cases, as with coffee and bowel movements, there likely just hasn't been the medical demand to merit serious investigation," Dr. Kyle Staller, director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, said via email. Read more here:

Pandemic proving detrimental to students' health; teachers train to solve the problems

Since the pandemic started, experts have warned of a mental health crisis facing American children. That is now playing out at schools in the form of increased childhood depression, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, fights and thoughts of suicide at alarming levels, according to interviews with teachers, administrators, education officials and mental health experts.

In low-income areas, where adverse childhood experiences were high before the pandemic, the crisis is even more acute and compounded by a shortage of school staff and mental health professionals. Read more here:

World Health Organization says most of the world breathes bad air

The U.N. health agency says nearly everybody in the world breathes air that doesnt meet its standards for air quality, calling for more action to reduce fossil-fuel use, which generates pollutants that cause respiratory and blood-flow problems and lead to millions of preventable deaths each year.

The World Health Organization, about six months after tightening its guidelines on air quality, on Monday issued an update to its database on air quality that draws on information from a growing number of cities, towns and villages across the globe  now over 6,000 municipalities. Read more here:

***

For more recent health news, check out these stories:

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BUFFALO  Gov. Mark Gordon announced his reelection bid Monday, offering an upbeat message after a first term dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic challenges.

I do believe that Wyoming is the best place on the Earth bar none, and I believe Wyomings best days are ahead of it, said Gordon, a moderate Republican. And thats because of you: the people of Wyoming.

Gordons time in office has been challenging, and hes faced criticism from his partys right wing. He angered many Wyomingites with a statewide mask mandate enacted during a COVID spike in December 2020. He lifted it four months later. Midway through 2021, as COVID was surging in the state, Gordon said Wyoming would not implement another statewide mask order or require vaccines. That promise held true.

Despite criticism from Gordons right flank, there is not a well-known, hard-line conservative challenging him.

Challenging an incumbent is already tough, but time is starting to run out for a formidable candidate to raise money and spread awareness about his or her candidacy.

Its way too late, said Bill Novotny, a county commissioner and political consultant.

The primary is in August.

Scott Madsen, a Buffalo City Council member and Gordon supporter who attended Mondays announcement, said opinions of Gordon in the northern Wyoming town are fairly positive.

Politicians often have strong support in their hometowns (Gordon grew up on a ranch near Kaycee), but the measures the governors office took to combat COVID-19 angered people across the board.

He wasnt very well liked during the state of emergency and the mandates, Madsen said. He wasnt fully responsible. I think he was getting bad advice.

Most recently, Gordon successfully pushed for pay raises for state workers because state agencies are experiencing difficulty hiring and retaining workers.

Gordons 2018 primary race was crowded with candidates, and he came out on top with 33.4% of the vote.

He beat out five other Republican candidates including the late GOP megadonor Foster Friess and natural resources lawyer Harriet Hageman. Hageman is now the Donald Trump-endorsed candidate running against Rep. Liz Cheney for Wyomings lone House seat.

Gordon coasted to victory in the general election, defeating Democrat Mary Throne.

The 2018 gubernatorial primary sparked calls for changes in Wyomings electoral system. Some on the far right pushed for a runoff system so that candidates would need majority support to win, though that effort was ultimately unsuccessful. Friess also blamed his loss on whats called crossover voting, the practice of Democrats and independents changing their affiliation on primary day, typically to vote for more moderate Republicans. The data does not back up Friess claim, but the issue has remained a concern for some with the upcoming midterms.

While Wyoming is a deeply red state with the most Republican legislature in the nation, three of the last six governors were Democrats. The state Democratic Party has not yet announced a candidate.

Gordon was appointed to serve as Wyomings treasurer in 2012 after the death of then-treasurer Joseph Meyer. Two years later, Gordon was elected to the post. Hes also a small businessman and rancher. The governor was born in New York City and attended college in Vermont. Since moving to Wyoming early in his life, he has predominantly lived in Johnson County.

Most of the crowd in attendance at Gordons campaign announcement were supporters and longtime friends of the Gordon family.

The entrance to the event was surrounded by Gordon yard signs that read, Wyoming Right. The slogan can be interpreted a number of ways, but its meant to send a positive message about the state.

Its just Wyoming gets everything right. We do, said Tom Wiblemo, Gordons campaign coordinator.

The slogan matches the message the incumbent delivered Monday. It was positive, hopeful and complimentary of the states residents.

Follow state politics reporter Victoria Eavis on Twitter @Victoria_Eavis

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Mothers will get extra special treatment on Sundaylavish lunches, concerts and gifts of perfumes and roses.

Meanwhile, mere days before the celebration, Port of Spain businesspeoplevendors and huckstersare reporting slow sales. They are cautiously optimistic that it will pick up today.
April 5, 2022

 Mark Vande Hei is happy having spent almost a year in space.



A NASA astronaut, Vande Hei returned from a 355-day stay on the International Space Station on March 30. A week later, he made his first public comments about the experience, taking part in a press conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on Tuesday (April 5).



"I'm very happy to be back," said Vande Hei, replying to a question about whether he wished he had stayed just 10 day more to make it a full year in space. "If it ended up being 300 days, I still would have felt really good about the mission. It's just the opportunity to work with a really good sense of purpose in a job where we get to help out all of humanity. The number of days was not that important to me."



Importance aside, Vande Hei now holds the distinction of have flown the longest single spaceflight by an American astronaut. The previous record was set at 340 days by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly in 2016.



"I want my 355 days to be remembered as the record that got broken," Vande Hei said. "I am really looking forward to the next person doing something longer and getting further and further away and exploring more."



"I want [my mission] to be remembered as a stepping stone," he said.



Back to Earth



This was Vande Hei's second spaceflight and second time returning home on board a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. His first stay on the space station ended after 168 days in 2018.



"I didn't have as many responsibilities in the Russian spacecraft this time. Last time I was the copilot, this time I was in the same seat that might have been a tourist's seat so I had very little to do, which gave me a lot of time to look out the window and observe and that was really quite a pleasant experience for me, getting to notice things that I hadn't noticed before," Vande Hei said in reply to a question from collectSPACE.







Mark Vande Hei discusses mission. Click to enlarge video in new, pop-up window. (NASA)
There are no more visa appointments at the United States Embassy in Trinidad for 2022, so be
Bandits in Morvant assaulted and robbed a 54-year-old woman of everything she had on her on 
When Dr Eric Williams decided to lay down his bucket here in the islands after his release from the Caribbean Commission and his debates with Dom Basil Matthews in the Public Library, he held lectures in Woodford Square, which he called The University of Woodford Square. We who were alive then felt happy.

He attracted people of like mind for the betterment of the islands, so he formed the PNMthe Peoples National Movement.
The border traffic brings life-saving business to many families in Nogales, Sonora.

Maria Catalena Enriquez wakes up at 5:30 every morning to grind corn to make fresh tamales she will peddle to carloads of people waiting to cross into Arizona.

Thanks to my tamalitos I have been able to move forward, said Enriquez, known to her customers simply as Cathy. I am very grateful to God that I have had the chance to make my tamales and not depend on anyone. What I get, I get how I can.

By 7 a.m. shes at the Nogales port of entry selling her tamales to the people waiting to drive over into Arizona. She sells sweet tamales and green chile and cheese tamales  a dozen at 150 pesos or $7.50 U.S.  each made fresh every day.

Another vendors family business sells plushies, hats, piggy banks and other trinkets along the road. Jaziel Cesar Perez works a booth near the car line with his family, toiling 10- to 12-hour days, six days a week, even under the blazing sun.

Perezs family has a booth on the outskirts of the road, but they also carry trinkets through the line to try and sell to people waiting in their cars.

People try to barter a lot, Perez said. They wouldnt do that at a store or supermarket, but they barter with us, and obviously it bothers us.

The exchange rate is about 19 pesos to a dollar, though it fluctuates.

People always want everything cheaper, said Diego Trujillo, who sells artisanal goods. He voiced a common issue among vendors. Sometimes you just cant give it to them or sometimes youll sell it to them just to have something in your bag.

Another vendor, Luis Salazar, works for an ice cream company selling fresh fruit paletas, or popsicles. The company sells pineapple, coconut, rice, strawberry and chamoy popsicle sticks at 7 pesos, less than an American dollar, though sometimes people dont have smaller change or have already spent their money on other vendors, he said.

Salazar can expect to make about 1,000 to 1,500 pesos in a four- to five-hour work day.

Most of the time you dont get sales, he said. You could go through all the cars and not make any sales, but also one car could buy many popsicles.

Aside from independent vendors like Enriquez and Perez and hourly employees like Salazar, there are also people who work on commission, like Enrique Ramirez, who works El Imparcial, distributing the newspaper.

Working seven-hour shifts every day, his goal is to sell 30 newspapers at 6 pesos apiece.

Everyone here knows each other, Ramirez said.

Vendor permits required

Antonio Martinez is an operative administrator of the General Directorate of Inspection and Surveillance, which gives vendors permits to sell their goods and services. Martinez walks around the border line checking the permits of the people he doesnt recognize. He sees the same people almost every day, though.

There are no more permits being given in this area as it is too saturated already, Martinez said.

For everyone its just a job, and we try to get along, he said. Most of the vendors have built a camaraderie, working more as co-workers at the line than as competitors.

Martinez works one of the two seven-hour shifts, usually with another inspector. He differentiates between vendors with valid permits to sell, people with no permits and people who beg for money.

We cant do more than (ask them to leave) because that would be abusing our authority, Martinez said. Only if they refuse to leave does the inspector call the authorities.

Selling through the pandemic

At the height of the pandemic, people refused to lower their windows for any vendor.

For Trujillo, who sells artisanal goods, the pandemic meant two months of no work. He managed to get through it by using his savings, but he recalled there being no jobs anywhere.

Even now, he says, business has not bounced back.

In February of 2020, right before the pandemic, more than 800,000 travelers crossed through the Nogales ports of entry. In February 2021, the number was slightly less than half that, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. It was nearly 750,000 travelers in February.

Enriquez, the tamal maker, says she would return home with dozens of tamales, chalking them up as losses because of her baked-fresh philosophy.

Enriquez uses the money she earns to pay for her water and electricity bills, for food, and for doctor visits for her husband, who has 70% of the arteries to his legs blocked because of diabetes, she says. During the pandemic, her grown daughter also got extremely sick, and Enriquez had to pay for the hospital expenses as well as helping to keep her other adult daughter afloat, too.

With the pandemic, we had many lows, Enriquez said. But even still, we stayed here those two years with the few people that passed from the U.S.

Enriquez recalls that people would bring over food from community food banks in the U.S.  milk gallons, cereal and other food that helped sustain her family. Someone even donated 10,000 pesos to her, the equivalent of about $500, without even buying her tamales.

In reality, on the other side, people help out the Mexican (people), Enriquez said of many of the Americans she encounters.

I live through my tamales, Enriquez said. Im very happy selling them and having people support me through buying them. Im working, not begging.

Photos: Nogales road trip in 1956 Roadtrip to Nogales Roadtrip to Nogales Roadtrip to Nogales Roadtrip to Nogales Roadtrip to Nogales Roadtrip to Nogales Roadtrip to Nogales Roadtrip to Nogales Roadtrip to Nogales Roadtrip to Nogales Roadtrip to Nogales Roadtrip to Nogales

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While CEO of a major regional auto-repair chain in Tucson, Jeff Artzi became convinced there had to be a better way to serve customers than the traditional auto-shop experience.

In 2014, Artzi launched his auto repair company, Oro Valley-based OOROO Auto, around providing a better workplace culture and using technology to provide a more efficient customer experience.

Today, the company has three Tucson-area shops that have been offering mobile repair service for several years and recently launched a subscription-based maintenance program, with plans to expand its footprint regionally.

Artzi said his companys high-tech, high-touch approach has the potential to fundamentally change an auto-repair industry that has in many cases failed to respond to the needs of customers and employees alike.

He described the time-honored dance car owners go through to get their cars fixed: booking an appointment, driving to the shop, getting a diagnosis and bill estimate and either waiting for repairs or arranging rides home and back.

This is an industry that is not known for its culture, internal culture, and its not known for its customer experiences, as you well know if you own a car, said Artzi, who served as CEO of the Tucson-based auto-repair chain Brake Masters from 2008 to 2013. Its just not fun, and it isnt fun internally either. People typically arent treated well in our industry  theyre hired quickly, theyre discarded quickly. And culture is an afterthought.

Artzi said he started OOROO because he didnt feel like he could make the disruptive kinds of changes he had in mind at Brake Masters, which at the time had 90 locations from Texas to California.

Thats with no disrespect to the people at Brake Masters  theyre great guys, said Artzi, who holds an MBA from New York Universitys Stern School of Business and studied for his CPA certification at the University of Arizona.

But I wanted to do something different, and the only way to do that is to build a culture from the ground up.

To form a base for his startup company in 2014, Artzi bought an existing auto shop in Oro Valley and named it OOROO  simple adding an o before and after Oro  as an eye-catching name signifying the company was something new in the industry, he said.

The company has since added shops in Green Valley and in February, in Vail, and also offers mobile service with a fleet of three service vans.

For its 25 employees, which include auto techs with decades of experience, OOROO offers above-industry pay, health benefits, paid time off, a 401(k) retirement plan with a company match and weekends off.

Artzis wife, Sara, handles all the human resources and customer-service matters for OOROO as Chief Feel Good Officer.

We operate in the auto care industry but take our cues from technology companies and hospitality at the intersection of high tech and high touch, Artzi said.

OOROO Autos attention to company culture and customer service has helped it win two Better Business Bureau awards for ethics, two Tucson Metro Chamber Copper Cactus Awards  one for small-company Best Place to Work in 2020 and an Innovation Award in 2018  as well as an Arizona Daily Star Readers Choice Award and other accolades.

The company promotes a fun and energetic workplace atmosphere, and Artzi said he took his initial cues from companies like Southwest Airlines.

Going mobile

OOROO didnt start offering mobile repairs until 2018 but it was always in the companys business plan, Artzi said.

Its a business model that weve been working on from day one and the mobile component comes right out of our mission statement. Its about expertise, safety, care and convenience. So of course, were going to take our services to where people work or live.

The idea of mobile auto-repair service isnt new  such services have long been offered mainly by independent mechanics or small shops  and limited emergency services such as battery and tire repairs are commonplace.

But the major repair chains have largely been slow to adapt to changing customer needs, Artzi said.

Now, driven by technology and, to some degree, the growth of on-demand home services in general related to the pandemic, mobile auto repair is starting to take off nationally.

Several well-funded startups, including RepairSmith and YourMechanic.com, offer mobile service essentially by providing an online platform to schedule service with local independent mechanics and handling pricing and billing.

The value of parts alone used in mobile auto repairs of cars and light trucks rose from $265 million to $487 million between 2016 and 2020  growing more than 20 times faster than the value of all parts sales to auto shops and mobile techs combined, according to Lang Marketing, an Indiana-based market research firm that tracks the market for aftermarket parts used for many common maintenance and repair jobs.

Millennials, who as the generations change become the primary buying force in the aftermarket, are much more inclined to use mobile repair than for example baby boomers or Generation X, said Jim Lang, president of Lang Marketing, adding that millennials are much more likely to shop online in general.

The pandemic helped because people didnt want to go to a service shop and sit in a waiting room, Lang added. Some of that has subsided, but more importantly now with the increase in gas prices, there will be an uptick in mobile repair among consumers because they dont want to drive to get an oil change performed if that service can be performed in their driveway.

For regular OOROO customer Bethany Fernandez-Pogue, its a matter of time and convenience.

Its a lot easier for me to work from home, so I can work, they show up and then its a five-minute conversation where I can give them the information about the vehicle, then I can go about my day while they do what they need to do, said Fernandez-Pogue, who works as an analyst for Southwest Gas and lives on the Northwest side.

No rides, no taking 30 to 45 minutes out of my day to drive over there, she said, noting that her mother referred her to OOROO after a having good experiences at its Oro Valley shop.

Artzi acknowledges he has some well-funded, established competition for mobile services, such as RepairSmith, which came out of an incubation program backed by Mercedes-Benz in 2018 and raised $42 million in venture-capital funding last year.

YourMechanic Services was founded in 2012 out of Silicon Valleys Y Combinator and has raised more than $40 million from investors including actor Ashton Kutcher.

But Artzi said those companies have had trouble keeping up service and quality, he said, noting that RepairSmith no longer serves Tucson and both companies have had mixed reviews.

Subscribing to success?

In November, OOROO launched a service subscription program which allows customers to pay one monthly fee per vehicle  $19.95 per domestic car and $29.99 for European imports  and receive a suite of standard auto care services, including up to three oil changes annually, wiper blade and filter changes and a 10% discount on all other repairs.

The Happy Car Club also includes a three-year or 36,000-mile warranty on parts OOROO installs, and enrollment in the companys 3%-back rewards program for purchases and referrals.

OOROO has worked with some major local employers, including ADP and Geico, to allow access for mobile repairs in their employee lots, especially during the pandemic, Artzi said, adding that employers could potentially subsidize subscriptions to the car-maintenance club as an employee benefit.

Looking ahead, Artzi said the company plans to expand both its shop and mobile operations, with at least one more shop in the Tucson area and future expansion into Phoenix and beyond.

But Artzi said amid new offering and expansion, the company will always maintain its customer-focused mission.

The critical piece is, the thing we talk about in our huddles, is that we can never forget to focus on the car right in front of us  we call them human transport machines because we dont ever want to forget that theres going to be a human being thats going to be driving this car, with a car seat in a the backseat and spouse beside them.

Contact senior reporter David Wichner at dwichner@tucson.com or 520-573-4181. On Twitter: @dwichner. On Facebook: Facebook.com/DailyStarBiz

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The Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson is awarding nearly $1 million to social services agencies, institutions, parishes and schools at a luncheon Tuesday, April 5, at the downtown Pastoral Center in Cathedral Square.

The foundation is a charitable organization governed by an independent board of directors. It is an official fundraising entity for the diocese, which covers nine counties in Southern Arizona. The foundation administers funds from the Annual Catholic Appeal campaign and from restricted endowments.

Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson said $950,533 will be distributed among 64 grants at the April 5 event at 192 S. Stone Ave., adjacent to St. Augustine Cathedral.

Among the recipients are:

Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona Inc. will receive $100,000 for a medical respite center for homeless men and women who need to recuperate from illnesses or injuries once they are released from a hospital. This is the third pledge from the foundation, which made a commitment of $500,000 over five years to build the center. CCS is continuing a capital campaign to raise $6.8 million for construction and plans to break ground in May at the Center of Opportunity at 4550 S. Palo Verde Road.

Tucson Fire Department is receiving $100,000 to use in its safety and wellness program that teaches individuals and families about fire safety, burn and injury prevention. Certified educators teach students, young adults and parents how to use a fire extinguisher, and how to prevent and treat burns. The funds will buy educational materials and equipment that will be used in pre-school on up to high school classes, and for families attending sessions at citywide community centers.

Pima Community College will be awarded $50,000 in scholarships for seven nursing students. The nursing program is more than two years. Once they complete the program, a student can take an exam and, if they qualify, can become a registered nurse in Arizona. Or, a student has the option to transfer to a four-year institution to pursue a bachelors and masters degree.

University of Arizona Health Sciences Critical Care Burn Program is receiving more than $87,000 for needs, including to help secure equipment and supplies for burn victims, launch a one-year burn injury prevention campaign, training to improve quality of burn care, and to purchase electronic devices to help patients to communicate with family.

Patronato San Xavier will receive $7,000 for conservation of a statue of St. Francis Xavier from the 1700s. The life-size statue, which is seated on the high altar at Mission San Xavier del Bac, needs cleaning and conservators will see how much of the original artwork can be revealed. The statue was painted in the early 20th century and the positions of the eyes and hands were changed.

Parochial schools and parishes are receiving more than $400,000 for educational supplies, equipment, heating and cooling, flooring, and general upgrades and repairs.

I am deeply humbled and grateful for the outpouring of gifts to the Annual Catholic Appeal and gifts to endowments and other planned giving opportunities, said Weisenburger in a statement. These gifts have made it possible for the Catholic Foundation to award grants to Catholic and non-Catholic entities  so that we can provide life-changing generosity to those served, said the bishop.

Elizabeth Bollinger, executive director of the foundation, said, Careful review goes into the grant evaluation and selection process, and we are honored to provide these funds that make a difference in the communities served by these parishes, schools and organizations.

Contact reporter Carmen Duarte at cduarte@tucson.com or on Twitter: @cduartestar

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A Tucson Police officer killed a man experiencing "auditory hallucinations" on Tucson's east side last week after the man pointed a gun first at himself, then at officers, officials said.

On March 29, around 5 a.m., someone at the Hampton Park Apartment Homes complex on Old Spanish Trail near South Camino Seco called 911 about 27-year-old Eric Putnam, who was "having auditory hallucinations and access to a firearm," a press release from the Pima Critical Incident Response team said.

When Tucson police arrived, they made contact with the 911 caller and learned Putnam was acting erratically and could be a danger to himself or others.

Police made phone contact with Putnam before he reportedly became agitated and hung up. Officers then went to engage Putnam in the patio area of an apartment.

According to the police account, as officers approached, they ordered Putnam multiple times to show his hands. Putnam reportedly pointed a gun at himself, then at officers, before Officer Steven Clark shot him.

Officers rendered aid before Putnam was pronounced dead at the scene, the report states.

Clark is a five-year veteran of the Tucson Police Department.

No officers or community members were hurt during the incident, police confirmed last week.

The Pima Regional Critical Incident Team, a multi-agency taskforce, has taken over the criminal investigation, and the Pima County Sheriffs Department is the lead investigating agency.

Edward Celaya is a breaking news and marijuana reporter. He has been on both beats since May 2021.

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With a sexual assault taking place nearly every minute in the United States, agencies and community groups across Pima County are teaming up this month for outreach and events designed to support survivors and fight misinformation.

TucSAAM, Tucson's version of April's Sexual Assault Awareness Month, started last year when local victim service agencies, advocacy groups, law enforcement and legal rights organizations came together with the idea of informing the public while also supporting survivors of sexual assault, through virtual education events, digital campaigns and online outreach.

But with COVID-19 precautions winding down and in-person events ramping up this spring, organizers are working on a month full of in-person events and outreach across Tucson. The theme of this year's campaign, "The Truth About Teal," (the color associated with Sexual Assault Awareness Month,) aims to dispel myths surrounding sexual assault and provide factual information about the scope of the problem and its impact on survivors.

Someone in America is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds, and one out of every six American women has been the victim of attempted sexual assault or rape, according to the Pima County Attorney's Office. And with less than one-third of assaults being reported to police, more needs to be done to break down the barriers to reporting, local experts say.

With two-thirds of transgender people having been sexually assaulted and at least one in 33 men having been the victim of an attempted sexual assault or rape, experts are clear that anyone can be a victim.

TucSAAM 2022 officially kicked off Friday, with representatives from the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation inviting people at the Fourth Avenue Street Fair to come into the Thornhill Lopez Center, SAAF's safe space for LGBTQ+ youth, for water and information about local resources and facts about sexual assault.

New to the group this year, SAAF's Anti-Violence Project program director Carrie Eutizi designed the marketing materials used during this year's campaign. That includes a bookmark with local resources that's being distributed at several Pima County libraries and Bookmans locations here. Bookmans, along with the libraries also will have displays up that have information about local resources and a recommended list of books that can help people better understanding the survivor experience.

Bookmans also is bringing author Karen Moe, a sexual assault survivor who wrote a book about being abducted by a serial rapist in Prescott in 1994, to talk about her experience and promote her new book.

"While I thought that was a great idea, I did want to focus on a few more local resources for our community," said Bookmans' Community Manager James Robertson. "It's easy to hear a story and things of that nature, but in my opinion, it's always better to have something local you can turn to if you have questions about what our community can offer in those situations."

Getting resources into libraries is a big step toward reaching survivors, organizers say.

"The (libraries) experience people in crisis all the time," said Molly Hilber, grants and contracts manager for Pima County Behavioral Health. "One of the materials they wanted the most copies of was the list of crisis service lines for all our partners."

A similar display will also be up at the UA library, thanks to community outreach professional Cynthia Chapman, who works with the UA's Consortium on Gender-Based Violence and is part of an on-campus Sexual Assault Response Team that started last year.

The group is working with the campus medical team and residence advisors to get the word out about this year's efforts to dispel myths about sexual assault and let students know about campus resources available to survivors.

A communitywide campaign

It's been a long road for the parties involved to arrive at a communitywide campaign like TucSAAM, said Colleen Phelan, a victim advocate with the Pima County Attorney's Office.

Phelan says she never thought she'd see such an outpouring of support for survivors. Tuesday's official kick-off included Mayor Regina Romero, Pima County Attorney Laura Conover and Monica Prieto, an assistant chief in the Tucson Police Department.

More than 50 people turned out for the event, many of whom were representing the 30 local organizations involved in Pima County's Sexual Assault Response Team.

Most of the crowd sported TucSAAM t-shirts or teal clothing and accessories, including Conover and Romero, who said the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault was the first Tucson board on which she volunteered and holds a special place in her heart all these years later.

"We're gathered in power today to have difficult conversations so we can unburden survivors of sexual assault, and specifically so that we can support marginalized communities where incidents of sexual assault are pervasive," Romero said. "It's not that members of marginalized communities can't speak for themselves, it's just that it's harder to own your space when others are intent on demeaning your gender identity, your ethnicity, your language or your legal status."

Prieto talked about her experience working in TPD's adult sexual assault unit, saying that she's been impressed with the progress the department has made over the last decade in terms of educating officers on using a trauma-informed approach when interacting with survivors.

"Tucson police has been diligent in relaying the message  that trauma impacts everyone differently," Prieto said. "Our primary role is law enforcement, but we know that justice isn't all that's needed."

Prieto said she's grateful for the team effort to address sexual assault in Pima County, saying it's broken down silos, allowed for members to learn from each other's mistakes and brought survivors to the forefront of their efforts.

"My dream is to have educated juries, and the only way to get educated juries is if we talk about sexual assault," Phelan said. "The only way we talk about sexual assault is if we have things like this that make the community see this is OK to talk about."

Deputy Pima County Attorney Victoria Otto, who works in the office's special victims unit, said she'd like to take that dream a step further and no longer need juries, because the community is full of children, teens and adults who are educated about consent.

"If you want to tell your child don't have sex, OK fine," Otto said. "But it is also really important to start really early with 'When we say, we use our words and not our hands and we don't touch other people without their permission, that continues throughout your whole life.' That silence is not consent, that passivity is not consent. That if someone is just laying still, that is not consent."

Otto said that historically, the group has been mostly reaching out to people who are already engaging on the issue, so she was pleased to see more communitywide events and participation this year.

This includes young people. SAAF's Vanessa Delgado is working to create youth workshops and activities for Take Back the Night Tucson, an annual event celebrated worldwide to speak out against sexual violence, raise awareness and support survivors of assault. She said she's been working with the group to create youth activities and workshops for kids and teens at the April 19 event.

SACASA director Kaitlyn Monje said she's been incredibly impressed with the diversity of events the group has planned throughout the month.

"The only chance we have at really making an impact is to have the difficult conversations and stop sweeping these kinds of things under the rug," she said.

With SACASA often seeing an uptick in survivors calling their crisis line in April because of the emphasis put on sexual assault, the group is always looking for volunteers, as is the county attorney's victim advocate program.

While the statistics for reporting sexual assault have improved, there's still a long way to go, said Mary Pekas, a detective in the Tucson Police Department's adult sexual assault unit.

"There was a time when 75% went unreported, and now we're closer to about 66%," Pekas said. "That pales in comparison to other major crimes."

Pekas says she is hoping this year to bust the myth that police are always the first to be called by people who are sexually assaulted.

"I talk to people who are reporting these things to police and have an understanding of what happens," she said. But many times survivors will call a parent or friend  someone they trust and that cares about them  before calling the police, Pekas added.

"They want to be comforted," Pekas said. "Even if they are the kind of person who reports things to police, in that moment, sometimes they're not."

Contact Star reporter Caitlin Schmidt at 573-4191 or cschmidt@tucson.com. On Twitter: @caitlincschmidt

Sexual Assault Awareness Month calendar A full calendar of April's TucSAAM events and detailed information can be found at April 2022 - SAAM Events (sacasa.org) April 9 and 29: Winding Road Theatre Ensemble performs "A Shot Away, Personal Accounts of Military Sexual Trauma" at Rhythm Industry Factory at 7:30 p.m.

April 14: SAAF AVP Survivor and UA Advocates resource fair and crafting at UA Student Union from 12:30- 4 p.m.

April 18: Winding Road Theatre Ensemble performs "A Shot Away, Personal Accounts of Military Sexual Trauma" at the UA.

April 19: Take Back the Night at the House of Neighborly Service, 243 W. 33rd St., from 3:30- 8 p.m.

April 27: Denim Day - Wear denim all day to show your support of sexual assault survivors & raise awareness. Victim Advocate Legal Services will be available from 1- 3 p.m.

April 30: Take Back the Night: Virtual. Local resources for sexual assault survivors The Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault (SACASA) has crisis advocates available 24/7 through their hotline, 520-327-7273. For more information about SACASA and its services, visit sacasa.org

For information about or to contact the UA Survivor Advocacy program, visit survivoradvocacy.arizona.edu or call 520-621-5767

Sexual assault survivors can contact the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, RAINN at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) any time for help

For support and resources from the Pima County Attorney Victim Services division call 520-724-5525 and ask to speak with an advocate. Advocates are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Hudbay Minerals Inc. will begin clearing and grading land this month for its goal of building five open-pit mines on the west slope of the Santa Rita Mountains, it told Pima County officials.

Rosemont Copper, Hudbays Arizona-based subsidiary, anticipates starting clearing, grading, stockpiling and other earthwork activities related to the construction of tailings and waste rock facilities in April on its private land on the west slope, Hudbay Vice President Javier Del Rio wrote to the Pima County Regional Flood Control District on March 10.

The company also plans to start seeking permits later this year from various state agencies to allow construction of its entire Rosemont Copper World project on the west slope, the letter said. Besides waste rock and tailings facilities, the company also plans a heap leach pad, the multiple open pits and some kind of plant site, it wrote.

The initial work consists of ground preparation activities for the tailings and waste rock storage areas on Rosemonts private property. As always, Hudbay will take great care to ensure that we minimize disturbances to the environment and comply with all federal, state and local requirements, Hudbay said in a statement to the Star on Monday.

The company has no specific construction start date yet, it said Monday.

The company will need three state permits to build Copper World on the west slope, it told the Star. Those include an aquifer protection permit, an air quality permit, and a surface water quality permit for stormwater runoff from the site, in addition to many other approvals prior to beginning operations, said Hudbay, without elaborating.

A set of maps that Hudbay sent the county shows five open pits on the west slope, two more than the company had previously shown on earlier maps of possible west slope mining plans in the mountain range southeast of Tucson. The maps also show the site to be directly east of Green Valley.

In responding to Hudbays letter to Pima County, an environmental law firm representing three Arizona tribes sent the mining company a notice Monday that it intends to file suit to block construction activity on the west slope. The notice said grading and clearing activities there would violate the federal Clean Water Acts prohibition of any unpermitted discharges into federally regulated washes.

Under federal law, however, the tribes cant file suit until 60 days after giving notice, meaning they cant seek an injunction to block construction until well after its likely to start.

A developer of a mine or of housing must obtain a Clean Water Act permit if the federal government determines the construction work would require depositing fill material in neighboring washes that are deemed eligible for federal regulation.

Because of recent, conflicting federal actions and a 2021 federal court ruling on the issue, its not clear at this time if the ephemeral washes on the Copper World site will be regulated or not. The Army Corps of Engineers hasnt yet responded to questions from the Star about Hudbays likely activity at the site.

In response to questions from the Star, Hudbay denied its planned activities would damage federally regulated washes.

The site preparation work is being conducted exclusively on Hudbays private property where none of the dry washes have ever been designated as Waters of the United States subject to regulation, the company said. The area includes Helvetia, a historic mining district with dozens of old mines, exposed workings, and the remains of a 19th century smelter and corresponding slag pile.

Additionally, the company said, Hudbay has all approvals required for this initial site preparation work on Rosemonts private property.

The notice of intent to sue said, The proposed mine site contains a dense network of ephemeral streams that qualify as federally regulated waters, protected by the Clean Water Act.

The notice was filed by the Earthjustice law firm, on behalf of the Tohono OOdham, Pascua-Yaqui and Hopi tribes.

Hudbays operations would cause significant, if not catastrophic harm, to our nations waters. Hudbay would destroy the network of ephemeral streams on the site, causing irreparable harm to the environment and degrading downstream waters, Earthjustice attorney Stu Gillespie wrote to the Army Corps on March 28.

Gillespie said he hopes that Hudbay or the Army Corps will choose to not start or allow construction until the company gets a Clean Water Act permit.

As for Hudbays letter to county flood control officials, Hudbay said its submitting that information for review and comment purposes only. The Flood Control District has no authority under state law or county codes to prohibit construction or require a floodplain use permit for construction of waste rock disposal areas or tailings dams, Hudbay said.

If any other planned facilities arent exempt from county floodplain requirements and would lie within a designated floodplain, Hudbay will request a floodplain use permit for them from the county at the appropriate time, wrote Del Rio, vice president for the U.S. and South America operations of Toronto-based Hudbay.

The Flood Control District doesnt disagree with Hudbays stance that tailing dams and waste disposal areas are exempt from permitting, Deputy District Director Eric Shepp responded to Hudbay on March 28. But the district believes other planned development activities on the site are subject to county floodplain management regulations, Shepp wrote.

Shepp also requested more information from Hudbay to meet county requirements for adequate information for the districts review and comment before construction starts.

Hudbays submitted plans appear to be concept level plans rather than construction plans, while Pima County codes require submittal of formal construction plans, Shepp wrote.

This provides the district an opportunity to provide meaningful and substantive comments to ensure the most effective design is considered, Shepp wrote.

Asked about that by the Star, Hudbay replied, Hudbay has been corresponding with the Flood Control District and is currently awaiting comments from the District on the plans we have provided.

Copper World spans 3,430 acres from near the companys proposed Rosemont Mine site on the east slope of the Santa Ritas to to the historic Helvetia mining area on the west, where copper was removed from the 1880s through the early 1960s. About 1,290 acres will be disturbed by construction of Copper World, Hudbay has said. The Rosemont project is tied up in federal court and on hold.

The company won approval in October from the Arizona State Mine Inspectors Office for a Copper World reclamation plan. Hudbay has repeatedly praised the Copper World deposit as being of higher grade and lying closer to the ground surface than its Rosemont deposit.

The initial resource for our Copper World project is larger and at a higher level of geological confidence than we expected at this stage due to the exploration teams success in discovering several quality deposits through an extensive drill program this year, said Peter Kukielski, Hudbay president and chief executive officer, in a news release about the site in December.

The metallurgical testing and mineralogical studies on Copper World are well-advanced, and the company will release a preliminary economic assessment in the first half of 2022, Kukielski said.

Hudbay affirmed to the Star on Monday that the assessment is scheduled for release on that timetable.

Contact Tony Davis at 520-349-0350 or tdavis@tucson.com. Follow Davis on Twitter@tonydavis987.

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Here's a look at COVID-related news for today, April 4.

Senate has reached $10B COVID agreement

Senate bargainers have reached agreement on a slimmed-down $10 billion package for countering COVID-19, the top Democratic and Republican negotiators said Monday, but the measure dropped all funding to help nations abroad combat the pandemic.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the deal would give the government the tools we need" to continue battling the disease. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, trumpeted budget savings in the measure that he said meant it will not cost the American people a single additional dollar." Read more here:

Chinese military dispatched to help with virus outbreak in Shanghai

China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from around the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 from the military, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading outbreak in its largest city under its zero-COVID strategy.

Shanghai was conducting a mass testing of its 25 million residents Monday as what was announced as a two-phase lockdown entered its second week. Most of eastern Shanghai, which was supposed to re-open last Friday, remained locked down along with the western half of the city. Read more here:

German man gets dozens of COVID shots to sell fraudulent passes

A 60-year-old man allegedly had himself vaccinated against COVID-19 dozens of times in Germany in order to sell forged vaccination cards with real vaccine batch numbers to people not wanting to get vaccinated themselves.

The man from the eastern Germany city of Magdeburg, whose name was not released in line with German privacy rules, is said to have received up to 90 shots against COVID-19 at vaccination centers in the eastern state of Saxony for months until criminal police caught him this month, the German news agency dpa reported Sunday. Read more here:

Judge blocks Air Force discipline over vaccine objections

A federal judge has blocked the military from disciplining a dozen U.S. Air Force officers who are asking for religious exemptions to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine.

The officers, mostly from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, along with a handful of airmen and reservists, filed a lawsuit in February after their exemption requests were denied.

U.S. District Court Judge Matthew McFarland in Cincinnati granted a preliminary injunction last Thursday that stops the Air Force from acting against the officers, airmen and reservists until their lawsuit is resolved. Read more here:

***

Check out more of today's COVID-19 news here:

Photos: 2 years of images tell the story of the pandemic

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PHOENIX  No Maricopa County election machines used to tally 2020 votes were connected to the internet, according to a new examination.

The finding further undercuts claims by some Donald Trump supporters that the machines were somehow hacked, affecting results.

But the report, issued Wednesday by former U.S. Rep. John Shadegg, is unlikely to end persistent, unverified claims Joe Biden didnt actually defeat Trump in Arizona.

Shadegg, a Phoenix Republican, was hired by the state Senate and Maricopa County to examine the machines. He said the three experts he hired for the study found no evidence that the routers, managed switches, or election devices connected to the public internet. He also said there are no routers, managed switches or Splunk logs in the ballot tabulation center.

He said the experts found that the countys Office of Enterprise Technology, which provides the computer structure for all county departments, does have routers and switches that connect to the public internet.

However, the only election related information on the OET is registration information and records, the report says, adding that it plays no role in the ballot tabulation process. Shadegg also said the offices equipment is never connected, whether by wire or wirelessly, to the ballot tabulation center or any equipment there, which he said is air-gapped from all outside equipment or systems.

No ballot tabulation information is ever received by, sent to, or stored in the OET, he said.

The report comes six months after Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, and county officials agreed to allow outside experts to examine the equipment.

That solution solved the countys concern about having the equipment end up in the hands of Cyber Ninjas, the firm Fann hired to conduct an audit of the 2020 election. County officials didnt trust Doug Logan, who heads that firm, as he had said even before the audit began that he believed the election results were fraudulent.

But Fann was unwilling to accept the countys own assurances the equipment was not compromised. The solution was hiring Shadegg who in turn hired the three experts who were sworn to secrecy before examining the equipment.

Fann said at the time that the deal meant the state would have access to everything we wanted.

On Wednesday, however, Fann was not ready to say she is satisfied that everything is resolved and all questions are answered.

I havent read it yet, she said, declining to comment until she has had a chance to go through the report. Nor was Fann willing to say that the audit, which gained national attention, is now complete.

But Bill Gates, who chairs the Republican-dominated Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, said hes seen enough.

The unanimous conclusions of this expert panel should be a final stake in the heart of the Senates so-called audit,  Gates said in a prepared statement. Whenever impartial, independent, and competent people have examined the countys election practices, they have found no reason to doubt the integrity of those practices.

Cyber Ninjas own hand count of the 2.1 million Maricopa County ballots confirmed Biden did win, and by an even larger margin than the official tally.

But Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, said Shadeggs new report proves nothing about the accuracy of the results. Ive not seen the report myself, he told Capitol Media Services. But if it is as you say, all that shows is there was no external internet connection.

Finchem is campaigning for secretary of state on the platform that the election was rigged, the results should be decertified, and the states 11 electoral votes should be withdrawn from President Joe Biden.

He said it is sophomoric to think the report from Shadegg ends the matter.

Sen. Kelly Townsend, R-Apache Junction, who heads the Senate Government Committee, said she, too, has not seen the report. But Townsend said she still has questions about whether the experts actually got to examine the equipment or instead had to rely on answers furnished by county election officials.

Shadegg, however, said he and the experts examined the facilities and equipment themselves.

He acknowledged that the review he was hired to conduct did not go into various other allegations about how ballots were physically handled, activities at polling locations, or any other procedural questions about how the 2020 election was run.

The report comes as court fights continue over efforts to access Cyber Ninjas records.

Judges in two separate cases have ruled, and appellate courts have affirmed, that documents in the hands of the company relating to the audit are public records and should be released. But Logan has continued to refuse to comply.

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Primary elections in Ohio have set the stage for a more competitive phase of the midterm primary season, with closely watched races in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia scheduled for later this month. In Ohio on Tuesday, Hillbilly Elegy author JD Vance, buoyed by Donald Trump's endorsement, won the contentious Republican Senate primary. Vances win ends a bitter contest that, at one point, saw two candidates nearly come to blows on a debate stage. Ohio was seen as a test of Trump's hold on his party. The former president has staked his reputation as a GOP kingmaker on his ability to pull his chosen candidates across the finish line.
A man who raped a woman on a trail near OSU-Tulsa will spend 14 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorneys Office announced in a news release.

Eugene Todd Nunley, 48, was sentenced in the federal Northern District of Oklahoma to 14 years in federal prison followed by supervised release for the rest of his life, U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson said.

Nunley was previously convicted of the 2015 rape in Tulsa County District Court and was sentenced to 30 years in state prison, but the conviction was overturned as he is a Muscogee Nation citizen and the crime occurred within the Cherokee Reservation.

Nunley pleaded guilty in federal court on Aug. 26, 2021.

He admitted that he forced the victim into a wooded area and raped her on Aug. 13, 2015. The woman was walking on the Osage Prairie Trail near 900 N. Greenwood Ave. when Nunley attacked her from behind.

Following the rape, the defendant told the victim she was lucky then ran away, the news release states.

The victim reported the crime and told officers she didnt know her attacker.

In early September 2015, DNA testing indicated that Nunley was the perpetrator. Officers located the defendant in the Creek County jail, where he was being held on unrelated charges.
"Oklahomans consistently say public schools are an important priority, but that starts at the neighborhood level," states the editorial.
A reorganization of the parts of state government dealing with vehicle registrations and drivers licenses moved forward in the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Monday.

The Senate version of legislation creating Service Oklahoma, a division within the Office of Management and Enterprises Services to handle duties associated with those functions and, potentially, other public records and services, took its first step through the House with unanimous approval by the Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Revenue and Taxation.

Senate Bill 1605, by Sen. Chuck Hall, R-Perry, was amended to mirror the House version that passed a Senate committee last week. That suggests either the House or Senate bill will go forward as a final vehicle for the legislation.

Proponents say the end result would be streamlined operations and better service under one umbrella instead of the three agencies now involved in vehicle registration and drivers licenses.

Current tag agents and their offices, though, would continue as private contractors with the state.

Several related measures also advanced from the Revenue and Taxation Subcommittee, including one that would extend from 30 to 60 days the grace period for acquiring a tag after purchasing a vehicle and another that would reduce taxes on vehicle purchases by basing them on price minus trade-in value instead of price alone.

Also Monday in the House:

The Appropriations and Budget Health Subcommittee advanced several Medicaid-related measures, including one carrying the language requested by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority for the incorporation of privately managed Medicaid.

SB 1337, by Sen. Greg McCortney, R-Ada, is described as a vehicle for an agreement on the issue, should one be reached.

I dont believe any of these bills will end up looking like they do know, subcommittee Chairman Marcus McEntire said while presenting SB 1337.

Gov. Kevin Stitt has pushed hard for privatization, while many legislators are opposed. Many hospitals and providers are also leery, citing a previous experiment several years ago.

The House and Senate saluted 100-year-old World War II veteran Janet Jo Jefferis McMeans Tompkins.

The Higher Education and CareerTech Committee approved the Senate version of legislation to create bonus payments to the states public colleges and universities based on the number of engineering, nursing and teacher education graduates they produce.

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Editor's note: An error was made in the original editorial regarding the property tax on the Liberty school bond. It has been corrected in this version.

Today is election day for many school boards, bond issues and a few municipal seats. Go vote.

Oklahomas spring elections have historically attracted the lowest voter turnout. Often winners and propositions are decided by narrow margins and a small group of voters.

In last years April Tulsa Public Schools board election for District 3, only 1,028 voters cast a ballot. Incumbent Jeannettie Marshall won by 26 votes.

The rural areas are even lower. Groves 2021 school board election attracted only 121 voters, with the winner decided by 10 ballots. Chelsea elected two members to its city board with only 194 votes cast.

Suburban areas are just a hair better. Only 779 people in Sand Springs turned out for that school districts board election last year.

Even when the issue is taxes, people dont appear moved. A Liberty school bond last year was passed by 87 of the 105 ballots cast.

It doesnt have to be this way.

Oklahomans consistently say public schools are an important priority, but that starts at the neighborhood level.

In the Tulsa area, three school districts have bond proposals on the ballot. Only Liberty schools would see a tax increase, the others would replace existing bonds. These would pay for infrastructure like buildings and computers. Under state law, they would have to get 60% approval to pass.

Owasso Public Schools has a two-part, $83.96 million package to be paid over five years. It includes $22.7 for saferooms in two schools, $16.4 million for technology and $11.8 million for texts, library materials and equipment for the fine arts program.

In Kiefer Public Schools, a $29.1 million package to be paid over 20 years would include a new agriculture building, transportation facility and multipurpose building.

In Liberty, an $8 million proposal would provide a new gymnasium and six additional classrooms at the elementary school.

If approved, the millage rate within Libertys attendance area would increase from 21.17 to 24.99. A mill is $1 in tax for every $1,000 in assessed property value. A homeowner in the Liberty's attendance area currently paying $100 in property taxes per year would pay an additional $4.11 in Okmulgee County or $3.57 in Tulsa County if the bond is approved.

In TPS, voters in District 4 will decide between incumbent Shawna Keller and ELena Ashley. In District 7, Susan Lamkin and Tim Harris are vying for the seat.

In Union schools, Zone 2 voters will choose between incumbent Dr. Chris McNeil and Shelley Gwartney. In Jenks, current school board President Terry Keeling is being challenged by Ashley Cross.

In Bixby schools, Seat 2 is being sought by incumbent Amanda Stephens and Jake Rowland. The Catoosa School Board District 4 features incumbent Joe Deere and Derrick Smith on the ballot.

Owasso school board President Rhonda Mills is being challenged by Joshua Stanton. In Sand Springs, incumbent Mike Mullins in Seat 2 is running against MaRanda Trimble-Kerley. Mounds voters will choose between Justin Green and Laci Jones for Seat 2.

Candidates for Tulsa Techs Seat 3 are Mark Griffin and Jim Provenzano.

For those eligible to vote, exercise this basic American right. Read up on the candidates in the Tulsa World to be informed, and go vote.

Tulsa World Opinion podcast: Election season is upon us

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Med247, a Vietnamese healthcare startup, has managed to raise US$4.5 million in a Series A round led by Altara Ventures, catching public attention since the company was only launched in March 2019.

Vietnam offers enormous potential and a challenging environment for digital healthcare these years.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, things have changed in this field as people have to go online for diagnoses or consultations for fear of contracting the virus.

But it is still impossible to move all medical processes on the Internet.

That is why Med247 is taking a hybrid approach to providing healthcare services online and offline (O2O) while leveraging its technology platform to offer patients high-quality medicals at a lower cost.

Empowering patients

Truong Vu Tuan and Nguyen Minh Thao, two co-founders of Med247, have been close friends since their school days in Hanoi two decades ago.

While Tuan trained as an information technology engineer, Thao has a degree in marketing.

They admitted that being 'outsiders' did not stop them from pursuing their dream of changing healthcare in Vietnam.

"I once worked as a software developer for a clinic in 2018, which gave me insights into healthcare in Vietnam," said Tuan, Med247 CEO.

"In fact, I found that many problems do not arise from technology, but from people and the process they utilize to address the problems.

"In short, technology is not a big problem."

One aspect where there is still much room for improvement, in Tuan's view, is patient engagement.

When patients have full trust in doctors, their treatment is already 50 percent successful, he explained.

If a platform is to make this happen, it should provide patients with a private, trustworthy, and convenient channel through which they can contact their own doctors.

After discussions with Thao, the two designed the Med247 model, a hybrid that combines online and offline healthcare services.

They work with multiple clinics and doctors in various cities to provide healthcare services, with a focus on preventive medicine.

"We have no intention of replacing the role of doctors and medical staff with what Med247 does," Thao, 37-year-old COO, underlined.

"What we really want is for patients to have equal access to all healthcare, regardless of their social status or financial circumstances.

"They have access to the services they need without having to have any privileges, as is common in our society."

For Thao, caring for a patient means not only treating their illness but also taking care of their mental health.

"When it comes to treating a patient, I believe they need to be treated physically and mentally at the same time," she said.

Thao has long wondered why Vietnamese patients still seek treatment abroad, despite having so many excellent domestic doctors.

"One important reason is the way a doctor asks or advises a patient," she noted.

With the launch of Med247, Tuan and Thao hope to bring more convenience to both patients and doctors.

While doctors can focus more on treating patients with the support from the platform, the sick will feel that their medical problems are addressed carefully and treated properly.

Becoming the friend of families

The two Med247 co-founders want to explore the potential of their niche market: family health care.

In the long term, they want to make their app the 'family doctor' in every Vietnamese family.

When it comes to treating a patient, knowing their medical information is extremely important.

So if Med247 follows its patients long enough, it could become a reliable source of health information for both patients and doctors.

"If there is a real relationship of trust between doctors and patients, an online consultation will be as effective as an in-person check-up, sometimes even better," Tuan said, referring to time savings, cost, and convenience of time and place.

Like Tuan, Thao said it would be more convenient and comfortable for patients to contact a trusted doctor at any time.

From left: Nguyen Minh Thao, Chief Operating Officer of Med247, Dr. Trung Nguyen, Director of Health Advancement in Vietnam, a collaboration with Havard Medical School, and Truong Vu Tuan, Chief Executive Officer of Med247 in a provided photo

"In some of the countries I know, the family doctor plays a particularly significant role in taking care of the health of family members," explained Thao.

"For example, if someone has a problem and turns to the family doctor, who knows the family and its peculiarities so well, the doctor can help them know what to do or where to send the patient to get the right treatment.

"We want our platform to be able to play this role of coordination at its best."

She expects Med247 to become a virtual primary care physician app that helps patients control their medical records, connect with doctors when they need them, and make online appointments to save time.

How will the $4.5 million funding be spent?

As a three-year-old startup, Med247 has much to do before realizing their dream of gaining a foothold in the healthcare industry.

Thao, who is in charge of Med247's growth and operations, cites three main areas the startup will invest in with the new funding.

First, the company will use 15-20 percent of the funding to build the Med247 Academy, a training center for doctors and nurses that will primarily develop soft skills.

It has already implemented some projects in this area.

Thao believes that it is the academy that differentiates Med247 from other competitors in the same market.

Second, the company will allocate about 30 percent of its research and development funds to develop tools for handling big data in healthcare using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

"We believe that reliable data is as valuable as gold," added Tuan, who has 12 years of experience in software system development.

"That is why we do not pay much attention to the benefit at the initial stage of the business but want to build a high-quality system for data processing."

Third, they will use the last part of the funding to expand Med247's network of family clinics in Vietnam.

"We are not only working with clinics in cities but also in remote and rural areas to turn Med247 into a nationwide chain of family clinics," Thao said.

While many startups see the COVID-19 pandemic as an obstacle, Thao believes it has given Med247 certain advantages.

"We established our company in March 2019, almost a year before the pandemic broke out in Vietnam," she said.

"Such coronavirus restrictions as social distancing and travel curbs have led to more patients finding help on our platform and many doctors also changing their minds about online health services."

The Med247 team is working with MiRXES, a Singapore-based biotechnology company, to bring its microRNA detection technology to the Vietnamese healthcare market. This technology helps to perform early cancer detection tests. In the last 18 months, Med247 has served about 50,000 customers, and the average repeat rate for its ecosystem of services in three months is 2.47.

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China sincerely wants peace in Ukraine: FM

Xinhua) 09:24, April 05, 2022

Photo taken on March 7, 2022 shows a view of the third round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the Belovezhskaya Pushcha. (Belta news agency via Xinhua)

On the Ukraine issue, China does not seek geopolitical interests, nor will it watch the event from a safe distance while sitting idle, or add fuel to the fire, Wang Yi said, stressing that the only thing that China wants is peace in Ukraine.

BEIJING, April 4 (Xinhua) -- China hopes Russia and Ukraine would stick to peace talks until a ceasefire agreement is reached and the only thing that China wants is peace in Ukraine, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Monday.

Wang made the remarks during a phone conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Kuleba briefed Wang on the Russia-Ukraine situation. China is a great country which advocates the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and plays a key and active role in safeguarding peace, he said.

He added that Ukraine wishes to maintain communication with China and hopes that China would continue to play an important role in achieving a ceasefire in his country.

Wang expressed appreciation for the efforts of the Ukrainian government and all sectors of society in assisting the safe evacuation of Chinese citizens from Ukraine, stressing that Chinese leaders and the Chinese government highly value the safety of every overseas Chinese citizen.

He said he hopes Ukraine would continue to take active and effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens remaining in the country. Kuleba, in response, pledged his country's utmost efforts in this regard.

People rest at a temporary settlement site near Mariupol, Ukraine, March 17, 2022. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)

Noting China's stance on the Ukraine issue as promoting dialogue and peace talks, Wang said Chinese President Xi Jinping has comprehensively expounded China's position on multiple occasions, which serves as an important guidance to address the current challenges.

It is China's historical and cultural tradition as well as its consistent foreign policy to safeguard peace and oppose war, Wang said.

On the Ukraine issue, China does not seek geopolitical interests, nor will it watch the event from a safe distance while sitting idle, or add fuel to the fire, Wang said, stressing that the only thing that China wants is peace in Ukraine.

China welcomes peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Wang said, adding that no matter how difficult the talks would be and what differences they would have, the general direction of peace talks should be held until a ceasefire and eventual peace are achieved.

Wang said the conflict will eventually come to an end, and what is important is to think over the past misery and preserve sustainable security in Europe.

Local residents receive humanitarian aid in the village of Anadol in Donetsk, on March 10, 2022. (Photo by Victor/Xinhua)

China believes that the principle of indivisible security should be adhered to, and a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture should be built upon dialogue on an equal footing, Wang said, adding that based on its objective and impartial position, China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in its own way.

Wang said he believes that Ukraine is capable of making choices that are in the fundamental interest of the people of the country.

Kuleba said he agrees with China's views and expressed appreciation for China's humanitarian assistance.

He said Ukraine is dedicating to peace talks with Russia to find a lasting solution, and the country is willing to become the gate of Europe.

Wang said he hopes this gate will lead to peace in Europe, development in Ukraine and cooperation between China and Europe.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Many experts have pushed for a renovation of the traditional market model in big cities like Ho Chi Minh City as merchants are closing down their stalls over sluggish trading.

Although socio-economic activities have returned to the pre-pandemic state, many merchants at popular markets in Ho Chi Minh City, such as Ba Chieu, Ben Thanh, and An Dong, have decided to permanently shutter their shops.

When a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper correspondent visited An Dong Market, the largest and oldest wholesale market in Ho Chi Minh City, in District 5 at around 5:00 pm on March 31, many shops were already closed.

In the past, the market was usually open until 6:00 pm every day, said a dried fish shop owner.

However, as sales have slumped since the COVID-19 pandemic, many merchants went home early at around 4:30 pm.

Owners of stalls that remained open at the time, meanwhile, either lazily scrolled through their smartphones or gossiped, as sellers outnumbered buyers.

A large number of stalls on the second and third floors of the market have been put up for rent under many offers for discounts and other favorable conditions.

Stalls are closed at An Dong Market in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Nhat Xuan / Tuoi Tre

Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Ba Chieu District in Binh Thanh District are in a similar situation.

Before the pandemic, the market was crowded and bustling, said Thuy, a food stall owner at Ben Thanh Market.

Every stall, no matter where it was located, was always crowded.

But now even those in prime locations are empty of customers.

A For Rent paper is posted in front of a stall at Ben Thanh Market in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Nhat Xuan / Tuoi Tre

Many business owners have failed to bear a combination of rental costs, taxes, and other fees, according to Thuy.

Those who rented stalls from the lessors now cant afford the rental costs, so they have to terminate their contracts, the woman said.

They are in financial distress.

A For Rent paper is posted in front of a stall at Ba Chieu Market in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Nhat Xuan / Tuoi Tre

Revamp needed

Many experts said that the close-down of a host of businesses in the markets may signal a gloomy outlook for the traditional market model.

Tran Bang Viet, general director of management consultancy Dong A Solutions JSC, explained that as most Vietnamese people travel by motorbike, they prefer the convenience of the streetside economy, which allows them to stop by any shops along the streets to buy goods.

They tend to avoid such nuisances as parking their vehicles and the uncertainty of the price of goods sold in traditional markets.

The mushrooming of more convenient, cheaper distribution channels of consumer goods, especially in new residential areas, has also offered people a wide range of options.

In addition, with the advantages of easier management procedures and fewer costs, the online channel provides consumers with more convenience, such as door-to-door delivery services and attractive prices.

Stalls are closed at An Dong Market in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Nhat Xuan / Tuoi Tre

The recent COVID-19 outbreak was not the cause, but merely a catalyst that accelerated this process [of shifting from traditional marketing to modern, digital marketing] said Viet.

Until we change the above causes, we cannot do anything about the status quo of merchants leaving traditional markets.

Ho Minh Chinh, a marketing expert, said that in order to survive, traditional markets in big cities like Ho Chi Minh City must change the way they operate and approach consumers.

Chinh mentioned traditional markets in the United States, which are hygienic, have traders list prices clearly, and are organized in a similar model to that of supermarkets, as an example for breakthrough changes.

In the process of shifting to this new look, small traders alone cannot do it, but they need actions from market management boards and local authorities, said Chinh.

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Travel companies in Vietnam are offering numerous outbound tours to local tourists as the Southeast Asian country resumes commercial flights and many countries adopt open tourism policies.

Aside from package tours, many enterprises have introduced air ticket and hotel booking services to meet various traveling demands which are expected to increase during the upcoming summer and national holidays.

The number of Vietnamese tourists booking summer tours to popular foreign destinations surged as more countries removed COVID-19 testing and quarantine requirements for Vietnamese visitors, according to representatives of several tour operators.

Getting excited to travel abroad again

Two weeks after Vietnam fully restored international tourism on March 15, Saigontourist, a leading tour operator, brought several groups of travelers to Dubai, the Maldives, and the U.S. as they had signed up for the trips before the official reopening.

Saigontourist is offering many outbound products to favorite destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, Dubai  Abu Dhabi, Turkey, Australia, Bali, the U.S., and Europe, with package prices starting from VND14.5 million (US$635).

Vietravel is also launching tours to India, Turkey, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Maldives, with weekly services to Dubai and Qatar drawing keen interest from vacationers.

To meet various travel demands, the company has introduced flexible hotel booking services allowing tourists to choose among a two-day stay in Singapore at VND4.6 million ($201), four days in Bali at VND7.99 million ($350) or three days in Thailand at VND7.9 million ($346), depending on the accommodation standards.

These are new services designed for people who prefer a self-organized trip," Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, deputy general director of Vietravel, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

"We provide tours to where foreign tourists are welcomed.

"Since April, we will bring tourists to Europe, Australia, and the U.S..

Tran Thi Bao Thu, marketing and communication director of Fiditour-Vietluxtour, said the firms outbound tourist groups are going to depart from the end of April and more tours will be launched in May and June, which will be the peak of the summer holiday.

However, most trips serve customers demands to visit their relatives, attend meetings, and reconnect with their business partners, while just a small number of clients signed up for tourist trips.

Countries and territories with simple entry procedures have become tourist magnets recently, with Singapore among the most attractive destinations.

Starting early this month, some airlines resumed flights to and from Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea, signalling a sharp recovery of the outbound segment in the future, Thu said.

Quarantine requirements still a concern

Tourism reopening largely depends on the capability to solve obstacles and build connections with international partners, as large-scale tourism advertising and promotion programs have yet to be resumed, according to tour operators.

Some countries have kept their quarantine requirements for arrivals, prompting local firms to face unpredictable risks.

Nguyen Son Thuy, general director of Duy Nhat Dong Duong Company, told Tuoi Tre that the enterprise suspended the organization of a charter trip to Thailand for the Songkran water-splashing festival, which takes place in April every year, as bookings fell short of expectations.

Vietnamese tourists are hesitant because the neighboring country still maintains its mandatory quarantine rules, Thuy explained.

Nguyen Minh Man, director for communication, marketing, and IT under TST Tourist Company, said that the soaring demand for traveling abroad is understandable after everyone stayed home for a long time due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

In addition, more and more countries have removed border closures and adopted open traveling policies.

Nonetheless, some destinations still stick to COVID-19 quarantine rules and businesses will carefully consider this risk, Man said, mentioning the story of a Vietnamese tourist who recently tested positive for the virus upon her arrival in Thailand and had to spend VND19 million ($839) on 10-day isolation, though she had obtained a negative test result via the PCR method in Vietnam previously.

These quarantine policies will result in more financial burdens on tourists. Though outbound tourists are required to buy COVID-19 insurance, they still have to pay for unforeseeable costs, such as isolation expenditures. These risks will pose difficulties to tourists and travel companies, Man added.

To safely run outbound tours in the current context, local enterprises are giving priority to destinations with simplified entry and health procedures such as France, Italy, Turkey, the Maldives, Dubai, and Singapore.

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Deputy chairman of the Peoples Committee of Hanoi Chu Xuan Dung signed on Monday afternoon an official decision to allow students from first to sixth grades in all of the capitals 30 districts and towns to resume direct class attendance from Wednesday.

Dung came to the decision after considering the municipal Department of Education and Trainings proposal, which assessed that the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city had undergone positive changes, with the number of infections among teachers and students declining.

In addition, more than 75 percent of parents in the citys 30 districts and towns have given a nod to reopening in-person classes in surveys conducted by local educational administration bodies.

Therefore, grade-1-to-6 students across the capital are scheduled to resume offline lessons, including semi-boarding classes, from April 6 after a suspension for pandemic control.

Meanwhile, kindergarteners will remain home as the citys educational authorities pledge to organize their return to school on a voluntary basis, with parental approval needed.

Deputy chairman Dung requested that the municipal educational department timely update schools and grassroots-level authorities on COVID-19 prevention measures as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Health in preparation for the school reopening.

Hanoi has documented over 1.49 million of COVID-19 cases during the ongoing outbreak.

Its daily record has decreased by more than 80 percent from a peak of 32,650 cases on March 8.

The city has administered over 6.1 million and 6.2 million first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine to its eight-million population, respectively, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal.

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Chinese authorities extended a lockdown in Shanghai to cover all of the financial center's 26 million people on Tuesday after city-wide testing saw new COVID-19 cases surge to more than 13,000 amid growing public anger over quarantine rules.

The lockdown now covers the entire city after restrictions in its western districts were extended until further notice, in what has become a major test of China's zero-tolerance strategy to eliminate the novel coronavirus.

At least 38,000 personnel have been deployed to Shanghai from other regions in what state media has described as the biggest nationwide medical operation since the shutdown of the city of Wuhan in early 2020 after the first known coronavirus outbreak there.

Shanghai's quarantine policy has been criticised for separating children from parents and putting asymptomatic cases among those with symptoms.

Workers in protective suit spray disinfectant at a community, during the lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Shanghai, China, April 5, 2022. Photo: Reuters

A temporary treatment area had opened a 1,000-bed section for treating parents and children, the Shanghai Children Medical Center said on its social media account, but it was not clear if the new section indicated a wider change of policy.

As a growing number of members of the public shared comments and videos across social media expressing frustration with the lockdown, authorities showed no sign of wavering.

"Shanghai's epidemic prevention and control is at the most difficult and most critical stage," Wu Qianyu, an official with the municipal health commission, told a briefing.

"We must adhere to the general policy of dynamic clearance without hesitation, without wavering."

Wu did not comment on Tuesday on the uproar over children being separated from their parents but on Monday she insisted that positive children had to be kept apart.

Shanghai residents organised an online petition calling for asymptomatic children to be allowed to isolate at home, with at least 1,000 people signing but as of Tuesday, it was no longer accessible on the WeChat messaging app.

Residents line up for nucleic acid testing at a residential area, during the second stage of a two-stage lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Shanghai, China April 4, 2022. Photo: Reuters

'Nobody knows'

Shanghai imposed tough restrictions last week as it struggled to contain what has become its biggest COVID-19 outbreak, after originally taking a more targeted approach.

Thousands of residents have been locked up in rudimentary quarantine facilities after testing positive, whether they are symptomatic or not.

Jane Polubotko, a Ukrainian marketing manager being held in the city's biggest quarantine centre, told Reuters it was not clear when they would be released.

"Nobody knows how many tests we need to get out," she said.

A woman in personal protective equipment (PPE) rides a bicycle on a street, during the lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Shanghai, China, April 5, 2022. Photo: Reuters

Chen Erzhen, a doctor in charge of one Shanghai quarantine facility, said in an interview with the People's Daily at the weekend that it was possible that authorities would revise guidelines and allow asymptomatic people to stay home, especially if the number of cases mounted.

"The most important thing is the problem of personal compliance," he said.

Sun Chunlan, vice-premier in charge of COVID-19 prevention, urged grassroots Communist Party organisations to "do everything possible" to help residents solve problems, such as access to medicine, food and water.

Shanghai reported a record 13,086 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases on Monday, authorities said, up from 8,581 the previous day, after more than 25 million people were swabbed in 24 hours in the city-wide testing campaign.

The government said it collected 25.7 million samples in 2.4 million test tubes, and almost 80% of the total had been tested by Tuesday morning. Positive results are followed up on an individual level.

The proportion of asymptomatic cases is far higher in Shanghai than the rest of the world, which has been attributed to a screening process that catches infected people before they become ill.

However, experts said it did not explain why symptomatic cases fell on Monday to 268, from 425 the previous day.

Meanwhile, the costs to the world's second-biggest economy mount.

Some 23 Chinese cities are under total or partial lockdown, affecting an estimated 193 million people in areas accounting for 13.6% of its gross domestic product, the Nomura brokerage said in a note on Tuesday.

A person in a protective suit walks with a dog in a residential area under lockdown following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China April 4, 2022. Photo: Reuters
It may seem strange after a pandemic that has killed millions and turned the world upside down, but viruses could save just as many lives.

In a petri dish in a laboratory in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, a battle is going on between antibiotic resistant bacteria and "friendly" viruses.

This small nation in the Caucasus has pioneered research on a groundbreaking way to tackle the looming nightmare of bacteria becoming resistant to the antibiotics on which the world depends.

Long overlooked in the West, bacteriophages or bacteria-eating viruses are now being used on some of the most difficult medical cases, including a Belgian woman who developed a life-threatening infection after being injured in the 2016 Brussels airport bombing.

After two years of unsuccessful antibiotic treatment, bacteriophages sent from Tbilisi cured her infection in three months.

"We use those phages that kill harmful bacteria" to cure patients when antibiotics fail, Mzia Kutateladze of the Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages told AFP.

Even a banal infection can "kill a patient because the pathogen has developed resistance to antibiotics," Kutateladze said.

In such cases, phagotherapy "is one of the best alternatives", she added.

Phages have been known about for a century, but were largely forgotten and dismissed after antibiotics revolutionised medicine in the 1930s.

Stalin's henchman

It didn't help that the man who did most to develop them, Georgian scientist Giorgi Eliava, was executed in 1937 on the orders of another Georgian, Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin's most notorious henchman and the head of his secret police.

Eliava had worked in the Pasteur Institute in Paris with French-Canadian microbiologist Felix d'Herelle, one of the two men credited with discovering phages, and persuaded Stalin to invite him to Tbilisi in 1934.

But their collaboration was cut short when Beria had Eliava killed, although his motive still remains a mystery.

With the World Health Organization now declaring antimicrobial resistance a global health crisis, phages are making a comeback, especially as they can target bacteria while leaving human cells intact.

A recent study warned that superbugs could kill as many as 10 million people a year when antimicrobial resistance due to overuse of antibiotics reaches a tipping point. That could come within three decades.

Mzia Kutateladze, director of the Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages in Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo: AFP

'Training' viruses

While phages-based medicines cannot completely replace antibiotics, researchers say they have major pluses in being cheap, not having side-effects nor damaging organs or gut flora.

"We produce six standard phages that are of wide spectrum and can heal multiple infectious diseases," said Eliava Institute physician Lia Nadareishvili.

In some 10 to 15 percent of patients, however, standard phages don't work and "we have to find ones capable of killing the particular bacterial strain," she added.

Tailored phages to target rare infections can be selected from the institute's massive collection -- the world's richest -- or be found in sewage or polluted water or soil, Kutateladze said.

The institute can even "train" phages so that "they can kill more and more different harmful bacteria."

"It is a cheap and easily accessible therapy," she added.

Last-resort treatment

A 34-year-old American mechanical engineer suffering from a chronic bacterial disease for six years told AFP he "already felt improvement" after two weeks at the Tbilisi institute.

"I've tried every possible treatment in the United States," said Andrew, who would only give his first name.

He is one of the hundreds of patients from around the globe who arrive in Georgia every year for last-resort treatment, said Nadareishvili.

With the traditional antimicrobial armoury depleting rapidly, more clinical studies are needed so that phagotherapy can be more widely approved, Kutateladze argued.

In 2019, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorised a clinical study on the use of bacteriophages to cure secondary infections in COVID-19 patients.

Beyond medicine, phages are already being used to stop food going off, and they "can be used in agriculture to protect crops and animals from harmful bacteria," Kutateladze said.

The institute has already conducted research on bacteria targeting cotton and rice.

Bacteriophages also have potential to counter biological weapons and combat bioterrorism, with Canadian researchers publishing a 2017 study on using them to counter an anthrax attack on crowded public places.
Rescuers in Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam have found the bodies of five female students who drowned in the local Moc Khe River on Monday afternoon, an education official said on Tuesday.

The five victims, all 12 years old, were students of Thieu Duy Middle School in the north-central provinces Thieu Hoa District, Ngo Xuan Dung, head of the districts Education and Training Bureau, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday.

These students had no class on Monday afternoon so they went together to the river for swimming.

Later that afternoon, their relatives rushed to search for them as the schoolgirls did not return home, Dung said.

Around 8:00 pm the same day, the searchers discovered a bicycle, an electric bicycle, two mobile phones, and three pairs of plastic sandals, suspected to belong to the students, left on the spillway of the river.

This image shows Le Duc Giang (third left), deputy chairman of the Thanh Hoa administration, paying a condolence visit to the family of one of the five drowned students on April 5, 2022. Photo: Ha Dong / Tuoi Tre

After receiving a report of the findings, the rescue forces of the provincial police were deployed to the river to search for the students.

The bodies of two out of the five students were retrieved on Tuesday morning and the remaining three were recovered at noon.

Representatives of local authorities paid condolence visits to the families of the five students on Tuesday afternoon.

The Education and Training Bureau will direct local schools to coordinate with parents in the management of students outside school hours and prevent drowning by running swimming safety courses, Dung said.

Drowning is still one of the leading causes of death among children in Vietnam, with about 2,000 under 16 years old losing their lives to it every year, according to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs.

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Here are todays leading news stories:

Politics

-- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for further efforts to fight against negativities and violations in the securities and real estate sectors during the governments regular meeting on Monday.

Society

-- Police in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City have launched an investigation after a 21-year-old militiaman was stabbed to death while performing his duty along a local street on Monday.

-- A fire engulfed a 9,000-square-meter area at a dumping ground for industrial waste belonging to a local company in northern Hai Duong Province on Monday evening. Firefighters were still trying to put out the blaze as of the same night.

-- The Peoples Court in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has sentenced a 58-year-old man who is a former hospital director to 18 years in prison for murder.

-- An eighth grader was found dead after falling from the 18th floor of the Vesta Apartment Building in Ha Dong District, Hanoi at around 11:30 am on Monday, a local official confirmed later the same day.

-- Israeli authorities have found a body suspected to be a Vietnamese university student who had gone missing during his study in Israel in 2016, the Ho Chi Minh City Nong Lam University confirmed on Monday.

-- The Peoples Court in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City on Monday sentenced three people to between six and nine months in prison for attacking two health workers over a conflict during the COVID-19 testing drive in September 2021.

Business

-- Vietnams Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of this year was estimated to increase 5.03 percent year on year, higher than the 4.72 percent growth rate in the same period last year, the Vietnam News Agency quoted the General Statistics Office as saying.

-- Police said on Monday they had arrested Trinh Thi Minh Hue, the younger sister of former FLC chairman Trinh Van Quyet, on suspicion of being involved in her brothers stock market manipulation.

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Three family members from Ho Chi Minh City have been jailed for between six and nine months for attacking two pandemic control volunteers over a confrontation during a COVID-19 testing drive last year.

The Peoples Court in District 8 conducted on Monday the trial of Lieu Tuan Trong, 53, his wife, 47-year-old Huynh Thi Cam Huong, and their daughter, 23-year-old Lieu Thanh Thao.

Trong and Huong were each sentenced to six months in prison, while Thao received a nine-month jail term for obstructing on-duty officers.

On September 24, 2021, the medical center in Ward 4, District 8 tasked Ngo Quoc Phong and Nguyen Hoang Nam, two pandemic control volunteers under the wards administration, with accompanying a doctor during the COVID-19 testing drive at a local neighborhood.

Vietnam was struggling to control the fourth coronavirus wave, and Ho Chi Minh City was the countrys hardest-hit locality at the time, prompting municipal authorities to order regular mass testing to slow down the spread of the virus.

The team set up tables and chairs and asked local residents to take turns having their samples collected for rapid COVID-19 testing.

Huynh Thi Cam Huong, Lieu Tuan Trong, and Lieu Thanh Thao attack the pandemic control volunteers on September 24, 2021 in this still photo taken from the video footage of the incident.

Trong later asked for some test kits so that he and his family members could perform the test by themselves inside their house, stating that the testing process posed a high risk of transmission.

Phong refused Trongs request, before an argument broke out between the two.

Trong then grabbed Phongs shirt to check his name tag as he wanted to report the volunteers attitude to local authorities.

Phong pushed the man away, but the latter continued to grab his protective suit, resulting in a violent quarrel.

Thao and Huong ran out of their house and held Phong down while Tuan repeatedly hit the volunteer and tore his protective suit.

The two women also beat Phong and Nam with plastic stools.

Police officers later probed the incident and charged the three family members with obstructing on-duty officers.

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Israeli authorities have found in a mountain cave a dead body along with some papers showing the name of a 29-year-old Vietnamese undergraduate who had been reported missing for nearly six years in Israel, the students school said.

The Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry has received a document from the Vietnamese Embassy in Israel notifying the findings by Israeli authorities related to Nguyen Hai Binh, who was reported missing in Israel in 2016, Dr. Huynh Thanh Hung, acting rector of the university, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper Monday.

Israeli agencies had detected a dead body, personal belongings, and some papers including a student ID card and bankcard with Binhs full name in a deep mountain cave, according to the document.

Israeli authorities have contacted the students family for a DNA test to determine if the body was Binh, a native of south-central Binh Thuan Province, Dr. Hung said, adding that the university had yet to get official information on whether this student is alive or dead.

On April 2, the Binh Thuan administration continued requesting Vietnams Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese Embassy in Israel to assist in the search for Binh.

The request came after provincial authorities continued receiving an appeal from Binhs parents asking for help and assistance in searching for him, with whom the family had failed to get in contact since around mid-September 2016.

Previously, the Binh Thuan government had once made the same request to the same agencies for such a search.

On August 2, 2016, Binh, an undergraduate of the universitys department of biotechnology, left Vietnam for Israel to participate in an intern program organized by his school.

About 40 days later, on September 17, Binh was announced missing, according to Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper.

After being notified by Israeli authorities of Binhs missing, the school sent a task group to Israel to coordinate the search for the student in 2016, but it came to no avail, Dr. Hung said.

The school then informed Binhs family of the incident, the schools acting rector added.

On Monday, the university sent a group to Binhs family for a visit, during which they provided the latest information related to the student to his parents while waiting for official conclusions from Israeli authorities.

The school is coordinating with agencies concerned, at home and abroad, to get more information about Binh and keep his family posted on it, Dr. Hung said.

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The Peoples Court in Tien Giang Province of Vietnams Mekong Delta region sentenced a 58-year-old man, a former hospital director, to 18 years in prison for murder on Monday.

The offender is Nguyen Van Nguu, ex-director of Cai Lay Regional General Hospital in Cai Lay District, Tien Giang Province.

Mondays court also sentenced Huynh Duc Trong, 38, to 18 years in prison; Le Quoc Dat, 35, to 17 years in prison; and Nguyen Ngoc Hau, 56, to 16 years in prison for the same charge.

Hau was also subject to an additional penalty of three years in prison for intentionally causing injury to other people, pursuant to the sentence of the Peoples Court of Cai Be District in the province.

The total penalty for Hau is 19 years in prison.

The indictment showed that Nguu hired a private investigator to follow his 50-year-old wife, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, over the suspicion that she was having an affair with another man.

Nguu then determined that Thuy often met Tran Van Dinh, a 60-year-old resident of Cai Be District.

Around 11:00 pm on March 11, 2021, Nguu was informed that Thuy met with a traffic accident in a drunk state and was brought to Cai Lay Regional General Hospital by Vo Thi Muoi, a 44-year-old motorbike taxi driver living in Cai Be, for emergency treatment.

Nguu, on duty at the hospital at that time, directly gave first aid to Thuy in the emergency room.

Afterward, as Nguu went out to the hospital gate and saw Tran Van Dinh there, he called and asked Huynh Duc Trong to beat Dinh as a way to threaten him.

Trong traveled to the hospital on a motorbike in the company of Le Quoc Dat and Nguyen Ngoc Hau and received VND1 million (US$44) from Nguu.

At around 11:10 pm that day, Vo Thi Muoi carried Dinh on her motorbike in the direction to Cai Be District, while Hau and Dat, who brought a knife along, chased after them on their motorcycle.

Hau and Dat managed to corner Muoi and Dinh on the Ba Ton Bridge in Cai Lay District and stabbed Muoi once in her left flank.

After that, Hau and Dat fled the scene and reported their act to Trong, only to know that they misunderstood Trong's order and harmed the wrong person, while Muoi was taken back to Cai Lay Regional General Hospital for emergency treatment.

She was then transferred to Tien Giang General Hospital and died there on the next day.

Nguu met Trong and gave him another VND25 million ($1,093) on March 15, 2021.

Trong then gave Hau and Dat each VND6.7 million ($293) of the amount.

In April 2021, Tien Giang Province police initiated legal proceedings and served a four-month arrest warrant on Nguu, Dat, Trong, and Hau for the investigation into the charge of murder.

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Period melodrama Hotel Portofino has been renewed for a second season.

The second season set on the Italian Riviera in the 1920s, will returning cast Natascha McElhone, Mark Umbers Lily Fraser and Aussie Claude Scott-Mitchell as hotel guest Rose Drummond-Ward.

Season two will see the Ainsworth family relations at breaking point and the future of the hotel threatened, as Cecil does business with some unsavoury characters. Embracing themes of sexual and social liberation, the series will continue to deliver intriguing plotlines in a breathtaking Italian setting, while capturing the long-established literary tradition of idiosyncratic British innocents abroad, and revealing darker storylines set against the historical backdrop of the rise of Fascism in Mussolinis Italy.

The second season will again be filmed in Portofino, Italy and along the Croatian coastline.

All episodes will be written by Matt Baker (Suspect) who created the original series. It will be directed by season one director Adam Wimpenny (Blackwood) and executive produced by Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino for Eagle Eye Drama in cooperation with the BetaFilm Group.

Hotel Portofino screens in Australia on Foxtel and Binge.
Katie Dey, seven, looking at the Benin Bronzes at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. They are among items requested for repatriation.

IT IS more than 20 years since the sacred Lakota Ghost Dance shirt was returned to descendants of the community of its origin.

While initial attempts to have the shirt, thought to have been worn at the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890, when 250 Lakota Sioux men, women and children were massacred by the United States 7th Cavalry, repatriated were refused, Glasgow City Council agreed that it should be given back and it was returned in 2000.

Now, the city has received a further request for repatriation of 25 artefacts from Cheyenne River and Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribes, in South Dakota, along with two separate requests from other nations.

Read more: Glasgow's collection of looted Benin bronzes could be repatriated to Nigeria

25 Lakota cultural items sold and donated to the citys museum collection by George Crager in 1892 could be returned after a request was made to the citys museum service.

And a request has been made for the return of 17 Benin bronzes to Nigeria, some of which are currently on display in Glasgows Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum from National Commission of Museums and Monuments, in Nigeria, while High Commission of India made requests for the return of six or seven architectural antiquities from Kanpur, Gwalior and Bihar, and also a 14th century ceremonial sword (tulwar) and scabbard.

HeraldScotland: Katie Dey, seven, looks on at Benin bronzes on display at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Katie Dey, seven, looks on at Benin bronzes on display at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

A Working Group for Repatriation of Artefacts report due to go before Glasgow City Councils City Administration Committee on Thursday will recommend members approve the return of the items to their original communities.

Descendants of the late Marcella LeBeau on Cheyenne River and Pine Ridge Reservations, South Dakota wrote to Glasgow museums earlier this year requesting the cultural items.

The Le Beau family are representing the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe and have received guidance and support from the 19th Generation Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe, spiritual leader Chief Arvol Looking Horse.

Story continues

Read more: Parents of balcony fall death victim Kirsty Maxwell in bid to help others

The Lakota items in the citys museum collection that belong to the Oceti Sakowin convey the continuity of the ancestors who created the items. The Marcella LeBeau family are direct Oceti Sakowin descendants of the Wounded Knee massacre.

HeraldScotland: Glasgow Museum's have received requests for artefacts to be returned

Glasgow Museum's have received requests for artefacts to be returned

Duncan Dornan, head of museums for Glasgow Life, said: Glasgow has a really positive history in relation to repatriation. When the Ghost shirt was returned to the Wounded Knee community that was very much at the forefront of the UK sector and something of a blueprint. Since then we have continued to maintain and build relationships internationally and it that is really fundamental to this. Having trust is important to getting a respectful and constructive for all parties.

"These requests are the results of lengthy discussions and while it might seem the three requests have come at once, it is coincidental and follow long periods of discussions. It is important that people know about the history of these objects and we have to be open and transparent about how they arrived in the city. With Wounded knee these objects continue to be of spiritual and emotional significance and the return of them remains enormously important. The return is a way of Glasgow cementing the very positive and constructive relationships with communities around the world. Morally it is the the right thing to do."

Of the 25 objects requested, some were taken from the Wounded Knee Massacre site following the battle in December 1890, some were personal items belonging to named ancestors and the remainder are ceremonial items, all of which represent the belief, history and values of the Oceti Sakowin.

In 1892, Kelvingrove Museum obtained a collection of Indian Relics from Crager, interpreter for the Lakota performers at the Buffalo Bull Wild West Show in Dennistoun.

HeraldScotland: Ghost Dance Shirt returned home in 2000

Ghost Dance Shirt returned home in 2000

In the case of the bronze, the requested objects were taken from ancestral altars at the Royal Court of Benin during the British Punitive Expedition of 1897. GCCs Museums subsequently acquired them from various sources in Britain as gifts, bequests and from auction houses. It is estimated it could cost in the region of 30,000 and a further 30,000 to 40,000 for the Lakota Sioux artefacts to be returned.

Six of the artefacts were stolen by the donors from Hindu temples and shrines in different States in India during the 19th Century, while the seventh was illegally purchased as a result of theft from the owner, sold and smuggled out of India. All seven items were subsequently gifted to the citys museum collection.

As well as the repatriation of artefacts, eight half-hull shipbuilders design models, gifted to Glasgow by Alexander Hall & Co of Aberdeen in 1881, are set to be transferred to Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum.

They were part of the 1881 Naval and Marine Exhibition in Glasgow but havent been displayed in the city in the last 10 years. The Aberdeen museum has offered a nineteenth century display model of a Clyde-built Scotia as a transfer.

A ships bell and honours panel from HMS Glasgow, gifted by the Royal Navy in 2005, are expected to be returned. The Type-42 destroyer, built by Swan Hunter on the Tyne in the 1970s, was decommissioned in 2005.

The items were gifted to the city chambers but are currently in storage. A new HMS Glasgow, a Type-26 frigate, will be commissioned in 2026 and the Royal Navy has asked if the bell and honours board could be used on the vessel.
(Getty Images)

West Ham boss David Moyes is set to make a late call over whether Ben Johnson will be fit to feature against Lyon on Thursday.

The right-back returned from international duty with some discomfort in his hamstring suffered while making his England Under-21s debut away in Albania last week.

Moyes decided not to risk Johnson in Sunday's 2-1 win over Everton, leaving the 22-year-old out of the matchday squad altogether.

It is not thought to be too serious an injury, but while Moyes is hopeful that the full-back will be able to feature in the first leg of West Ham's historic Europa League quarter-final against Lyon, his exact status remains uncertain.

Ryan Fredericks started in place of Johnson against Everton and, despite doing well at times, he can be a liability at the back. West Ham have at least been boosted by Vladimir Coufal's return after a hernia operation.

The Czech international was named on the bench on Sunday but did not get a chance to feature ahead of Lyon, which may be a concern if Johnson is not fit to return.

The same cannot be said for Jarrod Bowen, who played 70 minutes on his return from an ankle injury and grabbed the winner against Frank Lampard's ailing Everton.

"That's what you want when you've been out," said Bowen. "It's been annoying with the timing but injuries happen on your journey and to come back into the starting XI and get the goal and three points, you can't ask for much more.

Full-back Ben Johnson missed West Hams 2-1 win over Everton on Sunday due to a hamstring injury (Getty Images)

"Obviously I'm not going to be where I was before I got injured, but it's about building that up game by game and just getting confident in it. I'm happy to score and get the win."
Jason Koon is the chip leader after a wild Day 1 of Event #3: $75,000 Short Deck Ante-Only in the Triton Poker Special Edition Series at Merit Crystal Cove Resort and Casino in North Cyprus. The popular high roller poker variant drew 51 total entries and 11 players bagged for Day 2.

The 51 entries generated a prize pool of $3,706,500, from which the winner will receive $1,170,000. The top seven places will pay out a minimum of $194,500.

Triton Poker Special Edition Series Event #3: $75,000 Short Deck Day 2 Chip Counts

Place Player Country Chip Count Day 2 Antes 1 Jason Koon United States 2,675,000 134 2 Elton Tsang Hong Kong 2,615,000 131 3 Phil Ivey United States 1,910,000 96 4 Wai Kin Yong Malaysia 1,370,000 96 5 Ivan Leow Malaysia 1,315,000 69 6 Daniel Cates United States 1,170,000 59 7 Chris Brewer United States 1,067,000 53 8 Richard Yong Malaysia 980,000 49 9 Mikita Badziakouski Belarus 875,000 49 10 Wai Kiat Lee Malaysia 835,000 42 11 Mike Watson Canada 775,000 39

Koon was the leader when the dust settled, thanks in part to the elimination of Wei Hsiang Yeu in the final level of the evening. The GGPoker Ambassador was a fixture near the top of the leaderboard throughout the day, taking advantage of the big swings in a game that lends itself to a lot of shoving and jamming.

The chip leader is followed closely by Elton Tsang in second and Phil Ivey in third. Veteran Short Deck players Wai Kin Yong and Ivan Leow round out the top five.

Phil Ivey

Players return tomorrow at 1 p.m. EEST for the Day 2 finale. Action picks back up in Level 13 with antes at 20,000, while the button will commit 40,000. Levels will increase every 40 minutes, and play will continue tomorrow until a winner is declared. The plan is to take a 15-minute break every three levels.

Event #3: $75,000 Short Deck Ante-Only Payouts

Place Prize 1 $1,170,000 2 $840,000 3 $538,000 4 $408,000 5 $315,000 6 $241,000 7 $194,500

All of Wednesday's action will once again be streamed by Triton Poker on their YouTube channel, as well as on Twitch. The livestream will kick off on a security delay, approximately 30 minutes after cards go in the air.

Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team all week long for live updates from the Triton Poker Special Edition Series at Merit Crystal Cove Resort and Casino in North Cyprus.
DALLAS  Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, will invest $800 million in a new data center in fast-growing Temple in Central Texas.

The 900,000-square-foot project will create 100 jobs, the company said last Thursday. Construction is expected to begin this spring at a 393-acre site off NW H.K. Dodgen Loop and Industrial Boulevard. At peak of construction, the project will employ 1,250 workers.

Meta expects the data center to be operating in 2024.

The data center is intended to help support all of Metas apps and services, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Meta Quest. The company will also use the center to accommodate the growing number of photos and videos being shared.

Katie Comer, community development regional manager at Meta, said Temple offers established infrastructure, a strong talent pool and supportive community partners.

Community partners have been vital to this project, and we look forward to calling Temple home for many years to come, Comer said.

Meta also operates a data center in north Fort Worth that opened in 2017 and has grown into a $1.5 billion investment. The massive facility totals more than 2.6 million square feet over 150 acres.

The social media giant operates data centers supported by 100% renewable energy. In Texas, Meta has invested in more than 700 megawatts of wind and solar energy.

Data center construction has been one of the states strengths, with Dallas-Fort Worth ranking as the third-largest market in the U.S., according to real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield. Its year-end report said it expects rental rates to trend upward in early 2022 due to global supply chain constraints.

Meta will receive a partial property tax abatement for 10 years from the city and Temple Economic Development Corp.

Mayor Tim Davis said the city of 82,000 residents is known for its business-friendly environment. And the surrounding area serves as an employment hub for a region with a population of 450,000.

Metas decision to establish a presence here in Temple is a significant win for our community and proof that our process works, Davis said. We are excited for the opportunities this project will create for our residents and look forward to being a part of Metas continued growth.

Adrian Cannady, president and CEO of Temple Economic Development Corporation, told the San Antonio Express-News that he believes the data center will be a positive impact on the community because of Metas commitment to invest in local schools, nonprofits and community projects.

Since 2017, Meta has provided more than $2.6 million in grants to schools, small businesses and local organizations in Fort Worth, according to the Express-News.

Metas investment comes even though Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the tech giant in February, alleging it unlawfully used facial recognition technology to collect biometric data on Texans without their informed consent.
An autopsy has allowed police to identify the body of a Waco woman found in a vehicle that was recovered from the Brazos River on Jan. 19, Waco police officials announced Monday.

Police said the body was that of Stephanie Torres, who went missing in 2017 and had been the focus of a search by family and police.

The medical examiner performing the autopsy determined the cause of death inconclusive, Waco Police Department spokesperson Cierra Shipley said.

In the initial search for Torres, it was reported to officers that she may have been intoxicated and suicidal when she disappeared, the statement reads.

Police searched for Torres after she was reported missing but every lead came up empty, Shipley stated. The case was suspended in February 2019.

Shortly after noon Jan. 19, Waco officers were notified that a team of divers from Adventures with Purpose found three vehicles in the Brazos River, the statement reads.

The Waco Police Department, assisted by the Waco Fire Department Dive Team, recovered Torres car from the Brazos River on Jan. 19, according to the statement.

Authorities recovered two of the cars. No other bodies were found, according to Shipley.

Investigators found a stolen vehicle reported in 2013 that matched the second recovered car.

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World prices are expected to increase, and other areas may be forced to make do with less resources. With Europe's race for supply, the threat of a worldwide struggle for supplies in a market that economists believe has little slack is growing increasingly likely.

The German government's plans to construct a terminal for accepting shiploads of liquefied natural gas were in chaos just a few months ago. According to prospective developers, customers were not confident that a facility that may cost billions of dollars would be used to its full potential. Concerns about climate change have also cast a shadow on the long-term viability of fossil fuels such as natural gas.

The public's perception of the situation has shifted. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Kremlin's threats to cut off fuel supplies, the German government has determined that the country requires these massive facilities  as many as four of them  to wean the country off Russian gas and serve as a lifeline if Moscow cuts off the taps completely. The expense to the taxpayer seems to be just a minor issue at this point.



The expense to the taxpayer seems to be just a minor issue at this point.

The vast majority of the natural gas Europe imports from Russia to fuel its electrical utilities is transported via pipelines that run over land or under the sea. When pipelines are not an option, liquefied natural gas gives an alternative method of transporting gas resources. Natural gas is cooled to become a liquid and then transferred into special tankers. It may then be transported to any port, where it can be converted back into gas and pumped into the power system to generate electricity.

Lithuania said on Saturday that it would no longer be purchasing natural gas from Russia. Because Lithuania is a small nation, the cutoff will not significantly impact the Russian economy. However, because it is a member of the European Union, its choice had symbolic geopolitical significance. The need for Europe to adapt to a low-carbon economy took on fresh urgency Monday in the aftermath of worldwide outrage over photographs of victims strewn over the streets of Ukrainian cities where Russian forces have withdrawn. Leaders pondered how to penalize Russia without endangering Europe's ability to get key energy supplies in the short term.

In the same way that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is transforming perceptions throughout Europe, notably in Germany, the continent's most powerful economy, it is also reshaping energy markets worldwide. Years have passed when Europe has imported vast amounts of natural gas from Russia to heat its homes and power its industries; however, this practice, based on billion-dollar pipeline infrastructure, is now at risk of being severely curtailed.

By 2030, the European Union hopes to have stopped what it considers to be an unhealthy entanglement. Specifically, it hopes to reduce reliance on Russia, which provided 40 percent of European gas last year, by two-thirds within a year.

What strategy will be used to replace these massive amounts of Russian natural gas? Liquid natural gas is a wager that the European Union is placing.

Europe's leaders want to secure 50 billion cubic meters of additional L.N.G. shipments over the following year, equivalent to about half of the Russian gas they want to abandon. That is not the only thing that Europe is doing. Officials may be able to get additional gas via pipelines connecting Norway and Azerbaijan. They also seek to cut gas usage by increasing the number of wind and solar energy projects, urging residents to turn down their thermostats to save money. On the other hand, analysts believe that Europe will struggle to replace such a large amount of gas.

These increased volumes of liquefied natural gas, which would most likely need to be maintained for several years, could cost as much as $50 billion at current prices but would cost significantly less if purchased on long-term contracts from the United States, where prices are a fraction of those in Europe and Asian markets.

Liquefied natural gas is often shipped from Asia to Europe rather than the other way around. China, Japan, and South Korea were the top three purchasers in the previous year. With Europe's race for supply, the threat of a worldwide struggle for supplies in a market that economists believe has little slack becomes more likely.

The extra gas that Europe aims to produce would add almost 10% to world demand, resulting in a tug-of-war with other nations for fuel supplies. That possibility might imply that gas prices, which have reached record highs in recent months, would continue to rise, extending consumer pain and putting more pressure on the sector.

For example, on Friday, residential energy bills for millions of British customers increased by 54 percent, mainly due to rising wholesale gas prices. The prices of futures contracts show no signs of improvement.

According to Massimo Di Odoardo, vice president for gas at Wood Mackenzie, a market research organization, "competition for L.N.G. will be quite strong over the next three years." "Europe and Asia will be tugging the blanket," he said, to meet their demands.

In principle, high gas prices should encourage the development of new gas resources. However, it is far from clear how much additional production will be stimulated by the current high prices in Europe.

According to James Henderson, head of the gas program at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, a research organization, "clearly, you can't replace that quantity of gas in the medium term." However, Mr. Henderson went on to say that Europe is also likely to invest money in speeding up its transition to cleaner energy, therefore cutting the demand for fossil fuels.

That possible stumbling block isn't deterring Germany from embarking on the construction of the country's first liquefied natural gas terminal and a flurry of new and expansion projects around Europe. In a port named Brunsbuttel near Hamburg, Berlin seems to have agreed on a permanent terminal, while it still has options on three floating constructions, which are less expensive. It is possible to be completed in a few months.

Despite recent declarations, L.N.G. shipments for Europe surpassed Russian pipeline gas even before the announcements. The high costs for natural gas in Europe, fueled by tensions over Ukraine, have attracted tankers transporting the fuel; they are currently around seven times higher than they were a year ago. As a result of higher liquefied natural gas prices, the world's major liquefied natural gas exporters such as Qatar and Australia are benefiting, as is the United States, which has seen its shipments of the fuel, which is a byproduct of shale drilling, increase by an astounding 50 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year.

The political influence that comes with this energy wealth is significant. The United States has offered liquefied natural gas to Europe to assist the European Union cut its energy ties with Russia, a long-standing desire of certain American politicians.

On March 25, the Biden administration and the European Union reached an agreement under which the United States would "strive to ensure" that at least 15 billion cubic meters of additional L.N.G. reached Europe this year, an amount roughly equivalent to around 10% of the gas Europe imports from Russia.

Analysts believe that this pledge is attainable, but it will be primarily due to market factors rather than government policy. The company estimates that at least 115 chilled gas cargoes left Cheniere Energy's facilities, the largest U.S. supplier of liquefied natural gas, and made their way to Europe in the first three months of 2022. According to the company, this figure is more than double the total shipped during the same period in 2021.

According to experts, Washington has also pressed other nations, notably Japan, to relinquish part of their cargoes, which has resulted in a significant decrease in exports from the United States bound for Asia. Over time, though, such generosity may become more difficult to justify, particularly if the situation in Ukraine persists forever and markets become more constrained.

Increasing supply is the most effective method of bringing costs down. Even though high prices would stimulate marginal increases in exports, it typically takes more than two years to construct infrastructure for processing natural gas, such as the terminal that Germany intends to construct. Of course, demand for liquefied natural gas, which increased by 6 percent in 2021, is expected to continue to climb as China and other nations transition away from polluting coal and toward cleaner natural gas.

According to a press release, Cheniere Energy is going forward with a major expansion of its export facility in Corpus Christi, Texas. The country of Qatar also claims that it is planning on bringing in a massive amount of liquefied natural gas within the next five years.

Although the present boom in Europe is projected to last for many years, developers will be concerned that it could end far before the expiry of the new L.N.G. projects, which are normally scheduled to run for 20 years or more. And European officials continue to warn that natural gas is just a temporary solution until renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydrogen take over.

Analysts say this commitment is achievable, mainly because of market dynamics rather than government policies. In the first three months of 2022, at least 115 cargoes of chilled gas left the facilities of Cheniere Energy, the largest U.S. supplier of liquefied natural gas. According to the company, they headed to Europe, more than double the total in the same period in 2021.

According to analysts, Washington has also leaned on other countries, including Japan, to give up some of their cargoes, which has led to a substantial drop in shipments heading to Asia from the United States. Over time, though, such generosity may be a harder sell, especially if the war in Ukraine continues indefinitely and markets tighten further.

"Under the current conditions, I don't think that Japan has the room to commit to long-term, continuous L.N.G. shipments," said Michitaka Hattori, a director at the Japan Institute for Russian & N.I.S. Economic Studies.

The surest way to bring prices down is to add more supply. High prices will encourage marginal increases in exports. Still, it usually takes more than two years to build facilities for processing gas, such as the terminal that Germany wants to build. Of course, liquefied natural gas demand, which grew 6 percent in 2021, will likely increase as China and other countries shift to gas from pollution-spewing coal.

Cheniere Energy is moving ahead with a significant expansion of its export facility at Corpus Christi, Texas. Qatar also says it is working on adding an enormous slug of liquefied natural gas in the next five years.

Developers will be wary of whether the current boom in Europe might fade well before the expiration of the new L.N.G. projects, which are generally expected to operate for 20 years or more. And European leaders insist they still view gas as a temporary fix before renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydrogen take over.

Severing European Union's dependency on Russian gas
PRESS RELEASE  The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force will host a variety of events and exhibits that commemorate the achievements of our nations airmen and guardians this year during the 75th Anniversary of the U.S. Air Force.

The theme of the anniversary Innovate, Accelerate, Thrive  The Air Force at 75, highlights the U.S. Air Force and Department of the Air Forces commitment to fly, fight and win  delivering airpower anytime, anywhere in defense of our nation.

The museum will commemorate the anniversary by combining events and exhibits that celebrate the achievements of the U.S. Air Force since its inception as well as the continued development of our airmen, guardians, and technology in the years to come.

Scheduled 75th Anniversary events and exhibits include:

A Force for Good  Department of the Air Force Humanitarian Missions This new permanent exhibit open now in the Global Reach Gallery. A Grand Opening celebration scheduled Saturday, April 9 from 9 a.m.  5 p.m. will include demonstrations, hands-on activities for visitors of all ages, and guest speakers.

This new permanent exhibit open now in the Global Reach Gallery. A Grand Opening celebration scheduled Saturday, April 9 from 9 a.m.  5 p.m. will include demonstrations, hands-on activities for visitors of all ages, and guest speakers. From Yesterday to Tomorrow: Celebrating 75 Years of the Department of the Air Force A new special exhibit opening April 29 in the Cold War Art Gallery will convey the U.S. Air Forces impact through national defense, and technological and social progress impacting people around the world.

A new special exhibit opening April 29 in the Cold War Art Gallery will convey the U.S. Air Forces impact through national defense, and technological and social progress impacting people around the world. New Aircraft Arrival: KC-135 , Scheduled for arrival in late April, this aircraft is the first to conduct an aerial refueling between three aircraft connected to each other simultaneously.

, Scheduled for arrival in late April, this aircraft is the first to conduct an aerial refueling between three aircraft connected to each other simultaneously. Mercury-Atlas 9 (Faith 7) Spacecraft Replica , Tentatively scheduled for display in the Missile Gallery this summer.

, Tentatively scheduled for display in the Missile Gallery this summer. WWII Memorial Exhibit, June 4-6, 2022 A weekend of activities featuring a replica of the Washington D.C. WWII Memorial. Additional family-friendly activities include a reenactor encampment, fly-overs, and indoor events.

A weekend of activities featuring a replica of the Washington D.C. WWII Memorial. Additional family-friendly activities include a reenactor encampment, fly-overs, and indoor events. Korea Memorial Exhibit, June 25-26, 2022 Visit a replica exhibit of Washington D.C.s Korean War memorial, hear the living history from museum volunteers sharing the vital role that many of the museums aircraft played in this war, and visit the Air Force Museum Foundation Theatre to see Korean War-related movies.

Visit a replica exhibit of Washington D.C.s Korean War memorial, hear the living history from museum volunteers sharing the vital role that many of the museums aircraft played in this war, and visit the Air Force Museum Foundation Theatre to see Korean War-related movies. Space Celebration, July 30  Aug 7, 2022 A free and unique Space Celebration offering something for the whole family including guest speakers, space-themed exhibits, simulator rides, a build-and-launch rocket activity, and an After Dark (21+) ticketed event.

A free and unique Space Celebration offering something for the whole family including guest speakers, space-themed exhibits, simulator rides, a build-and-launch rocket activity, and an After Dark (21+) ticketed event. Vietnam Memorial Wall, August 18-22, 2022 The museum will host the American Veterans Traveling Tribute Traveling Wall, an 80% replica of the Vietnam Wall bearing the names of more than 58,000 service members killed in Vietnam. As a backdrop for this memorial, the museum will host aerial events, a fly-over, and more.

The museum will host the American Veterans Traveling Tribute Traveling Wall, an 80% replica of the Vietnam Wall bearing the names of more than 58,000 service members killed in Vietnam. As a backdrop for this memorial, the museum will host aerial events, a fly-over, and more. Panel 44  8 Days in March August 16-Sept 24 Panel 44 is a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial containing the names of 337 American service members who died between March 9 -16, 1968. This 900-pound exhibit will be located inside the 4th building.

Panel 44 is a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial containing the names of 337 American service members who died between March 9 -16, 1968. This 900-pound exhibit will be located inside the 4th building. Air Force Birthday Celebration Weekend, September 17-18 Come celebrate with us! The museum will have events throughout the weekend that include open aircraft, family-centered activities/contests, special veteran speakers, and of course cake!

Come celebrate with us! The museum will have events throughout the weekend that include open aircraft, family-centered activities/contests, special veteran speakers, and of course cake! A-1H  Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) Skyraider New exhibit highlighting combat search and rescue missions anticipated in fall 2022.

Visit the 75th Anniversary webpage at www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Events/75th-anniversary/ for more information on these events. Events details are subject to change.

For a complete list of all scheduled events at the museum visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Events.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the worlds largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 350 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year thousands of visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.
Following a five-year hiatus, Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK) will host their much-missed Good Neighbor Day Air Show and Open House event on May 14, 2022. This years show will focus upon the 80th anniversary +1 of NAS Atlanta, its history so relevant to the present-day PDK, as the runways and a good number of the airfields older facilities were a part of that naval air station from 1941 until its roughly 20 miles move west from Chamblee to Marrietta, Georgia in 1959.

We are excited to bring back our air show, said airport director Mario Evans. Between airport construction and COVID restrictions, we havent been able to organize an air show in five years. The Good Neighbor Day has become a tradition in Atlanta, and the longest-running air show in the region. We look forward to hosting families and aviation enthusiasts once again.





Dekalb-Peachtree Airport has a rich military history. A century ago, the present-day airports grounds lay within Camp Gordon, a U.S. Army training base during World War I. In 1940, the U.S. Navy acquired a small tract of this land and formally commissioned it as a Naval Reserve air field by March of the following year. By the end of 1942, the base had grown so large that it became a fully-fledged Naval Air Station. During the war years, the Navy continued to expand the grounds, acquiring a considerable amount of property directly west of the airport from civilian owners, either by purchase or condemnation; they erected a number of new permanent buildings on this land.

However, despite its growth, it wasnt too long after WWII that the demands of modern jets and large patrol bombers began outstripping what was available at PDK, both in terms of facilities and runway lengths. As a result, the U.S. Navy built a permanent Naval Air Station outpost adjoining Dobbins Air Force Base near Marietta, Georgia, to benefit from that airfields longer runways. As the move took place, the Navy initiated the incremental return of their now-former air station in Chamblee to DeKalb County; the airport falling fully within their control during 1959 when it became fully available for civilian use.

Two aircraft participating in the show have a direct link to NAS Atlantas past; CAF Airbase Georgias FG-1D Corsair and the Military Aviation Museums AD-4 Skyraider both served at Chamblee for a period following WWII. AD-4 Skyraider BuNo.123827, built in 1949, saw three combat tours in Korea, firstly with VA-55 Torpcats aboard USS Valley Forge (CV-45) where she was involved in the types combat debut and indeed the U.S. Navys first carrier strikes against North Korea on July 3rd, 1950 when VA-55 struck airfields and fuel depots near Pyongyang. 827s ultimate combat cruise off the Korean coast was during the aircrafts time with VA-75 Sunday Punchers aboard USS Bennington (CV 20). Following the frenetic action during the Korean War, 827 returned stateside to take up a training role with the U.S. Marine Corps VMAT-20) at MCAS Cherry Point near New Bern, North Carolina. In early July 1956, 827 flew to NAS Atlanta, where the Navy soon struck her off. She lingered there in storage until 1959 when the Navy donated the airframe to the City of Chamblee as a gate guard for the newly established civilian airfield which NAS Atlanta had once called home (the Navy having decamped to Marietta, by this point). 827 sat atop a pole on display for the next few years, slowly deteriorating due to neglect, until a local pilot named Dave Forrest bought it from the city in 1966. Over the next decade, Forrest, with assistance from Pat Epps, restored the old warrior back to flying condition, getting it back into the air again on December 5th, 1978. The Skyraider has been through several different owners since those days, with Jerry Yagens Military Aviation Museum acquiring her in September, 2000. The AD presently wears the livery of an aircraft which LCDR Swede Carlson flew during the Korean War while leading VA-195 from aboard USS Princeton (CV 37). (As some will remember, VA-195 gained their nickname, Dambusters, when Carlson and his men breached the heavily defended North Korean dam at the Hwachon Resevoir on May 1st, 1951, a feat which B-29 heavy bombers had failed to accomplish.)





CAF Airbase Georgias FG-1D Corsair (BuNo 92468) rolled off Goodyears production line at their factory in Akron, Ohio during 1945. Too late to see combat during WWII, the aircraft served in a variety of Stateside training units. Between 1949 and 1952, the aircraft served in the Naval Air Reserve at NARB Atlanta in Chamblee. The Navy retired the FG-1D in 1956, placing her in the boneyard at NAS Litchfield Park in Arizona. Ernest Huggins purchased the Corsair from the scrap yard in 1957, reselling the airframe during the following year to Skip Underwood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Underwood moved the FG-1D to Buckeye, Arizona where it remained in storage until the legendary Marvin L. Lefty Gardner acquired it for the nascent CAF in 1960. And the rest, as they say, is history!





The rest of the aircraft lined up for the Good Neighbor Day Air Show and Open House this May is pretty impressive, and features some of the most significant naval warbirds still flying today. Including the Aeroshell Aerobat Team and the LIMA LIMA Flight Team, the list of participating aircraft features the following 33 warbirds:

In 2017 we dedicated the air show to the 100th anniversary of Camp Gordon; this year we are dedicating to NAS Atlanta. Our goal is to always organize events with our military and aviation history in mind, while honoring the women and the men that serve our country, noted Mario Evans.

Antique airplanes, military aircraft, and DeKalb County fire trucks and ambulances will be on display at PDK during the airports open house from noon until 5 p.m (gates will open at 10:00 am). While there is no admission charge, parking is priced at $15 per vehicle. The open house will take place at the airport (formal address being 2000 Airport Rd, Atlanta, GA 30341). Cars may enter from Clairmont Road and, until 1:30 pm, from Dresden Drive as well.

For more information about the air show, please visit their Facebook page.





About Peachtree Dekalb Airport: Peachtree Dekalb Airport is the third-largest payer of property taxes in DeKalb County; it is responsible for an estimated 7,300 jobs, and generates revenue of approximately $130 million for local residents. In 2000 the National Air Transportation Association named PDK one of Americas 100 Most Needed Airports, critical for the growth of the nations aviation infrastructure and economy.
The judge determined that Redd had raped two women during the commission of his trafficking crimes and further found that he had abducted them and held them against their will
WATERLOO  A Waterloo man awaiting trial for gun charges and a dog deal robbery is now changed with sexual assault.

Waterloo police arrested Houston Simmons III, 25, 410 Adams St., on Friday on charges of second-degree sexual abuse, false imprisonment and other charges. He was also charged with assault on a peace officer.

Simmons was later released pending trial.

Authorities allege Simmons beat a woman with a hammer and extension cord and had sex with her while holding her against her will Friday. She suffered a broken nose and other injuries to her head, arms, legs and torso, according to court records.

He allegedly struggled with police and grabbed an officer around the neck as police executed a search warrant at his home later that day, court records state.

Simmons is awaiting trial for allegedly assaulting a woman who had responded to an advertisement for a dog for sale in November 2021 and for possessing a handgun and marijuana outside a downtown nightclub in September 2021.

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CEDAR FALLS  In his research of settlement houses from the early 20th century, University of Northern Iowa Professor Rodney Dieser came across a picture of Ada S. McKinley.

The Black woman was walking arm-in-arm with Jane Addams and two other people during the 1919 race riots in Chicago. Dieser said Addams and her settlement house, Hull House, are identified by every textbook in the history of community parks and recreation as key to their development. She is also known as the mother of social work.

His discovery, though, is raising awareness about McKinley and her role in the social settlement movement. Research he assisted with has also spurred a push to formally recognize her in Chicago, where Ada S. McKinley Community Services reach more than 7,000 people annually at more than 70 locations in the city and surrounding areas. The organization is the successor of the settlement house she founded 103 years ago.

Settlement houses were where middle class people lived so they could experience poverty, said Dieser, a professor in both the department of health, recreation, and community services and the department of mental health at UNI. By 1910, there were a little more than 400 settlement houses across the country. He noted that the social settlement movement preached if you really wanted to understand the poor, you had to live with them.

The mostly white, educated women involved with the movement worked in partnership with those living in the poorest areas of cities by providing a variety of services. In some of Diesers historical research on Addams, who founded Hull House in 1889, Im trying to understand the mental health benefits of community parks and recreation.

McKinley ran a settlement house four miles away from Hull House that did similar work but focused on Black people. Yet, I didnt even know about Ada McKinley, said Dieser.

At Addams organization, most of those involved and the people they worked with were white. In the midst of the race riots, McKinley linked arms with Addams and two other women as they marched through angry mobs in a demonstration of peace and unity.

That same year, 1919, Dieser said, McKinley had started the Soldiers and Sailors Club in Chicago, a program designed to provide recreational activities to local youths. McKinley also secured shelter, jobs, and food for Black veterans and migrants. Its name was changed to the South Side Settlement House in 1926.

We believe it was the first African-American social settlement house, he said. All the residents, they were all African-American. The people they served were Black, as well.

Dieser didnt know much more about McKinley when he presented at a conference in 2017 about the history of the Hull House and the settlement movement. He included one slide about McKinley. Afterward, he talked to KangJae Jerry Lee, a professor at North Carolina State University, who wanted to learn more about her.

He said the two spent well over two years studying historical data on McKinley. There is not a whole lot, said Dieser. Born in Texas, she was college-educated and worked as a teacher before marrying William McKinley, who was a dentist. They moved to Chicago at some point in the 1890s.

Dieser said the accomplishments of Addams in the social settlement movement were unbelievable, thanks in part to her connections. Her father was a senator in Illinois and had been a friend of President Abraham Lincoln. But he believes a reason that the South Side house was located so close to Addams organization was because Hull House largely didnt serve Black people.

Racism, discrimination and financial limits kept the organization from becoming as prominent as Hull House, the research of Dieser and Lee suggests. But with support of the Illinois Institute of Technology, located in its neighborhood, the settlement house began raising money for a new headquarters in the late 1940s and merged with another organization in 1950. McKinley lived to see a dedication ceremony in 1952 for the new building, but died before construction was completed in 1953.

Since Lee and Dieser published Ada S. McKinley: A Hidden History of African American Settlement House in Chicago during 2020 in the academic journal Leisure Sciences, there have been a number of stories written and broadcast about her. The pair wrote an opinion piece for the Chicago Tribune in which they called for the city to dedicate a park or monument to McKinley. The cause has also been championed by the chief executive officer of her organization, now known as Ada S. McKinley Community Services.

It started this idea of Lets recognize a pioneer, said Dieser.

This story has been updated to correct the name of Ada S. McKinley's husband, William McKinley.

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CEDAR FALLS  Coffee with a Cop has been one example of community policing, when the focus is placed by local law enforcement on creating a safer place for people to live and work by building relationships.

Acting Police Chief Mark Howard and Acting Public Safety Director Craig Berte will be stationed not in patrol cars but at McDonalds on Main Street from 8:15 to 9:15 a.m. April 13 to entertain questions and hear suggestions from anyone and everyone.

Well often be asked a lot about our operation from the elderly, more established citizens, said Howard, who will be participating for the first time. Very rarely is the politics of the public safety model brought up. We try to stay out of that. People have lots of questions on topics like staffing, shifts and our investigative unit. We get a lot of compliments too.

I hope to meet people I havent met before and hope to get lots of good questions, he added.

A free cup of coffee is offered to those who attend.

Its a great way to build exposure for our department and answer questions normally received over email, he said while occasionally sipping some coffee at his desk Monday morning. But this way, we can have a back and forth dialogue.

Howard will answer two to three emails per morning from citizens with questions. Some of the questions, like about a high speed pursuit and why it is happening, require a more dynamic response than can be relayed in words.

The more conversations we have, the more partnerships we have, he said. In this case, its more about exposure than enforcement.

Sogard to leave helm of College Hill Partnership The nonprofits first-ever director will step away April 19 after nearly five years leading the revitalization and promotion of the urban neighborhood community.

Later this month, the police department will sit down with owners of bars and other establishments on College Hill to build that connection so as Howard puts it: Were not just names on a web page.

One benefit is the owners become comfortable with police and often will text officers directly when recognizing a problem might be on the horizon and requires attention.

The department has always believed in foot patrol in regularly traveled areas like downtown to build that presence in the community.

In addition, Howard welcomes people to stop by the Cedar Falls Public Safety Building to take a tour. Either walk inside where a person will be accommodated, or call (319) 273-8612 to set up a time.

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HUDSON  Iowa House candidate Kate Wyatt has announced four events to kick off her campaign to represent Iowa House District 76. The new House District 76 covers parts of Benton, Black Hawk, and Tama Counties and includes the communities of Hudson, Evansdale, Gilbertville, La Porte City, Mt. Auburn, Dysart, Traer, and southern portions of Cedar Falls and Waterloo.

Events are scheduled in Hudson, La Porte City, Traer, and Waterloo. Community members are invited to attend any event that fits their schedule.

Ive always been committed to serving. Wyatt said. Im excited to get out into Black Hawk, Tama, and Benton Counties and meet with the people in our communities.

Wyatt, who announced her candidacy in early February, is a fourth generation Hudson resident and has served on City Council since 2014. She is a graduate of Hawkeye Community College and currently works in the insurance department of Dupaco Credit Union in Black Hawk County.

Wyatt serves on the boards of the Cedar Valley Women Connect, My Waterloo Days, and the Black Hawk County Gaming Association. She is also a member of the Hudson Chamber of Commerce and the Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber.

I believe that everyday Iowans deserve someone who will champion them in the State House, said Wyatt. From funding public schools for our students to fighting to make sure that Iowans keep more in their pockets to take care of their families, Ill never stop fighting for House District 76.

RSVP for each event is requested but not required and can be done at wyattforiowa.com/events or by calling (319) 988-1594.

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Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley voted against confirming Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Democratic President Joe Bidens nominee to fill an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court.

But Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney announced Monday night they will vote to confirm Jacksons historic elevation to the Supreme Court, giving President Joe Bidens nominee a burst of bipartisan support and all but assuring shell become the first Black female justice.

The senators from Alaska and Utah announced their decisions ahead of a procedural vote to advance the nomination and as Democrats pressed to confirm Jackson by the end of the week. GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced last week that she would back Jackson.

Grassley, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, took issue with some of Jacksons judicial decisions while calling her very personable and engaging in a statement issued Monday ahead of the committees vote on her nomination.

Having carefully studied her record, unfortunately, I think she and I have fundamentally different views on the role judges should play in our system of government, Grassley said, according to prepared remarks posted Monday morning ahead of the committee meeting. Because of those disagreements, I cant support her nomination.

Previously, Grassley said Jackson was very graceful, very smart in her answers, and said he was gratified that Jackson outlined a stricter judicial interpretation in answers to questions from Grassley.

The committee, which is made up of 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans, deadlocked on the confirmation vote. Under Senate rules, Democratic leadership can still move the vote forward to the full Senate. A procedural vote to dislodge the nomination from the committee was expected to happen Monday night, with a final vote likely to be Thursday or Friday.

Jackson needs a simple majority to be confirmed in the evenly divided U.S. Senate, where at least one GOP Senator, In addition to Romney, Murkowski and Collins, moderate Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has also indicated he will support Jacksons confirmation, providing swing votes that all but guarantee her confirmation.

After more than 30 hours of hearings and interrogation from Republicans over her record, Jackson is on the brink of making history as the third Black justice and only the sixth woman in the courts more than 200-year history. Democrats cite her deep experience in her nine years on the federal bench and the chance for her to become the first former public defender on the court.

Judge Jackson will bring extraordinary qualifications, deep experience and intellect, and a rigorous judicial record to the Supreme Court, Biden tweeted Monday. She deserves to be confirmed as the next justice.

The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said at Mondays meeting that Jackson has the highest level of skill, integrity, civility and grace.

This committees action today in nothing less than making history, Durbin said. Im honored to be a part of it. I will strongly and proudly support Judge Jacksons nomination.

The committee hadnt deadlocked since 1991, when Biden was chairman and a motion to send the nomination of current Justice Clarence Thomas to the floor with a favorable recommendation failed on a 7-7 vote. The committee then voted to send the nomination to the floor without a recommendation, meaning it could still be brought up for a vote.

Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat on the committee, said last week that a panel tie vote on Jackson would be a truly unfortunate signal of the continued descent into dysfunction of our confirmation process,

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky set the tone for the party last week when he said he cannot and will not support Jackson, citing GOP concerns raised in the hearing about her sentencing record and her backing from liberal advocacy groups.

Republicans on the Judiciary panel continued their push Monday to paint Jackson as soft on crime, defending their repeated questions about her sentencing on sex crimes.

Questions are not attacks, said Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, one of several GOP senators on the panel who hammered the point in the hearings two weeks ago.

Jackson pushed back on the GOP narrative, declaring that nothing could be further from the truth. Democrats said she was in line with other judges in her decisions. And on Monday they criticized their GOP counterparts questioning.

You could try and create a straw man here, but it does not hold, said New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.

The questioning was filled with absurdities of disrespect, said Booker, who also is Black, and he said he will rejoice when she is confirmed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Rep. Ras Smith, a Democrat from Waterloo who ran for governor before dropping out of the race, has joined the leadership team for Mike Frankens campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Smith will serve as political director, according to a news release from the Franken campaign.

Franken, a retired admiral from Sioux City, is one of three Democrats running for the partys nomination in Iowas U.S. Senate election this year.

The others are former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer of Cedar Rapids and Minden physician Glenn Hurst.

In addition to his work over three terms in the Iowa Legislature, Smith aided President Joe Bidens 2020 campaign in Iowa and Bidens campaign leading up to the 2020 Iowa caucuses.

The Franken campaign also has added Ellen Goodmann Miller to its communications team. Miller, from Dubuque, worked on Smiths gubernatorial campaign. She also worked on Bidens 2020 presidential campaign in Iowa and his caucus campaign.

VETS ENDORSE FRANKEN: VoteVets, a progressive advocacy organization, endorsed Mike Franken in Iowas U.S. Senate race.

Franken, a U.S. Navy veteran from Sioux City, is one of three Democrats running for the partys nomination in Iowas U.S. Senate election this year.

The others are former U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer of Cedar Rapids and Minden physician Glenn Hurst.

These candidates have a wealth of knowledge and experience to keep our country and communities safe, but also have demonstrated a commitment to others above self, which is what we need more of in our public officials, Jon Soltz, an Iraq War veteran and chairman of VoteVets, said in a news release.

SENATE PRIMARY FORUM: Mike Franken and Glenn Hurst, two of the three Democrats running in Iowas U.S. Senate primary, are scheduled to participate in a candidate forum April 16 at Maquoketa Valley High School in Delhi.

The event is scheduled to run from 1 to 3 p.m.; doors open at 12:30 p.m. Face masks are recommended and appreciated, according to event organizers.

The event is being hosted by the Democratic parties in Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson and Jones counties.

UNION ENDORSES MATHIS: The Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, endorsed state Sen. Liz Mathis of Hiawatha, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Eastern Iowas new 2nd Congressional District.

The union represents more than 150,000 workers nationally, including mechanics, baggage handlers, disease control inspectors, bus operators, dispatchers, ramp agents, flight attendants and bike share workers.

BLACKBURN KEYNOTES: U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, will headline the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalitions 22nd Annual Spring Kick-Off on Saturday in Clive.

The event is scheduled to be held in the Horizon Event Center and will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Iowa Republican leaders also expected to speak include Iowa U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, and Iowa U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

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Kollywood star hero Vijays upcoming movie Beast is all set for a grand release in theaters on April 13, 2022, worldwide. Pooja Hegde is roped in to play the female lead in this action entertainer.

Now, the latest news is that the movie is banned in Kuwait by the Minister of Information. The reason is that there is a scene where Vijay abducts the Pakistan Minister. It is also said that the movie has extreme violence and scenes related to terrorism. So, this made the government ban the film in the country. To recall, Kurup and FIR movies were also banned in Kuwait.

Produced by Sun Pictures on a grand scale, the movie is directed by Nelson Dilipkumar. Anirudh Ravichander has composed the music for this movie, confirmed to release in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.

Articles that might interest you:
American Family Physician (AFP) is the AAFP's editorially independent, peer-reviewed and evidence-based clinical journal. Published monthly in print and online, AFP delivers concise, easy-to-read clinical review articles for physicians and other health care professionals.

The journal is indexed in MEDLINE and CINAHL.

ISSN: 0002-838X (Print); 1532-0650 (Electronic)

Mission and Goals of American Family Physician

Mission Statement:

To empower family physicians to improve the health of patients and communities as the leading source of medical information while advancing science and health equity.

Goals:

1. To publish high-quality, evidence-based, peer-reviewed, clinical content relevant to family physicians, thereby enhancing their ability to care for patients at the point of care and beyond.

2. To be an official scientific publication of the American Academy of Family Physicians with an independent editorial voice.

3. To report recent advances in medical research of interest to family physicians, derived from other medical journals, medical organizations, and related sources.

4. To serve as a forum for clinical opinion in matters related to family medicine.

5. To highlight and support scholarship and continuing medical education about social determinants of health, health disparities, antiracism and social justice.

6. To be a vehicle for disseminating important medical guidelines from other major medical organizations, public and private.

7. To systematically cover a comprehensive core curriculum of topics in family medicine, and thereby aid family physicians in meeting the recertification and membership requirements of the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

8. To supplement the educational needs of other physicians and health care professionals served by the journal.

9. To promote the specialty of family medicine among the medical community, the federal and state governments, the American health care system, and medical learners.

10. To critically review new drug products, medical devices, and clinical aids relevant to family physicians.

11. To be a preferred journal for submitting clinical review articles and commentary by family physicians.

12. To anticipate and use the full spectrum of media platforms to meet the information needs of family physicians in any setting, including the point of care.

13. To promote scholarship in the specialty of family medicine.
Preparation of the Manuscript

Literature Search and Data Sources

In a short paragraph, please succinctly describe your search strategy, the key word(s) used, the date(s) of the search, and the data sources you accessed in identifying the highest quality evidence on your topic. By "data sources," we mean sources such as Cochrane, Clinical Evidence, and the National Guideline Clearinghouse. Do not list the actual references you found in each source; simply include them in your bibliography.



We strongly recommend that you search the following freely accessible evidence-based sources of information and also consult our EBM Toolkit.

Websites for Sources of Evidence-Based Clinical Information:



Free Access Sites



ACCESSSS

McMaster Universitys compendium of pre-appraised evidence to support clinical decisions. Content is presented in a hierarchical way, with the highest level of available evidence listed first.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

In particular, see AHRQs Effective Healthcare Reports on various clinical topics.

Note: many of these reports are published in AFP under the Implementing AHRQ Effective Health Care Reviews department collection.

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

Free for abstracts only, which in most cases provide the key findings of interest. The complete review requires a subscription. The Cochrane database contains systematic reviews of narrowly focused clinical questions (e.g., Colchicine for treating acute gout attacks) as opposed to broad, general reviews of topics (e.g., Management of an acute gout attack).

Note: AFP publishes summaries of Cochrane abstracts in Cochrane for Clinicians.

ECRI Guidelines Trust

Repository of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, appraised using the National Academy of Medicines Standards for Trustworthy Clinical Practice Guidelines.

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

Although NCCIH has been criticized for political interference and questionable science, we include it in this list because there are few freely available comprehensive sources of information in this field.

Trip (Turning Research Into Practice)

Contains links to a wide range of journal articles, medical organization clinical guidelines, online medical references, and other sources. A limited version is freely available; additional content requires an annual subscription.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Premier source of evidence-based, graded recommendations for clinical preventive services.

Note: AFP publishes Recommendations and Reports from the USPSTF as well as CME case studies in the Putting Prevention Into Practice series.



Subscription Required Sites



Most of these are point-of-care clinical information and decision support tools. These sites provide important background information, but authors should review the primary source to use as a citation for the article.

DynaMed

Essential Evidence Plus

Includes POEMS (collections of patient-oriented evidence that matters).

Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database

Reviews of the use of natural medicines in the treatment of various diseases.

Natural Medicines

Database of dietary supplements, natural medicines, and complementary, alternative, and integrative therapies.

PEPID

UpToDate



To ensure adequate searching on your topic, we strongly recommend that the above sources be reviewed, in addition to a PubMed search using the Clinical Query function. This is done by using the provided link, or by going to the PubMed home page, and selecting Clinical queries from the lower center of the screen.



Sample Data Sources paragraph:



Data Sources: A PubMed search was completed in Clinical Queries using the key terms gout and hyperuricemia. The search included meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, and reviews. Also searched were the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Effective Healthcare Reports, the Cochrane database, DynaMed, and Essential Evidence Plus. November 18, 2017.

Manuscript Format

Manuscripts formatted to conform to the Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals1 are acceptable for submission. AFP endorses these guidelines. Format the manuscript with margins of 1 1/2 inches on all sides. Double-space the entire manuscript, including components, and arrange the manuscript in the following sequence, with each section beginning on a new page:

Title page

Abstract

Text

Literature Search and Data Sources

References

Tables, including an Evidence Table (each table begins on a new page)

Figures

Acknowledgments

Biographic sketch

The title page, abstract, text, references, and tables should be contained in a single word processor document, ideally in Microsoft Word (DOC) or Rich Text Format (RTF). The acknowledgments and the biographic sketch should be in a separate file in order to accommodate blinded peer review. Each figure should be submitted as a separate computer file as described in this document under Figures.

Number pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, beginning with the title page. To accommodate blinded peer review, place the names of authors only in the biographical sketch for each author. See the section on Submitting the Manuscript for details on how to submit your manuscript to AFP.

Please carefully review the detailed instructions for each section that follows:

Title Page

This page should contain only the title of the manuscript and the word counts (word count for the entire manuscript and word count for text only--excluding abstract, references, tables, figures). This is to facilitate blinded peer review of the manuscript in the Editorial Manager system. Pertinent information such as names of authors, institutional affiliation, and contact information is entered into Editorial Manager by the authors and will be placed in a pre-formatted cover sheet for editorial use.

Sources of support in the form of grants, equipment, or drugs should be mentioned in the Conflict of Interest Form; this information will be included as a footnote to the article. For details, see the Conflict of Interest section.

Abstract

Include an abstract of 150 to 250 words, depending on the length of the text. The abstract should provide factual and specific (rather than general and nonspecific) information summarizing the main points of the manuscript. For example, instead of saying, This article will describe the differential diagnosis of chest pain in adolescents, say, The most common causes of chest pain in adolescents include musculoskeletal strain, hyperventilation syndrome, and anxiety. For clinical reviews, highlight key points in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition discussed.

Text

Article length should be 1,500 to 1,800 words (maximum 2,000 words, about six to eight manuscript pages of text), not including the title page, abstract, tables, reference list, etc. Manuscripts of more than 2,000 words of text are rarely accepted.

Do not include a summary or conclusion section in your manuscript; anything that you would ordinarily put in such a section should go into the abstract.

Provide appropriate reference citations to support key clinical recommendations, statistical information, reports of previous studies, controversial statements, etc. Use the following guidelines in choosing references:



Avoid citing other clinical review articlesyou should emphasize original research articles, systematic reviews, Cochrane Library reviews, citations from BMJs Clinical Evidence , validated clinical decision rules, randomized trials, and evidence-based practice guidelines where possible. Clinical review articles may be cited as sources for tables, figures, or general background information.

, validated clinical decision rules, randomized trials, and evidence-based practice guidelines where possible. Clinical review articles may be cited as sources for tables, figures, or general background information. Emphasize recent references (within the past 10 years); in general, avoid letters to the editor, editorials, and references that are older than 10 years or of historic interest only.

Avoid references from obscure or nonEnglish-language journals.

Do not cite abstracts, unpublished observations, manuscripts in preparation or submitted for publication, or personal communications.

To avoid plagiarism, do not to use the language, content, or concepts of another source without an appropriate reference. Do not use extensive verbatim or near-verbatim portions of text from another source, even with appropriate citation.

Begin the writing process by identifying key clinical questions and controversies related to your topic, and then answer them with the best available evidence. Do not write the article and then find selected references to support your opinions!

References

Please number references in the text in the order of citation. Use double-line spacing in your reference list; arrange references numerically, not alphabetically. Do NOT use "Endnotes" or any other automated reference function in any word processor.

Titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in PubMed. If there are six or fewer authors, list them all; if there are more than six, list the first three followed by "et al." Please note that no periods are used after the authors initials. Include beginning and ending page numbers for journal and book references. The average number of references for a full-length article ranges from 15 to 30. Most articles will not exceed 35 references.

References first cited in tables or figure legends must be numbered to remain in sequence with references cited in the text. Note the following examples of reference style:

Standard Journal Article

Weiss BD. Nonpharmacologic treatment of urinary incontinence. Am Fam Physician. 1991;44(2):579-586. Gold D, Bowden R, Sixbey J, et al. Chronic fatigue. A prospective clinical and virologic study. JAMA. 1990;264:48-53.

Chapter in a Book

Murray JL. Care of the elderly. In: Taylor RB, ed. Family Medicine: Principles and Practice. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag, 1988:521-532.

Website

BMJ Publishing Group. Clinical evidence on tinnitus. Accessed November 12, 2013. http://www.clinicalevidence.com



Tables

Authors should maximize the educational value of tables. Give complete reference data for each item in a table. For all tables that are borrowed or adapted from other sources, include scanned photocopies of the tables as they appeared in the original source, making sure that complete reference data are included for the original source.

Do NOT attempt to obtain reprint permission from the original publisher. AFP will seek permission from the copyright owner to publish the material in print and other formats. However, it is possible that the rightsholder will not grant permission for use of copyrighted materials, and AFP reserves the right to withhold tables or figures from print and other formats based on the rightsholders terms. Due to the increasing difficulty with obtaining permission to adapt previously published material, we strongly encourage authors to create original tables and figures. See Tips for Creating Original Tables and Algorithms and How to Create an Algorithm in Word. Note that tables and figures that were previously published, and for which we obtain reprint or adaptation permission, must be removed from AFP articles sent to content aggregators, such as EBSCO and MDConsult.



Tables should be interpretable without reference to the text. Each table should have a title and be numbered sequentially with Arabic numerals. Put each table with double-line spacing on a separate page. Use the Tables function of your word processor to create the table rather than just using spaces and tabs (which quickly get out of alignment as the manuscript is transferred into other computer formats). In general, make tables part of your main document rather than creating a separate file for each table.

For tables that include drug pricing, please use information from GoodRx to find representative undiscounted prices, not using GoodRx coupons.

Clinical Decision Tools: Please mention and include links to relevant clinical decision tools and calculators, especially those published in AFPs Point-of-Care Guides and on the medical calculator website MDCalc.

Costs of laboratory tests, imaging studies, and clinical procedures: Where relevant, please include approximate, representative costs for tests or procedures, especially in tables where comparative cost is discussed. We use Healthcare Bluebook as the source for pricing when possible: https://www.healthcarebluebook.com. If you use another source, please provide a complete citation for it.

SORT: Evidence Table of Key Clinical Recommendations

We would like each article to include an Evidence Table (also called SORT or Strength of Recommendations Table). This table will help readers understand the main points of your article, and the strength of evidence that supports its recommendations. The table should contain the key clinical recommendations and strength of recommendation ratings for your article as shown in the sample below:

CLINICAL RECOMMENDATION EVIDENCE RATING COMMENTS Obtain an ECG in patients presenting with chest pain.1,2 C Recommendation from consensus guideline based on observational studies Patients with two normal highly sensitive troponin tests an hour apart can safely be sent home.10 B Meta-analysis of randomized trials Patients with chest pain should immediately receive oxygen and if not allergic an aspirin tablet.17,18 A Consistent findings from randomized controlled trials and recommendation from evidence-based practice guideline ECG = electrocardiogram. A = consistent, good-quality patient-oriented evidence; B = inconsistent or limited-quality patient-oriented evidence; C = consensus, disease-oriented evidence, usual practice, expert opinion, or case series. For information about the SORT evidence rating system, go to https://www.aafp.org/afpsort.

The SORT table is intended to highlight the most important three to seven recommendations from your article for clinicians. Each recommendation must be accompanied by a SORT rating of A, B, or C. Your recommendations should emphasize interventions and approaches that improve patient-oriented outcomes (e.g. morbidity, mortality, quality of life) over disease-oriented evidence (e.g. biomarkers, surrogate endpoints).

You should have three to seven recommendations. Try to identify a range of recommendations, for example, one each about screening, prevention, diagnosis, and two about treatment.

Each statement should be in the form of a recommendation and should not just present a fact or piece of medical trivia. For example, Use the Wells score to determine the risk of DVT in patients with leg pain is a recommendation, while Of patients presenting with leg pain, 16% have a DVT is not.

An A recommendation should be based on consistent evidence of improved patient-oriented outcomes from well-designed studies. Use clear, directive language as this is a recommendation that should be applied to most patients, such as Patients age 50 to 74 years should receive screening for colorectal cancer."

A B recommendation is based on lower quality evidence of improved patient-oriented outcomes or inconsistent evidence. These statements should use language such as Consider or is a practice option or may be effective.

A C recommendation is often something that is standard of care, but for which there have been no clinical trials or trials have only reported disease-oriented outcomes. In this case, the recommendation statement should reflect the strength of recommendation, and the Comment column should clarify that this is a recommendation based on expert opinion in the absence of clinical trials or based on evidence from clinical trials with blood pressure reduction as the outcome.

If you are not comfortable assigning the strength of recommendation (below), our medical editors will do that for you.

To rate the strength of evidence supporting key clinical recommendations, please use the following guidelines:

STRENGTH OF RECOMMENDATION DEFINITION A Recommendation based on consistent and good quality patient-oriented evidence* B Recommendation based on inconsistent or limited quality patient-oriented evidence* C Recommendation based on consensus, usual practice, expert opinion, disease-oriented evidence,** and case series for studies of diagnosis, treatment, prevention, or screening * Patient-oriented evidence measures outcomes that matter to patients: morbidity, mortality, symptom improvement, cost reduction, and quality of life.

** Disease-oriented evidence measures intermediate, physiologic, or surrogate endpoints that may or may not reflect improvements in patient outcomes (e.g., blood pressure, blood chemistry, physiological function, and pathological findings).

Use the table below to determine whether a study measuring patient-oriented outcomes is of good or limited quality, and whether the results are consistent or inconsistent between studies:

Type of Study STUDY QUALITY DIAGNOSIS TREATMENT/PREVENTION/SCREENING PROGNOSIS Level 1 Good quality patient-oriented evidence Validated clinical decision rule Systematic review/meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with consistent findings Systematic review/meta-analysis of good quality cohort studies Systematic review/meta-analysis of high quality studies High quality individual RCT + Prospective cohort study with good follow-up High quality diagnostic cohort study * All or none study ++ Level 2 Limited quality patient-oriented evidence Unvalidated clinical decision rule Systematic review/meta-analysis of lower quality clinical trials or of studies with inconsistent findings Systematic review/meta-analysis of lower quality cohort studies or with inconsistent results Systematic review/meta-analysis of lower quality studies or studies with inconsistent findings Lower quality clinical trial + Retrospective cohort study or prospective cohort study with poor follow-up Lower quality diagnostic cohort study or diagnostic case-control study * Cohort study Case-control study Case-control study Case series Level 3 Other evidence Consensus guidelines, extrapolations from bench research, usual practice, opinion, disease-oriented evidence (intermediate or physiologic outcomes only), and case series for studies of diagnosis, treatment, prevention, or screening.

* High quality diagnostic cohort study: cohort design, adequate size, adequate spectrum of patients, blinding, and a consistent, well-defined reference standard.

+ High quality RCT: allocation concealed, blinding if possible, intention-to-treat analysis, adequate statistical power, adequate follow-up (> 80%).

++ An all-or-none study is one where the treatment causes a dramatic change in outcomes, such as antibiotics for meningitis or surgery for appendicitis, which precludes study in a controlled trial.

Consistency Across Studies Consistent Most studies found similar or at least coherent conclusions (coherence means that differences are explainable). or

If high quality and up-to-date systematic reviews or meta-analyses exist; they support the recommendation. Inconsistent Considerable variation among study findings and lack of coherence. or If high quality and up-to-date systematic reviews or meta-analyses exist, they do not find consistent evidence in favor of the recommendation.

Please use the following algorithm for determining the strength of a recommendation based on a body of evidence (applies to clinical recommendations regarding diagnosis, treatment, prevention, or screening). Although this provides a general guideline, authors and editors should adjust the strength of recommendation based on the benefits, harms, and costs of the intervention being recommended. Again, if you are unsure how to apply these ratings, the medical editors will do this for you. At a minimum, you should create a summary table with recommendations and references for each recommendation.

For more information on how to apply these ratings, please see the explanatory article published in the February 1, 2004, issue of American Family Physician.

Figures

AFP encourages the submission of original figures that clarify the text. The term "figures" refers to illustrations, photographs, radiographs, scans, sonograms, diagrams, graphs, flow charts, algorithms, etc. AFP requires authors to transfer copyright ownership of original figures to the AAFP. For all figures that are borrowed or adapted from other sources, include scanned photocopies of the figures as they appeared in the original source, making sure that complete reference data for the original source are included. Clearly identify figures that have not been previously published and are supplied by a person other than the author and include complete contact information for the owner of the material. For figures supplied by your institution or a colleague, clearly indicate whether that institution/person is retaining copyright (in which case we will need to contact them) or whether copyright is being transferred to AFP with the article.

Do NOT attempt to obtain reprint permission from the original publisher. AFP will seek permission from the copyright owner to publish the material in print and other formats. However, it is possible that the rightsholder will not grant permission for use of copyrighted materials, and AFP reserves the right to withhold tables or figures from print and other formats based on the rightsholders terms. Due to the increasing difficulty with obtaining permission to adapt previously published material, we strongly encourage authors to create original tables and figures. See Tips for Creating Original Tables and Algorithms and How to Create an Algorithm in Word. Note that tables and figures that were previously published, and for which we obtain reprint or adaptation permission, must be removed from AFP articles sent to content aggregators, such as EBSCO and MDConsult.



Each figure should be submitted as a separate digital file and numbered sequentially as it appears in the text. Diagnostic images (e.g., ECGs, sonograms, radiographs), artwork, line drawings, and nondigital photographs should be scanned at a resolution of at least 600 DPI before submission and saved as TIFF files. Only the following file formats are acceptable; others will be returned to the author for reformatting and resubmission.

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)

PowerPoint (acceptable only for tables or algorithms; not acceptable for imported images)

JPG (only high-resolution images of at least 300 pixels or dots per inch [ppi or dpi])

Image resolution is typically measured in pixels per inch, or ppi (some use the term "dots per inch," or dpi). The images resolution and its dimensions determine the overall file size of the image, as well as the quality of the output. Images with a resolution of 72 ppi (28.35 pixels per cm) are adequate for materials posted on the Web; however, this resolution is inadequate for print media. If your file size is less than 200 kb, it is almost certainly of too low a resolution for a print journal. For color and grayscale images of 3 to 5 inches, we recommend a resolution of 300 ppi (118.11 pixels per cm). Line drawings in black and white require a higher resolution of 600 ppi (236.22 pixels per cm). An image generated by a digital camera as a 72 ppi JPEG file may still be acceptable if it measures at least 14 inches wide or high.

We strongly prefer original photographs/images because images downloaded from websites or taken from other publications rarely reproduce well, even if we are able to obtain permission to reprint them.

Because the quality of original illustration varies, it may be necessary to have the art you supply redrawn to meet AFPs artistic standards. AFPs art department is available to assist authors in the creation of original, high-quality artwork to illustrate manuscripts accepted for publication. This service is provided at no charge to authors but is subject to editorial judgment.

Other guidelines for artwork include the following:



Symbols, lettering, and arrows in figures should be clearly marked and large enough to remain legible if the size of the illustration is reduced for publication.

Photographs in which a patient is identifiable MUST be accompanied by the patients written permission for publication. "Identifiable" means that the person in the photo (or a parent of a child subject) could reasonably be expected to recognize himself/herself. A bar obscuring the eyes does not provide adequate anonymity and is not acceptable [see NEJM , August 24, 1989, p. 550].

, August 24, 1989, p. 550]. Because of the poor quality inherent in reproducing previously published images, photographs and radiographic images from textbooks and journals cannot be reproduced in AFP , regardless of whether permission has been obtained from the publisher.

, regardless of whether permission has been obtained from the publisher. Do not save images within a Microsoft Word or PowerPoint document or use the Drawing features of your word processor.

The legends for each figure should be typed with double-line spacing and combined on a separate page at the end of the manuscript.

If you are submitting figures in digital format, save each figure as a separate file. Each file should be saved with a name that includes the AFP manuscript number and figure number as referenced in the manuscript. Files should be uploaded at the time of manuscript submission in AFP's Editorial Manager site and clearly labeled.

Acceptance of a manuscript for publication is contingent on provision of artwork that meets the above specifications. If you have any questions about the preparation of art or digital images for your manuscript, contact Dave Klemm, AFP Medical Art Coordinator, at afpjournal@aafp.org. After your manuscript has been accepted for publication, address questions about art to the medical editor.

Acknowledgments

You may acknowledge professional help in the preparation or review of your manuscript. Written permission is required to publish the names of persons acknowledged. See Author Statements Form.

Biographic Sketch

Please complete a brief Biographic Sketch form for each author, which includes information on medical training, current position, and academic appointments.

Author's Guide References
En espanol

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the American workforce, especially those 50 and older. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, workers have left their jobs in record numbers in what is being called The Great Resignation.

In November alone, 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs  the highest monthly total since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking those figures in 2000.

In January, AARP surveyed Americans 50 and older to find out why this is happening. Respondents cited lots of different reasons.

Many who retired recently said they had no plans to reconsider. About 7percent of respondents said they had taken a different job, while 6 percent are now working independently  as Uber or food delivery drivers, selling things made at home, and so on.

This retirement wave has taken a toll on the American economy, but job losses also affected the ability of individuals and families to meet their day-to-day financial needs. In the weeks since AARP's January survey, news reports have suggested that the stress of higher housing, gas and food prices, along with potential of this level of inflation continuing, are causing even those who had no plans to return to the workforce to rethink.


Australia Sunny Glass Group proposes to list on ASX

Sydney, April 4, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Australia Sunny Glass Group Limited ( NSX:AG1 ) advises that it has commenced preparations to make an application for admission to the Official List of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and proposes to undertake a public offer to raise additional capital in support of its application.In conjunction with its proposed ASX listing, the Company will convene a general meeting to obtain shareholder approval to voluntarily withdraw its listing from NSX, with effect from the date the Company is admitted to ASX.The decision to proceed with an ASX listing follows a strategic review of the Company's growth objectives after completion of the Panorama Box Hill Apartment Project in Victoria. Keeping in line with its planned expansion into the Victorian market, the Board believes that the Company's growth agenda requires significant additional capital investment and considers that the proposed ASX listing will provide access to a larger pool of equity capital.Key advantages of the ASX listing include:- greater ability for the Company to expand its shareholder base by creating improved marketability and liquidity of the Company's securities;- improved access to equity capital markets and fundraising opportunities to support its growth plans;- potential to improve the Company's public recognition, commercial standing and investor profile;- greater exposure for the Company to prospective investors as well as capital to advance its growth objectives and opportunities; and- facilitate a significant increase to the Company's funding resource, enabling it to progress its expansion plans.If the Company is successful in its application for admission to the Official List of the ASX, the Board has determined that maintaining dual listings on NSX and ASX would be costly, involve additional compliance requirements, and would be very unlikely to provide any advantage.Indicative TimetableASGG shareholders will be asked to approve the Company's voluntary withdrawal from the Official List of NSX at a general meeting expected to be held in early May 2022, and the Company proposes to lodge with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission a prospectus for the public offer in late April 2022.About Australia Sunny Glass Group Ltd

Australia Sunny Glass Group Limited (NSX:AG1) seeks to establish itself as a supplier of premium treated glass products to the construction industry in Australia, including in the residential and commercial building markets.


Drilling Commences at Warriner Creek Prospect

Melbourne, April 5, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Cohiba Minerals Limited ( ASX:CHK ) ( OTCMKTS:CHKMF ) is pleased to announce that drilling has commenced at the Warriner Creek Prospect in South Australia where Cohiba has a Farm-In Agreement with Tigers Dominion Group Pty Ltd.Highlights:- Diamond drilling has commenced at the Warriner Creek Prospect, north-west of Olympic Dam, targeting IOCG systems.- The target depth in this part of the Gawler Craton is shallower than the Olympic Domain tenements and 2 holes are proposed with the first to be drilled to 600m depth in the east of EL6324.- A subsequent hole, to 400m depth, can be drilled at Cohiba's discretion.- Prior analysis of historical data by Tigers Dominion Group, Cohiba's farm-in partner, concluded that there is a potential significant IOCG breccia system in the area which is the focus of the current drilling campaign.The Warriner Creek Project comprises 2 tenements under exploration licence to TDG, EL 6324 (Areas A and B) and EL 6533, which cover a combined area of 346 km2 over strategic IOCG targets in the Gawler Craton (Figures 1 & 2).The Farm-In Agreement comprises an "Initial Period" whereby Cohiba will assess the prospectivity of the Warriner Creek Project through the expenditure of $600,000 (minimum expenditure) by drilling a 600m drill hole on the eastern part of EL6324, followed by a 400m drill hole on either the eastern or western part of EL6324 (at Cohiba's discretion). The target depth in this part of the Gawler Craton is shallower than the Olympic Domain tenements and as such drilling depths should be significantly shorter.Tigers Dominion Group conducted a review of the Warriner Creek East project including further petrological work on core from WCKDDH01 (Mason Geoscience P/L Report #4285, 2019) which confirmed the historical geological logging of alteration within the basement gneissic sequence. Tigers Dominion Group (TDG) concluded that this level of geochemical anomalism and alteration was consistent with WCKDDH01 being proximal to a potential significant IOCG breccia system which will become the focus of the current drilling campaign Cohiba's CEO, Andrew Graham says, "The team from Tigers Dominion Group and Euro Exploration have done a superb job of coordinating and delivering all of the work required to get the drill rig on site. The Company is looking forward to investigating the target zones on this exciting addition to our Gawler Craton prospects.The technical merits of the Warriner Creek prospect make it an excellent fit for Cohiba which is intent on becoming a major explorer for IOCG deposits within the Gawler Craton."*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Cohiba Minerals Limited

Cohiba Minerals Limited (ASX:CHK) is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with the primary focus of investing in the resource sector through direct tenement acquisition, joint ventures, farm in arrangements and new project generation. The shares of the company trade under the ticker symbol CHK.

The Company recently acquired 100% of the shares in Charge Lithium Pty Ltd, which holds exploration licences in Western Australia.
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Malibu, CA, April 5, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Kodiak Copper Corp. ( CVE:KDK ) ( OTCMKTS:KDKCF ) ( FRA:5DD1 ) is pleased to announce that it has closed its bought deal private placement financing (the "Offering") and non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") previously announced on March 8 and 9, 2022, for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of C$9.6 million.A total of 4,375,000 charity flow-through common shares ("Charity FT Shares") were sold pursuant to the Offering at a price of C$2.08 per Charity FT Share for gross proceeds to the Company of C$9.1 million, including the full exercise of the underwriters' option.The Offering was oversubscribed, receiving strong interest from the institutional investor community and certain existing investors. Teck Resources Limited ("Teck") exercised its equity participation right to maintain its 9.9% ownership position in Kodiak, acquiring approximately 1.38 million shares in connection with the Offering.Kodiak also completed a non-brokered private placement of flow-through common shares (the "FT Shares") for gross proceeds of C$0.5 million (the "Private Placement") whereby 260,417 FT Shares were issued at a price of C$1.92. Certain insiders of the Company participated in the Private Placement.Claudia Tornquist, President and CEO of Kodiak said, "There was strong investor demand for this financing and I am pleased to welcome several well-recognized, long-term focused institutional investors as new Kodiak shareholders. I wish to thank our largest shareholder Teck for their ongoing support, as well as our chairman Chris Taylor and all other insiders who participated in this financing.With a treasury of around C$18 million, Kodiak is now very well positioned to further advance its MPD project in southern British Columbia where 2022 will see the largest exploration campaign on the property to date, as we are aiming to both extend the Gate Zone further and make more discoveries. I am also looking forward to the maiden drill program at our Mohave project in Arizona this year".To listen to the Interview, please visit:*To view the announcement, please visit:About Kodiak Copper Corp.Kodiak Copper Corp. (CVE:KDK) (OTCMKTS:KDKCF) is focused on its portfolio of 100% owned copper porphyry projects in Canada and the USA.The Company's most advanced asset is the MPD copper-gold porphyry project in the prolific Quesnel Trough in southern British Columbia, Canada, where in 2020 the Company made a high-grade discovery at the Gate Zone, which is part of a zoned, copper-gold enriched envelope of significant size.Kodiak also holds the Mohave copper-molybdenum-silver porphyry project in Arizona, USA, near the world-class Bagdad mine. Both of Kodiak's porphyry projects have been historically drilled and present known mineral discoveries with the potential to hold large-scale deposits.The Company's Kahuna diamond project in Nunavut, Canada, hosts a high-grade, near surface inferred diamond resource and numerous kimberlite pipe targets. Kodiak is considering strategic options for the Kahuna project.
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Malibu, CA, April 5, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Rockridge Resources Ltd. ( CVE:ROCK ) ( OTCMKTS:RRRLF ) ( FRA:RR0 ) is pleased to announce plans for an upcoming Summer 2022 drill program at the Knife Lake Copper Project VMS Project located in Saskatchewan, Canada (the "Knife Lake Project" or "Property"). Using the results and interpretation from the Fall and Winter 2021 field programs, as well as the 2021 drill program, the upcoming program will target the Gilbert West and Gilbert South zones in addition to continued infill and expansion drilling at the deposit. Rockridge is fully funded for this upcoming exploration and drilling having recently closed a financing. The Knife Lake Project, consisting of 82 claims totaling 56,865 hectares (140,516 acres), is an advanced-stage copper, silver, zinc and cobalt exploration property in Saskatchewan host to the Knife Lake Deposit.Rockridge's CEO, Jonathan Wiesblatt, commented: "Exploration at Knife Lake, specifically at the target areas outside of the existing resource, offer compelling discovery potential as there has been limited historical work done on these highly prospective targets.Getting back to Knife Lake and conducting a thorough drilling campaign focused on the Gilbert West and Gilbert South zones is a priority for Rockridge as well as expanding and upgrading the resource at Knife Lake. The project remains an exciting exploration story that can offer investors exposure to a top mining jurisdiction and to commodities in high demand and short supply such as copper and zinc. We look forward to updating our shareholders as we prepare and work towards commencing the upcoming work at Knife Lake."Rockridge received and previously announced results from a field program completed in October of last year. A two-person field crew was mobilized to complete mapping and prospecting at regional target areas, investigating conductivity and magnetic anomalies identified through the Phase I (Fall 2021) and Phase II (Winter 2021) airborne geophysical programs (VTEM).To listen to the Interview, please visit:About Rockridge Resources Ltd

Rockridge Resources (CVE:ROCK) is a publicly traded mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in Canada and other mining-friendly jurisdictions. The Company's Raney Gold Project is a high-grade gold exploration project located in the same greenstone belt that hosts the world-class Timmins and Kirkland Lake lode gold mining camps. The Company's Knife Lake Project is in Saskatchewan, which is ranked as the #3 mining jurisdiction in the world by the Fraser Institute. The project hosts the Knife Lake deposit, which is a VMS, near-surface copper-cobalt-gold-silver-zinc deposit open along strike and at depth. Rockridge's goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favourable jurisdictions.
The New Mexico State Legislature has undoubtedly made advancements to better transparency in recent years  from opening conference committees to the public to archiving webcasts. One momentous victory was making public the legislative sponsors of individual capital outlay appropriations.

For decades, each legislator hand-picked which public works projects to sponsor with their discretionary allotment of funds, but, because the appropriations were combined into one massive package, the public never knew which lawmaker was behind which project. That all changed last year with the near-unanimous passage of the bipartisan-sponsored House Bill 55, which required publication of capital outlay allocations. Now, legislators reveal their chosen infrastructure projects and that information is published 30 days after the close of each session. The result has been better public policy. When the public knows who is backing each project, they can hold lawmakers accountable for frivolous spending of taxpayer money and recognize them for commendable projects.

An identical process should be used to shine a light on lawmaker spending in the so-called junior bill. With a budget surplus during the 2022 session, legislators were each given free rein to spend a portion of $50 million. Each senator was allocated $600,000, and each representative $360,000 to spend on state programs at their sole discretion. This mirrors the states process for funding capital outlay projects, yet the junior bill appropriations are still made without transparency.

The final junior bill was woven together from lawmakers personal selections. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vetoed the bill. While the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (FOG) does not take a position on the merits of the bill or the governors veto, we do advocate seizing this opportunity to provide better transparency in this process. With a special session set to begin April 5, we can start fresh and get this process right. Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart should be commended for conceding  this bill needs to be more transparent. We should have been doing it from the start  shame on us for that. Similarly, House Majority Whip Doreen Gallegos has said the public wants this transparency and House leadership would support this reform.

FOG calls on Lujan Grisham to include a requirement for junior bill transparency in her agenda for the special session. However, whether or not openness is required by law, legislators should proactively release their lists of appropriations, as some chose to do in the years before capital outlay transparency was enacted. The $50 million at stake belongs to the public and every New Mexican has a right to know how legislators are choosing to spend this taxpayer money. Making spending decisions transparent would increase public trust and make elected officials more accountable to their constituents.

Under public scrutiny, better decisions are made, resulting in better outcomes that meaningfully improve the lives of New Mexicans. We face weighty challenges as a state and we cannot afford for a single dollar to be wasted.
On behalf of several hundred N.M. teachers and school personnel, I recently submitted a letter to Kurt Steinhaus, N.M. Secretary of Education. This letter focused on the current policies that require weekly COVID testing and close-contact quarantine for N.M. teachers and school personnel who have not received COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots. These policies are harmful, discriminatory and unlawful. They are leading to dedicated, experienced teachers and staff being harassed, threatened and even terminated from their employment.

Where there is risk, there must be choice. N.M. schools have recently refused to allow the use of saliva testing such that school personnel are now being forced to use only nasal swab testing. A review of the peer-reviewed scientific literature shows there are known risks to COVID-19 tests, including cerebrospinal fluid leak, sinus problems, nasal septum abscess, migraine headaches, and severe nasal bleeds that have required medication, numerous nasal packings, and surgical and endovascular procedures and led to fetal risk, sepsis, and blood transfusions (Koskinen et al., Complications of COVID-19 Nasopharyngeal Swab Test. JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. 2021).

COVID-19 vaccines do not prevent the spread of the illness. The CDC acknowledged in July 2021 that fully vaccinated people can easily spread COVID-19 (CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report July 2021). This has become even more apparent with the recent Omicron variant. Thus, it is irrational and punitive to require only unvaccinated teachers and students to be tested and quarantined.

Additionally, it is unlawful to mandate medical devices that are not FDA-approved. All COVID-19 tests, including both nasal swabs and saliva tests, are allowed through Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) only. According to FDA 21 U.S. Code  360bbb-3 Authorization for medical products for use in emergencies, EUA medical products may not be mandated. This provision specifically requires the recipient be informed of the right to accept or refuse the medical product. Thus, the NM Public Education Departments mandate for COVID-19 testing violates federal law.

Furthermore, teachers and school personnel, many of whom already have natural immunity, are being discriminated against, threatened and harassed because of their vaccination and testing status. NMPEDs policies are creating a hostile work environment, with teachers and school personnel receiving frequent written and verbal reprimands and threats. Many of these people are afraid to speak out for fear of repercussions.

Many teachers and school personnel have already left N.M. public schools as a result of these policies, and several have even been terminated from their employment, including a teacher in northwest New Mexico, a construction manager at Albuquerque Public Schools, and a school bus driver in northern New Mexico.

The damages from NMPEDs COVID-19 testing and quarantine policies are not isolated to one particular school or district. These damages are happening all over the state. There was already a shortage of teachers, and the mandates are further worsening the situation by driving many capable, dependable teachers out of the school system.

Inferior personnel are now being hired, and teachers are being asked to cover multiple classes. The teacher shortage has even reached the point where state employees and the National Guard are being called on to serve as substitute teachers. There is much more to education than having someone there who is knowledgeable; the kids need continuity, connection, and relationships with their educators. The educators need to know the students so they can tailor the teaching and lessons to the kids strengths and weaknesses.

On behalf of hundreds of N.M. teachers and school personnel, I urged Steinhaus to immediately rescind the harmful, discriminatory COVID-19 testing and quarantine policies. All people have a fundamental right to choose whether or not to use medical devices and treatments, without coercion, threats or discrimination. It is time to put education first and remove the mandated COVID-19 testing and quarantine in New Mexicos schools.

Sarah Smith, one of the leaders for both the New Mexico Freedoms Alliance and the National Coalition for Health Integrity, is a natural health-care practitioner and former NASA aerospace engineer.
Police chiefs and sheriffs across New Mexico for years have contended law enforcement officers spend too much time in court when they could be patrolling the streets.

Promising initiatives announced last week by the state Supreme Court are aimed at both freeing up officers time and making the court process more efficient.

Pilot programs in Bernalillo County Metropolitan and Santa Fe County Magistrate courts will no longer require prosecutors to schedule pretrial interviews of law enforcement in misdemeanor cases such as DWI and battery on a household member. Currently, those interviews allow the defense to question officers about the case prior to trial.

Supreme Court spokesman Barry Massey says at least 40 states dont require prosecutors to make officers available for pretrial interviews in misdemeanors. The initiatives were developed with input of judges, prosecutors and public defenders. The court also implemented rules statewide to:

 Allow district judges to assign a retired judge or one not connected to the case to oversee a settlement conference and facilitate a possible plea discussion in felony cases. Such settlement conferences have been occurring in Albuquerque but will now be available statewide.

 Mandate status conferences be held early in criminal proceedings for defendants not in jail.

 Allow officers and deputies to continue to appear remotely in traffic cases, a practice instituted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The goal is to move criminal cases through the system more efficiently. When possible we want to prevent law enforcement officers, crime victims and witnesses from unnecessarily making multiple appearances in court proceedings, explained Justice David Thomson. Its a laudable goal, especially considering the burgeoning crime rate.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, who stresses the need to focus on violent offenders, calls the initiatives a welcome change. Bernalillo County District Attorney (and state attorney general candidate) Raul Torrez says the changes are modest but a welcome start.

Torrez says eliminating pretrial interviews for misdemeanor cases will free up hours for prosecutors and relieve some time constraints on officers. But he cautions APDs chronic officer shortages will still be impacted by having to participate in pretrial interviews in felony cases and appear for testimony at preliminary hearings and trials.

Efforts at resolving criminal cases more quickly and keeping police on the streets to fight crime are worthwhile. However, Chief Public Defender Ben Baur, who says his office also faces resource challenges, believes the pilot programs may go too far. He worries not requiring pretrial interviews with officers in misdemeanor cases may lead to more trials. He says if defense attorneys cant interview officers without a trial, there are cases where we may end up going to trial simply because we need to ask them those questions.

That needs to be monitored. Streamlining practices to make the best use of everyones time and resources while ensuring the rights of defendants should be the goal. The misdemeanor pilot programs should be evaluated after six months to ensure theyre working as intended.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.

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Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

Saturday in New Orleans, The Magician made the hard times disappear.

That night, Albuquerque MMA bantamweight John Dodson defeated fellow former UFC fighter Francisco Rivera Jr. by unanimous decision in the main event of an XMMA card.

It was Dodsons first victory in almost 26 months, but extenuating circumstances abound.

Dodson, nicknamed The Magician for his speed and flashy style, twice fought for the UFC flyweight title during his nine years with the sports most powerful promotional entity. But after his August 2020 loss to Merab Dvalishvili in Las Vegas, Nevada, the UFC released him.

Dodson then signed with XMMA, a fledgling circuit based in Florida, to face Cody Gibson on July 30. But on Fourth of July weekend, Dodson and his family were involved in a serious car crash in west Texas.

Dodson, his wife Chelsea, and the couples two daughters escaped serious consequences. But a knee injury suffered in the crash forced postponement of his XMMA debut.

On Oct. 23, Dodson lost to Gibson, also a former UFC fighter, by unanimous decision.

But against Rivera on Saturday, Dodson (22-13), clearly in terrific shape, showed flashes of his signature hand speed and power  dominant in a first round that could have been scored 10-8 (though it evidently wasnt).

Rivera (14-9) rallied in rounds two and three to make it a close, competitive fight, but all three judges scored it 29-28 for Dodson. The Journal, scoring the fight off a YouTube video, saw it 29-27, scoring the first round 10-8.

The victory was Dodsons first since Feb. 15, 2020, when he defeated Nathaniel Wood by third-round TKO at the then-Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho.

Whats next for the 37-year-old southpaw? Certainly, more action with XMMA is a possibility. But Albuquerques Ricky Kottenstette, Dodsons manager, said via text hes working with XMMA on a fight-to-fight basis to keep our options open.

Dodson, a former state wrestling champion at Moriarty High School, has been fighting professionally since 2004.

In defeating Rivera, 18 years later, he made it clear hes not through.

LIFE AFTER MMA: Former MMA fighter Quinn Mulhern last fought in the cage more than eight years ago.

Yet, hes still fighting  to give Albuquerques down and out a leg up.

Mulhern is the subject of an in-depth feature at mmafighting.com, posted on Friday, focusing on his journey from MMA to a prominent role in the Albuquerque Community Safety department.

The ACS, launched in August, is designed to address public safety and public health incidents that dont require a police presence. Mulhern and the ACS also were featured in the Jan. 9 edition of the Albuquerque Journal.

As reported by Shaun Al-Shatti for mmafighting.com, Mulhern earned a Masters degree in social work after his MMA career ended  helping him acquire not only the knowledge and expertise but also develop the empathy hed be called upon to exercise with the ACS.

In December, in preparation for the January 9 story, Journal staff writer Elise Kaplan and staff photographer Roberto E. Rosales followed Mulhern and his ACS partner Leigh White as they responded to calls and provided care and guidance to those in need.

Mulhern, a California native who trained at Santa Fe BJJ and later in Albuquerque at Jackson-Wink, finished his MMA career with an 18-4 record.

CATCHING UP: Friday in Hartford, Connecticut, Jackson-Wink fighters Azjavakhlan Bataar and Armus Guyton were winners at CES 67.

Guyton (6-2) a welterweight, defeated Pat Casey (8-5) by first-round submission (rear naked choke).

Bataar (8-6), a bantamweight, defeated Johnny Lopez (12-6) by unanimous decision.

 On March 25 in Aurora, Colorado, Maia Schmidt, an amateur who trains at Jacksons Acoma, made her competitive debut with a victory by second-round TKO over Jessica Pitts (2-2) on a Colorado Combat Club card.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

Fourteen students at Algodones Elementary School ate THC-infused candy on Monday, according to a news release from Bernalillo Public Schools.

All students involved were evaluated by medical personnel and are in stable condition, according to the release. Parents were notified.

Its unclear how old the students are or how much THC they ingested.

At around 1 p.m., the schools administration was notified that a student had brought in the candies and shared them with classmates.

Superintendent Matthew Montano told the Santa Fe New Mexican that one of the students reported feeling sick, and that led to the discovery. He said the students were taken to the hospital, where they were examined and released.

Montano shared a photo of the candy  green apple sour belts meant to mimic gummy rolls sold at candy shops  with the newspaper.

The school district says it is cooperating with medical personnel and law enforcement to investigate the incident.

We will continue to make sure that all students are safe and healthy, the district wrote. Like any other school system in New Mexico, we will have to grapple with educating our families, children and staff on what to look for, and how to provide safe environments for our children under this new era of legalization.

The incident comes days after the sale of recreational marijuana began in New Mexico.

However, this is not the first time this has happened.

In 2018, a fifth-grader at the Albuquerque School of Excellence brought in a box of THC gummies  thinking they were candy  and shared them with friends. The school is a grades 1-12 college prep charter school that emphasizes a STEM curriculum  science, technology, engineering and math.

In that instance, school officials said five students reported feeling giggly. The child who brought the gummies from home had eaten five and was the only one who felt sick and dizzy.

At that time, only medical marijuana was legal. It was discovered that the candy belonged to the girls grandfather.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

A new $800,000 federal grant will help the University of New Mexicos Rainforest Innovations extend a helping hand to aspiring Native American entrepreneurs across the state.

The grant, announced last week by the U.S. Commerce Departments Economic Development Administration, will allow Rainforest Innovations to begin bridging the gap between existing startup support programs and tribal communities, said Lisa Kuuttila, UNM Chief Economic Development Officer and CEO of Rainforest Innovations, which manages the universitys tech-transfer and entrepreneurship programs.

UNM and many other agencies, organizations and institutions already offer statewide training and assistance through online and in-person programs. Some groups specifically focus on helping Native American entrepreneurs create successful businesses, such as New Mexico Community Capital.

But more is needed to build tribal awareness about available assistance and directly connect them with resources, Kuuttila said.

We want to reach out to Native American communities in new ways to identify people who either already started businesses or who want to and dont know where to go for support, Kuuttila told the Journal. There are lots of resources across the state, but in rural areas, many may not be aware of them, so we want to bring more of those aspiring entrepreneurs into the existing ecosystem.

To do that, UNM will hire community liaisons to work directly with the tribes.

Theyll work remotely and travel around the state to work directly with people on the pueblos and the Navajo Nation, Kuuttila said.  Theyll do onsite visits and meetings, some by Zoom and some in person. We expect each community or region will have different needs, so well tailor programming specifically to the places we work in.

UNM will add $200,000 in matching funds to the EDA grant, which was awarded under the American Rescue Plan to help local communities recover from the pandemic, said Commerce Department Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Alejandra Castillo.

This EDA investment will support UNM Rainforest as it expands its training, mentoring, and strategy development programs to create new opportunities for tribal entrepreneurs and build a diverse and robust regional economy, Castillo said in a prepared statement.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Tim Eichenberg is wading into the race to determine his successor.

The two-term Democratic state treasurer, who is barred by term limits from running for reelection this year, recently filed a complaint with the state Ethics Commission and two other state agencies accusing Laura Montoya of violating New Mexicos campaign finance and financial disclosure laws.

Montoya, the former Sandoval County treasurer, is one of two Democrats seeking the partys nomination in the June primary election.

The other Democrat in the race is Heather Benavidez, a top official in the State Treasurers Office.

Eichenberg said in a recent interview he decided to make the complaint after being made aware in late February of possible discrepancies in Montoyas mandatory reports. Benavidez was not aware of the complaint until it was made public, he said.

My only reason for doing this is the character and integrity of Laura Montoya, Eichenberg told the Journal.

But Montoya denied any allegations of wrongdoing and suggested it was inappropriate for Eichenberg to get involved in the race. She also said the complaint was made after she filed a records request for Benavidezs state salary and work history.

Im disappointed that a sitting state treasurer is putting his thumb on the scale to try to get his appointee elected, Montoya said in an interview.

Among other things, the complaint alleges Montoya failed to fully report $10,500 in campaign contributions she received last year from Adelante Sandoval, a Placitas-based political committee.

However, Montoya said $500 of the $10,500 in donations was inadvertently attributed to the political committees treasurer, not the committee itself, on her report. She provided the Journal with a letter from the committees treasurer explaining the situation and said she plans to make a correction to her filed report.

She also said she plans to provide the political committee with a $100 reimbursement to comply with state campaign contribution limits  the maximum total contribution for the primary and general election cycles is $10,400.

But Montoya denied another allegation in Eichenbergs complaint that pertained to a financial disclosure form she filed with the Secretary of States Office in February.

She said she accurately described herself as an independent contractor  her second term as Sandoval County treasurer ended in 2020  and said she did not receive unemployment benefits after announcing her campaign for state treasurer.

While Eichenberg cited a lien from the Department of Workforce Solutions for a balance of $4,202, Montoya provided the Journal with a recent letter from the agency indicating the lien had been released and Montoya has no outstanding balance.

Meanwhile, a Secretary of States Office spokesman said the agency has received Eichenbergs complaint and has asked Montoya to submit a formal response.

The campaign dust-up comes with just over a month before absentee voting starts May 10.

Eichenberg said his involvement in the race is due to his concern for maintaining public trust in the State Treasurers Office.

As a public officer, I do not want to see the State Treasurers Office return to days of business as usual, as conducted by Michael Montoya and Robert Vigil, said Eichenberg, referring to past state treasurers who were convicted of public corruption charges.

But Montoya called the reference misguided, saying, The only thing I have in common with those two men is Im from northern New Mexico and Im brown.

The winner of the June 7 primary contest would face off against Republican Harry Montoya in the November general election.

Laura Montoya outpaced Benavidez in the state Democratic Party pre-primary convention, getting more than 58% of the votes cast by delegates at the event last month in Roswell.
BRUSSELS  The European Unions executive branch proposed Tuesday a ban on coal imports from Russia in what would be the first EU sanctions targeting the countrys lucrative energy industry over its war in Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU needed to increase the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin after what she described as heinous crimes carried out around Kyiv, with evidence that Russian troops may have deliberately killed Ukrainian civilians.

Von der Leyen said the ban on coal imports is worth 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year and that the EU has already started working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports.

She didnt mention natural gas, with consensus among the 27 EU countries on targeting the fuel used to generate electricity and heat homes difficult to secure amid opposition from gas-dependent members like Germany, the blocs largest economy.

Until now, Europe had not been willing to target Russian energy over fears that it would plunge the European economy into recession. Europes dependence on Russian oil, natural gas and coal means finding unanimity on energy measures is a tall order, but the recent reports of civilian killings have increased pressure for tougher EU sanctions.

The U.S. and United Kingdom previously announced they were cutting off Russian oil. Individual EU countries have announced efforts to draw down their energy reliance on Russia: Poland says it plans to block imports of coal and oil from the country, while Lithuania said its no longer using Russian natural gas.

To take a clear stand is not only crucial for us in Europe but also for the rest of the world, von der Leyen said. A clear stand against Putins war of choice. A clear stand against the massacre of civilians. And a clear stand against the violation of the fundamental principles of the world order.

Energy policy expert Simone Tagliapietra with the Bruegel think tank in Brussels said coal represented 20 million euros in revenue for Russia from Europe per day at current prices, compared with 850 million per day for oil and gas.

The coal ban is important because it breaks the energy taboo, he said, but is not a game changer.  Targeting coal for the moment is too prudent, its too symbolic and the time for symbolic measures is gone.

Its not with coal that Putin can get rich or sustain the funding of the war. The big flow of money is certainly oil and gas, not coal, and thats the issue.

The proposal still must be adopted unanimously by all 27 EU countries and is included among a new package of sanctions.

Other measures proposed by the EUs executive arm include sanctions on more individuals and four key Russian banks, among them VTB, the second-largest Russian bank.

These four banks, which we now totally cut off from the markets, represent 23% of market share in the Russian banking sector, von der Leyen said. This will further weaken Russias financial system.

The bloc also would ban Russian vessels and Russian-operated vessels from EU ports, with exceptions for essentials such as agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid and energy.

Further targeted export bans, worth 10 billion euros, in sectors covering quantum computers, advanced semiconductors, sensitive machinery and transportation equipment also were proposed.

With this, we will continue to degrade Russias technological base and industrial capacity, von der Leyen said.

But energy was the focus. EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said 62% of Russias exports to the EU were hydrocarbons last year.

If we really want to affect Russias economy, thats where we need to look, he said. And thats exactly what is subject to discussions concerning this sanctions package.

Because of its climate ambitions, the EU has been moving away from coal for years. Coal use fell from 1.2 billion tons a year to 427 million tons between 1990 and 2020, but imports rose from 30% to 60% of coal use.

The European Union imported 53% of hard coal from Russia in 2020, which accounted for 30% of the EUs hard coal consumption.

Russian coal would be easier to replace than natural gas because coal comes by ship and there are multiple global suppliers. Germanys association of coal importers said last month that Russian coal could be replaced in a few months.

But the switch would mean more import demand from Europe and higher global coal prices, with significant effects on emerging and developed economies that also rely on coal.

___

AP journalist Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, contributed to this story.
ATLANTA  When Democrat Stacey Abrams first ran for Georgia governor in 2018, her lackluster personal finances and a hefty bill from the IRS gave Republicans fodder to question how she could manage a state budget when she struggled with her own debts.

As she launches a second bid this year, thats no longer an issue.

Abrams now says shes worth $3.17 million, according to state disclosures filed in March. Thats compared with a net worth of $109,000 when she first ran four years ago.

Her rapid ascent into millionaire status corresponds with her rise in national politics. Since her 2018 defeat to Republican Brian Kemp, Abrams has become a leading voting rights activist. She was considered as a potential running mate to President Joe Biden and is widely credited with organizing voters in Georgia to help him become the first Democrat to carry the state in the presidential vote in 28 years. Along the way, she has earned $6 million, mostly driven by $5 million in payments for books and speeches.

That wealth has exposed her to a different line of criticism from Republicans, who hope to portray Abrams this year as an elitist out of touch with average Georgians. Garrison Douglas, a spokesperson for the national Republican Party, accused Abrams of using her campaign as a platform for her own financial gain. During a rally in the state last month, former President Donald Trump knocked her for living in these gorgeous multi-multi-million-dollar houses.

Abrams hasnt purchased a home for a price tag exceeding $1 million, and Trump spends much of his year living at his lavish Mar-a-Lago resort. The leading Republicans seeking the nomination for governor  incumbent Brian Kemp and challenger David Perdue  are far wealthier than she is.

In an interview, Abrams said it was ironic for Republicans to criticize her financial success, something the party often praises as the result of hard work.

It is remarkable to me that success is now being demonized by the Republicans, she said. I believe in success. I believe that every person should have the opportunity to thrive. And because I had three years where I was in the private sector, I leveraged all three years, and in that time, Ive done my best to not only be successful personally, but to do what I can to help Georgians.

Many politicians build their wealth after they reach high office. Thats not the case for Abrams, whose loss vaulted her to a level of celebrity unusual for someone whose highest office so far is minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives. She particularly cashed in on her status in 2021 before announcing her second bid for governor, with her income spiking to $3.65 million.

Seth Bringman, an Abrams campaign spokesperson, said she gave 37 paid speeches in 2021, including a 12-stop fall tour of stand-alone appearances. Shes written, co-written or reissued six books since 2019, with another reissue on the way later this year.

Abrams was also paid more than $700,000 over three years as executive director of the Southern Economic Advancement Project, an affiliate of the Roosevelt Institute that seeks to improve economic equity in the South. Abrams has reported no income from Fair Fight Action, the voting rights group she founded and formerly chaired.

Abrams, who last year released a business book with a longtime business partner, also reports investments in a number of companies. Some are longtime holdings including Now Account Network Corp., which finances businesses by buying invoices. Abrams in November joined the board of Heliogen, a California company that seeks to use sunlight to concentrate heat for industrial processes, electricity generation and hydrogen fuel production. Abrams reported $65,000 in Heliogen stock.

Kemp has a net worth of about $8.5 million, with assets mostly in real estate he developed before running for governor. Perdue is even wealthier, reporting a net worth of $50 million after a career in which he was CEO of corporations including Dollar General and Reebok. Kemp had an income of $551,000 in 2021, while Perdue had an income of $9.3 million.

Kemp criticized Abrams in 2018 for owing $54,000 to the IRS, self-employment taxes she didnt pay on time. Abrams said then that she skipped the payments because her parents needed financial help with raising a granddaughter and medical bills.

You can delay IRS payments. You cant delay cancer treatments, Abrams said at the time.

Abrams also had $96,000 in student loan debt and $83,000 in accumulated credit card debt in 2018. She only had a positive net worth because a publisher had paid a $150,000 advance on her first nonfiction book. In that book, Minority Leader, Abrams wrote that she borrowed at a time when my understanding of personal finance barely scratched the surface.

She paid off her IRS debt, student loans and credit card debt in 2019. When she first ran for governor, Abrams had a paltry retirement account of less than $5,000. Now she has more than $725,000 in stocks and bonds.

As her financial picture has brightened, Abrams has also traded up from her old townhouse to a larger new house.

The $975,000 property she bought just outside the Atlanta city limits near Emory University in 2020 is financed by a $760,000 mortgage, according to Abrams financial disclosure. She bought her parents a $370,000, 3,300-square-foot house in suburban Atlanta in 2019, owing more than $280,000 on a mortgage, records and disclosures show.

Its unclear how much Abrams is paying in taxes or how much she is donating to charity, although her assets include $560,000 set aside in a tax account. Bringman said Abrams would release her returns later this year after she files her 2021 taxes.

Kemp spokesperson Tate Mitchell said the incumbent believes the state financial disclosure is sufficient, but will provide further documentation later if necessary. Perdue spokesperson Jenni Sweat said Perdue filled out state and federal disclosure forms and has been transparent about his finances, but didnt directly answer whether he would release his tax returns.

Marko Klasnja, a Georgetown University professor who has studied the causes and consequences of politicians wealth, said that in the U.S., people dont care about wealth per se, and I dont think that they would think thats a negative, necessarily.

I dont think this is going to hurt Abrams that much, and I think, if people know this is coming from things like book deals, theyre going to be thinking about this differently than, Shes lining her pockets because shes on boards of corporations and things like that.'

___

Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.
DAKAR, Senegal  Malis army and foreign soldiers suspected to be Russian recently killed an estimated 300 men  some of them suspected Islamic extremist fighters but most civilians  in Moura in central Mali, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.

It is the worst single atrocity reported in Malis 10-year armed conflict against Islamic extremists, according to the rights group which said it interviewed several witnesses about the killings.

Russian fighters are believed to have shot dead most of those killed in Moura in late March, according to witnesses who identified the killers as white soldiers who did not speak French. Several hundred Russian mercenaries have been deployed in Mali to help fight the extremist rebels, the U.S. military confirmed in January.

In the Moura incident, Malian army troops and foreign soldiers in late March rounded up several hundred men and shot dead about 300 of them, burying many in mass graves and burning others, according to Human Rights Watch.

Malis defense ministry reported a similar incident, saying that in the last week of March it had killed 203 terrorists and arrested 51 others, acting on intelligence that armed extremists were meeting in Moura.

Abuses by armed Islamist groups is no justification at all for the militarys deliberate slaughter of people in custody, said Corinne Dufka, Sahel director at Human Rights Watch. The Malian government is responsible for this atrocity, the worst in Mali in a decade, whether carried about by Malian forces or associated foreign soldiers.

Most of those killed in Moura were from the Peul ethnic group, according to the rights group. Moura had been largely controlled by extremists linked to al-Qaida who taxed villagers and imposed strict Shariah law, according to residents.

The Malian government should urgently and impartially investigate these mass killings, including the role of foreign soldiers, Dufka said. For such investigations to be sufficiently independent and credible, the authorities should seek assistance from the African Union and the United Nations.

In its investigation of the killings in Moura, Human Rights Watch said its researchers spoke with 27 people including witnesses, traders, community leaders, foreign diplomats and security analysts.

Moura, a town of about 10,000 residents in the Djenne administrative area of central Mali, has since 2015 been at the center of the conflict with extremist rebels and has seen widespread violence, abuses by all sides and the displacement of large numbers of civilians.

The killings in Moura are part of a spike in violence in recent months by extremists linked to Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and by Malian government security forces. Extremists have also killed scores of Malian security force personnel since the beginning of 2022.

Extremists from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara are alleged to have killed hundreds of civilians in March in Malis eastern Menaka region, which Human Rights Watch said it is investigating separately.

Since January, residents of central Mali have seen scores of foreign soldiers working with Malis military. The foreign fighters are believed to be Russian as they do not speak French, according to several witnesses who spoke to Human Rights Watch. Malis ruling junta announced in December that Russian trainers had arrived as part of a bilateral agreement with Russia. Shortly after Malis junta expelled French and other European soldiers who had been assisting the battle against extremists.

The U.S. State Department said it is concerned that many reports suggest that the perpetrators were unaccountable forces from the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group, while other reports say it was Malian forces.

These conflicting reports illustrate the urgent need for the Malian transition authorities to give impartial investigators free, unfettered, and safe access to the area where these tragic events unfolded, the State Department said in a statement from spokesman Ned Price.

It called on Malis transitional government to allow the U.N. mission in Mali to conduct a rigorous investigation. Failure to provide a thorough and credible accounting of the facts and accountability will only serve to sow divisions in Malian society, undermine the credibility, legitimacy, and reputation of the FAMA (Malis military), drive communities into the hands of violent extremist groups, and create conditions for more violence.
Katie Rice, a long-time venture investor who headed the New Mexico office of Epic Ventures for over a decade, is joining Tramway Ventures as a managing partner in the firms second fund.

Tramway, launched in 2017, is an early-stage venture firm that invests in life science and health care startups. Its a homegrown enterprise co-founded by three well-known local investors and entrepreneurs  Waneta Tuttle, Stuart Rose and John Rockwell  along with one out-of-state partner, Brad Vale.

The four co-founders have already led investments in five companies, including three from an initial $5.2 million fund, and two more from a second, $8 million fund that closed last summer.

Under the first fund, which is now completely invested, Tramway pumped money into three local life science startups. That includes the super-fast, cell-screening technology company BennuBio, genomic-sequencing company Armonica Technologies, and WaveFront Dynamics, which developed an advanced eye-measurement system that could provide customized sight correction for difficult-to-treat patients.

Rice will now join Fund II, which in December made its first investment in Albuquerque startup Circular Genomics, a company that created breakthrough technology to diagnose depression and other neurological disorders. Tramway also made an additional seed investment from Fund II in Vitazi.ai, which recently licensed technology from Albuquerque startup VisionQuest to provide advanced eye-screening technology to help prevent blindness.

Tramway expects to invest in up to six startups from Fund II, representing an acceleration in activities that Rice can help manage, said Tramway Managing Partner Tuttle. Apart from her general management knowhow, Rice has overseen a lot of investments in software technology, which is particularly advantageous for Tramway.

She can help expand our knowledge base significantly, Tuttle told the Journal.

Rice previously led the local office of Utah-based Epic Ventures, an early stage, technology-focused firm that invested in about a dozen companies in New Mexico, such as the Albuquerque-based cybersecurity firm RiskSense, which information technology giant Ivanti acquired last summer for an undisclosed price.

Rice also helped found the ABQid business accelerator. And she created ABQids annual SkiLift Pitch competition, which brings investors and startups from New Mexico and elsewhere together at the Taos Ski Valley. She also led the Coronado Ventures Forum for three years.

Rice said Tramway is a good fit for the next stage of her career.

Im personally invested in the success of New Mexicos startup-and-investment ecosystem, Rice told the Journal. I want to continue contributing to its growth. This is the perfect fit for me to do that with a team I know and admire.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  A $698 million proposal to issue a hefty new round of tax rebates and cash payments to New Mexico residents won bipartisan approval Tuesday, as lawmakers took just 12 hours to start and finish a special session.

An estimated 1.4 million New Mexicans  or about two-thirds of the states population  would qualify or automatically receive financial relief under the proposal, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to sign into law.

Rep. Christine Chandler, a Los Alamos Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, House Bill 2, said the legislation would help New Mexicans facing high gasoline costs and other price increases.

Its intended to lift the burden on so many households in New Mexico, she said Tuesday as she addressed her colleagues.

Specifically, the legislation calls for the state to tap into its oil-fueled budget surplus to issue $500 in tax rebates to individual filers and $1,000 to married couples filing jointly.

Half the cash would go out by the end of June, and the remainder would be sent in August. Tax filers would get the money automatically.

The proposal also creates a $20 million pool that would provide similar payments to residents who dont file taxes, such as low-income seniors. Applicants would get the cash on a first-come, first-served basis until the funding is exhausted.

It passed the House on a 51-13 vote shortly after 6 p.m., picking up bipartisan support after two hours of debate. The bill then won Senate approval on a 35-1 vote several hours later, allowing lawmakers to complete the session in just a day.

Opponents  all Republican lawmakers  questioned the legality of parts of the proposal, the timing of the assistance and whether one-time rebates and relief payments are an effective, sustainable way to address inflation.

This rebate will not fix New Mexicos broken tax system, Republican Rep. Jack Chatfield of Mosquero said.

The overwhelming support in both the House and Senate would be enough to trigger an emergency clause allowing the measure to go into effect immediately upon the signature of Lujan Grisham.

The emergency language  which requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber  was crucial to ensure the first checks go out in May or June rather than in the standard 90 days.

Democrats, who hold a large majority in both legislative chambers, uniformly supported the proposal, while Republicans were split, especially in the House. Some of the opposition touched on allowing immigrants, regardless of legal status, to qualify for the relief.

House Minority Whip Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, said lawmakers need to have the debate openly on who could benefit from the assistance.

But House Majority Leader Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, said immigrants  regardless of legal status  pay taxes and deserve to qualify for economic relief the same as anyone else.

We can disagree on policy all day long, he said. We should never revert to dehumanizing other people.

Timing questioned

Lawmakers also debated the timing of the payments in an election year in which all 70 House seats and statewide offices  including the governor  are on the ballot. The primary election is June 7, and the general election is Nov. 8.

Rep. Randal Crowder, R-Clovis, noted that the second rebate payment would come amid the general election campaign.

If the public is hurting, front the money, he said. It appears this is somewhat a political decision rather than a fiscal decision to split it into two buckets of money.

Chandler and other Democrats disputed that political motivations shaped the payment schedule.

Instead, she said, the goal is to spread the payments over two fiscal years to avoid taking the hit all at once. The fiscal year begins July 1.

We felt it was more fiscally responsible to split them up between two fiscal years, Chandler said.

The rebates are expected to cost about $677 million, spread equally between this and next years budgets. The bill also sets aside $20 million for payments to non-filers and $785,000 to cover administrative and other costs. The total tab is about $698 million.

It comes as New Mexico  the nations No. 2 oil producer  enjoys a revenue boom. Economists for the Legislative Finance Committee say revenue for the two fiscal years is already tracking $500 million to $700 million higher than the most recent estimate from December.

But they also warned legislators that the revenue is difficult to forecast given the volatility in oil prices.

If approved, the new round of rebates would be in addition to tax rebates of $250 for New Mexicans who reported making less than $75,000 last year that were ratified during this years 30-day legislative session as part of a broad tax package.

Theres no income requirement attached to the round of rebates passed Tuesday.

Few masks

The tax legislation surfaced Tuesday as lawmakers  called to the Capitol by Lujan Grisham  embarked on a special session with a limited agenda.

Lujan Grisham issued a proclamation authorizing the Legislature to take up just three items in the session  a measure to provide economic relief to address rising costs, a revised version of the $50 million supplemental spending bill she vetoed last month and legislation paying for the session itself.

In contrast to recent sessions, only a few lawmakers wore face masks  a reflection of the steep drop in COVID-19 cases so far this year and new guidelines on pandemic safety measures.

In the Senate, a rule implemented in January that remains in place for all special sessions held this year ties mandatory face-mask wearing to guidance issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which in February lifted a mask recommendation for counties deemed to be at low risk of COVID-19 spread.

As for the House, its rule requiring face masks and allowing members to participate remotely in committee hearings and floor debates expired at the end of the 30-day legislative session in February.

New Mexico special sessions cost about $50,000 per day to conduct, based on recent such sessions.
MINNEAPOLIS  A man convicted of killing his wife in Minnesota in 1999 has died following a law enforcement pursuit from Wyoming to Colorado, according to state patrol officials.

Troopers began chasing 66-year-old Craig Licari on Highway 85 out of Cheyenne Thursday when he drove over road spikes placed by the Colorado State Patrol and local police near Fort Collins.

Patrol Sgt. Troy Kessler did not say specifically why Licari was being pursued, but said Licari was wanted for a probation violation.

After Licari drove over the spikes, his vehicle swerved, hit a Colorado State Patrol squad car and crashed, Kessler said. The trooper in the squad car was not seriously hurt, but Licari did not survive his injuries, the Star Tribune reported.

Wyoming authorities say Licari was driving a car registered in his name with a North St. Paul, Minnesota address.

Licari was convicted in Minnesotas Isanti County District Court of second-degree murder in connection with the death of his estranged wife in April 1999. Law enforcement located Nancy Licaris beaten body in a rented storage unit.

He was sentenced to 27 1/2 years in prison and was moved to work release in January 2017 and then to supervised release seven months later.
BILLINGS, Mont.  U.S. officials improperly downplayed the climate change effects from burning coal when they approved a large expansion of an underground Montana coal mine that would release an estimated 190 million tons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, a court ruled.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 2-1 ruling that Interior Department officials hid the ball during the Trump administration, by failing to fully account for emissions from burning the fuel in a 2018 environmental analysis.

A judge previously ruled against the disputed expansion of Signal Peak Energys Bull Mountain mine in 2017, but allowed mining to continue while a lawsuit brought by environmentalists proceeded.

Mondays ruling sends the case back to the district court level to decide the fate of the mines federal permit.

It marks the latest in long string of decisions against the U.S. government going back to the Obama administration for failing to adequately consider climate damages from extracting and burning fossil fuels.

The appeals court faulted the government for comparing emissions from the mine against total global emissions. That approach predestined that the emissions would appear relatively minor, Circuit Judge Morgan Christen wrote.

Circuit Judge Ryan Nelson disagreed, saying in a dissenting opinion that the court should have deferred to the Interior Departments expertise after agency officials determined the expansion would not significantly affect the environment.

An attorney for environmental groups that challenged the mine expansion said the ruling could have impacts for mines across the country.

They have to evaluate the impacts of billowing hundreds of millions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere, said Derf Johnson with the Montana Environmental Information Center.

The mine near Roundup is a major employer in central Montana with about 250 workers. Its coal has been exported to countries including South Korea, Japan and the Netherlands, according to court documents.

Interior spokesperson Tyler Cherry said the agency was reviewing the ruling. Signal Peak representatives did not immediately respond to the ruling.

The Biden administration last year announced it will review the climate impacts of a U.S. coal leasing program that allows companies to mine vast reserves of the fuel from public lands. It has also priced future climate damage s from burning fossil fuels at about $51 for every ton of carbon dioxide emitted, a figure known as the social cost of carbon.

Environmentalists had sought a ruling that would compel officials to apply the social cost of carbon to Signal Peaks mine, but the court rejected the request and said how effects are measured is up to the government.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.  Two Harvard University freshmen have launched a website designed to connect people fleeing Ukraine to those in safer countries willing to take them in  and its generating offers of help and housing worldwide.

Moved by the plight of Ukrainian refugees desperate to escape Russian bombardment across the former Soviet republic, Marco Burstein, 18, of Los Angeles, and Avi Schiffmann, 19, of Seattle, used their coding skills to create UkraineTakeShelter.com over three frenzied days in early March.

Since then, more than 18,000 prospective hosts have signed up on the site to offer assistance to refugees seeking matches with hosts in their preferred or convenient locations. On a recent day, Burstein and Schiffmann logged 800,000 users.

Weve heard all sorts of amazing stories of hosts and refugees getting connected all over the world, Burstein said in an interview on the Harvard campus. We have hosts in almost any country you can imagine from Hungary and Romania and Poland to Canada to Australia. And weve been really blown away by the response.

Five weeks into the invasion that has left thousands dead on both sides, the number of Ukrainians fleeing the country topped a staggering 4 million, half of them children, according to the United Nations.

Schiffmann, whos been taking a semester off to work on several projects, said from Miami he was inspired to use his internet activism to help after attending a pro-Ukraine rally in San Diego.

I felt that I could really do something on a more global scale here, he said. Ukraine Take Shelter puts the power back into the hands of the refugee  theyre able to take the initiative and find the listings and get in contact with hosts by themselves instead of having to freeze on a curb in Eastern Europe in the wintertime.

Among those who have taken in refugees through the website is Rickard Mijatov, a resident of the southwestern Swedish city of Linkoping whos sharing his home with 45-year-old Ukrainian evacuee Oksana Frantseva, her 18-year-old daughter and their cat.

Mijatov and his wife signed up at an embassy indicating theyd help, but then stumbled upon the Harvard students site and registered there as well.

The next morning, I had a message from Oksana asking if we had place for them, he said in an interview via Zoom. It became reality quite fast.

I was surprised how quickly Rickard answered to me, Frantseva said in halting English. Five days later, she, her daughter and their pet were at the front door.

Burstein and Schiffmann designed the platform with combat refugees particular concerns in mind. They worked to make it as easy to use as possible so someone in immediate danger can enter their location and see the offers of help that are closest to them.

On the hosting side, they also gave prospective hosts the opportunity to indicate what languages they speak; how many refugees they can accommodate; and any restrictions on taking in young children or pets.

To help avoid human trafficking and other hazards that vulnerable refugees face, the platform encourages evacuees to ask hosts to provide their full names and social media profiles, and request a video call to show what accommodations theyre offering.

We know that this is potentially a dangerous situation, so we have a lot of steps in place to ensure the protection of our refugees, Burstein said. We have a detailed guide that we give to all refugees to help them verify the host that theyre talking to  make sure that the person that they may be speaking with on the phone is the same one that theyre meeting up with in person.

The two students say theyre trying to arrange a meeting with officials from the U.N. refugee agency, and they are also looking to work with Airbnb, Vrbo and other online vacation rental companies.

So far, theyve borne all the expenses  a hardship for college students  for web hosting and Google Translate costs. But theyre determined to continue as long as possible and are looking into registering as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit so they can apply for grants.

Back in Sweden, Mijatov admits it was a bit unnerving to open his home, but he has no regrets.

Its the first time we are doing something like this, he said, seated next to Frantseva. But theyre very nice people. So, yeah, going along well.

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This story has been changed to correct the spelling of one of the Harvard students names to Schiffmann instead of Schiffman, and correct the spelling of the name of Swedish man who took in Ukrainian refugees to Mijatov instead if Mijarov.

___

Follow Rodrique Ngowi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ngowi
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

An inmate on a work crew assignment in Rio Rancho has escaped, according to a spokesman for the New Mexico Corrections Department.

On Tuesday, 12 inmates from the Central New Mexico Correctional Facilitys minimum-security unit were working with New Mexico Forestry on cleanup and maintenance near Rivers Edge in Rio Rancho. Thats when one of them, 49-year-old Manuel Villalobos, said he was going to the bathroom, but never returned, said NMCD spokesman Eric Harrison.

Upon discovering that Villalobos had not returned and was not in the restroom, correctional staff immediately notified the facility and an Incident Command Center was initiated, Harrison said.

NMCDs Security Threat Intelligence Unit and Fugitive Apprehension teams are working with State Police and Rio Rancho Police to find Villalobos. Residents of the Rivers Edge neighborhood between N.M. 528 and the Rio Grande should stay indoors, secure their homes and vehicles, and, if possible, avoid the area, Harrison said.

Villalobos was one year into his sentence for breaking and entering, burglary of a vehicle, possession of burglary tools and tampering with evidence, and would have been eligible for release in December 2024, Harrison said. He had been arrested and tried in Lea County, and sent to the facility in Los Lunas last April.

The crew was made up of inmates who are classified as level one and have minimum restrictions following an assessment on intake that found they were at a low risk of violence.

Tips

Authorities suggest calling 911 if you believe you have had contact with the suspect, or if you are in danger. Report suspicious activity or any information on Manuel Villalobos whereabouts to the Incident Command Center at 505-263-3623.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

Representatives of more than 560 Native American tribes from around the United States and more than 200 indigenous tribes from Canada will be heading to Albuquerque later this month when the Gathering of Nations Powwow returns after a two-year in-person pandemic hiatus.

Theres nothing like getting back, said Gathering of Nations founder and director Derek Mathews. The event, billed as the largest gathering in the world of Native Americans and Indigenous people, has conducted a virtual powwow the past two years.

This years gathering will begin with the Miss Indian World pageant April 28 at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The powwow will be held on April 29 and 30 in Tingley Coliseum and on the grounds of Expo New Mexico, where there will be dancing, drumming and singing competitions, live music, and a host of food and merchandise vendors.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at gatheringofnations.com/event-tickets. The cost is $15 for the Miss Indian World pageant; $20 for a single-day powwow ticket; and $45 for a two-day wristband.

New this year is on-site fairground RV camping, Mathews said. There are about 100 spaces with full hookups, each available for $210 for the three days, and another 50 spaces without hookups that can be reserved for $165 for the three days. Single-day camping spots are not available.

Our Traders Market is just a few spaces short of being sold out, he said. Thats almost 400 vendors, so thats a good sign, and were hearing that a lot of our hotels are filling up for those dates, and thats another good sign. So, were expecting a full crowd.

In 2019, the Gathering of Nations drew more than 80,000 visitors and had an economic impact of more than $24 million, said Mathews.

Theres just a lot of anticipation and excitement building up, he said. We cant keep up with the phone calls, and were getting a lot of questions and comments on our Facebook page and other social media. Were feeling really positive about it.
In the last 10 years, PR has taken a different dimension, especially after the entry of social media and the rapid shift to digital, especially in the pandemic period. At the same time the industry has been facing stiff challenges, moreover client expectations have also increased, with more emphasis being given to digital and online reputation management. The industry has undergone a radical shift and the current times have pushed the industry to change gears.

In conversation with Adgully, Akanksha Jain, Head - PR and Communications, BharatPe, speaks about her journey in the PR industry, the paradigm shifts in this industry, handling PR for start-ups, growing importance of Digital PR and more.

Overall journey in the communication industry

Over the last 15+ years that I have spent in the PR and Communications, I have had the opportunity to work with both young and established brands, across diverse industries and geographies. Additionally, I have had the chance to spearhead initiatives around building and rebuilding brand reputation, corporate communications as well as leadership communications, devise and execute brand, marketing and content strategy for young brands, as well as conceptualize culture and CSR initiatives. I have successfully executed PR campaigns for brands across 30+ countries globally.

During my enterprising career of one and a half decades, I have crafted numerous marquee transformational campaigns around lifestyle transformation, including traditional and digital PR/ brand campaigns like Business mobility for Nokia Eseries, Rise of digital at AskMe Group and Power2SME, Online and consumer commerce at AskMe Group and VLCC, and the Financial Inclusion at MobiKwik, Pine Labs and now, BharatPe.

I have successfully led thought leadership campaigns for 20+ leaders and positioned them as industry voices in India/ global markets. During my stint at Power2SME, I spearheaded the public affairs strategy and worked with FICCI to drive the formation of FICCI-CMSME and placed Mr Narayan as the Vice-President of FICCI-CMSME. I conceptualised and led the 1st and 2nd seasons of the renowned Spirit of Manufacturing awards in partnership with TiE. Also, I have successfully built an online community of 1.5 million online sellers in 2015-16. At BharatPe, I have crafted the impact narrative for the brand and built it as one of the most credible names in the financial services industry in India.

A start-up communications expert, I have been a part of the leadership team across numerous start-ups and led brand/ communications strategy/ execution for start-ups in various stages of growth (in existing and new markets) over the last 9+ years. I have spearheaded communication campaigns aimed at increasing the valuation of a company by 3x, as well as led new market and new product launch campaigns for companies across global markets. A young achiever, I was the youngest Group Communications Head at 32, leading communications for 5 companies under the AskMe Group portfolio.

I am also a crisis communications expert, having managed the worst of crises for companies, including shutting down or folding up of group of companies. I am a turnaround specialist, who has designed and executed successful campaigns to regain brand equity for companies and individuals.

Having been associated with fintech companies for the last 6+ years, I am known as a Fintech Communications Expert. I am well-versed with all the nuances of the fintech industry and have spearheaded extremely high impact communication campaigns for fintech companies (including an aggressive campaign in my current organisation that has multiplied the valuation of the company 7x in just one year).

What have been the paradigm shifts in the industry and the major changes that occurred in the industry during the pandemic era?

The pandemic caused a tectonic shift across businesses, irrespective of the industry. The situation was no different for the PR industry. PR and Communications teams across brands had to redefine the communications playbook and invest their energies in realigning messaging, focusing on the impact created, devising aggressive employee communication strategies (as WFH became a reality), and working round the clock to address crisis in the case of some industries. PR gained prominence over the course of last couple of years as more and more brands realised the importance of communicating the brand purpose and building trust, as well as the need for being seen as more human. Communication strategy moved away from just selling a product or talking about a brands success, to building the narrative around brands impact story.

Over the last couple of years, PR also played a key role in driving transformational campaigns for companies as they pivoted their businesses or made changes to align to the evolving needs of the consumers. PR led from the front and helped create brand equity for companies. Additionally, it was instrumental in enabling brands to build a better connect with their employees and keep them aligned to the brands short-term as well as long-term goals.

To talk about some of the tactical changes  one of the major impacts of Covid was the reduction in marketing spends, which, in turn, had an impact on the print media. A number of media houses also shut their print issues due to Covid, as people were reluctant to buy newspapers. With the sales of print publications spiraling downwards, PR strategy had to move to focus more on the online media. Additionally, with all on-ground events coming to a halt, brands were forced to look at conducting online events. Digital PR became more important than ever before, with brands investing their resources and time in crafting high-impact social media strategy that could ring a chord with the target audience.

Traditional PR Vs Startup PR

There is quite a lot of difference between PR strategy for traditional vs that for start-ups. PR in traditional companies is more structured and spun around milestones achieved for existing range of products, employer branding as well as any new product launches that might come around. Traditional companies have an existing brand equity as well as an established brand narrative and hence, they dont have to do the leg work in building awareness. Instead, traditional companies leverage PR to create buzz around a new brand/ marketing campaign. Additionally, the company has a set of business leaders who are renowned names in the industry.

In case of start-ups, PR plays a very important role in building brand equity. Start-ups need PR to attract attention and raise brand recognition. However, it is important to have a robust PR strategy in place from the early days. To begin with, a start-up needs to invest its PR efforts to get its impact story out. This is key as the company should carve a clear niche for itself from Day 1 and not be seen as another one in the market. It is important to also position the brands founders as industry voices in their respective domains. Also, it is important to build trust by running a comprehensive campaign around the brands products, their successes and the customer experiences via traditional and digital channels. Digital PR can be a great enabler for start-ups and hence, companies should invest in ideating disruptive digital PR campaigns. Also, start-ups need to have a focussed employer branding campaign as they need to attract good talent and position themselves as great place to work.

Ways of handling PR in a start-up at various stages of growth

PR for an early stage start-up will primarily be around building the impact narrative. The sooner a brand starts focusing on getting its impact story right, the better it is. Also, early stage start-ups should focus on building brand equity by talking about fund raise, partners and sharing product milestones. Additionally, it is advisable to start early when it comes to profiling the Founders so as to position them as credible names in the industry.

Start-ups that have been 2-3 years into existence should focus a lot more on talking about their overall growth, product successes as well as their leadership and team. Also, they should focus a lot more on building trust and positioning the company as an employer of choice.

The importance of Digital PR

Digital PR has slowly gained importance to become a key part of the PR and Communications strategy across organisations over the last few years. The pandemic only accelerated the adoption of digital PR as companies realised that it is the best way to reach out to and engage its existing and prospective customers. Digital PR is being used by brands, across industries to communicate their overall purpose and showcase their human side. Also, digital PR is being leveraged to share an important announcement with a wide set of audience. In times of crisis, it plays a key role to broadcast a message to larger audience or to find help.

Brands are using digital PR to showcase the experiences of their customers. At BharatPe, our series on merchant impact stories called Transforming Bharat has been a runaway success with over 3 lakh organic views across 8 videos. Also, they are leveraging the power of various forms of content  like videos, static graphics, blogs, infographics, etc. to engage a larger set of customers. Digital PR is also being used very effectively by companies to showcase employee engagement initiatives. BharatPes initiative called crication garnered 5 million plus organic views in a span of 1 month (on LinkedIn).

Evolution of PR from just being a share of voice to impacting brand sentiment and brand equity

PR has moved away from just being about that story in top financial daily or a huge number of regional stories. It is more to do with the quality of messaging and the reach of the announcement/ brand. With the rise of social media and digital PR, the metrics used for understanding success of PR campaigns has evolved to include brand sentiment and overall measurement of brand equity. At BharatPe, we closely map social media exposure across channels, SOV across channels for key leaders, have clear bifurcation by unique authors across channels on social media and online portals, tonality with emotions mapped, as well as key phrases/ words driving chatter. Additionally, we track geo impact to understand the reach of the social chatter.

In times of crisis, we map these parameters very actively (sometimes on an hourly basis) so we are well aware of the trends building up across channels and take corrective action. Also, we closely map influencers who are talking about the brand to better understand narratives across social media and news portals/ blogs.

To sum it up, effective social media metrics/ understanding of social media sentiment as well as keeping a check on social media chatter around the brand/ spokesperson have become important with social media driving a lot of conversations in todays times. It is no longer only about Share of Voice or the quantity of coverage. Another important data metric is to understand and evaluate the impact created  if the brand narrative is on the right track and the brand can make an impact with the right messaging across media stories.
During the two years of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns, the entire nation went nostalgic while watching old epics Ramanand Sagars Ramayan and BR Chopras Mahabharat on Doordarshan. Even after over 30 years of first being telecast on the national broadcasters. Both the epics gained tremendous traction during the first lockdown period. In some form or the other, almost everyone has read or heard about the two epics. The scale of Ramayan is huge  it is not just another story, but something that is imbibed in our culture.

Now, Discovery has launched a new docu-series, Legends of the Ramayana, narrated by bestselling award-winning writer and diplomat, Amish Tripathi. Tripathi will traverse across geographies as he sets out on his own mega adventure in the footsteps of Lord Ram to retrace his sacred journey and unravel the under-explored mysteries around the text. Tripathis immense knowledge of Indian mythology and effortless expertise to juxtapose the richness of history with the charm of modern-day storytelling, makes him the perfect fit for Legends of the Ramayana.

Speaking about the new docu-series, Megha Tata, Managing Director-South Asia, Discovery Inc, told Adgully, Legends of the Ramayana will be like seeing Ramayan through the lens of discovery, which is in the space of docu-series. The whole concept was very interesting when it came to us that we all know about Ramayan. What if somebody was to capture the journey of Lord Ram from Ayodhya and what happened in those times? And so when doing this research, so many interesting mysteries came about, which not many people know about. And that, to us, was a very interesting play. That curiosity and, like someone asked, Why 14 years and why not five years? Why not 20 years? Theres a rational vibe. I did not know that Ram, Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan had an elder sister. Then you find out the cave where Sita was kept. So, that was an aspect we thought was worthy to bring onto our platform. It is a docu-series backed by science and research.

Talking about how the first quarter turned out for Discovery+, she noted, It really did well for us. Because last year, the number of hours we produced was more than what we probably produced in over 20+ years that we have been in the country. So, that has been the commitment for us to create original content out of the India, and a lot of that content resonated very well. The first half, first quarter of the year had some great new shows that we launched. In fact, including the recent show, Indias Ultimate Warrior starring Vidyut Jamwal and then it had Akshay Kumar in one of the episodes. That was a great show on our platform, and some interesting, investigative murder content  that genre is doing very well for us as well  shows like Money Mafia or Annie, which was a murder mystery, and also Honeymoon Murder. It was all really intriguing and did really well. So, we are playing around with different genres  whether its mythology or science or adventure, or now crime investigation, thats the space we are exploring. Thus, I think we had a great first quarter on Discovery+.

Not disclosing much for what is next for Discovery+, Tata said, For the time being, this is one big launch and of course, we have a few shows lined up in the coming months, very interesting ones. I cant talk about it, but there are a couple of shows, which I think would be very nice, in the genres of crime, mystery and investigation.
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited (IndiaFirst Life), promoted by Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Union Bank of India (UBI), today announced the appointment of Bhavna Verma as the organizations Appointed Actuary effective March 21, 2022. A seasoned professional, Bhavna has over 15 years of actuarial experience in Life Insurance, spread across consulting and industry. She will be responsible for all aspects of the Actuarial Function.

Congratulating the new Appointed Actuary, Vishakha RM, MD & CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited, said, We are excited to welcome Bhavna to the IndiaFirst Life family. The organization has recorded strong and consistent growth in the last few years. With her experience and domain expertise, we are confident that Bhavna will create value for IndiaFirst Lifes stakeholders through innovative Actuarial strategies, which will further strengthen our growth story.

Bhavna Verma, Appointed Actuary, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd., said, I am excited to take up this role and its associated responsibilities as IndiaFirst Life gears up for its next phase of growth. Along with the strong leadership team, I look forward to contributing to the growth of this young, strong, and fast-growing organization.

In her previous stint, Bhavna served as the Head of Actuarial Reporting and Risk spearheading critical actuarial implementations at a life insurance company. She spent the initial years of her career in actuarial consulting. Bhavna has worked on a range of technical actuarial and strategic assignments across geographies. Armed with this diverse experience, Bhavna is passionate about integrating the application of actuarial principles holistically across functions.

A Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, UK, Bhavna has served as Chief Editor of the Actuary India magazine, the flagship publication of the Institute of Actuaries of India. She holds a Bachelors degree in Mathematics from St. Stephens College, Delhi University.
18 Indian YouTube news channels blocked for the first time under IT Rules, 2021

4 Pakistan based YouTube news channels blocked

YouTube channels used logos of TV news channels & false thumbnails to mislead viewers

3 Twitter accounts, 1 Facebook account, and 1 news website also blocked

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB), utilising the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021, has issued orders on March 4, 2022 for blocking of 22 YouTube based news channels, three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account, and one news website. The blocked YouTube channels had a cumulative viewership of over 260 crore, and were used to spread fake news, and coordinated disinformation over social media on subjects sensitive from the perspective of national security, Indias foreign relations, and public order.

Action on Indian YouTube based news channels

This is the first time action has been taken on the Indian YouTube based news publishers since the notification of the IT Rules, 2021 in February last year. Through the recent blocking order, 18 Indian and four Pakistan based YouTube news channels have been blocked.

Analysis of Content

Multiple YouTube channels were used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc. The content ordered to be blocked also included certain anti-India content posted from multiple social media accounts operated in a coordinated manner from Pakistan.

It was observed that a significant amount of false content published by these Indian YouTube based channels related to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, and aimed at jeopardizing Indias foreign relations with other countries.

Modus Operandi

The blocked Indian YouTube channels were using templates and logos of certain TV news channels, including images of their news anchors to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic. False thumbnails were used; and title and thumbnail of the videos were frequently altered to increase the virality of content on social media. In certain cases, it was also observed that systematic anti-India fake news was originating from Pakistan.

With this action, since December 2021, the Ministry has issued directions for blocking of 78 YouTube based news channels and several other social media accounts on grounds related to national security, sovereignty and integrity of India, public order, etc.

The Government of India remains committed towards ensuring an authentic, trustworthy, and safe online news media environment, and thwart any attempts at undermining Indias sovereignty and integrity, national security, foreign relations, and public order.

YouTube channels blocked
Srishti Behl Arya has joined Phantom Films as CEO in Andheri Office

Prior to this she was Director at Netflix. After three years of long run, she quit the post by May 2021. Before Netflix, Srishti was an independent producer in the Indian film and television industry.

During her association with Netflix, she played an important part in building the platform's original films of more than 35 original films including Guilty, AK vs AK, Bulbbul and Serious Men, and first Tamil and Telugu films, Paava Kadhaigal and Pitta Kathalu respectively.

A source says: 'Srishti will be the face of the company. Phantom's owners Sheetal Talwar and Madhu Mantena are sure that she is the right choice to take the company forward."

Srishti is film producer Goldie Behls sister and Bollywood actress Sonal Bendres sister-in-law.
Phool.co, Indias first biomaterial startup, and fragrance-focussed wellness brand, today announced it has raised $8M in a series A round from Indias foremost consumer fund, Sixth Sense Ventures. The round also saw participation from existing investors, Alia Bhatt and IAN fund.

Phool.co has transformed the way Indian consumers look at home fragrances with their award-winning incense made from temple flowers. Reigniting Indias $3.2B home fragrance category, Phool has turned the jaded incense category into an experiential lifestyle one. The brand has successfully captured the fascination of consumers looking for superior home-fragrance options, and made incense a part of their daily wellness routines. With a DNA driven by transformative innovation, and deep R&D, this IIT-backed startup has also put India on the global innovation map with their path-breaking invention, Fleather - leather made from flowers'. This commercially viable, vegan alternative to animal leather is all set to disrupt the global fashion industry and make animal leather obsolete.

Targeting white spaces in the unorganised, unbranded fragrance market in India, digital-first Phool has grown 130% YoY and built the untapped online incense category, challenging offline incumbents. Phool has managed to garner outstanding brand love from new-age consumers, on the back of an unparalleled product experience, award-winning packaging, and ingrained ethos of social + environmental impact.



Bringing much needed innovation to the centuries old incense industry, Phool is Indias first wellness brand to obtain the coveted Fair for Life - Fairtrade, and Ecocert Organic & Natural certifications. With its expertise Phool has set hard to replicate benchmarks across categories, making it the natural choice for consumers looking for premium wellness products. Leveraging their deep understanding of fragrances and consumer preferences, the company, with their suite of certified natural products, has raised this round to build depth in the $23B global home fragrance market, and enter the aromatherapy-based personal-care category.

On the other hand, the company has developed Fleather, a breakthrough material that performs and feels exactly like leather, but is non-animal and non-plastic. The revolutionary material is an answer to the underserviced rapidly growing consumer demand for a vegan, cruelty-free alternative to animal leather. With this indegnous homegrown alternative, Phool plans to transform the $550B global leather goods industry. With a solid IP portfolio in its kitty, Phool has signed pilots with some of the worlds largest fashion houses. Awarded the Best Innovation in Vegan Fashion by PETA , Fleather is the answer to one of the worlds highest polluting industries.

Founder, Ankit Agarwal said, In a short time our modest efforts have managed to create a dent in the Indian fragrance industry. Phool as a brand today is synonymous with luxury fragrance products on account of our unwavering focus on superior product experience, and honest ingredients. We plan to transform the global home fragrance market, and build a distinct brand with our product range. We have already made strong inroads in the rapidly growing Indian market that has been starved for good quality products. The Sixth Sense investment is a testament to our vision to build a global fragrance brand from India. I believe Nikhils acumen and knack for unlocking opportunities will fuel our growth story in the years to come. 

Nikhil Vohra, Founder and CEO of Sixth Sense Ventures said, The under-penetrated home fragrances industry presents a large, white space to be exploited. Plus a clear shift to natural and sustainable alternatives is creating a strong demand for Phools products. The brands premium and international appeal can be easily leveraged across the globe, presenting a huge untapped opportunity for Phool's certified, Indian-origin products. A keen innovator and acute executioner, Ankit and his unrelenting spirit has led him to build an outstanding team with multiple patents to their name. Their moonshot, Fleather is a game-changing innovation, and presents a massive potential opportunity. Super thrilled to partner with Ankit and team to dominate the global market

Speaking on the latest investment, Alia Bhatt, who is known for her environmental initiatives, said, Phool incense is now my chosen gift for most special occasions. The natural fragrances and packaging are exquisite. Less chemical and floral waste means cleaner rivers so these products are also a gift to our planet. I believe Phool will be an important global aromatherapy story to emerge from India. And the companys plant-based leather will also be a more humane choice for the worlds top luxury brands. As a Phool customer and as an investor, Im putting my money where my belief is.

Sixth Sense Ventures is India's first domestic, consumer-focused venture fund - Investing in the Consumer of Tomorrow...Today! Founded in 2014, Sixth Sense Ventures currently manages over $550M across three funds and has been ranked as one of the top-performing AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds) in India by CRISIL. SSIO III has completed 23 investments including Parag Milk, Nobel Hygiene, Fraazo, Open Secret, Stylam, GoodDot, Neemans, Rage Coffee, Design Cafe, Bira 91, Storia, Giva, Freecultr, Dogsee Chew, Wonderchef, Vedic Cosmeceuticals, Unbox Robotics, Veeda Clinical Research, Direct (ShopKirana), Altigreen, Prozo, Just Dogs and Phool.

With this fundraise , Phool plans to scale operations, explore the untapped domestic and global growth opportunities and build Indias largest fragrance brand. Furthermore it also will be rapidly scaling the R&D efforts to make animal leather obsolete with Fleather, the revolutionary vegan alternative to animal leather.

For its endeavours to make innovative and sustainable products, Phool.co has received several international recognitions including the prestigious United Nations Young Leaders Award for Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations Momentum of Change Award at COP, Asia Sustainability Award Hong Kong, Alquity Transforming Lives Awards, London and Breaking the Wall of Science, Berlin

Earlier, Phool.co had raised a seed round from IAN Fund, Social Alpha (FISE), Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation (San Francisco), and IIT Kanpur.
Visa (NYSE: V) today announced the appointment of Ramakrishnan Gopalan as Vice President, Head of Products & Solutions for India and South Asia. In this role, he will lead the product team in developing the strategy and the long-term design for the growth of Visas product propositions in the region, including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives. Prior to joining Visa, Ramakrishnan (Ramki) was with Citi in India and Singapore for nearly 20 years, where he held various positions across Asia Pacific in cards, lending, client engagement, risk mitigation, product development and digital channel teams. Most recently, he was the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Citis Regional Cards and Loans team where he drove the digital acquisitions framework of clients with a bespoke strategy using alternate data across markets. We are excited to welcome Ramki to the Visa family. His rich experience in banking and cards will help Visa expand its product suite as we move towards further strengthening the digital payments ecosystem in India and South Asia. Visas Group Country Manager, India & South Asia, Sandeep Ghosh said. I am extremely excited to join Visa at a time when the company is bringing more consumers, merchants and organizations into the digital payments ecosystem, making strides with its deep expertise in payments. The pandemic has accelerated digital adoption and building on that, Visa has been committed to offer trusted payment solutions in this digital-first environment. said Ramakrishnan Gopalan, Visas newly appointed Vice President, Head of Products & Solutions for India and South Asia. Ramki holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management and a Bachelors in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. He will be based in Mumbai and sit on the INSA leadership team as well as the Asia Pacific Product Leadership team. In his spare time, Ramki enjoys spending time with his family biking together to explore new places around town.
Eyeing food security, China strengthens domestic grain supply

Xinhua) 09:24, April 05, 2022

* The passing of Chunfen, or the spring equinox, on March 20, signaled the start of China's busy spring farming season.

* China has set a target to ensure the full-year grain output stays above 650 billion kg in 2022. Strenuous efforts nationwide are being made to guarantee domestic grain supply.

* The country has shown great confidence in guaranteeing stable domestic production and supply amid uncertainties in the external environment.

CHANGSHA/HARBIN, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The passing of Chunfen, or the spring equinox, on March 20, signaled the start of China's busy spring farming season, with modern farm machinery working full tilt at plowing and other essential tasks.

Strenuous efforts nationwide are being made to guarantee the country's grain security amid the global climbing up of grain prices.

With increasing investment in agricultural science and technology and the promotion of superior grain varieties, China has shown great confidence in guaranteeing stable domestic production and supply amid uncertainties in the external environment.

Aerial photo taken on March 30, 2022 shows people weeding in a field at Baihu Township in Lujiang County of Hefei, east China's Anhui Province. (Photo by Zuo Xuechang/Xinhua)

Of late, rumbling farming machines have been shuttling back and forth on a little patch of arable land at the juncture of Dashiwan and Huayuandong villages, in the city of Yiyang, in central China's Hunan Province.

Thanks to the local farmland protection and supervision authorities, the arable land, once converted into a fishpond for leisure fishing, has once again witnessed the bustling activity of spring farming.

Since 2020, Yiyang has vigorously expanded its arable land for agricultural production, adding over 342 hectares.

Similar basic guarantee measures to ensure that spring farming proceeds in good time have been rolled out across the country.

A worker arranges vegetable seedlings at an agricultural technology enterprise in Huagang Town of Hefei city, east China's Anhui Province, Feb. 11, 2022. (Photo by Xu Yong/Xinhua)

Heilongjiang Beifeng Agricultural Means of Production Corporation has a market share of about 50 percent in the province's fertilizer market.

The price of fertilizers has been on the rise this year, generally up over 30 percent compared to the previous year, especially potash fertilizers, which have doubled during the period, said Liu Yanming, the company's general manager.

In response to the rising prices of relevant production materials, the central government has allocated 20 billion yuan (3.14 billion U.S. dollars) to issue one-time subsidies to the farmers growing grain across the country. The country also released 1 million tonnes of national potash fertilizer reserves to the domestic market to meet production needs during this year's spring farming period.

An agricultural technician operates a drone to fertilize seedlings in Hemu Village of Deqing County in Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Feb. 25, 2022. (Photo by Wang Zheng/Xinhua)

New technological innovations have also been adopted to develop superior grain varieties.

"This year, we've conducted tests on over 20 new soybean varieties," said Luan Xiaoyan, a seed-breeding expert at the soybean research institute of Heilongjiang's provincial academy of agricultural sciences.

As the country's largest soybean production base, Heilongjiang sees its soybean planting area accounting for more than 40 percent of China's total. Local agricultural authorities have recommended 23 new superior soybean varieties for breeders over the years, helping boost the yields.

A novel soybean variety called "Heinong 84," which was developed by Luan and her team, is their major breakthrough in integrating high-quality traits such as high yield and resistance to pests, and was granted national approval last year.

Aerial photo taken on March 28, 2022 shows farmers working in the fields in Xinghuliu Village, Jiazhai Township of Liaocheng City, east China's Shandong Province. (Photo by Zhao Yuguo/Xinhua)

"It was beyond my expectations when the average yield per mu (one mu equals about 666 square meters) exceeded 200 kg," said Zhang Xianwu, a farmer in Mulan County, Heilongjiang Province. Zhang planted over 530 hectares of the "Heinong 84" soybean last year.

This year, Zhang has signed another contract with Luan to expand his planting area by 2,000 hectares of "Heinong 84."

At the Qixing farm in Heilongjiang, Liu Yongbing, who owns over 20 hectares of rice fields, has adopted a new seedling raising technology this spring. With constant temperature and humidity provided by a dark room, the pregermination procedure can be reduced from the previous seven to eight days to a mere two days.

Covering over 70,000 hectares in area, the farm has also integrated China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, 5G network, robots and other cutting-edge technologies with its farming machinery system. Now it has taken the lead in remote unmanned control of its intelligent agricultural machinery, according to Liu.

Aerial photo taken on April 1, 2022 shows staff members loading potash fertilizer onto a truck at Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Co., Ltd. in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)

Hunan's Yongshun County, in the hinterland of the Wuling Mountain range, has introduced the latest rice sowing technology, which can evenly arrange seeds on a special non-woven fabric for the raising of rice seedlings.

The new practice can shorten the seedling raising cycle while improving the quality of the seedlings. "We now can grow more than double the previous quantity of rice seedlings in the patches," said Huang Wenjun, a local farmer in Shangping Village of Yongshun County.

China has set a target to ensure the full-year grain output stays above 650 billion kg in 2022. Last year, China's grain output hit a new high of 683 billion kg, with grain farmland exceeding 117 million hectares.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday said that it was for the Saudi Arabian government and not the Government of India to decide the date for Haj Yatra.

Responding to a mention during the Zero Hour by Trinamool Congress MP Nadimul Haque, he said that the Haj yatra could not be done for two consecutive years because of the Covid-19 pandemic from other countries, including India.

"We are trying for this year, and the Saudi government has to decide when this pilgrimage will commence. We have all prepared for this year," he added.

"The Haj yatra is an international journey, and the government will follow what the Saudi Arabian government decides, and how many people will go from India," Naqvi further said.

He also said that over two lakh people have gone on the Haj Yatra during the Modi government.

While raising this issue, the Trinamool MP also said that it was believed that this yatra will be commenced this year as the pandemic effects are at the minimum, he also wanted to know when the nine members from the states will be nominated to the newly constituted Haj Committee.

The Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu asked the Minority Affairs Minister to have consultation with Nadimul Haq for other related issues on the Haj Committee.


February 27, 2013

Like other Maghreb countries, Mauritania is facing security challenges as part of its fight against terrorism. Mauritanias approach to fighting al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) requires better control of the situation, especially since the hostilities in neighboring Mali began. According to the Mauritanian Defense Ministry, Mauritania has been able to dismantle many terrorist sleeper cells and has managed to thwart terrorist operations to destabilize the country.

The struggle against AQIM, which swore allegiance to al-Qaeda in January 2007 and is expanding its operations to several countries in the region, is very active on the ground. But in order to maintain its momentum, Mauritania needs to fill the holes in its existing security apparatus. This need was revealed by the international conference on the fight against terrorism, organized by the Mauritanian Institute for Strategic Studies, on Feb. 12 in Nouakchott. At the conference, experts and officials involved in the war against terrorism in its various forms reviewed the situation and analyzed methods that may help win the war.

The conference was intended to find better ways to effectively fight terrorism, which threatens the Maghreb and the entire Sahel region, Ahmed al-Mehdi, a member of the Mauritanian Institute for Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor.

The many shortcomings of the security apparatus are forcing Mauritanian leaders to adopt a global approach based on a reality fraught with pitfalls and uncertainties. Compared to the arsenal of the al-Qaeda-affiliated armed Islamic groups, the resources of the armed forces and security personnel charged with fighting terrorism are inadequate, which further complicates their mission and makes it more difficult.

The countries of the medieval Almoravid dynasty have many geographic vulnerabilities. They share 7,420 km of borders among seven countries: Algeria in the north, Niger and Burkina Faso in the east, the Ivory Coast and Guinea in the south and Mauritania and Senegal in the west.

Finding a comprehensive strategy that addresses all shortcomings and deficiencies has become necessary as the armed Islamic groups flee heavy shelling in northern Mali and try to sneak into Mauritania. Moreover, some northern Malian Arab groups have ethnic ties to groups inside Mauritania.

The authorities of the above countries are trying every available method  be it ideological, religious, economic, political or related to security or media  to stem this scourge threatening every north African country. They are also participating in international efforts in that regard. Thus, Mauritanian Law 2010-035 of July 21, 2010 states that terrorism advocates violence and hatred and threatens the stability of the state, its institutions, the people, property and the vital interests of the nation.

Geopolitics are favoring the terrorists. Neighboring countries  such as Mali, Algeria and even Morocco  have a serious terrorist threat which requires them to adapt their resources to the new geopolitical environment. In their discussions, Mauritanian security specialists stress the need to address logistical deficiencies.

Mauritania also has an unfavorable geography for security. The countrys surface area is 1,081,000 square kilometers, most of which is desert, and its population is approximately 3.5 million. But despite that, Mauritania is courageously moving forward with its security plan. Internally, the country is trying to move on from the past, plagued by multiple government changes as well as political and economic problems.

Kaci Racelma is an Algerian journalist with Inter Press Service news agency and Afrik.com, an online magazine. He is based in Algiers and covers the North African region.
Update: A reader with some experience working on nuclear weapons in the military, was kind enough to provide some more specific information about the radiation risks in Chernobyl, so this essay has been updated accordingly.

Thirty-six years ago, a combination of defective Soviet technology, poor planning, and an all-encompassing need to please the communist bureaucracy unleashed hundreds of tons of radioactive poison. The atomic explosion at Chernobyl* admittedly killed hundreds of people and poisoned food and water supplies throughout much of Europe. A huge swath of the rolling wheatfields of Ukraine now left fallow and untenable are an unmistakable reminder of everything wrong with Soviet communism. But that is not the end of the nuclear nightmare. Putins invasion of Ukraine has now unearthed radiation that will kill hundreds, if not thousands, of his soldiers. The problem is not a new radiation release from the entombed Chernobyl plant. Instead, its the radiation lying in wait underground for the past 36 years, waiting to kill those who disturb it.

The 10th anniversary of the catastrophic meltdown at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was a big news story. In 1996, I was one of only two reporters inside the 30 km wide Zone of Estrangement, an area forbidden to the outside world. We had previously broadcast the story of a Swedish missionary who provided critically needed medical aid to the families of the Ukrainian firefighters who died fighting the atomic fire at the plant. His contacts got us inside the control room of the then still-operating reactor number three at the Chernobyl plant ten years after reactor number four exploded.

Thirty-six years ago, among other poisons, the meltdown released two highly radioactive elements, strontium 90 and cesium 137. A high percentage of that fallout fell within 10 km of the plant. Radiation does not last forever. Radioactive elements have half-lives. During each half-life, the radioactive element loses half of its poisonous power. Strontium 90 and cesium 137 both have half-lives of about 30 years. That means 36 years after the meltdown; they are still about 35% 43.5% as poisonous as they were the night the plant exploded. That night, they killed the firemen at the plant within hours. They have now reemerged to kill again.

The actual radiation danger above ground level at Chernobyl now is not exceptionally hazardous. Seasonal rains carried the fallout deep into the soil. As it seeped down into the underlying ground, the dirt above it provided some shielding for those at surface level. In terms of actual radiation levels, its about 500 counts per minute** anywhere within 10 km of the plant. In downtown Kyiv, its 80 counts per minute. But thats not excessive. The radiation level in Denver is about the same as in Kyiv because radiation comes from many sources, including the sun. As the mile-high city, Denver is simply closer to the suns radiation source.

The 500 counts per minute level at the small town of Chernobyl is certainly not conducive to the best health but it is livable. Buildings there have high-efficiency air filtration systems to try to keep the interior as radiation-free as possible.

But serious problems begin when you start to disturb the ground. The strontium 90 and cesium 137 that seeped into the ground are still there. Even at 35% 43.5%. they are still admitting very dangerous levels of a poison that no one can taste, see, smell, or feel. For example, in 1996, workers at the plant were building a new barbed wire fence. They dug holes about 2 feet deep for the support posts. The dirt extracted from the post holes measured anywhere from 5000 to 7500 counts per minute. The hazmat specialist who was with us said the deeper anyone dug, the higher the level of expected radiation.

Image: Chernobyls exploded fourth reactor by Joker345. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Putins forces overran the plant on February 24. In building their defensive positions, Putins troops dug foxholes, 6-foot-deep trenches, and revetment for tanks and artillery pieces into the earth south and west of the plant. They used bulldozers to dig deep into the dirt to push up protective berms.

The Pripyat River and marshy ground surrounding the river protect the plant against ground attacks from the north and east. But the Russians knew they had to defend against any Ukrainian avenue of attack from the west and south. We can only estimate the radioactive level of the dirt they unearthed as they dug holes to protect themselves. Best estimates predict radiation levels between 5000 and 10,000 counts per minute. The foxholes that protected them against the expected incoming Ukrainian counterattack also wrapped them in radioactive poison.

The fatality level in radiation poisoning is not determined by just the exposure level but also the time of exposure. The degree of deadly effect is a combination of the dosage level, those 5000 to 10,000 counts per minute, multiplied by the time the soldiers were irradiated. Our hazmat advisor recommended spending no more than a couple of minutes near that post hole. The Russian soldiers lived and slept in their foxholes and trenches 24 hours a day. Thats a month of living inside a radioactive cauldron.

Extended exposures at that 5000-10,000 counts level are not survivable. The fact that the Russian soldiers surrounding the plant developed symptoms this quickly indicates their fatally high level of accumulated exposure.

If you ever wondered how real this radiation poisoning is, the six firefighters who died from the radiation poisoning the night of the explosion had to be buried in lead-lined coffins to protect other people walking through the graveyard in the future.

There are some treatments for radiation exposure. Potassium Iodide and Prussian Blue capsules provide limited protection from low to moderate radiation exposure. However, the total radiation dosage Russian soldiers received far exceeds the ability of these medicines to provide any help.

The Russians admit they treated 200 soldiers for radiation poisoning. That is probably only a small percentage of those affected. There were probably at least 800 to 1000 Russian soldiers committed to defending Chernobyl from the Ukrainians. Others were there for limited times. Russians who received less but still deadly doses will not develop symptoms for weeks, months or even years. When they do, we can be sure Putin will not announce it to the world.

Another fate awaits Russian soldiers who received less than fatal doses. In 1986, communist officials forced at least 30,000 Soviet citizens living near the Chernobyl plant to move in the aftermath of the explosion. They were given six hours warning to collect a few belongings and then were bussed throughout the USSR.

The Russians did not allow anyone to keep records regarding their disposition or future medical conditions. Even today, there is no history of how many of them died due to the 1986 radiation poisoning. One Russian doctor with close Kremlin connections estimates more than 100,000 people have died due to radiation-caused cancers following the first Chernobyl radiation exposure.***

Now, the aftermath of everything wrong with dictatorial Russia has struck again. What will happen to those irradiated Russian soldiers who were exposed to the re-awakened Chernobyl disaster? Unfortunately, like so many things in Putins Russia, neither we nor the Russian people will ever be allowed to know.

Ed Sherdlu is the pen name of a former CBS television network reporter. He uses a pen name because his mother would be so embarrassed to know that Eds 12-Step Journalism Recovery Program had been a failure.

(This article has been updated to correct the number of years that have passed since the Chernobyl disaster.)

* The explosion wasn't "atomic" in the strictest sense. Instead, the explosion was caused by the uncontrolled power pulse and resultant internal pressure increase as the graphite moderators were forced back into the overheated core when the reactor operators scrammed the reactor by pushing the A5 button. That over-pressure ruptured the reactor, which led to graphite fires.

** The reader was concerned that "counts per minute" lacked a precise definition of what was being measured (REMs, milliREMs, etc.). This article, however, wasn't striving for such precision. Instead, it was intended only to show how far radiation measures at Chernobyl, which were on the officer's radiation measuring tool, deviated from safe measurements, regardless of precisely what was being measured. For that reason, a soldier exposed to abnormally high amounts for several weeks, regardless of the type of unit being measured, would be at serious risk.

*** The reader reminded me of something with which I heartily concur: Employed correctly, nuclear power is one of the most ecologically sound sources of power available -- and the next generation of nuclear reactors will be even more so.
Black Lives Matter Global Network, once the crown jewel of the Democrat Left, has become a major embarrassment that should cost the Democrats a lot of House and Senate seats this Novemberbut only if the Republican Party does not squander the opportunity the way it squandered it in 2020. That was when it came out that BLM was campaigning openly against Donald Trump while accepting 501(c)(3) tax-exempt money via ActBlue Charities, and with Thousand Currents and then the Tides Foundation as its fiscal sponsor. 501(c)(3) resources cannot be used to influence an election.

The RNC could have used this issue to evoke public revulsion against this abuse of voters' and donors' trust and support, and specifically the perception of voters and donors that they were supporting civil rights as opposed to a political campaign funded with charitable contributions. The RNC's failure to do this is why Joe Biden is now able to advance his dysfunctional domestic agenda which includes:

(1) carbon taxes and derailment of fossil fuel while gasoline, electricity, and home heating costs are skyrocketing,

(2) hidden taxes on middle-class investors through a higher corporate income tax, and

(3) attacks on the Second Amendment.

If you have mutual funds or an IRA, a higher corporate income tax is a tax on you even if you make less than $400,000 a year. We have met "the corporations" and they are us.

The RNC has meanwhile failed so far to highlight Kamala Harriss misuse of churches in Virginia to campaign for Terry McAuliffe, just as it did not call out BLM for using 501(c)(3) resources to campaign against Trump. This is why, in the absence of changes, I am not going to donate any money to the RNC because I don't believe in reinforcing failure. I will on the other hand provide this information via American Thinker and social media to help Rs win the House and Senate in 2022.

BLM is No Longer an Asset; it's an Albatross Around the Donkey's Neck

Part V, Line 46 of BLM's Form 990 for 2019-2020 asks whether the organization attempted to influence any election, and BLM checked off "No." This looks inconsistent with the organization's own website which, among other things, equated Trump to a Nazi with a neck tattoo and talked explicitly on another page about voting his administration out of office. While this Form 990 shows no income or expenditures, tens of millions of dollars did go to fiscal sponsor Thousand Currents (see page 99 of Form 990, Schedule O, for reference to BLM), which then apparently transferred the assets to the Tides Foundation.

Patrisse Cullors also campaigned against Trump (go to the last 10 seconds, We get Trump out of office by leading with bold and courageous action.). The group even took credit for influencing the 2020 election. "Alongside Black-led organizations around the nation, Black Lives Matter invested heavily in this election."

"BLMs #WhatMatters2020 is a campaign aimed to maximize the impact of the BLM movement by galvanizing BLM supporters and allies to the polls in the 2020 U.S Presidential Election to build collective power and ensure candidates are held accountable for the issues that systematically and disproportionately impact Black and under-served communities across the nation." While 501(c)(3) organizations are allowed to promote voter turnout, they must do so without any bias toward either candidate.

California issued BLM a delinquency notice regarding its tax filings and, while BLM still has a grace period in which to correct this, we have to wonder why this happened in the first place. We can speculate that trouble began when BLM's election-related activity came to light in 2020, but this is a pure inference from the circumstances at hand. An anti-Semitic hate group is defined not as one that merely disagrees with the policies of Israel but, rather, one that denies the right of Israel to exist. Patrisse Cullors, in her capacity as a BLM founder rather than speaking as an individual, said to step up boldly and courageously to end the imperialist project thats called Israel. BLM has meanwhile welcomed chants such as "Israel, we know you, you murder children too" at its rallies. BLM has condoned and even encouraged the criminal violence that results in the justifiable homicides about which it complains. This includes not just justifiable shootings of Black people but also of three Caucasians in Kenosha Wisconsin. BLM called it "murder" when a police officer shot Hakim Littleton for pointing a gun at the head of the officers partner and firing at least one round. Littleton was, luckily for the cop, a bad shot or it would have been "end of watch" for that officer or, according to some BLM graffiti artists, a "pig" who "oinked his last." The incident is on bodycam video. If you want Black lives to matter, don't tell them it is OK to point guns at other people except in self-defense.

BLM also implies it was OK for three Caucasian men to pursue and attack Kyle Rittenhouse who was, as determined by a court of law, within his rights to shoot his attackers with an AR-15. This is yet again the same mentality that gets people shot, and justifiably so, by police and armed citizens.

BLM also implies it was OK for Ricardo Munoz, who was armed with a knife (or "unarmed with a knife" according to Joe Biden), to rush a police officer. It is obvious from the bodycam video that the cop tried to deescalate by retreating and fired only after he could no longer retreat in complete safety.

BLM also thinks it was murder when a cop shot MaKhia Bryant, who had raised a knife above another Black person. The latter's Black life apparently did not matter very much to BLM, although it did to the cop who saved her. Here are the actual facts of the case including the bodycam video.

A (Caucasian) BLM activist meanwhile posted instructions on how to use an emergency vehicle escape tool to force entry into a car, cut the driver's seat belt, and "remove" the driver from his or her vehicle. YouTube apparently took this down for violating its terms of service, but I remember it very clearly. This is an outstanding way to get shot legally, run over legally, and/or sent to prison for a long time. Florida apparently treats a violent vehicle invasion as a violent home invasion which is punishable by life in prison.

BLM is therefore reminiscent of the very rare firefighter who commits arson so he can help put out the fires or, in this case, merely complain about them. We have no fewer than five blatant incidents shown above, plus general incitement to riot and commit arson, in which BLM promotes the very situations in which Black people and, in the case of the Rittenhouse assailants, Caucasians, are shot justifiably. This makes BLM part of the problem rather than the solution, and this needs to be made clear in the 2022 election season. If the RNC will not do this or follow up on the Kamala Harris scandal, we need to do it ourselves.

Civis Americanus is the pen name of a contributor who remembers the lessons of history and wants to ensure that our country never needs to learn those lessons again the hard way. He or she is remaining anonymous due to the likely prospect of being subjected to "cancel culture" for exposing the Big Lie behind Black Lives Matter.
No doubt, after the glorious victory in November 2022, a new Republican Congress will start to enact an America First agenda that, while honoring the needs of all Americans, will focus on the needs of ordinary middle-class Americans: the kind that obey the law, go to work, and follow the rules.

But there is another problem, a big problem, that the new Congress needs to tackle. And that is the cozy relationship between activist groups and the administrative state, including both the bureaucracy and the judiciary. Nothing is going to change unless their condominium is broken up.

We all know this and yet we dont, not really. But for me, it was illuminated like a shooting star across the night sky by a Ron Unz piece celebrating the 25th anniversary of his California Proposition 227 that ended the domination and hegemony of bilingual education. I blogged about his recollections here.

Ron started his campaign after reading about LA Latino garment workers protesting to have their kids taught English in school. If a kid was "limited English proficient," he would be stuck in Spanish language classes, and never really get to be literate in English. Unz found out that there was an education activist group backing bilingual education.

Although the bilingual advocates were relatively few in number, they were fiercely committed to their programs and intensely focused upon that sole, overriding issue, expressing the sort of fanaticism that persuaded far larger organizations to steer clear of any direct conflict.

And mainstream organizations, including the Democratic and Republican Parties and big corporations, dont like to rile up fiercely committed activists.

We have seen this operate in recent weeks in Florida's so-called dont say gay bill. I read a telling piece in Quillette that tipped me off to the central problem with gender-bending in schools.

Lawsuits filed under Title IX (the 1972 law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education) involved children whod been diagnosed as gender dysphoric, with courts being asked to view plaintiffs claims through the lens of medical need. And the judges proved amenable.

Really judges? Discrimination on the basis of sex includes failing to treat gender dysphoric children? Well yes, given how fiercely committed the gender advocates are to the normalization of gender-bending. And the Science! And if regime media is all in for LGBT issues, judges would want to be amenable. Because nobody wants to be on the wrong side of Science and fiercely committed advocates, unless his name is Ron DeSantis.

Then there are judges like Ketanji Brown Jackson that just instinctively follow their friends and just know that pedophilia is not such a big deal. And I dare say that there are a few advocacy groups fiercely committed to the decriminalization of pedophilia to help folks like her make up their minds.

Think about this, that I explored in Which Enemy is Best? last Fall. There are, I said, four political strategies, given that there is no politics without an enemy.

Unite the country against a small country for a quick win Unite the country against a big country for a world war Unite half the country against the other half for a civil war Unite most of the country against a small minority for a witch-hunt.

However, there is the concept developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, that the most intolerant wins so that a small intransigent minority can force the entire population to submit to their preferences. Except for one thing. As I wrote:

It requires an intransigent minority supported by the ruling class to force the entire population to submit to them. If the ruling class doesn't care about them, or actively wants to use the small minority as a punching bag, well, keep your heads down fellahs.

When our present ruling class was young, its over/under political formula was all about beating up a small minority of malefactors of great wealth to help the workers (See Strategy #4 above.)

But today the ruling class is beating up the majority on behalf of an advertised minority of oppressed peoples. (See Strategy #3 above). That is when they are not encouraging various intransigent minorities against the overwhelming majority.

Then you have a politician like Ron DeSantis. He is taking out after an intransigent minority on behalf of the overwhelming majority that doesnt want teachers talking to their kiddies about sex -- any sex, from Adam and Eve to whatever creative rubbish the LGBT intransigent minority came up with last week. I dont know about you, but I suspect that DeSantis is trying to execute on Strategy #4, uniting the majority against a small minority.

You can now see the outline of politics for the next decade. Will the intransigent activists continue to be supported by the deep state in media, the bureaucracy, and the judiciary? Or will a new generation of politicians marginalize and isolate the intransigent activists and remind the bureaucrats who pays their pensions?

Tune in for next weeks exciting episode.

Christopher Chantrill @chrischantrill runs the go-to site on US government finances, usgovernmentspending.com. Also get his American Manifesto and his Road to the Middle Class.

Image: Pixabay
Pope Francis, a leading advocate of Doormat Christianity, is at it again, trying to reverse nearly two millennia of Christian doctrine, by preaching total passivity -- even against violent aggression.

On March 18, 2022, Francis declared before an audience that A war is always -- always! -- the defeat of humanity, always. We, the educated, who work in education, are defeated by this war, because on another side we are responsible.

So far, all well and good, if only because such lofty but impotent words are expected. But then he went so far as to say that There is no such thing as a just war: they do not exist!

That is a remarkably dangerous claim, one that, if embraced -- as, no doubt, it is by millions of similar naive thinkers -- can easily lead to their annihilation.

There is, indeed, such a thing as a just war -- the only rational way of responding to unjust wars -- and it is firmly grounded in Christian, especially Catholic, teaching, even if the head of the Catholic world argues otherwise.

In fact, from the very start, Christian theologians had concluded that the so called charity texts of the New Testament that preached passivism and forgiveness, not retaliation, were firmly defined as applying to the beliefs and behavior of the private person [and not the state], to quote historian Christopher Tyerman.

Christ himself -- who called on his followers to render unto Caesar what is Caesars and unto God what is Gods (Matt. 22:21) -- differentiated between the social and spiritual realms. In the only recorded instance of Jesus being slapped, he did not turn the other cheek, but rather challenged his slapper to explain himself (John 18:2223). The Nazarene further praised a Roman centurion without calling on him to repent by resigning from one of the most brutal militaries in world history (Matt. 8: 513). Similarly, when a group of soldiers asked John the Baptist how they should repent, he advised them always to be content with their army wages (Luke 3:14) -- and said nothing about their quitting the Roman army.

This is because there is no intrinsic contradiction, continues Tyerman, in a doctrine of personal, individual forgiveness condoning certain forms of necessary public violence to ensure the security in which, in St. Pauls phrase, Christians may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty (1 Tim. 2:2).

Or in the words of that chief articulator of Just War theory, Saint Augustine (354430), It is the injustice of the opposing side that lays on the wise man the duty to wage war. Crusades historian Jonathan Riley-Smith elaborates:

What was evil in war itself? Augustine had asked. The real evils were not the deaths of those who would have died anyway, but the love of violence, cruelty, and enmity; it was generally to punish such that good men undertook wars in obedience to God or some lawful authority Expeditions to the Levant, North Africa, or the Iberian Peninsula could be justified as responses to present Muslim aggression or as rightful attempts to recover Christian territory which had been injuriously seized in the past. [For more on the intricacies of just war theory, especially as compared and contrasted with unjust wars, which do merit condemnation, read Just War vs. Just Plain Old Jihad.]

Make no mistake: without just wars and the brave men who undertook them, the world today would be a very different place. Europe, for instance, would have been Islamic -- and not by willingly capitulating, as it is now, but by force: countless jihads were waged against it and other Christian nations; and they were repulsed only by the force of arms -- by war, just war.

Indeed, even the Vatican itself, whence Pope Francis issues his lofty words of peace and love, has long been targeted and even attacked (for example in 846) by Muslims, and was saved only thanks to men acting in accordance with just war theory.

There is nothing wrong with Pope Franciss generic condemnation of war and its horrors. It is his usual lack of distinction -- in this case, conflating just with unjust wars -- that is problematic, if not suicidal.

Raymond Ibrahim, author of the new book, Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam, is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute.

Image: Library of Congress
After World War II, most people were willing to forgive the Germans. That was because, under the Nazi regime, many Germans lacked access to accurate information. Though some of them suspected something, their brainwashed minds forced them to dismiss it as false. It is expected that the consequences of the present Russian-Ukrainian war will be quite different because the vast majority of Ukraine is covered by 4G or 4G LTE mobile networks.

Similar to Ukraine, Russia's mobile networks and Internet coverage are almost 100%, at least in populated areas. Citizens of Russia have access to truthful information (or whatever remains of it during the war). Unlike postwar Germany, Russians are not likely to be forgiven this time. It will no longer be acceptable to say, "We didn't know" or "We just followed orders."

The Russian units had been identified before entering Ukrainian territory. Each commander had been singled out. Leaks have been reported of a database containing 120 thousand Russian soldiers and officers fighting in Ukraine. The names, addresses, passports, and military identifications of these individuals have been published. Additionally, a massive data-mining operation with open (and some illegally obtained but commonly available in Russia) sources revealed every Russian invader's phone numbers, family members, travel patterns, photographs, friends, and parents. It has never happened before; recall that the Internet does not have a "delete" button. The world will access everything it knows about the aggressors in perpetuity. For the first time in history, the victim of the aggression makes sure that every Russian will soon google what their loved one has done in Ukraine.

Today's generation of Russians, like the rest of the world, have no access to the names of those Soviet "liberators" who raped millions of German girls in 1945. However, the names of those Russians who raped Ukrainian girls (some of whom were under ten years old) are filed and are potentially accessible on the Internet for everyone to see. Atrocities committed by Soviet troops in "liberated" by Stalin European countries in World War II are not widely recognized but remembered by the locals. Some countries are familiar with the Russian "liberators" to a greater degree before World War II, such as Poland, Finland, and the Baltic states.

It is a matter of a state secret that the death toll of Russian soldiers is kept confidential. However, with bureaucratic punctuality, the Russian Ministry of Defense (or rather the Ministry of Offense) publishes a list of military decorations. Details such as names, DoBs, army units, etc., are included in the description. The point is that published data indicates whether a medal was awarded posthumously. There is an established strict numbering system for military decorations. The sequence of awards' numbers with the posthumous mark provides the best estimate of Russians killed in action in Ukraine, as indirectly confirmed by the Russians themselves. That number is currently an order of magnitude higher than what Russian propaganda claims.

Shortly after the attack, local carriers canceled the registration of Russia-issued cell phones on Ukrainian mobile networks. Having robbed the local Ukrainian population of cell phones, the attackers became ecstatic that they could now contact their loved ones for free. However, nobody told them that Ukrainian intelligence has access to all phone calls via Ukrainian networks. As a result, it is the first war in which practically all communications among the "liberators" are intercepted and recorded. Moreover, all telephone calls between the invading units and their relatives in Russia were captured and documented, along with all metadata (geolocation, timestamp, and the two telephone numbers).

U krainian intelligence quickly traced calls made from the territory of Ukraine to Russian phone numbers. These stolen Ukrainian cell phone numbers are made into targets of the Ukrainian digital campaign designed to influence the current smartphone user (presumably a Russian soldier) to defect. Similarly, the corresponding Russian telephone numbers are intended to cultivate distrust, panic, and diverse anti-Putin narratives. Russian soldiers are receiving frightening text messages: indeed, after the war, we will find you; revenge by Ukrainians is imminent; neither you nor your family members are safe, even if you never depart Russia. One message reads, "Maybe not today, but tomorrow or in a year, you will die. We are coming after you."

The Russians likely had world-class secure communication equipment prior to the invasion. This equipment, however, is rarely used because of a lack of training. Thus, virtually no one among the invaders uses scrambled (encrypted) communication modes. Instead, Russian crews use known radio frequencies operated by inexperienced conscripts. Ukrainian intelligence received complete knowledge of Russian operations through an open wireless exchange. At the beginning of the conflict, Ukrainian radio amateurs published known Russian military frequencies, and a worldwide volunteer army of radio amateurs jumped in and drowned Russian radio traffic in interference.

The practice was later suppressed by Ukrainian intelligence because of the importance of SIGINT information. After that, the international radio amateur community banned Russian radio amateurs from most international contests for the first time in history. At this time, Russians are still operating openly on short-wave radio and Ukrainian cellular phones. However, some are still baffled about how Ukrainian long-distance artillery batteries became aware of their precise positions.

Two factors initially shocked the world: the lack of professionalism of the Russian attackers and the significant level of professionalism of Ukrainian defenders. Today, the world is surprised that the Russians have not much tried to cover up their atrocities perpetrated on the temporarily occupied (and recently liberated) Ukrainian territories. It appears no one informed them that targeting civilians is a war crime. The fact stands that some Russians -- soldiers and officers -- may not have been familiar with the Geneva Convention. Furthermore, they did not have a great deal of knowledge about Ukraine: nobody in the Russian military was mindful of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, so they foolishly dug trenches in the still-deadly radioactive forest.

The atrocities perpetrated in Ukraine are essentially unerasable. The high-resolution photographs and recorded metadata will be accepted as evidence by military tribunals after the war. For example, hackers gained access to a security camera in a Belarussian military post office and uploaded the video online. Therefore, anybody can witness for several hours what Russian marauders brought with them from Ukraine and sent to their families in Russia -- from frying pans to toys to laptops to women's underwear to toilets (including the used ones).

At this point, the war has reached a complete digital internationalization phase. Prime Minister Winston Churchill assembled a worldwide coalition to combat the Nazis over two tough years. President Zelensky used 21st-century digital technology to accomplish the same within just two weeks. Accordingly, it became the first war in which every square inch of battleground territory was filmed either from space or drones. Furthermore, it is the first war in which most firefights and post-battle dispositions were captured on cell phones and uploaded to the Internet. In other words, the current conflict is genuine, the First Digital War.

Military historians have noted for some time that in a duel between armor and a projectile, the projectile consistently prevails. The first large-scale conflict of the 21st century in Europe may produce another adage: in the end, digital truth always triumphs over digital propaganda, despite initial setbacks.

Gary Gindler, Ph.D., is a conservative columnist at Gary Gindler Chronicles and a new science founder: Politiphysics. Follow him on Twitter.

Image: Sgt. 1st Class Mark Bell
The road to war, like the road to hell, is sometimes paved with good intentions. We appear to be chugging toward a broader European war involving nuclear-armed powers, seemingly unable to get off a rhetorical treadmill headed to catastrophe. The New York Post reports that the leader of Poland's ruling Law and Justice Party said Poland would be "open" to having U.S. nuclear weapons deployed on its territory and suggested that the American military presence should be significantly increased on NATO's "eastern flank" in Poland and the Baltic states.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's president accused Russia of committing "genocide," and President Biden called for Vladimir Putin to face a war crimes trial over civilian deaths in Ukraine. And the American media's coverage of the war is reminiscent of the "yellow journalism" of the Hearst and Pulitzer newspapers that pushed the country toward war against Spain in 1898.

Public opinion in democracies can be, and has often been, manufactured by political leaders and irresponsible media organs. The great American diplomat and historian George Kennan, in discussing the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, explained that a leaked indiscreet letter about President McKinley coupled with the sinking of the battleship Maine  both sensationalized and misinterpreted by the media  led "our government, to the accompaniment of great congressional and popular acclaim, inaugurat[ing] hostilities against another country in a situation of which ... the possibilities of settlement by measures short of war had by no means been exhausted." In America's resort to war against Spain, Kennan wrote, "there was not much solemn and careful deliberation, not much prudent and orderly measuring of the national interest."

The Spanish-American War was a limited regional war against a fading empire. A war between NATO and Russia would be exponentially greater and more destructive. In many ways, the regional war between Russia and Ukraine is comparable to the regional war between Austria-Hungary and the small Balkan state of Serbia in 1914. History teaches about the sorrowful, tragic, step-by-step descent into the cataclysm of the First World War, structured by rival alliances and inflamed by national passions. When the United States finally joined the conflict, it did so not due to a calm and reasoned calculation of geopolitical interests, but because of passions generated by unrestricted submarine warfare and the treachery of the Zimmerman Telegram  and, later, to "make the world safe for democracy."

Again, it was George Kennan who saw how political leaders and media commentators in a democracy can manipulate "public opinion." He wrote:

I ... suspect that what purports to be public opinion in most countries that consider themselves to have popular government is often not really the consensus of the feelings of the mass of the people at all but rather the expression of the interests of special highly vocal minorities  politicians, commentators, and publicity-seekers of all sorts; people who live by their ability to draw attention to themselves and die, like fish out of water, if they are compelled to remain silent. These people take refuge in the pat and chauvinistic slogans because they are incapable of under-standing any others, because these slogans are safer from the standpoint of short-term gain, because the truth is sometimes a poor competitor in the marketplace of ideas  complicated, unsatisfying, full of dilemmas, always vulnerable to mis-interpretation and abuse.

Once the carnage of the First World War ensued, no one, it seemed, could stop it. Winston Churchill memorably described this in The World Crisis: "Events passed very largely outside the scope of conscious choice. Governments and individuals conformed to the rhythm of the tragedy, and swayed and staggered forward in helpless violence, slaughtering and squandering on ever-increasing scales, till injuries were wrought to the structure of human society which a century will not efface and which may conceivably prove fatal to the present civilization."

We are watching today the United States' political leaders and media outlets substituting chauvinistic slogans for realistic terms for ending the Russia-Ukraine war before it spins out of control. Poland's invitation to house U.S. nuclear weapons and increase the number and forward deployment of U.S. troops, and President Biden's call for a war crimes trial for the Russian president, only inflame an already dangerous situation. What we need, in Kennan's words, is "solemn and careful deliberation" and a "prudent and orderly measuring of the national interest."

Image: Trey Ratcliff via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
After a year in office, it is clear to most Americans, and much of the free world, that President Biden is no Reagan, Trump, or even Clinton.

Putting it kindly, Biden is no originalist. He doesn't have one uniquely Biden policy. Biden is merely the front man, the mouthpiece for the background bureaucrats who set America's course and craft America's direction.

That's why he has little to say about the disaster at America's southern border. This is a policy set by radical socialists and the cynical wing of the Democrat party to flood the country with millions of people who will be dependent on a socialistic government for eternal handouts.

Biden is silent on this issue. He has not been issued with cue cards to explain away the tsunami of destitute people, the massive import of deadly drugs and sex-traffickers, the result of a borderless America. It's a stealth operation, and the president has been told not to take questions and not to talk about this huge problem that will debilitate the American economy and its social fabric for decades.

That's just one aspect of the failure of the current president to face up to domestic problems that weren't there before he took office. Another is the economy. A third is the way they educate  read: indoctrinate  kids these days.

When it comes to foreign policy, Biden is the puppet of his handlers.

We saw that played out in Afghanistan, where his military, intelligence, and State Department set him on a course that was doomed to fail.

If there is a common theme that connects Biden's domestic and foreign failures, it is the Cancel Trump policy.

Whatever Trump succeeded in doing, cancel it.

On his first day in the Oval Office, Biden canceled the Keystone Pipeline and lifted sanctions off Russia's Nord Stream pipeline to Europe. How is that working out after Putin invaded Ukraine?

Trying to do things better than  or should I say differently from  Trump was seen in the bungled, deadly Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan.

As the time of writing this piece, we see America dangling by a thread being pulled by Iran and Russia, who are having fun embarrassing Biden in Vienna. At least four members of Robert Malley's negotiating team have walked off the job, with one reporting, "What is going on in Vienna is an absolute disaster."

If that is what a top American negotiator is feeling, how do you expect Israel to feel? After all, Iran's almost inevitable nuclear weapon will be aimed first at Israel.

So what happened to the United States who once looked on Israel as its staunchest ally?

Under Biden, those days are over.

How did that happen? It began before Biden became president.

Biden likes to talk about how fond he was with Golda Meir. That's how far he goes back. But he wasn't so fond of Menachem Begin, or of Benjamin Netanyahu. He raked both over the coals to be rebuked by Begin, when Biden, then a Delaware senator, threatened to cut off United States aid to the Jewish State in 1982.

Don't threaten us with cutting off your aid. It will not work. I am not a Jew with trembling knees. I am a proud Jew with 3,700 years of civilized history. Nobody came to our aid when we were dying in the gas chambers and ovens. Nobody came to our aid when we were striving to create our country. We paid for it. We fought for it. We died for it. We will stand by our principles. We will defend them. And, when necessary, we will die for them again, with or without your aid.

Biden's relationship with Netanyahu soured several times during Bibi's premiership. In 2019, Biden accused Israel's prime minister of being "counterproductive" and an "extreme right" leader.

But the harshest anti-Israel cut of all was when Obama recruited Biden, his vice president, and his point man to Ukraine, to bring that country onboard in their United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemned Jewish people living in Judea and Samaria and parts of Jerusalem as being illegal occupiers, according to the Obama-Biden vindictive new international law.

This was their last spiteful act, stabbing Israel in the back, as they left the White House in December 2016.

It was payback time against Netanyahu's vocal opposition to Obama's infamous Iran nuclear deal.

Now Biden is attempting to cancel Trump's sanctions against the rogue regime in Tehran, a state sponsor of terror that has deceived the world about its covert uranium enrichment progress  the Iranians are now up to 60% and within reach of 90%, making Iran a nuclear threshold state  by concocting an even worse deal than Obama's.

Biden's deal will release the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps from the United States list of foreign terrorist organizations despite their deplorable record of deadly attacks against Israel, the UAE, other Gulf States, and Saudi Arabia as they try to usurp power in Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon.

For no solid commitment from Iran to stop its nuclear development or expansion into the region, Biden is prepared to reward the unrepentant ayatollahs with billions of dollars in sanctions relief and the green light to export oil production that will enrich Iran's intercontinental ballistic missile program, the vehicle that will deliver the doomsday weapon to Israel and potentially to the United States.

Biden can say he overrode yet another Trump policy, but that gives little comfort to an Israel, smaller than New Jersey, faced with both a nuclear threat and Iranian forces and their proxies with 300,000 powerful precision missiles aimed at us over our northern, eastern, and southern borders.

Biden's animosity toward Israel also expresses itself in a new directive. His administration is offering a million-dollar bounty to any group reporting Israeli human rights violations against Palestinians. This reward is not reciprocal. He is not demanding evidence of Palestinian deadly human rights crimes, even war crimes, committed by their terrorist armies and individuals against Israeli citizens, nor their blatant anti-Semitic indoctrination programs clamoring for a world without Israel. Biden is not even prepared to offer money to Palestinian human rights groups who want to report human rights crimes committed by their own leaders in Ramallah or in Gaza in which their citizens are summarily arrested, taken to detention centers, tortured, and killed for protesting their cruel and corrupt rule.

It's only Israel they are after.

Attention must be brought to the administration's determination to break international law by revoking Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem, our eternal capital. The State Department is determined to open a consulate in Jerusalem to exclusively serve Palestinians. This is an affront to the dignity and sovereignty of the nation-state of Israel and against all international principles. Antony Blinken is determined to press ahead with this Palestinian mission in the heart of Jerusalem over strenuous Israeli objections.

Biden could open his consulate in either Ramallah or Gaza City, where the competing and warring Palestinian leaderships administer their divided populations, but he won't.

It is yet another example of Biden's antagonism against Israel.

I am certain it is not Biden inventing these provocative policies. It is, for sure, the anti-Israel, dare I say anti-Jewish, bureaucrats, lobbyists, and activists who have been allowed to insert themselves into positions of power and decision-making in Congress, the White House, the State Department, and other government offices and are now being foisted onto a president attempting to appease the radical anti-Israel base within his administration and his party.

Remember this the next time you hear Democrats saying how much they stand with Israel.

These are troubling times for Israel.

Barry Shaw, international public diplomacy director, Israel Institute for Strategic Studies.

Photo credit: Monica Showalter.
The Ukraine refugee situation is the worst in Europe since WWII, reminding us of the 1990s, when Yugoslavia broke into warring states. The bulk of the support to the Ukrainian military and refugees is provided by European countries, since they are closest to the theater. As of April 4, over 4.2 million people have left Ukraine. Another 7 million have had to relocate within the country as their homes, neighborhoods, and towns have been destroyed.

The greatest number of refugees (over two million) have relocated to Poland, where the nation has welcomed people to their homes. Many of the remaining refugees have gone to bordering countries such as Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia, and Russia (some against their will). These nations have hesitated at creating refugee camps, which become long-term or permanent settlements. Refugees need food, clothing, sleeping facilities, medicines, and surgical care, as well as education for children.

So far, Joe Biden has indicated that we would allow 100,000 Ukrainian refugees into our country. This has yet to happen, and the State Department is notoriously slow at bureaucratic maneuvers. They never thought the Ukrainians could put up a significant resistance. The administration is risk-adverse (in foreign relations), so it has been late to the effort.

The strength of American society is the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of productive citizens. Individuals with special forces and intelligence experience helped secure the escape of many from Afghanistan without the help of the State Department during 2021. Similar people of all nationalities are doing the same in Ukraine. We hear of Ukrainian soldiers lacking guns, boots, protective vests, and ammunition. But non-governmental agencies are working to get around these problems as bureaucrats waste precious time. The history of corruption in Ukraine does complicate the situation, so one must donate to reputable agencies with established contacts.

A list of some agencies helping refugees and those within the country includes these: Global Empowerment Mission, World Central Kitchen, Maya's Hope, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Kidsave, Mercy Corps, Americares, United Way Ukraine Fund, International Committee of the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and Spirit of America among many other groups. The funds donated by regular people will make a difference.

Personally, I have donated to several different groups. My synagogue held a fundraiser with a Klezmer (traditional Jewish music) band (Klezmer Local 42 of Athens, GA), including a bake sale and silent auction that raised thousands of dollars. Within my community, a church sent a delegation to Romania to help refugees. They raised thousands of dollars from my Rotary Club. I have given to the Chabad effort in Ukraine and to the National Jewish Federation through my local chapter. Americans are generous, but there are selfish reasons to help the Ukrainians. They are the bulwark against the aggressive behavior of yet another European dictator.

Today, we can make a difference since many have the financial means to help those resisting evil. We can't wait while our corrupt and inefficient government waffles about involvement. After all, these are the same people who bungled the withdrawal from Afghanistan last year. Europeans cannot wait for Biden to lead; neither can we.

Image: Mvs.gov.ua.
TV was never more must-see. So much to unpack from the shocking footage that we've all seen by now, of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. Smith way overreacted to Rock's joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. Many people who dislike the joke and relate to Smith's felt need to protect his wife nevertheless understand that Smith was dead wrong.

Make no mistake: Black-on-Black crime took place on the world ceremonial stage that night. Smith is lucky that the Los Angeles Police Department didn't arrest him for assault and battery. He has Rock to thank for refusing to press charges. We all have Rock to thank for de-escalating a situation that could easily have spiraled out of control.

What if Rock had swung back at Smith after getting slapped in the face? What if Rock had barreled into Smith's back as Smith smugly walked back to his seat? Imagine the melee if Rock had "kept it real" by reacting to Smith in kind.

Yes, Smith has four inches and some forty pounds on Rock and did once play Muhammad Ali. But don't think for a moment that Rock stayed his hand out of fear. He stayed his hand out of commitment to the professional ethos: the show must go on.

It took only a few seconds for Rock to take back command of the stage, to joke: "Will Smith just smacked the s--- out of me!" I suspect that the real reason that Smith cussed out Rock was because Rock effectively laughed right back in his face. Rock nonchalantly moved on in a type of jiu-jitsu that further enraged the bully.

Rock's left cheek was smarting, and he was getting cussed out on live TV, yet he kept his head even as Smith was losing his. Rock said: "Wow, dude. It was a G.I. Jane joke."

Many people wonder whether Rock knew about Mrs. Smith's alopecia, a medical condition that causes hair loss. Given Black women's hair sensitivity, some think Rock should have known better than to go there, especially since he had already made a documentary film on the topic.

Rock apparently didn't know about Mrs. Smith's medical condition. Regardless, why should pointing out a woman's bald head be inherently insulting? Consider that back in 1997, one of the most beautiful women in the world, Demi Moore, played G.I. Jane. The movie depicts a bald and beautiful and bad-ass feminist icon. So it's not far-fetched that Rock might have meant the joke as a back-handed compliment to a beautiful Black woman.

But the Smiths took the joke in the worst way. And so Rock agreed to Will Smith's F-bomb demand concerning his wife. Again, we should not think Rock was afraid. We can hear Rock restraining himself at the 1:06 mark: "Oh I could, oh, OK..." He checked himself because he was committed to the professional ethos: the show must go on.

Understand: Chris Rock may be the greatest comedian of his generation. In that moment, he could have verbally destroyed the easy-target Smiths. But his Zen-like restraint allowed for the punch line:

"That was the greatest night in the history of television."

Note the past tense. Just moments before and on live television, the man had been assaulted and cussed out by Will freaking Smith. Yet there he was, in real time, already looking ahead of the surreal situation.

The world has seldom seen such grace under pressure. Black men today can thus stand taller, despite all the hand-wringing about the fate of Black America because of a certain Hollywood star's sudden fall from grace. For, thanks to Rock's character and professional discipline decades in the making...the show did go on.

Image: Andy Witchger.
There is no more solemn duty obligating the Senate than to advise upon the nomination of a Supreme Court justice. Few other matters will ever be as weighty or have results as potentially long-lasting.

Controversy has swirled for two years, ever since Biden's announcement that he would nominate a black woman to the United States Supreme Court. The blatant discrimination, racism, and sexism in both his statement and the actuality stick in many Americans' throats  for good and numerous reasons.

So far, Judge Jackson has testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Since then, it's been revealed that the White House shared documents with the Democrat members of that committee but not the Republicans. The government has refused to release documents to the committee from her time on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The courts have not released even redacted court documents that some committee members requested, documents that would shed light on Judge Jackson's judicial philosophy.

And now Judge Jackson's written responses to questions from the Senate committee have been made public. Andrea Widburg provides a thorough review of her extremely disturbing answers (page 79) regarding natural law.

A perusal of her 303-page response to the committee's questions shows that this is not her only statement that might need clarification. Her very first answer, on what constitutes her judicial philosophy, was a dry recitation of her judicial process  two very different things. Further questions (page 9) elicited a description of her judicial approach, still not the same thing.



Image by Andrea Widburg using a YouTube screen grab.

On page 15, Judge Jackson says, "[O]ffensive speech may be entitled to First Amendment protections." She then cites a decision that declares firmly that such speech is protected. As I mentioned in a previous article, sloppy writing. Sloppy thinking? Careless words have no place on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now that Judge Jackson's written responses are in, senators need an opportunity to further explore with her the foundations of her judicial philosophy. They need to clarify with her what she indicated by "natural law" so that both sides understand what was asked and what the answer means. It is imperative that she be given a full hearing on her suitability for the nominated position. Hanging controversy helps no one here.

Will Judge Jackson continue to make interpretations of the law in the same manner that resulted in some of them being overturned (page 28 and following)? Does she truly, as she contends throughout, adhere to the full constitutional meaning and precedent, or has she simply been unsuccessful in having bench-made law stick?

Senators need an opportunity to explore further her use of non-statutory language (page 34) and caustic rhetoric (page 328).

By continuing to call "illegal aliens" (statutory language) "noncitizens" (page 112), she persists in refusing to acknowledge that some noncitizens are lawfully admitted permanent residents, some are lawfully admitted temporary visitors, some were lawfully admitted but are now out of status, and some have never been lawfully admitted. She muddles the language at the same time she claims to be speaking clearly and making the law understood. Will she persist in using non-statutory language if confirmed?

It would be interesting to know whether she prepared these responses by herself or if she had help drafting her answers.

Senators should take every opportunity to further clarify her words and her suitability for such a position. I stand by my previous call to vote against her confirmation. Absent that, one can only hope Justice Breyer changes his mind.

Anony Mee is the nom de blog of a retired public servant.
So President Obama is returning to the White House.

According to Reuters:

WASHINGTON, April 5 (Reuters)  Former President Barack Obama will return to the White House on Tuesday for the first time since leaving office in 2017 to tout the benefits of his signature healthcare law and offer backing to his friend and former governing partner, President Joe Biden.

Ah, Obamacare. That 2010 government health takeover known as "Obamacare," whose costs for consumers have tripled. Obama, in fact, is coming to the White House now to help "celebrate" a fix that Joe Biden is proposing to put in, known as "the family glitch." Axios explains that pretty well here, calling Joe's supposed improvement a "lifeline" for the money-eating program.

But it's all so nicey-nice. Obama, you see, despite not having been invited to the White House once in 16 months, despite living in a nearby Kalorama mansion, just wants to drop by and help an old friend.

According to Reuters, Joe and Barack are simply the best of friends.

They're taking it from White House spokesweasel Jen Psaki:

Obama and Biden became friends during Obama's time in office, meeting for lunch weekly. Their families became close and Obama spoke at the funeral of Biden's son, Beau. The two men will have lunch on Tuesday, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said. "They are real friends, not just Washington friends, and so I'm sure they will talk about events in the world as well as their families and personal lives," Psaki told reporters on Monday.

Lots of chat about the grandchildren, maybe the way Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch used to do whenever they bumped into one another at Phoenix airports?

It smells like White House spin.

Start with the mechanics of it.

The "family glitch" fix that Joe's putting in as a regulatory change is Joe's "accomplishment," his fulfilled campaign promise on Obamacare to "mend it, don't end it."

Why would Joe be inviting Obama over to claim credit for that rare "accomplishment" that Joe can call his own? Politicians don't work like that.

The claims to warmth and friendship are even more suspect, given Obama's known contempt for the clownish, senile Biden.

"Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f--- things up."

"You don't have to do this, Joe..."

Recall also that Biden had to beg Obama to call him "Mr. Vice President," given the contemptuous nicknames Obama was flinging around to staff early in Obama's term.

Obama refused to endorse Biden for president until it was impossible not to, way late in the campaign, and he never went out campaigning with his basement-dwelling best buddy.

Recall also that Obama's political protegee, Kamala Harris, pretty well called Joe a racist during the 2020 campaign.

Fact is, Obama despises Joe Biden, and everyone knows it.

Hauling Obama in to tout Joe's Obamacare "fix" is ridiculous stuff, particularly since, as Axios notes, the "fix" won't fix the monster Obamacare premium hikes scheduled to roll in by the end of the year.

Axios likely correctly notes that Biden is flailing at the polls, and Obama is the Democrat party's big gun, the guy who has successfully used Obamacare to help Democrats in the polls. He's the guy being called in to help bail Joe Biden out.

For Obama, it's clean-up on Aisle 46. His mission is to bolster Joe Biden ahead of the midterms, even as Obama pretends he's happy about Joe Biden's "fix" to the health care mandate and Joe and Barack are the best of friends.

Who believes that? Only a deluded Democrat and their media allies.

File this under the palace guard making moves.

Image: Screen shot from FacebookDay video via shareable YouTube.
Recently, the White House said it plans to release up to 180 million barrels of oil from America's strategic reserves, a million barrels a day for 180 days, to help bring down near-record gas prices that were climbing well before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This will be the largest release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve since it was established in the early 1970s. It should be noted that the Strategic Reserve is an "emergency" stockpile of petroleum created in 1975 after oil supplies were interrupted during the 19731974 oil embargo. It exists to mitigate future supply disruptions and should not be used as a political bargaining chip.

The release of oil is just the latest in a string of haphazard, impromptu policies that have sown confusion among our allies and projected weakness and indecision to the wider world.

Some fault Biden for not doing more to help the Ukrainians, some for doing too much and risking open war with a nuclear power. What these critics share is the belief that Biden's contradictory signals over the past month  halfhearted and constantly shifting military aid to Ukraine, the absence of any off-ramps for Russia, total economic war on Moscow  have been more dangerous than any clear, consistent and integrated policy.

At this point, no one is sure what the Biden administration's plan is to help end the war in Ukraine, what it thinks a stable peace might look like, or even if regime change in Moscow is really off the table as a matter of White House policy. Biden has announced no conditions for the easing of sanctions on Russia, articulated no vision for how Ukraine might "win," or what the end state might look like.

All this suggests that President Biden has no idea what the overriding American national interest is or what our national security strategy should be  in Ukraine or anywhere else. He seems only to have a vague sense that large and powerful countries should not invade their smaller and weaker neighbors. But when they do, how should America respond? What goals or national interests should guide our response? What should our priorities be? Biden and his advisers don't seem to know.

They had better figure it out and soon. What we need now is that which we have least: clarity and resolve. We need clarity about our chief adversary, China, and the resolve to prioritize the containment of China above all else.

Indeed, we need not just a defense strategy to contain China, but an integrated economic strategy as well. That includes policies aimed at U.S. corporations that do business in China, allies that trade with China, and indeed a wholesale reassessment of global trade and global supply chains. China is our only peer competitor, and without a laser-like focus on containing Beijing, we will likely find ourselves before long watching another large country (the PRC) invade a smaller one (Taiwan). Deja vu...

If that happens, let's hope that this time, we will not be making it up on the fly. A clear and present danger is before us, and a strong hand on the helm is required.

James Poplar, captain, U.S. Navy (ret).

Photo credit: Montage by Monica Showalter.
At this point, the Hunter Biden drama could go in two directions:

First, we may have evidence that the "big guy" described in his abandoned laptop computer was President Biden.

If so, then it's Spiro Agnew Gerald Ford all over again, and Vice President Harris will finally move into the Oval Office.

Second, and more likely, there won't be any evidence of a direct connection. In other words, we won't find canceled checks payable to Joe Biden or a "finder's fee" for Dad.

Nevertheless, it will smell really bad.

Under the first scenario, President Biden will be forced to resign. Under the second scenario, the Democrats will be hoping he resigns and stays permanently in Delaware.

Biden can't win because of the way the media tell the whole story, as New York Post columnist Michael Goodwin noted:

The federal probe of Hunter Biden is no longer taboo, and the media floodgates are opening. Where once The New York Post stood alone in reporting the skeezy details of the many millions the first son gained by selling his family name overseas, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and CBS News, among others, are belatedly joining the chase and conceding e-mails found on a laptop Hunter abandoned are authentic, just as The Post said they were 17 months ago. Even network correspondents are asking pointed questions about the president's insistence in a 2020 campaign debate that "nothing was unethical" about Hunter's lucrative foreign entanglements.

In other words, the same media that protected Biden from the New York Post in 2020 is now forced to investigate him because the Hunter Biden story is just too explosive.

So what happens now? My guess is that voters will cut Biden some slack based on the fact that Hunter turned out to be a cocaine- and sex-addicted jerk. It happens in many families. Voters won't be so nice, though, about the way Dad let his son get away with so much. Biden could have ended this charade of corruption years ago, but he did not stand up to his son. He enabled the whole sorry story because he was weak, a quality we've seen too often in his presidency on many fronts.

PS: Click for my videos and podcasts at Canto Talk.

Image: acaben via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
On Monday, news broke that Elon Musk, the world's richest man, in one fell swoop also became the single largest stakeholder in Twitter, for he now owns 9.2% of its shares. The big question now is whether he intends to use his position to push for change in a platform that has become a toxic echo chamber for "woke" ideas and cancel culture, even as it relentlessly silences opposing views.

If I had to describe Musk, I'd call him an eccentric libertarian who is, nevertheless, just a little suspect in that role, given his commitment to alternative energy and climate change principles. He's also an outspoken visionary and genius.

Perhaps most importantly, unlike so many other billionaires whom the mob can still silence, Musk speaks his mind. He outraged the woke mob when he supported hydroxychloroquine treatments for COVID (almost certainly helpful), stated that children are not vulnerable to COVID (true), was suspicious of government COVID death statistics (which the CDC has since revised), and criticized lockdowns (which the government concedes made no difference). He's also criticized the push in Western countries to lower the birth rate below replacement level; attacked public transportation; and, most recently, when Biden's policies drove up fuel prices, called for more drilling.

Like President Trump, Musk is a billionaire who's enjoyed using Twitter as a platform for his opinions. That's why it was stunning when, a week ago, Musk made it clear that he believes that Twitter, as the modern town square, rather than shutting down free speech, must be a free speech platform  or be overtaken by competing technology:

Is a new platform needed?  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2022

To show that the question in the poll should be taken seriously, Musk added, "The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully."

As for that embedded poll, Musk got 2,035,924 votes (as of last count) with 70.4% voting that, "no," Twitter does not rigorously adhere to the principle that "free speech is essential to a functioning democracy."

Just a few days later after that important (albeit non-scientific) poll, Musk purchased 9.2% of Twitter's publicly available shares. While that's a far cry from a majority of shares, it's still left Musk as Twitter's biggest stakeholder, a powerful position. That's why Musk's latest (April 4) tweet hints that he has the power to bring about change, even if it's only an edit button for tweets (something Obama's consigliere, Valerie Jarrett, wants):

Do you want an edit button?  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022

The big question is whether Musk really intends to use his Twitter shares to push for genuine change, not just with little edits, but to allow free speech. With him in the lead, will people be able to state, accurately, that Will (AKA Lia) Thomas is a man, as is Richard (AKA Rachel) Levine? Will they be able to publish dirt about Biden's extraordinarily corrupt family without being silenced? Will Donald Trump have the same right to tweet as Iran's mullahs and Vladimir Putin? Will speech limitations in this cyberspace town square extend only to illegal speech, and no farther?

The one thing we do know is that Musk's ownership interest is already working to send at least one Twitter in-house censor running:

And one person  Tucker Carlson  is certain that Musk's purchase will signal a new dawn for free speech in America:

Tucker: Censorship now defines America's public conversation | https://t.co/r2F0R4Q7nc  Bookwormroom (@Bookwormroom) April 5, 2022

Scott Adams, who is also an iconoclastic thinker, sees interesting things ahead as well:

Because I suspect that Elon Musk has a puckish sense of humor, I'm not getting my hopes up here. (In that, I differ from investors, who sent Twitter stocks soaring upon hearing about Musk's purchase.) I'll be delighted if Musk is able to turn Twitter into a true marketplace of ideas. I'll be unsurprised if he is unable to do so.

Image: Elon Musk (edited). Tucker Carlson Tonight screen grab.
Much of todays lightning speed communication that happens between computer terminals or between mobile phones located in different continents is possible due to a network of communication cables that lie across the seabed. These submarine communication cables made of copper and fiber-optics are responsible for carrying nearly the entirety of all intercontinental communications traffic. They represent a major technological revolution, but these cables are not a new technology. In fact, the first intercontinental communication cable was laid more than 150 years ago when Queen Victoria was still alive.

Landing of the Atlantic Cable of 1866, Heart's Content, Newfoundland, by Robert Charles Dudley, 1866.

The idea of a submarine line across the Atlantic Ocean germinated as soon as William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone had demonstrated the first working telegraph in 1839. Samuel Morse even led a small trial in the water of New York Harbor by submerging a wire insulated with tarred hemp and India rubber, and telegraphing through it. Wheatstone also performed a similar experiment in Swansea Bay. Finding the right insulator was the key otherwise the electric current could leak into the water and diminish the strength of the signal. The gum of the Palaquium gutta tree, called gutta-percha, seemed to satisfy this requirement, and in 1847, an electrician of the South Eastern Railway submerged a 3 km wire coated with gutta-percha off the coast from Folkestone and tested it successfully.

By September 1851, the first telegraph cable across the English Channel was laid. More followed in the successive years linking Great Britain with Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and crossing The Belts in Denmark.

In 1854, New York businessman Cyrus West Field, who retired at the young age of 34 with a fortune of $250,000, sought out British engineer Frederic Newton Gisborne with a plan to lay a telegraph cable across the mighty Atlantic Ocean. Field contacted Lieutenant Matthew Maury, an authority on oceanography, who studied sounding records from logs of multiple ships and drew out a possible route across the Atlantic where the ocean bed was shallow. Maury named it the Telegraph Plateau. It was located approximately between south of Ireland and Newfoundland in Canada.

Cyrus West Field

That same year, Field persuaded four industrialists and engineers Peter Cooper, Abram Stevens Hewitt, Moses Taylor and Samuel Morse to join him and invest in a new company called the American Telegraph Company. Field became instrumental in laying a 400-mile telegraph line connecting St. John's, Newfoundland with Nova Scotia, coupling with telegraph lines from the U.S. Meanwhile, a group of American investors formed another company called the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company (N.Y.N.L.T.C.) after Field convinced them to extend the line from Newfoundland to Ireland.

Field pushed the project ahead with tremendous energy and speed. Even before he had formed the company, he ordered 2,500 nautical miles of cable from the Gutta Percha Company. These cables were simple by todays standards. They consisted of seven copper wires covered with three coats of gutta-percha and wound with tarred hemp, over which a sheath of iron wires was woven in close helix. It weighed more than 1 ton per nautical mile, but was relatively flexible, and could withstand tension of several tons.

Map of the 1858 Atlantic Cable route.

The plan was to use two warshipsHMS Agamemnon and USS Niagaraeach laying half the cable from both ends and then join them together in the middle of the sea. Cable laying started on August 1857. Field soon learned that laying cables under the sea was easier said then done. The cable broke while laying on the first day itself. It was grappled and repaired, but broke again, and the project was put on hold for the rest of the year. Problems with breakage continued to trouble them. Nevertheless, after one year and a raging storm that nearly sank the ships, the cable was laid and both ends spliced.

The first message was sent from Newfoundland on August 10, 1858. It read: Directors of Atlantic Telegraph Company, Great Britain, to Directors in America:Europe and America are united by telegraph. Glory to God in the highest; on earth peace, good will towards men.

This was followed by a congratulatory telegram from Queen Victoria to President James Buchanan expressing hope that the cable would prove an additional link between the nations whose friendship is founded on their common interest and reciprocal esteem. The President wrote back through the same channel: It is a triumph more glorious, because far more useful to mankind, than was ever won by conqueror on the field of battle. May the Atlantic telegraph, under the blessing of Heaven, prove to be a bond of perpetual peace and friendship between the kindred nations, and an instrument destined by Divine Providence to diffuse religion, civilization, liberty, and law throughout the world.

H.M.S. Agamemnon Laying the Atlantic Telegraph Cable in 1858 by Robert Charles Dudley.

The first transatlantic cable had no repeaters to amplify transmitted signals, so by the time the messages reached the end, the signal was far too weak and overwhelmed with noise and thus hard to decipher. Queen Victoria's message of 98 words took sixteen hours to send. However, by the standards of the day when messages took weeks by sea, it was nearly instantaneous. The success of the first transatlantic cable was celebrated in New York City with a grand salute of 100 guns. Streets were hung with flags, bells of the churches were rung, and at night the city was illuminated.

A section of the Atlantic Cable paraded on the streets of New York on the 1st Sept. 1858. Lithograph by Sarony, Major & Knapp

Unfortunately, the celebration was short-lived. The cable lasted less than a month. Attempts to drive massive amount of current through the cable to compensate for signal losses resulted in insulation failure. When the news reached the press, some writers questioned whether there was in fact a cable, and the whole operation was a grand hoax.

Undaunted by the failure of the first cable, Field launched a second attempt backed by civil engineering contractor Thomas Brassey and politician John Pender, and formed a new company for laying a new cable. By this time cable engineering had vastly improved. The new cable that Field procured consisted of a core of pure copper, coated with an insulation material called Chatterton's compound, then covered with four layers of gutta-percha, alternating with four thin layers of the compound cementing the whole. This core was covered with hemp saturated in a preservative solution, and on the hemp were helically wound eighteen single strands of high tensile steel wire. The new cable weighed nearly twice the weight of the old, at 980 kg per kilometer.

Cable machinery on the deck of the Great Eastern, by Robert Charles Dudley.

The entire 2,300 nautical miles of this cable was loaded on to the ship SS Great Eastern captained by Sir James Anderson. On July 15, 1865, Great Eastern left the Thames estuary for Valentia Island in Ireland but after laying more than a thousand miles, the cable snapped near the stern of the ship, and the end was lost. The Great Eastern steamed back to England and began laying another cable, finally reaching Valentia Island. In 1866, after several attempts, the lost cable was found and retrieved from the ocean bed where it was spliced with a fresh cable, and the Great Eastern laid out this new cable all the way to Newfoundland, thus successfully linking the two countries across 1600 miles of ocean.

While the original cable of 1858 was abysmally slow, requiring two minutes to transmit a single character, message speed was vastly improved in the 1866 cable, which could transmit eight words a minute, or about 80 times faster than the 1858 cable. Over the next three decades, several more cables were laid between Valentia and Newfoundland owned by the British, French, German, and the Americans, creating a sophisticated web of telegraphic communications.

Memorial celebrating the landing site of the first transatlantic telegraph cable in Valentia Island. Photo: Ww2censor/Wikimedia

Piece of the first transatlantic telegraph cable on display at the Rupriikki Media Museum, Tampere, Finland. Photo: Trogain/Wikimedia
The April 2022 Android security patch is now rolling out to Samsungs Galaxy S21 series. The 2021 Galaxy flagships join their successors, Galaxy S22, in receiving the latest security update.

As of this writing, the April SMR (security maintenance release) for the Galaxy S21 trio is available in Germany. But the rollout should reach more markets in no time. The new firmware version for the phones is G99xxXXS4CVCG.

Dont expect anything more than security fixes

The latest update for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and Galaxy S21 Ultra likely doesnt bring anything apart from the new security patch. The phones recently received the One UI 4.1 update from Samsung. It brought along several new features as well as enhancements to a bunch of existing features.

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As for the content of this months SMR, it contains fixes for plenty of vulnerabilities. Samsungs updated monthly security bulletin mentions as many as 78 new vulnerability fixes for its devices. The majority of those are from Google. However, the April SMR also patches 33 Samsung Vulnerabilities and Exposures (SVE) items. SVEs are security vulnerabilities that only affect Samsung devices. At least three of those were Critical vulnerabilities that allowed remote code execution. These vulnerabilities could cause extensive damage to users if exploited in the wild.

Other SVEs patched include a couple of vulnerabilities in S Secure that allowed physical attackers to use the locked My Files app without authentication or access to secured data. You can find more details about the content of April SMR for Galaxy devices in Samsungs monthly security bulletin here.

Samsung once again releases a new security patch before everyone else

We have said this numerous times before, and we are saying it again: Samsung is the first Android OEM to release a new security patch. The Korean behemoth has made a habit of beginning the rollout even before we enter the new month. This month was no different.

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The Galaxy S22 series received the April security update on the last day of March. The update for the latest Galaxy flagships has already reached several parts of the world. The Galaxy S21 series is now picking up the new SMR as well. You can expect other eligible Galaxy models to join the party soon.

As always, updates are released in batches and may not be immediately available to all units in a region. You should get a notification for the OTA (over the air) rollout once it reaches your phone. You can also manually check for updates from the Settings app.
South Korean giants Samsung and LG have long been the two biggest TV manufacturers in the world, in that order. But the latters position in the market is in threat this year, research firm Omdia reports (via The Elec). TCL, which has been one of the fastest-growing TV brands in recent years, may leapfrog LG into the second spot in 2022.

According to the new report, TCL is aiming to secure 36.5 million TV panels this year. LG, on the other hand, is planning to secure around 34.3 million panels. These numbers respectively mark an increase of 12.7 percent (from 32.4 million) and 4 four percent (from 33 million) from last year.

Of course, not all of the secured panels will translate to final sales. But if the sales are in proportion to the number of panels secured, TCL should marginally beat LG in the number of TVs sold this year. That said, the Chinese brand converted only around 75 percent (24.57 million) of the TV panels secured last year into sales. By contrast, LGs conversion rate in 2021 came in at almost 83 percent (27.33 million). So the South Korean biggie may still fend off TCL this year. But itd be a close battle either way.

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TCL is coming at LG fast in the TV market

This had been coming for a few years now. In January this year, TCL announced that it sells over ten million TVs with Android TV and Google TV every year. The company has enjoyed even greater success with its Roku TV lineup. This overwhelming growth means the Chinese brand is now on the brink of overthrowing LG as the second-largest TV manufacturer globally.

The TV shipment gap between LG and TCL has come down from 6.84 million units in 2019 to 2.76 million units in 2021. During this time, the former has hardly seen any growth. The Chinese brand, on the other hand, has consistently grown its market share. At this growth rate, TCL could very well overtake LG in the TV market in 2023 if not in 2022.

Samsung, meanwhile, sits comfortably at the top. The company sold 42.23 million TVs last year, which is about 88.4 percent of the 47.9 million panels secured. This year, it plans to secure 55.6 million units, up 13.8 percent. Going by these numbers, Samsungs TV shipments in 2022 could fall just short of 50 million units. Time will tell whether TCL can someday challenge Samsung as well. Fierce competition between two companies usually plays out nicely for consumers. So we are up for it.
(ANSA) - ROME, APR 5 - Italy's supreme Court of Cassation on Monday definitively upheld the convictions of two Carabinieri police officers for the involuntary homicide of Stefano Cucchi, a young Roman draughtsman who died in custody in 2009 after being the victim of brutality.

Alessio Di Bernardo and Raffaele D'Alessandro will each have to serve terms of 12 years for beating Cucchi so badly that it led to his subsequent death in hospital after he was picked up for a minor drugs offence.

The supreme court trimmed the sentences down by one year with respect to the rulings at the appeal-court level.

"At this point we can say that justice has been done with respect to those who took him away from us," said Cucchi's sister Ilaria Cucchi, who campaigned long and tirelessly to get to the truth amid a police cover-up about the death.

The Carabinieri police force issued an apology to the Cucchi family and expressed sorrow about the officers' behaviour, saying it was "in contrast with our values and principles".

Di Bernardo turned himself in early on Tuesday in the southern city of Isernia in order to start his term. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, APR 5 - University of Bologna student and human rights advocate Patrick Zaki said Tuesday that he was the victim of a big cyber attack before the latest hearing in a trial in his homeland of Egypt for allegedly spreading fake news.

"I have been addressing an enormous IT attack on my email and social media accounts since last night," Zaki said via Twitter.

"What a great start!".

Zaki, who is accused of spreading false information about Egypt in an article about the plight of the country's Christians, was detained in February 2020 after returning to his homeland to visit his family.

He was not released until December last year, although he is not allowed to return to Italy.

Tuesday's hearing is expected to lead to another delay in the trial. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, APR 5 - Italy has expelled 30 Russian diplomats "for reasons of national security", Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said in Berlin on Tuesday.

"On my instruction, Ambassador Ettore Sequi, the Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, this morning summoned the Russian Federation's Ambassador to Italy Sergey Razov to the foreign ministry to notify him of the Italian government's decision to expel 30 Russian diplomats in service at the embassy as they are 'personae non gratae'," Di Maio said.

"This decision, taken in agreement with the other European and Atlantic partners, was made necessary by reasons linked to our national security within the context of the current crisis situation caused by the unjustified attack on Ukraine by the Russian Federation".

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova was quoted by Interfax as saying that Moscow would give a "pertinent response".

Di Maio added that "threats will not stop our effort for peace.

"Our peace effort continues, our aim is to achieve peace and this war in Ukraine was wanted and started by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," added the minister on the fringes of a conference in Berlin on support for Moldova.

"We must stop it with all our strength, starting with a ceasefire and (then) reaching an agreement". (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, APR 5 - There is no risk attached to Italy being one of the security 'guarantors' Ukraine wants as part of progress towards a peace settlement with Russia following the current war, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday.

"The fact that Italy is among the guarantor countries for Ukraine does not expose us to any risk," Di Maio said replying to a question in Berlin.

"Being among the guarantor countries means being part of a process of diplomatic action, that leads to the goal of a peace accord, which looks at all the contested aspects at this time.

"Obviously you start with the will of the Ukrainian people and institutions, because we have always worked to safeguard the integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine".

The guarantors Kyiv has asked for are the permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, Canada, Turkey and also Italy. (ANSA).


Mafia: Trieste DA,let's strengthen transnational cooperation 'Knowing other States' order is an effective secret weapon'

(ANSA) - TRIESTE, 04 APR - The transnational cooperation in the fight against mafia "exists" but "should always be improved and updated. We must never rest on our laurels and consider the stages acquired. The knowledge of the respective judicial systems and the operative capacities of each State is the secret weapon to succeed in defeating the criminal forces inside the respective countries. Moreover, knowing the legal systems of neighboring countries is a duty for a border region like Friuli Venezia Giulia." So said Trieste Chief Prosecutor, Antonio De Nicolo, at the conference "Cross-border crime. Police and judicial cooperation", promoted by the Direction of anti-mafia investigation (DIA).



De Nicolo added that the mafia "has been crossing national borders for decades." On this issue, "there is no surprise. The mafia no longer kills but invests. It works with computers with which it moves huge amounts of money, and it works disregarding the police forces and the respective state borders. Therefore, it is good that the police forces equip themselves to be competitive, both from the technological point of view and in terms of ability to move." According to the District Prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Koper (Slovenia), Katjusa Poropat, "in Slovenia, increasingly sophisticated forms of organized crime are emerging that require increasingly advanced knowledge and high capacity of the law enforcement agencies and prosecutors' offices.



International crime is increasingly widespread. No country can fight it alone anymore" since "it acts on an international level. therefore international cooperation is essential." Between 2020 and 2021, then said the Prosecutor of Klagenfurt (Austria), Joseph Haissl, Austria recorded "a worrying increase of about 57% of criminal organizations", but the percentage of solved cases, "equal to about 81%, reassures us. Several groups - he added - have foreign origins. Electronic files can be an advantage to combat the phenomenon, even across borders." (ANSA).





 Copyright ANSA - All rights reserved
TEL AVIV - Tension is still high in Jerusalem after new clashes on Monday night between Israeli border guard units and Palestinian youth gathered to celebrate Ramadan near the Damascus Gate, one of the main entry points to the old city.



Army Radio said iron bars were thrown at the agents and fireworks were fired at eye level.



The officers dispersed the crowd and made arrests.



In Jerusalem, a total of 3,000 police and border guard officers have been deployed for the entire period of Ramadan.



A major clash also took place Monday night in the West Bank, when a Palestinian opened fire with an automatic weapon on houses in the settlement of Avney Hefetz (near Tulkarem) and then disappeared.



No casualties were reported.



The tension also extended to the demarcation line with the Gaza Strip.



The Israeli Army sent reinforcements, fearing rocket fire by Hamas or Islamic Jihad.




BEIRUT - The government of Kuwait, the wealthy oil emirate in the Gulf, resigned on Tuesday.



The move sharpened the political and institutional clash within a key country in the region, squeezed between Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq.



The national news agency Kuna reported Tuesday that Prime Minister Sabah al Khalid, a member of the ruling Sabah family, resigned after having been in office for only three months.



This is the third government crisis in a year in Kuwait, a country increasingly exposed to conflicts in parliament between deputies close to the ruling family and so-called reformist deputies.



Local analysts said the divisions within parliament reflect internal feuds within the ruling family itself and do not necessarily concern the opposition between "reformists" and "conservatives".



Power in the country is effectively run by Crown Prince Shaykh Meshaal Ahmad Sabah, who took over from the reigning emir, Nawaf Ahmad Jaber Sabah.



The resignation was presented on the eve of an expected no-confidence vote requested by some MPs against the premier and his government, who they accuse of corruption.



Kuwait does not allow the creation of political parties, but compared to other Arab Gulf countries it has an extremely active and dynamic parliament, capable of questioning the choices of the emir and the government.




VALLETTA - The Archbishop of Malta, Charles Scicluna, said Maltese society must heal its essentially racist attitude on the issue of migrants.



Scicluna was responding to the storm of negative comments Maltese citizens posted on social media after Pope Francis, visiting Malta on Sunday, called on citizens to show "true welcoming" to migrants.



After the pope's visit to the migrant center in Hal Far, he said he hoped Malta will become "a true safe haven" and that migrants are not denied human rights, sometimes with the complicity of the authorities.



Local media on Monday quoted many posts that instead urged the pontiff "to bring migrants to his home, to the Vatican".



Speaking with the Times of Malta on Tuesday, Scicluna compared the rejection of the pope's words to the rejection of Christ on Good Friday, which "was the moment when Jesus was rejected to the point of murder: we did not like the message, so we killed the messenger".



"Obviously we did not kill the pope, who is safe in Rome, but I think there is a need for healing here," Scicluna said.



"In Malta there is a lot of anger, frustration and hatred, and this does not help the quality of the life we ;;want to live. What do we get by exhibiting so much poison?" he asked.



In recent years, crime news in Malta has been punctuated by episodes of racism and labour exploitation, including the killing of one migrant and the wounding of two other migrants, who sustained gunshot wounds in raids by two soldiers.



The Maltese government has entered into agreements with the Libyan Coast Guard and has a constant restrictive policy on migrant landings.



In 2020, Amnesty International accused Malta of using "illegal tactics" to reject arrivals from North Africa.




MADRID - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will travel to Rabat on Thursday afternoon for a visit with the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, said Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares in a press conference.



Albares said that for the occasion the prime minister will be invited to a dinner, a "very strong gesture of friendship" given that it comes during the period of Ramadan.



Sanchez's visit comes after both countries announced the start of a "new phase" of reciprocal relations, after a long diplomatic crisis tied to the conflict in the Western Sahara.




ROME - The trial of Patrick Zaki in Mansoura, Egypt has been adjourned until to June 21, Zaki's sister Marise told ANSA at the end of the hearing at the courthouse on Tuesday.



Mansoura is the birthplace of the University of Bologna student who is on trial for spreading false news against Egypt.



Tuesday's hearing was adjourned after Zaki's lawyers attempted a new legal tactic by requesting their client be allowed to travel abroad pending a ruling on a similar case that has relevance for the decision in Zaki's trial.



Zaki spoke directly to ANSA immediately after the hearing ended.



"They are trying a new tactic to give me the opportunity to travel again," Zaki said.



"The legal team has started talking about a new request: we want, so to speak, to freeze this case," he said, adding that "there is another case in the same situation".



The lawyers "are trying to get the privilege of letting me travel (...) until they rule on this other case," he said, without specifying the type of court.



"This (my) case will be frozen for a long time, and so, perhaps, I will have the opportunity to travel," he said, noting that the other case the legal team is referring to began years ago.



Zaki, speaking near the courthouse on Tuesday, told ANSA his attorneys want to apply the decision of another court to his case, in order to close his case directly without having to do anything.



Zaki was released from jail on December 8 after serving 22 months of pre-trial detention, but he cannot return to Italy.



An activist for human and civil rights, Zaki currently risks spending five years in prison for having written an article on cases of discrimination against Egyptian Christians, which could be considered as having committed the crime of "spreading false news", punishable by five years in prison.




Boris Johnson has issued a direct appeal to the Russian people to reject President Vladimir Putins war in Ukraine.

In a video message posted online, the Prime Minister described the atrocities committed by Russian troops as a stain on the countrys honour.

He urged Russians to get round Mr Putins controls on the media by seeking out for themselves the truth of what was happening from independent news outlets online.

His call came after the Kremlin claimed images of civilians said to have been killed by Russian soldiers in the town of Bucha were fake news having been staged by the Ukrainians themselves.

To the Russian people, look at what is being done in your name. You deserve the truth. You deserve the facts. pic.twitter.com/sqDxvGnTnp  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 5, 2022

In his message, Mr Johnson said the reports were so shocking that Mr Putin had deliberately sought to hide the truth from his people.

Your president knows that if you could see what was happening, you would not support his war, he said.

He knows that these crimes betray the trust of every Russian mother who proudly waves goodbye to her son as he heads off to join the military.

And he knows they are a stain on the honour of Russia itself. A stain that will only grow larger and more indelible every day this war continues.

Mr Johnson said that people only needed a VPN connection to access independent information from around the world.

When you find the truth, share it, he said.

Those responsible will be held to account. And history will remember who looked the other way.

Speaking in Russian, he added: Your president stands accused of committing war crimes. But I cannot believe hes acting in your name.
Two Charles Darwin manuscripts that were reported as stolen from Cambridge University Library have been anonymously returned in a pink gift bag, with a typed note on an envelope wishing a Happy Easter to the librarian.

The precious items were found to be missing in 2001, but at the time staff believed they may have been mis-shelved.

They carried out extensive searches in the library  which is home to around 10 million books, maps, manuscripts and other items  but in October 2020 they were reported as stolen to Cambridgeshire Police.

The force launched an investigation and notified Interpol, with the university making a worldwide appeal for information.

The two Darwin manuscripts have been anonymously returned to Cambridge University Library (Cambridge University Library/PA)

Almost a year-and-a-half later, the notebooks  one of which contains Darwins famous 1837 Tree of Life sketch  have been anonymously returned.

They were left on the floor of a public area of the library outside the librarians office, on the fourth floor of the 17-storey building, on March 9.

The area is not covered by CCTV.

The manuscripts, said to be in good condition and with no obvious signs of significant handling or damage sustained in the years since their disappearance, were returned in a pink gift bag.

The Charles Darwin manuscripts were returned in a pink gift bag (Cambridge University Library/PA)

The two notebooks were wrapped together with clingfilm inside their archive box.

A plain brown envelope with them had the printed message Librarian/ Happy Easter/ X.

The police investigation around the notebooks disappearance and subsequent return is ongoing.

Dr Jessica Gardner, who became director of library services in 2017 and who reported the notebooks as stolen to police, described her joy at their return as immense.

The precious notebooks were found to be missing in 2001 but were not reported as stolen until 2020 (Cambridge University Library/PA)

My sense of relief at the notebooks safe return is profound and almost impossible to adequately express, she said.

I, along with so many others, all across the world, was heartbroken to learn of their loss and my joy at their return is immense.

The sole aim of our public appeal was to have the manuscripts safely returned to our safekeeping and I am delighted to have had such a successful outcome in such a relatively short space of time.

The notebooks can now retake their rightful place alongside the rest of the Darwin Archive at Cambridge, at the heart of the nations cultural and scientific heritage, alongside the archives of Sir Isaac Newton and Professor Stephen Hawking.

Dr Jessica Gardner with the returned Darwin manuscripts (Cambridge University Library/PA)

While there is no CCTV of the area where the manuscripts were returned, Dr Gardner said entrances and exits to the building are covered, as are targeted areas such as strong rooms and specialist reading rooms.

She said available footage has been handed to police, adding: It really is a mystery.

We dont know how and we dont know who.

The notebooks had been removed from storage to be photographed at the librarys photographic unit, where the work was recorded as completed in November 2000.

The area where the items were left in a pink gift bag was not covered by CCTV cameras (Cambridge University Library/PA)

During a subsequent routine check in January 2001, it was found that the small blue box containing the notebooks had not been returned to its proper place.

Dr Gardner said the library building has transformed significantly since then, with card-and-pin access to secure areas, a dedicated onsite security team, high security strong rooms and additional CCTV.

She added there will be further root-and-branch reviews of all our security protocols to come  to make sure we minimise any future risk as far as humanly possible.

Professor Stephen J Toope, vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, said he was incredibly glad to hear of the notebooks safe return to their rightful home.

The returned notebooks have been verified as being the originals (Cambridge University Library/PA)

Objects such as these are crucial for our understanding of not only the history of science but the history of humankind, he said.

The notebooks are to go on public display from July, as part of the librarys Darwin In Conversation exhibition.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokesman said: Our investigation remains open and we are following up some lines of inquiry.

We also renew our appeal for anyone with information about the case to contact us.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 and quote reference 35/71468/20 or contact the force online at www.cambs.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us/
Chancellor Rishi Sunak and his wife have donated more than 100,000 to Winchester College  one of the most expensive private schools in the country.

Mr Sunak, a former head boy at the school, and his wife, Akshata Murthy, are jointly listed in the latest edition of the college magazine, the Wykeham Journal, as Wykeham benefactors.

It means that they have made donations to the school, including pledges, totalling more than 100,000.

The donations fund bursaries for children whose parents would not otherwise be able to send them there.

The disclosure, reported by Sky News, comes at a time when Mr Sunak has been accused of being out of touch with ordinary families struggling with the cost of living.

He has faced criticism, including from some Tories, of not doing enough to help those on low incomes in last months spring statement.

A spokeswoman for the Chancellor said: Rishi and his wife have donated to numerous charities and philanthropic causes for many years and will continue to do so.

These donations are made to help fund scholarships for children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to go to Winchester.

For Labour, shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said Mr Sunak should end tax breaks for private schools like Wnichester and use the money raised to invest in the state education system.

General view of Winchester College in Hampshire (Chris Ison/PA)

Britain should have the best state schools in the world.

But after 12 years of Tory neglect four in 10 of our children leave school without the qualifications they need, she said.

Rishi Sunak has already said that he is maxed out on how much support he can give to our state schools, but he continues to hand out billions in taxpayer subsidies to elitist private schools.

Labour would end the tax giveaway Rishi Sunak hands out to his old boys network and use the money to improve every state school instead, ensuring everyone leaves education ready for work and ready for life.
Liz Truss will meet with her Polish counterpart in Warsaw after leading the call for Western allies to supply Ukraine with more weapons to push back the Russian assault.

The Foreign Secretary will hold talks with foreign minister Zbigniew Rau on Tuesday on her second day in Polands capital.

The discussions come after Ukraine claimed victory in Kyiv but warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin is turning his attention to taking the east and the south of the embattled country.

Ms Truss used a press conference speech on Monday to call for more weapons to be supplied to Ukrainians defenders as she urged European nations to strengthen Kyivs position in the peace talks with Moscow.

The Cabinet minister said the UK was pulling all the stops out in terms of supplying Ukraine with the support they need, in a bid to end the appalling war and ensure Mr Putin loses.

Speaking in Warsaw, the Foreign Secretary said: We need even more weapons of the type the Ukrainians are asking for.

The fact is that being tough is the only approach that will work.

Putin has escalated this war and this approach is vital to ensuring he loses in Ukraine and that we see a full withdrawal of Russian troops and Ukraines hand is strengthened at the negotiating table.

Ukrainian foreign affairs minister Dmytro Kuleba warned of a large-scale assault on the east and south of his country as Russian troops regroup, having been pushed back from the capital.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, in London on Friday (Matt Dunham/PA)

He told reporters, during a joint press briefing with Ms Truss, that there had been some hesitation in the West about providing Ukraine with all the weapons that we are asking for.

Mr Kuleba added: The more weapons we have, the sooner we will be able to win this war and prevent Russia from committing more crimes.

Ms Truss, in a united plea with her Ukrainian colleague, urged the West to step up economic sanctions on the Kremlin amid reports of splits in Europe on how to respond to what appeared to be deliberate killings of civilians by withdrawing Russian forces.

Mr Kuleba urged Nato foreign ministers, who are due to meet in Brussels later this week to discuss further sanctions, to visit Bucha and other towns and villages outside Kyiv, where atrocities have allegedly been carried out, if they have doubts about the need for further action.

Ukrainian officials said the bodies of 410 civilians were found in towns around the capital that were recaptured from Russian forces in recent days.

Discoveries include mass graves and people dressed in civilian clothing who appeared to have been shot at close range, with some having had their hands tied behind their backs.

In the face of such bloodshed, Germany has faced criticism for opposing an immediate halt to Russian energy deliveries.

Appalling reports of rape and sexual violence being perpetrated in Ukraine. Earlier with @DmytroKuleba the UK announced 10m to  organisations inc those helping women and girls affected by sexual violence in conflict. The use of rape as a weapon of war is a war crime. pic.twitter.com/7tjlqCFVMn  Liz Truss (@trussliz) April 4, 2022

Berlin has said it hopes to end Russian coal imports this summer and oil imports by the end of the year, but halting gas will take longer since it relies more heavily on the power source.

Polands prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki used a speech on Monday to criticise German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, accusing him of paying too much heed to the voices of German businesses rather than the innocents slain in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is likely to urge Germany to set a date for phasing out Russian gas when he meets Mr Scholz in Downing Street on Friday, according to The Times.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address a UN Security Council meeting about allegations of war crimes committed by Russia.

Mr Zelensky visited the town of Bucha on Monday, where reports of mass civilian casualties have emerged.

Meanwhile, on Monday more people were successfully evacuated from the besieged port of Mariupol, where Mr Kuleba said there had been worse horrors than in Bucha.

Ukrainian deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk said a total of 2,405 people were evacuated along a humanitarian corridor route running from Mariupol to the Ukraine-held city of Zaporizhzhia, with 1,553 of those coming from the city itself and the rest from other locations in the heavily contested area along the Sea of Azov.
A Ukrainian woman is stranded alone in the middle of a war zone as she waits for a UK visa after weeks of delays, her British friend and sponsor has said.

Marcin Zawisza, a Polish-born social worker from Edinburgh, said he is worried about Olena Stadnik, 33, who is stuck near the Russian-occupied city of Kherson in southern Ukraine.

The 40-year-old has been a family friend of Ms Stadnik for two decades and applied to the Homes For Ukraine scheme on March 18 to offer her his spare room  but, despite being accepted the following day, he has not heard anything since.

I cant focus and Im constantly checking my emails for any news about my Homes For Ukraine application, Mr Zawisza told the PA news agency.

Its been hard because I have other friends still in Ukraine but my flat is too small to offer it to everyone, so I picked Olena as she is on her own.

I dont understand why the Government is taking so long to process everything because all these people are in a desperate situation.

Its heartbreaking  I think they should be prioritising people like my friend who are actually still stuck in the middle of a war zone.

Mr Zawisza said the delay is making it difficult for Ms Stadnik to escape the war as she is concerned about leaving Ukraine without having a place to go.

He added that she was forced to flee the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, after her home was bombed and travelled south, and is now moving around a lot in the region near Kherson  a city Russia claimed control over in early March.

Russian invasion of Ukraine. (PA Graphics)

Olena is in one of the worst places in Ukraine and even going to a safer country will be too dangerous because she will be travelling on her own through a war zone, Mr Zawisza said.

Shes been thinking about entering Crimea but we will have to see how easy that will be because apparently they are shooting people there.

We have been discussing how she can escape and the safest route at the moment would be for her to travel into Russia.

I know it sounds a bit funny but theres no war in Russia, and then she can fly from Moscow to Istanbul in Turkey, and then to UK.

Mr Zawisza, who moved to Edinburgh from Poland in 2004, said it has been heartbreaking to follow the situation in Ukraine and that he feels helpless.

Marcin Zawisza said he is worried about Olena Stadnik, who is stuck near the Russian-occupied city of Kherson (Marcin Zawisza/PA)

For Polish people its hard because we want to help but we feel quite useless, especially if we are far away like myself, he said.

Ive had to download a special messenger app because some of the social media in Ukraine doesnt work anymore and I am trying to stay in touch with my friends out there.

I wanted to travel to Ukraine to help people but financially I just cant afford it, so I decided to offer my home instead, but the process is just taking too long.

A spokesman for the Home Office said: We are moving as quickly as possible to ensure that those fleeing Ukraine can find safety in the UK through the Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes For Ukraine.

We have streamlined the process so valid passport holders do not have to attend in-person appointments before arriving in the UK, simplified our forms and boosted caseworker numbers, while ensuring vital security checks are carried out.

We continue to speed up visa processing across both schemes, with almost 30,000 visas issued in the last three weeks alone and thousands more expected to come through these uncapped routes.
A photograph of Chippendales founder Steve Banerjee used in Secrets of the Chippendales Murders."(Photo: A&E)

On the fourth and final episode of A&E's Secrets of the Chippendales Murders, Steve Banerjee, the man who founded the popular male exotic dancer show at his club in Los Angeles, is apprehended for trying to kill the competition.

He was arrested on Sept. 2, 1993, for hiring someone to murder his one-time business partner, Nick DeNoia, as well as people to set fire to competing clubs. The way he ended up behind bars was surprising, and it had everything to do with Ray Colon, the man Banerjee had tasked with farming out his dirty work. Colon had already been caught, but law enforcement still needed more evidence on Banerjee, so they convinced Colon to wear a wire. They promised that Colon would benefit from his cooperation when it came to his own sentence.

The problem was that Colon hadn't been in touch with Banerjee for a while. Although they had been close at one point, they worried that Banerjee would be suspicious if Colon just popped back up in his life and began trying to get him to incriminate himself.

"Banerjee was no dummy," attorney Frank Rothman, the defense attorney for DeNoia's killer, who was hired by Colon, says. "Banerjee knows that Ray's arrested. Banerjee knows that Ray's in jail. There was no way in hell he was ever gonna sit down with Ray and give Ray the things that the FBI needed Ray to get from Steve Banerjee to convict him with his own words. But Ray Colon was persistent, and he knew he wasn't going back to jail, so he had to make it work."

Colon says in never-before-released footage of him meeting with authorities that he and Banerjee were "pretty darn close." They met just after Banerjee opened his club, and he was his choice to stop the competition from DeNoia, who had been the choreographer for Chippendales, and two former Chippendales dancers, who had started their own Chippendales-like business.

The audience enjoys a vintage Chippendales performance. (Photo: Getty Images)

Colon tells Banerjee that he's out of prison on medical furlough, and he did have some health problems. Still, when Colon explains that he needs hush money so he can leave the country, Banerjee responds that the only way he'll have a real conversation with him is if it's out of the United States. They set a meeting in Zurich, Switzerland. Banerjee's lawyer, Bruce Nahin, explains that his client thought the city was "a safe haven."

Once Colon and Banerjee got to talking, Colon convinced him to go to his room, where they would be alone and it would be quiet.

That's where Banerjee asked Colon about the gun that been used to shoot DeNoia and what had happened to it. He acknowledged on tape that he had given Colon the money to purchase it. He confirmed that he had given Colon an address to execute the crime. Banerjee even talked about having a plan to escape to India if he was ever caught.

Not that Banerjee hadn't been suspicious.

"He said, 'They are probably in the next room,'" Colon recounted in that meeting with authorities. "I said, 'Of course not.' Of course they were." Colon had even banged on the walls to prove that they were thick, and that no one could hear them.

Banerjee was arrested and later pleaded guilty to his crimes. One day before he was scheduled to be sentenced, he was found dead in his prison cell, having died by suicide.

But the Chippendales show goes on. Former Jersey Shore star Vinny Guadagnino currently stars in the Las Vegas incarnation. The company has been under new ownership for decades and, according to them, no employees from Banerjee's era remain there.
ALBANY  Gov. Hochul claimed Monday that she was unaware prosecutors had issued subpoenas related to Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamins failed comptroller campaign before his appointment to his current post last year.

Benjamin was still serving as a state senator representing Harlem when his campaign for New York City comptroller received subpoenas from the Manhattan district attorneys office, the Daily News first reported last week.

The investigation was put on hold when the DAs office found out federal investigators were also looking into fund-raising related to the campaign, which resulted in the arrest of longtime Benjamin ally Gerald Migdol.

The Harlem landlord and lawyer was charged in November with facilitating phony donations intended to boost Benjamins campaign war chest so he could receive public matching funds.

I was not aware, Hochul told reporters Monday when asked if she knew about subpoenas issued to Benjamins campaign before his appointment.

New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin (left) and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (right)





New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin (left) and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (right) (Richard Drew/)

The News also first reported last month that federal investigators recently subpoenaed staffers in the state Senate as they sought information about grants doled out during Benjamins time in the Legislature.

Investigators with the Southern District of New York have subpoenaed state officials and Senate employees as they probe money Benjamin steered toward projects in his former Harlem district, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told The News.

Benjamin hasnt been accused of any wrongdoing as part of that inquiry, which is focused in part on funds issued through the State and Municipal Facilities Program and stemmed from the earlier Migdol probe.

Before being tapped as Hochuls second-in-command last August, Manhattan prosecutors were already seeking information regarding Migdol and records related to Michael Murphy, who served as treasurer to Migdols nonprofit, Friends of Public School Harlem, sources said.

New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin speaks during the 2022 New York State Democratic Convention at the Sheraton Midtown in Manhattan, New York on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022.





New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin speaks during the 2022 New York State Democratic Convention at the Sheraton Midtown in Manhattan, New York on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (Barry Williams/)

The campaign received the subpoena before Benjamin provided the state with answers to a background check, which he signed and dated Aug. 16.

Last November, The News revealed that the lieutenant governor provided incorrect information in his responses on the vetting form.

In response to one question, he answered no to an inquiry about whether hed ever been contacted by a regulatory body concerning any possible legal, regulatory, ethical or campaign finance infraction or violation or investigation.

At the time, Benjamin had already been contacted by the state Board of Elections and the city Campaign Finance Board about fund-raising irregularities.

And while it was unknown publicly then, Its now clear that his campaign was approached by the Manhattan DAs office before he signed off on the form as well.

(L-R) Hazel Dukes, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, then-New York State Sen. Brian Benjamin, and Rev. Al Sharpton raise hands together during an event where Gov. Kathy Hochul introduces her choice for Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin in Harlem on Thursday, August 26, 2021 in Manhattan, New York.





(L-R) Hazel Dukes, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, then-New York State Sen. Brian Benjamin, and Rev. Al Sharpton raise hands together during an event where Gov. Kathy Hochul introduces her choice for Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin in Harlem on Thursday, August 26, 2021 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/)

Benjamin has been plagued by scandal since long before being appointed to his current post by Hochul, who became governor last summer following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo amid sexual harassment allegations.

Questions about his campaign fund-raising were first raised in a report by The City in January 2021 after donors contacted by the outlet said they had never heard of, let alone contributed money to, Benjamin.

The News also revealed that Benjamin used his Senate campaign account to pay for gasoline expenses and a wedding party at Harlems Mintons Playhouse in 2018.

Benjamin addressed that misstep when he reimbursed roughly $25,000 for those and other costs, a move revealed in financial disclosure reports filed in January 2021.

Its unclear what the ongoing probes will mean for Hochul and Benjamin, running for full terms this year and appearing on the ballot in Junes Democratic primary.
Employees pass in front of the main entrance at Activision Blizzard in Irvine in July. The Irvine office and two other offices out of state will still require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to work in person. A virtual walkout took place among employees in the Irvine office and other locations. (Raul Roa / Times Community News)

More than 100 Activision Blizzard employees participated in a virtual walkout Monday as the Santa Monica video game studio joined a growing wave of companies lifting COVID-19 vaccination requirements while pressing workers to return to the office.

Employees at the studio best known for its "World of Warcraft" and "Call of Duty" franchises who participated in the work stoppage took the day as an unpaid walkout day. Some joined a Zoom call that was a virtual protest gathering and spoke out on social media.

The walkout came in response to the company announcing Thursday that it would no longer require employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to work in the office, according to an email from Chief Administrative Officer Brian Bulatao that was shared by employees and subsequently posted on Twitter.

The email cited businesses and indoor venues across the U.S lifting their vaccine requirements and said it was important to align our site protocols with local guidance.

Major companies such as Adidas, Starbucks and Intel have rescinded their vaccine mandates for workers in recent months after the Supreme Court in January struck down the Biden administrations vaccine-or-testing rule for businesses with at least 100 workers. In California, a bill proposed by the Assembly that would have required all employees and independent contractors to be inoculated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment was shelved March 29.

Even United Airlines, which implemented the airline industrys first vaccination requirement for its employees in August and moved 2,200 employees with vaccine exemptions to unpaid leave or alternate roles, is allowing unvaccinated workers to return to their old posts.

Activision Blizzards announcement came as a shock to everybody, said Ada-Claire Cripps, a senior software engineer with Battle.net and online products at Blizzard.

Cripps said she and other employees had already been dissatisfied by the companys previous position on returning to the office, which suggested that all workers would eventually work in person by default unless they applied for an exemption.

Weve been able to do our jobs without needing to be physically present in the office, so this idea that we do need to be there, it seems a little unfounded, Cripps said.

With the added removal of the vaccine mandate and a spouse at home in an at-risk category for COVID, Cripps said shes even more reluctant to return to the office.

I dont want to have to go into a workplace where I dont know who I can trust to not get me sick, she said.

An Activision Blizzard spokesperson denied that the company was planning to require all employees to eventually return to the office and said that a majority of employees are operating under a voluntary return-to-office policy.

When employees return to the office, as well as what their remote vs. in-person scheduling will look like, will vary by business unit and role, the spokesperson said.

Workers say theyre frustrated by the lack of clarity over how their return to the office will be handled, as well as why some employees can continue working remotely while others cannot.

Andrew Carl, a senior systems designer at Blizzards Albany, N.Y., office, formerly known at Vicarious Visions, described the process to request an exemption from returning to the office as onerous and doesnt seem to be applied equally.

Carl said several co-workers who worked in quality assurance departments were told they could not continue working remotely, and others were told they must have a diagnosed medical condition to ask for an exemption from returning to the office.

A Better ABK, a worker organizing group at Activision Blizzard, announced plans Friday to hold a worker walkout, listing demands to reverse the decision to lift the vaccine requirement, offer remote work as a permanent solution and allow individual employees to decide whether to work in the office or from home.

Shortly after the walkout was announced, Bulatao sent out another email clarifying that though the companywide vaccine mandate had been lifted, individual studios and locations could still implement vaccine requirements for workers for the entire office. A company spokesperson confirmed the Blizzard office in Irvine as well as quality assurance offices in Louisiana, Minnesota and Texas would still require employees to be inoculated against COVID-19 to work in person.

Workers are still demanding that the vaccine mandate be reimplemented across the company and that Activision have an open and equitable return-to-office policy.

What we want to do is make sure everybody is as safe as possible and further be protected by vaccination and testing, Cripps said.

Anthony Santella, a professor of health administration policy at the University of New Haven, said he was concerned with the all-or-nothing approach some companies are taking to COVID-19 safety measures. Though COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are dipping in parts of the country, increased travel in the summer months and emerging variants make lifting safety measures premature, he said.

Some mitigation measures such as the daily symptom reporting and the physical social distancing requirement some companies still have in place could be eased, Santella said, but vaccination requirements, to me thats a non-starter.

Walkouts at Activision Blizzard have become almost a regular occurrence in the last year as a flurry of news reports detailed allegations of sexual misconduct and discrimination. Workers sought to remove Chief Executive Bobby Kotick after the Wall Street Journal reported that he was aware of but failed to report to the board several alleged sexual misconduct incidents. Employees also walked out in protest of the layoff of several quality assurance workers at the companys Raven Software studio in Wisconsin.

There have been multiple walkouts at Activision in the past year due to managements refusal to put the safety and protection of its workers over profits, said Beth Allen, a spokesperson for Communications Workers of America, a nationwide union that has been assisting with organizing efforts among workers at Activision Blizzard. "We believe all workers should have a voice in important health and safety issues, especially during the pandemic.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Joung Kim, pictured at Leisure World in Seal Beach, immigrated to the U.S. in 1976. Until a recent incident, she hadn't given much thought to discrimination and anti-Asian bigotry. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Becky Chen decided it was finally time to talk to her mother about racism.

A gunman had just killed eight people, including six of Asian descent, in the Atlanta area. It was the latest in a string of attacks on Asians in the U.S. since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Chen, a student at Arcadia High, was so nervous that she framed the conversation as an interview for an essay she was writing.

In addition to anti-Asian racism, she wanted to bring up her mother's attitudes toward Black people and Latinos.

Her mother's answers during the April 2021 conversation were surprising. For the first time, she shared the discrimination she faced in immigration facilities as a new arrival from Korea.

She said she moved to Arcadia, with its large Asian population, so her daughters wouldn't feel like a minority. And she condemned the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.

For the first time, I felt like I bonded with my mom about her immigrant experience," said Chen, 18, a chairwoman of the Arcadia Civic Youth Council, which advocates on homelessness, mental health and other issues.

The rise in anti-Asian hate, fueled by misconceptions about the pandemic's origins, has exposed generational divides in how Asian Americans view racism.

First-generation Asian immigrants like Chen's mother are often focused on building a stable life in their adopted country. Some experienced war in their homelands, so a few ugly words or even a physical assault seem insignificant compared with what they have seen.

Their children and grandchildren, born in the U.S., are more likely to feel completely American and not tolerate any insinuation that they are foreigners.

Now, the Atlanta shootings and other attacks against Asian Americans have spurred some to have difficult conversations with their elders about something that was always too painful to discuss.

Some, like Chen, are bringing up their elders' racism toward other groups.

A recent survey of Asian American residents in the San Gabriel Valley found that first-generation immigrants were less likely to report a change in how they feel or behave when leaving home after the rise in anti-Asian hate, compared with other generations.

That leaves some younger Asian Americans deeply concerned for their elders' safety while frustrated by their seeming nonchalance.

Those older folks just said it didnt happen or, 'We didnt pay attention to the discrimination,' said Manjusha Kulkarni, a co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate. That theres no discrimination, because 'we did well enough to own a home, a pool and a two-car garage.'"

Mary Forrest, a 50-year-old Glendale resident, bristles when anyone calls the coronavirus "the China virus."

But her mother, 73, an immigrant from China, doesn't get offended, preferring to view such remarks as coming from a place of ignorance, not bigotry, Forrest said.

Ive asked her: Ive wondered if this person is being dismissive or disrespectful, because shes Chinese, Forrest said of her mother. It doesnt even occur to her. I cant think of a single incident where she told me someone was racist towards her.

In decades in the U.S., Forrest's mother has largely made her own way without being part of a large Asian community.

"There's a certain amount of self-determination to immigrate into another country. That self-determination seems to create that resilience in Asian immigrants," Forrest said of her mother. "They're not looking for ways to not fit in."

Forrest is sensitive to the fact that her mother doesn't like to be perceived as a victim.

I also see so much of her worldview is what makes herself think of herself as a strong, independent, self-sufficient person, Forrest said. Generationally and culturally, my parents take personal responsibility for themselves and see things happening to them as not products of pattern or something thats happening in the culture.

Hong Lee said her parents wanted her to keep quiet about a 2020 incident in which a man cursed at her and told her to go back to Asia while she was waiting to get tacos at a Pico-Union restaurant.

"My parents were really scared. People would find out who I am, and something bad would happen to us, because we are talking about it on the media," said Lee, 36, the daughter of immigrants from Vietnam.

In Vietnamese culture, Lee said, "we dont put out our dirty laundry for people to see.

But Lee decided to speak out, not just for herself but for others in the community.

When another victim of the same man reached out to Lee, her parents began to understand her decision.

Together, they researched the history of discrimination against Asian Americans, including the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and the killing of Vincent Chin in 1982 by two white men who misidentified him as Japanese and blamed him for the decline of the U.S. auto industry.

"They were shocked.... They didn't hear about those," she said of her parents. "They can [now] see part of our history and how we are treated differently."

Lee is now the president and co-founder of Seniors Fight Back, which runs martial arts classes for Asian American senior citizens so they can defend themselves against attacks.

Some activists and community leaders are trying to bridge the gap by relating recent events in the U.S. to what happened to older immigrants in Asia.

When Bo Thao-Urabe, senior programs strategist at the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund, talked with Hmong elders after the death of Floyd, they didn't understand why people were protesting or why businesses were being burned.

Then, she asked, in Hmong: What did you do when your government back home didnt support you?

By alluding to their resistance against the communist government in Laos, Thao-Urabe led the elders to see a link between their own experiences and the George Floyd protests.

For Asian immigrants, experiencing racism themselves can be a wake-up call, with the silver lining of helping them relate better to younger members of their family.

Joung Kim came to the U.S. from South Korea when she was in her 20s.

Now 68 and living in the Leisure World retirement community in Seal Beach, she had rarely thought much about racism. For her, America was the land of abundance.

Decades ago in La Crescenta-Montrose, her older daughter came home from elementary school upset about being called an Indian doll."

Kim responded: You look like an Indian doll.

But in March 2021, when a Korean American friend got a letter saying to pack your bags and go back to your country where you belong, Kim began reflecting on how anti-Asian hate has affected her and her family.

They must have had a tough time too, Kim said of her family members.

For the first time, she asked whether her teenage granddaughter had ever experienced discrimination in school.

Of course, Grandma, Kim recalled her granddaughter telling her.

The letter has left Kim deeply traumatized. She worries about going outside.

Kim's younger daughter, Christine Kim, recalls being mocked at school, with other kids calling her Chinese and making faces at her.

Her mother's solution: You tell them you are not Chinese. You are Korean.

"That doesn't help me," Christine Kim, now 45, recalled thinking. "They don't know what Korean is, and that doesn't help me at all."

Christine Kim is saddened by the change in her mother, who now cautions her about going to crowded places, fearing a racist attack.

But she feels that they understand each other better.

"There was a disconnect  my mom's not going to understand me, because she grew up in Korea, and she just had a different upbringing," Christine Kim said. "But she does understand."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
In towns like Bucha, cut off from the world for nearly six weeks, the shocking images of civilian deaths are now out in the open.

In the small suburb of Kyiv, Russian troops terrorized residents. Photographs and video document the scope of Russias campaign of killing: a manicured hand and a bright sandal are pieces of Ukrainian life in the mud.

Bodies are wrapped in plastic bags in ditches, people in plain clothes lay on the streets, with their hands and feet bound. From above, satellite images show mass graves.

"We get the impression that the Russian occupiers have got the green light from Putin and Shoigu, the Russian Defense Minister, to have a safari in Ukraine," said Anatoliy Fedoruk, Mayor of Bucha. "They weren't able to take Kyiv, so they vented their frustration on Bucha and the surrounding areas."

Ukrainian officials say Bucha has hundreds of victims  the elderly, women and children among the civilians killed because of Vladimir Putins territorial ambitions.

You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal," President Joe Biden said. "Well the truth of the matter is you saw what happened in Bucha. This warrants him  he is a war criminal.

Pres. Biden says hes seeking more sanctions that will soon be announced. The U.S. has been gathering evidence of war crimes, and the International Criminal Court launched an investigation last month.

These areas, about which we talk, have been under the occupation, under the control of the aggressor of the Russian troops or they've been bombed by the aggressor, the Russian troops," said Peter Stano, foreign affairs spokesperson of the European Commission. "So of course, there is no one else who could have committed these atrocities."

Russian officials deny committing atrocities in Bucha, calling it a fake attack, but witnesses tell grim stories.

"I saw women killed," said Oleksiy Goncharenko, Ukrainian Parliamentarian. "I saw a body burnt in the vehicle, boy or girl, child, I don't know, maybe 6, 7 years old. It's so awful. It's hard to explain."

"There's one woman from Bucha who spoke with Human Rights Watch, told us about a day in early March where she was gathered with other civilians by the Russian soldiers, and five Ukrainian men in plainclothes were brought into the same roadside," said Aisling Reidy, senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch. "They were made to kneel down with their hands behind their back, and then the soldiers lifted the T-shirt of one of the men and shot him in the head. They did not proceed to kill the other four who were kneeling, but the women, when they came back to the same area the next day, they saw the body of the man who'd been executed still lying there."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visiting Bucha Monday, said the crimes will be recognized by the world as genocide. Current and former U.S. ambassadors to the UN are calling for Russia to be suspended from the UN Human Rights Council.

Meanwhile on the streets of Bucha, Ukrainians were using cables to move the dead out of fear the Russia forces had hidden explosives under bodies.

With Russian troops retreating in the North and repositioning in the East, there are fears the world will see more devastating scenes of human suffering.
WASHINGTON  Ukrainian society must be cleansed of Nazi elements, a leading Russian intellectual wrote in an essay published on Sunday, as Ukrainian soldiers sifted through the gruesome aftermath of a slaughter of civilians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

The article, titled What Should Russia Do With Ukraine? was published on the website of RIA Novosti, a news agency controlled by the Kremlin. Its author, Timofey Sergeytsev, is described as a political technologist. He previously worked for Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Kremlin president of Ukraine ousted during protests in 2014.

Faithfully echoing the arguments that have been proffered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sergeytsev even puts the blame on the civilian population. A significant number of common people are also guilty of being passive Nazis and Nazi accomplices, Sergeytsev writes. They supported the Nazi authorities and pandered to them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a speech in Moscow on March 18. (Alexander Vilf/AFP via Getty Images)

Sergeytsev has made outlandish, outrageous claims in the past, Oxford expert on Russian affairs Samuel Ramani told Yahoo News. But in this case, the article represents mainstream Kremlin thinking.

Ukrainian activists translated the article into English after the Russian-language version was circulated widely on social media.

This is what real #Russia wants, the activists wrote.

As naked an endorsement of genocide as youll read in a state-owned media organ, wrote Russia expert Michael Weiss on Twitter about the Sergeytsev article.

The article amounts to a genocide masterplan, Berlin-based Russia expert Sergej Sumlenny told Yahoo News in a text message. He predicted that Sergeytsevs musings would be used as justification for more atrocities like the one at Bucha.

Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February under the fictitious pretenses that the nations leadership was rife with Nazi extremists. Although there are far-right elements in Ukraines society, and its military, they constitute an out-of-power fringe, as they do in other European states. Russias claims are rendered especially absurd given the fact that Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is one of the few Jewish leaders on the world stage. Zelensky and some of his predecessors have sought to orient the nation away from Russia, toward the West, thus incurring the Kremlins ire.

Russia is not just after piecemeal annexation of territory, Ramani told Yahoo News of Sergeytsevs lengthy musings. Its about suppressing the Ukrainian identity, and it equates any kind of expression of Ukrainian nationalism with Nazism, even when those expressions of national feeling are being voiced by Zelensky, who had family members who fought against the Nazis in World War II  and others who perished in the Holocaust.

A local resident views the destruction in Svitylnia, Ukraine, on Friday. (Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images)

In his RIA Novosti article, Sergeytsev essentially calls for the elimination of Ukrainian national identity. The name Ukraine cannot be kept as a title of any fully denazified state entity on the territory liberated from the Nazi regime, he writes. The peoples republics, newly created on the territories free from Nazism, must and will develop on the basis of practices of economic self-government and social security, restoration and modernization of systems of essential services for the population.

Zelensky addressed the article in a call with Romanian politicians on Monday, saying it would be used as evidence in a future tribunal of Russian war crimes. He said the article called for the annihilation of everything that makes Ukrainians Ukrainian.

Putin has long seen Ukraine as part of a broader, Moscow-led Slavic empire, a vision articulated by intellectuals who have provided a philosophical backing for the Kremlins aggressive aims in Ukraine and elsewhere. Although Ukrainians share cultural, religious and linguistic similarities with Russia, they have long bristled at being treated like a junior partner. Ukraine has been its own nation since the dissolution of the Soviet empire in 1991.

Sergeytsevs article is a window into how the Kremlin apparently continues to see the Ukraine invasion, despite seemingly abandoning its denazification project last week amid mounting military losses.

Regime change is no longer a public Russian condition for peace. But whether the Kremlin truly seeks an end to fighting remains unclear.

For one, the Kremlin continues to promote its unfounded claims of Ukrainian extremism, with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev writing in a Monday social media post that a passionate segment of Ukrainian society has been praying to the Third Reich for the last 30 years. Literally.

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting near Moscow on March 16. (Yekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik, Government Pool/AP)

Going even further in his RIA Novosti essay, Sergeytsev argues that Ukra-nazism poses a much bigger threat to the world and Russia than the Hitler version of German Nazism. Russian media has been full of lurid stories about the supposed slaughter of ethnic Russians by Ukrainian troops. Outlandish conspiracy theories about bioweapons laboratories funded by Hunter Biden, the presidents son, and George Soros, the Jewish philanthropist, have also proliferated widely in Russian media  and without any evident skepticism.

Adolf Hitler was responsible for the deaths of millions of Russians and Ukrainians, as well as the extermination of 6 million Jews. Russian propaganda has latched on to the fact that there were also Ukrainian collaborators who worked with the Nazis during Hitlers invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Those Ukrainian nationalists hoped to secure independence from the brutal Soviet rule, which was itself responsible for millions of deaths in Ukraine.

Zelensky and his supporters argue that if any regime represents modern-day Nazi Germany, it is the one found in Moscow.

Its important to spread this article, the Ukrainians who posted the English-language version of Sergeytsevs essay wrote. The world should be aware of Russian methods, crimes, and plans. Putin will not stop until he is stopped.

_____

What happened this week in Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says his government cannot afford to immediately cut off of Russian oil and natural gas. (John MacDougall / Associated Press)

Germany is again under fire from its Western European and U.S. allies for hesitating to cut business ties with Russia.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his government maintained Germany will continue to buy billions of dollars worth of natural gas and oil from Russia each week for the foreseeable future to keep German car companies and factories operating at full throttle, even though critics in Ukraine and the West argue that the $220 million Germany sends to Moscow every day for Russian energy is being used, at least indirectly, to finance its war against Ukraine.

We are pursuing a strategy that will make us independent of Russian gas, coal and oil, but just not right away, Robert Habeck, Germanys economy and energy minister, said Sunday evening in an interview on German television. Two hours later, the leader of Scholzs Social Democratic Party amplified the sentiment.

An immediate embargo of Russian natural gas would be the wrong way to go, Lars Klingbeil told another German TV talk show.

Germany relies on Russian energy for half of its energy needs.

In addition to criticism from the United States and Ukraine, others this week, including Poland, lashed out at Germany for not assuming its share of the economic burden.

In an interview published in Germany's Welt Sunday newspaper, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of Poland's ruling Law and Justice party, demanded that Germany stop buying oil and natural gas from Russia.

"You can't constantly support a great power like Russia with billions in payments from the purchase of energy, said Kaczynski. This is inadmissible from a political and moral point of view. This must come to an end, and Germany should finally take a clear stance on this."

The steadfast refusal to ban Russian oil and natural gas imports has become particularly awkward for Germany  Europes economic powerhouse  following allegations by Ukraine of genocide in Bucha, after Russian forces retreated from that city. Because of the shame of the Holocaust and its Nazi past, Germanys action  or inaction  when it concerns moral leadership in a time of crisis comes under special scrutiny across Europe.

Germany, which has a yearning for peaceful resolutions to conflicts in part as a reaction to its war-filled 20th century past, faced widespread criticism before the war started for initially refusing to send any defensive weapons to Ukraine as a Russian invasion loomed, and because it also blocked the transfer of German-made weapons from other NATO members to Ukraine. Germany also faced criticism because it initially opposed cutting Russian banks off from the SWIFT global banking network.

Lithuania announced Sunday that it has banned Russian energy imports while Poland and Slovakia, among others, have called for speedy action. The German governments business-like explanations that it cannot possibly stop importing Russian energy until later this year  because an embargo would risk sending its economy into recession  have resonated across Europe. The United States said in early March it had stopped all Russian oil and energy imports in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine.

While Scholzs government says it cannot afford an immediate cutoff of Russian oil and natural gas, others within Germany differ.

Weve got to stop financing Putins war, said Marieluise Beck, directing her comments at leaders of her Greens party and the ruling Social Democrats, shortly after returning from a trip to Kyiv. Ukraine doesnt have much time left. Weve got to take another look at how much [economic pain] we can handle ourselves.

Others in the ranks of the Greens party have also called for an immediate embargo.

The renewed foot-dragging on tougher sanctions against Russia by Germany threatens to further embarrass the country that had long been deepening business ties with Russia, even after its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

An earlier German government in which Scholzs Social Democrats served approved a business deal with Russia in 2015  just a year after the Crimea takeover  to double the amount of Russian gas imported through a new Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was completed last year. The pipeline was designed, critics say, to circumvent Ukraine and rob it of billions of dollars in annual transit fees.

For the whole world and especially Germany, the message has to be clear  dont give Russia another cent because its blood money thats being used to butcher people, said Kyivs Mayor Vitali Klitschko in an interview with Germanys Bild newspaper on Monday. We need an immediate embargo on all oil and natural gas from Russia.

Ukraines ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, said the alleged massacres uncovered in Bucha only reinforced the need for Germany to take on a leadership role in standing up to Russia rather than focus on German-Russian business ties and its own economy.

I hope this massacre will serve as a red line for the German government so that it finally starts to act, Melnyk said. That means an immediate embargo on oil, natural gas, coal and metals. I dont understand how anyone in Germany can sleep at night after seeing horrors like this without doing anything about it. Whats it going to take for Germany to act with tougher sanctions? A chemical weapons attack? What are they waiting for?

Scholz had bristled at a suggestion last week during a German TV interview by leading independent economists that an immediate embargo on Russian gas would only slow, but not cripple, the German economy. Theyve got that all wrong, Scholz said sharply. Its irresponsible to calculate some kind of mathematic model like that.

The German chancellor, noting large numbers of jobs were at stake, added: If we were to suddenly stop importing natural gas [from Russia], that would mean entire industrial sectors would have to shut down.

Instead of banning Russian gas, German government leaders are mulling plans to conserve energy, such as introducing maximum speed limits on its high-speed freeways, prolonging the use of its last three nuclear power plants that were scheduled to be mothballed this year, and increasing its use of coal-burning power plants.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been a frequent target of sharp criticism from Ukraine and its ambassador for being a champion of business ties with Russia as a way to secure peace in Europe. Steinmeier, a former foreign minister, acknowledged Monday that he had been wrong about Russia.

We were clinging to the idea of building bridges to Russia that our partners warned us about, Steinmeier said, in particular apologizing for his support for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that the United States and most of Europe warned Germany against because it increased German dependence on Russian natural gas. We failed to build a common Europe. We failed to incorporate Russia in our security architecture. I was wrong.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized former Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a speech on Sunday, inviting them to Bucha to see firsthand what happens after 14 years of concessions to Russia and leading opposition to Ukraines bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization despite support for Kyivs bid by President George W. Bush.

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel stands by her decision at the NATO summit in 2008 in Bucharest, a spokesman for Merkel said, referring to her opposition to Ukraines bid.

Kirschbaum is a special correspondent.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
(Reuters) - Here's what you need to know about the pandemic right now:

Shanghai extends lockdown to entire city

Chinese authorities extended a lockdown in Shanghai to cover all of the financial centre's 26 million people on Tuesday after city-wide testing saw new COVID-19 cases surge to more than 13,000 amid growing public anger over quarantine rules.

The lockdown covers the entire city after restrictions in its western districts were extended until further notice, in what has become a major test of China's zero-tolerance strategy to eliminate the novel coronavirus.

At least 38,000 personnel have been deployed to Shanghai from other regions in what state media has described as the biggest nationwide medical operation since the shutdown of the city of Wuhan in early 2020 after the first known coronavirus outbreak there.

Omicron sub-variant BA.2 makes up 72% of COVID variants in U.S.

The U.S. national public health agency said on Monday the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron was estimated to account for nearly three of every four coronavirus variants in the country.

Overall COVID-19 cases in the United States have dropped sharply after hitting record levels in January, but a resurgence in cases in parts of Asia and Europe has raised concerns that another wave could follow in the United States. The country's health experts, however, believe it is unlikely.

U.S. FDA advisers to discuss additional vaccine shots

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's expert advisers will discuss the timing of additional COVID-19 vaccine boosters and the people eligible for the extra shots in a meeting later this week, the health agency said on Monday.

The independent advisers will also discuss at the April 6 meeting the FDA's role in how future versions of COVID vaccines are created to help fight new variants.

U.S. Senate negotiators reach deal on $10 bln for COVID aid

Negotiators in Congress have agreed to an additional $10 billion in COVID-19 funding to address U.S. needs but have dropped international aid from the package, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday.

The compromise, if passed, would be less than half of the $22.5 billion initially sought by U.S. President Joe Biden to combat COVID, prepare for future variants and shore up the nation's pandemic infrastructure.

Mexico says WTO vaccine deal should go beyond IP waiver

Any World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on COVID-19 vaccines should include more than just a waiver on intellectual property, Mexico's representative to the trade body said, in a sign that consensus is proving tough to forge.

The United States, the European Union, India and South Africa reached a provisional consensus on elements of a long-sought IP waiver for the vaccines, according to a document that circulated among governments last month.

However, important details remain unresolved, and Mexico's WTO representative Angel Villalobos said the draft was not an official document and there was no deal yet.

Pfizer made 6 mln courses of COVID pill, hitting Q1 target

Pfizer said on Monday it made 6 million courses of its antiviral COVID-19 pill Paxlovid in the first quarter, hitting a target set by Chief Executive Albert Bourla.

The company has shipped the pills to over 26 countries so far.

(Compiled by Linda Noakes; editing by Barbara Lewis)
After waiting 218 days, 8-month-old Elodie Carmen Baker received a new heart last week.

Elodie, who was diagnosed with a rare heart disease called dilated cardiomyopathy at around 2 months old, spent over 200 days on the waitlist for a heart. Finally, on March 27, she underwent a successful transplant at The Heart Center at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago.

"The fortitude and the strength that she's shown in the last seven months constantly amazes us. And we know that she's destined to do remarkable things," Elodie's mom, Kate Baker, told USA TODAY.

"We're just so proud of her. Just [her] smile and the joy, just unwavering excitement for every single day  really, it's inspirational," added Collin Baker, Elodie's dad. "She has made it just so much easier to keep fighting every day."

Elodie Carmen Baker

Dr. Anna Joong, one of Elodie's doctors and the medical director of the pediatric ventricular assist device program at Lurie Children's, shared that Elodie's recovery "has been remarkable."

"She's made incredible progress. Her new heart works really well; the squeeze is really strong. She's on all the routine medications that we do  like immunosuppression to prevent rejection. And we're hoping that she will be able to be discharged from the hospital soon," Joong told USA TODAY.

The Bakers, who are from Minnesota, first took Elodie to the emergency room in August, where their daughter was later diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. After a seven-week stay at Children's Minnesota Hospital-Minneapolis, Elodie was transferred to Lurie Children's in Chicago for further care, leading the family to live in the hospital together for almost six months.

According to the American Heart Association, dilated cardiomyopathy causes the heart muscle to dilate and a chamber to enlarge, leading to difficulty when pumping blood and preventing the heart muscle from contracting normally. As the heart becomes weaker, it's possible for heart failure to occur.

Historic transplant: First person to receive gene-edited pig heart dies two months later

As Elodie waited for a new heart, a Berlin EXCOR pediatric ventricular assist device was surgically placed to help her pump blood.

Joong explained that while some children with dilated cardiomyopathy can see improvement over time, others become sicker and need additional support, like IV medications or a VAD. Older kids can sometimes go home with VADs while they wait for a new heart, but for infants like Elodie, the pump can't fit inside their bodies.

"She had end-stage heart failure as a result of her dilated cardiomyopathy," said Joong. "We had exhausted all medical options to take care of her heart, and the only way for Elodie to survive was to get this kind of pump as a way to bridge her to transplant ... to keep her body strong enough in the many months that it took for a donor heart that was a match for Elodie (to) become available."

Joong also stressed the progress of Elodie's developmental milestones during her time on the VAD  noting that she went from being in the "less than fifth percentile" immediately after her VAD surgery to "developmentally normal for an 8-month-old."

"Despite being on these lifesaving machines," Joong said, "we know that the stronger you are going into a heart transplant, the better you do afterward. And that was certainly the case for Elodie."

"She had her first open-heart surgery at 3 months old, which is when the VAD was placed," added Kate Baker. "But because of her age, she learned to sit, she was starting to crawl, she was starting to crawl to stand and it was amazing that she was able to do all of those things while supported on this device. ... She's going to go home and be on track with all of her peers, which is super exciting."

Both the Bakers and Joong underlined the importance of organ donation. Unfortunately, Elodie's time on the waitlist for a heart is not uncommon.

"Especially for our younger children, we sometimes see that wait times can be quite long and can certainly be more than six months," Joong said. "Right now, there's over 50 infants [in the U.S.] who are waiting for a heart transplant. It's really the most incredible gift of life that a family can make in their darkest hours. And when you see a patient like Elodie and how well she is doing after this lifesaving surgery and this lifesaving gift, we are just forever grateful."

According to the Health Resources and Services Administration's statistics for total organ donations, 106,129 people are on the national transplant waitlist and over 40,000 transplants were performed in 2021. In the U.S., 17 people die each day waiting for a transplant. But every donor can save eight lives and enhance 75 more.

"There aren't enough organs available," said Kate Baker. "We did wait a long time, but that's not atypical. Many families wait as long as we did, or even longer. ... We're even more grateful for the families who choose to donate because they are saving hundreds of thousands of lives."

In a Facebook post celebrating April as National Donate Life Month, Lurie Children's shared that the hospital's Heart Center has performed over 400 heart transplants and also urged individuals to learn more about becoming organ donors on Donate Life America's website.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Baby with rare heart disease receives transplant after 218-day wait
Sen. Lisa Murkowski speaks during a Senate committee meeting on March 15. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney said Monday they will join Sen. Susan Collins in favor of confirming Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court, all but assuring that she will become the first Black woman to serve on the high court.

Murkowski and Romney announced their decisions Monday evening after the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked in an 11-11 party-line vote on whether to advance Jacksons nomination. The tie required the full Senate to vote to move it forward in a procedural vote, which it did by a vote of 53-47. Collins had announced her decision to vote to confirm Jackson last week.

With the three Republicans signaling that they will vote yes on Jackson's confirmation and all Senate Democrats poised to follow suit, she is expected to be confirmed by that same margin in Monday's vote of 53-47.

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

President Joe Biden nominated Jackson to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, meaning her confirmation will not shift the courts current 6-3 conservative majority. If Jackson is confirmed as expected in a final Senate vote later this week, she will become the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

"My support rests on Judge Jackson's qualifications, which no one questions; her demonstrated judicial independence; her demeanor and temperament; and the important perspective she would bring to the court as a replacement for Justice Breyer, Murkowski, R-Alaska, said in a statement, adding that her support "also rests on my rejection of the corrosive politicization of the review process for Supreme Court nominees, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year.

Murkowski and Collins both voted to confirm Jackson to her current position on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last summer, along with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who is opposing Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court. Murkowski is up for reelection this fall, with a new ranked-choice voting system in Alaska potentially rewarding more moderate candidates.

Sen. Mitt Romney speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Greg Nash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

After reviewing Judge Jackson's record and testimony, I have concluded that she is a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor, Romney, R-Utah, said in a statement. While I do not expect to agree with every decision she may make on the Court, I believe that she more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity. I congratulate Judge Jackson on her expected confirmation and look forward to her continued service to our nation.

Collins, R-Maine, who had voted to confirm both of former President Barack Obamas Supreme Court nominees, announced her decision last week.

"After reviewing Judge Ketanji Brown Jacksons extensive record, watching much of her hearing testimony, and meeting with her twice in person, I have concluded that she possesses the experience, qualifications, and integrity to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court, Collins said. I will, therefore, vote to confirm her to this position.

A Yahoo News/YouGov poll released Monday found that 42 percent of Americans supported Jacksons nomination, 27 percent opposed and 31 percent were not sure.
FILE - In this photo provided by the Nevada Department of Wildlife, a Dixie Valley toad sits atop grass in Dixie Valley, Nev., on April 6, 2009. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service temporarily listed a rare northern Nevada toad as endangered on an emergency basis partly because of threats a geothermal plant in the works poses to its habitat in the only place its known to live in the world about 100 miles east of Reno. (Matt Maples/Nevada Department of Wildlife via AP, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

RENO, Nev. (AP)  In a rare emergency move, the U.S government temporarily declared a northern Nevada toad endangered Monday, saying a geothermal power plant in the works could result in its extinction.

The Fish and Wildlife Service announced it is formally proposing a rule to list the Dixie Valley toad as an endangered species subject to 60 days of public comment under the Endangered Species Act's normal rulemaking process.

But it said the emergency listing goes into effect immediately and will continue for eight months while more permanent protections are considered for the toad at the only place it is known to exist in the world.

It marks only the second time in 20 years the service has listed a species as endangered on an emergency basis.

Protecting small population species like this ensures the continued biodiversity necessary to maintain climate resilient landscapes in one of the driest states in the country, the agency said.

It wasnt immediately clear how the toad's listing might affect construction of the power plant about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Reno. Conservationists and tribal members are trying to block the project in a lawsuit currently before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The dispute is among a growing number of conflicts over wildlife protection and tribal rights on federal lands that the Biden administration faces as it pursues its agenda to combat climate change by replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy.

Officials for Reno-based Ormat Technologies Inc., which broke ground on the power plant last month, said earlier they didn't believe a listing would impact the project because the company spent six years developing a mitigation plan to offset any potential environmental impacts. They didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

Geothermal power is generated from hot water deep beneath the earth.

The Dixie Valley toad lives in wetlands around hot springs next to the construction site. In addition to geothermal development, other primary threats to one of the smallest toads in the western U.S. include disease, predation by non-native frog species, groundwater pumping for human and agricultural uses and climate change, the service said.

The agency agreed last month to expedite consideration of a federal listing of the toad as part of a settlement with conservationists and the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, who are suing to block the power plant. The Nevada tribe says the site is sacred to its people who have lived there for thousands of years.

The Center for Biological Diversity first petitioned for the toads listing in 2017.

Monday's decision "comes just in the nick of time for the Dixie Valley toads, which are staring down the barrel of extinction, said Patrick Donnelly, the center's Great Basin director.

Weve been saying for five years that the Dixie Meadows geothermal project could wipe out these tiny toads, and Im thankful those concerns have been heard," he said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.

The center for Biological Diversity and the tribe won a federal court order in Reno in January temporarily blocking construction of Ormats project on U.S. Bureau of Land Management land east of Fallon.

But the 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals stayed that order Feb. 4 pending full consideration of Ormats appeal. The San Francisco-based appellate court is considering hearing arguments on the appeal in June.

The last time a species was declared endangered on an emergency basis was in 2011, when the the Obama administration took action on the Miami blue butterfly in southern Florida. Before that, an emergency listing was granted for the California tiger salamander under the Bush administration in 2002.

Other species listed as endangered on an emergency basis over the years include the California bighorn sheep in the Sierra Nevada in 1999, steller sea lions in 1990, and the Sacramento River winter migration run of chinook salmon and Mojave desert tortoise, both in 1989.
In-N-Out started in Baldwin Park  one of many Southern California-born fast-food mainstays. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

In the history of everything, there have been two Big Bangs.

One happened 13.8 billion-some years ago, and it created the universe.

The other one happened in mid-20th-century Southern California, and it created Fast Food America, a universe of its own, with a constellation of burger-and-burrito chains, all composed of the basic elements of salt, fat, sugar and pleasure.

Its pretty obvious what birthed this second Big Bang in postwar California: a vertiginous economy, spreading suburbia, and cars  cars with fins and radios and young drivers, teenagers and nuclear families, all mobile, and all hungry for easy eats.

Southern California was a-boom with postwar prosperity. Wartime industry had slid easily into high-gear Cold War defense manufacturing. Aviation and automobile companies worked pedal to the metal.

George Geary, who wrote Made in California! The California-Born Burger Joints, Diners, Fast Food & Restaurants That Changed America, and who is at work on the second volume, said that a lot of companies were working 24 hours, and swift, round-the-clock food services like Dennys expanded their stores, their menus and their hours to match.

Itd almost be easier to list the fast-food chains that did not begin in these palmy latitudes. For a manageable definition here, fast food means selling on-the-go, eat-with-the-hands sandwichey foods and some kind of sweet drinks or desserts  no table service, no tablecloths. That lets out a great many chains, like Baskin-Robbins (founded 1945 in Glendale), Sees Candy (founded in 1921 on Western Avenue in Los Angeles), Orange Julius (1926 in downtown L.A.), and Wil Wrights powder-puff-pink ice cream parlors (long gone from locations in flossier L.A. neighborhoods).

So if yours isnt here, dont @ me.

Most began as mom-and-pop undertakings, or pop-and-son enterprises, and wound up as corporate-owned chains. The forthrightly named Hot Dog on a Stick was a mom-and-son effort: Dave Barham used his mothers cornbread recipe to coat hot dogs and sell them along the Santa Monica sand in 1946.

One, In-N-Out, has stayed in the family since the first one opened, in Baldwin Park in 1948, and the loyalty of its customers and workers approaches the devotional. Sixty years ago, Elizabeth Taylor famously had chili from the WeHo movie-star hangout Chasens flown to her in Rome when she was shooting Cleopatra. More than 20 years ago, a U.S. Army sergeant from Baldwin Park was released after spending a month as a POW in Yugoslavia. His mother flew to see him, packing his favorite In-N-Out burgers.

Burger chains have followers who divide along the give-no-quarter battle lines of Coke vs. Pepsi. An ardent Bobs Big Boy (founded 1936 in Glendale) guy would never be caught dead at Jack in the Box (founded 1951 in San Diego). A true Taco Bell (founded 1962 in Downey) fancier wouldnt dream of sullying her taste buds with goods from Del Taco (founded 1964 in Yermo, in the Mojave Desert). You couldnt pay a Carls Jr. (founded 1941 in Los Angeles) devotee to cross the threshold of a McDonalds (founded 1940 in San Bernardino).

The original McDonalds, which grew into the supernova in this constellation, was founded by two brothers who crafted a strategy of high-quality, high-volume, low-priced, speedy food for their burger stand in San Bernardino; the modern-day McDonalds lamentably misspells the citys name once in the history part of its website.

The founder of global McDonalds, Ray Kroc, first became the brothers franchise agent and then bought them out, supersizing the brand into a world-beater burger-eaters fave. (There were some strained do-si-dos over the term founder. Dick, one of the two original McDonald brothers, complained a few years before he died that Suddenly, after we sold, my golly, [Kroc] elevated himself to the founder. The 2016 biopic about Kroc took The Founder as its title.)

Now, in the sometimes treacherous field of fast-food origin lore, ironclad proof can be hard to come by, so better to steer clear of some disputed firsts, like which chain came up with the first drive-up service for cars, the first squawk-box ordering gizmo, or the first carhops, or the first cheeseburger. If you write that, Geary told me, with the voice of experience, they all get mad at you.

In this one case, bring on the @s  because here I will bat for the local team. The Rite Spot stood on a rise on the old Route 66, on Colorado Boulevard and Avenue 64, at the divide between Pasadena and Eagle Rock. In 1916, it was an ideal place to feed and water drivers whose flivvers were overheating from the climb uphill from the west, and there the Sternberger family opened for business on the site of the Hinky Dink barbecue stand.

One iteration of the first cheeseburger stories is that a Rite Spot customer asked for cheese on his burger; another, that one of the Sternberger sons burned one side of the burger and covered it up with cheese. In any case, by 1928, the menu at ODells, on Figueroa Street in South L.A., was offering a cheeseburger with chili for two bits.

Other places claiming to have invented the cheeseburger six or eight or 10 years later can go soak their ground chuck.

A September 1992 feature in The Times shows the original Rite Spot building, top. (Los Angeles Times archive)

All over Southern California, short-lived, small-chain drive-ins had a moment, or two. From its flagship in Hollywood, Scriveners half-dozen or so drive-ins were 1950s teenagers second home. Early rock n roll DJ Art Laboe broadcast his Drive-In Restaurant show from there, and one day, he told me, he called on Elvis to come on down to Scriveners. He wouldnt go on the air, but he came over. He had Natalie Wood with him. I thought, wow, this is great! So I just said that Elvis was there, and it looked like a traffic jam in about 10 minutes.

Like California itself, so long isolated from the East and Midwest, California fast food was the first fast food, sui generis, and woe betide most interloper chains trying to cross the Rockies and the desert to plant themselves here. Geary: Weve had companies back East try to come here, and they dont work.

To me, one astonishing fact about this SoCal flowering of fast food is that some of the people who began it knew and even helped out one another. Their stories are as overlapped and interconnected as Queen Victorias vast family, and more productive.

A vintage postcard from Patt Morrison's collection shows the famed Brown Derby Car Cafe at Hillhurst and Los Feliz. Actress Hedy Lamar and actor John Howard had their first date there, according to "Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamar," by Stephen Michael Shearer.

Glen Bell and Neal T. Baker were high school besties in San Bernardino, and teenagers when the McDonald brothers opened for business. (San Bernardino was a Silicon Valley of new fast-food chains.) Pretty soon Baker was helping the McDonalds to re-engineer their service. Then, a couple of miles to the east, Baker built the first Bakers Drive-Thru, which to this day operates about three dozen places in the Inland Empire. Bell, soon to start up Taco Bell, opened his own hot dog stand nearby. He soon learned some service and taste tips from the Mitla Cafe, the Mexican restaurant across the road. He opened his own Taco Tia stands before inaugurating Taco Bell in Downey in 1962, with its corny, stylized Mission-bell facade  not the first nor the last time fast food would create an architectural sub-genre of fast-food style.

A soon-to-be-mustered-out Air Force mail clerk named Ed Hackbarth applied for a job at Bakers place in Rialto. The position was filled, so Baker sent Hackbarth over to work at Bells taco stand near Barstow. In 1964, Hackbarth and a partner opened their own Mexican food place in Yermo: the first Del Taco, with a burger menu and a Mexican food menu. One story goes that its original name was Casa del Taco, but in the fashion of the fast food world  which clipped through to thru and doughnut to donut, probably to save on signage costs  it got snipped to just Del Taco.

The begats just kept on begetting. One of Del Tacos employees  or a partner, depending on the source  was Dick Naugle, who started his own fast-food chain, Naugles, in 1970, a chain that ended up merging with Del Taco.

As Glen Bell was building his Taco Bell chain, his assistant, John Galardi, decided he wanted to get into the boss old hot dog game himself. As the Wienerschnitzel website tells it, Galardi was having dinner with Bell and his wife, and racking his brain for a name for his undertaking. Mrs. Bell went paging through a cookbook and found a Viennese cutlet recipe, a dish nothing like a hotdog, but with a cheeky, slightly comic name: Der Wienerschnitzel. Galardi opened his first outlet in Wilmington in 1961, on land that Bell reportedly leased to him.

Ten years earlier, right there in Wilmington, Albert Okura was born. He worked management jobs at Del Taco, and in the 1980s, struck by the quality and efficiency of El Pollo Loco, he started his own chain of Mexican-style broiled chicken, Juan Pollo, which still does business, mostly in the Inland Empire, the home turf of so many chains. Okura also bought the San Bernardino land where the original McDonalds had once stood and raised up a McDonalds museum of decades of McD ephemera. The fact that it exists at all is a bit of a wonder, considering that McDonalds is about as muscular as Disney in protecting its name.

Cool coincidence: Kroc and Walt Disney, both from Illinois, served in the same World War I ambulance unit. Decades later, says the book Fast Food Nation, Kroc tried and failed to persuade Disney to put McDonaldses in Disneys new Anaheim theme park.

The cooperation among these competitive creators is still hard to get your head around. Advertising and free media are the battlefield of current-day corporate burger wars. In 2016, a New York Burger King franchise did itself up in its idea of a terrifying costume: it draped itself in sheets and labeled itself McDonalds.

If its actual terror that interests you, have a look at Eric Schlossers influential 2001 book Fast Food Nation. It scrutinizes fast food step by step and bite by bite, all the corporatizing, globalizing and industrializing of these once family-scale neighborhood businesses. Most of all, as the saying goes, it lays out, bare as a burger on a bun, the high and hidden human price of cheap food.

The burger glut today looks like a saturated, saturated-fat landscape. Chains try to keep up with and keep ahead of customers tastes, so naturally, failure-to-launch dishes bestrew the fast-food paths: McDonalds pizza and salad shakers, Taco Bells seafood salad, any number of light  or lite  taste sensations.

Vegetarian choices, some not bad, some completely undistinguished, appear and disappear from menus. Alas, if all that some people know about vegetarian offerings is a meh item on a fast-food bill of fare, theyll have made up their minds: Yuck. I dont like vegetarian food.

In-N-Outs very brief menu immunized itself from food trends. Carls Jr. founder Carl Karcher once said, Everyone in the fast-food industry envies In-N-Out. Were working on new products every year, and In-N-Out keeps the same menu and knocks em dead.

The old chains cant be all things to all palates, so new California chains found audiences for those tastes, among them Panda Express (founded in Pasadena by the Cherng family in 1983) and Wahoos Fish Tacos (founded in 1988 in Costa Mesa by the Lam brothers).

Fast-food Mexican food, like Taco Bells first menus, wasnt authentically just-like-in-Mexico Mexican food, but cooked up a hybridized Yankee standardization of the million family-recipe versions of the original. George Geary: You talk to people in Mexico and they say, Thats gringo food. Theres no such thing as an enchirito in Mexico. For a time, some years past, the Taco Bell drive-up menu had a helpful phonetic pronunciation guide: buh-ree-toh.

The Times Gustavo Arellano used to be murder on Taco Bell. But he mellowed  not as mellow as some blander Taco Bell items, but mellower. Its just not good food, he said 10 years ago. Yet hell give it this: It is a type of Mexican food. Taco Bells best-known spokesman was Gidget, a talking Chihuahua demanding, in a Senor Wences voice, Yo quiero Taco Bell.

By 2012, there was so much commercial burger charbroiling going up into the air that a UC Riverside study concluded that an 18-wheeler diesel engine truck would have to travel 143 freeway miles before it put out the same amount of particulate gunk as one charbroiled burger patty.

Last month, Consumer Reports said its research found dangerous PFAs, so-called forever chemicals that can make their way into foods, in the packaging at McDonalds, Taco Bell, and a half-dozen other restaurant chains. Those two are said to be committed to phasing out PFAs in packaging by 2025.

Your burgers may be served by the billions, but unless you make it in pop culture, youre just fast food. From the day in 1947 that a Texas-born Black woman named Lovie Yancey opened her three-stool Mr. Fatburger hamburger stand on Western Avenue near Jefferson Boulevard, she was playing music for her customers.

Music returned the favor. Mr. Fatburger became Fatburger, a marquee name in South L.A. and Beverly Hills, and in a score of countries. Ray Charles was one of Yanceys customers, and rappers Ice Cube and Notorious B.I.G. worked the name of the hometown burger brand into their lyrics. In 2Pacs Late Night, The club be poppin so Im stoppin at the Fat Burger.

Yancey died in 2008, 18 years after she sold the company to an investment group, and 22 years after she set up a $1.7-million City of Hope endowment for sickle-cell anemia research, to honor a promise to a young grandson who died of the disease.

The Beach Boys didnt use the name in their lyrics, but the hamburger stand the cute girl was driving her daddys T-bird through in the song Fun, Fun, Fun was Fosters Old-Fashion Freeze, founded in 1946 in Inglewood and spelled Fosters. The correct apostrophe later and perplexingly vanished from the name. Maybe neon punctuation was too expensive.

The hamburger stand in Fun, Fun, Fun was the Hawthorne Fosters Freeze, less than a mile from the Wilson brothers boyhood home.

In the original Big Bang, theres a core, an infinitesimal singularity that brought the whole universe bursting into creation. The singularity in the universe of fast food franchises began in a Central Valley town thats now better known for its wine than for the foamy homemade brew that Roy Allen was pouring into cold mugs in June 1919, to settle the dust raised by a homecoming parade for World War I veterans.

Allen was the A in A&W. The W was for a later partner in the root beer franchises, Frank Wright. Six months before the Lodi parade, the 18th Amendment, Prohibition, passed its last constitutional hurdle, and six months after Allen poured his first brew in Lodi, and for 13 years thereafter, the only beer that Americans could legally find for sale was root beer.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
FILE - Matt Mowers speaks before a campaign rally for President Donald Trump at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Londonderry, N.H., Aug. 28, 2020. The former Trump administration official who is now running for Congress in New Hampshire voted twice during the 2016 primary election season. Legal experts say that could be a violation federal voter fraud law. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

CONCORD, N.H. (AP)  A former Trump administration official now running for Congress in New Hampshire voted twice during the 2016 primary election season, potentially violating federal voting law and leaving him at odds with the Republican Partys intense focus on election integrity."

Matt Mowers, a leading Republican primary candidate looking to unseat Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, cast an absentee ballot in New Hampshire's 2016 presidential primary, voting records show. At the time, Mowers served as the director of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's presidential campaign in the pivotal early voting state.

Four months later, after Christie's bid fizzled, Mowers cast another ballot in New Jersey's Republican presidential primary, using his parents' address to re-register in his home state, documents The Associated Press obtained through a public records request show.

Legal experts say Mowers' actions could violate a federal law that prohibits voting more than once in any general, special, or primary election." That includes casting a ballot in separate jurisdictions for an election to the same candidacy or office. It also puts Mowers, who was a senior adviser in Donald Trump's administration and later held a State Department post, in an awkward spot at a time when much of his party has embraced the former president's lies about a stolen 2020 election and has pushed for restrictive new election laws.

The issue could have particular resonance in New Hampshire, where Republicans have long advocated for tighter voting rules to prevent short-term residents, namely college students, from participating in its first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

What he has done is cast a vote in two different states for the election of a president, which on the face of it looks like hes violated federal law, said David Schultz, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School who specializes in election law. You get one bite at the voting apple."

Mowers' campaign declined to make him available for an interview. In a brief statement that did not address the double-voting, campaign spokesman John Corbett cited Mowers' work for Trump's 2016 campaign.

Matt was proud to work for President Trump as the GOP establishment was working to undermine his nomination, Corbett said. Matt moved for work and was able to participate in the primary in support of President Trump and serve as a delegate at a critical time for the Republican Party and country.

There is little chance Mowers could face prosecution. The statute of limitations has lapsed, and there is no record of anyone being prosecuted under this specific section of federal election law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks the issue.

A separate New Hampshire law prohibits double-voting in two different states, but makes an exception if someone legitimately moved his or her domicile.

Mowers is just the latest former Trump administration official to draw scrutiny for potentially violating voting laws.

Mark Meadows, a former North Carolina congressman who served as Trump's chief of staff, was registered in two states and listed a mobile home he did not own  and may never have visited  as his legal residence weeks before casting a ballot in the 2020 election. North Carolina state officials are investigating.

Not everyone agrees Mowers' double-voting is a clear-cut case of voter fraud. For starters, its an undeveloped area of law. Any court would have to contend with complicated issues such as whether a primary could be viewed as a public election or as an event held by a private organization that is administered with government help.

With the right set of facts, it could be construed as a violation, but it's just not at all obvious to me that it is, said Steven Huefner, an Ohio State University law school professor who specializes in election law. It is a pretty murky question.

Charlie Spies, a longtime Republican election lawyer who contacted the AP at the request of Mowers' campaign, called the matter silly." He said the double-voting was at worst a gray area" of the law and not the sort of issue anybody would spend time on.

That may not matter in a congressional primary race that has drawn a half-dozen Republican candidates. Among them is former Trump White House assistant press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who has already attacked Mowers for being soft on the issue of "election integrity."

In September, after Mowers said President Joe Biden rightfully won the 2020 election, Leavitt said Mowers "rolled over and sided with Joe Biden and the Democrats by refusing to stand for election integrity."

Mowers' campaign called her criticism fake news" at the time.

His own campaign website has leaned in on the issue, featuring a section dedicated to election integrity." It states that new rules are needed to provide every American citizen with the certainty that their vote counts.

He also echoes the long-standing Republican criticism about out-of-state voters, endorsing an efforts by the state's legislature to make sure only legal residents of New Hampshire are entitled to vote."

This isn't the first run Mowers, who is in his early 30s, has made for the seat, which is a top Republican target in the 2022 midterm elections. In 2020, he earned Trump's endorsement and won the Republican nomination before losing to Pappas by 5 percentage points.

This time could be different, though. Biden's flagging approval rating has made Republicans bullish on their prospects. And thanks to a once-in-a-decade redrawing of congressional districts, Republicans who now control the state legislature and governor's office, are poised to approve more advantageous maps.

Mowers promotes his time living in New Hampshire with his wife and young child. But he is not a native to the state, spending much of his life in New Jersey.

A graduate of Rutgers, he came up through New Jersey politics, working for Christie's gubernatorial administration, as well as Christie's reelection campaign. That led to an appearance in the 2016 Bridgegate trial, where Mowers testified about his unsuccessful attempts to prod a Democratic mayor to endorse Christie, which resulted in acts of retribution and ultimately two convictions of close Christie allies. Mowers was not accused of wrongdoing in the case.

He moved to New Hampshire in 2013 to take on a role as the executive director of the state Republican Party. He resumed working for Christie in 2015 to lay the groundwork for a presidential campaign.

After Christie's White House run, Mowers moved back to New Jersey, taking a job with the lobbying firm Mercury. He joined the Trump campaign in July 2016, and ultimately relocated to Washington after landing a spot in the administration.

He launched his first bid for Congress after leaving the White House.

___

Slodysko reported from Washington.
BUCHA, Ukraine (AP)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Russians of gruesome atrocities in Ukraine and told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that those responsible should immediately be brought up on war crimes charges in front of a tribunal like the one established at Nuremberg after World War II.

Zelenskyy, appearing via video from Ukraine, said that civilians had been tortured, shot in the back of the head, thrown down wells, blown up with grenades in their apartments and crushed to death by tanks while in cars.

They cut off limbs, cut their throats. Women were raped and killed in front of their children. Their tongues were pulled out only because their aggressor did not hear what they wanted to hear from them, he said, recounting what he described as the worst atrocities since World War II.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks via remote feed during a meeting of the UN Security Council, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at United Nations headquarters. Zelenskyy will address the U.N. Security Council for the first time Tuesday at a meeting that is certain to focus on what appear to be widespread deliberate killings of civilians by Russian troops.





Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks via remote feed during a meeting of the UN Security Council, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at United Nations headquarters. Zelenskyy will address the U.N. Security Council for the first time Tuesday at a meeting that is certain to focus on what appear to be widespread deliberate killings of civilians by Russian troops. (John Minchillo/)

Over the past few days, grisly images of what appeared to be civilian massacres carried out by Russian forces in Bucha before they withdrew from the outskirts of Kyiv have caused a global outcry and led Western nations to expel scores of Moscows diplomats and propose further sanctions, including a ban on coal imports from Russia.

Zelenskyy said that both those who carried out the killings and those who gave the orders must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes in front of a tribunal similar to what was used in postwar Germany.

Moscows U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said that while Bucha was under Russian control, not a single local person has suffered from any violent action. Reiterating what the Kremlin has contended for days, he said that video footage of bodies in the streets was a crude forgery staged by the Ukrainians.

You only saw what they showed you, he said. The only ones who would fall for this are Western dilettantes.

FILE - Vassily Nebenzia, permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations, speaks during a meeting of the UN Security Council, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, at United Nations headquarters.





FILE - Vassily Nebenzia, permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations, speaks during a meeting of the UN Security Council, Tuesday, March 29, 2022, at United Nations headquarters. (John Minchillo/)

Associated Press journalists in Bucha have counted dozens of corpses in civilian clothes and interviewed Ukrainians who told of witnessing atrocities. Also, high-resolution satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed that many of the bodies had been lying in the open for weeks, during the time that Russian forces were in the town.

Zelenskyy stressed that Bucha was only one place and that there are more with similar horrors  a warning echoed by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

When and if they withdraw their troops and Ukrainian troops take over, Im afraid they will see more mass graves, more atrocities and more examples of war crimes, he said.

Stoltenberg, meanwhile, warned that in pulling back from the capital, Russian President Vladimir Putins military is regrouping its forces in order to deploy them to eastern and southern Ukraine for a crucial phase of the war. Russias stated goal is control of the Donbas, the largely Russian-speaking industrial region in the east that includes the shattered port city of Mariupol.

Moscow is not giving up its ambitions in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said.

Police officers identify the body of Anton Ischenko, 20, a Ukrainian man who died while his village was occupied by Russian troops, in Andriivka, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.





Police officers identify the body of Anton Ischenko, 20, a Ukrainian man who died while his village was occupied by Russian troops, in Andriivka, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (VADIM GHIRDA/)

Zelenskyy told the Security Council there was not a single crime that Russian troops hadnt committed in Bucha, and he likened their actions to those of the Islamic State group.

The Russian military searched for and purposefully killed anyone who served our country. They shot and killed women outside their houses when they just tried to call someone who is alive. They killed entire families, adults and children, and they tried to burn the bodies, he said. They used tanks to crush civilians just for their pleasure, he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the images from Bucha revealed not the random act of a rogue unit but a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities. He said the reports of atrocities were more than credible.

Only non-humans are capable of this, said Angelica Chernomor, a refugee from Kyiv who crossed into Poland with her two children and saw the photos from Bucha. Even if people live under a totalitarian regime, they must retain feelings, dignity, but they do not.

A resident looks for belongings in the ruins of an apartment building destroyed during fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Borodyanka, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.





A resident looks for belongings in the ruins of an apartment building destroyed during fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Borodyanka, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (VADIM GHIRDA/)

Chernomor is among the more than 4 million Ukrainians who have fled the country in the wake of the Feb. 24 invasion.

Russia has rejected similar accusations of atrocities in the past by accusing its enemies of forging photos and video and using so-called crisis actors.

As Western leaders condemned the killings in Bucha, Romania, Italy, Spain and Denmark expelled dozens of Russian diplomats on Tuesday, following moves by Germany and France. Hundreds of Russian diplomats have been sent home since the start of the invasion, many accused of being spies.

The U.S., in coordination with the European Union and Group of Seven nations, will roll out more sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, including a ban on all new investment in the country, a senior administration official said, speaking on condition to discuss the upcoming announcement.

A woman walks by a house destroyed while her village was occupied by Russian troops in Andriivka, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.





A woman walks by a house destroyed while her village was occupied by Russian troops in Andriivka, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (Vadim Ghirda/)

Also, the EUs executive branch proposed a ban on coal imports from Russia, in what would be the first time the 27-nation bloc has sanctioned the countrys lucrative energy industry over the war. The coal imports amount to an estimated 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen denounced Moscows heinous crimes around Kyiv.

Just hours before the latest proposal was announced, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that to prevent new Buchas, the West must impose the mother of all sanctions  on Russian oil and gas.

A few months of tightening your belts are worth thousands of saved lives, he said.
President Joe Biden speaks to the media at Fort Lesley J. McNair, Monday, April 4, 2022, as he returns to Washington and the White House after spending the weekend in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

WASHINGTON (AP)  The United States, in coordination with the EU and Group of 7 nations, will roll out new sanctions against Russia on Wednesday  including an investment freeze  in response to evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, according to a senior administration official.

Among the measures being taken against Russia are a ban on all new investment in that country, greater sanctions on its financial institutions and state-owned enterprises, and sanctions on government officials and their family members. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss the forthcoming announcement.

President Joe Biden and U.S. allies have worked together to levy a crippling of economic penalties against Russia for invading Ukraine more than a month ago, including the freezing of central bank assets, export controls and the seizing of property, including yachts, that belong to Russias wealthy elite. But calls for increased sanctions intensified this week in response to the attacks, killings and destruction in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.

The official said the sanctions would further Russias economic, financial and technological isolation from the rest of the world as a penalty for its attacks on civilians in Ukraine. That isolation is a key aspect of the U.S. strategy, which is premised on the idea that Russia will ultimately lack the resources and equipment to keep fighting a prolonged war in Ukraine.

An increasingly desperate Russia has engaged in military tactics that have outraged much of the wider global community, leading to charges that is committing war crimes and causing other sanctions. Still, almost all of the EU has refrained from an outright ban on Russian oil, natural gas and coal that would likely crush the Russian economy.

On Monday, President Joe Biden called for his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to be tried for war crimes because of the atrocities and abuses seen around Kyiv after Russian forces pulled back from the Ukrainian capital. The corpses of what appeared to be civilians were seen strewn in yards, many of them likely killed at close range.

Biden said Monday that the U.S. and its allies would gather details for a war crimes trial, stressing that Putin has been "brutal" and his actions "outrageous."

Associated Press journalists saw dozens of bodies in Bucha on the outskirts of Kyiv. There were at least 13 bodies in and around a building that local people said Russian troops used as a base. Three other bodies were found in a stairwell, and a group of six were burned together.

Many victims seen by AP appeared to have been shot at close range. Some were shot in the head. At least two had their hands tied. A bag of spilled groceries lay near one victim.
A destroyed Russian military vehicle in Bucha, Ukraine, near the capital, Kyiv. (Efrem Lukatsky / Associated Press)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an impassioned address to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, likened Russian atrocities in his homeland to Nazi war crimes, calling for Nuremberg-style tribunals to hold Moscow accountable.

They shot and killed women outside their houses. They killed entire families, adults and children, and they tried to burn the bodies, Zelensky said in a video appearance before the Security Council, a day after an emotional visit to the ravaged town of Bucha, outside the capital, Kyiv.

They cut off limbs, slashed throats, raped women in front of their children," the Ukrainian leader said in his most forceful excoriation to date of the Russian invasion.

In a perhaps risky strategy of sharply criticizing the body from which he is seeking help, Zelensky issued a stark challenge to world institutions such as the United Nations to make sweeping changes to the global security architecture, asking sardonically at one point: "Are you ready to close the U.N.?"

It is obvious that the key institutions of the world  simply cannot work effectively, said the 44-year-old president, who has won worldwide accolades for presiding over his compatriots' fierce and sustained resistance to the Russian attempt to subjugate Ukraine.

Following a Russian pullback from areas around the Ukrainian capital, horrific images and footage have emerged in recent days from the once-placid Kyiv suburbs and other northern areas  bodies lining the streets, corpses with bound hands, the forlorn figure of a man shot dead, sprawled beside his bicycle. At least 410 bodies have been found, including many bearing signs of torture, Ukrainian officials say.

The small town of Borodyanka, about 15 miles northwest of Bucha, was reduced to ruins. Video showed multistory buildings along the main thoroughfare ravaged and burned out by airstrikes after Russian forces withdrew. Several apartment complexes had collapsed. Officials have said they fear hundreds of people in the town could be dead in the rubble.

More such harrowing scenes are likely to emerge, Zelensky said, as Ukrainian forces reassert control in northern areas previously under control of Russian troops, who are now redeploying and refitting for what Ukrainian and Western officials believe is a redoubled offensive in the countrys south and east.

The world has yet to see what they have done in other occupied cities and regions of our country, Zelensky said.

In the courtyard of his house near Kyiv, 6-year-old Vlad Tanyuk stands near the grave of his mother, who died of starvation and stress from the war. (Rodrigo Abd / Associated Press)

The alleged atrocities have set off a new wave of calls for a halt to the fighting and for broad new sanctions against Russia, including a proposal by the European Union's executive arm for a ban on imports of Russian coal.

It is more urgent by the day to silence the guns, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council before Zelensky spoke, citing not only the devastation in Ukraine, but a rapidly developing food crisis in parts of the world as a result of the war.

Nearly six weeks into the war, Ukrainian and Western defense officials warned of a reinvigorated Russian assault in the country's eastern industrial heartland and elsewhere.

This is a crucial phase of the war, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels in advance of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization ministerial meeting beginning Wednesday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is scheduled to attend.

Despite a reprieve for Kyiv and surrounding areas, Ukraines military said Russian forces, largely repelled in the countrys north, were readying a fresh offensive in the eastern Donbas region and in southern Ukraine.

Underscoring the peril faced by humanitarian workers trying to ease desperate hardships in besieged areas, a senior Ukrainian official said a Red Cross team detained near the strategic southern port of Mariupol had been released. But tens of thousands of residents remained in danger in the encircled city.

The deputy Ukrainian prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said more than 3,800 people  including more than 2,200 in private vehicles from Mariupol and Berdyansk  were evacuated through specially designated humanitarian evacuation corridors on Tuesday.

A convoy of seven buses and more than 40 private cars sent to evacuate civilians from Mariupol, however, was forced to return after encountering a blockade about 12 miles outside the city. Previous efforts have often been derailed by fighting and Russian shelling.

Moscow has scoffed at the growing body of evidence that its occupying troops have targeted and tortured civilians, dismissing photos as staged and victim testimony as false.

"We continue to insist that all accusations against Russia, against Russian military, are not merely groundless, but a well-directed show," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday, according to Russian state media outlet Tass. "Nothing else but a tragic show."

Blinken said Tuesday that atrocities committed in Bucha were not the work of a "rogue" Russian unit but part of "a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities."

"The reports are more than credible, he said to reporters traveling with him to Brussels, where he will meet with counterparts from NATO. The evidence is there for the world to see."

Blinken said the U.S. and other nations were working to collect the evidence to build a strong case against Russia.

The White House said in a statement Tuesday that the U.S., the United Kingdom and Australia agreed on bolstering their cooperation on developing new hypersonic weapons that can fly at 10 times the speed of sound and evade missile defense systems.

Meanwhile, Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress that the U.S. should seek to develop more bases in Eastern Europe, where NATO allies fear further Russian aggression.

"My advice would be to create permanent bases but dont permanently station, so you get the effect of permanence by rotational forces cycling through permanent bases, he said Tuesday at a defense budget hearing.

I believe that a lot of our European allies, especially those such as the Baltics or Poland and Romania, and elsewhere  theyre very, very willing to establish permanent bases," Milley said. "Theyll build them; theyll pay for them.

Amid the growing international outcry, any call to action by the Security Council is all but certain to be blunted by permanent members China and Russia. In an address to the Security Council, Chinas ambassador to the U.N., Zhang Jun, said Tuesday that the images from Bucha were very disturbing but that independent investigators must verify the facts.

Humanitarian issues should not be politicized, he said.

The White House is set to announce Wednesday a new round of sweeping sanctions against Russia, according to a source familiar with the announcement. The U.S., in coordination with the Group of Seven and the European Union, is expected to ban all new investment and increase economic penalties on financial institutions and state-owned enterprises in Russia in a bid to degrade key instruments of Russian state power, impose acute and immediate economic harm on Russia and hold accountable the Russian kleptocracy that funds and supports Putins war.

On Tuesday, more European Union countries  including Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Spain and Sweden  joined France and Germany in announcing or carrying out expulsions of dozens of Russian diplomats over the mounting proof of atrocities by Moscow. The Kremlin warned there would be "symmetrical" diplomatic retribution.

In a signal of European solidarity, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, is to travel to Kyiv this week, her spokesman said. She is to be accompanied by the top European Union diplomat, Josep Borrell.

A dog wanders among destroyed houses and Russian military vehicles in Bucha, Ukraine. (Efrem Lukatsky / Associated Press)

Those war-zone talks with Zelensky would be the latest in-person visit by high-ranking European officials since the invasion began Feb. 24. Last week, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola traveled to Kyiv bearing a "message of hope." Last month, leaders from Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic took a risky train ride to Kyiv to express their support.

The Ukrainian capital, while seemingly out of immediate danger of a full-scale assault, still has the feel of a city ready for war. Most shops are closed, but residents walk their dogs or go out for a jog in the late-winter chill, the weather hardly betraying the arrival of spring.

Residents have become accustomed to the matrix of checkpoints that block entrances and exits to neighborhoods  piles of sandbags covered in camouflage netting and some shredded fabric for additional concealment.

Burly troops in winter gear and body armor, toting assault rifles, check drivers IDs, as there is considerable concern about Russian infiltrators and saboteurs. On broad downtown boulevards, traffic appeared relatively light Tuesday morning, but vehicles lined up at checkpoints on the citys periphery.

In Ukraines south, Doctors Without Borders said that a four-member team met Monday with health authorities in an oncology hospital in the port city of Mykolaiv when the facility came under fire.

Several explosions took place in close proximity to our staff over the course of about 10 minutes, Michel-Olivier Lacharite, the groups head of mission in Ukraine, said in a statement Tuesday. The team members wereable to take cover and were not hurt, Lacharite said, but the windows of their vehicle were blown out, and as they left they saw injured people and at least one dead body.

A regional pediatric hospital, about 330 yards away in a residential area in the east of the city, was also hit.

Bombing such a large area within a residential neighborhood in the middle of the afternoon cannot but cause civilian casualties and hit public buildings, Lacharite said. In the past two days, three hospitals in Mykolaiv have been hit by airstrikes.

In the northeast, Oleh Syniehubov, the military governor of Ukraine's Kharkiv region, said Tuesday that Russian forces had killed six people and injured eight others in Kharkiv and Chuhuiv. "Over the past day, the occupiers have struck 54 strikes from various long-range weapons: artillery strikes, mortar and tank shelling, MLRS shelling, he said in a statement on Telegram.

In the countrys east, Western analysts and officials have said they expect Russian forces to push to expand beyond the territory where the Kremlin has fomented an 8-year-old separatist conflict.

The Ukrainian militarys general staff wrote on Facebook that, in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Russian forces were trying to take control of the cities of Popasna and Rubizhne, while continuing to lay siege to Mariupol, whose capture would be key to establishing a land bridge with the Crimean peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.

The enemy is regrouping troops and concentrating its efforts on preparing an offensive operation in the east of our country," the statement said, adding that the objective was full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions."

British military intelligence said in an assessment Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had reasserted control of some crucial northern terrain, including areas around the city of Chernihiv and north of Kyiv, although it said low-level fighting might persist in some of those areas.

Many of those Russian units, however, will be unable to redeploy to eastern Ukraine until they have undergone significant refitting, the assessment said.

With nearly a quarter of Ukraines population displaced by war, and more than 4 million seeking safety beyond its borders, the biggest movement of refugees seen within Europe since World War II has prompted action from some unusual quarters.

In scenes carried live Tuesday by Japans national broadcaster NHK, 20 Ukrainian refugees arrived from Poland on a special flight arranged by the foreign minister in a high-profile show of support. There are already about 400 Ukrainian refugees in Japan.

McDonnell reported from Kyiv, King from Budapest, Hungary, and Jarvie from Atlanta. Times staff writers Tracy Wilkinson and Courtney Subramanian in Washington contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Queen has continued with her official duties at Windsor Castle  just days ahead of the first anniversary of the Duke of Edinburghs death.

The 95-year-old held virtual audiences on Tuesday, welcoming the Ambassadors of Libya and the Republic of Congo, who presented their credentials via video-link from Buckingham Palace.

The Queen receives Pascal Gayma, the Ambassador from the Republic of the Congo (Yui Mok/PA)

Last week, the nations longest reigning monarch, who has spoken of her mobility problems, rallied for a poignant final farewell to her husband of 73 years at a memorial service in his honour.

The Queen, escorted by her controversial son, the Duke of York, gathered in Westminster Abbey with Philips friends and family and charity workers for her first official appearance outside a royal residence in nearly six months.

The Queen and the Duke of York arrive at the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of the Duke of Edinburgh (Richard Pohle/The Times/PA)

Saturday marks one year since the duke, the countrys longest-serving consort and the Queens strength and stay, died at Windsor at the age of 99.

The monarch is expected to mark the sad milestone privately at her Berkshire castle.

She is set to reach her 96th birthday in just over two weeks time, on April 21, and is less than two months away from the major celebrations to mark her Platinum Jubilee.

The Queen on screen during the audience (Yui Mok/PA)

During the video call, the Queen, wearing a floral day dress, smiled widely as she appeared on screen sitting at her desk in the Oak Sitting Room.

Questions remain as to what involvement Andrew, who paid millions out of court to settle a civil sexual assault case, will have in the Jubilee, amid suggestions he could appear at the service of thanksgiving and even the Epsom Derby despite stepping down from public duties.
BUCHA, Ukraine (AP)  Moscow faced global revulsion and accusations of war crimes Monday after the Russian pullout from the outskirts of Kyiv revealed streets strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians, some of whom had seemingly been killed at close range.

The grisly images of battered bodies left out in the open or hastily buried led to calls for tougher sanctions against the Kremlin, namely a cutoff of fuel imports from Russia. Germany and France reacted by expelling dozens of Russian diplomats, suggesting they were spies, and U.S. President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin should be tried for war crimes.

Ira Gavriluk holds her cat as she walks next to the bodies of her husband, brother, and another man, who were killed outside her home in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022.





Ira Gavriluk holds her cat as she walks next to the bodies of her husband, brother, and another man, who were killed outside her home in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. (Felipe Dana/)

This guy is brutal, and whats happening in Bucha is outrageous, Biden said, referring to the town northwest of the capital that was the scene of some of the horrors.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left the capital, Kyiv, for his first reported trip since the war began nearly six weeks ago to see for himself what he called the genocide and war crimes in Bucha. He said dead people had been found in barrels, basements, strangled, tortured.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy examines the site of a recent battle in Bucha close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Apr. 4, 2022.





Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy examines the site of a recent battle in Bucha close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Apr. 4, 2022. (Efrem Lukatsky/)

Later, in a video address to the Romanian parliament, Zelenskyy said he fears there are places where even worse atrocities have happened.

The military tortured people, and we have every reason to believe that there are many more people killed, he said. Much more than we know now.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the scenes outside Kyiv as a stage-managed anti-Russian provocation. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the images contained signs of video forgery and various fakes.

Ukrainian officials said the bodies of at least 410 civilians have been found in towns around Kyiv that were recaptured from Russian forces in recent days.

Ukrainian soldiers examine destroyed Russian military vehicles following a battle in Bucha, close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022.





Ukrainian soldiers examine destroyed Russian military vehicles following a battle in Bucha, close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. (Efrem Lukatsky/)

European leaders and the United Nations human rights chief joined the Ukrainians in condemning the bloodshed that was exposed after Russian troops withdrew from the capital area.

At the same time, many warned that the full extent of the horrors has yet to emerge.

I can tell you without exaggeration but with great sorrow that the situation in Mariupol is much worse compared to what weve seen in Bucha and other cities, towns, and villages nearby Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the images from Bucha reveal the unbelievable brutality of the Russian leadership and those who follow its propaganda. And French President Emmanuel Macron said there is clear evidence of war crimes in Bucha that demand new punitive measures.

Im in favor of a new round of sanctions and in particular on coal and gasoline. We need to act, he said on France-Inter radio.

Though united in outrage, the European allies appeared split on how to respond. While Poland urged Europe to quickly wean itself off Russian energy, Germany said it would stick with a gradual approach of phasing out coal and oil imports over the next several months.

The U.S. and its allies have sought to punish Russia for the invasion by imposing sweeping sanctions but fear further harm to the global economy, which is still recovering from the pandemic. Europe is in a particular bind, since it gets 40% of its gas and 25% of its oil from Russia.

Putins Feb. 24 invasion has left thousands of people dead and forced more than 4 million Ukrainians to flee their country.

This is a war of murders, a lot of blood. A lot of civilians are dying, said Natalia Svitlova, a refugee from Dnipro in eastern Ukraine who fled to Poland. I dont understand why this is possible in the 21st century and why no one can stop it.
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YEREVAN, APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, ARMENORESS was infomred from the Offic eof the Prime Minister.

The interlocutors touched upon the issues on the agenda of the Armenian-US relations, highlighted the further development and strengthening of bilateral cooperation in various spheres. The Prime Minister thanked the American side for its support to Armenia in the direction of democratic reforms, noting that the further strengthening of democracy is the policy adopted by the Armenian Government.

Nikol Pashinyan and Antony Blinken referred to the processes taking place in the South Caucasus, the increasing tensions over Nagorno Karabakh. Nikol Pashinyan presented the situation in Artsakh caused by the actions of the Azerbaijani units, the humanitarian issues and attached importance to the addressed reaction of the United States.

The parties stressed the importance of ensuring stability and peace in the region, emphasizing the importance of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs format. The sides also referred to the trilateral meeting to be held in Brussels on April 6.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the US Secretary of State exchanged views on the demarcation and delimitation of border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the possibility of unblocking communications in the region, as well as the ongoing dialogue between Armenia and Turkey.

The sides also referred to the processes taking place in the international arena, including the situation in Ukraine.
Saab has signed a contract with the Finnish Defence Forces for the delivery of combat training simulators to supplement the live training solutions already installed with the customer. The total order value is approximately SEK 152 million and the order was booked in Q1 2022.

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Saab offers world-leading training solutions and capabilities enabling interoperability and realism for land forces. (Picture source: Saab)

The contract includes an upgrade of the Finnish military training facility in Pori brigade and its equipment, as well as other individual types of simulators with eight separate troop units. The purpose of the products ordered is to continue the use of the training simulators until the end of 2032.

Our innovative and flexible training solutions will secure Finlands training capability for the next decade, allowing them to train with the highest degree of realism, says Asa Thegstrom, head of Saabs business unit Training & Simulation.

This contract provides the Finnish Defence Forces with a further enhanced live training capability, which will enable us to improve the capabilities of the Defence Forces, both within the national border as well as in multinational collaborations with partners, says Colonel Kari Pietilainen, Assistant Chief of Staff, Training Division (J7), Defence Command of Finnish Defence Forces.

Through innovative use of technology and well-proven training philosophy, Saab offers world-leading training solutions and capabilities enabling interoperability and realism for land forces. Saabs offer includes solutions for live training, live-fire training, virtual training and training services.
In another incident, dacoits shot dead a man inside his house in the same district which falls under Bodoland Territorial Region

Assam has witnessed a spurt in police encounters since Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed office on May 10 last year. (Representational image: ANI)

Guwahati: Two surrendered National Liberation Front of Bodoland (NLFB) militants, allegedly involved in dacoity, were killed and an additional superintendent of police was injured in a gunfight in Assam's Chirang district on Tuesday, police said.

In another incident, dacoits shot dead a man inside his house in the same district which falls under Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).

Acting on a tip-off about the presence of former NLFB militants suspected to have been involved in dacoity incidents in three villages along the India-Bhutan border on March 29, an operation was launched in Runikhata area on Monday night, a police officer said.

The suspected dacoits, who were hiding inside a house, opened fire on the police team on spotting them early on Tuesday. In retaliatory firing, two of them, including Mahanta Narzary, a prime accused in a dacoity case, were killed while Additional Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) Prakash Medhi and his bodyguard sustained bullet injuries.

Around two-three people who were inside the house, however, managed to escape and search operations have been launched to nab them.

Medhi, who received bullet injuries on his right hand, and his bodyguard were shifted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) for treatment.

Two pistols were seized from the encounter site.

"Valiant action by Additional SP Prakash Medhi. Despite receiving bullet injury, he and his team neutralised two criminals after heavy exchange of fire in Runikhata, Chirang early this morning.@Assam Police is proud of you," Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) G P Singh tweeted.

Around the same time, a group of suspected dacoits barged into a house in Kamarpara in Dhaligaon police station area, and when the residents raised an alarm, they shot dead a family member, identified as Raja Bodo, and left the place.

Police officers reached the spot and launched a combing operation to nab the killers.

Assam has witnessed a spurt in police encounters since Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed office on May 10 last year, with 40 people killed and at least 91 injured in such incidents since then.

The NLFB militants had surrendered last year.

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 has been withdrawn from 23 districts of Assam, including those falling under BTR, from April 1.
Under Article 224-A(1) of the constitution of Pakistan, a caretaker government is set up to organize elections in the country

Islamabad: Pakistan's former chief justice Gulzar Ahmed was on Monday nominated for the office of the caretaker prime minister by incumbent Imran Khan, amid ongoing political crisis in the country.

Former information minister and senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party Fawad Chaudhry said that the premier made the decision after approval from the party's core committee.

The announcement comes after President Arif Alvi sent letters to Prime Minister Khan and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif on Monday seeking suggestions for the appointment of a caretaker prime minister.

"In response to the President's letter, after consultation and approval by the PTI Core Committee, Prime Minister Imran Khan has nominated Pakistan's former chief justice Gulzar Ahmed for the post of caretaker Prime Minister," Chaudhry said.

In his letter, President Alvi told them in case they do not agree on the appointment within three days of the dissolution of the Parliament, they shall forward two nominees each to a committee to be constituted by the Speaker, comprising eight members of the outgoing assembly, or the Senate, or both, having equal representation from the treasury and the opposition.

The Constitution has empowered the president to appoint a caretaker prime minister in consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly, the President's Secretariat said in a statement.

Under Article 224-A(1) of the constitution of Pakistan, a caretaker government is set up to organize elections in the country.

Khan will continue as the prime minister till the appointment of a caretaker prime minister.

So far Shehbaz Sharif has refused to take part in the process, terming it illegal.

Born in 1957, Justice Ahmed served as chief justice from December, 2019 until his retirement in February 2022.

He was part of a five-judge bench that disqualified former premier Nawaz Sharif in the Panama Papers case. He made headlines multiple times due to his strong verdicts and comments against governments and bureaucrats.

Justice Ahmed had also ordered authorities to reconstruct a temple vandalised by a mob in northwest Pakistan and instructed them to recover the money for the restoration work from the attackers whose act had caused "international embarrassment" to Pakistan.

He had also attended a grand function at the rebuilt temple to celebrate Diwali festival last year and to express solidarity with the members of the Hindu community.
by Arundathie Abeysinghe

The leaders of eleven parties have asked President Rajapaksa for an interim government to adopt new policies to cope with a shortage of basic goods. Sirisena's Sri Lanka Freedom Party left the ruling coalition. Four main Buddhist groups call for the government to step aside.

Colombo (AsiaNews)  The leaders of an eleven-party alliance that has the majority in the Sri Lankan parliament have asked President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to form an interim government to adopt new policies as a first step to resolve the country's economic crisis. This follows the resignation of every cabinet minister in the wake of countrywide protests.

Political analysts agree that a new interim government should not follow the policies that have aggravated the current crisis, but implement concrete solutions to deal with high food prices, shortages of food as well as fuel, gas and electricity and essential medicines.

The main cause of the current crisis is the lack of dollars in the state's coffers, economic analysts told AsiaNews. Like most countries of the world facing similar economic crises, loans and interest payments should be delayed through a moratorium policy for a period of five years.

Had this been done instead of repaying a US$ 6 billion loan, money would have been used to obtain essential goods to alleviate the countrys suffering.

Some left-wing parties, including the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), believe the government should not seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as this would only lead to further debt.

Recently, former Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, leader of the United National Party (UNP), denied reports suggesting that he was asked to form a national unity government.

According to UNP sources, the only solution is a national consensus with a caretaker government of all parties under the Chief Justice to organise elections as soon as possible.

According to government sources, representatives from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by former President Maithripala Sirisena met with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday for urgent talks, but nothing came of them.

The SLFP has decided to leave the ruling coalition and its members now sit separately in Parliament.

For his part, President Rajapaksa, who discussed the crisis with 132 MPs from his coalition, asked all political parties in Parliament to offer their help in finding solutions to current economic challenges. He also appointed four ministers to conduct government business until a full cabinet is appointed.

The leaders of Sri Lanka's four major Buddhist groups also wrote to President Rajapaksa, presenting six proposals to resolve the economic crisis, including the formation of an interim government.

Meanwhile, protests continue in various parts of the country with larger crowds, which now include professionals, artists and students. In addition, protests are being reported among Sri Lanka communities around the world.
by Mathias Hariyadi

General Perkasa ends the legal ban on children and grandchildren of PKI members. The party was dissolved in 1966. Dictator Suharto engaged in propaganda war against his political opponents. Even now, public service jobs can be denied on allegations of communist ties.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  The Indonesian military has decided to lift the ban that prevented the children and grandchildren of members of the dissolved Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) from serving in the Armed Forces.

The Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, General Andika Perkasa, made the announcement today, saying anyone, regardless of their familys political history, can now join the military.

Today there are no more descendants of PKI militants, the general said. My idea is simple: there is no longer any legal basis for this ban.

The Communist Party of Indonesia was outlawed in 1966 after some military officers linked to it staged a failed coup on 30 September 1965.

Since then, any link with Communism, Leninism or Marxism was strictly forbidden and any violation considered a serious offence against the state.

At the same time, any connection with the PKI has often been used by Indonesian parties to discredit their opponents.

President Suharto and his authoritarian regime, which ruled Indonesia from 1967 to 1998, waged a propaganda war to crush any political opponent or dissident voice.

Now General Perkasa's decision has sparked a debate in the country. Some right-wing critics are openly hostile.

However, Bobby Adhityo Rizaldi, a member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, backs the measure, stressing that lifting the ban does not guarantee that candidates will be selected.

J. Kristiadi, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic of International Studies (CSIS) Jakarta, told AsiaNews that General Perkasas move should be supported.

The anti-PKI argument has been widely used to intimidate and slander people every time they apply for a public service job.

Human rights associations have long criticised it, describing the practice as state discrimination against its citizens.

In the last general elections in 2019, the former Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, General (Ret) Gatot Nurmantyo, used the PKI stigma to attack President Joko Widodo, who was once accused of having parents closely lied to the PKI in his hometown in Central Java.
by Dario Salvi

The patriarchs and other Church leaders in the Holy Land issued a harsh statement against the threat posed by Ateret Cohanim. They blame the extremist group, which is trying to seize Christian properties, for illegitimate actions, intimidation and violence that undermine peace and justice. The controversy goes back more than a decade, involving the former Greek Orthodox patriarch, who was dismissed as a Judas.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews)  The patriarchs and heads of the Churches of Jerusalem issued a statement expressing their fears in relation to the fate of the Little Petra Hotel owned by the Greek Orthodox Church but claimed by a Jewish extremist group.

The acquisition by Ateret Cohanim of the building in the Christian Quarter threatens the very survival of the Christian community and endangers the peaceful coexistence of the various religious groups that inhabit Jerusalems Old City.

In their statement, Church leaders condemn several times the illegitimate actions" by the group, which follow a pattern of intimidation and violence. For the prelates, Ateret Cohanim has committed criminal acts of break-in and trespass by occupying the Greek Orthodox Church's property, the Little Petra Hotel. The extremists act as if they are above the law, with no fear of consequences.

This issue is not about the individual properties, but about the whole Caracter of Jerusalem including the Christian Quarter. The Little Petra Hotel stands on the pilgrim route for the millions of Christians who visit Jerusalem each year. It represents Christian heritage, and speaks of our very existence in this place.

Israeli radical extremist groups like Ateret Cohanim are already targeting and hijacking our beloved Old City of Jerusalem and imposing their illegitimate and dangerous agenda on all sides.

We refuse this and we say: this will lead to instability and tension at the time when all are trying to de-escalate and build trust, to build towards justice and peace. Acts of coercion and violence cannot lead to peace.

A ten-year struggle

On 26 March, some extremists broke into the disputed hotel, which stands near the Jaffa Gate. Once a hotel for pilgrims, it is now at the centre of a long legal battle.

The following evening, police and extremists illegally occupied the first floor of the building even though the dispute over the property has not yet been settled. In addition, the police allegedly arrested three Palestinians and prevented hotel tenants and lawyers from entering it.

A few days later, on 29 March, a large delegation of Christian leaders and Church officials, accompanied by foreign diplomats and Muslim representatives visited the building to show their solidarity. They included Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, the Custos of the Holy Land Francesco Patton, and Mgr Giacinto Marcuzzo, former patriarchal vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine.

For several years, extremist Israeli groups have been trying to seize properties in the Old City, putting economic and political pressure on Arab Christian and Muslim residents, to get them to sell the land, or find ways to seize their properties.

The Little Petra Hotel case goes back to 2004, when, three foreign private companies, Ateret Cohanim bought Little Petra's first floor and two other properties, the Imperial Hotel and a residential building in the Old City, owned by the patriarchate through.

This angered the Palestinians and led to the defrocking in 2005 of Patriarch Irenaios, predecessor of Theophilos III.

The Greek Orthodox Church is opposed to the deals, calling them "illegal" and "unauthorised, and took the case to court. Its petition was rejected on 1 August 2017 by a district court, which led the Patriarchate to file an appeal before the Israeli Supreme Court.

As the controversy dragged on, resentment has grown among Christians, especially Palestinian Christians, who expressed their disappointment during the Christmas celebrations the following year, with complaints that their land and property were being sold off.

On 10 June 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that the Jewish group had legal rights over the three properties obtained through foreign intermediaries. In December of 2019, the Jerusalem District Court challenged the Supreme Court's ruling, suggesting the possibility of a new legal action.

Finally, on 24 June 2020 the district court finally (perhaps) dismissed the Patriarchates application, effectively backing Ateret Cohanims claim; nonetheless, the top floor is still owned by the Greek Orthodox Church, which leases it to a Palestinian family.

However, the case has scarred the parties. Local Christians are still protesting, and the affair might yet end up once again in the hands of the Israeli Supreme Court.

A divisive patriarch

The Little Petra Hotel, and more generally the issue of Christian properties, led to the removal of Greek Orthodox Patriarch Irenaios, branded by his own flock as a Judas.

In addition to several canonical controversies, he was accused of selling Church properties in Jerusalem. Strong local opposition saw the synod dismiss him in May 2005, a decision confirmed by the Pan-Orthodox Synod of Constantinople (Istanbul).

For weeks, Jerusalem Orthodox protested, while Greece, the Palestinian Authority and the Jordan investigated his work.

The scandal was made worse by the fact that one of the key people who backed Irenaios when he was elected turned out to be a notorious criminal, wanted by law enforcement in various countries. An aide to the former patriarch also fled when accused of corruption and embezzlement.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem dates back to the first half of the 16th century. In 1516, the Ottoman Empire seized the Holy Land and replaced the local Eastern Patriarchate with Greek monks who took over Orthodox buildings and assets.

The monks organised themselves as a religious fraternity, the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, responsible for Greek Orthodox from Greece, excluding local Arab Christians from any position of power or influence.

In addition to questionable personal and financial issues, Irenaios was hostile and aggressive towards other Christians, provoking continuous disputes with the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and violating the rules on the joint use of the Holy Sepulchre with the Catholic Church.

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The pandemic has impacted heavily on the labor market, which includes just over 2.6 million people. Among those who have lost their jobs, only about 7 thousand are local. An emergency that has affected foreign workers, including Christians, says the Vicar of Arabia. Prospects for future growth.

Mascate (AsiaNews) - In the last two years, since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in February 2020, in the Sultanate of Oman over 300 thousand people have lost their jobs. The vast majority of them are migrant workers and are unemployed due to economic hardships triggered by the global health emergency, with local authorities seeking to safeguard the local employment force at the expense of foreign workers.

Economy Minister Said bin Mohammed Al-Saqri. In an interview with Oman TV, spoke of the "enormous impact" of the pandemic, which took the country by surprise. "The huge impact of the pandemic was not expected by anyone in the world, and there is no doubt that the economy was affected, especially the private sector." He added : "We shouldn't measure the performance of the private sector in 2020 and 2021, due to the pandemic conditions, low demand and other reasons that led to the exodus of about 300,000 workers from their jobs. Of them, around 7,500 were Omanis."

The data show once again the enormous impact of Covid-19, at health and economic level, on the migrant population and foreign workforce, in the Sultanate as in many other nations of the Gulf and the Middle East in general. An emergency highlighted in recent days to AsiaNews by the Vicar of Arabia Mgr. Paul Hinder, according to which a substantial slice of foreigners left without a job are Christians also because "the government has launched a policy aimed at encouraging the employment of locals" and for this reason it becomes "essential" to help them find a job.

The Times of Oman reports that from the beginning of the year until March 16, more than 475 local workers were laid off, mostly in the contracting and construction sectors. Citing data from the National Center for Statistics and Information (Ncsi), Gulf News adds that over 58 thousand expatriates left the sultanate in 2021, although the overall number has been increasing since October last year. For the minister, the outlook is for growth in various sectors, thanks in part to the increase in capital and foreign investment with economic growth forecast at 4% in 2022.

Mascate is experiencing the fastest population growth in 50 years, with a rate of more than 9% per year linked to an increase in the birth rate and a decrease in deaths, thanks also to a strengthening of the health system. In 2020, the labor force was just over 2.6 million according to the World Bank: the figures include locals and migrants aged 15 and over, as well as employed and unemployed. The national economy is largely based on agriculture, fishing and foreign trade. Since the discovery of oil in 1964, revenues from crude oil have accounted for approximately 40% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), although in recent years the government has strengthened the development of non-oil sectors, particularly natural gas.
by Sumon Corraya

The Philippine Holy Cross missionary came to what was then East Pakistan as an agriculturalist. He later discovered his priestly vocation. For Bishop Ponen Paul Kubi, He loved the Garo and the Garo loved him.

Dhaka (AsiaNews)  Fr Alejandro R. Rabanal, a Holy Cross missionary originally from the Philippines, passed away on Sunday at the age of 88.

For many years, he preached the message of God among Garo communities, while contributing to the development of local rice farming.

Alejandro R. Rabanal arrived in 1958 to work as an agriculturalist in what was then East Pakistan. He later discovered a religious vocation and entered the seminary of the Holy Cross

He was ordained on 18 January 1988 at the age of 54 in Jalchatra, Tangail district, in the Diocese of Mymensingh.

"People still remember him for his great contribution, said Fr Lawrence Reberio, parish priest in Jalchatra, who was at the funeral service led by Bishop Ponen Paul Kubi of Mymensingh, also a Holy Cross missionary.

Fr Rabanal spent his life as a priest in various parishes in the diocese, among the Garo, an indigenous ethnic group, many of whom still do not know the Gospel.

He led such a simple life that it still leaves me speechless, said John Gomes, a Catholic in Mariamnagar.

His prayerful and simple lifestyle was exemplary for other priests, explained Bishop Ponen Paul Kubi. He was a real missionary.

He loved the Garo and the Garo loved him, the bishop added. He learnt their languages and culture. He entered their hearts. He was lovingly called achu, which means grandfather.

Thanks to his incessant pastoral work, Diglakona today is a lively parish and new members have joined the community in Sherpur district.

Friend of the farmers, in a country where 80 per cent of the population earns a living from agriculture, Fr Alejandro introduced new rice growing methods, making a fundamental contribution to the sector.

Once people in Madhupur did not grow rice but Fr Alejandro encouraged them to do so, said Fr Lawrence Reberio. Today farmers still produce it aplenty.

We have changed our socio-economic situation thanks to paddy farming. We are grateful to Fr Alejandro, noted Premsog, a Garo farmer in Jalchatra.

Many Garo attended the missionarys funeral as did many Catholic clergy and lay people, remembering him always with smiling face.

He was laid to rest at the Holy Cross missionary cemetery in Gazipur, near Dhaka.
Today's headlines: Shanghai remains on lockdown. India's Sonia Gandhi, Congress chief, speaks out; The Arab League offers to mediate between Russia and Ukraine; Criticism of Putin's war grows; Armenians and Azeris resume peace talks.

VIETNAM

Vietnamese authorities have authorized the distribution of 17 religious texts in the country's prisons, including the Bible. According to activists and former prisoners, this is a propaganda move, since prisoners will most likely not be able to freely profess their faith.

CHINA

Authorities in Shanghai have extended the lockdown for the Covid-19 pandemic. Restrictions in the eastern part of the megalopolis were to be lifted today, maintained after mass tests showed a surge in infections (more than 13,000).

TAIWAN

The average disposable income of residents of China's Fujian province ($ 5,850), one of the richest in China, is less than half that of Taiwanese residents (about $ 13,000). The figure emerges from a study by the Fujian Development Research Center.

INDIA

After her party's recent defeat in the state elections, Sonia Gandhi is back in the news. The Congress president has renewed her call for unity within the party in the face of the divisive policies of the Modi government, which has also been attacked for failing to lower energy prices.

MIDDLE EAST

The countries of the Arab League have said they are ready to mediate in order to put an end to the Russian-Ukrainian war. This was stated yesterday by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at the end of a visit to Moscow. Today Shoukry will meet with Ukrainian representatives in Warsaw.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

Gazprom Bank's director of IT operations, Ruslan Dostovalov, has resigned from all duties due to the conflict in Ukraine. He has written a farewell letter to all colleagues stating that "conscience does not allow me to continue working in this institution. Despite all the privileges I have enjoyed so far, I prefer to remain unemployed."

ARMENIA-AZERBAIGIAN

After the tensions of recent days, Armenia and Azerbaijan have decided to resume peace talks, which remained at the agreements of the end of 2020. A meeting between the leaders of the two countries will take place on April 6 in Brussels , with the mediation of Charles Michel, president of the European Council. If there are results, meetings in Moscow will follow, as desired by the Armenians.
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Share This: The Dallas Federal Reserve is warning that ongoing sanctions against Russia will lead to a global recession.

The warning, which comes in the Fed report The Russian Oil Shock of 2022, was made prior to President Joe Biden on April 4 calling for additional sanctions against Russia after reports of mass killings and war crimes committed by Russian troops in Bucha, Ukraine.

Russia denies the claims made by Ukrainian eye-witnesses. Biden called for a war crimes tribunal and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights called for an investigation.

If Russian sanctions continue, and international markets dont have access to Russian exports of oil, natural gas and key agricultural exports for the rest of the year, a global recession is inevitable, Dallas Federal Reserve economists project in the report.

The economists dont address whether sanctions should be imposed; they focus on economic factors contributing to a global recession.

In the Fed report, economists Lutz Killian and Michael Plante argue that immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine, early estimates suggested that perhaps 3 million barrels a day (mb/d) of petroleum production---almost 3% of world production---had been effectively removed from the global oil market, constituting one of the largest supply shortfalls since the 1970s.

Russia accounts for roughly 10% of global petroleum production.

The report refers to the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979 when the U.S. and other countries suffered economically from OPEC policies and werent energy independent.

Since then, however, the U.S. became the largest producer of crude and natural gas worldwide. It has the opportunity to become fully energy independent if those in Washington prioritized energy policy as national security policy, industry leaders argue.

Our nation has an opportunity to reshape American energy policy that recognizes oil and natural gas as an asset rather than a liability, Texas Oil and Gas Association President Todd Staples said.

Under the Trump administration, in 2019, the U.S. became...
Wesco Group, a leading paint, body and equipment distributor in the U.S. and Canada, is pleased to announce Capital Paint & Refinish and Capital Equipment has joined the Wesco Team.

Capital was founded in May 2015 by Todd Kinsel and his two brothers Craig and Scott. Since its inception, the team has continued to grow aggressively and has expanded to 11 locations in Texas, Louisiana and Colorado.

Capital Paint joined Wesco because of the nationwide footprint, great products, service and support. Service and support will remain the focus to give our customers the best chance for success in the collision industry, said Todd Kinsel.

Todd Kinsel has joined the Wesco Group as a principal partner and will continue to lead the growth in those markets.

We are excited to welcome Capitals customers and great team to the Wesco organization," said Lloyd White, CEO of Wesco Group. "We regard their philosophy of being an organization that is driven to provide value to customers they serve. This connects our footprint to become the premier distributer coast to coast.

The combined Wesco Group, which includes Wesco, Color Compass, Kemperle and now Capital, makes it one of the largest privately-held PBE distributors in North America servicing customers from more than 130 stores, 13 distribution centers, 12 equipment divisions and 11 training centers.

Source: Wesco Group
SUV

Let us think of Chrysler and the (sometimes) funny or (other times) horrific way enthusiasts bemoan its low Pacifica and 300 fortunes. But lets face it, Dodge is not too far away, though its model lineup is arguably a lot more successful in terms of sales. After all, they only have a Charger, Challenger, and Durango family.Luckily, we all know that fortunes may soon improve with the introduction of a second crossoverin the lineup. Stellantis recently confirmed lots and lots of sustainable new entries into the group, including PHEVs and pure EVs. More importantly, the automaker also substantiated the rumors surrounding the arrival of a Dodge Hornet subcompact based on the newly minted 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale.Alas, in a world overrun by the passion for crossovers, SUVs, and trucks, everyone knows that a single new entry into the field may not be enough  including automotive virtual artists. Case in point, the pixel master better known as Theottle on social media has decided to play with yet another Stellantis marvel and make it more American than ever.More precisely, the CGI expert is just toying with the idea of Dodge returning to the compact SUV segment with an Alfa Romeo Stelvio rebadge, named Journey. Fans may remember the first-generation Journey, sold for model years 2009-2020, was a mid-size crossover SUV that even got a short, global lease of life as the rebadged Fiat Freemont.Further adding heft to the rebadge revival idea would be the current Mexico-exclusive model that has reinvented the nameplate via Chinas compact crossover SUV Trumpchi GS5. Still, this CGI experts idea of taking the sporty Alfa Romeo Stelvio DNA and mixing it with Dodge Durango family traits makes a lot more sense, if you ask us. Too bad its just behind-the-scenes making-of wishful thinking...
CVT

One of the first people to review the Integra is Doug DeMuro, albeit the drive test will have to wait a little bit because were dealing with a pre-production car. The big question is, did Acura design a better Honda Civic Si?In a nutshell, yes. Doug tested the Honda a while back, describing it as disappointing in some respects. The biggest niggle is the existence of the Canada-spec model , which comes with more stuff for less money. For starters, the U.S. model doesnt get fog lights up front, LED turn signals in the side mirrors, shift lights, and parking sensors fore and aft. Secondly, America misses out on heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone automatic climate control, HomeLink, and wireless phone charging.It's pretty obvious why Honda left so many items out, and Doug points the finger at them for this very reason. Don't, however, think for a moment that the Integra is perfect. A continuously variable transmission that DeMuro refers to as an automatic way too often is standard, while the six-speed manual from the new Civic Si is a no-cost option in the A-Spec Technology Package. This configuration is estimated to cost in the ballpark of $35,000, while the-equipped base trim level is closer to the $30,000 mark.In other words, Acura decided to put the stick shift on a pedestal in order to squeeze out more dollars from prospective customers. On the other hand, were dealing with a longer and roomier car than the Civic Si. The only downside to roominess is the sloping roofline, which eats into rear occupant headroom. Seated out back, Doug cant help but touch the headliner.A rival for the Audi A3 Sedan, Mercedes-Benz CLA Coupe, and BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, the new Integra replaces the Acura ILX On that note, dont you get the feeling the Integra is that middle-aged dude thats trying to relive his college days even though hes bald and weighs at least 50 pounds more than in the good ol days? The Honda Crosstour resemblance is uncanny as well. Unpopular opinion here, but Acura just pulled a Blazer here in the sense that Chevys current Blazer is disappointing compared to the K5 that duked it out with the Bronco.
Upon stopping this uninsured vehicle in the @SStaffsPolice area we discovered that its driver has been driving for 50 years with no licence!! he has been reported and the vehicle has been seized. #reported #shift5dogs ???????? pic.twitter.com/ZGcUmGBE4h  Staffs Dogs & ARV (@StaffsDogs) April 4, 2022

The unnamed elderly man was stopped by Staffordshire Police's Dogs and Armed Response for a routine check. According to BBC , someone might have previously reported the owner of the van. They could've suspected he was driving without having proper insurance, or scuffing occurred that didn't require going to the station. The Police checked the plates and found out they needed to stop the truck for a quick check.The officers asked the driver to provide the identification documents and proof of insurance, but they were told that such documents were not to be found. In fact, they never existed. He had minded his own business on the public roads for half a century with no plans to obtain a license. The elderly man behind the wheel also never paid for insurance.Similarly, he never took the drivers license test. The procedure was introduced in 1935 in the UK, but it became mandatory in 1937.When The Police asked him what happened and why he didnt have either insurance or a driving license, the man just shrugged.The elderly driver was about to join other motorists on a British highway before being stopped by the Police. He was carrying painted pallets for transport.Further enquires showed that he drove on British roads since he was a teenager without ever having the proper documents requested by the law. He also never paid for insurance, something that's disregarded by authorities and other traffic participants, to say the least.The Police reported the man for not having a license, and the flatbed he was driving was seized. His case will be taken to the prosecutors for further inquiries.Driving without insurance carries a penalty of 300 ($394) in the UK. It also gives those caught six penalty points on the driving license. Unfortunately for those that dont respect the law and end up facing a judge, the Court is entitled to set any fine it seems fit. Other complementary measures like banning from ever driving again are also possible.On the other hand, driving without a license brings a fine of up to 5,000 ($6,560) and can even mean prison time. It wont be the case here, as the driver is over 70 years old.
Moscow hopes Kiev won't listen to "advisers" from afar: Russian FM

Xinhua) 09:33, April 05, 2022

MOSCOW, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Moscow hopes Kiev will follow its national interests at Russia-Ukraine peace talks, but not listen to "advisers" from afar, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

"It is not the talks that influence the course of the operation, but external 'players' who are trying to hinder these negotiations and keep the clashes 'on the ground' going on for as long as possible," he told a press conference following talks with Arab League (AL) representatives on Ukraine, according to a statement published by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"We know who gives such 'advice' to our Ukrainian neighbors. This is done with useless goals that have nothing to do with the interests of the Ukrainian people, the security of Ukraine, the security in the region of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and in our European region," he added.

"I hope that those who lead the delegation of Kiev at the said talks will start to be guided by their own national interests, the interests of their people but not listen to 'advisers' from afar, who sometimes only want to see how the crisis situation will continue to build up," Lavrov said.

He added that Russia will debunk fakes related to the special operation in Ukraine.

The minister also expressed the readiness to cooperate and continue to inform colleagues in the AL about the development of the situation, according to the statement.

The Arab Ministerial delegation, headed by Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, secretary-general of the AL, visited Russia to seek a diplomatic solution for the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The group, including representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates, will travel to Warsaw on Tuesday for another meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Do you want an edit button?  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022

Running Tesla, SpaceX, and the Boring Company cant be enough for someone with this much time on his hands. Right now, Elon Musk is keen on finding out if Twitter users would like a new button. More specifically, the visionary entrepreneur wants to know if his followers would appreciate the option to edit their posts.The move might seem like its insignificant, but on the 1st of April, the official Twitter account made a joke on this exact topic. The team behind the companys online presence most likely did not anticipate Musk turning this into an international debate point.Now everyone can express their option and vote in a Twitter poll submitted by Teslas CEO. But you might want to read it twice before deciding.To make his point even beyond what the poll will reveal, he used the terms yse and on just to underline that theres a real need for such an option on Twitter. The "yes" and "no" words wrongly used here can't be changed - for now.Elon Musk doesnt directly own Twitter stock. The huge investment was made through a trust fund. The sole beneficiary of that inheritance is none other than the famous American CEO.The acquisition happened on the 14th of March when Musk purchased 73,486,938 Twitter shares.It looks like Teslas boss is serious about changing how social media is doing things, and hes putting his money into doing what he thinks needs to be done. Elon Musk previously said that things need to take another turn in the space and has been very vocal about Twitter's Terms of Service. It's another battle on Earth for the man who sent a car into space.
Folks, I traveled to a camper expo in Europe to glimpse what the industry has to offer this coming year. And boy was I surprised to lock eyes with a camper capable of being that mobile home that won't have you second guessing your off-grid lifestyle choices, the Migrator Ultimate.In 2014, Europe registered a company under the name of Fim Caravans , and for four long years, that's all that was known. However, in 2018, this hermit-like crew crawled out of their R&D cave in Romania and showed the world what they had been working on. Four years later (2022), we've come face to face with their most updated version.What we have is a machine that is currently starting off with a price of 24,160 EUR (26,528 USD at current exchange rates) with taxes and all that jazz included. It may sound like quite a bit for a modern camper fit for two to four people, but keep reading as there are reasons this puppy is priced as it is.Now, one thing I noticed right from the start is that the Ultimate seems to be inspired by the teardrop camper lifestyle. However, the main difference is that each trailer features modern styling, and the classic " teardrop " shape is nearly incomprehensible.The shell you see isn't built the way it is just to please the eyes; what you're witnessing is a fiberglass monocoque or monoblock shell. If you haven't had many run-ins with this type of camper, all I can tell you is that we will be seeing more and more being built this way. Why? Several reasons.One important aspect is that these campers yield one continuous body. What does this mean when we start to consider the elements? Well, it means that there's no way for water and dust to make it into your camper or even seep into the layers of the construction. The only segments of the habitat that are added onto a completed shell are the two lateral doors, a nose storage bay, and the hatch at the rear, all of which lift vertically with the use of air springs. All that's then set down on an AL-KO braked axle chassis with "mixed and off-road usage."From here, the interior is prepared to be explored and completed with the necessary goodies you may need to comfortably survive off-grid. Honeycomb insulation from Armacell between the shell and interior paneling is added to ensure a warm habitat. Still, if you want to extend your camping season into the colder months, your interior will have to be heated with an added option, so bring along a few extra bucks Now, while you're out and about adventuring, it will come time to lay your head to rest for the night. To help you do that, Ultimate is equipped with two single mattresses that can easily be manipulated to free up space. If you're into stargazing, there's a rooftop vent to view the night sky, LEDs for reading a book, or USB ports to recharge a device.Another feature you can fiddle with is the Reimo PC380 display and control system, helping you keep an eye on interior and exterior temperatures, water tanks, battery levels and voltage, and even control some of the living systems. As for batteries, inverters, and any other equipment that you may bring along, outside and at the front of the Migrator, there's a nosecone storage where these systems are mounted.In the time that I've been writing about campers and the likes, there's one thing I rarely found inside (literally) a trailer this size, a galley. This feature is located inside the camper, and while this may feel like it would infringe upon the interior space allowed inside, it has minimal effect Once you open the rear hatch of the trailer, you'll lock eyes with a galley that occupies just half of the camper, and with it, you'll have access to a sink with a water tap, 40 liters (10.5 gallons) of freshwater, and a fridge to help you keep things cool. Personally, I feel this is a rather neat change to classic kitchens as you don't need to go outside your habitat just to grab a drink or snacks ; there's nothing like having a beer in bed. Furthermore, a shower setup can be added to the galley.With that, this little adventure is almost finished. However, I decided to use the manufacturer's configurator and see what my dream Migrator Ultimate would cost me. With things like a rooftop tent, shower and toilet room with porta potty, spare wheel mount, a bigger fridge, a Webasto heater, solar panels, and a few others, I was found looking at a habitat priced at 29,555 EUR (32,485 USD).At the end of the day, one downside is that if you fall in love with this trinket, you'll need to ship it over from Europe as it's not yet available around the U.S. Nonetheless, if you deck yours out like mine, for a couple thousand more, you can get one shipped over and still fall under 35,000 USD. I feel the future may be looking very bright for the modern camper and trailer industry
It was on March 2 when the French government seized a superyacht named Amore Vero (True Love), as a result of Russias violent invasion of Ukraine. The governments had just started imposing sanctions on Russia, many of them meant for its many oligarchs, who have been losing billions since the outbreak of war.The measure to seize superyachts pushed some billionaires to take their assets and move them out of reach, while others didnt have such luck. Among the unlucky ones seems to be one more of Vladimir Putins cronies, Igor Sechin. Thought to be Russias wealthiest and most powerful man after the State Leader, the Russian oil baron has a non-estimated wealth.On March 2, the French Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, shared on Twitter a letter that explained that authorities seized the Amore Vero superyacht in the port of La Ciotat in Southern France. The vessel had arrived there on January 3 and was supposed to leave on April 1, after undergoing repairs.But now its been a month since the vessel was seized, and its been nothing but a headache. Government seizing gives authorities custody over the vessel, but the owner still has to pay for all the mooring fees.A statement sent to Reuters by Rosneft, the company Vladimir Putin appointed Sechin as CEO of, denies that the superyacht belongs to one of the unnamed firms owned by the Russian magnate. This left the French government in a state of uncertainty, as it is yet unclear who is responsible for Amore Veros upkeep."We're continuing to invoice," Alice Boisseau, communications officer for La Ciotat Shipyards told Reuters . Asked who would foot the bill, she said: "We don't know." The bills include mooring, fuel, and upkeep, and, for some vessels, it can reach millions of dollars every month.Over in Spain, authorities impounded the $600 million megayacht Crescent in the port of Tarragona, in Catalunya, which is also said to belong to the Russian oligarch.
The first Model Y crossovers were, of course, produced at Teslas Fremont factory, but the opening of Giga Shanghai in China changed the perspectives completely. To complicate things even further, Giga Shanghai also builds the Model Ys destined for European markets, while the newly opened Giga Berlin does the same. Soon, Giga Austin would join the party , and the U.S. will also have a divided market with the Model Y delivered both from Fremont and Austin.So were not surprised that people are interested to see how different builds of the same vehicle compare to one another. The first comparison between the Chinese build and the Made-in-Germany Model Y comes to us thanks to the Nico PQ YouTube channel. Nico was one of the lucky people to have his new Model Y delivered personally by Elon Musk, who also signed his name on the car. Nico also owns a Model Y imported from China When Musk talked about Giga Berlin production , he let us know the new factory would employ the most advanced building techniques in the world. Up until now, Giga Shanghai has been the cutting edge star of the Tesla empire. Nico was surprised to see that the differences between the two cars were minimal and mostly due to the different trims and vintage. In the meantime, Giga Shanghai also implemented most of the changes we see on the MiG Model Y.Nico was impressed with the overall quality of his new car and found nothing to complain about. He had a small issue with the drivers door not closing as it should, but the problem was since adjusted. You might think being made in Germany, this Model Y benefits from better build quality, but the truth is the Chinese Model Y was also perfect in this regard. The new Performance model has softer trims on the door panels compared to the Long Range trim built in China.Other improvements worth mentioning are the heated wiper area of the windshield and the more powerful AMD Ryzen processor in the infotainment system. All these changes have also been implemented at Giga Shanghai in the meantime, so were not seeing much to talk about here. Unfortunately, Nico does not offer a more in-depth assessment, perhaps looking at the structure of each car to see if Tesla has changed anything underneath.
Instead, it limits itself, at an official level, at cheering the Ukrainian army and civilians on with kind words, weapons, supplies, and so on. Private citizens and companies, on the other hand, try to help the civilians of Ukraine get through this as best as possible.The last group of people to join the effort to help Ukrainians are Harley-Davidsons employees. As they were looking to find a way to give back and show support for relief efforts for Ukraine, they decided not to make a special motorcycle and then auction it off, as you might have expected, but a limited-edition t-shirt.Made together with United Way Worldwide, the piece of clothing comes with the Harley-Davidson lettering spread across the front, only this time written in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.The tee is already available for pre-order and goes for $35 on Harley's website . Of that, $26 for each piece sold will go to United Way Worldwides United for Ukraine Fund, which is providing assistance in the form of transportation, shelter, food, medicine and critical childcare supplies to support those in crisis.Harley does not specify what limited edition means in terms of how many of these will be made and doesnt give any indication as to how many it hopes to sell. The bike maker did however announce it is matching whatever amount will be raised like this by donating $50,000 for the same fund.At the beginning of March, the bike maker suspended its operations in Russia.
A couple of years ago, there were a lot of fears regarding the existence of Maserati. Stellantis was just forming, and the car community was wondering if the Italian brand was going to survive in this merger. Fortunately, the FCA and PSA groups that signed the deal decided to put the brand at the top. Its their crown jewel. Jay Leno drove their newest supercar and confirmed that Maserati made the right decisions with this vehicle. The MC20 astounded the American star, who keeps sharing with us his passion for cars from different eras. He even confesses that the car impressed him so much because it honestly surprised him. He didnt expect such a good package. Jay Leno really likes the MC20.The supercar is a fusion of design, advanced technology, practicality, and heritage. Its no wonder that it made such a good impression on a man that doesnt want to have anything to do with buying Ferraris. It shows that hes honest and consistent, traits that are hard to find these days.Jay Leno also praises Maserati for building their own V6 and underlines that if this wasnt going to be the case, then it would have meant the beginning of the end for the Italian carmaker. As he drives the MC20, he points out that the six-cylinder feels efficient and tight, while not giving up on the sound experience.Another important aspect he touches on is the fact that this car doesnt give up on comfort. It has versatility. You can drive the Maserati MC20 to dinner, but you can also have a blast on the track with the supercar.Maseratis America CEO Bill Peffer, however, said an important thing while sitting next to Jay Leno that needs outlining. He confirmed the MC20 is a testbed for future cars the Italian automaker plans on making. Its possible that with this vehicles success, the Italian brand will bring us more goodies in the future under Stellantis guidance. One things certain: future Maserati models will draw inspiration from the MC20. Lets wait and see if well receive something even crazier and fancier from the carmaker.Until then, you might want to wait for the convertible version, which will come with a retractable hard-top thatll also be available in a hybrid version.
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PHEV

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The Niro sits on the third generation of the K platform, also called K3. Before that, the Niro used the same architecture as the Hyundai Ioniq, called J Eco-Car. The change allowed it to be slightly larger. It is now 4.42 meters (174 inches) long, 1.83 m (72.1 in) wide, 1.57 m (61.8 in) tall, and has a wheelbase of 2.72 m (107.1 in).The first-generation Niro was 4.36 m (171.5 in) long, 1.81 m (71.1 in) wide, 1.55 m (60.8 in) tall, and had a wheelbase of 2.70 m (106.3 in). Curiously, theversion had different numbers for length (4.38 m, or 172.2 in) and height (1.57 m, or 61.8 in). The new Niro eliminated those differences.We already knew the cargo space for the Niro, but it is worth mentioning it again. The second-generation electric Niro has a frunk with 20 liters (0.71 cubic feet) of space, and it is also the one with more cargo space in the trunk: 475 l (16.8 ft), or 495 l (17.5 ft) in total when you also consider the frunk.The battery packs in the HEV andreduce the trunk space  the only cargo compartment they offer, for obvious reasons  to 451 l (15.9 ft) and 348 l (12.3 ft). It is a pity Kia did not find a better place to install these components. Something unusual happens with the second row of seats folded: the EV derivative loses its edge. The HEV offers 1,445 l (51 ft) of cargo space, beating the EV (with 1,392 l, or 49.2 ft) and the PHEV (1,342 liters, or 47.4 ft).The HEV and PHEV derivatives use the Smartstream 1.6-liter GDI gasoline engine. Neither Kia nor Hyundai disclosed the thermal efficiency of this mill. When the Korean group introduced it, it only said it had the goal to improve it by up to 50%, which does not help much if we do not have the starting reference. It could be the case that Hyundai meant it wanted it to reach a 50% thermal efficiency, but we cannot say that for sure.The four-pot delivers 141 ps (139 hp). In the HEV version, that adds up to the 32(43 hp) electric motor, but Kia did not disclose the combined power  there are losses in the integration. In the PHEVs case, it has a 62-kW (83 hp) motor, and the combined power is 183 ps (181 hp). The EV delivers 150 kW (201 hp) and 255 Nm (188.1 pound-feet) for a top speed of 167 kph (104 mph) and a 0-to-100 kph (62 mph) in 7.8 seconds.There are three interesting aspects of the car that are related to energy efficiency. The first is its low drag coefficient: 0.29. This aerodynamic advantage may be lost due to the frontal area of the crossover, but it is an outstanding number for a vehicle in this market segment.In the PHEV and HEV derivatives, the second-generation six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (6DCT) does not need a reverse gear. That alone saves 2.3 kilograms (5.1 pounds) while the electric motor takes care of moving the Niro rearward.The mass-saving efforts included the body-in-white. Despite being a larger vehicle, the second-generation Niros body weighs 20.3 kg (44.8 lb), while presenting more torsional stiffness thanks to the extensive use of high-tensile strength hot-stamping steel.The last bit of energy-saving effort comes from a 5.5high-voltage PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient). These ceramic resistors are self-regulated by temperature. When the weather is hot, the resistance increases, and the resistors spend less energy. When the temperature drops, resistance decreases, current increases, and these resistors heat up. The PTC is used on the PHEV derivative, and it extends the electric driving range in cold weather.Unfortunately, Kia is yet to reveal the battery pack's capacity for the PHEV version. It just stated that it could reach 65 kilometers (40 miles) of range under thecycle. The Niro powered solely by cells counts on a 64.8-kWh battery pack and can travel up to 463 km (288 mi) with a full charge.The Korean brand said that it could go from 10% to 80% of charge in 43 minutes with an adequate fast charger. That shows it works on lower voltages than the EV6, which uses an 800V system and charges much faster.
In preparation for its August launch, Psyche has recently completed a series of critical tests. To verify if the spacecraft is capable of withstanding the extreme space environment, a team of engineers at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California rolled it into a giant vacuum chamber for thermal-vacuum (TVAC) testing.This allowed engineers to see how the spacecraft behaves in spacelike conditions where there's no air to help it regulate its temperature. TVAC testing lasted 18 days in total. Then, to make sure that the spacecraft could regulate its temperature, engineers exposed it to the warmest and coldest condition it would face while traveling to the asteroid.After that, it underwent vibration, shock, and acoustics testing  which simulates launch conditions. When the rocket places the spacecraft into Earth's orbit, it will shake it violently, so the team must ensure that the machine can survive that.Lastly, Psyche had to go through acoustic testing, which replicates the noise it will endure at launch. If a spacecraft isn't sturdy enough, the loud sound waves produced by the rocket can actually harm the hardware. So Psyche was "blasted with noise a hundred times louder than a typical rock concert."After all the testing was completed, NASA determined that the spacecraft was in good condition and was ready to proceed toward launch. Soon, the machine will be moved from the JPL to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Psyche is expected to take off from Cape Canaveral in August. Once the spacecraft leaves our skies, it will take a swing past Mars for a gravitational push to reach its target: an intriguing metal-rich asteroid , also named Psyche.
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The Financial Times interviewed NIOs European president. Hui Zhang was the one who revealed the Chinese carmaker is having these discussions not only with Chinese automakers but also with foreign companies.If these conversations proceed, NIO will allow cars made by these other manufacturers to use its Power Swap stations. The Chinese company plans to have 1,000 of them abroad and 4,000 in China by the middle of the decade. The Financial Times articles brought some interesting facts about them.Each of these stations manages 13 battery packs and has a dedicated grid connection of 650 MW. That would be equivalent to a small power station and would be necessary to charge all the battery packs simultaneously. We suppose they charge them slowly, which could help extend the lifespan of these battery packs: fast charging constantly damages them.The current 700 Power Swap stations serve 180,000 vehicles NIO has sold since it started selling them. Theoretically, 5,000 stations could help 1.3 million EVs with the battery swapping system. However, that is not as linear: in places with fewer NIO vehicles, the stations will not work as much as those in which NIO has large sales numbers. The good thing is that NIOs battery swapping stations can be moved to other locations.According to NIO, the idea with swappable batteries was to lower the price of electric vehicles: battery packs account for one-third of these costs. The risk of issues with them also makes EVs depreciate. If they could just pay to use these battery packs, the automaker is the one bearing these costs, not regular customers. That will preserve the value of these used EVs.As the Financial Times rightfully points out, the central issue is that any company licensing the battery swapping tech will have to build its cars over NIOs architecture. Thats a requirement to make them compatible with the stations. Although it could save them billions in development costs, it also puts NIO as the supplier of very vital components.More than that, the companies that license this tech will help NIO establish the standard for battery swapping. NIO once told me that the possibility to share its battery swapping tech with other carmakers required a solid commitment to it as well as large scale synergies among different manufacturers.The reason is pretty clear. For NIO , introducing any changes to the format it has already established for its cars could make them unable to use their own stations. For other carmakers, it may be necessary to feel that they contributed to this standard in any way.A more convenient electric mobility could benefit from a universal standard for battery swapping . If it were widespread, battery packs could be much smaller, with ranges of not more than 200 kilometers (124 miles): enough for daily driving and convenient to swap after every two hours of driving. Making long-distance trips as convenient as those with combustion-engined cars is the last step to makingadoption stronger than it is today. We can only wish NIO good luck in these talks.
While we've conducted ocean recoveries during previous missions, and carried out helicopter captures using replica stages, this is the first time we're attempting to catch Electron with a helicopter during a real launch! It's all part of making Electron a reusable rocket. pic.twitter.com/DqRryUvDPX  Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) April 5, 2022

Rocket Lab has conducted three successful ocean recovery missions in which the Electron returned to Earth and descended into the water, slowed down by a parachute. The data collected during these missions helped improve the rocket's design, making it more resistant to the harsh re-entry environment. Not only that, but it allowed the company to better prepare for its 26th Electron launch, which will involve a mid-air helicopter capture for the first time.The mission, titled "There and Back Again," is expected to lift off from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula. The Electron will carry 34 payloads from different commercial operators to Earth's low orbit.When the rocket's first stage returns from space, a customized Sikorsky S-92 twin-engine helicopter will be ready to catch it. Before lift-off, the aircraft will move into position in the capture zone, an area located 278 km (173 miles) off the coast of New Zealand.Shortly after launch, the Electron's first and second stages will separate. Then, the first stage will plunge back into Earth's atmosphere and reach speeds of almost 8,300 kph (5,157 mph) as it descends.A drogue parachute will be deployed at an altitude of 13 km (8 miles), which will significantly slow down the stage. Rocket Lab's Sikorsky S-92 will snatch the returning stage and capture the parachute with a hook as it approaches the capture zone.After everything is secured, the aircraft will take the rocket's stage safely back to land. That's where Rocket Lab will run a thorough analysis of the vehicle and see if it's fit to be reused.The mission is scheduled for lift-off in the second half of this month within a 14-day launch window that opens on April 19th.
So far, there has been several yachts seized by governments all over the world. Most recently, it was Viktor Vekselbergs megayacht Tango , that ended up in the hands of the Spanish authorities, followed by The Flying Fox in the Dominican Republic, Phi in the UK, and more.But the worlds biggest and most technologically advanced superyachts, Roman Abramovichs Solaris and Eclipse, escaped the sanctions.The Russian billionaire has been moving his assets out of reach since governments added him to the list of oligarchs targeted by penalties. He made his way to Israel, and, after leaving Montenegro, his superyachts headed into Turkish waters . Turkey has so far opposed the sanctions against Russia.Solaris, Abramovich's latest build, which measures 140 m (461 ft) and is estimated at around $610 million, has to keep on moving after a Turkish port denied accepting berthing fees.The luxury vessel arrived at Bodrum Cruise Port on Monday morning. Although the marina is owned by the Turkish government, the port is run by Global Ports Holding, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. So, they feared that charging Abramovichs superyacht berthing fees could violate the UKs sanctions policy against Russia, Financial Times reports.But, since he was unable to turn the ship away on Monday morning, the operator had to give the superyacht a free pass to berth there for the day, before it went on its way.According to the same outlet, his other superyacht, Eclipse, moored in the Turkish port of Marmaris. Since there has been no issue with Eclipse there yet, Solaris might join it.
THIS IS NOT AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE



Tesla increased the price of the Model 3 RWD by 7000 in Germany to 49990



With that, the Model 3 is no longer able to get the 9000 incentives by the government. It know only gets 7500 pic.twitter.com/MZ6mHpn2iu  Tesla_Adri (@tesla_adri) April 1, 2022

Tesla started to raise the prices of its vehicles about a year ago, but things seem to have gotten out of control in the past months. With the cost of materials rising and a huge demand for the Model 3 and Model Y, Tesla saw the opportunity to adjust the prices and has done it brutally. No further than mid-March, Tesla increased the prices for the Long Range and the Performance trims of the Model 3 but left the price of the base model unchanged.This made sense, considering the skyrocketing nickel prices and the fact that the base version features an LFP battery which is both cheaper and easier to build. Nevertheless, it didnt take long and Tesla corrected this oversight with one of the highest price increases in its short history. In Germany and France, the Model 3 RWD is now 49,990 ($55,100), or 7,000 ($7,700) more expensive than before. The customers in both countries are lucky though, as the Italian and Portuguese customers pay 54,990 ($60,400) from now on.The Germans also lose o big chunk of the environmental bonus because the Model 3 now falls into the luxury cars category. Until last month, this amounted to a 9,000 ($9,900) bonus, with 6,000 ($6,600) coming from the state and 3,000 ($3,300) from the manufacturer. Now the bonus drops to 7,500 ($8,250), so the real price hike is even bigger. But again, the Italians get no bonus and still pay a lot more for the Model 3.Theres no apparent reason for the price increase of the LFP-powered Tesla Model 3 and certainly no reason for such a steep hike. It might be just a rude way on Teslas part to encourage customers in Europe to buy the Model Y, for which there is now more production capacity available. Indeed, the Model 3 Long Range and the Model Y Long Range have now the same price, at 56,990 ($62,600).As of now, there is no LFP-battery Model Y in Europe, but things might change soon. If Giga Berlin will start producing a cheaper Model Y in the future, we expect this to retail for more or less the Model 3 RWDs current price. This would effectively push customers in Europe to ditch the Model 3 altogether, leading to fewer vehicles imported from China
When you own a car thats so rare  the brand only built three units , common sense is to look out for it. Luckily, the Brunei Royal Family does appreciate the collection and has just sent the McLaren F1 GT to the UK for restoration.Initially, the company only needed to build a single F1 GT in 1997 to get FIAs approval for the 24-hour Le Mans and didnt need to sell it. But the demand made them build two other examples, which were sold to private customers. The prototype GT, F1 chassis #056, is currently owned by a private collector in Switzerland, while one of them was purchased by a Japanese collector.The last one of the three ended with the Sultan of Brunei. And Instagram account @brunei_car_collection , which, as the name indicates, follows the Sultans collection, has just revealed that his F1 GT arrived in London early last week.The car boarded in Brunei, and the plane arrived in England, landing at London Heathrow Airport. The supercar was deboarded out of the plane without a cover, but the employees quickly took care of that and took it away.The same account vowed to add more pictures of the supercar in the hold of the plane in the upcoming weeks, but it hasnt so far.The images shared on Instagram show that the McLaren is still in pretty good condition, unlike what some feared. Despite the fact that we dont have any close-up pictures, the bodywork seems to be intact, and the black paint is still in good condition. However, we cant see the interior.This comes a few months after the Sultan sent another McLaren F1 to the UK, known as chassis #008 and painted blue.The peculiar thing about the McLaren F1 GT is that it usually appears online every few years. Peloton25 , widely considered the internets leading McLaren F1 expert, claims the vehicles first appearance online was in September 2007, shared on Ferrarichat, in a thread about the familys car collection. Later on, a photo of it appeared around 2011 and again in 2017.The British manufacturer used a modified BMW 6.1-liter V12 engine developed for the GT1 model for the F1 GT. Paired up to a six-speed manual transmission, the power unit sends 618 horsepower (627 ps) at 7,500 rpm and a maximum torque of 480 lb-ft (651 Nm) at 5,600 rpm to the rear axle.Speaking of cars with a staggering price, the Sultan of Bruneis collection tops another list, too: the most expensive royal car: a $14 million gold-plated Rolls-Royce Silver Spur II . And he also had ten McLarens at one point, including three of the five F1 LM models, and an F1 GTR race car.
The Navys request was to have a drone capable of being launched from the guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) it operates. For that to happen, the first integration had to be achieved, and that was announced this week.Using an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer deployed with the 7th Fleet as a base, the first Aerosonde for the Navys DDGs took flight, opening up a new world of possibilities for ships that lack aerial assets of their own."This flight for Aerosonde represents the expansion of the platforms real-world maritime mission," said in a statement Wayne Prender, Senior Vice President of Air Systems at Textron.The systems long endurance capabilities make it an ideal platform for maritime ISR operations; search and rescue; and many other missions providing the U.S. Navy with enhanced real-time situational awareness at any time, anywhere.The Aerosonde, examples of which have amassed some 500,000 hours of flight time already, can operate day and night while carrying video equipment, voice comms, networking, radar, or automatic identification systems.The thing is small enough to fit in tight spaces, coming into the world with a wingspan of just 12 feet (3.7 meters). It is powered by a Lycoming heavy-fuel engine and can travel for as much as 140 km (87 miles) on a single outing.There are two versions of the Aerosonde made, the Fixed Wing, which launches and is recovered using a special rig, and the HQ, which can take off and land vertically, thus eliminating the need for rigs and runways.The U.S. Navy plans to deploy the second Aerosonde on its destroyers in the near future.
Leaders of the Hayastan and Pativ Unem blocs said that Pashinian is ready to make this and other concessions to Baku. They also accused him of jeopardizing Armenias territorial integrity with his conciliatory policy towards Azerbaijan.

These authorities have no mandate to lead the country to new concessions with false promises of peace, Hayastans Ishkhan Saghatelian told the crowd that gathered in Yerevans Liberty Square.

Saghatelian claimed that instead of strengthening national defense and security they are preparing the ground for new concessions by scaring Armenians with the prospect of another war with Azerbaijan.

None of us present here wants war, but we cant surrender to the butcher, said Aram Vartevanian, another senior Hayastan figure.

We cant lose again because we have nothing to lose anymore, agreed Pativ Unems Hayk Mamijanian.

A resolution presented by the two opposition groups to the demonstrators says that Armenia must remain a guarantor of Nagorno-Karabakhs security and avoid signing a peace treaty with Azerbaijan that would undermine the Karabakh Armenians right to self-determination. It warns that failure to do this would spark a popular uprising.

Any government that deviates from our vital demands will be sent to hell, Saghatelian declared before the protesters marched to a key street intersection in central Yerevan and blocked traffic through it for an hour.

The opposition warnings came on the eve of Pashinians talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that will be hosted by European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels.

The talks are expected to focus on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty. Baku wants such a deal to be based on five elements, including a mutual recognition of each others territorial integrity. Pashinian has publicly stated that they are acceptable to Yerevan in principle, fuelling opposition claims that he is ready to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and other political allies of Pashinian have said that Yerevan will also raise the issue of Karabakhs status in upcoming negotiations with the Azerbaijani side.

Baku has ruled out any discussions on the status, with Aliyev repeatedly saying that the Azerbaijani victory in the 2020 war put an end to the Karabakh conflict.
An Armenian government statement on the phone call said they discussed, among other things, processes taking place in the South Caucasus and increased tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The parties stressed the importance of ensuring stability and peace in the region, emphasizing the importance of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs format, the statement said, adding that they also touched upon the Armenian-Azerbaijani summit that will be hosted on Wednesday by Charles Michel, the top European Union official.

Aliyev and Pashinian decided last week to meet in Brussels as Azerbaijan pressed Armenia to accept its proposals on a peace treaty between the two nations. They scheduled the trilateral meeting with Michel a week after Azerbaijani troops seized a village in eastern Karabakh and tried to push deeper into the territory, sparking deadly fighting with Karabakh Armenian forces.

Russia called for an immediate Azerbaijani withdrawal from the zone of responsibility of 2,000 Russian peacekeepers stationed in Karabakh.

The U.S. State Department likewise deplored the Azerbaijani troop movements, calling them irresponsible and unnecessarily provocative. Baku rejected the criticism.

Pashinian was reported to brief Blinken on the situation in Karabakh caused by the actions of Azerbaijani army units.

The two men also discussed U.S.-Armenian relations and the conflict in Ukraine, according to the official Armenian readout of their phone call.

Blinken and the State Department did not immediately issue any statements on the conversation.
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Hyderabad: Prior to the Task Force police raiding the Pudding and Mink pub at Radisson Blu on Sunday night, customers inside the pub had consumed as many as 37 cocaine packets. Some 148 customers including 38 women had been detained and then released at night itself. Some of them were said to be linked to VIPs. Only two arrests were made.

The Banjara Hills police said on Monday that they seized five packets from manager Mahadaram Anil Kumar's counter. The 148 customers were released without collecting their blood samples, as "this was a high-profile case," cops said and admitted that samples were collected from only two persons, Anil Kumar and pub partner Abhishek Vuppala. They were later remanded to police custody.

During wee hours on Sunday, the customers were escorted out by police officials and women police till Banjara Hills gate. The police had already sealed the pub. During a search of the premises, cops seized a registered agreement stating that one Arjun Veeramachineni (absconding) was among the owners of the pub.

Forensic laboratories reports confirmed that the five seized sachets contained pure cocaine.

Interestingly, excise superintendent Naveen Kumar said that in the excise rule book, there is nothing called a 24/7 pub. Abhishek Vuppala had managed to procure a special bar licence that comes under category 2B, which is only issued to star hotels and gives permission to run 24 hours. They were meant for foreign tourists, he said.

There is no pub in our rule book. The 2B licence is a generic licence issued to star hotels. It is permitted to operate 24/7 while the same 2B licence is given to wine shops, assistant excise superintendent Kumar who is now superintendent of excise in Yadadiri said.

He said bar licences to star hotels are issued by the commercial tax department. We are only where the liquor is sold. People procure 2B licences for sale of liquor. A dancing hall cannot be called a pub, they are simply dancing bars, he said.

Our men are constantly keeping a watch on all the 40 pubs in West zone. Stringent action will be taken against pub owners, customers or anybody involved in the sale and purchase of drugs, said Joel Davis, deputy commissioner of police.

Initially, we suspected that the packets contained cocaine. Forensic tests confirmed this. Then we started questioning the accused, he said. "Special teams have been formed to nab the main-accused Arjun Veeramachineni. Until we get him, we cannot conclude where the cocaine was procured from," he said.

A senior cop said that, during the interrogation, pub manager Mahadaram Anil Kumar and the other arrested, Abhishek Vuppala, did not state as to from where the drugs had come and how the cocaine packets were lying on the manager's counter.

The document stated that the General power of Attorney (GPA) has the legal power to appoint the staff for maintaining the pub. Absconding Arjun Veeramachineni as also Abhishek Vuppala are partners, but as per the GPA Arjun had prime powers. He had purchased the pub from Tejeshwini a few years back, police sources revealed.
Big Eclipses Coming to Oregon / Washington Coast Next Month, Next Year

Published 04/03/22 at 4:25 AM PST

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Reedsport, Oregon)  Things are about to get all astronomical up in here.

Next month  in May  brings a wowing total lunar eclipse to the Oregon coast and Washington coast, but the real killer sight will be a ring of fire solar eclipse hitting the southern Oregon coast in 2023. (Above: 2017 full eclipse in Oregon)

Both Oregon and Washington stand in the line of total eclipse of the moon on May 15. Parts of central and southern Oregon will be graced by a near-total eclipse of the sun October 14, 2023.

Next month's lunar eclipse will be a difficult one in some ways, as the moon will either still be below the horizon or just barely above (depending on where you are) when it goes completely dark.



Two moments of a lunar eclipse at the partial stage (Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

Times are fairly similar throughout the Pacific Northwest, but much of the Washington coast won't get to see the moon until it's pretty much hit totality and quite dark.

For Portland, and the bulk of the Oregon coast, moonrise will be just beginning a little before it hits the darkest phase. Space.com staff say the extremely low angle of the moon and its darkest phase will actually make it very difficult to see for awhile, until it gets higher. For the Oregon coast and Washington coast, add the fact it's coming up in the east / southeast and the coast range mountains will make that take even longer.

The total phase begins around 8:29 p.m. in most places, but in most areas it's still below the horizon then, especially up around Westport on the Washington coast or northward. Farther down along the central Oregon coast and south coast it rises a bit sooner.

Total eclipse begins at 9:11 p.m. From about Lincoln City southward, it will just start to rise a bit off the horizon and but not yet quite above the Oregon Coast Range. Higher spots with a view east like Humbug Mountain near Port Orford should provide some excellent viewing  providing the weather cooperates, of course.

The full eclipse of the moon ends about 9:50 p.m. and by then it should've been well in view from the Washington coast down through Oregon beaches. After that it becomes a slowly receding partial eclipse, until that ends at 10:55 p.m. These are still astounding to watch.

The big solar eclipse of 2023 on October 14 will only produce the truly exceptional sights farther south, including the towns of Corvallis, Newport, Eugene, Florence, Coos Bay and Bandon. However, this one  according to Space.com and other sources like GreatAmericanEclipse.com  will be an annular (ring shaped) eclipse that will wander a narrow stretch of Oregon down through Texas. It will not be the full, total eclipse the region saw in 2017, but it will produce a still-spectacular ring of fire by blocking off most of the sun. Unlike that earlier eclipse, however, it will be visible as such a ring for five minutes in some places.

The south Oregon coast will get the good stuff first, with the initial appearance of the ring of fire at Reedsport at 9:13 a.m. Coos Bay through Bandon will follow immediately after, as this is a 125-mile stretch.

At the south Oregon coast, the full effect will be present for four minutes and 29 seconds with the sun at 13 degrees in the sky. The moon will only be blocking the center of the sun, creating that magnificent effect. Don't look for skies to get too dark, however.

At the 2017 eclipse, there was a brief ring of fire effect during totality, at least visible with the right equipment, but it was smaller than this will be. This time around, it will be a sizable glowing circle.

Space.com notes you will not be able to see the sun's corona as you could with the 2017 event.

That last eclipse sent the tourism world of Oregon into a bit of a tizzy, with officials greatly worried about a cosmic traffic jam on coastal highways and side streets. Although all rooms were booked up and restaurants brought in extra staff, the massive rush to the central Oregon coast never materialized. Some did not claim their rooms, worried about traffic problems or because weather wasn't completely cooperating at the last minute. MORE PHOTOS / VIDEO BELOW

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Oregon Eclipse: totality dissipates FAST #OReclipse Video Totality waning - quickly. Taken just now from Salem, Or. From https://www.beachconnection.net Posted by Oregon Coast Beach Connection on Monday, August 21, 2017



Solar eclipse at partial stage, 2017

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Dangerous High Surf Warnings on Washington Coast, Oregon Coast

Published 04/04/22 at 6:07 PM PST

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Long Beach, Washington)  From the northern edges of the Washington coast's Olympic Peninsula down to Brookings on the south Oregon coast, a spate of winter-like weather and surf warnings are lighting up the beaches of Oregon and Washington. A run of high wind warnings or advisories just recently expired for many beach areas Monday afternoon, except for high wind advisories still in effect on the north Washington coast through late tonight. (Photo above: Shore Acres near Coos Bay, courtesy Oregon's Adventure Coast)

High surf warnings are in effect for much of the Washington coast and much of the northern Oregon coast through Tuesday, bringing dangerous breaking waves of 15 to 34 feet to areas like Westport, Long Beach, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Manzanita and Pacific City. Areas north of Westport (such as Forks) or those south of Lincoln City (Newport, Coos Bay, etc) are under high surf advisories, however, through various times on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) offices in Medford, Portland and Seattle have issued these warnings and hazard declarations, and are urging extreme caution on beaches through Tuesday afternoon.

For the central and northern Washington coast, gusts up to 55 mph are still possible through later tonight. Earlier on Monday and Sunday, much of the Oregon coast and Washington coast went through an extremely windy period. Places like Mt. Hebo near Pacific City and Mount Hood saw peak gusts well over 70 mph. Cape Perpetua, Florence and Newport's Yaquina Bay Bridge saw gusts in the 60s.

North and Central Washington Coast High Surf Advisory. The NWS said this is in effect until 5 p.m. Tuesday, with large breaking waves up to 23 feet expected in many areas. They urge the public to stay out of the water, and smaller, rockier beaches (like those on the Olympic Peninsula) will be very dangerous to hang out on.

South Washington Coast / North Oregon Coast High Surf Warning. This is in effect until 11 a.m. on Tuesday, but with gargantuan waves breaking at 34 feet possible at times. This will cause significant erosion and serious dangers on the beaches. The warning covers Westport, Long Beach, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Rockaway Beach, Pacific City and all areas in between.

Highest surf will occur after dark making it especially difficult to see the rapidly changing conditions and shifting debris on the beaches, the NWS said. The incoming swells are coming from near due west.

Destructive waves will be washing over jetties and other structures: Oregon officials cannot stress enough how urgent it is to stay away from such structures or off most beaches. Severe erosion is expected and high surf may actually hit oceanfront buildings, such as some low-lying hotels or rentals in Cannon Beach.

Higher than normal water run-up is expected on beaches and low-lying shoreline, the NWS said. Keep away from large logs on the beach. Water running up on the beach can lift or roll logs which can injure or kill someone caught in their path.

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High Surf Advisory Central Oregon Coast. In effect from Lincoln City down through Florence, expiring at 11 a.m. Tuesday. Breakers up to 28 feet are expected in many areas, making smaller beaches like those at Gleneden Beach, parts of Lincoln City and Yachats absolutely a seriously dangerous place to be. Breakers like this could even cause logs and debris to come up over the D River access in Lincoln City.

Getting closer to the rocky ledges of Yachats or Depoe Bay will be an exceptionally dangerous thing to do.

Stay well back from the water's edge and be alert for exceptionally high waves, the NWS said.

High Advisory Southern Oregon Coast. This is in effect from 11 p.m. tonight until 5 p.m. Tuesday, bringing in large breaking waves up to 24 feet at times along the Curry, Coos and Douglas County coasts.

Large breaking waves of 20 to 24 feet will create hazardous conditions along the southern Oregon coast tonight through Tuesday evening, the NWS said. Stay away from the surf zone and off of jetties. Area beaches may become hazardous due to dangerous surf conditions.

This unusual winter-like storm in spring will produce some excellent wave watching in areas like Depoe Bay, Yachats, Cape Disappointment near Long Beach and Shore Acres near Coos Bay. Make sure you stay behind any barriers and keep away from the rocky ledges themselves  but it is possible to watch these spectacular sights in safety.

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The Neches River gently  usually  flows past a high point once called Tevis Bluff where time, tide and flood keeps carving a new western bank below where Nancy and Noah Tevis first set up a home in 1834.

Less than a half-century after the Tevises, the first mayor of the City of Beaumont, John C. Craig, took office in July 1881.

Comes now Robin Mouton, Beaumonts 42nd mayor, who will take office Tuesday. She will be just the third woman to occupy the center seat of City Council, the second Black person in the chair and the only woman now on the elected body.

Mouton, 61, won the mayoral runoff on June 19  Juneteenth  which now is a federally-recognized holiday celebrating freedom. But it is so named for the enslaved people in Texas who, on June 19, 1865, had first learned of their emancipation from bondage.

Mouton first won election to city council in 2015 as the member for Ward IV, the historic Black neighborhood where Moutons grandmother, Ida Herbert, got to vote for her granddaughter as a council member.

She went from not being able to vote, to having to pay poll tax, to voting for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, to voting for me, Mouton said of her grandmother who lived to be 103.

Its another historic marker for Beaumont, which started amid early lumber fortunes and grew a century ago into a boomtown largely fueled by early oil fortunes but has found itself now with a stagnant population thats stayed nearly the same since Mouton was born at the Hotel Dieu hospital on May 1, 1960.

Some might use the term stagnant to describe Beaumont since the 1960 Census pegged the citys population at about 100,000.

Others might say it was intentional to keep the city small because the major landowners wanted it that way.

But downtowns fortunes ebbed and flowed west from the city in the mid-1950s to the early 1970s as its retail moved toward then-new shopping malls built on former rice fields.

Mayors and council members in the 1970s decided to build new city buildings along Main Street including a City Hall, Civic Center, library and police station.

Gulf States Utilities, then the locally-headquartered electric utility, built its 17-story Edison Plaza in 1979.

That shining new construction joined with the four-story AT&T Building at 555 Main St, built in 1971, as new anchors of private investment to join with the citys attempt at remaking downtown.

The AT&T Building is now a focal point for city council  as well as a point of contention  on whether the city should acquire it or knock it down and market the space for recreational use. Like urban pioneers Nancy and Noah Tevis, who built a little cabin 19 decades ago, the draw is the gently-rolling Neches River.

For Mouton, considering what to do with the AT&T Building is a bit of a homecoming as much as is returning to city council after giving up her Ward IV seat to run for mayor.

Mouton spent her career with AT&T, then known as Southwestern Bell, and worked for all but two months in the building at 555 Main St., which once saw 1,300 people working there.

I spent my whole 32 years there, said Mouton, who retired in 2010.

She hired on in 1978, having just graduated from the former Hebert High School, current home of Beaumont United High School.

I remember them telling us then that the city was going to buy the building for a river walk. There were rumors for years and that we would have to transfer. And now, my new career involves the AT&T Building and the riverfront.

But the city council likely will not take up the question of whether to acquire the former AT&T Building on Tuesday because Mouton has not been part of executive session discussions since she stepped down from the Ward IV seat.

Mouton said she hopes her victory as mayor will lead to a more unified city council that residents are confident is working in the citys best interests.

Even Ward II Council member Mike Getz, who has been sharply critical of the citys plans to acquire the AT&T Building and endorsed Moutons opponent for the mayors seat, said in a recent council meeting that he intends to support Mouton.

But he added that if Mouton doesnt do a good job, shell draw an opponent in the 2023 city election.

Ward III Council member Audwin Samuel, first elected in 1984, said he welcomes the fresh energy coming to council with Durio, Turner and now Mouton.

I think were in a good place, he said. She brings experience, and that will make a difference. I believe we will be more collaborative. I believe we will have a very good council.

Mouton said she is hoping all residents will give her a chance in her new role, which also includes that of chief emergency management officer.

The role includes making the ultimate decision on issues like evacuation when disasters, natural or not, threaten.

Mayor Becky Ames, who turns over her gavel Tuesday to Mouton, had to endure 19 such threats during her 14 years as mayor.

Ultimately, Mouton said she hopes people will see her as mayor for everyone.

I hope people will give me an opportunity before they pre-judge, she said. Give me a fair shot. They may find out, I like her!

Dan Wallach is a

freelance writer.
Contaminated raw oysters containing norovirus have been reported in 13 states across the U.S. causing a total of 91 illnesses as of April 4, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The 13 states affected by the contaminated oysters include Texas, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Washington.

Additional states not currently listed may have received the contaminated oysters through distribution within the U.S., the CDC noted.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that the contaminated oysters were harvested in the south and central parts of Baynes Sound in Canadian British Columbia.

"State and local public health officials are interviewing people about the foods they ate a day to four days before they got sick. In interviews, many of the sick people reported eating raw oysters," reads a portion of the FDA report.

What should oyster retailers do?

According to FDA, there are a number of steps oyster retailers in impacted areas should take. This includes:

Throw away any remaining oysters or return them to the distributor for destruction.

Oyster tags related to the warning include: Nos. 1407063, 1411206, 278737 in BC 14-8 and BC 14-15s No. 1400036, in BC 14-15. Product tags will have 14-8and/or DEEP BAY, or 14-15.

Wash and sanitize containers and surfaces that may have been in contact with these oysters.

Wash hands with warm water and soap following the cleaning and sanitation process.

Norovirus is a contagious virus contracted as a result of having direct contact with an infected person, consuming contaminated food or water, touching contaminated surfaces and then putting unwashed hands into the mouth, the CDC said.

What are the common side effects when contacting norovirus?

A CDC webpage also details the symptoms related to a norovirus infection.

Norovirus causes inflammation of the stomach or intestines.

Norovirus is the most common cause of vomiting and diarrhea and foodborne illness.

A person usually develops symptoms 12 to 48 hours after being exposed to norovirus.

Most people with norovirus illness get better within 1 to 3 days.

Children, the elderly and those people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe infections.

Anyone affected by the oyster norovirus outbreak should contact a healthcare provider and report to the local health department. The CDC reports the outbreak is an active case and under investigation.
Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

The Texas Restaurant Associations President and CEO Emily Williams Knight and Chief Public Affairs Officer Kelsey Erickson Streufert are starting a Texas Tour to visit cities throughout the state, according to an April 4 press release. The pair will meet with elected officials, TRA members and potential members in town halls, private events and listening sessions, the release said.

We are also excited for the chance to share with TRA members and other restaurants and bars the latest industry data and the resources that are available, Streufert said in the release.  With more information, data, and opportunities to engage than ever, the future is bright for the Texas food and beverage industry.
Editors note: This story contains explicit language.

It was one thing to ask Texas teachers  during an ongoing teachers shortage  to make extra room in their busy home routines for online classroom teaching for months, then to monitor the latest in vaccine and mask mandates while waiting and adjusting yet again for a return to the classroom.

But now, as teachers attempt to restore all the learning lost by their students during the pandemic, the Texas Legislature has insisted those who teach grades K-3 need to jump another hurdle: they need to complete a 60-to-120 hour course on reading, known as Reading Academies, if they want to keep their jobs in 2023.

And they must do it on their own time, unpaid.

For many like 38-year-old Christina Guerra, a special education teacher in the Rio Grande Valley, the course requirement is the final straw and it is sending teachers like her and others out the door.

I don't want to do it, she said. I refuse to, and if they fire me, they fire me.

Course adds to teacher workload

In 2019, the Legislature wanted to improve student reading scores and came up with a requirement that teachers complete this reading skills course. Every teacher working in early elementary grades  kindergarten through third  along with principals, had until the end of the 2022-23 school year to complete it.

But then the pandemic hit, and now many teachers are deciding whether to complete it or call it quits.

Tina Haass, a math and science teacher in the Fort Bend Independent School District, often spends her weekends working her way through the course. After a long day of school, she doesnt have the mental energy to get on a computer and move through the courses seemingly endless sections.

Luckily, I don't have any kids, she said. I can't imagine some of these teachers having families that they have to come home to  they have to cook, they have to take care of their children.

This course takes at least 60 hours to finish, but in some cases teachers are taking up to 120 hours to complete it. Most teachers arent compensated for their time. Some districts are offering stipends, if there's room in their budget.

Exactly how many teachers who still need to take the course is unknown. According to a Texas Education Agency update, nearly 90,000 educators have either started or completed the course as of March 9. In the same agency update there is no mention of how many K-3 teachers still need to complete it. The TEA did not respond to questions about the required course or the looming 2023 deadline.

Teachers agree that improving reading outcomes is important as Texas struggles to meet reading proficiency assessments. In the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as The Nations Report Card, less than one-third of fourth graders performed at or above proficient level and only one-quarter of eight graders performed at or above proficient level.

But the pressures of the pandemic have forced many teachers to reconsider whether to remain in the profession. From 2010 to 2019, the number of teachers certified in Texas fell by about 20%, according to a University of Houston report.

After recent reports of more teacher departures, Gov. Greg Abbott formed a task force to address teacher shortages.

But teachers and public education advocates alike believe the state should hold itself accountable for the teacher departures, especially when adding requirements that add to teacher workload.

I just feel like a lemon just squeezing, squeezing, squeezing, said Guerra, a special education teacher in La Joya Independent School District. But there's no more, there's nothing that you squeeze out anymore. There's no more juice.

Guerra plans to leave the profession at the end of the school year.

Course exceptions, workarounds

As unforgiving as the deadline sounds, there have been a few curious exceptions.

The state has allowed districts to exempt art, health education, music, physical education, speech communication and theater teachers. But, there has been some confusion over whether or not teachers need an all-level certification in those subject areas to be exempt.

That extra certification allows teachers to teach early childhood education all the way to 12th grade. Meredith Connely, an elementary visual arts teacher in the Leander Independent School District, paid almost $200 and took an exam to receive her all-level certification.

Im seeing other people on my campus take it and it seems like it was $200 well spent, but I shouldnt have had to pay, Connely said. My time has worth.

The TEA clarified on Friday that the all-level certification is not needed. An Association of Texas Professional Educators survey of 975 K-3 teachers and administrators conducted last December, only 11 said they hold an all-level certification in one of the subjects that could be exempt. In that notice to educators this month, the Texas Education Agency seemed to suggest agency officials will consider ways to keep the Reading Academies course at 60 hours. Districts may also allow teachers to test out of the course.

And the TEA also informed K-6 teachers who have passed the The Science of Teaching Reading Exam that they can take a shorter version of the course. The TEA website used to say that teachers needed the all-level certification to be exempt and at least one TEA employee notified a teacher that they needed that certification.

Andrea Chevalier, a lobbyist with the Association of Texas Professional Educators, said the Reading Academies course is well-intentioned. They found that about 65% of teachers surveyed found the content to be valuable.

When Abbotts teacher shortage task force meets, Chevalier said teachers concern about the Reading Academies course should be addressed. n the same survey by Chevaliers group, nearly half of the educators reported that the course took more than 120 hours to complete. Only 18% said it took between 60 and 80 hours and 95% said they worked after hours or weekends to finish it.

More time for some, but still departures

Haass, the Fort Bend ISD teacher, said she feels like lawmakers who mandated this course didnt consider the time and effort teachers would have to put into it. Haass, who teaches math and science, said theres no logic behind her having to take this as she isnt the one teaching children how to read.

This is the hardest  Im sorry  fucking job Ive ever had, she said.

Jessica Jolliffe, assistant director of humanities at Austin Independent School District, said most teachers in the district are working on the course on their own time, whether it be after school, weekends or winter break. The district did give teachers time on Jan. 4 to just work on the course.

While teachers would rather not do this on their own time, Jolliffe believes the course content has value and can help students with their reading skills.

Back in the Rio Grande Valley, Guerra said her decision to leave teaching after 14 years was really made in the last two because of all the interruptions and criticisms teachers have had to deal with during the pandemic. Thats what she says. Abbotts task force needs to address.

Guerra outlines how she thinks teachers were treated badly these past few years. First, they were accused of not wanting to teach classes in person. Then, once teachers were back in the classroom, there were the accusations that teachers were teaching critical race theory.

At this point, I feel like there's no coming back for teachers after all of that, Guerra said. And the Reading Academy is just a kick in the ass after being treated poorly for the past few years.

Disclosure: Association of Texas Professional Educators and University of Houston have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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.

Clarification, April 1, 2022: In a previous version of this story it was reported that art, health education, music, physical education, speech communication and theater teachers were exempt from the Reading Academies course if they held an all-level certification in those subjects. The Texas Education Agency has recently changed that requirement so that those subject teachers do not need that added certification to be exempt.

Correction, April 1, 2022: In a previous version of this story it was incorrectly reported that K-6 teachers who have passed The Science of Teaching Reading Exam do not have to take the Reading Academies course. The TEA says those teachers must take a shorter version of the course.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/01/texas-teachers-reading-academies/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
The mid-day meals in the government-run and aided schools are provided by Manna Trust, and the GHMC's Annapurna meals are prepared by the Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Trust. (Representational Photo:DC)

Hyderabad: The state government pays Rs 4.97 per primary class student for mid-day meals and Rs 7.45 for every student in the upper primary classes and high school. In comparison, it pays Rs 18 per head for the subsidised Rs 5 meals at the Annapurna canteens.

Teachers say children who are in dire need of nutritious food are having to make do with smaller portions and tasteless food.

The mid-day meals in the government-run and aided schools are provided by Manna Trust, and the GHMC's Annapurna meals are prepared by the Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Trust.

Manna Trust said that it prepares the food at a centralised kitchen in the city and serves white rice and five different types of curries, one for each day of the week, and biryani on Saturday in the 690 government schools and 160 aided schools.

However, several government teachers that this correspondent spoke to said that dal which tasted the same was served on four days, spinach dal once a week and biryani on Saturdays.

"The dal or curry which looks and tastes similar is watery. Students do not eat the food as it does not taste good. The rice quality has gone down, and PDS rice is being served," said a headmaster of a government school. Despite several requests, the government has not taken action, he said.

"When we complain to the Manna Trust, they say that they have not been paid from the past year," the principal said.

A. Ashok, root coordinator, Manna Trust, said that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) must be questioned with regard to the quality of rice. Shravan Kumar, manager, Manna Trust, added that when the rice is supplied to them the government informs them about the percentage of grains being broken.

As per GO No. 75 dated August 29, 2020, which fixed the subsidy for the meals, Rs 2 has been allotted as cost of egg per day. Eggs are supposed to be served thrice a week, whereas students are served low-quality eggs only once or twice a week, said several government teachers.

Syamsunder, a government teacher in the city, said that two eggs were served per child every week and the quality of food served was poor. "The rice grains are broken; the government must serve better quality food. The cost per child for mid-day meals must also be increased to Rs 10," he said.

When asked about dal being watery, Manna Trust's Shravan claimed that those serving the food to students must mix the dal well. "We track the order every day and keep a record of food cans and eggs being sent to schools. We supply three eggs per week," Shravan claimed. A few government teachers did confirm that students are served three eggs a week.

Manna Trust, which prepares mid-day meals for government schools in the city, said that they had been instructed to prepare food for only half the school strength. "The enrolment number is different and the number of students opting for mid-day meals is different. We have been told that only half of the school strength has opted for a mid-day meal," said Shravan Kumar, manager, Manna Trust.

No survey has been conducted in schools where a student actually opts for mid-day meals, said CH. Ravi, general secretary, Telangana State United Teachers' Federation (TSUTF). "The subsidy cost paid to trusts is too low. Bad quality rice is served in the name of fine rice. Thus, most of the students have stopped eating mid-day meals and get their own lunch boxes. In the state, overall, hardly one or two eggs are given to students per week. "

He said that the trusts which prepare and distribute food were not yet paid for three months by the government, something that Shravan confirmed. The trusts have a memorandum of understanding with the education department which says that they cannot stop the supply of mid-day meals, even if they are not paid in time.

Asked about these issues, an official from the education department said that there was a proposal to increase the cost per child for mid-day meals. "Around Rs 4.3 crore has been released recently by the government and the pending payments are likely to be cleared soon," the official said.

The subsidy cost has not been given and efforts are being made to cover them in the new proposal, the official said.

With regard to the meal count, he said it depended on the previous day's attendance in schools. The attendance is usually low on weekends. "Field deputy inspectors are supposed to monitor the mid-day meals in the schools," said the official who requested anonymity.
Some of the Rohingya who were detained by police for leaving their refugee camps are seen at the Ukhia police station in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, April 5, 2022.

Bangladesh authorities were holding more than 300 Rohingya in transit camps after police caught them working outside their refugee camps in Coxs Bazar, or while leaving their shelters for other purposes, officials said Tuesday.

Human Rights Watch meanwhile renewed its call for the government to ease movement restrictions on Rohingya, saying that barring refugees from leaving the camps for work or shutting down their shops within the camps only compounds their misery.

During raids in the Ukhia sub-district of Coxs Bazar on Monday and Tuesday, police arrested 216 Rohingya refuges who had left the camps or were in the process of leaving them to go outside, Ahmed Sanjur Morhsed, officer-in-charge of the Ukhia police station, told BenarNews.

The Rohingya people are not permitted to go out of the camps, but very often they get out of the camps [by] adopting different tactics, he said.

Acting on a tip off, we conducted raids on Monday and Tuesday at different bazaars and detained Rohingya. We caught many Rohingya while they were heading out for various places [outside the refugee camps], he said, adding that the operation was a special drive.

He claimed that those arrested had admitted that they worked locally outside their refugee camps. After detaining them, police sent them to transit camps run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Police in neighboring Teknaf, another sub-district of Coxs Bazar, similarly arrested more than 100 Rohingya during the special drive on Monday and Tuesday.

The target of the special raids is to stop the Rohingya from getting out of the camps and to bar them from working in the local market, Md. Hafizur Rahman, the officer-in-charge of the Teknaf sub-district police station, told BenarNews.

All those Rohingya detained have been sent to the UNHCR transit camps ahead of their return to their respective refugee camps, he said.

Separately, Ukhia police also arrested 48 Rohingya who were preparing to be trafficked to Malaysia illegally, by sea.

Nur Amin, a resident of Kutupalong camp, was one of the Rohingya refugees rounded up by police on Tuesday from a bazar in Ukhia.

We were warned not to go out for work. I was passing my time idle, Amin said.

So last month I took a job at a tea stall in return for 200 taka (U.S. $2.4) a day. The police arrested me from the stall, he added.

UNHCR has yet to confirm that the arrested Rohingya were handed over to the transit camp.

This is sort of incident would put stress on the Rohingya refugees. So the issue should be dealt with humanely, Ziaur Karim, a Rohingya leader at Kutupalong camp, told BenarNews.

Local Bangladeshis have voiced concerns about Rohingya refugees taking up jobs in Coxs Bazar.

The local Bangladeshi workers have been losing their job opportunities while the Rohingya people have been offering menial work with cheap wages, M. Gafur Uddin, chairman of Palongkhali union council, told BenarNews.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued Monday, Human Rights Watch pointed to how Bangladeshi authorities, in recent months, had intensified their restrictions on Rohingya refugees livelihoods, movement, and education.

Bangladesh is understandably burdened with hosting nearly one million Rohingya refugees, but cutting them off from opportunities to work and study is only compounding their vulnerability and dependence on aid, said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

The Bangladesh government should formalize and expand employment opportunities to bolster the Rohingyas self-reliance and enable them to support their families and communities.

Local humanitarian groups are aware of the issues raised by New York-based HRW.

Nur Khan Liton, a human rights activist, told BenarNews: I dont think theres an easy solution to many of these issues until Bangladesh officially recognizes these Rohingya as refugees.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen (right), joined by moderator Teresita Schaffer, a former U.S. ambassador, speaks at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, April 5, 2022.

Despite deep ties to India, Bangladesh is growing closer to China because of baskets of money that Beijing offers to help the smaller South Asian nation develop its economy, Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen told an audience Tuesday in Washington.

Momen was visiting the American capital this week to hold talks with U.S. officials as the two countries mark 50 years of diplomatic relations. On the world stage, Bangladesh strives to be friendly to all nations while carefully balancing its ties with big powers, including Asian giants India and China, he said during an appearance at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Bangladeshis will never forget how Indians shed blood for our independence during the 1971 war against Pakistan, but Bangladesh today relies heavily on China  Indias regional rival  for its economic development, he said.

[W]e need to help develop our economy, and they have baskets of money. They come with the baskets of money with affordable and aggressive proposals, Momen said.

Compared with China, India cannot afford to offer much economic assistance to Bangladesh, he said.

China, which has launched its Belt and Road Initiative, an estimated $1 trillion-plus infrastructure program to build a network of railways, ports and bridges across 70 countries, is Bangladeshs biggest partner in infrastructure projects.

During the war that birthed the nation of Bangladesh 51 years ago as it separated from Pakistan, China in fact sided with Islamabad and vetoed Dhakas original efforts to join the United Nations, Momen noted.

You see, we can never forget, he said, while pointing out that Bangladesh has been able to move forward and overcome past grievances.

Momen, however, praised India for accepting 10 million people who had fled from what was East Pakistan in 1971 when Pakistan launched a military crackdown to suppress calls for Bangladeshi self-determination.

It is not only the Indian government, the common people supported us, helped us, we can never forget that.

Nonpartisan

Dhaka takes a nonpartisan approach to its relationships with big powers, Bangladeshs top diplomat said.

India and China they have their own problems, let them live with it. We dont intervene on those issues, he said.

During a meeting at the State Department on Monday with his American counterpart, Antony Blinken, Momen praised the United States for supporting Bangladesh during the past 50 years.

The U.S. has been always a friend of Bangladesh, during our bad times and our good times and we look forward for a bright future, and thats why Im here, he said.

During the war in 1971, however, the Nixon administration supported Pakistan.

Teresita Schaffer, the moderator of Tuesdays event at the peace institute, asked Momen if he and Blinken had discussed the recent U.S. sanctions of the Rapid Action Battalion, an elite police unit, over alleged enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings.

Momen replied by saying that RAB has been plagued by some excesses, but over the years, it has matured.

Bangladeshi officials have voiced anger over the U.S. move to sanction the security force. Last week, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina criticized the abominable sanctions, saying that Washington had imposed them on RAB without any fault or cause.

Momen noted that the sanctions are an important issue. I raise it in every meeting.

He also praised RAB officers  because of them, there is no more terrorism in Bangladesh.

Working with rules established by the justice department, things improved dramatically, he said. There is a judicial system of punishment, he said noting that 270 officers have faced disciplinary action.

Still, because of the sanctions, young people are not interested in joining RAB.
Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo (second from left) and Sheng Guangzu (center), general manager of China Railway Corp., stand next to a model of a train during a ground-breaking ceremony for the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway line in Walini, West Java, Indonesia, Jan. 21, 2016.

Indonesians views on China have worsened since 2011 but theyre not too fond of the West either, according to the results of a new poll released by an independent Australian think-tank Tuesday.

About 60 percent Indonesians either strongly agreed, or agreed, that Indonesia should join other countries to limit Chinas influence  an increase of 10 points since a survey in 2011  showed the poll conducted by the Lowy Institute.

But should conflict break out between the United States and China, about 84 percent of those polled said Indonesia must remain neutral. Only four percent said Jakarta should support Washington and 1 percent said it should support Beijing.

The polling results reveal that the citizens of the worlds third most populous democracy are optimistic about the future but wary of the great powers that are seeking to court them, said the report on the polls results.

Indonesia, the largest and most populous nation in Southeast Asia, was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement at the height of the Cold War and still retains a non-aligned foreign policy.

While neither of the superpowers in the early 21st century came out as favorites, Chinas position fared worse than that of the U.S., noted Evan Laksmana, one of the reports authors.

On U.S.-China, across 16 questions (representing a range of hard to soft power indicators), we can see that the latters standing has declined worse compared to the former. Even in areas traditionally seen as Chinas forte like foreign investment, he wrote on Twitter.

For instance, the percentage of those who said Chinas growth was good for Indonesia fell to 43 percent of those polled from 54 percent in the 2011, the latest survey showed.

About 47 percent said the emergence of China as a world power posed a critical threat, a seven-point increase from 2011. And nearly half (49 percent) saw China as a threat to their country in the next decade, compared with 43 percent for the U.S. and 34 percent for Australia.

The Lowy Institute said it interviewed 3,000 respondents in 33 Indonesian provinces during the poll that it conducted between November and December last year.

Less support for Western investment

The survey also revealed that questions on Chinese investment elicited the most negative reaction and Saudi Arabia the most positive. Additionally, confidence in neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore was high.

As many as 57 percent of respondents favored Saudi Arabia buying a controlling stake in a large Indonesian company, while 53 percent of respondents said they support investment from Japan and Singapore.

Support for Western investments was less than for other countries, with four in 10 people favoring investment from the United States (42 percent), Australia (41 percent) and the Netherlands (37 percent).

Three in 10 Indonesians (31 percent) said that the government allowed too much investment and more than half (58 percent) of those felt the government had allowed too much investment from China.

Another 13 percent think the government is allowing too much investment from the U.S.

Only 30 percent of Indonesians said they supported a Chinese company, bank or investment fund to buy a controlling stake in a large Indonesian company, the report said.

Bhima Yudhistira, director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), said reservations about Chinese investment stemmed from concerns about job opportunities among locals residents and perceptions of preferential treatment for Chinese businesses.

An example is the various revisions to labor regulations to make it easier for foreign [Chinese] workers to come, Bhima told BenarNews.

During the pandemic, even when Indonesia was tightening restrictions, Chinese workers were allowed to come. There is a feeling of injustice resulting from the influx of foreign workers in the name of investment, he said.

Various facilities have been given to Chinese investors in nickel smelters, ranging from tax breaks to import duties on capital goods, he said.

Eko Listiyanto, deputy director at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), said that concerns about Chinas investments were understandable given their heavy involvement in infrastructure projects.

China is also trying to expand its investments, especially to developing countries through the Belt and Road Initiative, he told BenarNews. The $1 trillion-plus BRI is an infrastructure program to build a network of railways, ports and bridges across 70 countries.

On the other hand, European and U.S. investors are still struggling to recover, and generally their interests are not in infrastructure, he said.
A member of Indonesias Madago Raya Task Force takes aim during a patrol to hunt down three remaining members of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen group, in Poso Pesisir, a district in Poso regency, Central Sulawesi, Feb. 26, 2022.

The men moved stealthily through the jungle, squatting back-to-back, aiming their weapons into the green shadows and spaces as they scanned the terrain in search of an elusive target.

They carried loaded Steyr rifles, AK-101s, and Sig Sauer pistols as they patrolled a mountainside in Indonesias Central Sulawesi province, as part of a manhunt to catch or kill members of the dreaded pro-Islamic State MIT group  all three of them.

A BenarNews reporter tagged along with security personnel as they combed the steep and rugged terrain in late February. The three suspects have evaded capture since security forces killed Ali Kalora, the groups most recent leader, in a shootout last September.

Our task here is to continue the hunt for fugitive terrorists who are still hiding in the forest.  We hope they turn themselves in peacefully. We will facilitate that. If not, we will continue to limit them so they wont be able to spread radical ideas to the public, Arif Budiman, the commander of the Madago Raya Task Force and a police grand commissioner, told BenarNews.

Over the years, a series of security operations consisting of more than a thousand soldiers and police have failed to entirely eliminate the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT). Even after its numbers dwindled to fewer than 10, the group still managed to strike fear among locals by beheading farmers and villagers in recent attacks.

Back on the mountainside, operations commander Mokhamad Alfian Hidayat told BenarNews that similar patrols were carried out every day. Apart from hunting for the militants, they were intended to help the areas residents feel safe, he said.

[Sometimes] we deploy troops from helicopters if we suspect the terrorists are hiding out in areas that are difficult to reach on foot, because the forest is steep and you have to wade across rivers, added Alfian, a police grand commissioner with the local Mobile Brigade (Brimob).

MIT formed in 2010 as a by-product of Christian-Muslim sectarian violence in Poso town that left more than 1,000 people dead between 1998 and 2001. The group is notorious for executing suspected informants and being the first Indonesian militant outfit to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

Security operations to defeat MIT have gone through several iterations with different names. Madago Raya, formed in 2021, is smaller than previous task forces, but still comprises more than 1,300 personnel, including 267 soldiers and 1,111 police officers, according to officials.

Critics say this number is excessive for hunting down only three militants who are considered to be low-level operatives.

The three fugitives, according to the task force, are Suhardin, 37, who is also known as Hasan Pranata, Farhan, or Abu Farhan; Hamzah, 30, who is also known as Imam, Galuh, or Nae; and Alikhwarisman, 34, who is also known by the aliases Askar, Jafar, Jaid, and Pak Guru.

With the current leadership vacancy, it should be easier to find them, said Andi Akbar, a member of the Central Sulawesi Muslim Defender Team (TPM), a group committed to providing legal aid to people accused of being terrorists.

In his view, the size of the task force is overblown and exaggerated because the fugitives are leaderless individuals with no tactical capabilities compared with their slain leader.

Deploying more than a thousand troops with such a large budget and then [for] such a long period of time, but until this moment the MIT case has yet to see the end, he told BenarNews.

Rafli Aksa, a former MIT member, takes care of chickens in Poso Pesisir, a district of Central Sulawesi, Feb. 24, 2022. Rafli was able to enter the business with help from a deradicalization program run by Indonesias counterterrorism agency, BNPT. [Dandy Koswaraputra/ BenarNews]

Didik Supranoto, another police grand commissioner who heads Madago Rayas public relations unit, acknowledged that the force was large, but said its personnel included those working to protect the areas residents and to prevent radicalization among the local populace.

These operations, he said, include activities such as arranging for and sending moderate religious preachers to talk to residents, and helping them set up find work or set up small businesses.

They are also deployed to protect local people from the latent dangers of terror, not just for hunting [the militants]. Besides, the operation area is really wide and it requires a sufficient number of troops, Didik told BenarNews.

Madago Raya is divided into three operating areas that cover Poso, Sigi, and Parigi Moutong regencies, areas of Central Sulawesi where MIT long held sway.

Another allegation leveled against the task force by Andi Akbar of TPM and some activists is that Madago Raya is intentionally letting the remaining three militants roam freely, so that local authorities can keep funds for the task force rolling in from the central government in Jakarta.

There is a possibility that the Madago Raya Task Force is deliberately buying time or leaving them there to keep operating funds flowing, Andi said.

Arif, the task force commander, rejected Akbars accusation as absolutely not true.

The search is not as easy as people think, because of many factors, including the steep and wide terrain and the shrewdness of the fugitives in hiding from officers, he told BenarNews.

However, Nasir Abas, a former top member of another militant group, Jemaah Islamiyah, said one reason the three militants could be eluding capture is that locals were shielding them. JI, the Southeast Asian affiliate of the al-Qaeda global militant network, was blamed for Indonesias deadliest ever terror attack, the Bali bombings that killed 202 people in 2002.

The people there are secretly protecting them. So, it will not be easy to catch them, Nasir told BenarNews in Jakarta.

Because the task force is aware of this possibility, it is prioritizing using persuasion through ex-militant convicts to figure out the whereabouts of the fugitives, said Adjutant Police Commissioner Yudho Huntoro, deputy spokesman for Madago Raya.

In fact, Nasir Abas and Bali bombing convict Ali Imron worked similarly with police to uncover the whereabouts of secret Jemaah Islamiyah networks.

Mokhamad Alfian Hidayat, an operations commander of the Madago Raya Task Force, listens to farmer Yunus Laode as he tells the story of a citizen who was beheaded by MIT militants, in Poso Pesisir, Central Sulawesi, Feb. 26, 2022. [Dandy Koswaraputra/BenarNews]

During a casual conversation at a coffee shop in Poso, several locals told BenarNews that the fugitives were reluctant to surrender because they did not believe the task force would keep its promise of not shooting or torturing them.

One local said: Police usually shoot terrorists straight away to take revenge for killing their friends, a local said.

Yudho denied the locals assertion.

It would be great if the fugitives want to surrender to us, to the police and the army. We will guarantee their safety, he said.

Meanwhile, a number of residents in Poso also said they felt safer now compared with before, but that a latent threat lingered.

Yunus Laode, a local farmer, for one, said the task force needed to be maintained.

Ive seen people beheaded, it was horrible. I think thats enough, Yunus, 88, told BenarNews.

Thats why I ask the police and the army to stay here so that we are safe.

Police Grand Commissioner Didik Supranoto, the head of Madago Rayas public relations unit, speaks during an interview with BenarNews in Palu, Indonesia, Feb. 21, 2022. [Keisyah Aprilia/ Benar News]

In May 2021, when MIT militants killed four farmers in Kalemago, a village in Poso regency, one of the victims was found decapitated, Didik said at the time. In a separate attack in November 2020, another victim was also beheaded.

Alfian, the Madago Raya Task Force commander, agreed with the locals who said militancy was still a threat. He said there was a danger that the younger generation in families of militants who were convicted or killed might join or form groups like MIT.

Therefore, he said, it is essential the operation to flush out the remaining three MIT militants is completed immediately.

To speed up operations, the Madago Raya Task Force has dispatched 200 intelligence personnel to find out the whereabouts of the fugitive militants, Alfian said.

The problem is that [the fugitives] know the  terrain very well. So, its easy for them to hide, Alfian said.

Its like three fish in a thousand hectares of pond.

Keisyah Aprilia in Palu, Indonesia contributed to this report.
Revanth Reddy alleged that Chandrashekar Raos family had close relations with rice millers and were trying to protect their interests.  DC fileimportant

HYDERABAD : Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president and MP A. Revanth Reddy said he was ready to provide blood samples of his family members for drugs tests, if Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao was ready to do so. He asked why the state government freed 142 persons detained from a city pub recently for overnight partying without collecting blood samples, he questioned. Whom does the government want to protect from the drugs case? he asked.

Speaking to reporters at Telangana Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday, the Congress state president accused the TRS government of playing cheap politics by dragging innocent children into drug cases. I am ready to send my nephews blood samples to test drug use, will Chandrashekar Rao send his minister son K.T. Rama Rao for the same?Revanth Reddy asked.

The TPCC president said drugs cases should be inquired impartially and a special team should be formed by the CBI and ED to probe the issue. Revanth Reddy recalled that he had approached court on drugs cases and wrote letters to Central investigation agencies.

Revanth Reddy said the Congress would approach the High Court over the drugs issue in the state. The TRS government was trying to convert Hyderabad into a hub of drugs, he alleged. Responding to the paddy procurement turmoil, the TPCC president criticised that the ruling TRS and the BJP were trying to get political mileage from the paddy issue, instead of resolving the problem.

He said the written agreement signed by Chandrashekar Rao not to supply boiled rice was the suicidal for the paddy procurement. Farmers sowed paddy in 40 lakh acres and 80 lakh quintals paddy harvest out of which 30 lakh quintals would be milled as rice, which catered local consumption, he explained. A total sum of Rs 10,000 crore was required to procure the remaining 50 lakh quintals of paddy, he said.

Revanth Reddy alleged that Chandrashekar Raos family had close relations with rice millers and were trying to protect their interests. The Congress would lay siege to collectorates on Wednesday and agitation would be staged in front of the civil supplies office and Vidyut Soudha, he said. He said the TRS government had failed to sort out the problems being faced by the farmers.
The Philippines and Japan will hold an inaugural four-way meeting of their foreign and defense ministers later this week to deepen bilateral security cooperation, Manila confirmed on Tuesday.

The two-plus-two talks, which will consist of two ministers from each side sitting together in the same room, could include discussions on maritime security and the countries respective territorial disputes with Beijing in the East China Sea and South China Sea. The meeting, agreed to by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in November, is scheduled for Saturday in Tokyo, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

The 2+2 is the next logical progression in the deepening policy and security cooperation between the two countries and is envisioned to be a key component in further strengthening the decade-old PH-Japan Strategic Partnership, it said.

The close ties between the two countries for six decades now continue to expand to various areas of cooperation and have resulted in the improvement of the Philippines maritime law enforcement capabilities, increased maritime domain awareness and enhanced counterterrorism and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities, among other areas, the department said.

While it did not mention any specific topics for discussion, the department said the meeting was to lay the groundwork for a security partnership in the next decade.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana plan to discuss with their Japanese counterparts ways of working together amidst the growing complexity in the regional and international security environment, the department said.

Last week, Kyodo News Agency said Japanese and Philippine ministers were expected to discuss arms exports to the Philippines. It also said Tokyo planned to hold similar discussions with New Delhi later this month.

Tokyos plans for the two-plus-two talks could send a nuanced message to Beijing about Japans determination to foster security ties with like-minded partners, an analyst said last week.

If Japan could bring the Philippines and India on board for maritime deterrence, it will be a big deal, Huynh Tam Sang, an analyst at Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Vietnam, told Radio Free Asia (RFA), a sister entity of BenarNews.

South China Sea claims

Beijing has overlapping claims with Manila in the South China Sea while four other Asian governments  Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam  also claim territories in the waterway.

Still, China holds the most expansive claim, saying it has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over nearly all of the South China Sea.

While Japan is not a claimant, it is a strategic rival of China. The two powers have competing claims in the East China Sea, including the Tokyo-administered Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims and calls Diaoyu.

U.S. Marines take their positions during the joint Balikatan military exercise hosted by the Philippines on a beach in Cagayan province, March 31, 2022. [AP]

China and the Philippines

The Philippines-Japan two-plus-two meeting will also occur the day after a scheduled virtual meeting between Duterte and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The Philippine foreign ministry has not yet released details of what is to be discussed then.

Xi Jinping wants to talk to me. We are friends, Duterte said, according to a transcript released last week announcing the meeting.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted Locsin for talks in Tunxi, a district in Chinas Anhui province.

Chinese and Philippine officials said maritime issues should be put in a proper place in bilateral relations, according to a statement issued by the Chinese foreign ministry after Sundays talks.

Wang said Manila and Beijing should eliminate interference and calmly and properly manage differences, so as to prevent the overall China-Philippines relations from being affected.

In the meantime, Filipino and U.S. forces have been conducting their largest joint military exercises in years on Philippine territory. The Balikatan (Shoulder-to-Shoulder) exercises began on March 28 and go till April 8.

On Tuesday, Lorenzana told reporters that a Chinese ship that had entered Manila-claimed waters in January was shadowing another military exercise involving Philippine and American forces.

The area where the Chinese ship passed is not international waters. ... It is the waters between Palawan and Mindanao, Lorenzana said, referring to the countrys islands in the west and south.

On March 14, the foreign affairs department said it had summoned Beijings envoy, Huang Xilian, over the alleged incursion of a Chinese Navy electronic reconnaissance ship from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1.

What the ship did was shadow the ongoing exercises with the U.S. forces, U.S. Navy, that we were having, Lorenzana said, referring to a joint exercise near Palawan from Jan. 28 to 31.

The exact military term is shadowing. In Intel, that is following and watching, he said. [I]t stayed in the area for several days, shadowing the exercise which contradicts the Chinese claim of innocent passage.
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New Delhi: Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday asked political parties whether it was possible to make election manifestoes legally binding or not.

Naidu said that political parties should meet, think about this seriously and then move forward in the larger interest of the country.

It is a real issue. What has been raised is an important issue. When we are in Opposition, we say that it should be enforceable.

When we are on the ruling side, our position is different. So, all parties should apply their mind and then come to some conclusion, he said.

The issue came up with Manoj Kumar Jha (RJD) stressed on the need for changing election laws to make political parties accountable for their poll manifesto. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Upper House, the RJD MP claimed that the relevance of the election manifesto has been diminishing and now the political parties are releasing it just a day ahead of the polling.

He noted how election manifestoes were the subject of serious discussions by the central leadership of the parties before the documents were released, Jha said hatred, grudge and divisive thoughts and disrespectful comments had taken the central stage in the declarations.

Naidu asked other members including former prime minister and JDS member H.D. Deve Gowda about the possibility of this happening. The only thing is that certain issues need to be discussed on the issue of election manifesto. That is my opinion, Deve Gowda said.

Urging all political parties and the government for a wider consultation to make the document legally enforceable, the MP recalled how election manifestos of 1952, 1957 and 1962 of all political parties, including the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the Socialist party and the Congress Party used to enlist doable things in their election documents and a serious discussion used to be held in the central leadership before releasing it to the public."

He added "Now, in the election manifesto, the hatred, grudge and divisive thoughts and disrespectful comments are taking a centre stage in these declarations."

Referring to a petition filed in the Supreme Court in 2015 wherein a bench of the then chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy had noted that since these manifestoes are not legally enforceable, the apex court bench cannot entertain the petition, Jha said in 2013 Justice Ranjan Gogogi and Justice Sathasivam Bench had observed that if the dignity and the respect of Indian democracy has to be kept intact, then these declarations have to be given a legal shape and the political parties should be made accountable.

"We need to have wider consultations on developing a policy so that the ground realities and issues related to the core issues of the public take centre stage in the political discussion," said the MP. Many members of the House are associated with the issue.

Noting that the issue was important, Naidu said "Political parties should meet to think about this issue seriously. And then move forward in the larger interest of the country. It is a real issue. What has been raised is a very important issue. And when we are in Opposition, we say it should be enforceable. When we are in positions, our position is different. All parties should apply their mind and then come to some conclusion. That's my appeal."
State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, will speak when the Zonta Club of Berkshire County holds its monthly meeting April 12.
An artists' rendering of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts' new headquarters in Chicopee.
Since Shaker High School English teacher Meghan Marohn went missing in their neighborhood, life hasn't quite been the same.
This story is reprinted with the permission of New England Public Media. PITTSFIELD  Its common practice for many elected officials, including district attorneys, to have a staff member focused on communication with the public and the press. But one district attorney in western Massachusetts also hired an outside public relations firm.

During Harringtons first year as district attorney, her office hired Kivvit, a Chicago-based media relations group. Her office also had contracts with The Management Action Center, a Washington-based organizational management firm, that first year and again in 2021.

Its unusual for DAs to spend part of their budgets on media firms, according to interviews with prosecutors and a review of documents obtained from public records requests to the three district attorneys serving western Massachusetts.

According to one of the documents, Kivvit had an agreement with Harrington to work on a Juvenile Justice Program Rollout.

The agreement said Kivvits work included Intense Communications Support and Message Development. The Management Center, described as a sister organization of The Management Action Center, worked with Kivvit on Transitioning the Comms Office, which included a Rapid response structure.

Harringtons contract with Kivvit lasted about three months, beginning July 23, 2019, and overlapping with the September announcement of an expansion of a juvenile justice program designed to help keep young people out of court.

We need to address the root cause of kids minor offenses, rather than subjecting them to prosecution and incarceration, that research shows will lead youth to a cycle of re-offending, Harrington told reporters outside the Boys & Girls Club in Pittsfield. That not only gives you the better chance of success, it is cost effective and makes our community safer.

At the time, Jeanne Kempthorne served as chief of appeals and general counsel in Harringtons office. She started working in the DAs office after Harringtons inauguration in 2019, and resigned about a year later following a dispute with Harrington over the release of documents to The Berkshire Eagle.

Kempthorne said she doesnt know the name of the media firm, but she remembers when Harrington announced the juvenile diversion program.

I mean, that program I was responsible for putting together, Jeanne Kempthorne said. [Harrington] prepared with these consultants all manner of, you know, brochures, et cetera, which I happened to just see, you know, like the day before it was going out. I had never seen them before. So, you know, the content was not key.

Harrington declined to be interviewed. In a statement, she said her small and under-resourced office accomplished these bold reforms in part by working on a limited basis with well-respected expert consultants.

Her office serves the smallest population of any district attorney in the state and has the smallest budget. In 2019, it was about $4.5 million. That same year she spent about $13,000 on the media firm.

That would not fly here. Ive never even considered it, to be honest, said Jean Peters Baker, the elected prosecutor in Jackson County, Missouri.

Peters Baker is also chair of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, a national nonprofit. She said she doesnt like to judge other DAs.

Its dangerous for prosecutors to give lots of opinions about how others run their office when Ive never visited that jurisdiction, Peters Baker said. I know here I have never thought of such a thing, but ... it would not get approved by the officials that authorize her budget.

John Flynn is president-elect of the National District Attorneys Association and the DA in Erie County, New York. Flynn said this is the first time he has heard of a DA hiring a media relations firm.

I dont know anyone who has ever done that. I just have Kait and Kait taught me, he quipped.

Kaitlyn Munro is Flynns public information officer. Like Flynn, the DAs in western Massachusetts, including Harrington, have one staff member who responds to questions from reporters.

But Flynn said he thinks its OK if a DA hires a media relations firm.

If that company or individual is able to help the office do their job, protect the public and enhance public safety and is able to allow the residents to understand whats going on in the office, Flynn said, then I got no problem with it.

District Attorney David Sullivan is the chief prosecutor in Hampshire and Franklin counties, as well as Athol in Worcester County. Although he does have one press person who has received some training, he said he hasnt hired a media relations firm since he took office in 2011.

The best thing to do is, you know, be out there with the public and make sure that youre in communications with them, Sullivan said. So I dont need any media specialists to tell me where the community is at, because if youve been in touch with your community, you should know what they want, what they need.

Harrington has framed herself as a progressive criminal justice reformer, launching new policies like reducing the use of cash bail.

I mean, I guess if youre trying to make a transition that the publics not used to, then maybe it is worth having somebody tell you how you might communicate that, Sullivan said. But I just havent seen a need for [a media relations firm] in our district.

Jeanne Kempthorne concedes there is a public information component to doing progressive criminal justice work as a DA, such as bail reform.

But I cant say that its a major function, warranting enormous attention from the person in charge, the DA herself, Kempthorne said. It seemed to me very disproportionate  the amount of energy that was spent on it, on media.

A district attorneys job is to represent the government when someone is accused of a crime, and to decide the best path toward criminal justice. But to do the work, they have to win elections.

You can quibble about that, Jean Peters Baker said. But you cant really poke prosecutors for the system by which they have to maneuver.

If there is any maneuvering, its about to begin. In Berkshire County, Harringtons first term is up at the end of the year. Across the state, anyone who wants to run for DA has to get their nominating papers in by early May.
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VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter's residence here on Tuesday evening and discussed several key issues related to the state.

The subjects included the Polavaram project, the Kadapa Steel Plant, the rationality in coverage of beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act, and the arrears from Telangana Discoms to the state, among others.

The Presidential elections was also on the agenda about which the CM and the PM exchanged views. The YSRC would play a vital role in these polls, as the votes of the party will be of help to the ruling BJP.

During the interaction, the CM requested the Prime Minister to approve the revised cost estimates of Rs 55,548.87 crore for Polavaram as per the technical advisory committee meetings proposals on February 11, 2019. He said Rs 31,118 crore would need be be spent on the project, of which Rs 8,590 crore is for construction and Rs 22,598 crore for rehabilitation.

He also requested the PM to clear the bills in total and not component-wise and to directly transfer the R&R package amount to the accounts of beneficiaries without delay.

Jagan said there is inadequate coverage of beneficiaries under NFSA (National Food Security) Act. He said while the state government has listed 1.45 crore families for ration, only 0.89 crore families are receiving ration from the central government. The state government is providing ration to the remaining 0.56 crore families, he said, and requested the PM to direct the officials that the states data be revised.

The chief minister urged the Prime Minister to renew the approvals of the site clearances for the greenfield international airport at Bhogapuram. As regards the setting up of an Integrated Steel Plant in YSR district, he said MECON, a Government of India undertaking, has not yet concluded its report vis-a-vis the feasibility of the integrated steel plant. The state government has incorporated YSR Steel Corporation Ltd for establishing the steel plant and sought the Centre's support.

The chief minister urged the PM to give approvals for release of beach sand minerals to the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation at 16 places. He also urged the PM to give approvals for setting up another 12 teaching hospitals in the state.

He said the state government has spent Rs 32,625.25 crore in the form of pending bills during the bifurcation and as a part of implementation of the X-th Wage Commission recommendations and urged the PM to fill the revenue deficit.

Jagan said the state government has lost revenue due to the bifurcation and Covid pandemic and urged the PM to relax the credit limit for the state. The CM said an amount of Rs 6,455.76 crore was receivable by the Andhra Pradesh Generation Corporation Ltd (APGENCO) from the Telangana State Distribution Utilities and the Telangana DISCOMs and requested the PM to direct the concerned authorities to settle these dues at the earliest. This, he said, will help the state power sector to be financially strengthened.

Later, the CM called on Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and discussed issues related to the state. The CM also met Union minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and explained to him about the Polavaram project progress and sought clearance of the bills.

Jagan also sought the cooperation of the Centre for the swift completion of Polavaram project.

Earlier, YSRC MPs Vijayasai Reddy, Mithun Reddy, Vemireddy Prabhakar, Margani Bharath, Vanga Geeta, Madhavi, Ayodhya Ramireddy, Gurumurthy, Madhav, Rangaiah, Reddappa, Satyavarthi and others welcomed the CM at the airport in Delhi.
The events for the Monday before Easter are recorded in Matthew 21:12-22, Mark 11:12-19, and Luke 19:45-48.

Ramsey describes Jerusalem as a beehive, and the triumphal entry was like hitting that angry hive with a stick. If some of the people werent angry enough at Jesus entry to the city, He would now declare to them their failure to live up to Gods covenant with them. But Jesus was already a marked man as Ramsey remarks.

This is the Monday when Jesus entered the temples and drove out all those who bought and sold things there. Matthew tells us that even upon seeing the wondrous things Jesus did and hearing the children cry out Hosanna to the Son of David! the chief priests and scribes were indignant. Their hearts and minds were made up about this man whom they considered the biggest nuisance to ever enter Jerusalem.

But Jesus responds to His disciples awe with Scripture from Psalm 8:2,



"...'have you never read,' 'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise'?"  Matthew 21:16

Ramsey summarizes, Much of what the Gospels tell us about Monday centers on the theme of Jesuss authorityboth over the created world and his right to judge it. Jesus is fulfilling all of the Scriptures; He is the one with the authority in this situation not the religious leaders.

Photo Credit: Thinkstock/Matthew Brousseau
Spectacular and akin to an opening sequence of space-age doomsday mo-vies, several districts of Maharashtra witnessed a freefall of metallic in-fernos, lighting up the skies. People recorded the shower, initially wrongly speculated as a meteoric shower, and posted it on social media, setting off heightened tension and imaginative speculation amongst many netizens.

So bright and vast was the visual impact that it was spotted even in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. Not at all was burned up space debris though; and a large piece fell in Maharashtra which was found, damaged but unburnt, and sent for investigation.

By most accounts, it appears to be a piece of a Chinese rocket, purportedly of stage 3 of the Chang Zheng (or Long March) 3B, used to launch a satellite last year. It was the re-entry of the rocket into Earths atmosphere and landing that created the spectacle.

As per reports, no damage was done to any property or life by the theatrical space junk invasion; it just made for a spectacle and some social media buzz. It is scientifically considered a bit of an outlier event, because often such debris lands in the unclaimed oceans.

While space missions globally use a plethora of tactics to ensure human safety from unwanted but inevitable cosmic return gifts, the global space community feels frustrated because of the secrecy usual to the Chinese.

Like in strategic affairs and international matters, or even their trade and commerce, China adopts a tough defiant posture, evading answerability, transparency or accountability.

While there are no major global laws that can be enforced on largely sovereign space missions, nations have a right to sue other countries for financial damages. But such lawsuits are largely deemed frivolous.

A global body is much needed to bring in greater accountability and fix responsibilities in managing space debris in an increasingly more intense space age of mankind.
3. Leviticus Reveals the Holiness of God

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy (Leviticus 19:1-2).

Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine (Leviticus 20:26).

Leviticus outlines Gods requirements for how He was to be worshipped as the priests carried out the many sacrifices meant to atone for the peoples sin. More than any other attribute, Leviticus reveals Gods holiness.

The word holy is used seventy-seven times in Leviticus; cleanse/cleansed/cleansing is used twenty-five times; clean is used thirty-eight times; and the word unclean/uncleanness is used ninety-two times. God gave detailed, specific instructions to Aaron on how they were (and were not) to behave during the times of their service in the tent of meeting, so as to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean (Leviticus 10:10). The laws God established had serious consequences; to take them lightly and treat God with a lack of fear and respect was to risk death.

God desired to dwell with His people, but their sin was a barrier, offensive to His perfect holiness. He established the intricate system of the Levitical priesthood with the accompanying sin offerings as a temporary covering for His people, until the time came for Jesus to do away with sin completely. This allowed the children of Israel to enter into Gods presence as long as they were covered by the shed blood of the sacrifices.

God is unique. No other false god claims relationship with its worshippers, but God desires to be present with the people He created, including those of us who live on this side of the cross. We, too, are called to be a holy people, just as the children of Israel were. We are to be set apart from ungodliness and worldliness, made holy by the blood of Christ and learning to walk in fellowship with Him. Leviticus helps us understand just how holy God is, and to be grateful for the imputed holiness we receive in Christ.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for Gods own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy (1 Peter 1:14-16).

Photo credit: Getty Images/momnoi
BOISE - Attributed to a late-summer disease outbreak, the number of white-tailed deer harvested in Idaho dropped significantly in 2021, according to the Idaho Fish & Game. Hunter harvest stats also showed a slight drop in the number of elk harvested in 2021.

The Idaho Fish & Game says that overall, big game harvests tend to bounce up and down slightly from year to year with many factors affecting it, including weather the prior winter and during hunting season, number of hunters, number of tags available (particularly antlerless tags), season changes, and other things. For example, 2021 was the first year Fish and Game limited nonresident tags in all elk zones and deer units.

Elk

In 2021, elk harvests came in at over 20,000 for the eighth year in a row. According to the IDFG, elk hunters took home 20,396 total elk in 2021, roughly a 10 percent decrease in animals harvested compared to 2020. Of the 20,396 elk harvested, 11,142 were bulls, and 9,253 were cows.

The number of hunters who took to the mountains was also down 9.8% from 2020. The number of nonresident elk hunters also decreased by 13.7%. Of the over 89,000 elk hunters, 22.9% successfully harvested an elk.

Mule Deer

Idaho mule deer hunters had the biggest year of anyone. A total of 79,825 mule deer hunters got after it in 2021, with 26,086 of those successfully packing out a mule deer. That 36 percent success rate was the third highest in the last 11 years, which is even more impressive when you consider that there were 9.9 percent fewer mule deer hunters in 2021 than 2020.

During the 2021 season, a total of 79,825 hunters set out for mule deer, a 9.9 percent decrease from 2020.

Hunters harvested 1,277 more mule deer in 2021 than in 2020, an increase of 5.1 percent; however, mule deer harvest numbers across the state were still about 8 percent lower than the 10-year average (28,463).

White-tailed Deer

White-tailed deer populations in and around the Clearwater region were hit hard with an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease late in the summer. This led to a 14% decrease in the number of white-tailed deer harvested in 2021, as compared to 2020 according to the Idaho Fish & Game.

In total, 21,418 white-tailed deer were harvested in 2021. Of those, 14,053 were antlered, and 7,365 were non-antlered. Of those 14,053 antlered deer harvested, an estimated 2,717 came in at five points or higher.

Still, an estimated 54,223 white-tailed deer hunters harvested 21,418 whitetails in 2021. Although roughly 15 percent below the 10-year average mark for whitetails harvested, the overall success rate has stayed on track.

The Idaho Fish & Game says its difficult to say just how many deer succumbed to the late-summer EHD outbreak, but last years hunter harvest numbers indicate a sharp decline in overall harvest numbers for whitetails.
BOISE - Earlier this month, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed a bill into law that will create an all-encompassing alert called an 'Endangered Missing Person Alert' to notify the public in and around Idaho about a missing person. The bill, known as "Monkey's Law," does not change the current Amber Alert system, but does consolidate all other types of alerts into one.

Brad Little commemorated the passing of the law in Fruitland, ID on Wednesday, the location where five-year-old Michael "Monkey" Vaughan went missing last summer.

The legislation was prompted by the disappearance of Michael, who has been missing since July of last year, but no Amber Alert was ever activated by authorities because the situation did not meet the needed criteria.

Senate Bill 1378, which was co-sponsored by Senator Abby Lee (District 9) and Rep. Ryan Kerby, ensures that emergency alerts can go out statewide and across state lines, regardless of Amber Alert status.

The new law appropriates $1.3 million from the state general fund for the Idaho State Police to develop the new alert system, and $66,500 for the Idaho Transportation Department to make changes to its existing Amber Alert system. According to the bill, the new system will limit the number of alerts to minimize public confusion, and simplify the alert process for police. The alerts will be distributed based on the geographic area in which the person was last seen or believed to be.

There will be no required waiting period for a law enforcement agency to report of investigate the endangered missing person case.

To read the full bill, click HERE.
Midland County Board of Commissioners will consider submitting a resolution to Lansing to encourage a reform of the Michigan Auto Insurance Reform Act.

Commissioners will discuss passing a resolution on the new no-fault insurance reform law, among other items on its agenda, during its regular board meeting at 9 a.m. April 19 in the County Services building.

The resolution would support health care providers and patients in need of lifelong medical care across Michigan calling on the state to take action.

The Michigan Auto Insurance Reform Act, which took effect last July, has become a topic of concern for the board after crash survivors have shared negative effects of the legislation with commissioners. The Midland County resolution further describes the wide impact of the act, estimating more than 18,000 Michigan residents would have to find other means for care and support without action.

"There are many Midland County residents, and their families, who are currently benefiting, or would in the future, from services pertaining to their care, recovery and rehabilitation from catastrophic injuries but are already directly affected if the current law is not

changed," the resolution reads.

While a majority of the state legislation was widely praised, several unintended impacts have been raised by both health care providers and patients across Michigan.

One example of the challenges includes a reimbursement reduced by almost half. Reimbursement for post-acute services (services that support an individual's continued recovery) that do not have a Medicare code were reduced by 45%. Affected services include adult foster home care, attendant care in homes and transportation.

In addition, Michigan does not have a fee schedule for care covered by auto insurers, unlike several other no-fault insurance states. They pay much more for the same services than is paid by employer plans or government insurance such as Medicare or Medicaid.

Under the new fee schedule, services that Medicare covers will have a 200% reimbursement rate, while more specialized services such as home health care without a Medicare code will be reimbursed 55% of whatever they were charging for services at the start of 2019.

"This is a humanitarian crisis born from a government-mandated price fix, that only the legislature can undo," it continues.

If the resolution is passed, Midland County Clerk Ann Manary would share the resolution with the following Michigan leaders: governor's office, state senate, state house, and members of the Midland County delegation to the Michigan legislature.

Photo Provided County of Midland

Photo Provided County of Midland

Several regional residents spoke on behalf of those impacted by the legislation during recent board meetings in Midland County. For more information, visit here.

This article was updated

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The goal of the collaboration is to conduct R&D projects to investigate formulation and product development in the fields of nutraceuticals, phytopharmaceuticals

Zeon Lifesciences signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences & Research University (DPSRU) to establish collaboration for academic interaction and research advancement in the specified fields, as well as to share facilities and expertise.

DPSRU and Zeon will conduct collaborative research activities at DPSRU encompassing pharmaceutical technology, synthesis and analytical techniques, pharmacotherapeutics, standardisation of herbal actives and protocols adopted to comply with the regulatory milieu of the region/country concerned.

The goal of this collaboration is to conduct R&D projects to investigate formulation and product development in the fields of nutraceuticals, phytopharmaceuticals, and Ayurveda.

Zeon Lifesciences and DPSRU will be conducting clinical trials as per AYUSH or DCGI guidelines, applicable for selected formulations. Both entities will also conduct studies to compare the prevailing regulations, approaches and challenges while registration of drug products.
Nearly 434,000 chronic medicine prescriptions have been loaded and nearly 336,000 prescriptions collected from 64 Collect & Go smart locker sites in Gauteng, the Free State and Mpumalanga since Right ePharmacy first launched its innovative medicine collection solution in 2020.

Source: Supplied.

Right ePharmacy is owned by the health NGO, Right to Care, which developed it as a for-profit company for IP tech innovation.A further 22 Collect & Go smart locker sites are being introduced in Limpopo and the Western Cape bringing the number of Collect & Go pick-up sites across South Africa to almost 90.If patients have a chronic condition and they are stable on their medication, they can sign up for Collect & Go at their closest health facility. Once registered, they choose a smart locker site that is most convenient. They will receive an SMS with a one-time PIN on their mobile phone as soon as the medicine is in the locker. At the locker they simply insert the PIN number to open the locker, and they can collect their medicine parcel.They will be given two months supply of medication and only need to return to their healthcare facility for a follow-up visit every six months. A healthcare worker will then assess them and if satisfied with their health, their prescription for Collect & Go will be renewed.Fanie Hendriksz, managing director of Right ePharmacy says: Covid-19 intensified the need for alternative medicine collection points for chronic patients. People wanted to avoid facilities without stopping their treatment, and many turned to Collect & Go to collect their chronic medicines from a conveniently located smart-locker site without going into a clinic or hospital.By using Collect & Go, close contact with other people is avoided, which is critical for patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and HIV who want to avoid Covid-19.Collect & Go is becoming the first choice for medicine pick-up for patients because of its ease, speed and easy access, he says. In addition to South Africa, the citizens of Lesotho, Eswatini and Botswana now have access to Collect & Go with another two sub-Saharan African countries about to be added.Hendriksz explains that: We are starting to move beyond chronic medicine to introduce medicines ranging from contraceptives, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP) to medical devices and testing kits. We are making it easy for people to get what they need to manage their health quickly and easily without waiting in long queues.Collect & Go sites are located near public health facilities and in busy areas near shopping centres and on transport routes where people live and work. Convenience is the driving force of Collect & Go, adds Hendriksz.Thula Mkhize, who lives a full life with his chronic condition by taking his medicine as prescribed, is the brand ambassador for Collect & Go. He is travelling through Gauteng, the Free State and Mpumalanga with the Collect & Go team, spreading the word about Collect & Go.Says Mkhize: When people find out about Collect & Go they realise how easy it is, they wonder why they took so long to sign up. Collect & Go is the solution to long queues and busy facilities and frees up time for patients to live better lives.Tshepiso Moloi is a Collect & Go site agent in Soweto. Collect & Go is helping to end the stigma in our community about chronic illnesses. Patients dont need to wake up early and stand in a long queue at a clinic for hours just to get their medicine. They can also send someone to collect for them. Collect & Go also decongests busy health facilities, he says.Adherence to medicine is critical, not only for the health of every patient, but for the health system. Chronic patients who dont take their medicines end up in health facilities in need of care. Quick and easy medicine collection is a cornerstone of good health, says Hendriksz.In Gauteng, the Free State and Mpumalanga, Collect & Go is being implemented in partnership with health NGO Right to Care. In Limpopo and the Western Cape, Right ePharmacy has partnered with health NGO, Anova, to roll out smart locker sites in these provinces. Collect & Go is supported by USAID and the Global Fund to fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria.
The power of algorithms

Bots and deepfakes

Human element

As mobile phones become commonplace , even in Africas poorest countries, the uptake of social media has become ubiquitous. Applications like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp and blogs form an integral part of todays political communication landscape in much of the continent.These platforms are becoming a dominant factor in electoral processes, playing a tremendous role in the creation, dissemination and consumption of political content.Their influence and embedded power over political content invites further scrutiny, which informed my research Is the rise in social media uptake in the continent a game changer in political communications? And if it is, does social media influence political campaigns?To answer these questions, I considered the interplay between elements in the infrastructure of social media and human agency.The infrastructure refers to the architecture that makes up social media systems. Even though the infrastructure is not immediately visible, it plays a critical role in the (re)production and dissemination of information.Human agency entails the choices human beings make when they interact with social media systems.I found that there are three main ways that political campaigns are influenced via social media: through algorithms, bots and the people who use them.Imbued in social media platforms, with the exception of WhatsApp, is a system of software, codes and algorithms that manage, interpret and disseminate large quantities of information across social media networks.The power of the algorithm is in its ability to search, sort, rank, prioritise and recommend the content consumed by users. The system, therefore, influences the choices we make.Algorithms watch your behaviour when you interact with certain content in the platform, make assumptions and predictions on your preferences, and then recommend similar content in your feed.For instance, if you constantly interact with posts  by liking, replying or sharing  from certain individuals, you are likely to see more posts from them. If you have shown interest in watching videos from a political outfit, you are likely to get more videos from them.Which items are promoted and why? We may never know why the algorithms are coded (by programmers) in such a way as to rank certain items, individuals or political parties higher. What we know is that these algorithms influence what people see or dont see.They have the power to amplify and marginalise certain content and, like human gatekeepers in traditional mass media, determine what information users are exposed to.For example, Facebooks EdgeRank algorithm determines what is shown on a users Top News by displaying only a subset of stories by ones friends. These are derived from a set of factors, such as the type of content (links, videos or photos) and the frequency and types of interactions with these friends (like tags or comments).Similarly, Twitter algorithms display ranked tweets. That is, first they rank them and then display what they think is most relevant to the user.These algorithms are not neutral. They encode political choices, influencing the information seen by users. When a user opens his or her social media account, he or she will be met by algorithm-filtered and recommended content, based on prior activities and interactions on the platform.People are then likely to share visible information on non-algorithm-based applications like WhatsApp and Messenger, as well as in mainstream media.Social bots can also be deployed to manipulate public opinion and influence votes. They mimic and potentially manipulate humans and their behaviour on social networks. They run automatically to produce messages, post online and interact with users through likes, comments and follows (fake accounts).Even more worrisome is the rise of deepfakes. This involves the use of artificial intelligence to fabricate images and videos by replacing the face or voice of someone, usually a public figure, with someone elses in a way that makes the content look authentic.The intention is often to mislead the audience and make them believe that the targeted public figure said something (often controversial or provocative).As noted by Portland Communications, a strategic communications consultancy, in their report, How Africa Tweets , Twitter bots account for more than 20% of influencers in countries like Lesotho and Kenya.One of the surprising findings in the report was the limited influence of politicians on the conversation.African political parties are spending huge sums hiring consultancy companies with expertise in digital campaigning and even manipulation of social media content.International consultancy firms like the now defunct Cambridge Analytica (CA) have been accused of attempting to influence digital campaigns in Africa and in other parts of the world. CA worked on several campaigns in Russia, the UK, USA and Kenya.In Kenya , it emerged that President Uhuru Kenyatta had hired CA ahead of the 2013 elections. CAs activities sparked global outcry when it became known, culminating in its collapse.It is evident that those with political power and money can easily hire automated systems, like bots, to influence the flow of political content across social media. They can also distort information The role of non-human actors should be worrying to anyone keen on democratic processes.There are indications that social media algorithms and bots are slowly changing the dynamics of elections in Africa. This is seen in the number of political parties hiring a new breed of communicators, such as social media managers.The interplay between media and politics is central to any understanding of political campaigns, given their role as conduits of political information, persuasion and discussion. Social media provides spaces for participation  but also for misinformation and disinformation.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
On South Africa's Lancewood dairy farm, a GPS-guided tractor spreads cow manure across defined areas where tilling is banned and fertilizer used at a minimum, if at all.

Source: tpsdave via Pixabay

Sustainable development impact

Some 2,500 Jersey cows graze on a selection of plants, from chicory to lucerne (alfalfa), that have been planted for feed variety while helping preserve the soil's nutrients.Lancewood is among 40 dairy farms where South Africa's first internationally certified carbon programme for the agricultural sector - known as AgriCarbon - is being piloted by Climate Neutral Group (CNG) to help curb greenhouse gas emissions.Dairy farms have borne the brunt of criticism from environmentalists in the agriculture sector for releasing large quantities of methane and nitrogen that drive climate change."That's how we've worked  doing minimal till and reducing our nitrogen on the soil for many, many years and that's how we've reduced our costs on the farm to make the dairy very profitable," Lancewood owner Mark Rubin told Reuters on his farm in the Sedgefield area of South Africa's southern Cape region.Lancewood has, for example, more than halved its nitrogen use per hectare per year in 2022 from 2018, according to research consultancy Trace & Save.Nitrogen in fertiliser can convert into nitrous oxide, a harmful greenhouse gas that can linger in the atmosphere for decades and is a better heat trap than carbon dioxide (CO2).AgriCarbon, introduced in 2021, draws on farm-generated data to reward farmers who adopt better farming methods, such as reduced tilling. The first verified carbon credits will be sold later this year with a potential 230,000 tonnes up for grabs, targeting mainly European companies, CNG officials said.The National Treasury is eyeing a domestic carbon credit market of 10 to 20 million tonnes of CO2 a year, and has set a baseline price of between 115 rand ($7.97) to R120 per tonne for 2022, less than the $15 to $25 potentially on offer for AgriCarbon credits."They are attractive on the international market because they are nature-based sequestration credits," said Gray Maguire, carbon project manager at CNG's South African unit.CNG is considering similar type initiatives for an estimated 33 million smallholder crop and livestock farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, with potential projects eyed in Malawi, Morocco, Kenya and Zambia, Maguire added.Poor regulatory frameworks, inadequate financing and technical expertise has seen Africa lagging in adopting Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, with the region accounting for 2.9% of the total number of CDM projects worldwide, United Nations Environmental Programme data shows.But the tide might turn for Africa after a new global climate deal was clinched in November setting rules for carbon markets."There is a reason for optimism for the continent with a lot more focus now on other attributes of the credits (other) than emission reductions, namely sustainable development impacts," Karen Olsen, senior researcher at UNEP's Copenhagen Climate Centre said.
Web Content Coordinator

Remuneration: R15000 - R20000 per month cost-to-company Location: Cape Town Remote work: Only remote work Job level: Junior Type: Permanent Company: GVI

Managing daily blog publishing for GVI People and Planet websites as determined by an editorial calendar.

Collaborating with the Operations Team to ensure an efficient website process is followed for blog uploads.

Managing the necessary editorial content on the blog landing page, blog post pages and blog category pages.

Managing blog categories and tags. Adjusting these for existing blogs and adding them for new blogs in consultation with the Communications Team.

Manage your publishing requirements efficiently to ensure the optimum use of your time.

Assisting the Web Content Manager with the rollout of updated hub information on a quarterly basis.

Editing website content where required to ensure consistency and accuracy. Primarily focusing on the blog landing page, the blog post pages and the blog category pages.

Supporting the Web Content Management team by updating monthly promotional material.

Supporting the Web Content Management team to ensure an efficient program launch and update process.

Proficient in SEO and content management systems.

Familiar with WordPress or have demonstrable experience and the ability to gain WordPress editing skills within a reasonable amount of time.

Interested in website management, operations, marketing and communications.

Have a keen eye for detail.

Have an eye for design and the ability to edit website content to a high quality.

Have strong organisational skills

Enjoy problem-solving and working to deadlines.

Proactive and self-disciplined with a strong sense of responsibility.

Experience using Gutenberg WordPress theme, basic photo editing or photography (advantageous).

Have a passion for the industry and our organisation's mission.

Have a passion for sustainability, conservation, community development and travel

Expand your skills in WordPress editing, utilising various builders and themes such as Gutenberg, DIVI and WP Bakery, to name a few.

Join brainstorm sessions with the marketing team to get fresh ideas that are relevant and on-trend for our target audience.

The opportunity to receive further exposure and internal training sessions in areas, including social media, paid media, content writing, email marketing, blog publishing and SEO optimisation, to name a few.

Working in a dynamic and agile environment, for those with an interest in the travel, education or sustainable development industries.

The goal of the web content coordinator is to publish and manage the blog content produced by the communications team to the GVI core websites on a daily basis. You will ensure that new blog content created by copywriters, designers, videographers and other departments is published to the relevant site in an efficient and accurate manner as per the brief. You will also support the website management team by ensuring that the other websites owned by the GVI Group have accurate and engaging content at all times. And that all information, such as new photos, videos, banners, landing pages, program pages, policy documentation, brochures and more are uploaded timeously and accurately. To ensure we are truly having a lasting positive impact, we partner with local governmental and non-governmental organisations on the ground. More than 35,000 participants have either volunteered, interned, or studied abroad with us over the course of our 23 years in operation and most have noted the experience as 'life-changing'.Our key management and administrative teams have been based in Westlake for the past five years in the laid-back office space, but are now distributed between the office and remote work locations around the world. We are a pretty hard-working bunch but are committed to keeping things lighthearted. We are a dynamic organisation and as such, we are looking for a bright and enthusiastic individual who must be flexible and prepared to get involved in all aspects of the company, specifically within the marketing team. There will be times when all staff will be requested to help with a certain project and other times when your tasks might differ from your formal job description. This is all part of the fun of working here at GVI. Besides having the necessary talent and experience for the role, we're looking for someone who is, above all else, eager to learn and inwardly driven. You are a good communicator (both in-person and asynchronously over email or chat), work well both autonomously and collaboratively, and enjoy honing your technical skills.is an international multi-award-winning social enterprise on a mission to build a global network of people united by their passion to make a difference. We run programs in 13 countries worldwide aligned to the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.GVI is a platform for personal growth, and our staff have the ability to develop themselves across teams, departments, and even locations! We value passion, authenticity, entrepreneurship and innovation and treat all of our stakeholders with respect and compassion above everything else. You can find out more about the types of work we do, and who we are as an organization here.us your CV along with a cover letter saying why you feel you would be the best person for this role.Posted on 05 Apr 08:41, Closing date 3 Jun
France to expel Russian diplomats

Xinhua) 09:48, April 05, 2022

PARIS, April 4 (Xinhua) -- France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said on Monday that the country has decided to expel "many" Russian diplomats, "whose activities are contrary to our security interests."

The ministry said in a short statement that "the action is part of a European approach." It gave no further details about the numbers.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
While much of the mainstream world has spent the last few days obsessing over and debating the celebrity spectacle surrounding American actor Will Smith slapping American comedian Chris Rock, the international elitists were meeting in Dubai for the 2022 World Government Summit.

From March 28th to the 30th, corporate media journalists, heads of state, and CEOs of some of the most profitable companies in the world met for discussions on shaping the direction of the next decade and beyond. Anyone with a functioning brain should ignore the tabloids and instead pay attention to this little known gathering of globalist Technocrats.

Lets take a look at the speakers and the panels, starting with Mr. Great Reset himself, Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum.

Schwab gave a talk entitled, Our World Today Why Government Must Act Now?. Thank you, to his excellency for enabling this initiative to define a longer-term narrative to make the world more resilient more inclusive and more sustainable, Schwab stated during his address. The use of the term narrative is important because in January 2021, Klaus and the World Economic Forum announced the next phase of The Great Reset, The Great Narrative.

As with The Great Narrative event, the World Government Summit was also held in Dubai. As I wrote during the Great Narrative meeting:

While the political leaders of the UAE and Klaus Schwab may promote themselves as the heroes of our times, we should judge them according to their actions and the company they keep, not the flowery language they use to distract us. The simple fact is the UAE has a horrible record on human rights. The nation is known for deporting those who renounce Islam, limited press freedoms, and enforcing elements of Sharia law.

During Schwabs short talk he also mentioned his pet project the 4th Industrial Revolution, which is essentially the digital panopticon of the future, where digital surveillance is omnipresent and humanity uses digital technology to alter our lives. Often associated with terms like the Internet of Things, the Internet of Bodies, the Internet of Humans, and the Internet of Senses, this world will be powered by 5G and 6G technology. Of course, for Schwab and other globalists, the 4IR also lends itself towards more central planning and top-down control. The goal is a track and trace society where all transactions are logged, every person has a digital ID that can be tracked, and social malcontents are locked out of society via social credit scores.

Immediately following Schwab was a panel which made no attempt to hide the goals of the globalists. The panel, Are We Ready for A New World Order?, featured Fred Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council since 2007, as well as an anchor for CNN and a former advisor to former US president George W. Bush. Before joining the Council, Kempe was a prize-winning editor and reporter at the Wall Street Journal for more than 25 years.

In fact, the Atlantic Council had a fairly large presence at the World Government Summit, including appearances by Defne Arslan, senior director of the Atlantic Council IN TURKEY program, and Olga Khakova, Deputy Director of Global Energy Center of Atlantic Council.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Atlantic Council, I first reported in May 2018 that Facebook had partnered with the thinktank connected to NATO. I wrote:

The Atlantic Council of the United States was established in 1961 to bolster support for international relations. Although not officially connected to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Atlantic Council has spent decades promoting causes and issues which are beneficial to NATO member states. In addition, The Atlantic Council is a member of the Atlantic Treaty Organization, an umbrella organization which acts as a network facilitator in the Euro-Atlantic and beyond. The ATO works similarly to the Atlantic Council, bringing together political leaders, academics, military officials, journalists and diplomats to promote values that are favorable to the NATO member states. Officially, ATO is independent of NATO, but the line between the two is razor thin. Essentially, the Atlantic Council is a think tank which can offer companies or nation states access to military officials, politicians, journalists, diplomats, etc. to help them develop a plan to implement their strategy or vision. These strategies often involve getting NATO governments or industry insiders to make decisions they might not have made without a visit from the Atlantic Council team. This allows individuals or nations to push forth their ideas under the cover of hiring what appears to be a public relations agency but is actually selling access to high-profile individuals with power to affect public policy. Indeed, everyone from George H.W. Bush to Bill Clinton to the family of international agent of disorder Zbigniew Brzezinski have spoken at or attended council events.

Less than 6 months after Facebook and The Atlantic Council announced their partnership, more than 500 FB pages were accused of being Russian disinformation and deleted. The pages largely consisted of anti-war, police accountability, and independent journalism outlets. These pages and journalists directly challenged the narratives spun by the Atlantic Council stooges.

Dissecting the World Government Summit: Ukraine, SDGs, ESG, Blockchain, and AI

While many of the names in attendance might be unfamiliar to a western audience, the speakers are men and women who absolutely play a vital role in international geopolitics.

Some of the featured speakers include:

The Russia-Ukraine conflict was also part of the discussions. Notably, Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, made an appearance. His bio states, under his leadership, DTEK has evolved from a regional conventional energy company into Ukraines largest private investor as well as leading energy company.

The appearance of Mr. Timchenko should not be overlooked, especially because he appears in a discussion called Post-Crisis Ukraine: New Energy for a New Europe, featuring Olga Khakova of the Atlantic Council, and Paula Dobriansk, Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government of Atlantic Council. Again, the presence of the Atlantic Council should not be taken lightly. They are the representatives of the Western Bloc of the New World Order.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict also factors into another panel title, Getting Off Russian Gas: Practical Steps for Europe, featuring more of the Atlantic Council goons, including Richard Morningstar, Founding Chairman of Global Energy Center, Atlantic Council, and Phillip Cornell, Senior Fellow of Global Energy Center, Atlantic Council.

The World Government Summit also spent considerable time discussing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which form the core of the Agenda 2030, itself part of The Great Reset agenda. Some speakers discussing the SDGs include:

 Dr. Mahmoud Safwat Mohieldi, the United Nations Special Envoy for the 2030 Finance Agenda, who is speaking on a panel about Arab Nations and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

 Maria Sandoval, First Lady of Colombia of Government of Republic of Colombia, discussed The Role of Women in Achieving the SDGs. The first day of the summit was actually dedicated to the role women will play in rolling out the so-called New World Order and global governance schemes. Sandoval celebrated the fact that Colombian President Ivan Duque launched the first national development plan that was directly aligned with the SDGs, and this of course was something that provided a wider spectrum for women to act react and participate in these achievements of the SDGs.

 Catherine Russell, Executive Director of United Nations Children Fund, participated in a panel titled SDGs for Every Child

The Summit also addressed the Environmental, Social, and Governance criteria (ESG) promoted by the UN in a panel entitled, Where does ESG Go From Here?. ESG investing is also sometimes referred to as sustainable investing, responsible investing, or socially responsible investing (SRI). The practice has become an increasingly popular way to promote the SDGs. The panel featured Neil R. Brown, Managing Director, KKR Global Institute and KKR Infrastructure. KKR Global Institute is the same organization that former US Army General and former CIA Director David Petraeus joined in 2013.

Additionally, a panel entitled, Is the World Ready for A Future Beyond Oil?, featured H.E. Suhail bin Mohamed AlMazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure; H.R.H Prince Abdulaziz Al Saud, Minister of Energy of Ministry of Energy  Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; and H.E. Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of Kurdistan Regional Government.

Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence are a major piece of the Technocratic vision for 2030, so naturally there were several discussions on the use of blockchain, AI, and even 6G (the eventual successor to 5G technology).

There was a discussion on blockchain technology in a panel entitled, The Future of Blockchain A Perspective from Industry Pioneer, featuring Changpeng Zhao, Chief Executive Officer of Binance, among others. Other panels focused on De-Fi (decentralized finance) featured Jamie Crawley, Editor in Chief of Coin Desk, and Charles Hoskinson, Co-Founder of Ethereum. I have recently reported on Hoskinsons statements regarding using blockchain to implement ESG and SDG programs and the danger they pose to privacy and liberty.

There was also a panel focused on the introduction of Central Bank Digital Currencies entitled, CBDCs and Stablecoins: Can They Co-Exist?. The CBDCs schemes being rolled out in nations around the world are a crucial component of The Great Reset.

One panel focuses on a concept called Human Meta-Cities, which sound like a rebranding or updating of the so-called Smart Cities. The panel description states,

in a world of change and rapid technological development, we shed light on a new vision for planning future cities centered around human needs and aspirations. This new framework will help governments refine their role in planning the new world taking advantage of the digital transformation opportunities that are taking place.

Another panel which makes clear the Technocratic dream was entitled, The Invisible Government: Eliminating Bureaucracy Through Technology. The description of the panel states:

Technology is creating new possibilities as it simplifies processes, enables instant feedback, and ultimately improves customer experience. In the public sector, digitalization and artificial intelligence are creating a new model of governance  invisible governments that are more agile, responsive, human-centric, and data-driven. In this session, global policymakers and experts will share their bold vision and experience in utilizing technology to eliminate bureaucracy and innovate government services for the future.

What goes unsaid in the panel description is that making the government invisible will actually lead to a world of no accountability for government and politicians. In reality, the Technocrats imagine a world where the tyrannical technological systems are invisible and the average person has zero recourse for preventing exclusion or punishment based on their social credit score.

This is the world these technocrats  many of whom are unelected  envision. The only way this vision will not come to pass is if the people of the world throw their televisions away, ignore the celebrity drama, and start exiting from these slavery systems.
In the spirit of apparent reconciliation and multilateralism defining the Biden administrations approach to conducting international diplomacy, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken handed over the power of attorney to the Ukrainian president to offer Russia relief from international sanctions in exchange for ending its military offensive in Ukraine.

On Sunday, April 3, confirming in an NBC News interview that Zelenskyone of the most ambitious emerging new leaders in Central Europe, not to be mistaken for an imperialist stoogehad the ability to negotiate sanctions relief for peace, Blinken, while assuming the air of magnanimity and rapprochement, revealed that President Joe Bidens administration would support whatever the Ukrainian people wanted to do to bring the war to an end.

Well be looking to see what Ukraine is doing and what it wants to do, Blinken said. And if it concludes that it can bring this war to an end, stop the death and destruction and continue to assert its independence and its sovereignty  and ultimately that requires the lifting of sanctions  of course, we will allow that.

Blinken argued with overtones of diplomatic sophistry that although Putin had allegedly failed to accomplish his objectives in Ukraine  subjugating Kyiv, demonstrating Russias military prowess and dividing NATO members  he said it still made sense to pursue a negotiated settlement.

Even though hes been set back, even though I believe this is already a strategic defeat for Vladimir Putin, the death and destruction that hes wreaking every single day in Ukraine  are terrible, and so theres also a strong interest in bringing those to an end.

Lending credence to ostensible American neutrality and hands-off approach to the Ukraine crisis, the Wall Street Journalthe official voice of establishment Republicans, owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, that has taken the lead in publishing insider scoops during the tenure of the Biden administration while the Democratic shills, the New York Times and Washington Post, have taken a backseat out of deference for self-styled progressives in the White Housepublished a misleading report on April Fools Day that German chancellor Olaf Scholz had offered Volodymyr Zelensky a chance for peace days before the launch of the Russian military offensive, but the Ukrainian president turned it down.

The newly elected chancellor told Zelensky in Munich on February 19 that Ukraine should renounce its NATO aspirations and declare neutrality as part of a wider European security deal between the West and Russia, the Journal revealed. The newspaper also claimed that the pact would be signed by Mr. Putin and Mr. Biden, who would jointly guarantee Ukraines security.

However, Zelensky rejected the offer to make the concession and avoid confrontation, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin couldnt be trusted to uphold such an agreement and that most Ukrainians wanted to join NATO.

Following the announcement of partial drawdown of Russian forces in Ukraine, specifically scaling back Russian offensive north of the capital, by the Russian delegation at the Istanbul peace initiative on March 29, the Ukrainian delegation, among other provisions, demanded security guarantees in terms similar to Article 5, the collective defense clause of the transatlantic NATO military alliance.

CNN reported on April Fools Day that Western officials were taken aback by the surprising Ukrainian proposal. We are in constant discussion with Ukrainians about ways that we can help ensure that they are sovereign and secure, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said. But there is nothing specific about security guarantees that I can speak to at this time.

Ukraine is not a NATO member, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told the BBC when asked whether the UK is prepared to become a guarantor of Ukrainian independence. We're not going to engage Russia in direct military confrontation, he added.

While noting that Russian peace negotiations were nothing more than a smokescreen, Western diplomats contended that an Article 5-type commitment to Ukraine was unlikely given that the US and many of its allies, including the UK, were not willing to put their troops in direct confrontation with Russian forces. The theory that Russia would not attack Ukraine if it had Western security guarantees appears to still be a bigger risk than the US and its allies are willing to take.

As a way for Russia to save face in the negotiations, the Ukrainians even went to the extent of suggesting that any such security guarantees would not apply to the separatist territories in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. However, a number of US and Western officials have taken a skeptical approach to potential security guarantees, with many saying it is still premature to discuss any contingencies as the negotiations proceed.

Contradicting the misleading reports hailing Ukraines imperialist stooges as purported masters of their own destinies, President Joe Biden told the EU leaders at a summit last month in Brussels that any notion that we are going to be out of this in a month is wrong, and that the EU needed to prepare for a long-term pressure campaign against Russia.

US and European officials voiced skepticism over Russias sincerity and commitment towards the peace talks, underlining that only a full ceasefire, troop withdrawal and return of captured territory to Ukraine would be enough to trigger discussions over lifting sanctions on Russias economy.

The notion that you would reward Putin for occupying territory doesnt make sense  it would be very, very difficult to countenance a senior EU official confided to the Financial Times. Theres a disconnect between these negotiations, what really happens on the ground, and the total cynicism of Russia. I think we need to give them a reality check, the official added.

Western countries were discussing both enforcement of existing sanctions and drawing up potential additional measures to increase pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin, senior EU and US officials told the British newspaper. They were not discussing a possible timeframe for easing sanctions, they said.

Advising Ukrainians to hold out instead of rushing for securing peace deal with Russia, the Sunday Times reported, senior British officials were urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to instruct his negotiators to refuse to make concessions during peace negotiations with Russian counterparts.

A senior government source said there were concerns that allies were over-eager to secure an early peace deal, adding that a settlement should be reached only when Ukraine is in the strongest possible position.

In a phone call, Boris Johnson warned President Zelensky that President Putin was a liar and a bully who would use talks to wear you down and force you to make concessions. The British prime minister also told MPs it was certainly inconceivable that any sanctions could be taken off simply because there is a ceasefire. London was making sure there was no backsliding on sanctions by any of our friends and partners around the world, he added.

Speaking to CNNs Dana Bash on Sunday, April 3, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO allies have supported Ukraine for many, many years, adding that military aid has been stepped up over the last weeks since the invasion. The official clarified that NATO allies like the United States, but also the United Kingdom and Canada and some others, have trained Ukrainian troops for years.

According to Stoltenbergs estimates, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops had received such training, and were now at the front fighting against invading Russian forces. The secretary general went on to credit the Brussels-based alliance with the fact that the Ukrainian armed forces are much bigger, much better equipped, much better trained and much better led now than ever before.

In addition to a longstanding CIA program aimed at cultivating an anti-Russian insurgency in Ukraine, Canadas Department of National Defense revealed on January 26, two days following Russias invasion of Ukraine, that the Canadian Armed Forces had trained nearly 33,000 Ukrainian military and security personnel in a range of tactical and advanced military skills. While The United Kingdom, via Operation Orbital, had trained 22,000 Ukrainian fighters, as noted by NATOs informed secretary general.

A prophetic RAND Corporation report titled Overextending and Unbalancing Russia published in 2019 declares the stated goal of American policymakers is to undermine Russia just as the US subversively destabilized the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, and predicts to the letter the crisis unfolding in Ukraine. RAND Corporation is a quasi-US governmental think tank that receives three-quarters of its funding from the US military.

While designating Russia as an intractable adversary, the report notes that Russia has deep seated anxieties about Western interference and potential military attack. These anxieties are deemed to be a vulnerability to exploit.

The RAND report lists several provocative measures to insidiously destabilize and undermine Russia. Some of the steps include: repositioning bombers within easy striking range of key Russian strategic targets; deploying additional tactical nuclear weapons to locations in Europe and Asia; increasing US and allied naval force posture and presence in Russias operating areas (Black Sea); holding NATO war exercises on Russias borders; and withdrawing from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

Almost all the provocative actions recommended in the RAND report have practically been implemented by the successive Obama, Trump and Biden administrations since the 2014 Maidan coup, toppling Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and consequent annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia.

The full RAND report says: While NATOs requirement for unanimity makes it unlikely that Ukraine could gain membership in the foreseeable future, Washingtons pushing this possibility could boost Ukrainian resolve while leading Russia to redouble its efforts to forestall such a development.

In November 2021, the US and Ukraine signed a Charter on Strategic Partnership. The agreement confirmed Ukraines aspirations for joining NATO and rejected the Crimean decision to re-unify with Russia following the 2014 Maidan coup.

In December 2021, Russia proposed a peace treaty with the US and NATO. The central Russian proposal was a written agreement assuring that Ukraine would not join the NATO military alliance. When the proposed treaty was contemptuously rebuffed by Washington, it appeared the die was cast.

The Intercept reported on March 11 that despite staging a massive military buildup along Russias border with Ukraine for nearly a year, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not make a final decision to invade until just before he launched the attack on February 24, senior current and former US intelligence officials told the Intercept. It wasnt until February that the agency and the rest of the US intelligence community became convinced that Putin would invade, the senior official added.

Last April, US intelligence first detected that the Russian military was beginning to move large numbers of troops and equipment to the Ukrainian border. Most of the Russian soldiers deployed to the border at that time were later moved back to their bases, but US intelligence determined that some of the troops and materiel remained near the border.

In June 2021, against the backdrop of rising tensions over Ukraine, Biden and Putin met at a summit in Geneva. The summer troop withdrawal brought a brief period of calm, but the crisis began to build again in October and November, when US intelligence watched as Russia once again moved large numbers of troops back to its border with Ukraine.

Extending the hand of friendship, Russia significantly drawdown its forces along the western border before the summit last June. Instead of returning the favor, however, the conceited leadership of supposedly worlds sole surviving super power turned down the hand of friendship and haughtily refused to concede reasonable security guarantees demanded by Russia at the summit that would certainly have averted the likelihood of the war.

Considering this backdrop of the Russo-Ukraine War deliberately orchestrated by NATO powers to insidiously destabilize and internationally isolate Russia, it stretches credulity that the Ukrainian president wields veto power over NATOs decision offering Russia relief from international sanctions in exchange for ending its military offensive in Ukraine, as contended by the charismatic albeit devious secretary of state.

Are readers gullible enough to assume the Ukrainian proposals for a peace treaty with Russia were put forth without prior consultation with NATO patrons and the latter cannot exercise enough leverage to compellingly persuade the impervious Ukrainian leadership to reach a negotiated settlement with Russia, particularly after the Russian peacemaker has unilaterally offered a major concession to Kyiv, focusing on liberating Russian-majority Donbas region in east Ukraine and scaling back Russian offensive in the rest of the embattled country?

About the author:

Nauman Sadiq is an Islamabad-based geopolitical and national security analyst focused on geo-strategic affairs and hybrid warfare in the Af-Pak and Middle East regions. His domains of expertise include neocolonialism, military-industrial complex and petro-imperialism. He is a regular contributor of diligently researched investigative reports to alternative news media.


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Premier Heather Stefanson broke with tradition last week, skipping the biggest event on the provinces agricultural community calendar: the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair.

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Premier Heather Stefanson broke with tradition last week, skipping the biggest event on the provinces agricultural community calendar: the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair.

"I was away on a holiday with my son on spring break," Premier Heather Stefanson said Monday of not attending the annual Brandon event (held March 28-April 2)

A number of her Progressive Conservative colleagues did, however, make appearances, including deputy premier Cliff Cullen. "Thats his role  to be at these things when I cant be at absolutely everything," Stefanson said.

Fair spokesman Rick Dillabough said Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson also attended several days of events.

Brandon University political science Prof. Kelly Saunders questioned the premiers decision to not make time to appear at the week-long fair.

"In the 20 years Ive been here in Brandon, I dont remember a premier not attending," she said. "Its an important tradition and its important for premiers of (any) stripes to attend."

Brandon is Manitobas second-largest city, a regional hub, and the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is more than just a fair, the academic said.

"It showcases our agricultural sector, which remains an important part of our provincial economy  its one of the premier events of the ag sector," she said. "For a PC premier to take a pass on this is really surprising."

The PCs hold both Brandon seats and most of the surrounding rural area.

"This is a vital part of their vote base," said Saunders. "Youd think the premier would want to be out here shoring up that support and making face time with an important part of her constituency The fact that she denied herself an important opportunity to do that is really unfortunate."

A general election is due to be held no later than Oct. 3, 2023.

The Winter Fair had been on hiatus for the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its return was warmly received  from which Stefanson could have benefited, Saunders said.

"Of all the years to miss it, this would not be the year," she said. "On a number of things, the advice she receives on these political issues is surprising sometimes. For me, this would be a no-brainer."

NDP Leader Wab Kinew said he, too, was away for the March break and didnt attend the fair.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said he was there, and enjoyed it.

Stefanson thanked her colleagues for attending in her absence and said she looks forward to getting back to Brandon "very soon."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
After two years on the shelf, the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair welcomed the return of thousands of guests to Brandon in what event organizers say was a huge achievement.

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After two years on the shelf, the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair welcomed the return of thousands of guests to Brandon in what event organizers say was a huge achievement.

"To do what we did in a short period of time was quite remarkable," said Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba president Kathy Cleaver.

"Once we decided to move forward, we committed ourselves to making this a great show, and Im satisfied that we did just that. I saw a lot of smiling faces this past week and having seen so many friends, who havent seen one another for some time, getting together makes me happy."

The Provincial Exhibition announced the 2022 instalment of the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair welcomed close to 43,000 people through the gates during the six-day event. Over those six days, an average of 7,167 people would have attended each day to meet their figure.

The total tally of people represented the number of scanned tickets at the gate.

In 2019, the Sun reported upward of 100,000 people had attended the Winter Fair based on what was communicated by the Provincial Exhibition.

Rick Dillabough, manager of operations and sponsorship lead for the Provincial Ex, said that figure could have represented anyone passing through their entrance that year, including vendors, trade show participants and repeat guests.

"Were really encouraged by our attendance numbers this year," Dillabough said.

"As for the reporting, during the pandemic the Provincial Exhibition implemented a new ticket accounting system, similar to what is being used throughout the industry. It provides a much more accurate picture on who is and how many are attending."

The ticket-scanning process is what they use for counting attendance at the Brandon Wheat Kings games held at the same facility as the Winter Fair.

"For instance, only those tickets scanned in at the gate registered as an admission, meaning the announced attendance this past week reflected the number of visitors to the fair and not necessarily the number of tickets distributed to sponsors, exhibitors and others," Dillabough said.

Following the province lifting COVID-19 public health guidelines, Cleaver said they are grateful to have been able to host an event of this calibre once again for western Manitoba. It was the first of its kind in months.

"Were so fortunate to have had so much support during these trying times," Cleaver said.

"To think that in February we didnt know if wed be able to host the fair, [its] just a great job by everyone in helping to pull this off in such a short period of time."

Now that the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair has come to an end, the Provincial Ex will turn its attention to the annual summer fair, scheduled for June.

 jbernacki@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @JosephBernacki
OTTAWA  Manitobans might think everyone has caught COVID-19 in recent weeks, based on social media postings of positive antigen tests.

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OTTAWA  Manitobans might think everyone has caught COVID-19 in recent weeks, based on social media postings of positive antigen tests.

However, residents of the Northwest Territories actually know when theres an uptick in novel coronavirus transmission, thanks to a website to report positive antigen tests  and a legal duty to do so.

Its just one example of an increasingly splintered network of gathering and reporting COVID-19 data, with provinces taking a hands-off approach to the pandemic after months of hard work to get consistent metrics.

"It reminds me of the early scramble for data at the very beginning of the pandemic, when there was just really variable information from different sources in different provinces," said Jean-Paul Soucy, a epidemiology PhD student at the University of Toronto.

"Were kind of seeing that again."

Soucy co-founded the COVID-19 Canada Open Data Working Group, which since early in the pandemic has been assembling the patchwork of information from official sources, to create comparable datasets.

The group created dashboards with information that appeared months later on the Public Health Agency of Canadas website, allowing comparisons of regional cases, mortality and hospitalizations.

Last week, Manitoba went blank on the agencys daily epidemiology map, as it ceased daily case reporting in favour of weekly updates. Its also joined a provincial trend of winding down molecular testing or sharing information on the demographics of those dying from COVID-19.

Last week, Manitoba went blank on the Public Health Agency of Canada's daily epidemiology map, as the province ended daily case reporting in favour of weekly updates. (PHAC)

"Its very much a mixed bag, when previously we saw it as pretty consilient across the provinces," said Soucy.

He noted in Manitoba, cases are being reported by region but not deaths. Newfoundland and Labrador has the opposite, with region-level data on deaths and hospitalizations but not cases.

Theres also no standard frequency for when provinces and health regions update their data.

"We really have a lot less information as a country, of where things are going," Soucy said.

Last month, Manitoba and federal officials said theyd both shift to reporting COVID-19 data similar to how influenza has been tracked for decades.

Every flu season since 1996, the FluWatch program has issued weekly reports on the severity of infections, and the strains circulating in Canada, based on a sub-sampling of cases that get genetically sequenced.

That involves hospitals across Canada testing a sample of patients for the novel coronavirus and having those samples sequenced to learn about strains, just as researchers do for the flu.

Yet, governments are asking Canadians to gauge their risk of COVID-19 while publishing less data or even stop-light coded levels of how much transmission is actually occurring.

"We have a shift in focus toward personal mitigation of risk, and at the same time reducing the amount of information that is being given," Soucy said. "That strikes me as a contradiction."

Meanwhile, Canada is a global laggard in testing for the novel coronavirus.

Among the 38 mostly rich countries who make up the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canada has ranked among the bottom three during the past week, in terms of COVID-19 tests conducted per capita.

Thats according to data assembled by Our World in Data, a research project run out of the University of Oxford in England.

The series is smoothed by averaging daily figures over a rolling 7-day window. Not all countries report testing data on a daily basis. To generate this series Our World In Data assumes that testing changed equally on a daily basis over any periods in which no data was reported. This produces a complete series of daily figures, which is then averaged over a rolling 7-day window. Tests may refer to the number of tests performed or the number of people tested, depending on which is reported by the particular country. (Our World in Data)

In raw numbers, Canada reached its peak in testing during the Omicron variant surge, with 165,000 daily tests nationwide the week surrounding Jan. 10.

By that point, provinces restricted access to testing, leading to a steady decline. There were just under 40,000 tests conducted each day of the past week, a rate that hasnt been so low since June 2020, as the first wave abated.

Canadas top doctor said the provinces need to determine how much testing is sufficient.

"I cant tell you whether thats too much or too little, but it needs to be enough so that we can monitor trends," Dr. Theresa Tam said April 1.

"Jurisdictions are adjusting to what is a good, sampling size and distribution in terms of trends, analysis," she said, in response to questions from the Free Press.

"I meet with the provinces all the time, very frequently, to try and get that more consistent approach Ill be really disappointed if we went backwards and let go of the actual gains that we made during this pandemic."

Yet, University of Saskatchewan epidemiologist Nazeem Muhajarine argues the wide-scale suspension of PCR testing makes it hard to tell when provinces have entered a new wave.

"We have compromised our ability to really measure (new) cases of COVID-19," Muhajarine said last week. "That then compromises our ability to say with confidence that we are seeing a sustained increase in cases."

The result could be exponential growth that only gets noticed by hospitalizations and work absences, though Muhajarine noted wastewater trends can also help.

Ottawa has also scaled up work to provide more detailed and recent data from sewage detection of the coronavirus, which can indicate an uptick before large numbers of people start experiencing symptoms.

For now, Winnipegs wastewater data comes through a federal program that reports statistics two weeks late. Thats the incubation period for the coronavirus, making the sewage data of limited use.

Tam also has concerns about Manitoba curtailing its definition of a COVID-19 death, to exclude people who had certain illnesses.

Researchers believe many COVID-19 deaths go unreported, based on comparing the projected number of deaths pre-pandemic to those that occurred, known as excess deaths.

Mortality surveillance is very important, and I personally think that in the Canadian context, we need to do better." Dr. Theresa Tam

"Mortality surveillance is very important, and I personally think that in the Canadian context, we need to do better," she said.

Soucy said Canada has been underwhelming in sharing information about COVID-19. He pointed out a dashboard the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services published on hospital capacity and COVID-19 patients in each state.

"That would be unthinkable here, in terms of health data availability," he said of Canada, arguing this matters for more than just data geeks.

"Transparency builds trust, (and) trust is the fuel that public health runs on."

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Property developer, Hailiang Property Group (HPG Australia) has been given the green light for its $700 million development next to Sydney Park in the inner west at Alexandria, after a long court case with the City of Sydney Council in the NSW Land and Environment Court.

The outcome of a mutually acceptable agreement comes after the developer last year started legal action when the City of Sydneys Sydney Planning Committee rejected its application to build 389 apartments at the site known as One Sydney Park.

Artist impression of One Sydney Park development. Pic - HPG Australia

Located on the south-eastern edge of Sydney Park, in Euston Road, on land formerly owned by industrial giant Goodman, the plans have now been changed to 356 apartments with the building mass pushed back from the park and the perceived overall height of the buildings has been decreased.

Development director for HPG Australia Barney Oros said he expected to appoint a construction company and commence site works before the end of the year.
So, we have the latest addition to Rowlings Potter prequel exploring the early life of Hogwarts sage, Professor Dumbledore. This is the third film in the series and there are plans for two more, although some critics condemned the last one for being over-developed with a sluggish storyline clogged by an excess of characters.

When youve built a piece of literary real estate as popular as the realm that J.K. Rowling constructed for Harry Potter and friends, theres a powerful incentive to go on extending.

This one has a more streamlined design, possibly because Rowling had a co-writer  Steve Kloves, a seasoned hand responsible for all but one of the Potter scripts.

Once again, the youngish Albus Dumbledore is played by Jude Law, dressed in tweeds, but Johnny Depp has been replaced by Mads Mikkelsen in the role of Gellert Grindelwald. The two are arch enemies, a relationship complicated by the fact they were once friends so close that Dumbledore has freely admitted to having been in love with Gellert in his youth.

Eddie Redmayne, at his most wide-eyed and breathless, is also back as the pure-hearted Magizoologist, Newt Scamander. Hes in the mountains of southern China when we first catch up with him, searching for the most fantastic of beasts, the qilin, a delicate creature blessed with exquisite moral instincts. If a qilin bows down before you, you can be assured you are leadership material. While its talents could well be wasted in Canberra, the qilins endorsement will be crucial in the imminent election for the new president of the International Confederation of Wizards.

The series timeline has now reached the 1930s and much of the story is set in Berlin, where parallels between Grindelwald and Hitler are heartily embraced, although Im glad to say Mikkelsen has resisted the moustache. But Grindelwald and his desire to dominate or, preferably, enslave all muggles are gaining traction in the wizarding world and he must be stopped.
The embassy was stormed by between 12 and 15 people, believed to be Iranian dissidents, just after midday. They smashed windows and cars, destroyed furniture, lit fires and attacked staff, three of whom were taken to hospital.

The attack on the Iranian embassy in Canberra on April 6, 1992 filmed by an SBS news crew. Credit:SBS News

Iran summoned an Australian diplomat in Teheran last night to protest that Australian authorities had failed yesterday to provide adequate protection for its embassy in Canberra against a violent demonstration.

Australian Federal Police confirmed late yesterday that they received several hours warning of the demonstration, one of several on Iranian diplomatic missions around the world.

The Federal Police said they were urged to strengthen security at the embassy because of the likelihood of a demonstration and had set up a threat assessment meeting with embassy staff at 1 p.m.  nearly an hour after the attack. In the meantime, patrol can had been told to look out for trouble.

Last night, the Australian charge daffaires In Teheran, Mr Lindsay Cleary, was called to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, where he was told that Australian authorities should have done more to protect the embassy.

But it is believed that Mr Cleary was assured that the incident would not affect the good relations between the two countries. Mr Peary said he would report Irans concerns to Canberra.

The attack in Canberra coincided with similar incidents across Europe and North America. Teherans missions were stormed, staff assaulted and property badly damaged. Scores of demonstrators were arrested in violent clashes in New York, Ottawa, Bonn, Hamburg, The Hague, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Bern, Paris and London.
The unnamed diplomat, who was apparently struck with a tyre lever and stabbed with a screwdriver, was in a serious condition in Canberra Hospital last night with a depressed fracture of the skull.

The attack on the Iranian embassy in Canberra on April 6, 1992 filmed by an SBS news crew. Credit:SBS News

CANBERRA: The Iranian Embassy appealed for extra police protection hours before yesterdays frenzied attack which seriously injured a diplomat.

BLOODY MAYHEM AT EMBASSY IRANS PLEAS FOR EXTRA PROTECTION IGNORED, SAYS AMBASSADOR

First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on April 7, 1992

Two other staff members were treated for facial cuts and head injuries.

There were no police present when 12 men beat up staff, smashed cars and ransacked embassy offices just after noon

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) admitted late yesterday that a call had been received from the embassy early in the morning requesting improved security because of a fears of an attack.

One of the injured complained to reporters afterwards that the embassy had made the request seven hours before the attack.

Irans Ambassador, Dr Mohammed-Hassan Ghadiri Abianeh, last night criticised Australias security agencies for their delay in responding to the embassys request for protection.
Sydney commuters have been warned to expect widespread disruption across the citys public transport network next Monday as bus drivers plan a 24-hour strike.

In the latest industrial action set to hit Sydneys transport network, bus drivers across the inner west, the Hills district, the citys south, north and west have warned they will stop work on April 11 amid a dispute over wages and workplace conditions.

Bus drivers across Sydney are planning to strike for 24 hours on Monday, April 11. Credit:Louise Kennerley

The 24-hour action will be carried out across the patchwork of privatised bus networks in Sydney, with services expected to be drastically reduced.

Transport Workers Union NSW secretary Richard Olsen said while each areas network was privately operated, the NSW government needed to introduce citywide workplace standards for drivers.
Health authorities are preparing for a simultaneous surge in COVID-19 and flu cases before winter, intensifying pressure on hospitals hit by crippling staff shortages and a huge elective surgery backlog.

About 15,000 NSW health workers, including paramedics and cleaners, are expected to walk off the job on Thursday, compounding demand on a health system that has 4400 staff isolating due to COVID-19 and a rising number of people in hospital with the virus.

Kelsey Boivin and her son, Madoc, 3, who has been waiting for ENT surgery for more than 500 days. Credit:Janie Barrett

Senior doctors have warned that suspending elective surgery to help the system cope should be avoided, with predictions it will already take more than 18 months to get waitlists under control.

More than 400 influenza cases were reported nationally last month, including 293 in NSW. While the figures are well below pre-pandemic levels, it is the highest monthly total since international borders shut two years ago.
PM: Japanese policies absurd

Japan needs to change its trading policies, which are leading to crazy economic absurdity, says the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke. In a strong attack in the continuing row over coal deals for 1988, Mr Hawke said yesterday the Japanese had not dealt fairly with Australia in the recent negotiations, and that Japanese actions had been objectionable. Japan needed to adopt more sensible trading policies, he said.

Ron Casey gets the boot

Ron Casey has been suspended from radio station 2KY following comments he made about Asians on his morning talkback program. By suspending me today, the management has simply given in to ethnic groups who have a vested interest in keeping a high profile because it justifies their existence, he said. Casey had been found guilty by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal of breaching radio standards.

All-star bill for Brisbane

Herbie Mann, Larry Carlton and The Great Guitars  Charlie Bird, Barney Kessell and Herb Ellis  will top the bill at World Expos Monterey Jazz Festival Down Under. The line-up also features blind pianist George Shearing, black singer Ernestine Anderson and the seven-piece Monterey All Stars, which includes a recent visitor to Sydney, saxophonist Red Holloway. James Morrison and Ricky May will also appear.
A third man has been charged with the murder of missing man Lachlan James Griffiths, whose disappearance police believe is linked to another body found encased in concrete.

The body of Andrew Walsh was found at the commercial premises during a three-week excavation. Credit:Reece DAlessandro, Nine News Twitter

Mr Griffiths was reported missing by his family on January 26. The 35-year-old was last seen alive at Slacks Creek in November and had resided at hotels in the Brisbane area.

His disappearance has been linked to an investigation into a Coopers Plains business, where last month the body of Andrew Christopher Walsh was found encased in concrete.

On Tuesday, police searched a Waroon Street address at Coopers Plains and arrested a 28-year-old Stafford man, who will appear in Caboolture Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Australia will develop long-range missiles that can travel at least five times the speed of sound under a new agreement with the United States and Britain to build up its defences in the face of a rising China and belligerent Russia.

The hypersonic missiles  which will be fired from the land, sea and air and have a range of more than 2000 kilometres  will be developed under the AUKUS defence pact between the three countries, which will also build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines for Australia.

Australia will develop hypersonic missiles with US and Britain under the deal. Credit:ADF

The land-based missiles would be stationed in Australia, while the other two types of missiles could be deployed on the countrys jet fighters and warships.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison joined his American and British counterparts Joe Biden and Boris Johnson in the early hours of Wednesday morning to announce the new deal to build hypersonic missiles.
House values in some of Melbournes most expensive inner-city suburbs have fallen by as much as 6.4 per cent in the March quarter, new data shows, pointing to the start of a downturn after almost two years of a COVID-19 property boom.

That downturn is yet to reach the outer suburbs, where values remained stable in the first three months of the year, CoreLogic data found.

The top 25 per cent of the market saw a fall of 0.4 per cent in values, while the bottom 25 per cent saw values rise, though only slightly, by 0.7 per cent, CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said.

A total of 295 neighbourhoods recorded a fall in values across the city, after two years of constant value rises, while eight suburbs remained unchanged.
In February, the Office of the Royal Society, the official guardian of the Thai language, issued a decision that appeared to underscore its position that the capital should be known everywhere as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, rather than Bangkok. The Royal Societys ruling was subtle, rendering the formal name for international purposes as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok), rather than what it had been: Krung Thep Maha Nakhon; Bangkok. By using the parentheses, this punctuation mark emphasises the importance of the name in front of the parentheses, said Santi Phakidkham, the deputy secretary-general of the Office of the Royal Society. Jintana Rapsomruay washes dishes at a stall where she makes a popular dessert in Bangkok. If I were the government, I would first take care of my people and fix the economy instead of making a fuss over a name for political reasons. Credit:Adam Dean/The New York Times The Thai cabinet  headed by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former military chief and leader of the 2014 coup  has approved the Royal Societys ruling with its own decree, making a parenthetical Bangkok the law of the land.

The shift from semicolon to parentheses has provoked public dissatisfaction. But its not the name itself to which anyone really objects; the capital is universally known to Thai speakers as Krung Thep or by the initials Kor Tor Mor. People repair pavement near the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. Some people prefer their leaders focus on fixing the economy rather than on changing the citys name. Credit:Adam Dean/The New York Times Rather, the way an elite clique did the update is what bothered some in a populace that appears increasingly unwilling to accept diktats from royalist, tradition-bound institutions. Using Krung Thep over Bangkok is crazy to the point of being idiotic, said Charnvit Kasetsiri, a Thai historian and former rector of Thammasat University in Bangkok. The upper-class Thais love to do this kind of thing, changing common names, real Thai names, into these fancy, partly Pali, partly Sanskrit, mixed-up names. Charnvit noted that other Thai city names have been gussied up over the years, leading to confusion among locals who continue to refer to their hometowns by the older names. Korat, for instance, is formally known as Nakhon Ratchasima. On road signs, the more common form is sometimes appended in brackets.

Using Krung Thep over Bangkok is crazy to the point of being idiotic. Charnvit Kasetsiri, historian The governments push to use what it considers a loftier name for the capital comes amid broader efforts to update international nomenclature, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogans campaign to change Turkey to Turkiye and a push to refer to the capital of Ukraine as Kyiv rather than the Russian Kiev, a change many media organisations have recently adopted. It also comes amid a global movement to address the legacy of colonialism, including in place names. But Thailand is the one country in South-east Asia never to have been colonised, and the name Bangkok is not a relic of empire. At a time when so many in Thailand are suffering from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, some Thais are wondering whether an official policy of Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok) is really among the most pressing issues for the government.

I dont want to say more about the capital name because I dont have good connections, Jintana said, her fingers rolling dough. But what I know is that all these people, they dont even see vendors like me as human. While a mass protest movement has stalled, discontent with Prayuths government simmers. Some critics of the coup that brought him to power fled overseas and turned up dead. Dozens of young protest leaders have been imprisoned. Loading Prosecutions of royal defamation have increased sharply, with a former civil servant sentenced last year to more than four decades in prison. Some protest leaders have called for the monarchy to submit to the constitution and are now facing, collectively, hundreds of years in prison for lese-majeste, which criminalises criticism of senior members of the royal family. People across Thailand, not just the young, recognise the argument of reforming the monarchy, said Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, who was elected president of the Student Union at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Its not marginal, its mainstream.

Netiwit lost his position in February after the school administration determined that he was connected to an event involving activists who have called for monarchical reform. Some Thais are more enthusiastic about the government espousing the longer name. Giant posters of King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun and Queen Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, the current kings fourth wife, tower over public places in Bangkok. Credit:Adam Dean/The New York Times On a recent morning, Vichian Bunthawi, 88, a retired palace guard, sat cross-legged on a bench at the sleepy railway station in Bangkok Noi. The capital should be known around the world as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, he said, remembering how his primary schoolteacher would write the full name on the chalkboard. Krung Thep Maha Nakhon is the name of the capital, he said. It is where the king lives.

The first king of the Chakri Dynasty, Rama I, moved the capital in 1782, from the left bank of the Chao Phraya River, where the Bangkok Noi district is, to the east bank. On marshy ground, he and his successors built gilded, jewelled palaces. The full name of Krung Thep Maha Nakhon includes a paean to an enormous royal palace resembling the heavenly abode in which the reincarnated god reigns. In Thai tradition, the king is semi-divine. In 1932, absolute monarchy was abolished, but the royal family still retains an enormous presence in Thai life. Giant posters of King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun and Queen Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, the current kings fourth wife, tower over public places. The king, whose lavish lifestyle contrasts with the austerity forced upon many Thais by the pandemic, spends most of his time in Germany. Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. Credit:AP Whether as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or Bangkok, the character of the capital has changed drastically over the decades. City planners filled in the canals that used to be the citys transportation arteries. Rice paddies gave way to malls and condominiums.
Washington: Andriy Taranov, a board member at the Ukrainian public broadcasting company Suspilne, was sitting in his office last month when he noticed a strange message running across the bottom of the television screen. It said Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, had announced a surrender.

Taranov was stunned because there had been no chatter about a surrender among reporters covering Russias invasion of the country. Theres nothing like that in any journalist circle, he remembered thinking. It looks absolutely contradictory.

The deep fake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The message was fake, he quickly realised. It had been planted on the chyron of Media Group Ukraines live broadcast by hackers.

Since Russias invasion began in late February, hackers have repeatedly broken into the social media accounts and broadcasting systems of trusted information sources in Ukraine, like government officials and prominent media outlets. They used their access to spread false messages that Ukraine was surrendering, sometimes using fake videos to bolster their claims.
London: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the United Nations that it is giving Russia a right to sow death by allowing it a veto on the Security Council as he called for the removal of Moscow from the 15-member panel in response to war crimes allegations.

After witnessing first hand the horrors of Bucha, a suburb of the capital Kyiv, where images have surfaced of many bodies of civilians, Zelensky said the UN Security Council was useless if it could not find a way to hold the perpetrators to account.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks via remote feed during a meeting of the UN Security Council. Credit:AP

He said some victims in Bucha were shot and killed in the back of their heads, while some were shot on the street, others thrown into wells. The graphic images have led to global condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin and demands he be tried for war crimes.

In his first speech to the body since the Russias invasion more than a month ago, Zelensky said he did not wish to negotiate with Moscow and would rather a powerless and outdated UN purge Russia of the veto power it wields on the Security Council. Failing that, the organisation should dissolve itself, he said.
Latest News 24 lenders raise interest rates Read the full list here

Clients seek advice on interest rate rise City brokers field many enquiries

Fifo Capital has partnered with Givvable to open sustainability-linked options for small businesses and reward them with better finance rates by leveraging their ESG credentials.

The partnership will provide what is believed to be an Australian first - a sustainability linked finance option providing SME supply chains with eligible sustainability or ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) credentials.

Eligible customers can unlock better rates on early payment of invoices and be rewarded with up to a 25% discount.

Fifo Capital CEO Wayne Morris (pictured) said this partnership would reward businesses with the opportunity to monetise their sustainability efforts.

Theres plenty of lenders looking to see how to connect ESG with finance but this initiative will be an Australian first and a much-needed breakthrough for the SME sector, Morris said.

We anticipate this new offer will be far reaching as sustainable finance options have previously been largely out of reach or very limited for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses.

Read more: Fifo Capital appoints senior BDM to drive broker growth

Under the new initiative, SMEs can leverage sustainability practices around environmental, ethical, diversity and inclusion, social, community and governance to access better rates on Fifo Capitals cash-flow finance model.

Morris said with the climate crisis deepening, Fifo Capital wanted to create a platform designed for a more sustainable future which requires an all-hands-on deck approach.

We always see SMES going out of their way in this area and often they arent recognised for doing so, he said. This partnership gives SMEs the ability to register their ESG accreditations and by doing so they qualify for Fifo Capital discounts on our finance facilities.

Eligible third-party validated certifications, accreditations, ratings, or action-based commitments will go toward sustainability credits on the Givvable platform.

Morris said brokers can help their SME clients secure a better cost of finance through ESG and Givvable.

Fifo Capital will consider a clients application if a brokerage is accredited, he said. We are not expecting brokers to learn all the different accreditations, however brokers can benefit through sustainability and help recognise these businesses are booming.

Morris said brokers can secure more clients from a slightly different angle and this opened up another conversation with those clients who were cautious about their impact.

Read more: Nodifi appoints new chief revenue officer to support brokers, SMEs

Givvable CEO and co-founder Frances Atkins said she expected the partnership to be a game changer for Australian SMEs.

We know businesses are wanting to do more to improve their sustainability credentials, so rewarding them through reduced rate finance takes it to another level, Atkins said.

With cash flow being critical for business survival, it made Fifo Capital a logical partner to bring this new offer to market.

The sustainability-linked finance model comes into effect this month via the Givvable platform, with eligible businesses able to access discounted rates on early payment invoices and instant working capital for business expenses and investments.
Softbank-backed Ola Electric has significantly increased delivery of its electric in March with registrations increasing to 9,121 vehicles in March from just 3,904 units in February, according to auto retail sales data supplied by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA).

With deliveries more than doubling, the company became the second largest electric two wheeler seller in March- only behind market leader Hero Electric.

The jump in delivery vehicles came after two months of teething issues at the company which saw its delivery falling short of announced production.

Ola Electric had sold just 1,102 units in January while the company claimed to have increased production to 1,000 a day.

While co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal had said that, Ola electric scooter deliveries are expected to touch 15,000 in March which would have propelled the company to become the No 1 electric two-wheeler company in India in terms of sales.

However, the company, thanks to increased deliveries has increased its market share to 6.21 percent for the full year FY 22.

The company has invested Rs 2,400 crore in building the largest EV manufacturing facility in the country, Ola Electric has set big targets in terms of production volumes and sales.

The response was phenomenal, with Ola claiming bookings worth around Rs 1,100 crore in just two days. This was last year in September, when the company had opened bookings for the first time.

After ramping up production of electric to 1,000 a day in the first week of January, start-up giant Ola Electric has managed to sell just a fraction of that number during the entire month.

The Bengaluru-based company sold just 1,102 electric in January.

The data which is sourced in collaboration with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway, is sourced from nearly 87 per cent of the countrys regional transport offices (RTO).

The company has been at the receiving end of consumers ire for delaying the delivery of the vehicle with several of them taking to social media to explain their position.

However, analysts said that since the industry is at a nascent stage, the pecking order can change rapidly. These company wise outperformers or underperformers would rapidly change based on which company ramps up capacity in whichever month. Most of the outperformers like Hero Electric, Pur Energy, Okinawa, Ampere which outperformed MoM this month were underperformers last month, said analysts at Elara Capital.

Hero Pvt., which dominates the local electric two-wheeler market with 28% share, sold 65,303 units in fiscal 2022 versus 14,771 in the previous year. Sales of Okinawa Autotech Pvt., with 20 percent market share, jumped 566 percent to 46,447 this year, while Pvt. sold 14,371 units and controls 6.2 percent of the sector.

Electric two-wheelers are expected to witness increased demand in coming months. One key reason is fuel prices, which are likely to increase substantially. Crude oil prices have touched 14-year high and may rise further.

As many as 800,000 will be sold in India in the year through March 2023, compared with 429,217 units in the previous period, said Vinkesh Gulati, president of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations.
body, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), has requested the government of India to allow inclusion of spare parts, tyres and lubricants used in vehicles in the credit line to .

India has recently announced $1-billion line of credit to to help the country tide over the current economic crisis. This includes food, medicines and other essentials.

Till suspended imports of completely built vehicles in May 2020, the neighbouring country was an export destination for manufacturers. While Tata Motors has been exporting kits to its distributors, others including TVS Motor and Mahindra and Mahindra have assembly operations.

Bajaj Auto, and a few others were exporting fully built vehicles into the country till the ban took effect. With the country battling forex reserves and fuel shortage export of vehicle kits have fallen sharply.

In a letter addressed to Shridharan Madhusudhanan, joint secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, dated 30 March 2022, said the move would to include spares in the line of credit, would help the automobile dealers of Sri Lanka who are now severely hampered by the difficulties in establishing line of credits.

The banks, added SIAM, may not be aware of the social and economic impact of the severe shortage of spare parts. As a result, automobile dealers in Sri Lanka are unable to service the vehicle park leaving the owners no choice but rely on unauthorised, non-genuine parts that can compromise vehicles safety.

The Ceylon Motors Traders Association has also taken up the issue with the Sri Lankan Government to allow imports of spare parts into the country. also requested the Government of India to commence trade of vehicles manufactured in India with Sri Lanka in local currency.

Even as the assembly operations of all the automakers from India remain affected owing to the current situation, the companies are in a wait and watch mode and remain committed.

M&M has a CKD (completely knocked down) assembly plant in Welipenna through a joint venture with its local partner, Ideal Motors, which was set up in August 2019. It sells KUV100 and Bolero City Pickup in the market. Last week, M&M signed an agreement with Sri Lanka Police for 750 Scorpio SUVs, a company spokesperson said.

We have 35,0000 customers in Sri Lanka and remain committed to the long term prospects of the market, the spokesperson added.

Sri Lanka continues to be a priority market for Tata Motors and is now the largest selling commercial vehicle brand in the country, said a Tata Motors spokesperson. It sells the widest range of products-- from the 750kg ACE to 45-tonne Prima trucks.

Tata Motors stays committed to the Sri Lanka market, and continues to offer after-sales services to its customers, added the spokesperson.

Following an export ban a year ago, exported only 2000 units of motorcycles for a police order the whole of last year.
The state-run utility, which produces over a quarter of India's power output, will import 16 million tonnes for blending with domestic coal during the year ending March 2023, the officials said.

India's top electricity producer Ltd's this financial year will be the highest in eight years despite near-record prices, two senior officials at the company said, as it looks to address a domestic shortage.

The state-run utility, which produces over a quarter of India's power output, will import 16 million tonnes for blending with domestic coal during the year ending March 2023, the officials said.

"We have been directed by the Indian government to import 16 million tonnes, and we will be doing it to ensure the country's energy security," one of the officials said.

The rise in imports reflects strong growth in demand for power as India's economy recovers after the pandemic and forecasts for a particularly hot summer.

India's federal government has directed all utilities to cumulatively import about 33.5 million tonnes for blending during the year, the second official said, the highest in at least six years.

Higher imports by India could put further upward pressure on global coal prices, which touched record highs in March in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia - Europe's biggest supplier. Prices have cooled since, but are still much higher than average levels in 2021.

India is the world's second coal importer, and counts Indonesia, Australia and South Africa as its major suppliers. Details on India's coal import plans have not been previously reported.

India's power generation surged at its fastest pace in three months in March, due to higher than normal temperatures for the month and increased activity following the relaxation of COVID restrictions, while power cuts hit the highest level since October.

State government-run utilities have been asked to import 8.75 million tonnes this financial year, private utility operators have been directed to buy 6.22 million tonnes while other federal government-run utilities will import 2.53 million tonnes for blending, the second official said.

has already awarded contracts to procure nearly 7 million tonnes, the officials said, adding all of it has been sourced from Indonesia at slight premiums to benchmark prices.

did not immediately respond to a request seeking official comment.

SURGING POWER DEMAND

Higher power demand has forced India to cut coal supplies to the non-power sector, and mothball plans for some fuel auctions, despite record production and supply by state-run Coal India Ltd, which produces over 80% of India's coal.

Some of India's non-power sector consumers, who largely use power generated from utilities not connected to the national grid, are also drawing expensive power from the national grid, adding to pressure on utilities with low coal stock.

The higher imports reflect the magnitude of India's coal shortage heading into the summer, when power demand typically peaks due to increased air-conditioning demand and heightened industrial activity.

"We have done everything. Domestic coal production has risen. The whole crisis is because of the closure of imported coal-based power plants and gas-fired plants," the first official said.

Nine of the country's 23 imported coal-based power plants are shut and most of the gas-fired power plants are either not operating or at a lower capacity, government data showed, as industry officials say high global fuel prices have made these plants too expensive to run at full capacity.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Susan Fenton)

(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.)
After subdued domestic sales, Ahmedabad-based Ltd., India's largest branded air-cooler maker, is looking at resurgence in summer 2022 sales on the back of renewed focus on e-commerce and direct-to-consumer (D2C) online channels

The world's largest manufacturer of air-coolers is not only witnessing a spike in share of e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart in its domestic sales but also from its recently launched direct-to-consumer (D2C) website.

While bulk of Symphony's domestic sales happens through the general trade, over the last couple of years amid the pandemic, share of large format stores (LFS), e-commerce and D2C has been growing. On the back of rapid growth in sales from e-commerce and D2C, share of general trade has fallen from 90 per cent to now 80 per cent while the other three categories contribute a combined 20 per cent of domestic sales now.

Citing a Technopak data of the overall industry, Achal Bakeri, Founder, chairman and managing director of Limited said that the D2C channel has grown around 20 per cent in the past two years, led by the pandemic-infused demand, and it is expected to grow 15-20 per cent in the next five years.

Apparently, the Covid-19 induced lockdown and multiple waves of the pandemic had seen Limited witness a dip in its revenue for the financial year 2020-21 to Rs 488 crore from Rs 716 crore in FY 2019-20, led by a decline in domestic as well as overseas business.

So much so that the general trade which buys air-cooler stocks on advance payment from the company sat on huge inventories for a couple of years, said Nrupesh Shah, executive director of Symphony Ltd.

"While general trade operates on a 100 per cent advance payment basis and buys stock ahead of the summer season. For the last couple of years, due to consequent waves of the pandemic, it was sitting on huge inventories which is now getting diluted due to robust domestic demand this year on the back early onset of summer. However, it is e-commerce and D2C which are posting rapid growth and may boost residential as well as enterprise air-cooler sales this summer season," Shah added.

The resurgence in domestic demand was also evident in the company's revenue for the first nine months of the current financial year 2021-22 which grew by 15 per cent to Rs 679 crore by December 31, 2021 as against Rs 586 crore for the nine months period ended December 31, 2020.

Now, in a bid to boost summer sales through its D2C platform, Symphony Ltd has offered a special discount of Rs 250 for the first-time users who can avail it with coupon code WELCOME250 and get free delivery of the coolers across India. The company has also enabled consumers to find a wide range of on the website starting from a personal cooler with a 22-liter tank to a large space cooler with a 200-liter tank.

On the other hand, Symphony Ltd is also betting on its overseas business including both exports from its Indian facilities as well as production and sales from its subsidiaries in Mexico, China and Australia.

"Exports too took a hit but our operational subsidiaries in these countries performed well despite Covid and sailed through their respective summer and Covid-19 waves. For instance, while the US grew by more than 100 per cent, Australia too saw a decent growth," Shah told Business Standard.

In an attempt to break the cyclical nature of air-coolers, the company has over the years not only depended on India's domestic summer sales but also built capabilities to cater to markets which have summer seasons at different times of the year.

Meanwhile, the company is not only exporting India made residential air-coolers but also betting big on enterprise sales by bringing in overseas products from its operational subsidiaries to India.

"We have already had around 4000 installations of enterprise air-coolers across factories, warehouses, data centres and educational institutions. We expect this segment to contribute as much as residential air-coolers in the medium term," Shah added. Currently, the enterprise segment contributes less than 10 per cent of total domestic sales and 15 per cent on consolidated basis.
: Video Communications on Tuesday said its Indian entity ZVC India has set up its technology centre the first such facility in Tamil Nadu and second in the country.

The Chennai Technology Centre was part of Zoom's expansion plans and would supplement the existing unit in Bengaluru.

The company has two data centres in Mumbai and Hyderabad, a company statement said.

The Chennai Technology Centre would play a vital role as a source of innovation for and would focus on research and development of new products including Contact Centre and cutting-edge technologies to build a communications platform.

The unit would led by Zoom's Global engineering teams based at San Jose, California, the company said.

"We recognise and value the importance of India as a crucial part of Zoom's growth strategy. With the addition of the Chennai Technology Centre, we strive to compete at the forefront of technological leadership and help raise the bar in the new era of collaboration," Zoom President Product and Engineering, Velchamy Sankarlingam said.

"...our expanded presence in India will play an important role in helping accelerate the translation of ideas and concepts into path-breaking solutions for worldwide impact. We welcome talents in India to be part of our growing DevOps, IT, Security and Business Operations teams as we scale our operations," he said.

Zoom General Manager and Head of India and SAARC region, Sameer Raje said, "we are excited to launch the technology centre in Chennai and tap into India's top notch talent which will help us deliver a best-in-class communications experience for our customers."



The recruitment for the Chennai centre was underway and the company was planning to gear up its hiring in India through 2022, the statement added.

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India at present has 1.96 nurses per 1,000 population, the Union informed the on Tuesday.

Responding to a question in the Upper House, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said as per Indian Nursing Council records, there are around 33.41 lakh registered nursing personnel, including 23,40,501 registered nurses and registered midwives, and 10,00,805 associates (9,43,951 Auxiliary Midwives), and 56,854 lady health visitors in the country.

"The nurse-population ratio in the country at present is 1.96 nurses per 1,000 population," Mandaviya said in a written response.

There are 13,01,319 allopathic doctors registered with the State Medical Councils and the Medical Commission as of November 2021.

The doctor-population ratio is 1:834 in the country assuming 80 per cent availability of registered allopathic doctors and 5.65 lakh AYUSH doctors.

"Also, there are 2.89 lakh registered dentists and 13 lakh allied and healthcare professionals in the country," he said.

Mandaviya further said the number of undergraduate seats has increased from 51,348 before 2014 to 89,875 as of date which is a hike of 75 per cent.

The number of post-graduate seats has increased by 93 per cent from 31,185 before 2014 to 60,202, he added.

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Of the total Rs 1.25 lakh crore spent on in the last seven years, only 4 to 5 per cent funds have gone to the and that too during the last two years amid COVID-19, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, the minister also informed the members that there was an attempt initially to include Chief Minister's Relief fund for spending funds but it was disallowed by the government of India.

"Out of the Rs 1.25 lakh crore that have been spent on over the last seven years, not more than 4 to 5 per cent has gone to the . Most of that money has gone during Covid in two years," Singh said.

He said prior to that, companies by themselves have been able to spend on all those activities that have been enumerated under the CSR pattern under Section 135 of Companies Act.

"There were attempts to make CSR funds go to the Chief Minister's Fund, but it was not accepted by the government of India. Because then, in whichever state the chief minister is then the funds from these companies will only go to the direction given by the chief minister. We don't want to have that," Singh said.

"The basic idea of spending CSR is to do the best you can for the public good. And it cannot necessarily be that only one person can think about and not the chief minister alone," he said responding to a query by Prasanna Acharya (BJD) on whether the chief minister's fund would be included in .

Singh said it is a broad-based activity that the Board undertakes and we give general guidelines and the Board implements it.

It is an activity pan-India, no matter where the company comes from, he said.

The minister also said that Section 135 of the Companies Act provides the framework for the and the first proviso to this is that where the company is established, it should first endeavour to spend CSR funds.

"But, this is not mandatory, it is directory," he said.

"The broad principle adopted by the government of India is for companies to not just spend at the place where it exists but also in other areas across the country," he said.

To a suggestion to make CSR funds spending mandatory for improving the backward districts of the country, the minister said, "It is stated that it is not mandatory."



"What happens is that generally companies tend to spend money where they are located. The main beneficiaries thereafter are states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and areas in the north-east like Nagaland, where there is very little CSR spending," he said.

In this regard he said in the last seven years since CSR funds have been invoked, Nagaland has only been able to get Rs 8 crore out of 1.2 lakh crore spent under CSR by various companies.

Singh also said that there is some sort of guideline for public sector undertakings that they should look into aspirational and backward districts.

"That kind of thing is already under anvil and has been passed and 60 percent funds of PSUs are spent in so-called aspirational districts," he said.

To a query by Birendra Prasad Baishya (AGP) on whether CSR funds can be directed to be spent in the north east to help ensure its speedy development, the minister said the idea of the government of India is that it should be a broad-based activity and the responsibility of spending CSR funds lies with the Board of the companies.

"We are trying to ensure that the company through suggestions that it should be made to spend not only in the area of its operation but as broadly as possible throughout the country. That is what is being done.

"We unfortunately cannot direct any company to say that they should spend in the Northeast. It is not directory," he said.

In her written reply to the question, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Under the Act, CSR is a board-driven process and the board of the company is empowered to plan, decide, execute and monitor CSR activities based on the recommendations of its CSR committee. The government does not issue any directions to the companies to spend in particular geographical area or activity."



She said on the basis of filings made by the companies in the MCA 21 registry, "companies have spent an amount of Rs.507.47 crores in 84 aspirational districts as identified by NITI Aayog in FY 2020-21 (data up to 31.12.2021) as against Rs.331.91 crores in 82 aspirational districts in FY 2019-20.

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In what is construed as a retaliation, the (ED) on Tuesday swooped to attach assets belonging to Shiv Sena MP and Chief Spokesperson hours after the set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of corruption against the central probe agency.

The ED said it has attached eight plots of land belonging to Raut and his family at Alibaug in Raigad district and a flat in a 32-storeyed building in Dadar east, Mumbai.

The shock attachments are part of the ED probe into the Rs 1,034-crore Patra Chawl land-scam case in which Raut's friend Pravin Raut was arrested and a charge sheet filed in the matter.

Reacting to the developments, said in New Delhi he was "not scared of even the father of ED" and would continue his exposure against the ED officers.

"I am a fighter and a Shiv Sainik... I am not scared of even the 'baap' (father) of the ED... They have attached my properties made out of my hard-earned money," Raut declared.

The fast-paced developments in the day came nearly two months after wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on February 28, levelling serious charges against the ED and accusing the central agency of running an 'extortion racket' in Mumbai.

"We have set up an SIT to probe these allegations... It is headed by Additional Commissioner of Police (Additional CoP) Viresh Prabhu. We will give them whatever time period required for its investigations," said Walse-Patil, just hours prior to the ED action on the Sena MP.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President and Minister Jayant Patil said he was aghast at the goings on by the central agency and how it was targeting the Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders.

Among other things, Raut had submitted a list of the ED officers who allegedly extorted money of crores of rupees with the help of one Jitendra Navlani under threats of framing them in various cases.

Earlier, the Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW), monitored by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, was conducting the probe but now it has gone to the SIT.

On March 8, Raut had made a sensational expose before the media claiming how ED officials and Navlani - reportedly close to the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party - had taken huge sums of money illegally from various builders and corporates against investigation threats, and directly charged the central agency of acting like the 'ATM' of the BJP.

Later, Shiv Sena leader Arvind Bhosale lodged a police complaint which initiated the probe and now it will be further investigated by the SIT, with Raut warning of another big exposure into the ED's affairs.

--IANS

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The on Tuesday asked the Centre to seriously look into the issue raised in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking implementation of a Uniform Banking Code for transactions to control black money generation and benami transactions.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla issued notice to the Centre through ministries of Home Affairs, Law and Justice and Finance, and asked them to respond to the petition.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the Centre, submitted that the petitioner has raised a serious issue which shall be looked into by the government.

The court, which listed the matter for further hearing on May 25, asked the Centre to seriously look into the issue raised by the petitioner.

Petitioner and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay raised loop holes in the system in relation to transfer of foreign funds which could be used by separatists, Naxals, Maoists, fundamentalists, and terrorists.

During the hearing, the ASG said, He (petitioner) has raised a serious issue. We will consider it and get back. The issues are serious and important, they do require detailed consideration.

The petition sought direction to ensure that Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Instant Money Payment System (IMPS) are not used for depositing foreign money in Indian banks.

The petitioner said it is not only harming the reserve of India but is also being used to provide money to separatists, fundamentalists, Naxals, Maoists, terrorists, traitors, conversion mafias and radical organisations like the SIMI and PFI.

He submitted that immigration rules for a visa are the same whether a foreigner comes in business class or economy class, uses Air India or British Airways, and comes from USA or Uganda.

Likewise, the deposit details in Indian banks, including foreign bank branches for transactions, must be in the same format whether it is export payment in a current account or salary in a savings account or donation in charities current account or service charges payable in YouTuber's accounts. The format should be uniform whether it is converted by Western Union or National Bank or an India-based foreign bank, the plea said.

"Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) must be issued and all international and Indian banks must send the link through SMS to get FIRC automatically in case foreign exchange is being deposited in the account as converted INR.

Moreover, only a person or company should be permitted to send Indian rupees from one bank account to another bank account inside the territory of India through RTGS, NEFT and IMPS and international banks should not be allowed to use these domestic banking transactions tools," it said.

The plea also sought direction that foreign exchange transactions through Indian banks and foreign bank branches in India must have information like the name and mobile number of the depositor, International Money Transfer (IMT) and not RTGS/NEFT/IMPS and name of currency.

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Amid the continuous decline in COVID-19, the administration on Monday lifted all the remaining COVID-19 restrictions including the wearing of masks in public places.

As per the order, no penalty would be imposed for not wearing a face mask in public or workplaces from now onwards.

However, the administration advised people to adhere to COVID appropriate behaviour including wearing of face mask, hand hygiene and maintaining social distancing.

"The undersigned in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 22 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in my capacity as Chairperson, State Executive Committee, State Disaster Management Authority hereby withdraws all the remaining orders/guidelines issued under DM Act, 2005 with immediate effect. No penalty or fine shall be imposed for not wearing of face mask in public/work places. However, the general public is advised to adhere to COVID Appropriate behaviour including wearing of face mask, hand hygiene and maintaining social distancing," the order reads.

Several states have lifted COVID-19 restrictions and made use of face masks optional in public places in view of the decline in COVID-19 cases across the country.

States which have removed mask mandate include Maharashtra, Delhi, and Telangana.

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has received Rs 3,000 crore dues with interest from the Congress-ruled Rajasthan's state-owned power distribution companies as compensation for higher fuel costs.

Holding the three discoms guilty of contempt of its August 31, 2020 order, a Supreme Court bench led by Justice Vineet Saran had on February 25 asked the top brass of the discom to be personally present before it for framing of charges if they failed to pay its dues, as directed.

The Supreme Court gave four weeks to the discoms to make a payment of Rs 3,048.63 crore to Adani Power, along with the interest.

Sources said that in the last hearing on March 31, had informed the apex court that discoms made a payment of Rs 3,000 crore to the company on March 30.

The officials, who the court said would need to be personally present before it if the latest order is not complied with, are Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Chairman Subodh Agarwal and its MD Bhaskar Atmaram Sawant, Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam MD Navin Arora, Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam MD V.S. Bhati and Jodhpur Vidyut Nigam MD Avinash Singhvi.

Adani Power had signed an agreement with the Rajasthan discoms in March 2008 to set up a 1,200 MW coal-based power project near Kawai in Baran district at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore.

As per the agreement, the state had to facilitate the supply of coal either from the Central government or other sources. Since it failed to do so, the company procured imported coal to supply power. The company claimed higher costs from the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC).

The RERC in 2018 ordered in favour of Adani Power and directed payment of compensation by the discoms. The discoms moved the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (Aptel), which upheld the Commission's order. The matter moved to the Supreme Court as the discoms argued that Adani Power was responsible for the fuel arrangement.

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The on Tuesday issued an order enhancing the rates of (DA) payable to State government employees from the existing 24.50 per cent to 27.25 per cent of basic pay from January 1 this year.

"It has been decided to enhance the DA for state government employees by 2.75 per cent (of basic pay) from January one," the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai tweeted. "For this, the Government will incur an annual expenditure of Rs 1,447 crore.

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The Centre is likely to table on Tuesday 'The Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022' in the to unify three municipal corporations in the national capital.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will move the Bill further to amend the Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, as passed by the Lok Sabha, and be taken into consideration and to be passed.

Last week, the Lok Sabha passed the The Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to unify three municipal corporations in the national capital.

As per the List of Business of the Upper House, the Centre is also likely to table the Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2022 for consideration and passing in the . Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will move the Bill further for amendment, to be taken into consideration and to be passed.

Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda to move that the Bill further to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 for inclusion of certain community in the list of Scheduled Tribes in relation to Tripura, as passed by the Lok Sabha, be taken into consideration and to be passed by the Upper House.

The discussion on the working of the ministry of labour and employment is also likely to conclude in the with a reply by the minister.

Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya is to move the motion to elect, in the manner as directed by the Chairman, one woman member from amongst the MPs of the House to be a member of the Central Supervisory Board, constituted under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994.

--IANS

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MP on Tuesday termed (ED) action to attach his property an attack on middle class Marathi manoos and asserted he will not be cowed by such moves and resist any act to pressurise him.

Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Raut pointed out that the ED action came on a day when the Mumbai Police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of extortion against the central agency's officers.

Last month, the Rajya Sabha MP had alleged that some ED officers were running an extortion racket.

Raut said the ED's action is an act of vengeance and the agency's claim against him will fall flat.

The leader also tweeted Asatyamev Jayate (lie has triumphed) after the action by the financial crimes probe agency.

The Rajya Sabha MP claimed he was being targeted by the BJP, a former ally of the Shiv Sena, as he did not support efforts to bring down the MVA government in Maharashtra.

The Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government also comprises the Congress and the NCP.

Your (the BJP) government could not be formed because of me. Now I am not supporting you in bringing down the government. This is an attempt to pressurise me, but I will now be cowed, he added.

The ED has attached eight land parcels in Alibaug in adjoining Raigad district and a flat in Mumbai's Dadar area linked to Raut and his family under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The attachment is linked to a money laundering probe related to a Rs 1,034 crore worth land 'scam' related to the re-development of a 'chawl' (old row tenements) in Mumbai.

The ED had arrested Maharashtra-based businessman Pravin Raut in this case in February and later filed a charge-sheet against him.

This (ED action to attach property) is an act of vengeance against middle class Marathi manoos (Marathi people). The entire Maharashtra should know about this, the Sena MP said.

"I am not scared of anyone. I will not bend. This is my hard-earned money, he added.

Raut said he received phone calls from several political leaders, including Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP president Sharad Pawar, who expressed concern over the ED's action.

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The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has directed the blocking of 22 YouTube-based news channels, of which four are from Pakistan, for allegedly spreading fake news to mislead viewers.

This is the first time that action has been taken against the Indian YouTube-based news publishers since the notification of the IT Rules, 2021 in February last year, it said.

In an official statement, the ministry said that it issued an order on Monday to block 22 channels, three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account and one news website.

With this action, the ministry has, since December 2021, issued directions for blocking 78 YouTube-based and several other accounts on grounds related to security, sovereignty and integrity of India, public order, etc.

The blocked channels had a cumulative viewership of over 260 crore, the ministry said in an official statement, adding that they were spreading fake news and coordinated disinformation over on subjects sensitive from the perspective of security, India's foreign relations, and public order.

Through the recent blocking order, 18 Indian and four 4 Pakistan-based have been blocked, the ministry said, without naming them.

According to the ministry, multiple YouTube channels were used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc.

The content ordered to be blocked also included certain anti-India content posted from multiple accounts operated in a coordinated manner from .

It was observed that a significant amount of false content was published by the Indian YouTube channels related to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, and aimed at jeopardising India's foreign relations with other countries, it said.

The ministry said that the blocked Indian YouTube channels were using templates and logos of certain TV news channels, including images of their news anchors to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic.

False thumbnails were used, title and thumbnail of the videos were frequently altered to increase the virality of content on social media. In certain cases, it was also observed that systematic anti-India fake news was originating from Pakistan, it said.

The Government of India remains committed towards ensuring an authentic, trustworthy, and safe online news media environment, and thwarting any attempts at undermining India's sovereignty and integrity, security, foreign relations, and public order, the ministry said.

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Union Home Minister on Monday said that the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill has been brought with the sole objective to improve the conviction rate in the country, protect the human rights of crores of law-abiding citizens and send a strong message in the society by punishing the criminals.

Responding to the debate on the proposed Bill in the Lok Sabha, the Home Minister said, "Its sole objective was to improve the conviction rate in the country, protect the human rights of crores of law-abiding citizens and send a strong message in the society. It had not been brought for any misuse."

Posing a question to the Opposition, Shah asked, "Both crime and criminal have become modern and we should not equip the police with modern technology?"

The Home Minister claimed that the Bill has been brought to technologically enhance policing in the country.

"We have no intention of misusing the provisions of the Bill. It is meant to keep our police ahead of criminals. Next-generation crimes cannot be tackled with old techniques. We have to try to take the criminal justice system to the next era."

He said that the government is implementing the Bill to meet the "T" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for SMART (Strict and Sensitive, Modern and Mobile, Alert and Accountable, Reliable and Responsive, Techno savvy and Trained) policing in 2014.

"In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi put forward the concept of SMART policing. Where T meant Technology. We are here to fulfil that promise of T. England, Canada, South Africa, Australia and the USA which are champions of human rights have more stringent laws than this," he said.

Further, slamming Opposition members who raised the issue of human rights, he said that the leaders should be concerned about the human rights of the law-abiding victims of crime.

"The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 needs to be looked at from a holistic view. No one is running away from the discussion...but the discussion should be based on logic and facts. The discussion should not be to please the vote bank but to solve the problem," said Shah.

He further said that the Opposition members are concerned about the criminals, but the Modi government is concerned about the law-abiding citizens of the country.

"Those who are talking human rights, it is my request to them that you must think about those who are harassed by criminals. You are concerned about those involved in robbing, and rape. You are only concerned about the criminals; the Modi government is concerned about the people who live on the basis of law," he added.

The Home Minister said that the government believes in the investigation which is done on the basis of data, and information, not on the basis of third-degree torture.

"I agree that delayed justice is of no use. The guilty should be punished on time and justice is done only then the rule of law will be established. The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes in the investigation which is done on the basis of data, information, forensic science and technology, not on the basis of third-degree torture," said the Home Minister.

He further slammed the Opposition members for doing politics of appeasement over the bill.

"Those who do the politics of appeasement are raising apprehensions on this bill. Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was a law brought in the interest of the country, which was removed for the politics of appeasement. We do not do vote bank politics, we have come into politics to secure the country and take it to the highest position in the world.

Shah hit out at the Opposition for misuse of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and said that the UAPA is not for any particular caste or religion.

"In 2019, there were more than 51 lakh cases in the country, 1200 cases under UAPA. What do you want to say? The public has taken the responsibility to Narendra Modi of keeping the nation safe. Why not impose UAPA on those working against the country? UAPA is not imposed by looking at anyone's caste or religion, but your advocacy is only for one caste or religion," he said.

Shah said that 7.5 lakh cases are closed every year due to a lack of evidence.

"Due to lack of evidence, 7.5 lakh cases are closed every year due to lack of evidence, are they human rights or not? A member asked whether there would be no crimes after this. Section 302 has been in place for so long, did the killings stop? So should 302 be removed as well? 7.5 lakh cases are closed every year due to lack of evidence, are they a human right or not?" said Shah.

Replying on the concern over the issue of data protection, possible misuse of the proposed law, violation of the citizen's right to privacy and other fundamental rights, the Home Minister said, "No need to be fear of databases. The whole world is using databases and we should use it too. For how long will we continue on the same old path? We also have to move forward with the times."

The Home Minister said that the government is also going to bring a model act for jails.

"The Modi government is also going to bring a model act for jails, the main provisions of which are:- To focus on after care services for the rehabilitation of prisoners, multiple remedial programs with psychology assessments and separate women's prison and separate arrangements for women prisoners and transgenders with children," he added.

The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 seeks to replace the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920.

The bill provides for legal sanction for taking appropriate body measurements of persons who are required to give such measurements to "make the investigation of crime more efficient and expeditious".

It seeks to define ''measurements'' to include finger impressions, palm-print and foot-print impressions, photographs, iris and retina scan, physical, and biological samples and their analysis.

The bill seeks to empower the National Crime Records Bureau of to collect, store and preserve the record of measurements and for sharing, dissemination, destruction and disposal of records.

The bill also seeks to empower a Magistrate to direct any person to give measurements and empower police or prison officer to take measurements of any person who resists or refuses to give measurements.

The bill was introduced in Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni.

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Chief General and Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen met on Tuesday and discussed regional geopolitical developments.

General Naravane reviewed the Guard of Honour at the Ministry of Defence in and complimented the Guard for an impeccable turnout and parade.

The strong and long-standing bilateral defence relationship between both the two nations was reaffirmed, the Army said in a statement.

He also called on Brigadier General David Neo, Chief of Army of Army and discussed the roadmap to further enhance defence cooperation between the two nations.

General Naravane is on a three-day visit to Singapore to enhance military cooperation from Monday (April 4).

On Monday, General Naravane laid a wreath at the Kranji War Memorial.

Last year in December, General Naravane went on a week-long visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the first ever trip by an army chief to both West Asian countries to significantly boost the security ties.

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The White House has reiterated that it is not in India's interest to "accelerate or increase" of Russian energy and other commodities, while offering to work with New Delhi to help it reduce its reliance on from Moscow.

Responding to questions on the visit of top Indian-American US advisor Daleep Singh to New Delhi last week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Monday that he explained both the mechanisms of the American sanctions and reiterated that any country or entity should be abiding by those.

At the same time Psaki said that reporting energy payments by India are not sanctioned and New Delhi's of Russian energy represent only one to two per cent of its total energy imports.

Singh, the US Deputy Security Adviser, who played a key role in designing American sanctions against Russia, was in New Delhi last week in the backdrop of increasing disquiet among Western powers over India not criticising Russia over its attack on Ukraine.

In New Delhi, he had also cautioned that there will be consequences for countries actively attempting to "circumvent or backfill" American sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and said it would not like to see a "rapid" acceleration in India's import of energy and other commodities from Russia.

During her briefing on Monday, Psaki said that "certainly our expectation and our public and private message is will continue to be that every country should abide by the sanctions that we have announced and that we are implementing around the world."



She said that "energy payments are not sanctioned; that's a decision made by each individual country. And we've been very clear that each country is going to make their own choices, even as we have made the decision and other countries have made the decision to ban energy imports."



"What Daleep did make clear to his counterparts during this visit was that we don't believe it's in India's interest to accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy and other commodities," Psaki said.

"Right now, just to give everybody the full scope of it, India's imports of Russian energy represent only 1 to 2 per cent of their total energy imports," she added.

So Singh explained both the "mechanisms of our sanctions and reiterated that any country or entity should be abiding by those, we also made clear that we'd be happy to be a partner in reducing their reliance or even their small percentage of of reliance on that," the White House Press Secretary said.

India buys less than one per cent of its total oil imports from Russia. But Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have given way to talk of a rupee trade for the oil and gas purchases.

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Rejecting media reports that the COVID-19 vaccination drive among children was derailed in the state, Health Minister Veena George on Tuesday said the immunisation initiative was progressing well and a total of 57,025 doses have been given to those belonging to the 12-14 years of age group so far.

She termed as "totally baseless" a report that appeared in a section of media alleging only 751 children were given the jab even three weeks after the drive was launched for the category.

The drive is being done via the Centre's COWIN portal and a vaccination bulletin is published in this regard on the website of the state health department, she said in a statement.

"So, false propaganda against the vaccinaton drive should be stopped," George said.

The drive lacks the expected speed now as it is the time of school examinations in the southern state and it was already informed in the beginning that the pace of immunisation would be low in this period, she said.

A coordinated drive of Health and Education Departments would be conducted for children as soon as the examinations are over, the minister added.

Quoting figures, she also said a total of 79 per cent of children (12,10,093), aged between 15-17 years, were given the first dose and 47 per cent of the same age category (7,26,199) were given the second dose.

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Minority Affairs Minister on Tuesday said the government has made all arrangements for Haj, but a decision on the modalities has to be taken by .

The minister said this in Rajya Sabha during the Zero Hour, after Nadimul Haque of the TMC raised the demand for confirmation of date for restoration of Haj-2022.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) member pointed out that the International Yatra did not take place in the last two years due to the Covid pandemic.

It is the Saudi Arabian government which will decide the modalities of and how many would be permitted for the pilgrimage from India, Naqvi said.

He also informed that during the Modi government, more than two lakh pilgrims have gone for from India.

In her Zero Hour mention, Rajani Ashokrao Patil of the Congress made a case for resettling of two-thirds of Asiatic Lions at two or three more places rather than just Gir in Gujarat.

Since all Asiatic Lions are in a single population, they remain vulnerable to disease, epidemic, cyclone, and drought, Patil pointed out.

In the Serengeti Park (Tanzania and Kenya), one-third of the 3,000 lions died due to the canine distemper virus within a very short span of a few months, she said.

Such an epidemic can result in the extinction of the Asiatic Lions, she said and added that currently, the distemper virus is killing the Gir lions as well.

According to her, for a viable tiger population, a tiger reserve needs to have a human-free space of over 800 square kilometers.

"The same is true for lions. However, for the only population of Asiatic Lions in the whole world, the exclusive space available is just 250 square kilometers of the Gir Park," she added.

Manoj Kumar Jha (RJD) stressed on the need for changing election laws to make political parties accountable for their poll manifesto.

To this, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu asked other members, including former prime minister and JDS member H D Devegowda, was it possible to make election manifestos legally binding.

Devegowda said, "The only thing is that certain issues need to be discussed on the issue of election manifesto. That is my opinion".

Naidu said that political parties should meet, think about this seriously and then move forward in the larger interest of the country.

"It is a real issue. What has been raised is an important issue. When we are in Opposition, we say that it should be enforceable.

"When we are on the ruling side, our position is different. So, all parties should apply their mind and then come to some conclusion," he said.

In his mention, Anil Desai of the Shiv Sena suggested to apply the Mumbai city bus transport model in Delhi.

He said the discipline which is being maintained by the BEST (Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport) is very good and having started in 1873, it will be completing 150 years of service to the people.

"My suggestion is that the same discipline and the kind of transportation, which takes place in the city of Mumbai, the same model should be applied in Delhi's public transport, that is, DTC," Desai said.

BJD's Prasanna Acharya demanded construction of a memorial in the Asirgarh Fort in Maharashtra to honour freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai of Odisha, who raised his sword against the Britishers at the age of 17 and throughout his life fought against the Britishers.

PMK's Anbumani Ramadoss sought the intervention of the central government in the Cauvery river water dispute.

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on Tuesday passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill-2022 to unify three civic bodies in the capital, with Home Minister stating in that it was necessitated due to the step-motherly treatment meted out by the government towards the local bodies.



The gave its nod to the bill through a voice vote after negating all the amendments sought by the opposition, including a motion to send the proposed legislation to a select committee.



The demand for the division of votes on an amendment moved by Sanjay Singh of the was rejected by Deputy Chairman Harivansh, who said it was moved after the stipulated time.



Replying to the discussion on the bill, Home Minister Shah said it was a mistake by the previous Congress regime to trifurcate the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the current bill has been necessitated after the AAP-led meted out step-motherly treatment to the civic bodies.



"The way government in Delhi meted out step-motherly treatment towards the three civic bodies, we had to bring this bill. You can have animosity with us, but what animosity you have with the people of Delhi. They have voted for you in government...," Shah asked.



"This bill is as per the Constitution. The central government has powers to enact laws in the Union Territory of Delhi... This bill is from no angle an attack on the federal structure," Shah said, allaying concerns raised by some opposition members.



Delhi is only a union territory and not a full state, he said, adding that has competence to frame laws for Delhi.



He also claimed that the central government has doubled allocation to Delhi and has not reduced a single penny due to the Union Territory, but the has not paid the three civic bodies Rs 40,561 crore as per the 5th Finance Commission and instead gave only Rs 21,000 crore which is the reason for the plight of these bodies.



Shah alleged that this was done by the AAP government to create panic in Delhi so that people vote for them in civic polls. "But people know everything and your dreams will never come true." "The people of Delhi know it all. You are harassing the municipal corporations and, in turn, harassing the people of Delhi, we will tell this to people," he said.



"Today the situation is such that it is impossible to run the three civic bodies and that is why this bill has been brought to unify the three corporations," he said, adding that had the AAP-led not treated them in such a manner, the three civic bodies could have functioned normally.



According to the bill, passed by Lok Sabha last week, the unification of the municipal corporations will ensure synergised and strategic planning and optimal utilisation of resources.



Dismissing the opposition charge that the ruling dispensation at the Centre brought in the bill out of fear of losing the civic elections, Shah said the BJP has no such phobia and is ready to contest the polls soon after delimitation.



"It is being alleged that the bill has been brought due to fear of losing elections. But if elections are held after six months, will you lose," he asked opposition members.



He said the BJP has no fear of losing or arrogance of victory and is fully geared up to contest the polls.

Shah also took a dig at the AAP government for opening so many liquor vends in Delhi, saying it seems as if the entire Delhi will turn into a drinking place.



"Those who say we are power hungry should see themselves in the mirror. We have neither fear of losing nor arrogance of victory. We come from a party which once had only two members and those who are teasing us 'Hum do, hamara do' forget that in a democracy the family is not all supreme but the 130 crore people of India are," he noted.



Shah also attacked the Congress for talking about democracy and rights and said, "The Congress has no right to talk about democracy as it snatched away the rights of every individual and jailed over 2 lakh workers of opposition parties during the Emergency. All newspapers were censored and even songs were censored." "Those who forget history become history themselves. We do not forget history," he quipped.



The home minister also hit out at the TMC, saying it had deferred many civic body polls in West Bengal and is today talking about a delay in polls in Delhi. He also claimed that the new unified civic body in Delhi will be administered by a special officer and not an MLA being appointed as political administrator as in Bengal.



"Our way is to win elections through democratic means and not by killing workers of opponents or raping their wives. Our way to power is through democracy," he noted.

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Though coronavirus cases are coming down in the country, people should get vaccinated and follow COVID-19-appropriate behaviour, Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said on Monday.

Interacting with a group of journalists, she narrated how managed to fight the pandemic with innovative ideas such as mobile testing labs and distribution of face masks free of cost or at Re 1.

She also hailed the role of the media in the pandemic management and said, "Without their exemplary efforts in removing vaccine hesitancy, today we wouldn't have been a global case study in the fight against the pandemic."



Soundararajan said she took her second dose of vaccine in a tribal belt of to remove vaccine hesitancy among people in the area.

According to her, the day after she took her second jab, more than 200 tribal people came forward and took the vaccine in the area.

"Though Covid cases are coming down and vaccine is not mandatory, we still should get vaccinated and the eligible groups should take booster dose and continue to follow Covid protocol," she said, adding, "Today, we are safe only because we took the vaccine."



She said the immediate challenge the country is facing is of psychological issue. The pandemic has left its impact on the minds of people.

She said doctors, nurses and medical professionals who served during the pandemic can use their experience to deal with future pandemics.

"They have first-hand experience...and if they do research along with their practice, their research can play a very key role in handling future pandemics and also handling immediate challenges," she said.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Press Information Bureau and ICMR-National Institute of Virology organised a knowledge sharing press tour for health journalists.

The purpose of the tour is to understand the achievements of the scientific community, scientific process of developing new vaccines, especially Covaxin, and challenges and opportunities, the governor said.

With the help of the National Institute of Nutrition, the state is focusing on the development of the Adivasi community. Recently, NIN scientists conducted a study to increase nutritional levels among Adivasis and find the gaps. The governor has also adopted six tribal villages to develop them.

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Prime Minister on Tuesday called on leaders and workers to offer voluntary labour (shram daan) to build more and more ponds in their areas ahead of the summer months.

PM Modi gave this call at a meeting of Parliamentary Party held at Ambedkar Bhavan on Tuesday at which he, Home Minister Amit Shah, President JP Nadda, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and others were present.

The Prime Minister, during the meeting, gave directions to observe a Social Justice Paksha Pakhwada (fortnight) from April 7 to 20.

PM Modi stated that as the temperature is rising continuously, the problem of water may become more prominent in the coming days. So he asked all the leaders to perform "Shramdaan" and construct more and more ponds in their area.

Prahlad Joshi said, "A program called the Social Justice Paksha Pakhwada will be celebrated from April 7 to 20. During this fortnight, we will have different programs for 15 days."

"On one day, we will be undertaking the pond sanitation program and also go to the Anganwadi. We will do many such programs and all our MPs have been called by the Prime Minister. He said that during the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, everyone should devote 15 days to service in their area," he said.

The Prime Minister has called for a special program on Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Jayanti.

On Wednesday, on the auspicious occasion of BJP's foundation day, PM Modi will virtually address all the BJP workers, Joshi added.

"On April 7, Ayushman Bharat program and Jan Aushadhi Kendra program have been scheduled, on 8th, there is a program related to PMAY scheme, on 9th there is a program on Har Ghar Jal Ghar, and a program related to Jyotiba Phule, on April 11 has been organized," Joshi added.

"On the 12th, the MPs have been directed to visit the schools and motivate the children to take the Covid-19 vaccine. On the 13th the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana and a visit to the PDS Center under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Kalyan Yojana will be undertaken," Joshi said.

He said that Ambedkar Jayanti will be celebrated at booth level on 14th, and on 15th Tribes Day will be celebrated to talk to the Scheduled Tribe friends and to reach out to them about various schemes.

On April 16, the Government of India has a plan for the workers who are in the unorganized sector. On April 17, financial inclusion which is a very big program, has been scheduled. On April 18 Kisan Samman Nidhi, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and other such programs will be discussed. On 19th, a mass nutrition campaign, which will be done by visiting Anganwadi, and on the 20th a program to give glory to the unsung heroes of Independence will be held. The program has been prepared under the guidance of the Prime Minister.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister will address all the party workers at 10 am.

Every year Foundation Day is celebrated on April 6, and this time due to the Parliament session we are celebrating it in Delhi, so tomorrow at 9 am, all the MPs will meet in the annexe hall and the party's symbolic cap has been given to everyone to wear.

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Prime Minister is slated to visit the North-East state of on April 28.

Apart from PM Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also likely to visit on April 23. Moreover, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will embark on a month-long visit from May 11 across the state to mark the one-year anniversary of his government.

"From May 11 to June 11, he will travel to all the 32 districts in the state where he will participate in myriad programmes," as per the sources.

Apart from holding public interactions and public meetings, the Assam CM is scheduled to inaugurate and dedicate various projects to the people of the state.

Notably, BJP broke the Congress record of being the only party to form successive governments in Assam by winning the 2021 Assembly poll.

Himanta Biswa Sarma was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the BJP government on May 10.

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AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh on Tuesday asked the Centre to rename the bill to reunify the city's three municipal corporations as the "Kejriwal-phobia" bill and alleged that it was brought by the BJP to avoid civic polls.

He also said in the House that to stop Arvind Kejriwal's AAP from coming to power, the Centre wants to take control of the three municipal corporations here.

"If you don't have to contest an election and run away from the election, then I will suggest again, name this bill the Kejriwal-phobia bill. This bill writes the story of your story of cowardice. This bill will write a story of you crushing the Constitution. This bill will write the story of ending the Election Commission by you. You have made a centre of corruption," Singh said.

The Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, was piloted in Rajya Sabha by Home Minister Amit Shah and passed by Parliament on Tuesday.

Lok Sabha had passed the bill, which seeks to amend the Municipal Corporation Act of 1957, on March 30.

Several opposition parties including Congress, Samajwadi Party, All India Trinamool Congress, CPI-M, DMK questioned the timing of the bill and called it an attack on the federal structure of the country.

YSR Congress, AIADMK, Tamil Maanila Congress supported the bill.

The BJD supported the bill with the condition that the corporation elections are not deferred and the BSP sought some amendments and relief for workers in the bill.

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Ahead of the '2+2' dialogue, External Affairs Minister on Tuesday spoke to US Secretary of State and discussed the latest developments in Ukraine.

In the telephonic talks, Jaishankar and Blinken also deliberated on bilateral ties.

"Spoke to @SecBlinken ahead of our 2+2 consultations. Discussed bilateral issues and latest developments pertaining to Ukraine," Jaishankar tweeted.

The next edition of India-US '2+2' foreign and defence ministerial talks is scheduled in Washington on April 11.

However, there is no official announcement on the talks yet.

Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are set to travel to Washington to hold talks with their American counterparts.

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The on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea against the laws allowing political parties' funding through the scheme.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana that it is a critical issue, which requires urgent hearing. He cited a news report where a Calcutta-based company paid Rs 40 crore through electoral bonds to ensure that no excise raids are conducted on it.

The Chief Justice replied that if it was not for Covid, then the court would have heard the matter.

The bench, also comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, assured Bhushan an early listing of the matter.

In 2017, the NGO had filed a plea alleging subversion of democracy through illicit and lack of transparency in the accounts of all political parties. The government notified the Scheme on January 2, 2018.

In March, last year, the NGO filed an interim application, in its pending petition, claiming there was a serious apprehension that any further sale of electoral bonds before the upcoming state elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam, would further increase illegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies.

"The Electoral Bonds Scheme has opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate donations to political parties and anonymous financing by Indian as well as foreign companies which can have serious repercussions on the Indian democracy", the plea had argued.

The top court, in January last year, had declined to grant an interim stay on the 2018 Electoral Bonds Scheme. It had also sought replies from the Central government and the Election Commission on the NGO's plea.

The plea said the Finance Act of 2017 had introduced the use of electoral bonds which is exempt from disclosure under the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, opening doors to unchecked, unknown funding to political parties. It argued that these amendments have removed the existing cap of 7.5 percent of net profit in the last 3 years on campaign donations by companies and have legalised anonymous donations.

"Even loss-making companies now qualify to make donations of any amount to political parties out of their capital or reserves. Further, it opens up the possibility of companies being brought into existence by unscrupulous elements primarily for routing funds to political parties through anonymous and opaque instruments like electoral bonds," argued the plea.

--IANS

ss/vd

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When US government official Katrina Kat Fotovat was near New Delhi during the pandemic, she met with a lady at a Covid-19 relief centre who had lost both her son and her daughter.

She was raising her grandchildren alone using the money she earned from a small business. In her role as a senior official to the secretary of state in the Office of Global Womens Issues, Katrina Fotovat is looking to help support similar women entrepreneurs and women employees help better shape their own and their communitys economic future as part of the US-India Alliance for ...
The activity that was organized in the Kurdish quarter of Zor Ava was attended by hundreds of the Kurds living in Damascus.

In the activity, member of the Council of the Star Congress Newroz Khali made a speech in which she welcomed the attendance and offered congratulation to the Kurdish people and other repressed peoples.

Newroz said the day leader Ocalan was born was a one of freedom, peace and peoples fraternity.

L..A

ANHA
Govt considers seeking Rs 50,000 cr in mega next month: Report

India is considering seeking around Rs 50,000 crore ($6.6 billion) next month from the initial public offering of state-owned Life Insurance Corp, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The government is discussing selling as much as a 7% stake in LIC through the listing, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. It aims to launch the share sale before current approvals for the offering expire on May 12, the people said. Read more

Will explain to CCI that we are not anti-competition, says Zomato

A day after the Competition Commission of India ordered a probe into food delivery majors and Swiggys practices on pricing and listing of restaurants, said in a regulatory filing that it will explain to the competition watchdog that it is in compliance with relevant laws.

We will continue to work closely with the Hon'ble Commission to assist them with their investigation and explain to the regulator why all of our practices are in compliance with competition laws and do not have any adverse effect on competition in India, said in a regulatory filing. Read more

Govt orders blocking of 18 Indian, four Pak YouTube-based news channels

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has directed the blocking of 22 YouTube-based news channels, of which four are from Pakistan, for allegedly spreading fake news to mislead viewers.

This is the first time that action has been taken against the Indian YouTube-based news publishers since the notification of the IT Rules, 2021 in February last year, it said. Read more

to more than double employee count to 5,400 by December 2022

Digital payments platform on Tuesday said it plans to more than double its total employee strength to 5,400 across the country by the end of December 2022 from existing 2,600.

"There are about 2,800 open job positions that the company is planning to fill in the next 12 months across Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, and the rest of the country," said, adding that hiring will be across levels and functions for engineering, product, analytics, business development and sales teams. Read more
British Prime Minister is planning a visit to India towards the end of this month with a focus on strengthening bilateral ties against the backdrop of the ongoing India-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations, according to official sources.

The visit, which is expected around April 22, is long overdue after Johnson was forced to cancel planned visits to India twice last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Downing Street is yet to confirm any details, an in-person meeting was discussed during a phone call between Johnson and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month.

The leaders welcomed India and the UK's strong and prosperous relationship, and agreed to continue to build on trade, security and business ties in the coming weeks and months. They looked forward to meeting in-person at the earliest opportunity, a Downing Street spokesperson said in a readout of the call on March 22.

Last week, Downing Street sources told PTI that Johnson was very keen to visit India for talks with his Indian counterpart Modi, though firm plans are yet to be fully drawn up.

The two leaders last met in-person on the sidelines of the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow in November last year, when their bilateral talks during the World Leaders' Summit focussed on the India-UK climate partnership as well as a review of the 2030 Roadmap which they had signed during a virtual summit in May 2021.

The Roadmap, which aims to at least double bilateral trade between India and the UK by 2030, is part of Britain's so-called Indo-Pacific foreign policy tilt.

A trade deal with India's booming economy offers huge benefits for British businesses, workers and consumers, Johnson said at the formal launch of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks earlier this year.

The UK has world-class businesses and expertise we can rightly be proud of, from Scotch whisky distillers to financial services and cutting-edge renewable technology.

We are seizing the opportunities offered in growing economies of the Indo-Pacific to cement our place on the global stage and deliver jobs and growth at home, he said in January.

The conflict in Ukraine and the UK's leading role in imposing stringent sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime is also likely to feature strongly during talks between Johnson and Modi.

It will follow UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss' visit to Delhi last week, when she held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and also joined him at the first India-UK Strategic Futures Forum.

On Ukraine, India reiterated that the immediate cessation of violence and return to dialogue and is the key to long term peace in the region, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said with reference to the ministerial talks.

Both sides appreciated the substantial progress made in the India-UK FTA negotiations with two productive rounds already completed since their launch in January 2022, it noted.

The third round of India-UK FTA talks, scheduled to be hosted by India later this month, is likely to be timed around the prime ministerial visit.

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A new COVID-19 variant called XE has been found in the UK, which is a mutation of strains of the variant, and early indications suggest it could be around 10 per cent more transmissible than other mutations, it emerged on Tuesday.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is studying XE a mutation of the BA.1 and BA.2 strains and as of March 22, 637 XE cases had been detected in England, according to official figures. Professor Susan Hopkins, the UKHSA's chief medical advisor, said such variants are known as recombinant and usually die off "relatively quickly".

"So far there is not enough evidence to draw conclusions about transmissibility, severity or vaccine effectiveness," Hopkins told The Sun'.

As of March 16, XE had a growth rate 9.8 per cent above that of the so-called stealth BA.2 Omicron variant already known to be highly transmissible, the UKHSA said.

The agency cautioned that "as this estimate has not remained consistent as new data have been added, it cannot yet be interpreted as an estimate of growth advantage for the recombinant."



"Numbers were too small for the XE recombinant to be analysed by region," the UKHSA said.

According to the agency, while there are signs of community transmission of XE in England, it remains less than 1 per cent of the totally sequenced cases.

The XE variant has also been detected in Thailand and New Zealand. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said further data is required before more can be said about the mutation.

It 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."



There is no evidence XE is any more serious in disease severity, with all Omicron variants so far shown to be less severe.

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The Congress' Lok Sabha MP on Tuesday asked the government to use its influence to mediate a truce between Russia and Ukraine engaged in a war for over 40 days.

Participating in a short discussion on the 'Situation in Ukraine' in the House, he said India should not shy away from taking a morally correct position in line with its foreign policy.

About the country's foreign policy, Tharoor stressed, "it is neither Congress' nor BJP's foreign policy but it is Indian foreign policy."



India, he said, could offer itself in a "mediating capacity" and play a role in putting an end to the conflict.

Referring to the softly-worded statements on the Russia-Ukraine war at the United Nations, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said, "We need to take a principled stand on such matters... with moral conviction."



In this case, Russia has started the war, he said and added that India cannot endorse Moscow's action.

On India getting a lot of military supplies from Russia, Tharoor said the country pays in "top dollars" and it was not a one-way relationship.

The former Union minister also expressed concern about the emerging Russia-China-Pakistan axis.

With Russia becoming weak on account of sanctions, China will get an upper hand and "it is a matter of great concern" for India, he added.

The Congress member also criticised the remarks of certain BJP leaders and ministers that only those students who could not qualify Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) go to Ukraine for medical education.

Such statements at the time of crisis reflect poorly on the nation, he said, adding the government must seriously rethink medical education in the country.

Appreciating 'Operation Ganga' under which 18,000 students were brought home from war-ravaged Ukraine, he said some embassies were probably quicker in evacuating their citizens and hence there are lessons to be learnt for India.

Tharoor said it was unfortunate that students stranded in war-hit Ukraine had to walk long distances to reach the bordering nations from where they were transported back to India.

Referring to certain videos on social media, he criticised Indian ministers for "publicity mongering" on foreign land which, he added, "was unnecessary."



"We don't need publicity in other countries," Tharoor said.

Participating in the discussion, BJD MP Pinaki Misra praised the government for not yielding to hectoring by the US on the Russia-Ukraine war issue.

He said it was the US that used nuclear weapons and has a history of waging wars in several countries including Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Misra also asked the Indian government to mediate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

The BJP's Brijendra Singh demanded that something must be done to ensure the students returning from Ukraine can complete their education.

Trinamool leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay wanted to know the status of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise that returning students were likely to be absorbed in colleges in Hungary.

Thamizhachi Thangapandian of the DMK urged the government to play the role of an honest negotiator in ending the ongoing conflict.

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The government on Tuesday formed a 13-member panel headed by retired justice of Delhi High Court, Justice (Rtd) D. Murugesan to frame the state education policy.

Former world chess champion and music maestro T.M. Krishna are also a part of the panel. This was announced by the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

The panel members are drawn from various sections and include a middle school headmaster, a chess champion, a musician, a writer, and members of the planning commission other than the retired District Judge.

Chief Minister said that the panel would give its recommendations to frame the new education policy within a year.

In its interim budget for 2021-22, the government had said that it would form an experts panel to frame the state education policy. The new education policy, according to the Chief Minister's office will highlight the ancient culture of Tamil Nadu, its present position and future objectives.

It is to be noted that the state government, under DMK, has been continuously objecting to several key features of the Education Policy, including conducting common entrance examinations for all UGA courses, introduction of a three-language formula, and conducting common exams for Classes 3, 5, and 8.

The state government has also opposed four-year degree and also giving options for multiple exits. The state government is of the opinion that giving the option of multiple exits would encourage more dropouts and will create two types of graduates.

Other than the Chairman of the panel, the other members are L. Jawaharneesan, former Vice-Chancellor, Saveetha University, R. Ramanujam, retired professor, Institute of Mathematical science, Sulthan Ismael and R. Sreenivasan, both members of state planning commission, Aruna Ratnam, former education expert with Unicef, Tamil writer S. Ramakrishnan, former world chess champion, Viswanathan Anand, Music maestro, T.M.Krishna, educationists, Tulasidas and S. Madasamy, R. Balu,headmaster, Government panchayatAunion middle school, Kichankuppam and Jayashree Damodaran of Agaram foundation.

--IANS

aal/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.)
Over Rs 30,610 crore has been sanctioned under the scheme to 1,33,995 accounts in six years since the initiatives inception.

The scheme was launched in April 2016 to promote among Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and women entrepreneurs, focusing on economic empowerment and job creation. As on March 21, 2022, about 133,995 accounts have received advances under the scheme, out of which 19.310 were held by SCs; 6,435 by STs and 108,250 by women.

Loan under the scheme can be availed by SC/ST and above 18 years of age, and is available for only greenfield projects.

In case of non-individual enterprises, 51 per cent of the shareholding and controlling stake should be held by either SC/ST or . The margin money to be brought in by a borrower is up to 15 per cent of the project cost, and the applicant has to contribute at least 10 per cent of the project cost as own contribution.

Marking the sixth anniversary of the scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted India is full of entrepreneurial energy and the initiative is a part of the ongoing efforts to channelise this spirit to further progress and prosperity.

Category of borrowers Number of accounts Amount Sanctioned (in Rs crore) SC 19,310 3,976.84 ST 6,435 1,373.71 Women 108,250 24,809.89

The government understands the potential these rising entrepreneurs have in driving economic growth through their roles as not just wealth-creators but also job-creators, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a statement.

As more and more beneficiaries from the underserved segments of entrepreneurs are targeted for coverage, we would make significant strides towards building an Atmanirbhar Bharat, Sitharaman said.
A bipartisan group of American lawmakers has sought the help of the Biden administration in restricting the and sale of Russian-origin diamonds, in view of the massive sanctions that the US and its European allies have imposed on Moscow.

In a letter to Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the lawmakers expressed concern that the sanctions issued by the Treasury Department to target Russia's will have a minimal impact on Alrosa and its CEO Sergei Ivanov's ability to freely operate globally.

Alrosa is the world's largest diamond mining company.

The company, which reported sales worth USD 4.2 billion last year, is responsible for 90 per cent of Russia's diamond mining capacity, which accounts for 28 per cent globally.

It is owned one-third by the Russian government, and until recently, had an office in New York City.

Ivanov is the son of one of Putin's closest allies, Sergei Borisovich Ivanov, who previously served as the Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Defence Minister of Russia and remains a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, the letter said.

According to the Congressmen, the February 24 sanctions that listed Alrosa only blocked debt and equity transactions, making a small dent in Russia's oversized stake in the global diamond trade.

Although an important initial step, along with the designation of Alrosa's CEO, these have yet to impede trade and revenues that eventually reach the Kremlin.

The administration also announced an import ban on March 11 which would ban products of Russian Federation origin, including non-industrial diamonds, from entering the United States.

Experts note a major loophole remains in the sanctions regime that allows for importation of diamonds manufactured in India or elsewhere because of the interpretation provided in the Office of Foreign Assets Control's frequently-asked questions, they wrote.

Namely, the term Russian Federation origin excludes goods substantially transformed in a third country, and it has long been the view of Customs and Border Protection that the cutting or polishing of diamonds in a third country would qualify as a substantial transformation.

A recent report on the indicated approximately 95 per cent of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in India. Thus, as it stands at this time, a diamond can be mined by an Alrosa subsidiary, polished or cut in India or another country, and sold to the United States without any prohibition, making a profit for the Russian government, wrote the Congressmen.

The lawmakers asked that the Treasury Department reconsider the interpretation of origin that allows for the importation of diamonds from countries that may cut or polish Alrosa's diamonds.

Second, the United States should work with its Indian counterparts, as well as those in trading centers such as Dubai, to ensure they are not being used to line the pockets of those closest to Vladimir Putin, they said.

Finally, the State and the Treasury Departments should provide guidance to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ensure they prohibit the importation of Russian diamonds into the United States.

The lawmakers said that Putin's unprovoked and brazen invasion of the sovereign territory of Ukraine should be met with a forceful response from the United States and its partners.

Luxury goods, especially items like diamonds that are used mainly for export to wealthy nations, should be among the first that Treasury and State Departments consider future action.

We ask for your consideration of additional actions that would constrain the Kremlin's capacity to access revenue from their which could fund the invasion of democratic and sovereign Ukraine, the letter added.

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Indias exports hit 7.85 million tonnes (mt) in the fiscal year to March, an all-time high and a sharp increase from 2.1 mt in the previous year, traders said, as Russias invasion of Ukraine cuts off rival Black Sea supplies.

Earlier this month, a top government official said India would a record 7 mt of in the 2021-22 fiscal year as a rally in global prices gave the worlds second biggest producer of the grain an opportunity to gain market share.

India achieved its target of exporting 7 mt of on March 21, according to the Indian government, which is yet to issue wheat shipment data for the last 10 days of March.

Traders said wheat shipments, including cargoes sold to neighbouring Bangladesh by land, totalled 7.85 mt in 2021-22, surpassing the target of 7 mt and indicating robust exports in the 2022-23 fiscal year that began on April 1.

Other than Bangladesh, India exported wheat to South Korea, Sri Lanka, Oman and Qatar, among others, traders said. Most deals were signed at between $225 and $335 a tonne free on board, they said.

Business has been very brisk, and both Mundra and Kandla ports have been very busy handling outbound wheat cargoes," said Rajesh Paharia Jain, a leading New Delhi-based trader.

As war raged across the Black Sea region, global wheat prices have surged, and supplies from both Russia and Ukraine, which together account for about 29 per cent of global wheat exports, have dropped substantially.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a special military operation to demilitarise the country. Western countries call it an unprovoked war of aggression.

Indias new season wheat harvest is underway, and this year's production is pegged at a record 111.32 million tonnes  the sixth straight surplus output  encouraging traders to clinch more deals.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
has accelerated plans to buy long-range strike missiles years ahead of schedule because of growing threats posed by and .

Defence Minister Peter Dutton said Tuesday the accelerated rearming of fighter jets and warships would cost 3.5 billion Australian dollars ($2.6 billion) and increase Australia's deterrence to potential adversaries.

There was a working assumption that an act of aggression by toward Taiwan might take place in the 2040s. I think that timeline now has been dramatically compressed, Dutton told Seven Network television.

When we look at what's happened in the Ukraine, there is the prospect of Russian going into Poland or somewhere else in Europe. That would be a repeat of the 1930s and that's not something that we should allow to happen, Dutton added, referring to the beginning of World War II.

Under a revised timetable, FA-18F Super Hornet fighter jets would be armed with improved U.S.-manufactured air-to-surface missiles by 2024, three years earlier than planned.

The JASSM-ER missiles would enable fighters to engaged targets at a range of 900 kilometers (560 miles).

Australia's ANZAC Class frigates and Hobart Class destroyers would be equipped with Norwegian-made Kongsberg NSM missiles by 2024, five years ahead of schedule.

The missiles would more than double the warships' strike range.

The new rearmament timetable comes after the Solomon Islands announced a draft security pact with . Under its terms, China could send military personnel to the South Pacific islands to help maintain order and for other reasons.

It could also send warships to the Solomons for stopovers and to replenish supplies, which had led to speculation about the possibility of a Chinese naval base there.

China has denied seeking a military foothold in the islands and accused of raising tensions.

US Pacific Fleet Commander Samuel Paparo told reporters in Washington on Monday the Solomons-China pact was very concerning.

I'm undoubtedly concerned ... and it's a concern for all of our partners throughout the western Pacific and notably and New Zealand, Paparo told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Anne-Marie Brady, global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington and professor in politics at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand said a hostile power in control of the Solomons would have a direct impact on sea lanes linking South Pacific states.

There is no justification for China establishing a military presence in the Solomon Islands, Brady said.

It is meant to cut off and New Zealand from US military support. ... It is both an immediate and long-term threat, she added.

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has been a leader in rallying other countries to deal with climate crisis that the planet is facing, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken has said.

Blinken and his Bangladeshi counterpart Abdul Momen on Monday discussed a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including the Rohingya refugee crisis.

has been a leader in rallying other countries to deal with climate crisis that the planet is facing. We deeply appreciate that, and we are working closely together as well on COVID-19, and we are proud to have been able to contribute through COVAX some 61 million vaccine doses to Bangladesh, Blinken said during his bilateral meeting with the visiting Bangladeshi delegation.

Bangladesh, he said, is showing extraordinary humanity and generosity in hosting nearly 1 million Rohingya who have had to flee persecution in Burma.

We are grateful for that, and the work that you have done as one of the strongest supporters of UN peacekeeping around the world, and many other things as well. But we will have an opportunity today to discuss the work we are doing together bilaterally in the region and indeed even globally, he added.

The two countries are celebrating 50 years of their diplomatic relationship. The meeting was held to celebrate and reflect on the 50th anniversary of US- relations, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said. In his remarks, Momen thanked the United States for committing 61 million of vaccines. It has also received USD 31 million for the recent economic assistance.

I also thank you because you have declared the genocide in Myanmar, and we are so happy you did. I hope there will be some repatriation of these persecuted people, he said.

President Joe Biden had also written a letter to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the occasion of 50 years of diplomatic relationship between the two countries.

The other day we received a letter from President Biden. And it is an excellent letter. It helps what we want to do, Momen said.

It talks about the last 50 years; we have done a remarkable achievement. And the US has been always a friend of Bangladesh, during our bad and good times. And we look forward for a bright future, he added.

And also I would like to say that over the last 50 years, Bangladesh really achieved a lot. We were known to be a bottomless basket, but now we have a vibrant economy, a land of opportunity. And the US has been a great partner and friend, the Bangladeshi minister noted.

Price said the two leaders discussed the tremendous economic potential of the relationship and reflected on the ways both countries have collaborated over the last half century, including growing people-to-people ties.

They also highlighted the ongoing cooperation to address the climate crisis, meet the needs of Rohingya victims of genocide, and promote regional security through UN peacekeeping operations, he said.

Blinken reaffirmed the importance of protecting human rights, the rule of law, and freedom of religion as the basis for safe and prosperous democratic societies, he added.

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South Africa: NSFAS to release funds to institutions

This story has been published on: 2022-04-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

Due to an increase in demand for services, the Department of Home Affairs is again extending operating hours at its offices across the country. The Department of Home Affairs is extending operating hours until Friday, 08 April 2022, to deal with queues at offices following an increase in demand for services. During this period, offices... See more
U.S. police arrests suspect in connection with Sacramento mass shooting

Xinhua) 10:18, April 05, 2022

LOS ANGELES, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Sacramento police announced on Monday the first arrest of a suspect related to Sunday's mass shooting downtown, in which six people were killed and 12 others were injured.

But Sacramento County District Attorney said that the man in custody had not been charged in connection with any of the six deaths.

Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester told local KCRA 3 news channel on Monday that Dandrae Martin, a 26-year-old man, was taken into custody and booked on charges of assault with a firearm and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

"As you know this is a complex investigation and we're looking for multiple suspects and so we're currently working to identify what his role was the night of the shooting," she said.

Martin was named as a "related suspect" in a press release issued by Sacramento Police Department later, which also disclosed that he was being held without bail in the Sacramento County Main Jail on the weapons charge and a separate count of assault with a deadly weapon.

According to local newspaper Sacramento Bee, records of Riverside Superior Court in Southern California showed Martin had a 2014 conviction for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse. He also has 2018 convictions in Maricopa County, Arizona, for a count of criminal damage and a marijuana violation, as well as 2016 conviction of aggravated assault and domestic violence by impeding breathing.

However, Sacramento County District Attorney Ann Marie Schubert noted in a statement on Monday that Martin had not been arrested for homicide.

"This is an ongoing investigation and we anticipate more arrests in this case," Schubert said.

A law enforcement source revealed that detectives are studying videos from the shooting scene when gunfire erupted at 2 a.m. local time (0900 GMT) on Sunday to determine how many potential shooters were involved in the incident and they believed that the shooting involved exchanges of gunfire between multiple shooters, Sacramento Bee reported.

The potential suspects are validated gang members and the shooting left more than 100 shell casings at the scene, the report said.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
The introduction of the Shenyang J-16D electronic warfare plane adds a new dimension to the contested skies of the Indo-Pacific, where Chinese and US Air Forces leverage their capabilities in East Asia.

For the American EA-18G Growler, it's the J-16D that will be its main opponent in electronic warfare, which is crucial to allow units to operate without getting detected. The Chinese plane is not an F-35, but it has the means to spoof and blind radar for electronic stealth that benefits not only one unit.

PLAAF's Strike Fighter

Adding the J-16D to the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is an important feat to counter American Growlers in the electronic warfare realm, reported the View60s.

Recently the plane was on exhibition in the southern China city of Zhuhai Airshow, showcasing the jamming pods for electronic warfare (EW) capabilities, cited South China Morning Post.

It is not sure how well the plane is based on the carrier base J-16 that is initially templated from the Sukhoi Su-27 flanker, mentioned Air Data News.

Replacing what is the nose-mounted infrared search and track radar system with the 30-mm cannon from its equipment. Now add an enhanced EW suite and scanned array radar as it swapped out equipment.

Allow an offensive capacity with ground attack bombs and air to air missiles to fight in a normal dimension as in regular combat.

Chinese Fighter Inspired by US Peers

Photos of what appear to be four fancy modern and distinguishable jamming pods in the undercarriage and air inlets of the Chinese fighter are viral on social media. It is just a sample of the hardware in the planning stage, which is not as good as modern western EW equipment. But the western analysts give consolation for the Shenyang J-16D electronic warfare plane flying in as airworthy.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth?

Experts contend that if the plane is already operational and fully tested, the system will need to be synchronized with the Chinese Shaanxi KJ-500, which is comparable to the US AWACS that does warning and controls aerial assets made in more numbers, noted Defense News.

According to Western experts, there is doubt that the PLAAF has the real deal. The US does not want such a system for electronic countermeasures that can confound its superiority.

Chinese Strategy

Fears that the J-16D will jam and fool an AWACS like the naval E2-C Hawkeye that the US Navy relies on for recon and air control are not cheery.

A concept of anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) that will lock out the US Navy in the South China Sea might endanger its Carrier Strike Groups, lessening its capability.

Allowing the PLAAF to conduct aerial bombing and hamper Taiwanese fighter defense by confusing radar and electronic equipment on the island.

Many Chinese planes with J-16s have been in restricted Taiwan air space. If the J-16D can confuse the US Aegis AN/SPY-1 radar, it will mean disaster, but Americans doubt China can cause such chaos.

Chinese equipment capabilities are guarded secrets that the USAF and US Navy may learn to their dismay. The PLAAF is not hiding its answer to the Growler, but it might be, according to the US, as nothing; no substance, but if it can perform, then it's another matter.

Shenyang J-16D electronic warfare plane is built with one thing in mind is providing electronic cloaking at a lesser cost with more fighters at the PLAAF's disposal in the Taiwan Strait.

Related Article: US Real Threat to Air Superiority as China Dispatches the Shenyang J-16 in Sheer Numbers

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US senators have voted to send the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve in the Supreme Court for floor debate and votes.

Three Republicans joined Democrats for a 53-47 vote to discharge Jackson's nomination to the full Senate after the Judiciary Committee deadlocked in their voting, reports Xinhua news agency.

It was reportedly the first time the Senate had had to take the procedural step for a Supreme Court nominee since 1853.

Monday's vote put Jackson on track to be confirmed as the first African-American female justice on the Supreme Court by the end of the week.

Senate Majority Leader and Democrat Charles Schumer is expected to tee up an initial vote on Jackson's nomination for Thursday.

Republicans in the upper chamber, most of whom have opposed her nomination, could delay a final vote until Friday.

Jackson, 51, was nominated by President in February to succeed liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who is about to retire this summer.

Jackson is currently a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, often referred to as the nation's second most powerful court.

The Supreme Court is the final appellate court of the country's udicial system, with the power to review and overturn lower court decisions, and is also generally the final interpreter of federal law, including the country's constitution.

The justices have life tenure and can serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and removed from office.

--IANS

ksk/

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Major online platforms face a yearly fee up to 0.1% of annual net income to cover the costs of monitoring compliance with new rules requiring them to do more to police their content, an EU document shows.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) rules are likely to be agreed between EU countries and lawmakers later this month. Levying such a fee would be a first for the European Commission, which is the bloc's executive body.

The move comes as the Commission seeks new sources of revenue to fire up the region's economic growth in the wake of the pandemic and also foster a greener and more digital economy.

"The overall amount of the annual supervisory fees shall be based on the estimated costs the Commission incurs in relation to its supervisory tasks under this Regulation," the document, which was seen by Reuters, said.

"The fee shall not exceed 0.1% of the global annual net income of the provider of very large online platforms (or very large search engine) in the preceding financial year."

The fee should be proportionate to the size of the service as reflected by the number of its recipients in the EU, it added. The Commission defines very large online platforms subject to the DSA as those with 45 million or more monthly active users.

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager told lawmakers and member states last month that the fee could raise between 20 million euros ($22 million) and 30 million euros annually, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Not-for-profit providers of very large online platforms and very large online search engines will be exempt from the fees, the document said, a move that will benefit such as Wikipedia and research bodies.

Vestager's proposal is likely to get the nod from member states and EU lawmakers, which are scheduled to meet on April 22 for the fourth round of negotiations, in what many hope will lead to a deal.

"We believe it is possible, we see progress," EU lawmaker Christel Schaldemose, who is steering the DSA in the European Parliament, told Reuters.

The Commission did not respond to a request for comment.

"We want the implementation of the DSA to be a success, and support supervisory fees that are proportionate, backed by a detailed methodology, and commensurate with industry standards," Alphabet's Google said.

($1 = 0.9156 euros)

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The British government on Tuesday faced a backlash from opponents and the television industry over plans to sell publicly-owned broadcaster Channel 4.

The Conservative government said privatising the channel would help it compete with streaming services and thrive in the face of a rapidly-changing media landscape.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said on Twitter that government ownership was holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon. Critics, however, said privatisation would wreck a channel that had backed acclaimed shows such as Black Mirror and Derry Girls as well as highly regarded news and documentary programmes.

Channel 4 was founded in 1982 to make programmes for audiences under-served by existing broadcasters. It is owned by the government, but funded through advertising.

The broadcaster said it was disappointed by the government's decision, saying it had been made without recognising the significant public interest concerns which have been raised.

Unions and industry groups also criticised the decision.

John McVay, chief executive of Pact, a trade body for independent production companies, said Channel 4's programmes were made by independent producers around the UK, and selling it risks reducing the opportunities for independent producers, and reducing the amount of programming commissioned outside London.

Lucy Powell, culture and media spokeswoman for the opposition Labour Party, said Selling off Channel 4, which doesn't cost the taxpayer a penny anyway, to what is likely to be a foreign company, is cultural vandalism.

Dorothy Byrne, Channel 4's former head of news and current affairs, alleged that the privatisation was intended as a bit of red meat to Conservative supporters, many of whom think Channel 4 News had a left-wing bias.

Channel 4 is not there to compete with Netflix and Amazon, she said. It's there to provide a public service to the people of Britain.

(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.)
Cash-strapped has decided to temporarily shut its embassies in Norway and Iraq, as well as the country's Consulate General in Sydney, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

A statement from the ministry said the decision will take effect from April 30.

The Ministry said the decision of temporary closure of the two embassies and a consulate by the government came after careful deliberation and was part of a general restructuring of Sri Lanka's diplomatic representation overseas.

It comes in context of the current economic crisis and foreign currency constraints faced by that has led to protests across the country and resignations en-mass from Sri Lanka's cabinet.

According to the statement, following the closure of the two resident missions, the Ambassador of in Sweden's Stockholm will be concurrently accredited to Norway and the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi will be concurrently accredited to Iraq.

The consular jurisdiction of the Consulate General in Sydney will revert to the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Canberra, Australia, the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry has assured that it will undertake appropriate measures to address all consular-related matters of Sri Lankan citizens residing in Norway and Iraq, and within the consular jurisdiction of Sydney, through the new accreditation as mentioned, as well as through the respective Honorary Consulates of Sri Lanka located in Norway, Oslo and Australia.

The ministry further stated that it will carefully monitor the transition process.

The decision of closure of the resident missions undertaken as a temporary measure would not in any way impinge upon Sri Lanka's bilateral relations with the two countries, the foreign ministry said.

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The US has realized that China is cutting lucrative deals in South America as more nations are joining China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The revelation was made by US senators on Thursday during a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing, reported RT.

Speaking about the looming threat of Chinese influence in Latin America, they said that the South American nations have been distancing themselves from the US; a region long considered Washington's own backyard but which has recently been wooed by Beijing's deep pockets and big infrastructure projects.

With little to compare by way of US-built projects and efforts in the region, countries like Ecuador - or Argentina, which signed on to the Belt and Road Initiative in February - are willing to take quality risks in return for the certainty of Chinese money, RT cited experts.

"China has a plan. We don't have a plan," Sen Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) explained, while officials from several US agencies discussed their strategies.

Beijing's trade with the region has soared by over USD 300 billion from 2002 to 2020, with USD 160 billion directly invested during that time.

20 of the 31 Latin American countries have signed on to be part of the Belt and Road, China has financed infrastructure projects in another five nations, and several countries have been persuaded to drop diplomatic relations with Taiwan - a clear sign of increasing closeness to Beijing, reported RT.

The US, meanwhile, is struggling to even fill regional ambassador spots in Latin America, with political disagreements tying up eight appointments, and four languishing without even a nominee suggested filling them.

Sen Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee) lamented that China was "literally eating our lunch" in the hemisphere once considered the US' default sphere of influence under the Monroe Doctrine - and all that with only 9 per cent of Belt and Road spending being devoted to and the Caribbean as of last year.

For its part, China does not appear to be threatened by its rival's realization that it has competition, pointing out that Washington has long taken Latin America's allegiance for granted.

"The United States has regarded and the Caribbean as its own 'backyard', and has been putting pressure and threats at every turn," RT quoted Chinese US embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu as saying. "Who is a real friend, who is a fake friend, who ignores the rules and spreads chaos."

"I believe the relevant country will make a correct judgment," he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Farah Khan, a close friend of Prime Minister Imran Khan's third wife Bushra Bibi, has fled the country following reports that she could be arrested if a new government is installed in .

Her husband Ahsan Jamil Gujjar has already left for the US.

Farah left for Dubai on Sunday, The Express Tribune newspaper reported on Sunday.

The Opposition alleges that Farah received a huge sum of money for getting officers transferred and posted according to their choices, calling the scam the mother of all scandals amounting to 6 billion Pakistani rupees (USD 32 million).

Maryam Nawaz, the Muslim League (N) Vice President and deposed premier Nawaz Sharif's daughter, claimed that Farah has done this corruption at the behest of Imran and his wife.

According to Maryam, Prime Minister Khan fears that once he is out of power, his thefts will be exposed.

Recently-sacked Punjab governor Chaudhry Sarwar and Khan's old friend and the party financer Aleem Khan also alleged that Farah had made billions of rupees in transfers and postings done in Punjab through chief minister Usman Buzdar.

There are reports that more close aides of Khan have planned to leave the country after he loses the top office.

On Sunday, Khan dissolved Parliament after the deputy speaker dismissed a no-trust motion against him.

The joint Opposition had presented the support of 197 lawmakers, 25 more than the required number, in Parliament on Sunday to oust the premier.

The Opposition moved the Supreme Court challenging the deputy speaker's act as illegal and unconstitutional.

President Arif Ali, meanwhile, asked Khan to continue as Prime Minister until a caretaker premier is installed.

In a TV interview recently, Khan claimed that the new government would launch a character assassination campaign against him and his wife, and also propagate corruption of Farah.

(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.)
By Nivedita Balu

(Reuters) - Inc boss on Monday disclosed a 9.2% stake in Inc, worth nearly $3 billion, making him the micro-blogging site's largest shareholder and triggering a rise of more than 27% in the company's shares.

Musk's move, revealed in a regulatory filing, comes on the heels of his tweet that he was giving "serious thought" to building a new social media platform, while questioning Twitter's commitment to free speech.

He also started a poll asking users if they want an edit button, a long-awaited feature on which the social media platform has been working. It was followed by Chief Executive Parag Agrawal urging users to "vote carefully".

Within two hours of starting the poll, more than 1.1 million users voted, with over 75% of them backing an edit option.

Last week, in another poll, Musk had asked if alogrithm should be open source. More than 82% of the users said yes, while former CEO Jack Dorsey said, "the choice of which algorithm to use (or not) should be open to everyone."

A prolific Twitter user, Musk has over 80 million followers since joining the site in 2009 and has used the platform to make several announcements, including teasing a go-private deal for that landed him in hot water with regulators.

Of late, however, the world's richest person has been critical of the social media platform and its policies, and recently ran a Twitter poll asking users if they believed the platform adheres to the principle of free speech, to which over 70% voted "no."

In December, Musk put out a meme that compared CEO Agrawal with Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and showed Jack Dorsey as a his close associate who was later on executed.

Twitter's latest quarterly results and lower-than-expected user additions have raised doubts about its growth prospects, even as it pursues big projects such as audio chat rooms and newsletters to end long-running stagnation.

"It does send a message to Twitter ... having a meaningful stake in the company will keep them on their toes, because that passive stake could very quickly become an active stake," said Thomas Hayes, managing member at Great Hill Capital LLC.

Musk - who, according to Forbes, has a net worth of about $300 billion - has been reducing his stake in since November, when he said he would offload 10% of his holding in the electric-car maker. He has already sold $16.4 billion worth of shares since then.

A regulatory filing on Monday showed that Musk owns 73.5 million Twitter shares, which are held by the Revocable Trust, of which he is the sole trustee. Vanguard is Twitter's second-biggest shareholder, with an 8.79% stake, according to Refinitiv data.

Twitter shares rose 27.1% on Monday to close at $49.97. The stock, which had fallen 38% in the past 12 months through Friday's close, on Monday added as much as $8.38 billion to its market capitalization, which now stands at $39.3 billion.

BUYOUT?

"Musk's actual investment is a very small percentage of his wealth and an all-out buyout should not be ruled out," CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino wrote in a client note.

The stake in Twitter is more likely to result in positive outcomes for shareholders than negative ones, said Ryan Jacob, chief executive officer of Jacob Asset Management, who said Twitter is one of the fund's largest holdings.

"If (Musk) decides to take an active position and Twitter goes private, it will probably be at a higher price than it is now," he said. "If it gets other interested (in acquiring Twitter), it'll probably be at a higher price than right now."

Musk has previously made early-stage investments in companies, including online payment processor Stripe Inc and artificial intelligence firm Vicarious.

He is also the founder and chief executive officer of SpaceX, and leads brain-chip startup Neuralink and infrastructure firm the Boring Company.

Twitter was the target of activist investor Elliott Management Corp in 2020, when the hedge fund argued the social networking company's then-boss and co-founder, Jack Dorsey, was paying too little attention to Twitter while also running what was then called Square Inc.

Dorsey, who owns a stake of more than 2% in Twitter, stepped down as CEO and chairman in November last year, handing the reins to company veteran Parag Agrawal.

Meanwhile, Musk and Dorsey have found some common ground in dismissing the so-called Web3, a vague term for a utopian version of the internet that is decentralized.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu, Eva Mathews, Akash Sriram, Praveen Paramasivam and Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas and Hyun Joo Jin in San Francisco; Editing by Anil D'Silva, Matthew Lewis, Rashmi Aich and Arun Koyyur)

(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 European Union's executive branch proposed Tuesday a ban on imports from in what would be the first sanctions targeting the country's lucrative energy industry over its war in Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU needed to increase the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin after what she described as heinous crimes carried out around Kyiv, with evidence that Russian troops may have deliberately killed Ukrainian civilians.

Von der Leyen said the ban on imports is worth 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year and that the EU has already started working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports.

She didn't mention natural gas, with consensus among the 27 EU member countries on targeting the fuel used to generate electricity and heat homes more difficult to secure.

The EU gets about 40% of its natural gas from and many EU countries, including Germany the bloc's largest are opposed to cutting off gas imports.

So far, Europe had not been willing to target Russian energy over fears that it would plunge the European into recession. Europe's dependence on Russian oil, natural gas and means finding unanimity on energy measures is a tall order, but the recent reports of civilian killings have increased pressure for tougher EU sanctions.

To take a clear stand is not only crucial for us in Europe but also for the rest of the world, von der Leyen said. A clear stand against Putin's war of choice. A clear stand against the massacre of civilians. And a clear stand against the violation of the fundamental principles of the world order.

Other measures proposed by the EU's executive arm include sanctions on more individuals and four key Russian banks, among them VTB, the second-largest Russian bank.

These four banks, which we now totally cut off from the markets, represent 23% of market share in the Russian banking sector, von der Leyen said. This will further weaken Russias financial system."



If the proposal is adopted unanimously by all 27 EU countries, the new package of sanctions would also ban Russian vessels and Russian-operated vessels from EU ports, with exceptions for essentials such as agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid and energy.

Further targeted export bans, worth 10 billion euros, in sectors covering quantum computers, advanced semiconductors, sensitive machinery and transportation equipment have also been proposed.

With this, we will continue to degrade Russia's technological base and industrial capacity, von der Leyen said.

According to EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, 62% of Russia's exports to the EU were hydrocarbons last year.

If we really want to affect Russia's economy, that's where we need to look, he said. And that's exactly what is subject to discussions concerning this sanctions package.

Because of its climate ambitions, the EU has been moving away from coal for years. Coal use fell from 1.2 billion tons a year to 427 million tons between 1990 and 2020, but imports rose from 30% to 60% of coal use.

The gets about 25% of its oil from Russia, while the EU imported 53% of hard coal from the country in 2020, which accounted for 30% of the EU's hard coal consumption.

Russian coal would be easier to replace than Russian gas because coal comes by ship and there are multiple global suppliers. Germany's association of coal importers said in March that Russian coal could be replaced in a few months.

Analysts at the Bruegel think tank said in March that Germany and Poland were particularly reliant on Russian coal for power generation and that Russian coal can be replaced because global markets are well supplied and flexible.

But they added that replacing Russian coal imports will require the lightspeed deployment of new supply chains to bring the right type of coal where it is needed. Most European coal users already source from different suppliers and should be able to build on existing relationships.

But the switch would mean more import demand from Europe and higher global coal prices, with significant effects on emerging and developed economies that also rely on coal.

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The Consulate General of India in has condemned the assault on an elderly here, terming it as deeply disturbing, and said they were in touch with the police who are investigating this heinous hate crime.

Nirmal Singh, believed to be in his 70s, was reportedly punched in the unprovoked assault on Sunday morning in Richmond Hill in Queens.

Images shared on social media showed Singh with a bloodied turban, face and clothes that has shocked the Indian community.

The Consulate tweeted on Monday that it is deeply disturbed" by this incident.

We condemn the violent attack and are in touch with the Police Department and local authorities who are investigating the matter. We are also in touch with local community organisations to ensure the well-being of the victim, the Indian Consulate General said in a tweet on Monday.

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig is investigating this case.

Together in every community, we denounce violence in our city and the person(s) responsible will be apprehended, Sewell said.

The police have asked anyone with information about the attack to call the department.

A report in Spectrum News NY1 said that Singh was allegedly repeatedly punched on the face by an unknown attacker around 6:45 am on Sunday.

According to Singh's translator Harpreet Singh Toor, the attacker "approached" Singh from behind and fled the scene, the report said.

The news report added that Singh is a tourist visiting from India and he was able to walk back after the assault to the cultural centre, where he has been staying since he arrived in New York.

Singh was transported to a local hospital where he has been receiving treatment, the report said.

Community-based civil and human rights organisation, The Sikh Coalition, said that Singh has been retained with the group to provide him with free legal aid.

The organisation said it is currently in touch with the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force.

The task force has confirmed that they are investigating the assault as a hate crime, The Sikh Coalition said, adding that it has also provided law enforcement video footage of the attack to help them in their investigation.

The Sikh Coalition said it is deeply grateful to the community leaders in Richmond Hill and allied organisations across the country who have rallied around Singh.

Earlier, the organisation had said that with the assistance of local community leaders, it had made indirect contact with Singh.

"We are extremely disturbed by the violent and heart-breaking images that are being shared on social media platforms. As we continue learning more about what happened and any potential motivating factors, we encourage everyone to pause on sharing the name/image of the community member involved until somebody with direct access to the individual confirms consent and corroborates reported details, the organisation had said in early tweets.

The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, also condemned the attack on Singh.

It said that according to police, the alleged attacker did not say anything during the attack and fled the scene.

We condemn this attack on a member of the Sikh community and urge law enforcement authorities to do everything they can to bring the alleged perpetrator to justice, CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher said.

Religious, racial and ethnic minorities are increasingly being targeted by hate, and members of those minority communities must be able to go about their daily business without fear of harassment or attack.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards also tweeted that his office is aware of the incident in Richmond Hill" and is contacting the New York City Police Department to learn more details about this reported attack.

Our thoughts are with him and we wish for nothing less than a full recovery, he said.

In January this year, a Sikh taxi driver was assaulted at JFK Airport here, with the attacker allegedly calling him turbaned people and asking him to go back to your country.

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Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi returned from on Tuesday with 20 Ukrainians displaced by Russia's ongoing war on their country as Tokyo seeks to play a greater role in support for Ukraine.

During three days in Poland, Hayashi visited facilities for Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw and held talks with Polish officials, humanitarian organizations and civil groups to assess how can provide support.

As I observed the severe situation faced by Ukrainians who were forced to flee their country because of the Russian invasion, I have renewed my resolve that should cooperate with society and provide the utmost assistance so they can return to ordinary lives as soon as possible, Hayashi told reporters.

has an extremely strict refugee policy and has been reluctant to fully accept migrant workers, making its offer to accept Ukrainians unusual. However, the government has carefully called them evacuees and it is still unclear if the Ukrainian situation will change its immigration policy.

Tokyo expects the 20 evacuees will stay in Japan for at least six months, and will provide further support if needed, said Deputy Justice Minister Jun Tsushima, who was traveling with Hayashi.

Tokyo has previously accepted about 300 other Ukrainians, all relatives of about 2,000 Ukrainian residents in Japan who arrived on their own since the Russian invasion began.

Foreign Ministry officials have said most Ukrainian war-displaced have ties to Europe and they hope to return when the situation allows, indicating Japan is not treating them as refugees seeking permanent residency and protection.

Hayashi said he was impressed by the high level of care and support being given to refugees in Poland, including food, medical care, counseling for those with trauma and support for children. What we observed here will certainly help us plan our support for them in Japan, he said.

The 20 people previously contacted Japanese embassies in Ukraine or but had difficulty arranging their own transportation to Japan, Hayashi said, declining to give further details because of privacy reasons.

Hayashi and the refugees arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday. After COVID-19 tests on board and necessary arrivals procedures, the Ukrainians were expected to head to their destinations some to towns where their relatives live, and to government facilities.

He met with them on Monday to assure them of their safety and support in Japan, where several cities, including Tokyo and Osaka, have offered to provide housing, jobs, education for children and other necessities.

Japan, which has a territorial dispute with Russia, took milder steps when Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.

But this time, due to fears of the impact of the Russian invasion on East Asia, where China's military has become increasingly assertive, Tokyo has taken tougher measures in line with the United States and Europe, while providing support for Ukraine.

Hayashi held talks earlier Monday with his Polish counterpart, Zbigniew Rau, as well as Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and President Andrzej Duda.

At a joint news conference with Rau, Hayashi praised Poland's support for war-displaced Ukrainians and pledged that Japan will accept as many evacuees as possible as a humanitarian measure and to show its solidarity with .

In order to protect the free and open international order, Japan will continue to cooperate with its strategic partner, Poland, Hayashi said.

As part of those efforts, Japan will continue to impose tough sanctions on Russia, Hayashi said.

Japan has pledged $100 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Poland and its neighbors that are accepting war-displaced Ukrainians, in addition to an earlier pledge of $100 million in humanitarian aid.

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French President Emmanuel Macron is looking to win the election that will give him a chance to influence the European Union in his vision.He says that the EU should be independent of other influences and be free to pursue its agenda. Another of the French leader's projects is trying to raise an EU army which has stalled for the moment.

Macron's Win Will Make Way for France To Lead the EU

Brussels could benefit if Macron wins the second round of elections against Marine Le Pen and have an opportunity to influence the EU, reported the Express UK.

The French leader has spoken for the bloc on many occasions after the February 24 invasion, actively engaging Russian President Vladimir Putin in several discussions in face-to-face meetings in Moscow.

In addition, Paris currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Council, giving Macron a little more leverage over what transpires in the bloc.

According to Alistair Jones, Associate Politics Professor at De Montfort University in Leicester, it is a shot to make the European agenda if the French leader gets a second term.

The professor said that Putin's war in Ukraine could bring France and the EU together on security and military concerns and that the two will only boost Brussels, cited Newslanes.

France To Shape the EU in Succeeding Years

Professor Jones spoke about how Emmanuel Macron could have more power in the European Union, and he said that the French president wants to be perceived as a European leader.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth?

The departure of Angela Merkel, the former German Chancellor, and Brexit exiting the bloc, leaves a vacuum for Paris to fill.

Paris is in the best position that cannot be challenged so far. One of these causes in the EU agenda is to make amendments to the current Common Agricultural Policy or the Common Fisheries Policy.

Another change is closer cooperation in security and defense after the incursion of Russia into Ukraine, though not an EU army. One particular thrust is Eurocorps, a body concerned with intelligence and logistics and could get a boost from a French-led Brussels. Jones added that the position would be a comparable national figurehead.

A stronger position held by Paris will lead to recognition as a top EU leader who'll be as respected as Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel, and Roberta Metsola. These officers hold tenure as Commission Presidents, European Council, with the European Parliament that will look to Paris, noted AP Direct.

It would be the case that Macron will attempt to push policies or have a say in shaping policies; France is the one holding the rotating presidency for the European Council.

Jones said that it wouldn't be five years to steer EU policy. Instead, more than that, the French president is after a vision too. The fishing row with the UK will be dealt with differently; nothing less than a strong response from Brussel's with pressure from Paris.

A win might be hard-fought as Le Pen lessens the gap in the newest polls. Supporters of Macron were told that a Brexit-style upset might occur.

If Emmanuel Macron wins, that will give him more clout to lead the European Union to make more pro-EU policies that benefit the bloc.

Related article: Macron Diplomatically Leads NATO in Dealing With the Ukraine Crisis Despite Potshots From EU Members

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After ten years at Microsoft, James Phillips will leave the company immediately.

Phillips joined in 2012 as a corporate vice president and strategic advisor to Satya Nadella, who has since become CEO of the company, reports Windows Central.

In 2020, Phillips became the president of the Microsoft's Digital Transformation Group, which oversees the tech giant's business applications and services.

With over 15,000 people around the world, the Group is quite large. It includes Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Azure AI Platform, Azure Data Platform, Azure IoT Platform, and the Cloud.

ZDNet first reported the news publicly, citing an email from Executive Vice President Scott Guthrie. Phillips has confirmed the departure on LinkedIn.

Guthrie's email did not specify where Phillips was headed, instead stating that the president would leave for an unnamed "external opportunity".

Before his departure, Phillips was on an extended sabbatical, the report said.

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Moscow hopes Kiev will follow its national interests at Russia-Ukraine peace talks, but not listen to "advisers" from afar, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"It is not the talks that influence the course of the operation, but external 'players' who are trying to hinder these negotiations and keep the clashes 'on the ground' going on for as long as possible," he told a press conference on Monday following talks with Arab League (AL) representatives on Ukraine, according to a statement published by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"We know who gives such 'advice' to our Ukrainian neighbours. This is done with useless goals that have nothing to do with the interests of the Ukrainian people, the security of Ukraine, the security in the region of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and in our European region," he added.

"I hope that those who lead the delegation of Kiev at the said talks will start to be guided by their own national interests, the interests of their people but not listen to 'advisers' from afar, who sometimes only want to see how the crisis situation will continue to build up," Lavrov said.

He added that will debunk fake charges related to the special operation in Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Minister also expressed the readiness to cooperate and continue to inform colleagues in the AL about the development of the situation, according to the statement.

The Arab Ministerial delegation, headed by Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Secretary-General of the AL, visited to seek a diplomatic solution for the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The group, including representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates, will travel to Warsaw on Tuesday for another meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

--IANS

int/khz/

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Pakistans Supreme Court adjourned until Wednesday a hearing to decide the legality of Prime Minister Imran Khans blocking of an opposition bid to oust him, a dispute that has led to political turmoil in the country.

Khan lost his parliamentary majority last week and had been facing a no-confidence vote tabled by a united opposition.



But the deputy speaker of parliament, a member of Khans party, threw out the motion, ruling it was part of a foreign conspiracy and unconstitutional. Khan then dissolved parliament.

Official sources told The Express Tribune newspaper that a wrong impression was given about the military leadership endorsing the view of the government.

The court could order that parliament be reconstituted, call for a new election or bar Khan from standing again if he is found to have acted unconstitutionally.

The court could also decide that it cannot intervene in parliamentary affairs.

Lengthy legal proceedings would create a power vacuum with implications for issues such as talks with the Monetary Fund to secure funds to support the cash-strapped economy.

Pakistan's election commission on Tuesday said it will fulfil its responsibility to hold general elections in the country if required.

No evidence of plot

The turmoil also threatens to damage ties with long-time ally the United States, after Khan accused it of being behind the plot to overthrow him. The United States dismissed the accusation.

Khan, who was for years critical of the US involvement in Afghanistan, accused opposition of being part of a foreign conspiracy.

Russia has criticised the US for making another attempt of shameless interference into the internal affairs of and asserted that Prime Minister was paying the price for being disobedient to Washington and being punished for visiting Russia in February this year.

Meanwhile, Farah Khan a close friend of Prime Minister Imran Khan's third wife Bushra Bibi, has fled the country following reports that she could be arrested if a new government is installed in .

IMF funding virtually on hold

The Monetary Fund (IMF) funding to the country is expected to hit another pause according to a report.

IMFs resident representative in Islamabad, Esther Perez Ruiz said that the fund would engage once the new government is formed. The fund of $6 billion hit a deadlock when Prime Minister announced a major relief package involving a tax amnesty scheme and energy price cuts.
(Reuters) - rose in early trading on Tuesday as the potential for more sanctions following alleged war crimes by Russian troops in Ukraine added to concerns about supply disruptions, while Iran nuclear talks stalled.

Brent crude futures were up $1.58, or 1.5%, to $109.11 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.61, or 1.6%, to $104.89 a barrel at 0028 GMT.

Both contracts briefly jumped more than $2 a barrel after Japanese industry minister Koichi Hagiuda said the Energy Agency (IEA) was still working out details for a planned second round of a coordinated oil releases.

Futures had settled up more than 3% on Monday on the threat of more sanctions on Russia and following a pause in Vienna on talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal, which could put more Iranian barrels into the market. Iran blamed the United States for halting the talks.

Consultancy Wood Mackenzie on Monday estimated EU members and advanced economies including Japan and South Korea could "swap" some 650,000 barrels per day of Russian crude oil with similar grades and volumes. These would primarily come from Middle East volumes that are normally purchased by China and India.

India's state run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. purchased 1 million barrels of Russian Urals for May loading, in a rare move driven by the steep discount offered.

"Global crude oil trade will rebalance by 'crude swapping' between 'self-sanctioning' advanced economies and developing markets," said Alex Sun, a managing consultancy for Wood Mackenzie, noting that a steep discount for Russian Urals barrels has created a buying opportunity for China to fill declining strategic reserves.

(Reporting by Liz Hampton; editing by Richard Pullin)

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By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

LONDON (Reuters) - rose on Tuesday as Europe announced plans to impose new sanctions on Russian to punish Moscow over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, raising concerns over tighter global supply.

Brent crude was up $1.10, or 1%, to $108.63 a barrel at 1334 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was up $1.12, or 1.1%, at $104.40.

"With the European Union working on new sanctions that may target Russia's oil industry, crude prices could edge up in the near term," FXTM analyst Lukman Otunuga said.

The West is planning new sanctions against Russia over civilian killings in Ukraine, with President Joe Biden's national security adviser saying that new U.S. sanctions against Moscow would be announced this week.

The European Commission on Tuesday proposed new sanctions against Russia, including a ban on buying Russian coal and on Russian ships entering EU ports.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the ban on coal will be followed by oil and then gas.

To calm oil prices, U.S.-allied countries agreed last week to a coordinated oil release from strategic reserves for the second time in a month. However, Japanese industry minister Koichi Hagiuda on Tuesday said that the Energy Agency (IEA) was still examining details of the release.

jumped by more than $2 after his comments.

Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, expects to trade between $90 and $120 a barrel during the second quarter.

"Key events that could trigger additional uncertainty remain the prospect for an Iran nuclear deal, Venezuela being allowed to increase production and, not least, an increase in U.S. shale oil production," he said.

The United States still believes there is an opportunity to overcome the remaining differences with Iran in talks over its nuclear programme, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday.

Any signs that the United States and Iran are moving closer to a nuclear deal, which would return up to 1.3 million barrels per day of Iranian oil to global markets, would weigh on oil prices, BCA research said.

The end of the refinery maintenance period in Europe also lent some support to oil prices, analysts said, because it will allow higher crude intake.

Also Iraq announced on Tuesday that it produced 4.15 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in March, 222,000 bpd short of its production quota under an agreement with other OPEC+ producers.

Underinvestment and maintenance problems have stymied efforts by some other OPEC+ producers to raise output, including Angola and Nigeria, adding to the supply tightness.

Kazakhstan, an OPEC+ producer, has also cut its oil output forecast to 85.7 million tonnes this year from the previous target of 87.5 million after damage to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal in Russia.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London; Additional reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver and Isabel Kua in Singapore; Editing by Mark Potter, David Goodman and Mark Porter)

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By Scott DiSavino

NEW YORK (Reuters) - steadied in volatile trade on Tuesday as growing worries about demand destruction offsets supply concerns as the and Europe plan to impose new sanction on for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

Brent futures fell 36 cents, or 0.3%, to $107.17 a barrel by 10:51 a.m. EDT (1451 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 54 cents, or 0.5%, to $102.74.

Chinese authorities extended a lockdown in Shanghai to cover all of the financial center's 26 million people, despite growing anger over quarantine rules in the city, where latest results show only 268 symptomatic daily COVID-19 cases.

In the United States, the Johns Hopkins Resource Center said new deaths rose to what Mizuho executive director of energy futures Robert Yawger said was an all-time high of 14,562 on Monday, which would push total U.S. deaths over 1 million since the start of the pandemic.

Officials at Johns Hopkins were not immediately available for comment. Yawger said the prior U.S. daily record for deaths was 4,442.

The West, meanwhile, is planning new sanctions against over civilian killings in Ukraine, with President Joe Biden's national security adviser saying that new U.S. sanctions against Moscow would be announced this week.

The also proposed sweeping new sanctions against on Tuesday, including a ban on coal imports.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the ban on coal will be followed by oil and then gas.

Moscow, meanwhile, said that Western allegations Russian forces committed war crimes by executing civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha were a "monstrous forgery" aimed at denigrating the Russian army.

(Additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London, Liz Hampton in Denver and Isabel Kua in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Mark Porter)

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A group of Pakistani dissidents on Tuesday expressed "trepidation and worry" over the political situation in Pakistan, saying that all norms of civility, democratic behaviour, parliamentary ethics, and adherence to the Constitution" have been thrown to the winds by the government of .

The embattled Prime Minister Khan stunned the Opposition parties on Sunday by recommending snap elections after a no-confidence motion against him was dismissed by the deputy speaker of the National Assembly. Khan then got President Arif Alvi to dissolve the 342-member National Assembly before its term ended in August 2023.

Even after losing the support of a majority in parliament, unlawfully dissolved parliament. The (former) Prime Minister still enjoys the perks of office such as using State Television to send out political messages and criticising the Opposition, said a statement issued by South Asians Against Terrorism and for Human Rights (SAATH), a grouping of pro-democracy Pakistanis.

It is sad that the Higher Judiciary of the country is looking most casually at the illegal and unlawful and unconstitutional ruling of the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly in not allowing the Vote of No Confidence against . Institutions of National Security have failed to contradict (or confirm) claims that the Vote of No Confidence was launched by the traitorous Opposition' under instructions from the United States of America, SAATH said.

They expressed "trepidation and worry" at the political situation in saying that all norms of civility, democratic behaviour, parliamentary ethics, and adherence to the Constitution" have been thrown to the winds by the outgoing government.

In any other country, such allegations would demand a high burden of proof, the statement said, adding that violation of the Constitution in the absence of evidence should have attracted a serious and immediate response from the judiciary, it said.

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The Election Commission of (ECP) has expressed its inability to conduct general elections within three months, citing various legal hitches and procedural challenges as the reason.

A senior ECP official told Dawn news that the preparations for the general elections would require some six months.

He said fresh delimitation of constituencies, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where the number of seats had been increased under the 26th Amendment, and bringing district- and constituency-wise electoral rolls in conformity were the major challenges.

"Delimitation is a time-consuming exercise where the law provides for one month's time just to invite objections," he said, adding that another one month was required to address the same.

The official told Dawn news that a minimum of three months would be required to complete the exercise, followed by another gigantic task of updating voters' lists.

He said procurement of election material, arrangement for ballot papers and appointment and training of polling staff were also amongst the challenges, adding that under the law, ballot papers with water mark were to be used which were not available in the country and would have to be imported.

He revealed that the ECP had proposed to amend the law to provide for ballot papers with "security features", instead of "water mark".

The official said inviting bids and scrutinising financial and technical quotations would also require some time. About the election material, he said some two million stamp pads would be required for around 100,000 polling stations.

"This is just one example. Other materials in huge quantity, including scissors and ball points, will also have to be procured," he remarked.

Referring to some legal hitches, the official told Dawn news that under Section 14 of the Elections Act, the ECP was to announce an election plan four months prior to the polls.

He said the law requiring use of EVMs (electronic voting machines) and giving overseas Pakistanis voting rights also held the field and had to be repealed.

--IANS

san/ksk/

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The Portuguese government authorised an expenditure of 32.7 million euros ($35.9 million) for the purchase of medicines against Covid-19 in 2022, according to a government decree published.

The resolution of the Council of Ministers on Monday said the expenditure is necessary "because of the evolution of the pandemic situation," and aims to ensure the Portuguese people have access to "therapeutic options for the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus".

Signed by Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, the order authorises the acquisition of the antiviral drug Remdesivir, as well as funding for the storage and acquisition of vaccines against Covid-19, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Portuguese government said the expenditure is justified to "put an end to the pandemic" and provide "therapeutic alternatives to treat infected people", such as "monoclonal antibodies," "oral antivirals," and "immunomodulators".

Access to these medicines can only be granted through a centralised procurement procedure within the framework of the Strategy for Covid-19 Therapeutics program, whose management is the responsibility of the European Commission. (1 euro $1.10)

--IANS

int/khz/

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The current situation in the global food market has worsened of late due to the "mistakes" made by Western countries in disrupting supply chains, Russian President said on Tuesday.

"As you know, the state of play on the global food market has grown considerably worse in the last two years. Exactly in the last two years. It was two years ago that the mistakes made by developed countries in their economic, energy and food policies led to a rapid spike in food prices around the world," Putin told a government meeting on agriculture.

The situation has deteriorated further in recent weeks, as, despite the shortage of food reserves around the world, those countries still decided to impose sanctions on Russia and thus disrupt supply chains, Putin said.

"The operations of companies and logistics of exports of fertilizers from Russia and Belarus are being blocked. And the West's own production of fertilizers is decreasing due to high natural gas prices, which too is a result of the activities of our partners in the West," he added.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after recognizing the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as "independent republics". In response, the European Union (EU) rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow, which includes airspace closures and restrictive measures targeting numerous Russian officials and entities, media, and financial institutions.

(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.)
Low-income people and households, senior persons, and the disabled get monthly payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP benefits in New York are distributed monthly via electronic benefit cards, as they are in other states.

The only way to find out if your household is qualified for SNAP assistance is to apply, according to the New York Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. New York's SNAP program can be applied for online at myBenefits.ny.gov, or you can print and send or fax the SNAP application to your local department of social services.

SNAP Benefits Schedule in New York

Benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can be used to buy food at designated retail outlets and farmers' markets. Enter your PIN and use your EBT card like any other credit or debit card. Non-eligible products will necessitate the use of an alternative method of payment, as per Go Banking Rates.

The SNAP schedule in New York is divided into two parts: one for New York City and another for the remainder of the state. The payment schedule for April 2022 in New York, excluding the five boroughs of New York City, is as follows:

Case Number Ending in: Deposit Date 0 or 1 April 1 2 April 2 3 April 3 4 April 4 5 April 5 6 April 6 7 April 7 8 April 8 9 April 9

Here is the April schedule for SNAP payments in NYC:

Toe Number Payment Date 0 April 1 1 April 4 2 April 5 3 April 6 4 April 7 5 April 8 6 April 11 7 April 12 8 April 13 9 April 14

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the benefits were increased thanks to the American Rescue Plan, which allowed states like North Carolina to waive certain eligibility requirements and give households the maximum amount for their household size, even if their income would normally qualify them for fewer SNAP dollars.

Read Also: Joe Biden Calls "Brutal" Vladimir Putin a "War Criminal"; New Satellite Images Show Civilian Killings in Bucha Amid Russia-Ukraine War

Unless Congress grants a last-minute extension, those additional benefits will expire on April 15. According to Tina Postel, executive director of the Loaves and Fishes food pantry network in Charlotte, demand for food banks and pantries will undoubtedly increase as a result.

It comes as rising food and gas prices are already putting a burden on many food banks. Many goods, such as peanut butter and ground turkey, have grown much more costly and some senior volunteers on fixed incomes have had to reduce the number of food deliveries they can make due to rising gas prices, according to WFAE 90.7.

Meanwhile, Maine's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides low-income families and individuals with monthly payments. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services will give you a Maine Pine Tree Card, which is the state's equivalent of the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, once you've been authorized for SNAP.

The Maine Pine Tree Card may be used to buy healthful food at authorized locations or anyplace the "Quest" logo appears, much like a credit or debit card. SNAP benefits can also be utilized for delivery or curbside pick-up purchases from Amazon, BJ's Wholesale Club, Hannaford to go, and Walmart. Walmart takes both SNAP and EBT cash benefits, but Amazon, BJ's, and Hannaford only accept SNAP.

SNAP Benefits Schedule in Maine

SNAP benefits cannot be used to pay for delivery expenses. Maine residents can apply for SNAP online using the My Maine Connection portal, by email or fax, or by submitting an application to the Office for Family Independence, according to Aol. Meanwhile, Maine's SNAP payments are distributed every month from the 10th to the 14th, depending on the last digit of your birth date.

Birth day ends in Benefits available 0 or 9 April 10th 1 or 8 April 11th 2 or 3 April 12th 4 or 7 April 13th 5 or 6 April 14th

For the month of April, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) will provide almost $318 million in emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits, KVEO Brownsville via MSN reported.

Related Article: Missing Stimulus Check: This IRS Letter Will Help You See All Your Unclaimed Payments

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Russian President has signed a decree introducing for citizens from "unfriendly countries", the Kremlin said.

It added that the decision was made in retaliation to "hostile measures" taken by the European Union (EU) against Russia's warn in Ukraine, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the decree, will partially suspend its simplified visa agreements with EU member countries along with Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The Kremlin said that the decree also ordered the Foreign Ministry to impose individual entry restrictions on foreigners and stateless persons who commit hostile acts against Russia, its citizens or legal entities.

(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.)
Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said won't "fire even a single bullet or shell toward because we do not regard it as match for our armed forces", state media reported on Tuesday.

In a press statement, her second in two days, Kim Yo-jong again took issue with the South Korean defense chief's talk in public last week of his troops' "preemptive strike" capabilities, boasting repeatedly about Pyongyang's nuclear combat force, reports Yonhap News Agency.

"If anyone does not provoke us, we will never strike it before anything else," she said in the statement carried by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"We will not fire even a single bullet or shell toward . It is because we do not regard it as match for our armed forces.

"In other words, it means that unless the South Korean army takes any military action against our state, it will not be regarded as a target of our attack," Kim Yo-jong added.

She however, warned that although the North opposes a war that may put the Peninsula into a "disaster" like that in the 1950s, things could change, depending on the South's moves.

(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 41 Sri Lankan lawmakers walked out of the ruling coalition on Tuesday, leaving the government of President Gotabaya in a minority in parliament as it struggles with the country's worst in decades.

In another setback for the administration, Finance Minister Ali Sabry resigned a day after his appointment and ahead of crucial talks scheduled with the Monetary Fund for a loan programme.

The crisis spiralled today with the government temporarily shutting down embassies in Australia, Norway and Iraq.

dissolved his cabinet on Monday and sought to form a unity government as public unrest surged over the ruling family's handling of the debt-heavy economy that has led to shortages of food, fuel and medicines and prolonged power cuts.

Possible next steps could be the appointment of a new prime minister replacing the presidents elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, or snap parliamentary elections much ahead of a scheduled vote in 2025.

There was no immediate indication what was being planned.

Sabry said in his resignation letter he believed he had acted in the best interests of the country.

At this crucial juncture the country needs stability to weather the current financial crisis and difficulties, he said in the letter seen by Reuters.

Street demonstrations against the shortages, triggered by a lack of foreign exchange for imports, began last month but have intensified in recent days, leading to clashes between protesters and police in some instances.

Names of the 41 lawmakers to leave the coalition were announced by party leaders in parliament.

They have now become independent members, leaving Rajapaksa's government with fewer than the 113 members needed to maintain a majority in the 225-member house.

There has been no vote count yet, although Rajapaksa's minority government could find decision-making more challenging.

Independent parliamentarians, however, could continue to support government proposals in the house.

There are endless shortages of essentials including fuel and cooking gas. Hospitals are on the verge of closing because there are no medicines, Maithripala Sirisena, leader of the Freedom Party that withdrew its support for Rajapaksas coalition, told parliament.

At such a time our party is on the side of the people.

Shares rise

The Colombo Stock Exchange's All-Share Index jumped about 6 per cent as lawmakers made their positions clear inside parliament.

Sirisena, together with other lawmakers, called on the president and the prime minister to present a clear plan to find a resolution for Sri Lanka's financial mess.

But opposition parties - reflecting the mood of a wave of protests sweeping the country of 22 million people - urged the two brothers to step down. A third brother, Basil Rajapaksa, quit as finance minister on Sunday.

The opposition parties have also rejected the move to form a unity government comprising all parties represented in parliament.

There should not be a voice that is contrary to the voice on the streets. And the voice is that there should be change, said Sajith Premadasa, leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, Sri Lanka's main opposition alliance.

What the people want is for this president and the entire government to step down.

A small group of people protested near parliament, as police stood guard with tear gas and water cannons.

Names new central bank chief

P Nandalal Weerasinghe, a career central banker, was appointed to head Sri Lankas monetary authority as the government seeks to pull the South Asian nation out of an economic tailspin, avoid a bond default and start aid talks with the Monetary Fund.

Currently a deputy governor after a stint with the IMF, Weerasinghe expects to take over as governor of the Central Bank of on April 7, he said by phone from Australia. He will be replacing Ajith Nivard Cabraal who resigned Monday after failing to check a spiraling and resisting aid from the multilateral lender.

Yes, I have been approached and offered the post, Weerasinghe said on the appointment, which was confirmed by a central bank spokeswoman. I have agreed to accept it, he said.

Emergency health situation declared

An emergency health situation has been declared in from Tuesday because of the severe drug shortage.

This decision was announced after an emergency general committee meeting of the country's Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) to discuss the imposition of the emergency law and the severe drug shortage, the Daily Mirror reported.
Sri Lanka's newly-appointed Finance Minister Ali Sabry resigned on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after his appointment.

Sabry said he had accepted the portfolio only as an interim measure, reports Xinhua news agency.

He said he was also willing to step down from his parliamentary seat if the President wished to appoint a suitable person to handle the situation from outside the current Parliament.

Sabry also told local media that his resignation was to pave the way for establishing an interim government.

Sabry and three other ministers were sworn into the new cabinet on Monday after the Sri Lankan Cabinet offered to resign from their positions on Sunday night in response to calls from the protests amid economic instability and a severe fuel shortage in the island nation.

has for days been facing public protests calling for immediate measures to be taken by the government to solve the economic crisis, hours-long power cuts and shortages in fuel and other essential supplies.

The ruling Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) lost its parliament majority as 42 MPs on Tuesday announced they would sit independently.

On Monday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa extended an invitation to all political parties to join the government to find solutions to the ongoing crisis.

--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.)
Sri Lanka's ruling coalition headed by President Gotabaya on Tuesday faced more trouble after the newly-appointed Finance Minister Ali Sabry resigned even as dissident lawmakers, led by former president Maithripala Sirisena, were planning to quit the government against the backdrop of nationwide protests over the country's worst .

President had appointed Sabry after sacking his brother Basil Rajapaksa, who was at the centre of anger within the ruling Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition.

In a letter to the President, Sabri said that he took up the job as part of a temporary measure.

However, after much reflection and deliberation and taking into consideration the current situation, I am now of the view for Your Excellency to make suitable interim arrangement to navigate the unprecedented crisis fresh and proactive, and unconventional steps needs to be taken including the appointment of a new finance minister, Sabry said in the letter.

He was among the four new ministers appointed by the President on Monday after the resignation of all Cabinet ministers a day earlier.

When the Parliament convened on Tuesday, several government allies expressed their decision to stay neutral. It was the first session since a state of emergency was declared by President last week.

The ruling coalition, which had won 150 seats in the 2020 general elections and went on to increase its numbers through defections from the Opposition, appeared to lose the support of at least 41 MPs.

It now appears to have 109 seats, five less than the 113 seats required for simple majority in the 225-member Parliament.

The government, however, claimed that it commands the simple majority.

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 months.

The dissidents, led by former president Sirisena's Freedom Party (SLFP), would leave the ruling SLPP coalition with its 14 Members of Parliament, party sources said after their meeting with the President on Monday.

The coalition, which commanded 157 votes out of 225 at the last vote held on the government budget, is bound to lose between 50-60 members, Udaya Gammanpila, a dissident lawmaker told reporters on Monday.

As a result, the government would not only be denied its two-thirds but even the simple majority of 113 members, he said.

However, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, a SLPP lawmaker, said that the government was rock solid with 138 members backing it.

The dissidents said that in addition to 14 members of Sirisena, 16 more from the other 11 members of the coalition would defect to be an independent group. They expect at least 20 from the SLPP to join their ranks.

On Monday, there were storming of houses of many government politicians, including Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's country house deep southern province, by angry demonstrators.

Prasanna Ranatunga, who is a fierce Rajapaksa loyalist, said, President won't resign due to protests, but he is willing to hand over the government to anyone who could prove 113.

The President had invited the Opposition parties to join a unity Cabinet to tackle the raging public anger against the hardships caused by the .

Opposition parties have rejected the offer.

The President, who named just four members to his new Cabinet, would be forced to appoint his own SLPP Cabinet on Tuesday, analysts said.

Despite the declaration of the state of emergency and a weekend curfew, people joined the protests calling for the resignation of Rajapaksa.

It appeared that Rajapaksa's unity Cabinet plea had no resonance with the public as they were out in larger numbers, calling for the resignation of the entire Rajapaksa family from .

Following the 2019 Sri Lankan elections, the Rajapaksa family has kept several portfolios in the current government under their control.

While President Rajapaksa holds the all-powerful executive presidency, his elder brother Mahinda, who is a former president, is the current prime minister.

Basil held the finance ministry portfolio until his sacking on Monday.

Mahinda's son Namal, the heir apparent, is the minister of youth and sports.

India recently announced to extend a USD 1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka as part of its financial assistance to the country to deal with the economic crisis following a previous USD 500 billion line of credit in February to help it purchase petroleum products.

During his recently-concluded visit to Colombo, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had assured India's continued support in Sri Lanka's economic recovery process.

President Rajapaksa has defended his government's actions, saying the foreign exchange crisis was not his making and the economic downturn was largely pandemic driven with the island nation'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 Goatabya Rajapaksa's ruling party, Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) on Tuesday lost its majority in Parliament as 42 MPs announced they would sit independently.

Among the 42 MPs, 14 are from Freedom Party, 10 belong to constituent parties of the government, and 12 are SLPP MPs, among others, reports Xinhua news agency.

The ruling SLPP-led alliance won 146 seats in the 225-member Parliament in the 2020 general election.

Tuesday's development comes amid an ongoing turmoil in the island nation due to the country's worst ever economic crisis, triggering widespread anti-government protests.

On Monday night, had said that he will not resign, but was ready to hand over the government to whichever party holds 113 seats in Parliament.

On Monday, he held back-to-back political meetings amidst public protests throughout the nation, calling on the President and government to resign, reports the Daily Mirror newspaper.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former Defence Secretary in his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa's government, played a crucial role to end 26-year-long war against Tamil rebel Tigers.

At the 2019 Presidential election, he was elected President with a sweeping 2/3 majority with over 6.9 million votes.

Lack of dollar reserves and depreciation forced lead to severe shortages of fuel, LPG, electricity and essential food and people are demanding to give up power immediately.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid the ongoing political upheavel in triggered by the massive economic crisis, President Gotabaya has said that he will not resign, but is ready to hand over the government to whichever party holds 113 seats in Parliament.

On Monday, held back-to-back political meetings amidst public protests throughout the nation, calling on the President and government to resign, reports the Daily Mirror newspaper.

Voting will take place when Parliament convenes on Tuesday to see which party holds 113 seats or above.

The President's Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) SLPP is now trying to hold on to its 113 seats so that it can continue in the government even with a simple majority, while Mahinda remains the Prime Minister.

If the government fails to show its numbers then a proposal will be made to the Speaker to call for a debate to see who would be the new Prime Minister and as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has decided, the government will be handed over to the new party.

Meanwhile, the Freedom Party (SLFP), the main coalition partner the SLPP, announced that all 14 lawmakers would leave the government and stand independent.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former Defence Secretary in his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa's government, played a crucial role to end 26-year-long war against Tamil rebel Tigers. At the 2019 Presidential election, he was elected President with a sweeping 2/3 majority with over 6.9 million votes.

Lack of dollar reserves and depreciation forced lead to severe shortages of fuel, LP gas, electricity and essential food and people are demanding Rajapaksa to give up power immediately.

--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.)
Inc said on Tuesday it would name top shareholder and Tesla boss Elon Musk to its board, a day after the billionaire disclosed a 9.2% stake in the social media company.

Musk cannot become the owner of more than 14.9% of Twitter's common stock either as an individual shareholder or as a member of a group as long as he is the director of Twitter, the company said in a filing.

"I'm excited to share that we're appointing @elonmusk to our board," Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal said in a tweet.

"He's both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term." On Monday, Musk disclosed his ownership of 73.5 million shares, which are held by the Elon Musk Revocable Trust, of which he is the sole trustee.

Musk will participate in the director benefits arrangements applicable to non-employee directors, the company said. Twitter will enter into its standard form of indemnification agreement with Musk, it added.

Hes both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term. Welcome Elon!  Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 5, 2022

Musk will serve as a Class II director, with the term expiring at Twitter's 2024 annual meeting of stockholders.

Twitter shares surged 6% in trading before the opening bell, after closing up over 27% on Monday.

(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 says 19 Russian diplomats are being expelled from Belgium.

The move comes amid blistering criticism of Russia's war in Ukraine and discussions on a new set of sanctions targeting the Kremlin for the Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbour.

I decided to designate persona non grata a number of officials of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the EU for engaging in activities contrary to their diplomatic status, said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a video statement Tuesday.

He said the Russian envoy was being summoned to the EU to explain the move.

(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 flow of "bloody money" to Russia must stop, Kyiv's mayor said on Tuesday as the West prepared new sanctions on Moscow after dead civilians were found lining the streets of a Ukrainian town seized from Russian invaders.



Since Russian forces withdrew from northern Ukraine, turning their assault on the south and east, grim images from the town of Bucha near Kyiv, including a mass grave and bound bodies of people shot at close range, have prompted outrage.

Russia denies targeting civilians and said the deaths had been staged by the West to discredit it.



Sanctions already imposed have isolated Russia's economy but its gas is still flowing to Europe and a number of companies continue to do business there, leading Ukraine to say more is needed to starve Moscow's war effort.



"Every euro, every cent that you receive from Russia or that you send to Russia has blood, it is bloody money and the blood of this money is Ukrainian blood, the blood of Ukrainian people," Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko, dressed in military clothes, told a mayors' conference in Geneva via video link.



Ukrainian President said on Tuesday that while what happened in Bucha was unforgivable, Ukraine had no choice but to negotiate with Russia to end the war, now in its sixth week.



"All of us, including myself, will perceive even the possibility of negotiations as a challenge," Zelensky said in an interview broadcast on national television. He said it was not clear whether he and Russian President would speak directly.



Russian news agency Interfax cited a deputy Russian foreign minister as saying talks, which last convened on Friday, were continuing via video link. There was no update from the Ukrainian side.



Zelensky said earlier that at least 300 civilians had been killed in Bucha and that many more dead were likely to be found in other areas. He said he would address the United Nations Security Council later in the day as he builds support for an investigation into the killings.



SATELLITE IMAGES



Russia denied that its forces had carried out any atrocities and said it would present "empirical evidence" to the U.N.

Security Council meeting proving its forces were not involved. But satellite images of Bucha taken weeks ago showed bodies of civilians on a street, a private U.S. company said, undercutting Russian claims that the scene was staged.



Maxar Technologies provided nine images taken of Bucha on March 18, 19 and 31 to Reuters. At least four of the images appear to show bodies on Yablonska Street in the town, which was occupied by Russian forces until about March 30. U.S. President Joe Biden called for a war crimes trial against Putin and Washington will ask the U.N. General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.

At the weekend, Reuters reporters in Bucha saw several bodies apparently shot at close range, along with makeshift burials and a mass grave, but could not independently verify the number of dead or who was responsible.



Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said he spoke with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about Bucha and stressed that "Ukraine will use all available UN mechanisms to collect evidence and hold Russian war criminals to account." Kuleba spoke to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Monday, with Beijing again calling for talks to end the conflict.



'FEEL THE CONSEQUENCES'



Russia launched what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24, saying it aimed to demilitarize and "denazify" its neighbour. Ukraine and the West say the invasion was illegal and unjustified.

Germany and the Biden administration said new sanctions against Moscow would be announced in coming days, while several European countries, including Germany, France and Italy, announced expulsions of Russian diplomats and Moscow said it would respond in kind.



The U.S. State Department said it was supporting an team of prosecutors and experts in their work collecting and analysing evidence of atrocities.



German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said the European Union must discuss banning Russian gas, though other officials urged caution around measures that could touch off a European energy crisis.



Russia supplies about a third of Europe's gas, and Putin has tried to use energy as a lever to fight back against Western sanctions. So far, however, Moscow has kept gas flowing to Europe, despite uncertainty over Putin's demands for payments in roubles.



In the latest effort to pile pressure on Moscow, the United States stopped the Russian government from paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600 million from reserves held at U.S.

banks.



BATTLES IN THE EAST



Ukraine said it was bracing for about 60,000 Russian reservists to be called in to reinforce Moscow's offensive in the east, where Russia's main targets have included the port of Mariupol and Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city. Ukraine's general staff said Russian forces aimed to fully take over the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces claimed by Russian-backed separatists and encircle a group of Ukrainian forces.

"Russian troops have attacked Mykolayiv with cluster munitions banned by the Geneva Convention. Whole blocks of civilian buildings have come under fire, in particular, a children's hospital. There are dead and wounded, including children," the general staff said in a daily update on Tuesday. Reuters could not independently verify the claims.



In Mariupol, a southeastern town on the Azov Sea that has been under siege for weeks, Reuters images showed three bodies in civilian clothes lying in the street, one against a wall sprayed with blood.



West of Mariupol, in the town of Mykolaiv, shelling on Monday killed 10 people, including a child, and injured 46 others, regional administration head Oleksandr Senkevich said. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the report.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
United States President Joe Biden Calls Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal as satellite images debunk Moscow's claims that the killing of civilians in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, happened after its troops fled the town.

Over the weekend, images of the dead bodies of civilians were seen strewn in the streets of Bucha. Some of the fatalities were found with their hands bound and some with gunshot wounds to their heads. Russia's Ministry of Defense immediately denied responsibility for the situation.

Civilian Casualties in Bucha

Officials suggested that the bodies had been recently placed on the streets after all Russian units withdrew completely from Bucha around Mar. 30. Russian authorities said that the images were just another "hoax" and called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting regarding what they called "provocations of Ukrainian radicals" in Bucha.

However, an analysis of the satellite images showed that many of the civilian victims were killed more than three weeks ago during the time Russian military forces were in control of the region. A local council member was able to video an incident on Apr. 1 that showed multiple bodies lying along Yablonska Street, as per the New York Times.

The situation has prompted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to call for an independent investigation to look into the images depicting the dead bodies in Bucha. Pro-Russian social media accounts later circulated a slowed-down video of the footage that showed the bodies, claiming it showed one of the victims' arms moving.

Read Also: Russia-Ukraine War: Volodymyr Zelensky Calls Russian Attack as 'Genocide' as Pile of Corpses Appear in Bucha

The video recording was grainy, but with closer analysis, what is claimed to be a moving arm was found to be a mark in the bottom right corner of the vehicle's windscreen. The "moving arm" is believed to be either a raindrop or a speck of dirt and could be seen in other parts of the video in other areas of the vehicle's windscreen.

According to BBC, another Russian claim focused on a separate part of the video, which shows the vehicle passing another body. The victim is lying next to pavement with red and yellow stones and shattered brown fencing. The claims say the body "sits up" but analysis shows that it was only being distorted by the mirror.

War Criminal

Biden on Monday ordered the gathering of evidence against Putin to put the Russian leader on trial for war crimes for his war on Ukraine. The Democrat called the European leader "brutal" and said that the situation in Bucha is outrageous.

The U.S. president also revealed that he had plans to impose more sanctions on Russia for its invasion. When a reporter asked Biden about the nature of the sanctions, he said that he would reveal the details at a later time.

Later on Monday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House that the expected sanctions would be announced later this week. The official said that Russia will pay a severe price for its transgressions. Sullivan added that the U.S. government has communicated with Moscow directly and has coordinated with allies and partners to hold Russia accountable, CNBC reported.



Related Article: Zelensky Pleads For Help in Russia-Ukraine War in Heartfelt Speech During Grammys 2022

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the U.N. Security Council for the first time Tuesday at a meeting that is certain to focus on what appear to be widespread deliberate killings of civilians by Russian troops.

The dead were discovered after the withdrawal of Russian forces from a town on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, and have sparked global outrage and vehement denials from the Russian government that it was responsible.

The United Kingdom, which holds the council presidency this month, announced late Monday that Zelenskyy would speak at the open meeting called for Tuesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy is to address the U.N.'s most powerful body virtually after it receives briefings from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, his political chief Rosemary DiCarlo, and U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, who is trying to arrange an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and met with senior Russian officials in Moscow on Monday and will shortly be heading to Ukraine.

Videos and photos of streets in the town of Bucha strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians, some with their hands tied behind their back, have led to global revulsion, calls for tougher sanctions on Russia and its suspension from the U.N.'s premiere human rights body, the Human Rights Council.

According to Ukraine's prosecutor-general, Iryna Venediktova, the bodies of 410 civilians have been removed from Bucha and other Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian troops.

Associated Press journalists have reported seeing dozens of bodies in various spots around Bucha, northwest of the capital.

The bodies included a group of nine in civilian clothes who appeared to have been shot at close range. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs. A bag of spilled groceries was near one of the dead.

Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, accused Ukraine and the West on Monday of a false flag attempt to blame Russian troops for atrocities in Bucha that he charged were committed by Ukrainian nationalists. He called video of bodies lying in the streets a crude forgery, and insisted that during the time that Bucha was under Russian control, not a single local person has suffered from any violent action.

At a news conference, the Russian ambassador showed brief video footage of the smiling mayor of Bucha on March 31 calling the withdrawal of Russian forces a victory of the Ukrainian army and never mentioning any mass atrocities, dead bodies, killings, graves or anything like that.

He also showed footage from Ukrainian television on April 2 showing Ukrainian soldiers entering Bucha, with no dead bodies in the streets.

He said Russia would present further "factual evidence to the Security Council on Tuesday.

Nebenzia was asked whether he believed videos of Ukrainian family members speaking about the deaths of loved ones killed by Russian troops were also faked. He responded: This is warfare. In warfare anything happens. You cannot exclude that civilians are dying. That is a sad fact of life.

But he again charged that the Bucha videos were staged."



Britain's U.N. ambassador, Barbara Woodward, called the images from Bucha harrowing, appalling, probable evidence of war crimes and possibly a genocide, and she said the Security Council needs to think about how we deal with that.

The council remains paralysed on taking any action on Ukraine because Russia as one of its five permanent members has veto power. But the 193-member General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, has condemned Russia's invasion and demanded an immediate cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of Russian forces and protection for civilians.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced Monday that the United States will soon introduce a General Assembly resolution that would suspend Russia from the U.N.'s premiere human rights body, the 57-nation Human Rights Council, saying there are increasing signs that it committed war crimes in Ukraine.

The council is based in Geneva but its members are elected by the 193-nation General Assembly.

Thomas-Greenfield told NPR late Monday that the U.S. plans to seek a vote as soon as possible this week, and possibly as early as Thursday.

Any resolution to suspend Russia's membership rights would require support from two-thirds of member countries that vote yes or no. Assembly resolutions are not legally binding -- unlike Security Council resolutions -- but they do have clout as a reflection of global opinion.

Russia had sought an emergency meeting of the Security Council to discuss Bucha on Monday afternoon, but Woodward told reporters that with Tuesday's council meeting already scheduled we didn't see a good reason to have two meetings back-to-back on Ukraine.

Nebenzia was asked if the U.S-led effort to suspend Russia from the rights council and Britain's refusal to hold an emergency Security Council meeting Monday at Russia's request would affect talks between Moscow and Kyiv.

This will not facilitate or encourage, or be helpful, to what is happening between Russian and Ukrainian peace talks, Nebenzia said.

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Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that "accountability must be inevitable" for as he accused invading Russian troops of committing "the most terrible war crimes" since World War Two.



The European Union's executive meanwhile proposed sweeping new sanctions against Russia, including a ban on coal imports, as part of the West's response to evidence of civilian killings in the northern Ukrainian town of Bucha retaken from Russian forces.



Between 150 and 300 bodies may be in a mass grave by a church in Bucha, Ukrainian human rights ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said.



Zelensky questioned the value of the 15-member Security Council, which has been unable to take any action over Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of because permanent member Moscow is a veto power, along with the United States, France, Britain and China.



"We are dealing with a state that turns its veto at the U.N. Security Council into the right to (cause) death," Zelensky said in a live video address from Ukraine's capital Kyiv, urging reform of the world body. " wants to turn into silent slaves," he said.



Moscow denies targeting civilians in and has said the deaths in Bucha were a "monstrous forgery" staged by the West to discredit it.



Responding to Zelensky's address, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Council: "We've heard once again a huge amount of lies about Russian soldiers and military." says it launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24 to demilitarize and "denazify" a country that President Vladimir Putin regards as an illegitimate state.



The Kremlin's position is rejected by Ukraine, a parliamentary democracy, and the West as a pretext for an unprovoked invasion.



EU EYES WIDENING SANCTIONS

The proposed EU sanctions, which the bloc's 27 member states must approve, would bar Russian imports worth 9 billion euros ($9.84 billion) and exports to Russia worth 10 billion euros, including semiconductors and computers, and stop Russian ships entering EU ports.



European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was working on banning oil imports too.

"We all saw the gruesome pictures from Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have recently left. These atrocities cannot and will not be left unanswered," she said on Twitter.



Earlier in the day Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko called for all business ties with Russia to be cut so as to halt the flow of "bloody money".



Since Russia shifted its offensive from northern Ukraine, where it failed to take any major cities, to the south and east, grim images have emerged from Bucha near Kyiv, including a mass grave and bound bodies of people shot at close range.



The apparent atrocities have prompted calls for tougher action against Moscow and an investigation. Several EU countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Latvia and Estonia, have announced expulsions of Russian diplomats and Moscow said it would respond in kind.



Sanctions more severe than any ever imposed on a major power have isolated and crippled Russia's economy, but Ukraine says the West needs to do much more to starve Moscow's war machine.



"Every euro, every cent that you receive from Russia or that you send to Russia has blood, it is bloody money and the blood of this money is Ukrainian blood, the blood of Ukrainian people," Klitschko told a conference in Geneva via video link.



Europe, which obtains about a third of its natural gas from Russia, has been wary of the economic impact a total ban on Russian energy - which Ukraine maintains is vital to securing a peace deal - would bring.



An EU ban on Russian coal would be worth around 4 billion euros a year, von der Leyen said - tiny in comparison with last year's 100 billion euros in oil and gas imports from Russia.



But signalling strengthening EU resolve, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the coal ban was the first step towards an embargo on all fossil fuel imports from Russia.



Zelensky said earlier the Kyiv government, which accuses Russia of genocide, had no choice but to negotiate to end the war, now in its sixth week, which has killed thousands, sent millions fleeing and turned cities into rubble.



"All of us, including myself, will perceive even the possibility of negotiations as a challenge," Zelensky said in a television interview.



Russian news agency Interfax cited a deputy Russian foreign minister as saying talks, which last convened on Friday, were continuing via video link.



SATELLITE IMAGES

Russia denied that its forces had carried out any atrocities and said earlier it would present "empirical evidence" to the Security Council meeting proving its forces were not involved.



At the weekend, Reuters reporters in Bucha saw several bodies apparently shot at close range, along with makeshift burials and a mass grave, but could not independently verify the number of dead or who was responsible.



Satellite images taken in March and provided to Reuters by U.S. company Maxar Technologies showed bodies of civilians on a street in Bucha, which was occupied by Russian forces until about March 30, undercutting claims that the scenes were staged.



U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths, who is seeking a humanitarian truce in Ukraine, told the Security Council that "we have a long road ahead of us".



BATTLES IN THE EAST

Ukraine said it was bracing for about 60,000 Russian reservists to be called in to reinforce Moscow's offensive in the east, where Russia's main targets have included the port of Mariupol and Kharkiv, the country's second largest city.



Ukraine's general staff said Russian forces aimed to fully take over the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces claimed by Russian-backed separatists and encircle a group of Ukrainian forces.



"Russian troops have attacked Mykolayiv with cluster munitions banned by the Geneva Convention. Whole blocks of civilian buildings have come under fire, in particular, a children's hospital. There are dead and wounded, including children," the general staff said in a daily update on Tuesday. Reuters could not independently verify the claims.

($1 = 0.9145 euros)

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The governor of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region on Tuesday urged residents to stay inside, shut windows and doors and prepare wet face masks after a Russian strike hit a tank containing nitric acid.

Serhiy Haidai said on the messaging app Telegram that the incident occurred near the city of Rubizhne, which the Ukrainian military said the Russians had been trying to take over. He didn't specify what area the warning applied to.

Haidai warned that nitric acid is dangerous if inhaled, swallowed and in contact with skin and mucous membranes.

The Russian military has not commented on the claim, and it could not be verified independently.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the U.N. Security Council that the Russian military must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes.

In a video appearance Tuesday, Zelenskyy accused the Kremlin's troops of the worst atrocities since World War II and said they are no different from other terrorists like the Islamic State extremist group.

The Ukrainian leader made his plea via video Tuesday as grisly evidence continued to emerge of civilian massacres carried out by Russian forces on the outskirts of Kyiv.

The images, particularly from the town of Bucha, have stirred global revulsion and led to demands for tougher sanctions and war crime prosecutions against Russia.

Zelenskyy showed the U.N.'s most powerful body brief video footage of bloody corpses that ended with the words Stop Russian Aggression.

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Sri Lankan banks on Tuesday said the reached over 300 against the country's rupee, LKR, for the first time, as the island nation is facing a severe with the shortage of .

Local media reports quoting some local banks said the selling rate of one $1 had reached 310 LKR, while some banks were selling at 312 LR, reports Xinhua news agency.

Economists said this was the first time in Sri Lankan history that the hit the 300 mark against the LKR.

is facing one of its worst economic crises in recent decades with a shortage of foreign exchange, which has led to a shortage of fuel and hours-long daily power cuts.

--IANS

ksk/

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The US and its European allies will impose stiff new sanctions, including a ban on new in on Wednesday, a U.S. official says, in retaliation for Russia's war crimes in Ukraine.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.

The joint action will include a ban on new investment in Russia, toughened sanctions on its financial institutions and government-owned enterprises, and more sanctions on Russian government officials and their family members.

The official said they would further Russia's economic, financial and technological isolation from the rest of the world as a penalty for its attacks on civilians in Ukraine.

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The United States is going to seek Russia's suspension from the in close coordination with Ukraine, European countries and other partners at the United Nations, a top official from the Biden Administration has said.

The remarks were made by US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield at a press avail in Bucharest, Romania on Monday.

She said she is returning to New York on Tuesday to start the process.

I am immediately returning back to New York to do two things. One -- I will take this to the Security Council tomorrow morning and address Russia's actions firmly and directly, she said.

Observing that 140 United Nations (UN) member states have already voted to condemn Russia over its unprovoked war and the humanitarian crisis it has unleashed upon the people of Ukraine, Thomas-Greenfield said Russia should not have a position of authority in that body, nor should the community allow Russia to use their role on the Council as a tool of propaganda to suggest they have a legitimate concern about human rights.

In fact, we see everyday, including yesterday, heartbreaking reports about how little they care about human rights. Russia's participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce. It hurts the credibility of the Council and the UN writ large. And it is simply wrong. Which is why we believe it is time for the UN General Assembly to suspend them, she asserted.

Later in an interview with NPR, the senior official said the move is more than symbolic, and it does have force because it continues what they have started, and that is to isolate Russia and to call them out for what they are doing.

They have a narrative that what they are doing is normal. This is not normal. They will hear from the entire world that we will not continue to allow their misinformation and propaganda to be used on a UN platform, she said.

We are continuing to look at every option we have on the table to call Russia out, to isolate Russia, to unify the world against Russia. And in fact, I think we have been extraordinarily successful in unifying the world.

I do not think he expected that NATO would unify in the face of his extraordinary atrocities. But he is seen that he has he actually has succeeded in unifying us, something I do not think he wanted to do, Thomas-Greenfield said.

During the news conference, the US Ambassador to the United Nations said there is need to isolate Russia in the UN Security Council.

Sitting on the Security Council, I know exactly what we can do and what we have done. We have isolated Russia on the Security Council. And while they have a veto power, they cannot veto our voices. They cannot veto the unity that we have established in the Security Council and, more broadly, in the UN General Assembly. So, they can continue to spout their propaganda, but no one believes it and no one is listening to them, she added.

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Ukrainian President challenged the UN to act immediately or dissolve yourself altogether in an address in which he showed a video of dead bodies he said were victims of Russian atrocities.

This (Russian forces in Bucha) is no different from other terrorists such as Daesh, who occupied some territory, and here it is done by a member of the United Nations Security Council, he said.

Zelenskyy reaffirmed that Ukrainian forces who retook cities found mass graves, revelations of atrocities and infrastructure destroyed by Russian forces.

Russia is likely to continue a push in eastern and southern Ukraine in the coming weeks as it aims to capture the entire Donbas region, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said, confirming what he described as a significant shift of invading forces away from Kyiv.

The United States stopped the Russian government on Monday from paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600 million from reserves held at US banks, in a move meant to ratchet up pressure on Moscow and eat into its holdings of dollars.

Under sanctions, foreign currency reserves held by the Russian central bank at US financial institutions were frozen.

But the Treasury Department had been allowing the Russian government to use those funds to make coupon payments on dollar-denominated sovereign debt on a case-by-case basis.

On Monday, as the largest of the payments came due, including a $552.4 million principal payment on a maturing bond, the US government decided to cut off Moscow's access to the frozen funds, according to a US Treasury spokesperson.

An $84 million coupon payment was also due on Monday on a 2042 sovereign dollar bond.

US drones will include latest tank killers

The Pentagon plans to order and send to Ukraine 10 of the newest model Switchblade drones armed with tank-busting warheads in addition to previously announced deliveries of a less powerful version, according to two people familiar with the decision.

The new Switchblade-600 weapons are part of $300 million in lethal military assistance announced by the Pentagon Friday night that will be contracted directly from industry instead of drawn from existing stocks, according to the people, who asked not to identified discussing the plan.

Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark expel Russian diplomats

Germany, France, Italy and Spain are among the countries which have expelled diplomats since Monday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the expulsions of Russian diplomats by European countries will prompt a response from Moscow and will complicate relations.

Peskov said that we view negatively, we view with regret this narrowing of possibilities for diplomatic communication, diplomatic work in such difficult conditions, in unprecedent crisis conditions.

EU targets coal, vodka, vessels in new sanctions sweep

The European Commission proposed sweeping new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday including banning coal imports and halting trade worth nearly 20 billion euros ($22 billion) in retaliation over possible war crimes in Ukraine.

The proposals include banning imports of coal, wood, cement, liquors and seafood worth about 9.5 billion euros ($10.4 billion) a year, according to the European Commission. A source said the restrictions would also hit caviar, vodka, rubber and chemicals.

Brussels is proposing a ban on exports to Russia worth another 10 billion euros a year, including of advanced semiconductors, quantum computers, and other electrical and transport equipment. The export of technology for liquefied natural gas (LNG) would also be banned, said a source.

Russian vessels and trucks would be prevented from accessing the EU.
The United States will work with the world to ensure that there is full accountability for the crimes by Russia in Ukraine, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has said.

We had already concluded that Russia committed war crimes in Ukraine and the information from Bucha appears to show further evidence of the same. And as the president said, we will work with the world to ensure there is full accountability for these crimes, he told reporters at a White House news conference on Monday.

The United States (US) is also working intensively with its European allies on further sanctions to raise the pressure and cost on Putin and Russia.

Early in the morning, President Joe Biden told reporters that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is a war criminal.

You may remember I got criticised for calling Putin a war criminal. Well, the truth of the matter -- you saw what happened in Bucha. This warrants him -- he is a war criminal, Biden said on his arrival from his home in Delaware.

But we have to gather the information, we have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue the fight, and we have to get all the details so this can be an actual -- have a wartime trial. This guy is brutal. And what is happening in Bucha is outrageous, and everyone has seen it, Biden said.

Reiterating that Putin should be held accountable, the President said he is seeking more sanctions against Russia.

We have to consult with our allies and partners on what makes most sense as a mechanism moving forward. Obviously, the ICC is one venue where war crimes have been tried in the past, but there have been other examples in other conflicts of other mechanisms being set up. So there is work to be done to work out the specifics of that, Sullivan later told reporters in response to a question.

Between now and then, every day what we are focused on is continuing to apply pressure on the Russian economy and provide weapons to the Ukrainian people to be able to defend themselves, he added.

Sullivan told reporters that Russians have now realised that the West will not break.

At this juncture, we believe that Russia is revising its war aims. Russia is repositioning its forces to concentrate its offensive operations in eastern and parts of southern Ukraine rather than target most of the territory, he said.

All indications are that Russia will seek to surround and overwhelm Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine.

We anticipate that Russian commanders are now executing their redeployment from northern Ukraine to the region around the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, he added.

Russian forces are already well on their way of retreating from Kyiv to Belarus as Russia likely prepares to deploy dozens of additional battalion tactical groups, constituting tens of thousands of soldiers, to the front line in Ukraine's east, he said.

We assess Russia will focus on defeating Ukrainian forces in the broader Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, which encompasses significantly more territory than Russian proxies already controlled before the new invasion began in late February, Sullivan said.

The Ukrainians, he said, are effectively defending themselves with US produced air defense systems and anti-tank systems, such as Stingers and Javelins, as well as radar systems that give the Ukrainians early warning and target data, and multiple other forms of arms and munitions.

The administration is working around the clock to fulfill Ukraine's main security assistance requests, delivering weapons from US stocks where they are available, and facilitating the delivery of weapons by allies where allied systems better suit Ukraine's needs, the official added.

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Shares of Easy Trip Planners had hit a record high of Rs 415 and rallied 10 per cent on the BSE in Tuesdays intra-day trade on back of heavy volumes. The stock of the travel support services company surged 20 per cent in past two trading days on hopes of healthy earnings. The companys management is extremely bullish about the strong pentup demand in the travel industry.

At 12:49 pm; the stock was up 8 per cent higher at Rs 407.30, as compared to 0.38 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. The trading volumes on the counter more-than-doubled with a combined 6.75 million equity shares changed hands on the NSE and BSE. In past one month, the stock has zoomed 50 per cent, as compared to 11 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

The company operates the EaseMyTrip.com website. According to a February 2021 Crisil report, EaseMyTrip is Indias second-largest online travel platform in terms of air ticket bookings. The website is one of the fastest-growing internet companies, growing at nearly 50 per cent CAGR.

EaseMyTrip offers 'End to End' travel solutions including air tickets, hotels, rail & bus tickets, holiday packages as well as ancillary value-added services. The company has offices across Indian cities, including Noida, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. The international offices (as subsidiary companies) are in Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, UK, and USA.

In the past two days, Easy Trip Planners stock price has bounced back 463 per cent from its 52-week low of Rs 73.75 touched on April 19, 2021. Earlier, the company had raised Rs 510 crore through an initial public offer (IPO) with an issue price of Rs 93.50 per share. Later, the company had issued bonus share in the ratio of 1:1 i.e. one additional share or every one share held in the company.

For the first nine months ended December 2021 (9MFY22), Easy Trip Planners had posted 167 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 825 crore. Adjusted revenue grew 208 per cent YoY at Rs 3,020 crore. The company continues to remain extremely optimistic about the coming quarter as the company will continue to strengthen its lean and efficient infrastructure.

Easy Trip Planners is anticipating demand uptick to boost travel and tourism segment after easing of travel curbs. "With minimal finance cost and low depreciation and capex going forward, we anticipate the majority of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) flowing down to profit after tax (PAT)," the company said in a statement.

The management also suggested that online travel was one of the worst-hit sectors due to pandemic. "With recovery likely to be U-shaped at best, domestic travel in India is set to recover faster relative to international travel (including hotels and holiday packages). For domestic travel, the industry should reach pre-Covid volumes by early 2021, added the company.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, United States President Joe Biden's nominee for the Supreme Court, moves closer to being confirmed to the country's highest court, which some expect to come this week after a bipartisan group of senators voted on Monday to advance the process.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for a vote to break the deadlock resulting from the Senate Judiciary Committee voting 11-11 on Jackson's confirmation. All Democrats and three Republican senators, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, and Lisa Murkowski, voted in support of the nominee.

Ketanji Brown Jackson's Confirmation

While Senate Republican and Democratic leaders have all agreed that Jackson was well-qualified for the position, almost all GOP lawmakers were expected to oppose her. The 51-year-old Black woman sits on D.C.'s federal appellate court and was one of the front-runners for the vacancy that will be left after Justice Stephen Breyer steps down after his term.

The Supreme Court nominee previously worked under Breyer as a clerk, a federal public defender, an attorney in private practice, a federal district court judge, and a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, as per CNN.

The tied vote on Jackson's confirmation showed how the process of the highest court in the nation has become increasingly partisan in recent years. GOP members were widely expected to all oppose the nominee's confirmation. Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, and Josh Hawley, in particular, aggressively questioned Jackson in her confirmation hearings last month, indicating their potential opposition vote.

Read Also: Ketanji Brown Jackson Defends Child Porn Sentencing Amid Fierce Republican Questioning

Despite massive Republican opposition, Jackson's confirmation is all but set in stone after Collins last week expressed her plans to vote for the nominee. Senate Democrats and the White House have been vying to peel off some GOP votes for bipartisan confirmation of Jackson.

According to Business Insider, Collins is also known for voting in support of Jackson last year for her confirmation to her current seat in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The committee votes on Monday came after the nominee personally met with senators for weeks to shore up support for her confirmation.

Republican Support

The situation comes as Americans are showing large support for Jackson's nomination, with 42% in support and only 27% opposing the nominee in a recent poll. The remaining 31% were still undecided on whether to support or oppose Jackson's confirmation to the Supreme Court.

The survey included 1,618 adult participants from the United States and was conducted from Mar. 31 to Apr. 4. Prior to Biden announcing his nomination of Jackson, 57% of Republicans noted that she was qualified for the position based on the summary of her attributes and experiences.

However, the number has plummeted to 31% after two months of GOP attacks that culminated in last week's contentious confirmation hearings. Respondents were asked to assess Jackson's qualifications several weeks before her nomination.

Being a graduate of Harvard Law School, working as a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Breyer, and being a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court garnered Jackson support from 69% of Americans, Yahoo News reported.



Related Article: McConnell Expresses Opposition to Biden's SC Nominee, Calling Jackson's Sentencing Record 'Troubling'

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India is considering seeking around Rs 50,000 crore ($6.6 billion) next month from the initial public offering of state-owned Life Insurance Corp, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The government is discussing selling as much as a 7% stake in through the listing, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. It aims to launch the share sale before current approvals for the offering expire on May 12, the people said.

Centre is looking at a mid-May timeline for launching the mega initial public offering of its largest insurer with hopes that the market volatility triggered by Russias invasion of Ukraine will subside, Bloomberg News reported last month citing people familiar with the matter. The listing forms a key part of plans by Prime Minister Narendra Modis administration to divest state assets to fund a yawning budget deficit.

Life Insurance Corp.s published embedded value will be valid for the IPO until May as per rules. A delay beyond that would mean would have to re-calculate the embedded value, a key valuation gauge for insurance firms, based on the latest financials.

With market swings triggered by the war, what could be the countrys biggest IPO was delayed into FY23, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month.

The government and its advisers are considering seeking a valuation of about 1.25 to 1.5 times LICs embedded value, the people said. Officials are still discussing potential terms of the offering, and the fund-raising target could still change, the people said.

A representative for declined to comment, while calls and an email to the finance ministry spokesperson remained unanswered.

Plans for the IPO were first announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in February 2020, but was deferred due to the pandemic.
The more than doubling of natural gas prices and rise in oil prices will boost the profitability of producers like and Ltd, said on Tuesday.

From April 1, the government has raised the price of gas for old fields of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) to USD 6.1 per million British thermal unit for April-September 2022 from USD 2.9.

The rate for difficult fields of deepsea KG-D6 of Reliance has gone up to USD 9.9 per mmBtu from USD 6.1.

The "increase in natural gas prices by the Indian government, along with a recent revision in our Brent crude oil price assumptions to USD 100 per barrel in 2022, from USD 70 earlier, and USD 80 in 2023, from USD 60 previously, will boost the profitability of rated Indian upstream companies and support their investment spending and shareholder distributions," Fitch said.

The rise in prices "should improve the upstream companies' profitability from gas fields where domestic prices were below the cost of production," it said.

The domestic price is based on the prices of four global liquefied natural gas benchmarks of the last 12 months, implemented with a quarter's lag.

"We also expect prices to be revised higher in the next reset in October 2022 in light of the high gas prices to date," it said.

Fitch said the natural gas price increase was largely in line with its expectations, driven by the rise in global prices in 2021.

High gas prices add a buffer to OIL's credit metrics for supporting its capex to expand capacity at its subsidiary, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd.

" Ltd's and ONGC's gas production from the KG basin will benefit from the increase in the price ceiling (for deepwater and other difficult fields), though the impact on their financial profiles is minimal, given the limited contribution to total revenue," it said.

and RIL continue to have ample headroom under the sensitivities of their standalone credit profiles.

Higher prices will raise the input cost for key end-consumer sectors to the extent the price hike is passed on. The increase will also be reflected in the escalation in other costs related to transportation and insurance.

Domestically produced gas is supplied on a priority basis to certain sectors, with power producers consuming 30 per cent, the fertiliser sector around 27 per cent and city-gas distributors 19 per cent in FY21.

"The gas price increase will hit the fertiliser sector's profitability by increasing working-capital requirements, which is also facing higher import costs due to rising crude oil prices.

"Auto gas fuel prices may be increased but should remain competitive against liquid fuels, albeit with a reduced differential as liquid auto fuel prices also rise with increasing crude oil prices. The cost of power generated by gas-based power plants will increase, further affecting their utilisation," Fitch added.

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Bharat Forge Ltd is quoting at Rs 728.7, up 2.76% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 17.64% in last one year as compared to a 22.63% gain in NIFTY and a 12% gain in the Nifty Auto index.

Bharat Forge Ltd is up for a third straight session in a row. The stock is quoting at Rs 728.7, up 2.76% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is down around 0.26% on the day, quoting at 18006.7. The Sensex is at 60373.63, down 0.39%. Bharat Forge Ltd has added around 18.94% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty Auto index of which Bharat Forge Ltd is a constituent, has added around 15.55% in last one month and is currently quoting at 10803.85, up 1.4% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 8.98 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 15.06 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark April futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 725.6, up 1.97% on the day. Bharat Forge Ltd is up 17.64% in last one year as compared to a 22.63% gain in NIFTY and a 12% gain in the Nifty Auto index.

The PE of the stock is 33.25 based on TTM earnings ending December 21.

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The Lok Sabha on Monday (4 April 2022) passed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, by voice vote.

The bill seeks to authorize for taking measurements of convicts and other persons for the purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters and to preserve records.

It provides legal sanction for taking appropriate body measurements of persons who are required to give such measurements which include finger-impressions, palm-print and foot-print impressions, photographs, iris and retina scan, physical, biological samples, and their analysis among others. It will make the investigation of crime more efficient and expeditious and will also help in increasing the conviction rate.

The legislation also empowers the National Crime Records Bureau of India to collect, store and preserve the record of measurements and for sharing, dissemination, destruction, and disposal of records.

The bill empowers police or prison officer to take measurements of any person who resists or refuses to give measurements.

During the debate on the Bill, the Opposition members expressed concern over the issue of data protection, possible misuse of the proposed law, violation of the citizen's right to privacy and other fundamental rights.

Replying to a debate on the bill, Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured that the only motive behind bringing the bill is to enhance the conviction rates in the country as well as bringing down the crime rates.

Shah said the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill will act as the defender of human rights of crores of law-abiding citizens.

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The IT services provider's board will recommend final dividend on Monday, 18 April 2022.

The board of Mindtree will meet on Monday, 18 April 2022, to consider and approve the audited standalone and consolidated financial results for the quarter and year ended 31 March 2022, and to recommend final dividend, if any.

The company will also hold earnings call for investors /analysts on the same day to discuss the financial results.

Mindtree a Larsen & Toubro Group company is a global technology consulting and services company. On a consolidated basis, it reported 9.7% rise in net profit to Rs 437.50 crore on 6.3% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 2,750 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q2 FY22.

Shares of Mindtree were up 1.10% at Rs 4360.50 on the BSE.

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Tata Motors Ltd is quoting at Rs 458.8, up 2.7% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 49.08% in last one year as compared to a 22.63% gain in NIFTY and a 12% gain in the Nifty Auto index.

Tata Motors Ltd rose for a third straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 458.8, up 2.7% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is down around 0.26% on the day, quoting at 18006.7. The Sensex is at 60373.63, down 0.39%. Tata Motors Ltd has added around 16.45% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty Auto index of which Tata Motors Ltd is a constituent, has added around 15.55% in last one month and is currently quoting at 10803.85, up 1.4% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 173.06 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 307.33 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark April futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 460.1, up 2.45% on the day. Tata Motors Ltd is up 49.08% in last one year as compared to a 22.63% gain in NIFTY and a 12% gain in the Nifty Auto index.

The PE of the stock is 0 based on TTM earnings ending December 21.

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The IT major on Monday said that it has signed a 'material multi-year contract' with a large US company, expanding its long-standing partnership to accelerate their cloud transformation journey.

TCS, in a regulatory filing, added that the transformation will serve as a platform for their future growth enabling business expansion, incubate new business models, improving customer experience and other strategic benefits.

"Tata Consultancy Services Ltd has signed a material multi-year contract with a large American company expanding its long-standing partnership to accelerate their cloud transformation journey and transform their technology landscape into a modern hybrid cloud stack for greater agility, flexibility, and improved operational resilience," the company said in a regulatory filing.

The cloud enabled operating model will be powered with advanced cognitive automation capabilities which will improve availability of business applications and enhance user experience. TCS did not disclose financial details of the deal.

In a separate announcement on Monday, TCS said that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Payments Canada, the country's largest payment organization, to transform its payment system operations and help implement the Real-Time Rail (RTR), the new real-time payments system that will allow Canadians to initiate payments and receive irrevocable funds in seconds, 24/7/365.

TCS will leverage its deep knowledge of the Canadian payments industry and extensive experience in designing and implementing large payment systems for its Canadian financial services clients to help Payments Canada create and execute an integration roadmap for the RTR. "Additionally, TCS will use its solutions around quality engineering and participant engagement to effectively help plan and orchestrate a comprehensive end-to-end industry assurance program that will holistically validate the solution for the RTR deployment," it said in a statement.

TCS is a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization offering transformational as well as outsourcing services to global enterprises.

TCS board will consider Q4 results on 11 April 2022. The IT major's consolidated net profit rose 12.4% to Rs 9,806 crore on a 16.4% increase in revenues to Rs 48,885 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21.

Shares of TCS were up 0.34% at Rs 3769.80 on Monday.

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Utilties stocks were trading in the positive zone, with the S&P BSE Utilities index rising 47.81 points or 1.31% at 3710.71 at 09:51 IST.

Among the components of the S&P BSE Utilities index, Va Tech Wabag Ltd (up 5.87%), NLC India Ltd (up 3.36%),Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (up 3.3%),JSW Energy Ltd (up 2.32%),Adani Green Energy Ltd (up 1.82%), were the top gainers. Among the other gainers were Adani Power Ltd (up 1.68%), NHPC Ltd (up 1.4%), Tata Power Company Ltd (up 1.25%), PTC India Ltd (up 1.21%), and SJVN Ltd (up 1.07%).

On the other hand, Rattanindia Power Ltd (down 1.89%), Gujarat Industries Power Co Ltd (down 0.91%), and Reliance Power Ltd (down 0.34%) moved lower.

At 09:51 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 209.75 or 0.35% at 60401.99.

The Nifty 50 index was down 53.05 points or 0.29% at 18000.35.

The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 266.41 points or 0.91% at 29448.83.

The S&P BSE 150 Midcap Index index was up 60.24 points or 0.69% at 8793.5.

On BSE,2022 shares were trading in green, 886 were trading in red and 98 were unchanged.

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Many Indian medical students had to be evacuated from war-torn Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion in February. Some Indian students also had to be evacuated from China in 2020 in the wake of the severe Covid lockdowns imposed in that country at that time.

The question is: Why do they go to study in places where they can be vulnerable to such shocks? There are two obvious answers: The shortage of medical seats in India, and the exorbitant cost of an education in private institutions. Private medical institutions in India could take in up to Rs 1 crore (or more) in fees for an ...
leader on Tuesday projected his party a viable alternative to the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress in Himachal Pradesh, just a day ahead of a roadshow by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann here.

Mandi is the home district of CM Jai Ram Thakur and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) through the roadshow is looking to project itself as a major contended for the state Assembly polls, which are scheduled to be held later this year.

is a better option for as both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress have looted the hill state, alleged Delhi Health Minister and leader .

Talking to the media here, Jain claimed that the main contest in in the coming Assembly elections will be between the BJP and AAP.

The Congress has lost its ground and AAP has sufficient experience of defeating it, he said apparently referring to the recently held Punjab Assembly polls, in which Jain's party stormed to power.

Jain said his party's membership drive has been successful in the hill state as three lakh people joined AAP in the last fortnight.

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With the noteworthy exception of China, the world has responded with increasing horror and indignation to the terrible news of atrocities in the Kyiv region as Russian soldiers withdrew.

Mass graves have been uncovered near Kyiv, in the town of Bucha, as well as victims on the street - sometimes tied - with close-range gunshot wounds and traces of torture.

World Leaders Condemn Russia's "Genocide" in Ukraine

In a video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky talked of hundreds of individuals who had been tortured and slain. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, on the other hand, dismissed claims that Russian forces killed civilians in Bucha, describing the images outside Kyiv as a staged anti-Russian provocation.

Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish Prime Minister, has called on individuals responsible for the atrocities to stand before the International Criminal Court to confront charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. Following the news out of Bucha, US President Joe Biden reaffirmed his call for Vladimir Putin to be labeled a "war criminal."

During a trip to Warsaw, UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss told Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that the offenders would be brought to justice. She also slammed any attempts to ease sanctions on Russia while their forces remain in Ukraine, calling for even harder measures, Daily Mail reported.

The scope of the deaths is uncertain, with Ukraine's Chief Prosecutor Iryna Venediktova alleging that the remains of 410 people were discovered in the greater Kyiv region after Russian soldiers withdrew. Because the cemeteries were under fire from Russian soldiers, Anatoly Fedoruk, the mayor of Bucha, claimed that surviving villagers had to bury 280 bodies in mass graves. In response to the crime, Western governments are set to reintroduce new economic restrictions against Moscow.

Following concrete proof of war crimes in Bucha, French President Emmanuel Macron called for quite strong actions against Russia, including an oil and coal embargo. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, stated that Russian defense ministry experts had discovered traces of numerous fakes and urged world leaders to refrain from making broad allegations and instead listen to our explanations, as per Express.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Orders To Cut Off Germany's Gas Supply Due to Western Sanctions

US Seeks New Sanctions Against Russia

President Joe Biden joined a group of international leaders on Monday who called claims of mass deaths in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha a "war crime," pledging to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin "accountable" for the apparent crimes in Ukraine.

The president's remarks bolstered the global furor over gruesome images from Bucha that showed mass graves and bodies strewn in the streets - some with hands tied behind their backs and several with gunshot wounds in the head - following the withdrawal of Russian troops from the region.

The US also intends to press for Russia's expulsion from the United Nations. UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Human Rights Council on Monday. The suspension would need a two-thirds majority decision of the 193-member General Assembly and is reserved for nations that perpetuate systemic human rights breaches regularly.

According to Mayor Vadym Boychenko, as many as 130,000 people remain trapped under a Russian siege in the devastated port city of Mariupol, where 90 percent of the infrastructure has been damaged. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported Monday that a delegation attempting to enter Mariupol to assist with the evacuation of people was halted and is currently being held in adjacent Manhush.

Gov. Vitaliy Kim claimed Russian rockets struck more than 2,000 structures in the southern Mykolaiv area, which is part of Ukraine's troubled southern front line, including residences, hospitals, and other health institutions. According to Kim, the strikes have killed at least 161 people, including six children, and left at least 85 towns and villages without power. His statistics could not be confirmed independently.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, more than 1,200 Ukrainians have been proven slain since Russian soldiers entered Ukraine in February. Last month, the International Criminal Court opened a probe into suspected Russian war crimes in Ukraine, according The Washington Post via MSN.

Related Article: Joe Biden Gets Blowback for the Regime Change Gaffe Resulting in Call Power Removal, US Poll Reveals

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The Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution, noting with concern the resolution recently passed by the Assembly staking claim over the Union Territory of .

Chief Minister thanked the members of the rival political parties for unanimously supporting the resolution brought by his government in the House.

Khattar said the discussion held for around three hours on the resolution.

While moving the resolution earlier, Khattar raked up the issues of the construction of the SYL canal and transfer of Hindi-speaking areas to the state.

Khattar also raised the issue of Bhakra Beas Management Board and the matter related to the posting of officials in Union Territory.

The summoned the special session of the state assembly, days after neighbouring passed a resolution seeking immediate transfer of the Union Territory of to the AAP-ruled state.

A political row had erupted after Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent announcement that the Central Service Rules would apply to the employees of the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

The Union Territory of Chandigarh is the common capital of and Haryana.

While raising the issue of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal, Khattar urged the central government to take measures for the construction of the canal.

"This House notes with concern the resolution passed in the Legislative Assembly of Punjab on 1 April, 2022 recommending that the matter for transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab be taken up with the Central government," said the resolution read out by Khattar.

"This is not acceptable to the people of Haryana," the resolution said.

Haryana continues to retain its right to the capital territory of Chandigarh, 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.)
Union Minister on Tuesday also attended a dinner at NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's residence where scores of MLAs, cutting across party lines, were present.

Apart from Gadkari, Shiv Sena leader was also at the dinner but sources say that was not on the menu as the dinner was for the state MLAs visiting Delhi for training in the Parliament.

The dinner party gains significance as on Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate had attached asebts linked to Raut, amid the tussle between the Centre and the state over the ED.

The ED on Tuesday slapped attachment orders on assets worth Rs 11.15 crore belonging to friends and wife of Raut in a money-laundering case -- hours after the government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of corruption against the central probe agency.

--IANS

miz/vd

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Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday dismissed Telangana IT Minister K T Rama Rao's attempts to compare Bengaluru with Hyderabad as "utter joke".

He was responding to Rao's recent tweet asking an entrepreneur in Bengaluru to shift to Hyderabad, claiming better physical and social infrastructure there.

''It is an utter joke....not just India, people from across the world are coming to Bengaluru. Highest startups are in Bengaluru. Highest unicorns are in Bengaluru, million and billion dollars worth," Bommai said in response to a question on Rao's tweet.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "The highest FDI in the country, more than 40 per cent of FDI, for the successive last three quarters is number one. So comparing with Telangana or Bengaluru with Hyderabad is an utter joke."



On March 31, responding to a tweet by serial entrepreneur Ravish Naresh, complaining about Bengaluru's infrastructure, Rao had asked him to "Pack your bags & move to Hyderabad."



"...We have better physical infrastructure & equally good social infrastructure. Our airport is 1 of the best & getting in & out of city is a breeze. More importantly our Govt's focus is on 3 i Mantra; innovation, infrastructure & inclusive growth," he tweeted.

Complaining about Bengaluru's roads and infrastructure, Naresh, who is Founder/CEO of Khatabook, in a tweet had said, "Startups in HSR/Koramangala (India's Sillicon Valley) are already generating billions of $ of taxes. Yet we have v bad roads, almost daily power cuts, poor quality water supply, unusable foot paths. Many rural areas now have better basic infra than India's Sillicon Valley"



Also the nearest airport is about three hours away in peak traffic, he had complained.

In response to another tweet, Rao on Monday tweeted, "Strange & sad are the state of affairs in Bengaluru!! And then some BJP politicos from Bengaluru come & lecture us on how to run the Govt in Telangana! What's happening in KA (Karnataka) is a shame on to all of us in India; ruins our reputation as a nation in attracting investments.

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Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao fired another salvo at Prime Minister over fuel price hike.

He took to Twitter on Tuesday to thank the Prime Minister for making fuel price hike a daily habit for all Indians.

"Who says GDP is not going up? Thank you dear Modi Ji for making this Gads Diesel & Petrol hike as a daily habit for all Indians," wrote KTR, as the TRS leader is popularly known.

"Am sure there will be some bright BJP folks who will tell us now that this is Modi Ji's master strategy to promote EVs," added KTR, who is state minister for information technology, industries, urban development and municipal administration.

The TRS leader has been targetting the PM for last few days over fuel price rise. On Monday he had remarked that the fuel price hike for 12th time in 14 days outdoes any torture. "Read about Chinese torture only in books. This consecutive 80 paisa fuel price hike, 12th hike in 14 days outdoes any torture & a record of sorts," tweeted KTR.

Last week, taking a jab at the PM, he thanked him for 'Acche Din'.

When Narendra Modi's supporters criticised him for the posts, KTR had said that he will continue to highlight and expose bigotry of the Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and PM Modi.

"To all those people who cringe & crib each time I post some facts about NDA Govt & PM Please unfollow me immediately as I will continue to highlight & expose their bigotry & false propaganda; come what may," KTR had tweeted.

--IANS

ms/shb/

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Chief Minister Monday flayed the BJP-led central government for "skyrocketing" prices of commodities, and urged it to call an all-party meeting to find solutions to ongoing economic problems.

Banerjee also alleged that the Centre allowed steep price hikes of petrol and diesel to divert attention from the atrocities carried out by the saffron party in non-BJP states.

"The Centre has no plans to deal with the rise in prices of commodities. The BJP is responsible for this crisis; it's their return gift to the country after winning the Uttar Pradesh elections, she told reporters at the state secretariat.

"Instead of using agencies like the CBI and ED against opposition parties, the Centre must convene an all-party meeting to resolve the ongoing economic problems," the chief minister added.

She also criticised the central government for not acting against smuggling of coal and cattle from "states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh" through Bengal to neighbouring Bangladesh.

"Why should I have to face problems with regards to this? Vehicles illegally carrying coal and cattle arrive from other states and pass through Bengal. Why is the Centre not bothered about it, Banerjee said.

Commenting on the evacuation of around 17,000 students from war-ravaged Ukraine, Banerjee said the Union government must clear the air over the future of their education in India.

As far as Bengal is concerned, I will appeal to the Medical Council of India to allow us to offer internships to students hailing from the state, who have returned from Ukraine," she said.

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Former Congress president on Monday lashed out at the government over the law and order situation in the state and said that it is a "jungle raj", adding that there should be no other priority than law and order and peace in the state.

He arrived in Ludhiana to console the family in connection with the alleged murder of a Congress worker.

Speaking to the reporters here, Sidhu said, "I have never seen such anarchy in . No one is afraid of law and order. It's jungle raj. Cold-blooded murders are being committed in broad daylight. There should be no priority other than law and order and peace in the state."

Taking a dig at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann who held a roadshow recently with party supremo Arvind Kejriwal in Gujarat's Ahmedabad and had visited Sabarmati Ashram, the former Congress state president said that those answerable to people are spinning 'charkha' in Gujarat.

"There are attacks on the people of every day. Four people were murdered in Gurdaspur. There was murder in Ludhiana as well, incidents are taking place all over the state. Law and order situation is in a bad state while those answerable to people are spinning 'Charkha' in Gujarat. The right to life is more important than the guarantees," Sidhu said.

Meanwhile, Sidhu on Friday had called out the Aam Admi Party to take a look at a purported video where a Congress worker was allegedly brutally beaten in Patiala's Sanaur in Punjab.

"Kejriwal, your people are going to court in Delhi that your life is in danger, should you worry about the lives of Punjabis too? If it happens in Delhi you call it Vandalism. Look what is happening in Punjab... Another Congress worker was brutally beaten in Sanaur. Law & order at a very low ebb !!" tweeted Sidhu.

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interim President while addressing the parliamentary party on Tuesday said that the revival of the party is essential for democracy and the results of elections were "shocking" and "painful".

In her address she said, "Our dedication and determination, our spirit of resilience is under severe test. Unity at all levels of our vast organisation is of paramount importance and speaking for myself, I am determined to do whatever is needed to ensure it. Our revival is not just a matter of importance to us alone...it is, in fact, essential for our democracy itself and indeed for our society as well.

"I am very well aware how disappointed you are at the recent election results. They have been both shocking and painful. The working committee (CWC) has met once to review our performance. I have met with other colleagues too. I have received many suggestions on how to strengthen our organisation. Many are pertinent and I am working on them."

She said that it was important to put forth a roadmap and for that a 'Shivir (meeting)' should be held.

"That is where the views of a larger number of colleagues and party representatives will be heard. They will contribute to put forward a clear roadmap on the urgent steps to be taken by our party on how best to meet the challenges we are confronted with," she said.

She also said the road ahead was more challenging than ever before.

The lost polls in all the five states which went for polls in February-March and could not get good numbers while the BJP repeated its winning performance in four states itself.

--IANS

miz/dpb

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RJD leader slammed the government over rising "lawlessness" in Bihar, claiming that the criminals are using AK-47 assault rifles to commit crime.

"This is really shocking that criminals are using AK-47s to commit crimes in Bihar," he said, in a reference to the Siwan incident where 'Bahubali' leader Rais Khan was attacked by four to five assailants, armed with AK-47s, leaving one person killed and two others critically injured.

"The law and order situation can be imagined with the fact that the Chief Minister himself is not secure here. He was also under attack in Patna's Bakhtiyarpur town. Interestingly, not a single senior police officer faced action in it," said.

Charging the state government with failing in all aspects, he alleged that the policies of government are not implemented on ground "thanks to the callous approach of bureaucrats and police officials on ground".

On the amendment on liquor prohibition act, Tejashwi said that the liquor ban has completely failed in Bihar, and hence, there is no meaning of the amendment.

"People are dying due to poisonous liquor in Bihar. Liquor is frequently smuggled from the other states. Why is the government not addressing the core issues," he asked.

The Nitish Kumar government on Monday amended the liquor prohibition act wherein first time offenders can be eligible to get bail after paying Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 before a duty magistrate. This is, however, conditional and it is applied only on the past record of offenders.

In case of an offender unable to pay the fine, they are liable to serve a normal jail term of one month. In case of repeated offence, a maximum of 10 years jail is mentioned in the amended act.

--IANS

ajk/vd

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Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said he hopes to get instructions from the party leadership on the expansion or rejig of his cabinet, during the New trip.

The Chief Minister, who will be in the national capital today and tomorrow, is expected to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President J P Nadda.

"I have no such instructions so far, when I go there and when I meet Amit Shah and Nadda ji, I hope to get...." Bommai said in response to a question on or rejig.

Speaking to reporters here ahead of his travel, he said he has sought appointment from Nadda and Shah. "...it is not yet fixed, if it is fixed, I will meet them."



When told that some Ministerial aspirants are in Delhi, he merely said, "...naturally."



There is pressure mounting on the Chief Minister to expand or rejig his cabinet soon, after the recent Assembly elections in five states.

Some legislators have even been advocating a Gujarat-like overhaul of the cabinet soon, to make way for new faces, ahead of the assembly election next year.

There are currently 30 Ministers in the State Cabinet, including the CM, against the sanctioned strength of 34.

Shah, who was recently in the city, had set a target of 150 seats to BJP leaders for 2023 assembly elections in the state, where the ruling party is eyeing a successive term.

Bommai said he will be meeting Union Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to discuss Mekedatu, Mahadayi, Upper Krishna, Upper Bhadra projects, and other river projects, requesting for their quick implementation with technical and administrative clearences.

He said he will also be meeting Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman regarding GST issues, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sainik Schools, and try to meet Union Power Minister R K Singh.

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The is encouraged by Indian efforts to diversify the purchase of its military or defense articles, the has said.

It, however, also expressed concerns over the decision of New Delhi to purchase the S-400 missile defense system from Russia.

We have been very clear with our Indian partners about our concerns over this purchase and encouraging them, as we urge many others not to purchase Russian equipment, Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters at a conference on Monday.

We remain encouraged by India's continued diversification of their defense equipment over just the past decade. So, we will continue to have that conversation with India's needs, he said in response to a question.

We have made it very clear to about our concern on this particular purchase, he said when asked about India's decision in this regard.

In October 2018, had signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the then Trump administration that going ahead with the contract might invite US sanctions.

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The United States Senate was able to strike a deal to provide $10 billion worth of funding for coronavirus relief on Monday, setting the chamber on a potential course to clearing the bill this week.

The compromise would reprogram billions of dollars of unused money from other COVID-19 bills to deliver funding for therapeutics, vaccine distribution, and testing. However, the new bill will not include the global pandemic aid that many Democrats and a handful of Republicans are seeking.

$10 Billion COVID-19 Package

On Monday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah announced the deal. Schumer lamented that what was once $5 billion in global vaccine aid was now a goose egg. The Republican senator said that he was "willing to explore a fiscally responsible solution to support global efforts in the weeks ahead" in the next few days.

Schumer added that, while the emergency funding was absolutely necessary, it was still short of what was enough to keep the country and its people safe. He added that United States President Joe Biden supported the package and has already asked the Senate and House to act quickly to help it move forward, as per Politico.

At least $5 billion of the funding will be used to purchase and develop COVID-19 treatments, including antiviral pills. Another $750 million will be used to develop vaccines that would target specific variants and to expand vaccine manufacturing in the United States if needed.

Read Also: Ivermectin Found Ineffective Against COVID-19 Despite Being Considered as Alternative Treatment, New Study Suggests

While the $10 billion package offers much-needed funding to the health sector, it is less than half of the $22.5 billion that Biden initially requested. Furthermore, the new deal does not include funding to support the administration's plans to increase vaccinations worldwide.

According to CNBC, in a statement, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that every single dollar that the Biden administration requested was essential. She noted that the White House was planning to work together with Congress to get more aid to the American people.

Bipartisan Support

The failure of Biden and top Democrats to ensure additional spending came after they gridlocked with Republicans over the latter's demands. The GOP wanted to pay for the bill by pulling back unspent aid from earlier pandemic measures. The situation also reflected the diminished political force that fighting against COVID-19 has this election year.

What remained uncertain on Monday was whether or not some Republicans would object to the bill and prevent the Senate from considering the bill this week. Furthermore, it was not certain if there would be the minimum 10 GOP votes needed for the passage in the evenly split chamber.

The fate of the bill was also not certain in the House where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and many other liberals have expressed criticism of the removal of global assistance. However, party leaders signaled that they were ready to compromise.

On the other hand, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that all the Senate could do was a compromise as regrettable as it made him feel. One senior House Democratic aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity described the internal thinking of the government, saying it was best to take what was achievable now and fight for more funding later on, the Associated Press reported.



Related Article: COVID-19 Warning: Dr. Anthony Fauci Cautions Potential Return of Restrictions Amid Signs of New Coronavirus Wave

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Germany's president is admitting mistakes in policy toward Russia in his previous job as foreign minister.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier served twice as ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel's foreign minister, most recently from 2013 to 2017, and before that as ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's chief of staff. In that time, Germany pursued dialogue with Russian President and cultivated close energy ties.

Steinmeier told ZDF television Tuesday that we failed on many points, including efforts to encourage Russia toward democracy and respecting human rights.

The president conceded that there were different assessments of Russia among European countries.

He added: It is true that we should have taken the warnings of our eastern European partners more seriously, particularly regarding the time after 2014 and the building of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Sticking to that project was a mistake that cost Germany a lot of credit and credibility in eastern Europe, he said.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz suspended the pipeline in the week Russia invaded 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.)
Pakistan's powerful Army has contradicted Prime Minister Imran Khan's remarks accusing America of hatching a conspiracy to topple his government, saying there was no evidence of interference in the country's internal matters, according to a media report.

Prime Minister Khan had chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) on March 27 to discuss the issue of a threatening letter to remove his government.

A statement issued after the meeting expressed concern over the non-diplomatic language used in the cable, saying it was tantamount to interference in the internal matters of .

The NSC then decided to issue a demarche to the United States.

Khan pedalled the narrative that Army top leaders endorsed the letter and its threatening context was genuine.

Later, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri used the statement to block a vote on the no-trust move in a development that triggered a constitutional crisis.

However, official sources told The Express Tribune newspaper on Monday that a wrong impression was given about the military leadership endorsing the view of the government.

One source said the prime minister could make public minutes of the meeting because the NSC statement was only meant for the media.

"Are there any minutes of the NSC meeting? Have all the participants signed on the minutes of the meeting, the source asked.

He said that the minutes of the meeting are considered official documents only when all the participants of NSC sign. This suggests that the military leadership had not signed on the minutes of the meeting.

The source further said that the US had not sent any letter to the government and it was the assessment of Pakistan's Ambassador to the US Masood Khan after his meeting with the US officials.

The source said that there was no evidence of any linkage between the vote of no confidence and the diplomatic cable that had triggered the ongoing political and constitutional crises.

In a live address to the nation last week, 69-year-old Khan discussed a 'threat letter' and termed it as part of a foreign conspiracy to remove him as he was not acceptable for following an independent foreign policy. He named the US as the country behind the threat letter in what appeared to be a slip of tongue.

The US State Department has firmly rejected Prime Minister Khan's remarks over Washington's role in an alleged foreign conspiracy to oust him from power.

America also asserted that it did not send any letter to on the current political situation in the country as it sought to refute allegations of America's involvement in the no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan-led government.

According to The Express Tribune report, another sign that the military leadership was reluctant to endorse the conspiracy allegations by the prime minister was the recent speech delivered by Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The Chief of Army Staff said that enjoyed an excellent and long-term relationship with the United States and that the US is Pakistan's largest export partner.

The powerful Pakistan Army, which has ruled the coup-prone country for more than half of its 73 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.

Gen. Bajwa's statement on the Russian-Ukraine conflict was also different from the stance adopted by the PTI government.

The Army chief not only expressed serious concern over the Russian invasion but insisted that the Russian aggression against a smaller nation could not be condoned.

This highlights the fact that the military leadership may not be on the same page with the PTI government on certain foreign policy issues, according to the report.

However, the military leadership is not making public any statement to clarify if they endorsed the foreign-funded plot against Khan, it said.

Moreover, the military has already made it clear that the Army was "absolutely not" part of what happened in the National Assembly.

(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 a time when political opponents are at loggerheads in Maharashtra, leaders of all parties, including the BJP, spent the evening on Tuesday together over dinner at the residence of supremo .

Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, parliamentarians and legislators from were present at Pawar's 6, Janpath residence here.

The dinner meeting happened on a day when Enforcement Directorate attached properties of Raut, a Rajya Sabha member and senior Shiv Sena leader in connection with an investigation into an alleged land scam involving redevelopment of a chawl.

legislators are in the national capital to attend a two-day orientation program organised by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

Earlier, the MLAs from also met Raut at his residence over tea.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
will continue to exercise its veto in the United Nations Security Council on issues related to its invasion of Ukraine, the United States has said.

Obviously, with as a permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC), it will be difficult to imagine that they will not attempt to exercise their veto to block something, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at a White House conference on Monday.

But there have been creative solutions to the question of accountability in the past, and I am not going to prejudge what solution would be applied here or what forum or venue would be applied, he said when asked about the challenges that the US and its other partners are facing in UNSC at a time when it is trying to hold accountable for the atrocities in .

Sullivan emphasised that there should be accountability for these war crimes.

accountability has to be felt at every level of the Russian system. And the United States will work with the international community to ensure that accountability is applied at the appropriate time, he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The supports peaceful upholding of constitutional and democratic principles in Pakistan, its official has said.

As you heard from me last week, we support the peaceful upholding of constitutional and democratic principles in Pakistan, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily conference.

It is the case around the world. We do not support one political party over another. We support the broader principles, the principles of rule of law, of equal justice under the law, he said.

Price reiterated that there is no truth in the allegations that the is interfering in the internal affairs of and tried to topple the government of .

There is absolutely no truth to the allegations, Price said in response to a question.

According to Aparna Pande, an expert in South Asia Foreign Policy Defense Strategy at Hudson Institute, Imran Khan's speeches and rants accusing the US government for his loss of parliamentary support, will hurt US- relations.

His Samson-like desire to destroy everything if he does not get his way is going to harm Pakistan's external relations, Pande told PTI.

Imran Khan has long viewed himself as Pakistan's messiah and if there was any doubt, his speech of March 30 and his actions of April 3 show this. However, his arrogance has led to an inability to accept that he lacks the support of the majority of Pakistan's parliament and population, Pande said in response to a question.

(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.)
After turning the dream of owning a home into reality for millions of Indians in the course of its 45-year journey, Housing Development Finance Corporation has found a home within the family. Those were the words of HDFC Chairman, 77-year-old Deepak Shantilal Parekh, as he announced the merger of the mortgage financier with HDFC Bank, creating a lending behemoth. The merger has been speculated about for more than two decades, but is coming to fruition now as regulatory changes have reduced the barrier for an amalgamation. The proposed merger will enable the underwriting of larger ticket loans, including infrastructure loans  an urgent need of the country. Indias second-biggest lender will get even bigger, shrinking its gap with the State Bank of India, whose total advances at the end of December 2021 stood at 26.66 trillion rupees. Meanwhile, on a pro-forma basis, the merged HDFC Banks total advances are nearly 17.9 trillion rupees. joined HDFC as a Deputy General Manager in 1978, a year after it was founded by his uncle Hasmukhbhai Parekh. Not only did he leave a plum job at Chase Manhattan Bank, but also took a 50% pay cut then. Parekh built HDFC into a top housing finance company. Under his leadership, HDFC forayed into areas like banking, asset management, life and general insurance, education finance, and real estate venture capital. HDFC Bank was born in 1994 and Parekh roped in Aditya Puri to lead it.

Puri retired as the MD and CEO of the bank in October 2020. Known for his outspokenness, Parekh became the go-to man for policymakers. He expressed his views openly, be it on the policies of the government or the Reserve Bank of India. Parekh also emerged as Indias most authoritative voice when it comes to ethics and best practices in banking, making clean business a cornerstone of how the HDFC group functions. Deepak Parekhs reign at the helm of HDFC is scheduled to end soon. He would be ineligible to serve on the banks board after the merger, owing to RBIs rules on age limits. By bringing HDFC under the fold of HDFC Bank in his final act, Parekh leaves a legacy that will probably be impossible to match in Indias financial services sector.
Over two years ago, on January 30, 2020, as the winter was slowly giving way to spring, a news from Kerala sent the chills down the spine. Covid-19 infection had finally arrived. A student had just returned from Wuhan University in China had tested positive for the virus. It was two months after the virus had surfaced in China. By January 30, China had reported 130 deaths. And was yet to declare it a global health emergency. For everyone -- including the scientists and health experts-- the first wave was like a journey into the dark. As the virus spread its tentacles, Kerala announced a lockdown on March 23, 2020. The nationwide lockdown came on March 25. A country of 1.4 billion people came to standstill. But, it didnt stop the march of the virus. According to government data, the first wave spurred a rise in fatalities around June, 2020. And the peak daily deaths went past 1,000 in September. Vaccines were not available by then, and the virus claimed over 1.55 lakh lives in the country in the next few days. Vaccination in India began from January 16, 2021. And by February 2021, daily cases had fallen to 9,000 per-day. But the worst was yet to come. The second wave, which started somewhere in the mid of April 2021, soon took the country in its grip. Hospitals ran out of oxygen and patients of hope. According to the government data, at least 3.24 lakh people lost their lives-- a figure which many believe was an undercount. But, the third wave has been the most forgiving, with over 11,000 deaths. And most of them were unvaccinated. The combined death toll due to the Covid-19 is 5.16 lakhs as on April 4, 2022. The economic consequences of the pandemic were no less devastating. The Indian economy contracted by 7.3% in the April-June quarter of fiscal year 2021 -- the worst decline ever observed since the government started compiling GDP stats quarterly in 1996. The informal sector of the economy was the worst hit as millions of migrant workers returned home. Almost all the sectors were in crisis, as domestic demand and exports sharply plummeted.

Two years on, the country and its economy are limping back to normalcy. Fresh Covid-19 numbers have hit a low of 913 cases. At 12,597, the active caseload is also the lowest in almost two years.

The has also said that the acute phase of the pandemic could end by the middle of this year. But for that around 70% of the world has to be vaccinated.

India, on its part, has set a record of sorts. Over 84% of Indias 94.47 crore of estimated adult population is fully vaccinated now. While more than 92% have got a single shot.

It has also relieved the vaccine makers, who had ramped up the production on a short notice and churned out crores of doses, potentially saving millions of lives. Now they can divert resources to make other vaccines also.

Economic activities are back to pre-Covid days. International flights have resumed and the tourism industry is bouncing back.

But can we lower our guard? Clearly not.

Fresh cases of a fresh variant are spreading in parts of the world. In China, thousands of army men and health workers were rushed to contain the virus in Shanghai last week. Fresh spurt in cases was reported in some European countries too.

Meanwhile, as the immunity obtained from vaccines or infections wane, people, especially the vulnerable section, will need booster shots. India has so far approved nine vaccines.

Several developed countries either have started or are weighing the option to administer booster shots. The US has expanded eligibility for booster shots to all fully vaccinated adults. In India, the booster shots are only being administered to elderly and frontline workers. Experts suggest that it should be extended to all before another wave strikes. An IIT study suggests that the fourth Covid wave may hit the country in June.

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The surprise announcement of HDFC and HDFC Banks merger took everyone by surprise. The Street, on its part, gave thumbs up to the merger with shares of both the financial entities skyrocketing up to 16% intra-day yesterday. The merger, if it sails through, will create Indias biggest financial behemoth by market-capitalisation. However, the key word here is if the merger sails through. In an unexpected announcement on Monday, said that it will completely subsume its sister-firm HDFC in a share swap deal. The shareholders of will receive 42 shares of the bank for 25 shares held, and existing shareholders of will, thus, own 41 per cent of . Shares held by the housing finance company in the lender will be extinguished, making a full-fledged public company. However, the merger will have to stand the test of regulators, especially the Reserve Bank of India and the insurance regulator. Back in 2020, the banking regulator did not allow Axis Bank to single-handedly own a significant stake in the life insurance firm. This precedent, analysts believe, could prove to be true for the HDFC  HDFC as well. Presently, HDFC owns nearly 48% stake in HDFC Life. If the combined entity owns a bigger share, the merged entity might have to pare its stake over the next 15-18 months. Presently, banks can own more than 50% stake in an insurance company. But, they have to trim down the stake over a period of time.

Moreover, RBI has been mulling capping a banks ownership in an insurance firm at 20%. All these regulatory requirements, analysts say, will have to be watched. That apart, analysts say investors need to be cautious as far as FPI inflows in the merged entity are concerned. This is because, domestic mutual funds, right now, can hold 10% of their entire corpus in a single entity. The third overhang could be on the financials. According to early estimates by global brokerage Macquarie, HDFC Bank will have an excess SLR/CRR asset requirement of around 70,000-80,000 crore rupees and will need an incremental 90,000 crore rupees agriculture portfolio to meet PSL norms. These low-yielding portfolios, the brokerage says, could be a drag on the merged entitys P&L. Refinancing HDFC Ltds funding with low-cost deposits will be another key factor for the success of the merger. Analysts fear, HDFC Banks effective CASA could go down to 35% from 47% post merger. Investors, therefore, should be patient in order to accrue benefits from the proposed merger. From valuation standpoint, analysts say HDFC Bank's valuation can jump from less than 4x Price-to-Book Value to 5-6x Price-to-Book Value in 1-2 years. Against this backdrop, the two stocks movement will yet again be the key driver for the on Tuesday. Besides, stock-specific action and other global cues will guide the indices. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 indices ended above their key psychological levels of 60,000 and 18,000, yesterday, cheering the merger.
On Monday, Kevin Mccarthy contrasted the sights from the southern border to what is happening in Ukraine, which has been under Russian bombardment for more than a month.

Because of shootouts over the border, several border districts have been forced to close schools - in one case for 40 days.

McCarthy said that the president may assist alleviate the situation by simply urging migrants not to come to the United States, adding that Joe Biden has informed all those wishing to enter the nation illegally or legally that they are welcome since the 2020 campaign.

McCarthy: Biden Abdicated His Responsibilities at the Southern Border

On Monday, he was joined by Republican border state members and those in charge of national security committees to discuss the approaching elimination of Title 42. In the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak, former President Donald Trump signed the policy in March 2020, allowing for the rapid expulsion of refugees without hearing their asylum applications.

Since assuming office, Biden has continued to defend Title 42 in court although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday that the program will be phased out.

He also stated that the GOP is leading an attempt to bring legislation to the House floor via a discharge petition that would delay the expiration of Title 42 until COVID-19 pandemic limitations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico are lifted, as per Daily Mail.

After the government stated that the Title 42 public health order would be lifted, McCarthy accused President Joe Biden of abdicating his responsibility at the southern border and exacerbating the migrant problem.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Friday that the Title 42 public health policy, which has been utilized by both the Trump and Biden administrations to promptly deport migrants at the southern border since the pandemic of COVID-19 began on May 23 will be phased out.

The order was issued by the Trump administration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has subsequently been utilized by both the Trump and Biden administrations to deport a large number of people at the border.

While it is not an immigration policy, it has become one of the most important border strategies in existence as the United States faces record amounts of illegal border crossings. Due to the decision, around 55% of migrants were returned to their home countries rather than being allowed into the United States in February, according to Fox News.

Read Also: Joe Biden-Rupert Murdoch Controversy: New Book Claims POTUS Called FOX Corp. CEO as "Most Dangerous Man in the World"

Almost 18,000 Migrants Will Cross Border Daily

Border patrol officials informed members of the House Republican conference on Friday about the catastrophic situation at the border and in the interior, which they warned will only become worse once Title 42 ends on May 23.

According to Rep. John Katko of New York, around 8,000 individuals attempt to enter the southern border illegally every day, far exceeding the operating capacity of 5,000. Cartels generate roughly $1 billion every month by charging $4,000 per person for passage, which they spend on the production of fentanyl, which they then sell in the United States. That number will rise to 18,000 when Title 42 is repealed, and difficulties resulting from unfettered immigration will rise at the same rate.

Members also discussed low morale among border officers, as well as fentanyl smuggling and sex trafficking, which occur owing to a lack of border policing.

According to the lawsuit, Arizona, Missouri, and Louisiana have sued the administration to prevent it from repealing Title 42, which they claim will repeal the single safety valve stopping this Administration's terrible border policies from devolving into utter chaos and tragedy, Washington Examiner reported.

Related Article: Hungarian Authoritarian Leader Signals Support For Russia, Calls Zelensky an 'Opponent' After Winning Reelection

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China has set up the worlds highest automatic weather station on Mount Everest as part of the Peak Mission scientific expedition launched April 28. The weather station sits over 8,800 meters above sea level on the worlds highest mountain, known locally as Mount Qomolangma. More than 270 researchers participated in the expedition, among whom 13 reached the summit on Wednesday. The team is the first to make the famous climb from China this year

May 06, 2022 08:15 PM
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, warned that while her country opposed war, it would be ready to use nuclear weapons as a counter if the South showed aggression, referencing the incoming conservative president of its neighbor.

Being a senior official in the government and the ruling party, Kim Yo Jong said that it would be considered a "very big mistake" for South Korea's minister of defense to make recent remarks about plans to conduct attacks on the North.

North Korea vs South Korea

On Friday, South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook said that his nation's military had access to a variety of missiles that have significantly improved range, accuracy, and power. The official added that the armaments had the "ability to accurately and quickly hit any target in North Korea."

The two regions have continued to increase displays of military strength after North Korea's test-firing of a range of powerful missiles this year alone. Seoul and Washington officials also expressed their concerns that the nation was preparing to resume testing nuclear weapons since it stopped in 2017 due to stalled negotiations, as per Reuters.

Kim Yo Jong's statement on Tuesday called Suh's recent comments about preemptive strikes on the North a "fantastic daydream" and the "hysteria of a lunatic." The official said that if the North was prompted to counterattack, its nuclear capabilities would leave the South's military "little short of total destruction and ruin."

Read Also: Joe Biden Calls "Brutal" Vladimir Putin a "War Criminal"; New Satellite Images Show Civilian Killings in Bucha Amid Russia-Ukraine War

The sister of the North Korean leader also called the South Korean defense minister a "scum-like guy" and warned that his country could face a "serious threat" due to his remarks. Kim Yo Jong's statements come amid tensions over North Korea's accelerating weapons tests.

According to the Associated Press, experts argued that the North may be planning to up the ante in the following months and could possibly test-fly missiles over Japan or resume nuclear explosive tests. They say that efforts could be made to try and get a response from United States President Joe Biden who is currently focusing on addressing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Nuclear Weaponry

North Korea has tried to increase pressure on Seoul just weeks before the latter's new president, conservative Yoon Seok-youl, succeeds Moon Jae-In. The new ruler is seen to have little to show for his attempts at rapprochement with Pyongyang.

In 2018, Moon met Kim Jong Un three times and lobbied hard in order to set up the North Korean leader's first summit with former U.S. President Donald Trump in June later that year. In 2019, a second Kim-Trump summit took place and ended in failure due to disagreements on sanctions relief.

Now, the Biden administration has shown little interest in reviving denuclearization talks with the North unless they result in the verifiable dismantling of the region's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The situation comes as Yoon is scheduled to be sworn in on May 9 and has vowed to strengthen the South's military defenses against North Korean missile attacks. However, he has not ruled out a possible return to dialogue with Kim Jong Un, The Guardian reported.



Related Article: South Korea's Cheolmae II Surface-to-Air Missile System Gets Upgrades for Better Performance After North Korea's Recent Launch

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China has dispatched almost 10,000 health professionals from throughout the nation to Shanghai, including 2,000 military personnel, as part of its zero-COVID plan to combat a fast-expanding outbreak in the country's largest metropolis.

Shanghai's 25 million people were subjected to mass testing on Monday, as the city's two-week-long lockdown started its second week. The eastern half of Shanghai, which was expected to reopen last Friday, remained closed, as did the western half.

COVID-19 Omicron Variant Tests China's Strategy

While many industrial and financial firms have been permitted to continue running if their staff is isolated, fears were mounting about the economic implications of a prolonged lockdown in China's financial capital, which is also a key shipping and manufacturing hub.

The extremely contagious Omicron BA.2 strain of the virus is putting China's zero-COVID-19 policy to the test, which attempts to prevent outbreaks by isolating everyone who tests positive, whether or not they have symptoms. People with minor or no symptoms are lodged in a sea of beds divided by temporary barriers in Shanghai's exposition hall and other facilities.

On Monday, China recorded more than 13,000 new cases across the country in the preceding 24 hours, over 12,000 of which were asymptomatic. In Shanghai, almost 9,000 cases were reported. The other significant outbreak is in Jilin Province in northeastern China, where new cases have surpassed 3,500, as per New York Post.

On Monday evening, officials declared that transportation networks would be further restricted and that further subway lines would be shut.

Sun Chunlan, China's vice-premier in charge of the COVID-19 response, warned that preventive and control efforts in Shanghai are at a critical moment and that every citizen must be tested, according to Sky News.

Read Also: COVID-19 in the UK Continues Surge With Near 5 Million Infections; 9 New Coronavirus Symptoms Added to Official List

Children Are Separated From Parents as China's COVID-19 Surges

Last week, city officials admitted to failings in their response, with Shanghai municipal people's government secretary-general Ma Chunlei apologizing on Thursday for not being sufficiently prepared for the pandemic. Residents have continued to use social media in recent days to discuss difficulties obtaining things, including getting up early in the morning to place orders for limited supplies.

Over the weekend, the further outcry over isolation measures erupted as photographs of a packed, understaffed Shanghai hospital ward for children with COVID-19 who had been removed from their families owing to isolation restrictions surfaced.

The photographs were taken when the hospital was shifting the usual pediatric ward to the outpatient and emergency facility, where additional pediatric medical staff have been deployed, the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center subsequently stated in a statement.

However, the policy itself has created substantial concern among parents, as it compels all patients who test positive to be separated in facilities, including young children and newborns. As the citywide mass testing continues and the majority of the city remains under lockdown, the issue of when Shanghai will be allowed to relax its limitations looms.

The limitations have had an impact on the city's economy, as backlogs and travel delays have grown. The city is China's financial center and home to the world's biggest container port, so the authorities will be concerned about the long-term consequences of a prolonged shutdown.

However, the city's case count has failed to decline, and a similar situation is unfolding in northern Jilin province, which launched more stringent disease control efforts in March. The outbreaks, the country's largest in over two years, are the first time China's control procedures have been put to the test against the highly transmissible Omicron subvariant BA.2, CNN reported.

Related Article: Pandemic Lockdowns Wreaked Havoc on the Mental Health of Women in Developing Countries

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Shanghai launches citywide nucleic acid testing campaign

Xinhua) 10:38, April 05, 2022

A medical worker from east China's Zhejiang Province takes a swab sample from a child for nucleic acid test at a community in Songjiang District of Shanghai, east China, April 4, 2022. Amid rising numbers of COVID-19 infections in its latest resurgence, Shanghai on Monday launched a citywide nucleic acid testing campaign covering the city's more than 24 million residents. (Xinhua/Zhang Jiansong)

Residents wait to take nucleic acid tests at a community in Pudong New Area of east China's Shanghai, April 4, 2022. Amid rising numbers of COVID-19 infections in its latest resurgence, Shanghai on Monday launched a citywide nucleic acid testing campaign covering the city's more than 24 million residents. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)

Medical workers from east China's Zhejiang Province take swab samples from residents for nucleic acid tests at a community in Songjiang District of Shanghai, east China, April 4, 2022. Amid rising numbers of COVID-19 infections in its latest resurgence, Shanghai on Monday launched a citywide nucleic acid testing campaign covering the city's more than 24 million residents. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)

A medical worker from east China's Jiangsu Province takes a swab sample from a resident for nucleic acid test at a community in Xuhui District of Shanghai, east China, April 4, 2022. Amid rising numbers of COVID-19 infections in its latest resurgence, Shanghai on Monday launched a citywide nucleic acid testing campaign covering the city's more than 24 million residents. (Xinhua/Gao Feng)

A medical worker from east China's Zhejiang Province takes a swab sample from a child for nucleic acid test at a community in Songjiang District of Shanghai, east China, April 4, 2022. Amid rising numbers of COVID-19 infections in its latest resurgence, Shanghai on Monday launched a citywide nucleic acid testing campaign covering the city's more than 24 million residents. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)

A medical worker from east China's Anhui Province takes a swab sample from a resident for nucleic acid test at a community in Huangpu District of Shanghai, east China, April 4, 2022. Amid rising numbers of COVID-19 infections in its latest resurgence, Shanghai on Monday launched a citywide nucleic acid testing campaign covering the city's more than 24 million residents. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

Residents prepare to take nucleic acid tests at a community in Putuo District of Shanghai, east China, April 4, 2022. Amid rising numbers of COVID-19 infections in its latest resurgence, Shanghai on Monday launched a citywide nucleic acid testing campaign covering the city's more than 24 million residents. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)

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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a new planet that was forming in an unusual way but already has nine times as much mass as Jupiter, which is the largest planet in our solar system.

While experts have a good understanding of what many planets are made of, the initial stage of planet formation, the process from a diffuse cloud of gas and dust to a solar system with a central star and rocky and/or gaseous worlds spread out in a chain, remains a mystery.

Massive Protoplanet

The dominant theory for gas planets such as Jupiter is that they originate as something as a "core accretion." This is a process that works similarly to how terrestrial planets, such as Earth, form and become what they are now.

The theory states that a planet undergoes a two-stage process where its core is formed via multiple collisions between planetesimals, which are essentially pieces of cosmic dust. But a long-debated theory about how Jupiter-like planets form, known as "disk instability," is another possible explanation, as per Salon.

Welcome to protoplanet AB Aurigae b!



Hubble captured evidence of this Jupiter-like protoplanet forming at a whopping distance of 8.6 billion miles away from its host star. Thats over twice as far as Pluto is from our Sun!



Learn more: https://t.co/fOkLBKxxmg pic.twitter.com/PqEAHLV6WN  Hubble (@NASAHubble) April 4, 2022

Scientists hypothesize in this theory that gaseous planets form when part of a circumstellar disk becomes dense and cool enough to be vulnerable to gravitation collapse. It states that the process can result in the formation of a gaseous "protoplanet" that is considered to be a planet embryo.

Read Also: NASA's New Giant Moon Rocket Suffers Pressurization Issues, Forces Technicians To Delay Test Launch

However, up until now, experts are unable to directly observe such a process occurring in the natural universe. But on Monday, a study published in the Apr. 4 issue of Nature Astronomy shows that the Hubble has directly photographed evidence of a protoplanet growing through an "intense and violent process."

According to The Guardian, the researchers that made the discovery used the Subaru telescope, which is found near the summit of an inactive Hawaiian volcano orbiting the Hubble, to detect and study the planet known as AB Aurigae b. The cosmic body is a gas giant that is orbiting unusually far from its young host star.

Planet Formation

The new world that is forming is embedded in a protoplanetary disk of dust and gas with a distinct spiral structure. They swirl around a young star that is estimated to be roughly 2 million years old. This is about the same age as our solar system when planet formation was underway.

The lead researcher on the study, Thayne Currie of the Subaru Telescope and Eureka Scientific, said that nature is very clever. They noted that it can produce planets in a variety of different ways that astound experts.

AB Aurigae b is located some 8.6 billion miles away from its host star, which is roughly two times farther than Pluto is from our own Sun. Currie said that interpreting data regarding the planet was "extremely challenging."

Currie said that Hubble's longevity also played a particular role in assisting researchers in measuring the protoplanet's orbit. Originally, he was very skeptical of the planet actually being a planet. But archival data from Hubble and imaging from Subaru proved to be a turning point in changing his mind, NASA reported.



Related Article: NASA Hubble Image Shows Stunning View of Farthest Star Seen; Is it Also the Oldest?

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According to rumors, Prince Andrew is being lined up to accompany the Queen to the Epsom Derby on the Platinum Jubilee weekend. The news comes after the Duke of Edinburgh, who resolved a sex assault allegation earlier this year, was embroiled in a new financial controversy over the weekend.

Insiders say the Queen's disgraced son, 62, will accompany Her Majesty to the Epsom race meeting in June. Following his contentious starring position at Prince Philip's memorial last week, it's another foray into the spotlight.

Prince Andrew Was Linked to Turkish Fraudster

On the Australian Today Extra show, royal analyst Natalie Oliveri explored Prince Andrew's prospective royal homecoming at Epsom Derby. Meanwhile, the Duke has been tied to a multibillion-dollar money-laundering scheme, as per The Sun.

A convicted Libyan gun runner allegedly linked Prince Andrew to an accused fraudster who gave him 1 million ($1.3 million). According to the allegations, the Duke of York and his former wife Sarah Ferguson received suspicious payments from Selman Turk, a former Goldman Sachs banker, as part of a 40 million ($52.5 million) worldwide scam.

Tarek Kaituni was found guilty of bringing a submachine gun into France in 2005. In August 2009, he was invited to Princess Beatrice's 21st birthday party in Spain, where he also presented her with a diamond pendant for 18,000 ($ 23,631), and in 2018, he attended Princess Eugenie's wedding.

Kaituni, a US citizen, subsequently boasted about his power over the Duke of York and assisted in setting up covert meetings with Libyan ruler Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. According to the Telegraph, Turk was introduced to Prince Andrew by Tarek Kaituni at a birthday celebration at Windsor Castle in the early summer of 2019.

Read Also: New York Police Arrest Fourth Teen Involved in Good Samaritan's Subway Death

Prince Charles, Prince William Raise Concerns on Queen's Closeness to Prince Andrew

Meanwhile, according to sources, Kate Middleton and Prince William are planning to move to Windsor this summer to be closer to the Queen and even look at schools in the region. After rejecting royal mansions such as Prince Andrew's Royal Lodge and Fort Belvedere, the former residence of King Edward VIII, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are looking at private houses.

According to sources, the pair has also examined Frogmore Cottage, which is located on the grounds of Windsor Castle, and Adelaide Cottage, which is located in the heart of Windsor's Home Park and is now occupied. After seeing Lambrook School in Ascot, they are claimed to be looking at schools in Buckinghamshire, Windsor, and Surrey. According to reports, the Queen decided to make Windsor Castle her permanent home and principal residence earlier this month.

After escorting the Queen to the Duke of Edinburgh's burial service on Tuesday, there were worries this week that Prince Andrew, who has been becoming closer to the Queen in recent weeks, is lobbying for a role at the Platinum Jubilee festivities this summer.

To the surprise of many in the audience, the Duke of York took center stage as he accompanied his mother across Westminster Abbey to her seat in full view of the live broadcast cameras. It was the embarrassing royal's first public appearance since a rumored 12 million ($15.7 million) deal with Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre in New York to conclude a highly damaging civil sexual assault lawsuit.

Princes Charles and William are said to have expressed reservations on many occasions about permitting the Duke to walk the 95-year-old monarch down to her seat at such a well-publicized ceremony. The future monarchs were completely unified in their belief that he did not need to play such a prominent role.

However, their complaints were overcome by The Queen, who chose Andrew to play a unique role in the event because it was her will and ultimate decision. The decision is reported to have stunned and disappointed senior royals, including Charles and William. Despite Prince William and Prince Charles' misgivings, the Duke of York is said to have had his way after appealing to carry his 95-year-old mother to her seat because she couldn't say no to her favorite son, Daily Mail reported.

Related Article: Prince Andrew Is Involved in New Controversy as Gun Smuggler Reportedly Links Duke to Turkish Fraudster Who Gave Him $1.31 Million

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ETATS-UNIS :: USA: Cameroonian fraudsters apprehended by the American police :: UNITED STATES

Owners and Former Employee of Heath Care company Facing Federal Charges for Allegedly Paying Kickbacks to Homeless Patients and Fraudulently Billing Medicaid

Allegedly Recruited and Paid Homeless Individuals in Washington, D.C. to Attend Appointments in Order to Bill Medicaid for Mental Health Services Not Provided to Patients

Baltimore, Maryland  A federal criminal complaint has been filed charging Julius Bakari and his wife Mboutchock Kabiwa a/k/a Eugenie Bakari, both age 43, of Silver Spring, Maryland, with health care kickbacks and conspiracy to receive unlawful kickbacks, in connection with their company Holy Health Care Services, LLC (Holy Health). Dominic Forka, age 56, of Lanham, Maryland, a Community Support Worker (CSW) employed by Holy Health, is charged with health care kickbacks, conspiracy to receive unlawful kickbacks, and health care fraud.

The criminal complaint was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Washington Field Offices Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS OIG); and Inspector General Daniel W. Lucas, District of Columbia, Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Bakari owns and operates Holy Health and is the companys Chief Executive Officer and President. Kabiwa is the Vice President of Holy Health. Dominic Forka was a Community Support Worker (CSW) for Holy Health. Holy Health entered into Medicaid Provider Agreements with the District of Columbias Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF), which permit Holy Health to provide healthcare services to D.C. Medicaid recipients. Holy Health is also certified by the District of Columbias Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) to perform mental health services. After services are performed, Holy Health documents notes for these services utilizing an electronic health record (EHR) system for DBH providers. Holy Health then submits batches of notes in invoices for those services to DHCF, which processes the invoices and pays Holy Health. Holy Health was authorized to provide services from two separate locations in Washington, D.C. (Premises 1 and Premises 2).

The affidavit alleges that beginning in at least April 2017, Holy Health paid homeless people to physically go to Premises 1 and sign in as patients, then fraudulently billed the Medicaid plans of those homeless individuals for mental health treatment services that Holy Health did not provide. According to witnesses, Holy Health allegedly operated a van service to transport the homeless individuals from a park near the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C. to Premises 1. According to witnesses, after signing in, on some occasions, the witnesses saw a doctor who asked general questions about the witnesss health. On other occasions, the witnesses did not meet with a doctor or any other healthcare provider, and instead received payment for signing in on a Holy Health sign-in sheet. Patients allegedly received $25 for attending three appointments during each week. Specifically, they received $10 for each of the first two days and $5 for the third day. The affidavit alleges that Holy Health did not provide mental health services to the homeless individuals and continued to bill Medicaid for mental health services even after the individuals stopped attending appointments.

As detailed in the affidavit, from March 2019 to November 2019, two confidential sources conducted undercover, recorded appointments inside Holy Health at Premises 1. The affidavit alleges that Confidential Source 1 (CS1) attended nine appointments at Premises 1 as part of the investigation and each time, Holy Health billed CS1s Medicaid Plan for unrendered services. In addition, Holy Health allegedly used CS1s personal identifying information (PII) to bill Medicaid for an additional 25 appointments that CS1 never attended. Between September 19 and November 22, 2019, CS2 allegedly conducted 11 appointments at Premises 1 and on several occasions saw an individual who informed CS2 that he was CS2s caseworker. According to the affidavit, after each of CS2s visits, Holy Health billed CS2s Medicaid plan for unrendered services. As was allegedly the case with CS1, Holy Health billed CS2s Medicaid plan for approximately 60-minute treatment sessions, when the video and audio recordings show that the sessions in fact lasted only minutes. According to the affidavit, Holy Health has used CS2s PII to bill Medicaid for an additional 32 appointments that CS2 never attended. According to the affidavit, the electronic health records show that Forka accessed Holy Healths EHR system to input the 32 appointments that CS2 never attended, all for services purportedly rendered by Forka. As detailed in the affidavit, Holy Health also issued two prescriptions to CS2 that were filled at a pharmacy in Hyattsville, Maryland. CS2 did not request or fill the prescriptions.

Finally, the affidavit alleges that Bakari and Kabiwa utilized funds from a non-profit organization to provide kickback payments to patients, which Bakari and Kabiwa referred to as stipends. As detailed in the affidavit, Kabiwa founded and ran the Agatha Foundation, a non-profit organization, which listed Bakari as Vice President. According to its website, Agatha is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Africa that provides various key activities in the U.S.  in order to bring positive changes to the lives of at-risk groups in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and in Africa. Agatha is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland and operates at Premises 1. Kabiwa allegedly transferred money from Agathas bank account to Holy Health employees to provide kickback payments to Holy Health patients.

If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy to receive unlawful kickbacks, and a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for health care kickbacks. Forka also faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for health care fraud. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The defendants had an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gina L. Simms in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt today. The defendants were released pending trial.

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the FBI, the HHS OIG, and the District of Columbia OIGs Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their work in the investigation. Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Catherine K. Dick and Erin B. Pulice, who are prosecuting the case.
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A new variant of the COVID-19 virus has been discovered in the United Kingdom, public health experts, however, say there is no reason for alarm as of the moment. The new variant was identified as XE. It is a combination of the BA.1 omicron variant and its subvariant BA.2.

Scientists call this kind of combination a recombinant variant, which is common and usually appears and disappears on its own, as per an ABC News report.

According to Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist, there is "no public health concern" about new COVID-19 variants because such variants "happen over and over."

"In fact, the reason that this is the XE variant recombinant is that we've had XA, XB, XC, XD already, and none of those have turned out to be any real concern," said Dr. Browstein, who is also chief innovation officer at Boston Children's Hospital.

Last week, the UK Health Security Agency reported that 637 XE variant cases had been identified as of March 22. The earliest detection was on January 19.

The U.K COVID-19 situation has already indicated that further research is needed to determine if XE is more transmissible than BA.2.i. per the World Health Organization,

XE accounts for fewer than 1% of all COVID-19 instances sequenced in the United Kingdom, and there is no indication that the variant can evade immunizations, cause more severe disease, or be more lethal.

Has the XE Recombinant Entered the United States?

As of present writing, other countries, including the United States, have no reports of the recombinant variant. But Dr. Brownstein noted that there is a need to conduct a deeper study about XE. However, he said that there is a significant level of protection in the US, both from vaccines and from natural immunity developed during the wave of omicron cases in the country.

Meanwhile, the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron is thought to account for approximately three out of every four coronavirus variants in the United States, according to the US National Public Health Agency.

COVID-19 infections in the United States have declined substantially since reaching record highs in January, but a resurgence in infections in Asia and Europe has fueled fears that another surge might hit the country. Reuters reported that health specialists in the country say it is unlikely to occur.

According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on April 1, the seven-day moving average number of COVID-19 US cases was 26,106. It was down from 26,309 a week earlier.

The highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant accounts for 72.2 percent of COVID variants in the United States as of April 2, up from approximately 57.3 percent the week before, based on the estimations of the CDC.

Read Also: Fourth Wave Scare: China Ramps up Medical, Military Personnel in Shanghai To Test 25 Million Residents for COVID-19

Biden Wants Additional Funding for COVID-19 Response

United States President Joe Biden last week underscored that COVID-19 has not yet ended, but the country is in another phase of the pandemic.

He said that the government's strategy on" vaccinations, testing, treatments, and more " has helped Americans move into "a new moment in this pandemic."

"It does not mean that COVID-19 is over. It means that COVID-19 no longer controls our lives," Biden noted, per US News.

The President also urged Congress to secure additional funding for the COVID-19 response as "Cases are ticking up."

Related Article: US Senate Strikes $10 Billion COVID-19 Bill To Fund Therapeutics, Vaccine, Testing

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Photo: BCNU

The BC Nurses' Union is stepping up its efforts to highlight the struggles faced by its members as British Columbia's healthcare staffing crisis deepens.

The union says the state of nurses mental health is at an all-time low in part due to what they call the weight of a deteriorating health care system.

The BCNU is starting a new advertising campaign that aims to show the real pressure on the provinces health care system and those who work in it. The new campaign will run until May 15 on television, social media and digital platforms across the province, including its own microsite.

BCNU President Aman Grewal says its hard to hear from nurses around the province who are being asked to do more and more with less and less. In some cases, nurses are leaving the profession entirely due to excessive workloads.

The current situation in our health care system is truly heartbreaking, adds Grewal. More than three-quarters of nurses have told us their mental health has worsened during the pandemic; and over half have stated their physical health has deteriorated as well. Our government must prioritize the well-being of our nurses  the future of our provincial health care system depends on it.

The BCNU is calling on the provincial government to do more to help retain nurses and address workplace safety.

Our nurses have been working tirelessly to provide patient care at the expense of their own health. Its time that nurses receive the support and resources they require before more of them reach their breaking point, Grewal says.
Photo: The Canadian Press Canada geese in Washington Park, Denver, CO, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. The first three cases of bird flu in Quebec have been identified among wild birds in the province. The province's Wildlife Department says the H5N1 strain of avian influenza has been confirmed in a Canada goose and in two snow geese southeast of Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-David Zalubowski

Quebec wildlife authorities say the first three cases of bird flu in the province have been identified among wild birds.

The province's Wildlife Department said today the H5N1 strain of avian influenza was confirmed during a surveillance operation in southwestern Quebec.

The strain was detected in a Canada goose in Granby, Que., east of Montreal, and in two snow geese in the Monteregie region, located south of Montreal.

Quebec authorities say the arrival of the flu was expected as several cases had been identified in both wild and farmed birds in Canada since December 2021, including in the Maritime provinces, Ontario and British Columbia.

Cases have also been identified in the United States, and the virus has been spreading since 2020 in Europe.

Avian influenza is a virus that is present naturally among wild birds, in particular among aquatic species like geese, ducks and seagulls.

While it usually causes few clinical symptoms in wild birds, officials say domestic birds are more sensitive to the virus, which can cause high death rates in poultry farms.
Photo: The Canadian Press Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez.

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez introduced a bill today to make digital giants compensate Canadian media outlets for reusing their news content.

The bill is expected to be modelled on an Australian law making tech companies such as Google pay for news content on their platforms.

Rodriguez has previously said the bill is a priority, and that it will help support Canadas media industry and combat fake news circulating on the internet.

The online news law will create a framework for professional media outlets to collectively negotiate compensation deals with online platforms.

Rodriguez said in the last 15 years, about 450 Canadian news outlets have closed, with the vast chunk of advertising revenues going to big digital companies.

At a virtual conference in February, the minister said the bill being prepared would help preserve Canadas independent media, which he said is in crisis.

The text of the bill is not immediately available.
Photo: The Canadian Press Jerry Dias.

Canada's biggest private sector union says it has turned money over to police that its former president allegedly accepted as part of a kickback scheme.

Unifor says acting on advice from legal counsel it delivered the money in connection with a complaint against Jerry Dias to Toronto police.

The union says it's now up to police to decide whether to investigate the matter, and it has no role in that decision and will not be commenting further.

Unifor alleged last month that its former president accepted $50,000 from a supplier of COVID-19 rapid test kits he promoted to union member employers. Several of those companies then purchased those test kits.

The union says Dias is being charged with violating the code of ethics and democratic practices of the union's constitution, and a hearing will be held before the national executive board.
Photo: Kinross

Canadian miner Kinross Gold Corp. is selling all of its assets in Russia as one of a growing number of companies to withdraw from the country following the invasion of Ukraine.

The Toronto-based gold miner says it's selling 100 per cent of its Russian assets to the Highland Gold Mining group of companies and its affiliates for US$680 million in cash.

Kinross owns the Kupol underground mine in the country's eastern Chukotka region and surrounding exploration licenses as well as the Udinsk development-stage project.

It says Highland Gold is one of the largest gold mining companies in Russia with mining operations in the Chukotka and Khabarovsk regions where the Kupol mine and Udinsk project are located, respectively.

The company says the transaction is subject to the approval of the Russian government.

Kinross is the latest in a raft of Canadian companies to exit Russia following its attack against Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the continuation of the peace talks with Russia amid the accusations of war crimes and genocide against Moscow.

After Russian troops retreated, remains of civilians were found littered across the streets in Bucha, near Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

The horrific images have triggered worldwide outrage and call for more sanctions against Russia. According to BBC News, Moscow claimed that Ukraine fabricated images of crimes without presenting any proof.

Ukraine launched a war crimes investigation after discovering the bodies of 410 people in locations around Kyiv. Some were buried in mass graves, while others were found with their hands tied and shot at close range.

Zelensky described the treatment of Russian troops on civilians as "worse than animals."

"That is real genocide, what you have seen here," he said.

But when asked by journalists if peace talks with Russia were still possible after the discovery of the victims' bodies, the President of Ukraine responded, "Yes, because Ukraine must have peace."

Despite discovering the horrible killings, Zelensky further said that Ukraine "will continue efforts diplomatically and militarily."

A Scene of Brutality on Civilians

Witnesses in Bucha reported Russian soldiers fired on fleeing men after they refused to let them leave through humanitarian corridors. At least 20 males were discovered dead on the ground, and several of them had severe wounds. Some had been executed by being shot through the head, while others had been run over by tanks.

Maxar's satellite photographs reveal a 14m (45ft) mass burial near the church of St Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints in the city.

World leaders reacted to the images ABC News reported. One of them is Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, who said he was "strongly shocked" by the "brutal act of violence" conducted against civilians in Ukraine.

"Murdering innocent civilians is a violation of international humanitarian law and it's absolutely unacceptable," he said.

After the Russian air force bombed a maternity center on March 9, Russian authorities attempted to cast suspicion on mainstream media reporting. One Russian envoy accused a bombing victim, a pregnant woman who fled the assault and sustained injuries, of being a fake victim.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov labeled the reported crimes in Bucha as an "act" that was "staged" several days after Russian forces withdrew. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, told the media that Russia "categorically" rejects all accusations.

Read Also: Russia-Ukraine War: Volodymyr Zelensky Calls Russian Attack as 'Genocide' as Pile of Corpses Appear in Bucha

Biden Wants Further Sanctions on Russia

Meanwhile, as per CBS News, United States President Joe Biden condemned the killings, reiterated his accusation that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal, and pledged that the US would pursue putting him on trial for war crimes.

He called Putin "ruthless" and described the situation in Bucha as "horrible."

The White House said further sanctions on Moscow would be announced 'this week,' with France considering that such measures could target Russian oil and coal shipments. However, Germany cautioned that cutting off Russian gas would be premature.

Christian Lindner, Germany's finance minister, said a "need to terminate all economic ties" with Russia. However, the cutting of gas supplies "is not doable."

"We need some time," he said.

Related Article: Vladimir Putin Orders To Cut Off Germany's Gas Supply Due to Western Sanctions

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The unprovoked attack on Ukraine by Russia might appear like a game of chicken between Russia's (President Vladimir) Putin and Ukraine's President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy. It is anything but that.

Russia's war machine is far greater than Ukraine's. That may be why the bully in Russia, Mr. Putin, expected to conquer Ukraine within days. He was in for a surprise. Ukraine's soldiers have something to defend. Russian soldiers, fight for Mr. Putin and his oligarchs. In other words, they have nothing of value to defend, which explains why they have resorted to bombing indiscriminately, atrocities be damned.

Nevertheless, I dread to turn on the TV for fear of seeing the destruction suffered by Ukraine, its people, pets and wildlife. I fear for the Ukrainian people and Mr. Zelenskyy, a man worthy of being called human.

In Russia, a letter such as mine would land me in prison for 15 years. I am blessed to live in Canada.

Helen Schiele, Kelowna
Photo: Glacier Media

As the Pope sat down with nearly 200 First Nations, Inuit and Metis delegates last week, the apology given has received a mix of welcomed relief and desire to do more.

Giving his speech in Italian, Pope Francis told delegates that he feels 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.

All these things are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 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 said.

Squamish Nation member and St. Pauls Parish Deacon Rennie Nahanee says the Papal apology made him feel "elated" and makes his job of reconciliation between the church and Indigenous people a lot easier.

But that's only the start. People wanted the apology; they got the apology. So, what's next is reparation, restitution, Nahanee said. How is the church going to make amends for things that they did in the past. And then what will happen going forward?  I believe that the church in Canada, the bishops of Canada, want to develop a good relationship with Indigenous people. And they already have their marching orders, which would be the [Truth and Reconciliation Commissions] calls to action.

Nahanee said the Popes intention to come to Canada to meet with Indigenous people after being invited by Canadian bishops is a sign of good faith, and the pre-meeting in Rome has shown the Holy Father the sorrow, anger and hope that Indigenous people have.

Noting the Catholic Church in Canada announced late last year its intention to raise $30 million through the Indigenous Reconciliation healing fund, as a result of a class action lawsuit, Nahanee said so far only a tenth of that has so far been collected.

I think what happened was [they] just couldn't find people in the congregation to give that money, because that's where the money is coming from  people sitting in the pews, Nahanee said. They don't understand the reason for why these Native people need all that money.  They understand hurricanes and flooding in the other countries, [and] give money right away, but they don't know anything or enough about their neighbours and the original people of this land of whom they're benefiting.

Even as the Catholic Church has approximately $3.3 billion worth of assets, according to Charity Intelligence figures released in 2021, Nahanee believes its up to congregations to pay that money, not just the church body.

Part of the TRC calls to action was to educate the people in the pews about why they need to apologize to Indigenous people, and the history of indigenous people. They won't know that if the money is coming from anywhere [else], he said. If the church uses funding from somewhere else, then these people are not learning about how their church offended, almost destroyed the original people of this country. They need to know.

It's so easy to give money for anything, but it has to be a little bit deeper than that.

Nahanee said the Pope must come to Canada to meet with Indigenous people face-to-face. Without coming, the apology is only as good as a phone call where you cant see their expression, body language, or be able to gauge truthfulness and sincerity.

He has to be over here, because the people of Canada will realize that the Pope apologizing to the Indigenous people of Canada, [means] there must be some truth to all the stories and history that we've been hearing about them, he said. Perhaps they'll listen closer. Perhaps they'll be swayed to learn more about our history and give some money to the bishops for their cause for reconciliation and healing.

And I believe that the Holy Father should come to where all the problems began, which is in Kamloops with the unmarked graves.  So he has to come to Canada, as Pope John Paul II did, and visit the people that were colonized.

Nahanee noted that the Papal Bulls of Terra Nullius and the Doctrine of Discovery started all our problems.  That's how they took all our land and resources and never gave us a dime. In our land mass, we own less than one per cent of Canada.

Along with his older siblings, Nahanee is an Indian Day School survivor. Recalling a time when he got the strap for throwing a snowball, Nahanee said being made an example of and having to stand up in front of all the kids, hurts more. Ill never forget them.

Nahanees brother and Squamish Nation carver Jason Nahanee said the Popes apology is about time. Jason Nahanee previously financially settled through class actions, however, he explained he couldnt get all the paperwork in on time because it was too painful to go back and think about it all.

Even today, I think it's still affected my life in various ways. My health, my mental ability, especially in schooling, Jason Nahanee said. I managed to get to schooling myself, I have a law degree from the University of Victoria, I'm a Juris Doctor, but getting there took a lot of time. I think the residential schools knocked a lot of the initiative out of me that most people have.

An apology would be appropriate, he said.

Jason Nahanee said the apology, however, is window dressing at this point. I mean, what does it really do?  I mean, they compensated us for being in residential school. But I'm still sort of the same mind as I was before, he said. Money really isn't anything, although I could use a lot more of it. Because I think I lost a lot of opportunities because of residential school.
Photo: Canadian Armed Forces

The commander of the Canadian Armed Forces says there is no way Canada can match Russia's large military footprint in the Arctic.

Defence chief Gen. Wayne Eyre is also pouring cold water on the idea of permanently positioning large numbers of troops in Canada's north.

Eyre says the military's current approach is to make sure it can be ready to deploy the necessary troops and equipment to the Arctic if they are required.

The comments to a Senate committee this week come as Russia's invasion of Ukraine is casting a sharp light on the threat posed by Canada's northern neighbour, and what it means for this country's Arctic defences.

Arctic sovereignty and security were front and centre as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Anita Anand met with premiers from Canada's three territories Monday.

The war in Ukraine has also increased the urgency surrounding ongoing talks with the United States about modernizing the North American Aerospace Defence Command, with money expected in Thursday's budget.
Penticton is at a challenging crossroads  land-locked by lakes and pressure to overdevelop and continuing to overdevelop land and lose more of the culture, charm and community that once made it appealing.

People moved here for Penticton, not a smaller version of Kelowna or Vancouver. Mistakes in community planning and a failure to solve crime and street problems could quickly erode a place to live forever into a place to leave forever.

I get a charge out of the city proudly announcing its plans to purchase four e-bikes to lower its carbon footprint. Yet, at the same time, it announced a possible change to the OCP to remove agricultural land status and zoning to allow thousands of (oxygen-producing) trees to be cut down for a 700-unit housing development, all the while oblivious to such a developments carbon footprint, let alone the neighbourhood impact of years of heavy equipment operation to develop the infrastructure and land.

The backlash awakening council from the feedback to the rejected Naramata Benchlands similar proposal for mass hillside development should already be enough to remind council (residents) do not want massive scale housing projects. Such hillside benchland is valued by citizens in other ways.

The city has spent millions to acquire a few beach houses, only to re-sell. It spent $8 million to bubble wrap bikers in one bike lane when a joint venture on the channel pathway could have been achieved the same lake-to-lake effect much cheaper and more community appeal and benefit. (A total of) $30 million is still proposed to link bike lane corridors over five years when every cyclist uses every street anyway. Imagine what that amount of money could do to solve crime and street problems for those in need in our community.

It is time to think past the trap of developers waving cash and false promises of tax-base solutions to city-coffer problems. None of the reduced-rate development in the past lead to solving industry, business, infrastructure or tax issues in the community. Their claims of affordable housing have hit the market as unaffordable to many. Families have stopped moving to Penticton. School enrolment clearly shows that. People with families are moving elsewhere that offers higher, stable incomes and more for less. Penticton needs to become a more appealing option in that family relocation market to add energy, employees and balance to the community.

Think outside the box. The solution may be, in part, to create a more vibrant, dynamic and active community that balances all age groups and connects community to the outdoors, not a pave paradise and put up a parking lot mentality.

Purchase the North Parcel land and create a hiking, biking city park to go with beaches. Create joint improvements of the channel pathway and further beach/lake improvements. Eco tourism is the future for community appeal.

Instead of dropping millions into paint, signage, metal posts, curbs and concrete barriers, invest a smaller portion of that $30 million to buy forested parkland which in turn will make the community more diversely appealing to families.

Stanley Park has become one of the top attractions in Vancouver, easily more beneficial than a few hundred homes. People are moving to communities for diverse seasonal outdoor offerings and we lack recreational forest land interaction opportunities.

There is other land in Penticton already with water and infrastructure that is far more suitable to 700 units of housing. Diversify the community appeal and develop recreational city parklands close to the community.

People do not just move here or visit to lay on the beach and sunburn all day. Those days are gone and so are all the campgrounds to developers. Think past the present. What will be the appeal of communities in the future?

The COVID-19 pandemic proved the appeal will be returning to the outdoors. Families have relocated all over the province from crowded, overdeveloped cities.

Ignore the rich land developers, especially those that reside elsewhere but still try to tell you how to develop the community their way. (The citys) past track record with those developers is not very successful.

When, in the history of Penticton, has the city ever invested into forested land to create new parkland for community appeal with hiking and biking trails, flora and fauna ecosystems to be enjoyed by all citizens? People want to live where they can quickly connect to the outdoors and a variety of offerings.

I am not against development, but I am against inappropriate mass development, especially of hillside wildlife ecosystems and housing developments further up into nature and fire risk interface.

I am speaking from experience. Against the knowledge, advise and wishes of our neighbourhood, council ignored citizen concerns and we now live near a poorly planned development. For six years, hundreds of truckloads created a botched development at the south end of Dartmouth Drive on an old city landfill site. There is yet to be a lot sold and there will be all sorts of issues with the underlying fill.

Not all development is appropriate and developing 700-units in the North Parcel proposal will be another example of that.

John Buckley
Photo: The Canadian Press The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police "E" Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., on April 13, 2018. Ten charges have been laid against a Vancouver-area man arrested after two alleged arsons at the same Richmond, B.C., home. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Ten charges have been laid against a Vancouver-area man arrested after two alleged arsons at the same Richmond, B.C., home.

RCMP say the first fire damaged a garage door at a home on March 29, but the homeowner was able to put out the flames himself.

Just two days later, the same owner reported he had found what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail device inside his house, but the container had not ignited.

Police say they reviewed video surveillance and arrested a suspect in his mid-40s who remains in custody.

Charges including arson, arson causing property damage and mischief endangering life have been approved by the BC Prosecution Service.

The suspect is set to appear in provincial court in Richmond on April 8.
Photo: The Canadian Press McGill University campus is seen on June 21, 2016, in Montreal. The university is threatening to abolish its official agreement with the main student union after the association adopted a policy in solidarity with Palestine. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

McGill University is threatening to sanction its student union, including by prohibiting it from using the McGill name, because the association championed a pro-Palestinian policy that the school and Jewish groups say is discriminatory.

The Palestine Solidarity Policy, adopted in a March student referendum with 71 per cent support, says the Students Society of McGill University shall join an international campaign to boycott all companies and institutions that are "complicit in settler-colonial apartheid against Palestinians." The policy also calls on the union to pressure the university to join the boycott.

In response, McGill's administration served the student union with a notice of default, giving it a month to repeal the motion or have its agreement with the university terminated. The "Memorandum of Agreement" governs the relationship between McGill and the union by setting guidelines over financing and the use of school space and the university's name.

"McGill University firmly denounces all forms of racism and discrimination, including antisemitism and Islamophobia," university spokesperson Cynthia Lee said in a statement about the results of the vote. She said the policy violates the university's values of inclusion and it disrespects students' religious and political beliefs.

Several Jewish advocacy groups are supporting the university's position, saying the policy targets Jewish students on campus.

But union president Darshan Daryanani says the administration's threat endangers democracy and the union's right to represent all students. "We talk about academic freedom, but where is it in this?" Daryanani said in a recent interview.

About 2,294 students voted in favour of the policy  less than 10 per cent of McGill's total undergraduate student body. The union said 931 students voted against the policy. The vote was held between March 15 and 21.

Daryanani said the union is not only defending the policy but also the right to student democracy.

Lee, however, says the policy will lead to conflict on campus.

"The current initiative by (student union) will lead to polarization that fosters a culture of ostracization and disrespect on the basis of students identity, religious or political beliefs, is contrary to the universitys core values of inclusion, diversity and respect, and will not be tolerated," she said.

Danielle Fuchs, a McGill student and president of Hillel Montreal, which advocates on behalf of McGill's Jewish community, says she has begun to feel more hesitant to wear items on campus that can identify her as Jewish.

"Its been a stressful few weeks as a Jewish student at McGill," Fuchs said in a recent statement. "A few of us have been publicly shamed and accused of being xenophobic, racist, or even of working for the Israeli government."

Hillel signed a joint statement with Hasbara Fellowships Canada and other Jewish campus organizations to denounce the pro-Palestine policy. "This vote serves to demonize, marginalize, and delegitimize students who support Israels right to exist as a Jewish state," the statement said.

Pro-Palestinian policies have recently gained momentum across Canada's university campuses. The motions are tied to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which is an international campaign to put pressure on companies and groups  primarily in Israel  accused of violating Palestinian rights.

The University of Toronto announced in March it had withheld more than $10,000 in student fees destined to the graduate student union, in response to activities run by the union's "Boycott, Divestment, & Sanctions caucus."

Daryanani said if McGill decides to end its agreement with the student union, all funding intended for the association would be placed in an interim trust fund. "The funds will then be overseen by a committee of two McGill representatives, two (student union) representatives, and a mutually selected chairperson," he said.

Daniel Koren, director of pro-Israel campus activism organization Hasbara Fellowships, said he thinks students' independence and democracy are welcome on university campuses, but he said it's more important that students feel safe.

"While democracy is important, you can never have a vote that leads to hating or discriminating against others," Koren said in a recent interview.
Photo: Richmond News

Four men have been charged in connection with an alleged fraud ring perpetrated across B.C.

Richmond RCMPs economic crimes unit (ECU) carried out an investigation over the last 18 months or so in multiple cities, including Richmond, Vancouver, Surrey, Langley, Cranbrook, Kamloops, Kelowna and Regina.

Their probe resulted in multiple search warrants being executed at locations allegedly connected to the fraud ring in Richmond and Vancouver.

The BC Prosecution Service has approved a total of 24 charges, including fraud, forgery, possession of property obtained by crime and unauthorized possession of a firearm against one of the accused.

Four men charged

Those charged are:

Christopher Birkbeck, of Surrey;

Michael Ridley, of Ontario;

Richard Yeltatzie, of Richmond;

Ayron Borovic, of Vancouver.

Yeltatzie has also been charged with eight crimes, including fraud, on another Richmond file.

That file relates to February 2020, when Richmonds ECU team conducted an investigation where a residence was allegedly sold by fraudulent means, unbeknownst to the homeowner.

In this case, the BC Prosecution Service has approved eight charges against Yeltatzie and three against a Kieran Yeltatzie.

I am extremely proud of the hard work and dedication the investigators from our Economic Crime Unit have demonstrated throughout the course of this investigation, said Richmond RCMPs Insp. Michael Cohee.

I also want to thank all of the units from within Richmond Detachment as well as the Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team who assisted our Economic Crime Unit at various times throughout the investigation.

The identification and subsequent charges against this group has resulted in a significant disruption of a prolific fraud, identity theft and property crime network operating in BC.
Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, attends the opening of the Tesla factory Berlin Brandenburg in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022.

Well, that was fast.

Twitter has announced, via Twitter, that it is indeed working on an edit feature for tweets.

Newly chosen board member and now Twitter's largest shareholder Elon Musk had run a Twitter poll that started Monday asking users if they wanted an edit button. It's something users have long requested.

Twitter's post says, weve been working on an edit feature since last year! no, we didnt get the idea from a poll."

The company said it would test the feature in its paid service, Twitter Blue, in the coming months. It said the test would help it "learn what works, what doesnt, and whats possible."

So it'll be a while before most Twitter users get to use it, if they do.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below.

Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla CEO and power Twitter user who is now Twitter's largest shareholder and newly appointed board member, may have thoughts on a long-standing request from users: Should there be an edit button?

On Monday evening, Musk launched a Twitter poll about whether they want an edit button, cheekily misspelling yes as yse and no as on. More than 3 million people had voted as of Tuesday morning. The poll closes Tuesday evening Eastern time.

Twitter's CEO, Parag Agrawal, retweeted the poll with a seeming reference to an earlier tweet by Musk, saying The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully. Musk had used the same language in a March tweet describing another one of his polls that asked whether Twitter adheres to free speech principles.

Twitter spokesperson Catherine Hill declined to comment on whether Agrawal was joking, and did not answer whether Twitter would follow the results of Musk's poll. Musk tweeted Tuesday that he was looking forward to making significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!

Many Twitter users  among them, Kim Kardashian, Ice T, Katy Perry and McDonald's corporate account  have long begged for an edit button. The company itself recently teased users with an April Fool's Day tweet saying we are working on an edit button.

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey had said that Twitter had considered an edit button, but in a January 2020 Q&A maintained that well probably never do it. He cited wanting to keep the spirit of Twitter's text-message origins  texts can't be edited  and the confusion that could result from users making changes to a tweet that has already been highly circulated by others. Dorsey stepped down as CEO in November 2021.

For what it's worth, the chief technology officer of Facebook owner Meta, Andrew Bosworth, tweeted Monday that big changes to posts that have already gone viral were not an issue. (Facebook lets you edit posts.) You just include an indicator that it has been edited along with a change log, he wrote.

Musks response: Facebook gives me the willies.

But other people say adding an edit button would change the nature of Twitter, making it less valuable as a historical warehouse that stores official statements by politicians and other high-profile people. Twitter, for better or worse, has become the de facto news wire, said Jennifer Grygiel, a Syracuse University communications professor and an expert on social media who researches propaganda.

Tweets are often embedded in news stories, which could cause problems if the users edit important or controversial tweets without leaving evidence of the original statement. Grygiel suggested instead giving Twitter users a window of time to edit their tweets before they publish them.

Letting powerful Twitter users edit their tweets means they would not be historical statements anymore, Grygiel said. We need to think about what the implications are, what these tweets are, who has power.

Musk said that a related proposal for a post-publication edit window of a few minutes  sounds reasonable.

Musk is someone who could seemingly use an edit button. His tweet about taking Tesla private at $420 per share, when funding was not secured, led to a $40 million SEC settlement and a requirement that Musk's tweets be approved by a corporate lawyer. Musk is still embroiled in a fight over that settlement.
A honeymoon is one of the best moments for a couple that they would love to cherish. Imagine if your boss asked you to come back in the mid of your golden period for urgent work.

Definitely, you will be left disheartened and your wife will also feel sad,

The same situation has happened to a newlywed man who was on his honeymoon period in Cambodia. Suddenly, his boss asked him to come back for one day to America.

He has been left furious as he had already applied for his honeymoon holidays to Cambodia in January this year. His boss also approved his holidays at that time.

All of sudden, his boss has now demanded he come to work anyway.

Sharing his story on Reddit, the US-based man said that initially, he denied coming back immediately, but his boss threatened to fire him for not being a dependable team member.

Also Read: Chennai man on honeymoon dies during paragliding in HP's Kullu

"I just got married and am very excited about my honeymoon to Cambodia. My wife and I do not get to take off of work often, so this was a very welcome break. I put in my request on January 1 and my boss approved this the next day, the man wrote in his Reddit post.

He further said, "However, my boss is now asking me to attend a client pitch meeting on day three of my honeymoon. He says that this is a very important deal and he needs me just for this one day.

"Given that this is my honeymoon I said absolutely not. He responded that it is only one day and if he cannot depend on me for this important revenue-generating meeting, he is not sure that he can depend on me as a member of the team going forward.

"He doesn't seem to understand that I cannot simply fly back to America from Cambodia for one day."

The man got stuck between two tough decisions after talking to his wife about the situation.

On which, she told him that she regrets marrying him.

He added: "I ran the whole scenario by my wife and said that I'm afraid we need to replan our honeymoon because I cannot afford to get fired and now she says that she regrets marrying me.

"I am broken by being forced to choose between an income and a wife."

How would you respond to the aforesaid situation? Drop your comment in our comment box

Also Read: Couple on bike come face-to face with lioness, spine-chilling video goes viral
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, utilizing the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021, has issued orders for blocking 22 YouTube-based news channels, three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account, and one news website for spreading disinformation related to India's national security and foreign relations.

A statement issued by the ministry said, "The blocked YouTube channels had a cumulative viewership of over 260 crore, and were used to spread fake news, and coordinated disinformation over social media on subjects sensitive from the perspective of national security, India's foreign relations, and public order."

As per the ministry, this is the first time action has been taken on the Indian YouTube-based news publishers since the notification of the IT Rules, 2021 in February last year. Through the recent blocking order, 18 Indian and four Pakistan based YouTube news channels have been blocked, said the ministry.

The ministry stated that multiple YouTube channels were used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc. The content ordered to be blocked also included certain anti-India content posted from multiple social media accounts operated in a coordinated manner from Pakistan.

It was observed that a significant amount of false content published by these Indian YouTube-based channels related to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, and aimed at jeopardizing India's foreign relations with other countries, stated the ministry.

The blocked Indian YouTube channels were using templates and logos of certain TV news channels, including images of their news anchors to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic. False thumbnails were used, and the title and thumbnail of the videos were frequently altered to increase the virality of content on social media. In certain cases, it was also observed that systematic anti-India fake news was originating from Pakistan.

With this action, since December 2021, the Ministry has issued directions for blocking of 78 YouTube-based news channels and several other social media accounts on grounds related to national security, sovereignty and integrity of India, public order, etc.

"The Government of India remains committed to ensuring an authentic, trustworthy, and safe online news media environment, and thwart any attempts at undermining India's sovereignty and integrity, national security, foreign relations, and public order," added the ministry.

(ANI)

Also Read: Our responsibility to keep country united: Maharashtra minister on Raj Thackeray's comment on loudspeakers at mosques
Apple TV+ and Netflix recently pulled out of the bidding war on a Will Smith biopic after the actor slapped 2022 Oscars host Chris Rock during the event.

An anonymous source told The Sun that the two companies "quietly removed" their bids for the biopic and will use the funds to develop original ideas from new black actors instead. This is just one of the few backlashes from Smith's famous Oscars slap.

Will Smith is facing disciplinary charges set against him by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences despite his "immediate resignation" from the organization, per Sunday World. He may also lose the award he won during the event for his performance in Reinaldo Marcus Green's "King Richard" as a result of the upcoming proceedings.

Apple TV+ and Netflix's Withdrawal

In addition to Apple TV+ and Netflix backing out of Will Smith's biopic, The Sun's source said that the companies are currently planning to develop ideas with more family-friendly stars like Mike Epps and Michael B. Jordan.

"Working with Will Smith has become a risky business," the source said.

Apple and Netflix were among several companies competing in a bidding war to secure rights to a film about Will Smith's life based on his best-selling autobiography published in 2021.

It is not yet known if these other companies will follow suit. However, NBC mentioned that Sony also joined Netflix and Apple in withdrawing support for the controversial actor, with the company putting "Bad Boys 4" on hold due to the Oscars incident.

"Emancipation," an Apple TV+ action thriller film that stars Will Smith, has already been completed. However, Apple has yet to make a move regarding the film, per the New York Posts' Page Six.

Read More: Apple Employees Irate Over Tim Cook's Plan Against Remote Work

The Sun previously reported that an unknown source said that Will Smith's biopic could fetch the actor eight figures for its rights and that the actor signed his book deal with an accompanying biopic in mind.

The source previously admitted that while some feared Will Smith's brutal honesty in his autobiography could harm his reputation, it has done the opposite and helped him connect with his audience "like never before."

The Daily Mail's MailOnline reached out to Netflix and Apple for a comment on their withdrawal, but neither company have yet to give a statement.

The Oscars Slapping Incident

Will Smith's claim to infamy was well-documented during the 2022 Oscars when he slapped event host Chris Rock for joking about Jada Pinkett-Smith's condition.

Although he defended his actions during his Oscar acceptance speech for his role in "King Richard," he later apologized for them, saying that what he did was "unacceptable and inexcusable" in an Instagram post on April 4, per CNN.

"Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally," Smith said in his post. "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the main I want to be."

The actor also resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for the altercation, adding that he has betrayed the trust of the organization and deprived his fellow nominees and winners of their opportunity to properly celebrate their work.

Related Article: Will Smith and Chris Rock Best Memes for Oscars 2022
ASEC repairs bearings in kiln tyre supports at UAE plant

05 April 2022

A cement plant in the UAE faced a major incident in February 2022 that caused severe damage in the journal bearings and roller supports in the middle tyre of the kiln.

At very short notice, Arab Swiss Engineering Company (ASEC) addressed the damage. A team of experts from ASEC started the job immediately with the following objectives:

 investigations leading to the development of the root cause of the failure

 supervision of replacing and repairing all damaged parts

 investigations of any further consequences of the failure that might not be apparent.

Upon restarting after repair and despite using original spares, a high temperature was noticed in the same bearing. ASEC team has intervened with further quick adjustments and restored the consistent sustainable production and satisfaction of clinker needs. ASEC was agile to handle that short notice request; taking initiative and responsibility to cover such a critical situation within the minimum possible duration.

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A Catoosa County jury has convicted Belinda Lopez on all counts for the murder of her husband after a four-day trial before Chief Judge Kristina Cook Graham. She was sentenced to life in prison.

Ms. Lopez, 43, was convicted of one count of malice murder, one count of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and one count of possession of firearm during the commission of a felony, after less than three hours of deliberations by the jury.

During the early morning hours of March 1, 2020, Belinda Lopez, her husband Noel, and Angelica Juarez, a friend of Ms. Lopez, were traveling to their home in Dalton after leaving a night club in Chattanooga.

While on Interstate 75 in Catoosa County an argument between the couple began sending Ms. Lopez into a violent rage where she attacked her husband by scratching his face and upper body, striking him above the right eye with the gun and eventually firing a single shot the went through his skull and exited the vehicle.

The vehicle came to rest in the middle lane of I-75 just south of exit 345 in Ringgold.

At approximately 2:55 a.m., Belinda Lopez called 911 and the interstate was shut down for several hours while investigators with the Catoosa County Sheriffs Department investigated the scene.

Evidence presented at trial showed that after killing her husband, Ms. Lopez put the gun in the vehicle's center console and attempted to move the victims body in a failed attempt to flee the scene. As established by nearby security cameras, these actions resulted in delay of over three minutes from the time he was shot until the time that Ms. Lopez called 911.

DA Chris Arnt said, "During three different interviews, Ms. Lopez gave contradictory and inconsistent statements to investigators about what occurred that evening. Evidence was also presented showing that Lopez had a long history of domestic assault against her husband. This included Ms. Lopezs own recorded statements where she admitted that she would frequently leave visible scratches on Noels face, that he often went to work with scratches all over his face, and the testimony of a Georgia State Trooper who encountered the couple a year prior in an eerily similar situation on the side of I75 where the trooper noticed Noel had fresh and healing injuries to his face and Ms. Lopez had none."

The case was presented to the jury by Assistant District Attorney David Wolfe and Chief Assistant District Attorney Kevin Baugh with the assistance of Victim Advocate Ashely Nicholson who spent countless hours communicating with Noel's large family and other witnesses in the case. Lead investigator Detective Tim Busby along with Detective Daniel Thacker, and Detective Chris Lyons and other members of the Catoosa County Sheriffs office gathered over 150 pieces of evidence and conducted multiple hours of interviews.

DA Arnt pointed out the hard work put into the case by the Catoosa County Sheriffs Department and the District Attorneys Office. What you see in court is the result of hundreds of hours of investigation and preparation. The Sheriffs department conducted a detailed and thorough investigation into this case. Our team worked hard to prepare and present a compelling case to the jury that enabled them to see through the defendants web of lies and find the truth. We are pleased with the verdict and that Noels and his family have received justice in this case and his murderer has been held accountable for her heinous actions.

A representative for Noel Lopezs extensive family and friends stated, "On March 1st 2020 our family received the worst news any family could ever receive. Our loved one Noel was no longer with us. That day our lives completely changed and we have been in a state of grief ever since.

"We lost our brother, son, uncle and friend. Noel was full of life and did not deserve to go in such an abrupt and heinous way. Noel was a young man who radiated a desire to live, to improve day by day but without missing the opportunity to offer help to whoever asked for it.

"We believe that the judicial result obtained last week brings the justice that Noel deserved while offering some closure to all those who loved him and have suffered his loss.

"For that reason, we would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of all those who have contributed to achieving this sentence.

"First of all, we would like to thank attorneys David Wolfe, Kevin Baugh, Chris Arnt and their entire team for their hard work towards fighting for Noel in court and for the constant communication and kindness shared with us throughout the process.

"Secondly, we would also like to thank detective Tim Busby, the Catoosa County Sheriffs office and GBI for diligently collecting the evidence and piecing the case together. And lastly, the jury for all the hours spent reviewing the evidence and declaring her guilty on all five counts.

"Our family will continue to mourn Noels loss but hold the beautiful memories created with him close to our hearts. His life will forever live in our memories."
While patrolling East 23rd Street, an officer saw a black Kia Soul with the vehicle's lights turned off. The officer pulled behind the vehicle near East 23rd and 4th Avenue. The vehicle made a right turn onto I-24 westbound and the officer initiated a traffic stop with emergency equipment. The vehicle pulled over at I-24 westbound near mile marker 180.8. Dispatch ran the tag on the vehicle which came back as stolen. When the officer exited the patrol vehicle and began approaching the suspect vehicle, the vehicle fled. The officer was able to observe the driver was a white male with scruffy facial hair. The officer turned the lights off due to not being able to pursue the vehicle and exited I-24 westbound at the 180A exit. The officer drove back towards East 23rd Street to patrol the area again and observed the suspect vehicle traveling east on East 23rd Street, however the car's lights were turned on at this point. The suspect vehicle turned into Harrys at 2301 4th Ave. and the officer followed without lights turned on. The suspect saw the police vehicle and began to leave the parking lot. The officer initiated another traffic stop with emergency equipment and the car turned onto 4th Avenue and then back onto I-24 westbound. Again, the officer turned lights off due to not being able to pursue the vehicle and exited I-24 westbound at 180A.

* * *

A woman told police while she was at Greenway Farms Park at 5051 Gann Store Road someone broke the right-side front window of her 2019 Toyota Highlander and stole her purse. Her purse was on the front passenger seat when it was taken. Her Apple Mastercard was used at Walmart for $500.

* * *

An employee of Sams Club at 6101 Lee Hwy. told police she wanted to report a suspicious person. She said she has seen the same man loitering inside the store on several occasions this month. He hasn't spoken to her but appears to be watching her. He was described as a black male, in his mid 40's, wearing a hat and a reflective vest. The management at Sam's Club wishes to trespass this man if contact is made with him.

* * *

A man told police someone stole a Stihl leaf blower from the trunk of his work vehicle while it was parked on Lawrence Road. He was unable to provide any suspect description.

* * *

An officer conducted a wellness check at 2145 Chestnut St. where a person said an RV was parked under the interstate and hadn't moved from that location for quite a while. The person simply wished to make sure that the owner was alright. Police checked the area of the RV and attempted to make contact with anyone inside. No one seemed to be inside the RV and nothing appeared awry inside.

* * *

A woman on Walnut Street said she noticed her vehicle had front, left-side damage. She didnt witness how the damage was done.

* * *

A man told police he was in a disorder with another man in the parking lot of 6237 Vance Road. He said the argument was about the other mans dog not being on a leash. The man called the police and the other man went into a business nearby. He said the man left prior to police arrival in a silver BMW 325I, displaying a Tennessee tag that is actually registered to a FJ Cruiser and not a BMW. The man only wanted the other man removed from the property and was already gone prior to police arrival.

* * *

An officer spoke with a man panhandling at the intersection of North Access Road and Hixson Pike. The man is homeless and sleeps in the area although he uses the Community Kitchen at 727 East 11th St. as his home address. He has been told to move along before but continues to return. He was given the option to leave freely, which he did.

* * *

A woman said while walking around Marshalls at 2031 Hamilton Place Blvd. she received a call. She answered to ask that her number be added to the do not call list. It seemed to be a robo call and was instructed to press 1. When she did, a female answered who started cussing her and made threats to kill her niece who was crying in the background. She searched the number on the internet and found it listed to a Fajar Sumikci. She has since blocked the number. Police suggested that she also report this to her cellular service which is AT&T.

* * *

A woman called police and said sometime during the night, a vehicle ran over the fence at the corner of Industry Drive and Volunteer Drive. She thinks it had to be a large tractor trailer making the turn onto Industry Drive. It will cost about $2,000 to repair the fence. This has happened at this corner before.

* * *

A woman said she was at a nail salon on Brainerd Road having eyelashes glued on. She said the owner accidentally dropped glue in her left eye. As a result, she had to go to the emergency room for treatment. She says she needs a police report for her insurance to pay the ER charges.
State Senator Mike Bell (R-Riceville) has filed a resolution in the State Senate "to ensure election laws are upheld on matters of membership to a local legislative body." The resolution directs the District Attorney of the 10th Judicial District to file a quo warranto to declare that two sitting members of the Bradley County School Board have forfeited their seats by moving outside their districts.

The members resigned on Tuesday.

Quo warranto is a special form of legal action used to resolve a dispute over whether a specific person has the legal authority to hold the public office that he or she occupies.



In September of 2021, Attorney General Herbert Slatery issued an opinion clarifying that a member of a county board must reside in both the county and the district they represent. Under Tennessee law, if a member of a county school board moves outside of the district he or she was elected, then the office is deemed vacant.



State statute is unambiguous, said Bell. An attorney general opinion speaks directly to this situation. Troy Weathers and Rodney Dillard are not qualified for the offices they hold and are in violation of state law. This law exists so that the members who sit on local governing bodies can best represent the needs and concerns of their constituents by living in the same community.



The resolution specifically calls on the District Attorney of the 10th Judicial District Steven Crump to declare that Troy Weathers and Rodney Dillard have forfeited their respective offices of the 4th and 5th districts of the Bradley County School Board.

The law also states that once a seat is vacated it must be filled by the county legislative body at the next regular meeting or at a special meeting of the body.



Here is the text of the resolution:



A RESOLUTION to direct the District Attorney General of the Tenth Judicial District to bring a quo warranto action to declare that Troy Weathers and Rodney Dillard have forfeited elected office as members of the Bradley County Board of Education.

WHEREAS, Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-2-201(a)(1), requires members of a county board of education to be "residents of and elected from districts of substantially equal population established by resolution of the local legislative body"; and

WHEREAS, Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-48-101(3), provides that any office of this State is vacated by the office holder ceasing to be a resident of the district for which the office holder was elected; and

WHEREAS, Troy Weathers was elected to serve on the Bradley County Board of Education, representing the Fourth District; and

WHEREAS, Troy Weathers subsequently moved and is no longer a resident of the Fourth District as required by Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-2-201(a)(1); and WHEREAS, Rodney Dillard was elected to serve on the Bradley County Board of Education, representing the Fifth District; and

WHEREAS, Rodney Dillard subsequently moved and is no longer a resident of the Fifth District as required by Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-2-201(a)(1); and WHEREAS, both Troy Weathers and Rodney Dillard vacated their respective positions on the Bradley County Board of Education upon establishing residence outside the districts which each member was elected to represent, creating two vacancies on the Bradley County Board of Education for members representing the Fourth and Fifth districts; and - 2 - *016860*

WHEREAS, Article VII, Section 2 of the Constitution of Tennessee provides that "The election of all officers, and the filling of all vacancies not otherwise directed or provided by this Constitution, shall be made in such manner as the Legislature shall direct"; and

WHEREAS, in Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-2-201(a)(1), the legislature has directed that "Vacancies occurring on the board shall be filled by the local legislative body"; and WHEREAS, Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-2-202(e)(1), further requires "the unexpired term shall be filled at the next regular meeting of the county legislative body or at a special meeting of the county legislative body"; and

WHEREAS, separate actions may be brought by the district attorney general, under Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 29, Chapter 35, to have declared that Troy Weathers and Rodney Dillard unlawfully hold public office within this State after establishing residence outside their respective districts and, in doing so, forfeit those offices; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, that the General Assembly directs District Attorney General Steven D. Crump, who represents the Tenth Judicial District of Tennessee, which includes Bradley County, to file a quo warranto action under Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 29-35-101, on behalf of the State of Tennessee to declare Troy Weathers to have forfeited the office of Bradley County Board of Education member representing the Fourth District.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the General Assembly directs District Attorney General Crump to file a quo warranto action under Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 29-35- 101, on behalf of the State of Tennessee to declare Rodney Dillard to have forfeited the office of Bradley County Board of Education member representing the Fifth District.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the clerk of the Senate is directed to deliver a copy of this resolution to District Attorney General Steven D. Crump, with this final resolving clause being deleted from such copy.
Cleveland Composite Squadrons C/Col. Phillip Moshenskiy was awarded the General Carl A. Spaatz award Tuesday. Kevin Brooks, mayor of Cleveland, was honored to present the award.

Distinguished guests included Col. Dent Young (previously commander of Tennessee Wing CAP, TNWG), Col. Barry Melton (previously Southeast Region CAP Commander, TNWG Commander and National Board Member) and current TNWG Commander Col. Rob Borsari. Squadron TN-173 Commander is 1st Lt. Debbie Jones. Squadron Commander 1st Lt. Jones presided over the ceremony.



Cadets qualify for this award after progressing through 16 achievements in the CAP Cadet Program. The final step is an exam including a physical fitness test, an essay exam testing moral reasoning and comprehensive written exams on leadership and aerospace education. The Spaatz Award is named in honor of Carl Tooey Spaatz, the first chief of staff of the United States Air Force. Less than 2,300 cadets have received this award since 1964.



"Acting as a Total Force partner and official civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, Civil Air Patrol helps First Air Force rapidly respond to non-military threats domestically in a Defense Support of Civil Authorities capacity to save lives, relieve suffering, prevent property damage and provide humanitarian assistance," officials said.
As a public school employee in Hamilton County for 30 years, I saw many debates over teacher pay raises. So whats new about now?

At the Hamilton County school board meeting Monday, member Joe Smith spoke in favor of giving teachers an additional one-half or one percent pay raise in addition to the proposed two percent increase. He reasoned as a one time bonus was not approved, an additional half-percent increase would let teachers know the board was listening to them.

Board member Jenny Hill opposed an increase saying, As we brainstorm here about lets pay people more, people love to hear that, but then if we get the budget where we pay people more, weve got to be the one to go to the Rotary and go everywhere and say, hey this is why weve gotta pay people more.

Ms. Hill had no problem February, 2020 approving an early extension to Superintendent Bryan Johnsons contract renewal along with an increase in his salary from $220,000 to $244,000, a nine percent raise. She expressed no fear of having to justify his hefty raise. Hill had no problem February, 2020 approving an early extension to Superintendent Bryan Johnsons contract renewal along with an increase in his salary from $220,000 to $244,000, a nine percent raise. She expressed no fear of having to justify his hefty raise.

How ironic that Ms Hill would oppose teacher raises for fear of having to explain to the Rotary why helping teachers cope with soaring inflation (seven percent currently) is bad and giving Bryan Johnson a windfall pay raise and early contract renewal was good, especially in light of his leaving before that sweet deal ended. Did Ms. Hill have to explain that scenario to the Rotary?

I hope the Hamilton County Education Association takes note of this and who speaks out for the other nearly 6,000 employees of HCDE.

Ralph Miller
The National Weather Service has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for the Chattanooga area.

Strong gusty winds are expected across the mountains and foothills of the East Tennessee mountains through this evening (Tuesday). Southerly winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph are possible. A wind advisory is in effect.

There is a threat of severe storms on Wednesday afternoon and evening.

Severe storms are becoming more likely across the entire area for Wednesday afternoon and evening. The main concern will be damaging winds with a squall line coming into the forecast area.

However, isolated tornadoes are possible, especially across the Plateau and southeast Tennessee.

Isolated hail of up to one inch size is also possible.

Cleveland City Schools officials said, "We are monitoring the potential for severe weather conditions on Wednesday. School will be on a regular schedule, but due to the threat of severe weather, Cleveland City Schools will cancel all after-school activities on Wednesday. Please be weather aware."
The demise of fair and free elections is the end of any democratic nation. Our constitutional right to NO taxation without representation is under attack. A lack of election integrity results in the elite determining the outcome of elections, placing favored individuals in power.

Two years ago in Georgia, the presidential election was fraught with errors. There was blatant vote dumping, unexplainable pausing and restarting of vote counting, delayed reporting of election results, and refusal to recount votes in a timely fashion.

I took action on behalf of Georgians who were outraged over the derelictions of duty by Georgias election officials. As outlined in the Georgia State Constitution, in the event of an uncertain election outcome, the decision of how Georgia will vote is turned over to the legislature. After seventeen days of chaos, following the still undecided Presidential election, I was the first in the country to speak out and demand that Georgia legislators immediately convene at the capitol to address the emergency at hand. My motion was denied by Georgia leadership, whom I believe was motivated to cover up election fraud for personal reasons. As expected, eventual audits confirmed an incorrect vote count in four Georgia counties.

Fraud in the Georgia elections has been an ongoing issue. After the debacle on November 3, 2020, if Georgia leadership acknowledged gross negligence and mishandling of the presidential election, it would jeopardize their political career and hurt members of their party in the upcoming Georgia senate elections. Fraud of this magnitude, by powerful Georgia leadership, is likely responsible for turning a notoriously red state blue.

Citizens feel they can no longer trust the government to do the right thing. They feel that politicians have become self-serving dictators who pass inexhaustible laws for Georgia citizens, while holding themselves to a vastly different standard.

One Georgian reached out to me and demonstrated that of her extended family with seven eligible voters in Fulton County, only two had their vote recorded on the Secretary of State's website. When she guided other Georgians to check if their vote was recorded, she discovered the extensive database of votes was inexplicitly missing.

Additionally, information on Firefly, the training program for election officials and poll workers went mysteriously missing from the Secretary of State's website as well, shortly after election day. The last thing that Georgia leadership wanted was for the training of election officials and poll workers to be called into question.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is currently the defendant in an election integrity lawsuit, where the plaintiff demands the replacement of Georgias Dominion Voting Machines.

Alex Halderman, a computer science professor at the University of Michigan proved that Dominion voting machine software can be manipulated by poll workers or hacked online, by changing QR codes on the paper ballot which is scanned. Since a QR code isnt discernible to the human eye, voters have no way of knowing whether the QR code matches the printed text of their choices.

In response to the lawsuit, Raffensperger has still not read a report that contains information about problems with Georgias voting machines and overall election security. Even though at first glance this seems strange, it reasons, one can't be blamed for what they dont know. This is the type of conduct, as well as, withholding pertinent information for security purposes'', that allows government officials to delay or keep their fraudulent actions from going public.

I believe it is the responsibility of every legislator to attempt to fix this system where government leaders avoid taking responsibility, make excuses for their lack of transparency, and live above the law. Currently, Raffensperger is vague at best about what steps are being taken to prevent physical tampering with Dominion Voting Machines, and what steps are being taken to ensure that Dominion Voting Machine software is tamper-proof, even by an attacker who uses election management system computers.

For this reason, I am in favor of abandoning Dominion Voting Machines. Georgians, we must get back to a simple, handwritten record of ones vote, which cannot be altered electronically. The current leadership will resist this critical step of acquiring a new voting system/ equipment, in order to save face and avoid the enormous expenditure, but, given what is at stake, it is worth the investment in Georgias future.

In addition to replacing Dominion Voting Machines in favor of handwritten ballots with no QR code, I am in favor of:

Voting restricted to U.S. citizens A seven-day time span for voting Stiff criminal penalties for those who cheat in GA elections. Increasing the chain of custody oversight of ballots and machines, to ensure there is no interference by-election participants and officials Safety cameras monitor machines and all activities pertaining to the election process, at all times. Vote counting streamed on live TV Mail-in ballots are limited to: handicapped and disabled persons, with medical verification, (just like a license plate requires a handicap symbol), the elderly, citizens overseas with proof of travel, and the military with orders. Special early voting hours, within the seven-day time span, are reserved for senior citizens 65+ and immunocompromised, with medical verification.

Thomas Jefferson famously said: The government you elect is the government you deserve. Americans deserve democracy if they are willing to fight for it.

Respectfully,

Colton Moore

State Senate candidate, international auctioneer, and former House Representative
WhatsApp phishing victims have accidentally clicked on information stealing malware.

WhatsApp users are now falling victim to the phishing strategies by threat actors from pretending to be an official WhatsApp voice message and sending it to users.

Voice Message was first introduced in WhatsApp in 2013, and it was anticipated to have a significant impact on the way people communicated.

The company receives an average of 7 billion voice messages per day from their users on WhatsApp, all of which are protected by end-to-end encryption, ensuring that they remain confidential and secure at all times.

However, that does not make WhatsApp an exception to phishing.

Attempts have been made to spread information-stealing malware to at least 27,655 email addresses through the use of a new WhatsApp phishing campaign that impersonates the voice message feature of the messaging app.

WhatsApp Phishing

WhatsApp phishing attacks have been reported by its numerous users. As reported by Bleeping Computer, a phishing attack poses as a notification from WhatsApp, informing the victim that they have received a new private message from a friend.

This email contains an embedded "Play" button as well as information about the duration and creation time of an audio clip.

Using an email address associated with the Center for Road Safety of the Moscow Region, the sender is impersonating a "Whatsapp Notifier" service and pretending to be from that organization.

Upon clicking on the "Play" button in the message body, the WhatsApp user is redirected to a website that serves an allow/block prompt for installing a malicious Java/Kryptic trojan.

In order to trick the victim into clicking on "Allow," the threat actors create a web page that asks for confirmation that they are not a robot.

The WhatsApp users will be subscribed to browser notifications that will send in-browser advertisements for scams, adult sites, and malware if they choose to click on these allow buttons.

Unfortunately, once the "allow" option is selected, the browser will prompt the user to install the payload, which in this case is a malware that steals sensitive information from the computer.

Researchers at Armoblox, who are constantly on the lookout for new phishing threats, were the ones who discovered the new WhatsApp voice message phishing campaign.

Armoblox believes that this is an instance in which the hackers have somehow exploited the domain in order to promote their cause, and as a result, the organization has played a role without the organization's knowledge.

Read Also: YouTube Vanced Is Receiving a Google Play Protect Warning

WhatsApp Update Voice Message

The WhatsApp phishing campaign by threat actors was made successful because they used the WhatsApp voice message update.

On March 30, the platform released a new set of updates. Here are the salient features of the WhatsApp updates:

Playback of a voice message outside of the chat to allow users to multitask or read and respond to other messages while listening to a voice message.

A new WhatsApp update that allows users to pause and resume recording a voice message while it's being created.

A new WhatsApp update called Waveform Visualization represents the sound on the voice message.

A new WhatsApp update that allows users to hear the voice message first before sending

It also allows users to pick up from where they left in the message as Playback is now remembered.

WhatsApp users can now play a voice message at 1.5x or 2x speeds for both forwarded and on a regular voice message.

Related Article: Instagram DM Upgrades, Adds 7 New Features To Compete With Other Apps
90 Day Fiance: The Other Way Season 1 star Lauren Jallali is officially divorced from Aladin Jallali. What has she been up to since her divorce? Heres an update on Lauras life in 2022.

Laura Jallali, 90 Day Diaries Season 3 | TLC

Laura moves in with her son after divorce from Aladin

On the April 4 episode of 90 Day Diaries, 54-year-old Laura revealed that her divorce from her Tunisian husband, Aladin, caused her to lose everything. On The Other Way Season 1, Laura left her life in Florida to live with 29-year-old Aladin in Qatar.

However, very quickly, things fell apart. They married in July 2018, and about a year later, in October 2019, they were officially divorced.

Laura is currently back living with her son, Liam, in London, Ontario. She revealed, When Aladin decided to suddenly divorce me, I virtually lost everything.

Laura works on her relationship with her son, Liam

On 90 Day Diaries, Laura revealed, Im living again with my son, Liam. As fans know, Liam had a hard time accepting his mothers choice to leave her life behind in Florida for Aladin. He not only felt like he was a bad match, but felt like his mother was abandoning him.

Liam revealed, Life living with my mom has been not too bad. There is obviously a bit of an awkwardness. We really cant talk about whats happened in the past because of really the sourness that pertains to it.

Liam is working on fixing her relationship with Liam. She revealed, My relationship with Aladin 100% affected my relationship with my son. She said, So now being back home in Canada, every day is a new day where I have to build that trust and relationship back to where it was.

Lauras son, Liam, revealed that their relationship is getting better, but he doubts it will ever be as it was before Aladin. He said, But were making it work.

Laura looks for love again

Now Laura is living in a new spot, getting into a healthier routine, and is looking forward to possibly meeting someone new. Laura revealed, My current relationship status is zero. Theres nothing going on.

She revealed, You know, its been three years since Ive been in the presence of a man romantically. Its been a long time. However, Laura thinks its time that she gets back out on the market. She said, I really want to get back out there, meet men, have a great time with my friends, and start to get myself back into shape again.

While Laura had some difficult times following her divorce from Aladin, it seems that shes finally back on her feet and thriving again. However, the next man that enters Lauras life now has to be Liam approved.

New episodes of 90 Day Diaries air Mondays on TLC and discovery+.

RELATED: 90 Day Diaries Andrei and Elizabeth Update: Is Andrei Still Working With Chuck in 2022?
90 Day Fiance: Before The 90 Days stars, Rachel and Jon Walters have been seperated for years due to the lengthy immigration process. Where are they now in 2022? Heres what we know.

Rachel and Jon Walters, 90 Day Fiance | TLC

Rachel and Jon hadnt seen each other in person for 2 years

On the April 4 episode of 90 Day Diaries, Rachel reveals that due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, she hasnt been able to see Jon in two years. Up until now, the United Kingdom was locked down, making it either impossible or difficult for American travels to enter the UK.

And due to the pandemic and Jons visa denial, he was unable to travel to the US to be with Rachel and Lucy. Rachel said, Jon and I have not seen each other in person, since Janurary 2020. Were going on two years.

Jon and Rachel wait for his visa to be approved

During Rachels second trip to England to visit Jon, the two got married. They immediately filed for Jons visa to come to the US to live with Rachel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In May 2021, Jon finally had his interview. However, Jons visa was ultimately denied.

Rachel revealed, Jon has been in trouble in the past for fighting, which obviously, on paper, doesnt look very good. Having known that would have happened ahead of time, we saved up and already paid for the waiver, which is basically asking the US to reverse the initial denial and let him in. And we should have an answer within five to eight months.

As of now, theyre still waiting on the answer from the embassy. However, the 90 Day Fiance couple could expect to get an answer about the visa any day now.

Rachel and Lucy take a trip to visit Jon in England

On Jan 11th, 2022, Rachel and her 5-year-old daughter, Lucy flew to England to spend time with Jon. For two weeks, the three of them spent time as a family enjoying each others company.

Then, on Jan 25 Rachel and Lucy had to fly back home to New Mexico and leave Jon behind. She posted many photos and videos from their trip. Check out the post below:

Rachel and Jon have spent the entirety of their relationship seperated and long-distance. Hopefully Jon will receive good new about his visa and their family will be reunied once and for all.

New episodes of 90 Day Diaries Season 3 airs Mondays on TLC and discovery+.

RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Top 5 Funniest Lines From Before the 90 Days Season 5
Abbott Elementary star Janelle James is already making waves for her role in the ABC series. The show revolves around a severely underfunded school many educators can relate to. It features an impressive lineup of actors like Tyler James Williams, Quinta Brunson, and James, a standup who gained traction in the comedy world after she worked with Chris Rock.

Janelle James worked as a standup before Abbott Elementary

Comedian Janelle James performs on Late Night with Seth Meyers on January 15, 2019 | Lloyd Bishop/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Janelle James standup career began in 2009 at an open mic while living in Illinois. The comedian described her style as just talking s on topics ranging from motherhood, dating, and being a woman over 35. The star named Wanda Sykes, Kareem Gray, and John Early as her favorite comedians and inspirations.

In 2016, James gained recognition for her work in Just For Laughs. In 2017, she attained more prominence after opening for Rock in his Total Blackout Tour. That same year, James released her debut comedy album Black and Mild. After its release, Rock posted on Instagram about James, calling her extremely talented.

James is a multi-faced performer and writer. She wrote on Showtime comedy Black Monday, talk show The Rundown With Robin Thede, and the animated sitcom Central Park. James has also appeared in shows like Corporate and Crashing. And she hosts two podcasts, Strong Black Laughs and You In Danger, Gurl.

James plays the out of touch principal on Abbott Elementary

On Abbott Elementary, James plays Principal Ava Coleman, the unqualified and self-involved principal who got her job through blackmail. Her inexperience is shown by how she mismanages the school funds and always wants to follow a different career path. Her focus is also on gaining recognition, primarily online, rather than genuinely helping her students and teachers.

Recognizing that her underfunded Philadelphia school needed supplies, Ava attempts to help the teachers by landing a spot in a documentary meant to detail the goings-on in the school. She also helps her staff members make catchy videos to raise money for school supplies.

Principal Ava is also always flirting with the substitute teacher Gregory Eddie, played by Williams. While James character has become a fan favorite since the show debuted, the actor feels the character is exhausting.

In an interview with The GATE, James said she found Ava peppier, which can take a toll on her. James has to stay in character all day to accurately play the upbeat character, which is exhausting for the actor. However, she said the process helped her gain insight into what truly cheerful people feel like. She admitted its difficult to fake constant cheeriness, pointing out that it takes a lot of energy to be that upbeat.

Her co-star Tyler James Williams also worked with Chris Rock

Hollywood is a small place. Williams also has a connection to Rock. The actor has come a long way after breaking out as the titular character in Everybody Hates Chris, which was created and narrated by the legendary star.

The sitcom, which aired for four seasons from 2005 to 2009, was inspired by memories of Rock as a teenager navigating life in the 80s. Rock also appeared on Everybody Hates Chris, acting opposite Williams as a character named  oddly enough  Mr. Abbott.

RELATED: Abbott Elementary: Tyler James Williams Admits Janelle James Has Caused Him to Break Character Several Times
The Academy Awards are supposed to be a celebration of movies. But after the 2022 Oscars, all anyone could talk about was the controversial incident involving Will Smith and Chris Rock. Although the status of the feud remains unclear, its hard to argue against how both men have gotten a ton of publicity out of it. That being said, Rocks fans are likely using this opportunity to brush up on his career to date, including his surprising biggest hit movie.

Chris Rock | Dave J Hogan

Chris Rock isnt best known as a movie star, but hes made a bunch

Most of Rocks fans probably know him best from his stand-up comedy. After all, hes often touted as one of the best stand-up comics of all time. And thanks to his long run of popular comedy specials, fans have had plenty of opportunities to see Rock do what he does best. Of course, his stand-up comedy is only the beginning of his accomplishments to date.

From 1990 to 1993, Rock was a cast member on Saturday Night Live. And then he hosted The Chris Rock Show on HBO from 1997 to 2000. However, in addition to his stage and TV credits, Rock has appeared in many movies. Most recently, he starred in and produced 2021s Spiral: From the Book of Saw. But the biggest hit of his career came nearly a decade earlier.

RELATED: Oscars 2022: Viewers Call Out Irony of Chris Rocks Controversial Comment

Even the actors fans might not realize what his biggest movie really is

Among Rocks most popular movies are Grown-Ups, Lethal Weapon 4, and 1998s Doctor Dolittle, in which he voices a guinea pig named Rodney. Coincidentally, Rocks highest-grossing movie also features the actor in a voice role. According to The-Numbers.com, his most successful movie is 2012s Madagascar 3: Europes Most Wanted. The animated comedy  in which Rock voices a zebra named Marty  earned a total of $747 million worldwide.

Actually, all three of Rocks biggest movies come from the Madagascar franchise. The first and second entries in the series earned $557 million and $600 million worldwide, respectively. Ironically, all three films co-star not only Ben Stiller and David Schwimmer but also Jada Pinkett-Smith, Will Smiths wife. She was the target of the joke that led Smith to strike Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards in the first place.

What is Chris Rock working on after the controversy at the 2022 Oscars?

As the fallout from the Rock/Smith incident at the Oscars continues, many fans are looking ahead to what the two stars will be up to next. For Smith, hes set to co-star in an action-thriller called Emancipation with Ben Foster. That film is scheduled to release on Apple TV+ sometime in 2022.

Rock, meanwhile, has already made his next move. The actor is currently touring with a new stand-up comedy set. Tickets for his Ego Death World tour have skyrocketed following the Academy Awards controversy. So if fans are eager to witness Rocks legendary comic stylings in person, he might be coming to a city near you.

RELATED: Adam Sandler Supports Chris Rock After Will Smith Oscars Slap Love You Buddy!
Julia Childs TV debut was not the polished version of The French Chef her fans came to love. Instead, Child first faced television cameras in 1961 as a guest on a series dedicated to reading books. Child brought her own hot plate, giant whisk, and eggs to the set to make an omelette and promote Mastering the Art of French Cooking. These actions led her future producer to call her a madwoman.

Julia Child | Bachrach/Getty Images

Julia Child continues to be honored for her work in the culinary industry

The French Chefs culinary influence is highlighted in the Food Network limited series The Julia Child Challenge.

She is arguably one of the most influential chefs in the modern era.

HBO Max is currently streaming a drama that tells the story of Childs life, Julia. The series explores a pivotal time in American history and cultural evolution in the food industry.

To sum up, at its heart, Julia is most of all, the portrait of a loving marriage between Child and her husband, Paul.

The eight-episode drama stars Sarah Lancashire in the titular role. The actor is supported by David Hyde Pierce, Bebe Neuwirth, Erin Neufer, Fiona Glascott, Brittany Bradford, and Fran Kranz.

Julia Child was called a madwoman after her television debut

Sarah Lancashire | Seacia Pavao/HBO Max

Julia delves into the first time Child appeared in front of television cameras.

In the first episode titled Omelette, Child appears as a guest on a WGBH book show called Ive Been Reading.

She subsequently arrived with a hot plate, giant whisk, and eggs and made an omelette on the set.

Therefore, dozens of viewers wrote to the station. They wanted to see more of Child, who took charge of the segment away from its host, P. Albert Duhamel.

In a story published by The New York Times after Julias 2004 death, Russell Morash, who became her producer, recalled the sight of Child cooking on live television, taking over the normally straight-laced public television series.

I thought to myself: Who is this madwoman cooking an omelet on a book-review program?' Morash said.

However, her runaway success on Ive Been Reading led Morash to ask Child to tape three pilot cooking shows in 1962. Subsequently, WGBH put The French Chef on-air beginning Feb. 11, 1963. The series would run for ten years.

Julia fell in love with French cooking while living in Paris with her husband

Paul and Julia Child | Janet Fries/Getty Images

Meanwhile, upon moving to Paris with her husband Paul, Child applied to and was accepted at Paris Le Cordon Bleu culinary school.

As a result, Child threw herself into her studies, graduating in March 1951, a full year after completing her course of study.

According to the book My Life in France, Child joined the Cercle des Gourmettes where she met Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, two cooking enthusiasts who wanted to write a cookbook for the American market.

Most importantly, in Child, they found an English-speaking partner who could translate their French recipes for an American market.

In the same vein, the trio became partners in a cooking school they called LEcole de Trois Gourmandes.

The book took nine years to write, research and edit.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking has subsequently become a comprehensive guide to the fundamentals of French cuisine.

RELATED: Julia Childs Grave Is in the Most Astonishing Place
Meryl Streep and Robert Redford had very positive opinions of one other while working on Out of Africa. However, director Sydney Pollack didnt appreciate how close they were getting while on the set of the movie. It certainly opened Streeps eyes to how Redford couldnt enjoy the process quite as much as herself. So, how did those real-life feelings translate into supposed ripples?

Meryl Streep and Robert Redford play love interests in Out of Africa

L-R: Robert Redford and Meryl Streep | Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

Out of Africa takes place in 20th-century colonial Kenya. Karen Blixen (Streep) is a Danish baroness and a new coffee plantation owner, who discovers that her husband is unfaithful. As a result, she enters into a love affair with a big-game hunter named Denys (Redford). However, she must decide between her newfound romance and her potential future as an individual.

Streep admitted in Queen Meryl that many folks thought Redfords performance was wooden. However, she totally disagreed. Streep said that Redford was subtleand just right. However, she revealed that she once had a big crush on him, which could factor into her opinion regarding his Out of Africa performance.

Meryl Streep and Robert Redfords real-life connection caused ripples on the set

Redford admitted that he probably got along too well with Streep on the set of Out of Africa in Queen Meryl. According to his biographer Michael Feeney Callan, their real-life feelings for one another impacted the production. Pollack didnt care for their connection, discouraging it at every chance that he could. Redford didnt take this too well.

It caused ripples, Redford said. We liked to talk. Wed be off-camera, between takes, taking it easy. We had a sense of humor in common. But Sydney didnt like that. He would break it up. It bothered him that I was connecting with her in some way that didnt fit his picture of me, or of us as a team. That wasnt easy to deal with, because I felt I was in a vise and I became resentful.

The two actors had very different experiences in Nairobi, Kenya

Time for another #ValentinesDay favorite: Out of Africa  with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. pic.twitter.com/UqARjo9nYW  SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) February 14, 2014

Redford believed that Denys was treated radically differently from Streeps character. He said in Queen Meryl that Pollack encouraged Streep to fly, but treated Denys as, a symbol, not a character. The actor didnt care for the direction that he was given throughout the course of filming.

Streep loved filming in Nairobi, Kenya, although Redford had a very different experience.

He couldnt go outeven there, Streep said. He was self-conscious all the time. I went everywhere, saw whatever I wanted to see.

Streep felt bad for Redford. He was too well-known, so he couldnt explore in the same way that his co-star did. However, he did offer Streep a piece of parenting advice that she continues to hold dear to her. He said of her children, They are not your props.

RELATED: Meryl Streep Once Ignored an Enormous Insect Crawling in Her Dress to Finish a Scene
After Prince William took his tour of the Caribbean with Kate Middleton, the Duke of Cambridge released a statement addressing some concerns brought up by the public. According to a body language expert, the statement by the Duke of Cambridge also had some sentences that seemed to throw shade at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

(L) Prince William | Tim Rooke/Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage, (R) Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

What did Prince William say in his statement?

On March 27, William took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the Caribbean tour and the future of some former colonies in the area.

Foreign tours are an opportunity to reflect, he wrote. You learn so much. What is on the minds of Prime Ministers. The hopes and ambitions of school children. The day-to-day challenges faced by families and communities.

The duke continued, I know that this tour has brought into even sharper focus questions about the past and the future. In Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas, that future is for the people to decide upon. But we have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with communities in all three countries, understanding more about the issues that matter most to them.

William also addressed the monarchys role in the future of these countries.

Catherine and I are committed to service, he said. For us thats not telling people what to do. It is about serving and supporting them in whatever way they think best, by using the platform we are lucky to have. It is why tours such as this reaffirm our desire to serve the people of the Commonwealth and to listen to communities around the world.

Who the Commonwealth chooses to lead its family in the future isnt what is on my mind, he added, alluding to some countries desire to remove Queen Elizabeth as head of state. What matters to us is the potential the Commonwealth family has to create a better future for the people who form it, and our commitment to serve and support as best we can.

Prince William reportedly threw shade at the Sussexes, body language expert says

Prince William addresses controversy surrounding Caribbean Royal Tour in rare statement https://t.co/d8dVHUm8lr  ET Canada (@ETCanada) March 28, 2022

RELATED: Prince Harrys Relationship With Prince William Still Has Not Recovered 1 Year After the Oprah Interview, Expert Says

According to body language expert Jesus Enrique Rosas (who is also known as The Body Language Guy), William might have thrown shade at Harry and Meghan when saying that service is not telling people what to do.

Yes, not telling people what to do. Like, you know, Meghan calling U.S. senators on their personal numbers or Harry saying that if you are not happy with your job, you should quit, Rosas said in a YouTube video.

The guru also referenced the claim Harry made that William and other royals are trapped in the institution: Not to mention when William adds, By using the platform we are lucky to have, because even being trapped as working royals, it seems that this is a very nice platform to bring awareness into real world affairs. Who could have known?

Prince William and Kate Middleton are more popular than Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Despite some criticism the Cambridges received on the Caribbean tour, the couple is still more popular with the British public than Harry and Meghan.

According to research firm YouGov, William is in second place for popularity, while Kate is in fourth. At the same time, Harry is in 11th place, and Meghan is in 14th place. Among Millennials, Harry and Meghan are higher up on the list, but they still are not more popular than William and Kate.

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In late March, Prince William and Kate Middleton embarked on their first royal tour since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic began. The couple visited Belize, Jamaica, and the Bahamas during their eight-day Caribbean tour to celebrate Queen Elizabeth IIs Platinum Jubilee year.

There were quite a few memorable moments during their tour including a video of William and Kate scuba diving which was shared on social media. The clip had a few royal watchers doing a double take and asking if something the princes wife had on was fake.

Prince William and Kate Middleton wave to the crowd after taking part in the Bahamas Platinum Jubilee Sailing Regatta | Jane Barlow  Pool/Getty Images

Prince William and Kate went scuba diving in Belize

Early on in their tour the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge went scuba diving to see the effects climate change has had on the Belize Barrier Reef, which is one of the largest in the world behind only Australias Great Barrier Reef.

William and Kate documented their dive on Twitter and Instgram writing: We were lucky enough to spend time diving at South Water Caye, directly above the spectacular Belize Barrier Reef. It was a privilege to see for ourselves the world-leading ocean conservation work being done here. While the effects of climate change are evident, the Government of Belize and communities across the country deserve huge recognition for their efforts to restore this incredible marine environment  with a commitment to protect 30% of it by 2030.

Royal watchers spot what could be a fake engagement ring on Kates finger

Fans gushed over the clip and praised the Cambridges for bringing more attention to conservation. But some royal commentators were stuck on something else about the dive.

Speaking on the Royally Obsessed podcast hosts Rachel Bowie and Roberta Fiorito discussed the scuba diving video and questioned whether the duchess was actually wearing her famous engagement ring during the dive.

I just want to know was she really wearing her engagement ring? Bowie asked.

Fiorito responded: It must be a stand-in, right?

Bowie then opined: Yes, theres no way, like, who would allow that? Theres not enough insurance on that ring and its irreplaceable. After thinking it over more the commenatator said: In the screengrabs that are caught she has a big rock on her finger, what else could it be?

Fiorito suggested maybe they are that confident in Kates scuba abilities that if she dropped it, she would find it.

The duchess ring is one of the most famous pieces of jewelry in the world

Closeup of Kate Middletons engagement ring | Arthur Edwards  WPA Pool/Getty Images

Its not too far-fetched to think a replacement ring was on Kates finger and her actual ring was safely placed somewhere else before she and the duke went scuba diving.

The duchesss ring is a 12-carat oval sapphire set in 18-carat white gold with 14 solitaire diamonds. Princess Diana selected it herself after seeing it in a Garrard catalog. In 1981, the piece cost $35,000. Today, its estimated to be worth more than $370,000. But because it belonged to the late princess and now has been worn by the bride of another future king, some consider it priceless.

During Will and Kates first joint engagement interview, the prince was asked about the ring he gave to Kate which once belonged to his mom. Its very special, as Kate is very special, William said. Its my way of making sure my mother didnt miss out on today and the excitement.

The palace has yet to confirm or deny if Kate was wearing the real ring during their scuba dive.

RELATED: Royal Commentator Blames Meghan and Harry for Derailing William and Kates Jamaica Tour
A Kansas State University researcher scoops out large quantities of graphene from a small detonation chamber. A K-State-patented method of creating graphene involves putting acetylene and oxygen in a small chamber and creating a controlled detonation.

It's a true research success story: Explosive graphene and hydrogen research from Kansas State University has turned into a successful international company, HydroGraph Clean Power Inc. The company recently went public on the Canadian Securities Exchange and is preparing for decades of growth as an important research and development hub.

HydroGraph and the K-State research involve a simple new way to create graphene: Put acetylene and oxygen in a small chamber and create a controlled detonation that produces large amounts of graphene from a single spark.

Graphene is a single atom-thick, two-dimensional sheet of hexagonally coordinated carbon atoms, which makes it the world's thinnest material and gives it valuable physical and electronic properties. Graphene has numerous applications, such as augmenting high-strength metals, reinforcing concrete, enhancing biomaterials and revolutionizing electronic applications.

The K-State detonation method of creating graphene checks all the right boxes. The process is safer, cleaner, environmentally friendly, cheaper, consistent and faster than other methods. An added bonus is that it is also scalable and can produce high-quality graphene in mass quantities.

"We discovered graphene serendipitously in the lab when we were using controlled explosions to make an aerosol gel," said Chris Sorensen, Cortelyou-Rust university distinguished professor of physics and university distinguished teaching scholar. "I wasn't expecting to make graphene."

Sorensen's research team had spent several years developing and patenting aerosol gels, but one day found that their explosion synthesis method also could produce nanographene  a dark and incredibly lightweight material. Several years ago, the Kansas State University Research Foundation patented Sorensen's new detonation technique to mass-produce graphene.

Sorensen's work caught the eye of Harold Davidson and Barry Hemsworth, entrepreneurs from Vancouver, British Columbia. Davidson reached out in 2017 to start a collaboration with Sorensen to build up and automate the graphene-making process to an industrial scale. Davidson and Hemsworth created a start-up company called Carbon-2D Graphene Inc. and worked hard to procure venture capital for Carbon-2D to fund Sorensen's research.

The investment paid off. The research not only led to a pilot-scale graphene production device, but another discovery: an environmentally benign, inexpensive method to make hydrogen. This is a significant advancement because hydrogen will be an important energy source in the near future, Sorensen said.

Carbon-2D Graphene Inc. soon became HydroGraph Clean Power Inc. and the collaboration has expanded to involve other K-State researchers and Kjirstin Breure, who became HydroGraph's chief operating officer. The work has resulted in new inventions, intellectual property and endless possibilities.

"We believe in partnerships and the partnership we have with K-State has been very productive," Davidson said. "The world of nanomaterials is going to open up to us and the process we have. We're using digital methods with our precisely controlled detonation technology, in order to create what we feel are going to be the nanomaterials required for the fourth industrial revolution."

Sorensen soon engaged Stefan Bossmann, university distinguished professor emeritus of chemistry, to assist in the chemical side of the collaboration. Bossmann applied a mild oxidation method to the graphene to make a high-quality graphene oxide, which maintains the integrity of the graphene and creates a new material with numerous possibilities.

"Our process is completely novel and our surface modification methods are ultraprecise," Bossmann said. "We use the explosion graphene and we modify only the outer layer, which means we maintain all other layers and their properties. That's enough to connect this outer layer to virtually any other matrix through well-established organic and inorganic chemistry."

The team of researchers also includes Arjun Nepal, research assistant professor of physics; Stephen Corkill, research engineer in physics; and numerous graduate students and undergraduate students.

Some of the recent patents from the collaborative research team include:

A method to create hydrogen-rich syngas in a provisional patent titled "Process for synthesis of syngas components."

A device for upscaling graphene production in a patent application titled "Device and process for mass production of particulate materials."

A process for developing turbostratic graphene oxide in a patent application titled "Graphene/graphene oxide core/shell particulates and methods."

HydroGraph continues to support the team, and recently established a $1.4 million research partnership for future projects that involve other K-State researchers in the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences: Placidus Amama, associate professor of chemical engineering; Suprem Das, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering; Jun Li, professor of chemistry; and Dong Lin, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering.

Other collaborators on the work include the University of Kansas Medical Center and Missouri University of Science and Technology. The funding and research will train nine graduate students.

"This research and commercialization partnership with HydroGraph is an excellent example of how K-State is actively working with companies to bring new businesses and jobs into the state of Kansas," said David Rosowsky, K-State vice president for research.

The multi-institutional research team continues to further expand on the detonation method to create graphene and hydrogen-rich syngas. They also are developing devices for more efficiently producing the unique graphene and graphene oxide. It's a collaboration with big plans for future growth and development.

"All of this started as curiosity-based research," Sorensen said. "Land-grant universities were founded on the idea that research and creative ideas formulated at the state university would yield useful technologies. That is exactly what happened here. Moreover, this type of intellectual property collaboration could be the future for K-State."
Hackers utilized an internal tool to collect data from 102 of MailChimp's clients, and the stolen information was subsequently used to phish users of the popular cryptocurrency wallet Trezor.

Trezor users received emails over the weekend saying that their accounts had been compromised due to a data breach. The email contained a phishing site that claimed to be a link to an updated version of Trezor Suite, as well as instructions on how to set up a new pin  but it was actually a phishing site designed to steal the contents of their digital wallets.

Hackers Breached MailChimp

Cybercriminals accessed MailChimp's systems at some point last month, taking information from 102 users, the company said on Monday, April 4.

The incident, which was discovered by MailChimp personnel on March 26, entailed an unknown threat actor gaining access to internal tools used by the company's customer support staff for account administration.

According to MailChimp's Chief Information Security Officer Siobhan Smyth, the breach was propagated by an external actor who successfully executed a social engineering attack on MailChimp employees, resulting in employee credentials being hijacked. The hacker or hackers then exploited their access to the company to obtain subscriber data.

Despite the fact that MailChimp deleted the compromised employee accounts after discovering the incident, the hackers were still able to monitor about 300 MailChimp user accounts and steal audience data from 102 of them. As a result of the security breach, MailChimp got reports of the malicious actor sending phishing campaigns to their contacts using information collected from user accounts. The attempt appears to have been geared to collect information on people working in the crypto and finance industries, Smyth said.

Smyth apologized to the company's users in a statement provided to The Verge, adding, "We take pride in our security culture, infrastructure, and the trust our customers place in us to safeguard their data. We're confident in the security measures and robust processes we have in place to protect our users' data and prevent future incidents."

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Trezor Hardware Targeted via MailChimp

Instead of utilizing cloud-based wallets or wallets kept on the users' PC, Bleeping Computer explained that Trezor is a hardware cryptocurrency wallet that allows users to store crypto assets offline. This eliminates the vulnerability presented by online storage.

A 12 to 24-word recovery seed will be displayed when setting up a new Trezor, allowing owners to retrieve their wallets if their device is stolen or lost. Anyone who knows the recovery seed, on the other hand, can acquire access to the wallet and its stored cryptocurrency, making it critical to keep the recovery seed safe.

We are investigating a potential data breach of an opt-in newsletter hosted on MailChimp.



A scam email warning of a data breach is circulating. Do not open any email originating from noreply@trezor.us, it is a phishing domain.  Trezor (@Trezor) April 3, 2022

On April 3, Trezor stated on Twitter that the emails which forced owners of Trezor hardware wallets to download a bogus Trezor Suite software that would steal their recovery seeds were phishing scams distributed through one of their MailChimp-hosted opt-in newsletters.

In a statement to Gizmodo, Trezor said that MailChimp has revealed that an insider targeting crypto firms has hacked its service.

"We will not be communicating by newsletter until the situation is resolved. Do not open any emails appearing to come from Trezor until further notice," said Trezor.

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Only a costly love will heal our racial divide.

Jesus was in a conversation with a Jewish religious scholar who was attempting to catch him in a trap:

Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

What is written in the law? [Jesus] asked him. How do you read it?

He answered, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

Youve answered correctly, he told him. Do this and you will live. (Luke 10:25-28)

Jesus told the religious scholar, Do this and you will live. But the Jewish religious leader, wanting to justify himself, asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor? (Luke 10:29).

In his Jewish cultural context, his neighbor would have been only Jewish because of the historical ethnic conflict that existed between Jews and Gentiles. However, Jesus wanted to show humanity how to truly be human.

Jesus took up the question and said, A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. (Luke 10:30-32)

Jerusalem to Jericho was a seventeen-mile trip, with a three-thousand-foot descent of winding road. This road had many places where robbers could hide, waiting to ambush unsuspecting travelers.

Jesus tells us that a man was robbed, beaten, and left for dead. We know the man was Jewish because Jesus does not identify him as a Gentile to his Jewish listeners. Then Jesus says a Jewish priest and a Leviteboth coming from Jerusalemsaw their bloody kinsman. They walked by him on the other side of the road, neglecting his need, moving past his pain. There was no fear of them becoming unclean from touching a dead person because they had just completed their religious duties in Jerusalemthey were heading down, to Jericho. The Temple was a place of worship, yet the two religious leaders walked past the man in need.

Never forgetthe greatest act of worship is loving your neighbor because you love God; the two go together. Listeners would have expected that the priest and Levite would be examples of loving their neighbor, but Jesus flipped the script:

But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, Take care of him. When I come back Ill reimburse you for whatever extra you spend. (Luke 10:33-25)

Given the ethnic hatred between Jews and Samaritans, the thought that a Samaritan would stop and help a Jew was unthinkable. Jesus said the Samaritan saw a mannot a Jew, but a man. You and I will not be able to love people beyond the label we attach to them. This fact is why Scripture says, Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Every human bears the image of God and is worthy of love, respect, and dignity. When the Samaritan saw the Jewish man, he had compassion for him. Love shares in suffering.

The Samaritan put bandages on the mans wounds. He poured oil to keep the wounds soft and wine to keep them from being infected. He then placed the man on his animal and put him up in an inn so the man could recover. Helping the man who was supposed to be his ethnic enemy was expensive. Everything he used to help him had a financial cost. The amount of money he paid the inn for the man to recover from his injuries would have covered about a two-month stay.

There was another cost too. Imagine when the Samaritan returned home and told his family and friends what he had done for a Jew! I suspect he would have been called a Jew lover or been told #JewishLivesDoNotMatter and asked, Why would you help him? Loving your neighbor looks like refusing to give in to historical racial bigotry. It looks like saying, I am not going to carry this sin into my future. I am going to break the cycle of hate by being merciful to the other.

Jesus then said, Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?

The one who showed mercy to him, he said.

Then Jesus told him, Go and do the same. (Luke 10:36-37)

Our racial divide will be healed by the merciful. Go, and do the same!

Dr. Derwin L. Gray is the cofounder and lead pastor of Transformation Church (TC), located in the Charlotte, North Carolina metro region. He is a popular conference speaker and the author of Hero: Unleashing Gods Power in a Mans Heart ; Building a Multiethnic Church ; The Good Life ; God, Do You Hear Me?; and Limitless Life . Derwin met his wife, Vicki, at Brigham Young University, and they have been married since 1992. They have two adult children, Presley and Jeremiah. His new book, How to Heal Our Racial Divide, is out today from Tyndale.
Pro-life group warns Colorado abortion law may lead to infanticide

Pro-life organizations are denouncing a new law in Colorado that allows women to get an abortion up to the moment of birth and denies the rights of pre-born babies.

Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 22-1279 on Monday, which affirms the fundamental right of individual Coloradans to make their own reproductive health-care decisions.

A pregnant individual has a fundamental right to continue a pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion and to make decisions about how to exercise that right, reads the legislation, in part. A fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative rights under the laws of this state.

The law goes on to say that a public entity cannot deny, restrict, interfere with, or discriminate against an individuals fundamental right to  have an abortion in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information.

A public entity shall not  deprive, through prosecution, punishment, or other means, an individual of the individuals right to act or refrain from acting during the individuals own pregnancy based on the potential, actual, or perceived impact on the pregnancy, the pregnancys outcomes, or on the pregnant individuals health, the law continued.

The group Colorado for Life denounced the law as radically extreme and condemned it for stripping the rights of unborn babies.

Against the will of Coloradans across the state who contacted their elected officials, Polis and the radical abortion extremists in our state legislature have ignored us yet again, said Colorado for Life in a statement on its Facebook page after the bill was signed.

Polis signed HB 1279 into law this afternoon. This means that  preborn have no legal rights under Colorado law.  Babies will lose their lives simply because of a disability, or for being the wrong gender or race.  More babies will lose their lives who could otherwise survive outside of the womb.

Abortion tourism will increase, resulting in the murder of preborn babies from all over the country taking place here in Colorado, the pro-life group added.

Noah Brandt, director of Government Affairs at Live Action, raised concerns that the wording of the law, namely the pregnancys outcomes comment, might create a means through which infanticide can be legal.

Under the rules proposed by this bill, if a child is delivered alive during an abortion the doctors are under no legal compulsion to provide standard medical care as they would in any other circumstance and attempt to preserve the childs life, said Brandt in a statement shared with The Christian Post on Monday.

Medical providers would listen to the mothers instructions, which could include not providing life-sustaining medical care to the child, which would lead to the childs death, which most reasonable people would consider infanticide, Brandt added.

Recently, many have speculated that the United States Supreme Court will soon overturn the controversial 1973 decision Roe v. Wade, which struck down laws restricting abortion before fetal viability.

As a result, several states have passed laws that either codify the Roe decision or are trigger measures that will effectively ban abortion once Roe is overturned.

In December, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which centered on whether Mississippi could enforce a law banning most abortions after 15 weeks into a pregnancy.
Actor Mickey Rourke says 'there is a God' and everything is in His hands

Boxer turned actor Mickey Rourke recently shared his belief in God and credited his grandmother for being the person who stressed the importance of faith.

Ahead of the "Man of God" film release, Rourke revealed that had it not been for his late grandmother, whom he described as a devout Catholic, he wouldn't have had the faith to get through some of the most difficult moments in his life.

When speaking of the difficulties he's faced, Rourke told Fox News, "My life wouldve taken a different path if my grandmother wasnt so religious."

"A lot of brutal s--- happened early on in my life. And when that happens, you live with shame. You either live in that shame and be a broken man or you get hard.

The Golden Globe award winner added that one priest, in particular, was instrumental in helping him understand God and his faith.

I was very comfortable on the streets growing up. But there is a God," he continued. "My priest told me, God hears everything you say. He just doesnt give it to you when you want it. Youve got to keep persevering and keep communicating with Him. Youve got to talk to God before the house burns down."

When The Wrestler star was 18 years old, his younger brother, who was 17 at the time, was given only six months to live. That prognosis activated his prayer life and Rourke was encouraged by his Catholic grandmother to pray to St. Jude. His brother did not die and Rourke believes the answered prayer is why he was able to go on and live his dreams of becoming an actor.

His brother survived to live many more years and later died in 20024 at age 50. Rourke admitted in the interview with Fox News that the loss still affected his faith and he wasn't able to pray for two years following his brother's death.

The Rev. Peter Colapietro, a priest at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in New York City, is the man he credited with helping him get back on track with his faith.

I felt understood, he said. But it took me two years before I was able to pray again.

"Father Pete saved me," Rourke declared, adding that Colapietro explained that everyone suffers and loses loved ones.

Speaking about filmmaking, Rourke said he endeavors to make movies that matter. In the Man of God, he plays the role of a paralyzed man and St. Nektarios of Aegina, a Greek Orthodox saint who performed miracles but was persecuted for it.

I dont want to make movies where its just one guy and a machine gun killing 200 other people just because it sells, he maintained. Thats for somebody else. Its not for me. But one thing Ive learned is that everythings in Gods hands.
Denzel Washington tells TD Jakes advice he gave Will Smith, says prayer was the only answer

Over the weekend, Denzel Washington and T.D. Jakes talked in more detail about Washingtons encounter with Will Smith following the now infamous Oscar slap.

The 67-year-old Washington was among those who spoke at Bishop T.D. Jakes International Leadership Summit in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday. The minister asked the actor about the March 27 altercation between Smith and comedian Chris Rock, which is being called the slap heard around the world.

Smith made headlines last Sunday after slapping Rock across the face at the Academy Awards, an action the Oscar winner has since apologized for. Smith also resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. The Academy is moving forward with disciplinary proceedings.

Smiths wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, suffers from alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes bald patches on the scalp. It can affect both men and women of all races. During one of his comedy skits on stage, Rock took aim at Pinkett Smith and her condition with a joke. At first, Smith appeared to laugh at the joke, but his wife was visibly uncomfortable. Her husband then walked to Rock and slapped Rock across the face.

Washington and others were seen providing counsel to Smith after the altercation as the violent confrontation left their Hollywood peers in shock. While accepting his award that night for best actor, Smith shared a piece of advice Washington gave him following the incident.

At your highest moment, be careful. Thats when the devil comes for you, Smith said Washington told him.

During a conversation Saturday, Jakes told Washington that it seemed like he stepped in the middle of World War III and acted as a senior statesman trying to calm the situation.

Washington responded: Theres a saying: When the devil ignores you, then you know youre doing something wrong. The devil goes, Oh, no, leave him alone. Hes my favorite.

Washington, who in recent years has become very outspoken about his Christian faith, said the devil got a hold of things that night at the Oscars.

Conversely, when the devil comes at you, maybe its because youre trying to do something right, Washington stated. And for whatever reason, the devil got a hold of that circumstance that night.

He refrained from giving Jakes the details about the conversation he had with Smith at that moment, but he made sure not to criticize Smith for his actions.

There but for the grace of God go any of us. Who are we to condemn? Washington maintained. I dont know all the ins and outs of the situation, but I know the only solution was prayer.

Later in the conversation, Washington said that he felt led to approach Smith following the incident, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

I couldnt have sat in my seat. No way I could have sat in my seat, he said. Thats just not who I am.
Hungary passes constitutional amendment defining marriage as between man and woman, bans gay adoption

The eastern European nation of Hungary has passed a constitutional amendment that will preserve the definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

The Ninth Amendment to the Fundamental Law of Hungary, the countrys equivalent of a constitution, was passed in Parliament last week by a margin of 134-45. The amendment, which was backed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, will amend Section L paragraph (1) of the Fundamental Law to read: Hungary protects the institution of marriage as the association between a man and a woman and the family as the basis for the survival of a nation. The foundation of the family is marriage and the parent-child relationship. The mother is a woman, the father is a man.

The main rule is that only married couples can adopt a child, that is, a man and woman who are married, said Justice Minister Judit Varga, Reuters reported.



Varga, who sent the amendment to Parliament last month, said it will also work to provide all children with an education based on the values of the Christian culture of Hungary and guarantees the undisturbed development of the child according to their gender at birth, Hungary Today noted.

The Fundamental Law of Hungary is a living framework that expresses the will of the nation, the form in which we want to live, Varga wrote in the justification section of the bill. However, the modern set of ideas that make all traditional values, including the two sexes, relative is a growing concern.

The constant threat to the natural laws of the forms and content of human communities, to the concepts arising from the order of Creation that harmonize with them and ensure the survival of communities, and, in some cases, the attempt to formulate them with a content contrary to the original raises doubts as to whether the interests, rights and well-being of future generations can be protected along the lines of the values of the Fundamental Law, she added.

The passage of the Ninth Amendment comes less than a year after Parliament voted in favor of a measure that defines gender as biological sex based on primary sex characteristics and chromosomes. Like the measure preserving the traditional definition of sex, the Ninth Amendment faced strong pushback from LGBT advocacy groups.

This is a dark day for Hungarys LGBTQ community and a dark day for human rights, said David Vig, director of Amnesty Hungary. These discriminatory, homophobic and transphobic new laws  rushed through under the cover of the coronavirus pandemic  are just the latest attack on LGBTQ people by Hungarian authorities.

The government of Hungary, led by Orban, has worked to uphold the influence of Christianity on its laws and culture as much of the rest of Europe continues to become more secular. Orban previously described Christianity as Europes last hope.

Hungary was one of the 31 other countries that joined the U.S. in signing the Geneva Consensus Declaration, which asserts that there is no international right to abortion. Rather than rely on immigration to counteract the countrys declining birth rates, the Hungarian government implemented pro-family policies designed to incentivize people to have children.

The United States tried and failed to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment, which would have enshrined the definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman into the U.S. Constitution, in 2006. At the time, several states had passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage in response to a Massachusetts Supreme Court decision finding a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Less than a decade later, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the constitutional amendments, declaring that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right in the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision. Of the 29 countries that have legalized same-sex marriage, more than half of them are in Europe.
Due to a valve issue on ground equipment, NASA's second attempt to fuel its Artemis I moon mission megarocket was once again delayed on Monday, April 4.

However, experts said that the delay during the wet dress rehearsal was not surprising because this is part of the process and how this system operates.

Artemis I Team's Second Attempt at the Wet Dress Rehearsal Unsuccessful

According to NASA's blog post, the Artemis I team ended the wet dress rehearsal test at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 4, after partially loading liquid oxygen into the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage tank. This was the first event at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B where new systems were used.

The team was able to monitor the Artemis I core stage when it was exposed to cryogenic liquids during the wet dress rehearsal and collect data that will inform updates to propellant loading procedures. This provided the teams with an excellent opportunity to train and to ensure the accuracy of the modeled loading operations.

However, the crews ran into a problem with a panel on the mobile launcher that controls the core stage vent valve during the chilldown of the lines in preparation for loading the liquid hydrogen. Given the limited time to fix the problem as teams neared the end of their shifts, the launch director decided to call the test off for the day.

Due the vent valve issue, the launch director has called off the test for the day. The team is preparing to offload LOX and will begin discussing how quickly the vehicle can be turned around for the next attempt. A lot of great learning and progress today.-JP  NASA's Exploration Ground Systems (@NASAGroundSys) April 4, 2022

In a Twitter update, NASA's Exploration Ground Systems' officials said, "The team is preparing to offload LOX (liquid oxygen) and will begin discussing how quickly the vehicle can be turned around for the next attempt."

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Experts' Take on the Unsuccessful Wet Dress Rehearsal

Dale Ketcham of Space Florida, the state's aerospace economic development agency, said that it is not surprising that there are delays during the wet dress rehearsal because this is part of the process.

NASA, according to Ketcham, wants these problems to be revealed now, rather than closer to launch time. "You want to catch these issues in a wet dress rehearsal. It's a rehearsal. It's like a theater performance."

Meanwhile, Don Platt, a Florida Tech space systems professor, explained that the delays tied to fueling are not something new.

"If we go back to the Shuttle program, one of the major reasons for delays, even postponements for significant amounts of time had to do with both ground support systems that processed and loaded the liquid hydrogen into the rocket," Platt said.

Space X Gives Way for Artemis I's Wet Dress Rehearsal

SpaceX initially planned to launch four private astronauts to the International Space Station on the Ax-1 mission for the Houston company Axiom Space on April 3.

However, the launch was pushed back to April 6 to provide NASA time for the Artemis I wet dress rehearsal. Following NASA's Artemis I fueling delays, SpaceX pushed back the launch date even more, this time to Friday, April 8.

It was noted that the mission will be launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Pad 39A, which is close to Artemis I's Pad 39B. Hence, whether or not the Ax-1 mission will launch on April 8 hinges on NASA's intentions for the Artemis I fueling test.

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'Make Families Great Again': Hungary seeing more babies, fewer abortions through pro-family policies

White House officials, Republican members of Congress and evangelical leaders gathered Thursday for Making Families Great Again, a conference on family policy hosted by the Hungarian Embassy at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Led by President Viktor Orbans Fidesz Party, Hungary has become a poster child for passing nationalist pro-family policies over the last several years.

With nearly a decade-worth of data, Hungarian officials claimed Thursday that policies instituted over the last several decades that have incentivized marriage and childbirth have helped boost marriage and birth rates in Hungary at a time many countries struggle with those issues.

I was very proud to be a minister here and hearing from our American friends how much they admired the Hungarian family policies, Katalin Novak, the Hungarian minister of state for family, youth and international affairs who gave a keynote address at the event, told The Christian Post in an interview.

They say that Hungary can be a role model for them in this issue. They said that we can show an example to the rest of the world for pro-family issues.

Hungarys birth rate fell below replacement level decades ago and the nation has struggled to repopulate. Unlike some of its European counterparts that have relied on immigration to boost population totals, the Orban government has made clear that it does not view mass immigration as the answer.

Rather, the administration believes the answer is to ensure that Hungarian citizens have all the incentives they need to build large and happy families.

Today, the Hungarian government spends nearly 5 percent of its GDP towards incentives for those in the predominantly-Christian nation to get married and have children  lots of them.

Through policies, subsidies and extensive tax reductions enacted since Orban regained power in 2010, some parents are eligible to receive the equivalent a grant of about $36,000 to help pay a home mortgage, and the equivalent of about $9,000 from the government toward a seven-seater vehicle if they have the required number of children.

The list of incentives and benefits for parents in Hungary is quite extensive and includes things like a state-financed daycare system, three years of paid parental leave, free kindergarten, subsidized vacations, assistance paying off student loans, vacation benefits and exemption from income tax for mothers with four or more children.

According to Novak, Hungary has seen positive results spanning from the time Orban retook control of the government in 2010.

From 2010 to 2018, she says, marriage rates in Hungary have increased by 43 percent (the highest number in 20 years), divorce rates have decreased by 22.5 percent, fertility has increased by 21 percent (highest in 20 years) and abortion has decreased by 33.5 percent.

This has happened as birth rates continue to slip in countries across the developed world, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.

These numbers and figures, they speak for themselves, Novak assured. [C]ompare it to the socialist trends, the left-liberal government.

Participants in the conference included White House director of strategic communications Mercedes Schlapp, President Trumps special assistant on domestic policy Kathryn Talento and Health and Human Services senior policy advisor Valerie Huber.

The event also included Reps. Chris Smith, R-N.J., Andy Harris, R-Md., Paul Gosar, R-Ariz and Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb.

Others included Family Research Council President and USCIRF commissioner Tony Perkins, former White House advisor Sebastian Gorka, American Conservative Union Chair Matt Schlapp and as Emilie Kao, the director of the Heritage Foundation's DeVos Center for Religion & Civil Society.

We are working closely with the U.S. administration on family issues. They would also like to get some detail on our pro-family policies and the measures that we have introduced in the last nine years, Novak, who is also the vice president of the Fidesz Party explained.

We can already see in the new budget actually just introduced recently in the U.S. that it already has some important elements regarding pro-family measures. There are already important steps taken and we can see in President Trumps speeches as well, he thinks it is very important that pro-family and pro-life values should be represented.

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Hungary PM Orban says re-election validates 'Christian democratic, conservative politics'

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has won re-election, attributing his victory to the popularity of his brand of Christian democratic, conservative, patriotic politics.

According to Hungarys National Election Office, with more than 98% of votes counted, Orbans Fidesz party captured 53.29% of the vote and 135 seats in the parliamentary elections held Sunday, enough to secure a supermajority in the 199-seat Parliament.

A coalition of opposition political parties titled United for Hungary received the second-highest share of votes and seats, accumulating 34.89% of the vote and 56 seats.

Seven of the remaining eight seats in Parliament went to the Our Country party, which captured 6.15% of the vote in the election. The eighth seat went to a minor political party, the National Self-Government of Hungarian Germans.

Addressing supporters after his victory, Orban proclaimed that the whole world has seen tonight in Budapest that our brand of Christian democratic, conservative, patriotic politics has won.

Orban addressed the influence of liberal Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros and other international forces in the election.

We had to fight the biggest, overwhelming force: the left at home, the international left, the Brussels bureaucrats, the Soros empire with all its money, the international mainstream media and in the end, the Ukrainian president, Orban stated.

In Sundays election, Hungarian voters also weighed in on several referendums related to LGBT issues.

Voters in the eastern European country overwhelmingly rejected ballot measures that would have allowed sexual orientation sessions for minor children in public education without parental consent, the promotion of gender reassignment surgery for minors, the unrestricted introduction of sexual media content to minors and the display of gender-sensitive media content to minors.

More than 90% of Hungarians voted against adopting each policy proposal.

The promotion of sex changes for minors had the highest level of opposition (95.89%), followed by the exposure of minor children to sexually explicit material (95.32%), the display of gender-sensitive media content to minors (95.17%) and counseling children about their sexual orientation and gender identity without parental consent (92.34%).

Orbans re-election comes three weeks after the Hungarian Parliament elected Katalin Novak, an Orban ally, to become the countrys first female president.

In a 2019 interview with The Christian Post in her capacity as Hungarys Minister of State for family, youth and international affairs in the Orban administration, Novak said the Hungarian government was working closely with the Trump administration. She said the administration wanted to get some detail on our pro-family policies and the measures that we have introduced in the last nine years.

Throughout his tenure as prime minister, Orbans government has enacted policies designed to make it easier for people to raise families. They contend this was necessary to reverse the declining birthrates that have plagued Hungary and Europe as a whole in recent years.

Specifically, the Hungarian government created the Family Housing Allowance Program, which provides subsidies so parents can buy or build a new home.

The amount of money a family receives under the Family Housing Allowance Program increases based on the number of children. While a family with one child can receive a subsidy of $2,160.72, families with three or more children can receive $36,000.

Additional pro-natalist policies embraced by the Hungarian government include free daycare, three years of paid parental leave, free kindergarten, assistance with student loan payments and the exemption of mothers with four or more children from paying an income tax.

Additionally, in 2020, the government passed an amendment to the Fundamental Law of Hungary, the countrys equivalent of a constitution, that recognizes marriage as an institution between one man and woman and bans same-sex couples from adopting children.

Under the new policy, only married couples in a heterosexual relationship can adopt children.

Previously, the Hungarian Parliament passed a measure defining gender as biological sex based on primary sex characteristics and chromosomes. Hungary was also one of 31 countries to sign the Geneva Consensus Declaration, which asserts that there is no international right to abortion.

While Orban has received praise from former President Donald Trump and other conservatives in the U.S. for enacting conservative policies as much of western Europe embraces secularism and socialism, critics have decried Orban as a threat to democracy.

On the campaign trail ahead of the 2020 presidential election, then-candidate Joe Biden listed Hungary as one of several totalitarian regimes in the world and lambasted his opponent, then-President Donald Trump for his embrace of all the thugs in the world.

Orban reacted to Bidens characterization of Hungary in a 2021 interview with Fox News.

The prime minister contended that the hostile rhetoric directed at Hungary by liberal politicians and thinkers in other Western countries stems from jealousy that the country is a success story as a conservative national alternative that is even more successful than a leftist liberal government.

Meanwhile, critics of Orban insist that their aversion to the Hungarian leader is based on genuine concerns.

Writing for The Bulwark, a website founded by Republican critics of former President Donald Trump, Texas Lutheran University Theology Professor H. David Baer suggested that Orban won re-election because the system is rigged.

Hungary left the democratic station long ago and is well down the road to competitive autocracy, Baer maintained. Orban controls the media; he controls the educational system; he controls large segments of the economy; he controls regional politics through a system of patronage.

Orban has also faced pushback for his position on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. He has voiced opposition to European Union sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports.

Orban has described keeping Hungary out of this war as the most important priority.

We condemn the war; especially, that it is here in our neighborhood; we say no to violence, we stand together with our allies, and all this is important, the prime minister remarked.
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.
An application for a search warrant reveals more details about the conspiratorial mindset of Matthew Taylor Coleman, a California Christian surf school owner who confessed to killing his two children in Mexico last year. The search warrant was first reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Coleman, 40, of Santa Barbara was reported missing by his wife in August 2021 when he allegedly took their two children, a 2-year-old son and 10-month-old daughter, in the family's van. The Find My iPhone feature tracked Coleman to Rosarito in Baja California, where surveillance footage released by the Baja California Attorney General's Office showed Coleman and the children checking into a hotel. According to authorities, Coleman later returned to the hotel alone.

The bodies of his two children were discovered by a farmworker in the brush near the entrance of the Rancho El Descanso community. According to the FBI, they were killed with a spear-fishing gun.

When Coleman was detained at the border checkpoint in San Diego, he confessed that he killed his children because he had been "enlightened by QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories and was receiving visions and signs revealing that his wife, A.C., possessed serpent DNA and had passed it on to his children," the FBI wrote in a 2021 affidavit.

A search warrant application, filed on March 28, reveals even more detail about how Coleman's online radicalization and unraveling mental state combined to have tragic consequences.

"On August 11, while I was transporting M. COLEMAN from Ventura County Jail to the United States Marshals Service, he explained that he first learned of 'Lizard People' on Twitter and from 'that British guy with white hair,'" FBI Special Agent Joseph P. Hamer wrote in the affidavit.

"That British guy" referred to David Icke, a once-mainstream BBC broadcaster who has become one of the 21st century's most prolific conspiracy theorists. In the early 1990s, Icke started proliferating invented tales of a secret order that runs the world; that imaginary global order is made up of shape-shifting, reptile-like aliens who masquerade as humans. According to Icke, many of the world's political, social and cultural leaders are secretly alien reptiles.

Icke's influence in New Age conspiracy circles is potent. Along with his many popular books, he found a receptive American audience on Alex Jones' Infowars, where Icke has been a frequent guest for years. Icke was finally removed from Twitter and Facebook in 2020 for spreading COVID-19 misinformation, but the FBI believes by then Coleman had already been influenced by Icke's beliefs.

"He said visions and signs revealed that his wife, A.C., possessed serpent DNA (M. COLEMAN mentioned that he was not sure if his wife was a shape shifter) and had passed it onto his children and that all things were pointing to the idea that his children have corrupted DNA that will spread if something is not done about it," Hamer wrote.

Coleman also allegedly began slipping down the rabbit hole of QAnon conspiracy theories, and the affidavit claims he was obsessed with finding secret symbolism in social media photos. Although "lizard people" conspiracies and QAnon are not directly linked, both share a belief that a secret elite is controlling the world and leaving hints of their deeds in media appearances and photographs.

Coleman "started noticing 'signs' everywhere," Hamer wrote, "including postings on Instagram from musicians, teachers, and his friends." Coleman "explained that he was either crazy or the only person that is left on Earth that is a true man, and that while he was in Mexico  before killing his children  M. COLEMAN laid in bed seeing all the pieces being decoded like 'The Matrix,' and he was Neo," the affidavit alleges. (The imagery of "The Matrix" is widespread in far-right conspiracy circles; "taking the red pill" or becoming "pilled" is frequently used as a positive term for people who have become radicalized by online rhetoric.)

The search warrant application filed by the FBI seeks access to two Instagram accounts used by Coleman. The FBI believes there may be more evidence regarding his mental state in his direct messages, which they currently cannot see.

Coleman has been charged with the foreign murder of U.S. nationals.
SAN FRANCISCO - Elon Musk became the largest shareholder of Twitter on Monday, setting the platform up for a potential political showdown over its efforts to limit harmful content, efforts the firebrand Tesla chief executive has indicated that he sees hastening a turn toward censorship.

His surprise investment, which comes days after questioning the company's commitment to free speech and suggesting he might start his own social platform, sent Twitter stock soaring. While it was not immediately clear what role Musk plans to play, analysts speculated he may try for an activist restructuring that could change the way Twitter polices its platform as well as who it banishes.

Some inside Twitter worry Musk may push Twitter in a libertarian direction, away from blocking or restricting accounts that cause social harm, according to people familiar with internal conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive matters.

Just days after Twitter banned former president Donald Trump in the wake of the Capitol insurrection, Musk wrote on Twitter that "a lot of people are going to be super unhappy with West Coast high tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech."

Some Twitter employees and experts fear Musk's involvement could also push the company further into chaos after years of investor activism and the sudden departure of former chief executive Jack Dorsey. The company is already at a critical juncture ahead of the 2022 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress, when it will have to police related misinformation that could help sway votes.

Musk has a 9.2% stake in the social media company, which was disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing and sent shares up 27%. His stake, worth nearly $2.9 billion based on the closing price of Twitter on Monday, now dwarfs that of Dorsey, who owns a 2.3% stake. Musk tweeted, "Oh hi lol," greeting users of the social media app where he makes many of his most erratic pronouncements, including news about Tesla, where he heads the company. Musk seemed to realize the potential of his influence almost immediately. By Monday evening, he launched a Twitter poll asking users whether they would like an edit button - a longtime bone of contention among users and the app's leadership.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. The company does not typically respond to media requests after disbanding its public relations team in 2020. Twitter declined to answer questions about Musk. He did not respond to a request for comment.

Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, said Musk's passive stake could be just the beginning. Rather than starting a competing social media platform, as some predicted, "It looks like Elon has his eyes laser set on Twitter." Ives estimates Musk, the world's richest man, will eventually pursue an active stake and take a more aggressive role.

Musk polled Twitter last month on whether the app adheres to free speech, remarking the poll's consequences will be "important." Musk questioned whether Twitter "rigorously adheres" to the principles of free speech.

"Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy," he tweeted. He then asked, "Is a new platform needed?"

The filing reporting Musk's stake is dated March 14, though his signature on the document is dated Monday. That means Musk would have acquired his ownership stake before his poll.

"He's kind of coming in friendly right now," said Gene Munster, managing partner of former Tesla investor Loup Ventures. "He's the most famous person in the world and he has pretty loyal fans. There's some unique things that only he can do as a shareholder-activist."

Musk sold billions worth of Tesla shares last year, making some of his wealth liquid for the first time. Musk sold the shares after taking to Twitter to poll his users on whether he should sell 10% of his shares, though a trading plan that would have seen him sell much of the stock had been adopted weeks earlier, putting the purpose of the poll into question.

Musk's views on free speech have the support of many conservatives and Trump fans, some of whom praised his new investment on Monday. "Now that @elonmusk is Twitter's largest shareholder, he should demand the end of political censorship, company-wide reform, and the reinstatement of President Trump," tweeted Monica Crowley, former assistant secretary of public affairs at the Treasury Department under Trump.

Both Musk and Dorsey have been known as chaotic but visionary Silicon Valley founders, and the two men appear to be on friendly terms. They've praised one another on Twitter and share a common love of cryptocurrency.

On internal Twitter message boards, some employees decried Musk as unstable, referencing his tweets and his conflicts with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Some discussed organizing a protest, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

It would not the first time Twitter will have faced criticism from activist shareholders, if Musk takes that tactic. Previously, Elliott Management, an investment firm that acquired a large stake in Twitter, started a campaign to oust Dorsey in 2020. Musk tweeted his support for Dorsey at the time.

They criticized Dorsey's role running payments platform Square while also running Twitter, saying he was an absent manager and that Twitter was undisciplined and slow to innovate. Though Elliott did not win in its 2020 campaign to oust Dorsey, his surprise announcement that he was stepping down last December was viewed as a win.

Musk is very active on Twitter, having tweeted more than 17,300 times. He averages 125,180 likes per tweet, according to Socialtracker. He has tweeted some controversial posts, including one in 2018 in which he said he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private at $420 a share. Later, Musk clarified that the tweet had been a joke.

He said he chose the number $420 "because he had recently learned about the number's significance in marijuana culture and thought his girlfriend would find it funny, which admittedly is not a great reason to pick a price," according to the federal complaint.

The joke nonetheless caused Tesla shares to skyrocket, and Musk and Tesla were each fined $20 million. Musk additionally had to step down as Tesla board chairman and agreed to have his communications vetted by an approved securities lawyer.

Musk recently accused the Securities and Exchange Commission of trying to "chill his exercise of First Amendment rights" while asking a judge to throw out a 2018 settlement agreement governing his tweets, alleging he felt boxed in by multiple sources of pressure at the time and he entered into it to protect Tesla shareholders.

"Tesla was a less mature company" and the Securities and Exchange Commission action "stood to jeopardize the company's financing," Musk said in a legal filing. Defending against the action "through protracted litigation was not in the interests of the company and its shareholders," he added.

At the time, Musk said the $20 million weed joke was "worth it." Back then, he had 22 million followers, a fraction of what he has on Twitter today.
Weve read the stats: only 2 percent to 3 percent of investment capital goes to companies founded solely by women; companies co-founded by men and women attract another 10 percent to 15 percent. And although the pool is growing rapidly in Europe, theres simply less money available from European VC funds than American ones.

Where does this leave a female first-time founder from Eastern Europe?

In 2018, I co-founded Zowie, a no-code customer service solution for digital retailers, and immediately landed L'Oreal as our first client. Even with this success and my track recordForbes 30 Under 30, ex-IBM, founder of a successful software development agencythe odds were against me in the VC funding arena.

I started by raising pre-seed funding closer to home and reinvesting in our growing team. Last year, I set my sights on landing additional capital and started pitching to VC firms across the US and Europe. It was an uphill battle, but it paid off: we announced Zowies seed round in January 2022, led by Gradient Ventures (Googles AI-focused fund) and 10x from Germany.

Along the way, Ive learned a lot about what it takes to raise VC funding when the odds are against you.

Dont listen to imposter syndrome.

With imposter syndrome, theres no other way but through. Many of usespecially womenfeel inadequate when facing major challenges, but that voice in your head isnt telling the truth.

The tough reality is that some of these feelings are socialised. There are real reasons why someone might dismiss or underestimate us, like unconscious biases about gender, race, or ability. Language can be another barrier; as a non-native English speaker, I know what its like to try to communicate my abilities and intelligence in another language. I cant control how my accent is perceived by others, but I can remind myself that I have something valuable to say.

Set expectations for yourself instead of letting others set them for you. When you hold yourself to your own standards, it changes your behaviour, gestures, and stance. Its not about changing who you are, but about showing up as yourself.

See yourself as a founder. Talk to yourself in the mirror if that helps.

Know your numbers.

Investors expect founders to be data-driven and rational. These qualities arent exclusive to one gender, but unfortunately, the false stereotype is that women are illogical and dont understand data.

This is a barrier but also a potential advantage. Because tech is so male-dominated, investors are used to seeing men on these pitch calls. Its obvious from their questions and behavior that theyre surprised to see a woman. Theyre even more surprised when you throw numbers at them, know your data inside and out, and demonstrate your rational decision making.

Storytelling is valued (more so by American investors than European ones, in my experience) but it must be data-backed. The kind of strong storytelling that is perceived as charismatic when coming from a man can be labelled irrational or soft when coming from a woman.

It shouldnt be the case that women have to act like men to succeed, but our social ideas of success and ambition have been influenced by gender dynamics. The best thing female founders can do is to be aware of these dynamics and be prepared to overemphasise the numbers.

Remember that empathy is a superpower.

Investors are people, too. There isnt a one-size-fits-all approach to pitching, because each meeting is different. The investors in front of you have their own priorities, personalities, and histories. You need to be able to read them and adapt your pitch. Know when to ask questions, when people are getting bored and its time to move on, and when to end the pitch.

Mentors will tell you how important it is to adapt your approach, but you must learn this on your own. I practised these skills back when I was working on sales outreach for the software development agency that I founded. Some founders dont like to hear (or say) it, but: pitching is the same as sales. During sales meetings, I used to ask myself, What is important to this person? What are their concerns? What will help them better understand me? When presenting to investors now. I ask myself the same questions.

The ability to understand and read people is important outside of the funding world, too. The empathy that helps us adapt a pitch is the same skill that helps us identify customers needs and design products for them. Empathy will serve you well in many aspects of your business.

Become comfortable with the realities of rejection.

Fundraising is constant rejection. And rejection is hard, but this is the life we choose as founders.

The hardest part is to get the first investor, especially the first American one. Once a firm has invested in your business, it validates you for future investment.

Just like anyone else, you need to have everything in place for your pitch: a great product, solid proof-of-concept data, a compelling story. But that wont guarantee success. What matters is what you choose to do with the rejection.

Use rejection as a chance to think about how you can improve. Then, get back out there. Iterate your pitch each time and remember that funding is like job hunting or dating: its a numbers game.

Proving the stereotypes wrong isnt easy, but the struggles make the successes more satisfying. Mentors can help you navigate the ups and downs of the hyper-competitive world of VC funding. At the end of the day, though, you need to learn for yourself what works for you.

Copyright 2022 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
A teaser image for tvN's new drama series, "Our Blues" / Courtesy of tvN





By Kwak Yeon-soo







Drama writer Noh Hee-kyung / Courtesy of tvN

Star writer Noh Hee-kyung, who penned the 2014 romance series, "It's Okay, That's Love," and the 2016 series, "Dear My Friends," revealed that she has watched over 100 documentaries to craft her story's setting and characters for her upcoming drama, "Our Blues."







"I lived in Jeju for a couple of years and fell in love with the island  not just with the beautiful landscape but with its unique culture that encourages communal life," she said in a recent written interview with The Korea Times.







Noh also spoke about bringing together several individual stories to her latest drama. "I don't remember when exactly, but at some point, writing a story with two lead characters no longer interested me. We are the heroes of our own story, aren't we? I didn't want to treat some characters as less significant," she said.







The tvN series, starring Lee Byung-hun, Shin Min-a, Han Ji-min, Kim Woo-bin, Kim Hye-ja and Cha Seung-won, follows a group of people in a seaside town going through ups and downs in their lives. They appear as neighbors, friends and family members of one another.







"I craved a new genre, new storyline, new perspective, and as a result, chose to go with the omnibus style," Noh said, referring to a film consisting of shorter films.







On the star-studded cast, she said, "Any writer would want to work with such actors. I'm grateful that they all agreed to take part in the project. My only concern was to give them the roles they have never played before, so that they can show their unseen sides to the viewers."







The drama is directed by Kim Kyu-tae, who led the hit 2016 fantasy period series, "Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo."







The Saturday-Sunday series "Our Blues" will premiere on tvN April 9 at 9:10 p.m.


Its night in the rugged hills of northeastern California. A herd of cows, many with young calves at their sides, begin shifting nervously. The October winds have brought news of danger nearby: A lone gray wolf, eyes glowing yellow in the moonlight. Known as OR-103, the young male has gone days, perhaps weeks, without a kill. And hes hungry.

If youve never seen a gray wolf up close, you may be imagining a husky or a large coyote. Instead, think of a mastiff. Males weigh up to 150 pounds, with paw prints the size of human hands and fangs as long as your thumbs. Most American wolves prefer deer and elk, but OR-103 has a crippled front paw, and no way to catch such lightning-quick prey.

Frankly, even calves are a struggle for him. Two nights ago, he tried to grab one from this same herd, but something chased him off before he could get a good meal; its still alive, though seriously injured. Now, fiercely determined, he rushes first one calf, and then another, tearing chunks from their hind legs. Each time, the mother cows charge him, tossing him into the mud like a rag doll.

The next morning, Patrick Griffins phone rings. Hes spent just over 6 years as a wolf liaison, paid by Siskiyou County to help investigate attacks and run interference between ranchers and government agencies. Hes unsurprised by the news, having seen OR-103s handiwork before. Of 15 wolf attacks confirmed or suspected by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2021, OR-103 has been linked to six, injuring at least 10 calves. The real number is likely higher.

Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Patrick Griffin

If this were any other state, the solution would be easy: Either government agents or ranchers could kill him. But of all the states where wolves live, California offers the strongest legal protections to its wolves, and the fewest resources to its ranchers. Wolves here can only be legally killed if they attack a human. Griffin is fighting for things to change: With his help, the owner of the five calves  two of which needed to be euthanized  is one of the first beneficiaries of a new program to compensate ranchers for confirmed wolf depredations. But the programs shaky start has left ranchers wondering whether reporting attacks will even be worthwhile.

In the weeks following the October attack, Griffin receives constant phone calls from ranchers demanding OR-103 be relocated or killed; in November, CDFW links him to four more attacks. It wouldnt surprise Griffin if ranchers took matters into their own hands. After all, eight other California wolves have disappeared in the past few years, including an entire pack that vanished after being spotted feeding on a dead calf.

High emotions, Griffin wrote in a notebook he keeps about wolf activity. People expressing concerns and demanding action to remove wolf. Wolf plan review  no provisions for relocation found.

And yet by April 2022, OR-103 is still alive and hasnt been linked to an attack in months. The story of how, and why, may hold lessons for people like Griffin, charged with maintaining peace between wolves and ranchers. Griffin knows its key to implement solutions now, when there are just 20 wolves in the state; it will only get harder as the wolf population in California grows, and attacks on livestock inevitably mount. In the meantime, the livelihoods of the ranchers and the lives of the wolves hang in the balance.

The quietest place I know

In March, I drive into the sprawling agricultural heart of Siskiyou County to meet Griffin and some other ranchers. This hardscrabble, open country is rarely seen by most Californians  and most of the self-reliant residents prefer it that way.

Griffin greets me at his ranch in a camouflage hat, a khaki vest and a flannel button-down. In his home office, he shows me footage of OR-103, hunched and limping on three paws. I think the cows rolled him around pretty bad up there, he tells me. You could see the imprint of his body in the mud.

Like OR-103, Griffin migrated to California from rural Oregon. Hes lived and worked on cattle ranches for nearly his whole life, and served for 10 years as the agricultural commissioner of Siskiyou County. If he had his way, itd be legal to kill wolves that keep attacking livestock  not least because if an animal like OR-103 finds a pack, he could easily teach other wolves how to go after cows.

Some ranchers have accused him of being pro-wolf, a label that seems unfair given the time and effort hes spent helping them. Still, hes well-liked in the community, the kind of man who visits with neighbors who live alone, packs extra toilet paper for others on hikes and gifts people homemade pepperoni from wild boar hes hunted.

These days, he spends his time checking trail cams, helping other ranchers install deterrents and mediating debates between ranchers, CDFW and activists who push for the absolute protection of wolves. He also helps Kent Laudon, an environmental scientist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, investigate alleged wolf attacks. Wolves are not the only threat to cattle who graze in the mountainous terrain; investigators swab wounds for DNA and look for wolf bites, hemorrhages or wolf tracks nearby. If scavengers have been at a body too long, it can be impossible to tell whether the animal was killed by illness, accident, mountain lions, bears, coyotes or wolves.

Still, its clear that wolf attacks here are increasing alongside the wolf population. There were nine attacks in both 2019 and 2020. Last year, there were 15, with a population of just 20 wolves, most of whom prefer wild prey.

Griffin invites me for a hike through Davis Gulch to pick up new trail cam footage; hes hoping to have captured videos of the Whaleback Pack, which currently includes two parents, including a heavily pregnant female, and seven pups from last spring. Before we hike, Griffin sends out a message to ranchers with approximate locations of collared wolves. The goal is to let ranchers know when to be more careful  bringing cows in closer to home, or babysitting them on horseback  without giving exact coordinates. [CDFW] doesnt want me to get specific, he tells me. Theyre concerned somebody will come out and shoot em.

On the trail, Griffin quickly spots wolf tracks in the fresh mud, bending down to show me theyre the same size as his hand. I cant help but feel a little nervous as we head deeper into the woods. I know attacks on humans are exceedingly rare  but still, if alls well with the pack, thats two of us and nine of them.

We trudge upslope, replacing memory cards and drizzling skunk-smelling lure on the ground to tempt the wolves. Eventually, we reach a clearing that overlooks a vast wilderness of timberland and ranches. When Griffin first moved to Little Shasta Valley in 1966, nearly all of the land was undeveloped. But as drought and fuel costs have taken their toll on already-slim profit margins, many ranches have been sold to developers, cluttering the southern stretches of the valley with homes, fencing, and other eyesores.

If ranchers cant make it, more good land is going to look like that, Griffin tells me. Then, nobody wins. Not the ranchers. Not the conservationists. And certainly not the wolves.

On our way down, he stops in the forest and encourages me to simply listen for a while. All I can hear is the call of a blue jay, carrying on the wind.

This is the quietest place I know, Griffin says.

Just not acceptable

The first wolf to return to California, OR-7, arrived in 2011. Like OR-103, he crossed from Oregon into Siskiyou County and was welcomed to the state as something like a hero.

His arrival was covered by hundreds of media outlets; books and movies were soon made about him. Conservation groups, which renamed him Journey, began pushing the state to list gray wolves under the California Endangered Species Act. Some supporters showed up to public hearings dressed in wolf suits; others sang their testimonies, a cappella-style.

They had plenty of good arguments. Studies show that wolves benefit entire ecosystems, thinning out weak and sick animals, leaving smaller and more resilient herds that exert less pressure on highland vegetation. They also keep coyote numbers in check, allowing foxes, badgers and martens to thrive, while the carcasses they leave behind feed birds and bears.

Endangered species in California have broad legal protections; its illegal to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap or capture them, unless they go after a human. The Fish and Game Commission voted 3-1 to list gray wolves, against the recommendation of CDFW.

Today, ranchers can hang red flags from electric fences to spook wolves, set off strobe lights, sirens, or recordings of gunshots and people screaming. They can also use guardian dogs or ride the range  patrolling the vast grazing territories, usually on horseback, to keep an eye on herds and move them away from danger.

Conservation groups are vocal about the effectiveness of these nonlethal deterrents. But wolves are smart, and learn fast, so ranchers have to cycle between them. With all of these tools, you worry about habituation, says CDFW scientist Laudon, who has been working around wolves since 1997, first in Idaho, then Montana, then Arizona and now California.

Shoot, shovel and shut up

As wolf enthusiasts hoped and ranchers feared, more wolves have followed in OR-7s pawprints. Four packs the Lassen, Shasta, Beckwourth and Whaleback families  have established themselves in the northeastern part of the state. Theyre not exclusively California wolves, given their enormous ranges and lack of respect for state lines, but theyre protected by CDFW, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which considers wolves endangered.

Wolf killers face a $100,000 fine, plus probable imprisonment. And yet some ranchers have almost certainly employed the 3-S method of herd protection  thats shoot, shovel and shut up.

Back in the fall of 2015, a group of ranchers were rounding up a herd in the foothills of Mount Shasta when they came upon the Shasta Pack, the first contemporary gray wolf pack to reproduce in California, feeding on a dead calf. The black and brown adult wolves had dispersed from Oregon and created their den on California soil, and trail camera images showed a litter of five healthy black pups. Shortly after, the Shasta Pack vanished. Just one of the pups was ever seen again, spotted on a trail camera before decamping to Nevada.

While those disappearances are still officially mysterious, two others are not: One wolf was shot in 2018, and another was found dead in 2020. State investigations into the wolves disappearances and deaths have all hit dead ends.

None of the ranchers I spoke with were openly in favor of the 3-S method, but all of them were clear about wanting legal options to remove or kill problematic wolves. I really do wish we could have that as a bare minimum, says Peter Townley, whose five calves were attacked by OR-103.

In every other state where wolves roam, they are frequently killed legally by wildlife departments, hunters and ranchers. Nearly 200 have been killed in Montana this hunting season; in Idaho, recent legislation legalized killing up to 90% of local wolves, including by trapping pups near their dens and beating them to death. In Wyoming, wolves are considered vermin and can be chased and run over with snowmobiles. In other states, including Oregon and Washington, wolves are protected  unless they attack livestock. If they do, theyre legally killed.

California also differs from every other wolf state in its lack of an established program to compensate ranchers for lost livestock. This year, though, the state set aside $3 million for a pilot program to compensate ranchers for wolf depredations; an interim grant program began accepting reimbursement applications for incidents dating back to September 2021. The program is still very much working out growing pains.

Townley, the Little Shasta Valley rancher whose five calves were attacked by OR-103, qualified for repayment for the two calves he lost. But when he applied, he was offered less than $100 per calf  far less than what they wouldve been worth when auctioned. In response, Griffin met with CDFW officials, arguing for much higher payments.

This is just not acceptable, Griffin recalls telling officials. If we do this, were not going to get any participation. Ranchers wont even bother. Then youll have more loss of trust, and ranchers will just go back to doing things the way theyve done it for the last 150 years. Meaning killing the wolves.

Eventually the officials changed their policy, offering the future market value of the calves. Townley is likely to get around $1,000 each.

Weve been invaded

On a crisp March morning, a blue sky peeks through wispy clouds over Townleys family ranch. Dressed in neutral tones and a pair of working gloves, Townley shifts his truck into first gear and lets it roll across the field as cows line up behind us, waiting for breakfast. He scoots out and jumps onto the back, tossing flakes of hay down to the girls.

Yeah, youre going to give me a little sniff, Townley coos to an 80-pound calf as it approaches him. Youre going to give me a little kiss. Youre going to let me scratch your ears a little bit.

This undulating 3,000-acre property was once largely covered in wheat, but the family couldnt make a profit, so they shifted their focus to cattle. Thanks to the ongoing drought, Townley tells me, theyve recently had to downsize their cattle herd, too; they only have a few dozen now, so losing two was a significant blow. When I ask exactly how many he owns, he hesitates.

Its sort of like how our culture considers it impolite to ask how much money you have, he says gently. The cows are the main physical asset, other than the land.

Townley struggles to talk about the incident last year. It was not only distressing because my animals were harmed, but the severity of the bite wounds was just  Townley pauses, choking up. It was one of the most horrible things. It just broke my heart.

After the attacks, Griffin helped Townley to install electric fences with red flags around the pasture closest to his home and suggested he confine his cows in large groups  safety in numbers. Although keeping cows that close together can spread disease and degrade pastures, Townleys been doing it anyway. He has yet to lose another calf.

For ranchers with more cows and more land, though, flags and confinement are nonstarters. After my visit with Townley, I drive down the road to Dan Chases ranch. Chase owns nearly a thousand cows that graze on leased Forest Service property and private timberlands, referred to as turnouts, all summer long. Its the only economically viable option for him  unlike paying for hay all summer  but those turnouts are in wolf country, on what ranchers have started calling the front lines.

Chase grew up working on other peoples ranches, always dreaming of owning his own. These days, though, the economic pressures of the drought and skyrocketing gas prices have been weighing on him. On bad days, he wonders whether the wolves will be the last straw. He knows plenty of nearby ranchers who have drastically downsized their herds, or even sold their land in recent years. Sometimes, he finds himself idly looking at property in other states.

The wolves, he tells me, arent just a financial issue. Theyre also a peace-of-mind problem. Chase used to let his three herding dogs run around as they pleased, accompanying his wife on walks and trail rides and protecting the house in the evenings. Once the wolves came, the walks got shorter, and the dogs had to be left behind on mountain rides. Theyre never allowed outside at night.

Chase can see that the presence of wolves stresses his cows out, and hes lost several calves since the wolves came to Little Shasta. Although he suspects at least four fell prey to wolves in recent months, CDFW has not confirmed any depredations on his property. At the neighboring Table Rock Ranch, wolves have killed two calves, including one in late March. Several more have died under mysterious circumstances, but could not be confirmed as wolf kills. You feel helpless, Janna Gliatto, a manager at Table Rock, tells me. Our hands are tied. Weve been invaded.

Scaring off a wolf feels almost pointless, Gliatto says. In a place like Little Shasta, the predators can just move to another ranchers property. Then, eventually, theyll come back to yours.

Chase tells me he doesnt even report some incidents, especially if it seems hard to tell whether a wolf was responsible. Calling out a wildlife officer seems like a burden without benefit  just like the red flags he installed, which kept blowing over, or range riding when Griffin texts that theres a wolf nearby. Keeping an eye on the cows during the day doesnt really solve the problem, he tells me. The wolves hunt at night.

It truly takes a lot of the joy out of being up on the mountain, Chase says.

An equilibrium

After the failed attacks on cattle in Little Shasta Valley, OR-103 remained in dispersal mode, crossing Interstate 5 a few times, making several appearances in relatively populated areas around Siskiyou County. The wolf is around 2 years old, an unpredictable age when most wolves strike out on their own to find a mate. That means hes alone and vulnerable, an easy target for the 3-S method. And yet, despite the chaos hes caused, the wolf is still alive.

Its hard to know exactly why no one has taken care of the problem. Certainly, some ranchers are deterred by the harsh penalties, although no one has ever been tried in California; others may not want to disappoint Laudon and Griffin, who have expended so much energy on helping them co-exist. But the most obvious reason may also be the strongest: OR-103 hasnt been linked to any attacks since November. And thats because ranchers are feeding him.

On a wind-whipped afternoon in Scott Valley, 35 miles from Little Shasta Valley, rancher Jim Morris is showing me his bone pile, and OR-103s buffet. Morris has been accumulating this above-ground graveyard for years, hauling carcasses from a variety of domestic animals out to an otherwise lovely meadow, encircled by juniper trees.

The air around us smells faintly putrid, though thankfully not as bad as I had been expecting. The corpses are mostly skeletons now, picked clean by mountain lions, coyotes, eagles, bears and  as of a month ago  OR-103.

Bone piles are highly controversial. State officials maintain that they attract predators, making them more likely to kill livestock. But in Scott Valley, ranchers who have been keeping bone piles for more than a century have found just the opposite. There have been no reported attacks in years; ranchers believe theyve found an equilibrium with area predators.

Surprisingly, this isnt far off what wolf conservationists call for when deterrents dont work. OR-103 is obviously trying to survive in a severely compromised physical state, says Sophia Ressler, a staff attorney with the Carnivore Conservation Program at the Center for Biological Diversity. Getting creative to support OR-103 and the livestock producers is going to be our best solution. Ressler also proposed two more ideas: compensation for ranchers helping to support OR-103 (which theyd certainly be in favor of) and pairing OR-103 up with a mate to help him hunt (which would make ranchers lose their minds).

Griffin is one of the regions foremost experts on coexistence, but honestly, he has no idea whether the Scott Valley ranchers should keep their bone piles. These ranchers are his friends, and their livestock is seemingly protected from the injured wolf, at least for now. He doesnt want to upset that balance.

Still, hes very concerned about long-term consequences. If more wolves show up and there isnt enough deadstock to go around, he worries theyll turn to living animals. That makes bone piles a temporary solution, at best. As we progress, and wolves enter the county and become more established, perhaps in Scott Valley, thats going to be a totally different picture, he says.

The best long-term approach in California, he knows, would be to clean up the bone piles and focus on nonlethal practices. But he knows theres no perfect solution. Theres no 100% effective tool, theres no silver bullet, he tells me.

Morris, for one, isnt giving up his bone pile anytime soon. And hes happy to share his resources with OR-103, if thats what keeps him from turning his attention to cows and sheep. Im willing to be a good neighbor with anyone who will be a good neighbor back, he tells me.

Ranchers shouldnt be the only ones shouldering the burden

Griffin only crossed paths with OR-103 once, in late 2021, while driving past a ranch in Little Shasta. He noticed a group of coyotes (or kai-yotes, as they say around here) feeding on the carcass of a stillborn calf. OR-103 was standing nearby, watching the action.

I might be exaggerating a little bit, but it looked like the kai-yotes could almost walk under the wolfs belly without touching it, he tells me.

When he thinks about the future of OR-103  and the Whaleback Pack, who recently killed a calf on Table Rock Ranch  Griffin gets nervous. Wolves are relatively new to the region, and he wants so much for sound practices and policies to help ranchers navigate the conflicts. But for now, hes mostly stuck watching and waiting.

Its so hard to know what the future will hold for the adolescent OR-103, trying to find his way in the world. Will he kill another calf? Will he continue eating carcasses in northeastern California, or move somewhere else entirely? Will California develop a fair compensation program in time, and will the ranchers accept it? Or will they lose patience and take matters into their own hands?

Perhaps the biggest question is whether Californias citizens will ever vote to let wolves be killed for attacking livestock  but Griffin isnt getting his hopes up on that last one. I ask him what it would take for the state to amend its Endangered Species Act, and he gets sassy. Probably some politicians daughter to get chewed up by a wolf, he says. "When California's Endangered Species Act was being written, there wasn't really anything that was being considered for listing that had big teeth."

As long as killings not an option, hed like to see more wolves in GPS collars, so ranchers can be warned when theyre around; locations also help establish culpability in livestock deaths. And hed like the state to consider a pay-for-presence compensation model similar to the one in Arizona and New Mexico, where cash payments are distributed to rural residents who share territory with the endangered Mexican gray wolf.

Griffins overarching goal, he tells me, is simply for ranching to endure. That lifestyle is where his heart is, and so too is the protection of open spaces that allow for entire ecosystems  wolves included  to thrive. In this way, he sees the fate of the ranchers and the wolves as interconnected.

So when Californians think about how to best protect wolves, he hopes they also think about protecting the people who must live with them.

Ranchers shouldnt be the only ones shouldering the burden of having wolves present on the landscape, he says.
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The Houston of Apollo 10: A Space Age Childhood, premiering April 1 on Netflix, is both a loving depiction of the city as it once was and a vision of a place that never quite existed. Translating live-action elements into its animated scenes, the film, written and directed by Richard Linklater, explores the 1969 moon landing from the perspective of an ordinary kid, Stanley, played by Milo Coy, racing through vignette after vignette of life in the city with painstaking specificity. But the overall look is one of palpable nostalgia  that the viewer is watching Linklaters wistful recollections of his own childhood.

Memories can be deceiving, says animation production designer Vincent Bisschop. Certain parts can be crystal clear and other details get lost or twisted through the years.

The majority of animation for Apollo 10 was done by the production company Submarine. According to Submarine co-founder and producer Femke Wolting, the animators started storyboarding the film well before the live-action shoot, working from winter 2019 to early this year. In creating the aesthetic for the film, the animators were inspired by the look of old Kodachrome film to achieve an appropriately vintage look. Some rotoscoping was done, but it was mostly used as a reference for the animators, who built their scenes off performance capture.

Production designer Bruce Curtis says many of the live-action shots were done on green screen sets, and he focused on making sure there were reference points for the animators to use while translating that footage to 2D. For Stanleys family home, he selected wallpaper designs, the colors of the countertops and the print of the linoleum. Curtis says his instinct for the home was always to infuse more color and go larger than life, but Linklater instructed him that the house needed to be almost painfully average and dull  to reflect the films everyman framing.

Thats not in my world, Curtis says. I dont see banality; I choose to not look at it. So, he really taught me, from all of the things that weve done, that beauty in sadness.

The team at Submarine used the live-action footage as a springboard for their work. Bisschop was in charge of finalizing the films look, and focused on making foreground elements detailed and background art hazier and unfocused, reflecting the ways memories function. He relied on research Curtis did in 1969 Houston, and often met with producer Tommy Pallotta to help develop the subtleties. One of the challenges for Bisschop, as someone who grew up in the Netherlands, was understanding the intensity of sunlight in Texas and how it would alter the look of the film.

Some of the animated sets created by Submarine were recreated through archival footage and photos, and some were constructed from scratch. For the scene where Stanley goes to AstroWorld amusement park, Bisschop and his team designed the majority of the alpine sleigh ride with only a single photo and Linklaters memories, a challenging process that he says helped add to the themes of nostalgia that dominate the film.

The animators also traced real-life TV broadcasts the characters watch, from The Wizard of Oz to a musical performance from Joni Mitchell. According to Submarine co-founder and producer Femke Wolting, the artists experimented with different styles and tones to distinguish the footage from the main world of the film. Vietnam [war footage] is a bit harsher, darker colors, rich, sharper edges, Wolting says. Kind of how he would remember looking at that footage at the time. And then the movies are more fantastical, colorful, rounder.

For most of Apollo 10, the film flirts between reality and fantasy. When Stanley goes into space, real-life slips away into a more obvious dream. The moon and space were greenscreens, but Curtis and his team designed important props such as the hatch and ladder for the spacecraft and the main console. Then, Woltings team designed the moon set, using hues of white, gray and black, with a focus on making the environment alien yet still inviting for a child.

The sequence contains Bisschops favorite scene in the film, where Stanley, upside down in his spacecraft, stares in contemplation at the void beyond, a streak of sunlight across his face.

In a film that flirts between reality and fantasy, Bisschops favorite scene is when Stanley, on the way to the moon, is upside down in his spacecraft and stares in contemplation at the void beyond, a streak of sunlight across his face.

You start wondering, is it real [or] is it his fantasy? Bisschop says. Its very dreamlike and I really love it.

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The retail market for music albums has stood a steady decline since early 2000. Now, not only are sales shrinking, but also companies are reporting net losses in the millions each year. The effects of these declining sales combined with the emerging piracy of online music hits close to home, more specifically M&M Records in downtown Manistee which has been put up for sale.

40 YEARS AGO

Jerrys Flowers fire

A fire this morning virtually destroyed the old Jerrys Flowers building at Fifth and Sibben streets. City firefighters were notified of the fire at mid-morning today and were still at the scene at presstime.

Pinewood Derby

Cub Scout Pack #179 held its Pinewood Derby on Thursday night at Manistee Catholic Central. Winning cars included those of Michael Merrick, who won first place, Troy Owens, second place, and Tom Morin, third place.

60 YEARS AGO

Planning for summer recreation

It was announced today by the Manistee Recreation Association that a meeting to discuss preliminary plans for the mens summer recreation program will be held in the lounge of the MRA on April 10 at 7:30 p.m. Leagues, age limits, schedules, playoffs and other aspects of the program will be discussed. Although this is only a preliminary meeting, recreation supervisor Frank Balcer urges that anyone interested in being included in the program this summer be present.

New position

First officer to be appointed to a battalion staff position in the history of the Manistee National Guard units is 1st Lt. John Helminiak whose assignment as staff communications officer with Headquarters, 219th Transportation Bn., Michigan National Guard, was announced today.
In a new book, Joongang Ilbo columnist claims Cheong Wa Dae uses lawsuits to tame critics



By Kang Hyun-kyung





Jungang Ilbo columnist Nam Jeong-ho

It all began with a column published on June 11, 2019, in local newspaper the Joongang Ilbo, which pitted veteran journalist Nam Jeong-ho against the presidential office in a legal battle that lasted for two years.



In his column titled "First Lady Kim Jung-sook's Bucket List?" he cautiously but unequivocally alleges that the first lady had made the most of the official overseas trips taken with her husband, President Moon Jae-in, as opportunities to explore some of the world's renowned cultural heritage sites and museums on taxpayers' money.



Nam said he was overwhelmed by what happened to him afterwards. He first received a letter from the presidential office urging him and his company to print corrections according to unusually lengthy and detailed guidelines. He ignored a letter from LKB & Partners, one of the nation's top law firms which was representing the first lady. Weeks later they sued him, after the two sides failed to reach an agreement arranged by the Press Arbitration Committee.



Nam compares his legal battle against Cheong Wa Dae to a showdown akin to David and Goliath.



"I felt pressure (when I looked at the sender of the thick package of documents because I knew who they were)," Nam said in a phone interview with The Korea Times on Monday. "There were lots of naysayers around me and they encouraged me to do what Cheong Wa Dae asked me to do. They said Cheong Wa Dae would mobilize all the resources it could to win the battle."



But Nam didn't back down. He chose to go ahead with the legal fight, because he was confident about the integrity of his column. What he wrote was based on facts, he said.



With the support of his lawyer, he gathered open source information that could defy Cheong Wa Dae's claims. His hard work paid off.



The district court sided with him, ruling against Cheong Wa Dae. Cheong Wa Dae then appealed to the higher court. The judge advised Nam and his counterpart to seek reconciliation, rather than going to another trial, an offer both sides accepted. The case was closed in May 2021, with their agreement that the Joongang Ilbo would run a correction on its website to notify its readers that the itineraries of President Moon's overseas trips are set through mutual communication between the Korean and host country governments.



Nam claimed that he was a victim of what he called a "strategic lawsuit against public participation" (SLAPP), a suit filed to silence critics, according to the website of the Public Participation Project (PPP). "(T)he damaging suits chill free speech and healthy debate by targeting those who communicate with their government or speak out on issues of public interest," the PPP said on its website.



Nam alleged that Cheong Wa Dae had tried to silence him as a member of the media critical of the Moon administration by filing a suit against him and forcing him to pay, arguing that press freedom has been in retreat.



"With previous administrations, journalists would face complaints from Cheong Wa Dae if their articles about the president or other figures in the presidential office were not based on facts. None of the governments or administrations had ever lied when they were in disputes with journalists," Nam claimed. "But the Moon government was different."



Reporters Without Borders' world media freedom rankings say differently. In the 2019 survey, for example, South Korea ranked 41st on the World Press Freedom Index. In contrast, the /



Nam's new book "Truth Behind First Lady Kim Jung-sook's Bucket List"
In its annual report to the Huron County Board of Commissioners, Huron Behavioral Health detailed an increase in those seeking help in 2021 due to continued distresses.

Dr. Natalie Nugent, who gave the reports presentation, said that in the 2021 fiscal year, 796 individuals had either telephoned or walked in to explore the services provided. That number was up from 634 individuals in the 2020 fiscal year.

Its interesting that fiscal year 2020 was impacted by COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders, Nugent said. And then in fiscal year 2021, it was impacted by the increasing levels of psychological distress in our community.

Of those 796 persons who explored services, 771 ended up making a formal request for services, which includes a request for an assessment to begin mental health services, a screening for psychiatric patient placement, or looking for mental health support to de-escalate a crisis.

Furthermore, 409 of those individuals scheduled clinical assessments to begin treatment. Four people dropped out from their treatments while 25 did not meet the criteria needed to be treated for persistent illness. Nugent was proud to say that no one they saw in the past fiscal year ended up on a waitlist.

During the fiscal year, Huron Behavioral Health identified five priority issues it dealt with based on data collected and input from stakeholders. They were:

Increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recruitment and retention of qualified providers.

Increase in severe psychiatric concerns in children and adolescents.

Increased substance use and dependence.

Trauma-related outreach, prevention, and treatment.

Nugent said that 100% of HBH needs assessment respondents reported that mental health concerns due to COVID-19 are a concern. To address this, HBH has planned outreach activities throughout 2022, including providing outpatient therapy services to uninsured or underinsured individuals seeking mental health assistance, and participating in Huron County Suicide Prevention Coalition activities and meetings.

For recruitment, Nugent said HBH has been struggling the last few years incentivizing coming to work with it since public health is a challenging field that requires 24/7 services and are competing with schools for the same talent tool. As such, it plans on recruiting through local and regional job fairs, accepting interns for 2022 and 2023 who are encouraged to pursue employment through HBH, and working on retention efforts.

For addressing psychiatric concerns in children, HBH plans on having staff complete two child and adolescent psychosocial skills training groups during the summer. It hired a case manager in February focused on providing child and adolescent case management, and will meet with community partners to help reduce out-of-home placement for kids.

For increased substance use and dependence issues, HBH plans on maintaining a prevention specialist who will collaborate with community partners to provide prevention, education, and outreach to reduce problematic drug use, and providing outreach regarding fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

For trauma-related treatment, HBH plans on having staff take trauma-focused trainings in 2022 and having individuals receiving their services screened for exposure to potentially traumatic events.

Other details that Nugent noted in the countys demographics include the fact that the population in 2021 further declined to 30,291 individuals, a 230-person drop from the year before, and the number of Medicaid enrollees went up 6%, to 5,753 individuals.

There was also a 500-person decline in the number of people employed in Huron County, and 50 homeless people who needed services in 2021, which Nugent said is always difficult to determine since it does not take into consideration folks that are couch surfing or staying temporarily at a residence.

Anthony Ferzo, the chief financial officer for HBH, said the 2022 fiscal year budget is $14.45 million, with $12.14 million going towards services to consumers. The HBH plans on servicing 1,127 customers, a 6% increase from last year, of which 776 will be Medicaid consumers, 219 Health Michigan consumers, 111 general fund consumers, and 21 with their autism benefit.

Nugent also thanked the commissioners for the countys continued support of keeping mental health a public service as there are bills in the state legislature that would effectively allow the privatization of mental health services.
Jury selection began Monday for the sentencing trial of Nikolas Cruz, who pled guilty to the deadly 2018 Parkland school shooting.

At least 20 total jurors will be picked so that there are plenty of alternates throughout the trial, Judge Elizabeth Scherer said. The final panel will be made up of 12 jurors plus eight alternates. At least 1,500 potential jurors are going to be screened throughout the process by both the prosecutors and defense attorneys.

The 34 charges Cruz faces include murder, attempted murder, and those related to the possession and discharging of a weapon.

Cruz sat between his attorneys, wearing a gray sweater and an anti-viral face mask, four sheriff's deputies sitting nearby. He spoke only briefly, waiving his right to participate directly in the screening process.

Eight parents and other family members of some victims sat together in the courtroom.

When prospective jurors are brought back in a few weeks, they will be asked whether they can judge the case fairly. They also will be asked if they can vote for the death penalty if the evidence supports that verdict, but dont believe it should be mandatory for murder. Those who can't will be dismissed.

Seven other U.S. killers who fatally shot at least 17 people died during or immediately after their attacks, either by suicide or at the hands of police.

Video below: Cruz pleads guilty in court

Death penalty trials in Florida and much of the country often take two years to start because of their complexity, but Cruz's was further delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and extensive legal wrangling.

Tony Montalto, whose 14-year-old daughter, Gina, died in the attack, said the trial "has been a long time coming."

"I just hope everyone remembers the victims," he said. Cruz, he said, "told the world his plans on social media, carried out those plans in a cold and calculated manner and murdered my beautiful daughter, 13 of her classmates and three of her teachers."

Video below: Body camera of arrest of Nikolas Cruz released

The parents and spouses of victims who have spoken publicly said they are in favor of Cruz's execution. Montalto has not answered the question directly, but has said on multiple occasions that Cruz "deserves every chance he gave Gina and the others.

When the prospective jurors who pass the initial screening return for individual questioning several weeks from now, both prosecutors and the defense can challenge any for cause. Scherer will eliminate candidates who lawyers from either side have convinced her would be prejudiced against their side. Each side will also get at least 10 peremptory strikes, where either can eliminate a candidate for any reason except race or gender.

The death penalty is still on the table for Cruz. If one juror disagrees with the death penalty, Cruz will spend life in prison.

Video below: Cruz interrogation video released

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, call 211 or the National Suicide Hotline at 800-273-8255.

This article contains information from The Associated Press.
DPRK warns of severe retaliation if South Korea attacks Pyongyang

Xinhua) 11:16, April 05, 2022

Photo taken on Sept. 8, 2018 shows an avenue decorated with national flags in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). (Xinhua/Jiang Yaping)

"In case South Korea opts for military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty. It is the primary mission of the nuclear force to prevent such war before anything else, but in case of war, its mission will convert into the one of eliminating the enemy's armed forces at a strike," warned a senior official of the DPRK.

PYONGYANG, April 5 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has warned South Korea of "total destruction and ruin" if it "adopts military confrontation" against Pyongyang, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday.

Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and younger sister of DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un, gave the warning in a press statement on Monday concerning a comment made by South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook describing preemptive strike capabilities against the DPRK.

Kim said South Korea is not her country's principal enemy. "Unless the South Korean army takes any military action against our state, it will not be regarded as a target of our attack."

However, she added, "such nonsense itself is a very dangerous and nasty expression."

"In case South Korea opts for military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty. It is the primary mission of the nuclear force to prevent such war before anything else, but in case of war, its mission will convert into the one of eliminating the enemy's armed forces at a strike," Kim warned.

If the situation reaches such a phase, a dreadful attack will be launched and the South Korean army "will have to face a miserable fate little short of total destruction and ruin," she added.

Kim made a similar warning on Saturday, saying the South Korean military chief's reckless and intemperate rhetoric about the "preemptive strike" had further worsened the inter-Korean relations and the military tension on the Korean Peninsula.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)
Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister / Yonhap





The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said South Korea is no match for her nuclear-armed country, as she reiterated Pyongyang's position that Seoul is not its "principal enemy," according to state media Tuesday.







She was again taking issue with South Korean defense chief's speaking in public last week of Seoul's "preemptive strike" capabilities.







Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, described the minister's remarks as an "irretrievable very big mistake."







"If anyone does not provoke us, we will never strike it before anything else," she said in her second press statement in a few days carried by the Korean Central News Agency.







"We will not fire even a single bullet or shell toward South Korea. It is because we do not regard it as match for our armed forces," she added, emphasizing once again that the North is a nuclear weapons state. "In other words, it means that unless the South Korean army takes any military action against our state, it will not be regarded as a target of our attack."







While the North opposes a war that may put the peninsula into a "disaster" like that in the 1950s, things could change, depending on the South's moves, she warned.







"If South Korea opts for a military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty," she said. (Yonhap)


Midland County Board of Commissioners will consider submitting a resolution to Lansing to encourage a reform of the Michigan Auto Insurance Reform Act.

Commissioners will discuss passing a resolution on the new no-fault insurance reform law, among other items on its agenda, during its regular board meeting at 9 a.m. April 19 in the County Services building.

The resolution would support health care providers and patients in need of lifelong medical care across Michigan calling on the state to take action.

The Michigan Auto Insurance Reform Act, which took effect last July, has become a topic of concern for the board after crash survivors have shared negative effects of the legislation with commissioners. The Midland County resolution further describes the wide impact of the act, estimating more than 18,000 Michigan residents would have to find other means for care and support without action.

"There are many Midland County residents, and their families, who are currently benefiting, or would in the future, from services pertaining to their care, recovery and rehabilitation from catastrophic injuries but are already directly affected if the current law is not

changed," the resolution reads.

While a majority of the state legislation was widely praised, several unintended impacts have been raised by both health care providers and patients across Michigan.

One example of the challenges includes a reimbursement reduced by almost half. Reimbursement for post-acute services (services that support an individual's continued recovery) that do not have a Medicare code were reduced by 45%. Affected services include adult foster home care, attendant care in homes and transportation.

In addition, Michigan does not have a fee schedule for care covered by auto insurers, unlike several other no-fault insurance states. They pay much more for the same services than is paid by employer plans or government insurance such as Medicare or Medicaid.

Under the new fee schedule, services that Medicare covers will have a 200% reimbursement rate, while more specialized services such as home health care without a Medicare code will be reimbursed 55% of whatever they were charging for services at the start of 2019.

What's your story? The Michigan Auto Insurance Reform Act took effect last July. While a majority of the state legislation was widely praised, several unintended impacts have forced health care providers and patients across Michigan to ask for it to be reassessed. If you, or someone you know, has been impacted by this legislation and would like to be interviewed by The Daily News, please contact Reporter Tess DeGayner at tess.degayner@hearstnp.com. See More Collapse

"This is a humanitarian crisis born from a government-mandated price fix, that only the legislature can undo," it continues.

If the resolution is passed, Midland County Clerk Ann Manary would share the resolution with the following Michigan leaders: governor's office, state senate, state house, and members of the Midland County delegation to the Michigan legislature.

Several regional residents spoke on behalf of those impacted by the legislation during recent board meetings in Midland County. For more information, visit here.

This article was updated

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Some Midland Co. residents feel unintended impact of auto insurance reform




North Korea has a large number of "theater-class" missiles with a desire to develop a "credible" missile threat, a U.S. commander has said, casting the recalcitrant regime as a strategic security challenge.







Adm. Charles Richard, head of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), made the assessment in a written statement to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense prior to a closed-door hearing on Tuesday (local time).







"The DPRK previously tested ICBM class missiles designed to reach the U.S., and they have a large arsenal of theater-class missiles," he said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The recent missile launches demonstrate their ongoing desire to develop a credible missile threat."







Theater-class missiles refer to those intended for use in specific areas of military operations.







Richard's remarks came as Seoul and Washington are cranking up security cooperation in the wake of a series of North Korean missile launches, including the regime's March 24 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).







The commander reiterated the U.S.' commitment of "extended deterrence" to its two key Asian allies, South Korea and Japan.







Extended deterrence means America's stated pledge to use a full range of military assets, both nuclear and conventional, to defend its allies.







The admiral also said that his command supports the Pentagon's efforts with regional partners to reduce military tensions and encourage diplomatic efforts to pursue the North's denuclearization. (Yonhap)


More than $42.2 million will be distributed among 163 municipalities and counties as part of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, the Michigan Department of Treasury announced Thursday.

Next week, 62 cities, 15 villages, 33 townships and 53 counties will be receiving payments from the Marijuana Regulation Fund, the Department of Treasury stated. For the state of Michigan's 2021 fiscal year, this means each eligible municipality and county will receive more than $56,400 for every licensed retail store and microbusiness located within its jurisdiction.

Both Benzie County and Benzonia Township is set to receive $169,360.32 in adult-use marijuana payments.

Big Rapids and Mecosta County are set to receive $677,441.28 for 12 licensees while Manistee and Manistee County are set to receive $282,267.20 for five licensed sites. County and municipality distributions are broken up into separate categories, per the department's data.

"The Michigan Department of Treasury will distribute these dollars as soon as practical to eligible local units of government," State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks said in a statement. "The doubling of this years payment amounts will have a larger impact on local government budgets."

Revenue was collected from 374 licensees among the state's cities, villages and townships during the 2021 fiscal year, the Treasury stated. For the 2021 fiscal year, more than $111 million was collected from the 10% adult-use marijuana excise tax. In total, there was $172 million available for distribution from the fund. More than $1.1 billion in adult-use marijuana was reported for fiscal year 2021.

State law outlines how much is distributed from the Marijuana Regulation Fund. As well as $42.2 million in disbursements to municipalities and counties, $49.3 million was sent to the School Aid Fund for K-12 education and another $49.3 million to the Michigan Transportation Fund, per the press release.

"Its rewarding to see that the agencys balanced regulatory approach is effectively protecting consumers while still allowing Michigan businesses to grow and thrive," Marijuana Regulatory Agency Executive Director Andrew Brisbo said in a statement. "The funding provided directly to local governments  and the thousands of jobs created across the state  show that Michigan is leading the way in the cannabis industry."
In the final steps of their presidential search, Laredo College began the three-day open forums with the three finalists for the position as they answer questions posed to them by the audience made up of faculty and community members.

Laredo College's eighth president is set to become the first woman to take the role as three female finalists were announced two weeks ago. And the first up to answer questions was Dr. Pamela Monaco.

Monaco has been the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College for the past nine months. She was also the Dean of Instruction at Wilbur Wright College for three years, the Dean of Graduate and Continuing Studies in North Central College for four years, the Vice President of Professional Studies and Chief Academic Officer at Southwestern College for two years, Dean of Arts and Sciences at Brandman University for two years, and the Director of University Without Walls at University of Massachusetts Amherst for a year.

The forums are held both in the morning at the LC South Campus and in the afternoon at the Fort McIntosh Campus and are divided into four parts. The first is the opening statement of 10 minutes for the candidates to introduce themselves to the community. Next, three general questions are asked to the candidates, followed by questions from the audience. Attendants are given a card in which they can write a question for the candidate, then a liaison from Laredo College collects the cards, and Senior Director for Strategic and External Initiatives Michael Gonzalez chooses which questions from the audience to ask to the candidate. The fourth and final part of the forum includes closing remarks from the candidate.

The first question from the audience asked Monaco what attracted her to Laredo College, what areas does she think the college can improve and how does she see the college in five years.

Monaco said that one of the reasons she was attracted to Laredo College when she saw the position's announcement is the college serves a population of students who often have financial challenges.

"They don't have a whole lot of choices," she said, "If they want to stay in this community and they want to get a college education, this is the place they come. The opportunity to be such an important component of the economic prosperity of the city, the counties, and the students is just incredibly attractive because, as I said, the idea of being able to transform lives is incredibly good work."

Monaco said that she would not come to Laredo College with an exact list of priorities of what to do first, as that would be presumptuous. Instead, she would need to do more diligence and discuss what is needed with those involved and the community. She said that whenever she has started a new job, it is her priority to listen to everyone and take notes to then make decisions based on the feedback she receives.

"I need to hear from you," she said. "Yes, presidents make decisions, they make hard decisions. But the president should make decisions based on consultations, so that it is team building and all of us decide."

Another question from the audience asked Monaco how she would engage students to come back to campus. She believes faculty should spend time in creating that "FOMO," or Fear of Missing Out, for students so they want to come back to campus by themselves. She also shared staff should think differently to adapt to education post pandemic, as it is not realistic to go back to how it was before.

"I think part of what our future is going to hold is recognizing that higher education is going to look different," she said. "It's not a return at all to what we used to have.

"We have moved on. People are learning and teaching differently."

When it comes to financial matters, Monaco believes Laredo College should be working closely with businesses and industries in terms of custom courses and training for the college's workforce. She said Laredo compares to Chicago in the way that economic development is crucial in both cities, with its priority being attracting businesses and using opportunities to not only attract people but make people want to stay in Laredo.

"We have the talent here because we have faculty from so many different areas that we can pull something together and bring custom courses to them," she said.

In her closing remarks, Monaco thanked the community for the warm welcome to Laredo and shared a story of her turbulent travel day Sunday -- stating that she and her husband had a long trip including canceled flights. However, a member of Laredo College was waiting for her at the airport on Sunday night past 10 p.m., which gave her an accurate portrayal of the welcome LC already has for her.

"I can't tell you what that meant to my husband and me, because we had been at an airport for 14 hours by then," Monaco said. "I figured it was probably a test for me because the president has to be resilient, and I think I passed it. But to have somebody on a Sunday night waiting, being worried about me and wanting me to have a good experience, that says the world about how you care about students and each other.

"I hope that I am chosen, but I know that you will make a good choice because I don't think you have a candidate in front of you who wouldn't be a good choice."

Originally from Washington D.C., Monaco studied English at The Catholic University of America and also attended The George Washington University with a BBA in Marketing in 1981. She then pursued a doctorate in English and Theatre at The Catholic University of America.

The forums will continue the next two days with Dr. Naydeen Gonzalez-De Jesus taking her turn on Tuesday and Dr. Maria Minita Ramirez finishing things off Wednesday.

The LC South campus forums will be held from 10-11 a.m. at the College of Health Sciences, Room A118. The forums at the Ft. McIntosh campus will be from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the Falcon Bank Executive Conference Center. LC states that limited seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, and attendees will be asked to complete a feedback form afterwards given to the LC Board of Trustees for review.

Laredo College is the pioneering and largest higher education institution in Laredo, and it has received the stellar designation of being ranked as the top community college in the state for two consecutive years, Laredo College Board President Lupita Zepeda stated. Selecting a presidential successor to continue leading such a successful institution is a collective task that has involved dozens of people across all organizational levels and respected community leaders. Now our community will get to meet and hear directly from each of our accomplished finalists.
At least two more Houston-area neighborhoods fell victim to racist leaflet campaigns over the weekend, the latest in a spree of white supremacist propaganda scatterings to take place overnight in residential areas across the greater metro in recent months.

Neighbors in Cinco Ranch's Oak Park Trails and Memorial Parkway subdivisions reported waking Sunday to bags filled with white power imagery and messages in their driveways and streets. Similar to previous scatterings, the vessels were weighed down with rocks and stuffed with slips of paper bearing slogans such as "I LOVE BEING WHITE" accompanying the image of a white dog and "We Are The Future" bannering a photo of Hitler Youth blowing trumpets and beating drums.

A resident in the area shared images of the flyers with Chron that were discovered outside his home near Katy. Nextdoor.com users closeby posted messages confirming racist flyers littered across their neighborhoods, and resident Diane Smith posted a still image of a white truck allegedly used by the perpetrators delivering the materials the night of the incident.

"The thugs that threw the bags with racist material weighted down with rocks in the Oak Park Trails driveways were driving a white pick-up," Smith wrote. "We picked up many on our street and threw them in the trash. We don't want you in our neighborhood!!!"

"Jerks did the same thing in my neighborhood night before last around 2am," replied user Natalie G, adding to a host of reactions to Smith's post. "Same vehicle. I hope they get caught."

The Cinco Ranch scatterings follow the pattern of other recent propaganda campaigns conducted after dark in neighborhoods across the Greater Houston metro. In early February Cypress residents reported finding baggies filled with anti-Semitic messages, racist imagery and rocks in their driveways, and scatterings have since been confirmed in Atascocita and Houston Heights. Each incident follows a similar pattern, all occurring at night and featuring the same rotating selection of hateful images, slogans and web addresses.

Perhaps the most significant unifying factor is the emergence of a white truck as the perpetrators' apparent vehicle of choice for distributing the fliers. One Heights-area Nextdoor.com user posted video of individuals seemingly throwing baggies from a light-colored dual cab truck on the night of a large scattering of racist materials around 11th and Oxford. While far from clear, the vehicle looks strikingly similar to the one filmed in Cinco Ranch on Sunday morning.

Matt J / YouTube

Fort Bend police issued a statement Tuesday confirming the incident is under investigation.

"The Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office is actively working on this case and it remains under investigation with no preliminary details available at this time," the department stated. "As the investigation continues we plan to share more information."

As first reported by the Houston Chronicle's Claire Goodman, Fort Bend District Attorney Brian Middleton is investigating whether or not the flyers qualify as hate speech. "If there's a direct threat to the person receiving the flyer, that's a terroristic threat," Middleton told Goodman.

However, flyers that carry Nazi Youth imagery may not be enough to merit prosecution, according to the district attorney. "We want the public to know we take this very seriously," Middleton said, "and when free speech crosses into hate speech or a terroristic threat, we will be prosecuting."
Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

Kim Kardashian is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to stop the execution of Melissa Lucio, a Texas woman who has been on death row for more than 14 years for the death of her two-year-old daughter. Lucio's execution by lethal injection is scheduled for April 27.

The reality star took to Twitter Monday to share a detailed thread about Lucio's case. "She has been on death row for over 14 years for her daughters death that was a tragic accident, Kardashian wrote in her post. Her 2-year old daughter Mariah fell down a flight of stairs and two days later passed away while taking a nap. After she called for help, she was taken into custody by the police.
South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs Noh Kyu-duk, left, speaks after a meeting with Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for North Korea, in Washington, April 5. Yonhap



The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States agreed Monday to jointly push for a new U.N. Security Council resolution against North Korea over its recent series of ballistic missile launches.



They also reaffirmed their condemnation of the missile launches as serious violations of existing UNSC resolutions.



"South Korea and the U.S. first shared our views on the current situation of the Korean Peninsula at today's meeting," Noh Kyu-duk said of his meeting with Sung Kim, U.S. special representative for the DPRK.



"In addition, we reaffirmed our joint position that it is important to sternly act against North Korea's provocations while maintaining a strong joint defense posture," added Noh.



DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.



Noh arrived in the U.S. Sunday to discuss North Korea's recent missile launches that included the firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), March 24 (KST), which ended the North's self-imposed moratorium on long-range ballistic missile testing that had been in place since November 2017.



"These launches are a clear violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and we must work together to come up with a decisive response to the DPRK's provocative behavior," the top U.S. nuclear envoy told reporters.



Linda Thomas-Greenfield, head of the U.S. mission to the U.N., earlier said the U.S. will propose a new UNSC resolution to strengthen existing sanctions on North Korea.



"And because of DPRK's increasingly dangerous provocations, the United States will be introducing a chapter seven Security Council resolution to update and strengthen the sanctions regime," the U.S. envoy said in a UNSC meeting held in New York, March 25.



"We also agreed on the importance of a strong UN Security response to these escalatory actions by the DPRK, and I look forward to working with Ambassador Noh and his team and their colleagues in the UN to pursue a new UN Security Council resolution," Kim said.



Noh confirmed joint efforts to push for a UNSC resolution.



"Especially regarding the North's ICBM launch on March 24, (we) agreed on the need to take strong measures, including a new resolution at the UNSC, consider that it was a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions," the South Korean envoy said.



Both Kim and Noh said their countries continue to remain open to dialogue with the North.



"We also made clear that we remain open to diplomacy. But it really is up to Pyongyang to decide the path forward. They can choose to talk to us, to negotiate with us for our shared goal of denuclearization," he said.



Noh urged the North to quickly return to diplomacy.



"I once again call on North Korea to refrain from taking any action that may further deteriorate the situation and return to dialogue and diplomacy," he said.



Noh added he has invited his U.S. counterpart to visit Seoul in the near future to continue their discussions.



Kim said he will do so in a few weeks, and that he also looks forward to holding talks with members of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team. (Yonhap)




Olivier Douliery/TNS

After Amazon workers at a Staten Island warehouse successfully voted to form a union last week, media reports characterized the vote as the most significant win for organized labor in decades.

The Democratic Party is ostensibly pro-union, with the party platform from 2020 stating, "We know that strong American labor unions help increase wages and job standards for workers across the economy, which is why Democrats will prioritize passing the PRO Act and restoring workers rights, including the right to launch secondary boycotts." (The PRO Act passed the House but no action has been taken in the Senate.)
Getty Images

More book bans were sought in 2021 than any previous year recorded by the American Library Association, according to the organization's State of America's Libraries Report 2022. The ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, which has been tracking book bans for 20 years, tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services last year, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals.

We support individual parents' choices concerning their child's reading and believe that parents should not have those choices dictated by others," said ALA President Patricia Patty Wong. "Young people need to have access to a variety of books from which they can learn about different perspectives. So, despite this organized effort to ban books, libraries remain ready to do what we always have: make knowledge and ideas available so people are free to choose what to read.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Monday he will prioritize passing Texas legislation that mimics the recently signed Florida bill referred to as the Dont Say Gay law.

That states controversial law prohibits classroom lessons on sexual orientation or gender identity for kids below the fourth grade or any instruction that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for older students. It has come under heavy scrutiny as opponents of the bill say it will harm LGBTQ children.

While Texas next legislative session doesnt start until January, the issue will be addressed in Education Committee hearings before then, Patrick said in a campaign email.

I will make this law a top priority in the next session, he said.

Patricks office did not immediately respond to a request late Monday.

Enforcing Floridas law falls to parents, much like Texas restrictive abortion law, Senate Bill 8, which empowers private citizens to sue anyone who aids or abets an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy.

A parent can sue a school district for damages if they believe it has broken the law. If they win, parents will receive money and recoup attorney fees. In Florida, the laws supporters portrayed it as a way to give more rights to parents. Gov. Greg Abbott has similarly said parents should have more rights concerning their childrens education as he campaigns for a third term.

Val Benavidez, executive director of the Texas Freedom Network, said in a statement to The Texas Tribune that Patricks promise to bring similar legislation to the state is a stain on Texas.

Gender expression by children is not something that is scary or harmful. What is scary is that political activists are grasping at power by overstepping into the lives of Texas families and education of students, Benavidez said. While politicians use hate speech that is far from center to harm our vulnerable youth, we will continue to love our children and make sure that all families are uplifted in public life.

Critics say that the Florida measures intent is to stifle and marginalize LGBTQ people and their families. A lawsuit filed by LGBTQ groups in Florida seeks to strike down the law there. The lawsuit alleges that the law violates the constitutional rights of free speech, equal protection and due process of students and families, according to NPR.

Floridas law also requires school districts to notify parents about health services offered at the school and the option to decline such services. Schools must also inform parents of any health-related questionnaires or health screening forms that may be given to any kindergarten through third grade student.

Patricks announcement comes on the heels of a Republican-led spree to limit what can be taught in schools about race and American history, restrict what books about race and sexuality appear on library shelves and criminalize gender-affirming health care for transgender children, even treatment medical experts support.

Texas Republicans are following a national playbook of feeding off conservative parents' fears that critical race theory is being taught in public schools and children are being exposed to obscene sexual content.

Critical race theory is the study of how race has influenced not only human behavior but shaped laws and policies, and educators say it is not taught in Texas public schools as it is mostly a university-level subject. The GOP often misapplies the term to any discussion about race.

Legislation like Texas so-called critical race theory law and investigations into books about race and sexuality have put added pressure on teachers already feeling burnout caused by the pandemic.

Texas teacher shortage has increased so much that Abbott called for the creation of a taskforce that will look to fix the issue. But education advocates say that the states own laws are driving teachers out of the profession and scaring away potential teachers.

Patrick vowed to prioritize Texas legislation limiting lessons about LGBTQ people in a campaign email Monday with the subject I AM DONE WITH DISNEY! Patrick denounced The Walt Disney Company for publicly promising to help repeal the controversial Florida law. After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law last week, Disney published a statement saying the law should have never passed and that the company would support organizations fighting to have it repealed, according to a Variety article about the companys stance.

Disneys statement comes after employee backlash and a walkout in response to Disney CEO Bob Chapeks initially soft public stance on the bill, according to NPR. These employees called for Chapek to better advocate for LGBTQ people by publicly condemning the bill, refusing funding from lawmakers who support anti-LGBTQ legislation and donating to organizations fighting for LGBTQ rights and causes, according to the employees walkout website.

In his email, Patrick links to a conservative news website purportedly Exposing Disneys Gay Agenda. The site includes videos of an internal Disney staff meeting held after the Dont Say Gay bill passed in Florida obtained by Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist who in 2020 began using the term critical race theory publicly to denounce anti-racist education efforts.

One recording shows a Disney employee discussing adding more queer characters into company productions, according to National Review. Another shows an employee discussing the removal of gendered terms when greeting guests at Disney parks, according to FOX News. For example, instead of saying,Hello, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the park employees may use Hello, friends or dreamers of all ages.

In his email, Patrick calls for parents to boycott Disney and stop their children from interacting with Disney products, lest the company indoctrinate the children of America with their radical woke views. He also said he sold his personal Disney stock and encouraged his supporters to do the same.

Disclosure: Texas Freedom Network has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
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
North Korea's Korean Central TV broadcasts a statement from its leader Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong, April 3. Yonhap



North Korea opposes war but would use nuclear weapons if South Korea attacked, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un, said Tuesday, in a warning that analysts noted was probably aimed at the South's incoming conservative president.



Kim Yo-jong, a senior official in the government and ruling party, said it was a "very big mistake" for South Korea's minister of defense to make recent remarks discussing attacks on the North, state-run KCNA reported.



South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook had said Friday that the country's military has a variety of missiles with significantly improved range, accuracy and power, with "the ability to accurately and quickly hit any target in North Korea."



Both Koreas have increased displays of military strength after North Korea test-fired a range of increasingly powerful missiles this year. Officials in Seoul and Washington also fear it may be preparing to resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time since 2017 amid stalled negotiations.



Kim and another North Korean official issued earlier statements Sunday condemning Suh's remarks, and warned that Pyongyang would destroy major targets in Seoul if the South takes any "dangerous military action" such as a preemptive strike.



Kim's criticisms are most likely aimed at South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who has called for a more muscular defense against North Korean threats, said Rachel Minyoung Lee, an analyst with the U.S.-based 38 North project, which monitors North Korea.



"Yoon's preemptive strike comment made the headlines a few months ago, and Pyongyang is seizing Suh's remarks to make a point to the incoming South Korean administration," she said. "North Korea has thus far refrained from criticizing Yoon at any authoritative level, but it certainly seems to be laying the groundwork for it."



The statements suggest Pyongyang is preparing the North Korean public for a possible shift in inter-Korean relations once Yoon takes office in May, Lee added.



A delegation from Yoon's team was in Washington this week to meet with U.S. officials, who reiterated their commitment to defending South Korea, according to a statement by the U.S. State Department, Tuesday.



In her statement Tuesday, Kim said Pyongyang opposes war, which would leave the peninsula in ruins, and does not view South Korea as its principal enemy.



"But if south Korea, for any reason  whether or not it is blinded by misjudgment  opts for such military action as preemptive strike touted by (Suh Wook), the situation will change," Kim added. "In that case, South Korea itself will become a target."



If the South Korean military violates North Korea territory, it will face an "unimaginably terrible disaster" and the North's nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty, she said, noting that the South can avoid this fate by dropping any "fantastic daydream" of launching a preemptive attack on a nuclear-armed state. (Reuters)


A sense of belonging to the Canadian family is one of many reasons to take that final step in your Canadian immigration journey.

Five benefits of Canadian citizenship A sense of belonging to the Canadian family is one of many reasons to take that final step in your Canadian immigration journey.

Five benefits of Canadian citizenship A sense of belonging to the Canadian family is one of many reasons to take that final step in your Canadian immigration journey.

Five benefits of Canadian citizenship A sense of belonging to the Canadian family is one of many reasons to take that final step in your Canadian immigration journey. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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There are a number of good reasons to transition from permanent residence to Canadian citizenship.

Beyond the security and pride that comes with citizenship, there are some advantages that are not available to permanent residents.

Here are five benefits to getting Canadian citizenship.

Schedule a Free Canadian Citizenship Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm

No need to renew status

Most PR cards are valid for just five years. In that time, it is possible to meet the residency requirement for citizenship. Permanent residents need to be physically present in Canada for 1,095 days out of the past five years before applying.

Once you are a citizen, there is no need to renew your citizenship status. Citizenship certificates are valid indefinitely.

More job opportunities

Canadian citizens are able to apply for jobs that are not available for permanent residents. Certain government jobs and some jobs that require security clearances are only available to Canadian citizens.

Better protection against losing status

It is possible for permanent residents to be deported no matter how long they have lived in Canada.

There are only a few circumstances in which citizenship status can be revoked. According to Canadian law, a persons citizenship can be taken away if it was obtained by false representation, fraud, or knowingly concealing material circumstances. Other reasons to revoke citizenship relate to security, human or international rights violations, or organized crime.

The right to vote

Canadian citizens can vote in all elections. They can also run for office and represent constituents on issues that are important to Canadians.

Canadian passport

Citizens get access to the Canadian passport. Many countries allow Canadian passport holders to enter without a visa for certain purposes.

Canada also recognizes dual citizenship. If your country of birth also recognizes dual citizenship, then you may be able to hold two passports. If your country does not allow dual citizenship, then you may wish to analyze the pros and cons of choosing one passport over the other.

Conclusion

About 86% of Canadian permanent residents become citizens, one of the highest rates among western countries. Although, in recent years the citizenship uptake has been declining, Statistics Canada reports.

When permanent residents become Canadian citizens, it benefits both themselves and the country at large. It gives immigrants the right to vote, enables them to have political influence, and studies suggest it may improve immigrants economic opportunities.

Schedule a Free Canadian Citizenship Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
In tight talent markets, investing in employees careers can be a key differentiator. Upskilling and cross-training programs can not only improve employee productivity and help fill key skill gaps, but also prove to be essential tools for retention and recruitment, as Capital Ones approach to developing the whole person through a range of training programs attests.

Capital One has leveraged several internal professional development programs to meet the skills gap, while giving employees and even those outside IT  the opportunity to grow their careers and expertise in tech. These programs include a full-stack development academy and an internal tech college, as well as opportunities to develop leadership and other soft skills.

At the center, however, is an IT culture focused on learning and the entrepreneurial spirit, says Mike Eason, senior vice president and CIO of enterprise data and machine learning engineering at Capital One.

A cultural commitment

Capital One has over 11,000 engineers operating across more than 2,000 agile teams. These teams run like a small business, says Eason.

It keeps a big company very nimble, creates that autonomy and then drives a lot of that team dynamic and team culture down into the other groups of folks that are releasing software every day of every week to our customers and our associates, he says.

Capital Ones strong focus on team culture helps it draw in and retain talent, Eason says, as does its commitment to upskilling and ongoing career development.

Eason attributes Capital Ones 2015 move to the public cloud as one of the biggest catalysts in attracting new engineering talent. Working on open-source projects and having an agile environment was huge in Capital Ones ability to attract talent across not just the financial industry, but across all of the tech industry, he says.

But if opportunities afforded by working with the public cloud brought new talent in, Capital Ones dedication to career development has helped motivate them to stay. The company looks beyond just the engineering hard skills of an employee to how they build relationships and influence and elevate others in the company, offering training focused on fostering leadership, public speaking, and relationship skills, among other soft skills important for anyones career.

This emphasis has actually brought in a lot of senior leaders from other tech companies that wanted to be broader in some of those leadership skills and Capital One has that brand within the marketplace, not just for banks, but for the overall country. So a lot of folks have come looking for that investment in the whole person versus the engineer aspect of our talent, Eason says.

CODA: Bringing in new talent

Still, tech training is another key component of Capital Ones recruitment and retention strategy. Capital One invests in its engineers through a variety of talent development programs, including the Capital One Developer Academy (CODA), a six-month software engineering program for full-time Capital One employees to learn full-stack development principles. Its targeted at recent STEM graduates who may or may not have a background in software engineering but are interested in learning more on the subject.

The program has been successful in bringing in new engineering talent, with Capital One hiring around 200 people from the CODA program each year, Eason says. Graduates of this program are transitioned into Capital Ones Technology Development Program (TDP), a two-year rotational program that puts employees in separate year-long roles across two different tech departments.

Andrew Dorfman, a senior software engineer at Capital One, heard about the CODA program at a job fair on campus at the University of Delaware. As a chemical engineering major with a minor in computer science, he didnt feel a full-time software engineering position was possible for him since he wouldnt be able to pass the technical interviews. CODA, however, gave him the opportunity to bridge that skill gap and start a career in software engineering.

CODA was the perfect way for me to get the training I needed to become a software engineer. CODA gave me the fundamentals I needed to succeed and continue to grow into becoming a stronger engineer, he says.

Upon acceptance to the program, Dorfman attended the training courses full time, learning full stack web development using JavaScript and Node. The courses also covered agile, GitHub, React, Angular, Express, Mongo, Postgres, and ORM in Node. He also got hands-on experience working on an application for Capital One that was designed for customer list screening.

Dorfman has transitioned roles three times since starting at Capital One, he says. While the CODA program helped him get his first role, the TDP helped him find a new role and helped ease the transition.

From there, I was fully empowered to find a team or project that I was interested in. Id work with the hiring manager and go through interviews to see if it was the right fit for me, he says.

Capital One Tech College for upskilling

Another program, Capital One Tech College, was developed in-house to give employees the opportunity to further develop their tech skills. Its open to employees inside and outside of IT and gives access to thousands of free training and certification courses in subjects such as agile, cloud, cybersecurity, data, machine learning, and AI, as well as mobile and software engineering. The Tech College offers both live classes and pre-recorded courses, enabling the training to fit employees schedules and learning styles.

The Tech College gives Capital One the opportunity to meet the demand for emerging and cutting-edge tech skills that can be difficult to hire for in the current market. For example, the demand for machine learning is huge and Eason says that the war for talent on machine learning is raging out there, and theres just not enough talent. Through the Tech College, Capital One can develop the necessary skills in-house, while also giving employees the opportunity to grow and expand their careers and skillsets.

Eason himself says that hes had around 15 different roles at Capital One over the last 20 some odd years, and notes that the formal process around career development helps employees find what their passionate about without having to leave the company.

We really want to invest in the whole person versus getting them pigeon-holed in doing the same thing, says Eason.

Since finishing the CODA program, Dorfman has taken advantage of the internal Tech College resources to upskill specific languages and technologies.

Being able to learn new technologies on the job with those tools allows me to become a stronger engineer and gain new experiences working with emerging technologies. I love that this is an option and that Capital One engineers are encouraged to take advantage of Learning and Development resources. It proves were a company that truly believes in its mission statement, says Dorfman.

Offering alternatives to the leadership path

Capital One also recognizes that leadership shouldnt be the only career path open to engineers. Leadership requires its own set of skills and expertise, and its not something everyone is interested in. If the only way up in a company is through leadership positions, companies will often find themselves with leaders who dont really want to be there and engineers who leave the company to gain promotions, raises, or new projects.

For those at Capital One who do want to embark on a leadership path, theres training opportunities available, including a Distinguished Engineer path that allows them to invest deeper into the engineering space, while still influencing and mentoring people. Engineers simply interested in solving problems also have the flexibility to move around the company in various roles or departments to keep things interesting.

I think that is big for retention and engagement  being able to do something new and fresh. Even if what they might be doing is kind of cool, after doing something in the same spot for three years, it might not seem as [exciting], says Eason.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol / Korea Times photo



Kim Yo-jong warns of nuclear response in case of Seoul's preemptive strikes



By Kang Seung-woo



Scathing remarks made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister in response to South Korea's defense minister touting the South's "pre-emptive strike" ability were aimed at taming Seoul's new administration, which is widely expected to take a tougher stance against Pyongyang, including the use of military options, according to experts.



They also noted that North Korea's warning, the second of its kind in just three days, was largely propaganda aimed at bolstering internal solidarity amid economic woes triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.



In a statement carried by state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Tuesday, Kim Yo-jong denounced Defense Minister Suk Wook's reference to possible pre-emptive strikes as a "fantastic daydream" and the "hysteria of a lunatic," adding that it was a big mistake for the South Korean military to highlight its pre-emptive strike capabilities against her country.



"If South Korea chooses to wage a military conflict with us, our nuclear combat force will have no choice but to carry out its duty," she said.



Last Friday, Suh said his troops had the capability to accurately and swiftly strike the origin of North Korea's missile launches as well as command and support facilities in the event of clear signs of an attack targeting South Korea. Kim warned, Sunday, that Seoul will face a serious threat for the remarks.



"Kim Yo-jong's two statements are aimed at warning the new South Korean government taking actions that will be hostile to North Korea when reviewing its policy toward the North," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies.



During the election campaign, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol mentioned the need to carry out a preemptive strike in the event North Korea appears ready to fire a nuclear-tipped missile at the South.



Along with Yoon, his national security team is widely expected to be composed of people who handled inter-Korean affairs under the hawkish Lee Myung-bak administration from 2008 to 2013. At that time, ties between the two Koreas experienced a serious downturn.



However, Yang also said given that Kim did not mention military action plans in the latest statement, North Korea has indirectly left room for dialogue with South Korea if the Yoon administration refrains from taking a hardline stance.



In Tuesday's statement, Kim said, "Unless the South Korean army takes any military action against our state, it will not be regarded as a target of our attack."





President Moon Jae-in chats with Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, while watching a performance at the National Theater of Korea in central Seoul in Feb. 11 2018. Yonhap
Fundatia Regina Pacis prelungeste concursul pentru suplinirea postului vacant de asistent/-a de proiect in cadrul activitatilor axate pe ajutorul de urgenta refugiatilor din Ucraina
Stonewall and more than 120 organisations have boycotted the governments first LGBT+ conference, after it emerged that plans for a ban on conversion therapy would now exclude trans people.

The government had planned to ban the practice for all LGBT+ people last week, but u-turned a few hours later to exclude trans and non-binary people being protected from the ban.

The conference, Safe To Be Me, is a global equality conference due to take place this June to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the London Pride marches.

Stonewall and The Kaleidoscope Trust were on the advisory committee of the conference, but have since withdrawn all support for it.

Around 100 more organisations have joined them, including charities like LGBT Foundation, Gendered Intelligence and Mermaids.

The government has said it is now going to look into banning trans conversion therapy.

Stonewall's statement

In its statement, Stonewall said: We will only be able to participate if the prime minister reverts to his promise for a trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy.

The Consortium for Stronger LGBT+ communities agreed with Stonewall and described the government's u-turn as abhorrent .

Some charities are using the hashtag #NotSafeToBeMe to display their disagreement with the governments stance on conversion therapy.

Trans people are the most likely to receive conversion therapy

Conversion therapy is a pseudoscientific practice that attempts to change a persons sexual orientation or gender identity.

Stonewall quoted research from Galop that shows 11% of trans people have been subjected to conversion practices by their own families.

Jamie Wallis, who came out as the UKs first openly transgender MP last week, said the governments decision to exclude trans and non-binary people from the ban cannot be described as anything other than a broken promise.

HIV charities join the boycott

The Terrence Higgins Trust released a joint statement with 23 other HIV charities boycotting the government-led conference.

The statement reads: As HIV charities and community groups we stand in solidarity with Stonewall and the whole LGBT+ sector and will not be supporting or attending the upcoming global LGBT+ 'Safe To Be Me' conference unless the government reverts to their promise of a trans-inclusive ban.

Some of the charities that have signed include the National AIDS Trust, Spectra and Positive East.

We stand in solidarity with the whole LGBT+ sector and will not be supporting or attending the #SafeToBeMe2022 conference unless the Government reverts to its promise of a trans-inclusive ban.



Read our joint statement with 23 other HIV charities and community organisations  Terrence Higgins Trust (@THTorguk) April 4, 2022

LGB Alliance response

While the vast majority of the sector opposed the u-turn position, LGB Alliance backed the government's new position.

Bev Jackson, director and co-founder at LGB Alliance, told Civil Society News: The organisations boycotting the conference are displaying disdain for young people grappling with gender dysphoria.

She called for further evidence before including a ban on trans conversion therapy in this legislation.

The issue of gender dysphoria does not belong in a bill to ban the abhorrent practice of gay conversion therapy, she said.

Government response

A government spokesperson said: It is disappointing to see partners withdraw from an international conference focused on the fundamental human rights issues facing LGBT people around the world and which provides a global platform to create positive change.

The government is now considering how to proceed and will continue to work alongside global forums, including the ERC [Equal Rights Coalition] and EFPN [The European Governmental LGBTQI Focal Points Network], to convene international partners and drive forward action.

The UK has a proud history of LGBT rights and the prime minister has been very clear he is committed to bringing forward legislation to ban conversion therapy.

He has made the point emphatically that people who want to make a transition in their lives should be treated with the maximum possible generosity and respect, but the complexity of issues requires separate work to further consider transgender conversion therapy.

sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
On the afternoon of January 15, a group of armed assailants entered 14 Riverside Drive, an upscale hotel and office complex in Nairobi, Kenya. The attackers, members of Al Shabaab, an Islamist militant group, opened fire on patrons of the DusitD2 Nairobi hotel and other businesses on the grounds, leaving 21 people dead and many more injured.

As fear rippled through the capital and the rest of the country, details of the attack were shared online. The New York Times, in its initial report, published a gruesome photo of victims, their bullet-riddled bodies slumped over, dead, in their chairs at a cafe.

When the Times article started circulating, Kenyan officials hadnt yet declared the Riverside episode over. People were still trying to confirm the whereabouts of their parents, children, and friends; the security operation continued until the early hours of the next morning. The idea of discovering the death of a loved one in such a public way seemed cruel; soon, commentators in Kenya and around the world grew incensed by what they viewed as a callous disregard for the citizens shown in the photo, and for a nation in mourning.

ICYMI: Tragic AP photo from the border unleashes immediate outpouring of emotion

The image, taken by an Associated Press photographer, was startlingand unlike the kind that American news outlets tend to distribute from violent scenes in the United States. (Exceptionslike the Falling Man, photographed by Richard Drew for the AP at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001draw intense scrutiny.) That the Times and other foreign publicationsincluding the United Kingdoms Daily Mail and Germanys Bildchose to trade in shock value struck many as an instance of othering the victims and survivors of the attack. Its extremely harmful, my mother said when we discussed the incident a few weeks later. She wondered how outsiders would interpret the photo. A lot of these people have never visited Africa, so their reactions and thoughts on what its like there are based on what they see and read. The image showed Kenyans that their suffering could easily be transformed into a crude spectacle for a faraway audience.

My mother, Esther, is Kenyan, and large parts of my extended family live in the country. My immediate family was based in Nairobi in the early to mid-2000s; our house was in Westlands, the same neighborhood where the siege was underway. The 14 Riverside complex was built after we moved, but its directly behind the compound where one of my closest childhood friends used to live.

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I came across the uproar over the photo while checking on loved ones from a distancea routine that has become disturbingly familiar to me. In the years since my family left Kenya, terrorist attacks and waves of politically motivated violence have hurt or killed hundreds of people. The emigrants in my family have become quite efficient at establishing a kind of phone tree, crossing names off the list as relatives answer the roll call. But the same tools that were designed to help share information quickly (smartphones, social-network timelines) in a reassuring way can distribute devastation at a similar clip.

When I asked my mother if shed seen the photo going around, she said that shed heard about the outrage but refused to click. I never look at those pictures, she explained. I think theyre just too gruesomeand once I see them, I cant unsee them. She understood that the 24-hour news cycle compels outlets to publish fast. But can you imagine if you were in the family of one of the people who was killed, you had no idea that the attack had happened, and the first thing you do is see your loved one in such terrible pictures? she asked. For me, its just unforgivable.

Hassan Santur, the managing editor of BRIGHT Magazine, was in his office, separated from the attack by one of Nairobis main highways, when a colleague told him of the first gunshots at Riverside. The magazines staff quickly focused their attention on the news; Santur published an essay on ethical photography the next day. BRIGHT, like the Daily Nation and The Standardtwo of Kenyas most widely read newspapersdidnt depict the dead in its dispatch; the Media Council of Kenya advocates against publishing bloody incidents and abhorrent scenes unless they will serve the public interest.

If the attack took place closer to home, I think the [Times] editors wouldve made a different choice because they wouldve processed the anguish of the families of the victims differently, Santur told me later. They wouldve been able to see them as their own families and friends instead of strangers thousands of miles away. That kind of geographic and emotional distance allows some journalists to see the victims as a story rather than human beings whose grief and loss are as real and painful as ours.

It is possible to tell the story of terror without splashing bloody images on your front page.

Photography, alongside literature, film, and journalism, has long been a tool for widening the emotional distance between Africa and the rest of the world. In the early 20th century, when most of the continent was under European control, photography played a powerful role in furthering European stereotypes of Black and brown people as savage and uncivilized, as a means to justify the imperialist exercisenotably in the form of colonial postcards, which displayed African regalia, traditions, and bodies as oddities that existed outside of so-called Western norms. A straight line can be drawn between this practice and the way African countries continue to be depicted in contemporary media that doesnt originate on the continent or consider its people to be a valuable, discerning readership.

In 1993 a singular image, Kevin Carters Pulitzer Prizewinning photo of a starving child being stalked by a vulture in present-day South Sudan, was deemed a metaphor for Africas despair. The picture, of a malnourished toddler struggling to find relief from famine during the Second Sudanese Civil War, is one of the most memorable representations of conflict and its haunting consequences. But to imply that it alone could exemplify an entire continenthome to an estimated 682 million people that year, and made up of countries at different stages on the postcolonial journeyshould likewise be noted as a stark example of Western reductionism and pessimism when it comes to Africa. More than 25 years later, between the pictures of emaciated boys and girls that crop up in charity advertisements around the holidays and the context-deficient renderings of poverty and dysfunction used in humanitarian leaflets, its a shame to see the same shortsighted stories being told over and over.

The African online community and Africans in the diaspora have been keeping track of how their stories are covered, Waihiga Mwaura, a journalist for Kenyas Citizen TV, told me. On the day of the Riverside attack, Mwaura had just enough time to confirm that his wife was safe before going on camera to report the story live. When a tragedy happens in the West, he continued, images of bravery and survival against all odds dominate the headlines, but the opposite happens when the attack is on African soil.

There was some important context to grapple with: since 2011, Kenyan military forces have been in neighboring Somalia, fighting to eradicate Al Shabaab, which in turn has carried out retaliatory attacks. This has resulted in sociopolitical tensions within Kenya and across the bordertensions that were at the root of the Riverside attack. The Times may have overlooked these divisions in a rush to publish the photo. It is possible to tell the story of terror without splashing bloody images on your front page, whether in America, Europe, Asia, or Africa, Mwaura added. In fact, I believe publishing gory images aids the cause of terrorists, because their sympathizers are emboldened by those pictures.

The Times, acknowledging the volume of criticism it received for its choice of image, explained its decision in a statement posted on Twitter: We want to be respectful, editors wrote. We also believe it is important to give our readers around the world a clear picture of the horror of an attack like this. This often includes showing pictures that are not sensationalized but that give a real sense of the terrible situation. But which readers were served by the publication of an exploitative photograph? Not the local audience. Repeat exposure to negative typecasting only serves to reinforce it. When it comes to journalism, this needs to be scrutinized as an ethical shortcoming.

Weeks after the Riverside attack, as Kenyans regrouped and tried to return to normalcy, the grisly photos remained hard to look at. No one needs them to remember what happened, nor to understand that terrorist attacks leave lasting damage. Whats more, they arent representative of a beautiful place, where resilient people cannot be reduced to one-dimensional iconography.

From archives: The MeToo story BuzzFeed, NYT and more didnt want to publish

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Vanessa Okoth-Obbo is a freelance writer and reporter who focuses on pop culture. Her writing has appeared in the Village Voice, Pitchfork, MTV News, and the Wall Street Journal.
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Marcela Turati drove to Villa Ahumada, in Mexicos north, within hours of the slaughter. Upon her arrival, in the early morning, she found half a dozen corpses resting in vans, pavement stained with blood, tables flipped, and neighbors cowering in fear. The night before, a group of 40 sicarios, hooded in black, had stormed into town, abducting and killing at will. Turati found herself trying to make sense of the tragedy. The question I wanted to answer was, What happens to a community after a massacre? she recalls. After one is left with a cooler containing severed heads, or ones neighbors are carried offwhat gets broken?

It was May 2008, and Mexico was almost two years into its drug war. President Felipe Calderon was implementing a controversial security strategy, deploying military officers across the country to confront cartels with force. It was too soon to know that this approach would prove largely ineffective, or that the jailing of drug lords would inadvertently lead to the spread of smaller, more destructive gangs. Nor did anyone foresee that the number of homicides would double during Calderons term in office, or that civilians would bear the brunt of the violence. Mexicans were adapting to a changing security landscape, and journalists were learning to chronicle a fast-growing conflict.

Turati filed her first reports on the war from Ciudad Juarez, a place of stupefying violence. Writing for Proceso, a weekly magazine, she detailed grim encounters: dogs feasting on human remains, bodies hanging from bridges, neighbors putting up signs that read The disposal of corpses or trash is prohibited. Killing was becoming normalized. Turati was intent on covering the human stories behind the mayhemthose that tend to get obliterated by the numbers.

Newsrooms across the country were beginning to receive visits from relatives of victims searching for reporters to write about their experiences. In 2010, Turati was invited to attend a meeting with families from Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, and Chihuahua whose loved ones had been killed. When she arrived, a group of 30 mothers lined up, holding photographs of their children and hoping that Turati could record their testimony. She recalls feeling frustrated, helpless, and painfully constrained by time. I learned to interpret what was happening as a social phenomenon, she tells me, one of massive and systematic proportions.

Turati, now 45, with deep brown eyes and loose curls, has since brought to the fore the pain and resilience of countless victims. She has joined them during protests, funerals, and exhumations, reporting on their tireless efforts to demand justice, to navigate tangled bureaucracies, and to denounce the incidence of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and forced displacement in Mexico.

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She has also been instrumental in helping fellow journalists cope with the ebb and flow of grief. More than a decade ago, Turati founded Periodistas de a Pie (Journalists on Foot) with a group of female reporters covering stories of public interest. After work, or on Sunday mornings, they would meet to discuss their beats and hear from journalism elders. It was our Dead Poets Society, Mexican-style, Daniela Pastrana, a founding member of Periodistas de a Pie, recalls. Marcela has always been a guide for others. Every time she says, Lets go to the moon, we all head to the moon.

In 2008, after Armando Rodriguez, on staff at El Diario, was fatally shot, the group took on a more activist role. We felt journalists working in Juarez were too alone, too isolated, Turati tells me. It was our turn to step in from Mexico City and put our bodies on the line. Two years later, in an unprecedented action, Mexican journalists led mass protests across the country to denounce the threats they were facing. The defense of press freedom became central to the work of Periodistas de a Pie. By organizing, Maria Teresa Juarez, the groups secretary, tells me, weve found each other.

Born in Mexico City and raised in Chihuahua, Turati once hoped to become a Catholic missionary. As a teenager, she volunteered among the Raramuri Indians, in the Sierra Madre range. The Raramuri are one of Mexicos poorest communities, and the stories of famine and misery Turati heard from them left a mark on her. In college, she wrote an article for the school newspaper about a campaign to reduce malnutrition among the Raramuri. After its publication, she received an outpouring of support for the cause from readers. She was moved: she had found a swift way to effect changemore direct, she realized, than the patient work of a missionary.

In the late nineties, Turati joined a generation of reporters who worked at the dawn of Mexicos transition to democracy, no longer subject to systematic censorship. Attached to their freedom was a responsibility to inform readers who, for seven decades, had been fed news crafted by a single ruling party. She started by covering poverty, but soon could not avoid making violence her subject. She approached both beats in much the same way: focusing less on planning ahead than on finding stories at the right time. She relied on locals to reach sources and find places to stay. Over the years, while out on trips, she has gotten dangerously close to those who orchestrate violenceenough to see their tents, their clothing, their smoldering fires. The crossing of an invisible line can have fatal consequences.

On one occasion, after hearing that Mexicos army had murdered a pregnant woman in her home state, Turati traveled to the city of Almada, to the house where the woman had lived. There, she was greeted with suspicion: the womans relatives questioned her motives, fearing that she could be an informant. They called Proceso, threatening to levantarliterally lift, but also disappearher if she wasnt who she said she was. Eventually, Turati persuaded them that she really was a journalist. But she decided to step away from the story. The womans family, she realized, might have been under watch, and her presence could have endangered them all.

As Turati continued reporting, Calderons antidrug strategy evolved into a ferocious turf war. Local allegiances shifted, and it became increasingly difficult for journalists to identify whom to trust. Turati has learned to develop security protocols and to navigate territories held hostage by criminal groups. Certain places are simply out of reach, and access to others requires unorthodox approaches. Ive often found myself reporting undercover and in silence, without asking any questions, Turati says. One time, I traveled to a ghost town, where a majority of the population had been displaced, and I had to convince a driver to let me ride his delivery truck with him. I couldnt take pictures or notes. All I could do was remember what I saw and later transcribe it at the newsroom.

In 2014, following the disappearance of 43 students in Iguala, Turati reported on dozens of families determined to find their children. They ventured into lands controlled by cartels, searching for hidden graves and human remains. Initially, these families concealed their identities by wearing sunglasses, hats, and bandannas. Of her first experience in the field with them, Turati wrote:

Unrestrained, they threw themselves into the hill, just like that, with exposed hearts, without food or water, but with nails, hands, picks, shovels, pry bars, rods, machetes, and malletswhatever they had at hand to dig until finding their missing relatives.

Eventually, they replaced their sunglasses, hats, and bandannas with T-shirts that read Son, i will keep searching for you, until i can bury you. Although the bodies of the 43 students remain missing, their seekers unearthed dozens of mass graves in the area and more than a hundred corpses. In a country where 99 percent of crimes are committed with impunity, and investigations are regularly dismissed or terminated without cause, relatives of victims have assumed a set of responsibilities that the government has relinquished.

By taking justice into their own hands, families have become exposed to the threat of retribution. Whenever people asked me if my work put me at risk, I would always respond, Well, Im just accompanying victims and taking their testimonies,  Turati says. But when they started leading their own investigations, mobilizing, and identifying perpetrators, their risks became mine.

Since 2006, nearly 100 journalists have been killed in Mexico. Members of the press have been forced to weigh whether their words are worth the price of their lives. Self-censorship has become widespread, and swaths of territory, deemed too dangerous for reporting, have gone off the grid. Article 19, a press freedom monitoring group, has registered 3,594 aggressions against journalists since 2006, including 19 disappearances. Whenever a journalist is assassinated, Ana Cristina Ruelas, the director of Article 19s Office for Mexico and Central America, counts it as a double murder. The truth he or she was investigating gets killed, she says, but so does the truth around the circumstances of their deaths.

Fewer than 1 percent of criminals are convicted and, to make matters worse, public officials are believed to be responsible for the most offenses. On a local level, the narco-politica, as its called, has only multiplied the threats to which journalists are exposed. Newsrooms have been targeted with firebombs, raids, and infiltrations; several have been compelled to redraw their editorial lines. Independent outlets have chosen to conceal the names of reporters behind investigations or sign articles with the editorial boards name. In 2010, after El Diario lost its second employee in less than two years to a drug cartel, the newspaper addressed a front-page letter to the criminals under the headline: What Do You Want from Us?

The same question could be asked of government officials. The Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled the country for most of the 20th century, enforced strict control over information in Mexico and managed to make the survival of the press contingent on public funding. Although conditions for journalists have improved since, remnants of that system prevail. During the Enrique Pena Nieto administration, it came to light that authorities had used a spyware program to surveil journalists, human rights activists, and opposition leaders. Pena Nieto, who left office last year, also spent more than $3 billion on media advertisinga record figure in Mexican historyas a way of subjecting content to the whims of public officials.

As I began to cover more tragedies and stories of victims, something inside me flickered; it was as if I had held on to a high-voltage line.

Today, 80 percent of news outlets rely on government advertising. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the incumbent president, has promised a new era of opennesshe has held daily press briefings, something none of his predecessors bothered to dobut his relationship with the media has been fraught. He has taken to deriding a critical sector of the press, which he accuses of dishonesty and calls the fifis, or elitists. Since taking office, in 2018, Lopez Obradors rhetoric has hardened, and many fear that his briefings are solely a means of co-opting the news. In the first few months of his administration, at least six journalists have been killed; if the trend continues, 2019 will be the deadliest year ever for Mexican journalists. Carlos Bravo Regidor, of the Center for Economic Research and Teaching, observes, Either Andres Manuel doesnt care or he doesnt get it, but in a way he is validating the hostility against the press by adding himself to it.

There is a network of Mexican institutions designed, on paper, to defend freedom of expression. Over the years, the federal government has established a Special Prosecutors Office on Crimes Committed Against Freedom of Expression, known as FEADLE, and a Mechanism to Protect Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, among other entities. Since its creation, in 2010, FEADLE has launched 1,160 inquiries, of which only 10 have ended in conviction. The numbers we see in Mexico are very much akin to war zone statistics, says Jan-Albert Hootsen, the Mexico representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists. The difference is that war zones like Iraq and Syria dont have a federal mechanism or a special prosecutors office, which makes the situation in Mexico even worse.

These institutions have invariably fallen short of upholding the rights of reporters. When pressed for an explanation, government representatives say that theyve made progress and are quick to cite limited budgets and insufficient staff. But to the journalists who risk their lives daily and who for years have mourned the deaths of their colleagues, no excuse is valid. Among many, there is a growing sense of resignation that only they are responsible for their safety.

A few years ago, after Gregorio Jimenez, a photojournalist from Veracruz, was murdered, Turati traveled to his hometown to look into his killing. Back in Mexico City, she received a phone call threatening her life, allegedly from Veracruz state officials. Turati left the country, finding refuge for a few weeks in Washington, DC, where she took a self-defense course and attended a healing session with a shaman. When she returned home, she quit her job at Proceso. She needed a break, she thought. Not long after, Ruben Espinosa, another colleague, was killed.

Espinosas death had a profound impact on several of the founders of Periodistas de a Pieboth because he had approached them asking for help and because his murder took place in the capital, traditionally considered a safe haven. The tragedy made Turati wonder if Periodistas de a Pie, with its limited resources, could really do that much to help matters. We found psychological help for him, she says, but when he was killed, it felt like a personal failure.

Turati stepped down from her position with the group and in 2016 headed off to a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University. Life in Massachusetts was hard at first. I think I was coping with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, she recalls. It was difficult to leave Mexico; I felt I was abandoning my colleagues, I was abandoning my war. But I knew I couldnt keep covering it. During the early months, she struggled to communicate, even though she spoke English. I felt alone, isolated, and very sadI just wanted to go back to Mexico, she says. She had anxiety attacks. Eventually, however, she found a therapist, and started to feel enriched by her surroundings. My strength was renewed, she says. The courses I took helped me realize that I was perhaps starting a new stage in my career, that I could help a lot of people.

When she came home, in 2017, Turati launched the Quinto Elemento Lab, an organization to support and oversee investigative projects. One of its latest investigations, which she coauthored, is El pais de las 2 mil fosas (2,000 Clandestine Graves: How a Decade of the Drug War Turned Mexico into a Burial Ground). It documents the existence of a vast number of mass graves, previously unheard of, and tells their stories through testimony, photographs, and an interactive map. The state and federal governments vague, incomplete, contradictory, or fragmented records force families to live in uncertainty about the whereabouts of their loved ones, the piece explains. Negligence and omission means that missing people go missing a second time. The project aims to achieve a goal that has always been at the heart of Turatis reporting on violence: find new ways of conveying information that has been repeated endlessly to little avail.

Since Turati began chronicling the conflict, it has claimed almost 250,000 lives. More than 40,000 people are missing. She regularly conducts safety trainings for journalists, hoping that these sessions might enable her to listen to the difficult experiences of others and share her own. It is in these conversations that Turati has found a way to heal and be healed. She has also spent a portion of the money shes received for investigations on individual and group therapy for journalists. As I began to cover more tragedies and stories of victims, something inside me flickered; it was as if I had held on to a high-voltage line, Turati says. But the networks weve created have helped us realize how wounded we all are. Its how weve been able to find normality under abnormal circumstances.

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Stephania Taladrid is a contributing writer at The New Yorker. Before that, she served as a speechwriter for the Obama administration. She holds a masters in Latin American studies from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Last week, in the run-up to key elections in Hungary, a group of activists toured villages south of Budapest to hand out makeshift newspapers, printed on a single sheet of A4, explaining to residents that public TV is lying to them and that Viktor Orban, Hungarys authoritarian prime minister, is close to Vladimir Putin. We take articles from the independent press and reformulate them in simpler language so that everybody can understand them, including in the small villages, Erika Orban (no relation, presumably) told Le Monde. The project behind the newspaperscalled Nyomtass Te Is! or Print It Yourself!published more than a million copies for delivery nationwide, leaning on funding from donors including the liberal Hungarian billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Foundations. It drew inspiration from samizdatthe tradition of clandestinely distributing banned literature in the former Eastern Bloc.

If this seems extreme for a country that is now a member of the European Union, then Hungarys institutional media climate makes it seem much less so. Since taking office for a second time, in 2010, Orban has overseen the erosion of press freedom in the country, with his allies buying up many independent news outlets and turning them into propaganda vehicles, and his government squeezing others out of business. Two years ago last week, Orban used the cover of the pandemic to force through a power grab that harshly criminalized the spread of so-called false information, among other things, and that observers variously characterized as the death of Hungarys democracy and the birth of a full-blown information police state. The power grab was formally rolled back, but critics warned that deleterious effects on the rule of law and press freedom would persist; since then, Orban allies have squeezed the influential independent news site Index, officials have forced the independent station Klubradio off the airwaves, and the government has apparently used the potent Pegasus spyware to surveil journalists. As the election approached, Orbans words blanketed state TV. His principal opponent got five minutes of airtime in the entire campaign.

ICYMI: New images from Ukraine horrify the world, as Russia kills two more visual journalists

On Sunday, the votes were counted, and Orbans party quickly declared a crushing victory. International observers, including from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, have since raised concerns that the election was not fought on a level playing field, not least due to Hungarys slanted media environment, but Orban had already moved to dispel such criticism, and in a speech on election night, he further bashed the left at home, the international left all around, the Brussels bureaucrats, the Soros empire with all its money, the international mainstream media, and in the end, even the Ukrainian president. Orban, who is indeed close to Putin, has condemned Russias invasion of Ukraine but also tried to distance Hungary from the broader Western response, leading Ukraines President Zelensky to brand him a Russian stooge. Much top-line international coverage of Orbans win has cast it as a win for Putin, too.

The same has been said of another election that took place in Europe on Sunday, just across Hungarys southern border in Serbia, where Aleksandar Vucic, the Putin-aligned president, also won a comfortable victory. Vucic, too, has overseen the erosion of press freedom in his country while accumulating influence over swaths of the media and TV in particular; in January, one local observer told the New York Times that media control is the skeleton of his whole system, and in some ways greater than that ever enjoyed by Slobodan Milosevic, whom Vucic once served as minister of information. In 2019, Vucic appeared on a press-freedom panel at Davos and pledged, in a sheepish tone, to do better; since then, the Serbian government has used the cover of the pandemic to crack down on independent reporting and apparently surveilled journalists emails. Late last year, with the election approaching, Vucic scored forty-four hours of (largely favorable) TV coverage, compared to three hours of (largely negative) coverage for the main opposition party. International observers, including from the OSCE, have now raised concerns that the election was not fought on a level playing field.

This coming Sunday will see another election in Europe, this time in France. (The first round of an election, at any rate; the top two presidential candidates will advance to a runoff scheduled for the end of the month.) At first glance, Francewith its entrenched democracy, thriving media ecosystem, and decidedly Western president (even if Zelensky has criticized him, too)would seem not to be comparable to Hungary and Serbia on such terms. Even there, though, the stakes of this election have occasionally been sharp from a press-freedom standpoint, with Eric Zemmour, a journalist turned far-right journalist-basher, and his supporters channeling violent anti-media rhetoric (as well as actual violence). Zemmour sucked up inordinate media oxygen in the early stages of the campaign, but has since faded; by contrast, Marine Le Pen, the more established far-right candidate, has quietly gained ground in the polls, profiting, as Ive argued elsewhere, from the explicit normalization of her agenda across parts of the French media, as well as her implicit normalization in the shadow of the Zemmour panic. Le Pens anti-media rhetoric (perhaps correspondingly) is not as extreme as Zemmours, but she is no stranger to bashing the press and excluding reporters she doesnt like from events. And, as Jean-Yves Camus, a prominent expert on far-right radicalism, told me last year, many of the people in Le Pens orbit are not the kind of democrats I would really like to see in the Elysee Palace. She remains unlikely to win, but that was never a good reason not to take the prospect seriously.

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In the international press, in particular, the elections in Hungary, Serbia, and France have all been overshadowed, to a greater or lesser extent, by the war in Ukraine. Given that wars escalating human cost and geopolitical ramifications, its understandable that our focus might be elsewhere. But the war has also dominated muchif by no means allof the discussion that we have seen around these elections, and thats a more fraught proposition. While the war has of course factored into the campaigns, myriad domestic issues have made these elections important in their own right; Le Pens focus on cost-of-living issues, which are war-related but not exclusively, has been offered as a key reason for her recent poll rise. Each election has also been internationally consequential in its own rightin Hungary, in particular, nothing less than the democratic model is at stake, and with it press freedom. In recent months, many on the US right and in its media have promoted Orban as a model for what theyd like to do to the US. This angle has been much covered, including around Sundays election. Without the war, though, Orbans victory would surely have been a much bigger story in mainstream US media.

Its vital, of course, to cover what the results of these elections might mean for the short-term course of the war; a change of leadership in France would be particularly seismic, not least given Le Pens past closeness to Putin (though she has condemned the invasion). Zoom out, though, and the rise of illiberalism and far-right values in all three countries is itself a story about Russia and its war, or at least one that is strongly adjacent: a story about the democratic world order, and those who would erode it. Democracy breathes through elections, and the conditions under which they are fought always demand close media scrutiny. Diluting our focus might not be Putins top aim. It certainly isnt his foulest sin. But it is, ultimately, another win for him.

Below, more on press freedom around the world:

France: Emmanuel Macron, the incumbent president and favorite for reelection, has only belatedly entered campaign mode and is even now skipping out on certain pre-election rituals; he already refused to debate the other candidates prior to the first round of the election, and has now opted not to take part in a program tonight on France 2, a public TV channel, that will feature all his rivals. (Bound by French laws around candidate airtime, France 2 will instead broadcast excerpts of a speech that Macron gave on Saturday.) Macrons entourage has denied that he has anything against France 2, in particular, but according to Le Monde, insiders at the channel fear thats not the case. In an open letter, journalists at France 2 asked Macron why hes avoiding them.

Emmanuel Macron, the incumbent president and favorite for reelection, has only belatedly entered campaign mode and is even now skipping out on certain pre-election rituals; he already refused to debate the other candidates prior to the first round of the election, and has now opted not to take part in a program tonight on France 2, a public TV channel, that will feature all his rivals. (Bound by French laws around candidate airtime, France 2 will instead broadcast excerpts of a speech that Macron gave on Saturday.) Macrons entourage has denied that he has anything against France 2, in particular, but according to Le Monde, insiders at the channel fear thats not the case. In an open letter, journalists at France 2 asked Macron why hes avoiding them. Serbia: Last month, Miljko Stojanovic, a reporter in the eastern Serbian town of Zajecar, profiled a Ukrainian refugee who had fled to Serbia; subsequently, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports, his Facebook page lit up with dozens of messages supporting Russias invasion of Ukraine and insulting Stojanovic and the refugee, with some threatening violence. Stojanovic regularly shares reporting and commentary on his personal Facebook account, where he has about 250 followers. He told CPJ that he has lived in fear over the threats, and was prescribed medication for stress.

Last month, Miljko Stojanovic, a reporter in the eastern Serbian town of Zajecar, profiled a Ukrainian refugee who had fled to Serbia; subsequently, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports, his Facebook page lit up with dozens of messages supporting Russias invasion of Ukraine and insulting Stojanovic and the refugee, with some threatening violence. Stojanovic regularly shares reporting and commentary on his personal Facebook account, where he has about 250 followers. He told CPJ that he has lived in fear over the threats, and was prescribed medication for stress. Cape Verde: In recent months, authorities in Cape Verde, a West African island nation with a traditionally good press-freedom climate, have interrogated three reporters over their coverage of a murder investigation implicating a government minister. The reporters cant continue to use the classified information they had access to in any successive reporting, Al Jazeeras Nick Roll reports, and must also notify officials if they leave their homes for more than five days or change their phone numbers. A hundred reporters recently protested outside the attorney generals office in solidarity with their colleagues.

In recent months, authorities in Cape Verde, a West African island nation with a traditionally good press-freedom climate, have interrogated three reporters over their coverage of a murder investigation implicating a government minister. The reporters cant continue to use the classified information they had access to in any successive reporting, Al Jazeeras Nick Roll reports, and must also notify officials if they leave their homes for more than five days or change their phone numbers. A hundred reporters recently protested outside the attorney generals office in solidarity with their colleagues. Canada: CPJs Katherine Jacobsen spoke with Mohsin Abbas, a journalist who was forced to flee Pakistan for Canada twenty years ago and has now stepped in to revive the Tilbury Times, an Ontario newspaper that shuttered in 2020 due to the financial headwinds of the pandemic, as well as two other publications. I felt a [kindred spirit] with the people in the community who wanted their stories to be told, Abbas said. It reminded me of when I was a child in Pakistan and didnt see my own community reflected in stories from larger publications. Local stories were being lost.



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: WNYC removes dozens of articles over attribution issues

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Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.




A local court issued a ruled Tuesday against the Jeju Provincial Government's decision years ago to ban a for-profit hospital from treating domestic patients.







The Jeju District Court said it was against the law for the Jeju government to permit the opening of the nation's first for-profit hospital, called Greenland International Medical Center, on the condition that it treats only foreign patients.







The litigation began after the operator of the medical center, Greenland Jeju Healthcare Town, filed a lawsuit against the Jeju government's issuance of the conditional business license in December 2018. The operator is a subsidiary of China's Greenland Group.







The for-profit hospital was built in the southern Jeju city of Seogwipo in 2017 with an investment of 80 billion won ($66 million).







At that time, the Chinese-owned company strongly protested the ban on Korean patients and failed to meet the deadline of March 4, 2019, for the launch of hospital operations, resulting in the license invalidation the following month.







The Jeju government nullified the business license of the Greenland International Medical Center in April 2019.







But the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Chinese company Jan. 13 this year, ordering the Jeju government to cancel its decision to nullify the business license of the Greenland International Medical Center.







In Korea, a for-profit hospital refers to a medical institution that combines foreign capital with domestic medical resources and provides comprehensive medical services to foreign patients. (Yonhap)






New Hampshire landowners who make their properties available to the public for recreation at no charge do not enjoy complete immunity under the states recreational use statute. Landowners have immunity from negligence only where the victim of negligence is actually using their property.

In an opinion issued last Friday, New Hampshires Supreme Court overturned a lower court that granted immunity to the landownerin this case, the state  in a case where a woman standing on federal land was injured by the collapse of a wall of an adjacent fort that was owned and maintained by the state.

The justices said the statute granting immunity should be interpreted strictly. The laws plain language states that immunity from liability from personal injury is limited to injuries incurred by those who use land for recreational purposes free of charge.

According to the facts relayed by the court, in June 2018, the plaintiff, Janet Bisceglia, and her family visited a historic lighthouse situated on land in New Castle, which is owned by the federal government. That federal land is adjacent to Fort Constitution, which is owned and operated by the state. While the plaintiff was standing on the federal land next to the outer wall of Fort Constitution, a portion of the wall fell on top of her, causing her substantial injuries.

Bisceglia sued the state for negligence.

The trial court granted summary judgment for the state. The court determined that, because the state held Fort Constitution out to the public at no charge and the wall was maintained as part of the historic site for the use and enjoyment of the public, the law shields the state from liability, regardless of whether the plaintiff was physically on the states property at the time of the injury.

On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the trial court erred in ruling that the statute bars her suit when it is undisputed that she never entered upon or used the states property in any way.

The state argued that recreational use immunity does not turn on whether a particular individual was using the subject property for recreational purposes at the time he or she was injured, but, rather, the operative question is whether the landowner has permitted members of the general public to use the land for recreational purposes

But the high court rejected the states argument.

The recreational use statute at issue (RSA 508:14, I) provides: An owner, occupant, or lessee of land, including the state or any political subdivision, who without charge permits any person to use land for recreational purposes or as a spectator of recreational activity, shall not be liable for personal injury or property damage in the absence of intentionally caused injury or damage.

The high court noted that the purpose of the law is to encourage owners of land to make land and water areas available to the public for recreational purposes by limiting their liability towards persons entering thereon for such purposes.

The statute limits the liability of landowners who make their land available for public recreational uses on the theory that it is not reasonable to expect such owners to undergo the risks of liability for injury to persons and property attendant upon the use of their land by strangers from whom the accommodating owner receives no compensation or other favor in return, according to the court.

However, citing legislative intent and previous court rulings, the high court found that the language of the statute limits its applicability to on-premises injuries and does not eliminate all common law duties of landowners toward all entrants on land.

To interpret the statute in the manner suggested by the State would require that we add language that the legislature did not see fit to include, the judges wrote.

Because it is undisputed that the plaintiff did not use the states land, the trial court erred in granting the states motion for summary judgment based on the recreational use statute, the stats high court concluded.
Companies linked to insolvent British financier Lex Greensill obtained insurance fraudulently, insurer Tokio Marine said on Monday, adding it did not plan to pay out on the policies and would vigorously defend itself against any legal claims.

Greensills supply chain finance firm collapsed last year, leading to the failure of $10 billion in supply-chain finance funds run by Credit Suisse.

Credit Suisse Warns Greensill Litigation Against Insurers, Debtors May Take 5 Years Credit Suisse Knew Frozen Greensill Funds Insurance Cover Relied on One Insurer: Report

Greensill administrators Grant Thornton declined to comment on Monday.

Credit Suisse said in a statement that the insurance policies were valid, and that it would also vigorously defend its position to preserve the rights of the supply chain finance funds and their investors.

Supply chain finance aims to lower financing costs by allowing suppliers to receive early payment of their invoices.

Credit Suisse bought debt that was issued by Greensill and backed by loans the supply chain finance firm made to companies.

To manage its risk, Greensill took out credit insurance with a subsidiary of Insurance Australia Group (IAG). Tokio Marine took on the policies in 2019 when it bought the unit.

Tokio Marine carried out investigations in 2020 into Greensill-related policies written at its Australian subsidiary BCC Trade Credit, it said in a statement.

While these investigations remain ongoing, Tokio Marine has found that since at least September 2018, matters material to the underwriting of the policies were fraudulently misrepresented to BCC by Greensill, Tokio Marine said.

There was also a fraudulent failure to disclose material matters to BCC prior to the purported inception of numerous policies, renewals and endorsements, the statement said.

Tokio Marine had told counterparties to the insurance on Monday that their policies were void and said it would vigorously defend any legal claims against it.

Credit Suisse is seeking compensation from insurance to restore assets to the investors in the supply chain finance funds.

It said earlier on Monday that litigation related to Greensill supply chain finance funds could take around five years and warned that some investors would not be able to recover their money.

The bank joined creditors of Greensill Capital by filing lawsuits in Australia seeking compensation from IAG, court filings showed last month.

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Barbara Lewis)

Related:
Rep. Park Jin of a South Korean delegation answers reporters' questions after meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, April 5. Yonhap





The United States agrees on the need to expand and upgrade its bilateral alliance with South Korea, the head of a delegation sent by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday.







Rep. Park Jin of Yoon's People Power Party said the U.S. also agreed on the need to reactivate the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG).







"(We) relayed the president-elect's wish for South Korea and the U.S. to further upgrade the South Korea-U.S. alliance into a comprehensive and strategic alliance and formed a consensus (with the U.S.)," Park said after meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.







"We had a very useful consultation today with Deputy Secretary Sherman," he said of the meeting.







Park is leading the seven-member U.S.-ROK Policy Consultation Delegation.







He earlier said one of the main objectives of the delegation was to strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance.







"We will hold discussions with people from the U.S. administration, Congress and think tanks to lay the groundwork for the normalization of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and to place the bilateral relationship on a strong foundation," Park said after arriving in Washington, Sunday.







The visit by the delegation follows a series of North Korean missile launches that included the firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the first since November 2017.







Earlier reports have also suggested the North may be preparing for a nuclear test, citing ongoing construction work at its Punggye-ri nuclear test site that was purportedly demolished in 2018.







Park said the countries agreed on the need for the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CVID) of North Korea, adding they also agreed on the need to reactivate the EDSCG to that end.







"The two sides agreed that maintaining deterrence to counter any North Korean provocation is most important," Park said.







"To this end, the countries agreed on the need to strengthen the extended deterrence between South Korea and the U.S. and the importance of reactivating the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group that has failed to play its role over the past few years."







The South Korean delegates also met with Kurt Campbell, White House policy coordinator for Asia.







They said Campbell agreed on the importance of developing the South Korea-U.S. alliance to also promote economic security and technology cooperation.







Campbell was quoted as saying that the U.S. is looking forward to working closely with South Korea's incoming administration, while highlighting the importance of the trilateral cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo. (Yonhap)






People walk past destroyed buildings in the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 4. AFP-Yonhap





Korea expressed "serious concerns" Tuesday over reported signs of Russian forces having killed Ukrainian civilians on the outskirts of Kyiv, stressing the need to investigate accountability for the alleged atrocity.







In Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital, dozens of bodies have reportedly been found following the withdrawal of Russian troops there. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pointed to the deaths as signs of "genocide."







"Our government expresses serious concerns over the Ukrainian government's announcement on signs of the killings of civilians," Choi Young-sam, the spokesperson of Seoul's foreign ministry, told a regular press briefing.







"The government supports the U.N. secretary general's statement April 3 that it is essential an independent investigation leads to effective accountability," he added, stressing a wartime civilian massacre is a "clear violation of international law."







Russia has denied the accusations about the civilian deaths despite residents' accounts and related photos. (Yonhap)






This image combines a photo of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol waving during his election campaign in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, March 3, with a photo of Korea's first domestically developed space launch vehicle, the Nuri, lifting off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, last October. Korea Times files



Presidential transition team urged to clarify stance on space policies



By Park Jae-hyuk



President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol and his incoming administration should be more specific in their pledges to establish a control tower directing the nation's space policies, while conducting a fundamental review of its necessity and roles, according to aerospace experts.



This advice has come amid intensifying conflict among local governments over the location of the Korean version of the U.S.' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).



Korean Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences Chairman Kim Chong-am said that a space agency should be established within this year for the strategic and systematic development of Korea's aerospace sector and for greater international cooperation.



Kim, who is also a professor at Seoul National University's Department of Aerospace Engineering, warned the new administration against being too hasty with its plans.



"Compared to cases in other countries, the plan should be pursued in a way to maximize the capacity of Korea's aerospace ecosystem," he said. "Experts from businesses, academia, research facilities, the military and the government should have discussions for a certain period of time through symposiums and forums, and then should build a consensus about the agency's size and roles."



Lee Chang-jin, a professor at Konkuk University's Department of Aerospace Engineering, advised the incoming administration to prioritize discussing the roles of the agency, before selecting its location.



"The presidential transition committee should clarify its stance on the necessity and roles of the agency, after reviewing how its operations will contribute to the national interest," he said. "Then it will be able to see how it should correct the flaws in its policies."



Based on the belief that a NASA-style organization will prevent budget waste, Lee essentially agreed to the necessity of a single organization serving as a "control tower" overseeing space policies.



However, he expressed skepticism about authorizing the agency to supervise the aviation sector.



"It might become negligent in performing its role of establishing policies for space exploration," he said. "Aeronautics and space engineering have much in common from a scientific viewpoint, but aviation and space policies should be separated."



Both Kim and Lee agreed that the agency should function independently from ministerial supervision, so that it can determine the course of the nation's space policies from a broader viewpoint taking into account diplomacy, economy, science, technology, national security and industry.



Chang Young-keun, a professor of space engineering at Korea Aerospace University, also said in a symposium on March 25 that the new administration should establish a space agency under direct supervision of the president, rather than assigning space exploration to the Ministry of Science and ICT.



Unionized workers of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) called on the new administration on March 21 to set up a "Ministry of Space" under the direct supervision of the prime minister.



"The science and defense ministries have failed to collaborate with each other in space policies, and the Army, Navy and Air Force have been vying for the initiative in space defense," the union said. "Instead of a space agency of a certain region and a certain ministry, the Ministry of Space should be established under the direct supervision of the prime minister to handle pan-governmental strategies."





Korea Aerospace Industries' banner hangs on a building in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, March 30, to request the establishment of the Korea Space Agency in the city. Courtesy of Sacheon City Government
Military guard posts of North Korea, background, and South Korea, foreground, are seen in Paju, near their border, April 5. AP-Yonhap





A preemptive strike remains an option South Korea can take in the case of an impending threat, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's spokesperson said Tuesday, after North Korea slammed Defense Minister Suh Wook, accusing him of threatening such action.







The North Korean leader's sister, Kim Yo-jong, issued warnings Sunday and Tuesday after South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook said the military was capable of "accurately and swiftly" striking the origins of North Korean missile launches if they appear to be targeting the South.







Kim said the minister's "reckless remarks" could put South Korea under "serious threat" and unveiled a scenario of North Korea mobilizing its nuclear combat force in response to any conflict.







"Preemptive strikes are one of the actions accepted in the world, including at the U.N., as being usable not in a preventative sense but when a preemptive threat persists," Yoon's spokesperson, Kim Eun-hye, said during a press briefing.







Yoon was criticized by his opponents during the campaign after he suggested preemptively striking North Korea in the event of an imminent threat, leading to speculation Pyongyang's latest protest was actually directed at Yoon.







Yoon also vowed during the campaign to establish the Kill-Chain preemptive strike platform, which makes up part of South Korea's "three-axis" defensive system.







"(North Korea's) remarks came after Minister Suh Wook spoke, and Minister Suh belongs to the current government," Kim Eun-hye continued. "Therefore, while I will say that we will respond without the slightest error to North Korea's provocations and security threats, I would be grateful if you could ask Minister Suh and the defense ministry regarding their interpretation." (Yonhap)






China hopes Ukraine as gate to Europe can lead to peace, China-Europe cooperation, Wang Yi says to Ukrainian FM in phone call

Global Times) 13:17, April 05, 2022

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi

The basic stance of China on the Ukraine issue is to facilitate dialogue to promote peace, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in a phone call on Monday at the invitation of the latter.

Kuleba provided an overview of the situation between Russia and Ukraine, saying that China is a great country that advocates and practices the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and is a key positive force in maintaining peace.

Ukraine attaches great importance to China's international influence and prestige, and is willing to maintain communication with China, Kuleba said, hoping that China will continue to play an important role in ceasefire.

Wang thanked the Ukrainian government and all sections of the Ukrainian public for their efforts in assisting the safe evacuation of Chinese citizens in Ukraine, stressing that Chinese leaders and the Chinese government attach great importance to the safety of every overseas citizen, and hope that the Ukrainian side would continue to take active and effective measures to ensure the safety of a few Chinese citizens who have voluntarily stayed in Ukraine.

Kuleba said that the Ukrainian side will make its best efforts to this end.

Wang said it is China's historical and cultural tradition and consistent foreign policy to uphold peace and oppose war.

On the Ukraine conflict, China does not seek geopolitical self-interest, nor will it add fuel to the fire of conflict, but will only look forward to peace in good faith, Wang said, adding that China welcomes peace talks between Russia and Ukraine no matter how difficult it is, until ceasefire and peace are achieved through negotiation.

"Wars end eventually," Wang said. "The key is how to reflect on the pain, to maintain lasting security in Europe and establish a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism. China stands ready to play a constructive role in this regard in an objective position. We believe that Ukraine has enough wisdom to independently make a choice that meets the fundamental interests of its people."

Kuleba recognized China's stance and thanked the Chinese side for its humanitarian assistance to the country. He said Ukraine is still dedicated to engaging in peaceful negotiations with Russia and looking for a long-term solution and that Ukraine is willing to serve as the gate to Europe.

Wang hoped that Ukraine as the gate to Europe could lead to peace, development of Ukraine and cooperation between China and Europe.

The two officials held a phone conversation on March 1 over the Ukraine crisis.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Bianji)




U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander General Paul LaCamera expressed his condolences Tuesday to the families of four pilots who died after two trainer jets collided and crashed last week.







In a Facebook post, LaCamera delivered the message on behalf of the USFK, the U.N. Command and the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command. He leads the three commands.







"I offer our deepest condolences to the families, friends and airmen of the four ROK Air Force pilots who died Friday," LaCamera said, referring to Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.







"As fellow military service members, we mourn the loss of those who perished while protecting and defending the Korean people."







The jets went down in a rice paddy in Sacheon, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul, after colliding with each other in midair during training, just minutes after takeoff from a nearby base. Each jet carried a trainee pilot, ranked first lieutenant, and a civilian flight instructor. (Yonhap)


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Pusan National University (PNU) made a final decision Tuesday to nullify the 2015 admission of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's daughter into its medical school for using forged documents on her application.







The school in the southeastern port city of Busan had tentatively decided in August last year to cancel Cho Min's admission to its Graduate School of Medicine and finalized the decision in a general faculty meeting Tuesday.







Tuesday's decision came after the Supreme Court upheld a conviction on her mother, Chung Kyung-sim, in January for forging a university president's citation and getting a false internship certificate to use for her daughter's admission to the medical school.







Chung was sentenced to four years in prison for the academic fraud and other charges.







The 2019 scandal involving the family of Cho Kuk, considered then one of the closest confidants of President Moon Jae-in, ended up sharply dividing the nation, prompting massive rallies both in support and against his justice minister nomination.







Cho left office just 35 days later.







Cho Min entered Korea University in 2010 and graduated in 2014. She was then admitted to PNU's medical school in 2015 and passed the state medical licensing exam in January last year.







It is highly likely Cho Min's medical license could be revoked following PNU's decision to nullify her admission. The health ministry has the authority to revoke medical licenses.







If Cho Min decides to take legal action against PNU and the health ministry, she could maintain her license until the cases are settled by the Supreme Court, given that court injunctions are granted against such measures. (Yonhap)


In the world of software, six months is an eternity.

Heck, look at how much has happened over the past six months since Android 12 came into the universe. Google started and then finished a hefty 0.1-style update that lays the groundwork for significant large-screen improvements to the Android experience. And it's now well into the public development phase of its next big Android version, Android 13  which is the rapidly forming release on most folks' minds at this point.

And yet, plenty of people out in the land o' Android are somehow still waiting for last year's Android 12 update to arrive on their extremely recent, not-even-remotely-budget-level phones.

That's why I started doing these Android Upgrade Report Cards some 6,942 years ago  because from an average phone-owner's perspective, there's really no way to know what's gonna happen six months after you buy a device and how well the manufacturer is actually gonna support it.

Maybe I'm just old-fashioned (and/or old, in general), but that doesn't sit well with me. You're the one paying good money for a piece of technology. You should have the context you need to make an educated and informed decision about which product is right for you  not just for the first few weeks that you own it but for the entire two- to three-year period that you're likely to carry it around.

[Get fresh 'n' tasty insight in your inbox with my Android Intelligence newsletter. Three things to know and three things to try every Friday!]

This year's a slightly strange one. One of Android's longest standing core device-makers is no longer in the picture, a couple of new contenders are on the brink of stepping into the arena, and atypical patterns are popping up left and right with some of the most typically consistent (for better or for worse) players in the Android game.

In spite of all of that, though, data doesn't lie. And goodness gracious, do this year's numbers speak volumes.

Now that we're six months past the launch of Android 12, it's time to step back and look at who's making upgrades a priority and who's treating 'em as an afterthought. Only you can decide how much this info matters to you (hint: It oughta matter  a lot), but whether you find post-sales software support to be a top priority or an irrelevant asterisk, you deserve to be armed with all the data that empowers you to make fully informed future buying decisions.

So without further ado, here it is.

(Want the full nitty-gritty on how these grades were calculated? You can find a detailed breakdown of the formula and every element taken into account at the very end of this article.)

Google

Length of time for upgrade to reach current flagships: 16 days (58/60 points)

16 days (58/60 points) Length of time for upgrade to reach previous-gen flagships: 16 days (29/30 points)

16 days (29/30 points) Communication: Excellent (10/10 points)

The Android 12 rollout was a slightly atypical one for Google  told ya it was a weird year!  in that the company's delivery of the latest and greatest Android software didn't coincide with the software's release.

More often than not, Google starts its Pixel rollouts at the same time a new Android version is announced. This year, we saw an awkward gap of just over two weeks between when Android 12 was out there, in raw code form, and when anyone was actually able to use it on a functioning phone.

Still, 16 days is a perfectly reasonable amount of time to wait, and Google was crystal clear from the get-go about when its current Pixel phones could expect the update to arrive. It also managed to get the update to Pixel owners well ahead of anyone else in the Android ecosystem in spite of that slightly-later-than-usual start.

(For the purposes of this analysis, by the way, it's the start of a rollout  to a flagship phone model in the U.S.  that counts, as you can read about in more detail here.)

What's most impressive, though, is the fact that Google treats all of its phones as equals  meaning even if you own a previous-gen device or a lower-priced Pixel "a" model, you get major updates like Android 12 at the same time as the current-gen flagship phone owners. That's a sharp contrast to the way every other device-maker handles its lineup, and it's the way things very much ought to be.

And while Google's usual "rolling out in waves" asterisk always applies to a certain degree, with some Pixel owners not receiving the software on that very first day, Android 12 made its way to all supported Pixel devices within a reasonable amount of time and without the need for any extra communication beyond the company's initial announcement.

For the standard caveat here: Sure, we could argue that Google has a unique advantage in that it's both the manufacturer of the devices and the maker of the software  but guess what? That's part of the Pixel package. And as a person purchasing a phone, the only thing that really matters is the experience you receive.

And as usual, the results tell you all there is to know: Google's phones are without question the most reliable way to receive ongoing updates in a timely manner on Android. Google's the only company that makes an explicit guarantee about upgrade deliveries as a part of its devices' purchasing package, and it's absolutely the only one that consistently delivers on that front, year after year.

Samsung

Length of time for upgrade to reach current flagships: 65 days (52/60 points)

65 days (52/60 points) Length of time for upgrade to reach previous-gen flagships: 95 days (24/30 points)

95 days (24/30 points) Communication: Good (7/10 points)

Continuing our "weird year" theme, Samsung's in the midst of a transition with its device lineup and thus which models make the most sense to treat as actual flagships. In 2021, Samsung made it clear that the once-flagship-level Note line was out of the picture and that it was viewing its foldable Fold model as the future of its flagships  an equal, for the time being, to the primary Galaxy S brand.

So for our current-gen analysis, we'll look at a combination of the Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy Z Fold 3, since the two were framed as equal in flagship footing in the 2021 product release cycle.

In 2020, though, it was a slightly different story. At that point, the Note was still present and treated as an equal to the Galaxy S line in its flagship-level standing. And the folding phones were still more of an experiment and less of a mainstream entity. So 2020 will follow our previous model of treating a combination of the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note model of the moment as the co-flagship phones for the year, and it'll likely be the last year where such a combination occurs.

With all of that being said, Samsung did decently well this go-round  a noticeable tick up from its surprisingly poor showing with Android 11 last year, though still not quite the story of pure glory you'd be led to believe from all of the slightly misguided headlines surrounding every Samsung rollout.

For its official grade, Samsung came in at just over two months for bringing Android 12 onto its current-gen U.S. flagships  but remember, that's an average of the company's performance with its two co-flagship products. For the Galaxy S21, it was actually a 44-day wait, while with the Z Fold 3, it was a far less commendable 86-day delivery delay.

As usual with Samsung, it's on the previous-gen flagships where things really take an unfortunate turn. The company came in at 95 days  more than a quarter of a year  for bringing Android 12 to its Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Note 20 phones. (The timing for the two was pretty darn close: 96 days and 93 days, respectively.) It's not a terrible result, relatively speaking, but it certainly isn't great.

Still, it marks Samsung's best scores and fastest performance with Android upgrade delivery to date. In fact, this year is the first time Samsung has ever crept down into double-digit territory with its upgrade timing; in every other year since I've been analyzing this, its delivery times have been well into the triple digits of days.

Another area where Samsung saw significant improvement is in its communication, which has traditionally been a major weak point of the company's Android upgrade operation. Typically, Samsung makes no effort whatsoever to communicate with its customers about its upgrade process or what can be expected along the way.

This year, thankfully, that changed: The company actually released a specific breakdown of which phones it was planning to upgrade and when! Granted, it didn't do so until well over a month after Android 12 came out, and it shared the info only within a limited-access Samsung Members app as opposed to publishing it publicly in a way that'd be likely to reach more people  hence the not-quite-perfect communication score  but it's still a massive leap forward and one we can only hope becomes the new norm.

All in all, it's a positive story for Samsung this cycle. It's too soon to tell whether the new trends will stick or whether we'll see another return to mediocrity in the next year or two, as has happened with Samsung before  but for now, hey, we'll take it.

OnePlus

Length of time for upgrade to reach current flagships: 75 days (52/60 points)

75 days (52/60 points) Length of time for upgrade to reach previous-gen flagships: 167 days (19/30 points)

167 days (19/30 points) Communication: Mediocre (5/10 points)

It's a weird year for OnePlus in general right now, as the company works through a merger with Chinese phone brand Oppo and figures out its focus for the future. From canceled phones to ill-considered software moves (and subsequent undos), it's been a bit of a bumpy and at times awkward transition.

Still, amidst all of that, the company actually managed to move in the right direction with its Android upgrade deliveries. Following an embarrassingly bad cycle with Android 11, OnePlus pushed its performance back in the right direction with an Android 12 rollout for its current-gen OnePlus 9 series flagship 75 days after the software's release and for its previous-gen OnePlus 8/8T series flagship 167 days after.

To be clear, those numbers are nothing to celebrate, especially on the latter front. Taking nearly half a year to get current software to your top-of-the-line phone from one release cycle earlier  a phone lots of your top-paying customers still carry  is completely unacceptable.

But it's at least an improvement from last year, even if it isn't quite back to where OnePlus was with its upgrade deliveries the year before that.

And it's certainly a better story than the next company on our list.

NEXT PAGE: The bottom of the barrel  and some signs of hope for the future
In 2021, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that an average of over 3.98 million workers quit their jobs every month. Never before had so many Americans left work, and the numbers haven't improved any in 2022. Indeed, in the most recent reported month, February, almost 4.4 million more people joined the exodus from work.

In the words of David Allan Coe and Johnny Paycheck, more workers than ever are saying, "Take this job and shove it!"

We know why people leave work. While poor pay is an important reason, it's far from the only reason. According to the MIT Sloan Business Review, the biggest single predictor for companies losing workers by a big margin was a toxic work culture. How big? A toxic corporate culture is 10 times more important than compensation in predicting turnover. Other reasons that ranked higher than wages were job insecurity/reorganization; high levels of innovation; failure to recognize employee performance; and poor COVID-19 response.

What is a "toxic work culture?" People have been arguing over this ever since we had honest-to-goodness water coolers to have conversations around. But the authors of the MIT Sloan Business Review study took a more academic approach and analyzed 1.3 million Glassdoor reviews.

In the study, they found the toxic five  workplaces that are disrespectful, non-inclusive, unethical, cutthroat, and abusive. If your employees feel like they're not being respected, youll lose them. The same is true if they're gay, a woman, black, too old, and they feel like they're getting the short end of the stick. A related problem is when your people believe they need to be in a particular clique or be a boss's favorite to get ahead.

There are other work killers. When your people believe you're lying to them whether it's about raises, promotions, or how their employees are like families, they will leave. Or, as someone once told me at a business I was happy to leave, "It was a family business, a very dysfunctional family business." If your people feel that they're fighting for a raise or the right to get a cup of coffee (as the classic dysfunctional workplace in Glengarry Glen Ross put it, "Coffee's for closers.") they will quit. Finally, yelling at your employees or talking down to them is a sure way to get them to walk out.

So, where do your ex-employees go when they leave? In the past, they went right back into the workplace. Not this time.

True story: yesterday I went out to get my haircut at my favorite barbershop. It was closed for the day. No one was available to work, so they shut their doors. This is not an isolated occurrence; it's become the new normal for many small businesses.

According to a new Adobe Document Cloud survey of managers and employees across large enterprises and small-to-medium businesses (SMBs), people are going back to work. They're just not going back to work for you. Specifically:

One in five (21%) enterprise managers applied for a new job, 26% received a new job offer, and 6% started a new job.

Slightly fewer enterprise employees (18%) applied for a new job, 17% received a new job offer, and 9% started a new job.

Those that left their job switched to a new industry (42%), started their own business (16%), or became a freelancer (10%).

That 25% leaving to set up their own business strikes me as significant. Based on everything I've seen, I believe most of those people are doing this so they can keep working from home and have more control over their time and work schedule. Adobe also found that two out of three SMB leaders say that now, more than ever, every minute counts for their success. Atthe same time, three out of five employees feel that pressure and want to have more control of their time. This leads to burnout and it's a real driver for people leaving. Anything you can do to relax that tension will improve your business's long-term health.

Another reason Adobe doesn't address involves Baby Boomers who are simply aging out of the workforce. Goldman Sachs estimated that more than half of those who left during the Great Resignation were over 55. They are not coming back. Not yet anyway. Another problem for another day is that generally speaking, Baby Boomers haven't saved anything like enough money for retirement. In the meantime, don't expect to see Michael and Mary  1956's most popular names  coming back through the door.

So, what can you do to encourage people to stay? According to the Adobe survey, the reason people elect to continue with their current jobs are:

Proper company recognition.

Pay raises.

In-person and remote flexibility.

Improved listening.

Hours and schedule flexibility.

Personally, I'd put remote work and time flexibility higher. But, regardless of how you rank them, if you want to keep your people you need to face these issues. If you don't, well, it's been nice knowing your business. Best of luck with your next endeavor.
Rep. Kim Yea-ji of main opposition People Power Party and her guide dog Joy pose during an interview with The Korea Times at her office in Seoul, April 1. Joy is the first animal to enter the National Assembly building in Yeouido since its completion in 1975. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



Rep. Kim Yea-ji feels pity and frustration as other disabled people try to make their voices heard



By Lee Hae-rin



Rep. Kim Yea-ji knelt on the ground near the platform of Gyeongbokgung Subway Station in central Seoul on March 28. Her guide dog, Joy, was sitting next to her that morning.



The area was more crowded than usual as her visit there coincided with rush hour and a sit-in protest by activists with disabilities urging the presidential transition team to set aside a budget to improve their access to public transportation and guarantee their rights.



Six activists from the local disability advocacy group, Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD), joined the rally holding banners urging President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol to listen to their voices.



"I am here today on behalf of politicians. I am very sorry (that you have to experience inconveniences)," she told the protesters.



Kim is the first female lawmaker with a visual impairment.



Her visit to the protest scene came a week after a social media post by PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok angered people with disabilities. Lee criticized SADD for "holding millions of innocent Seoul citizens hostage" with their "unlawful protests" during the morning commuting hours. The group has been holding daily protests on subway lines every morning since last December to raise awareness of the mobility rights of people with disabilities.





Rep. Kim Yea-ji kneels on the ground and apologizes to protestors and Seoul citizens during a morning protest by a disability advocacy group at Gyeongbokgung subway station, March 28. Korea Times photo by Kim Ga-yoon



Kim said she had to muster all of her courage in order to visit the rally.



Although it was her first time attending a protest by SADD, Kim said her heart had always been with the group as a person with a disability herself.



Her public apology, which made local headlines, came at a price.



She and her staff at the National Assembly have since received tons of protest calls and text messages from disgruntled citizens who were against the activists for holding back commuters.



They criticized her for joining the activists who tried to make their voices heard at the expense of other people's rights.









Their complaints prompted her to contemplate her role as a voice for the voiceless at the National Assembly.



Despite the inconveniences, she said she chose to apologize to the country's 2.36 million people with disabilities and others who experience inconveniences by the group's protests on subways.



"I thought it was the right time (for an apology) and some politician had to do it. Even if that somebody had to be me," Kim said.







A former pianist, educator and disability rights activist, Kim joined the National Assembly in 2020 after she was elected on the party's proportional representation ticket seeking to achieve changes.



"As a politician, I was first and foremost sorry for being there just to apologize without any practical solution to the problem," Kim said. "So I apologized and promised to resolve differences among the protesters and others," Kim said.



However, what disheartened her the most was the disparity between the media's portrayal of the disability group's protest and the reality.



According to Kim, the media created a negative image of the protests by highlighting the delay and inconvenience caused by the advocacy group's continued protests during the morning rush hour. From reading the domestic coverage, Kim had imagined the protest site to be more crowded with activists on wheel chairs, whereas in reality, the site was filled with journalists.





Rep. Kim's assistive technology products to read and write are seen on her desk. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



After the apology, she witnessed that only six to seven activists on wheelchairs boarded the train without any intention of blocking commuters and caused no more than five minutes of delay. What shocked her even more was an apology to passengers made by a Seoul Metro official for the "inconvenience caused by people on wheelchairs."



"Imagine a situation where dozens of people on wheelchairs need to use the subway for their personal needs, which is their legal right. In that scenario, a much longer delay would be caused, which makes no sense," Kim said, pointing out a fundamental problem in the country's public transportation system in failing to include people with disabilities.



"I believe our society still has a long way to in terms of disability inclusivity. It is not only about the infrastructure and the number of elevators installed in subway stations. It's more about our perception of people with disabilities and awareness of human rights," Kim said.



Kim became a well-known public figure through her apology and created momentum in the disability rights movement. But many criticized her for going against the party leader's action and questioned whether a National Assembly member should support such an "illegal protest."



"Since visiting the protest site, I've been receiving a lot of criticism. I received so many text messages and phone calls that I could barely use my cell phone, while my office has been bombarded with calls criticizing what I've done. Somebody even posed as a journalist to get into my office," Kim said.



Despite the frustration, she still believes Lee's comments about SADD, which were criticized by human rights activists for being hateful, ended up playing a role in bringing the media's attention to the issue.



"Most political issues on social minorities, including this one (on mobility rights of people with disabilities), rarely get lawmakers and people's attention without a sensational event or celebrity being involved. This is a clear pattern," Kim said. "I am grateful that such an influential voice has created a room for debate on the disability issue," she added.



Kim agrees with the illegitimacy of the group's protest. However, she believes it is a politician's role to wonder why such protests happened in the first place and to listen attentively to people's problems. Most importantly, Kim believes in solutions not only for the greatest good for the greatest number, but for social minorities and the most vulnerable segments of society.



"It could be human nature to feel uncomfortable in sharing society's limited resources with the weak, like the law of the jungle," Kim said. "Nevertheless, I believe we must go on with education, self-examination, and finding solutions. Isn't that what makes us humans?"





Rep. Kim Yea-ji's guide dog Joy rests at Kim's office during her interview. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Seth: Is that bad? Manager: It could be good!

It wasnt good.

The small crowd went BERSERK, remembers Rogen. (Seinfeld) was preparing for his special Im Telling You for the Last Time, which is basically him telling all his best, most famous jokes. He annihilated to a degree I didnt really realize was possible.

Rogen couldnt believe his rotten luck. This was supposed to be a showcase for amateurs! And as suspected, the crowd wasnt ready to go back to newcomers when Rogen was called to the stage to follow Seinfeld.

To say nobody laughed would be an understatement. It felt like they were taking away laughs I had previously gotten. It was negative-laughter. To this day, I remember standing on the stage, the crowd so quiet that I could hear the electric hum of the speakers, and thinking, Thats not good!

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Chris Rock

Just for Laughs Martin Lawrence killed, but did he have a purple jacket? (Probably.)

The worst Rock ever bombed came in the early 1990s. Fresh off getting cast on Saturday Night Live, Rocks cockiness was at an all time-high. Martin Lawrence, himself a big name at the time, was his opening act. Rock was in his dressing room when he heard a ruckus that sounded like a fight. I thought a riot had broke out.

Well, kind of. It was a laugh riot, courtesy of Martins killer act. I had to follow him and it was the longest, most painful (set), remembers Rock. He only got about halfway through his allotted time before I was just cursing people out. Well, what do you think is funny?

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Rock says he never forgot the ass-whupping that I got that night. After that experience, I had to rethink my whole life, just my choice in even being a comedian. He went into the night a cocky bastard, but came out humbled. From that moment on, he says he never assumed he would do well on stage ever again.
Formerly President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's spokesperson until April 5, Rep. Kim Eun-hye, speaks during a press conference at the presidential transition committee's office in Tongui-dong, Seoul, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps





By Nam Hyun-woo







The president-elect's spokesperson, until this morning, Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), is expected to join the race for the governorship of Gyeonggi Province.







The PPP's primary to select its candidate to run in the gubernatorial race heated up as former presidential hopeful Yoo Seong-min of the PPP has already declared his bid to run in the election. A two-way race between Yoo and Kim now seems inevitable.







In the ruling party's camp, Kim Dong-yeon, who will join the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) soon, declared a bid to run in the gubernatorial election. Given the political importance of the region, which is the most populated province of Korea, the race's outcome in the June 1 local elections is expected to indicate whether the Yoon administration will have political momentum in its early stages.







During a regular press conference held at the Korea Banking Institute in Seoul, this Tuesday morning, Kim told reporters that she was resigning from the spokesperson post, introducing PPP lawmaker Rep. Bae Hyun-jin as her successor.







"This is my last news briefing as the President-elect's spokesperson," Kim said. "Though I am yet to make my mind up on whether to run in the Gyeonggi governor race, I will let you know my decision as soon as I have made it."







So far, Kim has been rumored to be a PPP contender for the Gyeonggi governor post, though she has not clarified her intention. After the press conference, she told reporters that she will make a decision no later than Wednesday.






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FAIRFIELD  Romeo and Juliet is one of the best known plays in history, with a devastating moral lesson that life without love is not worth living.

But on April 8 and 9, audience members will have a chance to give the star-crossed lovers a happy ending  or resign them to the fate William Shakespeare originally penned for them centuries ago.

The ability to vote on which ending happens is just one of the immersive elements of Romeo and Juliet  The Choice, a twist on Sergei Prokofievs ballet presented by WSHU Public Radio and the SHU Community Theatre.

The show features Frederic Chiu, an internationally acclaimed pianist and Westport resident, and a cast of 12 dancers from New York City choreographed by Sandra Shih Parks, who is now at Choate Rosemary Hall. Chiu and Parks are the co-creators.

Im just thrilled, Chiu said. Its all I dreamed of and more.

Chiu came up with the idea for the show about 30 years ago when he came across Prokofievs original score for the ballet. He had been living in Paris at the time and even met Prokofievs family, who was living in France.

I was deep in the subject, he said, adding its one of his favorite repertoires to listen to. I love this ballet.

Prokofiev originally crafted the score for the ballet in the 1930s with the happy ending. It was the beginning of the Soviet Union and he wanted to make something for the people. Romeo and Juliet was a popular story, but the two main characters died at the end, so he changed it to let them live.

The revision was considered too radical though, and so the show was never performed or even fully orchestrated beyond the piano score he used to compose  adding notes for which instrument would take which part.

The ballet premiered a little later with the traditional ending of the lovers dying.

Chius vision for the show was finally realized about five years ago when he met Parks at a symposium, where Parks had choreographed another piece by the composer, perfectly capturing the spirit of Prokofiev.

I said, I think I found my choreographer, Chiu said. It took me 25 years but I found my person.

The two teamed up and Parks took Chius idea and ran with it. The show debuted in 2018 in Philadelphia where Parks was living at the time. A selection was also performed in Westport at the librarys Booked for The Evening event honoring Chiu.

While the SHU Community Theatre is a different space, both said they were able to still carry that intimacy of the original show through to the stage and help break down the dramatic fourth wall that usually separates the performers from the audience.

Some audience members will be on stage next to the dancers and Chiu at the piano for part of the show. There will also be times the dancers are in the audience, including Juliet on the balcony with video of her broadcast on the screen on stage where Romeo will be dancing.

The smaller cast and only the piano playing also set the show apart from a traditional ballet because the dancers and Chiu can adjust to each other, feeling the energy and emotions and letting certain elements linger or quicken. This shows the control each has over his or her craft, hopefully instilling a new appreciation among the audience, as well as a raw emotional connection to the performance.

All of these things are part of the intimacy and interactive nature of what makes this unique, Chiu said.

The element that perhaps most sets it apart is the ability for the audience to directly choose how the show will end by voting for the traditional or alternate endings during intermission. The dancers and Chiu will know which ending to perform just before starting the second act, but the audience wont know until Juliet awakens from her potion.

Two dance numbers are affected by which ending is selected, as is the closing bow itself.

And while the music itself isnt really changed for the final scene, how Chiu plays it certainly is.

Theres kind of hope in one and despair in the other, but its the same music, he said.

The two endings were always part of the concept.

Its why its called Romeo and Juliet  The Choice, Parks said.

She said she hopes the performance inspires people to talk about it and the broader debate on what artistic changes can be made to existing works, something she said is a big discussion in the dance world.

Four scholars will debate the two endings even before you hear a note or see a foot of a dancer, she said.

That will hopefully get people to continue to talk about it, Parks said.

Shes also taken some liberties in the show, casting the traditionally male roles of the duke, friar and Tybalt with women. Parks said changing Tybalt to female, makes the dynamic more of a big sister relationship than another male authority figure in Juliets life. It also adds more complexity to Juliets character and how different actions in the play affect her.

Even her decision to take that potion is still, in some way, a life and death choice, Parks said.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on April 8 and 2 p.m. April 9 at the Sacred Heart University Community Theatre, 1420 Post Road in Fairfield. Tickets cost $55 and $65 and are available at https://shucommunitytheatre.org/.
NEW MILFORD  The town plans to increase support of addiction services for those who need it.

At a Town Council meeting, officials unanimously approved $33,000 from American Rescue Plan Act funds for housing vouchers to local sober living facilities. Heritage Inn Recovery Residence, would receive $24,000; and Phoenix House, Grace House, and Hope House, would receive a total of $9,000.

Mark Echols, who owns Heritage Inn, which provides a 12-step approach to help men with substance-use disorders, said the voucher would provide the first months rent for free.

And then as long as they got a job and theyre working, following all the rules and complying with the program, we can give them that second month as a cushion so they build up a little bit, Echols said. They would then be responsible for paying their third months rent.

Residents at Heritage Inn can stay as long as they need.

It's really just up to where they are in their program, depending on how long they want to stay here. Some guys only stayed maybe three months because maybe they're married or just kind of need that shorter term transition from a rehab into fully independent living, Echols said. Other guys choose to stay longer. It just really depends on the situation.

He said when clients come to his facility, they become a contributing member of the town.

We do a lot of volunteer work in the community. These people are shopping at the local stores, they're getting jobs here, he said.

Over the years, members of church groups or private individuals have donated to Heritage Inn.

Michael Gold, president of Hope, Grace and Phoenix houses, said people come to them usually with two bags of clothes and no address. Either they're coming from rehab or from the street, or they're coming from a family's home. But there is no permanent residence.

Grace House serves women, and Hope and Phoenix houses serve men. People come from all over the United States. Hope, Grace and Phoenix houses have helped 35 to 50 people over nearly four years.

Those who come are technically there for six months, but are never forced out.

We don't ask people to leave after six months if they want to stay. We let them stay. Our longest resident has been with us for 21/2 years, Gold said. He works locally. He now has a fairly new car and he's thriving. He came from Naugatuck, living in his car, with two kitchen garbage bags full of clothes.

Gold said when someone comes to one of their houses, fingers crossed they will stay sober, like the community and they'll continue with us.

Those who come to the sober living houses can be from 18 and up. They can also be on Social Security, Gold said.

In many cases, the person who needs a place to stay has burned so many bridges that their own family no longer wants them living in their homes, he added.

Gold said the vouchers are a godsend because they get people off the street.

It's just beautiful, he said.

Towns role

At the meeting, New Milfords Joseph Failla said local residents should get priority when it comes to getting beds, over those who live out of town.

The first thing first is our residents with New Milford that we need to help first, he said.

However, Echols said it works on a first-come, first-served basis.

I honor whoever calls first ... I will not discriminate, he said.

Justin Cullmer, New Milfords community care coordinator, said all the sober housing locations in New Milford do a phenomenal job in getting people the services they need.

Cullmer said its his job to help clients, make that communication with those who can directly help them.

He offers help on resources such as financial assistance, employment, medical care, outpatient counseling  the whole smorgasbord, he said.

Town Council member Hilary Ram, said the work that the sober-living residences provides is what ARPA funding is intended to do, which is help people who are struggling.

So, to me, its making our town a recovery-friendly town, which is what we claim and we are, so that's fantastic, Ram said.

The town is expected to approve the addiction vouchers, and all the other funding that has been approved by Town Council, in a special town meeting at 6:30 p.m. April 11 at New Milford Town Hall, 10 Main St., in the E. Paul Martin Room.

sandra.fox@hearstmediact.com 203-948-9802




Top trade officials of South Korea and Australia vowed Tuesday to boost cooperation on the U.S.-led economic initiative in the Indo-Pacific region and other trade issues, such as supply chains, Seoul's trade ministry said.







South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and his Australian counterpart Dan Tehan held a virtual meeting of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) joint committee, the fifth of its kind since the free trade deal took effect in December 2014.







On the table was the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which the U.S. has sought to launch in the region amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry.







Yeo said South Korea is positively reviewing the participation in the framework, as the platform is expected to serve a crucial role in enhancing regional cooperation in a wide range of issues, including digital trade, clean energy and supply chains.







Tehan said consultations for its official launch are likely to begin in around April and May, stressing deeper trade and investment ties among key regional players, according to the ministry.







"The two sides have formed a complementary cooperative structure and maintained a close economic relationship in various fields based on the FTA. Looking forward, they agreed to further develop future-oriented ties via the IPEF," the ministry said in a release.







Bilateral trade between South Korea and Australia reached an all-time high of US$42.7 billion last year, up 71 percent from a year earlier.







During the meeting, Yeo asked for Australia's support for South Korea's push to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).







The Seoul government is working to submit an official application to join the mega free trade deal in the Asia-Pacific region, which involves 11 nations, including Australia, Japan, Canada, Mexico and Vietnam.







It accounted for around 15 percent of the world's total trade volume of $5.2 trillion as of 2020. "The Australian side welcomed the move, and vowed active support for Seoul's accession to the CPTPP," the ministry said. (Yonhap)


NAUGATUCK  Investigators continue to probe the circumstances that led up to a deadly weekend motorcycle crash, according to authorities.

Shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to the area of 400 Prospect St.  Route 68  for a reported serious-injury crash involving a motorcycle.

Police said on Monday that preliminary investigation indicated that 26-year-old John Johnson Jr. was driving his 2007 Harley Davidson FLHR west on Prospect Street when he, for an unknown reason, veered off the road to the right and ended up in an embankment.

The bike came to a rest near the Fuilling Mill Brook.

Johnson was rushed to Waterbury Hospital with life-threatening injuries. He died at the hospital from those injuries, police said.

Investigators continue to seek details on what lead up to the crash.

The Naugatuck Police Department extends our deepest condolences to the family of John Jr. during this most difficult time, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the lead investigators at 203-729-5222 extension 2584, or the confidential tip line at 203-720-1010.
Alex Jones, who has become synonymous with the word hoax, seems like he was made up.

But Jones is not fake news. He is not a character yanked from some fictional multiverse whose bombastic sins strain credibility.

Jones is ridiculous, and has been for a very long time. That doesnt mean we should ignore him.

A reasonable impulse would be to disregard Jones because of his claims. But they cause a lot of suffering, and to pretend he doesnt matter would be a blind response to the galling reality that he reliably attracts followers.

Jones reached out to his acolytes after Connecticut state Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis ordered escalating $25,000 sanctions against him until he submits to pretrial testimony in the lawsuit with some Sandy Hook families over his claims the 2012 massacre was staged.

In a Thursday episode of his InfoWars show, Jones said, We got this judge up in Connecticut, if you could call it that, this thing that has just cheated us every way, lied about us, said we didnt give them this, sanctioned us for not giving them the Sandy Hook marketing. Its like saying give me the unicorn. Dont have one, lady. I know you got a leprechaun.

Off the air, he reportedly agreed to testify April 11 while seeking relief from the sanctions.

Bellis could have  probably should have  ordered Jones arrest after he failed to show up in court twice to give testimony. He responded by blaming stress and an infection from COVID.

That would be the same COVID he claimed was a hoax. It joins his lengthy checklist of other conspiracy claims, which also includes moon landings, 9/11, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, global warming, autism and 2020 election results.

Alex Jones is a charlatan for our times. We deal with a lot of scammers in 2022, fending off a steady rain of spam calls and texts. But that doesnt make hucksters with an mic and an audience any less important.

That he profits from conspiracy rants means its something we need to talk about. He repeatedly hides behind the cloak of free speech, which insults the First Amendment.

Hopefully, the outcome of these legal proceedings will persuade Jones & Co that there are consequences for chasing blood money.

Jones has already lost his defamation case. He tried to squirm out of the pending trial to award damages by offering 18 members of Sandy Hook families and an FBI agent $120,000 each as a settlement.

The offer was roundly rejected. Neil Heslin, who lost his son, Jesse Lewis, in the shooting, vowed to go to trial to fight him.

Jones, a Texan, will finally learn what Connecticut justice looks like a full decade after the shooting. As Heslin said, it is about principles.

Those principles need to win the day. This public reckoning should give voice to the dead to hush a man who spews hate into a microphone.
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BRIDGEPORT  The citys law department has determined Fairfield University and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport do not need the zoning commissions approval to open a small, non-residential college on the latters property in the North End.

That will help propel forward the two institutions plan to offer a 2-year associates degree program to as many as 200 students from under-represented communities ... for whom a Fairfield education has not been accessible.

But the law departments conclusion, that because the dioceses headquarters at 238 Jewett Ave. once housed a high school it can again be used for educational purposes, strips foes of the college proposal of their chance to influence a zoning commission vote. That public hearing had been scheduled for April 11.

This has taken our voice and rights to speak away, said City Councilwoman Michelle Lyons on Monday. She had been mobilizing opposition to the Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporations now deemed unnecessary application for a special permit and site plan review.

Lyons and some of her constituents were concerned about increased traffic and an impact on property values and quality of life. Lyons and other North End residents in 2017 successfully fought the City Councils effort to purchase 238 Jewett Ave. to relocate Classic Studies Academy Magnet school there.

Raymond Rizio, the zoning attorney for the diocese, in an interview Monday said Fairfield University will commit to working with the neighbors and addressing any concerns they have as they go along. He emphasized the college will be a great addition to the area and to Bridgeport.

The university and diocese in a previous joint statement to Hearst Connecticut Media said their Bridgeport college proposal, called Bellarmine, is part of a broader partnership between the two entities announced last summer to realize greater diversity, equity and inclusion, which is part of a much larger and ongoing effort to bring new hope and opportunity through education.

The Jewett Avenue location will offer a 2-year associates degree program to no more than 200 students. The curriculum is still being planned. There will be no on-campus residency and the diocese would still maintain its own office space there.

The building, erected in 1917 as a contagious disease hospital, previously housed Notre Dame Girls Catholic High School from 1963 until 1974. Besides currently serving as headquarters for the diocese there is a hall available for community meetings, and the facility during the pandemic has also operated as a COVID-19 testing site.

The zoning commission had been scheduled to host a hearing on the college last month. That was then postponed until April 11.

But Russell Liskov, a lawyer for the city assigned zoning issues, recently issued an opinion that, because the zoning commission had previously granted a special exemption for the Jewett site for educational purposes, Unless the owner affirmatively relinquishes such special exception, it remains in place in perpetuity.

Rizio said the college project will still require the necessary building approvals, though he noted any construction will be on the inside.

Retired Superior Court Judge Carmen Lopez, an activist and potential 2023 mayoral contender whose parents lived in the North End, has come out against the college. In a letter Monday to Zoning Director Dennis Buckley, Lopez took issue with Liskovs decision, arguing in part that he ignored distinctions in municipal regulations between schools and colleges.

Although a special permit ... runs with the land, it cannot be utilized as a vehicle to allow a property owner to shoehorn (in) a use which is not permitted in that zone, Lopez wrote.

She concluded, The special permit allegedly issued to enable Notre Dame High School to operate and exist on the property does not provide authority for the proposed Bellarmine College.

Liskov could not be reached for comment Monday.

Lopez last month had publicly inquired why Fairfield University did not try to offer this program for low-income students on its existing campus in that neighboring town. The university in a statement last week to Hearst responded, The location of Bellarmine College at the Catholic Center is animated by the desire for student success, and is based in research that suggests that academics and student services brought to the community has the greatest outcomes and rates of student success, which has been confirmed by conversations with community partners.

Lyons suggested the university and diocese consider alternate sites around town, including the University of Bridgeport campus in the South End.

Why are you gonna destroy a neighborhood when this program could be an advantage, but in the proper location? she said.

Leaders from Fairfield University recently met with some local Black leaders, including Rev. Stanley Lord, head of the Greater Bridgeport NAACP, and Rev. Herron Gaston, a candidate for state Senate.

Lord on Monday said the program has a lot of potential. But he has concerns about whether students will have adequate transportation to the North End.

If you were trying to get a community of color, thats not really where they are, Lord said. We havent taken a real stand on whether its a good idea or not. Our question is, how are we gonna get our kids there?

And for that same reason Lord dismissed neighbors concerns about traffic congestion. He said the majority of the students will likely use public transportation, get other rides or bike to class and not be driving their own cars to and from Jewett Avenue.

Gaston in a separate interview Monday said, given Fairfield University historically has not had sufficient representation of communities of color within its student body as well as its faculty and staff the North End college will be a very positive thing.

Being nestled next to a Black and Brown city, this is a way for them (Fairfield University) to really put their boots on the ground in Bridgeport in a real way to show their actual commitment to diversifying the institution at all levels, he said.

Gaston also works for Mayor Joe Ganims administration but said he was involved as a private citizen and a faith leader and not as a municipal official.

As for Lords issues with accessibility, Gaston said he believes the university has all the resources in place to address those concerns and maximize what they are looking to do and accomplish to build a robust and rigorous program that attracts this demographic.




Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Tuesday ordered relevant authorities to make all-out efforts to put out a wildfire in Bonghwa, a town in South Korea's southeastern province of North Gyeongsang.







Kim also instructed relevant authorities to thoroughly prepare for night-time firefighters and equipment, while ensuring safety of the firefighters, his office said.







The wildfire broke out at a mountain in Bonghwa, 244 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as of around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. (Yonhap)


DARIEN  A Connecticut man was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison for his role in an armed robbery at a Fairfield County bank, according to prosecutors.

George Bratsenis, 73, with a last known address in Bridgeport, was sentenced by Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven federal court to 96 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Bratsenis met his associate, Bomani Africa, while the two were incarcerated on robbery offenses in a New Jersey state prison, authorities said.

The pair, once out of prison, robbed a Peoples United Bank branch on Old Kings Highway Road in Darien on April 20, 2014, authorities said.

The day of the robbery, authorities said Bratsenis dropped Africa off in downtown Darien and Africa walk in to the bank, pulled out a gun, jumped over the counter and ordered a teller to open the drawers and hand over cash.

Prosecutors said Africa told the teller, I will shoot you if you dont give me all your money. Africa left the bank with what officials described as a substantial amount of cash. Bratsenis picked Africa up nearby and they left the area, according to prosecutors.

Later that year, in September 2014, Bratsenis, Africa and Africas son, Randi Feliciano, conspired to rob another bank, officials said.

During the early morning hours of Sept. 25, 2014, Feliciano drove Africa from Philadelphia to a parking lot in Trumbull, where Africa stole a car from a victim at gunpoint around 8:30 a.m. The next morning, prosecutors said, Africa and Bratsenis  wearing masks and brandishing guns  robbed a Peoples United Branch bank on Madison Avenue in Trumbull. Prosecutors said they took nearly $30,000 in cash. They parked the car taken in the carjacking to a nearby parking lot and set it on fire.

Prosecutors said Feliciano drove Africa from the scene and followed Bratsenis to a Norwalk restaurant, where the three split up the funds from the Trumbull robbery. Feliciano then drove Africa back to Philadelphia.

Bratsenis was arrested on Sept. 28, 2014, in Trumbull and has remained in custody. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 18, 2019, to armed bank robbery. Prosecutors said he has a lengthy criminal history which includes a federal conviction for armed bank robbery in April 1984.

Prosecutors said Bratsenis and Africa each pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire charges in New Jersey for allegedly committing a contract killing of an individual there on May 22, 2014. The pair await sentencing in that case.

On Dec. 13, 2014, Africa and Feliciano  wearing masks and armed with guns  robbed a First Niagara Bank branch on Hawley Lane in Stratford, taking more than $15,000 in cash, prosecutors said.

Africa was arrested in May 2015 and pleaded guilty that December to armed bank robbery. He awaits sentencing.

Feliciano pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced on Feb. 21, 2017, to 51 months in prison.
BRIDGEPORT - A former drug-addiction counselor who nearly stole Christmas from hundreds of local children was sentenced Monday to three and a half years in prison.

Infinite Seven, who police said fell heavily off the wagon, pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree burglary and one count of second-degree larceny for stealing hundreds of toys collected for Toys for Tots in December 2018.

Im not going to say anything, the 44-year-old Seven told Superior Court Judge Tracy Lee Dayton as she sentenced him to eight years, suspended after he serves three and a half and followed by five years of probation.

Well, everybody on the planet felt really bad about what you did, Dayton told Seven. She also ordered him to make a token $750 in restitution and to do 50 hours of community service to try and make up for what happened.

Because Seven, whose legal name is Infinite Seven, has been incarcerated in the case since early 2019 he could be released within days, his lawyer, Dean Popkin said.

Im just happy the case is over, he added.

On Dec. 1, 2018, police were called to the Greater Bridgeport Christian Fellowship on Boston Avenue.

The pastor, Eric Torres, told officers someone had broken into a half-dozen storage pods behind the church that contained nearly 1,000 toys that church parishioners had collected for Toys for Tots, that were to go to children in the city.

When news broke about the theft donations of toys poured in from around the country.

Assistant States Attorney Edward Lee Miller told the judge that he had contacted Torres prior to Sevens guilty plea and learned that restitution would not be necessary because they had been more than reimbursed by the public.

Sometime after the theft, police said Seven was seen hawking the toys for sale from a minivan on the citys East Side.

I got Legos, I got skateboards, I got brand-new toys that Im trying to sell, police said Seven yelled to passersby.

Police said one man said he had come out of a social hall on Hallet Street and was hailed by a man who pointed out his minivan packed with toys and offered him a deal. Another resident said the van had pulled up to him while he was doing work on the outside of his home.

Still other residents told police they had seen the minivan packed with toys outside a local gas station.

Police said they approached the owner of a gas station on Reservoir Avenue who they said admitted buying toys from the van.

The gas station owner said Seven had offered him all the toys in the van for $300 but he ended up negotiated him down for $150.

He told me the toys werent stolen, police said the gas station owner told them.
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DERBY  Police on Monday said that investigators believe the dog found shot twice last week in Derby is named Thunda.

Police said Thunda is recovering well and remains under 24-hour care by the staff at VCA Shoreline in Shelton.

He is making improvements every day, eating on his own and taking his medicine, police said. He has a long road ahead, but, according to their staff, he is a fighter.

Police said the option to foster Thunda is on a temporary hold, pending some legal matters in the criminal case against the dogs owners.

We are working diligently to move things along, police said. Thank you to everyone who has reached out offering to help.

Police said it will provide updates on Thunda as they receive new information.

Thunda was found by officers responding to a 911 call around 2 a.m. Friday for a reported injured German shepherd at Coon Hollow Park. Officers found the dog nearby.

The 911 caller  later identified as 28-year-old Stranja Perrin  and 27-year-old Anthony Singletary were found in her car with Perrins two minor children at the park, Derby Police Lt. Justin Stanko said.

Investigators determined Perrin and Singletary were the owners of the dog, despite them both denying owning a dog, Stanko said.

Surveillance footage from a nearby camera captured Perrins vehicle pull into the park about an hour before the 911 call. Officers found 10 shell casings nearby, which were consistent with ammunition Perrin had with two 9mm handguns she was legally licensed to carry, Stanko said.

He said multiple people told police Perrin and Singletary were recently experiencing homelessness and had been living in the vehicle they were found in. Perrin and Singletary were taken into custody by police. Perrins minor children were placed with family members.

The couple were arraigned Monday at Superior Court in Derby.

Perrin appeared on charges of conspiracy to commit unlawful discharge of a firearm, conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals, conspiracy to commit first-degree reckless endangerment and two counts of risk of injury to a child.

Singletary appeared on charges of criminal possession of a firearm, conspiracy to commit unlawful discharge of a firearm, conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals, conspiracy to commit first-degree reckless endangerment and two counts of risk of injury to a child.

Judge H. Gordon Hall ordered Singletary held on a $125,000 bond, while Perrins was set at $75,000. The prosecutor identified Singletary as the alleged shooter, and said at least one of Perrins children witnessed the shooting.

Stanko said neither of them had prior animal cruelty charges. The judge ruled if they post bond, they are not allowed to have any pets or domestic animals while their cases are pending. They are both expected in court again on their charges on May 12.

Shelton resident Renee Warner organized a GoFundMe campaign to help cover costs of the dogs surgery and recovery. The fundraiser was established on behalf of the Shelton Animal Shelter, which is overseeing the dogs care at this time. In an update to the fundraiser Saturday, Warner said the dog underwent surgery Friday and had to have his leg and shoulder blade amputated.

More than 300 people have donated over $14,000 to cover the dogs medical bills as of Tuesday, according to the GoFundMe.
BRIDGEPORT - The city has agreed to pay a settlement to a Milford man who spent a night in jail after being mistakenly charged with threatening to shoot everyone in city hall.

The city council voted unanimously Monday night to pay Ryan Collins $40,000 to settle his federal civil rights lawsuit against the city.

How appalling is this, he spent a night in jail because police thought his photo matched one on Facebook, said City Councilwoman Maria Pereira. He should be paid.

City officials did not return calls and emails for comment.

I am glad to report that we have reached a settlement with the city and Ryan has been compensated for the resulting trauma and expenses he incurred as a result of a sloppy police investigation, said his lawyer, Robert Berke. Ryan was arrested and falsely accused of posting messages threatening violence against Bridgeport. This is the second time I have represented someone, who has a common name that Bridgeport police had wrongfully arrested. 

On April 4, 2019, Officer Michael Bouchard was dispatched to the Margaret Morton Government Center on a reported threat made on the citys Facebook page from the Facebook page of a Ryan Collins, according to the police report.

Messages included comments that the city had messed with the wrong person, no telling what I might do, and I hope yall get shot in your office today and then Ill laugh.

The poster also complained about getting a boot on his car and threatened to kill everyone there.

Ill pay you the money but Ill get you later, the post stated.

The report states Bouchard compared the photograph of Collins on the Facebook page with the National Criminal Information Center photograph taken of the Ryan Collins of Milford and found them to be similar in appearance. But when Bouchard checked with the Bridgeport parking enforcement department he found that neither vehicle listed under Collins name and address were issued parking tickets.

The case was then turned over to Detective Paul Nikola.

Nikola identified the Milford Ryan Collins, as the Ryan Collins who posted the threat by comparing the Facebook page photographs with the Milford Ryan Collins drivers license, the report states.

Collins was arrested on a warrant on June 4, 2019, charging him with second-degree threatening and first-degree harassment.

He was held in the Police Department until he posted bail, was subjected to the trauma of being booked and had to spend money for a lawyer to defend him in court and lost wages, his lawsuit states.

The charges were dismissed against Collins by a Superior Court judge on Sept. 10, 2019, after Collins criminal case lawyer, Michael Riley, argued police had the wrong man.

The plaintiff suffered severe emotional distress including great humiliation, strains upon his relationship, embarrassment, anxiety, stress, emotional and mental upset, loss of sleep and loss of time from personal pursuits, the suit continues.

In its initial challenge to the lawsuit, city officials argued the officers had qualified immunity against being sued in the case.

They argued that the photographs of the two Collins indeed demonstrate a remarkable likeness, and to the extent that they may be different individuals, they nevertheless provided defendants with probable cause to swear out an arrest warrant application.
James Pastore welcomes a challenge.

That attitude has served him well in the 13 years he has worked as a public defender and he is hoping that extends to his new position as Bridgeports chief public defender.

Earlier this month three of the offices most experienced trial lawyers announced they were leaving. Chief Public Defender Joseph Bruckmann and Senior Public Defender Jonathan Demirjian retired; Senior Public Defender Jared Millbrandt was promoted to chief public defender in Stamford.

The remaining staff, with the exception of Pastore, has little or no trial experience and there are more than 50 pending murder cases.

Im looking forward to the challenge, said the 49-year-old Pastore. I look forward to teaching the new generation in a post COVID world.

He said he realized right away that he is going to have to do things much differently to bring his young staff up to speed.

I cant be in court every day so Im going to change things around,  he said. Trials will now be done by teams of two defenders.

It will be easier to supervise teams of two and while this has never been done here before I thought it makes sense from a time management perspective, he said. I know my staff doesnt have much trial experience but Im going to start from the beginning and teach them every step of the way.

Pastore has accumulated a lot of trial experience both in private practice and as a public defender and several of these cases he admits have been a real challenge.

In 2012, Pastore successfully represented Wilfredo Fernandez, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity of fatally shooting his elderly neighbors caregiver because he thought the man was an assassin sent to kill him. Following the shooting Fernandez led police on a slow-speed chase as he attempted to get away on a motorized scooter.

Thats why I do what I do. I love this stuff, said Pastore, laughing as he recalled the facts of the case. He (Fernandez) was detached from reality but it was real. The people you meet, the things you see.

Then there was the 2016 case of Kahlil Diaz.

Pastore represented Diaz who was found not guilty of fatally shooting a rival gang member on a city street corner. Three months after Diaz walked out of the courthouse as a free man he was found shot to death in a car in the Hollow section of the city.

I advised Mr. Diaz to leave the Bridgeport area immediately after his acquittal but unfortunately he didnt take that advice, Pastore said.

There are still some sore feelings in the community about his representation of Treizy Lopez.

Lopez admitted that he and a friend robbed the popular Sapias Grocery on Lexington Avenue in 2015 during which the stores owner, Jose Salgado, was shot to death.

Although Lopezs DNA was found on the murder weapon, the jury found him not guilty of felony murder but guilty of first-degree robbery.

That was a very interesting case, a lot of people were shocked by the verdict, Pastore said. It was a tragic circumstance on both sides.

Bruckmann said Pastores character, personality and prior experience in private practice equipped him well for what was to come.

Jim came to this office highly recommended 13 years ago and upon arrival he hit the ground running, said Bruckmann. Jim has tried a large number of serious cases  many of which he won  and he has always maintained good relationships with his clients.

In addition to being an excellent trial attorney, Jim has demonstrated the skills to be an outstanding leader in this office. I was delighted to hear he was appointed as my successor. The clients and staff are in quite capable hands, Bruckmann added.

Earlier in his life, Pastore was originally interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement.

He grew up across the street from Mountain Grove Cemetery and attended Fairfield Preparatory High School. At Marist College in New York he majored in criminal justice.

When I went to college I had no intention of going to law school. I was interested in going into the field of law enforcement as a police officer or probation officer, he said.

But while at Marist he interned at the Duchess County public defenders office. Two of the public defenders convinced him to go to law school and wrote recommendations for him.

He attended the City University of New York law school and again interned at the public defenders office in his second and third years of law school.

I guess you could say I got hooked into being a public defender, he said. The psychology of crime fascinates me to no end. How people react, why people decide to pull out a gun and shoot someone, its just so fascinating and so real.

When Pastore graduated law school he took a job with Greenwich criminal defense lawyer Philip Russell. I learned from him how to try a case, Pastore said. When Phil learned I wanted to try cases he signed me up as a special public defender.

Pastore worked for Russell for 10 years. In 2007, he took over managing the office for a year during Russells absence.

But at the end of that year, Pastore said he decided it was time for a change. He said he had a young family and the commute to Greenwich was taking its toll.

He took a position in the Norwalk public defenders office and worked there for six months before taking a public defenders position in Bridgeport.

I continue to look forward to new challenges, he said.
Getty Images / Contributed

COLEBROOK  A local woman was charged this week after she alleged fraudulently billed the governments Medicaid health insurance program by submitting billings and receiving payments for services that werent provided or services provided by unlicensed individuals, officials said.

Jennifer Lefebre-McGevna, 45, of Flagg Hill Road in Colebrook, was arrested Monday by inspectors from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief States Attorney.
By Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho





Chyung Eun-ju Joel Cho
WESTPORT  Supporting the community is one of the main goals of the Westport Womens Club.

So when the club was presented with a sizable grant to put into the town, the non-profit organization searched for what would touch and help everyone in Westport. It decided to donate a new ambulance to the Westport Volunteer EMS.

We thought maybe we could put money towards an ambulance because thats something that really impacts the whole town and thats something that we were really looking for with this grant, said Donna Richardson, the clubs community service chair.

The womens club received $150,000 from the Ruegge Family Endowment fund. That amount was then doubled when an anonymous donor matched the grant giving the club $300,000 to fund a new ambulance.

Richardson said she reached out to the town when the club first received the grant to see if there were any projects the money could be applied to. Town officials told her there wasnt anything in the works and suggested the money be applied elsewhere.

The club chose to instead answer the call put forth by the Westport EMS in a letter, which notified residents the ambulances needed to be replaced.

This will instantaneously impact the town, said Michael Burns, president of the Westport Volunteer EMS. Westport EMS serves the whole town which means anybody that lives, works or passes through the town. Its an obvious impact on everyone whether they need it or want it.

Burns said receiving the call from the womens club brought him to tears.

As a resident of Westport, I couldnt feel better having a community group such as this come together and make such a generous donation that benefits everyone in town, Burns said. Its just amazing and I have a permanent smile on my face.

Burns said the Westport EMS has a unique relationship when it comes to funding from the town. The town pays for the full-time EMS staff but the EMS has to raise its own money for supplies, equipment and vehicles.

A key part of that fundraising is the letters the EMS mails out.

In the recent letter, the EMS noted the ambulances are heading towards the end of their shelf life. Burns said an ambulance lasts for about ten years. The Westport EMS has a fleet of six vehicles, three of which are ambulances that are each eight years old.

On average, Burns said the EMS responds to nearly 2,500 calls per year. With the volume of calls and the age of the ambulances, he said its time to look at replacing them.

It will take about a year for the EMS to receive the ambulance from the womens club, due to the current supply chain and customization time.

In the meantime, the EMS is finding funding to replace the other two. Burns said the EMS received another donation that should cover a second ambulance. Westport EMS has asked the town to use funding from the American Rescue Plan Act for the third.

Burns said this is the first time that the EMS has asked the town to pay for a new vehicle. He said the ARPA funding presents a unique one-time situation.

Richardson said everyone from the club is proud of the accomplishment, adding its the biggest donation that they have done to date.

Its beyond words, she said.

serenity.bishop@hearstmediact.com


By Yang Yao





BEIJING  The Ukraine war has put China in a bind. As a friend of both Russia and Ukraine, China has no desire to pick a side. On the contrary, conventional Chinese wisdom dictates that, when two friends fight each other, the primary objective must be to end the conflict through mediation.







While China's balanced stance has aroused more than a little suspicion, it could end up hastening the end of the war  and easing tensions with the United States.









When the war began, Western observers highlighted China's seemingly pro-Kremlin stance, reflected in Chinese officials'

to use the word "invasion" to describe Russia's aggression in Ukraine, their

that NATO's actions pushed Russia-Ukraine tensions to the "breaking point," and their

of Western sanctions.









But Westerners paid less attention to China's repeated calls for all countries to respect one another's sovereignty and territorial integrity  a clear, if indirect, reproach of Russia  and

of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.









In fact, the West seemed eager to assume that China  which forged a

with Russia just three weeks before the invasion  was on Russia's side. On March 13, the day before meeting his Chinese counterpart, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan

that China would "absolutely" face consequences if it provided military assistance to Russia or helped the country to evade Western sanctions.









Yet Sullivan's seven-hour

with senior Chinese foreign-policy adviser Yang Jiechi was not nearly as antagonistic as one might expect. Yang reiterated China's stance to promote peace talks, so that the conflict can be ended as soon as possible. The next day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian

Yang's statements, noting that China is "completely objective, impartial, and constructive."









The same message dominated Chinese President Xi Jinping's

with U.S. President Joe Biden a few days later. Xi described China's regret at seeing Russia and Ukraine resort to military force to resolve their disagreements, and he expressed his hope that China and the U.S. would work together to restore peace.









There is reason to believe that the U.S. is becoming more receptive to China's position. Following the Biden-Xi meeting, the White House softened its language,

that Biden had "described the implications and consequences" if China were to provide "material support" to Russia, and "underscored his support for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis." Moreover, the two leaders "agreed on the importance of maintaining open lines of communication" in order to "manage the competition" between their countries.









Following the meeting, China offered the U.S. further evidence of its commitment to neutrality, announcing another

to Ukraine. And Qin Gang, China's ambassador to the U.S.,

that while China remains committed to its "no-limits" friendship with Russia, it does have a "bottom line": respect for the United Nations Charter.









On the American side, the U.S. Trade Representative

352 expired product exclusions for Chinese export from its "Section 301" tariffs. While the number is smaller than expected  549 exclusions were eligible  many market analysts interpreted it as a goodwill gesture. And, in even better news for markets, Chinese and U.S. regulators seem set to

toward an agreement on U.S. audit inspections of U.S.-listed Chinese firms.









China has long opposed U.S. demands to review the accounting information of Chinese companies, for fear that firms would be forced to disclose sensitive information. But Chinese regulators have signaled a new willingness to make some concessions to avert the delisting of Chinese companies, including by

major firms to prepare for more audit disclosures. The market has welcomed this shift, giving Chinese stock prices a boost.







Such actions hardly herald the end of the U.S.-China rivalry. The U.S. remains convinced that China has deceived the West  which long supported its economic rise  by employing unfair trade practices, such as forced technology transfer.







As such, any effort by Biden to soften the harsh China policy he inherited from his predecessor, Donald Trump, is likely to face significant political constraints. China, for its part, insists that the U.S. is unfairly pursuing a policy of containment that amounts to a betrayal of the two countries' longtime economic partnership.







These beliefs have put both sides on the defensive. What neither side recognizes is that many of their fears are unfounded, fueled by anger and mistrust, rather than reflecting genuine threats.







In this context, the restoration of peaceful and constructive Sino-American relations must happen gradually, supported by the steady rebuilding of trust. As the Chinese maxim goes, "three-foot ice does not form in one cold day."







As we have already begun to see, however, the Ukraine war can help strengthen and sustain the conditions for a shift in U.S.-China relations, and recent moves might mark a turning point, at least in the economic domain.







Russia's war in Ukraine cannot be justified  and China has not attempted to do so. On the contrary, China's humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, together with its insistence on respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, amount to implicit agreement with the U.S. and its allies that the war must end and Ukraine's sovereignty and independence be preserved.







While the U.S.-China relationship has a long way to go, the Ukraine war has reminded both sides that they have a shared interest in peace and economic engagement.









Yang Yao is a professor at the China Center for Economic Research and the National School of Development at Peking University. This article was distributed by Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).










Park Jung-ho, the vice chairman of SK hynix, speaks during a ceremony to mark the company's 10th anniversary at its headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, March 31. Courtesy of SK hynix



By Baek Byung-yeul



SK hynix and its U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm, launched their first collaborative product, which combines the former's 128-layer NAND flash technology with the latter's solid-state drive (SSD) controller and firmware expertise, the memory chip affiliate of SK Group said Tuesday.



The two rolled out the P5530 SSD targeting the enterprise market. Offered in 1 terabyte (TB), 2TB and 4TB capacities, SK hynix said the product is optimized for data center use.



An SK hynix spokesman said the product is meaningful for both SK hynix and Solidigm as it is "the first product that combines the technologies of SK hynix and Solidigm after completing the first phase of acquisition of Intel's NAND division."





Logos for SK hynix and its U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm / Courtesy of SK hynix
Last week, the Belgian government proposed a ban on little round goldfish bowls, arguing that they had an impact on goldfish stress.

In my 1960s childhood, fairground stalls such as Lucky Dip, Hoopla or Hook A Duck would always offer a live goldfish as first prize. The poor little thing would then be presented to the winner in a tiny plastic bag filled halfway up with water.

The child would leave the fairground pumped up with pride, clutching the plastic bag as though it were an Oscar. The goldfish, on the other hand, would sport a mournful, hangdog look, and who could blame it?

In my experience, these goldfish never gave much back. They were never responsive to cuddling or games of Go Fetch.

And they never lasted very long: you would transfer your prize to a larger bowl, give it a pinch of goldfish food, which looked eerily like sawdust, and within a couple of days it would have floated to the surface, dead as a doornail.

In 2008, Rory Stokes, a student at the Australian Science and Mathematics School in Adelaide, began to doubt the age-old gossip that goldfish have memories like sieves

Some years back, fairgrounds seem to have jettisoned goldfish in favour of teddy bears so vast they would be declared morbidly obese if ever they were to pop into a High Street clinic for a check-up.

What has happened to all those goldfish who would, in an earlier and less enlightened age, have spent their days hanging around fairgrounds in plastic bags, waiting for a plastic duck to be hooked?

It seems they have been awarded an upgrade, and are now all bought by scientists who subject them to the goldfishy equivalent of IQ tests, which they pass with flying colours.

In 2008, Rory Stokes, a student at the Australian Science and Mathematics School in Adelaide, began to doubt the age-old gossip that goldfish have memories like sieves.

In the laboratory, he placed a beacon in a university fish tank at feeding time each day and sprinkled food around it, then measured the time it took for the goldfish to swim to the food.

Over a three-week period, the period between the beacon going in and the food being eaten reduced dramatically from a minute to a few seconds, at which point Stokes removed the beacon.

Six days later, he placed the beacon back in the water. Though the fish hadn't seen the beacon for almost a week, they swam to it straightaway, showing they could remember the association between the food and the beacon for quite a period of time.

Judging by the time it takes me to forget whether or not I have turned out the lights every night, a goldfish's memory is a good five days and 23 hours, 59 minutes, 56 seconds more retentive than mine.

'We are told that a goldfish has a memory span of less than three seconds. I wanted to challenge this theory, as I believe it is a myth intended to make us feel less guilty about keeping fish in small tanks,' concluded Rory Stokes.

So much for the idea that a goldfish has the memory of a sieve. Perhaps someone should now conduct the same experiment on a sieve, just in case.

Am I alone in thinking that sieves always have a know-all look about them? It wouldn't surprise me if half of them could recite the periodic table, or a complete list of the prime ministers of Great Britain  or even both at the same time.

In 2015, a study by Microsoft in Canada found that, thanks to mobile phones, the average human attention span had fallen from 12 seconds in 2000 to a paltry eight seconds, or substantially lower than a goldfish's. Before long, they will be experimenting on us.

Some years back, fairgrounds seem to have jettisoned goldfish in favour of teddy bears so vast they would be declared morbidly obese if ever they were to pop into a High Street clinic for a check-up. Pictured: An Iranian girl holds goldfish in a plastic bag

And the intelligence of goldfish continues to grow apace.

Earlier this year, scientists at the Ben-Gurion University in Israel claimed to have taught a small group of goldfish to drive. Boffins placed the fish inside a Fish Operated Vehicle (FOV) and found they soon learned to steer it towards a target in a small room in order to earn themselves a food pellet. Like all learner drivers, the goldfish became more and more skilled.

Before long, they could even distinguish decoy targets from the real thing.

What next for goldfish? Will we see the first goldfish contestant on Mastermind? Recent contestants on Celebrity Mastermind have picked specialist subjects such as One Direction (radio DJ Sonny Jay), The Third Series Of Sex And The City (TV presenter Myleene Klass) and Geri Halliwell (comedian Ellie Taylor).

It's hard to imagine that a reasonably bright goldfish couldn't master something a little more demanding.
ASML CEO Peter Wennink attends a news conference in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, in this Jan. 22, 2020, file photo. Wennink is in Korea to discuss semiconductor cooperation, the company said Tuesday. Reuters-Yonhap





The top executive of Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML is in Korea to discuss semiconductor cooperation in the country where its key clients are based, the company said Tuesday.







ASML CEO Peter Wennink is visiting the country for a chip cluster project and meetings with local employees as the company is expanding its Korean operations amid the continued chip shortage, according to the company.







ASML is the world's sole producer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, critical to making advanced chips. Korea is one of the company's largest markets, where industry leaders, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, are located.







The company's spokesperson said there was no official meeting scheduled with its key clients this time, declining to give further details of the trip.







The last time Wennink visited the country in November, he met with officials from Samsung and SK hynix to discuss chip development and supply issues.







Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the headquarters of ASML in the Netherlands in October 2020 to discuss supply plans for EUV equipment essential in producing chips with 7-nanometer processing or below, cooperation in advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology and the industry outlook amid the COVID-19 pandemic.







In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Wennink said the company was unable to keep up with global demand fast enough, and the industry is feared to face a two-year shortage of key chipmaking machines.







On Monday, Wennink visited Hwaseong, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul, to talk with city officials about a semiconductor cluster currently under construction and ways to nurture local talent, the city said.







"The ASML Hwaseong semiconductor cluster is going smoothly thanks to strong support from the city," the city quoted Wennink as saying, adding that the CEO vowed to continue working closely with the city.







In November, ASML signed a memorandum of understanding with Hwaseong to invest 240 billion won ($212 million) in building a 16,000-square-meter chip cluster there by 2024. The facilities will include an office that can house up to 1,500 employees, and training and repair centers for EUV machines.







Korea is a key ASML market that represented 33.4 percent of its 2021 total net sales, according to the company. It was 29.7 percent the previous year.







The Veldhoven-based company started operations in Korea in 1996, with global distribution, support and training centers located in four cities  Cheongju, South Chungcheong Province, and Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek and Icheon, all in Gyeonggi Province. It has more than 1,400 local employees, with 70 percent of them young millennials, the company said.







Earlier this year, Wennink said the company would aggressively expand Korean operations and hire an additional 1,000 local employees by 2029. (Yonhap)






Ah, what could be more civilised than the inner chamber of the United Nations Security Council in New York?

Here, nation speaks unto nation in a safe space where global knots are untied and tensions smoothed away in the name of international peace and security. Well, that's the idea, at any rate.

The chairs are arranged in a democratic semi-circle, for here there is neither hierarchy nor leader, only a sense of determination and purpose to make the world a better, safer place. Today's business? The war in Ukraine.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres began the meeting by calling it 'one of the greatest challenges ever to the international order'.

Reading from a prepared speech, he added: 'It must stop now'.

All agreed except the Russian representative Vasily Nebenzya who is going to veto any measure that might help Ukraine anyway, so what is the point?

Pictured: Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia reacts during a United Nations Security Council meeting held in New York on Tuesday, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine

As bald as a bullet and just as menacing, Nebenzya stuck to the sickening Russian narrative that it is the Ukrainians who are the aggressors, despite overwhelming international independent evidence to the contrary.

We all know. Everybody knows the truth. Perhaps it is a civilisation too far that all at the UN must politely listen to his words.

And then, from a war zone 4,000 miles away, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was beamed in to address the Council.

His image appeared on a large screen in the chamber, from where it was televised around the world. The atmosphere immediately changed, quickened by the President's own raw urgency.

Zelensky briskly reeled off the recent atrocities carried out by Russian troops against Ukrainian civilians in Bucha.

'They were killed in their apartments civilians crushed by tanks while sitting in their cars.' He did not flinch from describing the soldiers' savagery: Limbs were cut off, throats slashed, women raped, children killed, tongues pulled out, earrings torn from ears. 'Just for their pleasure,' he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the UNSecurity Council via video link

And all of this done by a member of the United Nations Security Council.

Zelensky told the UNSC that he wants its members to kick out Russia. If they cannot, then they should dissolve the Council, because they are letting Russia 'sow death' in his country.

Hasn't he got a point? The sheer power of his presentation only emphasised the UN's utter powerlessness.

The President was broadcasting from an anonymous room, the yellow and blue folds of a Ukrainian flag behind him.

He was dressed as usual in military-style clothes that stop short of being an actual uniform.

His presentation, as always, was impressive. Zelensky's tone is insistent but never impatient, impassioned but never angry. With so much at stake, he understands that now is not the time to lose the room.

There are a thousand ways he could get his message wrong but he always gets it just right.

Like his reminder to the world that we have seen what happened in Bucha but we have yet to see what the Russian troops have done in other cities.

Earlier this week, Zelensky saw for himself the aftermath of Bucha. Photographs showed his begrimed face etched with horror.

It was the face of a man who has looked upon evil, a man who has aged a thousand years in 40 days and who is still fighting his own battle for more international help.

After his moving address, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, said that 'we stand with the people of Ukraine'.

The United Nations might well do but, for President Zelensky and his people, is that going to be enough?
An Australian paramedic has issued a warning to parents not to buy small mini eggs for toddlers in the lead up to Easter.

CEO of parenting organisation Tiny Hearts Education, Nikki Jurcutz said parents should opt for larger hollow eggs rather than the solid mini eggs as they are a choking hazard.

In a video posted to Instagram, the former advanced life support paramedic said much like grapes, mini eggs present the two biggest risk factors for choking in that they're both hard and round.

Scroll down for video

Australian paramedic and CEO of parenting organisation Tiny Hearts Education, Nikki Jurcutz has issued a warning about the dangers of small Easter eggs for young toddlers

In a video posted to Instagram, the Queensland mum said to steer away from small solid eggs as they are a chocking hazard and go for hollow eggs that crumble easily

In the clip, Nikki browses the Easter egg aisle at her local supermarket showing viewers which eggs are appropriate for toddlers and which aren't.

'This year when you are doing Easter shopping for your little one, you are going to see so many of these little mini eggs and they're delicious but we're not going to grab them,' the Queensland mum said.

'We're going to grab these ones or ones that look like this because these tiny mini ones are hard and they're round and we know those are two massive risk factors for choking hazards.'

She recommended going for the larger hollow eggs she said crumble easily and are much safer for you little one this Easter.

In the clip, Nikki browses the Easter egg aisle at her local supermarket showing viewers which eggs are appropriate for toddlers and which aren't

Nikki (pictured) said kids should only have mini solid eggs when they have all their teeth and can chew maturely

The clip has been viewed more than 324,000 times since it was posted a day ago and attracted dozens of responses from parents thankful for the advice.

'I stupidly didnt even think about them being solid. Thank you,' one mum said.

'I wont mind if anyone gives the boys the small solid ones, because it means I get to eat them instead,' another joked.

'Thank you for sharing this! My kids are eight and six and I have never, ever bought them the little Easter eggs for Easter. They freak me out so much! We swap for something else if they receive them for elsewhere,' a third said.

Others in the comments asked at what age is it safe for children to eat the solid mini eggs.

'For me it would be once they reach at least three with full set of teeth and mature chew,' Nikki responded.

'Ill give them to my five year old this year but not my almost three year old. It comes down to what your comfortable with.'
Among the glittering tales of the Gilded Age's famous tycoons of lies the little known story of America's glamorous and scandalous 'Empress of Journalism'.

A pioneer in an all-male industry, Miriam Leslie ran one of the countrys largest publishing empires despite having started her life as a teenage prostitute.

Diamonds & Deadlines: A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Gilded Age Female Tycoon by Betsy Prioleau reveals the sensational life story of Leslie, who was both the subject and writer of various gossip columns.

Born to a gambler father and a mother, who was most likely a slave, Miriam - who was reportedly biracial - became one of Manhattan's most esteemed courtesans before embarking on a decade-long affair with one of Americas wealthiest publishers.

With a string of lovers throughout her life, Miriam was married four times in an age where divorce brought public shame upon a woman and would save her late husband's business from bankruptcy.





However one of the most shocking decisions of Miriam's life is when she deigned to leave her two million fortune to any family member - instead leaving it to the feminist movement she had mocked throughout her life.

A pioneer in an all-male industry, Miriam Leslie ran one of the countrys largest publishing empire despite having started her life as a teenage proustite

With a string of lovers throughout her life, Miriam was married three times in an age where divorce brought public shame upon a woman, before saving her late husband's business from bankruptcy

Mrs. Frank Leslie was born Miriam Follin in New Orleans in 1836 to a father named Charles Follin and a mother who was 'anyone's guess'.

Charles was a gambler who had married Caroline Carrere Trescot, a wealthy widow from Charleston who owned a valuable rice plantation left to her and her two young daughters.

After his gambling debts consumed her rice plantation just two months after they married, the family moved to New Orleans with around six slaves - one of whom was likely Miriam's mother.

Caroline died in New Orleans in 1833 and Miriam's official mother was his second wife Susan Danforth, who didn't meet the child until she was six.

Miriam married editor and publisher Frank Leslie 1874. When Frank died in 1880 Miriam was left everything, including his bankrupt business and debts and legally changed her name to Frank Leslie in a bitter feud with his two sons over the will

Soon after Miriam's birth her father declared bankruptcy. As a young woman she decided to petition the courts to appoint her wealthier Uncle Adolphus as her guardian.

For two years Uncle Adolphus funded her education, but by the time she was 17 had relinquished the role of guardian - leaving Miriam to find her own source of income in a world with few opportunities for women.

Attracted by the idea of earning five dollars a night with 'a modicum of autonomy', Miriam spent her 'fiery youth' working in one of Manhattan's 500 brothels under the name 'Minnie'.

Despite not being 'conventionally pretty', Miriam would met wealthy clients at public balls where she would eventually earn enough money to fund her 'passion for expensive jewelry'.

During one of her frequent visits to Baldwin & Co. jewelers on Broadway she met David C. Peacock, a 'gay young fellow' who she would offer 'favors in exchange for the loan of certain diamond pieces in the display case'.

However scandal would soon embroil Miriam when her mother Susan discovered the truth and demanded Peacock be arrested for criminal seduction - punishable by up to five years in prison.

Her second husband was Ephraim G. Squier, a successful writer who was fifteen years Miriam's senior and had a possible case of syphilis

To avoid jail the pair married, however they never lived together and Minnie continued to see clients throughout their short marriage.

Miriam's career became far more lucrative when she joined forces with Lola Montez a 'world-renowned stage star and manslayer' who took Minnie under her wing and cast her as her 'sister' in an East Coast theatrical tour.

Irish-born Montez was one of the most famous courtesans in New York - with her 'risque spider dance and dramatized feats' earning her $1,000 a week.

While renowned for her beauty, Montez was often caught up in scandal - having allegedly slapped a prompter in Boston, battered her maid in New Orleans, and bit the officer who tried to arrest her.

Irish-born Lola Montez was one of the most famous courtesans in New York - with her ' risque spider dance and dramatized feats' earning her $1,000 a week

Minnie had a brief liaison with married Tennessee congressman William M. Churchwell, but by had struck up a relationship with archaeologist and scholar Ephraim G. Squier - with whom she had a legitimate marriage.

A successful writer who would become editor-in-chief for Frank Leslie's publishing house in 1860, Squier was thirty-five, fifteen years Miriam's senior and had a possible case of syphilis.

Their marriage got off to a rocky start when his businesses and construction projects fell into financial disarray amid one of the worst economic downturns in twenty years.

Soon he would gain a job working for Frank Leslie's publishing house Illustrated Newspaper, a successful tabloid which made the publisher one of the richest men in America.

Despite having a wife back in England, Frank was described as an 'exceptional catch', having built his company from the ground up to become a pioneer in print technology.

Diamonds & Deadlines: A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Gilded Age Female Tycoon by Betsy Prioleau reveals the sensational life story of Leslie

When they met at Abraham Lincoln's inaugural ball in 1861, Frank's admiration for her obvious - describing her as 'the acknowledged belle of the ball.'

Over the next 10 years, Miriam and Frank would embark on a blatant affair which saw her sharing adjacent bedrooms with her love during trips with her husband.

Miriam thrived after being made editor of Leslie's ladies' magazines and published books she translated from French and Spanish to English.

By 1872, Leslie was granted a divorce from his estranged wife, while Squier had become too sick to work, often drunk or delusional from his illness and occasionally violent towards Miriam.

Shortly after Frank divorced his wife, he was duped into allowing Miriam a divorce when Leslie's sketch artists threatened to publish drawings of Squier cheating on his wife with prostitutes.

The pair were finally married in 1874, but Miriam did not remain faithful - engaging in an affair with poet and nineteenth century literary celebrity Joaquin Miller - which continued for 30 years - less than a year after their wedding.

When Frank died in 1880 Miriam was left everything, including his bankrupt business and debts and changed her name legally changed to Frank Leslie to secure her hold on the company amid a bitter court case with his two sons.

'There must be no doubt about her claim to the company and her authority in a misogynistic male-dominated industry', wrote Prioleau. 'A woman at the head of a business empire was unheard-of and profoundly threatening.'

Miriam now prevailed over hundreds of male employees, many of whom had given evidence against her in the court case against Frank's sons, and 'twelve languishing publications'.

Having secured a short term loan from a fellow widow Miriam set to work reshaping the business - with her her journalistic talents obvious from the start.

When President Garfield was shot, Miriam instantly sent two artists to Washington to cover the scene and became the only newspaper to provide images of the assassination.

Her reporters covered the event extensively, visiting the Presidents bedside before his death and the prison cells of the murderer - with their paper's circulation boosted from 33,000 to 200,000.

The ongoing coverage of the event was so successful that her company was saved and over the next two decades, she would become one of the wealthiest women in America at the company's helm.

One of Miriam's most surprising moves came after her death in 1914, when she left everything she had to the feminist movement

As she prevailed over the business, Miriam continued to have a string of lovers - including Joseph Pulitzer's brother and an Armenian prince - and was engaged twice, to a poet and Russian prince.

While abroad in 1891, Miriam Leslie married Willie Wilde, the older brother of playwright Oscar Wilde. However two years later they were divorced and she moved to London with her sons, Willie and Oscar.

There she became an established author and ran a Saturday salon 'that attracted an eclectic mix of cognoscenti' like George Bernard Shaw and William Butler Yeats.

One of Miriam's most surprising moves came after her death in 1914, when she left everything she had to the feminist movement she had often mocked in her periodicals.

She had met Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, at meetings of the Women's Press Club and nobody had noticed Miriam 'contrived to talk longer with her than with the other guests.'

Despite 'nearly everyone' wanting a piece of her estate, she left the bulk of her two million-dollar estate to Carrie Chapman Catt for 'the furtherance of the cause of Woman's Suffrage,' with no strings attached.'

'Mrs. Leslie, one of the least visible suffragists, donated the largest sum ever given to the vote for womena gift never exceeded', wrote Prioleau.

Diamonds and Deadlines: A Tale of Greed, Deceit, and a Female Tycoon in the Gilded Age by Betsy Prioleau (Abrams Press, 21.99) Out now
Today correspondent Jill Martin wants to 'rewrite the antiquated dating rules' she grew up with and help others find love after she and her fiance broke up  and then got re-engaged 18 months later.

The 45-year-old lifestyle guru has teamed up with influencer Christina 'Tinx' Najjar and relationship expert Tracy McMillan for 'The New Rules for Finding Love,' her new streaming special on Today All Day.

In an essay for Today, Martin explained that she'll be detailing her own 'rollercoaster relationship' on the show because she felt it would be 'disingenuous' to not share her full story.

'I started the pandemic in a breakup with my then-fiance, Erik Brooks, totally heartbroken. Now were back together and planning our wedding,' she wrote. 'Life is messy.'

Jill Martin, 45, has detailed how she and her fiance, banker Erik Brooks, broke up and then got re-engaged 18 months later on her new Today All Day show 'The New Rules for Finding Love'

Martin had announced in November that Brooks had proposed for a second time in the Bahamas

Martin stressed that while there is 'no magic formula' for dating, she feels there is 'there is definitely a framework for success.'

'We need new dating rules  and not the ones I grew up with, either,' she said, explaining that the pandemic and advancements in technology have both helped and hindered dating.

She insisted that 'waiting three days before calling someone back, saying you arent available even when you are, [and] always ending the date or conversation first' are 'outdated' rules that no longer make sense when most people have their phones on them at all times.

Martin believes people should be incorporating technology into dating as a way to save time, saying she would 'only do first dates over FaceTime' if she was single.

'In 20 minutes I would know if there was chemistry, physical and emotional attraction, and I would know if either of us wanted to follow up with an in-person date,' she explained.

In an essay for Today, Martin explained that she'll be sharing her own 'rollercoaster relationship' on the show because she felt it would be 'disingenuous' to not tell her story

Influencer Christina 'Tinx' Najjar (left) and relationship expert Tracy McMillan (right) are also opening up about their love lives on the show

However, when Martin gave this advice to her 24-year-old cousin, she was told that no one her age has first dates over video. Her response was to 'make it a thing.'

The television personality noted that she, Tinx, and McMillan are from different generations and backgrounds, saying they will all be sharing their stories.

One of her motivations for opening up about her breakup with Brooks is to make others realize they're not alone in their heartbreak.

'I share this heart-wrenching part of my life in hopes of helping other people find their way,' she wrote. 'Getting back together with Erik, after a 16-month split with no contact, was complicated yet beautiful in some ways.

'The process was important. It gave me confidence both in our relationship and as a woman,' she added. 'Although the "baggage" we each brought to the relationship the first time around didnt match up, it does now. We did the work.

Martin and Brooks, a managing partner at a private equity firm, met on a dating app in 2017

They got engaged for the first time in May 2019, but a year later, she announced that they had called it quits

'Nobody is perfect. Everybody has stuff. Its about whose stuff you can deal with.'

In a sneak peek from the show, Martin admitted that before she and Brooks called off their engagement, they were 'fighting all of the time' and she was 'not picking [her] battles.'

'I'm not blaming myself, okay, but my stuff at that time and his stuff did not match up,' she said. 'So he basically said things like, "This is not gonna work, this is not gonna work.'

'And I was like, "He'll never leave me." And then one day, he was like, "I can't fight anymore." I was really bad for a really long time, and it caused me to reevaluate what was important to me.'

The Today star said they went 16 months without speaking, and she was the one who called him to rekindle their romance, insisting they were 'making a life mistake.'

In a sneak peek from the show, Martin admitted that before she and Brooks called off their engagement, they were 'fighting all of the time' and she was 'not picking [her] battles'

During their time apart, the lifestyle guru said she went to therapy, journaled, exercised, and worked on herself

Martin said they went 16 months without speaking, and she was the one who called him to rekindle their romance, insisting they were 'making a life mistake'

Martin and Brooks, a managing partner at a private equity firm, met on a dating app in 2017. They got engaged for the first time in May 2019, but a year later, she announced that they had called it quits.

She told People that the pandemic had 'taken a toll on so many aspects of life' and that it became 'too difficult' to maintain their relationship with her in New York and him in Boston with his children.

In an essay for Today published in November, she revealed how she worked up the nerve to call him after 16 months without speaking, leading Brooks to pop the question for a second time.

'We were arguing more than we were getting along. Energetically, the timing wasnt right. We both still needed to grow. It took falling apart to build ourselves back together,' she recalled of what led to their breakup.

'I used to say, It literally takes my breath away to picture my life without him. But our relationship couldnt stay the way it was. We needed a pause. A long pause. And we took it.'

Two months after their reunion, they got engaged for a second time. She wrote that getting back together with Brooks was 'complicated yet beautiful in some ways'

'Although the "baggage" we each brought to the relationship the first time around didnt match up, it does now,' she added. 'We did the work'

Martin insisted that the time they spent apart has fortified their connection because she now knows she is 'confident' by herself. During their time apart, she said she went to therapy, journaled, exercised, and worked on herself.

'Everyones journey is different,' she said. 'It took me 45 years to find my fairy tale. When I realized I was confident on my own, thats when I knew Erik and I were ready to get back together.'

Brooks' second proposal was more pared-down than his first, which happened on a beach over Memorial Day weekend in 2019.

'Our first engagement was extravagant and over the top: flowers, a tent, pictures, our families, cameras, lights  very dramatic and grand,' Martin said.

'This time around it was different. It was beautiful, but it was different. We were on a small fishing boat in the Bahamas. It was just the two of us and, lucky for us, a couple on another nearby boat told us afterward that they took a picture of us while Erik was proposing.'

He also got straight to the point: 'Erik simply said, I cant wait to spend the rest of forever with you. And we were engaged. Again.'
In the early 2000s Sophie Delezio captured the attention of millions across Australia after surviving two horrendous car accidents as a toddler - and on Sunday she celebrated her 21st birthday, recalling the occasion to Woman's Day.

'Turning 21 does feel huge,' Ms Delezio told Woman's Day. 'I had no idea where I was going to be (at this age), mainly because of my journey. But I've tried to not have too many expectations and just live in the moment.'

Now an ambitious young woman, Ms Delezio celebrated the milestone alongside her family and partner, Joseph Salerno.

At just two years old in 2003 Ms Delezio was involved in a serious car crash after a vehicle rammed into her Sydney childcare centre and caught alight.

She lost an ear, the fingers on her right hand and both feet as she was placed in a coma for three months.

Sophie Delezio (pictured), who was lucky to make it past 5 years of age after two horrific car accidents, celebrated her 21st birthday on Sunday

'Turning 21 does feel huge,' Ms Delezio told Woman's Day. 'I had no idea where I was going to be (at this age), mainly because of my journey. But I've tried to not have too many expectations and just live in the moment.' (pictured: Ms Delezio and partner, Joseph Salerno)

Ms Delezio celebrated the milestone alongside her partner and childhood friend, Joseph Salerno

Speaking to Robert McKnight on 4BC radio in Brisbane, a party was held for Ms Delezio at her parent's house in Sydney.

16 years on from when the second accident occurred, Ms Delezio said her life hasn't been without challenges.

'I went to three different high schools,' she told Mr McKnight.

'I moved around a bit because I never found the right fit.

'There were parts in all my schools that I went to where, especially my first two, they didn't really understand my disability or my disability needs.'

The brave toddler was left fighting for her life and suffered third degree burns to 85 per cent of her body.

But after a remarkable recovery, disaster struck again in 2006 when Sophie was thrown 18 metres from her wheelchair as she crossed a road.

She suffered bleeding on the brain, a heart attack and severe injuries, including a broken jaw, fractured shoulder, and a tear to her lung. She also lost her sense of smell.

She went on to get her driver's licence before moving to London to study sociology and international relations at SOAS University.

In February she celebrated Valentine's Day sharing a photo of herself holding a rose from an admirer on Instagram.

The then-two-year-old was left fighting for her life at the age of two after she was trapped beneath a burning car, which crashed into her daycare centre in 2003 (pictured leaving hospital after recovering from the horrific crash in 2004)

16 years on from when the second accident occurred, Ms Delezio said her life hasn't been without challenges. 'I went to three different high schools,' she told Robert McKnight from 4BC Radio

Last year Ms Delezio and boyfriend Joseph Salerno (left) confirmed they have been in a relationship for a year, after first meeting as children 15 years ago

Last year Ms Delezio and Mr Salerno confirmed they have been in a relationship for a year, after first meeting as children 15 years ago.

'Everyone's dream is to fall in love with their best friend. It's something you often only see in the movies,' Sophie told Woman's Day.

The pair were close friends as teenagers but a romance only developed when she returned from studying in the United Kingdom last year.

'It was around two weeks after she had come home, we were hanging out a lot and I remember it was one night I was cooking her pasta and I thought to myself, ''Hang on, I think I feel something here'',' Joseph said.

Sophie added: 'I awkward laugh a lot when I don't know what to say or do. I was so shocked, I had no clue. But I knew I had felt something for him and I've always wanted him in my life. He's my best friend.'

Sophie and Joseph plan to move in together, after a trip to meet his grandparents in New Zealand, and admit they enjoy a 'quiet life' together, playing cards, cooking, watching movies and going away for long weekends.

She called this latest chapter in her tumultuous life 'a beautiful restart'.

Sophie Delezio (pictured right in both photos) has been close friends with her now-boyfriend Joseph Salerno (left in both) for many years

Sophie has lived in the spotlight since she was a child, after surviving two devastating car accidents.

Sophie has been the poster girl for the Day of Difference Foundation since 2004, which raised over $14million for child accident victims.

Last year her remarkable survival story featured again on national TV, drawing over 600,000 viewers on Ahn's Brush With Fame.

Sophie feels lucky all the media attention hasn't been a barrier for Joseph.

'I know a lot of people would be scared of that. So that's why I wanted to leave it up to him to announce it, because while I've accepted that my life has been in the media, it's new to him, and I didn't want to make him uncomfortable.'

Sophie Delezio (pictured at front, far right) with teenage friends. Her boyfriend Joseph Salerno is pictured back row, top left

Sophie Delezio (pictured at 19) appeared on the ABC program Anh's brush with fame to discuss her life

She has been the focal point for road safety media coverage and campaigns for many years - but Joseph is used to it since the couple were close friends since high school.

They did drama class together at Oxford Falls Grammar when they were both 14.

He said people are drawn to Sophie because she is 'a joyful' person.
A British-Iranian businessman who was freed from prison in Tehran alongside Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has said he 'wakes up and still believes he's in his cell' and 'has to hold his wife's hand to make sure she's real' now he's home in Lewisham, south-east London.

Anoosheh Ashoori, 67, was detained while visiting his mother in Iran in 2007 and accused of spying for Mossad.

Speaking today on Lorraine, Anoosheh told host Ranvir Singh that he is 'still adjusting' to freedom' after five years locked up, while his wife Sherry Izadi said he 'sits up in the middle of the night' believing he is having a head count in prison.

'It's unbelievable to be here, it's been three weeks now,' he explained.

Anoosheh Ashoori, 67, was detained while visiting his mother in Iran in 2007 and accused of spying for Mossad

'I use to have dreams about my wife and kids and I usually touch my wife's hands when she's asleep, I have to make sure it's a reality and not a dream.

Sherry, who met her husband when they were both studying at University in the UK, added: 'As the years went by, the dream became more and more unattainable, some days you give up, I thought am I ever going to see my husband again.

'Some days you feel there's no hope, but you never lose hope because then you stop campaigning and the fight has to go on, and in our case it comes true.

'The first two months we had no idea what was happening there and he had no idea what was happening to us.

'He was being threatened, he was being integrated. He was deprived of sleep, he was subjected to psychological torture, and we were subjected to a different kind of torture because we had no idea what was happening.'

Anoosheh also explained that while in prison he kept a diary to help keep his hope doing.

Anoosheh who was freed alongside Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (pictured together on flight home from Iran) has said he 'wakes up and still believes he's in his cell' and 'has to hold his wife's hand to make sure she's real' now he's home in Lewisham, south-east London

'What inspired me was a book by Viktor Frankl called A Man's Search for Meaning.

'If you're going through suffering, if you find a meaning or a purpose in that suffering then it's no longer a suffering.

'It was Sherry's birthday in 2019, and we had two rose bushes in our yard in the prison, and I dragged this up for her birthday on 12th September,' he added showing a crushed rose stapled into the diary.

'When I went out my first furlough, I gave it to my mother in law and she brought it to Britain.'

Sherry added it was 'surreal' to get flowers from prison in Iran for her birthday, joking that Anoosheh often forgot birthdays and Valentine's Days before he was behind bars.

Anoosheh also explained that while in prison he kept a diary to help keep his hope doing, he explained: 'It was Sherry's birthday in 2019, and we had two rose bushes in our yard in the prison, and I dragged this up for her birthday on 12th September,' he added showing a crushed rose stapled into the diary.

Speaking of other changes she's noticed in her husband, she added: 'Even now sometimes early mornings he will suddenly jump up, I ask him why and he says he thinks there's a head count.

'Because in prison he had to wake for a headcount.

'He's still asking for permission to use stuff, he's still very sensitive to sound, if I open the fridge he jumps.

'First day we came home he asked 'can I use this mug to make tea' it's going to take a while to get use to that,' she added.

Anoosheh added his freedom is 'a challenge' and he's 'still not sure if it's a dream' and that the couple's 'beautiful dog' sleeps between them every night.

'Yesterday we had a walk in the park and it felt like a dream, I can't believe it's a reality'.

Speaking today on Lorraine, Anoosheh told host Ranvir Singh that he is 'still adjusting' to freedom' after five years locked up, while his wife Sherry Izadi (pictured together) said he 'sits up in the middle of the night' believing he is having a head count in prison.

However, the freed man said that he can't completely celebrate until other British nationals are free - including wildlife conservationist Morad Tahbaz, 66.

The family of a British-US national detained on vague charges of spying for the US was led to believe that he would be part of the same release deal as Nazanin and Anoosheh.

'I'm not going to have a celebration for my birthday next week,' Anoosheh added.

'It doesn't feel right to celebrate until the rest of the British nationals are freed.

'I owe a debt to the others - we'll celebrate when they are back,' he said.

Anoosheh denied charges of 'spying for Israel's Mossad' and 'acquiring illegitimate wealth' and said he is not angry with the UK following his return from Iran.

The release of the two British nationals follows months of intensive diplomatic negotiations between London and Tehran, including the eventual payment of an outstanding 400 million debt owed by Britain to the regime.
The mother of the six-year-old cancer patient who won the Duchess of Cambridge's heart after a photo of her in isolation while having treatment for leukaemia went viral has revealed her daughter now has the all clear.

Little Mila Sneddon rang the bell at Team Jack Cancer Centre last week and even got an email wishing her congratulations from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's office.

The schoolgirl met Kate Middleton twice last year after the royal spotted the photo of the little girl in lockdown in March 2020; the image saw her gazing at her father Scott, who had been forced to move out of the family home to protect his daughter, through a window.

Speaking via video link from their holiday in Ayrshire on Lorraine today, her mother Lynda Sneddon revealed to host Ranvir Singh: 'When you get the initial news that your child is unwell, thinking of the end of treatment is such a huge challenge.

Speaking via video link from their holiday in Ayrshire on Lorraine today, her mother Lynda Sneddon revealed to host Ranvir Singh: 'When you get the initial news that your child is unwell, thinking of the end of treatment is such a huge challenge.

'You think you're never going to see the end, so we're overjoyed and ecstatic that Mila has reached this stage.

Speaking about the bell being rung, she added: 'The bell being rung signifies the end of treatment, that was Mila's final chemotherapy. She was on daily chemotherapy tablets and intravenous therapy.

Little Mila has now recovered from acute lymphoblastic leukaemia -a type of cancer that affects white blood cells and requires immediate treatment

Speaking about going back to school the same day as finishing treatment Mila added: 'I had to go to school but I just wanted a day off.

'But everyone was clapping me around the whole school when I rang the bell - it was a surprise.

She added that she's been riding her bike while on holiday and is feeling much better.

Speaking about the now famous picture - which the Duchess of Cambridge featured in her Hold Still exhibition - mum Lynda added: 'At the time of taking the picture, I wanted to keep it personal, along with the other pictures we'd taken during the first four months of treatment.

The schoolgirl met Kate Middleton twice last year after the royal spotted the photo of the little girl in lockdown in March 2020, pictured at Holyroodhouse in Scotland

The image saw her gazing at her father Scott, who had been forced to move out of the family home to protect his daughter, through a window.

'But it became quite obvious overnight that it had gathered some attention but it went viral.

'It hugely helped people understand what people were going through.

Ranvir asked Mila who had sent her an email to congratulate her on getting better, to which she replied: 'Ant and Dec'.

Ranvir added: 'Ant and Dec, that's amazing! I thought also William and Kate might have done that? The future king and queen, did they also get in touch with you?'

Little Mila confirmed with a quick: 'Yeah!'

Mila met Kate Middleton twice last year after the royal spotted the photo of the little girl in lockdown in March 2020, first at Holyroodhouse in May and then again during the Duchess' Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey in December.

Friends: The Duchess of Cambridge and the little girl chatted at the community carol service at Westminster Abbey on December 8th

Back in December, Mila attended the Christmas community carol service at Westminster Abbey in London, organised by the Duchess of Cambridge

The Duchess went on to include the photo, known as 'Shielding Mila' in her book Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020 and asked if she could meet Mila.

The little girl's mother said the Duchess had a 'gentle soul' and had made Mila feel comfortable during their meetings.

'Those moments made Mila feel really special and it was a good distraction from her treatment,' she said.

'Now shes recognised as the happy little girl who met Kate Middleton and not the poor little girl with cancer,' she added.

Mila reading a prayer by the crib, accompanied by her mother Lynda during the royal Christmas concert

Mila pictured reuniting with her father Scott in 2020 after a period of isolation

In May last year, Mila was welcomed by Kate for tea at Holyroodhouse, during her and Prince William's final day of their week-long visit to Scotland.

'[Kate] had made a promise [to wear pink],' the youngster added, noting that the Duchess kept her word to don a pink outfit when meeting after their initial phone call.

After Mila was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in November 2019, aged four, her parents decided the best way to keep their little girl safe was by not taking any risks and self-isolating in different houses.

Lynda, a mother-of-two, stayed with the little girl while dad Scott lived separately, and shared a heartbreaking photo of Mila kissing her dad through the window.

The photo went viral online and was spotted by the Duchess of Cambridge and was later one of the 100 images included in Kate's book Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020.

At their first meeting at Holyroodhouse, the Duchess told the schoolgirl: 'Hi Mila, look at you. I want to give you a big squeezy cuddle, it's so nice to meet you in person.'
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The Prince of Wales welcomed Queen Letizia of Spain with a very gallant greeting earlier today during a rare joint public engagement in County Durham.

Prince Charles 73, was snapped in a jovial mood as he greeted the Spanish royal, 49, with a kiss on the cheek and a squeeze of the hand at Auckland Castle in Bishop Auckland this morning.

The mother-of-two, who was among the foreign royals who attended Prince Philip's memorial service last week, cut an elegant figure during the appearance, donning a raspberry dress and wrapping up against the cool spring chill in a black coat.

Meanwhile Charles donned a light grey suit for the outing, which he paired with a burgundy tie and matching pocket square.

The pair are set to open the exhibition Zurbaran: the twelve tribes of Israel: Jacob and his sons at the Spanish Gallery of the castle during the visit.

The Prince of Wales put on a friendly display as he met with Queen Letizia of Spain earlier today for a rare joint public engagement in County Durham

The 73-year-old could be seen holding the hand of the Spanish royal as the pair met in County Durham for the rare joint appearance earlier today

The mother-of-two and the Prince of Wales exchanged a kiss on the cheek as they arrived at the engagement earlier today

The Prince of Wales appeared to kiss Queen Letizia's hand after the pair greeted at Auckland Castle earlier today

The Spanish Gallery at the castle is the home of the biggest assortment of work Spanish works from the Golden Age in the UK.

Prince Charles has met with Queen Letizia on a number of occasions in the past, including in 2017 when he hosted a meeting with her and her husband King Felipe at Clarence House.

Meanwhile in 2019, the Queen of Spain and Prince of Wales jointly celebrated the opening of a National Gallery exhibition of works by a Spanish impressionist, in an evening hailed as a moment of European unity.

The Prince of Wales is a Patron of the National Gallery and they both previewed the new exhibition by the late Spanish impressionist, Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida.

Queen Letizia of Spain and Prince Charles appeared entranced as they were offered a tour of the gallery earlier this afternoon (pictured)

The royals looked at paintings by Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbaran, during a visit of Auckland Castle in Bishop Auckland earlier today

Queen Letizia opted for a raspberry pink gown for the occasion, which she perfectly matched with Prince Charles' tie (pictured)

The two royals could be seen chatting to members of staff as they were offered a tour of the castle this afternoon (pictured)

Queen Letizia was greeted by a host of school children waving Spanish flags after their visit to The Spanish Art Gallery in Bishop Aukland

The pair appeared in high spirits while meeting members of the public during the outing in the north east earlier today

The monarch swept her hair back into a half up-do for the outing earlier today, where she was greeted by crowds of cheering school children

Queen Letizia of Spain appeared charmed by the hoards of school children at the gallery in Bishop Auckland earlier

The Queen beamed as she joined the Prince of Wales to meet with schoolchildren at the gallery in County Durham earlier

Queen Letizia and the Prince, who spoke warmly throughout the hour-long visit, were shown dozens of works by Sorolla, described as the 'master of light' in a glamorous evening at the London gallery.

While the Spanish royal attended Prince Philip's memorial service last week, it is unknown if she spoke with Prince Charles during the event.

Earlier in the day, Charles was in great spirits as he chatted to farmers on a visit to Darlington to officially open an auction mart.

Charles looked relaxed as he joked and laughed with local farmers in the quaint cafe. with a group of people while enjoying tea and cake at Dot's Cafe in County Durham.

Queen Letizia waved to crowds as she arrived at the gallery earlier today, where she was joined by Prince Charles

The Queen, who attended Prince Philip's memorial service last week, was in high spirits today as she greeted locals in the area (left and right)

The mother-of-two cut an elegant figure in a raspberry red dress for the outing, which she paired with matching accessories (pictured)

Prince Charles and Queen Letizia, who days ago attended Prince Philip's memorial service in London, appeared to be in high spirits during the visit

The mother-of-two, who was among the foreign royals who attended Prince Philip's memorial service last week, cut an elegant figure during the appearance, donning a raspberry dress and wrapping up against the cool spring chill in a black coat

The royals perfectly coordinated their outfits for the rare joint occasion, with Queen Letizia opting for a raspberry coloured dress which matched Prince Charles' tie

Meanwhile Queen Letizia of Spain wrapped up against the cool spring chill in a black woolen coat during the appearance earlier today

The mother-of-two swept her hair into a half-up do for the outing in Bishop Auckland today, revealing a pair of delicate silver earrings

The pictures are the latest sign the Prince of Wales is moving on following the fall-out from his brother Prince Andrew's appearance at Prince Philip's memorial last week.

The Duke of York, 62, took centre stage at Westminster Abbey's Thanksgioving of Life service escorting the Queen to the front row 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.

The Prince of Wales appeared in great spirits on Tuesday as he chatted to farmers in Dot's Cafe, County Durham

Prince Charles 73, was snapped in a jovial mood as he laughed with a group of people while enjoying tea and cake

The Royal was there to open the Darlington Farmers Auction Mart in Darlington

The Prince of Wales viewed livestock as he got a tour around the new mart by local officials

Earlier this month he paid millions to Virginia Giuffre, who had accused him of rape. He has consistently denied her allegations.

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 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 looked at the cattle that will soon be up for auction in the new mart

Charles chatted to farmers and met with local people during the tour of Darlington Farmers Auction Mart

The Duke of York, 62, took centre stage at Westminster Abbey's Thanksgioving of Life service escorting the Queen to the front row leaving the royal family 'dismayed'

'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.'

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'.

The prince has been forced to step back from public life over his association with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein

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'.

'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.'
The Royal family have released a new photo of the Queen with her Commonwealth Heads of State in 1964 as part of the ongoing 70-day picture countdown to the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebration weekend.

Today's photo showcases a dinner party at Buckingham Palace with the Queen smiling as she was joined by Commonwealth Heads of State, including Prime Minister Robert Menzies of Australia, Donald Sangster of Jamaica and Milton Obote of Uganda

In the black and white image, Her Majesty can be seen standing with 18 head of government who were attending the 1964 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference in London.

A throwback photo from 1964 shows the Queen smiling as she was joined by Commonwealth Heads of State, including Robert Menzies of Australia, Donald Sangster of Jamaica and Milton Obote of Uganda, for a dinner at Buckingham Palace in 1964

Her Majesty is Head of the Commonwealth, which has grown from 8 to 54 members in the last 70 years.

Explaining the countdown, the Royal family's Instagram page reads: 'Over the next 70 days, as we countdown to the #PlatinumJubilee Celebration Weekend, well be sharing an image a day of The Queen  each representing a year of Her Majestys 70-year long reign.'

Each of the 70 photos represent a year of the monarch's seven-decade reign, and each post also highlights a notable moment in history from the same year.

Today, the royal family paid tribute to Donald Campbell, who became the first man to break both the water and land speed records in the same year, reaching 403.1 mph on land in July and 276.33 mph on water in December 1964.

Fans on Instagram were quick to comment on the image and add heart emojis in a show of appreciation of the Queen and the Commonwealth

And it was also the year Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. received his Nobel Prize.

The Queen marked 70 years on the throne on February 6, 2022, making her the longest reigning monarch in British history, and weekend of celebrations will be held from 2nd to 5th June to commemorate the milestone.

The royal family yesterday shared a historic black and white photo of her Majesty receiving a bouquet of flowers from Fijian Princess Adi Kaunilotuma during a royal tour to Fiji in 1963.

The caption for the image, which has garnered more than 50,000 likes, says: 'The Queen receives a bouquet of flowers from Fijian Princess, Adi Kaunilotuma, during a visit to the country.'

The royal family shared an image of the Queen receiving a bouquet of flowers in Fiji in 1963 as part of a 70-photo countdown in the run-up to the Platinum Jubilee weekend

A further picture from the trip in February 1963 shows the Queen and her husband Prince Philip waving to crowds as they ride in an open top Land Rover

Different perspective: another image from the tour shows the same moment of the Queen being gifted the flowers by Adi Kaunilotuma, from a different angle

Speaking more generally about the year the snap was taken, it adds: 'In 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.'

Royal fans were quick to post positive comments on the image. Many shared love heart emojis, while others commented on the Queen's outfit.

The initiative, which kicked off towards the end of March, started aptly with a photo depicting the Queen's coronation at Westminster Abbey, in 1953.

1963: This image shows Fijian children taking English lessons in the cooler ocean waters before the Queen arrives in the country for her visit

Well wishers took to Instagram to share positive comments on today's photo shared by the royal family, with many posting love heart emojis

In the black and white image, Her Majesty can be seen seated on the Coronation Chair, wearing the St. Edward Crown and carrying the Sovereigns Sceptre and Rod.

Other photos in the countdown include a 1961 snap of the royal and her husband Prince Philip meeting President John F Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

An earlier snap, dating back to 1959, shows the Queen pictured with one of her red boxes, which contains the official documents and papers she receives daily from her private secretaries.

An earlier photo shared as part of the countdown to the Platinum Jubilee is this snap of the Queen and Prince Philip meeting John F Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961

Meanwhile, this 1959 snap shows the youthful monarch getting stuck into some of the official papers she is given daily by her private secretaries

The Queen, who ascended the throne on February 6, 1952, is the first British royal to reach the historic milestone.

The achievement will be marked with a four-day bank holiday weekend, from 2nd -5th June, which will include public events and community activities.

Currently, it is unclear to what extent the Queen will be able to take part in public celebrations, due to mobility issues which have curtailed her public appearances in recent weeks, and reports that she's relying on a wheelchair.
She then joked about the shooting, adding: 'I wasnt allowed to say any of that [at the Oscars], but you can just come up and [slap] someone'

Amy Schumer is being blasted online for making an 'insensitive' joke about Alec Baldwin's fatal Rust shooting - while revealing that she had planned to compare the tragedy to Will Smith's assault on Chris Rock during the Oscars before being banned from doing so by her lawyers.

Schumer, 40, co-hosted this year's Oscars ceremony on March 27 alongside Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, and she spoke out about the events that transpired while doing stand-up on Saturday night at the Mirage Theater in Las Vegas as part of the club's Aces of Comedy series.

But the comedian and actress is now facing severe scrutiny after she made light of the fatal Baldwin shooting which took place on the set of his movie Rust last year, and resulted in the death of the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Schumer said the best way to 'comfort ourselves' after the 'upsetting' moment between Smith, 53, and Rock, 57, is for her to 'say the Oscar jokes' that she had planned, but 'wasn't allowed to say on TV.'

'It was really upsetting,' she said of the moment Smith slapped Rock on stage, according to Buzzfeed.

'But I think the best way to comfort ourselves would be for me to say the Oscar jokes that I wasnt allowed to say on TV.

Amy Schumer is being blasted for making an 'insensitive' joke about the tragic Alec Baldwin shooting - while revealing that the Academy banned her from saying it during the Oscars

Schumer, 40, who co-hosted the event, compared not being allowed to make the joke to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the awards show while doing stand-up comedy on Saturday night

She is facing scrutiny for making light of the fatal Baldwin shooting which took place on the set of his movie Rust last year, and resulted in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins

'I want to preface these Oscar jokes by saying that my lawyer said not to say these. Dont tell anybody and dont get mad at me.'

She then began reciting her original Oscars' monologue before throwing in the Baldwin joke.

'Dont Look Up is the name of a movie? More like dont look down the barrel of Alec Baldwins shotgun,' she said, adding, 'I wasnt allowed to say any of that [at the Oscars], but you can just come up and [slap] someone.'

During the awards show, she said instead: 'Don't Look Up is nominated, I guess the Academy members don't look up reviews.'

Hutchins was killed on October 21 while Baldwin, 64, was rehearsing a scene which involved him cocking a gun.

He had been told that the gun was empty when he was given the prop, and has maintained that he didn't pull the trigger but that the gun went off when he pulled the gun's hammer back under Hutchins' instructions.

Many people were unsettled with Schumer's joke and took to Twitter to ridicule her.

'Amy Schumer: "Will Smith slapping Chris Rock is sad to see! It illustrates so much about toxic masculinity!"

'Also Amy Schumer: "Remember when Alec Baldwin accidentally shot a woman? That's when toxic masculinity is funny, as it's about a traumatic event!" Amy should f**k off,' wrote on disgruntled user.

'Wait so Amy Schumer was traumatized by Will Smith slapping Chris Rock but wanted to make a joke about Alec Baldwin tragically killing someone by accident as a result of a props issue. Nah that's f**ked,' said another.

Schumer said the best way to 'comfort ourselves' after the 'upsetting' moment between Smith and Rock is for her to 'say the Oscar jokes' that she 'wasn't allowed to say on TV

She joked: 'Dont Look Up is the name of a movie? More like dont look down the barrel of Alec Baldwins shotgun.' She is pictured at the Oscars with co-hosts Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall

Many people were unsettled with Schumer's joke and took to Twitter to ridicule her

Someone else added: 'We need [to] pack up Amy schumer she not funny for s**t. She could ruin the funniest joke and make it lame as s**t. She steals jokes all the time, she makes TERRIBLE JOKES like the Alec Baldwin situation and has the balls to say she's triggered and traumatized by a f**king slap.'

'My goodness she's awful,' a fourth tweet read, while a fifth said, 'Ironically, this is a joke she should have been rightfully slapped in the face for. On behalf of Halyna Hutchins. F** Alec Baldwin and Amy Schumer!'

'Jesus Christ, the Alec Baldwin situation isn't even a year old, and #AmySchumer already wants to make a "joke" about it. F**k, Amy. What is wrong with you?' asked a different user.

'Amy is traumatized by a mild slap but she's mad because the Academy did not let her crack jokes about a woman's death,' wrote someone else.

'Imagine how the families of Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza would feel watching folks joke about their loved ones being shot by Alec Baldwin.'

Schumer called Smith's Oscars slap 'a f***ing bummer' during the comedy show, which was her first public appearance since last weekend's awards show shock.

The Trainwreck star said she had been feeling good about how the ceremony was going until Smith, who she referred to as Ali - referencing his 2001 movie where he played boxer Muhammed Ali - came on stage and hit Rock.

'I was kind of like, feeling myself. I was like, "Oh, somebody's monologue went well."

'And then all of a sudden Ali was making his way up. 'And it was just a f***ing bummer.

'All I can say is that it was really sad, and I think it says so much about race, about toxic masculinity. It's just everything. It was really upsetting.'

Rock had made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith - who suffers from the disease alopecia - being bald.

'Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it,' he said.

Although he was seen initially laughing at the joke, he then stormed the stage and struck Rock in the face.

'Oh, wow. Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me,' Rock said.

After returning to his seat, Smith yelled to him, 'Keep my wifes name out your f((king mouth.'

A few days after the Oscars, Schumer said she still felt 'triggered and traumatized' by the slap in an Instagram post.

At the time, she joked that people should watch her new Hulu show Life and Beth in order to 'unpack what happened,' before sharing a more serious perspective.

Schumer wrote: 'Still triggered and traumatized. I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro.

'Stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend @questlove and the whole thing was so disturbing.

Rock had made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith - who suffers from the disease alopecia - being bald, before Smith stormed the stage and hit him

Hutchins (pictured) was killed on October 21 while Baldwin was rehearsing a scene which involved him cocking a gun

Baldwin (pictured on October 30 during a press conference about the shooting) later said he believed the gun was empty and that it went off accidentally

'So much pain in @willsmith. Anyway, I'm still in shock and stunned and sad.

'I'm proud of myself and my cohosts. But yeah. Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed.'

Meanwhile co-host Sykes told Ellen DeGeneres that she wanted Smith to be kicked out.

Sykes said: 'For them to let him stay in that room and enjoy the rest of the show and accept his award. I was like, "How gross is this?"

'This is just the wrong message. You assault somebody, you get escorted out of the building, and that's it.

'But for them to let him continue, I thought it was gross. I wanted to be able run out after he won and say, "Unfortunately, Will couldn't be here tonight"

Hall still hasn't weighed in on the incident in the nine days since it happened.

After days of heated conversation, Smith resigned from the Academy last Friday.

The actor said: '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. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.'

The Academy said it has accepted Smith's 'immediate resignation' and will 'continue to move forward' with its disciplinary proceedings against him for violations of the group's standards of conduct.

Smith's resignation came two days after the organization met to initiate the disciplinary hearings.

The Best Actor winner is set for a 'D-Day' hearing with the Academy on April 18 where he will find out 'if he still has an Oscar - and a career,' an insider said.

Rock has not made any public comment about the slap, saying he is 'still processing' the incident.

He told a Boston crowd during a stand-up gig: 'So, how was your weekend?'

Rock continued: 'I don't have a bunch of s**t to say about that, so if you came here for that...

'I'm still processing what happened, so at some point I'll talk about that s**t. It'll be serious. It'll be funny, but right now I'm going to tell some jokes.'

Straight after the incident, many celebrities reacted on social media. Actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner tweeted: 'Will Smith owes Chris Rock a huge apology. There is no excuse for what he did.

'He's lucky Chris is not filing assault charges. The excuses he made tonight were bulls**t.'

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill dubbed it the 'ugliest Oscar moment ever' and Baldwin tweeted a message of support for Rock, saying: 'I'm sorry the Oscars turned into the Jerry Springer show.'
On March 31, 2022, Truong Thanh Energy and Real Estate Joint Stock Company announces the Resolution of the Annual General Meeting 2022 to approve the following contents:

The AGM approved the report on the business result in 2021 The AGM approved the report on the business plan in 2022. The AGM approved the report on the BOD activities in 2021 and plan for 2022. The AGM approved the report from the Supervisory Board in 2021 and plan for 2022. The AGM approved the audited financial statements in 2021. The AGM approved the resignation of Mrs. Ninh Thi Thanh and Mrs. Nguyen Thuy Quynh as member of Supervisory Board for the term 2020-2025. The AGM approved the additional election of member of Supervisory Board for the term 2020-2025. The AGM approved the adjustment to the purpose of using capital from the stock offering in 2019:

The use of VND7,600,000,000 to buy shares of Quang Phu Energy Joint Stock Company (instead of the use of VND7,600,000,000 to supplement working capital for the companys business and production activities).

The AGM approved the result of stock offering to raise charter capital in 2021:

- Number of offered shares: 33,208,130 shares

- Total proceeds from the offering: VND322,671,920,000

- Charter capital after the offering: VND655,917,720,000.

- The result of using capital from the offering:

+ To buy shares of Truong Thanh Energy Joint Stock Company with total amount of VND315,890,949,000.

+ To supplement working capital for the companys business activities with total amount of VND4,192,495,855.

+ Costs related to the offering: VND2,588,474,145.

The AGM approved the plan for stock issuance to raise charter capital:

- Stock name: Truong Thanh Energy and Real Estate Joint Stock Company

- Stock type: common share

- Par value: VND10,000/share

- Charter capital before the issuance: VND655,917,720,000

- Number of outstanding shares: 65,591,772 shares

- Number of shares expected to be issued: 64,591,424 shares

- Stock volume after the issuance: 130,183,196 shares

- Charter capital after the issuance: VND1,301,831,960,000

- Plan for stock issuance:

Stock issuance to pay dividend:

- Issue volume: 4,591,424 shares

- Issue ratio: 7% (100:7) (Those who own 100 shares will receive 07 new shares)

- Time of implementation: expected in 2022, after being approved by the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC).

Public offering:

- Offering volume: 60,000,000 shares

- Exercise ratio: 1,000:914

- Offering price: VND10,000/share.

- Time of implementation: expected in 2022, after being approved by the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC).

The AGM approved the result of the additional election of members of BOD for the term 2020-2025, including:

- Mr. Ha Ngoc Minh

- Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan.

The AGM approved the result of the additional election of members of Supervisory Board for the term 2020-2025, including:

- Mr. Pham Duy Hoan

- Mrs. Tran Thi Hanh.
A delivery person for SPC Group's Happy Crew delivers food in Seoul on April 4. Courtesy of SPC Group



By Kim Jae-heun



Competition is heating up in the rapidly growing "quick commerce" market with SPC Group launching "Happy Crew" delivery services on Monday for its popular franchise businesses such as Baskin Robbins, Shake Shack and Egg Slut. "Quick commerce" refers to delivery services that take less than an hour following order receipt.



SPC provides walking delivery services now, but will gradually expand the business using bicycles and scooters for longer distances next year. For now, the food company's delivery service is only available in 15 districts in Seoul  including Seocho, Gangnam and Gwanak  and will not cover the rest of the city.



"Our plan is to exclusively deliver our franchises' foods through Happy Crew. We are only doing so as a walking delivery service now, but once things settle down, we may limit other firms from delivering our products by using scooters or bicycles," an SPC official said.



Currently, the walking delivery service market is led by Woowa Brothers and Coupang Eats. The two top players currently deliver online orders for SPC franchise foods using scooters and bicycles for longer distances.



When SPC limits Coupang Eats and Woowa Brothers from delivering its franchise foods, business for the two latter firms is likely to suffer, as the food firm operates over 6,000 franchise stores in the country.



"SPC's strength lies in its vast number of franchise stores operating all over the country. When it starts delivering their food orders with scooters and bicycles too, other food delivery players will have to give some of their market share to SPC," an industry official said.



Meanwhile, SPC Group launched Happy Crew with its marketing affiliate, Secta9ine, utilizing its digital platform and artificial intelligence technology. Delivery staff over 19 years old can work part-time. The company will begin delivery services for iPhone users starting in mid-April.


The Queen continued with her official duties today as she prepares to mark the first anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh's death this weekend.

The monarch, 95, appeared via video link from Windsor Castle to welcome the ambassadors of Libya and the Republic of Congo, who presented their credentials at Buckingham Palace.

Dressed in a vibrant cyan and pink floral ensemble, the Queen looked sprightly as she chatted to the dignitaries from the comfort of her Berkshire home.

Keep calm and continue working: The Queen continued with her official duties today as she prepares to mark the first anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh's death this weekend

Emotional milestone: The Queen will mark a year since her husband's death on Saturday. Pictured, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in a touching photo taken in 2007

It comes as the Royal Family prepares to mark the first anniversary since the death of Prince Philip on April 9, 2021.

His service of thanksgiving was held at Westminster Abbey last Tuesday.

The Queen was joined by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, visiting royals, and some 1,800 guests as she paid a final tribute to her beloved husband of 73 years.

There were fears the Queen would be unable to attend due to mobility issues, however she made the journey from Windsor Castle to London.

Controversially, she was escorted by her disgraced son Prince Andrew.

To the shock of many in the congregation, the shamed royal, 62, escorted his mother all the way down to her front-row position  in full view of the live broadcast cameras - after travelling with her from Windsor.

Royal welcome: Pascal Gayma, the Ambassador from the Republic of the Congo, presents his credentials at Buckingham Palace while the Queen appears via video link

Virtual engagement: Mr Gayma bowed to the Queen as she appeared via video link from the comfort of Windsor Castle

Tradition: Mr Gayma presents his papers to the Queen. The engagement was previously done in person but is now carried out over video link

It had been expected that the Dean of Westminster would take the Queen to her seat, with Andrew behind.

The Queen's decision to have Andrew accompany her comes despite him paying up to 12million earlier this month to settle a US civil sexual assault case  and it will be seen as a major signal of support to her second - and some say 'favourite' - son.

The Daily Mail revealed today that senior royals had 'reluctantly' accepted Andrew would travel with the Queen to London because they live so close to each other.

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.

Public farewell: The Queen with Prince Andrew at the Duke of Edinburgh's service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey last Tuesday

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'.

Following the public memorial, the Queen is expected to mark the anniversary of her husband's death privately at Windsor.

On April 21 the Queen will celebrate her 96th birthday.

This summer the Queen will commemorate 70 years on the throne with a Platinum Jubilee celebration.

Questions remain as to what involvement Andrew, who paid millions out of court to settle a civil sexual assault case, will have in the Jubilee, amid suggestions he could appear at the service of thanksgiving and even the Epsom Derby despite stepping down from public duties.
A woman has claimed that she and her friends were 'set up to be robbed' when they rented a home for a bachelorette party in Austin, Texas, saying there were a number of red flags that led to them fleeing the property in the middle of the night.

Callie Bryant, 28, from Arkansas, shared a now-viral TikTok video of her friends in the lobby of a hotel after 'emergency evacuating' the home they booked on Vrbo, a vacation rental platform.

She explained in the on-screen text that the doors wouldn't lock, the alarm system was dead, and the owner didn't respond to their concerns. She also alleged that when they tried to look up the listing on Vrbo, it was gone.

'We realized we were being set up to be robbed and/or worse,' she wrote.

Scroll down for video

Callie Bryant, 28, from Arkansas, shared a now-viral TikTok video of her friends in the lobby of a hotel after 'emergency evacuating' the home they booked on Vrbo

She claimed in the on-screen text that the doors wouldn't lock, the alarm system was dead, and the owner didn't respond to their concerns

The clip has been viewed more than three million times, and a number of commenters claimed they had similar issues with vacation rentals.

Others warned that bachelorette parties are being targeted in cities like Austin and Nashville, which have become popular destinations over the years.

'Im fully back to hotels now. Way too many security risks at these homes plus CRAZY amounts of rules. Not worth it,' one person wrote.

'My husband is a cop and this happened to a group of girls in LA. [They] got robbed and their car [got] stolen,' someone else shared.

'Airbnbs in Nashville get robbed all the time! And if your Uber driver asks if youre staying in one, tell them your friend lives there,' another advised.

Bryant filmed a series of follow-up videos with her husband in which she gave a detailed account of what happened, saying the home had 19 reviews on Vrbo when her friend had booked it.

'There was no review that showed anything that would have been a red flag or had given us any reason to think we would be unsafe,' she insisted.

Bryant shared a series of follow-up videos in which she gave a detailed account of what happened, saying the home had 19 reviews and no red flags when her friend had booked it

Bryant said the first red flag occurred when her friend met with the owner to tour the property and was taught how to use the pin pad code on the front gate.

She alleged that the woman kept the key that locks the outside of the front door and told her friend that they would be able to use and lock the back door.

Bryant said they stayed in and had a lingerie shower for the bride on their first night in Austin, estimating that they went to lock the doors around 10 p.m. when the party was winding down.

'We're realizing they're not locking,' she recalled. 'There were nine of us who tried, two of whom have PhDs.'

She claimed that they had texted the owner around this time, but she never responded. She said they didn't want to be 'super dramatic' because they wanted the bride to have a good time, but some of them were 'getting nervous.'

Bryant alleged that the doors looked like they were locked from the inside, but they could be opened from the outside.

'You could lock it and deadbolt it, everything, from the inside. [It] seems locked,' she explained. 'Then, from the outside, it just completely opens right up.'

She alleged that the rental listing for the property was 'completely gone' when her friend tried to pull it up to check the reviews for similar issues with the locks

The TikToker explained that it was her police officer brother who advised them to flee the property in the middle of the night

She noted that they might have been fine if they stayed at the rental, but they didn't want to risk their safety

She said that they decided to go to bed around midnight because they still hadn't heard from the owner, explaining that they 'barricaded' the doors with furniture on the inside to prevent someone from coming in.

Bryant claimed she spotted an alarm system around this time, but she realized it was 'completely dead' when she tried to set it up.

She also alleged that the rental listing for the property was 'completely gone' when her friend tried to pull it up to check the reviews for similar issues with the locks.

Bryant said she called her brother who is a police officer and explained the situation to him in a way that she wasn't 'influencing his opinion.'

He was concerned that they were being 'set up' and advised her to leave the rental property immediately.

Bryant recalled how they quickly packed their bags and ordered Ubers to take them to a hotel in downtown Austin, which is where she filmed her viral video. She noted that they might have been fine if they stayed, but they didn't want to take that risk.

The hotel they went to happened to be booked, and they spent about 15 minutes in the lobby trying to find another place to stay. It was around 1 a.m. when they found a hotel that had two rooms available, and they walked there with all of their luggage.

Bryant also shared footage of her and her friends walking to the hotel they booked after fleeing the rental property

Bryant said they took videos of the locks to show they didn't work and are in the process of trying to get their money back

Bryant later shared a video of them pushing their suitcases down the sidewalk as they headed to the hotel.

She said that they finally heard back from the owner the next day, but it was not the reaction they were expecting.

'She was very defensive,' the TikToker claimed. 'She implied that we were dumb, that we could have easily locked the doors ourselves, that our safety was not compromised. Just a very odd response.'

Bryant explained that a few of them returned to the rental property with a guy friend to take videos of the locks not working to send to the owner and Vrbo because they were worried about getting their money back.

She alleged that when they returned to the property, they realized that the pin pad code also didn't work. She claimed the iron gate could easily be shoved open once it was set.

Bryant added that they are in the process of getting their money back, saying she wanted to share her story to make others aware of potential dangers.

'You need to listen to your intuition, and if you see a red flag, trust it,' she advised. 'Just don't put yourself at risk if you don't have to. Spend the money on the hotel. Do what you have to because it's just not worth putting your safety at risk.'

Bryant's original video has been viewed more than three million times, and a number of commenters warned that bachelorette parties are being targeted in cities around the country

Vrbo's website states that it uses 'verified accounts, background checks, and fraud checks' to screen for fraud, though it doesn't specify if there is a verification process in place for hosts.

The vacation rental company is similar to Airbnb, which does not currently require users to provide proof of ownership or lease for the property that they are listing.

Vrbo advises guests to 'protect your trip before it even begins' by renting properties listed by 'Premier Hosts.' The free, invite-only program 'recognizes owners and managers who consistently deliver great traveler experiences.'

In order to be considered a Premiere Host, the owner's listing must have three or more reviews, an average review rating of 4.3 or higher, and at least five bookings or 60 booked nights, among other things.

It's unclear if Bryant and her pals booked the rental from a Premiere Host.

Vrbo also states on its site that it will try to find guests new accommodations in the first 12 hours if they are unable to 'get into the property' or if they 'discover that it was significantly misrepresented online.'

Bryant claimed in the comments of one of her videos that they had called Vrbo for help when they were leaving the house, writing: 'They didnt answer, we left a voicemail, they didnt call us back.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to Vrbo for comment.
The Queen 'did not ban the 1969 royal family documentary' from being re-aired on TV and instead considered it a triumph, a royal biographer has claimed.

The Royal Family took part in the film, which was a combined effort between the BBC and ITV, in a bid to show they were just like their subjects, which quickly became a British phenomenon.

It was watched over two weekends to rave reviews in June 1969, but was last shown three years later after reports Buckingham Palace feared it 'let the magic out' about the royals.

However in new book Queen of Our Times, Daily Mail Columnist Robert Hardman argued many in the royal household actually raved about the film, even nicknaming it 'Carry On Reigning'.

He wrote: 'Half a century on, some commentators have suggested that the family quickly came to regard it all as a terrible mistake, never to be seen again  a view reinforced by The Crown. Those within the Royal Household remember the complete opposite.'

Hardman has covered the royal family extensively for the Daily Telegraph and, since 2001, writes for the Daily Mail.

The Queen 'did not ban the 1969 royal family documentary' and instead considered it a triumph, a royal biographer has claimed

And as opposed to the film being banned from appearing on screen because it had offended the Queen, Hardman said it hadn't been shown because of copyright issues.

He wrote: 'From the outset, the film was only ever supposed to have a limited timespan before being locked away.

'Royal Family was not news footage, like the coronation or a state visit. Rather, it was seen as a personal snapshot of its time.

'The Queen retained the copyright and did not want the material being quarried or adapted for years to come.'

Writing in new book Queen of Our Times, Robert Hardman argued many in the royal household actually raved about the film, even nicknaming it 'Carry On Reigning'

The idea for the documentary, which aired in June 1969, came from the Palaces new royal press secretary William Heseltine, rather than the Duke of Edinburgh, as the Netflix hos claims.

Heseltine wanted to encourage public support for a monarchy that was increasingly seen as out-of-touch.

The programme was met with praise and proved so popular that it was aired again that same year and once more in 1972.

But hasn't been broadcast in full since but short clips from the documentary were made available as part of an exhibition for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee 2012.

As opposed to the film being banned from appearing on screen because it had offended the Queen, Hardman said it hadn't been shown because of copyright issues

However, for the most past the original documentary remains under lock and key with researchers having to pay to view it at BBC HQ, only after getting permission from Buckingham Palace first.

'Youre killing the monarchy, you know, with this film youre making, the legendary anthropologist and wildlife expert David Attenborough wrote furiously in 1969 to the producer-director of the controversial and ground-breaking television documentary, Royal Family.

The whole institution depends on mystique and the tribal chief in his hut, continued Attenborough, then BBC 2 controller.

If any member of the tribe ever sees inside the hut, then the whole system of the tribal chiefdom is damaged and the tribe eventually disintegrates', he said.

For the most past the original documentary remains under lock and key with researchers having to pay to view it at BBC HQ, only after getting permission from Buckingham Palace first

Filmmaker Bryan Forbes said: If you let the genie out of the bottle, you can never put the cork back again. And a lot of people think, with hindsight, that it was a mistake'.

Meanwhile Netflix's The Crown also reinforced the narrative that the Queen had viewed the documentary negatively.

In episode four of series three of The Crown, the royal family is shown taking part in the documentary which sees cameras follow them during their day-to-day lives, to prove how 'normal' they are.

And in a scene being compared to the BBC comedy The Royle Family, the senior royals sit down together on a sofa to watch the broadcast.

In The Crown, Ms Colman, centre as the Queen, Marion Bailey as the Queen Mother, left, and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, right, sit down to watch the documentary Gogglebox style

Olivia Colmans Queen Elizabeth appears to cast an awkward glance as she sits with Princess Margaret, played by Helena Bonham Carter, and Marion Bailey as the Queen Mother.

Helena's Princess Margaret then quips: This is nothing like a normal evening, if it was a normal evening wed all be on our own in sad isolation in our individual palaces.

It wouldnt be crowded like this, this is like some kind nightmare Christmas.
People may want to think twice before messing with Jill Duggar  because her husband, Derick Dillard, is officially a lawyer.

Derick, 33, has officially passed the Arkansas bar exam, which he sat for on February 23, about eight months after he graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law in May 2021.

While the Dillards have not yet publicly acknowledged the achievement, the Supreme Court of Arkansas reports that Derick has completed all of the requirements to 'be certified to the Clerk of the Arkansas Supreme Court for admission as [an] attorney licensed to practice law in Arkansas.'

Jill Duggar's husband, Derick Dillard, 33, has officially passed the Arkansas bar exam, which he sat for on February 23

He graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law in May 2021 and now, according to the Supreme Court of Arkansas, has completed all the requirements to be a lawyer

Derick is the most educated of the Duggar and Duggar-adjacent clan, having graduated with a degree in accounting from Oklahoma State University a decade ago and earned in JD last year

Derick is the most educated of the Duggar and Duggar-adjacent clan, having graduated with a degree in accounting from Oklahoma State University a decade ago and earned in JD last year.

The Duggars were all homeschooled, and none hold college degrees  though Jinger's husband, Jeremy, has a bachelor's degree and is in seminary school.

Derick shared photos of himself studying during law school, and even took Jill to class with him at least once.

'Although law school wasnt easy, Derick enjoyed it overall and had many great experiences!' the couple wrote on their blog last summer.

'While in school, he enjoyed working in several different areas of public service law at both the state and federal levels, including prosecution, defense and judicial work!'

Derick shared photos of himself studying during law school, and even took Jill to class with him at least once

'Although law school wasnt easy, Derick enjoyed it overall and had many great experiences!' the couple wrote on their blog last summer

Derick has been outspoken about how the law has intersected with his own life. Since he and Jill left the family's reality show, Counting On, he has made accusations about unfair contracts, claiming that only Jill's father, Jim Bob, was paid by TLC

Derick was a Public Service Fellow, for which he received a scholarship, and was also selected or the Arkansas Public Service Academy.

He also got hands-on practice representing clients under supervision through the school's criminal and immigration legal clinics.

'Eventually, he hopes to work in some type of public service law,' the couple wrote.

Derick has been outspoken about how the law has intersected with his own life. Since he and Jill left the family's reality show, Counting On, he has made accusations about unfair contracts, claiming that only Jill's father, Jim Bob, was paid by TLC.

'All of the shows have been under his contract, and he is the only one with a contract,' he said on Twitter in December 2019.

'Basically, once we got an attorney involved, we were able to recover a portion at least of what Jill should have been paid,' Derick added in a YouTube Q&A.

Derick had been present for every day of Josh's trial on child pornography charges, and was accompanied by Jill on the last day

After the verdict was read, they released a statement on their blog, saying: Nobody is above the law'

He also claimed that TLC wouldn't release them from a 'bogus contract,' though the details of that are unclear.

Derick had been present for every day of Josh's trial on child pornography charges, and was accompanied by Jill on the last day.

After the verdict was read, they released a statement on their blog.

'We are thankful for the hard work of law enforcement, including investigators, forensic analysts, prosecutors, and all others involved who save kids and hold accountable those responsible for their abuse,' they wrote.

'Nobody is above the law. It applies equally to everybody, no matter your wealth, status, associations, gender, race, or any other factor. Today, the people of the Western District of Arkansas made that clear in their verdict.'

Derick becoming a lawyer is the latest bit of good news for the couple, who are expecting their third child.

Jill and Derick announced last month that they are expecting a third son this summer

The couple revealed that Jill, 30, is pregnant with baby number three in February, after previously sharing that she had suffered a miscarriage last fall

Jill will give birth five years after her last delivery - an eon compared to other members of her family, who tend to give birth in quick succession

In February, they revealed that Jill, 30, is pregnant with baby number three, after previously sharing that she had suffered a miscarriage last fall.

In March, they added that six-year-old Israel and four-year-old Samuel are getting a baby brother in July.

'We had originally planned on finding out our babys gender earlier, a couple weeks ago, but Covid hit our family and we had to delay the exciting revelation,' they said.

'However, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise because by the time we were able to reschedule, Israel was on spring break. This meant our whole family could be together for the appointment, as we all found out together that another little boy would be joining the Dillard tribe!

'We decided to make a special day of it by starting off by eating breakfast together at a local restaurant called the Buttered Biscuit. Then we did a little shopping before heading to our appointment to learn the exciting news.

'We are thankful to have a healthy baby boy due in July! Your continued prayers are much appreciated,' they concluded.

'We are thankful to have a healthy baby boy due in July! Your continued prayers are much appreciated,' she and her husband wrote on their website

Jill and Derick's bout of COVID-19 appears to have been mild enough, and the couple told fans that they had both been vaccinated, though neither had received a booster shot

Jill and Derick's bout of COVID-19 appears to have been mild enough, and the couple told fans that they had both been vaccinated, though neither had received a booster shot.

The Dillards' initial pregnancy announcement came on February 27, when they admitted they had 'been keeping a little secret.'

'Ever since we were devastated last fall by the miscarriage of our sweet baby, River Bliss, we have prayed that, if it was Gods will, he would bless us with another baby,' they wrote at the time.

'We are excited to announce that God has answered our prayers and we are expecting our rainbow baby due July 2022!'

Jill's July due date means she likely conceived in October  and likely learned she was pregnant right before her oldest brother Josh's trial on child pornography charges, which began on November 30.
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands was elegant in a blue gown and glittering tiara as she greeted the President of India this evening.

The monarch, 50, greeted President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita alongside her husband King Willem-Alexander at the royal palace in Amsterdam tonight.

The Dutch royal wore a dusky blue floor length satin dress with sheer golden sleeves, which complemented her statement glittering diamond tiara, and gold clutch bag.

The reception marked the first day of the three day state visit of India to the Netherlands.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands looks ethereal in blue and gold as she welcomed President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind in the royal palace in Amsterdam

The Dutch royals greeted the Indian President and his wife to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries

She opted for loose blonde curls draping her right shoulder whilst the rest of her hair hung straight down her back.

Meanwhile, her make-up was modest, with a pop of pink lipstick and long black lashes.

Her husband, 54, opted for a regal black suit, with white bow tie and waistcoat, including royal badges upon his lapel.

Both wore the Dutch royal orders or orange and blue stripes, representing the union between the Houses of Orange and Nassau (blue).

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima (pictured) both wore the Dutch royal orders of blue and orange

Queen Maxima opted for modest make-up was, with pink lipstick and long black lashes and loose curls

The Durtch Queen cut a glamourous figure next to India's President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita

Guests made their way to the beautiful rooms of Amsterdam's Royal Palace tonight to greet Willem-Alexander and Maxima's guests of honour

President Ram Nath Kovind addressed the room ahead of the state dinner. He sat between Maxima and her husband

Ram Nath Kovind, 74, is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current President of India since 25 July 2017.

Along with his wife Savita, 69, he was met with a welcome ceremony at Dam Square in Amsterdam on along with a reception by King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima of Netherlands.

The president wore a black bandhgala suit set with a black and silver handcrafted hat, whilst his wife Savita choose a stunning lime green and hot pink shimmering sari.

The couple are currently on a three-day visit to the Netherlands at the invitation of the Dutch royals.

Earlier today, President Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Dam Square alongside Queen Maxima

The Indian President inspected the Guard of Honour with the King of Netherlands Willem Alexander

Queen Maxima (pictured) wore a smart matching grey coat and hat with heels to meet the Indian President in Dam Square

The First Lady Savita Kovind (pictured left) with Queen Maxima of the Netherlands in Dam Square on the first day of the state visit

This is the first presidential visit to the Netherlands in 34 years since the visit of President R Venkataraman in 1988.

It marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Earlier today, President Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Dam Square.

The Indian President inspected the Guard of Honour with the King of Netherlands Willem Alexander.

Queen Maxima met Nadia Rashid (pictured right), mother of Insiya, who was kidnapped five and a half years ago in Amsterdam and taken to India

During the reception in Dam Square Queen Maxima choose a matching grey dress coat and hat, covering a vibrant purple dress.

She was pictured meeting Nadia Rashid, mother of Insiya, who was kidnapped five and a half years ago in Amsterdam and taken to India - this was orchestrated by her father who has now been jailed.

Queen Maxima was recently pictured at the launch of a mental health foundation in Rotterdam.

The Dutch royals appeared in high spirits as they attended the welcoming ceremony for the Indian president in Dam Square

The Netherlands is the final leg of the Indian president's two-nation visit, the first part of which was to Turkmenistan
The Princess Royal has joined veterans at a service to remember those who fought or died in the Falklands War, and to mark the conflict's 40th anniversary.

The Falkland Islands Government organised the service of reflection and remembrance in St Faith's Chapel at St Paul's Cathedral on Tuesday.

Anne, 71, and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, 67, joined families to pay their respects before laying wreaths at the South Atlantic Task Force Memorial inside the cathedral.

Many guests wore medals from their time of service.

Her appearance comes as Prince Andrew's aides said they were 'blindsided' by his now-deleted Falklands War statement that was signed off as 'HRH' - despite Buckingham Palace saying the disgraced duke would no longer use the title.

The Princess Royal has joined veterans at a service to remember those who fought or died in the Falklands War, and to mark the conflict's 40th anniversary at St Paul's Cathedral today

The Princess Royal and her husband were both in naval uniforms, with Anne donning her medals and her hat.

Her hair was swept up into a neat bun, revealing a very discreet pair of pearl earrings.

The Queen's daughter, who has held the appointment of Chief Commandant of the Women's Royal Naval Service since 1974, looked sombre during today's commemorative event.

She lent a compassionate ear to the families of the loved ones and the veterans who were in attendance.

Wearing their naval uniform, Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, 67, shook hands with the church's religious staff

During Anne and Sir Tim Laurence's visit, readings were given by veterans and widows, including Jay Morgan Hyrons, whose husband Lance Corporal Gary Bingley died in the war.

Jay told guests: 'My husband Gary left our shores on [April 26] 1982, by [May 28], I had become a Falklands widow.

'Our men either returned safe to our shores to be reunited with their loved ones or were separated from us forever.

'Reunited or separated for life, each Task Force family paid a price. Those seventy-four days remain forever etched into our memories.'

Her appearance comes as Prince Andrew's aides said they were 'blindsided' by his now-deleted Falklands War statement that was signed off as 'HRH' - despite Buckingham Palace saying the disgraced duke would no longer use the title

A member of the South Atlantic Task Force, Steve Regolo, recounted his experience of the war, describing the feelings of hope and fear they faced.

'My Falklands had just become real. Deafening Klaxons sounding throughout the ship,' he said.

'The thoughts of leaving home on [April 5] still remain etched on my mind.

'To this day, I still praise the decision-making, the sacrifices made, and the strength I gained from my fellow shipmates.'

The Princess Royal and the other people in attendance marked a minute of silence to remember those who lost their lives in the conflict

Two minutes of silence was held, and Jonathan Clark, Bishop for the Falkland Islands, gave a speech in which he thanked 'those who worked, served and died'.

Princess Anne's appearance at the event comes days after her brother The Duke of York, 62, wrote more than 700 words about his experience in the Falklands in posts on his ex-wife's Instagram account on Saturday - before they were hurriedly taken down.

Andrew flew missions as a Sea King helicopter pilot during the conflict and recalled being shot at.

Members of the church welcomed the Princess Royal and Sir Tim at St Faith's chapel ahead of the event today

But Buckingham Palace and the duke's aides were unaware he had published the posts, it has now been claimed.

The musings were initially signed off as 'written by HRH The Duke of York', despite the Queen having stripped Andrew of his honorary military titles in January following the dramatic fallout from his civil sex case.

At the time, a royal source said Andrew, who was born a HRH, would no longer use it in any official capacity.

The 'HRH' was removed from the posts, before the reflection was deleted in its entirety two hours later.
The pair said they intend to 'spoil her rotten' to make up for her 'very sad' past, and that they 'have so much love' for the 'adorable girl'

A pit bull who was forced to chew off her own leg in an attempt to escape after she was left tied up outside for weeks without any shelter, food, or water has been adopted by loving new owners, who 'intend to spoil her rotten.'

The dog, named Bella, was found dehydrated and starving in Saginaw, Michigan, back in January.

The pup, who was only one years old at the time, had been left alone and tethered with two steel cables in her owner's backyard, with just a small amount of water, which quickly ran out, and nothing to eat.

She attempted to escape by gnawing off her own limb, but was unable to get free since her other leg had become entangled in the cables.

Finally, after she spent weeks alone outside, a passerby discovered Bella after she heard her barking and crying, and she quickly alerted the authorities.

A pit bull who chewed off her own leg in an attempt to escape after she was left tied up outside for weeks without any shelter, food, or water has been adopted by loving new owners

The dog, named Bella, was found dehydrated and starving in Saginaw, Michigan, back in January

The pup had been left alone and tethered with two steel cables in her owner's backyard, with just a small amount of water, which quickly ran out, and nothing to eat

Desiree Sage, a Saginaw County Animal Care and Control officer, then came to rescue the pit bull - and she said seeing the malnourished dog was 'unimaginably gut-wrenching.'

'Walking into the backyard and seeing Bella in such distress that day was unimaginably gut-wrenching,' she said, according to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. 'Against all odds, Bella overcame being left for dead.'

She had attempted to escape by gnawing off her own limb, but was unable to get free since her other leg had become entangled in the cables

Bella was then taken to Saginaw County Animal Care and Control, where she was treated by veterinarians and given food, water, and a warm bed to sleep on.

After spending weeks healing at the shelter, she was moved to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah - the largest no-kill pet sanctuary in the nation, who has a history of helping neglected or abused animals - so that she could 'get help from people who specialize in cases like hers.'

'While the dog is friendly and loving, [Saginaw County Animal Care and Control] was concerned about the trauma that Bella endured,' the shelter explained in a blog post earlier this year.

'With the experienced trainers and caregivers on staff [at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary], Bella could get the care she needs, as well as all the time she needs to recover.'

Desiree and a colleague then drove Bella 1,800-miles from Michigan to Utah - which took them 34-hours - with many people from the neighborhood pitching in to help them on their journey.

Finally, after she spent weeks alone outside, a passerby discovered Bella after she heard her barking and crying, and she quickly alerted the authorities

Bella was then taken to Saginaw County Animal Care and Control, before she was transferred to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. She is pictured during the road-trip

A local car dealership offered to loan them a car for the road trip and covered the cost of gas, while Saginaw residents Bob and Pat Schust also helped fund the trip.

Bella arrived at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary on January 15, where she spent just over two months recovering from the incident.

Director Ali Waszmer said after her arrival, 'After everything Bellas been through, for her to be so comfortable, she really embodies the resiliency of dogs.'

CEO Julie Castle added, 'We are grateful we could help and play a part in Bellas life journey. This is why we do what we do. These are the moments that make the tough times all worth it.'

Now, Bella has found her forever home. According to People, on March 24, Kim Diehl and Jason Reding, from Rockport, Illinois, adopted the pup after they fell in love with her 'at first sight.'

The pair had read about Bella's story online and went to meet her back in February, after they lost their senior pit bull Roxanne.

Desiree Sage, a Saginaw County Animal Care and Control officer, and a colleague drove Bella 1,800-miles from Michigan to Utah - which took them 34-hours

Now, Bella has found her forever home. On March 24, Kim Diehl and Jason Reding (pictured with Bella), from Rockport, Illinois, adopted the pup after they fell in love with her 'at first sight'

The pair said they intend to 'spoil her rotten' to make up for her 'very sad' past. She is pictured in her new home

'The rest is history. Bella just has an irresistible face. It was love at first sight,' gushed Kim.

'We brought her to stay with us at the sanctuary's onsite cottages for a week. She's so energetic and has such a bubbly personality. We grew to love her even more.

'Her back story is very sad, and it's too bad that she had to go through that, but we intend to make up for all of that. We intend to spoil her rotten.'

So far, her adjustment into her new home has been a success. Kim added: 'Bella has a bed on the floor next to me and has been sleeping through the night.

'It's hard to believe that she is potty trained, but so far, no accidents. We have so much love for this adorable girl.'

According to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, it eventually tracked down Bella's previous owner, who was charged for neglecting the canine. However, it didn't specify what the charges were.
A yoga teacher has taught herself how to orgasm 'almost instantly' and without any stimulation and scientists insist she's not faking it.

Karolin Tsarski, from Estonia, spent a decade learning how to achieve 'deep sexual satisfaction' because she found normal intercourse painful. She claims she can now orgasm for up to 10 minutes without any stimulation.

The 33-year-old, whose ability was detailed in a scientific journal, believes that every woman possesses the power to 'awaken' their 'orgasmic energy'.

Medical tests seemingly proved Ms Tsarski, who charges customers 60 for an hour-and-a-half consultation on how to spice up their sex lives, wasn't lying.

And video footage of the bizarre experiment shows a breathless Ms Tsarski writhing on a hospital examination table.

She claims to have mastered the ability to climax without any stimulation by 'years of yoga and tantric training'.

In a video recording one of the experiments where she reached orgasm Karolin Tsarski said she believed that it was something 'every women' could achieve

This chart shows how Karolin Tsarski rated her orgasms by differing erogenous zones. NGSO refers to non-genitally stimulated orgasms. Each orgasm is rated by three sub-scales. Sensory (the orange bar) refers to how the orgasm feels according to 13 different adjectives, for example 'throbbing', out of a possible score of 65. Affective (the red bar) is a scoring how the orgasm feels in terms of emotional intimacy and ecstasy out of a possible score of 45. Evaluative (the blue bar) rates the pleasurable satisfaction and relaxation of the orgasm out of 30. It shows she ranks her NGSO as similar to a clitoral orgasm from a sensory perspective but lower in terms of its emotional intimacy and ecstasy than her other climaxes

WHAT DOES SCIENCE SAY ABOUT THE FEMAL ORGASM? An orgasm is a feeling of intense sexual pleasure that happens during sexual activity. According to the NHS, it can also be called 'coming' or 'climaxing'. Both men and women have orgasms. For females, there is no biological advantage to an orgasm as it is not believed to play a role in conception. It is thought a purely pleasurable experience with no other advantage. Female orgasm is a complex neuroendocrine process that is unlikely to have evolved by chance. Advertisement

Scientists asked Ms Tsarski to rank her climaxes on an orgasm-rating scale used in sex studies.

The results showed she rated her non-genitally stimulated orgasms  the ones she taught herself  as almost as pleasurable as her clitoral or anal ones.

However, they did not provide the same levels of emotional intimacy and ecstasy as conventional climaxes.

Further analysis saw doctors measure her hormone levels, to see if her own orgasms actually had a measurable effect within her body.

The experiment was done three times, each a week apart.

Each time Ms Tsarski had a blood test taken 30 minutes pre-test, immediately after her orgasm, and 30 minutes post-test.

On the first occasion, Ms Tsarski brought her herself to climax without stimulation for five minutes.

She did the same on the second occasion but for 10 minutes instead.

In the last test, she sat and read a book for 10 minutes to act as a control.

Blood tests revealed her prolactin levels increased by 25 per cent immediately after her five minute orgasm.

Prolactin is a hormone that previous studies have suggested is produced by women post-orgasm.

In the 10 minute orgasm test, prolactin levels were 48 per cent higher immediately post climax.

No significant increase in prolactin was observed in the blood samples taken from the book-reading control test.

It was noted that Ms Tsarski's prolactin levels were particularly high on the day of the 10 minute tests.

Lead author of the study, psychologist James Pfaus, explained this could be due to Ms Tsarski being in a particular phase of her menstrual cycle.

No other hormones measured in the blood samples saw similar significant increases as prolactin.

In a video taken straight after she climaxed and linked to in the journal, Ms Tsarki said: 'What I just did I know every woman can do it.'

So called non-genitally stimulated orgasms (NGSO) have been reported in scientific literature before.

But debate has surrounded the truth of such experiences and such orgasms are measurable.

Normally, stimulation of the body's erogenous zones combined with the mental aspect of arousal and sexual desire leads to orgasm in both men and women.

But women have reported orgasms in non-sexual situations such as during sporting activity/exercise or breastfeeding.

Ms Tsarski, who is listed as co-author of the study, said her journey to stimulation-free orgasm started to combat her vaginismus, an uncontrollable condition where the vagina suddenly and painfully tightens up when something is inserted inside it.

She started her yoga tantra training by: 'learning body postures, breathing techniques, body locks aimed at learning how to awaken and sense energy, and then learning to guide it and move it upwards.'

'In addition, I did pelvic floor exercises, breast massage practice, and practices to release shame and guilt.

'I learned to relax and let go, accepted body image and brought increased mindfulness also to daily life in general '

Ms Tsarski said the sexual benefits came later as her training progressed, enabling her to overcome her vaginismus.

The study has been published in the journal Sexual Medicine.
Autism could be spotted in the womb  by analysing the brain scans of developing babies, a study suggests.

Harvard Medical School researchers examined ultrasound scans of 39 babies before they were born.

Nine youngsters, who went on to be diagnosed with autism, had a larger than normal insular lobe, results showed.

The area of the brain oversees social behaviour and decision-making, two things that autistic people can struggle with.

The findings suggest a larger insular lobe is a 'strong' biomarker which could predict which babies go on to develop autism later in life.

Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital examined ultrasound scans taken of 40 babies before they were born. Pictured: ultrasound scan of unborn baby's brain (a and b); a processed image of the scan to remove from other parts of the baby's and mother's bodies (c); the brain scan segmented by colours to show the different parts (d); 3D versions of the brain based on the scan results

Scientists do not know exactly what causes autism  but it is sometimes passed on to children from their parents.

And studies suggest that it is more common in children of older parents, as well as mothers who are overweight or suffer pregnancy complications.

What are the signs of autism? Signs of autism in young children include: Not responding to their name

Avoiding eye contact

Not smiling when you smile at them

Getting very upset if they do not like a certain taste, smell or sound

Repetitive movements, such as flapping their hands, flicking their fingers or rocking their body

Not talking as much as other children

Repeating the same phrases Signs of autism in older children include: Not seeming to understand what others are thinking or feeling

Finding it hard to say how they feel

Liking a strict daily routine and getting very upset if it changes

Having a very keen interest in certain subjects or activities

Getting very upset if you ask them to do something

Finding it hard to make friends or preferring to be on their own

Taking things very literally  for example, they may not understand phrases like 'break a leg' Common signs of autism in adults include: Finding it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling

Getting very anxious about social situations

Finding it hard to make friends or preferring to be on your own

Seeming blunt, rude or not interested in others without meaning to

Finding it hard to say how you feel

Taking things very literally  for example, you may not understand sarcasm or phrases like 'break a leg'

Having the same routine every day and getting very anxious if it changes Source: NHS Advertisement

Affected children can find it hard to make eye contact, understand how others feel, or have a keen interest in certain topics. Autistic youngsters may also take longer to get their head around information, or repeat things.

Around one in 50 youngsters fall on the spectrum. However, it can currently only be diagnosed from 18 months at the earliest.

To diagnose a child, medics ask their parents about problems their child is having, watches how they interact with others and speaks to their family, friends or teachers.

An early diagnosis can help parents understand their child's needs and get them support in school.

Researchers, led by Dr Alpen Ortug, retrospectively examined 39 foetal brain scans taken six months after conception.

Nine of the children were later diagnosed with autism and 20 had no developmental problems.

Ten other youngsters also did not have autism, but had other underlying conditions that were common autistic participants had.

The team then segmented the different parts of the brain on each scan, to compare them between the different groups.

Children with autism had a 'significantly larger' insular lobe compared with the other three groups, according to the findings.

This part of the brain is thought to play a crucial role in perceptual awareness, social behaviour and decision-making.

Youngsters with autism also had a larger amygdala (which processes emotions and memories associated with fear) and hippocampal commissure (needed for memory and learning), compared to children without.

Academics said their finding aligns with other recent studies, which have detected differences in some of these parts of the brain among adults with autism.

Dr Ortug said 'it is ideal' to spot the earliest sign of brain abnormalities in prospective autism patients to understand the 'many genetic and environmental factors that could be behind it'.

'Earlier detection means better treatment,' she said.

'To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to semi-automatically segment the brain regions in the prenatal stage in patients who are diagnosed with autism later and compare different groups of controls.'

The study will be presented today at the American Association for Anatomy annual meeting in Philadelphia.
Hungry women had to share food and emergency calls for help were ignored at one of the biggest hospital trusts in England, a report warned today.

Hospital inspectors have expressed serious concerns over the safety of mothers and babies at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

It comes just days after the publication of the Ockenden report, which unearthed harrowing details about the worst maternity scandal in the NHS's 70-year history at Shrewsbury.

England's health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), have downgraded the Sheffield trust's rating to 'requires improvement'.

Inspectors said they were worried about they way maternity services are being run.

They raised concerns about the 'inadequate provision of food and drink' to patients, and highlighted one example of women having to share food in the trust's dedicated maternity ward called the Jessop Wing.

'An example given was of a neighbouring patient giving someone the food and drink they required,' inspectors said.

Another concern that was flagged stated how staff ignored calls for extra help when a woman's health was deteriorating.

'Staff told us there were occasions when they would "bleep" for medical assistance on more than one occasion before assistance arriving,' CQC inspectors said.

The damming inspection comes just a week after the Ockenden report revealed 201 babies and nine mothers died needlessly during a two-decade period of appalling care at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

Senior midwife Donna Ockenden, who authored the report, warned that childbirth in England will be unsafe until all 15 of her recommendations were implemented across all NHS trusts.

Hospital inspectors have raised the alarm regarding care at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, particularly in regard to its maternity services (pictured here is the trust's dedicated maternity ward the Jessop Wing)

The inspection report comes just a week after a harrowing inquiry into the biggest maternity scandal in the UK's history made 15 wider recommendations to keep mothers and babies safe in England. Pictured here embracing are Kayleigh Griffiths (left) Rhiannon Davies (right) two mothers whose babies died as a result of poor care and who campaigned for an independent inquiry to get answers

NHS bosses given 15 areas for 'immediate and essential action' The report recommended 15 areas for 'immediate and essential' action to improve maternity services across England. They are listed below: All maternity units must receive 'multi-year' funding packages to ensure they can maintain minimum staffing levels, to be agreed nationally or locally. A portion of the budget must be 'ring-fenced' for training midwives; When maternity unit staffing levels fall below the 'minimum' level, senior management teams should be alerted immediately; In cases where staff are concerned over expectant mother's care, there should be a clear process for escalating this; All maternity services should be monitored by hospitals senior managers; When there is an 'incident' during a birth, such as the death of a baby, the resulting investigation must be 'meaningful for families' and staff must learn lessons in a 'timely manner'; When a mother dies during or after a birth, a postmortem must be carried out by a pathologist who is an expert in maternal physiology; Midwives must train together, and regular compulsory training compulsory training should be offered; Women with pre-existing medical problems such as heart disease and diabetes who are trying to get pregnant must have access to care. Women who are pregnant with twins or triplets must also receive specialist care; All trusts must ensure systems are in place for women who are at a high risk of a pre-term birth; When a woman chooses to give birth outside a hospital, midwives must give them 'accurate' advice on average transferral times to hospital units should this be required; In cases where women suffer physical or mental harm during birth, treatments must be available; Women who are re-admitted to wards after birth must have a 'timely' consultant review; Women who have suffered a loss during pregnancy must have access to 'appropriate' bereavement services; All trusts must raise the number of neonatal critical care cots they have available; The mental health and wellbeing of mothers, their partners and families as a whole must be 'integral' to maternity services. Midwives must engage with the community to ensure their services are what families say they need from care. Advertisement

The CQC said Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had failed to make required improvements to services when inspectors visited in October and November, despite receiving previous CQC warnings.

As well as concerns across the wider trust, a focused inspection on maternity found deep worries about the way its services are run.

Inspectors found the Jessop Wing did not have enough midwifery staff with the 'right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep women safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right care and treatment'.

The CQC previously identified significant patient safety concerns in March 2021, which saw the rating of its maternity service deteriorate to inadequate.

However, inspectors said their reinspection found 'there was little or no improvement to the quality of care patients received... in some areas the service had deteriorated further'.

They added they had 'significant concerns about the assessment of patients in the labour ward assessment unit, maternity staffing and delays in induction of labour'.

Inspectors found that staff were not interpreting, classifying or escalating cardiotocography (CTG) readings properly, which measure a baby's heart rate.

Failures to correctly measure baby's heart rates are similar to concerns raised in the Ockenden report into Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

The CQC said that in its reinspection of Sheffield, from October 5 to November 11, documentation on CTG was poor and not in line with national guidelines.

Despite foetal monitoring being highlighted as an area needing attention as far back as 2015 the most recent inspection found improvements had failed to be carried out.

'The service continued to lack urgency and pace in implementing actions and recommendations to mitigate these risks, therefore exposing patients to risk of harm,' inspectors said.

Inspectors also found there were inadequate risk assessments for patients which meant 'shift changes and handovers did not always include all necessary key information to keep women and their babies safe'.

The CQC's analysis of the Trust's data from April to October 2021 showed a 'total of 35 patient safety incidents had been raised due to lack of suitably trained/skilled staff'.

One employee told the CQC there were 'very unsafe staffing levels on labour ward', while foetal monitoring was not always completed on time and drugs and observations were late.

Staff also did 'not always keep detailed records of women's care and treatment', while inadequate grading of incidents causing harm meant inspectors 'were not assured that patient outcomes and the grading of incidents matched the impact or potential impact of harm to the patient or staff member'.

And in a particularly damming note, inspectors said after interviewing staff they failed to find records of two 'serious incidents' in the trust's recording system for such events.

'Therefore, we did not have assurance that all incidents or serious incidents were investigated, the root cause identified, and that lessons were learnt,' they said.

When it came to pain relief in labour, inspectors said staff 'did not always assess and monitor women regularly to see if they were in pain or give pain relief in a timely way'.

Furthermore, staff did not always treat women with compassion and kindness, respect their privacy and dignity, or take account of their individual needs.

Trust bosses said they were 'devastated' by the findings and vowed to make changes  with 500 more nurses now recruited.

Its chief executive Kirsten Major said she will do everything she can to support staff to make the necessary improvements.

'We are all devastated with the outcome of the inspection because there is not one person within the trust who does not want to do the right thing for our patients and has not worked hard to try and deliver that in exceptional circumstances,' she said.

'That is why we are taking it extremely seriously and I will be doing everything in my power to support our staff and make the improvements we need to deliver.'

The Ockenden inquiry has made 15 NHS-wide recommendations to help keep mothers and babies safe in England.

Among these are requirements for increased staffing and training for midwives and clear escalation paths if staff are worried about an expectant mother's health.

One of the findings of the inquiry was how a fixation on so-called 'natural births', vaginal deliveries as opposed to surgical C-sections, prevented mothers from receiving the care they should have, with devastating consequences.

Police are now investigating 600 cases related to poor care at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

The Royal College of Mid wives estimates maternity services in England are short about 2,500 midwives.
Hanwha Defense's Redback armored vehicle is seen in this file photo. Courtesy of Hanwha Defense





Hanwha Defense CEO Son Jae-il

By Park Jae-hyuk







Hanwha Defense appears to be going all out to win a 22-trillion-won ($18 billion) contract to supply infantry fighting vehicles to Australia, where it is set to build its factory to produce the K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer, according to industry officials, Tuesday.







Once its officials visit Australia to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the K9 factory, Hanwha Defense is expected to accelerate its efforts to convince the Australian government to choose its Redback armored vehicle over Lynx of Germany's Rheinmetall for the LAND 400 Phase 3 infantry fighting vehicle project.







Last Sunday, Korean lawmakers and Mayor Huh Sung-moo of Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, where Hanwha Defense's factories are located, visited the K9 factory site in the Australian city of Geelong, Victoria, and toured the company's hangar, displaying Hanwha's self-propelled howitzer and its armored vehicle, which was named after the Australian redback spider.







Their visit was made after Hanwha Defense selected the site location in February.







During President Moon Jae-in's visit to Australia last December, Hanwha Defense signed a contract to set up a facility for producing its self-propelled howitzers and ammunition resupply vehicles collectively worth 1 trillion won.







Late last month, one of the three Redbacks that finished testing in Australia was also brought back to Korea for the Army's 11th Maneuver Division to operate the armored vehicle on a trial basis over the next two months.







According to sources, the Redback is said to have overwhelmed the Lynx in testing between February and October last year, prompting sections of the Australian army to support Hanwha Defense.







The Australian government is scheduled to choose the preferred bidder in June, but some local news outlets reported that the selection will be finished before the country's federal election in May.







Hanwha Defense said it is considering enabling the K9 factory to produce the Redback, depending on the outcome of its competition with Rheinmetall.







If the Korean firm wins the bid, it will also suggest the export of made-in-Australia Redbacks to the European market.







For these plans, Hanwha Group will organize a consultative group called Hanwha Forum during the first half of this year to have talks with the Victoria State Government about business cooperation and investment plans regarding the construction, space and financial sectors, as well as defense technologies.







"As we started building a production facility in Australia and have made efforts to contribute to the Australian economy, we are hoping for a good result," a Hanwha Defense official said.







According to the company, its new factory is expected to create over 300 new jobs in the region, as it has already signed contracts with over 50 local suppliers to use their components.


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Daily Covid cases have plunged to their lowest level in a month in Britain following No10's decision to scrap free testing.

Another 50,202 positive tests were logged by UK Health Security Agency bosses today, down 38 per cent on last week's tally. It marks the smallest daily total since March 4.

Experts say the daily counts are now 'completely irrelevant', however, because they rely entirely on testing. Tory MPs today insisted that 'it's time to stop' the constant cycle of updates because they 'are of little interest' and 'in isolation tell us nothing'.

Swabbing rates were declining in England even before the Government chose to axe its 2billion-a-month mass-testing programme forever on April 1. But rates have since plunged further.

Separate Covid-tracking surveillance projects, which show infections have hit pandemic highs and are yet to slow down, are based on tens of thousands of random tests.

UKHSA officials today also registered 368 deaths, in the highest daily toll since early February, while another 2,378 hospital admissions were recorded across the UK. Both measurements were up slightly week-on-week.

However, both figures  which tend to spike weeks after any increase in cases  are counts of patients who have tested positive for the virus, and don't necessarily equate to patients who have been killed or left severely ill from the illness.

More than half of 'Covid' patients in hospital are primarily being treated for other reasons, like a broken leg, other data shows. And the virus is not the underlying cause of death in up to a third of all fatalities.

Critics say that the rise in so-called 'incidental' figures, driven by the sheer prevalence of the now-dominant BA.2, is skewing the Government's daily coronavirus statistics.

Omicron's milder nature and sky-high immunity rates, from both the UK's historic vaccination drive and repeated waves over the past two years, have drastically blunted the threat the virus poses. Government data suggests it is now no deadlier than the flu.

Warnings of a workplace sickness 'free for all' over new expanded Covid symptom list and advice to 'stay at home' after end of taxpayer-funded testing No10's scrapping of free Covid tests combined with an expansion to the NHS list of symptoms will trigger a 'free for all' of staff absences, experts warned today. The vast majority of employees in England are now unable to get any free swabs as part of Boris Johnson's 'Living With Covid' strategy. But health chiefs advise people to 'stay at home' if they have any of the 12 newly-recognised symptoms, which can be 'very similar' to ones brought on by colds or the flu. It means, in the absence of a test, people suffering cold-like symptoms will be left to decide 'whether or not they stay at home and for how long', unions say. Lucy Moreton, a professional officer at the ISU, the union for borders, immigration and customs, warned that it is 'inevitable' staff will be off work with mild symptoms if they are unable to confirm whether or not they have Covid. Unions also fear the chaos will only drive transmission up, with Covid levels already at a pandemic high in England and one in 12 people thought to be currently infected. Only the elderly, most vulnerable and health and social care workers can access tests for free. Tests are, however, available at high street retailers such as Boots for 2. Advertisement

With experts adamant the darkest days of the pandemic have been consigned to history, ministers felt confident enough to press ahead with its 'Living With Covid' strategy.

England's mass swabbing regime  thought to cost up to 2billion-a-month  was ditched under Boris Johnson's blueprint.

It marked one of the final steps on the route back to normal life, after mandatory self-isolation rules were scrapped in mid-February.

Workers who test positive no longer have to legally self-isolate, although they are still advised to 'stay at home and avoid contact with other people'. The NHS also says that they should take 'extra care' to avoid making contact with anyone at higher risk of the virus.

But union bosses have warned the scrapping of free tests combined with an expansion to the list of symptoms will trigger a 'free for all' of staff absences, experts warned today.

Without getting a test, people suffering from cold-like symptoms will be left to decide 'whether or not they stay at home and for how long', they say.

Lucy Moreton, of the ISU, the union for borders, immigration and customs, warned it is 'inevitable' staff will be off work with mild symptoms if they are unable to confirm whether or not they have Covid.

Unions also fear the chaos will only drive transmission up, with Covid levels already at a pandemic high in England and one in 12 people thought to be currently infected.

Only the elderly, most vulnerable and health and social care workers can access tests for free. Tests are, however, available at high street retailers such as Boots for 2.

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, told The Daily Telegraph that the Government's strategy could spark chaos.

She said: 'The Government's new "Living With Covid" strategy feels like a complete free for all, in which it will be impossible to confirm whether or not symptoms are Covid, leaving individuals to decide whether or not they stay at home and for how long.

'This confusion is likely to lead to transmission of the illness just as many pupils are preparing to take exams.'

It comes after NHS bosses last week quietly expanded its list of Covid symptoms to acknowledge nine more.

Experts today said daily Covid admissions in England (shown in graph) appear to have peaked. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows the seven-day average (orange line) for virus hospitalisations has fallen for the first time since the latest Omicron surge took off in mid-February. An average of 2,098 patients were admitted in the week to March 30, and appear to have spiked at an average of 2,116 on March 28

NHS England data shows just 44 per cent of so-called Covid patients were primarily admitted because they were unwell from the virus. The rate has fallen as the virus has become less severe and protection from vaccines has increased. In October, 75 per cent of those admitted were primarily unwell with the virus

Why you DON'T need to panic about new Covid variant 'XE' A new version of the Omicron Covid variant detected in the United Kingdom is not anything to worry about, experts say. The XE variant is a combination of the BA.1 Omicron strain  which caused massive global outbreaks in late 2021  and the recently budding BA.2 'stealth' variant. UK officials have spotted nearly 640 cases of the strain described at 'recombinant' by experts, because it is a combination of two different types of viruses. Most recent data from UK public health officials finds that the new strain only accounts for one percent of cases in the nation. Experts do not believe the variant is any more severe that its predecessors. Professor Francois Balloux, a geneticist at University College London, said the strain was likely to follow a similar path to the 'long forgotten' AY.4.2 Delta lineage that sparked fears in Britain but never took off elsewhere. Dr Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, claimed 'there's no reason to get worked up'. Advertisement

Shortness of breath, feeling tired, an aching body, headache and sore throats are now recognised as signs of the virus, as are a blocked or runny nose, a loss of appetite, diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting.

The decision marked a massive change in the Government's stance on symptoms, after acknowledging only three for the entirety of the pandemic (a high temperature, a new and continuous cough and a loss or change to taste or smell).

Ministers have insisted it is the 'right' moment to scrap the mass-testing regime, and the Prime Minister's official spokesman yesterday insisted the virus tests would not be coming back.

They said: 'I think we need to look at where we are in the course of this pandemic.

'We know there is relatively high prevalence of Covid at the moment but because of vaccines, because of therapeutics and other approaches, we are not seeing it have the knock-on impact when it comes to requiring the most intensive hospital treatment.

'At the same time, the provision of free tests was costing taxpayers 2billion a month and that is simply unsustainable.'

But NHS bosses today warned the health service is battling pressure on an equal scale to that of the January peak.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We don't have a living with Covid plan, we have a living without restrictions plan, which is very different.'

He urged the public to do 'everything that they can' to avoid spreading the virus, to get vaccinated and recognise the NHS 'is not going to be able to provide the level of service over the next period that we wanted to'.

Mr Taylor said there are 'nearly as many patients in hospital now as we had at the peak in January', which is putting 'enormous strain' on the health service, which has around 110,000 vacancies, exhausted staff and ongoing pandemic pressures.

However, experts today said Covid admissions in England appear to have peaked.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows the seven-day average for virus hospitalisations has fallen for the first time since the latest Omicron surge took off in mid-February.

An average of 2,098 patients were admitted in the week to March 30, and appear to have spiked at an average of 2,116 on March 28.

Dr Raghib Ali, an epidemiology researcher at the University of Cambridge, said it is 'good to see Covid admissions in England may have peaked'.

He noted that the drop would be consistent with cases having peaked around a week ago. Hospitals are still very busy overall but this 'will help', Dr Ali said.

But the NHS admits changes to how patients are tested, that came into effect on Friday, 'might affect' its data.
A new version of the Omicron Covid variant detected in the United Kingdom is not anything to worry about, experts say.

The XE variant is a combination of the BA.1 Omicron strain  which caused massive global outbreaks in late 2021  and the BA.2 'stealth' variant  which virologists say is even more transmissible than its predecessor.

UK officials have spotted nearly 640 cases of the sub-strain, which preliminary data suggests may be 10 per cent more infectious than BA.2.

Experts do not believe the variant, however, is any more severe or vaccine-resistant than other types of Omicron.

Professor Francois Balloux, a geneticist at University College London, said the strain was likely to follow a similar path to the 'long forgotten' AY.4.2 Delta lineage, which sparked fears in Britain but never took off elsewhere.

And Dr Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, claimed 'there's no reason to get worked up'.

UK officials have spotted nearly 640 cases of the XE variant, which is a combination of the BA.1 Omicron strain  which caused massive global outbreaks in late 2021  and the recently budding BA.2 'stealth' variant. Graph shows: The relative increase of XE (blue line) compared to BA.2. It has a growth rate of 0.098 per week

Professor Francois Balloux (pictured), a geneticist at University College London, said the strain was likely to follow a similar path to the 'long forgotten' AY.4.2 Delta lineage that sparked fears in Britain but never took off elsewhere

Writing on social media, Professor Balloux said: 'XE is not a variant of concern.

'It is one of many Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 recombinants.

'As such, however successful it may be, it will remain an Omicron sublineage. Delta counted more than 200 such sublineages before it got displaced by Omicron.

'At this stage, the XE situation is largely in line with the  long forgotten  Delta AY.4.2 lineage that looked slightly more transmissible in the UK, but never really took off anywhere else.'

Dr Rasmussen added: 'XE is not a Greek letter designating a new variant of concern.

'Its just an omicron recombinant  the fifth one identified, after XA, XB, XC, and XD.

'Just keep on taking precautions for omicron, no need to get worked up about a new big bad yet, anyway.'

The first case of the XE variant was detected in January, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

It had spotted 637 cases by March 22.

Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor at the UKHSA, said: '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. 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.

'UKHSA will continue to monitor the situation closely as a matter of routine, as we do all data relating to SARS-CoV-2 variants both in the UK and internationally.'

The World Health Organization (WHO) believes the new strain is ten per cent more infectious than the stealth variant, which would make it the most infectious version of the virus known.

The WHO is also not showing much concern about the recombinant variant just yet.

'XE belongs to the Omicron variant until significant differences in transmission and disease characteristics, including severity, may be reported,' the agency wrote in a weekly epidemiological report.

'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.'

It is not the first recombinant to arise in recent months, and previous versions have failed to make much impact.

The 'stealth' variant (pink) now makes up 72% of active COVID-19 cases in the U.S., the CDC revealed

Health officials are not particularly worried about XE, and America will likely be able to control it due to its high vaccination rate. Pictured: A woman in Chelsea, Massachusetts, receives a shot of a Covid vaccine

The XE variant, which is a combination between the BA.1 and BA.2 strains of Omicron, now makes up 1% of cases in the UK. It has not been detected in any other nation. Pictured: A woman in Jericho, New York, receives a Covid test

Earlier this year, the 'Deltacron' variant, a combination of Omicron and Delta, was discovered across the world.

Like XE, it also was first detected in the UK, and eventually a very small amount of cases were sequenced in America as well.

Deltacron was overwhelmed by Omicron  both BA.1 and BA.2  and failed to make much of an impact in the nation.

Such combinations of different viruses can occur in such circumstances in a process called viral recombination.

The coronavirus is made up of genetic material called RNA and, to reproduce, it must force the body to read this RNA and make exact copies of it.

There are inevitably errors when this happens because it happens so fast and so often and natural processes are imperfect.

If two viruses are in the same place at once, both being duplicated by the same cells, there is a chance the RNA genes could be mixed up, just as there could be a mix-up if someone dropped two packs of cards at once and picked them all up.

However, there is no guarantee that such a new version is any more harmful or virulent than its parents.
Thirty-two years ago I bounced enthusiastically into the Money Mail office for the first time.

Thus began a journey which has encompassed campaigns, scandals, stock market crashes, bank failures and financial crises.

From day one I learned that your letters are at the heart of everything we do. Your support lends strength to our campaigns, your information reveals facts firms try to hide and your requests for help tell us where customer service and consumer protection are failing.

Hi ho savers: Letters editor Tony Hazell is riding off into the sunset after 32 years helping readers with their money problems

I learned my trade at the knee of Margaret Stone  the woman who invented modern personal finance journalism - before taking over from her as Money Mail editor in 1999.

When I stepped down in 2011, I took up the cudgels as consumer champion to fight your corner against companies that refused to listen.

In the decade I've been doing this, I have won back millions of pounds for readers who have been treated appallingly by financial firms.

Many cases, particularly where fraud, pensions and life insurance policies were concerned, involved life-changing sums of money.

But while it is always satisfying to secure a big win, the most heart-wrenching and ultimately rewarding letters I've dealt with have been from the bereaved, very elderly and those acting as an attorney for loved ones.

The way some companies treat vulnerable customers never ceases to horrify me and it has given me great pleasure to help right these wrongs.

Sadly it seems that while consumer protection law has improved, customer service has got worse. Businesses claim their lines are especially busy regardless of when you phone.

No matter what time of day or night I open the EDF app, I see the same message: 'We're experiencing high call volumes right now.'

The lie masks under-staffed call centres, as firms try to force customers to use online 'bots'  computer algorithms posing as people.

The infirm and vulnerable are facing greater financial exclusion when they cannot deal face-to-face or penetrate the barriers companies construct both online and on the phone.

The push to online banking has also put vulnerable people more at risk of fraud from cold callers and internet scammers.

Warnings cannot prepare people for the sophisticated criminals they face. Banks that shut branches and force the vulnerable online bear direct responsibility.

Having said this, I despair of the increasing lack of personal responsibility and the hunt for compensation over the most trivial issues.

It is your money, so you must look after it. I receive pleas for help from people who do not look properly at bank or credit card statements.

Final words: Tony's best tips Tony became Money Mail editor in 1999 before taking the reins as consumer champion in 2011 Careful of calls: Beware of any calls you are not expecting. Scam calls will often have a pause before someone speaks starts speaking and they may know your name. Always hang up. Use BT Call Minder or similar services to screen calls. Banked to rights: You can get a refund from your credit card provider under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act for purchases between 100 and 30,000 if something goes wrong. With a debit card, you have similar protection under chargeback rules. Record of receipts: Keep receipts to ensure that returning faulty goods is simple. A folder for each month can help. The Consumer Rights Act states your contract is with the retailer who sells you goods, so it must resolve the issue. If a retailer sends you to a manufacturer, inform Trading Standards. Dont just click: Look out for clone internet sites that look similar to genuine ones but will charge you extra for services such as replacing your driving licence or claiming tax relief. Any government website should end with gov.uk. Also, be wary of websites that appear at the top of any searches or claim to be sponsored. Look in the search bar at the top of the internet page to see if the web address corresponds to the organisation you want. Be responsible: Its your money so check your bank and credit card statements every month and query anything that looks out of place. The same goes for services bills. If youve signed up to internet-only billing, then go online or use the app to check. Complain like a king: Give the firm one chance to put it right. On the second, tell it you want to make an official complaint that you want recorded on its published complaints data. If this fails, the Financial Ombudsman Service will investigate most problems involving financial firms and services. Telephone 0800 023 4567 or see financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

How else can phantom or incorrect direct debits be paid for years before being spotted?

One reader wrote certain of errors as her electricity bills were so high.

Further investigation revealed she was running a hot tub and had expensive underfloor electric heating on for most of the day.

I've always considered it important to highlight that the reader is not always right

What should I make of the person who told me a water leak had ruined the kitchen and electrics?

The more I uncovered, the more I suspected she was trying to have her home rewired and a new kitchen courtesy of the insurance company.

Sorry, but while I will fight for readers, I won't be an advocate for fraud.

For more than three decades Money Mail has helped me personally as I have learned along with you.

I enjoyed the benefits of paying down my mortgage as fast as I could after seeing the tens of thousands of pounds it would save in interest.

I have never paid interest on credit cards. Every pound paid in interest is a pound you don't have available for your next holiday or meal out.

Financial advisers encouraged me to think long term on my investments, to make certain I've got balance in my portfolio and not to panic when the stock market falls. Time will help you ride out the shocks. If all your investments are soaring then you've probably got too much in one sector.

I learned for myself the damage charges can do to long-term investments such as pensions and Isas.

I've benefited from understanding income tax and using every scrap of tax relief.

Pensions, which offer income tax relief on money invested, and Isas, which provide a tax-free income, form the bedrock of my savings.

When it comes to consumer disputes, the key is: don't get angry, get even. It is not the fault of the person on the other end of the phone.

Write down the points you want to make and explain yourself clearly. If dealing with a company, say you want your complaint officially recorded.

If dealing with a retailer, familiarise yourself with the main points of the Consumer Rights Act.

There are good explanations on the internet at gov.uk, citizensadvice.org.uk and which.co.uk.

Use the various free ombudsman services rather than ambulance-chasing legal firms, which may take up to 40 per cent of your compensation.

To avoid fraud, don't engage with cold callers or unknown emailers.

My mother-in-law tells cold callers she is hard of hearing, asks them to write to her and puts the phone down without giving her address.

Finally, I'd like to share with you how Money Mail has played an even more important part in my life.

Back in 2003 a wonderful lady called Jill was reading Money Mail while sunning herself on a beach in Spain.

She spotted a case study of a boy about to go to Nottingham University in a feature about student finance.

That case study was my stepson. (We were desperate).

'Look, this boy is also going to Nottingham. Perhaps you'll meet him,' Jill told her daughter.

'Don't be ridiculous, Mum. Nottingham is a big university and he's doing a different subject.'

Mum, of course, knew best. They met in the first week, started going out months later (after he confessed to being the boy in the Mail), married (eventually!) and presented us with a granddaughter last summer. So, thanks Money Mail, for everything.

As I draw a line under resolving your problems, a word of warning, I may be stepping down but I'm not going away entirely. If something gets under my skin then like Arnie Schwarzenegger  I'll be back.

moneymail@dailymail.co.uk
Labor has pledged to 'listen to the health advice and act' on Covid-19 if it wins power from the Coalition at the May election.

Anthony Albanese is also likely to continue his strategy of not criticising state premiers over their decisions on lockdowns, masks, density limits and hard borders.

The Labor leader remained neutral on the states' Covid policies while the Morrison Government ruthlessly attacked Labor premiers Annastacia Palaszczuk, Mark McGowan and Daniel Andrews over their lockdowns and border closures.

(Although the Prime Minister later embarrassingly backflipped to support Western Australia's hard border).

Labor has pledged to 'listen to the health advice and act' on Covid-19 if it wins power from the Coalition at the May election. Pictured: Leader Anthony Albanese on Monday

In a sign that Labor has no plans to change its neutrality policy, Health spokesman Mark Butler criticised the PM over the way he has interacted with the states.

'The Premiers took tough decisions throughout the pandemic based on what was best for their state  and we didn't seek to undermine them unlike the Prime Minister,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

With the benefit of hindsight, Mr Butler said Labor would have ordered more vaccines and rapid tests earlier than Mr Morrison did and would have also built quarantine camps sooner.

'He was warned of the need to secure supplies of vaccines for Australia urgently, but didn't listen and said instead ''it's not a race'', Mr Butler said.

'He was warned hotels weren't built for quarantine, but didn't listen and didn't act on the Commonwealth's responsibility for our borders.

'Over summer it was easier to catch Covid than it was to get your hands on a rapid test  even though Scott Morrison was warned back in September by the AMA about the importance of securing and distributing RATs.

'Time and again, this is what we get from Scott Morrison - a refusal to listen and a refusal to take responsibility.'

Victorian premier Dan Andrews criticised Mr Morrison after the PM said he hoped Covid isolation for close contacts would be scrapped soon

Mr Morrison has admitted 'we didn't get everything right' during the pandemic.

But after supply constraints due to high global demand, Australia now has an abundance of both vaccines and RAT tests.

The Prime Minister has also committed $1.3billion for new federal quarantine camps at Mickleham in Melbourne, Pinkenba near Brisbane Airport and Bullsbrook in outer Perth.

The move means there is little substantive difference between Labor and Coalition on Covid policy - with both pledging to follow the advice of the top medical experts.

'Throughout the pandemic Labor has followed the health advice and we will continue to do so,' Mr Butler said.

'Labor will listen to the health advice and act.'

It comes as Victorian premier Dan Andrews takes a shot at Mr Morrison after the PM said he hoped Covid isolation for close contacts would be scrapped soon.

Mr Morrison said the rule making close contacts quarantine for a week was redundant, and he was 'looking forward' to it being axed.

The Prime Minister has committed $1.3billion for new federal quarantine camps at Mickleham in Melbourne, Pinkenba near Brisbane Airport and Bullsbrook in outer Perth

However he said the decision was out of his hands, and up to state premiers.

'We don't make those decisions at the commonwealth level. It's premiers who decide to shut cities down or open them up,' he said in Melbourne on Monday.

Mr Andrews quickly fired back at Morrison's comments on Tuesday.

'It's somebody else's job? No,' Mr Andrews said.

'National Cabinet - which is chaired by the Commonwealth - asked Australian Health Protection Principal Committee to have a look at this very issue.

'They came back and said ''not at this time''.

'He has asked a question, on behalf of all of us, and he doesn't like the answer and that is apparently my fault,' Mr Andrews explained.

'If there's a quarrel between the Prime Minister and chief medical officer than I suggest he sorts that out.

'I'm in the business of taking advice from the experts.'

The AHPCC advice to National Cabinet stated isolation and testing rules could be eased after the current wave of infections from the Omicron BA.2 subvariant had peaked, expected by mid-April 'in some jurisdictions'.

WA Premier Mark McGowan (left) and Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Perth on March 17

AHPPC advice recommends that in the place of isolating, close contacts should take rapid antigen tests, wear masks in public and avoid high-risk settings.

Isolation is still recommended for confirmed positive and asymptomatic cases.

Despite this, Victoria's government is concerned about how soon it could scrap the requirement, due to uncertainty about how high the BA.2 wave could peak - and exactly when that will happen.

Victoria's Medical Research Minister, Jaala Pulford, said easing restrictions could 'prematurely' put the state's health system at risk.

'While the numbers are still going up around Australia with this current wave, and because we have not yet peaked, it would be a risk that [the chief officers are] not prepared to recommend the government makes,' Ms Pulford said on Monday.
Russian conscripts are being given 19th century rifles, made to drink from ponds filled with dead frogs and ordered to draw enemy fire, they have revealed.

Soldiers in the Russian-backed Donbas region have spoken of how they have been sent to fight Ukraine's forces with no training, a lack of food and water, and inadequate equipment - as Moscow's armies continue to suffer heavy losses.

The new accounts of untrained and ill-equipped conscripts being deployed to Ukraine are a fresh indication of how stretched the military resources at the Kremlin's disposal are, over a month into a war that has seen Vladimir Putin's forces hobbled by logistical problems and held up by a fierce resistance.

One of the soldiers, a student conscripted in late February, said a fellow fighter told him to prepare to repel a close-quarter attack by Ukrainian forces in southwest Donbas, but said 'I don't even know how to fire an automatic weapon.'

The student and his unit fired back and evaded capture, but he was injured in a later battle, he told Reuters news agency. He did not say when the fighting took place.

He said that at one point, he was forced to drink water from a fetid pond full of dead frogs because of a lack of supplies. Two other sources in contact with draftees also said the men had to drink untreated water.

The testimonies from conscripts and their friends and family came as crimes carried out by occupying Russian soldiers continued to be uncovered, and as Kyiv claimed Russia's death toll in Ukraine is nearing 20,000.

Officials said 50 bodies found in the commuter town of Bucha - in Kyiv Oblast - had been victims of extra-judicial killings by Russian troops. Some were shown in pictures lying on the ground with hands tied behind their backs.

The scenes have sparked international outrage, with the United Nations saying on Tuesday that all the signs from the pointed towards civilians having been directly targeted and killed in the town.

Meanwhile, Putin's forces are retreating from major cities in the west as they refocus their efforts on the Donbas, with 60,000 Russian reservists expected to be called in to reinforce Moscow's offensive in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk provinces claimed by separatists.

Pictured: A pro-Russian soldier, holding a Second World War era Mosin rifle - prepares to join the People's Militia of the Lugansk People's Republic (February 27, file photo). Conscripts have spoken about how they have been handed 19th century rifles, made to drink from ponds filled with dead frogs and ordered to draw enemy fire as a picture of a severely under-prepared Russian army continues to emerge

The Donbas armed forces are fighting alongside Russian soldiers but are not part of the Russian armed forces, which have different rules about which troops they send into combat.

Several Donbas draftees have been issued with a rifle called a Mosin, which was developed in the late 19th century and went out of production decades ago, according to three people who saw conscripts from the separatist region using the weapon.

Images shared on social media, that Reuters was not able to verify independently, also showed Donbas fighters with Mosin rifles.

Some Donbas conscripts were given the highly dangerous mission of drawing enemy fire onto themselves so other units could identify the Ukrainian positions and bomb them, according to one of the sources and video testimony from a prisoner of war published by Ukrainian forces.

While some information indicating poor conditions and morale among Donbas conscripts has emerged in social media and some local media outlets, Reuters was able to assemble one of the most comprehensive pictures to date.

Besides the student draftee, Reuters spoke to three wives of conscripts who have mobile phone contact with their partners, one acquaintance of a draftee, and one source close to the pro-Russian separatist leadership who is helping to organise supplies for the Donbas armed forces.

Reuters verified the identity of the student, as well as the other sources and the draftees they are associated with. The news agency was unable to confirm independently the accounts of what happened to the men once they were drafted.

The six sources all asked that their full names not be published, saying that they feared reprisals for speaking to foreign media.

None of the five draftees had prior military experience or training, and four of the five were given no training before they were sent into combat, according to the injured draftee, the three wives of conscripted men, and the acquaintance.

'He never served in the army,' said one of the partners, who gave her name as Olga and lives in the town of Makeevka. 'He doesn't even really know how to hold an automatic weapon.'

Several Donbas draftees have been issued with a rifle called a Mosin, which was developed in the late 19th century and went out of production decades ago. Pictured: A still-grab from a video showing a Pro-Russian separatists carrying what appears to be a Mosin rifle

Pictured: Mobilized soldiers prepare to join the People's Militia of the Lugansk People's Republic (February 27, file photo). The Donbas armed forces are fighting alongside Russian soldiers but are not part of the Russian armed forces, which have different rules about which troops they send into combat

Pictured: A map showing the situation in Ukraine as of April 5

Two of the wives said their partners were deployed to the front line, where they saw heavy fighting.

'I'm in the war,' read a text message, seen by Reuters, that Marina, also from Makeevka, said came from her drafted husband.

Marina said she learned from messages from her husband that his unit, fighting in the Donbas region, was ordered to draw enemy fire on to themselves.

Ukrainian forces on March 12 published a video showing a prisoner of war. He said his name was Ruslan Khalilov, that he was a civil servant from Donbas and that he was sent with zero training to Mariupol where his role was to draw enemy fire to facilitate the bombing of Ukrainian targets.

A person in Donbas who knows Khalilov confirmed to Reuters his identity, that he was drafted and has no military training. Reuters established that the person knows Khalilov.

The student draftee who spoke to Reuters said that a day after reporting for duty he was put in a mortar unit then sent towards the fighting. 'We were taught nothing,' he wrote to Reuters via messenger app.

'Up to that point I had only seen mortars in movies. Obviously, I didn't know how to do anything with them.'

He said that before he left, his unit had been under repeated attack by Ukrainian troops. 'There were lots of casualties,' he wrote. 'I hate the war. I don't want it, curse it. Why are they sending me into a slaughterhouse?'

All the accounts gathered by Reuters mentioned an acute shortage of supplies. The sources described little or no safe drinking water, field rations for one man being shared among several, and units having to scavenge food.

'We drank water with dead frogs in it,' said the student conscript.

'Supplies for the soldiers right now are a disaster,' said the source close to the Donetsk separatist leadership, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Neither the Kremlin nor the separatist authorities replied to Reuters questions about supplies and equipment for the draftees from Donbas.

The Donetsk separatist authorities announced in late February they were drafting all fighting age men for immediate deployment. Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24

The same source said some conscripts were issued with the Mosin rifle from reserve stocks that date back to the Second World War.

The student conscript said he has seen fellow fighters using the rifle: 'It's like we're fighting with World War Two muskets.'

A soldier in the Russian armed forces who is fighting near Mariupol told Reuters he had seen soldiers from the Donetsk separatist military carrying Mosin rifles. A video posted on social media on Tuesday by Russian military journalist Semyon Pegov showed a man who said he was a Donbas draftee brandishing a Mosin rifle.

Soon after the men were drafted in late February, many of their wives, mothers, and sisters started writing petitions to the separatist leadership, to Donbas draft offices, and to the Kremlin, describing their treatment and seeking help.

'Bring us back our men,' said one petition addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, seen by Reuters.

The three wives of draftees who spoke to Reuters said they received no definitive answers.

On March 11, about 100 women gathered outside the separatist administrations offices in Donetsk to demand answers, in a rare public show of dissent.

Two women who took part in the gathering said Alexander Malkovsky, the head of the DNR draft office, came out and told them that men aged 18 to 27 would be exempted from the draft. Reuters couldn't determine if this has been implemented, and was unable to reach Malkovsky.

Two of the conscripts' wives said that since the gathering they learned from their partners that conditions had improved: some units were pulled back from the front line and allowed to sleep in abandoned homes, instead of in trenches.

After being pushed to the front line near the port of Mariupol - scene of the heaviest fighting in the war - a group of about 135 Donbas conscripts laid down their arms and refused to fight on, according to Veronika, the partner of a conscript, who said her husband was among them. Marina, partner of another conscript, said she had been in contact with a friend who was part of the same group.

'We're refusing (to fight),' the friend wrote in a text message to Marina, seen by Reuters.

The men were kept in a basement by military commanders as punishment, Veronika and Marina said. Commanders verbally threatened them with reprisals but subsequently allowed the group out of the basement, pulled them back from the front line and billeted them in abandoned homes, Veronika said.

Neither the Kremlin nor separatist authorities answered Reuters questions about the incident.

Pictured: Mobilised soldiers prepare to join the People's Militia of the Lugansk People's Republic (file photo). One is seen kneeling on the floor doing rifle maintenance

All sides in the Ukraine war have systems of conscription, where young men are required by law to do military service.

Ukraine's government has declared a general mobilisation, meaning that conscripts and reservists have been deployed to fight.

Russia says it is not deploying conscripts in Ukraine, though it has acknowledged a small number were mistakenly sent to fight. Last week, Putin ordered 134,500 more conscripts to join his army. The Kremlin denied this was related to Ukraine.

The Donetsk separatist authorities announced in late February they were drafting all fighting age men for immediate deployment.

Military recruitment officers appeared at workplaces around the Donetsk region and told employees to report for duty, while police ordered people in the streets to report to their local draft office, according to a Reuters reporter who was there in late February. Anyone not complying risks prosecution.

Reuters could not determine how many people have been called up, nor what proportion of Donbas forces is comprised of draftees.

Asked to comment about the treatment and low morale of the Donbass draftees, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was a question for the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), the self-proclaimed separatist entity in Donbas. The Russian defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokeswoman for the DNR administration, after viewing Reuters questions, said there would be no response on Friday. She did not say when the administration would reply. Messages left with a spokesman for the separatist military went unanswered.

Estimates place Russian losses during its invasion of Ukraine between 7,000 to as many as 18,000 troops. The scale of the losses has shocked experts, with many predicting before Putin's invasion that Russian numbers would overwhelm Kyiv.

The opposite has been true, with Ukraine's troops pushing back Russian forces in several regions, destroying or capturing thousands of Moscow's military vehicles while killing many more Russian soldiers.

Last week, a video emerged of a group of young Russian soldiers conscripted to fight on the frontlines in Ukraine complaining that they've been 'thrown into the s**t'.

One boy soldier (left), 18, is seen wielding an AK-47 rifle first issued to Soviet soldiers in 1947

In footage taken in the back of a military vehicle, one complains: 'Know the truth! The Russian Ministry of Defence has no idea about us, or what we're doing here.

'We've been thrown into the s**t!'

Another adds: 'Our rifles are from the 1940s! They don't f***ing fire! They're sending f***ing ordinary students into war', according to The Times.

The soldiers, who were reportedly members of the 15th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, filmed themselves in the back of a lorry near Sumy, close to the border with Russia.

One - wearing a Russian army helmet too big for his head - points to himself and says, 'I'm 18 years old.'

He then holds up his AK-47 machine gun - first issued to Soviet soldiers in 1947 - and complains, 'We've been given automatic rifles to take on Grads, artillery, mortar shells. We're asking you to spread this.'

President Putin vowed not to send young, untrained conscripts to the front lines of the war in Ukraine - but has since broken his promise.

One quarter of Russia's army is made up of conscripts aged 18-27, disproportionately from poorer backgrounds where families are unable to obtain legal letters or doctors' notes excusing their sons from battle.

Last month, a group of Russian conscripts captured by Ukraine said they were deceived into believing the war was a military training exercise and apologised for behaving 'like fascists'.

Russia's President Putin (pictured on Friday) vowed not to send young, untrained conscripts to the front lines of the war in Ukraine - but has since broken his promise

Moscow youngster Aleksandr Morozov, 22, said: 'Ukrainians are a strong people, they fight like beasts. Their aircraft shatters our columns utterly. Our side suffers great losses: technicians, sergeants, officers, soldiers. And we want to stop that.

'I want to apologise to the whole of Ukraine for coming here. I do not want violence in this country. I am very ashamed.'

New conscripts are often tortured and even raped as part of brutal initiations dating back hundreds of years.

The army's culture of hazing (known as 'dedovshchina') involves using physical and psychological abuse to 'toughen' young recruits.

In 2019 alone there were 51,000 recorded cases of human rights violations among young Russian conscripts - and 9,890 sexual assaults, according to Moscow's defence ministry.

Meanwhile on Monday, Kyiv claimed that Russia's death toll is nearing 20,000, as Ukraine continues to push back invading Kremlin troops and retake 'key terrain' around the capital and Chernihiv.

Putin's forces are retreating from major cities in the west as they refocus their efforts on the Donbas, with 60,000 Russian reservists expected to be called in to reinforce Moscow's offensive in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk provinces claimed by separatists.

The brutal siege of Mariupol is continuing where the Ukrainian civilian death toll has risen to 5,000, while a nitric acid tank in Rubizhne, Luhansk, has been shelled, forcing civilians to remain inside their homes with their windows shut.

A red and brown cloud of poisonous smoke prompted warnings to residents to wear wet face masks after the release of the dangerous chemical, which both sides blamed on the other.

Luhansk governor Sergiy Gaiday said Russia is planning a major attack in the region as he ordered a mass evacuation, saying: 'We understand that they are preparing for a full-scale big breakthrough. Please don't wait for your homes to be bombed.'

Meanwhile, Ukraine's general staff said Russia has again used banned cluster munitions in Mykolaiv, targeting civilian buildings including a children hospital in a horrific attack which has killed 11 and wounded 61.

British defence officials said 'low-level fighting is likely to continue in some parts of the newly recaptured regions, but diminish significantly over this week as the remainder of Russian forces withdraw' from Kyiv and Chernihiv.

In an intelligence update posted online, the UK says many of the Russian units 'are likely to require significant re-equipping and refurbishment before being available to redeploy for operations in eastern Ukraine.'

On Monday, satellite images of Ukrainian civilians slaughtered in Bucha - a city in Kyiv Oblast - were released, showed bodies lining the streets more than two weeks ago, debunking Russian claims that the massacre was staged by Ukraine in order to frame its troops.

A satellite image taken of a street in the city of Bucha on March 19 - when Russian forces were in full control of the city - shows dark objects in the road that exactly match where civilian corpses were later discovered by Ukrainian troops

Pictured: Bodies of civilians lay in a mass grave in Bucha which was recaptured by the Ukrainian army last week

Russia has shelled a nitric acid tank in Rubizhne as the chairman of Luhansk ordered everyone to remain inside and close their windows

A red and yellow cloud of poisonous smoke prompted warnings to residents to wear wet face masks after the suspected deliberate shelling of a dangerous chemical

Images taken of Bucha on March 19 show dark objects strewn along a road - which match the exact positions where the rotting corpses of civilians were found by Ukrainian soldiers who recaptured the area from Russian forces at the weekend.

Russian forces were in control of the city at the time, strongly suggesting that it was Putin's men - and not Kyiv's - who carried out the killings.

Kyiv now says at least 410 civilians were massacred in and around Bucha by the Russians while others were tortured and raped in what President Volodymyr Zelensky has described as 'genocide'.

Zelensky, who appeared shattered on a visit to the area yesterday, will today address the UN Security Council where he is expected to push world leaders to impose tougher sanctions on Russia over the atrocities, send more weapons for his armed forces, and for a war crimes probe to punish the Russian commanders responsible.

In a nightly address to the Ukrainian nation on Tuesday, he said that Western sanctions on Russia 'must finally be powerful' - adding: 'Did hundreds of our people have to die in agony for some European leaders to finally understand that the Russian state deserves the most severe pressure?'

He was also critical of the amount of military aid sent to Ukraine so-far, saying more equipment could have helped save civilian lives. 'I do not blame you - I blame only the Russian military,' he said. 'But you could have helped.'

The United Nations said Tuesday that all the signs from Bucha pointed towards civilians having been directly targeted and killed in the town.

The UN Human Rights Office said the images emerging from the Bucha were extremely disturbing, and underlined that international law prohibited deliberate attacks on civilians.

Broken: A visibly emotional President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday stood motionless as he surveyed the scene of utter devastation he encountered in the town of Bucha, with dozens of bodies shot at close range laying on the empty streets

Western leaders have united in outrage after dozens of bodies were found on the streets and in mass graves when Russian troops retreated from the devastated town, laying bare the horrors of a 40-day war that has killed thousands.

'What we're talking about here appears to be the direct killing and targeting of civilians in Bucha,' rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva.

She cited photographs of people with their hands bound and of partially naked women whose bodies had been burnt.

'This is extremely disturbing, and does really strongly suggest that they were directly targeted as individuals, and here, what we must stress is that under international humanitarian law, the deliberate killing of civilians is a war crime,' she said.

Throssell added: 'All the signs are that the victims were directly targeted and directly killed.

'You could argue there was a military context, for example, to a building being hit; it's hard to see what was the military context of an individual lying in the street with a bullet to the head or having their bodies burned.'

Throssell clarified that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights did not have staff on the ground in Bucha.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blames Russian troops for the killings, but the Kremlin has denied responsibility. Moscow suggested images of the corpses in Bucha were 'fakes'.
The brother of a journalist murdered by ISIS killer Jihadi John has told a terror trial how he watched the clip of his sibling being beheaded 'once or twice', saying the footage is 'burned into my brain'.

Michael Foley made the distressing revelation while testifying against suspected ISIS hostage taker El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, in Virginia Monday.

He also said ransom demands made by the terror group in 2012 and 2013 - including 100 million Euros and the release of Islamist prisoners - showed they were never serious about sparing his late brother James. The war photographer was executed in Raqqa, Syria, in August 2014 aged 40, with footage of his murder horrifying the world.

Michael told the hearing in Alexandria: 'We had no ability to secure either of those demands. It's not a reasonable demand. It's not a negotiation, in my mind.'

He went on to say how he'd first learned of his brother's death after being called for confirmation by reporters, which was finally provided days later by then-President Barack Obama.

Michael said he went online and watched the video of his brother in an orange jumpsuit and the knife-wielding IS executioner known as 'Jihadi John.'

'I watched it once or twice,' he said. 'I haven't seen it since but it's burned into my brain.'

James' mom Diane Foley also testified, and told of how she spent days hoping her son's execution was a cruel joke after the video of his final moments began to circulate online.

She recalled desperately trying to call the FBI to find out about her son, only to be fobbed off, with her worst fears later confirmed by Obama. James's father John Foley also attended Monday's hearing, but did not take the stand.

Michael Foley, pictured Monday, told a terror trial in Virginia how he'd watched a video of his brother being executed by ISIS terrorist Jihadi John multiple times

Foley, a freelance photographer, is pictured shortly before he was beheaded by Jihadi John - real name Mohammed Emwazi - in Raqqa, Syria, in August 2014

Foley testified at the trial of suspected ISIS hostage taker El Shafee Elsheikh, pictured, who is accused of plotting the kidnaps of four Americans later murdered by the terror group

Diane said she initially hoped reports her son had been executed were 'some cruel joke'.

'I didn't want to believe it,' Diane Foley testified. 'It just seemed too horrific,' Foley said. 'I was hoping it was just some cruel joke.'

Foley said it sank in later that day when US president Barack Obama went on television to confirm that James had indeed been executed by his IS captors.

Elsheikh, who is British, is accused of being one of the three notorious ISIS 'Beatles,' and has been charged with hostage-taking that resulted in the deaths of Foley and three other Americans - Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

Mueller's parents Carl and Marsha also attended Monday's hearing. Their daughter, an aid worker, was kidnapped in the Syrian city of Aleppo in August 2013.

She was forced to marry ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who raped her, and was murdered in February 2015 aged 26. Also present on Monday was Bethany Haines, whose father David Haines - a British humanitarian - was beheaded in September 2014 aged 44.

James, who was born in New Hampshire, worked as a freelance photographer, and left for Syria in October 2012.

He was well aware of the potential dangers - indeed, he had spent more than a month in captivity in Libya while on assignment during that country's civil war.

Diane testified that she became deeply concerned about her son when he failed to call them as he usually would on Thanksgiving 2012.

It wasn't until late November, after Thanksgiving, that they actually received an email from James' captors seeking to establish a line of communication.

Michael Foley, James' brother, said the emails exchanged in November 2012 and January 2013 sought either the release of Muslim prisoners or 100 million euros.

The captors did provide evidence that they were in possession of Foley and that he was still alive by giving personal details about James' life that would have been known only to him and his family.

Foley, pictured in 2011, went missing a month after arriving in Syria in October 2012, with ISIS toying with his family by offering to free him in return for a $100m ransom, or the release of Muslim prisoners

James' mother Diane Foley, pictured Monday, said she initially hoped news of her son's execution was a cruel joke - until her worst fears were confirmed by then-President Barack Obama

Diane and husband John Foley - James' father - are pictured together outside court on March 30. John did not testify during the hearing

Carl and Marsha Mueller also attended Monday's trial in Alexandria - their daughter Kayla was one of four American hostages killed by ISIS

Mueller was kidnapped in Aleppo, Syria, in August 2013. She was forced to marry ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who raped her, and was murdered in February 2015 aged 26

Bethany Haines, whose British humanitarian father David was also killed by ISIS, also attended Monday's hearing.

But despite repeated efforts to engage the hostage-takers in talks, the Foleys received no replies to multiple emails for roughly 8 months. Finally, in August 2014, they received an email titled: 'A message to the American government and their sheep-like citizens.'

The email criticized the U.S. for a recent bombing campaign that had been undertaken against the Islamic State.

'As for the scum of your society who are held prisoner by us, THEY DARED TO ENTER THE LION'S DEN AND WHERE (sic) eaten,' the message said. It promised retaliation, 'the first of which being the blood of your American citizen, James Foley. He will be executed as a DIRECT result of your transgressions towards us!'

A few days later, Foley was beheaded in a gruesome video broadcast across the Internet.

The refusal to negotiate in serious terms stands in contrast to earlier testimony, where negotiators for European hostages engaged in lengthy discussions that resulted in the release of hostages.

Jihadi John - real name Mohammed Emwazi - became the face of ISIS's executions, and was killed by a US drone strike in November 2015

One hostages was released after raising 2 million euros, a negotiated figure that was just a fraction of what was demanded from the Foleys.

Elsheikh is better known as one of 'the Beatles,' a nickname he and at least two other Britons were given by their captives because of their accents, with the gang said to have been behind the beheadings of 27 hostages.

Last week, his trial was told of the horrific brutality he allegedly meted out on prisoners, including 'going away' batterings for hostages who'd been freed.

Elsheikh is also said to have beaten one hostage 25 times on learning that it was the unnamed captive's 25th birthday.

Elsheikh and a longtime friend, Alexenda Kotey, were captured together and brought to Virginia to face trial. Kotey pleaded guilty last year in a plea bargain that calls for a life sentence.

Elsheikh is pictured, right, with ISIS Beatle Alexander Kotey, left, who struck a plea bargain last year in return for life behind bars

The fourth suspected 'Beatle', Aine Davis, is pictured in 2014. He is currently serving a prison sentence at a Turkish jail

A third Beatle, Mohammed Emwazi, served as executioner in the video of Foley's execution. Emwazi was killed in a drone strike in November 2015, and was the face and voice of some of ISIS's most horrific execution videos.

There have been conflicting statements during the trial about the existence of a fourth Beatle. An individual previously identified in public discussion as a fourth Beatle, Aine Davis, is serving a prison sentence in Turkey.

Defense lawyers have highlighted the discrepancies over the Beatles' identities, and say there is insufficient evidence to prove Elsheikh was one of the Beatles who participated in the hostage-taking scheme. Prosecutors, though, plan to present evidence later in the trial that Elsheikh confessed to his role under questioning from interrogators and in media interviews.
Anthony Albanese is now the preferred prime minister as support for Scott Morrison falls, according to data taken from a recent survey.

The Labor leader has the backing of 37 per cent of voters, just pipping the support from 36 per cent of voters for Mr Morrison.

The findings have been taken from The Sydney Morning Herald's Resolve Political Monitor survey, which showed that Labor is in the lead just weeks away from the election.

After handing down the budget on Tuesday night, primary vote support for the Coalition jumped from 33 to 34 per cent, but for Labor this has risen from 35 to 38 per cent.

Anthony Albanese is now the preferred Prime Minister as support for Scott Morrison falls, according to data taken from a recent survey

Resolve Strategic director Jim Reed, who conducted the survey, said the results didn't mean Labor was set for victory.

'They (Labor) are ahead but there is a weakness to their vote when our polling finds it is largely predicated on a protest against the government and the Prime Minister's performance rather than an endorsement of the Opposition Leader or any major policy shift,' he told the publication.

He added that if Mr Morrison could get uncommitted voters to side with him, the support for Labor could dwindle.

The survey included the responses from 1618 voters from last Wednesday to Sunday.

Mr Albanese is ahead of Mr Morrison for the first time since the survey began last April.

In February, Mr Morrison was in the lead with 39 per cent of voters, compared to 30 per cent for Labor.

Support for Mr Morrison is now behind that of the Opposition leader, according to the Sydney Morning Herald's Resolve Political Monitor survey, which showed that just days out from the election being called, Labor was in the lead

When voters were asked about the candidates, 53 per cent said Mr Morrison was doing a poor job, compared to 39 per cent who said he was doing a good job.

For Mr Albanese, these numbers were at 42 per cent and 38 per cent. Twenty per cent of voters were undecided on the Labor leader, while 8 per cent were undecided on the current prime minister.

Mr Morrison is expected to call the election in the coming days for May 14 or 21, kicking off a five or six-week campaign that will see the leaders jet around the country to marginal seats in every state and territory.

It comes after the latest Newspoll found the Coalition was still trailing Labor by a massive eight points on a two-party basis.

This would equate to Labor winning 17 seats in a landslide victory.

The poll found Labor's primary vote had fallen by three points to 38 per cent, while the Coalition grew by one point to 36 per cent - shrinking ALP's margin to two from its six-point edge last month.

However, when preferences are allocated, Labor has maintained an election-winning two-party preferred result of 54-46.
Tradie accused of murdering medical student Arnima Hayat - whose body was found in an acid bath - failed to appear in court on Tuesday as police continue to build their case against him.

Meraj Zafar was a no show on the second occasion his alleged murder case has been listed since the horrific death of his 19-year-old girlfriend.

Ms Hayat died and her remains were found in a bath of hydrochloric acid in the North Parramatta flat they shared.

Meraj Zafar's lawyer Mohamad Sakr appeared in Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday where the matter was adjourned for two months to allow a timetable to be set for the service of the police brief of evidence.

Forensic police removed a large amount of evidence from the flat that fire and rescue officers were forced to don hazmat suits to enter after the discovery of Ms Hayat's body in late January.

Mr Zafar did not apply for bail and it was formally refused by Magistrate Kate Thompson who adjourned the case until June 9, when the accused will be required to appear via video link from prison

Mr Zafar, a truck driver and construction industry apprentice who was Arnima's first boyfriend, will also face Bankstown Local Court in Sydney later this week.

He is charged with stalking and threatening physical harm against Arnima's father in October - four months before her death and Mr Zafar handing himself into police.

An AVO against Meraj Zafar (right) taken out by police on behalf of the father of Arnima Hayat (above, left) meant the Hayats did not see their daughter in the four months before her horrific death

Abu Hayat, 41, and Mahafuzer Akter, 39, had not seen their daughter, a talented medical student, for four months before her remains were found in the acid bath because of a court order against Mr Zafar.

Arnima's grieving parents revealed just days after their daughter's death how their studious and loving daughter had become estranged from them since becoming romantically involved with Mr Zafar.

In 2021, the second year medical student, had gone from treating her parents and younger sister to sushi and pies every week, to isolating herself from the family.

Last October, when Arnima's parents tried to stop her from moving in with Mr Zafar, there was a confrontation between him and her father, which saw the police called.

But a distraught Mr Hayat told Daily Mail Australia the AVO, taken out on on October 9, had actually legally prohibited them from repairing their relationship with their daughter or remaining in contact.

Abu Hayat (above, at Arnima's funeral) had an encounter with Meraj Zafar before he and Arnima moved in to the flat where her body was found four months later in an acid bath

Arnima (above with parents Mahafuzer and Abu) was a normal sociable teenager and loving daughter before she became romantically involved with truck drive Meraj Zafar

Abu Hayat and Mahafuzer Aker (above) said their talented daughter took them out every week before she started going out with Meraj Zafar and then ceased all contact last October

Mr Hayat said police had told him they could not do anything to intervene because Arnima and Meraj were a couple 'in love'.

The orders on the AVO restrict Mr Zafar from assaulting or threatening Abu Hayat or anyone he has a domestic relationship with, or from stalking, harassing or intimidating him, recklessly destroying or damaging any property or harming an animal that belongs to him.

Mr Zafar was also ordered not to approach or contact his girlfriend's father, or go within 200m of the Hayats' western Sydney home or his place of work.

Three days after the AVO was taken out, Meraj Zafar and Arnima Hayat rented the North Parramatta flat where her remains would be found on January 30.

Arnima's uncle Abu Saleh said that the girl's younger sister (above, the sisters together) had found it hard to come to terms with the fact that 'Arnima is no more'

Surrounded by friends, Arnima's mother Mahafuzer is overcome with grief at her daughter Arnima's gravesite during an emotional burial ceremony for the 19-year-old medical student

Neighbours said they heard music being played in the ground floor flat where Arnima lived with Meraj and their pet cat.

Arnima's parents do not believe reports that their daughter had married Meraj Zafar during the time she was estranged from them.

Cut off from her parents, Arnima called relatives in the US 'sounding upset' in mid-January just two weeks before her death.

She told her uncle that he (Zafar) drank alcohol, but she did not want to because she was studying medicine,' Mr Hayat said.

'She wanted to be a surgeon and save lives.'

On Sunday, January 30, Mr Zafar reportedly rang his parents and his mother called police.

NSW Fire and Rescue officers were forced to wear Hazmat suits to enter the bathroom where Arnima Hayat's remains were immersed in 100 litres of hydrochloric acid which had allegedly been bought at Bunnings in Northmead.

Promising medical student Arnima Hayat withdrew from her family after becoming involved with Meraj Zafar (the couple, pictured) and moving into the flat where she later died

The confrontation between the father of Arnima Hayat and her boyfriend Meraj Zafar happened just before the young couple moved into the North Parramatta flat (above) where her remains were found

After Mr Zafar walked into Bankstown police station the following day, police seized his Mitsubishi Fuso tipper truck with the distinctive 'MAKKAC' number plate at Bunnings, Greenacre, for forensic examination.

He did not appear in Bankstown Local Court on February 1 when Mohamad Sakr said after a brief hearing that he was unsure about 'whether he wishes to fight the charges'.

It is unclear whether Abu Hayat will be required to appear at Mr Zafar's hearing on the stalking charged next week.

Arnima Hayat's family moved to Australia from n 2009 when she was nine years old, and she had quickly assimilated into Australian life.

Arnima learnt English quickly after moving to Australia aged 9, excelled at school and dreamed of being a surgeon, but began withdrawing from family and friends when she met Meraj

Meraj Zafar is behind bars charged with Arnima's murder and will face court next week on a charge of allegedly stalking her father, Abu Hayat

At Tempe High School where she excelled in maths, Arnima had been popular among her peers.

Mr Hayat said his daughter had become an 'excellent' English speaker who had scored 97 in her HSC and wanted to become a surgeon.

She was admitted to the faculty of medicine at the University of Western Sydney for which Mr Hayat paid his daughter's fees, and she got a part-time job working at Kmart in Marrickville Metro shopping centre as a salesperson, two days a week.

Before meeting Mr Zafar, Arnima was a normal, sociable teenager who regularly told her family how much she loved them,

Mr Hayat said Mr Zafar had convinced her to distance herself from her family.

'And everyone, her girlfriends too she stopped seeing,' he said, describing the confrontation with the 'big man' who had begun seeing his 'small, sweet, very pretty' daughter.

Following their daughter's death, the Hayat family was forced to forego the traditional Bangladeshi funeral where family view their deceased loved one's face before laying her to rest in the ground.

They said they would not be able to see their 'daughter's beautiful face' before laying her to rest - because the only part of the teenager's body not destroyed was one of her feet.

'I cannot see the last moment of my daughter's face,' Mr Hayat said.

Police issued an alert for Meraj Zafar and his distinctive vehicle truck registration MAKKAC (above) after being called to the flat where Arnima's remains were in a bath of acid

Members of the Bangladeshi community (above with Arnima's uncle Abu Saleh carrying her coffin) spoke of their pride in the young medical student's bright future which had lain ahead

Instead, Arnima Hayat's remains were wrapped in blue cloth and a white shroud to be viewed and touched by her family members at the ritual farewell at Lakemba mosque.

At Arnima's burial at Rookwood Cemetery, which Daily Mail Australia attended at the invitation of her family to serve as a record to honour her life, members of Sydney's Bangladeshi community spoke of their pride in the young medical student and the bright future which had lain ahead.

Arnima's uncle Abu Saleh told around 60 mourners: 'We farewell our beautiful daughter, forever to live in our hearts.

'I ask everyone to keep her in your prayers. I hope she can get some peace.'

Mr Saleh told Daily Mail Australia: 'Our family will miss Arnima always.'

He said the teenager's eight-year-old sister was still struggling to take in the horrific death and 'was not believing that Arnima is no more'.
The Australian Grand Prix is being sued for $8.7 million after Robbie Williams was unable to perform at the 2020 race when it was cancelled at the last minute.

A day before Williams was due to take the stage, punters were told over megaphone the entire event would be cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns.

The British rock star, Miley Cyrus and The Veronica's were booked to perform at the 2020 Formula One, due to be held over four days in Melbourne in March.

The multi-million dollar event is held each year at Melbourne's Albert Park drawing in massive crowds but was cancelled two years in a row, in 2020 and 2021.

British pop star Robbie Williams is pictured with Aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo hours before his 2020 performance was cancelled and the race scrapped

A day before Williams (pictured on March 12, 2020) was due to take the stage, punters were told over megaphone the entire event would be cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns

World Tour Melbourne claims the snap cancellation was in breach of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation's obligations.

According to a writ filed in the Supreme Court last week, the touring agency demands $7.594 million for costs incurred and $1.128 million in lost profits.

Williams was paid $1.94 million to headline the first World Tour Melbourne concert event on March 14, but his show was cancelled as fans queued to enter on March 13.

Costs include the talent fee for Williams' performance. No fee is listed for Cyrus or support acts including Pete Murray and Seb Fontaine, but The Veronicas - who were due to perform as a support act on March 13 - received $3,125.

In the writ, the agency lists the cost of venue hire, sound and lighting, publicity, legal fees, and backstage catering amounting to $32,500.

World Tour Melbourne said it was only told the gig would be cancelled during a teleconference with the Australian Grand Prix and local touring partner Dainty just after midday on March 13.

The agency claims the notification came just a day before the event was due to begin and Williams was scheduled to take the stage.

Williams (pictured with his wife Ayda Williams in 2019) was paid $1.94 million to headline the first World Tour Melbourne concert event on March 14, 2020

According to a writ filed in the Supreme Court last week, the touring agency demands $7.594 million for costs incurred and $1.128 million in lost profits (pictured, fans gather outside the gates just hours before the event was cancelled)

According to the writ, it said the corporation was responsible for 'undertaking and facilitating the organisation, conduct, management and promotion of annual Formula One events at Albert Park'.

WTM is part owned by controversial Oscar winner Will Smith, who last week slapped host Chris Rock at the Oscars event in Los Angeles after the comedian made a remark about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head.

Pinkett Smith, who was diagnosed with alopecia in 2019, is also a part-owner.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation general manager of corporate affairs and communications Haydn Lane said as the matter was before the courts he would not be commenting.

Disappointed fans were refunded the $99 they paid for tickets to see the pop star.

The 2021 Formula One event was also cancelled due to ongoing logistical issues caused by the pandemic, after the race was pushed back from March to November.

F1 officials asked the Victorian Government if drivers and team members could be put into a strict quarantine bubble instead of having to complete the mandatory two-week stint in hotels due to racing schedules.

The multi-million dollar event is held each year at Melbourne's Albert Park drawing in massive crowds but was cancelled two years in a row, in 2020 and 2021 (pictured is the 2020 event)

Pictured is a press conference from Chase Carey, Andrew Westacott, Michael Masi and Paul Little is held at Albert Park after the 2020 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix was cancelled

AGPC chairman Paul Little said at the time of the cancellation last July: 'We're deeply disappointed that for a second consecutive year, both MotoGP and Formula One fans won't be able to see the world's best riders and drivers compete at the wonderful Phillip Island and Albert Park Grand Prix Circuits.'

'We appreciate the challenge Australia faces with current international travel restrictions and the importance of vaccinations.'

The 2023 Formula One event will begin in Melbourne on Thursday with punters to be treated to performances from four Australian artists.

Tickets for the highly anticipated event, the first in two years since the pandemic hit, sold out 18 weeks before the race.

About 130,000 racegoers are expected to watch the action on Saturday and Sunday.




Tesla's China-made Model 3 vehicles are seen during a delivery event at the carmaker's factory in Shanghai, China. Yonhap



By Lee Kyung-min



The recent COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai has emerged as a possible risk to the distribution networks of Korean firms that operate manufacturing plants in the world's second-largest economy, according to industry watchers Tuesday.



Nongshim, a food company, and AmorePacific, a cosmetics firm, said they are closely monitoring developments in the city, although their operations have not been as heavily affected as those of Tesla. The U.S. electric vehicle maker's Shanghai factory has remained shut for eight days, Monday, following a two-stage lockdown that started near the Huangpu River. The prolonged shutdown of factories in Shanghai may pose a major threat to partner firms and their employees, leading to the closures of businesses and job losses.



"We are closely monitoring the situation," an AmorePacific spokesperson said.






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Republicans pounced on Vice President Kamala Harris Monday after she visited a school in Washington, D.C. mask-less while students were still wearing their pandemic-era face coverings.

'Kamala Harris: Rules for thee but not for me,' GOP Texas Senator Ted Cruz posted on Twitter along with a video of her visit to Neville Thomas Elementary School.

Representative Andy Biggs, a Republican from Arizona, repeated the sentiment with his own tweet of a picture of Harris maskless surrounded by kids with masks.

He also sent a statement to DailyMail.com, saying: 'It's abhorrent to see the Vice President of the United State flaunting around a stage with children fully masked next to her.'

'If the Biden-Harris regime had the ability to keep all Americansincluding childrenin masks forever, they would. Keeping masks on Americans and their children is not following the science,' Biggs added.

Republican National Committee rapid response director Tommy Pigostt tweeted: 'In the Democrats' anti-science dystopia, the only person who doesn't need to wear a mask is Kamala Harris.'

As the vice president emerged to deliver her remarks on the administration's strides toward improving education and school infrastructure, there were students seated on stage behind her  all masked.

Vice President Kamala Harris faced GOP criticism on Monday when going maskless to an elementary school in Washington, D.C. where young children were still forced to wear masks

While speaking on stage about education infrastructure on Monday at Neville Thomas Elementary School in Washington, D.C., the vice president was joined by several masked students

Republicans, including Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Andy Biggs, both lashed out at Harris for her 'rules for thee but not for me mentality during her school visit Monday

Images of Harris visiting classrooms of kids between 2nd and 4th grade also show that while she was not wearing a mask, the young students she was meeting with were.

All the other adults escorting Harris on her trip, including Thomas Elementary school principal Jaimee Trahan, were not wearing face coverings and some pictures showed select students were not masked-up either.

The controversy comes, however, as even Democratic states started lifting their masking rules in schools earlier this year, claiming it was time things went back to normal for kids and their education.

The District of Columbia's public school system in mid-March ended requirements for students and staff to wear masks indoors and instead implemented an optional masking policy.

The new guidance, although granting more leniency on masking, could result in an increase of quarantining and virtual learning for students who are unvaccinated.

Students who do not have the vaccine are now required to quarantine for at least five days if they come in close contact with someone in a classroom who tests positive for COVID. This applies to students even if they were more than three feet away and were wearing a mask at the time of exposure.

D.C.'s public school system in mid-March ended requirements for students and staff to wear masks indoors and instead implemented an optional masking policy. Pictured: Students in masks watch the vice president speak at Thomas Elementary School Monday, April 4, 2022

While most 2nd through 4th graders were pictured in masks during the trip Monday, the vice president and her entourage, which included school staff, were bare-faced

Vice President Harris bends down to speak with young, masked students at Thomas Elementary School in D.C. on Monday, April 4 as she announced the administration's plans to upgrade public schools with clean energy efficient facilities and transportation

The city-wide indoor vaccination mandate in D.C. only lasted for one month before Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser lifted it.

The 11 staffers who have left or are leaving Harris' office since June Michael Fuchs, deputy chief of staff Nancy McEldowney, National Security Adviser Sabrina Singh, deputy press secretary Kate Childs Graham, head speechwriter Symone Sanders, senior adviser and chief spokesperson Ashley Etienne, communications director Peter Velz, director of press operations Vince Evans, senior aide Karly Satkowiak, director of advance Gabrielle DeFranceschi, deputy director of advance Rajan Kaur, director of digital strategies Advertisement

The D.C. public school system also stopped detailed contact tracing last month.

Young, healthy people are among the least affected group from COVID-19  as in they are less likely to have serious symptoms from the virus or die from contracting it.

In late February, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it was lifting mask mandate recommendations on the general public as long as a specific area did not fall under 'high contraction' rates as defined by the agency.

Criticism over Harris' lack of mask at the schools comes months after former Georgia State Representative and second-time Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams was lambasted for the same hypocrisy.

Harris trip on Monday came as she continues to face staffing issues amid a slew of scandals involving her public remarks and appearances including gaffes, award wordings and inappropriate laughter.

The vice president's deputy chief of staff Michael Fuchs is set to leave the administration in May, which makes the 11th staffer to leave Harris' office in the matter of months.

Fuchs has advised Harris on domestic and international issues, helped manage staff and accompanied her on foreign trips. He also previously worked as a foreign policy advisor for President Bill Clinton and in the State Department under President Barack Obama.

While Fuchs will stay in his current role until early May to 'ensure a smooth transition,' according to a memo sent around to staff, he has not yet announced where he is heading next.

At the same time, Harris is hiring a new head speech writer after her last one, Kate Childs Graham, departed in February.

Meghan Groob will shape the VP's public remarks. She most recently worked as an editorial director for Gates Ventures, where she wrote speeches for Bill Gates. She was also a senior speechwriter during the Obama administration.

Meanwhile, Kirsten Allen will be Vice President Kamala Harris ' new press secretary, moving over from the Department of Health and Human services (HHS) after three high-profile departures in the VP's press shop.
A small business owner has lost more than $20,000 after his social media accounts was hijacked by cyber criminals who are refusing to give it back unless he 'pays up'.

The scammers hacked into Oscar Vallejo's accounts after posing as a trusted friend and sending the Sydneysider a link requesting help with logging into Facebook Messenger.

Pretending to be his friend, the fraudster asked for help resetting his own password - giving an innocent-looking link - which Mr Vallejo clicked on.

That single click handed the scammers key details which allowed them to hijack the social media account Mr Vallejo uses to market his pet-food e-commerce store.

Oscar Vallejo (pictured) was tricked into giving cyber criminals the email and password to his small business social media accounts when hackers posed as a 'trusted' friend

In 2019, the 51-year-old started Doglato, a company which makes healthy dog ice-cream and gelato.

'One of my close friends messaged me asking for help to log into his messenger account, I did not hesitate to help him and pressed the link,' Mr Vallejo told Daily Mail Australia.

'By the time I realised it might not be him it was too late.'

The hackers promptly changed his email, password and mobile phone used on Dogelto's Facebook Messenger, account preventing Mr Vallejo from using two-step recovery.

Since January, the cyber criminals have extorted his suppliers and followers, costing him his reputation, customer rapport, and more than $20,000 in lost business.

'They started messaging every single customer "can you please help me?" and looked to see who I had the most engagement with,' Mr Vallejo said.

The hackers also targeted Mr Vallejo's friends, asking for digital currency under the guise of investing it for them.

Since January, the cyber criminals have extorted his suppliers and followers, costing him his reputation, customer rapport, and more than $20,000 in lost business so far and have held his account ransom ever since (pictured, a dog enjoying a Doglato frozen treat)

Mr Vallejo messaged the hackers asking if he could have his account back. They responded aggressively with a $500 ransom to be paid through an untraceable iTunes card.

The Doglato founder refused to pay the ransom, saying 'how do I trust a thief?'

The company, which wholesales domestically and internationally, started selling to some of the biggest pet food companies in the country - Petstock, PetO and IGA.

Mr Vallejo said the cyber attack has not stopped his business but it has put the company on a long road to recovery having to rebuild its followers, brand, and reputation.

'One of the most embarrassing moments is your dealing with big companies like Petstock. Its hard because they are messaging me to deal with it and messaging my clients and its just not a good position to be in,' Mr Vallejo said.

'We've had to rebuild our entire reputation that we've spent two years and tens of thousands of dollars growing.'

Doglato's Instagram account (pictured) is still live and under the hackers' control

Mr Vallejo lodged countless complaints with Facebook and Instagram's technology company Meta but has gone unanswered.

After messaging Meta numerous times Mr Vallejo was told to not submit any more applications because he 'will delay the process'.

Meta has never replied to his pleas for help and he has not heard from them since.

He has since regained control of the businesses Facebook account but the Doglato's Instagram account is live and still controlled by the hackers.

This comes as soaring numbers of small businesses across the country are falling victim to cyber crimes.

Business Australia which provides advice to more than 70,000 small businesses has seen a surge of owners wanting to invest in cyber security.

In the last six weeks it has seen an influx of 20,000 small businesses needing help.

In last week's budget, the Morrison government announced significant savings for businesses that invest in digital technology, cyber security and staff training.

Business Australia General Manager Products Phil Parisis said more than 40,000 struggling small businesses already reached out on how to protect themselves so far this year.

'Small businesses are easy targets for cyber criminals,' Mr Parisis said.

'Cyber criminals are savvy, they know SMEs have less resources, time and budget to protect themselves, unlike bigger companies with sophisticated security systems.'
Not since the slaughter of thousands of men and boys at Srebrenica a quarter of a century ago has Europe seen atrocities on the scale of those orchestrated by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.

The unspeakable savagery meted out against civilians by the Russian army, as it retreats tail between legs from near Kyiv, is testament to the dictator's depravity.

Even as the Kremlin snivels that it is the victim of misinformation and faked images, more evidence emerges of its war crimes.

A mayor executed and dumped in a pit alongside her husband and son. A woman raped and murdered, her body desecrated with a swastika.

More torture, more mutilation, more mass graves. And these horrors are undoubtedly only the tip of the iceberg.

Not since the slaughter of thousands of men and boys at Srebrenica a quarter of a century ago has Europe seen atrocities on the scale of those orchestrated by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine

The world has reacted with revulsion. Rightly, Boris Johnson and Joe Biden have called for Putin to face justice. But, for now, that puts the cart in front of the horse.

There is no chance of the monster facing war crime charges unless Ukraine wins the conflict. For that to happen, Russia must be weakened further. That means giving President Zelensky the weapons he needs.

And it means ratcheting up economic sanctions to the crippling maximum.

Above all, Europe should ban imports of Putin's oil and gas. Yes, it will come at a cost, but those revenues fund his war machine and ultimately kill innocent Ukrainians.

Germany is resisting but it must be persuaded to back down.

The West, which Putin had dismissed as decadent and disunited, has showed admirable common purpose in facing down evil. For the sake of Ukraine, democracy and freedom, it must continue to do so.

End the energy mess

The war has exposed just what a dog's dinner successive governments have made of our domestic energy policy.

Blindly buying into green dogma has left us at the mercy of unreliable renewables and foreign regimes to provide fuel for heating, industry and motoring.

Downing Street's imminent energy strategy is a chance to put us firmly on a sensible path to self-sufficiency.

So the commitment to develop new North Sea oil and gas fields is long overdue, as is reconsidering fracking, which has been regulated into irrelevance.

Whatever they decide, ministers must stick to their guns. Deliberation and dawdling landed us in this mire in the first place.

So the commitment to develop new North Sea oil and gas fields is long overdue, as is reconsidering fracking, which has been regulated into irrelevance

Flying into ignominy

Since foreign travel was effectively banned, no industry was hit harder during the pandemic than the airlines.

But with restrictions lifted and families desperate for sunshine breaks, Easter was a perfect chance to claw back lost billions.

Unfortunately, they've botched it horribly. Foreseeable staff shortages forced carriers to cancel flights, leaving holidaymakers fuming in departure lounges. Some operators have jacked up prices to apparently deter customers  a curious business model!

The airline industry is supposed to be a jewel in our national crown. At present, it's a national embarrassment.

The airline industry is supposed to be a jewel in our national crown. At present, it's a national embarrassment

A victory for women

In a blast of refreshing common sense, the equalities watchdog says organisations such as gyms, hospitals and refuges can legally restrict services to a single sex.

This is a huge victory for women's rights, which trans activists have sought to erode by browbeating public bodies and firms.

New guidance should set a precedent for how to deal with this thorny issue.

Of course, transgender people deserve respect. But an obsession with inclusivity at all costs cannot ride roughshod over the privacy and safety of half the population.
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MPs have turned on airport bosses as passengers face huge queues, flight cancellations and baggage reclaim chaos ahead of their Easter getaways.

Blackley and Broughton MP Graham Stringer challenged the management at Manchester Airport to 'get a grip or get out after airline passengers faced huge queues on Monday. It was the third day in a row that the airport - the UK's third busiest - had significant delays.

There were also reports of travel chaos at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, as well as long delays at Dover and a train blockage in the Channel Tunnel.

EasyJet said it has cancelled around 60 flights to and from the UK on Tuesday after cancelling 62 flights on Monday due to high levels of staff absences. British Airways also grounded a total of 62 flights on Monday.

This follows a week of reported mass disruption with more than 1,100 flights cancelled throughout the UK.

In the week up to April 3 a total of 1,143 flights were cancelled from and to the UK compared with just 197 flights cancelled the same week in 2019.

The latest figures show British Airways cancelled 662 flights while easyJet axed 357 last week according to data from Cirium, who does aviation analysis.

But some of these figures are based on historical cancellations and were flights axed months ago while airlines have claimed they represent a small percentage of their total flights.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Mr Stringer, the former leader of Manchester Council and chairman of the airport board, said: 'Covid has made life difficult for everyone in the aviation industry.

'The way to respond to that is by good employment procedures and not by casualisation, effectively using fire and rehire.

'The airport needs to reset and pay above the market rate to stabilise the situation and give confidence to employees and the travelling public.'

Hundreds of passengers were seen queuing at Manchester Airport on Monday - the first day of the Easter holidays

Passengers have also reported chaos when they have attempted to reclaim their baggage at airports in England

Blackley and Broughton MP Graham Stringer challenged the management at Manchester Airport to 'get a grip or get out after airline passengers faced huge queues on Monday

On Monday, Manchester Airport chiefs apologised for 'falling short' following long delays over the weekend.

Meanwhile, pictures showed long queues at Heathrow, with airport bosses blaming a huge spike in passenger numbers. Heathrow chiefs say passenger numbers have now reached pre-pandemic levels, with Saturday being the first school holidays since the start of the pandemic with no travel restrictions in place in England.

Bosses at Gatwick also said passengers numbers were returning to 2019 levels at the Sussex airport and that while there were some check-in queues that it was generally 'coping well' with the increase in footfall.

Alongside high passenger numbers, experts have also warned that travel firms are facing a staffing crisis, with thousands said to have quit the industry in recent months.

One travel expert estimated that there had 'probably been more resignations in the last three months' than during the Covid crisis because staff were 'worn out'. Another warned disruption at airports such as Manchester could last for 'months', with firms having to train new staff to deal with the post-Covid increase in demand.

Bosses of the company behind Manchester Airport, which is in the same group as Stansted and East Midlands Airport, said it had seen a 1,300 percent increase increase in passenger numbers in February - compared to the previous year when the country was in lockdown.

Pictures taken at Manchester Airport on Monday showed long queues of people attempting to get through to security. Passengers also bemoaned a lack of organisation at the check-in, with long queues also seen at the check-in desk. In a tongue-in-cheek Twitter post, one frustrated traveller described a snaking queue at the airport as a world record attempt at the 'world's slowest, longest conga line'.

And at Birmingham, passengers said the situation had been 'hell' for holidaymakers, with one passenger claiming to have been stuck on a plane for three hours without moving.

To further add to the travel chaos, budget airline easyJet cancelled up to 100 flights due to Covid-enforced staff shortages. The airline has axed at least 222 trips axed since Friday.

BA also cancelled at least 115 flights to or from Heathrow Airport on Monday, although it is believed only five were last-minute cancellations caused by coronavirus-related staff shortages - meaning passengers would have been informed well in advance of the cancellation.

The total includes some flights axed due to last week's decision by the airline to reduce its schedule until the end of May to boost reliability, as well as routes suspended for several months because of the pandemic, such as those featuring several Asian destinations.

According to MailOnline's analysis, at least five BA flights to European destinations, including Paris, Marseille and Oslo, were cancelled from Heathrow Terminal 5 on Monday.

It comes after the west-London airport faced its own chaos last week, after a major BA IT meltdown forced the airline to cancel or delay hundreds of flights. Meanwhile, BA has been accused of raising prices to 'put off' customers, with return flights to some European destinations costing as much as 1,000.

Away from airports, drivers hoping to cross the Channel fared little better on Monday, with two-hour waits to get into the Port of Dover. Gridlocked traffic around Dover, poor conditions in the Channel and the suspension of P&O services caused delays of up to nine hours at the Kent port over the weekend.

Eurotunnel services, meanwhile, were also delayed by up to three hours due to a train that came to a halt in the Channel Tunnel. Passenger service Eurostar, which uses the same tunnel, also reported delays on its services, according to its website.

Airport disruption, meanwhile, is being blamed on Covid-enforced staff shortages, with Manchester Airport n Sunday saying it was exploring the possibility of bringing in short-term agency staff to help bring the chaos under control.

Though all Covid restrictions - as well as testing and self-isolation requirements - have been lifted in England, as many as 4.9 million people are now thought to be infected with the virus, according to the UK's biggest Covid surveillance scheme.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated more than 4.1 million people had the virus on any given day over the week to March 26, equivalent to one in 13 being infected.

Airline passengers reported huge queues at Manchester Airport - the UK's third busiest - for the third day in the row

Less than 24 hours after Manchester Airport bosses apologised for 'falling short' following long delays over the weekend, airline passengers again faced huge queues on Monday

Monday was the third day in a row that Manchester airport - the UK's third busiest - had significant delays, following long queues and chaos at departures over the weekend

Pictures showed long lines of people queuing for security on Monday, while passengers bemoaned a lack of organisation at check-in gates

Passengers said they faced 'absolute chaos' at Manchester Airport on Monday morning, with long queues at security (pictured)

Passengers posted video on social media of huge long queues at Manchester Airport. A Manchester Airport spokesperson admitted the service was short-staffed and said on Sunday: 'We apologise to passengers whose experience at Manchester Airport has fallen short of the standards they expected. 'As we recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, our whole industry is facing staff shortages and recruitment challenges. 'As a result we are advising customers that security queues may be longer than usual, and we encourage them to arrive at the earliest time recommended by their airline.

There was also reports of disruption at Heathrow Airport, which last week faced its own chaos after a major BA IT meltdown. Pictured: Queues at Heathrow Terminal 2 on Monday morning

There were also said to be delays at Gatwick Airport on Monday morning. Pictured here was a queue for a departures area at the Sussex airport

Meanwhile, drivers reported two-hour long waits for the Port of Dover (pictured: Queues on the M20 at Maidstone). Gridlocked traffic around Dover, poor conditions in the Channel and the suspension of P&O services caused delays of up to nine hours at the Kent port over the weekend

Passengers said they faced 'absolute chaos' at Manchester Airport on Monday, with long queues at security.

One passenger, sharing a picture of the queues, said: '5.30am and absolute chaos in Manchester Airport. No organisation whatsoever! Lots missing flights.'

Another, sharing a video, said: 'Manchester Airport. This is the current line for security at Terminal 2 this morning. What is happening?'.

Linn Glotta-Bogerud, arrived five hours early for her flight to Norway, but has managed to avoid the worst of the queues.

EasyJet cancels more than 220 flights due to Covid staff shortages to leave some passengers stranded amid airport chaos EasyJet has cancelled more than 220 flights, blaming the disruption on high levels of staff sickness due to Covid. At least 222 flights have been axed since Friday, including 62 that had been scheduled for Monday alone, the majority of which were cancelled at short notice on Saturday. Covid infection numbers are some of the highest they have been since the start of the pandemic. An EasyJet spokesperson said: 'As a result of the current high rates of Covid infections across Europe, like all businesses EasyJet is experiencing higher than usual levels of employee sickness. 'We have taken action to mitigate this through the rostering of additional standby crew this weekend, however, with the current levels of sickness we have also decided to make some cancellations in advance.' They said the focus was on 'consolidating flights where we have multiple frequencies so customers have more options to rebook their travel, often on the same day.' They added: 'Unfortunately it has been necessary to make some additional cancellations for today and tomorrow. 'We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to customers on affected flights. 'We have made 62 preemptive cancellations for flights to and from the UK for tomorrow which represents a small proportion tomorrow's total flying programme which was planned to be more than 1645 flights. 'We cancelled the majority of these yesterday.' Advertisement

She told MailOnline: 'I got here early after seeing the news about the queues. Now I'm just waiting around.

'This is definitely not what I expected. I arrived here at 10am, for a flight that leaves at 3.30pm.

'They don't open the gate until three hours before the flight leaves, so now I'm just waiting around, but some of the queues look crazy.

'There's a lot of security around but some of them don't seem to have much to do.'

Another, Howie Atkinson, 42, who is flying with his wife Gair and daughter Isla to Dubai.

He told MailOnline: 'Over the weekend a friend sent me a news story with a picture of the queues, so I changed it to an earlier one. The queues are massive, so I'm glad we're here early.'

Stephen O'Naill, 37 and Lee Moora, 34, flew to Manchester from Belfast on Saturday to see the Manchester United match.

Stephen said: 'We're with easyJet, who recommended we get here early. We're about seven hours early for our flight.

'We saw on Facebook that they've had 100s of flights canceled.'

It comes after shocking images showed huge disruption at Manchester Airport over the weekend.

On Twitter, one user posted on Sunday: 'Manchester Airport not ideal as it's so busy.

'Well done as it's organised and amazing staff are smiling through abuse and announcements etc...

'Gutted about our fast track passes and not being able to use them.'

A Manchester Airport spokesperson admitted the airport was short-staffed. In a statement on Sunday, a spokesperson said: 'We apologise to passengers whose experience at Manchester Airport has fallen short of the standards they expected.

'As we recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, our whole industry is facing staff shortages and recruitment challenges.

'As a result we are advising customers that security queues may be longer than usual, and we encourage them to arrive at the earliest time recommended by their airline.

'Due to the security checks and training associated with these roles, it takes time to for people to be able to start work in our operation

'That is why we are exploring a number of short-term measures to deliver the best possible service we can, such as the use of agency staff and different ways in which existing colleagues can support our operation.

'We are aware similar challenges are being faced by airlines and third parties, such as baggage handling agents, operating on our site.

'Together, we are working hard to deliver the best possible service we can in the circumstances, and to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.'

Airport insiders say the main challenge has been the 'rapid recovery' of international travel and that airports are 'struggling to scale our operations back up quickly enough to keep pace with demand'.

'New staff need to be vetted and trained so there is a bit of a lag time between appointing them and them starting work in our operation,' one told MailOnline.

Meanwhile, easyJet cancelled around 100 flights on Monday, including 62 from the UK. The budget airline said higher than usual levels of staff absence due to Covid was to blame.

EasyJet - which is one of Europe's biggest airlines - said the cancellations were a small part of its schedule on Monday, which is around 1,645 flights.

But it has left passengers facing long delays. One passenger, who was due to fly from Belfast Airport with easyJet on Monday morning, said on Twitter: 'First trip overseas since COVID. It's going well easyJet cancel flight at five hours notice.

'Result: A 10 hour delay and 2.00 am arrival in our hotel Now just been charged 14 for a pint and a G&T in the grimiest airport I've been in since the year dot. Sigh.'

A spokesperson for easyJet said: 'As a result of the current high rates of Covid infections across Europe, like all businesses, easyJet is experiencing higher than usual levels of employee sickness.

Meanwhile, BA cancelled at least half a dozen flights from Heathrow Terminal 5. Flights to Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Oslo and Krakow were among those cancelled. Pictured: Queues at Heathrow Terminal 2

One expert warned disruption at airports could last 'months', as travel firms desperately attempted to up their staffing levels to deal with an increase in demand for travel. Pictured: Queues at Heathrow Terminal 2

John Strickland, from JLS Consulting, an independent air travel consultancy firm, told BBC Radio 4: 'Certainly the next month of two is going to be very difficult.' Pictured: Queues at Heathrow Terminal 2

John Strickland said: 'We know that Manchester Airport has said that passengers should expect queues of one to two hours for the next several weeks while they undertake additional training. 'We know that airlines such as BA are recruiting additional cabin crew.' Pictured: Long queues at Heathrow Terminal 2

'BA has actually reduced down a number of its flights up until the end of May to recognise that way they can operate reliably,' said John Strickland. Pictured: Queues at Heathrow Terminal 2

BA cancelled at least half a dozen flights from Heathrow Terminal 5 on Monday. Flights to Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Oslo and Krakow were among those cancelled. Pictured: Queues at the BA check in desk at Terminal 5

Meanwhile, Birmingham Airport has been described as 'hell' by holidaymakers over the last few days. Pictured: Queues of people for security at Birmingham Airport

Thousands looking to jet off into the sun have been hit with flight and baggage delays. Those already at the Midlands airport warned others to arrive early or face missing flights. One passenger, Allie Mann, wrote on Twitter at 11.37am: 'Been sat on a plane at Birmingham Airport for over three hours due to there being no staff. Absolutely appalling.' Another holidaymaker travelling out of Birmingham Airport this morning has warned others about the delays. Rebecca Young, taking pictures of the queues, wrote on Twitter: 'Anyone travelling from Birmingham Airport today, give yourself plenty of time! Queues are absolutely ridiculous.'

'We have focused on consolidating flights where we have multiple frequencies so customers have more options to rebook their travel, often on the same day, and we expect to make similar levels of pre-emptive cancellations over the coming days, due to the ongoing high level of sickness.

'We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to customers on affected flights.

'We are contacting customers directly and providing them with their options which include rebooking onto an alternative flight, or receiving a voucher or full refund.'

Meanwhile, BA cancelled at least half a dozen flights from Heathrow Terminal 5 on Monday. Flights to Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Oslo and Krakow were among those cancelled.

Eurotunnel passengers face three-hour delays after train is halted in the Channel Tunnel Eurotunnel passengers face a three hour delay on Monday morning due a train being halted in the Channel Tunnel. Eurotunnel - the vehicle carrying railway tunnel that connects Folkestone with Coquelles beneath the English Channel - is reporting a three hour delay to services. The travel firm, which is separate from the passenger-only Eurostar service, said it was due to a train stopped in the tunnel. 'Due to a train stopped temporarily in the tunnel, our service is currently experiencing delays. Please check-in as planned. Apologies for this,' Eurotunnel said on Twitter. Passenger service Eurostar, which operates trains between London St Pancras and Europe, and which uses the same tunnels, also has delays, according to its website though has yet to post any updates on its Twitter page. A delay warning on its website says: 'Your train has been delayed because part of the track is temporarily closed in the Channel Tunnel. Speed restrictions are in place. We are sorry for the impact this may have on your plans.' Advertisement

The airline said: 'Aviation has been one of the industries worst hit by the pandemic, and airlines and airports are experiencing the same issues rebuilding their operations while managing the continuing impact of Covid.

'So while the vast majority of our flights continue to operate as planned, as a precaution we've slightly reduced our schedule between now and the end of May as we ramp back up.

'We've apologised to customers who are affected by this and to limit the inconvenience have re-booked them onto earlier or later flights on the same day they were originally due to travel where possible.

'We're also offering them the opportunity to book onto an alternative flight or request a full refund.'

Dave Dobson, 59, a psychotherapist from Chester, was one of those flying with BA on Monday. He said: 'I was warned through Booking.com that said there would be disruption.

'I am anxious, worried and constantly checking for updates. My bag drop is supposed to be in 50 minutes.

'I booked with BA because I had a voucher and because I wanted to fly to Linate airport which is closer to the centre of Milan. There has been no direct communication from them at all which is really not good enough.'

Ken Dickinson, 74, a retired solicitor from Whetherby, West Yorkshire, said: 'BA have been changing a lot of flights and when I look at my booking it says flights have been cancelled.

'It is ridiculous. They are not handling the situation well and have been very vague. There is no information or communication from them.'

A Heathrow spokesperson said: 'The Easter holiday is the first time where UK travel restrictions have been fully removed since the start of the pandemic and we are expecting passenger numbers, not seen since early March 2020.

'We have been preparing for this for many months, but like most airports we do anticipate that the travel experience may take slightly longer during peak periods.

'We are deploying extra colleagues across Heathrow, and we continue to work closely with all our airport partners to help ensure passengers get away as efficiently as possible.'

Meanwhile, Birmingham has been described as 'hell' by holidaymakers over the last few days.

Thousands looking to jet off into the sun have been hit with flight and baggage delays. Those already at the Midlands airport are warning others to arrive early or face missing flights.

One passenger, Allie Mann, wrote on Twitter at 11.37am today: 'Been sat on a plane at Birmingham Airport for over three hours due to there being no staff. Absolutely appalling.'

Another holidaymaker travelling out of Birmingham Airport this morning has warned others about the delays. Rebecca Young, taking pictures of the queues, wrote on Twitter: 'Anyone travelling from Birmingham Airport today, give yourself plenty of time! Queues are absolutely ridiculous.'

Gatwick meanwhile says it has also faced some disruption today, primarily at check-in desks. However Sam Caven, 47, who was flying to Gran Canaria described her journey as 'very smooth'.

Gatwick meanwhile said it also faced some disruption on Monday, primarily at check-in desks. However Sam Caven, 47, who was flying to Gran Canaria described her journey as 'very smooth'

A Gatwick Airport (pictured) spokesperson said: 'The terminals may be busy during peak periods, such as weekends and the Easter holidays, when we see the airport returning to 2019 levels, and Gatwick is advising passengers to arrive at the earliest time their airline allows to check-in - and to make sure they know what they can and cannot carry through security before arriving at the airport

A Gatwick (pictured) spokesperson said: 'Passengers are also reminded to check that their passports are still valid - and have enough time left on them for the country being visited  and to check the foreign travel advice for all countries they will visit, or pass through, well in advance of travel'

Bosses of the company behind Manchester Airport (pictured), which is in the same group as Stansted and East Midlands Airport, said it had seen a 1,300 percent increase increase in passenger numbers in February - compared to the previous year when the country was in lockdown.

Airport disruption, meanwhile, is being blamed on Covid-enforced staff shortages, with Manchester Airport (pictured) on Sunday saying it was exploring the possibility of bringing in short-term agency staff to help bring the chaos under control

A Manchester Airport (pictured) spokesperson admitted the airport was short-staffed. In a statement on Sunday, a spokesperson said: 'We apologise to passengers whose experience at Manchester Airport has fallen short of the standards they expected.'

She said: 'We only arrived half an hour early and it's been all good so far. EasyJet staff have been really helpful. It's been a smooth journey. Very smooth.'

While other customers said they had noticed a slight increase in passenger numbers at the airport today they were unconcerned.

Isabella Marmataai, 21, who was heading back home to Athens, added: 'It's all gone really smoothly. here's no delays so fingers crossed it stays that way. I'd say there's more people than usual but we always arrive super early anyway.'

A Gatwick Airport spokesperson said: 'The terminals may be busy during peak periods, such as weekends and the Easter holidays, when we see the airport returning to 2019 levels, and Gatwick is advising passengers to arrive at the earliest time their airline allows to check-in - and to make sure they know what they can and cannot carry through security before arriving at the airport.

'Passengers are also reminded to check that their passports are still valid - and have enough time left on them for the country being visited  and to check the foreign travel advice for all countries they will visit, or pass through, well in advance of travel.'

Meanwhile, bosses at Stansted have warned queues may be longer than usual. An estimated 1.3 million people will travel through Stansted over the school holidays, with 240,000 passengers expected over the four-day Easter weekend  compared to around only 8,000 in 2021.

Steve Griffiths, Stansted's managing director, said queues may be longer than passengers are used to and urged passengers to arrive in good time.

'The lifting of international travel restrictions has been extremely good news for passengers and the whole of the aviation industry following the most challenging two years in our history,' he said.

'While queues may be longer than people are used to at times, customers can definitely help us by arriving in good time.'

One expert warned disruption at airports could last 'months', as travel firms desperately attempted to up their staffing levels to deal with an increase in demand for travel.

John Strickland, from JLS Consulting, an independent air travel consultancy firm, told BBC Radio 4 on Monday: 'Certainly the next month of two is going to be very difficult.

'We know that Manchester Airport has said that passengers should expect queues of one to two hours for the next several weeks while they undertake additional training. We know that airlines such as BA are recruiting additional cabin crew.

Manchester Airport apologised for its services over the weekend after staff shortages led to hours of delays for passengers checking in

Large queues were reported at Manchester Airport on Sunday as the first April weekend got off to a difficult start

Alison Unwin, 60, also saw scores of uncollected bags in Manchester Airport - from flights which landed the day before - strewn around the reclaim hall in Terminal 3

On Twitter, one user posted on Sunday: 'Manchester Airport not ideal as it's so busy. Well done as it's organised and amazing staff are smiling through abuse and announcements etc... Gutted about our fast track passes and not being able to use them.' Those taking ferries to France have fared litter better. Some lorry drivers reported up to two hour delays in getting to the Port of Dover on Monday morning. One wrote on Twitter: 'Update almost two hours after entering Dover I'm almost at check in.'

Massive traffic queues were seen in Dover on Sunday as a shortage of ferry services meant severe delays for HGV drivers

'BA has actually reduced down a number of its flights up until the end of May to recognise that way they can operate reliably.'

Meanwhile, Paul Charles, CEO of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told MailOnline that a severe lack of staff was to blame.

He also said BA were putting up prices 'sharply' to act as a 'deterrent' to customers looking for an Easter getaway.

Research by MailOnline shows prices have risen as high as 1,000 for return flights to European destinations this Easter. One return flight with BA from London to Pathos in Cyprus from Thursday, April 7, to Thursday, April 14, is currently being priced at 1,086.

Travel experts say travel firms are suffering from wave of resignations from 'battle-weary' staff who worked during the pandemic Under pressure travel firms are suffering from a perfect storm of high passenger numbers and a recent wave of resignations from 'battle-weary staff'. The Travel Network Group chief executive, Gary Lewis, today said the travel industry had been struck by a recent wave of resignations of staff who had worked through the pandemic. He told Travel Weekly: 'The crisis is about existing people leaving because they've gone through two years of being battered. And those that have left aren't necessarily coming back.' Janice Hogarth, secretary of the Scottish Passenger Agents' Association, admitted it might be impossible to persuade some of those who have left the sector to return. She told the website: 'There are those who have just absolutely had enough. They are battle-weary, and I don't know if we'll ever get them back. They just feel they're not willing to [come back] at this point so it's how we go about attracting them.' Another expert today warned disruption at airports could last 'months', as travel firms desperately attempted to up their staffing levels to deal with an increase in demand for travel. John Strickland, from JLS Consulting, an independent air travel consultancy firm, told BBC Radio 4 today: 'Certainly the next month of two is going to be very difficult. 'We know that Manchester Airport has said that passengers should expect queues of one to two hours for the next several weeks while they undertake additional training. We know that airlines such as BA are recruiting additional cabin crew. Advertisement

He said: 'Like several airlines and airports, BA is suffering from a severe lack of staff due to Covid. Crews and pilots are having to isolate at home. This is having a major impact on its ability to run the frequency of flights it had planned.

'So BA is effectively putting up prices sharply to act as a deterrent so that it reduces the likely number of passengers who will be affected by future cancellations.

'If more crews return earlier than expected, then BA will be in the lucky position of having earned more per seat than it had forecasted for.

'The cocktail of problems for BA and other airlines is also deepened by the higher oil price and the resulting cost of fuel.

'It's an expensive time to be running an airline  all in a year when many of us in the sector were predicting a stronger bounceback post-Covid.

'Strong demand is there from consumers  but some airlines and airports are having major difficulties delivering anything like a decent quality of service.'

Meanwhile, The Travel Network Group chief executive, Gary Lewis, said the travel industry had been struck by a recent wave of resignations from 'battle-weary' staff who had worked through the pandemic.

He told Travel Weekly: 'The crisis is about existing people leaving because they've gone through two years of being battered. And those that have left aren't necessarily coming back.'

Janice Hogarth, secretary of the Scottish Passenger Agents' Association, admitted it might be impossible to persuade some of those who have left the sector to return.

She told the website: 'There are those who have just absolutely had enough. They are battle-weary, and I don't know if we'll ever get them back. They just feel they're not willing to [come back] at this point so it's how we go about attracting them.'

Away from airports, those taking ferries to France have fared litter better. Some lorry drivers reported up to two hour delays in getting to the Port of Dover on Monday morning. One wrote on Twitter: 'Update almost two hours after entering Dover I'm almost at check in.'

Gridlocked traffic at the Kent port, along with poor sea conditions in the Channel and the suspension of P&O services following its recent staffing row resulted in nine hour delays on Sunday.

The British Ports Association told The Times that it expected congestion to ease but that disruption would continue until the middle of the week.

Richard Ballantyne, head of the British Ports Association, told the BBC: 'Yesterday (Saturday) we were up to nine-hour queues outside the port.

'Traffic measures are in place, which... are working fairly well and it enables other people around east Kent and businesses, residents etc to move around freely.

'But [it is] not a good position if you're stuck in a vehicle for six to eight hours.'

To add to the chaos, Eurotunnel - a vehicle carrying railway tunnel that connects Folkestone with Coquelles beneath the English Channel - reported a three hour delay to services. The travel firm said it was due to a train stopped in the tunnel.

'Due to a train stopped temporarily in the tunnel, our service is currently experiencing delays. Please check-in as planned. Apologies for this,' Eurotunnel said on Twitter.

To add to the chaos, Eurotunnel - a vehicle carrying railway tunnel that connects Folkestone with Coquelles beneath the English Channel - reported a three hour delay to services. The travel firm said it was due to a train stopped in the tunnel

Passenger service Eurostar, which operates trains between London St Pancras and Europe, and which uses the same tunnels, also had delays, according to its website

Passenger service Eurostar, which operates trains between London St Pancras and Europe, and which uses the same tunnels, also had delays, according to its website.

A delay warning on its website said: 'Your train has been delayed because part of the track is temporarily closed in the Channel Tunnel.

Industry expert warns delays at airports could 'last for months' A travel industry expert has today warned disruption at airports could last 'months', as travel firms desperately attempted to up their staffing levels to deal with an increase in demand for travel. John Strickland, from JLS Consulting, an independent air travel consultancy firm, told BBC Radio 4 today: 'Certainly the next month of two is going to be very difficult. 'We know that Manchester Airport has said that passengers should expect queues of one to two hours for the next several weeks while they undertake additional training. 'We know that airlines such as BA are recruiting additional cabin crew. BA has actually reduced down a number of its flights up until the end of May to recognise that way they can operate reliably.' Advertisement

'Speed restrictions are in place. We are sorry for the impact this may have on your plans.'

It comes after video footage shared online also showed incredibly long queues at security at Manchester Airport, with bunched up passengers struggling to put their items into trays.

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.

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'.

The chaos at Manchester followed major disruption at Heathrow last week following an IT meltdown within BA.

More than 5,000 passengers, including those on long-haul flights, were impacted, with almost 1,000 flights either delayed or cancelled within a seven day period. BA said figure included any delay, including those caused by late passengers, as well as historic cancellations, such as on flights to Moscow or those removed from the schedule due to Covid's impact on the travel industry.

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)

Severe delays were also reported at Heathrow Airport on Saturday (pictured), with some passengers left waiting for over an hour on air bridge

It comes as the biggest Covid surveillance in the UK suggested that Covid is now more rife in England than at any other time during the virus crisis.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) last week estimated more than 4.1 million people had the virus on any given day over the week to March 26, equivalent to one in 13 being infected.

The figure is the highest ever recorded in England, topping the previous peak of 3.7m at the height of the Omicron wave in January. It is also 18 per cent higher than a fortnight ago.

In the most Covid-ridden towns of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, as many as one in nine people were thought to have the virus. And infections have soared to pandemic highs in all over-35s.

Britain's outbreak as a whole is also bigger than ever, with 4.9m now thought to be infected  up from 4.3m last week.

Statisticians said England's surge was being driven by the more transmissible version of Omicron, scientifically named BA. Although, ministers admit that ditching the final Covid restrictions last month also fueled the uptick.

Despite the mass testing project warning that cases show no signs of slowing yet, top scientists are hopeful that the worst may be over. Official numbers  reliant on people getting tested, as opposed to random swabbing  have been falling for a week, bolstering hopes that the virus was running out of steam.

Hospitalisations are still ticking upwards, but official figures suggest about half of admissions are now 'incidental'  when someone is admitted to hospital for something else such as a fall but then tests positive for Covid. NHS intensive care rates have barely budged, despite cases continuing to soar.

The record-breaking cases were revealed on the day England entered a 'new era' of the pandemic, with millions no longer able to get free Covid swabs to check whether they have the virus for the first time in a year.

Experts last week argued the timing of the end of free testing 'couldn't really be worse', and that the country would now have to rely on the public 'doing the right thing' and getting tested when unwell. A chorus of gloomy Government advisers last week issued a string of new warnings about the pressure on the health service.

But ministers have insisted it is the 'right' moment to scrap the mass-testing regime, which cost No10 up to 2bn-a-month. Only the most vulnerable and health care workers are still able to get free swabs.
Jason Thompson (pictured) said he is 'shattered' by the death of Mackenzie Anderson

The father of the man accused of murdering a young mother is 'shattered' after speaking to his son just hours before the tragedy.

Mackenzie Anderson, 21, died on the front grass of her home in suburban Newcastle on Friday night after she was allegedly stabbed more than 20 times.

Police allege Tyrone Thompson, 22, who had been in an on-and-off relationship with the single mother, fatally stabbed her. He has been charged with murder.

His father Jason told the Daily Telegraph both families were reeling from Ms Anderson's death.

'I've lost my son, I've lost his girlfriend, our whole family's shattered,' he said.

Police allege Tyrone Thompson (pictured left), 22, fatally stabbed Mackenzie Anderson (right), 21, at her home in Newcastle

Mr Thompson said he spoke to his son just two hours before the young mother died while he was with her, and the two were 'fine and dandy together'.

'It's a mystery what happened,' he said.

'There's nothing I can say (to Ms Anderson's family), words can't describe what we're going through. I'm shattered for them and so sorry for their loss.'

Thompson's brother Aidan said he only found out about her death and his brother's alleged involvement when a friend shared a post on Facebook.

On the day of Ms Anderson's death, it's understood she spent several hours drinking and socialising with Thompson

Old TikToks show Anderson and Thompson dancing together in a supermarket

In the days and hours before her horrific death on March 25, Ms Anderson showed friends messages from a former friend - unrelated to the man charged with her murder - who was threatening to kill her and her toddler son.

A distraught friend of the dead mother said Ms Anderson was genuinely living in fear right up until she died.

'We received calls from Mackenzie saying she was scared and very stressed... This was the same night [she died],' one friend recalled.

Ms Anderson sent follow up messages saying the person 'is looking for my son and me... and is going to shoot us'.

'He's got a gun, I've seen it,' she said.

In a separate message, Ms Anderson told her friends she would do whatever it took to protect her little boy from harm.

Then about 10pm on that Friday night, police allege Thompson, 22, stabbed her to death.

Thompson has been charged with Ms Anderson's murder. There is no suggestion he was the person sending threats to Ms Anderson.

Tyrone Thompson (pictured), 22, was arrested at the scene and the police allege he broke into Ms Anderson's home on Crebert Street and attacked her. He's been charged with her murder

Ms Anderson said she'd do whatever it took to protect her beloved little boy from harm

Friends said Ms Anderson and Thompson were in the early stages of rekindling their relationship after she separated from him months earlier.

Many of Ms Anderson's friends warned her to 'focus on herself and her son', but she told them she was in love.

Thompson had only been released from jail 16 days earlier for alleged domestic violence offences.

On the day of Ms Anderson's death, it's understood she spent several hours drinking and socialising with Thompson even though there was an Apprehended Violence Order in place between the pair.

He is reported to have left the home but returned some hours later, entering Ms Anderson's unit 'without her permission'.

Ms Anderson called cops to notify them that Thompson was breaching the AVO, but tragically, by the time they arrived - only minutes later - she had allegedly been stabbed 20 times and died at the scene.

Her two-year-old son was found nearby, unharmed but drenched in her blood.

Police said Thompson was still at the scene and had cuts and damage to his hands.

Thompson was charged with murder, enter with intent and breaching an apprehended domestic violence order

The boy's godmother revealed he is being cared for by family and getting lots of cuddles.

'He is safe,' Alice McEvoy said. 'He's asking for mumma but he's safe and getting lots of cuddles.'

Ms Anderson's mother Tabitha Acret, a dental hygienist in Newcastle, posted on Instagram about her daughter's tragic death and the 'sad new reality' the family faced.

'We tragically lost our beautiful little girl,' Ms Acret said. 'No parent should have to bury a child and this is sadly our new reality... It's been an overwhelming sadness that is in our hearts at the moment.'

The grieving mother said she hopes her daughter's memory will 'become a blessing' to live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved the 'bubbly, feisty' 21-year-old.

A police source told Daily Mail Australia Ms Anderson was clinging to life when officers arrived.

'She was still breathing,' the source said. She lost her fight for life within minutes of police arriving and was declared dead at the scene.

One traumatised friend said she was 'holding out to make sure her baby was going to be okay'.

'He was her world. She was such a great mama and that little boy changed everything for her.'
A female Ukrainian sniper known as 'Charcoal' has become a national hero after telling fighters on the front line, 'we must defeat these orcs'.

The sniper joined the Ukrainian marines in 2017 and has fought pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk, in the east of the country.

Although her true identity is unknown she has become a symbol of brave Ukrainian resistance against alleged war criminal Vladimir Putin's Russian invaders.

She issued a rallying call to Ukrainian troops on the front line, The Times reported.

Charcoal said: 'We must take them all out.

'These people are not human beings. Even the fascists were not as vile as these orcs. We must defeat them.'

A female Ukrainian sniper known as 'Charcoal' (pictured) has become a national hero after telling fighters on the front line, 'we must defeat these orcs'

In a rallying cry to Ukrainian troops she said: 'We must take them all out. We must defeat them'

Charcoal vowed to fight Putin's invaders 'to the very end'.

Although she initially quit the army in January this year, it was only a month before she was back among the ranks of the 35th infantry brigade of Rear Admiral Mykhailo Ostrogradsky.

The sharpshooter has drawn comparisons with legendary sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a Ukrainian nicknamed Lady Death after she killed 309 Nazis in WWII.

Pavlichenko is credited as being the most successful female sniper ever.

The sharpshooter has drawn comparisons with legendary sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko (pictured), a Ukrainian nicknamed Lady Death after she killed 309 Nazis in WWII

She was hailed as a hero of the Second World War after killing hundreds of Nazis

During the war her prowess with a rifle became legendary. Pavlichenko is now credited as being the most successful female sniper ever, with an astonishing 309 confirmed kills

The sniper excelled not just at shooting but also at all the fieldcraft associated with sniping

Her grisly achievement saw her not only being taken from the front line to meet all three Allied leaders  Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin  but also to receive her country's highest award, the Hero of the Soviet Union.

After the war, she would appear on postage stamps, while a feature film was made about her in 2015.

Ukraine's latest hope of a top sniper came as last week Russia's reknowned female sharpshooter Bagira, named after Rudyard Kipling's black panther in The Jungle Book, was reported captured.

Irina Starikova, 41, was taken by Ukrainian forces after being injured in fighting. The notorious mother of two was operating in the the separatist Donbas region and is said to have over 40 kills. Her fate is unknown.

The female Russian sniper Irina Starikova, 41, (pictured) with 40 kills to her name was reportedly captured in Ukraine after being wounded in a battle with Kyiv's forces

An elite female Russian sniper who killed 40-plus but has been captured by Ukrainians is seen in pictures relaxing between her kills (second right). It has been revealed today that she is married to 43-year-old Alexander Ogrenich - aka Gorynych (second left) - who claims to have killed 100 Ukrainians in fighting in the separatist Donbas region of the country

It also emerged she is married to 43-year-old Alexander Ogrenich - aka Gorynych (Slavic dragon) - who was on the run from Belarus, wanted for a string of convictions, and has previously served time in jail.

In the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, he headed a separatist 'intelligence unit' from around 2014, and claims to have killed over 100 Ukrainians in fighting.

It means that between them, the battle-hungry couple - that were recently pictured together relaxing 'between kills' - claim they have taken over 140 lives.
The Centers for Disease Control says it will carry out an independent audit after an outcry over repeated blunders during the COVID pandemic.

CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky sent an agency-wide email Monday announcing that James Macrae, an administrator at the Department of Health and Human Services, would lead the month-long review from April 11.

Walensky positioned the audit as a positive step that would help the CDC 'support the future of public health.'

But it comes after her agency, which has 13,000 staffers, was blasted over its slowness to develop a COVID test at the start of the pandemic.

The blame for that issue could be attributed to the Trump administration's initial head-in-the-sand approach to the pandemic, which came before Walensky's appointment.

But her tenure under Joe Biden has also been marred by scandals. The once-storied agency, which is based in Atlanta, was condemned for offering confusing guidance on COVID booster shots, masks quarantine and vaccines for children.

CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky, pictured, has announced an audit of the health agency after a series of COVID missteps

James Macrae, of the Department of Health and Human Services, will lead the audit from April 11

Walensky acknowledged the blunders in her email, writing: 'Never in its 75-year history has CDC had to make decisions so quickly, based on often limited, real-time, and evolving science.

'As weve challenged our state and local partners, we know that now is the time for CDC to integrate the lessons learned into a strategy for the future.'

The message, seen by The Washington Post, continued: 'Over the past year, I have heard from many of you that you would like to see CDC build on its rich history and modernize for the world around us.

'I am grateful for your efforts to lean into the hard work of transforming CDC for the better. I look forward to our collective efforts to position CDC, and the public health community, for greatest success in the future.'

During the early days of the COVID pandemic, the CDC was blasted over its failure to develop sufficient testing for the virus. A New Yorker is pictured testing himself in December 2021

The CDC has been blasted for confusing guidance on whether Americans should receive a second booster shot. Jerry Koch of Hines, Illinois, is pictured receiving his April 1

The agency also lifted most mask guidance for vaccinated people in summer 2021, only to recommend all Americans begin wearing masks again a few months later in response to variants

One outsider said the audit would not go far enough to address the agency's missteps, and told the Post that a far more drastic overhaul was needed.

Another official called for new legislation to sharpen the agency up.

The unnamed worker emailed the Post on the condition of anonymity, saying: 'It is NOT a bad thing, as covid has exposed some real weaknesses.

'I do think substantive change will require legislation, and I dont know if this Congress or the next will be capable of doing that.'

Three other senior CDC officials have been asked to gather feedback and suggestions internally.

The agency's headquarters are in Atlanta, pictured, where most of its 13,000 staff are based

They are acting principal deputy director Deb Houry, acting principal deputy director Robin Bailey and chief of staff Sherri Berger.

Earlier this month, the CDC stopped short of recommending that Americans over 50 receive a second COVID booster shot, despite the Biden administration authorizing the availability of such a shot.

The CDC said older Americans and those who are immunocompromised should get the shot, but stopped short of a recommendation.

Walensky further contradicted the White House by saying that those who'd benefit were aged 65 and up, or people aged 50 and older with underlying conditions.

And last summer the CDC recommended lifting mask mandates for Americans who'd had their COVID vaccine, only to advise Americans in high infections to begin wearing them again in high-risk settings regardless of vaccination status as the Delta and Omicron variants surged.
Elon Musk's mother has taken the Biden administration to task for sidelining her son, accusing the White House of being ignorant of his achievements and businesses.

On Monday, Maye Musk, 73, berated the U.S. government for failing to acknowledge SpaceX's latest launch on Friday - the firm's 150th.

Maye, who is a model, tweeted: 'Sharing this remarkable achievement with @JoeBiden @POTUS @VP @KamalaHarris who are completely unaware of the world's most advanced rockets and spacecraft.'

She added the hashtags: '#MadeInAmerica #JustSaySpacex.'

The company's Falcon 9 rocket delivered 40 spacecraft to orbit on Friday - SpaceX's fourth 'dedicated rideshare mission' and their 150th successful launch. The ridesharing program sees national space agencies like NASA and Germany's national space agency pay SpaceX to launch their satellites for them.

Musk, the 50-year-old founder of SpaceX and Tesla, has always had an antagonistic relationship with Joe Biden, given Biden's strong support for unions and Musk's refusal to allow his workforce to unionize.

At White House events promoting electric vehicles, Musk has been notable in his absence - something he has repeatedly joked about on Twitter.

Elon Musk is pictured with his mother Maye. On Monday she told Joe Biden and Kamala Harris they were blind to his achievements

SpaceX's Falcon 9 is seen lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center on Friday

It is not Maye's first time criticizing Biden for ignoring her son.

In November, after Biden visited GM's electric vehicle site - and told the CEO: 'You electrified the entire auto industry. You led' - Maye responded with laughing emojis.

Her son's Tesla holds 69.95 percent EV market share in the United States, a report last month found, with Nissan coming in at a distant second place with 8.51 percent.

'Biden's speech was written 20 years ago, just before GM killed the electric car,' Maye tweeted.

'His speechwriter uploaded the wrong file.'

Musk himself has joined in the mockery, tweeting on November 21: 'Let's see if we can get them to say the word 'Tesla'!'

Maye, 73, has frequently accused Biden and Harris of ignoring her son

The South African-born billionaire has frequently found himself at odds with the Biden administration, criticizing their policies on pandemic lockdowns, and taking issue with taxation in Democrat-run areas.

In October, Musk moved Tesla's headquarters from California to Texas.

Musk's mother's chiding of the Biden administration came as Musk was revealed to have bought a nine percent share in Twitter - making him the largest shareholder.

Twitter's founder, Jack Dorsey, only owns 2.25 percent.

Republican lawmakers praised Musk for protecting 'free speech' on Monday.

Congressman Lance Gooden, a Republican for Texas, who co-founded the Freedom From Big Tech Caucus, lauded Musk but said his purchase was a warning about the social media giant's 'power.'

'The fact that the world's richest man chose to outright buy Twitter rather than develop a new platform shows Twitter's monopoly power,' Gooden told DailyMail.com.

'I'm glad Elon Musk is stepping up to protect free speech, but Congress must act to put the rest of big tech in their place.'

Numerous Republicans have accused Twitter of 'censorship' including 'shadow banning,' which supposedly restricts a user's reach without their knowledge or appearing to do so.

Republican Study Committee Chair, Jim Banks, said on Monday: 'If [Elon Musk] can clean up Twitter and stop online censorship, I'm all for him taking over the whole damn thing.'

Republican Study Committee Chair Rep. Jim Banks was among the first elected officials to praise Musk's purchase

Pro-Trump Rep. Lauren Boebert demanded that Musk use his money invested in the company to push for a reversal of Donald Trump's permanent suspension

Another Trump ally, former Treasury Department official Monica Crowley, also sounded off

Anger at the platform spilled over when it permanently suspended Donald Trump's account early last year following the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Some Republicans now hope Musk will have enough sway to get the ex-president back on.

'Now that [Elon Musk] is Twitter's largest shareholder, it's time to lift the political censorship. Oh and BRING BACK TRUMP!' tweeted Lauren Boebert, the outspoken pro-Trump Colorado congresswoman.

Former Trump Treasury Department official Monica Crowley said: 'He should demand the end of political censorship, company-wide reform, and the reinstatement of President Trump.'

Rep. Lance Gooden (left) told DailyMail.com: 'I'm glad Elon Musk is stepping up to protect free speech, but Congress must act to put the rest of big tech in their place'

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked during her Monday press briefing if the billionaire's history with Biden would force the administration to recalibrate its digital strategy, which has so far relied heavily on Twitter.

'I expect we will continue to use Twitter, as you all will as well, I would expect,' Psaki answered while declining to comment on Musk's ownership specifically.

The world's richest man - worth an estimated $273 billion - bought nearly 73.5 million shares, a document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday shows.

It means the Tesla co-founder has more than quadruple the shares of Twitter's founder Jack Dorsey, who owns 2.25 percent.

His passive stake in the company is valued at up to $2.9 billion based on the stock's Friday close, and the estimated cost of the deal was $2.4 billion, according to the stock price on March 14 when he bought the shares.

The news prompted Twitter's stock to soar by more than 26 percent in pre-market trade before Wall Street opened on Monday, meaning his shares are now worth around $3.6 billion, earning him $1.2 billion in three weeks.

Elon Musk has become Twitter's largest shareholder, with a 9.2 per cent stake in the social media company

The news prompted Twitter's stock to soar by more than 26 per cent in pre-market trade before Wall Street opened on Monday

The world's richest man bought nearly 73.5 million shares, a document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission shows

Shares of other social media firms, including Meta Platforms and Snapchat owner Snap Inc, were also trading higher.

Musk's stake in Twitter is considered a passive investment, which means he is a long-term investor that's looking to minimize his buying and selling of the shares.

'We would expect this passive stake as just the start of broader conversations with the Twitter board/management that could ultimately lead to an active stake and a potential more aggressive ownership role of Twitter,' Dan Ives of WedBush Securities wrote in a client note early Monday.

Twitter's share price has rocketed since Musk's investment on March 14

Passive investment is a strategy for slowly building wealth by long-term ownership of stocks rather than engaging in frequent trading, which is often accompanies by additional fees and can be more volatile.

Ives also told CNBC: 'Musk could try to take a more aggressive stance here on Twitter.

'This eventually could lead to some sort of buyout.

'This makes sense given what Musk has at least been talking about, at least from a social media perspective.'

The shares are held by the Elon Musk Revocable Trust, of which he is the sole trustee.

On the same day as the filing of the SEC document, Musk challenged Vladimir Putin to a fight on Twitter and posted a meme about supporting current trends.

The mogul has been raising questions about the ability to communicate freely on Twitter, tweeting last month about free speech and the social media platform.

On the same day as the filing of the SEC document, Musk challenged Vladimir Putin to a fight on Twitter

The mogul has been raising questions about the ability to communicate freely on Twitter, and on March 26 he asked what should be done about Twitter's free speech principles and if a new platform is needed

A day earlier, he made a poll asking whether Twitter adheres to the principle of free speech, warning the results will be 'important'

'Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?' he tweeted.

He accompanied it with a poll on March 25, with 70 per cent of two million users responding that the platform does not adhere to free speech.

Musk said: 'The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.'

In a separate tweet, Musk said that he was 'giving serious thought' to creating a new social media platform.

Musk was responding to a Twitter user's question on whether he would consider building a social media platform consisting of an open source algorithm and one that would prioritize free speech and where propaganda was minimal.

Also last month, Musk asked a federal judge to nullify a subpoena from securities regulators and throw out a 2018 court agreement in which Musk had to have someone pre-approve his posts on Twitter.

US securities regulators said they had legal authority to subpoena Tesla and Musk about his tweets, and that Musk's move to throw out a 2018 court agreement that his tweets be pre-approved is not valid.

The entrepreneur is a frequent user of Twitter although his posts have occasionally landed him in hot water.

He has over 80 million followers on the site since joining in 2009 and has used the platform to make several announcements, including teasing a go-private deal for Tesla that landed him in regulatory scrutiny.

It means the Tesla co-founder has more than quadruple the shares of Twitter's founder Jack Dorsey (pictured), who owns 2.25 per cent

In 2018, the tech CEO was slammed after calling a British diver who helped rescue a group of Thai boys stuck in a cave a 'pedo'.

His Twitter posting has also led to accusations of stock manipulation, regularly sharing polls and information about his companies online.

In August 2018, he wrote that he was 'considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured,' a nod to Musk's well-known interest in marijuana.

The issue was, he didn't actually have funding secured - but the stock price soared at the time, and it was later revealed that Musk apparently wrote the tweet because he 'thought his girlfriend would 'find it funny.''

He later tweeted how 'high' the stock had gone later in 2019 when it did, in fact, hit $420 a share.

Musk's revelation about his stake in Twitter shares comes two days after Tesla Inc. posted lackluster first-quarter production numbers.

While the company delivered 310,000 vehicles in the period, the figure was slightly below expectations.

Musk has been selling his stake in Tesla since November, when he said he would offload 10 per cent of his holding in the electric-car maker. He has already sold $16.4 billion worth of shares since then.

Twitter was the target of activist investor Elliott Management Corp in 2020, when the hedge fund argued its then-boss and co-founder, Jack Dorsey, was paying too little attention to Twitter while also running Square.

Musk and Dorsey have had some common ground in terms of dismissing the so-called Web3, a vague term for a utopian version of the internet that is decentralized.

Musk is also the founder and CEO of SpaceX, and leads brain-chip startup Neuralink and infrastructure firm The Boring Company.

Dorsey resigned as Twitter CEO in November after 15 years at the helm.

He remains remains the CEO of Square Inc, the hugely successful financial payments company that he co-founded in 2010, and is the sixth largest shareholder in Twitter.
Anthony Albanese's landmark budget reply policy on aged care has unravelled just four days after it was announced.

Last Thursday evening the Labor leader pledged to have a registered nurse in every aged care facility for 24 hours a day within a year of being elected.

The policy was part of a $2.5billion plan to revolutionise aged care which also included improving food and supporting wage increases and was cheered by advocacy groups, unions and nurses sitting in the public gallery.

But in a radio interview on Monday, frontbencher Mark Dreyfus admitted the party may have to 'pause' the plan if there are not enough nurses.

'Well it might be that it turns out we've got to pause it,' he said.

Labor's budget-in-reply policy on aged care has unravelled just four days after it was announced. Pictured: Labor leader Anthony Albanese announcing the policy on Thursday

The policy was part of a $2.5billion plan to revolutionise aged care which also included improving food and supporting wage increases and was cheered by advocacy groups, unions and nurses (pictured clapping Mr Albanese on Thursday)

Minister for Aged Care Services Richard Colbeck said Labor had 'failed at the first test'.

The Aged Care Royal Commission recommended mandating 24/7 nurses in aged care homes by July 2024.

The Government supports this but Labor wants to bring the timeframe forward by a year.

Minister Colbeck says that speeding up the policy risks forcing aged care centres to close because they may not be able to find staff quickly enough.

When asked about the potential lack of staff by journalist Raf Epstein, shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus admitted Labor's policy may not work.

Pictured: A nurse in Sydney

'We're talking about setting the standard and if it is in fact true that there are not enough nurses in Australia to provide that level of care we should train more,' he said.

He added: 'I'm grappling with the practical concern that you are expressing that apparently the Prime Minister has expressed.

'Obviously if you've set the standard and there's just not staff there then that's something that's going to have to be looked at.

'But let's accept the royal commission's recommendation, let's say we need to have 24 hour nursing care in nursing homes, let's put the nursing back into nursing homes as my leader has said, let's get on with this.'

In a sign that Labor feared media criticism of the rollback, its operatives did not release a transcript of the interview.

Senator Colbeck said: 'At the first test of its policies, Labor has failed.

'Mark Dreyfus has admitted Labor would have to pause its promise of an earlier rollout of 24/7 nurses in aged care.

'It has ignored the advice of the Aged Care Royal Commission and claimed they would introduce 24/7 nurses a year ahead of schedule.

'Today, Mark Dreyfus conceded Labor couldn't do it if there are insufficient nurse numbers.

'The Morrison Government supports 24/7 nurses in aged care in the time frame recommended by the Royal Commission.

'Rolling out the strategy any sooner risks the closure of aged care facilities with a serious risk to residents.

'We are investing $3.9 billion in funding to support the increase in nursing and direct care minutes.'

A Labor spokesperson said: 'Labor's plan will make it mandatory for aged care homes to have a registered nurse on site 24 hours a day from July 2023.

'Labor's plan will put nurses back into nursing homes and we'll make aged care a place people want to work, knowing that they will be respected and valued for the important work they do in caring for our older citizens. And we will back higher wages to attract more workers to the sector.

'Labor will ensure limited flexibility provision in Government to ensure providers are not unfairly penalised where workforce supply issues limit their ability to meet this standard.

'Labor is also investing in Fee-Free TAFE and 20,000 more university places to minimise workforce shortages.'
Customers buy snacks displayed on shelves of a supermarket in Seoul in April, 2021. Yonhap



By Kim Jae-heun



Food manufacturers are expected to further increase the prices of their products amid a worsening global supply shortage of cooking oil, wheat and other raw materials due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to industry analysts, Tuesday. This will place a heavier financial burden on households here, which have been grappling with the fastest increase in food prices seen in decades.



The country's largest food company, CJ CheilJedang, already hiked the price of Hetbahn or cooked white rice by 7 percent to 8 percent starting on March 31. The company blamed the price hike on soaring costs of fuel and ingredients.



"There is continued pressure to increase the prices of other products besides Hetbahn. We cannot confirm what items they are and exactly when we will raise prices because there are so many variables including labor, logistics and packaging costs. We are watching the market closely, on a monthly basis," a CJ CheilJedang official said.



Short supplies of wheat around the world have also forced Lotte Confectionery to increase the prices of its chocolate and ice cream products by 13 percent to 25 percent. Starting this month, the confectionery firm will raise the prices on Pepero (chocolate-covered pretzel sticks), ABC Choco Cookies and Screw Bar (strawberry-flavored popsicles) by 200 won ($0.17).



"We just decided to increase the price of our confectionery products and retailers will adopt the new prices sometime this month. There won't be any additional price hikes for now, but things can change because no one can predict when the war in Ukraine will end," a Lotte Confectionery official said.



Crown and Haitai Confectionery & Food are considering further increases in their snack prices.



"We don't have plans to hike the prices of our products yet, but we are considering it as the price of raw materials and logistical and labor costs continue to increase," a Crown official said.



Last month, Nongshim also raised the price of its popular products like Shrimp Flavored Crackers and Honey Twist Snack by 6 percent. It was the company's first price hike in three years.



Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine has increased the price of soybean oil to a record high since 2008. Ukraine is the world's No.1 producer of sunflower seeds and the world's seventh-largest producer of canola oil. Russia and Ukraine also account for 29 percent of global wheat exports. Korea, which imports over 99 percent of wheat consumed locally, faces inevitable price hikes in every part of the food industry.


Kevin Mccarthy compared on Monday the images from the southern border to what is happening in Ukraine as it endured more than a month of attacks from Russia.

'Can you imagine kids going to school, but the schools being shut down because of another car chase from the cartels becoming more powerful?' McCarthy questioned during a press briefing on the border crisis.

'Have you watched some of the footage of what goes on just on the other side of the border?' he continued. 'Looks like it comes from Ukraine  burning of cars. That's directly across from this nation.'

The House minority leader explained that some border districts have had to close schools  in one instance for 40 days  because of shootouts happening from across the border.

McCarthy said the president can help quell the crisis by simply telling migrants not to come to the U.S., claiming that ever since the 2020 campaign Joe Biden has told all those seeking to come to the country illegally or legally that they are welcome.

He was joined on Monday by Republican border state representatives as well as ones who oversee committees on national security matters to discuss the impending end of Title 42.

The policy was enacted in March 2020 under former President Donald Trump to allow for the immediate expulsion of migrants without hearing asylum claims in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden continued and defended Title 42 in court since taking office, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Friday that it was bringing the policy to an end.

'Title 42 goes beyond just COVID itself, so there's a number of reasons why they should maintain it,' McCarthy said on Monday.

He also explained that the GOP is spearheading an effort to get legislation to the House floor by way of discharge petition that would stop Title 42 from ending until coronavirus pandemic restrictions end in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Monday that scenes from the southern border are like those from war-torn Ukraine, which has faced weeks of attack from Russia

Since Biden took office in January 2021, CBP has encountered more than 2.2 million migrants and the border  and that number could as much as triple with the end of Title 42

A new report revealed that the White House is also instructing federal immigration prosecutors to consider dismissing older cases of immigrants who are not public safety threats.

An internal memo issued on Monday to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prosecutors was obtained by BuzzFeed News, and details the latest effort from President Joe Biden's administration to reshape the immigration system.

The guidance was written by chief ICE attorney Kerry Doyle, a Biden appointee, was sent to prosecutors on Monday and represents another attempt by the agency to emphasize the discretion prosecutors have in court and lower the backlog of cases in immigration court.

'Prosecutorial discretion is an indispensable feature of any functioning legal system,' reads the new guidance, written by Biden appointed chief ICE attorney Kerry Doyle.

'The exercise of prosecutorial discretion, where appropriate, can preserve limited government resources, achieve just and fair outcomes in individual cases, and advance DHS's mission of administering and enforcing the immigration laws of the United States in a smart and sensible way that promotes public confidence,' Doyle wrote.

An ICE spokesperson reiterated, according to BuzzFeed, that the new memorandum allows for ICE attorneys to exercise prosecutorial discretion authority and claims it will help 'build public confidence in our immigration system.'

'Consistent with the enforcement guidance issued by Secretary Mayorkas, ICE focuses its civil immigration enforcement priorities on the apprehension and removal of non-citizens who pose a threat to our national security, public safety, and border security, consistent with all legal requirements and applicable court orders,' the ICE spokesperson said.

The memo explains various ways to prosecutors that they can exercise discretion, noting specifically that removing non-priority cases from the docket is ICE's preference.

McCarthy and other GOP lawmakers were briefed Monday by the National Border Patrol Council

The Biden administration sent a memo Monday to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prosecutors instructing them to consider dismissing older cases of immigrants who are not public safety threats. Pictured: Migrants expelled from the U.S. under Title 42 walk toward Mexico at the Paso del Norte International border bridge on April 1, 2022

In the fall, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas released new rules deprioritizing deportation of nonresident criminals that the administration feels are not a threat to public safety.

Former President Donald Trump's administration had a hard-line illegal immigration policy and treated every undocumented immigrant as a priority for arrest and deportation. Biden, on the other hand, wants to target immigrants he believes are 'public safety' threats, according to the memo to ICE.

Conservatives claim that Biden's new rules are preventing ICE agents and lawyers from doing their job to enforce immigration laws within the U.S.

The new guidance comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Friday that it is ending on May 23 the pandemic-era Title 42. This policy allowed for the instant deportation of migrants arriving at the border without hearing their asylum claims in the midst of the coronavirus health emergency.

Immigration advocacy groups and more progressive Democratic lawmakers have pressured the Biden administration to drop Title 42, claiming it is an inhumane practice that is no longer needed as COVID-era restrictions continue to loosen.

Experts have warned that once Title 42 is no longer in play, migration, which is already at record-breaking levels, could triple.

Some reports show that at least 170,000 migrants are waiting on the Mexico side of the border to immediately migrate and claim asylum at U.S. ports of entry by May 23.

Since Title 42 was put in place, more than a million migrants apprehended at the border have been rapidly expelled to Mexico or other countries, often within hours of being caught.

Since Biden took office in late January 2021, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has encountered more than 2.2 million migrants illegally crossing or claiming asylum at the southern border.

Migrants expelled from the U.S. and sent back to Mexico under the pandemic-era Title 42 policy, walk towards Mexico at the Paso del Norte International border bridge on April 1, 2022

From February 2021  the first full month of Biden's presidency  to the end of last Fiscal Year on the last day of September 2021, at least 1.44 million migrants were apprehended or encountered.

So far in Fiscal Year 2022, which started on October 1, 2021, encounters have reached 838,635.

The new ICE memo on Monday could possibly be a way to cut the growing court backlog, which has only been exacerbated over the last few years.

There are more than a million cases pending in immigration court, which officials claim is unsustainable as many take years to even be heard.

'[ICE] attorneys must be particularly mindful of the resource constraints under which we operate at a time when immigration courts docket toal (sic) over 1.5 million cases nationwide,' Doyle wrote in the memo, according to BuzzFeed. 'Sound prioritization of our litigation efforts through the appropriate use of prosecutorial discretion can preserve limited government resources.'
Hundreds of police officers, nurses, teachers and firefighters stood down for refusing to get Covid shots argue being unvaccinated is a disability.

About 250 workers plan to lodge complaints with the Australian Human Rights Commission this month demanding backpay or their jobs back.

Emergency service workers in Western Australia such as cops were required to have been vaccinated by December 31 last year.

Other such as teachers and supermarket workers had to get both jabs by January 31.

More than 250 Western Australian police officers, nurses, teachers and firefighters stood down for not being vaccinated against Covid are set to argue their unvaxxed status is a 'disability' (pictured freedom protesters in Perth)

But many workers refused to roll up their sleeves and were subsequently stood down or sacked.

Hotchkin Hanly Lawyers partner Mark Hemery said the first set of complaints would be lodged within two weeks and would focus on more than 80 healthcare workers, the West Australian reported.

Another round of complaints including from police, prison guards, firefighters, and teachers would then be launched later this month.

The group will argue their unvaccinated status is a 'disability' for which they are being discriminated against.

'That is why we are lodging disability discrimination complaints with the Human Rights Commission because it would provide a platform for those workers to seek re-instatement and back pay,' Mr Hemery said.

WA Police Senior Constable Ben Falconer already took legal action against the state's vaccine mandate in the Supreme Court after he was stood down last year.

He is seeking a judicial review of the mandate.

Emergency service workers such as cops were required to have been fully vaccinated by December 31 last year (pictured police at Perth Airport)

Mr Falconer, along with 27 other officers, were stood down with full pay in December last year.

His case was due to begin on March 29 but was adjourned after an affidavit by WA chief health office Andy Robertson in support of the mandate was withdrawn.

Mr Falconer hoped to use evidence from Flinders University Professor Nikolai Petrovsky to help his case.

Professor Petrovsky was a key witness in a New Zealand High Court case that resulted in vaccine mandates for police and defence being scrapped after it was found vaccination had little impact on slowing the spread of Omicron

Mr Hemery said other workers stood down over vaccine mandates were awaiting the outcome of Mr Falconer's case as their own applications for judicial reviews were on hold.
Russia is turning to 'dad's army' as it recruits volunteers up to the age of 60 to replace those killed in vicious fighting in Ukraine.

Desperate to get more tank commanders, snipers and engineers, retired soldiers have been asked to join the Russian Army in two Siberian cities as an estimated 15,000 of Putin's troops have died.

Russian media has reported that the Kremlin has called for former soldiers close to retirement to rejoin the military in Chelyabinsk and Tyumen as more tanks have been blown up by the Ukrainian army.

Already around 60,000 reservists, mainly from way outside Moscow, have been called to fight, according to The Times.

This is along with the young, between 18 and 27, inexperienced young conscripts, who serve for about a year, which now make up a quarter of Russia's army.

Russia says it is not deploying conscripts in Ukraine, while a total of 134,500 new conscripts have been drafted, though it has acknowledged a small number were mistakenly sent to fight.

NATO thinks 15,000 Russian troops have died so far and Ukraine puts the death toll at 18,300.

A Ukrainian serviceman walks past destroyed Russian tanks not far from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on April 3

Soldiers walk amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv

Mathieu Boulegue, a senior research fellow in Russian warfare at Chatham House, said: 'Conscripts are used to drive a truck from point A to point B.

'They are not destined for war-fighting operations . . . If they need someone to drive ammunition or medical supplies, that can be accomplished by a 60-year old.'

Mr Boulegue also wrote on the Defense Post that the Russian president's approval, currently at 80%, rating is unlikely to change as Vladimir Putin seeks to end the war 'on the cheap'.

He said: 'With the internal audience in mind, the Russian defense ministry therefore falsely declared mission accomplished on March 25.

'By announcing that initial objectives had been met, Russian forces can now arguably focus on liberating Donbas as a military priority.

'Yet Putin is lying his way out of a bad situation. It is nothing more than fabricated state propaganda aimed at internal face-saving.'

Most of the new recruits are said to be from ethnic minorities such as the republics of Kalmykia, Ingushetia and Dagestan, Ukrainian intelligence claims, while the West points to Russia taking in forces from Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two breakaway regions of Georgia.

Special Operations Forces destroyed a fuel tank the Russian Army needed, in an ambush, in April

Emily Ferris, a research fellow specialising in Russian affairs at the Royal United Services Institute, said Putin was relying on ethnic minorities because she says: 'It doesn't sit very well with most Russians to be engaging in urban warfare where you can see people you are battling are Slavic.

'In a lot of cases, the Ukrainians have families in both countries and they look very similar [to the Russians]'

Hundreds of battle-hardened Syrian mercenaries are also signing up to join Russian forces on the promise of earning $1,000-a-month.

While military conscripts in the Russian-backed Donbas region in Ukraine have been according to Reuters sent into front-line combat against Ukrainian troops with no training, little food and water, and inadequate weapons.

The new accounts of untrained and ill-equipped conscripts being deployed are a fresh indication of how stretched the military resources at the Kremlin's disposal are, over a month into a war that has seen Moscow's forces hobbled by logistical problems and held up by fierce Ukrainian resistance.

Some Donbas conscripts were given the highly dangerous mission of drawing enemy fire onto themselves so other units could identify the Ukrainian positions and bomb them, according to video testimony from a prisoner of war published by Ukrainian forces.

A woman walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday

After being pushed to the front line near the port of Mariupol - scene of the heaviest fighting in the war - a group of about 135 Donbas conscripts laid down their arms and refused to fight on, according to Veronika, the partner of a conscript, who said her husband was among them

Asked to comment about the treatment and low morale of the Donbass draftees, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was a question for the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), the self-proclaimed separatist entity in Donbas.

The Russian defence ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Victorian premier Dan Andrews has fired back at Scott Morrison after the Prime Minister urged premiers to ease hated Covid isolation rules.

Mr Morrison said the rule making close contacts quarantine for a week was redundant, and he was 'looking forward' to it being axed.

However he said the decision was out of his hands, and up to state premiers.

'We dont make those decisions at the commonwealth level. Its premiers who decide to shut cities down or open them up,' he said in Melbourne on Monday.

Mr Andrews quickly fired back at Morrison's comments on Tuesday.

'Its somebody elses job? No,' Mr Andrews said.

'National Cabinet  which is chaired by the Commonwealth  asked Australian Health Protection Principal Committee to have a look at this very issue.

Scott Morrison (Pictured in Melbourne on Monday) called for an end to the Covid close contact rule that's starving many businesses of staff - but said it was up to state governments to make the change

Dan Andrews (pictured) fired back at Scott Morrison's comments, saying: 'Im in the business of taking advice from the experts'

'They came back and said "not at this time".

'He has asked a question, on behalf of all of us, and he doesnt like the answer and that is apparently my fault,' Mr Andrews explained.

'If theres a quarrel between the Prime Minister and chief medical officer than I suggest he sorts that out.

'Im in the business of taking advice from the experts.'

The AHPCC advice to National Cabinet stated isolation and testing rules could be eased after the current wave of infections from the Omicron BA.2 subvariant had peaked, expected by mid-April 'in some jurisdictions'.

AHPPC advice recommends that in the place of isolating, close contacts should take rapid antigen tests, wear masks in public and avoid high-risk settings.

Isolation is still recommended for confirmed positive and asymptomatic cases.

Despite this, Victoria's government is concerned about how soon it could scrap the requirement, due to uncertainty about how high the BA.2 wave could peak - and exactly when that will happen.

Victorias Medical Research Minister, Jaala Pulford, said easing restrictions could 'prematurely' put the state's health system at risk.

'While the numbers are still going up around Australia with this current wave, and because we have not yet peaked, it would be a risk that [the chief officers are] not prepared to recommend the government makes,' Ms Pulford said on Monday.

Australian states and territories have been told to consider scrapping isolation requirements for close contacts (pictured, a masked woman in Queensland)

Meanwhile, in New South Wales, Health Minister Brad Hazzard said he wouldn't be advising the state government to relax its isolation rules at this stage of the pandemic amid fears people were becoming complacent.

'As Health Minister I wouldn't be rushing to recommend to government that we change our position currently on close contacts,' Mr Hazzard told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'Every day there are thousands of people who are confirmed positive and every day there are people dying.'

The health minister has previously stated he holds concerns around 'the failure of about 45 per cent of eligible people not having had a booster'.

The nations peak medical body, the AHPCC, said testing and isolation rules could be eased in jurisdictions that would see the peak of the latest wave of new cases in mid-April (pictured, testing in Sydney)

Earlier this month, the prime minister said Phase D of the pandemic would mean Australians lived alongside the virus as if it were the flu

Earlier this month, the prime minister said Phase D of the pandemic would mean Australians lived alongside the virus as if it were the flu.

'The other big change we talked about yesterday is getting rid of the close contact rule, which makes a lot of sense,' Mr Morrison said.

'It is important that we remove this close contact rule because it is starving businesses of staff, hospitals of staff.

'That rule is becoming, we believe as leaders, redundant, so we tasked the medical expert panel to say what your urgent advice is on this as soon as possible.

'We would like to say goodbye to that rule as quickly as we can.'
A recruiter has been sent death threats by unemployed Australians after he shared some of the worst resumes submitted to rort the system.

Superior People Recruitment director Graham Wynn said his company received countless bogus job applications from people on welfare who had no intention of working.

He said rorters were handing in dodgy resumes to meet requirements to apply for a large number of jobs in order to receive unemployment payments.

Anti-vaxxers, part-time university students, and unmotivated high school dropouts were among the welfare cheats he caught rorting the system.

An Australian recruiter has been horrifically abused online by unemployed workers after he shared some of the worst resumes those on welfare submitted to try and rort the system (pictured outside Centrelink office in Melbourne)

Some were deliberately applying for jobs they were underqualified for after seeing ads by the agency, which operates in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and New Zealand.

After sharing the dodgy applications and resumes, Mr Wynn came under attack by the Australian Unemployed Workers' Union, which called on its supporters to boycott his business.

'Such callous disregard for the welfare of the most vulnerable Australians is absolutely unacceptable,' the union said.

'When the government unveiled the 'Dobseeker' hotline, we predicted exactly this happening: scumbags taking the opportunity to hunt welfare recipients for sport.'

The AUWU called on its members to 'avoid using Superior People's service for their own safety' and suggested they email in if they felt their application were wrongly rejected.

Mr Wynn said he didn't regret speaking out about those trying to rort the system, even though he was targeted by trolls as a result.

'I've had some horrible emails and phone calls, people saying they wish I was dead, calling me the c-word and a lazy, fat slob,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'They're angry at the system, I understand that, but I didn't create the system. If you're not doing the wrong thing then nothing will happen.'

Superior People Recruitment Director Graham Wynn said his company received countless bogus job applications from those who had no intention of working. He told Daily Mail Australia after speaking out he's been cruelly trolled online

Mr Wynn said 20 per cent of applications sent to his recruitment agency came from people he accused of trying to cheat the system.

More than 2,000 applicants have been reported to authorities in as little as two months.

One resume contained six measly words - 'I don't have a resume atm,'

Another person wrote in their application: 'I am fulfilling my jobseeker requirements by applying for this role.'

Mr Wynn said his objective was to catch the small minority of people who were trying to rort the system.

'I'm trying to help those genuine people get work, for the union to tell people not to apply for jobs I'm advertising, isn't that counter productive?' he said.

'If there are people trying to find work they should be helping them. I don't understand their logic.'

The recruiter said only inappropriate resumes were being reported and it was then up to the authorities to penalise those who applied.

Anti-vaxxers, part-time university students and unmotivated high school dropouts are among the welfare cheats who have been caught out rorting the system to meet welfare requirements

'Not every person who gets reported gets penalised. There's only a small minority who abuse the system,' Mr Wynn said.

In another resume submitted one anti-vaxxer blamed their unemployment on the state government for mandating the vaccine and refused to receive 'an experiment (sic) drug'.

'I was a hard and honest 'essential worker' until the Victorian Government mandated that I should not work in Victoria without taking an experiment drug and relinquishing power over my own body,' it read.

'Meanwhile the federal government insist that there are no medical mandates in Australia.

'In order to maintain the measly amount that I receive in Centrelink, I must apply for 20 jobs per month, even though it is unlikely that an employer in Victoria could put me on. Sorry for wasting your time in advance.'

A fake resume submitted by another welfare cheat said he had 'made it 10th grade' and that he has 'absolutely no skills whatsoever'.

Some applicants deliberately applied for jobs they were underqualified for including a cleaner who asked for a Materials Engineer position.

The job required the applicant to have experience in laboratory testing and to be accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities.

A part-time university student said they currently had two casual jobs and could not accept another job or else they would lose their Centrelink payment

The applicant only had experience as a delivery driver and cleaning assistant.

Another person applied for a sheetmetal worker position, even though they only had experience working as a babysitter, cleaner and retail worker.

One applicant was applying for a customer service/administration role that required two years experience.

They simply wrote on their resume: 'Great communication skills. Customer service.'

Mr Wynn said the majority of bogus applications were being sent to his recruitment agency by young men.

'I would say the bulk of them are under 25s and under 26s generally,' he said.

'They are predominantly male rather than female, definitely under 30s for sure. The more mature ones we get are rarer.'

Mr Wynn said he was actively helping those on welfare who wanted a job but the small minority who were trying to rort the system needed to be reported (pictured Centrelink office in Sydney)

He noted one of the more frustrating groups were anti-vaxxers who had no valid health or religious excuse to get vaccinated.

Mr Wynn questioned whether they should be receiving taxpayer handouts.

'There are one who say, 'I refuse to be vaccinated', those against government mandates, conspiracy theorists,' he said.

'If you're not vaccinated, not for health or religious reasons, then seriously, you won't get a job. Should you be getting handouts?'

Mr Wynn said he's run his business for 12 years and has successfully helped Australians find work by offering free resume writing courses.

He said it was shocking to learn he'd been criticised for only trying to get more people into the workforce.
A man has been arrested and charged with murder over the death of Jessica Geddes, who was 27-years-old when she was found dead in late 2020.

Ms Geddes' body was found in a Haverstock Hill Close property in the outer Melbourne suburb of Endeavour Hills at around 7pm on November 6, 2020.

Victoria Police said a 28-year-old Queensland man was arrested in Nerang on the Gold Coast by Homicide Squad detectives on Tuesday.

'The man has been charged with murder and will face the Roma Street Magistrates' Court (Brisbane) this afternoon, where detectives will apply to have him extradited to Victoria,' a police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

Jessica Geddes (pictured) was 27-years-old when she was found dead in late 2020

'The parties were known to each other and police are not looking for anyone else at this time.'

Ms Geddes' mother Saasha Brimble was relieved to hear of the charges.

'I'm glad acknowledgement has been made after so long,' she told the Greater Dandenong Leader.

Ms Geddes died in Victoria after leaving her home state of Queensland.

'The moment she went down there, it became her nightmare, her absolute hell,' Ms Brimble said.

Ms Brimble said their family was a very close one and that it broke her when Ms Geddes moved to Victoria, leaving her daughter Arianna, now aged eight, behind.

She said it was completely out of character for her daughter to do that and that 'She left everything to go and be broken down there.'

Ms Geddes, who was secretive about where she lived in Victoria and had little contact with her child as her mobile phone was destroyed, was allegedly tortured and beaten.

She was allegedly hit in the head with a sledgehammer which caused her to be hospitalised for two weeks in 2019.

Saasha Brimble, Jessica Geddes' mother, and Arianna, Ms Geddes' daughter, say goodbye at her funeral

Ms Geddes was allegedly starved and was reportedly seen on the street begging people for money.

Her mum said when she left Queensland she weighed 81kg, but was just 31kg when she died.

'I don't know why she didn't come home, I now realise through counselling that she couldn't escape,' Ms Brimble said.
Feminist author Clementine Ford has settled with Nine after she sued her former employer and one of its editors for defamation.

Federal Court Justice Jayne Jagot on Tuesday awarded Ms Ford $39,000 in damages plus legal costs that are expected to total about $20,000 in a settlement.

Ms Ford was a star columnist for Fairfax newspapers, and Nine after it bought the company, until a dramatic falling out in January 2019.

Ford took legal action against Sydney Morning Herald and The Age and their executive editor Tory Maguire earlier this year over comments Maguire made to The Guardian's media column, Weekly Beast.

Tory Maguire has drawn criticism from outspoken feminist author, Clementine Ford

Maguire claimed she killed a story about Ford's new book after it was published because the well-known media personality allegedly made 'vile and personal' attacks on journalists and editors at the media group.

Last November, Ford was the subject of an interview for an article about her new book, 'How We Love', that was to be published in the Spectrum section of the Herald.

But Maguire pulled the write-up after it went live, claiming an error in communication was made in publishing the interview.

Clementine Ford has also copped flack for her comments disparaging others on Twitter, with one post saying that Covid was not 'killing men fast enough'

'Clementine Ford spent years making vile and personal attacks on the journalists and editors of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age after the mastheads stopped publishing her column,' Maguire explained to Weekly Beast in January.

'I had knocked back a pitch for an interview with her but there was a breakdown in communication and it was commissioned and published in error. I have pulled it from Spectrum and taken it down out of respect for my team.'

Maguire knocked back the interview idea 'but there was a breakdown in communication and it was commissioned and published in error', she said.

Ford then sued over the comments, with reputation specialist Rebekah Giles filing the lawsuit in the Federal Court.

Nine did not file a defence to the case and on Tuesday Ford welcomed the settlement.

'The entry of judgment in my favour today by consent represents an acceptance that the statement made by Tory Maguire about me and against me was false and defamatory, and I feel vindicated in this outcome,' she said.

In a statement, Nine said the company was 'pleased this matter has concluded'.
President Biden will send 10 ultra-powerful Switchblade 600 kamikaze drones to Ukraine as part of a newly-unveiled $300 million military assistance package.

The 50lb drones can fly 24 miles, 'loiter' above a target for 40 minutes before flying into them at 115mph and exploding using special armor-piercing warheads that can destroy a tank.

They're controlled by a tablet style device which can be pre-programmed or operated manually, Bloomberg reported.

News of the donation to Ukraine was announced by the Pentagon Friday, with the Switchblades set to be sourced directly from California-based manufacturer AeroVironment Inc, rather than taken from the US military's own stockpile.

The Switchblade 600s are separate from a $800 million package announced by the White House on March 16.

That included 100 of the less powerful Switchblade 300 series. They weigh just 5.5 pounds each, can fly about six miles and loiter over a target for up to 15 minutes before attacking at a speed of 100mph.

President Biden has agreed to send 10 tank-killing Switchblade 600 drones to Ukraine. An artist's image of one of the drones flying through the sky is pictured above

This is the moment a Switchblade 300 was deployed, with devastating consequences. The newly-unveiled 600 model packs an even more powerful punch

SOPHISTICATED SWITCHBLADES ARE EASY TO USE SWITCHBLADE 600 Can pierce armored vehicles Weighs 50lbs Hovers above targets for 40 minutes Can travel 25 miles Top speed of 115mph Can be aborted at the last minute SWITCHBLADE 300 Designed to kill people and passengers Weighs 5.5lbs Hovers above targets for 15 minutes Can travel 6 miles Top speed of 100mph Can be aborted at the last minute Can fit in a rucksack Costs $6,000 Advertisement

Both Switchblades have been likened to 'flying shotguns' and have been selected for use in Ukraine because of their ease of use and deployment, with the drones able to take off from portable tubes planted on the ground.

Switchblade 300s were first deployed in secret in Afghanistan in 2010 to fight the Taliban, and were deemed a huge success.

The development of the Switchblade 600 came in response to calls from GOP lawmakers, including Rep Ken Calvert, for an anti-armor model that can pierce the defenses of enemy hardware.

The lighter Switchblade 300 is intended to kill people in the open and passengers in a vehicle.

It weighs only 5.5lbs but can travel for six miles, hover for 15 minutes, and then dive down to a target at 100mph.

Both Switchblades are designed to be easily portable, fitting into a rucksack and fired from a tube set up in 10 minutes. They were chosen for their ease-of-use, and because prospective operators require comparatively little training before use.

They are also intended to be cost-efficient; a Switchblade 300 costs $6,000, versus a $150,000-a-time Hellfire missile, fired from a conventional Predator or Reaper drone.

An additional advantage of the Switchblade, AeroVironment say, is that the strike can be aborted seconds before the target is hit - unlike a Hellfire drone. Hellfires have infamously hit targets which later turned out to be innocent civilians.

The idea of sending Switchblades to Ukraine was first reported by NBC News. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on the US and NATO to impose a no-fly zone over his country, but has been met with resistance over fears doing so would trigger a direct conflict with Russia.

Horrific new details of Russia's faltering invasion of Ukraine have continued to emerge in recent days.

The bodies of 400 civilians were found in the town of Bucha, northwest of the capital Kyiv.

Many had had their hands tied behind their backs before being shot dead.

Meanwhile, one woman targeted by Russian soldiers was said to have been found with a swastika branded onto her skin.

The grim discovery was made after her dead body was found following her rape and murder.

Joe Biden on Tuesday called for Vladimir Putin to face a war crimes trial over the atrocities carried out at the hands of his soldiers.

Russia is now turning its attentions to the Ukrainian port of Odessa in an apparent attempt to leave the country land-locked.

The horror that was too much even for Ukraine's hero president: Emotional Zelensky has to compose himself and says he finds it 'difficult to talk' as he surveys the carnage at Bucha and condemns Russian 'genocide'

A visibly emotional Volodymyr Zelensky today stood motionless as he surveyed the scene of utter devastation he encountered in the town of Bucha, with dozens of bodies shot at close range lying on the empty streets.

The Ukrainian President appeared overwhelmed, admitting he found 'it very difficult to talk when you see what they've done here'.

On the streets of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, the bodies of civilians have been found scattered, many with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds and signs of torture, after Russian forces retreated from the area.

Ukraine and Western leaders have accused Russia of carrying out the massacre of civilians and dumping their bodies in mass graves, with one pit in Bucha containing at least 57 people.

Zelensky today said it had become harder for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia since Kyiv became aware of the scale of alleged atrocities carried out by Russian troops in Ukraine.

'These are war crimes and will be recognised by the world as genocide,' Zelenskiy said, wearing body armour and surrounded by military personnel.

'It's very difficult to talk when you see what they've done here,' he said. 'The longer the Russian Federation drags out the meeting process, the worse it is for them and for this situation and for this war.

'We know of thousands of people killed and tortured, with severed limbs, raped women and murdered children,' he said, adding that in Bucha and other towns in the Kyiv region 'dead people have been found in barrels, basements, strangled, tortured'.

Zelensky said that despite the horrific human suffering in Bucha, residents were chipping in together to make sure homeless animals were fed.

'That's a characteristic trait of our people, I think - treat animals the way you would treat humans,' he said. 'But you can see around what was done to this modern town. That's a characteristic of Russian soldiers  treat people worse than animals. That is real genocide, what you have seen here today.'

Ukraine's prosecutor-general said the bodies of 410 civilians, many with bound hands and close-range gunshot wounds, have been recovered from towns surrounding Kyiv after last week's withdrawal of Russian troops.

A mass grave containing the bodies of at least 20 civilians including a mayor and her family were uncovered in woodland near the town of Motzyhn, around 20 miles west of Bucha where another mass grave has been found.

The pit contains the bodies of local mayor Olga Sukhenko who was buried along with her husband and son, according to Ukraine's former ambassador to Austria Olexander Scherba.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

Broken: A visibly emotional President Volodymyr Zelensky today stood motionless as he surveyed the scene of utter devastation he encountered in the town of Bucha, with dozens of bodies shot at close range laying on the empty streets

The Ukrainian President appeared overwhelmed at seeing the carnage in the town, admitting he finds 'it very difficult to talk'

During his visit to Bucha today, Ukraine's President Zelensky said it had become harder for the country to negotiate with Russia since Kyiv became aware of the scale of alleged atrocities carried out by Russian troops in parts of Ukraine

'These are war crimes and will be recognised by the world as genocide,' Zelenskiy said, wearing body armour on his outing

Zelensky said that despite the human suffering, residents were chipping in together to make sure homeless animals were fed

'You can see around what was done to this modern town. That's a characteristic of Russian soldiers  treat people worse than animals. That is real genocide, what you have seen here today,' said President Zelensky, who was visibly emotional

A mass grave containing the bodies of at least 20 civilians including a mayor and her family was found near Motzyhn, 20 miles west of Bucha where another mass grave was found. Zelensky pictured speaking to military personnel in Bucha, near Kyiv

Communal workers carry body bags in the town of Bucha, not far from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Sunday

A Ukrainian policeman walks by a pit in the village of Motyzhyn, Ukraine, April 3, where the bodies of the mayor of the village, Olga Sukhenko, her husband and son and that of a man believed to be a Ukrainian serviceman, who was not yet identified, lie

Pictured: Black bags containing bodies of civilians, who according to residents were killed by Russian troops, are seen at the cemetery after being picked up from the streets before they are taken to the morgue, in Bucha, in Kyiv region of Ukraine

Volunteers unload bags containing bodies of civilians, who according to residents were killed by Russian army soldiers

The streets of Bucha were littered with the bodies of people (pictured) slain by Russian troops according to local residents

Family: The head of the village of Motyzhyn, Ms Sukhenko (pictured left) had been missing since March 25 when she was reported kidnapped by Russian forces, along with her husband Igor (pictured right) and son Alexander (pictured centre)

Pictured: A satellite image taken on March 31 shows the mass grave - a 45ft-long pit - dug behind the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints in Bucha, during the time that Russian forces were in control of the region

Ms Sukhenko's body had been rolled into the hastily-dug pit alongside at least 19 others including families, some of whom showed signs of torture. Sukhenko was found with her fingers and arms broken, according to the mayor of the nearby town of Kopyliv, while a resident of Motyzhyn said Russian soldiers killed any Ukrainian officials who refused to collaborate.

The mayor and her family had been reported by others as kidnapped by Russians on March 23 and taken in an unknown direction.

It is the second mass grave to be uncovered behind the backs of retreating Russian troops, after a 45ft pit containing the bodies of at least 57 civilians was uncovered in Bucha - a city on the outskirts of Kyiv where hundreds of civilians have been found dead.

The grave had been dug into a grassy area to the rear of the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints in Bucha with Serhii Kaplychnyi, head of the local rescue services, saying at least 57 civilians had been buried in the 45ft pit. Other officials put the total at nearer 300.

Satellite images taken on March 31, while Russian troops were still in control of the area, clearly show the existence of the grave - giving proof to the lie peddled by Moscow that it was dug by Ukrainian forces. Satellite firm Maxar said images taken as far back as March 10 show what appear to be preparations to construct the pit.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, said Russian troops had instigated a 'deliberate massacre' in Bucha and branded them 'worse than ISIS'. Photos from the ground showed bodies left to rot alongside roads, some of them with their hands tied, others piled on top of car tyres as if to be burned. Witnesses gave horrifying accounts of torture and rape by Putin's men.

Footage released by the Ukrainian military showed what appeared to be a 'torture chamber' in a building used as a barracks by Russian troops in Bucha. The bodies of civilians were lined up against a wall in the basement, kneeling, having been killed. At least one had been shot through the knee before being killed, the military said.

Civilian survivors said some bodies left on the streets had been run over by Russian tanks and 'squashed like animal skin rugs'. Others reported seeing soldiers shoot dead elderly civilians in front of their relatives.
A private school graduate found dead in prison while awaiting trial over an alleged plot to import 27kg of cocaine died an innocent man, according to his lawyers.

The legal firm which represented Bennet Schwartz until his death has reacted angrily to claims their client could have been found guilty based on two pictures of French bulldogs.

It has been reported the onetime Rio Tinto analyst came unstuck because police established a dog photographed on an encrypted phone was the same pet later found in Schwartz's home.

Police alleged Schwartz had taken a picture of his dog Louie with an encrypted ANOM device he also used to communicate about a cocaine importation.

Schwartz's lawyers say the phone with the French bulldog picture did not belong to Schwartz and the dog was not the same one photographed at his apartment.

The legal firm which represented private school graduate Bennet Schwartz when he was charged with helping to import 27kg of cocaine has reacted angrily to claims their client was guilty based on two pictures of French bulldogs. Schwartz was found dead in his prison cell

Police found a picture (left) of a French bulldog sent on an encrypted ANOM device they said could be linked to Bennet Schwartz. Investigators took a photograph (right) of a dog at the home of Bennet Schwarz and said it was the same animal pictured on the ANOM device

'Bennet died an innocent man,' said Joe Harb, principal lawyer at Sydney City Crime.

'Bennet indicated a not guilty plea to all counts before the court. Bennet was emphatic it was not his phone, not his dog and not his crime.'

Australian Federal Police alleged Schwartz could be linked to the cocaine importation through what they said was his use of an encrypted ANOM phone.

The AFP alleged Schwartz, who attended the prestigious Sydney Grammar, was communicating in April last year with accused drug kingpin Mostapha Baluch under the alias Anybreak.

They further alleged Anybreak used an ANOM device to send a picture of a French bulldog to someone on May 25.

Texts allegedly exchanged between accused cocaine kingpin Mostafa Baluch and Bennet Schwartz on encrypted messaging app ANOM in April last year were revealed in court documents

The messaging app was popular among criminals because it was thought to have impenetrable encryption that stopped conversations being monitored.

It was revealed in June last year that ANOM was being run by the FBI and that AFP investigators had access to all communications made using the devices.

When AFP officers secretly raided Schwartz's Double Bay home in August they did not find an ANOM handset but located other phones.

They also photographed a French bulldog called Louie at Schwartz's apartment which was said to be the animal in the May 25 picture. Tiles shown in the image were alleged to have been the same as flooring seen in the 34-year-old's home.

Schwartz's lawyers insist the two dogs are not the same. Confusing matters further, it is understood Schwartz had acquired a second French bulldog sometime last year.

Pictured: Bennet Schwartz being arrested outside his Rose Bay home in October last year. He was accused of smuggling drugs into the country but died in prison before facing trial

Accused drug kingpin Mostafa Baluch allegedly went on the run from police for 16 days after cutting off his ankle monitor. He is pictured at Bankstown Airport after his extradition from Queensland to NSW in November

Schwartz, who had previously served a prison sentence for drug smuggling, was arrested on October 30 last year and charged over his alleged involvement in importing 27kg of cocaine.

Bennet Schwartz: In and out of prison September 2016: Arrested for drug smuggling March 2020: Released from jail October 2021: Arrested for drug smuggling. Remanded February 18, 2022: Refused bail February 19, 2022: Found dead in jail Advertisement

AFP Superintendent Matthew Parsons said when Schwartz was arrested that police had information he had been in contact with Baluch, who had skipped bail on October 25.

Baluch was caught hiding in the back of a luxury car in a truck at the Queensland-NSW border on November 10, 16 days after he allegedly went on the run.

Meanwhile, Schwartz was in the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre at Silverwater where he was not receiving treatment for his significant mental health problems.

Court documents from 2018 show Schwartz had been targeted in prison during his first time in custody after he was wrongly accused of being a police informant.

He was the victim of extortion attempts and several attacks, including one involving a sandwich press, and released in March 2020.

Schwartz had been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and was suffering severe anxiety but did not see a psychiatrist or receive appropriate medication during his latest stint behind bars.

After four months in custody, and two days after his first brief visit from a psychologist, Schwartz made a last-ditch bail application in the Supreme Court on February 18.

Schwartz was accused of texting Baluch on the police-run encrypted messaging app ANOM while allegedly trying to smuggle 27kg of cocaine into Australia. The drugs were allegedly concealed in modelling clay (pictured)

Bail was refused and the next morning Schwartz was found dead in his cell.

Investigations into the circumstances surrounding his death are underway and a coronial inquest will be held.

Baluch is accused of taking part in an organised crime syndicate that conspired to import and distribute three tonnes of cocaine, potentially worth an estimated $900million.

With help from US authorities, 1.77 tonnes of cocaine was seized from vessels off the coast of Colombia in October 2020 and Ecuador in April 2021.
Palm Springs is to spend $200,000 on a guaranteed income scheme that only applies to the city's transgender and nonbinary residents.

The Californian city's council voted unanimously on Thursday in favor of the pilot scheme, which will give 20 residents between $600 and $900 a month for two years.

Council Member Christy Holstege, who backed the scheme, told The Los Angeles Times that she felt 'incredibly proud' of the city for coming down on 'the right side of history and supporting our trans and nonbinary, gender-nonconforming community.'

She tweeted: 'In the City of Palm Springs, we are proud to be a beacon of hope to the rest of the nation. Weve worked hard to build an inclusive community. Our latest proposes a guaranteed income pilot program for trans and non-binary people.'

Yet the mayor of Palm Springs, Lisa Middleton - who is herself transgender - said she did not think the scheme would succeed, but voted for it anyway.

Christy Holstege, a Palm Springs council member, introduced the pilot scheme for universal income

Lisa Middleton, mayor of Palm Springs, expressed concern about the pilot program

Palm Springs is known for being a welcoming community for LGBTQ+ people. Its 2021 pride parade is pictured

'My serious concern is the ability of these guaranteed income programs to scale up to the magnitude of the issues that are before us,' she said, despite voting in favor of the pilot program.

'I have been wrong many times,' said Middleton, the first transgender mayor in California.

'I could be wrong again on this one.'

On Monday night, Tucker Carlson discussed the pilot scheme on his Fox News show, and noted that Holstege herself admitted that it was a waste of money during the council meeting.

'The bureaucracies that we've set up to fund poverty programs and to staff them are probably much more expensive than giving the people the money who need it,' Holstege said.

Tucker Carlson on Monday night discussed the Palm Springs pilot program

Christy Holstege, who proposed the pilot scheme for a guaranteed income for trans residents, admitted that the bureaucracy involved in the plan would likely cost as much as the cash being distributed

Palm Springs hopes to use taxpayer funds for guaranteed income exclusively for transgender residents. That's... wrong. But it's part of a much bigger scheme. I explained on Tucker Carlson Tonight. pic.twitter.com/gfIq0xmNx4  Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) April 5, 2022

Yet others involved in the pilot project - which will compare the 20 receiving the guaranteed income with 20 who only have access to existing social services - said that it was a significant step forwards in meeting the community's needs.

Jacob Rostovsky, chief executive of Queer Works, who is also transgender, pointed out at Thursday's meeting that the transgender and nonbinary community is particularly vulnerable to unemployment, homelessness, discrimination and assault.

'This is a chance to help individuals receive money that we can think of as a subsidy  to subsidize the gap in income that the trans and nonbinary community faces due to having some of the highest levels of unemployment in this country,' said Rostovsky.

The Palm Springs experiment will be partially funded by the state, which has set aside $35 million for experiments in guaranteed income programs - something which became a hot topic when Andrew Yang ran for the 2020 presidential election on a platform that included universal basic income (UBI) of $1,000 a month for everyone over 18.

The mayor of Stockton, Michael Tubbs, launched a pilot program for UBI in 2019.

Compton is also trying a similar experiment, with 800 residents receiving between $300 and $600 a month to supplement their income.
This photo taken on March 28 shows SsangYong Motor's plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province / Newsis



Edison Motors Co. has appealed a court decision nullifying a restructuring plan for SsangYong Motor Co. following the collapse of the deal to acquire the debt-ridden carmaker due to its payment failure, a filing showed Tuesday.



Edison EV, an affiliate of Edison Motors, made the disclosure about the filing of the special appeal with the Supreme Court, seeking the court decision to be quashed and the case to be sent back to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court, according to the regulatory document filed Monday.



Last week, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court nullified the corporate rehabilitation plan for SsangYong, the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra Mahindra Ltd., after Edison Motors failed to meet the March 25 deadline to pay the remaining 274.3 billion won ($226.2 million).



"We believe SsangYong Motor will not be able to sign a takeover contract with a new buyer until the Supreme Court rules on the special appeal," an official from the Edison Motor consortium said.



"Considering that a top court decision takes at least 2-3 months, it will be difficult to proceed with the takeover within the deadline for the end of restructuring, with the Edison Motor consortium being excluded," the official said.



The court has set a new deadline for SsangYong to find a new owner and submit a new restructuring plan by May 1, as SsangYong called off the 304.8 billion-won takeover deal with Edison.



If submitted in time, the court will decide whether to approve the new restructuring plan by mid-October. The court-led rehabilitation process for SsangYong began on April 15, 2021.



The official stressed the Edison consortium will continue to pursue the acquisition of SsangYong by pulling in more investors.



Following the deal's collapse, Ssangbangwool Inc., a South Korean underwear maker, made public its intent to buy SsangYong by forming a consortium of its own.



Edison has filed for a court injunction seeking to retain its position as the preferred bidder for the SUV-focused carmaker and asking the court to place the initial 10 percent down payment under provisional attachment.



A consortium led by Edison signed the takeover deal with SsangYong in January, but Edison has had trouble raising funds for the takeover due largely to the loss-making Edison EV.



SsangYong's creditors and labor union also oppose the acquisition as they objected to the low debt payment ratio in the rehabilitation plan. (Yonhap)


Darpa, the US army's scientific wing, recently announced successful tests of what it called a HAWC missile (Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept)

UNITED STATES

The US military has a number of hypersonic weapons programs across the Navy, Army and Air Force but most are still in development phase and highly top secret.

However the known programs are all more conventional hypersonic weapons that strike from high altitude, rather than orbital bombardment systems that strike from space which the Chinese were revealed to have developed tis week.

The only US hypersonic weapon know to have been successfully tested is the Air Force's GM-183 ARRW which is designed to be launched from a large bomber aircraft.

It then accelerates to hypersonic speeds using of up to 15,345mph using a supersonic combustion ramjet to strike targets within 1,000 miles. Donald Trump refered to a 'super duper missile' while in office and this is believed to be the AGM-183 ARRW.

The Navy's submarine launched Long Range Hypersonic Weapon is expected to be operational by 2023 and will have a range of 1,725 miles.

Darpa, the US army's scientific wing, recently announced successful tests of what it called a HAWC missile (Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept) but kept details such as range, speed and payload secret.

The missile uses oxygen in the atmosphere as part of its fuel - marking the first successful test of that class of weapon since 2013.

The missile, which is built by Raytheon, was released from an aircraft just 'seconds' before the scramjet engine from Northrop Grumman kicked on, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said.

The engine works by compressing incoming air with hydrocarbon fuel to create a fast airflow mixture, one capable of reaching over 1,700 meters per second, or five times the speed of sound.

Earlier this year, a test of a hypersonic missile from the U.S. Air Force was abandoned after it was unable to complete its launch sequence.

On March 19 last year, the Pentagon flight-tested a hypersonic glide vehicle at its Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. It deemed the test a success and 'a major milestone towards the department's goal of fielding hypersonic warfighting capabilities in the early- to mid-2020s.'

Unlike Russia, the United States says it is not developing hypersonic weapons for use with a nuclear warhead. As a result, a U.S. hypersonic weapon will need to be more accurate, posing additional technical challenges.

In 2004, NASA's experimental unmanned hypersonic aircraft X-43 reached 7,366mph (Mach 9.6) using a scramjet engine, setting the current record.

In 2019, DailyMail.com reported that the Raytheon and Northrop Grumman-developed missile would use an engine made by a 3D printer.

Last year, DARPA said it was working with Aerojet Rocketdyne on a nearly $20 million project to develop a hypersonic rocket that could intercept enemy missiles mid-air.

Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine and has the hypersonic nuclear-capable Avangard missiles

RUSSIA

Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine, and since late 2019 has had the hypersonic nuclear-capable Avangard missiles in service. The Avangard can travel at up to Mach 27, changing course and altitude.

The range of Russia's hypersonic missile, the Zircon, is 621 miles with a speed of 9,800mph.

But the missile flies below the atmosphere and uses fuel to power itself to hypersonic speeds rather than the Earth's orbit.

Earlier this month, Russia announced it has successfully test-fired the Zircon from a nuclear submarine for the first time.

The 6,670mph weapon hit a target in the Barents Sea according to the Moscow defence ministry, who claims the missile is capable of Mach-9 speeds and able to evade all Western defences.

Russia said it had completed flight tests of the new-age missile from a frigate - the Admiral Gorshkov - and a coastal mount, but it had not previously been launched from a submarine.

The Zircon has been identified by Moscow's state-controlled TV as Vladimir Putin's weapon of choice to wipe out coastal American cities in the event of an atomic conflict.

He has declared the missile as 'truly unparalleled anywhere in the world', and the Russians have boasted it is 'unstoppable' by Western defences.

Putin first announced the development of an array of new hypersonic weapons in 2018, insisting that they would be able to hit almost any point in the world and evade a US-built missile shield.

The Zircon is due to go into service next year, and will first be deployed via the Admiral Golovko frigate which carries significant stealth-technology.

A key use of the missile is taking out enemy ships and reports suggested its maximum range is between 188 and 620 miles.

But there have been unconfirmed reports its true range is some 1,200 miles.

The missile system's design and development have been conducted in deep secrecy, and Putin has warned that foreign spies have tried to steal its secrets.

It is one of a number of hypersonic missiles Russia is deploying including the 188-tonne Sarmat - known in the West as Satan-2 - which will be the biggest beast in Russia's nuclear arsenal, due for tests in the autumn with deployment slated for next year.

In May, Russia said it tested three 'invincible' hypersonic 'Satan 2' missiles that some have said could wipe out areas the size of England and Wales.

China launched the dummy weapon into space on board a Long March 2C rocket (pictured) during a test in mid-August which it did not disclose at the time and was only revealed at the weekend by security analysts assigned to work out its purpose

CHINA

The hypersonic orbital bombardment system that China tested in August reportedly reaches a top speed of 21,000 mph and strikes from space.

The core concept of China's 'new' weapon - deliver a warhead into orbit and have it circle the globe before hitting a target - was first developed by the Soviets in the 1960s.

Called a Fractional Orbital Bombardment System, or FOBS, it was developed to evade powerful US radar arrays and missile defence systems.

Those systems work by detecting launches of ICBMs - very long-range missiles that can be tipped with nukes - and tracking them into space, then firing at the warheads as they come down in the hope of blowing them up before they hit their targets.

This is possible because ICBMs and their warheads follow a predictable trajectory that rises high into space - making them relatively easy to spot and allowing defence crews to calculate where they are aimed so they can be shot out of the sky.

FOBS aim to negate these defences by firing their warheads along a much-flatter trajectory - assisted by Earth's gravity.

This means they pass under the scope of many radar detection arrays and are harder to track. It also makes the warheads much harder to shoot down because their trajectory is harder to calculate.

The use of orbit makes a warhead's range potentially unlimited, meaning it can be fired at its target from any direction. This helps to avoid radar systems which generally point at a fixed spot in the sky - in America's case, over the North Pole.

Meanwhile, China has also unveiled a hypersonic medium-range missile, the DF-17, in 2019, which can travel around 2,000 kilometres and can carry nuclear warheads.

In October, China deployed the DF 17 missile to coastal areas in preparation for a possible invasion of Taiwan.

The weapon has a maximum range of 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles) and is capable of achieving speeds of up to 7,680 miles per hour (12,360 kph) - or 10 times the speed of sound - while carrying a nuclear warhead, according to previous reports.

It has been billed as 'a death sentence' to aircraft carriers within its range.

Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound in the upper atmosphere - or about 6,200 km per hour (3,850 mph). This is slower than an intercontinental ballistic missile, but the shape of a hypersonic glide vehicle allows it to manoeuvre toward a target or away from defences.

Combining a glide vehicle with a missile that can launch it partially into orbit - a so-called fractional orbital bombardment system (FOBS) - could strip adversaries of reaction time and traditional defences mechanisms.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), by contrast, carry nuclear warheads on ballistic trajectories that travel into space but never reach orbit.

China on Monday insisted that the test in August was a routine one for a spacecraft rather than a missile.
TV star Jodi Gordon has scored a new gig as an ambassador for a top Sydney hair salon - just days after she was found with bruises on her eye, mouth and head following an alleged domestic dispute with her boyfriend.

Gordon, 37, and Sebastian Blackler, 31, were hit with AVOs against each other after police were called to a bed and breakfast where they were staying in Kurrajong Heights, north-west of Sydney, early on Sunday morning.

Mr Blackler had bruising on his left eye and alleged to police that the former Neighbours and Home and Away actress 'hit him with a wine bottle', but he refused to make a formal statement.

The troubled star told police she obtained her injuries when she 'fell against the counter', despite officers saying her wounds were days old.

But on Tuesday morning, Gordon was pictured for the first time since the alleged incident when she was announced in an Instagram post as the new ambassador for luxury salon Cole Hair Studio.

Jodi Gordon was pictured on Instagram for the first time (above) since the alleged incident with her boyfriend

Jodi Gordon shows off her fresh caramel beach waves (pictured) in an Instagram post by Cole Hair Studio

Cole Hair Studio announced on Tuesday morning that Jodi Gordon would be the salon's ambassador (post pictured)

She appeared fresh-faced during a visit to the salon with no clear signs of injury, though it is not known whether the photos were taken before or after the incident.

'Introducing our newest #colehair ambassador @JodiGordan looking stunning, as always,' the salon wrote on Tuesday morning, below two images of the 37-year-old with a fresh head of caramel beach waves.

Cole Hair Studio would not comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Gordon for comment.

Following the alleged dispute on Sunday, AVO documents obtained by The Australian newspaper allege Gordon was 'well affected by intoxicating liquor' and told police she 'fell against the counter'.

Jodi Gordon (left) split with Mr Blackler (right) in May last year, but the pair reportedly rekindled their relationship in February

Police were called to a bed and breakfast on Sunday morning following reports of a domestic dispute between Jodi Gordon (pictured) and her boyfriend Sebastian Blackler

'Police fear domestic assaults are occurring between the parties with Gordon's consumption of intoxicating liquor exacerbating the violence,' they said.

'There is clearly domestic violence occurring between the parties [but they] are reluctant to disclose how the injuries have been sustained.'

Officers took out a restraining order against Gordon on Sunday morning on behalf of Mr Blackler.

Mr Blackler, a portfolio manager at a wealth management firm in Sydney, was also issued with an AVO over the same alleged incident.

Police would not provide a statement when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.

The former couple broke up in May 2021, but are understood to have rekindled their relationship in February.

The 37-year-old Home and Away and Neighbours alumni has been in a 'tumultuous on-off relationship' with 31-year-old banker Sebastian Blackler since November 2020

Court orders state the pair must not must not assault or threaten stalk, harass or intimidate each other.

They are also prohibited from intentionally or recklessly destroy or damage any property or harm an animal the other person owns.

Gordon's order also bars her from being in Mr Blackler's company for at least 12 hours after drinking alcohol or taking illicit drugs.

Both parties will both face Windsor Local Court on April 21.

It was not the first time police have taken out an AVO against Mr Blackler on Gordon's behalf.

Australian actress Jodi Gordon (pictured) and her ex-boyfriend Sebastian Blackler have each been issued with AVOs against each other

Police were called to Ms Gordon's Double Bay apartment, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, on November 27, 2020, over reports of an alleged domestic violence incident.

Officers subsequently took out an interim AVO to prevent Mr Blackler from assaulting, threatening, stalking, harassing or intimidating Gordon

The following month, a court order was issued banning Mr Blackler from assaulting or threatening, stalking, harassing or intimidating Gordon.

The order expired at the end of 2021.

Gordon, who played Martha MacKenzie on Home and Away from 2005 to 2010, shares daughter Aleeia with her ex-husband, former NRL star Braith Anasta.

The former couple married in 2012, welcomed their daughter in 2014, and separated a year later.
Four more protesters arrested after blocking a Sydney road can expect the state to 'throw the book' at them.

The warning from NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is unlikely to deter the protesters, who have already promised to continue their campaign, despite the increased penalties and expanded reach of new laws that passed parliament last Friday.

Mr Perrottet hopes they will change their mind once they are facing two years' jail or a $22,000 fine.

'This type of behaviour needs to stop,' the premier said on Tuesday.

Four protesters have been arrested after blocking traffic in Sydney's south, with NSW premier Dominic Perrottet threatening to 'throw the book' at them

His government respects and promotes free speech, Mr Perrottet said, but people must exercise their right to protest responsibly.

'Don't do it at the expense of people trying to get to and from work, trying to get their kids to school, stopping people earning a living and a wage - that's what these protests are doing,' Mr Perrottet said.

He warned activists they risked alienating the public and losing support for their cause.

That much was apparent on Tuesday morning shortly before four Fireproof Australia protesters were arrested after blocking traffic on General Holmes Drive at Brighton-Le-Sands in Sydney's south.

'F***ing move, I've got to get to work,' one man said, before attempting to drag one of the women protesting off the road.

His intervention came seconds after two other drivers had spoken to the group.

'I understand where you're coming from but can you just open up one lane so the people who need to get through can get through?' The driver of a BMW SUV asked the blockading protesters in footage shared by Fireproof Australia.

'You're not making any friends by stopping people getting through, you're not getting any support,' another said.

The warning from NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet (pictured) is unlikely to deter the protesters, who have already promised to continue their campaign. Mr Perrottet hopes they will change their mind once they are facing two years' jail or a $22,000 fine

The group's 'basic demands' are to 'immediately re-home flood and bushfire survivors' and implement recommendations of the royal commission into the Black Summer bushfires

The group's 'three basic demands' are to 'immediately re-home flood and bushfire survivors', implement recommendations of the royal commission into the Black Summer bushfires including securing an Australian-based aerial firefighting fleet, and to 'smoke-proof' schools, aged care and disability facilities.

Fireproof Australia spokeswoman Bonnie Cassen said the new laws are not protesters' primary cause of concern.

'We're more scared of what will happen when the climate crisis causes the breakdown of law and order than we are of fines and prison,' Ms Cassen said.

Blockade Australia spokesman Greg Rolles similarly told AAP on Monday the new laws are not dissuading blockading protesters.

The blockades are the product of decades of 'every other kind of protest' not achieving results, Mr Rolles told AAP.

NSW Police confirmed four people had been arrested but are yet to be charged.
The founders of Fishbowl, one of Australia's most popular fast-food chains, have told how they went from being university students to the owners of a brand worth $60million.

Nic Pestalozzi, Casper Ettleson and Nathan Dalah opened their first restaurant in Bondi, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, back in 2016.

In five years, the fast-food chain - which specialises in made-to-order Japanese-style salads - has become an empire set to make $60million in revenue in 2022.

Mr Pestalozzi, who met his co-founders at university, said the inspiration for the franchise came following a personal struggle to find healthier options on the go.

Moneyed up mates: Nathan Dalah, Casper Ettleson and Nic Pestalozzi, (pictured left to right) opened their first Fishbowl restaurant in Bondi, in Sydney's eastern suburbs back in 2016

The trio threw caution to the wind when they decided to open their first store in Bondi and had known little about the challenges they would face during the Covid pandemic

The Fishbowl founders have revealed how they went from being university students to the owners of a brand worth millions (pictured is a Japanese-style salad from the eatery)

He said the trio had thrown caution to the wind when deciding to open their first store in Bondi and had known little about the challenges they would face.

'But we were young and ambitious and we knew we didnt want to work for anyone else. And it was a fun excuse to get out of university,' he told the Daily Telegraph.

The popular Japanese-style salads come with a choice of salmon, chicken or tofu on a bed cabbage, carrot and shallots.

Diners can pick from a choice of bases - including brown or sushi rice, mixed leaves, glass noodles or cabbage. Each bowl comes topped with roast sesame dressing, crispy shallots and wasabi peas.

For extra toppings, customers can add more ingredients at an additional cost - including 50 cent edamame, $2 avocado, $1 seaweed salad and more.

The company now employs up to 450 staff with plans to launch 12 new stores, bringing the total number of Fishbowl experiences to 40 across three states.

The team recently launched a new restaurant in Cronulla in Sydney's south, with dreams of opening two stores in Queensland this year.

Mr Pestalozzi told the Daily Telegraph the success of the cult eatery came from remaining unpretentious, and never preaching like a health food store.

Mr Pestalozzi said he and his co-founders have remained humble throughout their success and still don't count themselves as having 'made it' five years later.

The company now employs up to 450 staff with plans to launch 12 new stores, bringing the total number of Fishbowl experiences to 40 across Sydney, Victoria and Queensland

His co-founder Nathan Dalah welcomed a baby with Australian supermodel Georgia Fowler, 29, in September, a daughter the couple have named Dylan (pictured is the couple)

'A lot of the time our salads are quicker to make than a burger,' he said.

'It's had a bad reputation for so long, but fast food can still be good food. We are happy to change what fast food means.'

His co-founder Nathan Dalah welcomed a baby with Australian supermodel Georgia Fowler, 29, in September, a daughter the couple have named Dylan.

The couple confirmed their romance in February last year.

'Dylan Aman Dalah. 17.9.21. Welcome to the world. We love you so much,' she wrote, sharing a series of photos of the newborn.
Electricity prices at home look set to skyrocket in coming months across Australia.

A surge in coal prices, partly due to sanctions on Russia, has driven wholesale electricity prices much higher and its expected those costs will soon hit consumers in all Australian states.

Electricity prices at home look set to skyrocket in coming months across Australia, but Scott Morrison looks set to dodge public anger on the timing

A surge in coal prices, partly due to sanctions on Russia, has driven wholesale electricity prices much higher and its expected those costs will soon hit consumers in all Australian states

All states except South Australia recorded at least doubling in wholesale energy prices for the first three months of 2022, compared to the same time last year.

The big jumps in wholesale energy prices were noted by the University of Melbournes climate and energy college, the AFR reported.

In Queensland, the state with the greatest reliance on coal for electricity generation, wholesale energy prices jumped 285 per cent.

The Sunshine State was also hit by a greater demand for power than at the same time last year, contributing the the steep price rise.

In Victoria, prices rose 138 per cent, while in New South Wales the jump was 130.5 per cent.

In Tasmania the increase was 106.8 per cent.

In South Australia wholesale energy prices rose 64.6 per cent.

Exactly how much the wholesale energy price rises will increase household bills is not certain.

In Queensland, the state with the greatest reliance on coal for electricity generation, wholesale energy prices jumped 285 per cent

The expected price rise for consumers may not directly match each state's rises in the price of energy it pays.

The costs passed onto households could depend on how state-based energy retailers are prepared to cope with price increases.

'It will depend on how retailers are hedged too. Those which are not hedged as well will move more rapidly to pass the increases onto the consumer,' said Dylan McConnell, research fellow at the University of Melbournes climate and energy college.

Coal and gas prices both surged, but coal has the bigger impact on overall energy prices because Australia's electricity general is more dependent on it.

Increasing prices are expected to further polarise debate on how Australia generates power.

Pro-renewables advocates will argue that green energy is less prone to price fluctuations, while traditionalists may call for an increase in fossil fuel production.
A woman who described herself as one of Australia's 'leading property educators' has been banned from practising for four years with the corporate regulator describing her as untruthful.

Dominique Grubisa, the Sydney-based chief executive and director of DG Institute Pty Ltd, had appeared in wealth management seminars with the likes of Sunrise host David Koch spruiking her expertise on making money.

She had urged those appearing at her seminars to go through court papers to find distressed people who had been forced to sell their property to get a bargain, rather than looking at real estate advertisements.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has now banned her from providing financial services or controlling any finance services business for four years.

ASIC, the corporate regulator, found she had lied about holding Australian financial services and credit licences when neither she nor DGI Wealth did, and described her as someone who 'has a habit of not telling the truth'.

The DG Institute has told Daily Mail Australia she is appealing the ban.

Dominque Grubisa, a woman who described herself as one of Australia's 'leading property educators' has been banned from practising for four years

Mrs Grubisa, a controversial lawyer with a background in debt cases, was banned on the basis she had falsely claimed to be an 'ASIC licensed debt specialist' when she wasn't.

The corporate regulator suggested she would continue lying about her credentials.

'ASIC also found that Ms Grubisa is not a fit and proper person to engage in financial services or credit activities and is likely to continue to contravene financial services and credit law,' it said on Tuesday.

Mrs Grubisa still has a website describing herself as 'one of Australia's leading property educators, authors and speakers'.

She hailed herself as someone would could 'let people like you know that they can achieve their dreams and live the life they want'.

Mrs Grubisa, who rebuilt her property empire after being forced to sell 15 of her investment properties in 2008 during the Global Financial Crisis, had run seminars advising potential investors to snap up homes where the owners have been forced to sell.

She promoted a strategy based on avoiding real estate advertisements and searching through court lists to find borrowers who have been forced to sell for failing to keep up with mortgage repayments, because of bankruptcy, unemployment or a divorce.

The Sydney-based chief executive and director of DG Institute Pty Ltd, had appeared in wealth management seminars with the likes of Sunrise host David Koch (right) spruiking her expertise on finance

ASIC noted she had 'encouraged her students to use data from the Family Court list for an improper purpose, such as to identify people in financial distress, with the hope of buying property under value'.

It also suggested she had 'a habit of not telling the truth' and had 'failed to conduct herself with the professionalism of someone providing financial and credit services'.

The DG Institute said it had lodged an appeal with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

'We disagree with the decision made by ASIC,' it told Daily Mail Australia.

'As DG Institute provides educational products and services and we do not engage in credit activity or provide financial services, we will continue to operate as a business and serve our clients.

'As this is an on-going legal matter, it would be inappropriate to make further comments at this time.'

Mrs Grubisa still has a website describing herself as 'one of Australia's leading property educators, authors and speakers' even though the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has banned her from practising for four years

Ahead of the 2019 election, Mrs Grubisa urged Australians to buy a property, when Labor was the favourite to prevail with a policy to scrap negative gearing tax breaks for property investors.

'It probably is a good idea to get in now,' she told Daily Mail Australia in April 2019.

She argued then Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's plan was 'going to be bad for the economy'.

In the 2019 interview, she said property was a better investment than shares and offered more control.

'You can renovate, you can put tenants in,' Mrs Grubisa said.

'With the share market it's just speculative.'
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Airports across the UK are in chaos today as staff shortages and the start of the post-Covid Easter holiday rush cause huge queues, with lines starting to form at 4.45am at Manchester Airport where local leaders have called for police to help deal with the carnage.

The chaos is the result of a combination of a sudden surge in passenger numbers, with many Britons taking their first foreign holiday since the Covid pandemic began, and low staffing numbers at airports which have not hired extra manpower following years of low demand.

British Airways and Easyjet cancelled 62 and 90 flights respectively yesterday.

The chaos is worst at Manchester airport where some travellers have been jumping over barriers and abandoning their luggage in a desperate attempt to make their flights, according to Nicky Kelvin, head of travel website Points Guy UK.

And the chaos is set to go on throughout the summer because of the delays in processing counter-terror checks needed for new airport staff, with some said to be taking 30 weeks instead of the usual 14 to 15 while civil servants work from home.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: 'Airlines are certainly seeing a high level of demand to fly, but are simply unable to cope with that demand due to a lack of resources.

Have YOU experienced airport delays today? Email katie.weston@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

'It's a nightmare situation for airlines and airports at the moment.'

And Martin Chalk, general secretary of the pilots' union Balpa, told The Telegraph: 'The chaos witnessed at British airports may well be repeated throughout the summer because airlines, laden with debt have not yet rehired enough staff.'

The rise in bookings is overtaking the number of airline staff being hired, which is being further exacerbated by security checks.

An industry source also blamed the vetting process, saying it can take up to six months before someone is able to come in and do a job at an airport.

It is the fourth day in a row that Manchester Airport - the UK's third busiest - has experienced delays. Blackley and Broughton MP Graham Stringer yesterday challenged its management to 'get a grip or get out.

The airport partially attributed the delays to the 'lengthy vetting and training processes' for new staff, alongside the 'removal of all travel restrictions coupled with the start of the summer travel season'.

And there were also reports of travel chaos at Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Monday, as well as long delays at Dover and a train blockage in the Channel Tunnel.

Heathrow prepared for further delays today, advising passengers to arrive three hours before their flight to allow enough time for queues at check in and security.

The airport wrote on Twitter: 'We continue to advise passengers arrive 3 hours prior to their scheduled departure time as we are not able to estimate queue times ahead of journeys, due to them being influenced by a significant range of factors.'

While sat in Terminal 5 at Heathrow this morning, Hannah Swales told MailOnline about her 'shambolic' return flight from Dubai.

She said: 'We were delayed from Dubai for three hours and then had to be rebooked on the "next available flight."

'We were to stay in Heathrow Airport with no luggage and no access to medication in our luggage.'

Long queues were also reported at Birmingham Airport from 7.45am today, with one passenger warning others to 'get here early'. Another traveller, Luka Beckett, said she was 'trapped' on a grounded plane for 40 minutes on Sunday due to a lack of staff.

She told Birmingham Live: 'We should have been home at around 10pm, but got in sometime after midnight. It was horrific.'

The situation has become so chaotic that police officers and the fire service might even be called in to help, according to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who is set to meet the airport's management today.

Passengers queue early this morning for security at Manchester Airport's Terminal 1, as travel chaos continues at airports and ports as the Easter holidays get underway. It is the fourth day in a row that the airport - the UK's third busiest - has experienced delays

Long queues are seen today as passengers arrive at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 2 for the start of their Easter holiday getaway

Passengers queue for security at Manchester Airport's Terminal 1 this morning. Some travellers were jumping over barriers and abandoning their luggage in a desperate attempt to skip the queues at Manchester today, said Nicky Kelvin, head of travel website Points Guy UK

Blackley and Broughton MP Graham Stringer yesterday challenged Manchester Airport's management to 'get a grip or get out. Pictured: A huge queue outside the entrance to Manchester Airport's Terminal 1 today

EasyJet said it has cancelled around 60 flights to and from the UK on Tuesday after calling off 62 flights on Monday due to high levels of staff absences. British Airways also grounded a total of 62 flights on Monday. Pictured: Heathrow today

In the week up to April 3, a total of 1,143 flights were cancelled from and to the UK compared with just 197 flights cancelled the same week in 2019. Pictured: Heathrow's Terminal 2 this morning

Long queues are seen as passengers arrive at Heathrow Airport in London this morning for the start of the Easter Holidays

Long queues as passengers line up to check in after arriving at Heathrow Airport for the start of the Easter holidays today

Heathrow (pictured today) wrote on Twitter: 'We continue to advise passengers arrive 3 hours prior to their scheduled departure time as we are not able to estimate queue times ahead of journeys, due to them being influenced by a significant range of factors'

Passenger demand has soared in recent weeks after all Covid restrictions - including testing and self-isolation requirements - were lifted in England (Heathrow pictured today)

EasyJet said it has cancelled around 60 flights to and from the UK on Tuesday after calling off 62 flights yesterday due to high levels of staff absences. British Airways also grounded a total of 62 flights on Monday. Pictured: Manchester Airport today

In the week up to April 3, a total of 1,143 flights were cancelled from and to the UK compared with just 197 flights cancelled the same week in 2019. Pictured: lengthy queues at Manchester Airport today

The latest figures show British Airways cancelled 662 flights while easyJet axed 357 last week, according to data from Cirium, which carries out aviation analysis. But some of these totals are based on historical cancellations and were flights axed months ago. Pictured left and right: Huge queues for security at Manchester Airport this morning

Footage and pictures (above) posted to social media captured travellers lining up for security outside Manchester Airport's entrance earlier today, with one person writing: 'Well this is a birthday treat at 4.45am'. Another wrote: 'Manchester airport queues this morning if anyone's curious, this was after an hour check in as well, not sure where it ends yet'

He said: 'I have been in touch with colleagues at Greater Manchester Police at the weekend to see what we can do to support the airport.

'It's a difficult moment for airports around the world having laid low for the pandemic, they've had to scale up very quickly. We understand the challenges that we've got.'

Speaking yesterday, Mr Burnham added: 'Can we work with our fire service and police service to do a little more to help the airport manage some of the pressures that it has? All of that will be discussed tomorrow.'

Footage posted to social media captured travellers lining up for security outside the airport's entrance, with one person writing: 'Well this is a birthday treat at 4.45am at Manchester Airport.'

Another Twitter user wrote: 'Manchester airport queues this morning if anyone's curious, this was after an hour check in as well, not sure where it ends yet.'

And a third added: 'Welcome to Manchester and the era of modern travel. Congratulations @manairport what a total and utter mess. Not like you didnt know'.

EasyJet said it has cancelled around 60 flights to and from the UK on Tuesday after calling off 62 flights on Monday due to high levels of staff absences. British Airways also grounded a total of 62 flights on Monday.

This follows a week of reported mass disruption with more than 1,100 flights cancelled throughout the UK.

In the week up to April 3, a total of 1,143 flights were cancelled from and to the UK compared with just 197 flights cancelled the same week in 2019.

The latest figures show British Airways cancelled 662 flights while easyJet axed 357 last week, according to data from Cirium, which carries out aviation analysis.

But some of these totals are based on historical cancellations and were flights axed months ago while airlines have claimed they represent a small percentage of their total flights.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Mr Stringer, the former leader of Manchester Council and chairman of the airport board, said: 'Covid has made life difficult for everyone in the aviation industry.

'The way to respond to that is by good employment procedures and not by casualisation, effectively using fire and rehire.

'The airport needs to reset and pay above the market rate to stabilise the situation and give confidence to employees and the travelling public.'

On Monday, Manchester Airport chiefs apologised for 'falling short' following long delays over the weekend.

Meanwhile, pictures showed long queues at Heathrow, with airport bosses blaming a huge spike in passenger numbers. Heathrow chiefs say passenger numbers have now reached pre-pandemic levels, with Saturday being the first school holidays since the start of the pandemic with no travel restrictions in place in England.

Bosses at Gatwick also said passengers numbers were returning to 2019 levels at the Sussex airport and that while there were some check-in queues that it was generally 'coping well' with the increase in footfall.

One travel expert estimated that there had 'probably been more resignations in the last three months' than during the Covid crisis because staff were 'worn out'. Another warned disruption at airports such as Manchester could last for 'months', with firms having to train new staff to deal with the post-Covid increase in demand.

Hundreds of passengers were seen queuing at Manchester Airport on Monday - the first day of the Easter holidays

Passengers have also reported chaos when they have attempted to reclaim their baggage at airports in England

Blackley and Broughton MP Graham Stringer challenged the management at Manchester Airport to 'get a grip or get out after airline passengers faced huge queues on Monday

Bosses of the company behind Manchester Airport, which is in the same group as Stansted and East Midlands Airport, said it had seen a 1,300 percent increase increase in passenger numbers in February - compared to the previous year when the country was in lockdown.

Pictures taken at Manchester Airport on Monday showed long queues of people attempting to get through to security. Passengers also bemoaned a lack of organisation at the check-in, with long queues also seen at the check-in desk. In a tongue-in-cheek Twitter post, one frustrated traveller described a snaking queue at the airport as a world record attempt at the 'world's slowest, longest conga line'.

A Manchester Airport spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Manchester Airport apologises to passengers whose experiences have fallen below the standard we aim to provide. We want to assure customers and colleagues that their safety and security will always be our first priority.

'Our whole industry is facing staff shortages and recruitment challenges at present, after the most damaging two years in its history. The removal of all travel restrictions after two years, coupled with the start of the summer travel season, has seen a rapid increase in passenger numbers, which is putting an enormous strain on our operation.

'We are doing all we can to recruit the staff we need to meet this demand, but this is taking time due to the lengthy vetting and training processes involved. That is why we have been advising travellers that there may be, at times, longer queues than normal.

'Whenever this is the case, we do all we can to redeploy resources and prioritise passengers within queues as best we can.

'We are also aware that partners working on our site, such as baggage handling agents, are facing similar challenges. We will continue to support them in any way we can to deliver the best possible experience for customers during this challenging time.'

BA also cancelled at least 115 flights to or from Heathrow Airport on Monday, although it is believed only five were last-minute cancellations caused by coronavirus-related staff shortages - meaning passengers would have been informed well in advance of the cancellation.

The total includes some flights axed due to last week's decision by the airline to reduce its schedule until the end of May to boost reliability, as well as routes suspended for several months because of the pandemic, such as those featuring several Asian destinations.

According to MailOnline's analysis, at least five BA flights to European destinations, including Paris, Marseille and Oslo, were cancelled from Heathrow Terminal 5 on Monday.

It comes after the west-London airport faced its own chaos last week, after a major BA IT meltdown forced the airline to cancel or delay hundreds of flights. Meanwhile, BA has been accused of raising prices to 'put off' customers, with return flights to some European destinations costing as much as 1,000.

Away from airports, drivers hoping to cross the Channel fared little better on Monday, with two-hour waits to get into the Port of Dover. Gridlocked traffic around Dover, poor conditions in the Channel and the suspension of P&O services caused delays of up to nine hours at the Kent port over the weekend.

Eurotunnel services, meanwhile, were also delayed by up to three hours due to a train that came to a halt in the Channel Tunnel. Passenger service Eurostar, which uses the same tunnel, also reported delays on its services, according to its website.

Airport disruption, meanwhile, is being blamed on Covid-enforced staff shortages, with Manchester Airport on Sunday saying it was exploring the possibility of bringing in short-term agency staff to help bring the chaos under control.

Airline passengers reported huge queues at Manchester Airport - the UK's third busiest - for the third day in the row

Less than 24 hours after Manchester Airport bosses apologised for 'falling short' following long delays over the weekend, airline passengers again faced huge queues on Monday

Monday was the third day in a row that Manchester airport - the UK's third busiest - had significant delays, following long queues and chaos at departures over the weekend

Pictures showed long lines of people queuing for security on Monday, while passengers bemoaned a lack of organisation at check-in gates

Passengers said they faced 'absolute chaos' at Manchester Airport on Monday morning, with long queues at security (pictured)

Passengers posted video on social media of huge long queues at Manchester Airport. A Manchester Airport spokesperson admitted the service was short-staffed and said on Sunday: 'We apologise to passengers whose experience at Manchester Airport has fallen short of the standards they expected. 'As we recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, our whole industry is facing staff shortages and recruitment challenges. 'As a result we are advising customers that security queues may be longer than usual, and we encourage them to arrive at the earliest time recommended by their airline.

There was also reports of disruption at Heathrow Airport, which last week faced its own chaos after a major BA IT meltdown. Pictured: Queues at Heathrow Terminal 2 on Monday morning

There were also said to be delays at Gatwick Airport on Monday morning. Pictured here was a queue for a departures area at the Sussex airport

Meanwhile, drivers reported two-hour long waits for the Port of Dover (pictured: Queues on the M20 at Maidstone). Gridlocked traffic around Dover, poor conditions in the Channel and the suspension of P&O services caused delays of up to nine hours at the Kent port over the weekend

Though all Covid restrictions - as well as testing and self-isolation requirements - have been lifted in England, as many as 4.9 million people are now thought to be infected with the virus, according to the UK's biggest Covid surveillance scheme.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated more than 4.1 million people had the virus on any given day over the week to March 26, equivalent to one in 13 being infected.

Passengers said they faced 'absolute chaos' at Manchester Airport on Monday, with long queues at security.

One passenger, sharing a picture of the queues, said: '5.30am and absolute chaos in Manchester Airport. No organisation whatsoever! Lots missing flights.'

Another, sharing a video, said: 'Manchester Airport. This is the current line for security at Terminal 2 this morning. What is happening?'.

EasyJet cancels more than 220 flights due to Covid staff shortages to leave some passengers stranded amid airport chaos EasyJet has cancelled more than 220 flights, blaming the disruption on high levels of staff sickness due to Covid. At least 222 flights have been axed since Friday, including 62 that had been scheduled for Monday alone, the majority of which were cancelled at short notice on Saturday. Covid infection numbers are some of the highest they have been since the start of the pandemic. An EasyJet spokesperson said yesterday: 'As a result of the current high rates of Covid infections across Europe, like all businesses EasyJet is experiencing higher than usual levels of employee sickness. 'We have taken action to mitigate this through the rostering of additional standby crew this weekend, however, with the current levels of sickness we have also decided to make some cancellations in advance.' They said the focus was on 'consolidating flights where we have multiple frequencies so customers have more options to rebook their travel, often on the same day.' They added: 'Unfortunately it has been necessary to make some additional cancellations for today and tomorrow. 'We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to customers on affected flights. 'We have made 62 preemptive cancellations for flights to and from the UK for tomorrow which represents a small proportion tomorrow's total flying programme which was planned to be more than 1645 flights. 'We cancelled the majority of these yesterday.' Advertisement

Linn Glotta-Bogerud, arrived five hours early for her flight to Norway, but has managed to avoid the worst of the queues.

She told MailOnline: 'I got here early after seeing the news about the queues. Now I'm just waiting around.

'This is definitely not what I expected. I arrived here at 10am, for a flight that leaves at 3.30pm.

'They don't open the gate until three hours before the flight leaves, so now I'm just waiting around, but some of the queues look crazy.

'There's a lot of security around but some of them don't seem to have much to do.'

Another, Howie Atkinson, 42, who is flying with his wife Gair and daughter Isla to Dubai.

He told MailOnline: 'Over the weekend a friend sent me a news story with a picture of the queues, so I changed it to an earlier one. The queues are massive, so I'm glad we're here early.'

Stephen O'Naill, 37 and Lee Moora, 34, flew to Manchester from Belfast on Saturday to see the Manchester United match.

Stephen said: 'We're with easyJet, who recommended we get here early. We're about seven hours early for our flight.

'We saw on Facebook that they've had 100s of flights canceled.'

It comes after shocking images showed huge disruption at Manchester Airport over the weekend.

On Twitter, one user posted on Sunday: 'Manchester Airport not ideal as it's so busy.

'Well done as it's organised and amazing staff are smiling through abuse and announcements etc...

'Gutted about our fast track passes and not being able to use them.'

A Manchester Airport spokesperson admitted the airport was short-staffed. In a statement on Sunday, a spokesperson said: 'We apologise to passengers whose experience at Manchester Airport has fallen short of the standards they expected.

'As we recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, our whole industry is facing staff shortages and recruitment challenges.

'As a result we are advising customers that security queues may be longer than usual, and we encourage them to arrive at the earliest time recommended by their airline.

'Due to the security checks and training associated with these roles, it takes time to for people to be able to start work in our operation

'That is why we are exploring a number of short-term measures to deliver the best possible service we can, such as the use of agency staff and different ways in which existing colleagues can support our operation.

'We are aware similar challenges are being faced by airlines and third parties, such as baggage handling agents, operating on our site.

'Together, we are working hard to deliver the best possible service we can in the circumstances, and to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.'

Airport insiders say the main challenge has been the 'rapid recovery' of international travel and that airports are 'struggling to scale our operations back up quickly enough to keep pace with demand'.

'New staff need to be vetted and trained so there is a bit of a lag time between appointing them and them starting work in our operation,' one told MailOnline.

Meanwhile, easyJet cancelled around 100 flights on Monday, including 62 from the UK. The budget airline said higher than usual levels of staff absence due to Covid was to blame.

EasyJet - which is one of Europe's biggest airlines - said the cancellations were a small part of its schedule on Monday, which is around 1,645 flights.

But it has left passengers facing long delays. One passenger, who was due to fly from Belfast Airport with easyJet on Monday morning, said on Twitter: 'First trip overseas since COVID. It's going well easyJet cancel flight at five hours notice.

'Result: A 10 hour delay and 2.00 am arrival in our hotel Now just been charged 14 for a pint and a G&T in the grimiest airport I've been in since the year dot. Sigh.'

A spokesperson for easyJet said: 'As a result of the current high rates of Covid infections across Europe, like all businesses, easyJet is experiencing higher than usual levels of employee sickness.

Meanwhile, BA cancelled at least half a dozen flights from Heathrow Terminal 5. Flights to Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Oslo and Krakow were among those cancelled. Pictured: Queues at Heathrow Terminal 2

One expert warned disruption at airports could last 'months', as travel firms desperately attempted to up their staffing levels to deal with an increase in demand for travel. Pictured: Queues at Heathrow Terminal 2

John Strickland, from JLS Consulting, an independent air travel consultancy firm, told BBC Radio 4: 'Certainly the next month of two is going to be very difficult.' Pictured: Queues at Heathrow Terminal 2

John Strickland said: 'We know that Manchester Airport has said that passengers should expect queues of one to two hours for the next several weeks while they undertake additional training. 'We know that airlines such as BA are recruiting additional cabin crew.' Pictured: Long queues at Heathrow Terminal 2

'BA has actually reduced down a number of its flights up until the end of May to recognise that way they can operate reliably,' said John Strickland. Pictured: Queues at Heathrow Terminal 2

BA cancelled at least half a dozen flights from Heathrow Terminal 5 on Monday. Flights to Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Oslo and Krakow were among those cancelled. Pictured: Queues at the BA check in desk at Terminal 5

Meanwhile, Birmingham Airport has been described as 'hell' by holidaymakers over the last few days. Pictured: Queues of people for security at Birmingham Airport

Thousands looking to jet off into the sun have been hit with flight and baggage delays. Those already at the Midlands airport warned others to arrive early or face missing flights. One passenger, Allie Mann, wrote on Twitter at 11.37am yesterday: 'Been sat on a plane at Birmingham Airport for over three hours due to there being no staff. Absolutely appalling.' Another holidaymaker travelling out of Birmingham Airport this morning has warned others about the delays. Rebecca Young, taking pictures of the queues, wrote on Twitter: 'Anyone travelling from Birmingham Airport today, give yourself plenty of time! Queues are absolutely ridiculous.'

'We have focused on consolidating flights where we have multiple frequencies so customers have more options to rebook their travel, often on the same day, and we expect to make similar levels of pre-emptive cancellations over the coming days, due to the ongoing high level of sickness.

'We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to customers on affected flights.

'We are contacting customers directly and providing them with their options which include rebooking onto an alternative flight, or receiving a voucher or full refund.'

Meanwhile, BA cancelled at least half a dozen flights from Heathrow Terminal 5 on Monday. Flights to Paris, Marseille, Toulouse, Oslo and Krakow were among those cancelled.

Eurotunnel passengers face three-hour delays after train is halted in the Channel Tunnel Eurotunnel passengers face a three hour delay on Monday morning due a train being halted in the Channel Tunnel. Eurotunnel - the vehicle carrying railway tunnel that connects Folkestone with Coquelles beneath the English Channel - is reporting a three hour delay to services. The travel firm, which is separate from the passenger-only Eurostar service, said it was due to a train stopped in the tunnel. 'Due to a train stopped temporarily in the tunnel, our service is currently experiencing delays. Please check-in as planned. Apologies for this,' Eurotunnel said on Twitter. Passenger service Eurostar, which operates trains between London St Pancras and Europe, and which uses the same tunnels, also has delays, according to its website though has yet to post any updates on its Twitter page. A delay warning on its website says: 'Your train has been delayed because part of the track is temporarily closed in the Channel Tunnel. Speed restrictions are in place. We are sorry for the impact this may have on your plans.' Advertisement

The airline said: 'Aviation has been one of the industries worst hit by the pandemic, and airlines and airports are experiencing the same issues rebuilding their operations while managing the continuing impact of Covid.

'So while the vast majority of our flights continue to operate as planned, as a precaution we've slightly reduced our schedule between now and the end of May as we ramp back up.

'We've apologised to customers who are affected by this and to limit the inconvenience have re-booked them onto earlier or later flights on the same day they were originally due to travel where possible.

'We're also offering them the opportunity to book onto an alternative flight or request a full refund.'

Dave Dobson, 59, a psychotherapist from Chester, was one of those flying with BA on Monday. He said: 'I was warned through Booking.com that said there would be disruption.

'I am anxious, worried and constantly checking for updates. My bag drop is supposed to be in 50 minutes.

'I booked with BA because I had a voucher and because I wanted to fly to Linate airport which is closer to the centre of Milan. There has been no direct communication from them at all which is really not good enough.'

Ken Dickinson, 74, a retired solicitor from Whetherby, West Yorkshire, said: 'BA have been changing a lot of flights and when I look at my booking it says flights have been cancelled.

'It is ridiculous. They are not handling the situation well and have been very vague. There is no information or communication from them.'

A Heathrow spokesperson said: 'The Easter holiday is the first time where UK travel restrictions have been fully removed since the start of the pandemic and we are expecting passenger numbers, not seen since early March 2020.

'We have been preparing for this for many months, but like most airports we do anticipate that the travel experience may take slightly longer during peak periods.

'We are deploying extra colleagues across Heathrow, and we continue to work closely with all our airport partners to help ensure passengers get away as efficiently as possible.'

Meanwhile, Birmingham has been described as 'hell' by holidaymakers over the last few days.

Thousands looking to jet off into the sun have been hit with flight and baggage delays. Those already at the Midlands airport are warning others to arrive early or face missing flights.

One passenger, Allie Mann, wrote on Twitter at 11.37am yesterday: 'Been sat on a plane at Birmingham Airport for over three hours due to there being no staff. Absolutely appalling.'

Another holidaymaker travelling out of Birmingham Airport this morning has warned others about the delays. Rebecca Young, taking pictures of the queues, wrote on Twitter on Monday: 'Anyone travelling from Birmingham Airport today, give yourself plenty of time! Queues are absolutely ridiculous.'

Gatwick meanwhile says it has also faced some disruption yesterday, primarily at check-in desks. However Sam Caven, 47, who was flying to Gran Canaria described her journey as 'very smooth'.

Gatwick meanwhile said it also faced some disruption on Monday, primarily at check-in desks. However Sam Caven, 47, who was flying to Gran Canaria described her journey as 'very smooth'

A Gatwick Airport (pictured) spokesperson said: 'The terminals may be busy during peak periods, such as weekends and the Easter holidays, when we see the airport returning to 2019 levels, and Gatwick is advising passengers to arrive at the earliest time their airline allows to check-in - and to make sure they know what they can and cannot carry through security before arriving at the airport

A Gatwick (pictured) spokesperson said: 'Passengers are also reminded to check that their passports are still valid - and have enough time left on them for the country being visited  and to check the foreign travel advice for all countries they will visit, or pass through, well in advance of travel'

Bosses of the company behind Manchester Airport (pictured), which is in the same group as Stansted and East Midlands Airport, said it had seen a 1,300 percent increase increase in passenger numbers in February - compared to the previous year when the country was in lockdown.

Airport disruption, meanwhile, is being blamed on Covid-enforced staff shortages, with Manchester Airport (pictured) on Sunday saying it was exploring the possibility of bringing in short-term agency staff to help bring the chaos under control

A Manchester Airport (pictured) spokesperson admitted the airport was short-staffed. In a statement on Sunday, a spokesperson said: 'We apologise to passengers whose experience at Manchester Airport has fallen short of the standards they expected.'

She said: 'We only arrived half an hour early and it's been all good so far. EasyJet staff have been really helpful. It's been a smooth journey. Very smooth.'

While other customers said they had noticed a slight increase in passenger numbers at the airport yesterday they were unconcerned.

Isabella Marmataai, 21, who was heading back home to Athens, added: 'It's all gone really smoothly. here's no delays so fingers crossed it stays that way. I'd say there's more people than usual but we always arrive super early anyway.'

A Gatwick Airport spokesperson said: 'The terminals may be busy during peak periods, such as weekends and the Easter holidays, when we see the airport returning to 2019 levels, and Gatwick is advising passengers to arrive at the earliest time their airline allows to check-in - and to make sure they know what they can and cannot carry through security before arriving at the airport.

'Passengers are also reminded to check that their passports are still valid - and have enough time left on them for the country being visited  and to check the foreign travel advice for all countries they will visit, or pass through, well in advance of travel.'

Meanwhile, bosses at Stansted have warned queues may be longer than usual. An estimated 1.3 million people will travel through Stansted over the school holidays, with 240,000 passengers expected over the four-day Easter weekend  compared to around only 8,000 in 2021.

Steve Griffiths, Stansted's managing director, said queues may be longer than passengers are used to and urged passengers to arrive in good time.

'The lifting of international travel restrictions has been extremely good news for passengers and the whole of the aviation industry following the most challenging two years in our history,' he said.

'While queues may be longer than people are used to at times, customers can definitely help us by arriving in good time.'

One expert warned disruption at airports could last 'months', as travel firms desperately attempted to up their staffing levels to deal with an increase in demand for travel.

John Strickland, from JLS Consulting, an independent air travel consultancy firm, told BBC Radio 4 on Monday: 'Certainly the next month of two is going to be very difficult.

'We know that Manchester Airport has said that passengers should expect queues of one to two hours for the next several weeks while they undertake additional training. We know that airlines such as BA are recruiting additional cabin crew.

Manchester Airport apologised for its services over the weekend after staff shortages led to hours of delays for passengers checking in

Large queues were reported at Manchester Airport on Sunday as the first April weekend got off to a difficult start

Alison Unwin, 60, also saw scores of uncollected bags in Manchester Airport - from flights which landed the day before - strewn around the reclaim hall in Terminal 3

On Twitter, one user posted on Sunday: 'Manchester Airport not ideal as it's so busy. Well done as it's organised and amazing staff are smiling through abuse and announcements etc... Gutted about our fast track passes and not being able to use them.' Those taking ferries to France have fared litter better. Some lorry drivers reported up to two hour delays in getting to the Port of Dover on Monday morning. One wrote on Twitter: 'Update almost two hours after entering Dover I'm almost at check in.'

Massive traffic queues were seen in Dover on Sunday as a shortage of ferry services meant severe delays for HGV drivers

'BA has actually reduced down a number of its flights up until the end of May to recognise that way they can operate reliably.'

Meanwhile Mr Charles, CEO of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said BA were putting up prices 'sharply' to act as a 'deterrent' to customers looking for an Easter getaway.

Research by MailOnline shows prices have risen as high as 1,000 for return flights to European destinations this Easter. One return flight with BA from London to Pathos in Cyprus from Thursday, April 7, to Thursday, April 14, is currently being priced at 1,086.

Travel experts say travel firms are suffering from wave of resignations from 'battle-weary' staff who worked during the pandemic Under pressure travel firms are suffering from a perfect storm of high passenger numbers and a recent wave of resignations from 'battle-weary staff'. The Travel Network Group chief executive, Gary Lewis, yesterday said the travel industry had been struck by a recent wave of resignations of staff who had worked through the pandemic. He told Travel Weekly: 'The crisis is about existing people leaving because they've gone through two years of being battered. And those that have left aren't necessarily coming back.' Janice Hogarth, secretary of the Scottish Passenger Agents' Association, admitted it might be impossible to persuade some of those who have left the sector to return. She told the website: 'There are those who have just absolutely had enough. They are battle-weary, and I don't know if we'll ever get them back. They just feel they're not willing to [come back] at this point so it's how we go about attracting them.' Another expert yesterday warned disruption at airports could last 'months', as travel firms desperately attempted to up their staffing levels to deal with an increase in demand for travel. John Strickland, from JLS Consulting, an independent air travel consultancy firm, told BBC Radio 4: 'Certainly the next month of two is going to be very difficult. 'We know that Manchester Airport has said that passengers should expect queues of one to two hours for the next several weeks while they undertake additional training. We know that airlines such as BA are recruiting additional cabin crew. Advertisement

He said: 'Like several airlines and airports, BA is suffering from a severe lack of staff due to Covid. Crews and pilots are having to isolate at home. This is having a major impact on its ability to run the frequency of flights it had planned.

'So BA is effectively putting up prices sharply to act as a deterrent so that it reduces the likely number of passengers who will be affected by future cancellations.

'If more crews return earlier than expected, then BA will be in the lucky position of having earned more per seat than it had forecasted for.

'The cocktail of problems for BA and other airlines is also deepened by the higher oil price and the resulting cost of fuel.

'It's an expensive time to be running an airline  all in a year when many of us in the sector were predicting a stronger bounceback post-Covid.

'Strong demand is there from consumers  but some airlines and airports are having major difficulties delivering anything like a decent quality of service.'

Meanwhile, The Travel Network Group chief executive, Gary Lewis, said the travel industry had been struck by a recent wave of resignations from 'battle-weary' staff who had worked through the pandemic.

He told Travel Weekly: 'The crisis is about existing people leaving because they've gone through two years of being battered. And those that have left aren't necessarily coming back.'

Janice Hogarth, secretary of the Scottish Passenger Agents' Association, admitted it might be impossible to persuade some of those who have left the sector to return.

She told the website: 'There are those who have just absolutely had enough. They are battle-weary, and I don't know if we'll ever get them back. They just feel they're not willing to [come back] at this point so it's how we go about attracting them.'

Away from airports, those taking ferries to France have fared litter better. Some lorry drivers reported up to two hour delays in getting to the Port of Dover on Monday morning. One wrote on Twitter: 'Update almost two hours after entering Dover I'm almost at check in.'

Gridlocked traffic at the Kent port, along with poor sea conditions in the Channel and the suspension of P&O services following its recent staffing row resulted in nine hour delays on Sunday.

The British Ports Association told The Times that it expected congestion to ease but that disruption would continue until the middle of the week.

Richard Ballantyne, head of the British Ports Association, told the BBC: 'Yesterday (Saturday) we were up to nine-hour queues outside the port.

'Traffic measures are in place, which... are working fairly well and it enables other people around east Kent and businesses, residents etc to move around freely.

'But [it is] not a good position if you're stuck in a vehicle for six to eight hours.'

To add to the chaos, Eurotunnel - a vehicle carrying railway tunnel that connects Folkestone with Coquelles beneath the English Channel - reported a three hour delay to services. The travel firm said it was due to a train stopped in the tunnel.

'Due to a train stopped temporarily in the tunnel, our service is currently experiencing delays. Please check-in as planned. Apologies for this,' Eurotunnel said on Twitter.

To add to the chaos, Eurotunnel - a vehicle carrying railway tunnel that connects Folkestone with Coquelles beneath the English Channel - reported a three hour delay to services. The travel firm said it was due to a train stopped in the tunnel

Passenger service Eurostar, which operates trains between London St Pancras and Europe, and which uses the same tunnels, also had delays, according to its website

Passenger service Eurostar, which operates trains between London St Pancras and Europe, and which uses the same tunnels, also had delays, according to its website.

A delay warning on its website said: 'Your train has been delayed because part of the track is temporarily closed in the Channel Tunnel.

Industry expert warns delays at airports could 'last for months' A travel industry expert yesterday warned disruption at airports could last 'months', as travel firms desperately attempted to up their staffing levels to deal with an increase in demand for travel. John Strickland, from JLS Consulting, an independent air travel consultancy firm, told BBC Radio 4: 'Certainly the next month of two is going to be very difficult. 'We know that Manchester Airport has said that passengers should expect queues of one to two hours for the next several weeks while they undertake additional training. 'We know that airlines such as BA are recruiting additional cabin crew. BA has actually reduced down a number of its flights up until the end of May to recognise that way they can operate reliably.' Advertisement

'Speed restrictions are in place. We are sorry for the impact this may have on your plans.'

It comes after video footage shared online also showed incredibly long queues at security at Manchester Airport, with bunched up passengers struggling to put their items into trays.

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 yesterday 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.

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'.

The chaos at Manchester followed major disruption at Heathrow last week following an IT meltdown within BA.

More than 5,000 passengers, including those on long-haul flights, were impacted, with almost 1,000 flights either delayed or cancelled within a seven day period. BA said figure included any delay, including those caused by late passengers, as well as historic cancellations, such as on flights to Moscow or those removed from the schedule due to Covid's impact on the travel industry.

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)

Severe delays were also reported at Heathrow Airport on Saturday (pictured), with some passengers left waiting for over an hour on air bridge

It comes as the biggest Covid surveillance in the UK suggested that Covid is now more rife in England than at any other time during the virus crisis.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) last week estimated more than 4.1 million people had the virus on any given day over the week to March 26, equivalent to one in 13 being infected.

The figure is the highest ever recorded in England, topping the previous peak of 3.7m at the height of the Omicron wave in January. It is also 18 per cent higher than a fortnight ago.

In the most Covid-ridden towns of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, as many as one in nine people were thought to have the virus. And infections have soared to pandemic highs in all over-35s.

Britain's outbreak as a whole is also bigger than ever, with 4.9m now thought to be infected  up from 4.3m last week.

Statisticians said England's surge was being driven by the more transmissible version of Omicron, scientifically named BA. Although, ministers admit that ditching the final Covid restrictions last month also fueled the uptick.

Despite the mass testing project warning that cases show no signs of slowing yet, top scientists are hopeful that the worst may be over. Official numbers  reliant on people getting tested, as opposed to random swabbing  have been falling for a week, bolstering hopes that the virus was running out of steam.

Hospitalisations are still ticking upwards, but official figures suggest about half of admissions are now 'incidental'  when someone is admitted to hospital for something else such as a fall but then tests positive for Covid. NHS intensive care rates have barely budged, despite cases continuing to soar.

The record-breaking cases were revealed on the day England entered a 'new era' of the pandemic, with millions no longer able to get free Covid swabs to check whether they have the virus for the first time in a year.

Experts last week argued the timing of the end of free testing 'couldn't really be worse', and that the country would now have to rely on the public 'doing the right thing' and getting tested when unwell. A chorus of gloomy Government advisers last week issued a string of new warnings about the pressure on the health service.

But ministers have insisted it is the 'right' moment to scrap the mass-testing regime, which cost No10 up to 2bn-a-month. Only the most vulnerable and health care workers are still able to get free swabs.

** Have you experienced airport delays today? Email katie.weston@mailonline.co.uk **
A Melbourne mother had a 'significantly disturbed mind' when she killed her three-month-old baby by placing it on the train tracks, a court has been told.

Melissa Arbuckle, 32, faced the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to one count of infanticide at Upwey, in Melbourne's east, in July last year.

The crown prosecutor, Robyn Harper told the court that on the day of the horror, Arbuckle's sister and mother came to visit her three-month-old daughter, Lily.

Moments after the visit, Arbuckle texted her husband and said their daughter was 'losing it after a feed' and decided to take her for a walk, Ms Harper told the court.

Melissa Arbuckle pleaded guilty to one count of infanticide after killing her baby daughter

Arbuckle worked at a veterinary clinic in inner eastern Melbourne for several years

During her walk, Arbuckle began searching online for information on trains, including timetables, speeds and train derailments, NCA Newswire reported.

A train driver then spotted Arbuckle walking on the tracks at Upwey in Melbourne's east.

She was holding Lily at the time, and used the little girl's hand to wave at the train, the court heard.

Police allege that minutes later a train driver heading towards Belgrave station spotted the mum moving toward the track in a 'suspicious' way, and quickly activated the emergency breaks.

The court was told Arbuckle then placed her daughter Lily on the tracks, and also tried to lay herself down as the train hit them both.

The train driver told police he closed his eyes when he knew a collision would happen.

Onlookers rushed to the scene and found the mum and her baby lying on the tracks.

Arbuckle, a veterinarian, was trying to self harm, Ms Harper told the court.

The baby was rushed to hospital, but died shortly after from head injuries.

Defence barrister Megan Tittensor said Ms Arbuckle had been in the depths in of severe postpartum depression and psychosis when she resolved to take both her own life and her baby daughter's life.

A train noticed Arbuckle acting 'suspicious' and activated the emergency brakes. The mother laid the baby on the tracks in front of the train and attempted to lie down herself before the train hit them both (stock image)

The young mother mistakenly believed her child, who would have turned one on Monday, was suffering from shaken baby syndrome and that it was inevitable she would die.

'This act was committed by someone with a significantly disturbed mind,' Ms Tittensor told the court.

'She had a fixed delusional belief she had harmed her child and they were both broken.

'She had a perfectionist personality and need for control  she wanted to be the perfect mother.'

Ms Arbuckle doesn't plan on having another child, her barrister said.

'She can't bear the thought of being a risk to another child.'

The baby's father, who has requested anonymity, says he struggles with feelings of hatred toward Ms Arbuckle, with whom he is now estranged.

For confidential 24-hour support in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue 1300 22 4636.

For post-partum depression support call PANDA on 1300 726 306.
Billionaire Clive Palmer claims he was 'one day from dying' from Covid before treating himself with horse dewormer and malaria drug.

The unvaccinated mining magnate and United Australia Party founder was rushed to Pindara Private Hospital on the Gold Coast with breathing difficulties on February 27 after contracting the Delta variant of Covid.

He was also diagnosed with double pneumonia, but refused to go on a ventilator as advised by doctors and instead returned to his mansion on Sovereign Island where he called controversial American specialists by Zoom.

The 67-year-old told Sky News he 'didn't' regret being unvaccinated because with his dual Covid and pneumonia diagnoses he 'didn't stand a chance'.

'I had a great team of doctors, when I was in hospital they said I was about one day away from dying at the time, which was pretty tragic,' Mr Palmer claimed.

Billionaire Clive Palmer says he cheated death with a cocktail of anti-viral drugs including Ivermectin to beat Covid after he fled hospital

The billionaire's medical team fast-tracked him onto a American trial of discredited drugs promoted by alt and far-right voices.

Mr Palmer took several courses of the controversial hydroxychloroquine, an anti-rheumatic drug used to treat malaria and arthritis, as well as ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug used to deworm horses.

Neither drug is authorised by Australian or American health regulators as a Covid treatment and there is no evidence they are effective.

However, many high-profile anti-vaxxers used and endorsed them anyway, including podcaster Joe Rogan and former US President Donald Trump.

'I would have died otherwise, without doubt,' Mr Palmer, 67, told Sky News Australia.

Mr Palmer claims he was 'one day from dying' from Covid before successfully treating himself with a horse dewormer and malaria drug

US specialists fast-tracked him onto a trial of experimental drugs - like those used by ex-President Donald Trump - which included controversial ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine

'I've been told that without the anti-viral intervention on that Sunday night I would likely have been dead within five hours.

'The US specialists, a couple of whom treated (Donald) Trump for Covid, were very strong about not going onto a ventilator.

'I had faith in the US doctors. I'm not being critical of the Pindara people at all. They believed ventilation was necessary but I had alternative advice and I stuck with that.

'I said that won't be happening and I went home.'

His senior management staff contacted American gastroenterologist and ivermectin advocate Professor Thomas Borody, who brought in his team.

Mining magnate Clive Palmer (pictured here with wife Anna) was rushed to Pindara Private Hospital on the Gold Coast with breathing difficulties on February 27

He discharged himself from Pindara Prive Hospital when medics tried to put him on a ventilator on ICU, he said

They liaised with four Australian doctors who monitored the billionaire's progress and treatment at home, while an ambulance waited on standby close to his mansion in case he needed to be rushed back to hospital.

The sale of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine is tightly restricted to their original uses, but can be obtained for unapproved use with little effort.

Dr Timothy Geary, one of the world's foremost experts on ivermectin, said the drug did not have any effectiveness fighting viruses in humans.

In more serious cases, a person could overdose and suffer severe damage to their central nervous system, and potentially even die.

Clive Palmer was treated at his Sovereign Island home over Zoom by the US specialists while an ambulance waited on standby nearby if he needed to be rushed back to hospital

Clive Palmer claims he was within five hours of dying, but the cocktail of drugs prescribed by the US specialists had him feeling better within just 10 hours

The billionaire imported 39 million doses of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine for the fight against Covid at the start of the pandemic in the expectation it would be approved for use.

When it was not, more than ton of the drug had to eventually sent for destruction in late 2020.

Mr Palmer - who was in a high Covid risk category because of his age, weight, and being unvaccinated - was also treated with the powerful steroid dexamethasone to keep his lungs functioning.

'I started to come good within 10 hours,' he said. 'I'm still not a 100 per cent.

'I get tired pretty easily but I'm not getting any younger I suppose.'

He revealed that, despite official advice for the population to be vaccinated against the disease, he still has no plans to get jabbed.

He added: 'I'm pro choice.'

Top Ivermectin expert says the drug does not treat COVID-19 Dr. Timothy Geary, one of the world's foremost experts of Ivermectin, says the drug does not have any effectiveness fighting viruses. Geary, who is the Research Chair in Parasite Biotechnology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, says that the 2020 study which spawned much of the Ivermectin-craze is not being correctly read. Dr Timothy Geary (pictured) is one of the top experts on ivermectin and has researched the drug for over a decade He told DailyMail.com that the study did show that Ivermectin could inhibit the replication of COVID-19 virus cells, which is what many are reading from the study that makes them believe the drug has virus killing properties. Geary explained, though, that the concentration of the drug used in the study were so high that it could not be used for treatment in a human, and would likely cause an overdose. 'In that study they showed that in cell cultures, Ivermectin could inhibit [Covid] replication, but the concentrations required for that effect were in a range called the micromolar range - very high concentrations relative to what you would find in the plasma of a treated person or an animal, which would be 20 to 50 times lower.' He does not see too much harm in people using the drug in human-sized doses, though, as Geary assures that it is safe for consumption. It is safe to use in doses of around 200 micrograms, and even people who are using it to incorrectly treat Covid are unlikely to suffer any major symptoms. 'There's no significant toxicity from those doses,' Geary says. He also mentioned that the drug has been used billions of times in between humans and animals, and has never shown any ability to combat viruses outside of the laboratory. The typical Ivermectin prescribed by doctors com in pill form in small doses But many Americans are facing problems with Ivermectin because they are not using the versions of the drug prescribed by doctors. Instead, many are finding their own over-the-counter solutions, most notably going to local feed stores and buying medicine meant for horses, cows and sheep. Prescribed versions of the drug come in pill form, while these versions are liquid. The dosages are also much larger, meant for an animal that can weigh over 1,000 pounds, not a person that can weight less than one-fifth of that. Taking doses too large can cause a person to have nausea, body pains, diarrhea limb swelling and other serious side effects. In more serious cases, a person could overdose and suffer severe damage to their central nervous system, and potentially even die. Advertisement

Mr Palmer was also asked about Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine, speaking about the man he says he's met 'many times'.

'His view from discussions I've had with him, he thinks the West is approaching Russia, he was concerned about nuclear weapons getting closer to the country. So he thought it was better to invade now rather than let that happen,' he told Sky.

'I don't think there was any chance of the Ukraine joining NATO or the EU. But he wanted to demonstrate that he was still in charge.'

He also described China as 'ruthless' and who were 'prepared to go to any length' to get 'control' of Australia and its resources.
Elon Musk disguised himself in a Zorro mask and went on a Berlin nightclub tour last week to celebrate the opening of a new German Tesla gigafactory - culminating in a cryptic tweet that led many to speculate that he had been refused entry at exclusive techno club Berghain.

Although he never made it inside Berghain, Musk, 50, was spotted at famed fetish denizen KitKatClub, reports The Sun.

It is not known what the SpaceX founder was wearing, though the institution has a dress code that includes leather, latex, lingerie and nudity, among other oddities.

Musk was also seen at a local spot called Sisyphos celebrating entrepreneur Adeo Ressi's birthday, according to The Times. Musk later tweeted 'Berlin rocks.'

In a bizarre follow-up, he added: 'They wrote PEACE on the wall at Berghain! I refused enter.'

The strangely-worded statement led many to believe that the richest man in the world had been turned away at the door.

'Peace. Peace? I hate the word. Those who do care about peace (myself aspirationally included) don't need to hear it,' he added in a third post.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is pictured during the official opening of a new Tesla electric car manufacturing plant in Germany. The new plant, officially called the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, is producing the Model Y as well as electric car batteries

Although it is believed he didn't make it inside Berghain, Musk, 50, was spotted at the fetishist KitKatClub, seen above

Musk went on a nightclub crawl of the German capital included the KitKatClub, seen above

'They wrote PEACE on the wall at Berghain! I refused enter,' Musk tweeted in cryptic, or simply misspelled message on Saturday.

'Peace. Peace? I hate the word. Those who do care about peace (myself aspirationally included) don't need to hear it,' he added in a second post

The Tesla CEO's big night out culminated in a cryptic tweet that led many to speculate that he had been refused entry to the exclusive techno club Berghain, pictured above

Tesla's new factory which aims to produce 500,000 cars annually when fully operational

Berlin's Berghain, one of the world's most famous clubs has been called the 'world capital of techno' and is housed in a former energy plant

The news of Musk's big night out came just as he disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter Inc, worth nearly $3 billion, making him the micro-blogging site's largest shareholder

The news triggered a rise of more than 27% in the company's shares Monday.

Musk's move, revealed in a regulatory filing, comes on the heels of his tweet that he was giving 'serious thought' to building a new social media platform.

He has repeatedly questioned Twitter's commitment to free speech.

He also started a poll tweet asking Twitter users if they want an edit button, a long-awaited feature on which the social media platform has been working.

In less than three hours, more than 1.2 million users voted, with over 75% of them backing an edit option.

Twitter's share price has rocketed since Musk's investment on March 14

A prolific Twitter user, Musk has over 80 million followers since joining the site in 2009 and has used the platform to make several announcements, including teasing a go-private deal for Tesla that landed him in hot water with regulators.

Of late, however, the world's richest person has been critical of the social media platform and its policies, and recently ran a Twitter poll asking users if they believed the platform adheres to the principle of free speech, to which over 70% voted 'no.'

Musk - who, according to Forbes, has a net worth of about $300 billion - has been reducing his stake in Tesla since November, when he said he would offload 10% of his holding in the electric-car maker. He has already sold $16.4 billion worth of shares since then.
A destroyed house is pictured near where the head of the village of Motyzhyn, her husband and son were shot and buried in a shallow grave outside Kyiv, April 4, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues. Reuters-Yonhap





The head of the village of Motyzhyn, her husband and son were shot and buried in a shallow grave, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior ministry said Monday, showing their partially covered bodies in sand.







Since Russian troops withdrew from towns and villages around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv last week, Ukrainian troops have been moving in, showing journalists corpses of what they say are civilians killed by Russian forces, destroyed houses and burnt-out cars.







Reuters could not independently verify who killed the family in the grave just outside Motyzhyn, about 45 km (28 miles) west of Kyiv. Moscow has denied targeting civilians and has said similar reports of killings were "staged" to sully Russia's name.







"There have been Russian occupiers here. They tortured and murdered the whole family of the village head," said Anton Herashchenko, naming those killed as Olha Sukhenko, her husband Ihor Sukhenko and their 25-year old son, Oleksandr.







"The occupiers suspected they were collaborating with our military, giving us locations of where to target our artillery. These scum tortured, slaughtered and killed the whole family. They will be responsible for this."







A Reuters reporter saw the bodies in a forest near a farm, which had been all but destroyed, just outside the village of Motyzhyn. Nearby a burnt-out tractor could be seen and one of those buried in the sand had his head taped.







The reporter also saw another body of a man in a well near to the burnt-out farm, where black scorch marks climbed up its few remaining walls. He appeared to have been tied up.







Daria Belenitsyna, who identified herself as Oleksandr Sukhenko's girlfriend, told Reuters the family had been taken captive by Russian forces March 23.






A child has suffered serious injuries after hitting his head on the Looney Tunes Carousel ride at Movie World on the Gold Coast.

The incident happened at the theme park in Oxenford, which was packed due to the school holidays, just after 1pm on Tuesday.

The boy was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital where he is said to be in a stable condition.

'An ambulance was called to Movie World to attend to a guest following an incident on the carousel ride.

A boy was seriously injured at Movie World on the Gold Coast and was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital

The boy hit his head while on the Looney Tunes Carousel ride (pictured)

The boy has been rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital in Queensland with a serious head injury

'The guest received a laceration to his head and was attended to by Movie World's nurse before being taken to hospital in a stable condition,' a Village Roadshow Theme Parks spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.

Statement from Village Roadshow Theme Parks This afternoon an ambulance was called to Movie World to attend to a guest following an incident on the carousel ride. The guest received a laceration to his head and was attended to by Movie World's Nurse before being taken to hospital in a stable condition. Our thoughts are with the guest and his family and we wish him a speedy recovery. We pride ourselves on our standards of care and quality and an investigation is being conducted as a matter of priority into the exact cause of the incident. In an abundance of caution the ride has been closed while we understand how the incident occurred. The safety and wellbeing of guests and team members is our top priority at Village Roadshow Theme Parks and we are committed to providing guests with a fun and safe environment. We will provide further updates when they are available. Advertisement

'Our thoughts are with the guest and his family and we wish him a speedy recovery.'

The spokesman added that 'We pride ourselves on our standards of care and quality and an investigation is being conducted as a matter of priority into the exact cause of the incident.

'In an abundance of caution the ride has been closed while we understand how the incident occurred.

'The safety and wellbeing of guests and team members is our top priority at Village Roadshow Theme Parks and we are committed to providing guests with a fun and safe environment.'

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said his thoughts were with the injured boy and his family.

'Work safety officers and police will manage the incident and council will make no further comment,' he told the Courier Mail.

The incident comes more than five years after four people were crushed to death on the Thunder River Rapids ride at nearby Dreamworld, which is operated by a separate company.

Two young girls, aged 10 and 13, were miraculously thrown to safety from the Dreamworld ride and watched in horror as the four adults in their raft were killed.

Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett, Roozbeh Araghi and Cindy Low died almost instantly when their water raft hit another and overturned, crushing them, on October 25, 2016.

The owner of the theme park later pleaded guilty to safety violations on the ride, which simulated the experience of white-water rafting.

Prosecutors had laid three charges against Ardent Leisure, saying it failed in its duty of care. It did not contest them.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese will set up a $500 million fund to encourage investment in the farm sector and earmark $656 million for a regional telecommunications package if he wins government.

Addressing a National Farmers Federation conference in Canberra, Mr Albanese said the National Reconstruction Fund would set aside money specifically for the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food and fibre sectors.

The fund aims to provide loans, equity and guarantees to investors establishing new businesses or those recovering from the stress of the pandemic.

'This will encourage investment in value adding and growing exports. It will help diversify the sector and open up new possibilities for trade,' he said.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese (pictured) will set up a $500 million fund to encourage investment in the farm sector and earmark $656 million for a regional telecommunications package if he wins government

Mr Albanese also announced a plan to improve mobile coverage throughout Australia, including a $400 million fund to expand multi-carrier mobile coverage along with an audit of blackspots.

'This is a comprehensive, targeted plan that will ensure better mobile coverage on roads, on farms, and across regional communities - and better broadband as well,' the federal opposition leader said.

Asked if he would scrap the agriculture worker visa if he won government, Mr Albanese told an audience of farmers and stakeholders he would provide a better system.

'The ag visa is not real at the moment... we will sit down with you and have an appropriate system,' he told the conference.

Earlier, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud criticised the Australian Workers' Union for campaigning against the visa.

'Labour force is the biggest constraint on our industry at the moment. I'm proud to say I never gave up on an Ag Visa,' he said.

'I'm not going to make election commitments and promises, we're going to act and we're going to act in this year's budget $21 billion worth of investment in regional and rural Australia.'

Farmers have a list of five priority areas they say need to be addressed for agriculture to thrive, including a $5 billion rural telecommunications fund to improve connectivity for remote Australia.

The Labor Leader said the National Reconstruction Fund would set aside money specifically for the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food and fibre sectors. Stock image

He also announced a plan to improve mobile coverage throughout Australia, including a $400 million fund to expand multi-carrier mobile coverage along with an audit of blackspots. Pictured: Stock image of a communications tower in rural South Australia

Launching the election wish list on Tuesday, NFF President Fiona Simson said the importance of the upcoming federal election for agriculture and the bush could not be understated.

Ms Simson called on all parties to back the five priority areas, including fast-tracking discussions to lock in 10 agriculture visa partner countries.

So far, only Vietnam has signed on to the arrangement.

Ms Simson said she welcomed Labor's commitments to improve bush communications and advance regional manufacturing if Labor was to win government.

But she said she was looking for a commitment from Federal Labor to continue the Ag Visa.

'The Ag Visa is a key piece of the jigsaw to address the workforce shortages constraining agriculture's growth.'

In a pre-recorded speech, Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) told the conference the coalition had pumped $100 billion into regional Australia since 2013 and was committed to doing more

In a pre-recorded speech, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the conference the coalition had pumped $100 billion into regional Australia since 2013 and was committed to doing more.

Natural disasters and the Covid-19 pandemic had pushed the country to its very limits.

'Yet through it all, we have reaffirmed one simple truth - Australia's strength, our resilience,' Mr Morrison said.

The value of farm production is heading towards $81 billion this year, which meant rural industry was foundational to the government's economic plan.

'[My government] knows that Australia is way more than our eight capital cities ... the wealth of our nation resides in the regions,' Mr Morrison said.
Dominic Taddeo, 64, has been recaptured after four days on the run in Florida

A New York mobster who worked as a hitman for La Cosa Nostra, killing three people and attempting to murder two others, has been recaptured in a Miami suburb after four days on the run.

Dominic Taddeo, 64, escaped from federal custody on March 28 after recently being moved to a halfway house, according to the Bureau of Prisons. He was due to be released in 2023.

A hitman from a Rochester-area crime family, Taddeo escaped after going to an approved medical appointment, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

On Monday he was reported to have been recaptured by U.S. Marshalls without incident in the Miami suburb of Hialeah.

He had been jailed at Coleman Federal Correctional Complex, a medium-security lockup in Wildwater, Florida before being transferred to a residential halfway house, also in Florida, in February.

He was scheduled to be released in just a year's time.

Taddeo was known as a hitman-for-hire and killed three men - Nicholas Mastrodonato, Gerald Pelusio, and Dino Tortatice - in 1982 and 1983.

He twice failed in knocking off Rochester mob captain Thomas Marotta, including in an April 1983 shooting when he hit Marotta with half a dozen shots. He hit him again three times just six months later, yet Marotta survived both attempts.

Dominic Taddeo, a hitman from a Rochester-area crime family, escaped on March 28 after going to an approved medical appointment. He was recaptured four days later. Taddeo was known as a hitman-for-hire and killed three men - Nicholas Mastrodonato, Gerald Pelusio, and Dino Tortatice - in 1982 and 1983 before being arrested in 1987

Taddeo twice failed in knocking off Rochester mob captain Thomas Marotta (pictured left), including in an April 1983 shooting when he hit Marotta with half a dozen shots. He hit him again three times just six months later, yet Marotta survived both attempts

A federal judge in western New York denied Taddeo's request for compassionate release last year, rejecting his claim that health problems including hypertension and obesity put him at risk for serious complications from COVID-19.

In that denial, U.S. District Judge Frank Geraci Jr. wrote: 'Taddeo's prior convictions are for crimes including assault, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and, most notably, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) conspiracy arising from his employment and association with Rochester's organized crime family.'

Prosecutors said medical records did not show that Taddeo was particularly unhealthy.

A federal judge in western New York denied Taddeo's request for compassionate release last year, rejecting his claim that health problems including hypertension and obesity put him at risk for serious complications from COVID-19. Pictured: Taddeo in 1990 when he was sentenced to 17 years in prison on weapons and bail jumping charges

Taddeo, 64, had been jailed at Coleman Federal Correctional Complex, a medium-security lockup in Wildwater, Florida before being transferred to a residential halfway house, also in Florida, in February. He was scheduled to be released in just a year's time. Pictured: Taddeo pictured in March 15, 1989 after he was arrested on a weapons charge

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported that Taddeo had previously escaped and led police on a two-year long manhunt after he was let out on bail in 1987.

Taddeo lived under more than two dozen aliases while staying in various spots across the east coast and Midwest.

Taddeo was caught in 1989 while attempting to visit his brother in Cleveland, thanks to a tip from an informant.

When brought back to Rochester, he was described as 'small, balding' and unrecognizable from the mob hitman he was in the 80s.

Taddeo pleaded guilty in 1992 to racketeering charges that included the killings of three men during mob wars in the 1980s.

He was sentenced to 54 years in prison by Judge Michael Telesca.

His documents show a clean record in prison, noting that he has taken up educational extracurriculars.

The 1980s were a time when heavy battles between the mafia and New York public officials were waged, most famously then-US Attorney Rudy Giuliani, according to the Museum of Law Enforcement and Organized Crime. The former Mayor of New York targeted the Mafia throughout that decade and brought down some of the biggest mob bosses in the city, including Francesco Gambino and the head of the Gambino crime family, Paul Castellano

Mob boss John Gotti (pictured left) was also eventually taken down by the state of New York

The 1980s, when Taddao worked as a mob hitman, were a time when heavy battles between the mafia and New York public officials were waged, most famously then-US Attorney Rudy Giuliani.

By the 1970s, the Sicilian mafia, or Cosa Nostra, had become a highly lucrative business organization which centered around cigarette smuggling and heroin.

The main five families formed 'The Commission,' which to this day is believed to govern organized crime in the U.S. and Canada.

Mafia bosses on the island negotiated arrangements with crime syndicates in Naples to establish a monopoly over the tobacco trade.

Giuliani was one of the most visible lawyers involved with the Mafia Commission Trial that spanned from February 1985 to November 1986 and led to the indictments of 11 major organized crime figures.

The former mayor of New York targeted the Mafia throughout that decade and brought down some of the biggest mob bosses in the city, including Francesco Gambino and the head of the Gambino crime family, Paul Castellano.

Giuliani got the motivation to go after La Cosa Nostra because his father, an Italian immigrant, hated that his Brooklyn neighborhood had been overrun and blighted by organized crime.

Giuliani made it his top priority to take down the American Mafia's Five Families - Bonanno, Colombo, Genovese, Lucchese and Gambino.

But federal law enforcement and prosecutors made them prime targets in the 1970s and 80s while gang hits were still going on around the city.

Giuliani made it his top priority to take down the American Mafia's Five Families - Bonanno, Colombo, Genovese, Lucchese and Gambino

Federal law enforcement and prosecutors made the mafia prime targets in the 1970s and 80s while gang hits were still going on around the city

Reputed Cosa Nostra mafia boss Paul Castellano

By 1984, 350 FBI agents and 100 New York Police detectives were investigating the Mob.

At the time, an estimated 1,000 'made' men and 5,000 Mob associates lived in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and elsewhere.

A court in Italy even heard that the Sicilian mafia ordered the assassination of Giuliani.

'Boss of all bosses' Salvatore 'Toto' Riina, allegedly planned the hit when Giuliani was a state prosecutor in the 1980s.

The plot was revealed in evidence from supergrass Rosario Naimo, at a trial in Sicily in which representatives of the Italian state are accused of signing a peace treaty with the Mafia in the 1990s.

Giuliani has previously claimed that there was a price on his head during the 1990s, when he was mayor.

He told Oprah Winfrey in 2013: 'They offered $800,000 to kill me.

'Then toward the end of the time I was mayor, a particular Mafia guy who was convicted and put in jail for 100 years put out a contract to kill me for $400,000.
A notoriously steep and treacherous bushwalking track where a British father and his son were crushed to death in a landslide passed a safety inspection just days earlier.

The freak incident at Wentworth Falls, west of Sydney, on Monday afternoon came after a week of torrential rain in the Blue Mountains.

A traumatised 15-year-old girl watched as her father, 49, and young brother, nine, were fatally struck before her eyes about 1.40pm.

Her mother, 50, and another brother, 14, are were also hit by the falling rocks and are now fighting for life in a critical condition.

The family were permitted to use the advanced Wentworth Pass track, famous for its stunning waterfall views and valley lookouts, despite weeks of wild weather making the area dangerous for hikers.

A notoriously steep and treacherous bushwalking track (Wentworth Pass track, pictured) where a British father and his son were crushed to death in a landslide, passed a safety inspection just days earlier

The freak incident in the Wentworth Falls, west of Sydney , on Monday afternoon came after a week of torrential rain in the Blue Mountains. Pictured: Emergency crews arrive on the horrific scene

NSW National Parks confirmed the 5km loop was inspected days before the landslide as part of a routine assessment program.

'Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict and eliminate all natural risks such as rockslides, which can occasionally occur around the state,' a statement read.

The Wentworth Pass track is considered as having a grade four difficulty under NSW National Park and Wildlife Service guidelines, which recommends only experienced bushwalkers use it.

But several areas around Wentworth Falls have been closed since March 11 due to flood damage, with a major landslip recently shutting down Kedumba Valley Road, which is next to the trail.

The tragedy happened near the Wentworth Pass hiking track in the Blue Mountains, about 50km west of Sydney

Wentworth Pass Loop is a 5km bushwalking track through the Blue Mountains National Park. Pictured: An emergency services worker at the scene on Monday

The family were permitted to use the advanced Wentworth Pass track (pictured), famous for its stunning waterfall views and valley lookouts, despite weeks of wild weather making the area dangerous for hikers

National Pass, another trail about 350 metres away from Monday's deadly incident, has also been closed for the past few weeks due to an 'ongoing rockfall risk'.

A man who was at the popular tourist spot about the same time as the Brits on Monday told Daily Mail Australia he cautiously cut his hike short because the ground was muddy and stairways were wet and he'd recently suffered a leg injury on a trek.

In an post an hour after the tragedy, trail running organiser Ultra-Trail Australia announced the Wentworth Falls track was due to be upgraded later this week to make sure it was safe in time for their upcoming event.

'We've been working closely with [National Parks and Council teams] to ensure that our courses will be good to go come 12-15 May, and we're confident that they will be ready in five weeks time,' the group wrote on their Facebook page about 2.30pm.

'Parks has asked us to let you all know about a few upcoming track closures this week on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th of April (weather dependent), which include sections of course near Fairmont Resort and Wentworth Falls.'

However, hours after the deaths, NSW National Park and Wildlife Service announced the section would be closed indefinitely.

'The Wentworth Falls and Valley of the Waters precincts are closed following a rockfall incident,' the department wrote on their website.

'Please avoid this area until further notice.'

Paramedics were winched from a rescue helicopter down the cliff face as they searched for anyone who had been taken by moving debris

A rescue operation (pictured) was launched to lift the critical patients out of the area for further medical treatment

Hiking fanatics who visited the same trail in recent days have expressed their shock and offered condolences to the British family online.

'This is the trail we completed two days earlier and were unaware of any dangers at the time,' they wrote on Facebook.

'Our thoughts are with the families of these walkers'.

The family were holidaying in Australia from the UK, NSW Police have confirmed, and the British Consulate is now assisting.

Authorities are still working to determine whether the landslide fell on the group while they were walking along a bush track, or if they were trekking along the cliff face that fell.

'Unfortunately there's been a landslip while they were bushwalking and a man and a boy have passed away,' NSW Police Detective Acting Superintendent John Nelson said.

'In terms of the site, it's extremely dangerous and unstable,'

'Two other patients are critical, with head and abdominal injuries, requiring sedation before extraction.'

Several areas around Wentworth Falls (pictured: A hiker on the trail on Monday) had been closed since March 11 due to flood damage, with a major landslip recently shutting Kedumba Valley Road

In an eerie post an hour after the tragedy, trail running organiser Ultra-Trail Australia announced the Wentworth Falls track was due to be upgraded later this week to make sure it was safe in time for their upcoming event

The rescue operation also involved local police, Police Rescue, Fire and Rescue NSW, National Parks & Wildlife Services, Blue Mountains detectives, and PolAir and rescue helicopters

The teen who narrowly escaped being swept away is being hailed a hero after she raised the alarm in a frantic call to Triple-0 around 1.30pm.

It's understood the distraught girl told the operator: 'I don't know where we are'.

She walked from the scene with the help of emergency crews, which involved trekking for an hour-and-a-half along the hiking track.

Police said the girl was uninjured but 'extremely distressed' and was later treated by paramedics for shock before being taken to hospital.

Police crews returned to the scene early on Tuesday morning to recover the bodies of the man and boy.

The retrieval of the bodies was a planned and delicate operation due to the nature of the terrain at the site.

It's understood several bushwalkers on the track assisted rescue workers after coming across the harrowing scenes.
Labour and Channel 4 stars today accused the Government of deciding to sell the broadcaster for 1billion because of a 'petty vendetta' against its left-wing news bulletins and personal attacks on the Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Critics have claimed Nadine Dorries' pledge to take it out of public ownership is 'payback' for 'biased coverage', including of Brexit and climate change, with one hysterical MP branding it 'fascism'.

Labour has called the decision 'cultural vandalism' - but some viewers have pondered whether a new owner might improve on shows such as Naked Attraction  an uncensored nude dating show repeatedly branded the 'worst programme ever shown on TV'.

Ministers deny they are pursuing any vendetta, with Ms Dorries pushing ahead with plans to sell the broadcaster in what will be the biggest disposal of a state-owned asset since Royal Mail in 2013.

She tweeted last night: 'I have come to the conclusion that government ownership is holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon'.

US TV giants Paramount and Discovery are said to be vying with ITV and Sky to buy Channel 4 for 1billion and take it out of public ownership amid years of rows over its treatment of the Conservatives.

Its star presenter Jon Snow, who retired last year after 32 years, was accused of chanting 'f**k the Tories' at Glastonbury while Channel 4 News has been criticised for years over its coverage, most recently of Brexit and climate change. When Boris Johnson secured a 80-seat majority in 2019, boos rang out in the studio during C4's live news coverage of the general election hosted by Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said today that the decision was a 'petty little vendetta against Channel 4' that will 'serve no good for the British public', adding: 'It doesn't make any sense. I can't find many people are in favour of it'.

Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former spin doctor, tweeted: 'The Channel 4 move is right out of the Orban playbook and timed to make it blatant. Part of their purpose is to wind up 'liberals'.' Disgraced Labour MP Claudia Webbe, now an independent, tweeted: 'This is not freedom or independence - its the seedbed of fascism. Tory privatisation of Channel 4 is revenge for all the good journalism they did'.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is pushing ahead with plans to sell the broadcaster in what will be the biggest disposal of a state-owned asset since Royal Mail nine years ago. Some hope that it will see the end of shows such as Naked Attraction, hosted by Anna Richardson

Viewers hope that a new Channel 4 could look to revamp its coverage and go back to its roots

Labour supporters including disgraced MP Claudia Webbe and Alastair Campbell compared the move to fascism and Viktor Orban

The Government has given the green light to the privatisation of Channel 4 after rows over funding and the balance of its coverage

US TV giants Paramount and Discovery are said to be vying with ITV and Sky to buy Channel 4 for 1billion

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries tweeted: 'Channel 4 rightly holds a cherished place in British life and I want that to remain the case'

Now retired Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow was accused of apparently joining in a chant of 'F*** The Tories' while attending Glastonbury music festival in 2017 (pictured)

Top Tory: C4 sale viewed as 'payback time' for years of 'biased coverage' DCMS select committee chair Julian Knight has questioned if the Government's plans to forge forward with the privatisation of Channel 4 are 'revenge', adding that many Tories believe the move is 'payback time' for 'biased coverage'. He wrote on Twitter: 'It is certainly true that Channel 4 will have greater freedom to compete once privatised and if managed well it should be able to continue to innovate and crucially appeal to young audiences - a real usp in today's broadcast landscape. 'However, this is a big risk. The question has to be, do you think a restricted but brilliant small state broadcaster will part compete with the likes of Apple and Amazon or does it need to be able to borrow and grow in a way only privatisation can unlock? 'In all this, it's crucial the Government protects the prominence of all public service broadcasting through the new media bill, in order to give the likes of a new privatised Channel 4 a head start. 'Now, elephant in the room time - is this being done for revenge for Channel 4's biased coverage of the likes of Brexit and personal attacks on the PM? The timing of the announcement 7pm, coinciding with Channel 4 news, was very telling... 'Undoubtedly, across much of the party - there is a feeling of payback time and the word privatisation tickles the ivories of many. The money is irrelevant - equivalent to four days' national debt interest - so it must be used to support skills in creative sectors. 'So, to sum up. Privatisation - even for some wrong reasons - can work for C4 but must be part of a thorough overhaul of all public service broadcasting. If this is in the media bill I will support the Government. Finally, these are my views not those of the Committee more generally.' Advertisement

Tory MP Julian Knight, chair of the Common's culture committee tweeted: Elephant in the room time - is this being done for revenge for Channel 4's biased coverage of the likes of brexit and personal attacks on the PM? The timing of the announcement 7 pm, coinciding with Channel 4 news, was very telling'.

Ministers have not ruled out the broadcaster being sold into foreign hands with Paramount, owned by US giant ViacomCBS, and Discovery, co-owned by WarnerBros, considering buying into the UK market. ITV are said to have long coveted the channel with Sky also looking to expand into free-to-view TV.

Some Tories are also opposed. Former minister Damian Green said: 'The sale of Channel 4 is politicians and civil servants thinking they know more about how to run a business than the people who run it. Very unconservative. Mrs Thatcher, who created it, never made that mistake'.

Ruth Davidson tweeted: 'Channel 4 is publicly owned, not publicly funded. It doesn't cost the tax payer a penny. It also, by charter, commissions content but doesn't make/own its own. It's one of the reasons we have such a thriving indy sector in places like Glasgow. This is the opposite of levelling up'.

Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, who is tipped to be a future party leadership candidate, said he was 'pretty doubtful' that selling Channel 4 would be a good move. He said: 'Given the success Channel 4 has had in promoting independent production around the UK, I remain to be convinced this is going to achieve the aim the government has set out'.

'I'm not in favour of it because as it stands, Channel 4 provides competition to the BBC on what's called public service broadcasting, the kinds of programmes that are not commercially viable  and it'd be a shame to lose that,' Jeremy Hunt said.

Channel 4 was launched in 1982 by Margaret Thatcher to provide a not-for-profit fourth television service for Britain, alongside BBC1, BBC2 and ITV.

It has been funded by advertising and sponsorship deals since the outset, with revenues of around 1billion, boosted recently by a surge in traffic to its All 4 streaming platform where the biggest watched shows are The Great British Bake Off, Gogglebox, SAS: Who Dares Wins as well as its archive of shows including Father Ted, The Inbetweeners, Friday Night Dinners and Peep Show. The shows are free to watch but 3.99 per month if you want to remove adverts.

But the broadcaster has also come under repeated attacks from Conservatives who complain that some of its output is biased against the Tories. One MP said despite being home to many much-loved shows, it 'sealed its own fate' with years of 'one-sided' left-leaning news shows.

TV stars and writers have rushed to criticise the decision after a consultation last year. Location Location Location and Love it or List it presenter Kirstie Allsopp tweeted after Ms Dorries' statement: 'This is a load of utter twaddle! No true Conservative would sell Channel 4, Lady T will be spinning in her grave. C4 was set up to foster the British film & TV industry and it has done that job admirably. Any Tory MP who votes for this is a traitor to their party & country'.

The former head of news and current affairs at Channel 4 has said the Government plans to privatise the network to 'throw a bit of red meat to Tory supporters'.

Speaking to Times Radio on Tuesday, Dorothy Byrne insisted that Channel 4 is not left-wing, adding: 'I think it's being privatised to throw a bit of red meat to Tory supporters of a very right-wing nature at a time that the Government is in trouble.

'I think the political agenda is to show that the Government is doing something radically right-wing to please people. It's the same agenda as attacking the licence fee.

'It's that knee-jerk thing, privatise thing, that's a good thing to do.'

The Thick Of It creator Armando Iannucci tweeted: 'They asked for 'a debate'; 90% of submissions in that debate said it was a bad idea. But still they go ahead. Why do they want to make the UK's great TV industry worse? Why? It makes no business, economic or even patriotic sense.'

The writer of It's A Sin, Russell T Davies, has previously said privatising Channel 4 would be a 'great crime' that would result in programmes like his hit series not being made.

Kirstie Allsopp, pictured with her TV partner Phil Spencer, has blasted Nadine Dorries' decision to put C4 up for sale

The outspoken star said Mrs Thatcher would be 'spinning in her grave' over the decision

Channel 4 News, presented by Jon Snow until last Christmas, has repeatedly been branded left-wing and accused of unfairly trashing the Conservatives, reportedly sparking complaints from its own journalists about the programme's 'anti-Tory bias'.

In 2017 it was even claimed that Mr Snow joined in a chant of 'F*** The Tories' while attending the Glastonbury festival and in 2019 there was a grovelling apology after the veteran presenter said he had 'never seen so many white people in one place' while reporting on a pro-Brexit rally.

And after an attack on two gay women on a London bus, a reporter was accused of 'coaxing' the couple into blaming Boris Johnson for the homophobic crime and saying that he was 'not fit to lead the UK'.

In 2019 Ofcom rejected a Conservative complaint over Channel 4's use of an ice sculpture to stand in for the PM during a debate on climate change, after a subtitler mistakenly reported him saying 'people of colour' when he said 'people of talent' at a rally.

Another example of controversial output was the much criticised spoof Queen's Christmas Day speech, with jibes aimed at Harry and Meghan and Prince Andrew, which was branded 'woke rubbish', 'disgusting' and 'mean-spirited' by viewers.

How quiz show Countdown was the first programme to air on Channel 4 after Margaret Thatcher ordered its launch in 1982 When it was launched by the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1982, Channel 4 was given the remit of appealing to tastes that weren't catered for on the three existing television channels. Until then, the public broadcaster BBC and its commercial rival ITV had held a duopoly over Britain's TV screens. The first voice heard on the new channel when it launched on November 2, 1982, was that of continuity announcer Paul Coia. He said: 'Good afternoon. It's a pleasure to be able to say to you welcome to Channel Four.' After a montage of clips that were played to the sound of the channel's signature tune, the first show to air was an episode of quiz show Countdown that was presented by Carol Vorderman and Richard Whiteley. Previously, Countdown had only aired in pilot form before being bought by Channel 4. The first advert to air on the channel was for car maker Vauxhall. On its first day, the channel also broadcast soap opera Brookside, which was created by Phil Redmond. In the 1980 Broadcasting Act, the Government said Channel 4, which was headed up by chief executive Jeremy Isaacs, would have to provide 'a suitable proportion of matter calculated to appeal to tastes and interests not generally catered for.' The channel was also asked to screen 'educational' programmes which 'encourage innovation and experiment'. As well as Countdown and Brookside, Channel 4 also became known for hit comedy Father Ted, late night show The Word and many other popular programmes. More recent shows, including the likes of Naked Attraction and Sex Box, have attracted criticism from some viewers for allegedly being inappropriate. The former is a dating show in which contestants' bodies - including their private parts - are slowly revealed from the feet up. In the latter, couples who featured on the show had sex in a box on stage. The channel has also been slammed for its alleged left-wing bias in recent years. Channel 4 was launched by the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1982, to provide a fourth television service to Britain, alongside BBC1, BBC2 and ITV. Above: The Channel 4 studio on the day the broadcaster was launched Channel 4's creation was part of a raft of changes to Britain's media landscape during Mrs Thatcher's time in office. The changes brought in by Mrs Thatcher also included the launch of breakfast station TV-am and the insistence that independent producers should make much of the shows that were appearing on Britain's television screens. Before the changes, the BBC and ITV had made nearly all their shows in-house. From the outset, Channel 4 was also obligated to get 'a substantial proportion' of its programmes from independent producers. It was funded by advertising and sponsorship deals. Before Channel 4's launch, a government report had concluded that 'the younger generation of producers is bubbling over with ideas which are not allowed to surface.' Writing to mark Brookside's 30th anniversary in 2012, Redmond said Channel 4 'made a huge, immediate impact' because it was given a remit to 'cater for minorities and find voices that were unheard'. The first show to air was an episode of quiz show Countdown that was presented by Carol Vorderman (pictured) and Richard Whiteley Countdown proved hugely popular and continues to air on Channel 4. Above: Original presenters Richard Whiteley and Carol Vorderman 'It certainly lived up to that. It allowed new people to be seen on TV, with new ideas and voices,' he added. However, the channel was hit by controversy after less than 24 hours of being on air, when members of the Deaf Broadcasting Campaign besieged its London headquarters to complain that there was a lack of news programmes for the deaf. The first major drama to air on the channel was Walter, the story of a mentally handicapped man played by Ian McKellen. In recent years, it has become known for its left-leaning coverage. Channel 4's creation was part of a raft of changes to Britain's media landscape during Mrs Thatcher's time in office Some of Channel 4 News's original presenters are seen above. They include Sir Trevor McDonald (pictured far left) in 1982 The first major drama to air on the channel was Walter, the story of a mentally handicapped man played by Ian McKellen In 2017, it was claimed that former lead presenter Jon Snow joined in a chant of 'F*** The Tories' while attending the Glastonbury festival and in 2019 there was a grovelling apology after the veteran presenter said he had 'never seen so many white people in one place' while reporting on a pro-Brexit rally. And after an attack on two gay women on a London bus, a reporter was accused of 'coaxing' the couple into blaming Boris Johnson for the homophobic crime and saying that he was 'not fit to lead the UK'. In 2019 Ofcom rejected a Conservative complaint over Channel 4's use of an ice sculpture to stand in for the PM during a debate on climate change, after a subtitler mistakenly reported him saying 'people of colour' when he said 'people of talent' at a rally. From the outset, Channel 4 was also obligated to get 'a substantial proportion' of its programmes from independent producers. It was funded by advertising and sponsorship deals The channel is also known for its programming for young people and 'property porn' shows such as Grand Designs and Location, Location, Location. It is also home of the Great British Bake Off and known for its groundbreaking drama. Recent show It's A Sin was lauded for its portrayal of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Channel 4 is commercially funded. It raised revenues of 985million in 2019, but a pre-tax loss of 26million. Selling Channel 4 could be seen as something of an easy win for the Government, as it seeks to find new savings. The taxpayer has a 100 per cent shareholding in Channel 4 but relatively few viewers are even aware that it is state-owned. Channel 4's original female presenters are seen above. Left to right: Dr Linda Barrett Cathy Hytner, Beverley Isherwood and Carol Vorderman On its first day, the channel also broadcast soap opera Brookside, which was created by Phil Redmond A studio is seen being prepared shortly before the launch of Channel 4 in November 1982 When proposals to privatise the channel were first raised in 1988, Mrs Thatcher rejected them over fears the broadcaster would be forced to abandon its public service remit. After a series of meetings over the issue, Mrs Thatcher decided that commercial pressures faced by the newly privatised channel would mean its role in catering for underserved audiences and taking risks with new programmes would be threatened. A minute of the meeting that was revealed in Government papers last year read: 'It was extremely doubtful whether the Channel's distinctive remit would be sustained by a profit-driven organisation in a highly competitive climate.' The committee chaired by Mrs Thatcher had also warned that the Government would be vulnerable to a defeat if the privatisation was put to a vote in the Parliament. More recent shows, including the likes of Naked Attraction (pictured) and Sex Box, have attracted criticism from some viewers for allegedly being inappropriate Advertisement

Supporters of Channel 4 have said the sale comes after repeated attacks from senior Tories who consider their output left-wing, and suggest the process is politically-motivated to stifle a critical voice of the Government.

Tory MP Craig Mackinlay told MailOnline last year: 'It has always occupied a very strange location being under public ownership and it being a commercial enterprise. I don't think it should be in public ownership. It should be out surviving on its own.'

The privatisation is expected to raise more than 1billion, and ministers have not ruled out a sale to a big US streaming service such as Netflix or Disney.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries is braced for a backlash from the channel and its network of independent production firms, who have long opposed a sale.

Channel 4 was slammed in 2020 for mistakenly captioning the footage of Boris Johnson in an election year, which mistakenly reported him saying 'people of colour' when he said 'people of talent'

A reporter was accused of 'coaxing' a couple attacked on a bus into blaming Boris Johnson for the homophobic crime and saying that he was 'not fit to lead the United Kingdom'.

There was more fury when an ice sculpture was put in place for Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he failed to attend a climate change debate amid Tory concerns the show would not be balanced

Why is Channel 4 being sold, who could buy it and how much will it cost? - Why does the Government want to privatise the broadcaster? The Government has argued that Channel 4's long-term future needs to be secured amid concerns for its survival in the streaming era. A statement by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) said it had made the decision to allow the channel to 'thrive in the face of a rapidly-changing media landscape' while a Government source said the move would 'remove Channel 4's straitjacket'. The Government has also argued that a sale could allow the channel, which has limited ability to borrow money or raise private sector capital to invest in new platforms and products and cannot own and sell its own content, to establish its own production house and generate its own intellectual property. - What is the current model? Channel 4, which was founded in 1982 to deliver to under-served audiences, is currently owned by the Government. It receives its funding from advertising, not from the taxpayer. - What has happened so far? Ministers launched a public consultation into a potential change in ownership of the channel last July and Ms Dorries has been working through 60,000 responses to the consultation. The Government informed the broadcaster of the decision to go ahead with the sale on Monday. It comes after years of clashes between the two sides. - What happens now? The DCMS said further details will be announced 'shortly'. Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon said 'there will now be a long process ahead', writing to staff in an internal email on Monday that it could take 18 months or more for the required legislation to pass through the House of Commons and then Lords. 'During that time, we'll continue to work with DCMS and Government, and with our supporters across the industry to make the arguments to ensure that Channel 4 can continue to deliver its remit,' she said. Plans for the sale will be set out in a White Paper later in April and will be included in a new Media Bill for spring 2023, according to reports. Bids for the broadcaster are expected to come in next year with a view to complete the sale in early 2024, ahead of the next general election expected at latest in May that year, the Daily Telegraph reported. - How has Channel 4 reacted? A spokesperson for Channel 4 said it was 'disappointed' with the decision, but would 'continue to engage' with the Government on the process to 'ensure that Channel 4 continues to play its unique part in Britain's creative ecology and national life'. The channel explained that it presented the Government with an alternative to privatisation that would 'safeguard its future financial stability' and allow it to do more for the public, creative industries and the economy. Ms Mahon also said in the internal email to staff that they had proposed a 'vision for the next 40 years' which was rooted in 'continued public ownership' and 'built upon the huge amount of public value this model has delivered to date and the opportunity to deliver so much more in the future'. However, she added that ultimately the ownership of the channel was for the 'Government to propose and Parliament to decide' and that her priority now was to 'look after all of you and the wonderful Channel 4 spirit'. The broadcaster said that it will continue to engage with the Government during the legislative process and plans to do everything it can to 'ensure that Channel 4 continues to play its unique part in Britain's creative ecology and national life'. - What have proponents of the sale said? Baron Grade of Yarmouth, who was the channel's chief executive between 1988 and 1997, has said 'the status quo is not an option' and that its current remit is like a 'straitjacket' in today's media landscape. He told the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee last October: 'Channel 4 needs to do what every other free-to-air advertiser-supported business is doing, which is to own its own IP and to be able to gain scale. 'Everything in the Channel 4 constitution presently is against that and therefore it will, in my view, in a very short time really begin to struggle.' - Who could buy Channel 4? Foreign ownership has not been ruled out, as long as the regulator Ofcom's 'fit and proper' test for ownership is passed, according to reports. The Telegraph reported that ITV is understood to be interested, while Discovery has held informal talks and Rupert Murdoch has been linked to a possible takeover. Bids from Sky, Channel 5 owner Paramount, Amazon and Netflix are also possible. A Government source told the newspaper that ministers 'expect a lot of interest in purchasing C4 from a range of serious buyers who want to build on C4's strengths and help unleash its full potential.' - How much could it be sold for? No price tag has been set by the Government yet, but reports suggest the channel could be sold for as much as 1 billion. Ministers have said they will seek to reinvest the proceeds into the creative industries. Advertisement

But ministers believe Channel 4, whose top shows include the Great British Bake Off and Gogglebox, can only flourish in the long term if freed from the 'straitjacket' of Government control. Under its current rules, the broadcaster faces strict controls on the amount it can borrow, meaning it faces an uphill struggle against streaming giants with multi-billion-dollar budgets.

The sale will be formally announced next week, but it is understood Mrs Dorries told Cabinet colleagues and the Channel 4 board last night that she intends to proceed with it.

It will be the biggest privatisation since the 2013 sale of the Royal Mail. Independent production firms, which now make all of Channel 4's domestic output, have warned a sell-off could be a disaster for the sector in the UK.

But Mrs Dorries is expected to announce the sale's proceeds will be put into a 'creative dividend' to train young British talent.

A Government source said although Channel 4 was 'currently performing well', ministers are convinced 'government ownership is holding it back in the face of a rapidly changing and competitive media landscape'.

They added: 'A change of ownership will remove its straitjacket, giving C4 the freedom to innovate and grow so it can flourish and thrive long into the future and support the whole of the UK creative industries.'

Privatising Channel 4 'doesn't make any sense' and will cause a 'great deal of damage to jobs and opportunities', Labour has said.

Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'It doesn't make any sense. I can't find many people are in favour of it.

'I think it will cause a great deal of damage to jobs and opportunities in the creative industries, especially in Leeds and Bristol, and Manchester, and outside of London.

'I fear that ... rather than competing with some of the big US streaming giants, it is more likely to be bought by one of them.

'That will take money out of the UK economy, out of the creative industries and the independent sector that has so thrived under Channel 4.'

When asked if Labour would take it back into the public ownership if in government, Ms Powell said: 'Well, I have not written our manifesto commitment on this overnight since this announcement was laid. There is going to be a very long and drawn-out, difficult process because there are many people opposed on their own side of the Conservative Party on this.

'They are going to have a difficult issue getting this through Parliament, which is also why I don't understand why they are doing it because of all the things that we could be spending our time doing in Parliament right now, dealing with the pensioners who can't afford to keep the heating on, the families who can't put food on the table, people can't afford petrol in the petrol pump, and we are going to be expending a huge amount of parliamentary and political time doing something that no-one in the public wants, and no-one in the industry wants either.'

Channel 4 will continue to be classed as a public sector broadcaster in the same way as private sector ITV. A source said the sale was not expected to have a direct impact on Channel 4 News.

Senior Tories have clashed with Channel 4 over alleged bias in the past. Boris Johnson boycotted it in 2019 after its then head of news Dorothy Byrne branded him a 'known liar'.

But a Government source last night insisted the sale was not motivated by politics, adding: 'This is about what is best for Channel 4.' It will be disposed of via a straight sale. A final decision on a preferred bidder will be made by ministers.

A spokesperson for Channel 4 said it was 'disappointed' with the decision but would 'continue to engage' with the Government on the process to 'ensure that Channel 4 continues to play its unique part in Britain's creative ecology and national life'.

The statement said: 'With over 60,000 submissions to the Government's public consultation, it is disappointing that today's announcement has been made without formally recognising the significant public interest concerns which have been raised.

'Channel 4 has engaged in good faith with the Government throughout the consultation process, demonstrating how it can continue to commission much-loved programmes from the independent sector across the UK that represent and celebrate every aspect of British life as well as increase its contribution to society, while maintaining ownership by the public.

'Recently, Channel 4 presented DCMS with a real alternative to privatisation that would safeguard its future financial stability, allowing it to do significantly more for the British public, the creative industries and the economy, particularly outside London.

'This is particularly important given that the organisation is only two years into a significant commitment to drive up its impact in the UK's Nations and Regions.'

It continued: 'Channel 4 remains legally committed to its unique public-service remit. The focus for the organisation will be on how we can ensure we deliver the remit to both our viewers and the British creative economy across the whole of the UK.

'The proposal to privatise Channel 4 will require a lengthy legislative process and political debate. We will of course continue to engage with DCMS, Government and Parliament, and do everything we can to ensure that Channel 4 continues to play its unique part in Britain's creative ecology and national life.'

Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon previously questioned the 'logic' behind such a move and whether privatising the broadcaster would help with efforts to 'level up' outside of London.

In an internal email to staff, she said her priority was to 'look after all of you and the wonderful Channel 4 spirit'.

She also implied that the channel's current leadership would not go down without a fight saying 'ultimately the ownership of C4 is for Government to propose and Parliament to decide'.

She said: 'In our engagement with Government during its extended period of reflection, we have proposed a vision for the next 40 years which we are confident would allow us to build on the successes of the first 40.

'That vision was rooted in continued public ownership, and was built upon the huge amount of public value this model has delivered to date and the opportunity to deliver so much more in the future.

'But ultimately the ownership of C4 is for Government to propose and Parliament to decide.

'Our job is to deliver what Parliament tasks us to do, and if or when that changes, then I am confident that this incredible organisation will respond with the relentless energy it has always displayed in pursuit of its goals and the remit.

'My priority now, along with the rest of the Exec team, is to look after all of you and the wonderful Channel 4 spirit, and make sure we all carry on doing what we do best - making incredible shows for our audiences, creating opportunities for young people and supporting the creative industry across the UK.

'There will now be a long process ahead - it could take 18 months or more for the required legislation to go through the House of Commons and then Lords.

'During that time, we'll continue to work with DCMS and Government, and with our supporters across the industry to make the arguments to ensure that Channel 4 can continue to deliver its remit.'

The Government has been consulting on plans to privatise the broadcaster, which was founded in 1982 to deliver to under-served audiences, following concerns for its survival in the streaming era.

C4's biggest shows include The Great British Bake Off, Gogglebox, Hollyoaks and Big Fat Quiz (pictured: Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas on Bakeoff)

Channel 4 will be sold off by the Government for at least 1billion before the next election (pictured: Channel 4 News presenters including Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Cathy Newman)

Nadine Dorries: 'I have come to the conclusion that government ownership is holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon'

Ministers think that government ownership of Channel 4 is 'holding it back' and that privatising the broadcaster would 'remove its straitjacket', a Government source has said.

'HMG is expected to pursue a sale of C4 as part of a package of reforms to modernise and sustain the UK's public service broadcasting sector,' the source said.

In an internal email to staff, Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon (pictured) said her priority was to 'look after all of you and the wonderful Channel 4 spirit'

'Following a consultation, ministers have decided that, although C4 as a business is currently performing well, government ownership is holding it back in the face of a rapidly changing and competitive media landscape.

'C4 is a great business with a strong brand built around it being creative, innovative and distinctive but a change of ownership will remove its straitjacket, giving C4 the freedom to innovate and grow so it can flourish and thrive long into the future and support the whole of the UK creative industries.

'Ministers will seek to reinvest the proceeds of the sale. They want to use the cash resulting from the sale to spend on a 'creative dividend' - putting money into independent production and levelling up wider creative skills in priority parts of the country.

'C4 will remain a public service broadcaster - just like ITV is a privately owned PSB (public service broadcaster) - and we will ensure it continues to make an important social, economic and cultural contribution to the UK. Importantly, this will include an ongoing commitment to prime time news.'

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries tweeted: 'Channel 4 rightly holds a cherished place in British life and I want that to remain the case.

'I have come to the conclusion that government ownership is holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon.

'A change of ownership will give Channel 4 the tools and freedom to flourish and thrive as a public service broadcaster long into the future.

'I will set out the future plan for Channel 4 in a White Paper in due course.

'I will seek to reinvest the proceeds of the sale into levelling up the creative sector, putting money into independent production and creative skills in priority parts of the country - delivering a creative dividend for all.'

From Jon Snow caught on camera chanting 'F*** the Tories' at Glastonbury to manipulating Boris's subtitles to THAT melting ice sculpture stunt  all the times Channel 4 proved its anti-Tory credentials

2020

The Christmas message included jibes aimed at Prince Andrew, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Boris Johnson

Channel 4 was criticised for its 'deepfake' version of The Queen's Christmas Day speech in 2020, which saw the monarch discussing Harry and Meghan as well as her son Prince Andrew.

The channel produces a light-hearted alternative to the annual Christmas address but last year's offering has angered viewers, some of which branded it 'woke rubbish', 'disgusting' and 'mean spirited'.

It made a mockery of the Queen - with jibes aimed at Prince Andrew, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Boris Johnson - 25 minutes after the Queen's BBC broadcast at 3pm.

The digitally-created 'deepfake', played by actress Debra Stephenson, was filled with gags, including jokes about the toilet roll shortage at the beginning of the pandemic and saw the monarch perfecting her moves for a dance on Tik Tok.

But not all the viewers were impressed, including politician Nigel Farage who tweeted 'How dare they' in response to the video. Others took to Twitter to share their outrage, with one writing: 'Disgusting. The Queen has been steadfast in her duty and still going strong. God save the Queen.'

2019

Krishnan Guru-Murthy with (rear left to right) Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Green Party Co-Leader Sian Berry, standing next to ice sculptures representing the Brexit Party and Conservative Party who didnt appear at the event

The broadcaster was also slammed for wrongly captioning a video of Boris Johnson with subtitles referring to the race of immigrants.

Mr Johnson made a speech in which he said new immigration controls would ensure 'people of talent' still come to Britain.

But in Channel 4's subtitles of the speech, the phrase was changed to become 'people of colour'.

Channel 4 was forced to apologise after news anchor Jon Snow said he had 'never seen so many white people in one place' while reporting on a pro-Brexit rally

In the same year Ofcom rejected a Conservative complaint over Channel 4's use of an ice sculpture to stand in for Boris Johnson during a debate on climate change

The Tories complained that the broadcaster failed to allow the former environment secretary Michael Gove to be its representative for the debate, which saw party leaders face questions over how they would tackle climate change. But the regulator rejected the Tories' complaint.

The Conservative response was incendiary. An unnamed source threatened to review Channel 4's public service broadcasting licence when it expires in 2024. The Conservatives complained to Ofcom about what they termed a 'partisan stunt'.

Channel 4 News also apologised for Jon Snow's 'unscripted observation' after the broadcaster said he had 'never seen so many white people in one place' while reporting on a pro-Brexit rally.

In a statement, Channel 4 News said it 'regrets' any offence caused by the presenter's remarks, which came as protesters brought Westminster to a standstill on what was supposed to be the day the UK exited the European Union.

2017

Now retired Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow was accused of apparently joining in a chant of 'F*** The Tories' while attending Glastonbury music festival in 2017 (pictured)

Jon Snow branded a Channel 4 News panellist 'a b***end' after being reprimanded on live TV for an alleged four-letter attack on the Tories.

It was in relation to claims that Mr Snow joined in a chant of 'F*** The Tories' while attending Glastonbury music festival.

But the presenter was reportedly left lost for words when a right-wing think-tank's spokesman quipped 'not everyone hates the Tories as much as you do.'

It was in relation to claims that Mr Snow joined in a chant of 'F*** The Tories' while attending Glastonbury music festival at the weekend. While Mr Snow has said he has 'no recollection' of the Glastonbury incident, he was nonetheless taken to task live on air by Matt Kilcoyne of the Adam Smith Institute.

2015

A Channel 4 docudrama about an imagined Ukip victory at the general election was investigated by Ofcom

Ofcom launched an investigation into a Channel 4 docudrama which led to more than 6,500 complaints after it depicted people rioting in the streets following an imagined Ukip election win.

The broadcaster was accused election bias and scaremongering after it painted a country marred by race riots and mass unemployment under an imagined leadership by Nigel Farage in 'Ukip: The First 100 Days'.

2014

Backbench Tory MP Philip Davies was involved in a heated exchange with veteran broadcaster Jon Snow on a tour of Channel 4 News's studios

Jon Snow became embroiled in a furious shouting match with Tory Mp Philip Davies, the Channel 4 newsroom turned into their unlikely sparring arena after Channel 4 was accused of biased coverage.

The row  played out in front of 50 journalists  began when 'playground bully' Mr Snow confronted Mr Davies, who was on a tour of the studio, about accusations of political bias.

They traded insults for ten minutes  with Mr Davies saying Mr Snow was 'past it'  before fellow presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy waded in and told their visitor to 'clear off'.

According to witnesses, he argued with Mr Davies over accusations the MP had made that he was 'biased' to the Left.

And some of the other controversies

2008

Channel 4 opted to end the year on a controversial note by inviting the then president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to deliver a talk in Farsi with English subtitles

President Ahmadinejad's Christmas speech In the Alternative Christmas address of 2008, a Channel 4 tradition since 1993 with a different presenter each year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a thinly veiled attack on the United States by claiming that Christ would have been against 'bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers'.

2004

A documentary showing a woman undergoing an abortion caused upset while Channel 4's digital offshoot More 4, made headlines of its own by staging the assassination of George W Bush in its film Death of a President.

2002

Gunther von Hagens performed a public autopsy in the UK - the first one for 170 years.

Despite the furore, he was invited back for 2012's Crucifixion on Easter Sunday, in which he mapped out his own interpretation of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Three teenage boys have been rescued from a cliff face after a rock climbing adventure went horribly wrong.

The students from Melbourne were retrieved from Mount Arapiles, west Victoria, about 3pm on Tuesday after one boy fell and two others became stuck.

The 16-year-old was taken by ambulance to Horsham Public Hospital where he is in a stable condition and undergoing treatment for lower body injuries.

Scroll down for the video.

Three students from Melbourne were rescued from Mount Arapiles, west Victoria, after one boy, 16, fell five to seven metres down the cliff face and another two were left stuck

'We're unsure of the distance he's actually fallen but he's landed on a rock ledge approximately five to seven metres above the ground level,' a rescuer told Seven News.

'He was complaining of the injuries, obviously with a fall like that.'

The rescue teams initially tried to reach the teenager with a helicopter and winch but had to resort to using ropes to lower him to the ground.

Fire and Rescue Victoria, SES, Country Fire Authority, and Ambulance Victoria attended the scene.

The rescuers initially tried to reach the teenager with a helicopter and winch but had to resort to using ropes to lower him to the ground

SES Victoria has warned Mount Arapiles is a very challenging climber, even for experienced climbers

The news comes after four other rock climbers had to be rescued from the mountain in late February.

A 67-year-old climber suffered a head injury and became stuck - along with three other climbers - on the mountain's cliff face.

A high angle rescue team was able to reach the group two hours later.

SES Victoria has warned Mount Arapiles is a very challenging climb, even for experienced climbers.
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Satellite images of Ukrainian civilians slaughtered in Bucha show bodies lining the streets more than two weeks ago, debunking Russian claims that the massacre was staged by Kyiv in order to frame its troops for war crimes.

Images taken of Bucha, a commuter city on the outskirts of Kyiv, on March 19 show dark objects strewn along a road - which match the exact positions where the rotting corpses of civilians were found by Ukrainian soldiers who recaptured the area from Russian forces at the weekend.

Russian forces were in control of the city at the time, strongly suggesting that it was Putin's men - and not Kyiv's - who carried out the killings. Kyiv now says at least 410 civilians were massacred in and around Bucha by the Russians while others were tortured and raped in what President Volodymyr Zelensky has described as 'genocide'.

Zelensky, who appeared shattered on a visit to the area yesterday, will today address the UN Security Council where he is expected to push world leaders to impose tougher sanctions on Russia over the atrocities, send more weapons for his armed forces, and for a war crimes probe to punish the Russian commanders responsible.

In a nightly address to the Ukrainian nation on Tuesday, he said that Western sanctions on Russia 'must finally be powerful' - adding: 'Did hundreds of our people have to die in agony for some European leaders to finally understand that the Russian state deserves the most severe pressure?'

He was also critical of the amount of military aid sent to Ukraine so-far, saying more equipment could have helped save civilian lives. 'I do not blame you - I blame only the Russian military,' he said. 'But you could have helped.'

Ukraine's allies have called the killings in Bucha war crimes, with the EU offering to send investigators to gather evidence. '(Russian President Vladimir Putin) is a war criminal,' US President Biden told reporters at the White House. 'What's happening to Bucha is outrageous and everyone's seen it.'

The White House said it would announce fresh sanctions on Moscow 'this week' with France suggesting new measures could target Russian oil and coal exports. But Germany warned it was too soon to cut off Russian gas.

'We have to cut all economic relationship to Russia, but at the moment, it's not possible to cut the gas supplies. We need some time,' German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said.

Elsewhere, the United States and Britain said they would seek Russia's suspension from the UN Human Rights Council - a move Moscow branded 'unbelievable'.

Russia has cynically asked for the Security Council to convene to discuss what it describes as Ukrainian attempts to stage a massacre in order to frame its troops, but Britain - which currently chairs the council - has refused.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

A satellite image taken of a street in the city of Bucha on March 19 - when Russian forces were in full control of the city - shows dark objects in the road that exactly match where civilian corpses were later discovered by Ukrainian troops

Pictured: Bodies of civilians lay in a mass grave in Bucha which was recaptured by the Ukrainian army last week

Images show civilians with bound hands. Pictured: Ira Gavriluk walks next to the corpses of her husband and her brother

Broken: A visibly emotional President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday stood motionless as he surveyed the scene of utter devastation he encountered in the town of Bucha, with dozens of bodies shot at close range laying on the empty streets

The full nature of the killings in Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have withdrawn is still being pieced together.

On Monday, the bodies of five men were found in a children's sanatorium basement in Bucha. The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said they were unarmed civilians, who had been bound, beaten and killed by Russian troops.

And in Motyzhyn, west of Kyiv, Ukrainian police showed AFP journalists the bodies of five civilians with their hands tied, including those of the village's mayor, her husband and son.

Ukrainian officials say over 400 civilian bodies have been recovered from the Kyiv region, many of whom have been laid to rest in mass graves.

But Zelensky has warned that the deaths in Bucha could be only the tip of the iceberg, saying he had information even more people had been killed in places like nearby Borodianka.

AFP reporters who briefly visited the area saw no bodies in the streets, but locals reported many deaths.

'I know five civilians were killed,' said 58-year-old Rafik Azimov. 'But we don't know how many more are left in the basements of the ruined buildings after the bombardments.'

'I buried six people,' another resident, Volodymyr Nahornyi, said. 'More people are under the ruins.'

The Russian withdrawal from Kyiv has been seen as a pivot to a renewed offensive in the country's east and south, where Moscow wants to consolidate territory around occupied Crimea and the separatist statelets of Donetsk and Lugansk.

The Ukrainian government has warned Moscow is preparing a "full-scale" attack in the country's east and regional officials urged civilians to evacuate Lugansk fearing a major Russian attack.

The Pentagon estimates Russia has withdrawn about two thirds of the troops it had around Kyiv and will redeploy them to the east and south, with the White House warning the war's "next phase could be measured in months or longer."

Even where troops have withdrawn, fears remain, with Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko telling residents to wait before returning, citing the danger of continued shelling and the danger of unexploded munitions.

Overnight, air raid sirens rang out across much of the country, from Lviv in the west to southern Mykolaiv, where officials said Monday that Russian strikes killed 10 civilians and wounded 46.

Elsewhere in the south, concerns remain about civilians trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (pictured) said his country will hold a press conference to prove that claims Vladimir Putin's troops have been committing war crimes in Ukraine are false however the Kremlin has yet to present their evidence

Pictured: Russia's envoy to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya said Russia will present 'empirical evidence' to the UN Security Council

Authorities say at least 5,000 people have been killed in the city, 90 percent of which has been destroyed, according to mayor Vadim Boichenko.

Around 130,000 residents are still trapped inside, and efforts to evacuate them are now on hold because of "incessant" bombing, he said.

The Red Cross said Monday a team it sent to help get civilians out of Mariupol was being held by police in Russian-controlled territory.

Europe's worst conflict in decades, sparked by Russia's invasion on February 24, has killed as many as 20,000 people, according to Ukrainian estimates.

More than 4.2 million Ukrainians have fled the country and about 6.5 million have been internally displaced, UN agencies say.

Britain's UN ambassador says a previously planned UN Security Council meeting Tuesday is certain to focus 'front and center' on the killing of large numbers of civilians in Ukraine.

Some of the dead were found with their hands tied behind their backs after Russian troops left the Ukrainian town of Bucha on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv.

The UK holds the council presidency in April, and Ambassador Barbara Woodward said Britain didn't grant Russia's request for a meeting on the situation in Bucha on Monday because 'we didn't see a good reason to have two meetings back to back on Ukraine.'

She told reporters that the Security Council will be briefed Tuesday by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths and UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo.

Woodward said that 'the images that we saw coming out of Bucha over the weekend were harrowing, appalling, probable evidence of war crimes and possibly a genocide.'

Meanwhile, a Russian law enforcement agency has said it has launched its own investigation into allegations that Ukrainian civilians were massacred, focusing on what it calls 'false information' about Russian forces.

Pictured: Bags containing bodies of civilians, who according to residents was killed by Russian soldiers in Bucha, Ukraine

Volunteers unload bags containing bodies of civilians, who according to residents were killed by Russian army soldiers

The Investigative Committee claims Ukrainian authorities made the allegations 'with the aim of discrediting Russian troops' and that those involved should be investigated over possible breaches of a new Russian law banning what the government deems to be false information about its forces.

Russian law enforcement has launched several investigations since Russian troops entered Ukraine, typically into incidents such as the shelling of areas held by Russia-backed separatists.

Moscow faced global revulsion and accusations of war crimes Monday after the Russian pullout from the outskirts of Kyiv revealed streets strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians, some of whom had seemingly been killed at close range.

The grisly images of battered bodies left out in the open or hastily buried led to calls for tougher sanctions against the Kremlin, namely a cutoff of fuel imports from Russia.

Germany and France reacted by expelling dozens of Russian diplomats, suggesting they were spies, and US President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin should be tried for war crimes.

On Monday, Biden called for a trial, adding to the global outcry over civilian killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha as more graphic images of their deaths emerged.

'Obviously responsible': Pentagon spokesman John Kirby (pictured) speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, April 4

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said Russian forces are obviously responsible for the atrocities in Bucha, even as it acknowledged it was not yet sure precisely which units were operating in the area.

'I think it's fairly obvious, not just to us but to the world, that Russian forces are responsible for the atrocities in Bucha,' Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing.

'Now exactly who - what units, whether they're contractors or Chechens - I don't think we're able to say right now. But we're certainly not refuting that these atrocities occurred and occurred at the hands of Russians.'

The Kremlin categorically denied any accusations relating to the murder of civilians, including in Bucha, where it said the graves and corpses had been staged by Ukraine to tarnish Russia.

Asked at a news conference about Biden's comments, Lavrov said the West should first consider its own actions in Iraq and Libya.

'Not all is well with the conscience... of American politicians,' he said.

Speaking in a broadcast last night, Vladimir Soloviev, a prominent pro-Putin personality who supports the invasion, added: 'The war against Russia entered a new phase today. Very soon we will be blamed of genocide.'

He alleged the plot was masterminded by Britain as he praised the 'true patriots' in Donbas as other sources have accused Kyiv of staging the horrifying scenes in Bucha.

Soloviev also brought up allegations of Russian troops raping young women in front of their families, at one point saying he 'doesn't even want to comment' on the topic.

It comes as the Russian defence ministry rejected the allegations and claimed that 'not a single civilian suffered from violence when the town was controlled by the Russian Armed Forces'.

Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said: 'I would like to point out that Russian troops left Bucha on March 30.

'The Ukrainian authorities remained silent all these days, and now they have suddenly posted sensational footage in order to tarnish Russia's image and make Russia defend itself.

'I would like to emphasise with full responsibility that not a single civilian suffered from violence when the town was controlled by the Russian Armed Forces.

Solviev (above), who is a pro-Putin personality, saidd: 'It's obvious people will try to blame us as a people behind genocide'

An elderly woman collects firewood to heat her house in the devastated commuter town of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv

'On the contrary, our troops delivered 452 tonnes of humanitarian aid for civilians.

'Meanwhile, the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the town of Bucha right after Russian troops had left was deliberately ignored in the US.

'This is what could have caused civilian casualties. That said, the Kyiv regime is clearly trying to blame its atrocities on Russia.'

Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of the Russian upper house of parliament, said: 'There are no doubts that it is a staging organised by Kyiv authorities.

'And the fact that the West has picked it up and is hyping it makes it an accomplice of this cynical and immoral crime.'

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed Kyiv colluded with the West in seeking to blame Russia.

'I think that the very fact that these statements were made minutes after these materials were released leaves no doubts as for who has contracted this story,' she told state-run Rossiya-1 television channel.

She claimed the West decided immediately Russia was to blame 'based on the videos, seconds-long videos and several photos. And they are ready to pour accusations.

'No expert work done, no information from the other side throwing light on what is going on...'

She also alleged the massacres were 'a provocation staged by the Ukrainian military and radical nationalists' to disrupt peace talks.

Meanwhile the Telegram channel War on Fakes, which has been accused of spreading misinformation about the invasion, shared posts discrediting the atrocities pictured and filmed in Bucha and said it was part of a 'planned media campaign'.

One post said: 'Fake: The Russian military left Bucha, having previously left huge casualties among the civilian population.

'Truth: Notes about Bucha appeared in several foreign publications at once - it looks like a planned media campaign.

'Given that the troops left the city on March 30, where were these footage for 4 days? Their absence only confirms the fake.

'The video with the bodies is puzzling: here, at 12 seconds, the 'corpse' on the right moves its hand.

'At 30 seconds in the rearview mirror, the 'corpse' sits down. The bodies in the video seem to have been deliberately laid out in order to create a more dramatic picture.'

A satellite photo show a probable grave site (circled) near the Church of Saint Andrew in Bucha

Larisa Savenko 72, stands outside her damaged home with Andriy Leshbon in Bucha, Ukraine

Soldiers walk amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday

'This is clearly seen if you play video at a speed of 0.25 of normal.'

This was shared by the Russian Ministry of Defence Telegram channel.

Meanwhile the Kremlin today said that it categorically denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, adding that Ukrainian allegations on the matter should be treated with doubt.

Yesterday Ukrainian authorities said they were investigating possible crimes by Russian forces after finding hundreds of bodies strewn around towns outside Kyiv following Russian withdrawal from the area.

'This information must be seriously questioned,' Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.

'From what we have seen, our experts have identified signs of video falsification and other fakes.'

Peskov said that the facts and chronology of the events in Bucha did not support Ukraine's version of events and urged international leaders not to rush to judgment.

'We categorically deny any accusations,' said Peskov.

'The situation is undoubtedly serious and we would ask that many international leaders not rush with their statements, not rush with their baseless accusations, request information from different sources, and at least listen to our explanations.'
North Korea will use its nuclear weapons to 'eliminate' South Korea's army in the event they launch a pre-emptive strike, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un said Tuesday.

Kim Yo Jong's warning, carried in state media, was her second angry retort in three days to comments made by South Korea's defence chief Suh Wook last week.

Suh had said Friday that South Korea's military had missiles with 'the ability to accurately and quickly hit any target in North Korea when there are clear signs of North's missile launch'.

In response, Kim Yo Jong said it was a 'very big mistake' for 'lunatic' Suh to have discussed a pre-emptive strike against a nuclear power, according to the report in state media KCNA.

The threats come amid a blitz of sanctions-breaking weapons tests in North Korea, which last month fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile at full range since 2017.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, has sent a nuclear warning to South Korea

This photo distributed by the North Korean government shows what it says is a test-fire of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), at an undisclosed location in North Korea on March 24, 2022

Kim Yo Jong's warning, carried in state media, was her second angry retort in three days to comments made by South Korea's defence chief Suh Wook last week (Kim Yo Jong pictured alongside brother Kim Jong Un)

'In case South Korea opts for military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty,' said Kim Yo Jong, who is a key policy advisor in Pyongyang.

She said the 'primary mission' for her country's nuclear forces was to act as a deterrent, but if an armed conflict were to break out, such weapons will be used for 'eliminating the enemy's armed forces at a strike'.

As a result of this 'dreadful attack', South Korean forces will face a 'miserable fate little short of total destruction and ruin', she said.

'We do not regard (them) as (a) match for our armed forces,' she said, referring to South Korea's military.

Her latest comments follow an initial attack on Suh's 'reckless remarks' Sunday, in which she warned the South should 'discipline itself if it wants to stave off disaster', and come mere days after South Korean intelligence suggested the North was preparing to test-fire new nuclear weapons.

South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Sunday March 27 that the pariah state appeared to be hastily constructing a 'shortcut' to a tunnel at its nuclear test site in Punggye-ri in preparations for a seventh underground nuclear detonation.

The increased activity around the nuclear site came just days after the North test-fired its latest ICBM, the Hwasong-17, which it says has the range to deliver a warhead anywhere in the United States.

Protesters participate in a rally against the North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch on March 26, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea

This file picture taken on March 24, 2022 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 25, 2022 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) walking near what state media report says was a new type inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) before its test launch at an undisclosed location in North Korea

The latest information about North Korea's nuclear test plans comes from South Korea's military and intelligence authorities, who say they have detected signs the North is restoring an underground testing facility that was shuttered during negotiations in 2018.

Work at the mountainous site in the country's northwest appears to have taken a turn that suggests the restoration of access to Tunnel 3 is a high priority.

'(The North) abruptly stopped its initial construction work to restore the entrance to Tunnel 3, and it is digging up the side (of the tunnel),' a source told Yonhap, requesting anonymity.

'In this way, it seems like it will be possible to restore (the testing facilities) in a month.'

The Arms Control Association estimates that North Korea currently has around 40 to 50 viable nuclear warheads.

North Korea had paused its long-range and nuclear tests when Kim Jong Un and then US president Donald Trump engaged in a high-profile bout of diplomacy that subsequently collapsed in 2019. Talks have since stalled.

North Korea will this month mark the 110th anniversary of the birth of founder Kim Il Sung - the grandfather of current leader Kim.

Typically, Pyongyang likes to mark key domestic anniversaries with military parades, major weapons tests or satellite launches.
A Jewish man who was killed in February after he was run over by a tram in France was trying to flee an anti-Semitic attack, his family have claimed.

Newly-emerged footage shows Jeremy Cohen, 31, being subjected to a vicious assault by a gang on the streets of Bobigny in the suburbs of Paris on February 16.

While trying to flee, he ran into the path of an oncoming tram, suffering major head trauma and heart failure and he died hours later in hospital in what police initially dismissed as an accident.

Cohen's family then decided to carry out their own inquiry, handing out flyers and appealing for witnesses and video from the scene.

Eventually, footage taken from a nearby window by a tourist from Dubai was shared with the family, showing the circumstances leading to his death.

Newly-emerged footage shows a large group gathered on the street of Bobigny beating up Jeremy Cohen on February 16 moments before his death

The 31-year-old (pictured centre) was trying to flee an attack when he ran into the path of a tram, his family claim

His father Gerald and brother Rafael claimed the video had been shared with police but the investigation was stalling again, and now they have gone public to raise awareness.

The footage has emerged just days before the first round of the French presidential elections, and far-right candidates Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour, currently trailing at second and fourth in the polls respectively, have slammed the horrific scenes.

They have suggested authorities have tried to cover-up what could be an 'anti-Semitic murder'.

Cohen's family said he died while wearing his kippah and believe this provoked the vile assault.

Gerald told Radio Shalom: 'Jeremy's death is linked to an attack of which he was the victim  by a gang of young people immediately before being hit.'

Cohen's family then decided to carry out their own inquiry, handing out flyers and appealing for witnesses and video from the scene

Cohen is seen running away from the gang on to the road to escape the attack, before running into a tram

Meanwhile Rafael told Channel 12: 'A few days after my brother died, we were told that the case was being looked at as a traffic accident rather than an attack before they even watched video footage from the train and other evidentiary material.'

The new footage has sparked outrage with the hashtag #JeremyCohen going viral in France.

Zemmour, who is Jewish, said: 'The images of Jeremy Cohen's death are chilling. The death of yet another one of our children and the deafening silence on the facts for two months revolts me.

'Did he die while escaping those scum? Did he die because he was Jewish? Why is this case being hushed up?'

Jewish woman Sarah Halimi, pictured, was killed and thrown from her balcony by Kobili Traore in April 2017

Meanwhile Marine Le Pen said: 'In February, Jeremy Cohen was killed, run over by a tram while fleeing a gang beating him up.

'What was presented as an accident could be an anti-Semitic murder. How can you explain the silence on this affair and its motivations?'

French-Jewish lawmaker Meyer Habib said the incident was 'heartbreaking' and urged the interior minister to investigate.

He said: 'The media had previously reported a pedestrian being run over, but It seems like the real circumstances of Jeremy Cohen's death, a 31-year-old Jew, were much more dramatic.

'The victim, who according to all witnesses, was wearing a kippah on his head, tried to escape, as the video clearly shows, from a group of bullies who attacked him. During his escape, he failed to see the tram coming toward him.

'The images are heart-breaking. I have turned to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who has promised me that the authorities are taking this case very seriously and that it is under the examination of the Justice Ministry.'

Habib noted the timing of the video, not only before the election but also on the anniversary of the high-profile anti-Semitic killing of Sarah Halimi.

French judges ruled Kobili Traore's heavy cannabis use caused a 'delirious fit' while carrying out the killing and was therefore not mentally fit to stand trial

He added: 'With only a week remaining until the first round of the presidential election, it seems like a new case of covert antisemitism is gaining momentum. In a sad coincidence, we mark today five years since the horrible murder of Sarah Halimi.'

Prosecutors said yesterday they are investigating Cohen's death and the circumstances surrounding it.

They said the probe was launched in late March and are looking into the 'intentional violence' that could have caused an 'involuntary homicide'.

But they did not mention anti-Semitism, fuelling fears that the case will be dismissed without regard for its possible racist motivation, similar to the Halimi case.

In April 2017, she was thrown to her death from the third story of her building by a man shouting Allahu Akbar.

Kobili Traore was also alleged to have then shouted: 'I have killed the devil.'

But a court later ruled he could not stand trial because he was psychotic from cannabis at the time, sparking major protests.
This is the moment a cheeky group of meerkats used a photographer as a lookout post for potential predators by standing on his head.

Nick Kleer was leading a tour through Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana, in March, when he lay on the ground to get a better view of the wildlife surrounding him.

Adorable footage shows several of the inquisitive animals wandering around the 34-year-old before clambering up his arms and taking a perch on his skull.

In footage taken by the 34-year-old, the pack of meerkats can be seen using him 'like a termite mound'.

Nick Kleer was leading a tour in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana, in March when the magical experience took place

The 34-year-old lay on the floor to get a better angle for his photography and was greeted by a pack of meerkats

Nick Kleer was leading a tour in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana, in March when the magical experience took place

One is stood on top of the South African's head, while another is perched on his back.

In front of him juvenile meerkats run around, with several looking at him curiously.

At one point three of the cute critters appear to playfight less than a metre in front of him.

Mr Kleer said the group spent 20 minutes around him, with the pack's female leader being the first to climb on him.

'The area is very flat, so they use people to get higher,' he said.

The inquisitive animals climbed on top of him and played with each other less than a metre away

Mr Kleer says the female leader of the group was the first to climb on him, followed by the babies

'It was the leader of the group that first climbed on to me before the babies joined in.

'The longest they were there for was 20 minutes. It made me so happy. It's such a wonderful experience. The babies are extremely cute.

'The meerkats have become so used to people they don't see us as any threat. They just use us the same as they would a rock or termite mound to get a better vantage point.

The tour guide said despite using him as a lookout for predators, they seemed to show no fear of him.

He said: 'They're very comfortable around people. It has never been encouraged, they just started doing it on their own.

'There's nothing to be nervous about. The youngsters scratch at your arm a bit as if they're digging but it's more of a tickle than hurting you.

'They're very sweet animals. They only want insects, nothing else.

The cute critters spent 20 minutes playing around with the South African and showed no fear of him

Meerkats stand up on their hind legs and look around so they can keep an eye out for predators

'There were five adults and five youngsters that we were trying to photograph. A few of them used my head as a vantage point.

'I like to be down low for my photography and the meerkats let you know if they want to climb on to you. They look at you and if you lean over, they'll clamber on board.

'I've been a guide for more than 13 years now and I organise private trips around the world including to Brazil, India and Alaska.'

He shared part of the footage on Instagram, where it has now been viewed more than 13,000 times, with many people left jealous of the experience.

The furry animals clearly didn't see Mr Kleer as a threat as they foraged for food and played with each other in his presence

Mr Kleer said: 'They are very comfortable around people. It has never been encouraged, they just started doing it on their own'

@onebargainatatime said: 'Love it. Wait til he finds out how far he can see if you stand up.'

@Irainm wrote: 'They got a great view from up there! That's a once in a lifetime event. So cute.'

@michele_murgianu added: 'So lovely haha. The one above your hat feels like the king of the world.'

While @if_paul_can_do_it joked: 'That's one way to compare the market.'

Users on Instagram were overcome by the situation, with one describing it as a 'once in a lifetime event'

Meerkats are a type of small mongoose found in southern Africa and are well known for standing upright on their rear legs in a 'sentry' or 'sentinel' position.

Living in packs of three to 25, they sleep in underground burrows, coming to the surface to find food, which often takes the form of beetles, termites, spiders and scorpions.

When outside members of the pack will take it in turns to keep watch for potential predators, standing on two feet as they do so to get a better view.

They will often try to find elevated areas, such as rocks - or in this case Mr Kleer - to help them do this.
Icebergs float in a fjord after calving off from glaciers on the Greenland ice sheet in southeastern Greenland, in this 2017 file photo. AP-Yonhap



Temperatures on Earth will shoot past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries have committed, the world's top body of climate scientists said Monday, warning of the consequences of inaction but also noting hopeful signs of progress.



U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change revealed "a litany of broken climate promises" by governments and corporations, accusing them of stoking global warming by clinging to harmful fossil fuels.



"It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track toward an unlivable world," he said.



Governments agreed in the 2015 Paris accord to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) this century, ideally no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). Yet temperatures have already increased by over 1.1C (2F) since pre-industrial times, resulting in measurable increases in disasters such flash floods, extreme heat, more intense hurricanes and longer-burning wildfires, putting human lives in danger and costing governments hundreds of billions of dollars to confront.



"Projected global emissions from (national pledges) place limiting global warming to 1.5C beyond reach and make it harder after 2030 to limit warming to 2C," the panel said.



In other words, the report's co-chair, James Skea of Imperial College London, told The Associated Press: "If we continue acting as we are now, we're not even going to limit warming to 2 degrees, never mind 1.5 degrees."



Ongoing investments in fossil fuel infrastructure and clearing large swaths of forest for agriculture undermine the massive curbs in emissions needed to meet the Paris goal, the report found.



Emissions in 2019 were about 12 percent higher than they were in 2010 and 54 percent higher than in 1990, said Skea.



The rate of growth has slowed from 2.1 percent per year in the early part of this century to 1.3 percent per year between 2010 and 2019, the report's authors said. But they voiced "high confidence" that unless countries step up their efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the planet will on average be 2.4C to 3.5C (4.3 to 6.3F) warmer by the end of the century _ a level experts say is sure to cause severe impacts for much of the world's population. (AP)




Kim Kardashian has urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to spare the life of a domestic violence victim who is due to be executed in 22 days after she 'falsely' pleaded guilty to beating her two-year-old daughter to death following hours of police interrogation.

Melissa Lucio, 53, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on April 27 in Texas for the murder of her daughter Mariah in 2007.

Lucio maintains she is innocent and her lawyers contend Mariah died from injuries from a fall down the 14 steps of a steep staircase outside the family's apartment in the South Texas city of Harlingen.

During over five hours of relentless questioning, Lucio more than 100 times denied fatally beating the toddler to death. But worn down from a lifetime of abuse and the grief of losing her daughter, her lawyers say, the Texas woman finally acquiesced to investigators at 3am in the morning on February 17 2007.

'I guess I did it,' Lucio said when asked by police if she was responsibly for some of Mariah's injuries. Her lawyers say that statement was wrongly interpreted by prosecutors as a murder confession.

Kardashian, who has been an outspoken advocate of criminal justice reform in recent years, has urged Gov. Abbott to grant Lucio clemency after she 'falsely pleaded guilty' following hours of police interrogation.

'It's stories like Melissa's that make me speak so loud about the death penalty in general and why it should be banned when innocent people are suffering,' Kardashian said.

Melissa Lucio, 53, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on April 27 for fatally beating her two-year-old daughter Mariah to death in 2007. Lucio maintains she is innocent and her lawyers contend Mariah died from injuries from a fall. Pictured: Lucio holds her daughter Mariah, while one of her other daughters, Adriana, stands next to them in this undated photograph

Lucio dabs tears from her eyes as she is sentenced to death on July 10, 2008, in Brownsville, Texas

Lucio's lawyers argue that her statement of 'I guess I did it' after hours of interrogation was taken as a murder confession  tainting the rest of the investigation into Mariah's death, with evidence gathered only to prove that conclusion, and helping lead to her capital murder conviction.

Lucio, who has been on death row for more than 14 years, 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.

As her April 27 execution date nears, Lucio's 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 state's Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Abbott to grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence.

'Mariah's 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 doesn't matter,' said Vanessa Potkin, one of Lucio's attorneys who is with the Innocence Project.

After reading about Lucio's case, Kardashian tweeted: '[Melissa] has been on death row for over 14 years for her daughter's death that was a tragic accident.

'Her 2-year-old daughter Mariah fell down a flight of stairs and two days later passed away while taking a nap. After she called for help, she was taken into custody by the police.

'Melissa is a survivor of abuse and domestic violence herself and after being interrogated for hours and falsely pleaded guilty. She wanted the interrogation to be stopped, but police made her words out to be a confession.'

'She is scheduled to be executed on April 27 in Texas,' Kardashian added as she urged the public to sign a petition by the Innocent Project in an effort to press Gov. Abbott to stop Lucio's execution.

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.

Pictured: Lucio smiles as she holds one of her sons, John, in this undated photograph

Kim Kardashian has urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to spare the life of Lucio, who is due to be executed in 22 days, after she 'falsely' pleaded guilty to beating her two-year-old daughter to death following hours of police interrogation

The Texas Attorney General's 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 Attorney's Office, which prosecuted Lucio, declined to comment.

Lucio would be the first Latina executed by Texas 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, Lucio's 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 family's life, but there was never an accusation of abuse by any of her children, Potkin said.

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 wasn't 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.

Kardashian, who has been an outspoken advocate of criminal justice reform in recent years, has urged Gov. Abbott to grant Lucio clemency after she 'falsely pleaded guilty' following hours of police interrogation

In 2019, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Lucio's 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 Lucio's confession.'

Three jurors and one alternate in Lucio's 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, who sentenced Lucio to death, wrote in an affidavit.

Galvan on Sunday wrote in the Houston Chronicle claiming he was misled and pressured to return a vote in favor of the death penalty during Lucio's trial.

He wrote he was wrong to succumb to 'peer pressure' and change his vote from a life sentence to the death penalty, saying the jurors would 'be there all day' if he hadn't done so.

'There were so many other details that went unmentioned. It wasn't until after the trial was over that troubling information was brought to life,' Galvan wrote.

'If I had known all of this information, or even part of it, I would have stood by my vote for life no matter what anyone else on the jury said.'

Galvan added: 'I did not know that her long history of physical and sexual abuse made her vulnerable to falsely confess when subjected to aggressive interrogation tactics on the night of her daughter's death.

'No one took us through the interrogation to show us how many times she asserted her innocence (over 100) or how she repeated the same words the interrogators fed to her. No evidence was presented of that and it would have mattered to me.'

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 Lucio's clemency petition two days before the scheduled execution, Rachel Alderete, the board's director of support operations, said in an email. A spokeswoman for Abbott's 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.

Lucio's supporters have said her clemency request is similar in that her family would be retraumatized if she's executed.

'Please allow us to reconcile with Mariah's death and remember her without fresh pain, anguish and grief. Please spare the life of our mother,' Lucio's children wrote in a letter to Abbott and the board.

Kardashian has been vocal about other death row cases, urging various governor's to grant clemency to inmates.

Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was sentenced to 110 consecutive years in prison

She called for clemency for 26-year-old truck driver Rogel Aguilera-Mederos whose brake failure caused a fiery crash that killed four people, and who was sentenced to 110 years in prison.

Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was driving a semi-truck on April 25, 2019, along Interstate 70 in Lakewood, Colorado, when he slammed into two dozen vehicles - including four other transporters stuck in rush-hour traffic.

The impact caused a fireball explosion that incinerated cars and trucks, killing four people.

On October 15, a jury found him guilty, and on December 13 he was sentenced to 110 years by Judge A. Bruce Jones - the minimum allowed by Colorado's sentencing laws.

But in December, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis reduced the sentence to 10 years. Kardashian thanked the governor for the move.

Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, 26, was driving a semi-truck on April 25, 2019, along Interstate 70 in Lakewood, Colorado, when he slammed into two dozen vehicles - including four other transporters stuck in rush-hour traffic. Four people were killed. He is pictured at his December 13 sentencing

The impact caused a fireball explosion that incinerated cars and trucks, killing four people. The driver was convicted of 27 criminal counts and sentenced to 110 years

In October 2017 Kardashian also heard the story of Alice Marie Johnson, sentenced to life in prison in 1997 after a conviction on eight criminal counts for a first-time, non-violent drug offense.

'Life offered me no opportunity for parole because there is not parole in the prison system,' Johnson said in a video posted on Twitter.

Kardashian retweeted the clip, commenting: 'This is so unfair...'

On May 30, 2018 - Johnson's 63rd birthday - Kardashian went to the White House to meet then-President Donald Trump about prison reform and seek a pardon for Johnson. One week later, she was pardoned.

Within a year, she had worked to pardon 19 people, according to BuzzFeed.

In January last year, Trump included another man Kardashian had advocated for on his list of pardons - Chris Young, who the reality TV star had been lobbying for since 2018.

Young was 22 when, due to the 'three strikes' law, he received a life sentence without parole for the non-violent offenses of marijuana and cocaine possession.

Trump commuted the remainder of Young's sentence.
Hundreds of dogs have been found dead at an animal shelter in Ukraine after Russian occupiers left them to starve in their cages for weeks.

Volunteer group UAnimals said that up to 485 dogs were locked in their cages at a shelter in Borodyanka, just north of Kyiv, by Russian forces shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.

There they remained without food or water for about a month as the occupiers left them to die, until staff were able to return to the compound on April 1 once the Russian soldiers had retreated.

Footage released by the UAnimals on Instagram showed workers stacking up a huge pile of dead hounds which had wasted away in the presence of the occupiers.

Meanwhile, images of half mangled corpses in some of the cages suggested some dogs had begun to eat their dead cell mates in the complete absence of food.

'This is the number of dogs... and this is not all, this is just a part,' a woman can be heard saying through tears as she filmed workers adding to the stack of corpses.

'These are the animals of Borodyanka, and the consequences of war. The consequences of complete indifference and negligence. The animals went three to four weeks without food or water.'

Just 150 of the 485 dogs were found alive when the workers returned, with 27 of them transferred to local vets in critical condition.

UAnimals has since announced on social media it will pay 50,000 hryvnia (almost 1300) to anyone willing to rescue some of the animals still left alive, and hit out at the director of the Kyiv veterinary hospital - the owners of the shelter - for not organising proper care or evacuation for the dogs.

'This is the number of dogs... and this is not all, this is just a part,' a woman can be heard saying through tears as she filmed workers adding to the stack of corpses

Footage released by the animal shelter on Instagram showed workers stacking up a huge pile of dead hounds which had wasted away in the presence of the occupiers

Up to 485 dogs were found locked in their cages by animal shelter workers, of which only 150 had managed to survive

Many of the dogs had wasted away after going weeks without food, and their corpses were little more than skin, fur and bone

Workers at the shelter push wheelbarrows full of dead dogs as they clear out the cages where the animals were left to starve by Russian forces

One video, posted by lawyer and head of Ukrainian nonprofit Centre for Civil Liberties Oleksandra Matviichuk, showed dozens of carcasses littering the floor at the shelter.

'I have no words. Russians even killed dozens of dogs in Kyiv region. WHY??' she tweeted.

Meanwhile, more footage posted by Ukrainian Interior Ministry advisor Anton Gerashchenko showed some of live dogs barking in terror as staff members slowly entered their cages and observed the dead bodies for the first time.

Some of the carcasses had remained untouched, but others had been torn apart by the ravenous dogs still trying to survive.

Though shelter staff were unable to care for the animals while the town was under the control of Russian occupiers, the UAnimals volunteer group announced on social media it had lodged a police complaint demanding that the deaths be investigated as animal cruelty crimes.

It argued that the head of the Kyiv veterinary hospital, Natalya Mazur, was responsible for arranging care for the animals in the early days of the war, but instead left just one man to look after the entire population.

UAnimals said this man left the dogs to die 'in agony', and demanded that Mazur be replaced as director of the Kyiv veterinary hospital as 'the current director cannot act as a manager and should not interact with animals in the future'.

Mazur in the early days of the war made an appeal for financial donations to help deliver food and aid to animals in various shelters, but said that transporting the animals and arranging evacuations was not possible due to the logistical struggles facing a nation at war.

The haunting revelations made at Borodyanka's animal shelter come just one day after Ukrainian officials warned the town is also likely to have seen horrific atrocities committed against its human population by Russian forces.

Just 150 of the 485 dogs were found alive when the workers returned, with 27 of them transferred to local vets in critical condition

Images of half mangled corpses in some of the cages suggested some dogs had begun to eat their dead cell mates in the complete absence of food

One video, posted by lawyer and head of Ukrainian nonprofit Centre for Civil Liberties Oleksandra Matviichuk, showed dozens of carcasses littering the floor at the shelter

Ukrainian prosecutor-general Iryna Venediktova told Ukrainian TV yesterday that there was a 'similar humanitarian situation' in Borodyanka to that of Bucha, where several mass graves and hundreds of dead civilians were found over the weekend.

Venediktova said 'the worst situation in terms of the victims' condition' could be found in Borodyanka, which is a little further from Kyiv than Bucha and was also held by Russian forces until just days ago.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday said it had become harder for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia since Kyiv became aware of the scale of alleged atrocities carried out by Russian troops just north of the capital.

'These are war crimes and will be recognised by the world as genocide,' Zelensky said, wearing body armour and surrounded by military personnel as he observed the mass graves in Bucha.

'It's very difficult to talk when you see what they've done here,' he said. 'The longer the Russian Federation drags out the meeting process, the worse it is for them and for this situation and for this war.

'We know of thousands of people killed and tortured, with severed limbs, raped women and murdered children,' he said, adding that in Bucha and other towns in the Kyiv region 'dead people have been found in barrels, basements, strangled, tortured'.

'You can see around what was done to this modern town. That's a characteristic of Russian soldiers  treat people worse than animals. That is real genocide, what you have seen here today,' said President Zelensky, who was visibly emotional as he observed the atrocities in Bucha yesterday

A mass grave was discovered in the grounds of the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints in Bucha

A Ukrainian policeman walks by a pit in the village of Motyzhyn, Ukraine, April 3, where over a dozen bodies, including those of the town's mayor and her family, were uncovered

Zelensky said that despite the horrific human suffering in Bucha, residents were chipping in together to make sure homeless animals were fed.

'That's a characteristic trait of our people, I think - treat animals the way you would treat humans,' he said.

'But you can see around what was done to this modern town. That's a characteristic of Russian soldiers  treat people worse than animals. That is real genocide, what you have seen here today.'

Ukraine's prosecutor-general said the bodies of 410 civilians, many with bound hands and close-range gunshot wounds, have been recovered from towns surrounding Kyiv after last week's withdrawal of Russian troops.

Another mass grave containing the bodies of at least 20 civilians including a mayor and her family was also uncovered in woodland near the town of Motzyhn, around 20 miles west of Bucha.
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Two notebooks filled with Charles Darwin's writings and drawings that were believed to have been stolen from Cambridge University Library more than 20 years ago have been anonymously returned in a pink gift bag, with a typed note wishing a Happy Easter.

The precious items - in which the famous scientist laid out his theory of evolution about the origin of life - were found to be missing in 2001, but at the time staff believed they may have been mis-shelved.

They carried out extensive searches in the library - which is home to around 10 million books, maps, manuscripts and other items - but in October 2020 they were reported as stolen to Cambridgeshire Police.

The force launched an investigation and notified Interpol, with the university making a worldwide appeal for information so that the notebooks, which are worth millions of pounds, could be returned.

Almost a year-and-a-half later, the notebooks - one of which contains Darwin's famous 1837 Tree of Life sketch - have been anonymously returned.

They were left on the floor of a public area of the library outside librarian Dr Jessica Gardner's office, on the fourth floor of the 17-storey building, on March 9. The area is not covered by CCTV.

The manuscripts, said to be in good condition and with no obvious signs of significant handling or damage sustained in the years since their disappearance, were returned in a pink gift bag.

The two notebooks were wrapped together with clingfilm inside their archive box. A plain brown envelope with them had the printed message 'Librarian/ Happy Easter/ X'.

Speaking of her delight at the return of the notebooks, Dr Gardner told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that she was 'shaking' when she saw them. She added: 'There have been tears and I think there still will be'.

Two notebooks filled with Charles Darwin's writings and drawings that were stolen from Cambridge University Library more than 20 years ago have been anonymously returned in a pink gift bag, with a typed note wishing a Happy Easter. Above: Darwin's Tree of Life sketch, which explored the relationship between species

The precious items, in which the famous scientist aid out his theory of evolution, were found to be missing in 2001, but at the time staff believed they may have been mis-shelved. Above: The previously missing notebooks

Eminent 19th Century scientist Charles Darwin made jottings in the notebooks, which had not been seen in two decades

The police investigation around the notebooks' disappearance and subsequent return is ongoing.

The book and the Tree of Life sketch that changed our understanding of evolution: Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species Darwin's influential book was published in 1859. Its official title is On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. It explains the scientist's theory of evolution and outlined how species were of common descent and evolved over time through the process of natural selection. Darwin's book included evidence he had gathered on his 1830s Beagle expedition to the Galapagos Islands. It also contained a version of his Tree of Life illustration, first sketched in a notebook in 1837. The illustration was a 'tree' depicting branches and was designed to highlight the concept of extinction through time. Despite its publication a century and a half ago, Darwin's 'On The Origin Of Species' still fuels clashes between scientists convinced of its truth and critics who reject its view of life without a creator. It has previously been voted the most influential academic book ever written. Advertisement

Dr Gardner, who became director of library services in 2017 and who reported the notebooks as stolen to police, described her joy at their return as 'immense'.

'My sense of relief at the notebooks' safe return is profound and almost impossible to adequately express,' she said.

'I, along with so many others, all across the world, was heartbroken to learn of their loss and my joy at their return is immense.

'The sole aim of our public appeal was to have the manuscripts safely returned to our safekeeping and I am delighted to have had such a successful outcome in such a relatively short space of time.

'The notebooks can now retake their rightful place alongside the rest of the Darwin Archive at Cambridge, at the heart of the nation's cultural and scientific heritage, alongside the archives of Sir Isaac Newton and Professor Stephen Hawking.'

Dr Gardner added to the BBC that the notebooks were 'tightly wrapped' in cling film inside the pink parcel.

'We could glimpse through the clingfilm notebook B, and notebook C, which is the labels of what we have been looking for for such a long time,' she said.

She added that she and her team are 'not over the emotional rollercoaster'.

While there is no CCTV of the area where the manuscripts were returned, Dr Gardner said entrances and exits to the building are covered, as are targeted areas such as strong rooms and specialist reading rooms.

She said available footage has been handed to police, adding: 'It really is a mystery.

'We don't know how and we don't know who.'

The notebooks had been removed from storage to be photographed at the library's photographic unit, where the work was recorded as completed in November 2000.

During a subsequent routine check in January 2001, it was found that the small blue box containing the notebooks had not been returned to its proper place.

Dr Gardner said the library building has 'transformed significantly' since then, with card-and-pin access to secure areas, a dedicated onsite security team, high security strong rooms and additional CCTV.

She added there will be 'further root-and-branch reviews of all our security protocols to come - to make sure we minimise any future risk as far as humanly possible'.

Emeritus Professor Jim Secord, the director of Cambridge University's Darwin Correspondence Project, said the notebooks are 'probably the most important manuscripts in the natural sciences'.

He told BBC Radio 4: 'The theory of natural selection and evolution is probably the single most important theory in the life and earth and environmental sciences and these are the notebooks in which that theory was put together.'

The notebooks were left on the floor of a public area of the library outside librarian Dr Jessica Gardner's office, on the fourth floor of the 17-storey building, on March 9. The area is not covered by CCTV

Speaking of her delight at the return of the notebooks, Dr Gardner (pictured) told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that she was 'shaking' when she saw them. She added: 'There have been tears and I think there still will be'

Dr Gardner added to the BBC that the notebooks were 'tightly wrapped' in cling film inside the pink parcel. Above: The notebooks in the clingfilm

Charles Darwin: The British scientist who introduced the idea of natural selection Charles Robert Darwin published one of the most important books ever written and his theory on evolution became the foundation of modern evolutionary studies. The Shropshire scientist studied at Edinburgh University, one of the best places in Britain to study science as it attracted free thinkers with radical opinions. Darwin trained to be a clergyman in Cambridge in 1827 after abandoning his plans to become a doctor, but continued his passion for biology. In 1831, Charles' tutor recommended he go on a voyage around the world on HMS Beagle. Over the next five years Darwin travelled five continents collecting samples and specimens while investigating the local geology. In 1835, HMS Beagle made a five-week stop at the Galapagos Islands, 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. There, he studied finches, tortoises and mockingbirds although not in enough detail to come to any great conclusions. But he was beginning to accumulate observations which were fast building up. On returning home in 1838, Darwin showed his specimens to fellow biologists and began writing up his travels. It was then that he started to see how 'transmutation' happened. He found that animals more suited to their environment survived longer and have more young. Evolution occurred by a process he called 'Natural Selection' although he struggled with the idea because it contradicted his Christian world view. In 1858, Darwin published his ideas after recieving a letter from Alfred Russel Wallace Darwin drew fierce criticism from the Church and some of the press. Many people were shaken by the book's key implication that human beings descended from apes, although Darwin only hinted at it Darwin's ideas were presented to Britain's leading Natural History body, the Linnean Society. In 1859, he published his theory on evolution. It would become one of the most important books ever written. Darwin drew fierce criticism from the Church and some of the press. Many people were shaken by the book's key implication that human beings descended from apes, although Darwin only hinted at it. In 1862, Darwin wrote a warning about close relatives having children, he was already worried about his own marriage, having married his cousin Emma and lost three of their children and nursed others through illness. Darwin knew that orchids were less healthy when they self-fertilised and worried that inbreeding within his own family may have caused problems. He worked until his death in 1882 and was buried at Westminster Abbey. Advertisement

Addressing the question of how the Cambridge experts knew the notebooks were genuine, he highlighted how Darwin used different colours of ink and said the notebooks' distinctive features, which proved their authenticity, were clear.

'Darwin uses different types of ink in the notebooks. For example on the famous tree of life page there is both a brown ink and also a later grey ink. And those kind of issues are quite difficult to forge convincingly at all,' he said.

'There is the type of paper that they are actually using. Where the clasp is on the notebooks you can see little bits of copper where it has been eroded away.

'These are the tiny tell tale signs that the whole team of researchers at the university library can use to tell that they are genuine.'

Last November, Dr Gardner had fronted a worldwide appeal for information about the notebooks when her team realised they must have been stolen.

The notebooks had last been removed from Cambridge library's Special Collections strong room in September 2000, so that they could be photographed as part of a media request.

Then, in January 2001, staff discovered that the notebooks were not where they should be. At the time that they had been photographed, there was building work going on in the library.

It meant that the notebooks had to be taken to a temporary photography unit, rather than pictures being taken on site.

Dr. Gardner said that the library no longer has records as to which media outlet made the photography request - and would not comment on who might have been the last person to see the notebooks.

The Library Director at the time the books went missing was Peter Fox, who retired in 2009.

Darwin was one of the most eminent scientists of his era.

He carried out extensive research into different species, including on his famous trip to the Galapagos Islands on his ship the Beagle in 1835.

It was after he returned home from the trip that he began to shape his theory of evolution.

He believed that species were all from common ancestors.

He refrained from publishing his theories until he started corresponding with fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, who had carried out his own investigations and developed his own theory on evolution.

Many believe Wallace may have even coined the phrase 'origin of species' which became the title of Darwin's theory.

Both Wallace and Darwin shared authorship of the scientific article that first proposed the theory of natural selection in 1858, a year before Darwin's book On the Origin of Species came out and secured a place in history.

Wallace's eight years of observation led him to conclude that life on earth changed gradually over time from generation to generation.

He also went a step further and argued that a species would only evolve into another species if it was struggling for existence.

Wallace published his findings in 1858 in an essay written on the island of Ternate in Indonesia.

It was Wallace's essay that inspired Darwin to publish On the Origin of Species the following year.

He had been concerned about a backlash to his ideas so had initially refrained from making them public.

Wallace is now regarded as the 'forgotten father' of evolution as although the two men published their findings around the same time and both found fame for their ideas, it is Darwin who is widely credited with the theory of evolution.

The official title of Darwin's book is On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.

It explains the scientist's theory of evolution and outlined how species were of common descent and evolved over time through the process of natural selection.

Despite its publication a century and a half ago, Darwin's 'On The Origin Of Species' still fuels clashes between scientists convinced of its truth and some religious critics who reject its central theory.

It has previously been voted the most influential academic book ever written.

Researchers know the notebooks are genuine because of myriad distinguishing features, such as the different types of ink used by Darwin. Above: The two notebooks next to a colour chart

While there is no CCTV of the area where the manuscripts were returned, Dr Gardner said entrances and exits to the building are covered, as are targeted areas such as strong rooms and specialist reading rooms

The previous notebooks are seen being unwrapped by Cambridge University staff. The police investigation around the notebooks' disappearance and subsequent return is ongoing

Professor Stephen J Toope, vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, said he was 'incredibly glad to hear of the notebooks' safe return to their rightful home'.

'Objects such as these are crucial for our understanding of not only the history of science but the history of humankind,' he said.

The notebooks are to go on public display from July, as part of the library's Darwin In Conversation exhibition.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokesman said: 'Our investigation remains open and we are following up some lines of inquiry.

'We also renew our appeal for anyone with information about the case to contact us.'

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 and quote reference 35/71468/20 or contact the force online at www.cambs.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us/.
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No10's scrapping of free Covid tests combined with an expansion to the NHS list of symptoms will trigger a 'free for all' of staff absences, experts warned today.

The vast majority of employees in England are now unable to get any free swabs as part of Boris Johnson's 'Living With Covid' strategy.

But health chiefs advise people to 'stay at home' if they have any of the 12 newly-recognised symptoms, which can be 'very similar' to ones brought on by colds or the flu.

It means, in the absence of a test, people suffering cold-like symptoms will be left to decide 'whether or not they stay at home and for how long', unions say.

Lucy Moreton, a professional officer at the ISU, the union for borders, immigration and customs, warned that it is 'inevitable' staff will be off work with mild symptoms if they are unable to confirm whether or not they have Covid.

Unions also fear the chaos will only drive transmission up, with Covid levels already at a pandemic high in England and one in 12 people thought to be currently infected.

Only the elderly, most vulnerable and health and social care workers can access tests for free. Tests are, however, available at high street retailers such as Boots for 2.

UK Health Security Agency data shows another 143,382 positive Covid tests were logged over the weekend, down by a third in a week. But the drop in cases comes as the number of tests taken in the UK plummeted to its lowest level in a year (shown in graph)

No10's scrapping of free Covid tests combined with record high infection rates is threatening to cause chaos in workplaces across the UK. Pictured: Covid rapid antigen test

England's mass swabbing regime  thought to cost up to 2billion-a-month  was ditched under Boris Johnson's 'Living With Covid' strategy.

It marked one of the final steps on the route back to normal life, after mandatory self-isolation rules were scrapped in mid-February.

Workers who test positive no longer have to legally self-isolate, although they are still advised to 'stay at home and avoid contact with other people'. The NHS also says that they should take 'extra care' to avoid making contact with anyone at higher risk of the virus.

Covid cases plummet by a THIRD following the end of free testing Britain's daily Covid cases plunged by a third over the weekend as testing dropped to the lowest level in a year in the first official figures since England ditched its free swabbing regime. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) statistics show another 143,382 positive Covid tests were logged on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, compared to the 215,001 recorded over the same three-day spell last week. Meanwhile, Covid deaths today fell by three per cent week-on-week, while daily hospital admissions increased by four per cent. Both measures tend to lag two to three weeks behind the trend in cases. Today's drop in daily confirmed cases coincides with plummeting testing rates, sparked by No10's decision to axe free tests forever. The Government's daily case numbers are solely based on people swabbing themselves and registering the results with the system. Separate Covid-tracking estimates, which show infections have hit pandemic highs and are yet to slow down, are based on tens of thousands of random tests. Downing Street today insisted the universal free testing programme will not be coming back in England, claiming the 2billion-a-month lateral flow spending was 'simply unsustainable'. Only health and care workers, the elderly and the vulnerable are still eligible for free swabs. Scotland will end its offer next month while Wales is to stop handing out the swabs this summer. Meanwhile, it was revealed today that the NHS quietly expanded its symptom-list to include body aches, a runny nose and diarrhoea. Since the start of the pandemic, officials have only accepted three symptoms: a high temperature, a cough and a loss or change to taste or smell, despite other countries and health bodies including up to 14. Advertisement

NHS Covid advice also says: 'You can go back to your normal activities when you feel better or do not have a high temperature.'

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, told The Daily Telegraph that the Government's strategy could spark chaos.

She said: 'The Government's new "Living With Covid" strategy feels like a complete free for all, in which it will be impossible to confirm whether or not symptoms are Covid, leaving individuals to decide whether or not they stay at home and for how long.

'This confusion is likely to lead to transmission of the illness just as many pupils are preparing to take exams.'

It comes after NHS bosses last week quietly expanded its list of Covid symptoms to acknowledge nine more.

Shortness of breath, feeling tired, an aching body, headache and sore throats are now recognised as signs of the virus, as are a blocked or runny nose, a loss of appetite, diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting.

The decision marked a massive change in the Government's stance on symptoms, after acknowledging only three for the entirety of the pandemic (a high temperature, a new and continuous cough and a loss or change to taste or smell).

Ms Moreton, from the ISU, told the newspaper that the Home Office advised staff with any of these 12 symptoms to 'not attend work'.

It is 'inevitable' that staff will be off work with mild symptoms and be unable to confirm if they are infected or not, she said.

Meanwhile, Gary Smith, general secretary of the GMB union, argued the list has been extended to a point that it is now 'almost meaningless'.

He told The Telegraph: 'Are workers on statutory sick pay really going to pay for a test which may cause them to lose three days' pay? It seems unlikely.'

Ministers have insisted it is the 'right' moment to scrap the mass-testing regime, and the Prime Minister's official spokesman yesterday insisted the virus tests would not be coming back.

They said: 'I think we need to look at where we are in the course of this pandemic.

'We know there is relatively high prevalence of Covid at the moment but because of vaccines, because of therapeutics and other approaches, we are not seeing it have the knock-on impact when it comes to requiring the most intensive hospital treatment.

'At the same time, the provision of free tests was costing taxpayers 2billion a month and that is simply unsustainable.'

But NHS bosses today warned the health service is battling pressure on an equal scale to that of the January peak.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We don't have a living with Covid plan, we have a living without restrictions plan, which is very different.'

Experts today said daily Covid admissions in England (shown in graph) appear to have peaked. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows the seven-day average (orange line) for virus hospitalisations has fallen for the first time since the latest Omicron surge took off in mid-February. An average of 2,098 patients were admitted in the week to March 30, and appear to have spiked at an average of 2,116 on March 28

NHS England data shows just 44 per cent of so-called Covid patients were primarily admitted because they were unwell from the virus. The rate has fallen as the virus has become less severe and protection from vaccines has increased. In October, 75 per cent of those admitted were primarily unwell with the virus

He urged the public to do 'everything that they can' to avoid spreading the virus, to get vaccinated and recognise the NHS 'is not going to be able to provide the level of service over the next period that we wanted to'.

Mr Taylor said there are 'nearly as many patients in hospital now as we had at the peak in January', which is putting 'enormous strain' on the health service, which has around 110,000 vacancies, exhausted staff and ongoing pandemic pressures.

Airport staff shortage chaos could last for MONTHS Airports across the UK are in chaos today as staff shortages and the start of the post-Covid Easter holiday rush cause huge queues, with lines starting to form at 4.45am at Manchester Airport where local leaders have called for police to help deal with the carnage. The chaos is the result of a combination of a sudden surge in passenger numbers, with many Britons taking their first foreign holiday since the Covid pandemic began, and low staffing numbers at airports which have not hired extra manpower following years of low demand. British Airways and Easyjet cancelled 62 and 90 flights respectively yesterday. The chaos is worst at Manchester airport where some travellers have been jumping over barriers and abandoning their luggage in a desperate attempt to make their flights, according to Nicky Kelvin, head of travel website Points Guy UK. And the chaos is set to go on throughout the summer because of the delays in processing counter-terror checks needed for new airport staff, with some said to be taking 30 weeks instead of the usual 15 as civil servants work from home. Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: 'Airlines are certainly seeing a high level of demand to fly, but are simply unable to cope with that demand due to a lack of resources. 'It's a nightmare situation for airlines and airports at the moment.' Advertisement

Hospitals face the decision of reducing infection control measures and risking more staff and patients catching the virus, or maintaining restrictions and increasing pressures on emergency care, he said.

However, experts today said Covid admissions in England appear to have peaked.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows the seven-day average for virus hospitalisations has fallen for the first time since the latest Omicron surge took off in mid-February.

An average of 2,098 patients were admitted in the week to March 30, and appear to have spiked at an average of 2,116 on March 28.

Dr Raghib Ali, an epidemiology researcher at the University of Cambridge, said it is 'good to see Covid admissions in England may have peaked'.

He noted that the drop would be consistent with cases having peaked around a week ago. Hospitals are still very busy overall but this 'will help', Dr Ali said.

But the NHS admits changes to how patients are tested, that came into effect on Friday, 'might affect' its data.

Meanwhile, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest more than 4.1million people in England had the virus on any given day over the week to March 26, equivalent to one in 13 being infected.

The figure is the highest ever recorded in the country, topping the previous peak of 3.7million at the height of the Omicron wave in January. It is also 18 per cent higher than one week earlier.

Statisticians said England's surge was being driven by the more transmissible version of Omicron, scientifically named BA. Although, ministers admit that ditching the final Covid restrictions last month also fueled the uptick.

Sustained high infection levels are wreaking chaos across the country.

Holidaymakers have faced huge queues at airports and being 'trapped' on grounded planes due to increased airport demands, coupled with a lack of resources after not hiring extra manpower following two years of low passenger numbers.

And the week of mass disruption saw more than 1,100 flights cancelled throughout the UK.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the NAHT school leaders union said their members had reported a huge amount of Covid-related disruption in schools and colleges over the last few weeks.

The groups added that it was higher than at any other point during the pandemic and that for many members it could prove the 'final straw.'

They labelled the decision to remove free Covid lateral flow tests for nearly all pupils and staff 'reckless in the extreme'.
This is the extraordinary moment the Turkish alleged fraudster accused of giving more than 1.1million to Prince Andrew and his family flunked a Dragon's Den-style pitch to the royal - only to win 'by miles' hours later amid claims the online vote was rigged using 'bots'.

In a video posted on the Pitch@Palace twitter account and YouTube in late 2019, Selman Turk outlined how he was creating a new consumer-focused digital bank aimed at millennials.

Asked what problem the company, called Heyman AI, was solving, Mr Turk, its London-based chief executive, replied: 'People's daily banking habits will be much easier and efficient.'

But within a minute he had bungled his lines and was then drowned out by trumpeters in red regal uniforms. He then went off stage looking embarrassed in a pitch branded 'c**p' by rivals.

Yet the next evening, Heyman AI won the People's Choice Award at the event, the Duke of York's version of the BBC's popular reality contest Dragon's Den. Mr Turk was photographed shaking hands with the Duke, who hosted the event.

Afterwards, in another video posted on Pitch@Palace's Twitter page where the participating entrepreneurs were asked to talk about the experience, Mr Turk said: 'It was great seeing such a great amount of people here that is willing to help you.'

A source familiar with the event told The Guardian that Turk won a landslide victory, receiving as many as 10,000 votes. Other participants polled were in the hundreds, it was claimed.

One of his 2019 rivals told the newspaper: 'There was a group of us on the day that felt the People's Choice award hadn't felt right during that competition. Because their pitch was c**p  Their whole concept was bizarre in that they were pitching for something when they didn't have a licence. There was a group of us who felt it didn't [seem] right that they had won the People's Choice because they won it by miles.

'A few of us made the assumption, rightly or wrongly, that we thought  bots [must have been used] to do this because the way the awards worked was you were actively told to go on your network and get people to vote for you.'

Selman Turk at the Pitch@Palace that went wrong in 2019 when he lost his way and was drowned out by trumpets

The Duke of York shaking hands with London-based Turkish businessman and former banker Selman Turk after his eyebrow raising win

A selfie taken by Selman Turk alongside Tarek Kaituni during a visit to what appears to be Frogmore House, the royal residence in Windsor Great Park, in February 2020

Mystery of payments in excess of 1.3million to the House of York Tarek Kaituni, 58, is said to have met the Duke of York and alleged Turkish conman Selman Turk, 35, in 2019. Turk is at the centre of a mystery over payments of 350,000 to Andrew, 225,000 to the Duchess of York, 25,000 to Princess Eugenie and a 750,000 'gift' for Princess Beatrice's wedding in 2018. Last week, Eugenie became the first member of the York family to offer an explanation for the cash they received from Turk, who is being sued in the High Court over it amid claims of 'apparent money laundering'. She said the 25,000 given to her had been to help pay for her mother's birthday celebrations. Eugenie said she did not know Turk, who is accused of 'misappropriating' millions of pounds from a fortune belonging to a Turkish woman. In the High Court case, Turk is being sued by Nebahat Isbilen, 77, who fled Turkey with a 70million fortune. She alleges she entrusted former Goldman Sachs banker Turk with her money but now claims he is a fraudster and is demanding it back. She insists that he hoodwinked her into sending a 750,000 'wedding gift' for Beatrice. Advertisement

Prince Andrew 'told bankers to call his Buckingham Palace office if they were concerned over a 750,000 payment from an alleged fraudster'.

The Duke of York 'received payments of more than 1 million' from Selman Turk after they met through the duke's gun smuggler friend Tarek Kaituni - who attended Fergie's surprise 60th birthday bash and Eugenie's wedding.

The payments included a 750,000 'wedding gift' to Princess Beatrice.

According to the Telegraph, Mr Turk told officials looking into the 750,000 payment that Prince Andrew had 'authorised him to pass on the details of palace aides'.

Mr Kaituni has previously boasted of his influence over the Duke and attended the wedding of Prince Andrew's daughter Princess Eugenie in 2018.

The convicted smuggler is also understood to have previously helped broker secret meetings for the Duke with the late dictator Colonel Gaddafi and once told undercover reporters he played a key role in the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

Kaituni introduced Andrew to Selman Turk, 35, in the early summer of 2019, before the pair became friendly and shared dinners at the alleged fraudster's South Kensington home.

It previously emerged that Fergie's surprise 60th birthday party, which took place just months after their introduction, was partially funded by Mr Turk, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

And months later, Mr Turk and Kaitani took a selfie photograph together during a visit to what appears to be Frogmore House, the royal residence in Windsor Great Park, in February 2020.

Since their introduction less than three years ago, Mr Turk is alleged to have made payments totalling 1.1m to Andrew, of 250,000 to Sarah and 25,000 to Princess Eugenie.

Of the sum allegedly paid to the princess, $15,000 had been listed as a birthday gift, but it is understood to have actually been used to pay for the surprise party.

However, it is alleged that the this money was stolen by Mr Turk from Turkish millionairess Nebahat Evyap Isbilen, who had entrusted him with helping her move $87 million out of Turkey as she attempted to avoid political persecution.

Prince Andrew and his family have been named in the High Court battle, the Telegraph reported.

The complex case is ongoing, no trial has taken place and the allegations have not been resolved. Mr Turk denies all allegations of wrongdoing.

In preliminary hearings, it was alleged 'substantial sums' were paid to the Duke and Duchess of York, but there has been no suggestion they have any involvement in the allegations.

The party was attended by the likes of Ellie Goulding, Robbie Williams and Julian Fellowes.

Prince Andrew has allegedly received payments of more than 1million from Turkish businessman Mr Turk

Turkish businessman Selman Turk, 35, is alleged to have made payments of more than 1 million to Prince Andrew after being introduce to the duke by Tarek Kaitun

Tarek Kaituni, 54, attended the surprise 60th birthday party and Princess Eugenie's wedding despite a conviction for gun smuggling

Andrew first became involved with Kaituni, who now has US citizenship, in 2005. Kaituni (pictured with his former wife Lisa van Goinga at their wedding) brokered meetings between the Duke and Gaddafi

Sarah, Duchess of York, Princess Beatrice and Prince Andrew, Duke of York pictured together at Royal Ascot in 2018

Mr Turk currently lives in a multi-million-pound flat in Mayfair. The flat is owned by 'The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty In Right Of Her Crown care of The Crown Estate Commissioners', Land Registry documents suggest

The 76-year-old Turkish millionairess suing an alleged Turkish conman in case that has named Andrew and his family Nebahat Isbilen is the wealthy wife of a Turkish MP jailed in their homeland in what was said to be a politically motivated imprisonment. She describes herself in court documents as a member of a 'prominent' Turkish family which owns the Evyap Group manufacturing company. Her father founded the firm and passed it on to her and her five siblings. Mrs Isbilen, 77, worked for the company in cosmetics production and was later on the board. She married her husband Ilhan Isbilen in 1996. He has been close friends since childhood with Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Muslim preacher whose movement, she says, 'advocates progressive Islam and socially-conscious politics'. Mrs Isbilen says between 2002 and 2013 the ruling Justice and Development Party of Turkey (AKP), led by president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was strategically allied with the Gulen movement. But relations deteriorated, and since 2016 the AKP has proscribed the Gulen movement as a terrorist organisation. Mr Isbilen was an AKP member of parliament but resigned in 2014. His wife said: 'Following a political investigation and prosecution, my husband was imprisoned in December 2015 for his affiliation with the Gulen movement. 'Following my husband's arrest, I became more concerned about my own well-being and assets. I was worried that I might be prosecuted or have my assets seized.' It also became 'increasingly difficult and unpleasant' for her to have dealings with the Evyap Group as 'other members of my family disapproved of my husband's and my political beliefs' so she decided to sell her Evyap shares in 2015. Feeling 'extremely vulnerable', Mrs Isbilen, who describes herself in the court documents as speaking 'very little English', fled to London in 2017 with the help of Selman Turk via the Greek island of Samos to avoid political persecution herself, and gave him 'almost total control' of her financial affairs. Advertisement

Princess Eugenie has said she believed the payments to be 'gifts' from family friends to assist with the cost of the surprise bash.

In a statement, she said: 'In early October 2019 I had received a call from our family friend saying that he wanted to make a financial contribution towards my mother's birthday party to assist with the catering costs.

'I suggested that any contribution could be made directly to the caterers, but in the event provided my account details to which two payments were made totalling 25,000, which I then transferred on to the company organising my mother's party.'

Kaituni was among 100 guests at the party and enjoyed regular access to Andrew, with photographs showing the duke sitting near him at the event.

Andrew first became involved with Kaituni in 2005, the same year he was caught trying to smuggle a submachine gun from the Netherlands to France.

Kaituni has previously demonstrated his willingness to trade on their friendship and has claimed he could 'influence' Andrew into backing commercial projects

He was among 800 guests at St George's Chapel, Windsor, for the wedding of Andrew's daughter Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank. Later he was a guest at the exclusive black-tie reception for the couple's closest friends and family at the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.

The Libyan once gave Eugenie's sister Beatrice an 18,000 diamond necklace months before the Duke allegedly lobbied a British company on his behalf.

Mr Turk currently lives in a multi-million-pound flat in a prestigious Mayfair property owned by the Queen.

He is understood to have been introduced to Kaitani in early 2019, before then meeting Andrew for the first time in May or June later the same year.

Mr Turk, Kaitani and the duke subsequently met on at least two occasions, including a dinner with potential investors at the alleged fraudster's South Kensington home in west London in December 2019.

The only time Andrew and Mr Turk have been pictured together in public was when the latter won an award at the Duke of York's Dragons' Den-style competition Pitch@Palace in November 2019.

In a video posted on the Pitch@Palace Twitter account, he outlined how he was creating a new consumer-focused digital bank aimed at millennials named Heyman Al.

The next evening Heyman AI won the People's Choice Award and he was photographed shaking hands with the duke, who hosted the event.

But days later, Mr Turk told an official from Mrs Isbilen's private bank that the 750,000 payment was a 'wedding gift'.

In court documents, Mrs Isbilen, who also attended the Pitch@Palace event has suggested the transfer could be connected to the award Mr Turk won that evening.

The prince has since repaid the cash after she alleged it was a scam.

A spokeswoman for the Duke of York said: 'We will not be commenting on an ongoing legal matter.'

Sarah Ferguson has no plans to hand back 225,000 as it was a fee for her work as 'brand ambassador' for green energy firm, sources say

The Duchess of York does not plan to repay the 225,000 she received from the company of Selman Turk whom she regarded as a 'perfectly bona fide banker', it is understood.

Sarah got the payment from Alphabet Capital Ltd, which the High Court heard was a fraudulent front for 'apparent money laundering'.

In legal documents before the court, Turk is claimed to be a conman who set up Alphabet to move dirty money around the world.

He denies the allegations.

The Duchess of York does not plan to repay the 225,000 she received from the company of Selman Turk whom she regarded as a 'perfectly bona fide banker', it is understood. Pictured left next to ex-husband Prince Andrew, Duke of York in 2019

The Duchess has not issued any statement about the money she received but sources close to her have offered an explanation.

They say it relates to her work as a 'brand ambassador' for US green energy company Pegasus Group Holdings.

The 225,000 was apparently her fee for work, but was offered in instalments rather than a single payment.

Turk was 'suggested as someone who would take on the debt and pay the duchess' in full, with Pegasus then paying him in instalments.

Insiders say she knew Turk 'through the duke' and regarded him as a banker and 'a perfectly bona fide person to deal with'.

A spokesman for Sarah said: 'The duchess was completely unaware of the allegations that have since emerged against Mr Turk.

She is naturally concerned by what has been alleged against him.'

Pegasus was unavailable for comment.
Rishi Sunak's personal ratings have turned negative for the first time after a ferocious backlash at his mini-Budget.

The Chancellor's net score has dipped six points over the past week as a poll laid bare the political damage from the cost-of-living crisis.

Overall his approval rating now stands at minus five in the Redfield & Wilton Strategies research - worse than Keir Starmer.

He is still well above Boris Johnson, but the latter is seen as a better option than Mr Sunak to be PM despite his travails over Partygate.

Mr Sunak has been accused of failing to do enough to help struggling families in his Spring Statement a fortnight ago.

He was branded an 'illusionist' after hailing his 'tax-cutting' moves, despite the burden being on course to reach the highest level since the 1940s.

Rishi Sunak's net score has dipped six points over the past week as a poll laid bare the political damage from the cost-of-living crisis

Boris Johnson (right) is also still seen as a better option than Mr Sunak to (left) be PM, despite his travails over Partygate

The government's own watchdog has predicted that this year will see the biggest fall in disposable incomes since records began in the 1950s.

There are claims Mr Sunak is already having to draw up a new support package, as he struggles to keep a lid on the UK's 2.3trillion debt mountain and rising interest payments.

He was also ridiculed for photo-ops after the mini-Budget, including posing putting fuel into a Kia Rio owned by a Sainsbury's staff member.

Mr Sunak's score on the Redfield & Wilton Strategies tracker peaked at nearly 60 as the country went into lockdown in 2020 and he announced the huge furlough bailout.

However, his current net level of minus five compares to zero for Sir Keir. Mr Johnson recorded a dismal minus 21.

However, he is preferred to Mr Sunak as PM by a margin of 35 per cent to 29 per cent.

The poll blow for the Chancellor came after the latest Cabinet rankings for the ConservativeHome website showed him slumping from eleventh to third from bottom.

Mr Sunak's score on the monthly survey of readers was just 7.9, compared to 38.8 previously.

At one point he was top of the regular chart - a position now held by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who has earned plaudits for the Ukraine response.

Although the poll is not scientific it is closely watched by ministers and MPs, and will set alarm bells ringing in No11.

Priti Patel is the only senior figure in negative territory, with a rating of minus 13.6 after anger at the Channel migrant situation and slow progress on Ukraine refugee visas.

Mr Johnson has seen his position improve slightly, rising to a score of 33 despite anxiously waiting to hear whether he has been fined over Partygate.
A Ukrainian mother who scrawled contact details on her two-year-old daughter's back in case her family are killed by Russian soldiers has described her desperation to make sure she would be cared for if they were separated.

Sasha Makoviy, 33, wrote two-year-old Vira's name on her skin, along with contact phone numbers, on the first day of the Russian invasion in February as she prepared to evacuate her home in Kyiv.

Speaking through tears, the 33-year-old mother said: 'I decided to put the information on Vira's back because I was really scared.

'She is the most precious thing in my life so I couldn't imagine if we lost each other.'

'I thought if I would die she could find who she is, from what family she's come, and maybe to find some familiar people who could take care of her. And that's why.'

Having now escaped to the south of France with Vira, Ms Makoviy, an artist, posted the image to Instagram on Friday.

It has since gone viral, both on Instagram and on Twitter, where it received more than 200,000 likes after being shared by a reporter.

A Ukrainian mother has written her two-year-old daughter's contact details on her back in case her family were killed by Russian soldiers

Ms Makoviy said the image had struck a chord with her compatriots.

'Firstly it was shared by some of my friends and then it was shared between Ukrainians. It's really touching them because thousands of other parents had to do this," she said.

'One of my followers wrote to me in messages that she even put the words, "Please take care of my baby". She wrote it on the baby, just in case.

'It's what we all feel in our country.'

Ms Makoviy recalled the morning she took the photo - as Russian forces made their way over the border.

She said she was 'badly shaking' and 'couldn't concentrate on anything' as she struggled to come to terms with what was happening.

Sasha shared a second image of a hand-written contact card placed in Vira's jacket, showing her name, the name of her parents and their phone numbers

As they prepared to leave, after writing the information on Vira's back, she said she realised she could have done a better job.

Saying she should have used a permanent marker, she added:' I was shaking so much that all the words were horribly written.

'But it's so strange that in the 21st century I have to do this kind of thing. It's unbelievable. It's so horrible because I had in Kyiv everything I need: a beautiful life, a peaceful life.

'I even did the daily routine while we were packing our things. I did some things like making the bed and washing the dishes because I couldn't even realise it was for real and we had to leave our home."

Now she and Vira are safe in France, where they are receiving 'a lot of help' and the 'people are so nice'.

But Ms Makoviy said her anxiety level remains high.

'Even here in France, when we are walking in the country with Vira, every moment I'm just scared about something like mines,' she said.

Sasha Makoviy, 33, wrote two-year-old Vira's name on her skin, along with contact phone numbers, on the first day of the Russian invasion in February as she prepared to evacuate her home in Kyiv.

Speaking through tears, the 33-year-old mother, pictured ceberating with Vira on her second birthday, said: 'I decided to put the information on Vira's back because I was really scared. She is the most precious thing in my life so I couldn't imagine if we lost each other'

The mother explained she wrote the message on the first day of the war as she could hear explosions ringing out around her.

She said the family have now found safety but she wants to show the horrors of the war as Putin's forces continue to target civilians and children.

Sasha shared the picture on Instagram of her back of her daughter Vira with her birthday and telephone numbers scrawled in pen, writing: 'I signed Vira in case something happened to us, and someone would pick her up as a survivor.

'In the photo is Vira's back on the first day of the war. I signed it with my hands trembling very much. But why tell you?

'You already know what it's like to wake up to the deafening and powerful sounds of explosions that can be heard for tens of kilometres. I was shaking for the first hours like you.

'Then an even crazier thought flashed through my mind: "Why didn't I tattoo her with this information?''

Pictured: Locals carry a coffin on a wheelbarrow as the city was hit by shelling in the small city of Borodyanka near Kiev

Sasha shared a second image of a hand-written contact card placed in Vira's jacket, showing her name, the name of her parents and their phone numbers, in case they became separated.

Others shared similar stories, with one person writing: 'On the first day of the war I did the same for my three-year-old son.

'And although we are now with him in England, the paper is always with him.'

Others said they stitched contact information into their children's clothes and made bracelets for them with emergency details.

It comes as the evidence of barbaric Russian war crimes continues to mount, with satellite images showing piles of civilian bodies slaughtered in Bucha and horrific stories of rape and abuse.

A grandmother living in the town of Irpin, 13 miles north of Kyiv, said she saw several soldiers rape a mother and her 15-year-old daughter.

Branding the Russian soldiers 'animals', Anna Schevchenko (pictured), 63, accused the Kremlin of war crimes and told MailOnline: 'You would not believe what we have lived through there'

Branding the Russian soldiers 'animals', Anna Schevchenko, 63, accused the Kremlin of war crimes and told MailOnline: 'You would not believe what we have lived through there.

'The Russians were animals. They shot people trying to escape and left them in the street.

'Drunk Russians kicked down the doors of cellars and pulled women out and raped them. One girl aged just 15 was raped with her mother by several soldiers.

'They are animals. I hate them. One of my neighbours was shot in the back of the head by the Russians as he had shot a stray dog to eat as we were so hungry.

'But they looked at his hands and thought he had been shooting at them so they killed him despite him being an old man.'

Images taken in the commuter city on the outskirts of Kyiv on March 19 show dark objects strewn along a road - which match the exact positions where the rotting corpses of civilians were found by Ukrainian soldiers who recaptured the area from Russian forces at the weekend.

Broken: A visibly emotional President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday stood motionless as he surveyed the scene of utter devastation he encountered in the town of Bucha, with dozens of bodies shot at close range laying on the empty streets

Russian forces were in control of the city at the time, strongly suggesting that it was Putin's men - and not Kyiv's - who carried out the killings, despite Kremlin claims the photos were stages.

Kyiv now says at least 410 civilians were massacred in and around Bucha by the Russians while others were tortured and raped in what President Volodymyr Zelensky has described as 'genocide'.

Officials have warned that the slaughter of hundreds of civilians could just be the 'tip of the iceberg'.

A growing number of world leaders have voiced outrage and called for tougher sanctions against Moscow.

But Ukrainian officials have warned that other areas nearby may have seen worse atrocities and that Bucha could be just the beginning.

Ukrainian prosecutor-general Iryna Venediktova told Ukrainian TV that a 'similar humanitarian situation' to Bucha exists in other parts of the country where Russian forces recently left, such as the areas around the northern cities of Sumy and Chernihiv.

A satellite image taken of a street in the city of Bucha on March 19 - when Russian forces were in full control of the city - shows dark objects in the road that exactly match where civilian corpses were later discovered by Ukrainian troops

She also said the situation in Borodyanka, which is further from Kyiv and was also held by Russian forces until recently, may be even worse.

Venediktova didn't specify what exactly had happened in Borodyanka but said 'the worst situation in terms of the victims' is there.

It comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Romania's parliament Monday evening in a video call in which the leader said had Ukraine not defended itself, Russia would have carried out atrocities like that of Bucha 'all over Ukraine.'

Zelenskyy, who was visibly emotional when he visited the town of Bucha on Monday to see the alleged crimes of Russia's forces against Ukrainian civilians, shared grim video footage during his address that showed areas strewn with dead bodies.

'The military tortured people and we have every reason to believe that there are many more people killed,' Zelenskyy said. 'Much more than we know now.'

The Ukrainian leader also called for tougher sanctions, saying 'Russia must be deprived of all resources, primarily economic' and said that the fate of the region will be decided by the outcome of the war in Ukraine.

Before the Ukrainian leader's address, the president of Romania's Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, said the last few days 'have shown us horrible images that have overwhelmed and revolted us all.'

'I support a speedy investigation by the International Criminal Court,' Ciolacu said.
A British Gas lawyer has won a sex discrimination case after she was made redundant when her female bosses decided she had been 'less focused' since going part time after having triplets.

Intellectual property specialist Gemma Long was let go from the energy supplier after her managers - who were also lawyers - put pressure on her to work on her days off.

Mrs Long had been working part-time ever since giving birth to her three children and was criticised for her 'focus', despite covering two people's roles while only doing three days a week.

She will now receive compensation after it was ruled the redundancy process was discriminatory as her 'personal circumstances as a mother of young children was unconsciously being held against her'.

The tribunal, held in Reading, Berkshire, heard Mrs Long was an experienced solicitor who started working for the energy giant as their intellectual property counsel in January 2012.

In May 2016, she went on maternity leave and gave birth to triplets. The tribunal heard one of her sons had 'significant additional needs'.

Intellectual property specialist Gemma Long was let go from British Gas after her managers - who were also lawyers - put pressure on her to work on her days off. (Stock photo)

When she returned from maternity leave in September 2017, Mrs Long worked as one of two intellectual property lawyers, with the workload divided between her and a full time colleague.

Mrs Long was paid 46,800 a year for a three day working week.

The tribunal heard the full time lawyer resigned in June 2018 and Mrs Long 'started to feel pressure to work on her non-working days' from her line managers, solicitors Sarah Hartnell and Vicky Wells.

This was shown in emails Vicky Wells wrote to Ms Hartnell which said 'Are you going to speak to Gemma this week about not dropping everything when she leaves on Weds? Let me know how it goes...' and 'I've also told her that the work doesn't stop at 4pm on a Wednesday'.

Ms Hartnell told the tribunal she had 'serious concerns' about Mrs Long's performance during 2018, but her 2018 annual performance review was a mix of positive and negative comments.

Mrs Long said the review document 'did not give the impression that she was performing below expectations'.

Despite this, in March 2019 she was placed on a Performance Improvement Plan, the same month the firm hired an experienced full time male intellectual property lawyer on 80,000 a year.

The tribunal heard Mrs Long was informed that she was at risk of redundancy on in June 2019.

In the scoring matrix the firm used to decide who would be made redundant, Ms Hartnell scored Mrs Long '1 out of 7 for Focus', which meant 'rarely demonstrates this capability and/or sometimes demonstrates the opposite'.

In her evidence to the tribunal, Ms Hartnell accepted that Mrs Long's focus on trademarks was good and that this made up the lion's share of her work.

Mrs Long was made redundant in July 2019.

Employment Judge Andrew Gumbiti-Zimuto said the mark for focus of 1 was 'irrational'.

Mrs Long had been working part-time ever since giving birth to her three children and was criticised for her 'focus', despite covering two people's roles while only doing three days a week. (stock image)

Mrs Long said the selection criteria was 'stacked against me as a working mother'.

She believed she was 'consciously or unconsciously discriminated against' on the grounds of sex and part time status because it was 'assumed she was not performing as well as a full-time male colleague' and was 'less focused because she was a woman with triplets working three days a week'.

Judge Gumbiti-Zimuto upheld Mrs Long's claims of equal pay, sex discrimination, less favourable treatment on the grounds of part-time working and unfair dismissal.

He said: 'These matters in our view also allow us to infer that [Mrs Long's] personal circumstances as a mother of young children was unconsciously being held against her.

'We conclude that [Mrs Long] was treated less favourably than [the other male lawyer], a full-time male worker, in the process that resulted in her dismissal.

'The Tribunal concludes that [she] was treated less favourably than [British Gas] treats a comparable full-time worker. [Her] complaints about dismissal succeed on the grounds of direct sex discrimination and less favourable treatment because of part-time working.'
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Frosty conditions in April are continuing as the Met office issues a yellow weather warning, predicting up to several inches of snow to fall on parts of the UK.

Disruption for roads and railways is expected after snow is forecast for northern parts of Scotland.

The temperature will barely be above freezing, 0C (32F), across regions in Scotland, while the south coast of England will experience highs of 15C (59F).

The Met Office issued a warning from 6am to 10pm on Tuesday for an area covering much of Highland and Grampian.

It was previously issued for 4pm on Tuesday to 11am on Wednesday.

'Snow may cause some disruption across parts of Scotland through Tuesday before clearing northwards,' the Met Office said in its warning.

'Some roads and railways likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services.'

While strong to gale force winds are likely in some areas on Wednesday night and during Thursday.

There's some uncertainty regarding the location and peak strength of of the strongest winds, however a spell of severe gales is a possibility in the far northwest.

Also later in the week there is some risk of hail and thunder in parts of the UK.

Up to 10cm of snow is expected to fall in northern parts of Scotland (pictured), likely disrupting roads and rail today and throughout this week

A man from a village near Inverness clears snow from his car this morning

The weather is much more temperate in other parts of the UK (pictured: people walking by the Kennet and Avon canal near to Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire)

Strong winds are predicted to hit late Wednesday night and on Thursday, but the exact location of the strongest winds is stil uncertain

The reasonably warm climate most of the south of the UK has been enjoying is set to give way to colder arctic air on Thursday

A snowplough on the B9176 Struie Road this morning where several inches of snow has fallen

The weather agency continued: 'Persistent rain over northern Scotland will increasingly turn to snow over high ground during Tuesday morning, then to lower levels by the afternoon.

'This is likely to bring some temporary accumulations in places to sea-level, with 2-5cm above 100-200m in places and perhaps 10cm above 300m.

The Met Office has issued a snow warning today

'There is some uncertainty by Tuesday night but snow is likely to clear northwards and turn back to rain leading to some snow melt.

More snow is predicted to fall in Scotland throughout the week, though the rest of the UK looks set to avoid it.

Most areas this week will see windy conditions and downpours, although there will be spells of milder weather and temperatures around 12C (54F) before it turns slightly cooler towards the end of the week.

Met Office forecaster Jonathan Vautrey said: 'The general theme is for the weather to be unsettled.

'There will be a damp and cloudy start to the working week for most with further outbreaks of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England.

'There will also be a more persistent band of rain across southern areas by Thursday.'

For the rest of today there will be plenty of rain and drizzle in the north and northwest, snow on high ground of Scotland, settling to lower levels later where it will be cold.

However it will be mainly dry, bright and mild elsewhere.

Later tonight, more rain and snow is likely to fall on northern Scotland.

While elsewhere it will be windy with bands of rain and showers moving east across most parts.

The weather for the rest of the week is likely to be a typical mixture of sunshine and showers for most areas

Snow is forecast to fall on several days this week in Scotland

Temperatures in northern parts of Scotland are expected to not rise beyond 3C (37F) today

Traffic in the snow near Inverness this morning

In lower lying parts of Scotland, the snow is predicted to be up to 5cm deep

Tomorrow there will be more snow across northern Scotland and outbreaks of rain in north.

It will be windy across the UK, with a small bit of rain will clear in the southeast, followed by a mixture of sunshine and showers.

For the rest of the week, Thursday and Friday, there will be wintry showers or longer spells of rain and hill snow and sunny spells in between.

There have been warmer areas in the south today, but much colder air across northern Scotland will return to all areas from Wednesday onward.

Strong and gusty winds will make it feel particularly cold by Thursday.

On Saturday it will be drier and brighter for most, but it will also be cold and often windy.
Pet owners are being warned that an increasing number of dog baits are being found in parks and on footpaths across Melbourne.

Worried dog walkers posted to social media that they have found suspicious pieces of meat left in suburbs including Kallista, Montmorency, Caulfield North, the City of Yarra, and Stonnington.

'We have received a small number of reports regarding the alleged laying of bait around the areas of Armadale and Montmorency in recent weeks and investigations remain ongoing,' Michelle Green from RSPCA Victoria told The Herald Sun.

The Stonnington Dogs Instagram page has been posting updates of where baits have been found (pictured)

LOCATIONS BAITS HAVE BEEN FOUND Poisoned dog baits have been found in Melbourne parks including those at: Armadale, Kallista, Montmorency, Caulfield North, in the City of Yarra, and at Stonnington. Advertisement

She added that over the most recent financial year the number of baiting reports the organisation had received surged by 25 per cent to 124 compared to 2020.

The Stonnington Dogs Instagram page has been posting updates on the locations of some of the baits along with pictures showing what appears to be pellets found inside steaks.

'Everyone has been keeping an eye out and picking (the baits) up when they see them and I list them on my page,' Kerrie Nasser said.

At least two dogs have become sick after ingesting the meat.

Both the Yarra City Council and Stonnington Council have said they are also investigating the reports.

And the matter has also been reported to Victoria Police.

Baiting is an offence and carries a penalty of up to $90,870 and two years in prison if a pet is seriously injured.
A famous drawing has been renamed to reflect its Ukrainian heritage, after concerns were raised about the 'lazy' mislabelling of art as Russian.

Edgar Degas' Russian Dancers has been renamed Ukrainian Dancers by the National Gallery in London, after calls on social media from Ukrainians.

The French impressionists piece features dancers wearing Ukrainian folk dress in a field, with blue and yellow ribbons in their hair and garlands in their hands  the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

The dance troupe from Eastern Europe visited Paris in the late 1890s and performed at the French capitals most famous venues, including the Moulin Rouge.

A spokesperson for the National Gallery said that the 1899 pastel image's name has been an ongoing point of discussion for many years.

Its title has also been discussed in scholarly literature, they said. But the ongoing war in Ukraine has prompted an increased focus.

The National Gallery said that now is an appropriate moment to better reflect the painting's subject. It depicts dancers in a field, with blue and yellow ribbons in their hair  the colours of the Ukrainian flag. Above, the piece being presented to the National Gallery

'We felt it was an appropriate moment to update the paintings title to better reflect the subject of the painting,' they told The Guardian.

'We are also very open to receiving feedback from the public about specific works and regularly respond to comments shared by our audiences, including those made on social media.'

The name of the piece  which is not currently on display  was flagged a few weeks ago by a member of the National Gallery's education department, as well as Tanya Kolotusha, a Ukrainian living in London.

Ms Kolotusha wrote on Instagram: 'Should we wait for Ukraine to win the war before starting a grand change on the cultural front?'

Ukrainian historian Olesya Khromeychuk said that there is a 'lazy misinterpretation of the region as one endless Russia' in London's museums and galleries. Above, a closer look at Degas' pastel drawing

The decision to rename the work has been supported by Mariia Kashchenko, the Ukrainian-born founder and director of The Art Unit, which is currently showcase its first release of 21 emerging artists from Ukraine.

Ms Kashchenko told the paper that 'Russian art' was used as an umbrella term for work, but it's important to get the descriptions right.

The umbrella has even been used to describe her own heritage, she said.

'As a Ukrainian person, in the past I would have encountered times when I was called Russian, or where Ukrainian heritage was described as Russian,' Ms Kashchenko explained.

Last month, this umbrella labelling was criticised by Olesya Khromeychuk, the director of the Ukrainian Institute in London.

The 1899 work, which is currently not on display, was flagged by staff at the gallery and Ukrainians on social media. Above, the gifted work arriving at the London gallery

Writing in the German magazine Der Spiegel, Ms Khromeychuk said that there is a 'lazy misinterpretation of the region as one endless Russia' in London's museums and galleries.

'The curators have no problem presenting Jewish, Belarusian or Ukrainian art and artists as Russian.

'On a rare occasion when a Ukrainian is not presented as Russian, he or she might be presented as Ukrainian-born, as was the case with the film director, Oleksandr Dovzhenko, in one of the major exhibitions on revolutionary art in London.'

The National Gallery is continuing to research its collection's history, and will be updating information about each work as and when more information is available.

It has no other works in its collection with Ukrainian heritage, and no other pieces are expected to be renamed.
A Tory donor and sculptor praised Vladimir Putin as a 'great leader' while posing with his home-made bust of the Russian tyrant in a video made for his brutal regime.

Harley Street surgeon Nadey Hakim described the artwork as 'a diamond' in his collection of sculptures of world leaders that includes Boris Johnson and Joe Biden.

In comments that are likely to embarrass the Conservatives he used the two-minute video posted on Facebook last year to sing the praises of Mr Putin.

By the time it was published in June 2021 the autocrat had already been implicated in the Salisbury nerve agent attack that left a British woman dead. His forces had also been occupying Crimea for seven years by that point.

Mr Hakim, a transplant and bariatric specialist who performed the world's first hand transplant, has donated almost 150,000 to the Conservatives since 2011.

In the video, posted by the Russian Embassy in London, he posed with the bust of Putin, saying: 'Undoubtedly he is one of the most influential people in the world and will leave a deep print in history.

'In my opinion, the Russian people have chosen a great leader, confirming his authority time after time.

Harley Street surgeon Nadey Hakim described the artwork as 'a diamond' in his collection of sculptures of world leaders that includes Boris Johnson and Joe Biden.

In comments that are likely to embarrass the Conservatives he used the two-minute video posted on Facebook last year to sing the praises of Mr Putin.

Mr Hakim, a transplant and bariatric specialist who performed the world's first hand transplant, has donated almost 150,000 to the Conservatives since 2011.

'I admire Putin's determination to assert Russian power after years of perceived underestimation by the US and its Nato allies. The world needs Putin as a counterbalance to preserve its multipolar structure and avoid global deflation.'

Professor Hakim distanced himself from the video and his remarks after they were revealed by the Times last night, saying with hindsight he had been 'totally wrong'.

He told the paper: 'Things obviously have changed and I categorically do not support Putin and his actions. I am categorically against what he has done and what he is doing.'

In relation to Putin's actions in Crimea and the Donbas he added: 'I did not have a chance to look at all those things myself. I was really more supporting the Russian people as such.'

He said that he had made busts of all sorts of world leaders and that they did not equate to support for their politics.

Professor Hakim with his wife Nicole and children Alexandra, David and Gabriella

He has also been filmed performing as a clarinetist in Christmas concerts organised by the Russian embassy, branding the appearances 'apolitcal' and adding: You can't prevent people from being musicians and artists.'

Prof Hakim hit the headlines in 2016 when he won a claim for unfair dismissal against a London Hospital Trust.

Professor Hakim, who had by then completed 2,000 procedures over a 30-year career, was fired in 2014 for gross misconduct after he was accused of prioritising a private patient over an NHS case.

Imperial College Healthcare  which runs five London hospitals  was ordered to reinstate him and told to pay him more than 100,000 to compensate for his loss of income.

His legal battle has cost 200,000, forcing the father of four to remortgage the family home in West Hampstead, North West London.

He said at the time he believed he had been dismissed partly because colleagues were opposed to his support for the Conservative Party.
The BBC has been accused of using the licence fee to 'protect environmental extremists' after its climate editor tried to offer anonymity to a gang deflating tyres.

The Corporation found itself in hot water when Justin Rowlatt asked members of Tyre Extinguishers to star in a clip in which he would hide their identities.

The 'trusted' journalist allegedly told the eco-thugs he would blur their faces and disguise their voices in the video for the Beeb.

The move was branded 'outrageous' and raised 'ethical questions' over supporting 'unlawful radical activism that disrupts people's lives during this cost of living crisis'.

The gang has sparked outrage by deflating tyres on SUVs across the country as they tried to disguise their vandalism as protests.

As of last week Tyre Extinguishers bragged it had deflated the wheels of nearly 2,000 cars in just a month despite public fury.

Meanwhile questions were raised over 55-year-old Rowlatt's suitability as climate editor after it emerged his sister was an active member of Insulate Britain and XR.

Cordelia was among the radicals blocking major roads last year, causing chaos for commuters across England.

The Corporation found itself in hot water when Justin Rowlatt (pictured) asked members of Tyre Extinguishers to star in a clip in which he would hide their identities

The 'trusted' journalist allegedly told the eco-thugs he would blur their faces and disguise their voices in the video for the Beeb

The eco mob calling themselves Tyre Extinguishers claim they targeted almost 2,000 SUVs across the UK in the last month

Meanwhile questions were raised over 55-year-old Rowlatt's suitability as climate editor after it emerged his sister (pictured) was an active member of Insulate Britain and XR

Is deflating someone's tyre a crime in the UK? Legal experts say that although prosecution is unlikely, the activists could actually be committing a criminal offence. Laura Baumanis, a criminal defence solicitor at legal defence firm Olliers, told MailOnline: 'Whilst it is extremely rare for someone to be prosecuted for letting the air out of a tyre, technically, it could be classed as criminal damage. 'For this offence to be satisfied, any damage caused does not have to be permanent, but is made out by virtue of the fact that steps need to be taken, ordinarily at expense to the owner, for the item to be in a working condition again.' Meanwhile, Matthew Nash, tutor at The University of Law, said if the driver failed to notice the flat tyre and drove away, more serious charges could be brought it they crashed. He said: 'Letting out air from someone's tyres is clear criminal damage. 'Although technically the tyre is not 'damaged', if you do something to someone else's property and they need to do something to restore it, that is Criminal Damage within the meaning of the Criminal Damage Act. 'It is possible that if they let the air out of someone's types so as to cause an accident, there could be more serious charges depending on the resulting damage or injury. 'It is also possible that there could be other offences if this were done to many cars at the same time.' Three police forces have confirmed they are investigating multiple reports of criminal damage in Brighton, Liverpool and Cambridge. Advertisement

A leading member of Tyre Extinguishers asked members of a Telegram group, seen by MailOnline, if they would help the BBC for the feature on them.

They wrote on March 31: 'Hi everyone - the BBC's Environment Editor, Justin Rowlatt, is looking for a Tyre Extinguisher crew to film deflating tyres and to film anonymously about the action.

'A trusted journalist and he is happy to blur faces, disguise voices etc if needed. Message me if you are up for this.

'He'd love to do a feature on us and the more people learn about us, the more people will join in. Message me!'

But the offer appeared to have little clout, with no one replying for two days before one man said: 'I'd be a bit wary.

'Yes he has clout as senior BBC env. journalist - but he's mainstream at best & at worst

'[He] did a sh** piece on LTNs last year (a BBC apology was issued after pressure from a pro-AT MP) over the misinformation and imbalance).'

It is not clear if Rowlatt ever went out with the group to record and BBC News refused to divulge this information.

The group, called March 7th - Tyre Extinguishers Launch!, has been used to plot their carnage over the past month.

It has 180 members, with some in the chat calling themselves Revolting Hippie, Mighty Rebel and Making Mischief.

One man in the chat even asked if the name should be changed to be 'something less obvious' in case a group member were to be arrested.

He wrote: 'Wondering if the name of chat and picture could be changed to something less obvious?

'If someone were to be arrested and the cops get access to their telegram then we're all a little screwed.'

The admin replied: 'Security is super important I agree! Don't worry, this group is not searchable, it can only be found via invite link.

'We will also be regularly deleting the chat hisrory so there will be nothing substantial for anyone to find (especially after March 7th).

'Being a member of a Telegram group in of itself is not prosecutable. The advantage of Telegram is that our phone numbers are not visible to each other, so there is a layer of protection there too.

'Even if the cops got one of our phones, they would have little way of identifying anyone else in the group.

'Can I suggest anyone that has their real name in their Telegram username to change it? That'll provide an additional layer of security also.'

Pictured: William Lowe's tyre, muddy from its use on a farm, was reduced from 50psi to 7psi

'They even targeted our hybrid car!' Iren Brown and her husband Nick woke up to find all four tyres on the family's part-electric Toyota Rav 4 had been deflated by activists. Mr Brown, 64, from Brighton, had to cancel a hospital appointment. Mrs Brown, 43, said: 'The Toyota is a hybrid electric car which we bought because we were being mindful of the environmental impact our previous diesel car was having. 'But these activists have not taken that into consideration. 'I'm so angry because everyone is behind their cause but their tactics are indiscriminate and scattershot.' The mother-of-two, a kitchen designer, added: 'Nick is quite a serious diabetic and we may have need to access a vehicle in an emergency. 'Their actions could have been dangerous.' Advertisement

An earlier post read: 'SUVs and 4x4s are a disaster for our health, our public safety and our climate - and their sales are surging!

'If SUVs were a country, they would be the seventh-largest emitter in the world. Bigger and bigger cars are dominating our towns and cities, and all so a privileged few can flaunt their wealth.

'Because governments and politicians have failed to protect us from this danger, we must protect ourselves.

'A new, decentralised campaign is launching in March to make it impossible to own an SUV in the UK's urban areas.'

Another added: 'This is a group for the Tyre Extinguishers launch on the night of Monday March 7th.

'Thank you for being part of it - together we can make it impossible to use an SUV on the world's roads.

'Add people who are up for taking part. Only add people YOU KNOW AND TRUST to take the action for now.

'DO NOT distribute the website or publicly reference the Tyre Extinguishers until after the launch action

'We will launch on the evening of Monday 7th March, and a general press release will be sent out and we will publicly encourage others to join us and point to the website.

'The website with all the instructions about how to take the action is here, but keep it under wraps for now: www.tyreextinguishers.com

'For people's safety, keep names and identities confidential and only organise with people you already know!'

It added: 'This is a leaderless movement so you can set up your own local groups, but don't take action until March 7th!'

As a multiple sclerosis sufferer, Kate Basker never quite knows when or how the condition will affect her. 'It's shocking to find out that someone has decided we're fair game just because of the car we drive, not knowing anything about us,' the 33-year-old from Bristol said

Rob Derkin spotted that three tyres on his Volkswagen T-Roc were flat when he left to take his daughter to college. After unscrewing the valve caps, he discovered dried legumes pushing down the pin to let air out

Campaign groups were livid Rowlatt had allegedly been allowed to approach the group and offer to film them anonymously.

Defund the BBC told MailOnline: 'It is outrageous that the BBC is taking money from vulnerable Britons and using it to support unlawful radical activism that disrupts people's lives during this cost of living crisis.

'In order to return any accountability to the corporation, the government must step in to put an end to its guaranteed funding by scrapping the licence fee once and for all.

'The British people should not be forced, by threat of imprisonment, to pay for the BBC's woke agenda.'

Head of Policy Exchange's Security and Terrorism Unit Dr Paul Stott added: 'It would be an extremely odd state of affairs if the licence fee was being used - tacitly or otherwise - to protect a group of environment extremists, whose actions cause disruption and distress to the law-abiding majority. The BBC has an ethical question to answer here.'

Tyre Extinguishers said last week its supporters had taken action in cities across Britain in an attempt to 'make it impossible' to own the vehicles in urban areas.

Activists are urged to avoid SUVs 'clearly used' by people with disabilities or by tradesman.

The group, which first took action on March 7, said in a statement: 'So far, the Tyre Extinguishers have disarmed nearly 2,000 SUVs in the UK, in Brighton, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Bristol and Edinburgh, in repeated actions.

'Plans are being made to launch the Tyre Extinguishers leaflet in four other languages as interest grows internationally.'

The group papered targeted vehicles with this lengthy leaflet (pictured), lecturing drivers on why they should get rid of their 'gas guzzling SUVs' and use public transport instead

Last week, Sussex Police issued CCTV footage showing two people it wants to trace in connection with tyres being deflated in Brighton.

Marion Walker of Tyre Extinguishers said: 'Unless a bobby is posted beside every SUV in the country 24 hours a day, we don't expect anyone to be apprehended.

'Better to break the law than allow these killer vehicles to continue to be used on our streets.' Some of the SUVs that had their tyres let down were electric and hybrids.

One electric 4x4 owner who was targeted last month said he went to great lengths to research the environmental impact of his vehicle before purchasing it.

William Lowe, from Cambridge, told MailOnline: 'I was just leaving the house ... ironically to attend a sustainability and waste reduction meeting when I noticed the tyres on my electric 4x4 had been deflated and I found their leaflet on my windscreen.

'I was lucky enough that I had the means to reinflate the tyre at my house so it was only a mild inconvenience which set me back on my day but nevertheless it was very frustrating.

'We use it for its intended purpose as we have to visit a farm at least twice a week which would otherwise be impossible for a normal car.

'This is by far the car with the lowest carbon footprint. We were very conscious about that.

'We've been responsible and went to great lengths to research the environmental impact  it's not like I just purchased the cheapest option.

'It definitely seemed like the group are using a blunt tool to tackle what is actually a complex problem.'

Mr Lowe, who runs a family-owned gin distillery and owns a Land Rover e-SUV, said he agrees that environmental challenges need tackling but that this is the wrong way to go about it. He added: 'I'm obviously sympathetic to their cause.

'The environmental situation is dire and needs answering but it's a complex and nuanced situation that minor acts of vandalism show no signs of improving.

'This is an important cause but they seem aligned with Extinction Rebellion who are uniquely placed to rally people against the cause they're trying to unite people behind.'

Last year, one of the UK's most popular selling cars was a Kia Sportage SUV, according to Auto Express.

SUVs emit 25 per cent more carbon dioxide on average than a medium-sized car, and have jumped in popularity in the UK.

It leapt from nearly seven per cent of private cars sold in the UK in 2009 to more than 21 per cent in 2018, according to the UK energy Research Centre.

Globally, the number of SUVs has increased from less than 50 million in 2010 to around 320 million last year  equivalent to the total car fleet of Europe.

Because of their size, on average, SUVs consume around a quarter more energy than medium-sized cars.

A 2019 study by the International Energy Agency found that they rank among the top contributors to energy-related carbon dioxide emissions growth over the past decade  cancelling out the reductions from people switching to electric cars. Because of their size, they are also said to be more dangerous when involved in an accident.

BBC News refused to be drawn on Rowlatt's messages with Tyre Extinguishers, with a spokesman saying: 'All BBC journalism must comply with the BBC's editorial guidelines.'
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Russia's death toll in Ukraine is nearing 20,000, Kyiv has claimed, as Ukraine continues to push back invading Kremlin troops and retake 'key terrain' around the capital and Chernihiv.

Putin's forces are retreating from major cities in the west as they refocus their efforts on the Donbas, with 60,000 Russian reservists expected to be called in to reinforce Moscow's offensive in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk provinces claimed by separatists.

The brutal siege of Mariupol is continuing where the Ukrainian civilian death toll has risen to 5,000, while a nitric acid tank in Rubizhne, Luhansk, has been shelled, forcing civilians to remain inside their homes with their windows shut.

A red and brown cloud of poisonous smoke prompted warnings to residents to wear wet face masks after the release of the dangerous chemical, which both sides blamed on the other.

Luhansk governor Sergiy Gaiday said Russia is planning a major attack in the region as he ordered a mass evacuation, saying: 'We understand that they are preparing for a full-scale big breakthrough. Please don't wait for your homes to be bombed.'

Meanwhile, Ukraine's general staff said Russia has again used banned cluster munitions in Mykolaiv, targeting civilian buildings including a children hospital in a horrific attack which has killed 11 and wounded 61.

British defence officials said 'low-level fighting is likely to continue in some parts of the newly recaptured regions, but diminish significantly over this week as the remainder of Russian forces withdraw' from Kyiv and Chernihiv.

In an intelligence update posted online, the UK says many of the Russian units 'are likely to require significant re-equipping and refurbishment before being available to redeploy for operations in eastern Ukraine.'

Russia has shelled a nitric acid tank in Rubizhne as the chairman of Luhansk ordered everyone to remain inside and close their windows

A red and yellow cloud of poisonous smoke prompted warnings to residents to wear wet face masks after the suspected deliberate shelling of a dangerous chemical

A view of the Mariupol theatre damaged during fighting in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that even though Ukraine is taking back the capital, he urged civilians not to return for 'at least another week', with explosives left around the city. Pictured: teams work to clear explosives

The wreckage of a car is seen at the central square of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv, as Russian troops start to withdraw from the capital

A body is carried at a school in Bucha where Russia has been accused of carrying out war crimes after piles of corpses were found following Ukraine's recapture

An estimated 5,000 civilians have died in Mariupol alone (pictured) which has been subjected to a brutal blockade

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that even though Ukraine is taking back the capital, he urged civilians not to return for 'at least another week', with explosives left around the city.

He described the situation in east of Ukraine as 'critical', saying 5,000 civilians alone had died in Mariupol which has been subjected to a brutal blockade, leaving residents stranded in shelters without food, power or water for weeks, as multiple evacuation efforts were halted.

In the crucial port city, a civilian ship is sinking today after it was struck during 'shelling from the sea' by Russia, causing a fire in the engine room, Ukraine said.

The crew was rescued, including one injured crew member, from the ship which was flying the flag of the Dominican Republic and posted a picture of a cargo vessel.

Klitschko said the total death toll of Russians has now reached 20,000, although these claims have not been independently verified.

Today's nitric acid attack follows warnings that the Russians were plotting to use chemical weapons.

A Ukrainian official said: 'If you are indoors - close doors and windows. Nitric acid peroxide is dangerous if inhaled, swallowed and comes into contact with skin and mucous membranes.'

Residents were told to soak face masks in baking soda as a means of protection and were warned of severe eye damage.

'If nitric acid comes into contact with the eyes, rinse them with running water for 10-30 minutes. In case of contact with skin the affected surface should be washed with water, adding baking soda, soap. If nitric acid is swallowed, rinse the stomach with plenty of water.'

The Russians claimed: 'The footage actually shows the result of a chemical weapons provocation by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

'The Nazis fired a missile at a tanker with nitric acid in Rubizhne, Luhansk region. Ukrainian propagandists rushed to accuse the Russian military of the attack, but this is excluded.

'The town is under the control of LNR people's militia and is shelled by Ukrainian soldiers on a daily basis.'

As Ukrainian troops recaptured towns devastated by nearly six weeks of war, including Bucha, dead civilians were found lining the streets.

Grim images of a mass grave and the bound bodies of people shot at close range prompted an international outcry and pledges of more sanctions against Moscow.

Klitschko described seeing the bodies of civilians, including an old woman, during visits to Bucha and other towns near Kyiv in the past two days, where Russians have been accused of horrific war crimes.

A woman carries her bicycle past destroyed buildings in the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv

Broken: A visibly emotional President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday stood motionless as he surveyed the scene of utter devastation he encountered in the town of Bucha, with dozens of bodies shot at close range laying on the empty streets

A van with 'children' written on it - intended as a warning to Russian troops - is seen riddled with bullet holes in Bucha

A car with multiple signs saying 'children' in Russian as a warning to Putin's forces not to shoot is shown shot to pieces

A satellite image taken of a street in the city of Bucha on March 19 - when Russian forces were in full control of the city - shows dark objects in the road that exactly match where civilian corpses were later discovered by Ukrainian troops

Ukrainian officials have warned that the slaughter of hundreds of civilians by Russian troops on the outskirts of Kyiv could just be the 'tip of the iceberg' as more allegations of atrocities emerge. Pictured: A destroyed building in Borodyanka, Ukraine

Pictured: A young child carries a hand-held rocket launcher in the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, April 2 2022. Dmitrivka and the area around had recently been recaptured by the Ukrainian army from Russian forces

A young boy walks through the deserted streets of Bucha next to an upturned car amid scenes of destruction in his hometown

A car with a white flag and the letters 'children' on the outside had been shot up and had blood inside, he said, adding that officials were looking for the occupants' bodies.

Russia has denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians and said it would present 'empirical evidence' to a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday proving its forces were not involved.

Moscow is facing more Western sanctions in retaliation for the civilian killings, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for a thorough investigation, saying more dead could be found in areas seized from Russian invaders.

Moscow accused the West of staging the deaths to discredit its troops, denied that they had carried out any atrocities and threatened to expel more Western diplomats.

U.S. President Joe Biden called for a war crimes trial against Putin and Washington will ask the U.N. General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president and a close Putin ally who now serves as deputy head of his security council, said the reports of civilian killings in Bucha were 'fakes' aimed at discrediting Russia.

Pictured: Locals carry a coffin on a wheelbarrow as the city was hit by shelling in the small city of Borodyanka near Kiev

A view of a burned apartment amid the ongoing conflict in the city of Mariupol under the control of the Russian military

Russia launched what it calls a 'special military operation' in Ukraine on February 24, saying it aimed at demilitarizing and 'denazifying' its neighbour

Mariupol residents have been stranded in shelters without food, power or water for weeks, as multiple evacuation efforts were halted

Pictured: Parts of a destroyed aircraft at the Antonov airport in Hostomel, outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine

Moscow said it would present 'empirical evidence' to a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday proving its forces were not involved.

In an early morning video address, Zelenskiy said he would also speak to the Security Council on Tuesday as he builds support for an investigation into the killings in Bucha and other actions of the Russian military.

'And this is only one town. One of many Ukrainian communities which the Russian forces managed to capture,' he said, adding there were reports of more deaths in other liberated towns.

Reuters saw several bodies apparently shot at close range, along with makeshift burials and a mass grave in Bucha, but could not independently verify the number of dead or who was responsible.

Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said he spoke with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about Bucha and stressed 'that Ukraine will use all available UN mechanisms to collect evidence and hold Russian war criminals to account.'

Kuleba also had a call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Monday, with Beijing again calling for talks to end the conflict.

Destroyed Russian military vehicles are seen on the streets of Bucha after it was recaptured by Ukrainian forces

Moscow said it would present 'empirical evidence' to a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday proving its forces were not involved in the tragedy at Burcha

Grim images of a mass grave and the bound bodies of people shot at close range prompted an international outcry and pledges of more sanctions against Moscow

A residential building destroyed by shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Borodyanka in the Kyiv region

Atrocities: Burned buildings which was hit by shelling is seen in small city of Borodyanka near Kyiv at the start of the conflict

Pictured: A satellite image taken on March 31 shows the mass grave - a 45ft-long pit - dug behind the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints in Bucha, during the time that Russian forces were in control of the region

Pictured: Burned cars and warehouses near the Antonov airport in Hostomel, outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday April 4

The call, which Beijing said was made at Ukraine's request, was the first reported high-level conversation between the countries since March 1, when, according to Kyiv, Kuleba asked Beijing to use its ties with Moscow to stop Russia's invasion.

Russia launched what it calls a 'special military operation' in Ukraine on Feb. 24, saying it aimed at demilitarizing and 'denazifying' its neighbour, Ukraine and the West say the invasion was illegal and unjustified.

Both Germany and the Biden administration said new sanctions against Moscow were due to be announced in coming days.

The U.S. State Department also said it was supporting an international team of prosecutors and experts in their work collecting and analysing evidence of atrocities.

France and Germany said they would expel Russian diplomats and Medvedev said Moscow would respond in kind and 'slam shut the door on Western embassies'.

German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said the European Union must discuss banning Russian gas, though other officials urged caution around measures that could touch off a European energy crisis.

Russia supplies about a third of Europe's gas, and Putin has tried to use energy as a lever to fight back against Western sanctions. So far, however, Moscow has kept its gas flowing into Europe, despite uncertainty over Putin's demands for payments in roubles.

In the latest effort to pile pressure on Moscow, United States stopped the Russian government from paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600million from reserves held at U.S. banks.
Veteran journalist Leigh Sales has bombarded Scott Morrison with a series of tough questions scrutinising his leadership in a tense showdown on ABC's 7.30 program.

Sales confronted the PM over controversies plaguing his reputation ahead of the upcoming election, character assassinations levelled at him by members within his party, inadequate flood relief and his friendship with a disgraced preacher.

Mr Morrison, who is due to call the federal election in days, performed relatively well despite being in the firing line and offered a smooth response to each question until one answer landed him in trouble.

ABC's Leigh Sales hit Scott Morrison (pictured) with a tough line of questions on 7.30 on Tuesday

At one point, Sales asserted that many of Mr Morrison's associates have spoken poorly of his character, citing leaked text messages sent by former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to another Liberal minister describing the PM as a 'horrible person'.

But Mr Morrison quickly shot down the accusation, claiming Ms Berejiklian denied sending the message - despite the former premier never formerly doing so.

'Let's look at the range of people who have questioned your character,' Sales said to Mr Morrison.

'Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Barnaby Joyce in a text message, Jacqui Lambie, Pauline Hanson both say they felt bullied by you, Julia Banks, Emmanuel Macron said you lied to him, a leaked text from Gladys Berejiklian calling you a horrible, horrible person.

'That's a lot of smoke. No fire?'

Mr Morrison replied: 'Which she denies by the way'.

Sales (pictured) confronted Mr Morrison over a series of controversies that have tainted his reputation

But political reporter Peter van Onselen, who broke the story on the text scandal, quickly fired up his Twitter account to debunk Mr Morrison's claims.

'The Prime Minister Just told ABC 7.30 Gladys Berejiklian "denies" the "horrible, horrible person" text. That is an out and out lie.'

In January, after the bombshell text exchange was made public, Ms Berejiklian issued a statement expressing support for the PM - but she never claimed she was not responsible.

'I understand there has been some commentary today concerning myself and the PM. I have no recollection of such messages,' Ms Berejiklian's statement read.

'Let me reiterate my very strong support for Prime Minister Morrison and all he is doing for our nation during these very challenging times.

'I also strongly believe he is the best person to lead our nation for years to come.'

Defending his reputation, Mr Morrison claimed long lists of scorching discreditations were inevitable as prime minister.

'People are always disappointed and theyll have an axe to grind. Thats normal in politics, particularly when youre going into an election, he told Sales.

Sales pointed out a long list of people have made accusations about the PM's character, including Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (pictured)

Political reporter Peter van Onselen tweeted that Mr Morrison had lied by claiming Ms Berejiklian denied the text

'As Prime Minister, when people come and they just want a yes from me or want the outcome they're seeking and I disagree with them and I take a different position.... the allegation they make against me on that is not true.

'And when they don't get what they want, then of course they're going to lash out.'

Sales also probed Mr Morrison over his friendship with controversial Hillsong founder Brian Houston, who last month resigned amid allegations he harassed two women in the church.

'Why did you kind of disown him last week when you were asked [by reporters] about that [situation] given he a long-term close friend?' Sales said.

'I wouldn't describe that as my reaction. I said I was disappointed and I was shocked,' Mr Morrison said.

Sales shot back: '[But] as a loyal mate, why didn't you say "I don't want to join a pile on of this bloke?"'

Mr Morrison deflected the question, reiterating his initial response.

'I didn't. I said I was disappointed and shocked like a lot of people have been and the church's response was very appropriate and I think it was,' he said.

After putting a stolid front, the PM cracked and offered a glimpse of candid emotion when asked whether he had been in contact with Mr Houston since his resignation.

Looking rueful, sadness flickered across Mr Morrison's face as he replied: 'no I haven't'.

Brian Houston (pictured), the co-founder of mega church Hillsong, resigned last week amid harassment claims

Mr Morrison looked upset as he revealed he had not spoken to his friend Brian Houston after the Hillsong founder's recent harassment scandal

Mr Morrison also responded to allegations made by Catherine Cusack, a member of the NSW Upper House who lives in the flood-devastated Northern Rivers region, in a scathing opinion piece for The Guardian.

Ms Cusack said Mr Morrison's government had only provided flood support for the Federal seat of Page, which backs the Coalition, while denying Labor-seat towns like Ballina, Byron, and Tweed.

'Scott Morrison is practised at bullying and getting his own way,' Ms Cusack said.

'We are in the middle of a massive catastrophe here in the northern rivers. So outrageous, its just outrageous. It is so petty. Hes obviously not happy with the New South Wales Government.'

Mr Morrison said Ms Cusack had made similar complaints about the former NSW Premier.

'Look, Catherine and I have known each other for a long time. She made similar criticisms of Gladys Berejiklian, he said.

'When people become frustrated in the political process, they have lashed out. People have axes to grind.'

Sales also put it to Mr Morrison that he had intervened in the NSW preselection to ensure his allies were in optimised seats.

But Mr Morrison insisted he had only meddled to protect the women on his team and make sure the best candidates for the role were put forward.

Catherine Cusack, a Liberal MP who lives in the flood-devastated Northern Rivers region, (right), and former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (left)

'Sussan Ley, one of my finest cabinet ministers and one of our most successful women in parliament, was under threat,' he said.

'She was under threat from factions within the Liberal Party and I stood up.'

Sales called nonsense.

'You've got your allies and your agendas, everyone in politics does, you have to. It's disingenuous to say you don't?' she posited.

'You're claiming you're like an honest broker who doesn't have his own agenda?

Mr Morrison replied: 'I think that's unfair. I [have] always stood up to the factions.'

After remaining relatively poised, Mr Morrison's patience faltered right at the end as he fired a brutal shot at the television host, undermining the prominence of her program.

'Prime Minister, every election campaign for the past 27 years that this show has been on, both leaders have done a couple of prime time interviews. Ive already invited Mr Albanese and he agreed. Would you be happy to do a couple of interviews?,' Sales asked.

'We will appear on the ABC and everybodys programs over the course of the campaign and weve always made ourselves pretty available, Mr Morrison said.

Sales quipped: 'Thats not a direct answer, actually. Will you do two interviews on 7.30?

'Its not about 7.30, its about the Australian people and well make ourselves available to the ABC and all the networks, Mr Morrison.

'I dont think the major issue people are thinking about is the 7.30. Not at all.'
A dance teacher who sent an abundance of sexual messages to a 13-year-old boy in her class containing 'outpourings of love' has been spared jail.

Jennifer Hesse, 48, became obsessed with the boy she taught privately in Bournemouth, Dorset.

The married mother-of-two abused her position of trust and secretly sent him 'intensely sexual' Whatsapp messages.

She encouraged the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to be 'touchy' around her - despite him telling her to leave him alone.

In one message she told him: 'I need you to be touchy all the time.'

Hesse then warned the 'embarrassed' youth to quickly delete the messages so that his parents would not discover them.

Jennifer Hesse, 48, pictured outside Bournemouth Crown Court, was found guilty of sexual communication with a child to gain sexual gratification following a trial

She told him she felt 'an odd combination of dizziness and calm' and that she 'could not breathe' when he was with her.

The exchange of messages culminated in Hesse repeatedly telling him that she loved him.

When the victim told Hesse that he had a girlfriend and wanted the 'relationship' to stop, she became jealous and pressured him to carry it on.

Hesse told the 13-year-old boy: 'I want you to be able to love me exactly the way I need'

It came to a stop when the boy's mother discovered the messages and went to the police.

Hesse was found guilty of sexual communication with a child to gain sexual gratification following a trial in which the victim was forced to give evidence and was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court.

Nicola Talbot-Hadley, prosecuting, said: 'The victim gave evidence in which he rejected that he had a crush on Mrs Hesse and the jury also rejected this version of events.

'The jury were given a great deal of messages between them. It was extremely intense and emotionally pressurising.

'It often took place late at night and the defendant was under the influence of alcohol some of the time.

'The messages were sexualised and there was reference to "touch and tease". She repeatedly told him she loved him.'

The court heard that the victim eventually told the dance tutor he had a girlfriend.

Hesse was handed a suspended prison sentence as the judge chided her for treating the 13-year-old boy as a 'romantic figure' who she subjected to 'outpourings of love'

Hesse then responded: 'You are 13 and do not have the capacity for that yet.. I want you to be able to love me exactly the way I need.'

Mrs Talbot-Hadley went on: 'This was an abuse of trust.

'It became his "new normal" that he had to deal with such intense and pressurised messages. They left him stressed out and embarrassed.

'It is clear that he did not want to go to the dance school through fear of meeting Mrs Hesse.'

Hesse gave a letter to the judge in which she explained she had 'trouble understanding boundaries'.

Addressing her victim's family in court, she said she had overstepped boundaries 'again and again'.

She said: 'This feels unforgivable and breaks my heart. I would like to step back in time and change what I have done. All I can do now is work on my mental health and make sure I never make the same mistake again.'

Hesse was found guilty after a trial at Bournemouth Crown Court (pictured) and given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for 18 months, with 100 hours of unpaid work and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years

Audrey Archer, mitigating, said that Hesse was suffering from 'unacknowledged depression and childhood trauma' and suffered from an unhappy marriage during the period of the offending.

Judge Richard Onslow chided Hesse for treating the 13-year-old boy as a 'romantic figure' who she subjected to 'outpourings of love'.

He said: 'You were treating him as a romantic figure knowing all the while that he was 13. You bombarded him with messages and would not listen when he said, "please stop".

'You put a heavy burden on him to satisfy what you perceived to be your needs. Some of these messages were for the purposes of sexual gratification.'

Hesse was given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.

She must also complete 100 hours of unpaid work and has been placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Hesse was given a restraining order and a sexual harm prevention order forbidding her from contacting boys under 16 without the consent of their parents for five years.
A metal detectorist claims a heavily damaged silver coin he found once bore the head of King Charles I - but the depiction was scraped off after his execution.

The silver coin, which if authentic would have been struck during Charles's reign from 1625 and 1649, may have depicted a side-on profile of the King.

But Chris Langston, 47, who found the coin in a freshly-ploughed field in Shropshire, believes the image could have been defaced by an ardent Parliamentarian after Charles was beheaded in 1649.

Around the edges of the coin, what may be a letter 'C' - the beginning of CAROLVS D. REX, Charles's name in Latin - can be seen.

Also visible is what may be a cross that features on the top of Charles's crown in an undamaged version of a coin from that era.

What could be the arms of England, Scotland, and Ireland can still be seen on the reverse side.

A metal detectorist claims a heavily damaged old coin he found once bore the head of King Charles I - but the depiction was scraped off after his execution. Above: An undamaged coin is seen alongside metal detectorist Chris Langston's discovery

The silver coin, which if authentic would have been struck during Charles's reign from 1625 and 1649, may have depicted a side-on profile of the King. Above: The other side of the coin

Mr Langston, a father-of-three, said: 'It was right on the top of the soil, covered in mud. When I found it I was really flummoxed because because I know the head side wasn't right.

'I couldn't identify it and it looked like there was something missing. There were no signs other than the letter "c".

'I asked a fellow metal detectorist and he explained that it was known for King Charles I's face to be defaced by parliamentarians - and this has definitely been vigorously defaced.'

Charles dissolved Parliament three times between 1625 and 1629, instead resolving to rule alone. The move made him hugely unpopular with parliamentarians.

Mr Langston added: 'There were a lot of royalists who were known for attaching his coins to a string and wearing it around their necks as a way of keeping him close to their hearts, and this is the reverse of that.

'Half of the country hated him and this coin would have belonged to a puritan who wanted the money but didn't want to carry him around in their pocket.

Chris Langston, 47, found the coin in a freshly-ploughed field in Shropshire. Above: The defaced coin

Mr Langston, a father-of-three, said: 'It was right on the top of the soil, covered in mud. When I found it I was really flummoxed because because I know the head side wasn't right'

'It's also possible the coin was defaced after he was beheaded because you could have got in a lot of trouble for having it.'

Charles's defiance in the face of Parliament led to the English Civil War.

The MP Oliver Cromwell became a leading commander of the Parliamentarians, who were known as the Roundheads.

His New Model Army defeated Charles in 1648.

The King was executed for high treason in January 1649 and the monarchy was abolished, with a republic established in its place.

Charles I was executed for high treason in January 1649 and the monarchy was abolished, with a republic established in its place

The monarchy was restored in 1660, with Charles' son Charles II taking the throne.

Charles's body was found in 1813 when workmen building a tomb for King George III in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle accidentally made an opening in the vault containing the bodies of King Henry VIII and his third wife Jane Seymour.

Inside they saw a third coffin which was covered with a black velvet pall. The name on the lid read 'King Charles' and the year of his death 1649.

Before the find, it wasn't known where exactly his body was buried and it was later suggested his son had re-interred his father at Westminster Abbey.
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Hundreds of drone pilots across the UK submitted photographs featuring stunning winter landscapes, urban town centres and coastal vistas as part of a competition run by the Civil Aviation Authority to promote the safe use of drones.

Many of the images featured a snowy backdrop while some where shot at night. Others concentrated on landmarks such as the Menai suspension bridge or the Glenfinnan railway viaduct.

The CAA, who are responsible for regulating the skies, want to encourage drone users to fly their aircraft sensibly, without endangering members of the public or civil or commercial aircraft.

Four winning images out of more than 800 have been selected by an expert panel showing what is possible to achieve while remaining within the regulations.

The photographs were judged in four categories: urban day, urban night, countryside, and Christmas.

The overall winning shot was taken by Andy Wells, who flew his drone above a roundabout in Poole at night. The slow shutter speed of the photograph created some special effects of the cars leaving a trail of light while using the roundabout. Whereas the surrounding area, where there was no movement, remained pin sharp.

Andy Wells took this photograph of a roundabout in Poole, Dorset at night, showing the dramatic contrast between light and dark areas

Normally flying a drone at the end of a runway is prohibited, but Manston Airport in Kent was being used as a massive lorry park. Andy Betts captured this image of the trucks being held before they can make their way to Dover

Glen Cairns was in position with his drone when a steam train crossed over the Glenfinnan railway viaduct. He placed his drone far enough away from the viaduct so it was captured in its entirety and with enough elevation to see Loch Shiel in the background. This image won the best rural photograph

Steve Banner's image of Little Haywood, Staffordshire from December whos a train contrasting against the snowy background. It won the best festive photograph

Matt Hoyland flew his drone over the Menai Strait, North Wales, looking west over the Menai Suspension Bridge over to Anglesea and the Irish Sea showing some menacing looking clouds in the background. This image was selected by members of the NATS, the UK's main air traffic control provider. It will be displayed at several of their key locations

The photographs were judged by a panel which included CAA Chair, Sir Stephen Hillier; award winning professional photographer and drone pilot Anna Henly as well as the editor of the Royal Aeronautical Society's Aerospace magazine Tim Robinson.

All of the images were taken at altitudes less than 400ft, which is the maximum limit for drones without seeking prior permission from the CAA.

Sir Stephen Hillier, Civil Aviation Authority Chair, said: 'Weve had over 800 entries and Ive been absolutely amazed at the high standards that we have seen. All of the submissions, particularly those of our four winners, show what can be achieved with this incredible technology. It is also really important for the Civil Aviation Authority to sponsor a competition like this because it helps encourage responsible drone usage, while helping to ensure that drones are properly integrated in our airspace.'

Jonathan Nicholson, Assistant Director of Communications at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: 'Weve been really impressed by the stunning images submitted to the #ShotOnMyDrone competition. It shows the incredible enthusiasm and engagement from the community. As an exciting way to take pictures and explore the UK, we know that the number of drone users will continue to increase. Of course, as this community grows, its key is that we continue to make sure that users comply with our Dronecode, wherever they may be flying, to share our airspace safely.'

This image was captured by Steve Banner, who won the prize for the best festive photograph

All of the images were taken at altitudes of below 400ft as that is the maximum limit for a drone without seeking prior permission from the CAA

The CAA want the competition to help promote the responsible use of drones with flyers adhering to the Drone Code

This image shows the magnificent evening sky above the snowy fields. It was taken by Yasnin Mills and was one of the 800 images submitted for the competition

Sam Clark took this photograph of an unusual marking in some crops.

Paul Smith, pictured, placed his drone above the jetty and captured the long shadows from the low sun

Bill Nicoll captured the image of this valley which had dappled sunlight breaking its way through the clouds above

Seth Thomas decided to fly his drone above this wintry scene and shoot the photograph straight down through the bare trees
'Crippling' Western sanctions are returning the Russian economy to a mess last seen in the communist era, Liz Truss said today as she urged the allies to tighten the screw on the Putin regime.

The Foreign Secretary spoke after meeting the Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau and PM Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw as she pushes for 'maximum' sanctions.

Ms Truss is expected to push for harder action at a G7 meeting on Thursday, while Boris Johnson will encourage Germany to set a date for phasing out Russian gas when he meets Chancellor Scholz in Downing Street on Friday.

Mr Morawiecki has criticised German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for focusing on the 'voices of German businesses' rather than the innocents slain in Ukraine.

The Foreign Secretary highlighted the impact of the economic constrictions carried out so far on the Russian economy, saying: 'We have frozen over 350 billion US dollars (266billion) of Putin's war chest, making over 60 per cent of the regime's 604 billion US dollars (459 billion) foreign currency reserves unavailable.

'Our co-ordinated sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back to the Soviet era.'

Meanwhile, senior Tories have urged the UK to drop the commitment that only 'defensive' weapons should be sent to Ukraine, after Volodymyr Zelensky asked for tanks and heavy artillery.

The Foreign Secretary highlighted the impact of the economic constrictions carried out so far on the Russian economy, saying: 'Our co-ordinated sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back to the Soviet era.'

Liz Truss is meeting her counterpart Zbigniew Rau and PM Mateusz Morawiecki (pictured together today) in Warsaw as she pushes for 'maximum' sanctions

Ukrainian civilians pick their way through wreckage in Mariupol yesterday

Ms Truss has called for Russia to be hit with the 'maximum level' of sanctions and for more weapons to be supplied to Mr Zelensky's forces to help repel the Kremlin's troops.

'The idea that we should wait for something else bad to happen is just completely wrong,' she said last night.

'The reality is that money is still flowing from the West into Putin's war machine  and that has to stop.'

She pressed for a 'clear timetable' to eliminate imports of Russian oil, gas and gold, and for a further crackdown on industries financing Moscow's invasion.

Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat suggested offensive weapons should be made available to Ukraine.

Asked on Times Radio if all 'reasonable battlefield weaponry' should be provided to Ukrainian forces, the Conservative MP said: 'Yes. I mean, I don't think there's any really great doubt in this.'

He added: 'Well, that's a decision for various member states, right. And that's a decision for countries like Poland or countries like the United States. I mean, you could retrain a Ukrainian pilot to fly various US-type aircraft in the weeks that have gone by so, you know, I mean there's various options that we could have.'

Pressed on whether war crimes could push Nato countries to put 'boots on the ground', Mr Tugendhat said: 'Well, the only reason I think it's a bad idea is because at the moment this is a battle between (Vladimir) Putin and his thieves, quite literally, if you look at what's going on on the ground, these murderers and rapists, and the Ukrainian people.

'If it becomes a Nato versus Russia battle, then it might actually conversely solidify Putin's position. That's why I think it's a bad idea.'

Mr Zelensky will address a United Nations Security Council meeting convened by Britain later amid growing outrage over Russian atrocities.

The UK, which currently holds the council's presidency, said it wants to discuss the 'mounting evidence of war crimes' and will push to ensure 'justice is done'.

Evidence apparently showing Vladimir Putin's soldiers deliberately killing civilians has been emerging as he withdraws his struggling troops from around the capital Kyiv, including from the city of Bucha.

Ms Truss is using her two-day visit to Poland to step up the pressure on Russia

Boris Johnson is expected to encourage Germany to set a date for phasing out Russian gas when he meets Olaf Scholz in Downing Street on Friday

Mr Zelensky has warned that worse evidence of mass killings of civilians by Moscow will emerge as the Russian president repositions his troops to the south-east.

It will be his first address to the Security Council, with members including Russia and China, and comes a day after he visited Bucha to witness the fall-out.

The Ukrainian leader accused Moscow of committing 'real genocide', as he appeared visibly emotional, flanked by his soldiers and wearing a bullet-proof vest.

Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of the office of the President of Ukraine, said Mr Zelensky 'will give all the evidence' to the international community at the Security Council meeting.

'If these awful atrocities will not change the agenda of all the world, what will change?' the adviser asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Mr Zhovkva said Ukraine needs 'additional weapons', including tanks and missiles, to 'liberate more cities' from Russia control.

Dame Barbara Woodward, Britain's UN ambassador, called images coming from Bucha 'harrowing, appalling, probable evidence of war crimes and possibly a genocide'.

She cited hundreds of bodies being dumped in the streets or in mass graves and allegations of rape.
Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh has made a characteristically blunt attack on the Scottish Tories after they channelled his cult novel in a new local election poster.

The foul-mouthed Scot, 63, invited the party to 'get f***ed' after it unveiled an attack on the SNP government based on the famous 'choose life' monologue that also featured in the 1995 film.

In the post last night the Scottish Tories tore into Nicola Sturgeon's party, attacking its record and perceived hypocrisy in office, including 'decriminalising heroin' - the drug whose use is a running theme through Trainspotting.

Last September Scotland effectively decriminalised drugs in a major shake-up of policing that sees officers advised to issue only a 'recorded police warning' to anyone they catch in possession of Class As.

It is not the first time Welsh, who was born in Edinburgh but lives in the United States, has attacked the Tories.

Last year the Scottish independence supporter branded Boris Johnson a 'gormless toff'.

The foul-mouthed Scot, 63, invited the party to 'get f*cked' after it unveiled an attack on the SNP government based on the famous 'choose life' monologue that also featured in the 1995 film.

Last year the Scottish independence supporter branded Boris Johnson a 'gormless toff'.

In the post last night the Scottish Tories tore into Nicola Sturgeon's party, attacking its record and perceived hypocrisy in office, including 'decriminalising heroin' - the drug whose use is a running theme through Trainspotting.

Fans were quick to edit the Scottish Tory poster into one attacking the party. But not all readers agreed with his anger.

One, Catherine Moorehead, said: 'Life without the SNP would make Scotland an immensely better place.'

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross today urged voters to back his party in next month's council elections to cast their verdict on the SNP and 'knock the Nats down to size'.

The Conservative insisted that Ms Sturgeon's SNP are 'beatable' in the May's local government elections.

With a month to go to polling day, he made a plea to voters to use the ballot to 'get rid of SNP councillors who don't deliver local action because they're fixated on their nationalist obsession'.

Stressing the importance of council elections, Mr Ross told people: 'The election on May 5 will decide so much of what happens in your community. The future of your streets and your schools is at stake.

'When you've been frustrated by overflowing bins and potholes deep enough to stand in - this is your chance to change that.'

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross today urged voters to back his party in next month's council elections to cast their verdict on the SNP and 'knock the Nats down to size'

Writing in the Scottish Daily Mail, the Tory leader continued: 'One month from today, across Scotland, you will have the opportunity to remove the SNP from power.

'The prize is there for the taking. The SNP is beatable.'

He added that, in the council by-elections that have taken place since last May's Holyrood vote, the Tories had been 'only a few hundred votes behind' the SNP in seats across Scotland.

Mr Ross told voters: 'In councils across the country, this election is a two-horse race.

'We've got one month to beat the SNP so we can get all of the focus onto your local priorities. Help us knock the Nats down to size. On May 5, the power is in your hands.'
The Russian troops responsible for conducting the heinous war crimes against helpless civilians in Bucha are already on their way back to the frontlines, according to the intelligence of Ukraine's ministry of defence.

Members of the 64th Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 35th All-Russian Army, who Ukrainian authorities named as the culprits responsible for slaughtering hundreds on the outskirts of Kyiv, withdrew from Bucha last week and arrived in Mazyr, Belarus, yesterday.

The 'butchers of Bucha' left a trail of death and destruction in their wake, as Ukrainian authorities discovered several mass graves and scores of corpses over the weekend who appeared to have been tortured and executed.

But the main intelligence directorate of Ukraine's MoD claims that Russian commanders are refusing to rotate their brigades, with the war criminals already on their way to Belgorod in Western Russia for redeployment.

A report published on the Ukrainian MoD's website said the brigade is being sent to the 'hottest spots', likely around Kharkiv, in the hope that they will be killed before they are forced to testify in a war crime tribunal.

'Another goal of the rapid return of the 64th Brigade to Ukrainian territory is the quick 'disposal' of unnecessary witnesses,' the report read.

'That is, redeployment to a part of the war front where they will have no chance of surviving, thus making it impossible for them to testify in future courts.'

Intelligence also suggests that despite widespread resistance in the ranks, Russian commanders are refusing to accept any resignations from the perpetrators of the crimes and are threatening any dissenters with court martial.

The Kremlin meanwhile continues to deny the accusations of war crimes levied against its troops, while Russian political commentators have gone as far as to suggest the harrowing scenes were staged by Ukraine and the West to discredit Putin.

Dead bodies litter the streets near Bucha, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, after Russian forces withdrew from the region - leaving evidence of 'war crimes' in their wake

Ukrainian servicemen inspect the wreckage of houses, cars and Russian military vehicles in the town of Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, yesterday

Men take away bodies of Ukrainian civilians killed in the Russian invasion, on a street in the small city of Bucha of Kyiv (Kiev) area, Ukraine, 03 April 2022

Members of the 64th Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 35th All-Russian Army, who Ukrainian authorities named as the culprits responsible for the torture and slaughter of hundreds on the outskirts of Kyiv, withdrew from Bucha (pictured) last week and arrived in Mazyr, Belarus, yesterday

Bodies of civilians in plastic bags lay in a mass grave in Bucha city, which was the recaptured by the Ukrainian army, Kyiv (Kiev) area, Ukraine, 04 April 2022. More than 410 bodies of killed civilians were carried from the recaptured territory in Kyiv's area for exgumation and expert examination

People gather outside the Ukrainian embassy in Yerevan to mourn civilians found dead in the town of Bucha, to the northwest of Kyiv, on April 4, 2022

Ukrainian authorities said the butchers of Bucha will arrive in Belgorod tomorrow and by April 8 will cross the border once again to cause yet more chaos.

The scale of the havoc wrought by the 64th Motorised Rifle Brigade and other Russian forces in areas north of Kyiv has served as a stark reminder of the horrors of war, but Ukrainian authorities fear the worst is yet to come.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said yesterday the evidence of civilian killings in Bucha was just the 'tip of the iceberg', with Ukrainian forces yet to reach all areas vacated by Russian troops.

President Volodymyr Zelensky was visibly emotional when he visited Bucha yesterday and observed the trail of death and destruction left by Russia's troops, including those from the 64th Motorised Rifle Brigade.

'The military tortured people and we have every reason to believe that there are many more people killed,' Zelensky said. 'Much more than we know now.'

'These are war crimes and will be recognised by the world as genocide. It's very difficult to talk when you see what they've done here,' the President continued solemnly.

'We know of thousands of people killed and tortured, with severed limbs, raped women and murdered children,' he said, before adding that 'dead people have been found in barrels, basements, strangled, tortured'.

Zelensky is set to address the UN Security Council today, where he is expected to push world leaders to impose tougher sanctions on Russia over the atrocities, send more weapons for his armed forces, and formally request a war crimes probe to punish the Russian commanders responsible for the slaughter.

Ukraine's allies have also labelled the killings in Bucha war crimes, with the EU offering to send investigators to gather evidence.

'[Putin] is a war criminal,' US President Biden told reporters at the White House yesterday.

'What's happening to Bucha is outrageous and everyone's seen it.'

The White House said it would announce fresh sanctions on Moscow 'this week' with France suggesting new measures could target Russian oil and coal exports.

The United States and Britain also said they would seek Russia's suspension from the UN Human Rights Council - a move Moscow branded 'unbelievable'.

Russia meanwhile continues to deny the accusations of war crimes in Bucha, despite overwhelming evidence, including satellite imagery, to suggest its troops murdered hundreds of civilians in cold blood.

Broken: A visibly emotional President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday stood motionless as he surveyed the scene of utter devastation he encountered in the town of Bucha, with dozens of bodies shot at close range laying on the empty streets

A Ukrainian policeman walks by a pit in the village of Motyzhyn, Ukraine, April 3, where well over a dozen bodies were discovered, including those of the town's mayor and her family

A mass grave was discovered in the grounds of the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints in Bucha

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said yesterday that the Kremlin will prove the accusations of war crimes as false, while several Russian journalists and television personalities even alleged the harrowing scenes had been staged by Ukraine and Britain.

Russian political commentator and researcher Gevorg Mirzayan yesterday declared: 'This was done by professionals, probably British. They're the best in the area of information operations.

'[They know how] to place the bodies correctly, do everything correctly, create a nice picture for the necrophilic Western consciousness.'

The outrageous statements came hours after pro-Putin commentator Vladimir Soloviev said the destruction in Bucha was part of a plot cooked up by Ukraine and Britain to discredit Russia.

'The war against Russia entered a new phase today. Very soon we will be blamed of genocide,' he said.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (pictured) said his country will hold a press conference to prove that claims Vladimir Putin's troops have been committing war crimes in Ukraine are false however the Kremlin has yet to present their evidence

Even as the commentators rejected the allegations of brutality in Bucha, accounts from Russian conscripts in the Donbas region emerged, describing the awful treatment young and untrained soldiers are suffering at the hands of their superiors.

One of the soldiers, a student conscripted in late February, said a fellow fighter told him to prepare to repel a close-quarter attack by Ukrainian forces in southwest Donbas, but said 'I don't even know how to fire an automatic weapon.'

The student and his unit fired back and evaded capture, but he was injured in a later battle, he told Reuters news agency. He did not say when the fighting took place.

He said that at one point, he was forced to drink water from a fetid pond full of the corpses of frogs because of a lack of supplies. Two other sources in contact with draftees also said the men had to drink untreated water.

Some Donbas conscripts were even given the highly dangerous mission of drawing enemy fire onto themselves so other units could identify the Ukrainian positions and bomb them, according to one of the sources and video testimony from a prisoner of war published by Ukrainian forces.
Amazon employees could be banned from writing words including 'union' and 'pay rise' on the company's planned internal messaging app to avoid 'negative sentiment'.

The new app, which is in the planning stages, would block 42 words and phrases including those that could be used to criticize Amazon's working conditions, such as 'plantation', 'prison' and 'slave labor', according to The Intercept.

Employees posting other keywords including 'ethics', 'unfair', 'vaccine', 'master', 'freedom' and 'injustice' could also see their posts on the messaging app blocked and flagged to management.

But Amazon has disputed that the entire list of words will be banned, saying that 'many' that were listed by The Intercept will not be screened.

'Our teams are always thinking about new ways to help employees engage with each other,' Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait told the news site.

'This particular program has not been approved yet and may change significantly or even never launch at all.'

The plans have emerged just days after Amazon workers at the Staten Island center in New York shocked the nation by becoming the first Amazon location to unionize.

Amazon employees could be banned from writing words including 'union' and 'pay rise' on the company's planned internal messaging app to avoid 'negative sentiment'. File photo of Amazon sorting facilities in Staten Island, New York

What are the words Amazon has blacklisted from its app? I hate Union Fire Terminated Compensation Pay Raise Bullying Harassment I don't care Rude This is concerning Stupid This is dumb Prison Threat Petition Grievance Injustice Diversity Ethics Fairness Accessibility Vaccine Senior Ops Living Wage Representation Unfair Favoritism Rate TOT Unite/unity Plantation Slave Slave labor Master Concerned Freedom Restrooms Robots Trash Committee Coalition Advertisement

Amazon's top executives discussed plans in November 2021 to create an internal social media app that would allow employees to post 'Shout-Outs' about their co-workers' performances, a source said.

The posts are meant to reward employees who have received sterling reviews from their colleagues.

But bosses warned of the 'dark side of social media' and are planning to include a monitoring system for the platform so that employees can enjoy a 'positive community'.

The monitoring system would flag and block employees from sending any messages on the platform that contain swearwords or keywords deemed inappropriate by Amazon, such as 'grievance' and 'pay rise'.

Managers at Amazon would also have the power to flag or ban any posts that they believe are inappropriate. A pilot program of the system is expected to be launched this month.

'With free text, we risk people writing Shout-Outs that generate negative sentiments among the viewers and the receivers,' an internal document seen by The Intercept stated.

'We want to lean towards being restrictive on the content that can be posted to prevent a negative associate experience.'

The Amazon spokesperson told the Intercept: 'If it does launch at some point down the road there are no plans for many of the words you're calling out to be screened. The only kinds of words that may be screened are ones that are offensive or harassing, which is intended to protect our team.'

It comes just days after a group of Amazon workers on Staten Island voted to unionize, making it the online retailer's first US facility to organize.

Employees at the fulfillment center known as JFK8 voted 2,654 to 2,131 in support of the Amazon Labor Union, according to a count by the National Labor Relations Board.

The number of employees eligible to participate in the vote was 8,325, the NLRB said at the conclusion of the count.

It comes just days after a group of Amazon workers on Staten Island voted to unionize, making it the online retailer's first US facility to organize. Pictured: Amazon Labour Union members hug Staten Island-based Amazon.com Inc distribution center union organizer Chris Smalls (second left) as they celebrate the victory

Union organizer Christian Smalls (right) celebrates following the April 1 vote for the unionization of the Amazon Staten Island warehouse in New York

The center is now poised to become the first and only Amazon warehouse among the 110 in the states to unionize.

The company employs roughly 1.3 million workers across the country, and is on pace to surpass Walmart as the largest private employer in the U.S. within a year or two.

Since its founding in 1994, Amazon has successfully rebuffed labor organizers.

A victory for organized labor at the second-largest U.S. private employer is a historic first for the retailing behemoth in the United States and a milestone for labor advocates, who for years have considered Amazon's labor practices a threat to workers.

Geebah Sando, a package sorter who voted for the union after working more than two years at JFK8, said he was thrilled.

Chris Smalls, a fired Amazon worker who heads the Amazon Labor Union, said as of early March, ALU had raised and spent about $100,000 and was operating on a week-to-week budget.

The group doesn't have its own office space, and was relying on community groups and two unions to lend a hand. Legal help came from a lawyer offering pro-bono assistance.

Meanwhile, Amazon exercised all its might to fend off the organizing efforts, routinely holding mandatory meetings with workers to argue why unions are a bad idea.

In a filing released last week, the company disclosed it spent about $4.2 million last year on labor consultants, who organizers say Amazon hired to persuade workers not to unionize.

Outmatched financially, Smalls and others relied on their ability to reach workers more personally by making TikTok videos, giving out free marijuana and holding barbecues and cookouts.

Amazon exercised all its might to fend off the organizing efforts, routinely holding mandatory meetings with workers to argue why unions are a bad idea. Pictured: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos

A few weeks before the election, Smalls' aunt cooked up soul food for a union potluck, including macaroni and cheese, collard greens, ham and baked chicken.

Another pro-union worker got her neighbor to prepare Jollof rice, a West African dish organizers believed would help them make inroads with immigrant employees at the warehouse.

Kate Andrias, professor of law at Columbia University and an expert in labor law, noted a successful union - whether it is local or national - always has to be built by the workers themselves.

'This was a clearer illustration of this,' Andrias said. 'The workers did this on their own.'

Amazon's own missteps may have also contributed to the election outcome on Staten Island. Bert Flickinger III, a managing director at the consulting firm Strategic Resource Group, said derogatory comments by a company executive leaked from an internal meeting calling Smalls 'not smart or articulate' and wanting to make him 'the face of the entire union/organizing movement' backfired.

'It came out as condescending and it helped to galvanize workers,' said Flickinger, who consults with big labor unions.

For now, ALU is focusing on its win. Organizers say Amazon workers from more than 20 states have reached out to them to ask about organizing their warehouses. But they have their hands full with their own warehouse, and a neighboring facility slated to have a separate union election later this month.

Organizers are also preparing for a challenging negotiation process for a labor contract. The group has demanded Amazon officials to come to the table in early May. But experts say the retail giant, which has signaled plans to challenge the election results, will likely drag its feet.

'The number one thing is going to be fighting for the contract,' Smalls said. 'We have to start that process right away because we know the longer drawn out the contract is, workers will lose hope and interest.'
An ex-Liberal MP claims Scott Morrison refused funding for some northern NSW flood victims and only had a 'change of heart' after she issued an embarrassing public spray.

Catherine Cusack, 58, quit two weeks ago amid an initial funding row in which the government originally only gave support payments to those in the Coalition seat of Page but not the nearby flood affected Labor seat of Richmond.

Ms Cusack said on Tuesday that a second funding package setup by NSW Premier Dom Perrottet aimed at victims which had 'fallen through the cracks' was repeatedly denied co-funding by the federal government.

'For the second time in a month Mr Morrison has not funded flood victims fairly,' Ms Cusack told The Project.

Former Liberal MP Catherine Cusack (pictured) said the Morrison Government had been 'unfair' with its funding for flood victims on two occasions

Mr Morrison toured flood affected regions of nothern NSW as well as those in Sydney (pictured) after Australia's east coast was hammered by torrential rain for weeks

'These people they don't have insurance, they're not eligible for other claims and (the NSW government) have tried for weeks to get the federal government to co-fund this.'

'I'm told it was refused last week (but) after I spoke out this morning the Prime Minister appears to have had a change of heart and has offered that funding now.'

'So that is very good news for those flood victims that will make a really big difference.'

Earlier on Tuesday, an article penned by Ms Cusack appeared in The Guardian in which she savaged Mr Morrison over his flood funding response and claimed he had 'destroyed the values of the Liberal Party'.

The former NSW Upper House member is from Lennox Head - one of the communities affected by floods - and she was furious towns such as Byron Bay, Ballina, and Tweed Heads in a Labor held seat did not get the same funding as Lismore in a Nationals seat.

Catherine Cusack, who lives in the flood-devastated Northern Rivers region, agreed with Concetta Fierravanti-Wells' views on Mr Morrison (Pictured: houses are submerged in water in Ballina)

A worker in Byron Bay cleans water and mud from a shoe store after water flooded the business in late March (pictured)

'Intiially he announced extra funding for three areas worst hit (but) the same water flowed down (to other communities),' she told The Project.

'We spent a week trying to work out why the others weren't included and then when the payments began flowing to people in (the Liberal seat of) Page and everybody else was left off it became clear the Prime Minister had moved on.'

She also claimed the Liberal party now treated issues such as funding as 'commodities' which are 'all put on the table and traded in deals'.

'That certainly isn't the way (former PM) John Howard operated... there's a whole generation of Liberals who now think this is the way proper business is done.'



In her earlier scorching opinion piece for The Guardian Ms Cusack claimed Scott Morrison had 'ruined' the Liberal party and there is 'ruthless bullying' in its ranks.

Ms Cusack said Mr Morrison had 'trashed' Liberal party values of 'freedom and fairness' and destroyed the party that she loved and has served for 40 years.

Byron Bay CBD was under more than a metre of water on March 30 (pictured: one Byron clothing store worker in helps rip up a damaged floor)

Ms Cusack, who was among several local MPs to express outrage, announced she was quitting soon after, even though flood support funding was eventually opened up to those towns.

Ms Cusack claimed Morrison acted like flood victims are 'pawns in his awful Game of Thrones' and added her 'bulls**t tolerance levels are at zero'.

She claimed 'self-serving ruthless bullying' under Morrison was now affecting 'the poorest most vulnerable Australians who lost everything in the floods'.

'Scott Morrison's brazen attempt to fund flood victims in a Nationals seat and exclude flood victims in a Labor seat that I happen to live in was just too much.'

In early March, Morrison announced funding for residents of Lismore, Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley - which all sit in the seat of Page, which is held by the Nationals.

Ms Cusack has clashed with her party previously over education, climate change and koala protection and her attack is the latest episode of friendly fire in parliamentary ranks.

NSW Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells laid into Mr Morrison during a late night appearance on the Senate floor last week, hours after the Federal Budget was handed down.

Speaking under the protection of parliamentary privilege, Ms Fierravanti-Wells said: 'He (the Prime Minister) is adept at running with the foxes and hunting with the hounds, lacking a moral compass and having no conscience.

'In my public life, I have met ruthless people. Morrison tops the list... [he] is not fit to be Prime Minister.'

Northern Rivers flood victims wait for assistance from their rooftop

Geoff Provest, NSW Nationals MP for Tweed, told ABC radio he was 'disgusted with the prime minister'.

In reaction to the outrage, federal minister for emergency management, Bridget McKenzie, announced in mid-March that Ballina, Byron and Tweed residents would be eligible for the two $1,000 payments per adult.

He said the treatment of people from Ballina especially was 'deplorable' and that federal government ministers should 'hang their heads in shame'.

Labor MP Justine Elliot lambasted Mr Morrison for ruling out areas in her electorate of Richmond, which includes Ballina, Byron and the Tweed Shire, from receiving payments.
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Activists from Just Stop Oil today blocked critical oil facilities for the fifth day in a row  with police having already arrested a total of 275 people as the series of fuel protests continue to cause havoc across the UK.

Some 20 protesters from the environmental organisation sat down in the road with banners at the gate to the Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire this morning, which they said was causing tankers to be turned away.

The group claimed five people have been arrested, while those remaining were either glued to the road or locked on - and a roadblock was also established on a tanker route to and from the terminal near Junction 9 on the M42.

Warwickshire Police said today that a total of eight activists had been arrested, and this brings the UK total to 283.

Demonstrators from Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion have been working together to block access to oil terminals across England over the past four days, demanding that the Government stops new oil and gas projects.

They also claimed today that supporters of the group who had dug a secret network of tunnels at the Navigator Oil terminal in Thurrock, Essex, remained underground as part of the action despite going 60 hours with no food.

It comes as UK motorists continue to suffer at the pumps with petrol prices hitting record levels in recent weeks after Brent crude oil hit a high of $128 last month - up from lows of $19 seen at the peak of the pandemic.

Police on the scene as the eco protesters block a road leading to the Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire this morning

Activists from Just Stop Oil sit on an oil tanker as they block the Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire this morning

Some 20 protesters sit down in the road with banners at the gate to the Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire this morning

The environmental protesters from Just Stop Oil block the Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire this morning

Among the activists in Kingsbury today was Thalia Carr, 60, from Oxfordshire, who said: 'The IPCC said yesterday that nobody is taking action at the speed we need to avoid wars, starvation and billions of refugees which will be the inevitable result of a broken climate with multiple extreme weather events.

'How can that be? I'm sure it makes most people think, 'well it can't be that bad'. Unfortunately that's not true. It is that bad and no-one is doing anything on the scale and at the speed we need.

Calls to end the fossil fuel age as un sets out latest stark climate warning United Nations scientists have called for an end to the fossil fuel age, as a new report warns immediate action is needed to curb dangerous climate change. Meeting goals agreed by countries to limit temperature rises to 1.5C or below 2C to avoid the worst impacts of climate change requires rapid, deep and immediate greenhouse gas emissions cuts in all areas, a new UN report says. And it calls for 'substantial reductions' in the use of fossil fuels to curb emissions. While there are signs of action, the world is heading for more than 3C of global warming, scientists from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warn. Jim Skea, co-chair of the team behind the report, said the world was 'definitely not on track' to limit warming to 1.5C, beyond which scientists warn increasingly severe floods, droughts, hits to crop yields, rising seas and wildlife die-offs are expected. The report 'concludes that unless there are immediate and deep emission reductions across all sectors, limiting warming to 1.5C will be beyond reach', he warned. And he said: 'We know what to do, we know how to do it, and now it's up to us to take action.' One of the report's authors, Jan Christoph Minx, from the University of Leeds, said: 'We really need to change course, we need to end the age of fossil fuels and enter an age of climate policy. This has not happened yet.' As the UN science body released the third part of its sixth assessment report, detailling the solutions to climate change, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres described it as a 'file of shame' of empty pledges made by countries so far, and accused governments of lying over the action they were taking. 'Climate promises and plans must be turned into reality and action now. It is time to stop burning our planet and start investing in the abundant renewable energy all around us,' he urged. The report, which draws on 18,000 studies and sources, pitches scientific findings on climate change into an already heated debate over energy supplies and costs prompted by rising oil and gas prices amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In the UK, the Government will set out a new energy strategy on Thursday with expectations of support for offshore wind and new nuclear reactors, but not cheap onshore wind, amid clashes over whether to speed up the shift away from oil and gas or boost domestic fossil fuel supplies. Advertisement

'Nothing I have tried so far has made a tiny bit of difference so I am forced to put my whole self out there and hope that the government will listen before it is too late.'

She was referring to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report released yesterday in which United Nations scientists called for an end to the fossil fuel age and warned immediate action was needed to curb dangerous climate change.

Claudia Penna Rojas, 24, a student activist, added: 'The UN Secretary General said yesterday that the world was on a fast track to climate disaster, so why then is the UK government planning to licence over 40 new oil fields?

'The reality is that everything good, all that we love, the lives of our childrenare all at stake. The need for large-scale, radical civil resistance has never been more urgent. This is the fight for our lives and we all need to be a part of it. It's the only chance we've got.'

And Miranda Whelehan, 21, a student from Brighton, said: 'The government and the media sell us a lie that it is impossible to stop oil. We are told there is not enough money for renewables, whilst they drip more than one million pounds an hour into the overflowing pockets of UK oil companies.

'I do not want a future that is dependent on a resource that funds war, climate breakdown, and poverty. I want to live and I want others to have the future they deserve. And that is just not possible whilst we continue with oil.'

As of yesterday, police across the UK had arrested a total of 275 people in connection with the fuel protests - including activists who erected bamboo towers outside an oil terminal near London Heathrow Airport yesterday.

Essex Police said they had arrested 10 people yesterday following a number of demonstrations at fuel sites in the county on Friday.

The force added it had now arrested 172 people in total and it was 'continuing to engage with a small number of people remaining in situ'.

Yesterday, Extinction Rebellion said around 30 protesters returned to the Esso oil facility near Heathrow Airport at 4am, erecting a bamboo structure in front of its entrance.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said four people had been arrested, bringing the total number of arrests following protests in London and Staines to 18.

Warwickshire Police meanwhile said it had arrested 68 people for a range of alleged offences including criminal damage, obstructing a highway and public order offences after weekend protests at Kingsbury Oil Terminal.

West Midlands Police said 13 people had been arrested following a protest at a terminal in Tyburn, Birmingham on Sunday.

Hampshire Police said its figure stood at four arrests after demonstrations took place on Friday at Hythe Terminal in New Road in Hythe and at BP in Hamble Lane and Copse Lane.

Andrew Smith, from Extinction Rebellion, said following the Esso protest: 'We're here to say that climate action cannot wait. Right now, governments are choosing to exploit the crisis in Ukraine to hand out oil licences and continue the fossil fuel economy that's destroying us.

'The reality is, the UK public wants faster action on climate as the energy crisis hits. We know what is happening and what needs to be done - by acting in favour of corporate interest over the will of the people, the Government is showing contempt for the people who elected them.

YESTERDAY -- 30 protesters returned to the Esso oil facility near Heathrow Airport yesterday, erecting a bamboo structure

SUNDAY -- Police speak to activists from Just Stop Oil taking part in a blockade at the Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire

SATURDAY -- Police officers work to free a Just Stop Oil activist involved in a blockade at the Titan Truck Park in Grays, Essex

LAST FRIDAY -- Activists from Just Stop Oil block the route of a tanker as they blockade the Esso Birmingham Fuel Terminal

'How long ago did our Prime Minister say Cop26 was our last chance to save humanity? And now they're sidelining climate policy once again. This is not living in reality.'

The group said further action is expected from this Saturday in London's Hyde Park.

A Government spokesman said: 'Any criminal activity will not be tolerated, and swift action is being taken by the police, preventing significant disruption to the public and industry.

'While we are working to drive down our use of expensive fossil fuels, there will continue to be ongoing demand for oil and gas over the coming decades while we transition to cheaper low-carbon energy.

'As the Business Secretary has said, turning off our domestic source of gas overnight would put energy security, British jobs and industries at risk, leaving us more dependent on foreign imports.'
A hijab-wearing lawyer has been appointed to the Queen's Counsel, the first criminal barrister to do so.

Sultana Tafadar QC, of No5 Barristers' Chambers in London, celebrated taking silk at a ceremony at the Palace of Westminster.

She used to be asked if she was the interpreter while at court when she started, but now she has joined an elite group of lawyers.

The Luton-born lawyer with Bangladeshi roots hopes her success will provide inspiration and confidence for other female lawyers from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

'It's a surreal experience,' said Ms Tafadar.

'I'm absolutely delighted, especially as the first hijab-wearing barrister to have been admitted at the criminal bar.'

'Representation is really important', she said, adding that it can hopefully help the dreams of other young hijab-wearing women 'become a reality'.

Sultana Tafadar QC (pictured outside the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey) has become the first criminal barrister who wears a hijab to be appointed to the Queen's Counsel

Sultana Tafadar QC (pictured outside the Royal Courts of Justice) also became the first hijab-wearing woman to become a criminal barrister after being called to the bar in 2005

Early in her career Ms Tafadar said she would think 'Oh, goodness, I don't see anybody like myself in the upper strata of the profession'.

She didn't see very many women wearing hijab around the courts and wondered if she could make it.

She added: 'So, I hope the fact that I have shows that it is possible, and I hope it opens the floodgates for others to come forward.'

A report from the General Council of the Bar into race found that, before Ms Tafadar's appointment, only 31 women black, Asian or mixed ethnic heritage women out of roughly 2,000 had become a QC.

'When you whittle it down again, in terms of hijab-wearing barristers that are Queen's Counsel, there's only ever been two and I'm the first at the criminal Bar,' she said.

The first hijab-wearing barrister to have taken silk was Blackstone Chambers' Shaheed Fatima QC, who was elevated to the title in 2016.

Sultana Tafadar said she had to overcome 'layers' of challenges before being appointed to the Queen's Counsel

Ms Tafadar studied an LLM in human rights at UCL and was called to the bar in 2005, where people used to asked her if she was the interpreter.

She also holds a masters degree in international human rights from the University of Oxford.

'Unfortunately, it is layers and layers of challenges that I face, as a woman, as somebody from an ethnic minority background and as somebody who's visibly hijab-wearing,' she continued.

'There have been challenges in court, there have been challenges in the workplace in my previous chambers, but I'm glad to say that it is possible to overcome those challenges and it is possible  having the opportunities  it is possible to shine.'

Ms Tafadar is involved in a legal bid to end France's hijab ban and will this year argue to the United Nations that the government there is in breach of international law.

She said while she is celebrating 'taking silk'  a term for being appointed QC  the struggle other hijab-wearing women are facing across Europe at the same time is 'sad'.

Ms Tafadar said the day was marred when she thought of her European counterparts who are banned from wearing a hijab in France

She said: 'There are women across Europe and particularly in France who are facing discrimination because they wear the hijab.

'France wants to impose various forms of hijab bans and that amounts to sex discrimination, race discrimination and religious discrimination.

'It's sad on a day like this and I'm celebrating taking silk wearing the hijab that others across Europe are denied those opportunities that I've had.'

In May 2020, Raffia Arshad became the first hijab-wearing woman to be appointed a judge.

Jo Sidhu QC, chair of the Criminal Bar Association, said: 'Diversity that embraces lawyers from different racial, ethnic and gender backgrounds, is to be welcomed and championed if the criminal bar is to continue to better reflect the public we serve as prosecutors and defenders.'
A man had his neck slashed with a boxcutter on the subway on Tuesday morning in the latest frightening act of violence in New York City.

NYPD officials say the victim, in his forties, was traveling on a northbound 4 train when he and another man got into an argument.

The other man, who is described by police as being in his 30s with 'dark skin' and wearing a sweatshirt, pulled out a boxcutter and cut the man's neck before fleeing at Wall Street subway station.

The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he is expected to recover.

Police are now searching for the suspect.

New mayor Eric Adams has vowed to crack down on the problem but so far has failed to ease New Yorkers' fears.

NYPD cops at the scene in the Wall Street subway station on Tuesday morning after a man was slashed in the neck with a box cutter

The victim was on a northbound train when he was attacked. He is understood to have disembarked at Wall Street. He was then taken to the hospital

Violent crime is soaring across all of New York City. Subway violence is up by 70 percent

An NYPD spokesman told DailyMail.com on Tuesday morning in the immediate aftermath of the incident: 'An unidentified male in his 40s was slashed once in the neck with a boxcutter during a dispute on a northbound 4 train.

'Suspect is male, with dark skin in his 30s wearing a grey sweatshirt. He fled from the station on foot.'

The stabbing is the latest in an uptick of violence on the subway that has coincided with commuters returning to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The subway station was blocked off during rush hour on Tuesday because of the attack

An NYPD officer directing a commuter elsewhere on Tuesday morning while the subway station remained sealed off

It is also part of a wider trend of rising crime that the NYPD is struggling to keep a lid on.

Shootings are also on the rise; on Monday night, an innocent 61-year-old woman was shot and killed in the Bronx after getting caught in the crossfire of three men.

Juana Esperanza Soriano De-Perdomo died after being hit by a stray bullet shortly after 7pm. She was walking near a deli at the time.

Mayor Adams last month promised a designated subway police task force to tackle crime, but its focus was on escorting homeless people off trains and challenging fear beaters.

During one 48-hour period in February, six people were stabbed on trains.
A mother of two who died after being struck by a wooden horse costume during a Cornish May Day festival had 'her back to it but should have known to face it with her hands out', an inquest has heard.

Laura Smallwood was knocked down by the Obby Oss - one of a pair used in the festival - in Padstow, north Cornwall, on May 1, 2019.

A witness told Cornwall Coroners' Court today how she saw her get hit in the back of the neck by the man in the blue outfit but said that she had 'carried on as normal'.

Her condition later deteriorated and she died three days later in the hospital she used to work at as a paediatric nurse in Plymouth.

An inquest is looking into whether she passed away due to the impact or if an altercation with a woman earlier in the day played a part.

Meanwhile Ms Smallwood's husband Oliver wants the court to find whether the event management was organised adequately.

The Obby Oss is made from a two metre wooden frame covered in black oilskin with a small horse's head in the front.

There is a blue one known as the Peace Oss who tries to discourage the over consumption of alcohol by supporters of the Red Oss.

There are two separate processions that go around Padstow on circuits that takes 12 hours.

Laura Smallwood (pictured) was knocked out by the Obby Oss, one of a pair used in one of the oldest festivals held at Padstow, north Cornwall, on May 1, 2019

Witness Sian Howells told the hearing it was at the point where the two met that she saw Ms Smallwood (pictured) 'very rude and angry and I had never seen her like it before'

Obby Oss horses are large oval frames covered in black oilskin, which have a small horse's head at the front with a snapping jaw

What is the 'Obby 'Oss Day celebration? 'Obby 'Oss Day is the biggest day in Padstow's calendar. Thousands of people cram into the little town to celebrate the festival every May Day. The origins of the Obby Oss are numerous. Some say the celebration has its roots in pagan times, others that it's a rain maker, a fertility symbol, a deterrent to a possible landing by the French some centuries ago or perhaps a welcome to the summer. Locals spend the night decorating the town's streets with flags, flowers and greenery complete with a maypole. The next morning, two 'osses', one red and one blue emerge from their stables. The 'osses', swirling and dancing proceed through Padstow's streets taunted by a Teazer, who leads the dance with theatrical movements. As the procession moves around the town, dancers perform a traditional gyrating dance to the sound of musicians and drummers. Source: Visit Cornwall Advertisement

Witness Sian Howells told the hearing Ms Smallwood got 'very rude and angry and I had never seen her like it before' at the part of the route where the two outfits crossed over.

She said she was six feet away from her when the Oss started to dance. She said: 'Laura had gone behind the Oss.

'All of a sudden the Oss moved backwards. It is very unusual for it to go backwards. As it fell Laura was standing with her back to the Oss.

'The one thing you are always told is not to have your back to the Oss. Most people face the Oss with their hands out.

'Laura would have known better. I could see it coming towards her, the rim of the Oss hitting the back of her neck.'

She said the band was playing and Ms Smallwood would not have heard her warning. 'I could see what was going to happen but I could do nothing.'

She said she could see the Oss hit her head with a significant impact which would hurt and knock her over.

She said: 'She was knocked over and it looked like she fell to the ground. She carried on as normal and she had not been hit as hard as I thought.'

The man in the Oss had fallen over to but got up and the procession moved on but she did not see Ms Smallwood after that.

Another witness, Charlotte Stupple, said Ms Smallwood had been laughing about a 'scuffle' earlier with a young woman called Chelsea Powell.

But she said: 'The person carrying the Oss must have slipped and the frame came down towards all of us. I did not see the Oss hit Laura.'

She said Ms Smallwood said she was okay, saying 'I hurt a little bit' and rubbed the back of her head once or twice.

But then she grabbed her arm saying she felt dizzy and thought the giddiness was caused by the drink.

'Thirty seconds later Laura grabbed my arm and said ''Charlotte, my face''. I could see the right side of her face by her mouth had dropped.'

Ms Howells said the band was playing and Ms Smallwood (pictured) would not have heard her warning. 'I could see what was going to happen but I could do nothing'

Ms Smallwood was conscious of people looking at her and she said: 'My head is hurting.'

Her breathing was laboured and Ms Stupple looked away as emergency crews tended to Ms Smallwood before she was flown to hospital.

The inquest was told her death may have been caused by injuries during a number of different incidents.

The coroner said one of the issues was whether she died due to injuries sustained when the Oss fell on her while it was being carried by a man called Kevin Constance.

He said another explanation was she suffered injuries caused during an altercation with Powell earlier that evening which happened outside Rick Stein's patisserie.

The coroner said Ms Smallwood may have suffered injuries caused by an unidentified event around ten days earlier, or the fourth possibility was she suffered some injuries in 'some other way'.

Her husband Oliver also wanted to know if the event management was organised adequately and whether any changes have been made.

The inquest at Cornwall coroner's court in Truro heard Ms Smallwood was a paediatric nurse who had returned to live in Padstow and had worked in the hospital where she died.

Her husband said she was a caring, fun, happy and strong person who had no medical conditions or illnesses.

The court was told the May Day festival is a long standing celebration to welcome the summer and is 'part and parcel of Padstow'.

Mr Smallwood said the Blue Ribbon Oss, known as the Peace Oss, travelled through the town along with the older Red Oss - and Ms Smallwood supported the latter.

He said he received a phone call at work in a pub at 7pm that night saying Ms Smallwood had been 'knocked out'. He went to find her 'lying on the ground'.

He said she was being given CPR and an air ambulance then arrived to fly her to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

Another witness, Charlotte Stupple, said Ms Smallwood (pictured with her friends) had been laughing about a 'scuffle' earlier with a young woman called Chelsea Powell

The inquest heard 'it was unclear where she was exactly struck' but her condition deteriorated and she died on May 4.

One of her friends, priest Kirsten Norfolk, said they had drunk a couple of bottles of wine with another friend over 90 minutes before going off to see the parade.

Ms Norfolk described the altercation with Ms Powell when the streets were 'very busy and congested'.

She said a large number of people gathered and they had a buggy with them and there was an argument with Ms Powell over Ms Smallwood's pram.

She said there was some 'pushing and shoving' and Ms Smallwood was struck in the face leaving a red mark and her sunglasses flew off.

But the situation quickly calmed and Ms Smallwood and her friends 'laughed off what had happened'.

Later she was seen 'crying on a bench after being hit by the Oss' but was conscious as a first aid crew attended to her and an ambulance was called.

The festival is one of the biggest events in Padstow's calendar as thousands flock to the small town in Cornwall

Ms Norfolk said she thought Ms Smallwood, who was holding the area by her mouth, would be okay because people were with her adding: 'People get bumped all the time by the Oss.'

She then saw her being given CPR and ran back to her before she was taken away by medical staff.

But Ms Norfolk did not see the incidents when Ms Smallwood was struck in the face by Ms Powell or by the Oss.

Padstow lifeboat crewman Michael Dennick said a tall man grabbed Ms Smallwood by the 'scruff of the head, each side of her clothes' during the scuffle with Ms Powell.

He said: 'The tall man was shaking her about, pushing her, pulling her back very aggressively' and the man was telling Ms Smallwood: 'Stop it, you are meant to be the mature one.'

Ms Powell told the inquest: 'I pushed Laura's face but it was not a slap or a punch. The streets were packed.'

The senior Cornwall coroner Andrew Cox apologised to the victim's family for the delay in the inquest due to the pandemic.

The inquest is due to last three days.
A 23-year-old business law student who died after eating a suspected cannabis sweet has been pictured.

Damilola Olakanmi, from Ilford, east London, bought the 'gummies' through a messaging app and they were delivered to her home where she fell ill last Tuesday.

The Hertfordshire University student was rushed to Queen's Hospital, Romford, at around 11.30pm - but died on April 2.

Her 21-year-old friend - a US student visiting the UK - was also seen by medics but was discharged after treatment.

Ms Olakanmi's mother Wumi, 51, had kept a vigil next to her bed until she passed away on Saturday night.

Damilola Olakanmi (pictured), from Ilford, east London, bought the 'gummies' through a messaging app and they were delivered to her home where she fell ill last Tuesday

Her friend Richard Taylor, 75, told the Standard: 'Wumi has lost her only child - she has nothing now.

'They had to hold her up because she broke down every time a friend came to the house to give support.

'It's a tragic warning to all young people about how they live their lives. They should resist drugs.

'Damilola was a promising young woman who should be looking forward to her future and having children of her own. She was studying law.'

Leon Brown, 37, of South Norwood, was arrested on Friday in connection with the incident.

He was charged with possession with intent to supply Class B synthetic cannabinoid, being concerned in the supply of a synthetic cannabinoid, and possession with intent to supply a psychoactive substance.

The Met said he was found in possession of a large quantity of cash and what were believed to be edible cannabis products.

The Hertfordshire University (pictured) student was rushed to Queen's Hospital, Romford, at around 11.30pm - but died on April 2

Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, of the Met's East Area Basic Command Unit, said: 'I must warn the public against taking any illegal substances, including those packaged in the form of cannabis sweets.

'Please do not buy or consume these products. They are illegal and, because of the child-friendly packaging, they can pose a risk of accidental consumption.

'The particular batch of sweets were contained in packaging featuring Trrlli Peachie O's branding.

'It has not been confirmed at this stage where the sweets were manufactured. Drug dealers harm communities and risk the safety of individuals.

'We will take positive action to target those engaged in this activity as well as those found in possession of these substances.'
A woman has claimed her disabled mother could not take vital medication on a nine-hour flight because staff refused to serve water due to Covid.

Ellie Fisher, 23, was surprised by Natalie Williams, 49, with a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to the Dominican Republic.

The pair said their journey with Tui was ruined when they heard about the airline's strict coronavirus protocol half an hour into the flight.

Due to the pandemic, Tui apparently informed all passengers shortly after take-off that they would only be serving drinks once.

Passengers were offered a cup of water or juice with the scheduled meal but apart from that no other drinks were to be served, Ellie claimed.

And she alleged there was no pre-warning of the strict water rule on Tui's website or anywhere else during the booking process.

Ellie Fisher, 23, was surprised by her mum Natalie Williams, 49, with a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to the Dominican Republic

The pair said their journey with TUI was ruined when they heard about the airline's strict coronavirus protocol half an hour into the flight

Natalie has to take regular medication on a daily basis. But she claims when she requested a small cup to take her pills, staff refused.

Ellie, from Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, said: 'We were really excited when we got to the airport to finally be going away after all the restrictions of the pandemic.

'But when we got on board the flight, they told us they weren't serving drinks outside of the scheduled meal time because of the risk of spreading Covid.

'No one had told us this before, so we didn't think to grab any water at the airport after we went through security.

'Mum has to take medication regularly so this obviously was stressful to hear, but never in a million years did I think it would turn in to such a big problem.

'When we asked politely for a small cup of water for her to swallow her meds, we were rudely told no and that we'd have to wait till we landed.

'It was a nine hour flight and it made my mum extremely anxious and uncomfortable. The way staff acted was inhumane - how they wouldn't make an exception to the rule under such circumstances I don't know. The consequences could have been dire.'

Natalie has to take regular medication on a daily basis. But she claims when she requested a small cup to take her pills, staff refused

Ellie, from Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, said: 'We were really excited when we got to the airport to finally be going away after all the restrictions of the pandemic

Natalie and Ellie said they went the entire flight having only had one drink with their meal and arrived at their destination thirsty and extremely irritated, on January 11.

When they returned to the UK a week later, the rules were still in place, but this time they went with a bottle of water each.

Information on Tui's website states when meals are served on long-haul flights, customers will get a water cuplet on the tray - and water is served in between meals.

A spokesman from Tui Airlines said: 'Were aware of these claims and we take reports of this nature seriously.

'We are continuing to investigate the claims, as no record of this incident has been found.'

They added: 'We are in contact with the customer and will continue to offer our full support.'
An innocent Bronx woman is the latest to die from the rampant gun violence seizing New York City.

Juana Esperanza Soriano De-Perdomo, 61, was killed on Monday as she walked past a deli on 164 East and 188th Street in the Fordham Heights neighborhood.

Soriano De-Perdomo was returning home after buying groceries when she was hit in the back by a bullet fired during a gang-related feud between four men.

The woman was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital at around 7pm but died shortly after.

The suspects fled on foot and no arrests have been made as of Tuesday morning, police said.

'A woman was crying out [assassin,]' witness Chris Simone told the Daily News. 'But I couldn't see who she was pointing at.'

'The bullets definitely got my attention. It was continuous shooting. He emptied the clip,' he added. 'She stumbled and then she collapsed on the sidewalk. She just dropped. Everyone was running out of the store.'

At a press conference late Monday night, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewal decried the spike in gun violence in the Big Apple.

'It's another act of senseless violence in the streets of the city,' Sewal said. 'Mindless shootings without thought or fear of consequences.'

The city is reeling from a jump in violent crime in recent months. There have been 312 shooting victims in 2022, compared to 267 during the same period last year.

There were 107 shootings just in March, with 27 being shot in the last week of the month, according to the NYPD's latest data. This follows a near 60 percent spike in overall crime in February compared to the same time last year.

Juana Esperanza Soriano De-Perdomo, 61, was killed on Monday as she walked past a deli on 164 East and 188th Street in the Fordham Heights neighborhood

Soriano De-Perdomo was returning home after buying groceries when she was hit in the back by a bullet fired during a gang-related feud between four men

At a press conference late Monday night, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewal decried the spike in crime, particularly gun violence, terrorizing the Big Apple

The city is reeling from a string of violence in recent months. There have been 312 shooting victims in 2022, compared to 267 during the same period last year

According to witnesses, Soriano De-Perdomo was walking by the Mayssa Fordham Deli in the Bronx shortly after 7pm on Monday when the tragedy took place.

Three men were engaged in a heated argument with another man on the south side of the street.

Police said two men pulled out guns and at least one of the men opened fire, with the bullet missing its intended target and hitting De-Perdomo.

Investigators recovered four shell casings at the scene, Bronx Deputy Chief Erik Hernandez said.

'At some point multiple guns are pointed at each other, with one gun we verified as firing shots down towards the Grand Concourse striking our victim,' Hernandez said.

'We're confident this is a tragic incident. This person was just walking on the street. She had no involvement in this dispute whatsoever,' Hernandez added.

'Complete innocent bystander. We're confident of that.'

Footage from the Citizen app shows the gruesome scene in the aftermath of the killing, with Soriano De-Perdomo's groceries scattered on the sidewalk next to a pool of her blood.

Another video shows her on a gurney as paramedics rushed to take her to the hospital, where she was pronounced.

Investigators recovered four shell casings at the scene

Police said two men pulled out guns and at least one of the men opened fire, with the bullet missing its intended target and hitting De-Perdomo

Soriano De-Perdomo's groceries could be seen scattered on the sidewalk next to a pool of her blood

'These were people from the streets just kill her like nothing,' a witness who only identified herself as Ella told ABC7. 'The last bullet hit her, and after that she just died in front of me.'

'It's crazy. They just ripped that life away from that lady like nothing. That's the image I'm gonna have to live with for the rest of my life.'

'It's sad that it happened just like nothing, they took somebody's life but what we gonna do, this is New York City, this is what we have, this is what's going on now,' Ella added.

Police said that the suspects fled on foot southbound on Creston Avenue and no arrests have been made as of yet.

'You see a lady laying down, blood everywhere you see people running out, then you see the cops taking her to a stretcher,' another witness, Chris Simone, said. 'This is a crowded area, bullets don't have names, they just targets.'

New York City Mayor Eric Adams held up the sneakers of a 12-year-old boy shot dead last week and vowed that the city would use every resource to find his killers

Twelve-year-old Kade Lewin was fatally shot in the head and chest while inside a car with his 20-year-old cousin Jenna Ellis - who was also shot but is recovering

The cold-blooded killing is just the latest example of the crime epidemic that has seized New York City, with the rates of shootings, robberies, rapes, hate crimes and assaults all rising dramatically across the board.

Felony assaults and shootings have seen a rise of around 19percent year on year, while rape and robbery have jumped 23pecent and 46percent respectively, with murder seeing a slight 5percent decrease.

Overall crime in New York has risen a massive 44percent from this time last year.

Before Soriano De-Perdomo's killing on Monday, 12-year-old Kade Lewin was fatally shot in the head and chest while inside a car with his 20-year-old cousin Jenna Ellis - who was also shot but is recovering.

Another eight-year-old girl who was in the parked car was not injured.

Ellis had treated the children to Boston Market and pulled over on East 56th Street and Linden Boulevard in East Flatbush at around 7.45 pm Thursday before the tragic drive-by shooting took place.

On Monday, Kade's anguished mother, Suzette Lewin, clutched a picture of her son at a press conference with Mayor Eric Adams.

She asked city officials for justice and begged the killers to come forward.

'All I'm asking, please come forward,' Suzette Lewis pleaded. 'Please, please, somebody say something. I'm asking for justice for Kade. Please. Please, I'm asking for justice, please.'

Mayor Adams apologized to Kade's and Jenna's families and pledged yet again to put an end to the overwhelming spike in violence in the city.

'When you understand the realness of this, you understand the urgency of this. And so when I move with the urgency and people are telling me to slow down; What the hell is wrong with you?' he added.

Earlier this year, Adams brought back the controversial anti-gun unit, which he said would get guns off the streets and ultimately reduce illegal gang activity

Earlier this year, Adams brought back the controversial anti-gun unit, which he said would get guns off the streets and ultimately reduce illegal gang activity.

More than 200 cops from the NYPD's Neighborhood Safety Team have been sent to target 30 key areas where shootings have risen alarmingly.

Previous iterations of the unit were disbanded in 2020 by Bill de Blasio amid anger at policing sparked by the murder of George Floyd and concerns they accounted for a disproportionate number of shootings and complaints.

But Adams, a former cop who has pledged to reduce violence in the city with a crime-fighting plan that includes removing homeless people from the subways, has faced incessant backlash since he first hinted he'd bring back the unit even before taking office.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams decried the move and blamed the unit for the killing of innocent black people including the 1999 high-profile killing of Amadou Diallo at the hands of plainclothes officers who fired 41 times as he returned home from his shift as a cab driver.

Adams has previously said that the Big Apple has become 'a laughingstock' in need of a 'wartime general' to tackle the rampant lawlessness.

The mayor has also said he wants to see changes in bail reform laws and other criminal justice measures, claiming they will bring down crime rates in the city and reduce gun violence.
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A jury began deliberating Tuesday the fate of the alleged Sarah Lawrence 'sex cult' leader charged with exploiting his daughter's college friends to get free labor and millions of dollars after convincing them they'd poisoned him or wronged him and owed retribution.

Lawrence 'Larry' Ray, 62, could face life in prison if he is convicted of physically and mentally abusing the students to gain control of them for what one prosecutor said was a desire for power, money and sex.

The Manhattan federal court jury started to weigh the evidence of racketeering, sex trafficking, conspiracy, forced labor and other charges against Ray after several hours of closing arguments over two days.

Larry Ray, 62, is accused of running a sex cult out of daughter Talia's dorm at the elite liberal arts college in Bronxville, New York

Although he did not testify, Ray maintained through his lawyers that he is not guilty of charges that he abused several students that he met after moving in to his daughter's dormitory at Sarah Lawrence College in fall 2010.

Closing arguments concluded Tuesday and U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman instructed jurors on the law they must follow during deliberations.

The defense argued in closing Tuesday that the alleged victim who testified that Ray tortured her in a New York City hotel room, 'enjoyed sex and BDSM', 'went to sex clubs' and 'has problems with truth telling.'

But Ray's lawyer, Federal Defender Marne Lenox, claimed he was a victim of the young people he lived with who made him feel paranoid and under attack.

'Everyone was out to get him, Larry believed,' Lenox said, portraying his daughter's friends as 'storytellers' who he believed had intentionally poisoned him.

But in closing arguments, prosecutors urged jurors to hold Ray accountable for a 'campaign of terror' against his victims and that the October night in 2018 - when Ray is accused of torturing Claudia Drury at a Midtown hotel - is 'a snapshot' that tells them 'almost everything' they needed to know about their decision.

Ray and his co-conspirator Isabella Pollok allegedly tortured Drury, who he had forced into prostitution, by stripping her naked, tying her to a chair and nearly suffocating her with a plastic bag.

'This single night of crime tells you almost all you need to know,' Assistant US Attorney Mollie Bracewell told Manhattan federal court jurors.

Ray's lawyer countered Tuesday that Drury enjoyed sex and BDSM, and that it was her decision to be an escort.

Both parties have rested in the Sarah Lawrence College 'sex cult' case and the judge is expected to send the jury to deliberate. Larry Ray, 62, (pictured) facing charges of tax evasion, racketeering and money laundering, multiple counts of sex-trafficking and forced labor

Drury told the court how Ray (right) allegedly forced her into a life of prostitution, abused her, and threatened to kill her after ingratiating himself with her and her friends when she was a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York

Lenox added that Drury thought about what wealthy clients would want and wrote in support of sex work in her iCloud. Lenox went on to say that Drury gave money to Ray because she believed she had poisoned him and she wanted to pay him back.

When Drury broke contact with Ray, he didn't go after her, Lenox told jurors. She said that it's up to the jury to review Drury's credibility, adding that she has problems with truth telling.

The lawyer cited examples that Drury is 'not credible,' arguing that she claimed a homeless man bit her finger and that there was 'no assault in the Gregory Hotel.'

In a rebuttal summation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon criticized the defense for saying that multiple victims lied on the witness stand about their experiences during most of a decade with Ray.

The judge warned jurors that prosecutors had used 'strong language' in its rebuttal argument, but that they should keep in mind that defense lawyer Marne Lenox and the other lawyers had not acted improperly in closing arguments.

'Tactics and methods of counsel in this case was proper,' he said. 'Each lawyer was just doing their jobs.'

Ray's lawyer, Marne Lenox, concluded closing arguments Tuesday, telling jurors that Claudia Drury 'enjoyed sex and BDSM', 'went to sex clubs' and 'has problems with truth telling'

Judge Lewis Liman on Tuesday charging the jury in the 'sex cult' case. The jury is expected to deliberate today

Ray made the decision to not take the stand in his own defense after intense discussions with his legal team over the weekend. He informed Liman of it Monday morning ahead of the jury entering court and before the defense stepped up to present its case.

After three weeks of often harrowing and graphic testimony, and a plethora of witnesses for the prosecution  including four former 'cult members'  the defense case lasted barely two hours and called just two witnesses.

The first, forensic cell phone analyst John B. Minor, attempted to cast doubt on the credibility of government maps that tracked cell phone activity and appeared to incriminate Ray and co-conspirator Pollok by putting them in the same place as Drury at key times.

Across several days of testimony Drury told the court that she was forced into a life of prostitution and handed over more than a million dollars to Ray by way of 'reparations' for wrongs he coerced her into believing herself guilty.

On Monday, jurors heard that the data was unreliable but under cross examination the quality of Minor's conclusions was undermined leaving it unclear what, if any, gains his testimony had made.

Claudia Drury testifies at trial for Larry Ray on March 21, 2022

Ray allegedly subjected Drury (pictured) to hours of torture in her room at Manhattan's Gregory Hotel in October 2018

Next came attorney Glenn Ripa, the subject of a hearing late Friday.

The defense had initially hoped to introduce an 'advice of counsel' defense with Ripa's testimony, arguing that Ray acted in good faith collecting 'reparations' from students including Drury and not paying taxes on them having been told that those actions were legal by Ripa.

Lewis did not allow this, finding that Ripa's testimony  which he described as 'all over the place'  fell far short of reaching that bar.

Across days of testimony, alleged sex cult victim Claudia Drury told the court that she had been forced into a life of prostitution and handed over more than a million dollars to Ray

Drury (pictured in a court sketch in March) told jurors at Manhattan Federal Court how how she went from naive college student to a life of prostitution

The 31-year-old witness (pictured outside court in March) took the stand to describe the alleged gas-lighting, physical and sexual abuse that she claims she suffered at Ray's hands

Instead, Ripa could only testify that he told Ray that reparations for personal damages were not considered taxable income and that he understood Drury to have confessed to having poisoned Ray. But on cross-examination, the prosecution established that the attorney had no records regarding this 'advice,' and made no mention of it to the defense before March 30 this year.

Under intense questioning Ripa went on to admit that he had no idea Ray was already taking money from Drury when he allegedly advised him and that he had no clue that the sums of money involved ran to more than $2million.

Yalitza Rosario, Felicia Rosario, Santos Rosario. Felicia, 39, told the court how she saw herself as Ray's 'wife' only recently realizing their relationship was a sham. Yalitza, 32, testified that her relationship with Ray 'tore her world apart' and led to her mental breakdown. Santos, 30, told of violent physical abuse, coercion, extortion to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars

Assistant US Attorney Mollie Bracewell delivered the prosecution's closing Monday afternoon. She sought to strip back a case that has been often dumbfounding in detail and refocus the jury on what, she maintained, was at the heart of it.

Ray, she told the court, had presided over a criminal organization that existed entirely for his benefit. He used trust to assume power and mounted a campaign of terror, sustained over close to ten years, to induce confessions and turn the students of Sarah Lawrence into 'piggy banks.'

She replayed some of the most disturbing audio and video: Santos Rosario, 30, being beaten with a hammer by Ray whose blows rained down again and again; Daniel Levin being tortured with pliers, clamped to his tongue and a hammer thrust beneath his chin or into his torso.

Felicia Rosario (pictured arriving court earlier this week) told jurors how she came to realize her 'romance' with alleged sex cult leader Larry Ray was a sham

Felicia, 39, told the court how she regarded herself as Ray's 'wife' only recently realizing their relationship was a sham

And she reminded the jury of the night when Ray and Pollok allegedly subjected Drury to hours of torture in her room at Manhattan's Gregory Hotel.

On that night Ray allegedly stripped Drury naked, tied her to a chair and repeatedly suffocated her with a plastic bag, choked her with a leash, poured water over her while sitting her in the frigid blast of an AC unit and cut her hair with souvenir scissors that had been a gift from a client and she had kept because she thought them pretty.

They did it because Drury - by then a prostitute - had become too close to the client, Bracewell said, and had to be 'brought to heel.'

Jurors heard audio of this sustained attack during Drury's testimony.

At one point Ray can be heard asking Pollok to pass him the plastic bag  'an instrument of torture,' Bracewell said  at another Drury can be heard choking.

'You can listen to it again,' Bracewell told the jury Monday afternoon and added, 'If you are able.'

The night, she said, was 'a snapshot' that told them 'almost everything' they needed to know about Ray and his crimes.

The effect was powerful and immediate. Jurors sat riveted, some took notes.

Larry Ray's sex trafficking trial was halted after the accused sex cult leader suffered another medical emergency in court

Isabella Pollok is accused of being Ray's 'lieutenant' and conspirator

Ray ultimately ingratiated himself with his daughter Talia's friends at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, including Santos Rosario (pictured left with Talia) Daniel Levin, Felicia Rosario (right) and Isabella Pollok

Ray, Bracewell told them, was at the head of a criminal structure that had a hierarchy, a group of followers and an anointed few  his 'lieutenant' Pollok and his daughter Talia Ray. Both, she argued, were complicit in his crimes.

This was all about the control that Ray 'ruthlessly and relentlessly' pursued over Drury, Levin and the Rosario siblings.

Pollok is due to stand trial on multiple counts later this year. Talia Ray, 29, remains unindicted.

Anticipating the biggest stumbling block of all  the how? of the whole affair  Bracewell reminded jurors of the testimony of psychologist Dr Dawn Hughes, given four weeks ago.

Hughes had outlined the ways in which coercive control is gained and the tactics used. She listed ten: Establishing Trust, Physical Violence, Sexual Abuse, Isolation, Indoctrination and Gaslighting, Emotional Abuse, Deprivation, Economic Abuse and Collateral.

Ray may not have written this playbook, Bracewell suggested, but he studied it and he followed it verbatim.

The evidence, she told the jury, 'is overwhelming.' She said 'This man reigned over his criminal family and enterprise so he could profit and gain power.

'He did so with fear, violence, manipulation, lies and schemes and he did so for years.'

This was, she said, 'nothing but a long con,'  a means to the millions Ray and Pollok used to prop up a lifestyle of designer clothes, luxury hotels and expensive dinners and funneled into a domain name portfolio worth, Ray boasted to his father, more than $34million.

She concluded, 'He told his victims his acts of cruelty were attempts to hold them accountable for made up acts against him.

'It is time to hold him accountable for his litany of crimes. We are asking you to bring Lawrence Ray to justice.'

Sarah Lawrence College is an elite liberal arts college in Bronxville, just north of New York City

Federal Defender Marne Lenox addressed the court Monday and concluded Tuesday  arguing it was all about 'storytelling' and storytellers who lost track of the difference between truth and fiction.

They all, she said, 'believed'  Ray included. Ray believed he was the victim of a massive conspiracy, that he had been poisoned and was due reparations.

The students turned his villains into their own and spun tall tales that they themselves came to believe.

Lenox took a long deep breath, steadying her nerves before she began. 'Some people' she admitted 'thought Lawrence Ray was crazy.' But others did not. Others believed in the world in which, she maintained, Ray and the students lived.

She said, 'That world may not be one that you or I can ever hope to understand but for the defendant and others, through the looking glass, this world was real.'
A tornado watch has been issued for more than 7 million Americans in the already- storm ravaged South, as a massive line of thunderstorms again threatens the region.

The storm is headed east through the Deep South, toward Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida, where it is expected to pick up in intensity in the afternoon and continuing into the evening.

Weather officials said Tuesday that residents in those states should expect more damaging winds, heavy hail and even twisters in those states.

The massive storm system - the latest in a series of tempests that have battered the southern U.S. for three weeks straight - hit parts of North Texas and southern Oklahoma last night, where winds of up to 75 miles per hour caused millions of dollars in property damage.

Flash flood warnings also were issued in the Dallas area overnight; local fire officials had multiple water rescues. No tornados have been reported there.

A tornado watch has been issued for more than 7 million Americans in the already storm-ravaged South, as a massive line of thunderstorms - currently headed east (pictured) - again threatens the region. The region has seen severe weather for the past several weeks

But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today issued a tornado watch for southern and eastern Louisiana, southeastern Arkansas, and central and southern Mississippi - areas expected to be slammed first by the sprawling stormfront.

A tornado watch also was issued for southern Alabama and parts of the Florida Panhandle, where the storm is expected to hit today as well. South Georgia and southern South Carolina specifically are at risk, officials said as the storm continues eastward.

New Orleans, Nashville, Atlanta, Charleston, and Jackson, Mississippi are also in the watch area Tuesday. Other cities put on alert include Montgomery and Mobile in Alabama, and Pensacola and Panama City in Florida.

NOAA officials said residents should be wary of twisters and potentially deadly storms, as well as more high-speed winds, hail, and flooding seen Monday.

'Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding,' the National Weather Service of Fort Worth, Texas, warned Monday.

Flash flood warnings also were issued in the Dallas area overnight, with multiple water rescues. No tornados have been reported in the area

McKinney Fire Department - just outside Dallas - had three water rescues Monday. Pictured are two residents being brought to safety after their cars were swept away

Northern Texas suffered some of the worst wind damage overnight from the thunderstorms. A roof was blown off a building in downtown Henderson, near Dallas, while other buildings saw similar roof and awning damage, according to reports from the National Weather Service

On Tuesday, residents of Jackson, Mississippi, were hit with severe weather conditions including high winds around 8 am ET, expected to subside by 10:30 am ET. Nashville and Montgomery were being pummeled during the late morning and the storm was expected to last until around 1:30 pm.

Forecasters said the northern portion of Georgia is next in the rampaging system's path. Storms in the area are expected to subside this evening, around 5 pm.

But for others, the worst conditions won't come until later this evening around 6 pm. At that point, the storm will make its way farther northeast, toward Charlotte and Wilmington in North Carolina, and east toward Columbia and Charleston in South Carolina.

As it heads east, the system - which stretches several hundred miles from north to south - will see its bottom portion slam into cities farther south, such as Savannah, Georgia, and Panama City, Florida, causing severe weather through 10 pm.

Tornadoes, 75 mph winds, and hail can be expected in these areas, officials say, especially the ones set to be hit by the storm later in the day.

Then, on Wednesday, a separate system will form, forecasters said Tuesday bringing more storms to the embattled region and extending the threat of tornados and dangerous winds for yet another day.

Residents of Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina will see severe weather as a result of the storm Tuesday, including 75 mph winds and potentially tornados

Then, on Wednesday, a separate system will form, officials said Tuesday concerning the progress of the so-called squall line, bring more storms to the embattled region and extending the threat of tornados and dangerous winds for yet another day

'A second system develops on the heels of the first as an upper trough deepens strongly and digs down across the central Plains and eventually the Deep South,' officials from Atlanta's National Weather Service said.

Thursday, the threat of severe weather conditions in the South somewhat subsides, as the storm pushes off the East Coast and over the Atlantic.

Officials say to expect airport delays due to Wednesday's system, which will see much of the Eastern Seaboard hit with heavy rain, all the way up to New England.

The wayward system is the latest in a series of storms that have ravaged the US South for the past three weeks.

The first system saw a deadly EF-3 tornado strike several towns in New Orleans, killing at least one, injuring dozens, and leaving more than structures in the New Orleans area destroyed.

A damaged recreational vehicle in Johnson County near Burleson, Texas, Tuesday, April 5, after last night's storms in the area

Residents assess damage left by the storm system - which saw residents of Northern Texas counties hit with 75 mph winds - early Tuesday

A Texas woman searches through her belongings left scattered in the severe storm's wake

A metal shop building is pictured totaled Tuesday morning following the storm, which passed the area in Johnson County near Burleson, Texas, late Monday night

Residents of the Texas town console one another after seeing their lives torn apart by the storm - the latest in a series of systems that have plagued the Deep South in recent weeks

Pictured: A tractor-trailer flipped onto its side in Midlothian, Texas, Monday night, after the storm blasted through the region

Texas, meanwhile, saw a shocking 25 tornadoes last month alone.

Bill Bunting of the Storm Prediction Center told CNN of the continued storms, that weather systems often can fall into repetitive cycles.

'The atmosphere has a fairly chaotic component to it, but it does occasionally get into patterns where we see this repeatability. Weve seen it in all seasons,' said Bunting.

'Unfortunately, for this past month, and certainly for the week ahead, the threat for severe weather is going to be present again, in many of the same areas that have already seen enough severe weather just over the past four weeks.

'The very moist air flowing northward from the Gulf of Mexico, which has helped the storms develop over the last few weeks, is once again what we will see this week.'

This is a developing story; please check back for updates.

Fallen trees seen in North Alabama Tuesday morning, as a result of high winds caused by the storm
One of Jeffrey Epstein's victims claimed the pedophile shared a hotel suite in South Africa with Bill Clinton and that it was the former president's proximity to him that gave the billionaire credibility and made her trust him - a mistake that she said led to years of abuse.

Juliette Bryant, 39, who filed a 2019 lawsuit against Epstein's estate alleging he raped her for years in his homes around the world, told The Daily Beast she first met Epstein in Cape Town in September 2002 when he was touring South Africa with Clinton and that both were staying at the Cape Grace luxury hotel.

Bryant, who was then 20 years old, said she was introduced to the pair by actress Naja Hill and was stunned to meet Epstein as he was surrounded by Clinton and actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker, The Daily Beast reported.

She admitted that while she had reservations about traveling with Epstein to the Caribbean and New York when he offered to launch her modeling career, she decided to trust him because of the company he kept.

'That's what gave Epstein credibility,' Bryant told the Daily Beast. 'The fact that he was with Clinton.'

'I was completely conned,' she said, referencing her allegations that Epstein would go on to rape her up to three times a day until 2004. 'I wouldn't go with some random man to the Caribbean. He seemed legitimate. Clinton gave him credibility.'

Juliette Bryant (above), 39, from Cape Town, South Africa, claimed pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and former President Bill Clinton shared a suite in South Africa when she met the duo in September 2002. She spoke out for the first time on forthcoming BBC documentary on Monday

Clinton (right) had been together with Epstein (center) and Ghislaine Maxwell (left) during a trip to South Africa in 2002. Clinton has denied allegations he knew of the pairs crimes, with a spokesman adding that Clinton did not share a suite with Epstein

Bryant said Epstein and Clinton booked a suite together at the luxury Cape Grace hotel (above)

She added that the former president had retired to his own private room on the night she had her interview with Epstein where he promised to kickstart her modeling career. Pictured, one of the luxury suites at the Cape Grace hotel

She added that when she met Clinton that night in 2002, he held her hand and didn't let go for a long time, describing it 'like a dream. It was so bizarre.'

Bryant, who spoke out against Epstein in 2019 and shared her story publicly for the first time with the BBC last week, said she wanted to keep sharing her story to bring accountability to Epstein's associates who helped run the billionaire's sex trafficking operation.

'I want to back up the other girls,' Bryant told the Daily Beast. 'I want to move on with my life, but I can't. I was a witness to it. Every piece of the puzzle matters, no matter how small the piece.'

Clinton has repeatedly denied claims that he was ever connected with Epstein's sex crimes.

Clinton spokesman Angel Urena denied claims that the former president shared a suite at the Cape Town hotel with Epstein, saying the president instead flew out to Johannesburg, South Africa.

Urena also referred DailyMail.com to a 2019 statement that read: 'President Clinton knows nothing about the serious crimes Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to in Florida some years ago, or those with which he has been recently charged in New York.'

'In 2002 and 2003, President Clinton took a total of four trips on Jeffrey Epstein's airplane: one to Europe, one to Asia, and two to Africa, which included stops in connection with the work of the Clinton Foundation.

'He's not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade, and has never been to Little St. James Island, Epstein's ranch in New Mexico, or his residence in Florida,' his office went on to say.

Hill, Spacey and Tucker did not immediately return DailyMail.com's request for comment. Spacey, Hill and Tucker have not commented publicly since reports came out last year that they had traveled with Epstein.

After her meeting with Epstein in her hometown of Cape Town, Bryant told the Daily Beast she was in awe of everything and quickly welcomed another outing the following day with him and Hill as they were doing a shoot with Clinton and the actors.

Bryant recalled that Spacey, who would face his own separate accusations of sexual abuse and harassment, appeared standoffish while Tucker was friendly but kept his distance from the group.

Following a speech by Clinton, Bryant went back to the hotel to wait for a job screening with Epstein and recalled Clinton leaving the group to go to his own private room, Bryant told The Daily Beast.

Bryant said she only came to trust Epstein and traveled with him because he carried credibility due to his relationship with Clinton. The pair are pictured shaking hands in 1993

Bryant also alleges that she was introduced to Epstein by actress Naja Hill, pictured in 2017

Bryant said she was in awe that Epstein was together with not only Clinton, but with famous actors Kevin Spacey (left) and Chris Tucker( right). She said Spacey, who would face his own accusations of sexual abuse and harassment, appeared standoffish while Tucker was friendly but kept his distance from the group

Bryant, pictured at 16, was only 20 years old when she met Epstein and took him up on his proposal to fly her to New York to make her dream of becoming a model come true

The dream quickly turned to a nightmare as Bryant alleges she was taken to the Caribbean where she was raped by Epstein as he continued to abuse her for two years in his many homes

It was during that meeting Bryant had said that Epstein offered to launch her modeling career, commenting that she had the 'most beautiful figure he had ever seen.'

But instead Bryant was taken on his private jet to his Caribbean island where she became trapped in the sex trafficking operation 'run' by Epstein and 'operated' by Ghislaine Maxwell.

Speaking in BBC2 series House of Maxwell, which premiered on Monday, Bryant tells how she watched other victims perform sex acts on Epstein and was sexually assaulted by the predator on a number of occasions over almost two years. She estimates she saw 60 girls and women in the time she was there.

'Things happened there that scared me so deeply that I can't even talk about them,' she said. 'He fed off the terror, there was something about the energy of a girl being scared that he liked.'

She also shared with BBC2 never-before-seen photos she took Epstein's island, including one of Maxwell and one of an artwork depicting a woman being raped by a sea monster.

Bryant explained she and other victims had been too afraid to speak out because Epstein threatened her and her family.

'It was just like a factory,' she says. He was running a machine and Ghislaine Maxwell was the one operating it. People ask why I went back. Nobody disobeyed Epstein.'

She added that the billionaire acted very paranoid in the time she knew him.

'Epstein always had platters because I think he was scared of being poisoned,' she told The Daily Beast. 'There were platters of food for everyone, and he'd pick off other people's plates. It was weird.'

Bryant says the grooming operation ran by disgraced billionaire pedophile Epstein ran with Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured together) was like a 'factory'

Bryant was forced to go to travel to the island for various periods on and off for nearly two years, revealing 'I was so broken at that point, I just sort of went along with it'

When Bryant was first introduced to Maxwell she was told that they were a couple, but remains unconvinced their relationship was ever romantic

Ghislaine Maxwell's legal team loses bid for retrial for convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of grooming and trafficking underage girls last year. However Maxwell's legal team requested that her sex trafficking conviction be overturned and the case be retried in January, which was rejected last week. Maxwell was hoping for a retrial after it emerged that one juror failed to disclose that he was sexually abused as a child before the trial. In February, lawyers for the disgraced socialite filed another 37-page appeal at a New York court claiming 'erroneous' jury instructions made her conviction unfair. Jurors seemingly believed one victim  who gave her name only as Jane  who said she was abused by Epstein and Maxwell at his ranch in New Mexico when she was 16. The appeal documents say: 'A jury note sent during deliberations indicted that the jurors were considering convicting Ms Maxwellbased solely on the New Mexico conduct.' Maxwell's lawyers argue that the judge should have explained to jurors that under New Mexico law 'Jane' was not underage and should have instructed them to focus only on alleged sex assaults in New York where the age of consent is 18. Maxwell, 60, faces up to 65 years in jail when she is sentenced on June 28 after being found guilty in December on five charges. Last Friday, Maxwell's lawyer, Bobbi Sternheim, wrote to New York Judge Alison Nathan, asking her to delay her ruling on whether the British socialite will be granted a new criminal trial because of a pending TV interview with Juror 50. Nathan refused to delay her decision and denied a retrial - setting a date for Maxwell's sentencing for June 28. Advertisement

Bryant recalled being astounded by the beauty of Epstein's notorious island when she arrived. She discovered a pile of discarded disposable cameras which she used to take photographs of her time on the Caribbean island.

The photographs, shown for the first time in the BBC2 documentary, include ones of her posing by the docks, photos of the small chalet in which she stayed near the port and a disturbing artwork showing a deformed sea creature clambering on top of a naked young woman.

'It was a naked girl and there was like a big walrus it looked like the walrus was trying to rape her, it was a very disturbing picture. I've never seen a picture like that', she tells BBC2.

Other images show Bryant with a camera inside Epstein's island home, Maxwell eating a meal on a table and Epstein's bedroom which included a four poster bed with white bedding and mosquito netting.

'He had a lot of weird stuff around his house. There were just pictures of naked girls everywhere and there were a lot of naked pictures of Ghislaine too.'

But shortly after arriving on the island, it became clear the trip was far from the dream destination photoshoot she had imagined.

Bryant was asked to watch a movie with Epstein and another girl. To her horror the girl began performing a sex act on the pedophile.

'I was absolutely petrified,' Bryant tells BBC2. 'I was so young, I'd never seen anything like that. I was crying, I just ran out of the room. I didn't know what to do.

'There was no hope of getting away. I was in a foreign country with no money or cell phone or means of communication.

'I just realized then I was completely trapped and there was nothing I could do. Ghislaine was running the girls and would tell us when we needed to go to his bedroom, you couldn't say no, there was just no option.'

She remembers his bedroom as being 'pitch black and ice cold' and says she dissociated with her body as he sexually assaulted her.

'I just checked out of my body and let him do what he wanted because I didn't know what else to do,' Bryant recalls.

'I tried to escape in my mind, I tried to pretend it wasn't happening. Things happened there that scared me so deeply that I can't even talk about them.

When Bryant was first introduced to Maxwell she was told that they were a couple, but remains unconvinced their relationship was ever romantic.

'The thing is, I didn't even see them hold hands or kiss once,' she tells BBC2. 'I never saw them give each other a hug. To be honest, I never saw them come that close, so it definitely was not a romantic relationship.'

Epstein's office called Bryant and told her they would be flying to the Caribbean - where she assumed they would be having a photoshoot. Maxwell is seen giving Epstein a foot rub on board his private jet

Before she was sent home Bryant was threatened by Epstein who told her of another girl who had accused her of rape and ended up in jail because he had planted drugs in her home. Bryant was also warned her family was 'on a list'.

'I just did as I was told,' she says. 'I was petrified of him, who he was. I knew crossing him would be a very bad idea.'

Bryant was forced to return to the island for various periods on and off for nearly two years.

'I was so broken at that point, I just sort of went along with it,' she says. 'I never felt okay again after that, everything just fell to pieces, it's very, very hard to understand I am still trying to piece it all together.'

None of the victims ever tried to rebel against Epstein and Maxwell, with Bryant revealing that it would have been 'very scary making them angry'

Epstein killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Maxwell was convicted of trafficking girls in December last year. Her lawyers' request for a new trial after one of the jurors acknowledged that he had been sexually abused as a child was denied in March.

Series producer Ceri Isfryn said Bryant felt ready to come forward and tell her story on camera after Epstein's death.

'Bryant is a remarkable woman. She's a very strong, independent woman,' series producer Isfryn said ahead of the program's premiere.

'I think the arrest of Ghislaine Maxwell spurred her on to feel less scared of speaking out and less ashamed of speaking out.

'She really felt strongly that she wanted to speak for those woman, who were girls some of them at the time, who can't.

'I think the other thing she felt she wanted to get across was the complexity of this sex trafficking operation in terms of when she describes the visas, travelling.

'If you just look at how many different women, from different countries, from different years and I think she really wanted to convey how masterful they were at grooming women and girls and how well they did that for such a length of time.'
A bicycle-riding thief who ransacked Walgreens and CVS stores in San Francisco has been freed from prison after receiving a minimum sentence for his caught-on-video robberies in a city where fed-up residents are pushing to recall their woke district attorney.

Jean Lugo Romero, 40, pleaded guilty to felony grand theft and a misdemeanor charge for petty theft on Monday before being sentenced to 16 months and a year's probation for last June's robbery spree.

Under California law, Romero could have been sentenced to three years in prison on the felony rap and another 16 months on the misdemeanor charge.

However, the judge credited him with time served and released Romero back onto the lawless streets of San Francisco. He was ordered to stay away from two Walgreens employees and two stores, as well as one CVS store.

DA Chesa Boudin, who was elected on his ultra-progressive platform but faces a recall vote in June over the city's rampant crime, had initially defended Romero by calling him 'desperate.'

Footage of Romero went viral after ABC 7 reporter Lyanne Melendez posted a video of the brazen thief shoving nearly a $1,000 worth of cosmetics into a duffle bag as a security guard looked on. Romero then left the store on a bicycle, riding straight past the guard.

Jean Lugo Romero, 40, (center, in June) was sentenced to 16 months and a year's probation after pleading guilty to felony grand theft and a misdemeanor charge for petty theft

He reportedly stole almost $1,000 worth of cosmetics from Walgreens in June (pictured). He has since been released from prison after he was granted time served

He was arrested a week later and charged with 15 counts of robbery, grand theft, and burglary after he shoplifted from eight different Walgreens and CVS stores.

Romero's thefts came as the city faced multiple retail crimes, prompting several Walgreens to close.

The DA's office also announced a guilty verdict Monday against Ahmad Shabazz after he robbed three separate Walgreens stores. He will face sentencing on April 15.

'Whether the work of organized retail theft rings or of individual suspects, the burglaries impacting our local businesses will not be tolerated.'

'The sentence and verdicts handed down are just one way we are working to hold individuals accountable for harm caused by retail theft in San Francisco.'

Crime, though, has not slowed down. San Francisco has recorded 7,500 thefts in the first three months of the year, up from the almost 5,900 at the same time last year.

Woke San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin retail thieves will be 'held accountable' and burglaries 'will not be tolerated.' His comments come just months after he called Romero desperate and defended him by questioning if he was 'drug-addicted, mentally ill, or desperate'

Also up this year is assault, which has risen seven percent. Motor vehicle theft is up 5.4 percent and homicide is up 20 percent. Total crime is up 9.3 percent, with 11,903 crimes occurring as of April 3.

Boudin's comments come just months after he defended Romero by questioning the motive behind his behavior.

He told the New Yorker in June: 'When I watch that video, I think about five questions that people are not asking that I think they should: Is he drug-addicted, mentally ill, desperate? Is he part of a major retail fencing operation?

'What's driving this behavior and is it in any way representative, because it was presented as something symptomatic?'

Boudin also said that perhaps Walgreens had a policy of not confronting shoplifters.

The security guard faced criticism online for failing to act, although some people said he did the right thing by making his presence known and filming him rather than confronting him physically.

Crime is up 9.3 percent in the city with larceny theft up 28.4 percent. More than 7,000 thefts have already occurred in San Francisco this year

According to a Walgreens employee handbook, staff who witness someone shoplifting are told to notify a manager and 'never accuse a person of shoplifting or stealing.'

The handbook also states: 'Don't attempt to confront or stop a shoplifter or try to follow him or her out of the store.'

'In many cases, police don't write an incident report, because the suspect has already left the scene,' said Matthew Donahue, an assistant district attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, to the Mission Local.

'If Walgreens has insurance for certain goods or they expect a certain amount of loss, if they would rather not risk lawsuits or escalation to violence - then maybe that's something we should know about,' Boudin said at the time.

He told the magazine that the police make arrests in just two-and-a-half percent of reported thefts.

'Maybe that's a good thing - maybe that means they're prioritizing murders,' Boudin said at the time.

As crime rises in the city, the Boudin recall campaign is gaining wealthy tech donors, ahead of the June 7 election, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The campaign has generated almost $3million in donations, compared to only $1.05million from groups supporting the DA.

A recent poll found that 68% of voters support recalling Boudin in the June 7 election, according to sfgate.com.

One of Silicon Valley's top tech investors Ron Conway - who has not donated personally but encourages others to do so - sent an email around the holidays expressing that 'now is not the time to throw up our hands and walk away from the needs of our beloved city.'

Conway is also an investor in DoorDash, which Boudin sued in 2020, after the company - alongside Lyft and Uber - pumped $200million into a campaign to create exemptions for themselves. Boudin sued the company for 'misclassifying' it's workers as 'independent contractors' instead of employees.

The case is currently still pending.

Conway has publicly denounced the DA, telling the Chronicle: 'Of course, I support the recall of Chesa Boudin, along with San Franciscans from every background and every neighborhood, because hes incompetent as District Attorney and makes our beloved city less safe every day he remains in office.

'As a native San Franciscan, grandfather, and homeowner who cares deeply about the city and its future, these are my sole motivations to support his recall, and theyre reasons enough!' he said in an email to the Chronicle.

At the beginning of the clip, the brazen shoplifter can be seen behind the counter stuffing some of the Walgreens' most valuable items into a huge bag, while helpless staff look on

Moments later, he was confronted by a male shopper, pictured left, but didn't take kindly to the check on his behavior...

...and ended up hurling bananas at the would-be Good Samaritan, who then responded in kind

Garry Tan, a top donor who has personally given $100,500 to the recall efforts, frequently expresses his disdain for the woke DA, saying that he doesn't 'believe [Boudin] is doing his best to protect and ensure those who commit violent crimes are held accountable for victimizing the poor, the disadvantaged, and the general public.'

Tan has also invested in gig economy company Instacart, but denied that he supported the recall because of business interests.

The move to oust Boudin come after an endless scourge of crime.

Last month, a shoplifter was filmed filling a bag with stolen goods behind the counter of a Walgreens store as staff stood helplessly and watched.

The heist took place on March 4 at a Walgreens in the Richmond area of the city, and saw the brazen shoplifter hurl bananas and cookies at one man who confronted him.

After ransacking the shelves to his heart's content, the criminal emerged from behind the counter and strolled out.

Last week, a crew of Canadian filmmakers in San Francisco was beaten and robbed of more than $35,000 in equipment in a brazen daylight attack near the Twin Peaks hiking area, according to shocking footage of the incident online.

The shoplifter was evidently angered by the have-a-go hero's decision to stand up to him, and returned to hurl nuts and candy at the unfortunate man

San Francisco Police Department responded to the scene just after the incident took place at around 5.40pm in one of the parking pull-outs just in between the two peaks, also known as 'Eureka' and 'Noe'.

A 49-second video posted on Instagram shows two suspects wearing a black ski mask and a red hoodie pull up in an Infiniti sedan behind an SUV parked next to one of the peaks along the scenic road.

One of the burglars jumps out from the vehicle and strikes one of the members of the film crew from behind by surprise as the victim was visibly looking for something in his car's trunk that also contained film equipment. He was grabbed by the arm and forcibly moved next to the SUV before being told to lie on the ground.

Another man wearing a red hoodie came out a with a gun and points it at another victim, who was also told to lay low while the robbers filled up their car with the film crew's equipment.

Residents have identified the Twin Peaks area as a hotspot for robberies, telling KPIX that car break-ins have been a problem in recent months.

A film crew was robbed at gunpoint at San Francisco's Twin Peaks on Friday evening, as two thirds of their equipment, reportedly worth $35,000 was stolen, before the San Francisco Police Department responded to the scene

San Francisco has been experiencing a number of smash and grabs in the last year, causing residents to leave their trunks open at night last December to prevent looters from breaking their car windows.

A photo taken in San Francisco showed two SUVs parked side by side with their trunks ajar and no one inside the vehicles.

A similar trend also has been observed in Oakland, which has seen a spike in car break-ins and auto thefts as part of a larger crime wave that has engulfed the Bay Area, with homicides, assaults and thefts all skyrocketing.

'Imagine having to clean out your car and leaving it open in public, just so people won't break your windows. Oakland we looking sad man,' another witness who it happen wrote on social media at the time.

'It doesn't really surprise me,' Oakland's Interim Deputy Police Chief Drennon Lindsey said at the time.
A man pleaded with a magistrate to be put back in the watch house overnight so he didn't miss his court appearance the following day.

Adrian Anthony Crematy, 46, asked Magistrate Pamela Dowse during his appearance at Southport Magistrates Court on the Gold Coast, on Tuesday if he could stay another night in detention.

Crematy is due for sentencing on Wednesday on a charge of public nuisance.

Adrian Anthony Crematy (above), 46, asked Magistrate Pamela Magistrate at his court appearance at Southport Magistrates Court, Gold Coast, on Tuesday if he could stay another night in detention

He said he wasn't sure he would be able to make the next day's court appearance due to injuries.

'I can't get to court tomorrow, Your Honour. I barely made it today,' he said.

'I've got injuries  some days I can't even use my legs.'

While Magistrate Dowse said it was 'very unusual' for someone to request to stay longer in the watch house she granted Crematy's request and revoked his bail.

'I can see what he's trying to do. He's trying to avoid a fail to appear tomorrow,' she said.
A fire in west London has sparked chaos today after ripping through a garage, cars and an oil container with homeowners evacuated and told to close their windows.

Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters were called to tackle the blaze on Tachbrook Road in Southall, Ealing, at around 11.45am.

Footage posted on social media shows plumes of black smoke - seen as far as 14 miles away in Windsor - billowing from a building.

Most of a commercial garage, an adjoining storage area, several cars and a container of oil were set alight, said the London Fire Brigade.

There are currently no reports of any injuries, it added.

Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters were called to the blaze (pictured above) on Tachbrook Road in Southall, Ealing, at around 11.45am today

Footage and pictures posted online show plumes of black smoke - seen as far as 14 miles away in Windsor - billowing from a building on Tuesday

A 82ft (25m) cordon is in place and the cause of the fire is being investigated.

Residents were advised to shut their windows and doors due to the heavy smoke.

In a tweet, the Brigade wrote: 'The garage fire in Southall is now under control but firefighters will remain on scene damping down.'

Station Commander Graeme Hunter, who was at the scene, said: 'The fire is producing heavy smoke, which is visible for miles.

'We are urging residents in the area to close their windows and doors.

'There is some disruption to traffic, so we encourage people to avoid the area whilst crews continue to work to make the scene safe.'

Most of a commercial garage, an adjoining storage area, several cars and a container of oil were set alight, said the London Fire Brigade

Fire crews from Southall, Hayes, Feltham, Heathrow and surrounding fire stations attended the scene. The fire was under control by 1.50pm. Pictured: firefighters dampening the blaze

Three cylinders were removed before the Brigade arrived and firefighters were cooling them because they can exploded when exposed to heat.

Fire crews from Southall, Hayes, Feltham, Heathrow and surrounding fire stations attended the scene. The fire was under control by 1.50pm.

Over 40 calls reporting the blaze were made to the Brigade's 999 control officers.
A woman infamously dubbed as 'SoHo Karen' for falsely accusing a black teen of stealing her phone in an upscale Manhattan hotel was a no-show for a hearing that is part of a civil case against her, angering a judge.

Miya Ponsetto, 23, made headlines after she attacked 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr in the lobby of the boutique Arlo Soho hotel on December 26, 2020, and falsely accused him of stealing her iPhone.

In a video filmed by his father, Keyon Harrold, who is also a prominent jazz musician, an agitated Ponsetto demands the teenager hand over his phone, claiming he stole it from her .

A hotel manager tries to intervene as Harrold Snr tells the woman to leave his son alone.

Security video later released by the NYPD shows Ponsetto frantically grabbing at the teenager from behind as he tried to escape through the hotel's front door, with both falling to the floor.

It was later revealed that Ponsetto's had actually left her phone in an Uber, with the driver returning it to her shortly after, Harrold Sr said.

On Monday, a virtual hearing for the civil lawsuit filed against Ponsetto filed by the Harrolds took place without the young woman - prompting a furious response by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Slomo Hagler.

'There are ways to deal with this type of situation, and not showing up is one of them,' the judge said.

'That's the worst thing you can do... It shows disrespect.'

'Soho Karen' Miya Ponsetto, 23, failed to show up in the civil case against her regarding her December 2020 attack on a 14-year-old teen for falsely stealing her iPhone

Ponsetto falsely alleged that 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr (left) stole her phone at the Arlo Hotel in Soho. Harrold Jr is the son of Grammy award-winning jazz musician Kenyon Harrold

Security video released by the NYPD shows Ponsetto on December 26, 2020, frantically grabbing Harrold Jr as he tried to get away from her through the hotel's front door. She's seen clutching him from behind before both tumble to the ground.

Ponsetto did not hire an attorney for her defense and has not made any comments regarding the lawsuit since it was filed last year.

The judge  making it known that he will 'wait for no man'  said he would not put the case on hold due to Ponsetto's no-show, and proceeded to schedule filings for depositions and discovery for both parties.

Grammy award-winning Jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold and his son filed a lawsuit against Ponsetto and the Arlo Soho Hotel in March 2021.

Jeffrey Van Etten, an attorney representing the hotel and a worker who restrained Harrold, suggested during Monday's hearing that Ponsetto may not have shown up in court due to an ongoing criminal case against her over the same incident.

In January 2022, Ponsetto defended her actions in a television interview conducted hours before she was arrested in California - her state of residence - by the New York Police Department, which had sent detectives to the West Coast with a warrant for the young woman's arrest.

The trip followed days of intense media coverage of the fracas at the hotel and demands by the teen's family and activists that she face criminal charges.

'I consider myself to be super sweet,' Ponsetto told 'CBS This Morning' on January 7. 'I don't feel that that is who I am as a person. I don't feel like this one mistake does define me,' she added.

'But I do sincerely from the bottom of my heart apologize that if I made the son feel as if I assaulted him or if I hurt his feelings or the father's feelings.'

Ponsetto was arrested in January in California, where NYPD officials had sent detectives with a warrant for the young woman's arrest.Pictured: Ponsetto arrives back at LAX after appearing in court in shackles, Miya still had a drink in her hand from her flight from NYC on January 10

Ponsetto aka ' Soho Karen ' appears in Manhattan Supreme Court, facing criminal charges against false claims she attacked Harrold Jr inside the Arlo Hotel in Manhattan when she accused him of stealing her phone without reasonable cause to believe so

The 23-year-old, whose plea is not yet known, is facing several charges, including unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime. She is also negotiating for a plea deal to be struck with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office that would nullify any jail time.

Meanwhile, Ellie Silverman, the Harrold's lawyer, confirmed that the family would be pursuing a default judgement against Ponsetto in the case.

The defendant could still hire an attorney at any given point, even when her criminal issues are resolved.

Ponsetto is facing charges of assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, along with hotel worker Chad Nathan. The hotel is being accused of negligence and negligent hiring.

The lawsuit states that Nathan 'stopped the plaintiffs while assisting Ponsetto, who was agitated and aggressive, and baselessly accusing Keyon Harrold Jr. of stealing her cellphone.'

'The plaintiffs were falsely accused because they were African American, and Defendant Nathan assumed they were guilty,' court documents show.

The hotel, itself, is being accused of treating 'plaintiffs differently from other guests and invitees in a place of public accommodation because of their race,' according to court documents.

The 2020 attacked made Harrold Jr feel 'humiliation, embarrassment, emotional distress, feelings of racial stigmatization [and] an increased sense of vulnerability,' court papers reveal.

The teen and his family are also seeking unspecified damages.

The Arlo Hotel in Soho, New York City, where the incident took place in December 2020. The hotel manager that day, Cash Nathan, is also facing charges in the lawsuit

In the CBS interview from January, she also said she had been approaching people exiting the hotel, thinking she was doing her part as Nathan reviewed video footage.

'I admit, yes, I could have approached the situation differently,' she said, recalling that she yelled at the teenager because the phone she lost had information she needed to return home after visiting family during the holidays.

She said she admitted yelling at him.

'OK. I apologize. Can we move on?' she told the morning program, insisting she saw no crime.

'How is one girl accusing a guy about a phone a crime?' she asked.

Since the incident, Ponsetto has been consulting therapy, according to her criminal-defense attorney - Sharen Ghatan.
A Russian man was arrested and detained in a Moscow prison for 'discrediting' Vladimir Putin's armed forces after protesting against the war in Ukraine with a packet of ham.

The packet of ham became an 'anti-war poster', according to Tyerskoy District Court in Moscow, after the man crossed out the latter half of the brand 'Miratorg'  leaving the Russian word for peace.

The man was arrested by police on Pushkinskaya Square on April 2 and now faces a fine of up to 50 thousand roubles.

One user on Twitter commented in response: 'That's the most ridiculous detention I've ever seen.'

A Russian man (pictured) was arrested and detained in a Moscow prison for 'discrediting' Vladimir Putin's armed forces after protesting against the war in Ukraine with a packet of ham

His arrest was one of around 78 in the capital and 71 in Saint Petersburg (pictured)

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, more than 15,000 people have been detained at anti-war demonstrations across the country, according to OVD-Info, an independent protest monitoring group.

This is because of a new protocol brought in earlier this month, with the Russian Government buckling down on 'discrediting' Russian troops.

A Russian Telegram group called 'Left Block'  which defines itself as a 'revolutionary socialist channel' - said: 'The citizen used a package with a meat product (classic ham) as a means of visual agitation with an inscription with the following content: 'PEACE!'

'In the Tverskoy Department of Internal Affairs of Moscow, a protocol was drawn up against him under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offences on 'discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens and maintain international peace.'

'The fine for citizens under this article ranges from 30,000 to 50,000 roubles.'

Putin also introduced new laws on March 4, criminalising independent war reporting as well as any calls to end the war - with penalties of up to 15 years in prison. Even

The man crossed out the latter half of the brand 'Miratorg'  leaving the Russian word for peace

characterisations of the attacks on Ukraine as a 'war' or an 'invasion' have been criminalised as 'fake news'.

The country's most widely consumed independent news sources, including the Echo of Moscow, TV Rain and the Znak news website were forced to shut down in early March.

Russia has also blocked access to Facebook and Russian language media produced outside the country  including the BBC.
A diabetic law student who was 'always anti-drugs' died after taking a lethal cocktail of ketamine and alcohol, an inquest has heard.

Megan Pollitt, 18, from Rugby, Warwickshire, was found unresponsive at a party in her Tal y Bont halls of residence in Cardiff, in November 2020.

She was pronounced brain dead and had her life support machine switched off shortly afterwards on November 16.

Her parents were shocked by her death after the much loved student had quit her previous accommodation due to the drug taking going on, telling university chiefs she felt unsafe.

But after moving into her new shared flat she texted a friend to say: 'My second night in my new flat and I take Ket.'

Six nights later Megan took the tranquiliser drug again while drinking with her new flat mates Barzy Aziz and Joseph Morgan.

There were videos shared on Snapchat showing Megan stood with her friends preparing lines of Ketamine.

Megan Pollitt, 18, from Rugby, Warwickshire, was found unresponsive at a party in her Tal y Bont halls of residence in Cardiff, in November 2020.

Her parents were shocked by her death after the much-loved student (pictured) had quit her previous accommodation due to the drug taking going on, telling university chiefs she felt unsafe. They said she had always been anti-drugs.

The inquest in Pontypridd, South Wales, heard she was more than twice the drink driving limit when she started to feel ill and had to be helped to the bathroom.

Her friends Barzy and Joseph accidentally dropped her and she banged her head on the toilet bowl, the inquest heard.

But she died of oxygen starvation to the brain when she went into cardiac arrest due to the Ketamine and alcohol.

Investigating officer Detective Con Kirsty Matthews said small amounts of Ketamine were found at the student flat in Llys Talybont, Cardiff.

She told the inquest: 'There were two Snapchat videos from the night which showed Megan stood with two boys preparing lines of Ketamine.

'The videos are no longer available but she took it willingly.'

Megan was aware of the risks of drinking alcohol because she was a Type 1 diabetic and suffered from coeliac disease.

The inquest, in Pontypridd, heard a post mortem found her blood alcohol level was 169 - the legal limit for driving is 80.

Megan (pictured) was aware of the risks of drinking alcohol because she was a Type 1 diabetic and suffered from celiac disease, an inquest heard

Megan's heartbroken mother Kelly Pollitt told the hearing: 'We brought her home from university because some of her flatmates were taking cocaine and ketamine.

'She told the university she did not feel safe.

'She liked her new flatmates and they got on well.'

Mrs Pollitt said Megan was a normal teenager who had drank more since starting university two months earlier.

She said: 'We were not aware that Megan was using drugs - she was always anti-drugs.

'When she started university she spoke about people using something called Ket and seemed genuinely surprised people were using it.

'We are still struggling to understand what happened during the week she moved into her new flat.

'There are a lot of unanswered questions about what happened on the night. It's very difficult.'

Mrs Pollitt, her husband Chis were able to spend time with Megan before her life support machine was switched off at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff on 16 November 2020.

Her cause of death was hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, the inquest heard.

Assistant Glamorgan Coroner Patricia Morgan recorded a conclusion of misadventure.

No one was ever charged in connection with Megan's death.

Her family said at the time of the tragedy: 'Meg dedicated her time to everyone around her and was always there for others.

'We will miss her beautiful bright smile and positive energy that would lift the spirits of anyone.

'Meg loved the outdoor space, particularly hiking with her dad and her dog. She had recently climbed Snowdon and reached the summit.

'Meg will be forever loved by her mum and dad, sister, grandparents and friends.'
Dozens of Russian diplomats have been expelled from across Europe as the continent prepares fresh sanctions over the massacre of civilians in Bucha.

Spain, Italy, Denmark and Sweden have today joined Germany and France in expelling diplomats they accused of spying for the Russian state - with more than 120 kicked out of embassies in Europe within the last 48 hours.

It comes as EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen today announced a fresh round of sanctions against Russia today - including a ban on coal imports worth more than 3billion per year to the Kremlin.

The ban marks the first time that Europe has targeted Russia's energy sector with penalties, but leaves its most-lucrative exports - gas and oil - untouched after push-back from the likes of Germany and Austria

European nations including Germany, France, Italy and Spain have expelled some 120 Russian diplomats over 'war crimes' in Ukraine (pictured, the Russian embassy in Berlin with a protest sign outside bearing President Zelensky's name)

Von der Leyen also announced a ban on Russian ships and trucks from entering the EU - with exemption for food, medicine and energy shipments.

The move is designed to hobble the Russian economy, but will also serve to cut off the enclave of Kaliningrad from most of its trading routes.

In all, the value of banned imports is likely to cost the Kremlin 5billion per year while the EU will also ban exports to Russia to the value of 8.3billion - including vital semiconductors, computers and other technology.

Russian banks, oligarchs and politicians have also been targeted with further measures.

Von der Leyen accused Russia of waging a 'cruel, ruthless war,' against Ukraine and its citizens - and said crimes against humanity would not go unpunished.

She announced the sanctions after individual member states had expelled dozens of diplomats as horrific images and testimonies of Russian 'war crimes' in previously-occupied cities and villages came to light.

Spain on Tuesday announced that 25 diplomats would be expelled over the deaths of some 410 civilians found slaughtered in and around the city of Bucha, while Sweden and Denmark expelled three and 15 diplomats, respectively.

Italy has expelled another 15, while France on Monday ripped up the credentials of another 25 and Germany threw out 40.

The Kremlin on Tuesday called the mass expulsions of diplomats a 'short-sighted move' that will complicate communication.

Meanwhile Vladimir Putin personally condemned 'pressure' on Russia's largest energy exporter Gazprom, and warned of reprisals.

The European Union is preparing to impose more sanctions on Russia, for the first time targeting its lucrative energy sector by banning coal exports (pictured, Commission President Ursual von der Leyen)

He was speaking after Germany said its energy regulator would take control of Gazprom Germania, a gas trading, storage and transmission business which Russia said it was exiting last Friday.

Putin warned that nationalising Russian assets is a 'double-edged weapon', suggesting he could respond in-kind, while also saying he intends to keep and eye on food exports to what he called 'unfriendly countries'.

The expulsions come amid international outrage over killings in the town of Bucha, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where dozens of bodies were found over the weekend in mass graves or littering the streets.

Ukrainian officials said the bodies of at least 410 civilians have been found in towns around Kyiv that were recaptured from Russian forces and that a 'torture chamber' was discovered in the basement of a children's hospital.

The Ukrainian prosecutor-general's office said the bodies of five men with their hands bound were found in the basement, where civilians were tortured and killed.

'Only non-humans are capable of this,' said Angelica Chernomor, a refugee from Kyiv who crossed into Poland with her two children, and who had seen the photos from Bucha.

'Even if people live under a totalitarian regime, they must retain feelings, dignity, but they do not.'

A ban on coal exports to Europe will cost Russia roughly 3billion per year, though will not affect its most-lucrative exports which are oil and gas (file image)

Chernomor is among the more than 4 million Ukrainians who have fled the country in the wake of the Feb. 24 invasion.

More than 7 million more people have been displaced inside Ukraine, the U.N. migration agency estimates.

Russia has rejected allegations of atrocities, with officials repeatedly saying without evidence that the scenes were faked.

In another show of support, European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to travel to Kyiv to meet with Zelensky this week.

But Western nations are divided over how far to go. Some are calling for a boycott of Russian oil and gas imports, which is opposed by the likes of Germany and Austria which are highly dependent on cheap Russian imports.

Meanwhile countries from the NATO alliance have refused to hand over some of the most powerful weaponry Zelensky has asked for, like fighter jets.

The president appealed again Monday for more weaponry to face down a renewed Russian offensive targeting the Donbass region in the east of the country.

'If we had already got what we needed - all these planes, tanks, artillery, anti-missile and anti-ship weapons - we could have saved thousands of people,' he said.

Zelensky is also due to address the UN Security Council today - the first time he is done so since the start of the invasion - where he is expected to relate what has happened in Bucha, while calling for more sanctions and weapons.
TRIPOLI, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration on Monday called for a safe disembarkation mechanism for illegal migrants crossing the sea from Libya to Europe, following the death of dozens of migrants.

"This tragic incident highlights once more the need for an international effort to ensure the safety of migrants," tweeted the UN agency.

"UN Migration continues its call to save lives through dedicated, proactive search and rescue and a safe disembarkation mechanism, in accordance with international law," it said.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for illegal migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores. 
As the president of the Amazon Labor Union celebrated victory for unionizing a Staten Island warehouse, he tore into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for backing out at the last minute from attending a pro-labor rally and slow-walking her support for the movement.

'Any message for AOC specifically?' news outlet Status Coup asked Chris Smalls, the organizer behind the successful unionization of the first Amazon warehouse in the country. 'Hell no, I'm not giving her no... she don't deserve this moment,' he said.

Amazon has for decades deployed aggressive tactics to bust unionization efforts, and with very little funding, the effort by Smalls and his team to unionize was a longshot. But with the political and economic winds in their favor - a tight labor market and a pro-union National Labor Relations board under President Biden, employees at the fulfillment center known as JFK 8 voted in support of the Amazon Labor Union.

Last summer, Smalls said he went down to Washington, D.C. when Squad members were sleeping on the Capitol steps to protest the end of the eviction pause. He was trying to court their attendance at a pro-union rally at the Staten Island warehouse in August.

Smalls said he personally invited New York progressives like AOC and Mondaire Jones. 'They were positive when I met them in person,' he said on the Krystal Kyle & Friends Podcast. 'I met Cori Bush on the steps. I brought them ALU shirts. We tried to convince them to come up there. AOC was like 'yeah, take my information.'

ALU President Chris Smallstore into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for backing out at the last minute from attending a pro-labor rally and slow-walking her support for the movement

Smalls said he had three meetings with members of her staff. 'Leading up to the rally everything was good up until the last second. They were like 'yeah, they can't make it.' I was like wow.'

'They didn't give me a real reason besides there is a security threat for AOC and I'm like, I was just sleeping on the steps with her in DC, she had no security there. Had maybe one person there. It didn't make sense because they said they canceled all her in person meetings for the rest of the month then she at the Met Gala.'

Last Thursday when the unionizing vote was announced, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted muscle-flexing emojis in support, drawing criticism from Krystal Ball, co-host of the Krystal Kyle and Friends and Breaking Points podcasts, and progressive journalist Jordan Chariton.

'These are your constituents and you couldn't be bothered to show up until they're on the cusp of victory,' Ball wrote on Twitter.

"Hell No, she don't deserve this moment," @Shut_downAmazon responds to whether he has a message for AOC who workers told @statuscoup flaked on them and wouldn't show support for their union drive pic.twitter.com/W6RtkGbA6G  Status Coup News (@StatusCoup) April 1, 2022

Amazon Labor Union (ALU) organizer Christian Smalls speaks to the media as ALU members celebrate official victory after hearing results regarding the vote to unionize, outside the NLRB offices in Brooklyn, New York City, U.S., April 1

Smalls and ALU members hug and celebrate victory after hearing results regarding the vote to unionize on April 1

Smalls claimed that he went down to D.C. and 'personally invited' Squad members Cori Bush, AOC and Mondaire Jones to join in on his effort to unionize, but none showed up

Smalls said that AOC backed out at the last second due to 'security concerns'

'The warehouse isn't in my district and maybe you should look at a map before claiming so. One scheduling conflict aside, we have requested oversight investigations into Amazon, met with Amazon workers in the Woodside warehouses, and more. Hope you do more due diligence next time,' Ocasio-Cortez shot back.

Smalls fired back at the congresswoman: 'Smh @AOC thats terrible workers from your district definitely commute to Staten Island I know them personally maybe you should do your do diligence.'

Chariton jumped in: 'I was told by workers that your folks told them at last minute it was a security issue--not a scheduling conflict. Whether ur district or not, you would think a NY Congressman could've tweeted support--particularly in final weeks--for one of the most important union drives in U.S.'

'Security was an issue as well. 2021 included a lot of high level threats on my life, which limited what activities I was able to do, especially those outside. The combination of that + when we are able to get resources/time to secure them creates scheduling + logistical conflicts,' Ocasio-Cortez said.

I was told by workers that your folks told them at last minute it was a security issue--not a scheduling conflict. Whether ur district or not, you would think a NY Congressman could've tweeted support--particularly in final weeks--for one of the most important union drives in U.S  Jordan (@JordanChariton) March 31, 2022

Smh @AOC thats terrible workers from your district definitely commute to Staten Island I know them personally maybe you should do your do diligence  Christian Smalls (@Shut_downAmazon) March 31, 2022

'With respect, there's no security concerns with sending out support to @amazonlabor trying to win the first unionized Amazon to 13 million followers. Your voice and organizing power makes a difference,' said Chariton.

'No security concerns at the met gala,' Ball added with a puzzled emoji.

Smalls said that he had also been blown off by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. 'I was talking with Bernie's people as well, they're like 'oh, were going to bring you to Congress to testify, it never happened.'

The JFK8 Amazon facility voted 2,654 to 2,131 in favor of unionizing. The number of employees eligible to participate in the vote was 8,325, the NLRB said at the conclusion of the count.'

The center is now poised to become the first and only Amazon warehouse among the 110 in the states to unionize.

The company employs roughly 1.3 million workers across the country, and is on pace to surpass Walmart as the largest private employer in the U.S. within a year or two.

A victory for organized labor at the second-largest U.S. private employer is a historic first for the retailing behemoth in the United States and a milestone for labor advocates, who for years have considered Amazon's labor practices a threat to workers.

Smalls was a manager at the Staten Island facility until he was fired in 2020 for breaking social distancing rules by attending a walkout he helped organize over unsafe working conditions at the height of the pandemic.

Smalls and other ALU supporters stand outside the Amazon distribution center in Staten Island on Oct. 25 holding "Authorization of Representation" forms that were earlier delivered to the National Labor Relations Board in New York

JFK8 in Staten Island is the first Amazon warehouse ever to successfully unionize

Workers queue to cast their vote over whether or not to unionize, outside an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island on March 25

Amazon launched Smalls into the spotlight after its chief counsel accidentally sent an email to more than 1,000 people describing Smalls as 'not smart, or articulate,' and recommended making him 'the face' of efforts to organize workers.

'Amazon wanted to make me the face of the whole unionizing efforts against them,' Smalls wrote in a tweet on Friday.'Welp there you go!'

Smalls along with his friend from the warehouse Derrick Palmer spent the past 11 months spreading awareness of their unionization efforts, bringing homemade baked ziti, empanadas and West African rice dishes to the bus stop outside the warehouse to appeal to workers, many of them from different backgrounds.

They had no affiliation with any national labor organization and while they spent around $120,000 on their efforts, Amazon spent about $4.3 million on anti-union consultants last year across the nation, the New York Times reported.

The successful unionization vote comes on the heels of a string of Starbucks stores that have voted to organize too.

On Friday the House Oversight panel, led by Reps. Carolyn Maloney, N.Y., Ocasio-Cortez and Cori Bush, Mo. opened a federal probe into Amazon's labor practices. They wrote a letter to Amazon requesting documents on the companys labor policies and procedures, especially during extreme weather events. A tornado last year killed six workers in Edwardsville, Illinois and workers in the aftermath said that they had been told by supervisors they would be fired if they left their shifts early to find shelter.
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Dandrae Martin, 26, was arrested and booked at the Sacramento County Jail on Monday for charges of assault with a deadly weapon and illegal firearm possession, police confirmed. His older brother, who has not yet been pictured, has now also been arrested

A third man has been arrested on gun charges related to the violent Sacramento shooting spree that killed six people on Sunday night.

Daviyonne Dawson, 31, was arrested on Monday for carrying a gun in the area while being banned from carrying one. He has not been charged with crimes related to the shooting and police at this point do not believe that his gun was used in the massacre.

Earlier on Tuesday, police confirmed the wounded older brother of the first person arrested in connection with the massacre was also arrested.

Smiley Martin, 27, was taken into custody on Tuesday morning while still recovering in the hospital where he has been since the incident. He is charged with possession of a machine gun.

He is the older brother of Dandrae Martin, 26, who was taken into custody on Monday.

According to The Sacramento Bee, Smiley posted a Facebook Live video moments before the shooting where he posed with his sawed-off shotgun. The video has now been removed.

Police confirmed to the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that a stolen gun was used in the shooting, and it had been converted to be used as an automatic weapon, which can fire like a machine gun.

Sacramento police said they are working to identify more suspects.

DailyMail.com photos revealed how the destruction spanned two city blocks, with markers indicating that more than 250 shots were fired. Police have estimated that at least 100 rounds were fired.

Police also obtained a social media post made by Smiley Martin where he is seen holding the stolen gun the day before the shooting, the LA Times reported.

On Sunday, shots rang out on the cross-section of 10th Street and K Street in Sacramento as bars and nightclubs let out. Witnesses reported a mass brawl involving multiple men.

They told police they saw men shooting from vehicles and fleeing on foot with guns in their hands.

Six innocent people were killed; homeless woman Melinda Davis, 57, Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 31, Johntaya Alexander, 21, Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21, and cousins Sergio Harris, 38, and Devazia Turner, 29.

Turner's mother Penelope Scott told The Associated Press yesterday: 'My son was walking down the street and somebody started shooting, and he got shot. Why is that to happen? I feel like Ive got a hole in my heart.'

It's unclear if any of them had any connection to the fight, or if they were caught in the crossfire.

Melinda Davis, 57, was sleeping rough in the center of the Californian state capital, and was among those who died in Sunday's shooting in downtown Sacramento

Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32, and Johntaya "Jojo" Alexander

Sergio Harris, left, and DeVazia Turner, right, have been named as two of the six people killed during a mass shooting outside a Sacramento bar in the early hours of Sunday

The shooting broke out at 2.01am in downtown Sacramento after a brawl broke out on 10th Street

Witness video showed rapid gunfire of at least 76 shots ringing out over the course of 54 seconds as people screamed and ran for cover

Dandrae was taken to the Sacramento County Jail last night. He is due to make his first court appearance on Tuesday afternoon.

Smiley was injured in the shooting and remains in the hospital under police supervision. He will be booked into jail once he has been treated at hospital.

Dandrae's criminal record includes charges for corporal injury on a spouse.

He is also being held on an outstanding warrant from the the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, according to inmate records obtained by DailyMail.com.

In a statement on Tuesday morning, Sacramento Police said: 'Smiley Martin was quickly identified as a person of interest and has remained under the supervision of an officer at the hospital while his treatment continues.

'Based on information developed during this investigation, Smiley Martin was taken into custody by Sacramento Police Department detectives on April 5, 2022.

'Once Smiley Martins medical care has been completed and he is determined to be fit for incarceration, he will be booked at the Sacramento County Main Jail for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun.'

Police are still asking for photos and videos from the public. Since Sunday, officers say they have received more than 170 pieces of evidence.

In a statement yesterday, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said she believes more people will be taken into custody. She emphasized the fact that Dandrae had not been charged with murder or manslaughter.

'This individual has not been arrested for any homicide related to this incident. The investigation is highly complex involving many witnesses, videos of numerous types and significant physical evidence. This is an ongoing investigation and we anticipate more arrests in this case,' she said.
White House chief of staff Ron Klain hit up Hunter Biden for a quick $2,000 charity contribution he sought to keep 'low key' back in 2012, newly unearthed emails reveal.

Klain's solicitation was for the Vice President's Residence Foundation, a non-profit that helps keep up and refurbish the vice president's mansion, where then-Vice President Joe Biden was living at the time.

He appears to have hit up a group of individuals in a rushed effort to demonstrate that the charity was still raising funds in order to meet IRS requirements following a dormant fundraising period.

The emails, reported by Fox News, emerged days after Klain told ABC's 'This Week' he was 'confident' that Hunter Biden didn't break the law, following new reports about the breadth of the federal investigation into his taxes and business work while his dad was VP.

'Of course the president is confident that his son didnt break the law,' Klain said.

White House chief of staff Ron Klain asked Hunter Biden for a quick $2,000 contribution to a foundation in 2012 that helps maintain the vice president's residence

'The tax lawyers for the VP Residence Foundation have concluded that since the Cheney folks last raised money in 2007 and not 2008, we actually have to have some incoming funds before the end of this fiscal year (i.e., before 9/30/12  next week) to remain eligible to be a 'public charity,' Klain wrote Hunter Biden in the September, 2012 email.

He further explained: 'It's not much  we need to raise a total of $20,000  so I'm hitting up a few very close friends on a very confidential basis to write checks of $2,000 each.'

The email came weeks before President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were on the ballot for reelection, and Klain, Biden's longtime advisor, wanted to keep the solicitation on the down low.

'We need to keep this low low key, because raising money for the Residence now is bad PR  but it has to be done, so I'm trying to just collect the 10 checks of $2,000, get it done in a week, and then, we can do an event for the Residence Foundation after the election.' he wrote.

'Is this okay?' he wanted to know of Hunter, who was in private business at the time.

Klain told ABC's 'This Week' he was 'confident' that Hunter Biden didn't break the law, when asked about a federal investigation of the president's son's finances and taxes

A newly revealed email shows Klain soliciting a contribution from Hunter Biden for the non-profit

Hunter Biden wrote an associate, who raised the issue of having his law firm make a contribution

Hunter Biden pursued a variety of business ventures while his father was serving as vice president. Hunter wrote openly about his struggles with drugs and alcohol in his book

The foundation's 2011 form states that its purpose is to 'assist in preserving and furnishing the official residence' of the vice president

The non-profit's 2011 filing shows it got $20,500 in contributions that year

Klain didn't explain why he wanted to keep it 'low key.' He may not have wanted to signal that Biden thought he might be living at the residence at the Naval Observatory for another four years before the voters weighed in.

Klain was serving as Biden's top aide at the time.

Hunter at the time was practicing law and doing deals. He sent the request to his business partner Eric Schwerin, who took it as an opportunity to 'discuss this and some other bills on Monday' and inquired if the foundation would 'take a corporate check' from his law firm  Owasco PC, a Washington, D.C. law firm.

'Working on it - my partner Eric will be in touch, he wrote back, signing the message RHB.

Klain had kicked off the solicitation with a nod to Biden's daughter, Naomi. 'Hope you guys are doing well, and that Naomi is off to a good start at college,' he wrote.

The behind-the-scenes communication with Hunter comes even as the White House seeks to keep distance from the president's son when fielding inquiries about his business.

White House Press Secretary said late last month when asked about the latest revelations about Hunter's laptop: 'Id point you to the Department of Justice and Hunter Bidens representatives. Im a spokesperson for the United States. He doesnt work for the United States.'

The tax form filed by the foundation showed $20,500 in contributions for the 2011 tax year  indicating that Klain met his $20,000 goal, although it isn't clear from the form whether Hunter Biden contributed.

Hunter Biden's business dealings during his father's tenure as vice president is getting new scrutiny, with a new Washington Post analysis of his dealings with CEFC China Energy that brought in $4.8 million to entities controlled by Hunter and his uncle, James.

There have been earlier reports sourced to an laptop that Hunter purportedly dropped off at a Wilmington, Delaware repair shop and never picked up.

The foundation's 2011 form states that its purpose is to 'assist in preserving and furnishing the official residence' of the vice president. It says it it provided assistance for 'preserving, furnishing and making improvements' to the residence, while providing assistance 'to facilitate loans of art to the residence and acquired items of furniture.'

A lengthy statement also appears to justify a pause in fundraising related to the last minute push for funds. 'Although fundraising needs ebb and flow, the Foundation has engaged in consistent fundraising efforts across these cycles,' according to the filing, signed by its accountant.

It says the tax years 2010 and 2011 'represent an isolated low and are the only years in the past decade that the Foundation has received significantly less than one-third of its support from public sources.'
China enlisted surgeons to execute prisoners by cutting out their hearts, new Australian research has revealed.

The Australian National University study, which examined thousands of medical papers from the communist nation, uncovered shocking secrets about China's clandestine organ harvesting trade.

The research, published in the American Journal of Transplantation, found the certified causes of death did not align with the medical procedures listed in 56 hospitals across the country.

Instead, prisoners' hearts were harvested from their chests before they were brain dead to be given to transplant recipients.

Concerned human rights advocates said the new mounting evidence 'tells a terrible tale of murder and mutilation in China' and the stories coming out of the Chinese Communist Party are 'almost too dreadful to believe'.

Australian researchers have shed light on China's clandestine organ harvesting trade in a landmark study. Pictured: Protesters perform a fake organ removal during a protest at Taipei in 2006

The study's authors - ANU PhD researcher Matthew Robertson and Israeli cardiac transplant surgeon Jacob Lavee  said their work is the first comprehensive study that 'illustrates the active role that transplant physicians in China played in this process'.

The researchers said their findings show how the process of executions appears to have transitioned from a firing squad in a field to the operating room.

'We found that the physicians became the executioners on behalf of the state, and that the method of execution was heart removal,' Mr Robertson said.

'These surgeries are highly profitable for the doctors and hospitals that engage in them.'

Mr Robertson said the removal of the heart is what killed the prisoners.

The surgeries were conducted on death-row prisoners, as well as prisoners of conscience - people who are imprisoned for who they are or what they believe in.

The authors said Chinese official records stated the prisoners were brain dead prior to the surgeries, but that was impossible.

The researchers said prisoners in some cases were not brain dead before their hearts were removed. (stock image of a doctor transporting an organ)

The main criteria used to determine brain death is whether the patient can breathe without a ventilator, but in the transplant cases the declaration of death was made before the prisoner's breathing ability was assessed with the machine.

In other cases, this was done by a face mask and not intubation, which the researchers said was a clear breach of organ transplant regulations.

'This was one of the strongest pieces of evidence of failure to adhere to the dead donor rule because ventilation via intubation is a key step in being able to diagnose brain death,' Dr Lavee said.

'There were several other problematic features of these clinical case reports. For instance, the donors did not have intravenous lines established until moments before surgery, and several papers referred to acute brain death.

'This evidence suggests that the donors organs were procured before they could have been properly diagnosed as brain dead.'

The research analysed 124,770 medical papers from official Chinese databases between 1980 and 2020.

Concerned human rights advocates said the new mounting evidence 'tells a terrible tale of mutilation in China'. Pictured: Members of the Portuguese chapter of Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice banned in China since 1999, demonstrate outside Belem Palace against organ harvesting

Using a custom algorithm that scanned the reports, the researchers found 71 suspected heart-removal deaths in 56 hospitals, involving more than 300 medical workers across China.

Mr Robertson and Dr Lavee believe the true number of unethical surgical deaths is much higher.

They say the practice - which China has denied engaging in - has been going on for more than three decades, with other organs - including livers and kidneys - also suspected to be taken as part of the secret trade.

However, Chinese hospitals continue to advertise transplant waiting times of weeks, whereas wait times in other countries, like the US, are measured in months and years.
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Ministers should ditch the daily Covid statistics now that the numbers are almost meaningless, leading experts and MPs argued today.

Boris Johnson's decision to axe England's 2billion-a-month free testing regime means that tens of thousands of cases are being missed. MailOnline can also reveal people who buy a test privately are unable to report a positive result to the Government, skewing the case numbers even further.

And scientists have for months warned the daily hospital and death numbers are misleading because they don't necessarily equate to patients who have been killed or left severely ill from the illness.

No10 insiders originally hinted the daily dashboard would be stood down in April, coinciding with the end of the Government's mass-testing programme.

But health officials have yet to pull the plug, despite months of appeals to stop publicising the figures every day. Department of Health insiders say there are 'currently no plans' to ditch the daily 4pm releases, even though the weekend dashboard reporting system has already been cancelled under the Prime Ministers strategy to live with coronavirus like the flu.

Another 50,202 positive tests were logged by UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) bosses today, down 38 per cent on last week's tally. It marks the smallest daily total since March 4.

Separate Covid-tracking surveillance projects show infections have hit pandemic highs and are yet to slow down.

Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist on the ZOE Covid Study app, said the daily updates have been 'irrelevant' for months and that we should be ignoring it because it is 'very misleading'. Epidemiologist Professor Paul Hunter, of the University of East Anglia, said the daily dashboard had never provided an 'accurate' picture of cases.

And senior Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith told MailOnline: 'It's time to stop these daily reports.' He added the figures are 'of little interest and in isolation tell us nothing'.

Why you DON'T need to panic about new Covid variant 'XE' A new version of the Omicron Covid variant detected in the United Kingdom is not anything to worry about, experts say. The XE variant is a combination of the BA.1 Omicron strain  which caused massive global outbreaks in late 2021  and the BA.2 'stealth' variant  which virologists say is even more transmissible than its predecessor. UK officials have spotted nearly 640 cases of the sub-strain, which preliminary data suggests may be 10 per cent more infectious than BA.2. Experts do not believe the variant, however, is any more severe or vaccine-resistant than other types of Omicron. Professor Francois Balloux, a geneticist at University College London, said the strain was likely to follow a similar path to the 'long forgotten' AY.4.2 Delta lineage, which sparked fears in Britain but never took off elsewhere. And Dr Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, claimed 'there's no reason to get worked up'. Writing on social media, Professor Balloux said: 'XE is not a variant of concern. 'It is one of many Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 recombinants. 'As such, however successful it may be, it will remain an Omicron sublineage. Delta counted more than 200 such sublineages before it got displaced by Omicron. 'At this stage, the XE situation is largely in line with the  long forgotten  Delta AY.4.2 lineage that looked slightly more transmissible in the UK, but never really took off anywhere else.' Dr Rasmussen added: 'XE is not a Greek letter designating a new variant of concern. 'It's just an omicron recombinant  the fifth one identified, after XA, XB, XC, and XD. 'Just keep on taking precautions for omicron, no need to get worked up about a new big bad yet, anyway.' The first case of the XE variant was detected in January, according to the UK Health Security Agency. It had spotted 637 cases by March 22. Advertisement

Professor Spector argued the only remaining relevant pandemic trackers are his own ZOE study and the Office of National Statistics (ONS) report, which comes out once a week.

The huge ONS report  watched closely by ministers throughout the pandemic  paints the most reliable picture regarding Britain's coronavirus outbreak.

The project, which tests thousands of people every week, is set to be scaled down in the coming days, but will still publish its headline results every Friday.

For comparison, the daily Covid numbers  published by the UKHSA  are completely reliant on people coming forward for tests.

UKHSA officials today also registered 368 deaths, in the highest daily toll since early February, while another 2,378 hospital admissions were recorded across the UK. Both measurements were up slightly week-on-week.

However, both figures  which tend to spike weeks after any increase in cases  are counts of patients who have tested positive for the virus, and don't necessarily equate to patients who have been killed or left severely ill from the illness.

More than half of 'Covid' patients in hospital are primarily being treated for other reasons, like a broken leg, other data shows. And the virus is not the underlying cause of death in up to a third of all fatalities.

Critics say that the rise in so-called 'incidental' figures, driven by the sheer prevalence of the now-dominant BA.2, is skewing the Government's daily coronavirus statistics.

Omicron's milder nature and sky-high immunity rates, from both the UK's historic vaccination drive and repeated waves over the past two years, have drastically blunted the threat the virus poses. Government data suggests it is now no deadlier than the flu.

Professor Spector said: 'The official daily government numbers have been completely irrelevant for months now so we should definitely stop looking at this number completely, not just daily as it's very misleading.'

Meanwhile, Professor Hunter said: 'For most of the pandemic, the dashboard has picked up between one in two and one in three infections.'

But he warned the most recent data suggests the proportion has plunged to as little as one in eight infections, adding: 'So the sensitivity of the surveillance system was already dropping quite a bit.'

He attributed this decline to people not being as motivated to get a test and people who might have Covid having such mild symptoms that they don't think they need one.

It also emerged today that people who pay for a test cannot report the result to the Government.

The Government's Covid test website directly states: 'Do not use this service to report results from a test kit you've paid for.'

This is despite these tests being the same as the free versions that are provided to the NHS and care staff and the elderly which can still be reported to the Government.

Sources told MailOnline that since there is no longer any requirement to isolate after a positive test there was no need to report a test result to the Government.

But when it comes to free tests the Government urges people to report the result 'every time', regardless of if it is positive, negative or void.

Professor Hunter said the fact that people who do pay for a private Covid test are unable to report the result is a waste of 'essentially free' data.

'Once the current readjustments in testing regimes settle down such lateral flow tests may give one of the earliest indications of changing trends in the population,' he added.

The Government dashboard makes it clear that results from Covid tests bought over the counter are not to be reported to them. Some scientists have labeled this a 'waste' of essentially free data

Experts today said daily Covid admissions in England (shown in graph) appear to have peaked. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows the seven-day average (orange line) for virus hospitalisations has fallen for the first time since the latest Omicron surge took off in mid-February. An average of 2,098 patients were admitted in the week to March 30, and appear to have spiked at an average of 2,116 on March 28

NHS England data shows just 44 per cent of so-called Covid patients were primarily admitted because they were unwell from the virus. The rate has fallen as the virus has become less severe and protection from vaccines has increased. In October, 75 per cent of those admitted were primarily unwell with the virus

Warnings of a workplace sickness 'free for all' over new expanded Covid symptom list and advice to 'stay at home' after end of taxpayer-funded testing No10's scrapping of free Covid tests combined with an expansion to the NHS list of symptoms will trigger a 'free for all' of staff absences, experts warned today. The vast majority of employees in England are now unable to get any free swabs as part of Boris Johnson's 'Living With Covid' strategy. But health chiefs advise people to 'stay at home' if they have any of the 12 newly-recognised symptoms, which can be 'very similar' to ones brought on by colds or the flu. It means, in the absence of a test, people suffering cold-like symptoms will be left to decide 'whether or not they stay at home and for how long', unions say. Lucy Moreton, a professional officer at the ISU, the union for borders, immigration and customs, warned that it is 'inevitable' staff will be off work with mild symptoms if they are unable to confirm whether or not they have Covid. Unions also fear the chaos will only drive transmission up, with Covid levels already at a pandemic high in England and one in 12 people thought to be currently infected. Only the elderly, most vulnerable and health and social care workers can access tests for free. Tests are, however, available at high street retailers such as Boots for 2. Advertisement

Dr Al Edwards, a pharmacy researcher at the University of Reading, said: 'The daily cases reported has always been dependent on people coming forward for testing, and has therefore not picked up every case.'

Pointing to the gold standard ONS surveillance data, he added: 'We get a much more accurate view of the number of people infected by studies designed to measure this.

'These surveys test random samples and are, therefore, able to accurately map how many people are infected.'

Some scientists, however, have criticised any potential move to ditch the daily Covid statistics,

Professor Lawrence Young, virologist from the University of Warwick, said: 'The absence of accurate daily updates will make it difficult to rapidly detect future outbreaks and to maintain surveillance for new variants.'

He also criticised the dismantling of the free Covid test regime, labelling it 'bonkers'. Professor Young added: 'You can't control virus infection if you don't know where the virus is and how it is spreading.'

Professor Young added that preventing people who bought a Covid test privately from reporting the result will be a disincentive to them buying a test in the first place.

'With having to pay for tests and not requiring results to be reported, the Government is actively disincentivising people to get tested,' he said.

Instructions provided in a Covid LFT test kit purchased from Boots says that, if testing positive, a person should: 'Contact your doctor/general practitioner or the local health department immediately'.

It also states a PCR test should be then carried out to confirm the result with people advised to also follow local guidelines for self-isolation.

Both confirmatory PCR tests and self-isolation requirements have been ditched in England, with infected people merely advised to take precautions regarding coming into contact with other people.

The increasing question of the reliability of the daily numbers comes as ministers press ahead with No10's 'Living With Covid' strategy.

Under theses rules only the elderly, most vulnerable and health and social care workers can access tests for free. Tests are, however, available at high street retailers such as Boots for 2.

While free testing has ended in England, it will continue during April in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and until the summer in Wales.
A rare rhino has finally given birth to a healthy calf in an Indonesian sanctuary after suffering a total of eight miscarriages spanning 17 years, bringing new hope for the species on the edge of extinction.

Amazing footage shows how workers at the sanctuary helped to make sure the calf was safe and healthy immediately following the birth, before allowing Rosa to spend some time with her newborn.

Moments later, the mother was seen nudging her calf to its feet as it began to take its wobbly first steps as overjoyed sanctuary workers looked on.

Rosa is a Sumatran rhino, a critically endangered species of which there are fewer than 80 specimens anywhere in the world, according to WWF estimates.

She first became pregnant in 2005 as part of a breeding programme designed to boost the species' numbers, but after losing eight consecutive calves the sanctuary had little hope she would ever become a mother.

But the birth of her calf last week at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, Way Kambas National Park (SRS) in Lampung Province, Indonesia, brings fresh hope that the species will survive.

Successful births are rare. The calf's father, named Andatu, was the first Sumatran rhino born in a sanctuary in more than 120 years. The calf is yet to be named

Amazing footage shows how workers at the sanctuary helped to make sure the calf was safe and healthy immediately following the birth, before allowing Rosa to spend some time with her newborn

Rosa is a Sumatran rhino, a critically endangered species of which there are fewer than 80 specimens anywhere in the world, according to WWF estimates

Moments later, the mother was seen nudging her calf to its feet as it began to take its wobbly first steps as overjoyed sanctuary workers looked on

'The birth of the Sumatran rhino is good news amid the efforts of the Indonesian government and partners to increase the Sumatran rhino population,' Wiratno, the director general of natural resources and ecosystem conservation of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MOEF), said in a statement.

'My deep gratitude for the work of the team of veterinarians and keepers who have continuously monitored the development of rhino Rosa's pregnancy and postnatal care.

'The Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary is the only place for the Sumatran rhino to breed naturally with the support of technology and collaboration of expertise, both from within and outside the country,' said Wiratno.

'The SRS seeks to produce as many young Sumatran rhinos as possible, according to safe conditions to maintain the survival of the Sumatran rhino species which is now threatened with extinction.'

The birth of Rosa's calf brings the total of Sumatran rhinos in captivity in Indonesia to eight - the rest of the critically endangered animals reside in the wild, mostly on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.

The International Rhino Federation (IRF) concurs with the WWF's estimate that there are fewer than 80 Sumatran rhinos are left alive today, and said the news of Rosa's newborn should be hailed as a 'momentous occasion'.

Sumatran rhinos are typically expected to live around 40 years, but the IRF believes the species will be extinct in a matter of decades without human intervention and protected breeding programmes.

'Rosa's pregnancy represents new hope for this critically endangered species,' Nina Fascione, executive director of the IRF, said in a statement.

'This is a momentous occasion for a critically imperiled species. We share the excitement of this birth with the world!'

Successful births of Sumatran rhinos are rare.

The calf's father, named Andatu, was the first Sumatran rhino born in a sanctuary in more than 120 years.

Multiple threats have brought the species to the brink of extinction, including climate change and poaching - rhino horn is often illegally traded for traditional Chinese medicine.

The Sumatran rhinoceros is the smallest of the world's five rhinoceros species, at around 1,540 to 1,760 pounds (700 to 800 kg), and they typically remain solitary except for mating and rearing offspring.

In the moments after the birth, Rosa waited patiently while sanctuary workers checked the newborn and toweled it off before making her way over

The birth of Rosa's calf brings the total of Sumatran rhinos in captivity in Indonesia to eight - the rest of the critically endangered animals reside in the wild, mostly on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo

'Rosa's pregnancy represents new hope for this critically endangered species,' Nina Fascione, executive director of the IRF, said in a statement

The species once had a wide range in Southeast Asia, from the foothills of the Himalayas down to Borneo and Sumatra, but in recent years the population has been decimated, with its numbers falling by about 70 per cent over the past two decades.

In April last year, researchers said that the few remaining Sumatran rhinos they had managed to study had unexpectedly good genetic health and surprisingly low levels of inbreeding, giving more hope that the species could survive.

'With such small population sizes, we were expecting much higher inbreeding in extant populations of Sumatran rhinoceros. So these findings were good news to us,' said Nicolas Dussex, a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Sweden who helped lead the study published in the journal Nature Communications.

'Our findings suggest that it may not be too late to find ways to preserve the genetic diversity of the species,' Dussex said.

Indonesia is also racing to save another critically endangered species -- the Javan rhino.

Once numbering in the thousands across Southeast Asia, fewer than 80 are alive today, mainly in a national park on Indonesia's main island of Java.

Efforts to conserve the species have shown promising results with the birth of five calves in Ujung Kulon National Park last year.
Queensland Police accidentally used a cartoon of Hitler as a police officer in its new domestic violence training on coercive control.

The embarrassing mistake was made when a creator of the training module mistook the cartoon for a police officer.

The cartoon was used in the place of a Queensland police officer questioning a domestic violence victim to learn if they are under coercive control.

'A silhouette image depicting a male officer in a peak cap was unintentionally used after searching 'police officer silhouette' on design program, Canva,' a spokesman said told The Courier Mail.

Queensland Police mistakenly used a cartoon of Hitler (left) as a police officer in its new domestic violence training on coercive control

The clipart can quickly be found online by searching 'Hitler cartoon silhouette' and depicts the dictator wearing a World War II German officer's cap and uniform

'The QPS unit responsible for training has taken immediate steps to remove the image.'

The clipart can quickly be found online by searching 'Hitler cartoon silhouette' and depicts the dictator wearing a World War II German officer's cap and uniform.

'What does it look like when they get angry? How often do they call you?' the example questions read.

The embarrassing mistake comes as the Queensland Police Service is under increased scrutiny for the domestic violence deaths of Doreen Langham and Hannah Clarke and her three children Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey.

Ms Langham's inquest heard from an officer who attended the scene without researching the criminal history of her ex partner and did not check the her home's rear door or windows for signs of a break in.

He said he believed police officers had recently only been offered reduced training due to Covid.

Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford last month said officers were given full domestic violence training and were monitored in the field by a mentor.

She said Queensland police officers had attended over 120,000 domestic violence calls in the last financial years.

A Queensland Police training module creator mistook a clipart of Hitler's side profile for a police officer

A survey found that 85 per cent of officers that completed the domestic violence coercive control training said it helped them to better understand coercive control behaviours

A survey found that 85 per cent of the 8,461 surveyed officers that completed the domestic violence coercive control training said it helped them to better understand and respond coercive control behaviours.

The training has been endorsed by several government and non-government bodies.

Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety and Queensland Domestic Family Violence & Death Review Advisory Unit have both endorsed the training.
Former President Donald Trump asked that a federal judge be disqualified from handling his racketeering case against Hillary Clinton and a slew of other Democrats because he was appointed by her husband, according to papers filed on Monday.

Last month Trump accused Clinton and a hit list of his favorite targets of trying to rig the 2016 election against him.

The case was assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks.

But Trump's lawyers said he was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1997, making him unsuitable to hear the case.

'Due to the fact that the Defendant, Hillary Clinton is being sued by her former opponent for the United States presidency, an election that she lost, regarding serious allegations on her part, as well as her allies, of engaging in fraudulent and unlawful activities against the plaintiff, and because her husband nominated Judge Middlebrooks to the Federal Bench, there exists a reasonable basis that Judge Middlebrooks impartiality will be questioned,' his lawyers Alina Habba and Peter Ticktin write.

Trump's 108-page suit reads like a who's who of rightwing conspiracy theory. t

The names include Christopher Steele, a former British spy who assembled a dossier of alleged links between Trump and Russia, James Comey, the then director of the FBI who investigated possible connections, and the Democratic National Committee.

Donald Trump's lawyers asked that U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks be disqualified from hearing his lawsuit against Hillary Clinton

Middlebrooks was appointed by Hillary Clinton's husband Bill in 1997

It accuses them of an 'unthinkable plot' to 'weave a false narrative' that Trump was working with a foreign power.

In the latest filing - first reported by Politico - Trump's lawyer's contend that Judge Middlebrooks could be seen as biased in overseeing a case against Clinton.

'There is no question that Judge Middlebrooks' impartiality would be questioned by a disinterested observer, fully informed of the facts, due to judge's relationship with the defendant, either, individually, or by the very nature of his appointment to the Federal Bench, by the defendants husband,' they write.

Motions to disqualify are rarely granted. But recusals sometime occur when the judge has worked on political campaigns or has a relationship with the defendant.

Trump, who beat Democratic nominee Clinton in the 2016 election, alleges racketeering, the theft of trade secrets, and 'conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood,' among other crimes.

'In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton and her cohorts orchestrated an unthinkable plot  one that shocks the conscience and is an affront to this nations democracy,' reads his complaint.

'Acting in concert, the defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty.

'The actions taken in furtherance of their scheme  falsifying evidence, deceiving law enforcement, and exploiting access to highly-sensitive data sources  are so outrageous, subversive and incendiary that even the events of Watergate pale in comparison.'

The suit demands an unspecified amount of punitive damages.

Former President Donald Trump launched a lawsuit on Thursday accusing Hillary Clinton, former British spy Christopher Steele, and indicted lawyer Michael Sussmann - among others - of conspiring against him to spread a false claim that his campaign was linked to Moscow

Also named in the case were former FBI Director James Comey, as well as agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, whose messages were seized on by Trump supporters to claim a plot

Trump's suit alleged that 'the defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty'

A federal investigation into Trump campaign's ties with Russia triggered a string of convictions when some of his associates were found to have lied about meeting with Russian officials.

And a 966-page report issued by a Republican-led U.S. Senate committee in August 2020 detailed how Russia used Trump ally Paul Manafort and the WikiLeaks website to try to power Trump to victory in the 2016 election.

But the episode has been used by Trump ever since to complain he was the victim of a witch hunt, providing with a cast of villains that have fuelled his rally addresses ever since.

Among the names is Jake Sullivan, who is now President Joe Biden's national security adviser. As well as FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, whose text messages were seized on by Trump and his supporter as evidence of a plot, Clinton's 2016 campaign manager Robbie Mook, and Charles Dolan, a PR consultant, who was connected to Steele's dossier.

The 108-page complaint turns his rhetoric into a lawsuit. It accuses Clinton and her allies of trying to create and leak false reports about ties between his campaign and Moscow.

Others named are President Joe Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Clinton's 2016 campaign manager Robbie Mook, and spin doctor Charles Dolan

Clinton lost the 2016 election to Trump, but the case alleges that it was just the start of attempts by her supporters to undermine him and his administration

When those reports were proved false, Clinton's allies took another course of action.

'On a separate front, [indicted lawyer Michael] Sussmann would commission the information technology company, Neustar, to brazenly hack servers from highly-sensitive locations  including Donald J. Trumps private residence, Trump Tower, and, most shockingly, the White House  to uncover proprietary data that could then be manipulated to give the impression that Trump was engaged in illegitimate business with a Russian bank, Alfa Bank,' alleges the complaint.

Those hacking allegations triggered a storm in conservative media circles earlier this year.

In a February court filing, John Durham, the special counsel appointed to probe the FBI's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, alleged that a tech executive 'exploited' access to White House data to locate damning information about Trump.

The former president seized on the document to claim he was right to say that he had been hacked during the 2016 election.

But factcheckers were quick to point out that Trump was not in the White House at the time and that the data in question were often passed to third parties in order to hunt down for fraudsters of bad actors.

Even so, the details have provided the former president with ammunition for his rally appearances and TV interviews, even as allies have quietly tried to nudge him away from trotting out historical grievances.

The case was brought by Florida attorney Peter Ticktin, center, who was Trump's platoon sergeant when they both attended New York Military Academy

The case, filed on Thursday, offers a who's who of grievances dating back to the 2016 election

The legal team who prepared the suit included a new name in the Trump team. Peter Ticktin, a courtroom litigator based an hour down the Florida coast from Mar-a-Lago, was Trump's platoon sergeant when they both attended New York Military Academy.

The suit, lodged in the Southern District of Florida, claims that the defendants efforts began in 2016 but continued after their defeat in an effort to discredit the Trump administration.

'In short, the defendants, blinded by political ambition, orchestrated a malicious conspiracy to disseminate patently false and injurious information about Donald J. Trump and his campaign, all in the hopes of destroying his life, his political career and rigging the 2016 presidential election in favor of Hillary Clinton,' reads the complaint.

'When their gambit failed, and Donald J. Trump was elected, the Defendants efforts continued unabated, merely shifting their focus to undermining his presidential administration.'

Trump has faced a string of legal woes since leaving office.

A House committee is investigating the Jan. 6 violence, when Trump's supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol last year.

And his businesses have been under scrutiny in both civil and criminal investigations in New York.
A Republican-proposed bill in Tennessee would remove the age limit for when couple's could exchange wedding vows and clear the way for 'common-law marriages' between 'one man and one woman.'

Representative Tom Leatherwood, 65, of Arlington, introduced the bill into the state's House that would eliminate the current age requirement of 17 and allow for 'alternative forms of marriage' to those who 'conscientiously object to the current pathway to marriage.'

'So, all this bill does is give an alternative form of marriage for those pastors and other individuals who have a conscientious objection to the current pathway to marriage in our law,' the Republican father-of-five said, according to WJHL. 'There is not an explicit age limit.'

Opponents are worried if the bill passes into law, it could be used to cover up child sex abuse and statutory rape.

Bill sponsor Tom Leatherwood, 65, is proposing 'alternative forms of marriage' to those who 'conscientiously object to the current pathway to marriage'

The bill would eliminate statues on marriage licensing and ceremonies and limit the courts in cases involving the definition of 'common-law marriages.' The House is set to hear the bill on Wednesday

Democratic Nashville Representative Mike Stewart, 57, called the bill a 'get-out-of-jail-free card for people who are basically committing statutory rape'

Democratic Nashville Representative Mike Stewart, 57, called the bill a 'get-out-of-jail-free card for people who are basically committing statutory rape.'

'I mean its completely ridiculous, so thats another reason why this terrible bill should be eliminated,' he said. 'I dont think any normal person thinks we shouldnt have an age requirement for marriage.'

Tennessee is currently the 13th largest state per capita for child marriages, trailing Texas, Alabama, Utah, Oklahoma, and Nevada, which is tops since 2018. Texas has married roughly 42,000 children, the biggest number of children per state, while California has married off roughly 24,000 and Tennessee almost 10,000.

Under the current Tennessee law, a person can get married as young as 17 as long as they have parental consent. It only became illegal for minors under the age of 17 to get married in 2018. Prior to that, Tennesseans could bypass the age requirement as long as a judge waived the age limit through parental consent.

Same-sex marriages were banned by Tennessee in 1996 before the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in 2015 made it legal in all 50 states.

Leatherwood's bill comes after Florida passed the Parental Rights Act - which has been dubbed the 'Don't Say Gay' bill - which Republicans are using to ban the discussion of sex and gender in the classroom. Republicans have increasingly claimed that liberals advocating to strike down the bill are 'grooming' and 'sexualizing' children by indoctrinating them.

The Sexual Assault Center of Middle Tennessee has also denounced Leatherwood's bill, saying it 'does not believe the age of consent for marriage should be any younger than it already is.'

'It makes children more vulnerable to coercion and manipulation from predators, sexual and other,' the organization said in a statement.

According to UNICEF, roughly 300,000 Americans were married before turning 18 between 2000 to 2018.

Roughly one in five women will be married prior to turning 18, leaving 10million girls at risk. Before the pandemic, roughly 100,000 girls worldwide were expected to marry before the legal age, but that has since spiked to the millions, the agency said.

Nearly 300,000 children were married underage from 2000 to 2018. Since the pandemic started, 10million girls are at risk of becoming a child bride

Underage marriages largely affect girls, with boys experiencing it roughly only a sixth of the time, according to UNICEF.

The organization also reported that child marriages often lead to domestic abuse, children dropping out of school, and adolescent girls becoming pregnant and facing high-risk pregnancies.

Only six states in the US ban underage marriages. Those states are: Delaware, New Jersey, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and New York.

The Tennessee bill also proposes that the state should have to defend any clerk who refuses to issue a marriage license.

The Tennessee House of Representatives' Civil Justice Committee is set to hear the bill on Wednesday. It has already passed 6-3 in the state's Senate committee hearing.

Leatherwood has been a house member of the 111th and the current 112th General Assemblies and is the current Vice Chair of the Health Committee. He was also a Senate member of the 98th through 101st General Assemblies.

A Tennessee bill is proposing to remove the age limit from 'common-law marriages,' leaving the opposition scared it could cover up child sex abuse
Finland and Sweden would be welcomed into NATO if they applied to join, the head of the alliance has said today, in what would be a major blow for Russia amid Vladimir Putin's faltering invasion of Ukraine.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO general secretary, told a news conference that the 30-member alliance would work to overcome 'security concerns' between the countries applying to join and being ratified - amid fears Russia would retaliate.

He spoke after Finland's prime minister Sanna Marin said her country could take a decision on joining the alliance within weeks and polls in Sweden also showed a majority of people support membership.

If either country opts to join the alliance, it would mark an historic reconstruction of European security architecture that has held since the end of the Second World War.

Sweden and Finland would be 'welcome' in NATO if they decided to join, the head of the alliance has said (pictured, Swedish tanks take part in a NATO drill in March)

Finland, which fought a short but bloody conflict with the Soviets in the build-up to World War Two, has been officially neutral since signing a pact in 1948.

As part of the pact, Finland agreed never to join a military alliance viewed as hostile to Russia, never to allow its territory to be used for an attack against Russia, and to maintain an armed forces for self-defence purposes only.

In return, the country - which shares an 830-mile border with Russia - was given guarantees by Moscow that it would not be attacked.

But, following Putin's invasion of Ukraine which had also been given security guarantees in return for giving up Soviet nukes on its territory, Ms Marin said her country needs to re-think its foreign policy.

'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,' she said.

Foreign minister Pekka Haavisto said Russia's actions in Ukraine have 'totally changed the security landscape in Finland' and added that Finland must be prepared for 'more negative military scenarios'.

Meanwhile polls in Sweden, which also has a long-standing neutrality agreement with Russia, show 60 per cent of people now favour joining NATO if Finland does.

Jens Stoltenberg said NATO would work to overcome security concerns between countries applying to join the alliance and being ratified, amid fears of retaliation by Russia

It comes after a series of menacing moves by the Russian military during the early days of the Ukraine war, including four fighter jets that violated the country's airspace over the strategic Gotland island in the Baltic Sea.

Stockholm has since revealed that two of the jets were carrying nuclear bombs.

'Finland and Sweden are getting frequent warnings from Russia,' Chiara Ruffa, associate professor in war studies at the Swedish Defense University, told FRANCE 24 last month.

'Nobody really believes that an attack is imminent, but it has become very clear that we are going to need to prepare for that eventuality,' she added.

Russia has previously warned of 'serious military and political consequences' if either Finland or Sweden join the alliance.

Sergei Belyayev, the director of the Second European Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said moves to become part of NATO would force Moscow to 'revise the entire range of relations with these countries and take retaliatory measures'.

Both Finland and Sweden have drawn closer to NATO in recent years as Russia has become more belligerent with its neighbours, and in March fielded a joint brigade as part of a training exercise in Norway despite not being a member of the alliance.

The exercise was long planned, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 added intensity to the war game.

Finland and Sweden are both reviewing their long-standing neutrality agreements with Russia after Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine back in February (pictured)

'We would be rather naive not to recognise that there is a threat,' Swedish Major Stefan Nordstrom told Reuters.

'The security situation in the whole of Europe has changed and we have to accept that, and we have to adapt.'

Stoltenberg announced in early March that NATO was now sharing all information on the war in Ukraine with Sweden and Finland.

Both countries regularly attend NATO meetings. At the exercises in Norway, Stoltenberg said 'no other countries in the world' are closer partners.

But he noted an important difference: 'The absolute security guarantees that we provide for NATO allies, are only for NATO allies.'

As non-members, Finland and Sweden's combined population of 16 million don't have the protection of NATO's guarantee that an attack on one ally is an attack on all.

Stoltenberg has said it would be possible to allow Finland and Sweden in 'quite quickly.'

NATO has not commented on what a fast-track process would be; a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense said any decision would be taken by the countries themselves but their accession would need to be agreed by all 30 allies.

'President Putin wants less NATO on Russia's borders,' Stoltenberg said in January, also referring to more allied troops in southeastern Europe, Poland and the Baltics. 'But he is getting more NATO.'
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Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian of 'war crimes' as he shared harrowing footage revealing the true horrors of war during a fiery speech to the Security Council as he slammed the UN body for failing to protect Ukraine.

Members of the UN Security Council were left in stunned silence as the Ukrainian president warned Russia had 'committed genocide' in the country and shared dozens of pictures of charred bodies, civillians shot dead and mass graves taken in Bucha, Irpin and Mariupol in recent days.

The wartime leader said atrocities have been carried out throughout the country, with women raped and killed in front of their families, people captured and deported to Russia and turned into 'slaves' in his blistering address as he demanded Putin be brought to justice for the alleged atrocities.

He called out the Security Council for failing to provide any security, demanding Russia's expulsion from the global body and reform to ensure no further illegal invasions in the future.

The Ukrainian president asked: 'So where is the security that the Security Council needs to guarantee? It's not there. Although there is a Security Council and so where is the peace?

'It is obvious that the key institution of the world which must ensure the coercion of any aggressor to peace simply cannot work effectively.'

He told of civilians being run over deliberately by tanks, people's tongues being cut out and gang rapes being committed by invading Kremlin forces in 'the most terrible war crimes' since the Second World War, as he shared a harrowing video of burnt corpses and bodies stuffed in wells to the council.

People 'were killed in their apartments, houses... civilians were crushed by tanks while sitting in their cars in the middle of the road, just for their pleasure,' Zelensky told the Council, including Moscow's envoy.

In Bucha, advancing Ukrainian units met discovered hundreds of bodies strewn all over residential roads in the suburban town that was once home to 28,000 people.

'The massacre in our city of Bucha is unfortunately only one of many examples of what the occupiers have been doing on our land for the past 41 days', Zelensky added.

The Ukrainian president said atrocities have been carried out throughout the country, with women raped and killed in front of their families

The UN Security Council is shown a barrowing image of dog lying in the road next to its owner who has been shot dead in Bucha, Ukraine

Images showing piles of dead bodies in the besieged city of Mariupol are shown to global leaders on Tuesday

Soldiers and investigators look at charred bodies lying on the ground in Bucha today where Russia has been accused of war crimes

Russia's envoy Vassily Nebenzia (pictured) predictably dismissed the claims as 'lies' as he repeated unfounded Kremlin claims about Nazis running Ukraine

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (pictured) has said Russia's invasion of Ukraine is one of the greatest challenges ever to international order

The Mariupol theatre lies in ruins after Russian shelling in the besieged port city

Nina, 74, reacts as she walks past buildings that were destroyed by Russian shelling, amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in Borodyanka, in the Kyiv region of Ukraine

A satellite image taken of a street in the city of Bucha on March 19 - when Russian forces were in full control of the city - shows dark objects in the road that exactly match where civilian corpses were later discovered by Ukrainian troops

Zelensky showed pictures from Bucha displaying the mass murder of civilians at the hands of Russian soldiers

A mass grave was discovered in the grounds of the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints in Bucha, containing the bodies of dozens of civilians

'History will remember who looked the other way': Boris Johnson pleads with Russians in their own language to seek out 'the truth' of Putin's horrific war crimes in Ukraine By David Wilcock and Jack Wright for MailOnline Boris Johnson tonight directly appealed to Russians in their own language to seek out 'the truth' of Putin's illegal war in Ukraine, calling alleged atrocities in Bucha a 'stain' on the country's global standing and warning: 'History will remember who looked the other way'. In a video message posted online, the British Prime Minister urged the Russian public to get round Putin's repressive controls on the media by seeking out for themselves 'the truth' of what was happening from independent news outlets online. Grisly images of what are claimed to be civilian massacres allegedly carried out by Russian forces in Bucha before they withdrew from the outskirts of Kyiv have stirred a global outcry in recent days, and prompted Western nations to expel dozens of Moscow's diplomats and propose further sanctions, including a ban on coal imports from Russia. Boris Johnson directly appealed to Russians in their own language to seek out 'the truth' of Putin's illegal war in Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of committing 'genocide' in Ukraine, comparing Moscow's military to the Islamic State terror group in a video address to the UN Security Council and demanding that Putin be brought to justice for his alleged atrocities. The Kremlin claimed the images of civilians were 'fake news' and 'a crude forgery' staged by the Ukrainians themselves. Moscow's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia insisted that while Bucha was under Russian control, 'not a single local person has suffered from any violent action'. He added: 'You only saw what they showed you. The only ones who would fall for this are Western dilettantes.' In his message on Tuesday night, Johnson said the reports were so shocking that Putin had deliberately sought to hide the truth from his people, adding: 'Your president knows that if you could see what was happening, you would not support his war. 'He knows that these crimes betray the trust of every Russian mother who proudly waves goodbye to her son as he heads off to join the military. And he knows they are a stain on the honour of Russia itself. A stain that will only grow larger and more indelible every day this war continues.' Johnson said that people only needed a VPN connection to access independent information from around the world: 'When you find the truth, share it. Those responsible will be held to account. And history will remember who looked the other way.' Speaking in Russian, he added: 'Your president stands accused of committing war crimes. But I cannot believe he's acting in your name'. Advertisement

The wartime leader said he feared Russians turning his people into 'silent slaves' as he said 'hundreds of thousands' of Ukrainians have been deported to Russia.

Zelensky's words were reiterated by Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S ambassador to the UN, who said tens of thousands of captured Ukrainians were being separated from family in 'filtration camps' where their personal possessions were confiscated.

She told the security council: 'I do not need to spell out what these so-called filtration camps are reminiscent of. It's chilling, and we cannot look away'.

Zelensky also urged reform of the UN because the current system of global security has failed, and called on world leaders to act 'immediately' against Russia.

Russia's envoy predictably dismissed the claims as 'lies' as he repeated unfounded Kremlin claims about Nazis running Ukraine and said allegations of atrocities have not been confirmed.

The Kremlin claimed the images of civilians were 'fake news' and 'a crude forgery' staged by the Ukrainians themselves. Moscow's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia insisted that while Bucha was under Russian control, 'not a single local person has suffered from any violent action'. He added: 'You only saw what they showed you. The only ones who would fall for this are Western dilettantes.'

Nebenzia said Moscow places 'on your conscience the unfounded accusations against the Russian military, which are not confirmed by any eye witnesses.'

He rejected allegations of war crimes, claiming there are 'flagrant inconsistencies in events shown by Ukrainian and Western media'.

The diplomat repeated disproved claims that corpses found in Bucha were not there when Russia withdrew, saying: 'The corpses in no way resemble those that could be lying on the street for three or four days.'

But satellite images shows corpses on the street nearly two weeks before the Russian departure.

In a video address to the people of Russia on Tuesday night, Boris Johnson, speaking in Russian, said the reports were so shocking that Putin had deliberately sought to hide the truth from his people, adding: 'Your president knows that if you could see what was happening, you would not support his war.

'He knows that these crimes betray the trust of every Russian mother who proudly waves goodbye to her son as he heads off to join the military. And he knows they are a stain on the honour of Russia itself. A stain that will only grow larger and more indelible every day this war continues.'

Meanwhile UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said Russia's invasion of Ukraine is one of the greatest challenges ever to international order.

Speaking to the Security Council in New York, the UN chief said there is mounting evidence of war crimes, rapes and sexual assaults by Putin's forces.

He said, referencing the piles of civilians bodies near the capital of Kyiv which emerged this weekend: 'I will never forget the horrifying images of the civilians in Bucha.'

'The war in Ukraine must stop - now,' Guterres told the Council, after calling it 'one of the greatest challenges ever to the international order.'

'We need serious negotiations for peace, based on the principles of the United Nations Charter,' he said.

Guterres said the war was putting even more pressure on the developing world, with more than 1.2billion people particularly vulnerable to to spiking food, energy and fertilizer costs.

'We are already seeing some countries move from vulnerability into crisis, and signs of serious social unrest,' he added.

UN undersecretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo told the meeting of 'credible' claims Russia has used indiscriminate cluster munitions two dozen times in populated parts of Ukraine.

She said: 'OHCHR has received credible allegations that Russian forces have used cluster munitions in populated areas at least 24 times.'

She said the global body was 'gravely concerned by the persistent use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area,' saying such weapons are causing the most civilian casualties in the war.

Finland and Sweden would be welcomed into NATO if they applied to join, Secretary-General Stoltenberg says  as Russia warns of retaliation Finland and Sweden would be welcomed into NATO if they applied to join, the head of the alliance has said today, in what would be a major blow for Russia amid Vladimir Putin's faltering invasion of Ukraine. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO general secretary, told a news conference that the 30-member alliance would work to overcome 'security concerns' between the countries applying to join and being ratified - amid fears Russia would retaliate. He spoke after Finland's prime minister Sanna Marin said her country could take a decision on joining the alliance within weeks and polls in Sweden also showed a majority of people support membership. If either country opts to join the alliance, it would mark an historic reconstruction of European security architecture that has held since the end of the Second World War. Finland, which fought a short but bloody conflict with the Soviets in the build-up to World War Two, has been officially neutral since signing a pact in 1948. As part of the pact, Finland agreed never to join a military alliance viewed as hostile to Russia, never to allow its territory to be used for an attack against Russia, and to maintain an armed forces for self-defence purposes only. In return, the country - which shares an 830-mile border with Russia - was given guarantees by Moscow that it would not be attacked. Advertisement

During a visit on Monday to Bucha, where AFP counted 20 bodies on a single street, he accused Russia of 'war crimes' and attempted 'genocide' and asked Europe to apply the 'most severe pressure'.

The head of NATO, meanwhile, warned that Russia is regrouping its forces in order to deploy them to eastern and southern Ukraine for a 'crucial phase of the war,' and said that more 'atrocities' may come to light as Russian troops continue to pull back in the north.

'When and if they withdraw their troops and Ukrainian troops take over, I'm afraid they will see more mass graves, more atrocities and more examples of of war crimes,' NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

Among the horrors inflicted on Bucha are a man who had his cheek cut out before being shot in the heart, another who was kidnapped and burned with a flamethrower, and a 'torture chamber' filled with bodies inside a children's hospital:

Survivors of a month-long Russian occupation - endured in cold, dark silence after Putin's troops cut off all links with the outside world - are just now starting to emerge from basements and makeshift bunkers.

Vladislav Kozlovsky, who returned to Bucha at the outbreak of war to care for his mother and grandmother, told The Telegraph how two men he knew had tried to escape through an abandoned glass factory but were found by the Russians.

One was shot in the back of the head. The other had his cheek cut out before being shot in the heart.

Volodymyr Pilhutskyi, another Bucha resident, recounted how his neighbour was taken away by Russian troops because he was wearing military-style trousers which were deemed 'suspicious'.

He was tortured and killed, Mr Pilhutskyi said, with burn marks from a flamethrower found on his body.

Ukrainian armed forces say they have now uncovered a Russian torture chamber, located inside a children's hospital that was also being used as a makeshift barracks.

The bodies of five men were found shot to death in the basement, a spokesman said, with their hands tied behind their backs. Some had been tortured.

Graphic images taken by Ukrainian prosecutors show the bodies of the men lying on a rubble floor surrounded by pools of dried blood. At least one appears to have been shot through the kneecap.

Tanya Nedashkivs'ka, 57, weeps in the street over the death of her husband who was found killed as Ukrainian forces liberated the city of Bucha, to the west of Kyiv, after a month under the occupation of Russian troops

Ukrainian soldiers claim to have uncovered a Russian torture chamber in the basement of a children's hospital where five men - their hands tied behind their backs - were brutalised before being shot dead

Serhii Lahovskyi, 26, and other residents carry the body of Ihor Lytvynenko to bury him in Bucha, April 5, 2022

Serhii Lahovskyi, 26, hugs Ludmyla Verginska, 51, as they mourn their common friend Ihor Lytvynenko, following his burial at the garden of a residential building in Bucha, April 5, 2022

People light candles as they hold a vigil for those killed in Bucha and the surrounding areas on April 5, 2022 in Lviv

Pictured: A Russian military vehicle (top-left) is seen in drone footage positioned on a road moments after a cyclist turned the corner into the street. The vehicle opened fire

Boris Johnson, Joe Biden and Scott Morrison agree to develop hypersonic missile technology in latest strengthening of AUKUS security pact that infuriated Macron By Jacob Thorburn for MailOnline The UK, US and Australia today announced a new step in their partnership that will see them develop hypersonic weaponry in a bid to counteract the high-speed missiles constructed by Russia and China. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison issued an agreed statement on Tuesday in which they reiterated 'unwavering commitment' to an international system which 'respects human rights'. The three countries, which form the AUKUS military pact which was announced last September, committed to 'commence new trilateral co-operation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing and to deepen co-operation on defence innovation'. The announcement comes after China successfully completed tests of its own version of the deadly weapon, WU-14, in recent years, as well as Russia claiming the first deployment of hypersonic missiles in an active theatre of war last month. Initially surrounding submarines, Mr Johnson previously suggested the alliance could go beyond that and, on Tuesday, the three leaders said: 'We reaffirmed our commitment to Aukus and to a free and open Indo-Pacific. 'In light of Russia's unprovoked, unjustified, and unlawful invasion of Ukraine, we reiterated our unwavering commitment to an international system that respects human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes free from coercion.' The leaders also said they were 'pleased with the progress' Australia was making in the development of nuclear-powered submarines. They added: 'We also committed today to commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing and to deepen co-operation on defence innovation. 'These initiatives will add to our existing efforts to deepen co-operation on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and additional undersea capabilities. 'As our work progresses on these, and other critical defence and security capabilities, we will seek opportunities to engage allies and close partners.' Hypersonic missiles, like traditional ballistic missiles which can deliver nuclear weapons, can fly at more than five times the speed of sound. While ballistic missiles fly high into space in an arc to reach their target, a hypersonic weapon flies on a trajectory low in the atmosphere, potentially reaching a target more quickly. Crucially, a hypersonic missile is manoeuvrable - like the much slower, often subsonic cruise missile - making it much harder to track and defend against. The initial announcement of the AUKUS pact caused outrage in Paris, as the submarine deal came at the expense of a lucrative agreement between Australia and France to provide diesel-electric boats. Advertisement

As western leaders condemned the killings in Bucha, Italy, Spain and Denmark expelled dozens of Russian diplomats, following moves by Germany and France. Hundreds of Russian diplomats have been sent home since the start of the invasion, many accused of being spies.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the expulsions a 'short-sighted' measure that would complicate communication and warned they would be met with 'reciprocal steps'.

In another show of support, the European Union's executive branch proposed a ban on coal imports from Russia, in what would be the first sanctions from the bloc targeting the country's lucrative energy industry over the war. The coal imports amount to an estimated 4 billion euros (3.3billion) per year.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the EU needed to increase the pressure on Putin after what she described as 'heinous crimes' carried out around Kyiv, with evidence that Russian troops may have deliberately killed Ukrainian civilians.

She did not mention natural gas, with consensus among the 27 EU member countries on targeting the fuel used to generate electricity and heat homes more difficult to secure.

The EU gets about 40% of its natural gas from Russia, and many EU countries, including Germany  the bloc's largest economy  are opposed to cutting off gas imports.

So far, Europe had not been willing to target Russian energy over fears that it would plunge the European economy into recession but the recent reports of civilian killings have increased pressure for tougher EU sanctions.

The US and the UK previously announced they were cutting off Russian oil, Poland said it plans to block imports of coal and oil from Russia, while Lithuania said it is no longer using Russian natural gas.

It comes as drone footage revealed today appeared to show Russian tanks opening fire on a cyclist in Bucha.

Footage of the attack in the Kyiv Oblast town shows a man walking his bicycle up a street, apparently unaware that several Russian tanks lay in wait around the corner.

Another video purportedly showed the aftermath of the attack after Bucha was reclaimed from Moscow's clutches in recent days. In it, a person believed to be the same man can be seen dead on the side of the road next to his bicycle.

In the first video, captured on March 3, the drone appears to be watching the Russian tank column, but the footage also tracks the man as he is walking up the road that runs through a neighbourhood of destroyed or damaged buildings.

The operator of the drone repeatedly pans upwards, showing a long queue of military vehicles - including tanks, armoured personnel carriers and trucks - positioned between buildings, on the next street over from the man.

As the cyclist continues down the street - first on his bicycle and then on foot, pushing it along side him - the drone focuses more on his movement up the road.

Putin seeing red: Truss says sanctions turning Russian economy into Soviet-style mess 'Crippling' Western sanctions are returning the Russian economy to a mess last seen in the communist era, Liz Truss said today as she urged the allies to tighten the screw on the Putin regime. The Foreign Secretary spoke after meeting the Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau and PM Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw as she pushes for 'maximum' sanctions. Ms Truss is expected to push for harder action at a G7 meeting on Thursday, while Boris Johnson will encourage Germany to set a date for phasing out Russian gas when he meets Chancellor Scholz in Downing Street on Friday. Mr Morawiecki has criticised German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for focusing on the 'voices of German businesses' rather than the innocents slain in Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary highlighted the impact of the economic constrictions carried out so far on the Russian economy, saying: 'We have frozen over 350 billion US dollars (266billion) of Putin's war chest, making over 60 per cent of the regime's 604 billion US dollars (459 billion) foreign currency reserves unavailable. 'Our co-ordinated sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back to the Soviet era.' Meanwhile, senior Tories have urged the UK to drop the commitment that only 'defensive' weapons should be sent to Ukraine, after Volodymyr Zelensky asked for tanks and heavy artillery. Advertisement

He is shown nearing a junction in the road and turns left down a narrower street, where an armoured vehicle and a tank are positioned around 150ft away.

As soon as he turns the corner into the side road, a flash is seen from the armoured vehicle's turret, and a rocket is shown flying through the air.

Russia's death toll in Ukraine is nearing 20,000, Kyiv has claimed, as Ukraine continues to push back invading Kremlin troops and retake 'key terrain' around the capital and Chernihiv.

Putin's forces are retreating from major cities in the west as they refocus their efforts on the Donbas, with 60,000 Russian reservists expected to be called in to reinforce Moscow's offensive in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk provinces claimed by separatists.

The brutal siege of Mariupol is continuing where the Ukrainian civilian death toll has risen to 5,000, while a nitric acid tank in Rubizhne, Luhansk, has been shelled, forcing civilians to remain inside their homes with their windows shut.

A red and brown cloud of poisonous smoke prompted warnings to residents to wear wet face masks after the release of the dangerous chemical, which both sides blamed on the other.

Luhansk governor Sergiy Gaiday said Russia is planning a major attack in the region as he ordered a mass evacuation, saying: 'We understand that they are preparing for a full-scale big breakthrough. Please don't wait for your homes to be bombed.'

Meanwhile, Ukraine's general staff said Russia has again used banned cluster munitions in Mykolaiv, targeting civilian buildings including a children hospital in a horrific attack which has killed 11 and wounded 61.

British defence officials said 'low-level fighting is likely to continue in some parts of the newly recaptured regions, but diminish significantly over this week as the remainder of Russian forces withdraw' from Kyiv and Chernihiv.

In an intelligence update posted online, the UK says many of the Russian units 'are likely to require significant re-equipping and refurbishment before being available to redeploy for operations in eastern Ukraine.'

It comes as the UK, US and Australia today announced a new step in their partnership that will see them develop hypersonic weaponry in a bid to counteract the high-speed missiles constructed by Russia and China.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison issued an agreed statement on Tuesday in which they reiterated 'unwavering commitment' to an international system which 'respects human rights'.

The three countries, which form the AUKUS military pact which was announced last September, committed to 'commence new trilateral co-operation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing and to deepen co-operation on defence innovation'.

The announcement comes after China successfully completed tests of its own version of the deadly weapon, WU-14, in recent years, as well as Russia claiming the first deployment of hypersonic missiles in an active theatre of war last month.

Initially surrounding submarines, Mr Johnson previously suggested the alliance could go beyond that and, on Tuesday, the three leaders said: 'We reaffirmed our commitment to Aukus and to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

'In light of Russia's unprovoked, unjustified, and unlawful invasion of Ukraine, we reiterated our unwavering commitment to an international system that respects human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes free from coercion.'

Russia has shelled a nitric acid tank in Rubizhne as the chairman of Luhansk ordered everyone to remain inside and close their windows

A red and yellow cloud of poisonous smoke prompted warnings to residents to wear wet face masks after the suspected deliberate shelling of a dangerous chemical

A Ukrainian service member walks near an abandoned Russian tank in Vablya in Kyiv region, April 5, 2022

Field engineers of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine stand next to destroyed armoured vehicles on a street in the town of Bucha, on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, April 5, 2022

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that even though Ukraine is taking back the capital, he urged civilians not to return for 'at least another week', with explosives left around the city. Pictured: teams work to clear explosives

The wreckage of a car is seen at the central square of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv, as Russian troops start to withdraw from the capital

A body is carried at a school in Bucha where Russia has been accused of carrying out war crimes after piles of corpses were found following Ukraine's recapture

Other measures proposed by the EU's executive arm include sanctions on more individuals and four key Russian banks, including the second-largest, VTB.

'These four banks, which we now totally cut off from the markets, represent 23% of market share in the Russian banking sector,' Von der Leyen said. 'This will further weaken Russia's financial system.'

If the proposal is adopted unanimously by all 27 EU countries, the new package of sanctions would also ban Russian vessels and Russian-operated vessels from EU ports, with exceptions for essentials such as agricultural and food products, and humanitarian aid and energy.

Further targeted export bans worth 10 billion euros (8.3 billion) have been proposed in sectors covering quantum computers, advanced semiconductors, sensitive machinery and transportation equipment.

Von der Leyen said: 'With this, we will continue to degrade Russia's technological base and industrial capacity.'

According to EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, 62% of Russia's exports to the EU were hydrocarbons last year.

'If we really want to affect Russia's economy, that's where we need to look,' he said. 'And that's exactly what is subject to discussions concerning this sanctions package.'

Because of its climate ambitions, the EU has been moving away from coal. Coal use fell from 1.2 billion tons a year to 427 million tons between 1990 and 2020, but imports rose from 30% to 60% of coal use.

The European Union gets about 25% of its oil from Russia, while the EU imported 53% of hard coal from the country in 2020, which accounted for 30% of the EU's hard coal consumption.

Russian coal would be easier to replace than Russian gas because coal comes by ship and there are multiple global suppliers. Germany's association of coal importers said in March that Russian coal could be replaced 'in a few months'.

Analysts at the Bruegel think tank said in March that Germany and Poland were particularly reliant on Russian coal for power generation and that 'Russian coal can be replaced because global markets are well supplied and flexible'.

But they added that 'replacing Russian coal imports will require the lightspeed deployment of new supply chains to bring the right type of coal where it is needed. Most European coal users already source from different suppliers and should be able to build on existing relationships'.

But the switch would mean more import demand from Europe and higher global coal prices, with significant effects on emerging and developed economies that also rely on coal.
Dozens of European mayors walked out of a United Nations meeting today as a senior Russian diplomat delivered an address blaming Ukrainian authorities for a humanitarian catastrophe in the eastern city of Kharkiv.

Alexander Alimov, Russia's deputy permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, delivered his comments after Kharkiv's mayor described the damage to his city caused by Vladimir Putin's invading forces.

Alimov accused the Ukrainian army of blocking humanitarian corridors and alleging that a far-right militia had set up in a school. He did not provide evidence for his assertions, which were rejected by Kharkiv's mayor as 'distortions'.

Many of the other mayors attending the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) forum walked out during Alimov's speech in protest.

Video from inside the meeting chamber in Geneva's Palais des Nations showed several people picking up their belongings and leaving as Alimov appeared on screen to address the delegates. Many other seats are shown already empty.

The walk-out came after Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov had spoken. By contrast, he was greeted with a standing ovation from the roughly 45 attendees - all mayors of various cities from across Europe.

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Dozens of mayors walked out of a UN meeting today as a senior Russian diplomat delivered an address blaming Ukrainian authorities for a humanitarian catastrophe in the city of Kharkiv

Kharkiv - a city of about 1.5 million people situated 15 miles from the Russian border - has been hammered by Russian air and rocket strikes since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, reducing some neighbourhoods to rubble.

On March 17, Kharkiv police said 250 people in the city had been killed, including 13 children. However, the force said it only counts those that it has been able to record itself. The true figure is feared to be much higher.

Russia denies targeting civilians and has rejected emerging evidence of civilian killings in towns near Kyiv, now retaken from Russian forces, as 'fakes'.

Ukraine's defence ministry said on Monday Russia was preparing to launch a fresh assault in eastern Ukraine to try to take Kharkiv, the country's second largest city, and encircle the heavily fortified eastern frontline.

'Due to the criminal policy of the Kyiv authorities a real humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in the city,' Alimov said.

'Kharkiv residents are held hostage by radicals and cannot leave the humanitarian corridors,' he added, saying that 6,500 foreign nationals from 19 countries were among the 'hostages'.

In the same speech, he said that the far-right Azov battalion had set up in a Kharkiv school and that civilians were being denied hospital care in favour of soldiers.

Pictured: The mayor of Kharkiv receives a standing ovation on Tuesday during a meeting of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in Geneva

A man walks in the rubble of a destroyed building in Kharkiv, April 2, 2022

A couple walks in front of shops destroyed by Russian shelling in Kharkov, Ukraine, April 3

People arrive at the main train station on the train from Kharkiv on April 5, in Lviv, Ukraine

Alimov also alleged that the Ukrainian army was placing heavy military equipment in residential areas.

Later reacting to Alimov's comments, Terekhov said: 'I am stunned by what I heard because those facts that were just listed are distortions.'

Earlier in the same meeting, Kharkiv's mayor said that 1,600 Kharkiv buildings had been destroyed by Russian weaponry, including dozens of schools, kindergartens and hospitals.

Around 30 percent of the residents have left while others are forced to squat in the ruins of their homes, Terekhov said.

'Every day we find new levels of destruction. Believe you me, you cannot look at this damage without tears in your eyes and a deep pain in your heart.'

The walkout was reminiscent of a similar protest last month, when dozens of diplomats from around the world walked out during a speech by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a Geneva disarmament conference.

MARCH 1: Diplomats from countries including Britain, United States and France stand up and walk out of the room when Lavrov's pre-recorded video message to the U.N. Human Rights Council began to play last month

UN diplomats stood in a circle outside the meeting for the duration of Lavrov's speech, holding a Ukrainian flag, on March 1

Zoo in Kharkiv prepares to kill its lions, tigers and bears in case Russian shelling allows them to escape A zoo in Ukraine on the point of making the heartbreaking decision to destroy its lions, tigers and bears after repeated shelling by Russian troops. There are fears the wild beasts will otherwise escape into shattered Kharkiv threatening local people who are already living in appalling fear from Vladimir Putin's missiles and bombs. Their cages are holed by more five weeks of shelling in the hellish war zone and it is a 'miracle' they have not escaped. 'One more shelling - and the lions, tigers, bears, distraught with fear, may be free and go towards Kharkiv or to nearby villages,' said zoo owner Alexander Feldman. 'We cannot allow this. There is no solution to the problem today.' The zoo - called Feldman Ecopark - has evacuated some animals including kangaroos and is desperately seeking to move the bigger predators to Poltava region to an old horse-riding complex, but he fears it will not be possible. Advertisement

During his pre-recorded March 1 speech, Lavrov blamed Ukraine for the war and claimed Kyiv has been seeking to acquire nuclear weapons - a 'real danger' that required a Russian response.

But Lavrov delivered his speech to a thin crowd after dozens of diplomats staged a walk-out to protest Russia's invasion - as they had done at a parallel U.N. meeting in Geneva on the same day.

Since the Russian assault shifted from northern Ukraine to the south and east, grim images have emerged from the town of Bucha near Kyiv, including a mass grave and bound bodies of people shot at close range, prompting calls for tougher action against Moscow and an international investigation.

Several European countries, including Germany, France and Italy, have announced expulsions of Russian diplomats and Moscow said it would respond in kind.

Russia, which says it launched its invasion to 'demilitarise' and 'denazify' its neighbour, denies targeting civilians and said the deaths were a 'monstrous forgery' staged by the West to discredit it.

Russia denied that its forces had carried out any atrocities and said it would present 'empirical evidence' to the U.N. Security Council meeting proving its forces were not involved.

At the weekend, Reuters reporters in Bucha saw several bodies apparently shot at close range, along with makeshift burials and a mass grave, but could not independently verify the number of dead or who was responsible.

Satellite images taken March 19 and provided by U.S. company Maxar Technologies showed bodies of civilians on a street in Bucha, which was occupied by Russian forces until about March 30, undercutting claims that the scenes were staged.

A satellite image taken of a street in the city of Bucha on March 19 - when Russian forces were in full control of the city - shows dark objects in the road that exactly match where civilian corpses were later discovered by Ukrainian troops

Pictured: Bodies of civilians lay in a mass grave in Bucha which was recaptured by the Ukrainian army last week

Broken: A visibly emotional President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday stood motionless as he surveyed the scene of utter devastation he encountered in the town of Bucha, with dozens of bodies shot at close range laying on the empty streets

Meanwhile, Ukraine said today it was bracing for about 60,000 Russian reservists to be called in to reinforce Moscow's offensive in the east, where Russia's main targets have included the port of Mariupol and Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city.

Ukraine's general staff said Russian forces aimed to fully take over the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces claimed by Russian-backed separatists and encircle a group of Ukrainian forces.

'Russian troops have attacked Mykolayiv with cluster munitions banned by the Geneva Convention. Whole blocks of civilian buildings have come under fire, in particular, a children's hospital. There are dead and wounded, including children,' the general staff said in a daily update on Tuesday.

Reuters could not independently verify the claims.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country, which accuses Russia of genocide, had no choice but to negotiate to end the war, now in its sixth week, which has killed thousands, sent millions fleeing and turned cities into rubble.

'All of us, including myself, will perceive even the possibility of negotiations as a challenge,' Zelenskiy said in a television interview. He said it was not clear whether he and Putin would speak directly.

Russian news agency Interfax cited a deputy Russian foreign minister as saying talks, which last convened on Friday, were continuing via video link.

Zelenskiy said at least 300 civilians had been killed in Bucha and that many more dead were likely to be found in other areas. He said he would address the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday as he builds support for an investigation into the killings.

Following the tragic reports from Bucha, the European Union's executive proposed sweeping new sanctions against Russia, including a ban on coal imports.

The proposed sanctions, which EU member states must approve, would bar Russian imports worth 9 billion euros and exports to Russia worth 10 billion euros, including semiconductors and computers, and stop Russian ships entering EU ports.

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire in a house damaged by Russian shelling in Kharkov, Ukraine, 3 April 2022

Pictured: Shrapnel holes are seen on a church as a result of Russian troops shelling in village of Dergachi, near Kharkiv, April 4, 2022

Pictured: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appears on a screen as he addresses the United Nations Security Council via video link during a meeting amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan, New York City, April 5, 2022

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was working on banning oil imports too.

'We all saw the gruesome pictures from Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have recently left. These atrocities cannot and will not be left unanswered,' she said on Twitter.

The announcement came hours after Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko called for all business ties with Russia to be cut, halting the flow of 'bloody money'.

Sanctions have isolated and crippled Russia's economy, but Ukraine says the West needs to do much more to starve Moscow's war machine.

'Every euro, every cent that you receive from Russia or that you send to Russia has blood, it is bloody money and the blood of this money is Ukrainian blood, the blood of Ukrainian people,' Klitschko told a conference in Geneva via video link.

Europe, which gets about a third of its natural gas needs from Russia, has been wary of the economic impact a total ban on Russian energy - which Ukraine says is needed to force a peace deal - would bring.

A ban on Russian coal by the 27-nation European Union would be worth around 4 billion euros a year, von der Leyen said - tiny in comparison with last year's 100 billion euros in oil and gas imports from Russia.

But signalling EU's strengthening resolve, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the coal ban was the first step towards a total ban on all fossil fuel imports from Russia.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the United States was also likely to impose further sanctions on Russia.

He described a remark by U.S. President Joe Biden that Putin should be tried for war crimes as unacceptable and unworthy.
The city attorney fired by NYC Mayor Eric Adams' administration after berating him over mask rules for kids believes that she could not have been fired for performance issues as the city insists.

Daniela Jampel, 38, was fired as an attorney at the Department of Law on Monday, soon after storming a press conference and berating Adams about his rule that kids under five must wear masks.

A source close to Jampel told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that 'this could not have been performance related' as she has been out of the office on maternity leave for several months.

The person also says that Jampel received email notice of her termination within 30 minutes of the press conference, and that her direct supervisor in the Law Department did not seem aware that she was being fired.

The source also strongly disputed City Hall's claim that Jampel 'lied' to get into the press conference by posing as a journalist.

'She did not pose as a member of the media to crash the press conference as has been reported,' the source added. 'She entered the press conference as everyone else did.'

Daniela Jampel, 38, (seen at a rally) was fired as an attorney at the NYC Department of Law on Monday, soon after berating Adams about his mask rule of kids

A source close to Jampel told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that her firing 'could not have been performance related' as she has been out of the office on maternity leave for months

A Law Department spokesman told DailyMail.com in a statement: 'We hold all of our employees to the highest professional standards. In public statements, Ms. Jampel has made troubling claims about her work for the city Law Department.'

'Based on those statements, the decision had been made to terminate her prior to [Monday],' the spokesman added.

The statement added that Jampel's 'decision to lie to City Hall staff and state she was a journalist at a press conference, demonstrate a disturbing lack of judgment and integrity.'

Jampel on Twitter announced her intention to hire an attorney and told DailyMail.com: 'I can't really talk about it, until I have a lawyer.'

The mother of three from Washington Heights was filmed confronting Adams at a press conference Monday, grilling him about why he'd postponed plans to lift a mask mandate for young kids starting on April 4.

'Three weeks ago, you told parents to trust you that you would unmask our toddlers,' she said.

'You stood right here, and you said that the masks would come off April 4. That has not happened.

Daniela Jampel, pictured here with her family, confronted NYC Mayor Eric Adams about his decision to delay ending the under 5's mask mandate at a press conference Monday

'Not only did you renege on your promise, you had your lawyers race to court on Friday night arguing that there would be irreparable harm if children under 5 are allowed to take off their masks today along with their older siblings in school.

'So my questions are, what is the irreparable harm to children aged 2 to 4 take off their masks, just as they do in Long Island, just as they do in Westchester? When will you and will you unmask our toddlers?'

Adams answered by saying that the mask mandate had been maintained over an uptick in cases, because under 5's aren't eligible to receive the shot. Just hours later, it was revealed Jampel had been fired from her role as an attorney, with a city official condemning her behavior at the press conference.

After her firing Jampel tweeted unrepentantly, saying: 'Je ne regrette rien' (I regret nothing), before adding: 'The fight continues.'

Jampel in December wrote an op ed for DailyMail.com, asking: 'Where is the outrage on behalf of our children, who have been forced to endure these restrictions going on 2 years?

'Why don't we insist on the same quality of life -- that we demand for ourselves -- for our own kids?'

Jampel issued a statement on Twitter in the wake of her dismissal suggesting that she wouldn't comment further on her firing.

She wrote: 'My statement is that I am retaining counsel and will not litigate in the press.

Washington Heights lawyer Daniela Jampel, pictured, issued her latest salvo against NYC Mayor Eric Adams at an unrelated press conference on Monday and was fired hours later

Jampel issued these tweets after her dismissal from NYC's Law Department, saying she regretted nothing and that 'the fight continues'

Children are NOT at serious risk from Covid, multiple studies show Multiple studies have shown young children are not at serious risk from Covid-19. Data from from American Academy of Pediatrics shows children accounted for about 19 percent of all COVID cases, but less than 0.26% of cases resulted in death. A study from October found that around half of pediatric Covid cases are asymptomatic, and that was before the more mild Omicron variant became dominant in the U.S. Hospitalizations of pediatric COVID patients are also rare. A study in February, found the Pfizer vaccine was only 12% effective at preventing Omicron in five- to 11- year-olds. The main argument in favor of vaccinating children is to prevent them from spreading the virus but researchers from University of Berlin found, on average, children release less Covid particles into the air. Experts believe people who release lower amounts of aerosol particles when speaking have smaller viral loads, which also means they do not spread the virus at the same level. Advertisement

'Also, the NY Post used the most unflattering picture of me ever taken. Next time I will dress up for my big day.'

Jampel went on to attack NY Daily News reporter Michael Elsen Rooney as 'a petty, petty man' and thanked her supporters.

Adams realized Jampel was a gatecrasher halfway through her statement.

His staff could be seen trying to hustle her out, but he told them to let her continue, then ordered Jampel to conclude her question and record his answer on her phone.

Adams proceeded to answer Jampel's question by saying that his plan was always to move in tandem with the number of cases.

The city is now averaging 3,600 new cases a day, up from around 1,600-a-day a month ago.

Adams continued: 'I made the announcement that we were looking to announce today, which is Monday, to take the masks off children 2 and 4 years old. But I also stated, if we see an uptick, we will come back and make the announcement of what we're going to do.

'We're going to pivot and shift as COVID is pivoting and shifting. There is a new variant. The numbers are increasing. We're going to move at the right pace, and that's the role I must do.

'That's what I stated. I'm living up to my promises.'

Adams promised to end the under 4 mask mandate on March 22, but went back on his decision April 1. A Staten Island judge struck the mandate down on Friday, but Adams' office appealed the decision, keeping the order in place, the New York Post reports.

Adams explained that the city's COVID positivity rate rose to 2.67 percent last week, up from the rolling monthly average of 2.33 percent.

He added that medical professionals have called for the mandate to remain in place because there's no vaccine available for toddlers.

Jampel subsequently identified herself on Twitter, where she pushes for the ending of mask mandates for young children in NYC.

She made her case at an event taking aim at Florida's so-called Don't Say Gay bill, which bans the teaching of lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation for kids in kindergarten up until third grade.

Eric Adams appeared momentarily confused by Jampel's presence, but answered her question, and said he'd kept the kids' mask mandate because of an uptick in COVID cases

Jampel has three daughters aged eight, four and six months and is angered by the seemingly never-ending child mask mandate

Adams was keen to position the Big Apple as a liberal antidote to the conservative new law, and invited Floridians who feel unhappy with the bill to move to the Empire State instead.

But critics say the mask rule for under 5s displays an unpleasant draconian streak from a mayor who's happy to rub shoulders unmasked with celebrities most nights of the week

Adams was also confronted by parents furious at his decision to extend the mask mandate for under-5s as he hit the town for a Broadway show Sunday.

The new mayor, who has quickly become known for mingle with famous faces, was met with angry chants of 'Unmask our kids!' as he attended the Paradise Square Broadway Musical at Ethel Barrymore Theater on Sunday night.

Parents demanding that the mask mandate be lifted confronted Adams on Sunday

Adams has come under fire for his busy social life, which last week included a party with supermodel Cara Delevingne (left) and the opening night of Sarah Jessica Parker's new play (right) on a single evening

A handful of women held up signs as Adams entered the building wearing a gray KN95 mask.

The latest twist in New York City's masking saga for under-5's began Friday, when Adams said he was delaying plans to lift the rule from April 4.

A state judge struck down the indefinite mask rule for under5-s the same day.

That lawmaker called it 'arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable' and therefore 'void and unenforceable.'

But Adams successfully requested a stay to pursue an appeal just hours later.

He has angered parents with a whirl of social events, including a party with Cara Delevingne at the new One Vanderbilt skyscraper last week, as well as a trip to see Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick appear in Broadway play Plaza Suite.

Adams also attended the white tie Gridiron Dinner on Saturday in Washington D.C. with a long list of politicians and journalists.
Darpa, the US army's scientific wing, recently announced successful tests of what it called a HAWC missile (Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept)

UNITED STATES

The US military has a number of hypersonic weapons programs across the Navy, Army and Air Force but most are still in development phase and highly top secret.

However the known programs are all more conventional hypersonic weapons that strike from high altitude, rather than orbital bombardment systems that strike from space which the Chinese were revealed to have developed tis week.

The only US hypersonic weapon know to have been successfully tested is the Air Force's GM-183 ARRW which is designed to be launched from a large bomber aircraft.

It then accelerates to hypersonic speeds using of up to 15,345mph using a supersonic combustion ramjet to strike targets within 1,000 miles. Donald Trump referred to a 'super duper missile' while in office and this is believed to be the AGM-183 ARRW.

The Navy's submarine launched Long Range Hypersonic Weapon is expected to be operational by 2023 and will have a range of 1,725 miles.

Darpa, the US army's scientific wing, recently announced successful tests of what it called a HAWC missile (Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept) but kept details such as range, speed and payload secret.

The missile uses oxygen in the atmosphere as part of its fuel - marking the first successful test of that class of weapon since 2013.

The missile, which is built by Raytheon, was released from an aircraft just 'seconds' before the scramjet engine from Northrop Grumman kicked on, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said.

The engine works by compressing incoming air with hydrocarbon fuel to create a fast airflow mixture, one capable of reaching over 1,700 meters per second, or five times the speed of sound.

Earlier this year, a test of a hypersonic missile from the U.S. Air Force was abandoned after it was unable to complete its launch sequence.

On March 19 last year, the Pentagon flight-tested a hypersonic glide vehicle at its Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. It deemed the test a success and 'a major milestone towards the department's goal of fielding hypersonic warfighting capabilities in the early- to mid-2020s.'

Unlike Russia, the United States says it is not developing hypersonic weapons for use with a nuclear warhead. As a result, a U.S. hypersonic weapon will need to be more accurate, posing additional technical challenges.

In 2004, NASA's experimental unmanned hypersonic aircraft X-43 reached 7,366mph (Mach 9.6) using a scramjet engine, setting the current record.

In 2019, DailyMail.com reported that the Raytheon and Northrop Grumman-developed missile would use an engine made by a 3D printer.

Last year, DARPA said it was working with Aerojet Rocketdyne on a nearly $20 million project to develop a hypersonic rocket that could intercept enemy missiles mid-air.

Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine and has the hypersonic nuclear-capable Avangard missiles

RUSSIA

Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine, and since late 2019 has had the hypersonic nuclear-capable Avangard missiles in service. The Avangard can travel at up to Mach 27, changing course and altitude.

The range of Russia's hypersonic missile, the Zircon, is 621 miles with a speed of 9,800mph.

But the missile flies below the atmosphere and uses fuel to power itself to hypersonic speeds rather than the Earth's orbit.

Earlier this month, Russia announced it has successfully test-fired the Zircon from a nuclear submarine for the first time.

The 6,670mph weapon hit a target in the Barents Sea according to the Moscow defence ministry, who claims the missile is capable of Mach-9 speeds and able to evade all Western defences.

Russia said it had completed flight tests of the new-age missile from a frigate - the Admiral Gorshkov - and a coastal mount, but it had not previously been launched from a submarine.

The Zircon has been identified by Moscow's state-controlled TV as Vladimir Putin's weapon of choice to wipe out coastal American cities in the event of an atomic conflict.

He has declared the missile as 'truly unparalleled anywhere in the world', and the Russians have boasted it is 'unstoppable' by Western defences.

Putin first announced the development of an array of new hypersonic weapons in 2018, insisting that they would be able to hit almost any point in the world and evade a US-built missile shield.

The Zircon is due to go into service next year, and will first be deployed via the Admiral Golovko frigate which carries significant stealth-technology.

A key use of the missile is taking out enemy ships and reports suggested its maximum range is between 188 and 620 miles.

But there have been unconfirmed reports its true range is some 1,200 miles.

The missile system's design and development have been conducted in deep secrecy, and Putin has warned that foreign spies have tried to steal its secrets.

It is one of a number of hypersonic missiles Russia is deploying including the 188-tonne Sarmat - known in the West as Satan-2 - which will be the biggest beast in Russia's nuclear arsenal, due for tests in the autumn with deployment slated for next year.

In May, Russia said it tested three 'invincible' hypersonic 'Satan 2' missiles that some have said could wipe out areas the size of England and Wales.

China launched the dummy weapon into space on board a Long March 2C rocket (pictured) during a test in mid-August which it did not disclose at the time and was only revealed at the weekend by security analysts assigned to work out its purpose

CHINA

The hypersonic orbital bombardment system that China tested in August reportedly reaches a top speed of 21,000 mph and strikes from space.

The core concept of China's 'new' weapon - deliver a warhead into orbit and have it circle the globe before hitting a target - was first developed by the Soviets in the 1960s.

Called a Fractional Orbital Bombardment System, or FOBS, it was developed to evade powerful US radar arrays and missile defence systems.

Those systems work by detecting launches of ICBMs - very long-range missiles that can be tipped with nukes - and tracking them into space, then firing at the warheads as they come down in the hope of blowing them up before they hit their targets.

This is possible because ICBMs and their warheads follow a predictable trajectory that rises high into space - making them relatively easy to spot and allowing defence crews to calculate where they are aimed so they can be shot out of the sky.

FOBS aim to negate these defences by firing their warheads along a much-flatter trajectory - assisted by Earth's gravity.

This means they pass under the scope of many radar detection arrays and are harder to track. It also makes the warheads much harder to shoot down because their trajectory is harder to calculate.

The use of orbit makes a warhead's range potentially unlimited, meaning it can be fired at its target from any direction. This helps to avoid radar systems which generally point at a fixed spot in the sky - in America's case, over the North Pole.

Meanwhile, China has also unveiled a hypersonic medium-range missile, the DF-17, in 2019, which can travel around 2,000 kilometres and can carry nuclear warheads.

In October, China deployed the DF 17 missile to coastal areas in preparation for a possible invasion of Taiwan.

The weapon has a maximum range of 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles) and is capable of achieving speeds of up to 7,680 miles per hour (12,360 kph) - or 10 times the speed of sound - while carrying a nuclear warhead, according to previous reports.

It has been billed as 'a death sentence' to aircraft carriers within its range.

Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound in the upper atmosphere - or about 6,200 km per hour (3,850 mph). This is slower than an intercontinental ballistic missile, but the shape of a hypersonic glide vehicle allows it to manoeuvre toward a target or away from defences.

Combining a glide vehicle with a missile that can launch it partially into orbit - a so-called fractional orbital bombardment system (FOBS) - could strip adversaries of reaction time and traditional defences mechanisms.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), by contrast, carry nuclear warheads on ballistic trajectories that travel into space but never reach orbit.

China on Monday insisted that the test in August was a routine one for a spacecraft rather than a missile.
The Bank of England's 'woke' re-brand which saw the flag of St George removed from its logo cost the taxpayer more than 51,000, it has emerged.

The widely-criticised move in early March saw the flag replaced with the Union Jack because it is 'more inclusive' - leading some to accuse the institution of being 'ashamed to be English'.

The Bank's bosses were branded 'woke idiots' after making several other controversial changes to its 328-year-old seal, including removing the pile of money at the feet of Britannia - the female personification of Britain.

While her right hand still holds a spear, she is depicted in a more passive stance, with her left arm - which wields an olive branch representing peace - now bent rather than thrusting forwards.

According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, obtained by Guido Fawkes, the total cost of the logo and font rebrand was 51,694.49.

The institution used a company called Epic Icons to design the Britannia symbol, paying them 6,720, while Lee Funnell is listed as providing 'photography for the visual identity', to the tune of 14,809.27.

The old seal (pictured left) was redesigned (right) in a move the Bank says 'reflects our commitment to be plainer and simpler'. It cost the taxpayer more than 51,000, with more than 22,000 spent on the font alone.

Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey (pictured), said the move was part of the Bank's mission to be 'inclusive and accessible'

Font design and licence of usage set the bank back, 22,337.22, paid to Monotype Limited, while a 7,728 bill for animation guidelines and film was paid to RedSofa.

When asked what about the new logo is inclusive, the bank said: 'Our new Britannia symbol is now readable for mobile users and also better reflects our current mission and values

'The key changes we have made are to replace the St George's Cross on the shield with a Union Flag, and to remove the coins (the latter also helps us to increase the size of the Britannia within the symbol).'

John Bell, a retired academic, said following the update on March 4: 'So the Bank of England is ashamed of being a Bank (no pile of coins) and English (cross of St George replaced by the Union flag), and even of Britannia's (and its) role as the spreader of peace and prosperity (enfeebled Britannia).'

Former MEP Rupert Lowe commented: 'The Bank of England is spending their time/our money redesigning their logo to become more ''inclusive''....

'I mean honestly what are these people playing at? Incompetent, woke idiots.'

Others also took to Twitter to express their anger at the politically correct rebranding.

Simon Barrall wrote: 'Why has the Bank of England removed the Cross of St George from its logo and replaced it with the Union flag? It is the Bank of ENGLAND?'

Another critic said: 'And the metropolitan liberal (so called) elite wonder why English nationalism is on the rise!'

The Bank of England, pictured, said it wanted to become more 'inclusive' and this was a driving force behind the changes

A history of 'The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street' The old seal of the Bank of England, which shows Britannia holding a shield, spear and olive branch, and sat on top of a pile of coins For almost all of its entire 328-year history, the Bank of England has been based on Threadneedle Street in the City of London. It has long been known as The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, a name it takes from a picture by artist James Gillray in the 1797. The satirical image shows Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger pretending to 'woo' an old lady, who is a personification of the Bank. What he really wants though is the Bank's money, represented by coins which are falling out of her pocket, and a chest which she is sitting on. At the time the bank was still essentially a private company, with critics suggesting politicians were taking advantage of 'The Old Lady'. The image and the subsequent nickname has stuck over the years, with many still calling the Bank, The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street. Some get this mixed up with Britannia, who is the figure on the seal of the Bank. Britannia has been associated with the Bank since its inception, with a Court of Directors declaring the Common Seal of the bank should represent 'Britannia sitting and looking on a Bank of money', only days after it gained Royal Charter in 1694. One booklet found in the Bank's archives suggests the group had been inspired by the design found on the reverse of the halfpenny and farthing at the time . The motif was only brought into existence though 20 years later, when Flemish engraver John Roettier created the image after being inspired by a coin featuring the motif of Roman emperor Hadrian. Using the face of Frances Stuart, who later became the Duchess of Richmond as a model, he showed Britannia holding an olive branch in her right hand, a spear in her left, with a shield with the combined crosses of St George and St Andrew. This was minted onto coins, but the seal itself differed in some aspects - on the seal she sat higher up, looked to the right instead of the left, had a waist-high bank of money and the shield only showed the St George's cross. Over the years she has been designed a number of times - sometimes she was shown looking over her shoulder away from the pile of money, while on others she could be seen standing in a chariot being pulled by two horses. The pattern eventually settled on her being seated, holding a spear and shield in one hand, a sprig in the other, and with a crown above her head. Source: Bank of England Advertisement

While logo has not been entirely overhauled, there are a number of obvious differences between the new and the old.

A pile of what appear to be coins laying at the feet of Britannia have disappeared from the new seal, as have the feet themselves.

Meanwhile, the shield resting next to her has been redesigned, with the St George's cross on the previous version being replaced with the Union Jack.

And Britannia herself has shifted - no longer sat side-on, she has turned slightly to a more face-on position.

On its website, the Bank had said its mission was 'to serve the people of the UK' and it had looked at this as part of the redesign, adding the new logo 'reflects our commitment to be plainer and simpler'.

It said: 'One part of how we communicate is the 'look and feel' of our content. That includes things like our logo, and the colours and typography we use.

'We want to make these things more accessible and inclusive. So our in-house designers have worked with industry leaders to create a new, digital-first 'visual identity system' for our website and publications.

'We will keep on working to improve the way we communicate because this will help us to carry out our mission.'

While the logo is the most obvious change, the Bank added it had redesigned its website and typeface to make it easier to read for people with dyslexia.

It said: 'It's estimated up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia.

'So we have designed a new typeface that is easier to read.

'The design was created by industry-leaders in type design. It's based on guidance by the British Dyslexia Association.'

It added it had changed its use of colours, inspired by those used on its banknotes, to make the contrast between the colour of the text and backgrounds better.

Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, said: 'The Bank of England has been around for hundreds of years, but it embraces advances in digital technology.

'These advances have brought many benefits.

'One is that it brings us closer to the public we serve.

'We know this means we have to explain what we do and why.

'How we communicate is part of how we carry out our mission. We intend to keep trying to make our communications more inclusive and accessible for everyone.'

It comes after the Bank came under fire for removing portraits of former governors who were linked to the slave trade in June last year.

Governor Andrew Bailey was accused of taking part in a 'latter-day Bonfire of the Vanities' after the objects were removed following a review.

The seven figures include colonial trader Sir Gilbert Heathcote and slave traders Sir Robert Clayton, and Robert Bristow.

Sir James Bateman acted for the Royal African Company - the foremost slave trading enterprise of the time - while William Manning and John Pearse held investments in plantations.

The seventh figure is William Dawsonne, director of the bank from 1698 to 1719.

A spokesman for the Bank of England said: 'In June 2020, the Bank announced a review of its collection of images of former governors and directors, to ensure none with known involvement of the slave trade remain on display anywhere in the Bank.'
At least one student was injured after up to eight shots were fired during a shooting at a high school in Pennsylvania.

Erie High School, in Erie, Pennsylvania, was placed on lockdown shortly after 9.20am on Tuesday.

Some students took cover behind their teachers' desk while others managed to jump out of windows after a suspect opened fire in a hallway, injuring at least one student.

'Erie Police confirm[s] that a single individual at Erie High School has been shot,' the department tweeted on Tuesday.

'The individual is in good condition and has been transported to the hospital. More information to follow as we receive it. Please continue to avoid the area.'

Police at the scene confirmed the student's injuries are not life-threatening and lifted the lockdown an hour after the shots were first fired.

'Students were dismissed classroom-by-classroom about an hour after the shooting, after district and city police officers searched and secured the building,' the school said in a statement.

Authorities said they have identified the suspect, who is not currently in custody, but did not name them.

Outside the school, worried parents gathered waiting for news from police.

In-person and virtual classes have been canceled at the school for the week, as police and the district investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.

At least one student was injured after up to eight shots were fired during a shooting at Erie High School, in Erie, Pennsylvania

The high school was placed on lockdown after a suspect opened fire and injured at least one person, police said

Police at the scene confirmed the student's injuries are not life-threatening

Outside the school, worried parents gathered waiting for news from police. Above, Rusty Jackson, 60, at left, watches his granddaughter Julieonna Roye, 15, center, hugs his daughter and Roye's mother, Sharteya Evans, 36

'All [we] heard was shots go off. And my teacher went to the door. He looked out the door and told everybody to jump out of the window. So I took cover behind his desk, and then I just jumped out of the window,' a distraught student told Erie News Now.

'At this point, we do not believe there is a threat so we are dismissing the students so we can investigate the crime,' an officer said around 12pm.

Erie High School, formerly called Central Tech High School, has more than 2,000 students.

The school will be closed for nearly two weeks, as Erie High observes Spring Break next week.

In a statement released after the shooting, the school said counselors will be made available to help students process the events on Tuesday.

Police advised parents to stay out of the area due to heavy traffic, and said that students are being dismissed on school buses

'Erie Police confirm[s] that a single individual at Erie High School has been shot,' the department tweeted on Tuesday

Erie High School, formerly called Central Tech High School, has more than 2,000 students

In a statement released after the shooting, the school said counselors will be made available to help students process the events on Tuesday

'We are devastated and angered by this senseless tragedy, and we are all hoping for the full and speedy recovery of the student involved,' Superintendent Brian Polito said.

'Incidents like these are a reflection of a troubling rise in youth violence in Erie,' Polito added.

Erie Mayor Joe Schember also issued a statement before the lockdown had been lifted.

'The shooting at Erie High School this morning is very saddening. Schools should be safe places where children learn and grow,' Schember said.

'I know this is difficult for parents to hear. But remember: All students are now safe! My thoughts and prayers are with the students, teachers, administrators, and all the police officers who have secured the building. What they all need right now is our love and support.'
An 83-year-old American nun was kidnapped overnight in the troubled north of Burkina Faso, her diocese said on Tuesday.

Sister Suellen Tennyson, a nun from a parish in Yalgo, northern Burkina Faso, was abducted by an unidentified armed group on Monday night.

Tennyson, who has been preaching in Yalgo since 2014, was taken to an unknown destination by her captors.

Before leaving with Tennyson, the armed group vandalised halls, sabotaged the community vehicle that they tried to take away.

'Overnight Monday to Tuesday, unidentified armed men went to the community of nuns at Yalgo parish in Kaya diocese. They kidnapped Sister Suellen Tennyson from the Congregation of Marianites of the Holy Cross,' the diocese said in a statement.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow...

Sister Suellen Tennyson, a nun from a parish in Yalgo, northern Burkina Faso, was abducted by an unidentified armed group on Monday night
Sinaloa Cartel

Founded in 1989 by Hector Palma, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman and Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, the Sinaloa Cartel today stands as one of the most established transnational drug trafficking organizations. While it has carved out a presence in 15 of the 32 Mexican states, the cartel also expanded its operations into the United States, Europe, Asia and South America.

With El Chapo in prison, the cartel has been plagued by internal fighting between Zambada and three of El Chapo's four sons, known as 'Los Chapitos'.

The Drug Enforcement Administration views the Sinaloa Cartel as one of the top two criminal organizations along with its rival, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

The DEA said the Sinaloa Cartel 'exports and distributes wholesale amounts of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana in the United States by maintaining distribution hubs in various cities.'

How they get drugs into the US: 'Illicit drugs distributed by the Sinaloa Cartel are primarily smuggled into the United States through crossing points located along the [south west border]. The cartel employs gatekeepers assigned to Ports Of Entry and controls Arizona and California area smuggling corridors into the United States.'

Jalisco New Generation Cartel

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel was once allied to the Sinaloa Cartel as El Chapo depended on its firepower to combat Los Zetas.

Commandeered by Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera, the group set itself apart from other cartels in the country butchering its enemies and today is considered by the Mexican government as the most dangerous group in the country.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is spread out across 23 of the Mexico's 32 states and currently finds itself at war with at least ten cartels.

The group has been known to have increased the power that its members have by purchasing military weapons and parts from the United States.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to the DEA, specializes 'in manufacturing and distributing large amounts of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine.'

How they get drugs into the US: 'The CJNG smuggles illicit drugs into the United States by accessing various trafficking corridors in northern Mexico along the SWB including Tijuana, Juarez, and Nuevo Laredo. The CJNG also has influence over the busiest port in Mexico, the Port of Manzanillo, and utilizes that influence for the distribution of large quantities of drugs.'

Beltran-Leyva Organization

For a while, the Beltran-Leyva Organization [BLO] was born out of the Sinaloa Cartel and became one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico led by the Beltran Leyva brothers: Marcos Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo, Mario Alberto and Hector.

The Beltran-Leyva Organization was involved in a deadly war with the Sinaloa Cartel after the brothers accused their cousin, El Chapo, of being responsible for the January 2008 arrest of Alfredo. The brothers retaliated by reportedly plotting the murder of El Chapo's 22-year-old son, Edgar Guzman, in May 2008.

Alfredo's arrest sparked one of the worst periods in Mexico's war on drugs as the BLO's new ally, the Juarez Cartel, went to war with the Sinaloa Cartel in Ciudad Juarez, a border town across from Texas.

The BLO also expanded its might by going toe-to-toe with the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Cartel in the northeastern border city of Reynosa.

While the cartel remains viable today, the organization's members over time split into 11 factions.

How they get drugs into the US: 'BLO relies on its loose alliances with larger cartels for access to drug smuggling corridors along the [south west border].'

Los Zetas and the Cartel del Noreste [Northeast Cartel]

Los Zetas were created by Mexican military deserters who formed an alliance with the Gulf Cartel in 1999 and based its operations in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, across from Laredo, Texas. The group quickly carved out a named for itself through its savage killings. By 2010, Los Zetas split from the Gulf Cartel.

Los Zetas at one point dominated more cities across Mexico than the Sinaloa Cartel, with whom it clashed amidst a threat from the Gulf Cartel to eliminate it completely.

Like some of the other Mexican cartels, Los Zetas saw some of its members split and form their own groups.

Los Zetas role play in the drug trade is enforced by one of its factions, the Cartel del Noreste [Northeast Cartel]. Together, the criminal groups have set up its small, but lucrative, drug trade business into the Texas border cities of Laredo and Eagle Pass while controlling routes and turfs in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas.

How they get drugs into the US: 'Members smuggle the majority of their illicit drugs through the [south west border] in the areas of Laredo, Texas; Eagle Pass, Texas; and the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and parts of Tamaulipas.'

Guerrero Unidos

Operating in central Mexico, the Guerrero Unidos broke away from the Beltran-Leyva Organization and formed an alliance with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel to traffic drugs into the United States and bring back its profits into Mexico.

The cartel is accused of being behind the September 2014 disappearance of 43 students, who were kidnapped by local police in Iguala, a city in the southern state of Guerrero.

How they get drugs into the US: 'The cartel has a working partnership with the CJNG and uses the same transportation networks to move drug shipments into the United States and to return drug proceeds back to Mexico.'

Gulf Cartel

The Gulf Cartel is considered to be one of the oldest active criminal organizations in Mexico and is believed to have close ties to other gangs in Europe, West Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, and the United States.

The organization started off by smuggling alcohol into the United States during the Prohibition Era. It was not until the 1980 that it got itself immersed into the drug trade.

The DEA believes the Gulf Cartel has been working closely with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as it ships heroin and cocaine to the Texas border cities of McAllen and Brownsville.

How they get drugs into the US: 'The Gulf Cartel focuses its drug trafficking activities on heroin and cocaine by transporting loads into the United States near the McAllen and Brownsville, Texas, areas.'

Juarez Cartel and La Linea

The Juarez Cartel cemented itself as one of the mayor players in the drug trade business back in the 1970s. It founder, Amado Carrillo, was known as 'El Senor de los Cielos' or 'The Lord of the Skies' due to the massive fleet of planes he owned to transport drugs, especially cocaine from Colombia and other countries in Latin America.

The cartel was once allied to El Chapo before that relationship fell apart after the notorious drug lord declined to pay the Juarez Cartel for the right to use its drug smuggling routes.

The Juarez Cartel has depended on its armed wing, La Linea, to transport heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas.

How they get drugs into the US: 'These cartels' greatest territorial influence is in the state of Chihuahua near the [south west border]. This area has profitable smuggling opportunities between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas.'

La Familia Michoacana

La Familia Michoacana was once linked to the Gulf Cartel before it went on its own in 2006.

Between 2009 and 2010, the cartel proposed to the Mexican government that it had plans of laying down its arms as long as its home state of Michoacan was granted protection. However, President Felipe Calderon shot down their offer, which led to the cartel becoming increasingly involved in the funding of political candidates.

La Familia Michoacana today maintains a relationship with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and other criminal groups as part of its drug smuggling operation.

How they get drugs into the US: 'LFM has some ties to the CJNG and also works with other smaller groups to further the cartel's drug trafficking activities.'

Los Rojos

Just like Guerreros Unidos, Los Rojos was formed as an armed wing and broke away from the Beltran-Leyva Organization.

According to a 2020 Congressional report, Los Rojos 'operates in Guerrero and relies heavily on kidnapping and extortion for revenue as well as trafficking cocaine, although analysts dispute the scope of its involvement in the drug trade.'

How they get drugs into the US: 'Los Rojos is involved in heroin trafficking'
A Southwest Airlines passenger has been accused of pleasuring himself four times and exposing his privates to a woman on a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Seattle to Phoenix.

Antonio Sherrodd McGarity was arrested on Saturday, after Southwest Airlines Flight 3814 landed at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix.

McGarity was taken into federal custody on suspicion of lewd, indecent or obscene acts on an aircraft - a charge that carries a sentence of up to 90 days in prison.

During an interview with the FBI, McGarity allegedly admitted to masturbating on the plane, and he dismissed the entire episode involving the female passenger who witnessed his sexually explicit display as being 'kind of kinky.'

'McGarity admitted to law enforcement that he had masturbated during his flight from Seattle, Washington, to Phoenix, Arizona, and that he had an orgasm,' according to the criminal complaint.

According to this federal complaint, McGarity is accused of masturbating four times and exposing himself to a female passenger on Flight 3814 from Seattle to Phoenix on Saturday morning

McGarity was picked up by the police after the place landed at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix

The incident unfolded aboard Flight 3814, which took off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at 6.12am on Saturday en route to Phoenix.

A short time after takeoff, McGarity, who was in seat 11F, allegedly 'exposed his penis by pulling down his pants and shorts and began masturbating,' the complaint alleged.

A female passenger who was in seat 11E directly next to McGarity photographed the libidinous traveler 'with his hand on his erect penis,' according to the complaint.

The woman later told police officers in Phoenix that McGarity pleasured himself in front of her on four separate occasions during the flight, which lasted 2 hours, 37 minutes, 'using both his left and right hands,' the complaint stated.

When McGarity later fell asleep, the woman told the flight crew about the incident, and they moved her to another seat.

When the plane landed at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, McGarity was detained by the police and interviewed by FBI agents.

The man allegedly told the agents that he knew the woman sitting next to him was aware he was masturbating and could see his exposed penis, and that she photographed him with her phone.

McGarity told the feds that he asked the female passenger if she minded if he masturbates. According to him, 'the female put her hands in the air and said, "it really doesn't matter."'

McGarity said he thought it was kind of kinky,' according to the court document.

McGarity added that he did not think the woman was 'uncomfortable' with him pleasuring himself in front of her.

Southwest Airlines has now placed McGarity on its no-fly list, meaning that he has been banned from traveling with the airline for life.
US intelligence officials have evidence that UFO sightings have lead to adverse health effects like radiation burns, paralysis and even brain damage, according to a newly released report from a shadowy Pentagon program that closed in 2012.

The study classifies different types of encounters with unidentified objects, including ones accompanied by sightings of ghosts, yetis or spirits and others that result in injury, death and even 'permanent healing.'

It also includes a summary of UFO-induced effects that was compiled by a private nonprofit in 1996, ranging from the most common one - abduction - to paralysis, eye injuries, electrical shocks and even sexual encounters.

The 2010 report compiled 42 cases of adverse effects from medical files and 300 from 'unpublished' cases.

The document is part of 1,500 pages from the now-defunct Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program (AATIP) that were released to The Sun by the Defense Intelligence Agency.

'Sufficient incidents/accidents have been accurately reported, and medical data acquired, as to support a hypothesis that some advanced systems are already deployed, and opaque to full US understandings,' the report reads.

The report was released to The Sun as part of a Freedom of Information Act request from 2017. It was written for the secretive AATIP program, the existence of which was revealed by whistleblower and former head of the program Luis Elizondo that same year.

US intelligence officials have evidence that UFO sightings can lead to adverse health effects including radiation burns, according to a newly released study. Above, a photo of a UFO taken by navy pilots in 2020

The report from 2010 was compiled for the now-defunct Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program. It ranks several kinds of UFO encounters as well as the adverse health effects reported by witnesses

The report was released by the Defense Intelligence Agency (above) to The Sun as part of a FOIA request filed in 2017

The study is titled 'Anomalous Acute And Subacute Field Effects on Human and Biological Tissues.' It is dated March 11, 2010.

'Classified information exists that is highly pertinent to the subject of this study and only a small part of the classified literature has been released,' the document states.

Attached to the report is a list of physiological effects experienced by those who have come in contact with UFOs or UAPs, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.

The list was compiled in 1996 by the Mutual UFO Network and covers the time period from 1873 to 1994.

Among the effects are: apparent abductions (129 reported cases), electromagnetic effects on vehicles (77), perceived time loss (75), burns (41), electrical shocks (23), force field impacts (18), and sexual encounters (5).

Elizondo, who headed up the $22 million Pentagon program studying UFOs, told GQ magazine about some of these effects in an interview in November.

'I've got to be careful, I cant speak too specifically, but one might imagine that you get a report from a pilot who says, "Lue, it's really weird. I was flying and I got close to this thing and I came back home and it was like I got a sunburn. I was red for four days,"' he said

'Well, that's a sign of radiation. That's not a sunburn; it's a radiation burn. Then [a pilot] might say, if [they] had got a little closer, "Lue, I'm at the hospital. I've got symptoms that are indicative of microwave damage, meaning internal injuries, and even in my brain there's some morphology there.'"

He added: 'And then you might get somebody who gets really close and says, "You know, Lue, it's really bizarre. It felt like I was there for only five minutes, but when I looked at my watch 30 minutes went by, but I only used five minutes worth of fuel. How is that possible?"

Effects reported by UFO witnesses include: apparent abductions (129 reported cases), electromagnetic effects on vehicles (77), perceived time loss (75), burns (41), electrical shocks (23), force field impacts (18), and sexual encounters (5)

Luis Elizondo, the former head of the Pentagon's UFO program, said some witnesses reported what sounded like radiation damage and the 'warping of space time'

'Well, there's a reason for that, we believe, and it probably has to do with warping of space time.'

The report shows the extent to which the government studies UFOs, going so far as to brand different different types of encounters with different ratings.

'Anomalous behaviors' are rated as AN1, which have no lasting physical effects, such as lights and explosions. AN3s come with 'associated entities' like ghosts, yetis, spirits, elves and other 'mythical/legendary entities.' AN5s are those that include reports of injury and death.

Similarly, close encounters, or CEs, are divided between CE1s, in which a UFO comes within 500 feet of a witness, CE2, in which a close encounter leaves landing traces or injuries to the witness, and CE4s, in which the witness is abducted.

CE5s are close encounters resulting in permanent psychological injury or death.

Former US Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada asked for the UFO project to remain a secret in letters recently released by the Pentagon

Officials said that the UFOs are 'from unknown provenance that may be a threat to United States interest.'

The report was obtained by The Sun as part of a 1,500-page cache that the British tabloid first asked for in December 2017, days after Elizondo revealed the existence of the AATIP program to freelance journalist Leslie Kean.

The program existed from 2007 to 2012.

The trove of documents also included letters from former US Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada asking for the project to remain a secret.

In a letter from 2009, Reid said the program had identified 'several highly sensitive, unconventional aerospace technologies' requiring 'extraordinary protection.'

One document shows that a $12 million contract was awarded to Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BLASS) to study 'advanced aerospace weapon threats from the present out to 40 years in the future.' It was the only company to bid for the project.

Unexplained phenomena continue to puzzle US officials who can't really explain where they come from.

Last year, the Navy USS Kearsarge was chased by 'two car-sized balls of light' during an unexplained encounter.

The warship was reportedly followed by the UFOs while it was on a training exercise off the East Coast in October, filmmaker Dave Beaty told The Sun.

The Navy USS Kearsarge was chased by 'two car-sized balls of light' during an unexplained encounter last year, according to a UFO researcher and consultant

According to Beaty's research, two objects were seen near the ship for several nights, with Marines onboard becoming shocked when the Navy's anti-drone 'ghostbusters' did not deter the balls of light.

The object was 200ft above the ocean and followed the ship for half a mile, a retired US Marine officer who wished to remain anonymous told Beaty.

Beaty is the director of the 2019 documentary The Nimitz Encounters, which dives into the the famous 2004 UFO encounter by the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.

The Nimitz sightings were first leaked online in 2007. The New York Times then confirmed in 2019 that at least six Super Hornet pilots made visual or instrument contact with the tic-tac shaped UFO on November 14, 2004.

The recent encounters, which Beaty said he only has compiled preliminary information on, will likely spark new interest in unexplained encounters by the US Navy.

UFO researcher and consultant said a retired Marine official told him the ship was followed for half a mile and 200ft above the ocean for several nights in October 2021

Though the office that created the newly released UFO report has closed, a new one will take its place.

In the wake of the woefully insufficient Pentagon report from June in which the U.S. government admitted it could not explain the vast majority of unidentified aerial phenomena, the Department of Defense is increasing its effort, creating an official group to study these events.

The announcement, made in November, will see the establishment of the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG), succeeding the US Navy's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force.

It will be part of the office of Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security.

The AOIMSG will work across the Department of Defense and the entire US government 'to detect, identify and attribute objects of interests in Special Use Airspace, and to assess and mitigate any associated threats to safety of flight and national security,' according to a press release issued by the DoD.

The move to formally establish the office was made the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security Ronald S. Moultrie, who was directed by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
One of Britain's last surviving D-Day veterans has died aged 96 after a short illness, his family has said.

Former Royal Engineer Harry Billinge, who lived in St Austell in Cornwall, was just 18 when he was one of the first British soldiers to land on Gold Beach in 1944 during the Second World War.

He was a sapper attached to the 44 Royal Engineer Commandos and was one of only four survivors from his unit. Mr Billinge later fought in Caen and the Falaise pocket in Normandy.

Mr Billinge is survived by his wife Shelia, two daughters Sally and Margot, his son Christopher and granddaughters Amy and Claire.

Mr and Mrs Billinge were married for 67 years and were due to celebrate their 68th wedding anniversary in August.

His daughter Sally Billinge-Shandley said: 'He was a man that always gave his word, his word was solid. He always fought for what he believed in.

'The passion he had for all the veterans that lost their lives was unwavering.

'How he dedicated his life to making sure that was never forgotten, that's how he'll be remembered.

'The memorial for the Normandy veterans just became part of him; it was just a huge part of his life. Some of his last words were, "Love one another.'''

D-Day veteran Harry Billinge (pictured left with his medals while fundraising in St Austell, Cornwall) has died aged 96 after a short illness, his family has said. The former Royal Engineer, who lived in St Austell in Cornwall, was just 18 when he was one of the first British soldiers to land on Gold Beach in 1944 during the Second World War

Mr Billinge was made an MBE in 2019 for charitable fundraising after collecting more than 50,000 for veterans.

A year later, he said he was 'deeply moved' after a Great Western Railway (GWR) Intercity Express train was named after him to mark 75 years since the end of the Second World War.

GWR managing director Mark Hopwood said: 'We're so sad to hear about the passing of our dear friend, Harry Billinge MBE.

'It was our absolute honour to name one of our trains after him in October 2020 and we will never forget the impact he had on so many.

'Intercity Express Train 802006 provides a lasting tribute to Harry and those thousands of lives lost during the Normandy landings in 1944.'

Bilinge was a sapper attached to the 44 Royal Engineer Commandos and was one of only four survivors from his unit. Above: Billinge during his return to Gold Beach in Normandy in 2018

Speaking from his home after being mde an MBE in 2019, Mr Billinge, who also held France's highest award, the Legion d'Honneur, said: 'I'm 94 and I only did what I did for the boys.

'I'm no brave man and I'm just an ordinary sapper, Royal Engineer Commando.

'I did my job and I didn't want any glory. There's no glory in war.

'Nobody should have got off the beaches at D-Day and I was lucky.

'I'll never forget any of the blokes I was with - 22,442 were killed and it's very difficult for me to talk about that.'

Discussing the MBE, Mr Billinge had said: 'It's overwhelmed me to be honest. I'm 94 and it's a bit late in life to be recognised.

Mr Billinge went on to raise more than 50,000 for veterans' charities. Above: Mr Billinge fundraising in St Austell, Cornwall

Mr Billinge is pictured shaking the hand of the Queen on the day that he was made an MBE in 2018

Harry Billinge from St Austell is made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace in Londo

Mr Billinge later fought in Caen and the Falaise pocket in Normandy. Pictured: Mr Billinge in Normandy

Mr Billinge memorably brought BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty to tears when he spoke of the men who were lost in Normandy

Harry Billinge is seen with his medals and a poppy wreath at the Charlestown Harbour in Cornwall in 2020

Mr Billinge often wore his medals during public appearances. He was chairman of the Cornwall branch of the Normandy Veterans' Association, president of the Royal Engineers Association and collected for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal for 64 years

Mr Billinge was made an MBE in 2019. He is pictured above displaying his honour after receiving it in 2020

'I am very grateful for any kindness bestowed upon me. I am choked beyond measure to think I have got an MBE. I don't deserve it.

'When I get it, it won't be for me, it will be for the 22,442 blokes killed on D-Day. That's what its all about. They were marvellous men, some just 16.

'What a waste of life, terrible.'

As well as his work to remember the fallen on D-Day, Mr Billinge for many years undertook charity work in Cornwall.

He was chairman of the Cornwall branch of the Normandy Veterans' Association, president of the Royal Engineers Association and collected for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal for 64 years.

According to the Normandy Memorial Trust, on D-Day and the subsequent battle for Normandy, 22,442 servicemen and women died under British command.
A mother and father have denied child cruelty and murder of their two-month-old daughter who was found dead with a fractured skull and damaged brain.

Mohammed Barrie, 36, and Raby Diallo, 25, appeared at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, charged with murdering their daughter Aissatu Barrie on May 19, 2020, at their home in Brixton.

They are also charged with causing or allowing the death of the baby, cruelty to a person under the age of 16 and causing or allowing physical harm to a child between March 3 and May 19, 2020.

The London Ambulance Service was called to their home at Cumnor House, Robsart Street, Brixton, south London just after 8am on May 19, 2020, where they found the baby dead.

Mohammed Barrie, 36, and Raby Diallo, 25, appeared at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, charged with murdering their daughter Aissatu Barrie on May 19, 2020, at their home in Robsart Street, Brixton, south London. Pictured: a general view of Robsart Street

It is alleged the baby, who was a twin, suffered from four separate episodes of injury at a time when both defendants were responsible for the childs welfare.

The injuries involved damage to and around the brain and spinal cord, bleeding in and around the optic nerve, fractures to the skull and ribs and vertebra and bruising to the chest muscles, the court previously heard.

The couple, who can now be named after reporting restrictions were lifted, appeared at the Old Bailey via separate video links on Tuesday.

Diallo, who appeared from HMP Bronzefield wearing a navy blue zip-up jacket, spoke to confirm her name and to plead not guilty to all four counts.

Answering the charges, she said: 'Non coupable' as she spoke to the court through a French translator.

Barrie, who appeared from HMP Pentonville wearing a grey jumper and blue facemask, also spoke to confirm his name and responded 'not guilty' to all four counts.

Barrie and Diallo both pleaded not guilty to all four changes against them when they appeared at the Old Bailey (pictured) on Tuesday

Judge Anne Molyneux told the defendants: 'You have been made aware that this case is to be transferred to the Inner London Crown Court where it will be tried by a high court judge.'

She later added: 'Your legal advisers will continue to assist you to prepare for trial.

'Your case will come to trial on October 3 of this year at the Inner London Crown Court.'

Judge Molyneux remanded the defendants in custody until their trial, estimated to be six weeks long, at Inner London Crown Court on October 3.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is now looking into the incident, the agency said in a release Monday, where officials revealed the cop was responsible

Investigators say, Crawford, 37, allegedly fired off more than 90 rounds at cops before ultimately killing the girl's mother, Taylor D. Shutte, 27, and himself

The shot came after a bitter three-and-a-half hour standoff between lawmen and the girl's father, Eli Crawford, at a mobile home just over the border in Kansas

Clesslynn Crawford died as a result of a round fired by the cop - a member of the town of Joplin's SWAT team - officials investigating the March 28 incident said

A Missouri cop responding to a domestic disturbance last month fatally shot a two-year-old girl during a gun battle outside a trailer that also claimed the lives of the tot's parents.

Clesslynn Crawford died when she was hit by a round fired by the officer - a member of the town of Joplin's SWAT team - in an apparent accident, officials investigating the incident said Monday.

According to officials, the shot came during a three-and-a-half hour standoff between lawmen and the girl's father, Eli Crawford, at a mobile home just over the border in Baxter Springs, Kansas, March 28.

During the incident, investigators said, Crawford, 37, fired more than 90 rounds at officers, ultimately killing the girl's mother, Taylor D. Shutte, 27, of Webb City, Missouri, and himself.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is now looking into the incident, the agency said in a press release Monday.

It will decide if the officer's actions warrant criminal charges. The officer, who has not been identified, is on administrative leave.

A Missouri cop has been put on leave after fatally shooting two-year-old Clesslynn Crawford while responding to a domestic disturbance call last month, it has been revealed, following a three-and-a-half hour gun battle that also claimed the lives of the tot's parents

The shot came after a bitter three-and-a-half hour standoff between lawmen and the girl's father, Eli Crawford, at a mobile home in nearby Kansas, where the Missouri man reportedly fired more than 90 shots at responding officers. Pictured is a bullet hole-riddled police vehicle at the scene

According to the KBI, four Baxter Springs Police officers went to the home around 7:15 pm 'after a woman [Shutte] called 911 requesting help ... due to an ongoing domestic disturbance.'

When they knocked on the door of the camper trailer, however, the KBI said Crawford opened it then immediately 'slammed it back shut' after seeing the police.

At that point, according to the agency, Clesslynn reopened the door, and Shutte, who had not previously been identified by police, fled.

Once Shutte was outside, KBI officials said, Crawford stepped out and fatally shot her. Then, officials said, Crawford turned the gun on the officers, firing indiscriminately while barricading himself in the camper with his child.

During the gun battle, Crawford (not pictured) fatally shot the girl's mother, Taylor D. Shutte, 27, several times, before ultimately turning the gun on himself

Investigators added Monday that once Crawford began his attack, the officers 'retreated to a safe distance without returning fire.'

Under heavy fire, they called for backup, and the Joplin Police Departments SWAT Team - including the unnamed officer - the KBI, Kansas Highway Patrol and the Cherokee County Sheriffs Office responded.

The KBI wrote that Crawford was 'believed to have used several guns to fire over 90 rounds' during the heated encounter.

At some point during the shootout, KBI officials said, Shutte succumbed to her wounds at the scene.

The shootout took place in Baxter Springs at the 300 block of Wyandotte Avenue (pictured)

At about 9:25 pm, the cop KBI officials said was responsible for Clesslynn's death fired one round into the residence.

Roughly an hour later, Crawford, who had continued firing at officers, abruptly stopped. Authorities entered the residence to find Crawford and Clesslynn dead with gunshot wounds.

In a separate statement released last Monday, Joplin Police Department confirmed the KBI's initial finding following inspection of the crime scene, that the round that killed the girl was fired by a SWAT team member.

'This is a horrific outcome to what had already started as a very tragic incident,' police Chief Sloan Rowland said in the written release.

'Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families involved and the surrounding community. We ask that you pray for the victims and everyone involved.'

The Joplin Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday from DailyMail.com.

In her statement, Rowland said the officer had been put on paid administrative leave, as is customary for an officer who discharges his or her service weapon.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is now looking into the incident, the agency said in a press release Monday, where officials revealed the officer was responsible for the girl's death and provided new details on the previously reported encounter. They will decide if the officer's actions warrants criminal charges

'The Joplin Police Department is actively cooperating with the Baxter Springs Police Department, Cherokee County Sheriffs Office, and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation as part of the ongoing investigation,' she went on.

The KBI confirmed a week after the incident that Shutte was shot several times before her death and that her assailant, Crawford, died by suicide.

The KBI's statement confirmed suspicions that Clesslynn was fatally shot by the police officer

The Cherokee County Attorney will determine if any criminal charges will be filed against the officer for fatally shooting Clesslynn. The investigation is ongoing.

'Clesslynn was full of life and had a very bubbly personality. She was very loving and always happy,' the tot's obituary reads. 'She was extremely smart for her age and loved putting a smile on everyones face. Clesslynn loved Minnie Mouse, her binky, and never passed up a chance to dance. She would talk to you for days and was the definition of "A BOSS BABY."

'She always loved to cuddle, and although little, she was very fierce,' the tribute continues. 'Clesslynn had the eyes of an angel and a smile that could warm anyones heart. There was never a dull moment around this sweet girl.'
A stalker who menaced Loose Women star Denise Welch for five months and set fire to her home is due to be sentenced this week.

Toraq Wyngard, 53, was convicted last September of stalking causing serious alarm or distress to the actress between September 18, 2020, and February 11 last year.

Chester Crown Court previously heard how he plagued Ms Welch, 63, by turning up at the 800,000 Cheshire home she shares with husband Lincoln Towney and leaving unwanted messages.

On September 19, 2020, he set fire to a skip on the driveway of the house which later spread to the garage.

When police arrived, they found Wyngard, of Salford, Greater Manchester, near the address carrying a knife in his backpack.

Toraq Wyngard (pictured), 53, stalked the Hollyoaks actress causing serious alarm or distress, between September 18, 2020, and February 11 last year. He will be sentenced this week

It was to be the start of a 'horrible time' for Ms Welch and her husband, who were relieved when Wyngard was finally apprehended by police.

Wyngard initially pleaded guilty to the stalking charge as well as possession of a knife, criminal damage, and arson.

But on the day he was due to be sentenced on October 26 last year, he indicated he wanted to change his plea - leading to a further delay.

At the time, Judge Michael Leeming apologised to Ms Welch and her husband as they had attended court expecting to see Wyngard sentenced.

Denise, 63, is known as an actress as well as her role on the panel on ITV's Loose Women

Denise Welch and her husband Lincoln attended Chester Crown Court in October expecting to see Wyngard jailed, but he attempted to change his plea

Wyngard failed in his application to overturn his guilty plea and will be sentenced on Thursday.

The TV personality has previously spoken of the heavy toll Wyngard's harassment has had on her family.

'This has been an incredibly terrifying and stressful time for me and our family,' said Ms Welch.

'We are grateful to the fire service for their prompt action saving our house and to the police for their amazing vigilance and support.

'Special thanks go to the Harm Reduction Unit assigned to us who have guided us through this horrible time every step of the way.'
The QAnon-obsessed father who murdered his two kids with a spear gun in Mexico last year told police that he had been radicalized by British conspiracy theorist David Icke, and was possessed into thinking there are 'lizard people' on earth.

Matthew Coleman killed his two-year-old son Kaleo and ten-month-old daughter Roxy by shooting them in the heart with a spear gun after driving to Rosalito, Mexico, from their home in Santa Barbara, California.

Coleman dumped the children's bodies on the side of the road and was later arrested trying to return to America in the family's Mercedes Sprinter Van.

He has confessed to the killings, saying he believed in shapeshifters and that his children had inherited reptile DNA from their mother that he believed had to be rendered extinct.

New court documents have revealed that he told police in the immediate aftermath of his arrest that he had been radicalized by the British conspiracy theorist David Icke.

Matthew Coleman killed his two-year-old son Kaleo and ten-month-old daughter Roxy by shooting them in the heart with a spear after driving to Rosalito, Mexico, from their home in Santa Barbara, California. They are pictured with his wife Abby

A newly-filed FBI search warrant details how Coleman told cops he found out about shapeshifters from David Icke

Icke's theories are so extreme that he has been banned from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

British conspiracy theorist David Icke who believes COVID is a hoax and that people can shapeshift into lizards

After police picked up Coleman at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on August 9, 2021, and confronted him with the fact they had found the children's bodies, he confessed.

The next day, as he was being transported to jail, he told FBI agents about how he first learned about 'lizard people' from Icke.

'He explained that he first learned of Lizard People on Twitter and from 'that British guy with white hair,' FBI Special Agent Joseph P. Hamer wrote in his search warrant.

In the notes, he went on: 'I believe, based on my investigation of this case, that British guy with white hair refers to David Icke, a British conspiracy theorist with white hair, who has published several books, including Children of the Matrix which describes, among other things, Nefilim, interbreeding [] between the reptilians and the blond-haired, blue-eyed, Nordic peoples, reptilian DNA, and royal bloodlines[ of] the reptilian Nordic hybrids, and their relation to the Illuminati."'

Coleman previously told the investigators how he believed he and his children were entering the Matrix.

Surveillance camera footage from a hotel in Mexico shows Coleman with his two-year-old before he killed him and his younger sister

Coleman is shown checking into a hotel in Mexico with his son days before the murders in August 2021

Coleman was working as a surf school instructor in Lovewater Surf School in Santa Barbara

Social media posts show how Coleman had become obsessed with QAnon and religion in the months before he killed his kids

Icke's conspiracy theories include that COVID-19 is not a real virus and that the pandemic was orchestrated to destabilize the world.

It remains unclear if Coleman will be deemed fit enough to stand trial

He thinks supernatural forces are behind it and that it's an attempt to control the population with technology including 5G.

He has been banned from entering Australia, accused of the denying the holocaust and labeled anti-Semitic for his offensive suggestions that many of the 'lizard people' who he claims run the world in a secret society are Jewish.

Coleman also became obsessed with QAnon in the weeks and months before he killed his kids.

Coleman ranted to agents after confessing to the double murder, saying he was 'either crazy or the only person left on Earth that is a true man.'

Explaining why he killed his two kids, Coleman 'mentioned during the interview that "Q" was actually talking to him' ahead of the murders, the filing states, referring to the eponymous, anonymous online persona that set off the conspiracy movement in 2017.

Coleman, who had told investigators he killed the children because they had 'serpent DNA,' continued: 'Anyways, was actually still thinking of burning them in case theres [sic] a chip in them or something.

'Going to keep processing through everything and hope to get some answers.'

He then offered his wife of four years an eerie sign-off that seemingly forecasted the horrid acts he would commit late in the day, in the last message he would ever send her.

Coleman's wife Abby had also become obsessed with QAnon but prosecutors do not believe she was aware he planned to kill their kids

'Hope all this craziness ends soon. Love you,' Coleman wrote, according to the warrant, before murdering his children just hours later.

The document further revealed that after being apprehended by officers upon his return to the US two days later, Coleman told agents that he had started noticing 'strange coincidences' five or six days before committing the murders.

According to the warrant, Coleman discussed with investigators 'QAnon and Illuminati conspiracy theories as well as Strong's numbers (an index of every word in the Bible),' before telling them he had experienced 'visions and signs revealed that his wife possessed serpent DNA.'

Coleman remains in custody. It has not yet been determined whether or not he is fit to stand trial.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken pulled no punches after the horrific accounts that came out of Bucha, Ukraine, claiming Tuesday that Russia was on a 'deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape.'

'As this Russian tide is receding from parts of Ukraine, the world is seeing the death and destruction left in its wake,' he told reporters as he flew to Brussels. 'What we've seen in Bucha is not the random act of a rogue unit. It's a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities. The reports are more than credible. The evidence is there for the world to see.'

At the same time U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted that Ukrainians were being taken to 'filtration camps' in Russia. Russian federal security agents are now taking away passports, IDs and cell phones so Ukrainians cannot escape and ripping apart families, she said.

'I do not need to spell out what these so-called filtration camps are reminiscent of. It's chilling and we cannot look away. Every day we see more and more how little Russia respects human rights.'

Blinken said that the U.S. is working with other nations to gather evidence to help the Ukrainian prosecutor general and the UN Human Rights Council in investigations.

'As this Russian tide is receding from parts of Ukraine, the world is seeing the death and destruction left in its wake,' Sec. of State Antony Blinken told reporters as he flew to Brussels

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted that Ukrainians were being taken to 'filtration camps' in Russia

As Russian forces withdrew from Bucha, an old railroad stop northwest of Kyiv that had sprung up into a lush suburb, the world was horrified at the shell of the town that was revealed- mass graves with limbs only haphazardly covered in dirt, bodies piled on the side of the road. In total, Bucha's mayor estimated that Russians had slaughtered more than 300 of the town's citizens.

On Monday President Biden called for Russian leader Vladimir Putin to face a war crimes trial for the atrocities in Bucha.

'He is a war criminal,' Biden told reporters of Putin. 'But we have to gather the information. We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue to fight and we have to get all the detail so this could be  actual have a war crimes trial. This guy is brutal and what's happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone's seen it.'

'I'm seeking more sanctions,' Biden said. He said he didn't think what happened in Bucha could be called genocide, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted.

Survivors of a month-long Russian occupation - endured in cold, dark silence after Putin's troops cut off all links with the outside world - are just now starting to emerge from basements and makeshift bunkers.

Ukraine's prosecutor-general said the bodies of 410 civilians, many with bound hands and close-range gunshot wounds, have been recovered from towns surrounding Kyiv after last week's withdrawal of Russian troops.

Zelensky compared Russia to ISIS in a fiery speech Tuesday before the UN Security Council. He called the rapes, murder and torture by invading Kremlin forces 'the most terrible war crimes' since WWII, as he shared a harrowing video of burnt corpses and bodies stuffed in wells to the council.

Vladislav Kozlovsky, who returned to Bucha at the outbreak of war to care for his mother and grandmother, told The Telegraph how two men he knew had tried to escape through an abandoned glass factory but were found by the Russians.

One was shot in the back of the head. The other had his cheek cut out before being shot in the heart.

Volodymyr Pilhutskyi, another Bucha resident, recounted how his neighbour was taken away by Russian troops because he was wearing military-style trousers which were deemed 'suspicious'.

He was tortured and killed, Mr Pilhutskyi said, with burn marks from a flamethrower found on his body.

Bodies are piled up at a cemetery in Bucha after Russia' withdrawal from the town

A family walks pass a car crushed by a Russian tank in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5

Dozens of bodies wait to be buried at a cemetery in Bucha on Tuesday

Ukrainian armed forces say they have now uncovered a Russian torture chamber, located inside a children's hospital that was also being used as a makeshift barracks.

The bodies of five men were found shot to death in the basement, a spokesman said, with their hands tied behind their backs. Some had been tortured.

Graphic images taken by Ukrainian prosecutors show the bodies of the men lying on a rubble floor surrounded by pools of dried blood. At least one appears to have been shot through the kneecap.

It comes as drone footage revealed today appeared to show Russian tanks opening fire on a cyclist in Bucha.

Tanya Nedashkivs'ka, 57, weeps in the street over the death of her husband who was found killed as Ukrainian forces liberated the city of Bucha, to the west of Kyiv, after a month under the occupation of Russian troops

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that even though Ukraine is taking back the capital, he urged civilians not to return for 'at least another week', with explosives left around the city. Pictured: teams work to clear explosives

Ukrainian interviews with Human Rights Watch laid to bare Russia's indiscriminate killings in Bucha and beyond. Locals said that Russian forces would throw smoke grenades into basements and other hiding places and shoot those who ran out in fear.

On March 5, Russian soldiers allegedly went door to door rounding up those who were hiding, mostly women, children and elderly, and brought them to a parking lot to wait for hours in the frigid weather. They then brought up five men, forced them to strip down and use their own shirts as execution cloth, and shot one in the head, threatening the four others.

Dead bodies litter the streets near Bucha, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, after Russian forces withdrew from the region - leaving evidence of 'war crimes' in their wake

Men take away bodies of Ukrainian civilians killed in the Russian invasion, on a street in the small city of Bucha of Kyiv (Kiev) area, Ukraine, 03 April 2022

Bodies of civilians in plastic bags lay in a mass grave in Bucha city, which was the recaptured by the Ukrainian army, Kyiv (Kiev) area, Ukraine, 04 April 2022. More than 410 bodies of killed civilians were carried from the recaptured territory in Kyiv's area for exgumation and expert examination

The commander told the rest of the people in the square: : 'Don't worry. You are all normal  and this is dirt. We are here to cleanse you from the dirt.'

One woman told Human Rights Watch that she was raped by a Russian soldier in a classroom in a school in Kharkiv where she was sheltering, after the soldier held a gun to her temple while he forced her to perform sexual acts. After the encounter, the woman said that the soldier told her that he was 20 years old and she reminded him of a girl he went to school with. He proceeded to cut her throat, cheek and hair with a knife.
Scott Morrison has been accused of lying again after insisting to Leigh Sales that Gladys Berejiklian denied sending text messages calling him a 'horrible, horrible person'.

The prime minister made the claim as the veteran ABC star bombarded him with questions about his leadership in a tense showdown on her 7.30 program.

Soon afterward, further leaked texts between the NSW premier and a political colleague were posted online.

The original text messages, first made public by political reporter Peter van Onselen on January 31, claimed Ms Berejiklian said Mr Morrison was more 'concerned with politics than people'.

The latest message exchange is even more damaging to the PM, with Ms Berejiklian questioning his motives and handing of the bushfires which devastated large parts of Australia in 2019.

'Morrison is a horrible horrible person. He is actively spreading lies and briefing against me re fires,' she wrote followed by a red-faced emoji.

The politician on the other end is even more scathing in reply, calling the PM a self-obsessed 'psycho'.

'Morrison is about Morrison. Complete psycho. He is desperate and jealous. The mob have worked him out and think he is a fraud.'

ABC's Leigh Sales hit Scott Morrison (pictured) with a tough line of questions on 7.30 on Tuesday

The text message exchange between Gladys Berejiklian and an unnamed politician calling Mr Morrison a 'fraud'

Sales on Tuesday night confronted the PM over controversies plaguing his reputation ahead of the upcoming election, character assassinations levelled at him by members within his party and his friendship with a disgraced preacher.

Mr Morrison, who is due to call the federal election within days, performed relatively well despite being in the firing line and offered a smooth response to each question until he was asked about Ms Berejiklian texts.

'Let's look at the range of people who have questioned your character,' Sales said to Mr Morrison.

'Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Barnaby Joyce in a text message, Jacqui Lambie, Pauline Hanson both say they felt bullied by you, Julia Banks, Emmanuel Macron said you lied to him, a leaked text from Gladys Berejiklian calling you a horrible, horrible person.

'That's a lot of smoke. No fire?'

Mr Morrison quickly shot down the accusation, saying 'which she denies by the way', despite the former premier never formerly doing so.

Sales (pictured) confronted Mr Morrison over a series of controversies that have tainted his reputation

The claim was quickly picked up by van Onselen who fired up his Twitter account to debunk Mr Morrison's claims.

'The Prime Minister Just told ABC 7.30 Gladys Berejiklian "denies" the "horrible, horrible person" text. That is an out and out lie.'

In January, after the bombshell text exchange was made public, Ms Berejiklian issued a statement expressing support for the PM - but she never claimed she was not responsible.

'I understand there has been some commentary today concerning myself and the PM. I have no recollection of such messages,' Ms Berejiklian's statement read.

'Let me reiterate my very strong support for Prime Minister Morrison and all he is doing for our nation during these very challenging times.

'I also strongly believe he is the best person to lead our nation for years to come.'

Defending his reputation, Mr Morrison claimed long lists of scorching discreditations were inevitable as prime minister.

'People are always disappointed and theyll have an axe to grind. Thats normal in politics, particularly when youre going into an election, he told Sales.

Sales pointed out a long list of people have made accusations about the PM's character, including Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (pictured)

Political reporter Peter van Onselen tweeted that Mr Morrison had lied by claiming Ms Berejiklian denied the text

'As Prime Minister, when people come and they just want a yes from me or want the outcome they're seeking and I disagree with them and I take a different position.... the allegation they make against me on that is not true.

'And when they don't get what they want, then of course they're going to lash out.'

Sales also probed Mr Morrison over his friendship with controversial Hillsong founder Brian Houston, who last month resigned amid allegations he harassed two women in the church.

'Why did you kind of disown him last week when you were asked [by reporters] about that [situation] given he a long-term close friend?' Sales said.

'I wouldn't describe that as my reaction. I said I was disappointed and I was shocked,' Mr Morrison said.

Sales shot back: '[But] as a loyal mate, why didn't you say "I don't want to join a pile on of this bloke?"'

Mr Morrison deflected the question, reiterating his initial response.

'I didn't. I said I was disappointed and shocked like a lot of people have been and the church's response was very appropriate and I think it was,' he said.

After putting a stolid front, the PM cracked and offered a glimpse of candid emotion when asked whether he had been in contact with Mr Houston since his resignation.

Looking rueful, sadness flickered across Mr Morrison's face as he replied: 'no I haven't'.

Brian Houston (pictured), the co-founder of mega church Hillsong, resigned last week amid harassment claims

Mr Morrison looked upset as he revealed he had not spoken to his friend Brian Houston after the Hillsong founder's recent harassment scandal

Mr Morrison also responded to allegations made by Catherine Cusack, a member of the NSW Upper House who lives in the flood-devastated Northern Rivers region, in a scathing opinion piece for The Guardian.

Ms Cusack said Mr Morrison's government had only provided flood support for the Federal seat of Page, which backs the Coalition, while denying Labor-seat towns like Ballina, Byron, and Tweed.

'Scott Morrison is practised at bullying and getting his own way,' Ms Cusack said.

'We are in the middle of a massive catastrophe here in the northern rivers. So outrageous, its just outrageous. It is so petty. Hes obviously not happy with the New South Wales Government.'

Mr Morrison said Ms Cusack had made similar complaints about the former NSW Premier.

'Look, Catherine and I have known each other for a long time. She made similar criticisms of Gladys Berejiklian, he said.

'When people become frustrated in the political process, they have lashed out. People have axes to grind.'

Sales also put it to Mr Morrison that he had intervened in the NSW preselection to ensure his allies were in optimised seats.

But Mr Morrison insisted he had only meddled to protect the women on his team and make sure the best candidates for the role were put forward.

Catherine Cusack, a Liberal MP who lives in the flood-devastated Northern Rivers region, (right), and former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (left)

'Sussan Ley, one of my finest cabinet ministers and one of our most successful women in parliament, was under threat,' he said.

'She was under threat from factions within the Liberal Party and I stood up.'

Sales called nonsense.

'You've got your allies and your agendas, everyone in politics does, you have to. It's disingenuous to say you don't?' she posited.

'You're claiming you're like an honest broker who doesn't have his own agenda?

Mr Morrison replied: 'I think that's unfair. I [have] always stood up to the factions.'

After remaining relatively poised, Mr Morrison's patience faltered right at the end as he fired a brutal shot at the television host, undermining the prominence of her program.

'Prime Minister, every election campaign for the past 27 years that this show has been on, both leaders have done a couple of prime time interviews. Ive already invited Mr Albanese and he agreed. Would you be happy to do a couple of interviews?,' Sales asked.

'We will appear on the ABC and everybodys programs over the course of the campaign and weve always made ourselves pretty available, Mr Morrison said.

Sales quipped: 'Thats not a direct answer, actually. Will you do two interviews on 7.30?

'Its not about 7.30, its about the Australian people and well make ourselves available to the ABC and all the networks, Mr Morrison.

'I dont think the major issue people are thinking about is the 7.30. Not at all.'
Disturbing radio traffic has revealed a potentially serious issue on an Air France flight from New York to Paris, with pilots heard struggling to get the plane's controls to respond.

Air France Flight 11, a Boeing 777, was able to land safely at Charles de Gaulle Airport on Tuesday morning after moments of tense panic in the cockpit, which were captured in radio recordings shared by industry news site AirLive.

An Air France spokesman confirmed to DailyMail.com that a 'technical incident' had forced the pilots to abort their landing sequence and perform a go-around before landing the plane normally.

In recordings of radio traffic, cockpit alarms are heard blaring as the pilot groans and seems to struggle with the plane's controls, telling the tower: 'I'll call you back!'

An Air France Boeing 777-328ER is seen in a file photo. Air France Flight 11, a Boeing 777, was able to land safely at Charles de Gaulle Airport on Tuesday after moments of tense panic

AF011's flight path on final approach to Charles de Gaulle Airport is seen above. The plane had to abort its first landing attempt after a 'technical incident'

Air traffic controllers noted that the plane was deviating to its left. The plane managed to go-around at just 1,200 feet as ground control halted all departures.

'We went around following an issue with commands. The airplane didn't respond,' the pilot explained after the crisis abated.

'We are ready to resume final approach with radar guidance. Please give us time to manage the situation, then guide us with tailwind,' the pilot continued.

The plane managed to regain altitude to 4,000 feet and then make a safe landing on runway 27R.

'Air France confirms that the crew of flight AF011 on 4 April 2022 from New York JFK to Paris-CDG aborted their landing sequence and performed a go-around due to a technical incident during the approach,' a spokesman for the airline told DailyMail.com in a statement.

'The crew mastered the situation and landed the aircraft normally after a second approach,' the statement added.

The cockpit of a Boeing 777 is seen in a stock image. 'The crew mastered the situation and landed the aircraft normally after a second approach,' an Air France spokesman said

The company said that 'Air France understands and regrets the discomfort felt by customers'

'The go-around is defined by the authorities, aircraft manufacturers and Air France as a normal procedure,' the spokesman said.

'The crews are trained and regularly instructed in these procedures, which are used by all airlines to guarantee the safety of flights and passengers, which is an absolute necessity for Air France,' he added.

A spokesman for Boeing declined to comment when reached by DailyMail.com, referring inquiries to Air France.

The Chicago-based airplane maker has faced numerous questions over safety in recent years.

An Air France Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner prepares to depart from Charles De Gaule International Airport (CDG) on November 19, 2020

Last month, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was finalizing three safety directives for some grounded Boeing 777 planes with Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines.

The new directives come after a United Airlines 777 failed shortly after takeoff from Denver in February 2021, showering debris over nearby cities. No one was injured and the plane safely returned to the airport.

The FAA said the new directives, which were proposed in December after three reported in-flight fan blade failures, require enhanced inspections and modifications that will allow Boeing 777-200 and -300 airplanes equipped with those Pratt & Whitney engines to resume flights after being grounded for more than a year.

United, which is the only U.S. operator of 777s with the PW4000 engine and has 52 of those planes, said the step 'is a good and safe outcome for our industry and United customers.'
Covid infections in England reached record highs last week, another official surveillance study claimed today.

The Government-backed REACT-1 study estimates around 6.4 per cent of people had the virus in the seven days up to March 31  although prevalence 'may now be plateauing' in some age groups.

It was the second surveillance programme to suggest infections were at record levels, after the Office for National Statistics last week reported its highest ever rate.

Most worryingly, the REACT data  based on random swabbing of around 100,000 people  suggested rates were growing rapidly in over-75s.

Infections were 'unprecedently high' in the age group, according to Professor Paul Elliott, an Imperial College London epidemiologist who runs the study.

Nearly 5 per cent of over-75s were thought to have the virus during the week, compared to just over 1.25 per cent in the week ending March 1.

Waning immunity against infection could be to blame for the sharp increase in older generations, he said.

Most people above the age of 75 received their booster doses more than four months ago in October and November.

The Government-backed REACT-1 study estimates around 6.4 per cent people had Covid in England in the seven days up to March 31  a record high for the study

The REACT data  based on random swabbing of around 100,000 people  suggested rates were growing rapidly in over-75s

Infections are around 20 per cent higher in over-55s than their average over the entire pandemic

Experts say official figures are meaningless given No10's decision to axe mass testing Ministers should ditch the daily Covid statistics now that the numbers are almost meaningless, leading experts and MPs argued today. Boris Johnson's decision to axe England's 2billion-a-month free testing regime means that tens of thousands of cases are being missed. MailOnline can also reveal people who buy a test privately are unable to report a positive result to the Government, skewing the case numbers even further. And scientists have for months warned the daily hospital and death numbers are misleading because they don't necessarily equate to patients who have been killed or left severely ill from the illness. No10 insiders originally hinted the daily dashboard would be stood down in April, coinciding with the end of the Government's mass-testing programme. But health officials have yet to pull the plug, despite months of appeals to stop publicising the figures every day. Department of Health insiders say there are 'currently no plans' to ditch the daily 4pm releases, even though the weekend dashboard reporting system has already been cancelled under the Prime Ministers strategy to live with coronavirus like the flu. Advertisement

Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, Professor Elliott said: 'The rates are extremely high in over-75s  we've never seen higher rates in that group.

'Infections are around 20 per cent higher in over-55s than their average over the entire pandemic. They are unprecedently high.'

Over-75s are most likely to suffer severe illness with Covid but 'there is very high vaccination in the group', he said.

Professor Elliott said immunity protecting people against hospitalisation and death still appears to be high across most age groups.

But he claimed boosters given to older generations at the tail-end of last year may not be protecting them from being infected as effectively now.

According to the study: 'The high and increasing prevalence in older adults may increase hospitalisations and deaths despite high levels of vaccination.'

Professor Christl Donnelly, a statistical epidemiologist at Imperial College London, and University of Oxford, said: 'It's still the case that if you see more infection, you would expect, even if it's a very small proportion of those, to see more of the severe outcomes.

'So we don't yet know when we'll see a peak in the oldest age group  the 55 plus  and because those people are at higher risk of severe outcomes, that is a particular worry.

'It is possible if the prevalence continues to go up, that you will see further increases in the severe outcome rates.'

Responding to the findings, Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at the NHS Confederation, said: 'We are now seeing record numbers of people currently infected with Covid, and it's particularly concerning to note the unprecedented and still rising levels in older people.

'Nearly 20,000 people are now in hospital with Covid in England and the NHS, and its exhausted staff are once again really struggling to cope with increasing admissions and bed occupancy.

'NHS leaders and their teams are increasing their Covid services and reopening coronavirus wards, but the Government must take heed, combined with chronic staff shortages, and a waiting list backlog that now tops 6.1 million, we really need a realistic conversation about the current situation in the health service.'

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated more than 4.1million people had the virus on any given day over the week to March 26, equivalent to one in 13 being infected. The figure is the highest ever recorded in England, topping the previous peak of 3.7m at the height of the Omicron wave in January. It is also 18 per cent higher than last week

The data provided today will be the last update to the REACT-1 study after No10 cut funding for the programme as part of its 'Living With Covid' strategy.

It marked the second random swabbing study to estimate cases are currently at record highs in less than a week after ONS's update on Friday.

The ONS  which will continue to run its scheme  claimed more than 4.1million people had the virus on any given day over the week to March 26, equivalent to one in 13 being infected.

The figure is the highest ever recorded in England, topping the previous peak of 3.7m at the height of the Omicron wave in January. It is also 18 per cent higher than one week earlier.

Despite the record numbers reported by random-swabbing studies, official Covid cases plunged to their lowest level in a month yesterday in Britain following No10's decision to scrap free testing.

Another 50,202 positive tests were logged by UK Health Security Agency bosses today, down 38 per cent on last week's tally. It marks the smallest daily total since March 4.

Experts say the daily counts are now 'completely irrelevant', however, because they rely entirely on testing. Tory MPs today insisted that 'it's time to stop' the constant cycle of updates because they 'are of little interest' and 'in isolation tell us nothing'.

Swabbing rates were declining in England even before the Government chose to axe its 2billion-a-month mass-testing programme forever on April 1. But rates have since plunged further.

UKHSA officials also registered 368 deaths, in the highest daily toll since early February, while another 2,378 hospital admissions were recorded across the UK. Both measurements were up slightly week-on-week.

Boris Johnson's decision to axe England's 2billion-a-month free testing regime means that tens of thousands of cases are being missed.

MailOnline can also reveal people who buy a test privately are unable to report a positive result to the Government, skewing the case numbers even further.

And scientists have for months warned the daily hospital and death numbers are misleading because they don't necessarily equate to patients who have been killed or left severely ill from the illness.

No10 insiders originally hinted the daily dashboard would be stood down in April, coinciding with the end of the Government's mass-testing programme.

But health officials have yet to pull the plug, despite months of appeals to stop publicising the figures every day.

Department of Health insiders say there are 'currently no plans' to ditch the daily 4pm releases, even though the weekend dashboard reporting system has already been cancelled under the Prime Ministers strategy to live with coronavirus like the flu.
Production on two new Air Force One jets was disrupted when a jack wasn't able to hold up one of the planes, adding more time to the already delayed assembly after two mini tequila bottles were found inside one of the jets last year.

The jacking mishap happened earlier this year, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

Boeing crews on a scaffold-like structure were trying to hoist one of the jets onto jacks so they could work on it, but the weight on some of the jacks exceeded the limit. The planes weren't damaged.

Boeing and the Pentagon are in negotiations over a delivery schedule for the jets. They were supposed to arrive by the end of 2024, but are now likely to be 24 months late, according to the Air Force.

The Trump administration agreed to pay $3.9 billion for the two jets in 2018.

The incident comes after two mini tequila bottles were found in one of the jets in September. The company hasn't figured out who left them there.

This is the latest setback for Boeing, which has relied on its lucrative federal contracts as commercial travel lulled during the COVID-19 pandemic and its 737-MAX planes remained grounded in the US for two years after two fatal crashes.

Production on two Air Force jets being built by Boeing was temporarily halted earlier this year after a mishap at the San Antonio facility where they're being built

Crews were trying to hoist the plane onto jacks, but some of them couldn't bare the weight, causing concern about damaging the aircraft, sources told the Wall Street Journal

Boeing is building two heavily modified 747-8 jets to be used as Air Force One planes by the president. The modified planes are known as VC-25B military variants.

In court documents last year, the Chicago-based manufacturer said the highly classified jets carry the 'highest national priority.'

A review of the jacking incident found that a Boeing employee who oversaw the jacking wasn't qualified to do so, and that the crews didn't follow established procedures, the Journal reported. One employee also failed a routine drug test.

Concerns about damage to one of the plane's wings were ruled out, according to an anonymous source.

The latest mishap comes after Boeing found two empty mini tequila bottles in one of the planes last year

A Boeing spokesman told the Journal: 'We hold ourselves accountable to ensure we meet stringent quality-control requirements on all of our programs.'

The Air Force, meanwhile, said it formally requested that Boeing improve its operations 'citing documentation, procedural and training shortfalls.'

'The situation was corrected and actions taken to prevent reoccurrence,' an Air Force spokeswoman said.

Last year, Boeing said that it found two empty tequila bottles on one of the Air Force One planes being developed in San Antonio facility, though alcohol is banned at all Boeing factories. The company doesn't know who left them there.

Former President Donald Trump had criticized the US plane maker for high price tags for the heavily modified 747-8 aircraft. The company, however, received a $3.9 billion contract in 2018 to build two aircraft to be used as Air Force One jets.

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner has also been plagued by production defects, while delivery delays have led to multiple complaints from airlines.

Boeing is building two heavily modified 747-8 jets to be used as Air Force One planes at its facility (above) in San Antonio, Texas

The planes, originally expected at the end of 2024, will probably be 24 months late. Above, Air Force One lands near Rzeszow, Poland on March 25

The manufacturing delay is another setback for Boeing, which has spent the past three years recovering from the financial and reputational hit of two 737-MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed a combined 346 people.

The 737-MAX is now back in operation in most of the world except China.

Last month, a jury in Texas found Boeing's former top pilot not guilty of deceiving federal regulators who were evaluating the company's 737 MAX jet.

A federal district court jury in Fort Worth deliberated less than two hours before finding Mark Forkner, 49, not guilty on four counts of wire fraud.

Prosecutors accused Forkner of misleading Federal Aviation Administration regulators about the amount of training pilots would need to fly the MAX.

The FAA required only brief computer-based training for pilots instead of more extensive practice in simulators that could have cost Boeing up to $1 million per plane.

Mark Forkner (pictured center) was found not guilty Wednesday of deceiving federal regulators evaluating the company's 737 MAX jet which led to two crashes, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Northern Texas said

The families of 737 MAX crash victims have said the U.S. Justice Department violated their rights when it struck a deferred prosecution agreement with Boeing in January. Pictured: Family members hold photos of Ethiopian 302 victims during a Congressional hearing

Defense lawyers said Boeing engineers did not tell Forkner about changes to the flight software, known by its acronym, MCAS.

The lawyers said Forkner was a scapegoat for Boeing and FAA officials who sought to avoid blame after the Max crashes, which killed 346 people.

'We are very grateful that this jury and judge were so smart, so fair, so independent, that they saw through it,' defense attorney David Gerger - who had previously called his client a 'scapegoat' in the 'search for truth' - said after the verdict.

The company is also recovering from a plane crash on March 21 that sent a plane nosediving into a hillside in southern China.

Search teams have now recovered the second black box from the wreckage of the China Eastern 737-800.

The recovery of the second black box should allow experts to begin piecing together what caused the plane to fall.

Pictured: A search and rescue worker holds the second orange-coloured 'black box' recorder which recovered at the China Eastern flight crash site in Tengxian County on Sunday, March 27

Chinese authorities have confirmed that there were no survivors onboard the doomed plane. Pictured: Recovery workers carry a piece of the plane wreckage away from the crash site

Investigators have identified all of the victims.

On Tuesday morning, disturbing radio traffic revealed a potentially serious issue on an Air France flight from New York to Paris, with pilots heard struggling to get the plane's controls to respond.

Air France Flight 11, a Boeing 777, was able to land safely at Charles de Gaulle Airport after moments of tense panic in the cockpit, which were captured in radio recordings shared by industry news site AirLive.

An Air France spokesman confirmed to DailyMail.com that a 'technical incident' had forced the pilots to abort their landing sequence and perform a go-around before landing the plane normally.

An Air France Boeing 777-328ER is seen in a file photo. Air France Flight 11, a Boeing 777, was able to land safely at Charles de Gaulle Airport on Tuesday after moments of tense panic

AF011's flight path on final approach to Charles de Gaulle Airport is seen above. The plane had to abort its first landing attempt after a 'technical incident'

In recordings of radio traffic, cockpit alarms are heard blaring as the pilot groans and seems to struggle with the plane's controls, telling the tower: 'I'll call you back!'

Air traffic controllers noted that the plane was deviating to its left. The plane managed to go-around at just 1,200 feet as ground control halted all departures.

'We went around following an issue with commands. The airplane didn't respond,' the pilot explained after the crisis abated.

'We are ready to resume final approach with radar guidance. Please give us time to manage the situation, then guide us with tailwind,' the pilot continued.

The plane managed to regain altitude to 4,000 feet and then make a safe landing on runway 27R.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has taken her attacks on fellow Republicans to a new level, accusing a trio of longtime GOP senators of being 'pro pedophile' for backing President Biden's pick for the Supreme Court.

She launched her attack on Twitter hours after the three Republicans joined Democrats on a procedural motion, putting Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on track for confirmation, although by a historically tight margin.

'Any Senator voting to confirm #KJB is pro-pedophile just like she is,' wrote the Georgia lawmaker, in a political attack that drew some condemnation on Twitter for being out of bounds.

Neither Judge Jackson nor the GOP senators who said they will back her are pro-pedophile.

Greene referenced a political attack several Senate Republicans, including Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley mounted at the Judiciary Committee, where they accused the member of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals of being 'soft' on crime for the way she handed down sentences of people convicted of child porn offenses.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called three Republican senators who are backing Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson 'pro-pedophile'

Democrats shot back that the sentences were in keeping with what parole boards were recommending, even if they were sometimes below sentencing guidelines.

'There are MANY more qualified black women judges, that actually can define what a woman is, but Biden chose the one that protects evil child predators. And then Romney, Murkowski, and Collins vote for her,' wrote Greene, who was forced to give up committee assignments after a series of controversial comments.

She singled out Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, even bringing up his grandchildren in the attack. Romney joined Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins in announcing their support for the judge.

'How would you feel if this was one of your children or grandchildren @MittRomney?' she wrote.

'You are either a Senator that supports child rapists, child pornography, and the most vile child predators. Or you are a Senator who protects children and votes NO to KJB!' she added.

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney announced he would back Biden's nominee

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was the first Senate Republican to announce her support

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska was among the three Republicans Greene called 'pro-pedophile'

Ketanji Brown Jackson said during her confirmation hearing that she couldn't define what a woman was since she is not a biologist

'We came from Adam's rib. God created us with his hands. We may be the weaker sex, we are the weaker sex, but we are our partner, our husband's wife,' she said

Twitter suspended Greene's personal account following posts it said violated its policies on COVID misinformation, but she maintains her official account.

Her latest missive drew some condemnation on Twitter, including from former Trump White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah Griffin, who is now a CNN commentator.

'I'm a conservative. I disagree with Judge Brown's jurisprudence & some sentencing decisions. But goodness - this statement is stupid, reductive, offensive, unpatriotic, and beneath the office Greene holds,' she wrote.

Attacks on Democrats as protecting 'evil child predators' have their origins in a bizarre conspiracy that accused prominent Democrats of running a child sex ring out of a pizza parlor before the 2016 election.

Greene last year apologized for past support of QAnon conspiracy theories, although her comments recalled a past QAnon tale conspiracy theory Donald Trump was leading an effort against a Demoratic-linked child sex trafficking ring.

Her Twitter smear came a day after she tried to ridicule Biden's nominee for failing to directly answer the question when asked during her confirmation hearing to define what a woman is.

Greene said at an endorsement event in Georgia: 'I'm going to tell you right now what is a woman,' the congresswoman said. 'This is an easy answer. We are a creation of God. We came from Adam's rib. God created us with his hands. We may be the weaker sex, we are the weaker sex, but we are our partner, our husband's wife,' she said.
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Boris Johnson tonight directly appealed to Russians in their own language to seek out the truth of Putins illegal war in Ukraine, calling alleged atrocities in Bucha a stain on the countrys global standing and warning: History will remember who looked the other way.

In a video message posted online, the British Prime Minister urged the Russian public to get round Putins repressive controls on the media by seeking out for themselves the truth of what was happening from independent news outlets online.

Grisly images of what are claimed to be civilian massacres allegedly carried out by Russian forces in Bucha before they withdrew from the outskirts of Kyiv have stirred a global outcry in recent days, and prompted Western nations to expel dozens of Moscows diplomats and propose further sanctions, including a ban on coal imports from Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of committing genocide in Ukraine, comparing Moscows military to the Islamic State terror group in a video address to the UN Security Council and demanding that Putin be brought to justice for his alleged atrocities.

The Kremlin claimed the images of civilians were fake news and a crude forgery staged by the Ukrainians themselves. Moscows UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia insisted that while Bucha was under Russian control, not a single local person has suffered from any violent action. He added: You only saw what they showed you. The only ones who would fall for this are Western dilettantes.

In his message on Tuesday night, Johnson said the reports were so shocking that Putin had deliberately sought to hide the truth from his people, adding: Your president knows that if you could see what was happening, you would not support his war.

He knows that these crimes betray the trust of every Russian mother who proudly waves goodbye to her son as he heads off to join the military. And he knows they are a stain on the honour of Russia itself. A stain that will only grow larger and more indelible every day this war continues.

Johnson said that people only needed a VPN connection to access independent information from around the world: When you find the truth, share it. Those responsible will be held to account. And history will remember who looked the other way.

Speaking in Russian, he added: Your president stands accused of committing war crimes. But I cannot believe hes acting in your name.

Boris Johnson directly appealed to Russians in their own language to seek out the truth of Putins illegal war in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appears on a screen as he addresses the United Nations Security Council via video link during a meeting in Manhattan, New York City

Soldiers and investigators look at charred bodies lying on the ground in Bucha where Russia has been accused of war crimes

Serhii Lahovskyi, 26, and other residents carry the body of Ihor Lytvynenko to bury him in Bucha, April 5, 2022

Serhii Lahovskyi, 26, hugs Ludmyla Verginska, 51, as they mourn their common friend Ihor Lytvynenko, following his burial at the garden of a residential building in Bucha, April 5, 2022

People light candles as they hold a vigil for those killed in Bucha and the surrounding areas on April 5, 2022 in Lviv

A satellite image taken of a street in the city of Bucha on March 19 - when Russian forces were in full control of the city - shows dark objects in the road that exactly match where civilian corpses were later discovered by Ukrainian troops

Putin seeing red: Truss says sanctions turning Russian economy into Soviet-style mess 'Crippling' Western sanctions are returning the Russian economy to a mess last seen in the communist era, Liz Truss said today as she urged the allies to tighten the screw on the Putin regime. The Foreign Secretary spoke after meeting the Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau and PM Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw as she pushes for 'maximum' sanctions. Ms Truss is expected to push for harder action at a G7 meeting on Thursday, while Boris Johnson will encourage Germany to set a date for phasing out Russian gas when he meets Chancellor Scholz in Downing Street on Friday. Mr Morawiecki has criticised German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for focusing on the 'voices of German businesses' rather than the innocents slain in Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary highlighted the impact of the economic constrictions carried out so far on the Russian economy, saying: 'We have frozen over 350 billion US dollars (266billion) of Putin's war chest, making over 60 per cent of the regime's 604 billion US dollars (459 billion) foreign currency reserves unavailable. 'Our co-ordinated sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back to the Soviet era.' Meanwhile, senior Tories have urged the UK to drop the commitment that only 'defensive' weapons should be sent to Ukraine, after Volodymyr Zelensky asked for tanks and heavy artillery. Advertisement

It comes as Zelensky accused the Russians of gruesome atrocities in Ukraine and told UN Security Council members that civilians had been shot in the back of the head after being tortured, blown up with grenades in their apartments and crushed to death by tanks while in cars.

They cut off limbs, cut their throats. Women were raped and killed in front of their children. Their tongues were pulled out only because their aggressor did not hear what they wanted to hear from them, he said.

Anyone who has given criminal orders and carried them out by killing our people will be brought before the tribunal which should be similar to the Nuremberg tribunals.

Making his first appearance before the UNs highest body, Zelensky said the Russian troops are no different from other terrorists like the so-called Islamic State group. He showed the council brief video footage of bloody corpses that ended with the words Stop Russian Aggression.

He stressed that Bucha was only one place and there are more with similar horrors, and called for a tribunal similar to the one set up at Nuremberg to try war criminals after the Second World War.

The grisly scenes of battered and burned bodies and evidence that some of the dead were bound and shot in the head have led western nations to expel dozens more of Moscows diplomats and propose further sanctions, including a ban on coal imports from Russia.

The head of NATO warned that Russia is regrouping its forces to deploy them to eastern and southern Ukraine for a crucial phase of the war, and said more horrors may come to light as Russian troops continue to pull back in the north.

When and if they withdraw their troops and Ukrainian troops take over, Im afraid they will see more mass graves, more atrocities and more examples of war crimes, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

Ukrainian officials claim the bodies of at least 410 civilians have been found in towns around Kyiv that were recaptured from Russian forces and a torture chamber was discovered in Bucha.

Zelensky told the Security Council there was not a single crime that Russian troops had not committed in Bucha.

The Russian military searched for and purposefully killed anyone who served our country. They shot and killed women outside their houses when they just tried to call someone who is alive. They killed entire families, adults and children, and they tried to burn the bodies, he said.

Finland and Sweden would be welcomed into NATO if they applied to join, Secretary-General Stoltenberg says  as Russia warns of retaliation Finland and Sweden would be welcomed into NATO if they applied to join, the head of the alliance has said today, in what would be a major blow for Russia amid Vladimir Putin's faltering invasion of Ukraine. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO general secretary, told a news conference that the 30-member alliance would work to overcome 'security concerns' between the countries applying to join and being ratified - amid fears Russia would retaliate. He spoke after Finland's prime minister Sanna Marin said her country could take a decision on joining the alliance within weeks and polls in Sweden also showed a majority of people support membership. If either country opts to join the alliance, it would mark an historic reconstruction of European security architecture that has held since the end of the Second World War. Finland, which fought a short but bloody conflict with the Soviets in the build-up to World War Two, has been officially neutral since signing a pact in 1948. As part of the pact, Finland agreed never to join a military alliance viewed as hostile to Russia, never to allow its territory to be used for an attack against Russia, and to maintain an armed forces for self-defence purposes only. In return, the country - which shares an 830-mile border with Russia - was given guarantees by Moscow that it would not be attacked. Advertisement

Police and other investigators walked the silent streets of Bucha on Tuesday, taking notes on bodies.

Associated Press journalists in the town counted dozens of corpses in civilian clothes. Many appeared to have been shot at close range, and some had their hands bound or their flesh burned. A mass grave in a churchyard held bodies wrapped in plastic.

The Kremlin denounced the images as fake and suggested the scenes were staged by the Ukrainians, but high-resolution satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed that many of the bodies had been lying in the open for weeks, during the time Russian forces were in the town.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed the images from Bucha revealed a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities. He said the reports were more than credible and the US and other countries will seek to hold the culprits accountable.

As western leaders condemned the killings in Bucha, Italy, Spain and Denmark expelled dozens of Russian diplomats, following moves by Germany and France. Hundreds of Russian diplomats have been sent home since the start of the invasion, many accused of being spies.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the expulsions a short-sighted measure that would complicate communication and warned they would be met with reciprocal steps.

In another show of support, the European Unions executive branch proposed a ban on coal imports from Russia, in what would be the first sanctions from the bloc targeting the countrys lucrative energy industry over the war. The coal imports amount to an estimated 4 billion euros (3.3billion) per year.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the EU needed to increase the pressure on Putin after what she described as heinous crimes carried out around Kyiv, with evidence that Russian troops may have deliberately killed Ukrainian civilians.

She did not mention natural gas, with consensus among the 27 EU member countries on targeting the fuel used to generate electricity and heat homes more difficult to secure.

The EU gets about 40% of its natural gas from Russia, and many EU countries, including Germany  the blocs largest economy  are opposed to cutting off gas imports.

So far, Europe had not been willing to target Russian energy over fears that it would plunge the European economy into recession but the recent reports of civilian killings have increased pressure for tougher EU sanctions.

The US and the UK previously announced they were cutting off Russian oil, Poland said it plans to block imports of coal and oil from Russia, while Lithuania said it is no longer using Russian natural gas.

People light candles as they hold a vigil for those killed in Bucha and the surrounding areas on April 5, 2022 in Lviv

Nina, 74, reacts as she walks past buildings that were destroyed by Russian shelling in Borodyanka, in the Kyiv region

A resident looks for belongings in the ruins of an apartment building destroyed during fighting in Borodyanka, April 5, 2022

Field engineers of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine stand next to destroyed armoured vehicles on a street in the town of Bucha, on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, April 5, 2022

A Ukrainian service member walks near an abandoned Russian tank in Vablya in Kyiv region, April 5, 2022

Pictured: A Russian military vehicle (top-left) is seen in drone footage positioned on a road moments after a cyclist turned the corner into the street. The vehicle opened fire

Pictured: Still grabs from a video purportedly showing the aftermath of the attack on the cyclist in Bucha

Secretary of State Blinken says Putin's troops are on a 'deliberate campaign to rape, kill and torture' in Bucha and UN Ambassador says reports of Russians being sent to 'filtration camps' are 'chilling' Secretary of State Antony Blinken pulled no punches after the horrific accounts that came out of Bucha, Ukraine, claiming Tuesday that Russia was on a 'deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape.' 'As this Russian tide is receding from parts of Ukraine, the world is seeing the death and destruction left in its wake,' he told reporters as he flew to Brussels. 'What we've seen in Bucha is not the random act of a rogue unit. It's a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities. The reports are more than credible. The evidence is there for the world to see.' At the same time U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted that Ukrainians were being taken to 'filtration camps' in Russia. Russian federal security agents are now taking away passports, IDs and cell phones so Ukrainians cannot escape and ripping apart families, she said. 'I do not need to spell out what these so-called filtration camps are reminiscent of. It's chilling and we cannot look away. Every day we see more and more how little Russia respects human rights.' Blinken said that the U.S. is working with other nations to gather evidence to help the Ukrainian prosecutor general and the UN Human Rights Council in investigations. Advertisement

To take a clear stand is not only crucial for us in Europe but also for the rest of the world, Von der Leyen said. A clear stand against Putin's war of choice. A clear stand against the massacre of civilians. And a clear stand against the violation of the fundamental principles of the world order.

Other measures proposed by the EUs executive arm include sanctions on more individuals and four key Russian banks, including the second-largest, VTB.

These four banks, which we now totally cut off from the markets, represent 23% of market share in the Russian banking sector, Von der Leyen said. This will further weaken Russias financial system.

If the proposal is adopted unanimously by all 27 EU countries, the new package of sanctions would also ban Russian vessels and Russian-operated vessels from EU ports, with exceptions for essentials such as agricultural and food products, and humanitarian aid and energy.

Further targeted export bans worth 10 billion euros (8.3 billion) have been proposed in sectors covering quantum computers, advanced semiconductors, sensitive machinery and transportation equipment.

Von der Leyen said: With this, we will continue to degrade Russias technological base and industrial capacity.

According to EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, 62% of Russias exports to the EU were hydrocarbons last year.

If we really want to affect Russias economy, thats where we need to look, he said. And thats exactly what is subject to discussions concerning this sanctions package.

Because of its climate ambitions, the EU has been moving away from coal. Coal use fell from 1.2 billion tons a year to 427 million tons between 1990 and 2020, but imports rose from 30% to 60% of coal use.

The European Union gets about 25% of its oil from Russia, while the EU imported 53% of hard coal from the country in 2020, which accounted for 30% of the EUs hard coal consumption.

Russian coal would be easier to replace than Russian gas because coal comes by ship and there are multiple global suppliers. Germanys association of coal importers said in March that Russian coal could be replaced in a few months.

Analysts at the Bruegel think tank said in March that Germany and Poland were particularly reliant on Russian coal for power generation and that Russian coal can be replaced because global markets are well supplied and flexible.

But they added that replacing Russian coal imports will require the lightspeed deployment of new supply chains to bring the right type of coal where it is needed. Most European coal users already source from different suppliers and should be able to build on existing relationships.

But the switch would mean more import demand from Europe and higher global coal prices, with significant effects on emerging and developed economies that also rely on coal.

Drone video shows Russian tank opening fire on a cyclist in Bucha at spot where bodies were later found strewn across the street

The moment Russian tanks appeared to open fire on a cyclist in the town of Bucha was captured on video by a drone, in potentially more damning evidence of war crimes carried out by Putin's forces in Ukraine.

Footage of the attack in the Kyiv Oblast town shows a man walking his bicycle up a street, apparently unaware that several Russian tanks lay in wait around the corner.

Another video purportedly showed the aftermath of the attack after Bucha was reclaimed from Moscow's clutches in recent days. In it, a person believed to be the same man can be seen dead on the side of the road next to his bicycle.

In the first video, captured on March 3, the drone appears to be watching the Russian tank column, but the footage also tracks the man as he is walking up the road that runs through a neighbourhood of destroyed or damaged buildings.

The operator of the drone repeatedly pans upwards, showing a long queue of military vehicles - including tanks, armoured personnel carriers and trucks - positioned between buildings, on the next street over from the man.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES - Scroll down for video

Pictured: A Russian military vehicle (top-left) is seen in drone footage positioned on a road moments after a cyclist turned the corner into the street. The vehicle opened fire

As the cyclist continues down the street - first on his bicycle and then on foot, pushing it along side him - the drone focuses more on his movement up the road.

He is shown nearing a junction in the road and turns left down a narrower street, where an armoured vehicle and a tank are positioned around 150ft away.

As soon as he turns the corner into the side road, a flash is seen from the armoured vehicle's turret, and a rocket is shown flying through the air.

Pictured: A cyclist (circled) is seen riding up a road in Bucha, Ukraine, just one street away from where several Russian tanks and other armoured vehicles are positioned (top-left)

Pictured: As the drone camera panned up from where the cyclist was, it captured a long line of several Russian military vehicles - including tanks, armoured vehicles and personnel carriers

Pictured: Drone footage showing the moment the Russian vehicle opened fire after the cyclist turned the corner. A round is shown flying through the air towards the cyclist

A Russian vehicle (left) is shown firing moments after the cyclist (right) turned the corner

Pictured: A rocket (right) fired from the turret of a Russian vehicle (left) is shown flying through the air in the direction of a man who has just turned the corner with his bike in Bucha

A flash is seen as a tank (left) also fires after the man turned the corner into the side road

The video shows the armoured vehicle opening fire, letting off several more shots in the direction of where the man entered the side road.

After several blasts, the camera zooms in, and a larger flash is also seen when the tank - positioned parallel to the armoured vehicle - also fires in the man's direction.

By this point in the video, the view of the man has been obstructed by a tree and some fencing after he turned the corner.

However, another video taken on the street - shared by investigative agency Bellingcat and captured some time later - reportedly showed the same junction after the attack. A man, said to be the same as in the first video, can be seen dead - slumped on the side of the road with his bicycle.

On his approach, the cyclist appeared to slow down before reaching the junction. It is not clear if he knew where the Russian vehicles were positioned as he turned the corner. The Russian vehicle fired on him almost immediately.

In recent days, Ukraine's forces have re-entered Bucha and other towns in the surrounding area after pushing Russia's forces back, away from the capital of Kyiv.

In the days since, a horrific picture of death and destruction has begun to emerge from the town. But while images and videos have largely shown the aftermath of the Russian occupation - with bodies strewn throughout the town - this drone footage appears to be one of the few videos showing Russian forces actively attacking Ukrainian civilians.

Release of the footage came after satellite images of Bucha showed bodies lining the streets more than two weeks ago - debunking Russian claims that the massacre was staged by Kyiv in order to frame its troops for war crimes.

The images taken of Bucha on March 19 show dark objects strewn along a road - which match the exact positions where the rotting corpses of civilians were found by Ukrainian soldiers who recaptured the area from Russian forces at the weekend.

Russian forces were in control of the city at the time, strongly suggesting that it was Putin's men - and not Kyiv's - who carried out the killings.

Broken: A visibly emotional President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday stood motionless as he surveyed the scene of utter devastation he encountered in the town of Bucha, with dozens of bodies shot at close range laying on the empty streets

Kyiv now says at least 410 civilians were massacred in and around Bucha by the Russians while others were tortured and raped in what President Volodymyr Zelensky has described as 'genocide'.

Russia's UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, insisted at a news conference that during the time that Bucha was under Russian control 'not a single local person has suffered from any violent action'.

But the satellite imagery from commercial provider Maxar Technologies, first reported by The New York Times, proved the bodies had been there for weeks.

Western and Ukrainian leaders have accused Russia of war crimes before, and the International Criminal Court's prosecutor has already opened an investigation. But the latest reports ratcheted up the condemnation.

Zelensky, who appeared shattered on a visit to the area yesterday, will today address the UN Security Council where he is expected to push world leaders to impose tougher sanctions on Russia over the atrocities, send more weapons for his armed forces, and for a war crimes probe to punish the Russian commanders responsible.

In a nightly address to the Ukrainian nation on Tuesday, he said that Western sanctions on Russia 'must finally be powerful' - adding: 'Did hundreds of our people have to die in agony for some European leaders to finally understand that the Russian state deserves the most severe pressure?'

He was also critical of the amount of military aid sent to Ukraine so-far, saying more equipment could have helped save civilian lives. 'I do not blame you - I blame only the Russian military,' he said. 'But you could have helped.'

Ukraine's allies have called the killings in Bucha war crimes, with the EU offering to send investigators to gather evidence. '(Russian President Vladimir Putin) is a war criminal,' US President Biden told reporters at the White House. 'What's happening to Bucha is outrageous and everyone's seen it.'

The White House said it would announce fresh sanctions on Moscow 'this week' with France suggesting new measures could target Russian oil and coal exports. But Germany warned it was too soon to cut off Russian gas.

'We have to cut all economic relationship to Russia, but at the moment, it's not possible to cut the gas supplies. We need some time,' German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said.

Elsewhere, the United States and Britain said they would seek Russia's suspension from the UN Human Rights Council - a move Moscow branded 'unbelievable'.

Russia has cynically asked for the Security Council to convene to discuss what it describes as Ukrainian attempts to stage a massacre in order to frame its troops, but Britain - which currently chairs the council - has refused.

Pictured: Bags containing bodies of civilians, who according to residents was killed by Russian soldiers in Bucha, Ukraine

Volunteers unload bags containing bodies of civilians, who according to residents were killed by Russian army soldiers

The full nature of the killings in Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have withdrawn is still being pieced together.

On Monday, the bodies of five men were found in a children's sanatorium basement in Bucha. The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said they were unarmed civilians, who had been bound, beaten and killed by Russian troops.

And in Motyzhyn, west of Kyiv, Ukrainian police showed AFP journalists the bodies of five civilians with their hands tied, including those of the village's mayor, her husband and son.

Ukrainian officials say over 400 civilian bodies have been recovered from the Kyiv region, many of whom have been laid to rest in mass graves.

But Zelensky has warned that the deaths in Bucha could be only the tip of the iceberg, saying he had information even more people had been killed in places like nearby Borodianka.

AFP reporters who briefly visited the area saw no bodies in the streets, but locals reported many deaths.

'I know five civilians were killed,' said 58-year-old Rafik Azimov. 'But we don't know how many more are left in the basements of the ruined buildings after the bombardments.'

'I buried six people,' another resident, Volodymyr Nahornyi, said. 'More people are under the ruins.'

The Russian withdrawal from Kyiv has been seen as a pivot to a renewed offensive in the country's east and south, where Moscow wants to consolidate territory around occupied Crimea and the separatist statelets of Donetsk and Lugansk.

The Ukrainian government has warned Moscow is preparing a 'full-scale' attack in the country's east and regional officials urged civilians to evacuate Lugansk fearing a major Russian attack.

The Pentagon estimates Russia has withdrawn about two thirds of the troops it had around Kyiv and will redeploy them to the east and south, with the White House warning the war's 'next phase could be measured in months or longer.'

Even where troops have withdrawn, fears remain, with Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko telling residents to wait before returning, citing the danger of continued shelling and the danger of unexploded munitions.

The horrors of Bucha laid bare: Man's cheek was cut out before he was shot in the heart while another was burned with a flamethrower, as 'torture chamber' is uncovered inside a children's hospital

A man who had his cheek cut out before being shot in the heart, another who was kidnapped and burned with a flamethrower, and a 'torture chamber' filled with bodies inside a children's hospital: These are just a handful of horrors inflicted on the Ukrainian city of Bucha as the full brutality of Putin's army is laid bare.

Survivors of a month-long Russian occupation - endured in cold, dark silence after Putin's troops cut off all links with the outside world - are just now starting to emerge from basements and makeshift bunkers to tell tales of the extraordinary suffering they were made to endure.

Vladislav Kozlovsky, who returned to Bucha at the outbreak of war to care for his mother and grandmother, told The Telegraph how two men he knew had tried to escape through an abandoned glass factory but were found by the Russians. One was shot in the back of the head. The other had his cheek cut out before being shot in the heart.

Volodymyr Pilhutskyi, another Bucha resident, recounted how his neighbour was taken away by Russian troops because he was wearing military-style trousers which were deemed 'suspicious'. He was tortured and killed, Mr Pilhutskyi said, with burn marks from a flamethrower found on his body.

Ukrainian armed forces say they have now uncovered a Russian torture chamber, located inside a children's hospital that was also being used as a makeshift barracks. The bodies of five men were found shot to death in the basement, a spokesman said, with their hands tied behind their backs. Some had been tortured.

Graphic images taken by Ukrainian prosecutors show the bodies of the men lying on a rubble floor surrounded by pools of dried blood. At least one appears to have been shot through the kneecap.

Tanya Nedashkivs'ka, 57, weeps in the street over the death of her husband who was found killed as Ukrainian forces liberated the city of Bucha, to the west of Kyiv, after a month under the occupation of Russian troops

Ukrainian soldiers claim to have uncovered a Russian torture chamber in the basement of a children's hospital where five men - their hands tied behind their backs - were brutalised before being shot dead

A neighbor comforts Natalya, whose husband and nephew were killed by Russian forces, as she cries in her garden in Bucha

Visiting the region on Monday, a shattered President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced what he called 'genocide' by Russian forces, adding that 'we know of thousands of people killed and tortured, with severed limbs, raped women and murdered children  dead people have been found in barrels, basements, strangled, tortured.'

Bucha first came under attack by Russian forces trying to push into Kyiv in the early days of the war, and was the scene of fierce fighting that left streets filled with the charred husks of dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles - as well as the bodies of their crew.

The city was fully under Russian control by early March and endured occupation by Putin's men until last week when troops began withdrawing, having failed in their aim to assault the Ukrainian capital. Over the weekend, Kyiv's men moved in to reclaim the region. It was during this time that the stories began to emerge.

Sergei Malyk told The Independent how Russian troops shot his 89-year-old neighbour, Alla Minorava, in her bed on March 25. 'They did not say why they had shot her,' he recalled. It is difficult to think of a reason... A lot of the killings here make no sense, they killed other old people like her, and young boys and girls.'

Taras Shevchenko, a kindergarten martial arts teacher, recounted another such killed to The Guardian. He said an elderly couple - husband and wife - had been stopped by Russian troops while crossing the road. When the old man gave an 'aggressive' answer to one of their questions, he was shot dead.

'To the woman they said: 'You just keep walking.' She rushed to her husband and started crying, and they said: 'If you want to lie next to him, we can shoot you too.' She told them she needed to take the body, but they said: 'No, just keep walking.' And she kept on walking, crying and walking.'

Shevchenko said those who remained in the city were forbidden from going to collect the bodies for burial, and so had to endure the sight and smell of them decomposing for weeks on end.

Dimitrou Zamohylny recalled seeing flocks of crows pecking out the eyes of the corpses. Sergei Simolenskiy, a veteran of the Russian marines who now lives in Ukraine, told how he witnessed a stray dog eating a dead man's head. Others told how bodies had been run over by Russian tanks and squashed 'like animal rugs'.

Bucha, a formerly leafy suburb of Kyiv that was popular with families, became a frontline of the war with Russia as Ukrainian forces stalled Putin's men here as they tried to reach the capital - before forcing them to turn back

A satellite image taken of a street in the city of Bucha on March 19 - when Russian forces were in full control of the city - shows dark objects in the road that exactly match where civilian corpses were later discovered by Ukrainian troops

One of Bucha's main streets is now littered with the wrecks of Russian armoured vehicles and tanks after Ukrainian artillery hit them as they were driving through on the road to Kyiv - leaving dozens dead

Kateryna Ukraintseva, a city councillor and Ukraine defence force volunteer, relayed stories she had been told of Russian cruelty. In one case, she told The Telegraph, troops had found people hiding in a basement. They shared dried food with them, but then threw in a grenade. She could not say how many people died in that attack.

While the horrors of Bucha have shocked and appalled many in the West, there are now warnings from Ukraine that worse is to come. Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova has warned that the 'worst' of the human casualties are actually located in Borodyanka, a town located some 15 miles further from Kyiv than Bucha.

A 'similar humanitarian situation' to Bucha also exists in the cities of Chernihiv and Sumy, which were surrounded and cut off by Russian forces early in the war - which have now retreated. She did not go into details about exactly what had happened there.

Dymtryo Kuleba, the foreign secretary, has also warned that the situation in the southern city of Mariupol - which has been almost totally destroyed by Russian forces which are still fighting street-to-street in an attempt to seize it - is likely to be worse still.

In villages north of Mykolaiv, a southern Ukrainian city around 250 miles to the west of Mariupol, villagers tell stories of similar horrors to those inflicted on the people of Bucha. Tatiana Bozhiko explained to the Washington Post how her husband, Serhii, was taken prisoner by the Russians - ostensibly for supporting the Azov Battalion which is defending Mariupol - but in reality, it was likely for his outspoken pro-Ukrainian views.

She saw him just once after he was taken, when he was covered in bruises and had his arm in a sling after being shot in the elbow by his captors. After Russian forces were driven out of Mykolaiv, Serhii's body was found buried in a shallow grave - spotted by locals who saw one of his broken arms protruding from the soil.

The corpse was so badly mangled that the local doctor would not let Tatiana see it. Her son, Volodya, reviewed images of it and said it was riddled with bullets and had multiple broken limbs having likely been tortured before he was killed.

In Trostyanets, a town near the city of Sumy in northern Ukraine, similar terrors were related. Olena Volkova, head doctor at a local hospital, showed the New York Times the body of one man who was tortured to death. 'His hands and legs are tied up with sticky tape, his teeth are missing and almost all of his face is gone,' she said.

Others told the newspaper of children who had been held a knifepoint, of rapes and forced abductions, of an old man found toothless and beaten in a ditch, having been defecated on. Police say they have so-far received 15 reports of missing people who they cannot track down.

A Ukrainian woman weeps as she looks down at a mass grave dug by Russian occupation forces behind a large church in central Bucha. At least 57 bodies have been found buried there

Plastic body bags are seen inside a mass grave dug by Russian forces in central Bucha, where it is feared hundreds of civilians could be buried

A satellite image taken on March 31 - while Russian troops were still in control of Bucha - shows the grave site already in use. Analysts say there is evidence the grave was being prepared dating back to March 10

Nova Basan, to the east of Kyiv, was another town to suffer under the heel of Russia's military boot. Mykola Dyachenko, an official responsible for town administration, said he was among 20 men held prisoner by Russian troops for 25 days before they withdrew.

During that time, he was questioned relentlessly about the locations of Ukrainian territorial defence force bases and ammo dumps in the area. He claimed to have been put through 15 'mock executions' in an attempt to terrify him into giving up information, including being blindfolded while a rifle was shot over his head.

Two others described being beaten with rifle butts, punched and kicked. A third said he was suspended by his arms for long periods. Oleksiy Bryzgalin, 38, a construction worker, said he was strapped to a chair with a grenade placed between his legs for 30 hours.

All of the men said they were fed just two potatoes a day and allowed a single toilet break. They were constantly moved to avoid detection and were forced to sleep in cramped conditions. They escaped their captors a week ago as Russian troops began withdrawing, with Mr Bryzgalin saying he still suffers leg pains as a result of his treatment.

President Zelensky will address the UN Security Council today where he is expected to demand tough new sanctions on Moscow over killings in the town of Bucha that he has called 'war crimes' and 'genocide'.

The speech, Zelensky's first to the body since Russia's invasion, comes after he made an emotional trip to Bucha during which he took journalists to see the corpses left in the wake of Russia's retreat. Moscow has denied responsibility, and cynically accused Ukraine of slaughtering its own people to make Russia look bad.

'These are war crimes and it will be recognised by the world as genocide,' Zelensky said. Later in his nightly address, he demanded 'the sanctions response to Russia's massacre of civilians must finally be powerful'.

'But... did hundreds of our people have to die in agony for some European leaders to finally understand that the Russian state deserves the most severe pressure?' he asked in the video posted to Telegram.

He also called for additional weapons from Western allies, saying more equipment could have saved thousands.

'I do not blame you - I blame only the Russian military,' he said. 'But you could have helped.'

Ukraine's allies have called the killings in Bucha war crimes, with the EU offering to send investigators to gather evidence.

'(Russian President Vladimir Putin) is a war criminal,' US President Biden told reporters at the White House. 'What's happening to Bucha is outrageous and everyone's seen it.'

The White House said it would announce fresh sanctions on Moscow 'this week' with France suggesting new measures could target Russian oil and coal exports.

But Germany warned it was too soon to cut off Russian gas.

Images show civilians with bound hands. Pictured: Ira Gavriluk walks next to the corpses of her husband and her brother

Pictured: Bags containing bodies of civilians, who according to residents was killed by Russian soldiers in Bucha, Ukraine

Volunteers unload bags containing bodies of civilians, who according to residents were killed by Russian army soldiers

'We have to cut all economic relationship to Russia, but at the moment, it's not possible to cut the gas supplies. We need some time,' German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said.

Elsewhere, the United States and Britain said they would seek Russia's suspension from the UN Human Rights Council - a move Moscow branded 'unbelievable'.

Russia has called for a UN Security Council meeting on what it dubbed the 'heinous provocation of Ukrainian radicals in Bucha', but Britain - which holds the Council presidency - has so far refused the request.

The full nature of the killings in Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have withdrawn is still being pieced together.

On Monday, the bodies of five men were found in a children's sanatorium basement in Bucha. The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said they were unarmed civilians, who had been bound, beaten and killed by Russian troops.

And in Motyzhyn, west of Kyiv, Ukrainian police showed AFP journalists the bodies of five civilians with their hands tied, including those of the village's mayor, her husband and son.

Ukrainian officials say over 400 civilian bodies have been recovered from the Kyiv region, many of whom have been laid to rest in mass graves.

But Zelensky has warned that the deaths in Bucha could be only the tip of the iceberg, saying he had information even more people had been killed in places like nearby Borodianka.

AFP reporters who briefly visited the area saw no bodies in the streets, but locals reported many deaths.

'I know five civilians were killed,' said 58-year-old Rafik Azimov. 'But we don't know how many more are left in the basements of the ruined buildings after the bombardments.'

'I buried six people,' another resident, Volodymyr Nahornyi, said. 'More people are under the ruins.'

Larisa Savenko 72, stands outside her damaged home with Andriy Leshbon in Bucha, Ukraine

The Russian withdrawal from Kyiv has been seen as a pivot to a renewed offensive in the country's east and south, where Moscow wants to consolidate territory around occupied Crimea and the separatist statelets of Donetsk and Lugansk.

The Ukrainian government has warned Moscow is preparing a 'full-scale' attack in the country's east and regional officials urged civilians to evacuate Lugansk fearing a major Russian attack.

The Pentagon estimates Russia has withdrawn about two thirds of the troops it had around Kyiv and will redeploy them to the east and south, with the White House warning the war's 'next phase could be measured in months or longer.'

Even where troops have withdrawn, fears remain, with Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko telling residents to wait before returning, citing the danger of continued shelling and the danger of unexploded munitions.

Overnight, air raid sirens rang out across much of the country, from Lviv in the west to southern Mykolaiv, where officials said Monday that Russian strikes killed 10 civilians and wounded 46.

Elsewhere in the south, concerns remain about civilians trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol.

Authorities say at least 5,000 people have been killed in the city, 90 percent of which has been destroyed, according to mayor Vadim Boichenko.

Around 130,000 residents are still trapped inside, and efforts to evacuate them are now on hold because of 'incessant' bombing, he said.

The Red Cross said Monday a team it sent to help get civilians out of Mariupol was being held by police in Russian-controlled territory.

Europe's worst conflict in decades, sparked by Russia's invasion on February 24, has killed as many as 20,000 people, according to Ukrainian estimates.

More than 4.2 million Ukrainians have fled the country and about 6.5 million have been internally displaced, UN agencies say.
Darpa, the US army's scientific wing, recently announced successful tests of what it called a HAWC missile (Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept)

UNITED STATES

The US military has a number of hypersonic weapons programs across the Navy, Army and Air Force but most are still in development phase and highly secret.

However, the known programs are all more conventional hypersonic weapons that strike from high altitude, rather than orbital bombardment systems that strike from space which the Chinese were revealed to have developed.

The only US hypersonic weapon know to have been successfully tested is the Air Force's GM-183 ARRW, which is designed to be launched from a large bomber aircraft.

It then accelerates to hypersonic speeds up to 15,345mph using a supersonic combustion ramjet to strike targets within 1,000 miles. Donald Trump referred to a 'super duper missile' while in office and this is believed to be the AGM-183 ARRW.

The Navy's submarine launched Long Range Hypersonic Weapon is expected to be operational by 2023 and will have a range of 1,725 miles.

Darpa, the US army's scientific wing, recently announced successful tests of what it called a HAWC missile (Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept) but kept details such as range, speed and payload secret.

The missile uses oxygen in the atmosphere as part of its fuel - marking the first successful test of that class of weapon since 2013.

The missile, which is built by Raytheon, was released from an aircraft just 'seconds' before the scramjet engine from Northrop Grumman kicked on, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) said.

The engine works by compressing incoming air with hydrocarbon fuel to create a fast airflow mixture, one capable of reaching over 1,700 meters per second, or five times the speed of sound.

Earlier this year, a test of a hypersonic missile from the U.S. Air Force was abandoned after it was unable to complete its launch sequence.

On March 19 last year, the Pentagon flight-tested a hypersonic glide vehicle at its Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. It deemed the test a success and 'a major milestone towards the department's goal of fielding hypersonic warfighting capabilities in the early- to mid-2020s.'

Unlike Russia, the United States says it is not developing hypersonic weapons for use with a nuclear warhead. As a result, a U.S. hypersonic weapon will need to be more accurate, posing additional technical challenges.

In 2004, NASA's experimental unmanned hypersonic aircraft X-43 reached 7,366mph (Mach 9.6) using a scramjet engine, setting the current record.

In 2019, DailyMail.com reported that the Raytheon and Northrop Grumman-developed missile would use an engine made by a 3D printer.

Last year, DARPA said it was working with Aerojet Rocketdyne on a nearly $20 million project to develop a hypersonic rocket that could intercept enemy missiles mid-air.

Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine and has the hypersonic nuclear-capable Avangard missiles

RUSSIA

Russia recently launched a hypersonic missile, the Zircon, from a submarine, and since late 2019 has had the hypersonic nuclear-capable Avangard missiles in service. The Avangard can travel at up to Mach 27, changing course and altitude.

The range of Russia's hypersonic missile, the Zircon, is 621 miles with a speed of 9,800mph.

But the missile flies below the atmosphere and uses fuel to power itself to hypersonic speeds rather than the Earth's orbit.

And in March 2022, Moscow said it had launched the Kinzhal hypersonic missile for the first time in its war in Ukraine.

In 2021, Russia announced it has successfully test-fired the Zircon from a nuclear submarine for the first time.

The 6,670mph weapon hit a target in the Barents Sea according to the Moscow defence ministry, who claims the missile is capable of Mach-9 speeds and able to evade all Western defences.

Russia said it had completed flight tests of the new-age missile from a frigate - the Admiral Gorshkov - and a coastal mount, but it had not previously been launched from a submarine.

The Zircon has been identified by Moscow's state-controlled TV as Vladimir Putin's weapon of choice to wipe out coastal American cities in the event of an atomic conflict.

He has declared the missile as 'truly unparalleled anywhere in the world', and the Russians have boasted it is 'unstoppable' by Western defences.

Putin first announced the development of an array of new hypersonic weapons in 2018, insisting that they would be able to hit almost any point in the world and evade a US-built missile shield.

The Zircon is due to go into service next year, and will first be deployed via the Admiral Golovko frigate which carries significant stealth-technology.

A key use of the missile is taking out enemy ships and reports suggested its maximum range is between 188 and 620 miles.

But there have been unconfirmed reports its true range is some 1,200 miles.

The missile system's design and development have been conducted in deep secrecy, and Putin has warned that foreign spies have tried to steal its secrets.

It is one of a number of hypersonic missiles Russia is deploying including the 188-tonne Sarmat - known in the West as Satan-2 - which will be the biggest beast in Russia's nuclear arsenal, due for tests in the autumn with deployment slated for next year.

In May, Russia said it tested three 'invincible' hypersonic 'Satan 2' missiles that some have said could wipe out areas the size of England and Wales.

China launched the dummy weapon into space on board a Long March 2C rocket (pictured) during a test in mid-August which it did not disclose at the time and was only revealed at the weekend by security analysts assigned to work out its purpose

CHINA

The hypersonic orbital bombardment system that China tested in August reportedly reaches a top speed of 21,000 mph and strikes from space.

The core concept of China's 'new' weapon - deliver a warhead into orbit and have it circle the globe before hitting a target - was first developed by the Soviets in the 1960s.

Called a Fractional Orbital Bombardment System, or FOBS, it was developed to evade powerful US radar arrays and missile defence systems.

Those systems work by detecting launches of ICBMs - very long-range missiles that can be tipped with nukes - and tracking them into space, then firing at the warheads as they come down in the hope of blowing them up before they hit their targets.

This is possible because ICBMs and their warheads follow a predictable trajectory that rises high into space - making them relatively easy to spot and allowing defence crews to calculate where they are aimed so they can be shot out of the sky.

FOBS aim to negate these defences by firing their warheads along a much-flatter trajectory - assisted by Earth's gravity.

This means they pass under the scope of many radar detection arrays and are harder to track. It also makes the warheads much harder to shoot down because their trajectory is harder to calculate.

The use of orbit makes a warhead's range potentially unlimited, meaning it can be fired at its target from any direction. This helps to avoid radar systems which generally point at a fixed spot in the sky - in America's case, over the North Pole.

Meanwhile, China has also unveiled a hypersonic medium-range missile, the DF-17, in 2019, which can travel around 2,000 kilometres and can carry nuclear warheads.

In October, China deployed the DF 17 missile to coastal areas in preparation for a possible invasion of Taiwan.

The weapon has a maximum range of 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles) and is capable of achieving speeds of up to 7,680 miles per hour (12,360 kph) - or 10 times the speed of sound - while carrying a nuclear warhead, according to previous reports.

It has been billed as 'a death sentence' to aircraft carriers within its range.

Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound in the upper atmosphere - or about 6,200 km per hour (3,850 mph). This is slower than an intercontinental ballistic missile, but the shape of a hypersonic glide vehicle allows it to manoeuvre toward a target or away from defences.

Combining a glide vehicle with a missile that can launch it partially into orbit - a so-called fractional orbital bombardment system (FOBS) - could strip adversaries of reaction time and traditional defences mechanisms.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), by contrast, carry nuclear warheads on ballistic trajectories that travel into space but never reach orbit.

China on Monday insisted that the test in August was a routine one for a spacecraft rather than a missile.
The film My Son Hunter recreated a magazine photoshoot from 2016 where then Vice President Joe Biden posed for images with his son Hunter Biden.

One black and white image shows the actors mocking the president and his son with British actor Laurence Fox taking a smooch on the cheek from his on-screen father John James.

Another shows the two actors sitting very close and looking at camera while both donning different shades of blue button downs.

The images, shared exclusively with DailyMail.com, is a recreation of the Popular Mechanics magazine shoot from 2016 where the Biden duo discussed the importance of family and posed for pictures together, including in Biden's 1967 Corvette 327 ragtop, which was a wedding gift from his father when he married Neilia Hunter.

That 2016 magazine cover featuring now President Biden and his son hit newsstands about eight months before the end of the Obama-Biden administration.

Actors Laurence Fox (left) and John James (right) for the film My Son Hunter reenacted a photoshoot where then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden posed and interviewed with Popular Mechanics

The parody photos of the infamous and awkward shoot included a picture where James reenacted Joe giving his son a big smooch on the cheek

The Biden duo appeared on the cover of Popular Mechanics in 2016 to discuss the importance of family and the bond between a father and son  as well as talk a bit of shop about cars

The My Son Hunter creators note that the photoshoot shows the actors 'holding each other closely in the eerie replica of the Biden photoshoot.'

The upcoming biopic is described by filmmakers as 'chronicles [of] Hunter's party lifestyle and acquiring of tens of millions of dollars from foreign entities owned by Chinese, Ukrainian and Russian oligarchs'.

The film was shot in Serbia in the fall but does not yet have a public release date.

Irish conservative filmmaking duo Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney announced their new project in 2021 as more controversy emerged surrounding the president's son  including his foreign business dealings as well as partying and drug use.

Directing the film is Bond villain Robert Davi and the cast includes Deadpool and former The Mandalorian star Gina Carano along Fox and James. Carano lost her gig in the popular Disney+ Star Wars spinoff after posting some of her conservative perspectives.

DailyMail.com has exclusively obtained several promotional images as well as from the movie set, including some showing Fox in compromising situations and similar getups from pictures revealed on Hunter's laptop the month before the 2020 presidential election.

Damning images from the laptop showed Hunter engaged in sexual acts, as well as shirtless selfies smoking cigarettes and images passed out with a crack pipe hanging out of his mouth.

Until earlier this year, many media outlets continued to deny that the infamous laptop once belonged to Hunter Biden. Major outlets like The New York Times and Washington Post admitted just last month that their previous coverage was wrong and that the infamous Hunter laptop accusations are authentic.

Following the NY Post's expose on the laptop, Washington Post 'fact checkers' featured a story claiming the paper 'has not been able to verify or authenticate these emails' and claimed there were 'fears that the emails could be part of a broader disinformation campaign' by Russia.

The film will also reenact scenes showing images from Hunter Biden's infamous laptop (pictured above), including shirtless selfies and sexual and drug use images

The admission from mainstream outlets comes a year-and-a-half after the NY Post first reported the contents of the hard drive. The owner of a repair shop in Wilmington, Delaware said Hunter Biden dropped off a MacBook Pro laptop in April 2019 and never retrieved it.

Part of the goal of the film My Son Hunter is to reveal underreported controversies surrounding Hunter Biden that the filmmakers claim were overlooked in the 2020 campaign and are still not fully looked into now.

Some of the emails, now verified as real from several media outlets, involved a deal Hunter pursued with the CEFC China Energy conglomerate. The president's son was paid nearly $5 million for the deal, according to the Washington Post.

Other verified emails are related to his work for the Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, which earned Hunter as much as $83,333 for a month of work  or $1 million a year.

Hunter Biden's daughter Naomi will have her wedding reception at the White House in November, it was announced Monday. It is not clear if Naomi's father will be footing the bill.
Osama bin Ladens second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri has appeared in a new video in which he denounced the enemies of Islam after a school in India banned the wearing of the hijab.

In a nine-minute video released by As-Sahab Media, Al-Qaedas official media wing, al-Zawahiri praised Muslim student Muskan Khan after she wore the Islamic scarf at a school in Karnataka state, governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

According to translations provided by counter-terror experts on Twitter, including the SITE Intelligence Group that monitors jihadist websites, the Egyptian-born doctor accused the pagan Hindu democracy of India of seeking to oppress Muslims.

Al-Zawahiri, who took over al-Qaeda after Bin Ladens death in 2011, also decried France, Holland, and Switzerland, as well as Egypt and Morocco, as enemies of Islam for their anti-hijab policies.

Osama bin Ladens second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri has appeared in a new video in which he denounced the enemies of Islam after a school in India banned the hijab

Karnatakas hijab row began in January when a government-run school in the states Udupi district barred students wearing hijabs from entering classrooms, triggering protests by Muslims and counter-protests by Hindu students

Al-Zawahiri was Bin Laden's No 2 in Al-Qaeda, the radical jihadist network once led by the Saudi millionaire. The two are seen above in this September 2006 file photo

He further criticised the governments of Pakistan and Bangladesh, accusing them of defending the very enemies that have empowered them to fight us.

Karnatakas hijab row began in January when a government-run school in the states Udupi district barred students wearing hijabs from entering classrooms, triggering protests by Muslims and counter-protests by Hindu students.

More schools and colleges in the state followed with similar bans and the states top court disallowed students from wearing the hijab until it delivered a verdict.

An Indian court recently upheld a ban on the hijab in class in Karnataka after students who challenged the ban in court claimed wearing the hijab was a fundamental right guaranteed under Indias constitution and an essential practice of Islam.

In India, the hijab has historically been neither banned nor limited in public spheres.

Al-Zawahiri appeared in a video last year marking the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, months after rumours spread that he was dead

Al-Zawahiri last appeared in a video last year marking the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, months after rumours spread that he was dead.

In that video, he proclaimed Jerusalem will never be Judaized and praised al-Qaeda attacks  including one that targeted Russian troops in Syria in January 2021. SITE said al-Zawahiri also noted the US militarys withdrawal from Afghanistan 20 years after the invasion.

In recent years, al-Qaeda has faced competition in jihadi circles from its rival, the Islamic State group. IS rose to prominence by seizing large swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014, declaring a caliphate and extending affiliates to multiple countries across the region.

ISs physical caliphate was crushed in Iraq and Syria, though its militants are still active and carrying out attacks.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of IS, was killed by US special forces in a raid in northwestern Syria in October 2019.
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz used his five minutes quizzing the nation's top military leadership on Tuesday to accuse them of being so busy embracing 'critical race theory' and socialism that they had failed to predict the rise of the Taliban, overestimated Russian performance in Ukraine and allowed the US. to fall behind China.

The result was a bad-tempered clash with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin when he appeared before the House Armed Services Committee.

Austin insisted the U.S. still had the most effective fighting force in the world.

'Again, this is the most capable, the most combat critical force in the world it has been and it will be so going forward,' he said as Gaetz challenged his leadership.

'This budget allows us to do that.'

'Not if we embrace socialism,' interrupted Gaetz.

'The fact you are embarrassed by your country ... ' continued Austin, before being cut off again.

'Oh, no, I'm embarrassed by your leadership,' said Gaetz. 'I'm not embarrassed for my country.

'I wish we weren't losing to China.'

Austin was appearing with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley to answer questions about about the Pentagon's proposed $773 billion budget for next year.

Republican Matt Gaetz clashed with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin as the Florida representative accused the Pentagon of being so focused on 'wokeism' and socialism that it had blown a string of forecasts on Afghanistan, Ukraine and China

Austin appeared before the House Armed Services Committee with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark Milley to answer questions about the Pentagon budget

But Gaetz quickly used the hearing to ask about 'wokeism' and socialism, bringing up the title of a recent lecture given by author Thomas Piketty at the National Defense University, entitled 'Responding to China: The Case For Global Justice and Democratic Socialism,' before asking if the Pentagon was focused on the wrong things.

'You guys told us that Russia couldn't lose,' he said.

'You told us that the Taliban couldn't immediately win

'And so I guess I'm wondering what in the $773 billion that you're requesting today is going to help you make assessments that are accurate, in the face of so many blown calls.'

Austin gave a long pause as he considered his answer.

'You've seen what's in our budget,' he said. You've seen how the budget matches the strategy and so I'll let that speak for itself.'

'I've also said we're behind in hypersonics, we failed to deter Russia.'

The military leadership also faced questions about why it was shrinking the size of the Navy - decommissioning nine vessels including the USS Fort Worth - when threats were growing

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark Milley said the U.S. Navy remained far more capable that its Chinese rival, with better ships and better sailors

Austin queried the premise of his question, asking where he had got his information from.

Gaetz was not to be deterred as he returned to the unexpected collapse of Afghanistan and the failure of Russia to take Kyiv rapidly.

'You totally blew those calls, and maybe we would be better at them if the National Defence University actually worked a little more on strategy and a little less on wokeism,' he said.

Austin replied: 'Has it occurred to you that Russia has not overrun Ukraine because of what we've done, and our allies have done.'

They also faced pressing questions about plans to shrink the size of the U.S. Navy.

The budget shows the Pentagon buying nine ships while retiring 24, shrinking the size of the Navy to 298 ships - part of a plan that would eventually see the fleet contract to 280 vessels by 2027.

That comes against a backdrop of the Navy's top officer saying he needs about 350 ships plus another 150 unmanned or lightly manned vessels to counter adversaries such as China.

When quizzed on the numbers by Rep. Mike Wittman, Milley defended the numbers.

He said the nine ships being retired had high maintenance costs that made them unsustainable. In contrast, the ships being purchased were among the most modern in the world

'I'm always in favour of great numbers. I think that's great. But I would bias towards capability rather than just sheer numbers,' he said.

It is a fair argument about the number of ships the Chinese have and it even gets worse if you think about our global commitment versus say the US fleet is in the western Pacific or in the Pacific.

The numbers are even the ratios are even worse. But again, its capability versus capacity.

'And I'd caution folks to go down into the detail about what our ships can do, what the training of our sailors can do, what our tactics are, what technologies aren't on our ships I think is a fundamental and significant advantage to us, relative to China on that capability.'

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced on Tuesday it completed a free flight test of the Lockheed Martin version of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept. It reached a cruise speed of more than five times the speed of sound at 65,000 feet

The missiles, which are launched from a bomber jet and accelerated by a booster before detaching, are able to be guided to a precise target. Above, a rendering of a missile

China's testing of a 25,000mph hypersonic nuclear-capable missile has indicated that Beijing's missile programme is more advanced than previously thought, amid an intensifying race for the next generation of long-rang weapons that are harder to detect and intercept

The Pentagon's 2023 budget request already includes $4.7 billion for research and development of hypersonic weapons. It includes planning that would have a hypersonic missile battery fielded by next year, a sea-based missile by 2025 and an air-based cruise missile by 2027.

On Tuesday the U.S. announced it was teaming up with the United Kingdom and Australia to develop hypersonic weapons as they play catch-up with China's rapid expansion of its military arsenal, according to sources familiar with the plan.

President Joe Biden unveiled the next phase of A.U.K.U.S. security pact with the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

A string of senior officials had warned that China has stolen a march on the U.S. with its rapid development of hypersonic weapons - capable of flying five to 25 times the speed of sound and outmaneuvering air defense systems - and Artificial Intelligence.

Details of a joint venture - first reported by the Financial Times - emerged soon after the Pentagon confirmed that it had conducted the second test of a hypersonic missile.

It was tested last month but it was kept quiet for two weeks in order to avoid ramping up tensions further with Russia.

The Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) was launched from a B-52 bomber.
An anti-abortion activist who was arrested last week when police found five fetuses in her apartment revealed that her group took 110 fetuses from a medical waste truck back to her home for 'a proper burial.'

Lauren Handy, 28, of the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, defended her actions in a news conference on Tuesday where the group claimed federal laws were broken at the Washington Surgi-Clinic reproductive health center in Washington, D.C.

Handy is one of nine anti-abortion activists charged in an indictment made public last week accusing the group of blocking access to the same health center in October 2020.

Handy and PAAU director Terrisa Bukovinac said they spotted a truck outside the medical center on March 25, and pleaded with the driver to let them take two boxes filled with 110 aborted fetuses so they could bring them to her DC home, put them on a table, and give them a funeral and burial.

The group claimed that of the fetuses recovered, five appeared to have been more developed. The group contacted DC Metropolitan police to report a possible crime, which only led to the retrieval of the fetuses and Handy's arrest on March 30 in a separate incident in 2020.

'I made a promise, a funeral and a burial,' Handy told reporters on Tuesday. 'It has been my desire since the beginning, since March 25, and through the whole process to ensure these children's dignity were uplifted and respected.'

Washington police said a city medical examiner has no plans to perform autopsies at this time because the fetuses had been aborted in accordance to DC law, The Washington Post reported.

Lauren Handy (pictured), 28, said she took 110 fetuses from a medical waste truck outside the Washington Surgi-Clinic on March 25 as she defended her actions on Tuesday

Handy and fellow Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising leader Terrisa Bukonivac informed a truck driver outside the clinic that he was transporting aborted fetuses. They said the driver was sympathetic to their cause and handed over 110 fetuses to them

Handy (center) was arrested last Wednesday outside her Washington, D.C., apartment when Police found five fetuses inside her home. Her group claims those five fetuses were well-developed and that they contacted police to investigate

Washington and seven states do not have specific laws prohibiting abortion after a certain point in pregnancy. PAAU spokesman Randall Terry said the group demands a federal investigation into the five fetuses.

Bukovinac said that she and Handy went to the Washington Surgi-Clinic on March 25 for demonstrations outside the facility when they spotted the medical waste truck around the corner.

She said that when they spoke to the truck driver and he became sympathetic to their cause.

The two women then brought the 110 aborted fetuses to Handy's apartment for a funeral Mass and burials with the help of a local priest.

'This was the most devastating and soul crushing experience of our lives,' Bukovinac said. 'It's a moment that will live on for us for all of time.'

Bukovinac and Handy said of the 110 fetuses, they found five bags with more developed fetuses, which they named Christopher, Angel, Harriet, Holly and Phoenix.

They claimed the fetuses showed signs of injuries and, through a lawyer, contacted police to pick up those stored in Handy's home.

Police said the investigation over the fetuses and how the group acquired them is still ongoing, with Chief Robert Contee saying the department is a long way from reaching any conclusions.

'We're not going to rush to judgment,' Contee told the Post.

On Monday, Handy pleaded not guilty to violating Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act when she and eight others blocked the entrances to the Washington clinic in 2020.

The federal law, more commonly known as the FACE Act, prohibits physically obstructing or using the threat of force to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health services.

PAAU director Terrisa Bukovinac (left) defended her actions with Handy (right). Handy is one of nine anti-abortion activists facing federal charges for blocking access to the same clinic where back in October 2020 they chained themselves to the entrance

Police said the investigation is still ongoing but that a medical examiner determined all fetuses were aborted within the law

Handy's group had message D.C. police about the fetuses and demanded a full investigation due to D.C. law allowing abortions to be conducted at any point in a pregnancy

In the indictment, prosecutors said Handy had called the Washington Surgi-Clinic pretending to be a prospective patient named 'Hazel Jenkins' and scheduling an appointment.

Once there, on October 22, 2020, Handy and eight other people pushed their way inside and began blocking the doors, according to the indictment.

The indictment named the other eight suspects as: Jonathan Darnel, 40, of Virginia, Jay Smith, 32, of New York, Paula Harlow, 73, of Massachusetts, Jean Marshall, 72, of Massachusetts, John Hinshaw, 67, of New York, Heather Idoni, 61, of Michigan, William Goodman, 52, of Michigan, and Joan Bell, 73, of New Jersey.

Five chained themselves together on chairs to block the treatment area as others blocked the employee entrance to stop other patients from coming inside, the indictment alleges.

Another suspect blocked people from coming into the waiting room, prosecutors charge.

Handy and Goodman also face charges for resisting arrest at an abortion clinic in Michigan in 2019. Also in 2019, she was arrested for unlawful entry and blocking an entrance at several clinics.

Handy had previous run-ins with the law, too. A DC charter school filed a civil complaint against her for trespassing in December 2015. She was arrested for unlawful assembly outside the school earlier that year.
The final design of a craft designed to break the world sailing speed record has been revealed.

The spaceship-like SP80 craft has been built with the aim of sailing into the record books, with a top speed of 80 knots (about 92mph) with only the wind as its sole source of power.

Switzerland-based SP80 described the boat as a sea rocket and said it plans to officially launch it at the end of this year.

The first record attempts are planned for the summer of 2023 in the south of France.

The final design of craft designed to break the world sailing speed record has been revealed

The spaceship-like SP80 craft has been built with the aim of sailing into the record books, with a top speed of 80 knots (about 92mph) powered by the wind as its sole source of power

The boat will be bigger than the initial concept - ten metres long and seven metres wide - but will still be towed across the waves by a giant kite.

The cockpit will have room for two pilots - one to pilot the kite while the other steers the boat.

It has been under construction since the summer of 2021, with this sleek, futuristic shape emerging as the final version.

It has been designed by a team of engineers and students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) who have combined sailing, kitesurfing and engineering principles.

Benoit Gaudiot, co-founder and pilot, said: 'Very early in our development phase, it was clear that being alone on board was not an option to accelerate safely up to 80 knots.

The boat will be bigger than the initial concept - ten metres long and seven metres wide - but will still be towed across the waves by a giant kite

The SP80 has been designed by a team of engineers and students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) who have combined sailing, kitesurfing and engineering principles

The boat has the name of renowned Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille emblazoned on it due to a sponsorship deal

'At 150 km/h, it is essential to be focused on one task.

'We will thus have a pilot steering the kite, while a co-pilot will ensure the boat's trajectory.

'However, at low speeds, that is around 30 knots, the boat can be sailed solo, which will allow us to welcome passengers onboard to experience something extraordinary.'

The SP80 boat is being assembled at famed Italian shipyard Persico Marine, with the main hull expected to arrive at SP80's headquarters in Renens, Switzerland, in April.

The boat has the name of renowned Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille emblazoned on it due to a sponsorship deal.
President Biden refused to declare that Russia was committing 'genocide' in Ukraine, even as other members of his Cabinet have leveled up their rhetoric after the horrific accounts that came out of Bucha, Ukraine.

As Biden delivered remarks flanked by former President Obama on the Affordable Care Act, a CNN reporter asked him at what point it becomes 'genocide' in Ukraine. The president demurred: 'Let's just talk about health care.'

Obama had returned to the White House for the first time since his own presidency to mark the 12th anniversary of the passing of Obamacare. The pair were together to announce Biden's proposed fix to the so-called 'family glitch' - a quirk estimated to be keeping about 5 million people from getting coverage under the law.

People tripped up by the family glitch are dependents of workers who have an offer of employer coverage that the government interprets as being affordable. As a rule, people with affordable employer coverage are not eligible for taxpayer-subsidized ACA plans.

On Monday Biden called for Russian leader Vladimir Putin to face a war crimes trial for the atrocities in Bucha.

'He is a war criminal,' Biden told reporters of Putin. 'But we have to gather the information. We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue to fight and we have to get all the detail so this could be  actual have a war crimes trial. This guy is brutal and what's happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone's seen it.'

'I'm seeking more sanctions,' Biden said. He said he didn't think what happened in Bucha could be called genocide, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted.

President Biden refused to declare that Russia was committing 'genocide' in Ukraine, even as other members of his Cabinet have leveled up their rhetoric after the horrific accounts that came out of Bucha , Ukraine

Serhii Lahovskyi, 26, hugs Ludmyla Verginska, 51, as they mourn their common friend Ihor Lytvynenko, who according to residents was killed by Russian Soldiers, after they found him beside a building's basement,

But Secretary of State Antony Blinken pulled no punches Tuesday claiming that Russia was on a 'deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape.'

'As this Russian tide is receding from parts of Ukraine, the world is seeing the death and destruction left in its wake,' he told reporters as he flew to Brussels. 'What we've seen in Bucha is not the random act of a rogue unit. It's a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities. The reports are more than credible. The evidence is there for the world to see.'

At the same time U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted that Ukrainians were being taken to 'filtration camps' in Russia. Russian federal security agents are now taking away passports, IDs and cell phones so Ukrainians cannot escape and ripping apart families, she said.

'I do not need to spell out what these so-called filtration camps are reminiscent of. It's chilling and we cannot look away. Every day we see more and more how little Russia respects human rights.'

Blinken said that the U.S. is working with other nations to gather evidence to help the Ukrainian prosecutor general and the UN Human Rights Council in investigations.

'As this Russian tide is receding from parts of Ukraine, the world is seeing the death and destruction left in its wake,' Sec. of State Antony Blinken told reporters as he flew to Brussels

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted that Ukrainians were being taken to 'filtration camps' in Russia

As Russian forces withdrew from Bucha, an old railroad stop northwest of Kyiv that had sprung up into a lush suburb, the world was horrified at the shell of the town that was revealed- mass graves with limbs only haphazardly covered in dirt, bodies piled on the side of the road. In total, Bucha's mayor estimated that Russians had slaughtered more than 300 of the town's citizens.

Survivors of a month-long Russian occupation - endured in cold, dark silence after Putin's troops cut off all links with the outside world - are just now starting to emerge from basements and makeshift bunkers.

Ukraine's prosecutor-general said the bodies of 410 civilians, many with bound hands and close-range gunshot wounds, have been recovered from towns surrounding Kyiv after last week's withdrawal of Russian troops.

Zelensky compared Russia to ISIS in a fiery speech Tuesday before the UN Security Council. He called the rapes, murder and torture by invading Kremlin forces 'the most terrible war crimes' since WWII, as he shared a harrowing video of burnt corpses and bodies stuffed in wells to the council.

Vladislav Kozlovsky, who returned to Bucha at the outbreak of war to care for his mother and grandmother, told The Telegraph how two men he knew had tried to escape through an abandoned glass factory but were found by the Russians.

One was shot in the back of the head. The other had his cheek cut out before being shot in the heart.

Volodymyr Pilhutskyi, another Bucha resident, recounted how his neighbour was taken away by Russian troops because he was wearing military-style trousers which were deemed 'suspicious'.

He was tortured and killed, Mr Pilhutskyi said, with burn marks from a flamethrower found on his body.

Bodies are piled up at a cemetery in Bucha after Russia' withdrawal from the town

A family walks pass a car crushed by a Russian tank in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5

Dozens of bodies wait to be buried at a cemetery in Bucha on Tuesday

Ukrainian armed forces say they have now uncovered a Russian torture chamber, located inside a children's hospital that was also being used as a makeshift barracks.

The bodies of five men were found shot to death in the basement, a spokesman said, with their hands tied behind their backs. Some had been tortured.

Graphic images taken by Ukrainian prosecutors show the bodies of the men lying on a rubble floor surrounded by pools of dried blood. At least one appears to have been shot through the kneecap.

It comes as drone footage revealed today appeared to show Russian tanks opening fire on a cyclist in Bucha.

Tanya Nedashkivs'ka, 57, weeps in the street over the death of her husband who was found killed as Ukrainian forces liberated the city of Bucha, to the west of Kyiv, after a month under the occupation of Russian troops

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said that even though Ukraine is taking back the capital, he urged civilians not to return for 'at least another week', with explosives left around the city. Pictured: teams work to clear explosives

Ukrainian interviews with Human Rights Watch laid to bare Russia's indiscriminate killings in Bucha and beyond. Locals said that Russian forces would throw smoke grenades into basements and other hiding places and shoot those who ran out in fear.

On March 5, Russian soldiers allegedly went door to door rounding up those who were hiding, mostly women, children and elderly, and brought them to a parking lot to wait for hours in the frigid weather. They then brought up five men, forced them to strip down and use their own shirts as execution cloth, and shot one in the head, threatening the four others.

Dead bodies litter the streets near Bucha, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, after Russian forces withdrew from the region - leaving evidence of 'war crimes' in their wake

Men take away bodies of Ukrainian civilians killed in the Russian invasion, on a street in the small city of Bucha of Kyiv (Kiev) area, Ukraine, 03 April 2022

Bodies of civilians in plastic bags lay in a mass grave in Bucha city, which was the recaptured by the Ukrainian army, Kyiv (Kiev) area, Ukraine, 04 April 2022. More than 410 bodies of killed civilians were carried from the recaptured territory in Kyiv's area for exgumation and expert examination

The commander told the rest of the people in the square: : 'Don't worry. You are all normal  and this is dirt. We are here to cleanse you from the dirt.'

One woman told Human Rights Watch that she was raped by a Russian soldier in a school in Kharkiv where she was sheltering, after the soldier held a gun to her temple while he forced her to perform sexual acts. After the encounter, the woman said that the soldier told her that he was 20 years old and she reminded him of a girl he went to school with. He proceeded to cut her throat, cheek and hair with a knife.
Former Fox News star-turned-conservative talk radio host Megyn Kelly blasted progressive Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for advocating for student loan forgiveness, declaring that she does not want to pay for the college education of 'snot-nosed' kids.

Kelly weighed in on the hot-button issue Monday while interviewing the hosts of the popular right-wing podcast Ruthless on her daily SiriusXM program, The Megyn Kelly Show.

Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat representing parts Queens, New York, has been urging President Joe Biden to use executive action to cancel federal student loan debt for everyone.

After Biden failed to address the issue of loan forgiveness in his State of the Union address last month, Ocasio-Cortez urged borrowers to 'keep bullying the White House' to wipe clean a large portion of the national $1.7 trillion student debt.

The strategy seems to have worked. On Tuesday, Biden announced he is extending the federal moratorium on student loan repayments until August 31.

In Kelly's takedown of the second-term congresswoman, she called Ocasio-Cortez a 'one-trick pony' who is willing to offer handouts to Americans as part of a strategy to save Democrats from a 'bloodbath' during the midterm elections in November.

Megyn Kelly hit out at Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat from New York, for supporting student loan forgiveness on her SiriusXM show on Monday

Ocasio-Cortez is a sponsor of the Student Debt Cancellation Act, which would forgive outstanding federal and private for all borrowers

Kelly then asked her guests whether they had someone pay for their college education.

Ruthless co-host Comfortably Smug recounted how he worked as a bouncer at a college dive bar in New York City to cover his tuition at a state school, which he said was within his budget.

'Everyone else in this country has always figured out a way to budget for their education, and again, its progressivism masquerading as compassion,' the conservative podcaster argued. 'Its a handout to the wealthiest, liberal, coastal... its like the liberal coastal elite embodied.'

Kelly, 51, then shared with her guests and listeners how, after her father died of a heart attack at age 45, her mother used his entire life insurance policy to pay for her children's college education.

'We werent rich to begin with,' said Kelly. 'So its not like he had some big fat life insurance policy.'

Kelly famously walked away from her NBC contract with a $69million settlement after being ousted for defending blackface for Halloween during a segment live air that drew immediate backlash. She later apologized for her remarks.

Speaking of her later father, Edward Kelly, who taught at the State University of New York at Albany until his death in 1985, Megyn said: 'he had, like, the bare minimum [life insurance] for when youre in your 40s and a professor.'

Kelly said she and her two older siblings were forced to take out loans on top of the life insurance money to pay for their schooling.

Kelly weighed in on the hot-button issue of student loan while interviewing the hosts of the popular right-wing podcast Ruthless

Kelly earned an undergraduate degree in political science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 1992, followed by a law degree from Albany Law School in 1995.

'So, do I think now that I would've been better if the federal government had stepped it?' she wondered. 'It wouldve been nice but I dont think the neighbors should have to pay for my college education.'

The former Fox News star went on to argue that the 'snot-nosed kids today' can take out loans to attend top schools like Columbia University.

'There people are going to be...elite graduates who are going to spend their years in journalism trying to shame half of America for doing absolutely nothing wrong,' she fulminated. 'Why should I be paying for their education? I don't want to!'

She isn't part of OUR Squad! Amazon union leader slams AOC for 'abandoning' them and says she 'doesn't deserve this moment' after she celebrated Staten Island warehouse voting to unionize As the president of the Amazon Labor Union celebrated victory for unionizing a Staten Island warehouse, he tore into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for backing out at the last minute from attending a pro-labor rally and slow-walking her support for the movement. 'Any message for AOC specifically?' news outlet Status Coup asked Chris Smalls, the organizer behind the successful unionization of the first Amazon warehouse in the country. 'Hell no, I'm not giving her no... she don't deserve this moment,' he said. Amazon has for decades deployed aggressive tactics to bust unionization efforts, and with very little funding, the effort by Smalls and his team to unionize was a longshot. But with the political and economic winds in their favor - a tight labor market and a pro-union National Labor Relations board under President Biden, employees at the fulfillment center known as JFK 8 voted in support of the Amazon Labor Union. ALU President Chris Smallstore into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for backing out at the last minute from attending a pro-labor rally and slow-walking her support for the movement Amazon Labor Union (ALU) organizer Christian Smalls speaks to the media as ALU members celebrate official victory after hearing results regarding the vote to unionize, outside the NLRB offices in Brooklyn, New York City, U.S., April 1 Last summer, Smalls said he went down to Washington, D.C. when Squad members were sleeping on the Capitol steps to protest the end of the eviction pause. He was trying to court their attendance at a pro-union rally at the Staten Island warehouse in August. Smalls said he personally invited New York progressives like AOC and Mondaire Jones. 'They were positive when I met them in person,' he said on the Krystal Kyle & Friends Podcast. 'I met Cori Bush on the steps. I brought them ALU shirts. We tried to convince them to come up there. AOC was like 'yeah, take my information.' Smalls said he had three meetings with members of her staff. 'Leading up to the rally everything was good up until the last second. They were like 'yeah, they can't make it.' I was like wow.' 'They didn't give me a real reason besides there is a security threat for AOC and I'm like, I was just sleeping on the steps with her in DC, she had no security there. Had maybe one person there. It didn't make sense because they said they canceled all her in person meetings for the rest of the month then she at the Met Gala.' Last Thursday when the unionizing vote was announced, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted muscle-flexing emojis in support, drawing criticism from Krystal Ball, co-host of the Krystal Kyle and Friends and Breaking Points podcasts, and progressive journalist Jordan Chariton. 'These are your constituents and you couldn't be bothered to show up until they're on the cusp of victory,' Ball wrote on Twitter. 'The warehouse isn't in my district and maybe you should look at a map before claiming so. One scheduling conflict aside, we have requested oversight investigations into Amazon, met with Amazon workers in the Woodside warehouses, and more. Hope you do more due diligence next time,' Ocasio-Cortez shot back. Smalls fired back at the congresswoman: 'Smh @AOC thats terrible workers from your district definitely commute to Staten Island I know them personally maybe you should do your do diligence.' Chariton jumped in: 'I was told by workers that your folks told them at last minute it was a security issue--not a scheduling conflict. Whether ur district or not, you would think a NY Congressman could've tweeted support--particularly in final weeks--for one of the most important union drives in U.S.' JFK8 in Staten Island is the first Amazon warehouse ever to successfully unionize 'Security was an issue as well. 2021 included a lot of high level threats on my life, which limited what activities I was able to do, especially those outside. The combination of that + when we are able to get resources/time to secure them creates scheduling + logistical conflicts,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'With respect, there's no security concerns with sending out support to @amazonlabor trying to win the first unionized Amazon to 13 million followers. Your voice and organizing power makes a difference,' said Chariton. 'No security concerns at the met gala,' Ball added with a puzzled emoji. Smalls said that he had also been blown off by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. 'I was talking with Bernie's people as well, they're like 'oh, were going to bring you to Congress to testify, it never happened.' The JFK8 Amazon facility voted 2,654 to 2,131 in favor of unionizing. The number of employees eligible to participate in the vote was 8,325, the NLRB said at the conclusion of the count.' The center is now poised to become the first and only Amazon warehouse among the 110 in the states to unionize. The company employs roughly 1.3 million workers across the country, and is on pace to surpass Walmart as the largest private employer in the U.S. within a year or two. A victory for organized labor at the second-largest U.S. private employer is a historic first for the retailing behemoth in the United States and a milestone for labor advocates, who for years have considered Amazon's labor practices a threat to workers. Smalls was a manager at the Staten Island facility until he was fired in 2020 for breaking social distancing rules by attending a walkout he helped organize over unsafe working conditions at the height of the pandemic. Amazon launched Smalls into the spotlight after its chief counsel accidentally sent an email to more than 1,000 people describing Smalls as 'not smart, or articulate,' and recommended making him 'the face' of efforts to organize workers. 'Amazon wanted to make me the face of the whole unionizing efforts against them,' Smalls wrote in a tweet on Friday.'Welp there you go!' Smalls along with his friend from the warehouse Derrick Palmer spent the past 11 months spreading awareness of their unionization efforts, bringing homemade baked ziti, empanadas and West African rice dishes to the bus stop outside the warehouse to appeal to workers, many of them from different backgrounds. They had no affiliation with any national labor organization and while they spent around $120,000 on their efforts, Amazon spent about $4.3 million on anti-union consultants last year across the nation, the New York Times reported. The successful unionization vote comes on the heels of a string of Starbucks stores that have voted to organize too. On Friday the House Oversight panel, led by Reps. Carolyn Maloney, N.Y., Ocasio-Cortez and Cori Bush, Mo. opened a federal probe into Amazon's labor practices. They wrote a letter to Amazon requesting documents on the companys labor policies and procedures, especially during extreme weather events. A tornado last year killed six workers in Edwardsville, Illinois and workers in the aftermath said that they had been told by supervisors they would be fired if they left their shifts early to find shelter. Advertisement

Ocasio-Cortez is a sponsor of the Student Debt Cancellation Act, which would forgive outstanding federal and private for all borrowers, both past and present.

On Tuesday, she tweeted in response to an announcement that the White House plans to extend the pandemic pause on student loan repayments through August 31: 'I think some folks read these extensions as savvy politics, but I dont think those folks understand the panic and disorder it causes people to get so close to these deadlines just to extend the uncertainty. It doesnt have the affect people think it does. We should cancel them.'

Roughly 43 million federal student loan borrowers have not been required to make payments for more than two years, since the CARES Act was first signed into law under Donald Trump.

Interest rates on student loans held by the government will also remain at zero.

It was due to end on May 1, but officials are seeking to give Americans a few more months of relief as the economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and while the cost of consumer goods continue to climb to record highs.

Kelly was not the only one who has upbraided Ocasio-Cortez in recent days.

Chris Smalls, the organizer behind the successful unionization of the first Amazon warehouse in the country publicly called out the congresswoman for backing out at the last minute from attending a pro-labor rally in August.

As he celebrated victory for unionizing a Staten Island warehouse, Smalls said that Ocasio-Cortez 'doesn't deserve this moment.'

Biden planning to EXTEND the pause on student loan repayments until August as the Squad ups calls for debt to be completely eradicated

President Joe Biden is extending the federal moratorium on student loan repayments until August 31, it was reported on Tuesday, as progressives continue to put pressure on the White House to cancel college debt altogether.

Roughly 43 million federal student loan borrowers have not been required to make payments for more than two years, since the CARES Act was first signed into law under Donald Trump.

Interest rates on student loans held by the government will also remain at zero.

It was due to end on May 1, but officials are seeking to give Americans a few more months of relief as the economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and while the cost of consumer goods continue to climb to record highs.

The Biden administration previously extended the moratorium for 90 days in late December amid the Omicron virus wave.

The new extension is set to be announced on Wednesday, Politico first reported.

The borrowers affected by the moratorium owe a combined $1.6 trillion in debt held by the US government, according to the latest data from the Education Department.

But members of House Democrats' progressive 'Squad' believe it does not go far enough to help.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) criticized the extension as just prolonging the uncertainty felt by people with thousands of dollars of student debt.

'I think some folks read these extensions as savvy politics, but I dont think those folks understand the panic and disorder it causes people to get so close to these deadlines just to extend the uncertainty,' the Democrat firebrand said on Twitter Tuesday.

'It doesnt have the affect(sp) people think it does. We should cancel them.'

Progressive Squad members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (left) and Ayanna Pressley (right) have been among the most prominent voices in Congress pushing for Biden to cancel federal student loan debt

She added, 'Ive had so many people asking me My payments are $X hundred / thousand a month. What do you think is going to happen in May? I need to make sure I delay X medical procedure or prescription / sell my car / make X huge change to prepare. The limbo & uncertainty is also a strain.'

Her fellow New Yorker, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), pointed out that Biden promised to reduce student loan debt during his 2020 presidential campaign.

Bowman wrote to Biden on Twitter: 'You made a promise to the American people and its time for you to follow through. Cancel student loans and help us unlock a better and brighter future for over 45 million people in this country.'

During his time in office so far, the president authorized program expansions that led to significant student loan relief for more than 700,000 people, with a value of at least $17 billion.

However many left-wing voters, particularly young progressives who were at first skeptical of Biden's campaign, felt the president has since fallen short of delivering on his aim to forgive up to $10,000 in student debt per borrower.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) called on Biden to cancel student debt '& bring transformative relief to millionsespecially Black women' in a Tuesday afternoon tweet.

'Black women are the most educated group in our country, but also the most burdened by student debt,' Pressley wrote.

Ocasio-Cortez claimed the president's student loan extension actually harms borrowers by extending their period of uncertainty

Her fellow New York lawmaker, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, pointed out that Biden promised to cancel up to $10,000 in student debt per borrower while on the 2020 campaign trail

Pressley also chimed in on Tuesday, highlighting the impact that student loan payment moratoriums have on black women

Aside from the Squad, Biden's reported debt relief extension falls short of dozens of Democrat lawmakers' expectations.

Nearly 100 members of Congress within the president's own party signed onto a letter last week urging the White House to extend the moratorium 'until at least the end of the year and to provide meaningful student debt cancellation.'

The effort was led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

'Canceling student debt is one of the most powerful ways to address racial and economic equity issues. The student loan system mirrors many of the inequalities that plague American society and widens the racial wealth gap,' the lawmakers wrote.

'Student debt cancellation must be one of the key actions in your comprehensive approach to advance equity as our nation works to rebuild a stronger and more equitable economy.'

Nearly 8 million jobs have been created under Biden's presidency so far, signaling a strong recovery from the pandemic's economic downturn.

However, the rebound has also sent consumer prices through the roof -- with inflation rising 7.9 percent in February from the same time last year, according to the most recently available Labor Department data. The figure is a 40-year high.

Warren, Schumer and Pressley released a recent analysis showing that resuming federal student loan payments could as much as $85 billion out of the US economy every year.

Republicans in Congress have taken the opposite approach to Democrats on student loan debt, calling on Biden to end the moratorium and arguing it presents an unfair burden on taxpayers.

'Reckless loan forgiveness policies are a short-sighted answer that would crush American taxpayers and leave our higher education system more broken than before,' GOP lawmakers on the House Education and Labor Committee said last month.

'This administration cares more about appeasing the progressive wing of the Democrat party than offering solutions to address the rising cost of college.'
The trial of former British national El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, continued on Tuesday

The mother of a slain American aid worker became emotional as she described in court on Tuesday how she and her husband pleaded for mercy in a video message to the head of terrorist group ISIS.

In her testimony during the trial of former British national El Shafee Elsheikh, 33 - an accused ISIS terrorist - Marsha Mueller recounted how she and her husband tried for years to save their daughter, Kayla, who had been kidnapped by the terrorist group while she was on a trip with her boyfriend to the Syrian city of Aleppo in August 2013.

Kayla was later forced to marry ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who raped her. She was then murdered in February 2015 at the age of 26.

The jihadis had reportedly demanded 5 million euros - or about $5.4 million - for Kayla's release, Mueller testified on Tuesday, but because they did not have that kind of money, she and her husband desperately tried for years to plead with the leaders of the terrorist group for her safe return.

At one point, she said, she and her husband even sent a video message to al-Baghdadi, in which Mrs. Mueller pleaded: 'I am coming to you with a mother's heart for the love of her daughter.

'Kayla is not your enemy,' she continued in the video, which was shown to a jury in Alexandria, Virginia, where Elsheikh stands accused of torturing and killing four Americans in Syria. 'I ask from her mother's heart that you show your mercy and release our daughter.'

Elsheikh, 33, is accused of involvement in Kayla's murder - as well as aid worker Peter Kassig and American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

He is now facing life in prison if found guilty of the eight charges he faces.

Carl Mueller, center, and Marsha Mueller, right, parents of Kayla Mueller who was killed by Islamic State militants, depart for a break at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday

Marsha Mueller, left, had described in court how she and Carl, right, pleaded with ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for their daughter's safe return

Kayla Mueller (pictured) was kidnapped by ISIS terrorists while on a trip to Syria with her boyfriend in 2013. She was later forced to marry Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

As part of the trial in Alexandria, Virginia, Marsha was asked on Tuesday to verify emails between her family and Kayla's kidnappers.

The first email, according to the Independent, came from Kayla's kidnappers on May 23, 2013 and said, 'We do not want to harm her. She is like a guest with us at the moment.'

Marsha said she was at first relieved that the kidnappers reached out because it meant they could start negotiations to get her back.

She and her husband, Carl, then worked with the FBI to craft responses to the terrorist organization, the Independent reports, with the FBI telling them that all emails should be signed by Carl as the terrorists would show him more respect.

The Obama administration had reportedly reassured their family that 'IS won't harm a woman'.

Soon, Marsha said, the kidnappers demanded the large sum of money, or the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani national who is now serving an 86-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2010 of trying to shoot US military officers while she was in Afghanistan.

Marsha testified that she and her husband replied: 'We are a family of modest means, and are concerned because you are asking for a great deal of money that is more than we could earn in several lifetimes.'

They also reportedly told the captors that they had no influence on the American government to force Siddiqui's release, but Kayla's captors simply wrote back 'get back to work,' the BBC reported.

By July 12, 2014, the emails - which were shown in court on Tuesday - reveal, ISIS gave the Muellers just 30 days to come up with the money or secure Siddiqui's release.

'If you fail to meet this deadline, we will send you a picture of Kayla's dead body,' they wrote.

At that point, Marsha said, she decided all future emails should be signed by both her and her husband.

'I told the negotiators I was going to write something myself,' she said in court. 'Because I'm Kayla's mom. I felt I needed to sign it.'

From then on, the family reportedly made repeated pleas to the kidnappers, ultimately sending the video message on September 16, 2014.

But by February 2015, Marsha testified, she and her husband began to hear reports that their daughter had been killed.

They then emailed the terrorist group asking for confirmation, to which they responded: 'The news regarding your daughter's death is indeed true.'

The terrorists allegedly claimed the Jordanian air force bombed a house where Kayla was staying - but prosecutors have called that into question given ISIS' history of executing American hostages.

The email also included photos of Kayla's body, which Marsha was forced to describe to the jury.

Her heartbreaking testimony followed that of Kaylas ex-boyfriend Rodwan Safarjalani, a Syrian national who was kidnapped along with Kayla in 2013 when she was working as a consultant with the Turkish humanitarian group Support to Life.

Safarjalani claimed in court they were taken by men wearing 'all black' and were separated, according to The Telegraph.

He said he was beaten and interrogated for about one month before he was released. He later returned to try to find Kayla, he said, claiming she was his wife.

By the time the court broke for lunch Tuesday, Safarjalani shouted at Elsheikh, saying that he will be going to 'hell'.

According to Washington Post reporter Rachel Weiner, Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III warned Alkhani but declined to ban him from the court, explaining: 'It was not a threat, it was a prediction.'

Elsheikh then glanced back at the galley before being ushered away by marshals.

In this file photo taken on March 30, Diane and John Foley, the parents of James Foley, a US journalist slain by Islamic State militants, return to the Alexandria federal court house

James Foley (left) and Kayla Mueller (right) were both killed after being taken hostage by the ISIS 'Beatles', a cell of several jihadist fighters with British accents

The court also heard from Marcos Marginitez, a Spanish former hostage, who testified that the cell Elsheikh was involved in, known as the 'Beatles' because its members were British, was far more brutal than the French, Belgian and Syrian guards at the Islamic State prisons.

'We were not allowed to look them in the eye, and had to kneel with our hands on the wall whenever they were there,' he claimed, according to the Telegraph.

'They knew how to inflict the most pain,' he said, 'and they enjoyed it.'

The heartbreaking testimony comes a day after James Foley's mother testified that she initially hoped reports her son had been executed were 'some cruel joke.'

'I didn't want to believe it,' Diane Foley testified at the trial on Monday.

'It just seemed too horrific,' Foley said. 'I was hoping it was just some cruel joke.'

Foley said it sank in later that day when US president Barack Obama went on television to confirm that James had indeed been executed by his IS captors.

Diane Foley, who worked tirelessly to try to obtain her son's release, said James, a seasoned combat reporter, left for Syria in October 2012 and promised to be back for Christmas.

The family began to worry when he did not call in November on Thanksgiving.

Bethany Haines, center, the daughter of David Haines, who was slain by Islamic State militants departs for a break from the trial at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday

'Jim always called us on the holidays,' she said. 'There was a deafening silence when we did not hear from him.'

She said the family was informed by a colleague of James that he had been kidnapped.

'Those first nine months, we didn't know if Jim was alive or not,' she said.

The first tangible proof that James was alive came when his captors provided emailed answers to three questions that only he would know.

The brother of a journalist murdered by ISIS killer Jihadi John has told a terror trial how he watched the clip of his sibling being beheaded 'once or twice', saying the footage is 'burned into my brain'.

James' brother Michael Foley also testified, saying that he watched the clip of his sibling being beheaded 'once or twice', and that the footage is 'burned into my brain'.

He also said ransom demands made by the terror group in 2012 and 2013 - including 100 million Euros and the release of Islamist prisoners - showed they were never serious about sparing his late brother James. The war photographer was executed in Raqqa, Syria, in August 2014 aged 40, with footage of his murder horrifying the world.

Michael told the hearing in Alexandria: 'We had no ability to secure either of those demands. It's not a reasonable demand. It's not a negotiation, in my mind.'

He went on to say how he'd first learned of his brother's death after being called for confirmation by reporters, which was finally provided days later by then-President Barack Obama.

Michael said he went online and watched the video of his brother in an orange jumpsuit and the knife-wielding IS executioner known as 'Jihadi John.'

'I watched it once or twice,' he said. 'I haven't seen it since but it's burned into my brain.'

Michael Foley, brother of James Foley, a US journalist slain by Islamic State militants, departs for a break from the trial at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday

Pictured left: James Foley while covering the civil war in Aleppo, Syria. Pictured right: US aid worker Peter Kassig - otherwise known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig - in Syria

Left: US freelance journalist Steven Sotloff. Right: Kayla Mueller is shown after speaking to a group in Prescott, Arizona. Both were killed in Syria by ISIS

Elsheikh is better known as one of 'the Beatles,' a nickname he and at least two other Britons were given by their captives because of their accents, with the gang said to have been behind the beheadings of 27 hostages.

Last week, his trial was told of the horrific brutality he allegedly meted out on prisoners, including 'going away' batterings for hostages who'd been freed.

Elsheikh is also said to have beaten one hostage 25 times on learning that it was the unnamed captive's 25th birthday.

Elsheikh and a longtime friend, Alexenda Kotey, were captured together and brought to Virginia to face trial.

Kotey pleaded guilty last year in a plea bargain that calls for a life sentence. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 29.

Elsheikh is pictured, right, with ISIS Beatle Alexander Kotey, left, who struck a plea bargain last year in return for life behind bars

The fourth suspected 'Beatle', Aine Davis, is pictured in 2014. He is currently serving a prison sentence at a Turkish jail

A third Beatle, Mohammed Emwazi, served as executioner in the video of Foley's execution. Emwazi was killed in a drone strike in November 2015, and was the face and voice of some of ISIS's most horrific execution videos.

There have been conflicting statements during the trial about the existence of a fourth Beatle.

An individual previously identified in public discussion as a fourth Beatle, Aine Davis, is serving a prison sentence in Turkey.

Defense lawyers have highlighted the discrepancies over the Beatles' identities, and say there is insufficient evidence to prove Elsheikh was one of the Beatles who participated in the hostage-taking scheme.

Prosecutors, though, plan to present evidence later in the trial that Elsheikh confessed to his role under questioning from interrogators and in media interviews.
Faculty members at the University of Virginia slammed its student newspaper on Tuesday for failing to understand the principles of free speech after it called for former Vice President Mike Pence not to be allowed to speak on campus.

Pence is scheduled to appear next Tuesday.

But the editorial board of The Cavalier Daily triggered a furore by last month calling for his invitation to be rescinded on the grounds that 'hateful rhetoric is violent.'

Now, members of faculty have weighed in by saying it was simply wrong to say that a speech could threaten the wellbeing of students.

'This speech-is-violence argument is not only wrong  no calls for violence will be issued April 12  but also contradicts the letter and the spirit of the First Amendment, which generally creates space for a wide range of views to be expressed so long as the relevant speech does not incite violence,' said the letter signed by 17 senior members of staff.

'It is also a disservice to those who are the victims of actual physical violence  whether those injured and killed during the many civil rights struggles in American history, those who fought and died for our constitutional rights as members of our armed services or the brave people of Ukraine who are fighting and dying for their freedoms, including free speech.'

Earlier this month, the Young America's Foundation, a conservative youth organization, announced Pence's participation in its lecture series.

Donald Trump's former VP is slated to deliver his speech at UVA's Old Cabell Hall on April 12.

The controversy over his visit means he is teed up now to speak about threats to free speech on campus, and in wider society.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to deliver a speech about freedom and traditional values at the University of Virginia in April, but liberal students want the event canceled

Pence's speech is part of a lecture series sponsored by Young America's Foundation, a conservative youth organization. Pictured: Pence poses with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (right) in Jerusalem on March 8

'The political climate at the University of Virginia has grown to become nearly inhospitable towards conservatives,' said UVA YAF Chairman Nick Cabrera when the invitation was announced.

'Bringing the 48th Vice President Mike Pence will allow for a reinvigorated sense of intellectual diversity across Jeffersons campus.'

But the invitation sparked outrage among UVA's progressives and prompted the board of The Cavalier Daily, the university's student newspaper to publish a strongly worded editorial titled 'Dangerous rhetoric is not entitled to a platform.'

The thrust of the March 17 editorial's argument, is that Pence is a 'homophobic, racist and transphobic politician' whose 'hateful rhetoric' should not be given a platform.

The controversy brewing at UVA over Pence's presence comes just days after a free speech debate between conservative and progressive speakers at Yale Law sparked a protest by a group of angry liberal students.

In their letter, the members of faculty - including Larry Sabato, founder of UVA's Center for Politics and one of the country's best known political analysts - say the editorial board had failed to understand how free speech works.

'Moreover, what saddens us about the mindset of The Cavalier Daily editorial is its assumption that the editors should enjoy the freedom to say what they want but others with whom they disagree should not,' they write.

'The First Amendment protects not just those whose views the editors deem harmless.

'Those of us who support free speech do so, in part, because, in a democratic society, none of us can see the whole truth and all of us benefit from being exposed to perspectives that may comprehend some aspect of the truth better than we do.'

In February, the former VP addressed a Stanford College Republican (SCR) Forum at Stanford University with a speech titled 'How to Save America From the Woke Left.'

Pence's visit at Stanford was met with dozens of protesters, who staged a peaceful demonstration outside the venue where he spoke, chanting 'hate should not be taught here.'

The conservative politician's planned UVA speech will explore 'freedom, free markets and traditional values.'

In its takedown of Pence's invitation to UVA, The Cavalier Daily's editorial board portrayed the 48th vice president as a homophobe who hates minorities and immigrants.

'For Pence, gay couples signify a societal collapse, Black lives do not matter, transgender individuals and immigrants do not deserve protection and the pandemic should not be taken seriously,' the editorial read. 'Nevertheless, the University has accepted Pences visit as an opportunity to hear from, and engage with, leaders and experts from a wide variety of fields and perspectives.

'So-called perspectives should not be welcomed when they spread rhetoric that directly threatens the presence and lives of our community members.

Pence faced protesters when he spoke at Stanford University in February (pictured)

Earlier this month, a free speech debate between conservative and progressive speakers at Yale Law sparked a protest by a group of angry liberal students (pictured)

'The LGBTQ+ individuals Pence has attacked, the Black lives he refuses to value and the successful stories of immigration he and the former president hope to prevent  these very people are our peers, our neighbors and our community members. We refuse to condone platforming Pence.'

The Young America's Foundation's newsletter, The New Guard, on Monday hit out at The Cavalier Daily's editorial board and defended Pence, a devout Christian, for previously stating that he believes that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.

'News flash, simply stating ones view on marriage is not in any way slandering the gay communityjust because it doesnt align with your opinion,' the author of the newsletter op-ed wrote.

She then went on: 'Just because someone disagrees with anothers opinion, it doesnt give them the right to shut down the free speech of the VP and ruin the event for students who want to hear what Pence has to say.'
Thousands of students have been forced to learn from home this week due to illness, self-isolation or a shortage of teachers struck down with Covid-19.

One in five public school students across NSW were absent from the classroom on Monday, down from 86 per cent attendance levels recorded in mid-March.

The rise in cases has also sparked a shortage of teachers as 20 public schools ordered students to stay home on Monday due to staff being off sick.

The crisis extends to Catholic and independent schools, where under-staffed schools are putting on movies for large cohorts of students or have pressed pause on all face to face learning.

Thousands of students are not in the classroom this with due to Covid-19 and staff shortage (pictured, students at Sydney Secondary College)

Some staff have been left supervising three classes at the same time due to a shortage of casual teachers.

'It can mean a secondary school teacher supervising a number of classes simultaneously from the corridor, it can mean students in the school hall watching films all day,' Independent Education Union acting secretary Carol Matthews told the Daily Telegraph.

'It is certainly impacting on teachers who are exhausted covering the classes of absent colleagues.'

Brigidine College on Sydney's upper north shore has cancelled all face to face learning until next week.

At Cronulla High School in Sydney's south, more than a dozen teachers could not attend parent-teacher interviews this week due to Covid.

The school has seen an increase of cases since the recent removal of mask mandates.

One in five public school students across NSW were absent from the classroom on Monday

'The infection and close contacts of the teachers, has, at times, seen our full-time and casual teachers stretched,' the latest school newsletter states.

'This has resulted in a small number of senior classes not being able to be covered. This is not ideal and it is something we will continue to try and avoid, but it will remain a challenge in this current climate.'

NSW recorded 19,183 new cases on Tuesday, up from 15,572 infections reported 24 hours earlier.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard has ruled out easing isolation rules for close contacts as he believes the actual number of daily infections may be 'at least 50 per cent higher' than recorded.

'Covid continues in very substantial numbers every day. We are seeing somewhere between 15 to 20,000 positive cases everyday and we think that's a big underestimate. Because many people it would appear are not actually reporting the positive cases,' he said on Tuesday.
Labour has been rocked by a 'nepotism' row after a Corbynista MP stood down from his council seat  only for his daughter to be selected as a candidate for the resulting by-election.

Selfie-loving university graduate Ellie Byrne, 22, is favourite to win tomorrow's poll in the safe Everton seat on Liverpool City Council.

She would replace her father Ian, 49, who was elected MP for Liverpool West Derby in 2019 and who stood down from the local authority in January.

He has been described as Ian 'Two Jobs' Byrne for holding on to his council seat for more than two years after winning his Westminster constituency.

The row comes despite the national Labour Party having taken over the candidate selection process in Liverpool after damning reports into the council by the Government and Labour. In its conclusions last year, Labour found evidence of 'bullying, misogyny and a toxic culture' in the city group.

Selfie-loving university graduate Ellie Byrne, 22, (pictured) is favourite to win tomorrow's poll in the safe Everton seat on Liverpool City Council

Labour said Miss Byrne, believed to have studied law and history at Liverpool University, was selected by party members at a meeting of the Everton branch from a shortlist of four. The party added that her selection was nothing to do with her background but because she is 'active' in the area.

But, in an anonymous email, a group calling themselves 'Labour Activists in Everton Ward' wrote: 'Does Labour condone nepotism as a way to recruit councillor candidates? To say we are startled by this information, that the candidate for this by-election is actually the daughter of the outgoing councillor, is an understatement.'

Frank Prendergast, a former Everton councillor who is no longer a party member, told local independent newspaper The Post her selection was 'a stitch-up'.

And Kevin Robinson-Hale, former chairman of Everton Labour, who quit the party in 2020 and is standing against Miss Byrne for the Green Party, said: 'It's not a good look for Liverpool Labour to select a candidate who is the daughter of the outgoing councillor and a local MP.'

Richard Kemp, the Liberal Democrat leader on Liverpool City Council, said: 'The Labour Party claims the selection was all done properly but there are aggrieved members.'

Miss Byrne's social media shows her having taken an interest in politics since at least last year, when she posted pictures of herself helping at a food bank and attending an event with her father and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. She is also believed to have worked as a trainee at a local law centre.

Paul Bryan, editor of independent Liverpool online newspaper Liverpolitan, said: 'What we have here is the prospect of a father handing over the baton to his young daughter, as if it was some kind of private enterprise.

'Given everything we have recently learned about suspected corruption, wouldn't you want to avoid giving even the slightest impression of impropriety?'

But Sheila Murphy, who was appointed by Labour's National Executive Committee to oversee the clean-up of the Liverpool Labour group, said: 'Ellie has been a member of the Labour Party for some time. She was selected as part of a rigorous process based on her own ability.'

Alfie Hincks, a fellow Labour councillor in Everton, called Miss Byrne a 'breath of fresh air'.

In a statement, a Labour spokesman said: 'Local party members selected Ellie Byrne as Labour's candidate for the upcoming Everton ward by-election.

'She is now campaigning hard to win the votes of residents in Everton on April 7.' Miss Byrne and her father did not respond to requests for comment.
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Prince Charles wrote to depraved child rapist Jimmy Savile to ask him to help with the Royal Family's ailing image - and boosting his own profile - after a series of PR disasters, newly released letters written by the heir to the throne over 20 years revealed today.

The Prince of Wales lavished praise on the predatory paedophile's 'straightforward common sense' and asked him for advice on improving speeches and helping him with public visits to charities. Charles also asked Savile to advise his sister in law Sarah, the Duchess of York and her gaffe-prone husband Prince Andrew.

The TV star, later revealed to be one of Britain's worst child abusers who also bragged about performing sex acts on corpses in hospital morgues and stealing glass eyes from the dead for jewellery, even drew up a media relations handbook for Charles, according to the royal's letters.

Charles went on to incorporate some of the advice in an action plan which was seen by his parents the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

His correspondence with Savile, then the Jim'll Fix It presenter and arguably the most famous man in Britain at that time, are revealed to the world in the new Netflix documentary Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, which goes online today. Experts described Charles' judgment in leaning on Savile as 'catastrophic'.

Charles and other members of the Royal Family had no idea Saviles philanthropy was a cover for decades of abuse.

He [Charles] was duped, like we all were, the Netflix documentarys director Rowan Deacon told The Times, adding: 'The letters show the trust that Prince Charles put into Jimmy Savile. He was trying to appeal to the British people, trying to modernise. And he saw Jimmy Savile as his conduit to that. In hindsight, that was catastrophic.

Savile was asked to guide the future king between 1986 and 2006 on matters from public speeches to family matters. At that time the BBC star used his fame, wealth and prolific fundraising, which raised millions for the NHS, as a way to be free to abuse who he wanted.

A five-page PR guide was drawn up in 1989 on how the royals should respond to significant incidents. It came a year after the Duke of York said on a visit to Lockerbie, where 270 people died: I suppose statistically something like this has got to happen at some stage... Of course it only affects the community in a very small way.

The Prince of Wales' correspondence with Savile, then the Jim'll Fix It presenter, will be shown to the world in the new Netflix documentary Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story

A five-page PR guide was drawn up in 1989 on how the royals should respond to significant incidents

Elsewhere, Charles sought help with his speech writing, saying Savile was so good at understanding what makes people operate.

Charles also asked Savile where he could make public visits as he knew he was well connected with many institutions through his fundraising

Other letters revealed how Savile was also asked to help the Duchess of York with her public relations. On December 22, 1989 Charles wrote: I cant help feeling that it would be extremely useful to her if you could. I feel she could do with some of your straightforward common sense.

In one note, the Prince asks if Savile would mind meeting his then sister-in-law to help reign her erratic behaviour in.

Knowing his connections within the charity industry, Prince Charles would also ask for Savile's suggestions for public visits, without knowing these were the very places the television personality would use to attack his victims.

Later letters lavish praise on Savile's affable traits - long before the presenter's heinous past came to light - that the television star would use over a near 50 year campaign of terror to abuse hundreds of victims as young as five.

Savile came into contact with the Prince and Princess of Wales after his work on the Stoke Mandeville Hospital - whose spinal injuries ward Princess Diane opened in 1983.

It would later emerge that the paedophile DJ attacked 60 NHS patients at Stoke Mandeville Hospital alone, where he was given his own private bedroom and 24 hour access to all wards. It is also likely that he had sex with bodies in a mortuary at Leeds General Infirmary for up to 50 years and is believed to have stolen glass eyes from the dead and made them into medallions and rings.

Charles' writings paint a picture of a hospitable relationship between the Prince and the TV star.

Charles informally signs off his correspondence with his first name, while addressing Savile as Jimmy.

A request to tap Savile's influence and connections to form a 'list of suggestions... to get to parts of the country that others don't get to reach' was among the Prince's earliest letters.

Writing from Sandringham on January 14, 1989, Charles asked: 'Perhaps I am wrong, but you are the bloke who knows what's going on. What I really need, is a list of suggestions from you. I so want to get to parts of the country that others don't get to reach.'

The Prince had earlier asked for Savile's advice on responding to PR blunders, after Prince Andrew's performance in the wake of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in December 1988.

Eleven people died, along with the 259 passengers and crew on board the New York-bound plane which had set off from Heathrow. But Andrew had seemed to show little empathy in the wake of the national disaster.

Savile came into contact with the Prince and Princess of Wales after his work on the Stoke Mandeville Hospital - whose spinal injuries ward Princess Diane opened in 1983

Charles' writings paint a picture of a hospitable relationship between the Prince and the TV star. He informally signs off his correspondence with his first name, while addressing Savile as Jimmy

Netflix's new documentary will cast a light on the eccentricity and philanthropy used by Savile to mask his many decades of sex abuse allegations. Pictured: The Prince of Wales meeting Savile and Frank Bruno in November 1998

The day after the bombing, Charles wrote Savile and asked: 'I wonder if you would ever be prepared to meet my sister-in-law, the Duchess of York?

'I can't help feeling that it would be extremely useful to her if you could. I feel she could do with some of your straight-forward common sense.'

In response, Savile concocted an action plan, which was reportedly viewed by the Queen and Prince Philip, that would see an 'incident room' with independent phone lines installed and required all proposed action to be vetted by Her Majesty.

Charles later wrote back on January 27, 1989, in which he attached a memo on disasters 'incorporating your points' that would be shown to the Queen.

On April 16 that year, as Charles pondered a speech he would make at London's Guildhall, he wrote: 'You are so good at understanding what makes people operate and you're wonderfully sceptical and practical.

'Can you cast an eye over this draft and let me know how you think we can best appeal to people?'

Netflix's new documentary casts a light on the eccentricity and philanthropy used by Savile to mask his many decades of sex abuse

The television star would use his affable personality over a near 50 year campaign of terror to sexually abuse hundreds of victims, some as young as five. He also used access to vulnerable children and adults to abuse, including in the NHS

On July 4, he wrote from Highgrove House: 'Dear Jimmy, I can't tell you how grateful I am for the most useful assistance you have provided for my speech in the Guildhall the other day.

'It was really good of you to take the trouble to put together those splendid notes and provide me with considerable food for thought.

'Whether you think the final result is in any way worthwhile is another matter. With renewed and heartfelt thanks, Charles.'

Netflix's new documentary will cast a light on the eccentricity and philanthropy used by Savile to mask his many decades of sex abuse allegations.

Savile, who rose from a humble working-class upbringing to become one of British television's biggest stars, passed away aged 84 in 2011.

In his final years, he fought to quell growing speculation about his illegal exploits throughout his illustrious career with the BBC.

A Corporation-led inquiry into his actions found he had molested at least 72 children, some as young as eight, over a four decade campaign of sexual abuse with his first victim in 1959 and his last in 2006.

His horrific reign of abuse could be charted 'in the corridors, canteens, staircases and dressing rooms of every BBC premises', their 2016 report found.
GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said that there would need to be an amendment keeping Title 42 immigration restrictions in place in order for Democrats to pass more Covid aid with 10 Republican votes.

'There'll have to be an amendment on Title 42 in order to move the bill,' McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters on Tuesday. 'We'll need to enter into some kind of agreement to process these amendments in order to go forward with the bill.'

Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that the Covid relief bill should 'not be held hostage' to other proposals.

Lawmakers reached a bipartisan deal to offer $10 billion in additional Covid-19 funding on Monday. The bill funded vaccines, therapeutics and other Covid safety measures domestically, but dropped funding for fighting the pandemic abroad.

The Biden administration announced last week that the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) emergency health order, Title 42, which is used to expel a majority of immigrants on the southern border, will expire by May 23. Department of Homeland Security officials say the expiration is likely to cause a fresh surge in border crossings.

'There'll have to be an amendment on Title 42 in order to move the bill,' McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters on Tuesday. 'We'll need to enter into some kind of agreement to process these amendments in order to go forward with the bill'

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he 'absolutely' wanted a Title 42 amendment to the bill. 'It's utterly insane that the administration claims to be concerned about COVID,' he said. 'At the same time, they've decided just to throw open the doors to illegal aliens who are COVID-positive.'

The order was first implemented by the Trump administration in March 2020 and has been used to expel most migrants at the border. In February, 55 percent of people who arrived at the border were turned away due to the order.

More than 1.6 million migrants - mostly single adults and family units - have been expelled under Title 42 by both Trump and Biden.

In order to pass the $10 billion coronavirus aid deal before April 9, when both chambers go on a two-week break, all 100 senators need to cooperate, potentially giving Republicans leverage to force an amendment vote.

The $10 billion plan is less than half of what the White House originally requested, but some Republicans were prepared to offer nothing as they claimed previous Covid funding had been squandered or still had yet to be spent.

While past Covid-19 relief bills, such as the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, have been saddled with funding for struggling families and businesses, the new deal would be narrowly tailored to public health efforts to fight the virus.

A migrant girl walks through an encampment where she lives along with other migrants that were mostly sent back to Mexico and now they wait to be allowed into the U.S. when Title 42 is lifted, in Reynosa, Mexico, April

Elvia, 9, Sarai, 10, and Yadira, 8, asylum-seekers from Central America, pass their time at a migrant camp at the border where they have lived for months with other migrants that were mostly sent back to Mexico and now they hope to be allowed into the U.S. when Title 42 is lifted, in Reynosa, Mexico, April 1

Migrants that were mostly sent back to Mexico wait to receive a meal prepared by other migrants that live at the encampment yards away from the border as they hope to be allowed into the U.S. when Title 42 is lifted, in Reynosa, Mexico, April 1

Senate Republicans including Mitt Romney, Utah, Richard Burr, N.C. and Roy Blunt, Mo., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., were working with Democrats after the pandemic funding was pulled from the 2022 budget bill. Lead negotiators on the Democratic side were Sens. Chris Coons, Del., Chuck Schumer, N.Y., and Patty Murray, Wash. The new deal could clear the upper chamber as soon as this week.

A number of moderate Democratic senators have opposed the rescission of Title 42, but none have weighed in on the amendment suggestion. Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema, both Arizona Democrats, put out a statement warning against rolling back the order without a plan to deal with an onset of migrants, and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., said he is discussing with Republicans what to do about the matter.

White House press secretary pushed back on the idea of the amendment. Decisions on Title 42 should remain independent of the urgently needed funding for Covid aid. This is a decision made by CDC, it's a public health decision. It's not one, of course, that should be wrapped up in politics.'

A number of House Democrats had threatened to vote against the new aid deal without international funding, arguing it was necessary to keep new variants from developing and spreading to the U.S. But during a Democratic Caucus meeting Tuesday leadership urged them not to vote 'no' on the package. Some have suggested a separate bill on international Covid aid could come up later in the year.

Migrants that were mostly sent back to Mexico pass their time at an encampment yards away from the border while many hope to be allowed into the U.S. when Title 42 is lifted

Biden asked Congress for another $22.5 billion to fight the pandemic, and lawmakers had originally included $15.6 billion in aid as part of the fiscal year 2022 budget bill, meaning it could have passed with a simple majority vote. But the Covid aid was yanked at the last second after progressives protested the pay-fors of the funding - repurposing about $7 billion in leftover state and local Covid relief.

Moderate Republicans who could be swayed to vote for further aid insisted it was paid for, and demanded a full accounting of where other aid money has gone so far.

The new deal set to be announced Monday is paid for by repurposing aid from previous Covid-19 bills, but does not dig into state assistance.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reiterated Tuesday that President Joe Biden has never spoken to his son Hunter about his overseas business dealings, as she rejected the idea of a special counsel to oversee a government investigation.

Asked at her daily press briefing if it was still the case that Biden had never spoken to his son about his overseas business ventures, she responded simply: 'Yes.'

The question came after White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said Biden was 'confident' that Hunter Biden didn't break the law, following a Washington Post report on his dealings with a Chinese energy company, and a series of reports on a federal investigation into Hunter's finances.

'Of course the president is confident that his son didnt break the law,' said Klain.

Psaki rejected the idea of a special counsel out of hand, vouching for the independence of the Justice Department.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden has never spoken to his son Hunter about his foreign business dealings

'Well, first, the President has never had a conversation with the Department of Justice about any investigations into any member of his family. He said that during the campaign, and he will continue to abide by that,' she said.

'So I point you to the Department of Justice for any additional steps they would take they would make those decisions independently.'

Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked Psaki if DOJ would be able to make decisions independently in light of Klain's comments.

The New York Times reported this week that Biden is privately concerned Garland isn't moving 'decisively' enough against Jan. 6th defendants.

She was asked about a special counsel following statements by White House chief of staff Ron Klain saying Biden was 'confident' that Hunter Biden didn't break the law

Hunter Biden has been under investigation for his finances since 2018

The White House pushed back on a report that President Biden is privately concerned attorney general Merrick Garland isn't moving 'decisively' enough against Jan. 6th defendants. Psaki was asked about a special counsel to probe Hunter Biden

Klain disputed that report on Sunday. 'Ive never heard the president say that  advocate the prosecution of any person,' he told ABC's 'This Week.'

Asked about Klain's comment that Biden was confident his son didn't break the law, Psaki responded: 'Well, that's something the President has said and certainly we would echo. But in the same answer to that question, Peter, during an interview this week on ABC, Ron Klain also said the Justice Department is independent and they will make their own decisions.'

There have been a series of reports that a federal investigation of Hunter's finances, being run by a U.S. attorney in Wilmington, is heating up.

Hunter Biden has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Public records in D.C. reveal that $450,000 in tax liens on him there have been lifted.

A Washington Post report this week revealed that Chinese company CEFC China Energy and its execs had paid $4.8 million to entities controlled by the president's son.
The juror who almost triggered a mistrial for Ghislaine Maxwell will appear on a new documentary bragging about how he helped convict her.

Scotty David - known as juror 50 during the case - will appear on Paramount+'s new docuseries Ghislaine - Partner in Crime, which begins streaming April 7.

David didn't declare he'd been a victim of childhood sexual abuse in a jury questionnaire.

But he revealed the information during jury discussions, and boasts in a trailer for the upcoming show about how his revelation helped sway jurors to convict Maxwell, 60, of child sex trafficking.

'Some jurors did have serious credibility issues with some of these victims,' David says in the trailer. 'I felt that it was very important that I shared my sexual abuse story. I felt that helped other people come to the conclusion that just because some memories are fuzzy, doesn't mean they're not telling the truth.'

'After I spoke my story, the room was dead silent,' he says in the trailer.

Scotty David, also known as 'Juror 50', (pictured) says in the trailer he helped sway jury members who doubted victims by telling them of his own past sexual abuse

The documentary also hears from Ghislaine's brother Ian Maxwell, who continues to believe in his sister's innocence, and said: 'I just don't believe that my sister would have crossed those paths.'

And Virginia Roberts Giuffre is also interviewed. She famously accused Maxwell and Epstein of sex trafficking her to Prince Andrew when she was 17. Andrew denied impropriety, but settled a civil suit with Giuffre for an estimated $12m last month.

Earlier this month, a judge ruled that Maxwell could not be retried over the jury questionnaire fiasco, with the sex trafficker now facing up to 65 years behind bars when she's sentenced in June. Maxwell, who was born to British newspaper baron Robert Maxwell and enjoyed a life of fabulous wealth and privilege up until her 2020 arrest, now faces dying behind bars.

Judge Alison Nathan said that she opted not to retry Maxwell after hearing from David, and deciding that he had still tried Jeffrey Epstein's former madam impartially.

David's lies were busted after he gave an interview to DailyMail.com shortly after the trial concluded with Maxwell's conviction in November.

In interviews immediately after the trial, including with DailyMail.com, the 35-year-old executive assistant explained to that in his own case of sexual abuse he could remember some details but not everything - a key point of contention in the case.

David said: 'I know what happened when I was sexually abused. I remember the (color) of the carpet, the walls. Some of it can be replayed like a video.'

In his interviews, David also described how in vivid detail serving on the jury of six men and six women which took 40 hours to convict Maxwell.

The four hour docuseries in which he features is set to explore the British heiress' fall from grace after she was convicted in December of grooming and trafficking underage girls for her pedophile financier ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein died in jail in Manhattan in August 2019, while awaiting trial and Maxwell's lawyers argued that she was being tried for his crimes, and insisted she had no idea of his depravity.

Maxwell (pictured in a court sketch during her trial) was convicted in December of recruiting and trafficking underage girls for the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein

The jury disagreed, however, and Maxwell, 60, was convicted on five of six counts after a month-long trial where four of her accusers testified.

David previously said that at one point he 'locked eyes' with Maxwell from his third row seat in the jury box.

He said: 'There were times when it felt like she was staring right at me and we would lock eyesit didn't feel real'.

David said that after hearing all the evidence he was convinced of Maxwell's guilt.

He said: 'After all I've learned, she's just as guilty as Epstein. I don't want to call her a monster, but a predator is the right word.

'She knew what was happening. She knew what Epstein was doing and she allowed it to happen. She participated in getting these girls comfortable so that he could have his way with them'.

David said he went into the trial firmly believing that Maxwell was 'innocent until proven guilty' and viewing the victims with a skeptical eye.

But, he said, 'After all I've learned, she's just as guilty as Epstein. I don't want to call her a monster, but a predator is the right word.

The docuseries is set to explore the British heiress' fall from grace after she was convicted in December of grooming and trafficking underage girls for her ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein

David (pictured) is one of the 12 men and women who convicted Ghislaine Maxwell on five of the six counts of sex trafficking in December

'Some jurors did have serious credibility issues with some of these victims,' Juror 50 says. 'I felt that it was very important that I shared my sexual abuse story' (court sketch of jurors)

'She knew what was happening. She knew what Epstein was doing and she allowed it to happen. She participated in getting these girls comfortable so that he could have his way with them.

'And, to me, them returning repeatedly for the money has nothing to do with anything because these girls were minors, and it doesn't matter what incentivized them. It matters what happened to them.'

As a result of David publicly coming forward with his past sexual abuse Maxwell's attorneys requested a new trial on the basis that David had not disclosed the information during jury selection, as required.

Earlier this week Judge Alison Nathan refused to delay her decision and denied a retrial - setting a date for Maxwell's sentencing for June 28

Ghislaine Maxwell is pictured with her ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein. Earlier this month Maxwell, 60, was denied a retrial after her December conviction on sex trafficking charges

But earlier this week Judge Alison Nathan refused to delay her decision and denied a retrial - setting a date for Maxwell's sentencing for June 28.

Nathan said the Juror 50's failure to disclose his prior sexual abuse during the jury selection process was highly unfortunate, but not deliberate.

Nathan, explaining why she denied the retrial, wrote that the juror's claims that he remained impartial toward Maxwell rang true.

When questioned about it, he answered 'frankly and honestly, even when the answers he gave were the cause of personal embarrassment and regret,' she said, in her 40-page decision.

Nathan wrote that David was not inherently biased because of his background.

'To imply or infer that Juror 50 was biased  simply because he was himself a victim of sexual abuse in a trial related to sexual abuse and sex trafficking, and despite his own credible testimony under the penalty of perjury, establishing that he could be an even-handed and impartial juror  would be tantamount to concluding that an individual with a history of sexual abuse can never serve as a fair and impartial juror in such a trial,' Nathan wrote.

'That is not the law, nor should it be.

'In sum, the court concludes that the evidence in the record does not support the finding that Juror 50 was biased. Juror 50's sworn testimony did not reveal actual partiality. And Juror 50 was not impliedly or inferably biased,' Nathan said in her ruling.
The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund approved on Thursday in Abidjan $21.6 million in grants for the third phase of the National Road Network Rehabilitation Program in the Union of Comoros.

The grants comprise $14.1 million from the African Development Fund, the concessional window of the African Development Bank Group, and $7.5 million from the Transition Support Facility, a special purpose entity within the Bank Group that provides funding complementary to its other instruments.

The projects third phase will focus on improving the RN2 (Ouroveni-Foumbouni) in Grand Comores, the main island, the RN21 (Domoni-Mremani) roadway on Anjouan island and Mwalis RN32 (Wallah-Nioumachoua) roadways. All three are located in areas with substantial economic and tourist potential.

These road improvements will increase access to inland regions of the country and promote economic growth that is hindered by the deplorable nature of the countrys transport infrastructure, said Pamphile Codo, the program team leader.

Currently, the RN2 section provides the only access route to the beaches of Ouroveni and Male, which are patronized by visitors, including tourists from all over the world. The RN21 serves many villages of the island of Grand Comores, and connects to several regional roads. The RN32 traverses the most fertile region from where the largest share of the countrys agricultural produce is transported to the small port of Howani for onward shipment by boat to the other two islands that makes up Comoros.

The Ouroveni-Foumbouni section (7.2 km long) is home to 51.5% of the countrys population, the Domoni-Mremani stretch (14 km) has 41.2% of the population and the Wallah-Nioumachoua section (9 km) has 7.3% of the population.

As of February 2022, the African Development Bank Group has four active operations in its Comoros portfolio, with a total commitment of $85 million.

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The United States Army is investigating whether a crash involving two Black Hawk helicopters at a Georgia airfield last month was carried out intentionally by a medevac pilot.

Capt. James Bellew, 26 was on medevac duty on March 30 at the Wright Army Airfield, a dual use airport between Fort Stewart and the City of Hinesville in Georgia, when two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed into each other at around 2 a.m.

He was found dead the next morning at the site of the crash.

Bellew was the 'only crewmember involved in the incident, and he was the only one injured or killed in the incident,' Col. Lindsey Elder, a spokesperson for the 3rd Infantry Division, told the Army Times.

All of the other crewmembers were asleep at the time of the crash, Elder noted.

An unnamed source told the Army Times that the crash was 'not an accident.'

It remains unclear how he was able to start at least one of the helicopters without waking the crew or otherwise alert those who may have been at the field, like emergency medical services personnel or air traffic control staff.

The service's Criminal Investigation Division is now probing the crash, Elder said, and a safety investigation team from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center is also involved.

The CID's involvement indicates criminal involvement, as Army regulations would normally see the Combat Readiness Center leading routine accent probes. It would only defer to the CID, the Army Times reports, if the incident in question were believed to be 'the result of a criminal act.'

The investigation comes after several theories about the crash abounded on social media, claiming that the aircrafts were intentionally destroyed.

But, Elder said: 'At this point, we cannot address the manner of the damage to the two aircrafts, timeline of events, or the response from the tower and emergency services, as those details are still considered part of the active investigation.

'No further information will be released at this time to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.'

Capt. James Bellew (pictured) was on medevac duty on March 30 when two Black Hawk helicopters crashed into each other at the Wright Army Airfield. He was killed in the crash

An unnamed source told the Army Times that the crash was 'not an accident,' and the Army's Criminal Investigation Division is investigating whether Bellew intentionally crashed the chopper

The crash involved two Black Hawk helicopters - though it remains unclear how Bellew was able to start at least one of the aircraft without waking his crew or otherwise alert those who may have been at the field

Bellew, of Charlottesville, Virginia, entered the Army in 2017 through the University of Virginia's ROTC program, and completed a tour in South Korea as a medical service officer before being selected for the medevac pilot program in 2019.

He had been stationed at Fort Stewart, where medevac pilots train at the nearby Wright Army Airfield, since March 2020, and had served as a platoon leader in his company, according to Military.com.

Among his daily duties were moving critically ill COVID patients to off-post medical facilities.

During his time in the service, Bellew received an Army Achievement Medal, the Expert Field Medical Badge and the Army Aviator Badge, in addition to other service awards and ribbons.

His former subordinates remember him as a compassionate, strong leader, the Army Times reports, with tributes pouring in on social media.

Tributes to Bellew started pouring in on social media following the news of his death

The University of Virginia ROTC program posted on March 31 that Bellew's' contributions to the US Army and his selfless dedication to the profession will forever be remembered by the brothers and sisters with whom he served,' and Luis B. Blanchard wrote that he trained with Bellew.

'He learned how to hover in probably two days and always put me to shame when it came to flying,' Blanchard recounted. 'He was a great class leader and phenomenal person. My prayers go out to his family.'

Bellow's brigade commander also described him as a top officer in his unit.

'The loss of James is an immeasurable tragedy to his family, friends, crew and fellow soldiers,' Col. Eric Vanek said in a statement, highlighting Bellew's medevac role as 'one of the noblest professions imaginable ... a role where he was constantly helping, and saving the lives of others.'
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One of the men who opened fire on a crowd of people in Sacramento early Sunday morning, killing six, was a career criminal who was released from prison in February just four years into a 10-year sentence for felony gun and robbery convictions.

The decision, made by California's Department of Corrections, was even made over the strenuous objections of the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, which submitted a letter saying that the man 'displayed a pattern of criminal behavior' and posed a 'significant' danger to the community.

Smiley Martin, 27, was arrested on Tuesday morning, and remains in a local hospital where he was recovering after being wounded in the shooting. He faces charges of possession of a machine gun and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person in relation to the incident.

In total, three men have been arrested in connection with the shooting - including Martin's brother, Dandrae Martin, 26, who was taken into custody on Monday and appeared in court on Tuesday afternoon on weapons charges, where he did not enter a plea.

His criminal record includes charges for domestic violence, aggravated assault, criminal damage and marijuana violations.

Smiley and Dandrae are believed to be the two who fired the guns. Smiley posted a live Facebook video of himself brandishing a handgun hours before the shooting. Authorities are trying to determine whether the weapon seen in the video was used in the shooting.

Smiley faces charges of possession of a machine gun and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person in relation to the incident.

He is also a career criminal with a lengthy record dating back to 2013, who last year was described by prosecutors as a danger to the community - and someone who should not be freed.

He was serving a 10-year sentence for domestic violence and assault with great bodily injury, according to the Sacramento Bee.

A letter from the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office to the Board of Parole Hearings on April 29, 2021, asked for the state DOC to deny Smiley's request for early release from prison 'as he poses a significant, unreasonable risk of safety to the community.'

In the letter, Danielle Abildgaard, the deputy district attorney, states that Smiley 'clearly has little regard for human life and the law,' and has displayed a pattern of criminal behavior his entire adult life as he has committed several felony violations.

The letter from the DA's office says Smiley had prior felony convictions of robbery and possession of a firearm. He also had a prior misdemeanor conviction of providing false information to police.

'Inmate Martin has demonstrated repeatedly that he cannot follow the laws, or conditions the court places on him,' the letter states.

'His history indicates that he will pursue his own personal agenda regardless of the consequences and regulatory restraints placed upon him.

'If he is released early, he will continue to break the law.'

Despite this request, Smiley Martin was released in February, California corrections spokeswoman Dana Simas told the Sacramento Bee. She cited pre-sentencing credits for the early release.

'Prior to reaching a CDCR facility, Martin had already received 508 days of pre-sentencing credits, and received a variety of additional post-sentencing credits,' the spokesperson wrote in an email. 'He was released to Sacramento County probation in February 2022.'

Smiley Martin, two days before he was released to Sacramento County probation in February. He was released six years early from a 10-year sentence

Dandrae Martin, 26, is seen on Tuesday in court in Sacramento. He did not enter a plea

Dandrae is seen speaking to his attorney Linda Parisi. She said she needed more time to work on the case before entering a plea

Witness video showed rapid gunfire of at least 76 shots ringing out over the course of 54 seconds as people screamed and ran for cover

The shooting broke out at 2.01am in downtown Sacramento after a brawl broke out on 10th Street

Anne Marie Schubert, the Republican Sacramento district attorney, told The Washington Post on Tuesday that California's laws regarding early release need reassessing.

She criticized new rules, passed by the state legislature in recent years, that allow eligible prisoners with nonviolent offenses a chance to be considered for early release.

'We don't call 'felon in possession of a firearm' a violent crime,' Schubert said.

'We don't call people that commit domestic violence  even though they have a violent history  we let 'em out early, constantly.

'And that is a dangerous recipe.'

Schubert, who is running for California attorney general, declined to discuss specifics of the investigation but issued a general call to reduce gun violence.

'It doesn't matter what side of any political aisle you stand on,' she said. 'Nobody wants guns, illegal guns in the hands of felons and prohibited persons.'

A third man was also arrested on gun charges.

Daviyonne Dawson, 31, was arrested on Monday for carrying a gun in the area while being banned from carrying one.

He has not been charged with crimes related to the shooting and police at this point do not believe that his gun was used in the massacre.

Sacramento police said they are working to identify more suspects.

Police confirmed to the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that a stolen gun was used in the shooting, and it had been converted to be used as an automatic weapon, which can fire like a machine gun.

DailyMail.com photos revealed how the destruction spanned two city blocks, with markers indicating that more than 250 shots were fired. Police have estimated that at least 100 rounds were fired.

On Sunday, shots rang out on the cross-section of 10th Street and K Street in Sacramento as bars and nightclubs let out.

Witnesses reported a mass brawl involving multiple men.

They told police they saw men shooting from vehicles and fleeing on foot with guns in their hands.

Six innocent people were killed; homeless woman Melinda Davis, 57, Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 31, Johntaya Alexander, 21, Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21, and cousins Sergio Harris, 38, and DeVazia Turner, 29.

Turner's mother Penelope Scott told The Associated Press on Monday: 'My son was walking down the street and somebody started shooting, and he got shot. Why is that to happen? I feel like I've got a hole in my heart.'

It's unclear if any of them had any connection to the fight, or if they were caught in the crossfire.

Melinda Davis, 57, was sleeping rough in the center of the Californian state capital, and was among those who died in Sunday's shooting in downtown Sacramento

Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32, and Johntaya 'Jojo' Alexander

Sergio Harris, left, and DeVazia Turner, right, have been named as two of the six people killed during a mass shooting outside a Sacramento bar in the early hours of Sunday

Dandrae was taken to the Sacramento County Jail on Monday night.

Smiley was injured in the shooting and remains in the hospital under police supervision. He will be booked into jail once he has been treated at hospital.

Dandrae's criminal record includes charges for corporal injury on a spouse.

He is also being held on an outstanding warrant from the the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, according to inmate records obtained by DailyMail.com.

In a statement on Tuesday morning, Sacramento Police said: 'Smiley Martin was quickly identified as a person of interest and has remained under the supervision of an officer at the hospital while his treatment continues.

'Based on information developed during this investigation, Smiley Martin was taken into custody by Sacramento Police Department detectives on April 5, 2022.

'Once Smiley Martin's medical care has been completed and he is determined to be fit for incarceration, he will be booked at the Sacramento County Main Jail for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun.'

Police are still asking for photos and videos from the public.

Since Sunday, officers say they have received more than 170 pieces of evidence.

In a statement on Monday, Schubert said she believes more people will be taken into custody.

She emphasized the fact that no one has been charged with murder or manslaughter.

'The investigation is highly complex involving many witnesses, videos of numerous types and significant physical evidence.

'This is an ongoing investigation and we anticipate more arrests in this case,' she said.
Australia, the United States and Britain have agreed to cooperate on hypersonic weapons and electronic warfare capabilities, the leaders of those countries said, following a call about their new defence alliance.

The weapons would include long-range missiles, launched from land, air and sea, which can travel five times the speed of sound and are understood to be far more difficult for existing radar to detect.

Aside from their faster speeds, hypersonic missiles are more difficult to defend against because they travel at low altitude and can change direction mid-flight.

The joint US-UK-Australian plan to research and develop the weapons is understood to be an effort to catch up with Russia and China, which have already developed and used hypersonic weapons.

Russia claimed to have used hypersonic weapons several times during the Ukraine conflict, including to destroy an arms depot.

It tested the 3M22 Tsirkon weapon last October that Vladimir Putin claimed travels up to Mach 9.

Scott Morrison announced the new AUKUS plans with US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday morning.

The 'hypersonic' missiles to be developed between Australia, the US and Britain can be launched from land, air or sea, can travel five times the speed of sound and are understood to be impossible for existing radar to detect

The hypersonic missiles would be capable of being launched from land, air or sea

China's testing of a 25,000mph hypersonic nuclear-capable missile has indicated that Beijing's missile programme is more advanced than previously thought, amid an intensifying race for the next generation of long-rang weapons that are harder to detect and intercept

Also discussed were plans for undersea drones, which could be trialled as early as 2023, and artificial intelligence technologies.

The AUKUS alliance, launched last September, prompted Australia to cancel a contract for a conventional French submarine in favour of a nuclear submarine program supported by the US and the UK, damaging relations with French President Emmanuel Macron.

In a joint statement, AUKUS leaders Johnson, Biden and Morrison said they were pleased with the progress of the program for conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines for Australia, and that the allies would co-operate in other areas too.

'We also committed today to commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities,' the leaders said in a joint statement released on Wednesday morning.

The three countries also committed to expanding information sharing and deepening cooperation on defence innovation.

'These initiatives will add to our existing efforts to deepen cooperation on cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and additional undersea capabilities,' they said.

'As our work progresses on these and other critical defence and security capabilities, we will seek opportunities to engage allies and close partners.'

The US and Australia already have a hypersonic weapon program called SCIFiRE, an acronym for Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment.

British officials said that though Britain would not join that program at this point, the three countries would work together on research and development in the area to expand their options.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison issued an agreed statement in which they reiterated 'unwavering commitment' to an international system which 'respects human rights'

Footage of the 3M22 Tsirkon, a Russian test of one of its hypersonic cruise missiles in October 2021

The Biden administration is investing in the research and development of hypersonic missiles, which travel at five times the speed of sound after Russia's February invasion of Ukraine intensified concerns about European security.

'In light of Russia's unprovoked, unjustified, and unlawful invasion of Ukraine, we reiterated our unwavering commitment to an international system that respects human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of disputes free from coercion,' the leaders said.

'We reaffirmed our commitment to AUKUS and to a free and open Indo-Pacific.'

Russia says it launched a 'special military operation' in Ukraine on February 24 to demilitarise its neighbour.

The Kremlin's position is rejected by Ukraine and the West as a pretext for an unprovoked invasion.

Although China is understood to have successfully tested its own hypersonic weapon, the WU-14, it officially expressed anger at the new AUKUS development.

China has expressed anger at the new agreement between the US, Australia and the UK to develop hypersonic weaponry

Asked about the cooperation deal between Britain, the US and Australia on hypersonic weapons, China's United Nations Ambassador Zhang Jun on Tuesday warned against measures that could fuel a crisis like the Ukraine conflict in other parts of the world.

'Anyone who does not want to see the Ukrainian crisis should refrain from doing things which may lead the other parts of the world into a crisis like this,' Zhang told reporters.

'As the Chinese saying goes: If you do not like it, do not impose it against the others.'

The leaders also said they were 'pleased with the progress' Australia was making in the development of nuclear-powered submarines.
Australia's east coast is being battered by the first day of a forecast three-day downpour of up to 500mm of rain.

Sydney and the south coast of NSW were pummelled with torrential rain on Wednesday morning, and the weather radar shows the situation will only get worse with up to 250mm predicted to hit on Thursday alone.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned the deluge will stretch 570km from Gosford to Bega.

'The focus is on coastal NSW from the Hunter to the South Coast,' NSW State Emergency Service Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey said on Tuesday.

There are fears of flash flooding in rivers and catchments already saturated by previous rainfalls.

A powerful rain bomb has descended on Sydney bringing wild winds and heavy downpours as a tropical cyclone wreaks havoc across the east coast (pictured, Sydney commuters on Friday)

Weatherzone predicts the heaviest rain will hit the southern half of NSW's coast and ranges with 100 to 200mm expected to fall over the next 96 hours (pictured is a weather map)

The bureau late on Tuesday issued a flood watch for a number of rivers and catchments. The Central and Southern Coast will remain high on the watch list which includes the Macquarie and Queanbeyan rivers.

The BoM said heavy rain was forecast for the Illawarra, parts of the South Coast and the Southern Tablelands and would extend to inland areas.

The excessive downpours are expected to extend towards metropolitan Sydney, the Hunter and Central Tablelands from Thursday.

Many residents awoke to a wet and dreary morning on Wednesday, as thousands struggled to stay dry during their commute to work or school.

Meteorologist Ailsa Schofield said heavy falls would continue into Friday.

Many residents awoke to a wet and dreary morning on Wednesday as thousands struggled to stay dry during their commute to work or school (pictured, a commuter in Sydney on Friday)

The Central and Southern Coast will remain high on authorities watch list which includes the Macquarie and Queanbeyan rivers (pictured is a map showing NSW river conditions)

'On Wednesday we might see rainfall total in excess of 100mm,' Ms Schofield said.

'On Thursday we might see rainfall totals in excess of 200-250mm. On Friday we will see higher rainfall totals in excess of 150mm.'

The weather expert said minor flooding could occur in the Illawarra, South Coast and Far South Coast with the possibility heavy rain could bring renewed flooding.

She said moderate flooding could occur in the Colo River, the Upper Hunter, and the Hawkesbury and Nepean Valley.

Clean-up efforts in northern NSW will be put on hold as flood-weary residents brace for more rain, after suffering through two major flood events in March.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning for heavy rainfall for large swathes of the NSW Coast with the deluge to affect residents from Bega to Gosford (pictured, a weather warning issued for Wednesday)

'There remains the risk of some rainfall impacting the North Coast and Northern Rivers areas which have seen so much rainfall in recent times,' Assistant Commissioner Storey warned.

Weatherzone on Tuesday predicted the heaviest rain will hit the southern half of NSW's coast, with 100 to 200mm expected to fall over the next 96 hours.

It predicted a deepening low pressure trough exacerbated by an onshore airstream would trigger widespread rain and thunderstorms over both NSW and Victoria.

'This surge of wind and swell are being caused by a tropical cyclone moving south across the Coral Sea and pressing against a high pressure system in the southern Tasman Sea,' Weatherzone forecasters said.

This weather map shows how areas from Grafton down to the South Coast and Southern Tablelands districts could receive more than 100 mm of rain this week

The bureau said heavy rain was forecast for the Illawarra, parts of the South Coast and the Southern Tablelands and would extend to inland areas (pictured, pedestrians in Brisbane)

Flood warnings are currently in place for the Richmond, Orara, Paroo, Culgoa, Birrie, Bokhara, Narran, and Snowy Rivers as well as the Macintyre River in Queensland.

Residents living in the southern half of the Sunshine State have been told to brace for heavy downpours and thunderstorms between Thursday and the weekend.

Tropical Cyclone Fili is understood to be behind some of the rain fall which has travelled southwest from New Caledonia, an island located in the South Pacific.

Queensland is also due to be battered with large swells that the weather bureau warn could cause erosion along the coast.

The wet and wild conditions are believed to have been triggered by the tropical cyclone colliding with a high pressure system forming in the south Tasman Sea.

Clean-up efforts in northern NSW will be put on hold as flood-weary residents brace for more rain, after suffering through two flood events in March (pictured, March floods in Byron Bay)

Brisbane Weather Chief David Taylor said the most recent cyclone warning brought a threat of more wild weather as the Easter school holidays began.

'There will be one, possibly two systems that will develop into a cyclone, it just boils down to timing,' he told the Courier Mail.

Queensland and NSW aren't the only states being pummelled by wild weather.

Heavy rains and gale-force winds cut off power to towns across eastern Victoria and closed a major highway with flooding.

Melbourne is in for a cloudy week with possible showers and temperatures in the low 20s while Brisbane will be warmer but could also see scattered showers.
A leading neurosurgeon who is trying to provide a home for a Ukrainian family last night branded delays to Britains refugee scheme as disgusting.

Dr Henry Marsh, 72, who has spent time working in Ukraine free of charge for more than 30 years, said his application had been held up for weeks by Home Office checks.

He said: Im distressed, embarrassed and ashamed about how the British Government has failed to deal with the refugee problem.

One gets the distinct impression that the whole thing was set up to fail. It takes such a long time that the Home Office hopes by then the war will be finished and we wont have to take the refugees.

Thousands of visa applicants fleeing the war are still waiting for a response from the Homes for Ukraine scheme which was launched three weeks ago.

Dr Henry Marsh, pictured, 72, who has spent time working in Ukraine free of charge for more than 30 years, said his application had been held up for weeks by Home Office checks

The doctor said he has faced radio silence as he tries to host cardiologist Olena, her mother and her four-year-old son Danylo who have fled Lviv.

He believes his application is being held up by criminal record checks which he says could be completed after the arrival of the family at his London home.

He said: I dont know how long it will take. All I know is that they are in no hurry and the reputation of this country will suffer even more.

Its disgusting when you compare it to the rest of Europe. Theres no reason why they could not have said: Come to England and sort out the paperwork afterwards.

Olena has been trying to get her family to safety while her doctor husband stays behind in Ukraine.

She is currently living in very unsatisfactory conditions in Warsaw and her son has been left traumatised by the upheaval.

Dr Marsh, best-selling author of Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery, said he feared the family and others like them could be exploited by criminal gangs.

He insisted: We already know sex traffickers are preying on people fleeing. They are not exactly safe at the moment... and all this when my London home is ready and waiting.

Thousands of visa applicants fleeing the war are still waiting for a response from the Homes for Ukraine scheme which was launched three weeks ago. Pictured: Refugees from Ukraine are seen on the platform boarding the train to Warsaw, at the railway station in Przemysl, southeastern Poland, on April 5

The delays have left him feeling helpless as he watches the grotesque war unfold.

He said: Its an obscene, foul thing that has happened and I feel like Im standing outside the gates of Auschwitz and unable to do anything about it. Ukraine is my second home. I know she is having a hard time and all I can say is Im very sorry.

The Home Office, which has more than 36,000 staff, has assigned just 300 to process visas for Ukrainian refugees. Figures last week showed only 4,700 visas have been granted under Homes for Ukraine, with a backlog of 27,500.

The separate Ukraine Family Scheme  for refugees with relatives in the UK  has awarded 24,400. So far only hundreds of Ukrainians have actually arrived in Britain.

A Government spokesman said: We are moving as quickly as possible to ensure that those fleeing Ukraine can find safety in the UK through the Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine.

We have streamlined the process so valid passport holders do not have to attend in-person appointments before arriving in the UK, simplified our forms and boosted caseworker numbers while ensuring vital security checks are carried out.

We continue to speed up visa processing across both schemes, with almost 30,000 visas issued in the last three weeks alone and thousands more expected to come through these uncapped routes.
The question of whether or not we are alone in the universe has preoccupied scientists for decades, but efforts to find life beyond our planet have so far been unfruitful.

Now experts are planning to broadcast a radio message containing Earth's location deep into space, in the hope that it may one day be received and understood by an alien civilisation.

Called the Beacon in the Galaxy (BITG) message, it is essentially an updated version of the famous Arecibo message, which was first transmitted in 1974 for the same purpose.

That was sent in binary code  ones and zeroes  which, once decoded, formed a visual graphic showing a stick figure of a human, our DNA and a depiction of our solar system.

BITG will also include a drawing of DNA, the solar system and a diagram of the male and female form, but it also contains a lot more information about basic mathematics and science than the Arecibo message did.

For example, there will also be information about the most common elements on Earth, a map showing current land masses on our planet, and an invitation to reply to the message.

While the prospect of contacting alien life may sound exciting, broadcasting our location into space goes against concerns voiced by late physics professor Stephen Hawking that intelligent extraterrestrial civilisations may want to destroy us.

Scientists are planning to broadcast a radio message with Earth's location deep into space, in the hope that it may one day be received and understood by an alien civilisation. Called the Beacon in the Galaxy (BITG) message, it will include a diagram of the male and female form

When decoded, BITG will also include a drawing of DNA, the solar system and information about the most common elements on Earth. The message is pictured in full above

There will even be an invitation to reply to the message with details of how to communicate with Earth

Professor Hawking showed support for efforts to find aliens by listening, but warned against actively reaching out in the form of radio messages amid fears that humanity's own behaviour suggests extra-terrestrial life might not be friendly.

'If you look at history, contact between humans and less intelligent organisms have often been disastrous from their point of view, and encounters between civilisations with advanced versus primitive technologies have gone badly for the less advanced,' he said.

But Jamilah Hah, who is involved in the BITG project, thinks the benefits of contacting aliens outweigh the potential risks, 'as long as contact is approached with a clear sign of peace'.

Matthew Chong, a physics and maths student at Cambridge University and co-author of a draft report outlining the project, explained what the BITG message would include.

Among the data contained in BITG is a map showing current land masses on Earth (pictured)

The draft report outlining the proposed BITG message was published on the arXiv pre-print archive this year. BITG will also include a drawing of DNA (pictured)

The message has not yet been broadcast and no date has been given as to when it might happen. Pictured is a diagram of our solar system, which will be included in the radio message

'Extended from the 1974 Arecibo message and the 1999/2003 Cosmic Call, the main part of this BITG Message contains a new set of graphical information in the form of images and special "alphabets" to represent numbers, elements, DNA, land, ocean, and human, etc., starting by an artificial header and footer that consists of prime numbers,' he told Newsweek.

The draft report outlining the proposed BITG message has been published on the arXiv pre-print archive.

The message has not yet been broadcast and no date has been given as to when it might happen.

However, the scientists propose a potential future transmission from the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope in China and the SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array in northern California.

The idea goes against concerns voiced by late physics professor Stephen Hawking. He showed support for efforts to find alien life by listening, but warned against actively reaching out in the form of radio messages amid fears extra-terrestrial life might not be friendly

BITG is essentially an updated version of the famous Arecibo message, first transmitted in 1974 for the same purpose, but contains more information about basic mathematics and science

Arecibo was transmitted in binary code  ones and zeroes  and once decoded forms a visual graphic showing a stick figure of a human, our DNA and a depiction of our solar system. Information proposed for the BITG message is pictured

She scientists propose a potential future transmission from the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope in China (pictured) and the SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array in northern California

The Arecibo message was first broadcast on 16 November, 1974, from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which was built in the 1960s with money from the US Defense Department amid a push to develop anti-ballistic missile defenses.

Its main purpose was to demonstrate the capabilities of newly-installed equipment in the upgraded radio telescope and was an attempt to contact extraterrestrial intelligence.

However, the Arecibo Observatory collapsed on December 1, 2020 when a cable holding up a 900-tonne receiver platform snapped around 8am local time that morning and sent the massive structure hurling onto the reflector dish more than 400 feet below.

Officials were set to shut it down after 57 years of service but Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez stepped in and signed an executive order approving $8 million to help rebuild it.

During its more than 50 years in operation, the observatory has detected whirling pulsars, captured geological features of Mars and helped astronomers discover the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, along with making an appearance in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye.

The giant telescope was also used in programs that search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) because its location provided scientists access to one-third of the cosmos.

The Arecibo Observatory collapsed on December 1, 2020 (pictured) when a cable holding up a 900-tonne receiver platform snapped around 8am local time that morning and sent the massive structure hurling onto the reflector dish more than 400 feet below
The global 'plastic flood' has reached the Arctic, scientists warn, with microplastic pollution in the polar region now as bad as anywhere else on Earth.

A new study suggests that debris from fabrics, personal care products, packaging and other everyday materials is blighting the pristine wilderness, after being carried north to the Arctic Ocean by waves, winds and rivers.

Large quantities of microplastic can now be found in the water, on the seafloor, remote beaches, in rivers, and even in ice and snow.

The plastic is not only a burden for ecosystems but could also worsen climate change, according to an international review study released by the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany.

The global 'plastic flood' has reached the Arctic, scientists warn, with microplastic pollution in the polar region now as bad as anywhere else on Earth. Experts are pictured sampling sea ice

Large quantities of microplastic can now be found in the water, on the seafloor, remote beaches, in rivers, and even in ice and snow. The Arctic Ocean receives more than 10 per cent of water discharge from rivers across the world, which carry plastic into the ocean (pictured)

Tiny pieces of plastic act to darken snow covered surfaces in places like the Arctic and lead to more sun light being absorbed and the ice and snow melting (the process is shown above)

WE INHALE UP TO 7,000 PARTICLES EVERY DAY, SHOCK NEW STUDY REVEALS Microplastic particles are now so rife that we breathe in up to 7,000 every day, shocking research shows. The total was 100 times higher than expected  posing a potential health threat that could rank alongside asbestos or tobacco, experts said. The study used highly sensitive equipment to count tiny particles less than 10 microns in size  just a tenth of the width of a human hair. The highest concentration was in the room of an eight-year-old girl because her bedding, carpet and soft toys were all made from synthetic materials. Read more: We inhale up to 7,000 particles per day, study reveals Advertisement

Lead author Dr Melanie Bergmann said: 'The Arctic is still assumed to be a largely untouched wilderness.

'In our review, which we jointly conducted with colleagues from Norway, Canada and the Netherlands, we show this perception no longer reflects the reality.

'Our northernmost ecosystems are already particularly hard hit by climate change. This is now exacerbated by plastic pollution.

'And our own research has shown the pollution continues to worsen.'

The research involved pouring over numerous studies to provide an overview of the latest findings.

Today, between 19 and 23 million metric tonnes of plastic litter end up in the waters of the world every year  equivalent to two truckloads per minute.

It accumulates in the oceans and gradually breaks down into ever smaller pieces, even entering the human bloodstream through the seafood we eat.

Virtually all marine organisms studied  from plankton to sperm whales  consume plastic by mistake, while global production is expected to double by 2045.

It is all-pervasive, stretching from the deepest ocean trenches to the tropics  and even Mount Everest.

Microplastics have been shown to harm wildlife but the impact on people is not known, though they do damage human cells in the laboratory.

Fibres from acrylic and polyester clothes are shed in huge numbers during washing, with an estimated 68 million loads done in the UK every week.

The latest analysis paints the grimmest picture to date. The sparsely populated Arctic shows a similar level of pollution as dense towns and cities around the globe.

This includes virtually all habitats  from beaches through layers of the water column to the seabed.

The Atlantic, the North Sea and the North Pacific over the Bering Strait were identified as major sources of the plastic pollution

The Arctic Ocean makes up only one per cent of the total volume of the world's seas but receives more than 10 per cent of water discharge from rivers, which carry plastic into the ocean.

Some of the most important local sources of pollution are municipal waste and wastewater from Arctic communities, while ships  and in particular, fishing vessels  also pose a serious problem.

Whether intentionally dumped or lost by accident, nets and ropes account for a large share of the plastic in the European sector of the Arctic.

The graphic above shows the main pathways of pollution transport to the Arctic, including via atmospheric and aquatic circulation systems

This graphic shows the plastic pollution recorded in different Arctic ecosystem compartments

Virtually all marine organisms studied  from plankton to sperm whales  consume plastic by mistake, while global production is expected to double by 2045

Dr Bergmann said: 'Unfortunately, there are very few studies on the effects of the plastic on marine organisms in the Arctic.

'But there is evidence that the consequences there are similar to those in better-studied regions.

'In the Arctic, too, many animals  polar bears, seals, reindeer and seabirds  become entangled in plastic and die.

'In the Arctic, too, unintentionally ingested microplastic likely leads to reduced growth and reproduction, to physiological stress and inflammations in the tissues of marine animals, and even runs in the blood of humans.'

The available data on potential feedback effects between plastic debris and climate change is particularly thin.

'Here, there is an urgent need for further research,' said Dr Bergmann.

'Initial studies indicate trapped microplastic changes the characteristics of sea ice and snow.'

Dark particles, for instance, could mean the ice absorbs more sunlight and therefore melts more rapidly. Known as the 'albedo affect', this can intensify global warming.

Moreover, plastic particles in the atmosphere provide condensation for clouds and rain, which could influence the weather and even climate.

Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic less than 0.2 of an inch (5mm) in diameter  some so small that they're not even visible to the naked eye (file photo)

These tiny pieces of plastic act to darken snow covered surfaces in places like the Arctic and lead to more sun light being absorbed and the ice and snow melting

Throughout their lifecycle, plastics are currently responsible for 4.5 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions.

The Arctic is the planet's 'air conditioner'  regulating temperatures and circulating ocean currents  but it is warming much faster than the rest of the world, with parts melting at an alarming rate.

Dr Bergmann said: 'Our review shows the levels of plastic pollution in the Arctic match those of other regions around the world.

'This concurs with model simulations that predict an additional accumulation zone in the Arctic. But the consequences might be even more serious.

'As climate change progresses, the Arctic is warming three times faster than the rest of the world.

'Consequently, the plastic flood is hitting ecosystems that are already seriously strained.'

Dr Bergmann welcomed the resolution for a global plastic treaty, passed at the UN Environment Assembly in February, as an important first step.

Microplastics enter the waterways through a variety of means and finish suspended in the liquid. From the water, they can be ingested by seafood or absorbed by plants to end up in our food

'In the course of the negotiations over the next two years, effective, legally binding measures must be adopted including reduction targets in plastic production,' she added.

'In this regard, the European countries including Germany must cut their plastic output, just as the rich Arctic States have to reduce pollution from local sources and improve the often virtually non-existent waste and wastewater management in their communities.

'In addition, more regulation and controls are called for  with regard to plastic debris from international shipping, and fisheries.'

The study adds to evidence the world's smallest ocean  spanning 6.1 million square miles  is critical in the climate change crisis.

It encircles the Arctic and flows beneath it. Most is covered by ice throughout the year but that is starting to change as temperatures climb.

The study has been published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.
For some people, a moment without your phone in your hand can seem like a lifetime.

Now, it seems our obsession with our phones could be affecting our safety behind the wheel.

Researchers from Monash University have revealed that people who suffer from severe 'nomophobia'  the fear of being without a mobile phone  are 85 per cent more likely to pick up their device while behind the wheel.

In particular, men were found to be more likely than women to use their smartphone behind the wheel, as were young people.

Researchers from Monash University have revealed that people who suffer from 'nomophobia'  the fear of being without a mobile phone  are 85 per cent more likely to pick up their device while behind the wheel (stock image)

What is nomophobia? Symptoms of nomophobia include being unable to turn off your phone, obsessively checking your phone, constantly topping up the battery and taking your phone to the bathroom. Previous research has revealed that those with high nomophobia are more likely to suffer wrist and neck pain. They are also more likely to get distracted from their studies and work - showing that not only does problematic use of smartphones induce negative effects on users' physical conditions but also on the overall quality of their everyday life. Researchers warned that this trend is likely to continue as phones become increasingly personalised and carry out more and more functions. Advertisement

In the UK, it is illegal to hold and use a phone while driving or riding a motorcycle  even if you're stopped at traffic lights.

The UK government website advises: 'You must not use a device in your hand for any reason, whether online or offline.

'For example, you must not text, make calls, take photos or videos, or browse the web.'

Despite this, many drivers find it difficult to pry themselves away from their smartphone while in the car.

In their new study, researchers set out to understand whether or not there is a link between illegal smartphone use in the car and nomophobia.

'Determining whether higher levels of nomophobia are associated with an increased likelihood of illegal smartphone use in vehicles may provide driver licencing authorities with avenues to reduce risk by developing programs and training aimed at mitigating nomophobia,' the researchers wrote in their study, published in Computers in Human Behaviour Reports.

The team used a sample of 2,773 participants in Australia, who completed a questionnaire to assess their levels of nomophobia.

Participants were also asked: 'In the last 31 days, have you ever used your mobile phone in a manner that is not permitted by your licence type?'

Symptoms of nomophobia include being unable to turn off your phone, obsessively checking your phone, constantly topping up the battery and taking your phone to the bathroom (stock image)

The results revealed that participants who scored highly for nomophobia were 85 per cent more likely to engage in illegal phone use while driving.

Age and gender also appear to play a role in the likelihood of engaging in illegal smartphone activity while driving.

When compared to 18-25-year-olds, participants aged 60+ were 92 per cent less likely to use their phone while driving.

Meanwhile, men were 20 per cent more likely to engage in illegal phone use while driving compared to women.

F. Kaviani, who led the study, said: 'Our research shows that nomophobia severity is a predictor in dangerous driving.

'Road safety can be improved by addressing the factors that lead to heavy reliance on smartphones - such as young people's need to use them to stay connect to their job.'
The YouTube channels of Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Eminem and many other A-list celebrities appear to have been hacked by a Spanish 'sh**posting' account.

Multiple accounts have had bizarre videos uploaded, one of which is entitled 'Justin bieber - Free Paco Sanz (ft. Will Smith, Chris Rock, Skinny flex & Los Pelaos)'.

Paco Sanz is a Spanish criminal currently in prison for defrauding thousands of people by pretending to have a terminal illness.

The video features Sanz holding a guitar the wrong way around and singing in Spanish, overdubbed with some heavy synthesized beats.

Screenshot from Travis Scott's YouTube account appears to show Spanish criminal Paco Sanz holding the guitar the wrong way around

AFFECTED ACCOUNTS - Justin Bieber - Ariana Grande - Harry Styles - Michael Jackson - Travis Scott - Kanye West - Lil Nas X - Chris Brown - Eminem - Drake - The Weeknd - Daddy Yankee - Juice Wrld ... and possibly more Advertisement

The reference to Will Smith and Chris Rock in the title may just be a way to get clicks, following the 'slapgate' scandal involving the two actors at the Oscars last month.

Twitter account @lospelaosbro (which takes its name from a Latin pop group) claimed responsibility the hacks in a flurry of tweets, in which he asked for suggestions on who to hack next, along with various photos of what seems to be Paco Sanz.

The identity of @lospelaosbro is unknown. The Twitter account was started only this month, but already has more than 7,500 followers.

MailOnline contacted Google, which owns YouTube, for information on why the videos started appearing, and how the accounts may have been compromised.

Vevo, known for providing music videos to YouTube, confirmed the hack to MailOnline, saying some videos were directly uploaded to 'a small number' of Vevo artist channels by 'an unauthorised source'.

'All of those improperly uploaded videos have since been deleted by Vevo,' a Vevo spokesperson said.

'While the artist channels have been secured and the incident has been resolved, as a best practice Vevo will be conducting a review of our security systems.'

According to Business Insider, @lospelaosbro's Paco Sanz video was online for almost an hour before being taken off the various YouTube channels.

Another video, posted to Harry Styles YouTube channel among others, is titled 'Daddy Yankee - SPEED IS THE BEST HACKED BY @LOSPELAOSBRO ON TWITTER'.

It features a group of young men wearing hoodies with the word 'speed' on the front, dancing outdoors to an adapted version of 'Hit the Road Jack'.

The hackers also uploaded a song called 'La Raja de Tu Falda' by Spanish rock duo Estopa to Michael Jackson's YouTube channel with a new title  'i like ki. ds @LOSPELAOSBRO'.

In a comment below one of the videos, a YouTuber simply said: 'I always love it when an artist tries something new.'

ACABAN DE HACKEAR A TRAVIS SCOTT EN YOUTUBE Y SUBEN ESTO JDJSJDJAJAJ



Free Paco Sanz pic.twitter.com/JRIEAn9Sks  AlexisFdz (@ZyxerY) April 5, 2022

The bizarre videos seemed to be getting deleted by the channels after being uploaded, but Twitter user @ZyxerY has posted a short clip of the Paco Sanz video.

Business Insider refers to @lospelaosbro as a 'sh**posting' account  meaning it posts nonsensical, irrelevant or deliberately provocative content on social media to get a reaction.

Graham Cluley, a computer expert and security blogger, said it's possible that all these high-profile YouTubers are using the same third-party service to manage their social media activity.

The hacked channels belong to celebrities including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, Travis Scott, Kanye West, Lil Nas X, Chris Brown, The Weeknd and more

WHAT IS SH**POSTING? Sh**posting is a term recognised by the Oxford English Dictionary. The entry for sh**posting reads: 'To post a nonsensical, irrelevant, or deliberately provocative message, image, comment, etc., on social media..' The sh**post is made especially with 'the intention of amusing an in-group, eliciting a reaction, subverting a discussion, or distracting from the main conversation', it says. Advertisement

'If that third-party service was hacked that could provide a way for someone to post videos in the names of celebrities,' he told MailOnline.

'Another possibility is that a YouTube employee with access to user's accounts was themselves breached, and hackers used that privileged access to post videos.

'I'm not aware of any specific YouTube vulnerability, although it's possible one exists.

'Fans of these celebrities would be wise not to take at face value any links or messages posted by these unorthodox videos, as they might be pointed to a scam, dodgy cryptocurrency investment, etc.'

Jake Moore, a cybersecurity advisor at ESET, also said the issue likely has something to do with a third-party company that manages such accounts.

'I would suspect this could have something to do with shared online account credentials,' he told MailOnline.

'Even with multi factor authentication on, many high profile social media accounts are in fact looked after by a third party company and such accounts, once verified, may not always require log in details each time on the enabled device.

Twitter account @lospelaosbro is claiming the attacks in a flurry of tweets, and asking for suggestions who to hack next

In a comment below one of the videos, a YouTuber simply said: 'I always love it when an artist tries something new'

'Furthermore, accounts will be monitored and used by multiple people which it turn weakens security on such accounts.'

David Warburton, threat research manager at F5 Labs, said it's 'unlikely' that YouTube has a vulnerability that has allowed celebrity accounts to be taken over.

'The simple reason is that stealing Kanyes password or sending Justin Bieber a phishing email is far simpler, and far more likely to work, than visibly attacking one of the largest websites on the planet,' Warburton told MailOnline.

'Its more likely that the stars, or those managing their accounts, have failed to follow basic cybersecurity advice, including using unique passwords on every site they visit, and protecting everything with multi-factor authentication (MFA).'
Amazon has secured 83 rocket launches over the next five years, including from Arianespace, United Launch Alliance and Jeff Bezos-founded Blue Origin.

The goal is for Amazon to get its Project Kuiper satellite broadband network off the ground as quickly as possible, allowing it to compete with SpaceX's Starlink.

Elon Musk's Starlink satellite constellation currently consists of 2,000 spacecraft in low Earth orbit, and is already providing a live internet service, including to Ukraine.

There will be over 3,000 satellites launched as part of Project Kuiper, operating in low Earth orbit at a similar altitude to Starlink, and beaming internet to the ground.

So far no Kuiper satellites have been launched, although Amazon previously stated plans to have KuiperSat-1 and -2 prototypes in orbit by the end of this year.

The latest push to get the 'affordable broadband' service up and running includes enough heavy-lift capacity to put 3,236 satellites into space within the five years at a cost thought to be in excess of $10 billion.

Those 3,200 satellites will join 2,000 from SpaceX, that could rise to over 13,000 in the coming decade, as well as others from China, Russia and the EU.

Amazon has secured 83 rocket launches over the next five years, including from Arianespace, United Launch Alliance and Jeff Bezos-founded Blue Origin

Amazon described Project Kuiper as being designed to 'provide fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world. '

It has been in the works since 2019, confirming a deal to put a pair of prototype satellites in orbit later this year on a ABL Space Systems' all-new RS1 rocket.

Those launches will still go ahead, and will be followed by 83 launches from three commercial space companies, including Bezos-owned Blue Origin.

The other two are Arianespace and United Launch Alliance - with all three offering heavy-lift capacity, putting dozens of satellites in space at a time.

The three agreements include 38 launches on ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket, 18 launches on Arianespace's Ariane 6, and 12 launches on Blue Origin's New Glenn, with options for 15 additional launches.

Together, they represent the largest commercial procurement of space launch services in history, according to Amazon.

So far no Kuiper satellites have been launched, although Amazon previously stated plans to have KuiperSat-1 and -2 prototypes in orbit by the end of this year

'Our investments will support thousands of suppliers and highly skilled jobs in the space industry across the United States and Europe,' a spokesperson said.

Once deployed, the Kuiper System will serve individual households, as well as schools, hospitals, businesses, disaster relief efforts, government agencies, and other organizations operating in places without reliable broadband.

'Heavy-lift rockets offer the right combination of capacity, performance, and cost to get our constellation to space efficiently,' according to Amazon.

SpaceX is the main competition for Kuiper, operating at about the same altitude and providing direct to customer broadband services. So far the Starlink service has 2,000 satellites in orbit, with up to another 1,000 launching this year.

WHAT IS PROJECT KUIPER? Amazon confirmed that its mysterious Project Kuiper will aim to position the e-commerce giant as a global ISP. In the coming years it plans to launch more than 3,000 satellites into orbit where they will beam high-speed internet down to Earth. The satellites would enter low-Earth orbit where they will be able to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet to million of people. Competition for the project has already arisen in the form of SpaceX's Starlink program and the company OneWeb, which launched six satellites this year. OneWeb's low-Earth orbiting satellite's are capable of delivering up to 500 MBPS per user. Advertisement

Project Kuiper satellites will launch on Arianespace's Ariane 6 rocket out of the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, and Blue Origin's New Glenn and ULA's Vulcan Centaur rockets out of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

'These launch agreements reflect our incredible belief in Project Kuiper, and we're proud to be working with such an impressive lineup of partners to deliver on our mission,' said Amazon Senior Vice President Dave Limp.

'Securing launch capacity from multiple providers reduces scheduling risk and helps us secure competitive, long-term pricing that we can pass on to Project Kuiper customers as cost savings.'

This is in addition to nine launches on the ULA Atlas V and the two RS1 prototypes.

Amazon has also signed an agreement with Swiss-firm Beyond Gravity, to create a low cost, versatile satellite dispenser, that can deploy the Kuiper spacecraft.

They've been designed to work with multiple types of rockets and different numbers of satellites launched in a single outing. Moving them to the correct orbit.

Amazon is about four years behind SpaceX, in part due to the fact it doesn't have a heavy-lift rocket, like the SpaceX Falcon 9, making it faster to launch rockets.

Having its own rocket, especially a re-usable one like the Falcon 9, brings down the cost per launch, and allows for more frequent launches.

The two prototypes will operate at 366 miles above Earth and include nearly all the same technology planned for the final internet satellites. Pictured is an infographic explaining the communications test sequence for our prototype satellites

A graphic showing the design of Amazon's user antenna Amazon's Project Kuiper reveals design of antennas customers will use for internet-from-space constellation

While SpaceX has never revealed the actual launch cost of putting a batch of Starlink satellites in orbit, experts predict it is less than $30 million.

At $10 billion for 83 launches Amazon will be paying an estimated $120 million per launch, although part of the overall cost will include transport to different launch pads, as well as the Beyond Gravity deployment system.

This will be a big boost to the three largest western competitions to SpaceX, that also have heavy-lift capability - although to date none of the three rockets due to be used have actually launched.

The New Glenn, Vulcan and Ariane 6 are all at the late development stage, with first launch expected this year or next - and of the three, only the New Glenn is reusable.

Pictured: Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon and Musk are rivals in the private space launch business

The goal is for Amazon to get its Project Kuiper satellite broadband network off the ground as quickly as possible, allowing it to compete with SpaceX's Starlink

There is no love loss between Amazon and SpaceX, set to be the two largest players in the direct-to-customer satellite broadband market. OneWeb is the third largest, but is offering services to existing providers and companies.

In an FCC filing late last year, Amazon told regulators Elon Musk does not believe government regulations apply to him.

In a harshly worded filing Amazon accused Musk of ignoring a variety of government-imposed rules, including several Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements.

'Whether it is launching satellites with unlicensed antennas, launching rockets without approval, building an unapproved launch tower, or re-opening a factory in violation of a shelter-in-place order, the conduct of SpaceX and other Musk-led companies makes their view plain: rules are for other people, and those who insist upon or even simply request compliance are deserving of derision and ad hominem attacks,' Amazon wrote.

'If the FCC regulated hypocrisy, SpaceX would be keeping the commission very busy.'
During the two day 'wet dress rehearsal' of the NASA Artemis mission on Monday, the space agency was forced to call off the test, after an issue with a launcher panel.

This is the last major round of testing for the more than $23 billion Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket, before it goes on an uncrewed trip around the moon.

The dress rehearsal tests all aspects of the system, as well as the Orion capsule that will one day take astronauts back to the moon. They also test launch procedures.

The countdown ended early on Monday after engineers had partially loaded liquid oxygen into the SLS core stage tank, while the megarocket stack was on Complex 39B at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A stuck valve, high on the mobile launcher structure that supports the giant rocket, forced the team to scrub the test - after about half the tank had been filled.

Jim Free, NASA Associate Administrator, Exploration Systems, said: 'Great progress made in yesterday's wet dress rehearsal attempt, and Im proud of the team for continuing to learn as we practice the countdown & fueling for the first time.'

During the two day 'wet dress rehearsal' of the NASA Artemis mission on Monday, the space agency was forced to call off the test, after an issue with a launcher panel

The stuck valve was 160ft up on the 322ft rocket, attached to the mobile launcher which acts as a gantry and launch platform for SLS.

The problem was in a panel that controls the valve - meaning it couldn't be opened if there was a problem with fuelling.

This was the second delay in as many days, after initially being given the go-ahead at 06:45 EDT on Sunday, but called off due to a technical glitch stoping the mobile launcher from being pressurised.

Artemis I is scheduled to launch this summer, taking a 'crew' of dummies on a trip around the moon and back to Earth - before a crewed flight in 2024.

NASA says that despite calling off the test, it provided the teams a valuable opportunity for training and to make sure loading procedures were accurate.

This was the first time using new systems at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, and the team were able to monitor the Artemis I core stage as it was exposed to cryogenic liquids and gather data that will inform updates to propellant loading procedures.

'After troubleshooting a temperature limit issue for the liquid oxygen, which delayed the countdown by several hours, the team successfully developed a new procedure for loading the liquid oxygen and filled the tank to 50 percent,' a spokesperson said.

Liquid oxygen is an extremely cold, or cryogenic, propellant that is maintained at minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is the last major round of testing for the more than $23 billion Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket, before it goes on an uncrewed trip around the moon

During chilldown of the lines in preparation for loading the liquid hydrogen, NASA engineers encountered an issue with a panel on the mobile launcher that controls the core stage vent valve.

Given the time to resolve the issue as teams were nearing the end of their shifts, the launch director made the call to stop the test for the day.

Nasa's Space Launch System: The largest rocket ever made Space Launch System, or SLS, is a launch vehicle that NASA hopes will take its astronauts back to the moon and beyond. The rocket will have an initial lift configuration, set to launch in the early-2020's, followed by an upgraded 'evolved lift capability' that can carry heavier payloads. Space Launch System Initial Lift Capability - Maiden flight: Mid-2020's - Height: 311 feet (98 metres) - Lift: 70 metric tons - Weight: 2.5 million kilograms (5.5 million lbs) Space Launch System Evolved Lift Capability - Maiden flight: Unknown - Height: 384 feet (117 metres) - Lift: 130 metric tons - Weight: 2.9 million kilograms (6.5 million lbs) Advertisement

It isn't clear when NASA will try again, as the team need to investigate the issue, and determine how long it will take to change systems.

The test will be the first full 'wet dress rehearsal,' where NASA will conduct a series of final prelaunch tests, including loading the SLS propellant tanks and conducting a launch countdown under similar circumstances to the real launch later in the year.

It provides engineers and officials with a host of information on how the rocket performs, how procedures play out, and informs the decision on when to launch.

The name, wet dress rehearsal, comes from the fact the tests are primarily designed to show that the rocket can be loaded with super-cold liquid propellants.

'The wet dress rehearsal will be the final major test for the Artemis I mission and will ensure the rocket, spacecraft, ground equipment and launch team are "go" for launch,' NASA explained.

Atop the massive Space Launch System rocket is the Orion capsule, which will take the first woman and first person of colour to the moon some time after 2025.

NASA expects the official Artemis I launch, the first involving SLS and Orion, to happen anytime from the end of May to mid-July - depending on the rehearsal.

'We continue to evaluate the May window, but we're also recognising that there's a lot of work in front of us,' said Tom Whitmeyer, NASA Deputy Associate Administrator, with responsibility for exploration systems development.

That work includes analysing the data from the wet dress rehearsal.

'During the test at the launch pad, engineers will be on duty in the Launch Control Center and in other stations where they will work during the Artemis I launch,' NASA explained in a blog post about the wet dress rehearsal.

Space Launch System, or SLS, is a launch vehicle that NASA hopes will take its astronauts back to the moon and beyond

NASA expects the official Artemis I launch, the first involving SLS and Orion, to happen anytime from the end of May to mid-July - depending on the rehearsal

'They will capture as much data as possible on the performance of all the systems that are part of SLS and the Orion spacecraft as well as the Kennedy ground systems.'

After the wet dress rehearsal, the combination of Orion and SLS will stay on Pad 39B for about a month, before rolling back into the hanger for more analysis.

While it is the first mission for the massive Space Launch System rocket engine, it will be the second for the Orion capsule, which was involved in a test flight in December 2014, going to space on a ULA Delta IV Heavy.

When it launches, Orion won't have any crew on board, despite being able to hold up to four astronauts. Instead, it will carry dummies to the moon and back.

These are designed to replicate human weight and give scientists and engineers and insight into flight performance, without putting humans at risk.

The Artemis I mission will see the Orion spacecraft, the SLS and the ground systems at Kennedy combine to launch the Orion 280,000 miles past Earth around the moon over the course of a three-week mission.

If Artemis I is a success, then NASA will send Artemis II on a trip around the moon, this time with a human crew on board.

The Artemis II mission plans to send four astronauts in the first crewed Orion capsule into a lunar flyby for a maximum of 21 days.
They shocked fans when they arrived at Sunday's reunion dinner party as a couple, after previously calling it quits at their final vows.

But the dream is officially over for Married At First Sight's Ella Ding and Mitch Eynaud.

The beautician, 28, confirmed her split from Mitch, 27, during an interview with Fitzy & Wippa on Tuesday, revealing the financial advisor ghosted her shortly after filming the last dinner party in January.

It's over! Married At First Sight's Ella Ding has confirmed her split from Mitch Eynaud, telling Fitzy & Wippa on Tuesday he ghosted her shortly after filming the last dinner party in January

'I haven't seen Mitchell since the reunion,' she told radio hosts Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli and Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald.

'He definitely started to drop off though and fizzle out.'

Ella explained Mitch had cut her off after reading articles about her in the media.

Daily Mail Australia understands he took exception to a staged paparazzi set of Ella and their co-star Brent Vitiello sunbathing at the beach together.

Ghosted: 'I haven't seen Mitchell since the reunion,' she told radio hosts Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli and Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald. (Mitch and Ella are pictured together in Sydney on January 14)

Ouch! Ella explained Mitch had cut her off after reading articles about her in the media. Daily Mail Australia understands he took exception to a staged paparazzi set of Ella and their co-star Brent Vitiello (left) sunbathing at the beach together

When asked if she would ever consider dating Brent now the show is over, Ella revealed she still wasn't over her break-up with Mitch.

'I'm still healing and getting over stuff, like with Mitch and Tamara [Djordjevic, Brent's ex-wife] and just all the crap that's been going on in the past few months,' she said.

'Like it still gets to me and I don't want to rush into anything if I'm not feeling, you know, ready for it. I'm just not ready.'

Ella had joked at Sunday's MAFS reunion dinner party she'd agreed to get back together with Mitch because the sex was just too good.

However, she told this week's Woman's Day there was another important reason.

Reunion: Ella and Mitch had met up on the Gold Coast after splitting at their final vows in early December. She said spending time together as a couple without producers around was exactly what their relationship needed, as Mitch had struggled having cameras on him 24/7

She explained they'd met up on the Gold Coast, where Mitch lives, after splitting at their final vows in early December, and this ended up being a game changer.

'Going there was the last chance,' she said.

Ella said spending time together as a couple without producers around was exactly what their relationship needed, as Mitch had struggled having cameras on him 24/7.

'He was pretty unwell': It took them catching Covid-19 together to truly bond, in part because Ella was able to show Mitch her caring and humourous side for the first time

But it took them catching Covid-19 together to truly bond, in part because Ella was able to show Mitch her caring and humourous side for the first time.

'He was pretty unwell, so I was just trying to lighten the mood and make him feel better,' she told the magazine.

The genetically blessed pair shocked viewers on Sunday's episode of MAFS when they returned to the reunion dinner party as a couple.

Hinting that sexual chemistry played a role in their decision to get back together, Ella said: 'We had some time to get back to our roots, his roots... root.'

'You're really playing up that horny bride card, aren't ya?' Mitch laughed.

Sad: Ella said during last week's final vows she wanted to continue her relationship with Mitch, despite their various issues - but he told her he couldn't make a commitment

Ella also said her husband opened up to her more once the experiment was over.

'Mitchell and I are together. We are just starting fresh. Nothing could have prepared me for the way Mitchell was after the experiment ended,' she revealed.

Ella had declared during last week's final vows she wanted to continue her relationship with Mitch, despite their various issues.

Mitch, however, said he wouldn't be rushed into making an on-the-spot decision about their future, effectively ending things.

'How can we walk out of here together as partners when at the moment, I don't see this as a substantial relationship?' he said.

'What I need now is to go back to my life, to my family, to my friends.

Divided: Mitch said he wouldn't be rushed into making an on-the-spot decision about their future, effectively ending things

'It's only then that I'll be able to make a decision that could affect both of our lives. What I can't [do], what I can do and what I won't do.

'To stand here and be forced to make a decision that I'm not yet ready to make. I'm sorry, Ella, but right now I just can't give you the commitment I know that you want.'

A tearful Ella replied: 'Wow. Throwing your own little spanner in the works. I'm not surprised. Making no decision.'

Married At First Sight will return to Channel Nine next year
DJ Tiesto has revealed that he is expecting a second child with his wife Annika.

Taking to Instagram on Monday, the musician, 53, shared a series of red carpet images from the day before, as he sweetly kissed the model's tummy at the Grammy Awards in Las Vegas.

Annika, 25, shared the same photos on her own Instagram as she added: 'Baby boy on the way.'

'Another Baby with the Love of My Life': DJ Tiesto, 53, has revealed he is expecting a baby boy with his wife Annika, 25, in a post to Instagram on Monday

Tiesto, whose real name Tijs Michiel Verwest, penned alongside the snaps: 'I am having another baby with the love of my life.'

The couple are already parents to 16-month-old daughter Viola.

The Motto hitmaker put on a dapper display at the Grammys in a gold Dolce and Gabbana printed suit with glittery shoes.

Annika looked sensational as she donned a black dress with a bardot style bodice and semi-sheer skirt embellished with flowers.

Adorable: The musician shared a series of red carpet images from the day before, as he sweetly kissed the stunning models tummy at the Grammy Awards in Las Vegas

The couple, who welcomed their first child in November 2020, married in a lavish ceremony in the middle of the Utah Desert in September 2019.

The star chose Amangiri, described as a 'futuristic resort', for the wedding, hiring out the entire venue for his bride and their 80 guests.

According to Vogue, the ceremony took place on the patio, overlooking the rock ridges and sand dunes of the resort, beneath pillars draped with flowers.

Loved-up: Alongside the stunning snaps he penned: 'I am having another baby with the love of my life'

Congratulations: Sharing the same series of photos to her own Instagram, Annika added: 'Baby boy on the way'

The aisle was concrete and stretched across mirrored archways that reflected the desert.

Of the day, Tiesto said: 'I felt overwhelmed with emotions because we have been in love for so long and thinking about this day forever, and then it was finally here. It was more beautiful and more special than I could have ever imagined.'

The pair met at Catch restaurant in New York in February 2015, introduced by mutual friends.

The God Is A Dancer producer popped the question during Thanksgiving 2018 on the beach in the Maldives.
Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) rarely puts a foot wrong when it comes to fashion.

And the Sydney-born model, 34, looked incredibly stylish on Sunday as she rocked an edgy outfit while spending time with her gal pals in New York City.

Lara showed off her off-duty style in a pair of baggy blue jeans, which she teamed with a long leather coat, sneakers and a beanie.

NYC chic! Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) looked incredibly stylish on Sunday as she rocked an edgy outfit while spending time with her gal pals in New York City

Lara rugged up against the chilly weather in the Big Apple by wearing a black turtleneck underneath her jacket.

She also carried a puffer jacket and a maroon handbag.

The former reality star opted for minimal makeup and wore her cropped blonde hair in a straight style.

Natural beauty: The Sydney-born model, 34, opted for minimal makeup and wore her cropped blonde hair in a straight style

Downtime: The mother of three sipped on a cold drink as she chatted to two girlfriends

The mother of three sipped on a cold drink as she chatted to two girlfriends.

Lara recently spoke to Stellar magazine about her unique fashion sense, admitting she doesn't care what people think of her outfits.

'I wear whatever the hell I want and I don't care!' Lara told the publication.

Owning it: Lara recently spoke to Stellar magazine about her unique fashion sense, admitting she doesn't care what people think of her outfits

Defiant: 'I wear whatever the hell I want and I don't care!' Lara told the publication

Despite her defiant attitude, the swimsuit model-turned-socialite acknowledged she had made some fashion missteps in the past.

'I've definitely had some bad times, I tell you,' she said, adding: 'But whatever! You evolve. That's my thing.'

Lara overhauled her style after marrying actor Sam Worthington and moving to NYC.

She is known for wearing all-black ensembles, often with a tomboy twist thanks to her penchant for oversized blazers and sneakers.
Harrison Ford is set to make his debut as a cast member in an ongoing television series in the upcoming program Shrinking.

The news about the 79-year-old performer was revealed by several sources on Monday, and The Hollywood Reporter noted that he would be starring alongside Jason Segel.

The program is being produced for the Apple TV+ streaming platform and will premiere on the service at an unspecified date in the future.

Going to the small screen: Harrison Ford is set to make his debut as a cast member in an ongoing television series in the upcoming program Shrinking; he is seen in 2019

Shrinking will follow a grieving therapist named Jimmy, portrayed by the How I Met Your Mother star, as he adopts a new approach to his practice by telling his clients exactly how he feels about their troubles.

In doing so, the character begins to make major changes to both his life and the lives of the people he services.

Ford is set to portray Dr. Phil Rhodes, a therapist who has become well-known for his honest takes on his clients' situations.

The character shares a practice with Jimmy and fellow therapist Gaby, who learned many of their techniques under his tutelage.

Storyline: Shrinking will follow a grieving therapist named Jimmy, portrayed by the How I Met Your Mother star, as he adopts a new approach to his practice by telling his clients exactly how he feels about their troubles; Segel is seen in March

Dr. Rhodes is also dealing with Parkinson's disease, and he is forced to deal with the changes in the people around him that occur as a result of his condition.

Shrinking will be written and co-produced by Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, the former of whom also helped to launch Ted Lasso.

Segel is currently set to fill the same roles while also starring in the forthcoming program.

Shrinking will run for a total of ten episodes and it will premiere on the Apple TV+ streaming service at an unspecified date in the future.

Not here yet: Shrinking will run for a total of ten episodes and it will premiere on the Apple TV+ streaming service at an unspecified date in the future; Ford is seen in 2020

The program will also mark the first time that Ford will serve as a cast member in an ongoing show in his nearly six-decade career as an actor.

The performer's television roles have largely been limited to guest spots on shows that aired during the 1960s and 1970s.

The Star Wars franchise star was previously set to star in and executive produce the soon-to-premiere true crime drama The Staircase.

In the past: The Star Wars franchise star was previously set to star in and executive produce the soon-to-premiere true crime drama The Staircase; he is seen in 2020

The upcoming show is based on the miniseries of the same name, which is centered on the trial of novelist Michael Peterson and aired on both Canal+ and Netflix.

The writer was accused of murdering his second wife, Kathleen, in 2001 and eventually entered an Alford plea in 2017.

Ford joined the cast of the program in 2019 and remained with the project for two years before dropping out in March of 2021.

Source material: The upcoming show is based on the miniseries of the same name, which is centered on the trial of novelist Michael Peterson and aired on both Canal+ and Netflix

The performer was eventually replaced by Colin Firth, who will portray Peterson.

Other cast members in the project include Toni Collette, Sophie Turner and Parker Posey.

The Staircase will run for a total of eight episodes, the first of which will premiere on HBO Max on May 5.
Alexander Skarsgard greeted his fans outside a hotel in London on Monday, while promoting his new movie, after saying he was pigeonholed in his career because of his physical appearance.

The actor, 45, looked typically handsome in a grey sweater and dark jeans as he posed for selfies, while hiding behind a pair of black sunglasses.

He is currently hard at work on the promotional trail for his latest film The Northman, where he plays a Viking prince seeking vengeance for his father's murder.

Gracious: Alexander Skarsgard greeted his fans outside a hotel in London on Monday, while promoting his new movie, after saying he was pigeonholed in his career because of his physical appearance

The film is the latest from Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse), which will hit theaters nationwide on April 22.

Alexander is joined by a diverse all-star cast including Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Bjork, and Willem Dafoe.

His outing comes after Alexander admitted to feeling as though he struggled early in his career to find more serious acting roles due to his looks.

Challenges: His outing comes after Alexander admitted to feeling as though he struggled early in his career to find more serious acting roles due to his looks (pictured in The Legend of Tarzan)

Dashing: The actor, 45, looked typically handsome in a grey sweater and dark jeans as he posed for selfies, while hiding behind a pair of black sunglasses

Speaking to The Sunday Times, the Big Little Lies star confessed: 'I don't really know if that was the reason I wasn't getting roles. Starting out in Sweden, there was stuff about being tall and blond. But most people here are tall and blond.

He continued: 'Still, after my first job, I was on a stupid 'sexy hunky hot list' and then people didn't take me seriously. If you want characters with depth but have been labeled "a dude who takes his shirt off," you're not going to get those offers.'

Despite his perceived early challenges, Alexander's career skyrocketed after being cast in the HBO limited series Generation Kill.

Struggles: His outing came after he lamented 'after my first job, I was on a stupid 'sexy hunky hot list' and then people didn't take me seriously'

He continued: 'If you want characters with depth but have been labeled "a dude who takes his shirt off," you're not going to get those offers'

He has gone on to star in True Blood, The Stand, Succession, Long Shot, Passing, Diary of Teenage Girl, The Legend of Tarzan and even netted both an Emmy and Golden Globe for his role in Big Little Lies.

He has also been named Sweden's Sexiest Man five times, but admitted to finding the title 'trivial'.

'We are human, so of course, we are going to love that kind of title. I'm not trying to pretend I don't, but it's not that important at the end of the day,' he told Mirror in 2015.

'It wouldn't do me any good if I was constantly looking at where I end up on that sexy list, or if I slipped down the list and stressed out about why that was. One day you're popular and the next day you're not. It's trivial.'
Former Bachelor star Lisa Carlton has welcomed her first child with her footy star fiance Billy Barden.

The model, 28, took to Instagram to announce the happy news by sharing the infant's first photos.

'Harry James 1/4/22,' she began. 'Welcome to the world little mate.'

Baby joy: Former Bachelor star Lisa Carlton has welcomed her first child with footy star fiance Billy Barden (both pictured) - after getting her heart broken by Matty 'J' Johnson on the show

Lisa's former co-stars were quick to congratulate her on the new arrival.

'Congratulations baby! He is gorgeous,' Florence Moerenhout wrote under the adorable image of the baby.

'Congrats!!!! I love him already,' Tara Pavlovic added.

New arrival: 'Harry James 1/4/22,' Lisa began. 'Welcome to the world little mate'

Lisa made the announcement she and Billy were expecting their first child together back in September via Instagram.

The Melbourne model, 28, posted pictures of her ultrasound and a photo of Billy's son Ollie holding the sonogram.

'Little ray of sunshine coming Earth side March 2022' she wrote.

Baby on board: Lisa made the announcement she and Billy were expecting their first child together back in September via Instagram

Lisa announced her engagement to her boyfriend-of-three-years, former Collingwood VFL player Billy, last November.

Lisa, who came fifth on Matty 'J' Johnson's season in 2017, uploaded a photo of herself posing with Billy - and her sparkling new ring.

'13.11.20 #mylove,' the statuesque blonde wrote in the caption, commemorating the day she said 'yes'.

Happily ever after: Lisa and Billy began dating in late 2017, not long after Lisa's stint on The Bachelor

In the image, a beaming Lisa posed with her arm around Billy's shoulder while making sure her cushion-cut diamond sparkler was in full view.

At the time, a slew of Lisa's former Bachelor co-stars commented congratulatory messages, including Matty J's winner, Laura Byrne.

'Congratulations beautiful! This is wonderful news,' wrote Laura.

Instant family: Billy is a former Collingwood VFL footy star, and has a son named Ollie from a previous relationship (left)

Billy is a former Collingwood VFL footy star, and has a son named Ollie from a previous relationship.

In 2014, Billy plead guilty to trafficking cocaine. He escaped conviction, and was fined $5000.

However, it appears he has well and truly turned his life around, opening a popular Mexican restaurant in 2017.
Domenica Calarco has denied her screening event for Sunday night's MAFS reunion was a 'hate party' to spite her rival Olivia Frazer.

Despite having custom-made signs with nasty slogans about the teaching student - including one poster saying 'We don't serve any Olivias' - Domenica, 29, said the party wasn't about hate but was instead her way of 'moving on' from their feud.

'If people think this was a hate party for anyone, you're delusional,' she wrote on Facebook in response to a viewer who said they'd lost respect for her after seeing footage from the party.

'I went out with a bang': Domenica Calarco (pictured) has denied her screening event for Sunday night's MAFS reunion was a 'hate party' to spite her rival Olivia Frazer

'I was having an end-of-MAFS party with all of my family and friends,' she added.

'After so much has happened this whole scenario still triggers me and makes me upset which you can clearly see.

'I've owned all my wrongdoings, apologised, now I'm moving on, and went out with a bang.'

Domenica's response to the critic was discovered by the Married At First Sight UNCENSORED Facebook group.

Hmm: Despite having custom-made signs with nasty slogans about the teaching student - including one poster saying 'We don't serve any Olivias' - Domenica, 29, said the party wasn't about hate but was instead her way of 'moving on' from their feud

Many viewers who had rallied behind Domenica after she was outed as an OnlyFans model by Olivia turned their backs on her after Sunday's party.

TikTok footage from the party showed Dom and her co-stars Jack Millar, Ella Ding, Brent Vitiello, Holly Greenstein and Al Perkins chanting 'F**k Olivia!' alongside MC Olan Tekkers.

Domenica wore a red T-shirt emblazoned with the words 'My body, my choice, b***h!'

Response: 'If people think this was a hate party for anyone, you're delusional,' she wrote on Facebook in response to a viewer who said they'd lost respect for her after the party

Upset: 'After so much has happened this whole scenario still triggers me and makes me upset which you can clearly see,' she added. (Pictured: one of the anti-Olivia signs at Dom's party)

The slogan 'my body, my choice' has long been associated with abortion rights, but Dom appears to be using it to promote her OnlyFans account.

The makeup artist was supported at the event by her ex-'husband' Jack and several other MAFS participants, who all wore the bold shirts.

'It was just a big "I hate Olivia" party. Everyone rallied around Domenica and they enjoyed watching the glass-smashing video,' one guest told Daily Mail Australia.

'Domenica was booing the screen every time Olivia came on and everyone was just sticking their middle fingers up. It was outright bullying,' they added.

'There was no respect for anyone or what they've been through. It was honestly just a big anti-Olivia and Tamara [Djordjevic] event.'

Questionable: Domenica and her friends wore T-shirts with the slogan 'My body, my choice, b***h!' This phrase has long been associated with abortion rights, but Dom appears to be using it to promote her OnlyFans career

One fan on social media labelled Domenica a 'bully' while another said the anti-Olivia posters were 'immature'.

'For someone who claimed she can't stand bullying and was bullied her whole childhood, you're doing a fabulous job [of] showing otherwise,' one critic wrote.

'It's bad enough Olivia has to deal with the backlash from the show, but to have a poster of this sort shows the immaturity on your end.'

A second agreed, writing: '[Domenica] is as bad as Olivia. Both d**kheads... I personally think editing made Dom look a lot nicer than she actually is.'

Backlash: One fan labelled Domenica as a 'bully' while another said the anti-Olivia posters were 'immature'

One viewer commented on Instagram: 'Taking it too far. You don't fix bullying with bullying. Wrong message being sent.'

'Guess who lives rent free in Domenica's head,' another fan wrote.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Domenica Calarco for further comment.


They're recovering from a PR nightmare after their sponsored trip to Saudi Arabia, which is notorious for its human-rights abuses, was widely criticised on social media.

But bad press aside, Georgia Love and Lee Elliott appear to be having the time of their lives after jetting to Tasmania for another holiday a little closer to home.

The Bachelorette lovebirds are staying at Pumphouse Point, a secluded 'wilderness retreat' overlooking Lake St Clair where rooms cost almost $1,000 per night.

Idyllic: Take a look inside Georgia Love and Lee Elliott's $1,000-a-night Tasmanian getaway - including fine dining and breathtaking views of Lake St Clair

Pumphouse Point is on an island in the middle of Lake St Clair, about two and half hours from Hobart.

The luxury location comprises two buildings that once operated as a hydro-electric station, The Pumphouse and The Shorehouse.

The boutique hotel was established in 2015, and guests have no access to Netflix or Wi-Fi, meaning they must reconnect with the wilderness.

Picturesque: Pumphouse Point is on an island in the middle of Lake St Clair, about two and half hours from Hobart. The boutique hotel was established in 2015

There are 18 stunning rooms in addition to spacious communal lounges, honesty bars and woodfires in both buildings.

Guests choose between different room types, with Top Floor rooms - which come with a bathtub - costing about $910 per night.

Most of the rooms are all-inclusive, with meals, e-bikes and rowboats provided.

Scenic: Guests choose between different room types, with Top Floor rooms - which come with a bathtub - costing about $910 per night

Other rooms in the complex are cheaper, priced from $800 to $750 per night.

For the more budget-conscious traveller, the most affordable room at Pumphouse Point is $560 per night.

The activities at the retreat include massages, fine dining and bushwalking, with overland walking tracks located nearby.

Honeymooners: Pumphouse is considered the ultimate 'unplugged' destination

The Tasmania trip was certainly a safer choice for Georgia and Lee compared to their recent holiday in Saudi Arabia, which saw them heavily criticised.

The couple surprised fans last month by flying to Saudi Arabia and encouraging their Instagram followers to visit the Middle Eastern kingdom.

A number of fans took exception to the promotion given the country's horrific human rights record and treatment of LGBT+ citizens.

What a view! There are 18 stunning rooms in addition to spacious communal lounges, honesty bars and woodfires in both buildings

Delicious: Georgia and Lee enjoyed five-star dining at Pumphouse Point

Peace and quiet: The boutique hotel was established in 2015, and guests have no access to Netflix or Wi-Fi, meaning they must reconnect with the wilderness

The couple quickly deleted all traces of the trip from their Instagram accounts, then issued a joint statement.

They said they did not in any way endorse 'behaviours of the past or human rights violations that have occurred in this country'.

'We strongly believe by Saudi opening up to the rest of the world and by tourists being here it has to be more accountable,' Lee explained.
The bassist of No Doubt, Tony Kanal, has been granted a temporary restraining order over a man who trespassed on his property who reportedly believes Heath Ledger is alive and living there.

The 51-year-old musician filed for a restraining order over a man named George Leonardopoulos who he claims has terrorized his family over the past few months with impromptu visits at his Los Angeles area home according to documents obtained by TMZ on Monday.

Perhaps the most alarming thing was an incident last week where Leonardopoulos came to their front gate and buzzed the intercom to tell Kanal's wife Erin Lokitz that he used to live there with the previous owner of the property actor Heath Ledger.

Tough times: No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal filed for a restraining order over a man named George Leonardopoulos who he claims has terrorized his family over the past few months with impromptu visits at his Los Angeles area home according to documents obtained by TMZ

Gone too soon: Perhaps the most alarming thing was an incident last week where Leonardopoulos came to their front gate and buzzed the intercom to tell Kanal's wife Erin Lokitz that he used to live there with the previous owner of the property actor Heath Ledger (seen in November 2006)

The bandmate of Gwen Stefani said in the documents that he had purchased the home from Ledger in 2005 before the actor's death in 2008 and that Leonardopoulos apparently did live at the house and strangely told them that he thinks Ledger is still alive on the premises.

As if that wasn't bizarre enough, according to TMZ's documents Leonardopoulos claimed it was gravely important to be let into their garage so he could 'wake' Heath.

He apparently told them if 'you know what's good for you, you would let me in' according to the legal documents.

Back in the day: Eric Stefani, Tony Kanal, Gwen Stefani and Adrian Young of No Doubt are seen left to right in September 1996

Hmm: The bandmate of Gwen Stefani (seen in August 2018) said in the documents that he had purchased the home from Ledger in 2005 before the actor's death in 2008 and that Leonardopoulos apparently did live at the house and strangely told them that he thinks Ledger is still alive on the premises

Troubling: As if that wasn't bizarre enough, according to TMZ's documents Leonardopoulos claimed it was gravely important to be let into their garage so he could 'wake' Heath (pictured in March 2003)

Kanal claims that Leonardopoulos has been making unannounced and unwelcome visits to his home since late January and has even hopped the gate on one occasion.

The bassist and his wife also say they have seen the suspect wielding a large stick and knife and that they have called law enforcement on him in the past.

A judge signed off on a restraining order on Friday and it will take effect until a hearing later this month.

As a result Leonardopoulos will have to stay 100 yards from the Kanal family and their property until a judge makes a final ruling.

Scary: Kanal (seen in October 2017) claims that Leonardopoulos has been making unannounced and unwelcome visits to his home since late January and has even hopped the gate on one occasion

Tragic: Ledger (seen in September 2006) was found dead aged 28 on January 22, 2008 as an autopsy later found that he had died 'as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine'

Working relationship: Kanal joined No Doubt at the age of 16 in 1987 where he dated frontwoman Stefani until 1994 and their break-up led to many break-up songs including their biggest hit Don't Speak (the band are seen in September 2015)

Perhaps the weirdest bit of happenstance is that today, April 4 would have been Ledger's 43rd birthday.

The Oscar-winning A Dark Knight star was found dead aged 28 on January 22, 2008 as an autopsy later found that he had died 'as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine.'

Kanal joined No Doubt at the age of 16 in 1987 where he dated frontwoman Stefani until 1994 and their break-up led to many break-up songs including their biggest hit Don't Speak.

He later married American home designer Erin Lokitz and they have two daughters together: 11-year-old Coco Reese and eight year old Saffron Rose.
Casey Affleck and his girlfriend Caylee Cowan put on an affectionate display on Monday when they were spotted having lunch in Los Angeles with a group of friends.

The 46-year-old Academy Award winner was seen holding hands with the 24-year-old actress as they left the All Time restaurant in Los Feliz.

The two have been the subject of engagement rumors in recent months after Caylee was seen multiple times last month with what appeared to be a diamond ring on her left ring finger, but her finger was bare during the afternoon outing.

Cute: Casey Affleck, 46, sweetly held hands with his girlfriend Caylee Cowan, 24, on Monday as they stepped out for lunch at Los Feliz's All Time restaurant with friends

Casey looked cool and relaxed in a gray 'Shaolin Kung Fu' graphic T-shirt, which he paired with dark jeans that were rolled up at the hems.

He also wore weathered black leather boots and left his shaggy brown hair stylishly tousled.

Caylee matched him with her own casual outfit featuring a blue-and-purple tie-dye T-shirt, which she appropriately paired with '70s-themed high-waisted flared jeans.

She completed the low-key look with black sneakers while carrying a periwinkle handbag under her arm.

Casual: Casey looked cool in a gray 'Shaolin Kung Fu' T-shirt, which he paired with dark jeans rolled up at the hems. Caylee wore a blue-and-purple tie-dye T-shirt with high-waisted flared jeans

Nothing to see here: Although the two sparked engagement rumors when Caylee was seen with a ring on her left ring finger last month, but it was bare on Monday

Caylee's long dark locks were parted at the side and tied back with a large hair clip.

The lovebirds opted to dine in the restaurant's outdoor courtyard with their friends, and Caylee was seen sporting a soft smile as her boyfriend chatted with her.

Later, they headed back to the car while holding hands, before Casey got behind the wheel.

The Machester By The Sea actor recently found himself in the news after he opted not to cross a picket line on Oscars night.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, he was driving to Jay-Z's Oscars after-party at the Chateau Marmont, which is being protested by workers alleging that systemic racism and sexual misconduct have gone on unchecked at the hotel for years.

Although many celebrities  including Rihanna, Michael B. Jordan, Zoe Kravitz and Kim Kardashian  opted to cross the picket line, Casey reportedly gave a thumbs up to the picketers after hearing about their objections from organizers before driving away.

Solidarity: Last week, Casey showed his solidarity with workers after he refused to cross a picket line to get into Jay-Z's Oscars after-party at the Chateau Marmont; seen March 26 in LA

In late January, the lovebirds marked a year since they first met in sweet dueling Instagram posts.

'"Lovers dont finally meet somewhere, theyre in each other all along,"' Caylee began her post with a quotation from the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, while sharing a photo of herself cradling Casey's head and another of them locking lips at night in Budapest, Hungary.

Casey followed her post with a photo of himself nuzzling her long dark hair and a similarly loving caption.

'A year ago, we met. A few months ago, I got smart. Thank God, it wasnt too late,' he wrote, seemingly laying out a timeline of their relationship.

'On our first date, you carried firewood up, built a fire, and gave me a low eyelid look that was so strong I had to take a knee for a minute.

'Tonight, to celebrate knowing each other for a year, we went down to the local bakery here in Budapessshtt and cooked twelve loaves of bread. All I could smell was you,' he continued.

Declaration: In January, Casey posted a gushing tribute to Caylee revealing that they had known each other for exactly a year

Despite the 'ups and downs' of the past year, Casey wrote that his feelings had 'only gone in one direction.'

'My girl, you make me a better man every day. You could push me and you could drag me and you could carry me, but instead you just walk with me and talk with me and make me laugh,' he gushed. 'You are a deep and tender woman with more girlfriend geem than anyone I ever met [sic].

'I dont know what I did to deserve you, but I am determined to figure it out and keep doing it forever.'

Affleck finished his post with a pledge of lifelong love.

'While it beats, you have a place in my heart. I hope you stay that long,' he wrote, before signing off with, 'I love you.'

The couple's romance went public in November, when Page Six ran pictures of them passionately kissing in the street.

The sighting confirmed rumors that Casey had broken up with his longtime girlfriend Floriana Lima, 40, whom he had been with since 2016.

Moving on: Caylee initial posts about Caylee confirmed his split from longtime girlfriend Floriana Lima, whom he started dating in 2016 after splitting from his wife Summer Phoenix; seen together in 2019

The former couple were first linked in 2016, and in March of that year he announced his separation from his wife Summer Phoenix. The divorce was finalized in late 2017.

In 2010, producer Amanda White and cinematographer Magdalena Gorka, who both worked on Casey's mockumentary I'm Still There, accused him of sexual harassment and filed lawsuits against him.

The actor and director denied the claims but later settled both suits out of court.

'It was settled to the satisfaction of all. I was hurt and upset  I am sure all were  but I am over it,' he told the New York Times in 2016. 'It was an unfortunate situation  mostly for the innocent bystanders of the families of those involved.'
MasterChef judge Andy Allen has praised the franchise's inaugural winner, Julie Goodwin, for her courage as she prepares to return to the franchise.

Julie will join a mix of newcomers and series veterans on MasterChef Australia: Fans & Faves, which premieres on Channel 10 on April 18.

The 50-year-old's television comeback follows her harrowing battle with depression.

Admiration: MasterChef judge Andy Allen (pictured) has praised the franchise's inaugural winner, Julie Goodwin, for her courage as she prepares to return to the franchise

Andy, a former contestant-turned-judge, told Yahoo it was inspiring to see Julie back in the MasterChef kitchen after everything she'd been through.

'Along with the new format, having Julie back is the best thing about this series,' he said.

'To see her open up and to see how raw and emotional she is about the past... I'll never forget how powerful it was.'

Road to recovery: Andy, a former contestant-turned-judge, told Yahoo it was inspiring to see Julie back in the MasterChef kitchen after her battle with depression. (Pictured: Julie with runner-up Poh Ling Yeow during the finale of MasterChef season one in 2009)

Julie defeated runner-up Poh Ling Yeow 13 years ago, but Andy said the mother of three is acutely aware of how much the cooking scene has changed since then.

While she was renowned for her hearty home recipes in 2009, MasterChef dishes are better known these days for their technique-driven finesse.

Julie spoke about her recovery from depression on The Morning Show in February.

Wholesome: Julie defeated runner-up Poh Ling Yeow 13 years ago, but Andy said the mother of three is acutely aware of how much the cooking scene has changed since then

She told hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies that exercise, therapy and medication had helped her following her five-week stint in a mental health facility.

'I'm working hard and I'm doing all the things I have got to do,' she said.

MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites premieres Monday, April 18, at 7.30pm on Channel 10 and 10Play On Demand
Tamara Djordjevic stormed off the set of Married At First Sight during the dramatic reunion on Monday after she was accused of trying to steal another bride's husband.

But just moments later, the 29-year-old operations manager stepped out looking carefree as she flaunted her cleavage in a plunging yellow dress.

Photos taken by Daily Mail Australia on January 14 show Tamara looking cool as a cucumber while strutting back to her Sydney hotel after filming the confrontation.

Married At First Sight EXCLUSIVE: Tamara Djordjevic, 29, stepped out looking carefree just hours after she was accused of 'stealing' Mitch Eynaud from his bride Ella Ding

Glammed to the nines, Tamara was wearing a full face of makeup and had her long blonde tresses styled to perfection - despite filming for over 13 hours that day.

She had her hands full, carrying her hotel room key and a plate of food in one hand, with her Louis Vuitton handbag in the other.

During the reunion, relationship expert Alessandra Rampolla questioned Tamara about a phone call Mitch Eynaud was rumoured to have made to her the night before.

Wow: Glammed to the nines, Tamara was seen wearing a full face of makeup and had her long blonde tresses styled to perfection - despite filming for over 13 hours

Work it: Tamara had her hands full, carrying her hotel room key and a plate of food in one hand, and her Louis Vuitton handbag in the other

'Mitch was really drunk and called me at 2am. He said, "I know I shouldn't be calling you right now but I'm thinking about you,"' Tamara explained.

A stunned Mitch, 27, interrupted, 'Bulls**t! That's crazy. You were not the only person I called,' before denying he ever said he was 'thinking about her'.

Mitch's 'wife' Ella Ding, 28, as well as Selin Mengu and Domenica Calarco, then questioned Tamara's intentions by bringing this up in front of the experts.

'It should have been brought up last night [at the reunion dinner party]. It feels like it's just ammunition,' Ella said.

'Can I leave? I've had enough. I just don't want to listen to it anymore,' a frustrated Tamara said, before storming out of the room.

Drama: During the reunion, Alessandra Rampolla questioned Tamara about a phone call Mitch Eynaud (pictured) was rumoured to have made her the night before

She sobbed in the hallway while being comforted by a co-star and didn't return to the couch.

It comes after Ella accused Tamara of sabotaging her relationship by sliding into Mitch's DMs before their final vows.

The beautician told radio hosts Mike E and Emma last Wednesday that Tamara had invited Mitch out to dinner just days before he dumped her.

'It just feels like ammunition': Mitch's 'wife' Ella Ding (left) questioned Tamara's intentions

'Yes she did reach out [to him], before final vows,' she said.

'She wanted to grab dinner with him and Sam [co-star Samantha Moitzi] and another mutual friend they had - a guy.

'The intentions behind it all [are] pretty grey to be honest.'

Ella went on to say the Gold Coast-based socialite had 'caused a bit of drama' between her and Mitch.

'Tamara and I didn't really talk to be honest. She did a few things in the experiment that didn't make it to air. She caused a bit of drama with Mitch and I,' she said.
Justin Long and Kate Bosworth confirmed their blossoming new romance while holding hands after a romantic dinner at Giorgio Baldi on Sunday.

While exiting the upscale, Italian eatery in Santa Monica, the couple were seen beaming as they headed back to their car together following their meal.

For the occasion, the 39-year-old rocked a black minidress with a bows on the straps, which showcased her toned legs, and a pair of matching heels.

Happy couple: Justin Long and Kate Bosworth confirmed their blossoming new romance while holding hands after a romantic dinner at Giorgio Baldi on Sunday

She styled her golden blonde tresses in a bun with a few stands cascading down and sported a glamorous pair of double pearl earrings.

Bosworth's man looked handsome in a light grey button-down, an olive green bomber jacket and dark-wash jeans.

As they walked on the sidewalk, Bosworth gazed lovingly at Long, who strode protectively in front of her.

Going public: While exiting the upscale, Italian eatery in Santa Monica, the couple were seen beaming as they headed back to their car together following their meal

Holding hands: For the occasion, the 39-year-old rocked a black minidress with a bows on the straps, which showcased her toned legs, and a pair of matching heels

Beaming: She styled her golden blonde tresses in a bun with a few stands cascading down and sported a glamorous pair of double pearl earrings

Dapper: Bosworth's man looked handsome in a light grey button-down, an olive green bomber jacket and dark-wash jeans

During Mondays episode of The Viall Files, Long gushed to host Nick Viall about his love life after finally finding himself ready to meet his soul mate.

'I had gotten to a place where I was comfortable with myself, I was ready to be  I didn't know it at the time  but I was ready for the one,' he told the Bachelor alum, 41, who is happily dating Sarah Partain.

He continued: 'I want to [talk about it], but I also want to be protective. I want to scream it from the rooftops, but I also want to be protective. It's sacred.'

In synch: As they walked on the sidewalk, Bosworth gazed lovingly at Long, who strode protectively in front of her

The one? During Mondays episode of The Viall Files, Long gushed to host Nick Viall about his love life after finally finding himself ready to meet his soul mate

'I had gotten to a place where I was comfortable with myself, I was ready to be  I didn't know it at the time  but I was ready for the one,' he told the Bachelor alum, 41, who is happily dating Sarah Partain

Months-long romance: Their interview comes just four months after the He's Just Not That Into You actor revealed that he was off the market

Quietly dating: Long has not used his girlfriends name in interviews while taking about her

Still, Long did not mention the Blue Crush star by name.

Their interview comes just four months after the He's Just Not That Into You actor revealed that he was off the market.

Shortly after, Page Six uncovered that the new lady in his life was actress Kate Bosworth, whom he made a movie with in 2021.

Not under wraps for long: Shortly after, Page Six uncovered that the new lady in his life was actress Kate Bosworth, whom he made a movie with in 2021

Fresh chapter: Earlier that year, the blonde beauty announced her split from 51-year-old husband Michael Polish

Love on set: The outlet reported that 'the two met while filming a movie in Fayetteville, Ark., [in 2021]'

Gushing about her man: In May, she talked up Justin on Instagram when they wrapped the movie: 'Holy moly @justinlong you are a truly spectacular / fun / funny / kind / rare / thoughtful / totally. f*kn. rad human being'

Kind words: She added, 'THANK YOU for lifting us up you kept it light & full of laughter daily, even through the toughest moments. You gnome how much I love ya (sorry had to ;)'

Earlier that year, the blonde beauty announced her split from 51-year-old husband Michael Polish.

The outlet reported that 'the two met while filming a movie in Fayetteville, Ark., [in 2021]'

In May, she talked up Justin on Instagram when they wrapped the movie: 'Holy moly @justinlong you are a truly spectacular / fun / funny / kind / rare / thoughtful / totally. f*kn. rad human being.'

Travel buddies: And an insider told the site that this autumn he went with the beauty on her trip to Padaste Manor in Estonia. They reportedly had a 'romantic weekend'

So in love: Justin then confirmed his relationship status during his podcast back in December while discussing the controversial pizza topping of pineapple with comic Fortune Feimster

Funny: Speaking on his Life is Short with Justin Long podcast, the 41-year-old actress said when asked to give her favorite topping: 'This is controversial: pineapple'

She added, 'THANK YOU for lifting us up you kept it light & full of laughter daily, even through the toughest moments. You gnome how much I love ya (sorry had to ;).'

And an insider told the site that this autumn he went with the beauty on her trip to Padaste Manor in Estonia. They reportedly had a 'romantic weekend.'

Justin then confirmed his relationship status during his podcast back in December while discussing the controversial pizza topping of pineapple with comic Fortune Feimster.

Can't hide this happiness: Bosworth has shared a few photos with her man on Instagram

Speaking on his Life is Short with Justin Long podcast, the 41-year-old actress said when asked to give her favorite topping: 'This is controversial: pineapple.'

To which, Justin replied: 'People have been saying that lately. It's funny, my girlfriend said hers is  she loves the pineapple, too. I've never been with anyone who likes pineapple on pizza.'

A source later told Us Weekly: 'They've been dating for a few months now. They secretly have been on a few getaways together. They both love to travel.'

Going strong: Their interview comes just four months after the He's Just Not That Into You actor revealed that he was off the market, without naming the new woman in his life

Whirlwind romance: A source later told Us Weekly: 'They've been dating for a few months now. They secretly have been on a few getaways together. They both love to travel'

Adding that the couple is 'not hiding the fact that they're together', rather they're 'just staying low-key and private about their relationship.'

Long has previously been linked to Amanda Seyfried, Kirsten Dunst and Drew Barrymore.

Kate and her ex Michael were last photographed together in January of 2021. The couple met in 2011 during the making of the adventure drama Big Sur, which she starred in and he directed.

Kate and Michael announced their engagement in August 2012 and married on August 31, 2013 at The Ranch at Rock Creek in Philipsburg, Montana.
Eiza Gonzalez put on a fashionable display in a monochrome green outfit as she arrived to Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday.

The 32-year-old Mexican-born actress wowed in a forest green velvet suit that she paired with a bright green hoodie.

The movie star added large ombre-tinted sunglasses as she made her way to the TV studio.

Fashion statement: Eiza Gonzalez put on a fashionable display in a monochrome green outfit as she arrived to Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday

She finished the sleek and fun look with a pair of open-toe, textured, green heels that matched her top.

Her top had a zipper in the center, which she styled partly unzipped to show a bit of her chest.

It had two large front pockets and was worn tucked into her trousers, which had a drawstring waistband.

They nicely accentuated the entertainer's long, svelte legs and she walked with one hand in her pocket.

Bold look: The 32-year-old Mexican-born actress wowed in a forest green velvet suit that she paired with a bright green hoodie

Her blazer made a strong statement with structured shoulder pads and a perfectly tailored fit.

The silver screen siren pulled her long, brunette tresses back into a low and sleek ponytail.

The locks were parted in the center as she put all the attention on her gorgeous face.

Underneath her shades she flaunted a carefully made-up visage, complete with rosy cheeks and a matte pink lip stain.

Eiza rocked small, understated silver-toned earrings and continued her jewelry look with several matching rings.

Accessory: The movie star added large ombre-tinted sunglasses as she made her way to the TV studio

The Hollywood bombshell was at the popular late night show to talk up her upcoming film, in which she stars alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

The trio have been making press rounds together amid the imminent release of the action/thriller.

Eiza plays EMT Cam Thompson in the film and she's taken to social media in recent days to promote her role.

Subtle detail: Her top had a zipper in the center, which she styled partly unzipped to show a bit of her chest

The movie is set to hit US theaters on April 8 and is a remake of Laurits Munch-Petersen's 2005 movie Ambulance.

The plot of the Michael Bay directed flick centers around William Sharp (Yahya) - a war veteran who desperately needs $231,000 for his wife's surgery.

He reaches out to Danny (Jake), his adoptive brother and a life-long criminal, who talks him into taking part in a $32 million bank heist.

The robbery goes wrong when they shoot an LAPD officer. The two brothers are soon on the run in an ambulance with an EMT and a dying police officer as their hostages.

Proud: Eiza plays EMT Cam Thompson in the film and she's taken to social media in recent days to promote her role

On Sunday she shared a carousel of images to Instagram, with the first displaying her in front of a promotional Ambulance billboard.

'Wow! I dont take for granted moments like this. So surreal to be able to do what I love,' she said to her 7.5 million followers.

She continued, 'Sooo grateful and humbled. What a beautiful day talking with the loveliest people about this project I feel very proud of.'

Gonzalez finished the caption by writing, 'Thank you God.'

Taking it all in: 'Wow! I dont take for granted moments like this. So surreal to be able to do what I love,' she said to her 7.5 million followers

Classic look: The fashionista wowed in a chic little black dress that boasted capped short sleeves and a cutout along the chest

The fashionista wowed in a chic little black dress that boasted capped short sleeves and a cutout along the chest.

The stylish number had a gold button that fastened at the neckline and the mega star showed off her toned legs in the mini dress.

The stunner added knee-length black leather boots to the equation, giving the getup a polished finish.

Her lengthy hair was arranged in a middle part with one side tucked behind her ear as it fell over one shoulder.

Finishing touch: The stunner added knee-length black leather boots to the equation, giving the getup a polished finish
Khloe Kardashian went for a low-key look on Monday as she picked up her daughter True Thompson from a gymnastics class.

The 37-year-old Good American founder carried her little one - who she shares with ex Tristan Thompson - on her hip.

She wore a black hooded sweatshirt and shielded her eyes in large, black, square-shaped sunglasses.

Laid-back look: Khloe Kardashian went for a low-key look on Monday as she picked up her daughter True Thompson from a gymnastics class

True, whose birthday is coming up on April 12, slept peacefully, resting her head on her mom's shoulder.

The little tot wore a multicolor tank top bodysuit and lavender Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers.

Khloe softly smiled as she donned supersized hoop earrings and rocked a pair of black and white Yeezy Boost sneakers.

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians alum wore her blonde hair in a center part and pulled the locks into a sleek low bun at the back of her head.

Cute: The 37-year-old Good American founder carried her little one - who she shares with ex Tristan Thompson - on her hip

Cozy: True, whose birthday is coming up on April 12, slept peacefully, resting her head on her mom's shoulder

Khloe showed off her sculpted gym-honed physique in the skintight leggings.

She held onto a plastic water bottle as she cradled her only child, who wore her hair in two adorable space buns as she napped.

The entrepreneur went makeup free for the quick outing and was escorted to her white luxury vehicle after retrieving her daughter from the class.

Content: Khloe softly smiled as she donned supersized hoop earrings and rocked a pair of black and white Yeezy Boost sneakers

Neat style: The Keeping Up with the Kardashians alum wore her blonde hair in a center part and pulled the locks into a sleek low bun at the back of her head

Khloe's been keeping busy this year with regular top-of-the-morning workouts, new Good American campaigns, and her family's new Hulu show.

Kardashian recently laughed off claims that she has butt implants in the comments of an Instagram fan page.

The page posted a video of Khloe 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!'

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?'

Fitness fanatic: Khloe showed off her sculpted gym-honed physique in the skintight leggings

Staying hydrated: She held onto a plastic water bottle as she cradled her only child, who wore her hair in two adorable space buns as she napped

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.'

Meanwhile, Khloe and her already open family will be answering even more questions about themselves during a sit down with ABC's Robin Roberts.

The family is being featured in a primetime special on April 6, ahead of the launch of their new Hulu show.

A preview shows them answering intimate questions about their personal lives.

The Kardashians will begin April 14, with new episodes every Thursday.
Jason Momoa maintained his reputation as one of Hollywood's most handsome stars on Monday night.

The actor put on a head-turning display at the premiere of Ambulance in Los Angeles.

Jason, 42, rocked dark blue jeans cinched together with a leather belt as he posed on the red carpet solo.

Hubba hubba! Jason Momoa rocked dark blue jeans cinched together with a rustic leather belt as he attended the premiere of Ambulance in Los Angeles on Monday

Directed by Michael Bay, Ambulance follows two robbers who 'steal an ambulance after their heist goes awry', according to IMDb.

While looking cool from the waist up, Jason's footwear looked a little out of place as he opted for worn slides.

The actor accessorized the look with a bronze chain clipped to his belt and turquoise bracelets.

His usual head full of wild locks cascaded down either side of his head.

Making waves! His usual head full of wild locks cascaded down either side of his head

Smile big! The actor grinned from ear-to-ear on the red carpet

While Jason does not appear in Ambulance, the action film boasts the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal, Eiza Gonzalez, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

Jason, meanwhile, is back on the market after splitting from ex-wife Lisa Bonet earlier this year.

The couple announced their split after five years of marriage back in January but a report recently claimed they had gotten back together.

Letting loose! Jason couldn't have looked any happier in the spotlight, flashing a huge smile and striking a playful pose at points

Momoa put the rumors to bed on the Oscars red carpet, where he told Access Hollywood they were still separated.

'We're not back together,' he said. 'We're family. We have two beautiful children together.'

Jason announced his split from wife Lisa back in January after a 16 year relationship. The former couple married in 2017 and share two children, Lola, 14, and Nakoa-Wolf, 13.

Newly single! Jason, meanwhile, is back on the market after splitting from ex-wife Lisa Bonet earlier this year
Underbelly: Vanishing Act is getting mixed reviews, to put it generously.

But it appears actor Jerome Velinsky, who plays conwoman Melissa Caddick's husband Anthony Koletti, is doing his part to keep viewers satisfied.

Twitter users were only too happy to celebrate the scene in which Jerome sprawled out naked on a bed, drawing attention to his Adonis-like physique.

Is this Underbelly's raciest scene yet? Viewers went wild after actor Jerome Velinsky, who plays conwoman Melissa Caddick's husband Anthony Koletti, was shown naked in bed

'I gotta say, Anthony's ass steals the show!' one eager viewer tweeted.

Jerome has appeared in other Channel Nine shows, including Love Child and Doctor Doctor, but this is his first leading role in a drama series.

Despite many viewers trashing the show, which is inspired by true events, others praised it as compelling and easy to watch.

Raunchy: 'I gotta say, Anthony's ass steals the show!' one eager viewer tweeted

Role: Jerome plays conwoman Melissa Caddick's husband Anthony Koletti on the Nine series

Some international viewers who have been following the Caddick case even asked where they could watch it in Britain and the U.S.

Caddick infamously scammed 60 clients out of at least $23million before ASIC raided her $6.8million Dover Heights home two years ago.

The conwoman vanished a day before the raid, and is now presumed dead after investigators found her severed foot three months after her disappearance.

Praise: Despite many viewers trashing the show, which is inspired by true events, others praised it as compelling and easy to watch

Many viewers likened the crime drama to early 2000s sitcom Kath & Kim.

'Omg the narration on Underbelly sounds like it's a direct script from Kath & Kim. Is this a comedy now?' one critic tweeted on Sunday.

Another wrote: 'Underbelly: Vanishing Act, I feel like I'm watching a cash-up scheming Kath from Kath & Kim.'

Rising star: Jerome has appeared in other Channel Nine shows, including Love Child and Doctor Doctor, but this is his first leading role in a drama series

One viewer described the show as 'absolutely awful and cringe', while another said they were about to 'switch it off' because it was 'junk'.

The series explores a number of theories about Caddick's disappearance, including if she severed her own foot or even if she is still alive.

The script also featured fictionalised elements, including that she was dealing with a gangster named 'George' at the time she vanished.

Underbelly: Vanishing Act is available to watch on 9Now in Australia

Real life: Melissa Caddick (left, with husband Anthony Koletti) vanished a day after her Dover Heights house was raided by corporate watchdog ASIC
Jason Segel was spotted while stepping out in Ojai on Monday afternoon.

The 40-year-old performer was first seen driving around in his vintage Ford Bronco and speaking to several of the celebrity-favorite community's residents.

The actor later made his way to a local cafe where he continued to spend time with several of the friends that he had made after packing up and moving away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood.

Man about town: Jason Segel was spotted while stepping out in Ojai on Monday afternoon

Segel donned a denim jacket on top of a navy blue button-up shirt while stepping out for the day.

The Forgetting Sarah Marshall star also rocked a pair of blue jeans and Saucony sneakers during his outing.

The performer was featured in the recently-released thriller feature Windfall, which was shot in his new hometown.

The movie was directed by Charlie McDowell, who co-wrote the script with the actor, as well as Justin Lader and Andrew Kevin Walker.

One and done: Segel donned a denim jacket on top of a navy blue button-up shirt while stepping out for the day

Comfortable clothing: The Forgetting Sarah Marshall star also rocked a pair of blue jeans and Saucony sneakers during his outing

Windfall was centered on a squatter who is forced into holding a rich couple hostage when they return to their vacation home early.

Segel portrayed the unnamed robber, while Jesse Plemons and McDowell's wife, Lily Collins, played the couple.

The director and the movie's principal actors all served as the project's producers.

The whole movie was shot in Ojai, not far from where its director spent his younger years.

Cruising: The performer was also spotted while enjoying a bit of the fresh California air in his vintage Ford Bronco

Friendly face: One of the actor's pals walked up to the side of his car for a short chat

Joking around: The How I Met Your Mother actor flashed a wide smile while speaking to his friend

Heartfelt gesture: The actor placed his hand on his chest during his conversation

Windfall was released on the Netflix streaming service on March 18th, and it has since received mixed reviews from critics.

The performer recently spoke to Collider and noted that the project came about as a result of a creative brainstorm during the middle stages of the pandemic.

He recalled: 'It was the heart of Covid and basically we were all stir crazy...and so on one of our chats we were like, "we've got a location, we've got a director, we've got actors, we're supposed to be making something."'

The performer also confirmed that he did not leave the project's shooting area until physical production was completed during the sit-down.

Popular resident: Segel was later spotted engaging in a conversation with another one of his friends while sitting at a local restaurant

Staying busy: The performer kept his phone close during the encounter

Enjoying it: The Forgetting Sarah Marshall star appeared to be making the most of his friend's company

Segel also commended the efforts of the project's team, which was exceptionally small for a major motion picture.

He stated: 'We had a really dedicated and amazing crew of I'm guessing 40, something like that.'

The actor also expressed that his time on set was akin to a junior-level project, much to his enjoyment.

'It really did feel like film camp. That was the vibe around the whole experience,' he said.

Going up: The writer and his friend were seen going in for a high-five

Nailed it! The pair eventually connected palms while Segel smiled warmly

Segel did point out that, although he did come up with a backstory for his character, he had other intentions when portraying the movie's antagonist.

'I was more kind of locked into this thematic idea that nobody represented the part of us that knows something is fundamentally wrong and cannot put their finger on it,' he said.

The performer added: 'That was sort of the energy that I tried to bring into the whole thing.'

Me time: Segel eventually headed to a local cafe where he was spotted enjoying a cup of coffee

Popular: Another one of the actor's friends approached him during his time at the cafe

Good company: The performer's friend joined him at his table, much to his enjoyment

Messing around: Segel was pictured while laughing heartily with his pal

Swapping stories: The performer also told his friend a story of his own during the sit-down

Segel also expressed that he felt 'really lucky' to be able to work on the upcoming comedy series Shrinking.

Development on the project was revealed last October, when it was announced that the actor would be starring in, writing and executive producing the program.

The program will follow a therapist who begins telling his patients what he really thinks of their problems.

In doing so, the character begins to create major changes in both his life and the lives of his clients.

Large group: Another set of the actor's friends managed to bump into him at the cafe

Making the most of it: The performer seemed to enjoy the attention of Ojai's locals

Familiar face: One of Segel's other friends ran into him as he was sitting outside of the cafe

Making an inquiry: Segel appeared to ask his friend a question during their conversation

On Monday, several sources reported that Harrison Ford would be making his television debut in the project.

The performer is set to play Dr. Phil Rhodes, a fellow therapist who had taken Segel's character under his wing.

The elderly shrink has also been diagnosed with Parkinson's, leading those around him to change their behaviors, much to his concern.

Shrinking is set to run for a total of ten episodes and it will premiere on the Apple TV+ streaming service at an unspecified date in the future.
Jamie Chung attended the premiere of Ambulance in Los Angeles on Monday evening.

The 38-year-old performer appeared to be making the most of her time at the star-studded event as she wore an eye-catching outfit while posing for the cameras.

Jamie flashed her midsection in a cropped plaid blazer with matching cut-out trousers.

Making an appearance: Jamie Chung attended the premiere of Ambulance in Los Angeles on Monday evening

Chung wore an almost all-plaid outfit that included a single-button jacket that showed off a slight portion of her toned tummy.

The Once Upon A Time cast member also rocked a matching pair of wide-legged pants that featured a cutout portion on her right hip.

The reality television personality sported a set of leather shoes and carried a matching purse while accessorizing with a set of necklaces, including a gold key necklace from Zoe Lev.

Her gorgeous brunette locks fell onto her shoulders and contrasted perfectly with the tone of her outfit.

Stylish star: Chung wore an almost all-plaid outfit that included a single-button jacket that showed off a slight portion of her toned tummy

The performer shares twin sons with her husband of a decade, Bryan Greenberg.

The happy couple initially met in 2012 and they became engaged the following year.

The pair went on to hold a wedding ceremony that took place on Halloween in 2015.

Couple: Jamie is seen with her husband, Bryan Greenberg, in January of 2020

Chung and Greenberg, 43, surprised many when they announced that they had welcomed a pair of twins this past October.

The couple's announcement was made through a video that was shared to the actor's Instagram account, where he was seen holding their children.

The performer also wrote a short message that was directed at his wife, which read: 'We got double the trouble now.'

Letting everyone know: The couple's announcement was made through a video that was shared to the actor's Instagram account, where he was seen holding their children

In for the long haul: The performer also wrote a short message that was directed at his wife, which read: 'We got double the trouble now'

Chung opened up about parenting during a Facebook Live session that was hosted by Ashley Graham this past December, and expressed via People that she and her husband had to learn how to slow down after welcoming kids.

'I think one of the best [pieces of] advice that I got is  just [to] give each other a hall pass. We get it. You're tired, you're cranky. I have spurts where I just need to stop and take a deep breath and need to apologize,' she said.

The performer also expressed that she and Greenberg had prepared for the stress that starting a family would bring prior to the birth of their children.

'We did a lot of therapy before these kids came, in preparation for the strain it was going to put on our relationship,' she said.
Pregnant Ashley Greene enjoyed a 'perfect' girls night out with her friend Cara Santana at West Hollywood hotspot Craig's on Monday.

The expecting 35-year-old wore a navy-blue pin-stripe blazer over a black silk camisole, matching pants, and ankle strap heels.

The 37-year-old Texan wore a beige double-breasted blazer over a white top, baggy blue jeans, and black boots.

Ladies night! Pregnant Ashley Greene (L) enjoyed a 'perfect' night out with her friend Cara Santana (R) at West Hollywood hotspot Craig's on Monday

Despite both brunette beauties being professional actresses, they have never worked together on any project.

Ashley wrote that she 'gained 5lbs' indulging in the restaurant's $42 vegan 'Tinx Hot Girl' sundae, which serves four people.

Greene - who boasts 4.6M social media followers - said via Instastory: 'It was for the baby. Guys, I love you! This is amazing!'

The One Shot star and her husband of three years, Paul Khoury, jointly announced on March 25 that they were expecting their first child.

Glam: The expecting 35-year-old wore a navy-blue pin-stripe blazer over a black silk camisole, matching pants, and ankle strap heels

Suited and booted! The 37-year-old Texan (L) wore a beige double-breasted blazer over a white top, baggy blue jeans, and black boots

Sharing a laugh at the valet: Despite both brunette beauties being professional actresses, they have never worked together on any project

'We did it for the baby': Ashley wrote that she 'gained 5lbs' indulging in the restaurant's $42 vegan 'Tinx Hot Girl' sundae, which serves four people

Greene - who boasts 4.6M social media followers - said via Instastory: 'It was for the baby. Guys, I love you! This is amazing!'

The Australian-Lebanese 33-year-old - who began dating Ashley in 2013 - worked as the underwater unit production supervisor on her upcoming film, The Immaculate Room.

On Monday morning, Greene said she was 'super impressed' with the waist band expander she bought off Amazon, remarking: 'I know eventually I'll have to get maternity clothes, but we're not there yet.'

The Hummingway co-founder is currently shooting Danny A. Abeckaser's crime thriller Gemini Lounge alongside the 'incredibly talented' Emile Hirsch.

On Tuesday, Ashley will reunite with her onscreen father Peter Facinelli for an episode of her podcast Twilight Effect with Melanie Howe.

'I cannot wait to watch you share your light, love, and passion with our baby!' The One Shot star and her husband of three years, Paul Khoury (L, pictured February 14), jointly announced on March 25 that they were expecting their first child

On Monday morning, Ashley said she was 'super impressed' with the waist band expander she bought off Amazon, remarking: 'I know eventually I'll have to get maternity clothes, but we're not there yet'

'Back at it!' Greene is currently shooting Danny A. Abeckaser's crime thriller Gemini Lounge alongside the 'incredibly talented' Emile Hirsch (R, pictured Wednesday)

'Surprise!' On Tuesday, the Hummingway co-founder will reunite with her onscreen father Peter Facinelli (2-R) for an episode of her podcast Twilight Effect with Melanie Howe

And audiences can next catch Greene playing Chloe in Mike Burns' thriller The Wrong Place - hitting US theaters on July 15 - which will be one of the final films for Bruce Willis, who was diagnosed with aphasia.

Meanwhile, Cara has been dating 30 Seconds to Mars drummer Shannon Leto since August 2020 - seven months after ending her very long engagement to Harmony from the Heart actor Jesse Metcalfe.

Last Friday, Santana celebrated an impressive 18 years of sobriety.

Moved on: Meanwhile, Cara has been dating 30 Seconds to Mars drummer Shannon Leto since August 2020 - seven months after ending her very long engagement to Harmony from the Heart actor Jesse Metcalfe

'One day at a time': Last Friday, Santana celebrated an impressive 18 years of sobriety

Will she attend? The Borrasca actress will next portray Jesse in Mike Perrone's drama The Man Behind the Camera, which will have its New York City premiere this Sunday night at the SVA Theatre

'18 years ago I was graced with the clarity of surrender from a life that I was powerless and unmanageable over,' the Borrasca actress - who boasts 780K social media followers - wrote on Instagram.

'And one day at a time for the last 18 years its gotten better every day as a result of the tools of sobriety. If youre struggling you dont have to do it alone. And to my friends and family that support me everyday Im so grateful. '

Cara will next portray the ironically-named Jesse in Mike Perrone's drama The Man Behind the Camera, which will have its New York City premiere this Sunday night at the SVA Theatre.
Madeline and Simone Holtznagel dressed to impress as they attended a private event for The Iconic in Sydney on Tuesday.

The model sisters flaunted their figures in chic ensembles as they left the event with Tahnee Atkinson, each carrying bags loaded with goodies.

Madeline, 26, looked effortlessly chic in beige flare pants, a matching coloured crop top and vest.

Out and about! Model sisters Madeline (centre) and Simone Holtznagel (right) showed off their figures in stylish ensembles as they joined Tahnee Atkinson (left) at a fashion event in Sydney on Tuesday. They each left carrying bags loaded with goodies

The girlfriend of billionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes teamed her look with a pair of black heels, a black bag and sunglasses.

The model curled her long blonde locks and let her natural beauty shine, opting for a neutral palette of makeup.

Simone also stunned in black leather pants, and a matching coloured buttoned shirt.

Stylish: Madeline, 26, looked effortlessly chic in beige flare pants, a matching coloured crop top and vest

Beauty in black! Simone also stunned in black leather pants, and a matching coloured buttoned shirt

The 28-year-old completed her stylish look with a pair of beige stiletto heels and a black bag.

She left her long blonde locks ourtand appeared to be wearing a neutral palette of makeup.

Madeline and Simone were spotted leaving the event with Tahnee Atkinson.

Going home: Madeline and Simone were spotted leaving the event with Tahnee Atkinson

The 30-year-old former Australia's Next Top Model winner showed off her figure in a long red dress with side cut outs.

Tahnee tied her long brown locks in a high bun and wore a pair of comfortable black sandals.

The three women carried 'freebie' gift bags as they headed home after the event.
For many, a hitherto unknown connection to the British monarchy might be cause for celebration.

But The Chase star Anne Hegerty appears to be completely nonplussed after discovering her 20 times great-grandfather was legendary king of Scots Robert the Bruce, making Queen Elizabeth II her 19th cousin.

The general knowledge whizz, 63, made the shock discovery while featuring as a celebrity guest on ITV genealogy series DNA Journey, which airs on Tuesday evening.

Her Royal blitheness: Anne Hegerty appears to be completely nonplussed after discovering her 20 times great-grandfather was Robert the Bruce, making Queen Elizabeth II her 19th cousin, in the latest edition of IV show DNA Journey

And a newly released clip from the series captures the moment Anne is told of her royal lineage while tracing her family tree with fellow Chaser Shaun Wallace.

However the TV regular admits she's already heard of the connection through her grandmother - who she insists was a notorious liar.

She said: 'My aunt said she was a romancer and shed embroider life a bit, so I always felt that anything from my grandmother had to be taken with a pinch of salt.'

Famous family: A newly released clip from the series captures the moment Anne is told of her royal lineage

Side by side: The Chase regular appears on the forthcoming episode alongside fellow Chaser Shaun Wallace

No surprises: However Anne admits she's already heard of the connection through her grandmother - who she insists was a notorious liar

Anne's familial connection to the British monarchy is traced through her mother's line, who in turn are related to a family known as Hayes - from which a male family member married Robert the Bruces daughter Princess Elizabeth in 1370.

Consequently the marriage connects her to the current Queen - making them 19th cousins removed.

A skeptical Anne added: 'My mother was always deeply disapproving of the idea of anyone knowing about their ancestors. Shed say, "it doesnt prove a thing, dear."

'As a child I was always curious about this stuff and my mother was always very repressive.

'I think it was because on my mother's mother's side there's quite a bit of posh, and my mum thought I'd grow up to be a terrible snob. But I've already grown up to be a terrible snob, so really there's nothing to hide.'

Wallace, her co-star on the daytime quiz show quipped: 'You're a closet royal! Don't be lording it over me now.

'I'm not calling you Queen Anne on The Chase  I refuse.'

There it is: The family tree appears to prove Anne's otherwise unlikely connection to King Robert The Bruce and Queen Elizabeth II

Anne was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in 2005 after seeing a TV programme about autism and realising she had all of the symptoms.

She previously shed a light on how the form of autism has stopped her from finding love.

In The Chasers Road Trip, the presenter confessed the longest relationship she's ever had was four months, and ended as she 'wasn't good' at providing him with the right amount of attention.

But is she any good at pub quizzes? The Queen is distantly related to The Chase star Anne

Anne went on to joke that she's 'basically a Cyborg' after learning that she has an emotional intelligence level of just 1%.

She said: 'One of the things that really goes along with autism is that I really can't hold down relationships. I've tried. My longest relationship was four months and that only lasted that long because he lived in Brighton and I lived in Manchester.

'He was a lovely bloke but I'm just good with the sort of amount of attention that people need.'

DNA Journey airs on Tuesday April 5 at 9pm on ITV and catch up on ITV Hub.
Pip Edwards is known to be a huge fan of Pilates.

And on Tuesday, the 41-year-old showed off her incredibly toned figure in an all-black activewear ensemble during her sweaty session.

In a photo posted to her Instagram Stories, Pip flaunted her lean physique in a cut-out crop top and flared tights from her own activewear label, P.E Nation.

Abs-olutely ripped! Pip Edwards enjoyed a Pilates session on Tuesday. While spruiking her own active-wear brand, the 41-year-old flaunted her ripped abs in a cut-out crop top and flared pants from her label, P.E Nation

Her hard-rock abs were on display as she stood in a squatting position, while she held two dumbells above her shoulders.

'Routine rules,' she captioned the newest collection of gym wear.

Hours later she shared two more photos of her taut body as she sat posing on a Pilates bed, enjoying a long stretch.

Stretch it out: Hours later she shared two more photos of her taut body as she sat posing on a Pilates bed, enjoying a long stretch

Routine rules: 'Routine rules,' she captioned the newest collection of gym wear

Pip is a regular at Fluidform Pilates, a movement method by Kirsten King that is popular in Sydney thanks to its celebrity clientele.

'I spent a lot of time in my early thirties doing weight training and HIIT workouts. I had a bad injury and kept training with it and then I hit a wall and realised that I needed to look after my body,' Pip once said about her Pilates practice.

'A friend then recommended a really good Pilates instructor who specialises in rehab Pilates.'

'Now I make sure that I fit Pilates classes into my schedule three times a week and it's changed my life,' she added.

Dedicated: Pip is a regular at Fluidform Pilates, a movement method by Kirsten King that is popular in Sydney thanks to its celebrity clientele

It comes after Pip shared a photo to Instagram of herself completing a Pilates class last month and admitted she was 'barely hanging on' this year.

'Barely hanging on. It's been super hard to click into gear this year and get my routine back, but each day I try and show up, even if it is only in a little way,' she wrote in the caption.

'It takes a day-by-day attitude to build back up to where I want to be. It's all a work in progress,' she continued.
Dermot O'Leary has paid tribute to EastEnders icon June Brown after her death at the age of 95 was confirmed by the BBC on Monday afternoon.

The actress, a mother-of-six, died at her home in Surrey on Sunday with her family by her side, two years after her final appearance as chain-smoking Dot Cotton, a role she played for 35 years.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Dermot, 48, was among many to remember the star by sharing behind-the-scenes photos of himself and June.

Rest in peace: Dermot O'Leary has paid tribute to EastEnders icon June Brown after her death at the age of 95 was confirmed by the BBC on Monday afternoon

The TV presenter looked dapper in the throwback snaps as he donned a tuxedo while beaming in front of a Doctor Who phone box.

Meanwhile June - who played Dot Cotton on EastEnders for 35 years - was dressed in her famous launderette outfit.

Alongside the heartwarming snaps of Dermot admiring what June at work, he wrote: 'RIP legend x'

Tragic: Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Dermot, 48, was among many to remember the star by sharing behind-the-scenes photos of himself and June

Gone but not forgotten: Alongside the heartwarming snaps of Dermot admiring June at work, he wrote: 'RIP legend x'

June was made an MBE for services to drama and charity at Buckingham Palace in 2008 and was then included in the 2022 New Year's honours list to be made an OBE.

The actress's 35-year run as the Albert Square mainstay began in 1985. before she left the show in 2020.

Brown was perhaps EastEnders' best-known star and larger-than-life Dot was known for her devout Christian faith and hypochondria, as well as her endless cigarette addiction.

The veteran actress, who had a long career in television and theatre, arrived on Albert Square shortly after the soap began in 1985, and aside from a break between 1993 and 1997, was a regular for more than three decades.

Farewell: EastEnders star June, pictured in 2020 aged 93, has died at the age of 95

On January 31 2008 she single-handedly starred in an episode called Pretty Baby, in which she spoke to a cassette recorder about her life so that her husband could listen to it as he lay in hospital following a stroke.

Brown served in the Women's Royal Naval Service at the end of the Second World War, and then left to train at London's Old Vic Theatre School in Lambeth.

Before joining EastEnders she had roles in Coronation Street, Doctor Who, Minder and The Bill, as well as costume dramas The Duchess Of Duke Street and Oliver Twist.

After joining Albert Square she also starred in comedy Ain't Misbehavin in 1997, and played Nanny Slagg in the BBC's production of Gormenghast in 2000.
Laura Anderson showed off her washboard abs in a sizzling bikini snap posted to her Instagram page on Sunday - where she teased a new project in the caption.

The former Love Island star, 32, donned a brown bikini from Oh Polly, which showed off her busty figure with a quirky mismatched top.

The bikini featured strappy detailing which wrapped around her waist and hips, with Laura throwing on a neon green tie top over the bikini for a second shot in the post.

Sizzling: Love Island's Laura Anderson showed off her washboard abs and toned physique in a tie wrap burgundy bikini to Instagram on Sunday

The Scottish native had her shoulder length ombre caramel locks in a loose curl as they fell freely, adding a pair of black sunglasses to her look.

Laura looked radiant while sporting a dewy makeup look with a bronzed complexion and a natural lip.

The reality personality gave a glimpse at her array of tattoos, which peeked through her bikini from her hips and decorated both of her arms.

Layering up: The bikini featured a tie detail which wrapped around her waist and hips, with Laura throwing on a neon yellow tie top over the bikini for a second shot in the post

Tease: It seems she's making the most of her visit to the UK, as she hinted at a 'hilarious' new project in the caption

The snap was a throwback from when she was at her new home in Dubai, as she is currently visiting the UK.

And it seems she's making the most of the visit, as she hinted at a 'hilarious' new project in the caption

The former air hostess wrote: I had nothing to post ( as Im secretly filming something hilarious ) So, heres me in sunny Dubai while Im really sat here in London freezing my a**e off. Happy Sunday'

Laura also took to her Story to share some behind the scenes of the secret project, posting a video as she posed in a dressing room - with full-glam makeup.

BTS: Laura also took to her Story to share some behind the scenes of the secret project, posting a video as she posed in a dressing room - with full-glam makeup

She donned a glimmering ensemble with a diamante detailed piece as she pulled a face at the camera, challenging fans to guess what she was filming.

The star rose to fame on season four of Love Island, going home with the runner up nod alongside island beau Paul Knops.

While the reality romance didn't last, Laura has had more luck in the real world -as she moved to Dubai in April last year to be with her musician boyfriend Dane Bowers, 41.
June Brown took photos of herself all around the EastEnders set on a disposable camera to give to a young fan.

The beloved actress, who played Dot Cotton on the BBC soap, died on Sunday April 3 aged 95 at her home in Surrey.

One fan took to Twitter and revealed that when he was a child, he sent June a disposable camera with the hopes she could take pictures of the EastEnders set for him after he was told the show didn't do set tours.

Heartwarming: June Brown took photos of herself all around the EastEnders set on a disposable camera to give to a young fan

To his surprise, June took several photos of herself around the EastEnders set with the camera and sent them back to him, admitting they were 'quite difficult to get'.

The fan wrote: 'As a kid, gutted that EastEnders didn't do set tours, I sent #JuneBrown a disposable camera & asked if she could snap some set pics for me instead - the kindnesses of her heart she took time out to snap these for me. What a legend.'

One snap featured June in Dot's kitchen, along with another sat at her dining table and another in the pub.

She also sent a close-up shot and wrote alongside it: 'Hope the photos are ok, they were quite difficult to get, love Dot'.

Beloved: The beloved actress, who played Dot Cotton on the BBC soap, died on Sunday April 3 aged 95 at her home in Surrey

Touching: One fan took to Twitter and revealed that when he was a child, he sent June a disposable camera with the hopes she could take pictures of the EastEnders set for him after he was told the show didn't do set tours

Social media users were touched by June's kind gesture, with one writing: 'That's put a smile on my face and a tear in my eye'.

Another said: 'This is f*****g brilliant. What a legend,' while another called the actress an 'absolute icon'.

One user wrote: 'No YOU'RE crying! What a sweet thing to do!' while another said: 'Proper icon. Rest in peace'.

It comes after EastEnders viewers were left 'heartbroken' as the BBC soap paid a 'beautiful' tribute to June after Monday's episode.

Snaps: To his surprise, June took several photos of herself around the EastEnders set with the camera and sent them back to him, admitting they were 'quite difficult to get'

Fan: One snap featured June in Dot's kitchen, along with another sat at her dining table and another in the pub

The programme concluded with a photo of the actress, who had starred on the show on-and-off between 1985 and 2020, spanning 2,281 episodes.

Following the message, which read: 'In loving memory of June Brown OBE, MBE. 1927 - 2022,' adoring fans rushed to Twitter to share their praise for the late star.

They wrote: 'With tears in my eyes I say farewell June Brown, our beloved Dot Branning (nee Cotton). R.I.P. June, you will be greatly missed.'

Reaction: Social media users were touched by June's kind gesture, with one writing: 'That's put a smile on my face and a tear in my eye'

A beautiful heartwarming tribute to you Watching June Brown a walford legend on bbc one now beautiful and legendary June Brown we are missing you sweetheart thank you for all the memories in shows and movies rip angel #EastEnders #DotCotton #JuneBrown #JuneBrownRIP.'

'@bbceastenders lovely to see a tribute to the lovely #JuneBrown on tonights show #DotCotton #EastEnders thinking of all her friends and family at this sad time. Fly high June x.'

'Beautiful tribute to the legendary June Brown R.I.P sleep tight you beautiful angel #Eastenders.'

'I have tears in my eyes': EastEnders viewers were left 'heartbroken' after the BBC soap paid a 'beautiful' tribute to June on Monday (pictured in 2008)

Emotional: The programme concluded with a photo of the actress, who had starred on the show on-and-off between 1985 and 2020, spanning 2,281 episodes

'So sad to see this today! #JuneBrown was an amazing actress and always seemed like she had real charm and character. What a huge loss! #eastenders.

'What a nice tribute to June brown at the end of tonights #EastEnders in loving memory [sad emoji] [broken heart].'

'Tuned into #Eastenders just in time to see the tribute to June Brown.'

'RIP to #JuneBrown. You were the heart of Eastenders & with #Babs the pair of you made the program. You were iconic. Rest in Peace wonderful lady.'

Upset: Following the message, which read: 'In loving memory of June Brown OBE, MBE. 1927 - 2022,' adoring fans rushed to Twitter to share their praise for the late star

'Heartbroken to hear about the supreme June Brown. She created a true soap icon in Dot Cotton, and I have such wonderful and fun memories of her which I'll always cherish... including her singing an Ancient Greek prayer to me to explain where my name originated. Rest well, legend!'

For decades, June was one of the most famous faces on British TV, playing the devout Christian famed on Albert Square for her chain smoking, gossiping and mothering of those in need.

Her relationship with her tearaway son Nasty Nick Cotton, John Altman, who she forgave and forgave for his crimes until she gave up on him and he died after consuming a bad batch of heroin bought for him by his very own mother.

Her loving relationship with Jim Branning, played by John Bardon, would captivate millions, leaving fans in tears as she said goodbye to him following a stroke.

Sad: June led a life that was as dramatic and tragic off-screen as her on-screen character Dot Cotton, as the actress' death was announced by the BBC on Monday (pictured in 1997)

Brown's family revealed she died peacefully on Sunday while the BBC urged fans to raise a glass of sweet sherry in her memory. The star still loved a tipple and a cigarette well into her 90s.

An EastEnders spokesman said: 'We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved June Brown, OBE, MBE, sadly passed away last night.

'There are not enough words to describe how much June was loved and adored by everyone at EastEnders, her loving warmth, wit and great humour will never be forgotten.

Stunning: An EastEnders spokesman said: 'We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved June Brown, OBE, MBE, sadly passed away last night' (pictured in her youth)

'June created one of the most iconic characters in Dot Cotton, not just in soap but in British television, and having appeared in 2,884 episodes, June's remarkable performances created some of EastEnders' finest moments.

'We send all our love and deepest sympathies to June's family and friends. A very bright light has gone out at EastEnders today but we shall all be raising a sweet sherry in June's memory. Rest in peace, our dearest June. You will never be forgotten.'

A statement from her family said: 'We are deeply saddened to announce our beloved mother, June, passed away very peacefully at her home in Surrey on Sunday evening, with her family by her side.

'We would kindly ask that our privacy is respected at this very difficult time.'
June Brown's onscreen son John Altman - aka Nasty Nick Cotton - has revealed the late EastEnders icon 'believed in a higher power.'

The veteran soap star passed away aged 95 on Sunday and tributes have been flying in for the national treasure, who portrayed Dot Cotton on-and-off between 1985 and 2020.

John, 70, played Dot's villainous son on a semi-regular basis from 1985 until his onscreen death in February 2015 - and honoured his 'second mother' on Tuesday's Good Morning Britain.

'She definitely believed in a higher power': June Brown's onscreen son John Altman discussed her spiritual beliefs on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday - after the EastEnders actress insisted she had no fear of dying

He told hosts Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway: 'She's so kind. She used to say healing prayers; she was quite spiritual. She definitely believed in a higher power.'

June insisted to The Mirror three years ago she did not worrying about dying because of her belief in an afterlife and immersion in the Christian faith.

'What's the point of worrying? I could go to sleep tonight and not be here tomorrow. "Oh dear, June's gone," they'd say,' she said.

Close: John, 70, played Dot Cotton's villainous son on a semi-regular basis from 1985 until his onscreen death in February 2015

RIP: The veteran soap star passed away aged 95 on Sunday and tributes have been flying in for the national treasure

Meanwhile, John revealed the pair would run lines in her dressing room while 'having coffee and a few ciggies', with June a 'real stickler' for the script being accurate.

'[They were] treasured moments for me in my career, it was such a joy to work with her. She was older than me so she was more experienced - she'd guide me sometimes, say, "Slow down a bit on that, dear.'''

John went on to tell how he'd last seen June a month before her death: 'She was tired. She'd slowed right down. I'd like to say, so much thanks and god bless her family who've been fantastic, rallying round her - they've taken great care of her.

Tribute: John told hosts Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway: 'She's so kind. She used to say healing prayers; she was quite spiritual. She definitely believed in a higher power'

'She didn't have to go into a home or anything. She spent her last days in her lovely home in the Surrey Hills.'

The actor also heaped praise onto the actress' generosity, recalling how she could 'never say no' to supporting charities.

'I used to tell her off - "June, you cant do any more charities". She said, "Oh dear, I have to". She supported the donkeys, among many others, Children with Cancer, The Taverners - she just couldnt say no,' he said.

Fond memories: Meanwhile, John revealed the pair would run lines in her dressing room while 'having coffee and a few ciggies', with June a 'real stickler' for the script being accurate

Richard and Kate asked John what he would miss the most about June, to which he provided a heartwarming answer: 'She was a dear friend. Someone I could confide in, and probably my second mother, really. My real mother said she looked more like my mother than she did!'

For decades Brown was one of the most famous faces on British TV, playing the devout Christian famed on Albert Square for her chain smoking, gossiping and mothering of those in need.

She forgave and forgave son Nick for his crimes until she gave up on him and he died after consuming a bad batch of heroin bought for him by his very own mother.

Her loving relationship with Jim Branning, played by John Bardon, would captivate millions, leaving fans in tears as she said goodbye to him following a stroke.

Sad: John added: 'She was a dear friend. Someone I could confide in, and probably my second mother, really' (pictured in 1997)

Brown's family revealed she died peacefully on Sunday while the BBC urged fans to raise a glass of sweet sherry in her memory. The star still loved a tipple and a cigarette well into her 90s.

An EastEnders spokesman said: 'We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved June Brown, OBE, MBE, sadly passed away last night.

'There are not enough words to describe how much June was loved and adored by everyone at EastEnders, her loving warmth, wit and great humour will never be forgotten.

Stunning: An EastEnders spokesman said: 'We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved June Brown, OBE, MBE, sadly passed away last night' (pictured in her youth)

'June created one of the most iconic characters in Dot Cotton, not just in soap but in British television, and having appeared in 2,884 episodes, June's remarkable performances created some of EastEnders' finest moments.

'We send all our love and deepest sympathies to June's family and friends. A very bright light has gone out at EastEnders today but we shall all be raising a sweet sherry in June's memory. Rest in peace, our dearest June. You will never be forgotten.'

A statement from her family said: 'We are deeply saddened to announce our beloved mother, June, passed away very peacefully at her home in Surrey on Sunday evening, with her family by her side.

'We would kindly ask that our privacy is respected at this very difficult time.'
Alex Fevola has opened up about the heartbreaking moment she found out her husband Brendan Fevola was cheating on her with Lara Worthington (nee Bingle).

The 44-year-old writes in her new book Silver Linings she 'just knew' something was going on between the 'young blonde model' and her husband after she noticed changes in his behaviour.

'I felt a twinge of doubt... It was at that moment my heart sank. I felt sick,' Alex wrote.

'I felt sick': Alex Fevola (pictured) recounted the devastating moment she found out her husband Brendan Fevola was cheating on her with Lara Worthington (nee Bingle)

'I felt insane even saying it but I knew it was true. I don't know how I knew I just did.'

'One of the reasons I felt this was because I knew Brendan very well and he'd mentioned every other person that was featuring on [The Footy Show], but he had never mentioned her. I knew exactly why.'

'It all made sense; the underlying self-doubt I'd been feeling, the distance. In a split-second the dread set in, that horrible gut-wrenching feeling knowing my life was about to become very complicated.'

Alex revealed she eventually confronted Lara after finding a voicemail from her on Brendan's phone.

Changes: The 44-year-old said in her book Silver Linings she 'just knew' something was going on between the 'young blonde model' and her husband Brendan (pictured) after she noticed changes in his behaviour

'I said, "It's Alex Fevola, Brendan's wife. Why are you doing this?". She was silent. I asked again, "How could you do this? You know he's married and we've just had a baby". There was a pause and then she hung up,' she wrote.

'That was it. I never called back; I had all the confirmation I needed.'

Brendan and Alex were married in 2005, before divorcing in 2014 and rekindling their relationship shortly afterwards.

'She hung up': Alex also revealed how she eventually confronted Lara (pictured) after finding a voicemail from her on Brendan's phone

'I said, "It's Alex Fevola, Brendan's wife. Why are you doing this?". She was silent. I asked again, "How could you do this? You know he's married and we've just had a baby". There was a pause and then she hung up,' she wrote

They previously split in 2006 after the Carlton star's brief and controversial affair with Australian model Lara, who is now married to actor Sam Worthington.

Brendan, who was 26 at the time, and Lara, then a 19-year-old bikini model, reportedly met on the set of The Footy Show in Sydney and allegedly spent time together in Melbourne on several occasions.

Lara has previously claimed she did not know Brendan was married at the time, telling The Daily Telegraph in 2009 she only discovered his marital status when she heard his baby daughter crying while they were speaking on the phone.

Split: They previously split in 2006 after the Carlton star's brief and controversial affair with Australian model Lara, who is now married to actor Sam Worthington

Elsewhere, Brendan made headlines for several controversial incidents, including being kicked out of Crown Melbourne with a black eye in March 2004.

Brendan was also sent home from an AFL tour of Ireland after assaulting a barman at a Galway nightclub in 2006.

He also urinated outside a nightclub in 2008 that resulted in him being fined $10,000 by Carlton and stood down from leadership at his club.
The Bill star Chris Ellison, who played DCI Frank Burnside, has appeared on Good Morning Britain with his wife Anita after going public with his brain disorder.

The actor, 75, has lost the ability to speak since he suffered a stroke 18 months ago and has been diagnosed with aphasia - the same degenerative condition which movie legend Bruce Willis was revealed to suffer from last week.

Chris and Anita appeared on GMB on Tuesday to talk about the little-known condition, with the actor's devoted wife admitting she has been 'in mourning' since the diagnosis.

Devastating: The Bill star Chris Ellison, who played DCI Frank Burnside, has appeared on Good Morning Britain with his wife Anita after going public with his devastating brain condition

Aphasia is a potentially devastating condition which affects one's ability to understand language, with Anita revealing she has now become her husband's full time carer.

When asked how the couple have coped, Anita explained: 'Mainly its been so lonely because Chris wouldnt go out.'

'He felt really embarrassed. He just grabbed my arm because he knew he couldnt speak. He didnt want people to see him like that. Weve kind of been like hermits really. Hes the same intelligent man inside. Its like coming out.'

She later added: 'Ive been in a kind of mourning really. Its taken a long time to come to terms with it, I have cried so much. I now feel a great sense of relief.'

Legend: Chris played the volatile Burnside for 15 years on The Bill (above) and proved so popular that he got a spin-off in 2000

Speaking about their decision to go public with Chris' diagnosis, Anita said she hoped they will raise awareness of the little-known condition.

'I have seen a great change in Chris. At first, he didnt want to go on TV or anyone to know. People still remember Chris when we go out. Now, hopefully people will understand,' she said.

'I wanted people to understand what aphasia is. When you can get it out there and educate people its a new word, aphasia. Just be patient. I will always be there to answer for him. I just say Chris can understand you, he just cant answer back.'

GMB's Dr. Hilary Jones said he was 'so glad' the couple have gone public, while Kate Garraway revealed that her husband Derek Draper 'has a version of the condition' after being struck down by Covid in 2020.

Going public: The actor, 75, has lost the ability to speak since he suffered a stroke 18 months ago and has been diagnosed with aphasia - the same degenerative brain disorder which Bruce Willis was revealed to suffer from last week

Anita said there had been glimmers of hope over the past 18 months, explaining: 'Chris was having singing lessons before his stroke. Hes got a great voice.'

'The singing lessons will carry on. We have had a couple, and this voice came out, it was really weird. He just needs a little bit of a kick.'

Chris and Anita went public with his diagnosis in an interview with The Sun on Sunday, days after it was announced that Bruce Willis had been diagnosed with aphasia.

Anita said that Chris had 'not uttered any sense in 18 months'.

Chris played the volatile Burnside for 15 years on The Bill and proved so popular that he got a spin-off in 2000.

Titled Burnside, it saw him work for the National Crime Squad. It only ran for one season, and aired six episodes.

Movie legend: Willis will now retire from acting after being diagnosed with the disorder that has hampered his 'cognitive abilities,' (pictured with daughter Scout)

He later appeared in EastEnders, an audio play for Doctor Who, as a contestant on Pointless Celebrities and found himself on Celebrity Big Brother in 2015 alongside Janice Dickinson, Jenna Jameson and Daniel Baldwin.

Chris suffered the stroke at his home in Brighton and was found by Anita on the bedroom floor.

His aphasia was known only to a few friends and family but he was inspired to share it with the wider world following the 67-year-old Die Hard actor's diagnosis.

Willis, who starred in dozens of action movies, will now retire from acting after being diagnosed with the disorder that has hampered his 'cognitive abilities,' his family said on Wednesday.

He rose to fame in the 1980s' comedy-drama TV series Moonlighting and has appeared in about 100 films across his four-decade career, garnering acclaim for his roles in Pulp Fiction and The Sixth Sense, and winning a Golden Globe Award and two Emmys.

By his side: Speaking about their decision to go public with Chris' diagnosis, Anita said she hoped they will raise awareness of the little-known condition

But Willis is perhaps best known for playing the tough-as-nails New York cop who pursued bad guys in the five Die Hard movies, released from 1988 to 2013.

'This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support,' his family said in a statement.

Willis and actress Demi Moore were one of Hollywood's most high-profile celebrity couples in the 1990s until their divorce in 2000, but they remained close after the break-up.

He is currently married to model and actress Emma Heming and is father to a total of five children with both women.

Fans: Anita said she has 'seen a great change in Chris. At first, he didnt want to go on TV or anyone to know. People still remember Chris when we go out. Now, hopefully people will understand' (The couple are pictured in 2018)

'We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him,' said the statement, which was signed by the actor's family and shared on Instagram by Demi Moore and their daughter Rumer.

Aphasia is a disorder most commonly caused by a stroke that can also stem from head trauma or, in rare cases, from neurological disease, said Brenda Rapp, a professor of cognitive science at Johns Hopkins University.

Symptoms vary widely and can affect speech, comprehension and reading ability, Rapp said in a telephone interview. In some instances, aphasia can be treated with speech therapy.
Sir Ian McKellen turns 83 next month, but The Lord Of The Rings star shows no signs of slowing down.

He joined Olympic champion Tom Daley at a London nightclub at the weekend wearing strings of beads, while the 27-year-old diver sported a mesh string vest.

The event was at The Troxy in East London, a former bingo hall founded by Maurice Cheepen, a Jewish immigrant from Nazi Germany.

Let's party! Sir Ian McKellen turns 83 next month, but The Lord Of The Rings star shows no signs of slowing down, joining Tom Daley at a London nightclub at the weekend

In a reference to the venue's Jewish roots, the night's Passover celebration featured rituals associated with a bar mitzvah including chair dancing and shofar [a ram's horn] blowing.

The clubnight goes by the name 'Buttmitzvah' and is described as 'a queer Jewish simcha'.

Meanwhile, Tom provided the laughs on April Fool's Day last week when he joked that he is releasing a line of willy warmers.

The Olympic diver posted a series of hilarious images as he posed with the cheeky garment and wrote they could be used to keep 'your pecker perky and piping hot all year round'.

Celebrations: In a reference to the venue's Jewish roots, the night's Passover celebration featured rituals associated with a bar mitzvah including chair dancing

What a night! The clubnight goes by the name 'Buttmitzvah' and is described as 'a queer Jewish simcha' with Tom sharing photos on Instagram

In his post Tom chose a variety of poses as he beamed alongside the willy warmers before attaching one to his head and hanging them off his ears.

He wrote in the caption: 'So excited to launch the official #MadeWithLoveWillyWarmer.'

'With fuel prices on the up, this'll keep your (or a loved one's) pecker perky and piping hot all year round.

Funny: Avid knitter Tom joked that he is releasing a line of willy warmers on Friday as he led the stars marking April Fools' Day on social media

'It's also completely universal! Here's five ways to wear your willy warmer, winter and beyond As a naughty necklace, as an extravagant earrings, as a beautiful headband, as a wondrous pouch or Christmas tree bauble.'

'Buy all five and you've got yourself a glove! I hope you love as much as I do!'

Tom's followers were quick to take to the comments to call out his joke, with one writing: 'Tom, you almost had me fooled!' while another wrote: 'It's an April Fools!'.
Mila Kunis says she has reminded her two young children of their Ukrainian roots following Vladamir Putin's Russian invasion of her home country.

The Ukrainian-born star, 38, was joined by her husband Ashton Kutcher, 44, during an appearance on Who's Talking To Chris Wallace? on Thursday where she spoke on the important of knowing 'where you came from'.

The actress - who shares daughter Wyatt Isabelle, seven, and son Dimitri Portwood, five, with Ashton - has been having important conversations with her kids amid the war, which they have been raising money for.

Heritage: Mila Kunis says she has reminded her two young children of their Ukrainian roots following Vladamir Putin's Russian invasion of her home country

Mila - who left Ukraine when she was seven - said: 'I don't speak Ukrainian. When I was raised in Ukraine it was still under the USSR umbrella, so I spoke Russian, which is what we all spoke,'

'So my kids understand Russian. I speak Russian with my parents I was like, 'It's good to know another language.'

She added: 'That's all I kind of kept thinking, was it's good to know another language. But I never thought culturally speaking was important for where they came from.'

Mila said: 'It seemed like overnight we both turned to our kids and were like, 'You are half Ukrainian, half American.'

'It never crossed my mind until this happened,' referring to the invasion of Ukraine.

Mila has always spoke on the importance of her kids knowing their heritage, but emphasises it now after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

She said: 'It seemed like overnight we both turned to our kids and were like, You are half Ukrainian, half American. It instantly became a thing, and they're like, Yeah, I get it Mom.

'But it is ultimately incredibly important to know where you came from. It's beautiful, it's amazing to have multiple cultures. It's a beautiful thing to have out there.

The mother-of-two added: 'We shouldn't all be alike. We shouldn't all think alike. That's not the importance of community and growth. And so, we very quickly reminded our kids that they are half Ukrainian.'

Interview: The Ukrainian-born star was joined by her husband Ashton Kutcher during an appearance on Who's Talking To Chris Wallace? on Thursday where she spoke on the important of knowing 'where you came from'

The couple recently revealed they hit their $30million fundraising goal to benefit Ukrainian refugees just two weeks into launching the program as they shared an update to Instagram.

The couple initially vowed to match up to $3million in donations to help provide 'immediate' humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees when they launched the GoFundMe page on March 3.

'We just want to say that we hit our goal,' Mila said in the clip before Ashton added: 'Over $30million dollars raised.'

Mila  who was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine  added: 'Over 65,000 of you donated. We are overwhelmed with gratitude of the support and while this is far from the solve of the problem, our collective effort will provide a softer landing to so many people as they fore ahead into their future of uncertainty.'

The pair have worked alongside Flexport.org and Airbnb.org, who they have previously described as organizations who are actively on the ground providing immediate help to those who need it most.'

Ashton added in the video: 'Our work is not done. We're going to do everything we can to ensure that the outpouring of love that came from you all as a part of this campaign finds a maximum impact with those in need.

'As funding continues to come in, we're going to treat every dollar as if it's being donated out of our pocket, with respect and honor for the work that went into earning it, with the intent of love through which it was given and the desire for it to be maximized for positive outcome for others.'

Big news: Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher revealed they hit their $30million fundraising goal to benefit Ukrainian refugees just two weeks into launching the program as they shared an update to Instagram on Thursday.

Mila concluded their speech by giving gratitude for all of the donors: 'We again want to say thank you so much for your continued support. Please don't stop donating whether to us or other unbelievable foundations out there. This is just a beginning to a very, very very long journey. Thank you.'

They also added their efforts were only just beginning and they were raising the bar even higher with a new $40million goal.

'Our work is not done, which is why we are raising the goal to $40 million. We will do everything we can to ensure that the outpouring of love that came as a part of this campaign finds maximum impact with those in need,' they wrote. 'Funds have already and will continue to be delivered to Flexport.org and Airbnb.org so they can act now.'

Mila and Ashton launched the appeal shortly after Russia's invasion, where millions of people have since been displaced from their homes due to Vladimir Putin's attempt to take control of the country through military efforts.
They star alongside each other in upcoming historical epic film The Northman.

And Anya Taylor-Joy and Alexander Skarsgard appeared on Tuesday morning's instalment of Lorraine to talk to step-in host Ranvir Singh about their latest venture.

Anya, whose filmography and television credits include The Queen's Gambit, Peaky Blinders and Last Night In Soho, joked that she was 'very annoying' on set, while Alexander explained the lengths he went to in a bid to get into character.

'I was very annoying on set!': Anya Taylor-Joy reflected on The Northman filming on Lorraine on Tuesday, while co-star Alexander Skarsgard confessed to having 'five breakfasts' in a bid to put on weight for his role

25-year-old Anya, who plays Olga in the Viking feature, said: 'I actually had the time of my life. I was very annoying on set! I am a lover of nature, so I was flitting around like a fairy.'

Alexander, 45, takes on the leading role of Viking prince Amleth on a mission to seek justice for his father.

He said: 'I cant really take credit for the particular story. I had a dream of making a big epic Viking movie.

'Its exciting as an actor to be part of the journey from the beginning, which is quite rare. Its been really inspiring to be there from the genesis of the project.'

Filming: 25-year-old Anya, who plays Olga in the Viking feature, said: 'I actually had the time of my life. I was very annoying on set! I am a lover of nature, so I was flitting around like a fairy'

New trailer: Alexander, 45, takes on the leading role of Viking prince Amleth on a mission to seek justice for his father.

Swedish native Alexander admitted to having five breakfasts in a day in order to resemble a 'bear.'

'I tried to basically put on some weight so I would look a bit more like a bear. I had five meals for breakfast!' he confessed, while Anya complimented, 'No one works as hard as this man. I cannot say enough about how much effort and love he put into this role.'

Anya hinted that filming, which took place in various locations in Northern Ireland and the Republic Of Ireland, could be intense, as she explained: 'Once youve finished the day, if youve got the shot you feel accomplished.'

Wow! 'I tried to basically put on some weight so I would look a bit more like a bear. I had five meals for breakfast!' Alexander confessed

Mother: Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman plays Amleth's mother, Queen Gudrun, and Alexander described their reunion after filming Big Little Lies as 'an absolute dream'

Nicole Kidman and Alexander's paths crossed during filming, following their roles in drama series Big Little Lies.

The award-winning actress plays Amleth's mother, Queen Gudrun, and Alexander described their reunion as 'an absolute dream.'

'Its a very different relationship from when Nicole and I worked together on Big Little Lies. She is a force of nature; she is a lovely person to work with,' he said.

The Northman is set for release on 15 April 2022.
EastEnders' Ricky Norwood and Diane Parish have paid tribute to their late co-star June Brown, saying she was the 'real guvnor' of the show.

The veteran soap star passed away aged 95 on Sunday and tributes have been flying in for the national treasure, who portrayed Dot Cotton on-and-off between 1985 and 2020.

Appearing on Tuesday's This Morning, Ricky described June as a 'true pro' during her time on the BBC series while Diane said: 'All due respect to our bosses, June was the real guvnor.'

Legend: EastEnders' Ricky Norwood and Diane Parish have paid tribute to their late co-star June Brown, saying she was the 'real guvnor' of the show

Ricky, who played Arthur 'Fatboy' Chubb on the show, told hosts Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond: 'June was it's really hard talking about her in the past tense.

'We get to work with people a lot and when you're working with people in close surroundings, hour and hour and day in, day out, you do form a bond with each other.'

He added: With June it was so special because straight away my character wasn't just about the slang and he wasn't a superficial type of character, there were layers we were trying to put into him. She was so kind and open.

'The first scene I had ever had with her, I couldn't look her in the eye. It was Mrs B, it was June Brown. I grew up with her and it was hard to look her in the eye.

Interview: Appearing on Tuesday's This Morning, Diane said: 'All due respect to our bosses, June was the real Guvnor'

Ricky said: 'The first scene I had ever had with her, I couldn't look her in the eye. It was Mrs B, it was June Brown. I grew up with her and it was hard to look her in the eye'

'I remember her saying, "If you can't look me in the eye, look me at the end of the nose and we'll get the shot, get the eyeliner and we'll move it on."'

Diane, who plays Denise Fox in the soap, said: 'Because she is iconic, everybody recognises June Brown and Dot Cotton.

'What she created in her character from her hair down to her clothing, down to her handbag, like Ricky said, she was a stickler for detail and it was mesmerising watching her prepare herself for a scene.

'She would prepare what's in her handbag - handkerchief, cigarettes, the right cigarettes, she would arrange how long her cigarette would be she was a character actress.'

Ricky, who played Fatboy on the show, said: 'I remember her saying, "If you can't look me in the eye, look me at the end of the nose and we'll get the shot, get the eyeliner and we'll move it on"' (pictured on EastEnders)

Show: Diane, who plays Denise Fox in the soap, said: 'Because she is iconic, everybody recognises June Brown and Dot Cotton' (pictired on EastEnders)

History: This Morning's soap editor Sharon Marshall (pictured) added: 'She was Eastenders. She is Eastenders heritage'

Meanwhile, This Morning's soap editor Sharon Marshall added: 'She was Eastenders. She is Eastenders heritage. I think its a crying shame she was never made a Dame or given a Bafta. You could go to her. She knew her character like nobody else.

'She was very generous and very giving. She is the reason I got on Eastenders. She made us all love that character. People at home are going to be feeling this loss.'

It comes after June's onscreen son John Altman - aka Nasty Nick Cotton - has revealed the late EastEnders icon 'believed in a higher power.'

John, 70, played Dot's villainous son on a semi-regular basis from 1985 until his onscreen death in February 2015 - and honoured his 'second mother' on Tuesday's Good Morning Britain.

'She definitely believed in a higher power': June's onscreen son John Altman discussed her spiritual beliefs on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday - after the EastEnders actress insisted she had no fear of dying

He told hosts Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway: 'She's so kind. She used to say healing prayers; she was quite spiritual. She definitely believed in a higher power.'

June insisted to The Mirror three years ago she did not worrying about dying because of her belief in an afterlife and immersion in the Christian faith.

'What's the point of worrying? I could go to sleep tonight and not be here tomorrow. 'Oh dear, June's gone,' they'd say,' she said.

Close: John, 70, played Dot Cotton's villainous son on a semi-regular basis from 1985 until his onscreen death in February 2015

RIP: The veteran soap star passed away aged 95 on Sunday and tributes have been flying in for the national treasure

Meanwhile, John revealed the pair would run lines in her dressing room while 'having coffee and a few ciggies', with June a 'real stickler' for the script being accurate.

'[They were] treasured moments for me in my career, it was such a joy to work with her. She was older than me so she was more experienced - she'd guide me sometimes, say, 'Slow down a bit on that, dear.'''

John went on to tell how he'd last seen June a month before her death: 'She was tired. She'd slowed right down. I'd like to say, so much thanks and god bless her family who've been fantastic, rallying round her - they've taken great care of her.

Tribute: John told hosts Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway: 'She's so kind. She used to say healing prayers; she was quite spiritual. She definitely believed in a higher power'

'She didn't have to go into a home or anything. She spent her last days in her lovely home in the Surrey Hills.'

The actor also heaped praise onto the actress' generosity, recalling how she could 'never say no' to supporting charities.

'I used to tell her off - 'June, you can't do any more charities'. She said, 'Oh dear, I have to'. She supported the donkeys, among many others, Children with Cancer, The Taverners - she just couldn't say no,' he said.

Fond memories: Meanwhile, John revealed the pair would run lines in her dressing room while 'having coffee and a few ciggies', with June a 'real stickler' for the script being accurate

Richard and Kate asked John what he would miss the most about June, to which he provided a heartwarming answer: 'She was a dear friend. Someone I could confide in, and probably my second mother, really. My real mother said she looked more like my mother than she did!'

The Loose Women panel also paid tribute to the soap star on Tuesday, with Charlene White, Linda Robson, Carol McGiffin, Coleen Nolan and Nadia Sawalha sharing their fond memories with her.

A clip from June's 2019 appearance on the daytime show was played, where she had the panel in stitches with her one-liners and funny remarks.

Icon: The Loose Women panel also paid tribute to the soap star on Tuesday, with Charlene White, Linda Robson, Carol McGiffin, Coleen Nolan and Nadia Sawalha sharing their fond memories with her (June pictured on the show, May 2019)

Legend: A clip from June's 2019 appearance on the daytime show was played, where she had the panel in stitches with her one-liners and funny remarks (pictured with Janet Street-Porter and Denise Welch)

Nadia, joining the show's commemoration of June via video link, said: 'She was incredibly quirky; she was an incredible actress. EastEnders wasnt the easiest place to go into. I was going through a particularly hard time and June came and found me in the makeup room. I wont say what she said, but its stuck with me. Shes egoless. I really felt it when I heard it yesterday when she passed.'

Linda recalled: 'I remember being at The Grosvenor with her. She went missing, we couldnt find her. She was under the table having a cigarette!'

For decades, June was one of the most famous faces on British TV, playing the devout Christian famed on Albert Square for her chain smoking, gossiping and mothering of those in need.

She forgave and forgave son Nick for his crimes until she gave up on him and he died after consuming a bad batch of heroin bought for him by his very own mother.

Her loving relationship with Jim Branning, played by John Bardon, would captivate millions, leaving fans in tears as she said goodbye to him following a stroke.

Sad: John added: 'She was a dear friend. Someone I could confide in, and probably my second mother, really' (pictured in 1997)

June's family revealed she died peacefully on Sunday while the BBC urged fans to raise a glass of sweet sherry in her memory. The star still loved a tipple and a cigarette well into her 90s.

An EastEnders spokesman said: 'We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved June Brown, OBE, MBE, sadly passed away last night.

'There are not enough words to describe how much June was loved and adored by everyone at EastEnders, her loving warmth, wit and great humour will never be forgotten.

Stunning: An EastEnders spokesman said: 'We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved June Brown, OBE, MBE, sadly passed away last night' (pictured in her youth)

'June created one of the most iconic characters in Dot Cotton, not just in soap but in British television, and having appeared in 2,884 episodes, June's remarkable performances created some of EastEnders' finest moments.

'We send all our love and deepest sympathies to June's family and friends. A very bright light has gone out at EastEnders today but we shall all be raising a sweet sherry in June's memory. Rest in peace, our dearest June. You will never be forgotten.'

A statement from her family said: 'We are deeply saddened to announce our beloved mother, June, passed away very peacefully at her home in Surrey on Sunday evening, with her family by her side.

'We would kindly ask that our privacy is respected at this very difficult time.'
Samantha Armytage left Sydney in March last year, in favour of a quieter life at a farm in the New South Wales Southern Highlands with husband Richard Lavender.

And while she had enjoyed the many fruits of her labour, on Tuesday, she revealed the awful moment she experienced the harsh effects of the La Nina storm.

Posting to her Instagram Stories, the 45-year-old shared photos of her husband Richard's landcruiser ute getting stuck in mud.

Storm struggles: Former Sunrise host Samantha Armytage revealed the awful moment she and husband Richard Lavender experienced the harsh effects of the La Nina storm, as their landcruiser ute got stuck in the mud. Both pictured

'The day La Nina broke Richard... Stuck in the mud, we'll never complain about drought again,' she wrote in the caption.

She followed it up with a celebratory photo which showed a tractor assisting the couple in removing the wheels from the stubborn muddy water.

Sam also shared an image of her pet pooch Banjo with his paws drenched in mud.

Stuck in the mud: 'The day La Nina broke Richard... Stuck in the mud, we'll never complain about drought again,' she wrote in the caption

Tractor rescue: She followed it up with a celebratory photo which showed a tractor assisting the couple in removing the wheels from the stubborn muddy water

Over and out! Sam shared a picture of the ute's muddy wheels making its way out of the storm-soaked fields

'Old mate was a great help...' she sarcastically wrote alongside the image of the dog in the truck.

The tough day only got worse for Samantha and Richard, 60, once they returned home.

So much so, Sam went on to share footage of her tiled floor drenched with muddy water following the heavy storms.

Pooch problem: Sam also shared an image of her pet pooch Banjo with his paws drenched in mud

Bad day for all: Things got worse for Samantha once she returned home. She shared footage of her tiled floor drenched with muddy water following the heavy storms

'So sick of cleaning up mud... And the day La Nina broke me,' she added.

Samantha wed her doting partner Richard on New Years' Eve in 2020 at his home in Bowral in the Southern Highlands.

After signing off on Sunrise in March last year, she was replaced by newsreader Natalie Barr, and has been enjoying a quieter life in the countryside.

In July 2020, Samantha sold her North Bondi home in Sydney for $2.8million, which suggested she was planning to move to the country full time.

New look: After signing off on Sunrise in March last year, Samantha was replaced by newsreader Natalie Barr (pictured), and has been enjoying a quieter life in the countryside

Husband Richard owns a 40-hectare property in Bowral, while Samantha sold her Southern Highlands cottage for $3.1million in September 2020.

In April last year, Samantha told The Daily Telegraph that she hasn't turned her back on television and is looking for the 'right' job at the 'right time'.

'I don't think I am done with TV. I am for now but I may some day get back in but it has to be the right role and it has to be at the right time,' she said.
Helena Christensen has told how it 'p****s [her] off' to know that she will die one day and can't live forever.

The Danish model, 53, joked she would happily let a vampire bite her as she discussed her modelling career and her friend Naomi Campbell becoming a mother.

Speaking to Grazia magazine, Helena said she keeps the future at bay by not planning too far ahead.

Interview: Helena Christensen has told how it 'p****s [her] off' to know that she will die one day and can't live forever (pictured in March 2022)

She said: 'It p****s me off no end that I'll die one day and not experiece the future. If a vampire passed by me in thenight I would totally give my neck. I'm so ready to live forever.'

Helena revealed her friend Naomi, 51, told her two years ago she was planning on becoming a mother and is 'so happy' for her.

Naomi announced the birth of her daughter in May 2021 and posed with her on the cover of British Vogue in February and said she was not adopted.

Discussing the star becoming a mother, Helena said: 'It's something she always wanted, to be a mother. She told me backstage at the Michael Kors show about two years ago [that she was having a baby].

Pals: The Danish model, 53, joked she would happily let a vampire bite her as she discussed her modelling career and her friend Naomi Campbell becoming a mother (pictured in the 1990s)

The fact that she made the decision and went through with it, and now has her gorgeous little girl, I'm so happy for her.'

Helena and Naomi have known each other for years and were part of the original crop of supermodels in the 1980s along with Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Cristy Turlington and Claudia Schiffer.

The star said she and the other models will always be linked by the 'strange journey' they went on together when they all left their homes and travelled the world.

Legends: Helena and Naomi have known each other for years and were part of the original crop of supermodels in the 1980s (L-Rarla Bruni-Sarkozy, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Helena Christense in 2017)

Helena said she and other women are still in demand and she keeps in regular contact with them, particularly Cindy Crawford who she meets up with everytime she goes to LA or when Cindy comes to New York.

The two peers most recently caught up on a rooftop in New York in December, sharing snaps together on Instagram.

Cindy took to her account and wrote, 'Mom's night out,' and tagged her girlfriend.

Helena shared a photo from another angle, snapped as she hugged her longtime friend and wrote: 'They don't come any cooler, smarter, sweeter and more beautiful inside out.'
June Brown's onscreen EastEnders son John Altman claimed doctors told the late actress to 'carry on smoking' - two-years before her death was confirmed on Monday.

The soap star passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, aged 95, after becoming a household name as chain-smoking Dot Cotton on the long-running show, a role she played for 35-years before leaving in 2020.

But Altman, 70, who played her villainous, heroin addicted onscreen son Nick - previously insisted that June smoked half a pack of cigarettes a day with her doctors nod of approval.

Smoker: June Brown's onscreen EastEnders son John Altman claimed doctors told the late actress to 'carry on smoking' - two-years before her death was confirmed on Monday

In 2020, John said: 'She is still smoking, unfortunately, but the doctors have told her not to stop now. She loves her ciggies. She smokes at least ten a day.' (sic)

In 2019, she tried to quit smoking with e-ciggies - but ultimately said they were too heavy to hold and went back to nicotine filled cigarettes.

Known for her devotion to her religion and heavy chain-smoking, June quickly became a hit with EastEnders viewers and went on to star in 2,884 episodes of the soap over 21 years, but also kept up her smoking habit off-screen for seven decades.

Hello ma! Altman who played her villainous, heroin addicted onscreen son Nick - previously insisted that June smoked half a pack of cigarettes a day with her doctors nod of approval

Tragic: The soap star passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, aged 95, after becoming a household name as chain-smoking Dot Cotton on the long-running show

June left the soap in January 2020, making her final appearance in a storyline where Dot came to believe that Martin Fowler had stolen money from her - which turned out to have actually been Sonia.

Since the news of her death was announced on Monday, tributes have flooded in for the late actress - with Altman appearing on Tuesday morning's Good Morning Britain to talk of his memories with June.

During the appearance, he called her his 'second mother' before explaining to hosts Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway that June was 'spiritual'.

He said: 'She's so kind. She used to say healing prayers; she was quite spiritual. She definitely believed in a higher power.'

Fond memories: Altman appeared on Tuesday morning's Good Morning Britain to talk of his memories with June

Confirming her death on Monday, an EastEnders spokesman said: 'We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved June Brown, OBE, MBE, sadly passed away last night.

'There are not enough words to describe how much June was loved and adored by everyone at EastEnders, her loving warmth, wit and great humour will never be forgotten.'

The actress created one of the most iconic characters in Dot Cotton, not just in soap but in British television, and having appeared in 2,884 episodes, Junes remarkable performances created some of EastEnders finest moments,' the statement concluded.

Stunning: An EastEnders spokesman said: 'We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved June Brown, OBE, MBE, sadly passed away last night' (pictured in her youth)

Tribute: 'There are not enough words to describe how much June was loved and adored by everyone at EastEnders, her loving warmth, wit and great humour will never be forgotten', the statement continued
Danniella Westbrook was spotted grabbing her caffeine fix on Tuesday as she headed out in London.

The former EastEnders star, 48, was spotted on Sunday with a heavily bandaged nose and 48 hours later, she maintained the same appearance.

The actress recently revealed plans to have a rib inserted into her face after years of drug abuse caused her nose to collapse.

Out and about: Danniella Westbrook reenergised on coffee and fruit juice in London on Tuesday as she stepped out with a heavily bandaged nose after detailing plans to have rib inserted into her face

Daniella put together a casual look, layering her neutrally-toned outfit, comprising a print jumper and leather cargo trousers, with a quilted padded jacket.

The TV personality ensured she would be comfortable when hitting the streets of the capital as she slipped on a pair of grey trainers.

Daniella was spotted leaving Starbucks with a hot beverage in hand, before she sipped on a fruit juice in the coffee shop's queue.

Running some errands while out in London, the ex soap star also drew some money out from a cashpoint.

Casual appearance: The former EastEnders star, 48, was spotted on Sunday with a heavily bandaged nose and 48 hours later, she maintained the same appearance

Honest and open: The actress recently revealed plans to have a rib inserted into her face after years of drug abuse caused her nose to collapse

On the phone: Daniella layered her neutrally-toned outfit, comprising a print jumper and leather cargo trousers, with a quilted padded jacket

Quenching her thirst: Daniella was spotted leaving Starbucks with a hot beverage in hand, before she sipped on a fruit juice in the coffee shop's queue

Danniella previously underwent the rib procedure in 2018, after osteoporosis rotted away her cheekbones and gums and, after spending the last year getting lip filler and Botox, in addition to surgery on her face, she is hoping to get back to her best.

The former Celebrity Big Brother housemate has previously had five reconstructive operations but she is still targeted by cruel online trolls over her appearance, with people telling her to 'just go and kill yourself'.

She told The Sun: 'I hate the way I look. Im constantly made fun of, and trolled for it.

Out and about: Danniella previously underwent the rib procedure in 2018, after osteoporosis rotted away her cheekbones and gums and she is hoping to get back to her best

'People message me, saying, "Youre so ugly, youre a junkie, you should just go and kill yourself." Ive also had messages saying they are glad Im not coming back to EastEnders because no one wants me scaring their kids on the telly.'

However, the star insists she is not undergoing surgery to appease her bullies - she says she wants to be happy with herself and no longer wants to suffer with the breathing issues she suffers with as a result of her collapsed face.

She explained: 'Ive got to a point where looking like this upsets me, so Im going to make a change  not because of what others think but so I can be happy with the way I am.

Cruel: The former Celebrity Big Brother housemate has previously had five reconstructive operations but she is still targeted by cruel online trolls over her appearance, with people telling her to 'just go and kill yourself'

'It will change the way I look but also help my breathing and sinus issues.

'So its about my health as well. Ill be in for the big surgery, which is the bone replacement, at the end of April. And then the final operation to tweak and finish the nose is at the end of May.'

Speaking to OK! magazine about her latest bout of facial reconstruction, she explained: 'I'm going through a lot operations at the moment. They're good but they're very hard.'

Decisions: The star insists she is not undergoing surgery to appease her bullies - she says she wants to be happy with herself and no longer wants to suffer with breathing issues

She continued: 'The first two of my operations haven't taken a toll on me but the next lot will do. I'm seeing a bone surgeon next who is going to be removing a rib.'

In February, Danniella revealed that she was looking forward to her upcoming set of surgeries.

Sharing a throwback snap of herself on Instagram, she penned: 'Can't wait for all my surgery to be done  will be back too my best and fighting fit and next year I will be 50! Bring it on  I'm ready. More than ready, I'm ready for a full transformation physically.'

New woman: Danniella is hoping her upcoming operation to have a rib inserted into her face will rebuild her confidence after years of drug abuse caused her nose to collapse (L: seen in 2021, R: seen in 1996)

Danniella previously vowed to turn her life around following years of drug abuse and relapsing onto 'cocaine and champagne' last year.

The actress' battle with drugs has been well-publicised, and she famously had her nose reconstructed after her septum collapsed from excessive cocaine use in 2002.

At the height of her use, it was reported she would take up to five grams of cocaine a day, blowing close to 250,000 on the drug.

The star has since embarked on multiple rehab stints in order to battle her demons - and revealed she was finally clean in June 2020, after attending a clinic in Mijas, Spain.
BEIJING, April 5 (Xinhua) -- China's shipments of personal computer (PC) monitors are forecast to edge down 1.4 percent this year, lower than the 3.6 percent worldwide drop in 2022, data from an industry report showed.

The country is expected to ship no more than 32 million PC monitors in 2022, said the report released by global market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

Last year, China shipped 32.31 million PC monitors, up 9.7 percent year on year, the highest growth in the past decade, said the report.

The market lacks growth momentum after the demand for PC monitors reached a peak last year, said the IDC, adding that contracting purchases from government and the education sector also posed increasing challenges to the PC monitor market. 
Laura Norton has opened up about her battle with hair loss after landing her dream role in 2012 as Kerry Wyatt in Emmerdale.

The soap star, 38, revealed she first noticed her hair was 'falling out in clumps' when she was 16 and faced a long struggle as it took nine years for her hair to grow back thick and shiny.

In an interview with New Magazine, Laura bravely spoke out about her confidence being knocked right before accepting the role on the ITV soap.

Struggle: Laura Norton has opened up about her battle with hair loss after landing her dream role in 2012 as Kerry Wyatt in Emmerdale (pictured September 2019)

Laura started taking synthetic hormones to tackle her 'horrendous' periods and said: 'What they never told me was certain pills are testosterone-heavy and attack hair follicles, making hair get thinner and weaker, then fall out.'

The mother-of-one hit breaking point after she joined Emmerdale: 'I got my dream job playing Kerry Wyatt on Emmerdale and - boom - my hair was falling out in clumps.'

She added: 'Thanks universe, great timing! It wasn't great for the old self-esteem.'

Laura hit breaking point after she joined Emmerdale: 'I got my dream job playing Kerry Wyatt on Emmerdale and - boom - my hair was falling out in clumps' (pictured on the show)

The actress decided to get professional help and called her local trichologist [a hair specialist] while living in Newcastle.

After six months of treatment, Laura's hair began to grow back - describing her trichologist Natalie as her 'guardian angel in hair form'.

She was also given a 'hair-friendly' version of the pill to replace the ones she had previously been taking and her hair started to recover.

Laura has shared her hair loss battle in order to spread awareness and make others feel they are 'not alone'.

Strong: Laura bravely spoke out about her confidence being knocked right before accepting the role on the ITV soap and hopes to raise awareness (pictured 2019)

Last year, Laura welcomed her first child - baby boy called Jesse - with former co-star and fiance Mark Jordon, 56.

The couple began dating after meeting on set when he joined the soap to play her on-screen brother-in-law Daz Spencer from 2014 until 2019.

The soap star couple, who have been engaged since June 2018, took to Instagram to announce the happy news.

Congratulations! Emmerdale's Mark Jordon and Laura welcomed their first child together, a baby boy called Jesse, in February 2021

She explained that her hair began falling out again during the pregnancy after she was no longer able to her hair treatment because of the hormonal content.

She said: 'It was so intense I don't know how I had any hair left on my head.'

The common pregnancy symptom took Laura by surprise but after she gave birth her hair luckily grew back thick and healthy once again.
Roxy Horner made the most of the sunshine as she stepped out to satisfy her caffeine fix on Tuesday.

The model, 30, showed off her fashion credentials as she put on a stylish display for her low-key outing in Notting Hill.

She oozed confidence as she strutted about the capital in a Playboy jacket and faux leather flared trousers.

Fashionista: Roxy Horner, 30, strutted her stuff in a Playboy jacket and faux leather trousers as she stepped out for a stroll in London on Tuesday

Roxy layered the Nineties style padded jacket over a strappy black crop top and completed her outfit with some chunky trainers.

The girlfriend of Jack Whitehall wore her blonde locks loose in effortless waves that tumbled down her back.

She shielded her eyes with a pair of square framed sunglasses as she stopped to collect flowers during her outing.

Glowing: The girlfriend of Jack Whitehall wore her blonde locks loose in effortless waves that tumbled down her back

Stylish: Roxy layered over a Nineties style Playboy padded jacket, emblazoned with the brands logo and completed her outfit with some chunky trainers

Relaxing: She shielded her eyes with a pair of square framed sunglasses as she stopped to collect flowers during her outing

She has recently opened up about her recent struggle with her health, after being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes last May.

Praising her comedian boyfriend Jack, 33, Roxy said he has been 'her rock' during the past year, whilst speaking to The Sun.

'He was there when I got diagnosed. My parents and my family live in Australia, so he has been my family. We're amazing,' she gushed.

Low-key: Roxy made the most of the sunshine as she stepped out to grab her caffeine fix

Brave: She has recently opened up about her recent struggle with her health, after being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes last May

During the traumatic diagnosis, the star said she was rushed to A&E, where she began suffering from memory loss, and doctors made the shock discovery that she was actually suffering from type 1 diabetes.

She added: 'It was out of nowhere. My sugar levels went down really low and I couldn't get them back up, I couldn't even talk to her to communicate, it was scary.'

The star assured she is doing well now and is 'still getting the hang' of living with Diabetes.
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Anya Taylor-Joy stunned in a sparkling ensemble as she attended a special screening of historical epic film The Northman on Tuesday.

The actress, 25, was the epitome of elegance in a nude mini dress adorned with blue sparkling patterns as she arrived at at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square.

She gave herself a few extra inches in a pair of gold glittering stilettos and accessorised her show-stopping ensemble with silver drop earrings.

Incredible: Anya Taylor-Joy stunned in a sparkling ensemble as she attended a special screening of historical epic film The Northman on Tuesday before packing on the PDA with her boyfriend Malcolm McRae

Anya accentuated her striking features with a smokey-eye make up palette and a slick of pink lipstick, while she wore her golden tresses in a straight fashion.

She packed on the PDA with her boyfriend Malcolm McRae as they shared a smooch while posing for pictures.

Her actor beau looked dapper in a black suit and tie, which he paired with a beige jacket as he cosied up to Anya, who stars in The Northman.

He styled his brunette tresses in natural curls across his shoulders, while Anya placed her hand on his leg as the couple seemed to be as smitten as ever.

Couple: Her actor beau looked dapper in a black suit and tie, which he paired with a beige jacket as he cosied up to Anya

Gorgeous: The actress, 25, was the epitome of elegance in a nude mini dress adorned with blue sparkling patterns as she arrived at at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square

Wow! She gave herself a few extra inches in a pair of gold glittering stilettos and accessorised her show-stopping ensemble with silver drop earrings

Glamorous: Anya was the epitome of elegance as she once again put on another show-stopping ensemble

Anya's co-star Alexander Skarsgard also attended the screening and looked dapper in an all-black ensemble.

The Swedish actor, 45, looked stylish in black trousers and a T-shirt, which he wore underneath a smart blazer.

He styled his brown locks in a slicked back style, while he styled his beard in a short style as he flashed a smile for the cameras.

Sweet: Malcolm styled his brunette tresses in natural curls across his shoulders, while Anya placed her hand on his leg as the couple seemed to be as smitten as ever

Loved up: It was reported in July of last year that Anya and Malcolm had moved in together as their romance grew from strength to strength

Cute: According to reports, Anya and Malcolm's relationship is getting 'really serious', and they are very supportive of each other's careers

Romance: Anya and Malcolm were first seen kissing in May of last year ahead of her upcoming SNL gig, before they stepped out for a romantic stroll in NYC a few days later

Vision: Anya's stunning dress featured blue and silver sequin patterns, which matched perfectly with her sparkling heels

Glam: Anya looked sensational in her petite dress, which was decorated with glittering blue and silver sequins

Looking good: Anya accentuated her striking features with a smokey-eye make up palette and a slick of pink lipstick, while she wore her golden tresses in a straight fashion

All smiles: Anya appeared to be in excellent spirits as she waved while posing for snaps

Bombshell: Anya flaunted her toned pegs in her figure-hugging gown and stiletto heels as she arrived at the screening

Golden tresses: Anya's stunning blonde locks cascaded down her back as she posed for snaps

Career: Anya is playing Olga in the Viking feature The Northman, which she attended the special screening of on Tuesday

He posed for photographs with his co-star Anya and the friends looked warmly at each other, while Alexander gave her a quick hug.

Meanwhile, Edith Bowman cut a smart figure in wide leg trousers and a blazer adorned with a large flower as she arrived at the screening.

Underneath her stylish suit, the TV presenter, 48, wore a sheer top with lace patterns as she smiled for snaps ahead of the screening.

Physique: Anya flaunted her sensational figure in her clinging mini dress

Smiles: Anya appeared in excellent spirits as she arrived at the screening on Tuesday night

Good look: Anya's co-star Alexander Skarsgard also attended the screening and looked dapper in an all-black ensemble

Dapper: The Swedish actor, 45, looked stylish in black trousers and a T-shirt, which he wore underneath a smart blazer

Posing: He styled his brown locks in a slicked back style, while he styled his beard in a short style as he flashed a smile for the cameras

Good spirits: Alexander flashed a smile as he arrived at the screening for The Northman, which he stars in

Character;:Alexander, 45, takes on the leading role of Viking prince Amleth on a mission to seek justice for his father in the Viking feature

Edith styled her signature fringed tresses in a straight fashion across her shoulders, while she bolstered her natural good looks with a light dusting of make-up.

She gave herself a few extra inches with a pair of open-toe white heels, while she accessorised her look with a large gold ring.

Elsewhere, former Love Islander Jack Fowler cut a dapper figure in black trousers and a crisp white shirt, which he wore underneath a grey checkered suit jacket.

Northman: Icelandic screenwriter Sjon and US film director and screenwriter Robert Eggers posed with Alexander and Anya ahead of the screening

Project: Anya and Alexander starred alongside each other in The Northman

Pals: He posed for photographs with his co-star Anya and the friends looked warmly at each other

Friends: Anya and Alexander appeared cosy as they posed with each other for photographs

Grinning: Anya and Alexander looked warmly at one another as they attended the screening of their movie

Sweet: Anya warmly greeted her co-star Alexander at the screening

Screening: It was a big night for the co-stars as they got the chance to watch The Northman

On stage: Later in the evening, The Northman stars were seen taking to the stage to speak to the crowds as they stood in front of the film's poster

Also in attendance at the screening were Alexandra Shaker, The Northman's writer and director Robert Eggers and Icelandic screenwriter Sjon.

Later in the evening, The Northman stars were seen taking to the stage to speak to the crowds as they stood in front of the film's poster.

British Vogue editor Edward Enninful cut a smart figure in black trousers and a turtle neck jumper as he arrived for the Northman screening.

He paired his traditionally dapper ensemble with a smart black coat, while he framed his face with square glasses.

Group: Anya and her co-star were joined on stage by director Robert Eggers and Icelandic writer Sjon to speak about the Viking feature

Stars: The cast stood in front of the poster, which also featured their co-star Nicole Kidman

Interested: They spoke to the crowds about The Northman, which follows Vikings who raid Slavic villages

Big screen: The four cast members were dwarfed as they stood in front of a poster of The Northman

Venture: People eagerly anticipated the special screening of The Northman

Popular: Alexander was seen signing photographs for eager fans at the screening

Gorgeous: Edith Bowman cut a smart figure in wide leg trousers and a blazer adorned with a large flower as she arrived at the screening

All white: Underneath her stylish suit, the TV presenter, 48, wore a sheer top with lace patterns as she smiled for snaps ahead of the screening

Grinning: Edith was all smiles as she posed for pictures in her stunning ensemble

The Northman screening comes after Anya Taylor-Joy and Alexander Skarsgard appeared on Tuesday morning's instalment of Lorraine to talk to step-in host Ranvir Singh about their latest venture.

Anya, whose filmography and television credits include The Queen's Gambit, Peaky Blinders and Last Night In Soho, joked that she was 'very annoying' on set, while Alexander explained the lengths he went to in a bid to get into character.

Anya, who plays Olga in the Viking feature, said: 'I actually had the time of my life. I was very annoying on set! I am a lover of nature, so I was flitting around like a fairy.'

Stylish: British Vogue editor Edward Enninful cut a smart figure in black trousers and a turtle neck jumper as he arrived for the Northman screening

Getting on: Edward and Anya were seen greeting each other and chatting at the event

Embrace: Anya hugged the fashion editor as she arrived at the screening

Treat yourself: Alexander was later spotted arriving at Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill in Piccadilly Circus

Big night: He looked in high spirits following the special screening

Alexander, 45, takes on the leading role of Viking prince Amleth on a mission to seek justice for his father.

He said: 'I cant really take credit for the particular story. I had a dream of making a big epic Viking movie.

'Its exciting as an actor to be part of the journey from the beginning, which is quite rare. Its been really inspiring to be there from the genesis of the project.'

Swedish native Alexander admitted to having five breakfasts in a day in order to resemble a 'bear.'

'I tried to basically put on some weight so I would look a bit more like a bear. I had five meals for breakfast!' he confessed, while Anya complimented, 'No one works as hard as this man. I cannot say enough about how much effort and love he put into this role.'

Smart: Elsewhere, former Love Islander Jack Fowler cut a dapper figure in black trousers and a crisp white shirt, which he wore underneath a grey checkered suit jacket

Casual: Fashion designer and content creator Callux looked stylish in grey trousers and a white T-shirt, which he paired with an unbuttoned grey shirt, while he sported a pair of trainers from his own brand notwoways

Style: Musician Piers James looked chic in a red camouflage ensemble while actor Leo Suter cut a casual figure in grey trousers with a matching jacket

Project: Also in attendance at the screening were Alexandra Shaker and The Northman's writer and director Robert Eggers

Unique: Musician Rhian Teasdale looked stunning in a green and purple gown as she arrived at the event with a friend

Chic: Later in the evening, Anya wrapped up in a cream coat as she left the special screening in a Bentley

Anya hinted that filming, which took place in various locations in Northern Ireland and the Republic Of Ireland, could be intense, as she explained: 'Once youve finished the day, if youve got the shot you feel accomplished.'

Nicole Kidman and Alexander's paths crossed during filming, following their roles in drama series Big Little Lies.

The award-winning actress plays Amleth's mother, Queen Gudrun, and Alexander described their reunion as 'an absolute dream.'

'Its a very different relationship from when Nicole and I worked together on Big Little Lies. She is a force of nature; she is a lovely person to work with,' he said.

The Northman is set for release on 15 April 2022.

Filming: 25-year-old Anya, who plays Olga in the Viking feature, said: 'I actually had the time of my life. I was very annoying on set! I am a lover of nature, so I was flitting around like a fairy'
Alicia Vikander gave a very rare insight into motherhood as she discussed her desire to put her family first and the uncomfortableness of filming intimate scenes in a candid chat with Harper's Bazaar.

The actress, 33, welcomed her first child with with husband Michael Fassbender last year and although she had been seen with a baby on outings in August, she did not confirm that she had welcomed a child until the following month.

She has since avoided discussing their child publicly - or revealing their name or sex - but in a new interview, the Oscar-winning star opened up about motherhood, stating she always puts her 'little family' first.

Candid: Alicia Vikander gave a very rare insight into motherhood as she discussed her desire to put her family first in a candid chat with Harper's Bazaar magazine

She said: 'In my little family, with my husband and my child, we travel together, always. That's the rule. We do jobs so one of us can always be with the baby.'

The couple, who currently live together in Lisbon, Portugal, are known for being notoriously private and hadn't previously spoken about whether they would have children together.

Michael and Alicia tied the knot in October 2017 - three years after they began dating, following meeting on set of The Light Between Oceans.

Cute family: The actress, 33, welcomed her first child with with husband Michael Fassbender last year (pictured in Ibiza in August)

Elsewhere in the chat, Alicia also confessed that she dislikes filming sex scenes, admitting that they are the 'worst thing ever'.

She said: 'The only thing that can't be improvised is an intimate scene  you have to make choreography and stick to it.

'It's the worst thing ever to do those scenes. I am very comfortable with my body and I've done quite a bit of nudity and sex scenes, but it's never easy.'

Speaking out: Elsewhere in the chat, Alicia also confessed that she dislikes filming sex scenes, admitting that they are the 'worst thing ever'

Stunning: The actress stunned in a photoshoot to accompany the interview, as she slipped into a white crop top and jeans, with her tresses styled in loose waves

The Ex-Machina star then revealed that she hadn't always felt safe when doing intimate scenes.

She said: 'I've been in situations that were not fine, where I didn't feel I was protected.

'[On one occasion] everyone was busy doing their own thing and, in the middle, you have an actor who sits there naked for a couple of hours. And someone is supposed to arrive with a robe, and they don't.

Stunning: The actress, 33, stunned on the cover in a glittering off the shoulder gown

'It comes afterwards  [the knowledge that] that was not right. I should have been looked after.'

Alicia went on to speak about the the perception of showbusiness as glamourous versus the reality, which is much more challenging.

She said: 'People come and see us at a premiere dressed up and walking these carpets, and that's fun, of course. But that's the illusion of what the industry is.

'[The reality is] interest, and passion, and a will to make something.

'It's four months where a bunch of strangers work 15-hour days, six days a week, and don't sleep.'

The actress stunned in a photoshoot to accompany the interview, wowing on the cover in a glittering off the shoulder gown, encrusted with jewels.

She then ditched her bra and slipped into a white crop top and jeans, with her tresses styled in loose waves and wearing a natural palette of makeup.

The March issue of Harper's Bazaar UK is on sale from 7 April
Lord Sugar has reportedly 'parted ways' with former Apprentice winner Sian Gabbidon, just weeks after Harpreet Kaur was named his most recent partner.

Sian, 29, who founded a bespoke swimwear company, was hired as the business mogul's partner in 2018, but he has since ceased to be a director in the venture.

According to The Sun, his position within the company was 'terminated' last month whilst his investment company, Amvest Limited, has also been removed.

You're fired! Lord Sugar, 75, has 'cut off' former Apprentice winner Sian Gabbidon, 29, ... just weeks after hiring a new partner

Previously Lord Sugar has parted ways with the 2015 winner Joseph Valente, Alana Spencer, who won in 2016, and James White who was crowned the winner in 2017.

The entrepreneur invested 250k into Sian Marie Fashion, but documents obtained from Companies House have revealed that he stepped down earlier this week.

Lord Sugar chose Sian despite describing her company as a cottage industry' given that she had sold only 400 bespoke swimsuits during its two years trading.

MailOnline has contacted Sian and Lord Sugar's reps for comment.

Fashion business: Lord Sugar has ceased to be a director in the venture after Sian founded a bespoke swimwear company and was hired as the business moguls partner in 2018

Termination: The entrepreneur invested 250k into Sian Marie Fashion, but documents obtained from Companies House have revealed that he stepped down earlier this week

Before the finale aired, the swimwear designer spoke to MailOnline about her rivalry with runner-up Camilla Ainsworth whose 'gourmet nut milk' brand didn't quite impress.

The multi-millionaire mogul rejected a product perfectly suited to the booming market in non-dairy alternative milk drinks  a business already worth 300 million.

Sian told MailOnline how having a backbone, and the constant support of her boyfriend, means she can handle 'brutal' Lord Sugar.

Addressing the cattiness with the Nut Milk entrepreneur, Sian admitted she didn't go on the BBC show to make friends, and asserted that it's sometimes necessary to be 'ruthless' to win.

Rivals: Before the finale aired, the swimwear designer spoke to MailOnline about her rivalry with runner-up Camilla Ainsworth whose 'gourmet nut milk' brand didn't quite impress

Last month, a new The Apprentice winner was crowned as Harpreet, 30, beat fellow finalist Kathryn Louise Burn, who runs an online pyjama business, to Lord Sugar's investment with her dessert brand Oh So Yum.

She told MailOnline how her sister Gurvinder, 33, not only remains a director but still owns her stake in the company.

In an exclusive interview, Harpreet insisted that Apprentice boss Lord Sugar had 'no problem' with her business of five years being jointly run by a member of her family and BBC producers built up the tension as 'a bit of fun TV editing.'

Newest winner: Last month, a new The Apprentice winner was crowned as Harpreet Kaur, 30, bagged Lord Sugar's investment with her dessert brand Oh So Yum

Harpreet said: 'My sister is going to remain as a director in the business. They made a big deal of it on the show but it's not that big of a deal.

'Lord Sugar is getting two for the price of one and is looking forward to meeting my sister but if it stopped him from investing then she was going to step down.

'During the interviews there was nothing they said about the business plan, they had no issue with it. I was so confident because I thought if the only problem is the company structure, not the business itself, then I'm onto a winner.

'We didn't have to argue or anything  it was a bit of fun TV editing but Lord Sugar doesn't have a problem.'
Amid Bruce Willis' health struggles, Demi Moore and her daughter Scout Willis kept their spirits lifted with a day at the museum.

The Ghost star, 59, posted two Instagram photos from their recent trip to the museum, where they posed beside a massive cherry blossom display by British artist Damien Hirst.

Despite their current personal struggles, Demi and Scout, 30, managed to appear in high spirits as they took in the colorful artwork.

Putting a smile on their face: Demi Moore and her daughter Scout Willis kept their spirits lifted as they headed to the museum amid Bruce Willis' health struggles

'Cherry blossom season. A day at the museum with Alex Koo and @scoutlaruewillis,' Demi captioned the post, shared Tuesday.

The first photo showed the women posing with their friend, all three wearing face masks.

In the second snap, Demi took a photo with just her daughter.

Scout's smile shone through even with a face covering obscuring her complexion as Demi tilted her head slightly in her direction.

Museum goers: The first photo showed the women posing with their friend, all three wearing face masks

Willis' family announced last week that he was retiring from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia.

'To Bruces amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,' they wrote.

'As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him. This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support.

'We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him,' they added. 'As Bruce always says, "Live it up" and together we plan to do just that.'

Heartbreaking news: Willis' family announced last week that he was retiring from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia

Willis shares three daughters  Rumer, 33, Scout, and Tallulah, 28  with his ex-wife Demi Moore, 59, and two daughters  Mabel, nine, and Evelyn, seven  with his wife Emma Heming Willis, 43.

The statement was signed 'Emma, Demi, Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel, & Evelyn.'

'Aphasia is an impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write,' according to the National Aphasia Association.

It is always due to injury to the brain, most commonly from a stroke, particularly in older individuals. Head trauma, brain tumors, or infections can also cause aphasia.

Sharing a moment: Scout posted this heart-warming snap of her with her father last week

No cause for the condition has been revealed, but it was reported that the 67-year-old 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.

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, as well as several medical professionals.
A Killing Eve spin-off show is understood to be in the pipeline, which will focus on popular character Carolyn Martens.

The creators of the hit BBC drama are believed to be considering a prequel honing in on Carolyn's (Fiona Shaw) early life.

Due to the timeline of the reported spin-off series, it is unlikely that lead characters Villanelle and Eve Polastri, played by Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh, will make an appearance.

Exciting: A Killing Eve spin-off show is understood to be in the pipeline, but it will likely not focus on Villanelle and Eve Polastri, played by Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh

A TV insider told The Sun that spy Carolyn was both a curveball choice and an obvious choice for the focus of the spin-off, as she will provide a different angle to continue the series.

They added: 'Bosses felt that Killing Eve had to come to an end but its spirit should live on in a new form, and this is the project they're focusing their efforts on now.

'It's in the early stages of development and the finished series is months, if not years, away.'

MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment.

Lead: The creators of the hit BBC drama are believed to be considering a prequel honing in on Carolyn Martens's (Fiona Shaw) early life

The news comes as Killing Eve's fourth and final season is well underway, with Villanelle brutally attacking Helene, played by Camille Cottin, in episode six.

In the latest instalment, titled Oh Goodie, I'm the Winner, the plot moves on from the shock ending of episode four when Villanelle was shot in the back with an arrow on the orders of Helene.

However, after new assassin Pam (Anjana Vasan) removes the the arrow and casually calls Villanelle's injury a 'flesh wound', psychopath Villanelle bounces back to her best and sets out to seek revenge against Helene.

Villanelle learns of Helene's location after being sent a secret message by fellow assassin Gunn (Marie-Sophie Ferdane).

Not over: A TV insider said spy Carolyn was both a curveball choice and an obvious choice, as she will provide a different take to continue the series

Shocker: The news comes as Killing Eve's fourth and final season is well underway, with Villanelle brutally attacking Helene, played by Camille Cottin, in episode six

The murderous character heads to Helene's hotel room and waits under the bed for the perfect moment to pounce with a knife.

However, Eve (Sandra Oh) turns up at the hotel and is totally unaware that Eve is hiding under the bed.

As Eve enters Helene's hotel room, Helene begins to flirt with Eve and attempts to get her to take a seat on the bed, prompting Villanelle to painfully slice the skin on the back of Helene's feet in a horrific attack.

Helene stands up and stumbles around the room much to the shock of Eve while Villanelle climbs out from under the bed.

Fighting back: Helene stands up and stumbles around the room much to the shock of Eve while Villanelle climbs out from under the bed and attacks

As Villanelle brings the knife up to to slit Helene's throat, Helene grabs a vase in a bid to save herself.

However, she doesn't have the strength and Villanelle beats her to the ground before drawing the knife across her neck, with Eve looking on slightly aroused.

Villanelle later travels to a remote Scottish island and seeks refuge after reuniting with Gunn.

However, the violence does not end there - Eve tracks down Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) and Lars (Ingvar Eggert Sigursson) at his cabin and, after a hushed conversation, shoots him in the head.

Out of luck: The violence does not end there - as Eve tracks down Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) and Lars (Ingvar Eggert Sigursson) at his cabin and shoots him in the head

It comes after Killing Eve viewers watched a terrifying scene unfold in a recent episode in which Villanelle chopped off a man's finger and stuck it up his nose.

The brutal assassin, was seen using a cheese wire to wrap around The Twelve torture victim Rustem's (Sebastian Abineri) arm and chop off his fingers, with his toes already having been detached.

In the episode, Helene (Camille Cottin) visited Villanelle in jail after she was previously locked up by the authorities.

Horrific: Killing Eve viewers were in for a bumpy ride as they watched a horrific scene unfold in a recent episode in which psychopath Villanelle chopped off a man's finger

Villanelle informed Helene she had a desire to make a lot of money, prompting Helene to free Villanelle from her prison cell.

Helene then handed Villanelle a sealed envelope containing the name of her next target, which led her to Rustem.

After pressing Rustem for information, the unsympathetic executioner chopped off his thumb using the cheese wire.

Shocking: The brutal assassin was seen using a cheese wire to chop off a torture victim's fingers, before sticking on up his nose

Taking things a step further, she stuck the digit up his nostril.

Meanwhile, fans were left hot under the collar after catching a glimpse of Eve and Helene taking a bath together in a steamy scene.

In the intimate moment, Eve was seen surrounded by bubbles as she sat at the opposite end of the tub from Helene.

Overstepping the mark? Taking things a step further, Villanelle stuck the digit up his nostril in a moment of madness

Eve and Helene played a game of cat and mouse after Eve tracked down the sadistic French handler in her native country.

After a number of flirtatious exchanges between the pair, things culminated as they stripped off before making their way into the bathroom.

Taking to Twitter, one person wrote: 'Always wanted to see Sandra Oh and Camille Cottin kiss and share a bath so yaay #KillingEve.'

The next episode of Killing Eve arrives on BBC iPlayer on Monday April 11 and airs on BBC One at 9pm on Saturday.
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Padma Lakshmi showcased her incredible bikini body while rocking a tiny two-piece while enjoying some quality time with her daughter Krishna, 12.

As the duo soaked up the sun on their fun-filled Hawaiian vacation, the 51-year-old Top Chef host documented their excursion to a secluded beach in the soulful surfer town of Hanalei.

Among the number of enviable images of her dreamy vacation, the two-time New York Times best-selling author shared a video of herself on a rope swing to her Instagram on Monday.

Hot mama! Padma Lakshmi showcased her incredible bikini body while rocking a tiny two-piece while enjoying some quality time with her daughter Krishna, 12

Looking good! The cookbook author looked incredibly toned in her sexy swimsuit

Additionally, her preteen can be seen on her own rope swing next to her as they jumped into some crystal clear water before going on a scenic stroll.

Padma captioned the highlight reel, 'Boogie woogie,' with a water emoji. Then she added, 'We found this wonderful secluded beach on our way north to Hanalei.

'Littlehands and I had so much fun playing with the rope swing and watching the iwa birds (or frigatebirds) gliding and diving in the air,' she continued.

Fun: As the duo soaked up the sun on their fun-filled Hawaiian vacation, the 51-year-old Top Chef host documented their excursion to a secluded beach in the soulful surfer town of Hanalei

Fun: Padma captioned the highlight reel, 'Boogie woogie,' with a water emoji. Then she added, 'We found this wonderful secluded beach on our way north to Hanalei

In other images, the mother daughter duo walked along the sandy white beach holding hands as they wore black and lime green bikinis.

Lakshmi added a sun hat as they walked along the sand toward the crashing ocean waves.

In another post the pair matched outfits with both wearing denim jackets and light-colored joggers.

Doting mom: Padma shares Krishna with her former partner, venture capitalist Adam Dell

'Twinning and winning,' the TV star captioned the sweet photo.

The star also made a 'pit stop' at Kealia Beach with her lookalike.

Padma shares Krishna with her former partner, venture capitalist Adam Dell.

Happy: The star also made a 'pit stop' at Kealia Beach with her lookalike
Rumour has it Brent Vitiello and Ella Ding are more than just friends after they were both partnered with other people on Married At First Sight.

And Brent, 34, did little to quell the speculation on Tuesday when he told New Idea the pair had grown 'really, really close' since filming wrapped.

The venue manager revealed he and Ella, 28, both agreed they should have been matched in the experiment, but stopped short of confirming they were dating.

More than friend? Married At First Sight's Ella Ding (left) and Brent Vitiello (right) have grown 'really close' since filming wrapped. They are pictured at a party in western Sydney on Sunday

'Me and Ella have spoken. We are really, really close,' Brent said.

'We've had the conversation that if we had been matched, things would've turned out amazingly and we were a lot more suited.'

He said they hadn't taken things beyond a friendship just yet because Ella was still healing after her split from ex-'husband' Mitch Eynaud.

Rumours: Brent, 34, said he and Ella, 28, both agreed they should have been matched in the experiment, but stopped short of confirming they were dating. (Pictured in Sydney last week)

Brent continued: 'We are just spending time together as really good friends, and if something happens, it does; if it doesn't, it doesn't. We're kind of open to both of it.'

Mitch had ghosted Ella just days after they filmed the MAFS reunion dinner party in Sydney in January.

The financial planner, 27, reportedly broke things off because he was upset about her staging paparazzi photos with Brent.

Healing: Brent said they hadn't taken things beyond a friendship just yet because Ella was still healing after her split from ex-'husband' Mitch Eynaud (right)

Their marriage was already on shaky ground by the reunion as Mitch had earlier tried to end things at their final vows, telling Ella he wasn't ready to commit.

But they reconciled when the beautician flew to the Gold Coast for a 'make-or-break' holiday.

Meanwhile, Ella and Brent's former MAFS spouses are now rumoured to be dating.

Mitch was spotted looking cosy with Tamara Djordjevic, Brent's ex-'wife', at a bar on the Gold Coast back in February.

And Ella said in a radio interview on Tuesday she'd heard rumours the pair were dating in secret before filming even started.
She's been enjoying a fun filled getaway as she soaks up Europe's best sights.

And Bella Hadid, 25, took to Instagram to share a flurry of snaps on Tuesday, as she gave her fans an insight into her busy trip.

The model put on a radiant display in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris after suffering an 'unfortunate' ice cream incident in Rome, as she visited '3 countries in 4 days.'

'3 countries in 4 days': Bella Hadid, 25, looked radiant in front of the Eiffel Tower after suffering an 'unfortunate' ice cream incident in Rome as she continued her Europe trip on Tuesday

Bella looked sensational as she soaked up a stunning sunset and posed for photos with a friend in front of the iconic Parisian tower.

She went makeup free as she showcased her incredible complexion and pouted for the camera.

Her long brunette locks were worn loose in a half-up half-down style that displayed her chunky gold hoop earrings.

Yum! She's been enjoying a fun filled getaway as she soaks up Europe's best sights

Oops! Documenting her Italian leg of the trip she penned: 'Series of unfortunate but fortunate events'

Such fun: In another hilarious snap, ice cream dripped down her arm as she struggled to finish the treat before it melted

Bella wore a vintage inspired outfit with a blue top emblazoned with a 'Paris' graphic with a fur trimmed knitted jacket.

Taking to the cobbled streets of Rome, she looked effortlessly chic in tan raincoat with a leopard print trim and wide legged jeans.

She slicked down her hair into a sleek hairstyle complete with tortoiseshell headband and shielded her eyes with oval shaped sunglasses.

Bonjour! Bella wore a vintage inspired outfit with a blue top emblazoned with a 'Paris' graphic with a fur trimmed knitted jacket

Memories: Bella looked sensational as she soaked up a stunning sunset and posed for photos with a friend in front of the iconic Parisian tower

In another hilarious snap, ice cream dripped down her arm as she struggled to finish the treat before it melted.

Documenting her Italian leg of the trip she penned: 'Series of unfortunate but fortunate events.'

Previously, Bella put on a loved-up display with her beau Marc Kalman as their trip to Rome continued on Monday.

Stunning: Taking to the cobbled streets of Rome, she looked effortlessly chic in tan raincoat with a leopard print trim and wide legged jeans

Chic: She slicked down her hair into a sleek hairstyle complete with tortoiseshell headband and shielded her eyes with oval shaped sunglasses

The model and her boyfriend, 33, looked like their romance was heating up as they made a wish at the Trevi Fountain and visited a jewellery store where Bella tried on necklaces and a broach.

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.

Cute: Previously, Bella put on a loved-up display with her beau Marc Kalman who joined her on the trip

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.

'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.
Photo taken on March 30, 2022 shows people mourning for the body and organ donors in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

CHONGQING, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Jiang Huan didn't understand her father's decision to donate his organs until an organ donation coordinator told her that the transplantation surgery was successful and helped save the patient's life.

Every Tomb-sweeping Day, or the Qingming Festival in the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Tuesday this year, families of organ donors and the recipients and coordinators gather at the Chongqing Organ Donation Memorial Park in Bishan District of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. Holding commemorative ceremonies and laying wreaths in solemnity, they pay tribute to the departed for their generosity and philanthropic decision.

"Hearing that one life was saved due to my father's donation, I realized the greatness of his heart and the true meaning of life," Jiang said. "It feels like his life was extended, and he would continue to accompany me with no more goodbye."

In 2010, China officially launched a national pilot program for human organ donation, which gave rise to numerous donation coordinators like Zhou Lijuan.

With her mobile phone available 24 hours day and night, Zhou gets used to rushing to hospitals whenever there are any potential organ donation intentions.

"We are often misunderstood, rejected, and even cursed by the family members. But a rush of scenes of agonizing patients waiting for organ transplantation opportunities always come to my mind first," said Zhou. She added that the eagerness in the patients' eyes motivated her over the years to stand up for her duty.

"It's not how much time you have but how you use it that matters," said a card from a donor's family presented at the memorial park.

A decade ago, Wan Ying, a patient with near blindness due to marginal corneal degeneration, received a corneal transplant thanks to a deceased donor. "I was in urgent need of a suitable cornea, and my family was almost desperate at that time. I was lucky to be given the priority of receiving the transplant as one of my family members was a registered cadaver and cornea donor in 2005."

Now, Wan is thankful for every moment of life and tries her best to enjoy the happiness of being alive with her loved ones. "The donor in my family is observing the world in the body of the organ recipient, and so is the donor of my new cornea," she said.

Since Chongqing gave the green light to cornea donation in 1980 and started work on human organ donation in 2012, the city has registered donations of 4,929 bodies, 817 organs, and 2,896 corneas.

Zhang Qi, an ophthalmologist at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, said that the Chongqing Eye Bank recorded more than 2,700 corneal donations, helping more than 3,300 patients recover their sight.

"Though the figure is still far from enough to meet the mounting need of patients, I believe that more will get involved in the benevolent undertaking and bring hope and light to those suffering from the darkness," Zhang noted.

In recent years, organ donation and transplantation are gaining steam in China, allowing those with organ failure to start anew. As of April 2, more than 4.62 million people had signed up for organ donation, noted data released on the China Organ Donation Administrative Center website. 
Erika Jayne has been named in a newly-filed lawsuit along with her estranged husband Tom Girardi amid allegations of illegal business practices.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 50, was named in a legal filing by the firm Edelson PC, in addition to her company EJ Global LLC, Girardi, 82, his law firm Girardi & Keese and his lenders asking for a minimum of $55 million in damages in a jury trial, People reported Tuesday after reviewing legal documents.

The law firm Edelson PC said in legal docs filed in in the U.S. District Court - Northern District of California San Francisco that Jayne and others named in the lawsuit engaged in acts of racketeering, conspiracy, deceit, receiving stolen property, aiding and abetting the concealment of illegally-obtained money and goods, conversion and consumers legal remedies act.

The latest: Erika Jayne, 50, has been named in a newly-filed lawsuit along with her estranged husband Tom Girardi, 82, amid allegations of illegal business practices. She was snapped at an Oscars party in LA last month

The Atlanta-born reality star functioned as the 'frontwoman' to the unlawful 'scheme' perpetrated by Girardi and his associates, Edelson PC told the court, as she was 'selling to the world (including unsuspecting clients) that Girardi Keese was successful' via her 'significant public platform' as a star on the popular Bravo series.

Jayne 'displayed a nationwide showroom of the money they stole on Real Housewives,' Edelson PC said in court docs, adding that she continues 'to lie about her own involvement, and to try to assist Tom and the others in getting away with it.'

Jayne 'made the cynical decision to leverage the scandal to further her career and stay relevant in the tabloids, meaning more exposure and a larger paycheck for her next season of performing on Housewives,' the law firm said in court docs.

Edelson PC told the court that emerging details about Girardi & Keese compare to 'a tale out of a John Grisham novel,' adding that it 'was little more than a criminal enterprise, disguised as a law firm' operating 'the largest criminal racketeering enterprise in the history of plaintiffs' law.

The firm Edelson PC, named Girardi, 82, his law firm Girardi & Keese, Jayne, her company EJ Global LLC, and his lenders in the suit, asking for a minimum of $55 million in damages in a jury trial. He was snapped in LA in 2018

The suit claims Jayne continues 'to lie about her own involvement, and to try to assist Tom and the others in getting away with' alleged acts of fraud and embezzlement

'All told, it stole more than $100 million dollars from the firm's clients, co-counsel, vendors, and many others unfortunate enough to do business with the firm.'

Edelson PC said in legal docs that Girardi & Keese's 'outward-facing success was built atop a house of cards' as it 'was siphoning off millions to fund Tom's and Erika's all-consuming need to spend - funding a lifestyle so lavish that Erika was a cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.'

Jayne and Girardi, according to the Edelson PC filing, 'played up the part of flaunting their wealth and the fact that Tom was a powerful attorney who wooed celebrities, judges, and politicians alike ... but that money was not earned by the firm or by Tom, but was stolen: from co-counsel, from vendors with long overdue bills, and - by far the most unforgiveable for an attorney - from the firm's own injured clients.'

Edelson PC Founder and CEO Jay Edelson told the outlet in a statement that 'it is going to take some time to fully untangle the decades-long fraud committed by Tom's enterprise,' but he is confident his firm can prove that Girardi & Keese 'was operating as a criminal enterprise.

Jayne filed for divorce from Girardi in November of 2020 after a 21-year marriage, shortly ahead of the filing of the initial suit in Illinois. The former couple was seen on RHOBH

Jayne was pictured Sunday at an event in Universal City, California

'We understand that many of the people we have identified, including Erika and Tom's partners, have focused on a campaign of lies, misinformation, and victim blaming. While those tactics can work fine on a RHOBH reunion show, it is a disaster in a court of law.'

Jayne was originally named with her estranged spouse in the December 2020 class action lawsuit filed by Edelson PC, accusing them of fraud and embezzlement in connection with funds earmarked for victims of the 2018 Lion Air Flight 610 crash, in which all 189 people onboard died. In January, she was dismissed from the ongoing lawsuit filed against against Girardi in Illinois.

Jayne filed for divorce from Girardi in November of 2020 after a 21-year marriage, shortly ahead of the filing of the initial suit.

'After much consideration, I have decided to end my marriage to Tom Girardi,' she said at the time. 'This is not a step taken lightly or easily. I have great love and respect for Tom and for our years and the lives we built together.'

Girardi has since been living in a nursing home after he was diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and was placed into a conservatorship by his brother Robert.
She has just been cast in Ryan Murphy's hit anthology series Feud.

And Naomi Watts looked busy on a call as she took her beloved rescue dog Izzy for a walk around the trendy Tribeca area of New York on Tuesday.

The 53-year-old was dressed stylishly in a tan corduroy jacket teamed with a cream wool sweater and designer jeans.

Busy in the Big Apple! Naomi Watts looked busy on a work call as she took her beloved rescue dog Izzy for a walk around the trendy Tribeca area of New York on Tuesday

She accessorised with chic black-rimmed spectacles and wore matching tan boots on her feet.

Makeup free, the Mulholland Drive actress pulled her blonde locks back into a ponytail.

Casual chic: The 53-year-old was dressed stylishly in a tan corduroy jacket teamed with a cream wool sweater and designer jeans

Following on from the success of FEUD: Bette and Joan on FX, a new project has been greenlit titled Capote's Women, where Watts is set to play American socialite Babe Paley, according to Deadline.

Paley - a friend of Truman Capote - ruled the glamorous world of New York society around 1960s and 1970s.

Two-time Oscar nominated director Gus Van Sant will direct all eight episodes of the series, with Pulitzer-nominated writer Jon Robin Baitz serving as showrunner and will be writing all eight episodes.

New role: Naomi recently signed on to Ryan Murphy's latest Feud miniseries playing American socialite Babe Paley... in drama about Truman Capote's female friends known as 'Swans'

The project is an adaptation of a best selling book by Laurence Leamer titled Capote's Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era.

The miniseries will be set in the '70s with it ending around the time of Truman Capote's death in 1984.

The drama follows the lives of his elegant, stylish high-society women - dubbed his 'Swans'- who included Jackie Kennedys sister, Lee Radziwill, Andy Warhols muse C.Z. Guest, and Babe Paley.

It is not yet clear which other historical figures will be depicted in the series.

In good hands: Watts will be directed by two-time Oscar nominated director Gus Van Sant (Watts pictured above last month)

Capote's popularity with New York socialites is perhaps of little surprise considering he was hailed one of the sharpest writers of the 20th Century.

His 1958 novella, Breakfast At Tiffany's, was adapted into the Oscar-winning movie starring Audrey Hepburn, while his 1966 true crime 'non fiction novel', In Cold Blood, is often regarded as one of the greatest examples of the genre.

Babe Paley made up one third of the Cushing sisters - alongside siblings Minnie and Betsey - whose romances, style trends and parties captivated the American public during the poverty-stricken Great Depression.

The women fascinated people with their glamorous lifestyles marked by wealth, privilege, country homes, designer clothes, yachts, fancy apartments and six high-profile marriages.

Interesting life: Barbara ('Babe') Paley with her second husband CBS founder William S. Paley at Sarah Roosevelt's going away party at Greentree, held on Jock Whitney's Manhasset estate, Long Island, circa 1952

The first married was 21-year-old Betsey, the middle sister who ensnared the affections of James Roosevelt II. James, also known as 'Jimmy' to his classmates at Harvard, was the eldest son of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Betsey's time as a Roosevelt in Washington DC was important for Babe because she arranged for her teenage sister to be introduced to the debutante circuit by hosting a ball at The White House.

Babe (born Barbara) had long been regarded as the most beautiful of the three girls; she was tall, slender, stylish and had aristocratic appeal. But much to her mother's disappointment, Babe decided to enter the workforce after two seasons of smashing success as a debutante.

Babe became an editor at Vogue Magazine, hired by Conde Nast himself, and quickly became a style icon, having believed to have started two 20th century trends - mixing high-low pieces and tying a scarf to her handbag.

She was married to oil heir Stanley Grafton Mortimer for six years, having two children, Amanda Jay Mortimer and Stanley Grafton Mortimer, before wedding CBS founder William S. Paley.

Motherhood was not Babe's forte and she was said to have ignored her children while in pursuit of social status.

Inspiration: Capote's popularity with New York socialites is perhaps of little surprise considering he was hailed one of the sharpest writers of the 20th Century

Babe and William lived in a luxurious apartment at the St Regis in New York. At the weekend, they would host lavish parties at their 80 acre farm on Long Island, attended by celebrity guests.

She maintained her position on the best-dressed list 14 times before officially being inducted into the Fashion Hall of Fame in 1958. She stayed married to William until her death in 1978 from lung cancer.

One of Babe's closet friends was Truman Capote, who admitted in his journal that her only fault was that she was perfect.

However this friendship was destroyed after Capote published his Answered Prayers chapter, La Cote Basque 1965, in Esquire Magazine - detailing a thinly-veiled account of William Paley cheating on his wife.

He said that Babe had walked in on her husband washing their sheets after a woman he was having an affair with menstruated on their marital bed. She never spoke to the writer again.
North Koreas Dictator Kim Jong-un may look like a rotund, funny cartoon character, but he, unfortunately, holds nuclear weapons in his hands. But theres another person scarier than Kim, and thats his sister Kim Yo-jong, considered to be No 2 in the North Korean leadership. And Kim Yo-jong doesnt look anything like a cartoon character.

Kim Yo-jong threatens South Korea. Photo: Getty Images

Kim Yo-jong has made her presence known after a while. In fact, she issued two threats to South Korea in the past three days.

A SHORT TIMELINE:

April 1, 2022: South Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook said that his country has the ability to make precision strikes to hit any target in North Korea, while talking about the communist countrys recent missile tests. It needs to be noted that this kind of public statement for a South Korean top official is rare.

April 3, 2022: Kim Jong-uns sister Kim Yo-jong swiftly hit back at Suh Wook for his comments, calling him a scum-like guy, claiming that the comments were reckless. She also said that Seoul should discipline itself to avoid a disaster.

KJU's sis Kim Yo Jong issues a "serious warning" in her usual flowery language to SKorea whose DefMin spoke of "preemptive strike" capability for an imminent missile attack. She called him "lunatic," "scum," "confrontation maniac" for comments toward a "nuclear weapon state"..1/ pic.twitter.com/00TiDf4LP5  Dr. Duyeon Kim (@duyeonkim) April 3, 2022

April 5, 2022: The rant didnt seem to end there, as North Koreas powerful sister once again threatened South Korea, this time to completely leave its neighbour in ruin and annihilation if it strikes them first. She added that North Korea doesnt want war and wont fire even a bullet at its neighbour, but if it is provoked, then it will destroy its enemy.

Whew... thats some threat to digest from a rogue nation bent on stockpiling nuclear weapons.

But who exactly is Kim Yo-jong? And should the world be worried?

North Korea's Dictator Kim Jong-un with his sister Kim Yo-jong. Photo: Getty Images

1. Since Kim Yo-jong became known publicly, netizens have weighed in on who is more dangerous - Kim Jong-un or his sister. And it has always been the newcomer - Kim Yo-jong. We wonder why! Probably it has to do something about the evil sibling trope, where the more docile-looking sibling is considered to be the actual menace.

via GIPHY

2. Kim Yo-jong first came into the global limelight in 2018 when she represented her brother at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. After that, she was seen holding an ashtray for the Supreme Leader while on their way to the nuclear summit in Vietnam with then-US President Donald Trump.

3. Kim Yo-jong has become an important person in the North Korean leadership ever since and is even credited with managing Kims public image at home and abroad. She is also part of the Workers party in North Korea that rules the country. This is quite significant in a political atmosphere where Kim Jong-un ordered the execution of his own uncle and half-brother.

4. She was also in charge of handling Pyongyangs affairs with Washington and Seoul.

5. It was reported that Yo-jong was given further military authority in 2021 when she was given permission to conduct unannounced inspections of some of the military logistics of the country.

6. If you remember the 2020 North and South Korea liaison office on the border being blown up, then you should know that it was on the orders of Yo-jong, in retaliation against pamphlets being sent towards the North.

7. All in all, Kim Yo-jong has the confidence of her brother and the North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-un and has direct access to him.

via GIPHY

8. It wouldnt be the first time either that the sister has threatened the South. In 2021, responding to then-South Korean President Moon Jae-ins comments on one of North Koreas missile tests, Kim had said that the comments served as destruction of bilateral ties between the two.

9. Kim Yo-Jong was reportedly born on September 26, 1987, though official records either dont exist or cannot be confirmed. She studied in Switzerland along with her brother Kim Jong-un and lived a sheltered life, tucked away in their private home with bodyguards monitoring their every move.

10. Experts say that Kim Yo-jongs comments may be foreshadowing more missile tests by North Korea. Experts also say that it is the same narrative  claiming to not attack first or manufacturing a threat from the rival country  adopted by Russia and China, that is being parroted by Kim Yo-jong.
3D printing is becoming all the rage on TikTok. Videos on 3D printing are going viral all over the social media application. 3D printing is essentially the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It is done by layering many thin layers of a material in succession, on top of each other.

To understand how 3D printers work, check out this video:

But TikTok users are pushing the possibilities of 3D printing; particularly the possibility of building affordable 3D printed houses.

Aiman Hussein, Director of printing at Alquist 3D has been releasing TikTok videos on 3D printing houses. His highest viewed TikTok is how Alquists printers are able to systematically layer concrete to build up a house's external walls in a computer-generated pattern.

Watch this video of the CEO of Alquist, Zack Mannheime, show the external walls of the 3D printed house and how the house would look like, once completely built:

Since 2020, Alquist has been able to build - or 3D print - two houses: one in Williamsburg, Virginia; and the other in Richmond, Virginia, US. April Stringfield and her family are already living in Alquist's Williamsburg house. The Williamsburg house was built in partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

The Williamsburg house is a three-bedroom, two-bath concrete structure and is able to withstand hurricanes and tornadoes. The house was built in 28 hours.

Talking about the Williamsburg house, Zack told Architectural Digest, "You dont have to be a millionaire to customise your home. 3D technology allows for customisation at all levels of home buying, and Alquist will be offering this later this year."

But there's is an Indian startup that is giving Alquist a run for their money in 3D printing houses. Built by IIT Madras alumni, Tvasta is a startup founded by Adithya, Vidyashankar and Parivarthan. The trio uses 3D printers to build sustainable and livable homes in just 5 days! (READ MORE HERE: Anand Mahindra wants to invest in startup Tvasta. What do they do? )

Tvasta's entire agenda behind building 3D printed homes is to create zero-waste construction and optimise production. The startup has been vouched for by none other than the Chairman of the Mahindra group, Anand Mahindra. Mahindra has also asked the startup if he could be as an investor.

Been following developments in 3D printed homes overseas. Critical for India so delighted to see home-grown tech from IIT Madras (now one of the worlds leading Tech-Incubators) I know you guys raised some seed funding, but any room for me to join in? pic.twitter.com/LXoZCMAwM8  anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) January 31, 2022

The startup also made headlines when it was spoken about by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a Mann Ki Baat episode aired in July 2021. The PM said, "Friends, when we are discussing technology, I want to point out another interesting subject. You must have recently read that a startup by an IIT Madras alumni has built a 3D printed house. Making a house through 3D printing? How was it possible?"

Prime Minister @narendramodi while addressing the 79th episode of his monthly radio programme @mannkibaat has highlighted the efforts of IIT Madras in Producing a 3D Printed house. Designed by IIT-Madras incubated start-up @Tvasta_3DP For more details: https://t.co/DwgXZ5puY5 pic.twitter.com/3JNOHiI4ws  IIT Madras, Alumni (@iitm_alumni) September 13, 2021

To see how Tvasta made it possible, take a look at this video:

Sustainability at its best!
SHANGHAI, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The maximum daily nucleic acid testing capacity in Shanghai has reached 4 million tubes, with the strong support of the central government and medical teams from other parts of China, the municipal government said Tuesday.

The single-day number of new locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases in Shanghai stood at 13,354 on Monday, including 268 confirmed cases and 13,086 asymptomatic cases. This figure brought the city's total local cases to over 73,000 in the latest resurgence beginning in early March.

The city has so far set up close to 20,000 sites and organized about 50,000 workers to take swab samples for nucleic acid testing.

A citywide nucleic acid testing was carried out on Monday among about 25.67 million residents, with nearly 2.43 million tubes of samples taken. About 1.93 million tubes have been tested as of 8 a.m. Tuesday. 
BEIRUT, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations(UN) Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Najat Rochdi on Tuesday expressed her concerns about the ongoing impact of the fuel crisis on basic services and people's well-being in Lebanon, a UN statement reported.

"I am appealing to the Lebanese government to find a sustainable solution to this issue, as the most vulnerable people need some form of assistance and protection," she said.

Between September 2021 to March, the World Food Programme (WFP) has delivered more than 10.4 million liters of fuel to power water and health facilities across the country to address serious fuel shortages and avoid key life-saving services from collapsing, according to the statement.

The fuel provision operations would not have been possible without the generous support of donors, it said.

According to the UN, only 25 percent of the cost of the Emergency Response Plan, which was launched in August 2021, has been funded.

Urgent support is needed to sustain operations and scale-up critical humanitarian activities, the statement added. 
Several relatives of the patient gathered at the hospital and ransacked the chamber of the doctor. They staged a protest at the hospital and lodged a complaint with the fourth town police.  DC file image

ANANTAPUR: CC cameras inside the cleaning room of a ward in a private nursing home, the Harshitha Hospital here, led to protests and tension on Sunday. The womans family members lodged a police complaint against the hospital and a case has been registered against the main doctor by the fourth town police.

According to the family members, the patient was admitted for a surgery for piles. She noticed a close circuit camera in the ward where the nursing staff did the cleaning of private parts prior to the surgery.

The patient informed this to her husband, who then questioned the staff at the hospital. The staff informed him that the cameras were installed during the Covid pandemic season and now they were not functional.

But, the husband and other family members went to the chamber of hospital managing director Dr Ramu and found the CC camera in the room was functioning and everything pertaining to pre-surgical cleaning at private parts had been recorded in it.

Several relatives of the patient gathered at the hospital and ransacked the chamber of the doctor. They staged a protest at the hospital and lodged a complaint with the fourth town police.

The police registered a case against the hospital. The family members demanded closure of the hospital and said the patient, after this incident, was in a state of depression with low blood pressure. She was immediately taken to another hospital.
The bench has been hearing the issue of Somesh Kumars allocation to Telangana by the CAT, whereas originally he had been allocated to Andhra Pradesh. (Representational Image/ PTI)

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday questioned chief secretary Somesh Kumar as to why he had not made PK Mohanty, the chief secretary at the time of re-organisation of erstwhile AP, a respondent in the petition challenging the allocation of All India Service cadre done by the central department of personnel and training (DoPT).

The court referred to the personal allegations made by Somesh Kumar against PK Mohanty that he played a malicious role with a view to bringing his daughter and son-in-law into the Telangana state during the All India Service cadre allocations, and because of this, his (Somesh) allocation was made to Andhra Pradesh.

It was in this connection that the division bench of the high court comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Surepalli Nanda asked Somesh Kumar why he hasn't made PK Mohanty a respondent in the petition filed against his allocation to AP cadre.

The bench was hearing the batch of petitions filed by the Union Ministry of DoPT, which challenged the orders of the Central Administrative Tribunal ( CAT)s Hyderabad bench that allowed the pleas of several IAS and IPS officers that they be allowed to work in the state of their choice (after bifurcation), by setting aside the cadre allocation done by the Union Government.

In the batch of petitions, the bench has been hearing the issue of Somesh Kumars allocation to Telangana by the CAT, whereas originally he had been allocated to Andhra Pradesh.

DV Seetharama Murthy, senior counsel appearing for Somesh, argued that the Union Government had violated the IAS cadre service rules, seniority rules etc during the cadre allocation. He submitted that on the day of appointment, as per the AP Reorganization Act, there were only 294 AIS officers working here, and out of them 191 were direct recruits and 103 were promoted to the cadre.

But, the allocation was done by the Union Government in violation of the seniority rules, by resorting to the option of the available officers in the batch-wise slot, the senior counsel argued.

Refuting the contention that PK Mohanty was not working on 1 June 2014 and that he was retired on that day, a day before the appointment, Somesh Kumar claimed that several GOs had been issued by the government in the name of PK Mohanty on 1 June 2014.

This itself buttresses the fact that he was in service. So, the contention of the Union Government is wrong, that PK Mohanty was already retired, counsel argued.

He also said Mohanty`s son and daughter-in-law were in All India Services in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, but they were in outsiders cadre and did not belong to AP cadre. Both outsiders were being allotted to Telangana state cadre due to the malice role played by PK Mohanty, who was a member in the Pratyush Sinha panel. It resulted in a cascading effect on whole cadre allocation, Seetarama Murthy argued on behalf of Somesh.

Further, it was argued, In the lottery (system), roaster was to be allotted to Telangana firstly. But, contrary to that, at the time of allocation, roaster was allotted to Andhra Pradesh, the reasons best known to them. It is a clear violation. How could the Union Government say that it had followed the guidelines and rules of cadre allotment? Moreover, the concept of lottery itself was contrary to cadre allocation. Cadre could be easily allocated on the basis of the seniority list by following the rules. This is not rocket science. But, the department changed its stand from time to time in cadre allocation, Someshs counsel argued. The arguments will continue on 7 April.
Farming of cultured shrimps has picked up in Odisha, West Bengal and Gujarat and domestic consumption has also increased in the country. (Twitter)

Vishakhapatanam: India exported $8 billion worth seafood during the last financial year, a billion more than the previous year, according to tentative data available with Seafood Exporters Association of India.

Andhra Pradesh takes a major share in the exports with 40 per cent contribution in terms of value.

This was despite the Covid-19 related issues, diplomatic row with China and the recent Ukraine crisis, said SEAIs national president Jagadish Fofandi.

Talking to this correspondent in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, AP general secretary Pavan Kumar said the export bucket contained 8 lakh tonnes of cultured shrimps which was 60 per cent of the total exports in terms of value.

He said the central government has set a target of $15 billion worth exports by the turn of 2025. The government set the target without offering any incentives that the exporters want for value added products.

There were recent issues that marginally affected the exports, he said, explaining that Russia closed its imports from India after the country went to war with Ukraine.

He said the diplomatic row and the border crisis made China stop imports from 132 Indian companies citing presence of Covid nuclei in the shrimps. They banned some companies permanently and put on hold some other exporters from India.

We met the minister of commerce and the senior officials and they promised us to resolve the issue with China, he said.

The other major issue has been the abnormal increase in the freight charges. The pre-Covid charges for a container (30 tonnes) to the US was $3,000. Now it has been increased to $15,000 to $18,000.

``The freight agents formed into cartel and hiking at their will in regular intervals. We are taking up the issue with the government seeking its intervention, Fofandi said.

This hike is cutting into the profits of exporters and the farmers. The US is the largest importer of shrimps from India followed by China, Europe and Japan. Fofandi said.

India is the largest exporter in the world fighting for first place with Ecuador. Growth of aquaculture is also impressive. Farming of cultured shrimps has picked up in Odisha, West Bengal and Gujarat and domestic consumption has also increased in the country.
Assam has witnessed a spurt in police encounters since Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed office on May 10 last year. (Representational image: ANI)

Guwahati: Two surrendered National Liberation Front of Bodoland (NLFB) militants, allegedly involved in dacoity, were killed and an additional superintendent of police was injured in a gunfight in Assam's Chirang district on Tuesday, police said.

In another incident, dacoits shot dead a man inside his house in the same district which falls under Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).

Acting on a tip-off about the presence of former NLFB militants suspected to have been involved in dacoity incidents in three villages along the India-Bhutan border on March 29, an operation was launched in Runikhata area on Monday night, a police officer said.

The suspected dacoits, who were hiding inside a house, opened fire on the police team on spotting them early on Tuesday. In retaliatory firing, two of them, including Mahanta Narzary, a prime accused in a dacoity case, were killed while Additional Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) Prakash Medhi and his bodyguard sustained bullet injuries.

Around two-three people who were inside the house, however, managed to escape and search operations have been launched to nab them.

Medhi, who received bullet injuries on his right hand, and his bodyguard were shifted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) for treatment.

Two pistols were seized from the encounter site.

"Valiant action by Additional SP Prakash Medhi. Despite receiving bullet injury, he and his team neutralised two criminals after heavy exchange of fire in Runikhata, Chirang early this morning.@Assam Police is proud of you," Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) G P Singh tweeted.

Around the same time, a group of suspected dacoits barged into a house in Kamarpara in Dhaligaon police station area, and when the residents raised an alarm, they shot dead a family member, identified as Raja Bodo, and left the place.

Police officers reached the spot and launched a combing operation to nab the killers.

Assam has witnessed a spurt in police encounters since Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assumed office on May 10 last year, with 40 people killed and at least 91 injured in such incidents since then.

The NLFB militants had surrendered last year.

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 has been withdrawn from 23 districts of Assam, including those falling under BTR, from April 1.
BERLIN, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The number of European patent applications from Chinese companies in 2021 hit a new record of 16,665, the Munich-based European Patent Office (EPO) said on Tuesday.

In total, EPO recorded 188,600 patent applications from all over the world last year, 4.5 percent more than in the previous year. Growing at 24 percent, Chinese companies recorded the highest rate among the 30 leading patent filing countries.

"Over the past 10 years in the European Patent Office, we've seen that the number of patent applications from Chinese companies has increased four times in 2021," Aidan Kendrick, EPO Chief Business Analyst, told Xinhua.

"What we see in 2021 is continued dynamic growth of applications from China at the European Patent Office. In 2021, the rate of increase with some 24 percent, which represents an extremely dynamic development," he added.

In the field of digital communications, which accounted for the most patent applications, Chinese companies were already the biggest patent filer with a share of 29 percent in 2021. In other fields, such as biotechnology and audio-visual technology, filings by Chinese companies skyrocketed by up to 75 percent.

With 3,544 filings, Chinese tech giant Huawei filed more patent applications in 2021 than any other company, ahead of Samsung and LG from South Korea, according to the EPO.

For the first time, all top six Chinese companies, including Oppo, ZTE, Baidu, Xiaomi and Tencent, were also listed among the 50 largest European patent applicants. 
MGM Hospital superintendent Dr V. Srinivas was transferred and two duty doctors suspended after a patient in the respiratory intensive care unit was found bitten by rats.  Representational image/DC

Hanamkonda: Doctors of the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Hospital in Hanamkonda boycotted work, wore black badges and staged a demonstration on Tuesday to protest the action taken against their colleagues in the rat bite incident.

The Telangana Government Doctors Association (TGDA) had demanded that the government revoke its decision to suspend two doctors by April 4. With no word coming from the government, the doctors started their protest.

TGDA members said the work of doctors was to give medical treatment and not catch rats and insects which is the duty of the sanitation department. Instead of taking action against the sanitation agency, the government had taken action on doctors.

MGM Hospital superintendent Dr V. Srinivas was transferred and two duty doctors suspended after a patient in the respiratory intensive care unit was found bitten by rats. He died later at the Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad.
Kolkata: Claiming India's economic conditions to be worse than that of Sri Lanka's, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday suggested the Centre convene an all party meet to tackle an "economic crisis" over the unabated fuel price hike across the country.

The Trinamul Congress supremo also warned the BJP claiming that she knows "how to pour mobil" if anyone sprinkles black ink on her saree.

On the economic situation, she said, "Sri Lanka's economic condition is bad. The citizens have revolted there. But India's condition is worse than Sri Lanka's though the two countries can not be compared with each other. Fuel prices have been hiked here continuously. But the Centre has no plans to deal with it. The BJP is responsible for this crisis. It is their return gift to the country after winning the Uttar Pradesh elections. Instead of using agencies like the CBI and ED against opposition parties, the Centre must convene an all-party meeting to resolve the ongoing economic crisis."

Sniffing ploys by the BJP to create disturbances in the state, the TMC chief added, "We get hear many plans. Though Mamata Banerjee never plays with colours, she knows how to pour mobil if someone sprinkles black ink on her saree."

Taking cue from Chief Justice of India NV Ramana's recent adverse remarks on the CBI, the CM also trained guns on the Centre observing, "When it comes to opposition parties, it becomes proactive but remains inactive on the ruling party."

She renewed her attack on Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar alleging that he has not cleared the names her government recommended for the appointment of Lokayukta and state human rights commission. Ms Banerjee further passed the blame of smuggling of arms, cattle and drugs through West Bengal on other states.
Kukatpally Congress leaders burned effigies of PM Modi and CM KCR to protest against hike in Petrol, Diesel, Gas and electricity charges at Kukatpally Bus Stop. (Photo: Twitter)

HYDERABAD: As many as five Congress activists suffered mild injuries after some Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) activists attacked them during a protest in Vikarabad on Monday. The Congress activists were staging a dharna and burning effigies of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and BJP while they were attacked.

The Congress gave a call to stage protests on Monday at all mandal headquarters to protest against the TRS government in Telangana and the BJP government at the Centre for increasing fuel prices and power tariff.

Following the call given by the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), hundreds of activists took to the streets and staged protests. In Hyderabad, The TPCC fishermen wing Chairman Mettu Saikumar and a number of activists took out a rally from Mozamjahi Market to the Gandhi Bhavan, the Congress headquarters in the state.

They also staged protests by putting a bike on the pushcart against the hike in fuel price in the country. Saikumar alleged that the TRS government in Telangana and the BJP government at the Centre had looted the people on the pretext of fuel prices and power tariff.

The TRS and the BJP leaders confused farmers on paddy procurement. Owing responsibility for their errors, both the TRS and the BJP must consider purchasing paddy from Telangana to support farmers. The Congress will intensify the stir in future in support of farmers and common people," he said.

Similarly, Congress leader Vengala Rao and party members staged a dharna and burnt Chief Minister's effigy at Kukatpally Junction on Monday. The police detained the Congress leaders. The Congress leaders also staged dharna and burnt effigies in Shadnagar.

Protests took place at Ibrahimpatnam, Hanumada, Garidepally of Nalgonda district, Khanapur and other towns in the state.
New Delhi: On the eve of the BJPs 42nd foundation day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all party MPs Tuesday to dedicate themselves to seva, or service, as the BJP plans a fortnight-long Samajik nyay pakhwada exercise from April 7. While Mr Modi will address the party cadre on Wednesday, BJP president J.P. Nadda will interact with the envoys of various nations -- including France, the EU delegation, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Bangladesh, Singapore, Italy, Hungary, Vietnam, Norway and others, as part of the programme called Know the BJP.

Addressing BJP MPs at the parliamentary party meeting, the PM cited a number of government welfare schemes aimed at different segments of society and asked MPs to reach out to people with details in the exercise over a fortnight.

Mr Nadda, it is learnt, noted the party had achieved the feat of having 100 MPs in the Rajya Sabha for the first time. The BJPs growth in the Northeast was also mentioned. The first woman MP from Nagaland, a BJP leader, was elected recently to the Upper House.

Briefing the media later, parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said the PM asked the MPs to actively participate in programmes.

They should dedicate themselves to service, he quoted him as saying.

MPs were also given orange caps carrying the partys name or symbol, like the one sported by the PM recently. Some MPs also wore caps with a photo of Mr Modi.

In the fortnight-long event, BJP MPs and leaders will highlight the impact of the health insurance programme Ayushman Bharat and Jan Aushadhi Kendra, where medicines are sold at a subsidised rate. The schemes to build houses for the poor and to bring piped water to every household will also be part of the exercise.

The birth anniversary of social reformer Jyotirao Phule and dalit icon Dr B.R. Ambedkar on April 9 and April 14 respectively will also be observed in a big way by the party.

Later, at the BJP headquarters, national general secretary Arun Singh gave details of the April 6 events and the fortnight-long exercise. BJP president J.P. Nadda will hoist the party flag in the morning (April 6) and inaugurate a blood donation camp as well. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address BJP workers virtually at 10 am, reaching out to all our 956 organisational districts, 15,732 mandals, and over 10 lakh booths. All mandals will see flag-hoisting and shobha yatras (processions), he said.
Farah Khan, a close friend of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi, has left the country amid serious allegations of corruption levelled against her by the opposition, a media report said

According to sources, Farah Khan had left for Dubai on Sunday after the dissolution of the National Assembly in the wake of the no-trust move against Imran Khan, said the Dawn news report.

Her husband had reportedly left the country already, the report added.

Also Read | Pakistan army disputes PM Imran, says no evidence suggesting US involvement in regime change: Report

Opposition PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz alleged that a friend of Bushra Bibi received a huge sum of money for getting officers transferred and posted according to their choice, calling her the "mother of all scandals" amounting to 6 billion PKR.

"I dare to name Farah, a friend of Bushra Bibi who is involved in receiving millions of rupees in transfers and postings and these are directly connected to Banigala (residence of Prime Minister Khan)," Maryam Nawaz said.

She claimed once the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government was sent home the mind-boggling stories of corruption of the premier and the company would come to the fore, Dawn news reported.

"The mother of all scandals of transfers and postings amounting to 6 billion PKR is related to Banigala. In the coming days, startling evidence will surface. Imran Khan has fears that once he is out of power his 'thefts' will be exposed."

Sacked Punjab province Governor Chaudhry Sarwar and Aleem Khan, an old friend of the premier, also alleged that Farah Khan had made millions in transfers and postings done in Punjab through former Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.

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Pakistans powerful Army has contradicted Prime Minister Imran Khans remarks accusing America of hatching a conspiracy to topple his government, saying there was no evidence of interference in the countrys internal matters, according to a media report.

Prime Minister Khan had chaired a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) on March 27 to discuss the issue of a threatening letter to remove his government.

A statement issued after the meeting expressed concern over the non-diplomatic language used in the cable, saying it was tantamount to interference in the internal matters of Pakistan.

The NSC then decided to issue a demarche to the United States.

Khan pedalled the narrative that Army top leaders endorsed the letter and its threatening context was genuine.

Later, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri used the statement to block a vote on the no-trust move in a development that triggered a constitutional crisis.

However, official sources told The Express Tribune newspaper on Monday that a wrong impression was given about the military leadership endorsing the view of the government.

One source said the prime minister could make public minutes of the meeting because the NSC statement was only meant for the media.

"Are there any minutes of the NSC meeting? Have all the participants signed on the minutes of the meeting, the source asked.

He said that the minutes of the meeting are considered official documents only when all the participants of NSC sign. This suggests that the military leadership had not signed on the minutes of the meeting.

The source further said that the US had not sent any letter to the government and it was the assessment of Pakistan's Ambassador to the US Masood Khan after his meeting with the US officials.

The source said that there was no evidence of any linkage between the vote of no confidence and the diplomatic cable that had triggered the ongoing political and constitutional crises.

In a live address to the nation last week, 69-year-old Khan discussed a 'threat letter' and termed it as part of a foreign conspiracy to remove him as he was not acceptable for following an independent foreign policy. He named the US as the country behind the threat letter in what appeared to be a slip of tongue.

The US State Department has firmly rejected Prime Minister Khans remarks over Washingtons role in an alleged foreign conspiracy to oust him from power.

America also asserted that it did not send any letter to Pakistan on the current political situation in the country as it sought to refute allegations of America's involvement in the no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan-led government.

According to The Express Tribune report, another sign that the military leadership was reluctant to endorse the conspiracy allegations by the prime minister was the recent speech delivered by Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The Chief of Army Staff said that Pakistan enjoyed an excellent and long-term relationship with the United States and that the US is Pakistans largest export partner.

The powerful Pakistan Army, which has ruled the coup-prone country for more than half of its 73 plus years of existence, has hitherto wielded considerable power in matters of security and foreign policy.

Gen. Bajwas statement on the Russian-Ukraine conflict was also different from the stance adopted by the PTI government.

The Army chief not only expressed serious concern over the Russian invasion but insisted that the Russian aggression against a smaller nation could not be condoned.

This highlights the fact that the military leadership may not be on the same page with the PTI government on certain foreign policy issues, according to the report.

However, the military leadership is not making public any statement to clarify if they endorsed the foreign-funded plot against Khan, it said.

Moreover, the military has already made it clear that the Army was "absolutely not" part of what happened in the National Assembly.
In a development that rattled the Maha Vikas Aghadi dispensation, the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday attached properties of journalist-politician Sanjay Raut, the Man Friday of Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.

Last month, the ED attached properties linked to business entities of Thackerays brother-in-law Shridhar Patankar in another case.

The action against the Shiv Sena trouble-shooter and chief spokesperson was in connection with its probe into the Rs 1,040-crore floor space index (FSI) fraud at Patra Chawl at Goregaon suburbs of Mumbai.

60-year-old Raut, who is in New Delhi to attend the Parliament session, immediately spoke to Thackeray and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, the chief architect of the anti-BJP coalition in Maharashtra.

It may be mentioned, Raut has been in the forefront and had been accusing the BJP-led NDA of misusing central agencies and leaving no chance to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his trusted aide and Union home minister Amit Shah.

The ED has attached eight plots of land at Saphale in Palghar district, Alibaug in Raigad district and a flat in a 32-storeyed building in Dadar in, Mumbai, which is in the name of Varsha Raut, the wife of Raut and Swapna Patkar, the wife of Sujit Patkar.

The total value of the attached assets is Rs 11,15,56,573.

satyamev jayate, Raut tweeted after the provisional attachment order.

Later speaking to reporters in the national capital, he said: "I am not the one who will get scared. Seize my property, or shoot me, or send me to jail, I am Balasaheb Thackeray's follower and a Shiv Sainik.I will fight it out and expose everyone. I am not the one to stay quiet, let them make merry. The truth will prevail.

If the allegations are proved, I will leave politics and public life(the properties) have come from hard earned money, Raut, who is the executive editor of Saamana, the mouthpiece of Shiv Sena, told a Marathi news channel.

The MVA partners rallied behind Raut and decided to fight it out after the ED carried out the action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

It may be mentioned, last month the ED had arrested businessman Pravin Raut, who is known to be close to Raut, in connection with the case - and a few days ago filed the chargesheet.

As far as the case goes, Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd was involved in the re-development of this chawl which had 672 tenants in tenements on 47 acres of land belonging to Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (MHADA).

Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd is a subsidiary company of Housing Development Infrastructure Ltd. (HDIL), which is already under investigation by the ED vis-a-vis Rs 4,300 crore alleged fraud at the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank.

The construction company had entered into a tripartite agreement with the tenants and MHADA to redevelop the Patra Chawl. The developer had to provide flats to 672 tenants and develop flats for MHADA and thereafter the remaining area to be sold by the developer.

The directors of Guru Ashish Constructions misled MHADA and managed to sell the FSI (floor space index) to nine developers and collected about Rs 901.79 crore without constructing the rehab portion for 672 displaced tenants and MHADA portion. The total proceeds of the crime generated by the directors of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd through the illegal activities was around Rs 1,039.79 crore, the ED statement points out.

The ED said Rs 100-crore was transferred to the HDIL accounts of Pravin Raut, and later diverted to other entities and his family members.

In the recent past, the ED also attached properties of senior Shiv Sena leader and three-time MLA Pratap Sarnaik vis-a-vis National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) scam. Besides, the I-T raided the home and properties linked to senior Shiv Sena leader Yashwant Jadhav.

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India and Singapore on Tuesday reaffirmed their strong and long-standing defence ties as Indian Army chief General M M Naravane held talks with top Singaporean military leadership and discussed the roadmap to further enhance bilateral military cooperation.

The Chief of Army Staff, who is on a three-day visit to the city-state, called on Singapore's Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen, and discussed regional geopolitical developments. In the meeting, "the strong & long-standing bilateral defence relationship between both Nations was reaffirmed," the Indian Army's Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG PI) tweeted.

Gen. Naravane also called on Singapore's Army chief Brigadier General David Neo and discussed "the roadmap to further enhance defence cooperation between both nations," it said.

Also Read | Lt Gen Manoj Pande set to become Indian Army chief

He also reviewed the Guard of Honour at the Defence Ministry and complimented the Guard for an "impeccable turnout and parade".

Gen Naravane, on the first day of his tour on Monday, visited the Kranji war memorial in Singapore and paid tributes to those who laid down their lives in the line of duty during World War-II.

Dedicated to the men and women from India, the UK, Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, Malaya, the Netherlands and New Zealand who died defending Singapore and Malaya against the invading Japanese forces during the second World War, the memorial comprises the War Graves, the Memorial Walls, the State Cemetery and the Military Graves.

Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore in 1963 to become Malaysia. In 1965, Singapore was separated from the federation.

Gen. Naravane on Monday also visited the Battle Box Bunker at Fort Canning, an authentic World War II secret Command Centre built 9 metres underground in the late 1936 by the British forces.

He was briefed on the historic significance of the Bunker, which was used as an emergency, bomb-proof Command Centre during the War especially the invasion of Singapore by the Japanese forces.

Gen Naravane will also hold talks with the senior civilian leadership of Singapore during his visit and discuss avenues for enhancing India-Singapore defence relations.

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Sri Lankas High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda had wanted to build a special relationship between the two countries through a three-phase plan he had drawn up late last year. Then came Sri Lankas economic crisis. He tells DHs Anirban Bhaumik that with the recent visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Colombo, the first phase of the plan  the confidence-building phase -- had ended, and the second phase  building a strategic relationship  had begun.

How did Sri Lanka fall into this economic crisis?

Sri Lanka has always lived beyond its means, spending way more than what we have been earning. Nearly 80 per cent of our revenue is spent on salaries and pensions to people. We are a nation of 22 million people. We have 1.5 million people employed by the government. Another half a million get a government pension. Our interest obligations on government debt amount to 70 per cent of our revenues. This did not happen overnight. Its a legacy that has its roots in the early years after Independence in 1948. We also had a 30-year-long conflict. Our revenue is one of the lowest in the world  8 per cent of our GDP. We also have many loss-making State-owned companies. The fundamental problem lies in our budget, this has never been resolved in the past 25-30 years. When Covid-19 struck, all these came to the fore. As Warren Buffet once said, When the tide goes down, you can see who is swimming naked.

We have to restructure our economy. It is a difficult and painful process. In fact, we can learn from the reforms in India, like reforms in the SOEs (State-owned Enterprises), reforms in agriculture and electricity sectors, and public-private partnership initiatives. Indias model of using Aadhaar to better target welfare schemes is also interesting for us. We will have to first stabilise the situation and then go for long-term structural reforms.

What help do you expect from India?

India has been a key factor in our stabilisation process, with its four-pronged approach to extending assistance. First, it has extended a Line of Credit of $1 billion to allow us to procure essential supplies like food and medicines. Second, it has given a $500 million credit line to buy petroleum. Third, it helped us respond to the balance of payment crisis by extending a $400 million currency swap and by deferring the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) settlement of $515 million. Fourth, India agreed to increase investment in Sri Lanka, be it in ports, energy, electricity, tourism or IT. India is a critical part of the process of economic revival of Sri Lanka. Indias support will remain very important for us.

Also Read: Sri Lankas Emergency ill-motivated

Is Sri Lanka also talking to China, the US and the IMF?

We are in talks with the IMF, and India is playing a key role in bridging the gap till we qualify to enter into an IMF programme. We are holding talks with all our sovereign lenders to deal with our debt crisis. We have to restructure our sovereign debts. But India is the key to all our efforts to get out of the crisis because it stepped up right in the beginning to extend support to Sri Lanka.

The US had come up with the Brady Plan and issued Brady Bonds to help when several South American nations had found themselves in debt crises in the 1980s. I think India could play a similar role in this region because it has the economic strength to do this. What India is doing now to help Sri Lanka could be a precursor to it playing such a role.

There was a perception in New Delhi that Colombo was moving close to China, overlooking the security interests of India.

Also Read: Fall of the Rajapaksas: From war heroes to villains of Lanka's economy

Perception is important but, at the same time, building trust and confidence between the countries and their leadership is also important. And I think that is what we are achieving now. The first rule that we set is No Surprises. In other words, we have an open relationship. If India is worried about something, it can come forward and tell us about it. We do the same when we have an issue. We call it as we see it. That is what we have achieved in the past 6-8 months.

Has Sri Lanka walked into Chinas debt-trap?

I think this is an exaggeration. Our official debt to China is only about 10 per cent of our total debt. Its not small, but its not what has caused our problems. We have borrowed heavily in foreign exchange. We have borrowed $12-15 billion on commercial terms. We cannot really blame somebody outside for our crisis.

What, from your viewpoint, was the significance of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankars recent visit to Sri Lanka?

It was a milestone visit. In a way, it closed the transactional phase or confidence-building phase referred to in the Integrated Country Strategy, which we at the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi had put forward. I think we are achieving a level of confidence. We are now beginning a new phase  the second phase when we need to work on building a strategic relationship. There was significant progress in our defence cooperation during the visit  an MoU for India to help Sri Lanka set up a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre; India giving us Dornier aircraft for maritime surveillance, as well as a floating dock. India also made a grant of $15 million for the promotion of our Buddhist ties and built a beautiful cultural centre in Jaffna. An agreement was signed for India to build hybrid power projects in Sri Lankas northern region, close on the heels of another for Indias NTPC to build a solar power project at Sampur.

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A provisional date for the inquest of two Derry IRA men shot dead by British soldiers in 1984 has been set for April next year.

At a preliminary hearing today into the deaths of William Fleming (19) from the Waterside area of Derry and Danny Doherty (23) from Creggan, coroner Mr Justice Ian Huddleston said he had provisionally booked Banbridge Courthouse for six weeks from April 17 2023 for the purposes of hearing the inquest.

The two men were on active service and were shot a total of 84 times by under SAS soldiers as they rode a motorcycle through the grounds of Gransha Hospital on December 6 1984.

In 2010, after it emerged some documents had not been made available the then Attorney General John Larkin, ordered a new inquest into the deaths.

At today's hearing, counsel for the coroner Fiona Doherty said that some non-sensitive material had been received from the PSNI and the Ministry of Defence and sensitive material was still outstanding.

Mark Robinson QC for the PSNI said that there were four lever arch files of sensitive material to be gone through.

He said a process had to carried out on this material which he hoped would be complete by September of this year.

A barrister for the Ministry of Defence said he hoped to be able to follow a similar timetable.

Ms Doherty told the hearing that the situation of some military witnesses also had to be ascertained.

Karen Quinlivan QC for the next of kin said it was important to establish if some military witnesses were willing to make statements to the coroner's staff.

She said in other inquests were military witnesses were reluctant to make statements a procedure had been put in place.

The coroner said he was willing to consider written submissions as to where the inquest should be held but as for now he had booked Banbridge for next April.

A previous hearing had heard that William Fleming had been shot four times in the head and 56 times to the body while Danny Doherty had been shot three times to the head and 21 times to the body.

The next review date for the hearing was fixed for May 24.
KAMPONG CHAM, Cambodia, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy to Cambodia on Tuesday paid homage to two Chinese peacekeepers martyred in the United Nations mission in the Southeast Asian country in 1993.

The event, which was held on the occasion of China's traditional Tomb-Sweeping Day, was attended by more than 30 people including Chinese diplomats and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) experts who are working here to assist in Cambodia's fight against COVID-19.

The visitors laid wreaths at a memorial monument in Kampong Cham province to honor the Chinese peacekeepers who lost their lives in a UN peacekeeping mission.

Wu Guoquan, the embassy's economic and commercial counselor, said the two Chinese peacekeepers were killed in a mid-night explosion on May 21, 1993, and that they were among about 800 Chinese peacekeepers arriving in Cambodia in 1992 to perform the UN peacekeeping mission.

Wu said the life sacrifice of the Chinese peacekeepers for peace as well as the efforts devoted by Chinese personnel for the development of Cambodia have both contributed to the longstanding China-Cambodia friendship. 
Causeway Coast and Glens Local Action Group (LAG) is celebrating the successful delivery of over 7m of funding across the Borough.

The significant investment has supported new and existing businesses, community organisations, villages, and tourism initiatives in rural locations throughout the Borough, helping to create 156 full-time and 14 part-time jobs.

At its formation in 2016, the LAG was allocated an overall budget of 7.8m as part of the Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. Since then, the groups funding has benefited 88 local businesses, 19 community organisations, 20 villages and 5 tourism projects.

With the Rural Development Programme now ended, LAG members met for their final Board meeting on March 31st 2022 to celebrate its successful completion and reflect on its achievements.

LAG Chairperson Councillor Dermot Nicholl said the programme had provided a welcome financial boost to the entire rural community during the most difficult of times.

He added: I would like to pay tribute to our applicants for the part they have played in helping to deliver this programme, and to Council for providing much needed match funding.

I want to congratulate my fellow Board members for their commitment in ensuring this funding was successfully delivered to our rural dwellers.

We are very proud at what has been achieved since 2016 and the programmes contribution to sustainable growth and prosperity through job creation and regeneration.

I hope that the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) will continue to provide funding for local rural communities through the new Rural Development Programme and Causeway Coast and Glens LAG will be standing ready to deliver once again.

To mark the successful completion of the programme, a hard back book has been created which highlights some of the RDP projects and features a list of its successful funded projects.

Please contact nigel.mcfadden@causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk to arrange for a copy to be collected from the Council offices.

A digital copy of the book is available here.

The Northern Ireland Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 was part funded by DAERA and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

For further information about the impact of the Rural Development Programme in Causeway Coast and Glens go to www.causewaycoastandglens.gov.uk/work/rural-development.
The family of a Derry man shot dead by British soldiers in a 'shoot-to-kill' incident in the city over 40 years ago have welcomed a ruling by the presiding coroner in Belfast, Mr Justice Humphries, that a fresh inquest into the shooting will be fixed for hearing next year.

This legacy inquest is one of 10 cases of the 22 recently reviewed by the High Court in February and March 2022 which will now proceed to hearing.

Patrick Duffy was shot dead just after 9pm on the 24th of November 1978 while in 2 Maureen Avenue, Derry by members of the British army. Mr Duffy was 50 years of age at the time of his death. He was married with 6 children, one of whom, Margarita was sitting in a car outside the house at the time of the shooting with her 7-month-old nephew. He died instantly from his injuries.

Pathology evidence at the original inquest, held on the 9th and 10th December 1980, confirmed that Patrick Duffy was shot at least 11 times but up to 14. The same evidence confirmed that bullets were fired from his left-hand side or behind him into his back with at least 2 of these shots being at close range to the left side of his chest. Mr Duffy was alone and unarmed at the time of the shooting.

During the course of the first inquest 2 members of the British army, anonymised as Soldiers B and C, submitted written statements of evidence to the inquest proceedings in which they admitted that they were responsible for shooting Mr Duffy. Both soldiers provided the written witness statements to police in Northern Ireland when accompanied by a Major attached to Army Legal Services.

These witness statements were tendered as evidence at the 1980 inquest. Neither soldier gave oral evidence at the inquest nor were they subjected to cross examination by the lawyers for the family in 1980.

In their statements Soldiers B and C stated that they were tasked to enter the house at 2 Maureen Avenue where they were initially stationed in an upstairs room at 2 Maureen Avenue, Derry on the 24th of November 1978. A further Soldier, Soldier A was stationed in the attic of the house. He did not give evidence at the inquest.

A further witness statement from the Commander of the Unit, Soldier E, who provided a written deposition to the 1980 inquest, confirmed that he deployed Soldiers B and C to the property at 1.00am on the 23rd of November 1978 with instructions to enter the property in plain clothes and then change into their uniform. Soldiers B and C alleged that they searched the house, found no illegal weapons, and then secreted themselves in the attic. The MOD indicated at a recent hearing that Soldier E has died since the grant of the fresh inquest.

The military evidence at the 1980 inquest went on to state that Mr Duffy entered the house and upstairs room at 9.20pm on the evening of the 24th of November 1978. Soldier B fired at Patrick Duffy, alleging self-defence. Soldier C came behind Solder B and also fired into the room.

Both Soldiers alleged that fired their weapons in automatic mode from outside the room. The pathology evidence confirms that the vast majority of the bullets that struck Mr Duffy entered his back and side. The other bullets fired at close range, entered his chest. The pathologist concluded that the wounds to Mr Duffy were caused by 9mm calibre ammunition.

A senior police detective gave evidence at the 1980 inquest that the wardrobe which held the weapons and ammunition in the upstairs room was locked.

The 1980 inquest concluded with an open verdict from the jury. The family of Mr Duffy, including his now deceased wife Mrs Moira Duffy, have long campaigned for a fresh inquest to explore the circumstances of his shooting.

An application to the Attorney General John Larkin QC for a fresh was submitted on the 2nd of November 2015. In preparing for the application solicitors searched for civilian witnesses in Derry. At least 4 civilian witnesses came forward who had not given evidence to the original inquest.

The application for a fresh inquest included the newly unearthed civilian witness evidence. In addition to new civilian evidence lawyers for the family also lodged thematic submissions to the Attorney General on the thematic pattern of shoot to kill policies and cases in Northern Ireland in the late 1970s.

The direction for a fresh inquest was issued to the Coroner by the Attorney General on the 22nd of March 2019. The Attorney General directed the fresh inquest on the basis that Patrick Duffys shooting by the military was unjustified and that no reason had been provided by the MOD as to why Soldiers B and C could not now be called to give evidence at a fresh inquest.

In his decision letter the Attorney General stated: At its core, there is in this case the death by shooting of an unarmed man by, it seems, two soldiers who may have been dressed as civilians. In common with the practice at the time neither of those soldiers gave evidence at the inquest. There does not, on the materials available to me, appear to be any objective justification for shooting Mr Duffy.

The MOD has not made any further contact with my Office regarding this case since November 2017 and, with the exception of Soldier E who appears unlikely to be available, I consider that there is at present the potential for military evidence to be considered now that was not previously available.

Solicitor for the family, Patricia Coyle, said today: Patrick Duffy was gunned down while alone and unarmed, peppered with between 11 and 14 bullets and shot at close range at least twice. There was no attempt to stop and question or arrest him. The killing of Patrick Duffy, conducted by a plain clothes military unit, was unjustified.

"It is considered that Mr Duffys killing is one of the earliest examples of the use of lethal force by the British army in Northern Ireland when an arrest was possible and such forces was not necessary.

"During the course of the autopsy which took place on the 25th of November 1978 a bullet a deformed copper jacketed bullet was removed from Mr Duffy by the pathologist and handed directly to police.

"There is no reason this bullet cannot be made available for up-to-date ballistic analysis to trace it to the weapon and therefore the soldier responsible.

"The legal restriction on the 1980 inquest, which did not permit the compellability of suspects and armed forces personnel to attend to give evidence and be cross-examined, rendered that inquest ineffective. Persons suspected of involvement in Mr Duffys killing are now compellable witnesses.

"My clients welcome the decision by the Presiding Coroner Mr Justice Humphries for the courts to hear this inquest in 2023. Their priority is to access all information and materials to establish the truth about their fathers death, whether it was pre-planned, which element of the British military was responsible and whether the shooting was directed at political level as part of a shoot to kill policy.

Mr Duffys daughter, Martina Duffy, has preserved the clothes her father wore on the date of the shooting for over 40 years in the hope that a fresh investigation might involve independent examination. Those items of clothing, and in particular her fathers coat, will now be available for forensic and ballistic examination by the Coroners Service.

Martina Duffy, daughter of Mr Duffy, speaking on behalf of the family said today: We welcome the decision by the Coroner that the inquest into my fathers death will be heard in 2023.

"We are anxious to have the inquest heard while we are all still alive. The original inquest did not get to the truth of how and who in the MOD was responsible for my fathers terrible killing in 1978. His death devastated my mother, me and my 5 brothers and sisters at the time and continues to do so today.

"We welcome the opportunity to now participate and to be represented before this fresh inquest. It is just a pity that my mother, brother Patrick and sister Mary are not alive to see this progress.
After months of delay, Africell has finally set a date for its Angola debut next month to become the fourth operator in the country.

Novol Jornal reported the Africa-focused operator group will be launching its commercial service on April 7 in the capital of Luanda, according to sources speaking to the publication.

A launch event will be held at the Hotel Intercontinental on March 30 to announce the launch, reported Novol Jornal citing a VIP invitation it obtained.

The news follows Africell finalising a deal with market leader Unitel to share infrastructure which enabled the debuting player the technical ability to have a full launch.

Unitel was reportedly holding up negotiations by claiming compatibility issues.
Lithuanias regulator has unveiled plans for its 5G spectrum auction in the 3.5GHz band, revealing the starting price for airwaves.

The Communications Regulatory Authority (Rysiu Reguliavimo Tarnyba, RRT) has outlined the auction will make up of three 100MHz lots of spectrum in the 3400MHz-3700MHz range which will be valid for 20 years, reported CommsUpdate.

Interested parties can only bid for one block of spectrum in the auction with the starting price to be 3 million (US$3.3m).

Winners of airwaves will have to fulfil coverage and service obligations such as: launching 5G in one city from 2023, deploying 5G in major cities from 2024, and extending 5G coverage to all towns and densely populated areas by 2030. Interested parties must register by May 31.

RRT has confirmed participants for its 700MHz spectrum auction, with Bite, Tele2 and Telia all confirming participation. Last month the RRT allowed operators to launch 5G services with existing spectrum to ease the transition from 4G to 5G.
A major deal, through which digital infrastructure company Equinix is to acquire West African data centre and connectivity solutions provider MainOne for an enterprise value of US$320 million, is now complete.

The completion of this acquisition augments Equinixs long-term strategy to become a leading African carrier-neutral digital infrastructure company by being able to bring what it describes as a full range of transformative technologies and connectivity to Nigeria, Ghana and Cote dIvoire, where MainOne has a presence.

This acquisition will extend the companys global platform, Platform Equinix, into West Africa, giving organizations based inside and outside of Africa access to global and regional markets.

Equinix believes MainOne, headquartered in Lagos, to be one of the most exciting technology businesses to emerge from Africa. Its assets include: four operational data centres, an extensive submarine network, a terrestrial fibre network in Nigeria, and connectivity to terrestrial sites extending across 65 points of presence (PoPs) in cities across Portugal, Nigeria, Ghana and Cote dIvoire. MainOne also has access to key internet exchanges, and an estimated 800 or more business-to-business customers.

It will now operate under a new brand, MainOne, an Equinix company. Founder Funke Opeke will continue to lead the company.

Closure of the MainOne acquisition marks the latest in a series of strategic acquisitions for Equinix, which recently announced expansions in South America, Canada and India.

Globally, Platform Equinix is comprised of 240 data centres across 66 metros and 27 countries on six continents, providing data centre and interconnection services to more than 10,000 companies, including more than 50% of Fortune 500 companies.
According to a statement from the government of India, it is estimated that out of 5,97,618 inhabited villages in the country, 5,58,537 villages have mobile wireless broadband coverage.

In addition to this, the BharatNet project is envisaged in all the gram panchayats (GPs) and villages of the country to provide high-speed internet/broadband, the Minister of State for Communications, Devusinh Chauhan said.

As of 28 February 2022, a total of 1,72,361 gram panchayats have been made service ready in the country with broadband infrastructure under BharatNet, he added.

According to the Minister, monitoring of availability of Internet facilities is done based on the number of subscribers. The availability of Internet connectivity enables the public to access all kinds of online digital services including in the field of education and healthcare.

Under the BharatNet scheme, the government of India through the Department of Telecom has created a strategic plan for providing broadband connectivity to all 250,000 panchayats on fibre optic cable of 100 Mbps speed.

BharatNet, also known as Bharat Broadband Network Limited, is a government-owned broadband infrastructure provider, set up by the Department of Telecommunications, a department under the Ministry of Communications of the Government of India for the establishment, management, and operation of the National Optical Fibre Network to provide a minimum of 100 Mbit/s broadband connectivity to all 250,000-gram panchayats in the country, covering nearly 625,000 villages, by improving the middle layer of nation-wide broadband internet in India to achieve the goal of Digital India.
Nigerias government has ordered the countrys mobile operators to block SIM cards from making outgoing calls if they have not been registered to their users National Identity Number (NIN).

After numerous delays, the final deadline for Nigerians to link their SIM cards to their NIN was set at 31st March 2022, although the government offered stragglers a four-day grace period after this elapsed.

CommsUpdate reports that the call block subsequently came into effect at midnight on 4th April, with local news outlets including Leadership and the Independent reporting that around 73 million SIMs had been affected.

Ahead of the call block, Nigerias Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami warned that operators must strictly enforce the policy on all SIMs issued (existing and new) in Nigeria. Outgoing calls will subsequently be barred for telephone lines that have not complied with the NIN-SIM linkage policy.

Subscribers of such lines are hereby advised to link their SIMs to their NINs before the telcos can lift the restriction on their lines. Affected individuals are hereby advised to register for their NINs at designated centres and thereafter link the NINs to their SIMs through the channels provided by [the National Identity Management Commission] NIMC and the telcos, including the NIMC mobile app.

The ministry issued a joint statement with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) stating that over 125 million SIMs have had their NINs submitted for immediate linkage, verification and authentication, with more than 78 million unique NINs issued to date by the NIMC.
Zain Global Connect (ZGC), its wholly-owned subsidiary of Zain Global, has announced that its investing in the development of a submarine cable that will connect the Middle East with Europe through the J2M (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Marseille, France).

Jeddah will become the cable landing station for the Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) cable system.

The subsea cable will also provide Zain with full operational independence and a genuine critical factor capable to foster digital transformation initiatives in the region, particularly for cloud and IoT services.

The J2M will be ready for service in early 2023 with Zain Saudi Arabia as the cable landing party.

J2M represents a breakthrough for Zain and ZGC as we look to develop our wholesale capabilities further while ensuring an even better quality of service to all Zain operations offering international connectivity services," said Kamil Hilali, CEO, ZGC.

The PEACE cable system is a 15,000km, privately owned cable system that provides open, flexible, and carrier-neutral services for its customers. It has been designed with 200G transmission and WSS ROADM BU technologies, which provide the capability to transmit over 16Tbps per fibre pair.

According to the company, the PEACE cable system substantially reduces network latency by adopting the shortest direct route connectivity, providing cost-effective capacity in an economically growing region and enhancing route diversity between Asia, Africa, and Europe.
The Philippines-based operator PLDT has reportedly selected two bidders for half of its towers valued at around US$1.5 billion, a move to cut its debt pile.

Sources speaking to Bloomberg have said the Philippines' largest operator has chosen Malaysian tower companies Edgepoint Infrastructure and Edotco Group as the preferred takers of its infrastructure.

Edgepoint is backed by Digital Bridge and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, it is looking to acquire 3,000 towers in the greater Manila area. Meanwhile, Edotcos potential purchase is for 3,000 outside of the capital.

The people close to the matter stressed the deals are not yet final and other bidders including private equity and telecom players remain interested in the assets. Edgepoint declined to comment and Edotco has yet to comment.

PLDT put up its towers for sale last year but chairman Manuel Pangilinan has stressed the operator is not under financial pressure to sell. The company said it is trying to meet financial targets to remain on its course. At the end of 2021, the company had around US$5 billion in debt.

The company claimed to have received offers from six foreign companies for its towers dealer this year.
RAMALLAH, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye on Monday called on the international community to stop Israel from attacking Palestinians.

An official statement said that Ishtaye made the remarks during the weekly meeting of the Palestinian Authority cabinet held in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"The Israeli escalation against the Palestinians, which included killing, torturing, arresting, and allowing settlers to commit crimes, poses great risks to security and stability in the region," Ishtaye said.

He called on the international community "to stop the attacks and end the Israeli extremists' violation of Al-Aqsa Mosque's sanctity, especially in light of their preparations to storm the mosque during the Muslim month of Ramadan."

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a site holy to both Muslims and Jews, the latter of whom call it the Temple Mount.

"Israel allows settlers to carry weapons and kill Palestinians just because they are suspects," he told the cabinet, holding Israel "fully responsible for the serious consequences resulting from this escalation,"

On Saturday, three members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were killed by Israeli soldiers near the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

According to Israeli media outlets, the Israeli security apparatuses said that the three Palestinians were armed and were planning to launch hostile armed attacks against Israeli targets in the West Bank.

Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been flaring over the past few days. 
Minister Coveney welcomes Colombian Vice-President and Foreign Minister Ramirez

Press release

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney T.D., today met the Vice-President and Foreign Minister of Colombia, H.E. Marta Lucia Ramirez, who is currently visiting Ireland.

I was delighted to welcome Vice-President and Foreign Minister Ramirez to Iveagh House today. We had an in-depth discussion on Ireland and Colombias excellent bilateral relationship and the potential to grow this further. We discussed our strong response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and support for the people of Ukraine, as well as Colombias response to the crisis in Venezuela and support for Venezuelan migrants.

We affirmed our cooperation and shared experiences of peacebuilding and Irelands firm support for the implementation of the Colombian Peace Agreement, and we looked to future opportunities for increasing our trade, investment and educational exchanges.

The Vice-President and Foreign Ministers visit is another example of the step-change in Irelands relationship with the region as envisioned in the Latin America and Caribbean Strategy.

This increased engagement has included a busy Saint Patricks Day programme, which saw the Tanaiste, Minister of State Brophy and Minister Martin visiting the region and Ireland gaining Observer State status at the Pacific Alliance earlier this year.

ENDS

Press Office

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DE QUEEN, Ark. (AP)  The opening of an Arkansas hospital could be delayed after thieves stole copper lines that had already be installed at the facility, according to hospital officials.

Sometime Thursday evening, thieves broke into the construction site of Sevier County Medical Center in De Queen and took the copper lines, the Texarkana Gazette reported.





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JUBA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Three Western nations which are South Sudan peace guarantors Tuesday welcomed the decision by the main opposition, Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army-In-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) to resume participation in the security mechanisms and called for total commitment to resolve the remaining issues.

The United States, United Kingdom and Norway, which are members of the Troika (peace guarantors) in a joint statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, lauded the Parties on their recent agreement to progress the implementation of the security arrangements set out in the revitalized peace deal.

"We commend the spirit of compromise shown to reach this agreement, which highlights the importance of the leadership of the Parties coming together to overcome hurdles on the path to an enduring peace," Troika said.

First Vice President Riek Machar, leader of the SPLM/A-IO on March 22 announced his party's withdrawal from meetings of the crucial security mechanisms but ended the stalemate on April 3 after reaching a deal with President Salva Kiir over the command structure of the unified forces.

Analysts say the standoff over the formation of a unified command is one of several critical and unresolved security issues delaying the implementation of the 2018 deal.

The SPLM/A-IO and the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) clashed last week in the oil-rich regions of Upper Nile and Unity states, leading to fresh fears of the fragile peace deal collapsing.

Troika said the graduation of Necessary Unified Forces will be a significant step forward for the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, adding that with less than a year left of the transitional period, whole-hearted commitment is critical to ensure the newly agreed timeline on security arrangements is met.

It welcomed the decision by SPLM/A-IO to re-engage with the monitoring and verification mechanisms set out in the peace agreement and the re-commitment by the Parties to respect the ceasefire and desist from encouraging defections.

The nations vowed to continue supporting the Parties in their efforts to achieve a stable, peaceful society and meet the commitments they have made to the people of South Sudan.

The transitional period ends in February 2023, and afterward, the world's youngest nation will hold its first national election. 
Louth Fianna Fail senator, Erin McGreehan, has said that families and children need to know the supports that are there for families in need.

She also said they need to know that they are safe and non-judgmental, ensuring that when families reach out for support they are empowered and feel that they will not be judged.

Speaking at the Prevention and Early Intervention Networks (PEIN) launch of their Position Paper the Fianna Fail Senator stated that some families for a number of reasons do not trust authorities.

Senator McGreehan commented:

"A parent or guardian must trust and must feel safe to contact authorities and support.

"I often see families hesitant to look for help in fear of being judged and the worst case their children taken from them. We know that prevention is always better than cure.

"We must ensure that our children get access to the care they need, the therapies, the healthcare and the education they need.

Senator McGreehan added:

Fianna Fail fully understand that prevention and early intervention improves the outcomes for the child. It was the Fianna Fail led government that introduced the early childhood care and education the ECCE Programme in April 2009.

In 1998 it was an Taoiseach Micheal Martin as Minister for Education who introduced for the first time special needs assistants and developed the first autism classes.

The Senator stated that the programme for government has made a number of commitments around prevention and early intervention measures, specifically committed to strengthening early intervention and family support services through the expansion of services focusing on the family and creating the best outcomes for children and their families.

I believe our Government policies are aligned with this policy document, as always there is space for improvement, and I am sure your contribution to the public consultations will form a positive part of the successor of Better Outcomes, Brighter Future - the national policy framework for children and young people which will run to 2028.

"The new policy framework will be developed to incorporate the European Union Guarantee National Action Plan, which will go to government shortly, she concluded.
Minister of State for Overseas Development and Diaspora, Colm Brophy T.D., today launched the first of two 2022 editions of the online magazine Global Goal Getters, featuring the work of primary school pupils across Ireland taking part in this years Our World Irish Aid Awards, the Department of Foreign Affairs flagship global citizenship award scheme.

A poster created by 4h Class pupils from Gaelscoil Dhun Dealgan, Muirtheimhne Mor showcasing the Global Goals in Irish has been selected to feature in the online magazine which is available at www.ourworldirishaidawards.ie.

Congratulating the pupils and teachers Gaelscoil Dhun Dealgan, Minister Brophy said:

It is wonderful to see so many primary school pupils in Louth and right across Ireland take part in this years Our World Irish Aid Awards, lending their voices and perspectives to the work being carried out to tackle the big issues facing the world such as climate change and the pandemic.

The level of commitment to playing a part in making our planet a better home for all shines through in all the submissions, so much so that it is clear that Irelands reputation for putting its shoulder to the wheel when it comes to making a positive difference to the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves is safe in the hands of the next generation.

Gaelscoil Dhun Dealgan will compete for a place at the National Final Ceremony and inclusion in a special edition printed annual magazine which will be distributed nationwide.

Submissions are still being accepted with the final date for entries being Friday 8th April 2022. Schools are invited to communicate their ideas and understanding of the issues in writing, song, film, artwork or other medium of their choosing.
Two Ardee-based home carers have been honoured for their work in the community. Amanda Cooper and Bernie Milmoe were honoured at a special ceremony at Comfort Keepers office in Louth, on the 1st of April 2022, as finalists for the Comfort Keepers Carer of the Year 2021 award.

Comfort Keepers employs 250 people at its Ardee office. Following the judges' selection, based on set criteria and including online voting, Amanda and Bernie were chosen as two of twelve finalists in the running for the accolade of Comfort Keepers Carer of the Year 2021.

Amanda, from Dundalk, has been a carer for almost seven years since she finished school. She became a carer because of the joy of assisting others and after caring for a family member. Since then she has completed her Level 5 qualification. According to the nominations from co-workers and clients, Amanda is not only a wonderful carer but a wonderful person; she has a great heart, is an excellent teacher and team player, and is very supportive, reliable and thoughtful.

Bernie, from Oldcastle, Co Meath, is a mother of three and has been a home carer with Comfort Keepers for over four years. She became a professional carer after witnessing and being inspired by the care and support her own mother received before she passed away. According to the nominations from co-workers and clients, Bernie is fantastic at her job and one of the loveliest people to work with. She is humble, caring and understanding towards her clients, and is a brilliant support for their families. She always has a smile and kind words to share.

Collette Gleeson, Managing Director at Comfort Keepers Ireland said: Our carers are amazing individuals and a vital resource providing outstanding, personal and relationship-based care and support to the most vulnerable in our society and their families all across Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan. Their hard work and passion have been particularly valued since the onset of the global pandemic, with people wanting to stay safe and happy at home for as long as possible.

Amanda and Bernie have done fantastic work in the community across the last year and throughout their caring careers, making a positive impact on their clients daily lives. Amanda is hardworking, dedicated and very knowledgeable in all aspects of the job. Clients always praise her great work and she always has a smile on her face. Bernie is professional and dedicated to her clients and the quality of care, and she does it all with a great sense of humour. They are both great representatives of Comfort Keepers and our quality care.

On being nominated for this years award, Amanda said: I am delighted to have been nominated this year. My clients say they love seeing me walking in the door and they also give me such joy. I love making a difference in their lives and I know what I do helps them to stay living independently in their own homes. One of my proudest moments was when a client told me that I had brought life back to her, after her husband had passed away, because of the way I cared for her as if she was my family. Its a hugely rewarding job and a great honour to be recognised for my efforts.

On being nominated for this years award, Bernie said: Its such an honour to have been selected as a finalist. Becoming a carer was one of my best decisions. I love being able to help my clients and my favourite thing is seeing them with big smiles on their faces. Im proud of being able to help them even by sitting with them and listening to some of their stories or doing all the little things that brighten up their days.

In addition, three further awards were presented at the ceremony in the Louth office. Recently promoted branch manager for the Louth/Monaghan area, Rosanna McEntee was named Leader of the Year 2021. Also, Glenn Gilbride, carer/home support worker, and recently promoted recruitment manager John Sheridan received recognition awards for their 10 years of service.

Comfort Keepers is currently recruiting and has around 100 available roles across Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan, and around 650 roles nationwide, such as home support worker, office administration, clinical management and supervisory roles. Comfort Keepers offers training/qualifications and progression opportunities, as well as contracts, mileage, etc. Visit www.ckjobs.ie for more information.
A primary student pays tribute to martyrs via an online platform following a teacher's guidance in Qianxi City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, April 1, 2022.

China's Tomb-sweeping Day, also called Qingming Festival, is a day for Chinese people to visit the graves and tombs of their ancestors and deceased loved ones.

Due in part to the latest COVID-19 resurgence, various low-carbon means of paying tribute to deceased relatives, such as online activities and flower presentations, have been promoted. (Photo by Fan Hui/Xinhua)

Staff members pay tribute to the deceased on behalf of the bereaved at a graveyard in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 4, 2022.

China's Tomb-sweeping Day, also called Qingming Festival, is a day for Chinese people to visit the graves and tombs of their ancestors and deceased loved ones.

Due in part to the latest COVID-19 resurgence, various low-carbon means of paying tribute to deceased relatives, such as online activities and flower presentations, have been promoted. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)

A volunteer pays tribute to the deceased on behalf of the bereaved at a graveyard in Quanjiao County, east China's Anhui Province, March 30, 2022.

China's Tomb-sweeping Day, also called Qingming Festival, is a day for Chinese people to visit the graves and tombs of their ancestors and deceased loved ones.

Due in part to the latest COVID-19 resurgence, various low-carbon means of paying tribute to deceased relatives, such as online activities and flower presentations, have been promoted. (Photo by Shen Guo/Xinhua)

Staff members pay tribute to martyrs at a martyrs' cemetery in north China's Tianjin, April 2, 2022.

China's Tomb-sweeping Day, also called Qingming Festival, is a day for Chinese people to visit the graves and tombs of their ancestors and deceased loved ones.

Due in part to the latest COVID-19 resurgence, various low-carbon means of paying tribute to deceased relatives, such as online activities and flower presentations, have been promoted. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Volunteers pay tribute to the deceased on behalf of the bereaved at a graveyard in Feixi County, east China's Anhui Province, April 2, 2022.

China's Tomb-sweeping Day, also called Qingming Festival, is a day for Chinese people to visit the graves and tombs of their ancestors and deceased loved ones.

Due in part to the latest COVID-19 resurgence, various low-carbon means of paying tribute to deceased relatives, such as online activities and flower presentations, have been promoted. (Xinhua/Liu Junxi)

A staff member pays tribute to the deceased on behalf of the bereaved at a graveyard in Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 30, 2022.

China's Tomb-sweeping Day, also called Qingming Festival, is a day for Chinese people to visit the graves and tombs of their ancestors and deceased loved ones.

Due in part to the latest COVID-19 resurgence, various low-carbon means of paying tribute to deceased relatives, such as online activities and flower presentations, have been promoted. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

Primary students pay tribute to martyrs via an online platform in Huaibei City, east China's Anhui Province, April 1, 2022.

China's Tomb-sweeping Day, also called Qingming Festival, is a day for Chinese people to visit the graves and tombs of their ancestors and deceased loved ones.

Due in part to the latest COVID-19 resurgence, various low-carbon means of paying tribute to deceased relatives, such as online activities and flower presentations, have been promoted. (Photo by Wan Shanchao/Xinhua)
Community Restorative Justice "is a model that Louth desperately needs", Deputy Ruairi O Murchu has said.

The Louth TD highlighted the work of Community Restorative Justice Newry/Armagh in Dundalk, which held a closing event to celebrate the completion of the Community Capacity Building Project in Muirhevnamor Community Centre.

The EU PEACE IV-funded project has delivered multiple workshops with cross-community and cross-border groups on the themes of anti-racism and cultural awareness, created a film resource with international students in DkIT, cross border and cross community political and historical tours, youth engagements and the creation of an extensive resource on inclusivity for community groups.

Community Capacity Building Project also built community capacity through accredited ILM leadership and Management training to community members and Striving Toward a Restorative Society (STARS) training which successfully engaged community members in learning about a restorative approach.

Louth County Council was one of the funders of the project, supported by the European Unions PEACE IV Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) with match funding provided by The Executive Office and the Department of Rural and Community Development.

Deputy O Murchu said: "I was delighted to be invited to this closing event and to get the opportunity to see once again the incredible work being carried out by CRJ Newry/Armagh.

"I have long been impressed with the community restorative justice model espoused by this group and it is clear that CRJ is something that Louth desperately needs at the moment.

"Sharon Grimes and Mercedes Hunt have worked incredibly hard on this project in Louth.

"This is the second project that CRJ has been involved with in Louth in the last short while and what we really need to see is a community restorative justice programme that can deal with issues that sometimes come across the desks of Gardai and elected representatives.

"These can be rows between neighbours or issues in the community that can be resolved successfully with the skills and methods that CRJ can bring to the table.

"CRJ can play a part, at times, in de-escalating situations that have the potential to get a lot worse and can help stop them ending up in the criminal justice realm."
New legal provisions brought forward by the Minister for Housing will require landlords to register tenancies every year from now on.

All registrations must now be made with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) within one month of their commencement, or on the anniversary of when the tenancy began.

Announcing the news today (Tuesday April 5) Minister Darragh O'Brien called the change "important" in regulating and monitoring the sector.

He said, "In comparison to the current system of registration, annual registration of tenancies (and licences in student specific accommodation) by landlords with the RTB is a simpler and more effective registration model for the rental sector. Registration reminders and support will be provided to landlords by the RTB to help compliance with this new annual obligation.

"Up-to-date registration data will help Government to better understand the rental sector and inform decision making in rental policy development."

It comes following the signing of three commencement orders by the minister in March 2022.

In order to assist landlords with the changeover to annual registration, a transition period will be in effect for any new tenancies commencing between April 4 and July 3.

The registration deadline for these tenancies is midnight on August 3 2022.

This extended deadline also applies to landlords whose tenants' anniversary of commencement falls during this period.

From July 4 2022, any application to the RTB for annual registration must be made within one month of its commencement, or on the anniversary of the commencement of an existing tenancy.

Late fees will apply.

Landlords can register their tenancies with the RTB by clicking here.
BEIJING, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a congratulatory message to Aleksandar Vucic on his reelection as president of Serbia.

In his message, Xi pointed out that in recent years, the China-Serbia comprehensive strategic partnership has maintained vigorous development momentum, with the two sides seeing solid political mutual trust and fruitful bilateral practical cooperation.

Facing major global changes unseen in a century, the two sides firmly respect each other, treat each other as equals, and join hands in building a community with a shared future for mankind, making positive contributions to safeguarding international equity and justice, said the Chinese president.

Xi also said that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Serbia relations, and cherishes the good working relationship and friendship with President Vucic.

He added that he is willing to work with President Vucic to strengthen strategic communication, consolidate political mutual trust, expand and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields between the two countries, and steer China-Serbia ties towards new achievements, so as to benefit the two countries and their people. 
US$ 4 million financing package to MDO HUMO

Promoting green financing in Tajikistan under GEFF

Better access to green technologies for local SMEs

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) continue supporting small private companies in Tajikistan, which are willing to invest in green technology solutions by offering new funds to the one of the countrys leading microlenders MDO HUMO. The official signing ceremony held with participation of Khamidiyon Orzu, Deputy Meyer of Kulyab city.

A new financial package of US$4 million will be provided by the EBRD and the GCF under the Banks Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF). It will consist of an EBRD loan of US$3 million, which will be disbursed in local currency, and concessional financing of US$ 1 million by the GCF.

HUMO was the first financial institution in Tajikistan to join GEFF back in 2019 and successfully utilised the first loan. The new funds will help increase access to green technologies for local households and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The project is supported by technical assistance funded by the GCF and the government of Korea, and incentive payments from the EUs Enhanced Competitiveness of Tajik Agribusiness Programme (ECTAP), which promotes competitiveness in the agribusiness sector.

HUMO is a subsidiary of Gojo & Company Inc., a Tokyo-based investment holding company promoting greater financial inclusion in developing countries. It is the second largest microfinance institution in Tajikistan serving mainly small and microbusinesses in retail and agribusiness sectors.

The GEFF programme is part of the Banks Green Economy Transition (GET) approach and the EBRD is planning to scale up its climate and environmental finance and make more than 50 per cent of its annual investment green by 2025.

Through GEFF, the EBRD supports businesses and households investing in green technologies. Since the launch of this financing instrument, and with the support of donors, the EBRD has distributed over 5 billion via more than 170 participating financial institutions to support more than 218,000 green investments across 28 countries. The programme helps avoid almost 9.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

To date, the EBRD has invested 854 million through 148 projects in Tajikistans economy.
WINDHOEK, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism on Tuesday said they had put down a 10-year-old problem-causing lion that has been terrorizing communities in the Sesfontein and Puros area in the country's Kunene Region.

"The lion has been notorious for killing people's livestock since 2019. He has caught 12 cattle, 13 donkeys and 9 goats. The lion has on numerous occasions been observed moving into people's settlements at night posing a threat to their lives. He was also displaying traits that he was not scared of people," spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said in a statement.

He said the ministry had to put some preventive measures before the lion was declared a problem-causing animal, adding that the lion was trophy hunted and generated about 10 000 U.S. dollars for the affected communities through conservancies.

"Destruction of problem-causing animals is part of our conservation methods particularly in mitigating Human-Wildlife Conflict. Communities who live with wildlife know how crucial this activity is in providing them with relief from destructive and dangerous animals," Muyunda said. 
The Carrigaline man charged with murdering his brother and trying to murder his father at the family home was remanded in custody until April 20.

42-year-old John Murphy Jnr of Seaview Avenue, Carrigaline, County Cork, appeared by video link from prison at Cork District Court charged with the murder of his 27-year-old brother, Shane Murphy. The charge sheet states that the murder occurred at the house at Seaview Avenue, Carrigaline, on Saturday March 26 2022, contrary to Common Law.

John Murphy Jnr is also charged with the attempted murder of his father, John Weeshie Murphy Snr, who is 75, also on Saturday at Seaview Avenue.

Frank Buttimer, solicitor, was present in court to represent the accused.

Judge Olann Kelleher told him that if he secured bail in the High Court in Dublin on the charges he must attend court in person on that date  April 20.

Detective Garda Breen testified previously that when he arrested, charged and cautioned the accused he made no reply to the murder and attempted murder charges or to either of the two other related charges brought against him.

The other two charges alleged that while committing the murder of Shane Murphy, he produced a knife capable of inflicting serious injury at the same date and place, and finally it was alleged in the fourth charge that while committing the attempted murder of John Murphy Snr, he also produced a knife capable of inflicting serious injury.

Both these additional charges are contrary to Section 11 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990. The murder and attempted murder charges were brought contrary to common law.
As Family Carers Ireland launched a report highlighting the additional costs facing carers, one Cork carer has said she has to depend on hand-outs from her children to survive.

Former Cork City Councillor Marion OSullivan has been a carer for her brother, Stephen Mackey, who has a severe intellectual disability and additional medical needs, for 15 years.

Ms OSullivan said that because she is in receipt of the old age pension, she gets about 43 a week in a carers allowance.

Ive had my children subsidising me, and it cant go on, I cant think what would happen if my children werent there, Ms OSullivan said.

Youre going with your hand out all the time, and its an appalling way to live, at 68 years of age.

The system is absolutely chronic for people, and any carer who is in their sixties now, and there are thousands of us, theyre in an awful state, nobody cares, and nobody listens, she said.

Ms OSullivans comments came as Family Carers Ireland launched its report Care at Home  Costs of Care Arising from Disability, which looks at the additional direct costs faced by caring households.

Hidden costs

The report also highlights the hidden costs of caring that are often unaccounted for, including the cost of foregone employment and the financial costs imposed on families when services are not available.

The report finds that when compared to a household without a disability, the household caring for a child with a profound intellectual disability faces a greater depth of income inadequacy.

The core Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) costs for a two-parent household caring for an adolescent with a profound intellectual disability amounts to 752 per week, excluding housing, a figure which is 244 higher than the MESL for a two-parent household with an adolescent child without additional caring and disability needs.

The charity said the findings were indicative of the additional costs faced by all of those caring for loved ones at home.

The areas with the largest additional related costs are transport, caring costs (e.g., cost of accessing essential therapies and respite privately), household goods, personal care, health, clothing, and household adaptations.

The analysis found that direct and indirect supports fall significantly short of what is required by many caring families, particularly those on low incomes, to ensure an acceptable, equitable quality of life.

Catherine Cox, head of communications and policy at Family Carers Ireland, said the report provided an insight into the reality faced by caring families and revealed that much of the additional costs borne by such households arise due to a denial of what should be publicly provided supports and services such as respite, assessments, and care equipment.

In fact, paying privately for services and supports has now become routine due to strict eligibility criteria, as well as challenges in accessing public services, which masks the true extent of waiting list figures and the inadequate provision of essential supports, Ms Cox said.

Marion OSullivan said she is despairing that her brother Stephens health is declining and she worries that she will no longer be able to care for him.

Id love to be out there, screaming and roaring in the street, but because of the situation me and many other carers are in, we cant go out on the streets and roar, so nobody gives a damn.

I really, genuinely feel that nobody cares, especially nobody in government cares, theyre all platitudes, but they do not care about the work that you have to put in for a person who has special needs, especially one who is elderly or getting old.
ROLES in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) are more important than ever, given the enormous social and environmental challenges we currently face all over the world.

STEM careers offer a chance to make a real difference in the world we live in, and anyone who works in any of these sectors will tell you how interesting, rewarding and fulfilling their jobs can be.

The world of STEM and the diverse career opportunities in these sectors that the South West region has to offer will be the focus of this years STEM SW Expo, now entering its third year. This industry-run initiative brings together Irelands leading tech, pharma, science and engineering giants, together with local authorities and educational partners at MTU and UCC.

We are so excited by what we have in store for students this year. April 6 promises to bring an exhilarating and fascinating showcase of STEM in practice, in some of the most dynamic and revolutionary companies in Ireland.

We will feature demonstrations in virtual reality, robotics and astronomy, as well as thought-provoking talks from experts in the areas of construction, information technology, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, electronics, weather-forecasting, agri-technology, environmental engineering, and cybersecurity.

The virtual exhibition aims to bring our younger learners to the fascinating and exciting world of STEM, with a view to giving the great minds of tomorrow a glimpse into the huge array of possibilities and opportunities that await if they choose a career in any of the STEM disciplines.

Madeleine Hearn, STEM South West board member.

While its vital to ensure that Irelands STEM industry base is secured and that the right conditions are nurtured to support and attract new start-ups and entrants; equally important is attracting the students of today to the industry and giving them the right skills and opportunities to enter STEM careers, so they can tackle some of the global challenges of tomorrow.

Within the classroom itself, there are ways that STEM teachers can support students who are interested in studying STEM topics. The first way is to make best use of your in-house STEM expertise and resources - work collaboratively with your science, computing, D&T, engineering and maths faculties and use their knowledge and inspiration to support your student guidance and careers strategy. Bring career learning into the classroom by sharing STEM careers resources like posters, job profile examples, further study route information, and labour market information (LMI).

When planning career activities, support students to understand the wide range of jobs available in STEM sectors, including both STEM and non-STEM skilled roles, especially the fantastic opportunities for girls and women.

Use themed awareness events like Science Week and Ada Lovelace Day to shine a spotlight on the people that work in STEM sectors or use STEM skills in their work.

Anyone working with school goers and leavers should be thinking about how they can create meaningful encounters that expose students to information about STEM further study routes. Events such as the STEM SW Expo are perfect for this as it creates the chance to meet people who work in the industry and have a passion for what they do. We need to show our young people just how rewarding and exciting a career in our industry can be for them  and the endless possibilities that lie ahead should they choose to study anything in this field. The question of how to engage these bright young minds must be at the forefront of all we do as education professionals.

The event, which is free to students from all over the country, presents a live, virtual exhibition space, providing an opportunity for students, parents, industry members, and jobseekers to connect with people who work in STEM on a daily basis and get up close to the inner workings and processes involved. Exhibitors include some of the countrys largest employers such as Johnson & Johnson, DePuy Synthes, Gilead Sciences, Plas Engineering, MTU, UCC, PM Group, and many more. Attendees can explore the media and digital content available at each exhibitors virtual stands, with exhibitors ready on chat to answer any questions.

STEM South West is doing important work in promoting STEM subjects in schools  work which is not just integral to the sector itself, but to the futures of our young students and the economic interests of the country as a whole. Feedback from previous students has been that the event has had a significant impact on them, with 9 in 10 students who attended previous events saying that they would now be more likely to choose a career in STEM having attended the virtual Expo.

See https://www.stemsouthwest.ie/
By Padraic Halpin, Reuters

Ryanair expects average air fares during this year's summer peak season to be 5-10 per cent higher than pre-pandemic prices in the same period of 2019, group chief executive Michael O'Leary was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Lower capacity and increased passenger demand are already driving fares higher for those booking flights from June onwards, O'Leary told the Irish Independent newspaper, citing "very strong" forward bookings.

"What we're seeing at the moment is prices are slightly lower than they were in 2019, pre-Covid, through March, April and May. They're somewhere between 5 per cent and 10 per cent higher at the moment through June, July, August and September," O'Leary said.

"I think fares will be up this year in the peak summer months by between 5 per cent and 10 per cent."

The Dublin-based low-cost airline, Europe's largest by passenger numbers, on Monday reported that its passenger numbers topped pre-pandemic levels for the first time last month.

O'Leary, who told the newspaper he had no intention of retiring after nearly 30 years in charge, said it would be too optimistic to say that Covid-19 is over for the airline industry but he does not expect any "Covid scares" this summer.

"Travel is recovering strongly. I think people are fed up. We have been locked up at home for the last two years on Zoom calls. They want to go travel again. Families want to go on holidays again," he said.

"We see that very strongly this Easter and also this summer. The forward bookings are very strong, but I think there will still be some disruptions."
Climate change is making air pollution worse and is exacerbating smog-related health risks such as heart and lung diseases, pregnancy complications and development issues. Now, a study by the Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center has identified another health risk associated with rising air pollution: childhood psychiatric issues.

According to the study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, short-term spikes in ambient air pollution are linked with an increase in hospital visits for childhood psychiatric issues. Also, children in low-income neighborhoods with poor access to healthcare appeared to be more susceptible to the mental health effects of air pollution.

CNN reported that while previous research has shown an association between particulate matter pollution in the air and adult mental health issues, this is the first time researchers have looked into its effect on children.

During the five-year study, researchers focused on a very small type of particulate matter called PM 2.5  fossil fuel-powered vehicles and power plants, cooking, dust and brush fires are all sources  can be easily inhaled and end up in organs and the bloodstream, causing inflammation in the lungs or brain, and, in the long term, may trigger cancer and heart attacks.

The researchers looked at more than 13,000 visits by children to Cincinnati Childrens emergency psychiatric unit and compared it with data on the concentrations of PM 2.5 where they live. Results showed that spikes in PM 2.5 concentration were associated with increased childhood psychiatric visits one or two days later for adjustment disorder, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, while same-day visits were usually related to schizophrenia.

All daily exposures to PM 2.5 in the study were below levels set in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys National Ambient Air Quality Standards, researchers said.

These spikes in air pollution increased the risk of hospitalization for suicidal thoughts by 44 percent overall, the Daily Mail reported, but the risk for children from disadvantaged areas was almost double that. These children were also 39 percent more likely to need treatment for anxiety.

The researchers noted that the study was observational and more research would be needed to rule out other causes, Newsweek reported.

More research is needed to confirm these findings, but it could lead to new prevention strategies for children experiencing symptoms related to a psychiatric disorder, lead author Cole Brokamp said in a press release. The fact that children living in high poverty neighborhoods experienced greater health effects of air pollution could mean that pollutant and neighborhood stressors can have synergistic effects on psychiatric symptom severity and frequency.

While this study only looked at PM 2.5, it builds on other recent research by Cincinnati Childrens demonstrating that exposure to air pollution in general during childhood may contribute to a host of mental health issues at an early age.

In May, researchers at the Cincinnati Childrens published a study in Environmental Research showing a link between increased exposure to high traffic related air pollution (TRAP) and generalized anxiety. Another study published in June found that exposure to TRAP shortly in early childhood was linked with symptoms of anxiety and depression in 12-year-olds.
Heres a quick overview of Pennsylvania electricity rates:

Current average rate of retail electricity: 14.37 cents/kWh

14.37 cents/kWh Current range of electricity prices: 5.99 to 14.9 cents/kWh

5.99 to 14.9 cents/kWh Average monthly electric bill: $121.57

$121.57 Average monthly energy usage in Pennsylvania: 846 kWh/month

Jump To: Pennsylvania Energy Rates | Price Comparison | How to Find the Best Rates | Types of Electricity Plans | Best Electricity Companies | How to Choose a Provider | FAQ

Whether youre moving to the area and looking for power connection or simply shopping for the best electricity rates in Pennsylvania, EcoWatch is here to help. Weve narrowed down the top clean-energy providers in the city, and by using this tool or clicking the links below, you can compare prices and find the right plan for you.

Pennsylvania is one of the many states that have a deregulated energy market, meaning residents have the power to choose their own electricity supplier. Under the Electricity Generation Choice and Competition Act of 1997, electric rates charged for generation, transmission and distribution were capped to help the state transition from monopolies to competitive retail energy companies.1 Prior to deregulation, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) estimated that Pennsylvania electric rates were 15% higher than the national average.2

The electricity rate caps expired in 2010, and since then, residential customers have been given the freedom to shop for an electricity provider.3 While the idea seems simple enough, deregulated energy can be a confusing industry to understand, and many consumers wind up paying way too much for their power. In this article, well compare energy rates and plans in Pennsylvania so you dont overpay for electricity.

Pennsylvania Energy Rates

There are over 100 retail electricity providers (REPs) in Pennsylvania. Similar to purchasing home internet, each electricity supplier offers its own plans, and those plans can vary in price, terms, quality and environmental impact.

Along with paying your electricity supply company, your electric bill will include charges from your electric distribution company  aka your public utility company. Unlike with your electric supplier, you cannot choose your public utility, as it will depend on where you live.

Current Pennsylvania utilities include Duquesne Light, Met-Ed, Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO), Pennsylvania Power and Light (PPL), Penelec, Penn Power, Pike County Light and Power and West Penn Power. Energy choice is currently open to all residential customers served by these utilities.

Lets dive into Pennsylvanias electric companies and price points, plus how to navigate finding the best energy rates in Pennsylvanias deregulated energy market.

Comparison of Electricity Prices in Pennsylvania

Here at EcoWatch, we strive for a more sustainable planet and encourage our readers to take action to improve the environment whenever feasible. As such, weve chosen to highlight some of the best electric companies in Pennsylvania that offer 100% renewable energy.

The chart below shows some of the renewable energy plans and prices available throughout the Keystone State. Keep in mind that these energy prices may not be exact, as rates can fluctuate daily and may vary depending on where you live. For instance, if you live outside of densely populated metropolitan areas such as Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, youll likely enjoy rates even lower than those shown below.

Plan Term (months) Rate (/kWh)* AEP Energy 12 Month Renewable Plan 12 9.75 Agway Energy Services Green Choice 1 14.9 Alpha Gas & Electric Green-e Certified 24 Month Plan 24 13.99 American Power & Gas of PA 12 Month Renewable Plan 12 10.99 Brighten Energy Clean Energy Plan 18 8.49 Brighten Energy Clean Energy Plan 12 8.19 Brighten Energy Clean Energy Plan 6 8.69 CleanChoice Energy Pollution-Free Wind & Solar 12 8 Clean Sky Energy Embrace Green 9 9 9.19 Clean Sky Energy Embrace Green 12 12 10.29 Clean Sky Energy Embrace Green 24 24 10.29 Clearview Energy ClearGreenGuarantee12 12 9.79 Clearview Energy ClearGreenGuarantee12 Plus 12 9.19 Constellation Energy 24 Month Green Home Power Plan 24 10.29 Green Mountain Energy Pollution-Free Farm to Market 12 11.9 Green Mountain Energy Pollution-Free Reliable 12 9.9 Inspire Clean Energy Fixed 3 3 8.79 M Power Energy Fixed 12 12 10.9 PA Gas & Electric Fixed 100% Green 36 36 12.09 PA Gas & Electric Fixed Power Lock Green 24 24 11.89 PA Gas & Electric Fixed Power Lock Green 12 12 11.29 Residents Energy ResiSURE Fixed 8 8 10.51 Shipley Energy Green Electricity Plan 12 9.87 SmartEnergy 6 Month 6 10.5 Verde Energy Green Choice 6 6 10.29 *Rates will vary based on your utility. Youll see the above rates if your utility is PECO (which services most PA customers).4 Rates are subject to change. Source: PApowerswitch.com.

How to Find the Best Electricity Rates in Pennsylvania

When searching for the best electricity rates in Pennsylvania, keep in mind that rates and the average cost of electricity can vary based on numerous factors, so you may be given a different electric rate than that of your neighbors. Here are a few things to consider when choosing an energy plan and provider:

Your Energy Usage

The amount of electricity your household consumes may affect the rate you pay per kWh. Most REPs offer tiered plans based on average energy usage. Tiered-rate energy plans are often called V-shaped plans because the rates are more expensive for people who use the least and most amounts of energy and are lowest for those in the middle.

For example, in a typical tiered plan, customers who use around 500 kWh or 2,000 kWh per month will pay more than those who use around 1,000 kWh per month. According to the EIA, the average Pennsylvania home uses around 846 kWh per month.5

Contract Length

The length of your contract will also play a factor in the cost of electricity in Pennsylvania. As with most services, the longer you commit to one provider, the better deal youll get. Well discuss the different types of electricity plans in the next section.

A word of caution: Read the fine print and ask questions before you sign anything. Many contracts come with startup fees as well as cancellation fees for early termination. And while some Pennsylvania electricity providers advertise a $10 cancellation fee, the fine print may read that its really $10 per month left on the contract.

Electricity Facts

When shopping for energy, always ask for a providers Electricity Facts Label (EFL). Similar to a nutrition label you see on your favorite snacks, an EFL will give you an overview of information about a companys electricity prices, contract lengths and terms, sources of generation, and emission levels.6

To find the best electricity rates in Pennsylvania, we recommend comparing prices from a few companies. As a trusted energy information source, EcoWatch is often able to secure discounted rates for our readers. You can use this tool to be connected with local energy providers near you.

Types of Electricity Plans in Pennsylvania

Most Pennsylvania electric companies will offer a few plan options for customers to choose from. Heres an overview of the different types offered in the Keystone State, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, so you can pick whats best for your household.

Fixed-Rate Plans

Just as it sounds, a fixed-rate plan allows you to secure a rate that will stay the same throughout the entire duration of your contract. Note that fixed rate does not mean that your electric bill will be exactly the same every month. Instead, it means the rate you pay per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity wont change. So, your bills will still be higher during months you use more electricity.

Pros of a Fixed-Rate Energy Plan in Pennsylvania Cons of a Fixed-Rate Energy Plan in Pennsylvania Youll have a better idea of what to expect when it comes to budgeting. If you cancel early, you could be subject to an early termination fee (ETF), unless youre moving to an address outside of your providers service area. Your rates remain locked in if energy costs rise. Some fixed-rate plans will turn into variable-rate plans upon contract expiration. Be sure to read the fine print and ask your energy provider specific questions about length and price.

With a fixed-rate plan, youll pay the same amount each month per kilowatt-hour of energy you use. This means your rates will remain the same even if the market rate of electricity changes. Sometimes, youll pay less than the market rate, and other times, youll pay more.

Variable-Rate Plans

If you prefer not to be locked into a length-based contract, you may consider a variable-rate electric plan. With these plans, rates are based on variables in the energy market, so the price you pay per kWh will increase or decrease depending on supply and demand.

Pros of a Variable-Rate Energy Plan in Pennsylvania Cons of a Variable-Rate Energy Plan in Pennsylvania If the price of energy drops, there may be some months where a variable-rate electric customer will be paying less per kWh than someone on a fixed-rate plan. Variable rates can be very risky if the price of electricity changes suddenly  and drastically  due to extreme weather or other factors. Contracts usually dont come with cancellation fees.

We saw the biggest risk of the variable-rate plan during Texas winter storm of February 2021, when millions of people were left in the dark due to a massive power outage. Texans who kept their lights on saw outrageous price hikes, with at least one customer facing an electric bill over $16,700.7

While winter storms are more common in Pennsylvania, and thus the infrastructure is better suited to withstand them, its possible a similar scene could play out for customers with variable-rate electricity plans in the state.

With variable-rate plans, prices change frequently, as theyre based on the market rate of electricity. Because of this, you may pay less than homes with fixed-rate plans in some months and pay more in others. You may also receive surprisingly high bills during extreme fluctuations.

No-Deposit and Prepaid Energy Plans

Many REPs require a deposit upon signing a contract to lower losses if a customer is unable to pay an energy bill. However, certain companies will offer a no-deposit electricity plan option to customers who pass a credit check. If a customer doesnt have a high enough credit score for a no-deposit plan, opting for a prepaid, or pay-as-you-go, electricity plan, may be another way to avoid a deposit.

With a prepaid plan, a customer pays in advance for a set amount of electricity. The good news is that the customer is able to track their electricity usage online and can reload their account when it runs low. However, rates are not fixed in a prepaid plan, so it can be harder to plan out expenses.

Pros of a Prepaid Energy Plan in Pennsylvania Cons of a Prepaid Energy Plan in Pennsylvania The obvious  no deposit. Startup costs are lower, and the power company isnt holding any of your money. Youll have to pay for your electricity up front and will need to remember when to top up your meter (if not enrolled in an auto-pay plan). You have full control over how much you spend on your electricity. Your power will be automatically shut off if you hit the threshold of electricity you paid for. You dont have to sign a contract that may come with cancellation fees. Youll often pay a higher rate per kWh compared to other plans.

Green Energy Plans

Green energy plans supply electricity from renewable energy sources. Thats going to be primarily wind and hydropower in Pennsylvania, although solar energy is on the rise there as well.8

Some REPs may have Green-e Verification or a similar certification to ensure that the electricity is responsibly generated, transmitted and distributed. Non-green energy plans rarely meet 25% of their total energy from renewable sources.9

Most green energy REPs will still offer variable- and fixed-rate plan options; the main difference is where the energy comes from.

Pros of a Green Energy Plan in Pennsylvania Cons of a Green Energy Plan in Pennsylvania You can feel good about where your electricity is coming from. On average, renewable plans cost around 1 cent per kWh more than non-renewable plans. (If you use 1,000 kWh per month, that will be about an $8 to $15 difference.) You can support clean energy without the high startup costs of solar or wind. Green plans are not offered by all REPs, so youll have more limited options when choosing a Pennsylvania electric supplier.

Business Energy Plans

If youre looking for a supplier for your business, keep in mind that not all REPs will provide commercial electricity, even for small businesses. So youll need to search for the ones that do. Business energy plans may also be needed for industrial properties, schools, government buildings and churches.

Most business energy suppliers will offer variable or fixed-rate options.

Electricity Companies and Providers in Pennsylvania

As mentioned, there are well over 100 energy providers in Pennsylvania. EcoWatch has chosen to focus on REPs that get their basic power from a clean energy source, like solar or wind power.

Here are a few examples of the best energy companies in Pennsylvania and what makes them top suppliers by our standards.

Green Mountain Energy

100% renewable options

Green-e certified plans

Fixed-rate plans available

Variety of term options

20+ years of experience

Low complaint rate

A+ Better Business Bureau (BBB) accredited business10

Clearview Energy

Exclusively offers 100% renewable-energy plans

Fixed-rate plans available

15+ years of experience

Low rates

Committed to educating customers

Variety of plans to choose from

Partners with community initiatives and climate research organizations11

Inspire Clean Energy

Certified B Corp

A+ BBB rating

Exclusively offers 100% renewable-energy plans

No signup or termination fees

Rather per-kWh rates, Inspire charges a flat monthly subscription price.12

Verde Energy

Iffy track record, but trying to right the ship

Variety of plans with 100% renewables

Fixed rates

No termination fees or deposits

Competitive rates13

Constellation Energy

Award-winning company; one of the best in the business

Offers 100% renewable energy options (in Pennsylvania, these plans are offset with Renewable Energy Credits rather than coming directly from a renewable source)

Options for customers to go solar via Sunrun with guaranteed prices

The No.1 producer of carbon-free energy in the U.S. (producing 10% of all carbon-free energy)

20+ years of experience

A+ BBB rating14

Other Popular Providers in Pennsylvania

EcoWatch has chosen to feature providers that align with our mission of offering 100% renewable energy in most cases. Here are some of the other popular electricity providers in Pennsylvania that may not hit that goal:

Provider Lowest Available Rate (/kWh)* Plan Length (months) Percent of Renewable Energy* Pros Cons Ambit Energy 8.9 12 22.5% in most plans Offers green plan with 100% wind energy Low customer satisfaction ratings on online review sites Cirro Energy 8.8 12 15% in each plan Variety of plans; $30 bill credit per cycle Only 15% renewable energy (state average is 25%); no green energy options Direct Energy 9.4 18 20% in each plan; 100% renewable option (see con) Variety of plans; offers make it green option on all plans Company buys Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) for its Green Plan, so its more of an offset rather than 100% clean energy source *Rates are subject to change and will vary based on your utility provider. All information is accurate as of March 2022.

FAQ: Pennsylvania Electricity Plans

At EcoWatch, we get questions every day from readers interested in making the best electric choices for their homes. Here are questions we see frequently from Pennsylvania residents:

Which provider has the cheapest energy in Pennsylvania?

CleanChoice Energy has some of the cheapest electricity rates in Pennsylvania, with its current 12-month plan starting at just 8 cents per kWh.

What is the best Pennsylvania energy provider?

Weve found that the best energy providers in Pennsylvania include Clearview, Green Mountain Energy and Inspire. However, the provider thats best for you will depend on your households specific energy needs.

What is the average electric bill in Pennsylvania?

Based on recent data from the EIA, the average monthly electric bill in Pennsylvania is $121.57.15

How can I lower my electricity bill in Pennsylvania?

Because of deregulation, the best way to lower your electricity bill in Pennsylvania is to compare rates from multiple providers and choose the one thats going to offer you the best deal over time.

You can also work to lower your overall electricity use by making more conscious decisions to turn off lights, better insulate your home or make energy-efficient home upgrades. Follow these tips for more ways to save energy at home.

What is the best energy plan in Pennsylvania?

Its hard to single out the best energy plan in Pennsylvania because there are so many, and whats best for one customer may not be the best for another.

We recommend you look at the plans offered by Constellation, Clearview and Green Mountain Energy and find one that works best for your household. Or, use this link to get connected to the best energy providers in your area.

Related Topics
Heres a quick overview of electricity rates in the U.S.:

Current average retail rate of electricity: 14.29 cents/kilowatt-hour

14.29 cents/kilowatt-hour Average monthly electric bill: $118.37

$118.37 Average monthly energy usage: 829 kWh/month

Jump To: Overview | Electricity Prices by State | Most Expensive States | Cheapest States | Deregulated Energy States | Finding the Best Rates | Types of Electricity Plans | Best Companies | Finding the Right Plan | FAQ

Whether youre moving to a new area and looking for power connection or simply shopping for the best electricity rates, EcoWatch is here to help. Weve narrowed down the top renewable electricity providers in America, and by using this tool or clicking the links below, you can compare prices and find the right plan for you.

Overview of U.S. Energy Rates

The average U.S. electricity price sits at about 14.29 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) as of January 2022, which is about .94 cents higher than it was in January 2021.1 While less than a penny may not seem like much, its a 7% increase in price in a single year.

And remember, the increase in price is per kilowatt-hour. With the average electricity consumption in the U.S. at about 829 kWh per month, the average consumer is paying about $8 more per month compared to a year ago  or $96 more per year.

However, people living in deregulated energy markets can have a bit more control over how much they spend on electricity, as they can choose their own provider. Trying to understand the concept of deregulated energy can be a hassle, so weve broken down what you need to know in this article.

Read Also: Whatre the electricity rates in Texas?

Comparing Electricity Prices by State

Energy rates vary greatly between states, from 9.43 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in Nebraska all the way up to 37.44 cents/kWh in Hawaii.2

The tables below show electricity rates by state as of January 2022. At the time of publication, this is the most recent data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Keep in mind that rates can fluctuate depending on where you live (even within your state), as well as electricity supply and demand, weather conditions and your utility provider. Most utility rates are regulated by your local public utility commission.

State Electricity Rate (cents/kWh) Average Monthly Bill % Increase Year over Year (2020/2021) U.S. 14.29* $118.37* 7% AK 21.82 $120.45 2% AL 12.86 $147.25 4% AR 10.33 $109.50 9% AZ 12.37 $137.80 5% CA 23.58 $134.88 9% CO 13.61 $96.77 11% CT 22.28 $158.41 4% DC 13.18 $92.79 7% DE 12.24 $114.08 4% FL 13.36 $152.57 13% GA 11.63 $125.72 6% HI 37.44 $201.05 18% IA 10.97 $94.89 1% ID 9.9 $94.55 -2% IL 13.12 $94.60 6% IN 13.41 $125.79 9% KS 12.69 $112.05 7% KY 11.93 $128.01 12% LA 11.2 $134.51 14% MA 25.28 $152.19 12% MD 13.4 $128.24 6% ME 18.32 $104.42 10% MI 17.13 $115.80 1% MN 12.71 $98.50 2% MO 10.08 $103.62 7% MS 11.48 $131.56 5% MT 10.67 $91.55 0% NC 10.88 $113.26 3% ND 9.44 $102.42 0% NE 9.43 $95.53 0% NH 21.26 $133.94 11% NJ 16.32 $111.47 1% NM 13.12 $87.90 4% NV 12.93 $125.81 11% NY 21.01 $126.48 13% OH 12.53 $109.39 5% OK 10.16 $109.52 12% OR 10.86 $99.48 -1% PA 14.19 $120.05 8% RI 23.56 $139.95 1% SC 12.73 $137.61 6% SD 11.03 $114.38 0% TN 11.51 $134.44 10% TX 12.24 $138.56 7% UT 10.29 $79.13 2% VA 12.1 $132.50 9% VT 19.34 $109.66 5% WA 9.92 $96.12 2% WI 14.82 $102.85 5% WV 11.95 $125.59 6% WY 10.28 $89.33 -2% *Calculated averages of state rates and bills.

10 States With the Highest Electricity Rates

Hawaii currently has the highest average electricity rate (37.44 cents per kWh) across the residential sector.

State Electricity Rate (cents/kWh) HI 37.44 MA 25.28 CA 23.58 RI 23.56 CT 22.28 AK 21.82 NH 21.26 NY 21.01 VT 19.34 ME 18.32

10 States With the Lowest Electricity Rates

Nebraska currently has the lowest average electricity rate (9.43 cents per kWh) across the residential sector.

State Electricity Rate (cents/kWh) NE 9.43 ND 9.44 ID 9.9 WA 9.92 MO 10.08 OK 10.16 WY 10.28 UT 10.29 AR 10.33 MT 10.67

What Is Deregulated Energy?

Deregulated energy markets give consumers the power to choose their own electricity supplier. Lawmakers see this as a way to eliminate regulated energy rates and monopoly providers, creating competition and, theoretically, lowering the price of electricity.

Remember, while you can choose your energy supplier in a deregulated market, you cannot choose your energy delivery provider (aka your public utility company). For example, in Houston, most residents will have their electricity delivered by CenterPoint Energy, but they can choose which company will be their energy supplier (i.e. Frontier Utilities, TXU Energy, 4Change Energy, etc.).

Read Also: Whatre the electricity rates in New jersey?

States With Deregulated Energy Markets

As of 2022, there are 29 states with deregulated energy sectors. Fifteen states have deregulated electricity and natural gas, 12 only have natural gas and two only have electric.

However, even in states with deregulated energy markets, the entire state may not be deregulated. For instance, in Texas, Houston and Dallas residents can choose their own energy supplier, while Austin and San Antonio residents are required to choose the provider that has a claim to that respective city.

States with deregulated electricity include California, Connecticut, Delaware Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington, D.C.

How to Find the Best Electricity Rates in States with Deregulated Energy

When searching for the best electricity rates, keep in mind that rates and the average cost of electricity can vary based on numerous factors, so you may be given a different electric rate than that of your neighbors. Here are a few things to consider:

Your Energy Usage

The amount of electricity your household consumes may affect the rate you pay per kWh. Most retail electricity providers, or REPs, offer tiered plans based on average energy usage. Tiered-rate energy plans are often called V-shaped plans because the rates are more expensive for people who use the least and most amounts of energy and are lowest for those in the middle.

For example, in a typical tiered plan, customers who use around 500 kWh or 1,500 kWh per month will pay more than those who use around 1,000 kWh per month. According to the EIA, the average U.S. homeowner uses 829 kWh per month.3

Contract Length

The length of your contract will also play a role in the cost of electricity. As with most services, the longer you commit to one provider, the better deal youll get. Well discuss the different types of electricity plans in the next section.

A word of caution: Read the fine print and ask questions before you sign. Many contracts come with startup fees as well as cancellation fees for early termination. And while some Texas electricity providers advertise a $10 cancellation fee, the fine print may read that its really $10 per month left on the contract.

Electricity Facts Label

When shopping for energy, always ask for a providers Electricity Facts Label (EFL). Similar to a nutrition label you see on foods, an EFL will give you data on a companys electricity prices, contract lengths and terms, sources of generation, emission levels and more.

To find the best electricity rates, we recommend comparing prices from a few companies. As a trusted energy information source, EcoWatch is often able to secure discounted rates for our readers. You can use this tool to be connected with local energy providers near you.

Types of Energy Plans

Most electric companies have a few plan options for customers to choose from. Heres an overview of the different types offered by most companies, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, so you can pick whats best for your household.

Fixed-Rate Plans

Just as it sounds, a fixed-rate plan allows you to secure a rate that will stay the same throughout the entire duration of your contract. Note that fixed rate does not mean that your electric bill will be exactly the same every month. Instead, it means the rate you pay per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity wont change. So, your bills will still be higher during months you use more electricity.

Pros of a Fixed-Rate Energy Plan Cons of a Fixed-Rate Energy Plan Youll have a better idea of what to expect when it comes to budgeting. If you cancel early, you could be subject to an early termination fee (ETF)  unless youre moving to an address outside the providers service area. Your rates remain locked in if energy costs rise. Some fixed-rate plans will turn into variable-rate plans upon contract expiration. Be sure to read the fine print and ask your energy provider specific questions about length and price.

With a fixed-rate plan, youll pay the same amount month over month for each kilowatt-hour of energy you use. This ensures your rates will stay the same even when the market rate of electricity fluctuates. Some months, youll pay less than the market rate, and others, youll pay more.

Variable-Rate Plans

If you prefer paying month to month instead of being locked into a length-based contract, you may consider a variable-rate electric plan. Variable rate means  you guessed it  the price you pay is based on variables in the energy market. The price per kWh will increase or decrease depending on supply and demand.

Pros of a Variable-Rate Energy Plan Cons of a Variable-Rate Energy Plan If the price of energy drops, there may be some months where a variable-rate electric customer will be paying less per kWh than someone on a fixed-rate plan. Variable rates can be very risky given that extreme weather or other factors can suddenly  and drastically  increase the price of electricity. Contracts usually dont have early termination fees.

With a variable-rate plan, prices change each month based on the market rate of electricity. Some months, youll pay less than homes with fixed-rate plans, and others, youll pay more. You may also see surprisingly high bills during extreme fluctuations.

No-Deposit and Prepaid Energy Plans

Many power plans require a deposit upon signing a contract to protect the REP from losses should a customer be unable to pay their energy bill. However, certain companies will offer a no-deposit electricity plan option so long as a customer passes a credit check. If the customer doesnt have a high enough credit score for a no-deposit plan, they can still avoid paying a deposit by opting for a prepaid, or pay-as-you-go, electricity plan.

With a prepaid plan, the customer pays in advance for a set amount of electricity, then can track their electricity usage online and can reload the account when it runs low. However, rates are not fixed in a prepaid plan, so it can be harder to plan out expenses.

Pros of a Prepaid Energy Plan Cons of a Prepaid Energy Plan The obvious  no deposit. Youll have to pay for your electricity upfront and remember when to top up your meter. You have total control over how much you spend on your electricity. Your power will be automatically shut off if you hit the threshold of electricity you paid for (this can be avoided by actively monitoring your usage or enrolling in an auto-pay plan). You dont have to sign a contract that may come with cancellation fees. Youll often pay a higher rate per kWh compared to other plans.

Green Energy Plans

Green energy plans are those that supply electricity from renewable energy sources, like wind, hydro or solar energy.

Some REPs may have Green-e Verification or a similar certification to ensure that the electricity is responsibly generated, transmitted and distributed. Non-green energy plans will often include a percentage of their total energy from renewable sources, usually ranging from 6-25%.

Most green energy REPs will still offer variable- and fixed-rate plan options; the main difference is where the energy comes from.

Pros of a Green Energy Plan Cons of a Green Energy Plan You can feel good about where your electricity is coming from. On average, renewable plans cost around 1 cent per kWh more than non-renewable plans. (If you use 1,000 kWh per month, that will be about a $10 to $15 difference.) You can support clean energy without the high upfront cost of solar or wind. Theyre not offered by all energy companies, so youll have more limited options when choosing a provider.

Business Energy Plans

Not all REPs will provide commercial electricity. If you need an energy supplier for your business, youll want to look for a provider that offers business energy rates. Business energy plans may also be needed for industrial and government buildings, as well as schools and churches.

Most business energy plans come in variable or fixed-rate options. Commercial electricity rates also tend to be cheaper than residential ones.

Best Electricity Companies and Providers in America

There are thousands of energy providers across the country, some serving multiple states. Here at EcoWatch, we strive for a healthier planet and encourage our readers to live more sustainably when feasible. As such, weve chosen to highlight some of the best electric companies that offer 100% renewable energy options. You can click here to start comparing rates from these providers and more.

Provider States Served Lowest Available Rate* (/kWh) Plan Length (Months) Percent of Renewable Energy Clearview Energy DE, IL, MA, ME, MD, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, TX & D.C. 7.79 6 100% Constellation Energy CT, DE, GA, ID, IL, KY, MA, MD, MI, NE, NJ, NY, OH, PA, VA, WY & D.C. 11.0 36 Offers 100% options; other plans are 18.5% renewable Green Mountain Energy IL, MA, MD, NJ, NY, PA, TX 14.8 24 100% Gexa Energy CA, TX 8.2 12 100% Verde Energy CT, DE, MA, NJ, NY, OH, PA, 15.79 12 100% *Rates will vary depending on where you live.

What to Look For When Choosing an Electricity Provider

Whether youve just moved to a deregulated energy market or youre looking to save money by switching companies, here are five main things you should look out for when choosing an electricity provider:

Types of plans offered: Not every REP will offer fixed-rate, variable and no-deposit energy plans. If youre looking for cheap electricity rates, check to see if a company offers saver plans or monthly bill credits or incentives that can lower your rates. Where the energy is coming from: We recommend companies that offer 100% renewable plans from solar or wind energy. If the company does not specify where its electricity comes from, its likely natural gas. Electricity rates  and the fine print: Many customers shopping for a new energy provider will be looking for the cheapest electricity rates, but if the prices look too good to be true, be sure to read the fine print. Some companies will offer low rates for short-term contracts with a fine-print clause that eventually turns the plan into a variable-rate or higher-priced option. Be wary of this, as companies with misleading advertising may not have your best interests in mind. Company history: In most cases, youll want to choose an energy supplier with a proven track record of quality service in your area. You also may want to do some research to find out if theres a parent company. Some companies that offer renewable energy plans are backed by oil companies like Shell. Customer reviews: No one enjoys having to pay for electricity service, and outages can be frustrating no matter your energy supplier. But an excessive number of negative customer reviews is probably a warning sign to steer clear of a company. On the other hand, tons of positive reviews are a good sign that a company is likely honest and accommodating.

Other Popular Providers in America

EcoWatch has chosen to feature providers that align with our mission and, in most cases, offer 100% renewable energy. Here are some of the other electricity providers that may or may not hit that goal but that are popular options:

Provider States Served Lowest Available Rate (/kWh)* Plan Length (months) Percent of Renewable Energy Direct Energy All 50 States 12.8 36 20% in each plan; 100% renewable option Frontier Utilities IL, NJ, OH, PA, TX 7.6 24 15% in each plan; 100% renewable plan options in some areas Just Energy IL, DE, MA, MD, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX 9.2 12 15% in each plan; 100% renewable options NRG (Reliant Energy in TX) CT, DE, IL, MA, MD, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX & D.C. 11.7 36 Offers 100% renewable plans Payless Power TX 16.5 12 20% in each plan Pulse Power TX 12.1 36 At least 20% in each plan; 100% renewable plan options Reliant Energy TX 11.7 36 15% in each plan; 100% renewable plan option TriEagle Energy TX 10.4 36 6% in each plan; 100% renewable option *Rates are subject to change and will vary based on your utility. All information is accurate as of April 2022.

FAQ: U.S. Electricity Plans

At EcoWatch, we receive questions every day about the energy market in the U.S. Here are some of the most common questions we see, along with our answers.

Which state has the cheapest energy?

If youre looking for cheap electricity rates, move to Nebraska. According to January 2022 data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), Nebraska has the cheapest electricity rates at 9.43 cents/kWh.4

Which state has the most expensive energy?

Hawaii has the most expensive energy by far, coming in at 37.44 cents/kWh. For perspective, Massachusetts is the next most expensive energy state at 25.28 cents/kWh.5

What is the best energy provider?

The best deregulated energy provider will depend on your location and preferences, but some of the most common names we hear that offer 100% renewable energy include Constellation, Gexa and Green Mountain Energy.

What is the average electric bill in the U.S.?

According to our calculations based on EIA data, the average monthly electric bill in America is $118.37.

How can I lower my electricity bill?

With deregulation, the best way to lower your electricity bill is to compare quotes from multiple providers and choose the one thats going to offer you the best deal over time. If youre looking for the cheapest energy plan, look for providers that offer things like saver plans, free nights or weekends, or monthly bill credits.

You can also work to lower your overall electricity use by making more conscious decisions to turn off lights, better insulate your home, mind the thermostat and use more power strips. Follow these tips for more ways to be energy-efficient at home.

What is the best electricity plan?

Its hard to single out the best energy plan in America, because there are thousands to choose from and whats best for one customer may not be the best for another.

We recommend you look at the plans offered by Constellation, Gexa and Green Mountain Energy and find one that works best for your household. Or, use this link to get connected to the best energy providers in your area.

Related Topics
Almost everyone on Earth breathes unhealthy air.

Thats the alarming conclusion from the latest update of the World Health Organizations (WHO) air quality database, which drew on data from more than 6,000 cities in 117 countries. The organization argued that the figures were another argument in favor of phasing out the use of fossil fuels.

Current energy concerns highlight the importance of speeding up the transition to cleaner, healthier energy systems, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a press release. High fossil fuel prices, energy security, and the urgency of addressing the twin health challenges of air pollution and climate change, underscore the pressing need to move faster towards a world that is much less dependent on fossil fuels.

Shocking!

99%  or almost the entire world's population breathes air with unhealthy levels of fine particulate matter & nitrogen dioxide, and threatens their health.

More: https://t.co/Llaj2wHk0V #HealthierTomorrow pic.twitter.com/QlHUP4iyS4  World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) April 4, 2022

The latest database update is significant for two reasons. First, it includes ground measurements of annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide for the first time. Second, it draws on data from a record number of cities  around 2,000 more population centers are recording ground particulate matter concentrations than at the time of the last update. The last time the database was updated was in 2018, AP News reported. The latest update also comes around six months after WHO released stricter air quality guidelines, and 99 percent of the worlds population now breathes in air that does not meet those guidelines. Four years ago under the weaker standards, 90 percent of the world was considered exposed, according to New Scientist.

There is growing evidence that air pollution is a serious public health problem. Nitrogen dioxide pollution comes mainly from the burning of fossil fuels and can cause respiratory diseases like asthma, according to AP News.

WHO also measures two types of particulate matter pollution: PM10 and PM2.5. Particulate matter can come from the burning of fossil fuels by vehicles and power plants, but also from agriculture, industry and natural dust storms. PM2.5 has been shown to enter the bloodstream via the lungs and contribute to potentially fatal ailments like heart disease, stroke and respiratory problems, according to WHO. It has also recently been linked to mental effects including dementia and childhood psychiatric issues. Further, exposure to air pollution can suppress the immune system and make people more susceptible to respiratory infections including COVID-19, the World Economic Forum reported.

After surviving a pandemic, it is unacceptable to still have 7 million preventable deaths and countless preventable lost years of good health due to air pollution, Dr. Maria Neira, Director of WHOs Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, said in the press release.

While air pollution is a global problem, people in low- or middle-income countries are more exposed to particulate matter pollution generally, while there is less of a gap between high and low-and middle-income countries when it comes to nitrogen dioxide exposure.

Worldwide, air quality is the worst in Southeast Asia and the eastern Mediterranean, followed by Africa, AP News reported. Nitrogen dioxide pollution in particular is the worst in the eastern Mediterranean. India had nine of the 10 cities with the highest concentrations of PM2.5, New Scientist said.

New Delhi-based think tank the Council on Energy, Environment and Water found that more than 60 percent of Indias PM2.5 pollution came from industry and households.

We need to prioritize clean energy access for households that need it the most, and take active measures to clean up our industrial sector, Center for Science and Environment air pollution expert Anumita Roychowdhury told AP News.

No cities in Southeast Asia, the Middle East or North Africa meet the new particulate matter standards, while 13 percent of European population centers and 23 percent in the Americas do, New Scientist said.
A new report finds that electricity generated by wind and solar resources provided a larger piece of the global power supply in 2021 than ever before, reaching just over 10% of the total produced electricity that year. To hit that milestone, global solar and wind generation shot up 23% and 14% last year, respectively, according to the think tank behind the report, Ember.

However, the report found that as many larger economies continue to bounce back from the pandemics relatively short-term suppressive effects, so too has the international demand for electricity  much of which was fulfilled by fossil fuel-based resources, particularly coal.

At 5.4%, 2021 saw the fastest demand growth since 2010, Ember stated, referencing power generation as a whole regardless of its source. The rise followed from a small 1% fall in 2020.

And at the same time, coal-fired power, the group said, set a new global power production record in 2021, contributing to 36.5% of the planets power needs, a 1.2 percentage point increase over 2020. The global gain in the percentage of coal-fired electricity in 2021 shows just how far off-track the electricity transition is, the think tank critiqued.

To hit critical net-zero energy targets set by the International Energy Agency, the analysis noted that unabated coal power generation must fall by 73% globally from 2021 to 2030.

Additionally, to keep global heating to 1.5 degrees, wind and solar need to sustain high compound growth rates of 20% every year to 2030, the report noted. Thats the same rate of growth as their average over the last decade.

Not all countries are proportionately transitioning their energy mixes at the same pace. The 50 countries that are powered by at least 10% solar or wind resources also include the five countries with the largest economies: China, Germany, Japan, the UK and the U.S.

Yet three countries  Denmark, Luxembourg and Uruguay  produced 52%, 43% and 47% of their power from wind and solar resources alone as of 2021, according to Ember. And while other countries including Australia and Vietnam saw relatively low proportions of wind and solar power in their total energy mix, they nevertheless transitioned roughly 8% over to those two resources in just about two years.

While clean power sources on the whole contributed to just under 40% of the global electricity supply in 2021, sources that were not solar or wind did not reach similar global expansion milestones, Ember noted. For example, the share of nuclear-derived electricity within the worldwide energy production was generally unmoved, while hydroelectricity saw its share fall.

The report was published by a London-headquartered energy policy think tank called Ember, which focuses on data, analysis and policy solutions for the worldwide transition away from coal-fired electricity. It was the groups third annual publication examining the global electricity procurement and resource transition, although Ember notes that their dataset accounts for 93% of global power demand.
There may be microscopic pieces of plastic water bottles or shopping bags floating around in your bloodstream.

A study published in Environment International Thursday found microplastics in human blood for the first time. Furthermore, the tiny pieces of plastic were found in nearly 80 percent of the people tested.

Our study is the first indication that we have polymer particles in our blood  its a breakthrough result, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands ecotoxicologist professor Dick Vethaak told The Guardian.

The researchers tested 22 people for five types of plastic: polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), The Independent reported. A total of 17 of themor 77 percenthad microplastics in their blood.

The three most common types of plastic identified were:

PET, which is used for bottles, food packaging and clothing. PS, which is common in household products. PE, which is used for plastic grocery bags.

The next question is what this actually means for human health. There has been growing evidence that it really is bad for us to ingest microplastics. A study published in December 2021 found that microplastics can kill cells at levels that exist in the environment. It followed other studies showing that microplastics could decluster human lung cells, change cell shape and cross the blood-brain barrier in mice. Another December 2021 study found that people who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease had more microplastics in their feces than people who did not.

Vethaak told The Independent that microplastic particles in the blood could cause chronic inflammation.

It is certainly reasonable to be concerned, Vethaak told the Guardian. The particles are there and are transported throughout the body.

However, he noted that more research was needed with a larger sample size and a wider array of plastic polymers. He also wanted to know about what the microplastics are actually doing in the bloodstream.

The big question is what is happening in our body? Vethaak told The Guardian. Are the particles retained in the body? Are they transported to certain organs, such as getting past the blood-brain barrier? And are these levels sufficiently high to trigger disease? We urgently need to fund further research so we can find out.

The research was commissioned by the environmental advocacy group Common Seas, whose CEO and founder Jo Royle was one of the people tested.

Ive seen first-hand the build-up of plastic on shorelines and in oceans, I fear the same accumulation is happening in our blood, Royle tweeted. In tests, plastic was detected in almost 80% of people and I was one of them!

Ive seen first-hand the build-up of plastic on shorelines and in oceans, I fear the same accumulation is happening in our blood. In tests, plastic was detected in almost 80% of people and I was one of them!



Help @CommonSeas make everyone aware we have #PlasticInOurBlood  https://t.co/vMAr2YWuB5  Jo Royle (@Jo_Royle) March 24, 2022

The group has launched a petition calling for more funding from the UK government to study the impacts of plastic pollution on human health.

This finding is extremely concerning. We are already eating, drinking and breathing in plastic. Its in the deepest sea trench and on top of Mount Everest. And yet, plastic production is set to double by 2040, Royle said, as The Independent reported. We have a right to know what all this plastic is doing to our bodies. Which is why were asking business, government and philanthropists around the world to fund urgent further research into clarifying our understanding of the health impacts of plastic via a National Plastic Health Impact Research Fund.
QUITO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso said Tuesday that his government will strengthen intelligence systems in the country's prisons to head off violent clashes, following a prison riot that left 20 inmates dead on Sunday.

"We are going to strengthen prison intelligence to avoid more of these events ... five, 10, 20, 30 or 100 criminals cannot keep a country in distress," Lasso told journalists.

The president deplored the incident at Turi prison in the city of Cuenca, where clashes broke out between criminal gangs vying for power, leading to some 850 police and military personnel taking control of the prison.

Lasso said emphasis will be placed on transnational gangs dedicated to drug, human and arms trafficking.

"We have made a very harsh decision," he said, after announcing "a much more thorough sweep" of weapons, explosives and other artefacts in prisons.

Sunday's riot was the first in 2022, following a wave of violence in 2021 that left 331 inmates dead in the serious crisis facing Ecuador's prison system. 
By Krissy Waite

Bolstering activists demands to reduce plastic pollution worldwide, Arizona State University scientists on Monday presented their research on finding micro- and nanoplastics in human organs to the American Chemical Society.

Greenpeace UK responded to the reporting on the study by calling to massively reduce the amount of plastic produced and used worldwide.

Microplastic particles have been found in human organs for the first time!  Microplastic pollution effects the entire planet. The best way to tackle the problem is to massively reduce the amount of plastic that's being made and used. https://t.co/ARSPnjttLn

Microplastics are plastics that are less than five millimeters in diameter and nanoplastics are less than 0.001 millimeters in diameter. Both are broken down bits of larger plastic pieces that were dumped into the environment. According to PlasticsEurope.org , 359 million tons of plastic was produced globally in 2019.

These specific tissues were used because these organs are the most likely to be exposed to, filter or collect plastics in the human body. Because the samples were taken from a tissue bank, scientists also were able to analyze the donors lifestyles including environmental and occupational exposures.

The Arizona State University scientists developed and tested a new method to identify dozens of plastics in human tissue that could eventually be used to collect global data on microplastic pollution and its impact on people. To test the technique, the scientists used 47 tissue samples from lung, liver, spleen and kidney samples collected from a tissue bank. Researchers then added particles to the samples and found they could detect microplastics in every sample.

It would be naive to believe there is plastic everywhere but just not in us, Rolf Halden, a scientist on the team, told The Guardian. We are now providing a research platform that will allow us and others to look for what is invisible  these particles too small for the naked eye to see. The risk [to health] really resides in the small particles  This shared resource will help build a plastic exposure database so that we can compare exposures in organs and groups of people over time and geographic space.

The researchers found bisphenol A (BPA) in all 47 samples and were also able to detect polyethylene terephthalate (PET)  a chemical used in plastic drink bottles and shopping bags. They also found and analyzed polycarbonate (PC) and polyethylene (PE). These particles can end up in human bodies through the air or by consuming wildlife like seafood that has eaten plastic; or by consuming other foods with trace amounts of plastic from packaging.

The team also developed a computer program that converts the collected data on plastic particle count into units of mass and area.

In a few short decades, weve gone from seeing plastic as a wonderful benefit to considering it a threat, Charles Rolsky, a member of the team, said in a press release. Theres evidence that plastic is making its way into our bodies, but very few studies have looked for it there. And at this point, we dont know whether this plastic is just a nuisance or whether it represents a human health hazard.
Job creation serves as one of the most frequently touted benefits of solar energy. You hear it all over the news: in presidential campaigns, senate bills, from conservationists and clean energy advocates alike. Heck, even conservative Texas governor Greg Abbott recently told Texans that solar can create jobs and add to the states energy security. But what does this really look like? What are the jobs being created?

To start, lets take a look at the numbers. According to the 2020 National Solar Jobs Census published by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) and The Solar Foundation, the U.S. solar industry employed 231,474 workers in 2020. It grew more diverse, with workforce shares at all-time highs across most demographic measures of diversity (though theres still work to be done on this front). Of this workforce, over 10% are unionized, a figure above the national average and comparable with similar construction trades.

Wages within solar companies are on par with or higher than wages for U.S. workers in similar occupations. Whats more, while the solar industry is on a trajectory to reach 400,000 solar jobs by 2030, employment is projected to exceed 900,000 workers by 2035 if were working to meet the 100% clean electricity goal set by President Biden.

So if youre entering the workforce, or thinking about how to shift toward a career in sustainable energy, lets walk through what getting a job in the solar industry might entail.

What Do Solar Jobs Look Like?

As awareness surrounding solar energy continues to grow, the industry is becoming a more and more desirable field to work in. The first job that may come to mind when you think about solar is that of an installer or electrician. However, we spoke with Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) program manager Megan Howes about the many other opportunities the growing solar market has to offer.

She put it this way: Solar offers opportunities for individuals with diverse skill sets and career interests to help power the transition to a clean energy future. While skilled trades and technical roles like installers and electricians are the front lines of the solar workforce (and are some of the fastest-growing jobs in the country), the industry is supported by a wide range of job functions across engineering, manufacturing, business development, policy, finance, communications and much more.

Lets walk through some of the most common roles.

Solar Installers, Electricians and Technicians: Though these positions do vary in their scope and qualifications, they all require a knowledge of basic electrical skills and will be involved in on-site installations of solar panels and solar batteries, as well as troubleshooting or commissioning of the technology post-install.

Project Managers and Administrators: Enjoy logistics and streamlining efficiency? Managing networks of solar installers may be a viable solar career option for you.

Enjoy logistics and streamlining efficiency? Managing networks of solar installers may be a viable solar career option for you. Solar Systems Designers: Before any solar panels can be installed, systems have to be designed. Many companies use a software called Aurora that employs satellite imagery to assist in planning how many solar panels you need on your home, how much sunlight theyll receive and how direct that sunlight will be in order to create a detailed energy proposal.

Before any solar panels can be installed, systems have to be designed. Many companies use a software called Aurora that employs satellite imagery to assist in planning how many solar panels you need on your home, how much sunlight theyll receive and how direct that sunlight will be in order to create a detailed energy proposal. Financial Analysts and Accountants: Have a background in finance but an interest in sustainability? Every business needs someone to oversee the numbers  expanding solar companies especially.

Have a background in finance but an interest in sustainability? Every business needs someone to oversee the numbers  expanding solar companies especially. Materials Engineers: Somebody out there has to be working on increasing the efficiency of solar panels, sourcing new materials and testing new products. If your experience is in science, chemistry or engineering, that could be you.

Somebody out there has to be working on increasing the efficiency of solar panels, sourcing new materials and testing new products. If your experience is in science, chemistry or engineering, that could be you. Marketing Professionals: Solar is a competitive industry, and the thousands of solar companies across the nation need to get the word out about why their company is best.

Solar is a competitive industry, and the thousands of solar companies across the nation need to get the word out about why their company is best. Energy Attorneys: Solar is a developing industry that involves the navigation of government policies, bureaucracies and legislatures. Many of these reach a level of complexity that requires a law degree.

Solar is a developing industry that involves the navigation of government policies, bureaucracies and legislatures. Many of these reach a level of complexity that requires a law degree. Solar Consultants: Solar installers hire consultants who meet with potential customers or investors to outline the benefits of solar, present proposals and field any questions pertaining to a potential solar project.

Solar installers hire consultants who meet with potential customers or investors to outline the benefits of solar, present proposals and field any questions pertaining to a potential solar project. Energy Journalists: The solar industry is growing fast, and a number of news outlets are upping their coverage of energy, specifically solar and other exciting renewable energy sources.

Well get more into qualifications and salaries later in the article.

Pros and Cons of Working in the Solar Industry

As with any industry, working in solar comes with its own unique benefits and challenges. Overall, solar being a young and growing industry presents both advantages and disadvantages. It can be exciting, but it also requires patience and adaptability.

Pros of Working in Solar Cons of Working in Solar Solar is a developing industry with huge potential for growth. The solar industry can be volatile as it undergoes rapid changes in policy, costs and investments. Solar energy combats climate change and environmental injustice. Your salary and job opportunities are highly dependent on your location. Solar contributes to energy independence. Specialization strictly in solar may exclude you from future opportunities in wind, hydropower, hydrogen fuel-cell, geothermal and other renewable sources of energy. The world will always need energy professionals.

Best States for Solar Energy Jobs

Notice the con we mentioned above about job availability and salary being highly dependent on location? Youll find most new jobs in states with the best solar incentives, and hence, the most investment in renewable energy. Inversely, many states with close ties to oil, gas or coal wont exactly go out of their way to support the solar industry. As it stands today, here are the top 10 states of solar energy jobs, according to data from the SEIA.

California Florida New York Texas Massachusetts Arizona Utah Colorado Nevada North Carolina

Youll notice not all of these states receive an abundance of sunshine. What they do have in common are favorable net metering policies, tax incentives or rebate programs that attract investment.

Salaries and Qualifications of Jobs in the Solar Industry

Though there are all sorts of odd jobs in the solar industry, here are the primary careers we see emerging, along with their expected qualifications and salary. As mentioned, expect this to vary by state. The bigger the presence of solar in the state (California will be the best), the more competitive your salary will be.

Solar Job Title Qualification Average Salary Range Solar Installer Certification or High School/GED $35,000-$45,0001 Electrician (Solar Expertise) Certification or High School/GED $45,000-$55,0002 Field Service Technician Associates Degree $45,000-$55,0003 Solar Site Assessor Associates Degree $45,000-$55,0002 Solar Marketing Professional Associates Degree $45,000-$75,0006 Solar Sales Consultant Associates Degree $65,000-$85,0002 Solar Energy System Designer Bachelors Degree $65,000-$85,0006 Technical Solar System Sales Bachelors Degree $65,000-$85,0005 Project Manager & Administrator Bachelors Degree $65,000-$85,0001 Materials Engineer Graduate Degree $75,000-$125,0004 Energy Attorney Graduate Degree $75,000-$125,0002 Solar Engineer (Utility-scale) Graduate Degree $75,000-$125,0002

1Data from Glassdoor. 2Data from ZipRecruiter. 3Data from Salary.com. 4Data from Payscale. 5Data from Indeed. 6Data based on our calculations.

Online Solar Trainings, Certifications and Courses

So, if youre someone without a solid background in solar but you want to break into the industry, wheres the best place to start?

Solar Energy Training with Solar Energy International (SEI)

SEI offers online trainings and in-person workshops on topics spanning most renewable energy sources, including solar. Courses and workshops are available for students at any level. With video lectures, online forums and lesson quizzes, SEI provides a fantastic entry point to an aspiring solar professional looking to learn more about the technology. Get started with its free online course.

North American Board of Certified Energy Professionals (NABCEP)

NABCEP Board Certifications provide knowledge and skills to make a career in renewable energy. Certifications are fairly rigorous, and best for those with some experience with electrical work already. However, earning a NABCEP certification is the best way to stand out as a qualified, credible and knowledgable solar energy professional. Earning a NABCEP certification can also increase your earning potential by over $10,000 per year.

Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC)

IREC is a nonprofit organization working toward providing clean energy and energy efficiency for the benefit of people, the economy and the environment. As part of its efforts, IREC offers a Clean Energy Training program for professionals in a variety of related industries. Aligned with its mission to advance a highly trained and inclusive clean energy workforce, IREC recently published a brief guide that covers solar training and career development resources; offers detailed descriptions of high-demand, entry-level solar jobs; and describes advancement pathways that can lead to rewarding careers.

Karsten Neumeister is a solar energy specialist passionate about sustainable development, environmental and cultural change. Before joining EcoWatch, Karsten worked in the energy sector of New Orleans, focusing on renewable energy policy and technology. A lover of music and the outdoors, Karsten might be found rock climbing, canoeing or writing songs when away from the workplace.






Salmon prices spike in Japan due to war in Ukraine





Prices of salmon and other imported seafood have skyrocketed in Japan as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has forced airlines to alter flight routes, in an added blow to consumers and businesses already smarting from higher food costs.

Cleaned Norwegian salmon fetched 2,100 (US$17) per kilogramme at the Toyosu wholesale fish market in Tokyo in early March.

This compares with 1,800 (US$14.69) per kilogramme in February prior to Russia's invasion. The price at Toyosu remained at 2,000 (US$16.32) as of late March, well above average.

Cargo planes from Europe to Japan have been unable to fly over Russian airspace since the war began, forcing them to take long detours that boost transport costs. Poor harvests at hatcheries and rising fuel prices had already driven up prices for fresh salmon, with the war in Ukraine exacerbating the trend.

Choushimaru, a sushi chain that operates chiefly in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, suspended sales of aurora salmon after the start of the war. It then raised the price by more than 20% to 363 (US$2.96) per two pieces when the item was put back on the menu on March 19.

Choushimaru is offering the salmon in limited quantities and is also offering salmon raised in the northern prefecture of Miyagi as an alternative.

Supermarkets have been forced to adapt as well. Since early March, operator Aeon Retail has been procuring more domestically raised salmon in light of a drastic drop in the volume of salmon from Norway.

Other types of seafood have been affected. The bids on pollock roe from the United States have jumped by 10-15% in March from a year earlier. The rise was driven by speculation that supplies will tighten after shipments from Russia decline.

Last year, Japan imported 138.1 billion (US$1.1 billion) worth of seafood from Russia, just 8.6% of its total seafood imports, government data shows.



- Nikkei Asia






AquaChile divests tilapia operations in Costa Rica





Chile's largest salmon farmer, AquaChile, has completed the divestiture of its tilapia operations in Costa Rica, selling its subsidiary Grupo ACI to Costa Rica's AquaFoods Group for US$6 million, AquaChile chief executive officer Sady Delgado reported to Chilean markets regulator CMF.

"The effect on income from this transaction was a total loss of US$36.4 million," Delgado said, adding that Costa Rica's competition watchdog had approved the operation on March 17, with the deal finalised on March 31.

AquaChile previously said the sale was completed to allow it to concentrate fully on salmon production. Following Chilean food protein giant Agrosuper's purchase of a 67% share in AquaChile in a 2018 deal worth US$850 million, it made it clear the firm's Costa Rican tilapia operations did not fit into the company's strategy.

Grupo AquaCorporacion Internacional (Grupo ACI) has participated in the tilapia industry for more than 30 years. It developed the Rainforest Tilapia brand, focusing on supplying fresh tilapia to large supermarket chains, distributors and restaurants in the United States and achieved a market share of more than 25% during 2019, according to AquaChile's 2020 financial report. The acquisition includes tilapia production in Guanacaste, a processing plant in Terrapez, and the commercial operation based in Miami, Florida, US.

The AquaFoods Group is a subsidiary of the Costa Rica-based seafood company Industrias Martec, one of Costa Rica's largest exporters of wild-caught fish, and it also works in aquaculture via its cultivation of spotted rose snapper (Lutjanus guttatus).

The company is experimenting with integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) as part of an expansion into offshore cage aquaculture. Its spotted rose snapper operation has four-star Best Aquaculture Practices certification for its closed-cycle hatchery located in Guanacaste, its offshore farm, and processing plant.

Martec previously said its Grupo ACI acquisition supported its mission of "feeding the world sustainably through water" and its growth strategy. Martec has said the acquisition's value proposition lies in selling fresh products coming from Costa Rica, a country renowned for its environmental stewardship.

"This will be the way to feed the world in the not-so-distant future. It makes sense in terms of synergies," the company said in a statement.



- SeafoodSource
June is fast approaching, which means it's almost time for Apple to hold this year's Worldwide Developer Conference. The company has announced that its WWDC 2022 event will be held between June 6th and June 10th. The conference itself will be virtual, but there will be a limited opportunity to watch the keynote and State of the Union videos in-person at Apple Park on June 6th.

The last two WWDC events were online-only and free for everyone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple is gradually returning to in-person activities and will require corporate staff to work from the office at least one day per week by mid-April. Google I/O will go ahead in April with limited in-person attendance from employees and some partners.

Unless Apple changes the script dramatically at WWDC this year, we should get our first proper looks at iOS 16, iPadOS 16, watchOS 9, tvOS 16 and whatever the next version of macOS is called. There's always the possibility Apple will show off some new hardware. It hasn't done so at WWDC since 2019, when it revealed the third-gen Mac Pro and the Pro Display XDR. We could also learn more about Apple's next-gen silicon chips, a few months after it announced the M1 Ultra.
BERLIN, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Participants of an international support conference on Tuesday announced a total amount of 659.5 million euros (about 720.5 million U.S. dollars) of financial support for Moldova.

The conference was jointly hosted by foreign ministers of Germany, France and Romania, and attended by representatives from 36 countries and nine international organizations.

Since the start of the Ukraine crisis, Moldova has opened its borders to almost 400,000 people and about 100,000 of them are currently hosted in the country.

The country is currently under pressure from soaring energy prices and poor finance. 
This content is made possible by our sponsor; it is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Engadget's editorial staff.

Jet setters dont want to overpay for flights. And they would happily ride first class for a steal. Unfortunately, as Business Insider reports, airfare is climbing due to higher fuel costs and more travelers. This may make securing seats for a reasonable price challenging, especially if your dates arent flexible.

Instead of checking back constantly to see if your route has become more affordable, you might want to consider a digital concierge such as Dollar Flight Club. This service can alert you when it finds cheap seats, including first and business class. You could potentially save money booking tickets to visit family, travel with friends or take your honeymoon. Over one million users rely on Dollar Flight Club for economical airfare, and lifetime Premium Plus+ subscriptions are on sale for $99 .

From domestic to international excursions, Dollar Flight Club covers a broad range of dream destinations. Once you set up your account, you can choose preferred airports and bucket list locations. Dollar Flight Club will notify you when it finds a low-cost booking. You may, for instance, find round-trip seats to Madrid for just $330 or Panama for $439.

The Premium Plus+ membership includes other perks, too. Subscribers can score discounts at Acanela Expeditions, Babbel, Huckberry and more. Plus, youll receive expert travel tips that could help you get the most out of your expeditions. Finally, you can buy tickets through Dollar Flight Clubs app or on the website to secure decent airfare no matter where you are.

With rising plane ticket prices, saving money while traveling never hurts. Dollar Flight Club may help you book your next trip on a budget, and you can purchase a Premium Plus+ Lifetime Subscription for $99 or 94 percent off.

Prices subject to change.
GM and Honda will co-develop a series of affordable EVs using a global architecture and GM's Ultium battery technology, the companies announced. They promised to build vehicles in multiple product segments, including the compact crossover category, calling it a "new chapter" in their partnership. That significantly expands on previous news that Honda would create two EVs using GM's battery technology.

"GM and Honda will share our best technology, design and manufacturing strategies to deliver affordable and desirable EVs on a global scale, including our key markets in North America, South America and China, said GM CEO and chair Mary Barra.

The companies promised to share technology, design and sourcing strategies, while working toward "standardizing equipment and processes to achieve world-class quality, higher throughput and greater affordability," GM's press release states. The companies will also discuss EV battery collaboration in an effort to drive down costs and improve performance and sustainability.

The Honda E Engadget

The word "affordable" comes up a lot in the press release, as both companies emphasized the idea of building cheaper EVs than are currently available. "Honda and GM will build on our successful technology collaboration to help achieve a dramatic expansion in the sales of electric vehicles," said Honda president & CEO Toshihiro Mibe.

The tie-up makes a lot of sense, particularly for Honda, which has lagged way behind rivals in terms of EV development. By joining forces with GM, it can share development costs and contribute its considerable BEV and hybrid expertise. The two automakers previously announced a collaboration in 2018 to produce autonomous vehicles, with Honda taking a stake in GM's Cruise self-driving division. The companies also joined force on hydrogen fuel cells.

Honda recently showed that it can build EVs with the Honda E, a cute and technologically advanced vehicle with limited battery range, designed mostly for urban use. More recently, it unveiled a pair of vehicles it's developing with GM including the Prologue, to be launched in early 2024, followed by Acura's first EV SUV.

GM, meanwhile, continues to develop its Ultium battery tech that uses pouch- and prismatic-style cells rather than cylindrical cells like Tesla. The aim to use it in up to 30-plus vehicles over the coming years, with the first models arriving in 2023. GM affirmed that it would release "a new all-electric product for North America positioned at a price point lower than the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV, building on the 2 million units of EV capacity the company plans to install by the end of 2025."
With road trip season about to commence, Google Maps is getting an update that should help make vacation planning a bit easier thanks to enhanced details and a new feature that will calculate estimated toll prices.

Previously, while Google Maps could tell you which routes had tolls or not, you didn't get much info beyond that. But now, in an update rolling out later this month that will cover more than 2,000 roads across the US, India, Japan and Indonesia, users will be able to see estimated toll pricing sourced from local authorities.

Google

This means you should have more information when trying to figure out the cheapest way to get to your destination, with Google Maps even factoring in things like different payment methods (e.g. paying with a pass versus cash/credit), the day of the week or even the specific time you're expected hit a toll. And of course, if you want to save as much money as possible, Google will still surface toll-free routes and provide an option to completely block routes with tolls from being displayed.

Google

On top of that, to help make driving through unfamiliar territory a bit less scary, Google Maps is also getting enhanced details. Soon, you'll be able to see things like traffic lights and stops signs along with additional info regarding nearby points of interest and even more precise building outlines. Google also says that in select cities, users will be able to spot details like the shape of the road, including features such as medians and islands. The update is slated to roll out to Android, iOS, Android and CarPlay throughout select countries in the coming weeks.

Finally, for those with iOS devices, Google is adding a few extra features for use across Apple's ecosystem. On iPhones and iPads, Maps is getting a new trip widget that will let you pin your next trek to your home screen. Additionally, the standard Google Maps search widget is also getting a size reduction, so you can quickly lookup a destination without the widget taking up too much screen real estate.

Google

Meanwhile, for those who want to travel super light, Google is adding deeper support for Google Maps to the Apple Watch. This will allow you to look up a destination and even see directions on your wrist, all without ever having to pick up your phone. Additionally, iOS Spotlight, Siri and the Shortcuts app are also getting Google Maps integration in the coming months, so you can more easily search for a place using voice commands.
Rocket Lab is developing Electron as a reusable orbital launch vehicle and it has revealed details about the next step of the program. After the rockets 26th launch, which is scheduled for later this month, the company will attempt to snatch the first stage out of mid-air with a helicopter.

The mission has a 14-day launch window starting on April 19th. Electron is scheduled to lift off from a launchpad in New Zealand and will carry satellites for a number of companies.

Around an hour before launch, the helicopter will move into position approximately 150 miles off the coast. Two and a half minutes after lift off, the first and second stages of the rocket will separate, with the latter carrying the payload to orbit. The first stage will descend back to Earth. It will deploy a drogue parachute at an altitude of 13 km (8.3 miles) and its main parachute at an altitude of roughly 6 km (3.7 miles).

The Sikorsky S-92 helicopter will then attempt to retrieve the stage by snagging a hook onto the parachute line. If all goes as planned, Rocket Lab will analyze the stage to see if it's suitable for another launch. Rocket Lab has carried out three successful recoveries of Electron's first stage from the ocean on previous missions.

"Trying to catch a rocket as it falls back to Earth is no easy feat, were absolutely threading the needle here, but pushing the limits with such complex operations is in our DNA," Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said in a press release . "We expect to learn a tremendous amount from the mission as we work toward the ultimate goal of making Electron the first reusable orbital small sat launcher and providing our customers with even more launch availability.

The company first tested the mid-air retrieval process in March 2020, when it dropped a first stage from one helicopter and another successfully snagged the parachute on the first attempt. Just over two years later, it's finally ready to try capturing the first stage of the rocket after a full launch.
To fuel the rise of its app Flipagram, TikTok parent company Bytedance scraped profiles, videos, usernames and other content from Instagram and other social media platforms. Buzzfeed reported that the Chinese company scraped hundreds of thousands of accounts for content without users consent. Flipagram, which ByteDance acquired back in 2017, allowed users to create short slideshow videos set to music  sort of a simplified version of TikTok and other short-form video apps. The app has since been rebranded as Vigo Video .

The scraping strategy was meant to be a growth hack for Flipagram, allowing it to expand its user base, according to former ByteDance employees interviewed by Buzzfeed. Flipagram was scraping up to 10,000 videos per day from high-priority countries, according to one former employee. The three platforms that Flipagram allegedly scraped content from are Instagram, Snapchat and Musical.ly (which is owned by ByteDance and was later absorbed by TikTok). One former Bytedance employee disputes that Instagram was involved in the scrape due to the incompatible sizing of their videos at the time.

The employees also allege that the scraped content from major US social media platforms was then used to build Bytedances For You algorithm. TikTok has yet to comment on whether Flipagrams stolen data was used to build TikToks For You algorithm.

Scraping publicly available data isnt illegal by itself. Many social platforms find "creative" ways to boost their audience in their early days, like harvesting external content, creating fake profiles or mass-emailing potential users. But companies can also ban unauthorized scraping in their terms and conditions for users, which Instagram and Snapchat both do. Violating such contracts can often lead to lawsuits.

There's an irony to Bytedance in its early days allegedly scraping data from Instagram, since Reels was Instagram's attempt to capture TikTok's audience and instead became a receptacle for old TikToks. In order to keep Reels from driving more traffic to its rival app, Instagram recently announced it would no longer promote TikToks.
Devolver Digital will release stylish side-scroller Trek to Yomi on May 5th, the publisher announced today. If Ghost of Tsushimas Kurosawa mode left you wanting for more cinematic samurai action, youll want to check out the 15-minute gameplay trailer Devolver shared alongside todays news.

First announced at E3 2021 , Trek to Yomi tells the tale of Hiroki, a young samurai charged with protecting a rural Japanese town and its residents after his master dies. His vow sets him off on an adventure that eventually comes to involve the supernatural, and youll need to use his katana skillfully to defeat both human opponents and vengeful spirits.

Trek to Yomi is coming to PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (including Game Pass) and PC via Steam and GOG.
EPA statement on the publication of the IPCC Working Group III report: Climate Change 2022 Mitigation of Climate Change

The average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human history in the period 2010-2019, but the rate of growth has slowed.

Policies and laws have enhanced energy efficiency, reduced rates of deforestation and accelerated the deployment of renewable energy.

To limit warming to around 1.5C global greenhouse gas emissions are required to peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by 43% by 2030; at the same time, methane also needs to be reduced by about a third.

The next few years are critical for actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

There are options in all sectors to at least halve emissions by 2030.

Major transitions in the energy sector are required to limit global warming. This will include a reduction in fossil fuel use, widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and use of alternative fuels.

5th April 2022: The EPA welcomes the publication of Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of climate change from Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as part of its 6th Assessment Report.

Laura Burke, EPA Director General, said:

This landmark report outlines the nature and extent of the causes of climate change at a global level and reinforces the urgent need for action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are options for emissions reductions across all sectors and in particular the need for major transitions in the energy sector.

She added that The EPAs latest greenhouse gas Inventory numbers show that Irelands 2013-2020 EU Effort Sharing (ESD) emissions reduction target was missed by a wide margin despite the COVID impact on 2020 emissions. The limited reduction in Irelands greenhouse gas emissions, at a time of profound change to economic and social activity, highlights the scale of action needed across all parts of Irelands economy and society to meet the target of 51 per cent emissions reduction by 2030 set within the 2021 Climate Act and meet our EU and global commitments.

Commenting on the report Frank McGovern, EPA Chief Climate Scientist, said:

This IPCC report shows that we need to scale up our efforts in order to achieve the required transitions. A lot of lessons have been learned about the effectiveness of responses over the last decade. However, the biggest lesson is that addressing climate change is not an add-on to existing systems and structures; rather it means rethinking and reworking these so that climate action is central to planning, investments and operations. This needs to be enabled and supported by governments and institutions.

He added that the global trends show that climate change is happening, including the temperature records, sea-level rise and loss of ice from the polar regions and Greenland Ice shelf.

Additional information

The EPA lead for Ireland at the IPCC plenary meeting that signed off on the IPCC Working Group III report and, in the development, and coordination of national climate change research in Ireland. It works with other agencies and research bodies in development of key climate related observations including observations of greenhouse gases, aerosols, river flows and freshwater levels.

The EPA has supported work on the 6th Climate Modelling Inter-comparison Project (CMIP-6) used throughout this IPCC report through the work of Dr Paul Nolan in ICHEC.

The EPA hosts the Climate Ireland information portal which provides interactive access to climate information for Ireland.

Notes for editors

About the IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988 to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change. It has 195 member states.

Thousands of people from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC. For the assessment reports, experts volunteer their time as IPCC authors to assess the thousands of scientific papers published each year to provide a comprehensive summary of what is known about the drivers of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks.

The IPCC has three working groups: Working Group I, dealing with the physical science basis of climate change; Working Group II, dealing with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; and Working Group III, dealing with the mitigation of climate change. It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for estimating emissions and removals of greenhouse gases.

IPCC assessments provide governments, at all levels, with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. IPCC assessments are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. IPCC reports are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.

About the Sixth Assessment Cycle

Comprehensive scientific assessment reports are published every 6 to 7 years; In February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). In April 2016, it decided to produce three Special Reports, a Methodology Report and AR6.

The Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis was released on 9 August 2021. The Working Group II contribution, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, was released on 28 February 2022. The concluding Synthesis Report is due in autumn 2022.

The IPCC has also published three Special Reports. On Global Warming of 1.5C, an IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty was launched in October 2018.

Climate Change and Land, an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems was launched in August 2019.

The Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate was released in September 2019.

In May 2019 the IPCC released the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories an update to the methodology used by governments to estimate their greenhouse gas emissions and removals.
Zimbabwean Gideon Chinamatira, grantee of the Lightsources for Africa, the Americas, Asia, Middle East and Pacific (LAAAMP) project, has spent two months on beamline BM05 learning all the ins and outs of working on a beamline. And all that, with a croc in tow.

Wow, I am really going to the ESRF now, thought Gideon Chinamatira when he finally got his visa to fly from South Africa. It had been a complicated process due to COVID-19 and all the variants that kept locking the world down in the last months. But finally, he was on his way. And with him, a unique crocodile specimen from the Early Jurassic, protected inside a box. You walk around airports with this case and every time you get stopped you need to explain that you are carrying a precious fossil and that you are going to scan it at the ESRF. It makes you feel special, says Chinamatira.

Chinamatira is a post-graduate student at Wits University (South Africa) and a LAAAMP grantee. LAAAMP aims to train scientists from countries where synchrotron sources are not available in the use and applications of synchrotrons. The ultimate goal is that whenever there will be a light source available in their area, they will be key to its construction and development.

The LAAAMP FA-ST grant was requested by Kudakwashe Jakata, post-doctoral researcher in tomography at beamline BM05 and originally from Wits University. He supervised Chinamatira during his stay at the ESRF. The LAAAMP project is great for allowing students to discover what a synchrotron is and how it differs from a lab-based computed-tomography apparatus, explains Jakata.

When you get here, you realise this is the next step of tomography, adds Chinamatira, who, is in charge of the CT-lab at Wits University in an acting capacity. When I go back, Ill be able to better guide the scientists that come to the lab on proposal applications to take their samples to the ESRFs tomography beamlines.

The aim of LAAAMP is to open exciting research and training opportunities in crystallography and utilization of synchrotron light sources in developing regions of the world. Sekazi K. Mtingwa, member of the LAAAMP executive committee, explains: "Since 2017, LAAAMP has awarded 102 researchers with the opportunity to train for two months at many of the world's leading synchrotron light source facilities. This will prove particularly impactful for Africa, which is currently experiencing a movement to construct a synchrotron light source somewhere on the continent as a Pan-African facility, using the models of the ESRF and SESAME in the Middle East".

South Africa is an Associate Member of the ESRF and contributes to the budget in 1%. This enables the scientific community to apply for beamtime and do experiments at the facility.

Text by Montserrat Capellas Espuny
UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo (C, front) speaks during a Security Council's briefing on Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York, April 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie E)

UNITED NATIONS, April 5 (Xinhua) -- China is strongly committed to de-escalating and ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible, an envoy said on Tuesday.

"De-escalation and putting an early end to the conflict in Ukraine is the earnest expectation of the international community and the strong desire of China," China's permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun told the UN Security Council's briefing on Ukraine.

Zhang said that the Russian Federation and Ukraine have had rounds of negotiations and China welcomes the two sides to stick to the general direction of peace negotiations, overcome difficulties and differences, and continue to build conditions for a comprehensive settlement of the crisis.

"The international community should create favorable conditions and environment for negotiations between the two sides, open up space for political settlement, and should not set up obstacles for peace, let alone add fuel to the fire in aggravation of confrontations. Every effort should be made to prevent the escalation of the local conflict," Zhang said.

Speaking of the humanitarian issue, Zhang said that China attaches great importance to this issue in Ukraine and supports all initiatives and measures conducive to alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

"As the conflict continues, we call on the parties to abide by international humanitarian law, protect the safety of civilians and civilian facilities, minimize civilian casualties, ensure safe and smooth humanitarian corridors for evacuees and humanitarian assistance, and guarantee the basic rights of women, children, and wounded and detained fighters. Humanitarian issues should not be politicized," he said.

On the protection of civilians, the ambassador said that "civilians should be spared of any forms of violence in armed conflicts."

"Attacks against civilians are unacceptable and should not occur," he said, noting that "the reports and images of civilian deaths in Bucha are deeply disturbing."

"The relevant circumstances and specific causes of the incident should be verified and established. Any accusations should be based on facts. Before the full picture is clear, all sides should exercise restraint and avoid unfounded accusations," he stressed.

Echoing the views of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Zhang said that "the spillover effects of the Ukraine crisis is having a major impact on the world, developing countries in particular."

Referring to sanctions imposed, the ambassador said that "sanctions are not an effective means to solve the problem, but will instead accelerate the spillover of the crisis, and bring new and complex problems."

"Today, with the deep development of globalization and the closely linked community of mankind, the implementation of all-dimensional and indiscriminate sanctions is tantamount to politicizing, instrumentalizing and weaponizing the world economy, triggering a serious crisis in the fields of global economy and trade, finance, energy, food, industrial chain, and supply chain, endangering decades of development gains of the international community, and making people of all countries pay a hefty price," he said.

Zhang underscored the fact that the vast number of developing countries are not parties to the conflict, and should not be involved in this confrontation, let alone be forced to bear the consequences of geopolitical conflicts and great power competition.

"The world's major economies should be responsible for managing the risk of spillover of the crisis, and maintaining the stability of global markets and the momentum of global economic recovery," said the envoy.

Talking about sovereignty and territorial integrity, Zhang said that more than 30 years after the end of the Cold War, such a geopolitical tragedy taking place in Europe now "deserves our profound reflection."

"The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected, and small- and medium-sized countries should not be pushed to the forefront of confrontation between great powers. All countries have the right to decide their foreign policy independently, and should not be forced to take sides," he said.

"The security of all countries is indivisible, and the security of one country cannot be achieved at the expense of the security of others. We call upon the United States, NATO, and the European Union to engage in comprehensive dialogues with Russia to face head on their differences accumulated over the years, find solutions to the problem, and promote the building of a balanced, effective and sustainable regional security framework," added the ambassador.

Zhang pointed out that on the issue of Ukraine, China does not seek geopolitical self-interest.

"It is not our mindset to watch the situation indifferently from the side line, let alone do anything to add fuel to the fire. There is only one goal we sincerely look forward to, and that is peace. China will continue to promote peace talks and play a constructive and responsible role in helping resolve the crisis in Ukraine," he concluded.

The secretary-general provided introductory remarks at the briefing. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo also briefed the council in person, while Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths briefed via video link. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a speech via video link as well.

Britain, April's Security Council president, initiated this meeting with the aim of providing a comprehensive update on the political and humanitarian aspects of the conflict in Ukraine.

The speakers called for an immediate end to the conflict and expressed deep concerns over the humanitarian crisis caused by it. They stressed the importance of dialogue and negotiation in resolving the crisis.

They also addressed a number of other issues, such as food and energy shortages and price hikes, while calling for the protection of civilians, especially women and children, as well as humanitarian workers and the protection of the basic rights of prisoners of war, civilian infrastructure and cultural relics.

Griffiths urged council members and all powerful member states to work together for peace and to alleviate the humanitarian disaster. 

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths speaks via video link during a Security Council's briefing on Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York, April 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie E)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (C, front) speaks during a Security Council's briefing on Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York, April 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie E)

China's permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun (C, front) speaks during a Security Council's briefing on Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York, April 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie E)
One of Europes leading human rights organizations says it will help Tunisia implement democratic reforms in the wake of a string of political controversies in the country over recent months. This came as Tunisias President Kais Saied has announced on state TV that he is dissolving the countrys parliament, eight months after suspending it in a power grab in July 2021. The decision came after 124 of 217 members of parliament held an online meeting despite the suspension. The Council of Europes advisory body on constitutional matters, the Venice Commission, is also expected to advise Tunisias President on legal reforms with respect for human rights via its independent experts. Following the announcement, Venice Commission President Claire Bazy Malaurie held talks with Saied who has been involved in a series of political disputes in the past year.

In a statement issued after her meeting with Saied, Malaurie said that the Venice Commission is ready to place its expertise at the service of the Tunisian people and to support the implementation of democratic reforms with respect for the rule of law and human rights. But several Tunisian MPs who ignored Saieds move and took part in a virtual session of the parliament are believed to be facing a judicial investigation. She said that the meeting with the Tunisian leader had included discussions on constitutional reform, the proposed July referendum and elections scheduled for December 2022. The Council of Europe official also met other senior Tunisian officials, including the countrys Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi who highlighted Tunisias commitment to the democratic option, adding that the country is going through a reforms process that provides for the establishment of real and solid democracy, in line with the aspirations of Tunisians.

Saied rebuffed accusations that by by dissolving the countrys parliament he has essentially extended his power grab, saying the move aims to preserve the state and its institutions. He denounced parliaments move as a coup attempt and said those responsible had betrayed the nation. Tunisian parliamentarians voted to repeal presidential decrees suspending their chamber and giving Kais Saied near-total power, openly defying him in an online session, although he dismissed their meeting as illegal. Saieds moves were initially welcomed by many Tunisians sick of the often deadlocked political system but now an increasing array of critics have said he has moved the country, which also faces a grinding economic crisis, down a dangerous path back towards autocracy.

Meanwhile, in a related by separate development, the European Union announced last week (29 March) it would lend Tunisia 450 million euros to support its budget as the North African country faces a looming crisis in public finances for which it is seeking an international rescue package. This came as credit rating agency Fitch this month downgraded Tunisian sovereign debt to junk status and the investment bank Morgan Stanley said it expected the government to default on loans. The Ukraine war has aggravated the governments problems, causing price rises in fuel and grains, which are both subsidized in Tunisia. The EU also said it had allocated 200 million euros to Maghreb countries  which also include Algeria and Morocco  to help alleviate the impact of grain shortages resulting from the Ukraine crisis.
An increasing number of European Union leaders have asked Brussels to push forward a fifth package of sanctions against Moscow following the atrocities and unbearable scenes in the destroyed Ukrainian town of Bucha. Global outrage continues to mount over the reports of killings of civilians in the town near Ukraines capital Kyiv by Russian forces, which Russia has denied. But a set of satellite images of a Bucha street appear to show several bodies in or just off the road where Ukraine officials have accused the Russians of killing civilians. US President Joe Biden has gone so far as to call his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a war criminal and suggested holding a war crimes trial. The EU will likely adopt new sanctions against Russia on Wednesday (6 April), Frances European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune says. The new sanctions will probably be adopted tomorrow, he told the press, adding the EU should also quickly act on gas and coal imports from Russia.

But several sources from the capitals have confirmed that a trade ban  as Warsaw recently requested  is now on the radar while EU leaders are still divided over gas imports. At the recent summit, EU leaders added for the first time in the conclusions a reference to war crimes committed by Moscow in Ukraine, preparing the ground for a legal case against Russian leaders. In Warsaw, politicians are also looking at a Nuremberg-style tribunal for Russian politicians involved in the Ukraine invasion. At that summit, though, EU leaders did not decide on a fifth package of sanctions saying such a package would be activated if Russia crossed the red line of atrocities. This red line has now been crossed, and therefore the mission Isolate Russia from the world mission is launched, an EU source close to the matter told the media.

The sanctions issued so far are clearly not [working], Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said on Monday (4 April). If sanctions dont bite, if they arent forcing a rethink, then they arent working, he said. Poland recently called for a total ban on trade with Russia, which was opposed by Prague who said it was not a realistic option. French President Emmanuel Macron said the events in Bucha justify imposing a new set of sanctions in the next few days, particularly on Russian coal and oil. As Europe relies on Russia for about 25% of its oil, 45% of its coal and 40% of its gas, especially an embargo on the latter remains the hot potato. For example, Austrian Finance Minister Magnus Brunner stressed that sanctions on Russian energy imports would hurt Europe more than Russia. Austria is not in favour of more sanctions concerning gas as Europe would be very much dependent on Russian gas. On the other hand, several representatives of the Italian government have agreed with the proposal of stopping gas and oil imports from Moscow. At this time, it is really difficult to justify and tolerate the energy reliance on Russia, Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani admitted on Sunday (3 April).
When Adam Armour and his family stepped into a Buc-ee's in Alabama while on a recent road trip, they likened it to a nightmare.

Throngs of customers  roughly 17,000 people by his exaggerated estimate  were snatching up gas, hunting supplies and barbecue at the Buc-ee's in Leeds, Alabama, on that day.

On ExpressNews.com: Buc-ee's locations before they were travel centers

After walking into the gas station, Armours wife, Mandy, said: I just stepped into my nightmare.

At least thats what Armour thought he heard her say as the couple attempted to keep their 5-year-old daughter from being trampled or wandering off into the sea of people. In a Sunday column in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Armour recounted his experience.

For Armour, the main issue was throngs of people filing into the sprawling compound that, in his mind, was what you got if a Loves mated with a Walmart and gave birth to a small theme park which was then exposed to a blast of gamma radiation.

Michael Miller/San Antonio Express-News

Inside and outside, people seemed to move about the store with no sense of purpose other than to create anarchy, Armour wrote.

He added: Its as if the store drained any sense of personal space from anyone who entered, leaving its customers to careen haphazardly toward whatevers caught their attention at a given moment.

On ExpressNews.com: Legendary accordionist Ramon Ayala assures fans he is doing well after collapsing on stage

Armour said he would have turned around but stayed because his family had already traversed roughly 153 miles to specifically visit the Buc-ee's in Alabama. It was a why-the-heck-not day trip on a Sunday afternoon, he wrote.

He added: Neither of us were quite ready to admit wed undertaken a fools errand and turn tail without first picking up a few nonessentials with which to memorialize our pointless journey.

At one point, his wife saved their 5-year-old daughter from being trampled by a nearby "family of oblivious gawkers hellbent on crushing tiny, equally oblivious children."

On ExpressNews.com: Final curtain falls on Bijou theater at Wonderland

After that encounter, Armour said he headed toward the heart of the store for a brisket sandwich.

The Texas-based convenience store is planning to expand its footprint in Alabama  a state that already has two Buc-ee's. One of those stores is along Interstate 10 just outside of Mobile.

As Buc-ee's has looked to expand outside of Texas, it has faced some backlash in states like North Carolina. Residents of Orange County were vehemently opposed to the construction of the store, according to Texas Monthly.

A Georgia-based writer, who took issue with the stores size, recently lambasted new stores in the state.

timothy.fanning@express-news.net
Russell Monk/Getty Images

The price tag on an air ticket may make travelers thing twice about taking that trip they've been wanting to take. There are, however, some deals travelers can take advantage of out of San Antonio International Airport.

Two of those deals include international destinations. San Antonians can fly to Bogota, Colombia for $79 in May or to Cancun for $100 later this month. Both flight options include a seven hour layover.
For years, Pastor Darrell Boyce has been the man behind the scenes helping families on the East Side who have lost loved ones to gun violence.

Now, Boyce has lost his own son, 19-year-old Avante AB Boyce.

The teenager was gunned down Thursday in the 1800 block of Hays Street, the latest victim in a surge of homicides that has swept the city and the country. Like many fatal shootings, this one stemmed from a feud.

On Monday afternoon, Boyce preached to about 100 family members, friends and community leaders who gathered at Phillis Wheatley Park near Lamar Street to release red balloons in Avantes memory. He encouraged people not to seek revenge, but to turn to prayer and faith.

To his homeboys and his friends, if you honor Avante, honor him in peace, Boyce said, fighting back tears. Love on his kids.

San Antonio police officers who were alerted to the incident at about 4 p.m. Thursday arrived to find Avante with a gunshot wound, a police report said. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

Investigators said Avante had been arguing with the suspect, a 55-year-old man, who fled after the shooting.

Boyce said police told him they have identified the suspect. He said he was aware of the feud between his son and the suspect, though he declined to go into specifics.

On ExpressNews.com: Video of San Antonio officers shooting, killing Kevin Johnson leads to further divisions about whether shooting was justified

Were just waiting for (the San Antonio Police Department) and law enforcement to do what they do, he said.

Avantes death was part of a local and national surge in deadly gun violence over the last two years. There were 160 homicides in San Antonio in 2021  23 percent more than the year before. Here and across the country, the majority of homicide victims are Black males.

Until recently, homicides in San Antonio had generally fallen since the early 1990s. In 1993, the city had 220 killings and a rate of 22 homicides per 100,000 people. A long, steep decline followed, interrupted by occasional fluctuations, until 2016, when homicides rose sharply  to 149 total, or about 10 per 100,000 people.

In the meantime, Boyce is continuing his mission on the East Side, one he said is just as important now as it was when he started 30 years ago.

Avante was described by family as energetic, ambitious and a loving father. He leaves behind his 4-year-old and 7-month-old sons.

An aspiring artist, Avante had released online one of his first songs less than a year ago, a tribute to one of his friends. It collected more than 2,000 hits within the first week of its release, his father said.

Boyce said he wanted to be consistent in his message, saying the community needs to continue to show love to its children by listening and actively intervening when young men and women say they want to give it all up.

We have to spend the time. We have to knock on the doors. And we have to do follow-ups, he said.

Pastor Jimmy Robles of Last Chance Ministries was present to support Boyce on Monday and lead those gathered in prayer. He asked them to lift their hands.

When you lose a child like this, its a pain you cant explain, Robles said, recalling numerous vigils he has attended.

On ExpressNews.com: Metro Health is like the fire department after 9/11: City to expand public health services

His daughter, Victoria, was one of three people killed in a car crash in 2016 off a Southeast Side highway. She was 19.

William Luther, Staff

He said pastors such as Boyce and himself continue their public ministry while dealing with their own grief, talking to God in their moments of solitude.

The only one that gives you strength is Him, Robles said.

District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez was on hand Monday to offer condolences to Boyce, calling his sons loss a tragedy.

Theres a larger issue at hand that we need to get to thats systemic, and its the youth violence, gun-related violence, he said. Its larger than one simple solution. Its going to be a series of solutions and investments.

Boyce said he hopes he can reach at least one youth with his message.

Put down the guns. Pick up some Jesus, Boyce said. Its a simple, simple message.

jbeltran@express-news.net
A Washington man was arrested last week after he threatened to shoot and kill U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in a series of phone calls to his office, according to a federal criminal complaint.

In one phone call to Cruzs office on March 21, Eric Kikkert, of Kent, Washington, said the senator could either answer my questions by giving me a call, or at the end of my rifle, the complaint said.

On ExpressNews.com: Former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio badly hurt in Florida collision

The following day, Kikkert reportedly sent a text message with a picture of himself from his time in the military, the complaint said. The caption read: Ted Cruz is going to call me or Ill end up in his fing face with an assault rifle.

Kikkerts mother told FBI agents that he has a history of mental illness and refuses to take his medication, according to the complaint. His mother told authorities that she had never seen Kikkert get violent or show an interest in weapons.

In the lead up to the threats made to Cruzs office, authorities believe Kikkert also communicated with Capitol Police about his plans to start a militia.

Kikkert, who has a history of making threatening comments about individuals in government, was in Washington, D.C., in early March, the complaint said. The Secret Service encountered Kikkert at a hotel there and told authorities he was visiting to advocate for a pacifist cause.

On ExpressNews.com: Waters under fire in Texas Hill Country as development, population boom

On March 18, Kikkert was still in Washington, D.C., when he posted on Facebook asking to purchase a firearm, according to the complaint. Several days later, he expressed interest in also buying body armor. Authorities said Kikkert is prohibited from owning a firmarm because of his criminal record.

On March 22, Kikkert left Cruz several disjointed, nonsensical and profanity laden demands about a number of issues, including the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the complaint. In each voicemail, Kikkert made threats to Cruzs life, the complaint said.

Multiple calls were reportedly made from western Washington to Cruzs office in Austin, the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Kikkert said he was not joking about his threats, and said he wanted to ask Senator Cruz some questions before I shove a rifle in his face and kill him.

Beyond Kikkerts frustrations about his attempts to get in touch with Cruz, the complaint doesnt say why he was upset. Dennis Carroll, Kikkerts court-appointed lawyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

timothy.fanning@express-news.net
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants Texas to replicate Floridas controversial law that prohibits schools from teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity to students in kindergarten through third grade.

In an email to campaign supporters late Monday, Patrick said he would make the bill a top priority during the next legislative session in January. The law has garnered backlash from Democrats and civil rights advocates, who say the legislation marginalizes LGBTQ students and may chill all discussion of sexuality in the classroom.

They call it the Dont Say Gay law.

But Patrick said the measure simply says schools cannot sexualize children in elementary school. Florida Republicans have said the bill leaves discussions about sexual orientation and identity to parents, rather than teachers. The law is enforced by parents who sue school districts suspected of instructing such material.

Patricks promise to mimic the Florida law also targeted Disney, which has publicly opposed the legislation and asked for its repeal. The lieutenant governor is calling on Texans to boycott Disney until they change their corporate philosophy.

People must see what has been going on behind the Mickey curtain, Patrick wrote. I know your kids and grandchildren will be disappointed and may not understand. But, would you rather have them indoctrinated by Disney radicals?

Earlier Monday, Patrick released interim charges for the state Senate, asking lawmakers to study various subjects over the next several months before session begins. Hed included parent empowerment in that list, asking the education committee to make recommendations to enable parents to exert a greater influence on their childs learning environment.

Patrick said that charge will allow legislators to get to work on the new law later this year. The Florida version is being challenged in court.

The Texas bill is sure to face opposition from Democrats, who have already called Patricks proposal discriminatory and cruel.

Our schools are struggling with learning loss and teacher burnout already, tweeted state Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood. Someone explain to me how threatening schools with lawsuits for acknowledging LGBTQ people exist is going to help solve those problems. Patricks desire to hurt LGBTQ youth at any cost is disgusting.

The lieutenant governors commitment to the Dont Say Gay law is Texas Republicans latest move to more tightly regulate what is taught in public schools. Patricks charges also included a request to review school library books, after GOP lawmakers asked districts to remove inappropriate material covering sexuality and racism.

The Legislature approved a bill last year limiting the way K-12 teachers discuss racism in the classroom, and Patrick has suggested firing public university professors who teach critical race theory.

The proposal also comes as civil rights advocates fight other Texas policies that target LGBTQ children. Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the states child welfare agency to open child abuse investigations into families who provide gender-affirming care, such as hormone therapies, to their transgender children.

A court has temporarily stopped those investigations, but litigation is ongoing. Texas has initiated at least nine inquiries so far.

cayla.harris@express-news.net
OTTAWA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The various trade sanctions against Russia indirectly drove up Canadian export values with higher demand and substantial price increases, Statistics Canada said Tuesday, publishing trade data in February with crude oil contributing the most to the export growth.

According to Statistics Canada data, total trade (exports plus imports) with Russia was 2.8 billion Canadian dollars (2.2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021, representing 0.2 percent of Canadian trade activity. As a result, the direct impact of the various trade sanctions imposed by a number of countries against Russia is minimal for Canadian merchandise trade values.

As Russia produces goods that are also produced in large quantities in Canada (crude oil, natural gas, grains, lumber, metals, fertilizer, etc.), export values could be indirectly affected by higher demand and substantial price increases, given the consequences of the conflict on the future supply of these goods, Statistics Canada explained.

In February, total exports increased 2.8 percent to a record 58.7 billion Canadian dollars (47 billion U.S. dollars). Exports of energy products rose 7.8 percent to a record 15.4 billion Canadian dollars (12.3 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 26.2 percent of total exports, an increase of more than 6 percentage points from the share of 19.7 percent observed in February 2021.

Export values of crude oil jumped by 9.9 percent, contributing the most to the growth, largely due to higher prices. The volume of crude oil exports increased 3.9 percent in February, following a decrease of 6.5 percent in January.

Statistics Canada said the imbalance between supply and demand that has persisted for several months, in addition to the uncertainty surrounding the future supply of crude oil due to rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine in late February, is among the causes of the increase in crude oil prices. 
Register now for Farm Shop & Deli Show, which returns 25-27 April at the NEC Birmingham - it's the showcase for the UKs best quality local and regional produce.

Farm Shop & Deli Show brings the industry together to celebrate the best of British regional produce, premium and artisanal products, and specialist retailers.

Make a date now for your visit to 2022's most compelling opportunity to source crowd-pleasing products, from both emerging and established speciality suppliers.

Farm Shop & Deli Show now boasts no fewer than two centrepiece awards schemes, while the event itself will be packed with new launches, fresh industry insights and trend-setting food and drink in our Healthy & Natural feature.

With April fast drawing near, here's a glimpse of some of the highlights you can expect to see:

#1: Make it your business to be Healthy & Natural (open throughout the show)

Get up to speed on free-from, organic, vegan, veggie and nutrition brands, and non-food and drink lifestyle products with a sustainable, ethical and eco-friendly message.

Visit our dedicated Healthy & Natural area and catch the latest food and drink products offering healthier choices. Healthy & Natural debuted at the 2019 Farm Shop & Deli Show. And now its back, bigger and better, with exhibitors including Andros Chef, James White and Radnor. Find out more here.

(Venue: Next to The Grocer Talking Shop Live stage)

#2: The road to Diddly Squat Farm Shop: Live interview with Lisa Hogan (11:50, 25 April 2022)

What happens when a petrolhead parks up and opens a farm shop? Find out as Lisa Hogan reveals to Adam Leyland what its like to be in business with Jeremy Clarkson, running the Diddly Squat Farm Shop.

Come and learn how they put pedal to the metal to grow a thriving Cotswolds business highlighting local produce.

(Venue: The Grocer Talking Shop Live)

#3: 2022 Farm Shop & Deli Retailers of the Year (15:15, 25 April 2022) and the winners of its brand new Product Awards (throughout show)

We recognise the speciality retailers leading the sector in customer service, innovation, and community involvement, as well as sustainable initiatives, at our exclusive Retailer Awards.

The shows brand new Product Awards will be celebrating winners across the three days, showcasing excellence across six categories (Meat, Condiments, Bakery, Beverages, Confectionery and Preserves).

An esteemed panel of judges will consider criteria such as sustainability, ethical brand stories and provenance before crowning the winners.

(Venue: The Grocer Talking Shop Live)

#4: Dragons Pantry - Pitch and ditch, or get seriously rich! (10:00, 26 April 2022 and 15:00, 27 April)

Are you ready to witness the ultimate retail test? Watch and learn as a brace of intrepid entrepreneurs meet our fearsomely-experienced industry dragons to make their 15-minute pitch.

Success could bring a new listing and coverage in The Grocer, while everyone gets invaluable insights into what works in-store.

(Venue: The Grocer Talking Shop Live)

#5: Dont just throw It away: Giving Surplus Purpose (14:20, 26 April 2022)

The race is on for Britains farm shops, delis and other businesses to find sustainable and cost-neutral ways to reduce waste, against a backdrop of climate change challenges and Sustainable Development Goals.

Simone Connolly, FareShares Midlands Director and Charity Trustee explains how they work with businesses to help them reduce waste, while supporting their local communities.

(Venue: The Grocer Talking Shop Live)

#6: A Cut above the rest: the Butchers Shop of the Year Awards (15:15, 26 April 2022)

For the first time, the Farm Shop & Deli show will be host to the presentation of the Butchers Shop of the Year Awards 2022, with food and drink broadcaster Nigel Barden.

Awarding butchers for over 20 years, Meat Trades Journal once again host the only UK awards dedicated to recognising this vital sector.

(Venue: Farm Shop & Deli Competition Theatre)

#7: Food & Drink Wales Fine Food Showcase (10:15, 27 April 2022)

Celebrate delicious Welsh food and drink and sample the countrys exciting new tastes and flavours, as food and drink broadcaster Nigel Barden introduces the Food & Drink Wales Fine Food Showcase.

Taste some outstanding products and enjoy an informal networking session over coffee with colleagues.

(Venue: The Grocer Talking Shop Live)

#8: Walking in their shoes: What customers really want (12:00, 27 April 2022)

Thinking like a shopper is crucial to getting your value proposition right. So our fun interactive session, hosted by This is Cumbria, will focus on their needs, with live insights into your pain points and preferences around speciality food and drink.

Plus, therell be delicious food from Cumbria, that every customer will love.

(Venue: The Grocer Talking Shop Live)

#9: Innovation, innovation, Innovation!

The Farm Shop & Deli Show exhibition floor will be simply bursting with new product launches, with exhibitors including Ahmad Tea, Cook, Delice de France, Hawkshead Relish, Innocent, Cawston Press, and Cotswold Fayre.

Spot the rising stars  connect with new and existing suppliers. Your times important, so make every minute at the NEC count  visit the 'Innovation' product category at www.farmshopanddelishow.co.uk and browse whats new for 2022.

#10: Dont just take our word for it

Heres what visitors said about the last Farm Shop & Deli Show:

Its very difficult in this day and age to actually find new things, you have to keep changing it all the time, so its really good to come to something like this.

John Duhigg, Owner, Domoch Stores.

Its my third time at Farm Shop & Deli, and this show has been even better this year. There is lots of inspiration for a seasonal farm shop, Ive been able to meet new people and see and try products in season. Nicola Gilbert, Court Farm & Leisure

The UK Food & Drink Shows are an opportunity to celebrate the return of our exhibitions across food development, grocery, manufacturing, specialist retail, wholesale and foodservice at the NEC Birmingham from 25-27 April 2022.

The Farm Shop & Deli Show will run alongside Food & Drink Expo, The Forecourt Show and National Convenience Show.

The UK Food & Drink Shows are a product of the award-winning team at William Reed.

Now more than ever, you can trust us to bring the whole industry back together and furnish you with the information, insight and connections you need to navigate the future in the best way possible.

Go online now to register FREE at www.farmshopanddelishow.co.uk/visit.
A former number one genomic sire has become the leading daughter-proven sire today in the AHDB Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) rankings.

With a PLI of 777, Denovo 14566 Crosby takes pole position with an exceptional Calf Survival Index of +6%, great udder health indexes (-22 SCC, -2 Mastitis) and solid Predicted Transmitting Abilities (PTAs) for production.

A son of DG Charley, Crosby also transmits good resistance to bovine TB, with a TB Advantage of +4.4.

In second position is a former number one proven sire, Westcoast Yamaska, whose outstanding protein PTAs (35.1kg, +0.18%), high fat (+0.23%), and good daughter Fertility Index (+9.1) help earn him a PLI of 761.

Westcoast Yamaska now has 887 UK milking daughters contributing to his figures.

A new entry in third position is Bomaz Montreal (PLI 747), the highest fat transmitter in the ranking at 54.7kg and +0.36%.

He also has a good Lameness Advantage (+3.0) and a strong rating for EnviroCow (+3.6).

Climbing into fourth position is S-S-I PR Renegade (PLI 729), with a high daughter Fertility Index of +11.1, and 32.8kg PTA fat.

Pine-Tree-I Pursuit moves up to fifth position, featuring high daughter lifespan (LS +162 days), a good HealthyCow Index of 247 and the highest Type Merit in the top 20 at +2.06.

Sixth place is shared between stable mates ABS Zebedee and Denovo 8084 Entity at 709 PLI. Zebedee transmits the higher production (925kg milk, 48.3kg fat and 34.5kg protein), with Entity rating better on HealthyCow (196).

Another exceptional fat transmitter at 51.8kg is ABS Crimson, the bull which now ranks in eighth position (PLI 705).

Crimson shares this place with UK-bred Stowey Magician, himself strong for daughter fertility (FI +16.2), which contributes to his high HealthyCow of 271.

Rounding off the top 10 is Melarry Frazz Arrowhead, another newcomer to have previously held a high ranking position with his genomic figures.

This calving ease sire (1.5 direct CE) is expected to transmit long daughter lifespans (+174 days), a high HealthyCow Index (275) as well as a good score for Feed Advantage (192).

Marco Winters, head of animal genetics for AHDB, said: Each proven bull in this run of genetic evaluations began his journey as a young, genomically tested sire.

"This is a fitting endorsement of genomic technology which truly comes of age this year.

The technology was introduced on a UK-wide basis when AHDB calculated the countrys first independent genomic indexes in April 2012.

Since that time, leading genomic young sires have gone on to excel in the proven sire rankings, once their daughters have started to milk, Mr Winters added.
A survey has launched to better understand the needs and concerns of Scotlands farmers and crofters, with the view of introducing a new wellbeing programme.

The research, by Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) and others, aims to understand what type of activities and resources would best support farmers and how they should be delivered.

It follows on from the successful 'drought, adversity and breaking new ground' tour that took place in the winter of 2018.

This saw more than 2,000 farmers attend one of 14 events to hear New Zealand farmer Doug Avery talk about his own challenges with mental health and wellbeing.

After the tour, a steering group was established to review the learnings, chaired by John Scott of Fearn Farm, Ross-shire.

Agriculture is facing unimaginable change that will impact generations and could require complete restructuring of farming practices," Mr Scott said.

"Many of these challenges we cant control, they will happen regardless of how well we rear our livestock, grow our crops or manage our finances.

"This significantly impacts the way we think and farm, it tests our resilience and can, at times, take us down a dark path when we feel overwhelmed, anxious or simply just knackered."

He added: When Doug visited Scotland, we were astounded by the response, highlighting the appetite from farmers and crofters, to better understand how we can manage our own wellbeing through shared learning, events and resources."

The survey aims to provide insights to emulate Farmstrong, a successful wellbeing programme in New Zealand that helps farmers to 'live well, to farm well'.

Mr Scott explained that the hope was to launch a similar programme in Scotland, later this year or into 2023.

The farmer-designed initiative provides the resources they need to manage their own wellbeing when faced with challenges that are often hard to predict, or control.

These can range from fluctuation commodity prices and the weather, to changing government legislation and market pressures.

Kate Lamont, from SRUC said: The survey has been designed by farmers, for farmers. You can answer on your phone, tablet, computer or you can get a paper copy.

"It would be really good to hear how you cope and what you think would help others.

To take part in the survey, farmers and crofters should visit the Doug Avery website before the end of May.
Next Story : Celebrating The Art & Business Of Indian Hairdressing At IHA 2021

When Demi Moore bared her naked, pregnant body on the cover of a glossy back in 1991, little did she know she was at the helm of a trend that would liberate other women and inspire them to show off their bumps like a work of art. Of late, Rihanna has been taking the world by storm with her bold pregnancy looks (remember the leaves-little-to-imagination sheer Dior dress or the fringed Attico pants and top?), but looks she now has to share the mantle of most fashion-savvy mom-to-be with Sonam Kapoor, who has been dropping looks since husband Anand Ahuja and she took to Instagram to announce their pregnancy with an endearing picture that has Sonam sprawled across a couch in a fitted leotard.Image: Instagram/@sonamkapoor Sonam is in Mumbai, and living her high-octane life as usual that, safe to say, entails attending events and parties, and discussing the future of fashion with the trend arbiters. For one such party  a birthday get-together of designer Abu Jani, one half of the label, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla  she was seen in a draped skirt and blouse set with vintage jewellery, pictures of which are already breaking the internet.Image: Instagram/@sonamkapoor Image: Instagram/@sonamkapoor The 70s-inspired outfit features a dhoti skirt and one-shoulder blouse with attached dupatta that the actor has draped over back so it loosely falls over her right arm. The glistening egg-shell-coloured number is also laced with pearls on the hem that gives it an extra feminine touch. The outfit bears many references to Zeenat Amans seminal costume from the 1978 hit movie, Satyam Shivam Sundaram  thats been rejigged to suit Sonams modern yet minimal style sensibilities. Rhea Kapoor, who styled the look, chose vintage jewels  a long necklace, oversized round earrings and a few stacked bangles  by Sunita Kapoor, of course, and left other aspects of the appearance simple with just middle-parted brushed back hair and a strong smokey eye. Rhea drew inference of an Indianised Aphrodite from the look, and we couldnt agree more.Image: Instagram/@sonamkapoor Is this the beginning of many more internet-breaking looks that are lined up for us? We sure hope so!
UNITED NATIONS, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The economic crisis and erratic rainfall are pushing humanitarian needs in Sudan to unprecedented levels, where 18 million people within months face acute food insecurity, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.

The World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expect the number of people in Sudan facing acute food insecurity to nearly double by September, said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Last year 9.8 million people in Sudan faced acute food insecurity, he said. Some 18 million are threatened to be in the category by September.

"Crop and livestock production has dropped by up to half in 14 states across Sudan when compared to the last five-year average," Haq said. "The domestic cereal production can only cover the needs of less than two-thirds of the population, leaving many reliant on humanitarian food assistance."

He cited the Ukraine conflict as causing further spikes in food prices. The price of wheat skyrocketed by 180 percent compared to the same period last year.

"Our partners are appealing for more than 1.9 billion U.S. dollars to help 14.3 million people in Sudan this year," the spokesman told a regular briefing. "To date, the plan is 9 percent funded."

Haq said humanitarian partners of the world body were able to reach more than 8.1 million people with life-saving assistance, including food, livelihood, clean water, and healthcare, despite limited funding. 
Next Story : Here Are All The Winners Of The Grammys 2022!

Beautiful Indians, presented by Mamaearth & Femina, has reached a critical point in its nationwide hunt for goodness ambassadors among people in general, creators, organisations and celebrities.As we move towards the felicitation event in Mumbai on April 5, 2022, the jury has been hard at work at the difficult task of shortlisting a few of the selfless goodness ambassadors we have been privileged to showcase on the Beautiful Indians microsite.As Editor-in-Chief of Femina, Ambika has galvanised the heritage brand with unusual covers and features to offer stories of achievement and goodness to inspire women across the diaspora.Mamaearth co-founders Ghazal and Varun Alagh are driven by purpose and passion to add goodness to the lives of the people and the planet and to build a sustainable future.Author and filmmaker Tahira is a strong icon of influence for womens empowerment through her characters. She is the co-founder of Indian Women Rising, a cinema collective that sheds light on Indian female filmmakers across the world.Director of the NGO Hemkunt Foundation, Harteerath has worked tirelessly through the pandemic to provide humanitarian relief to societys most disadvantaged citizens.Known for her portrayals of strong female characters, the prolific actor spent the lockdown building bridges between resources and those in need using her reach on social media. She also donates earnings from her paintings to charity through Concern India Foundation.Beautiful Indians is privileged to have these members of the jury help us felicitate our goodness ambassadors at the event on April 5, 2022, which will be the perfect culmination of Mamaearth and Feminas joint search for and showcase of goodness across India.
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After Wickfire suffered a devastating loss at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Wickfire nonetheless continued pursuing meritless claims at a District Court. The District Court rejected Wickfire's attempts and dismissed Wickfire's claims permanently. This ends Wickfire's eight-year lawsuit and provides TriMax with complete vindication

AUSTIN, Texas, April 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wickfire suffered the latest in an extensive line of litigation defeats to TriMax. This time, a District Court dismissed Wickfire's meritless claims permanently.



In 2021, an Appellate Court ruled that Wickfire lacked any evidence supporting its multi-million-dollar claims against TriMax. Undeterred by this monumental loss, Wickfire tried its hand once more and failed.

After losing at the Appellate Court, Wickfire moved a District Court to order TriMax pay Wickfire more than $400,000. This led to a flurry of findings and orders against Wickfire:

In February 2022, Federal Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower found that Wickfire's motion lacked merit. In reaching her determination, the Magistrate Judge recognized "excessive costs and delays" due to Wickfire's "litigation tactics."



After that, United States District Judge Robert Pitman issued an Order agreeing with the Magistrate Judge's findings and fully denied Wickfire's motion.



On March 15, 2022, the Western District of Texas issued a Final Judgment, finding that Wickfire shall "TAKE NOTHING" on all its claims against TriMax and its principals.



In the same "TAKE NOTHING" judgment, the District Court declared that Wickfire's claims shall be "DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE," thereby preventing Wickfire from continuing to assert its meritless claims against TriMax in the future.



The orders and findings appear in published opinions from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Case Number 17-3043040 and the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Case No. 1:14-CV-0034-RP.

The lawsuit centered around Google AdWords Auctions, an online-auction platform where companies like TriMax and Wickfire compete for advertising space. Wickfire asserted a series of claims against TriMax, but as to each one, Wickfire failed. Wickfire alleged TriMax intentionally interfered with Wickfire's contracts, intentionally interfered with Wickfire's prospective business, and committed civil conspiracy. An Appellate Court found "Wickfire offered no such proof" and declared that each of these claims failed.

After the Appellate Court found an earlier District Court judgment awarding $2.3 million to Wickfire to be erroneous due to the lack of any supporting evidence, the District Court more recently issued the "TAKE NOTHING" judgment. Through the "TAKE NOTHING" judgment, Wickfire received no award and, conversely, was ordered to pay its own attorneys' fees and costs.

In the same lawsuit, the jury previously found Wickfire LLC and its co-owners, Chet Hall and Jon Brown, to have intentionally interfered with TriMax Media's business. TriMax argued that Wickfire intentionally interfered with TriMax's contracts by (1) paying kickbacks to merchant representatives in exchange for exclusivity agreements; (2) impersonating TriMax by placing unauthorized ads that plagiarized TriMax's ad copy and contained other identifying information of TriMax; (3) repeatedly clicking on TriMax ads in order to artificially increase TriMax's costs (known as "click fraud"); and (4) using an automated software program to manipulate the Google auction system (known as "bid jamming").

TriMax presented evidence to the jury that Wickfire had been suspended from over 200 Google accounts, violated merchant terms, and employed fake user agents and proxies to conceal its identity. The jury also saw evidence that Google referred to Wickfire as "Known Fraudsters" and that Wickfire registered the domain name "GoogleClickFraud.com".

TriMax also presented evidence regarding Wickfire's destruction of evidence. During the litigation, Wickfire wiped all the data from its Chief Technology Officer, Jon Brown's, laptop and then failed to disclose that information to TriMax or the District Court. Once TriMax uncovered the destruction, Wickfire claimed it was necessary, since the laptop had been stolen during a home burglary. However, the police report-which TriMax obtained independently after Wickfire failed to produce a copy-contradicted Wickfire's story because it mentioned nothing about an allegedly stolen laptop.

While the jury heard extensive evidence about Wickfire's conduct comprising Wickfire's intentional interference against TriMax (which the jury found to have occurred), some of the most devastating evidence was excluded. For example, the jury was not permitted to see:

The police report from the burglary;

Registration documents showing Wickfire as the owner of "BitchesOfFacebook.com" and "PokeBitches.com";

An e-mail from a merchant representative who, after refusing to accept the alleged kickbacks, referred to Wickfire as "criminals";

Screenshots of Wickfire's ads impersonating TriMax's;

An e-mail from a merchant terminating TriMax after wrongly believing TriMax was the source of the impersonating ads;

An e-mail from a merchant complaining that Wickfire violated trademark terms and plagiarized TriMax's ads;

A lengthy technical report that, according to a world-renowned computer expert, proves conclusively that Wickfire committed extensive click fraud against TriMax;

A real-time video demonstrating the bid-jamming TriMax experienced;

A summary of hundreds of TriMax's merchant contracts interfered with by bid-jamming; and

E-mails from other competitors of Wickfire complaining about Wickfire's bidding tactics.

Despite the jury's finding against Wickfire, Chet Hall, and Jon Brown for intentional interference with TriMax's business, no damages against Wickfire were awarded. This was, as the District Court noted, a finding reached by the jury after "the jury heard evidence that Google investigated Wickfire's AdWords bidding and determined it was permissible."

However, the District Court's Final Judgment did not disturb the jury's finding that Wickfire, Chet Hall, and Jon Brown committed the intentional interference in the first place. Thus, the interference finding against Wickfire, Chet Hall, and Jon Brown stands and is final.

Prior to issuing the "TAKE NOTHING" judgment and dismissing Wickfire's meritless claims permanently, a Magistrate Judge considered a motion to disqualify Wickfire attorney, Katy Hall (formerly known as Katy Atlas). TriMax alleged that while in possession of TriMax's sensitive documents, Katy Hall began a personal and intimate relationship with Chet Hall (CEO and Co-Founder of Wickfire, and, himself a party to the case), divorced her prior husband, had a child with Chet Hall, and married Chet Hall after he divorced his prior wife. TriMax also alleged that Katy Hall wrongfully accepted an in-house position with Wickfire while in possession of the documents. Katy Hall is currently Chief Operating Officer of Wickfire's BuyersGuide.org. A Magistrate Judge however, ruled that TriMax could not "meet its heavy burden to prove that disqualification is warranted" and denied the motion to disqualify Katy Hall.

TriMax's CEO, Laura Woodruff, commented: "After the Fifth Circuit exonerated TriMax in 2021, we were surprised that Wickfire chose to continue asserting meritless claims with the District Court. However, we are pleased with the recent orders by the District Court, which-like the Appellate Court before it-repeatedly rejected Wickfire's claims for lack of merit. We are, however, still disappointed that Google and the Networks permitted Wickfire to intentionally interfere with TriMax's business in the first place. Nevertheless, based on the jury's finding that Wickfire interfered with TriMax's business-a finding that was not reversed or altered by the recent Final Judgment-we now hope tactics like impersonation of competitors, kickbacks, bid jamming, and click fraud, will no longer be tolerated in the online advertising industry."

About TriMax Media:

Founded in 2003, TriMax Media is a digital marketing agency specializing in performance-based search engine marketing. TriMax served on the first Google Advertiser Research Council and was one of the first companies to generate over one million leads for its clients utilizing Google AdWords. The agency focuses on creating highly effective search marketing campaigns and developing successful long-term relationships with its clients.

Company Contact:

For questions, please contact:

Barry M. Golden

Egan Nelson LLP

214.893.9034

barry.golden@egannelson.com
Singapore, Apr 5, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - 2022 continues to be a challenging year for APAC's HR leaders as companies return to the workplace, refresh talent strategies, and reimagine the future workforce to optimise business impact. HR Tech Festival 2022, organized by HRM Asia, returns May 10-13 to celebrate its 21st anniversary in a hybrid event format with a week-long of activities and programmes curated for the region's HR community, global influencers, and industry experts to learn, collaborate, and inspire.With the theme of Return. Refresh. Reimagine, HR Tech Festival Asia 2022 will be presented in a hybrid format that is designed to provide an immersive and customisable event experience for attendees' needs and preferences. The 4-day event will bring together 4,000 attendees, 200 global and regional speakers and 30 international innovative brands.Joanna Bush, Managing Director, HRM Asia, says, "HR Tech Festival Asia is celebrating 21 years as Asia's leading HR tech event, and we are looking forward to bringing Asia's HR community back together in 2022. HR Tech Festival Asia 2022, which will return both in-person and online, will present a week-long offering of exciting programmes and activities that will allow you to personalise your own unique festival experience.""With 2022 shaping up to be a complex but interesting year for HR, we invite you to join the biggest gathering of the region's HR community, global influencers, and industry experts to learn, collaborate, and inspire, as we continue to shape the world of work together."It's time for a reunion like no other at the first in-person HR event in SingaporeOn 10 May, step out from the virtual to real life to re-establish your connections with the HR community in-person at HR Tech Festival Live, a one-day in-person event under the week-long HR Tech Festival Asia 2022.Kicking off the highly anticipated in-person event at Suntec Exhibition & Convention Centre is Mr Zaqy Mohamed, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of Defence, Singapore, who is the Guest of Honour with his opening remarks at 10am (SGT).Attendees can then expect to be refreshed with high-energy, engaging presentations on cutting-edge ideas, and illuminating sessions on key HR topics such as:- The Future of Human Development - Understanding ASEAN's vision and innovation for a changing world.- Humanising Transformation - Enabling sustainable growth for people and workers.- Weathering the Talent Management Storm from Inside Out - A strategic response to the changing talent landscape.- Leadership Staying Power: Preparing for the future.- Skills are the New Currency in the New World of Talent Management - How you can prepare your organisation and people for this.- Modern Work: A Fresh New Look at the Future - Providing a new perspective into the future of work.Featured speakers at HR Tech Festival Live include:- Stephanie Nash, Chief People Officer, Circles.Life, Co-Founder & Chief People Officer, Thrive HR Exchange- Low Peck Kem, Chief Human Resources Officer & Advisor (Workforce Development), Singapore Public Service Division- Sara Tiew, Head of Workforce Transformation and Analytics, UOB & World Economic Forum Future of Work Fellow- Grace Huang, Head of People & Organisation, Siemens- Rashmi Mishra Sharma, Head of People & Capability Building, GovTech Singapore, and Consultant at Harvard Business School - Corporate Learning- Dr Bob Aubrey, Founder & Chair of the Advisory Board, ASEAN Human Development Organisation (AHDO)- Eddie Lee, HR Technology Strategist, Future of Talent Economy (FOTE) NetworkHR Tech Festival Live will also be shining a spotlight on the best of HR in Asia with the HR Fest Awards 2022, which is celebrating the outstanding achievements of the region's top HR leaders, companies, and teams from across both the private and public sectors.23 deserving finalists are vying for the top award in five exciting categories, including Best Workplace Culture and Engagement, Employer of Choice, HR Team of the Year, Best Use of Technology, and Best HR Leader. The winners will be announced live and in-person at the award presentation on May 10 at Suntec Exhibition & Convention Centre Singapore.Connecting virtually, reimagining the future of HR collectivelyFor those who wish to be part of HR Tech Festival Asia 2022 remotely, HR Tech Festival Online, taking place from May 11-13, offers the ideal virtual platform to learn from global and regional HR experts, discover innovative solutions, and build virtual connections through a series of programmes and activities over the three event days. Mr Heng Swee Keat, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, will be giving the opening address at 9am (SGT) as the Guest of Honour.Making a debut this year is the ASEAN Human Development Organisation (AHDO) Summit, which will examine how to improve human development at work. ASEAN's national HR Association, thought leaders, and the ASEAN professional community will come together virtually on May 11 to discuss, debate, and establish a balance of economic and human development to the most diverse region in the world.Dr Bob Aubrey, Founder and Chair of the Advisory Board, AHDO, says, "COVID has been a game changer and the HR Community has shown unprecedented leadership in enabling organisational resilience that allows companies to adapt and innovate. To see where this goes next, you do not want to miss the AHDO Summit at HR Tech Festival Asia 2022, which highlights the new human development dimension in companies across the ASEAN region."As organisations look to advance workplace gender equity, the Women in HR Technology Summit is a must-not-miss for HR leaders in Asia. Taking place virtually on May 11, the Asia-exclusive and popular half-day conference will take place alongside HR Tech Festival Online. Programme Chair Jeanne Achille, Founder and CEO of The Devon Group, will lead an esteemed line-up of female HR leaders such as Ruby Kolesky, Co-CEO and Heart of Product, Joyous and Lydia Wu, Head of Talent Analytics and Transformation, Panasonic, in offering insights into key technologies that can help drive gender equity in the workplace.Attendees can also look forward to the HR Leaders' APAC Summit taking place virtually on May 11 and hear from luminaries such as Josh Bersin, Global Industry Analyst and CEO of the Josh Bersin Company; Mervyn Dinnen, Author and HR & Talent Acquisition Analyst; Gary Cookson, Director, EPIC HR; and Margaret Heffernan, Author and Professor of Practice, University of Bath, as they address the business challenges and critical priorities facing HR leaders today.The prestigious and popular ASEAN Future of Work, organised in collaboration with Ministry of Manpower Singapore and the Regional Centre for the Future of Work, is also back for its third run virtually. Themed "Navigating Labour Market Recovery: A Balancing Act for Businesses, Workers and Governments", the half day conference features speakers from regional governments, unions, and the public sector, who will share insights on how they put people first in their strategies to recover from the pandemic.Speakers such as Deanna Ong, Chief People Officer, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and Jason Seng, Partner, People Advisory Services - Workforce Advisory, Ernst & Young Advisory will also discuss how different stakeholders can work together to balance varying needs and interests, as ASEAN adapts to post-COVID business models and ways of working.Innovation and technologies to support organisations to refresh and reimagine HR strategiesHR Tech Marketplace, which is taking place from May 10-13, will present the biggest showcase of HR solutions and products from global and regional solution providers under one roof. These include ADP, AMS, Ceridian, Coursera for Business, Cornerstone, Globalization Partners, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Oracle, ServiceNow, Skillsoft, SumTotal, Top Employers Institute, and Workforce Singapore (WSG).Technologies and products on offer cover the entire spectrum of HR and attendees can choose to engage in-person or virtually with the exhibitors for a consultation on how they can support their HR transformation needs or view a product demonstration. Attendees can also glimpse into the future where innovative solutions and upcoming technology may emerge as the new norm of the future through the Start-up Hub.HR Tech Festival Asia 2022 is proud to partner with ASEAN Human Development Organisation and its regional HR association members and organisations to curate the event to meet the needs of the HR profession and contribute to the development of the profession.HR Tech Festival Asia 2021 will take place on 10 May 2022 at Suntec Exhibition & Convention Centre and 11-13 May 2022 virtually. For more information, visit www.hrtechfestivalasia.com.About HRM AsiaHRM Asia is a multi-platform network helping to build and celebrate the professional HR community in Asia-Pacific. Across our dedicated print magazine, digital content, and world-class events, we provide an array of thought-leading HR discussion and information to HR professionals of all ranks in Singapore and across the region.HRM Asia is proudly owned by LRP Publications. LRP Publications is a broad-based media company serving business and education professionals. Specialising in the fields of education administration, education law, education technology, federal employment, human resources, workers' compensation and disability, and ergonomics, the company publishes hundreds of books, pamphlets, newsletters, videos and online resources.For media enquiries, please contact:Chua Yee LingMarketing DirectorHRM Asiayeeling@hrmasia.com.sgMargaret TanMarketing ManagerHRM Asiamargaret@hrmasia.com.sgSource: HRM AsiaCopyright 2022 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
KATHMANDU, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's central bank has instructed the country's commercial banks not to issue new letters of credit for the import of vehicles and other non-essential goods amid dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

"We told the top officers of the commercial banks to stop issuing letters of credit for the import of vehicles and other goods which they consider as non-essential goods," Prakash Kumar Shrestha, chief of the economic research department at Nepal Rastra Bank, told Xinhua on Tuesday.

"We must preserve the foreign exchange reserves to finance essential goods such as medicines, instead of spending them on luxury goods in time of crisis," he added.

Since the early months of the current fiscal year that began in mid-July 2021, Nepal has seen its forex reserves continue to fall due to surging imports, declining inflows of remittance and meagre earnings from tourism and exports.

By mid-February, the country's gross forex reserves had decreased 17 percent to 9.75 billion U.S. dollars from 11.75 billion dollars in mid-July 2021, according to central bank figures.

The forex reserves are now only enough to sustain the import of goods and services for 6.7 months, below the central bank's target for at least seven months.

Rising imports amid falling forex earnings have also contributed to a record-high balance of payment deficit, sparking concerns about the country heading toward the direction of Sri Lanka.

Nepal had a balance of payment deficit of 2.07 billion dollars in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, as against a surplus of 817.6 million dollars during the same period in the previous fiscal year, according to the central bank.

The central bank issued its latest directive on Monday as other indirect measures had failed to cut imports significantly.

The central bank "clearly asked us not to open letters of credit for non-essential goods including vehicles, and we're going to follow the instruction," Ashoke Rana, chief executive officer of the Himalayan Bank, told Xinhua.

"They told us that discouraging the import of vehicles would also contribute to a decreasing consumption of fuel," he said.

As in other countries, fuel prices in Nepal have gone up over the Russia-Ukraine crisis and other factors.

Vehicles and spare parts are among the largest import items in Nepal. During the first eight months of the current fiscal year, the South Asian country imported vehicles and spare parts worth 75.95 billion Nepali rupees (627 million U.S. dollars), according to the Trade and Export Promotion Center. 
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Citi agreed to sell its consumer banking business in Bahrain to Ahli United Bank B.S.C. The transaction credit card and unsecured lending businesses but excludes Citi's institutional businesses. Citi said it remains committed to continuing to serve institutional clients in Bahrain locally, regionally and globally. As per the agreement, Citi consumer employees and employees supporting the consumer business will be offered employment from Ahli United Bank upon close of the proposed transaction. Upon closing, Citi expects the transaction will make a small contribution to the previously announced release of about US$7 billion of allocated tangible common equity over time from the exit of its consumer franchises in 13 markets in Asia Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa. Closing of the proposed transaction is anticipated by the second half of 2022. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 4, 2022) - LaSalle Exploration Corp. (TSXV: LSX) ("LaSalle" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that on April 1, 2022 the Supreme Court of British Columbia issued a Final Court Order approving the previously announced acquisition of Lasalle by Harfang Exploration Inc. (TSXV: HAR) ("Harfang") by way of plan of arrangement (see news release of LaSalle dated January 10, 2022 for more details).

"We are very pleased to have received Shareholders unanimous support of the Transaction, resulting in a much stronger exploration company that is securely financed. As the incoming Chief Executive Officer of Harfang, I'm excited to begin working with our combined team applying diligent and disciplined effort to deliver exploration success and corporate value to shareholders," commented Ian Campbell, President and CEO of LaSalle.

Regulatory Approval

The Transaction remains subject to final approval by the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") and is expected to close in mid April upon completion of all required filings and approvals. Following completion of the Transaction, LaSalle's shares will be delisted from the TSXV. An application will also be made for the Company to cease to be a reporting issuer in the applicable jurisdictions upon closing of the Transaction.

Additional information regarding the terms of the Transaction are set out in the Circular which is available under LaSalle's profile at www.sedar.com, and on the Company's website at www.lasalleexploration.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of LaSalle Exploration Corp.

"Ian Campbell"

President, CEO & Director

About Harfang Exploration Inc.

Harfang is a mining exploration company whose primary mission is to discover new gold districts in the province of Quebec. Harfang's development model is based on the generation of new mining projects and on the establishment of partnerships with major exploration and mining companies to advance its exploration projects. Harfang trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "HAR".

About LaSalle Exploration Corp.

LaSalle is a Canadian exploration company focused on less explored districts of the Abitibi in Ontario and Quebec, recognized for mining investment based on mineral potential, policy and success., LaSalle is actively exploring Radisson in the developing Eeyou Itschee-James Bay region in Quebec as well as the Blakelock and Egan high-grade gold properties located in northeastern Ontario. LaSalle trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "LSX".

For further information please contact:

Harfang Exploration Inc

Telephone: 514 940-0670 x339

Email: info@harfangexploration.com

LaSalle Exploration Corp.

Telephone: (604) 647-3966

Email: info@lasallecorp.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information

All statements, trend analysis and other information contained in this press release about anticipated future events or results constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, statements regarding the closing of the Arrangement, are forward-looking statements. Although LaSalle believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in the Company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators, and assumptions made with regard to: the Company's ability to complete the proposed Arrangement; the Company's ability to secure the necessary legal and regulatory approvals required to complete the Arrangement and the Company's ability to achieve the synergies expected as a result of the Arrangement. Forward-looking statements are subject to business and economic risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results of operations to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include risks associated with the business of Harfang and LaSalle; risks related to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions to the closing of the Arrangement; non-completion of the Arrangement; and other risk factors as detailed from time to time and additional risks identified in Harfang and LaSalle's filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com). Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the date the statements are made. LaSalle does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119283
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 4, 2022 / St. Anthony Gold Corp. ("St. Anthony" or the "Company") (CSE:STAG)(Frankfurt:M1N)(OTC PINK:MTEHF) announces it has received a notice of default under its option agreement dated March 15, 2022 with Magabra Resources Corp. ("Magabra"). While the 30 day default correction period has not yet expired, the Company has determined that it would take the conservative approach and impair the property in its just filed quarterly statements, resulting in a write down of $2,725,119.

While the Company disputes the legal and factual basis of the default notice, it is in ongoing discussions with Magabra. However, since Magabra created the basis of the alleged defaults by repeatedly refusing to provide the information needed to allow the Company to complete the earn in of its interest in the St. Anthony property, there is no certainty that this matter will not end up before the courts.

About St. Anthony Gold Corp.

St. Anthony Gold Corp., a Canadian-based mineral exploration corporation, is focused on identifying and advancing high-value mineral properties.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SEE THE COMPANY'S WEB SITE AT

https://stanthonygoldcorp.com

Email to info@stanthonygoldcorp.com

Contact: Peter Wilson CEO - 604-649-0945

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Further information about the Company is available on www.SEDAR.com under the Company's profile.

Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the business of the Company, the Property, financing and certain corporate changes. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the business of the Company, the Property, financing and certain corporate changes. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: St. Anthony Gold Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696055/St-Anthony-Gold-Corp-Provides-Update-on-St-Anthony-Project
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, Apr 5, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi Energy today launched its OceaniQ portfolio for the offshore energy environment, which will be showcased this week at the annual WindEurope event in Bilbao, Spain. The global technology and market leader in power grids, which has a proven track record(1) in pioneering solutions for offshore, has created OceaniQ to help accelerate the clean energy transition. OceaniQ will result in greater volumes of wind power being efficiently harvested and integrated into the world's energy system.Combining cross-industry competence from the power and marine sectors, OceaniQ addresses applications for fixed platforms, floating structures and sub-sea power systems for wind, marine and other offshore operators. Hitachi Energy rigorously designs its OceaniQ products, services and solutions in collaboration with customers and partners, which are designed to solve the specific needs of offshore energy operators.Key characteristics of OceaniQ solutions feature a modular design to enable timely installation and the ability to quickly connect energy assets to onshore. OceaniQ solutions take advantage of digitalization, enabling safe and secure remote monitoring and other services such as predictive maintenance. Designs are also ruggedized to withstand harsh marine conditions, minimizing the need for physical service over their lifetime. OceaniQ solutions also embody the rigorous application of lifecycle thinking.OceaniQ transformers for offshore floating applicationsThe first products to be announced as part of the OceaniQ portfolio are Hitachi Energy's recently announced transformers for offshore floating applications. Since the first commercial projects in the early 1990s, offshore wind electricity generation has grown enormously, with more than 35 gigawatts(2) capacity currently worldwide. Yet building offshore brings great challenges beyond the harsh salt-water environment and only a small fraction of the full potential has been exploited. This is because many offshore areas do not have a suitable seabed and beyond 60-meter depths are not optimal for fixed structures.OceaniQ transformers and shunt reactors are key equipment in the grid infrastructure that enables the transmission of electricity generated in offshore wind farms. This full and qualified range of equipment has been developed in partnership with the forefront floating offshore developers. It brings in world-leading experience to meet requirements, featuring a lightweight, compact and modular design that comprises of specially-designed transformer active part, tank and components."In OceaniQ, our world-class engineers take pride in pioneering solutions that overcome harsh offshore conditions and ultimately, help society move towards a carbon-neutral future," said Bruno Melles, Managing Director of Hitachi Energy's Transformers business. Bruno added, "Floating electrical systems are an important development in the evolution of the offshore renewable industry that will open up tremendous opportunities and unlock new business models that are built on clean power. OceaniQ is fully in the spirit of Hitachi Energy's Purpose, which is focused on advancing a sustainable energy future for all."Alfredo Parres(3), Head of Renewables at Hitachi Energy commented, "Wind power is one of Earth's bountiful and free-giving natural resources and through the OceaniQ offshore portfolio, customers will be able to harness and integrate it more efficiently." Alfredo continued, "Through OceaniQ, we are building a more sustainable, flexible and secure energy system by bringing together our experts in offshore applications and wind farm connections to develop and build the solutions needed for a more integrated, interconnected and high-quality power grid. I am excited to be discussing OceaniQ with customers at WindEurope this week and how together, we can continue to pioneer technologies that maximize the full potential of offshore wind."This latest portfolio development from Hitachi Energy continues to demonstrate the company's commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation for sustainable offshore energy environment solutions, adding to an already extensive offering. The company expects to announce new additions to the OceaniQ portfolio in the coming months. The launch of OceaniQ follows the company's recent launches of IdentiQ - its digital twin solutions for HVDC and power quality - and EconiQ - its portfolio of solutions which are proven to deliver an exceptional environmental performance resulting in significant reductions in carbon footprint.(1) Three examples of Hitachi Energy's proven track record in offshore wind:- Dogger Bank - connecting the world's largest offshore wind farm (located off the North East coast of England, UK)(bit.ly/3Kcz1wa)- WindSTAR transformers for offshore wind turbines for major renewable projects in Taiwan (bit.ly/3NQhuMw)- First-of-its-kind High-voltage hybrid switchgear for offshore wind enabling the reduction of carbon emissions (bit.ly/3j3KJgr)(2) Global Wind Energy Council's Global Offshore Wind Report 2021(bit.ly/3qZtS32)(3) Read one of Alfredo Parres' Perspectives on offshore wind: Offshore synergy - combining oil & gas experience with grid technology leadership for sustainable energy (bit.ly/38hUQMy)About Hitachi Energy Ltd.Hitachi Energy is a global technology leader that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all. We serve customers in the utility, industry and infrastructure sectors with innovative solutions and services across the value chain. Together with customers and partners, we pioneer technologies and enable the digital transformation required to accelerate the energy transition towards a carbon-neutral future. We are advancing the world's energy system to become more sustainable, flexible and secure whilst balancing social, environmental and economic value. Hitachi Energy has a proven track record and unparalleled installed base in more than 140 countries. Headquartered in Switzerland, we employ around 38,000 people in 90 countries and generate business volumes of approximately $10 billion USD. https://www.hitachienergy.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/hitachienergy; https://twitter.com/HitachiEnergyAbout Hitachi, Ltd.Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, contributes to a sustainable society with a higher quality of life by driving innovation through data and technology as the SocialInnovation Business. Hitachi is focused on strengthening its contribution to the Environment, the Resilience of business and social infrastructure as well as comprehensive programs to enhance Security & Safety. Hitachi resolves the issues faced by customers and society across six domains: IT, Energy, Mobility, Industry, Smart Life and Automotive Systems through its proprietary Lumada solutions. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2020 (ended March 31, 2021) totaled 8,729.1 billion yen ($78.6 billion), with 871 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 350,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com.Source: Hitachi, Ltd.Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
SHANGHAI, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Envision Group (Envision) announces that it has signed a Letter of intent (LOI) with Impact Energy Asia Development Limited (IEAD) for the supply of wind turbines to the iconic 600MW Monsoon Wind Project in Lao PDR. The wind farm will commence construction this year and is expected to achieve commercial operation in 2025. Once completed, it will be the largest wind farm in ASEAN as well as region's first cross-border wind energy project.

The wind farm will be located in the Sekong and Attapeu provinces in Southern Lao PDR. Envision plans to supply 133 units of EN-171 wind turbines with a power rating of 4.51 MW. The Monsoon Wind Project will generate over 1,700 GWh of green energy each year. The project's electricity generation will be delivered from Lao PDR to Central Vietnam through the project's dedicated 500 kV transmission line.

Mr. Nat Hutanuwatr, Managing Director of IEAD, commented "As we are making excellent progress in developing the first and largest cross-border wind farm in South East Asia with a very competitive tariff, we are delighted to welcome Envision to join our exciting journey to deliver zero carbon electricity. Envision's state-of-the-art technology for the proposed wind turbine solution and its successful execution track record will be key enablers for the project to achieve its objectives reliably and economically."

The Monsoon Project has attracted global attention since its initial stages. IEAD's affiliate, Impact Electrons Siam Company Limited (IES), started developing the wind farm in 2011 and IEAD signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement with Vietnam Electricity (EVN) in July 2021.

Envision is also collaborating with IES on IES' development of the Xekong Wind Project, a further 1,000 MW wind farm on a site adjacent to the Monsoon Project. IES recently announced that it had obtained exclusive rights from the Government of Lao PDR to conduct a feasibility study and preliminary Environment Impact Assessment for the Xekong Wind Project.

About Impact Energy Asia Development Limited

Impact Energy Asia Development Limited (IEAD) is developing the Monsoon Wind Project and is 55% owned by Impact Wind Investment Limited and 45% by BCPG Public Company Limited, a leading renewable energy company in Thailand and Asia-Pacific.

About Impact Electrons Siam Limited

Impact Electrons Siam Limited (IES), is a pioneering renewable energy development firm headquartered in Thailand with over 1,900 MW of wind and solar energy projects in development and operation in Thailand, Japan, Lao PDR and Vietnam. IES is a privately owned company established in 2011. IES develops clean, affordable and reliable renewable energy solutions and is a pioneer of visionary innovation in the renewable energy sector with a vision to build a better future for communities across the region.

IES is leading the development of the Monsoon and Xekong wind farms in Southern Lao PDR, which will have an aggregate capacity of 1,600 MW. IES recently announced that the Monsoon Wind Power Project had signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Vietnam Electricity, with the project on schedule to achieve financial close during 2022.

For more information, please visit http://www.impactelectrons.com/

About Envision Group

Envision Group is a world-leading green technology company and net zero technology partner. With the mission of "solving the challenges for the sustainable future of humankind". Envision designs, sells, and operates smart wind turbines and smart storage system through Envision Energy; AIoT-powered batteries through Envision AESC; and the world's largest AIoT operating system through Envision Digital. It also owns Envision Racing Formula E team. Envision continues to promote wind and solar power as the "new coal", batteries and hydrogen fuel as the "new oil", the AIoT network as the "new grid", the net-zero industrial parks to the "new infrastructure", and to promote the construction and cultivation of green "new industry".

Envision Group was ranked among the Top 10 of the 2019 'World's 50 Smartest Companies' by the MIT Technology Review. In October 2021, Envision was ranked second in the world on the Fortune "Change the World" list. Envision Group joined the global 'RE100' initiative and became the first company in mainland China committed to 100% renewable electricity by 2025.On April 22, 2021, Envision Group announced it will achieve carbon neutral in operations by 2022 and achieve carbon neutral throughout its value chain by 2028.

For more information, please visit www.envision-group.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/747745/Envision_Logo.jpg
6.7m at 3.1% Cu, 17.5g/t Ag, including 2.95m at 6.2% Cu, 0.04% Sn, 36.8g/t Ag, 0.12g/t Au plus additional near surface high grade copper intervals

La Romana mineralization remains wide open in several directions

Copper mineralization and wide zone of alteration confirmed at satellite IP anomaly north of La Romana

Additional 20 drill holes planned to further expand the La Romana target

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Pan Global Resources Inc. (TSXV: PGZ) (OTC Pink: PGNRF) ("Pan Global" or the "Company") is pleased to announce new drill results and the expansion of the La Romana target area ("La Romana") at the Escacena Project ("Escacena") in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, southern Spain. Exploration is also in progress on new targets in the surrounding area with drilling also ongoing at the La Jarosa target ("La Jarosa"), located approx. 4km northeast of La Romana.

Tim Moody, Pan Global President and CEO states: "The latest results further confirm the copper mineralization at La Romana remains wide open to the west from near surface and also down dip. Results for drill hole LRD114 included an excellent high-grade intersection which highlights the potential for additional high grade in the east. We are mobilizing a second drill rig to recommence drilling at La Romana where we have a further twenty drill holes planned."

Mr. Moody added: "An extensive exploration program is also in progress on multiple new targets at Escacena, with results pending for the recently completed high resolution heliborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey. A ground Induced Polarity ("IP") survey is also about to commence. Three follow-up drill holes have been completed at La Jarosa with results awaited to help vector to additional copper mineralization."

Drill highlights include:

6.7m at 3.1% Cu%, 17.5g/t Ag, 0.024% Co, 0.2% Pb , 0.4% Zn from 74.3m in LRD114 , including 2.95m at 6.2% Cu, 37g/t Ag, 0.12g/t Au, 0.04% Co, 0.4% Pb, 0.9% Zn



, from 74.3m in , including 20.25m at 0.62% Cu, 0.05% Sn, 2.5g/t Ag from 6.35m in LRD95 , including 7m at 1.23% Cu, 0.08% Sn, 5.3g/t Ag

from 6.35m in , including 20.25m at 0.6% Cu, 4.6g/t Ag, 0.14% Zn from 56.25m in LRD113 , including 7.75m at 1.02% Cu, 4.9g/t Ag and 1m at 1.7% Cu, 42.8g/t Ag, 0.04g/t Au, 0.8% Pb, 1.8% Zn

from 56.25m in , including 20m at 0.4% Cu, 0.06% Sn, 1.2g/t Ag from 65m in LRD103 , including 3.5m at 0.8% Cu, 0.19% Sn, 2.9g/t Ag , including 0.45m at 3.7% Cu, 0.51% Sn, 12g/t Ag, 0.06% Co

from 65m in , including 17.1m at 0.54% Cu, 0.07% Sn, 1.7g/t Ag from 53m in LRD106 , including 5m at 0.5% Cu, 0.12% Sn, 1.3g/t Ag and 3.25m at 1.6% Cu, 0.09% Sn, 5.1g/t Ag

from 53m in , including





Figure 1 - La Romana target and drill hole locations with selected highlights



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5190/119187_cd62fbb5b4407805_001full.jpg





Figure 2 - Summary drill hole cross section 736935M East with new drill holes LRD113 and LRD114 results highlights in yellow



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5190/119187_cd62fbb5b4407805_002full.jpg

Figure 3 - Summary drill hole cross section 736485M East with new drill hole LRD95 results highlights in yellow

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5190/119187_cd62fbb5b4407805_003full.jpg







Figure 4 - Summary drill hole cross section 736035M East with new drill holes LRD103 and LRD106 results highlights in yellow

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5190/119187_cd62fbb5b4407805_004full.jpg

Figure 5 - La Romana - View to the south approx. perpendicular to the plane of the mineralization (dip 40o N) showing drill hole Cu and Sn grade contours and Cu x m (%) thickness bubbles showing the mineralization open in several directions

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5190/119187_cd62fbb5b4407805_005full.jpg

Drill results

The latest drill results are from nineteen holes completed in 2021-2022 in the Phase 4 drill program at the La Romana discovery. Drill holes LRD 94, 95, 112, 113, 114 and 115 tested up-dip/near-surface extensions in the centre and east of the target area. Drill holes LRD96, 103, 106, 109 and 110 tested the westward extensions. Drill holes LRD 89, 91, 93, 100, 102, 105 and 107 tested down-dip extensions. Drill hole LRD 101 tested an IP chargeability anomaly approximately 400m north of La Romana.

Drill hole locations are shown in Figure 1 and summary cross sections for selected drill holes LRD95, LRD103, LRD106, LRD113 and LRD114 provided in Figures 2, 3 and 4 above.

Drill hole collar information is provided in Table 1 below. Assay results are summarized in Table 2. The drill holes were all inclined towards the south or southwest and all reported drill intervals are approximately true thickness (>90%). Previously published drill results are provided in the Company's website:

https://www.panglobalresources.com/_files/ugd/eec401_6b904e48451543efb191408a725c7fa0.pdf

Table 1 Escacena Project, La Romana drill hole collar information (Total 4147.65m)

Hole ID Easting1 Northing1 Azimuth () Dip () Depth (m) LRD89 736985 4152861 180 -59 346.9 LRD91 736540 4152798 180 -60 260.3 LRD93 736236 4152738 180 -55 215.85 LRD94 736885 4152593 180 -50 122.15 LRD95 736485 4152622 180 -55 116.3 LRD96 736138 4152716 180 -55 182.05 LRD100 736837 4152832 180 -66 311.3 LRD101 735977 4153194 180 -60 404.3 LRD102 736783 4152859 180 -60 301.5 LRD103 736053 4152764 220 -50 191.1 LRD105 736735 4152866 180 -60 307 LRD106 736075 4152722 220 -50 189 LRD107 736329 4152869 180 -55 287.2 LRD109 736103 4152682 190 -50 170.1 LRD110 736183 4152640 180 -55 134.1 LRD112 736523 4152613 180 -50 173.4 LRD113 736938 4152618 180 -55 149.25 LRD114 736938 4152618 180 -80 162.8 LRD115 736738 4152575 180 -55 123.05

1 Coordinates are in ERTS89 datum UTM29N

Table 2 - Escacena Project, La Romana drill results summary

Hole Fr To Int Cu Sn Ag Co Au Pb Zn





m % ppm g/t ppm g/t ppm ppm LRD89 235.70 236.30 0.60 1.77 48 6.9 308 0.05 39 185

282.05 282.50 0.45 0.88 27 7.1 505 0.18 509 836





















LRD91 14.00 14.75 0.75 0.78 25 7.2 42 0.18 761 83

136.50 142.00 5.50 0.43 911 2.0 73 0.01 37 405 incl. 233.00 259.00 26.00

334































LRD93 8.00 11.10 3.10 0.53 76 1.2 59 0.02 46 144

80.00 103.00 23.00 0.33 770 2.6 87 0.01 94 248 incl. 95.50 101.85 6.35 0.55 1505 3.8 144 0.01 69 228

210.55 210.95 0.40 1.83 395 18.8 94 0.14 696 2070





















LRD94 30.50 53.00 22.50 0.25 71 2.0 42 0.01 319 232

60.60 61.00 0.40 3.42 106 9.4 126 0.03 240 404

62.75 62.90 0.15 0.94 472 9.4 417 0.23 690 421





















LRD95 6.35 40.00 33.65 0.43 386 1.8 48 0.00 96 276

6.35 26.60 20.25 0.62 527 2.5 59 0.00 53 235

8.00 15.00 7.00 1.23 836 5.3 83 0.01 43 348





















LRD96 48.00 79.00 31.00 0.22 429 1.0 57 0.01 59 155 incl. 64.00 74.00 10.00 0.29 821 1.1 71 0.01 12 99 incl. 69.00 77.00 8.00 0.18 1142 0.8 66 0.01 10 92





















LRD100 188.10 189.70 1.60 1.01 37 2.9 84 0.02 23 94 incl. 189.00 189.70 0.70 1.53 46 4.2 103 0.02 31 140

207.25 207.80 0.55 2.90 99 13.4 975 0.10 72 320

231.60 232.40 0.80 1.48 64 7.7 142 0.02 84 506

256.15 256.55 0.40 1.66 375 8.8 320 0.15 477 1305

263.85 264.10 0.25 1.74 1390 11.5 616 0.22 283 604





















LRD101 100.50 101.25 0.75 1.18 60 29.2 11 0.07 3170 167

279.45 279.70 0.25 8.30 160 28.8 281 0.04 69 282





















LRD102 115.50 118.55 3.05 0.82 39 4.7 56 0.01 274 794 incl. 115.50 116.45 0.95 1.27 50 9.8 68 0.03 717 2180 incl. 118.40 118.55 0.15 7.16 91 19.7 306 0.05 138 636

230.00 242.70 12.70 0.55 64 2.5 60 0.01 100 310 incl. 233.95 235.00 1.05 1.00 53 4.4 98 0.03 52 484 incl. 237.00 238.00 1.00 1.09 66 4.0 85 0.02 66 370 incl. 242.00 242.70 0.70 1.40 149 4.8 123 0.02 94 331

275.90 276.05 0.15 1.23 1755 4.7 216 0.12 283 375





















LRD103 65.00 85.00 20.00 0.38 631 1.2 93 0.01 32 95 incl. 73.00 76.50 3.50 0.77 1910 2.9 156 0.01 97 130 incl. 74.10 74.55 0.45 3.73 5130 12.0 570 0.02 141 188

112.00 123.00 11.00 0.22 328 0.7 56 0.01 5 63





















LRD105 70.15 70.90 0.75 2.22 80 5.9 130 0.10 1468 3953

233.00 246.00 13.00 0.51 55 2.6 64 0.01 50 321 incl. 238.85 242.30 3.45 1.10 73 5.0 87 0.01 41 326 incl. 238.85 239.15 0.30 5.71 210 25.6 322 0.03 113 1100 incl. 240.20 241.20 1.00 1.49 87 6.6 108 0.02 71 375

252.00 266.25 14.25 0.48 181 2.5 62 0.01 116 674 incl. 257.20 258.55 1.35 1.73 827 7.2 129 0.02 225 742 incl. 261.75 262.25 0.50 1.56 193 11.0 108 0.02 497 1700 incl. 265.00 266.25 1.25 1.36 294 6.1 90 0.01 172 645 incl. 265.95 266.25 0.30 4.39 698 20.8 202 0.03 491 2080





















LRD106 53.00 70.10 17.10 0.54 729 1.7 95 0.02 26 135 incl. 55.00 60.00 5.00 0.48 1183 1.3 94 0.01 18 73 incl. 66.85 70.10 3.25 1.61 882 5.1 109 0.04 54 251

85.50 93.20 7.70 0.28 142 0.9 47 0.01 15 64





















LRD107 172.00 193.00 21.00 0.34 345 2.4 60 0.01 324 614 incl. 177.00 188.00 11.00 0.52 370 3.2 72 0.01 289 526 incl. 181.00 185.00 4.00 1.06 781 5.8 90 0.01 227 406





















LRD109 17.00 33.35 16.35 0.23 884 0.8 78 0.01 20 87 incl. 21.00 29.00 8.00 0.29 1129 1.0 97 0.02 26 94 incl. 32.85 33.35 0.50 0.59 2460 3.1 97 0.02 36 112





















LRD110 19.70 30.00 10.30 0.47 912 1.3 65 0.01 39 130 incl. 19.70 26.00 6.30 0.40 1223 1.4 75 0.01 17 137





















LRD112 5.40 43.10 37.70 0.38 214 1.4 53 0.00 106 287 incl. 26.10 43.10 17.00 0.49 308 1.9 57 0.01 157 358 incl. 39.70 41.80 2.10 1.32 247 5.3 53 0.01 635 387

67.00 68.20 1.20 1.48 186 3.6 55 0.01 345 737

54.60 135.00 80.40 0.07 227































LRD113 25.00 27.00 2.00 2.08 43 4.1 76 0.02 441 737

56.25 76.50 20.25 0.57 40 4.6 67 0.01 589 1430 incl. 56.25 64.00 7.75 1.02 29 4.9 94 0.02 401 607 incl. 61.45 64.00 2.55 2.30 58 11.7 165 0.03 1190 1556 incl. 70.60 71.60 1.00 1.73 85 42.8 97 0.04 7590 17900























LRD114 31.15 32.40 1.25 1.15 28 11.7 324 0.13 517 578

43.10 44.10 1.00 1.85 31 6.3 108 0.02 800 1047 incl. 43.10 43.40 0.30 5.23 51 13.9 197 0.04 1215 2140

74.30 81.00 6.70 3.08 80 17.5 242 0.06 1825 4110 incl. 75.65 78.60 2.95 6.17 136 36.8 449 0.12 4020 8724

97.35 97.55 0.20 2.03 37 9.4 441 0.16 349 1270

120.30 120.55 0.25 3.06 81 20.1 499 0.10 8390 6800

147.00 147.20 0.20 1.87 451 6.3 224 0.13 139 178





















LRD115 29.60 57.40 27.80 0.46 279 2.5 53 0.01 149 378

29.60 49.25 19.65 0.50 337 2.8 54 0.01 143 353 incl. 29.60 38.80 9.20 0.76 375 3.7 69 0.01 37 356

29.60 32.65 3.05 0.99 450 4.9 94 0.01 33 269

The results continue to show that the mineralization remains wide open in several directions (see Figure 5 above).

The primary mineralization includes mainly stockwork, semi-massive sulphides and bands of massive sulphide, with chalcopyrite as the primary copper mineral and cassiterite as the predominant tin mineral. The copper mineralization is also associated with elevated levels of silver, cobalt and gold. A metal zonation is also apparent, progressing from copper and tin in the west to copper and zinc in the east. A zone of oxidation and supergene copper mineralization is also locally present in the upper levels of the deposit, with chalcocite overprinting/replacing primary sulphide.

Drill hole LRD89 testing dip extensions in the east intersected minor copper mineralization. Results include:

0.6m at 1.8% Cu, 6.9g/t Ag, 0.031% Co from 235.7m (downhole)

from 235.7m (downhole) 0.45m at 0.9% Cu, 7.1g/t Ag, 0.18g/t Au, 0.05% Co from 282.05m

Drill hole LRD91 confirmed a narrow down-dip continuation of the copper and tin mineralization to the north, approx. 50m down-dip from LRD56. The hole also shows wide zones of anomalous tin in the footwall. Results include:

0.75m at 0.8% Cu, 7.2g/t Ag, 0.18g/t Au from 14m

from 14m 5.5m at 0.4% Cu, 0.09% Sn, 2g/t Ag , and

, and 26m at 0.033% Sn from 233m

Drill hole LRD93 confirmed down-dip continuation of the copper and tin mineralization to the north, approx. 50m down-dip from LRD70. The hole also includes a thin near-surface interval with oxide copper. Results include:

3.1m at 0.5% Cu, 1.2g/t Ag from 8m (oxide)

from 8m (oxide) 23m at 0.33% Cu, 0.07% Sn, 2.6g/t Ag , including 6.35m at 0.55% Cu, 0.15% Sn, 3.8g/t Ag

, including 0.4m at 1.8% Cu, 0.04% Sn, 18.8g/t Ag, 0.14g/t Au from 210.55m

Drill hole LRD94, in the east intersected an upper zone of low grade supergene chalcocite +/- minor chalcopyrite. Results include:

22.5m at 0.25% Cu, 2g/t Ag from 30.5m (chalcocite)

from 30.5m (chalcocite) 0.4m at 3.4% Cu, 9.4g/t Ag

Drill hole LRD95, testing the up-dip extension approx. 25m south of LRD11, intersected a >33m wide zone with supergene chalcocite +/- minor chalcopyrite, including:

20.25m at 0.6% Cu, 0.05% Sn, 2.5g/t Ag from 6.35m (chalcocite), including: 7m at 1.2% Cu, 0.08% Sn, 5.3g/t Ag

from 6.35m (chalcocite), including:

Drill hole LRD96, in the west intersected a >30m wide zone of low grade copper and tin mineralization from 31m, including:

10m at 0.3% Cu, 0.08% Sn, 1.1g/t Ag from 64m, or

from 64m, or 8m at 0.2% Cu, 0.11% Sn from 69m

Drill hole LRD100, confirmed down-dip continuation of the mineralization in the east with multiple thin intervals with >1% Cu and local elevated Co, including:

1.6m at 1.0% Cu, 2.9g/t Ag from 188m

from 188m 0.55m at 2.9% Cu, 13.4g/t Ag, 0.098% Co from 207.25m

from 207.25m 0.8m at 1.5% Cu, 7.7g/t Ag, 0.014% Co from 231.6m

from 231.6m 0.4m at 1.7% Cu, 0.04% Sn, 8.8g/t Ag, 0.15g/t Au, 0.03% Co from 256.15m

from 256.15m 0.25m at 1.7% Cu, 0.14% Sn, 11.5g/t Ag, 0.22g/t Au, 0.06% Co from 263.85m

Drill hole LRD101 confirmed a wide zone of strong alteration associated with a satellite IP anomaly approx. 300m to the north of La Romana. The hole intersected wide zones of mainly chlorite alteration +/- strong silicification with traces of chalcopyrite and/or pyrite and a thin copper-rich coarse massive sulphide interval. The coarse sulphide intervals indicates potential remobilisation from nearby mineralization. The IP anomaly remains open towards the west and gravity data indicates further potential down-dip. Results include:

0.75m at 1.2% Cu, 29.2g/t Ag, 0.32% Pb from 100.5m, and

from 100.5m, and 0.25m at 8.3% Cu, 0.016% Sn, 28.8g/t Ag, 0.03% Co from 279.45m (massive sulphide)

Drill hole LRD102, confirmed the mineralization remains open to the north, approx. 50m down dip from LRD74 with multiple thin >1% Cu intervals, including:

3.05m at 0.8% Cu, 4.7g/t Ag from 115.5m, including 0.95m at 1.3% Cu, 9.8g/t Ag, 0.22% Zn 0.15m at 7.2% Cu, 19.7g/t Ag, 0.03% Co

from 115.5m, including 12.7m at 0.55% Cu, 2.5g/t Ag from 230m, including 1.05m at 1.0% Cu, 4.4g/t Ag 1m at 1.1% Cu, 4g/t Ag 0.7m at 1.4% Cu, 4.8g/t Ag

from 230m, including 0.15m at 1.2% Cu, 0.18% Sn, 4.7g/t Ag, 0.12g/t Au, 0.02% Co from 275.9m

Drill hole LRD103 confirmed the copper and tin mineralization continues and remains wide open towards the west. Results include:

20m at 0.4% Cu, 0.06% Sn, 1.2g/t Ag from 65m, including 3.5m at 0.8% Cu, 0.19% Sn, 2.9g/t Ag 0.45m at 3.7% Cu, 0.51% Sn, 12g/t Ag, 0.06% Co

from 65m, including

Drill hole LRD105 confirmed the copper mineralization continues approx. 50m further down-dip from LRD78 and remains open to the north, including:

0.75m at 2.2% Cu, 5.9g/t Ag, 0.15% Pb, 0.4% Zn from 70.15m

from 70.15m 13m at 0.5% Cu, 2.6g/t Ag from 233m, including 3.45m at 1.1% Cu, 5g/t Ag , includes 0.3m at 5.7% Cu, 25.6g/t Ag

from 233m, including 14.25m at 0.5% Cu, 2.5g/t Ag from 252m, including 1.35m at 1.7% Cu, 0.08% Sn, 7.2g/t Ag 0.5m at 1.6% Cu, 11g/t Ag 1.25m at 1.4% Cu, 0.03% Sn, 6.1g/t Ag 0.3m at 4.4% Cu, 0.07% Sn, 20.8g/t Ag, 0.02% Co

from 252m, including

Drill hole LRD106 confirmed the copper and tin mineralization continues and remains wide open towards the west from near surface. Results include:

17.1m at 0.5% Cu, 0.07% Sn, 1.7g/t Ag from 53m, including 5m at 0.5% Cu, 0.12% Sn, 1.3g/t Ag 3.25m at 1.6% Cu, 0.09% Sn, 5.1g/t Ag

from 53m, including

Drill hole LRD107 confirmed the copper mineralization continues approx. a further down-dip from LRD65 and remains open to the north. Results include:

11m at 0.5% Cu, 0.04% Sn, 3.2g/t Ag from 177m, including 4m at 1.1% Cu, 0.08% Sn, 5.8g/t Ag

from 177m, including

Drill hole LRD109 confirmed the copper and tin mineralization continues, albeit with lower copper and higher tin grades compared to adjacent holes, and remains wide open towards the west from near surface. Results include:

16.35m at 0.23% Cu, 0.09% Sn, 0.8g/t Ag from 17m, including 8m at 0.3% Cu, 0.13% Sn, 1.0g/t Ag 0.5m at 0.6% Cu, 0.25% Sn, 3.1g/t Ag

from 17m, including

Drill hole LRD110 intersected additional copper and tin mineralization from near surface and remains open towards the west. Results include:

10.3m at 0.5% Cu, 0.09% Sn, 1.3g/t Ag from 19.7m, including 6.3m at 0.4% Cu, 0.12% Sn, 1.4g/t Ag

from 19.7m, including

Drill hole LRD112 extends the copper and tin mineralization from immediately beneath shallow cover approx. 25m south of LRD 61. The hole intersected a wide zone of secondary chalcocite and thick, well-developed, mostly pyritic sulphide stock work with anomalous tin. The results indicate potential for the supergene chalcocite mineralization to extend further to the south. Results include:

37.7m at 0.4% Cu, 0.02% Sn, 1.4g/t Ag from 5.4m (chalcocite), including 17m at 0.5% Cu, 0.03% Sn, 1.9g/t Ag , includes 2.1m at 1.3% Cu, 0.02% Sn, 5.3g/t Ag

from 5.4m (chalcocite), including 1.2m at 1.5% Cu, 3.6g/t Ag from 67m

from 67m 80.4m at 0.022% Sn from 54.6m

Drill hole LRD113, confirmed continuation of the copper mineralization approx. 25m down-dip from LRD69 in the east with high grades from shallow depths. Results include:

2m at 2.1% Cu, 4.1g/t Ag from 25m

from 25m 20.25m at 0.6% Cu, 4.6g/t Ag, 0.14% Zn from 56.25m, including 7.75m at 1.02% Cu, 4.9g/t Ag , includes 2.55m at 2.3% Cu, 11.7g/t Ag , 0.12% Pb, 0.16% Zn

from 56.25m, including 1m at 1.7% Cu, 42.8g/t Ag, 0.8% Pb, 1.8% Zn from 70.6m

Drill hole LRD114, confirmed continuation of the copper mineralization, including 6.7m of very high-grade copper mineralization approx. 30m down-dip from a similar thickness high grade copper interval in LRD113. The results show several additional thin high-grade intervals. Results include:

1.25m at 1.2% Cu, 11.7g/t Ag, 0.13g/t Au, 0.03% Co from 31.5m

from 31.5m 1m at 1.9% Cu, 6.3g/t Ag from 43.1m, including 0.3m at 5.2% Cu, 13.9g/t Ag, 0.02% Co

from 43.1m, including 6.7m at 3.1% Cu, 17.5g/t Ag , 0.18% Pb, 0.4% Zn from 74.3m, includes 2.95m at 6.2% Cu, 36.8g/t Ag, 0.12% g/t Au , 0.04% Co, 0.4% Pb, 0.9% Zn

from 74.3m, includes 0.2m at 2.0% Cu, 9.4g/t Ag, 0.16g/t Au, 0.04% Co from 97.35m

from 97.35m 0.25m at 3.1% Cu, 20.1g/t Ag, 0.05% Co, 0.8% Pb, 0.7% Zn from 120.3m

from 120.3m 0.2m at 1.9% Cu, 0.05% Sn, 6.3g/t Ag, 0.13g/t Au from 147m

Drill hole LRD115, extended the near-surface supergene chalcocite mineralization approx. 25m south from LRD64 and indicates potential to extend the supergene zone further to the south over the sulphide stock work footwall. Results include:

27.8m at 0.5% Cu, 0.03% Sn, 2.5g/t Ag from 29.6m (chalcocite), including 9.2m at 0.8% Cu, 0.04% Sn, 3.7g/t Ag , includes 3.05m at 1.0% Cu, 0.04% Sn, 4.9g/t Ag

from 29.6m (chalcocite), including

Assay results are pending for an additional six completed drill holes at La Romana. Results are also pending for three additional drill holes completed at the La Jarosa target. An additional twenty drill holes are planned at La Romana largely designed to investigate extensions to the copper-tin mineralization. Regional exploration is continuing to help delineate additional targets for drilling, with ground geophysics (gravity and IP), soil geochemistry surveys and geological mapping in progress. Results are also pending for the recently completed heliborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey and metallurgical test work.

QA/QC

Core size was HQ (63mm) and all samples were  core. Nominal sample size was 1m core length and ranged from 0.4 to 2m. Sample intervals were defined using geological contacts with the start and end of each sample physically marked on the core. Diamond blade core cutting and sampling was supervised at all times by Company staff. Duplicate samples of  core were taken approximately every 30 samples and Certified Reference materials inserted every 25 samples in each batch.

Samples were delivered to ALS laboratory in Seville, Spain and assayed at the ALS laboratory in Ireland. All samples were crushed and split (method CRU-31, SPL22Y), and pulverized using (method PUL-31). Gold analysis was by 50gm Fire assay with ICP finish (method Au-ICP22) and multi element analysis was undertaken using a 4-acid digest with ICP AES finish (method ME-ICP61). Tin was analysed in selected intervals using Lithium borate fusion and ICP MS finish (method ME-MS81). Over grade base metal results were assayed using a 4-acid digest ICP AES (method OG-62). Over grade tin was determined using peroxide fusion with ICP finish (method Sn-ICP81x).

Qualified Person

James Royall, P Geo, VP Exploration for Pan Global Resources and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Mr. Royall is not independent of the Company.

About Pan Global Resources

Pan Global Resources Inc. is actively engaged in base and precious metal exploration in southern Spain and is pursuing opportunities from exploration through to mine development. The Company is committed to operating safely and with respect to the communities and environment where we operate.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

www.panglobalresources.com

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

tmoody@panglobalresources.com

+44 7766 253145

Statements which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information included in this news release are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on information available to the Company as of the date of this news release. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information.

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119187
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Edison Lithium Corp. (TSXV: EDDY) (OTCQB: EDDYF) (FSE: VV0) ("Edison" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its lithium properties in Argentina. The Company's prospective lithium brine claims are principally located in the two geological basins known as the Antofalla Salar and the Pipanaco Salar in northern Catamarca Province, Argentina.

In November 2021, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report for the prospecting phase of exploration was submitted to the mining authorities in Catamarca, Argentina. A total of 24 claims covering about 100,000 hectares in the Antofalla Salar were included in EIA Report submitted to the Provincial Government of Catamarca (Secretaria de Estado de Mineria). The plan of work includes topography, mapping, geophysics using TEM (transient electromagnetic) method, and sampling.

Geophysical survey results for claims #29 and #30 suggest the presence of a potential brine zone of at least 300 metres thick that must be drilled to confirm quality and grades. The Company anticipates that geophysical survey results on selective claims are likely to identify additional drilling targets.

Argentina, alongside Bolivia and Chile, is situated in the so-called "lithium triangle" where more than 70% of the world's lithium reserves lie beneath its salt flats and Edison's claims are centrally located within that triangle. The northern Argentine provinces of Salta, Catamarca and Jujuy are where lithium operations from incumbent and new developers are concentrated. Source: Fastmarkets

Mining secretary Maria Fernanda Avila told Fastmarkets in London (March 3, 2022): "President Alberto Fernandez and provincial governments are clear about their commitment to speed development of the country's lithium resources. Argentina aims to be a mining country."

Nathan Rotstein, CEO, commented: "Following the extensive period of formalizing Edison's acquisition of the Argentine claims in the Antofalla Salar, we are moving forward to carefully craft an optimal exploration plan for our vast claims. There is a current spotlight on Argentina for lithium discovery and we are moving quickly to identify potential lithium resources in order to take advantage of the growing demand for lithium chemistry as it relates to the heated EV sector."

About Edison Lithium Corp.

Edison Lithium Corp. is a Canadian-based junior mining exploration company focused on the procurement, exploration and development of cobalt, lithium, and other energy metal properties. The Company's acquisition strategy is based on acquiring affordable, cost-effective, and highly regarded mineral properties in areas with proven geological potential. Edison is building a portfolio of quality assets capable of supplying critical materials to the battery industry and intends to capitalize on and have its shareholders benefit from the renewed interest in the battery metals space.

On behalf of the Board of Directors:

"Nathan Rotstein"

Nathan Rotstein

Chief Executive Officer and Director

For more information please contact:

Tel: 416-526-3217

Email: info@edisonlithium.com

Website: www.edisonlithium.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Disclaimer: This news release contains certain forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Edison's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "target," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "potential," "continue," "is/are likely to" or other similar expressions. All information provided in this news release is as of the date of this news, and the Company undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

We seek Safe Harbor.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119228
Clearance of critical milestone expands capability for production of gene therapies, starting with Zolgensma





Basel, April 5, 2022 - Novartis today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted commercial licensure approval for its Durham, N.C. site, a multi-product gene therapy manufacturing facility. This approval allows the state-of-the-art, 170,000 square-foot facility to make, test and release commercial Zolgensma, as well as produce gene therapy product for current and future clinical trials.

The clearance of this milestone brings online the second commercially-licensed manufacturing facility for Novartis Gene Therapies, joining the Libertyville, Ill. site, which was approved for Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec) manufacturing and distribution in 2019. The Durham site will build on Novartis Gene Therapies' manufacturing capacity to form a two-site network, adding extensive segregated production suites for multi-product manufacturing.

"Bringing the North Carolina facility fully online reinforces the supply of Zolgensma and signifies the Novartis commitment to this critical advanced therapy platform," said Christine Fox, President of Novartis Gene Therapies. "Not only will this facility support the Novartis pipeline through the manufacture of both clinical trial and commercial products, it ultimately allows us to help more patients and families living with rare, genetic diseases."

The North Carolina facility is located in Research Triangle Park. Through close collaboration with the government and life sciences community, Novartis is contributing to this hub of innovation.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said, "The investment by Novartis Gene Therapies in Durham illustrates North Carolina's leadership in the life sciences industry, our talented workforce and extensive resources to support major companies. This commercial licensure approval places our state at the forefront of cutting-edge gene therapies and we're looking forward to continued collaboration with Novartis."

The North Carolina site's primary initial responsibility will be manufacturing Zolgensma, an essential one-time treatment for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The facility will begin producing and shipping the gene therapy across the U.S. immediately.

If left untreated in its most severe forms, SMA leads to death or the need for permanent ventilation by the age of two in more than 90 percent of cases.1,2 Approved in more than 40 countries, to date, more than 1,800 patients have been treated with Zolgensma globally, including in clinical trials, managed access programs and in the commercial setting.3

"Powered by our multidisciplinary teams and our pioneering technology, this milestone represents our ability to effectively manufacture and supply complex gene therapies at quality and scale," added Steffen Lang, Global Head of Novartis Technical Operations.

About Zolgensma

Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec) is the only approved gene therapy for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and the only SMA treatment designed to directly address the genetic root cause of the disease by replacing the function of the missing or non-working SMN1 gene to halt disease progression through sustained SMN protein expression with a single, one-time IV infusion. Zolgensma is now approved in more than 40 countries and more than 1,800 patients have been treated with Zolgensma globally across clinical trials, managed access programs, and in the commercial setting.3 Novartis Gene Therapies is unwavering in its commitment to reimagine the possibilities for children living with SMA and continues to evaluate Zolgensma across a robust clinical development program, as well as the investigational intrathecal administration of OAV101 in patients with later-onset forms of SMA.

Novartis Gene Therapies has an exclusive, worldwide license with Nationwide Children's Hospital to both the intravenous and intrathecal delivery of AAV9 gene therapy for the treatment of all types of SMA; an exclusive, worldwide license from REGENXBIO for any recombinant AAV vector in its intellectual property portfolio for the in vivo gene therapy treatment of SMA in humans; an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement with Genethon for in vivo delivery of AAV9 vector into the central nervous system for the treatment of SMA; and a non-exclusive, worldwide license agreement with AskBio for the use of its self- complementary DNA technology for the treatment of SMA.

About Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare, genetic neuromuscular disease and a leading genetic cause of infant death.1,2 Caused by the lack of a functional SMN1 gene, the most severe forms of SMA results in the rapid and irreversible loss of motor neurons, affecting muscle functions including breathing, swallowing and basic movement.4 Severity varies across a spectrum of types corresponding to the number of copies of the back-up SMN2 gene.5 The majority (>70 percent) of patients with two copies of SMN2 develop Type 1, the most common form accounting for 60 percent of cases.6,7 Type 1 is severe and, left untreated, leads to death or the need for permanent ventilation by the age of two in more than 90 percent of cases.1,2 Most patients (>80 percent) with three copies of SMN2 develop Type 2, accounting for 30 percent of cases.6 Left untreated, patients with Type 2 are unable to walk and will require a wheelchair, and more than 30 percent will die by age 25.8 Loss of motor neurons cannot be reversed, so it is imperative to diagnose SMA and begin treatment, including proactive supportive care, as early as possible to halt irreversible motor neuron loss and disease progression.9,10

About Novartis Gene Therapies

Novartis Gene Therapies is reimagining medicine to transform the lives of people living with rare genetic diseases. Utilizing cutting-edge technology, we are working to turn promising gene therapies into proven treatments, starting with our first approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). We are powered by an extensive manufacturing footprint, in capacity and expertise, enabling us to bring gene therapy to patients around the world at quality and scale. Novartis Gene Therapies OAV101 clinical development program represents a growing body of research in a range of patients with SMA, across ages, SMA types and incident and prevalent populations, investigating both intravenous and intrathecal formulations.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "may," "could," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "seek," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 108,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at https://www.novartis.com. (https://www.novartis.com)

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References

Anderton RS and Mastaglia FL. Expert Rev Neurother. 2015;15(8):895-908. Finkel RS, McDermott MP, Kaufmann P. et al. Neurology. 2014;83(9):810-7. Novartis. 2021. Q4 2021 Results Investor presentation [PowerPoint Presentation]. Available at: https://www.novartis.com/sites/novartis_com/files/q4-2021-investor-presentation.pdf. Accessed March 2022 (https://www.novartis.com/sites/novartis_com/files/q4-2021-investor-presentation.pdf.%20Accessed%20March%202022). Sugarman EA, Nagan N, Zhu H, et al. Eur J Hum Genet. 2012;20(1):27-32. Lorson CL, Rindt H, Shababi M. Hum Mol Genet. 2010;(15):111-8. Verhaart IEC, Robertson A, Wilson IJ, et al. Orphanet J Rre Dis. 2017;4;12(1):124. Feldkotter M, et al. Am J Hum Genet. 2002;70:358-68. Darras BT, Finkel RS. "Natural history of spinal muscular atrophy." In: Sumner CJ, Paushkin S, Ko CP, eds. Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Disease Mechanisms and Therapy, 2nd ed. London, UK: Academic Press/Elsevier;2017:399?421. Soler-Botija C, et al. Brain. 2002;125(7):1624-1634. Glascock J, Sampson J, Haidet-Phillips A, et al. J Neuromuscul Dis. 2018;5:145-158.

# # #

Novartis Media Relations

E-mail: media.relations@novartis.com (mailto:media.relations@novartis.com)

Anja von Treskow

Novartis External Communications

+41 79 392 8697 (mobile)

anja.von_treskow@novartis.com (mailto:anja.von_treskow@novartis.com)







Julie Masow

Novartis US External Communications

+1 862 579 8456

julie.masow@novartis.com (mailto:julie.masow@novartis.com) Erin Gardiner

Novartis Gene Therapies Communications

+1 773 655 1001 (mobile)

erin.gardiner@novartis.com (mailto:erin.gardiner@novartis.com)

Novartis Investor Relations

Central investor relations line: +41 61 324 7944

E-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com (mailto:investor.relations@novartis.com)
Newly formed platform, IWIFI plans to acquire 50% market share in future planning after its recent success. The platform targets to own 3C products for their user.

Petalling Jaya, Malaysia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - IWIFI is a platform for consumers with analysis and feedback to all internet and telecommunication companies in Malaysia. Jason Tai added, "IWIFI is a platform for consumers to have steady access to the internet and compare the prices and telecommunication services with just a simple click". The mechanism is all taken part in the website, whereby the user can hover on the forms and the site generates the desired plan that is suitable for the user.

By launching a compensation program, the platform had successfully helped reduce more than RM350,000 network expenses for the community and was rewarded with more than 1250 5-star Google reviews on the business profile. In addition, the company also had done a notable commitment by helping 1699 families through the same program.

In 2021, an inaugural award organized by the Asia Excellence Entrepreneur Federation (AEEF) nominated IWIFI as the winner of the 2021 top 4 honorary awards. The awards lists received were Asia Honesty Enterprise, Asian Honesty Entrepreneur, and Asian Honesty Product Awards. Recently, the platform also received Asia's Top 100 Honesty Brand because of being honored in three categories at the same night.

Despite tough competition from other telco giants, in 2021, IWIFI consistently improved by launching a mobile app. Through collaborations, the mobile app helps the user run internet speed tests conveniently. The app reported 146 good ratings on the App Store and Google Play Store respectively. Desmond Ang added "Aside from making the platform convenient to our customer, the launching app served the community by operating as the speed test comparison. It is not a diversion of our focus to help the community, but to strengthen the value of IWIFI to our loyal customers."

Desmond Ang said that "The reason why it is a success is because of our intention to help the community. Customers are able to check on the information of all internet companies in Malaysia allowing them to choose a suitable and valuable internet package". In addition, the platform provides an opportunity for all telco companies to speed up their services, and hike up the overall internet speed in Malaysia.

The honorary award winner set their future plans to own 3C products such as modem and router to their platform. According to the national statistics, Malaysia's electrical and electronics manufacturing contributed 16.9 percent from last year's figure. The founders said that the platform will acquire 50% market share in the future by providing service and knowledge to every resident.

Due to post COVID19 endemic, the tourism industry will be facing a high volume of travellers in the future. Jason Tai added "3C products will help travellers or even home based workers to get the benefit of purchasing our products for optimizing their internet speeds. We are strongly believe that 50% of the internet service market share can be acquired in the future"

For more information, read more on: https://www.iwifi.com.my

Website: https://www.iwifi.com.my

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iwifi.com.my

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwifi.com.my/

Whatsapp: https://api.whatsapp.com/send?phone=60108749192

Email: hello@iwifi.com.my

Media Contact:

Company Name: IWIFI Group Sdn.Bhd.

Contact Person: Jason Tai

Email: hello@iwifi.com.my

Website URL: https://www.iwifi.com.my

City: Petalling Jaya

State: Selangor

Country: Malaysia

Disclaimer: There is no offer to sell, no solicitation of an offer to buy, and no recommendation of any security or any other product or service in this article. Moreover, nothing contained in this PR should be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any investment or security, or to engage in any investment strategy or transaction. It is your responsibility to determine whether any investment, investment strategy, security, or related transaction is appropriate for you based on your investment objectives, financial circumstances, and risk tolerance. Consult your business advisor, attorney, or tax advisor regarding your specific business, legal, or tax situation. For more info, please contact brandnewsproject@gmail.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119292
Record revenues up 20% to 10.2 million

Cost control with a 3.3% increase in operating expenses

Positive annual net income of 0.3 million

Mallya's first commercial launches in selected countries

Acceleration of distribution and technology partnerships

Extremely strong 2022 outlook

Regulatory News:

BIOCORP (FR0012788065 ALCOR Eligible PEA-PME) (Paris:ALCOR), a French company specialized in the design, development, and manufacturing of innovative medical devices, today announces its annual results for the year ended on December 31, 2021, as approved by the Board of directors on April 4th

Eric Dessertenne, CEO of BIOCORP, commented: "2021 was another year of remarkable execution of our development plan. Despite the uncertainties related to the COVID crisis and the trade-offs within the major pharmaceutical companies, BIOCORP has achieved notable success in many fields. On the commercial front, new major international diabetes and insulin players have adopted our Mallya connected device in their patient monitoring arsenal, such as Roche Diabetes Care for the French market and, even more structurally, Novo Nordisk, the world leader in the sector. These agreements have completed BIOCORP's transformation from an R&D company to an advanced technology company. Mallya's stance has also led to technological agreements with the French company Diabeloop and the best applications dedicated to patient monitoring, such as Health2Sync and SocialDiabetes. While Mallya's diabetes applications have been identified as BIOCORP's focus for the coming years, our R&D and business development teams have also continued their efforts on other fronts. The alliance signed with Merck in the field of human growth hormone around Mallya, or the partnership with H&T Presspart for the marketing of our Inspair device, offer exciting development prospects, independent of the single diabetes market. Finally, the advances made by our Injay pre-filled syringe device now attest to the diversity of our product mix. More than ever, BIOCORP is recognized worldwide for its ability to provide miniaturized and customized connected solutions. This is evident in our financial performance. Our operating revenues, which are still based on research fees, grew by more than 20% last year. As for our net result, it has become positive again despite the high level of investment in R&D. The gradual increase in product sales by all our partners leads us to expect a very dynamic second half of 2022. More than ever, we want to share our optimism with the feeling that we are fully realizing our unwavering ambition: to offer patients, regardless of their pathology, a real improvement in their quality of life."

Key financial data on 12/31/2021

In 12/31/2021 12/31/2020 Sales 10 225 314 8 456 365 Other operating income 328 411 20 572 Total operating income 10 553 725 8 476 937 Operating expenses External purchase and expenses 417 781 693 659 Taxes, duties and other levies 3 944 614 4 040 766 Wages and expenses 5 051 671 4 442 016 Other operating expenses 1 002 252 905 822 Total operating expenses 10 416 318 10 082 263 Net operating income 137 408 -1 605 325 Net financial income -89 641 -155 923 Exceptionnal income 48 560 267 136 Research Tax Credit and Innovation Tax Credit 197 908 251 544 Net Result 294 234 -1 242 571 Closing cash position 1 845 602 4 971 939

Annual revenues reached 10,225K in 2021, up 20.9% compared to 2020 (8,456K) following the invoicing of services provided for in Merck and Novo Nordisk contracts.

reached 10,225K in 2021, up 20.9% compared to 2020 (8,456K) following the invoicing of services provided for in Merck and Novo Nordisk contracts. In 2021, other operating income amounted to 328.5K against 20.5K in 2020. This variation is mainly due to an increase in work in progress related to the registration of Mallya in the United States the billing of a service to Sanofi is contractually foreseen when this registration is obtained and to an increase in subsidies received.

Operating expenses reached 10,416K, up 3.3% compared to 2020, demonstrating good control of operating expenses.

reached 10,416K, up 3.3% compared to 2020, demonstrating good control of operating expenses. As a result of these factors, the operating result for 2021 is positive at 137.4K compared to a loss of 1 605K for 2020.

for 2021 is positive at 137.4K compared to a loss of 1 605K for 2020. The financial result for 2021 showed a net amount of (89.6K) compared to (155.9K) in 2020, mainly due to interest on the bonds loans.

for 2021 showed a net amount of (89.6K) compared to (155.9K) in 2020, mainly due to interest on the bonds loans. The exceptional result for the year amounts to 48.5K compared to 267K at 12/31/2020.

for the year amounts to 48.5K compared to 267K at 12/31/2020. BIOCORP benefited from CIR (Credit d'Impot Recherche) and CII (Credit Impot Innovation) for a total amount of 197,9K.

(Credit d'Impot Recherche) and (Credit Impot Innovation) for a total amount of 197,9K. Considering all these elements, BIOCORP shows a net profit of 294.2K against a net loss of 1,242K in 2020.

of 294.2K against a net loss of 1,242K in 2020. As of December 31, 2021, BIOCORP showed a cash position of 1,845.6K compared to 4,971.9K at 12/31/2020.

2021 highlights

Mallya's technological integration with digital applications developed by the Spanish company SocialDiabetes and the Taiwanese company Heath2Sync: opening new high-potential territories with more than 850,000 users.

Co-development agreement with Diabeloop in personalized diabetes management: integration of automated solutions with the market of insulin pens.

Commercial launch of Mallya in French pharmacies by Roche Diabetes Care: solution to better the daily life of diabetic patients.

Partnership agreement with Merck for the development of a specific version of Mallya dedicated to the injection of human growth hormone (upfront of 3 million).

Signature of a major contract with Novo Nordisk, a major player in diabetes worldwide, to develop a specific version of Mallya for its insulin pens.

Signature with H&T Presspart for the marketing of the Inspair device.

Outlook for 2022

Continued development of new generations of Mallya for industrial partners (Life Cycle Management) and continued expansion of its applications beyond diabetes.

- Increase in production capacity and target of 50,000 Mallya manufactured.

- Development and launch of new connected devices, particularly in the field of injection.

- Growth investments in software and cloud (data collection and processing) that will generate revenues. These services will support the sale of the devices developed by the Company.

- Continuation of the dynamic policy of strengthening the teams with about ten recruitments planned in 2022.

The 2021 annual financial report is available on the Company's website.

ABOUT BIOCORP

Recognized for its expertise in the development and manufacture of medical devices and delivery systems, BIOCORP has today acquired a leading position in the connected medical device market thanks to Mallya. This smart sensor for insulin injection pens allows reliable monitoring of injected doses and thus offers better compliance in the treatment of patients with diabetes. Available for sale from 2020, Mallya spearheads BIOCORP's product portfolio of innovative connected solutions. The company has 70 employees. BIOCORP is listed on Euronext since July 2015 (FR0012788065 ALCOR).

For more information, please visit www.biocorpsys.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220404005642/en/

Contacts:

BIOCORP

Jacques Gardette

Chairman of the Board

investisseurs@biocorp.fr

Eric Dessertenne

Chief Executive Officer

Marketing Communication Director

Sylvaine Dessard

rp@biocorp.fr

+ 33 (0)6 88 69 72 85

ULYSSE COMMUNICATION

Bruno ARABIAN

barabian@ulysse-communication.com

+33 (0)6 87 88 46 26

Nicolas DANIELS

ndaniels@ulysse-communication.com

+33 (0)6 63 66 59 22
NEARLY 1 000 inmates with mental illness are stuck at Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) centres across the country with the numbers continuing to balloon following delays by mental health boards to review their condition for possible release.

Drug and substance abuse has been attributed to the growing number of mental health related illnesses in the country. Bulawayo is facing a growing challenge of drug and substance abuse among its young with statistics indicating that Ingutsheni Central Hospital attends to at least 250 patients a month.

Lately, Zimbabwe has been experiencing an upsurge in drug abuse cases and most of those abusing the drugs are young people.

Against this background, Government has directed that all efforts must be made to address the supply of drugs.

President Mnangagwa, on National Youth Day in February, declared war against the menace and also announced the setting up of a fund to fight drug abuse. He also launched the National Anti-Drug and Substance Abuse Campaign.

In an interview yesterday, ZPCS Commissioner-General Moses Chihobvu said prison and correctional facilities are overwhelmed with an increasing number of mental health patients.

The ZPCS major mental health institutions are Mlondolozi at Khami Prisons in Bulawayo and Chikurubi Psychiatric Unit at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison in Harare.

The increasing number of mental health patients in our prisons is a cause for concern. Although we have a special board and mental tribunal board sitting to assess such people, they are actually doing it at a slow pace, he said.

The inmates fate lies in the hands of the mental tribunal board, as they are not eligible for amnesty in the absence of intensive assessment.

There are fears that a number of the inmates with mental illnesses might end up relapsing without hope of being released.

Comm-Gen Chihobvu said the swelling number of inmates is now straining the facilities and creating congestion.

We want these patients to be determined by the board as soon as possible because the number of patients continues to increase, which is now a worrying trend and our facilities are now strained. We are looking after around 900 patients in our prisons and in Harare alone at Chikurubi Maximum Prison we have 500 patients yet the carrying capacity is 150, he said.

The tribunal should take us seriously when it comes to this issue of mental patients.

The mental tribunal board which has the mandate to determine the release of these inmates through fitness evaluation, has been delaying sitting resulting in congestion at prisons as the numbers continue ballooning.

Section 68 of the Mental Health Act provides for the establishment of mental health hospital boards. The board of the institution is the first port of call where ones case is reviewed for possible release.

If satisfied that the patient can be released, it makes the necessary recommendations to the tribunal.

When the tribunal sits, it considers a patients case and then makes a final decision on whether to release the patient or order further detention.

Ms Netsai Matindike, a forensic psychiatric nurse (FPN) at Mlondolozi Mental Health Institution said there are 310 inmates who have been locked up at the facility awaiting competence evaluation by the mental tribunal board.

Currently, we have 300 males, 10 females at Mlondolozi and we are preparing for a special board that will be coming this week. Last year, the tribunal sat twice while the special board sat four times and by so doing, we managed to release 120 patients, she said.

Among those released last year include Ms Lesion Siziba, who had spent almost a decade at the institution awaiting competence evaluation by the mental tribunal board.

In 2020, Ms Siziba approached the Bulawayo Hight Court challenging her unjustified detention.

Ms Siziba committed infanticide in 2004 after suffering from post-natal depression.

In her court application citing VP Chiwenga, in his capacity as Health and Child Care Minister, Ms Siziba argued that she had recovered and now eligible for release. She sought an order compelling VP Chiwenga to set up a mental health board at the institution to review her condition for possible release.

Ms Matindike said 118 mental patients kept at the prison have since recovered and now eligible for release and reintegration into society.

We are expecting both the special and tribunal boards, to release about 116 males and two females who are due. We are busy preparing for the special board. The patients are responding well to our treatment and most of them are now mentally stable except for the newly admitted ones who still need time to be treated, she said. Chronicle
April 5, 2022

SBM Offshore is pleased to announce that Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), an affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corporation, has confirmed the award of contracts for the Yellowtail development project located in the Stabroek Block in Guyana. Under these contracts, SBM Offshore will construct, install and then lease and operate the ONE GUYANA FPSO for a period of up to two years, after which the FPSO ownership and operation will transfer to EEPGL. The award follows completion of front-end engineering and design studies, receipt of requisite government approvals and the final investment decision on the project by ExxonMobil and block co-venturers.

The Yellowtail development is the fourth development within the Stabroek block, circa 200 kilometers offshore Guyana. EEPGL is the operator and holds a 45 percent interest in the Stabroek block, Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds a 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds a 25 percent interest.

The FPSO ONE GUYANA's design is based on SBM Offshore's industry leading Fast4Ward program that incorporates the Company's new build, multi-purpose floater hull combined with several standardized topsides modules. The FPSO will be designed to produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day, will have associated gas treatment capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day and water injection capacity of 300,000 barrels per day. The FPSO will be spread moored in water depth of about 1,800 meters and will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude oil.

SBM Offshore is committed to work with Guyanese companies for work to be performed in Guyana and is preparing to further recruit and employ Guyanese engineers into the ONE GUYANA project team.

The turnkey phase of the project is executed by a special purpose company (SPC) established by SBM Offshore and McDermott. SBM Offshore holds 70% and McDermott holds 30% equity ownership in this SPC. The FPSO will be fully owned by SBM Offshore.



CorporateProfile

SBM Offshore designs, builds, installs and operates offshore floating facilities for the offshore energy industry. As a leading technology provider, we put our marine expertise at the service of a responsible energy transition by reducing emissions from fossil fuel production, while developing cleaner solutions for renewable energy sources.

More than 5,000 SBMers worldwide are committed to sharing their experience to deliver safe, sustainable and affordable energy from the oceans for generations to come.

For further information, please visit our website at www.sbmoffshore.com .

The Management Board

Amsterdam, the Netherlands, April 5, 2022

Financial Calendar Date Year Annual General Meeting April 6 2022 First Quarter 2022 Trading Update May 12 2022 Half Year 2022 Earnings August 4 2022 Third Quarter 2022 Trading Update November 10 2022 Full Year 2022 Earnings February 23 2023





For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations

Bert-Jaap Dijkstra

Group Treasurer and IR

Mobile: +31 (0) 6 21 14 10 17 E-mail: bertjaap.dijkstra@sbmoffshore.com Website: www.sbmoffshore.com

Media Relations

Vincent Kempkes

Group Communications Director

Mobile: +377 (0) 6 40 62 87 35 E-mail: vincent.kempkes@sbmoffshore.com Website: www.sbmoffshore.com

Market Abuse Regulation

This press release may contain inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

Disclaimer

Some of the statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements based on management's current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those in such statements. These statements may be identified by words such as 'expect', 'should', 'could', 'shall' and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The principal risks which could affect the future operations of SBM Offshore N.V. are described in the 'Risk Management' section of the 2021 Annual Report.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and performance of the Company's business may vary materially and adversely from the forward-looking statements described in this release. SBM Offshore does not intend and does not assume any obligation to update any industry information or forward-looking statements set forth in this release to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.

Nothing in this release shall be deemed an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities. The companies in which SBM Offshore N.V. directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this release "SBM Offshore" and "SBM" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to SBM Offshore N.V. and its subsidiaries in general. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies.

"SBM Offshore", the SBM logomark, "Fast4Ward", "emissionZERO" and "Float4WindTM" are proprietary marks owned by SBM Offshore.

Attachment
PERTH, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / In accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority's ("FCA") Listing Rule 9.6.1, today Centamin has submitted the 2022 Notice of Annual General Meeting (the "Notice") and the 2021 Annual Report and Accounts for the twelve months ended 31 December 2021 ("2021 Annual Report") to the National Storage Mechanism.

Both documents will shortly be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism and on the Company's website www.centamin.com.

The Notice, proxy form for the 2022 Annual General Meeting ("AGM") and related ancillary documentation have been mailed to shareholders.

2022 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The AGM is to be held on 10 May 2022 at The Royal Yacht, Weighbridge, St Helier, Jersey, JE2 3NF at 11:00am (BST). The business to be considered by shareholders at the AGM is set out in the Notice, which includes explanatory notes on each of the resolutions.

The last two annual general meetings have been held at the Company's registered office with the minimum physical attendance required to form a quorum, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, we ensured shareholders could continue to contribute to the meeting with an on-line voting facility and a webcast platform to raise questions. As at the date of the Notice, there are no restrictions in place in either the UK or Jersey and therefore an in-person AGM can be held.

While we would like as many shareholders as possible to attend our AGM, we appreciate this is not always possible. If you are unable to attend in person, your vote is important and if you want it to count,shareholders should complete and submit their votes online or complete and return the form of proxy to our registrars as soon as possible, and no later than 11.00am (BST) on 6 May 2022. Details of electronic voting instructions are set out in the Notice.

All resolutions for consideration at the AGM will be voted on a poll, rather than a show of hands, and all valid proxy votes cast will count towards the poll votes.

SHAREHOLDER QUESTIONS

We continue to value engagement with shareholders and if a shareholder would like to ask a question about the formal business of the Meeting, please email your questions to investor@centaminplc.com by 4:00pm (BST) on Friday, 6 May 2022. Alternatively, questions can be raised via the webcast platform, or in person for those attending the AGM, before and during the formal business, to be answered at the end of the meeting.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST PRESENTATION

The Company will host a conference call and webcast. Please find below the required participation details. A replay will be made available on the Company website.

To join the webcast: www.investis-live.com/centamin/62388fc2f1e36c0c00989782/fdlls

Please allow a few minutes to register.

Dial-in telephone numbers:

United Kingdom 0800 640 6441

All other locations +44 20 3936 2999

Participation access code: 138842

EXPLANATORY NOTE

For the purposes of complying with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule ("DTRs") 6.3.5R and the requirements imposed on issuers through the DTRs, the 2021 Annual Report, as submitted to the National Storage Mechanism, contains the following requlated information in unedited full text:

The principal risks and uncertainties facing the Company

Related party transactions

The Directors' responsibility statement in respect of the financial statements and directors' report contained in the 2021 Annual Report.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: please visit the website www.centamin.com or contact:

Centamin plc Alexandra Barter-Carse, Head of Corporate Communications Michael Stoner, Group Corporate Manager investor@centaminplc.com Buchanan Bobby Morse/ Ariadna Peretz/ James Husband + 44 (0) 20 7466 5000 centamin@buchanan.uk.com

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

-END

LEI: 213800PDI9G7OUKLPV84

Company No: 109180

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

SOURCE: Centamin PLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696073/Centamin-PLC-Announces-2021-Annual-Report-and-Notice-of-AGM
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - HomeServe plc (HSV.L) said it made very good progress in fiscal 2022, delivering an acceleration in performance compared to prior year, in line with expectations. The Membership business recorded global policy retention at 84%. North American Membership & HVAC reported a strong financial performance. The Home Experts unit was profitable for the first time on a full year basis, the Group noted. HomeServe said further detail on all its businesses will be provided in full year results on 24 May 2022. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Victrex Plc. (VCT.L), a supplier of high performance polymer solutions, announced Tuesday the appointment of Ian Melling as Chief Financial Officer and as an Executive Director of the Board with effect from July 4.



Melling, currently Senior Vice-President, Corporate Finance and R&D for medical technology company Smith & Nephew plc, will succeed Richard Armitage, who previously announced his plan to step down as CFO and from the Board on May 27.



In the intervening period, Mike Ward, Finance Director, who has been with Victrex for nine years, will assume the role of interim CFO.



Melling joined Smith & Nephew in 2006. He served as Senior Vice-President Group Finance for five years until October 2021, prior to his current role.



His other roles have included Vice-President Finance for Spine & Biologics in the USA. Prior to joining Smith & Nephew, he was an Audit Manager for Deloitte in London.



Commenting about Melling, Dame Vivienne Cox, Chair of Victrex, said, 'He is a commercially focused CFO, with listed company experience and a wealth of knowledge from an innovative global growth business. His background in Medical will also be beneficial for Victrex, as this is an end-market where we hold significant value and where we expect to see good growth over the years ahead.'







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STOCKHOLM, SE / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / Adverty AB (STO:ADVT)

Adverty AB (publ), the leading in-game advertising specialist, has appointed industry veteran Jonas Soderqvist as CEO, as it readies itself for its next phase of growth. Jonas will consolidate the team around a refreshed vision and enable Adverty to build upon past successes and ready itself for an incoming wave of interest in in-game ad executions.

Jonas' career has spanned two decades, including four years as director at PubMatic, a publisher-focused, sell-side platform featuring omni-channel revenue automation technology. During his time within the media industry he has driven sales and management for both publishers and sales houses, Mediakompaniet, MTV, Smartclip, Specific Media, YuMe, TV3 and Metro to name a few.

Having been on the Adverty board for the past two years, he says: "I have always followed Adverty closely - from a client point of view, from a platform point of view, from a board member point of view - and now as CEO. I'm so proud of all the progress made. Everyone in this company is always listening and learning. Now is the time to gather our forces together, to educate those in the industry about our tools and how to use them and to move forward as a team even more efficiently."

With over 3 billion gamers across the world, and global mobile gaming ad spend expected to hit $131bn by 2025, the in-game advertising business is drawing growing numbers of mainstream brands; its increasingly sophisticated ads yielding highly persuasive results.

For many games in Adverty's portfolio, time in-view exceeds 25 seconds per paid impression. In addition to significant brand exposure, clients typically find click-through rates in its In-Menu ads to be around ten times higher than the industry standard. Adverty's revolutionary, multi-patented ad viewability system also allows advertisers to translate CPM into cost-per-minute - an important KPI for brand advertising.

With in-game advertising under consideration by a swathe of new advertisers, Adverty is ready to show brands how to achieve the very best results with gaming inventory. In particular, Jonas aims to encourage more creative bravery from brands in order to help them tap into the enormous global audiences to be found here.

"Advertisers and brands have not yet fully grasped the true potential of the inventory that is out there," adds Jonas. "This is where we come in. All the conversations we have with brands and buyers show that appetite is there, but so is some fear around shifting budget from traditional channels. This is a mistake, given the enormous power of in-game advertising. That power is the reason some of our clients have now run more than 15 campaigns with us. Their results justify their confidence."

Joachim Roos, Chairman of the Adverty board, comments: "We are delighted to welcome Jonas as CEO. Having worked alongside him for the past two years, we know Jonas's expertise in this marketplace will help us and our partners to capitalise on the huge potential in this market. We are here to help advertisers and brands grasp that potential and to seize early adopter advantage. As forward-thinking brands start to invest in gaming, the possibilities for marketers to maximise creativity and add value to audiences are immense. Brands have at their disposal the opportunity to own this space. The time is now!"

For further information, please contact:

Anders Rossel, CFO

Phone: +46 70 867 00 20

E-mail: ar@adverty.com

About Adverty

Adverty, the leading in-game advertising platform, delivers seamless In-Play and In-Menu ads to connect brands and people through its revolutionary and patented technology built for games. The platform offers true in-game ad inventory at scale and allows content creators to monetise the complete experience with unobtrusive, easy-to-integrate, immersive ads. Founded in 2016, Adverty has offices in Stockholm, London, New York, Madrid, Helsinki, Istanbul and Lviv and works with advertisers, agencies and developers to unlock audiences and gaming revenue streams. More information at www.adverty.com.

Attachments

Adverty appoints Jonas Soderqvist as CEO as brands wakes up to the power of in-game advertising

SOURCE: Adverty AB

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696080/Adverty-Appoints-Jonas-Sderqvist-As-CEO-As-Brands-Wakes-Up-to-The-Power-of-In-Game-Advertising
PARIS, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Trakx , an emerging global fintech company providing thematic Crypto Tradable Indices ("CTIs") through its registered Tier-1 trading platform, today announced the launch of its new Interoperability Index . This new Interoperability Index selects tokens representing attractive opportunities in this rapidly growing sector and is now available to trade on the Trakx platform.

"It seems inevitable that we are heading towards a multi-chain world where various blockchains will each specialise in a particular field. As a result, we're also witnessing the rise and growth of interoperability technologies that allow cross-chain communications," said Lionel Rebibo, CEO and co-founder of Trakx. "Our new Interoperability Index enables investors to gain exposure to this fast-growing sub-sector in the digital assets space. Further, it helps investors diversify their investment across quite promising future technologies in the market."

Interoperability protocols and tokens - which refer to the ability for different blockchain protocols to communicate and exchange data through bridges - are expected to see significant growth in 2022 and the years to come. Interoperability is seen as a critical component for Web3 to drive mass adoption and unlock its true potential.

Trakx Interoperability CTI replicates the performance of the leading Interoperability tokens including Polkadot, Cosmos Network, Chainlink, Quant, Thorchain, Icon and Horizen. The asset allocation is weighted in the index based on each company's market capitalisation.

More information on the Trakx Interoperability Index can be found here .

About Trakx

Trakx is a global fintech company creating new standards for digital asset investments. Through our trading platform, we offer thematic Crypto Tradable Indices (CTIs) and customised solutions, providing sophisticated investors a high degree of compliance, custody and liquidity. Trakx is registered with the French regulator (AMF). For more information, please visit us online at www.trakx.io .
Award-winning learning technology Automated Feedback aims to drive student success through artificial intelligence in higher education

AMSTERDAM, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FeedbackFruits has released an enhanced version of Automated Feedback, an award-winning AI-powered pedagogical tool designed to scale personalised feedback on academic writing. In its newly released version, the tool is helping higher education institutions worldwide save instructors' time and drive student autonomy.

Automated Feedback harnesses artificial intelligence to increase the quality of students' written assignments and stimulate deeper learning while freeing up time for teachers to provide in-depth feedback. The tool enables students to receive lower-order formative feedback on their academic writing skills within their LMS.

The idea for the tool was conceptualised in 2018, when Wilco te Winkel, Information Manager of Erasmus University, expressed the need for AI in teaching and learning to the FeedbackFruits team. This sparked an "Edtech DoTank" collaboration between Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, and FeedbackFruits to develop the tool. The first iteration of Automated Feedback was launched in 2019 and has since been supporting higher education worldwide.

The enhanced version offers 27 criteria across six key components of academic writing that equip educators with the full autonomy to optimise their assignments based on their specific needs. With detailed student analytics, teachers can timely detect the pain points and promote student learning, thus deepening the learning experience.

Wilco te Winkel emphasised the tool's capacity for facilitating meaningful feedback: "Automated Feedback is an important first step in providing students timely, personalised feedback on academic writing at scale, an important skill that is hard and expensive to teach. With the support of this software, educational institutions can now afford to allow students to develop this skill earlier during their studies, and on a more frequent basis."

For Joost Verdoorn, Head of Product at FeedbackFruits, the launch marks an exciting chapter in the company's story of driving effective pedagogy: "It took us several years and nearly 100,000 annotations, but Automated Feedback is ready to reliably support educators worldwide in developing their students' skills. The pedagogical collaboration at the core of this process has made it possible for our Artificial Intelligence to centre educators, allowing them to be the drivers in transforming education."

Since its first iteration, the tool has saved time for over 150 teachers. With thousands of student feedback received, the tool retained a quality assessment of 4 out of 5. In December 2021, while still in its beta version, the tool became the Silver Winner in the Artificial Intelligence Category of the Reimagine Education Awards.

About FeedbackFruits

FeedbackFruits is an EdTech scale-up based in Amsterdam whose mission is to drive student engagement while increasing teacher productivity. The platform encompasses a range of learning activities such as self & peer assessment, online discussion, and team-based learning. The company is currently supporting over 100 institutions worldwide with 80+ employees.

For more information, press only: marketing@feedbackfruits.com

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Fusion shown with projectile approach for first time, validated by UKAEA

Breakthrough achieved faster and cheaper than traditional fusion approaches

Unique target approach offers simpler pathway to low-cost fusion energy using existing plant technology

Projectile approach enables a high-margin consumables business model with an addressable market in the hundreds of billions

OXFORD, England, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- First Light Fusion (First Light), the University of Oxford fusion spin-out, today confirms it has achieved fusion. The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has independently validated the result.

This is the first time fusion has been achieved using the unique targets developed by First Light, and the corresponding projectile technology. First Light's mission is to solve the problem of fusion power with the simplest machine possible. Projectile fusion is a new approach to inertial fusion that is simpler, more energy efficient, and has lower physics risk. First Light has achieved fusion having spent less than 45 million, and with a rate of performance improvement faster than any other fusion scheme in history.

Business & Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said:

"First Light Fusion's British-born technology could potentially revolutionise power production in the coming decades. That is why this government is investing in UK science and innovation, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of the global scientific endeavour to make safe, clean, limitless fusion energy a reality."

Projectile fusion offers a simpler, cheaper, faster approach to fusion

Fusion is the phenomenon which powers the sun. The challenge is to control the complexities involved in replicating this process to produce a clean, abundant but also commercially viable source of power.

First Light is taking a unique projectile fusion approach to solve this challenge, which it believes offers the fastest, simplest and cheapest route to commercial fusion power. This means that instead of using complex and expensive lasers or magnets to generate or maintain the conditions for fusion, First Light's approach compresses the fuel inside a target using a projectile travelling at tremendous speed. The key technology in First Light's approach is the target design, which focuses the energy of the projectile, imploding the fuel to the temperatures and densities needed to make fusion happen.

To deliver this fusion result, First Light used its large two-stage hyper-velocity gas gun to launch a projectile at a target, containing the fusion fuel. The projectile reached a speed of 6.5 km per second before impact. First Light's highly sophisticated target focuses this impact, with the fuel accelerated to over 70 km per second as it implodes, an increase in velocity achieved through our proprietary advanced target design, making it the fastest moving object on earth at that point.

A key step towards a projectile fusion power plant

First Light's power plant design involves the target being dropped into the reaction chamber and the projectile launched downwards through the same entrance, so it catches up with and impacts the target at the right moment [see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW4eufacf-8 for visual representation].

The impact is focused and amplified by First Light's advanced target technology, and a pulse of fusion energy is released. That energy is absorbed by the lithium flowing inside the chamber, heating it up. The flowing liquid protects the chamber from the huge energy release, sidestepping some of the most difficult engineering issues in other approaches to fusion. Finally, a heat exchanger transfers the heat of the lithium to water, generating steam that turns a turbine and produces electricity.

First Light's equipment is relatively simple, built in large part from readily available components. First Light believes this approach accelerates the journey towards commercial fusion power as there is a large amount of existing engineering that can be reused to realise its proposed plant design.

A consumables business model and competitive LCOE

With this simpler approach that reuses existing technology, peer reviewed analysis[1] conducted by First Light shows that projectile fusion offers a pathway to a very competitive Levelised Cost Of Energy ("LCOE") of under $50 / MWh, directly competing on cost with renewables. This would make it the most cost competitive source of baseload power.

First Light's approach, centred around the sophistication of its target design, will also enable it to pursue a high value-added consumables business model (i.e. mass manufacture of the targets themselves), where it will partner with power plant operators and become the fuel provider in the form of the targets.

First Light believes this focus not just on the science, but also its future business model, presents another important point of difference, showcasing not just the environmental but also the commercial benefits of First Light's approach to fusion power.

UKAEA validation

The UK Atomic Energy Authority ("UKAEA"), an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was invited to analyse and validate First Light's fusion results before these were officially made public. The process included independent modelling of the detector configuration and response, review of all calibration data for both types of neutron detector used, review of the processing and statistical analysis of the data, full physical access to all detection equipment for hands-on inspection, and the witnessing of a fusion shot. This work has taken place over a period of over three months and UKAEA is able to confirm there is evidence that First Light has produced neutrons that are consistent with those produced from the fusion of deuterium fuel.

Next Steps

Plans for a "gain" experiment (more energy out than in) are advancing at pace. First Light expects to also partner with existing power producers to develop a pilot plant using its unique fusion approach. First Light is working towards a pilot plant producing ~150 MW of electricity and costing less than $1 billion in the 2030s. First Light is working with UBS Investment Bank to explore strategic options for the next phase of its scientific and commercial development.

Dr Nick Hawker, co-founder and CEO of First Light Fusion said:

"Our approach to fusion is all about simplicity. Being simple, we believe projectile fusion is the fastest path to commercially viable power generation from fusion. We aim for simplicity in the power plant engineering, but we also want to make the fusion process itself as simple as possible. The key technology is our target designs. As objects, these are very complex, but the physics is simpler than other fusion approaches; it can be understood and simulated accurately. With this result we have proven our new method for inertial fusion works and, more importantly, we have proven our design process. The design used to achieve this result is already months out of date. As soon as we reach the maximum with one idea, we invent the next, and that incredible journey of discovery is what is so exciting."

Steven Chu, Jerry Chittenden, Richard Dennis, Richard Garwin, Sir David King, Arun Majumdar, Andrew Randewich, Steven Rose and Ron Roy, members of First Light's Advisory Boards* said:

"We congratulate the First Light team on reaching this significant milestone. We have watched first hand as they have advanced along this path to fusion. First Light's target designs are remarkable, and the team's ability to accurately simulate and thus optimise their performance gives them an invaluable tool on the path to gain. That journey will undoubtedly involve many hurdles, but in reaching fusion, First Light's technology has shown its merit."

Professor Yiannis Ventikos FREng, Kennedy Professor, Head of Department for UCL Mechanical Engineering, and co-founder of First Light said:

"While achieving fusion in the lab is a tremendous success in its own right, the context is equally important. True to First Light's rigorous scientific approach, this result is supported by strong and continuously evolving computer modelling. This capability sheds light, in exquisite detail, into the processes that generate these neutrons. Such tools are in daily use by First Light's scientists, helping design unique targets, launchers and amplifiers, navigating the challenging path towards gain and a first-of-a-kind reactor. This pursuit of practical and affordable fusion will give us the clean and abundant baseload power that we so desperately need in our effort to address - and hopefully reverse - global warming."

Bart Markus, Chairman of First Light Fusion, said:

"By focusing on an approach to fusion which is both simpler and cheaper than other fusion technologies, we believe we have identified a genuine route to commercial fusion, with a view to meeting not just vital scientific milestones, but also to develop a sustainable business model. Our unique target technology enables a business model based on consumables, which differentiates us from all other fusion technologies. This includes the manufacture and distribution of the targets themselves, using partners for the plant development largely borrowing from existing technologies. Our focus on the business model is equally important: fusion must show it is more than an expensive science experiment, but that it can be a commercial solution to the challenge of producing baseload clean energy"

Ian Chapman, UKAEA chief executive, said:

"Fusion promises to be a safe, low carbon and sustainable part of the world's future energy supply, and we support all advances in this scientific and engineering grand challenge. These results are another important step forward, and we are impressed that First Light have arranged independent analysis of their result."

FUSION FACTS

First Light has shown the most rapid progress on fusion triple product of any project in the history of fusion

The number of neutrons produced is low, around 50, however, this matches the predicted yield exactly

The speed of the projectile is 6.5 kilometres per second, which is 14,500 miles per hour

The fuel implodes at over 70 kilometres per second, over 6 times escape velocity

The fuel is compressed to a pressure of 10 Terapascals, which is 100 million atmospheres, higher than the pressure in the centre of Jupiter

The fuel capsule within the target is a few mm in size

When it fuses, the fuel has been compressed down to less than 100 microns in size, smaller than the thickness of a human hair

Our targets boost the pressure of impact by over 20 times

In a power plant the process would be repeated every 30 seconds

In a power plant, each target would release enough energy to power the average UK home for over 2 years

The need for fusion

Global power demand is expected to double by 2040 and could increase fivefold by 2060 when new technologies enable the electrification of a wider range of applications, particularly important at a time of ongoing global energy insecurity and in the broader context of achieving critical net zero goals as part of collective efforts to address climate change.

First Light commissioned research concluded that 19,900 TWh per year could be generated from wind and solar globally by 2040. This is an 8-fold increase on today but is still less than half of the projected requirement.

So while the rapid and maximum deployment of renewables is key to achieving the 2050 Paris target, in several parts of the world wind and solar power alone will not be able to meet projected energy demand, opening up a market for clean baseload power to complement renewables.

To mitigate the impact of climate change a large global market for baseload clean power will open up to complement renewables and that is where fusion energy will play a key role.

For more information, please contact:

First Light Fusion Ltd

Gianluca Pisanello

Chief Operating Officer

+44 (0) 1865 807 670

UBS Investment Bank (Financial Adviser)

David James

+44 (0) 20 7567 8000

Sandip Dhillon

Powerscourt Group (Public Relations Adviser)

Peter Ogden

+44 (0) 7793 858 211

firstlightfusion@powerscourt-group.com

Images available at www.firstlightfusion.com

About First Light Fusion

First Light Fusion was spun out from the University of Oxford in 2011 to address the urgent need to decarbonise the global energy system. First Light's inertial confinement approach aims to create the extreme temperatures and pressures required for fusion by compressing a target using a hypervelocity projectile. First Light's approach to fusion energy, which is safe, clean, and virtually limitless, has the potential to transform the world's energy system. Unlike existing nuclear, there is no long-lived waste, no meltdown risk, and raw materials can be found in abundance. First Light's investors include Oxford Science Enterprises (formerly OSI) and IP Group plc.

* Advisory Boards members:

Steven Chu , the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular & Cellular Physiology at Stanford University , 12 th U.S. Secretary of Energy and Nobel Prize winner (Physics, 1997);

, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular & Cellular Physiology at , 12 U.S. Secretary of Energy and Nobel Prize winner (Physics, 1997); Jeremy Chittenden , Professor of Plasma Physics at Imperial College;

, Professor of Plasma Physics at Imperial College; Richard Dennis , formerly Global Director of Research and Development for Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd;

, formerly Global Director of Research and Development for Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd; Richard L. Garwin , IBM Fellow Emeritus at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center;

, IBM Fellow Emeritus at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center; Sir David King , former UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser from 2000 to 2007;

, former UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser from 2000 to 2007; Arun Majumdar , the Jay Precourt Professor at Stanford University ;

, the Jay Precourt Professor at ; Andrew Randewich, Director of Science, Engineering and Technology at AWE

Steven Rose , Chair in Plasma Physics at Imperial College;

, Chair in Plasma Physics at Imperial College; Ronald Roy , Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Head of Department, Department of Engineering Science at University of Oxford .

Important notices in relation to financial adviser

UBS AG London Branch is authorised and regulated by the Financial Market Supervisory Authority in Switzerland. It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom. UBS AG London Branch is acting as financial adviser to First Light Fusion and no one else. In connection with such matters, UBS AG London Branch will not regard any other person as its client, nor will it be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to such matters, the contents of this Announcement or any other matter referred to herein.

[1] Published in October 2020 in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1780490/First_Light_Fusion_16.jpg
COGNAC, France, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hennessy, the leading Cognac Maison and the premium spirits brand leader (#1 in value worldwide in 2021), is proud to support the newly introduced Hennessy Golden Vines Diversity Scholarship in Spirits, in partnership with the Gerard Basset Foundation and Liquid Icons.

This scholarship (worth 55,000), will help cover loss of earnings from participating in a 12-month internship program at Hennessy, and all examination costs for WSET Level 3 in Spirits. This scholarship is open to all aspiring wine & spirits professionals, from all minority groups.

Lewis Chester DipWSET of Liquid Icons and Head of Fundraising at the Gerard Basset Foundation commented: "We are delighted that as prestigious a spirit's brand as Hennessy has decided to join us to support a ground-breaking new scholarship program for students from a minorities background looking to study for and enter the world of spirits at the highest level in the industry. Our partnership bodes well for making the spirits sector a welcoming environment for minority communities globally."

Applications via https://liquidicons.com/work/hennessy-golden-vines-diversity-scholarship-in-spirits for the Hennessy Golden Vines Diversity Scholarship in Spirits are now open and close on Sunday 5 June 2022.

Scholarship Description

The winner of the Hennessy Golden Vines Diversity Scholarship in Spirits will be granted up to 55,000 financial allowance to cover loss of earnings during a 12-month internship program at Hennessy in Cognac. The internship program will provide experience in various departments at Hennessy, including in Education & Training, winemaking, distillation, and final assemblage of Eaux-de-Vies. The scholarship winner will acquire a rare, immersive, and thus valuable understanding and knowledge on Hennessy and the making of Cognac. The winner will also commit to take the exam of WSET Level 3 in Spirits. As part of the internship program, Hennessy will provide an extra study week to prepare for the exam, as well as 3-days leave immediately prior to the date of the exam.

NB: Candidates need to have basic French conversational capability, and therefore French language lessons may be required before joining (the costs of which will be included as part of the funding scheme).

Press contact: Andrea Borrmann, DM Media - andrea@dmmediapr.com

www.hennessy.com - PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1779958/Hennessy_Logo.jpg
Milestones include increased use of renewable energy sources, U.S. EPA Safer Choice product certifications, and more offerings to renovate rather than replace flooring surfaces

Bona, a global, sustainably-driven company that supplies products for installing, renovating, maintaining and restoring premium floors, today released the results of its 2021 Sustainability Report. The report highlights Bona's most significant sustainability milestones for the year focused on its commitment to betterment for home, health, and humanity.

"Our commitment and responsible approach to the environment, people and society has remained steadfast for more than 100 years," said Kerstin Lindell, Chair of the Board, Bona AB. "This past year presented some challenges, including supply chain and raw materials shortages, yet Bona stayed flexible and focused. Thanks to our fantastic team, our promise to deliver the best products and systems to our customers never wavered and we continue to identify more sustainable solutions. The ability to quickly shift, work together, and develop products and offerings despite changing market conditions has been key to our success."

Sustainable development on the agenda

In 2021, Bona made some significant investments in its commitment to a sustainable future. The first was the introduction of an electric truck to Bona's transportation fleet in Limburg, Germany. The electric truck will contribute to lower nitrogen dioxide levels in the city of Limburg and to global decarbonization. In Sweden, Bona invested in a geothermal system that will provide Bona's Malmo facility with geothermal energy offsetting 20 percent of the yearly energy use at the facility. Another significant milestone last year was the purchase of 26,000-square-meters of land to build a new facility in Monroe, North Carolina, USA. The project, which will be completed in 2022, supports more efficient operations and increased internal capabilities allowing Bona US to operate in a more environmentally friendly way.

Bjorn Johansson Global Environmental Manager at Bona, said, "We continue to take important steps forward by increasing our use of renewable energy, smarter materials and packaging that uses less virgin plastic, and exhaustively researching new and better ingredients for our products. While we still have work to do, 2021 was a year where we made good progress."

Highlights of the year

Bona's core offering encourages care, maintenance, and renovation of hard flooring surfaces such as wood and resilient rather than replacing these materials thereby safeguarding the earth's finite resources. In 2021 Bona produced finishes, stains, and sealers to cover more than 43 million square meters of wood flooring, saving a forest area equal to approximately 32 million square meters. By not cutting down the forest, the same number of trees encapsulates 28,917 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), calculated as 9-ton CO by hectare and year.

Also in 2021, Bona initiated the use of 90 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) material in its microfiber pads designed for the Bona Spray Mop and Bona Microfiber Mop. Aligning to the company's goal to use less virgin plastic, this shift is helping divert over 217 tons of plastic waste from being incinerated or going to landfills.

In the autumn of last year, Bona received the Safer Choice Partner of the Year Award from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its work innovating better ingredients in its floor cleaning solutions. Since becoming a Safer Choice partner in 2020, Bona has certified 13 products, six of which were certified in 2021.

Other key facts

Additional notable facts from Bona's 2021 Sustainability report include:

Five years ago, Bona moved its adhesive product from buckets to a tube packaging called "sausages." In 2021 Bona reduced its environmental footprint by using sausages rather than buckets and over the past five years Bona has avoided using more than 258,000 buckets which is a carbon savings of 243,281 kg.

An innovative ergonomic tool was launched 2021 as a new addition to the Bona FlexiSand Pro System. The Bona ErgoEdge is a machine attachment that allows flooring contractors to achieve smooth, efficient sanding in corners and edges of a floor without kneeling or bending by attaching to an existing, standing machine. This innovation saves time and offers a more ergonomic experience for the contractor all while providing a premium floor sanding experience.

In 2021 Bona released several new products all of which were formulated with Bona's commitment to greener chemistry including amplified formulas of its Bona Hardwood Floor and Bona Hard-Floor cleaning solutions. The formulations are water-based, biodegradable, meet the U.S. EPA product standards, and are Safer Choice Certified.

Since 2016, Bona has collaborated with Hand in Hand, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that fights poverty with grassroots entrepreneurship, to increase the quality of life for three villages in India. With the organizations Village Upliftment Program, Bona's partnership has helped improve living conditions for women and children through education and the creation of new jobs.

About the framework of Bona's 2021 Sustainability Report

For the fifth year in a row, Bona reported the company's sustainability work in accordance with Swedish law and standards. The 2021 Sustainability Report aligns to the UN Sustainability goals and summarizes the sustainability information in the four areas of environment, social conditions, personnel and respect for human rights and the fight against corruption. View the full report at bona.com/sustainability

About Bona

Bona is a family-owned, sustainably driven company that supplies products for installing, renovating, maintaining and restoring premium floors. Founded in 1919, Bona was the first in the industry to offer a full system of waterborne hardwood floor finishing and floor care products. Today, Bona offers products for most premium floor surfaces including wood, tile, vinyl, resilient, rubber and laminate. Bona's turnover is 3.1bn SEK (EUR 307 million) 2021. The head office is in Malmo, Sweden, and the company is represented globally by its 17 subsidiaries, 70 distributors, 4 production units and 600 employees. For more visit www.bona.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005107/en/

Contacts:

Heather Lindemann Bona

+1 (800) 872-5515

heather.lindemann@bona.com
ZIMBABWE has clocked a year without a second Vice-President after Kembo Mohadi resigned in March last year following a sex scandal.

The post of the second VP was created following the 1987 Unity Accord between Zanu PF and former ZIMBABWE PF Zapu.

Since then, the country has had two VPs.

But former VP Joice Mujuru once served alone from 2009 to 2014 following the death of Joseph Msika from the ex-PF Zapu side.

Presidential spokesperson George Charamba yesterday said he could not comment on when President Emmerson Mnangagwa would appoint a second VP.

Constitutional lawyer and National Constitutional Assembly leader Lovemore Madhuku said there was no law that bound the President to appoint a second VP.

The President has not breached any part of the Constitution by not appointing a second VP. The 1987 Unity Accord is irrelevant in the appointment of the VPs because it is a private contract between Zanu PF and PF Zapu. That cannot be enforced using the laws of Zimbabwe, he said.

But political analyst Methuseli Moyo said there was grumbling among ex-Zapu cadres over failure to fill the position.

The way Mohadi was induced to resign was very suspicious, and the amount of time it has taken to replace him, or reappoint him makes the issue more suspicious, Moyo said.

No doubt Mohadi is bitter, and his fellow ex-Zapu colleagues are anxious about what befell him, and who will succeed him. The way ED came into power makes him indebted to a lot of people who made it happen. He wants those harbouring ambitions to come out. It plays to his advantage to keep everybody anxious and hoping.

Another analyst Effie Ncube said: Mnangagwa has never been a believer in the Unity Accord. Remember, he led from the front in the persecution of the PF Zapu members and in the commission of the Gukurahundi genocide in the 1980s.

The second VP was architecture of the Unity Accord that was imposed as a result of the genocide. He is painstakingly destroying the constitution of Zanu PF while drifting back to the Zanu of the 1970s. Newsday
FAIRFIELD (dpa-AFX) - Air France-KLM (AFRAF.PK) said its Board of Directors has selected to enter into exclusive negotiations with CFM International for the acquisition of LEAP-1A engines to power its new fleet of Airbus A320neo and A321neo. CFM International already provides engines to the Group for its Boeing 737 NG and Airbus A320ceo fleets. The Group's decision follows its order, announced last December, for 100 Airbus A320neo family aircraft to renew the fleets of KLM and Transavia Netherlands, and to renew and expand the fleet of Transavia France. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
PARIS (dpa-AFX) - ING Group (ING) announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Boursorama, a subsidiary of Societe Generale, to offer services to retail customers of ING in France. The contract allows ING customers to join Boursorama and benefit from a simplified account opening process and exclusive offers. The deal also includes the transfer to Boursorama of 'assurance-vie' investment products contracts, for which ING acts as a broker with Generali Vie. Meanwhile, home loans and consumer loans are not included in the agreement and the portfolio will continue to be managed by ING. The company said the deal follows ING's announcement in December 2021 to exit the French retail banking market. ING's aim is to finalise this exit by the end of 2022. The bank will continue its Wholesale Banking activities in France, with a focus on strengthening its position and the ambition to be the go-to bank for sustainable finance. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
BARCELONA, Spain, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- EBS once again will host a jam-packed convention with some of the biggest names in the global drinks industry over three days Guests include; Ian Burrell, Charlotte Voisey and Giacomo Gianotti, plus our esteemed partners Hennessy, Hendrick's and Patron.

Instructors and key influencers will congregate in Mallorca for a weekend of training and workshops, to share new methods and trends allowing them to connect and learn.

Highlights include; training on new flavours and techniques, a tequila- pairing dinner with Patron, and our annual speed-bartending competition. Plus, we are excited to announce that Global Rum Ambassador, Ian Burrell, is our latest recruit to join the EBS Board of Education

A legend in the world of rum, Ian was voted 10th most influential person in the World Drinks industry by Drinks International in 2020, and has transformed the brand ambassador landscape since he started out.

Ian will share his deep knowledge and enthusiasm while discussing his new rum section for the EBS compendium. He is joined by our other illustrious board members, world-renowned gin connoisseur and Global Head of Ambassadors for William Grant & Sons, Charlotte Voisey, and Giacomo Gianotti, founder of Bar El Paradiso and expert mixologist, who will attend virtually.

EBS partners Hennessy, Hendrick's and Patron are also here to ensure it's not all 'work, work work', and will host sundown beach parties, tequila-pairing and chill-out brunches to ensure everyone is refreshed and ready to continue with the hard work.

Don't miss the opportunity to see the best and brightest at work, helping to set the path for the future of hospitality!

"In an ever-evolving industry - it's imperative at EBS that we train our trainers.

"The EBS convention elevates and improves our alignment and contribution to the drinks business, ensuring we remain at the forefront of bartending education"

- Gavin Wrigley, Head of Education, European Bartender School

Website: https://www.barschool.net/

Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1778626/EBS_1_Infographic.jpg

Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1778627/EBS_2_Infographic.jpg
Funding to support vHive's vision to digitize enterprise assets and expand operations globally

NEW YORK and LONDON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- vHive , a software solution that enables enterprises to deploy autonomous drone hives to create Digital Twins of their assets, announced today that it has secured $25 million in Series B funding. The funding round is led by PSG, a leading growth equity firm partnering with software and technology-enabled services companies to help accelerate their growth. Previous investors Octopus Ventures and Telekom Innovation Pool (TIP), Deutsche Telekom's strategic investment fund advised by DTCP, also participated in the round. Ronen Nir, Managing Director at PSG, has joined vHive's board of directors.

vHive's software platform is built with its customers' journey in mind, providing end-to-end solutions that enable organizations to autonomously capture data using drones to create Digital Twins of their assets, such as cell towers, cranes, and structures. Its AI and computer vision algorithms were built on comprehensive data and hands-on field experience with global top-tier customers to deliver performance and capabilities that vHive believes are hard for others to replicate. The company believes its ability to connect the physical and the digital world provides enterprises with a new way to digitally transform their field assets, visually access information, and rapidly reach actionable business insights.

PSG's investment in vHive aims to further accelerate the company's expansion of its global customer base and enable the company to scale up operations in key markets, as well as to enter new ones. The investment is also intended to help bolster vHive's enterprise digitization platform market leadership and product offerings, which include autonomous drones, data analytics, computer vision, and AI, and fuel the development of new solution capabilities for key markets.

"We believe vHive has built one of the industry's most advanced and comprehensive digitization solutions, and we are excited to seek to replicate our success in the telecom and crane markets in new market verticals," said Yariv Geller, CEO and Co-Founder of vHive. "We are thrilled to partner with seasoned investors who share a common vision to advance the company's mission, extend its reach, and scale its customer base."

"vHive's solutions for capturing and digitizing physical assets have enabled the company to build a reputation as a strong partner of choice for top-tier enterprises going through digital transformation - a global trend that is sweeping through multiple industries. Its customers can experience measurable success using vHive's solution, impacting their operations and workflows," said Nir. "We have been impressed with the company's rapid growth and are excited to propel it to the next level."

About vHive

vHive is a global leader of Digital Twin software solutions. vHive accelerates enterprises' continuous digital transformation, enabling them to make better decisions based on accurate field data, analytics, and insights. vHive is a leading software solution that enables enterprises to deploy autonomous drone hives to digitize their field assets and operations. vHive is making an impact in a variety of industries by seeking to dramatically cut operational costs, generate new revenue opportunities and boost employee safety. Learn more at www.vHive.ai.

About PSG

PSG is a growth equity firm that partners with software and technology-enabled services companies to help them navigate transformational growth, capitalize on strategic opportunities and build strong teams. Having backed more than 95 companies and facilitated over 375 add-on acquisitions, PSG brings extensive investment experience, deep expertise in software and technology and a firm commitment to collaborating with management teams. Founded in 2014, PSG operates out of offices in Boston, Kansas City, London, Paris, Madrid and Tel-Aviv. To learn more about PSG, visit www.psgequity.com.

Contact:

Sharon Imber, CMO

vHive

Sharon@vHive.ai

Jackie Schofield

Prosek Partners for PSG

jschofield@prosek.com

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Chief executives from Labat and CSIR agree on accelerating cannabis and hemp processing for energy, automotive, textile, packaging and construction products

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a landmark event for the global cannabis industry, Labat Africa Limited has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with South Africa's central research and development organisation, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The agreement will set in motion the production and processing of cannabis and hemp at accelerated rates not yet seen in Africa.



The MOU is another step towards building the cannabis giant - newly listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange - into a global player, as it has been acquiring stakes and securing partners on three continents.

Brian van Rooyen, Labat's Group Chief Executive, said the agreement will solidify co-operation between the CSIR and Labat across the value chain of cannabis and hemp production for industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to textiles. "The CSIR wants to commercialise medicinal cannabis and gain traction on the industrial side of hemp production and processing."

Van Rooyen added that by industrialising cannabis and hemp production, Labat will be able to meet global demands. "Our clients in Australia and in Europe see the value in our cannabis as it is suitable for processing into goods ranging from hempcrete to skincare products."

The MOU allows for the use and upgrade of the CSIR's Coega hemp processing facility, the acceleration of hemp biomass and waste into energy applications, and the beneficiation of bio composites and biopolymers for the automotive, textile, construction and packaging industries.

It also includes production and processing of cannabis for medical purposes; active pharmaceutical ingredient research, development and production; the proliferation of Labat's wellness range; and further development of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and other compounds using the technology innovation platform FuturePHARMA.

The collaboration will focus on producing some of the fast moving consumer goods among the 25,000 established hemp-based products, which can create as many as 20,000 jobs in South Africa.

Industrial hemp is currently worth US$4.9-billion (R71-billion) globally and is projected to grow to US$18.6-billion (R269-billion) by 2027. South Africa's share will be worth R28-billion by that time. "The producers that are around do not have the technological and financial means to grow to meet global demands. The MOU paves the way towards creating a larger, more sophisticated hemp industry," said van Rooyen.

MOU ties into Labat's latest moves in industry

The agreement comes off a spate of activity by Labat as it continues to expand its influence across the industry. "We want to be involved in almost every part of the cannabis value chain, from genetics to retail and dispensary," says Herschel Maasdorp, Labat's Group Executive for Business Development.

Sweetwaters, which Labat had acquired last month, comprises a team of highly skilled geneticists, breeders, growers and researchers. They are producing high quality cannabis for clients in Australia and Europe as well as for local dispensing to medicinal patients through the Biodata research project.

Biodata has also started research on medical cannabis as an opioid replacement for pain management. The research was approved by the pharma-ethics committee of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority in June last year.

Other major moves transforming Labat into a global player include:

100% acquisition of the US-based CBD lifestyle brand Echo Life





100% acquisition of African Cannabis Enterprises (ACE)





Obtaining rights to distribute American pre-rolled hemp smokable brand, Ace & Axle, throughout Africa for 10 years





Establishing international joint ventures for the purposes of large scale Industrial hemp processing





Listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in December 2021





Addressing government, private sector and major industry role players on the economic benefits of the plant at the Cannabis Europa Berlin Leaders Series in Germany later this year.



"Our company's vision is to be the number one cannabis company in Africa. With all of the acquisitions and agreements over the last two years, combined with the focus on increasing revenues, building efficiencies and creating a sustainability model for all subsidiaries, we are certainly on a profitable and value-creating path," said van Rooyen.



Editorial contact:

Lebo Madiba

PR Powerhouse

lebo@prpowerhouse.co.za
EASTLEIGH, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / i3 Energy plc (AIM:I3E) (TSX:ITE), an independent oil and gas company with assets and operations in the UK and Canada, is pleased to advise that an updated Investor Presentation is available on its website: https://i3.energy/investors/reports-presentations-media/

END

Enquiries:

i3 Energy plc Majid Shafiq (CEO) / Graham Heath (CFO) c/o Camarco Tel: +44 (0) 203 781 8331 WH Ireland Limited (Nomad and Joint Broker) James Joyce, Darshan Patel Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666 Tennyson Securities (Joint Broker) Peter Krens Tel: +44 (0) 207 186 9030 Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) Ashton Clanfield, Callum Stewart Tel: +44 (0) 20 7710 7600 Camarco Owen Roberts, James Crothers, Violet Wilson Tel: +44 (0) 203 781 8331

Notes to Editors:

i3 Energy is an oil and gas Company with a low cost, diversified, growing production base in Canada's most prolific hydrocarbon region, the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and appraisal assets in the North Sea with significant upside.

The Company is well positioned to deliver future growth through the optimisation of its existing 100% owned asset base and the acquisition of long life, low decline conventional production assets.

i3 is dedicated to responsible corporate practices and the environment, and places high value on adhering to strong Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") practices. i3 is proud of its performance to date as a responsible steward of the environment, people, and capital management. The Company is committed to maintaining an ESG strategy, which has broader implications to long-term value creation, as these benefits extend beyond regulatory requirements.

i3 Energy is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol I3E and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ITE. For further information on i3 Energy please visit https://i3.energy/.

This announcement does not contain inside information.

This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

SOURCE: i3 Energy PLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696082/i3-Energy-PLC-Announces-Investor-Presentation
RIDDLE&CODE Energy Solutions, a 50:50 joint venture between Wien Energie and RIDDLE&CODE, has joined the 2Tokens consortium as a founding member for the Energy Token working group. After having been an associated partner since 2020, the company's decision to become an active contributor is a consequent step on its path to developing an international service portfolio.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005131/en/

The main goal of the collaboration is to turn 2Tokens into the leading European consortium in the industrial blockchain and finance space, representing and supporting the most relevant projects. "We have proven the technical and economic viability of tokenizing energy assets in several individual projects at the regional level. Now it is time to think on a larger scale. The token standards being developed at 2Tokens will most likely have a decisive impact on the future standards of the European energy market," says Kai Siefert, the newly appointed managing director of RIDDLE&CODE Energy Solutions.

"The joining of a true pioneer such as RIDDLE&CODE Energy Solutions will significantly strengthen European collaboration in the tokenization sector," underlines Alex Bausch, Executive Chairman of 2Tokens. "RIDDLE&CODE Energy Solutions plays an important role in the adoption of tokenization technology in commercial projects with interoperable banking grade solutions. Our working groups on the EURO stable coin and Energy Tokens are paramount to the joint mission for mass adoption of token technology in the energy industry.

Next steps: Apart from driving things forward in the 2Tokens working groups, leading 2Tokens members, as well as the RIDDLE&CODE group companies, will discuss commercial partnerships in the areas of Custody of Digital Assets, Tokenization platforms and blockchain hardware research. "For critical infrastructures and in order to turn our European values of democratic governance and the Rule of Law into efficient backend solutions, we need infrastructure that is secure from end-to-end. Crypto hardware anchors will play a key role in this, and that's why 2Tokens is excited to have RIDDLE&CODE joining as the leading European blockchain interface company," says Jos Roling, Captain of the Energy working group.

About RIDDLE&CODE Energy Solutions

RIDDLE&CODE Energy Solutions provides the blockchain-powered infrastructure that enables resilient, decentralized and fully decarbonized energy markets. With the development of the MyPower platform, the company has shown an effective way for energy players to move into the machine economy. By tokenizing energy, machines, and data, RIDDLE&CODE Energy Solutions significantly increases the liquidity of distributed assets, making them easily accessible to broad investor segments, while their output can be traded and tracked with unprecedented transparency and security.

More information about MyPower: www.riddleandcode.com/energy

About 2Tokens

2Tokens has the ambition to raise awareness, stimulate relevant discussions, and bring together knowledge/expertise to reduce the barriers to the adoption of tokenization and help realise wider social benefits. The mission of 2Tokens is to formulate a guide, as part of a larger vision, for any type of organisation that wants to leverage token technology. It aims to come to a shared understanding of token finance and, as such, is a public-interest initiative supported by a diverse community of technology companies, policymakers, financial advisors, banks, and legal regulatory experts and academia. 2Tokens is a non-profit organisation funded in part by the European Union and Industry partners with the endorsement of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, government and several industry players.

More information: www.2tokens.org

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005131/en/

Contacts:

Natasa Gudelj

natasa.gudelj@riddleandcode.com
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The 30-acre Integrated Clinical Wellness Complex in Kozhikode will be built using modern, sustainable technology, ensuring a positive impact on the community.

KOZHIKODE, India, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In a unique ceremony, Tourism Minister of Kerala, P.A. Mohamed Riyas launched the much-awaited comprehensive clinical wellness resort brand 'Tulah' in Calicut. He launched it by playing a bamboo gong along with KEF Holdings Chairman Faizal Kottikollon and KEF Holdings Vice-Chairperson Shabana Faizal. The foundation stone laying of the project's second phase also took place. Zambia Consul General Duncan Moulima and Bollywood star Suniel Shetty attended the event.

"Institutions introducing Ayurveda introduce Kerala itself," said Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas, adding that the government will support companies expanding wellness tourism throughout Kerala.

"I believe this will be a feather in the cap of God's Own Country. Tulah means balance, which is something elusive, something you have to create. I'm sure this team will help us create that balance," said Suniel Shetty.

The idea is to learn from nature, harmonize traditional and modern medicine practices towards better health, build healthy relationships with communities, and learn to apply these practices every day, towards a peaceful coexistence. The project combines clinical and wellness services with the expertise of traditional Ayurveda, yoga, Tibetan medical practices, sound healing, sports, rehabilitation, healthy nutrition, and holistic living academy with state-of-the-art medical expertise from Meitra, KEF Holdings' flagship hospital, said Mr. Faizal.

The first phase of the project will begin by March 2023 and will be fully operational by March 2024. The project will strengthen state tourism by attracting people from the GCC, Europe and South Asia. It will directly employ over 400 people. It plans to launch similar clinical wellness resorts in the UAE and Southeast Asia.

The facility rests with a comprehensive healthcare program that includes clinical wellness, spa services, physical fitness activities, wellness education and healthy cuisine. The project envisions an eco-friendly ecosystem featuring a solar power park, tree plantations, high-tech organic farming, water technology, composting and radiant cooling instead of air-conditioning. A team of international architects and designers, including KEF designs, KKD, LAMI and SquareM, designed the space.

The resort, located at Chelembra, near Kozhikode Airport, will have 130 rooms, of which 50 rooms will commence operations by March 2023. The property will have a 44,000-square-foot swimming pool and a Michelin Star Restaurant with a farm-to-table concept.
Regulatory News:

M6 Metropole Television (Paris:MMT):

The Shareholders of the company are invited to attend the Combined General Meeting to be held on April 26, 2022, at 9:00 am, at the Cinema Le Village, 4 rue de Chezy, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine.

The preliminary notice of meeting, including the agenda and the presentation of the proposed resolutions, was published in the BALO dated March 18, 2022. Notice of meeting will be published in the journal of legal announcements les Petites Affiches on April 6, 2022.

Documents mentioned in Article R.225-83 of the French Commercial Code will be made available to Shareholders starting from the notice of meeting and posted on the Company's website.

In accordance with the current legislation:

Registered shareholders can, until the 5th day (included) before the Annual Meeting, request supply of the said documents, including by the way of an electronic mail. For bearer shareholders, the exercise of this right is subject to the presentation of a certificate of attendance in the bearer share accounts kept by the duly empowered intermediary.

All shareholders can consult these documents at the Company's headquarters.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005652/en/

Contacts:

INVESTOR RELATIONS

Guillaume Couturie +33 (0)1 41 92 28 03 guillaume.couturie@m6.fr
THE Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) has appointed Mr Academy Bvumayi Chinamhora as its acting secretary.

In a statement, ZMC board chairperson Prof Ruby Magosvongwe said Mr Bvumayis appointment is from April 1.

Following the December 2021 Board of Commissioners resolution to retire Dr Tafataona Mahoso in early 2022 because he would have reached pensionable age, we hereby congratulate Mr Academy Bvumayi Chinamhora for being appointed the ZMC acting secretary with effect from 1st April 2022, said Mr Magosvongwe.

We look forward to working well with Mr Chinamhora in his role.

The ZMC secretary reports to and services the board in addition to being in charge of the ZMC operations, including actively engaging in pertinent issues affecting the ZMCs Constitutional mandate and helping find solutions.

Mr Chinamhora is the current ZMC manager responsible for research, training and development, a position he has held since 2012.

He holds an undergraduate degree in Politics and Administration from the University of Zimbabwe obtained in 1987.

Mr Chinamhora also holds a Masters Degree in International Relations.

He worked in Information, Posts and Telecommunications from 1992 to 2002 after which he joined the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe before joining the MIC in 2006, which transformed into ZMC in 2009 as a Constitutional body upholding Constitutionalism and democracy through the media. Herald
Attackers Caught Using Email Credentials of C-Level Executives

CAMBRIDGE, England, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Darktrace, a global leader in cyber security AI, today announced that its Autonomous Response technology, Antigena, successfully stopped an in-progress ransomware attack that recently targeted a financial services company in South Africa.

The company, a growing firm providing various financial services to customers across South Africa, was trialing Darktrace AI when it was targeted by a ransomware attack. The AI technology had formed a unique understanding of the company's 'normal' behavior across its digital estate so it could spot the subtle signs of a threat and fight back at machine speed.

In the early morning hours in mid-March 2022, Darktrace AI detected that a mail server within the company was making unusual HTTP connections to an external endpoint, indicating communication with a malicious server on the internet. Equipped with an understanding of the organization's 'normal' operations, the AI instantly identified that this behavior was abnormal and potentially threatening.

The compromised mail server subsequently attempted to perform reconnaissance and lateral movement. Attackers were using 11 employees' credentials during the incident, including those belonging to C-level executives. Following this, additional machines in the organization began communicating with the malicious external server.

Darktrace's Autonomous Response technology then took action to interrupt further communication with the malicious server on the internet across the organization, while allowing the previously learned, regular behavior of machines to continue. The response was targeted and proportionate, avoiding disruption to normal business operations. After the attack was contained, the company's security team and dedicated Darktrace experts were able to conduct a full investigation to ensure that the attack was fully contained.

"The speed and scale of ransomware attacks today makes it absolutely critical that organizations are armed with technology capable of interrupting in-progress, sophisticated attacks without relying on humans to take the sledgehammer out and interrupt wider business operations in the incident response process," commented Max Heinemeyer, VP of Cyber Innovation, Darktrace. "It is inevitable that attackers will strike, often out-of-hours, and stories like these elucidate the power of handing over the keys to AI as the first responder to maintain business as usual while freeing up human teams to focus on high-level work like strategy and cyber hygiene."

About Darktrace

Darktrace (DARK:L), a global leader in cyber security AI, delivers world-class technology that protects over 6,500 customers worldwide from advanced threats, including ransomware and cloud and SaaS attacks. Darktrace's fundamentally different approach applies Self-Learning AI to enable machines to understand the business in order to autonomously defend it. Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, the company has more than 1,700 employees and over 30 offices worldwide. Darktrace was named one of TIME magazine's 'Most Influential Companies' for 2021.

Media Contacts
New additions to the company's leadership bring specialist capabilities and deep expertise as Micreos Pharmaceuticals continues to ramp up its pharmaceutical organisation

Micreos Pharmaceuticals today announces the expansion of its leadership team to include Trine Ahlgreen as Chief Business Officer and Carsten Edwards as Chief Development Officer. Their significant leadership experience within large, global pharmaceutical organisations will enable Micreos to accelerate the journey of developing viable alternatives to traditional antibiotics in select medical indications by leveraging proprietary endolysin technology, which selectively targets and kills harmful bacteria while preserving the rest of the microbiome.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005632/en/

Micreos Pharmaceuticals welcomes Trine Ahlgreen and Carsten Edwards to its executive team. (Photo: Business Wire)

The addition of Trine Ahlgreen and Carsten Edwards to the senior team represents an important step forward in building the strategic capabilities to make the right choices in the months and years ahead.

As Chief Business Officer, Trine Ahlgreen is responsible for building-out the pharmaceutical business strategy including commercial input into the development program and the selection prioritisation of new indications where bacteria are the underlying pathogen. She will also be responsible for forging partnerships with pharma and diagnostic companies to design the go-to-market strategies and deliver solutions to improve patient standards-of-care. Trine has spent the last 20 years at Novo Nordisk in various geographies leading marketing and sales operations across the company's portfolio.

Carsten Edwards brings 30 years of diverse experience in value, access, pricing, and health economics outcomes functions across companies including Novo Nordisk, AbbVie, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Carsten has also worked in consultancy and is a recognised expert in drug development and the data packages required to secure global patient access. As Chief Development Officer, Carsten will lead Micreos Pharmaceuticals' entire drug development programs, including pre-clinical, analytical methods development, API manufacturing, and drug formulation development, to optimise therapeutic effect and to maximise patient outcomes

"We are delighted to expand our senior team at this critical moment in the Micreos

Pharmaceuticals' journey and to attract people of the calibre of Carsten and Trine into our organisation. They are among the very best people in our industry," said Matt Regan, CEO of Micreos Pharmaceuticals, who joined the company in October 2021. "Trine and Carsten bring significant pharmaceutical industry experience, success, and know-how that will help us to make the right choices in early drug discovery and in our pharmaceutical development programs to ensure that we are raising the standards of care for patients in our selected disease areas."

About Micreos Pharmaceuticals

Micreos Pharmaceuticals develops new biological therapies based on the targeted killing of unwanted bacteria, which has medical potential in a broad range of applications. The company is viewed as a global leader in this field. Its proprietary endolysin technology has been created together with the Swiss Federal Technology Institute, ETH in Zurich.

Micreos Pharmaceuticals is located in Zug, Switzerland and has a Drug discovery Technology research centre in Zurich, Switzerland with a Drug development Clinical operation in Bilthoven in the Netherlands.

About Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

AMR is an issue of growing global importance which results in 750,000 deaths per year. It occurs when pathogens adapt so that the drugs used to treat infections become less effective. If not addressed, the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens could continue to rise, leading to highly dangerous superbugs. The number of annual global deaths from AMR is projected to increase to 10 million by 2050 which is more people than die globally of cancer today unless successful alternatives to antibiotics are developed.

Micreos Pharmaceuticals intends to play a very significant role in addressing AMR and the great unmet medical need for a safe alternative to antibiotics.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005632/en/

Contacts:

Melanie Stinn, Head of Corporate Communications

m.stinn@micreos.com

+49-151-2126-1437
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- WEDA is a leading online management software provider in French healthcare. To take early disease discovery to a new level, it joined forces with the French subsidiary of the Slovenian company MESI, Ltd. This is the developer of the MESI mTABLET - a digital solution combining diverse diagnostic measurements, patient records and medical apps. The two systems have been successfully integrated, so the MESI mTABLET measurements can now be ordered from the WEDA software and instantly stored into WEDA patient files.

Some of the biggest healthcare challenges today are the use of separate diagnostic equipment and incompatible medical software solutions. WEDA, a leader in medical management software in France with over 15,000 users, and MESI, Ltd., an innovator in digital diagnostics, interconnected their systems to change that in French healthcare.

MESI mTABLET offers diverse diagnostics like ECG, spirometry, oximetry, blood pressure, ABI and TBI on one device. For example, its MESI mTABLET ABI helps detect Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). This cardiovascular condition has a high mortality rate, but 70% of patients are without symptoms. MESI's innovation shortens the measurement of the Arm-Brachial Index (ABI, an indicator of PAD) to 1 minute. This could make an important difference because PAD is estimated to affect over 2 million in France.

To make a diagnostic measurement, the health professional clicks on the appropriate icon on their WEDA software. An inquiry is instantly sent to the MESI mTABLET, the measurement is performed and the measurement report is automatically available in the WEDA patient record.

"Easy integration with digital solutions like WEDA, used in national health systems, is one of the main aims of MESI products. This is what healthcare digitalisation is all about: early disease discovery and reduced administrative workload," says Jakob Susteric, CEO of MESI, Ltd.

About the company:

MESI, Ltd. is an innovative European company that develops and produces medical devices for diagnostic purposes. It focuses on digitalising medical assessment to simplify diagnostics and help discover diseases early. One of their solutions is the MESI mTABLET - a system combining 1-minute smart wireless ABI, a flexible pulse oximeter, fully digital ECG, wireless TBI, a blood pressure monitor for immediate readings, and a spirometer with real-time animated flow-volume curve.

CONTACT: Manca Ursic Rosas, +386 1 620 34 87, manca@mesimedical.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1778739/MESI_WEDA.jpg
Following successful completion of the joint development project - the manufacturer will promote an innovative digital printing system.

The printing system will include a unique 2.5D layer printing algorithm - all with Nur Ink's water-based pigment environmentally-friendly inks and manufacturer's substrates

ROSH HA'AYIN, Israel, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nur Ink Innovations Ltd (TASE: NURI) which engages in research and development of various types of water-based and environmentally friendly pigment inks for diverse digital printing technologies and applications, announces that it has signed a JDA (Joint Development Agreement) with one of the world's largest manufacturers of substrates for the wide-format digital printing industries.

Moshe Nur, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Company: "This is the start of an extremely significant & strategic move for us as the project includes entering a new multi-billion-dollar market with a double-digit CAGR. I am thrilled with the acceptance of our innovative products and technology - following hard work and a successful POC which demonstrated our water-based pigment inks' ability to print in layers to create a 2.5D structure which is both visible and can be felt by hand. This JDA is with one of the world's largest and leading companies in the field of substrate manufacturing for the wide-format digital printing industries. Following a successful completion of the joint development project Nur Ink will provide the ink to the manufacturer, who, in turn, will promote it as its own branded product as part of a turn-key digital printing system.

About the Company:

Nur Ink Innovations Ltd. was founded by Mr. Moshe Nur and is engaged in research and development of various types of unique & innovative water-based, green and environmentally friendly pigment inks.

The pigment inks developed by the Company are intended for use in several applications, technologies & markets and may be applied in inkjet digital printing technology directly on to various types of textiles, including pre-dyed dark synthetic fabrics: wide-format digital Inkjet printing of wallpapers, billboards, posters, advertising banners, etc. In addition, the Company is developing the SoftJet product - a jettable pre-treatment substance for the preparation and softening of fabrics before digital printing - a product that contributes to savings of approx. 35% in power consumption and approx. 40 liters of water consumed in the softening stage per square meter of printed fabric. All types of inks developed by the Company are environmentally friendly and do not contain toxic substances.

The Company's business model is based on both OEM and White Label, with the Company's products being offered to companies manufacturing digital printers, which will sell the Company's products as their own.

As of today, the aggregate value of the markets targeted by Nur Ink Innovations is around $23 billion with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of around 19%.

Press contact:

Eliav Priel

Email: eliav@nur-ink.com

Mobile: +972 (54) 3277271

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1780509/Nur_Ink_Innovations_Ltd_Logo.jpg
Thales strengthens its status as a cybersecurity leader with the creation of a new Security Operations Center on the African continent, based in Morocco.

This operations center provides Moroccan and African administrations and businesses with effective supervision resources in the field of cybersecurity.

Increasingly targeted by cyber-attacks, the continent's businesses witnessed a rise in risk exposure during the pandemic with a broader field of attack.

Thales is opening a new Cyber Security Operations Center (SOC) in Morocco, the sixth in its international network. This center will provide real-time protection against cyber-attacks in the country and across the African continent as a whole.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005113/en/

@Thales

The digital transformation of African societies, as illustrated by the extensive use of mobile payments across the continent, and the rise in teleworking due to the health crisis, have had a major impact on Africa's vulnerability to cyber-attacks. While businesses, administrations and individuals are becoming increasingly connected, this trend must be accompanied by an increase in the level of protection in order to tackle the multiplication and sophistication of attacks. Outside the financial sector, all sectors are affected, including the most important ones, such as government services but also water distribution, energy and telecommunications.

Furthermore, a new legal framework is driving African businesses to equip themselves with a means of supervision in the field of cybersecurity. Thales, which is already present in Morocco, is thus strengthening its cyber expertise on the continent.

The SOCs combine 24/7 threat detection and analysis capabilities and deliver responses in compliance with the country's cybersecurity infrastructure and policies. There are six SOCs located in Canada, France, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and now Morocco, and they currently form an international network operating according to the "follow the sun" model which offers continuous support to more than a hundred clients around the world, with an unequaled level of responsiveness and flexibility.

"Thales is proud to be able to strengthen its expertise and know-how in the field of cybersecurity in Morocco. The launch of this SOC demonstrates the Group's aspirations to support the development of security facilities in Africa, while closely matching its customers' needs. As well as our analysis capacities, we offer businesses access to a hybrid consultancy and monitoring solution for their activity, thus demonstrating our commitment to fostering skills and autonomy over the long term", Hicham Alj, Managing Director of Thales Morocco.

Thales offers its customers more than 20 years' expertise in the field of cybersecurity, in particular SOC solutions, combined with an extensive portfolio of solutions: cyber auditing and consulting, integration of cybersecurity solutions developed by Thales as well as solutions from leading publishers, and simulation of Penetration Testing and Red Teaming attacks.

In Africa, the Group supports its customers in ensuring compliance with regulations and technical processes, assessing cyber risks and their level of maturity, investigating and anticipating cyber crises and neutralizing complex attacks.

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies, investing in digital and "deep tech" innovations connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum technologies to build a confident future crucial for the development of our societies. The Group provides its customers businesses, organizations and governments in the defense, aeronautics, space, transport, and digital identity and security domains with solutions which help them fulfill their critical role, with the individual being the driving force behind all decisions.

Thales has 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2021, the Group posted a turnover of EUR 16.2 billion.

VISIT

Thales Group

Cybersecurity Operational Center Thales Group

The original source-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the source-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005113/en/

Contacts:

PRESS CONTACT

Thales, Media Relations

Tarek Solimane

tarek.solimane@thalesgroup.com

Thales, Media Relations

Marion Bonnet

marion.bonnet@thalesgroup.com

+33 6 60 38 48 92
SODANKYLA, FINLAND / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / FireFox Gold Corp. (TSX.V:FFOX)(OTCQB:FFOXF)("FireFox" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on winter drilling at its wholly-owned Mustajarvi and Jeesio Projects. This report includes a summary of results from three more diamond core holes at Mustajarvi and seven core holes at the Utsamo and Saittavaara targets at Jeesio. In total, these news holes constitute 2,157 metres (m) of drilling.

The results from the Phase 5 drill program at Mustajarvi included holes totaling 2,337m. The results from four earlier holes were announced in a Company news release dated January 25, 2022. The objectives of this program were to better define the controls on the bonanza grade mineralization in the Northeast Target and to test magnetic and structural features at the East Target to determine if a robust mineral system extends into that area (see Figure 1: https://bit.ly/3LDBUq2).

The three holes reported today include new gold intercepts around the high-grade zone in the Northeast Target and a very shallow new gold intercept in the East Target. At the East Target, a new hybrid drill rig intercepted gold associated with disseminated and vein pyrite in altered tuffites coming quite close to surface (22MJ003). Two new holes offsetting the high-grade zone in the Northeast Target (22MJ001 and 22MJ002) also encountered significant gold mineralization, confirming the northeast strike and southeast dip of the en echelon vein system.

Highlights of Phase 5 2022 Drilling at Mustajarvi

Drill hole 22MJ003 returned 4.4m averaging 6.35 grams per tonne (g/t) of Au from 13.6m down hole, including 0.8m at 25.93 g/t Au ;

from 13.6m down hole, including ; Drill hole 22MJ001 returned multiple narrow intercepts of 5.76 to 15.92 g/t Au, including 1.9m averaging 8.96 g/t Au from 149.8m downhole, including 1.0m at 14.5 g/t Au ; and 1.0m at 8.09 g/t Au from 164.3m downhole; and 1.25m at 8.32 g/t Au from 180.0m downhole, including 0.6m at 15.92 g/t Au; and 1.35m at 5.76 g/t Au from 203m downhole;

Drill hole 21MJ002 intersected the high-grade zone up dip to the west in a narrow interval of 0.6m averaging 5.98 g/t Au from 154.3m downhole, as well as several narrow intercepts of 1.06 to 1.86 g/t Au shallower in the hole.

The early-stage drilling at the Jeesio Project did not return significant gold intercepts, but the structural zone at the Utsamo Target continues to return encouraging evidence of faulting, alteration, and anomalous geochemistry.

"Drilling along the strike of the inferred mineralization on both the East Target and Northeast targets at Mustajarvi has not only confirmed the continuation of gold mineralization within the controlling structures but also aided in defining their orientation," commented Carl Lofberg, President and CEO of FireFox. "This information will help us target additional potential high-grade gold mineralization in future drill programs. We are very excited to see the results later in the spring when we focus the drill rig on the wide open, shallow mineralization at the East Target and on the new targets in the gabbro to the southwest of the permit."

The drilling program has moved on to FireFox's Sarvi Project. However, further drilling is planned at Mustajarvi later this spring. New drilling will focus on the East Target and new targets in the southwest part of the permit. The East Target has now yielded multiple intercepts of strong gold mineralization that are open in all directions.

Mustajarvi Project and Drill Program Details

The Mustajarvi Project lies along the highway between the cities of Kittila and Sodankyla, approximately 17 kilometres (km) east of Kittila. The property straddles the Mustajarvi Shear Zone (MSZ), a major right-lateral shear zone that has associated second and third-order structures that further dissect the project into separate structural zones. The Sodankyla Group rocks, which are primarily to the north of the shear zone in the footwall, include metamorphosed sedimentary and volcaniclastic rocks. Geophysics and drilling have identified an extensive corridor of albite - sericite alteration in the footwall along more than 2km of the structure. The project remains at an early stage as FireFox and predecessor companies have only drilled approximately 9,357 metres to date.

FireFox's structural model identified repetitive dilatant zones along the MSZ where vein swarms and higher-grade gold are concentrated. Three main areas of gold mineralization have been identified along a 2.1-km segment of the MSZ, namely the Central Zone, the Northeast Target, and the East Target. The Central Zone and Northeast Target both host bonanza grade gold associated with clusters of veins in the footwall of the shear zone and are separated by more than 700m. The Northeast Target hosts the best drill intercepts to date including drill holes 21MJ001 and 21MJ010, which both returned high-grade intervals equivalent to approximately 150 gram-metres of gold (expressed as gold grade * thickness of mineralization) (see Company news releases dated June 17 and September 9, 2021). The East Target was first identified in the phase 4 drill program when two holes were drilled based on the new structural model, and both intersected modest shallow gold-mineralized intervals (see Company news release dated August 17, 2021). The East Target represents the third zone of dilation along the MSZ predicted by structural model.

Within the East Target area, hole 22MJ003 was collared about 750m northeast of the high-grade zone and 55 m to the northwest of the previously released drill hole 21MJ015 (refer to Company news release dated January 25th, 2022). This hole was a test of a new light hybrid drill rig designed for BOT sampling but having the capability to drill cost-effective diamond core to approximately 25m depth.

This test was a success, resulting in a core hole completed to a depth of 19.8m that intercepted lithology and mineralization similar to that found in 21MJ015. Gold was hosted in strongly altered and kaolinized intermediate tuffite metavolcanics with vein and disseminated pyrite mineralization. The best interval in the hole was 6.35 g/t Au over 4.4m (including 0.8m at 25.93 g/t Au) from 13.6 metres down hole. This shallow intercept is considered significant as all four holes in the East Target have intercepted gold mineralization, which remains open in all directions (Figure 1: https://bit.ly/3LDBUq2).

In the Northeast Target area, drill holes 22MJ001 and 22MJ002 were collared in the vicinity of the bonanza grade mineralization in order to confirm and extend its strike. Drill hole 22MJ001 was collared 20m northeast of 21MJ010, and drill hole 22MJ002 was collared 10m to the west-southwest from 21MJ010.

Both of these drill holes encountered the extensive alteration system cut by multiple quartz-carbonate-tourmaline-pyrite (QCTP) veins with significant gold grades (see Figure 2: https://bit.ly/3u7J14g). Based on apparent strike, dip, depth, and vein mineralogy, the team is confident that these intercepts confirm continuity of the high-grade zone, even though grade and thickness vary, as previously reported. The strongest gold intercepts come from 22MJ001, including: 1.9m averaging 8.96 g/t Au starting 149.8m downhole, which includes 1.0m at 14.50 g/t Au; 1.0m at 8.09 g/t Au from 164.3m downhole; 1.25m at 8.32 g/t Au from 180.0m downhole, including 0.6m at 15.92 g/t Au; and 1.35m at 5.76 g/t Au from 203.0m depth. This hole extends the mineralized zone by approximately 12m to the east-northeast from high-grade intercepts in 21MJ010.

Drill hole 22MJ002 was collared 10m to the west-southwest from hole 21MJ010 and intersected several narrow QCTP-veins within the strongly altered intermediate tuffite. The best interval yielded 0.6m averaging 5.98 g/t Au from 154.3m downhole. This intercept appears to be up dip from the original high-grade intercepts. Shallower in the hole, there were other notable intervals within the hole including: 0.95m at 1.86 g/t Au from 133.7m downhole, 0.8m at 1.86 g/t Au from 136.2m, and 0.5m at 1.06 g/t Au from 139.9m downhole.

Interpretation of the results suggests that the Northeast Target gold-controlling structure trends sub-parallel with the main shear zone and lithological contact in a southwest-northeast direction and dips toward the east-southeast dip. The axis of the high-grade portion of this system is believed to represent an en-echelon structure that plunges approximately 35-40 the northeast.

Jeesio Drill Program Update

FireFox has also received results for the reconnaissance drilling campaign that commenced late in 2021 at the Company's 100% held Jeesio Project (see Company News Release dated November 11th, 2021). A total of seven holes were drilled, including five at the Utsamo target totaling 1,113m and two at the Saittavaara target totaling 400m (see Table 1).

Previous drilling at the Utsamo target intersected significant fault zones, which are believed to be part of the Sirkka Shear Zone. The recent Utsamo drilling program was aimed at multi-element anomalies from BOT sampling completed across the structural zone and additional interpreted structures from the geophysical data (see Figure 3: https://bit.ly/38gX5Qe). The BOT anomalies included multiple pathfinder elements for orogenic gold, such as gold, tellurium, bismuth, arsenic, and antimony (see Company news release dated October 26th, 2021). Drill holes 21JEE004 and 21JEE005 targeted one of the strongest BOT geochemical anomalies in the northwestern part of the Utsamo target area. Both drill holes intersected thin intervals of albitized metasediments with disseminated and vein-related pyrite, but no significant gold. Drill hole 21JEE006 targeted the same interpreted structure, farther to the northwest from 21JEE004 and 21JEE005. This drill hole intersected a significant fault zone, and the drilling was terminated due to technical issues at 208.8m downhole.

Drill hole 21JEE007 was collared in the central part of the Utsamo target testing another geochemical anomaly, approximately 1.08km southeast from 21JEE004. This drill hole intersected a package of strongly faulted and altered metasediments with varying mafic volcanic and intrusive rocks but no significant gold. Drill hole 21JEE008 was targeted on another interpreted structural feature that apparently cuts an interpreted gabbroic intrusive in the southeast of the target area. The drilling did not confirm the presence of a structure.

Drill holes 21JEE009 and 21JEE010 were drilled at the Saittavaara Prospect, approximately 10km south of Utsamo, where a near-surface zone of 4.0m averaging 2.03 g/t Au, including 2.0m at 3.18 g/t Au was reported from scout drilling in 2021(see Company news releases dated August 3rd, 2021). Despite favorable indications from the geophysics, the drilling did not encounter the same strong deformation or alteration previously seen in the area.

Table 1. Collar Information (coordinates presented in EPSG:3067)

Drill Hole Easting Northing Azimuth () Plunge () Final Depth (m) Mustajarvi Drill Holes 22MJ001 428471 7500700.7 327 71 349.5 22MJ002 428447 7500681.1 340 70 274.4 22MJ003 429080 7501043 140 65 19.85 Jeesio (Utsamo) Drill Holes 21JEE004 470026.5 7489087 227 -45 234.8 21JEE005 469947.3 7489074 227 -45 238.4 21JEE006 469636 7489102 227 -45 208.8 21JEE007 470829.7 7488357 225 -45 204.6 21JEE008 472242 7487137 0 -45 226.7 Jeesio (Saittavaara) Drill Holes 21JEE009 469853.4 7478346 60 -45 204.4 21JEE010 470061.4 7478293 240 -45 195.5

Methodology & Quality Assurance

The core was transported from the rig to the Company's core storage facility in Sodankyla, where FireFox's exploration team conducted the geological and geotechnical logging and selected the assay intervals. Assay intervals were generally 1 metre but in some circumstances were modified according to lithological boundaries and other factors. FireFox geologists maintained chain of custody and applied sampling procedures according to best industry practice and with due attention to quality assurance and quality control, including sampling field duplicates and insertion of certified standard and blank samples.

FireFox team members transported the samples to an ALS sample prep lab in Sodankyla. The samples were first crushed to -2 mm, split and pulverized into 1kg pulps, before being shipped to the ALS facility in Rosia Montana, Romania for gold by fire assay of 50 gm aliquots with AAS finish (method Au-AA24). Gold values which exceeded 10 ppm were assayed in triplicate by fire assay with a gravimetric finish (method Au-GRA22, Au-GRA22d and Au-GRA22t). Selected samples were assayed with a 1,000-gram Au-SCR24 method (screen fire assays) based on the presence of visible gold. Other elements, altogether 48, were measured after four-acid digestion by ICP-AES and ICP-MS (method ME-MS61) at the ALS facility located in Loughrea, Ireland.

ALS Laboratories is a leading international provider of assay and analytical data to the mining industry. All ALS geochemical hub laboratories, including the Irish facility, are accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for specific analytical procedures. The Firefox QA/QC program consists of insertion of certificated standard material and blanks inserted by Firefox into the analytical batches did not show deviations from recommended values.

Patrick Highsmith, Certified Professional Geologist (AIPG CPG # 11702) and director of the Company, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Highsmith has helped prepare, reviewed, and approved, the technical information in this news release.

About FireFox Gold Corp.

FireFox Gold Corp is listed on the TSX Venture Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FFOX. FireFox also trades on the OTCQB Venture Market Exchange in the US under the ticker symbol FFOXF. The Company has been exploring for gold in Finland since 2017 where it holds a huge portfolio of prospective ground.

Finland is one of the top mining investment jurisdictions in the world as indicated by its multiple top-10 rankings in recent Fraser Institute Surveys of Mining Companies. Having a strong mining law and long mining tradition, Finland remains underexplored for gold. Recent exploration results in the country have highlighted its prospectivity, and FireFox is proud to have a Finland based CEO and technical team.

For more information, please refer to the Company's website and profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Carl Lofberg"

Chief Executive Officer

CONTACT:

FireFox Gold Corp.

Email: info@firefoxgold.com

Telephone: +1-778-738-1994

Forward Looking Statements

The information herein contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, the extent of work stoppage and economic impacts that may result from the COVID 19 virus, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry.

Forward-looking statements in this release may include statements regarding: the intent to conduct additional drilling; the belief as to the location of the most prospective gold targets; the location of targets for future drill programs; and the current and future work program, including the extent and nature of exploration to be conducted in 2022. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary.

The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the expectations of FireFox as of the date of dissemination and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking statements and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. FireFox does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

SOURCE: FireFox Gold Corp

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696068/FireFox-Gold-Reports-more-Gold-Intercepts-from-the-Mustajrvi-Project-and-Summarizes-Early-Stage-Drilling-at-the-Jeesi-Project-in-Finland
Lead, South Dakota--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Dakota Gold Corp. (NYSE American: DC) ("Dakota Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated March 31, 2022, its common stock will commence trading on the NYSE American under the ticker symbol "DC" at the open of markets today.

"The NYSE American is an ideal home for Dakota Gold Corp.," said Jonathan Awde, Dakota Gold's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We expect that our shareholders will be pleased with the increased liquidity, heightened profile and ease of trading that the NYSE American's platform offers."

As of March 31, 2022, Dakota Territory Resource Corp. ("Dakota Territory") common stock is no longer listed for trading on the OTCQB. The Company recommends that holders who acquired Dakota Territory's common shares through the OTC Markets monitor their institution or brokerage account to ensure their holdings are correctly reflected under the new ticker symbol.

About Dakota Gold Corp.

Dakota Gold is a South Dakota-based responsible gold exploration and development company with a specific focus on revitalizing the Homestake District in Lead, South Dakota. Dakota Gold has high-caliber gold mineral properties covering over 40 thousand acres surrounding the historic Homestake Mine.

The Dakota Gold team is focused on new gold discoveries and opportunities that build on the legacy of the Homestake District and its 145 years of gold mining history.

Subscribe to Dakota Gold's e-mail list at www.dakotagoldcorp.com to receive the latest news and other Company updates.

Inquiries

Shareholder and Investor Inquiries: For more information, please contact Jonathan Awde at +1 604-761-5251 or JAwde@dakotagoldcorp.com.

Inquiries regarding the proxy statement, letters of transmittal and share conversions: For more information, please contact Daniel Cherniak at +1 605-906-8363 or DCherniak@dakotagoldcorp.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including the statements regarding the Merger. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and expectations that may not be realized and are inherently subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the possibility that the listing of Dakota Gold common stock on the NYSE American will be delayed or does not occur for reasons beyond our control, diversion of management's attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities, the execution and timing of our planned exploration activities, our use and evaluation of historic data, our ability to achieve our strategic goals, the state of the economy and financial markets generally and the effect on our industry, and the market for our common stock. The foregoing list is not exhaustive. For additional information regarding factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in our forward-looking statements, we refer you to the risk factors included in Item 1A of Dakota Territory's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2021, as amended, as updated by annual, quarterly and other reports and documents that we file with the SEC, including the registration statement on Form S-4 that has been filed with the SEC and the proxy statement filed on Form DEF 14A. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this communication. These statements speak only as of the date of this communication, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. We do not give any assurance that we will achieve our expectations.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119274
FRANKFURT, Germany, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Founded in 2021, ADO (A DECE OASIS) electric bicycle is a Chinese Global brand of DTC, and the model of "30% online direct sales +70% offline agent distribution" has been formulated from the beginning. According to the statistics, more than 50 agents globally have been developed and the sales amount of more than RMB 0.1 billion has been signed only after emerging for only 1 year.

A DECE OASIS has launched and upgraded A and D series Ebikes, A series representing the Standard level, including A16, A20, A20F, A26 models, D series,representing high level with mirable, including D300, D300C. Let us look forward to the future of the O series.

"Affected by the epidemic, the next round of overseas dividend comes from the consumption downgrade of the middle class. Mr. Sen, the founder of A DECE OASIS and his team have devoted themselves to the development and sales of the electric bicycle brand-A DECE OASIS since 2021."

Mr. Sen said: "More importantly, there shall be a clear sales and brand strategy, it's necessary to determine the brand positioning and differentiation before the strategy is formulated."

Firstly, A DECE OASIS has a very clear positioning at the beginning of the brand creation. A DECE OASIS is positioned as the cornerstone of users taking a short trip. The A DECE OASIS products are set to guard every day when the user goes out based on the need for short trips within the 40km scope with the user's home as the radius.

Secondly, planning products, local services, brand marketing and channel building pursuant to brand positioning and values.

Finally, building an operation system matching with brand positioning, vision and values.

Mr. Sen: "The electric bicycle industry ultimately depends on local services."

1. The local services still rely on the 70% of B-terminal local city agents. "The service begins after the customer contacts the brand and the service is upgraded after the product is delivered to the customer, thus many offline physical stores are required to serve the users."

2. Globally 7 local warehouse, already provide overlight delivery in the United Kingdom and Germany. "A DECE OASIS's team has branches, warehouses, and local technical after-sales team in Germany. "

A DECE OASIS also promises to give the user a new one free of charge if the repair fails due to the product quality in the life cycle, and A DECE OASIS will be responsible for the user.

A DECE OASIS slogan-Cross your city, reflects the original intention, "A DECE OASIS is trustworthy when you ride A DECE OASIS's electric bicycle through your city."

Mr. Sen: "We must ensure that the products and services are in place and firmly protect consumers."

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1777837/image_5022519_38446182.jpg
The "Switzerland: Data Centre Landscape 2022 to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

There are close to seventy third-party Data Centre Facilities in the Swiss market.

There has been some consolidation among the smaller Data Centre Providers: In May 2021, a joint-venture called Atlas Edge was formed between Liberty Global Digital Bridge incorporating around 100 colocation Data Centre facilities across Europe.

In November 2021 it was announced that Atlas Edge had acquired twelve (12) European colocation facilities from Colt Data Centre Services (DCS) including the Colt Zurich facility (now called AtlasEdge Zurich) with Digital Realty also becoming a strategic investor in AtlasEdge and in January 2021 Nectrics Group acquired the Biel Data Centre from DataHub.

New Swiss Data Centre raised floor space is forecast to grow by over 43% for the period from the beginning of 2022 to the beginning of 2026 with Data Centre Revenues seeing a growth of 49%.

This new report covers the Swiss Data Centre Market and provides the latest information on all of the key issues for Data Centre Providers including the following:

The key third party Data Centre Providers and Facilities

Data Centre floor space forecast from 2022 to 2026

DCCP (Data Centre Customer Power) forecast from 2022 to 2026

Data Centre Power Costs (in per kWH)

Data Centre geographical city clusters

Data Centre Pricing forecast from 2022 to 2026 (in rack space, m2 p/ kW rentals)

Public Cloud and Data Centre Revenues 2022 to 2026

The key Data Centre Trends Data Centre Outlook

Key Topics Covered:

Methodology

Acquisitions/Mergers 2019 to to-date

Data Centre Development in Switzerland

Summary Box Switzerland Data Centre Summary

Data Centre third-party Data Centre Providers and Facilities in Switzerland

The Key Swiss Data Centre Provider Profiles

Swiss Data Centre raised floor space forecast in m2 (2022 to 2026)

Swiss Data Centre Customer Power (DCCP) forecast in MW (2022 to 2026)

Swiss Data Centre Power Costs in Euro per kWH

The Key Swiss Data Centre Clusters

Swiss Data Centre Pricing Forecast in rack space, m2 space per kW (2022 to 2026)

Swiss Data Centre Revenues Forecast in millions of Euro per annum (2022 to 2026)

Swiss Public Cloud Revenues Forecast in millions of Euro per annum (2022 to 2026)

The Key Trends in the Swiss Data Centre Market

Swiss Data Centre Outlook

Companies Mentioned

AtlasEdge Zurich

Biel Data Centre

DataCube

Digital Realty

Equinix Data Centre

Liberty Global Digital Bridge

Nectrics Group

Swisscom Data Centre

ZRH1 Vantage Data Center

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ulg0sv

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005686/en/

Contacts:

ResearchAndMarkets.com

Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900
Under the terms of the agreement, Beverage Hunters will commence distributing to the on-trade and off-trade markets from May 2022 across Spain. The agreement relates to the current award winning Shinju, the Shinju 8 year aged expression due for imminent release and the Shinju 12 and 15 year old expressions which whilst not currently available are intended for release in the future.

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The "Global Hydraulic Excavator Market 2021-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The publisher has been monitoring the hydraulic excavator market and it is poised to grow by $5.58 billion during 2021-2025, progressing at a CAGR of 2.82% during the forecast period.

The report on the hydraulic excavator market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors.

The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by increasing requirement for large-scale project management and growth of the rental market.

The hydraulic excavator market analysis includes technology and application and geographic landscape. This study identifies the growth of the global construction market as one of the prime reasons driving the hydraulic excavator market growth during the next few years.

Companies Mentioned

Alamo Group Inc.

BEML Ltd.

Caterpillar Inc.

Hitachi Ltd.

J C Bamford Excavators Ltd.

KATO WORKS CO. LTD.

Komatsu Ltd.

SANY Group

Takeuchi Mfg. Co. Ltd.

Terex Corp.

The report on hydraulic excavator market covers the following areas:

Hydraulic excavator market sizing

Hydraulic excavator market forecast

Hydraulic excavator market industry analysis

The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to an analysis of the key vendors.

The publisher presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters such as profit, pricing, competition, and promotions. It presents various market facets by identifying the key industry influencers. The data presented is comprehensive, reliable, and a result of extensive research both primary and secondary. The market research reports provide a complete competitive landscape and an in-depth vendor selection methodology and analysis using qualitative and quantitative research to forecast the accurate market growth.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

Market Overview

2. Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

3. Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2020

Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 2025

4. Five Forces Analysis

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

5. Market Segmentation by Application

Market segments

Comparison by Application

Construction Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Mining Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Utilities Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by Application

6. Market Segmentation by Technology

Market segments

Comparison by Technology

Crawler excavators Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Mini excavators Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Wheeled excavators Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by Technology

7. Customer landscape

8. Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

APAC Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Europe Market size and forecast 2020-2025

North America Market size and forecast 2020-2025

South America Market size and forecast 2020-2025

MEA Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Key leading countries

Market opportunity By Geographical Landscape

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

9. Vendor Landscape

Overview

Landscape disruption

10. Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

11. Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/zdh6hg

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005690/en/

Contacts:

ResearchAndMarkets.com

Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Service Express, the leading global data center solutions provider, today announces the acquisition of third-party maintenance (TPM) provider Trident Computer Resources based in New Jersey.

Founded in 1993, Trident provides data center maintenance and technical support to enterprise and Fortune 500 customers from gaming to healthcare, higher education and financial institutions. Trident supports a wide variety of OEM server, storage and network hardware in over 65 countries.

The acquisition of Trident aligns well with Service Express' broader strategy to provide the absolute best experience for IT professionals in the data center worldwide. Solutions delivered by Service Express offer long-term Trident customers additional options for their IT infrastructure needs beyond multivendor support, including Cloud, Managed Services, Hardware Solutions and more. In the coming months, Trident customers will have the right parts locally stocked before placing a service ticket with the help of OnDeck Predictive Sparing.

"Trident is thrilled to join the Service Express team," said Steve Studley, CEO of Trident Computer Resources. "Our companies have long been aligned in our ethos and commitment to service. Service Express brings extra resources and innovation to our newly combined customer base. In the coming months, our clients will see increased service offerings and additional tools through ExpressConnect to improve their service experience."

Service Express is the highest-rated solution provider in its space with an industry-leading Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 91 and has worked alongside IT teams to optimize performance in the data center for over 25 years. The company leverages multivendor expertise, a reliable global hardware distribution network that alleviates supply chain delays, and its proprietary technology, ExpressConnect, to provide companies with tools to automate support in the data center.

"Trident has a strong reputation for providing great multivendor support to enterprise customers around the world," said Ron Alvesteffer, President and CEO of Service Express. "They've not only increased service levels but have also saved their customers significant dollars. Trident is a great fit, and we look forward to offering existing customers an expanded and innovative portfolio of data center solutions powered by Service Express' best-in-class service."

For more information on Service Express and the company's unparalleled expertise, visit serviceexpress.com.

About Service Express



Service Express is an industry-leading data center solutions provider specializing in global multivendor maintenance, cloud, managed services, hardware solutions and more. Companies around the world trust Service Express to deliver reliable end-to-end support. With its flagship technology, ExpressConnect, Service Express works alongside IT teams to automate and streamline support with monitoring, ticketing, integrations and account management. For more information, visit serviceexpress.com .

About Trident Computer Resources



Trident is a multivendor data center services provider specializing in third-party maintenance (TPM) and technical support for more than 20 years. The company supports clients across multiple industries, focusing on financial institutions, gaming, energy, government, healthcare and higher education.

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The Annual General Meeting of Hexagon Purus ASA will be held on 27 April 2022 at 12:30 CEST at the company's offices in Korsegata 4B, Aalesund, Norway.

Please find attached the notice of the Annual General Meeting with attendance/proxy forms and the Board of Directors' proposed resolutions for the Annual General Meeting.

All documents related to the Annual General Meeting are available at www.hexagonpurus.com. Shareholders should note that additional information on proceedings of the meeting may be given and announced on the company's website and/or through a stock exchange announcement.

For more information:

Mathias Meidell, Investor Relations Director, Hexagon Purus

Telephone: +47?909 82 242 | mathias.meidell@hexagonpurus.com

About Hexagon Purus

Hexagon Purus, a Hexagon Composites company, is a world leading provider of hydrogen Type 4 high-pressure cylinders, battery packs and vehicle systems integration for fuel cell electric and battery electric vehicles. Hexagon Purus enables zero emission solutions for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, buses, ground storage, distribution, maritime, rail and aerospace.

Learn more at www.hexagonpurus.comand follow @HexagonPurus on Twitter and LinkedIn.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act

Attachment
New solution assists clients with their working capital needs whilst also supporting their sustainability goals

Citi has today announced the launch of its Sustainable Trade and Working Capital Loans (Sustainable T&WC Loans) solution in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America (LATAM) and Asia Pacific (APAC) regions.

The launch follows the successful rollout of Citi's Sustainable Supply Chain Finance offering, and represents the next step of the journey to expand Citi's sustainable Trade and Working Capital Solutions as a key part of Citi's broader commitment to advancing its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agenda.

T&WC Loans assist Citi's Corporate, Commodity, Financial Institution and Commercial Banking clients in managing their working capital needs, by financing their international trade finance activities and general day-to-day commercial activities, helping to improve liquidity.

The Sustainable T&WC Loans solution can also support clients with their sustainability goals, where the proceeds of the loan are used for an environmental or social purpose. Should certain sustainability criteria be met, the solution can provide clients a framework for incentivised pricing.

Peadar Mac Canna, Head of EMEA Trade and Working Capital business at Citi said: "Under Citi's Trade and Working Capital business, we are closely working with our clients to support their supply chains and ecosystem transition to a sustainable, low-carbon business model that balances the environmental, social and economic needs of society. Combined with our digital solutions, Citi's Sustainable T&WC Loans allow clients to use loan proceeds for, or in connection with, ESG purposes."

Citi's Sustainable T&WC Loans solution aligns with the bank's commitment to integrating sustainability into its products, services and client offerings. To help accelerate the transition to a global low-carbon economy, Citi launched its updated Sustainable Progress Strategy in July of 2020, and also committed US$1 trillion to sustainable finance by 2030, which includes US$500 billion for environmental finance and US$500 billion for social finance.

"Companies around the world are increasingly looking at how to incorporate sustainable practices across their businesses," said Davida Heller, Head of Sustainability Strategy, Citi. "At Citi, we are supporting our clients at every step of their journey with our products and services, and this extended working capital loan offering represents yet another tool in our toolbox to help our clients achieve their sustainability goals."

The Sustainable T&WC Loans product will initially launch in 80 countries across the EMEA, LATAM and APAC regions, and will be further rolled out across North America throughout 2022.

-ENDS-

About Citi's Treasury and Trade Solutions

Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) enables our clients' success by providing an integrated suite of innovative and tailored cash management and trade finance services to multinational corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations across the globe. Based on the foundation of the industry's largest proprietary network with banking licenses in over 90 countries and globally integrated technology platforms, TTS continues to lead the way in offering the industry's most comprehensive range of digitally enabled treasury, trade and liquidity management solutions.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com Twitter: @Citi YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi| Blog: http://new.citi.com| Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi| LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005687/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact:

Belinda Marks

Belinda.marks@citi.com
HELSINKI (dpa-AFX) - Finland's trade deficit widened in February as imports rose faster than exports, preliminary figures from the Finnish Customs showed on Tuesday. The trade deficit rose to EUR 1.085 billion in February from EUR 450 million in the same month last year. In January, the trade deficit was EUR 935 million. Exports rose 17.5 percent year-on-year in February and imports grew 28.1 percent. Shipments to the EU countries grew 19.4 percent in February and imports from those countries rose 14.0 percent. Exports to countries outside the EU increased 15.0 percent and imports from those countries gained 48.6 percent. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Special offers: 15 GB Internet package at 299 baht for 16 days (from 8 days) and 30 GB Internet package at 599 baht for 30 days (from 15 days)

Free unlimited chat service on five popular apps Messenger, LINE, WhatsApp, WeChat and KakaoTalk + unlimited free calls to dtac numbers in Thailand

BANGKOK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- dtac or Total Access Communication PCL, the leader and pioneer of tourist SIM cards in Thailand, is welcoming international travelers back to the country with a special "Welcome back to Thailand" promotion that doubles the number of days for which a tourist SIM card is valid by offering a 299-baht package for 16 days of Internet access and a 599-baht package for 30 days of access . The package includes unlimited chat service on five chat applications, namely Messenger, LINE, WhatsApp, WeChat and KakaoTalk, as well as unlimited free calls to dtac numbers in Thailand. Additionally, dtac Happy Tourist SIM also offers travel insurance benefits and discounts at stores, restaurants, accommodations and travel, together with 24-hour service support in five languages (English, Chinese, Burmese, Cambodian and Thai) through the Happy Call Center 1678.

dtac Happy Tourist SIM is also available in eSIM at dtac counters at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

dtac Happy Tourist SIM would like to welcome all international visitors to Thailand with "Welcome Back to Thailand promotion" offering amazing value by doubling the validity period of our SIM cards for Internet access at the same price with two package options. One is a 15GB Internet package at 299 baht which allows Internet access for up to 16 days (up from 8 days in a normal package), and the other is a 30GB Internet package at 599 baht valid for up to 30 days (up from 15 days in a normal package) . dtac aims to double the pleasure of visitors to Thailand using dtac Happy Tourist SIM cards by giving them more days to share their travel experiences with families, loves ones, and friends, and conveniently keep in touch during their time in Thailand.

dtac Happy Tourist SIM provides superior services to meet the needs of tourists to make their experience more special. dtac is also offering its users free travel insurance from Falcon Insurance, which provides coverage for up to 30 days throughout the use of the SIM, covering accident and illness including COVID-19, as well as discounts at popular retail stores such as Family Mart, allDean & DeLuca crafted food and gourmet coffee shops in Thailand, as well as with Grab services.

In addition, dtac also offers free dtac HAPPY Tourist SIM together with 6 GB of data as well as special offers and gifts to customers of dtac partners such asThai Airways, Singapore Airlines, Agoda, andTune Protect Insurance. The dtac partners' customers can receive the sim and the premiums at dtac counters at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Don Mueang Airport and Phuket Airport until 31 August 2022 .

dtac Happy Tourist SIM is also available in four other main packages: (1) 8-day Highlight Package with 15 GB data at 299 baht; (2) 15-day Package with 30 GB data at 599 baht;

(3) 4-day Package with 5 GB data at 149 baht; and (4) Pay-As-You-Go Package at 49 baht.

Tourists want seamless connectivity from the moment they land in Thailand, and that's the mission of dtac Happy Tourist SIM.

For more privileges from dtac, visit Facebook: dtac , or www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/touristsim.html

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Approval based on Phase 3 CheckMate -274 trial results showing that adjuvant treatment with Opdivo significantly reduced patients' risk of disease recurrence or death compared to placebo

Opdivo is now the first and only adjuvant immunotherapy option approved in this setting in the European Union

Decision marks the third approval for Opdivo in earlier stages of cancer in the European Union, following melanoma and esophageal/gastroesophageal junction cancer

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the European Commission (EC) has approved Opdivo (nivolumab) for the adjuvant treatment of adults with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma with tumor cell PD-L1 expression =1% who are at a high risk of recurrence after undergoing radical resection.With this EC decision, Opdivo becomes the first adjuvant immunotherapy option approved for patients in the European Union (EU) in this setting.

In the Phase 3 CheckMate -274 trial, Opdivo demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in disease-free survival (DFS) compared to placebo in both all-randomized patients and in patients whose tumor cells express PD-L1 =1%. The EC decision is based on the results in patients with tumor cell PD-L1 expression =1%, which showed a 47% reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death with Opdivo vs. placebo (Hazard Ratio [HR] 0.53; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.38 to 0.75; p=0.0005), with median DFS not reached with Opdivo compared to 8.41 months with placebo. Opdivo was generally well tolerated, with a safety profile that was consistent with previously reported Opdivo studies in patients with solid tumors.

"For years, patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma have lived with the unfortunate reality that, despite being diagnosed early enough to have their cancer removed, around half will face disease recurrence, with few safe and effective treatment options available to help prevent this cycle," said Fred Witjes, M.D., professor of oncological urology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences. "With the approval of nivolumab, clinicians will now have an immunotherapy treatment option to offer certain patients after surgery that, in the CheckMate -274 clinical trial, significantly reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death. This approval has the potential to transform the way we treat muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma for appropriate patients in the European Union."

The EC approval allows for the use of Opdivo for the adjuvant treatment of adults with radically resected, high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma whose tumor cells express PD-L1 =1%inthe 27 member states of the EU, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. In addition to the EU, Opdivo has received approvals based on the CheckMate -274 trial in seven countries, including indications regardless of PD-L1 expression levels in the United States and Japan, and further applications are under review with health authorities globally. Results from CheckMate -274 were first presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary Symposium in February 2021 and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June 2021.

"We are driven by the goal of advancing new treatment options that can help change the outlook for patients with cancer, whether they are diagnosed at an earlier stage or with metastatic disease," said Dana Walker, M.D., M.S.C.E., vice president, development program lead, genitourinary cancers, Bristol Myers Squibb. "This approval for Opdivo gives us the opportunity to introduce a new post-surgery standard of care for certain patients with urothelial cancer, building on our legacy as the first company to bring immune checkpoint inhibitors to patients in the European Union in the adjuvant settings of melanoma and esophageal cancers. We look forward to working with European stakeholders to make Opdivo available to eligible patients as soon as possible."

"With the second highest incidence of bladder cancer globally, Europe has had a pressing need for new treatment options for patients after surgery, who are managing the physical and mental impacts of surgery combined with the fear of their cancer returning," said Alex Filicevas, executive director, World Bladder Cancer Patient Coalition. "We are pleased to see the approval of a new adjuvant treatment that has the potential to help reduce the risk of recurrence for patients. Additionally, undergoing surgical removal of the bladder for muscle-invasive bladder cancer is life-altering, making it all the more important that published data show nivolumab maintained quality of life compared to placebo. This positive decision may have the potential to give people with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma more good quality time with their loved ones."

Opdivo has now been approved for the adjuvant treatment of three different carcinoma types in the EU: urothelial carcinoma, melanoma and esophageal/gastroesophageal junction cancer. In addition, the company has a broad development program in earlier stages of cancer that currently spans eight different tumor types across the neoadjuvant, adjuvant and peri-operative settings.

Summary of Safety Profile of Opdivo Monotherapy

In the pooled dataset of Opdivo as monotherapy across tumor types (n=4,122), with minimum follow-up ranging from 2.3 to 28 months, the most frequent (=10%) adverse reactions in patients receiving Opdivo were fatigue (45%), musculoskeletal pain (31%), diarrhea (26%), cough (24%), rash (24%), nausea (23%), pruritus (19%), decreased appetite (18%), constipation (17%), dyspnea (17%), abdominal pain (16%), upper respiratory tract infection (16%), arthralgia (14%), pyrexia (14%), vomiting (14%), headache (13%) and oedema (10%). The majority of adverse reactions were mild to moderate (Grade 1 or 2).

About CheckMate -274

CheckMate -274 is a Phase 3 randomized, double-blind, multi-center study evaluating Opdivo compared to placebo in patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma at a high risk of recurrence after radical resection. A total of 709 patients were randomized 1:1 to receive Opdivo 240 mg or placebo every two weeks for up to one year. The primary endpoints of the trial are disease-free survival (DFS) in all randomized patients (i.e., the intention-to-treat population) and in the subset of patients whose tumor cells express PD-L1 =1%. Key secondary endpoints include overall survival (OS), non-urothelial tract recurrence-free survival (NUTRFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS).

About Urothelial Carcinoma

Bladder cancer is the 10th most common cancer in the world, with more than 573,000 new cases diagnosed annually. Urothelial carcinoma, which most frequently begins in the cells that line the inside of the bladder, accounts for approximately 90% of bladder cancer cases. In addition to the bladder, urothelial carcinoma can occur in other parts of the urinary tract, including the ureters and renal pelvis. The majority of urothelial carcinomas are diagnosed at an early stage, but rates of recurrence and disease progression are high. Approximately 50% of patients who undergo surgery will experience disease recurrence. For patients whose disease recurs as metastatic cancer, the prognosis is poor, with a median overall survival of approximately 12 to 14 months when treated with systemic therapy.

Bristol Myers Squibb: Creating a Better Future for People with Cancer

Bristol Myers Squibb is inspired by a single vision transforming patients' lives through science. The goal of the company's cancer research is to deliver medicines that offer each patient a better, healthier life and to make cure a possibility. Building on a legacy across a broad range of cancers that have changed survival expectations for many, Bristol Myers Squibb researchers are exploring new frontiers in personalized medicine, and through innovative digital platforms, are turning data into insights that sharpen their focus. Deep scientific expertise, cutting-edge capabilities and discovery platforms enable the company to look at cancer from every angle. Cancer can have a relentless grasp on many parts of a patient's life, and Bristol Myers Squibb is committed to taking actions to address all aspects of care, from diagnosis to survivorship. Because as a leader in cancer care, Bristol Myers Squibb is working to empower all people with cancer to have a better future.

About Opdivo

Opdivo is a programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor that is designed to uniquely harness the body's own immune system to help restore anti-tumor immune response. By harnessing the body's own immune system to fight cancer, Opdivo has become an important treatment option across multiple cancers.

Opdivo's leading global development program is based on Bristol Myers Squibb's scientific expertise in the field of Immuno-Oncology, and includes a broad range of clinical trials across all phases, including Phase 3, in a variety of tumor types. To date, the Opdivo clinical development program has treated more than 35,000 patients. The Opdivo trials have contributed to gaining a deeper understanding of the potential role of biomarkers in patient care, particularly regarding how patients may benefit from Opdivo across the continuum of PD-L1 expression.

In July 2014, Opdivo was the first PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor to receive regulatory approval anywhere in the world. Opdivo is currently approved in more than 65 countries, including the United States, the European Union, Japan and China. In October 2015, the Company's Opdivo and Yervoy combination regimen was the first Immuno-Oncology to receive regulatory approval for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and is currently approved in more than 50 countries, including the United States and the European Union.

U.S. FDA-Approved Indications

OPDIVO (nivolumab), as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with melanoma with involvement of lymph nodes or metastatic disease who have undergone complete resection.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy, is indicated as neoadjuvant treatment of adult patients with resectable (tumors =4 cm or node positive) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express PD-L1 (=1%) as determined by an FDA-approved test, with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab) and 2 cycles of platinum-doublet chemotherapy, is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients with EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations should have disease progression on FDA-approved therapy for these aberrations prior to receiving OPDIVO.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with intermediate or poor risk advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with cabozantinib, is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have received prior anti-angiogenic therapy.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) that has relapsed or progressed after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and brentuximab vedotin or after 3 or more lines of systemic therapy that includes autologous HSCT. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) with disease progression on or after platinum-based therapy.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy or have disease progression within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment with platinum-containing chemotherapy.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), as a single agent, is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC) who are at high risk of recurrence after undergoing radical resection of UC.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric (12 years and older) patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) that has progressed following treatment with a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate and duration of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) that has progressed following treatment with a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate and duration of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have been previously treated with sorafenib. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate and duration of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after prior fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-based chemotherapy.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of completely resected esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer with residual pathologic disease in adult patients who have received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT).

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum- containing chemotherapy, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Severe and Fatal Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions

Immune-mediated adverse reactions listed herein may not include all possible severe and fatal immune-mediated adverse reactions.

Immune-mediated adverse reactions, which may be severe or fatal, can occur in any organ system or tissue. While immune-mediated adverse reactions usually manifest during treatment, they can also occur after discontinuation of OPDIVO or YERVOY. Early identification and management are essential to ensure safe use of OPDIVO and YERVOY. Monitor for signs and symptoms that may be clinical manifestations of underlying immune-mediated adverse reactions. Evaluate clinical chemistries including liver enzymes, creatinine, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) level, and thyroid function at baseline and periodically during treatment with OPDIVO and before each dose of YERVOY. In cases of suspected immune-mediated adverse reactions, initiate appropriate workup to exclude alternative etiologies, including infection. Institute medical management promptly, including specialty consultation as appropriate.

Withhold or permanently discontinue OPDIVO and YERVOY depending on severity (please see section 2 Dosage and Administration in the accompanying Full Prescribing Information). In general, if OPDIVO or YERVOY interruption or discontinuation is required, administer systemic corticosteroid therapy (1 to 2 mg/kg/day prednisone or equivalent) until improvement to Grade 1 or less. Upon improvement to Grade 1 or less, initiate corticosteroid taper and continue to taper over at least 1 month. Consider administration of other systemic immunosuppressants in patients whose immune-mediated adverse reactions are not controlled with corticosteroid therapy. Toxicity management guidelines for adverse reactions that do not necessarily require systemic steroids (e.g., endocrinopathies and dermatologic reactions) are discussed below.

Immune-Mediated Pneumonitis

OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated pneumonitis. The incidence of pneumonitis is higher in patients who have received prior thoracic radiation. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune- mediated pneumonitis occurred in 3.1% (61/1994) of patients, including Grade 4 (<0.1%), Grade 3 (0.9%), and Grade 2 (2.1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated pneumonitis occurred in 7% (31/456) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (2.0%), and Grade 2 (4.4%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated pneumonitis occurred in 3.9% (26/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (1.4%) and Grade 2 (2.6%). In NSCLC patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks, immune-mediated pneumonitis occurred in 9% (50/576) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.5%), Grade 3 (3.5%), and Grade 2 (4.0%). Four patients (0.7%) died due to pneumonitis.

In Checkmate 205 and 039, pneumonitis, including interstitial lung disease, occurred in 6.0% (16/266) of patients receiving OPDIVO. Immune-mediated pneumonitis occurred in 4.9% (13/266) of patients receiving OPDIVO, including Grade 3 (n=1) and Grade 2 (n=12).

Immune-Mediated Colitis

OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated colitis, which may be fatal. A common symptom included in the definition of colitis was diarrhea. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection/reactivation has been reported in patients with corticosteroid-refractory immune-mediated colitis. In cases of corticosteroid-refractory colitis, consider repeating infectious workup to exclude alternative etiologies. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated colitis occurred in 2.9% (58/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (1.7%) and Grade 2 (1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated colitis occurred in 25% (115/456) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.4%), Grade 3 (14%) and Grade 2 (8%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated colitis occurred in 9% (60/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (4.4%) and Grade 2 (3.7%).

Immune-Mediated Hepatitis and Hepatotoxicity

OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated hepatitis. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated hepatitis occurred in 1.8% (35/1994) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (1.3%), and Grade 2 (0.4%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune- mediated hepatitis occurred in 15% (70/456) of patients, including Grade 4 (2.4%), Grade 3 (11%), and Grade 2 (1.8%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated hepatitis occurred in 7% (48/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (1.2%), Grade 3 (4.9%), and Grade 2 (0.4%).

OPDIVO in combination with cabozantinib can cause hepatic toxicity with higher frequencies of Grade 3 and 4 ALT and AST elevations compared to OPDIVO alone. Consider more frequent monitoring of liver enzymes as compared to when the drugs are administered as single agents. In patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib, Grades 3 and 4 increased ALT or AST were seen in 11% of patients.

Immune-Mediated Endocrinopathies

OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause primary or secondary adrenal insufficiency, immune-mediated hypophysitis, immune-mediated thyroid disorders, and Type 1 diabetes mellitus, which can present with diabetic ketoacidosis. Withhold OPDIVO and YERVOY depending on severity (please see section 2 Dosage and Administration in the accompanying Full Prescribing Information). For Grade 2 or higher adrenal insufficiency, initiate symptomatic treatment, including hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Hypophysitis can present with acute symptoms associated with mass effect such as headache, photophobia, or visual field defects. Hypophysitis can cause hypopituitarism; initiate hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Thyroiditis can present with or without endocrinopathy. Hypothyroidism can follow hyperthyroidism; initiate hormone replacement or medical management as clinically indicated. Monitor patients for hyperglycemia or other signs and symptoms of diabetes; initiate treatment with insulin as clinically indicated.

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 1% (20/1994), including Grade 3 (0.4%) and Grade 2 (0.6%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 8% (35/456), including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (2.4%), and Grade 2 (4.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 7% (48/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.3%), Grade 3 (2.5%), and Grade 2 (4.1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 4.7% (15/320) of patients, including Grade 3 (2.2%) and Grade 2 (1.9%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 8% (35/456), including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (2.4%), and Grade 2 (4.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 7% (48/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.3%), Grade 3 (2.5%), and Grade 2 (4.1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 4.7% (15/320) of patients, including Grade 3 (2.2%) and Grade 2 (1.9%).

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, hypophysitis occurred in 0.6% (12/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.2%) and Grade 2 (0.3%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypophysitis occurred in 9% (42/456), including Grade 3 (2.4%) and Grade 2 (6%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypophysitis occurred in 4.4% (29/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.3%), Grade 3 (2.4%), and Grade 2 (0.9%).

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, thyroiditis occurred in 0.6% (12/1994) of patients, including Grade 2 (0.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, thyroiditis occurred in 2.7% (22/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (4.5%) and Grade 2 (2.2%).

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, hyperthyroidism occurred in 2.7% (54/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (<0.1%) and Grade 2 (1.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hyperthyroidism occurred in 9% (42/456) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.9%) and Grade 2 (4.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hyperthyroidism occurred in 12% (80/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.6%) and Grade 2 (4.5%).

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, hypothyroidism occurred in 8% (163/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.2%) and Grade 2 (4.8%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypothyroidism occurred in 20% (91/456) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.4%) and Grade 2 (11%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypothyroidism occurred in 18% (122/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.6%) and Grade 2 (11%).

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, diabetes occurred in 0.9% (17/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.4%) and Grade 2 (0.3%), and 2 cases of diabetic ketoacidosis. In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, diabetes occurred in 2.7% (15/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.6%), Grade 3 (0.3%), and Grade 2 (0.9%).

Immune-Mediated Nephritis with Renal Dysfunction

OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated nephritis. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated nephritis and renal dysfunction occurred in 1.2% (23/1994) of patients, including Grade 4 (<0.1%), Grade 3 (0.5%), and Grade 2 (0.6%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated nephritis with renal dysfunction occurred in 4.1% (27/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.6%), Grade 3 (1.1%), and Grade 2 (2.2%).

Immune-Mediated Dermatologic Adverse Reactions

OPDIVO can cause immune-mediated rash or dermatitis. Exfoliative dermatitis, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) has occurred with PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies. Topical emollients and/or topical corticosteroids may be adequate to treat mild to moderate nonexfoliative rashes.

YERVOY can cause immune-mediated rash or dermatitis, including bullous and exfoliative dermatitis, SJS, TEN, and DRESS. Topical emollients and/or topical corticosteroids may be adequate to treat mild to moderate non- bullous/exfoliative rashes.

Withhold or permanently discontinue OPDIVO and YERVOY depending on severity (please see section 2 Dosage and Administration in the accompanying Full Prescribing Information).

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated rash occurred in 9% (171/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (1.1%) and Grade 2 (2.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated rash occurred in 28% (127/456) of patients, including Grade 3 (4.8%) and Grade 2 (10%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated rash occurred in 16% (108/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (3.5%) and Grade 2 (4.2%).

Other Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions

The following clinically significant immune-mediated adverse reactions occurred at an incidence of <1% (unless otherwise noted) in patients who received OPDIVO monotherapy or OPDIVO in combination with YERVOY or were reported with the use of other PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies. Severe or fatal cases have been reported for some of these adverse reactions: cardiac/vascular: myocarditis, pericarditis, vasculitis; nervous system: meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis and demyelination, myasthenic syndrome/myasthenia gravis (including exacerbation), Guillain-Barre syndrome, nerve paresis, autoimmune neuropathy; ocular: uveitis, iritis, and other ocular inflammatory toxicities can occur; gastrointestinal: pancreatitis to include increases in serum amylase and lipase levels, gastritis, duodenitis; musculoskeletal and connective tissue: myositis/polymyositis, rhabdomyolysis, and associated sequelae including renal failure, arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica; endocrine: hypoparathyroidism; other (hematologic/immune): hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), systemic inflammatory response syndrome, histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis (Kikuchi lymphadenitis), sarcoidosis, immune thrombocytopenic purpura, solid organ transplant rejection.

In addition to the immune-mediated adverse reactions listed above, across clinical trials of YERVOY monotherapy or in combination with OPDIVO, the following clinically significant immune-mediated adverse reactions, some with fatal outcome, occurred in <1% of patients unless otherwise specified: nervous system: autoimmune neuropathy (2%), myasthenic syndrome/myasthenia gravis, motor dysfunction; cardiovascular: angiopathy, temporal arteritis; ocular: blepharitis, episcleritis, orbital myositis, scleritis; gastrointestinal: pancreatitis (1.3%); other (hematologic/immune): conjunctivitis, cytopenias (2.5%), eosinophilia (2.1%), erythema multiforme, hypersensitivity vasculitis, neurosensory hypoacusis, psoriasis.

Some ocular IMAR cases can be associated with retinal detachment. Various grades of visual impairment, including blindness, can occur. If uveitis occurs in combination with other immune-mediated adverse reactions, consider a Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada-like syndrome, which has been observed in patients receiving OPDIVO and YERVOY, as this may require treatment with systemic corticosteroids to reduce the risk of permanent vision loss.

Infusion-Related Reactions

OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause severe infusion-related reactions. Discontinue OPDIVO and YERVOY in patients with severe (Grade 3) or life-threatening (Grade 4) infusion-related reactions. Interrupt or slow the rate of infusion in patients with mild (Grade 1) or moderate (Grade 2) infusion-related reactions. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy as a 60-minute infusion, infusion-related reactions occurred in 6.4% (127/1994) of patients. In a separate trial in which patients received OPDIVO monotherapy as a 60-minute infusion or a 30- minute infusion, infusion-related reactions occurred in 2.2% (8/368) and 2.7% (10/369) of patients, respectively. Additionally, 0.5% (2/368) and 1.4% (5/369) of patients, respectively, experienced adverse reactions within 48 hours of infusion that led to dose delay, permanent discontinuation or withholding of OPDIVO. In melanoma patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 2.5% (10/407) of patients. In HCC patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 8% (4/49) of patients. In RCC patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 5.1% (28/547) of patients. In MSI- H/dMMR mCRC patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 4.2% (5/119) of patients. In MPM patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 12% (37/300) of patients.

Complications of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Fatal and other serious complications can occur in patients who receive allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) before or after being treated with OPDIVO or YERVOY. Transplant-related complications include hyperacute graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), acute GVHD, chronic GVHD, hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) after reduced intensity conditioning, and steroid-requiring febrile syndrome (without an identified infectious cause). These complications may occur despite intervening therapy between OPDIVO or YERVOY and allogeneic HSCT.

Follow patients closely for evidence of transplant-related complications and intervene promptly. Consider the benefit versus risks of treatment with OPDIVO and YERVOY prior to or after an allogeneic HSCT.

Embryo-Fetal Toxicity

Based on its mechanism of action and findings from animal studies, OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. The effects of YERVOY are likely to be greater during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Advise pregnant women of the potential risk to a fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with OPDIVO and YERVOY and for at least 5 months after the last dose.

Increased Mortality in Patients with Multiple Myeloma when OPDIVO is Added to a Thalidomide Analogue and Dexamethasone

In randomized clinical trials in patients with multiple myeloma, the addition of OPDIVO to a thalidomide analogue plus dexamethasone resulted in increased mortality. Treatment of patients with multiple myeloma with a PD-1 or PD-L1 blocking antibody in combination with a thalidomide analogue plus dexamethasone is not recommended outside of controlled clinical trials.

Lactation

There are no data on the presence of OPDIVO or YERVOY in human milk, the effects on the breastfed child, or the effects on milk production. Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in breastfed children, advise women not to breastfeed during treatment and for 5 months after the last dose.

Serious Adverse Reactions

In Checkmate 037, serious adverse reactions occurred in 41% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=268). Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions occurred in 42% of patients receiving OPDIVO. The most frequent Grade 3 and 4 adverse drug reactions reported in 2% to <5% of patients receiving OPDIVO were abdominal pain, hyponatremia, increased aspartate aminotransferase, and increased lipase. In Checkmate 066, serious adverse reactions occurred in 36% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=206). Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions occurred in 41% of patients receiving OPDIVO. The most frequent Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were gamma-glutamyltransferase increase (3.9%) and diarrhea (3.4%). In Checkmate 067, serious adverse reactions (74% and 44%), adverse reactions leading to permanent discontinuation (47% and 18%) or to dosing delays (58% and 36%), and Grade 3 or 4 adverse reactions (72% and 51%) all occurred more frequently in the OPDIVO plus YERVOY arm (n=313) relative to the OPDIVO arm (n=313). The most frequent (=10%) serious adverse reactions in the OPDIVO plus YERVOY arm and the OPDIVO arm, respectively, were diarrhea (13% and 2.2%), colitis (10% and 1.9%), and pyrexia (10% and 1.0%). In Checkmate 238, serious adverse reactions occurred in 18% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=452). Grade 3 or 4 adverse reactions occurred in 25% of OPDIVO-treated patients (n=452). The most frequent Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions reported in =2% of OPDIVO-treated patients were diarrhea and increased lipase and amylase. In Checkmate 816, serious adverse reactions occurred in 30% of patients (n=176) who were treated with OPDIVO in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy. Serious adverse reactions in >2% included pneumonia and vomiting. No fatal adverse reactions occurred in patients who received OPDIVO in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy. In Checkmate 227, serious adverse reactions occurred in 58% of patients (n=576). The most frequent (=2%) serious adverse reactions were pneumonia, diarrhea/colitis, pneumonitis, hepatitis, pulmonary embolism, adrenal insufficiency, and hypophysitis. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 1.7% of patients; these included events of pneumonitis (4 patients), myocarditis, acute kidney injury, shock, hyperglycemia, multi-system organ failure, and renal failure. In Checkmate 9LA, serious adverse reactions occurred in 57% of patients (n=358). The most frequent (>2%) serious adverse reactions were pneumonia, diarrhea, febrile neutropenia, anemia, acute kidney injury, musculoskeletal pain, dyspnea, pneumonitis, and respiratory failure. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 7 (2%) patients, and included hepatic toxicity, acute renal failure, sepsis, pneumonitis, diarrhea with hypokalemia, and massive hemoptysis in the setting of thrombocytopenia. In Checkmate 017 and 057, serious adverse reactions occurred in 46% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=418). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, dyspnea, pyrexia, pleural effusion, pneumonitis, and respiratory failure. In Checkmate 057, fatal adverse reactions occurred; these included events of infection (7 patients, including one case of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia), pulmonary embolism (4 patients), and limbic encephalitis (1 patient). In Checkmate 743, serious adverse reactions occurred in 54% of patients receiving OPDIVO plus YERVOY. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were pneumonia, pyrexia, diarrhea, pneumonitis, pleural effusion, dyspnea, acute kidney injury, infusion-related reaction, musculoskeletal pain, and pulmonary embolism. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 4 (1.3%) patients and included pneumonitis, acute heart failure, sepsis, and encephalitis. In Checkmate 214, serious adverse reactions occurred in 59% of patients receiving OPDIVO plus YERVOY (n=547). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were diarrhea, pyrexia, pneumonia, pneumonitis, hypophysitis, acute kidney injury, dyspnea, adrenal insufficiency, and colitis. In Checkmate 9ER, serious adverse reactions occurred in 48% of patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib (n=320). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were diarrhea, pneumonia, pneumonitis, pulmonary embolism, urinary tract infection, and hyponatremia. Fatal intestinal perforations occurred in 3 (0.9%) patients. In Checkmate 025, serious adverse reactions occurred in 47% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=406). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were acute kidney injury, pleural effusion, pneumonia, diarrhea, and hypercalcemia. In Checkmate 205 and 039, adverse reactions leading to discontinuation occurred in 7% and dose delays due to adverse reactions occurred in 34% of patients (n=266). Serious adverse reactions occurred in 26% of patients. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =1% of patients were pneumonia, infusion-related reaction, pyrexia, colitis or diarrhea, pleural effusion, pneumonitis, and rash. Eleven patients died from causes other than disease progression: 3 from adverse reactions within 30 days of the last OPDIVO dose, 2 from infection 8 to 9 months after completing OPDIVO, and 6 from complications of allogeneic HSCT. In Checkmate 141, serious adverse reactions occurred in 49% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=236). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were pneumonia, dyspnea, respiratory failure, respiratory tract infection, and sepsis. In Checkmate 275, serious adverse reactions occurred in 54% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=270). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were urinary tract infection, sepsis, diarrhea, small intestine obstruction, and general physical health deterioration. In Checkmate 274, serious adverse reactions occurred in 30% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=351). The most frequent serious adverse reaction reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO was urinary tract infection. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 1% of patients; these included events of pneumonitis (0.6%). In Checkmate 142 in MSI-H/dMMR mCRC patients receiving OPDIVO with YERVOY (n=119), serious adverse reactions occurred in 47% of patients. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were colitis/diarrhea, hepatic events, abdominal pain, acute kidney injury, pyrexia, and dehydration. In Checkmate 040, serious adverse reactions occurred in 59% of patients receiving OPDIVO with YERVOY (n=49). Serious adverse reactions reported in =4% of patients were pyrexia, diarrhea, anemia, increased AST, adrenal insufficiency, ascites, esophageal varices hemorrhage, hyponatremia, increased blood bilirubin, and pneumonitis. In Attraction-3, serious adverse reactions occurred in 38% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=209). Serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients who received OPDIVO were pneumonia, esophageal fistula, interstitial lung disease, and pyrexia. The following fatal adverse reactions occurred in patients who received OPDIVO: interstitial lung disease or pneumonitis (1.4%), pneumonia (1.0%), septic shock (0.5%), esophageal fistula (0.5%), gastrointestinal hemorrhage (0.5%), pulmonary embolism (0.5%), and sudden death (0.5%). In Checkmate 577, serious adverse reactions occurred in 33% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=532). A serious adverse reaction reported in =2% of patients who received OPDIVO was pneumonitis. A fatal reaction of myocardial infarction occurred in one patient who received OPDIVO. In Checkmate 649, serious adverse reactions occurred in 52% of patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n=782). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy were vomiting (3.7%), pneumonia (3.6%), anemia (3.6%), pyrexia (2.8%), diarrhea (2.7%), febrile neutropenia (2.6%), and pneumonitis (2.4%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 16 (2.0%) patients who were treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy; these included pneumonitis (4 patients), febrile neutropenia (2 patients), stroke (2 patients), gastrointestinal toxicity, intestinal mucositis, septic shock, pneumonia, infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, mesenteric vessel thrombosis, and disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Common Adverse Reactions

In Checkmate 037, the most common adverse reaction (=20%) reported with OPDIVO (n=268) was rash (21%). In Checkmate 066, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported with OPDIVO (n=206) vs dacarbazine (n=205) were fatigue (49% vs 39%), musculoskeletal pain (32% vs 25%), rash (28% vs 12%), and pruritus (23% vs 12%). In Checkmate 067, the most common (=20%) adverse reactions in the OPDIVO plus YERVOY arm (n=313) were fatigue (62%), diarrhea (54%), rash (53%), nausea (44%), pyrexia (40%), pruritus (39%), musculoskeletal pain (32%), vomiting (31%), decreased appetite (29%), cough (27%), headache (26%), dyspnea (24%), upper respiratory tract infection (23%), arthralgia (21%), and increased transaminases (25%). In Checkmate 067, the most common (=20%) adverse reactions in the OPDIVO arm (n=313) were fatigue (59%), rash (40%), musculoskeletal pain (42%), diarrhea (36%), nausea (30%), cough (28%), pruritus (27%), upper respiratory tract infection (22%), decreased appetite (22%), headache (22%), constipation (21%), arthralgia (21%), and vomiting (20%). In Checkmate 238, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in OPDIVO- treated patients (n=452) vs ipilimumab-treated patients (n=453) were fatigue (57% vs 55%), diarrhea (37% vs 55%), rash (35% vs 47%), musculoskeletal pain (32% vs 27%), pruritus (28% vs 37%), headache (23% vs 31%), nausea (23% vs 28%), upper respiratory infection (22% vs 15%), and abdominal pain (21% vs 23%). The most common immune-mediated adverse reactions were rash (16%), diarrhea/colitis (6%), and hepatitis (3%). In Checkmate 816, the most common (>20%) adverse reactions in the OPDIVO plus chemotherapy arm (n=176) were nausea (38%), constipation (34%), fatigue (26%), decreased appetite (20%), and rash (20%). In Checkmate 227, the most common (=20%) adverse reactions were fatigue (44%), rash (34%), decreased appetite (31%), musculoskeletal pain (27%), diarrhea/colitis (26%), dyspnea (26%), cough (23%), hepatitis (21%), nausea (21%), and pruritus (21%). In Checkmate 9LA, the most common (>20%) adverse reactions were fatigue (49%), musculoskeletal pain (39%), nausea (32%), diarrhea (31%), rash (30%), decreased appetite (28%), constipation (21%), and pruritus (21%). In Checkmate 017 and 057, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=418) were fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, cough, dyspnea, and decreased appetite. In Checkmate 743, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO plus YERVOY were fatigue (43%), musculoskeletal pain (38%), rash (34%), diarrhea (32%), dyspnea (27%), nausea (24%), decreased appetite (24%), cough (23%), and pruritus (21%). In Checkmate 214, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients treated with OPDIVO plus YERVOY (n=547) were fatigue (58%), rash (39%), diarrhea (38%), musculoskeletal pain (37%), pruritus (33%), nausea (30%), cough (28%), pyrexia (25%), arthralgia (23%), decreased appetite (21%), dyspnea (20%), and vomiting (20%). In Checkmate 9ER, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib (n=320) were diarrhea (64%), fatigue (51%), hepatotoxicity (44%), palmar-plantar erythrodysaesthesia syndrome (40%), stomatitis (37%), rash (36%), hypertension (36%), hypothyroidism (34%), musculoskeletal pain (33%), decreased appetite (28%), nausea (27%), dysgeusia (24%), abdominal pain (22%), cough (20%) and upper respiratory tract infection (20%). In Checkmate 025, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=406) vs everolimus (n=397) were fatigue (56% vs 57%), cough (34% vs 38%), nausea (28% vs 29%), rash (28% vs 36%), dyspnea (27% vs 31%), diarrhea (25% vs 32%), constipation (23% vs 18%), decreased appetite (23% vs 30%), back pain (21% vs 16%), and arthralgia (20% vs 14%). In Checkmate 205 and 039, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=266) were upper respiratory tract infection (44%), fatigue (39%), cough (36%), diarrhea (33%), pyrexia (29%), musculoskeletal pain (26%), rash (24%), nausea (20%) and pruritus (20%). In Checkmate 141, the most common adverse reactions (=10%) in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=236) were cough (14%) and dyspnea (14%) at a higher incidence than investigator's choice. In Checkmate 275, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=270) were fatigue (46%), musculoskeletal pain (30%), nausea (22%), and decreased appetite (22%). In Checkmate 274, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=351) were rash (36%), fatigue (36%), diarrhea (30%), pruritus (30%), musculoskeletal pain (28%), and urinary tract infection (22%). In Checkmate 142 in MSI-H/dMMR mCRC patients receiving OPDIVO as a single agent (n=74), the most common adverse reactions (=20%) were fatigue (54%), diarrhea (43%), abdominal pain (34%), nausea (34%), vomiting (28%), musculoskeletal pain (28%), cough (26%), pyrexia (24%), rash (23%), constipation (20%), and upper respiratory tract infection (20%). In Checkmate 142 in MSI-H/dMMR mCRC patients receiving OPDIVO with YERVOY (n=119), the most common adverse reactions (=20%) were fatigue (49%), diarrhea (45%), pyrexia (36%), musculoskeletal pain (36%), abdominal pain (30%), pruritus (28%), nausea (26%), rash (25%), decreased appetite (20%), and vomiting (20%). In Checkmate 040, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO with YERVOY (n=49), were rash (53%), pruritus (53%), musculoskeletal pain (41%), diarrhea (39%), cough (37%), decreased appetite (35%), fatigue (27%), pyrexia (27%), abdominal pain (22%), headache (22%), nausea (20%), dizziness (20%), hypothyroidism (20%), and weight decreased (20%). In Attraction-3, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in OPDIVO-treated patients (n=209) were rash (22%) and decreased appetite (21%). In Checkmate 577, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=532) were fatigue (34%), diarrhea (29%), nausea (23%), rash (21%), musculoskeletal pain (21%), and cough (20%). In Checkmate 649, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n=782) were peripheral neuropathy (53%), nausea (48%), fatigue (44%), diarrhea (39%), vomiting (31%), decreased appetite (29%), abdominal pain (27%), constipation (25%), and musculoskeletal pain (20%).

Please see US Full Prescribing Information for OPDIVO and YERVOY.

Clinical Trials and Patient Populations

Checkmate 037-previously treated metastatic melanoma; Checkmate 066-previously untreated metastatic melanoma; Checkmate 067-previously untreated metastatic melanoma, as a single agent or in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 238-adjuvant treatment of melanoma; Checkmate 816-neoadjuvant non-small cell lung cancer, in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy; Checkmate 227-previously untreated metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 9LA-previously untreated recurrent or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in combination with YERVOY and 2 cycles of platinum-doublet chemotherapy by histology; Checkmate 017-second-line treatment of metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer; Checkmate 057-second-line treatment of metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer; Checkmate 743-previously untreated unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 214-previously untreated renal cell carcinoma, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 9ER-previously untreated renal cell carcinoma, in combination with cabozantinib; Checkmate 025-previously treated renal cell carcinoma; Checkmate 205/039-classical Hodgkin lymphoma; Checkmate 141-recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck; Checkmate 275-previously treated advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma; Checkmate 274-adjuvant treatment of urothelial carcinoma; Checkmate 142- MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer, as a single agent or in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 142-MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer, as a single agent or in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 040-hepatocellular carcinoma, in combination with YERVOY; Attraction-3-esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Checkmate 577-adjuvant treatment of esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer; Checkmate 649- previously untreated advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction or esophageal adenocarcinoma

About the Bristol Myers Squibb and Ono Pharmaceutical Collaboration

In 2011, through a collaboration agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Bristol Myers Squibb expanded its territorial rights to develop and commercialize Opdivo globally, except in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, where Ono had retained all rights to the compound at the time. On July 23, 2014, Ono and Bristol Myers Squibb further expanded the companies' strategic collaboration agreement to jointly develop and commercialize multiple immunotherapies as single agents and combination regimens for patients with cancer in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

About Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

Celgene and Juno Therapeutics are wholly owned subsidiaries of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. In certain countries outside the U.S., due to local laws, Celgene and Juno Therapeutics are referred to as, Celgene, a Bristol Myers Squibb company and Juno Therapeutics, a Bristol Myers Squibb company.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them in the next several years, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond our control and could cause our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, that the outcome of pricing and reimbursement negotiations in individual countries in Europe may delay or limit the commercial potential of Opdivo for the additional indication described in this release, that any marketing approvals may have significant limitations on their use, that continued approval of such product candidate for such additional indication described in this release may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials, and whether such product candidate for such additional indication described in this release will be commercially successful. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that affect Bristol Myers Squibb's business and market, particularly those identified in the cautionary statement and risk factors discussion in Bristol Myers Squibb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as updated by our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by applicable law, Bristol Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday to extend gains from the previous session as the European Union and the United States mull further sanctions against Russia, raising concerns over tighter global supply. Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.3 percent to $107.89 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.6 percent at $103.97. Calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday said he is seeking additional sanctions on Russia. 'This guy is brutal, and what's happening in Bucha is outrageous, and everyone's seen it,' Biden said in brief remarks to reporters. New U.S. sanctions against Moscow would be announced this week. The 27-member EU is under pressure to extend sanctions to Russia's oil and coal sectors for what appear to be war crimes in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the United States and Iran blamed each other for a weeks-long impasse that has held up a return to the 2015 deal that sought to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. 'We will not be going to Vienna for new negotiations but to finalize the nuclear agreement,' Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters in Tehran on Monday. The United States still believes there is an opportunity to overcome the remaining differences with Iran in talks over its nuclear program, State Department spokesman Ned Price said. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Opdivo with chemotherapy demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival compared to chemotherapy alone in this patient population; approval based on Phase 3 results from the CheckMate -648 trial

Opdivo plus Yervoy also received EC approval for the same indication

Bristol Myers Squibb Receives European Commission Approval for Opdivo (nivolumab) with Chemotherapy as First-Line Treatment for Patients with Unresectable Advanced, Recurrent or Metastatic Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma with Tumor Cell PD-L1 Expression 1%

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the European Commission (EC) has approved Opdivo (nivolumab) in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-based chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) with tumor cell PD-L1 expression 1%. The EC's decision is based on results from the Phase 3 CheckMate -648 trial, in which Opdivo with chemotherapy demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful overall survival (OS) benefit compared to chemotherapy alone at the pre-specified interim analysis. The safety profile of Opdivo with chemotherapy was consistent with previously reported studies. Results from CheckMate -648 were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in June 2021.

"This approval is an important advancement for patients in the EU, especially given the highly aggressive nature of advanced ESCC," said Ian M. Waxman, M.D., development lead, gastrointestinal cancers, Bristol Myers Squibb. "Opdivo with chemotherapy is now one of two newly approved Opdivo-based combinations to show superior overall survival benefit compared to chemotherapy alone, offering higher hopes for patients with unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic ESCC with tumor cell PD-L1 expression 1%. We are eager to introduce this new treatment option to patients in the European Union and potentially improve their survival outcomes."

The EC has also approved Opdivo in combination with Yervoy (ipilimumab) for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) with tumor cell PD-L1 expression 1%.

The EC approval allows for the use of Opdivo with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-based combination chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of adults with unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic ESCC with tumor cell PD-L1 expression 1% in the 27 member states of the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

CheckMate -648 Efficacy and Safety Results

Results from CheckMate -648 include:

OS in participants with tumor cell PD-L1 expression 1%. (primary endpoint): Median OS was 15.44 months (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 11.93, 19.52) for nivolumab with chemotherapy vs. 9.07 months (95% CI: 7.69, 9.95) for chemotherapy (Hazard Ratio [HR] 0.54; 95% CI: 0.37, 0.80; p= <0.0001).

PFS in participants with tumor cell PD-L1 expression 1%. (primary endpoint): Median PFS was 6.93 months (95% CI: 5.68, 8.34) for nivolumab with chemotherapy vs. 4.44 months (95% CI: 2.89, 5.82) for chemotherapy (HR 0.65; 95% CI: 0.46, 0.92; p=0.0023)

ORR (secondary endpoint): The ORR was 53.2% (95% CI: 45.1, 61.1) for nivolumab with chemotherapy vs. 19.7% (95% CI: 13.8, 26.8) for chemotherapy.

Safety (based on pooled data across tumor types): Incidence of Grade 3-5 adverse reactions was 76% for nivolumab with chemotherapy and 62% for chemotherapy alone, with 1.4% fatal adverse reactions attributed to nivolumab in combination with chemotherapy including pneumonia, febrile neutropenia, thrombosis, pneumonitis, diarrhea, and renal failure. Median duration of therapy was 6.44 months (95% CI: 5.95, 6.80) for nivolumab with chemotherapy and 4.34 months (95% CI: 4.04, 4.70) for chemotherapy.

About CheckMate -648

CheckMate -648 is a randomized Phase 3 study evaluating Opdivo plus Yervoy (N=325) or Opdivo with fluorouracil and cisplatin (N=321) against fluorouracil plus cisplatin alone (N=324) in patients with previously untreated, unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The primary endpoints of the trial are overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) by blinded independent central review (BICR) in patients with tumor cell PD-L1 expression =1% for both Opdivo-based combinations versus chemotherapy. Secondary endpoints of the trial include OS and PFS by BICR in the all-randomized population.

In the Opdivo with chemotherapy arm, patients received treatment with Opdivo 240 mg on Day 1 and Day 15, fluorouracil 800 mg/m/day on Day 1 through Day 5 (for 5 days), and cisplatin 80 mg/m on Day 1 of four-week cycle. Patients received Opdivo for up to 24 months or until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or withdrawal of consent, and chemotherapy until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or withdrawal of consent.

In the Opdivo plus Yervoy arm, patients received treatment with Opdivo 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks and Yervoy 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks up to 24 months or until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or withdrawal of consent.

About Esophageal Cancer

Esophageal cancer is the seventh most common cancer and the sixth leading cause of death from cancer worldwide, with approximately 600,000 new cases and over 540,000 deaths in 2020. The two most common types of esophageal cancer are squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, which account for approximately 85% and 15% of all esophageal cancers, respectively, though esophageal tumor histology can vary by region and country. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for approximately 60% of esophageal cancer cases in Europe.

Bristol Myers Squibb: Creating a Better Future for People with Cancer

Bristol Myers Squibb is inspired by a single vision transforming people's lives through science. The goal of the company's cancer research is to deliver medicines that offer each patient a better, healthier life and to make cure a possibility. Building on a legacy across a broad range of cancers that have changed survival expectations for many, Bristol Myers Squibb researchers are exploring new frontiers in personalized medicine, and through innovative digital platforms, are turning data into insights that sharpen their focus. Deep scientific expertise, cutting-edge capabilities and discovery platforms enable the company to look at cancer from every angle. Cancer can have a relentless grasp on many parts of a patient's life, and Bristol Myers Squibb is committed to taking actions to address all aspects of care, from diagnosis to survivorship. Because as a leader in cancer care, Bristol Myers Squibb is working to empower all people with cancer to have a better future.

About Opdivo

Opdivo is a programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor that is designed to uniquely harness the body's own immune system to help restore anti-tumor immune response. By harnessing the body's own immune system to fight cancer, Opdivo has become an important treatment option across multiple cancers.

Opdivo's leading global development program is based on Bristol Myers Squibb's scientific expertise in the field of Immuno-Oncology and includes a broad range of clinical trials across all phases, including Phase 3, in a variety of tumor types. To date, the Opdivo clinical development program has treated more than 35,000 patients. The Opdivo trials have contributed to gaining a deeper understanding of the potential role of biomarkers in patient care, particularly regarding how patients may benefit from Opdivo across the continuum of PD-L1 expression.

In July 2014, Opdivo was the first PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor to receive regulatory approval anywhere in the world. Opdivo is currently approved in more than 65 countries, including the United States, the European Union, Japan and China. In October 2015, the Company's Opdivo and Yervoy combination regimen was the first Immuno-Oncology combination to receive regulatory approval for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and is currently approved in more than 50 countries, including the United States and the European Union.

INDICATIONS

OPDIVO (nivolumab), as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with melanoma with involvement of lymph nodes or metastatic disease who have undergone complete resection.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy, is indicated as neoadjuvant treatment of adult patients with resectable (tumors =4 cm or node positive) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express PD-L1 (=1%) as determined by an FDA-approved test, with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab) and 2 cycles of platinum-doublet chemotherapy, is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients with EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations should have disease progression on FDA-approved therapy for these aberrations prior to receiving OPDIVO.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with intermediate or poor risk advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with cabozantinib, is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have received prior anti-angiogenic therapy.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) that has relapsed or progressed after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and brentuximab vedotin or after 3 or more lines of systemic therapy that includes autologous HSCT. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) with disease progression on or after platinum-based therapy.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy or have disease progression within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment with platinum-containing chemotherapy.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), as a single agent, is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC) who are at high risk of recurrence after undergoing radical resection of UC.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric (12 years and older) patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) that has progressed following treatment with a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate and duration of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) that has progressed following treatment with a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate and duration of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY (ipilimumab), is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have been previously treated with sorafenib. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate and duration of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after prior fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-based chemotherapy.

OPDIVO (nivolumab) is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of completely resected esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer with residual pathologic disease in adult patients who have received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT).

OPDIVO (nivolumab), in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum- containing chemotherapy, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Severe and Fatal Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions

Immune-mediated adverse reactions listed herein may not include all possible severe and fatal immune-mediated adverse reactions.

Immune-mediated adverse reactions, which may be severe or fatal, can occur in any organ system or tissue. While immune-mediated adverse reactions usually manifest during treatment, they can also occur after discontinuation of OPDIVO or YERVOY. Early identification and management are essential to ensure safe use of OPDIVO and YERVOY. Monitor for signs and symptoms that may be clinical manifestations of underlying immune-mediated adverse reactions. Evaluate clinical chemistries including liver enzymes, creatinine, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) level, and thyroid function at baseline and periodically during treatment with OPDIVO and before each dose of YERVOY. In cases of suspected immune-mediated adverse reactions, initiate appropriate workup to exclude alternative etiologies, including infection. Institute medical management promptly, including specialty consultation as appropriate.

Withhold or permanently discontinue OPDIVO and YERVOY depending on severity (please see section 2 Dosage and Administration in the accompanying Full Prescribing Information). In general, if OPDIVO or YERVOY interruption or discontinuation is required, administer systemic corticosteroid therapy (1 to 2 mg/kg/day prednisone or equivalent) until improvement to Grade 1 or less. Upon improvement to Grade 1 or less, initiate corticosteroid taper and continue to taper over at least 1 month. Consider administration of other systemic immunosuppressants in patients whose immune-mediated adverse reactions are not controlled with corticosteroid therapy. Toxicity management guidelines for adverse reactions that do not necessarily require systemic steroids (e.g., endocrinopathies and dermatologic reactions) are discussed below.

Immune-Mediated Pneumonitis

OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated pneumonitis. The incidence of pneumonitis is higher in patients who have received prior thoracic radiation. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune- mediated pneumonitis occurred in 3.1% (61/1994) of patients, including Grade 4 (<0.1%), Grade 3 (0.9%), and Grade 2 (2.1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated pneumonitis occurred in 7% (31/456) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (2.0%), and Grade 2 (4.4%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated pneumonitis occurred in 3.9% (26/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (1.4%) and Grade 2 (2.6%). In NSCLC patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks, immune-mediated pneumonitis occurred in 9% (50/576) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.5%), Grade 3 (3.5%), and Grade 2 (4.0%). Four patients (0.7%) died due to pneumonitis.

In Checkmate 205 and 039, pneumonitis, including interstitial lung disease, occurred in 6.0% (16/266) of patients receiving OPDIVO. Immune-mediated pneumonitis occurred in 4.9% (13/266) of patients receiving OPDIVO, including Grade 3 (n=1) and Grade 2 (n=12).

Immune-Mediated Colitis

OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated colitis, which may be fatal. A common symptom included in the definition of colitis was diarrhea. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection/reactivation has been reported in patients with corticosteroid-refractory immune-mediated colitis. In cases of corticosteroid-refractory colitis, consider repeating infectious workup to exclude alternative etiologies. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated colitis occurred in 2.9% (58/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (1.7%) and Grade 2 (1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated colitis occurred in 25% (115/456) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.4%), Grade 3 (14%) and Grade 2 (8%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated colitis occurred in 9% (60/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (4.4%) and Grade 2 (3.7%).

Immune-Mediated Hepatitis and Hepatotoxicity

OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated hepatitis. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated hepatitis occurred in 1.8% (35/1994) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (1.3%), and Grade 2 (0.4%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune- mediated hepatitis occurred in 15% (70/456) of patients, including Grade 4 (2.4%), Grade 3 (11%), and Grade 2 (1.8%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated hepatitis occurred in 7% (48/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (1.2%), Grade 3 (4.9%), and Grade 2 (0.4%).

OPDIVO in combination with cabozantinib can cause hepatic toxicity with higher frequencies of Grade 3 and 4 ALT and AST elevations compared to OPDIVO alone. Consider more frequent monitoring of liver enzymes as compared to when the drugs are administered as single agents. In patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib, Grades 3 and 4 increased ALT or AST were seen in 11% of patients.

Immune-Mediated Endocrinopathies

OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause primary or secondary adrenal insufficiency, immune-mediated hypophysitis, immune-mediated thyroid disorders, and Type 1 diabetes mellitus, which can present with diabetic ketoacidosis. Withhold OPDIVO and YERVOY depending on severity (please see section 2 Dosage and Administration in the accompanying Full Prescribing Information). For Grade 2 or higher adrenal insufficiency, initiate symptomatic treatment, including hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Hypophysitis can present with acute symptoms associated with mass effect such as headache, photophobia, or visual field defects. Hypophysitis can cause hypopituitarism; initiate hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Thyroiditis can present with or without endocrinopathy. Hypothyroidism can follow hyperthyroidism; initiate hormone replacement or medical management as clinically indicated. Monitor patients for hyperglycemia or other signs and symptoms of diabetes; initiate treatment with insulin as clinically indicated.

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 1% (20/1994), including Grade 3 (0.4%) and Grade 2 (0.6%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 8% (35/456), including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (2.4%), and Grade 2 (4.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 7% (48/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.3%), Grade 3 (2.5%), and Grade 2 (4.1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 4.7% (15/320) of patients, including Grade 3 (2.2%) and Grade 2 (1.9%).In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 8% (35/456), including Grade 4 (0.2%), Grade 3 (2.4%), and Grade 2 (4.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 7% (48/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.3%), Grade 3 (2.5%), and Grade 2 (4.1%). In patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib, adrenal insufficiency occurred in 4.7% (15/320) of patients, including Grade 3 (2.2%) and Grade 2 (1.9%).

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, hypophysitis occurred in 0.6% (12/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.2%) and Grade 2 (0.3%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypophysitis occurred in 9% (42/456), including Grade 3 (2.4%) and Grade 2 (6%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypophysitis occurred in 4.4% (29/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.3%), Grade 3 (2.4%), and Grade 2 (0.9%).

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, thyroiditis occurred in 0.6% (12/1994) of patients, including Grade 2 (0.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, thyroiditis occurred in 2.7% (22/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (4.5%) and Grade 2 (2.2%).

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, hyperthyroidism occurred in 2.7% (54/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (<0.1%) and Grade 2 (1.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hyperthyroidism occurred in 9% (42/456) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.9%) and Grade 2 (4.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hyperthyroidism occurred in 12% (80/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.6%) and Grade 2 (4.5%).

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, hypothyroidism occurred in 8% (163/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.2%) and Grade 2 (4.8%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypothyroidism occurred in 20% (91/456) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.4%) and Grade 2 (11%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, hypothyroidism occurred in 18% (122/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.6%) and Grade 2 (11%).

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, diabetes occurred in 0.9% (17/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (0.4%) and Grade 2 (0.3%), and 2 cases of diabetic ketoacidosis. In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, diabetes occurred in 2.7% (15/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.6%), Grade 3 (0.3%), and Grade 2 (0.9%).

Immune-Mediated Nephritis with Renal Dysfunction

OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause immune-mediated nephritis. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated nephritis and renal dysfunction occurred in 1.2% (23/1994) of patients, including Grade 4 (<0.1%), Grade 3 (0.5%), and Grade 2 (0.6%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated nephritis with renal dysfunction occurred in 4.1% (27/666) of patients, including Grade 4 (0.6%), Grade 3 (1.1%), and Grade 2 (2.2%).

Immune-Mediated Dermatologic Adverse Reactions

OPDIVO can cause immune-mediated rash or dermatitis. Exfoliative dermatitis, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) has occurred with PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies. Topical emollients and/or topical corticosteroids may be adequate to treat mild to moderate nonexfoliative rashes.

YERVOY can cause immune-mediated rash or dermatitis, including bullous and exfoliative dermatitis, SJS, TEN, and DRESS. Topical emollients and/or topical corticosteroids may be adequate to treat mild to moderate non- bullous/exfoliative rashes.

Withhold or permanently discontinue OPDIVO and YERVOY depending on severity (please see section 2 Dosage and Administration in the accompanying Full Prescribing Information).

In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy, immune-mediated rash occurred in 9% (171/1994) of patients, including Grade 3 (1.1%) and Grade 2 (2.2%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated rash occurred in 28% (127/456) of patients, including Grade 3 (4.8%) and Grade 2 (10%). In patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, immune-mediated rash occurred in 16% (108/666) of patients, including Grade 3 (3.5%) and Grade 2 (4.2%).

Other Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions

The following clinically significant immune-mediated adverse reactions occurred at an incidence of <1% (unless otherwise noted) in patients who received OPDIVO monotherapy or OPDIVO in combination with YERVOY or were reported with the use of other PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies. Severe or fatal cases have been reported for some of these adverse reactions: cardiac/vascular: myocarditis, pericarditis, vasculitis; nervous system: meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis and demyelination, myasthenic syndrome/myasthenia gravis (including exacerbation), Guillain-Barre syndrome, nerve paresis, autoimmune neuropathy; ocular: uveitis, iritis, and other ocular inflammatory toxicities can occur; gastrointestinal: pancreatitis to include increases in serum amylase and lipase levels, gastritis, duodenitis; musculoskeletal and connective tissue: myositis/polymyositis, rhabdomyolysis, and associated sequelae including renal failure, arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica; endocrine: hypoparathyroidism; other (hematologic/immune): hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), systemic inflammatory response syndrome, histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis (Kikuchi lymphadenitis), sarcoidosis, immune thrombocytopenic purpura, solid organ transplant rejection.

In addition to the immune-mediated adverse reactions listed above, across clinical trials of YERVOY monotherapy or in combination with OPDIVO, the following clinically significant immune-mediated adverse reactions, some with fatal outcome, occurred in <1% of patients unless otherwise specified: nervous system: autoimmune neuropathy (2%), myasthenic syndrome/myasthenia gravis, motor dysfunction; cardiovascular: angiopathy, temporal arteritis; ocular: blepharitis, episcleritis, orbital myositis, scleritis; gastrointestinal: pancreatitis (1.3%); other (hematologic/immune): conjunctivitis, cytopenias (2.5%), eosinophilia (2.1%), erythema multiforme, hypersensitivity vasculitis, neurosensory hypoacusis, psoriasis.

Some ocular IMAR cases can be associated with retinal detachment. Various grades of visual impairment, including blindness, can occur. If uveitis occurs in combination with other immune-mediated adverse reactions, consider a Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada-like syndrome, which has been observed in patients receiving OPDIVO and YERVOY, as this may require treatment with systemic corticosteroids to reduce the risk of permanent vision loss.

Infusion-Related Reactions

OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause severe infusion-related reactions. Discontinue OPDIVO and YERVOY in patients with severe (Grade 3) or life-threatening (Grade 4) infusion-related reactions. Interrupt or slow the rate of infusion in patients with mild (Grade 1) or moderate (Grade 2) infusion-related reactions. In patients receiving OPDIVO monotherapy as a 60-minute infusion, infusion-related reactions occurred in 6.4% (127/1994) of patients. In a separate trial in which patients received OPDIVO monotherapy as a 60-minute infusion or a 30- minute infusion, infusion-related reactions occurred in 2.2% (8/368) and 2.7% (10/369) of patients, respectively. Additionally, 0.5% (2/368) and 1.4% (5/369) of patients, respectively, experienced adverse reactions within 48 hours of infusion that led to dose delay, permanent discontinuation or withholding of OPDIVO. In melanoma patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 2.5% (10/407) of patients. In HCC patients receiving OPDIVO 1 mg/kg with YERVOY 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 8% (4/49) of patients. In RCC patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 5.1% (28/547) of patients. In MSI- H/dMMR mCRC patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 4.2% (5/119) of patients. In MPM patients receiving OPDIVO 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks with YERVOY 1 mg/kg every 6 weeks, infusion-related reactions occurred in 12% (37/300) of patients.

Complications of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Fatal and other serious complications can occur in patients who receive allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) before or after being treated with OPDIVO or YERVOY. Transplant-related complications include hyperacute graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), acute GVHD, chronic GVHD, hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) after reduced intensity conditioning, and steroid-requiring febrile syndrome (without an identified infectious cause). These complications may occur despite intervening therapy between OPDIVO or YERVOY and allogeneic HSCT.

Follow patients closely for evidence of transplant-related complications and intervene promptly. Consider the benefit versus risks of treatment with OPDIVO and YERVOY prior to or after an allogeneic HSCT.

Embryo-Fetal Toxicity

Based on its mechanism of action and findings from animal studies, OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. The effects of YERVOY are likely to be greater during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Advise pregnant women of the potential risk to a fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with OPDIVO and YERVOY and for at least 5 months after the last dose.

Increased Mortality in Patients with Multiple Myeloma when OPDIVO is Added to a Thalidomide Analogue and Dexamethasone

In randomized clinical trials in patients with multiple myeloma, the addition of OPDIVO to a thalidomide analogue plus dexamethasone resulted in increased mortality. Treatment of patients with multiple myeloma with a PD-1 or PD-L1 blocking antibody in combination with a thalidomide analogue plus dexamethasone is not recommended outside of controlled clinical trials.

Lactation

There are no data on the presence of OPDIVO or YERVOY in human milk, the effects on the breastfed child, or the effects on milk production. Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in breastfed children, advise women not to breastfeed during treatment and for 5 months after the last dose.

Serious Adverse Reactions

In Checkmate 037, serious adverse reactions occurred in 41% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=268). Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions occurred in 42% of patients receiving OPDIVO. The most frequent Grade 3 and 4 adverse drug reactions reported in 2% to <5% of patients receiving OPDIVO were abdominal pain, hyponatremia, increased aspartate aminotransferase, and increased lipase. In Checkmate 066, serious adverse reactions occurred in 36% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=206). Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions occurred in 41% of patients receiving OPDIVO. The most frequent Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were gamma-glutamyltransferase increase (3.9%) and diarrhea (3.4%). In Checkmate 067, serious adverse reactions (74% and 44%), adverse reactions leading to permanent discontinuation (47% and 18%) or to dosing delays (58% and 36%), and Grade 3 or 4 adverse reactions (72% and 51%) all occurred more frequently in the OPDIVO plus YERVOY arm (n=313) relative to the OPDIVO arm (n=313). The most frequent (=10%) serious adverse reactions in the OPDIVO plus YERVOY arm and the OPDIVO arm, respectively, were diarrhea (13% and 2.2%), colitis (10% and 1.9%), and pyrexia (10% and 1.0%). In Checkmate 238, serious adverse reactions occurred in 18% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=452). Grade 3 or 4 adverse reactions occurred in 25% of OPDIVO-treated patients (n=452). The most frequent Grade 3 and 4 adverse reactions reported in =2% of OPDIVO-treated patients were diarrhea and increased lipase and amylase. In Checkmate 816, serious adverse reactions occurred in 30% of patients (n=176) who were treated with OPDIVO in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy. Serious adverse reactions in >2% included pneumonia and vomiting. No fatal adverse reactions occurred in patients who received OPDIVO in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy. In Checkmate 227, serious adverse reactions occurred in 58% of patients (n=576). The most frequent (=2%) serious adverse reactions were pneumonia, diarrhea/colitis, pneumonitis, hepatitis, pulmonary embolism, adrenal insufficiency, and hypophysitis. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 1.7% of patients; these included events of pneumonitis (4 patients), myocarditis, acute kidney injury, shock, hyperglycemia, multi-system organ failure, and renal failure. In Checkmate 9LA, serious adverse reactions occurred in 57% of patients (n=358). The most frequent (>2%) serious adverse reactions were pneumonia, diarrhea, febrile neutropenia, anemia, acute kidney injury, musculoskeletal pain, dyspnea, pneumonitis, and respiratory failure. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 7 (2%) patients, and included hepatic toxicity, acute renal failure, sepsis, pneumonitis, diarrhea with hypokalemia, and massive hemoptysis in the setting of thrombocytopenia. In Checkmate 017 and 057, serious adverse reactions occurred in 46% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=418). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, dyspnea, pyrexia, pleural effusion, pneumonitis, and respiratory failure. In Checkmate 057, fatal adverse reactions occurred; these included events of infection (7 patients, including one case of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia), pulmonary embolism (4 patients), and limbic encephalitis (1 patient). In Checkmate 743, serious adverse reactions occurred in 54% of patients receiving OPDIVO plus YERVOY. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were pneumonia, pyrexia, diarrhea, pneumonitis, pleural effusion, dyspnea, acute kidney injury, infusion-related reaction, musculoskeletal pain, and pulmonary embolism. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 4 (1.3%) patients and included pneumonitis, acute heart failure, sepsis, and encephalitis. In Checkmate 214, serious adverse reactions occurred in 59% of patients receiving OPDIVO plus YERVOY (n=547). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were diarrhea, pyrexia, pneumonia, pneumonitis, hypophysitis, acute kidney injury, dyspnea, adrenal insufficiency, and colitis. In Checkmate 9ER, serious adverse reactions occurred in 48% of patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib (n=320). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were diarrhea, pneumonia, pneumonitis, pulmonary embolism, urinary tract infection, and hyponatremia. Fatal intestinal perforations occurred in 3 (0.9%) patients. In Checkmate 025, serious adverse reactions occurred in 47% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=406). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were acute kidney injury, pleural effusion, pneumonia, diarrhea, and hypercalcemia. In Checkmate 205 and 039, adverse reactions leading to discontinuation occurred in 7% and dose delays due to adverse reactions occurred in 34% of patients (n=266). Serious adverse reactions occurred in 26% of patients. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =1% of patients were pneumonia, infusion-related reaction, pyrexia, colitis or diarrhea, pleural effusion, pneumonitis, and rash. Eleven patients died from causes other than disease progression: 3 from adverse reactions within 30 days of the last OPDIVO dose, 2 from infection 8 to 9 months after completing OPDIVO, and 6 from complications of allogeneic HSCT. In Checkmate 141, serious adverse reactions occurred in 49% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=236). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were pneumonia, dyspnea, respiratory failure, respiratory tract infection, and sepsis. In Checkmate 275, serious adverse reactions occurred in 54% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=270). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO were urinary tract infection, sepsis, diarrhea, small intestine obstruction, and general physical health deterioration. In Checkmate 274, serious adverse reactions occurred in 30% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=351). The most frequent serious adverse reaction reported in =2% of patients receiving OPDIVO was urinary tract infection. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 1% of patients; these included events of pneumonitis (0.6%). In Checkmate 142 in MSI-H/dMMR mCRC patients receiving OPDIVO with YERVOY (n=119), serious adverse reactions occurred in 47% of patients. The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients were colitis/diarrhea, hepatic events, abdominal pain, acute kidney injury, pyrexia, and dehydration. In Checkmate 040, serious adverse reactions occurred in 59% of patients receiving OPDIVO with YERVOY (n=49). Serious adverse reactions reported in =4% of patients were pyrexia, diarrhea, anemia, increased AST, adrenal insufficiency, ascites, esophageal varices hemorrhage, hyponatremia, increased blood bilirubin, and pneumonitis. In Attraction-3, serious adverse reactions occurred in 38% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=209). Serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients who received OPDIVO were pneumonia, esophageal fistula, interstitial lung disease, and pyrexia. The following fatal adverse reactions occurred in patients who received OPDIVO: interstitial lung disease or pneumonitis (1.4%), pneumonia (1.0%), septic shock (0.5%), esophageal fistula (0.5%), gastrointestinal hemorrhage (0.5%), pulmonary embolism (0.5%), and sudden death (0.5%). In Checkmate 577, serious adverse reactions occurred in 33% of patients receiving OPDIVO (n=532). A serious adverse reaction reported in =2% of patients who received OPDIVO was pneumonitis. A fatal reaction of myocardial infarction occurred in one patient who received OPDIVO. In Checkmate 649, serious adverse reactions occurred in 52% of patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n=782). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in =2% of patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy were vomiting (3.7%), pneumonia (3.6%), anemia (3.6%), pyrexia (2.8%), diarrhea (2.7%), febrile neutropenia (2.6%), and pneumonitis (2.4%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 16 (2.0%) patients who were treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy; these included pneumonitis (4 patients), febrile neutropenia (2 patients), stroke (2 patients), gastrointestinal toxicity, intestinal mucositis, septic shock, pneumonia, infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, mesenteric vessel thrombosis, and disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Common Adverse Reactions

In Checkmate 037, the most common adverse reaction (=20%) reported with OPDIVO (n=268) was rash (21%). In Checkmate 066, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported with OPDIVO (n=206) vs dacarbazine (n=205) were fatigue (49% vs 39%), musculoskeletal pain (32% vs 25%), rash (28% vs 12%), and pruritus (23% vs 12%). In Checkmate 067, the most common (=20%) adverse reactions in the OPDIVO plus YERVOY arm (n=313) were fatigue (62%), diarrhea (54%), rash (53%), nausea (44%), pyrexia (40%), pruritus (39%), musculoskeletal pain (32%), vomiting (31%), decreased appetite (29%), cough (27%), headache (26%), dyspnea (24%), upper respiratory tract infection (23%), arthralgia (21%), and increased transaminases (25%). In Checkmate 067, the most common (=20%) adverse reactions in the OPDIVO arm (n=313) were fatigue (59%), rash (40%), musculoskeletal pain (42%), diarrhea (36%), nausea (30%), cough (28%), pruritus (27%), upper respiratory tract infection (22%), decreased appetite (22%), headache (22%), constipation (21%), arthralgia (21%), and vomiting (20%). In Checkmate 238, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in OPDIVO- treated patients (n=452) vs ipilimumab-treated patients (n=453) were fatigue (57% vs 55%), diarrhea (37% vs 55%), rash (35% vs 47%), musculoskeletal pain (32% vs 27%), pruritus (28% vs 37%), headache (23% vs 31%), nausea (23% vs 28%), upper respiratory infection (22% vs 15%), and abdominal pain (21% vs 23%). The most common immune-mediated adverse reactions were rash (16%), diarrhea/colitis (6%), and hepatitis (3%). In Checkmate 816, the most common (>20%) adverse reactions in the OPDIVO plus chemotherapy arm (n=176) were nausea (38%), constipation (34%), fatigue (26%), decreased appetite (20%), and rash (20%). In Checkmate 227, the most common (=20%) adverse reactions were fatigue (44%), rash (34%), decreased appetite (31%), musculoskeletal pain (27%), diarrhea/colitis (26%), dyspnea (26%), cough (23%), hepatitis (21%), nausea (21%), and pruritus (21%). In Checkmate 9LA, the most common (>20%) adverse reactions were fatigue (49%), musculoskeletal pain (39%), nausea (32%), diarrhea (31%), rash (30%), decreased appetite (28%), constipation (21%), and pruritus (21%). In Checkmate 017 and 057, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=418) were fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, cough, dyspnea, and decreased appetite. In Checkmate 743, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO plus YERVOY were fatigue (43%), musculoskeletal pain (38%), rash (34%), diarrhea (32%), dyspnea (27%), nausea (24%), decreased appetite (24%), cough (23%), and pruritus (21%). In Checkmate 214, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients treated with OPDIVO plus YERVOY (n=547) were fatigue (58%), rash (39%), diarrhea (38%), musculoskeletal pain (37%), pruritus (33%), nausea (30%), cough (28%), pyrexia (25%), arthralgia (23%), decreased appetite (21%), dyspnea (20%), and vomiting (20%). In Checkmate 9ER, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO and cabozantinib (n=320) were diarrhea (64%), fatigue (51%), hepatotoxicity (44%), palmar-plantar erythrodysaesthesia syndrome (40%), stomatitis (37%), rash (36%), hypertension (36%), hypothyroidism (34%), musculoskeletal pain (33%), decreased appetite (28%), nausea (27%), dysgeusia (24%), abdominal pain (22%), cough (20%) and upper respiratory tract infection (20%). In Checkmate 025, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=406) vs everolimus (n=397) were fatigue (56% vs 57%), cough (34% vs 38%), nausea (28% vs 29%), rash (28% vs 36%), dyspnea (27% vs 31%), diarrhea (25% vs 32%), constipation (23% vs 18%), decreased appetite (23% vs 30%), back pain (21% vs 16%), and arthralgia (20% vs 14%). In Checkmate 205 and 039, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=266) were upper respiratory tract infection (44%), fatigue (39%), cough (36%), diarrhea (33%), pyrexia (29%), musculoskeletal pain (26%), rash (24%), nausea (20%) and pruritus (20%). In Checkmate 141, the most common adverse reactions (=10%) in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=236) were cough (14%) and dyspnea (14%) at a higher incidence than investigator's choice. In Checkmate 275, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=270) were fatigue (46%), musculoskeletal pain (30%), nausea (22%), and decreased appetite (22%). In Checkmate 274, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) reported in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=351) were rash (36%), fatigue (36%), diarrhea (30%), pruritus (30%), musculoskeletal pain (28%), and urinary tract infection (22%). In Checkmate 142 in MSI-H/dMMR mCRC patients receiving OPDIVO as a single agent (n=74), the most common adverse reactions (=20%) were fatigue (54%), diarrhea (43%), abdominal pain (34%), nausea (34%), vomiting (28%), musculoskeletal pain (28%), cough (26%), pyrexia (24%), rash (23%), constipation (20%), and upper respiratory tract infection (20%). In Checkmate 142 in MSI-H/dMMR mCRC patients receiving OPDIVO with YERVOY (n=119), the most common adverse reactions (=20%) were fatigue (49%), diarrhea (45%), pyrexia (36%), musculoskeletal pain (36%), abdominal pain (30%), pruritus (28%), nausea (26%), rash (25%), decreased appetite (20%), and vomiting (20%). In Checkmate 040, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO with YERVOY (n=49), were rash (53%), pruritus (53%), musculoskeletal pain (41%), diarrhea (39%), cough (37%), decreased appetite (35%), fatigue (27%), pyrexia (27%), abdominal pain (22%), headache (22%), nausea (20%), dizziness (20%), hypothyroidism (20%), and weight decreased (20%). In Attraction-3, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in OPDIVO-treated patients (n=209) were rash (22%) and decreased appetite (21%). In Checkmate 577, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients receiving OPDIVO (n=532) were fatigue (34%), diarrhea (29%), nausea (23%), rash (21%), musculoskeletal pain (21%), and cough (20%). In Checkmate 649, the most common adverse reactions (=20%) in patients treated with OPDIVO in combination with chemotherapy (n=782) were peripheral neuropathy (53%), nausea (48%), fatigue (44%), diarrhea (39%), vomiting (31%), decreased appetite (29%), abdominal pain (27%), constipation (25%), and musculoskeletal pain (20%).

Please see US Full Prescribing Information for OPDIVO and YERVOY.

Clinical Trials and Patient Populations

Checkmate 037-previously treated metastatic melanoma; Checkmate 066-previously untreated metastatic melanoma; Checkmate 067-previously untreated metastatic melanoma, as a single agent or in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 238-adjuvant treatment of melanoma; Checkmate 816-neoadjuvant non-small cell lung cancer, in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy; Checkmate 227-previously untreated metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 9LA-previously untreated recurrent or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in combination with YERVOY and 2 cycles of platinum-doublet chemotherapy by histology; Checkmate 017-second-line treatment of metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer; Checkmate 057-second-line treatment of metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer; Checkmate 743-previously untreated unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 214-previously untreated renal cell carcinoma, in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 9ER-previously untreated renal cell carcinoma, in combination with cabozantinib; Checkmate 025-previously treated renal cell carcinoma; Checkmate 205/039-classical Hodgkin lymphoma; Checkmate 141-recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck; Checkmate 275-previously treated advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma; Checkmate 274-adjuvant treatment of urothelial carcinoma; Checkmate 142- MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer, as a single agent or in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 142-MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer, as a single agent or in combination with YERVOY; Checkmate 040-hepatocellular carcinoma, in combination with YERVOY; Attraction-3-esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Checkmate 577-adjuvant treatment of esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer; Checkmate 649- previously untreated advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction or esophageal adenocarcinoma

About the Bristol Myers Squibb and Ono Pharmaceutical Collaboration

In 2011, through a collaboration agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Bristol Myers Squibb expanded its territorial rights to develop and commercialize Opdivo globally, except in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, where Ono had retained all rights to the compound at the time. On July 23, 2014, Ono and Bristol Myers Squibb further expanded the companies' strategic collaboration agreement to jointly develop and commercialize multiple immunotherapies as single agents and combination regimens for patients with cancer in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

About Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

Celgene and Juno Therapeutics are wholly owned subsidiaries of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. In certain countries outside the U.S., due to local laws, Celgene and Juno Therapeutics are referred to as, Celgene, a Bristol Myers Squibb company and Juno Therapeutics, a Bristol Myers Squibb company.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, the research, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives and involve inherent risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including internal or external factors that could delay, divert or change any of them in the next several years, that are difficult to predict, may be beyond our control and could cause our future financial results, goals, plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, that the outcome of pricing and reimbursement negotiations in individual countries in Europe may delay or limit the commercial potential of Opdivo (nivolumab) with chemotherapy for the additional indication described in this release, that any marketing approvals, if granted, may have significant limitations on their use, that continued approval of such combination treatment for such additional indication described in this release may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials, and whether such combination treatment for such additional indication described in this release will be commercially successful. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many risks and uncertainties that affect Bristol Myers Squibb's business and market, particularly those identified in the cautionary statement and risk factors discussion in Bristol Myers Squibb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as updated by our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made only as of the date of this document and except as otherwise required by applicable law, Bristol Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / Vox Royalty Corp. (TSXV:VOX)(OTCQX: VOXCF) ("Vox" or the "Company"), a high growth precious metals focused royalty company, is pleased to provide recent development and exploration updates from royalty operating partners ValOre Metals Corp. (TSXV: VO) ("ValOre"), Genesis Minerals Limited (ASX: GMD) ("Genesis"), Norwest Minerals Limited (ASX: NWM) ("Norwest"), Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. (HKSE: 2899) ("Zijin Mining"), and Kalamazoo Resources Limited (ASX: KZR) ("Kalamazoo").

Kyle Floyd, Chief Executive Officer stated: "The past month has seen material development at key royalty-linked properties, including three substantial resource upgrades, confirmation that the Binduli North expansion remains on track for H2 2022 and positive metallurgical test work at Puzzle and Bulgera. The development probability of the Pedra Branca, Ashburton, Kookynie/Puzzle and Bulgera royalty properties has been increased as a result of this meaningful progress so far in 2022. Vox management is excited to track the progression of these royalty projects from exploration, to development and ultimately into production over the coming quarters."

Key Development Updates

106% increase in mineral resource at the Pedra Branca platinum group elements (" PGE ") project by ValOre;

") project by ValOre; Maiden Puzzle North gold resource estimate and positive feasibility metallurgical test work at Kookynie by Genesis;

113% increase in gold resource estimate at the Bulgera gold project by Norwest;

Construction well progressed and production targeted for second half of 2022 at the Janet Ivy Mine expansion Binduli North project by Zijin Mining subsidiary Norton Gold; and

Outstanding metallurgical gold recoveries and commencement of a development scoping study at the Ashburton gold project by Kalamazoo.

Pedra Branca (Preliminary Economic Assessment - Brazil) - +100% Increase in Mineral Resource to 2.2Moz PGE(1)

Vox holds a 1% net smelter return royalty over the Pedra Branca PGE project in Brazil;

On March 24, 2022, ValOre announced an updated National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (" NI 43-101 ") inferred mineral resource estimate (1) , with highlights including: 2.198Moz palladium + platinum + gold (" 2PGE+AU ") in 63.6Mt grading 1.08g/t 2PGE+AU; 106% increase to the 2019 inferred mineral resource; C$6.1M spent on exploration and development since 2019 resource; 17,434m have been drilled since 2019; Extensive growth potential remains at Massape, Santo Amaro, Trapia, and Cedro, in addition to advanced exploration targets property-wide; and Regional exploration by Trado drilling continues to advance new prospects to reverse circulation (" RC ") or core drill targets.

(" ") inferred mineral resource estimate , with highlights including: Vox Management Summary: The ValOre team are to be congratulated for doubling the size of the Pedra Branca PGE resource to a globally-significant 2.2Moz. Given how shallow the current resource estimate is, Vox management expects further resource growth potential for this exciting, royalty-linked PGE project.

Kookynie (Pre-Feasibility - Western Australia) - Maiden Puzzle North Resource & Positive Metallurgical Test Work(2)(3)

Vox holds a A$1/t production royalty (2) on part of the Kookynie gold project in Western Australia;

on part of the Kookynie gold project in Western Australia; On March 29, 2022, Genesis announced a substantial resource update (3) for the Ulysses/Leonora Gold Project (" Leonora "), with highlights including: Total Mineral Resource at Leonora has grown to 2.0Moz, up 409,000oz or 25% from 1.6Moz as at 31 March 2021; Recent shallow Puzzle North discovery contributed maiden resource of 6.1Mt @ 1.2g/t for 232,000oz, with further growth anticipated; Total combined Puzzle North and Puzzle resource stands at 5,765Kt @ 1.1g/t for 204,000oz Indicated and 2,950Kt @ 1.1g/t for 107,000oz Inferred at a 0.5g/t cut-off grade; Exploration in 2022 will target depth and strike extensions to Puzzle and Puzzle North, including the untested "Puzzle Gap"; and Metallurgical test work has been carried out as part of the Leonora feasibility study at Puzzle North and Puzzle confirming that the ore is amenable to conventional cyanide leaching. Ongoing test work by Genesis has confirmed gold recoveries from primary ore to be ~90% to 95%.

for the Ulysses/Leonora Gold Project (" "), with highlights including: Vox Management Summary: The Puzzle North gold deposit has been fast-tracked from initial discovery in April 2021 to an initial resource estimate and feasibility-stage metallurgical test work, with upside in the untested "Puzzle Gap" zone expected in 2022. Vox management believes there is growing potential to generate over a 50x revenue multiple on its 2020 Kookynie royalty investment (assuming at least 5Mt can be mined from royalty-linked deposits).

Bulgera (Exploration - Western Australia) - +100% Increase in Gold Resource Estimate(4)

Vox holds a 1% net smelter return royalty over the Bulgera gold project in Western Australia;

On March 16, 2022, Norwest announced: The Bulgera gold resource estimate increased 113% to 5.1Mt @ 1.2g/t gold for 200,130 ounces (4) ; RC and diamond drilling conducted in 2021 intersected wide zones of gold mineralisation to extend the main lode beyond 500m down dip of the shallow Bulgera open pit; Bulgera gold mineralisation has high recovery (up to 98%) and low-cost processing characteristics; and Norwest is to commence deep RC drilling for additional gold bearing shear zones in the highly mineralised Bulgera gold project area.

Vox Management Summary: The estimated resource at Bulgera has doubled in size since Vox acquired its royalty in early 2021 and initial metallurgical test work indicates that it will be amenable to low-cost processing. Oxide ore from Bulgera was last processed at the nearby Plutonic gold mine in 2004, and given the haul road remains in place, credible near-term development options are available for Bulgera.

Janet Ivy (Producing - Western Australia) - Binduli North Construction Update & Production Timing

Vox holds a A$0.50/tonne production gold royalty over the Janet Ivy project in Western Australia;

In Zijin Mining's 2021 annual report, it announced that: The application for permits and licenses of the Binduli North project has been completed and project construction is fully underway; Approximately A$160M (RMB 0.757 billion) of the total Binduli expansion budget of A$462M (Binduli North and South) has been invested by Zijin Mining as at December 31, 2021; and It is anticipated that the project will complete construction and commence production from the Binduli North portion of the Janet Ivy mine in the second half of 2022.

Vox Management Summary: The Binduli North mine expansion is expected to be a key source of revenue growth for Vox from late-2022 onwards. Vox shareholders are getting the benefit of the ~A$160M capital invested to date on the Binduli expansion by gold major Zijin Mining (C$59~ billion market capitalisation).

Ashburton (Exploration - Western Australia) - Outstanding Gold Recoveries and Development Scoping Study

Vox holds a 1.75% gross revenue royalty (>250koz cumulative production) on the Ashburton gold project in Western Australia;

On March 11, 2022, Kalamazoo announced: Outstanding gold recoveries returned from initial test work on four metallurgical composites from the large Mt Olympus deposit; Excellent gold recovery into an initial rougher concentrate of up to 94%; Gold in concentrate grade averaged 31.8g/t Au across all four composites with a maximum value of 39.2g/t Au; Additional test work is now being implemented including gravity recoverable gold, final concentrate assay testing and optimisation studies to derive final gold recoveries; and Project development scoping study to commence in Q2 2022.

Vox Management Summary: The Ashburton gold project is actively being progressed from advanced exploration to early development stage with the completion of metallurgical test work and the commencement of an engineering scoping study. Vox management continues to be excited by the Ashburton project's medium-term potential to generate meaningful royalty revenue for Vox, subject to the outcomes of upcoming engineering studies.

Qualified Person

Timothy J. Strong, MIMMM, of Kangari Consulting LLC and a "Qualified Person" under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this press release.

About Vox

Vox is a high growth precious metals royalty and streaming company with a portfolio of over 50 royalties and streams spanning eight jurisdictions. The Company was established in 2014 and has since built unique intellectual property, a technically focused transactional team and a global sourcing network which has allowed Vox to become the fastest growing company in the royalty sector. Since the beginning of 2019, Vox has announced over 20 separate transactions to acquire over 45 royalties.

Further information on Vox can be found at www.voxroyalty.com.

For further information contact:

Spencer Cole Kyle Floyd Chief Investment Officer Chief Executive Officer spencer@voxroyalty.com info@voxroyalty.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" "plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions, events or results " may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements".

The forward-looking statements and information in this press release include, but are not limited to, summaries of operator updates provided by management and the potential impact on the Company of such operator updates, statements regarding expectations for the timing of commencement of development, construction at and/or resource production from various mining projects, expectations regarding the size, quality and exploitability of the resources at various mining projects, future operations and work programs of Vox's mining operator partners, the receipt of future royalty payments derived from various royalty assets of Vox, anticipated future cash flows and future financial reporting by Vox, and requirements for and operator ability to receive regulatory approvals.

Forward-looking statements and information are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions that, while believed by management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking statements and information are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of Vox to control or predict, that may cause Vox's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, including but not limited to: the requirement for regulatory approvals and third party consents, the impact of general business and economic conditions, the absence of control over the mining operations from which Vox will receive royalties, including risks related to international operations, government relations and environmental regulation, the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties; the uncertainties involved in interpreting exploration data; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with Vox's expectations; accidents, equipment breakdowns, title matters, labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions in operations; fluctuating metal prices; unanticipated costs and expenses; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations; currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions; liability, competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties.

Vox has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Vox as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While Vox may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Technical and Third-Party Information

Except where otherwise stated, the disclosure in this press release is based on information publicly disclosed by project operators based on the information/data available in the public domain as at the date hereof and none of this information has been independently verified by Vox. Specifically, as a royalty investor, Vox has limited, if any, access to the royalty operations. Although Vox does not have any knowledge that such information may not be accurate, there can be no assurance that such information from the project operators is complete or accurate. Some information publicly reported by the project operators may relate to a larger property than the area covered by Vox's royalty interests. Vox's royalty interests often cover less than 100% and sometimes only a portion of the publicly reported mineral reserves, mineral resources and production from a property.

References & Notes:

ValOre Metals Corp. press release titled "ValOre Metals Expands Pedra Branca Inferred Mineral Resource by 106% to 2.2 Million Ounces at 1.08 g/t 2PGE+Au" dated 24 March 2022. The updated Pedra Branca mineral resource estimate dated 8 March 2022 was completed by independent Brazilian consultancy GE21 Consultoria Mineral, in accordance with Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Definition Standards incorporated, by reference, in NI 43-101, and has been reviewed internally by ValOre. Independent consultants, Fabio Valerio (P.Geo.) and Porfirio Cabaleiro (P.Eng.), of GE21 were commissioned to complete the mineral resource estimate and the technical report on behalf of ValOre, and Chris Kaye of Mine and Quarry Engineering Services Inc. ("MQes"), was commissioned to review the metallurgical information and contribute to the NI 43-101 technical report. The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and reviewed and approved by Colin Smith, P.Geo., ValOre's QP and Vice President of Exploration. Kookynie Royalty is split in two separate terms: Kookynie (Melita) Royalty - which covers the Puzzle Deposit: A$1/t production royalty >650Kt cumulative ore mined and treated. Kookynie (Consolidated Gold) Royalty - which covers the Puzzle North Discovery: A$1/t (for each Ore Reserve with a gold grade <= 5g/t Au), for grades > 5g/t Au royalty = ((Ore grade per Tonne - 5) x 0.5)+1) . Genesis Minerals Limited announcement titled "Resource increases by more than 400,000oz to 2Moz and remains open in every direction" dated 29 March 2022. The Information in this press release relating to estimated mineral resources dated 29 March 2022 at Kookynie/Leonora is based on information compiled by Mr. Paul Payne, a Competent Person who is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr. Payne is a full-time employee of Payne Geological Services Pty Ltd and is a shareholder of Genesis Minerals Limited. Mr. Payne has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". Norwest Minerals Limited announcement titled "Bulgera gold project resources exceed 200,000 ozs on strength of 2021 drill programs" dated 16 March 2022. The information in this press release relating to estimated mineral resources at Bulgera as at 16 March 2022 is based on work completed by Mr. Stephen Hyland, a Competent Person and Fellow of the AusIMM. Mr. Hyland is Principal Consultant Geologist with Hyland Geological and Mining Consultants (HGMC) and holds relevant qualifications and experience as a qualified person for public reporting according to the JORC Code in Australia. Mr. Hyland is also a Qualified Person under the rules and requirements of NI 43-101.

SOURCE: Vox Royalty Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/695898/Vox-Provides-Development-Exploration-Updates
ANA System Shown to Achieve High Rate of Complete Recanalization, Favorable 90 Day Outcomes

Multi-center clinical study datasupportingAnaconda Biomed's ANA Advanced Neurovascular Access (ANA) Catheter System for treating ischemic stroke has been published in the journal Stroke. The SOLONDA ("SOL"itaire in combination with the ANA Catheter system manufactured by Anac"ONDA") clinical trial is a 125-patient, prospective study designed to assess system safety and reperfusion measured using the modified treatment in cerebral infarction (mTICI) score.

The Steering Committee decided to terminate the study after enrollment of 74 patients, when an interim analysis found overwhelming evidence confirming that safety and performance objectives were already met.

The published results are as follows:

The primary endpoint, defined as successful reperfusion (mTICI 2b-3) within three passes before rescue therapy, was achieved in 83.3% of patients, with a rate of complete reperfusion (mTICI 2c-3) of 60%

The ANA System showed superiority in the primary outcome analysis (p=0.02) after non-inferiority was confirmed (p<0.01).

The rates of first-pass successful recanalization (mTICI=2b) were 56%, with a first pass complete recanalization rate of 39%.

The rate of favorable functional outcomes (mRS 0-2) at 90 days were 57.5%, with the 90-day rate of excellent functional outcome (mRS-02) at 45.2%

"The ANA System represents an exciting new treatment option in ischemic stroke, where time is brain," said Lead Author and Principal Investigator, Dr. Alejandro Tomasello, Hospital Vall d'Hebron in Barcelona. "Achieving the highest degree of reperfusion with the minimum attempts, ideally in a single pass, has been described as a robust predictor of favorable outcome. The ANA System performed very well in this regard."

Anaconda's investigational ANA Catheter System consists of unique, funnel-shaped delivery and aspiration catheters to be used in combination with a stent retriever. When deployed, the funnel self-expands and directly conforms to the artery diameter up to 5mm. It is designed to locally restrict flow and allow full thrombus extraction without fragmentation. The SOLONDA study aims to validate earlier testing that achieved statistically significant improvement in revascularization rates at both first and third pass.

"The SOLONDA multi-center study results are excellent and consistent with early single-center findings that were published in the Journal of Neuroradiology in December 2020," said Francois Salmon, CEO of Anaconda Biomed. "We look forward to the opportunity to bring the ANA System to the many physicians and patients affected by ischemic stroke."

About Anaconda Biomed

Anaconda Biomed is a medical technology start-up company working closely with Vall d'Hebron that is dedicated to developing next-generation thrombectomy systems for the treatment of ischemic stroke. Its flagship product is the ANA Advanced Neurovascular Access. Anaconda Biomed has received funding from leading life science investment firms Ysios Capital, Omega Funds, Innogest, and Asabys Partners, as well as Banco Sabadell and private investors. The company has also received public support from EIB, Enisa, CDTI (Neotec), Ministry of Science and Innovation (Emplea and Retos), ACCIO (Nuclis) and EIT Health public grants. The ANA Catheter System is not available for sale in the United States. For more information, visit https://anaconda.bio/.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005488/en/

Contacts:

Joe Duraes

Pazanga Health Communications

jduraes@pazangahealth.com

917-687-6419
LONDON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ex-ministerial aide, Leon Emirali, has launched Cinto Global, a consultancy offering reputation and public image management to a variety of leaders in the fields of business, philanthropy and politics.



Emirali launches the consultancy having previously served as a media aide to Steve Barclay MP, Boris Johnson's Chief of Staff in Number 10, during his time as Brexit Secretary and Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He has also consulted for Theresa May's Downing Street operation.

Cinto Global pitches its offering at high-profile figures and works across three core practice areas; public image management, stakeholder relations and leadership communications. The consultancy offers an in-house content production studio, as well as 'round the clock' advisory.

Key services include media relations, crisis communications, social media management, speechwriting, stakeholder management and leadership communications. The consultancy also has a training division, offering workshops and advice on personal branding to C-Suite executives.

Emirali has confirmed that the consultancy is working with multiple retained private clients, which include a former FTSE-100 leader, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, charitable foundation founders and government ministers from around the world.

Leon Emirali, CEO of Cinto Global, commented:

"High-profile figures can no longer afford to leave their public image to chance. From Downing Street to Wall Street, Cinto Global brings expertise from the highest levels of politics and business to discreetly shape the reputation and legacy of eminent leaders around the world.

Whether it's investors and government, or employees and the media, our clients have multiple business-critical audiences they must sensitively interact with. We help them successfully navigate today's complex communications landscape in a way that supports them as individuals, as well as the organisations they represent."

Prior to working in Westminster and Whitehall, Emirali co-founded a marketing agency working predominantly with start-ups, and sold his shareholding to make a profitable exit from the business in 2018. He has since become an active investor with holdings in property, major funds and tech companies.

The consultancy is currently hiring for a PR Assistant and Account Manager. Find out more at www.cinto.co.uk/careers.

Contact:

contact@cinto.co.uk,

020-39848541

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1780539/Cinto_Global.jpg
Partners Group / Key word(s): Investment

Partners Group invests in Climeworks, a leading Swiss designer, developer, and operator of Direct Air Capture plants



05.04.2022 / 13:20





Baar-Zug, Switzerland; 5 April 2022

Partners Group co-led a CHF 600 million fundraising round for Climeworks

The funding will enable Climeworks to scale its Direct Air Capture capacity

Direct Air Capture technology is critical to reaching global net-zero goals

Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, has agreed, on behalf of its clients, to invest in Climeworks (or "the Company"), a designer, developer, and operator of carbon dioxide Direct Air Capture ("DAC") plants. Partners Group co-led a CHF 600 million fundraising round for the Company, together with GIC. Other new investors in the round included Baillie Gifford, Carbon Removal Partners, Global Founders Capital, M&G, and Swiss Re.

Founded in 2009 as a spin-off from ETH Zurich, Climeworks generates revenues through selling carbon dioxide removal services to businesses and individuals. Today, the Company has built 15 DAC plants, including the world's largest DAC and storage plant, which started operations last September in Iceland. The capital from this equity round is anticipated to be used for capacity scale-up and geographical expansion - pilot projects have started in the US, the Nordics, and the Middle East - as well as investment into technology development and scaling the organization. The Company aims to become a dominant platform in the growing DAC market.

Partners Group will work with the management team and other investors to help scale Climeworks, as well as support its commercialization strategy and international expansion.

Alfred Gantner, Co-Founder and Executive Member of the Board of Directors, Partners Group, says: "Climeworks' DAC plants are part of a portfolio of carbon removal technologies that are essential to achieving the Paris Agreement goals. The scalability of Climeworks' technology makes it ideally suited to our transformational investing strategy and positions the Company to make a significant contribution to global carbon removal efforts. We are also attracted to Climeworks due to its close fit with our commitment to achieving lasting, positive stakeholder impact."

Dr. Christoph Gebald, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Climeworks, comments: "Climeworks is a pioneer in the DAC market. We have been working on our DAC technology for over a decade and are now in a position to scale-up. Partners Group's extensive experience in building next-generation infrastructure platforms and working with fast-growing businesses makes them an ideal long-term partner. We look forward to working with the team alongside our other investors."

Esther Peiner, Managing Director, Co-Head Private Infrastructure Europe, Partners Group, adds: "Investing in DAC technology has never been more important as the atmospheric concentration of CO2 globally continues to climb. Our research shows DAC technology benefits from several advantages over other emissions reduction technologies, such as location-agnosticism and limited land area requirements. Together with our co-lead investor GIC, we believe Climeworks has the potential to become a category leader in the DAC market due to its premium product and strong brand presence."

Decarbonization is one of the giga themes guiding Partners Group's thematic investing across asset classes and the firm has identified carbon management as a key focus within that theme. In a recent research paper, The next generation of decarbonization infrastructure, Partners Group estimated that approximately USD 250 billion will be spent on carbon management this decade, expanding to over USD 1.6 trillion by 2040.

About Partners Group

Partners Group is a leading global private markets firm. Since 1996, the firm has invested over USD 170 billion in private equity, private real estate, private debt, and private infrastructure on behalf of its clients globally. Partners Group seeks to generate strong returns through capitalizing on thematic growth trends and transforming attractive businesses and assets into market leaders. The firm is a committed, responsible investor and aims to create sustainable returns with lasting, positive impact for all its stakeholders. With USD 127 billion in assets under management as of 31 December 2021, Partners Group provides an innovative range of bespoke client solutions to institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and private individuals globally. The firm employs more than 1,500 diverse professionals across 20 offices worldwide and has regional headquarters in Baar-Zug, Switzerland; Denver, USA; and Singapore. It has been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2006 (symbol: PGHN). For more information, please visit www.partnersgroup.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

About Climeworks

Climeworks empowers people to reverse climate change by permanently removing carbon dioxide from the air. One of two things happens to the Climeworks air-captured carbon dioxide: either it is returned to earth, stored safely and permanently away for millions of years, or it is upcycled into climate-friendly products such as carbon-neutral fuels and materials. The Climeworks direct air capture technology runs exclusively on clean energy, and the modular CO2 collectors can be stacked to build machines of any size. In September 2021, Climeworks launched the world's largest direct air capture and storage plant, Orca, located in Iceland. Founded by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, Climeworks strives to inspire 1 billion people to act now and remove carbon dioxide from the air.

Partners Group media relations contact

Alec Zimmermann

Phone: +41 79 290 09 74

Email: alec.zimmermann@partnersgroup.com

End of Media Release


Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Lorne Park Capital Partners Inc. (TSXV: LPC) ("LPCP") is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has approved the declaration of a cash dividend of $0.006 per common share, payable on April 29, 2022 to the shareholders of record as of April 19, 2022. This represents a 20% increase over previous quarterly dividends.

"When we introduced a dividend policy in 2021, it was with the goal of increasing our dividend over time as our free cash flow continues to grow," said Robert Sewell, LPCP's President and CEO. "The dividend increase announced today is the first step in demonstrating that Lorne Park Capital Partners Inc. is a dividend growth company."

The dividend payments qualify as eligible dividends for Canadian income tax purposes. The declaration, amount and payment of future cash dividends are subject to the Board of Directors' continuing determination that the payment of dividends is in the best interests of the Company, its shareholders and is in compliance with all laws and agreements of the Company applicable to the declaration and payment of cash dividends. The ability of the Company to pay future dividends will be reviewed on a quarterly basis taking into consideration actual and forecasted cash flows and the macroeconomic outlook at that point in time.

About Lorne Park Capital Partners Inc.

LPCP was created to bring together boutique investment management and wealth advisory firms in order to deliver robust, cost effective investment solutions to affluent investors, foundations, estates and trusts. LPCP's unique strategy creates better alignment between investment managers and wealth advisors while providing them with additional resources to accelerate their growth.

For further information, please contact:

Robert Sewell

Chief Executive Officer

Lorne Park Capital Partners Inc.

investor.relations@lpcp.ca

(905) 337-2227

Cautionary Notes

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.

This news release contains statements which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", "plan", and other similar expressions. Forward looking information in this news release includes, without limitation, LPCP's objectives, goals and future plans. Forward-looking information addresses possible future events, conditions and financial performance based upon management's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. In particular, the forward-looking information contained in this news release reflects assumptions about the timing and results of the amalgamation and regulatory approvals. Management of LPCP considers the assumptions on which the forward-looking information contained herein are based to be reasonable. However, by its very nature, forward-looking information inherently involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such information. Such risks include, without limitation, changes in economic conditions, applicable laws or regulations. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. LPCP disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES, ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF U.S. SECURITIES LAW

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/118753
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV: MGM) (OTCQB: MGMLF) (FSE: M3G) ("Maple Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to report final assay results from the Fall 2021 drill program at the Company's Douay Gold Project ("Douay" or the "Project") in Quebec, Canada, which is held by a 50/50 joint venture (the "JV") between the Company and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited. The JV completed a total of seven (7) holes and roughly 3,420 metres ("m") under the Fall 2021 drill program, with every hole intersecting multiple intervals of >1 gram per tonne gold ("g/t Au").

Highlights:

Drill hole DO-21-316 at the 531 Zone intersected 1.54 g/t Au over 32.2 m (from 430.0 m downhole), including 4.63 g/t Au over 6.7 m within 2.13 g/t Au over 18.9 m.

(from 430.0 m downhole), including within DO-21-316 intercepts are located approximately 135 m down-plunge from the best intercept drilled to-date at the 531 Zone (DO-21-310; see news from September 9, 2021) and below the SLR 2022 NI43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate ("SLR 2022") conceptual pit limits, indicating down-plunge continuity of high-grade mineralized trends and resource expansion potential at depth in the 531 Zone.

and in the 531 Zone. Drill hole DO-21-317 intersected three discrete gold zones: 5.58 g/t Au over 3.0 m (from 258.0 m downhole); 1.62 g/t Au over 16.0 m (from 284.0 m downhole); and 3.42 g/t Au over 8.0 m (from 369.0 m downhole).

(from 258.0 m downhole); (from 284.0 m downhole); and (from 369.0 m downhole). DO-21-317 intercepts are located up-plunge relative to the DO-21-310 intercept and within a different stratigraphic horizon relative to DO-21-316 that is also favourable for gold mineralization, indicating multiple stacked gold zones that remain open.

"Our exploration team has delivered significant drill intercepts every year at the 531 Zone since 2019 when our targeting became supported by 3D modelling," stated Fred Speidel, VP Exploration of Maple Gold. "These new intercepts further support our belief that there are multiple stacked gold zones with apparent cross-plunges that appear to be structurally controlled. Demonstrated gold mineralization combined with a general lack of drilling has our team excited about the potential for the 531 Zone to deliver additional pit-constrained and underground resources as we continue with larger step-out and deeper drilling in 2022."

Fall 2021 Drill Program Interpretation and Summary of Results

The JV's Fall 2021 drill program included drilling in three separate areas (see Figure 1 for drill hole locations) outlined below with corresponding objectives:

531 Zone (3 holes): Targeting further up-plunge and down-plunge along one of the two main interpreted mineralized trends (see Figure 2). Central Zone (2 holes): Located 450 m and 650 m east of the SLR 2022 Central Zone conceptual pit and designed to test the eastern continuity of sediment-hosted gold mineralization and support further drilling along a 700 m drilling gap (see Figure 1). Nika Zone / Porphyry Zone Gap Area (2 holes): The Porphyry Zone and Nika Zone are geologically similar and these two drill holes were drilled in the gap area between these two zones and their respective SLR 2022 conceptual pits.





Figure 1: Douay plan view map highlighting Fall 2021 drill hole locations

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3077/119281_7395001264264a28_001full.jpg

The 531 Zone has several geological similarities to the Douay West Zone; however, the former has seen significantly less drilling to-date (see Figure 1) and represents an opportunity to expand resources with mineralization remaining open in multiple directions.





Figure 2: North-looking 531 Zone section (50 m total width) with SLR 2022 resource blocks and drill hole locations.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3077/119281_7395001264264a28_002full.jpg

Figure 2 shows gold mineralization extending down-plunge over 300 m from D-93-08 through DO-21-317 to beyond DO-21-316 and then to 70531 (the original 531 Zone discovery hole). Mineralization remains open along both trends (blue and red arrows) at the 531 Zone. Apart from historical drillholes D-92-41 (2.0 g/t Au over 22.9 m) and D-93-08 (1.52 g/t Au over 13.7m), there is no drilling up-plunge to test at shallower depths on this section (see Figure 2 above) leaving mineralization open toward surface. DO-21-319 (2.12 g/t Au over 2.20 m, including 3.56 g/t Au over 1.5 m and 1.44 g/t Au over 5 m, including 2.47 g/t Au over 2.0 m) was an approximately 160 m step-out drill hole (mostly off section in Figure 2) that appears to have just intersected the lower edge of westerly-plunging mineralization in this area, which warrants follow-up drilling.

A second, roughly perpendicular trend or "cross-plunge", currently less defined but consistent with the typical easterly-plunging mineralization at Douay, is supported by current geological interpretations and the distribution of SLR 2022 resource blocks. This trend is also open to depth with very little drilling (red arrow), but does include DO-20-262X, one of the most significant holes drilled at 531 Zone (see news releases from June 5, 2019 and March 16, 2020).

The DO-21-316 intercept (1.54 g/t Au over 32.2 m, including 2.13 g/t Au over 18.9 m and 4.63 g/t Au over 6.70 m) is hosted in bleached, massive, and relatively homogenous brecciated mafic intrusive that is geologically similar to the previously reported DO-21-310 intercept (8.8 g/t Au over 28 m) located approximately 135 m up-plunge. The DO-21-317 intercepts (5.58 g/t Au over 3.0 m; 1.62 g/t Au over 16.0 m; and 3.42 g/t Au over 8.0 m) are hosted in altered and mineralized fenitized basalts or interflow sediments, also favourable for gold, and are interpreted as additional stacked gold zones.

The altered mafic (and to a lesser degree sedimentary) host rocks, as observed in drill core, point to the possibility of an additional alkaline intrusive complex beneath the 531 Zone. The JV's ongoing and planned drilling in 2022 includes larger step-out and deeper drilling to target areas with significant resource expansion potential. Drill testing the 531 Zone at greater depths continues to rank high on the JV's priority list.

Central Zone drilling intersected multiple narrow zones of mostly sediment-hosted gold mineralization, including multi-gram intercepts in both drill holes. DO-21-318 intersected 2.53 g/t Au over 4.0 m (from 286.0 m downhole); DO-21-315 intersected 1.25 g/t Au over 4.0m (from 260.0 m downhole) and 4.24 g/t Au over 1.0 m (from 362.0 m downhole). Collectively, these two holes confirm that gold mineralization continues well to the east of the current SLR 2022 Central Zone conceptual pit and support drilling still further to the east along a 700 m drilling gap.

Drilling in the Nika Zone intersected multiple broad intervals of lower-grade mineralization in a gap area with very limited drilling between the Nika and Porphyry Zones (see Figure 1 and Table 1). This gap area has a similar magnetic signature as the centre of the Nika Zone (some 500 m to the northwest) where hole DO-21-282X intersected 1.58 g/t Au over 132 m (see news release from May 26, 2021). Given the general lack of drilling within this gap area, and particularly the presence of near-surface gold mineralization starting at top of bedrock, the results will be further interpreted with the aim of vectoring in towards larger near-surface concentrations of >1 g/t Au mineralization.

Complete Fall 2021 drill program results at Douay are included in Table 1 below.





Table 1 - Summary of Fall 2021 Drill Program Results at Douay

To view an enhanced version of Table1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3077/119281_mapletable1.jpg

Notes: All intervals are downhole core lengths. True widths estimated to be approximately 70-90% of core lengths.

Annual Equity Incentive Plan Grants

Pursuant to its Equity Incentive Plan (the "Plan") dated December 17, 2020 and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company has granted stock options ("Options"), Restricted Share Units ("RSUs") and Deferred Share Units ("DSUs") to certain employees, officers and directors of the Company.

Options to purchase an aggregate of 3,500,000 common shares of the Company (each, a "Common Share") were granted, with an exercise price of $0.42 per Common Share. Each Option grant vests one-third on the date of the grant, one-third 12 months from the date of the grant and one-third 24 months from the date of the grant. Once vested, each Option is exercisable into one Common Share for a period of five years from the date of the grant.

The Company also granted a total of 3,530,000 RSUs and 900,000 DSUs. Each RSU grant vests one-third on April 30, 2022, one-third 12 months from the date of the grant and one-third 24 months from the date of the grant. Once vested, each RSU and DSU entitles the holder thereof to receive either one Common Share, the cash equivalent of one Common Share or a combination of cash and Common Shares, as determined by the Company, net of applicable withholdings.

Further details regarding the Plan are set out in the Management Information Circular of the Company filed on May 19, 2021, which is available on SEDAR.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical data contained in this press release was reviewed and prepared under the supervision of Fred Speidel, M. Sc., P. Geo., Vice-President Exploration of Maple Gold. Mr. Speidel is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Speidel has verified the data related to the exploration information disclosed in this press release through his direct participation in the work.

Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC)

The JV implements strict Quality Assurance ("QA") and Quality Control ("QC") protocols at Douay covering the planning and placing of drill holes in the field; drilling and retrieving the NQ-sized drill core; drillhole surveying; core transport to the Douay Camp; core logging by qualified personnel; sampling and bagging of core for analysis; transport of core from site to ALS laboratories in Val-d'Or, QC; sample preparation for assaying; and analysis, recording and final statistical vetting of results. For a complete description of protocols, please visit the Company's QA/QC webpage at www.maplegoldmines.com.

About Maple Gold

Maple Gold Mines Ltd. is a Canadian advanced exploration company in a 50/50 joint venture with Agnico Eagle Mines Limited to jointly advance the district-scale Douay and Joutel gold projects located in Quebec's prolific Abitibi Greenstone Gold Belt. The projects benefit from exceptional infrastructure access and boast ~400 km2 of highly prospective ground including an established gold resource at Douay (SLR 2022) that holds significant expansion potential as well as the past-producing Eagle, Telbel and Eagle West mines at Joutel. In addition, the Company holds an exclusive option to acquire 100% of the Eagle Mine Property.

The district-scale property package also hosts a significant number of regional exploration targets along a 55 km strike length of the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone that have yet to be tested through drilling, making the project ripe for new gold and polymetallic discoveries. The Company is well capitalized and is currently focused on carrying out exploration and drill programs to grow resources and make new discoveries to establish an exciting new gold district in the heart of the Abitibi. For more information, please visit www.maplegoldmines.com.

ON BEHALF OF MAPLE GOLD MINES LTD.

"Matthew Hornor"

B. Matthew Hornor, President & CEO

For Further Information Please Contact:

Mr. Joness Lang

Executive Vice-President

Cell: 778.686.6836

Email: jlang@maplegoldmines.com

Mr. Kiran Patankar

SVP, Growth Strategy

Cell: 604.935.9577

Email: kpatankar@maplegoldmines.com

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS PRESS RELEASE.

Forward Looking Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation in Canada, including statements about exploration work and results from current and future work programs. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, uncertainties and management's best estimate of future events. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations and projections. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Maple Gold Mines Ltd.'s filings with Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com or the Company's website at www.maplegoldmines.com. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119281
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Getchell Gold Corp. (CSE: GTCH) (OTCQB: GGLDF) ("Getchell" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the 2022 drill program at the Fondaway Canyon gold project in Nevada is scheduled to commence by the end of April.

Key Highlights

2022 drill program at Fondaway Canyon will initially follow up on last year's high-grade gold discovery reporting 10.4 g/t Au over 25.0m within a broader zone grading 6.3 g/t Au over 50.7m ;

within a broader zone grading ; The broader drill plan is to continue expanding on the substantive zones of mineralization discovered during the previous two years of drilling; and

The Central Area zone of gold mineralization has been traced 600m along strike and 800m down dip from surface and remains open in most directions.

"The last two years of drilling at the Fondaway Canyon gold project have been extremely successful, especially punctuated by our most recent high-grade discovery. We continue to see no apparent limits to the mineralizing system and the Project's upside potential," states Mike Sieb, President, Getchell Gold Corp. "The forthcoming 2022 drill program will continue the accelerated path of advancement, and I look forward to the commencement of drilling with a high level of anticipation."

2022 Drill Program

The Company has secured two drill rigs for 2022. The first rig is scheduled to commence drilling at the Fondaway Canyon gold project before the end of this month with the second rig scheduled to commence a maiden drill program at the Star high-grade Cu-Au-Ag project situated 60 km to the north a few weeks later.

The rig slotted for Fondaway Canyon will initially be tasked with delineating the high-grade gold discovery intersected by FCG21-16, the last hole of the 2021 drill program.

FCG21-16 was stationed on the canyon floor at the junction of Fondaway Canyon and the North Fork branch to target the North Fork mineralized zone as a 30m step out to the northwest from holes FCG20-04, FCG21-09, and FCG21-10 (Figure 1).

FCG21-16 encountered a high-grade gold interval grading 6.3 g/t Au over 50.7m (117.5-168.2m) that includes 10.4 g/t Au over 25.0m (139.9-164.9m). This latter interval contained 12 samples reporting >10 g/t Au revealing strong internal high-grade gold consistency (Figure 2). Marking how truly exceptional this is, the FCG21-16 interval returned the greatest 'gold grade x thickness' value in the 40+ year history of gold exploration and mining at the Project and likely represents a major conduit for the gold mineralizing system at Fondaway Canyon.

The high-grade FCG21-16 interval was intersected shallower than the North Fork zone's targeted depth and may correspond to an upper lens recently indicated by hole FCG21-09 (see news release dated Oct. 20, 2021).

The North Fork zone drilling has consistently produced impressive grades and thicknesses of gold mineralization. The near surface mineralization of the Half Moon shear vein has been the historical focus of interest while the North Fork zone has only recently been discovered, remains underexplored, is open along strike and down dip, and represents significant value-add potential.

Drilling to expand and infill the North Fork zone is only one of a number of equally valid and promising priority gold zones at Fondaway Canyon that will be drilled this year.





Figure 1: Fondaway Canyon North Fork 3D section, 150m wide, looking northwest with an artificial plunge applied, highlighting the 2020 and 2021 drilling.



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3941/119287_d6c8195294d3e9c8_001full.jpg

To watch a recent video that provides a detailed look at the latest discovery, plus an overall summary of the recent exploration highlights at Fondaway Canyon, click here: https://youtu.be/q6Nebxwf1q0









Figure 2: FCG21-16 drill hole trace on section showing gold samples and significant intervals.



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3941/119287_d6c8195294d3e9c8_002full.jpg

Live Presentation

Getchell Gold Corp. is also excited to be presenting on Thursday, April 7 at 1:35 ET, at the Money Show's "Money, Metals and Mining" Virtual Expo. All interested investors are invited to register for free at: https://online.moneyshow.com/2022/april/money-metals-and-mining-virtual-expo/speakers/ee2b86f2cdc6467a877f747a81dab53d/mike-sieb/'scode=056235

Scott Frostad, P.Geo., is the Qualified Person (as defined in NI 43-101) who reviewed and approved the content and scientific and technical information in the news release.

The Fondaway Canyon 2021 drill core was processed using the same methods as the 2020 drill program. The core is cut at Bureau Veritas Laboratories' ("BVL") facilities in Sparks, Nevada, with the samples analyzed for gold and multi-element analysis in BVL's Sparks, Nevada and Vancouver, BC laboratories respectively. Gold values are produced by fire assay with an Atomic Absorption finish on a 30-gram sample (BV code FA430) with over limits re-analyzed using method FA530 (30g Fire Assay with gravimetric finish). The multi-element analyses are performed by ICP-MS following aqua regia digestion on a 30g sample (BV code AQ250). Quality control measures in the field include the systematic insertion of standards and blanks.

Highlighted drill intervals are based on a 0.25 g/t Au cut-off, minimum interval lengths of 3.3 metres (10 feet), and a maximum of 3.3 metres of internal dilution, with no top cut applied. All intervals are reported as downhole drill lengths and additional work is required to determine the true width.

About Getchell Gold Corp.

The Company is a Nevada focused gold and copper exploration company trading on the CSE: GTCH and OTCQB: GGLDF. Getchell Gold is primarily directing its efforts on its most advanced stage asset, Fondaway Canyon, a past gold producer with a significant in-the-ground historic resource estimate. Complementing Getchell's asset portfolio is Dixie Comstock, a past gold producer with a historic resource and two earlier stage exploration projects, Star and Hot Springs Peak. Getchell has the option to acquire 100% of the Fondaway Canyon and Dixie Comstock properties, Churchill County, Nevada.

The Company reiterates that its near-term strategy to advance its assets is not impacted by the COVID-19 Corona virus. The Company continues to monitor the situation and is in compliance with all government guidelines.

For further information please visit the Company's website at www.getchellgold.com or contact the Company at info@getchellgold.com or at +1 647 249-4798.

Mr. William Wagener, Chairman & CEO

Getchell Gold Corp.



The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States.

Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the private placement and the completion thereof and the use of proceeds. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including: the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, use of proceeds from the financing, capital expenditures and other costs, and financing and additional capital requirements. Although management of Getchell have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119287
Surrounded by glass, the eco-friendly display features illuminated, refrigerated shelves

ifi America announced the North American availability of Lilium, ifi's latest refrigerated display case, designed to highlight the beauty and originality of pastries and cold snacks. Recently introduced by ifi at Sigep 2022, Lilium enhances customer experiences by featuring a sophisticated, clear presentation of food products while focusing on proper preservation, hygiene, energy efficiency, and technology functionality.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005490/en/

Introducing the Lilium Display by ifi, offering the ultimate in display visibility for pastries and cold snacks. Lilium is an energy-efficient, safe, and elegant way to display your products. LED lighting gently highlights pastries and cold snacks, its unique design maintains a consistent temperature from the base tray to the top shelf. (Photo: Business Wire)

"This new display is the answer many of the pastries and bakery shops we serve have been waiting for," said Giovanni Montanelli, ifi America General Manager. "Its design and technology elevates customer experiences, enhances store efficiency, and accentuates the appeal of displayed products. It also appeals to a broader customer base, including cafes or restaurants wishing to offer cold snacks or adding a Grab-and-Go display in their shops."

With three or two adjustable, refrigerated shelves, Lilium is ideal for presenting and preserving pastries and cold snacks. It features tempered, pyrolytic, heated front/top glass for maximum clarity. The side panels consist of durable double-glazed tempered glass. Rear sliding doors are double-glazed glass with an airtight (hermetic) snap closure system that guarantees consistently temperature and airtightness for energy savings. Optional UV-C raytechnology eliminates bacteria from the air inside the display case in just 60 seconds after the display closure is resealed. Lilium is also available in a Grab-and-Go configuration.

The display top embeds 4000K LED lighting with opal covers for gently diffused light. Rear anodized aluminum uprights incorporate LED lighting to illuminate the glass tempered shelves and allow easy height adjustment. Optional LED spotlights are available to apply additional lighting and create a dramatic food presentation. Lighting levels are set through the operators' control panel.

The refrigeration and ventilation system circulates air evenly, enabling a consistent interior temperature from the polished stainless steel bottom tray to the top shelf. The rear door design allows easy display case loading and facilitates simple service operations. An open-door acoustic alarm activates 30 seconds. Lilium is eco-friendlyusingR290, an efficient refrigerant with lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) that is recommended by the U.S. EPA. Lilium can connect to ifi's optional Galileo Gateway, an IoT remote management system that provides oversight of the operating status of ifi display cases and allows real-time interaction.

ifi America will be exhibiting in Booth 7535 at the National Restaurant Association Expo held May 21-24, 2022 at McCormick Place, Chicago, IL.

About ifi America

ifi America is the North American branch of Italy-headquartered ifi S.p.A., a leader in food industry furnishings design and technology innovation. From its headquarters in Miami, Florida, and through a growing network of distributors, dealers, and service providers, ifi America has brought award-winning, Italian-designed food beverage furnishings and services to America since 2014.

Celebrating its 60th anniversary of people-centric innovation this year, ifi began as an artisan firm in Pesaro, Italy, specializing in the production of bar and gelato shop furniture. With over 174 patents, ifi has made its mark on the history of food beverage furnishings through award-winning innovations that have established new industry standards. A truly global leader, ifi serves customers in 120 countries.

ifi products are available in North America direct or through AutoQuotes; service and parts are provided through PartsTown. Follow ifi America on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005490/en/

Contacts:

Corporate Contact:

Giovanni Montanelli

g.montanelli@ifiamerica.com

415-465-3395

Media Contact:

Carol Warren

cwarren@antarra.com

714-890-4500
Grass Valley, California--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Rise Gold Corp. (CSE: RISE) (OTCQX: RYES) (the "Company") reports that the public comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Report on the Idaho-Maryland Mine Project is complete.

The Nevada County government released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (the "DEIR") for the Idaho-Maryland Mine Project (the "IMM Project") on January 4, 2022. The report's release was a major milestone toward the approval of the Company's Use Permit Application to reopen the historic past-producing Idaho-Maryland Gold Mine. The 60-day public comment on the DEIR was extended to 91 days, ending on April 4, 2022. Over 1,000 local residents provided comments to the county in support of the IMM Project. The Company will provide more information on the public comments received by the county as the information becomes available.

The independently prepared DEIR was the culmination of two years of intensive study by the Nevada County government with the support of its consultant, Raney Planning & Management Inc., an experienced firm located in Sacramento, and contributions from many qualified technical experts and scientists. The DEIR concluded that there are no significant impacts to air quality, biological resources, water quality, groundwater, vibrations, or noise from operations from the proposed re-opening of the Idaho-Maryland Gold Mine.

A general outline of the remaining milestones in the Use Permit Application process are as follows:

After review of the DEIR's public comments, Nevada County will publish a Final Environmental Impact Report (the "FEIR") which will include responses to public comments;

The Nevada County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to consider the FEIR and make a recommendation on project approval to the Nevada County Board of Supervisors;

The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing to consider and make a final decision on the IMM Project. A majority vote of the five supervisors is required to approve the project.

The timeline to complete the Use Permit Application process is largely dependent on the Nevada County government and the completion of the FEIR. The Company estimates that the Use Permit for the IMM Project could be granted by late summer or fall of 2022.

The Nevada County Board of Supervisors has approved three mining projects in recent years. The Boca Quarry Expansion, a surface aggregate mine with a production of up to 1 million tons per year, was approved in 2019. In addition, the Greenhorn Creek Mining Expansion, a surface aggregate mine with a production of up to 600,000 tons per year, was approved in 2017 and the Blue Lead Gold Mine, a surface placer gold mine with a production of up to 400,000 tons per year, was approved in 2015.

A recent survey of Nevada County conducted by J. Wallin Opinion Research demonstrates strong local support for the IMM Project. A majority (59%) of respondents supported the re-opening of the Idaho-Maryland Gold Mine, with only 34% of respondents opposed. Majority support for the project is consistent across all the county's five districts.

About Rise Gold Corp.

Rise Gold is an exploration-stage mining company incorporated in Nevada, USA. The Company's principal asset is the historic past-producing Idaho-Maryland Gold Mine located in Nevada County, California, USA. To learn more about the company, visit www.risegoldcorp.com.

About Rise Grass Valley Inc.

Rise Grass Valley, a subsidiary of Rise Gold Corp., proposes to reinitiate underground mining and gold mineralization processing at the Idaho-Maryland Mine in unincorporated Nevada County. State-of-the-art facilities utilizing environmentally friendly technology will be located on the Brunswick Industrial Site. To learn more about the project and community, visit www.risegrassvalley.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors:

Benjamin Mossman

President, CEO and Director

Rise Gold Corp.

For further information, please contact:

RISE GOLD CORP.

Suite 215, 333 Crown Point Circle

Grass Valley, CA 95945

T: 530.433.0188

info@risegoldcorp.com

www.risegoldcorp.com

The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur.

Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to certain factors including, without limitation, obtaining all necessary approvals, meeting expenditure and financing requirements, compliance with environmental regulations, title matters, operating hazards, metal prices, political and economic factors, competitive factors, general economic conditions, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulation and supervision, seasonality, technological change, industry practices, and one-time events that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information contained in this release. Rise undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements or information except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119284
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / Golden Lake Exploration Inc. (CSE:GLM) ("GLM" or the "Company") (OTCQB:GOLXF) is pleased to report on its 2nd diamond drill hole of the 2022 field season, also located at the Hamburg Mine Target, on the Company's keystone Jewel Ridge project, located in the prolific Eureka gold district, Nevada.

Hole JR-22-37DD returned an 18.71 metre interval from a depth of 24.57 metres averaging 2.85 grams gold per tonne (g/t Au), 20.5 g/t silver (Ag), 0.76 percentage lead (% Pb) and 1.13 percentage zinc (% Zn). This interval comprised a combination of "Carlin-style" and Carbonate Replacement Deposit ("CRD") mineralization. This interval was over 24.57 metres to a depth of 50.90 metres, omitting 4.57 meters of void (Underground workings on CRD mineralization and 3.02 meters of waste (less than 0.20 g/t Au).

Hole JR-22-37DD is collared approximately 225 metres south-southeast of hole JR-22-36DD (see Press Release March 23rd, 2022, 26.37 METERS AVERAGING 5.38 G/T GOLD") with an azimuth of 165, dip -80, directed at a different target than holes JR-22-36DD.

Hole JR-22-37DD intersected two intervals interpreted as CRD mineralization.

The first CRD interval, from 24.57 to 31.09 metres returned 6.52 metres averaging 6.88 g/t Au, 38.7 g/t Ag, 1.59% Pb and 1.84% Zn . The best individual intercept was from 24.99 to 26.12 metres, over 1.13 metres, returned 9.86 g/t Au, 61.0 g/t Ag, 1.87 % Pb, and 2.06 % Zn (see core photo below).

. The best individual intercept was from 24.99 to 26.12 metres, over 1.13 metres, returned 9.86 g/t Au, 61.0 g/t Ag, 1.87 % Pb, and 2.06 % Zn (see core photo below). The second CRD interval, from 46.33 to 50.90 metres, returned 4.57 metres averaging 1.13 g/t Au, 19.4 g/t Ag, 0.41% Pb and 0.99% Zn.

If the void is included at zero grade and the waste interval is included, the interval from 24.57 to 50.90 metres returned 26.34 metres averaging 2.03 g/t Au, 14.7 g/t Ag, 0.54 % Pb, and 0.82 % Zn.

Two additional zones of lower grade were also intersected in hole JR-22-37DD. From 173.04 metres, an intercept over 7.01 metres averaged 0.37 g/t Au, 3.6 g/t Ag, 0.13 % pb and 0.32 % Zn. From 187.45 metres, an intersection of 9.54 meters averaged 0.28 g/t Au and 2.6 g/t Ag, with no significant lead or zinc.

Hole JR-22-37DD was located approximately 35 Southeast of the Main Hamburg Mine open pit.

Drill Plan - Hamburg Mine Area

Gossanous CRD 24.57 m to 26.12 m, over 1.55 m, 9.42 g/t Au, 73.6 g/t Ag, 2.27% Pb & 2.27% Zn

The Hamburg Mine target is approximately 1.8 kilometers South-Southeast of the Eureka Tunnel target, where the Company was actively exploring throughout most of 2021.

Mineralization in hole JR-22-37DD is hosted within the Hamburg Dolomite unit, where most historic gold and silver production from the underground and open pit workings occurred. The Company does not have detailed mining plans of the historic production from the Hamburg Mine area.

The high-grade mineralization intersected in hole JR-22-36DD, hosted within the Dunderberg Shale horizons, was not tested in hole JR-22-37DD.

Final silver and base metals assays were also returned for hole JR-22-36DD (gold values previously reported), including from 42.64 metres, over 26.27 metres, averaged 5.39 g/t Au and 4.3 g/t Ag. Lead and zine values were insignificant.

Mike England, CEO, said, "Hole JR-22-37DD returned excellent gold and silver values, and represents a significant step-out from the high-grade intersected in hole JR-22-36DD. Multiple new targets have been indicated at the Hamburg Mine area, with drilling to continue throughout the spring and summer."

Drilling Quality assurance and quality control statement

Procedures have been implemented to assure QA/QC of drill hole assaying being done at an ISO accredited assay laboratory. All intervals of drill holes are being assayed and samples have been securely shipped and received by ALS Labs in Reno, Nevada, with chain-of-custody documentation through delivery. Mineralized commercial reference standards and coarse blank standards are inserted every 20th sample in sequence. All results will be analyzed for consistency.

About the Jewel Ridge Property

The Jewel Ridge property is located on the south end of Nevada's prolific Battle Mountain - Eureka trend, along strike and contiguous to Barrick Gold's Archimedes/Ruby Hill gold mine to the north and Timberline Resources' advanced-stage Lookout Mountain project to the south.

The property comprises 96 unpatented lode mining claims and 30 patented claims covering approximately 728 hectares (1,800 acres). The Jewel Ridge property contains several historic small gold mines. The Company's focus is on Carlin-style disseminated gold deposits, the primary focus in the area since the late 1970s.

Nevada Carlin-type gold deposits (CTGD) have a combined endowment of more than 250 million ounces, which are concentrated (85 per cent) in only four trends or camps of deposits: Carlin, Cortez (Battle Mountain-Eureka), Getchell and Jerritt Canyon. The Company cautions that results on adjacent and/or nearby projects are not necessarily indicative of results on the Company's property.

Qualified person

Golden Lake Exploration's disclosure of a technical or scientific nature in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Garry Clark, P.Geo., who serves as a qualified person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.

About Golden Lake Exploration Inc.

Golden Lake Exploration is a junior public mining exploration company engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets. Its objective is to acquire, explore and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit and to aggressively advance its exploration program on the Jewel Ridge property. The Jewel Ridge property is located on the south end of Nevada's prolific Battle Mountain-Eureka trend, along strike and contiguous to Barrick Gold's Archimedes/Ruby Hill gold mine to the north and Timberline Resources' advanced-stage Lookout Mountain project to the south. The Company also owns a large (37.814 hectare) early-stage property in south-central British Columbia, contiguous to Kodiak Copper Corp., and Gold Mountain Mining Inc., that is highly prospective for copper-gold porphyry and mesothermal gold-bearing quartz-vein mineralization.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Mike England"

Mike England, CEO & DIRECTOR

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Telephone: 1-604-683-3995

TollFree:1-888-945-4770

Neither the Canadian Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at WWW.SEDAR.COM).

SOURCE: Golden Lake Exploration Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696062/Golden-Lake-Reports-1871-metres-Averaging-285-gt-Gold-and-205-gt-Ag-From-Hamburg-Mine-Zone-Jewel-Ridge-Project-Nevada
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / Toronto based CO2 GRO Inc. ("GROW" or the "Company") (TSXV:GROW, OTCQB:BLONF, Frankfurt: 4021) is pleased to announce a Technology Trial ("trial") for a CO2 Delivery Solutions system at an Ecuador based rose greenhouse. The owner wished to remain unnamed without facility details announced.

The trial will be conducted for up to one year, assessing CO2 Delivery Solutions economic benefits including faster plant growth, greater rose bud production, improved plant health and suppression of micro-pathogens particularly powdery mildew. According to studies conducted by Enoch et al., 1970; Hanan, 1973; Mortensen and Moe, 1983 on atmospheric CO2 enrichment in rose greenhouses, increased yields of 16% to 60% over those grown in a non-enriched atmosphere were observed.

The Ecuador Flower Market

The Republic of Ecuador is located in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia to the Northeast, Peru to the East and South and the Pacific Ocean to the West. Ecuador is the world's third largest flower exporter at 9% of the global market after the Netherlands and Colombia, according to Eagle-link Flowers. Nearly all (over 98%) of Ecuador's flower production is exported.

Ecuadorian flowers grown for export markets are considered amongst the best in the world for their aroma, texture, quality and unmatched beauty. Ecuador growers are noted for the development and continuous use of sustainable practices aimed at reducing the use of chemicals and proper crop management which are in line with ecological agriculture practices (BIDFOMIN-Expoflores Associativity program).

Atmospheric CO2 enrichment (gassing) to enhance rose production is not widely used in Ecuador due to year-round heat venting and relatively low-tech greenhouses and other protected grow facilities. CO2 GRO's CO2 Delivery Solutions is a viable alternative for Ecuadorian rose growers to enrich their plants with CO2 despite low-tech facilities and venting, in order to achieve increased yields, plant quality, revenue and profits.

According to Aaron Archibald, VP Sales and Strategic Alliances, "With two rose trials underway in Colombia, we attracted further interest from a rose grower in neighboring Ecuador to assess our technology's benefits. Unsolicited inquiries from growers have been increasing as we continue to market CO2 Delivery Solutions. We look forward to successfully executing these rose trials in the region over the coming year and graduating them to Commercial Technology Purchases."

Visit www.co2delivery.ca ?for more information on CO2 Delivery Solutions.

About CO2 GRO Inc. CO2 GRO Inc.

CO2 GRO's proprietary CO2 Delivery Solutions technology is revolutionizing the global estimated 800 billion square foot protected grower market. This is comprised of 600 billion square feet of fruits & vegetables (Cuesta Roble 2019), an estimated 100 billion square feet of floriculture and another estimated 100 billion square feet of crops such as medicinal plants, citrus tree seedlings and other non-food varieties.

Dedication: CO2 GRO is dedicated to enhancing plant growth and productivity sustainably, while reducing our customers' ecological footprint with a focus on People, the Planet and Prosperity.

Our Technology: CO2 Delivery Solutions creates a dissolved CO2 solution that is misted onto plants grown in greenhouses and protected grower facilities globally providing growers with multiple significant benefits.

Value Proposition: Growers that cannot atmospherically enrich their facilities with CO2 (gassing) can now realize yield increases of up to 30% and up to a doubling of gross profits, while suppressing the development of micro-pathogens such as E.coli and powdery mildew leading to healthier crops. Greenhouses and indoor facilities that currently do employ CO2 gassing can save up to 90% on their CO2 consumption, thereby reducing their production costs and CO2 enrichment emissions.

Patent Protection: CO2 GRO's CO2 Delivery Solutions technology is protected by a suite of patents and patents pending.

Business Model: Our technology is sold to growers based on the cultivation area installed at prices that provide a high return on their investment and high margins for our shareholders.

Global Expansion: CO2 GRO's management is rapidly expanding its international marketing partner relationships into Mexico, Spain, the EU, the UK, South Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia and Latin America as well as in its US and Canadian base.

ESG: CO2 GRO is committed to good Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies and practices. We are an equal opportunity employer of choice and opportunity.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company with respect to future business activities. Forward- looking information is often identified by the words "may," "would," "could," "should," "will," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect" or similar expressions and include information regarding: statements regarding the future direction of the Company; the ability of the Company to successfully achieve its business and financial objectives; plans for expansion and the ability of the Company to obtain, develop and foster its business relationships; and expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflect the Company's management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning the business of the Company's future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates that management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Such assumptions include but are not limited to: general business and economic conditions; the Company's ability to successfully execute its plans and intentions; the availability of financing on reasonable terms; the Company's ability to attract and retain skilled staff; market competition; the products and technology offered by the Company's competitors; and that good relationships with business partners will be maintained. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information are the following: changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; in particular, in the ability of the Company to raise debt and equity capital in the amounts and at the costs that it expects; adverse changes in applicable laws or adverse changes in the application or enforcement of current laws; the biotechnology industry and the greenhouse growers market are highly competitive, and technical advances in the industry will impact the success of the Company, and other risks described in the Company's filings that are available at www.sedar.com . Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information, please visit www.co2gro.ca or contact Michael O'Connor, Manager, and Investor Relations at 604-317-6197 or michael.oconnor@co2gro.ca

SOURCE: CO2 Gro Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696074/CO2-GRO-Inc-Announces-a-Technology-Trial-at-a-Rose-Greenhouse-in-Ecuador


CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese yen slipped against its major counterparts in the European session on Tuesday amid safe-haven status, as a rally in oil prices on the prospect of more sanctions against Russia lifted risk sentiment.



The United States and Europe signaled more sanctions on Russia for committing 'war crimes' in Ukraine.



The European Union will probably adopt a new round of sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, France's European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said.



President Volodymyr Zelensky will speak at a meeting of United Nations Security Council, which is expected to be dominated by civilian atrocities in Ukraine.



Earlier in the day, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda cautioned against the recent depreciation of the yen against the U.S. dollar, saying that currency movements are 'somewhat rapid' and should be stable.



The latest survey from Jibun Bank showed that Japan services sector continued to contract in March, albeit at a slower rate, with a services PMI score of 49.4.



That's up from 44.2 in February, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.



The yen dropped to 8-day lows of 93.90 against the aussie and 86.09 against the kiwi, off its prior highs of 92.26 and 85.02, respectively. The yen is poised to challenge support around 96.00 against the aussie and 89.00 against the kiwi.



The yen weakened to a 1-week low of 98.74 against the loonie and a 4-day low of 123.00 against the greenback, pulling back from its previous highs of 97.99 and 122.37, respectively. The next possible support for the yen is seen around 100.00 against the loonie and 124.00 against the greenback.



Reversing from its early highs of 160.50 against the pound and 132.18 against the franc, the yen depreciated to a 1-week low of 161.50 and a 4-day low of 132.85, respectively. The yen is seen finding support around 164.00 against the pound and 134.00 against the franc.



The yen edged down to 135.12 against the euro, after climbing to an 8-day high of 134.29 in previous deals. On the downside, 137.00 is possibly seen as the next support level for the currency.



Looking ahead, U.S. and Canadian trade data for February and ISM non-manufacturing PMI for March will be released in the New York session.







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Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced CE-IVD marking in the European Union for its PD-L1 IHC 28-8 pharmDx immunohistochemical assay to extend the use of the test to patients diagnosed with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma (MIUC) who have tumor cell PD-L1 expression 1% for adjuvant treatment with OPDIVO (nivolumab), a PD-1-targeted immunotherapeutic from Bristol Myers Squibb.

Urothelial carcinoma is the 10th most common cancer worldwide, with over 500,000 new cases and approximately 212,000 deaths in 2020.1 The rate of relapse with distant occurrence is approximately 50% in patients with MIUC.2

PD-L1 is a biomarker for response to anti-PD-1 therapies, including OPDIVO. The expanded use of PD-L1 IHC 28-8 pharmDx helps physicians in the EU identify MIUC patients for adjuvant treatment with OPDIVO.

When used in conjunction with PD-L1 IHC 28-8 pharmDx as a companion test, OPDIVO provides the first and only PD-1-directed treatment approach that can help reduce the risk of disease recurrence and offers new hope for patients diagnosed with MIUC.

"Agilent supports pathologists with products that provide accuracy and reliability in PD-L1 testing," said Sam Raha, president of Agilent's Diagnostics and Genomics Group. "We are pleased that this now includes the treatment of MIUC for adjuvant treatment with OPDIVO."

This new indication CE-marking for PD-L1 IHC 28-8 pharmDx in the EU expands the current treatment options for urothelial cancer patients to include MIUC patients whose tumor cells express PD-L1 1% and are high-risk of recurrence after undergoing radical resection, for the adjuvant treatment with OPDIVO. The new labeling builds on Agilent's previous successes in growing the clinical applicability of therapeutic biomarker analysis, further cementing the company's position as a provider of diagnostic assays that deliver high quality and ease of implementation.

References

1. https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21660

2. John Michael DiBianco, Arvin K George, Daniel Su, Piyush K Agarwal. Managing noninvasive recurrences after definitive treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer or high-grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma. Curr Opin Urol. 2015 Sep;25(5):468-75

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a global leader in the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets, delivering insight and innovation that advance the quality of life. Agilent's full range of solutions includes instruments, software, services, and expertise that provide trusted answers to our customers' most challenging questions. The company generated revenue of $6.32 billion in fiscal 2021 and employs 17,000 people worldwide. Information about Agilent is available at www.agilent.com. To receive the latest Agilent news, please subscribe to the Agilent Newsroom. Follow Agilent on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005748/en/

Contacts:

Naomi Goumillout

Agilent Technologies

+1.781.266.2819

naomi.goumillout@agilent.com
EQS-Ad-hoc: Bubbles Bidco S.p.A. / Key word(s): Personnel

Bubbles Bidco S.p.A.: Change of CEO



05-Apr-2022 / 14:26 CET/CEST

Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by EQS - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

Milan, April 5, 2022

Re: Bubbles BidCo S.p.A. (the "Company") - Change of CEO

The Company confirms that the CEO of the Company, Mr. Roy Luigi Perticucci has submitted his resignation with immediate effect from all positions held within the Company and any of its affiliates.

Mr. Perticucci has notified the Company that this decision is due to personal reasons that prevent him from continuing to pursue the challenging goals of the Company.

The Company thanks Mr. Perticucci for all his work.

The Company confirms that Mr. Carlo Schiavo has been appointed as the new CEO of the Company with immediate effect.

Note

This announcement is released by Bubbles BidCo S.p.A. and contains information that qualified as inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (the "Market Abuse Regulation"). For the purposes of the Market Abuse Regulation and Article 2 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1055, this announcement is made by Stefano Giambelli, Chairman.

05-Apr-2022 CET/CEST News transmitted by EQS Group AG. www.eqs.com




HYDERABAD, India, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to ReAnIn, the global biofertilizers market was valued at USD 2,755.7 million in the year 2021 and is projected to reach USD 6,245.9 million by the year 2028, registering a CAGR of 12.4% during the forecast period. Environmental concerns associated with chemical fertilizers, growing demand for better quality residue-free or organic food, and biofertilizers' ability to achieve better yield while also enhancing soil health are fueling the growth of the biofertilizers market. However, lack of awareness, shorter shelf-life, and high production costs of biofertilizers are major restraining factors in this market.

Download free sample: Global Biofertilizers Market Growth, Share, Size, Trends and Forecast (2022 - 2028)

Expansion of Organic Agriculture

According to the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), organic farming was conducted in 190 countries in 2020 significantly higher than in 2010 (160 countries); and total organic agricultural land has more than doubled in the last decade from 37 million hectares in 2010 to 74.9 million hectares in 2020. Growing demand for organic foods and consumers' willingness to pay even extra for organic products has led to this expansion in organic agriculture. Currently, organic agricultural land represents only 1.6% of total agricultural land and hence, there are ample opportunities for further growth.

Case Study: Learnings from Sri Lanka on Adopting Organic Farming

In April 2021, the government of Sri Lanka banned the import of all chemical fertilizers and hence, forced more than 2 million farmers to go organic. The result of this hasty decision was drastic and brutal. Sri Lanka, self-sufficient in rice production, had to import USD 450 million worth of rice as rice production fell by more than 20% in just six months. Similarly, this ban had a severe impact on tea production, one of the primary sources of foreign exchange. The falling production of various crops pushed the government to partially lift the ban on chemical fertilizers and allowed private sectors to import it. This reversal of decision may not result in a rebound of the economy immediately as it had already started price hikes across sectors including food and beverage, petroleum products, and various others; and this import ban was one of the key reasons for the current economic crisis the country is facing today.

There are two important learnings from the current crisis - first, forcing the entire country to go organic by banning chemical fertilizers may not be the correct way to promote organic agriculture; and second, the government must find a way to compensate for the loss in production due to use of biofertilizers in short and medium-term.

Key Highlights of the Report:

Due to differences in awareness about biofertilizers and their accessibility across the regions, there is a varied adoption rate for biofertilizers. North America accounted for the highest share (35.2%) in the global biofertilizers market, followed by Europe (28.9%) in 2021.

accounted for the highest share (35.2%) in the global biofertilizers market, followed by (28.9%) in 2021. Among product types, nitrogen-fixing biofertilizers accounted for the majority of the market share (~75%) in 2021 and is also expected to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period (2022 - 2028)

In spite of the advantages of biofertilizers in comparison with chemical fertilizers, the adoption of biofertilizers is expected to increase gradually and a complete ban on chemical fertilizers may not be the correct way forward.

Access the report description on: Global Biofertilizers Market

Market Segmentation:

ReAnIn has segmented the global biofertilizers market by:

Product Type

Nitrogen-Fixing Biofertilizers (NFB)



Phosphate Solubilizing & Mobilizing Biofertilizers (PSM)



Potassium Solubilizing & Mobilizing Biofertilizers (KSM)

Form

Liquid Biofertilizers



Carrier-Based Biofertilizers

Mode of Application

Soil Treatment



Seed Treatment



Others

Crop Type

Cereals & Grains



Pulses & Oilseeds



Fruits & Vegetables



Other Crops

Region

North America



Latin America



Europe



Asia Pacific



Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Leading players in this market include Novozymes A/S, National Fertilizers Limited, Vegalab SA, Chr. Hansen Holding A/S, Kiwa Bio-Tech, Rhizobacter Argentina SA, T.Stanes and Company Limited, Nutramax Laboratories Inc., Symborg, Mapleton Agri Biotech Pty Ltd, Seipasa, AgriLife, Valent BioSciences, Agrinos, Valagro, Lallemand, LKB BioFertilizer, IPL Biologicals Limited, Biomax Naturals, Manidharma Biotech Pvt Ltd, and Criyagen.

Know more about this report: Global Biofertilizers Market

About ReAnIn

ReAnIn provides end-to-end market research services which span across different support areas such as syndicated market research reports, custom market research reports, consulting, long-term engagement, and flash delivery. We are proud to have more than 100 Fortune 500 companies in our clientele. We are a client-first organization and we are known not just for meeting our client expectations but for exceeding them.

Media Contact:

Name: Deepak Kumar

Email: press@reanin.com

Phone: +1 469-730-0260

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1758008/Reanin_Logo.jpg
TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - General Motors (GM) and Honda (HMC) announced plans codevelop a series of affordable electric vehicles based on a new global architecture using next-generation Ultium battery technology. The companies are targeting global production of millions of EVs starting in 2027, including compact crossover vehicles. Also, GM and Honda will discuss future EV battery technology collaboration opportunities, to reduce the cost of electrification. 'GM and Honda will share our best technology, design and manufacturing strategies to deliver affordable and desirable EVs on a global scale, including our key markets in North America, South America and China,' said Mary Barra, GM CEO. GM noted that the plans include a new all-electric product for North America positioned at a price point lower than the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Barksdale Resources Corp. (TSXV: BRO) (OTCQB: BRKCF) ("Barksdale" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the United States Forest Service ("USFS") has approved Barksdale's proposed drill program at the 100% owned San Antonio copper project in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. This is the first drill approval received by Barksdale on USFS administered mining claims in the Patagonia district, where the Company controls a significant mineral tenure across six properties.

Highlights:

Barksdale to complete up to a 3,000-meter Phase I reverse circulation drilling program at the Cosmos drill target on the San Antonio property

Cosmos is a shallow copper porphyry target, identified via multiple geophysical surveys, which highlight coincident magnetic, gravity, and chargeability anomalies

The Patagonia Mountains are known to host three large, productive, and deep porphyry systems that have been partially defined by previous explorers whereas Cosmos is a very shallow target that has never been drill tested

The San Antonio drill approval is the first of two drilling approvals being sought by Barksdale

Rick Trotman, President and CEO of Barksdale stated: "I'm very happy to announce this major milestone at San Antonio, a core portfolio holding located a few kilometers southeast of the Company's Sunnyside property. We acquired San Antonio from Teck in 2019 as we saw clear indications of a potentially large porphyry copper system and after several years of diligent effort, we are now excited to drill test the target."

Barksdale's team has worked closely with the USFS to avoid project impacts and designed the initial Phase-I drilling program at San Antonio to be a quick and low-cost test with the smallest possible footprint, little to no ground disturbance, that only operates during daytime hours. The drilling will be conducted via reverse circulation methods and the entire program is expected to be completed, and remediated, in under 60 days from mobilization of the drill rig. Given the limited impacts and short duration of the program, the USFS has approved the San Antonio project as a Categorical Exclusion ("CE") under the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"). Barksdale has proposed, and the USFS has agreed, to avoid completing the drilling program during the Yellow-Billed Cuckoo breeding season which runs from May 15 to August 31. As such, Barksdale anticipates a fall drilling program at San Antonio after posting an environmental bond and securing a drilling contractor for the program.

The San Antonio project is 100% controlled by Barksdale, subject to a 1.5% net smelter royalty payable to Teck Resources, which also has a project-level right of first refusal on the property.

Barksdale Resources Corp. is a base metal exploration company headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., that is focused on the acquisition, exploration and advancement of highly prospective base metal projects in North America. Barksdale is currently advancing the Sunnyside copper-zinc-lead-silver and San Antonio copper projects, both of which are in the Patagonia mining district of southern Arizona, as well as the San Javier copper-gold project in central Sonora, Mexico.

ON BEHALF OF BARKSDALE RESOURCES CORP

Rick Trotman

President, CEO and Director

Rick@barksdaleresources.com

Terri Anne Welyki

Vice President of Communications

778-238-2333

TerriAnne@barksdaleresources.com

For more information please phone 778-558-7145, email info@barksdaleresources.com or visit www.BarksdaleResources.com .

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation including, but not limited to, the existence of a potential shallow porphyry copper deposit on the San Antonio project and the Company's initial drill target thereon. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and are based on a number of estimates and assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking information are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, uncertain and volatile equity and capital markets, lack of available capital, actual results of exploration activities, environmental risks, future prices of base metals, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, delays in obtaining governmental approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry. In addition, the regional proximity and similarity of the Cosmos drill target to certain large porphyry copper deposits in the Patagonia mountain range is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the San Antonio property. There are currently no NI 43-101 resources or reserves on the San Antonio property. All forward-looking information contained in this news release is qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119288


MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - US President Joe Biden has called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a war criminal, and demanded that he should be held accountable for the mass killings purportedly committed by Russian forces last week.



Around 300 bodies of Ukrainians were found in a mass grave in the northwest of capital Kyiv following the hasty departure of Russian forces from the area on Sunday.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the number of civilian casualties may be much higher in other cities liberated from Russian control as the ongoing retreat of Russian forces around Kyiv reveals alleged atrocities.



Zelensky is set to address the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET.



The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that she will seek Russia's suspension from the UN Human Rights Council.



Speaking to reporters after Marine One Arrival in Washington, D.C., Biden said he plans to impose additional sanctions on Russia over the atrocities committed by Russian forces retreating from Bucha and other towns in Ukraine.



National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan later said the Biden administration is working intensively with its European allies, and will announce further sanctions this week to put economic pressure on Russia.



Sullivan said at a White House news conference that Washington is collecting 'a lot of information' that the Ukrainians have provided it directly, through intelligence sources, from media reports, and from independent fact finders to independently corroborate Ukraine's allegations about atrocities in Bucha. The U.S. Government is preparing documentation to help build very strong dossiers of evidence for war crimes prosecutions against Russian forces.



Revealing the U.S. assessment of Russia's latest war strategy, Sullivan told reporters, 'Russia is going to reposition their forces to go after a different objective - a scaled-down objective, but nonetheless a dangerous and disturbing objective, to conquer an occupied territory in eastern Ukraine.'



He said that with the Ukrainian military holding firm and capital Kyiv and other cities still stand, 'Russia is revising its war aims.'



'Russia is repositioning its forces to concentrate its offensive operations in eastern and parts of southern Ukraine, rather than target most of the territory. All indications are that Russia will seek to surround and overwhelm Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine,' the top US security official told reporters.



'We anticipate that Russian commanders are now executing their redeployment from northern Ukraine to the region around the Donbas in eastern Ukraine,' he added.



'Russian forces are already well on their way of retreating from Kyiv to Belarus as Russia likely prepares to deploy dozens of additional battalion tactical groups, constituting tens of thousands of soldiers, to the frontline in Ukraine's east.'



Washington's assessment is that Russia will focus on defeating the Ukrainian forces in the broader Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, which encompasses significantly more territory than Russian proxies already controlled before the new invasion began in late February.



In order to protect any territory it seizes in the east, the United States expect that Russia could potentially extend its force projection and presence even deeper into Ukraine, beyond Luhansk and Donetsk provinces.



During this renewed ground offensive in eastern Ukraine, Moscow will likely continue to launch air and missile strikes across the rest of the country to cause military and economic damage and to cause terror, including against cities like Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, and Lviv, according to Sullivan.



Meanwhile, the Pentagon says it is supplying Ukraine with defensive weapons, including stinger and Javelin missiles and unmanned aerial systems, as rapidly as possible.







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Marketing Veteran joins SellersFunding at a time of exponential momentum, to capitalize on 300% year-over-year growth

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / SellersFunding, a leading fintech provider for ecommerce sellers, today announces that Russell Walraven has been appointed as their inaugural Chief Marketing Officer. Walraven will oversee sales and marketing efforts globally. Coming on the heels of a period of impressive momentum, this marks the company's first hire of this nature and is illustrative of its commitment to its marketing strategy.

Walraven, based in Athens, Georgia, brings over a decade of experience of holding senior marketing roles, most recently as Vice President of Marketing at CAN Capital.

As CMO, Walraven will be responsible for ensuring that the company's marketing strategy is purposeful and impactful. He'll oversee the planning, development, and execution of SellersFunding's marketing and advertising initiatives, and will ensure the right message is distributed across channels to targeted audiences in order to scale SellersFunding's presence. Additionally, he'll provide business development strategies based on demand forecasts, historical data, and industry trends to optimize revenue generation.

"I'm delighted to begin a new journey with a growing company that prioritizes its advertising and marketing initiatives," commented Walraven. "SellersFunding plays an important position in the ecommerce industry at large. This global role will enable me to utilize my experience in both fintech and marketing to bring their momentum to the next level."

"It's time we have a marketing expert of this tenure join our team, and Russell's expertise and dedication to our company's mission made us certain he was the right addition to SellersFunding," said Ricardo Pero, CEO of SellersFunding. "We look forward to the initiatives he'll add to our global workflow."

Walraven's hire is the latest in a string of senior additions to the SellersFunding team. Most recently, Michael John Cass was appointed as Director of Sales based in London. Currently, SellersFunding has over 150 employees and is constantly looking for strategic additions to its staff of industry experts.

SellersFunding has over 40,000 registered users and has offices in London, New York, Miami, Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre.

About SellersFunding

SellersFunding is a global financial technology company on a mission to empower growth for ecommerce sellers. The SellersFunding digital platform delivers a suite of financial solutions that streamlines global commerce across marketplaces including working capital, cross-border cash management, and business valuation. For more information, visit www.sellersfunding.com.

Media Contact for SellersFunding:

Heather Valle

heather@calibercorporateadvisers.com

SOURCE: SellersFunding

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/695932/SellersFunding-Appoints-Russell-Walraven-as-Chief-Marketing-Officer
KINGSTON, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / Focus Graphite Inc. (TSX.V:FMS; OTCQX:FCSMF; FRANKFURT:FKC) ("Focus" or the "Company") is pleased to report the filing on SEDAR of a technical report supporting the initial Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") originally announced on February 17, 2022, for its MOGC graphite deposit at its 100%-owned Lac Tetepisca Project, located southwest of the Manicouagan Reservoir in the Cote-Nord administrative region of Quebec, on the Nitassinan of the Pessamit Innu.

The Technical Report entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Mineral Resource Estimate, Lac Tetepisca Graphite Project, Quebec", was prepared by DRA Global Limited's ("DRA") Montreal, Quebec office. The Technical Report effective February 17, 2022, and signed April 4, 2022, was authored by independent Qualified Persons ("QP") and was prepared in accordance with National Instrument ("NI") 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

The Technical Report is available on SEDAR, under the Company's profile and will also be posted on the Company's website at www.focusgraphite.com .

About the Lac Tetepisca Graphite Project

Focus Graphite's 100%-owned Lac Tetepisca Graphite Project comprises two contiguous properties, Lac Tetepisca and Lac Tetepisca Nord, located in the Southwest Manicouagan reservoir area of the Cote-Nord region of Quebec on the Nitassinan of the Pessamit Innu, 234 km north-northwest of the city of Baie-Comeau, an industrial city located where the Manicouagan River intersects the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. Together, the two properties form a block of 125 map-designated claims (total area: 6,737.50 ha). Focus purchased a 100% unencumbered interest of the mineral rights in the 67 CDC claims constituting the original Lac Tetepisca property from a third party in August 2011. The Lac Tetepisca Nord property was map-staked by the Company in 2012. The Lac Tetepisca Project is accessible year-round by way of a network of secondary gravel roads that extend north from Highway 389, 10 km to the south of the Manic 5 hydroelectric power station.

Maps of the Lac Tetepisca property showing the location of the MOGC graphite deposit, along with drill sections, are available on the Company's website at www.focusgraphite.com.

Qualified Person

Mr. Marc-Andre Bernier, geo. (QC), P.Geo. (ON), M.Sc., Senior Geoscientist for Table Jamesienne de Concertation Miniere, a consultant to the Company and a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the technical information provided in this news release.

About Focus Graphite

Focus Graphite Inc. is an exploration and development company that seeks to produce flake graphite concentrate at its wholly owned Lac Knife and Lac Tetepisca flake graphite projects located in the Cote-Nord administrative region of Quebec. As part of its mission to build long-term, sustainable shareholder value, Focus is also evaluating the feasibility of producing value-added specialty graphite products, including battery-grade spherical graphite.

Focus Graphite is a technology-oriented graphite development company with a vision for building long-term, sustainable shareholder value. Focus also holds an equity position in graphene applications developer Grafoid Inc. Focus is committed to operating in a socially, environmentally and ethically responsible manner.

For more information about Focus Graphite and the Company's Lac Tetepisca and Lac Knife projects, please visit Focus's website at www.focusgraphite.com or contact:

Kimberly Darlington

Communications, Focus Graphite

kdarlington@focusgraphite.com

Judith Mazvihwa-MacLean

CFO, Focus Graphite

jmazvihwa@focusgraphite.com

(613) 581-4040

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information, including references to the plans and project of the Company such as proceeding with production at the Company's Project, proceeding with exploration activities on its permits on Lac Tetepisca. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "potential", "high-potential", "expected", "optimistic", "looking forward", "moving forward", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would" or "might". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: (i) volatile stock price; (ii) the general global markets and economic conditions; (iii) the possibility of write-downs and impairments; (iv) the risk associated with exploration, development and operations of mineral deposits; (v) the risk associated with establishing title to mineral properties and assets; (vi) fluctuations in commodity prices; (vii) the risks associated with uninsurable risks arising during the course of exploration, development and production; (viii) competition faced by the issuer in securing purchasers, off-taker markets, clients and experienced personnel and financing; (ix) access to adequate infrastructure to support mining, processing, development and exploration activities; (x) the risks associated with changes in the mining regulatory regime governing the issuer; (xi) the risks associated with the various environmental regulations the issuer is subject to; (xii) risks related to regulatory and permitting delays; (xiii) risks related to potential conflicts of interest; (xiv) the reliance on key personnel; (xv) liquidity risks; (xvi) the risk of litigation; and (xvii) risk management.

Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made, including but not limited to, continued exploration activities, no material adverse change in metal prices, exploration, and development plans to proceed in accordance with plans and such plans to achieve their stated expected outcomes, receipt of required regulatory approval, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information has been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's business, operations and exploration plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is given as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update such forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: Focus Graphite, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696102/Focus-Graphite-Files-Technical-Report-on-Maiden-Resource-Estimate-for-its-MOGC-Graphite-Deposit-at-Lac-Ttpisca-Qubec
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - US Copper Corp., (TSXV: USCU) (FSE: C730) ("US Copper" or the "Company") would like to note that United States of America ("U.S.") President Biden's decision to invoke the Defense Act to expand domestic production of critical minerals should facilitate the Company's ongoing efforts to advance its large Moonlight-Superior Project, a historically operated copper mine in California, back into production.

President Biden stated in a Memorandum invoking the Defense Act to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin on March 31, 2022: "The United States depends on unreliable foreign sources for many of the strategic and critical minerals necessary for the clean energy transition - such as lithium, nickel, graphite, and manganese for large-capacity batteries. Demand for such materials is projected to increase exponentially as the world transitions to a clean energy economy."

President Biden's memorandum went on to say: "I find that action to expand the domestic production capabilities for such strategic and critical materials is necessary to avert an industrial resources or critical technology item shortfall that would severely impair the national defense capability."

"While Biden's Defense Act Order did not mention copper specifically, the clean energy transition cannot occur without a significant increase in copper production. The Order will help all critical minerals projects in the U.S. that are necessary for the clean energy transition by allocating additional resources to the mining sector, including funding for feasibility studies," said Steve Dunn, CEO of US Copper.

US Copper is developing the Moonlight-Superior Project, located approximately 125 miles from Tesla's Gigafactory outside Reno, Nevada. President Biden's Defense Act Order highlights the important role that the Company can play in ensuring the U.S. has a secure supply of one of the key metals to achieve its transition to a low carbon economy. Copper is a critical material for everything from renewable power generation to electric vehicles. As such, it will be vital that the U.S. has a strong and viable domestic source of copper supply.

US Copper is focused on advancing its Moonlight-Superior Project towards the production stage. The Company hopes to support the U.S.' shift to a green future by providing copper to the myriad of industries involved in the green energy transition.

CEO Steve Dunn further commented, "The Company is working hard to advance its project back into production and is excited about the opportunity to be an integral supplier of copper metal to the U.S. domestic market."

About US Copper Corp.

US Copper controls approximately 13 square miles of patented and unpatented federal mining claims in the Lights Creek Copper District in Plumas County, NE California; essentially, the entire District. The District contains substantial copper (silver) sulfide and copper oxide resources in three deposits - Moonlight, Superior and Engels, as well as several partially tested and untested exploration targets.

The Superior and Engels Mines operated from about 1915 to 1930 producing over 161 million pounds of copper from over 4 million tons of rock containing 2.2% copper with silver and gold credits.

The Moonlight Deposit was discovered and drilled by Placer-Amex during the 1960s. Details of the resources on US Copper's property and the parameters used to calculate them can be found in the "Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Moonlight Deposit, Moonlight-Superior Copper Project, California, USA" dated April 12, 2018 on both the company's website at www.uscoppercorp.com or on www.sedar.com under the US Copper Corp profile.

Mr. George Cole is the Qualified Person pursuant to NI 43-101 responsible for the technical information contained in this news release, and he has reviewed and approved this news release.

For Further Information, Contact:

Mr. Stephen Dunn, President, CEO and Director, US Copper Corp (416) 361-2827 or email info@uscoppercorp.com .

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws and regulations, including statements regarding the future activities of the Company. Forward-looking statements reflect the current beliefs and expectations of management and are identified by the use of words including "will", "hopes", "anticipates", "expected to", "plans", "planned", "intends" and other similar words. Actual results may differ significantly. The achievement of the results expressed in forward-looking statements is subject to a number of risks, including those described in the Company's management discussion and analysis as filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedar.com. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119316
Tel Aviv, Israel--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - PsyRx Ltd, a pharmaceutical company focused on producing of GMP-grade Psilocybin and Ibogaine for research purposes and drug discovery for treating mental health conditions such as depression, announced today that it will be presenting at Plant Medicine Week: Malta by Microdose & MedCann on April 7th and 8th, 2022. The even will take place at The Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valetta.

Itay Hecht, CEO and Co-Founder, said: "We are excited to take part in such an event, and we are looking forward to seeing colleagues and friends from the psychedelic medicine industry. We have been engaged with many companies in the field and we look forward to collaborating with more - and we think that such a gathering of industry experts will surely yield meaningful conversations, which will eventually lead to collaborations and accomplishments."

About Plant Medicine Week

Plant Medicine Week: Malta is a gathering of the latest perspectives and advances from the medical cannabis and psychedelic medicine industries. This conference will bring together an incredible group of experts to explore the world of plant medicine over the course of four days. Speakers include industry-leading practitioners, top policymakers, international regulatory experts, and business leaders involved in the medical cannabis and psychedelic fields. Keynotes, panel discussions, and an exhibition hall will be held as part of the event, providing attendees the opportunity to interact with some of the world's most innovative companies and to participate in networking events to exchange ideas with other like-minded individuals.

About Microdose Psychedelics Insights

Microdose Psychedelic Insights aims to unlock the potential of psychedelics through industry events, market intelligence, original, evidence-based content, strategy and community. We enable and empower society at large to make better, more mindful decisions about psychedelics and its intersection with healthcare, medicine, and personal growth. We work with the industry's most influential stakeholders, some of the world's best-known brands and an unrivalled network of scientists, researchers, analysts, innovators, investors, and advisors.

About Medical Cannabis World Forum

Medical Cannabis World Forum brings together global industry experts and professionals on the island of Malta, focused on Legislation, Business, Regulatory, Education & Research. It is a unique platform which enables Malta to be at the forefront of Europe.

About PsyRx Ltd:

PsyRx, a psychedelic pharmaceuticals company based in Israel and Licensed by the Israeli Ministry of Health to conduct R&D in the psychedelic substances Psilocybin and Ibogaine, utilizes bioreactor technology to become a leading producer of GMP standard Ibogaine and Psilocybin to be used by target customers in the development and production of psychedelic and Ibogaine-based products, including pharmaceuticals, food supplements and others.

PsyRx intends to use its GMP-standard produced psychedelic materials to launch the development of an anti-depressant drug based on the combination of micro-doses of psychedelics with existing approved antidepressants, to reduce intake time and to improve efficacy, whilst minimizing side effects and without causing a psychedelic experience.

For more information, please see:

Website: www.psyrx.co

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/psyrx-ltd/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/psyrxpsychedelics

Email: noampermont@psyrx.co

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119121
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Euro Asia Pay Holdings Inc. (CSE: EAP) ("EAP" or the "Company"), a leading fintech solutions provider, is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into an agreement with Discover Global Network ("Discover") to power EAP's soon-to-launch Hero Financials product in the United States. Pursuant to the agreement, EAP and Discover will facilitate joint programs via issuers of prepaid cards in the U.S. for acceptance on the Discover Network. Hero Financials is EAP's full-service alternative-to-banking solution that allows guardians to provide funds to their dependents easily while monitoring payments and promoting financial literacy for the next generation of consumers.

The partnership with Discover will aid EAP's expansion strategy in the U.S. and provide reliable choices to consumers for more secure payments. A recent study featured in Business Insider indicated that the purchasing power of Gen Z in the U.S. is expected to exceed $140 billion as it becomes the largest generational cohort, and tapping in this market will allow EAP's latest product, Hero Financials, to provide U.S. customers with a safer, user-friendly, and reliable product with parental control features. This modern payment solution is expected to include a mobile application and a built-in budgeting tool, savings function, contactless payments, and security backed by third-party encryption.

Peter McKay, CEO of EAP, commented, "This partnership will enable us to leverage a spectrum of payment capabilities as Discover has a significant market share and is accepted at millions of points of sales solutions and cash-access locations. We believe that this will grant our future Hero cardholders added freedom and choice with regard to how and where they can pay. EAP is committed to empowering its customer base with seamless access to innovations, convenience and financial literacy."

"Partnering with EAP complements our goal of providing the next generation of consumers with more payment choices and products to encourage life-long financial skills," said William Dulin, Vice President, Network Solutions, at Discover. "With Discover cards being accepted at 99% of merchants in the U.S. that take credit cards[1], this partnership will further equip EAP with access to a highly dynamic market and customer base."

The agreement is for an initial term of five (5) years, during which time EAP has committed to issuing all future cards for its U.S. market exclusively on the Discover network. Under the agreement, both parties will review anticipated volumes within a reasonable time following the 24-month anniversary of the Hero Financials launch date.

EAP anticipates that this agreement will enhance the Company's growth plan with the support of Discover. Discover has maintained a substantial array of bilateral relationships in many regions, with more than 60 million global merchant locations and more than 2 million ATM and cash access locations worldwide. The Discover Global Network includes the Discover Network, Diners Club International, PULSE and more than 25 alliance partner networks across the globe, such as Interac in Canada, Elo in Brazil, and Union Pay in China, to name a few.

About Euro Asia Pay Holdings Inc.

Euro Asia Pay Holdings Inc. is a developer of innovative financial solutions for the next generation of consumers. Its first product, SideKick, enables parents to transfer, control and monitor payments to their children in a simple, intuitive manner. The product includes a student-facing mobile application, a prepaid student payment card and a parent portal, among other features.

To learn more about EAP's products and services, visit www.euroasiapay.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Peter MacKay

Chief Executive Officer & Director

For further information, please contact:

Peter MacKay

Chief Executive Officer & Director

(800) 508-8813

ir@euroasiapay.com

For all media queries, please contact:

Euro Asia Pay Holdings Inc.

Swati Mehta

PR Associates

(403) 804-0768

smehta@prassociates.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release include forward-looking statements or information (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. The Company is providing cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause its actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions as to expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as "may", "anticipates", "is expected to", "estimates", "intends", "plans", "projection", "could", "vision", "goals", "objective" and "outlook") are not historical facts and may be forward-looking. The Company has based the forward-looking statements largely on its current estimates, assumptions and projections about future events and trends that it believes may affect its business, financial condition and results of operations.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, which contribute to the possibility that the predicted outcomes may not occur or may be delayed. The risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, include, but are not limited to: the ability of the Company to establish a market for its products; competitive conditions in the mobile payments industry which could prevent the Company from becoming profitable; the effectiveness and efficiency of advertising and promotional expenditures to generate interest in the Company's products; dependency on continued growth in the adoption of mobile payment technology; volatility of the market price of the Company's securities; the inability to secure additional financing; the Company's intention not to pay dividends; claims, lawsuits and other legal proceedings and challenges; conflicts of interest with directors and management; and other relevant factors.

Factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements include its history of losses from operations; technology risks; its ability to obtain the additional financing required to meet long-term goals; its dependence on key personnel, including its executive officers; and uninsured risks. These factors are not exhaustive.

Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and, except as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

[1] According to the Feb 2021 issue of the Nilson Report.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119276
Denver, Colorado--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - CBD of Denver, Inc. (OTC Pink: CBDD), a distributor of CBD and unique CBD products sold in Switzerland and throughout Europe, is pleased to announce it signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Mellow, a CBD ecommerce distribution platform and technology company, with capabilities in the UK, Europe, and Asia, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.

"I am excited to welcome the team from Mellow into the CBD of Denver family. This acquisition will combine technology and retail e-commerce distribution alongside manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure to create a turnkey solution for the CBD industry across Europe. There is no other company in the industry now offering what we do in Europe," said Paul Gurney, CEO of CBD of Denver.

"With operations in Asia, Mellow also gives us an entrance into the rapidly evolving CBD markets in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region," continued Gurney. "The Mellow technology stack will accelerate our plans to become the go-to name for cannabis across all parts of the value chain in international markets."

"By combining our technology infrastructure, market entry capability, and experience in building and growing multi-brand ecommerce marketplaces with the distribution capability and in-market sales channels of CBD of Denver, we believe this is a remarkable opportunity," says Neil Tunbridge, Co-Founder of Mellow. "The result will be a truly end-to-end, technology-led CBD/cannabis business, based in Europe, but with global capability and scale."

James Storie-Pugh, Co-Founder of Mellow, added, "We believe that this is a remarkable opportunity for two already successful yet complimentary businesses to come together to create a virtually incomparable industry powerhouse. The capability to offer biomass, extraction, manufacturing, supply chain, and distribution, as well as providing supporting digital marketing and ecommerce capabilities is unrivalled. Additionally, Mellow is also the leading multi-channel distribution partner of choice for globally minded CBD and Hemp brands in Asia too, with our own physical store network and ecommerce channels. This is a global play."

Conference Call

CBD of Denver will host a conference call to discuss the Mellow acquisition on Wednesday, April 6, at 1:00 p.m. ET. To participate in the call, please use the following details:

Webcast: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86591256421?pwd=OEkwamptWWpoZk43bkk3NFg5RElEdz09

Passcode: 358834

Or One tap mobile:

US: +16465588656"86591256421#""*358834#

or +13017158592"86591256421#""*358834#

About Mellow

Mellow has three constituent business units Mellow.Store (the marketplace), Grow by Mellow (sector-specific in-house digital and performance marketing agency), and Mellow Asia (multi-channel distribution partner for globally minded brands). Collectively they provide fantastic market-network effects, supplying diversified revenue streams and a de-risked business model.

Mellow marketplace provides an enviable view of consumer data, product and search insights, and will continue to bring together aggregated demand for products in the sector, while remaining a go-to destination for Global brands looking to come to the UK/EU markets.

We believe that Asia represents the largest area of pent-up demand for CBD and Hemp Wellness products globally, using Hong Kong as a springboard we intend to open up 3-4 more markets in 2022.

About CBD of Denver, Inc.

CBD of Denver, Inc. (OTC Pink: CBDD) a full-line Cultivator, Distributor of CBD and Cannabis flower and a producer of a full line of CBD oil and unique products sold in Switzerland and throughout Europe. CBD of Denver, Inc. is focused on using equity to acquire profitable Swiss assets at attractive valuations to create value for all our shareholders and is driven by a passion to improve lives and strengthen communities by unleashing the full potential of cannabis. Through our Rockflowr brands we have built a very strong European customer base by focusing on top quality products and meaningful customer relationships.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information contained herein includes forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future financial performance, involving known and unknown risks and you should not place undue reliance on these statements. Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events. We assume no obligation publicly about update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason.

Investor Contact

Todd McKnight

RedChip Companies

1-800-733-2447

CBDD@redchip.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119308
PORTLAND, OR / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / LeadsRx marks the four-year anniversary in its partnership with Cumulus Media | Westwood One, America's largest audio network. It was the first national audio broadcast network to use LeadsRx Attribution and LeadsRx Journey performance marketing software to power Westwood One's analytics and attribution to measure the business impact of advertising campaigns and advertising creative for its advertisers.

"The last few years have seen a tremendous amount of positive change in the audio industry's ability to measure itself and to prove advertising impact for national brands," said Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights Officer for Cumulus Media | Westwood One. "For years, marketers have been asking, 'can I quantify if audio ads, whether streaming, podcasts or radio, can drive search and site traffic?' It wasn't possible until LeadsRx came on the scene - now we can confidently measure the impact of audio ads and tie them to business results."

LeadsRx delivers software for performance marketing measurement that help marketers understand the value of each customer touchpoint across radio, podcasts, streaming services, digital, TV, and alongside other advertising channels. For Cumulus Media | Westwood One, LeadsRx gives it the ability to connect the dots between radio ads and search and site traffic, making it possible to match what people listened to then to what people buy - LeadsRx makes it possible to measure the actual advertising impact for advertisers.

According to Bouvard, experts in marketing effectiveness have found that the single most significant driver to sales effect is not media, it's creative. Fifty to 70 percent of the results of brands campaigns have to do with the creative, the strategy to advertise a brand or product whether its radio, audio, webpage, TV or other ad format effectively and creatively.

"LeadsRx attribution has allowed us to shift the focus from media, which has very small sales effect levers such as how long an ad is and when it runs, to the creative, the big lever, and to identify which creative asset is really driving search and site traffic for brands," said Bouvard.

Marketing Attribution Success Story

The importance of creative for advertising along with the capabilities LeadsRx provides led the broadcaster to form the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group, a consultancy that marketers rely on to test advertising creative since it is so important to creating impact for their businesses.

In one advertiser success story, Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group highlights the success of a national jewelry chain that was running seven different ads/pieces of copy on the radio throughout the country. Using LeadsRx attribution data, it found that one creative execution was significantly more effective than the other eight campaigns. It represented 12percent of the impressions, but generated 23 percent of all the site traffic.

"This is just one of the many success stories that demonstrate the significant impact that LeadsRx performance marketing software has had in helping Cumulus Media | Westwood One show how audio ads increase sales and drive significant business impact for its advertisers," said AJ Brown, CEO and co-founder of LeadsRx. "Marketing attribution unlocks insights on how brands connect and stay relevant with their customers. LeadsRx keeps constant focus on innovation in marketing analytics and attribution, which helps us to cultivate strong and long-lasting relationships with customers like Cumulus Media | Westwood One."

There are a variety of tools in the marketplace that help brands create content and predict - within reason - which content will best create awareness and drive consumer traffic; but using attribution analytic data to impartially measure the impact of each creative is the only way to prove which is truly pushing traffic and conversions.

For more insight to the evolution of the LeadsRx-Cumulus | Westwood One success story and Pierre Bouvard's viewpoint on analytics, attribution, and the marketing industry tune into the LeadsRx Attribution Marketing Podcast #49 Pierre Bouvard from Cumulus Media | Westwood One Covers Audio Advertising Performance and LeadsRx blog The State of the Audio Industry and Attribution with Pierre Bouvard of Cumulus Media | Westwood One.

More information on Cumulus Media | Westwood One research and studies visit https://www.westwoodone.com/blog/.

For more on LeadsRx Attribution and LeadsRx Journey software visit leadsrx.com.

About LeadsRx

Guided by an ethos of impartiality, consumer privacy, and quality first-party data, LeadsRx provides SaaS software and services that has helped marketers at more than 5,000 global and local brands and agencies increase customer acquisition efficiency, grow lifetime value, and identify wasted ad spend. The LeadsRx foundational technology is its unique Universal Pixel that has collected more than 2 billion personas for anonymous individuals - not personal identities, but the characteristics or demographic attributes that make up the type of customer or customers represented by their digital experience across devices, browsers, and apps. LeadsRx is an Unbounce company. To learn more about how LeadsRx can support you in marketing transformation visit LeadsRx.com. Connect with LeadsRx on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

For more information

Jeff Fishburn

Fishburn PR for LeadsRx

jeff@fishburnpr.com

SOURCE: LeadsRx

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696034/Customer-Success-Story-Westwood-One-Relies-on-LeadsRx-to-Measure-Business-Impact-of-Creative-for-Advertisement-Effectiveness
Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - The Stock Day Podcast welcomed Tego Cyber Inc. (OTCQB: TGCB) ("the Company"), a company that was created to capitalize on the emerging cyber threat intelligence market. CEO of the Company, Shannon Wilkinson, joined Stock Day host Everett Jolly.

Jolly began the interview by commenting on the Company's latest achievements, and asked about their sales progress. "Sales are imminent," shared Wilkinson. "We brought on Brent Watkins in the beginning of January to lead our business development, and reach out to some of his contacts from the time he was with the FBI," she explained. "We hope to have some news in the coming month about some clients coming onboard, as well as our partnership with Vation Ventures."

"This partnership is identifying strategic channel partners for Tego Cyber," continued Wilkinson. "Essentially partners that have existing relationships with customers that would find value in adding threat intelligence into their offering," she said. "Vation Ventures has started making introductions and we're starting to have those conversations with those strategic partners now."

"Where are we at with the Splunk integration?" asked Jolly. "That is complete and it is available," said Wilkinson. "We had our soft launch at the end of October," she added. "We are also having some strategic discussions with potential Chief Revenue Officers (CRO), who would really take the reins and lead the sales team from a strategic and executive standpoint."

Jolly then commented on the Company's lack of convertible debt, and asked about their financials. "Our burn rate has gone up a bit and is probably around $120,000 to $130,000 now, but we are comfortable with the funding that we have now," said Wilkinson. "We don't have any convertible debt that we have to worry about. We did take on some convertible notes early on, but because our initial S1 is fully subscribed, we were able to pay that off."

"How do you feel about recruiting the talent that you need to move forward with your company?" asked Jolly. "We have been fortunate through our founding team, as well as our Board of Directors, to have an extensive network within our group where we can reach out to people," shared Wilkinson. "We haven't run into any issues finding and identifying the right talent," she added, noting that the Company has also taken a unique approach in finding its software developers, which pairs entry level developers with seasoned professionals to help them enter the industry. We have now taken that model and applied to our cybersecurity analysts as well."

"Could you tell our listeners about the potential of cybersecurity threats as the Ukraine invasion continues?" asked Jolly. Wilkinson elaborated on the dangers of a Russian cybersecurity attack and what it could mean for the lives of everyday people. "It is typically critical infrastructure that is being targeted by Russia in these cyber attacks," she explained. "Unless we shore up our defenses and make sure that we are protecting our critical infrastructure, as well as our organization, we have the potential to see those type of destructive attacks that we would not be able to recover from here in the United States."

To close the interview, Wilkinson shared her excitement for the Company's potential throughout 2022 as they work to bring new customers on board. She also encouraged listeners and shareholders to keep up-to-date on the Company's updates and current projects.

To hear Shannon Wilkinson's entire interview, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/8060908-tego-cyber-inc-discusses-2022-revenue-potential-and-strategic-growth-plans-with-the-stock-day-po.

Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/.

About Tego Cyber Inc.

Tego Cyber Inc. (OTCQB: TGCB) ("the Company") was created to capitalize on the emerging cyber threat intelligence market. The Company has developed a cyber threat intelligence application that integrates with top end security platforms to gather, analyze, then proactively identify threats to an enterprise network. The Tego Guardian Threat Intelligence Platform takes in vetted and curated threat data and ) utilizing a proprietary process, the platform compiles, analyzes, and then delivers that data to an enterprise network in a format that is timely, informative, and relevant. The threat data provides additional context including specific details needed to identify and counteract threats so that security teams can spend less time searching for disparate information. The first version of the application will integrate with the widely accepted Splunk SIEM to provide real-time threat intelligence to macro enterprises using the Splunk architecture. The Company plans on developing future versions of the Tego Guardian app for integration with other established SIEM systems and platforms including: Elastic, Devo, IBM QRadar, AT&T Cybersecurity, Exabeam, and Google Chronical. For more information, please visit www.tegocyber.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements contained in this press release, those which are not purely historical or which depend upon future events, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements regarding the Company's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future constitute forward-looking statements. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements because of various factors. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. Prospective investors should also consult the risks factors described from time to time in the Company's Reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K and Annual Reports to Shareholders.

Tego Contact:

Tego Cyber Inc.

8565 S Eastern Avenue, Suite 150

Las Vegas, Nevada 89123

USA

Tel: 855-939-0100 (North America)

Tel: 725-726-7840 (International)

Email: info@tegocyber.com

Web: tegocyber.com

Facebook: facebook.com/tegocyber

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/tegocyber

Twitter: twitter.com/tegocyber

Tego Investor Relations:

Crescendo Communications, LLC

Tel: 212-671-1020

Email: TGCB@crescendo-ir.com

About The "Stock Day" Podcast

Founded in 2013, Stock Day is the fastest growing media outlet for Nano-Cap and Micro-Cap companies. It educates investors while simultaneously working with penny stock and OTC companies, providing transparency and clarification of under-valued, under-sold Micro-Cap stocks of the market. Stock Day provides companies with customized solutions to their news distribution in both national and international media outlets. The Stock Day Podcast is the number one radio show of its kind in America.

SOURCE:

Stock Day Media

(602) 821-1102

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119318
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) -West Island Brands Inc. (CSE: WIB) (FSE: 39N0) (OTC Pink: WIBFF) ("West Island" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that West Island subsidiary, RoyalMax Biotechnology Canada Inc. D.B.A West Island Culture has reached a major milestone by achieving one million dollars in revenue for the month of March 2022. This increase in revenue comes on the heels of the Company's entry into the province of Ontario. The month to month increase over the previous month's sales represents an approximate 200 percent increase in revenue. This increase was largely the result of a new SKU, Platinum Cake, in Ontario. Beginning in May, two OUESTTM brand premium SKU's will be available in the province with the addition of Grand Pa's stash.

West Island CEO, Boris Ziger states, "The province of Ontario is the largest market for cannabis in Canada and has an appetite for the high THC, terpene rich premium product in which West Island specialises. As we build on our success in Ontario we will continue our entry into other markets, beginning with sales in the province of Quebec, in the near future."

About West Island

West Island is a multi-faceted, innovative company in the Quebec cannabis space. Its subsidiary, RoyalMax Biotechnology Canada Inc. is a Dorval, Quebec based Health Canada Licence Holder with standard cultivation licence, standard processing, medical sales and sales licences. The Company continues to work with Yunify Natural Technologies, a Quebec based health and personal care research and innovation company to develop proprietary products for West Island including topicals and ionic mists. Through its acquisition of Trichome Treats, an award winning chocolatier, the Company intends on introducing edibles into the West Island product mix.

For more information on West Island Brands please visit the website at: westislandbrands.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

WEST ISLAND BRANDS INC.

Boris Ziger

Boris Ziger, CEO & Chairman

The Company's public filings are available for review at www.sedar.com and www.thecse.com.

For further information, please contact:

Boris Ziger, CEO at:

Telephone: 416-304-9935

E-mail: info@westislandbrands.com

Website: www.westislandbrands.com

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

Certain information in this press release may constitute forward-looking information. This information is based on current expectations that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. The Corporation assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward looking-statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Corporation. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in the Corporation's filings with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. We seek Safe Harbor.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119319
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Big Ridge Gold Corp. (TSXV: BRAU) (OTCQB: ALVLF) ("Big Ridge") is pleased to announce initial diamond drill results from its 25,000-meter ("m"), Phase I drill program at the past-producing Hope Brook Gold Project, located in southwestern Newfoundland and Labrador. Big Ridge commenced the Phase I drilling in early November 2021 and completed 3,729 m in 17 holes before breaking for the holidays. The drill holes reported in this press release targeted the shallow southwestern extension of the Hope Brook Deposit.

Mike Bandrowski, President & CEO of Big Ridge, commented, "Today's drill results southwest and along strike of the Hope Brook open pit confirm near-surface mineralization remains open for potential resource growth, and the copper mineralization, that is being reported for the first time, illustrates the possibility of a by-product credit. The Phase I drill program is very exciting as 100% of our holes have intersected gold mineralization and two of those have intersected visible gold."

Highlights:

Drill hole HB-21-152 intersected 5.84 g/t Au over 14.8 m including 19.9 g/t Au over 3.4 m, Drill hole HB-21-142 intersected 5.58 g/t Au over 6.1 m including 25.2 g/t Au over 0.5 m and Drill hole HB-21-138 intersected 1.98 g/t Au over 23.1 m including 5.30 g/t Au over 5.89 m.

Phase I drilling recommenced in January 2022 and approximately 11,400 m in 43 holes have been completed as of this press release.

Drilling continues to extend gold mineralization outside the current resource shell that is based on a gold price of US$1,200 per ounce and 3.0 g/t Au cut-off grade.

100% of the drill results received to date have intersected gold mineralization. The Phase 1 drill program is expected to run until August 2022 and will focus on connecting the Main Zone and 240 Zone near surface and at depth respectively and testing the down dip extensions to both the Main and 240 Zones before moving to test the NE Extension.

Big Ridge will continue to highlight copper mineralization from the Phase I drill program at Hope Brook as past exploration programs have not quantified or reported on this potentially economic mineralization.

Phase I Results

The initial drilling in the Phase I drill program has successfully confirmed and extended gold mineralization to the southwest of the former producing Hope Brook open pit. Hole HB-21-152 intersected 19.9 g/t Au over 3.4 m within a wider interval of 14.8 m grading 5.84 g/t Au. This hole successfully intersected gold mineralization at a shallow depth of 52.2 m within the main target vuggy silica sulphide zone.

Copper, which was recovered by past mine operators as a by-product credit and is known to be associated with gold mineralization at Hope Brook, has not been included in the historic resource estimates. Big Ridge's initial drill results have generated copper assays ranging from 0.05% Cu to 0.79% Cu, suggesting that copper could be an important consideration and product in a future mining operation.

Table 1 - Significant Intercepts from Reported Holes

Hole From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au g/t Cu % Interval Lithology HB-21-153 pending HB-21-152 52.2 67.0 14.8 5.84 0.16 Vuggy Silicified Zone, breccia cpy, py, VG HB-21-152 incl. 61.0 64.4 3.4 19.9 0.26 HB-21-151 pending HB-21-150 52.3 60.2 7.9 4.24 0.37 Vuggy Silicified Zone, cpy, py, fluorite HB-21-149 183.0 188.4 5.4 0.98 - Argillic Alteration zone, py, fluorite HB-21-148 pending HB-21-147 149.7 154.4 4.8 2.36 0.05 Vuggy Silicified Zone, py HB-21-146 123.3 131.0 7.8 2.24 0.13 Vuggy Silicified Zone, breccia, cpy, py HB-21-146 incl. 125.0 127.7 2.7 3.36 0.24 HB-21-145 107.2 112.7 5.5 1.99 - Vuggy Silicified Zone, py, fluorite HB-21-144 112.9 116.0 3.1 0.95 - Argillic Alteration Zone, py HB-21-144 124.2 128.4 4.2 0.90 0.05 Vuggy Silicified Zone, py HB-21-143 39.0 41.8 2.8 1.79 0.19 Vuggy Silicified Zone, cpy, py HB-21-143 50.0 52.6 2.6 1.51 0.26 Vuggy Silicified Zone, cpy, py HB-21-143 67.3 70.0 2.7 5.63 0.24 Vuggy Silicified Zone, cpy, py HB-21-142 86.5 89.0 2.5 1.71 0.27 Vuggy Silicified Zone, cpy, py HB-21-142 102.2 108.3 6.1 5.58 0.04 Vuggy Silicified Zone, cpy, py, VG HB-21-142 incl. 105.5 106.0 0.5 25.2 - HB-21-141 96.5 105.1 8.6 1.47 - Vuggy Silicified Zone, py HB-21-141 incl. 97.9 100.1 2.2 3.15 - HB-21-140 104.9 122.1 17.2 0.98 0.2 Vuggy Silicified Zone, cpy, py HB-21-140 incl. 113.0 115.4 2.4 2.70 0.79 HB-21-139 54.4 71.0 16.6 2.53 0.15 Vuggy Silicified Zone, cpy, py, mafic dyke HB-21-139 incl. 60.8 66.8 6.0 3.86 0.26 HB-21-138 60.4 83.5 23.1 1.98 0.05 Vuggy Silicified Zone, cpy, py, Argillic Alteration Zone, mafic dyke HB-21-138 incl. 63.36 69.25 5.89 5.30 0.17

Intervals are presented in core length; holes are generally planned to intersect mineralization as close to perpendicular to strike as possible; true widths are estimated to be 75% of downhole length when hole and mineralized horizons orientations are considered. Assay results presented are not capped. Intercepts occur within geological confines of major zones but have not been correlated to individual structures/horizons within these zones at this time. Vertical depth is measured from the surface to the mid-point of the reported interval.

To view drill hole locations in plan and sections please click on the following link:

https://bigridgegold.com/site/assets/files/5566/april_5_2022_pr_slides.pdf

About Hope Brook

The Hope Brook Gold Project is an advanced stage, high-grade gold project that produced 752,162 ounces of gold from 1987 - 1997. Hope Brook hosts an indicated gold resource totalling 5,500,000 tonnes grading 4.77 grams per tonne gold for 844,000 ounces and inferred resources totalling 836,000 tonnes grading 4.11 grams per tonne gold for 110,000 ounces based on a 3.0 gram per tonne cut-off grade and a long-term gold price of US$1,200, according to a technical report for Big Ridge Gold Corp., prepared by authors Michael Cullen, P. Geo., and Matthew Harrington, P. Geo., of Mercator Geological Services Limited and Jeffrey Burke, P. Geo., and titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Hope Brook Gold Project, Newfoundland And Labrador, Canada", April 6, 2021.

The Hope Brook gold deposit is a high-sulfidation epithermal gold deposit hosted in the Proterozoic aged Whittle Hill Sandstone and is intruded by a Late Proterozoic quartz-feldspar porphyry sill-dike complex of the Roti Intrusive Suite. The deposit in located adjacent to and within an extensive advanced argillic alteration envelope which includes pyrophyllite, kaolinite, andalusite, and alunite. The principal gold mineralization occurs in a buff-colored massive, vuggy silicic alteration with an associated, less developed grey silicic alteration with pyrite, chalcopyrite and lesser bornite. Gold mineralization is also found with pyrite in units of advanced argillic alteration adjacent to or near silicic alteration horizons. The altered and mineralized zone is cut by mafic dykes whose contacts are often mineralized. All of the altered and mineralized sequences and the intruded dykes have been folded.

Hope Brook is located 85 kilometers east of Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. The project has well maintained infrastructure on site, including an operational 28-person camp, an 1,100-meter airstrip, ice-free docking facility and importantly, connection to the provincial electrical power grid via an on-site substation.

Significant exploration potential remains on the 26,000-hectare concession providing a great opportunity to expand the mine area as well as surface showings throughout the concessions.

This press release was complied and reviewed by William McGuinty, P.Geo., VP Exploration of Big Ridge and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC)

Big Ridge's 2021-2022 drilling program, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and compilation of results employ a strict QA/QC program consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices. The Hope Brook project is supervised by Big Ridge's Vice President Exploration, William McGuinty P. Geo.

Drill core is logged and split with half-core samples packaged and delivered to ALS Global's geochemistry laboratory in Moncton, New Brunswick. Samples are dried and subsequently crushed to 70% passing a 2 mm mesh screen. A 250-gram split subsample is pulverized to a nominal 85% passing a 75-micron mesh screen. The remaining crushed sample (coarse reject) and pulverized sample (pulp reject) are retained for further analysis and quality control. All samples are analysed by Fire Assay with an Atomic Absorption (AA) finish using a 50 g aliquot of pulverized material. Samples are also analysed for copper using ICP AES with four-acid digestion. Big Ridge inserts third party reference control and blank samples in the sample stream to monitor assay performance and performs duplicate sampling of both pulp and reject material. 10% of samples submitted are part of the Company's laboratory sample control protocols.

About Big Ridge Gold Corp.

Big Ridge Gold Corp. is an exploration and development company managed by a disciplined and experienced team of officers and directors. The Company is committed to the development of advanced stage mining projects using industry best practices combined with strong social license from our local communities. Big Ridge owns a 100% interest in the highly prospective Oxford Gold Project located in Manitoba and the Destiny Gold Project in Quebec. Big Ridge is the operator of the Hope Brook Gold Project located in Newfoundland and Labrador.

For more details regarding the Company's projects, please visit our website at www.bigridgegold.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

Mike Bandrowski,

President & CEO

For further information, including a copy of the corresponding report filed with Canadian securities regulators, please visit www.sedar.com or contact:

Mike Bandrowski,

President & CEO

BIG RIDGE GOLD CORP.

18 King St. East, Suite 1400

Toronto, ON, M5C 1C4

Tel: 416-540-5480

Email: Mike@bigridgegold.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Table 2 - Drill Hole Locations*

Hole number Depth Azimuth Dip Northing Easting Elevation HB-21-153 230 325 -56 5287508 417812 HB-21-152 140 325 -55 5287642 417871 HB-21-151 209 325 -48 5287508 417812 HB-21-150 157 325 -50 5287622 417854 HB-21-149 260 325 -63 5287498 417792 HB-21-148 216 325 -64 5287574 417822 HB-21-147 266.45 325 -67 5287451 417699 HB-21-146 209 325 -58 5287451 417699 HB-21-145 194 325 -53 5287574 417822 HB-21-144 236 325 -76 5287485 417700 HB-21-143 164 325 -55 5287561 417777 HB-21-142 221 325 -69 5287492 417708 HB-21-141 194 325 -64 5287508 417746 HB-21-140 191 325 -64 5287493 417734 HB-21-139 161 325 -56 5287508 417697 HB-21-138 230 325 -55 5287520 417718

* Hole collars are in NAD83 / UTM Zone 21N coordinates. Drill core is NQ diameter

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "intends", "estimates", "envisages", "potential", "possible", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to future events or future performance and reflect current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events, and include, without limitation, statements with respect to Big Ridge's intentions with respect to Caprock's shares. All forward-looking statements are based on Big Ridge's and its employees' current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by them and information currently available to them. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to Big Ridge, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Big Ridge does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on our behalf, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119312
Complementary Solution Provides Critical Brand Protection and Email Security For Mutual Customers

Red Sift, integrated cloud email and brand protection platform provider, today announced that the company is rapidly expanding its strategic investment in Microsoft technologies, further aligning with its products and services, and elevating Red Sift as a valuable email security service for mutual customers. The relationship is a natural extension of Red Sift's participation in the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) program and Red Sift products are now hosted in Microsoft Azure environments in the European Union and the United States.

Red Sift is committed to providing flexibility, high levels of service, and data residency options to all organizations with a 'cybersecurity first' mindset. Further, the enhanced relationship enables Microsoft representatives to participate in the Azure IP Co-Sell program for Red Sift products and comes shortly after Red Sift's $54 million Series B funding, which will serve as a key catalyst to further grow its relationship with Microsoft.

Red Sift enables security-first organizations to successfully secure their email communications to protect their employees, vendors and customers. The purpose-built suite of cybersecurity solutions is the most comprehensive on the market for automated BIMI and DMARC deployment. This enables companies to block phishing attacks, analyze the security of inbound communication for company-wide email threats, and monitor and safeguard valuable customer data.

"We're excited to build on our strong working relationship with Microsoft, a cloud and security leader focused on delivering email protection," said Sr. VP of Strategy at Red Sift, Chuck Swenberg. "Our shared vision of building accessible and scalable technology is what makes this such a key relationship as we create a complementary solution set for joint customers."

"At Microsoft, we look to build enduring, ongoing relationships with partners like Red Sift protecting e-mail and other hybrid work essentials," said Parri Munsell, senior director, Microsoft Security Marketing. "With increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals targeting email communications, the Red Sift platform helps Microsoft 365 customers to enhance the security of their systems."

If you're interested to learn more about how Red Sift products complement Microsoft, please visit our dedicated partnership page or get in touch via contact@redsift.com.

About Red Sift

Red Sift enables security-first organizations to successfully communicate with and ensure the trust of their employees, vendors and customers. As the only integrated cloud email and brand protection platform, Red Sift automates BIMI and DMARC processes, makes it easy to identify and stop business email compromise, and secures domains from impersonation to prevent attacks. Founded in 2015, Red Sift is a global organization with international offices in the UK, Spain, Australia, and North America. It boasts a client base of all sizes and across all industries, including Wise, Telefonica, Pipedrive, ITV, Dominos, and top global law firms. Find out how Red Sift is delivering actionable cybersecurity insights to its global customers at redsift.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405005383/en/

Contacts:

PR Contact:

Emily Townsend

fama PR for Red Sift

e: redsift@famapr.com
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global automotive silicone market size is expected to reach USD 15.90 Billion in 2030 and register a revenue CAGR of 5.8% over the forecast period, according to latest report by Reports and Data. Increasing use of silicone-based film adhesives for customizing cars is expected to drive market revenue growth over the forecast period. Silicone is increasingly being used in combined with thermoplastics to produce paint finishes with mar and scratch repellent, due to recent technological breakthroughs in paint & coating industry. Growth of passenger car ownership in countries such as Mexico, India, China, and Vietnam, fueled by economic growth and rising income levels is expected to fuel automotive silicone market over the forecast period.

Rubber, adhesives & sealants, and coatings are common uses for the product in automobiles. They play a significant role in improving vehicle fuel efficiency, resulting in lower harmful emissions. Silicones' superior properties over other products have led to an increase in their use in production of various automotive parts. It is utilized in almost every interior and exterior part, including door panels, flooring, tires, seat belts, cables, lubricants, and plugs. It comes in a variety of forms, including compounds, bases, and liquids, and can be used in a variety of automotive applications, such as exhaust mounts, fuel cells, spark plug boots, electronic control system seals, airbags, and grommets. The product has strong potential for use in hybrid engines. Thus, rising silicone rubber usage is expected to have a favorable impact on market over the forecast period.

Request a Sample Report - https://www.reportsanddata.com/sample-enquiry-form/1825

Some Key Highlights from the Report

Adhesives & sealants segment revenue is expected to grow at a significant rate over the forecast period. Dashboards and trims, engine compartments, electrical systems, light assembly, structural bonding, and glass bonding are examples of applications for silicone-based adhesives & sealants in automotive industry. Increase in need for fuel efficiency through vehicle weight reduction has increased demand for improving quality of silicone-based adhesives & sealants used in automobile industry.

Engines segment revenue is expected to register considerable revenue CAGR over the forecast period. Silicone is applied to multi-layer steel gaskets to keep them from clinging to other metal parts in engine and to increase cold sealing. Silicone has both anti-stick and adhesion characteristics, depending on its composition. Moreover, silicone's flexibility allows it to rapidly adapt to different thermal expansion coefficients, which is particularly effective on multi-material seams. Steel, aluminum, and plastic are examples of this.

Others segment include rain & distance sensors, paint & plastic polishes, sheathing & protecting, and break-protection caps. Silicone is beneficial to sensor technologies. Rain sensors on car windshields, for example, detect presence of rain and turn on the windshield wipers automatically. These are same sensors that regulate headlights. These sensors are at risk of being damaged if they are exposed to Ultraviolet (UV) light on a regular basis. Silicone is an ideal material for encasing these sensors due to its optical transparency and heat resilience, as it does not lose its transparency during UV exposure while still allowing them to function.

Ask for Customize Research Report @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/request-customization-form/1825

Automotive silicone market in Europe is expected to register a rapid revenue growth rate over the forecast period. Europe , as a hub for automobile sector, is certain to have an impact on global market growth. Regional manufacturing of high-end cars and spending capacity support each other, which is fueling market revenue growth.

is expected to register a rapid revenue growth rate over the forecast period. , as a hub for automobile sector, is certain to have an impact on global market growth. Regional manufacturing of high-end cars and spending capacity support each other, which is fueling market revenue growth. In February 2021 , Elkem signed an agreement to acquire a brand-new plant in France that will manufacture highly specialized organo-functional silicones. Elkem's global reach and expansion will be bolstered by this purchase.

, Elkem signed an agreement to acquire a brand-new plant in that will manufacture highly specialized organo-functional silicones. Elkem's global reach and expansion will be bolstered by this purchase. Major companies in the market report include Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., KCC Corporation, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Siltech Corporation, Momentive Performance Materials Inc., CSL Silicones Inc., Wacker Chemie AG, Evonik Industries AG, Elkem ASA, and Kaneka Corporation

To identify the key trends in the industry, research study at https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/automotive-silicone-market

For the purpose of this report, Reports and Data has segmented the global automotive silicone market based on product type, application, and region:

Product Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2019-2030)

Rubber



Adhesives & Sealants



Coatings



Others

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2019-2030)

Interior & Exterior



Electrical



Engines



Others

Buy Premium Research Report @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-pricing/1825

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2019-2030)

North America



a. U.S.





b. Canada





c. Mexico



Europe



a. Germany





b. U.K.





c. France





d. Italy





e. Spain





f. Sweden





g. BENELUX





h. Rest of Europe



Asia Pacific



a. China





b. India





c. Japan





d. South Korea





e. Rest of APAC



Latin America



a. Brazil





b. Rest of LATAM



Middle East & Africa

&

a. Saudi Arabia





b. UAE





c. South Africa





d. Israel





e. Rest of MEA

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About Reports and Data

Reports and Data is a market research and consulting company that provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. Our solutions purely focus on your purpose to locate, target, and analyze consumer behavior shifts across demographics, across industries, and help clients to make smarter business decisions. We offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across multiple industries, including Healthcare, Touch Points, Chemicals, Products, and Energy. We consistently update our research offerings to ensure our clients are aware of the latest trends existent in the market. Reports and Data has a strong base of experienced analysts from varied areas of expertise. Our industry experience and ability to develop a concrete solution to any research problems provides our clients with the ability to secure an edge over their respective competitors.

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Rise in offshore oil & gas exploration activities and the international maritime organization (IMO) regulations on sulfur content in marine fuel have boosted the growth of the global bunker fuel market.

PORTLAND, Ore., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, titled, "Bunker Fuel Market by Type (High Sulfur Fuel Oil, Low Sulfur Fuel Oil, Marine Gasoil, Others), by Commercial Distributor (Oil Majors, Large Independent Distributor, Small Independent Distributor), by Application (Container, Bulk Carrier, Oil Tanker, General Cargo, Chemical Tanker, Fishing Vessels, Gas Tanker, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2030." As per the report, the global bunker fuel industry generated $109.6 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $164.9 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4.3% from 2021 to 2030.

Drivers, restraints, and opportunities

Rise in offshore oil & gas exploration activities and the international maritime organization (IMO) regulations on sulfur content in marine fuel have boosted the growth of the global bunker fuel market. On the contrary, fuel reduction initiatives taken by the shipping community hamper the market growth. On the contrary, surge in focus toward LNG as an alternative marine fuel is expected to open new opportunities in the future.

Download Sample PDF (440 Pages PDF with Insights): https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/2143

Covid-19 scenario:

The Covid-19 pandemic hampered the market due to temporary ban on import and export activities. Moreover, the prolonged lockdown disrupted the supply chain.

During the pandemic, the demand for marine fuel reduced significantly, which negatively affected the market.

The LSFO segment dominated the market

By type, the LSFO segment held the lion's share in 2020, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the market. However, the segment is projected to portray the highest CAGR of 4.7% during the forecast period, due to rise in maritime trade activities to transport heavy goods, chemicals, equipment, and other bulk materials. The report includes analysis of the segments such as HSFO, MGO, and others.

Get detailed COVID-19 impact analysis on the Bunker Fuel Market: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/2143?reqfor=covid

The large independent segment to register the highest CAGR through 2030

By commercial distributor, the large independent segment is anticipated is estimated to register the highest CAGR of 4.7% from 2021 to 2030, due to presence of blending facilities, storage terminals, financial stability, and others in these companies. However, the oil major segment held the lion's share in 2020, contributing to more than two-fifths of the market, due to the highest revenues of the companies and dominance in crude oil tanks chartering business.

Asia-Pacific, followed by North America, to showcase the highest CAGR through 2030

By region, the global market across Asia-Pacific is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 4.7% during the forecast period. In addition, the region held the largest share in 2020, accounting for nearly half of the market, due to presence of huge consumer base and surge in maritime trade activities. The market across North America is expected to register the second-highest CAGR of 4.3% during the forecast period.

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Key market players

BP p.l.c.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC.

Exxon Mobil Corporation

Sinopec Group

Lukoil

Chevron Corporation

Gazprom Neft PJSC

Total SE

Neste

PETRONAS

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - The first cinematographic NFT project, "The Future Is Now Film" presented two new releases from the city of future Dubai and Hamburg, covering such intricate topics as how to create an ecosystem for innovations and how decentralisation will help world economies recover during the Great Reset.





The Future Is Now

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TheFutureIsNowFilm Puts a Spotlight On How Blockchain Is "Transforming The Future."

The host of the documentary series, Los Angeles film maker, former TV Host, and news personality turned decentralised futurist, Miguel Francis-Santiago, in the Dubai episode "Transforming The Future", takes the audience for a journey through AIBC Summit UAE 2021 -- one of the biggest gatherings in the blockchain community held by Eman Pulis & SiGMA Group. The release highlights that Dubai has set the precedent as the Mecca of innovation under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, with a plethora of initiatives headed by Dubai Blockchain Center and the work of its CEO, Dr. Marwan Alzarouni, creating a safe harbour of innovation.

The take on the AIBC Summit includes projects and initiatives that allow the innovations to flourish which will help cities and communities become regenerative and truly decentralised in the future. The episode features such prominent blockchain thought leaders like Tim Draper, Tone Vays and Brock Pierce, the 2020 US Presidential candidate from the Bitcoin Foundation. Featured stars also include Crystal Rose Pierce of Sense.Chat, Sergej Kunz of 1inch Network being the deepest liquidity aggregator in the space of DeFi, Matthias Mende of Bonuz Market, an innovative celebrity marketplace & metaverse, Ilya Churakov of sustainable decentralised eco-system, Global Digital Club and Salim Ismail of OpenExO with Irina Litchfield of the Global Autonomous Network.

Decentralised Cryptocurrency Protocols Are "Aligning The Future"

The latest release wrapping the year of 2021, "Aligning The Future,' takes the audience to Blockchance EU with Fabian Friedrich, the founder of Blockchance Group, to the heart of Germany's blockchain hub Hamburg. The roving crypto documentarist, Miguel Francis-Santiago invites us to explore how the world will look after the Global Economic Reset and what initiatives might make the world more just and decentralised. Working and renowned use-cases are already paving the way such as TRON DAO, with one of the most influential cryptocurrency protocols, TRC-20 which overtook its counterpart, USDT on Ethereum and became the largest transaction volume protocol in the market. Another exciting protocol appears in the film as well - GAMB from GLBrain giving power back to the merchants with zero transaction fees.

His Excellency, Justin Sun, the Founder of TRON and as of recently, an Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation on behalf of Grenada, shares his vision on how countries and governments will deal with new economic realities by way of competitive CBDC's. William Soriano, a Congressman from El Salvador, shares the implications of the country making Bitcoin a legal tender, while Mark Buckley from the United Nations shares his ideal model for a sustainable, decentralised and regenerative future. The opinions on new realities are also provided by such blockchain community veterans like Wolfgang Pinegger of GAMB Power to the Merchants, Fabian Vogelsteller, the Co-Founder of ERC20 Protocol, and Veronika Kuett of autonomous city systems with Tripolis Corp.

New Episodes Planned And Mass Adoption Movement Goals

Currently, the TFIN DAO team is producing new episodes with the support of the NFT-vehicle with a major goal - the mission of inspiring mass adoption with an "infotainment" approach. The new method of financing and decentralising cinematography is set to reach new horizons and be featured on such platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu, according to the founder and show's creator, Miguel Francis-Santiago. Join the conversation and become a part of the community by supporting TFIN DAO. Be part of TheFutureisNowFilm movement!

About The Future Is Now Film

The Future is Now Film (TFIN) by Oneday Productions is the first NFT documentary film series that has been covering Bitcoin's disruption across the world over the past five years. TFIN is scaling blockchain mass adoption through cinema and storytelling, public relations and its consulting arm of TFIN DAO ecosystem. The film series has been a guest to over 20 gatherings around the world, from Puerto Rico to Hong Kong and beyond and has featured John McAfee, Brittany Kaiser, Max Keiser, Larry King, AKON and other leaders in the space of innovation. 19 episodes have been filmed so far and over 15 countries explored through the lens of The Future is Now Film and the intricate future that disruption and Bitcoin will bring to the world. Miguel Francis-Santiago recalls the vision;

"From the beginning our goal was to inspire the masses while connecting the creme de la creme of our industry around the planet. I always envisioned something that I would feel absolutely aligned with in terms of wielding the power of cinema and storytelling. This film has led me to embark on working with Brock Pierce on his 2020 Presidential campaign visuals and then I realised this is it. If there was ever a message I wanted the world to hear then this is it, and the time is now."

The team is currently in Dubai and has wrapped up filming WOW Summit "The World of Web3' & AIBC Summit 2022 "Innovators of The Future" while producing the full feature for Netflix and other digital distributors. You can catch the team next up in Miami for BTC 2022.

The Future is Now Media Group Website | Telegram | Twitter | and Oneday Productions

Featured innovators: AIBC Summit | 1inchNetwork | TRON | Bonuz Market | GAMB | BLOCKCHANCE | Global Digital Club | OpenExo | GAN

Contact details: Please contact the PR manager of TFIN DAO Katerina Futur katerinafutur@thefutureisnow.community

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119180
Eliminates time wasted searching for reports with intuitive employee experience

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZenOptics, the analytics catalog industry pioneer, gives employees a personalized experience to simplify the discovery of analytics assets used across the enterprise. ZenOptics has seen rapid growth fueled by businesses needing to utilize analytics investments as a competitive advantage.



Analytics consumers, anyone within an enterprise that needs access to an analytics asset such as a report, dashboard, key performance indicator (KPI), and even spreadsheets, word processing and presentation documents, are often overwhelmed by the volume and diversity of analytics tools and assets. When employees access an asset, there is little confidence in ungoverned insights and if the information is correct and up to date.

These challenges present significant barriers causing analytics investments to underperform and go underutilized. In fact, just over 14% of employees use the Business Intelligence (BI) software the organization has invested in [BARC, 2022], creating financial pressures, poor reporting, and a challenging work environment. The average company uses more than 360 applications, and unless the employee experience is simplified, these issues will only worsen over time.

"Every part of an organization uses multiple tools and apps to collect and analyze important data, so this isn't isolated to the finance or sales teams, said Saurbh Khera, Founder and CEO, ZenOptics. "By using advanced integration and machine learning (ML) technologies, we've addressed these challenges by simplifying what is critical to this new analytics consumer, reducing the clutter they typically sort through. By presenting reports and dashboards in a consumable employee experience, report users significantly reduce the time spent searching for these assets."

Businesses need more of their workers to use more of the analytics investments if they want to move quickly and adapt to changing conditions. ZenOptics helps organizations address several emerging challenges:

Drain on resources: Teams are constantly wrestling with tool complexity and access across most organizations, causing a severe drain on time and resources. The average knowledge worker spends about 2.5 hours per day, or roughly 30 percent of the workday, searching for information [IDC]. ZenOptics provides each employee with a personalized view of the assets they use most frequently.

Inaccurate reporting: 44% of users occasionally or frequently made a wrong decision because they did not have the information they needed. In addition, 43% of users reported occasionally or frequently overlooking important information because of too many applications or the volume of information [Gartner]. ZenOptics ensures that analytics assets are verified and accurate.

Lack of speed and agility: Every business function today needs access to analytics assets, so a centralized model doesn't work. In that environment, for teams requesting access to internal data beyond their departmental remit, the response time could be measured in months in 53% of cases [McKinsey]. ZenOptics puts the right assets in the hands of the analytics consumer.

Distributed operations: Businesses are embracing a growing remote workforce and have highly distributed operations - geographically, location-operations centers, warehouses, stores and client locations. ZenOptics ensures the analytics consumer has the right level of access depending on their role, location, responsibilities and other factors.

Turn complexity into collaboration.

These challenges are fueling ZenOptics' continued growth and momentum. The company grew 150% year-over-year in 2021 and nearly doubled the number of customers which include Brown-Forman, Janney Montgomery Scott, and Benjamin Moore.

ZenOptics has also been growing globally, with a 300 percent increase in customers across Europe. To better support this growth, ZenOptics recently announced the opening of a new European office in London.

"ZenOptics fills a major gap in the current analytics landscape as companies grapple with shifting from producing more and more to making better use of what they already have," said Donald Farmer, Principal, TreeHive Strategy. "With ZenOptics, organizations can maximize the value of their analytics investments by increasing usage and improving consumability for a broader population of analytics consumers."

ZenOptics, recognized in Gartner's Cool Vendors in Analytics, enables analytics producers and consumers to align around the business objective to better assess, optimize and scale the impact of analytics across the organization. By providing employees with a high-quality experience, they're at least 1.5 times more likely to have high levels of work effectiveness, productivity, discretionary effort, and intent to stay at their current employer [Gartner].

In addition to providing a better employee experience, ZenOptics analytics workspace empowers leaders to compose and share analytic flows using fit-for-purpose tools, interlocked with policies for governance, quality, and compliance to better integrate into the business context.

About ZenOptics

ZenOptics helps organizations maximize the value of their analytics investments by increasing usage and improving consumability for a broader population of analytics consumers. ZenOptics' analytics catalog provides a personalized experience to simplify the discovery of analytics assets generated within the entire ecosystem of tools and applications already in use at organizations today. An intuitive analytics workspace empowers consumers to compose and share analytics flows using fit-for-purpose tools interlocked with policies for governance, quality, and compliance to better integrate into the business context. Personalized dashboards enable analytics producers and consumers to mine intelligence from connections between teams and assets to align analytics work with business objectives and better assess, optimize, and scale the impact of analytics.

ZenOptics was recognized in Gartner's Cool Vendors in Analytics.

For more information, visit www.zenoptics.com.

Media Contact:

Matt Berry

Conversion Marketing

matt@conversionam.com

201-370-9133
FORT WASHINGTON, MD / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / RxSeedCoin.io (currency currently trading on BitMart.com and BabySwap, under the symbol WSOW) is an advanced blockchain based business that gives back to humanity while providing solutions for global issues. Today, RxSeedCoin announced a partnership with RxSmartCoffee.com to introduce a popular micronutrient-infused coffee to the vast and ever-increasing community connected through blockchain's global decentralized financial market.

"Millions of people around the globe are enthusiastic about using, storing, and building value in decentralized finance markets through NFTs, cryptocurrency and new systems based on blockchain technology, and many people love coffee!" says, David Miller a founder of RxSeedCoin.io. "So, I can't imagine a better way to help support the 24/7 grinding community of developers and traders than with a cup of a restorative micronutrient-infused gourmet cup of joe!"

Each Rx Smart Coffee blend is tailored toward improving specific health goals using organic micronutrients extracted from herbs that have been proven to help restore and support body function. RxSmartCoffee.com's breakthrough technology, Bio-Natural Phytochemical Extraction, or BPE, extracts the active constituents from ingredients and infuses them into the organic coffee, making your daily cup your daily dose of vitamins.

"We owe the development of this particular project to Dr. David and Alyze Sam, who has brought extraordinary insight and excitement around the coffee project to the team, " says Jeff Richfield, a founder of RxSeedCoin.io. "We are creating coffee-related NFTs very soon and we are excited to be bringing RxSmartCoffee and sponsor FinTech events starting in Miami this week. I can't start my day without my RxSmart Coffee! The various coffees taste fantastic and I feel good drinking coffee that has vital nutrients."

"As a former holistic nurse for 13 years, I often miss watching miracles take place. I miss taking care of people and find myself in the big world of technology trying to be a 'fixer' or 'healer'- This 'beneficial bean', as we like to term it, is really impacting in ways I never thought coffee could! I enjoy the immunity blend Rx Smart Coffee, as someone that travels frequently as well as suffers from Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. I'm elated to continue to grow this incredible product, we will soon invite our community to share and formulate an avenue to monetization while we enjoy a holistic coffee."

RxSeedCoin.io is a for-profit blockchain solution incubator with projects in the clean energy sector that has committed a third of its resources to help provide solutions for global issues including hunger, homelessness, health, and the provision of clean energy solutions, as well as disaster relief and temporary emergency housing.

As part of RXSeedCoin's ongoing mission to love and support humanity, entering into the industry of assisting those who need it the most. WSOW can be purchased on BitMart.com. Special NFTs to support disaster relief are currently for sale on RXSeedCoin.io.

For more information, contact: 307-222-9867 or email media@sowcommunity.com, or visit the company's website at RxSeedCoin.io.

SOURCE: Rx SeedCoin

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/695995/Smart-Coffee-is-Coming-to-the-Blockchain
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- USA for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has accepted its first stablecoin crypto donation towards the organization's humanitarian support. The $2.5 million USD equivalent from Binance through Binance Charity is further demonstration of how cryptocurrency is playing a key role in raising vital funds and providing humanitarian aid.

Stablecoins bridge the world of cryptocurrency and fiat currency together as their prices are tied to a reserve asset like the US dollar.

The BUSD donation will go towards providing humanitarian, legal and social assistance including psychosocial support and emergency shelter to people in need. More than 10 million people have already been displaced.

"Binance Charity's commitment to the families shows the innovative philanthropic power of crypto in action," said Anne-Marie Grey, Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR. "This generous support will make a life-changing difference for those families, and more importantly, it shows families that a caring and committed global community is stepping forward to help during their darkest times."

Helen Hai, Head of Binance Charity, said: "Every day we see more casualties, more destruction, more lives lost. We are proud that we've been able to work with UNHCR to deliver its first BUSD crypto donation. UNHCR's tireless efforts and second-to-none experience in assisting refugees, makes them an obvious choice to support as part of our $10 million USD in crypto donations."

UNHCR delivers assistance to communities which are in need when it is safe to do so and is closely tracking negotiations for safe passage. UNHCR is providing cash assistance so families can purchase basics like food, rent and hygiene items and also delivering core relief items and emergency shelter. Additionally, teams are setting up reception and transit points for internally displaced people and facilitating access to legal aid and psychosocial care.

This is the latest donation following Binance's $10 million USD commitment to help people impacted.

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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The White House urged Congress to move promptly to approve at least part of a $22.5 billion funding that the Biden administration had requested to carry out the fight against the pandemic.



The White House Covid-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials last week had warned of the dire consequences that the country will face if Congress fails to provide more funds for the Covid response.



The Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are nearing a deal on a $10 billion package to fund some of the most very urgent COVID response needs.



What the Biden administration had requested was $22.5 billion to achieve a number of objectives, including securing enough booster shots for the general population; purchasing more monoclonal antibodies and Evusheld for the immunocompromised; maintaining testing capacity; donate vaccines to foreign countries; and funding for variant-specific vaccines if needed.



'We urge Congress to move promptly on this $10 billion package because it can begin to fund the most immediate needs, as we currently run the risk of not having some critical tools like treatments and tests starting in May and June,' White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.



'We will continue to work with Congress to fund our remaining domestic needs and will work with Senators Schumer and Romney - and others - to build bipartisan support for a package to fund our global COVID-19 response,' she added.



Total U.S. Covid casualties reached 997,134 and Covid cases increased to 81,496,138 on Monday, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.



New York reported the most number of cases - 6393 - while Florida reported most casualties - 119.



Just 15,692 patients are remaining in the country's hospitals for treatment for the viral disease. Hospital admissions reduced by 27 percent in two weeks.



There is also a concurrent reduction in the number of patients admitted in intensive care units - 35 percent within a fortnight. I.C.U. admissions dropped to 2376.



65,841,278 people have so far recovered from the disease, the Worldometer tally shows.



As per the latest data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 217,882,466 Americans, or 65.6 percent of the eligible population, have been administered both doses of Covid vaccine so far. This includes 89.2 percent of people above 65.



45 percent of the eligible population, or 98,065,668 people, have received a booster dose that is recommended to provide additional protection from the killer virus.



17949 additional deaths were reported globally on Monday, taking the total number of people who lost their lives due to the pandemic so far to 6,171,347.







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Flights begin operating out of Windsor in July

In addition to Tucson, Flair is introducing service to Halifax starting at $49 and Montreal starting at $29 from Windsor

EDMONTON, AB / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / Flair Airlines, Canada's everyday low fare airline, is excited to expand service to Windsor International Airport. In addition to the recently announced route to Tucson, Arizona, Flair will be adding two new routes to Halifax International Airport and Montreal-Trudeau International Airport.

Twice-weekly service to Halifax begins on July 8, while twice-weekly service to Montreal begins on July 7. Windsor is close to neighboring Detroit, offering the opportunity for Canadians to discover both cities affordably.

"As our summer schedule continues to grow, we're here to offer Canadians even more affordable options for travel. Now, along with Tucson, we're excited to connect residents of Windsor to Halifax and Montreal," said Garth Lund, Chief Commercial Officer, Flair Airlines. "Windsor is an exciting new market for us and we're happy to continue to grow our service here. We're confident that Windsor will be a popular new destination in our growing network."

"Flair Airlines brings an important service offering to our region and their business model aligns with the vison Mark Galvin and the Board of Directors have for YQG's growth," said Drew Dilkens, Mayor of Windsor. "As we begin to re-open after two long years of COVID-19, the pent up demand for travel options will be significant. I'm hopeful today's announcement is just the beginning of YQG's partnership with Flair!"

Windsor International Airport is part of Flair's recently announced Winter Base in Tucson, which will see the airline overnight an aircraft and crew in Tucson several nights a week during the winter season. The partnership will bring service to Tucson from Windsor for years to come.

One-way fares, including taxes and fees, begin at $29 to Montreal and $49 to Halifax from Windsor. There are limited seats and availability for the fares. All routes are available for booking at https://www.flyflair.com.

About Flair Airlines

Flair Airlines is Canada's leading low-fare airline and its greenest airline, on a mission to provide affordable air travel that connects them to the people and experiences they love. With an expanding fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft, Flair is growing to serve over 30 cities across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. For more information, please visit www.flyflair.com.

Media inquiries, please contact:

Flair Airlines

Jamina Kotak

780.887.9209

Jamina.kotak@flyflair.com

SOURCE: Flair Airlines

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696142/Flair-Airlines-Launches-New-Flights-from-Windsor
This automated lab systems market report covers in detail the market growth analysis, trends, and strategies of major players.

LONDON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The unprecedented outbreak of coronavirus caused a surge in demand for laboratory automation systems for implementation of high-volume testing. The global laboratory automation systems market size is expected to grow from $5.52 billion in 2021 to $5.87 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4%. The global laboratory automation system market is expected to further grow to $6.9 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 4.1%.

Request a free sample of the Laboratory Automation Systems Market Report

Laboratory Automation Systems Market Growth Analysis

The rise in sedentary jobs, busy lifestyles and changing consumer preferences are affecting the disease profile of the world population, especially for non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Long working hours, less physical activity, and unhealthy eating and drinking habits are major causes of chronic diseases such as diabetes. According to a report by New Indian Express, in 2021, the prevalence of non-communicable diseases was 116 per 1000 population, a high rise among individuals above 35 years of age. Moreover, the cases of diabetes in India are higher in metro cities, with 35-40% of the population affected by it due to changed lifestyles. Tests to diagnose these diseases include HbA1c tests for monitoring diabetes, biopsies, tumor marker tests, bone scans, MRI and CT scans for diagnosis of various cancers, electrocardiograms, chest X-rays, cardiac CT scans and stress test for detection of cardiovascular diseases. The increase in the prevalence of lifestyle diseases will increase the demand for tests to diagnose these diseases and thus will drive the laboratory automation systems market during the forecast period.

Laboratory Automation Systems Market Trends

Companies are increasingly adopting RFID technology for laboratory automation systems due to its better productivity and product quality, reduced costs for technology, error reduction, faster delivery of samples, and reduced human intervention. The use is also necessitated due to a severe shortage of skilled and trained healthcare professionals for operating the advanced laboratory equipment which requires specialized skillsets. RFID technology is an automatic system of identification similar to bar code technology using a tag and a reader communicating through radiofrequency. Additional functions and actions can automatically be accomplished without human intervention such as using RFID tags attached with patient samples for identification, and smart cards to store patient data under a workstation that monitors the process in the laboratory.

Key Players And Strategies In The Laboratory Automation Systems Industry

The global laboratory automation systems market is concentrated, with a large number of players. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 54.80% of the total market in 2021. The ability of companies in the market to innovate their offerings has allowed the players to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. Through R&D activities, strategic partnerships, and mergers and acquisitions, these players are able to gain a strong foothold in the market. Abbott Laboratories was the largest competitor with a 7.61% laboratory automation systems market share, followed by Danaher Corporation, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Agilent Technologies, Inc., Tecan Group Ltd., PerkinElmer, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, QIAGEN N.V., Becton Dickinson and Company, and Siemens AG.

Player-adopted strategies in the laboratory automation systems market include acquiring companies in the same business and launching new products.

See more on the Laboratory Automation Systems Market Report

Check out similar market reports:

Laboratory Information System Global Market Report 2022 - By Product (Standalone LIS, Integrated LIS), By End User (Hospital Laboratories, Independent Laboratories, Physician Office Laboratories, Others), By Component (Software, Services) - Market Size, Trends, And Global Forecast 2022-2026

Analytical Laboratory Instruments Market - By Type (Elemental Analysis, Separational Analysis, Molecular Analysis), By End-User (Hospitals, Diagnostic Laboratories, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology), And By Region, Opportunities And Strategies - Global Forecast To 2030

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Nordea Bank Abp / Key word(s): Transaction in Own Shares

Nordea Bank Abp: Changes in Nordea Bank Abp's own shares



05.04.2022 / 18:00





Changes in Nordea Bank Abp's own shares

Nordea Bank Abp

Stock exchange release - Changes in company's own shares

5 April 2022 at 18.00 EET

A total of 1,036,582 own shares held by the company were today transferred without consideration to participants in Nordea Bank Abp's ("Nordea") variable remuneration programmes.

Based on the resolution of the Board of Directors announced on 24 March 2022, Nordea has transferred 1,036,582 own shares held by the company to settle its commitments to participants in its variable remuneration programmes.

Following the transfer of own shares, Nordea holds 12,577,917 treasury shares for capital optimisation purposes and 6,075,662 treasury shares for remuneration purposes.

For further information:

Matti Ahokas, Head of Investor Relations, +358 40 575 9178

Group Communication, +358 10 416 8023 or press@nordea.com

The information provided in this stock exchange release was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 18.00 EET on 5 April 2022.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

End of Media Release


5 April 2022

Rightmove plc

Share buy-back programme

Rightmove plc - Transaction in own shares

Rightmove plc ('Rightmove') announces that today it purchased 165,000 of its 0.1p ordinary shares at a volume weighted average price paid per share of 658.620p. The highest price paid per share was 665.600p and the lowest price paid per share was 648.000p. Rightmove purchased these shares through UBS AG London Branch.

The number of shares purchased represented 0.0196% of the voting rights attributable to the total ordinary shares in issue prior to such purchase. The purchased shares will be cancelled.

Since announcing a share buy-back programme on 28 December 2007, Rightmove has purchased in aggregate 462,968,729 ordinary shares.

The total number of ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares) following this announcement is 843,618,177. Rightmove holds 12,467,174 shares in treasury.

In accordance with Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (the Market Abuse Regulation) as amended by The Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the "UK MAR"), the schedule below contains detailed information about the purchases made by UBS AG London Branch on behalf of the Company as part of the buyback programme.

Contact Michelle Palmer, Assistant Company Secretary CompanySecretary@rightmove.co.uk

Schedule of Purchases - Individual Transactions
Westinghouse Electric Company is shaping the future of carbon-free energy by providing safe, innovative nuclear technologies to utilities globally. Westinghouse supplied the world's first commercial pressurized water reactor in 1957 and the company's technology is the basis for nearly one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants. For over 130 years, innovation makes Westinghouse the preferred partner for technologies covering the complete nuclear energy life cycle. For more information, visit www.westinghousenuclear.com and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Paris, 5 April 2022 - The Company's shareholders are invited to participate in the Combined Annual General Meeting (AGM), which will be held on Tuesday 26 April 2022, at 10:00 am, at Altamir's offices: 1 rue Paul Cezanne, 75008 Paris.

The AGM prior notice, including the meeting agenda and the proposed resolutions, was published in the BALO (French Bulletin of Obligatory Legal Announcements) on 21 March 2022 and the AGM notice will be published in the BALO on 11 April 2022 and in a French journal of legal announcements on 11 April 2022.

In conformity with article R. 22-10-23 of the French Code of Commerce, the supporting documents to the AGM are available on the Company's website (www.altamir.fr).

The supporting documents to the AGM will also be made available to shareholders as of the AGM notice date. Thus, in conformity with the applicable regulatory provisions:

all registered shareholders may, up to and including the fifth day before the AGM, request that the Company forward them the documentation referred to in articles R.225-81 and R.225-83 of the French Code of Commerce, by electronic or other means. Bearer shareholders may exercise this right only after producing a registration certificate stating that their shares are recorded in a bearer securities account on the books of an accredited intermediary;

all shareholders may review the documents referred to in articles L. 225-115 and R.225-83 of the French Code of Commerce at the company's headquarters.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

About Altamir

Altamir is a listed private equity company (Euronext Paris-B, ticker: LTA) founded in 1995 and with a NAV of nearly 1.4bn. Its objective is to provide shareholders with long-term capital appreciation and regular dividends by investing in a diversified portfolio of private equity investments.

Altamir's investment policy is to invest principally via and with the funds managed or advised by Apax Partners SAS and Apax Partners LLP, two leading private equity firms that take majority or lead positions in buyouts and growth capital transactions and seek ambitious value creation objectives. In this way, Altamir provides access to a diversified portfolio of fast-growing companies across Apax's sectors of specialisation (Tech & Telco, Consumer, Healthcare, Services) and in complementary market segments (mid-sized companies in continental Europe and large companies in Europe, North America and key emerging markets).

Altamir derives certain tax benefits from its status as a SCR ("Societe de Capital Risque"). As such, Altamir is exempt from corporate tax and the company's investors may benefit from tax exemptions, subject to specific holding-period and dividend-reinvestment conditions.

For more information: www.altamir.fr

Contact

Claire Peyssard Moses

Tel.: +33 1 53 65 01 74 / +33 6 34 32 38 97

E-mail: investors@altamir.fr

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COLORADO SPRINGS, CO / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / Fortitude Gold Corp. (OTCQB:FTCO) (the "Company") declares its monthly dividend of $0.04 per common share payable on April 29, 2022 to shareholders of record as of April 19, 2022. Fortitude Gold is a gold producer, developer, and explorer with operations in Nevada, U.S.A. offering investors exposure to both gold production and dividend yield.

Dividends may vary in amount and consistency or be discontinued at the Board of Directors' discretion depending on variables including but not limited to operational cash flows, Company development requirements and strategies, construction, spot gold and silver prices, taxation, general market conditions and other factors described in the Company's public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Fortitude Gold Corp.:

Fortitude Gold is a U.S. based gold producer targeting projects with low operating costs, high margins, and strong returns on capital. The Company's strategy is to grow organically, remain debt-free and distribute substantial dividends. The Company's Nevada Mining Unit consists of five high-grade gold properties located in the Walker Lane Mineral Belt and a sixth high-grade gold property in west central Nevada. The Isabella Pearl gold mine, located on the Isabella Pearl mineralized trend, is currently in production. Nevada, U.S.A. is among the world's premier mining friendly jurisdictions.

Cautionary Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. If you are risk-averse you should NOT buy shares in Fortitude Gold Corp. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. When used in this press release, the words "plan", "target", "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the statements regarding the Company's strategy, future plans for production, future expenses and costs, future liquidity and capital resources, and estimates of mineralized material are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to the Company on the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

Forward looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this press release. In particular, the scope, duration, and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mining operations, Company employees, and supply chains as well as the scope, duration and impact of government action aimed at mitigating the pandemic may cause future actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. Also, there can be no assurance that production will continue at any specific rate.

Contact:

Greg Patterson

719-717-9825

greg.patterson@fortitudegold.com

www.Fortitudegold.com

SOURCE: Fortitude Gold Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696162/Fortitude-Gold-Declares-April-Monthly-Dividend
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Dynasty Gold Corp. (TSXV: DYG) (FSE: D5G1) (OTC Pink: DGDCF) ("Dynasty" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that subject to the Exchange's approval, it has closed tranche two of its non-brokered private placement of 1,058,000 units for gross proceeds of $179,860. The first tranche was closed on March 14, 2022. As a result of this offering, a total of 2,974,765 units will be issued for gross proceed of $505,710. Each unit consists of one common share at 17 cents and one common share purchase warrant at 25 cents for a period of two years. The Company shall have the right to call the outstanding warrants for expiry upon 30 days notice in the event that the closing price of the common shares of the Company on the TSX Venture Exchange is above 35 cents for seven consecutive trading days. The units issued under the private placement are subject to a four-month hold period from the date of closing. Finder's fees are payable to qualified finders.

Directors and insiders of the Company are participants of this financing. The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements provided under sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 on the basis that participation in the Offering by insiders does not exceed 25% of the fair market value of the Company's market capitalization. The proceeds from the private placement will be used for exploration of the Thundercloud gold project and for general corporate purposes.

About Dynasty Gold Corp.

Dynasty Gold Corp. is a Canadian exploration company currently focused on gold exploration in North America with projects located in a greenstone belt in Ontario and in the Midas gold camp in Nevada. The Company is currently advancing its Thundercloud gold deposit which contains 182,000 oz gold. The 43-101 Mineral Resource report was filed on www.sedar.com. The 100% owned Golden Repeat gold project is in the Midas gold camp in Elko County Nevada, and surrounded by a number of large scale operating mines. In addition, Dynasty owns a 70% interest in the Hatu Qi2 gold mine in the Tien Shan Gold belt, Xinjiang, China, with which it is in legal dispute with Xinjiang Non-Ferrous Industrial Metals Group and its subsidiary Western Region Gold Co. Ltd. For more information, please visit the Company's website www.dynastygoldcorp.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DYNASTY GOLD CORP.

"Ivy Chong"

_________________________________

Ivy Chong, President & CEO

For additional information please contact:

Ivy Chong, Dynasty Gold Corp.

Email: ichong@dynastygoldcorp.com, Phone 604.633.2100

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept 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/119371
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Silver Sands Resources Corp. (CSE: SAND) (OTCQB: SSRSF) ("Silver Sands" or the "Company") is pleased to report the commencement of its fully funded Phase IV exploration program at its Virginia Silver Project in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.

Objectives of the 1,500 metre drill program are:

Expand on the Ely Central and Ely North Extension drilling successes to build additional potential mineral resource ounces, where drilling highlights include: 639 g/t silver over 9.60m 625 g/t silver over 10.80m, including 1,110 g/t silver over 5.70m 476 g/t silver over 4.0m, including 929 g/t silver over 1.85m

Follow up the Phase III Margarita discovery: 1,456 g/t silver over 2.65m

Expand on the Martina NW, SW, SE drilling success to build additional potential mineral resource ounces, where drilling highlights include: 242 g/t silver over 4.75m, including 404 g/t silver over 2.45m 199 g/t silver over 33.5m

Test the new Daniela and Patricia veins 2 km to the north of the known veins Daniela trenching highlights of 29,016 g/t silver over 0.4m and 1,907 g/t silver over 2.3m Patricia trenching highlights of 7,378 g/t silver over 1.6m and 4,584 g/t silver over 2.6m

Probe the Santa Rita East vein further down dip toward the suspected precious metal horizon

Concurrent with the drilling, the geological teams will prospect the potential structures identified during the Phase II and Phase III IP programs to the north and east of the known vein field to generate trenching and drilling targets for the subsequent Phase V program.

"We are eager to commence Phase IV drilling at Virginia as we continue progressing towards significantly increasing the 2016 mineral resource estimate," commented Silver Sands CEO Keith Anderson. "Our successes at Ely Central, Ely North and Martina, coupled with our new discovery at Margarita and the newly developed targets at Patricia and Daniela have the makings for an extremely exciting program. Additionally, we anticipate developing new vein targets as we systematically evaluate the numerous linear IP anomalies to the north and northeast," he continued.





Figure 1. Virginia Vein Field Phase IV Drilling

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6972/119265_51b83d6d14e79af1_001full.jpg

Ely Central (Figure 2)

The 850 metre gap between the Ely South and Ely North conceptual pits has returned silver intersections in all holes drilled to date. A few more infill drill holes are required for sufficient coverage along the 580 metres to allow for the calculation of a mineral resource block at Ely Central. Highlights from the Silver Sands drilling include:

639 g/t silver over 9.60m

625 g/t silver over 10.80m, including 1,110 g/t silver over 5.70m

560 g/t silver over 9.98m, including 1,578 g/t silver over 2.87m

233.5 g/t silver over 9.25m, including 441.71 g/t silver over 4.5m

Figure 2. Ely Central Drill Plan and Drill Results Table*

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6972/119265_51b83d6d14e79af1_002full.jpg

Hole ID m from m to m interval Ag g/t

Hole ID m from m to m interval Ag g/t EC-DDH-001 92.75 102 9.25 233.5

EC-DDH-006 135.5 148.3 12.8 30.39 Including 94.55 99.05 4.5 441.7

Including 144.5 145 0.5 81 EC-DDH-002 74 77 3 50.1

EC-DDH-007 80.3 81.9 1.6 113.63 EC-DDH-003 62.32 72.3 9.98 560

Including 80.6 81.05 0.45 308 Including 65.13 68 2.87 1578

EC-DDH-008 66 99.8 33.8 88 EC-DDH-004 70.9 80.5 9.6 639

including 86.6 87.4 0.8 177 EC-DDH-005 44.7 55.5 10.8 625

and 95 95.35 0.35 165 Including 45 50.7 5.7 1110

EC-DDH-009 62 66.3 4.3 95.97











including 62.55 64.85 2.3 135

Ely North Extension (Figure 3)

Silver Sands drilling along the 400m Ely North Extension has intersected silver in all holes. The presence of continuous silver mineralization along the 400m length tested suggests further infill drilling has the potential to define a mineral resource block. The Silver Sands drilling discovered strong veining and silver mineralization in a previously untested lower intensity IP chargeability at Ely North Extension. There are numerous untested lower intensity IP anomalies both throughout the current mineral resource area and in the area to the north and east where Silver Sands completed systematic IP surveying. Previous drill intercepts included:

476 g/t silver over 4.0m, including 929 g/t silver over 1.85m

91 g/t silver over 7.5m

Figure 3. Ely North Extensions and Drill Results Table*

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6972/119265_51b83d6d14e79af1_003full.jpg

Hole ID m from m to m interval Ag g/t

Hole ID m from m to m interval Ag g/t EN-DDH-001 17.3 55 37.7 66.4

VG-105 68 119 51 93 Including 19.23 21.4 2.17 117.3

including 91 119 26 115.34 EN-DDH-002 85.3 89.3 4 476.0

including 110 113 3 190.5 Including 87.15 89 1.85 929

VG-161 127 164.7 37.7 62.8 EN-DDH-005 63.45 81 17.55 36.8

including 152 163.47 11.5 130.5











including 159.14 160.8 1.66 376.8











VG-163 81.5 98.6 17.1 52

Martina (Figure 4)

Silver Sands drilling to the north and south of the Martina conceptual open pit has extended the silver mineralization 250m to the northwest (Martina NW) and 350m to the southeast (Martina SE). The presence of continuous silver mineralization along the 250m northwest length and 350m southeast length tested suggests further infill drilling has the potential to expand the current Martina conceptual open pit. Drill highlights include:

198.51 g/t silver over 33.5m

137.44 g/t silver over 9.17m

Figure 4. Martina NW and Martina SE and Drill Results Table*

To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6972/119265_51b83d6d14e79af1_004full.jpg

Hole ID m from m to m interval Ag g/t

Hole ID m from m to m interval Ag g/t MNW-DDH-001 66 75.17 9.17 137.4

MSE-DDH-001 83.3 109 25.7 240.8 Including 67.9 73.05 5.6 193.7

Including 88.3 103.5 15.2 355.4 Including 69 70.52 1.52 299.7

Including 89.6 93.05 3.45 1161.1 MNW-DDH-002 79.4 89 9.6 62.9

MSE-DDH-003 49.57 54.41 4.84 119.0 MNW-DDH-004 110.7 137 26.3 50.7

VG-93 36 53 19 62.3 MNW-DDH-005A 96.1 100.85 4.75 251.5

VG-94 22 40 18 88.5 Including 97.1 99.55 2.45 404

Including 25.65 32 6.35 173.3











VG-125 53 64 11 46.7











including 55.8 56.3 0.5 272.0

Margarita

Margarita is a 500m long vein in the south of the Virginia Vein Field. Historic channel sampling returned highlights of 1,486 g/t silver over 1.4m with samples ranging from 3,170 g/t silver to 67 g.t silver. Silver Sands Phase III drilling interested 1456 g/t silver over 2.65m. This high-grade intersection will be tested along strike and down dip to extend the mineralization.

Scout drill holes will test the Daniela and Patricia veins as Silver Sands' systematic exploration continues to the north from the main resource area.

Silver Sands' preliminary drilling at Santa Rita East confirmed the down dip extension of the gold-silver veins on surface, Deeper drilling will target the veins further down dip for the suspected deeper precious metal horizon.

Finally, Silver Sands will prospect the linear chargeability trends to the north and northeast of the mineral resource area to work up trenching and drilling targets for the subsequent Phase V drilling program.





Figure 5. Gradient Array IP Chargeability North and NorthEast Targets

To view an enhanced version of Figure 5, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6972/119265_51b83d6d14e79af1_005full.jpg

* All Silver Sand Intersections (xx-DDH-00x) have been reported in their various news releases: January 21, 2021; February 23, 2021; May 17, 2021; December 7, 2021 and February 1, 2022. All Mirasol intersections (VG-xxx) have been reported in "Virginia Silver Project Santa Cruz Province, Argentina NI 43-101 Technical Report on Exploration and Drilling" by Paul G. Lohtka for Mirasol Resources Ltd. and dated February 20, 2014. Note however, that some of the intervals have been expanded as the initial results have been reinterpreted with each subsequent drill program. All reported intervals are drill lengths, not true widths.

About Virginia

The Virginia Project is an advanced exploration stage project. Located in the mineral-rich Deseado massif, lying within the mining-friendly state of Santa Cruz in the Patagonia region of Argentina. Virginia is a low to intermediate sulphidation epithermal silver deposit. Through initial discovery in 2009 to four drill programs between 2010 and 2012, Mirasol Resources was able to define an initial indicated mineral resource of 11.9 million ounces of silver at 310 g/t Ag and a further inferred 3.1 million ounces of silver at 207 g/t Ag within seven outcropping bodies. The mineral resources are contained within seven conceptual open pits - Naty, Julia North, Julia Central, Julia South, Ely North, Ely South and Martina. Phase I and II drilling identified the potential for four additional conceptual open pits - Ely Central, Ely North Extension, Julia South Extension and Martina NW.

The resource estimate is documented in a Mirasol Resources technical report entitled: "Amended Technical Report, Virginia Project, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina -- Initial Silver Mineral Resource Estimate" with an effective date of Oct. 24, 2014, and a report date of Feb. 29, 2016.

Several additional vein structures within the property package remain highly prospective, as Mirasol concentrated the bulk of its earlier exploration effort on the resource area at the expense of continuing exploration on the underexplored additional veins. Several of these structures have highlight silver values in excess of 1,000 g/t Ag and have a high probability of hosting additional silver resources.

Silver Sands has the option to earn-in 100% of the Virginia Project. Upon completion of the option Mirasol Resources will retain a 3% NSR royalty, of which 1% can be bought back by Silver Sands for US$ 2 million.

About Silver Sands Resources Corp.

Silver Sands is a well-financed, Canada-based company engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets in mining-friendly jurisdictions. Its objective is to locate and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit. Its key asset is the Virginia silver project, located in the mining-friendly Santa Cruz state of Argentina.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Keith Anderson

Chief Executive Officer, Director

For further information, please contact:

Keith Anderson

Chief Executive Officer, Director (604) 786-7774

Qualified Person Statement: Silver Sand's disclosure of technical and scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by R. Tim Henneberry, P.Eng., a director of the Company, who serves as a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.

QAQC: Silver Sands applies industry standard exploration sampling methodologies and techniques. All geochemical rock and drill samples are collected under the supervision of the company's geologists in accordance with industry practice. Geochemical assays are obtained and reported under a quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program. Samples are dispatched to an ISO 9001:2008 accredited laboratory in Argentina for analysis. Assay results from channel, trench, and drill core samples may be higher, lower or similar to results obtained from surface samples due to surficial oxidation and enrichment processes or due to natural geological grade variations in the primary mineralization.

Forward Looking Statements: The information in this news release contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry and to policies linked to pandemics, social and environmental related matters. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding future exploration programs, operation plans, geological interpretations, mineral tenure issues and mineral recovery processes. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Silver Sands disclaims any obligations to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119265
Kolibri Global Energy Inc. (the "Company" or "KEI") (TSX: KEI, OTCQB: KGEIF), is pleased to announce that its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary BNK Petroleum (US) Inc. ("BNK US") has started completion operations on the Barnes 8-4H well (99.8% working interest) in its Tishomingo field in Oklahoma.

Wolf Regener, President, and CEO, commented. "Completion operations have started this morning and are expected to be finished within the next two weeks. The wellbore will then be cleaned out after which flow back of the well can begin. The Company will update the market when we have stabilized production rates which are expected by the end of April.

After our outstanding results from the Barnes 7-3H well, we are eager to bring the Barnes 8-4H well on production. The Barnes 8-4H is also located in the heart of our field and our operations team is using the same stimulation design that was used on the Barnes 7-3H well. We look forward to bringing on additional new production with unhedged current pricing of over $100 per barrel.

"The Barnes 7-3H well is still producing at a much higher rate than any of our previous wells and over the last five days has continued to average over 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day."

About Kolibri Global Energy Inc.

Kolibri Global Energy Inc. is an international energy company focused on finding and exploiting energy projects in oil, gas, and clean and sustainable energy. Through various subsidiaries, the Company owns and operates energy properties in the United States. The Company continues to utilize its technical and operational expertise to identify and acquire additional projects. The Company's shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol KEI and on the OTCQB under the stock symbol KGEIF.

Cautionary Statements

Readers should be aware that references to initial production rates and other short-term production rates are preliminary in nature and are not necessarily indicative of long-term performance or of ultimate recovery. Readers are referred to the full description of the results of the Company's December 31, 2021 independent reserves evaluation and other oil and gas information contained in its Form 51-101F1 Statement of Reserves Data and Other Oil and Gas Information for the year ended December 31, 2021, which the Company filed on SEDAR on March 8, 2022.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of United States securities laws (collectively, "forward looking information"), including statements regarding the timing of and expected results from planned wells development, the expected timing to finish completion operations, the expected timing of stabilized production rates, and the Company bringing on additional new production with unhedged current pricing of over $100 per barrel. Forward-looking information is based on plans and estimates of management and interpretations of data by the Company's technical team at the date the data is provided and is subject to several factors and assumptions of management, including that that indications of early results are reasonably accurate predictors of the prospectiveness of the shale intervals, that required regulatory approvals will be available when required, that no unforeseen delays, unexpected geological or other effects, including flooding and extended interruptions due to inclement or hazardous weather conditions, equipment failures, permitting delays or labor or contract disputes are encountered, that the necessary labor and equipment will be obtained, that the development plans of the Company and its co-venturers will not change, that the offset operator's operations will proceed as expected by management, that the demand for oil and gas will be sustained, that the price of oil will be sustained or increase, that the Company will continue to be able to access sufficient capital through financings, farm-ins or other participation arrangements to maintain its projects, and that global economic conditions will not deteriorate in a manner that has an adverse impact on the Company's business, its ability to advance its business strategy and the industry as a whole. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking information in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the risk that any of the assumptions on which such forward looking information is based vary or prove to be invalid, including that the Company or its subsidiaries is not able for any reason to obtain and provide the information necessary to secure required approvals or that required regulatory approvals are otherwise not available when required, that unexpected geological results are encountered, that equipment failures, permitting delays, labor or contract disputes or shortages of equipment or labor are encountered, the risks associated with the oil and gas industry (e.g. operational risks in development, exploration and production; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration and development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of reserve and resource estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses, and health, safety and environmental risks, including flooding and extended interruptions due to inclement or hazardous weather conditions), the risk of commodity price and foreign exchange rate fluctuations, that the offset operator's operations have unexpected adverse effects on the Company's operations, that completion techniques require further optimization, that production rates do not match the Company's assumptions, that very low or no production rates are achieved, that the price of oil will decline, that the Company is unable to access required capital, that occurrences such as those that are assumed will not occur, do in fact occur, and those conditions that are assumed will continue or improve, do not continue or improve, and the other risks and uncertainties applicable to exploration and development activities and the Company's business as set forth in the Company's management discussion and analysis and its annual information form, both of which are available for viewing under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com, any of which could result in delays, cessation in planned work or loss of one or more concessions and have an adverse effect on the Company and its financial condition. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405006133/en/

Contacts:

Wolf E. Regener +1 (805) 484-3613

Email: wregener@kolibrienergy.com

Website: www.kolibrienergy.com
Students who have identified a career path for themselves feel twice as prepared for their futures as those who are unsure of their path.

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / Uplift Education is excited to have its 9th annual JUMP (Junior to Undergrad Master Plan) event April 9th, which is dedicated to preparing junior-level high school students for their path towards college and career. JUMP will bring together over 1,100 Uplift Juniors and more than 40 higher education and career development professionals from across the nation to join students for a day of uniquely curated sessions and workshops.

VIDEO Available Here

Students will have the opportunity to attend sessions about the college search, college essays, career assessments, LGBTQ resources, health and wellness, how to navigate daily college life, how to secure financial assistance, what colleges truly look for in applications, college during a pandemic and much more. ?JUMP provides a unique opportunity for students to get personalized advice and guidance straight from experts. The goal is to have junior students leave feeling empowered and ready to jump-start their road to college and career process.

Uplift students will also be able to participate in a unique game called Get A Life, where students learn the true reality of life with a college degree vs. without a college degree. Students are given a career and education assignment and must navigate through life's expenses while staying within the budget that is associated with their assigned career and education level.

WHEN and WHERE:

April 9, 2022, at 7:00 am - 2:30 pm in DALLAS

Uplift Wisdom 301 W Camp Wisdom Rd, Dallas, TX 75232

Increasing college opportunity is not just an economic imperative but a reflection of our values. Uplift strives to reach, inspire, and empower every scholar, regardless of background, to ensure that opportunities to excel and advance exist for individuals of all backgrounds.

A 2019 study from the National Center for Education Statistics reported that 66% of high school graduates in the U.S. enrolled in college immediately after high school. In comparison, 85% of Uplift Education graduates from the Class of 2022 enrolled in college, a strong testament to the academic preparation and support that Uplift provides for students and their families.

Uplift is dedicated to closing the opportunity gap for students, regardless of their ethnic or socioeconomic backgrounds, by providing equitable access to high quality education, programs and experiences that empower students to reach their highest potential. Uplift's unique Road To College & Career program is unparalleled in how it prepares students for life after high school. Through events like JUMP, Uplift helps students discover their strengths and passions and learn how those might translate into a college major or future career that will help them reach their long-term personal goals.

Uplift is ahead of the curve with a robust Road to College & Career program that supports students and families as they prepare to apply for, enroll in, and graduate from college. This program has a track record of 100% college acceptance and has two main goals: (1) 70% of alumni graduating college within 6 years and (2) 90% of Uplift graduates earning an economically viable post-secondary credential and career pathway.

Uplift Education

Uplift Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the lives of teachers, families, and, most importantly, students. With a network of 45 college-preparatory public charter schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Uplift offers students of any background the powerful chance to study within a multidisciplinary curriculum and prepare for the college career they deserve. Uplift is the largest International Baccalaureate district in Texas and the #2 IB district in the nation because of the number of holistic extracurricular and educational programs. The incredible educators in the Uplift network guide and teach over 22,000 students in Pre-K- 12th?grades, with the majority being low-income and minority students who will be the first in their family to attend college. For more information, Uplift's mission and their blind lottery selection system, visit?uplifteducation.org?or?facebook.com/uplifteducation.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Deekay Fox

Senior Marketing and Communications Director

dfox@uplifteducation.org

661-378-2353

SOURCE: Uplift Education

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696186/Uplift-Education-Hosts9th-Annual-JUMP-Event-on-April-9-2022-Junior-to-Undergrad-Master-Plan
Performance marketing platform and experience analytics platform to boost analytics and user understanding for eCommerce customers

NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Wunderkind ("the Company'), a leading performance marketing engine that scales one-to-one messages for top retailers, today announced the launch of a strategic partnership with Contentsquare , a digital experience analytics AI-powered platform that provides rich and contextual insight into customer behaviors, feelings and intent - at every touchpoint in their journey.

This strategic integration with Contentsquare allows eCommerce brands to uncover in-depth insights into the behavior of users identified by Wunderkind campaigns. Marketers can leverage Contentsquare to determine the specific shopping behavior of users that engage with Wunderkind campaigns and use that insight to make site changes and optimize the shopping experience, ultimately driving increased revenue. More than 50 mutual eCommerce customers will initially benefit from the collaborative user behavior insights, with even more top retailers expected to benefit from the new partnership in the coming weeks and months.

"Wunderkind's expertise in helping brands achieve greater customer engagement and revenue, combined with Contentsquare's proven success in understanding the user experience, will undoubtedly empower brands to make more informed, strategic and data-driven marketing decisions," said Michael Osborne, President, Wunderkind. "We are excited to deliver an even greater understanding of site traffic and customer behavior to our valued clients through this partnership."

By leveraging the Wunderkind-Contentsquare partnership, leading retailers such as UrbanStems, Tumi, and Hugo Boss will be able to understand more about their users, and tailor and personalize their customers' experiences more effectively.

"Contentsquare's digital experience analytics platform helps companies better recognize customer preferences to create more human experiences using rich and contextual insight," said Gilad Zubery, Executive Vice President, Global Business Development & Partnerships, Contentsquare. "We are thrilled to partner with Wunderkind and combine our respective industry expertise to improve the customer experience, deliver even greater value in personalized messaging, and fuel the understanding, trust, and creativity brand marketers need to win in today's competitive marketplace."

The Wunderkind-Contentsquare integration is now live and available for customers to use. To learn more, visit, https://partners.contentsquare.com/technology-partners/wunderkind .

About Wunderkind

Wunderkind is a leading performance marketing engine that scales one-to-one messages for top brands. Digital businesses use Wunderkind to remember who site visitors are better than ever before, allowing them to deliver high-performing, one-to-one messages on websites, through emails and texts, and in ads at a scale that's not otherwise possible. Wunderkind drives $2.8 billion dollars annually in directly attributable revenue for top eCommerce brands like Uniqlo, Sonos and HelloFresh, often ranking as a top-3 revenue channel in their own analytics. Wunderkind is maniacally obsessed with ROI and aims to be the infrastructural interface between individuals and brands in a world where consumers choose what they want, from whom, and when. Learn more by visiting the Wunderkind site .

About Contentsquare

Contentsquare delivers the power to make the digital world more human. Its AI-powered platform provides rich and contextual insight into customer behaviors, feelings and intent - at every touchpoint in their journey - enabling businesses to build empathy and create lasting impact. The global leader in digital experience analytics, Contentsquare helps brands everywhere transform the way they do business, allowing them to take action at enterprise scale and build customer trust with security, privacy and accessibility. More than 850 leading brands use Contentsquare to grow their business, deliver more customer happiness and move with greater agility in a constantly changing world. Its insights power the customer experience on over 1 million websites worldwide. Founded in Paris and with offices around the world, Contentsquare has raised $810m in investment funding from leading investors, including Softbank, BlackRock and others. For more information, visit www.contentsquare.com

Wunderkind Media Contacts

KCSA Strategic Communications

Wunderkind@kcsa.com

Contentsquare Media Contacts

Erica Ashner

Erica.Ashner@Contentsquare.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1670992/Wunderkind_Logo.jpg
Ordinary people in nine countries are taking action to stop the destruction of the climate.

LONDON, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Tuesday, April 12, at 3 pm UK time, citizens in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, UK, and the United States, known together as the A22 Network, will hold an online press conference to give updates on their ongoing, unprecedented campaigns of nonviolent disruption to force their governments to stop the greatest betrayal of our young people and the next thousand generations.

"We have to act quickly. What we do I believe in the next three to four years will determine the future of humanity." - Sir David King, former chief scientific advisor to the UK government, February 2021

"By 2030 about 250 million people may experience high water stress in Africa, with up to 700 million people displaced as a result." - IPCC Sixth Assessment Report 2022

Throughout this month, citizen members of the A22 Network are blocking roads, train tracks, and fossil fuel infrastructure, leading to mass arrests, while others participate in open-ended hunger strikes. This is the new face of nonviolent climate crisis resistance in the 2020s, our darkest hour, our final hour. We will create a new society that accepts limitations, finally makes peace with itself, and this most beautiful and precious world, our only home.

Moderator

Alex Lockwood, University of Sunderland, co-founder of Animal Rebellion

Speakers will include:

Peter Kalmus, climate scientist, leader of Scientist Rebellion

And representatives from A22 Network campaigns across the globe.

There are limited opportunities for journalists who register and attend to embed with coming actions.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QpxKsAnGSa6bXEBuiz5Dyw

About the Uprising: After 1.2 degrees Celsius increase in global average temperatures, and with Russia waging the latest fossil-fueled war on its neighbour, ordinary people are taking action against mass starvation, mass displacement, and social collapse. Within this nine-country coalition, each group has a policy demand that is specific, broadly popular and winnable.

The Panel will include representatives from:

Fireproof Australia |Fireproof Australia

Save Old Growth| Facebook| Twitter| TikTok| YouTube| Media Photos

Last Renovation/Derniere RenovationFrance |Instagram| Facebook| Twitter| Tiktok

Last Generation Germany/Letzte Generation| Instagram| Facebook| Twitter | TikTok| YouTube| Telegram| LinkedIn| Website| Media photos| Logos Folder

Last Generation Italy/Ultima Generazione | Facebook| Instagram| Telegram| Twitter

Stopp Oljeletinga!/ Extinction Rebellion Norway| Facebook| Instagram|Twitter

Renovate Switzerland |Instagram| Facebook| Twitter| TikTok| Media photos| Logos Folder

Just Stop OilUK | Instagram| Twitter

Declare Emergency| Twitter| Facebook |Instagram| TikTok| YouTube

Media Contacts: intpresssupport@protonmail.com

(Australia +61 435 750 814) Canada (778-316-8025), (France +33645940543) (Germany +49641201099549), (Italy +39 379 188 6195), Norway (+47 406 05 938) Switzerland (+4179 727 99 29), (United States +1 585 709 3759)

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Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2022) - Spitz Solutions, a leading PR agency, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Autopilot Growth, a Florida based marketing transformation company.

The goal of the partnership is to leverage the combined results that PR & outbound marketing have together and turn them into one process that increases the efficiency and the volume of results that their clients experience.

"With my background in public relations, I recognized the value of supporting outbound marketing with the authority generated by great press. After talking with many PR agencies, I felt confident that Spitz Solutions would be most equipped to support my clients," Jeremy Schaller, founder of Autopilot Growth said.

Founded in 2021 by Carson Spitzke, Spitz Solutions helps businesses increase their efficiency and revenue by positioning them as the premium option in the marketplace and helping them win by being the most valuable solution, not the cheapest.

This ideology is similar to what groups like Volkswagen AG do to sell Lamborghini's for hundreds of thousands more than their Volkswagen cars.

"We've been looking for ways to better help our customers outside of increasing close rates and eliminating objections in the sales process," says Carson Spitzke, CEO of Spitz Solutions. "At Spitz Solutions, our customer satisfaction is our highest priority. We've noticed that some of our clients aren't effectively using outbound lead generation, this lowers their ROI with our work. By joining forces with Autopilot we aim to establish Jeremy's groundbreaking email and LinkedIn systems to further increase our clients ROI and establish a clear-cut path to systematic, data driven growth."

About Autopilot Growth:

Autopilot Growth is a Tampa Bay based marketing transformation company that helps organizations modernize their marketing efforts using omnichannel outreach automations, machine learning, and revolutionary sales support systems. This approach was born out of Jeremy's years running a marketing department in a rapid industry, where marketing innovation was a requirement to stay in business.

To get in touch with Autopilot Growth, reach out to Jeremy at Linkedin.com/in/jeremyschaller or twitter.com/linkedin_legend.

About Spitz Solutions:

Spitz Solutions is a Calgary-based PR & Branding agency. They help business owners position their company in a way that makes prospects think differently on how they assess their value. This allows their clients to charge more while being seen as industry leaders.

For more information about Spitz Solutions, please visit www.spitzsolutions.com.

Contact:

Carson Spitzke

carson@spitzsolutions.com

403-992-6803

Source: Spitz Solutions

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/119372
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices pared early gains and drifted lower on Tuesday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to a surge in coronavirus cases in China. According to reports, lockdown has been extended in Shanghai, where asymptomatic coronavirus cases rose by a record 13,086 on Monday, up from 8,581 cases a day earlier. Oil prices climbed higher earlier in the day, extending gains from the previous session amid rising concerns over tighter global supply as the European Union and the United States are reportedly mulling further sanctions against Russia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down by $1.32 or about 1.3% at $101.96 a barrel, after having climbed above $105.00 a barrel earlier in the day. Brent crude futures were down $1.59 or 1.48% at $105.94 a barrel a little while ago. U.S. President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal and sought additional sanctions on Russia. The U.S. is likely to announce new sanctions on Russia this week. Meanwhile, the 27-member EU is under pressure to extend sanctions to Russia's oil and coal sectors to condemn its war crimes in Ukraine. Traders looked ahead to weekly inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), due later today, and Wednesday morning, respectively. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
DGAP Voting Rights Announcement: QIAGEN N.V.

QIAGEN N.V.: Release according to Article 40, Section 1 of the WpHG [the German Securities Trading Act] with the objective of Europe-wide distribution



05.04.2022 / 22:05

Dissemination of a Voting Rights Announcement transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



The AFM (the Netherlands Authority For the Financial Markets has informed us on April 2, 2022 that a notification related to our institution has been released by the AFM. The following notification has been disclosed in the relevant register on the AFM website: Date of transaction: 29 mar 2022

Person obliged to notify: Goldman Sachs Group Inc., The

Issuing institution: Qiagen N.V.

Registration Chamber of Commerce: 12036979

Place of residence: VENLO Distribution in numbers Type of share Number of shares Number of voting rights Capital interest Voting rights Manner of disposal Settlement Ordinary share 959.308,00 959.298,41 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs International Physical Delivery Convertible bond 880.773,00 880.773,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs International Physical Delivery Ordinary share 472.090,00 472.085,28 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Physical Delivery Option 3.863.782,00 3.863.782,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Physical Delivery Swap 10.410,00 10.410,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC In cash Ordinary share 5.199,00 5.198,95 Real Real Indirectly - United Capital Financial Advisers, LLC Physical Delivery Ordinary share 40,00 40,00 Real Real Indirectly - Folio Investments Inc. Physical Delivery Swap 128.094,00 128.094,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs International In cash Ordinary share 231,00 231,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE Physical Delivery Warrant 37.167,00 37.167,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE In cash Ordinary share 14.757,00 14.756,85 Real Real Indirectly - The Goldman Sachs Trust Company of Delaware Physical Delivery Ordinary share 201.777,00 201.774,98 Real Real Indirectly - Goldman Sachs International Physical Delivery Ordinary share 51.103,00 51.102,49 Real Real Indirectly - Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Physical Delivery Ordinary share 24,00 24,00 Real Real Indirectly - Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE Physical Delivery Call-option 726.300,00 726.300,00 Potential Potential Indirectly - Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Physical Delivery Distribution in percentages Type Total holding Directly real Directly potential Indirectly real Indirectly potential Capital interest 3,18 % 0,00% 0,00% 0,12% 3,07% Voting rights 3,18 % 0,00% 0,00% 0,12% 3,07% QIAGEN N.V. is not responsible for the accuracy and correctness of the notification above. The content has

been taken from the relevant register of the AFM:

https://www.afm.nl/en/professionals/registers/meldingenregisters/substantiele-deelnemingen/details?id=122461

05.04.2022 The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.dgap.de




SEATTLE (dpa-AFX) - Retail giant Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) said on Monday that it had finalized rocket launches with three companies even as it spends billions on getting together a satellite constellation to beam broadband internet, which will compete with rival Elon Musk-owned SpaceX's Starlink.



Amazon said that its Project Kuiper has got 83 launches over a period of five years and this includes a deal with Blue Origin, a company owned by Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos.



The race to spread broadband internet using thousands of satellites in low earth orbit is getting competitive, with SpaceX topping the other players till now. Project Kuiper plans to launch its first two prototype satellites by year's end. Commenting on the developments, an Amazon spokesperson said, 'Amazon is investing billions of dollars across the three agreements. Together, it is the largest commercial procurement of launch vehicles in history.'



The contract includes 18 launches with Arianespace's Ariane 6 rockets, 12 launches with Blue Origin's New Glenn - with an option to add up to 15 more - and 38 launches with the Vulcan Centaur rocket made by United Launch Alliance or ULA, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Boeing Co. (BA).



Amazon said that the collaboration would provide capacity for the company to deploy the majority of its satellite constellation.



The deals are dependent on three heavy-lift rockets, which are yet to fly and whose development has been delayed. Arianespace's Ariane 6, under development, could launch up to 40 Kuiper satellites each mission, said the company's chief executive Stephane Israel.



Also under development is Blue Origin's New Glenn, which can carry 61 Kuiper satellites while ULA's Vulcan will carry 45, the companies' CEOs said in Tuesday at a conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado.



Dave Limp, head of Amazon's devices unit, said the company 'wanted diversity in our launch partnerships,' which includes previously announced deals with ULA and rocket startup ABL Space.



'It's the largest contract ever signed by Arianespace in its history,' ArianeGroup CEO Andre-Hubert Roussel told Reuters, reluctant to provide any financial details. 'It's the result of two years and half of talks with them,' he said, adding that the launches would take place between 2024 and 2027.



Project Kuiper plans to use more than 3,000 satellites in low earth orbit to send high-speed, low-latency internet to customers, including households, businesses and government agencies.







Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

AMAZON-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / Black Iron Inc. ("Black Iron" or the "Company") (TSX:BKI)(OTC PINK:BKIRF)(FWB:BIN) has been advised by Wood Plc., who's employees are the main authors of the Shymanivske Iron Ore (the "Project") feasibility study (the "Study"), that publication of the Study cannot occur until there is peace in Ukraine and it is possible to revisit site. In particular, to meet the requirements for a National Instrument 43-101: Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects feasibility study, at the time of publication of the Study, it needs to be reasonably justified that extraction can occur, that the envisaged infrastructure including power, rail and port are operational and that foreign exchange rate can be predicted with more accuracy.

Since extensive work has been conducted to bring the Study to a near completed state, upon there being peace in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine where Black Iron's Shymanivske project (the "Project") is located, the Company plans to reengage Wood and the other companies that contributed to the Study to finalize it for publication. As a minimum this will entail verifying the operational status of all infrastructure, updating all costs previously quoted in Ukrainian hryvnia and any other costs that may have materially changed.

As of writing, all of Black Iron's team members are safe. Management in Canada has helped arrange the relocation of some of the women and children from families we employ to other countries and purchased protective gear plus provided additional funds to those remaining in Ukraine to help cover essential costs.

Should readers wish to support a humanitarian appeal dedicated to Ukraine, the appeal established by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) is recommended. Donations of support can be made at the following website: www.cufoundation.ca

About Black Iron

Black Iron is an iron ore exploration and development company, advancing its 100% owned Shymanivske Iron Ore Project located in Kryviy Rih, Ukraine. Full mineral resource details and projected project economics can be found in the NI 43-101 technical report entitled "(Amended) Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Re-scoped Shymanivske Iron Ore Deposit" published in March 2020 with an effective date of November 21, 2017 under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Project is surrounded by five other operating mines, including Metinvest's YuGOK and ArcelorMittal's iron ore complex. Please visit the Company's website at www.blackiron.com for more information.

For more information, please contact:

Matt Simpson

Chief Executive Officer

Black Iron Inc.

info@blackiron.com

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, opinions and estimates of the date such statements are made based on information available to them at that time. Forward-looking information may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the updates regarding the Study and the timing of delivery thereof construction and development of the Project and the Company's future plans. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; outbreak of war in Ukraine, progress of the Company's service providers; negotiations with third parties and the Ukrainian government; other risks of the mining industry and the risks described in the annual information form of the Company. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The Company notes that mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.

SOURCE: Black Iron

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696202/Black-Iron-Feasibility-Study-to-be-Published-Upon-Peace-in-Ukraine
CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2022 / Labrador Technologies Inc. (the "Corporation" or "Labrador") (TSXV:LTX) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a letter of intent ("LOI") dated April 4, 2022 with Kasten Energy Inc. (the "Vendor") pertaining to the proposed acquisition of a 51% working interest in oil and gas properties in the Atlee area of Alberta (the "Acquisition"). The Acquisition constitutes an arms' length transaction as defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") and is a Change of Business (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) for Labrador.

In connection with the Acquisition, Labrador intends to complete a private placement of common shares at a price of $0.045 per common share for gross proceeds of up to $200,000 (the "PP") and a private placement of "flow-through" common shares at a price of $0.05 per flow-through common share for gross proceeds of up to $5,000,000 (the "Flow-Through PP") (together, the "Concurrent Financings") (collectively, the Acquisition and the Concurrent Financings are referred to as the "Transactions"). The PP is being completed to provide the Corporation with unallocated working capital while the Flow-Through PP is being completed to provide capital to the Corporation to advance opportunities within the oil and gas business.

The Corporation also announces that it plans to enter into a credit facility (the "Credit Facility") with KSS Capital Partners Inc. (the "Lender") in the amount of $500,000. The Credit Facility also constitutes an arms' length transaction. Advances made pursuant to the Credit Facility will provide immediate working capital to fund current outstanding payables, to fund the costs of holding the Special Meeting (as defined below) and fund the costs of preparing an engineering evaluation of the oil and gas property that is the subject of the Acquisition. Additionally, the Credit Facility will provide the funds necessary for the Corporation to pursue the Transactions and to repay certain longstanding payables of the Corporation (see "Credit Facility" below). Certain advances under the Credit Facility will be required, and made, before the Acquisition and the Concurrent Financings can be closed.

Details of the Acquisition

The LOI, entered into on April 4, 2022, contemplates that the Acquisition will be completed pursuant to definitive agreements (the "Definitive Agreements") that will incorporate the terms of the LOI and be completed and executed between the Corporation and the Vendor as soon as possible. The LOI contains the following provisions:

the purchase price shall be $782,000 (the "Purchase Price"); the effective date of the Acquisition shall be March 31, 2022;

a deposit of $25,000 will be payable contemporaneously with signing of the Definitive Agreements and a further deposit of $175,000 will be payable upon the approval of the TSXV (collectively, the "Deposit"); and the balance of the Purchase Price, being $582,000, will be paid by the Corporation to the Vendor at closing in the following manner: the Vendor will be issued 7,000,000 common shares of the Corporation at a price of $0.05 per common share for total consideration of $350,000; and the Vendor will be issued a promissory note ("Promissory Note"), secured by a general security agreement, in the amount of $232,000. The Promissory Note will be repayable two (2) years after the date of issue and shall bear interest at a rate of seven percent (7%) per annum.

In addition, on the closing of the Acquisition, the Vendor will be entitled to nominate one (1) director to the board of directors of Labrador.

Information Circular and Engineering Evaluation

Closing of the Acquisition and the Concurrent Financings remain subject to regulatory approvals including that of the TSXV. Closing may also be subject to approval of the shareholders of the Corporation (collectively, the "Approvals") insofar as completion of the Transactions will constitute a "change of business" of the Corporation. In order to procure those approvals, the Corporation has commissioned an evaluation of the property that is the subject of the Acquisition. The evaluation was performed by Boury and Associates (the "Boury Report") and is compliant with National Instrument 51-101. The Boury Report formed the basis for negotiating the purchase price of $782,000. The Boury Report included a price forecast that was effective as at December 31, 2021. In light of the substantial increase in oil and natural gas prices experienced during Q1 of 2022, the Corporation has chosen to re-run the Boury Report with an effective date of March 31, 2022 which will result in the use of an increased price forecast (the "Revised Boury Report"). The parties have agreed that the Revised Boury Report will not affect the Purchase Price.

Detailed Property Information

The Corporation intends to provide more detailed information pertaining to the oil and gas property that is the subject of the Acquisition upon receipt of the Revised Boury Report and signing of the Definitive Agreements.

Shareholder Approval

If required by the TSXV, upon receipt of the Revised Boury Report, the Corporation intends to commence the preparation of an information circular (the "Information Circular") which will be submitted to the TSXV for approval in accordance with TSXV policies. Upon having obtained such TSXV approval, the Corporation intends to call and hold a special shareholder meeting to seek approval for the Transactions if required (the "Special Meeting").

Business Rationale

Management of the Corporation, together with the Board, have been pursuing business opportunities in various business sectors since terminating the proposed RTO transaction with Claritas HealthTech Pte. Ltd. effective July 16, 2021 (see the Corporation's press releases dated December 21, 2021 and July 16, 2021). In light of the significant increase in prices for commodities, especially oil and gas, management is of the view that significant funding will be available to the Corporation in the oil and gas sector going forward. Completing the Transactions and the Concurrent Financings will be the first step in transitioning the Corporation into an oil and gas exploration and production company.

Credit Facility

The Credit Facility will provide sufficient funds, on an immediate basis, to fund the steps required to complete the Corporation's transition into an oil and gas exploration and production company including completing the Acquisition and the Concurrent Financings. Specifically it provides:

an immediate cash injection in the amount of $50,000 to fund currently outstanding payables that are critical to moving forward as a going concern, to fund the cost of the engineering evaluation and to fund the costs of the Special Meeting; an immediate further cash injection in the amount of $200,000 to fund the Deposit of which $25,000 must be provided contemporaneously with entering into the Definitive Agreements in respect to the Acquisition and the remaining $175,000 upon TSXV approval; and funding to pay a substantial portion of the Corporation's working capital deficit which was $368,723 as at January 31, 2022. Transitioning outstanding payables that form the majority of the working capital deficit into long term obligations under the Credit Facility will remove uncertainty regarding the Corporation's ability to meet its obligations.

The Credit Facility contains the following provisions:

funds advanced under the Credit Facility will be payable two (2) years from the date of the first advance and be secured by a general security agreement; it will accrue interest at a rate of 7% per annum; and it will be subordinated to the Promissory Note and general security agreement being granted to the Vendor in respect of the Acquisition.

Special Meeting of Shareholders

The Corporation will call the Special Meeting only if shareholder approval is required and after it has received approval from the TSXV for the form and content of the Information Circular pertaining to the Special Meeting, all in accordance with the policies of the TSXV. The Corporation anticipates that calling of the Special Meeting will occur during May, 2022 with the Special Meeting date to be approximately 60 days thereafter.

Name Change

Should the resolution approving the Transactions be approved, it will be appropriate to change the name of the Corporation to be more reflective of its business activities. Therefore, a special resolution approving a change of name of the Corporation to Labrador Resources Inc., or such similar name as is determined by the Board, will also be included in the Information Circular pertaining to the Special Meeting.

Further Information

The Corporation anticipates providing further information pertaining to the oil and gas property that forms the Acquisition, including the results of the Revised Boury Report, in subsequent press releases as the detailed information becomes available.

Trading Halt

Trading in the common shares of the Corporation has been halted and may remain halted pending the review of the Transactions by the TSXV. There can be no assurance that trading in the Labrador common shares will resume prior to the completion of the Transactions.

Cautionary Note

Completion of the Transactions is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, TSXV acceptance and if applicable, disinterested shareholder approval. Where applicable, the Transactions cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Transactions will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Transactions, any information released or received with respect to the Transactions may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of the Corporation should be considered highly speculative. The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed Transactions and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. In addition to the above, the proposed Transactions are subject to a number of further conditions, including but not limited to: (a) closing conditions customary to transactions of the nature of the proposed Transactions; (b) approvals of regulatory bodies having jurisdiction in connection with the proposed Transactions including the TSXV; and (c) shareholder approval if required.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to statements pertaining to the Corporation's ability to meet its current and future obligations, its ability to complete the Transactions and its ability to obtain TSXV approval and, if required, shareholder approval.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Labrador disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Not for Release in the United States of America

For further information, please contact:

Kaan Camlioglu

Interim CEO, Labrador Technologies Inc.

Phone: (403) 818 1091

Email: kcamlioglu@icloud.com

SOURCE: Labrador Technologies Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/696236/Labrador-Technologies-Inc-Announces-Proposed-Oil-and-Gas-Property-Acquisition-Private-Placements-and-Credit-Facility
EnKash, a Mumbai, India-based Spends Management Platform and Corporate Cards company, raised US$ 20m as a part of its Series B funding round.

The round was led by Ascent Capital with participation from Baring India and White Ventures and existing investors Mayfield India and Axilor Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations and its business reach.

Founded by veterans in the cards and payments space  Naveen Bindal, Hemant Vishnoi and Yadvendra Tyagi, EnKash has been a pioneer in unifying cards and spend management and features financial automation tools, enabling businesses to manage payables, receivables and expenses on the fly, powered by a DIY-Platform first approach.

The company has close to 120 employees and boasts processing annualized spends worth ~$2B on its platform. Other key metrics that EnKash tracks include 70K+ businesses and 500K+ issued cards.

FinSMEs

04/04/2022
HealtheMed, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based healthcare solutions company, raised $1.2m in seed funding.

The round was led by Panoramic Ventures and supported by OCA Ventures as well as other private investors, including Bob Schulz, co-founder and Partner Emeritus of Health Enterprise Partners.

The company intends to use the funds to expand awareness for its digital care service offerings that enable the states most vulnerable citizens to remain independent longer.

Led by Thomas Spencer, CEO, HealtheMed is a public benefit corporation dedicated to enriching the lives of underserved populations in the state of Minnesota. [email protected], a digital system of care enables Minnesota Medicaid waivered clients to get access to health care in their homes through its hybrid telemedicine platform.

The system delivers a combination of high technology, including telemedicine via a television, remote patient monitoring, and medication dispensing devices, with high-touch nurse guidance and patient training in the home.

FinSMEs

04/04/2022
Mastercard (NYSE: MA) has completed the acquisition of Dynamic Yield, a Tel Aviv, Israel- and New York City-based provider of a personalization platform and decision engine company.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

The acquisition will strengthen Mastercards suite of consumer engagement and loyalty services that help brands deliver more effective and trusted customer experiences across channels.

Dynamic Yield joins Mastercards growing Data & Services organisation, which has over 2,000 data scientists, engineers and consultants that serve customers in 70+ countries.

Dynamic Yield provides a platform for more than 400 brands to deliver personalised consumer experiences through individualised product recommendations, offers, and content based on a range of factors, including past purchases, page views and customer affinity profile information.

Previously purchased by McDonalds in 2019, Dynamic Yield has integrated its decision technology into McDonalds drive-thrus and ordering kiosks in several markets around the world. The company plans to further scale and integrate Dynamic Yields capabilities globally and across order channels.

This acquisition also strengthens existing synergies across McDonalds digital engagement experiences powered by Mastercards merchant loyalty platform SessionM and Test & Learn software.

FinSMEs

05/04/2022
Moneybox, a London, UK-based digital wealth manager, raised 35M in Series D funding.

The round, which brings the total amount of funds raised to date, to 95.1m, was led by Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, with participation from Polar Capital.



The company intends to use the funds to growth its customer base, introduce financial planning services and launch an enhanced investing proposition focused on long-term wealth generation.



Launched in 2016 by co-founders Ben Stanway and Charlie Mortimer, Moneybox provides a range of products and services across saving, investing, home-buying, and retirement, all within an app, supported by technology and customer support. The company supports a community of more than 800k customers with more than 2.9bn in assets under administration. It has a team of c.300 people including new entries as Laurel Powers-Freeling as Chair of the Board, Karen Kerrigan, formerly COO at Seedr, Cecilia Mourain, MD Moneybox Home-buying and Caroline Murphree, formerly Europe CEO at Wealthsimple, who will join next month.



FinSMEs

04/04/2022
Online trading has become very popular these days as young people look for alternative sources of income and freedom from their regular 9 till 5 jobs.

While online trading may have been gamified (no thanks to social media advertising and online investment gurus) and many young traders think its a quick way to gamble and make money, it doesnt change the fact that there is inherent risk with a casualty count of over 85% of traders losing money.

There are common pitfalls in online trading that traders should avoid irrespective of what market they trade in.

Choosing a Rogue Broker

Brokers act like middlemen and connect you to the markets. Their integrity would go a long way in defining your trading experience. This doesnt mean they work for charity but their charges should be on par with other brokers if not lower and they should not mislead you.

There are so many scam brokerages, especially targeting the general public all over the world, but these scams are most common in in Asian & African countries, where the markets are not well regulated, and there is a lack of general awareness regarding such scams.

This is not to say that investors from Europe or UK for example dont fall for investing scams & rogue brokers. There are regular warnings issued by the FCA UK against scams & clone brokers that are scamming investors in the UK.

To ensure that the broker is legal in your country, they have to be licensed by a regulatory body and must hold a valid license to accept clients. Some brokers can even hold more than one license from different major regulatory bodies in EU, UK, Australia & other regions, which can give additional safety to traders.

Karan from Safe Forex Brokers explains this with an example. If you want to trade CFDs or currencies from the UK, then you must find a FCA licensed UK forex broker to ensure that your funds are safe & you get investor protection. If you are trading via FCA regulated CFD broker, your funds up to 85,000 may be compensated under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in case the broker goes out of business.

If you are in Europe, the European Union has the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), United Kingdom has the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), U.S.A. has both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), while Australia has the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) etc.

These are just examples of capital market regulatory bodies in some major countries. A broker could hold multiple licenses say from the FCA and ASIC which would make it a lower risk broker.

To check if your broker is legit, go to the relevant regulators website and see if the brokers name is in the list of licensed brokers usually published by every regulator. It is generally safer to patronize brokers who hold a license from your domestic regulatory body since your local regulator can hold them accountable and it will be easier to retrieve your money should the broker go AWOL.

You could lose all your funds if you patronize unregulated brokers.

Not Holding your broker accountable

Even though a broker may be licensed, they could still choose to break the fiduciary relationship with their client.

If your broker senses you dont ask the right questions, they could choose to be shady.

For example, if you are trading CFDs, where almost 70-85% of the retail traders lose, but it is legal in many countries; your CFD broker could be acting as a counter party to your trades. This means they would make a profit when you lose.

Remember that every time you open a trading position, you need to close it by performing an opposite trade. Your broker could choose to be on the opposite side and profit from your loss.

Some brokers also hunt stop loss orders, temporarily driving the price of an asset up or down to trigger a stop order.

You should ask your broker if they are a market maker. Also, regularly check your account statements to verify that everything is in order & the broker is not cheating you.

Not managing your risk

Online trading carries its own risk especially when you are trading in the forex market where prices always change. However whatever market you trade in, be it currency, equity, commodity etc. you can manage your risk if you understand the risks involved.

One of the major risks is trading using margin. Using margin in your trading to amplify gains can also amplify losses. Most retail traders use margin money, and this can amplify losses.

The risk associated with leverage has even led to major regulators like ASIC making product intervention on leverage that can be offered to relation traders by regulated broker for high-risk instruments like CFDs.

Also, not having a proper reward ratio for the risks would cause traders to lose big. But there are ways to manage your risks, like using a stop loss order.

A stop loss order sets a stop price so once the price of the asset crosses that price, the traders position is automatically closed out by triggering a market order at the next available price. By doing this a trader can sleep peacefully knowing that even if the market moves against him, he cant lose all his capital.

Being too emotional

Winning and losing are outcomes every trader will have to face whether they like it or not. The problem is human beings dont like to lose.

Studies have shown that we mourn the loss of an amount of money more than we celebrate the gain of the same amount of money.

A trader needs to prepare his mind, trade with only the amount of money he is comfortable losing and be disciplined enough to take profits when they come and accept losses when they happen.

Some traders engage in averaging a trading position by revenge trading trying to cover up for previous losses but only end up digging a bigger hole for themselves.

A traders mindset entering a trading position should be that if he loses a particular amount of money in a trade, he is going to stop and wait till the next day.

He should set a target for the amount of loss he is prepared to accept that day. Once that point is reached, he has to self-regulate, shut down his system and stop trading.

Falling for Online Investment scams

A plethora of scams exist online and even experienced traders have been caught off guard.

These scams usually emanate from social media with people claiming to be investment experts and forex gurus who have an impressive followership base on social media. They promise unrealistic returns on investment as high as 200% and never talk about the risk involved as required by all regulators.

For example, the most common investment scams in the UK as per FCA are related to forex, binary options, pyramid schemes.

Lets take example of a forex scam, In this, the scammer could offer to manage your trading account if you give them the password or they could ask you to send the money to their own trading account so they trade and share the profit with you. Once you part with cash they may pay your returns initially to encourage you to put in more money.

They normally operate a pyramid scheme where the person on top brings two people to be below him and the two people recruit three people to be below them and so forth. The scammer could deploy an unlicensed forex App on the Appstore and victims download and open accounts and the initial victims go around recruiting new victims to download the same App so the pyramid keeps growing. In the end the funds in all the victims trading account is swept to the scammers account and the victims find out that the App they downloaded was a fake App more like a video game with fake figures.

These pyramid schemes are never regulated by any regulators, but sadly people keep patronizing them with the hope that they could get lucky and make some money before the bubble bursts.

Poor Cyber Security

Traders should always use strong passwords which should be alphanumeric and contain special characters and the passwords should be changed regularly.

A lot of scammers run advanced scripts to guess passwords and if they gain unauthorized access to your trading account, they immediately link a new account to it, sell any stock you have in the account and wire the money out to hacker-controlled bank accounts.

Traders should also enable two factor authentication (2FA) on their trading Apps. With 2FA, even after entering your password the system still sends a code to your mobile phone which must be inputted to consummate a transaction.

Use website addresses that start with https instead of http or that have a padlock sign in the web address window. Https means hypertext transfer protocol secure and information sent via secure browsers will be encrypted.

Traders should also avoid using public Wi-Fi networks whether in parks, hotels, train stations or airports as they are not secure and passwords can be stolen.

Antivirus & Antimalware software is not optional and should be installed and updated regularly on every trading device. We could download malware unknowingly and the antivirus software helps detect the installation of malware.

When installing an App, it may ask for permission to access parts of your phone like contacts, camera etc. Think twice before granting access as an App should have no business asking for access to areas in your phone not related to its core functions.

Not having a plan

Before you jump right in to trading, you need to jot down every little detail.

Determine your entry and exit points, determine which stock you want to trade, and determine how much you want to trade with.

Also, dont hang on to losing trades because when the market moves against you it could get worse before it gets better and you could see all your capital wiped out in seconds.

Also, it is important to understand that online trading is very risky & you could lose your entire capital.
Venus Aerospace team at the Houston Spaceport

Venus Aerospace, a Houston, TX-based startup developing hypersonic aircraft, raised $20M in Series A funding.

The round was led by Prime Movers Lab with participation from Draper Associates, Boost, Saturn 5, Seraph Group, Cantos, The Helm and Tamarack Global. With this round, Venus has raised $33m in total funding, including $1m of non-dilutive government funding.



The company intends to use the funds to get into flight testing and engine testing at Spaceport Houston.



Founded by Sarah Sassie Duggleby and Dr. Andrew Duggleby, Venus Aerospace is an early stage, deep tech company advancing a Mach 9 hypersonic aircraft that that will enable one-hour global travel. Over the last year, the company secured government contracts and scaled fast. It designed and built its tech demonstration engine, executed key experiments at hypersonic wind tunnels and propulsion test facilities throughout the U.S., and started a ground test campaign at Spaceport Houston.



FinSMEs

05/04/2022
On the evening of 18 March, President Xi Jinping had a video call with US President Joe Biden at the request of the latter. The two Presidents had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on China-US relations, the situation in Ukraine, and other issues of mutual interest.

President Biden said that 50 years ago, the US and China made the important choice of issuing the Shanghai Communique. Fifty years on, the US-China relationship has once again come to a critical time. How this relationship develops will shape the world in the 21st century. Biden reiterated that the US does not seek a new Cold War with China; it does not aim to change Chinas system; the revitalization of its alliances is not targeted at China; the US does not support Taiwan independence; and it has no intention to seek a conflict with China. The US is ready to have candid dialogue and closer cooperation with China, stay committed to the one-China policy, and effectively manage competition and disagreements to ensure the steady growth of the relationship. President Biden expressed readiness to stay in close touch with President Xi to set the direction for the US-China relationship.

President Xi noted the new major developments in the international landscape since their first virtual meeting last November. The prevailing trend of peace and development is facing serious challenges. The world is neither tranquil nor stable. As permanent members of the UN Security Council and the worlds two leading economies, China and the US must not only guide their relations forward along the right track, but also shoulder their share of international responsibilities and work for world peace and tranquility.

President Xi stressed that he and President Biden share the view that China and the US need to respect each other, coexist in peace and avoid confrontation, and that the two sides should increase communication and dialogue at all levels and in all fields. President Biden has just reiterated that the US does not seek to have a new Cold War with China, to change Chinas system, or to revitalize alliances against China, and that the US does not support Taiwan independence or intend to seek a conflict with China. I take these remarks very seriously, said President Xi.

President Xi pointed out that the China-US relationship, instead of getting out of the predicament created by the previous US administration, has encountered a growing number of challenges. Whats worth noting in particular is that some people in the US have sent a wrong signal to Taiwan independence forces. This is very dangerous. Mishandling of the Taiwan question will have a disruptive impact on the bilateral ties. China hopes that the US will give due attention to this issue. The direct cause for the current situation in the China-US relationship is that some people on the US side have not followed through on the important common understanding reached by the two Presidents and have not acted on President Bidens positive statements. The US has misperceived and miscalculated Chinas strategic intention.

President Xi underscored that there have been and will continue to be differences between China and the US. What matters is to keep such differences under control. A steadily growing relationship is in the interest of both sides.

The two sides exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine.

President Biden expounded on the US position, and expressed readiness for communication with China to prevent the situation from exacerbating.

President Xi pointed out that China does not want to see the situation in Ukraine to come to this. China stands for peace and opposes war. This is embedded in Chinas history and culture. China makes a conclusion independently based on the merits of each matter. China advocates upholding international law and universally recognized norms governing international relations. China adheres to the UN Charter and promotes the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. These are the major principles that underpin Chinas approach to the Ukraine crisis. China has put forward a six-point initiative on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, and is ready to provide further humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and other affected countries. All sides need to jointly support Russia and Ukraine in having dialogue and negotiation that will produce results and lead to peace. The US and NATO should also have dialogue with Russia to address the crux of the Ukraine crisis and ease the security concerns of both Russia and Ukraine.

President Xi stressed that with the need to fight COVID-19 on the one hand and protect the economy and peoples livelihood on the other, things are already very difficult for countries around the world. 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. Sweeping and indiscriminate sanctions would only make the people suffer. If further escalated, they could trigger serious crises in global economy and trade, finance, energy, food, and industrial and supply chains, crippling the already languishing world economy and causing irrevocable losses. The more complex the situation, the greater the need to remain cool-headed and rational. Whatever the circumstances, there is always a need for political courage to create space for peace and leave room for political settlement. As two Chinese sayings go, It takes two hands to clap. He who tied the bell to the tiger must take it off. It is imperative that the parties involved demonstrate political will and find a proper settlement in view of both immediate and long-term needs. Other parties can and should create conditions to that end. The pressing priority is to keep the dialogue and negotiation going, avoid civilian casualties, prevent a humanitarian crisis, and cease hostilities as soon as possible. An enduring solution would be for major countries to respect each other, reject the Cold War mentality, refrain from bloc confrontation, and build step by step a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture for the region and for the world. China has been doing its best for peace and will continue to play a constructive role.

The two Presidents agreed that the video call is constructive. They directed their teams to promptly follow up and take concrete actions to put China-US relations back on the track of steady development, and make respective efforts for the proper settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

Ding Xuexiang, Liu He and Wang Yi were present at the call.
The Third Foreign Ministers Meeting Among the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan was held in Tunxi, Anhui Province in China on 31 March 2022. Foreign ministers or high-level representatives of China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were present.

All parties at the meeting note that with the end of long years of war in Afghanistan, the country is now struggling with serious economic and livelihood difficulties as well as challenges across sectors. All parties pledge to support Afghanistans economic reconstruction in areas such as humanitarian assistance, connectivity, economy and trade, agriculture, energy and capacity building.

Humanitarian assistance

All parties decide to provide further humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, and call on the international community to give more support to Afghanistan, to help it restore cash liquidity and avoid humanitarian disaster.

1. China will speed up delivering its commitment of providing Afghanistan with emergency humanitarian assistance such as food, winter supplies, COVID-19 vaccines and medical equipment, and is ready to provide additional humanitarian assistance through bilateral and multilateral channels.

2. China will continue to provide Afghanistan with vaccines, medical equipment, medicine and other anti-epidemic supplies, carry out cooperation in Traditional Chinese Medicine, support the operation of Afghanistans medical and health systems, and help Afghanistan fight COVID-19.

3. Iran has sent more than 30 humanitarian aid shipments including food, medicine and health items to help the people in different cities of Afghanistan, and is consulting and coordinating with the Afghan side to send new supportive shipments.

4. Iran will continue to provide emergency fuel and food and other necessary daily life items to the people of Afghanistan.

5. Pakistan announced in-kind humanitarian assistance package of Rs. 5 billion (around $ 30 million). Pakistan has provided more than 13,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan under Pak-Afghan Cooperation Forum and provided three consignments of wheat to Afghanistan. Pakistan has also been channelizing humanitarian assistance from various philanthropic organizations of Pakistan.

6. Pakistan is also acting as a channel to facilitate the flow of international humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, including providing transit facility for Indian wheat to Afghanistan on an exceptional basis for humanitarian purposes and facilitating the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) air-bridge between Islamabad and Kabul.

7. Pakistan hosted 17th Extraordinary Session of OIC-CFM in Islamabad on 19 December 2021 where, inter alia, the following was decided:

a. Establishment of a Humanitarian Trust Fund for Afghanistan (formalized during the 48th OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Islamabad)

b. Appointment of Ambassador Tarig Ali Bakheet as Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the OIC for Afghanistan

c. OIC General Secretariat, together with Islamic Development Bank and the Humanitarian Trust Fund, to devise a roadmap in concert with UN system organizations for unlocking financial and banking channels

d. OIC General Secretariat, in concert with World Health Organization and other relevant stakeholders, shall secure vaccines and medical supplies for Covid-19

e. Launching an Afghanistan Food Security Programme, under the aegis of Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS)

8. Pakistan continues to provide free Covid-19 vaccination for all Afghans entering Pakistan, works with the Bill Gates Foundation for the eradication of Polio in Afghanistan, and is allowing Afghan patients and their attendants entry into Pakistan to enable their treatment in hospitals across Pakistan.

9. Russia stands ready to continue its humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

10. Tajikistan will continue to provide its logistics means, in particular through the six bridges across Tajik-Afghan border, to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan. Tajikistan will maintain the functioning of border crossing point Panji Poyon for transporting food and other vital products to the people of Afghanistan.

11. Tajikistan will also continue to offer medical services to the citizens of Afghanistan residing in Tajik-Afghan border areas.

12. Turkmenistan will continue to provide humanitarian support to Afghanistan on a systematic basis, which is expressed in the construction of medical and educational institutions on the territory of the neighboring country, preferential supplies of electricity, training of Afghan students in educational institutions of Turkmenistan, regularly sending of humanitarian convoys to Afghanistan, and other types of help and assistance.

13. Turkmenistan will continue to send humanitarian cargoes to Afghanistan with food, textile and household products, medicines and medical supplies, as well as oil products.

14. Turkmenistan from its own resources will supply medicines to the medical center built by Turkmenistan in the province of Faryab and the maternity hospital in the Turgundi city of the province of Herat.

15. Uzbekistan expressed readiness to use the capabilities of the international transport and logistics hub in the city of Termez for the delivery of humanitarian cargo to Afghanistan.

IIConnectivity

All parties recognize the importance of connectivity to the sustainable development of Afghanistan as a land-locked country, and stand ready to leverage their respective strengths to support Afghanistan in, based on the existing transportation networks with neighboring countries, exploring step by step new convenient channels to strengthen hard connectivity of infrastructure and soft connectivity of rules and standards with neighboring countries.

All parties are ready to strengthen cooperation in the implementation of transport agreements developed within the framework of the UNs Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP).

16. China supports the extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor to Afghanistan, and is ready to promote synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the development strategies of Afghanistan, and support the smooth operation of the China-Afghanistan freight train services, to help Afghanistan better integrate into the regional economic integration process.

17. Iran has paved the way for Afghanistan to connect to the world markets by the Khaf-Herat railway and plans to complete the railway and extend it to Central Asian countries via Mazar-e-Sharif to help Afghanistan get rid of land-lock limitations.

18. Iran is developing the port of Chabahar and will continue to develop the infrastructure of Chabahar port and its land and sea transit routes along with road projects such as the Mahiroud-Farah road undertaken by Iran in order to help strengthen the situation and transit position of Afghanistan.

19. Pakistan with its renewed focus on geo-economics feels that the dividends of regional connectivity cannot be realized without enduring peace in Afghanistan and will continue to support efforts contributing to regional connectivity.

20. Pakistan believes that Afghanistan can be connected with the CPEC project for enhanced connectivity, which will benefit the entire region, especially Central Asia, for trade and commerce.

21. Agreement between Uzbekistan and Pakistan for Transit Trade (AUPTT) has been made operational and test run of four consignments under this arrangement has already materialized from Karachi to Tashkent through Afghanistan. Movement of trucks under TIR has been successfully operationalized between Pakistan and Uzbekistan via Afghanistan.

22. Pakistan is undertaking a number of connectivity projects with Afghanistan such as completion of Torkham-Jalalabad Road project and revival of road bus service between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

23. Russia supports development of transport connectivity between Central Asian countries and Afghanistan, Pakistan and other regional states and purposes in this regard to use capacities of Russian-Afghan joint transport companies ASTRAS and AFSOTR.

24. Tajikistan will further develop and construct the rail road and cargo center in the Free Economic Zone Panj on the border area with Afghanistan with the view to increase transit trade.

25. Turkmenistan will contribute to the development of the transport, transit and communication system of Afghanistan, the intensification of the transit of cargo and passenger flows, by maintaining the operation of the railways along the route Atamyrat-Imamnazar-Akina-Andkhoy, which is designed to connect the countries of the region with further access to the railway network of China. Turkmenistan is also interested in the further implementation of the transport project - the construction of the Turgundi-Herat railway with a length of 173 kilometers.

26. Turkmenistan intends to continue to promote the project of the transport corridor Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan, as well as the implementation of the project of fiber optic line construction along the above route.

27. Turkmenistan will continue to promote the implementation of the Lapis Lazuli transit and transport corridor, established in the framework of the Agreement signed between Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The successful implementation of this project will be a significant contribution to the development of interregional trade and economic relations, including the socio-economic condition of Afghanistan.

28. Turkmenistan will continue to maintain the uninterrupted operation of the Imamnazar-Akina and Serhetabat-Turgundi fiber optic lines, which are aimed at ensuring international transit flows, and will increase the speed of data transfer, as well as will guarantee a reliable communication link between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.

29. Uzbekistan is ready to strengthen regional interconnectedness through the implementation of construction projects such as the TermezMazar-i-SharifKabulPeshawar railway line.

30. Uzbekistan will continue to actively participate in the restoration of infrastructure facilities, in particular, the international airport in Mazar-i-Sharif.

31. Uzbekistan is ready to take an active part in the construction of large infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, such as the construction of roads, roadside infrastructure, bridges and tunnels.

Economy and trade

All parties expressed willingness to assist Afghanistan on its efforts toward self-generated development, and encourage Afghanistan to formulate future economic development plans based on its own national conditions and enhance internal driving force for development.

All parties agree to explore the establishment of an economic cooperation belt around Afghanistan to improve Afghanistans external development environment. All parties call on Afghanistan to create a favorable business environment for foreign enterprises.

All parties encourage the use of local currencies in bilateral trade and investment to lower transaction costs and facilitate trade and investment.

All parties are ready to strengthen communication with Afghanistan on trade policies, explore the signing of trade facilitation agreements, formulate transitional preferential trade arrangements, reduce taxes and fees on trade with Afghanistan, streamline customs clearance procedures such as commodity declaration and quality inspection, and improve Afghanistans level of trade facilitation.

32. China pledges to continue to provide development assistance to Afghanistan for small and medium livelihood projects to benefit Afghan people.

33. China supports its enterprises in investing and starting businesses in Afghanistan when the security situation permits, and in resuming projects such as the Aynak Copper Mine and the Amu Darya Oilfield in due course. China supports its enterprises to help Afghanistan improve its mobile network, and explore and develop mineral resources.

34. Iran is pursuing the expansion of bilateral trade and economic exchanges with Afghanistan by different tools including development of joint border markets and continues to remove trade obstacles through different ways including reduction of existing tariffs based on agreements with Afghan side.

35. Iran declares its readiness to assist in the exploration and extraction of mines, including the reserves in joint borders areas, and to provide technical assistance as well as joint investment to Afghanistan in this field.

36. Pakistan has taken initiative to facilitate transit trade through operationalizing five border crossing points with Afghanistan. To ease issues in trade with Afghanistan, Pakistan revised customs processes and implemented other facilitative measures, including put in place a facilitative visa regime for Afghan people.

37. Pakistan has allowed export of several items to Afghanistan in Pakistani Rupees via land routes to facilitate Afghanistans economy. A regime of Temporary Admission Documents (TAD) for commercial vehicles of Afghanistan and Pakistan has been agreed to facilitate movement of goods.

38. Pakistan has reduced / waived off customs duty on Afghanistans perishable items such as fruits and vegetables being exported to Pakistan, and offered Afghanistan the opportunity to establish cold storage facilities close to border crossing points to assist trade in fruits and vegetables.

39. Russia expresses its support to national and joint Russian-Afghan businesses to start economic and trade activities in Afghanistan. Russia supports its companies to develop Afghanistans oil and gas fields and realize mined products on mutual agreed conditions.

40. Turkmenistan will develop trade and economic ties with Afghanistan, and continue to implement new joint projects in such important areas as energy, transport and communications, involving Afghan companies to these projects.

In particular, Turkmenistan will promote the implementation of the construction of the transnational gas pipeline Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI), which is an important aspect of trade and economic cooperation, and which will ensure the development and restoration of the social and economic infrastructure of Afghanistan.

41. Uzbekistan takes an active part in the development of cross-border trade. For these purposes, the construction of the Termez International Trade Center is being carried out in the border zone with Afghanistan.

42. Uzbekistan is interested in increasing mutual trade with Afghanistan. To this end, the issue of establishing a preferential regime in mutual trade is being worked out with the Afghan side.

. Agriculture

All parties note that agriculture is Afghanistans pillar industry, encourage Afghanistan to vigorously develop agriculture and raise food self-sufficiency, and stand ready to provide necessary support for Afghanistans agricultural development.

43. China supports Afghanistan in cultivating cotton, pepper, sunflower seeds and other agricultural products and exporting them to China, and will continue to facilitate the export of Afghan specialty agricultural products including pine nut, saffron, almond and pomegranate to China.

44. China stands ready to, as needed by Afghanistan, provide seeds, fertilizers and agricultural materials and machinery to Afghanistan, and support the development of high-value-added agricultural industries such as greenhouse planting to help Afghan farmers raise income.

45. China supports Afghanistan in strengthening agricultural infrastructure.

46. Iran declares its readiness to present to Afghanistan side a list of its agricultural and livestock needs to be produced in Afghanistan in order to be exported to Iran.

47. Pakistan is desirous of deepening agriculture cooperation with Afghanistan and continues to engage with Afghan side to explore ways and means for agriculture.

48. Pakistan can provide all possible technical assistance and capacity building opportunities to Afghanistan in the field of agriculture and livestock.

49. Pakistan and Afghanistan can enhance cooperation in agri-research, imports / exports of agricultural products, market access and potential areas of trade in livestock, red meat and fisheries.

50. Russia will develop cooperation with Afghanistan in the areas of mutual interest, in particular to promote the comprehensive agricultural development of Afghanistan, ensure food security, facilitate export of Russian agricultural products, and facilitate mutual access to agricultural products. Russia supports its enterprises to export livestock and agricultural products to Afghanistan on Afghanistans market demands.

51. Uzbekistan will continue to supply Afghanistan with food products, flour and grain, as well as essential goods.

V. Energy

All parties recognize that accelerating energy infrastructure development is crucial to Afghanistans economic development and improvement of living standards, and stand ready to make joint efforts to improve Afghanistans energy infrastructure.

52. China is ready to continue discussions with Afghanistan on solar power station and other projects based on Afghanistans needs and security condition, etc.

53. Iran declares its readiness to increase the current level of electricity export to Afghanistan, welcomes constructing power plants inside the country and also exporting technical and engineering services for all shapes of energy including renewable ones.

54. Pakistan supports energy infrastructure projects for the integration of regional countries in terms of economic development, infrastructure and improvement in livelihoods.

55. Pakistan is working on mega projects such as CASA-1000 and TAPI to augment energy cooperation with Central Asia through Afghanistan.

56. Russia stands ready to consider conduction of analysis with other interested parties of Afghanistans crucial infrastructure (power, water supply, road system etc.) with a view to develop a coordinated reconstruction plan.

57. Tajikistan stands ready to ensure its continuous supply of electricity to Afghanistan on discounted rate as part of assistance for Afghanistan economic reconstruction, in particular to the Northern provinces and to the capital Kabul.

58. Tajikistan supports other multinational energy projects and emphasized the importance of completion of the CASA-1000 project which will serve as the vivid example of greater interregional cooperation and connectivity between Central and South Asia.

59. Turkmenistan intends to continue providing reliable energy supply to the northern provinces of Afghanistan, in particular, along the route of the Kerki-Shibergan power lines.

60. Furthermore, Turkmenistan will promote the realization of the project of construction of the Turkemenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) power transmission line, laid in parallel with the TAPI gas pipeline, together with the Afghan and Pakistani sides. The project will serve as an important part of the energy infrastructure of Afghanistan, helping it on its path to economic recovery.

61. Uzbekistan is ready to accelerate the implementation of the SurkhanPuli-Khumri power transmission line construction project.

62. Uzbekistan will continue the uninterrupted supply of electricity to Afghanistan, and also expresses its readiness to increase the volume of electricity supplied.

63. The Uzbek side expresses its readiness to participate in joint exploration of minerals and in projects for their development and production.

VI. Capacity building

All parties recognize that sufficient professional and technical talents is an important underpinning for Afghanistans future development, stand ready to provide support to this end, and call on outstanding Afghan talents to contribute to the countrys development and rejuvenation.

64. China pledges to further strengthen human resource development cooperation with Afghanistan for the cultivation of talents in key areas such as governance, health, poverty reduction and alleviation, disaster prevention and mitigation and trade and investment.

65. China is ready to work with other neighbors of Afghanistan to provide joint training programs for Afghanistan.

66. Iran has announced its readiness to provide Afghanistan people with bilateral or multilateral training courses in various fields such as health and treatment, empowerment of women and girls, technical training and other needed area inside Afghanistan or any other country.

67. Pakistan has offered technical and capacity building training in various sectors such as health, economy, banking, aviation and information technology to Afghanistan. Pakistan has been considering positively scholarships for Afghan students.

68. Russia pledges to further provide scholarships to Afghan civilian students.

69. Tajikistan will continue to create favorable conditions to those Afghan students studying in its higher education institutions, as well as allocate annual scholarships to the citizens of Afghanistan.

70. Turkmenistan will continue to provide quotas for the education of Afghan students in educational institutions of Turkmenistan, training specialists in the fields of transport, energy and healthcare.

71. Uzbekistan expressed its readiness to organize courses for the training of specialists in the field of agriculture and irrigation on the basis of the Educational Center in Termez.

72. Uzbekistan will continue to train professional personnel, improve the skills of specialists and expand the list of professions on the basis of the Educational Center in the city of Termez to train Afghan youth.

All parties call on the international community as well as relevant regional and international financial institutions to provide financing support for Afghanistans reconstruction and development.
We asked four battle-tested franchisees to weigh in on the state of todays labor landscape and how they are leveraging technology, flexible scheduling, wages, and benefits to maintain a culture where people want to work for them  and build a bench to prepare for future growth:

Fred Punke of Punke Holdings, 30 Supercuts and Cost Cutters in Indiana and Kentucky

David R. Blackburn, CEO and COO of Southern Rock Restaurants, the largest franchisee of McAlisters Deli

Joshua Morris, co-founder of Blu Water Brew, with Scooters Coffee locations spread across Iowa, Minnesota, and Texas

Brian Pyle, CEO of ERC Management, who operates 20 Freddys Frozen Custard & Steakburgers in Colorado and Alabama

Part 1 here, asked them two questions: 1) In what ways did the pandemic make it harder for you to find employees?; and 2) What are some of the ways you found to keep your employees engaged and committed? Part 3 coming next issue.

How did you find employees to replace those you lost?

Fred Punke (Supercuts, Cost Cutters): Our initial retention after opening back up after lockdown was nearly 95% because we put a lot of work into employee engagement. However, over time we lost people and started using technology paired with old-school feet on the street recruiting efforts to build a candidate pool.

David R. Blackburn (McAlisters Deli): We greatly increased the compensation and owned the headlines of recruiting ads with incentives where needed.

Joshua Morris (Scooters Coffee): We are constantly recruiting, making more creative job posts and refreshing them so they stay closer to the top. We use a referral bonus after the new employee completes training and time with the company. I tell our managers that if you are always recruiting, you will be ready for unforeseen turnover. We always hire a good candidate no matter our staffing situation. We will find room. Having a quick initial application process is crucial in our industry. Onboarding is streamlined so we can get employees started quickly.

Brian Pyle (Freddys): We use a third-party platform. We do a lot of text-to-hire QR codes. Weve started doing YouTube and TikTok advertising to get the younger generation to see that were engaged and trying to engage with them for work. One of the things weve done as a company is to make hiring the most important thing. Were all invested in finding that great talent, whether at the manager level or an hourly employee we are trying to recruit. We also market to the team currently working for us. If there is a friend of an employee we like, we want to reach out to them. Weve implemented a program where an employee can receive some money for a referral.

The other thing we have done with that third-party app is to have hiring times throughout the entire day, basically our business hours. So if you need to come in at 9 a.m. or 8 p.m., were going to make sure we have someone there ready to interview you. We felt that having a wider time frame gives the applicant or interested employee more opportunities to be interviewed around their schedule, not our schedule. This past December, we had more applicants than in November, which was probably one of the first times weve seen that increase in applicant flow from the previous month.

Did you try any employee-retention strategies that simply failed?

Punke: Employee retention bonuses dont seem to work in the long run. If an employee wants to leave for another job, giving them a nice bonus might keep them for a short while, but they still will leave. Building a great working environment with great managers is a much better strategy.

Blackburn: Over the years I have tried gift programs, meal programs, and just about anything else you can think of. At the end of the day, an employees take-home pay must meet their financial needs  not just the wage per hour, but how many hours they need. You must understand why they are working and need the money. An employee working for spending money or because mom and dad said so is much different from a single parent who has to provide for their family. Get to know your employees and work with them to provide not just income, but a safe and fun place to work.

Morris: We didnt use any retention strategies that failed. What I would say is that you cant just use one strategy. That will fail. Finding multiple ways to incentivize and build a fun culture goes a long way. For example, using a retention bonus can work, but it must bring ROI. Short-duration contests are a great way to keep things fun and engaging. Make it clear for everyone, measurable, and realistic.

What are you doing differently today attract and retain employees today compared with 3 years ago?

Punke: Spending more money on all aspects of recruiting than we ever have.

Blackburn: Paying much more and offering incentives to get someone to come and stay long enough to develop a relationship with our team so they can fully engage.

Morris: Emphasizing more with our store managers that we hire on the concept of traits over training. We need good people, not pre-trained baristas. Have your core values and do not deviate from those values.

Pyle: Every day, trying to get better. Three years ago, our training department really wasnt where it is today. We now have a director of training who has people underneath her dedicated solely to training. Every store has a training manager with trainers. Weve invested our time, energy, and resources into training because we feel that if we train you correctly, were giving you the best chance to be successful in our company. And when you know how to do a job and how to do it well, youre more likely to be happy in that job, as long as other factors are in play (culture, relationships, and benefits). We constantly evaluate and make sure we are staying competitive.

What role has technology played in strengthening your bench?

Pyle: Its been key for us, like the third-party text hire technology I mentioned. Its an automated confirmation, so we dont have to get involved in scheduling the interview. It allows you to click a link if youre interested and select from the available times. Then we send a follow-up text that thanks you for scheduling your appointment at our local X location. We still have the challenges of people not showing up, but weve eliminated some of the communication time it takes for managers  who are short-staffed and busy running our stores  to schedule that interview.

Next time, part 3 of 3: Do you think the change in the employee landscape is here to stay? What are two best practices you rely on for hiring and retaining great employees in 2022? Anything else you recommend when it comes to hiring and retaining employees today?
Fujitsu Asia Announces New Country President

Elson Chia to spearhead initiatives to support Fujitsus vision to build trust and a more sustainable world, through innovation with customers and partners

Singapore , March 31, 2022

Leading Japanese digital transformation (DX) company Fujitsu announces the promotion of Mr. Elson Chia as the Country President of Fujitsu Asia, with effect from April 1, 2022. The appointment follows the stepping down of former Fujitsu Asia country president Mr. Motohiko Uno, who will be returning to Japan.

In this role, Elson assumes overall responsibility for driving strategic business growth and development for Fujitsu Asia. He will also oversee the overall direction and market strategy for sales, marketing, services and support operations. In particular, he will focus on driving the growth of Fujitsus strategic direction by leveraging its technological capabilities and problem-solving expertise across key focus areas to offer unprecedented value to customers.

With more than 26 years of IT experience, Elsons expertise ranges from business strategies, sales, delivery and alliance management to IT service management, enterprise architecture and project management. Prior to his appointment, Elson held key roles in Fujitsu, including the Vice President & Head of Delivery for Fujitsu Asia. Highlights include leading the team to implement Work Life Shift initiatives for Fujitsus operations in Singapore, during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, to support greater collaboration, enable productivity and accommodate diverse work styles.

Mr. Uno said, It has been a pleasure leading Fujitsu Asia and working alongside a team of talented, dedicated and driven people. Elson has been vital to the growth of Fujitsu in Singapore. I am confident that with Elson at the helm, he will be able to take Fujitsu Asia to greater heights and build new possibilities by connecting people, technology and ideas under his leadership.

Elson added, I am excited to embark on this new journey to lead Fujitsu Asia as we embrace new opportunities in a world that faces evolving challenges. Fujitsu Asia will remain focused in co-creating new value for our customers, while doing our part to contribute to a more sustainable world. We will leverage on our digital solutions to help our customers drive digital transformation, transform customer experiences and create new business models. This includes the experience from our own workplace transformation, which has equipped us with valuable experience to tap on for customers looking to achieve a true hybrid working model.

In July 2020, Fujitsu first announced the Work Life Shift campaign to develop a new working paradigm addressing the challenges and opportunities of the New Normal. The second phase was rolled out in 2021, to promote a true Hybrid Work model by transforming its offices from a traditional site for working into Collaboration Hubs. This will allow its employees to balance their personal and work aspirations, further improving their wellbeing.

Fujitsu Asia completed its workplace transformation in January 2022. The Singapore office space was redesigned to support greater collaboration, enable productivity and accommodate diverse work styles. The new office configuration features fast and secure contactless biometric authentication, more technology setups for hybrid meetings, and shared spaces for in-person connections among employees, as well as soundproof phone booths. This is on top of earlier initiatives spearheaded by Elson, and rolled out since 2020, including an extensive staff survey conducted during the Circuit Breaker period in 2020 and a one-time allowance of up to S$1,000 to support full-time employees work-from-home needs.

Fujitsu Asia Pte Ltd was established in 1997 to provide leadership in business development, technology innovation and customer support as regional headquarters for the Fujitsu group of companies in ASEAN and was subsequently established as the Asia region headquarters as well as the Singapore office in 2014. Building on Fujitsus three decades of experience in the region and with a pool of highly skilled engineering talent, Fujitsu Asia is dedicated to providing comprehensive integrated IT-based business solutions that deliver tangible business value and enable customers to meet the challenges of the new global economy.

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About Fujitsu Fujitsu is a leading provider of customer-focused IT and communications solutions for the global marketplace. Pace-setting device technologies, highly reliable computing and communications products, and a worldwide corps of systems and services experts uniquely position Fujitsu to deliver comprehensive solutions that open up infinite possibilities for its customers' success. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.8 trillion yen (US$40.6 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006. For more information, please see: Fujitsu is a leading provider of customer-focused IT and communications solutions for the global marketplace. Pace-setting device technologies, highly reliable computing and communications products, and a worldwide corps of systems and services experts uniquely position Fujitsu to deliver comprehensive solutions that open up infinite possibilities for its customers' success. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.8 trillion yen (US$40.6 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006. For more information, please see: http://www.fujitsu.com

About Fujitsu Asia Fujitsu Asia was established in Singapore in 1997 to provide leadership in business development, technology innovation and customer support as regional headquarters for the Fujitsu group of companies in Asia outside of Japan. Building on Fujitsu's three decades of experience in Singapore and the broader Asian region and with a pool of highly skilled engineering talent, Fujitsu Asia is dedicated to providing comprehensive integrated IT, telecommunications and networking solutions that deliver tangible business value and enable customers to meet the challenges of the new global economy. Fujitsu Asia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Fujitsu Limited (TSW: 6702), a leader in customer-centric IT and communications solutions for the global marketplace. For details, please visit Fujitsu Asia was established in Singapore in 1997 to provide leadership in business development, technology innovation and customer support as regional headquarters for the Fujitsu group of companies in Asia outside of Japan. Building on Fujitsu's three decades of experience in Singapore and the broader Asian region and with a pool of highly skilled engineering talent, Fujitsu Asia is dedicated to providing comprehensive integrated IT, telecommunications and networking solutions that deliver tangible business value and enable customers to meet the challenges of the new global economy. Fujitsu Asia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Fujitsu Limited (TSW: 6702), a leader in customer-centric IT and communications solutions for the global marketplace. For details, please visit http://www.fujitsu.com/sg

Mirabelle Ng

Phone: +(65) 6512 7151

E-mail: mirabelle.ng@fujitsu.com

Company: Fujitsu Asia Pte Ltd Lim Wee Ling

Phone: +(65) 9768 6827

E-mail: weeling@asiaprwerkz.com

Company: Asia PR Werkz



Date: March 31, 2022

City: Singapore
Press Release

April 5, 2022 Hontiveros gets endorsement from top BARMM Leaders, Cotabato Archbishop

Senator vows stronger push for peace, progress in Mindanao Senator Risa Hontiveros has vowed to make a stronger push for peace and progress in the Mindanao region, after recently receiving the endorsement of top officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the highest-ranking Catholic Church prelate in Cotabato in the upcoming May elections. "Lubos akong nagpapasalamat sa suporta ng ating mga opisyal mula sa BARMM sa pangunguna ni BARMM Interim Chief Minister Ahod "Al Haj Murad" Ebrahim, at sa mga opisyal ng simbahan sa Cotabato sa pamumuno ni Cotabato Archbishop Angelito Lampon. Makakaasa kayo na palalakasin pa natin ang ating pagkilos para sa tunay na kaunlaran at kapayapaan sa Mindanao at sa buong bansa!" Hontiveros said. During an event in Cotabato City last April 1, 2022, BARMM Interim Chief Minister Ahod "Al Haj Murad" Ebrahim, who is also chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), along with Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament members Mohagher Iqbal, Eduard Guerra and Raissa Jajurie, said that they are supporting Hontiveros' candidacy and want her back in the Senate for a new term. According to Ebrahim and the other BARMM officials, a win by Hontiveros "assures the Bangsamoro people that they will always have a friend in the Senate." They also cited her extensive track record as a peace advocate and her "consistent" support for peace efforts in Mindanao, even before she was a senator. Likewise, Cotabato Archbishop Angelito Lampon gave his blessings to Hontiveros, and joined other religious priests and lay leaders in expressing their support for the senator's advocacy of "Healthy Buhay and Hanapbuhay," as well as peace and the welfare of the FIlipino family. Along with Hontiveros, the Catholic prelate said that they will also be supporting her fellow senatorial candidates in the Team TROPA, as well as the presidential-vice presidential tandem of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Francis Pangilinan. As a lawmaker, Hontiveros has co-sponsored the landmark Bangasamoro Organic Law (RA 11054) and the law extending the life of the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority (RA 11593). She also authored and sponsored the Special Protection for Children in Situations of Armed Conflict Act (RA 11188). More recently, she co-authored the Marawi Siege Victims Compensation Act, which seeks to provide compensation to Filipinos who lost their loved ones and property during the siege of Marawi. A long-time peace advocate, Hontiveros was one of the 27 Filipinas nominated for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for their work in the Philippine peace movement.
Electric scooters are coming to town, and Albany's Traffic Safety Commission wants the city to ensure they're safe and accessible for everyone.

The initial fleet, at least 50 scooters, from Bird Ride Inc. will be part of a 12-month pilot program that is set to start around Albany in the coming weeks. Company officials say they will tweak the number of scooters to meet market demands.

Riders 18 and older will activate their e-scooter using a smartphone app to cruise pre-programmed routes at the cost of 40 cents per minute.

Each e-scooter will come with instructional material riders must watch through the Bird app. All e-scooter riders must not ride against traffic and may not ride under the influence.

While the scooters won't come outfitted with helmets, which are required by law to be worn, the company will provide helmets for free, plus a shipping fee, if ordered through the app, according to a Bird representative in correspondence with the city.

Among the issues raised at the commission's meeting on Monday, April 4, was where e-scooters can and should be ridden.

Places like Linn-Benton Community College, Commissioner Steph Nappa said, would be off-limits to e-scooters because the school prohibits bike riding in most places. Campus rules also require bikes to be parked at bike racks and not left standing.

While it's not clear if the scooters would be considered bicycles, the college does have a rule that says: "Foot traffic is the primary means of transportation within the internal passageways of the campus and Extended Learning centers. For safety purposes, individuals shall not use wheeled conveyances (other than disabled conveyances), such as skateboards, bikes, roller skates, roller blades, scooters, etc., at any time unless authorized by LBCC authorities."

Other places in Albany, Nappa said, may be ill-suited to accommodate e-scooter riders to begin with.

"Do you want to go up into North Albany and have scooters going back and forth on the bridge, especially the southbound lane, where there's no specific bike lanes?" Nappa said.

Nappa said the city needs to keep riders out of situations where their scooters could brush against cars hurtling down busy highways.

"I don't think Highway 99 is a safe place to ride a scooter," Nappa said. "I guarantee people will be riding them on the sidewalks because they would not feel comfortable riding in the bike lane next to cars and trucks and semis traveling 55 miles an hour."

Albany Transportation Systems Analyst Ron Irish raised the prospect of what he referred to as a "geo bridge" or a virtual guard rail which could guide riders around dangerous areas like highways.

"Say you're riding from Heritage Mall to downtown," Irish said. "If you were coming across on Queen crossing at 99, you can cross, but you can't turn left or right on 99."

One worry Nappa did not have was the possibility of e-scooters hogging up downtown parking spaces.

Nappa, a transportation planner at the Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments, cited a 2020 study the commissioned which found some 40% of parking spaces in Downtown Albany were in use on any given day.

"There's more than enough space to take the space of one car that would serve, on average, one person and making it available to a space that fits six to 10 scooters that can serve six to 10 people," Napa said. "That's an increase in parking."

Nappa also raised the issue of ensuring access to e-scooters for low-income residents citywide. That could include mandating a minimum number of e-scooters in certain neighborhoods.

"We're hopeful that e-scooters will provide that first and last mile connection, which I think just by definition, would help people at the lower end of the socio-economic scale," Albany City Manager Peter Troedsson said. "But beyond that, we don't we just don't have the data."

The concept of the first and last mile refers to the distance between someone's home and various modes of transit.

Under its preliminary agreement with the city of Albany, Bird will share rider data with the city at the completion of the pilot program. The agreement, which can be terminated at any time with 30 days' notice, also provides allows for more e-scooters to be deployed in the future.

The e-scooter pilot program, according to Irish, is on track to start in 1 months.

A joint meeting between the city's Traffic Safety Commission and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 26 to discuss the e-scooter pilot program, among other topics.

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A Corvallis man was accused of first-degree robbery and other crimes after allegedly pulling out a shank on two Fred Meyer employees who confronted him about shoplifting on Saturday, April 2, according to authorities.

Hunter Orion Starr, 21, was scheduled to be arraigned in Benton County Circuit Court on Monday afternoon on charges of assault of a public safety officer, resisting arrest, menacing, first-degree criminal trespass and third-degree theft.

The incident occurred at about 11:55 a.m. Saturday at the Fred Meyer store at 777 NW Kings Blvd, according to Corvallis Police Department incident logs.

When a loss prevention employee and a business manager for the store attempted to stop Starr in the parking lot, Starr allegedly pushed his body against the loss prevention officer, pulled out a sort of shank and swung or jabbed it at the workers four or five times, according to a probable cause affidavit in the case.

The workers both thought Starr would have attacked them with the weapon and they would get hurt, so they disengaged, and Starr left the area with stolen property, the affidavit states.

At about 2:30 p.m., an officer located Starr nearby at the intersection of Northwest 23rd Street and Fillmore Avenue, and Starr allegedly resisted and fought with law enforcement as he was taken into custody, according to the affidavit. During the scuffle, Starr reportedly grabbed an officers genitals and squeezed.

A metal cylindrical device with a small metal tip stocking out was found on Starr, the affidavit states.

The value of the stolen merchandise was roughly $61, according to the affidavit. The type of property wasnt specified on police logs or court documents.

Starr also was arraigned on charges in three other cases on Monday: for first-degree criminal trespass regarding an incident from Nov. 18 at a dwelling in the 2400 block of Northwest Grant Avenue for second-degree criminal trespass regarding an incident on Feb. 15 at Southside Suds Laundromat, 1910 SW Third St.; and for first-degree criminal mischief and resisting arrest regarding a March 3 incident involving a Bank of America ATM (location not specified on the charging document).

Kyle Odegard can be contacted at 541-812-6077 or kyle.odegard@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter via @KyleOdegard.

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Fred Meyer has issued an apology to the NAACP Linn-Benton branch following allegations that Black customers were not treated fairly at the mid-valley locations.

The chain also plans to implement steps to change the culture at their Corvallis and Albany stores.

The news comes two weeks after the deadline the local NAACP branch had set for the company to apologize  March 16.

"Private conversations between the regional leadership team and President Dorsette started just days after the demonstration," said Avonlea Capulet, secretary of the NAACP Linn-Benton branch. "We are pleased that Fred Meyer heard us and took immediate action to engage in conversations with us."

In a statement, Dennis Gibson, president of Fred Meyer, said: Anytime we fall short of living our values, we apologize to those who were affected and commit to listening and learning.

We know that actions speak louder than words, and we remain committed to delivering on the promises of our Framework for Action to accelerate meaningful change in our culture and country.

Several Black shoppers, specifically Black women, said they experienced racial profiling at the Corvallis and Albany Fred Meyer stores. Instances include the stores allegedly refusing to cash checks, monitoring only Black shoppers at the self-checkout and treating customers who have ethnic hairstyles differently.

The allegations prompted a March 12 demonstration outside the Corvallis store.

Jason Dorsette, president of the NAACP Linn-Benton branch, said in the same release that he appreciated the apology and acknowledgement of the harm people experienced at the Corvallis and Albany stores.

We have begun an open and authentic dialogue with corporate representatives at Fred Meyer and look forward to continuing the conversations and implementing measurable changes in the stores that serve our community, Dorsette said.

We agree that actions are preferable to words or statements, so we at the Linn Benton Branch of the NAACP look forward to facilitating bias, equity, and inclusion workshops and trainings alongside equity, diversity & inclusion consultants in order to operationalize such changes in meaningful ways.

Joanna Mann covers education for Mid-Valley Media. She can be contacted at 541-812-6076 or Joanna.Mann@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter via @joanna_mann_.

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Lagos, Nigeria, April 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lagos, Nigeria, and Pretoria, South Africa | Knox Wire will be hosting representatives from Nigerias leading banks and financial institutions as Knox Wires demand surges throughout Africa and around the world. Knox Wire offers financial institutions real-time to same-day cross-border payments to a global network of almost 30,000 institutions in 120 countries and 80 currencies.

Knox Wire will formally introduce Knox Wire through a conference situated in Lagos, Nigeria, and will be joined by a collaborating partner based in Nigeria who has opened communication to over one hundred financial institutions across the whole of Nigeria. The conference is set to take place at The Federal Palace Hotel, Nigeria, in early April with subsequent meetings discussing integration agreements and timelines to follow shortly thereafter. Nigerias GDP is expected to reach $445 Billion USD by the end of 2022 and boasts the highest remittance inflows when compared to any African country, making Nigeria a key milestone in connecting Knox Wires Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) network to African-based financial institutions.

Knox Wire has garnered huge attention amongst Nigerian financial institutions and is set to provide an RTGS platform that is not only one of the most feature-rich but is also unparalleled in its speed. Knox Wire is one of only three major global RTGS solutions but greatly improves upon current offerings by leveraging a correspondent network for off-network payments, advanced technical features to provide near-instantaneous cross-border transactions, AI transaction monitoring to prevent fraudulent activity, and a system that integrates seamlessly with existing financial systems.

The Knox Wire vision is to connect African banks with a continental RTGS system capable of allowing countries throughout Africa to make real-time payments not only between each other, but to all major markets worldwide. - Knox Wire CEO, Stephen McCullah.

Attachment
SEATTLE, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WatchGuard Technologies, a global leader in network security and intelligence, advanced endpoint protection, multi-factor authentication (MFA) and secure Wi-Fi, announced today findings from its most recent quarterly Internet Security Report, detailing the top malware trends and network security threats analyzed by WatchGuard Threat Lab researchers. Of note, researchers found a record number of evasive malware detections. Advanced threats increased by 33% indicating a higher level of zero day threats than ever before. Network detections also continued an upward trajectory, with the Americas receiving the majority of attacks.

The continued shift to a hybrid workforce is making attack surfaces larger and creating more potential security holes for organizations to plug, says Corey Nachreiner, chief security officer at WatchGuard. With the highest level of zero-day threats weve ever recorded and an attack surface that extends well beyond the network perimeter to IoT, home networks and mobile devices, companies need to adopt a true unified security approach that can adapt quickly and efficiently to the growing threat landscape. Organizations should make a commitment to implementing simple but critically important measures like updating and patching systems on a regular basis so theyre not enabling hackers.

Other key findings from this Internet Security Report, which analyzes data from Q4 2021, include:

Total network attack detections continue to climb, highlighting the complexity of network security  The trajectory of network intrusion detections continued its upward climb with the largest total detections of any quarter in the last three years. This also represented a 39% increase quarter over quarter. This may be due to the continued targeting of old vulnerabilities as well as the growth in organizations networks; as new devices come online and old vulnerabilities remain unpatched, network security is becoming more complex.

Malware threats were detected in EMEA at a much higher rate than other regions in the world  Europe, the Middle East and Africa were also the regions most targeted by malware threats in Q4. In fact, EMEA saw malware detections per Firebox (49%) at near or above double the rate as other regions of the world (AMER 23% and APAC 29%).

78% of malware delivered via encrypted connections is evasive  Overall, 67% of malware detections arrived over an encrypted connection, and within those malware detections, 78% were evasive zero-day malware threats that evade basic detections. This continues a trend seen in previous quarters. These threats can often be stopped at the perimeter by setting firewalls to decrypt and scan incoming traffic  a step that, unfortunately, many organizations fail to take.

A new leader in Office exploit malware emerges  Q4 saw a significant incidence of malware targeting Office documents, similar to findings from Q3. CVE-2018-0802 remains on the top 10 malware list, landing at number 5 this quarter, up one spot from last quarter, and remains on the most widespread malware list. Researchers suspect this may have replaced CVE-2017-11882 as the top Office exploit.

Emotet comes back with a vengeance - Two new malware domains were added this quarter to the list of top malware domains detected by WatchGuard. One of these domains, Skyprobar[.]info, has been linked to Emotet, the banking trojan that has evolved into a C2 and distribution infrastructure malware for other payloads. After diminishing due in part to direct disruption by US law enforcement, the Emotet malware saw a resurgence in Q4 2021.

WatchGuards quarterly research reports are based on anonymized Firebox Feed data from active WatchGuard Fireboxes whose owners have opted to share data in direct support of the Threat Labs research efforts. In Q4, WatchGuard blocked a total of more than 23.9 million malware variants (313 per device) and nearly 5.9 million network threats (75 per device). The full report includes details on additional malware and network trends from Q4 2021, a detailed analysis of the Log4Shell vulnerability, recommended security strategies and critical defense tips for businesses of all sizes and in any sector, and more.

For a detailed view of WatchGuards research, read the complete Q4 2021 Internet Security Report here.

About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.

WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. is a global leader in network security, endpoint security, secure Wi-Fi, multi-factor authentication and network intelligence. The companys award-winning products and services are trusted around the world by more than 18,000 security resellers and service providers to protect more than 250,000 customers. WatchGuards mission is to make enterprise-grade security accessible to companies of all types and sizes through simplicity, making WatchGuard an ideal solution for midmarket businesses and distributed enterprises. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. To learn more, visit WatchGuard.com.

For additional information, promotions and updates, follow WatchGuard on Twitter (@WatchGuard), on Facebook, or on the LinkedIn Company page. Also, visit our InfoSec blog, Secplicity, for real-time information about the latest threats and how to cope with them at www.secplicity.org. Subscribe to The 443  Security Simplified podcast at Secplicity.org, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

WatchGuard is a registered trademark of WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. All other marks are property of their respective owners.
ST. LOUIS, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Curium announced today that its generic version of DaTscan (Ioflupane I 123 Injection) was approved on March 30, 2022, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ioflupane I 123 Injection is a single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) brain imaging agent used to assist in the evaluation of adult patients with suspected Parkinsonian Syndromes. Curium has begun accepting customer orders for fulfillment beginning Monday, April 11.



The number of patients being diagnosed with Parkinsonian Syndromes is, unfortunately, growing. Approximately 1% of the population over the age of 65 are affected and that population is increasing. The addition of Curiums generic Ioflupane I 123 Injection to the market will offer appropriate patients an opportunity to be scanned Monday through Thursday early in the morning, said Michael Patterson, Curiums North American CEO. Providing hospitals and imaging centers the opportunity to scan patients on a day or at a time not currently available offers flexibility when scheduling this important study.

Ioflupane I 123 Injection is an important tool many neurologists and movement disorder specialists use when diagnosing adult patients with suspected Parkinsonian Syndromes, said Ed Porter, North American Vice President of Medical and Compliance. Over the past two years Curium has introduced several new products, both branded and generic, which help physicians diagnose patients. We are thrilled to add Ioflupane I 123 Injection to that growing list of medicines to help patients move life forward.

DaTscan is a registered trademark of GE Healthcare Limited.

About Ioflupane I 123 Injection

INDICATIONS AND USAGE

Ioflupane I 123 Injection is a radiopharmaceutical indicated for striatal dopamine transporter visualization using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) brain imaging to assist in the evaluation of adult patients with suspected Parkinsonian syndromes (PS). In these patients, Ioflupane I 123 Injection may be used to help differentiate essential tremor from tremor due to PS (idiopathic Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy and progressive supranuclear palsy). Ioflupane I 123 Injection is an adjunct to other diagnostic evaluations.

Ioflupane I 123 Injection was not designed to distinguish among PD, MSA, and PSP. The effectiveness of Ioflupane I 123 Injection as a screening or confirmatory test and for monitoring disease progression or response to therapy has not been established.

IMPORTANT RISK INFORMATION

Contraindications

Ioflupane I 123 Injection is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to the active substance, any of the excipients, or iodine



WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Hypersensitivity Reactions: Hypersensitivity reactions, generally consisting of skin erythema and pruritus, have been reported following Ioflupane I 123 Injection administration

Hypersensitivity reactions, generally consisting of skin erythema and pruritus, have been reported following Ioflupane I 123 Injection administration Thyroid Accumulation: The Ioflupane I 123 Injection may contain up to 6% of free iodide (iodine 123 or I-123). To decrease thyroid accumulation of I-123, block the thyroid gland at least one hour before administration of Ioflupane I 123 Injection; failure to do so may increase the long-term risk for thyroid neoplasia

ADVERSE REACTIONS

In clinical trials, headache, nausea, vertigo, dry mouth, or dizziness of mild to moderate severity were reported. In postmarketing experience, hypersensitivity reactions and injection-site pain have been reported



DRUG INTERACTIONS

Drugs that bind to the dopamine transporter with high affinity may interfere with the Ioflupane I 123 Injection image. The impact of dopamine agonists and antagonists on Ioflupane I 123 Injection imaging results has not been established



USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS

Pregnancy: Radioactive iodine products cross the placenta and can permanently impair fetal thyroid function. Administration of a thyroid blocking agent is recommended before the use of Ioflupane I 123 Injection in a pregnant woman. All radiopharmaceuticals have potential to cause fetal harm. There are no available data on Ioflupane I 123 Injection use in pregnant women to evaluate for a drug-associated risk of major birth defects, miscarriage or adverse maternal or fetal outcomes. Advise pregnant women of the potential risks of fetal exposure to radiation with the administration of Ioflupane I 123 Injection

Radioactive iodine products cross the placenta and can permanently impair fetal thyroid function. Administration of a thyroid blocking agent is recommended before the use of Ioflupane I 123 Injection in a pregnant woman. All radiopharmaceuticals have potential to cause fetal harm. There are no available data on Ioflupane I 123 Injection use in pregnant women to evaluate for a drug-associated risk of major birth defects, miscarriage or adverse maternal or fetal outcomes. Advise pregnant women of the potential risks of fetal exposure to radiation with the administration of Ioflupane I 123 Injection Lactation: Iodine 123 (I 123), the radionuclide in Ioflupane I 123 Injection, is present in human milk. There is no information on the effects on breastfed infants or on milk. Advise a lactating woman to interrupt breastfeeding and pump and discard breast milk for at least 6 days after Ioflupane I 123 Injection administration to minimize radiation exposure to a breastfeeding infant

Iodine 123 (I 123), the radionuclide in Ioflupane I 123 Injection, is present in human milk. There is no information on the effects on breastfed infants or on milk. Advise a lactating woman to interrupt breastfeeding and pump and discard breast milk for at least 6 days after Ioflupane I 123 Injection administration to minimize radiation exposure to a breastfeeding infant Pediatric Use: The safety and efficacy of Ioflupane I 123 Injection have not been established in pediatric patients

The safety and efficacy of Ioflupane I 123 Injection have not been established in pediatric patients Geriatric Use: There were no differences in responses between elderly patients and younger patients that would require a dose adjustment

There were no differences in responses between elderly patients and younger patients that would require a dose adjustment Renal and Hepatic Impairment: The effect of renal or hepatic impairment on Ioflupane I 123 Injection imaging has not been established. The kidney excretes Ioflupane I 123 Injection; patients with severe renal impairment may have increased radiation exposure and altered Ioflupane I 123 Injection images



OVERDOSAGE

It is unknown whether or not ioflupane is dialyzable. The major risks of overdosage relate to increased radiation exposure and long-term risk for neoplasia. In case of radioactivity overdosage, frequent urination and defecation should be encouraged to minimize radiation exposure to the patient



PROCEDURE  Radiation Safety

Ioflupane I 123 Injection emits radiation and must be handled with safety measures to minimize radiation exposure to clinical personnel and patients



Please see full Prescribing Information by clicking here or visit: https://www.curiumpharma.com/Ioflupane-PI.pdf

About Curium

Curium is the worlds largest nuclear medicine company. We develop, manufacture and distribute world-class radiopharmaceutical products to help patients around the globe. Our proven heritage combined with a pioneering approach are the hallmarks to deliver innovation, excellence and unparalleled service.

With manufacturing facilities across Europe and the United States, Curium delivers SPECT, PET and therapeutic radiopharmaceutical solutions for life-threatening diseases to over 14 million patients annually. The name Curium honors the legacy of pioneering radioactive materials researchers Marie and Pierre Curie, after whom the radioactive element curium was named and emphasizes our focus on nuclear medicine. To learn more, visit curiumpharma.com .

For more information about this press release, please contact Sandy Borgschulte sandy.borgschulte@curiumpharma.com or 314.954.6637.
WILMINGTON, Del., April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With a renewed strategy that includes an intense commitment to environment, social and governance (ESG) as a growth driver, Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ASH) today revealed several high performing natural, nature-derived and biodegradable skin and hair care innovations at in-cosmetics Global in Paris, France.

The company also showcased an innovative supplier partnership for the sustainable farming of guar under their Responsible Solvers program which is powering sustainable, profitable growth for local farmers and small villages in the Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan, India. The STEM education program, held in partnership with the SM Sehgal Foundation, is increasing farmers yield and income, lowering production costs, expanding the local economy, and positively impacting the environment.

Hair care

Styleze es-dura ingredient is a plant-based, hair care ecostyler for leading edge styling performance and sustainability. This novel ingredient draws on Ashlands expertise in guar-based polysaccharides to deliver outstanding all-weather style durability. It was developed to give a uniquely strong sustainability profile offering naturally derived, biodegradable, vegan and clean INCI claims in hair styling, conditioning, and treatment formulations. Styleze es-dura ingredient was designed to be highly versatile, so formulators can easily create both modern and traditional styling products which deliver naturally flawless styles and crisp curl definition, without weighing down the hair.

Skin care

Caressense biofunctional powers loves ageless beauty over time. This phytofermented extract from fresh, organic jasmine flowers is sustainably grown in Provence, France. It is inspired by research on the connection between skin and emotions, and the science of love. It can activate biologically the sensors of touch, releasing feel-good molecules inside the skin. The product delivers age-relaxing benefits with emotional, well-feeling improved immune defense, and a healthy-looking effect. Caressense biofunctional was developed using the power of a novel, sustainable, patented phytofermentology technology, creating a unique signature composition. It unveils bountiful and bioactive phytonutrients such as flower peptides and polyphenols for the beauty of skin while emphasizing new trends about love beauty and "emotional beauty" along with health and wellness tendencies for good-mood and feel-good mindcare.

Microbial protection

Sensiva go natural multifunctional is a COSMOS validated, 100 percent natural origin based, and readily biodegradable new multifunctional with antimicrobial properties. It has broad spectrum efficacy combined with well-known humectant properties. The carefully selected ingredients are highly effective and gentle on the skin. Its wide applicability, effectiveness and broad pH range make it the perfect fit for natural-driven formulations around the globe.

Ashland also highlighted the following innovations that the company introduced last fall:

Texturpure sa-1 ingredient for hair care, a naturally derived and biodegradable thickening, texturing and suspension agent for sustainable hair, hand and body care cleansers. Inspired by the global trends for clean INCI, naturally derived and sustainable personal care formulations, this sustainable ingredient delivers a rich, smooth and luxuriously viscous texture with a clean break on pouring and suspension of oils and actives in shampoos and cleansing systems. Utilizing Ashlands expertise in sustainable polysaccharide technologies, texturpure sa-1 ingredient was developed to be naturally derived according to ISO 16128, sustainably and ethically sourced, and biodegradable. The product incorporates a specific ratio of high performance clean INCI ingredients in order to deliver a sensorial effect and yield value, which match or surpass many leading synthetics.

Natrathix bio cellulose for skin care enables more natural skin textures. This sustainable innovation is a nature-derived, readily biodegradable thickener with suspension capabilities that maintains emulsion stability of skin and sun care formulations while delivering a desirable skin feel. Developed through Ashlands market leading expertise in sustainably sourced cellulosics and rheology modification, natrathix bio cellulose enables the creation of more natural skin care creams, lotions and gels, including organic and inorganic sunscreen formulations, with the texture, skin feel and sustainability that consumers demand. Natrathix bio cellulose is non-GMO, vegan suitable and globally compliant. This versatile rheology modifier is electrolyte and minerals tolerant, effective across a wide pH range (4-8), cold processible, and does not require neutralization. It is a great alternative to carbomers in formulations.

Ashland also highlighted the recently launched antaron eco gel, a biodegradable, water-resistant film former for lighter, non-greasy sun care and cosmetics applications. It is easy to use because it requires less time and heat to incorporate in formulations. This novel product provides excellent water resistance and improves the sustainability of sunscreen or cosmetic formulations. It is also vegan suitable.

As a global leader in personal care solutions, Ashland is taking a leading position in natural, nature-derived and biodegradable ingredients, polysaccharide-based rheology, premium biofunctionals actives, microbial protection, hair fixatives, and more said Xiaolan Wang, senior vice president and general manager, personal care. We have built ESG into our operating plans so that as we innovate, we take a thoughtful approach to our sustainable portfolio of products.

Responsibly solving for a better world

During in-cosmetics Global, Ashland showcased the first of a series of sustainable business initiatives, which resulted in positive economic, environmental and social impacts from the companys recently announced R esponsible Solvers program .

In partnership with the SM Sehgal Foundation, in 2021 Ashland initiated a STEM education program applying scientific solutions for sustainable farming to increase the volume of guar harvested annually while respecting the sourcing relationships and local cultures of small village farmers in the Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan, India. The relationships are critical to Ashland, which uses guar to formulate specialty ingredients such as styleze es-dura ingredient for personal care, life sciences and coatings applications.

The pilot program included 250 farms from 10 villages. Using modern technologies, farmers were taught sustainable agronomic practices and water conservation. The programs successful results include helping farmers lower their production cost while increasing their crop yield by approximately 30 percent. In addition, the program has helped increase farmers income, thus expanding the local economy in the small villages.

At the same time, Ashlands commitment to gender equality led to specific training focused on the local female population to empower them, improve their technical knowledge and skills, and help elevate their standard of living. Based on the success of the pilot, Ashland is moving forward with plans to increase the number of farms to 5,000 by 2025.

In addition to aiding the farmers with guar production, Ashlands Responsible Solvers mindset led the team to also provide training and other technical guidance for mustard and wheat crops during the guar off-season. This training also improved the yield of these crops, making a holistic impact on the farmers annual income.

Driven by our desire for profitable, sustainable growth and global megatrends in the resilient markets that we have selected, Ashland is increasing the speed of our innovations, while proactively and consciously focusing on their holistic impact for customers, the environment and the welfare of society, said Guillermo Novo, chair and chief executive officer, Ashland. More than a year ago, Ashland integrated ESG into our strategic operating plans, and globally, we are continuing to take an earnest and heartfelt approach towards profitable innovation, sustainability and positive impacts for the local communities in which we operate.

Ashland plans to share more success stories and best practices from the Responsible Solvers program in the weeks and months to come. To learn more, visit ashland.com/incos22 and ashland.com/guar and https://www.ashland.com/about/stem-and-responsible-solvers

About Ashland

Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ASH) is a focused additives and specialty ingredients company with a conscious and proactive mindset for sustainability. The company serves customers in a wide range of consumer and industrial markets, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, nutraceuticals, personal care and pharmaceuticals. Approximately 3,800 passionate, tenacious solvers  from renowned scientists and research chemists to talented engineers and plant operators  thrive on developing practical, innovative and elegant solutions to complex

problems for customers in more than 100 countries. Visit ashland.com and ashland.com/sustainability to learn more.

 Trademark, Ashland or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Media Relations: Carolmarie C. Brown +1 (302) 995-3158 ccbrown@ashland.com

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Sydney, April 05, 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/Kyrgyzstan-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW





The Ministry of Digital Development released new plans at the start of 2022, rescheduling the first round of 5G test launches to the end of the year. Full commercialisation can still occur, according to the Ministry, by 2023  keeping the country on track with the 2019-2023 Digital Transformation policy and roadmap.Moving ahead with the 5G network rollouts may be one of the few remaining areas to find growth in Kyrgyzstans telecom market. Mobile penetration rates have plateaued at around 140%, while the rapid increase in mobile broadband subscriptions experienced since 2015 has also tapered off with the market appearing to have reached saturation levels. With the country having relatively low levels of home computer ownership and very limited fixed network capacity beyond the major centres, mobile providers are going to have to rely on value-added services  built on the back of 5G  to drive future growth through increased data usage and ARPU.





Key developments:





Kyrgyzstans Ministry of Digital Development releases updated plans for 5G network rollouts, with the first round of test launches targeted for late-2022.

Wholesale broadband provider ElCat announces $3 million in financing from the IFC to increase fibre coverage in under-served areas of the country.



Companies mentioned in this report:





Kyrgyztelecom, Sky Mobile (Beeline), MegaCom (Alfa Telecom), Nur Telecom (O!), Katel, KT Mobile, Elcat, AsiaInfo, Saima-Net (Saima Telecom).







Read the full report: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Kyrgyzstan-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW
Sydney, April 05, 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/Puerto-Rico-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW





These disasters caused considerable destruction of telecom infrastructure, which in turn led to a marked decline in the number of subscribers for all services. Compounding these difficulties have been a long-term economic downturn which encouraged many people not to resume telecom services after these were restored. After some delay, the FCC in late 2019 issued an order relating to the release of funds to help rebuild telecom infrastructure.



Although Puerto Rico is a US territory it lags well behind the mainland US states in terms of fixed-line and broadband penetration. This is partly due to high unemployment rates (and consequently low disposable income) and poor telecoms investment in a market largely dominated by the incumbent Puerto Rico Telephone Company. This dominance was augmented after the company was acquired by the largest wireless operator in Latin America, America Movil, in 2007.



The acquisition by Liberty Global of the remaining cable TV operator Choice Cable, completed in mid-2015, created a monopoly player in this sector. Liberty Cablevision (renamed Liberty Communications of Puerto Rico in 2020), now wholly-owned by Liberty Globals LLA division, is in a stronger position to capitalise on scale, and so provide improved services based on greater investment and on the use of technology based on the DOCSIS3.1 standard. Liberty Communications has also become better placed in the bundled service market following LLAs acquisition of AT&Ts wireless and wireline units in Puerto Rico.



The mobile market has been impacted by several mergers and acquisitions over the last few years. In early 2017 Sprint and Open Wireless agreed to merge their networks in a bid to offer better market competition by increasing their scale and combining spectrum holdings. The T-Mobile US acquisition of Sprint Communications was approved in April 2020, and LLAs acquisition of AT&Ts Puerto Rican and US Virgin Islands operations was finalised in October 2020.



The activities of large multinational telcos such as America Movil, T-Mobile US, and LLA, continue to impact the Puerto Rican market. Operators have secured spectrum in the 600MHz and 3.5GHz bands, thus enabling them to expand the reach of LTE services and launch services based on 5G.



The growing number of submarine cables landing in Puerto Rico is helping to drive down the cost of telecom services, creating a demand for streaming content from abroad. The uptake of cloud-based applications for both business and individuals is also creating a heightened demand for affordable services.



BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. Since 2020 the telecoms sector, to various degrees, has experienced a downturn in mobile device production. It was also difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure. Overall progress towards 5G has been postponed or slowed down in some countries.



On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, has offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect will continue to be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth.



Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the pandemic, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report.



The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions.



Key Developments:



selects Ericsson to modernise its core network, considers spinning off its submarine cable network;

FCC announces winners of Auction 105 for 3.5GHz spectrum, with Claro and Aeronet Wireless Broadband securing concessions;

Blackburn Networks to build Boriken submarine cable system;

T-Mobile Puerto Rico launches Project 10Million initiative to deliver connectivity to school children;

Report update includes the regulators market data to October 2020, telcos operating and financial data to Q4 2020, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of Covid-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.
CHICAGO, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Supervisor Ron Ruffino led Lancaster's bold adoption of solar energy, enrolling Lancaster's municipal buildings and accounts in Solar Simplified's Community Solar projects. Energy savings for these accounts topped $4,500 in 2021, funds that would've otherwise come from local taxpayers' dollars.

Over 700 Lancaster residents and local businesses also enrolled in Solar Simplified's Community Solar project located in Troupsburg, New York, which allows homeowners, renters, and businesses to benefit from clean energy produced by the solar farm, lowering their monthly utility bills. Participants received substantial savings on their energy bills over the course of 2021, averaging over $100 per customer.

In addition to helping deliver $75,000 in total energy savings to the town's public and private sectors, Solar Simplified also made $45,000 in civic contributions to the Town of Lancaster in 2021. Supervisor Ruffino envisions his town's efforts to advance community solar, along with Solar Simplified, contributing to the financial and environmental benefit of his constituents.

"The partnership with Solar Simplified has provided the Town of Lancaster cost savings for our facilities, but even more importantly for our residents," Ruffino explains. "New York State has an aggressive plan to support solar projects, and my feeling is that we should jump on board as early as possible to realize proven savings for our residents."

Aviv Shalgi, co-founder and CEO of Solar Simplified, anticipates more New York residents realizing the benefits of Community Solar.

"We're already working with municipalities across New York state to deliver much-needed savings to residents," Shalgi explains. "The positive response we've seen in the Town of Lancaster has piqued the interest of other leaders throughout the state  at a time when energy savings are at a premium."

Residents, businesses, and municipalities interested in learning more about Solar Simplified and Community Solar can contact Solar Simplified at (888) 420-9831 or cs@solarsimplified.com for details and enrollment information.

About Solar Simplified

Solar Simplified is a Community Solar platform that seamlessly matches homeowners, renters, and businesses with local solar farms. With no annual membership or enrollment fees, upfront costs or lengthy contracts, Solar Simplified makes connecting to renewable solar energy simple and transparent. In turn, participants help support locally produced clean energy and save money on their energy bills.

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.
(All dollar amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.)



TORONTO, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX:K; NYSE:KGC) (Kinross) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement (Agreement) with the Highland Gold Mining group of companies (Highland Gold) and its affiliates to sell 100% of its Russian assets for total consideration of $680 million in cash.

As part of the transaction, Kinross will receive a total of $400 million in cash for the Kupol mine and the surrounding exploration licenses, which includes payment of $100 million upon closing, as well as additional payments of $150 million before the end of 2023, $100 million before the end of 2024, and $50 million before the end of 2025. Kinross will also receive a total of $280 million in cash for its Udinsk project, which includes payments of $80 million before the end of 2025, $100 million before the end of 2026, and $100 million before the end of 2027.

The deferred payments are secured by an extensive security package that includes share pledges, financial guarantees and an escrow account. All payments under the Agreement are payable in U.S. dollars.

Highland Gold is one of the largest gold mining companies in Russia and operates several mines in the country, including in the Chukotka and Khabarovsk regions where the Kupol mine and Udinsk project are located, respectively.

The transaction is subject to the approval of the Russian government and the finalization of certain ancillary agreements.

About Kinross Gold Corporation

Kinross is a Canadian-based senior gold mining company with mines and projects in the United States, Brazil, Russia, Mauritania, Chile, Ghana and Canada. Our focus is on delivering value based on the core principles of operational excellence, balance sheet strength, disciplined growth and responsible mining. Kinross maintains listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol:K) and the New York Stock Exchange (symbol:KGC).

Media Contact

Louie Diaz

Vice-President, Corporate Communications

phone: 416-369-6469

louie.diaz@kinross.com

Investor Relations Contact

Chris Lichtenheldt

Vice-President, Investor Relations

phone: 416-365-2761

chris.lichtenheldt@kinross.com

Cautionary statements on forward-looking information

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this news release, including any information as to the future financial or operating performance of Kinross, constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the provisions of the Securities Act (Ontario) and the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are based on the expectations, estimates and projections of management as of the date of this news release, unless otherwise stated. Forward-looking statements contained in this presentation include, without limitation, statements with respect to the completion and timing of the sale of its Russian assets; the schedule of payments in secured instalments over the next five years; and projected timing of Russian government approvals. Phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, should or will be achieved, received or taken, or will occur or result and similar such expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are, necessarily, based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Kinross as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. The estimates and assumptions of Kinross contained in this news release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to: (i) that the parties will complete the acquisition in accordance with, and on the timeline contemplated by, the terms and conditions of the relevant agreements, on a basis consistent with our expectations; (ii) that, in the event any deferred payment is not paid to Kinross, the security package, including share pledges, financial guarantees and an escrow account, will be realized and enforceable in a manner consistent with the Companys expectations; (iii) that economic and sectoral sanctions (or similar laws) will not adversely impact the transaction or the parties ability to discharge their obligations under the transaction agreements, including payment of the purchase price; and (iv) that the necessary approvals from the applicable Russian government authorities will be obtained in a timely manner, or at all. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements, including the risk that the sale transaction will not be completed for any reason and that the secured installment payments are actually paid to Kinross. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about managements expectations and plans relating to the future. All of the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by this cautionary statement and those made in our other filings with the securities regulators of Canada and the United States including, but not limited to, the cautionary statements made in the Risk Analysis section of our MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2022. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Kinross. Kinross disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law.

Source: Kinross Gold Corporation
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UniDoc Health Corp. (CSE: UDOC) (FRA: L7T) (OTCQB: UDOCF) (UniDoc, or the Company), an innovator in the telehealth sector, is pleased to announce its entry into a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) under the offices of Her Royal Highness, Nana Hemaa Kwasi Bozoma III, Ndweafo Royal Stool, Ekpu, Western Region, Republic Of Ghana and Nana Angate Kpanyinli III (the Partner).



The MOU sets forth terms and conditions to conduct tests of the UniDoc Virtual Care Solution kiosk system with the intent to formalize a definitive agreement on or by April 16, 2022. It is proposed that the definitive agreement will consist of between 250 to 400 kiosk locations and the Partner will agree to register no less than 2,000,000 patient subscribers. Medical personnel for the project will be coordinated by the Partner.

The Republic of Ghana provides access to a universal health care system under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). In 2012, over 12 million Ghanaian nationals were covered by the NHIS, with urban centres containing most of the hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies in Ghana. There are over 200 hospitals in Ghana and in 2014 there was an estimation of 11 physicians and 104 nurses per 100,000 persons with 5.2% of Ghana's GDP spent on healthcare (sources: NHIS Website, Ghana Ministry of Health).

On behalf of the Chiefs, Elders, the youth, and the entire community, I wish to express my profound gratitude to UNIDOC Company Ltd and their alliance partners for this wholesome initiative. These facilities go a long way to curb the long queues at hospitals in order to see doctors for consultation. We look forward to more future collaborative efforts towards the development of our communities, says the Queen Mother.

The Virtual Care Solutions Model is a proprietary customizable and comprehensive telehealth solution that integrates a range of physical products, web-based services, and analytical tools, along with access to the Companys developing network of healthcare providers, pharmacies, and hospitals.

The MOU, which was entered into on March 16, 2022, provides for a subsequent binding agreement which will outline the commercial details, testing and implementation of the Virtual Care Solutions Model kiosks in independent locations and other locations throughout Ghana encompassing all kiosks assigned, associated, or affiliated with the Partner who shall have the rights to use of the Virtual Care Solutions Model in Ghana and elsewhere where both parties agree on the commercial terms. The Company proposes to offer leasing, subscription fee, and/or revenue sharing models to Partner and such definitive terms which the Parties agree to by using reasonable commercial efforts to negotiate in good faith prior to completion of the Transaction.

UniDoc CEO Antonio Baldassarre states, The dialogue with our potential partners has been very positive to date. The healthcare environment in Ghana has long been somewhat focussed on their urban centres. We believe our telehealth solution can help by realigning resource priorities and holds the potential to spread primary diagnostic assessment more evenly across the nation. We are very excited by the opportunity to work with such a forward-looking team in providing innovative solutions to these sorts of issues. We aim to deliver an affordable commercial healthcare solution that could pave the way for future adoption beginning in West Africa and hopefully across the continent and beyond.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

Sincerely,

~Antonio Baldassarre~

Antonio Baldassarre

CEO, President & Director

UniDoc Health Corp.

About UniDoc Health Corp. (CSE: UDOC) (FRA: L7T) (OTCQB: UDOCF)

UniDoc is developing a telehealth solution which is being designed as a self-contained remote virtual clinic within a private kiosk for patients to undergo full consultations as if they were present in a physicians office. Telehealth opens the doors to a large segment of the population challenged by access, experience or understanding of online computer technology. It is the Companys belief that physical accessibility is the key to its business proposition. UniDoc is dedicated to unlocking shareholder value by delivering an excellent product and sophisticated commercial network within an expedited timeframe. The UniDoc team encourages engagement, questions, and interest, so please stay in touch and invite anyone who might be interested in our story to visit our website at www.unidoctor.com and signup to receive the latest information with updates on our activities, events and progress. You are also invited to join us on social media with Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

For further information, please contact

UniDoc Investor Relations

Tel: +1 778.383.6731

Email: info@unidoctor.com

Matt Chatterton, Director

Tel: +1 778.613.2082

Email: matt@unidoctor.com

Media Inquiries

media@unidoctor.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements and information that, to the extent that they are not historical fact, may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information may include financial and other projections, as well as statements regarding future plans, objectives, or economic performance, or the assumption underlying any of the foregoing. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as may, would, could, will, likely, except, anticipate, believe, intend, plan, forecast, project, estimate, outlook, or the negative thereof or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Examples of such statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Companys primary product offering and features thereof, the entry into and the terms of a definitive agreement with the Partner upon satisfactory test results, the potential for the placement of the Companys products in pharmacies and other locations across The Republic of Ghana, the anticipated benefits of a partnership with the Partner and the Companys commercialization of the telehealth platform.

Forward-looking information is based on the assumptions, estimates, analysis, and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. The material factors and assumptions used to develop the forward-looking information contained in this news release include, but are not limited to, key personnel and qualified employees continuing their involvement with the Company; the Companys ability to secure additional financing on reasonable terms; the competitive conditions of the industries in which the Company operates; and laws and any amendments thereto applicable to the Company.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, including, without limitation, risks relating to the future business plans of the Company; risks that the Company will not be able to retain its key personnel; risks that the Company will not be able to secure financing on reasonable terms or at all, as well as all of the other risks as described in the Companys final prospectus dated December 2, 2021 under the heading Risks Factors. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking information. Further, any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Companys management to predict all such factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Companys business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking information to reflect information or events after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law, including securities laws.

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Two-term Alabama Securities Commission Chair James L. Hart, a decorated Samford alumnus, recently filed suit against Samford University over what Hart alleges was the takeover of a landmark fraternity house located on a desirable track of land bordered by Saulter Road with no notice some years ago.



"Our position is that the property never belonged to the university and still doesn't," said Hart, who filed the 24-page complaint on behalf of the "House Corporation" -- a non-profit organization founded in 1964 by seven alumni, including Frank Donaldson, Professor of Law at Samford's Cumberland School of Law, to build and manage the fraternity house. "We're suing to recover our property or its fair value."

"From the day the house opened in 1971, it was always independently owned and operated by the House Corporation," alleges Hart, who served on its governing board. "In the ensuing years, the university built and currently operate numerous fraternity and sorority houses surrounding our property, so it's not surprising they viewed us as an attractive takeover target."

According to Hart, the House Corporation went to considerable expense to ensure that the Williamsburg-style fraternity house was architecturally in keeping with Samford's original master plan. "We even hired the university's architect," he added.

A highly respected forensic accountant, Hart had hoped the lawsuit would be unnecessary. "Certainly, nobody wants to sue their once beloved alma mater," he said. "However, we were left with no option."

For complete information, media inquiries and interviews, contact James L. Hart at jameslhartcpa@gmail.com or call 1-205-910-0451.

Related Images
The combined companies will showcase strong leadership teams, a portfolio of powerful brands and operations delivering quality at scale

The new combined company will utilize multiple markets, retail locations, technologies and distribution facilities, paired with solid backing and options to operate in numerous countries

LOS ANGELES and KINGSTON, Jamaica, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NUGL Inc. (NUGL) (OTC: NUGL), a cannabis-focused, technology-based multimedia platform, announced today it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Kaya, Inc. (Kaya) in an all-stock transaction. Kaya shareholders received restricted shares of NUGL, Inc., which were issued pursuant to an exemption from registration provided by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 as Restricted Securities. The Company has appointed Bali Vaswani, Chairman and CEO of Kaya, as its CEO. CJ Melone, CEO of NUGL Inc., was appointed Chief Operating Officer of the combined companies, with a responsibility to build out the Kaya brand through established partnerships in key markets. NUGL, Inc. is expected to change its name to Kaya Group Inc.

Kaya was the first to open a medical cannabis location in Jamaica in March 2018 and has established itself as a leading supplier and supporter of medical cannabis throughout the Caribbean. Its diverse operations include a licensed cultivation facility, processing facility, 3 retail herb houses, and one ganja franchise in Punta Del Este, Uruguay. Cannabis analytics firm Headset projects legal U.S. cannabis sales to surpass $30 billion this year and reach $45.8 billion by 2025. In addition to the U. S. market, Jamaica and the other Caricom countries are considered to be one of the fastest growing cannabis markets. In April 2015, the Government of Jamaica amended the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) to decriminalize cannabis possession, legalize home cultivation for medicinal, spiritual and sacramental use, and create a new, licensed industry for medical cannabis and hemp. In addition to this landmark legislation, a number of Caricom (Caribbean Community) countries are exploring the use of cannabis in health and wellness, with investors seeking to increase products for local use and export.

Bali Vaswani, Chairman and CEO of Kaya, said, Near-term, Kaya's markets will be the U. S. and the Caricom countries. As we launch the Kaya brand in and expand into new markets, we expect to benefit tremendously from NUGL's print and digital core media assets. Each of our locations can house over 1,000 patrons, which is an ideal scenario for hosting live content on NUGL's platform." Mr. Vaswami continued, "I look forward to working with the talented NUGL team as we integrate and align our cultivation, retail, and operational practices to continue providing our patients and customers with best-in-class product offerings and retail experiences."

NUGL is a community-driven, cannabis business directory and search app offering an unbiased platform for businesses and consumers to interact. NUGL combines a digital and print magazine with its cannabis friendly multimedia platform to provide marketing opportunities in print, digital and video format. NUGL connects cannabis companies across the nation, bringing the cannabusiness community closer together while facilitating connections with consumers in emerging and expanding markets. In line with the acquisition of Kaya, NUGL has hosted live concerts with reggae artist like Popcaan Vanquish Acoustic Show, Kymani Marley, Beenie Man, David Rodigan, Chronixx, Keznamdi, Jesse Royal, Jah9, Lila Ike, Protoje and Toots, and The Maytals.

CJ Melone, CEO of NUGL Inc., stated, "We are very optimistic as we join forces with Kaya to create one of the most prominent cannabis companies in the U. S. and the Caricom. With our shared core philosophies and complementary areas of expertise, we expect to execute on our collective vision immediately. In the evolving and fast-growing cannabis industry, the opportunities to better achieve our mission through consolidation led us to this historic moment. Mr. Melone continued, With Kayas strategic national footprint in the Caricom markets and NUGLs success in execution in print, digital media, and social media assets, we believe we have the potential to create the most important and investable company in cannabis. There is no better team in the industry to maximize the potential of this market defining combination.

About Kaya Group

Kaya is Jamaicas leading vertically-integrated medical cannabis company with diverse operations headquartered in Ocho Rios, which includes a licensed cultivation facility with over 40 genetics, a processing facility, three retail dispensaries, and conditional licenses to transport and operate therapeutic wellness spas. The Kaya Group was the first to open a medical cannabis retail location in Jamaica in March 2018 and has since established itself as a leading supplier and exporter of medical cannabis throughout the Caribbean, Australia and South America through its ganja franchise with Quantum Ventures in Punta Del Este, Uruguay. For more information on Kaya please visit www.kayaherbhouse.com .

About NUGL Inc.

NUGL is a cannabis business directory and search app that offers an unbiased platform for both businesses and consumers. Our app seamlessly blends with our digital and print magazine, and our cannabis friendly multimedia platform providing marketing opportunities for business profiles, in print, digital and video format. NUGL is community-driven, and together weve built a place where all things cannabis can be welcomed and enjoyed by all.

You can review all the latest features at nugl.com and nuglmagazine.com and download the new iOS and Android apps in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. For more information and updates, visit one of the links below.

NUGL TV: NUGL TV

NUGL Magazine: NUGL Magazine

Instagram - NUGL Instagram

Facebook - NUGL Facebook

Twitter - NUGL Twitter

LinkedIn - NUGL LinkedIn

YouTube - NUGL YouTube

Join our Newsletter - Join NUGL's Newsletter

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may be considered "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may include projections of matters that affect revenue, operating expenses or net earnings; projections of growth; and assumptions relating to the preceding. Such forward-looking statements generally start with the "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "believes," or similar words of like kind. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or qualified. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those outlined in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking information. The company's business plan addresses these factors in greater detail, along with NUGL's current financial filings with the OTC Markets Group.

For Media and Investor Relations, please contact:

David L. Kugelman

(866) 692-6847 Toll Free - U.S. & Canada

(404) 281-8556 Mobile and WhatsApp

dk@atlcp.com

Skype: kugsusa
Dublin, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Patch Cable Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global patch cable market reached a value of US$ 2.57 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach a value of US$ 4.23 Billion by 2027 exhibiting a CAGR of 8.10% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different end use sectors. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor.



Patch cable, also known as patch cord, is used to connect a power supply to an end device for signal routing. It carries telephonic, audio, and video signals between non-networked devices, such as headphones and microphones. It is shorter than other conventional networking cables and widely available in numerous colors. At present, a surge in need for data transfer and networking in all commercial activities is catalyzing the demand for patch cables across the globe.



Patch Cable Market Trends:

The rising demand for a high-speed network in production facilities to evaluate real-time data, improve production processes and offer smooth as well as secure transmission of data represents one of the key factors driving the market. Moreover, enhancement in cable technologies and usage of patch cables in transmitting power over ethernet (PoE) is propelling the growth of the market. In addition, there is an increase in the development of data centers to store, manage, and disseminate a huge amount of data.

This, along with the emergence of the 5G network, is positively influencing the market. It relies on patch cables to connect equipment within the domain of radio access network (RAN) and back to the core and routing network infrastructure. Besides this, the increasing utilization of patch cables in residential and institutional spaces on account of their low latency and noise interference, easy installation, and reliability is contributing to the growth of the market. Apart from this, the growing penetration of fiber to the x (FTTx) is offering lucrative growth opportunities to the key players. Furthermore, technological advancements in healthcare, telecommunication, and administrative sectors are stimulating the growth of the market.



Key Market Segmentation:

The publisher provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global patch cable market, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2022-2027. Our report has categorized the market based on product type, cable type, application and end use.



Breakup by Product Type:

Copper Cable

Fiber Optics

Breakup by Cable Type:

CAT 3

CAT 5

CAT 5E

CAT 6

CAT 6A

CAT 7

Multimode Optical Fiber

Others

Breakup by Application:

Networking

Non-Networking

Breakup by End Use:

Industrial

Enterprise

IT and Network Security

Others

Breakup by Region:

North America

United States

Canada

Asia-Pacific

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Australia

Indonesia

Others

Europe

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Italy

Spain

Russia

Others

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Others

Middle East and Africa

Competitive Landscape:

The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being AGC Networks Limited, CommScope Inc., Corning Incorporated, CP Technologies, Legrand, NAI Group LLC, Panduit, Prysmian Group, Quabbin Wire & Cable Co. Inc. and Schneider Electric SE.



Key Questions Answered in This Report:

How has the global patch cable market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global patch cable market?

What are the key regional markets?

What is the breakup of the market based on the product type?

What is the breakup of the market based on the cable type?

What is the breakup of the market based on the application?

What is the breakup of the market based on the end use?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry?

What is the structure of the global patch cable market and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the industry?

Key Topics Covered:



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global Patch Cable Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup by Product Type

6.1 Copper Cable

6.1.1 Market Trends

6.1.2 Market Forecast

6.2 Fiber Optics

6.2.1 Market Trends

6.2.2 Market Forecast



7 Market Breakup by Cable Type

7.1 CAT 3

7.1.1 Market Trends

7.1.2 Market Forecast

7.2 CAT 5

7.2.1 Market Trends

7.2.2 Market Forecast

7.3 CAT 5E

7.3.1 Market Trends

7.3.2 Market Forecast

7.4 CAT 6

7.4.1 Market Trends

7.4.2 Market Forecast

7.5 CAT 6A

7.5.1 Market Trends

7.5.2 Market Forecast

7.6 CAT 7

7.6.1 Market Trends

7.6.2 Market Forecast

7.7 Multimode Optical Fiber

7.7.1 Market Trends

7.7.2 Market Forecast

7.8 Others

7.8.1 Market Trends

7.8.2 Market Forecast



8 Market Breakup by Application

8.1 Networking

8.1.1 Market Trends

8.1.2 Market Forecast

8.2 Non-Networking

8.2.1 Market Trends

8.2.2 Market Forecast



9 Market Breakup by End Use

9.1 Industrial

9.1.1 Market Trends

9.1.2 Market Forecast

9.2 Enterprise

9.2.1 Market Trends

9.2.2 Market Forecast

9.3 IT and Network Security

9.3.1 Market Trends

9.3.2 Market Forecast

9.4 Others

9.4.1 Market Trends

9.4.2 Market Forecast



10 Market Breakup by Region



11 SWOT Analysis



12 Value Chain Analysis



13 Porters Five Forces Analysis



14 Price Analysis



15 Competitive Landscape

15.1 Market Structure

15.2 Key Players

15.3 Profiles of Key Players

15.3.1 AGC Networks Limited

15.3.1.1 Company Overview

15.3.1.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.1.3 Financials

15.3.2 CommScope Inc.

15.3.2.1 Company Overview

15.3.2.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.2.3 Financials

15.3.2.4 SWOT Analysis

15.3.3 Corning Incorporated

15.3.3.1 Company Overview

15.3.3.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.3.3 Financials

15.3.3.4 SWOT Analysis

15.3.4 CP Technologies

15.3.4.1 Company Overview

15.3.4.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.5 Legrand

15.3.5.1 Company Overview

15.3.5.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.5.3 Financials

15.3.5.4 SWOT Analysis

15.3.6 NAI Group LLC

15.3.6.1 Company Overview

15.3.6.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.7 Panduit

15.3.7.1 Company Overview

15.3.7.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.8 Prysmian Group

15.3.8.1 Company Overview

15.3.8.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.8.3 Financials

15.3.8.4 SWOT Analysis

15.3.9 Quabbin Wire & Cable Co. Inc.

15.3.9.1 Company Overview

15.3.9.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.10 Schneider Electric SE

15.3.10.1 Company Overview

15.3.10.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.10.3 Financials

15.3.10.4 SWOT Analysis

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cxb3ff

Attachment
SAN FRANCISCO, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Udemy , a leading destination for learning and teaching online, today announced its partnership with Korean AI education company, Woongjin ThinkBig. This partnership further expands the companys global footprint, bringing Udemy and its corporate learning solution, Udemy Business , to more learners, instructors, and organizations in the Korean market.



Korea is an important market for Udemy given the focus on education and continuous learning in the country, said Gregg Coccari, CEO of Udemy. We are excited to partner with Woongjin ThinkBig to help bring Udemy to more learners and instructors in Korea, and to help Korean organizations meet their learning goals and achieve better business outcomes.

Udemy and Woongjin ThinkBig have been collaborating since 2021 to localize and enhance the discovery and learning experience for both learners and instructors in Korea. Udemy is translating and offering Korean subtitles for its most popular global courses and collaborating with a number of instructors to create new courses taught in Korean that focus on in-demand topics such as IT, business management, power skills, and foreign languages.

Udemy offers the latest technical, business, and personal development courses that have been popular in Korea and around the world in an accessible and affordable way for local learners and organizations, said Jae-Jin Lee, CEO of Woongjin ThinkBig. We are delighted to partner with Udemy to bring its online learning platform to more instructors, learners and organizations in Korea to help them reach their full potential.

This new partnership helps enable Udemy to drive more impactful learning across a wide variety of topics and with new audiences. It also demonstrates Udemy Businesss commitment to helping organizations across the globe enhance their employees learning experiences with high-quality courses in native languages, which are taught by real-world experts. The company is already supporting Korean companies, such as DB Insurance, LG Uplus Corp., and NCSOFT, in their upskilling efforts.

About Udemy

Udemy's (Nasdaq: UDMY) mission is to create new possibilities for people and organizations everywhere by connecting them to the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in a changing world. The Udemy marketplace platform, with thousands of up-to-date courses in dozens of languages, provides the tools learners, instructors, and enterprises need to achieve their goals and reach their full potential. Millions of people learn on Udemy from real-world experts in topics ranging from programming and data science to leadership and team building. For companies, Udemy Business offers an employee training and development platform with subscription access to thousands of courses, learning analytics, and the ability to host and distribute their own content. Udemy Business customers include Fender Instruments, Glassdoor, GoFundMe, On24, The World Bank, and Volkswagen. Udemy is headquartered in San Francisco with hubs in Ankara, Turkey; Austin, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; Mountain View, California; Denver, Colorado; Dublin, Ireland; Melbourne, Australia; New Delhi, India; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plant Veda Foods Ltd. (CSE:MILK) (OTC:PLVFF) (XFRA:A3CS6B) (the Company or Plant Veda), an award-winning dairy-alternative food manufacturer is pleased to announce the addition of Joanna Cruciat to the Plant Veda team, as the new Brand Director.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7795569e-cef8-4b0d-8169-49acc58551a3

Joanna, is an innovative brand expert with 20+ years of experience in marketing communications. She has successfully helped develop, launch and lead the implementation of a number of brands into the market. Joanna brings a solid track record in advertising, creative design, public relations, promotions, on-line marketing, social media and research.

She started her journey at Yves Veggie Cuisine over 25 years ago, working on new product development and helped her team bring consumers to the newly born meat alternative category. Since then, she has worked on branding strategies for a variety of products and brands like Gold Seal, Ocean Brands, Transylvania Flavour, Shoes2go International, and most recently Ocean Food Sales.

Good for you food was ingrained in my familys tradition, stated Joanna. Having grown up with a chef as my father, and my mothers excellent baking skills, fresh food and clean ingredients were a mainstay in our home. I have always been drawn to quality food products both personally and professionally. The passion and the drive of the Plant Veda team spoke to me deeply, as I am an entrepreneur at heart, and I have run two family businesses in both the hospitality and retail industries.

Shifting to plant-based, dairy-free milk products seems to be one of the biggest health trends amongst societys movers and shakers. This demographic group knows the importance of health for themselves and the planet. I am excited to join the Plant Veda team to support their push to accelerate humanity's shift to a plant-based lifestyle and drive brand strategy and development for our line of products in the Canadian, the U.S. and global markets.

Brand awareness through consistent messaging is as important as the whole food ingredients we base our products on, explained Sunny Gurnani, CEO of Plant Veda. Quality of brand goes hand in hand with the quality of our products, they are mutually inclusive. Over the years we have recruited an impressive team dedicated to the quality of our products, and with the addition of Joanna on our brand side we have completed the circle of consistent quality throughout the whole Company.

About Plant Veda (CSE:MILK) (OTC:PLVFF) (XFRA:A3CS6B)

Plant Veda Foods Ltd. has a mission to accelerate humanitys shift to a plant-based lifestyle. We remain clear in our goals; to improve the environment and humanitys overall health through plant-based consumption. Our Company has succeeded in creating award-winning plant-based dairy alternatives, continuing to shake up the dairy-free market by creating unique, one-of-a-kind products that leave our customers forgetting about dairy to begin with.

Learn more at www.PlantVeda.com .

To subscribe to updates about Plant Veda, visit www.PlantVeda.com/pages/investors .



To find Plant Veda products at a location near you, visit www.PlantVeda.com/pages/store-locations .

Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , YouTube

Company Contact:

Aaron Wong, Director

Email: Aaron@PlantVeda.com

Number: 778-840-9664

Investor Relations:

Email: Investors@PlantVeda.com

Number: 778-383-6737

Media Contact:

Email: Media@PlantVeda.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking information and information can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, estimates, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur, or be achieved. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding new accounts or tens of thousands of potential consumers, but there is no assurance that our brand messaging will impact sales. The forward-looking information reflects managements current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed timeframes or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) changes to the growth and size of the dairy-alternative markets; and (iii) other factors beyond the control of the Company. The Company operates in a rapidly evolving environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is impossible for the Companys management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Companys business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

As each individual is different, the benefits, if any, of taking the Companys products will vary from person to person. No claims or guarantees can be made as to the effects of the Companys products on an individuals health and well-being. The Companys products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This news release may contain trademarked names of third-party entities (or their respective offerings with trademarked names) typically in reference to (i) relationships had by the Company with such third-party entities as referred to in this release and/or (ii) client/vendor/service provider parties whose relationship with the Company is/are referred to in this release. All rights to such trademarks are reserved by their respective owners or licensees.




English Lithuanian

On April 5, 2022 Siauliu Bankas established a special purpose vehicle - SB Modernizavimo Fondas UAB, legal entity code: 306057616, registered office address Tilzes st.149, Siauliai, 76348.



The goal of establishment of the SB Modernizavimo Fondas is to manage the Fund to be set up to finance multi-apartment buildings renovation projects, thus entering the final phase of the project. The Bank will inform about the launch of the Fund by a separate announcement.

The aim of the unique multi-apartment building renovation financing Fund is to lend funds raised from private and institutional investors to energy efficiency projects in Lithuania. Siauliu Bankas, as a leader in multi-apartment renovation financing in the country, is the founder of the Fund and the administrator of the renovation loans, while SB Modernizavimo Fondas UAB is the legal manager.
NEW YORK, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Questexs International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference (IECSC) Florida, the most influential gathering of spa and wellness professionals in the Southeast, today announces it is partnering with Caribbean Wellness & Education (WE). WE will hold its fourth annual 2022 Wellness Mastermind meeting at the IECSC FL event. IECSC Florida will be held at the Palm Beach Convention Center, October 9-10, 2022.



WE has a history of commitment to the Caribbean wellness tourism community and delivers consulting services and business events, in addition to community outreach throughout the islands.

IECSC FL will host over 200 exhibitors of the top brands in the skincare and wellness industry, alongside an educational conference with leaders of the industry addressing the current needs and opportunities of the spa and wellness community.

We are planning for a fantastic event and are so excited that WE will be joining us, said Liz Hitchcock, event director for Questex Wellness. This partnership will enable an enormous opportunity for both the IECSC exhibitors to expand their reach into the Caribbean wellness community, as well as for the WE members to meet exhibitors that represent the best of the best in skincare and wellness, and benefit from the education and live demonstrations they can bring back to their businesses in the Caribbean.

Caribbean Wellness Education (WE) continues to grow in membership throughout the Caribbean and Latin American, as stakeholders in the region put the advancement of wellness and sustainability at the forefront of their developing nations. Partnering with IECSC Florida will allow us to spread our wellness tourism message to a robust audience of international wellness, hospitality, and tourism professionals, while diversifying the educational offering for all attendees joining the event, said WE founder Stephanie Rest.



IECSC Florida takes place October 9-10, 2022 at the Palm Beach Convention Center in Palm Beach, Florida. IECSC Florida is celebrating its 24th year in Florida. In addition to the Florida event, IECSC also takes place annually in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas.

Registration for IECSC Florida opens in the Summer of 2022. Sign up here for the IECSC Florida Guest or here for the WE all access pass list to be notified with early bird rates and registration details.

About WE

Caribbean Wellness & Education (WE) is a collaborative of spa & wellness professionals, improving standards in the Caribbean and Latin America through professional development, continuing education, and networking events. WE believe the Caribbean is the Worlds Spa and work with 32 countries towards the continual advancement of delivering the highest quality wellness tourism product. WE are here to assist you and be the bridge for the region on industry-specific solutions that matter the most.

About IECSC

Produced by Questex, the International Esthetics, Cosmetics and Spa Conferences (IECSC) are for professionals only and reach a wide crosssection of participants from spa and wellness product manufacturers and distributors to spa owners, directors and managers, estheticians, massage therapists, cosmetologists, medical estheticians, and dermatologists. With dynamic trade show floors, in-depth conference programs, and presented by America Spa, IECSC events provide the perfect meeting ground for the worlds most elite and qualified spa professionals looking to meet the top skin, cosmetic and wellness companies.

About Questex

Questex helps people live better and longer. Questex brings people together in the markets that help people live better: travel, hospitality and wellness; the industries that help people live longer: life science and healthcare; and the technologies that enable and fuel these new experiences. We live in the experience economy  connecting our ecosystem through live events, surrounded by data insights and digital communities. We deliver experience and real results. It happens here.

Media Contact

Amanda Butcher

Marketing Manager, Wellness

Questex

abutcher@questex.com
Dallas, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Experienced banking and financial services attorneys Josh McNulty and Rachael Craven have joined Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP in Dallas, where they will advise clients on an array of corporate, regulatory, product development, technology and fintech matters.

As the newest additions to the firms Financial Institutions Corporate and Regulatory (FICR) group, McNulty joins the firm as a partner from Bracewell, LLP and Craven, who was with Hunton Andrews Kurth for four years before joining the legal department at Apple Inc., returns as a counsel.

Josh is highly regarded for his insightful approach and dedication to delivering exceptional service to his banking industry clients, who have entrusted him over the past decade with complex corporate and regulatory compliance matters, mergers and acquisitions and securities offerings, said Erin Fonte, co-chair of Hunton Andrews Kurths FICR group. We are also thrilled to welcome back Rachael, who has a unique understanding of client needs from both the legal and business perspectives and a firsthand knowledge of new regulatory trends affecting financial services and a variety of fintech products and services.

Hunton Andrews Kurth is committed to maintaining a leading national practice serving our clients in the financial services regulatory, operations, technology and fintech sectors, added FICR co-chair Peter Weinstock. Josh and Rachael are outstanding attorneys whose experiences acting as outside counsel to a diverse range of clientele and as an in-house attorney for one of the worlds leading technology companies bring additional depth to our robust practice.

About Josh McNulty

McNultys practice primarily focuses on regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and securities law matters for financial institutions. He counsels state and national banks, holding companies and other financial institutions on state and federal regulatory compliance issues, including all aspects of regulatory matters involving the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Texas Department of Banking and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

He also advises clients on corporate governance, stockholder matters, shareholder agreements, fiduciary obligations, and a broad range of public and private capital market transactions, including initial public offerings and private placements.

Prior to joining Hunton Andrews Kurth, McNulty was a leader in Bracewells financial institutions group. In 2021, Josh led multiple bank mergers in Texas, which included aggregate deal values of approximately $1.2 billion and targets with an aggregate asset base of $7 billion.

McNulty received his bachelors degree from the University of Arizona in 2007 and his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2010.

About Rachael Craven

While in-house at Apple, Craven advised members of the Wallet, Payments, and Commerce team on regulatory issues impacting the tech companys financial services products and initiatives.

Before joining Apple, Craven was an associate in Hunton Andrews Kurths consumer financial compliance and litigation practice group, where she advised clients on issues relating to traditional consumer and commercial lending and banking services, as well as the design and development of cutting edge fintech products and alternative financing arrangements.

Craven also advised investment banks, private equity firms, and other financial services companies in conducting regulatory due diligence on potential investments, acquisition targets, and strategic partnerships. Notably, Craven was part of the Hunton Andrews Kurth team that represented Jefferies Funding LLC in a first-of-its-kind financing transaction involving collateral originated on blockchain. She also assisted a financial institution with developing and launching the first-ever bitcoin rewards checking account.

Craven received her bachelors degree from the University of Virginia in 2010 and her law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 2013.

About Hunton Andrews Kurths FICR Group

Hunton Andrews Kurths financial institutions corporate and regulatory group focuses on bank regulatory and corporate matters. Lawyers within the practice represent banks, thrifts, foreign banks, their branches and agencies and other financial institutions, as well as bank and thrift holding companies and their officers, directors and owners. We have established and represent trust companies and bank trust departments. We also represent a large number of non-bank fintech clients regarding the development and launch of new financial products and services. Decades of experience representing clients in the banking and fintech industry provide a solid foundation for our representation of clients in a broad range of transactions. Our practice includes substantial regulatory representation at state and federal levels.

With lawyers in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP serves clients across a broad range of complex transactional, litigation and regulatory matters. For more information, please contact Jeremy Heallen at +1 713 220 3713.

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Winnipeg, Man., April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadas plant-based food and ingredients sector is evolving as it grows to meet the increasing global demand for protein. To ensure that evolution is matched by a modern and supportive regulatory system, Protein Industries Canada is partnering with Pulse Canada, Plant-Based Foods of Canada and Loblaw Companies Limited to examine Canadian regulations related to the plant-based foods and ingredients sector to support regulatory modernization.

Using consumer surveys, lab experiments and regulatory experiments, the partners will engage with government to prioritize consumer health and safety while addressing knowledge gaps to help inform regulatory modernization in the following four areas:

Protein labelling claims (e.g. determining whether a food is considered a good source of protein);

Naming conventions around plant-based foods (e.g., how and when companies can use words such as plant-based cheese, sausage or patties);

Discretionary fortification of simulated plant-based meat and poultry products on nutrient intake; and

Development of in vitro methods to evaluate protein digestibility.

As more Canadians become interested in whats in the food they eat, its important that food labels and nutrition information be easy to understand, explained the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. This partnership will support the modernization of regulations regarding labelling and naming, as well as provide companies with insight on how they can market their products using language consumers will recognize.

The Government of Canada is committed to pursuing a transparent and more responsive regulatory system to support innovation and economic growth. These efforts will help generate the data and evidence needed to help food manufacturers communicate with their consumers, and will help position the sector to capture emerging opportunities in plant-based foods, said the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

In addition to their direct work on regulations, the partners will establish a virtual Regulatory Centre of Excellence, creating a central point of contact for businesses in the sector looking for information about regulations affecting their operations. This Centre will conduct activities such as providing resources and funding to SMEs seeking regulatory approvals, investing in studies directed toward regulatory change, and creating a repository of regulatory knowledge and experience.

Canada has, deservedly, a strong and positive reputation for our high-quality food health and safety standards, thanks in large part to our regulatory system. With the support of modernized regulations, businesses across Canadas plant-based products sector can better take hold of the opportunity ahead of them, Protein Industries Canada CEO Bill Greuel said. Modernized regulations that support innovation not only support the businesses that already call Canada home, they also help attract new companies, further strengthening our global advantage while protecting and prioritizing the health of Canadians.

The combination of modernizing regulations and establishing the Regulatory Centre of Excellence will help companies across Canadas plant-based foods and ingredients sector compete in the global market. Additionally, clearer labels and nutrition information will help consumers better understand whats in their food and the health and sustainability benefits that accompany it.

This suite of experiments aims to address some of the outstanding knowledge gaps around current regulations, but also expedite the required innovation that directly aligns with industry needs in the area of protein labelling. These projects will help to provide a clearer pathway for regulatory modernization in Canada, with consideration given to Canadas food landscape and literacy, Pulse Canada President Greg Cherewyk said.

At Plant-Based Foods of Canada we understand the need to balance health and safety with contemporary eating patterns, says Leslie Ewing, Executive Director Plant-Based Foods of Canada. The current legislative requirements impacting plant-based foods however are outdated, and have not kept pace with innovation, technology, consumer demands and a global marketplace. With modernized regulations, that support innovation and growth within the category, the industry can bring more choice for Canadians.

Our goal when developing products is to provide customers with choice up and down our aisles. Today, were seeing more and more demand for plant-based options, as customers are searching for meat and dairy alternatives that taste great, says Kathlyne Ross, Vice President of Product Development and Innovation at Loblaw Companies Limited. "We want to be part of the group thats leading the way when it comes to plant-based and were proud to collaborate on impactful elements as we grow this industry.

This is Protein Industries Canadas 38th project announcement, and the 11th under their capacity building stream. A total of $1.6 million is being invested into the project; together with industry, Protein Industries Canada has committed more than $451 million to Canadas plant-based food, feed and ingredients ecosystem.

About Pulse Canada

Pulse Canada is the national association representing growers, traders and processors of Canadian pulses (dry peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas), proudly leading the future of healthy, sustainable food through the growth of Canadas pulse industry.

About Plant-Based Foods of Canada

Plant-Based Foods of Canada (PBFC) is a division of Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada (FHCP) and acts as a strong collective voice for companies that make and market plant-based foods to increase awareness with consumers, government, and industry partners of this fast-growing industry by modernizing regulations and making plant-based foods more available.

About Loblaws Companies Limited

Loblaw Companies Limited is the nation's largest retailer, providing Canadians with grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, financial services, and wireless mobile products and services. Loblaw's purpose  Live Life Well  promotes the needs and wellbeing of Canadians, who make one billion transactions annually in the company's stores. With more than 2,400 corporate, franchised and associate-owned locations, Loblaw, its franchisees, and associate-owners employ almost 200,000 full- and part-time employees, making it one of Canada's largest private sector employers.

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Rockford, IL, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- T&T Materials, Inc., a materials distributor, and SupplyCore Inc., a supply chain integrator and federal defense contractor, have partnered together to supply critical metal products and other industrial items to authorized customers in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. This partnership began in 2020 and has since strengthened when last year SupplyCore was awarded by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a maximum $900,000,000.00 indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract for Metals Tailored Logistics Support (TLS).

As the subcontracted metals partner to SupplyCore, T&T brings its deep domain knowledge in the metals sector to the partnership and assists SupplyCore with sourcing various types of metal products, including but not limited to: aluminum, stainless steel, carbon steel, copper, brass, and other industrial items. The Metals TLS contract award is a two (2) year base contract with two (2) eighteen-month option periods. Additionally, this contract is a multiple award contract, and all requirements are competed amongst three companies.

This type of work is exactly what weve done for many years, said Jim Terhune, Sr., T&Ts President & CEO. We know how to do this, and were proud, as a certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, to have the opportunity to support our troops through this DLA contract.

T&Ts agility as a small business has served the company well as it has continued to grow with just under twenty employees. This spring, T&Ts sister company, T&T Legacy Metals, is planning to build a new 10,000-square-foot facility to house about 500,000 pounds of steelfive times as much as the current facility holdsand add five more employees. Like T&T Materials, T&T Legacy is a certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB). Additionally, T&T Materials is a Qualified HUBZone Small Business Concern (SBC), a Small Business Administration designation that favors historically underutilized businesses.

Our Partnership brings our respective organizational strengths together to produce an optimal customer-focused supply chain for military installations that require timely support at a very competitive price, said Peter Provenzano, SupplyCores President & CEO.

As a Metals TLS contractor, SupplyCore provides customers with robust procurement services, automated vendor RFQs for products and logistics, total asset visibility, 24-hour customer service, and order tracking from initial quote to delivery. For more information about SupplyCore and the DLA Metals TLS Program, please visit www.supplycore.com. For more information about T&T, please visit www.tandt-materials.com.

About T&T Materials, Inc.

Based in Rochester, New York, T&T Materials was founded in 2006 and is a 17-employee, family-owned materials distributor. T&T Materials supplies raw materials to the U.S. government, prime corporate contractors to the U.S. government and to the private sector. T&T Materials has successfully gained approved supplier status with most military manufacturing sites and currently participates in fourteen Department of Defense procurement contracts, including both BPA (Blanket Purchase Agreement) and IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity) contracts throughout the United States. While T&T Materials is focused on serving government customers, its sister company, T&T Legacy of Buffalo, was founded in 2020 and serves primarily commercial customers. The companies were founded and are operated by James Terhune, Sr., and James JT Terhune II. For more information about T&T, please visit www.tandt-materials.com.

About SupplyCore Inc.

Since 1987, SupplyCore has supported the U.S. military, civilian agencies and allied governments with a wide variety of facility and infrastructure supplies, repair parts, special use equipment, end items, and heavy equipment necessary to support sustainment and maintain readiness. Through its market segments of Base Operations Supply, Tailored Logistic Support (TLS) Programs, and Weapon Systems Support, SupplyCore maintains fast, reliable, and cost-effective supply chains to meet program requirements and support customers worldwide. SupplyCore has been awarded several Prime Vendor contracts from the Defense Logistics Agency, including Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO); Heavy Equipment Procurement Program (HEPP), Metals TLS Program, and Special Operational Equipment TLS Program. In addition, SupplyCore also is a source of supply for several General Services Administration (GSA) contracts. For more information about SupplyCore, visit www.supplycore.com.

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English Danish

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, April 5, 2022  Bavarian Nordic A/S (OMX: BAVA) today held the Annual General Meeting with the following results:

The Annual Report for 2021 was adopted. The Board of Directors proposal to transfer the Companys result to 2022 was also adopted.

The Remuneration Report for 2021 was approved.

The Board of Directors and the Board of Management were discharged from their obligations.

Gerard van Odijk, Anders Gersel Pedersen, Peter Kurstein, Frank Verwiel, Elizabeth McKee Anderson and Anne Louise Eberhard were re-elected to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors constituted itself with Gerard van Odijk as Chairman and Anders Gersel Pedersen as Deputy Chairman. Erik G. Hansen did not seek re-election.

Deloitte Statsautoriseret Revisionspartnerselskab was re-elected as auditors.

The proposal to authorize the Board of Directors to increase the share capital of the Company was adopted.

The proposal to authorize the Board of Directors to issue warrants was adopted.

The proposed amendments of the Remuneration Policy were approved.

The proposed remuneration of the Board of Directors and the Board Committees for the current financial year was approved.

The proposal to authorize the Board of Directors on behalf of the Company to purchase own shares in the Company was adopted.

Minutes and voting results from the Annual General Meeting will be published on the Companys website within two weeks.

About Bavarian Nordic

Bavarian Nordic is a fully integrated vaccines company focused on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of life-saving vaccines. We are a global leader in smallpox vaccines and have been a long-term supplier to the U.S. Government of a non-replicating smallpox vaccine, which has been approved by the FDA, also for the protection against monkeypox. The vaccine is approved as a smallpox vaccine in Europe and Canada. Our commercial product portfolio furthermore contains market-leading vaccines against rabies and tick-borne encephalitis. Using our live virus vaccine platform technology, MVA-BN, we have created a diverse portfolio of proprietary and partnered product candidates designed to save and improve lives by unlocking the power of the immune system, including an Ebola vaccine, which is licensed to the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. We are also committed to the development of a next generation COVID-19 vaccine. For more information visit www.bavarian-nordic.com .

Contacts

Europe: Rolf Sass Srensen, Vice President Investor Relations, Tel: +45 61 77 47 43

US: Graham Morrell, Paddock Circle Advisors, graham@paddockcircle.com , Tel: +1 781 686 9600

Company Announcement no. 10 / 2022

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English Japanese

NEW YORK, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Institutional Investor Research announced results of their 10th annual Japan Executive Team survey, revealing Japans leading CEOs, CFOs, Investor Relations Officers, and Investor Relations programs that best uphold corporate governance standards and facilitate investment into their company. A total of 106 companies attained a published position in the categories listed above to become an Honoured company, and 66 of those companies were granted the coveted Most Honoured Company recognition by ranking in 2 or more of these categories.



Results highlights

The following companies clinched the highest rankings achieving a first-place clean sweep in the combined rankings across four categories for Best CEO, Best CFO, Best Investor Relations Professional and Best IR Program in their respective sectors in the 2022 Japan Executive Team survey, published today by Institutional Investor Research (II Research).

AGC (Technical Materials), Ajinomoto Co. (Beverages, Food & Tobacco), ANA Holdings (Transportation), Daikin Industries (Engineering & Machinery), en-japan (Professional/Consumer services), Hitachi (Electronics/Industrial), JSR Corp. (Chemicals), Marui Group Co. (Retailing), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (Banks), Mitsui Fudosan Co. (Housing & Real estate), Nidec Corp. (Electronics/Components), Nintendo Co. (Gaming & Internet), Nippon Gas Co. (Energy & Utilities), Nippon Steel Corp. (Metals), Olympus Corp. (Medical Technologies & Servicest), Sekisui House (Construction), SoftBank Group Corp. (Broadcasting & Telecommunications), Sony Corp. (Electronics/Consumer), Tokyo Electron (Electronics/Precision instruments), Toyota Motor Corp. (Autos), Unicharm Corp. (Cosmetics & Personal Care).

The All-Star companies with the highest weighted scores achieving first place in all five categories are: ANA Holdings, Daikin Industries, JSR Corp., Marui Group Co., Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Nidec Corp., Sekisui House, Sony Corp., Unicharm Corp.

This year, Sony Corp. stood out as achieving the highest weighted score with the highest ranked positions, as well as topping the leaders table for 2021s Japan Executive Team.

510 investors and portfolio managers and analysts from 210 voter firms participated in this survey, nominating a total of 499 companies across 26 sectors. The companies were rated on several core areas, including Financial Disclosure, Services & Communication, and ESG.

Emerging trends identified:



Electronics/Precision Instruments, Electronics/Industrials and Engineering & Machinery garnered the most attention this year. The new norm of online IR meetings has caused some changes in the sector rankings for those who are navigating the new frontiers of a level playing field due to lack of travel.



Feedback on ESG:



Has risen in importance with the buy side saying it was of greater importance year-on-year, mirroring the market sentiment and the shift in importance to the social aspects of ESG. We have gone into more detail around the attributes about ESG beyond perception to include strategy, engagement and disclosure.



IR performance attributes:



Investment professionals were presented with nine IR performance attributes to help assess the quality of IR, the two most important ones emerged to be Timing to Market (Timeliness) in Financial Disclosure and IR Team Well Informed & Empowered in Services & Communication.

Michael Clemons, Sales Director for Japan, says, 2022 saw a shake up in the sectors and ranking. The online environment over traditional face-to-face meetings underlines the importance of relationships. The average number of years that the majority of Heads of IR have been in their role is 1-3 years, versus 10 years plus in the past. The use of data and strategically placing IR officers in financial hubs across the globe have helped many come into their own and ranking among the top for the first time.

For the full list of published winners, please visit https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/research.

Marketing License

Institutional Investor owns the copyright to all survey and awards logos. Speak with us to acquire access to the Institutional Investor award or award logo to share your winning position in the 2022 Japan Executive Team ranking across your website content, advertisements, communications, marketing collateral, and more. Please contact marketing@iiresearch.com.

You may share your position across social media if you tag @Institutional Investor Research.

Benchmark Data and IR Perception Analysis

To request further information on how you can use survey data to market your firm internally or externally, or deeper analysis of survey data, please contact Michael Clemons, Japan Rep, II Research, on +81 (0)50 5532 1664 or michael.clemons@iiresearch.com.

About Institutional Investor Research

For 53 years Institutional Investor has consistently distinguished itself among the worlds foremost media companies with ground-breaking journalism and incisive writing that provides essential intelligence for a global audience. In addition, Institutional Investor offers highly-respected proprietary benchmark research and rankings; Institutional Investor Research provides independent sell-side and corporate performance research and rankings and aims to be the first-choice and independent validation source of qualitative market intelligence for all three sides of the investment community. Institutional Investor Research has a global presence, spanning Europe, Asia Pacific, the US and Latin America.
English French

April 5, 2022

Technicolor: 2021 Universal Registration Document available

Technicolor informs that its 2021 Universal Registration Document (Document denregistrement universel) in French version has been filed with the French Autorite des marches financiers (AMF) on April 5, 2022.

It has been prepared in European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) and includes the annual financial report, the corporate governance report of the Board of Directors, the disclosure on extra-financial performance, the statutory auditors reports and details of their fees.

The Universal Registration Document in French version is available on the Groups web site www.technicolor.com (under the heading Investor Center - Financial information - Regulated Information) and at its corporate head office: 8-10, rue du Renard, 75004 Paris, France. It is also available on the website of the AMF (http://www.amf-france.org).

An English version of the Universal Registration Document (free translation of the French version filed with the AMF) is also available on the company's website at the above address.

* *

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About Technicolor

www.technicolor.com  Follow us: @Technicolor  linkedin.com/company/technicolor

Technicolor shares are on the Euronext Paris exchange (TCH) and traded in the USA on the OTCQX marketplace (OTCQX: TCLRY).

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IRVINE, Calif., April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sabal Capital Partners, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Regions Bank and a nationwide commercial real estate lender, today announced the successful close of approximately $264 million in multifamily property loans during the period of January 1 through March 31 of this year. Totaling 80 loans for 80 properties across 21 states from coast-to-coast, the transactions include both acquisition and refinance loans, and represent transactions from three of the companys many offered loan programs only. The bulk of the multifamily loans were financed through small balance Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agency programs serving affordable and workforce rental properties, reflecting deep demand within the sector today amidst an ongoing home affordability crisis in the United States.



Sabal continues to address borrower needs within the affordable and workforce housing sector and our Q1 pipeline reflects that, says Ed Hussey, head of agency lending for Sabal Capital Partners. These loans are important as they ensure that rental units across the country remain available to individuals and families who cant afford market rate apartments near their places of employment.

Current research indicates ten million low-income renter households routinely spend more than half, when ideally they should spend no more than 30%, of their income on rent. Additionally, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour falls well short of both the two-bedroom and one-bedroom National Housing Wages. While 30 states, the District of Columbia, and numerous counties and municipalities now have minimum wages higher than the federal minimum wage, the average minimum wage worker must still work nearly 97 hours per week (almost two full-time jobs) to afford a one-bedroom rental home at fair market rate.i

27 of the 80 total loans were completed through Fannie Maes Multifamily Small Loan program, which provides loans up to $6 million for smaller rental properties that tend to be more affordable, are concentrated in urban areas close to transportation and jobs, and that provide housing for working families. 47 of the completed loans were financed through Freddie Macs Optigo Small Balance Loans Program, which offers $1 million - $7.5 million loans nationwide for small apartment properties between 5 and 50 units and which serve the nations workforce.

The remaining six loans were closed via Sabals CMBS Conduit loan program, which provides non-recourse loans up to $50 million for core commercial real estate properties, including multifamily communities, located nationwide. All of the CMBS loans provided financed multifamily properties with the exception of one, which financed a self-storage asset. Of the 80 transactions, 18 financed acquisitions and 62 were refinance loans. The 80 loans do not include transaction activity for the remaining, combined Sabal Capital Partners and Regions Bank portfolio of loan programs. The companys complete acquisition, refinance and construction solutions offering includes Fannie Mae DUS, Fannie Mae Affordable, Fannie Mae Small Loans, Freddie Mac Affordable, Freddie Mac Optigo Small Balance Loans, Freddie Mac Optigo Conventional, USDA, FHA/HUD (both MAP and LEAN), Bridge, Structured Adjustable Rate Mortgage Loans and CMBS Conduit programs.

The 2022 first quarter transaction closings follow the recent news of the Regions Bank acquisition of Sabal Capital Partners announced on December 2, 2021.

All of Sabals loan programs are accessible through SNAP, the proprietary online lending platform that enables unparalleled efficiencies and convenience for brokers and borrowers throughout the loan process, from application through servicing. Visit Sabals website.

About Sabal Capital Partners

Sabal Capital Partners, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Regions Bank, is a national commercial real estate lender that has originated nearly $6 billion in financing and maintains a $5 billion servicing portfolio. Sabal Capital Partners keeps brokers and borrowers ahead of the curve with comprehensive debt solutions encompassing both agency and non-agency options. The lender is recognized for advancing the industry with SNAP, an innovative proprietary technology platform that optimizes origination and servicing and enhances the customer experience. Sabal Capital Partners is a nationally rated Commercial Primary Servicer and Commercial Special Servicer by Morningstar with a CS2 ranking, an S&P Global rated Commercial Mortgage Loan Special Servicer with an average ranking, as well as a Fitch rated CMBS Primary Servicer with a CPS2- ranking and CMBS Special Servicer with a CSS3+ ranking. For more details, visit Sabals website.

i National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2021: The High Cost of Housing, https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/2021/OOR_2021_Mini-Book.pdf
QUEBEC CITY, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) has just released its residential real estate market statistics for the month of March. The most recent market statistics for the Quebec City Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) are based on the real estate brokers Centris provincial database.



Despite the decline in sales from March 2021s record high, the market activitys momentum is still at higher levels than it was prior to the pandemic, resulting in a very steep drop in active listings across all categories. This situation is creating even tighter market conditions and is rapidly driving up the proportion of sales that are completed following an overbidding process, notes Charles Brant, Director of Market Analysis. This inevitably results in an acceleration of the price growth, particularly for the plex market, which is receiving more interest from small investors. Indeed, the rental market is bound to further tighten while financing costs are still exceptionally low at this time, he adds. It is worth noting that the Quebec City market is experiencing a catch-up period in terms of prices, especially when compared to the Montreal market.

March Highlights

Residential sales were down 16 per cent from the same period last year, reaching 1,120 sales. While this transactional level represents a slowdown when compared to the previous two years, it is still much higher than the 879 sales observed in March 2019.

A slowdown in sales affected the Agglomeration of Quebec, which recorded 742 transactions, a 19 per cent decline compared to the same period last year. The Northern Suburbs experienced a larger decrease, with 135 transactions (-24 per cent). The South Shore, however, saw a 6 per cent increase in transactions, with 243 sales.

After a relatively strong performance when compared to other residential categories, condominiums experienced a decrease in sales in March, with a total of 363 transactions (-21 per cent). Single-family homes continued to experience a slowdown, with 652 sales (-16 per cent). Small income properties, on the other hand, experienced a surge of interest, registering 103 sales (13 per cent growth).

In this very active context, active listings continued to fall, dropping by 25 per cent for single-family homes, 11 per cent for small income properties and 45 per cent for condominiums.

With inventory levels still limited in all residential categories, the upward pressure on prices continued in March. The median price of single-family homes was $350,000 for the month, a 10 per cent gain from the same period last year. For condominiums, the median price reached $230,000 (+12 per cent). Small income properties saw the largest increase from last March, rising to a median price of $390,712 (+17 per cent).



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/81c04eff-2a2d-4d60-b408-91691f53078e

Additional information:

Detailed and cumulative statistics for the province and regions

If you would like additional information from the Market Analysis Department, such as specific data or regional details on the real estate market, please write to us .

About the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers

The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) is a non-profit association that brings together more than 14,000 real estate brokers and agencies. It is responsible for promoting and defending their interests while taking into account the issues facing the profession and the various professional and regional realities of its members. The QPAREB is also an important player in many real estate dossiers, including the implementation of measures that promote homeownership. The Association reports on Quebec's residential real estate market statistics, provides training, tools and services relating to real estate, and facilitates the collection, dissemination and exchange of information. The QPAREB is headquartered in Quebec City and has its administrative offices in Montreal. It has two subsidiaries: Centris Inc. and the College de l'immobilier du Quebec. Follow its activities at qpareb.ca or via its social media pages: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

About Centris

Centris is a dynamic and innovative technology company in the real estate sector. It collects data and offers solutions that are highly adapted to the needs of professionals. Among these solutions is Centris.ca, the most visited real estate website in Quebec.

For more information:

Marie-Rose Desautels

Morin Relations Publiques

media@qpareb.ca

Image bank (credit QPAREB) available free of charge.
CHICAGO, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BrandMuscle, the industry leader in integrated local and channel marketing, announced today that Bobcat Company, a worldwide leader in the manufacturing and distribution of compact equipment, will use Channel Partner Scorecard, a new solution within BrandMuscles Intelligent Local Marketing Platform, to evaluate Bobcat dealers local marketing performance and provide rules-based recommendations for optimizing their marketing execution in alignment with national strategy.



Bobcat has utilized a full suite of BrandMuscle solutions since 2019. After broadening their local marketing activities, Bobcat wanted their account managers and regional directors to have greater visibility into their dealers levels of engagement in the companys marketing program, and to encourage dealers to participate more effectively. BrandMuscles Channel Partner Scorecard lets Bobcat measure dealer marketing performance and make recommendations to help dealers drive greater results with co-op funds, social media, location data management and digital and print marketing campaigns.

Information is power, and by rating dealers marketing performance, Channel Partner Scorecard equips Bobcats account managers and regional directors with the insights necessary to make clear, data-driven recommendations to give local marketing activities even greater impact. For example, when a dealership is enrolled in BrandMuscles social tool, but has not yet synced its Facebook account or started boosting posts, Scorecard allows Bobcat to advise dealers on the many quantifiable benefits of increasing engagement.

We are pleased to continually offer our dealer partners a wealth of strategic marketing opportunities, from social media tools to co-op marketing funds, said Laura Ness Owens, Vice President of Global Brand and NA Marketing for Doosan Bobcat North America. This more targeted, strategic approach of Scorecard will only increase the number of dealers utilizing these opportunities and, ultimately, increase opportunities for growth and raise levels of success.

By providing Bobcats marketing partners with scores for their performance, Channel Partner Scorecard allows Bobcat dealers to rate their performance in comparison to their peers. This friendly competitive component, called gamification, motivates dealers to increase their marketing activity. This, in turn, can improve each dealers marketing maturity rating. Gamification also rewards those partners who successfully align their local marketing strategies with Bobcats corporate goals.

Scorecard effectively connects us to whats happening in local markets, putting us on the ground with our important local partners, and it pulls us into a conversation about how we can work better together to drive greater results, said James Morse, Vice President of Product Management at BrandMuscle.

To learn how Channel Partner Scorecard can provide a clearer understanding of how your local campaigns are performing and how channel partners can improve your local marketing strategy, contact BrandMuscle .

About Bobcat Company

Since 1958, Bobcat Company has been empowering people to accomplish more. As a leading global manufacturer of compact equipment, Bobcat has a proud legacy of innovation and a reputation based on delivering smart solutions to customers toughest challenges. Backed by the support of a worldwide network of independent dealers and distributors, Bobcat offers an extensive line of compact equipment, including loaders, excavators, compact tractors, utility products, telehandlers, mowers, attachments, implements, parts, and services. Headquartered in West Fargo, North Dakota, Bobcat continues to lead the industry, all while helping people succeed and build stronger communities and a better tomorrow. For more information, visit http://www.Bobcat.com
Dallas, Texas, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Puration, Inc. (OTC Pink: PURA) and PAO Group, Inc. (OTC Pink: PAOG) today confirmed the two companies are working together on a new line of CBD Nutraceuticals under PURAs Farmersville Hemp Brand Name for the $40 billion womens health market .

PURA and PAOG anticipate the new Farmersville Brand CBD Nutraceutical Line to boost 2022 revenue potentially beyond current projections.

PAOG revealed in a February strategic update that the two companies were working together on a new line of CBD Nutraceuticals under PURAs Farmersville Hemp Brand Name. The joint CBD Nutraceutical developments have progressed, and the two companies now plan to launch the new product line later this month in April.

The new CBD Nutraceuticals will be available on North American Cannabis Holding, Inc.s (OTC Pink: USMJ) ecommerce site www.USMJ.com .

PURA and PAOG are also collaborating with Alkame Holdings Inc. (OTC Pink: ALKM) on the creation of additional hemp-based CBD infused products.

Look for more news coming soon on the several products that PURA and PAOG will introduced for the womens health market under the Farmersville Brand name.

Read PURAs latest comprehensive update on PURAs Farmersville Hemp Brand rollout .

For more information on Puration, visit http://www.purationinc.com

Learn more about PAOG at www.paogroupinc.com .

Disclaimer:

This News Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially from any these statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any those forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date of this news release. None of such forward-looking statements should be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the objectives and plans set forth in this News Release will be achieved or be executed.

For More Information Contact:

Puration, Inc.

Brian Shibley,

info@aciconglomerated.com

(800) 861-1350
NEW YORK, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Glossy, a Digiday Media publication covering the business of beauty and fashion, has just released its influencer index, a guide showing the performance of Instagram influencers according to the criteria most important to brands. Topping the list, showing the greatest ability to drive results for brands, include beauty influencers Abby Roberts and Plastique Tiara.

The Glossy Influencer Index uses proprietary research to provide transparency for brands looking to invest in these influencers, scoring them across four different categories from an unbiased standpoint. As spending on influencer marketing accelerates, it's become essential for brands to better understand how their investments are performing. In addition, the index takes a look at the trends across influencer strategies for brands to better understand what's working and what's not to make the largest impact.

"Fashion and beauty brands are leveraging the power of the influencer more than ever, through partnerships from sponsored posts to product collabs. But there's still a grey area around the true ability of an influencer to engage audiences and sell products," says Jill Manoff, editor-in-chief at Glossy. "The Instagram Influencer Index serves as a guide for brands as they seek the influencer partners best suited to their own product category and marketing objectives, and strategize around Instagram content formats. Long gone are the days of scouting influencers based on follower count alone."

The index provides unique data points broken out by influencer, category and post format that best optimizes engagement. Insights uncovered from the proprietary research include that Instagram video content drives more engagement per follower than still photos, and sponsored videos drive more engagement than non-sponsored videos. On the flip side, non-sponsored still photos perform better than sponsored still photos.

Leading this research is Digiday Media's senior researcher Li Lu. "With the exponential growth in the influencer space, the noise continues to grow, as well. The Instagram Index helps guide fashion and beauty brands through the noise and lays out best influencer strategies," says Lu. "The first installment of Glossy's index focuses on Instagram influencer partnerships because Instagram offers a wide array of content, from still images to long-form videos to short Reels to temporary stories. The analysis of different content types allows for a holistic view of the influencer space and has valuable information transferable to other platforms."

Glossy's ranking of the top overall performing influencers is derived using audience reach, non-sponsored engagement ratio, brand prominence and sponsored engagement ratio. In addition to the top two influencers, Abby Roberts and Plastique Tiara, Emma Chamberlain, Jadyn Xavier and Remi Bader are ranked among the most beneficial people for brands to work with. View the full index for more detailed insights. This is available exclusively to Glossy+ members, subscribe here for access.



Digiday Media is a vertical media company founded in 2008 with the mission to chart how industries are moving from analog to digital, continually reimagining the media we cover and create. We currently operate four global media brands: Digiday (media, marketing and retail), Glossy (fashion and beauty), Modern Retail (retail) and Worklife (modern workplace and workforces). For media inquiries, please reach out to Mike Madarasz at mike@digiday.com.

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LAKE MARY, Fla., April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Insurance Office of America (IOA), one of the largest independent insurance brokers in the United States, is excited to announce the unveiling of a new mortgage experience with SimplyIOA, an insurtech company with the nations first fully integrated digital platform for comparing, quoting, and purchasing homeowners insurance completely online in three minutes or less.



SimplyIOA is designed for seamless integration into point of sale systems, loan origination servicing, and self-servicing platforms to ensure todays borrower receives the maximum coverage for the lowest premium. The industry-leading, patent-pending technology is powered by sophisticated data science and machine learning along with integration into multiple data verification sites to create a best-in-class customer experience. With over 39,000 consumers already using the platform, it has proven to be highly borrower-friendly with a 4.9 out of 5 customer satisfaction score.



Data-informed decisions and money-saving options are key for borrowers in this environment of ever-increasing insurance rates, said Brian McDowell, CEO and president of SimplyIOA. In todays market, homebuyers want to find the right insurance coverage from a trusted carrier at good price. They dont want to waste time chasing down quotes. The SimplyIOA platform optimizes the buying experience and saves time, allowing customers to quickly review all their needs and have the reassurance that they can choose the most appropriate coverage from the best carrier.

As part of the IOA family of companies, SimplyIOA is an integrated platform created for both lenders and borrowers. SimplyIOA has stepped into the mortgage industry with the full backing of IOAs more than $2 billion in premiums. With over 300 insurance carrier relationships developed over the past 34 years, IOA has ushered in a powerful and revolutionary platform with SimplyIOA.

SimplyIOA provides a single solution in a digital application environment, which was previously missing from the borrower experience, and it is poised to become the dominant, digital insurance solution for the mortgage industry.

As lenders seek solutions to improve and expand their capabilities, adapt to consumer expectations, and gain market share, the mortgage origination landscape is becoming more competitive and dynamic. SimplyIOA seeks to facilitate further growth for lenders by combining its insurtech offering with the leading digital mortgage technologies and streamlining services to drive customer value in a cost-effective manner.

Because we have team members who come from a mortgage technology background with experience integrating large-scale legacy systems with new digital technology, the standard of service for borrowers is high and continues to increase, said Jeff Ward, CTO of SimplyIOA. It is vital for any new technology company entering the mortgage industry to be tech forward but also understand the deep nuances of the mortgage industry itself. That is why SimplyIOA is the best solution available. Its technology created by mortgage experts and backed by 34 years of insurance experience.

SimplyIOA is the only platform that can deliver policies 24/7 in a 100% online experience. For those who choose help from a licensed agent, SimplyIOA offers a variety of real-time features like chat, text, video conference, call, or office visit to complete a policy.

Unlike others in the marketplace, SimplyIOA is the first and only online quote and purchase experience. Because it integrates seamlessly into the home buying journey, it benefits customers and lenders alike, which is a game changer in a market like were experiencing today, said McDowell.

ABOUT INSURANCE OFFICE OF AMERICA

Insurance Office of America (IOA) is the fourth largest privately held insurance brokerage in the United States. Founded in 1988, IOA is a recognized leader in providing property and casualty, employee benefits, and personal lines insurance and risk management solutions as well as insurtech innovation. Headquartered in Longwood, Florida, part of the greater Orlando community, IOA has more than 1,300 associates located in over 60 offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.ioausa.com.

MEDIA CONTACT

Bevrlee J. Lips | Director, Enterprise Marketing & Communications

P 407.998.3010 | E bevrlee.lips@ioausa.com
SAN FRANCISCO, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- "Watch over the ancient town and Wujiang River from the mountain top, where we bathe in the holy water under the endless skies" - are the words of a poet to describe this place of rest and beauty. Using hot springs to promote wellness has been an idea passed down from ancient times. To let more people know about China's Guizhou Province, the People's Daily Online West USA Inc specially launched the "Magical Guizhou" series.

Located in Southwest China, Guizhou is the kingdom of sedimentary rocks and karst landscapes recognized by geologists around the world. Its unique and complex geological features contribute to a very favorable hydrogeological condition for the formation and storage of hot springs. There are over 200 hot spring resources distributed in the province.

In addition to Shiqian Hot Spring, Jianhe Hot Spring, and Sinan Hot Spring, there are many more hot spring spots distributed all over the magical land of Guizhou, including Xifeng Hot Spring and Wanxiang Hot Spring. Together, they contribute to a traveling route that covers 8 major hot spring destinations in total. These natural endowments have helped Guizhou to lay a solid foundation for becoming a "national hot spring province" and developing the hot spring tourism industry.

CONTACT:

Amy Zhou

Phone: 919.564.8043

Email: usawest@people.cn



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MILLINGTON, Tenn., April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The White House Summit for Commercial Fusion Energy last month brought together the best of U.S.-based researchers in government, academia, and industry to help to jumpstart the emerging fusion energy industry of America. Fusion Energy research is being done all over the United States, but as the industry grows, the state of Tennessee may become ground zero for the fusion energy revolution. Kronos Fusion Energy, a pioneer in the fusion energy industry, announced that they will be evaluating Millington Naval Air Station near Memphis, Tennessee, as a possible location to set up the National Fusion Energy Commercialization Center. Millington Naval Air Station has the ambiance of a small town and is close to Memphis where there is access to top universities and a talented workforce.

Thanks to the Tennessee Valley Authority, the energy produced in Tennessee is both low cost and in abundance compared to many other locations in the United States. This is an important factor when considering the huge energy requirements in operating equipment ranging from supercomputers to an electromagnet capable of containing heated plasma at 210 million degrees centigrade.

Kronos Fusion Energy Founder, Priyanca Ford, talks about how modern computing will be used to optimize fusion energy power plant designs, "Researchers from MIT and other top institutions wrote theses over 40 years ago about theories on fusion energy, that we are now simulating on supercomputers and quantum computers using machine learning, artificial intelligence, and neural networks. Kronos Fusion Energy has developed algorithms based on the lessons learned from the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France that help pave the way for truly commercially viable fusion generators to be built."

The Summit supercomputer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, when used in conjunction with top quantum computers, appears to be the fastest path towards making fusion energy commercially available as complex simulations are needed to optimize the future designs of fusion energy power plants. The U.S. government recognizes that the science is too complex for a hobbyist to build a fusion energy generator in a garage as the parts for the future fusion energy generators will take years to design through algorithms that will run simulations on supercomputers and quantum computers.

Information on Kronos Fusion Energy can be found below.

www.KronosFusionEnergy.com

Instagram: KronosFusion

Twitter: Kronos__Fusion

TikTok: KronosFusion Energy

PR Contact - Erin Pendleton - pr@kronosfusionenergy.com

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TORONTO, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Famous PEOPLE Players, a globally-renowned non-profit puppetry theater company based in Toronto and founded by Order of Canada member Diane Dupuy, has announced that it is launching a creative, educational, and transformative full-day yearly program called The Stars of Tomorrow for high school students with ADHD and multiple exceptionalities.



The Stars of Tomorrow, which will begin in September 2022, is a unique and innovative classroom for students that tend to fall in between the cracks of the conventional school system. From Monday through Friday (excluding holidays and school board-designated PA days), students will experience four 20-minute brain gym workouts facilitated by certified teachers. Students will also participate in workshops on how to create their own theater production, and learn culinary tasks from chefs.

All academic subjects and workshops are designed to help students succeed in an accelerated, more enjoyable, and inspiring manner  ultimately preparing them for everyday life and their preferred career path.

While the conventional school system is sufficient for many students, it certainly does not reach and elevate all of them, commented Diane Dupuy, CM, who won the EY Social Entrepreneur Award in 2009 and has received five honorary degrees. Students with multiple exceptionalities and high anxiety are very likely to feel deeply frustrated and bored at school, which they often express as apathy, dread, anger, and anti-social behavior. But what these amazing young people desperately want is to fit in, feel engaged, and make a meaningful contribution. Instead of being disregarded, they should be inspired to take flight and achieve their potential. That is what exactly what The Stars of Tomorrow is all about.

Continued Diane Dupuy: Many young people who struggle to succeed in the conventional school system are misunderstood. They see the world differently, and this is something that we must celebrate instead of condemn. They are the change-makers, the visionaries, the entrepreneurs, and the stars of tomorrow. Their passion and dreams will make this world a better place!

Parents, guardians, teachers, and students are invited to learn more about The Stars of Tomorrow by emailing info@FamousPeoplePlayers.com, or calling 416.532.1137 ext. 51.

For media interviews and all other inquiries, contact Diane Dupuy at diane@famouspeopleplayers.com.

All classes and workshops will be held at Famous PEOPLE Players theater and office in Toronto.

More information about Famous PEOPLE Players is also available at www.famouspeopleplayers.com.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3955be42-5085-4679-b38b-46779121f9ed

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/46fab823-ac9f-4b65-8d6b-5af2dc657599
PRINCETON, N.J., April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TNG Creative, an award-winning, healthcare-focused, boutique consultancy today announced that it has been awarded the 2022 Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) Award for Best Biotechnology Website. TNG Creative was recognized for its end-to-end design and development of www.prolocor.com, the website of Prolocor, a biotechnology company that is developing an innovative precision diagnostic test to guide cardiovascular treatment decisions.

"We want to thank the Web Marketing Association and the IAC for recognizing both TNG Creative and Prolocor. We also want to thank the Prolocor team for entrusting us to help them with their branding and online presence. At TNG Creative, we place significant attention on merging strategy, scientific storytelling, and creative, and it is always amazing to get recognition for our hard work. Our approach has resulted in brand awareness and growing excitement for Prolocor," said Mika Stojanovic, Head of Marketing + Creative at TNG Creative.

The Prolocor website went live in the middle of 2021, with the goal of capturing visitors' attention and pulling them on an immersive journey, while showcasing the company's novel precision diagnostic test. A clear, coherent scientific voice is supported by strikingly realistic imagery, bringing the cardiovascular system, blood cells, doctors, and patients into the center of storytelling, all while tastefully weaving the brand throughout.

"TNG Creative was recommended to us via a trusted advisor, and they have certainly delivered. Since 2020, we have closely collaborated on the development of our brand, a stellar investor presentation, and now this Award-Winning Website. TNG Creative's work has helped Prolocor set up a recognizable internet presence, which has led to attention from the medical and investor community," said Peter M. DiBattiste, Co-Founder + CEO of Prolocor.

This year's award marks the second time in the past three years that TNG Creative has won in this category. In 2020, TNG Creative was awarded the IAC Award for Best Biotechnology Website, for its development of www.oncolyze.com. According to Alex Stojanovic, Head of Strategy at TNG Creative, the secret of repeat success lies in a small and experienced team that seamlessly integrates strategy, science, and creative. "We're a small consultancy that focuses on quality over volume. We may only build a few websites a year, but we immerse ourselves completely into each company, their science, their mission," Stojanovic added.

Founded by Web Marketing Association (WMA), the IAC is the first and only competition dedicated exclusively to online advertising. The IAC awards cover a variety of industries and online formats including, online ad, video, mobile, newsletter, email, and social media. A list of Winners can be found on the IAC website.

About TNG Creative

TNG Creative, LLC is an award-winning, healthcare-focused, boutique consultancy that bridges the gaps between strategy, science, and creative for life science companies. Headquartered in Princeton, NJ, TNG Creative has client relationships in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company leverages a lean consulting model and brings broad life science experience across therapeutic areas, geographies, and company stages, from early stage biotechs to publicly traded corporations. TNG Creative is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Naissos Group, LLC.

About Prolocor

Prolocor, Inc is a precision diagnostics company headquartered in Philadelphia, PA and Burlington, VT. The company's innovative precision diagnostic test is being developed to guide cardiovascular treatment decisions, effectively matching the intensity of antithrombotic therapy with the risk of thrombotic events. Founded by a team that deeply understands thrombosis and cardiovascular disease, Prolocor is building its strategy around platelet FcRIIa and embarking on a journey to commercialize an innovative test that quantifies FcRIIa on the surface of platelets.

Press Contact

Mika Stojanovic

TNG Creative

mika@naissos.com

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In Southwestern China, there is a hidden paradise on earth, where the "water originates from the Yangtze River and the mountains extend from Kunlun". On this land, countless rivers, both big and small, run through the cracks of the steep and lush mountains. This land is also the common home of several ethnic groups. For thousands of years, the people here have been maintaining a respectful and harmonious relationship with nature. To let more people know about China's Guizhou Province, the People's Daily Online West USA Inc specially launched the "Magical Guizhou" series.

Guizhou is blessed with rich and colorful cultures and customs. Traditions are embroidered into garments, blended into songs, and manifested through every aspect of life, from fashion and food to lifestyles and transportation. These cultures and customs are both tangible and intangible assets deeply rooted in this land, where they continue to thrive and shine with their uniqueness.

CONTACT:

Amy Zhou

Phone: 919.564.8043

Email: usawest@people.cn

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Final Results from 2021 Donlin Gold Drilling Program Continued to

Deliver High-Grade Intercepts as expected, Supporting the Modelled Resource Estimate

2022 Donlin Gold Drill Program is Largest in more than a Decade, Focused on Advancing Preparation for Feasibility Work

Robust $155-Million Treasury with 2023 Receivable of $25 Million

The success of the expanded 2021 Donlin Gold drill program delivered on its objectives to validate recent geologic modelling concepts to support future feasibility work and test for extensions of high-grade zones. The results support the existing global resource estimate, the recent modelling concepts, and strategic mine planning work.

With the largest project budget in more than a decade, a plan is in place to advance Donlin Gold up the value chain in 2022 and position the project to be able to proceed with the preparation of an updated feasibility study, subject to Donlin Gold LLC Board approval.

NOVAGOLDs treasury remained strong with $155 million in cash and term deposits as of February 28, 2022, with another $25 million due in July 2023 from Newmont, the total being more than sufficient to advance Donlin Gold up the value chain.



VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. (NOVAGOLD or the Company) (NYSE American, TSX: NG) today released its 2022 first quarter financial results and an update on its Tier One1 gold development project, Donlin Gold, which NOVAGOLD owns equally with Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick).

Details of the financial results for the quarter ended February 28, 2022 are presented in the consolidated financial statements and quarterly report filed on Form 10-Q on April 5, 2022 that is available on the Companys website at www.novagold.com, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. All amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.

In the first quarter 2022, the following milestones were achieved at Donlin Gold:

Reopened the camp in January 2022, the first quarter ended with three drill rigs operating and approximately 70 people on site, with a majority of Donlin Gold direct hire employees who are Alaska Native from the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) region. For the health and safety of our workforce and members of the community, strict COVID-19 mitigation protocols remain in effect.

Received the final set of assay results (21 complete holes and 22 partial holes, encompassing the remaining 8,500 meters of length drilled) from the 2021 drill program, which were reported to the market jointly by Donlin Gold, Barrick, and NOVAGOLD on February 28, 2022. A great outcome for the year: The 2021 drill campaign finished strongly with high-grade intercepts and some of the best drill results for an open-pit project industry wide. (Barrick Gold Corporation, 2021 Annual Report).

Continued to provide critical assistance to local communities through funding and participation in initiatives related to health and safety, infrastructure, environmental management, training and education, and support of the indigenous culture in the Y-K region. The latter has represented a core undertaking of the Donlin Gold team, our Alaska Native partners, Calista Corporation (Calista) and The Kuskokwim Corporation (TKC), and other key representatives of Y-K communities. Over the last quarter, Donlin Gold: Worked with six school districts in the region as part of the national Dictionary Project to provide a personal Yupik dictionary to all 3rd graders, supplying nearly 5,000 dictionaries over the last decade.

In a new partnership with Alaska Safe Riders, sponsored Iron Dog Days where the community participated in safety briefings and vintage snowmobile races.

Partnered with TKC to support an end of year program in December 2021 to deliver food to Elders in the Yukon. Additionally, we worked with TKC to provide smoke detectors to stakeholders.

Provided financial support for the 2022 Kuskokwim ice road, a 270-mile long plowed and marked ice road that significantly improved safety and access to 17 communities in the Y-K region for residents in remote locations.



Calista and Donlin Gold, with support from NOVAGOLD and Barrick, continued their proactive bipartisan government outreach in Alaska and Washington, D.C. to highlight the thoroughness of the projects environmental review and permitting processes, as well as future opportunity for responsible economic development, including the significant benefits that will realized by all Alaska Natives.



Presidents Message

Most Significant Donlin Gold Investment in Over a Decade: Advancing the Project in Preparation for Feasibility and Potential Identification of Further Upside

In the first quarter 2022, activities commenced early in the year with the camp opening in January to prepare the site for the largest drilling program in ten years, with three drill rigs operating and approximately 70 people on the property. Winter drilling was key to access areas that would otherwise be challenging in milder conditions. As always, the health and safety of Donlin Golds workforce and members of the surrounding communities remained a top priority as Donlin Gold continued to adhere to strict safety protocols, including COVID-19 mitigation.

The proposed budget for Donlin Gold LLC (100 percent) in 2022 is anticipated to be $60 million (of which NOVAGOLDs portion is 50 percent) as previously reported. The focus will be to update geologic modelling and interpretation work for an updated resource model and engineering activities for use in an updated project feasibility study; undertake approximately 34,000 meters of planned tight spaced grid drilling and in-pit and below-pit exploration drilling; support fieldwork and permitting for the Alaska Dam Safety Certifications; advance environmental activities; and support community and external affairs efforts.

The balance of the Donlin Gold assay results for the 2021 drill program were jointly released by Donlin Gold, NOVAGOLD and Barrick on February 28, 2022. The drill program was completed in September with 79 holes drilled for a total of 24,264 meters. The final set of results released included assays for 21 complete holes and 22 partial holes, encompassing the remaining approximate 8,500 meters of length drilled. I fully agree with Mark that the 2021 drill campaign finished strongly with high-grade intercepts and some of the best drill results for an open-pit project industry wide. Full details of the results for the 2021 drill program can be accessed here: Donlin Gold Announces Final Assay Results for 2021 Drill Program. The primary objective of the 2021 drill program was achieved by validating recent geologic modelling concepts to support future feasibility work, data collection for geotechnical and geometallurgical purposes, test for extensions of high-grade zones, and identify 2022 drill targets. As a result of the success in 2021, the drilling program was expanded upon in 2022.

Once the 2021 drill data has been incorporated into an updated resource model, it is anticipated that the owners will determine updated mining schedules and life of mine business plans prior to shifting to an updated feasibility study, subject to a formal decision by the Donlin Gold LLC Board to proceed.

External Affairs and Native Corporation Leadership Role

Calista and Donlin Gold, in close coordination with NOVAGOLD and Barrick, co-lead our government relations efforts, an important part of advancing the Donlin Gold project through permitting and beyond. During the first quarter, Calista and Donlin Gold continued their proactive bipartisan outreach in Alaska and Washington DC to highlight the thoroughness of the projects environmental review and permitting processes, including the importance of responsible and much-needed economic development in the Y-K region and throughout Alaska. Together we emphasized that the project is located on Alaska Native Corporation lands, and Calista owns the minerals that they selected under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANSCA) of 1971. We described the various benefits that the project would deliver to the residents of the Y-K region and all Native Alaskans.

Consistent Engagement with Stakeholders

One of the key areas in which we spend a considerable amount of time and resources at the Donlin Gold project is in supporting local communities by funding and participating in initiatives related to health and safety, environmental management, training and education, and cultural initiatives in the Y-K region. The Donlin Gold team, Calista and TKC, as well as other key representatives of Y-K communities, work together to achieve these goals with the ultimate objective of ensuring sustainable and profitable project development.

Several examples of these first quarter initiatives included Donlin Gold partnering with TKC to provide smoke detectors in stakeholder homes and delivering food to Elders; working with the six school districts in the Y-K region as part of the national Dictionary Project to provide a personal Yupik dictionary to all 3rd graders, supplying nearly 5,000 dictionaries over the last decade; and sponsoring Iron Dog Days, as part of a new partnership with Alaska Safe Riders, where the community participated in safety briefings and vintage snowmobile races.

A more significant undertaking by Donlin Gold and numerous communities along the Kuskokwim River was the funding of the 2022 Kuskokwim ice road, a 270-mile long plowed and marked ice road that has significantly improved safety and access to 17 nearby Y-K region communities for residents in remote locations.

Substantial, High-Quality Resource with Exploration Upside in a Safe Place

We believe Donlin Gold to be one of the industrys rarest, largest, and most advanced open-pit gold development projects. It is located on private land specifically designated for mining in Alaska  the United States second largest gold producing state. Environmentally and socially responsible resource development is welcome in Alaska as one of the worlds safest places to operate  in other words, a jurisdiction where an investor can sleep well at night.

NOVAGOLD and its community of stakeholders are blessed to have a share of this special project and honored to have that hard-earned Federal Record of Decision for development. They can benefit from the incredible leverage that Donlin Gold offers in an environment of escalating precious metals prices and keep the fruits of that leverage. At a time when companies, desperate to replace their depleting endowments, have to venture into increasingly risky geo-political frontiers with uncertain physical and financial security for their investment, Donlin Gold, with approximately 39 million ounces of gold in Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources, inclusive of Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves (100 percent, approximately 19.5 million ounces attributable to NOVAGOLD) grading 2.24 grams per tonne2 (twice the industry average for an open-pit project3), is ideally positioned to deliver long-term benefits with a mine life that, already measured in decades, has potential to grow. Donlin Golds extraordinary exploration potential is manifested by the fact that the existing deposit is not only open laterally as well as at depth, but that its Mineral Resources are contained within only three kilometers of an eight-kilometer mineralized belt  itself located on less than 5 percent of Donlin Golds total land package. We believe NOVAGOLDs 50 percent ownership in this unique asset clearly constitutes a special investment opportunity for our broad community of stakeholders, including our shareholders.

Solid Treasury to Advance Donlin Gold

Over the last decade, we have been diligent stewards of our balance sheet. NOVAGOLDs treasury remained strong with $155 million in cash and term deposits as of February 28, 2022, with another $25 million due in July 2023 from Newmont and an additional payment of $75 million contingent upon the owners of Galore Creek making a construction decision.

I was pleased when Don Lindsay, CEO of Teck Corporation, recently said how much he likes Galore Creek as an asset, its spectacular grades, and his conviction that it will be a mine. We share his enthusiasm for the project and wish Teck and Newmont well on their journey to developing this exceptional deposit.

As always, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the experienced team of professionals at NOVAGOLD, Donlin Gold and Barrick  as well as the excellent drilling contractor teams. We pride ourselves in our commitment to health and safety and recognize the importance of the great mutual support we have been experiencing with our Native Corporation partners, Calista and TKC.

I have the pleasure of working with an incredible Board whose members provide exceptional strategic guidance and are committed to best governance practices. Their unwavering commitment and engagement are greatly appreciated. Working in Alaska has been a true pleasure and we are thankful for the State agencies diligent approach and adherence to established regulatory procedures.

NOVAGOLD has been blessed with long-term institutional and retail shareholders, some of whom have been invested in the Company for well over a decade. High quality investment groups like Paulson & Co., Fidelity Investments, BlackRock, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, First Eagle, and EXOR have been long-term investors in NOVAGOLD. We are grateful that they chose to invest in our Company, as well as for their continued interest and engagement. As stewards of the Company, we are committed to deliver on our strategy that was set forth a decade ago to increase shareholder and stakeholder wealth in a safe and socially responsible manner.

We are very enthusiastic about the year ahead with all the activities and the progress towards advancing Donlin Gold up the value chain and launching the updated feasibility study. I wish you all good health and safety.

Sincerely,

Gregory A. Lang

President & CEO

Financial Results

in thousands of U.S. dollars, except for per share amounts

Three months ended

February 28, 2022

$ Three months ended

February 28, 2021

$ General and administrative expense (1) 5,177 5,329 Share of losses  Donlin Gold 4,040 1,968 Total operating expenses 9,217 7,297 Loss from operations (9,217) (7,297) Interest expense on promissory note (1,512) (1,434) Accretion of notes receivable 210 854 Other income (expense), net 524 (79) Net loss (9,995) (7,956) Net loss per common share, basic and diluted (0.03) (0.02)





At

February 28, 2022

$ At

November 30, 2021

$ Cash and term deposits 155,133 169,124 Total assets 188,411 198,852 Total liabilities 119,977 120,570

(1) Includes share-based compensation expense of $2,091 and $2,042 for the first quarter-ended February 28, 2022 and quarter-ended February 28, 2021, respectively.

During the first quarter of 2022, we incurred a net loss of $10.0 million compared to a net loss of $8.0 million for the comparable period in 2021. The increase in net loss is primarily due to the earlier commencement of the Donlin Gold drilling program in 2022, and reduced accretion income due to the maturity of the $75 million Newmont note in July 2021, partially offset by lower legal expenses, an increase in the value of marketable securities, and favorable foreign exchange movements.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

In the first quarter of 2022 cash and cash equivalents decreased by $14.0 million, primarily to fund our share of Donlin Gold, for corporate administrative expenses, and for withholding taxes on share-based payments. The increase in cash used in the first quarter of 2022 compared to 2021 was due to the earlier commencement of the Donlin Gold drilling program in 2022, the timing of corporate liability insurance payments, increased withholding tax on share-based compensation in 2022 (no cash was used for CEO and CFO withholdings in 2021), and no proceeds received from term deposits in 2022 compared to $10,000 received in 2021.

At the end of the first quarter, cash and term deposits were $155.1 million (Cash $77.1 million, term deposits $78.0 million). An additional payment from Newmont of $25 million comes due in 2023 related to the sale of NOVAGOLDs 50 percent interest in the Galore Creek project in 2018, along with a note for $75 million contingent upon approval of a Galore Creek project construction plan by the owner(s). At present, we believe we have sufficient working capital available to cover anticipated funding of the Donlin Gold project and corporate general and administrative costs until a decision to commence engineering and construction is reached by the Donlin Gold board for the Donlin Gold project, at which point substantial additional capital will be required.

2022 Outlook

We anticipate spending approximately $46 million in 2022, which includes $13 million for corporate general and administrative costs; $3 million for withholding taxes on PSUs and other working capital; and $30 million to fund our share of expenditures at the Donlin Gold project, including:

$17 million for the 2022 drill program (approximately 34,000 meters of core drilling) Grid drilling (mineralization continuity and geologic structural controls in three areas of the deposit)

In-pit and below-pit exploration

Platform mapping to confirm mineralization continuity and key geological controls in representative areas of the deposit



$9 million for external affairs, permitting, environmental, land and legal activities, and

$4 million for project planning and fieldwork (dam and water structures, metallurgical testing, mining studies, hydrogeology and geochemistry, and infrastructure planning).

NOVAGOLDs primary goals in 2022 are to continue to advance the Donlin Gold project toward a construction decision; maintain or increase support for Donlin Gold among the projects stakeholders; promote a strong safety, sustainability, and environmental culture; maintain a favorable reputation for NOVAGOLD, its governance practices and its project among shareholders; and manage the Company treasury effectively and efficiently. Our operations primarily relate to the delivery of project milestones, including the achievement of various technical, environmental, sustainable development, economic and legal objectives, obtaining necessary permits, completion of feasibility studies, preparation of engineering designs and the financing to fund these objectives.

Conference Call & Webcast Details

NOVAGOLDs conference call and webcast to discuss these results will take place on April 6, 2022 at 8:00 am PT (11:00 am ET). The webcast and conference call-in details are provided below.

Video Webcast: www.novagold.com/investors/events North American callers: 1-800-319-4610 International callers: 1-604-638-5340

NOVAGOLDs quarterly reporting schedule for the remainder of 2022 will be as follows:

Q1 2022  A conference call and webcast will be held on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at 11 a.m. ET to discuss Q1 2022 financial results.

Annual Meeting of Shareholders  Wednesday, May 18, 2022; the meeting will be held at 1 p.m. PT.

Q2 2022  Tuesday, June 28, 2022; financial statements will be released after market close and a Donlin Gold project update will be released on Tuesday, July 5. A conference call and webcast will be held on Wednesday, July 6, 2022 at 11 a.m. ET.

Q3 2022  Tuesday, October 4, 2022; financial statements and a Donlin Gold project update will be released after market close. A conference call and webcast will be held on Wednesday, October 5, 2022 at 11 a.m. ET.

About NOVAGOLD

NOVAGOLD is a well-financed precious metals company focused on the development of its 50 percent-owned Donlin Gold project in Alaska, one of the safest mining jurisdictions in the world. With approximately 39 million ounces of gold in the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource categories, inclusive of Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves (541 million tonnes at an average grade of approximately 2.24 grams per tonne in the Measured and Indicated Resource categories on a 100 percent basis),4 Donlin Gold is regarded to be one of the largest, highest-grade, and most prospective known open-pit gold deposits in the world.

According to the 2021 Technical Report and the S-K 1300 Report, once in production, Donlin Gold is expected to produce an average of more than one million ounces per year over a 27-year mine life on a 100 percent basis. The Donlin Gold project has substantial exploration potential beyond the designed footprint which currently covers three kilometers of an approximately eight-kilometer-long gold-bearing trend. Current activities at Donlin Gold are focused on State permitting, optimization work, community outreach, and workforce development in preparation for the eventual construction and operation of this project. With a strong balance sheet, NOVAGOLD is well-positioned to fund its share of permitting and optimization advancement efforts at the Donlin Gold project.

Scientific and Technical Information

Certain scientific and technical information contained herein with respect to the Donlin Gold project is derived from the 2021 Technical Report and the S-K 1300 Report5. Henry Kim, P.Geo., Senior Resource Geologist, Wood Canada Limited; Mike Woloschuk, P.Eng., VP Global Business Development & Consulting, Wood Group USA, Inc.; and Kirk Hanson, MBA, P.E., Technical Director, Open Pit Mining, Wood Group USA, Inc. are the Qualified Persons responsible for the preparation of the 2021 Technical Report, and each is an independent Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). Wood prepared the S-K 1300 Report.

Paul Chilson, P.E., who is the Manager, Mine Engineering for NOVAGOLD and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101, has approved and verified the scientific and technical information related to the 2021 Donlin Gold project drill program, the 2021 Technical Report and the S-K 1300 Report contained in this media release.

NOVAGOLD Contacts:

Melanie Hennessey

Vice President, Corporate Communications

604-669-6227 or 1-866-669-6227

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This media release includes certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as expects, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, potential, possible, and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results will, may, could, would or should occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on several opinions, estimates and assumptions that management of NOVAGOLD considered appropriate and reasonable as of the date such statements are made, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause the actual results, activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding the anticipated results for the 2022 drill programs; the anticipated timing of certain judicial and/or administrative decisions; the 2022 Outlook; the timing and potential for an updated feasibility on the project; our goals for the remainder of 2022; anticipated benefits from the 2017, 2020, 2021, and 2022 drill programs including an improved geological model for Donlin Gold; ongoing support provided to key stakeholders including Native Corporation partners; the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of Donlin Gold; the potential development and construction of Donlin Gold; the sufficiency of funds to continue to advance development of Donlin Gold; perceived merit of properties; mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates; Donlin Golds ability to secure the permits needed to construct and operate the Donlin Gold project in a timely manner, if at all; legal challenges to Donlin Golds existing permits; the Donlin Gold LLC Board approval to advance Donlin Gold up the value chain; the success of the strategic mine plan for Donlin Gold; the outcome of the planned tight spaced and exploration drilling; and the conversion of Galore Creek into a mine and the receipt of the $75 million contingent payment from Newmont. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, intentions, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent the expectations of NOVAGOLD managements estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances on the date the statements are made.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include the need to obtain additional permits and governmental approvals; the timing and likelihood of obtaining and maintaining permits necessary to construct and operate; the need for additional financing to explore and develop properties and availability of financing in the debt and capital markets; the coronavirus global pandemic (COVID-19); uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drill results and geological tests and the estimation of reserves and resources; changes in mineral production performance, exploitation and exploration successes; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and/or changes in the administration of laws, policies and practices, expropriation or nationalization of property and political or economic developments in the United States or Canada; the need for continued cooperation between Barrick and NOVAGOLD for the continued exploration, development and eventual construction of the Donlin Gold property; the need for cooperation of government agencies and Native groups in the development and operation of properties; risks of construction and mining projects such as accidents, equipment breakdowns, bad weather, disease pandemics, non-compliance with environmental and permit requirements, unanticipated variation in geological structures, ore grades or recovery rates; unexpected cost increases, which could include significant increases in estimated capital and operating costs; fluctuations in metal prices and currency exchange rates; whether a positive construction decision will be made regarding Donlin Gold; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in NOVAGOLDs most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, particularly the Risk Factors sections of those reports and other documents filed by NOVAGOLD with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time. Copies of these filings may be obtained by visiting NOVAGOLDs website at www.novagold.com, or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, or at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained herein reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections of NOVAGOLD on the date the statements are made. NOVAGOLD assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

1 NOVAGOLD defines a Tier One gold development project as one with a projected production life of at least 10 years, annual projected production of at least 500,000 ounces of gold, and average projected cash costs over the production life that are in the lower half of the industry cost curve.

2 Donlin Gold data as per the 2021 Technical Report (as defined herein). Donlin Gold possesses Measured Resources of approximately 8 Mt grading 2.52 g/t and Indicated Resources of approximately 534 Mt grading 2.24 g/t, each on a 100% basis and inclusive of Mineral Reserves, of which 50% are attributable to NOVAGOLD through their 50% ownership interest in the joint venture that owns the mineral rights and manages the Donlin property. Exclusive of Mineral Reserves, Donlin Gold possesses Measured Resources of approximately 1 Mt grading 2.23 g/t and Indicated Resources of approximately 69 Mt grading 2.44 g/t, each of which 50% are attributable to NOVAGOLD. Donlin Gold possesses Proven Reserves of approximately 8 Mt grading 2.32 g/t and Probable Reserves of approximately 497 Mt grading 2.08 g/t, each on a 100% basis, of which 50% are attributable to NOVAGOLD. Mineral Resources and Reserves have been estimated in accordance with NI 43-101 and S-K 1300.

3 2020 average grade of open pit and underground deposits with gold as primary commodity and over 1 Moz in measured and indicated resources is 1.12 g/t, sourced from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

4 Donlin Gold data as per the 2021 Technical Report and the S-K 1300 Report, as defined below. Donlin Gold Measured Resources of approximately 8 Mt grading 2.52 g/t and Indicated Resources of approximately 534 Mt grading 2.24 g/t, each on a 100% basis and inclusive of Mineral Reserves, 50% of which are attributable to NOVAGOLD. Mineral Resources have been estimated in accordance with NI 43-101.ADD SK 1300 Of the foregoing, 50% is attributable to NOVAGOLD.

5 The Company retained Wood Canada Limited (Wood) in 2021 to update content in its previously filed Donlin Creek Gold Project, Alaska, USA, NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Second Updated Feasibility Study, effective November 18, 2011, and amended January 20, 2012. This update resulted in a report titled NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Donlin Gold Project, Alaska, USA with an effective date of June 1, 2021 (the 2021 Technical Report) and was filed on August 31, 2021. The Company is a registrant with the SEC and is reporting its exploration results, Mineral Resources, and Mineral Reserves in accordance with Subpart 229.1300 of Regulation S-K  Disclosure by Registrants Engaged in Mining Operations (S-K 1300) as of November 30, 2021. While the S-K 1300 rules are similar to National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects rules in Canada, they are not identical and therefore two reports have been produced for the Donlin Gold project. The Company requested that Wood prepare a Technical Report Summary of the Donlin Gold project, Alaska, USA using the standards of S-K 1300 and it is titled S-K 1300 Technical Report Summary on the Donlin Gold Project, Alaska, USA (S-K 1300 Report), current as of November 30, 2021. Wood incorporated 2020 costs and new gold price guidance to meet the Companys reporting requirements. The resultant 2021 Technical Report and S-K 1300 Report showed no material change to the previously reported mineral resources or mineral reserves.




CHIHUAHUA, Mexico, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GCC, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: GCC*), a leading producer of cement and concrete in the United States and Mexico, will host a conference call to review its first quarter 2022 earnings results on Wednesday, April 27 at 11:00 a.m. (ET). Earnings results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, will be released on Tuesday, April 26, after market close.



The call will be hosted by Enrique Escalante, CEO, and Luis Carlos Arias, CFO, and can be accessed by dialing +1 (877) 407 0789 or +1 (201) 689 8562 for international calls. The conference ID is 13725699.

The presentation and listen-only webcast will be available via the following link.

A replay of the webcast will be available the same day at 2:00 p.m. (ET) until May 4 at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The replay can be accessed through this link or by dialing +1 (844) 512 2921 or +1 (412) 317 6671 for international calls. The replay PIN is 13725699. Additionally, an online replay of the live broadcast will be available on the Company's website two days later.

For more information visit www.gcc.com or contact:

GCC Investor Relations

Ricardo Martinez, IRC

MX +52 (614) 442 3176

US + 1 (303) 739 5943

rmartinezg@gcc.com

About GCC

GCC is a leading supplier and producer of cement, concrete, aggregates, and constructionrelated services in the United States and Mexico, with an annual cement production capacity of 5.8 million metric tons. Founded in 1941, the Companys shares are listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GCC*.
VANCOUVER British Columbia, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIGG Digital Assets Inc. (BIGG or the Company) (CSE: BIGG; OTCQX: BBKCF; WKN: A2PS9W), owner of Netcoins (Netcoins.ca) (Netcoins), the online cryptocurrency brokerage that makes it easy for Canadians to buy, sell, and understand cryptocurrency, is pleased to announce the launch of 6 new coins on the platform: APE, CRV, LINK, YFI, SUSHI and ENJ.



On March 24th, Netcoins received approval for an update to its restricted dealer license, which was requested in late 2021, enabling a broader offering of coins on the platform. These 6 coins represent the second rollout of our upcoming coin additions, with multiple rollouts expected to follow.

Information on APE, CRV, LINK, YFI, SUSHI and ENJ can be found on coinmarketcap.com at the links below:

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/apecoin-ape/

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/curve-dao-token/

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/chainlink/

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/yearn-finance/

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/sushiswap/

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/enjin-coin/

Mark Binns, Netcoins CEO, remarked We are thrilled to so quickly bring a fresh round of coins to the Netcoins customer base to trade, HODL and sell. These coins included a nice mix of established digital assets and also new coins, like APE, where we will be one of a limited set of providers in Canada, making Netcoins a destination for interested traders. We look forward to providing more coin addition updates in the near future.

On behalf of the Board

Mark Binns

CEO

ir@biggdigitalassets.com



Investor Relations

Victoria Rutherford

Victoria@adcap.ca

T: 1.480.625.5772

About BIGG Digital Assets Inc.

BIGG Digital Assets Inc. (BIGG) believes the future of crypto is a safe, compliant, and regulated environment. BIGG invests in products and companies to support this vision. BIGG has three portfolio companies: Netcoins (netcoins.ca), Blockchain Intelligence Group (blockchaingroup.io) and TerraZero (terrazero.com).

Blockchain Intelligence Group builds technology to power compliance and intelligence for the crypto future. Banks and crypto companies depend on our technology to monitor risk from crypto transactions. Investigators and law enforcement quickly identify and track illicit activity. Blockchain Intelligence Group is trusted globally by banks, crypto companies, law enforcement, fintechs, regtechs and governments.

Netcoins develops brokerage and exchange software to make the purchase and sale of cryptocurrency easily accessible to the mass consumer and investor with a focus on compliance and safety. Netcoins utilizes BitRank Verified software at the heart of its platform and facilitates crypto trading via a self-serve crypto brokerage portal at Netcoins.app.

TerraZero is a vertically integrated Metaverse development group and leading Web 3.0 technology company specializing in the Metaverse space. The Companys Metaverse agnostic vision is to develop, acquire, and finance the Metaverses most promising companies, entrepreneurs, and developers. TerraZero also owns digital real estate and provides offices and services to those interested in the Metaverse. Furthermore, TerraZero acquires, designs, builds, and operates virtual assets and solutions to monetize the Metaverse ecosystem. The Companys businesses are segmented into five (5) divisions which include: (1) virtual real estate; (2) advertising; (3) data analytics; (4) events and marketing; and (5) infrastructure. TerraZero aims to support the community, foster innovation, and drive adoption.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which include completion of the search technology software and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as may, expect, estimate, anticipate, intend, believe and continue or the negative thereof or similar variations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur. These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the state of the economy in general and capital markets in particular, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of BIGG. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because BIGG can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from BIGGs expectations include, consumer sentiment towards BIGGs products and Blockchain technology generally, technology failures, competition, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, BIGG disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, BIGG undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this Press Release.
OMAHA, Neb., April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Exodus Movement, Inc. (tZERO and Securitize ATS:EXOD), (the Company) the leading self-custodial cryptocurrency software platform, announced that it will participate in Bitcoin 2022 (BTC 2022), being held April 6-9, 2022, at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Florida. Exodus is the recommended Bitcoin Lightning Wallet of BTC 2022. Bitcoin lightning will be the only accepted crypto payment at the event and in the city of Miami, including high-end restaurants and nightlife venues.



BTC 2022 is the world's largest bitcoin conference with over 35,000 people in attendance, including over 3,000 companies, and over seven million livestream viewers worldwide. The Company expects to expand brand awareness and presence within the cryptocurrency community through its participation in BTC 2022. Exodus also expects thousands of attendees to download the Exodus app to experience lightning fast Bitcoin transactions.

At the conference, Exodus will promote increased user engagement via giveaways, promotions and will have a presenting booth. The Company is sponsoring a happy hour at FREEHOLD Miami on April 6th. If interested, register here for a free ticket.

Attendees can visit Exodus located at booth 510 to redeem a $10 bitcoin lightning reward to use on their Exodus mobile application. Follow Exodus Twitter for real time updates of BTC 2022.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/182571e8-de9d-4317-98a8-135c249f964d

Contact

Customer Support

support@exodus.com

Press and Investor Relations

Allysa Howell

investors@exodus.com

+1 (720) 484-1147

About Exodus

Exodus is on a mission to help the world exit traditional finance. Founded in 2015, Exodus is a multi-asset software wallet that removes the geek requirement and keeps design a priority to make cryptocurrency and digital assets easy for everyone. Available for desktop and mobile, Exodus allows users to secure, manage and exchange cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more across an industry-leading 10,000+ asset pairs from a beautiful, easy-to-use wallet. The non-custodial functionality is encrypted locally on users' own devices, ensuring privacy, security and complete control over their wealth. For more info visit exodus.com.

About Bitcoin 2022

Bitcoin 2022 is the world's largest bitcoin conference; it will be held in Miami Beach, Florida, at the Miami Beach Convention Center April 6-9, 2022, with over 35,000 people in attendance and over 7 million livestream viewers worldwide. Attendees will have four days to learn more about how the bitcoin market can provide them with greater freedom and individual sovereignty. The conference will showcase over 450 notable speakers that have a deep and genuine interest and knowledge about the bitcoin industry as well over 3,000 companies that will be featured in the exhibit hall each day.

Disclosure Information

Exodus uses the following as means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with disclosure obligations under Regulation FD: websites exodus.com/investors and exodus.com/blog; press releases; public videos, calls and webcasts; and social media: Twitter (@exodus_io and JP Richardson's feed @jprichardson), Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us as of the date hereof. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "will," "expect," "would," "intend," "believe," or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements in this document include, but are not limited to, quotations from management regarding confidence in our products, services, business trajectory and plans, certain business metrics, including anticipated revenues and net (loss) income for the year and, in particular, through the fourth quarter of 2021, and the timing, means and amount of anticipated stock repurchases. These statements involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and may cause actual results or performance to be materially and adversely different. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to:

the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health and safety of our employees, users, as well as the physical and economic impacts of the various recommendations, orders, and protocols issued by local and national governmental agencies in light of continual evolution of the pandemic, including any periodic reimplementation of preventative measures in various global locations;

difficulties predicting user behavior and changes in user spending habits as a result of, among other things, prevailing economic conditions, levels of employment, salaries and wages, inflation and consumer confidence, particularly in light of the pandemic and as pandemic-related restrictions are eased regionally and globally;

unexpected or rapid changes in the growth or decline of our domestic and/or international Markets;

increasing competition from existing and new competitors;

expectations regarding future customer adoption of Exodus for dApps, DeFi and NFTs compared to its competitors;

rapidly evolving and groundbreaking advances that fundamentally alter the digital asset and cryptocurrency industry;

continued compliance with regulatory requirements;

volatility in the price of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, and other digital assets;

the possibility that the development and release of new products or enhancements to existing products do not proceed in accordance with the anticipated timeline or may themselves contain bugs or errors requiring remediation and that the market for the sale of these new or enhanced products may not develop as expected;

the risks relating to our ability to sustain or increase profitability or revenue growth in future periods (or minimize declines) while controlling expenses;

the compromise of user data for any reason;

foreign operational, political and other risks relating to our operations; and

the loss of key personnel, labor shortages or work stoppages.



More information on the factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause or contribute to such differences is included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion & Analysis" sections of our offering statement on Form 1-A. We cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
ZeroAvia, a developer of hydrogen-electric aviation, signed an MoU and announced a new partnership with the hydrogen fueling firm ZEV Station to develop green hydrogen refueling infrastructure for airports in California.

The companies will work together on developing an initial regional airport project that represents sufficient scale to showcase how hydrogen-electric propulsion systems can deliver zero-emission commercial flights. ZeroAvia will leverage its significant research and development in hydrogen production and refueling for aviation alongside ZEV Stations extensive team experience in the provision of gaseous hydrogen for road vehicles, in order to develop an innovative hydrogen airport refueling system.





Rendering of ZeroAvia hydrogen fuel cell plane and ZEV Station fuel truck

As part of the partnership, ZeroAvia plans flight demonstrations of hydrogen-electric aircraft from pilot airports, supported by the co-developed refueling ecosystem and dedicated support from ZEV Station.

ZeroAvia has already developed a fully functioning microcosm of potential refueling operations. The Hydrogen Airport Refueling Infrastructure (HARE), developed as part of the HyFlyer projects in conjunction with the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC), has demonstrated green hydrogen production through to airside fueling.

Airports are central points of significant demand thanks to the high volumes of hydrogen required to power aircraft. Busy hubs can produce economies of scale for hydrogen production and thus make it more economical to remove greenhouse gas emissions in other areas such as ground operations, onward transportation links, and proximate industry.

There is enormous potential for airports to act as hydrogen hubs precisely because there will be significant demand - hydrogen-electric propulsion is the only practical, holistic and economically viable solution to the industrys full climate impacts. California leads the world in the adoption of zero-emission vehicles thanks to forward-thinking policies and deployment of infrastructure, and zero-emission flight infrastructure at airports is the next natural frontier. ZeroAvias partnership with ZEV Station is going to be a significant part of that journey. Arnab Chatterjee, VP, Infrastructure, ZeroAvia

ZEV Station, with a main office in Palm Springs, California is engineering a highway zero-carbon fueling station for both Fuel Cell and Electric vehicles at the same forecourt. Their charging-only test site is slated to open at the end of next month. The first Premier ZEV Station with both charging and hydrogen is under permitting and targeted for operation in early 2023. ZEV Station is in the planning for a network of stations with production of their own hydrogen, delivering to satellite stations.

The time is now to develop the path towards replacing fossil fuels. We see a unique synergy in our ground vehicle hub & spoke hydrogen distribution model and aviation. For this, we are planning an aircraft fueling demonstration project together with ZeroAvia, also to increase utilization of a hydrogen delivery trailer. We jointly plan to collaborate to help accelerate fueling methodologies with public-private-partnerships such as the newly formed H2-Aero Team at the Vertical Flight Society. As a future step, there is great potential to take these learnings towards the creation of Zero Emission Airports with a large central hydrogen production at scale, a H2-Hub. This H2-Hub with zero carbon energy, would generate a significant amount of green hydrogen onsite for both aircrafts and vehicles. This could offset the need for carbon-based fuel at airports entirely, but there is a lot to be done to make this a common reality. ZEV Station sees the partnership with ZeroAvia as a key catalyst to help kickstart hydrogen fueling for aviation in California and beyond. Jesse Schneider, CEO/ CTO, ZEV Station

ZeroAvia plans to work with industry partners to build out the refueling ecosystems for hydrogen at airports globally. Shell is both an investor in the business and fueling partner, and ZeroAvia has also partnered with Octopus Hydrogen to help power its current flight testing program in the UK.

ZeroAvia is also working in partnership on an intention to develop one of the worlds first commercial zero-emission routes from London to Rotterdam the Hague Airport in conjunction with Royal Schiphol Group, Rotterdam The Hague Innovation Airport Foundation and the airport itself.

The companys zero-emission powertrains use hydrogen fuel with a fuel cell system to produce electricity which then powers electric motors that spin the propellers. The system produces no emissions other than water.





In the coming weeks, ZeroAvia will begin flight-testing its hydrogen-electric powertrain using its Dornier-228 testbed aircraft. This work, part of the HyFlyer II project, will deliver a fully certified 600kW model for aircraft of up to 19-seats for 2024 and is supported by the UK Governments Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS), Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and Innovate UK through the ATI Program.

The company plans to scale up its technology to 40-80 seat aircraft by 2026, with ground tests of the 1.8 megawatt power plant prototypes starting this year.
South Africa: Control measures taken to prevent spread of Foot and Mouth Disease

The North West Agriculture and Rural Development Department says a veterinary services team is hard at work to ensure that all precautionary measures are taken to prevent the further spread of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).

The department said five farms have been placed in quarantine and forward traced farms on precautionary quarantine following FMD in Potchefstroom recently.

The department said since the identification and confirmation of the outbreak in the area, a Joint Operations Centre has been set up, including among others, veterinarians from the department, the provincial disaster management office, farmers unions and the National Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

The working team consisting of members from the Veterinary Services is currently in and around the area and all other farms which connects the original property to undertake inspections and collect samples where significant clinical signs are presented.

The team is conducting inspections and surveillance through blood sampling in order to determine the extent of the spread, the department said in a statement.

Infected cattle sold at auction traced in Gauteng and Free State

The department also announced that about 217 cattle, including sheep and goats, that were sold at a Potchefstroom auction have all been traced in Vanderbijlpark, Westonaria and Kempton Park; Free State; and Ventersdorp and Potchefstroom in North West, and the farms have been visited.

The auction in Potchefstroom received 12 cattle from one of the infected farms and there was forward tracing from the auction to all farms of destination. Gauteng and Free State Veterinary Services have been informed. The names of the buyers are known to Veterinary Services unit of the province, the department said.

Warning against vaccinating of animals without authorisation

The department called on animal farmers not to panic and urged them against vaccinating animals for Foot and Mouth Disease without authorisation.

Vaccines without authorisation can result in vaccinated animals testing positive and being classified as infected resulting in further measures being imposed on the farm. In the North West Province, vaccination of cattle and pigs against FMD is not permitted and is therefore illegal.

The sale of such vaccines is also illegal. Vaccines that are used for this purpose need to be registered and authorised by the National Director Animal Health for such purpose and as such, they are only in the hands of government officials, the department said.

Gauteng farmers urged to be extra vigilant

Meanwhile, Gauteng Economic Development, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development MEC, Parks Tau, has appealed to farmers in the province to exercise extra vigilance for FMD signs in their livestock.

All suspicious cases should be immediately reported to veterinary services for investigation purposes. Farmers are also advised to take extra precautions and not buy livestock [including] cattle, sheep, pigs and goats from sellers whose animal health status is unknown as well as known FMD control areas.

Livestock auctioneers are urged to be even more cautions when accepting animals into their premises for sale, as they could inadvertently become a vehicle for spread of the disease. We also encourage farmers to limit movement of animals, panic selling, people, vehicles and farming equipment between farms as these play a role in the spread of FMD, Tau said.

Tau said the disease has been confirmed on a farm in the Randfontein area and suspicious cases are being investigated in Tarlton, Fochville, Walmansthal and Onderstepoort.

All these cases were imported into Gauteng from neighbouring provinces. We would like to reassure the public that all measures are being taken by the Provincial Veterinary Services to limit the spread of this disease, Tau said.

Tau urged farmers to report any suspicious foot and mouth disease clinical signs in their herds, including salivation, blisters in the mouth, limping or hoof lesions to the nearest state veterinary office in Randfontein office: Dr Jaison Mpofu 072 900 0869, Germiston office: Dr Duma Mpofu 071 543 3028 and Pretoria office: Dr Nadia Jordaan 072 904 2478. - SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-04-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Press Release

April 5, 2022 Lacson Thanks Bohol Mayor for Igniting His Passion in Scrutinizing National Budget More at: https://pinglacson.net/article/lacson-thanks-bohol-mayor-for-igniting-his-passion-in-scrutinizing-national-budget Now it can be told: It was a Boholano mayor who ignited the passion of independent presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson to scrutinize the national budget. At the start of a meeting with representatives of sectoral groups in Bohol Tuesday, Lacson thanked Jagna Mayor Joseph Ranola for teaching him everything about analyzing the budget. "There's one person who taught me everything. The Filipino people owe it to him na may Sen. Lacson sa Senado na nagtitiyaga at nagkakalkal ng budget (There's one person who taught me everything. Filipinos owe it to him that there is a Senator Lacson who pores through the national budget)," he said. Lacson - who earned a reputation as a tough, eagle-eyed watchdog of the national budget - said it was Ranola, then a private citizen, who helped him realize the importance of making the budget work for Filipinos. When he won his first Senate seat in 2001, Lacson said he faced a learning curve as he was still used to his work as a law enforcer who spent sleepless nights solving kidnap-for-ransom cases, robberies, and other crimes. Ranola's guidance also helped Lacson in his advocacy to give local government units a fair share of the budget so they can implement their local development projects. During his 18 years as senator, Lacson and his staff would spend nights poring over the budget and ridding it of questionable insertions - despite the contents of the budget bill being inches thick and in tiny 10-point font. "Mahirap pag-aralan pero sa turo niya, pinagtiyagaan at pinagaralan ... at nakabisado ko na rin (It was hard at first but with his guidance, I persevered and learned to scrutinize the budget)," he said. "Because of the scrutiny, we saved taxpayers at least P300 billion," Lacson added. Lacson and his vice presidential bet Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, along with senatoriables Minguita Padilla and Emmanuel Pinol, received a warm welcome in Bohol. The Lacson-Sotto tandem are bringing their message of good governance directly to the people as they move to counter "survey politics," especially since they have an average of 40 percent "soft votes" where they are being considered by voters but the voters are hesitating because they are not leading in the surveys. Also, the Lacson-Sotto tandem said Filipinos should learn to decide for themselves instead of succumbing to the survey or bandwagon mentality, lest they waste their votes by not voting for someone who is most competent, most qualified, most experienced, and with the highest integrity in public service.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9+ smartphones will no longer receive software updates. The early 2018 flagships are now off Samsungs lists of devices eligible for security updates.

The Galaxy S10 series meanwhile were moved from monthly to quarterly updates, now that they are over 3 years old.

The Galaxy S9 series is following the path of its predecessors. Back in early 2021, Samsung demoted the S9 from monthly to quarterly security updates, when the Galaxy S8 was completely taken off the list, and the same thing happened to the Galaxy S7 phones a year earlier.

The Galaxy S9 series' last major update was to One UI 2.5 package, received in late 2020.

Source | Via
Athen Trickson Barbosa was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl twice in 2018.

Barbosa appeared in the Superior Court of Guam Tuesday afternoon facing between five and 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal sexual conduct charges.

The prosecuting attorney started off the sentencing hearing by suggesting the maximum 10-year sentence based on the conduct and the fact that the sexual assault happened more than once.

Its just about as egregious as it can get, Assistant Attorney General Sean Brown said of Barbosas actions.

Brown also acknowledged that the victim has since forgiven Barbosa and was fine with the minimum five-year sentence, which Barbosas attorney argued for.

Thats what she would prefer, Barbosas attorney William Bischoff said in support of his suggestion for a five-year sentence.

However, despite the victims preference and Barbosa taking the time to express his remorse for his actions, Judge Vernon Perez sentenced Barbosa to 10 years in prison.

Your apology is accepted, but you must endure this sentence, Perez said to Barbosa.

Incidents

Barbosas charges stem from accusations made by the victim who reported to police in 2019 Barbosa sexually assaulted her twice between June and July of 2018.

The girl reported that the first incident occurred when she woke up to Barbosa touching her waist before he slid his hand into her pants and sexually assaulted her, according to court documents.

In the second incident, Barbosa pulled the girls pants down, laid on top of her and sexually assaulted her while holding her down, documents stated.
More potential candidates are coming onboard for the attorney general, legislative, and delegate races.

Attorney Peter Santos, formerly a prosecutor and now a public defender, picked up an election packet from the Guam Election Commission and said hes now weighing a run for attorney general.

My background, I believe, I can bring a lot to the office  my life has been completely in public service, Santos said.

There was a need for more focus on supporting the prosecution division to prevent turnover of staff and to make sure that recruitment and retention is solid, he added.

Santos said hed have to hand over the reigns of his recently formed Responsible Guam Political Action Committee if he runs. The attorney was previously weighing a run for delegate, but said moving to D.C. was a dealbreaker for his family.

Former Attorney General Douglas Moylan has also picked up a candidate packet and confirmed that hes weighing making another run after ending his term as Guams first elected attorney general in 2007.

He felt that the office needed someone willing to take a more adversarial role in supporting the rights of the public and holding government officials accountable. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, issues like government procurement, individual liberties, and allowing children to go to school in person had been concerns.

Bottom line, its public service, it all goes towards the AGs willingness to take positions that might be unpopular against the especially sitting governor, Moylan said.

Attorney General Leevin Camacho has picked up a candidate packet from the Election Commission and the Committee to Re-elect Leevin T. Camacho is able to begin fundraising, according to election commission data.

Weve been able to achieve the results and successes over the last three years with decisive, level-headed leadership that focuses on issues that matter to the people of Guam. Were not going to be distracted by misinformation or pettiness, Camacho said in a recent Facebook post, citing efforts to support law enforcement, fight for environmental justice in the Ordot dump suit, and allocate money to support addiction recovery.

Candidates can begin filing on April 19. The Primary Election is on Aug. 27 and early voting opens on July 28.

Delegate

Former Democrat speaker and senator Judi Won Pat picked up a candidate packet for Guams Washington delegate and confirmed that shell be running for the office.

Shes so far the only Democrat to confirm a run for the office, and would face off against Republican Sen. Jim Moylan, who has made his bid for the delegate seat official.

Senator

The number of potential legislative candidates is up to 41 as of Tuesday, with several incumbent senators signing on.

Sen. Jose Pedo Terlaje, recently picked up an election packet and is set to make a bid for re-election, his office confirmed. Terlaje previously served in the 35th Guam Legislature.

Sen. Sabina Perez, another veteran from the 35th, has also picked up a packet and locked in for a re-election run this year, according to her office.

Sen. Joanne Brown picked up an election packet and confirmed that she will be making a run for re-election. She said that, if re-elected, it will be her 8th term in office.

To my surprise, yes, Im going to run again. I think weve got a great opportunity to continue to influence leadership direction and make sure we maintain check and balance in the government and certainly continue to pursue our accountability and transparency in the Government of Guam, Brown said.

The three join Sens. Joe San Agustin and Sen. Telo Taitague as the only incumbents to confirm their re-election bids so far.

Former senator Kelly Marsh, who served in the 35th but came in 16th in the 2020 general election, said shes considering another run after picking up an election packet.

I feel that those over 9,000 people that voted for me, they are interested in the types of things that I support and they have been reaching out to me through these last two years to say that I still have work to be done, Marsh said.

The following have also picked up packets for legislative seats, according to Election Commission data:
Nvidia is said to have opted to outsource the production of its next-generation GPUs to Taiwan's TSMC. Nvidia intends to manufacture its H100 GPUs on TSMC's 4-nanometer manufacturing technology. The new GPUs will be available beginning in the third quarter of 2022.

TSMC's 5-nm technology will also be used to mass-produce Nvidia's other GPU RTX 4000 series, business area reports.

Accordingly, industry insiders expect TSMC to monopolize orders for all GPUs to be released by Nvidia in 2022. Nvidia had difficulties selling its GeForce RTX 3000 series in 2020 due to Samsung Electronics low production yields. Nvidia had outsourced the production of data center and consumer PC GPUs to TSMC until 2019. In 2020, it first selected Samsung Electronics as its manufacturing partner for RTX3000 series GPUs in an effort to lower production prices and boost product competitiveness by diversifying suppliers. TSMCs foundry market share is expected to expand further in the future. Nvidia has an 80 percent share of the global GPU market. Experts say that losing a big foundry customer to TSMC is painful for Samsung Electronics.










Haiti - FLASH : Former Colombian soldier Mario Antonio Palacios pleads not guilty in the USA





Monday, April 4th, 2022, former Colombian soldier Mario Antonio Palacios (43) voluntarily extradited to the USA last January https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35640-haiti-flash-palacio-extradited-to-the-usa-first-official-indictment-in-the-assassination-of-president-moise.html ) suspect number one for Haitian justice, accused in the United States of conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support resulting in death, pleaded not guilty to two counts related to the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July 7, 2021 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html according to his lawyer, Alfredo Izaguirre.



Me Izaguirre clarified that during the brief hearing, they did not ask for bail for Palacios, who is being held in a federal prison in Miami, adding that Federal Magistrate Lauren Fleischer Louis, in charge of the case, had not communicated a date for the next hearing.



Note that beyond the statements of Palacio's lawyer, the South Florida prosecutor's office had stressed that Palacios is accused of a "serious" crime and had asked to continue to keep the Colombian in detention, considering that there was "a escape risk" and a "danger to the community".



According to the prosecutor's office, Palacios was part of a group of about 20 Colombian citizens and other Haitian-Americans who "participated in a plot to kidnap or kill the Haitian President."



According to court documents, Palacios was hired to provide security and participate in an operation in which they would initially arrest President Jovenel Moise.



Palacios explained that the original plan was to capture the President at the airport and take him on a plane, but acknowledged that at the last minute, on July 6, 2021, he was informed that plans had changed and that it was now a question of assassinating the President of Haiti.



The indictment alleges that on July 7, Palacios and others entered the President's residence in Haiti with the intent and purpose of assassinating him.



The former soldier faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.



Read also about the assassination of President Moise :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36259-haiti-assassination-of-the-president-towards-the-extradition-to-the-usa-of-former-senator-joseph-joel-john.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35940-haiti-flash-the-ministry-of-foreign-affairs-defends-prime-minister-henry.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35939-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35886-haiti-assassination-moise-hearing-postponed-to-march-4-palacios-will-plead-not-guilty-in-the-usa.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35822-haiti-assassination-moise-the-hearing-of-rodolphe-jaar-postponed-for-30-days-in-the-usa.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35696-haiti-flash-palacios-confessed-that-the-final-plan-was-to-assassinate-the-president-of-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35664-haiti-flash-lawyer-of-colombian-soldiers-detained-in-haiti-says-they-confessed-under-torture.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35618-haiti-assassination-of-the-president-2nd-request-for-extradition-from-haiti-rejected-jamaica-will-deport-palacio-to-colombia.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35588-haiti-flash-haiti-tries-a-second-time-to-extradite-palacios.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35587-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35293-haiti-justice-martine-moise-requests-the-autopsy-of-gilbert-dragon.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35290-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35275-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35247-haiti-flash-the-suspect-1-of-the-murder-of-jovenel-moise-cannot-be-extradited-to-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35121-haiti-flash-haiti-requests-the-extradition-of-one-of-the-presumed-murderers-of-president-moise.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35093-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35054-haiti-flash-a-key-suspect-in-the-assassination-of-jovenel-moise-arrested.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34928-haiti-flash-martine-moise-heard-by-examining-magistrate-garry-orelien-video.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34835-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34739-haiti-flash-the-pm-dismisses-the-minister-of-justice-the-government-commissioner-and-the-sg-of-the-council-of-ministers.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34714-haiti-flash-the-prosecution-wants-to-hear-pm-henry-in-connection-with-the-assassination-of-the-president.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34567-haiti-flash-new-investigating-judge-in-the-assassination-of-president-moise.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34351-haiti-flash-all-the-arrested-colombian-ex-soldiers-were-aware-of-a-plan-to-kill-president-moise.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34339-haiti-flash-official-report-by-dimitri-herard-on-the-assassination-of-president-moise.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34331-haiti-flash-arrest-of-the-presidential-security-coordinator-jean-laguel-civil.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34299-haiti-flash-7-of-the-colombians-arrested-had-received-american-military-training.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34296-haiti-flash-the-company-which-participated-in-the-financing-of-the-operation-knew-nothing-about-the-assassination-of-president-moise.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34283-haiti-flash-follow-up-of-investigations-into-the-assassination-of-president-moise-video.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34278-haiti-national-funeral-note-from-the-first-lady-martine-moise.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34265-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34250-haiti-flash-according-to-colombia-in-the-commando-only-a-few-knew-about-the-assassination-of-president-moise.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34238-haiti-flash-monitoring-of-investigations-into-the-assassination-of-president-jovenel-moise.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34225-haiti-notice-the-pnh-is-looking-for-3-dangerous-and-armed-individuals-including-a-former-senator.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34223-haiti-justice-the-dg-of-the-colombian-police-wonders-about-the-role-of-the-chief-of-security-of-president-moise.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34220-haiti-politic-creation-of-the-organizing-committee-for-the-national-funeral-of-president-moise-text-of-the-decree.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34218-haiti-flash-wanted-notice-for-a-very-dangerous-colombian-mercenary.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34217-haiti-flash-the-white-house-does-not-rule-out-sending-troops-to-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34214-haiti-assassination-of-president-a-colombian-team-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34212-haiti-politic-a-large-american-delegation-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34210-haiti-flash-arrest-of-one-of-the-intellectual-authors-of-the-assassination-of-president-moise-and-an-attempted-coup.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34205-haiti-flash-statements-and-testimony-from-colombia-about-the-commando.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34203-haiti-usa-no-american-military-assistance-for-the-moment.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34201-haiti-flash-authenticated-message-from-the-first-lady-martine-moise-audio.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34199-haiti-assassination-of-the-president-names-of-the-20-members-of-the-commando-arrested-5-others-still-on-the-run.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34193-haiti-flash-the-government-requests-the-sending-of-american-soldiers-to-the-country.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34188-icihaiti-flash-11-mercenaries-arrested-in-the-taiwanese-embassy.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34193-haiti-flash-the-government-requests-the-sending-of-american-soldiers-to-the-country.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34188-icihaiti-flash-11-mercenaries-arrested-in-the-taiwanese-embassy.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34183-haiti-flash-the-commando-that-killed-the-president-included-26-colombians-and-2-haitian-americans-official-video.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34182-icihaiti-assassination-of-president-moise-15-days-of-national-mourning-text-of-the-decree.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34178-haiti-politic-what-measures-contains-the-state-of-siege-text-of-the-decree.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34177-icihaiti-usa-the-pm-met-with-secretary-of-state-anthony-blinken.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34176-haiti-un-the-security-council-condemns-the-assassination-of-president-jovenel-moise.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-34174-icihaiti-diplomacythe-assassins-of-moise-were-professional-mercenaries-dixit-bocchit-edmond.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34173-haiti-flash-the-police-intercepts-the-presumed-assassins-of-president-moise-official-video.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34172-haiti-flash-martine-moise-in-florida-for-treatment.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34170-haiti-flash-the-first-lady-martine-moise-would-still-be-alive-but.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34168-haiti-flash-the-state-of-siege-is-declared-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34165-haiti-assassination-of-jovenel-moise-what-says-the-constitution.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Diaspora Covid-19 : Daily Bulletin #746





GLOBAL SITUATION 2019-2022:

Epidemiological situation:

Tuesday April 5, 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 492,877,459 cases (+1,047,887 in 24 hours ), the day before (+706.301)



Number of infected countries: 225



*Healings: 428,276,880 people have been cured of Covid-19 worldwide (+1,486,268), the day before (+896,339)

*Deaths: 6,179,463 people have died of Covid-19 worldwide since the start of the pandemic (+3,217 in 24 hours), the day before (+1,427)

*Active cases (minus deaths and recoveries) in the world is currently 58,421,116 cases (-441,598 in 24 hours), the day before (-191,465)



Average cure rate in the world: 86.89% (+)



Average mortality rate in the world: 1.25% (=)



World: Number of daily confirmed cases





(Day-1)



Vaccination: 11.39 billion doses of vaccine injected (+20 million doses injected in 24 hours. Update April 3, 2022 (latest data available).



HAITI:

According to the Ministry of Public Health, +22 new cases of Covid-19 and its variants have been confirmed in Haiti as of March 30, 2022 (latest partial data available ) for a total of 30,567 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 (+16 cases as of March 26, 2022).



Healings: 28,745 (+314)



Cure rate: 94.03% (+)



Deaths: 833 deaths (+0) ()



Death rate: 2.72% (=)



5th Wave (Omicron Dominant):

Total of the 5th wave (starting December 27, 2021) 4,573 confirmed cases and 67 deaths



Screening since the start of the pandemic: 189,314 tests (+1,302 in 4 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: 741 (+1); Petion-ville 624 (+0); Port-au-Prince 407 (+1); Tabarre 288 (+1); Croix-des-Bouquets 240(+1)



Confirmed cases by department (2022 / 2021 / 2020):

West: 2022: 2,558 cases; (2021: 9.890); (2020: 6,945 cases)

North: 2022: 269 cases; (2021: 664); (2020: 677 cases)

Center: 2022: 230 cases; (2021: 1.001); (2020: 508 cases)

Artibonitis: 2022: 186 cases; (2021: 855); (2020: 593 cases)

Northeast: 2022: 148 cases; (2021: 404); (2020: 314 cases)

Southeast: 2022: 263 cases; (2021: 768); (2020: 274 cases)

South: 2022: 215 cases; (2021: 891); (2020: 262 cases)

North West: 2022: 259 cases; (2021: 383); (2020: 229 cases)

Grand'Anse: 2022: 175 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:

Epidemiological situation:



USA:

*Cases since the first case (February 29, 2020): 81,867,963 cases (+35,351 in 24 hours), the day before (+6,241)

*Healings: 65,841,278 healings (+164,764), the day before (+150,540)

National Cure Rate: 80.42% (+)

*Deaths: 1,008,679 deaths (+481), the day before (+39)

National death rate: 1.23% (=)

*Active cases (minus deaths and recoveries): 15,018,006 (-129,894), yesterday (-144,338)



USA: Trend active cases: (minus recoveries and deaths)





(Day-1)



Vaccination: 562.58 million doses of vaccine injected since December 14, 2020, date of the first injection in the United States (+1,240,000 doses in 72 hours). Update April 5 (latest data available).



DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:

Confirmed cases since March 1, 2020: 578,209 cases (+30 in 24 hours) the day before (+49 in 24 hours). First case (March 1, 2020)

Healings: 573,703 healings (+103 in 24 hours), the day before (+10)

National Cure Rate: 99.22% (+)

Deaths: 4,375 deaths (+0), previous (+0)

Death rate: 0.75% (=)

Positive rate over 4 epidemiological weeks: 0.89% (-)

Active cases: (excluding deaths and recoveries) 131 cases (-73 in 24 hours) the day before (+39)



Dominican Republic: Trend of active cases: (minus recoveries and deaths)





(Day-1)



TOP 5 Provinces with the most new cases in the last 24 hours:

Santiago: +7 new cases in 24 hours (+)

Puerto Plata: +5 new cases in 24 hours (-)

Maria Trinidad Sanchez: +5 new cases in 24 hours (-)

Distrito Nacional: +3 new cases in 24 hours (-)

ALtagracia: +3 new cases in 24 hours ()



Vaccination: 15.52 million doses of vaccine injected since February 16

2021, date of the first injection in the Dominican Republic (+10,000 doses injected in 24 hours). Update April 2, 2022 (latest data available).



QUEBEC:

Confirmed cases since the first case (February 27, 2020): 978,924 (+7,973 in 72 hours), previous (+3,182 in 24 hours)

Healings: 938,411 people (+6,611 in 72 hours) previous (+2,084 in 24 hours)

Cure rate: 95.86% (-)

Deaths: 14,411 (+29 in 72h) previous (+17 in 24h)

Death rate: 1.47% (-)

Active cases: (excluding death and recovery) 26,102 cases (+1,333 in 72 hours), previous (+1,081 in 24 hours)



Quebec: Trend of daily confirmed cases





(average weekly trend)



Vaccination: 18,716,775 doses of vaccine injected since December 14, 2020, date of the first injection (+47,188 doses in 72 hours), latest data available - MSSS as of March 31, 2022)



FRANCE:

*Confirmed cases since the first case (January 24, 2020): 26,025,500 cases (+27,648 cases in 24 hours), previous (+102,266)

*Healings: 23,615,792 healings (+225,301), previous (+18,822)

National Cure Rate: 90.74% (+)

Deaths: 142,655 (+149 in 24h), previous (+31)

Death rate: 0.54% (=)

Active Cases: 2,267,053 (+197,802), previous (+83,413)



France: Number of daily confirmed cases





(Day-1)



Vaccination: 141.96 million doses of vaccine injected since December 27, 2020, date of the first injection in France (+50,000 doses injected in 48 hours. Update April 5, 2022 (latest data available)



Previous bulletin : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36345-haiti-diaspora-covid-19-daily-bulletin-745.html



Se also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30165-haiti-flash-first-case-of-covid-19-in-the-dominican-republic.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2022/04/04 | Source

Actors Ahn Hyo-seop, Jeon Yeo-been, and Kang Hoon have been cast in a remake of a popular Taiwanese drama.

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On the 31st, Netflix said, "We have confirmed the production of "A Time Called You" a remake of a popular Taiwanese drama", adding, "Actors Ahn Hyo-seop, Jeon Yeo-been, and Kang Hoon will star in it".

"A Time Called You" is a time slip romance drama about Han Joon-hee, who misses her boyfriend who passed away a year ago, returning to 1998 like fate and meeting Nam Si-heon, who looks just like her boyfriend.

Ahn Hyo-seop plays two characters in the drama, Goo Yeon-joon, the boyfriend of Han Joon-hee, and Nam Si-heon, a boy from 1998. Ahn Hyo-seop will captivate viewers with various charms, going back and forth between the two characters.

Jeon Yeo-been plays Han Joon-hee, who can't forget her late boyfriend, and Kwon Min-joo, a high school girl who lives in 1998. Fans are paying keen attention to Jeon Yeo-been's performance, who will play the two characters with the same face but opposite personalities at the same time.

Kang Hoon plays the role of Jeong In-gyoo, who lives in 1998. Jeong In-gyoo is a person who realizes that Kwon Min-joo, who he has a crush on, likes his best friend Nam Si-heon, and conflicts between friendship and love.

Meanwhile, Netflix's "A Time Called You" is directed by Kim Jin-won-I.
Published on 2022/04/04 | Source

New stills added for the upcoming Korean movie "Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" (2022)

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Directed by Nah Hyeon

With Sol Kyung-gu, Park Hae-soo, Yang Dong-geun, Lee El, Song Jae-rim, Jinyoung,...

Synopsis

"Yaksha: Ruthless Operations" is a story about the leader of a spy agency's secret operation team in Shenyang, China, and the prosecutor who was demoted to the spy agency as he searched for a missing high-ranking North Korean official.

Release date in Korea : 2022/04/08
Nonprofit leaders urge commissioners to take input on needs

The leaders of the two largest nonprofits providing human services, social services and other forms of help for the needy appealed to the Henderson County Board of Commissioners on Monday to hear in more detail how the county's nonprofit agencies can use American Rescue Plan money.

"We're here to appeal on behalf of Henderson County's incredible nonprofit community and we want to ask you to consider input from our nonprofit leaders before making you're final decision on ARP funding," said Denise Cumbee Long, executive director of the United Way. Guiding the two largest charity programs, the two leaders meet regularly with othernonprofits.

"We feel this gives us a bird's eye view of some of the issues and challenges that our nonprofits are able to address in the community," she said. "The last two years have been hard on everybody but especially on vulnerable people in our community."

"We feel this funds are really a unique opportunity that are not likely to come our way again," he said. "Our nonprofit's valuable input would benefit our community and would also align with the ARP guidelines."

McCray Benson, president and CEO of the Community Foundation, also praised the record of the county's many profits in meeting needs in housing, food, health and other areas.

"They work collaboratively and have had success addressing issues like homelessness and housing," hunger, substance abuse, mental health instability and other areas, he said. "Nonprofits are experienced in handling sophisticated accounting for funding from multiple funding streams including federal and state funds. Denise and I have heard from a number of nonprofits that they can use ARPA funds for specific projects that align with our priorities."
Shooter in death of Cardinal Drive-In owner convicted of murder

BREVARD  The shooter in the "cold-blooded murder" of the owner of the Cardinal Drive-In as he walked outside carrying the day's receipts was convicted of first-degree murder Tuesday and was scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday along with two accomplices who have pleaded guilty, WLOS reported.

Prosecutors said that Davieyon Devall Hopkins Jr., of Hendersonville, shot and killed Waybern Shelton as he exited the popular drive-in  Brevard's version of Hot Dog World. Hopkins was also charged with the attempted first-degree murder of Rebecca Shelton, along with two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.

District Attorney Andrew Murray and Assistant District Attorney Beth Dierauf prosecuted the case.

Murray told WLOS news that Hopkins gave Shelton no chance to voluntarily give up the bank bag before gunning him down from 15 feet away, calling the shooting a "cold-blooded murder." A combat veteran, the restaurant owner "did not need to die," the D.A. added.

Defense attorney Michael Edney represented Hopkins. Superior Court Joseph N. Crosswhite of Iredell County presided over the trial.
PEOPLE volunteering to host Ukrainian refugees have been told not to be over-emotional.

The plea was made at a meeting for potential hosts held at the d:two centre in Henley, which was attended by about 130 people.

They were told the process for registering for the Governments Homes for Ukraine scheme and what to expect once they were paired with a refugee.

Dr Krish Kandiah, who founded the Sanctuary Foundation and hosted the event, said the room was full of kindness.

Every little action of kindness makes a difference, he said. You may think youre just helping one person but news is travelling back to Ukraine, back to families who know we are with them.

But he added: Emotion is a wonderful gift that can motivate us to get things done but if were not careful our emotion might get the worst of us.

People coming from a war zone dont need our angst and anxiety, they need calmness and a sense of compassion.

Gemma Birch, who set up the refugee support network Mother Sister Daughter, added: This isnt like having foreign students in your home for a few weeks in the summer or having Airbnb guests that go in a week.

These people are the most vulnerable demographic and what none of us wants to be responsible for is just missing one. If one falls through the gap, its one too many.

They were among a number of speakers who addressed the audience from a podium decorated with Ukrainian flags and crafted sunflowers, a symbol of peace in Ukraine.

Among them were Ukrainians who have already made it to the UK as they have family here.

Maria Moniatovsk, 28, fled the war-torn country with her mother Nadia following the Russian invasion. They are now living with Mrs Moniatovsks other daughter Anastasiia Lypynska, 37, and her family in Nettlebed.

Ms Moniatovsk said: Im so thankful to you all here now, listening to us, interested, and caring about what is going on.

Every day I see how much people in the UK are doing for us.

I wish you never know what it is like when missiles are flying over your head. Ms Lypynska said: There are some things in life you can never be prepared for, that youre not trained to handle.

The appreciation we have been shown is of such power that it keeps you going when you think you cant.

Olga Bovrosh, 26, left Ukraine following the invasion and is now living in Henley.

She said: I woke up on February 24 to the sound of sirens. I thought it was an ambulance or the police. It is a sound you only hear in movies.

The first thing I did was call all my relatives, trying to know that theyre fine, theyre safe.

Me and my boyfriend, whos British, decided to leave Ukraine. All my relatives refused to leave because they said it is their home.

South Oxfordshire district councillor Maggie Filipova-Rivers said that about 100 families in the district had been matched with a refugee so far and the council would help support the Ukrainians and their hosts. She said: Things are moving really fast and are quite chaotic but to the hosts among us, and the members of the Ukrainian community, you should know your council will support you.

Sarah Lane, a project worker at Henley youth and community group Nomad, said: Please let us know what we can do to help and well be more than happy to step in when we can.

We can help with practical things like opening bank accounts and doing universal credit

applications.

Town councillor David Eggleton, who has collected donations and aid for Ukraine, was moved to tears when thanking people.

He said: Id like to say thank you to everybody who donated and keep donating as we are still sending stuff over.

At the end of the meeting, residents displayed a banner for the refugees reading, Youre welcome here in Ukrainian.
APRIL 6: The Bucks have officially signed Vildoza, the team announced today in a press release. As we relayed on Tuesday, the two-year deal isnt guaranteed for next season.

APRIL 4: Free agent guard Luca Vildoza is signing a two-year contract with the Bucks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

Vildoza has fully recovered from foot surgery and will be activated by the defending champions for the playoffs. His agent, Alex Saratsis of Octagon Sports, and Bucks GM Jon Horst are expected to finalize terms of the deal this week, Wojnarowski adds.

Vildoza underwent the surgical procedure in October.

The Knicks signed him to a four-year deal last May but the contract wasnt guaranteed beyond last season. They waived the Argentinian guard prior to his surgery.

Vildoza had negotiated a contract buyout with Baskonia of the Spanish ACB League before agreeing to the deal with the Knicks. Vildoza, 26, played for Argentina in the Olympics before joining the Knicks in the Las Vegas Summer League. He made brief appearances in two of those games, but averaged just 6.4 minutes and didnt score any points.

Milwaukee had an open spot on its 15-man roster. The Bucks lost wing DeAndre Bembry to a season-ending knee injury last month and Vildoza will give them more depth at both guard spots.
Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand's leading hotel operator and Chiangmai Riverside Plaza Hotel Co., Ltd. announce the signing of a Hotel Management Agreement (HMA) for Centara Riverside Hotel Chiang Mai. Senior management teams from the two companies officially executed the agreement at a signing ceremony held at Centara Grand at CentralWorld recently.

The latest signing is the first following the announcement by Centara of its bold expansion plans, which will help the group reach its goal of becoming a top 100 global hotel operator within five years.

Located next to Ping River close to the Old Town, the existing 27-storey hotel will be rebranded Centara Riverside Hotel Chiang Mai from 1st April 2022 onwards.

Centara Riverside Hotel's 526 guestrooms range between 45 and 223 square metres and feature floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the city, Ping River, and Doi Suthep.

Pictured: Centara Hotels & Resorts led by Thirayuth Chirathivat, Chief Executive Officer (4th from left) and Supatra Chirathivat, Senior Executive Vice President - Corporate Affairs & Social Responsibilities (3rd from left) together with Amarin Narula, Board of Director of Chiangmai Riverside Plaza Hotel Co., Ltd. (4th from right) signed a Hotel Management Agreement for "Centara Riverside Hotel Chiang Mai".

Hotel website
Expedia Group Media Solutions, the global travel advertising platform connecting marketers with hundreds of millions of travelers across the Expedia Group brands, today announced the appointment of Rob Torres as senior vice president. Recognized across the industry as a travel media leader, in his new role Torres will oversee Expedia Group's global advertising business, which inspires travel, enriches the shopping experience, and creates value for advertising partners and travelers alike through strategic and creative campaigns. Torres will build on the more than 20-year history of Media Solutions and play an active role with the leadership team in shaping the future of the business with industry leading offerings for partners.

Torres spent the last 15+ years at Google as the managing director of advertising and marketing for the company's travel division, overseeing sales, strategy, product development and relationship management for Google's largest travel advertising partners. His move marks a return to Expedia Group, where he spent 7 years as vice president of strategic accounts, working closely with key hotel partners.

A travel industry leader, Torres was most recently vice chairman and a member of the Operating Committee of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and currently serves on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB). This industry leadership group is responsible for counseling and supporting the U.S. Department of Commerce on travel-related policies and issues. Torres is also a former chairman of the World Economic Forum's Future of Mobility council and past board chairman for The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI).

A Seattle native, Torres is an active member of the community and avid supporter of Mary's Place, a local non-profit that provides safe, inclusive shelter and services that support women, children and families on their journey out of homelessness.
Royal Sonesta San Juan announced the appointment of Raul Bustamante as General Manager of the beautiful beach-front property located in the neighborhood of Isla Verde. In his role, Bustamante is responsible for the successful execution of all aspects of the hotel's operations, including sales, marketing, and finance.

Bustamante has over 40 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to joining Royal Sonesta San Juan, Bustamante held multiple leadership positions with Hilton International, and most recently performed as General Manager of the InterContinental Cartagena in Colombia. He is well-known in Puerto Rico for his professionalism and dedication, where he was based for 20 years at properties, including the Caribe Hilton and Conrad Condado Plaza. Bustamante was also the owner and General Manager of the Ramada International San Juan hotel.

Throughout his career, Bustamante led new hotel projects, renovations, and the repositioning of various properties, as well as mentored many professionals on to successful careers in the tourism industry. For his active participation in community projects, Bustamante has been honored with several awards, including Medalla al Merito Civico in 2018 by the Mayor's Office of Cartagena, Top 10 Business Leaders of Puerto Rico in 2015 by Caribbean Business, and Hotelier of the Year by the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association in 2008 and 1995. He has also served on various Board of Directors in both the public and private sector, including as Chairman of the Board of the San Juan Puerto Rico Convention Bureau, and President of the Board of the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association.
Accor Chairman and CEO Sebastien Bazin did not disappoint on March 24 at Skift Forum Europe 2022 in London, speaking with much candor in a lively conversation with Skift founder and CEO Rafat Ali. You can watch a full video of their discussion above, as well as read a transcript of it, below.

Bazin defended with nuance his companys decision not to fully pull out of Russia. He said the U.S. market is almost on fire, with average room rates up 18-25 percent. He also admitted to having had some failures over the years.

Bazin argued that changed traveler behavior because of the surge in distributed working will vindicate his multi-year efforts to integrate Accor hotels more closely with their local communities and to embrace vacation rentals, co-working spaces, and other emerging forms of blended hospitality.

Read the full article at skift Inc.
American travelers are raring to go, and rising hotel prices arent stopping them. For evidence, see what Miami hotels are demanding on the weekend in early May when the Formula 1 racing series comes to town: The 1 South Beach is requiring four-night minimums at just under $4,000 a night, while the Hampton Inn in the citys Brickell neighborhood is charging more than $400 a night.

Vacationers, flush with cash and eager to hit the road after two years of pandemic living, are paying up at resorts, roadside hotels and even urban properties  at least in cities with tourism appeal. Those free-spending consumers are filling hotels on weekends, making up for the lack corporate travelers, who typically book rooms during the workweek.

The pandemic has reminded people that life is short, said Jan Freitag, senior vice president at lodging analytics company STR. They want to splurge, and they have a lot of pent-up savings. If a market has a leisure appeal, then the hotels in that market are doing well.

Rising prices arent scaring off leisure travelers. The average daily hotel rate rose to $149.38 last week, according to STR. That was the third-highest mark ever, behind the week ending March 19 and the week after Christmas in 2021.

Read the full article at BloomBerg.com
Spain expects international tourist arrivals to reach 80% of pre-pandemic volumes in the second quarter as northern Europeans shrug off concerns over the Ukraine conflict and return en masse for Easter, a senior tourism official said on Friday.

"Easter isn't showing any direct impact from uncertainty caused by the conflict," Secretary of State for Tourism Fernando Valdes said, adding that he was confident the industry would bounce back from the drop caused by the Omicron coronavirus variant in late 2021 and early 2022.

Any future hit from the war to Spanish tourism would depend on its duration and intensity, he told a news conference.

Bookings for the long Easter weekend have already reached 90% of 2019 levels, according to data from market-intelligence firm ForwardKeys he showed at the news conference.

Reservations from Denmark and Sweden were nearly 40% higher than over the same period before the pandemic, while the number is 26% higher for Germans and 13% for Britons, the data showed. The number of tourists from the United States is around 26% lower than in 2019.

Read the full article at reuters.com
CapitaLand Investment Limiteds (CLI) wholly owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott) has upgraded its loyalty programme, Ascott Star Rewards (ASR), to offer more rewards for members bookings made via its direct channels [1].

In celebration of ASRs third anniversary in April, ASR members can now earn points on qualifying bookings through Ascotts reservation offices[2] via email, phone call and WeChat as well as authorised travel agents via Ascotts Global Distribution System. Members can also earn points for walk-in bookings at more than 400 ASR participating properties in over 130 cities across more than 30 countries. These channels are in addition to Ascotts booking website discoverasr.com and the Discover ASR mobile app. ASR has also been expanded to include more exclusive benefits[3] including priority check-ins, birthday discount e-vouchers, and welcome gifts.

Ms Tan Bee Leng, Ascotts Managing Director for Brand & Marketing, said: Three years on, Ascott remains steadfast in its commitment to uphold ASR as one of the most flexible loyalty programmes in the hospitality industry. There is no cap to ASR points earned, no minimum points redemption and no blackout dates for redemption. Our ASR members enjoy maximum flexibility and convenience when using their points. Even when travel was most hard-hit during COVID-19, our ASR members have stood by us and remained loyal guests of Ascott. Since its launch in 2019, ASR membership has been increasing by 40% annually. ASR members continue to find value with Ascott, contributing about 90% of Ascotts direct bookings online and about 50% of ASR members are repeat guests.

Ms Tan added: In celebration of ASRs third anniversary, we are providing bigger and better rewards to ASR members. And we want to extend these added perks to all members who make bookings with us via any of our direct channels. Be it for leisure or business, be it an online or a phone call booking, we look forward to giving all our ASR members the best experience and value possible as they plan for their next stay with Ascott. With the gradual opening of international borders, we look forward to welcoming our ASR members home at our properties worldwide.

In celebration of ASRs third anniversary, until 30th April 2022, ASR is enabling members to earn more points and upgrade their membership tier to enjoy more benefits. To give ASR members a head start on their travel plans in 2022, members can purchase ASR points and receive up to 35% bonus points. ASR members will also enjoy 50% off points redemption through ASRs point-for-point matching. It is limited to the first 10 million eligible points redeemed globally, up to 10,000 bonus points per transaction.

Additionally, members who complete their stay by 31 May 2022 will be fast-tracked to upgrade their membership tier with 50% less spend cumulatively. ASR members who link their corporate email address to their account by 31 December 2022 can also earn more points and receive a 30% off voucher[4].

The ASR membership comprises Classic, Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers, and with every tier upgrade, members will receive more benefits such as bonus points, complimentary room upgrades, airport transfers as well as early check-ins and late check-outs. Platinum members will also get greater rewards, receiving 5,000 bonus ASR points when they complete their stay by 31 May 2022.

ASR members currently enjoy a slew of benefits, from buying cash vouchers or a package for their next stay or for their loved ones, to leveraging the ASR Elite Status Match and CapitaStar-ASR Points Exchange programmes that allow them to gain more perks or upgrade their membership tier.

Delivering a phygital experience with Discover ASR mobile app

Since the launch of the Discover ASR mobile app in October 2020, ASR members have been enjoying a phygital experience, a digital experience for their physical stay, offering greater conveniences and flexibility when booking and staying with Ascott. ASR members can search for deals, manage their membership, purchase and redeem ASR points, perform mobile check-in and check-out, and make contactless payment.

In line with the expanded channels for guests to earn points from their stays, ASR members can view and manage their reservations made through email, phone call and walk-in as well as redeem their points for these reservations either via the app or at the front desk. Other features in the app include allowing guests to customise their stay by sharing their pre-arrival and in-stay requests; earn ASR points if they opt out of housekeeping service as part of Ascotts Go Green initiative; and share feedback on their stay through a pulse survey in the mobile app.

Guests staying with Ascott can also access the in-app social wall and private messaging features which allow them to interact with fellow guests or communicate privately with the serviced residences front desk.

Registration for ASR membership is complimentary. To sign up for a membership or for more information, please visit: here. For more information on ASRs Endless Travel Possibilitiescelebratory promotions, please visit: here.

About The Ascott Limited

The Ascott Limited (Ascott) is a Singapore company that has grown to be one of the leading international lodging owner-operators. Ascott's portfolio spans more than 200 cities across over 30 countries in Asia Pacific, Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the USA.

Ascott has more than 78,000 operating units and over 57,000 units under development, making a total of more than 135,000 units in over 800 properties.

The companys serviced apartment, coliving and hotel brands include Ascott The Residence, The Crest Collection, Somerset, Quest, Citadines, lyf, Preference, Vertu, Harris, Citadines Connect, Fox, Yello, Fox Lite and POP!.

Ascotts loyalty programme, Ascott Star Rewards, offers exclusive benefits to its members when they book directly with Ascott for their stays at its participating properties.

Ascott, a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Investment Limited, pioneered Asia Pacifics first international-class serviced apartment with the opening of The Ascott Singapore in 1984. Today, the company boasts over 30 years of industry track record and award-winning brands that enjoy recognition worldwide.

For more information, please visit www.discoverasr.com.

About CapitaLand Investment Limited

Headquartered and listed in Singapore, CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI) is a leading global real estate investment manager (REIM) with a strong Asia foothold. As at 31 December 2021, CLI had about S$122.9 billion of real estate assets under management, and about S$86.2 billion of real estate funds under management (FUM) held via six listed real estate investment trusts and business trusts, and 29 private funds across the Asia-Pacific, Europe and USA. Its diversified real estate asset classes cover integrated developments, retail, office, lodging, business parks, industrial, logistics and data centres.

CLI aims to scale its FUM and fee-related earnings through its full stack of investment management and operating capabilities. As the listed investment management business arm of the CapitaLand Group, CLI has access to the development capabilities of and pipeline investment opportunities from CapitaLands development arm. Being a part of the well-established CapitaLand ecosystem differentiates CLI from other REIMs.

As part of the CapitaLand Group, CLI places sustainability at the core of what it does. As a responsible real estate company, CLI contributes to the environmental and social well-being of the communities where it operates, as it delivers long-term economic value to its stakeholders.

Visit http://www.capitalandinvest.com/ for more information.
Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts has joined forces with the Marie Alsleben Wedding Planning & Design Agency and will be helping bridal couples to tie the knot in style from 1 April 2022 onwards. In addition to enjoying an exclusive location and support from the hotels event teams at a local level, pairs will also be able to receive assistance from professional wedding planners in making all the necessary arrangements for their big day. Ten hotels have been designated as Steigenberger Wedding Destinations so far. The venues in question are the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof, the Steigenberger Parkhotel in Dusseldorf, the Steigenberger Grandhotel & SPA Petersberg, the Steigenberger Wiltchers, the Steigenberger Grandhotel Belvedere, the Steigenberger Hotel Bad Homburg, the Steigenberger Graf Zeppelin, the Steigenberger Inselhotel, the Steigenberger Hotel de Saxe and the Steigenberger Hotel Cologne. More are set to follow.

Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts takes care of everything from initial ideas and dreams to the wedding day itself. Together with the Marie Alsleben Agency, the company will now be pursuing the goal of offering added value to customers and of making use of synergies between wedding planning and the event location. The two cooperation partners will be supporting each other in the areas of commercial marketing and events management. They will be staging joint events for wedding planners and other partners and will work collectively on special promotions both online and offline. All couples holding their celebrations at a Steigenberger Wedding Destination will, for example, be given a 20 percent discount on a Marie Alsleben Wedding Secret Package.

The agency Marie Alsleben  Wedding Planning & Design is based in both Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. It specialises in exclusive planning and event design and implements stylish and modern high-end weddings for customers all over the world. The services of the agency encompass all relevant topics, including budget planning, individual assembly of a service provider team, creation of a design concept, detailed scheduling and coordination of guests and a reassuring presence on the day of the wedding itself.

About Deutsche Hospitality

Vision, passion and cosmopolitanism. Deutsche Hospitality delivers the perfect guest experience. Tradition and an eye for the future come together in an inimitable portfolio of eight brands operating across more than 160 hotels globally. "Celebrating luxurious simplicity.": Steigenberger Icons are extraordinary luxury hotels which combine historical uniqueness and modern concepts. The Steigenberger Porsche Design Hotels brand is generating innovative impetuses in the Luxury Lifestyle Segment. Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts represent the epitome of upscale hospitality on three continents. Jaz in the City's Lifestyle Hotels dictate the rhythm in the Upscale Sector. House of Beats unites a passion for the hotel business with the fascination of lifestyle, fashion and music. IntercityHotel is located at the very hub of any destination and offers a true home of comfort and mobility in the Midscale Segment. MAXX by Deutsche Hospitality is a charismatic conversion brand which is also positioned in the midscale area of the market. Zleep Hotels provide a smart marriage of design and functionality in the Economy Segment. All of these brands are unified under H-Rewards, Deutsche Hospitality's loyalty program which yields benefits from the first booking onwards. The vision is clear. In conjunction with its shareholder Huazhu, Deutsche Hospitality aims to advance to become one of Europe's leading hotel companies.
Amenitiz is a European startup building the Operating System of independent hotels. Their unique platform brings all the necessary tools and resources hoteliers need to run their properties, from building a beautiful conversion optimised website, efficiently managing and distributing their inventory to automating most of their daily tasks, including payment and invoicing. Backed by world-class VCs Point-Nine, Backed, and Otium Capital investors in some of the most disruptive companies in tech, including Zendesk, Delivery Hero, Revolut, Loom, and Thought Machine  Amenitiz is ambitioning to become the worlds leading Hospitality platform. Amenitiz was named one of Wireds 10 hottest Barcelona startups in 2021 We have clients on 4 continents, ranging from beautiful villas in Greece to powerful brands like Pierre & Vacances. Were looking for dynamic and ambitious people to join us on our mission ! Our offices are located in the heart of Barcelona, right next to Plaza Catalunya.
U.S. refineries are reaching their capacity for the first time since the pandemic started, pushing up fuel costs already at record highs after Russia invaded Ukraine and roiled global oil markets.

Refineries in the United States are operating at 92 percent of capacity, according to data from the Energy Information Administration, meaning most of their refining units are full.

(Refiners) are looking at ways to put more barrels through, said John Auers, executive vice president of refining at energy consultancy Turner, Mason & Co. And theyre going to do that. But right now theyre full.

The industry lost significant capacity during the pandemic as refineries closed permanently  a reckoning forced by mounting costs and declining future prospects for gasoline as the energy transition accelerated.

Now theyre having to do more with less as the global market loses gasoline and diesel from Russia, which had been a major exporter of refined products to Europe. With refineries nearing capacity, its more difficult for the U.S. to fill the gap left by the loss of Russian products, which comes as demand for fuel recovers from the pandemic, analysts said.

Refinery closings have stripped 3 million barrels per day from the global market since January 2020, including 1 million barrels a day in the U.S, according to the industry trade group American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers.

Even if refineries hadnt closed and even if stocks were at more normal levels, thered have been a price spike just because of how much supply  Russian export  is being removed from the market, said Rob Smith, director of global fuel retail at S&P Global. But it likely wouldnt have been as severe or as long lasting as the one we will deal with now.

The diminished refining capacity is more palpable for diesel and jet fuel, of which Russia was a major supplier, Smith said. Not coincidentally, thats the product family thats really skyrocketed, he said, referring to the rise in demand for those products.

The tight refining market is a far cry from the early days of the pandemic, when the first stay-at-home orders hit and the rate of refinery utilization plunged to its lowest level since at least the early 1980s. Utilization rates fell to 70 percent in April 2020 from 93 percent in December 2019, according to the EIA.

As the pandemic kept people home and off freeways, it accelerated the energy transition and hastened the closures of some refineries.

Shell closed its Convent refinery in Louisiana last year, taking 240,000 barrels per day of capacity from the market as part of a company effort to reduce carbon emissions. Also last year: multiple years of hurricane damage cemented Phillips 66's decision to close its Alliance refinery in Lousiana, which processed 255,000 barrels of crude per day.

amanda.drane@chron.com
DETROIT (AP)  Majority-Black Detroit has become the largest U.S. city to challenge its figures from the 2020 census following a national head count in which the U.S. Census Bureau acknowledges that a higher percentage of African Americans were undercounted than last decade, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Leaders of Michigan's largest city, which is more than three-quarters Black, had questioned the results of the 2020 census since last December when they released a report suggesting that more than 8% of the occupied homes in 10 Detroit neighborhoods may have been undercounted.

Detroit filed its challenge late last week, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In a letter to the Census Bureau, Mayor Michael Duggan said insufficient resources and not enough census takers were devoted to the count in Detroit, resulting in an undercount of unoccupied homes that could amount to tens of thousand of residents being overlooked.

The Census Bureau now has an obligation to set the record straight, Duggan said.

The 2020 census data showed Detroit with 639,111 residents, while estimates from 2019 put the citys population at 670,052 residents. A drop of 31,000 residents would be really implausible, Jeffrey Morenoff, a University of Michigan sociology professor who helped conduct a study on the undercount for the city, said when the report was released in December.

Detroit is no stranger to census challenges. Then-Mayor Coleman Young sued after the 1990 census, and the numbers were later adjusted.

Even though the overall U.S. population was missed by a small percentage, 0.24%, during a once-a-decade head count challenged by the pandemic, natural disasters and political interference from the Trump administration, some minority groups were overlooked at greater rates than the previous decade. The Black population was undercounted by 3.3%, those who identified as some other race had a 4.3% undercount, almost 5% of the Hispanic population was missed and more than 5.6% of American Indians living on reservations were undercounted.

Detroit is among almost two dozen cities and counties that have challenged their census figures so far. States and municipalities have until the middle of next year to appeal their figures through the Census Bureau's Count Question Resolution operation. Challenges are rarely successful, but the outcome could determine whether the cities and counties get their fair share when it comes to the distribution of $1.5 trillion in annual federal funding.

In Detroits case, Duggan said that federal funding for the city tied to the 2010 census in the previous decade exceeded $37 billion.

A roughly 8% undercount of Detroits population in the 2020 census creates disastrous financial consequences for the City, Duggan said.

The overwhelmingly majority of the municipalities challenging their census figures are small towns, with more than half of them coming from the rural South. About half a dozen have said in their challenges that prisons in their communities were overlooked during the count.

Residents of prisons, nursing homes and college dorms  also known as group quarters - were among the most difficult people to count during the 2020 census since students on campus were sent home when the pandemic began in the U.S. in March 2020, and prisons and nursing homes went into lockdowns against the spread of the coronavirus.

Because of the difficulties in counting these residents, the Census Bureau last month created a separate program for challenges of group quarter counts.

Leaders of municipalities making the challenges said an incorrect count could cost them state and federal grants. Mayor Joe Sparks of Bennett, Iowa, said he is worried that the town won't get money for two emergency power generators from the Federal Emergency Management Agency if its census numbers aren't corrected.

The town's population went from 405 in 2010 to 347 in 2020, and that is very hard for me to believe," Sparks said.

The reduced population numbers will affect Bennett residents adversely," he said.

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Schneider reported from Orlando, Florida.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

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This story has been updated to show that the U.S. Census Bureau program for making challenges is the Count Question Resolution operation, not the County Question Resolution operation.
China-funded Kaliwa Dam should not be Pharmally-like: Pangilinan

WHILE acknowledging the need for additional water sources, Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan said the rush to construct the Kaliwa Dam project across several provinces including Rizal should not brush aside laws and the rights of communities that will be affected.

The vice-presidential candidate questioned the signing of the memorandum of agreement for the P12.2-billion Chinese-funded deal despite staunch opposition from the Dumagat-Remontado tribe occupying portions of the project site.

"Kailangan tiyakin na patas ang kontrata at hindi minadali para sa mga Chinese investor. Baka sa huli, mala-Pharmally ang kalabasan nito kung saan pinagkakitaan lang ang pondo ng bayan," Pangilinan said, referring to overpriced pandemic medical supplies provided by the firm chosen by the Department of Budget and Management.

At stake in the dam project is not only the life and livelihood of the indigenous communities, but the environment and safety of communities living nearby.

"Kapag sinimulan na ang proyekto, hindi na maibabalik anuman ang masisira sa kapaligiran. The damage will be irreversible," Pangilinan said.

The vice-presidential bet also reminded that the dam project will be under a loan agreement to be paid by every Filipino and with interest.

"Dapat ding busisiing maigi ang kontrata ng Chinese company na ito para malaman kung patas ang mga probisyon at hindi lugi ang mga Pilipino. Ika nga, the devil is in the details," he said.

The 60-meter-high reservoir of the New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project will cover 291 hectares of the Kaliwa Watershed Forest Reserve and the adjoining ancestral domains of the Dumagat-Remontado communities in General Nakar, Quezon and Tanay, Rizal.

A 28-kilometer-long conveyance tunnel will be built from the dam site in Barangay Magsaysay in Infanta, Quezon through several barangays in Tanay, Baras, Morong and Teresa towns in Rizal.

Government data showed that 1,465 households in three villages in Rizal and Quezon will be affected by the China-backed dam project. Of the figure, 1,041 "will be at risk of flooding and other effects of possible dam failure or dam break."

An earlier report said the MOA for the project was signed despite opposition by the indigenous communities.

Pangilinan said that with many controversies hounding its construction, a thorough and transparent review of the agreement is paramount.
Houston Chronicle file

One day after the slaying of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis, authorities were working to identify the sniper responsible for killing the civil rights leader.

In Houston, Mayor Louie Welch urged for calm in a bid to avoid the violence that had gripped other U.S. cities following King's assassination.
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Police officers shot a man who allegedly carjacked a construction worker, ran him over, crashed multiple times into a high-rise apartment building and stabbed someone in a chaotic series of events that unfolded early Tuesday in Montrose.

Officers were dispatched at 3:24 a.m. to an assault call at Hanover Autry Park, a luxury apartment building on the 800 block of Buffalo Park Drive, said Chief Troy Finner of the Houston Police Department.

The string of violent offenses began when the unidentified man carjacked a construction worker at the apartment building and ran him over in the stolen vehicle, Finner said.

More from Anna Bauman: Galveston business owners say the city marshal is bullying them and point to a viral video as proof

The construction worker, identified as a 59-year-old man, was walking away when he was struck and killed.

The attacker then crashed through the glass lobby of the high-rise apartment. A concierge took shelter in a back office. The attacker got back behind the wheel, Finner said, and crashed the truck into that office as well.

Another person identified as a 51-year-old man came into the apartment office, Finner said. The attacker then stabbed him in the back and fled, police said.

As the attacker walked down the street, police multiple times commanded him to drop his knife. Finner said the man refused to drop the weapon and "charged up on" the officers.

Two officers discharged their service weapons, Finner said. The man sustained at least two gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital where he was last reported to be in surgery, police said.

The stabbing victim was in stable condition and the concierge was not injured.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Bond set for man who stabbed an officer at a Surfside Subway

The central division patrol officers who fired their weapons  one with two years of service, the other with five years  were placed on administrative leave, per policy, Finner said.

The police department's internal affairs unit and special investigative unit are investigating the incident, along with the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Body camera footage will be released within 30 days, per department policy, Finner said.

Finner said this was an isolated incident and there is no additional threat to residents of the apartment complex.

Police have not identified the suspect or his motive.
Nearly 4 million public school students will be tasked with taking the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test over the next several weeks, marking a return to some form of normalcy after two unusual testing years due to the pandemic.

So what's new this year, and what should parents expect? Here are seven things to know about the 2022 STAAR test:

1. When is the STAAR test?

The STAAR test is administered over several weeks in the spring, with additional testing opportunities available in the summer and at other times throughout the year for end-of-course exams. According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the STAAR schedule for the 2021-22 school year is as follows:

Beginning of April: English I and English II

Beginning of May: Algebra I; Biology; U.S. History

Middle of May: Grades 3, 4, 6 and 7 mathematics and reading; grades 5 and 8 science; grade 8 social studies

End of June: Retests for Algebra I; English I; English II; Biology; U.S. History

On HoustonChronicle.com: STAAR results came with plenty of caveats. Were the tests worth the effort this pandemic year?

2. What is new in this year's STAAR test?

Online testing began in December 2021, so students will again have the choice to take the test online this year. There is no grade 4 & writing this year, as well.

Next year's STAAR test will have even more changes thanks to a redesign prompted by House Bill (HB) 3906. The bill aims to provide more flexibility for administering the test and incorporate teacher input, per the TEA. The biggest change is that 2022-23 testing will move entirely online. Other changes include capping the percentage of multiple-choice items, offering new question formats and eliminating standalone writing assessments for grades 4-7, according to the TEA.

On HoustonChronicle.com: State officials reporting 'completely unacceptable' STAAR online testing issues

3. Is there any chance of the test being canceled this year?

Some Texas lawmakers have made calls demanding that the 2022 test be canceled over issues from the pandemic, including students and teachers missing class due to COVID outbreaks. It's unlikely this year's test will be canceled since it is already weeks away, and the test is required by state and federal law unless a federal waiver is approved.

The TEA previously said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle that canceling this year's test would be a mistake since education leaders use the results to see how the state is faring academically and that results are especially important this year so leaders can see how students are recovering from the pandemic.

4. Can the STAAR test be taken online?

The STAAR test is available in both paper and online formats for all grades and subjects this school year, per the TEA. The test will be administered entirely online next school year.

A study from the TEA and Texas A&M found that 70 percent of states already administer their standardized tests virtually and that moving STAAR online would be possible, thanks to recent technological advancements and the purchase of 2.5 million computer devices during the pandemic.

5. Can you opt your child out of the STAAR test?

For the first time, students in grades 3 through 8 were able to opt-out last year due to the pandemic, resulting in nearly one million missing tests. Schools were not given an accountability rating that year, either.

But last year aside, students are generally not allowed to opt-out of the STAAR. State law requires that students take all standardized tests.

"While state law provides families with the right to temporarily remove their child from a class or school activity if they have an objection to participation, the law does not allow families the right to specifically exclude a child from testing," a representative with the TEA said in an emailed statement to the Houston Chronicle.

On HoustonChronicle.com: How a handful of school districts improved on STAAR tests despite virtual learning

6. What is the importance of the STAAR results?

Results of the STAAR help determine state-issued accountability ratings for campuses.

The test was canceled in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, and last year the test was still administered but was not used for accountability purposes. The 2022 testing marks the return of accountability scores for schools based on results. But as has been done before, schools that receive D or F ratings will be listed as no rating, which allows them to evade sanctions from the TEA, the Houston Chronicle reported.

7. What happens if your child fails the STAAR test?

Students in grade 8 or below will not be forced to stay behind a year if they fail a standardized test, according to the Texas Association of School Boards.

Most high school students who fail the STAAR test's five EOC exams (Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology, and U.S. History) will not receive a diploma, per the TEA. However, students are able to still graduate if they take alternate assessments, such as the SAT and ACT, in place of the STAAR EOC assessments.

rebecca.hennes@chron.com
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Federal officials are sending millions of dollars to fund the ongoing expansion of the bustling Houston Ship Channel, a project that community members and advocates are closely tracking to be sure the work contributes as minimally as possible to air pollution.

The primary concern for those living along the channel is that workers continue to use relatively clean equipment.

On HoustonChronicle.com: A historic community prepares to fight yet another health hazard

About $142 million was earmarked through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for the project, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers news release that followed a story first reported by Houston Public Media. Another $40 million from President Joe Bidens budget will go to channel operations and maintenance.

The incremental funding marks a rolling along of whats known as Project 11. The undertaking includes both deepening and widening the 52-mile channel, which passes through shallow Galveston Bay and up the narrow and meandering Buffalo Bayou.

Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer From left to right: "Poplar Arrow" prepares to enter the Houston Ship Channel, and Houston Pilot Kevin Kirk boarded "GasChem" on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021.

Port Houston officials have hailed the project as a necessary step toward improving efficiency and safety along the channel as ships get bigger and bigger. The Port is working on the project along with the Corps. The federal government is paying slightly less than half the cost.

This federal funding is essential to keep Project 11 on track and bring to fruition a safer, faster, and cleaner ship channel for all users, said Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther in a statement in January when the funding plan was announced.

The Houston waterway is so narrow that specially-trained boat pilots famously conduct the Texas Chicken maneuver to pass each other, heading directly toward each other and then turning as they near so the forces in the water dont push or pull them into each other.

Texas Chicken: Big ships navigating the narrow Houston Ship Channel have little room for error

Environmental advocates support a safer way for ships that sometimes carry hazardous materials to pass, but they and local residents have pressed the port to hire companies that use less-polluting dredge equipment. The port commissioners agreed to do so when they hired a company to start on the first phase of work.

The newly announced federal funding is being earmarked specifically for segment three, which involves changes to Barbours Cut, an offshoot of the channel located by Morgans Point on Galveston Bay. The entire project is estimated to cost around $1 billion and work is expected to be completed by 2025.

emily.foxhall@chron.com
Venus Aerospace, a Houston company developing a spaceplane that could fly passengers from Los Angeles to Tokyo in one hour, has raised $20 million, the company announced Tuesday.

This brings its total fundraising to $33 million.

MORE ON VENUS AEROSPACE: Houston startup designing spaceplane that could fly from LA to Tokyo in 1 hour

"In the past year, with our initial funding, we have scaled from three people to 40. These are the worlds best rocket scientists, engineers and operators, Sassie Duggleby, CEO of Venus Aerospace, said in a news release. With this funding, we will continue to push forward toward our next technical milestones, hire great people and scale our organization."

Sassie Duggleby and her husband Andrew Duggleby, who co-founded the company, left jobs in California to grow Venus Aerospace in Houston. The company is designing a spaceplane that will travel 12 times faster than the speed of sound and at an altitude of 150,000 feet, which is high enough to see the blackness of space.

It sounds like a new-and-improved Concorde  the commercial airliner that traveled more than twice the speed of sound; flying from London to New York in roughly 3  hours  but Venus Aerospace says its aircraft would be more like the space shuttle. The shuttle re-entered Earths atmosphere and then glided to the runway. Venus Aerospace plans to use rocket engines to approach the threshold of space and then glide.

Its recent round of funding was led by Prime Movers Lab, which invests in breakthrough scientific companies. Venus Aerospace will use this money to mature its rocket engine, aircraft shape and leading-edge cooling, which allows the spaceplane to take off from spaceports like the Houston Spaceport.

The U.S. is in the middle of a global race for hypersonic technology, and the breakthroughs being developed by Sassie, Andrew and their team have numerous civilian and defense applications, Prime Movers Lab General Partner Brandon Simmons said in the news release. Venus hit critical engine tests, vehicle design, and growth milestones that make me tremendously excited about the future of American hypersonic flight."
Sgt. Ricardo Salas believes a German Shepherd named Alejandro should be considered a hero.

On the morning of April 2, the HPD officer responded to several 911 calls about a child walking along some train tracks with a dog near the 2000 block of Cavalcade St. When Salas found the two along the tracks, it was apparent that the child, 5-year-old Jose, had Down syndrome and the dog, Alejandro, wouldn't leave his side.

"When I picked up the child, the dog was following basically everywhere I went. It wasn't barking, it wasn't intimidated," Salas said. "It started to get a little hot (outside) so I put the child in the patrol vehicle with the AC, and the German Shepherd actually jumped inside the driver's seat with him."

Houston Dogs: Meet Enzo: A tactical corgi on a motorcycle who wants to help Houston kids fight bullying

It wasn't until HPD received another 911 call from Jose's mother about 25 minutes later that they were able to return him and Alejandro to his family. The family told Salas that Alejandro's behavior was a surprise to them. Jose was always poking at Alejandro's eyes and grabbing and pulling on his tail.

"It seems like to us that the dog knew something was up, he knew that the child wasn't supposed to be wandering off and he ended up following him," Salas said.

Officers even tried feeding Alejandro, Salas said, but the dog wasn't interested.

"He was very protective and would not take his eyes off the child," he said.

Jose's mother told Click2Houston that she and Jose settled down for a nap and when she woke up, he was gone. She believes Jose must have opened a door and wandered away.

Jose may have also followed a cat towards the train tracks because, as the family told Salas, Jose loves cats. Police suggested Jose's family purchase childproof doorknobs and a bracelet with a tracking device.

Usually when a child is found without their parents but with an animal, the police would have to call the pound to pick up the animal and Child Protective Services to pick up the child, according to Salas.

"I just knew that if we waited, someone would call about the missing child," Salas said, "and sure enough, someone ended up calling."

Salas says that if it wasn't for Alejandro, things had the potential to be much worse.

"There's no doubt in my mind that if a train would have been coming and the child would have been on the tracks, that dog would have saved him by pulling him away from danger," he said. "He was just there to protect the child."

ryan.nickerson@hcnonline.com
Twice before, just when it began to look as if we were past the worst of the pandemic, a new strain of the coronavirus sent us back home, looking for our masks as hospitals filled. With cases rising in parts of the country once more, some health officials are warning that another season of danger could be just ahead.

Thats why Senate negotiators decision this week to strip $5 billion in funding for international vaccinations from a COVID relief bill is so alarming. That money is needed to maintain the nations important work to slow the spread of the virus by helping some of the worlds poorest countries speed up efforts to vaccinate their residents.

Scientists have made clear that the omicron and delta variants that did so much to put the nation back on pandemic alert originated in countries with low vaccination rates at the time before traveling to America. The lessons couldnt have been clearer: As long as large portions of the globe remain essentially defenseless in the face of the virus, it will continue to threaten every nation.

Thats why the United States led the effort to inoculate the world. After a slow start, during which rival nations exported their own vaccines, President Biden admirably pledged an arsenal of vaccines to end the pandemic. The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided $9.3 billion to fight COVID worldwide, partnering with COVAX, the global vaccine facility, to administer roughly 500 million vaccines to more than 110 countries.

But that money is fast running out, as USAID has been telling the White House for months. To replenish those resources, the Biden administration had asked Congress for $5 billion as part of a $22 billion COVID relief package. Lawmakers instead whittled the bill down to $10 billion, money that will be used for domestic testing, vaccination and treatment efforts. But money set aside for funding the global vaccination effort? Nixed.

Thats a mistake  on humanitarian and pragmatic grounds.

The delta variant, which inflicted so much disruption and death to the United States this summer, originated in India, when few of its roughly 1.4 billion residents were fully vaccinated. Omicron was discovered in South Africa, where less than a third of the population is fully vaccinated. And global health officials are tracking other variants in nations across the globe with low vaccination rates.

People around the world are dying because they dont have access to the life-saving vaccines that so many of us take for granted. Thats precisely the kind of wide-scale suffering that cries out for intervention from a world superpower like the United States, especially when the solution is so near at hand.

The reality is if you want to get big global projects done it always falls to the U.S. to take the lead, and it doesnt look like its happening now, Dr. Peter Hotez told Politico.

But as the lessons of the previous resurgences in the COVID cases shows us, spending big on international vaccination efforts is also very much about protecting ourselves.

Will another strain of the virus send us back to mask mandates and virtual classrooms? Lets hope not. But rising case numbers in some parts of the country are already sounding alarms. Philadelphia officials this week warned residents its time to take precautions. Its not required yet, but Philadelphians should strongly consider wearing a mask while in public indoor spaces, the citys health commissioner said in a statement.

What we can say for sure is until international vaccination rates are higher, the billions of people around the globe without protection will continue to be breeding grounds for new strains of the virus. Roughly 60 percent of the world population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 66 percent have received at least one dose. But those numbers, while still not high enough, hide stark differences. Vaccination rates in some countries in Africa and the Middle East are still in the single digits.

Some of those gaps are being filled in, thankfully. The Corbevax vaccine developed in Houston by Hotez and Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, co-director of the Texas Childrens Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, was approved for use in Botswana last week, marking the fourth country in Africa to approve the vaccine, following Bangladesh, India and Indonesia. The vaccine is cheaper to make and store than earlier vaccines, and has the potential to save many lives.

Congress should be looking for ways to help get this vaccine and the others already widely in use into the arms of the billions of people across the globe still not vaccinated. One reason it matters, of course, is that so many Americans have yet to be vaccinated. With 66 percent of the adult population vaccinated here, were just barely above average. The more opportunities the virus has to mutate overseas, and the more likely it will arrive here ready to wreak havoc.

Fortunately, while Senate negotiators have proposed cutting the $5 billion for international vaccination efforts, the legislation has yet to be voted on. Senators should restore the funding before passage. If that doesnt work, itll be up to the House to insist on this prudent investment.
Regarding Editorial: Clarence Thomas should step aside from cases involving Trump, 2020 election, (April 4): It is bad enough our Supreme Court is totally politicized, but when the wife of one of the justices, Clarence Thomas, advocates to overturn an election, I think that the justice is guilty by default and must resign. It is possible the Supreme Court will consider one or more case(s) of those who will be tried in connection with the insurrection. And Thomas cannot be impartial.

Recusing himself is not enough. He was the only justice to vote no when weighing whether or not defeated Trump should be made to turn over materials to the committee investigating the insurrection. Further, I do not believe the justice and his spouse do not discuss their work.

Remove Thomas now.

Mark Niles, Houston

Democratic presidential candidates have won the popular vote in nearly every election since 1992; the only exception was 2004 when George W. Bush defeated John Kerry. It is clear which party, and policies, the majority of American voters support. It is not surprising that right-wing extremists such as Ginni Thomas will do whatever they can to ensure their party remains in power, even if that means trying to overturn the results of a fair and legitimate election.

When national elections are held, it is easy to see which party the majority of Americans support. Republicans understand this and are desperate to justify their losses by blaming voter fraud or problems with voting machines.

But the numbers do not lie: the majority of American voters have supported Democratic presidential candidates for the past 30 years. Even Ginni Thomas can't change this.

Bill Meyer, Kingwood

Ask Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from certain cases concerning the Jan. 6 insurrection? Good luck with that. He was the sole dissenter when the court rejected in January Donald Trumps efforts to keep White House records away from congressional investigators. I wager Thomas wont recuse himself because he doesnt have to.

John Leedy, Houston
Once little more than a pipe dream, the national movement to legalize marijuana keeps inching closer to reality.

On Friday the U.S. House muscled through legislation decriminalizing cannabis for the second time in two years, even picking up three Republican votes to lend it some bipartisan credibility. The bill would remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act, impose an 8 percent tax on cannabis products, and make Small Business Administration loans and services available to cannabis businesses. The bill also undoes some of the damage wrought by the decades-long War on Drugs by allowing some convictions on cannabis charges to be expunged and for others to be reviewed.

The White House said Friday President Biden opposes the bill in its current form. Thats disappointing given his strong campaigning for aspects of it  including making medical marijuana legal nationally and support for states that chose to legalize recreational use. Now that hes president, he should help draft a version more to his liking. If he cant produce a better bill, he should support this one, and urge its passage in the Senate.

The bill takes aim at the inexplicably rigid dichotomy on cannabis policy between most states and the federal government. Already, 38 states have legalized medical marijuana and 18 of them made recreational use legal, too. If states are still considered laboratories for democracy, then these successful experiments  which range from full legalization to subtler forms of decriminalization, including the county-by-county approach to enforcement found in Texas  should make clear federal prohibition should end. Cannabis sales are flourishing, hitting $20 billion in 2020 and projected to more than double by 2025. Some states, such as Illinois, have deftly woven in social justice aspects into the legalization effort, pardoning thousands of people convicted of low-level marijuana offenses.

Legalization has graduated from its status as a fringe issue of the far left and libertarians. In fact, its now wildly popular nationally, with a recent Pew Research Center poll showing that 60 percent of Americans support making pot legal for recreational use and another 31 percent say medical uses should be permitted. Wide majorities of Republicans of all age groups favor legalizing marijuana medically. Even deep-red states such as Oklahoma, which legalized medical marijuana three years ago, recognize its lucrative potential: the state now has more retail cannabis stores than Colorado, Oregon and Washington combined. Thats despite the fact that Oklahoma has yet to legalize recreational use of the drug. Roughly 1 out of 10 of adult residents have been approved to buy and smoke marijuana for medical reasons.

Texas should get off the sidelines and update its outdated pot prohibitions. Its medical program for people with select maladies is far too limited, and keeping possession of even small amounts of pot a crime is a recipe for over-policing of the worst kind, despite the efforts in counties such as Harris, Dallas, Bexar and Travis to dial in doses of leniency. Gov. Greg Abbott has said that nobody should go to jail for smoking or possessing pot, but he hasnt joined his opponent, Beto ORourke, in making legalization a pillar of his campaign.

Whatever happens in the next session of the Texas Legislature, there is opportunity right now for Biden to help his party move this issue forward in the Senate.

He should do so not because marijuana is the miracle drug some of its most ardent champions claim it is. And not because its widespread use is free of health or societal concerns. He should back the House bill because treating marijuana like its heroin is absurd.

The House bill would also address what has become a patchwork system of disparate state and local laws. And it would make it possible for federally-insured banks to begin working with marijuana grow operations and dispensaries. Without that step, too many cannabis firms working in cash  a dangerous and expensive way to do business. Besides, as long as pot remains illegal at the federal level, these businesses know that a change in administration or even just a new attorney general with an anti-pot agenda can cause their investments to go up in smoke.

Those businesses, as well as their investors, employees and customers, deserve stability and access to the banking system. This bill will help provide both things.

Half a century after the war on drugs launched in 1971, surely know now that federal prohibition of pot is overkill. Lets treat it like alcohol. The U.S. government should get out of the way of states working out ways to allow its use while mitigating its risks.
Democrat Beto ORourke doesnt talk much about his former rival and current U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on the campaign trail these days as he runs for governor.

But asked about his 2018 race against Cruz during a campaign stop Port Arthur on Monday, ORourke explained he knew part of his job back then was to warn of the consequences of another term in office for Cruz.

I dont know if I could have even imagined the stuff that he has done since he won the election. When you were freezing in your homes and hes at the Ritz Carlton in Cancun, ORourke said. When the Congress was trying to count the electoral college votes to ensure the peaceful transfer of power  240 years in this experiment  hes part of the insurrection and sedition.

ORourke, the 49-year-old former Congressman from El Paso, was referencing Cruzs decision to go on vacation during the 2021 winter storms that knocked out power to millions of Texans, and to Cruzs role in trying to delay the certification of the 2020 presidential election as Trump supporters began to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Cruz has criticized those who use the term insurrection for the Jan. 6 riot, calling it a Democratic ploy to slander every Trump voter in America.

In 2018, Cruz defeated ORourke by 2.6 percent of the vote  the closest a Democrat has come to winning a statewide office in Texas since the 1990s.

ORourke said this time as he campaigns for statewide office, hes determined to make sure we prosecute the case against giving Gov. Greg Abbott another term.

Abbott, 64, is seeking a third 4-year term as governor. If he wins, hell match former Gov. Rick Perry as the only Texas governors to be elected to three 4-year terms in office.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com
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Republican candidate Mayra Flores will get an early chance to flip a South Texas congressional seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, a Brownsville Democrat.

Gov. Greg Abbott set a June 14 special election to fill Velas seat, now empty after the congressman resigned to take a job with Akin Gump, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm and lobbying shop. The election offers Republicans a critical opportunity to flip a blue district in South Texas, where the national party is aggressively campaigning this cycle after making gains there in 2020.

Flores has already said she will run in the special election, which will take place just three months after she won the GOP primary for the November election. Flores, a respiratory care practitioner from McAllen, said last month that the special election will set the tone for the entire nation in the upcoming midterms.

We are ready for this special election & are ready to make history! she tweeted Monday. South Texas is ready for true conservative leadership in office!

The seat is well within her reach. Though the 34th Congressional District grew bluer after last years redistricting process, the special election will use the seats current boundaries, which President Joe Biden won by just 4 percentage points in 2020. The district currently stretches from Cameron County to Gonzales County, including the cities of Brownsville and McAllen on the border.

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 Republican in the House, said last week that the election provides the GOP with a ripe opportunity to pick up this seat. In declaring the special election Monday, Abbott cited his ongoing emergency orders related to COVID-19 and migrant crossings at the Texas-Mexico border.

U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, is the Democratic nominee for the 34th District this fall. But hes also the sitting congressman for the 15th Congressional District and has no intention of vacating his seat to run in the special election, leaving an uncertain field for Democrats.

The winner of the special election will finish the remainder of Velas term, which expires next January. If Flores wins, Texas would see a rare faceoff in November between two sitting members of Congress.

But the election in November will use the new district boundaries, where voters favored Biden by 15.5 points in 2020. The redrawn lines keep McAllen and Brownsville in the district but remove some of the northernmost counties.

The deadline for candidates to file for the special election is April 13. Early voting will begin May 31.

cayla.harris@express-news.net
A self-proclaimed weedaholic from San Antonio has pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor for his role in the Capitol riot.

Chance Uptmore, 25, pleaded to illegally parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol, one of four charges he had faced in Washington, D.C., in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the other three as part of the plea agreement. He faces no more than six months in jail, and could get probation.

CAPITOL CHAOS: Galveston County man accused of being involved in Jan. 6 riot at U.S. Capitol

Uptmore still faces trial next week in Texas over pot, psychedelic mushrooms and a gun that were found at his San Antonio home during a raid in which FBI agents investigated him and his father for the Capitol case.

According to his plea documents, Uptmore went on a birthday trip in January 2021 with his father to the East Coast, attended then-President Donald Trump's Stop the Steal rally in Washington, D.C., and then joined the mob that breached the Capitol.

His plea documents said Uptmore filmed several videos outside the building of the mob breaching the police line on the northwest side of the Capitol, videos of Trump supporters assaulting officers and scaling walls.

'I WAS SCARED': Son of Texas suspect in Jan. 6 riot explains why he turned in his dad

Uptmore and his father entered the building, walked around and Uptmore recorded more videos of rioters confronting police, the plea documents said.

In other court documents, Chance Uptmore told FBI agents that he entered the Capitol building because he was caught up in the crowd, and because it was a once-in-a-lifetime event. The documents also said his father followed him into the building after advising him not to enter.

After identifying the Uptmores from news and social media videos, FBI agents searched their San Antonio home and found several drug-related items that included 16 pounds of marijuana and various THC products, one-third of a pound of psilocybin mushrooms and a loaded, .38 caliber revolver in Chance Uptmores bedroom, according to a pleading filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Roomberg.

Chance Uptmore was charged with being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm.

JAN. 6 VERDICT: Texas man who stormed Capitol, Guy Reffitt, found guilty of 5 felony charges

Uptmore told agents he smokes a ton of marijuana, and then uses the mushrooms for micro-dosing . . . it helps you get into a flow state, Roombergs pleading states.

In a second interview when Uptmore and his father went to the FBI office in San Antonio, Uptmore said that he uses micro doses of mushrooms to be productive, focus and counter depression; uses THC edibles to knock out; and weedanytime.

The Defendant further stated that he smokes hash rosin, also known as dab, in the morning because it does not leave a strong taste in the mouth, but it is too expensive to use all the time, the pleading said. The Defendant characterized himself as mainly a blunt smoker who smokes 5 to 10 blunts a day, sometimes more.

CHAOS AT CAPITOL: 64 Texans were charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. A year later, here's where things stand.

Uptmore also estimated that he spends approximately $1,000 per month on drug use and describes himself as a weedaholic, the prosecution pleading states.

His lawyer, John Convery, tried to get the San Antonio indictment dismissed, but U.S. District Judge Fred Biery turned down the request.

Convery told Biery during a hearing last week that Uptmore has offered to take a conditional plea - plead guilty as long as he can later appeal. San Antonio prosecutors, however, do not want that kind of plea deal and the case is scheduled for trial next week.

Uptmores father, James Herman Sonny Uptmore, is awaiting trial in the Capitol case only on four misdemeanor charges.
As temperatures dropped in early February and Texans braced for severe winter weather, state officials assured the public the power grid was better prepared to handle freezing temperatures compared to 2020.

In a Feb. 3 news conference, Gov. Greg Abbott listed the reasons why he believed Texans should have confidence in the grid: "As compared to last year, Texas has about 15% more power generation capacity."

Seasonal data from grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas indicates available generation capacity is at 85,000 megawatts for winter 2021-2022, up from 83,000 megawatts in winter 2020-2021.

That comes out to be a 2% increase. So where did Abbott get 15%?

Abbott referred to installed capacity

Abbott's office referred PolitiFact Texas to the Texas Public Utility Commission, which oversees ERCOT.

According to ERCOT and PUC officials, the 15% cited by Abbott describes an increase in total installed capacity from 102,874 megawatts in winter 2020 to 118,257 megawatts in winter 2021.

Total installed capacity refers to the maximum amount of power that can be generated under ideal conditions.

"That's just if everything we had on the grid was operating at its full output. That's what it could make," said Joshua Rhodes, research associate at the University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute and Webber Energy Group.

However, at any given time, the grid isn't producing at 100% potential, experts told PolitiFact Texas. For example, the sun isn't always shining for solar energy, or the wind isn't always blowing for wind energy, Doug Lewin, energy consultant and president of Stoic Energy Consulting, said as example.

"It's sort of more of a theoretical potential," Lewin said.

"There is no resource that has a 100% operational capacity," Lewin said. "That does not exist, but generally thermal plants have a higher operational capacity. But when you start to put together enough wind and solar, and they're spread out across a broad enough geographic area, their overall capacity factors or operational capacity increases."

Rhodes also said a lot of the capacity added in the last year included wind and solar, which would not operate at 100% capacity all the time.

"We don't expect all the wind and all the solar to be available during a winter peak event," Rhodes said.

ERCOT officials said in February that the grid has a total generating capacity at about 86,000 megawatts if needed, the American-Statesman reported then.

The value Abbott cited described what the grid is capable of creating, though the amount of available power might be less than total installed capacity.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with saying we added a whole lot of capacity in the last year," Lewin said.

Aidan Tuohy, program manager of Grid Operations and Planning at the research and development firm Electric Power Research Institute, said resource adequacy assessments have processes to account for wind patterns and sunlight in its seasonal estimates.

"One, that let's say ERCOT used, they look at historical performance and then take either an average during stressful conditions, or some other statistical measure during stressful conditions," Tuohy said. "And then another way to do that is to actually simulate operations. For example, in California, they simulate a thousand different patterns of generator outages and wind and solar patterns based on historical data and then try to come up with what the expected observed load will be."

ERCOT included risk assessments for thermal resources based on historical information, Tuohy also noted.

Our ruling

As Texas braced for the effects of cold weather, Abbott assured Texans: "Compared to last year, Texas has about 15% more power generation capacity."

Experts say Abbott was referring to the total installed capacity if power generation infrastructure were running at 100% capacity. However, that is a theoretical figure. Instead, stations generate at a fraction of the total installed capacity. The amount of available power in an emergency situation would be less than the installed capacity.

We rate this as Mostly True.

Sources
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North Adams Man Sentenced to Probation in Jan. 6 Insurrection

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  A local man charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has been sentenced to three years of probation for trespassing.

Brian McCreary, 33, was captured on film several times inside the Capitol next to the so-called "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Chansley, who was sentenced last year to 41 months in prison.

McCreary was arrested a year ago by agents from the FBI's Boston bureau. He was charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, trespassing, disorderly conduct on the grounds and in the building, and demonstrating within the building.

Last October, he pleaded guilty to "entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds" in a plea deal.

According to court documents, McCreary had attended the "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington, D.C., and walked to the Capitol with a crowd intent on stopping the counting of elector ballots for the 2021 presidential election. He entered a door that had been kicked open and walked up to the second floor of the Senate side. He was twice told to exit the building by law enforcement before leaving but then re-entered through a separate door that also been kicked open. He finally exited after hearing a gunshot and drove home.

The next day, he contacted the FBI through its tip line and provided footage he had taken inside and outside the Capitol and later cooperated agents. According to the court filing he signed, McCreary told the FBI that he had attended the rally because he was frustrated with the results of the presidential election and that an audit had not been performed to "address allegations of mass voter fraud."

There has been no evidence of any mass voter fraud.

On April 1, he was sentenced to 36 months of probation, including 42 days of intermittent incarceration and two months of home detention. He also received a fine of $2,500 and is required to pay $500 in restitution toward the $1.5 million in damage done the Capitol.

The cases of two Pittsfield men, Troy Sargent and David Lester Ross, who also attended the rally, have not yet been resolved.

Sargent has a number of trespassing and disorderly charges, as well as assaulting federal officers and engaging in physical violence on the Capitol grounds. Ross was charged in D.C. Superior Court for trespassing and has a status hearing on May 20.
Filipino NFT enthusiasts now have new reasons to celebrate as the highly anticipated NFT minting platform Carnaval will officially go live at the Bitcoin 2022 conference, held in Miami, Florida from April 6-9.

Carnaval is part of the RSK ecosystem, the first and most secure decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem built on and secured by Bitcoin. Built by IOV Labs, the RSK ecosystem uses technology such as self-executing smart contracts and blockchain to offer services such as cryptocurrency staking, lending, yield farming, and more to do away with the need for a centralized regulating body (hence the term DeFi).

Through Carnaval, NFTs (or non-fungible tokens) can now be minted on the Bitcoin blockchain by using RSK smart contracts. Minting, in simple terms, is the act of monetizing a token on a blockchain to make it available for purchase. The platform allows Iberoamerican artists to show their work to wider, worldwide audiences.

Carnaval will first launch by showcasing NFTs from leading Iberoamerican artists in a unique collection called Carnaval Genesis Drop on April 6th at 10 am (EST) along with the Bitcoin Genesis Dropthe 210 first NFTs of an Iberoamerican art collection on top of the Bitcoin network. The Carnaval Genesis Drop collection will also be released as 10,000 generative NFT profile pics that reflect the world-famous Magritte's Son of Man artwork.

Of course, Carnaval will not be the only RSK project showcased at Bitcoin 2022. As the largest conference solely dedicated to Bitcoin, RSK will also use the Bitcoin 2022 event to showcase other partners of their ecosystem. From its Money on Chain protocol designed to improve Bitcoins performance to its Babelfish project standardizing stablecoins across multiple chains, RSK has no shortage of innovations to improve the cryptocurrency/blockchain experience. RSK co-founder and IOVlabs CEO, Diego Zaldivar, will even be at Bitcoin 2022 to discuss sidechains and their benefits and tradeoffs with other speakers in a panel entitled "Sidechains: Benefits and Tradeoffs".

"In the last two years, we witnessed the meteoric rise of DeFi. New monetary systems (stablecoins) and speculative financial tools (trading engines and AMMs) were built on top of the main blockchain networks but they only serve the needs of speculators. The challenge ahead is how to connect these new decentralized Fintech systems with the needs of the rest of society. That is our challenge at IOVLabs and the reason why we created Rootstock and RIF, building everyday DeFi." says Diego Gutierrez Zaldivar.

RSK has already notably begun building up its presence in the Philippines. Aside from launching an official RSK localized Facebook page, Telegram community, and Twitter page specifically for Filipinos, RSK has also begun to help Filipino startups. In March, the platform announced it will help Filipino startups grow their DeFi projects by releasing growth marketing tips and making their services available in the country.

With the Bitcoin 2022 event highly anticipated to make waves for the cryptocurrency, RSK is now in a prime position to shape the coins future. With Carnaval now also part of RSKs ecosystem, Filipino NFT enthusiasts can now also look forward to what RSK brings to the table.
Samsung invites everyone to join the #EpicAfterDark TikTok Challenge until April 10, 2022, by capturing a video of their very own epic day-to-night transition. Five winners will get a chance to take home Samsungs newest epic smartphone, the Galaxy S22+.

Heres how to join

From March 24 to April 10, 2022, Samsung fans can express their talents by shooting their own day-to-night transformation highlighting their hobbies, interests, and passions. See how #TeamGalaxy Alyssa Gibbs, BJ Pascual, Bea Benedicto, and more, brought out their epic selves from day to night.

Simply upload the video on TikTok using the hashtag #EpicAfterDark, and tag 5 friends to join the challenge. Participants must also register and upload their post links at spr.ly/EpicAfterDark until April 10, 2022. Entries must also be set to Public to allow Samsung to review and select the entries. Not only will the winners get a Galaxy S22+ but they can also be part an exclusive #EpicAfterDark feature in a local magazine!

The Galaxy S22 Series provides a revolutionary camera experience, giving Gen Z the chance to create anytime, anywhere. Now thats truly making every day more epic.

Experience epic from day to night with the Galaxy S22 Series, now available in Samsung.com, Samsung Experience Stores and Authorized Stores, Lazada, Shopee, Abenson.com and MemoXpress Online, and telco partners.

Galaxy S22 Ultra: Php68,990 SRP (128GB) / Php72,990 SRP (256 GB) / Php80,990 SRP (512 GB)

Php68,990 SRP (128GB) / Php72,990 SRP (256 GB) / Php80,990 SRP (512 GB) Galaxy S22+: Php56,990 SRP (128GB) / Php60,990 SRP (256GB)

Php56,990 SRP (128GB) / Php60,990 SRP (256GB) Galaxy S22: Php45,990 SRP (128GB) / Php49,990 SRP (256GB)

The Galaxy S22 and S22+ come in Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green and Pink Gold. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is available in Burgundy, Phantom Black, Phantom White, and Green.

Users can also take home the Galaxy S22 Series for as low as Php1,916.25/mo at 0% interest for up to 24 months via Samsung Authorized Dealers Nationwide and Samsung Authorized Online Store. Citibank card holders can get up to 36 months installment at 0% interest for as low as Php1,277.50/mo. On the other hand, PNB card holders can get their first installment month for FREE and pay 0% interest for up to 24 months in select Samsung Experience stores and Abenson Stores.

For more information about the Galaxy S22 Series, visit samsung.com/ph.
More funding for Covid testing clinics and the like is in the works, and it may be a cost saver for employers looking to get people back into the office.

Today, Senate negotiators agreed on a $10-billion spending deal to further fund the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to unnamed congressional aids cited by the Wall Street Journal. It's well below the $22.5 billion the White House originally requested, and the previous bipartisan deal involving $15.6 billion in repurposed funding. Those funds were expected to come from unused funding issued to states, whereas the $10 billion now in question would come from other untapped Covid-relief programs.

Either way, the current package would allow the U.S. to purchase supplies, including more tests and vaccines that will be needed to continue to fight the virus as a new variant rapidly spreads. A variant of Omicron referred to as Omicron BA.2 has triggered a surge in cases in parts of Europe and Asia and now represents more than half of new Covid cases in the U.S.

The extra funding is good news for businesses, especially for those with employees who frequently get tested. While it's not required, many businesses are still opting to only allow vaccinated employees into the office, or those who can show a recent negative Covid test. Still other businesses encourage everyone to get tested on a regular basis.

In the absence of funding for the past couple of weeks, Covid-testing sites across the U.S. had begun requiring insurance information and billing test takers' insurance companies or the test-takers themselves. As of January this year, insurance companies are required to cover at least eight Covid tests per month per person, but that doesn't mean they're free. Insurance companies can start to raise premiums if their costs spike. That would impact both employers and employees, depending on the type of plan and the level of coverage.

And for the uninsured, the full cost of testing, which can clock in at around $125 for a PCR test, would be the individual's responsibility.
On Monday, Howard Schultz returned to Starbucks as its CEO. It's the third time he has held the role, this one after Kevin Johnson, who was appointed CEO in 2017, announced last month that he was retiring.

While Schultz has made it clear that he intends to hold the role only on an interim basis, he wasted no time making a significant change. In a letter to employees that was published on the company's blog, Schultz said the company was canceling its plans to buy back $20 billion of its stock over the next few years. That move had been announced in October and came after the company previously spent $12 billion in 2019 and 2020 on its shares. Schultz wrote:

Starting immediately, we are suspending our share repurchasing program. This decision will allow us to invest more profit into our people and our stores -- the only way to create long-term value for all stakeholders.

Starbucks's shares fell 5 percent when the market opened, a sign that the move is controversial, especially among investors who had seen the buybacks as a positive move amid slowed growth and increased expenses during the pandemic. The company's shares had climbed 79 percent under Johnson, much of that due to the buyback strategy.

Despite the controversy, the more important lesson is the second sentence above: "This decision will allow us to invest more profit into our people and our stores." That, Schultz says, is "the only way to create long-term value for all stakeholders."

That, in fact, is where things get interesting. Schultz is inheriting a company that looks different than the one he left five years ago. Employees have stepped up efforts to unionize as they criticize the way they are treated by the company, especially during the pandemic. To date, 11 stores have voted to form unions, including the company's flagship roastery in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.

Some of the primary complaints center on employee pay and working conditions. It's no coincidence that the two things Schultz mentioned the company plans to do with the $20 billion are investing in its people and its stores.

Schultz is a well-known opponent of unionization efforts. He spent much of his time as CEO pushing back against unions. He seemed to take efforts to unionize personally -- considering it a leadership failure that employees would want to join a union at all. In his 1997 book, Pour Your Heart Into It, Schultz wrote that if employees "had faith in me and my motives, they wouldn't need a union."

I don't know if Schultz's return is a direct effort by the company to cut off the unionization efforts. Certainly, if that's the company's goal, he's the best person to have in charge. Even if it isn't the overt goal of bringing him back, there's no question the company needs someone focused on improving its relationship with its employees, which it calls "partners." Of course, the thing about "partners" is that the relationship is mutually beneficial.

In the long run, investing in its people benefits everyone. Employees benefit when they feel valued and are compensated fairly for the work they do. Starbucks benefits by earning back trust and fixing the broken relationship.
You've heard of employers offering personal finance tools and training to help staffers navigate thorny retirement issues. How about thorny social and political issues?

Yes, they're on that, too. Companies are increasingly finding creative ways to help their employees become better citizens. The San Francisco-based ride-share company Lyft offers free or discounted ride codes to help get people to the polls. Starbucks is helping its workforce learn more about Congress, register to vote, and become more involved in their local communities through its digital home base, dubbed Starbucks Leadership Hub.

Small businesses are also on trend: Capitol Canary, out of Arlington, Virginia, began encouraging workers to become more locally involved back in 2017, but has since expanded its effort. While the software development firm employing around 180 people started off with one civic engagement day per year, it now offers three days per year for its workers so they can travel or take part in longer, community-based activities. Examples of how workers use this benefit include voter registration, working on campaigns, or volunteering at polling places.

"It is forever in our company's DNA to help people engage in the civic process," says company founder Jeb Ory, 41, who founded Capitol Canary in 2013.

Recent challenges to American democracy -- from the January 6, 2021 attack on the nation's Capitol Building to the decline in civic education in schools -- have highlighted the need for civic engagement, according to Steven Levine, director of the Civic Alliance, a nonpartisan coalition of more than 1,200 businesses that works to strengthen democracy. (Note that Inc.'s parent company, Mansueto Ventures, is a member of this alliance.)

"Democracy is only as strong as our citizens' participation within it," Levine says. "From our perspective, companies today are looked at as one of the trusted institutions, and when you look at the relationship between an employer and its employees, that relationship is incredibly valuable."

Getting involved in your community is one way for a business to stand out amid the labor crunch. Seventy-six percent of people polled in a study released in November 2018 said they were more likely to work somewhere that promoted democracy. And increasing engagement can also beef up profits, research suggests. That's because civic engagement can help engender purpose within an organization -- and higher diversity and engagement efforts can increase profits between 46 to 58 percent, according to a study cited in the Civic Alliance Playbook, which outlines best practices, research, and other tips on civic engagement for companies to look to.

"Across the board, there's a real opportunity to lean into this and for employers to make strong commitments to attract and retain talent," Levine says, adding that civic engagement benefits are becoming the expected norm for employees, especially among younger workers.

Of course, not everyone on your team will want to participate, and that's OK. Only some Capitol Canary employees are taking advantage of its civic engagement benefits. Before Covid-19 hit, roughly 20 percent of Capitol Canary's workers participated. Ory says he hopes that number will rise as comfort levels increase with being around people again.

This type of benefit should also make sense for your organization. Ory adds that integrating civic engagement days came naturally given the company's focus. Capitol Canary creates software for those that work in government affairs to help turn insights into legislation and regulation as they move through legislatures and local city councils. The company also makes technology offering to ease the process of contacting elected officials and advocating for policy changes.
The Flipkart Group, Indias homegrown internet ecosystem, has announced that it has constituted and has launched the Flipkart Foundation with a vision to facilitate an inclusive, equitable, empowered and sustainable society in India.



The Foundation will carry forward Flipkart Groups efforts towards bringing opportunities for ecosystem partners and convenience to stakeholders through a technology-led digital commerce model. This will enable it to drive inclusive growth with a mission to drive grass-root level, at-scale and institutionalised impact for sustainable livelihoods and growth opportunities in India for the underprivileged.



The Foundation was formally launched in New Delhi by the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar, Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma and Minister of State for Rural Development and Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Smt. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, in the presence of Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs officer, Flipkart Group, Krishna Raghavan, Chief People Officer, Flipkart, among other senior officials from the government and Flipkart.



Flipkart Foundation aims to drive transformational work by collaborating with diverse stakeholders across government organisations, NGOs and community leaders across four key areas, namely:

Market access to the underserved and underrepresented sections of the society for sustained growth opportunities for entrepreneurship and livelihood opportunities

Skill development

Community development, and

Environmental Responsibility

With the focus on rural areas and providing equitable access to growth opportunities for women and other disadvantaged communities, the Flipkart Foundation aims to positively impact 20 million lives directly and indirectly in the next decade.



Speaking at the launch event, Dr. Virendra Kumar, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, said, While India is full of opportunities, there is a need to drive equitable growth. To help drive this, it is important for businesses to offer support to underprivileged sections of society to make them a part of the countrys growth story.



Our Prime Ministers vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas aims to bring the government and the industry on a common platform to work harmoniously in achieving prosperity for all. Organisations like the Flipkart Group play an important role in this endeavour, and the launch of the Flipkart Foundation is a decisive step in this direction to create widespread social impact.
In just ten days of its release, magnum opus RRR has already minted Rs 900 crores worldwide. Such is the magic of SS Rajamouli.

"I did expect it to be a big hit, but the No. 1 tag I never expected  that was a beautiful surprise," Ram Charan told Variety. "That was mind blowing for us, even for Rajamouli I feel."

AFP

While some Bollywood fans were disappointed to see Alia Bhatt in a cameo role instead of a full-fledged one, others ignored this fact to fawn over Ram Charan and Jr NTR, the two leads who gave magnificent performances leaving fans in awe for a long time.

AFP

So, here's all you need to know about Ram Charan, the actor who has caught the fancy of the audience and was recently mobbed by fans at Gaitey theatres where he surprised his fans who were watching his recently released movie.

Twitter

1. He is the son of movie megastar Chiranjeevi.

One of the most bankable and talented actors of the South Indian industry, Ram Charan is the son of Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi. He made his debut in 2007 with film Chirutha for which he won Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut South. He shot to fame with SS Rajamouli's fantasy action movie Magadheera in 2009. And then, one film after the other, he just kept proving his mettle as an actor.

Twitter

2. He is the grandson of a freedom fighter.

Ram Charan's maternal grandfather Allu Ramalingaiah was a homeopathic doctor who was actively involved in India's freedom struggle. He was once arrested by the British during the Quit India Moment. He was also an actor and a comedian who worked in almost 1,000 movies.

Twitter

3. He made his Hindi film debut in Priyanka Chopra starrer Zanjeer in 2013.

The action film that also featured Sanjay Dutt, Prakash Raj, Atul Kulkarni, and Mahie Gill in pivotal roles wasn't received well by the audiences and Ram Charan never returned to Hindi films. About doing Hindi films, he told Indian Express, "It is all about the instinct and it is not that I dont I watch a lot of your films and love them. But, maybe, it happened to be now with RRR with Tarak (Jr NTR) and SS Rajamouli. We are open to doing Indian films."

Twitter

4. Rana Daggubati is Ram Charan's childhood buddy.

Rana Daggubati who made more fans than ever across the world after the release of Baahubali is friends with Ram Charan since his childhood. They studied in the same school until the ninth grade. In fact, Charan's wife Upasana was his junior in the same school. Allu Arjun's wife Sneha was their classmate.



Instagram

5. Not a private jet, Ram Charan owns an airplane company.

A lot of celebrities including Diljit Dosanjh have private jets but Ram Charan owns his own airplane company. Ram Charan is the chairman of Turbo Megha Airways Pvt Ltd, a regional airplane company based in Hyderabad.

AFP

6. He has learnt the art of acting from the same acting school where Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra polished their skills.

Ram Charan did an acting course at Mumbai's Kishore Namit Kapoor's acting school, which was reportedly also attended by PC, Hrithik Roshan, Ranveer Singh, Varun Dhawan and Kareena Kapoor among others.

AFP

7. He gifted 10-gram gold coins each to all the crew members of RRR.

As per a report on TOI, Ram Charan was quite humbled and elated with the success of the film and so decided to thank the crew members of their hard work. He gave 10-gram gold coins each to all the crew members along with sweet boxes to celebrate. It is said that the gold coins have RRR written on one side and Ram Charan's name on the other.

AFP

8. He is married to Upasana Kamineni.

Ram Charan married the love of his life Upasana Kamineni on June 14, 2012, after dating for a long time.

Twitter

9. He loves riding horses and owns a polo club.

Ram Charan has been riding horses since he was a child. His equestrian passion led him to buy his own polo club. He owns the polo team Ram Charan Hyderabad Polo Riding Club.



TOI

10. He observes 41-day long Ayyappa Deeksha every year.

For over a decade now, Ram Charan has been observing 41-day long Ayyappa Deeksha. For the unversed, the 41 days fasting highlights the significance of abstinence and austerity. In these days, he leads a simple life, eats simple food, walks barefoot and focusses on his inner self.

11. He will next be seen in tentatively titled RC 15, a political drama that will also star Kiara Advani.

Ram Charan signed this film while he was shooting for RRR. To be directed by Shankar, the film will be made in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. Not much is known about the film, but if grapevine is to be believed, Ram Charan will essay the role of a politician who builds a corruption free state by becoming the youngest chief minister.

Ram Charan is the nephew of movie megastar turned politician and philanthropist Pawan Kalyan, who founded the Jana Sena party.



(For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment, and let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.)


The sword of CAATSA sanctions is hanging over the newly developed US and India relations. Daleep Singh, American Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economics, recently visited India and reiterated that there will be consequences for any country including India for constructing an alternate payment mechanism that subverts or circumvents the US sanctions against Russia.

However, he did not clear what could be the possible consequences and he declined on commenting on questions regarding the sanction on India under the CAATSA and considered it a private discussion.

In the past month, US diplomat Donald Lu said that the Biden administration is looking whether to apply or waive sanctions on India for its purchase of the S-400 Triumf missile defence system from Russia, under CAATSA.

AFP

As India continues to maintain its relations with Russia, the question arises whether India would be sanctioned by the US for its deal of S-400 Triumf Air Defence Missile System with Russia.

Heres all you need to know about the CAATSA sanctions, S-400 Russian Missile System and how it will impact India.

What is CAATSA?

Reuters

The CAATSA stands for Countering Americas Adversaries through Sanctions Act which aims to take punitive measures against Iran, North Korea and Russia. It is a federal law of the United States imposing sanctions on any country engaging or involved in bilateral trade with these countries in intelligence and defence areas.

When did Russia come into its ambit?

Russia was included in the listed countries after its military intervention in Ukraine (annexation of the Crimea region) and its alleged tampering in the 2016 US presidential elections. Using this act, the US president can impose sanctions on persons engaged in a significant transaction with the defence and intelligence sectors of Russia. The objective of the act is to prevent the flow of revenue to the Russian Government.

What is the S-400 Triumf Air Defence Missile System?

S-400 missile system | AFP

As India has boosted its military relations with other countries like Israel, US and France but Russia still remains a significant supplier. Knowing the adverse impact, India chose to lock the crucial deal of the S-400 Triumf Air Defence Missile System with Russia.

Russias S-400 Triumf is a surface-to-air missile system and is successor to the S-200 and the S-300 missile system. In 2007, first came into service and, many defence experts labelled it as "one of the most advanced defence systems in the world".

It contains four different types of missiles up to ranges between 40 km, 100 km, 200 km and 400 km. The S-400 can take down multiple aerial targets be it stealth fighter jets, bombers, cruise and ballistic missiles, or even unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

How will CAATSA impact India?

Reports suggest that by 2019, India purchased about $15 billion worth of weapons from the US and with this fact, a waiver against the S-400 deal was also under consideration. However, new dynamics have changed the scenario.

The stringent law includes a prohibition on loans to the sanctioned person, Export-Import bank assistance for exports to sanctioned persons, procurement by the United States Government to procure goods or services from the sanctioned person and denial of visas to persons closely associated with the sanctioned person.

It is noteworthy that Turkey also faced the sanctions, despite being a key NATO ally, and was terminated from the US F-35 fighter jet program for the S-400 deal with Russia.

If CAATSA sanctions are imposed on New Delhi, it will adversely impact the trade between the two countries' bilateral trade of telecom equipment, automobile components, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods and agricultural products other than defence as sweeping sanctions are now placed on Russian banks.

India & Russia Defence Partnership

S-400 missile system | AFP

One of the prominent sectors of cooperation between Russia and India is defence. The post-war period witnessed a slight down phase in the ties between the two countries whereas the US-India relations improved. However, In October 2018, India had signed a $5 billion deal with Russia to buy S-400 air defence missile systems and revived their friendly terms.

India has been the largest importer of Russian arms since 2016. A paper published by Stimson Center shows that 86% of the equipment, weapons and platforms presently in Indian military service are of Russian origin.

Further, the two actively collaborated and cooperated in the defence sector and their partnership has grown from buyer-seller to joint research, design development etc. and the production of the Brahmos cruise missile is one such example. The Indian defence system is equipped with aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, nuclear attack submarine Chakra II, T-90 and T-72 main battle tanks, IAFs Su30 MKI fighter etc. are from Russia.





For more on news and current affairs from around the world please visit Indiatimes News.
Suspected militants fired at a Kashmiri Pandit in South Kashmirs Shopian, leaving him seriously injured.

The firing on Bal Krishan, of Chotigam village, followed two other attacks during the day in the Valley, in which a CRPF personnel was killed and three others were injured.

Bal Krishan received bullet injuries on his hand and leg and was taken to an Army hospital in Srinagar. According to reports, his condition is stable.

BCCL/FILE

Earlier, terrorists shot at CRPF personnel in Srinagar's Maisuma area, killing one and injuring another. The two paramilitary personnel were rushed to the SMHS Hospital, where one of them was declared dead on arrival.

The attack on the CRPF men came just hours after two migrant workers were shot at in Pulwama. "Both the injured were rushed to a hospital. The area has been cordoned off," police said.

In Pulwama district, two non-local labourers were shot at and injured by terrorists in Lajoora area on Monday afternoon. The injured individuals have been identified as Patleshwar Kumar and Jako Chowdhary, both residents of Bihar.

"Attacks aimed at crippling Kashmir economy"

Condemning the killing, National Conference's Omar Abdullah tweeted, "I add my words of condemnation to those of my colleagues & send my condolences to the family of the CRPF jawan killed in the line of duty. Prayers for the injured jawan in the hope that he makes a full recovery."

File Photo

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti tweeted: "Condemn attack on CRPF personnel in Maisuma this afternoon. This senseless violence doesn't yield anything apart from inflicting miseries on the innocent families of those killed. My condolences to the family and prayers for the injured." JK Pradesh Congress Committee and the Apni Party also condemned the killing of the CRPF personnel.

Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone said the spurt in terror attacks in Kashmir was aimed at crippling its economy.

The separatist-turned-mainstream leader said tourism and allied sectors in the valley were witnessing a steady growth after a long time, but inimical elements are hell-bent on destroying it.

"The violence in Kashmir is not only senseless and barbaric but also aimed at economically crippling the Kashmiri economy," Lone said in a statement.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
Rakesh Gangwal, the co-founder of IndiGo Airlines, has committed to contributing Rs 100 crore to his alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-Kanpur).



The funds will be utilized for the School of Medical Sciences and Technology, a new school that IIT Kanpur is already building.

File Photo

The commitment extended by Rakesh Gangwal is in a personal capacity.



IIT-K director Abhay Karandikar announced the news on Monday, confirming Rakesh Gangwal's contribution. He said,

TOI (Representational image)

In an extraordinary gesture, our alumnus Mr. Rakesh Gangwal, co-founder of IndiGo airlines, has made one of the largest personal donations with a Rs 100 crore contribution focused on supporting the School of Medical Sciences & Technology at IIT Kanpur."



Gangwal will also be joining the advisory board of the upcoming school. In 2021, IIT-Kanpur announced to open a school of medical research and technology, which would include a medical school along with a 500-bed super-specialty hospital on its campus.

This step comes as a focused step to make IIT-Kanpur multidisciplinary and further make engineering, technology, and medical research complement each other.

File Photo

The project aims to combine medicine with engineering and encourage cross-disciplinary learning through the initiative.



File Photo

Reports suggest that the school and the medical college will have a built-up area of around 1 million square feet. Phase one of the project is estimated to complete in the next three to five years. Phase II will tentatively be completed in the next 7-10 years.



IIT Kanpur was established in 1959. The authorities have been raising funds for this ambitious project which entails a cost of 600 crores.

(For more on news, sports, and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.)


President Joe Biden on Monday called for a war crimes trial against Russian President Vladimir Putin. His statement comes hours after a flood of images surfaced on the internet showing alleged Russian atrocities in cities throughout Ukraine, including in Bucha, just outside of Kyiv.

Bucha was occupied by the Russian army on the third day of the invasion, on February 26, and remained inaccessible for more than a month.

Agencies

Several Ukrainian authorities, journalists, and satellite imagery have documented mass graves of corpses allegedly shot dead by Russian forces.

AFP

This guy is brutal Whats happening in Bucha is outrageous, Biden said.



Biden confirmed his administration would also be looking into imposing more sanctions on Russia , confirming that he is seeking a , confirming that he is seeking a war crimes trial for Putin.



politico

The horrifying images and reports have motivated leaders worldwide to consider imposing more sanctions on Russia.



Asked by a reporter whether he believed it constituted a genocide, Biden said, "No, I think it is a war crime,"

Agenices

He confirmed that he would "seek more sanctions" against Russia. "He should be held accountable," said Biden.



Biden also called for the continued supply of lethal military aid to Ukraine.

AFP/Getty

Biden said, "We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue the fight," he said. "And we have to gather all the details, so this could be actual  have a war-crime trial."



While Biden has previously called Putin a "war criminal," this is the first time he's suggested that the Russian leader should face a formal trial. Ukrainian President Zelensky also called Moscows recent attacks a genocide.

(For more on news, sports, and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.)
A photo has gone viral on social media showing the horrors of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In the photo shared by Instagram user Sasha Makoviy (@aleksandra.mako) a toddler can be seen with her name, family and contact details written on her back.

Instagram

A mother's pain

From the photo, it appears that the toddler, Vira Makoviy is the daughter of Sasha Makoviy, who had posted the image.

According to a Google translate version of the caption of her post, Sasha had written this on her daughter's back on the first day of the war.

"I signed it with my hands trembling very much. But why tell you? You already know what it's like to wake up to the deafening and powerful sounds of explosions that can be heard for tens of kilometers. I was shaking for the first hours like you," she wrote.

"In case something happened to us, and someone would pick her up as a survivor. Or if she is lost, which, according to my logic, could only happen with my blackout. Then even a crazy thought flashed through my mind "why didn't I tattoo her with this information?," she wrote.

Instagram

In a safer place now

According to her, the family did not have to go through the ordeal she feared and is now in a safer place.

"And I still can't bring myself to put this scrambled paper in the second photo out of my overalls pocket. Although now we are where it is safe," she wrote.

Ukrainian journalist Anastasiia Lapatina who also shared the image on Twitter wrote: "Ukrainian mothers are writing their family contacts on the bodies of their children in case they get killed and the child survives. And Europe is still discussing gas."

Ukrainian mothers are writing their family contacts on the bodies of their children in case they get killed and the child survives. And Europe is still discussing gas. pic.twitter.com/sK26wnBOWj  Anastasiia Lapatina (@lapatina_) April 4, 2022

The war on Ukraine's children

The children of Ukraine are one of the biggest victims of Putin's war on their country.

According to Ukraine officials, at least 165 children have been killed in Russian aggression so far.

AP

On Monday the United Nations said that more than 4.2 million Ukrainian refugees have now fled the country since the Russian invasion began.

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 4,215,047 Ukrainians had fled the country since the war began on February 24  a figure up 38,646 on the numbers for Sunday.

AFP/ Representational Image

According to UNICEF, more than two million children have been forced to flee Ukraine due to the war.

Children make up half of all refugees from the war in Ukraine, according to UNICEF and UNHCR. More than 1.1 million children have arrived in Poland, with hundreds of thousands also arriving in Romania, Moldova, Hungary Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

For more on news, sports and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
Every now and then, we come across stories of people time travelling and finding things in the future that scare us. But it's believed that these are cases of people letting their imaginations run wild.

That debate can be for another day because one 'time traveller' has made some scary predictions about the future.

A time traveller has warned that war will soon break out between the US and North Korea. Their prediction comes just weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine.

TikTok/@atimewarper

In a video posted to TikTok on March 10, the self-proclaimed time traveller predicts a series of alarming events that will happen throughout 2022 - that includes new wars, space discoveries and fake celebrity deaths.



Among the most significant event predicted is the invasion of North Korea and the US although the video didn't go into detail about who will make the first move.

The video said: "Here is what you need to know for 2022... March 22 - The invasion of North Korea and US. April 19 - A new covid variant will strike Earth, known as "Omega" and its 5x worse than any variant.

KCNA

"May 24 - NASA finds another planet called "KLET-33" and they say that it has life on it. June 28 - One of the 5 most dangerous hurricanes hits between Georgia and South Carolina.



"July 13 - One of the most famous rappers that are known as a legend claims that they faked their death. July 23 - The strongest earthquake in history will hit LA, California and the earthquake will cause "The Giant Wave."

Representational Image/iStock

He continued to warn about events that will hit in the succeeding months. He claimed a meteor called "4 vesta" will pass by Earth and almost hit the coast of China in September.



The news comes amid North Korea's continued show of strength which has seen them test-fire multiple missiles this year. North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un has also reportedly told military officials to be ready to mobilise troops after strong ally Russia went to war with Ukraine.

For the latest from trending, click here.






After being featured on Fortune magazines cover last week, world's largest crypto exchange Binance's Billionaire CEO Changpeng Zhao has said he is "really not that rich".

As per Fortune report, at least on paper, the 44-year-old Binance founder Changpeng Zhao is among the worlds richest people.

Really not that rich, but honored to be featured on the cover.  @FortuneMagazine pic.twitter.com/SvPuJHlUT6  CZ  Binance (@cz_binance) March 31, 2022

Also Read: This Crypto Token Has Surged 31,000% In Just 30 Days!

His crypto exchange is worth an estimated $300 billion, nearly six times the market cap of its nearest U.S.based competitor, Coinbase, as per Fortune.

Currently, Zhao is ranked 16th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with nearly $68 billion net worth, after his net-worth slipped from the $74 billion mark recently. But still, Zhao's net-worth is more than Dell founder Michael Dell, Jeff Bezos ex wife MacKenzie Scott, and each of Sam Waltons three children, the heirs to the massive Walmart fortune.

If they think I am worth that much, that is what they think, Zhao told Fortune. Its fictitious pricing.

Early Years Before Starting Binance

Entrepreneur.com

But as per what Binance CEO Zhao told Fortune, he was far from wealthy growing up.



He was raised in a rural village in Chinas Jiangsu province after his father was banished from a bigger city for his bourgeois leanings. In his youth he experienced food rationing, he reportedly told Fortune.

Later, a move to Canada following the Tiananmen Square student uprising and subsequent government crackdown gave 12-year-old Zhao a different perspective. He started earning money by flipping burgers at McDonalds and refereeing volleyball games. From Canada, Zhao went to study software development and spent years working in Tokyo and New York before starting Binance in 2017.

Also Read: Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Says Bitcoin Will Replace The US Dollar

For the latest financial news, keep reading Worth. Click here.


Massachusetts law requires that an employer who is late with wage payments to a fired employee must pay three times the late wages and benefits in damages, not just treble interest, the states high court has said.

A trial judge had concluded that treble interest was the proper measure of damages for an employer failing to make the payments to a discharged worker on the same day the worker was fired as required under the states wage act.

The states Supreme Judicial Court in an opinion issued Monday corrected the trial court, pointing out that its interpretation is unsupported by the language of the statute and inconsistent with its purpose. There is no language in the statute in any way suggesting that the payment of interest is the proper remedy for violation of the act, the court wrote.

The supreme court transferred the case from the appeals court on its own initiative to address the question of the proper damages for wage act violations when the employer pays wages after the legal deadline but before the employee files a complaint.

According to the facts of the case before the justices, on the day the plaintiff, Beth Reuter, was discharged from employment, her employer, the city of Methuen, owed her $8,952.15 for accrued vacation time. Rather than pay this amount on the day of her termination, as called for by the wage law, the defendant paid her three weeks later. After a demand from the plaintiffs lawyer over a year after that, the defendant paid the plaintiff a further $185.42, which represented the trebled interest for the three weeks between the plaintiffs termination and the payment of the vacation pay.

The plaintiff sued. According to the plaintiff in her complaint and the court in its ruling, the issue was not whether the city violated the wage act in failing to pay the plaintiff for her vacation time on the day she was fired  it clearly did. Rather the issue was what was the appropriate penalty under the law.

For discharged employees the statute is clear: any employee discharged from such employment, such as the plaintiff, shall be paid in full on the day of discharge.

The statute leaves no wiggle room. Payment, including vacation pay, is to be made in full on the day of the discharge, the opinion stresses.

The statute also defines wages to include any holiday or vacation payments due an employee under an oral or written agreement. Combined, these two provisions make clear that a terminated employee is entitled to all accrued vacation benefits on the day of discharge, the court continued.

The court acknowledged there might be some ambiguity in the term lost since a late payment is not the same as a lost payment. This language, however, must be read with the over-all context and purpose of the act in mind, said the court, noting that the act is directed at prompt payment of wages. Since any delay may have severe consequences for employees, and the statute does not tolerate or in any way condone delay, lost wages must be read as encompassing all late payments under the wage act.

Furthermore, said the court, the remedy is also explicit in the law: the employee shall be awarded treble damages, as liquidated damages, for any lost wages and other benefits.

According to the high court, this means an employer is responsible for treble the amount of the late wages, not trebled interest. The plaintiff is also entitled to attorneys fees and costs.

Topics Massachusetts
A Delaware man has been arrested and charged drunken driving for the 10th time, state police said.

Authorities said 54-year old Charles Smith of Millsboro was arrested for a 10th-offense DUI following a crash Thursday morning.

Investigators said troopers were notified shortly before 11:30 a.m. Thursday that a white pickup had struck a fence and that the driver was trying to run away.

Authorities said officers found Smith walking just south of the accident scene, and that he smelled of alcohol.

A computer inquiry revealed that Smiths drivers license was revoked and that he had been arrested for nine prior DUI offenses.

Smith is charged with felony DUI, driving while his license was revoked, leaving the scene of an accident, and several other traffic offenses.

He was being held at Sussex Correctional Institution with bond set at $15,500 cash.

It was not immediately know whether Smith has a lawyer.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Delaware
Ten emerging technology companies have been selected to participate in the 2022 FinTech Innovation Lab New York, setting them up for a 12-week program working with financial services and venture capital executives.

This years participants, selected from nearly 200 applicants globally, are focused on key issues, including sustainable investments and meeting ESG (environmental, social, and governance) outcomes, transparency around cryptocurrencies, and security and compliance risks. One deals with carrier/agency relations; another with loans for emergency needs; and another with real-time analytics for fleet insurers and brokers.

The firms use technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), cloud, blockchain and advanced data analytics.

The 12-week program was founded and run by Accenture and the Partnership Fund for New York City to help early- and growth-stage techs accelerate product and business development by collaborating with top financial services and venture capital executives.

The 2022 Innovation Lab New York participants are:

Coverforce (New York)  which partners with national property/casualty carriers to standardize their distribution application programming interfaces (APIs) and build customized platforms for Independent Agency Networks, strengthening the carrier/agency relationship.

Draivn (Den Haag, Netherlands)  this platform collects data from any telematics or internet of things devices that transportation fleets are equipped with and converts it into real-time analytics for fleet insurers and brokers.

Evercity (Berlin)  this blockchain-based sustainability measurement and investment platform automates issuance, management and monitoring of sustainable finance.

Ion Channel (Alexandria, Virginia, USA)  a software supply chain management platform that identifies and monitors third-party security risk from software suppliers (vendors, outsourced app developers, contractors, and open source).

LeapXpert (New York)  this platform creates an accessible digital record of all business interactions carried out over mobile messaging applications, giving organizations peace of mind that their data will be secure and meet compliance requirements.

Mark Labs (New York)  this AI/ML stewardship platform helps asset managers define impact metrics, engage with investors and portfolio companies, and link their capital allocations to the pursuit of real-world ESG outcomes alongside targeted financial returns.

Messari (New York)  a market intelligence platform that provides in-depth crypto market research, analysis, data, diligence tools, and more for crypto business professionals.

Railz (Toronto)  an API that provides financial institutions and fintechs with instant, real-time access to their business customers financial data from different sources (accounting, banking, tax, e-commerce) to make better data-driven decisions.

SoLo Funds (Los Angeles)  an on-demand marketplace that allows members to request and fund loans for emergency needs, providing an equitable, community-driven lending alternative.

Straylight Systems (New York)  an AI solution that automatically creates secure software code that is trustworthy and reliable.

The lab will conclude with the 10 companies delivering in-person presentations on their progress to executives across the banking, insurance, capital markets and venture capital sectors on June 23.

The Labs 89 alumni companies have raised $1.8 billion and created more than 1,500 jobs after participating in the program, and 22 of those companies have since been acquired, according to the sponsors..

We are excited to see how this competitive class of fintechs and insurtechs will contribute to our citys recovery and create a more inclusive and innovative economy, said Maria Gotsch, president and CEO of the Partnership Fund for New York City and co-founder of the FinTech Innovation Lab New York.

Topics InsurTech Tech New York Startups
The City of London police, which has been investigating the Lapsus$ hacking group, said on Friday it had charged two teenagers with cyber offenses.

A 16-year-old and 17-year-old were charged with unauthorized access to a computer with intent to impair the reliability of data, fraud by false representation and unauthorized access to a computer with intent to hinder access to data, police said.

British Police Arrest 7 Suspected Members of Lapsus$ Hacking Group

The 16-year-old was also charged with one count of causing a computer to perform a function to secure unauthorized access to a program, Detective Inspector Michael OSullivan said.

Relative newcomers to the crowded digital extortion market, Lapsus$ has stunned and baffled cyber-security experts in equal measure with its combination of juvenile antics and high-level access to some of the biggest companies in the world.

The hacking group has targeted firms including Microsoft Corp. and Okta Inc., an authentication services company relied on by thousands of major businesses.

A spokesperson for the City of London police declined to confirm or deny that the teenagers were charged in connection with the Lapsus$ investigation.

British police do not generally name suspects.

The force said in March it had arrested seven people aged between 16 and 21 following a series of hacks by Lapsus$.

(Writing by William Schomberg; editing by Aditya Soni)

Topics Cyber Law Enforcement
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at re/insurers Beazley and RenaissanceRe Holdings, as well as insurance broker Miller.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

Beazley Appoints New Head of Cyber Services  International

Specialist insurer Beazley has appointed Christian Taube as its new head of Cyber Services  International, continuing the expansion of its cyber team this year.

Before joining Beazley, Taube was chief information security officer at Contentserv and, prior to that, he built the information security practice at DataGuard. Based out of Beazleys Munich office, he will be responsible for further developing and enhancing Beazleys cyber risk management and incident response functions.

Taube began his role on March 7, 2022, joining the Beazley team in Germany. His recruitment follows the recent appointments of Russ Cohen as head of U.S. Cyber Services and Bala Larson as head of Client Experience in February.

When you consider the ever-changing risk landscape, and specifically the sharp increase of ransomware in recent years, it is fair to say that maintaining good cyber hygiene should be a key priority for all businesses today, commented Raf Sanchez, global head of Cyber Services. Business leaders also need to be confident that their risk management tools are up to the job, to further reduce their risk of falling victim to an attack.

***

RenaissanceRe Announces Senior ESG and Climate Roles

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. announced key appointments that advance its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy, which is centered on promoting climate resilience, closing the protection gap, and inducing positive societal change.

In furtherance of this strategy, Kevin J. ODonnell, RenRes president and CEO, has accepted the role of chair of ClimateWise. Acting in partnership with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, ClimateWise, brings together reinsurers, insurers, brokers and industry service providers to promote a systematic response to climate change across the financial system.

RenaissanceRe also announced several key roles at the company, which are focused on ESG:

Harriet James has been promoted to vice president, ESG Strategy within the Corporate Strategy Team, responsible for managing and progressing RenaissanceRes ESG strategy across the company, including identifying and managing ESG priorities and driving the development of new sustainability initiatives.

has been promoted to vice president, ESG Strategy within the Corporate Strategy Team, responsible for managing and progressing RenaissanceRes ESG strategy across the company, including identifying and managing ESG priorities and driving the development of new sustainability initiatives. Cathal Carr , senior vice president (SVP), Underwriting, has been named global head of Climate and Sustainability Strategy, responsible for designing, executing and coordinating RenaissanceRes climate and sustainability underwriting strategy across both Property and Casualty and Specialty segments. This includes leading the development of new products and tools to respond to emerging underwriting opportunities.

, senior vice president (SVP), Underwriting, has been named global head of Climate and Sustainability Strategy, responsible for designing, executing and coordinating RenaissanceRes climate and sustainability underwriting strategy across both Property and Casualty and Specialty segments. This includes leading the development of new products and tools to respond to emerging underwriting opportunities. Jeffrey Manson, SVP, Underwriting, and head of Global Public Sector Partnerships, will report to Carr and manage public sector partnerships, with a focus on responding to climate change and reducing the protection gap in emerging risk classes.

Climate change is one of the most complex challenges faced by the world and our business. As a reinsurer, we believe that we play an important role in managing climate risk while helping facilitate the transition to a lower carbon economy. I am honored to chair ClimateWise and look forward to working with leaders across our industry and the University of Cambridge to strengthen our collective response to this important issue, commented ODonnell.

***

Barr Joins Millers Specialist Credit and Political Risks Team

Miller, the London-based independent specialist re/insurance broker, announced the appointment of Andrew Barr to its Credit and Political Risks (CPRI) team.

Barr previously worked as a credit & political risk insurance broker at Texel Finance Ltd. (October 2017-October 2021) and Marsh (January 2011-September 2017), according to his LinkedIn profile.

He specializes in helping financial institution (FI) clients obtain risk mitigating and regulatory compliant credit insurance solutions, as well as political risk insurance for both FI and corporate clients.

Topics Cyber
A state court judge said environmental groups may proceed with a lawsuit seeking to halt expansion of a cattle farm in northeast Iowa near a prized trout stream.

Judge Michael Huppert on Monday ruled against the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which sought to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter and Iowa State Council of Trout Unlimited.

The groups are seeking to protect Bloody Run Creek, a stream in Clayton County that is among the few waterways designated with an Outstanding Iowa Waters designation qualifying it for a high level of protection. The owners of Supreme Beef want to stock farm buildings with 11,600 cows and spread manure on fields that are in the streams watershed.

Huppert found the Sierra Club has standing to sue by showing that some of its members fish, hike and shoot photos in and along Bloody Run Creek. He said the group has adequately shown that real harm could come from cow manure reaching the creek and that concerns arent just speculative.

The cold-water creek has significant populations of several trout species.

The Iowa DNR approved a manure management plan for the farm in April 2021 despite claims that it underestimated by more than 1.3 million pounds the nitrogen and phosphorous that would be released by the cow manure.

The resulting pollution will have a devastating and irreversible impact on an Iowa Outstanding Water, the fishery residing within, and other streams, the Trout Unlimited group said in a court document.

The DNR did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment about the ruling.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Agribusiness Iowa
A building under construction collapsed, injuring at least two construction workers, authorities said.

The building was under construction in the town of Whiteland, about 20 miles south of Indianapolis.

Three construction workers were at the site of building working, Whiteland Fire Chief Eric Funkhouser told the Daily Journal.

Some of the workers had to be pulled out of the collapsed structure, Funkhouser said.

The workers were all taken to an area hospital. One was transported with lacerations, one was complaining of pain, and one was transported as a precaution, Town Manager Jim Lowhorn said.

Firefighters are investigating the collapse, Lowhorn said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Indiana
Legislative leaders announced a bipartisan deal to extend Minnesotas health care reinsurance program, beating a deadline by one day in a move to hold down premiums for residents who buy their health insurance on the individual market.

The $700 million deal agreed to authorizes an extension of the program for five years, but funds it for only three years. Republicans reached a compromise with Democrats who have never liked the five-year-old program. They see it as an expensive giveaway to insurance companies that doesnt solve bigger issues over the costs of health care and prescription drugs.

Premiums would have gone up by a minimum of 20-25% this fall without a deal by Friday, said Sen. Gary Dahms, of Redwood Falls, the lead Republican negotiator. The agreement was a condition for getting a required waiver from the federal government under the rules of the Affordable Care Act to continue the program.

The agreement affects about 167,000 Minnesotans who get their coverage in the individual marketplace, whether its via the state-run MNsure exchange or directly from carriers. That includes many small businesses, farmers, independent contractors and other self-employed people.

This really is a good example of Democrats in the House and Republicans in the Senate working together with the administration on a compromise agreement, Republican Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, of Winona, told reporters.

Miller said floor votes were expected later Thursday to send the bill to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for his expected signature.

The lead Democratic negotiator, Rep. Zack Stephenson, of Champlin, said the House still would rather tackle health care affordability with a public option for people to buy into a government-run health plan, such as the existing MinnesotaCare program for the working poor.

But Stephenson conceded at a conference committee meeting that the compromise will mean very significant savings to consumers in the individual marketplace. For many, he added, its the difference between affordable health care and unaffordable health care.

In return, he said, Democrats got provisions to let patients with high deductibles spread out their drug copayments instead of struggling to pay them all early in the year, and more coverage for maternal health. But they didnt get the studies they sought to find alternatives to reinsurance.

Rep. Tina Liebling, of Rochester, told the panel she couldnt support the deal, saying she and many of her House Democratic colleagues consider reinsurance to be basically a bridge to nowhere. And we keep extending the bridge, and its still a bridge to nowhere.

Reinsurance was the third major bipartisan compromise for the divided Legislature this year, following a $25 million bill that Walz signed Wednesday to fund research on the neurological disease ALS and a bill awaiting his signature to divest state government from Russia over its war in Ukraine.

But deals remain elusive on averting an unemployment insurance tax increase on businesses, which Democrats have made contingent on hero pay for frontline workers who put themselves at risk in the pandemic, and on what to do with the bulk of the states $9.25 billion budget surplus.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Reinsurance Minnesota
An Ohio appeals court has upheld a $25 million judgment for a business that successfully claimed it was libeled by Oberlin College in the aftermath of a shoplifting incident that roiled the historic liberal arts school and music conservatorys campus outside Cleveland.

The 9th District Court of Appeals in Akron rejected all of Oberlin Colleges claims and upheld a judges ruling that attorneys for the owners of Gibsons Bakery and Food Mart should receive $6.3 million in legal fees from the school.

The three-judge panel also agreed with Lorain County Judge John Miraldis decision rejecting Oberlin Colleges motion for a new trial and denied the store owners claim that the damage awards did not sufficiently punish the school.

In a statement, Oberlin College officials said they were disappointed by the ruling. They said they were reviewing the courts 50-page opinion carefully as we evaluate our options and determine next steps. Officials acknowledged that issues raised by the case have been challenging not only for the parties involved in the lawsuit, but for the entire Oberlin community.

Store owners Allyn Gibson and his son, David Gibson, sued Oberlin College in November 2017 claiming they had been libeled by the school and their business had been harmed. The lawsuit was filed a year after David Gibsons son, also named Allyn, chased and tackled a Black male student he suspected of having stolen a bottle of wine. Two Black female students who were with the male student tried to intervene. All three were arrested and later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges.

The arrests triggered protests outside Gibsons Bakery where flyers were handed out, some by an Oberlin College vice president and dean of students, accusing the Gibsons of being racist. A Student Senate resolution condemning the Gibsons was emailed to all students and was posted in a display case at schools student center, where it remained for a year. Oberlin College officials ordered its campus food provider to stop buying bakery items from Gibsons.

A Lorain County jury awarded the Gibsons $44 million in compensatory and punitive damages in June 2019 after a five week trial. Miraldi, the Lorain County judge, later reduced the jury award to $25 million.

David Gibson died in November 2019 at age 65. Allyn Gibson died in February. He was 93.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Education Ohio Universities
The U.S. House Oversight Committee is opening an investigation into Amazon.coms labor practices during extreme weather events, following the death of six workers during a swarm of tornados last year.

In a letter addressed to Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy and dated on Thursday, the committee asked the company to provide policies regarding emergency preparation as well as documents related to the tornado strikes that battered an Amazon facility in Edwardsville, Illinois, in December, among other materials.

The Committee seeks to fully understand the events that led to the tragedy at Amazons Edwardsville facility, the committee wrote in the letter signed by congress members Carolyn Maloney, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cori Bush, all Democrats.

(Reporting by Love; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Legislation Windstorm Illinois Amazon
A federal jurys $14 million award to Denver protesters hit with pepper balls and a bag filled with lead during 2020 demonstrations over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis could resonate nationwide as courts weigh more than two dozen similar lawsuits.

The jury found police used excessive force against protesters, violating their constitutional rights, and ordered the city of Denver to pay 12 who sued.

Nationwide, there are at least 29 pending lawsuits challenging law enforcement use of force during the 2020 protests, according to a search of the University of Michigans Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse.

The verdict in Denver could give cities an incentive to settle similar cases rather than risk going to trial and losing, said Michael J. Steinberg, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School and director of the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative. It could also prompt more protesters to sue over their treatment at the hands of police.

Jury Awards $14M in Damages to Colorado Protesters

Theres no doubt that the large jury verdict in Denver will influence the outcome of pending police misconduct cases brought by Black Lives Matter protesters across the country, said Steinberg, whose law students have been working on a similar lawsuit brought by protesters in Detroit.

Lawyers for the claimants argued that police used indiscriminate force against the nonviolent protesters, including some who were filming the demonstrations, because officers did not like their message critical of law enforcement.

To the protest of police violence they responded with brutality, one of their attorneys, Timothy Macdonald, told jurors.

People who took part in the protests have already made similar allegations in lawsuits filed across the country.

In Washington, D.C., activists and civil liberties groups sued over the forcible removal of protesters before then-President Donald Trump walked to a church near the White House for a photo op. The claims against federal officials were dismissed last year but a judge allowed the case against local police to continue.

Several lawsuits alleging protesters were wrongfully arrested or that police used excessive force have been filed against New York City and its police department, including one brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James that claims police used excessive force and wrongfully arrested protesters. In Rochester, New York, people who protested the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man who lost consciousness after being pinned to the street by officers during a mental health call in 2020, claim police used extreme force against them in a lawsuit that also alleges city officials have allowed a culture of police brutality against racial minorities to fester.

One of their attorneys, Donald Thompson, said he plans to raise the Denver award in settlement talks with the city and note that unlike most of the Denver protesters, some of his clients suffered lasting injuries including the loss of an eye and scarring from being hit in the face with a tear gas canister. Thompson also thinks the Denver verdict shows that the public, in the age of cellphone and body camera videos, is not as willing to give police the benefit of the doubt anymore.

Now people see how this policing really works. You cant be naive, he said.

A spokesperson for Rochester did not return a call and an email seeking comment. When the case was filed, the city said it had already revised the way police responds to protests.

Over the last two months, the city of Austin, Texas has agreed to pay a total of $13 million to four people who were hit in the head with bean bag rounds fired by police.

Even before the Denver ruling last week, the police department made some changes in response to criticism that arose from the protests, including eliminating the use of 40mm foam rounds for crowd control and changing the way officers are permitted to use pepper balls.

Denvers Department of Public Safety, which includes the police department, said in a statement that the city was not prepared for the level of sustained violence and destruction. During the trial, lawyers and witnesses said over 80 officers were injured as some in the crowds hurled rocks, water bottles and canned food at them.

The department said it continues to evaluate its policies to better protect peaceful protestors while addressing those who are only there to engage in violence.

Still, the large award is not expected to lead to an overhaul of how officers respond to what experts say are inherently chaotic situations that are difficult to prepare for.

Ed Obayashi, a use-of-force consultant to law enforcement agencies and a deputy sheriff and legal adviser in Plumas County, California, said society may have to bear the cost of such settlements because innocent people can be injured during protests as outnumbered police try to react on the fly, including to people intent on violence.

It really goes south in an instant because there are individuals out there who want to cause chaos, he said.

Obayashi said there is not much police training for protests, which have been relatively rare. He said it would be prohibitively expensive to have officers practice deploying equipment such as tear gas canisters. Because projectiles used in crowds and considered less lethal by police, such as rubber bullets and pepper balls, have less velocity and less power to hurt people, it is harder to ensure they hit their intended target, he said.

Lawyers representing people who have also alleged police misconduct and violation of their constitutional right to protest can now use the Denver damage award as part of their own settlement negotiations, said Mark Silverstein, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented some of the winning Denver protesters.

The decision came nearly two years after thousands of people angry about Floyds death took the streets nationwide, a relatively quick result for the legal system and soon enough for others who allege misconduct by police to file a claim. In Colorado and many other states, there is a two-year statute of limitations for such lawsuits Silverstein said, leaving only a few months for others to sue.

The city attorneys office said it has not decided whether to appeal the verdict, but appeals in such big cases are common, said Gloria Browne-Marshall, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Outside lawyers will also scrutinize the case to try to determine if there are unique circumstances that may have led to a lightning in a bottle verdict that is less likely to be repeated.

However, she thinks the verdict sends a significant message that regular people respect the right of protest and demand change from the government, which she believes police and prosecutors have been undermining.

It should send a message to both, but whether or not they listen is a different issue, Browne-Marshall said.

Top Photo: A placard with a portrait of George Floyd, who died while being detained by police in Minneapolis on Memorial Day, is held above demonstrators as they march down East Colfax Avenue after a rally calling for more oversight of the police Sunday, June 7, 2020, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Civil Unrest
A Texas city has settled a lawsuit with the parents of a 3-year-old boy who died last September after being infected with a rare brain-eating amoeba that was found at a splash pad hed visited.

The Arlington City Council approved a $250,000 settlement Tuesday with the parents of Bakari Williams. He died Sept. 11 after being hospitalized with primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a rare and typically fatal infection caused by the naegleria fowleri amoeba.

The city said that as part of the settlement, it will invest in health and safety improvements, including technology to automatically shut off splash pads where water readings arent in acceptable ranges. Also, QR codes will allow visitors to see current information about water quality.

After Bakaris death, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the amoeba in water samples collected from the city splash pad Bakari visited.

City officials have said records from two of its four splash pads, including the one Bakari visited, showed employees didnt consistently record, or in some cases didnt conduct, the water quality testing required prior to the facilities opening each day.

The lawsuit said city employees failed to adequately monitor and chlorinate the citys splash pad water, making the splash pad unreasonably dangerous.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Texas
Dozens of residents of a five-story condominium in North Miami Beach were ordered to evacuate the building Monday after engineers found that concrete slabs had sagged beyond the amount was considered safe, and the condo was deemed structurally unsound.

The Miami Herald reported that the building, about three miles north of the Champlain Towers South that partially collapsed last summer, held 60 units. The engineering report was done as part of the condos 50-year safety review, required by local statutes.

Engineer Brownie Taurinski wrote that the building must be evacuated immediately. It was not clear how many residents were affected, but the newspaper noted that they each were given $150 to stay in hotels for three nights.

I was working and they called me to say I needed to evacuate, Andrea Tores, who has lived in the building for one year, said Monday, according to the Herald. We dont know where to go, we dont know what to do. They will book us a hotel but we need to find out where to live.

Since July, the building at 3800 Northeast 168th St., known as Bayview 60 Homes, had been undergoing work as part of its recertification process, city officials explained. Miami-Dade County and Broward County require that high-rise condos be inspected and recertified 40 years after being built, and every 10 years thereafter.

The inspection and repair of Florida condominiums has received extensive attention after the collapse of the Champlain Tower condo on June 24. A bill to require 30-year inspections statewide did not pass the Florida Legislature, which ended its regular 2022 session March 11.

This is the second condo building to be evacuated and closed since the Champlain Towers fell, killing 98 people in Surfside, next door to Miami Beach. In July, the 10-story Crestview Towers was closed and residents have not been allowed to return, according to news reports.

The engineering report on the Bayview 60 structure was filed Friday evening, but residents were not alerted until Monday. A Miami-Dade County commissioner questioned why residents and city officials werent notified sooner.

The engineering report found that concrete slabs at the condo had deflected considerably, or deviated from their original elevation, exceeding guidelines established by the American Concrete Institute.

When you have deflections that are larger than what the ACI code prescribes or expects, it means that theres something happening in the structure, the structure is more flexible than it should be, an engineering researcher at Drexel University told the newspaper.

Topics Condominium
Alabama and Georgia are poised to join the ranks of those states making it clear that drivers for Uber, Lyft, Grubhub and other delivery and ride-sharing apps should be considered independent contractors, not employees with workers compensation insurance and other benefits.

The Georgia Senate on Monday unanimously approved House Bill 389, sending it to the governor. The bill notes that a worker will be considered an employee unless he or she has a certain amount of control over the work. To be considered an independent contractor, the worker must not be prohibited from working for other companies, must not be prescribed work hours, among other requirements.

The bill, by Rep. Todd Jones and others, also would penalties for companies that violate the rules.

Late last week, the Alabama Senate passed a revised version of Senate Bill 150, sending it to Gov. Kay Ivey a second time for her signature. The Legislature passed the bill in March, but the governor requested some amendments, including a line that the driver would not be responsible for automobile liability insurance.

After agreeing to Iveys changes, the House and Senate approved the bill on Thursday. The governor is expected to sign it soon.

The two bills make Alabama and Georgia two of several states to define ride-sharing app and delivery drivers as independent contractors. The companies have said the clarification benefits workers as much as the app-based platforms.

This bill gives app-based workers what they want  the flexibility to work whenever and wherever works best for them, a spokesman for Uber said in a statement Tuesday. Were glad that the overwhelming majority of legislators put the interests of drivers and couriers first and passed such critical legislation.

Uber, Lyft and Handy began pushing for the laws in several Southern states in 2018, just as California, New York and a few other legislatures adopted laws declaring most drivers and other gig workers to be employees, eligible for workers comp and other benefits.

The Alabama bill, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr and others, would create a multi-part definition that notes that a marketplace contractor shall not be considered to be an employee if: the driver signs an agreement to that effect; if the app-based platform does not prescribe work hours; if the platform does not prohibit the driver from using other marketplace apps or engaging in other work; if the platform does not furnish equipment or tools; and if the driver bears most of the expenses, except, now, auto liability insurance.

SB 150 would provide for the definition of employment to exclude certain marketplace contractors who work for certain marketplace platforms, such as Uber, Grubhub, Lyft, Waitr, etc., to clarify that under state law, these workers are not employees, but instead operate as independent contractors, a synopsis of the bill reads.

Topics Legislation Georgia Personal Auto Contractors Alabama
In one of the first mentions of the Florida property insurance crisis as a campaign issue, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist spoke out against what he called the incumbent governors lack of action on rising premiums and insurer financial troubles.

Prices are rising and Floridians are hurting, but Gov. DeSantis is ignoring the problem  hed rather focus on culture wars and his 2024 political ambitions, Crist said in a statement on the Twitter social media site.

But Crist, who was Florida governor from 2007-2011 and is running again this year, did not provide details on how he would address the insurance problems in the state, including rate increases, extreme amounts of claims litigation, and the liquidation of six insurers in the last 31 months.

On Twitter, he said only that, Gov. DeSantis has turned a deaf ear to the insurance crisis facing our state. When I was governor, I lowered property insurance premiums. And when Im elected, Ill do it again.

The Insurance Journal in recent weeks has asked Crist and his staff for details on his insurance reform plan, but has not heard back.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he is not opposed to a special legislative session to deal with the crisis, if lawmakers convene one. But he has offered no roadmap for addressing Floridas unique insurance landscape, which includes hurricane losses and what insurers call exaggerated and fraudulent roof-replacement claims. At least six carriers have stopped writing new business in the state this year and two have been put into liquidation.

A special session has been called for later this month to consider DeSantis Congressional redisctricting plan, but it wont examine property insurance matters. DeSantis said another session may be scheduled after current House Speaker Chris Sprowls leaves office.

The regular, 2022 session ended March 11 without passage of significant reforms. Senate Bill 1728, which would have made a number of changes favored by the insurance industry, passed the Senate but stalled in the House as the end of the statutory 60-day session approached.

When Crist was in the governors office more than a decade ago, he famously said good riddance to State Farms property insurance company, Florida Politics news outlet reported. The insurance carrier had threatened to leave the state when Crist refused to budge on some regulations and allow larger rate hikes after the 2004-2005 storm seasons.
Four years after the operator of a street sweeper was crushed by the machine, a Georgia jury has awarded the mans family $2.2 million in damages from the manufacturer.

The jury in Gwinnett County awarded a total of $4.3 million. But that was far less than what the plaintiff had asked for, and it was cut in half because the jurors found that the sweeper operator was partly to blame, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

We considered this a good result for the defense given that (the plaintiff) asked for $25 million and sought punitive damages, and the jury apportioned 49% fault to the decedent, which resulted in a net verdict of $2,167,500 and no punitive damages, Brannon Arnold, attorney for the manufacturer, told the newspaper.

Orlando Hall, 47, was driving the street sweeper in 2017 when it began smoking. He stopped to inspect the machine and was trying to loosen some debris when he was pinned between the hopper and a hydraulic arm. His leg had inadvertently hit the control switch.

His daughter, Gabrielle Smith, filed a wrongful death suit against Alabama-based Schwarze Industries, the maker of the sweeper.

Smiths attorneys argued that the machine was poorly designed: The activation controls were placed too close to a crushing hazard with no cover on them to prevent accidental activation. The lawyers also pointed out that another worker in Arizona, Jason Oswald, was killed in a similar incident three years after Hall died, and the manufacturer then redesigned the machine and added covers for the controls.

Because of this litigation, no one else using an M6 Avalanche street sweeper will suffer the same gruesome fate suffered by Orlando Hall and Jason Oswald, attorneys said in a statement.

It was not reported if Halls family received workers compensation benefits after his death.

Topics Georgia Personal Auto
Idaho Gov. Brad Little has vetoed legislation that would make it illegal for most businesses to require the coronavirus vaccine.

I am vetoing this legislation because I am a lifelong advocate of limited government, Little wrote in his transmittal letter on Monday, saying the bill significantly expands government overreach into the private sector.

Several states have passed laws either requiring vaccines for certain employees or barring government agencies from issuing vaccine mandates. But broader bans against business vaccine requirements are rarer.

Last year, Montana became the first state in the nation to ban most businesses from requiring vaccines as a condition of employment. That law, like the one proposed in Idaho, cited discrimination as the reason.

Montanas law was challenged in federal court, however. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that coronavirus vaccine requirements could remain in effect for health care workers whose employers accept Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, at least as long as a related interim federal rule remains in place.

Idahos bill, dubbed the Coronavirus Pause Act, would have subjected public and private employers to a misdemeanor charge punishable by a $1,000 fine if they require vaccines as a condition of employment or service. It includes exemptions for situations involving federal law, existing employee-employer contracts, and businesses that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding.

I have been consistent in stating my belief that businesses should be left to make decisions about the management of their operations and employees with limited interference from the government, Little wrote. For the same reason, I sued to stop President Joe Bidens vaccine mandates three times, successfully challenging his unprecedented government overreach into the lives of American workers and the decisions of free businesses.

Late last week the Idaho House and Senate both adjourned until Thursday, giving them time to wait out any vetoes from Little. At the time, Republican Senate President Pro-Tem Chuck Winder cited the Coronavirus Pause Act as one of the bills the lawmakers were watching.

Its difficult to override a veto, Winder said late Friday night. But we think thats the only way we can do it, if we hang around for five days.

The Coronavirus Pause Act passed both chambers with large margins, but not a veto-proof margin in the House. Proponents said it would prevent businesses from discriminating against those who dont want to or cannot be vaccinated. But opponents said the measure allows discrimination against people who are vaccinated and doesnt protect vulnerable people. The bill would have even applied to families that hire in-home workers, but it would have expired in April of 2023, one year after the termination of all state emergency declarations related to coronavirus.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A 22-year-old student has described the moment her drink was spiked within 10 minutes of entering a nightclub, while on a night out with friends in Belgium.

Mide Nic Fhionnlaoich, who is from Connemara, had been out celebrating a friends birthday in Antwerp, Belgium, when the group went to a nightclub.

However, within minutes of entering the club, Ms Nic Fhionnlaoich found herself feeling dizzy, disoriented and vomiting in the toilets.

At first I thought I might be drunk. I had only had two glasses of wine, but I thought they had hit me at once, so I thought it might pass.

"My friend came in and sat with me, and she was like, I don't think this is drink. I think we need to go get security."

It turned out that one of Ms Nic Fhionnlaoich's friends had also fallen unwell, so they were taken to see the club's medic.

He took one look at us, shun a light in our eyes and said that we have both been spiked, she added.

According to Ms Nic Fhionnlaoich, who is studying at University College Dublin, the medic told them their symptoms were consistent with the drug Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, more commonly known as GHB.

Used recreationally and as a date rape drug, it is usually available as a clear liquid.

Date rape drug

According to Michael Guerin, an addiction counsellor at the Cuan Mhuire addiction treatment centre in Bruree, it is used as a date rape drug due to the fact it hinders the memory of the person spiked, as well as leaving them in an inebriated state.

It's quite dangerous and the risk of adverse effects and overdoses are quite probable, Mr Guerin added.

The drug itself becomes more dangerous when mixed with alcohol, with the HSE reporting that the most severe side-effects can include seizures, coma and death.

Ms Nic Fhionnlaoich said while the conversation around spiking regularly centres around what can be done to prevent it from happening, it can be incredibly difficult to stop.

It happened so quickly that I cant point to any moment where I made a mistake or left my drink. It's not enough to say, 'oh, watch your drinks when you're out' or 'look after your friends'. As long as people are out there spiking drinks, this going to happen, she added.
The outgoing Chief Medical Officer will remain a civil servant and his 187,000 a year salary will be paid by the Department of Health.

Dr Tony Holohan announced last month that he will leave the role which he has held for 14 years to take up a role at Trinity College Dublin.

Dr Holohan has been appointed Professor of Public Health Strategy and Leadership at the university. He will take up the role on July 1.

However, a spokesperson for the university said that the role was created with "Dr Holohan in mind" and is a secondment from the Department.

"The post is an open-ended secondment, funded by the Department of Health. Dr Holohan is being seconded to Trinity under the same terms and conditions as his existing contract," they said.

"Secondments between organisations are a regular and common feature across the civil and public service to encourage inter-departmental and inter-agency co-operation and the sharing of knowledge and skills in the public interest.

The post was created with Dr Holohan in mind.

"The Professor of Public Health Strategy and Leadership (2022) was established by the College Board in the context of recent and ongoing global events, including conflict, climate change, migration and the recent pandemic, having impacted on almost every aspect of our lives.

"The arrangements for the approval of the new Professorship were in line with normal processes and akin in some respects to the creation of a new Professorship funded by a research body.

"Following an interview by the Selection Committee (the Provost, Vice-Provost, three faculty Deans and an External Assessor from the University of Milan), the University Council approved the appointment of Dr Tony Holohan to the Professorship on 25 March 2022."
Bank of Ireland has been fined 463,000 by the Data Protection Commission, after an investigation found thousands of customers data was accidentally altered in such a way it could have damaged their credit ratings and prevented them getting loans.

The DPC found Bank of Ireland breached a number of articles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is the EUs law on data protection and privacy, in relation to inaccurate information the bank sent to the Central Credit Register.

Between November 9, 2018, and June 27, 2019, the DPC received 22 breach notifications from Bank of Ireland in relation to the corruption of information the bank was sending to the Central Credit Register. In total, 19 of these incidents met the definition of personal data breach under GDPR.

In some cases, incorrect data was added to a customers file to indicate they were in financial distress when they werent.

When Bank of Ireland initially contacted the DPC about this error, it said one customer was affected.

It ultimately transpired that approximately 47,000 data subjects were affected by this breach, the DPC said, adding it took over a year and a half for Bank of Ireland to provide a final number of customers affected by this breach. This included more than 27,000 mortgage accounts.

With the Central Credit Register, people who have received loans can request their credit report to see what information a bank has submitted on their loans, while banks can use credit reports to get a picture of a persons current lending and credit history.

This information can then be used by a bank to decide whether it should approve a loan application or not.

About 50,000 customers in all were affected by personal data breaches considered by the DPC, but it noted that all of the banks customers were affected in that the failure to have appropriate technical and organisational measures in place could have resulted in any customer (and in some cases ex-customers') personal data being erroneously disclosed to the Central Credit Register.

'Negligent'

The DPC found some of the infringements from Bank of Ireland were of a negligent character.

In relation to one of the breaches, the bank became aware of it almost one year  335 days  after it began.

The nature of the breach was sensitive as it related to customers who were previously removed from mortgage accounts, the DPC said.

It was incumbent on the bank to have technical and organisational measures in place which would have allowed it detect the breach at an earlier point.

The failure to have such measures in place could have had negative consequences for the customers in that they could be denied credit on account of an incorrect lending history.

The DPC found breaches of Article 33 of GDPR, failing to disclose personal data breaches to DPC without undue delay, Article 34, which concerned a failure from Bank of Ireland to inform those affected about the breach and Article 32(1) by failing to ensure a level of security in transferring data to the Central Credit Register.

Referring to the fine dished out to Bank of Ireland as the canary in the coalmine, Daragh OBrien from data quality and strategy consultancy Castlebridge said the failings identified here may be indicative of a wider problem for Irish companies.

The fine reflects the seriousness of what happened, and its definitely something the DPC will have considered, he said.

It does highlight that organisations need to think of the impact on individuals when mistakes happen.

He said that companies, in particular financial institutions, needed to pay attention to the quality of their data. This is especially the case when disclosing it to a third party, such as Bank of Ireland giving customers data to the Central Credit Register in this case.

Mr OBrien said it was important that companies put in place measures to prevent this from happening rather than having to fight fires and react when it does.

In a statement, the bank said: "Bank of Ireland fully acknowledges, and sincerely apologises for, these breaches. The Bank takes its regulatory and compliance obligations very seriously and regrets that it has fallen short in this way.

"The Bank has notified all impacted customers. It has rectified the inaccurate information reported to the CCR in all but 20 cases which will be corrected shortly. It has also taken measures to improve its ongoing CCR reporting, including error management procedures and a process that enables faster correction of errors."
A ruling by Europes top court has firmly boosted Graham Dwyers prospects of freedom.

But there are still two legal stages to go before this will be known.

On Tuesday, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled, as expected, that Irelands system of general and indiscriminate retention of data for the investigation of serious crime breaches EU laws.

Mobile phone traffic data  in particular, call logs and phone locations  played a central role in the successful prosecution of Dwyer in 2015 for the murder of Elaine OHara in August 2012.

In a landmark judgment in December 2018, following a case taken by Dwyer, the High Court ruled that general and indiscriminate retention of data was contrary to EU privacy rights.

The State appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which, in turn, referred the legality issue to the ECJ for a ruling.

Last November, the ECJs legal adviser firmly stated Irish general retention for the investigation of serious crime contravened EU laws and that this was already known from previous court rulings.

As predicted by legal experts, the ECJ Grand Chamber endorsed this view today and declared: EU law precludes national legislative measures which provide, as a preventative measure, for the general and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data relating to electronic communications, for the purposes of combating serious crime.

It furthermore ruled: "The national court may not impose a temporal limitation on the effects of a declaration of invalidity of a national law that provides for such retention.

This means the Supreme Court cannot apply this ruling for future cases only and that it applies retrospectively, benefiting cases like Dwyers.

The ECJ said general and indiscriminate retention of data is only lawful in cases of national security.

The Irish legislation that granted these powers are contained in the Communication (Retention of Data) Act 2011.

In Tuesday's Irish Examiner we report of an 80% drop in Garda use of the powers since the High Court ruling, seriously impacting its investigation of serious crime.

The ECJ judgment now goes back to the Supreme Court, which is obliged to integrate it in its own ruling.

This potentially has implications not just for Dwyers case, but other cases and any prosecutions underway that might have used the powers in this act as evidence.

But legal experts have said that Dwyers freedom is still not assured as the Court of Appeal may still admit the evidence if the prosecution can show that it was obtained by an inadvertent breach of the accuseds constitutional rights.

If Dwyers counsel can show that the evidence does represent a deliberate and conscious breach of his rights, then it will be difficult for the court to allow it, experts believe.

The court could also conclude that there is other evidence that is sufficient to secure his conviction.
A man who claimed his girlfriend's injuries were "self-inflicted" after beating her with a laptop and choking her received a suspended sentence after she begged a court not to punish him.

Jordy Bakeba, 20, of Woodland Avenue, Mosney, Co. Meath, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to his partner and damaging her computer, which broke in half during the incident. Dublin District Court heard gardai received a call and arrived at the scene where the woman was "screaming for help".

She told gardai her boyfriend first hit her with a laptop, slapped her numerous times and choked her. Two other witnesses saw him on top of her choking her.

The woman suffered facial injuries during the incident at an address at Auburn Street, Dublin 7, on February 14, 2021. Bakeba made no admissions on arrest, but claimed to gardai that her bruises and a bump were "self-inflicted and caused by accidents".

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) directed the case should remain in the district court if he pleaded guilty; otherwise, go to the circuit court with broader sentencing powers.

Bakeba's girlfriend came to the hearing and told Judge Bryan Smyth that she emailed the DPP because she didn't want anything to happen to her boyfriend. She told the court they were both drunk at the time. The court heard she would not permit gardai to obtain a copy of her medical report.

Judge Smyth accepted jurisdiction for the case to remain in the district court. The victim begged the court:

Let him be free with me; you are not only judging him but judging me as well, judging my life.

Bakeba had seven prior convictions for motoring offences. Judge Smyth described the incident as a serious matter that warranted a custodial sentence.

Denis Cronin, defending, said his client came to Ireland as a refugee in 2017 and was granted the right to reside in the country with his family. The court heard he worked, completed his education, spoke four languages and intended to go to college.

The barrister asked the judge to note that the court had heard from the injured party. Pleading for leniency, counsel said that the guilty plea was of assistance. Conceding a sentence might be merited, he asked the court to suspend it for Bakeba to illustrate that it was a "once-off".

Judge Smyth imposed a nine-month sentence but suspended it on the condition the defendant kept the peace and did not re-offend for two years.
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Joe Biden has called for the prosecution of Vladimir Putin for war crimes after the discovery in Bucha, Ukraine, of mass graves and bodies of bound civilians shot at close range.

But bringing the Russian president to trial would be far from simple.

What are war crimes?

The International Criminal Court (ICC), the worlds first permanent war crimes tribunal, defines them as grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, a set of humanitarian laws to be observed in war.

Jonathan Hafetz, an international criminal law and national security scholar at Seton Hall University School of Law, told the Reuters news agency that the execution of civilians as alleged in Bucha was a quintessential war crime.

Russia continues to deny culpability. Its defence ministry insisted on Sunday that not a single civilian has faced any violent action by the Russian military.

How can a case pointing to war crimes be built?

Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, told reporters on Monday that there were four main sources of evidence: information gathered by the US and its allies including from intelligence sources; Ukraines own efforts on the ground to develop the case and document forensics from the killings; material from international organisations including the UN and NGOs; and findings by global independent media with photos, interviews and documentation.

Can Putin be held personally responsible for his troops actions?

The prosecution could argue that Putin and his inner circle committed a war crime by directly ordering an illegal attack or knew crimes were being committed and failed to prevent them. This case may be hard to prove in isolation but if it fits a wider pattern across Ukraine, it becomes more compelling. The US had accused Russia of war crimes even before Bucha.

Philippe Sands, a professor at University College London, told the Associated Press: Youve got to prove that they knew or they could have known or should have known. Theres a real risk you end up with trials of mid-level people in three years and the main people responsible for this horror  Putin, Lavrov, the minister of defence, the intelligence folks, the military folks and the financiers who are supporting it  will get off the hook.

Who would run such a trial?

Donald Trump once told the UN general assembly: 'As far as America is concerned, the ICC has no jurisdiction, no legitimacy, and no authority.' Picture: AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko

The ICC opened 20 years ago to prosecute the perpetrators of genocide and crimes against humanity. But the US, China, Russia and Ukraine are not members of the court, which has been criticised for focusing too heavily on Africa and applying selective justice.

The ICCs chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, said in February he had opened a war crimes investigation in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. Although it is not a signatory, Ukraine previously approved an investigation dating back to 2013, which includes Russias annexation of Crimea.

The ICC will issue arrest warrants if prosecutors can show reasonable grounds to believe war crimes were committed. But there is little chance that Russia would comply and the ICC cannot try someone in absentia. The USs unwillingness to join the court is also diplomatically awkward and likely to prompt cries of western hypocrisy.

Donald Trump once told the UN general assembly: As far as America is concerned, the ICC has no jurisdiction, no legitimacy, and no authority.

His administration announced the US would impose visa bans on ICC officials involved in the courts potential investigation of Americans for alleged crimes in Afghanistan.

But Sullivan said on Monday: The US has in the past been able to collaborate with the international criminal court in other contexts despite not being a signatory. But theres a variety of reasons one might consider alternative venues as well.

What are these 'alternative venues'?

The UN seems an obvious starting point. But one problem with going through the UN security council is that Russia is a permanent member.

It would be difficult to imagine that they would not attempt to exercise their veto to block something, Sullivan observed.

Another option might be a special tribunal organised by a group of countries. The Nuremberg tribunal was established by the US, Britain, France and the Soviet Union to hold Nazi leaders to account after the Second World War.

Potential models for Ukraine could include the tribunals set up to prosecute war crimes committed during the Balkan wars in the early 1990s and the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Another example was the UN-backed special court for Sierra Leone, established in 2002 to bring to justice those responsible for atrocities perpetrated during the countrys countrys civil war in 1996.

What about a different charge?

It would be easier to prosecute Putin for the crime of aggression after he waged an unprovoked war against another sovereign country. The ICC does not have jurisdiction over Russia for the crime of aggression because Russia is not a signatory.

Last month, dozens of prominent lawyers and politicians, including the Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, and the former British prime minister Gordon Brown, launched a campaign to create a special tribunal to try Russia for the crime of aggression in Ukraine.

How long would a prosecution take?

Probably many years. The international criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia indicted its first head of state, the then Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, in 1999 and took him into custody in 2001. His trial began in 2002 and was under way when he died at the Hague in 2006.

Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, was found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity for supporting rebels who carried out atrocities after four years of hearings at the special court for Sierra Leone in the Hague.

- The Guardian
Interview Myanmar Juntas Police Law Dangerous if Abused: Analyst

Myanmars police. / The Irrawaddy

Last month, Myanmars regime enacted the Myanmar Police Act making it compulsory for law enforcement officers to fight alongside soldiers on the front lines, while expanding their powers to restrict citizens liberty.

Under the law, the appointment of police officers and any structural changes to the force requires the approval of the military chief.

Legal advisor U Khin Maung Myint recently talked to The Irrawaddy about how the law will affect people.

Why has the regime made it compulsory for the police to serve in security and combat roles besides law enforcement?

The police used to be a separate entity before 1962 but since then the military has used armed organizations, including the police, as auxiliary forces.

Now this law assigns security and defense roles to the police. It has been years since security battalions were formed within the police to perform as military units. The law was enacted to assign fighting roles to the police if necessary.

Do you think officers will have to go to the frontline?

It is likely. Police battalions had to fight in the past. While officers from township police stations were engaged in law enforcement, police battalions had to fight alongside the military on the frontline.

When they gained control of an area and the troops left, police battalions stayed and reestablished security. This law means that not only police battalions but all officers will be ordered to fight.

The law grants greater powers to the police. How will it affect the freedom and security of citizens?

Laws focused on security and protection often compromise the citizenship rights, privacy and security of individuals.

Under the law, officers can arrest and search buildings, citing security and defense concerns. Residents have to hand over a layout of new homes. There can be no privacy and safety.

There is no problem if those provisions are enforced properly, respecting constitutional rights but if the powers granted by the law are abused, it is quite dangerous.

The law carries prison sentences for banging pots and pans. Is the regime trying to stop every form of protest?

The law expands officers powers, largely in response to the changing situation.

The resistance of the peoples defense forces and ethnic armed groups has spread from ethnic-majority states and rural areas to the cities. As resistance groups appear to be planning to launch large-scale attacks in a so-called D-day, the law aims to lift the restrictions on police so officers can take preventive measures against potential attackers.

How about the increasing penalties for certain crimes under the law?

Every regime rules with fear. It hopes increased penalties will deter potential perpetrators and reduce opposition.

But the punishment must fit the crime and only then can social order be maintained.

How do you assess the law?

By international standards, the law grants excessive power to Myanmars police. It will overstretch the police from their primary duty: to maintain tranquility and enforce the rule of law. They are not enforcing the law at the moment and they will be overburdened if they are also to fight. It is out of touch with reality.

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Interview We Will Remember Who Stood With Us, Says Myanmar Shadow Govts Foreign Minister

Young activists stage a protest in April last year calling on ASEAN not to endorse the military regime in Yangon. / CJ

Since the return of military rule last year, Myanmar has been a thorn in the side of regional countries. As Myanmar is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), many countries have urged the 10-member bloc to play the role of mediator in solving the crisis caused by the coup. Plus, some neighboring and regional countries are still sitting on the fence while engaging with the regime, which has killed more than 1,700 people so far.

In this excerpt from an interview with The Irrawaddy, Foreign Minister Daw Zin Mar Aung of Myanmars shadow National Unity Government shares her impressions of those countries.

Read the full interview here.

Many countries, including the US, endorse ASEANs centrality. But ASEAN still cannot act. And it is mostly on good terms with the regime. The US backs ASEAN though it is aware it wont be successful. What could Washington do?

While the US considers ASEAN as an initial step, we cannot reject it completely. But the US should think about a Plan B in case that approach does not work. We have always called for an innovative approach. The international community should not use 20th-century definitions of sovereignty and diplomatic relations to handle Myanmar in a 21st-century context.

It can no longer use old methods to approach Myanmar. It has been proven in previous decades that the old approaches were unsuccessful. And ASEAN alone cannot handle Myanmars crises.

ASEAN and US envoys should work together. As the EU has appointed a new envoy, we have suggested that these envoys should collaborate and take a more innovative approach.

Which countries are not helping the revolution?

I told the Indian media in an interview that some neighboring countries engage with us but they also deal with the regime. We can understand them.

Our revolution will win. I tell them to cooperate with us and when we win, we will remember who stood with us in our struggle. This is true for individuals.

We record who our friends are and who are sitting on the fence, which will shape our future relations with them.

Does that include India?

Some countries want to help but lack the strength. Others have the strength but they are too focused on their interests and fail to act decisively. If they want to protect their interests, I urged them to stand by us.

I guarantee that their interests will not suffer. The NUG has the publics support. The day when people dont like us will be the day we fail. Our neighbors should listen to our people, and cooperate and support the revolution.

Thats why I was critical during the Indian interview. India is the biggest democracy in the world. It should more actively and decisively back democracy in Myanmar. It is a major regional power. I was critical because India should boldly shoulder its role and take action.

What about China?

China is important. Its political situation differs from that of India. I say democracies should act like real democracies. To be pragmatic, we have to engage diplomatically with China. Both India and China are important to us. We maintain our engagement with China. We are taking a pragmatic approach.

What do you expect from China?

At least China should not legitimize the junta and its leaders and say it is a legitimate government. We have repeatedly said that and asked China not to ignore the 2020 election results. We understand China does not oppose that.

Cambodia has increased its ties with the junta and Japanese representatives have attended the regimes events. Do these countries support the NUG?

This is a difference between Myanmar and Ukraine. EU countries stand collectively by Ukraine. This gives Ukraine many advantages. But it is different in our region. There are dictatorial states and others that favor democracy.

But they are also divided. Even democracies like Japan and South Korea are different. South Korea has been more decisive while Japan focuses on negotiations.

Japan is concerned China might fill a vacuum if it refuses to engage with the regime. It is a balancing act.

Asian countries accept the principle [of rejecting the regime]. But in reality, they do not take a tough stance and maintain ties with both the regime and us. We have to monitor their moves and engage with them.

What is your message to regional countries?

It is simple. When our revolution wins, it will contribute to long-term stability and development in the region. If our revolution fails, crises will keep happening in Myanmar and it will continue to be a troublemaker in the region.

But if the people win, Myanmar will contribute to regional stability and development as a fully established democracy. Other countries should boldly stand by us and support our revolution.
Burma China Will Face Rejection From Myanmar People for Working With Junta: Shadow Govt

Young activists in Yangon set the Chinese flag alight in April 2021 amid anti-China demonstrations over Beijing's support for the regime.

Myanmars parallel civilian National Unity Government (NUG) has warned China that any effort to build a partnership with the military regime would be rejected by Myanmars people and could seriously damage Chinas international reputation.

The warning was issued in a statement by the NUGs Ministry of Foreign Affairs after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Myanmar regime-appointed counterpart Wunna Maung Lwin in Tunxi, Anhui Province on April 1. Wunna Maung Lwin was in China at Wangs invitation.

The NUG was formed by elected lawmakers of the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government, led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, along with their ethnic allies to challenge the regimes legitimacy at home and abroad. Many in Myanmar take the NUG as their legitimate government and many Western countries have shown support for it, despite their reluctance to offer official recognition.

During the meeting, the Chinese foreign minister said China was ready to work with Myanmar to deepen exchanges and cooperation in all areas, including people-to-people bonds, no matter how the situation changes to achieve the goal of building a China-Myanmar community with a shared future.

Myanmar is currently ruled by a military regime that grabbed power from the countrys democratically elected government in February last year. The coup has so far killed more than 1,700 people and caused serious social and political instability, with many observers fearing that the country is now on the verge of being a failed state.

While the regime is treated as an outcast by most Western democracies, China has been one of the few countries to engage with the junta, as it is one of Myanmars top investors and has a number of strategic infrastructure projects in its southern neighbor, including energy pipelines and a proposed port that would give Beijing a critical link to the Indian Ocean.

On Monday, the NUG said in a statement that the shadow government was committed to Chinas goal of a shared future. But any effort by China to build that future with the regime, it said, risks serious damage to the international reputation of the Peoples Republic of China.

Equally important, the people of Myanmar will soundly reject any efforts by foreign governments to establish such a partnership with the illegitimate military regime, it warned.

Chinas failure to condemn the coup has resulted in anti-China demonstrations in Myanmar, and factories owned and run by Chinese companies have been attacked. The anti-China sentiment cooled somewhat when China urged the regime last year not to dissolve the NLD.

However, a Yangon-based observer of China-Myanmar relations said Wangs affirmation that China was ready to work with the junta could see anti-Chinese demonstrations return, as anti-regime resistance is now at unprecedented levels and this could put Chinese gas pipeline, copper and nickel projects, among others, at risk.

Even though they want to do it for economic purposes, China would face strong popular rejection, especially in this time of political instability, he said.

The NUG also urged China to respect the will of the people of Myanmar and listen to the voices of the people by immediately compelling the military junta to stop all violence and restore civilian governance while working with the NUG and Myanmars diverse ethnic nationalities to deliver humanitarian assistance to end the suffering of the Myanmar people.

Such a move would help China and Myanmar secure a strong and robust  shared future, it said.

The NUG added that it was saddened to see the pauk-phaw (sibling) relations between China and Myanmar damaged by the regime.

The NUG stands ready to work with the Chinese government towards repairing this damage and building a new type of pauk-phaw [relationship] in the future, it said.

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Burma Myanmar Juntas Jade Mining Ban Targets Resistance Funding, KIA Says

Prospectors scavenge on a jade waste heap in Kachin States Hpakant. / The Irrawaddy

The Myanmar military regimes recent order halting all jade mining in Kachin State was issued with the aim of putting pressure on the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), according to Colonel Naw Bu, the ethnic armed groups information officer.

Myanma Gems Enterprise, a state-owned company under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, announced in the March 31 issues of the regimes newspapers that jade mining in Lone Khin, Hpakant, Maw Lu and Maw Han will no longer be allowed so that, it said, the countrys precious resources can be conserved for succeeding generations, and the environment and the safety of jade miners can be protected.

The KIA is still considering how to respond to the jade mining ban in Kachin. In the meantime, it will wait and see what the regime does to companies that fail to comply with the order.

We will wait and see. Many people from across Myanmar make a living in Hpakant. So, their order will only hurt the people, and we will see if miners follow their instruction. I think the ban will further aggravate the problem, Col. Naw Bu said, referring to the adverse consequences on the hundreds of thousands of people working there, and the many more engaged in the jade industry.

A jade miner in Kachin State said most of the jade mining companies in Kachin State pay tax to the KIA.

Most of the jade mines here are under the control of the KIA. Even the military-linked companies have to pay tax to the armed group. So, [the regime] does not want others to benefit from [mining] while it cant. It assumes that the profits from jade mines will go to the resistance movement and is therefore trying to disrupt the business, he said.

Jade is the main source of income for the KIA, which is fighting for greater autonomy in Kachin State. The trade is also responsible for decades-long tensions between the KIA and Myanmars military, which battle for control of jade revenues.

The armed group has publicly opposed the military regime since its coup last year, and also trained and armed local resistance groups, collectively known as the Peoples Defense Force (PDF), which are fighting the regime.

A political analyst said the regime imposed the ban to stretch the finances of the KIA and the PDF.

As all the companies have to pay tax to the KIA in their transactions, [the regime has imposed the ban] to cut the cash flow to the KIA and PDF, he said.

But in Hpakant alone, there are nearly 500,000 prospectors. And it is not an easy task for the military to drive all of them out of the mines. As a result, illegal mining and the illegal market will re-emerge, as in the past, he added.

A source close to jade miners shared the view that the ban will only create an illegal market.

If jade mining is criminalized, it will create problems for scavengers. They can be arrested for illegal possession of stones, he said.

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Burma Myanmars Junta Seizes More Than 547 Properties of Anti-Regime Activists

Regime troops in Yangon in March last year. / The Irrawaddy

Myanmars junta has seized more than 547 houses and other properties belonging to anti-regime activists since the February 2021 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

The activist group reported on Monday that the junta significantly stepped up its seizures of properties owned by parliamentarians, National League for Democracy (NLD) members and those with alleged connections to the civilian National Unity Government (NUG), its parliamentary committee and armed wing the Peoples Defense Force, following the NUGs declaration of war against the regime last September.

Civilians facing arrest warrants and political prisoners have also had properties seized, the AAPP said.

It said more than 90 percent of property seizures have taken place since the declaration of war.

The resistance stronghold of Sagaing Region saw the most seizures with 139, followed by Yangon with 124 and Mandalay with 70.

The AAPPs report said the seizures were carried out before the accused were found guilty in court and had their property confiscated, meaning they fully disregarded the law.

Relatives of activists have not been spared, to apparently instigate fear and intimidate opponents.

One victim was Daw Khin Win, the mother-in-law of U Moe Ma Khaa, an NLD regional lawmaker for Taungoo Township, who has been on the run since the coup.

Daw Khin Win was made homeless by the junta on Feb. 12 and the turmoil led to her death. Her funeral could not be held at the family home, which was sealed off, and the procession was conducted on the street.

The NUGs foreign minister Daw Zin Mar Aung told The Irrawaddy last month that the seizures showed the regime was desperate.

It is a sign that it is suffering. Since the start, we have expected this, she said, adding that deeper repression would only create stronger resistance.

The AAPP said the punishment of individuals not responsible for any alleged wrongdoing is prohibited under international rules for armed conflict.

The group urged the international community, including the United Nations, to support peoples efforts to put the junta on trial for its atrocities.

The NUG last month called for all property seizures and the details of those responsible to be reported to its Ministry of Home Affairs.

Everyone involved in such illegal activity shall be held accountable, the NUG said.

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Google has taken a potshot at Microsoft, something it does occasionally, using a survey conducted by Public Opinion Strategies  and paid for by its own cloud business  to ventilate the concerns of government users who are mostly locked into a Microsoft environment.

A blog post, written by Jeanette Manfra Google's senior director, Global Risk and Compliance, on 1 April  though certainly not a joke  said the survey found a majority of government employees were very concerned about cyber attacks striking their employers in the coming years.

Wrote Manfra: "And nearly one-third of surveyed government employees in the [Washington] DC metro area say they have experienced a disruption at work because of a cyber attack."

The survey covered 2600 employees, including 600 in the DC area and 338 from all levels of government across the country.

Manfra has worked in government ranks prior to joining Google; she is well remembered from 2017 as one official who told Congress she had not seen any evidence of Kaspersky software being exploited to infiltrate US government systems.

This happened during the years when the government was going after Kaspersky following the presidential elections of 2016, after claims that Russia had interfered to influence things the way of Donald Trump began to gain traction.

Manfra said in the blog post that the survey showed "a lack of satisfaction with legacy software, with more than 50% of government workers nationally responding that there are other products and services that could help them do their jobs better".

She did not shy away from mentioning Microsoft by name either, pointing out the "problems with IT monoculture" and stating: "According to survey respondents, 84% of DC metro government employees primarily use Microsoft products at work, including Word, Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive. This is confirmed bythat found 85% of government employees use Microsoft productivity software, far and away the largest IT productivity vendor by market share."

Manfra said the continued use of Microsoft products was due to laziness on the part of the government. "Given these vulnerabilities, why does government IT continue to rely on the same set of productivity tools in the workplace? The reason, according to survey respondents, has more to do with inertia than innovation.

"When asked why their employers used Microsoft services, around half said that the reason their employer continues to choose legacy, incumbent vendors was more about not wanting to change than wanting the most effective tool for the job."

Manfra said: "Coupled with these concerns about vulnerabilities comes a noted sentiment among those surveyed that their current IT solutions are not best for their needs.

"About half of those surveyed who primarily use Microsoft at work said that they would prefer to have a choice to use products and services from other companies. And among those who use Microsoft at work, 43% believe there are other products and services that would allow them to do their job better."

And she very gently reminded those in power that there are "other" products which can do the job as well  or maybe better  than Microsoft's products.

"With so many survey respondents reporting that they are dissatisfied with their legacy IT solutions, it may be time for the government to rethink its approach to procurement," Manfra wrote.

"In a separate research survey from Omdia in December 2021, 250 people responsible for technology purchasing decisions in the US federal, state, and local governments said government technology and procurement practices often are more about making things easier for IT vs choosing what employees feel would be the best solution.

"In fact, only 27% of officials surveyed in that research cited 'user demand' as a factor affecting their purchasing decisions.

"As governments work to meet the demands and preferences of their constituents  and their employees  its clear that theres an over-reliance on legacy solutions, despite a track record of cybersecurity vulnerabilities and poor user perception."

Microsoft was approached for its take on Manfra's statements, but the Redmond behemoth has apparently decided to sit this one out.
Robert M. Lee: "The government's argument is we need to know the whole picture and then share information."

The chief executive of an American company that specialises in the security of industrial control systems is not exactly enthusiastic about governments forcing companies to report incidents that affect such systems, given that sharing of information from the government side is limited.

Robert M. Lee, founder and CEO of Dragos, told iTWire in Melbourne on Monday that given the government was not coming in to help, such an argument did not make sense. "So the government's argument is we need to know the whole picture and then share information. But throughout history, the sharing of information from government has been limited at best," he said.

There are several ways in which Lee differs from the average individual in tech security. For one, his field is a highly specialised one; secondly, he has a way of rather gently insisting on his point of view and making it seem reasonable in an argument, even though someone has just voiced an opposite view.

That was made clear when the conclusions his company put forward about an incident in Florida, where an attacker gained access to a water treatment plant and increased the concentration of caustic soda to a dangerous level, were termed questionable, because an attacker would not have sought to kill people, but rather to test out whether such an intrusion would be detected.

Lee countered by citing an incident at a petrochemical facility in Saudi Arabia. "...the attackers broke in with the explicit purpose of killing people and tried to kill 60 or so people," he pointed out. "That way, we have had, throughout [the history of] cyber security, a number of instances where attackers have done things that we wouldn't expect, quite maliciously and quite violently.

"Hence, the idea that somebody broke into a water facility to try to hurt people is not all that surprising to me, especially an operation system. We've seen serious state actors do that exact same type of thing before.

"I don't know if it was a state actor or not. What I am dealing with is the fact that somebody broke in... and tried to hurt people in America. I think that's quite serious."

Asked whether it would be far-fetched to say there was a serious lack of security knowledge among people who look after ICS systems, Lee said, "Yes, depending on how you define that. Not the people like the electric companies, the power companies and so forth, the vendors.

"While they do a really good job making equipment, the whole idea of product security is new to them. And so some of the vendors do a decent job at putting out vulnerabilities and analysing them, but a lot of them just don't.

"If you're an asset owner, operator, power company, water company, etc you're dealing with the fact that a lot of the information you get sometimes is inaccurate."

Elaborating on the rushed manner in which the US government agency TSA published rules following an attack on the Colonial Pipeline, Lee said: "I mean, [it was] like a week's process for them, and it was a 24-hour comment period... and you just cannot put out good regulation in any field in a rushed process."

Robert M. Lee: "An over-focus on product security is not industrial security." Photo: Sam Varghese

He said what made it worse that these regulations were focused mainly on enterprise IT and thus were not of great use when it came to an industrial operations system.

"If you were to follow the TSA guidelines as written, you would be at a risk of bringing down your pipeline, not securing it," he said. "Why is this apparent lack of knowledge about IT systems there? Because presumably they've been in existence for a long, long time, isn't it?"

While there was a lot of insight about the industrial systems themselves, Lee said the security efforts related to them were fairly new, and one needed to have very specialised knowledge to understand cyber-security measures specific to industrial control systems.

"A lot of times the agencies and governments that are tasked with doing things don't necessarily have the [necessary] skillset in departments that are writing the regulations," he added.

"Years ago, at one point, we talked about there being only a couple of hundred ICS cyber-security professionals worldwide. There's more now. But if you think about that, even just a couple of years ago, only having a couple of hundred people that really know these systems, they're unlikely to be the ones that are also writing regulations."

That Lee is a geek to the core, despite all his government connections, is evidenced by the fact that he is very precise when answering questions. He doesn't drone on and on in the way that many marketing tech people do; it gives one the impression that here is someone who really knows and understands his subject.

He was in Melbourne to inaugurate the Dragos headquarters in the city. En route, he visited Dubai  where Dragos has a branch  and also Sydney. After Melbourne, he plans to visit Perth before returning to his US headquarters in Maryland  where, incidentally, the NSA, Lee's former employee, is also based.

Asked about the tendency of security firms to attribute incidents and malware to actors in countries that just happened to be on America's enemies list, Lee had a ready answer, pointing out that his firm never did such attributions.

"If you look at our research, there's not one time we attribute [things to] the state actors. We stay out of the geopolitics of it. We don't say it's Iran, China, Russia, North Korea in the same way we don't say it's the US, Israel, UK, Australia; anybody that targets these systems we publish [research] on [them].

"And I think it's not even a fair assumption. It's actually correct that the US, Israel, Australia, UK, other countries absolutely target systems as well. So from a Dragos standpoint, we're not calling out anybody. We just say there's these groups and here's what they do because we don't play those political games."

He said quite often companies did not name threats from Western countries, because attack groups from such countries did not target their customers, "If you think about it, if you're a US-based cyber-security company and you're protecting largely US-based cyber-security firms or cyber firms, you're going to see compromises from US geopolitical adversaries."

And Lee added: "If I am a Chinese based security firm protecting Chinese companies, I [would] see largely US-based intrusions. Many of those firms just don't have the collection in the places that the US is targeting to call out the US. The same thing applies to other Five Eyes countries. But for us, we call out everybody, we just don't ever talk about who it is."

Asked whether digital transformation, in the ICS/OT context, always carried the increased risk that is typically associated with Internet-connected things, Lee had a one-word answer: "Yes."

"Folks in the community would probably argue that it's not Internet-connected, that it's just connected, but that's semantics. You might be connecting up to a vendor who then connects to the Internet," he said.

"The whole point is, as this digital transformation takes place, these systems become more connected, whether it's directly or indirectly to the Internet, it's connected. And those connections create an attack path for adversaries."

But he did not agree that this increased exposure to attacks was caused by operators taking shortcuts or failing to take security seriously. "No, I don't think those are correlated. Are there some asset owners who are not taking security seriously? Not sure. And there are some that do a very good job.

"But the correlation there is if you're going to take advantage of the digital transformation, a lot of the advantages in cloud resources, analytics, it's in vendors like GE who are creating new models for performance on gas turbines.

"The reason for the connectivity is to take advantage of digital transformation resources like cloud and analytics. You have to connect to somebody else. So has the level of security consciousness increased in recent years? Oh, absolutely."

Lee agreed that education had a major role to play in keeping attacks on ICS systems at bay. "It has a great role. One of the things that governments do very well is amplifying this topic of industrial security. We've seen a lot of great movement here in Australia and the US by government partners specifically talking about operations, technology-specific security," he noted.

"And as a result, boards of directors, members, CEOs, the executive staff [at] these companies are going, oh, okay, what should we do about that? And if you think about it starting back 20 years, people are always saying, do cyber security, do cyber security.

"But the nuance of that, what to do, all the different ways to do it, and whether it's IT or OT, that can be overwhelming and confusing. I don't know that the external groups, government standards etc, have ever really been specific on IT versus OT. They are [now] starting to be specific about the necessity of operations security."

Asked about the use of air-gapping to improve security for ICS systems, Lee said it was only used in the nuclear industry. Iran's nuclear plant at Natanz was air-gapped but as is well-known that did not shield it from attack by the Stuxnet malware.

Dragos gets hardware appliances from different vendors but writes its own software, including firmware. Lee waltzed around a question as to whether the software was Linux-based.

He laughed when asked about the company's stated mission  safeguarding civilisation  whether that was not best left to the likes of Batman and whether the stakes were really that high.

"Absolutely. When you're talking about adversaries that are trying to kill people, you're talking about adversaries that are trying to disrupt, [things] like electric power, etc. I do think it's that high."

The slogan was a reminder "not to just take care of the big players, because a lot of our societal value is also in the smaller electric co-operative, water utilities, that's your day-to-day [providers]".

"If we build a big company on only protecting big players with big budgets, that's not safeguarding civilisation. We have to take care of the smaller players too, I believe."

Lee said he would place himself in the technology bracket, when asked whether he considered himself more of a marketing sort or a tech sort. "I see myself as a teacher first, and sometimes that's a marketing kind of function. To help educate people. Sometimes it's in the technology type function, but I'm a very technical person by trade."

In Dragos' annual report for 2021, the company had stated that the design of ICS products meant they could rarely be secured from the risk of rootkit installation. Lee explained: "In enterprise IT security, you normally have a very big focus on product security and data security. Encrypt the data, secure the product. And that makes sense for the world we live in there.

"But on industrial security, it's a system of systems and physics. And there is native functionality required in those products to even have them do the systems assistant functionality that you can't secure against.

"As an example, if I have a product the entire job of which is to open and close a circuit breaker, that can be used by an adversary [and also] by an operator. There's no way to secure that because it's doing its job.

"And so there are plenty of products... where the functionality that's demanded of them for that environment is, of itself, available to anybody. Hence, it's silly to say that it can be secured or not.

"An over-focus on product security is not industrial security. That's usually [the case] with the vendors, even when they sometimes make mistakes, these advisers and so forth, I think we kind of yell at them a little too much. Their product security is not the same thing as industrial security."

Lee laughed again when asked why he wore such a long beard, but took no offence at the query. He has a simple reason for doing so: when he was in the army, he had to look very neat and clean on top. Now, given he can do what he likes, he just lets the facial hair grow.
Tesla owner Elon Musk has taken a 9.2% stake in the social media messaging platform Twitter, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing came to light on Monday, but the shares were bought on 14 March.

Musk is worth some US$270 billion right now and this means he could well look to acquire Twitter if he so wishes.

Twitter's stock rose by about 30% on Monday after news of Musk's buy was known; prior to that the stock has gone up as well, gaining about 50% since 14 March.

Musk tweeted recently about the lack of what he calls free speech on Twitter.

On 27 March, he wrote: "Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?"

He also questioned whether a new platform was needed.

Two days before that he wrote: "Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?"

Man, I cant wait for that cool billionaire to give us peasants some free speech. Theyll be so awesome, brah.  Primo Radical (@PrimoRadical) April 5, 2022

Musk's tweets came shortly before two mainstream US newspapers backflipped on claims about a story published by the New York Post in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.

The story, about a laptop owned by Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was blocked from being posted on Twitter.

Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.



What should be done? https://t.co/aPS9ycji37  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2022

Former president Donald Trump has been banned from Twitter after the events of 6 January 2021, when an unruly crowd tried to storm the US Capitol building in Washington DC.

The social media company cited "the risk of further incitement of violence" when making the announcement.

Trump last year launched Truth Social, a platform similar to Twitter, which he claims is devoted to free speech.
Macquarie Asset Management, on behalf of its managed funds, (Macquarie Asset Management) announced that, alongside its coinvestors, it has entered into binding agreements with Australia Tower Network (ATN), owned by AustralianSuper and Singtel, for the sale of 100% of Axicom for $3,580m.

Axicom is Australias largest independent mobile towers owner, operating approximately 2,000 telecommunication sites in metro and outer-metro locations across all eight states and territories, and major cities across Australia.

Macquarie Asset Management head of Asia-Pacific real assets Frank Kwok said, Weve been pleased with the level of interest shown in Axicom, which reflects the quality of the business, the maturity of its towers portfolio, and the long-term nature of its contracts. We are proud to have supported its growth over the past seven years and strongly believe the agreement reached represents an excellent outcome for shareholders and the future prospects of the Axicom business.

In acquiring Axicom, ATN demonstrated extensive sector expertise and the compatibility of its existing portfolio with Axicoms, which will provide a strong springboard for future growth.

Macquarie Asset Management said it invested in Axicom (then Crown Castle Australia) in 2015, alongside its coinvestors, and since that time has supported the business in transitioning to Australias leading independent tower company, extending customer contracts, de-risking ground tenure through a 100% increase in weighted average lease length, reorientating its strategy to focus on customer experience through a digital transformation, and increasing the focus on ESG, achieving a top quartile GRESB score and releasing its first Sustainability Strategy in 2021.

Macquarie Asset Management says it has significant experience investing in telecommunications infrastructure around the world. Each year, businesses in which it manages investments reach more than ~115 million people through communications infrastructure.

This follows the sale of 49% of Telstra InfraCo Towers to consortium managed by Morrison & Co back in July last year, and the sale of a 70% stake Australia Tower Network (ATN) to AustralianSuper for $1.9 billion in October last year.

TPG Telecom as part of it's FY21 results announced that it was undertaking a strategic review of its tower assets. It then did a network sharing deal with Telstra where TPG Telecom gained access to around 3,700 Telstra sites while decommissioning 725 of its own sites, improving population coverage from 96% to 98.8%.

The mobile sector seems to be going through some rationalisation. Much of the assets they have in rural and remote areas of the country do not provide any positive return on investment, but are needed to support some degree of ubiquitous coverage. The mobile networks are also in the progress of building out 5G coverage, so require access to capital to do so, transactions such as the sale, or part sale of tower assets releases capital to fund the expansion of 5G.

If the MNOs intend to expand their fixed wireless 5G offerings in the cities with mmWave deployments, they will need capital to construct thousands of small 5G mmWave sites and cells with the associated optical backhaul. By maintaining relatively high wholesale prices NBN Co has made the business case for fixed wireless more attractive. If the ACCC determination on the SAU allows NBN to increase price annually then this comparative business case will improve further.

While the Government last week tasked the ACCC to do a review of regional tower access and the feasibility of domestic roaming in times of crisis, it seems to me to be one step behind the market and always managing consequences rather than guiding market development.

Meanwhile the mobile industry will get on with optimising and extending the use of assets in order to create value and minimise cost.
Australia and the Federal Government have come under fire over lack of action in respnse to climate change in the wake of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) releasing its landmark Working Group III report - Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change - compiled by thousands of scientists over the past eight years.

Its now or never: new IPCC report issues warning to governments to speed up renewables transition

The central message of the IPCC report - Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change - is clear: despite affordable renewable energy solutions being available now, governments and businesses are failing to act, and global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 and halve by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.

Australia has drawn criticism for lack of action on climate chage from experts including Greg Bourne, Climate Councillor, energy expert, former President of BP Australasia and former advisor to Margaret Thatcher; Dr Madeline Taylor, Climate Councillor, energy expert and Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University, School of Law; Andrew Stock, Climate Councillor, energy expert and former Origin Energy executive, with more than 40 years experience in senior energy executive roles.

The comments by these experts have been highlighted in a statement issued today by the Climate Council, Australias leading community-funded climate change communications organisation, which also draws attentio to the fact that the United Nations and the worlds scientists are calling for an end to fossil fuels in the third instalment of the IPCCs Sixth Assessment Report, saying there must be rapid, deep and immediate cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.

The central message of the IPCC report is clear: despite affordable renewable energy solutions being available now, governments and businesses are failing to act. Global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 and halve by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees, notes the Climate Council.

The IPCC said the dramatic reductions in the cost of wind, solar and battery storage technologies over the last decade meant they were already commercially viable and would be the key to decarbonising most of the worlds energy systems.

UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres lambasted high emitting countries saying: Some government and business leaders are saying one thing but doing another. Simply put, they are lying and the results will be catastrophic but high emitting governments and corporations are not just turning a blind eye, they are adding fuel to the flames. They are choking our planet, based on their vested interests and historic investments in fossil fuels, when cheaper renewable solutions provide green jobs, energy security and greater price stability.

Current climate pledges would mean a 14% increase in emissions and most major emitters are not taking the steps needed to fulfil even these inadequate promises.

Heres what the aforementioned Australian experts had to say about Australia and climate chage;

Greg Bourne: The latest IPCC report shows that globally were making some progress but climate action is nowhere near where it needs to be - and Australia is one of the worlds biggest climate handbrakes.

If all countries copied the federal governments weak climate response, we would be heading for a 3C or more global temperature rise this century, which would be catastrophic.

Dr Madeline Taylor: This new global UN report comes shortly after the UN Secretary General singled out Australia as a holdout with the Morrison Government refusing to increase its 2030 targets. Australia is the only major developed country that has failed to significantly strengthen its 2030 target.

We know what is required to deeply permanently and immediately reduce emissions, and as the sunniest and one of the windiest places on earth, with a wealth of critical minerals available - Australia should be cashing in on those solutions and creating a prosperous, sustainable future.

Andrew Stock: The Morrison Government has already wasted eight years, and the decisions we make today determine our long-term future. This latest IPCC report makes it clear that we are running out of time. Our window to avoid the worst of climate change is rapidly closing.

Australia is one of the worlds largest exporters of fossil fuels and we have the highest emissions per capita among large developed nations. By strengthening our climate commitments and actions this decade, we can have a huge impact on the future of our planet.
GUEST OPINION: As the world battled through the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the role played by customer contact centres became critically important.

Unable to transact face to face, customers came to rely on contact centres to do everything from book medical appointments and order supplies to rearrange travel plans and arrange their finances.

This rapid shift in customer needs posed significant challenges for businesses. Many had insufficient contact centre capacity to cope with the sudden jump in demand and were forced to quickly scale up technology platforms and staffing levels.

Now, with the worst of the lockdowns over, attention is turning to the quality of the customer experience being offered by contact centres. Businesses realise that, if they fall short of expectations, they will lose out to competitors providing a better customer experience.

The rise of the cloud

In this drive to improve customer experiences, businesses are examining their existing contact centre infrastructure and determining where different options or additions may be required. Many are also evaluating the potential to shift from a traditional on-premise facility to a cloud-based alternative.

Using a cloud-based contact centre means a business can be far more flexible when conditions change. Capacity can be quickly increased as needed to ensure that customers receive the standard of service that they expect.

To ensure a cloud contact centre deployment project is successful and delivers both business and customer benefits, there are a number of steps that should be considered. These include:

Define your requirements Before any changes or investments are made, it is vital that a business has a clear understanding of its contact centre requirements. These will be different for each business based on the companys unique business objectives and the requirements of its customers.

In some cases, the number one requirement will be to have incoming phone calls answered as quickly as possible. In others, it will be a need for agents to be able to seamlessly shift from taking voice calls to dealing with text messages and email interactions.

Determine critical features The next step is to define the specific technical requirements that the new contact centre platform will need to provide. This list should be broken down into must-have features, nice-to-have features and dream features. This will make the task of comparing different solutions much easier.

Research the market At this point it is time to review all available vendors and determine which are able to best meet the organisations requirements today and potentially scale to support future business objectives. This is also the stage when the reputation of potential vendors is checked, and customer testimonials are sought. Once a short list has been created, a final decision can then be made and contracts signed.

Deployment phase During this phase, the new cloud contact centre platform takes shape. Because no on-premise servers or software is required, configuration can be completed relatively quickly while agents continue to use the existing legacy infrastructure.

The contact centre platform can also be integrated with a cloud telephony system and CRM applications to further enhance operations.

Test and train This is an important step as comprehensive training will ensure contact centre staff are able to take full advantage of the new platforms capabilities while also delivering a first-class customer experience.

Go live With everything in place and staff fully trained, its time to go live. This can be done using a big-bang approach or more gradually by shifting teams to the new infrastructure over time. If a big-bang approach is taken, its best to schedule this for a quiet period such as over a weekend or during a holiday period.

Regular reviews Its important to note that deploying a new cloud-based contact centre is not a set-and-forget exercise. Its important to regularly review all systems and processes and ensure they continue to meet requirements and deliver an effective customer experience.

Maximise ROI The final task is to implement a process of regular reporting. The platform will be able to generate significant amounts of data that can be used to track everything from call volumes and wait times to customer experiences and sentiment. The platform can also maximise return on investment by ensuring agents are rostered on at the most appropriate times and staffing levels are matched with changes in customer requirements.





By following these steps, a business can have in place a flexible, functional, and integrated cloud-based contact centre that can support staff and customers alike. Thanks to the flexibility of the cloud, capacities can readily be dialled up and down as the business grows or contracts.

Just as they did during the pandemic, contact centres will continue to play a central role in the delivery of a compelling customer experience. Consider how a new cloud-based platform could add value to your business.
Australian companies that invest in their people and foster a more curious culture experience major benefits including twice employee engagement and up to three times the turnover growth, according to research by SAP SE.

Capitalising on Curiosity surveyed senior business leaders and employees across Australia.

It found that leaders who strongly agree that their organisation has a curious culture, saw annual turnover growth of 20.52% on average over the last 12 months more than three times the 6% average growth in turnover experienced by those who only somewhat agree.

Business leaders at large organisations who are curious report turnover growth at a10.67 percentage point higher than those who are not very curious, which could deliver additional growth of $2.5 million in annual turnover, based on ABS turnover data for businesses of this size.

Curious medium-sized organisations could see an extra $1.7 million and small businesses an additional 550,000 dollars in annual turnover.

More than eight in 10 (82%) of senior business leaders in Australia believe a culture of curiosity is important for their organisation to adapt and grow in a post-COVID world but only four in 10 (44%) strongly agree their organisation has a curious culture.

The most common challenges senior business leaders can handle if they had a more curious culture are: employee engagement (41%); being able to adapt to changing market needs (40%); and dealing with staff retention (36%).

Despite the positive link between curiosity and business growth, four out of five Australian employees (82%) say there are barriers to asking questions and being curious in their organisation.

Eighty-five percent of senior business leaders feel the same, admitting that talk about encouraging curiosity is not always supported by action.

Creating and nurturing a culture of curiosity in an organisation takes time, but ultimately it will strengthen your ability to be agile, adapt and innovate. At a time when businesses are experiencing more uncertainty from the pandemic, fostering a curious culture can be hard but its essential to build resilience and drive growth, explains Inventium founder and organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber.

Building curiosity in your organisation is like building a muscle that helps to keep you fit through all kinds of challenges. We were able to flex our curiosity muscle in real-time during the recent floods. We provided the time, space and opportunity for our staff to engage with people in affected areas to proactively identify issues and collect data that will ultimately improve Councils service offering to the community during extreme weather events in the future, comments Northern Beaches Council director of workforce and technology Karen Twitchett.

Curiosity to attract and retain talent

Seven out of 10 Australian employees (72%) want to work for a curious organisation, and more than half (52%) would leave their current job for a similar role in a more curious organisation.

While employees are less inclined than leaders to categorise their organisation as having a curious culture, (67% versus 89%), the research found clear links between curious organisations and employee satisfaction.

Those employees who believe they work for curious organisations are almost twice as likely to say they are satisfied in their current role (81% compared to 44%) and feel engaged at work (83% compared to 42%).

Battling fatigue is another factor. One in three (32%) employees from large enterprises say employee burnout is a barrier to curiosity.

Curiosity essential to data intelligence

The research found that employees in more curious companies are better equipped to answer, and more capable of answering questions, using data than those who say their organisation is not curious.

Employees in curious organisations are twice as likely to say they are empowered and encouraged to use data to answer questions than those who say their organisation is not curious (82% compared to 40%).

They are also twice as likely say that their organisation provides the data and tools for them to do so (82% compared to 42%) and 1.5 times more likely to say they make good use of data and analysis tools (81% compared to 55%).

Business leaders who feel their organisation has a curious culture are three times more likely to strongly believe their employees have the necessary skills to answer questions from organisational data (73% compared to 25%).

An organisations ability to truly realise the value of technology comes down to how well its people understand data and apply human curiosity. Asking the right questions at the right time, being confident to seek out data and draw conclusions, leads to better decision making and, ultimately, enables organisations to be bolder in approaching business challenges and able to take action on an idea with an informed approach, says SAP Australia and New Zealand president and managing director Damien Bueno.

This understanding and confidence is key to the continued growth, success and transformation of Australian and New Zealand organisations, especially during the period of disruption we currently find ourselves in."

Barriers to cultivating a curious culture

Australian employees identified a lack of reward or encouragement as the biggest barrier to curiosity while business leaders pointed too much pressure to deliver on short term goals.

Almost half of employees (47%) believe they are not rewarded for their curiosity and two in five (43%) feel they are not given time to be curious at work.

Meanwhile, over a third (39%) say that asking questions and challenging the status quo is not encouraged within their organisation and this translates to almost half (44%) of employees working for large organisations in Australia.

Being able to challenge and debate ideas and assumptions is critical for building a curious culture, but being curious and asking questions instead of jumping straight to conclusions takes time. SAPs research suggests many Australian businesses are not giving employees the time or the space to be curious, comments Dr. Imber.

Business leaders who are serious about future proofing their organisation against the current climate of uncertainty need to start role modelling curiosity, giving staff time to explore and experiment, and rewarding curious and creative behaviour within their organisations.
Johnson City, TN (37604)

Today

Thunderstorms, some strong early, then mainly cloudy after midnight with light rain possible. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. Low 54F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms, some strong early, then mainly cloudy after midnight with light rain possible. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. Low 54F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
Today

Locally heavy thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low around 55F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

Tonight

Locally heavy thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low around 55F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

Tomorrow

Cloudy with occasional showers. High 67F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
The United States and Britain announced plans Monday to seek Russias suspension from the UN Human Rights Council following allegations that Russian troops systematically executed civilians in Bucha, Ukraine.

The images out of Bucha and devastation across Ukraine require us to now match our words with action, US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a tweet Monday.

We cannot let a member state that is subverting every principle we hold dear to continue to participate in the council, she said. A vote on Russias suspension could be held by Thursday, according to the US.

Given strong evidence of war crimes, including reports of mass graves and heinous butchery in Bucha, Russia cannot remain a member of the UN Human Rights Council. Russia must be suspended, said British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

Russia reacted furiously. This is unbelievable, said Vassily Nebenzia, the Russian ambassador to the UN. What the West is trying to do with Russia, trying to exclude it from multilateral forums we are having in the world this is unprecedented.

This will not facilitate or encourage or be helpful to what is happening between Russian and Ukrainians in peace talks, he said.

Journalists over the weekend found corpses in civilian clothes, some with their hands bound, in the town of Bucha outside Ukraines capital after Kyivs forces retook it from Russias army.

Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk said many were shot, killed, in the back of the head.

The scale of the killings is still being pieced together, but Ukrainian prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova said 410 civilian bodies had been recovered so far.

The UNs human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said the images from Bucha point to possible war crimes.

The Kremlin denied Russian forces killed civilians, and alleged that the images of dead bodies in Bucha are fakes.

Suspending Russia from the council would require a vote in favor by two-thirds of the UN General Assembly.

Abstentions are not taken into account in the required two-thirds majority, which the United States and Britain believe they can secure.

Such an action has been taken in the past against Libya.

Asked at the daily UN press briefing about UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres position on suspending Russia from the Human Rights Council, his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq appeared embarrassed.

We will leave it to the member states to decide, he said.

What the worry has been on this side is the precedent being set, he added, declining to explain further.

Russia should not have a position of authority in that body, nor should we allow Russia to use its seat on the Council as a tool of propaganda to suggest they have a legitimate concern about human rights, said Thomas-Greenfield.

 More than symbolic 

Our expectation is to do it as soon as possible  this week, and possibly as early as Thursday, the US envoy said later in an interview with US radio NPR.

Its more than symbolic, and it does have force because it continues what we have started, and that is to isolate Russia and to call them out for what theyre doing, she added.

She said that Russia had pushed a narrative that what theyre doing is normal. This is not normal. They will hear from the entire world that we will not continue to allow their misinformation, their propaganda to be used in  on a UN platform, she said.
US President Joe Biden called Monday for a war crimes trial over alleged atrocities in Bucha and vowed tougher sanctions against Moscow, as Ukraines leader urged the world to acknowledge a genocide by Russian troops near Kyiv.

Western leaders have united in outrage after dozens of bodies were found on the streets and in mass graves when Russian troops retreated from the devastated town near the capital, laying bare the horrors of a 40-day war that has killed thousands.

Bombardments continued Monday including in southern Mykolaiv, where officials said Russian strikes killed 10 civilians and wounded 46, as Kyiv warned that Moscow was shifting its military focus and preparing a full-scale attack in the countrys east.

With momentum building for a stiffer European Union response beyond already unprecedented sanctions over Russias invasion, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was ready to send investigators to gather evidence of possible war crimes in Bucha.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blames Russian troops for the killings, but the Kremlin has denied responsibility.

These are war crimes and it will be recognised by the world as genocide, Zelensky said Monday as he visited the town, where the corpses, some with their hands bound behind their backs, were discovered over the weekend.

We know that thousands of people have been killed and tortured with extremities cut off, women raped, children killed, he told reporters, wearing a bulletproof vest for a rare trip outside Ukraines capital, and appearing visibly distressed.

While Moscow suggested images of the corpses in Bucha were fakes, newly released satellite photographs by Maxar Technologies appeared to rebut such claims, and showed that bodies had been on the streets since mid-March when Russian forces controlled the town.

A grisly new discovery, meanwhile, emerged in Bucha, as the bodies of five men were found in a childrens sanatorium basement  described by the Ukrainian prosecutor generals office as unarmed civilians, their hands tied, who were beaten and then killed by Russian soldiers.

Moscow has sought a UN Security Council meeting on what its deputy ambassador to the body called a heinous provocation of Ukrainian radicals in Bucha.

But Biden did not hesitate to call out Russian President Vladimir Putin over the killings.

He is a war criminal, Biden told reporters at the White House.

Whats happening to Bucha is outrageous and everyones seen it, he said, adding: We have to gather all the details in order to have a war crimes trial.

The killings are likely to receive more international attention on Tuesday, when Zelensky addresses the Security Councils meeting on Ukraine, according to British diplomats.

 We dug a mass grave 

While the horror in Bucha appeared undeniable, the scale of the killings is still being pieced together. On Sunday, Ukrainian prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova said 410 civilian bodies had been recovered in the wider Kyiv region after Russian troops withdrew.

In Bucha, AFP on Saturday saw the bodies of at least 22 people in civilian clothes on a single street.

The towns mayor said 280 people were buried in mass graves because they could not be laid to rest in cemeteries that were within firing range.

Maxar released satellite images it said showed a mass grave located behind a church there.

Before leaving, Russian forces refused to let residents bury the dead, municipal worker Serhii Kaplychnyi told AFP.

Eventually, they were able to retrieve the bodies, he said. We dug a mass grave with a tractor and buried everyone.

 Mariupol 90 percent destroyed 

Russia has redoubled its efforts in Ukraines south and east, including strikes Sunday on the strategic Black Sea port of Odessa, which Moscow said targeted an oil refinery and fuel depots.

The mayor of Mariupol said Monday 90 percent of the southeastern city had been destroyed since being besieged by Russian forces, trapping some 130,000 residents who have not yet fled.

Vadym Boichenko said plans to evacuate remaining residents from Mariupol, where authorities say at least 5,000 residents have died, were paused because of incessant bombings.

Britains defence ministry confirmed that recent Russian air activity had focused on southeastern Ukraine, and that Mariupol continues to be subject to intense, indiscriminate strikes.

The White House, meanwhile, said Russia has withdrawn about two thirds of the troops it had around Kyiv and is seeking to redeploy them to eastern and parts of southern Ukraine, in what is being seen as a substantial shift in strategy.

Russia has tried to subjugate the whole of Ukraine and it has failed. Now it will attempt to bring parts of the country under its rule, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.

The United States said more sanctions on Russia would be announced this week, while the EU was urgently discussing similar steps.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke about very clear indications of war crimes, said new sanctions could target the countrys oil and coal sectors.

But Germany warned cutting off Russias supply of gas to Europe was not yet possible, despite several EU countries pressing for the measure as necessary to face down Moscow.

We have to cut all economic relationship to Russia, but at the moment, its not possible to cut the gas supplies. We need some time, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said as he arrived for talks in Luxembourg.

 Something terrible is coming 

In the eastern city of Kramatorsk, women, children and the elderly boarded trains Monday to flee the Donbas region  out of the path of Russias advance.

The rumour is that something terrible is coming, said Svetlana, a volunteer organising the crowd.

Local governor Sergiy Gaiday warned Monday on Telegram that Russian troops were preparing for a major attack in the Lugansk region inside the Donbas, urging a mass evacuation.

Europes worst conflict in decades, sparked by Russias invasion on February 24, has killed as many as 20,000 people, according to Ukrainian estimates.

More than 4.2 million Ukrainians have fled the country and about 6.5 million have been internally displaced, UN agencies say.

The UNs top humanitarian envoy Martin Griffiths was expected in Kyiv after arriving in Moscow Sunday in an attempt to halt the fighting.

And peace talks were scheduled to resume by video Monday.

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More sanctions on Moscow, more weapons for Ukraine, and a probe into alleged war crimes by Russian soldiers: the United States is upping pressure on multiple fronts against President Vladimir Putin, officials said Monday.

As Russia pulls away from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, leaving behind what Ukraine and its allies authorities say is evidence of mass atrocities, the war is shifting to a focus on eastern regions where Moscow already controls territory and is looking to expand.

Russia is repositioning its forces to concentrate its offensive operations in eastern and parts of southern Ukraine, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters. Russia has tried to subjugate the whole of Ukraine and it has failed. Now it will attempt to bring parts of the country under its rule.

And this next phase could be measured in months or longer, he said.

But while Russian forces have retreated from swaths of northern Ukraine, apparently giving up initial hopes of quickly toppling President Volodymyr Zelensky, the discovery of large numbers of bodies in territory they previously controled is fueling determination in Washington to press even harder.

President Joe Biden called Putin a war criminal and the killings that occurred in the town of Bucha a war crime.

There should be a war crimes trial, Biden told reporters.

Sullivan said that Washington, in concert with European allies, is also working on more measures to add to the already withering raft of economic sanctions aimed at crippling the ruble, Russias elite and the countrys ability to import high-tech components.

You can expect further sanctions announcements this week, he said, adding that options that relate to Russias lucrative energy industry are on the table.

Secretary of State of Antony Blinken is traveling to Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday to attend a NATO foreign ministers meeting.

 Advanced weapons 

On the ground, the United States is working to increase the volume and apparently the power of weaponry provided to Ukraines armed forces.

For weeks, Zelensky has pleaded for arms able to hit Russian forces from a distance and to defend against Moscows far stronger air force, navy and long-range artillery. He has repeatedly stressed a need in particular for fighter jets, tanks and anti-air defenses.

While Western powers have so far failed to agree on how or whether to get such systems into Ukraine, partly for fear of provoking Russia, Sullivan noted that the Biden administration has already sent $2.3 billion worth of arms to Ukraine.

And he made clear more is on its way.

Sullivan said that Washington is working with allies on sourcing weapons including longer-range anti-aircraft systems, artillery systems and coastal defense systems  apparently referring to the idea of using Soviet-designed gear held by eastern European countries that could easily be integrated into Ukraines ranks.

He was coy about the details of new systems, which would come on top of the enormous quantities of relatively short-range rockets, drones and small arms already delivered.

Sullivan said some of these systems we cannot advertise.

However, the extent and depth of efforts to acquire and transfer a variety of advanced weapons capabilities is extraordinary, it is unprecedented, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will speak Tuesday during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the conflict in his country, Britains diplomatic mission announced, the leaders first address to a UN body since Russia invaded on February 24.

Following the Monday announcement, the United Kingdom  which holds the council presidency for April  was unable to say if the speech would be live or recorded in advance.

Tuesdays session was already on the calendar before the announcement of Zelenskys appearance, and will include the participation of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The meeting will now likely be dominated by the weekend discovery of dead bodies in civilian clothing scattered on the streets of Bucha, a town outside Kyiv. Photos of the horrific scene have drawn international condemnation of Russia.

On Monday, Zelensky, wearing a khaki coat and camouflage body armor, spent half an hour in the suburb of Bucha. He blamed Russian troops for the killings.

These are war crimes and it will be recognized by the world as genocide, he said.

Russia has denied responsibility and suggested images of corpses were fakes.

The UK presidency of the Council will ensure the truth is heard about Russias war crimes. We will expose Putins war for what it really is, Britains UN mission said on its official Twitter account.
A former Sudanese militia leader Tuesday becomes the first person to go on trial at the International Criminal Court for atrocities in Darfur, which was ravaged by a brutal conflict.

The trial at the Hague-based tribunal opens as some 45 people were killed last week in Darfur in fresh clashes between rival ethnic groups.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, 72, an ally of deposed Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir, was a senior commander of the Janjaweed militia  a notorious armed group created by the government.

Abd-Al-Rahman faces 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in 2003-04 in the arid western Sudanese region.

The United Nations says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million people were displaced in the 2003-4 Darfur conflict.

Back then, fighting broke out when black African rebels, complaining of systematic discrimination, took up arms against Bashirs Arab-dominated regime.

Khartoum responded by unleashing the Janjaweed, a force drawn from among the regions nomadic tribes.

Rights groups said it was a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.

In April 2007, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Abd-Al-Rahman, also known by the nom de guerre of Ali Kushayb.

He fled to the Central African Republic in February 2020 when the new Sudanese government announced its intention to cooperate with the ICC investigation.

Four months later, he surrendered voluntarily.

 Colonel of colonels 

Prosecutors said Abd-Al-Rahman, who carried the title of colonel of colonels in the Janjaweed, played a central role in a series of attacks on at least four villages in West Darfur.

He is charged with both directing the attacks, as well as mobilising, recruiting, arming and supplying to Janjaweed militia under his command.

During these attacks, at least 100 villagers were murdered, women and girls were raped and the members of the predominantly Fur ethnic group subjected to forcible transfer and persecution.

After one attack in late February and early March 2002 on a village, 100 Fur men including community leaders, doctors and teachers were taken to a police station in the town of Mukjar, where they were interrogated and tortured.

Fifty detainees were driven out into the countryside, told to lie face down and were then executed, prosecutors said.

In another incident in March 2004, between 100 to 200 Fur men were detained and taken to an open area at the Deleig police station where they were tortured, prosecutors added.

Abd-Al-Rahman stood or walked on the backs of detainees, hit them kicked them, and verbally abused them, they said.

He then allegedly hit three men with a stick or an axe-like object.

These males died as a consequence of his conduct, prosecutors said.

 Long-awaited chance 

Abd-Al-Rahman is the first suspect to be tried for war crimes committed in Darfur  a rare long-awaited chance for the victims and the communities the Janjaweed terrorised to see an alleged leader face justice, Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

His trial is also the first-ever stemming from a UN Security Council referral.

Former president Omar al-Bashir and three others are still being sought by the ICC  which opened its doors in 2002 to try those responsible for the worlds worst crimes  for crimes in Darfur.

Following his ouster in 2019, Bashir remains in Sudan despite calls for him and two other associates to be handed over to the ICC for prosecution.

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said a military coup in Sudan in October marked a setback in the courts work, with the northeast African country roiled by deepening unrest.

But accelerated cooperation with the International Criminal Court is the only viable path to ensuring long-delayed justice for the survivors of crimes against humanity in Darfur, Khan told the UN Security Council in January.
Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the UN Security Council on Tuesday, where he is expected to demand tough new sanctions on Moscow over killings in the town of Bucha that he has called war crimes and genocide.

The speech, Zelenskys first to the body since Russias invasion, comes after he made an emotional trip to Bucha, where dozens of bodies were discovered after the withdrawal of Russian troops.

Horrific images of corpses lying in the streets, some with their hands bound behind them, have drawn international condemnation of Russia.

Moscow has denied responsibility and suggested the images are fake or that the deaths occurred after Russian forces pulled out of the area.

But newly released satellite photographs taken by Maxar Technologies in mid-March, before the Russian withdrawal, showed what appeared to be bodies in some of the same places they were later found by Ukrainian troops and seen by journalists.

On Monday, wearing body armour and visibly distressed, Zelensky spent half an hour in Bucha, where he blamed Russian troops for the killings.

These are war crimes and it will be recognised by the world as genocide, he said.

Later in his nightly address, he said the sanctions response to Russias massacre of civilians must finally be powerful.

But did hundreds of our people have to die in agony for some European leaders to finally understand that the Russian state deserves the most severe pressure? he asked in the video posted to Telegram.

He also called for additional weapons from Western allies, saying more equipment could have saved thousands.

I do not blame you  I blame only the Russian military, he said. But you could have helped.

 More sanctions this week 

Ukraines allies have called the killings in Bucha war crimes, with the EU offering to send investigators to gather evidence.

US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House that there should be a war crimes trial, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal.

The White House said it would announce fresh sanctions on Moscow this week, with France suggesting new measures could target Russian oil and coal exports.

But Germany warned it was too soon to cut off Russian gas.

All economic ties to Russia would have to be severed, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said, adding, but at the moment, its not possible to cut the gas supplies. We need some time.

Elsewhere, the United States and Britain said they would seek Russias suspension from the UN Human Rights Council  a move Moscow branded unbelievable.

Russia has called for a UN Security Council meeting on what it dubbed the heinous provocation of Ukrainian radicals in Bucha, but Britain  which holds the Council presidency  has so far refused the request.

 More horrors emerge 

The full nature of the killings in Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have withdrawn is still being pieced together.

On Monday, the bodies of five men were found in a childrens sanatorium basement in Bucha. The Ukrainian prosecutor generals office said they were unarmed civilians, who had been bound, beaten and killed by Russian troops.

And in Motyzhyn, west of Kyiv, Ukrainian police showed AFP journalists the bodies of five civilians with their hands tied, including those of the villages mayor, her husband and son.

Ukrainian officials say over 400 civilian bodies have been recovered from the Kyiv region, many of whom have been laid to rest in mass graves.

But Zelensky has warned that the deaths in Bucha could be only the tip of the iceberg, saying he had information that even more people had been killed in places like nearby Borodianka.

AFP reporters who briefly visited the area saw no bodies in the streets, but locals reported many deaths.

I know five civilians were killed, said 58-year-old Rafik Azimov. But we dont know how many more are left in the basements of the ruined buildings after the bombardments.

I buried six people, another resident, Volodymyr Nahornyi, said. More people are under the ruins.

 Cluster munitions in Mykolaiv 

The Russian withdrawal from Kyiv has been seen as a pivot to a renewed offensive in the countrys east and south, where Moscow wants to consolidate territory around occupied Crimea and the separatist statelets of Donetsk and Lugansk.

The Ukrainian government has warned that Moscow is preparing a full-scale attack in the countrys east and regional officials urged civilians to evacuate Lugansk fearing a major Russian attack.

The Pentagon estimates Russia has withdrawn about two-thirds of the troops it had around Kyiv and will redeploy them to the east and south, with the White House warning the wars next phase could be measured in months or longer.

Even where troops have withdrawn, fears remain, with Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko telling residents to wait before returning, citing the danger of continued shelling and the danger of unexploded munitions.

Overnight, air raid sirens rang out across much of the country, from Lviv in the west to southern Mykolaiv, where officials said Monday that Russian strikes killed 10 civilians and wounded 46.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said cluster munitions, which explode in the air and send dozens of small bomblets over a large area, were used on the city.

A 2008 UN convention bans the production and use of the weapons, but it has not been signed by Russia or Ukraine.

The Ukrainian army said residential and medical facilities, including a childrens hospital, were fired on.

There are dead and wounded, including children, it said.

Elsewhere in the south, concerns remain about civilians trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol.

Authorities say at least 5,000 people have been killed in the city, 90 percent of which has been destroyed, according to Mayor Vadym Boichenko.

Around 130,000 residents are still trapped inside, and efforts to evacuate them are now on hold because of incessant bombing, he said.

The Red Cross said Monday a team it sent to help get civilians out of Mariupol was being held by police in Russian-controlled territory.

Europes worst conflict in decades has killed as many as 20,000 people since Russias February 24 invasion, according to Ukrainian estimates.

More than 4.2 million Ukrainians have fled the country and about 6.5 million have been internally displaced, UN agencies say.

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High ranking military officers will be watching closely, as will displaced people and refugees from Darfur. This Tuesday theyll be following with interest, on their cell phones, computers or transistor radios, the first hearing in this trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands. Top Sudanese military officers will be fearing that the defendant speaks out during his trial, while the victims and refugees hope that he will do so. The former will certainly want vindication in their refusal to cooperate with the ICC, while the latter will be pleased to see that justice is finally being done.

There is another little group of Sudanese citizens who will be paying attention too: the three other people wanted by the ICC, arrested in Khartoum after the fall of Omar al-Bashir almost three years ago to the day and still held in Kober prison, north of Khartoum on the eastern bank of the Blue Nile. They are former president Al-Bashir himself, former Humanitarian Affairs Minister and governor of South Kordofan Ahmed Haroun, and former minister of defence Abdelrahim Hussein.

Crimes in Darfur in 2003-2004

The charges against Ali Kushayb date back almost two decades. But his court appearance is an event, since it is the first time a militia leader has been tried for mass crimes committed in Darfur, and he is the only one in the hands of international justice. He arrived in The Hague in June 2020 after voluntarily surrendering to authorities in the Central African Republic, the country to which he had fled. He was afraid of being killed by his ex-colleagues from the intelligence of the former regime, and especially by the NISS, says a Sudanese activist close to the case who prefers to remain anonymous for security reasons. He thought he would be safer in the hands of the ICC than free in the Central African Republic! He knows all the secrets of the top officials of the former regime in the crimes committed in Darfur  who recruited the militia, who paid them, and who gave the orders, especially among the police and the PDF (Popular Defence Force) officers. This paramilitary force, the PDF, was used by Khartoum in South Kordofan and Darfur to manage the notorious Janjaweed (literally, demons on horseback) tribal militiamen.

Drawing by a 13-year-old boy in Darfur, 2005. He says: I am guarding the sheep in the wadi (river bed or oasis). I see the Janjaweed arriving fast on their horses and camels, armed with Kalachnikovs. They are shooting and shouting kill the slaves, kill the Blacks. I saw people falling bleeding to the ground. They went after the children. Source : Human Rights Watch. (Deflagrations collection).

Ali Kushayb is accused of having been a senior member of the PDF, the colonel of colonels, and as such of having led thousands of Janjaweed who set fire to the Wadi Salih area of West Darfur state at the beginning of what has been called the Darfur war. His official function remains unclear. According to the ICC prosecutor, Ali Kushayb cooperated with senior Sudanese government officials, including a minister of state in the Interior Ministry, Ahmad Muhammad Harun. He allegedly received arms and money from Harun and distributed them to the Janjaweed militia. According to the Sudanese activist close to the case, Ali Kushayb was a member of the Central Reserve Forces, a part of the Interior Ministry, from which he retired before 2000, and then became during the conflict a member of the Popular Defence Forces and a leader of the Janjaweed.

The arrest warrant issued against him in February 2007 contained 51 charges, which were consolidated into 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between August 2003 and March 2004 in and around the towns of Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar and Deleig. It is a long litany of alleged crimes: intentional attack on a civilian population, murder and attempted murder, looting, destruction of property and livestock, inhumane acts, outrages upon personal dignity, rape, torture, forced transfer of population, and cruel treatment.

Behind the legal qualifications are hundreds of testimonies telling of devastated, shattered lives and suffering that still plague the martyred Darfur region of western Sudan. Several dozen witnesses are to be heard by the Court. During one of their visits to Darfur, ICC investigators heard testimony from Yagoub Abdallah, a resident of the Kalma camp for displaced persons, about 15 kilometres from South Darfurs capital Nyala. He is the president of the General Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees of Darfur, an organization fighting for their rights, and is in touch with international agencies and NGOs. Yagoub Abdallah was born in the village of Beregi, a few kilometres north of the town of Deleig in the Wadi Salih region. He belongs to the Fur ethnic group, the majority in this area.

Until 2003, he led an uneventful life as a farmer. I cultivated about 15 feddan [6.3 hectares], growing sugar cane and beans, says Abdallah. I was the president of the local youth association. He is not a member of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), the main rebel group in Darfur, which is fighting the central government and managed to gain a foothold in several surrounding villages in the first half of 2003. In August 2003, after the SLA attacked police stations, senior officials visited from Khartoum. According to a testimony collected in 2004 by Human Rights Watch, Interior Minister Ahmed Haroun then gave a speech urging the Janjaweed and the army to kill the Fur. The first attacks in and around the villages of Bindisi and Mukjar began in August 2003. Ali Kushaybs leadership role even then is described by victims.

Ali Kushayb killed three people with his own hands

Abdallah was a witness and victim of an attack by Khartoum-linked forces in March 2004. Some time before, he had to flee his village, which was attacked by government forces, and take refuge in the nearest town, Deleig. It was a Friday morning, March 5, 2004. I was at the mosque in Deleig, I saw Ali Kushayb gathering men arrested in their houses, in the school, in public places, east of the big market where there is the school and a police station, recalls Abdallah. There were people from villages to the east and south of Deleig, 125 men in all. Ali Kushayb killed three of them with his own hands. One of them, Adam Genef, was the agricultural inspector of the village of Arwalah. Ali Kushayb killed him himself, with a butchers knife. The others were taken away. We received confirmation the next day that they had all been executed. Among them were the mayors of Tonoko, Forgo and Gaba.

According to a January 2005 report by the UN Commission of Inquiry, the roundup targeted community leaders. Abdallah, his family and other villagers fled from the massacres. The massacres forced the inhabitants to abandon their land and villages, which were then taken over by Arab tribes. Finally, the displaced arrived in Kalma camp, set up in February 2004. They have not left the camp for 15 years, as it is too dangerous.

In The Hague, Ali Abd al-Rahmans defence will plead mistaken identity. They will say it is not certain that an Ali Kushayb ever existed, and if he did, he is not Ali Abd al-Rahman, who has nothing to do with it. That is at least what the defence brief says. This is not tenable, says the Sudanese activist who assisted ICC investigators in Darfur. Dozens of people have recognized him. Whatever his name is, he is the one who is going to be judged, who committed all these crimes, who slit throats, burned, killed, beat people. He did it in broad daylight in front of hundreds of people. Moreover, he continues, Ali Abd al-Rahman, alias Ali Kushayb, was well known before the war. He had a house in Garsila and my brother often visited him, there were no problems between us, says Abdallah. He had a veterinary products store. Every week, he came to the market in Deleig to sell them, sometimes with a cart, sometimes by car. He worked like that for several years. Later, he joined the PDF, he took the lead of the Janjaweed, and there he became one who kills.

The trial is taking place at a time when Darfur is once again witnessing numerous acts of violence. These are fomented, according to many witnesses, by the Janjaweed, including members of the Rapid Support Force (RSF), a paramilitary corps led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo the second in command of the ruling junta in Khartoum. Among the displaced, the satisfaction of seeing Ali Kushayb judged is diminished by the fear of reprisals.
Denmark said Tuesday it is expelling 15 Russian intelligence officers registered as diplomats in the country following similar moves by a number of EU countries, including Germany and France.

The Russian citizens concerned will have 14 days to leave the country, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

We have established that the 15 expelled intelligence officers have conducted spying on Danish soil, Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod told reporters after a meeting in parliament.

Denmark wished to send a clear signal that spying in the Nordic country was unacceptable, he said.

Russias ambassador to Denmark was informed of the decision early Tuesday, where the government also expressed a strong condemnation of Russias brutality against Ukrainian civilians in Bucha.

Deliberate attacks against civilians are a war crime, it said.

At the same time, Copenhagen insisted on maintaining diplomatic relations with Moscow.

Denmark does not wish to break diplomatic relations to Moscow. The Russian ambassador and the rest of the embassy in Copenhagen are therefore not included in the expulsion, Kofod said.

Horrific images of corpses lying in the streets in the town of Bucha north-west of Kyiv, some with their hands bound behind them, following the Russian withdrawal have drawn international condemnation of Russia, and the EU is considering additional sanctions.

Moscow has denied responsibility, suggesting the images are fake or that the deaths occurred after Russian forces pulled out of the area.

But newly released satellite photographs taken by Maxar Technologies in mid-March, before the Russian withdrawal, showed what appeared to be bodies in some of the same places they were later found by Ukrainian troops and seen by journalists.

On Monday, France expelled 35 Russian diplomats, and Germany announced it had expelled a significant number of Russian envoys.
A former Sudanese militia chief on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to more than 30 counts of atrocities at the International Criminal Courts first trial for war crimes in Darfur.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, 72, an ally of deposed Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir, was a senior commander of the Janjaweed militia  a notorious armed group created by the government.

I reject all these charges. I am innocent of all these charges, Abd-Al-Rahman told the court in The Hague as his trial opened and he was asked to plead.

He faces 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in 2003-04 in the arid western Sudanese region.

The long charge sheet describes acts of murder, rape, torture and pillaging.

The United Nations says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million people were displaced in the 2003-4 conflict in the arid western Sudanese region.

Back then, fighting broke out when black African rebels, complaining of systematic discrimination, took up arms against Bashirs Arab-dominated regime.

Khartoum responded by unleashing the Janjaweed, a force drawn from among the regions nomadic tribes.

Rights groups described it as a deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.

In April 2007, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Abd-Al-Rahman, also known by the nom de guerre of Ali Kushayb.

He fled to the Central African Republic in February 2020 when the new Sudanese government announced its intention to cooperate with the ICC investigation.

Four months later, he surrendered voluntarily.

 Feared reputation 

Prosecutors said Abd-Al-Rahman, who carried the title of colonel of colonels in the Janjaweed, played a central role in a series of attacks on at least four villages in West Darfur.

He is charged with both directing the attacks, as well as mobilising, recruiting, arming and supplying to Janjaweed militia under his command.

Abd-Al-Rahman was a willing, knowing participant in these crimes, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said.

He took pride in the power that he thought he exerted and a strange glee in his feared reputation, Khan told the judges.

During these attacks, at least 100 villagers were murdered, women and girls were raped and the members of the predominantly Fur ethnic group subjected to forcible transfer and persecution.

After one attack in late February and early March 2002 on a village, 100 Fur men including community leaders, doctors and teachers were taken to a police station in the town of Mukjar, where they were interrogated and tortured.

Fifty detainees were driven out into the countryside, told to lie face down and were then executed, prosecutors said.

In another incident in March 2004, between 100 to 200 Fur men were detained and taken to an open area at the Deleig police station where they were tortured, prosecutors added.

Abd-Al-Rahman stood or walked on the backs of detainees, hit them kicked them, and verbally abused them, they said.

He then allegedly hit three men with a stick or an axe-like object.

These males died as a consequence of his conduct, prosecutors said.

 Long-awaited chance 

Abd-Al-Rahman is the first suspect to be tried for war crimes committed in Darfur  a rare long-awaited chance for the victims and the communities the Janjaweed terrorised to see an alleged leader face justice, Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

His trial is also the first-ever stemming from a UN Security Council referral.

Former president Omar al-Bashir and three others are still being sought by the ICC  which opened its doors in 2002 to try those responsible for the worlds worst crimes  for crimes in Darfur.

Following his ouster in 2019, Bashir remains in Sudan despite calls for him and two other associates to be handed over to the ICC for prosecution.

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said a military coup in Sudan in October marked a setback in the courts work, with the northeast African country roiled by deepening unrest.

But accelerated cooperation with the International Criminal Court is the only viable path to ensuring long-delayed justice for the survivors of crimes against humanity in Darfur, Khan told the UN Security Council in January.
Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky will press the UN Security Council on Tuesday for tougher sanctions aimed at forcing Russia to abandon its war against his country, as outrage grows against Moscow over the alleged slaughter of civilians.

Western officials have already promised new measures this week targeting Russias oil and coal exports, which are helping President Vladimir Putin pay for the invasion he launched nearly six weeks ago.

And Denmark and Italy became the latest European nations to expel a group of Russian intelligence officers registered as diplomats, following France and Germany on Monday.

The moves follow the harrowing discoveries of scores of bodies in Bucha and other towns near Kyiv as Russian troops retreated to regroup in the east.

Most of the bodies have been found in civilian clothes. Ukrainian officials have said some had their hands bound behind their backs.

Zelensky has denounced war crimes and attempted genocide and appealed for more Western weapons and defence aid, saying they could have helped save innocent lives.

The sanctions response to Russias massacre of civilians must finally be powerful, he said in a Telegram video posted late Monday after touring the devastated streets of Bucha.

But did hundreds of our people have to die in agony for some European leaders to finally understand that the Russian state deserves the most severe pressure? he asked.

His address to the UN Security Council will be the first since the invasion began on February 24th, though it was not clear if it would be pre-recorded or live.

In Bucha, resident Olena told AFP she saw Russian soldiers shoot a man in cold blood as units of brutal older troops sowed fear in the town near Kyiv.

Right in front of my eyes, they fired on a man who was going to get food at the supermarket, said Olena, 43, who did not wish to give her second name.

EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Kyiv this week alongside EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell.

 More weapons en route? 

Many in Ukraine however are bracing for further Russian bombardments especially in the east and south, and air raid sirens rang out overnight across much of the country.

Russian authorities have denied the charges of civilian killings in Bucha and other locations near the capital, with its defence ministry on Tuesday claiming they had been staged by Ukraine.

Similar events are now being organised by the Ukrainian special services in Sumy, Konotop and other cities, the Russian defence ministry said, referring to cities in northeastern Ukraine  without offering evidence to back up the assertion.

But US President Joe Biden told reporters Monday that there should be a war crimes trial for Putin, vowing that Washington would join the EU in announcing new sanctions this week.

But Germany warned again that it was too soon to cut off purchases of Russian natural gas, a key source of Russian income that several nations have called for, but which would cripple large swathes of the European economy.

At the moment, its not possible to cut the gas supplies. We need some time, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said.

But US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned Monday that the next phase of Russias invasion, focusing on expanding territories it holds in the east and south, could be measured in months or longer.

He said Western allies were working on obtaining more weapons for Ukraine, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveling to Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday to attend a NATO foreign ministers meeting.

 Horrors emerge 

The full nature of the killings in Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have withdrawn is still being pieced together.

On Monday, the bodies of five men were found in the basement of a childrens sanatorium basement in Bucha. Ukraine prosecutors said they were unarmed civilians who had been bound, beaten and killed by Russian troops.

And in Motyzhyn, west of Kyiv, Ukrainian police showed AFP journalists the bodies of five people with their hands tied, including those of the villages mayor, her husband and son.

Ukrainian officials say over 400 civilian bodies have been recovered from the Kyiv region, many of whom have been buried in mass graves.

But Zelensky has warned that the deaths in Bucha could be only the tip of the iceberg, saying he had information that even more people had been killed in places like nearby Borodianka.

AFP reporters who briefly visited the area saw no bodies in the streets, but locals reported many deaths.

I know five civilians were killed, said 58-year-old Rafik Azimov. But we dont know how many more are left in the basements of the ruined buildings after the bombardments.

I buried six people, another resident, Volodymyr Nahornyi, said. More people are under the ruins.

 Russians regroup 

The Ukrainian government has warned that Moscow is preparing a full-scale attack in the countrys east and regional officials urged civilians to evacuate Lugansk fearing a major Russian attack.

Even where troops have withdrawn, fears remain, with Kyivs Mayor Vitali Klitschko telling residents to wait before trying to return, citing the danger of continued shelling and the danger of unexploded munitions.

On Monday, officials in Mykolaiv, on the Black Sea not far from Odessa, said cluster bombs were used against the city in strikes that killed 10 civilians and wounded 46.

A 2008 UN convention bans the production and use of cluster bombs, which kill indiscriminately by sending dozens of small bomblets over a large area, but it has not been signed by Russia or Ukraine.

Elsewhere in the south, concerns remain about civilians trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol, which has been besieged by Russian forces for over a month.

Authorities say at least 5,000 people have been killed in the city, 90 percent of which has been destroyed, according to Mayor Vadym Boichenko.

The Red Cross said Tuesday that Russian forces had released a team sent to help evacuate Mariupol residents that was detained en route Monday.

Europes worst conflict in decades has killed as many as 20,000 people since Russias February 24 invasion, according to Ukrainian estimates.

More than 4.2 million Ukrainians have fled the country and about 6.5 million have been internally displaced, UN agencies say.

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Italy, Spain and Denmark joined EU allies Tuesday in expelling Russian diplomats amid increasing outrage over the Ukraine conflict, with around 150 sent home in the last 48 hours.

The expulsions  many for alleged spying  follow international condemnation of killings in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, where dozens of bodies were discovered after Russian troops withdrew.

Moscow has rejected Western accusations that its forces were responsible, suggesting the images are fake or that the deaths occurred after they pulled out.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that the mass expulsions of its diplomats was a short-sighted move.

Narrowing down opportunities for diplomatic communication in such an unprecedentedly difficult crisis environment is a short-sighted move that will further complicate our communication, which is necessary to find a solution, he said.

And this will inevitably lead to retaliatory steps, he added.

The expulsions come as the EU discusses a fifth round of sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, with member states expected to sign off on it this week or next.

 Unbearable images 

Italys foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, said 30 Russian diplomats were being expelled for national security reasons in the context of the ongoing war.

A few hours later, Spains foreign minister announced its own expulsion of around 25 Russian diplomats.

The unbearable images we have seen of the massacre of civilians in the town of Bucha after the withdrawal of the Russian army deeply outrage us, Jose Manuel Albares told reporters.

The Russian diplomats and staff represent a threat to the interest of the country and they will be expelled immediately, he told a news conference following a weekly cabinet meeting.

Swedens foreign ministry said it was expelling three Russian diplomats who conducted illegal operations there.

And Denmark announced a similar move for 15 Russian intelligence officers accused of spying on its territory, something it said was unacceptable.

The Danish government condemned what it called Russias brutality in Bucha, saying: Deliberate attacks against civilians are a war crime.

But Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said diplomatic ties would remain with Moscow, noting that the Russian ambassador and embassy staff in Copenhagen were not being expelled.

The announcements follow similar moves by EU allies France, which on Monday expelled 35 Russian diplomats, and Germany, where officials said 40 diplomats had been sent home.

Also on Monday, Lithuania said it was expelling the Russian ambassador in response to Russias military aggression and what it called the horrific massacre in Bucha.

According to an AFP count, European Union countries have now expelled around 260 Russian diplomats since the invasion.

Russia said on March 29 it was expelling 10 diplomats from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in a tit-for-tat move.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the world to enforce tough new sanctions on Moscow over the killings in Bucha, which he has described as war crimes and genocide.

The Kremlin has denied responsibility for the corpses lying in the streets, some with their hands bound behind them.

But newly released satellite photographs taken by Maxar Technologies in mid-March, before the Russian withdrawal, showed what appeared to be bodies in some of the same places they were later found by Ukrainian troops and seen by journalists.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will on Tuesday address the UN Security Council, seeking tougher measures against Moscow over alleged killings of civilians, as his country braces for further Russian bombardments in the east and south.

The speech, Zelenskys first to the body since Russias invasion, comes after he made an emotional trip to Bucha, where dozens of bodies were discovered after the withdrawal of Russian troops.

US President Joe Biden has called for a war crimes trial over the alleged atrocities and Western officials have vowed new economic sanctions this week in response to the harrowing discoveries in Bucha and other towns near Kyiv.

Zelensky has denounced war crimes and attempted genocide while appealing for new sanctions, and more Western defence aid, saying they could have helped save innocent lives.

It was not clear if his speech to the UN Security Council, to be delivered on the 41st day of Russias invasion of Ukraine, would be pre-recorded or live.

Europes worst conflict in decades has killed as many as 20,000 people, according to Ukrainian estimates. It has seen more than 4.2 million flee the country and displaced another 6.5 million internally.

The sanctions response to Russias massacre of civilians must finally be powerful, Zelensky said in a Telegram video late Monday after touring the devastated streets of Bucha.

Did hundreds of our people have to die in agony for some European leaders to finally understand that the Russian state deserves the most severe pressure? he asked.

 In front of my eyes 

Moscow has denied responsibility and suggested that the images are fake or that the deaths occurred after Russian forces pulled out of the area.

One resident in Bucha, Olena, told AFP she saw Russian soldiers shoot a man in cold blood as units of brutal older troops sowed fear in the town.

Right in front of my eyes, they fired on a man who was going to get food at the supermarket, said the 43-year-old, who did not wish to give her family name.

Denmark, Italy and Spain on Tuesday became the the latest European nations to expel dozens of Russian intelligence officers registered as diplomats, with more than 150 sent home in 48 hours.

The Kremlin called the mass expulsions a short-sighted move that would complicate negotiations aimed at finding a solution to the conflict.

EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Kyiv this week alongside EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell, her spokesman said, after the bloc offered assistance in documenting potential atrocities against unarmed residents.

French prosecutors in Paris said they had opened three more probes into suspected war crimes committed against French citizens in Ukraine.

 NATO warns of Donbas push 

Many in Ukraine are bracing for further Russian bombardments especially in the east and south, and air raid sirens rang out overnight across much of the country.

In the coming weeks, we expect a further Russian push in the eastern and southern Ukraine to try to take the entire Donbas and to create a land bridge to occupied Crimea, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said.

Biden told reporters Monday that there should be a war crimes trial for Russian President Vladimir Putin, vowing that Washington would join the EU in announcing new sanctions this week.

The US Treasury announced Tuesday that Russia will no longer be able to pay its foreign debt with dollars held in American banks, further squeezing its financial system.

European sanctions will include oil and coal, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said after talks with his German counterpart in Berlin.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has warned that the next phase of Russias invasion, focusing on expanding territories it holds in the east and south, could be measured in months or longer.

The full nature of the killings in Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have withdrawn is still being pieced together.

Ukrainian officials say over 400 civilian bodies have been recovered from the wider Kyiv region, many of whom have been buried in mass graves.

 I buried six people 

But Zelensky has warned that the deaths in Bucha could be only the tip of the iceberg, saying he had information that even more people had been killed in places like nearby Borodianka.

AFP reporters who briefly visited the area saw no bodies in the streets, but locals reported many deaths. The scale of devastation in the town saw buildings flayed open.

I know five civilians were killed, said 58-year-old Rafik Azimov. But we dont know how many more are left in the basements of the ruined buildings after the bombardments.

I buried six people, another resident, Volodymyr Nahornyi, said. More people are under the ruins.

Ukraine has warned that Moscow is preparing a full-scale attack in the countrys east and regional officials urged civilians to evacuate Lugansk fearing a major Russian attack.

Even where troops have withdrawn, fears remain, with Kyivs Mayor Vitali Klitschko telling residents to not yet return, citing the danger of continued shelling and the danger of unexploded munitions.

On Monday, officials in Mykolaiv, on the Black Sea not far from Odessa, said cluster bombs were used against the city in strikes that killed 10 civilians and wounded 46.

A 2008 UN convention bans the production and use of cluster bombs, which kill indiscriminately, but it has not been signed by Russia or Ukraine.

Elsewhere in the south, concerns remain for civilians trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol, which has been besieged by Russian forces for over a month, and where authorities say at least 5,000 people have been killed.

The Red Cross said Tuesday that Russian forces had released a team sent to help evacuate Mariupol residents that was detained en route Monday.

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Malian forces and suspected Russian fighters killed about 300 civilians in late March in the centre of the conflict-torn Sahel nation, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

In a report, the rights group suggested the alleged massacre perpetrated over four days, in the town of Moura in volatile central Mali, was a war crime.

Malian soldiers and white foreign fighters arrived in the town by helicopter on March 27 and exchanged fire with about 30 Islamist fighters, several witnesses told Human Rights Watch (HRW). Some jihadists then attempted to blend in with the local population.

Over the ensuing days, Malian and foreign fighters allegedly rounded people up and executed them in small groups.

HRW estimated that about 300 people were killed in total, with the vast majority of the victims being ethnic Fulanis.

The incident is the worst single atrocity reported in Malis decade-long armed conflict, the report said.

Malis army said on Friday that it killed 203 militants in Moura. However, that announcement followed widely shared social media reports of a civilian massacre in the area.

Faced with the multiplication of testimonies reported by the press, the army issued a new statement late Tuesday, dismissing the unfounded allegations which it said were aimed at tarnishing the image of the armed forces.

Without referring specifically to HRW, it reiterated that respect for rights was a priority in the conduct (of) operations and called for restraint against defamatory speculation.

 International concern 

The United States, European Union, United Nations and Malis former colonial power France have all raised concerns about the possible killing of civilians in Moura.

AFP was unable to independently confirm the Malian armed forces account or the social media reports.

HRWs recent report attests to fears of a mass civilian killing in Moura, however.

The study was based on interviews with 27 people, including witnesses from the Moura area, foreign diplomats and security analysts, the rights group said.

The Malian government is responsible for this atrocity, the worst in Mali in a decade, whether carried about by Malian forces or associated foreign soldiers, said HRW Sahel Director Corinne Dufka, who urged an investigation.

Several witnesses and other sources identified the foreign soldiers as Russians to HRW.

Russia has supplied what are officially described as military instructors to Mali, an impoverished country that has been battling a brutal jihadist conflict since 2012.

However, the United States, France, and others, say the instructors are operatives from the Russian private-security firm Wagner.

Malis ruling military, which seized power in a coup in August 2020, denies the allegation. It also routinely defends the rights record of the armed forces.

The Malian army, in its statement published on Tuesday evening, said troops had attacked a group of terrorists and engaged them in heavy fighting.

Once control of Moura was secured, the soldiers identified more terrorists hidden among the population, it said.

The statement mentioned military casualties but said nothing of any foreign soldiers.
NATOs chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday he feared more atrocities in Ukraine, as allies moved to rearm the country ahead of an expected Russian offensive in its east.

Speaking a day before NATO foreign ministers gather to discuss additional support to Kyiv, Stoltenberg said the alliance supported investigations into the horrific images of murdered civilians in Bucha and other places in Ukraine from which Russian forces had pulled back.

When and if they withdraw the troops and Ukrainian troops take over, Im afraid they will see more mass graves, more atrocities and more examples of war crimes, he told a media conference.

The Russian pull-back from areas around heavily defended Kyiv is seen by NATO countries as a redeployment to allow Moscow to focus instead on Ukraines east and south.

Moscow has maintained Russian-speaking footholds in eastern Ukraine since 2014, when it annexed the Crimean peninsula and backed separatists in the eastern Donbas region bordering Russia.

Moscow is not giving up its ambitions in Ukraine. We now see a significant movement of troops away from Kyiv, to regroup, rearm and resupply. And they shift their focus to the east, Stoltenberg said.

In the coming weeks, we expect a further Russian push in the eastern and southern Ukraine to try to take the entire Donbas and to create a land bridge to occupied Crimea, he said.

This is a crucial phase of the war, he said.

Stoltenberg said NATO foreign ministers meeting on Wednesday and Thursday were expected to discuss their countries providing more advanced equipment and military support to help Kyivs forces withstand the predicted assault.

The weapons would include Javelins and other anti-tank weapons which have proven extremely effective on the battlefield, he said.

Stoltenberg added that the more strength we can provide to the Ukrainian armed forces, the better results they can achieve at the negotiating table in peace talks with Russia.

The US ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, told journalists that the supply of weapons to Ukraine was not a NATO operation but sovereign decisions by countries in the alliance.

I would say over two thirds of the allies are actually providing lethal assistance in one form or another, she said, declining to detail what arms were being given.

The NATO ministers were to be joined by counterparts from non-NATO partner countries Australia, Finland, Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Sweden.

On the sidelines of the NATO gathering, the foreign ministers of the G7  comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States  will also meet.

The G7 has already agreed several waves of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
EU nations expelled dozens more Russian diplomats Tuesday amid increasing outrage over the Ukraine conflict, in coordinated moves that have seen more than 200 envoys and staff sent home in 48 hours.

After Germany and France announced around 75 expulsions between them Monday, countries including Italy, Spain and Slovenia followed suit Tuesday  while the European Union itself declared persona non grata a group of Russian officials working with its institutions.

The expulsions were for alleged spying or national security reasons, but come after international condemnation of killings in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv, where dozens of bodies were discovered after Russian troops withdrew.

Moscow has rejected Western accusations that its forces were responsible, suggesting that released images are fake or the deaths occurred after they pulled out.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday that the mass expulsions of its diplomats was a short-sighted move.

Narrowing down opportunities for diplomatic communication in such an unprecedentedly difficult crisis environment is a short-sighted move that will further complicate our communication, which is necessary to find a solution, he said.

And this will inevitably lead to retaliatory steps, he added.

The expulsions come as the EU discusses a fifth round of sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

 Unbearable images 

Italy announced it was sending home 30 Russian diplomats for reasons of national security, as part of coordinated action with its EU and US allies.

Later, Prime Minister Mario Draghi called for independent investigations into the killing of civilians in Ukraine that deeply shake our souls.

War crimes must be punished. (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin, the authorities, the Russian army will have to answer for their actions, he said.

Slovenias government said 33 Russian diplomats were being expelled and the Russian ambassador summoned to express the countrys shock over the killing of Ukrainian civilians.

It later recalled its ambassador to Russia, Branko Rakovec, back to Slovenia for consultations.

Estonia, which shares a border with Russia, said it was expelling 14 Russian consular staff, including seven employees with diplomatic status, and closing Russias consulate general and consulate office.

Romania announced the expulsion of 10 members of the Russian embassy in Bucharest, while Portugal also declared 10 staff in its Russian embassy persona non grata for carrying out activities contrary to national security.

And Spains government said it was expelling immediately around 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff who represent a threat to the interest of the country.

 Keeping dialogue open 

In Madrid, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares expressed his countrys outrage at the unbearable images we have seen of the massacre of civilians in the town of Bucha.

But he said Russias ambassador to Spain will stay on to keep dialogue open, because we do not lose hope that Putins war will end.

Denmark will also keep the Russian ambassador for the same reasons  while expelling 15 intelligence officers accused of spying, the government said.

It condemned what it called Russias brutality in Bucha, saying: Deliberate attacks against civilians are a war crime.

Swedens foreign minister, Ann Linde, told reporters it was expelling three Russian diplomats who conducted illegal intelligence operations in Sweden.

On Monday, France expelled 35 Russian diplomats, German officials said Berlin was sending home 40 and Lithuania expelled the Russian ambassador.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the world to enforce tough new sanctions on Moscow over the killings in Bucha, which he has described as war crimes and genocide.
Two years later, JTBC's hit series "The Good Detective" is finally returning with Season 2, and K-drama fans are already looking forward to seeing the original cast.

Due to its popularity, the South Korean criminal-mystery drama, penned by Choi Jin Won and directed by Jo Nam Gook, "The Good Detective," which aired in 2020, has been announced to broadcast its sophomore season this 2022. Fans then rejoiced after learning the series had been renewed.

In October 2021, the production commenced filming, and only lead stars Jang Seung Jo and Son Hyun Joo were the first two who confirmed their return.

However, fans remain hopeful to see Lee Elijah, Oh Sung Je, and more reprise their roles.

Before the sequel hits the screen, let's get to know where are "The Good Detective" cast Jang Seung Jo, Son Hyun Joo, and more now.

Jang Seung Jo

Musical and drama actor Jang Seung Jo concluded his series "Snowdrop" in January. In this drama, he starred alongside Jung Hae In and BLACKPINK Jisoo.

Right after the series concluded, he began filming for "The Good Detective" season 2.

In December 2021, Jang Seung Jo's agency, Ace Factory, announced that he and his wife, Lina, welcomed their second child.

Son Hyun Joo

After "The Good Detective" season 1, award-winning actor Son Hyun Joo joined the lead cast of MBC's legal-comedy series, "Tracer," which just concluded last March.

In February, the production of "The Good Detective" season 2 postponed its filming schedule after Son Hyun Joo tested positive for COVID-19.

Lee Elijah

Versatile actress Lee Elijah, who mostly appeared in legal dramas such as "Ms. Hammurabi" and "The Chief Justice," often receives praises for her great acting. Her character as fierce reporter Jin Seo Kyung in "The Good Detective" impressed the viewers.

Meanwhile, her love line with Jang Seung Jo in the sequel is one of the many things the viewers are looking forward to see again.

Her latest drama was "Delayed Detective" where she played the role of Yun Hye Won.

Oh Jung Se

Following his excellent performance in tvN's 2020 drama "It's Okay to Not Be Okay," Oh Jung Se immediately starred in two series "Jirisan" and "Uncle."

This 2022, he is already booked to star in the new Korean film, "House of Spider," where he will work with "Parasite" actor Song Kang Ho, Im Soo Jung, Krystal Jung, and "Vincenzo" actress Jeon Yeo Bin.

He is also reportedly to join Lee Min Ho and Gong Hyo Jin in the sci-fi series "Ask the Stars.

JTBC is yet to reveal other details about the forthcoming sequel anytime soon. While waiting for the next season, you can watch "The Good Detective" season 1 on Netflix!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Jang Seung Jo's 'The Good Detective' Season 2 Suspends Filming For THIS Reason

Visit KDramastars for more Korean drama, movie and celebrity updates.

KDramastars owns this article.

Reported by Shai Collins.
Hallyu delivered a ton of show-stopping K-dramas from rom-com, thriller, and fantasy genres over the past few years. It soared viewership ratings and massive hype globally.

Unfortunately, despite the popularity, some shows faced criticisms from viewers due to details in the storyline, cast lineup, and even product placement.

These blunders drew major flak from the public that it almost got canceled. Curious to know if your favorite series encountered a stir? Here are the four recent most controversial K-dramas that got entangled in an issue.

The King of Tears, Lee Bang-Won

Premiered in December 2021, the historical K-drama "The King of Tears, Lee Bang-Won" drew backlash after the behind-the-scenes footage went viral.

The video shared by the Korean Animal Welfare Association (KAWA) showed an incident involving a horse on set.

The animal, which was used for a stunt, head dived and landed on its neck while the actor rode its back.

KAWA then revealed that the horse was injured and eventually died after a week of the stunt.

After the post went viral, the public demanded that the show must be canceled. It even came to a point where a petition signed by thousands of people was submitted to the Blue House or the executive office and official residence of the Republic of Korea's head of state to halt the program.

Immediately after the incident caused a stir, KBS released a statement saying they "feel deeply responsible and apologize for the accident during filming."

The historical K-drama goes on a two-week hiatus following the animal abuse controversy despite their apology.

Fortunately, "The King of Tears, Lee Bang-Won" bounced back. It is now on its 25th episode airing on April 9.

'Snowdrop'

One of the most anticipated K-dramas in 2021 is "Snowdrop." Its release date was delayed for months after sparking controversy.

The JTBC melodrama, which stars Jung Hae In and BLACKPINK Jisoo, faced criticisms after the leaked synopsis circulated on the iternet.

At the time, the public raised concerns about "Snowdrop's" distorted portrayal of South Korean history. It was accused of glamorizing and romanticizing the feud between North Korea.

Based on the leaked storyline, the character includes a male spy while the other works for the Agency for National Security Planning (NSP).

Amid the public's criticism regarding suspicions of historical distortion, JTBC clapped back and pointed out that "'Snowdrop' is a creative work that shows the personal stories of individuals who were used and victimized by those in power."

In addition, the broadcast network cleared that "there is no spy who leads the democratization movement" featured in the Kdrama. They added that the "male and female leads were not shown as participating in or leading the democratization movement."

Luckily, the Jung Hae In and BLACKPINK Jisoo led series successfully premiered on December 18 and officially wrapped up on January 30 with soaring ratings.

The Penthouse

While the two other seasons received overwhelming praise from the viewers, "The Penthouse 3" drew flak after Park Eun Seok's second character Alex Lee sported face tattoos, dreadlocks, and golden teeth grills while speaking an African American accent.

Due to this, the public accused the makjang series of cultural appropriation and called it out for being racist.

The production team responded to the issue and changed the character's appearance. In addition, Park Eun Suk also issued an apology over his TikTok account. He said that he did not mean to "harm, mock, disrespect or discourage the African-American community."

'Jirisan'

From historical distortion to cultural appropriation, another K-drama that received a backlash is the thriller mystery series "Jirisan."

While the K-drama gained the fans' attention due to its star-studded cast lineup and high budgeted production, some viewers were displeased with the numerous advertisements seen on the show.

Throughout the program, the cast, especially Jun Ji Hyun, sported outfits from the clothing brand Nepa. Over social media, fans expressed their disappointment noting that the show looked more like a commercial than a K-drama.

Apart from the clothing brand, sandwich franchise Eggdrop was also featured. Viewers pointed out that it was unrealistic and looked unnatural that a food company appeared in the middle of the mountain wilderness.

KDramastars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Kim Tae Ri expressed her feelings about Na Hee Do, her starring role in the recently concluded A-grade drama "Twenty Five, Twenty One." She also talked about the drama ending, co-star Nam Joo Hyuk and more!

Kim Tae Ri Shares Honest Thoughts on Playing Na Hee Do in 'Twenty Five, Twenty One'

tvN's hit drama "Twenty Five, Twenty One" finally closed its curtains with its finale, which aired on Sunday, April 3, 2022.

The drama depicts the stories of young adults whose dreams were compromised by time, unexpected challenges and pain.

In the drama, actress Kim Tae Ri portrayed the role of South Korean fencer and gold medalist Na Hee Do, who was once a carefree teenager full of life and dreams.

According to the actress, Na Hee Do is a free kid who never holds back to anything. Na Hee Do is full of life, youth and beauty - despite the trauma she experienced, she still chose to look at the brighter side of life.

She shared that she had fun being Na Hee Do as it was a new experience to her.

In real life, the actress is actually 33-years-old. Kim Tae Ri is relieved as she successfully fooled fans into thinking she was still in her youth.

For Kim Tae Ri, "youth" is the beautiful moment where one's heart flutters after meeting someone, and creating memories with them.

Since she learned how to fence before filming, Kim Tae Ri revealed that there were times that she wanted to give up. However, the fun overpowers the pain, so she continued.

Thankfully, she didn't give up and delivered an outstanding performance that will be etched in the viewers' hearts for a very long time.

Kim Tae Ri Shares Honest Opinions on BaekDo's 'Inappropriate' Relationship

During the broadcast of the drama, there were many negative views about the romance between the 23-year-old Baek Yi Jin (Nam Joo Hyuk) and 19-year-old Na Hee Do.

Although the friendship between them started with an innocent foundation, their friendship flourished with malice and romance.

Fans and viewers pointed out that Baek Yi Jin kissed Na Hee Do, who was a minor, several times. The popular "New Year's Kiss" where Na Hee Do kisses Baek Yi Jin before she turns 20 was also considered "uncomfortable to watch."

Regarding this, the actress said that her opinions were divided. The issue had been a topic of discussion during the script reading, and thought that it was a detail to approach with caution.

Kim Tae Ri Reveals Impressions on 'Twenty Five, Twenty One' Co-Star Nam Joo Hyuk

Kim Tae Ri describes Nam Joo Hyuk as an excellent actor with outstanding acting skills.

Even though she's older than him, Kim Tae Ri revealed that she learned a lot just from watching Nam Joo Hyuk in front of the camera.

"He was really good at ad-libs and improvisations," she added. "I want to master that, too."

Though they act as lovers on camera, Kim Tae Ri and Nam Joo Hyuk are good friends when the cameras aren't rolling.

Nam Joo Hyuk's wit and great personality are the most notable traits the actor possesses, according to Kim Tae Ri.

Kim Tae Ri's Wishes For Her Career and 'Twenty Five, Twenty One'

Now that the drama is over, the actress wishes that viewers enjoyed watching Na Hee Do's journey in finding herself, her true love and passion in life.

"I want 'Twenty Five, Twenty One' to be remembered as one's diary," Kim Tae Ri said. "I want people to look back and revisit the drama, reminisce about youth just like how they would in a diary."

Kim Tae Ri also hopes to be remembered as a great actress through "Twenty Five, Twenty One."

"Playing Na Hee Do was truly an honor. To be remembered as the adorable, carefree and youthful Na Hee Do would be my greatest achievement in life," she added.

Kim Tae Ri also promises to come back to the small screen, as well as the silver screen, with new works to enjoy.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
The wait is finally over! "A Business Proposal" Episode 11 is finally released, featuring the flourishing bond between Ahn Hyo Seop and Kim Sejeong, as well as Kim Min Gyu and Seol In Ah.

In the penultimate chapter, the main characters of the drama face unexpected challenges that will compromise their feelings.

Keep on reading to know more about what went down in the latest episode!

'A Business Proposal' Episode 11: Shin Ha Ri Meets Kang Tae Mu's Grandfather

In "A Business Proposal" episode 11, Shin Ha Ri (Kim Sejeong) faces Kang Tae Mu's (Ahn Hyo Seop) grandfather who isn't amused of their relationship.

He couldn't also believe how the couple fooled him into thinking that they were in a relationship from the get-go.

However, their talk was interrupted by the sudden news of Tae Mu's accident. They soon rush to the hospital and luckily, Tae Mu only fractured his arm.

In the hospital, Tae Mu's grandfather expressed his disapproval of their love, which frustrated the young CEO.

Kang Tae Mu Opens Up About His Tragic Past

The raindrops began to fall and even when Tae Mu's grandfather hated Ha Ri, she still chose to stay by Tae Mu's side.

Tae Mu then bares his soul and talks about his parents, who died in a rainy car accident, after driving in full speed to make it in time for Tae Mu's amusement park visit.

Ha Ri comforts a crying Tae Mu by reassuring him that the accident wasn't his fault, and that his parents truly loved him.

Kang Tae Mu and Shin Ha Ri's Secret Spreads Like Wildfire

Because of envy, Yoo Ra (Dal Shabet Woohee), Ha Ri's friend, dished out her knowledge about Ha RI and Tae Mu's relationship.

She posted about their relationship online for the world to see. Because of this, Ha Ri becomes the talk of the town, sending her under the microscope.

Not only her reputation was only tainted, but Ha Ri learns that she is about to lose her job if she doesn't leave Tae Mu.

However, Ha Ri and Tae Mu are determined to fight for their love despite Tae Mu's grandfather's disapproval.

Even when Ha Ri was given the choice to resign, she stood by her principles and fought for herself. Tae Mu also put his title on the table, in exchange for his freedom to love anyone he wants to love.

Cha Sung Hoon Meets Jin Young Seo's Father

While preparing for work, Cha Sung Hoon (Kim Min Gyu) and Jin Young Seo (Seol In Ah) see the latter's father at their apartment's parking lot.

Later that night, Young Seo's father invites them to dinner. Although worried, they obliged.

When Young Seo's father interrogates Sung Hoon about his family and career, Young Seo becomes defensive, accusing her father of being rude and insulting.

Little did they know, Young Seo's father only wants to get to know Sung Hoon better, as he may become his own son-in-law and future successor of his company.

On their way home, Young Seo sees Sung Hoon's birthday present for her. Though he wants to find the best timing to propose, Sung Hoon pulls up and parks the car to ask for Young Seo's hand in marriage.

Meanwhile, Ha Ri and Tae Mu share a hot, steamy kiss, which symbolizes their fiery and passionate love nothing can ever break.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
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Workers add a portable classroom to a school in New Westminster. Central Okanagan Public Schools will be using 139 portables by next September but will be in a position to sell some three years later.
The Kenosha City Council voted unanimously Monday night to support the Jewish community and condemn anti-Semitism, as portions of the city continue to be inundated with hate propaganda.

The resolution, sponsored by Mayor John Antaramian, passed to condemn anti-Semitism, discrimination, racism, hate and violence and stand in solidarity with our Jewish community members.

It also states the city will stand in solidarity with our Jewish community as we strive to make our city a safe, inclusive and equitable place for all.

Rabbi Dena Feingold, who leads the Beth Hillel Temple, 6050 Eighth Ave., said she was made aware of pamphlets placed in bags of rice in both the Sunnyside and Allendale neighborhoods earlier this year.

One of the pamphlets, obtained by the Kenosha News, claims every single aspect of the COVID agenda is Jewish.

The pamphlet had a Star of David printed on the top of it and listed numerous falsehoods about Jews.

During a Congregations United to Serve Humanity interfaith Cleansing Walk on Saturday that started at Beth Hillel and ended at Eichelman Park, Feingold said there have been at least five waves of such materials being distributed in the city.

There seems to be an ongoing effort thats going on all around the country, although we think Kenosha is the only city in Wisconsin that has been targeted, Feingold said Saturday.

As Jews, we are accustomed, unfortunately, to Anti-Semitism in various forms. Weve seen it here at the Temple in other forms before, but I have to say that Ive never seen in all of my life seen anything as consistently being brought forward again and again and again in one place. It really feels like a violation.

On Monday, Ald. Jan Michalski said it was time for such a resolution.

These hateful events have happened almost exclusively in my district, primarily in my district, he said. Ive spoken about this before, and Im very grateful for the mayor to bring this up. I think its a very worthwhile resolution.

National issue

Earlier this year, a synagogue in North Texas was held hostage by a terrorist.

After the Texas attack, the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement calling for local law enforcement organizations to help protect their Jewish communities.

The risks remain high in light of the historic level of anti-Semitism across the country and the proliferation of anti-Jewish hate online, the statement read. ADL offices across the country will be reaching out to local law enforcement in the coming days to ensure that steps are being taken to ensure the safety and security of the Jewish community.

In 2018, 11 worshippers were killed in an attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

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At 162 feet in length, 100 feet wide and 186 feet tall, St Marys Cathedral has stood over the city of Kilkenny for 165 years.

Over its years the interior has been transformed:In the 1890s by Bishop Brownrigg who significantly changed the sanctuary; Bishop Collier added the mosaics and a new organ in the 1930s; Bishop Birch oversaw the re-ordering of the cathedral in accordance with the changes in the celebration of Mass following the Second Vatican Council. Bishop Freeman commenced the present phase of work in 2011 when the sanctuary mosaics and windows were cleaned and restored.

In January 2019 Bishop Farrell invited liturgical architect Paul ODaly to visit the Cathedral. Paul, a native of Dublin, has vast experience in the design of several new churches and in the restoration and reordering of many churches and religious houses in Ireland.

Paul brought an understanding of liturgy and the concept of 'sacred space', including the interaction between language, ritual, and the appropriate furnishing of a church. Paul met with local architect Brian Dunlop of Kilkenny and together they began the plans and design process that culminated in the celebration on Sunday, March 27.

Bishop Denis Nulty, Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese, was the chief celebrant at Mass in the Cathedral on Sunday 27th when the Altar was consecrated and the Ambo was blessed.

Bishop Denis was joined by 20 priests of the Diocese including four previous administrators of the Cathedral: Canon Pat Duggan, Fr Noel Maher, Fr Oliver Maher and Mgr Kieron Kennedy.

The new Altar and Ambo are in integral part of the celebration of Mass. The Ambo, or often called the Lectern, is the place where the Word of God is proclaimed. The Altar is the place of sacrifice where the Bread and Wine become the Body and Blood of Christ.

The new Altar and Ambo are the work of Mr Thomas Glendon and his son Philip. Thomas is a renowned Irish craftsman specialising in sculpture, letterform, ecclesiastical work and design in stone, wood and bronze.

St Marys Cathedral is the second cathedral where Thomas work can now be seen; he is the sculptur of the new altar in St Mels Cathedral in Longford. Thomas visited St Marys numerous times and took his inspiration for the new Altar and Ambo from the curves and designs of the magnificent pillars of the Cathedral.

Listening to Thomas speak of stone and its form is poetic. Watching him at work in his workshop in Loughrea and in the Cathedral was magical: carving, chiseling, shaping, curving  the chisel in his hands used with the ease of years of experience.

Locally, Kevin Moore and his team provided services to the work over the past three months. Local stonemason Donal McDonald restored the side altars, reinstated the marble reredos that have been cleaned and repaired. Jody ODwyer repaired the mosaic floors and Pat and Robert Walsh restored the magnificent black and white tiles of the centre nave.

Bishop Denis welcomed all to the Cathedral for the blessing and consecration.

Ours is but a small contribution to its long history; ours are but some of many prayers that have been, and will continue to be, placed before the Lord in this magnificent place. We shall pass, and generations of people will pass after us, and still these stones and timber will be standing here, an enduring memorial of our brief stay on earth but our abiding and enduring faith, he said.

At the beginning of the Mass, water was brought from the River Nore, the Breagagh, the fields of Clonmoran, Kennys Well and the Well of St Kieran in Seir Kieran. As the water was poured into the Baptismal Font in the Baptistery, Ger Cody, commentator of the Liturgy, remarked: This evening water is brought from where we live. The water from these wells and rivers represents our backgrounds, our stories that become one when we gather as the people of God, water from holy places where our stories and lives are blended.

Bishop Denis blessed the water which was then sprinkled upon the new Ambo and Altar.

After the homily Fr Richard Scriven intoned the Litany of Saints. Bishop Denis poured the Oil of Chrism upon the Altar, and he was assisted by Lucy Culleton (St Canices Parish), Dwayne Joyce (St Johns Parish), Kyle Tanap (St Marys Parish), Orla Dowling (St Patricks Parish), all who will be confirmed this year.

A brazier of charcoal and incense was placed on the altar symbolically representing our prayers which ascend to heaven.

Sacred Music was provided by the Cathedral choir under the leadership of John ONeill and organist Joy Bibby. Readings and prayers were read by Tina Lawler and Michael Whelan who are regular readers in the Cathedral, Pat ONeill sang the psalm. The Offertory gifts were presented by the ONeill family; Rebecca was the bell ringer for the Mass.

At the end of the Mass the choir sang the anthem to Our Lady: The Ave Maria. During this hymn the new lighting in the side chapels of Our Lady and St Joseph was lit. The sacristans lit two candles in the Lady Chapel recalling those who had died of Covid in the past two years and also the people of Ukraine at this time.

At the end of the Mass Fr Scriven, Administrator of the Cathedral, saluted the work of the various tradespeople and in particular the architects Brian Dunlop and Paul ODaly for their work and dedication to the project. He acknowledged the work of Bishop Farrell, now Archbishop of Dublin, who during his time in Ossory had initiated this phase of work.

Fr Scriven thanked Bishop Denis for his time and energy in this interregum period as we await the appointment of a new Bishop. He invited all present to take some time to stroll around after Mass to admire the work and then to gather for a cup of tea in the Chapter Room of the Cathedral.
Kilkennys Tholsel was transformed on Sunday evening from a council chamber that hosts our city Municipal District to a music venue hosting an array of fantastic artists singing songs for Ukraine.

According to Mayor Andrew McGuinness who said on the night, this room is often a venue for debates and sometimes disagreement, but tonight there is no debate, we are unanimous in purpose, we are all here to support our Ukrainian friends and neighbors, stand in solidarity with Ukraine and hopefully raise much needed funds in the process.

Songs for Ukraine was organised by local community worker Liviu Iftime, Romanian X-Factor star Stefan J Doyle and Mayor Andrew McGuinness as a multi cultural evening of music. It featured artists from Romania, Moldova, Ireland and India with Kilkenny represented by the Kilkenny Gospel Choir.

It really was a lovely night of music and great to see our Tholsel used for such a positive event. All of the musicians were fantastic and there was a real sense of community as we came together in support of Ukraine, said Mayor McGuinness.

I want to thank Liviu and Stefan who both put in a huge effort to make the event a success. Liviu has an extraordinary talent of bringing people together to create something positive while Stefan is an incredible musician, performer and an entertaining presenter. It was a pleasure to work with them, said Mayor McGuinness.

The event was free but with donations optional. Over 500 was raised in the night and will be combined with the funds from the Mayors Walk for Ukraine to be donated to Red Cross Ukraine.
Kilkenny ceramicist, Katharina Treml is one the five winners who received a 10,000 cash prize to support the development of their craft and business skills at the RDS Craft Awards.

Katharina is an Austrian-born potter based in Kilkenny. She makes beautiful wheel thrown functional tableware and one-off decorative pieces in stoneware and porcelain. She graduated from the Design & Crafts Council Irelands renowned Ceramics Skills & Design course in 2020 and was the Overall Student Winner in the 2021 Future Maker Awards.

Since 2018 the RDS Craft Awards has awarded 250,000 in supports to emerging Irish makers. The awards are based on a bursary style model and can be spent on further education and training, research, development of new work, mentoring, purchase of equipment, studio improvements, website and residencies. This years applicants displayed sustainability as a key driving force behind their work.

The winner will also be given a free stand at the annual GIFTED - The Contemporary Craft & Design Fair which runs at the RDS each December. In addition to this the winners will also benefit from targeted mentoring with a craft and design professional.

The Design & Crafts Council of Irelands Future Makers programme is the qualifying competition for the RDS Craft Awards.

Over the last two years the RDS Craft Awards has continued to be a beacon of light for Irish craft makers. Once again, in 2022, the work submitted across Ireland represents the best of Irish design, decorative arts and craft. Irish makers continue to innovate, question, and challenge. It is wonderfully inspiring to see what Irelands makers are producing and to witness the resulting impact that their work has and will have on both a national and an international level. Their standard of excellence remains, said Dr Jennifer Goff, Chair of RDS Craft Awards Judging Panel.

Geraldine Ruane, RDS Chief Executive said,

Since the RDS Craft Awards was restructured in 2018, the RDS has invested 250,000 in 25 Irish craft makers and designers starting out in their professional careers. We are delighted to contribute to the development and growth of standards of excellence in the craft sector through our support of these talented makers. I know that all five winners will use the prize money to accelerate their career progression and I look forward to seeing their future success. For more on katharina s work see

www.katharinatreml.com
Police in Northern Ireland are condemning the burglary of an elderly woman's home twice in two days as "appalling crimes".

The PSNI are appealing for information after the most recent break-in at the home of the pensioner - who is in her 80s - in Bearnagh Drive, Belfast, in the early hours of this morning (Tuesday April 5).

Jewellery of sentimental value and money were reported stolen during the burglary, while the womans handbag - containing a large sum of money, bank cards and gift vouchers - was taken the previous day.

The home of a woman aged in her 80s was burgled twice in two days. We are investigating and are appealing for information. If you noticed any suspicious activity in the Bearnagh Drive area of west Belfast, call us on 101. pic.twitter.com/d5v96IOGKq  Police West Belfast (@PSNIBelfastW) April 5, 2022

PSNI Detective Sergeant Natalie Ash said: These are appalling crimes and will cause real shock to the local community.

This intruder made his way into this older womans home on Monday morning around 11am and made off with her handbag from her living room.

Following this incident, the woman was sleeping in bed last night and an intruder has again gained entry to the house.

The bedroom has been ransacked and jewellery stolen which is of great sentimental worth.

There were no signs of forced entry to the house and this was reported around 8.15am.

We are doing all we can to locate the person or persons responsible and wed appreciate the input of the local community who may be able to provide some information that could result in an arrest.

She added: The male suspect for the initial burglary is described as being in his 40s with dark hair and wearing a blue jacket.

He was seen getting into a small grey/silver car which was heading towards the Andersonstown Road.

This has been an extremely distressing ordeal for the victim and her daughter who has been supporting her mother.

Our investigation is under way and we would appeal to anyone with any information or who may have noticed any suspicious activity, or this man near the Bearnagh Drive area over recent days, to contact us on 101 quoting reference number 240 05/04/22.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Those responsible for the importation of 300 tons of sugar, unfit for consumption, into Libya have been arrested and detained, PANA learned Tuesday from judicial sources
Herry Wirawan, center, the principal of a girls Islamic boarding school accused of raping his students, is escorted by security officers upon arrival for his sentencing hearing at a district court in Bandung, Indonesia, Feb. 15. AP-Yonhap





An Indonesian high court granted an appeal from prosecutors and sentenced an Islamic boarding school principal to death for raping at least 13 students over five years and impregnating some of them.







Herry Wirawan had been convicted by a three-judge panel at Bandung District Court in February and sentenced to life in prison. He had been accused of raping girls between 11 and 14 years old from 2016 to 2021 at the school, hotels or rented apartments in the West Java city. At least nine babies reportedly were born as a result of the rapes.







His case drew a public outcry as there were several victims over several years. Police said the victims were too fearful to tell anyone.







The Bandung High Court judges in their ruling Monday agreed with prosecutors' appeal for the death penalty and for Wirawan's assets to be seized.







''What he had done had caused trauma and suffering to the victims and their parents,'' said the ruling the court released on its website Tuesday. ''The defendant had tarnished the reputation of Islamic boarding schools.''







The lower court had ordered Indonesia's child protection ministry to pay $23,200 in combined compensation requested by the victims and between $600 and $6,000 for medical and psychological treatment for each girl, instead of seizing Wirawan's assets.







But the high court ruled for his assets to be seized, including a foundation he owned, and auctioned to benefit the victims and their children.







The judges also ruled that nine children born to the victims should be handed over to the Children and Women Protection Agency with periodic evaluation ''until the victims are mentally ready to care for their children, and the situation allows for their children to be returned to the victims.''







The appeal court's judges denied prosecutors' request for chemical castration, saying someone sentenced to death or life imprisonment may not be subject to other punishments, other than the revocation of some rights.







Wirawan's lawyer, Ira Mambo, said she would advise her client to appeal the sentence to the Supreme Court. They have seven days to do so before the court decision becomes final.







Wirawan pleaded guilty and apologized to his victims and their families during the trial.







West Java police began to investigate the case and arrested Wirawan last May when parents of a victim went to the police after their daughter returned home on a holiday and admitted she had just given birth.







The case didn't become public until November, when court proceedings began. Police said they waited to publicize it to prevent further psychological and social damage to the victims.







In January, President Joko Widodo said he was concerned about cases of sexual abuse in Islamic boarding schools and called on parliament to speed up deliberations on a bill on sexual violence. Conservative lawmakers and Islamic groups want the bill to include prohibitions on extramarital sex and homosexual relations. (AP)






Washington, US (PANA) - The US has expressed concern about the "extremely disturbing" accounts of large numbers of people killed last week at the village of Mourah, in the Mopti region of central Mali, and offered condolences to the families of all civilian victims
(G)I-DLE Soyeon revealed the reason for removing the letter "G" in their group name for the teaser photos of their new album "I NEVER DIE."

Continue reading to know what she said.

(G)I-DLE Soyeon Reveals Reason for Deleting 'G' in Their Group Name in 'I NEVER DIE' Teasers

(G)I-DLE returned with their new album "I NEVER DIE" on March 14. "I NEVER DIE" is the girl group's first studio album and it is composed of eight new songs, one of which is the title track "TOMBOY."

Ahead of the release of the full-length album, (G)I-DLE dropped a series of teaser photos and videos. One interesting detail that caught fans' attention is that the letter "G" in the group's name was missing in the pictures.

As can be seen in the images below, "( )I-DLE" was used instead of "(G)I-DLE."

For starters, the "G" in the girl group's name represents "girl," because in Korean, the term is "()" which reads "yeoja aideul" and translates to "girl idol" in English.

During an interview with Teen Vogue magazine on March 31, one of the topics discussed was the missing letter "G" in "(G)I-DLE."

Jeon Soyeon shared that for their latest comeback, they paid attention to themes of not conforming to genders or their roles, and so, they decided to get rid of the "G" in their name.

She explained, "What we want to convey is that we don't want to attribute our actions to gender or age. Because I'm me is why I am, and why I act the way I do."

Besides (G)I-DLE's "I NEVER DIE" teasers, the title track "TOMBOY" also follows this concept. The group can be heard chanting "It's neither man nor woman, just me I-DLE" toward the end of the song.

It appears like their plan about the message of their new album worked as they are receiving positive feedback from K-pop fans and netizens alike.

(G)I-DLE Attains 7th Win for 'TOMBOY' on SBS's 'Inkigayo'

In related news, (G)I-DLE has recently taken home their seventh music show trophy for "TOMBOY."

On the April 3 broadcast of SBS's "Inkigayo," "TOMBOY" was one of the candidates for first place, along with Red Velvet's "Feel My Rhythm" and Jay Park's "GANADARA" featuring IU. (G)I-DLE ultimately took the win after gaining a total of 9648 points.

This is their second time winning first place on SBS's "Inkigayo" with "TOMBOY." The first time was on the March 27 broadcast of the music program.

(G)I-DLE's "TOMBOY" performance on "Inkigayo" is also worth noting as the members recreated their childhood photos, making the stage more fun to watch. This became a hot topic online, with many fans and netizens praising and thanking the girls for what they did.

After the music show's broadcast that day, the girl group didn't forget to thank the fans for a happy comeback promotion. They also shared photos of their reenactment to social media.

[] 20220403 @ #



        'TOMBOY'

     ! 7          # #GIDLE#I_NEVER_DIE #TOMBOY pic.twitter.com/AgE67iMUz5  (G)I-DLE() (@G_I_DLE) April 3, 2022

Meanwhile, (G)I-DLE previously won first place on "M Countdown," "Music Core," "Show Champion," and "The Show."

For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Mhaliya Scott
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Plans to construct 100 boat slips along Lake Como has caused some concern among residents living around the lake. Those concerns were presented loud and clear on Monday, April 4, during a virtual public hearing hosted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Officials from Geneva National Resort plan to construct 10 boat piers that would include 10 boat slips each along Lake Como in the Town of Geneva. The plan initially called for 120 boat slips, but representatives from the resort have revised their plans to reduce the number of slips.

Representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conducted the virtual public hearing April 4 to discuss the project and to give area residents an opportunity to ask questions and express their concerns regarding the proposal.

Attorney Robert Procter, representing Geneva National Resort, said the project and additional slips would provide more access to the lake.

The number one request that comes into Geneva National is to have more access to Lake Como, Procter said. That would be both to serve tourists who come to the area and also to those who live in the community.

But several residents, who said they live at Geneva National, said they were not in favor of the project and expressed concerns about the safety issues that could occur with more boats. Several residents also stated that they were never directly asked if they wanted these piers and that no questionnaire was sent to Geneva National residents.

The piers would not be constructed at one time but in stages.

We dont believe these will be installed at one point, all at one time, Procter said. They will be added as an as-needed basis.

Geneva National representatives also plan to establish a deed restriction for about 4,700 linear feet of wetland frontage to the west of the piers, which would prohibit future construction of piers, moorings and wharves to help protect wetland and aquatic habitat.

Were working with the DNR to limit the impact that it will have on the Lake Como community and certainly on the wetlands and the aquatic life, Procter said.

Some residents said they were concerned that the additional piers would increase the number of boats on the lake. Other residents questioned how the lake would be enforced with additional boats, and several said they were concerned about how the additional piers and boats would affect the lakes environment.

One area resident said when coronavirus first hit the area, the lake was overcrowded with about 20 or 30 additional boats a day, which caused safety issues on the lake.

It was awful. It wasnt safe to ski, tube or even be on our waverunner, the resident said. We worried about our children and everyones safety.

She said she feels constructing the piers would add more boats to the lake, deteriorate the shoreline, affect aquatic habitats and add more pollution to Lake Como.

Darlene Ruscitti, who also spoke during the hearing, said she and her family have used the lake for about 50 years. She said she feels the piers would cause more boats on the lake, which would limit recreational activity such as kayaking.

We do believe the additional slips will be detrimental to Lake Como, Ruscitti said.

Another area resident said he is concerned that the piers would affect the privacy of the residents who live near the lake.

I think a hundred slips is a little high. It seems like there would be a whole lot of boats out there, he said. It affects my lifestyle and privacy, because my home resides very close to this project.

Another resident questioned whether the Town of Geneva would be able to enforce the lake if the piers result in additional boat traffic.

I dont believe the Town of Geneva has the resources or patrol to enforce any laws, boating regulations or such there, he said. Does the DNR have any plans to patrol the lake more than what they have in the past?

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has made a tentative decision that it will support the project and now will have to make a final decision following the hearing. From there it goes to the county.

The department of natural resources has made a tentative decision that it will issue a permit for this proposed project, Luke Roffler of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Residents can still submit questions and comments regarding the proposed project by sending an email message to Roffler at luke.roffler@wisconsin.gov. The deadline is April 14.

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A restaurant in Downtown Lake Geneva is set to have additional outdoor seating to accommodate more customers by the time summer arrives.

Several renovations are being planned for Magpies Den & Pen, 642 W. Main St. to help give the restaurant a more inviting atmosphere. Co-owner Anthony Silvestri presented renovation plans for the restaurant during the March 21 Lake Geneva Plan Commission meeting.

Silvestri said, as part of the renovations, he plans to extend an outdoor bar area located on the south side of the restaurant by 15 to 20 feet.

I was basically going to extend it to make it bigger, Silvestri said. Its more inviting. You can enjoy the space back there. Its next to a beautiful park.

Other renovations include installing a pergola to the east side of the building and installing new front windows.

Silvestri said the current front windows leak and need to be replaced.

The bubble windows as we call them Arbys windows they leak really, really bad, Silvestri said. I would like to have some new operating windows that actually open instead of the big bubbles.

Silvestri also plans to install new fencing around the restaurant.

What is there now is a bunch of aluminum fencing. Its just falling a part. Its discolored, Silvestri said. I would like to add a wood fence frame with hog fence in between.

After some discussion, the plan commission members unanimously approved the renovations. Since the proposal is a downtown design review item, the renovations do not have to be approved by the city council.

Plan commission member Joel Hoiland said he feels the renovations will help improve the appearance of the restaurant.

It looks like big improvements over the prior space, Hoiland told Silvestri. Youre really making an effort to make this a much more interesting and enjoyable space to visit.

The renovations are set to be completed by May 13.

Silvestri and managing partner, Tai Serna, purchased the restaurant formerly known as Northsiders Lake Geneva from Daniel Caravette Oct. 5, 2021. The business partners temporarily closed the restaurant last fall for remodeling and re-opened the business Dec. 20, 2021.

Im a carpenter by trade, too, so a lot of the work I did myself, Silvestri said. I spent five weeks remodeling it. It turned out pretty nice I think.

Magpies Den & Pen features specialty sandwiches, burgers, soup and appetizers. For more information, visit www.magpieslg.com.

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The Cannes Film Festival, on Tuesday, confirmed the premiere of Baz Luhrmann's highly anticipated rock and roll feature film Elvis. As per The Hollywood Reporter, the Australian director, screenwriter and producer Baz Luhrmann will present the world premiere of his film along with Tom Hanks, Austin Butler and Olivia DeJonge. Baz Luhrmanns ELVIS Trailer: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks Starrer Elvis Presley Biopic Is Simply Going To Be Epic (Watch Video).

According to the Cannes festival, the film "explores the life and music of 'The King' Elvis Presley (Austin Butler), seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks). The story delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker spanning over 20 years, from Presley's rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the most significant and influential people in Elvis's life, Priscilla Presley." RIP Bappi Lahiri: Do You Know That Disco Kings Obsession With Gold Jewellery Had an Elvis Presley Connection? (Watch Video).

Check Out the Tweet Below:

Elvis: The King at the 75th Festival de #Cannes2022! New world premiere with @ElvisMovie by the Australian director Baz Luhrmann will attend the Festival along with @TomHanks, @AustinButler and Olivia DeJonge. #ElvisMovie @wbpictures pic.twitter.com/zfqLGEKDsN  Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) April 5, 2022

Elvis, produced by Bazmark and The Jackal Group, will be released by the Warner Bros in North America on June 24, and in the rest of the world from June 22. Filmmaker Baz Luhrmann had made history in Cannes by being the only filmmaker to have two feature films open the Cannes Film Festival; 'Moulin Rouge!' in 2001 and 'The Great Gatsby' in 2013. "In 1992, he was a sensation at the 45th edition of the Festival with his first film 'Strictly Ballroom', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section," said the Cannes organizers praising the acclaimed 'Elvis' director.

(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 5: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and sought his intervention for early clearance of various projects and pending allocations, including the revised cost estimate of Rs 55,000 crore of the Polavaram Irrigation Project.

During the hour-long meeting, the chief minister brought to the notice of the prime minister many of the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act-2014 that have still not been implemented, official sources said.

Reddy requested the central government to give early approval to the revised cost estimate of the Polavaram National Irrigation Project amounting Rs 55,548.87 crore at the 2017-18 price level. PM Narendra Modi to Visit Jammu and Kashmir on April 24, Says BJP Leader Ashok Kaul.

Raising various issues of his state, the chief minister sought the prime minister's intervention in resolving the dispute over electricity arrears between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh pending since the bifurcation of the erstwhile state in June 2014, sources added. This was Reddy's second meeting Modi this year.

Later in the day, Reddy is scheduled to call on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as well as Home Minister Amit Shah to take up various issues of his state with them.

(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 5 (ANI): The Competition Commission of India (CCI), a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, in its order dated April 4, 2022, has ordered an investigation against Zomato and Swiggy based on the information filed by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) last year.

NRAI looks forward to a positive outcome of this investigation which will pave way towards providing a level playing field for all stakeholders in the ecosystem, said NRAI in a statement issued today.

Also Read | Delhi Jal Board Withdraws Circular on Short Leave for Muslim Employees During Ramzan.

The CCI has launched investigations into Zomato and Swiggy (Bundl Technologies Pvt Ltd) related to dealings with restaurant partners, neutrality, alleged unfair pricing, and other aspects.

According to the statement, NRAI is extremely happy to note that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) vide its order dated April 4, 2022 has ordered an investigation against Zomato and Swiggy based on the information filed by the NRAI last year. "We are very happy that the CCI saw merits in our submission which highlighted Restaurant Industry's concerns," it read.

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It may be noted that the NRAI has been engaging with both the aggregators and the concerned Government authorities in the past few years to resolve existing pain points of the Industry vis-a-vis operations of the aggregators. These pain points were acutely amplified during the pandemic when Restaurants and Cloud Kitchens were struggling for survival by way of their increased dependence on these aggregators. In the absence of a sustainable solution, NRAI filed information with CCI on July 1, 2021 highlighting the concerns and issues related to the functioning of food aggregator platforms which should ideally operate as a neutral market place.

Zomato said that CCI has mentioned that prima facie, it has not found concerns on levy of commission or alleged bundling of services.

"The Commission has mentioned that it has prima facie not found concerns with respect to our independence on levy of commissions or alleged bundling of services, while it would want to investigate aspects such as preferential listing of restaurant partners and pricing parity across platforms, etc," Zomato said in a BSE filing.

"We will continue to work closely with the Commission to assist them with their investigation and explain to the regulator why all of our practices are in compliance with competition laws and do not have any adverse effect on competition in India. We intend to promptly comply with any recommendations given to us by the Commission," Zomato said further in a BSE filing.

The competition watchdog in its order on Monday said, "The Commission is of the view that prima facie a conflict of interest situation has arisen in the present case, both with regard to Swiggy as well as Zomato, because of the presence of commercial interest in the downstream market, which may come in the way of them acting as neutral platforms."

It also said it warrants "a detailed scrutiny into its impact on the overall competition between the RPs vis-a-vis the private brands/entities which the platforms may be incentivised to favour". The regulator's investigation arm, director-general, will submit its report within 60 days on the issue." (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 5 (PTI) The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has directed the blocking of 22 YouTube-based news channels, of which four are from Pakistan, alleging that they were spreading fake news that could impact national security, foreign relations and public order.

This is the first time that action has been taken against the Indian YouTube-based news publishers since the notification of the IT Rules, 2021 in February last year, it said.

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Union Minister Anurag Thakur asserted that the government will not shy away from taking such action in the future as well.

In an official statement, the ministry said it issued an order on Monday to block 22 YouTube channels, three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account and one news website.

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With this action, the ministry has, since December 2021, issued directions for blocking 78 YouTube-based news channels and several other social media accounts on grounds related to national security, sovereignty and integrity of India, public order, etc.

"Out of the 22 YouTube channels which were blocked, 18 are from India and four from Pakistan.

"The total views were 262 crores. They were involved in the misinformation against India which could impact the sovereignty and integrity of the country and also the national security and India's relations with other nations," the Information and Broadcasting minister said.

"They were spreading misinformation on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, on the COVID-19 news and other such issues which were directly impacting India. As I promised earlier as well, whether the channels are operating from foreign soil or from India, we'll take action. We won't shy away from taking such a decision in the future as well in the interest of India," Thakur said.

The blocked YouTube channels had a cumulative viewership of over 260 crore, the ministry earlier said, adding that they were spreading fake news and coordinated disinformation over social media, on subjects sensitive from the perspective of national security, India's foreign relations, and public order.

According to the ministry, multiple YouTube channels were used to post "fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc."

"The content ordered to be blocked also included certain anti-India content posted from multiple social media accounts operated in a coordinated manner from Pakistan.

"It was observed that a significant amount of false content was published by the Indian YouTube channels related to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, and aimed at jeopardising India's foreign relations with other countries, it said.

The ministry said that the blocked Indian YouTube channels were using templates and logos of certain TV news channels, including images of their news anchors to mislead viewers to believe that the news was authentic.

"False thumbnails were used, title and thumbnail of the videos were frequently altered to increase the virality of content on social media. In certain cases, it was also observed that systematic anti-India fake news was originating from Pakistan," it said.

"The Government of India remains committed towards ensuring an authentic, trustworthy, and safe online news media environment, and thwarting any attempts at undermining India's sovereignty and integrity, national security, foreign relations, and public order," the ministry said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ahmedabad, Apr 5 (PTI) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will hold a meeting with leaders of the Maldhari community on Wednesday to discuss the bill passed by the state legislative Assembly to tackle the menace of stray cattle in urban areas, state minister Jitu Vaghani said on Tuesday.

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The Gujarat Cattle Control (Keeping and Moving) In Urban Areas Bill, which was passed in the recently held Budget session of the Assembly, requires cattle-rearers to obtain a licence to keep such animals in cities and towns, failing which they may face imprisonment.

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The chief minister had held a meeting with leaders of the Maldhari or cattle-rearer community on Monday and also discussed the issue with ministers during the day's cabinet meeting, Vaghani told reporters in Gandhinagar after the cabinet meeting.

"The BJP government will make sure that this Act does not create any trouble for the Maldhari community or their cattle. The chief minister will meet the community leaders again on Wednesday to discuss this issue," he said.

When asked if Patel plans to withdraw the bill as demanded by the Maldharis and supported by Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil, Vaghani said a decision will be taken after the meeting on Wednesday.

Notably, Paatil had on Monday said that he had requested the chief minister to reconsider the bill following protests by the Maldhari community.

"After receiving representation from the Maldhari or cattle-rearer community against the bill, I met Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday morning and requested him to reconsider it," Paatil had said on Monday.

"The existing rules to control cattle menace in municipal corporation areas are sufficient, and if the community is ready to follow them properly, there is no need for a new law. I find their (community) demand justified, and have told them the government will certainly reconsider it," the BJP leader said.

Paatil had expressed confidence that the bill would be withdrawn in the next session of the state Assembly.

The bill was passed in the early hours of April 1 after a seven-hour heated debate that started around 6 pm, with the Congress vehemently opposing it and threatening to launch a statewide stir.

Since the passage of the bill, members of the cattle-rearer community have been up in arms against the state BJP government, launching a protest and submitting memorandums for its withdrawal.

As per the new law, a cattle-rearer will be required to obtain a licence from a competent authority to keep cattle in eight cities and 156 towns of Gujarat, and the cattle will have to be tagged within 15 days of obtaining such licence.

The bill further states that if an owner fails to tag the cattle within 15 days, he will be punished with imprisonment, which may extend up to a year or a penalty of Rs 10,000 or both.

On the seizure of tagged cattle, its owner will be fined Rs 5,000 for the first time, Rs 10,000 for the second time, and Rs 10,000 and an FIR for the third time, the bill states.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Chandigarh, Apr 5 (PTI) The Shiromani Akali Dal on Tuesday said it is unfortunate that the Haryana Assembly was trying to "obfuscate" the issue of the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab by passing a resolution instead of demanding a separate capital for the state.

The Haryana Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution seeking the completion of the SYL Canal and the transfer of Hindi-speaking areas from Punjab while denouncing the neighbouring state for staking claim over Chandigarh.

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The Haryana government had summoned the one-day assembly session just days after the Punjab House passed a resolution seeking immediate transfer of Chandigarh to the Aam Aadmi Party-run state.

Reacting to the resolution passed by the Haryana Assembly, senior SAD leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said, "All these issues have already been settled. Raking them now will only result in ill will between Punjab and Haryana."

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"The Haryana Assembly should have acted responsibly and put the injustice meted out to Punjab on record on these issues besides urging the Centre to allocate funds if needed for establishment of a new capital. Doing anything else amounts to playing to the galleries," he said in a party statement.

Speaking about the issue of transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, Cheema said, "It is a universally accepted norm that the parent state retains the capital. This was also accepted during the reorganisation of the states in 1966."

"Chandigarh was retained as the capital of Punjab and Haryana only as an ad-hoc arrangement. This was reiterated by the Rajiv-Longowal accord which even laid down a deadline of January 26, 1986 for the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab. The same was even ratified in parliament so there can be no ambiguity on this issue at all," he added.

Speaking about the issue of SYL canal, Cheema said the first discrimination against Punjab was done in 1955 when a larger share of Ravi-Beas waters were allocated to non-riparian states by the then Congress government.

He said after the reorganisation of Punjab in 1966, a provision was made for the distribution of river waters, which was challenged by the SAD government in 1979 but when the Congress government came into being and agreed under central pressure to implement the SYL canal in a time-bound manner besides withdrawing all suits in 1981.

Cheema said Punjab had been consistently asserting that only it had rights over its river waters as per the riparian principle.

"Besides, there is a change in water availability and we do not even have one drop of water to spare. Moreover, there is no land for the construction of the SYL canal as the same has been handed back to the farmers by the erstwhile SAD-led government," said Cheema.

Speaking about Haryana's demand for the transfer of Hindi-speaking areas of Punjab to the state, Cheema said repeated commissions, including the Desai Commission and the Venkatramaih Commission, could not find any contagious Hindi-speaking area for transfer from Punjab to Haryana.

"It is also a recorded fact that after failing to find any contagious Hindi-speaking area for transfer to Haryana, the Venkatramaih Commission went out of terms of reference," he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Chandigarh [India], April 5 (ANI): Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said that Haryana has the right to Chandigarh along with a separate High Court for the state, hours after Haryana Assembly unanimously passed resolution opposing Punjab's claim to Chandigarh.

Slamming the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, BJP leader Khattar also questioned the timing of the move made by the former.

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Addressing a press conference today, Khattar said, "Haryana has the right on Chandigarh along with a separate HC for the state. It's beyond our understanding why they have (Punjab's AAP government) raised the Chandigarh issue soon after polls got over. Only they can tell under what pressure they are bringing the issue to the fore."

"Shah Commission recommended that Chandigarh should go to Haryana...Due to disagreement on Supreme Court's 2002 order on Haryana getting water from Satluj Yamuna Link Canal and it being of view that both states should mutually decide, we will write to the court again as Punjab remains inactive on it," he said.

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Notably, Haryana claims Chandigarh as per JC Shah Commission order.

In an attempt to counter the resolution passed by Punjab Vidhan Sabha last week staking a claim on Chandigarh, the Haryana Assembly Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution moved by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar during a special session of the Assembly convened Tuesday.

On April 1, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha unanimously adopted the resolution, moved by the leader of House and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann urging the Centre to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab. (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 5 (ANI): The publishers of a college sociology textbook, which listed the merits of the dowry system, said that they have decided to withdraw the book from the market with immediate effect. The announcement came on Tuesday after a severe backlash on social media.

The publishers, 'Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers Private Limited', on Tuesday issued a statement over the content in the title, 'Text-Book of Sociology for Nurses', in which Page 122 of the book mentions merits of dowry.

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In its statement, the publisher has said we have taken immediate steps to withdraw the book from the market.

"We would like to inform you that we have taken immediate steps to withdraw the book from the market. We assure you that Jaypee is a responsible publisher and has been serving the medical community for more than 5 decades now. We take such matters with utmost seriousness and shall continue to strengthen internal processes to avoid such incidences in future," the statement read.

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Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi slammed the publishers of the book. In a tweet, she wrote, "TEXTBOOK SAYS DOWRY HELPS 'UGLY GIRLS'. This kind of regressive mindset is there despite anti-dowry laws being there 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)
New Delhi, April 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address BJP workers, ministers, MPs and MLAs on Wednesday on the occasion of the party's foundation day, its general secretary Arun Singh said on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Singh said that from April 7 to April 20, the party will organise programmes on the issue of social justice across the country. BJP Foundation Day: Parliamentary Party Meet To Discuss Series of Events Planned on Its Foundation Day.

During this campaign, party workers will spread awareness about public welfare schemes of the Modi government, he said. Programmes will also be held during the campaign to mark BR Ambedkar birth anniversary on April 14, Singh said.

(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 4 (PTI) In a swipe at the central government, AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh on Tuesday asked it to rename the bill to reunify Delhi's three municipal corporations as the "Kejriwal-phobia" bill and alleged that it was brought by the BJP to avoid civic polls.

Speaking in the upper house, he alleged that the Centre wants to take control of the three municipal corporations to stop Arvind Kejriwal's AAP from coming to power.

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"If you don't have to contest election and run away from the election, then I will suggest again, name this bill the Kejriwal-phobia bill.

"This bill will depict the story of your cowardice... of you crushing the Constitution.. ending the Election Commission. You have made Delhi the centre of corruption," Singh alleged.

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The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, was piloted in Rajya Sabha by Home Minister Amit Shah and passed by Parliament on Tuesday.

Lok Sabha had passed the bill, which seeks to amend the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act of 1957, on March 30.

Singh said that the Centre provides support of only Rs 325 crore while the state government has provided support of thousands of crores to the MCDs with the latest being of over Rs 6,000 crore.

Several opposition parties including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress (AITC), CPI (M), and the DMK questioned the timing of the bill and called it an attack on the federal structure of the country.

AITC member Jawhar Sircar said that the Delhi assembly was not consulted on the bill and his party believes in consultation with elected bodies.

The YSR Congress, AIADMK and Tamil Maanila Congress supported the bill.

BJD supported the bill with the condition that the MCD elections are not deferred and the BSP sought some amendments and relief for workers in the bill.

"The Government of India is a big thing and the government of India has many responsibilities to discharge. They have to eradicate poverty in the country. They have to improve the GDP of the country. They have to take care security of the country.

"I as a layman fail to understand what is the necessity of the central government in taking over directly or indirectly the responsibility of a municipality," BJD member Prasanna Acharya said.

SP member Jaya Bachchan said she opposes the bill because it's undemocratic.

BSP member Ramji said that workers don't get the safety and modern tools to clean sewage in Delhi which has led to a loss of 300 lives in the last five years.

CPI member Binoy Viswam opposed the bill and said that the central government is afraid of elections.

Naresh Gujaral (SAD) alleged that municipalities all over the country have become dens of corruption. Given this backdrop, the Home Minister has to relook at the powers of corporators all over the country, he said.

The Congress' Shaktisinh Gohil said the trifurcation of the MCD was not done in haste, but was based on reports by expert committees that dwelled on the benefits from such a move.

"What we had done was based on reports of two expert committees. And what did you do," he said, attacking the BJP.

Gohil questioned the timing of the legislation, and opposed the bill to merge three municipal corporations of Delhi.

GVL Narasimha Rao (BJP) said his party believes in democratic values and is against dynasticism.

He said that the Delhi model of government is all about "starve development'' and "saturate advertisement".

Fauzia Khan of NCP argued that had the Union Government, before the passage of the Bill, taken the Delhi Government into confidence, it would have set the right example of `co-operative federalism'.

"Government should not become like a three-armed man, where one arm is used to pat your own back all the time," she said, urging withdrawal of the Bill.

Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena urged Home Minister Amit Shah to have a rethink on the Bill, and take a decision after holding discussions with the Delhi Assembly.

BJP MP Vivek Thakur cited that the convenor of the Confederation of MCD Employees Union too had observed that there had been no salary delays since MCD came into existence in 1957 till 2012.

The trifurcation happened after which lakhs of employees and 60,000 pensioners are suffering, he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
HARARE, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese-funded new Parliament building in Mt Hampden, about 25 km northwest of the capital Harare, is about to complete with the Chinese contractor putting final touches outside the structure, a Cabinet Minister said Tuesday.

Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo told media that the contractor, Shanghai Construction Group, was now working on the exterior of the building while the interior had already been fitted with furniture and equipment.

"The inside of the building is complete, they are now finalizing the exterior. After that, we will have validation teams from China this month and next month to work with our local team and then we are sure everything is done," he said.

Clerk of Parliament Kennedy Chokuda said Parliament had since been notified that its new home was almost ready.

"The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works has advised us that the building is done, they are now putting final touches. We are waiting to be advised of the date to move in," he said.

Construction of the new building started in 2018. The new six-storey Parliament building is being constructed by the Chinese government as a gift to Zimbabwe.

The 650-seat building will replace the current 100-seat building that was built during the colonial era which has become small for parliament business and can no longer accommodate the 350 parliamentarians and staff members. 
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
New Delhi, April 5 (PTI) The Congress' Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday asked the government to use its influence to mediate a truce between Russia and Ukraine engaged in a war for over 40 days.

Participating in a short discussion on the 'Situation in Ukraine' in the House, he said India should not shy away from taking a morally correct position in line with its foreign policy.

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About the country's foreign policy, Tharoor stressed, "it is neither Congress' nor BJP's foreign policy but it is Indian foreign policy."

India, he said, could offer itself in a "mediating capacity" and play a role in putting an end to the conflict.

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Referring to the softly-worded statements on the Russia-Ukraine war at the United Nations, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said, "We need to take a principled stand on such matters... with moral conviction."

In this case, Russia has started the war, he said and added that India cannot endorse Moscow's action.

On India getting a lot of military supplies from Russia, Tharoor said the country pays in "top dollars" and it was not a one-way relationship.

The former Union minister also expressed concern about the emerging Russia-China-Pakistan axis.

With Russia becoming weak on account of sanctions, China will get an upper hand and "it is a matter of great concern" for India, he added.

The Congress member also criticised the remarks of certain BJP leaders and ministers that only those students who could not qualify National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) go to Ukraine for medical education.

Such statements at the time of crisis reflect poorly on the nation, he said, adding the government must seriously rethink medical education in the country.

Appreciating 'Operation Ganga' under which 18,000 students were brought home from war-ravaged Ukraine, he said some embassies were probably quicker in evacuating their citizens and hence there are lessons to be learnt for India.

Tharoor said it was unfortunate that students stranded in war-hit Ukraine had to walk long distances to reach the bordering nations from where they were transported back to India.

Referring to certain videos on social media, he criticised Indian ministers for "publicity mongering" on foreign land which, he added, "was unnecessary."

"We don't need publicity in other countries," Tharoor said.

Participating in the discussion, BJD MP Pinaki Misra praised the government for not yielding to hectoring by the US on the Russia-Ukraine war issue.

He said it was the US that used nuclear weapons and has a history of waging wars in several countries including Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Misra also asked the Indian government to mediate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

The BJP's Brijendra Singh demanded that something must be done to ensure the students returning from Ukraine can complete their education.

Trinamool leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay wanted to know the status of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise that returning students were likely to be absorbed in colleges in Hungary.

Thamizhachi Thangapandian of the DMK urged the government to play the role of an honest negotiator in ending the ongoing conflict.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ahmedabad, April 5: The World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will provide a loan of Rs 7,500 crore for the Gujarat government's Mission School of Excellence project that aims to improve the quality of education in the state, an official said on Tuesday.

Under the Mission School of Excellence project, the state government will spend Rs 10,000 crore in the next five years and cover all 35,133 government and 5,847 grant-in-aid schools in the state.

The funds will be spent on building 50,000 new classrooms, creating 1.5 lakh smart classrooms, 20,000 new computer labs and 5,000 tinkering labs in 41,000-odd government and grant-in-aid schools across the state.

It is estimated that nearly one crore school students will benefit directly from this ambitious project in the next five years. As per an official release, the World Bank and AIIB have approved a loan of Rs 7,500 crore for the ambitious project. BJP Foundation Day 2022: PM Narendra Modi to Address Party Workers, Legislators Tomorrow.

A delegation from the World Bank on Tuesday visited Gandhinagar to study the School of Excellence project. The delegation, led by the bank's Global Education Director Jaime Saavedra also visited the state education department's command and control centre in the state capital, the release said.

The delegation wanted to study these "Gujarat model initiatives" to check if they can be declared as "global best practices", it was stated. The recently launched command and control centre is an interactive platform used by the education department to monitor the attendance of students and teachers, keep an eye on the quality of education and to provide e-learning projects to the schools, it said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Seoul [South Korea], April 5 (ANI): South Korean tech conglomerate Samsung has announced that its Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9+ smartphones will no longer receive software updates.

According to GSM Arena, the early 2018 flagships are now off Samsung's lists of devices eligible for security updates.

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Meanwhile, the Galaxy S10 series were moved from monthly to quarterly updates, now that they are over 3 years old.

The Galaxy S9 series is following the path of its predecessors as back in early 2021, Samsung demoted the S9 from monthly to quarterly security updates, when the Galaxy S8 was completely taken off the list. The same thing had happened to the Galaxy S7 phones a year earlier.

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As per GSM Arena, the Galaxy S9 series' last major update was to One UI 2.5 package, which it received in late 2020. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Moscow [Russia], April 5 (ANI/Sputnik): The Danish Foreign Ministry decided to expel 15 Russian diplomats from the country, Reuters reported.

On Monday, a number of European countries announced a decision to expel Russian diplomats.

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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik that Moscow will respond to the expulsion of 15 Russian diplomats from Denmark.

Commenting on this, Zakharova indicated that "appropriate measures will be taken against employees of the foreign institutions of this country." (ANI/Sputnik)

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(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Lisse [Netherlands], April 5 (ANI): Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Netherlands, Wopke Hoekstra on Tuesday termed India as an important player on the world stage and said that Amsterdam attaches tremendous importance to the friendship between the two countries.

While cherishing its friendship with India, Hoekstra told ANI that the relationship blossomed in past, and is great in present times and is poised to be better in the future.

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Talking about the importance of the three-day visit of President Ram Nath Kovind and First Lady Savita Kovind, he said, "To us, this is of tremendous importance, and we truly cherish this friendship with India -- such an important player on the world stage. I also feel delighted, privileged and honoured to have the President and First Lady here. This shows the tremendous importance of this relationship."

"This is a relationship that has blossomed in the past, which is great in the present and will be even better in the future," he added.

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Earlier, President Kovind and Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Hoekstra named a new breed of yellow tulip flowers 'Maitri' - symbolic of the special and enduring friendship between India and the Netherlands.

"President Ram Nath Kovind and the First Lady Smt Savita Kovind visited Keukenhof in Amsterdam. The President named a new breed of yellow tulips 'Maitri' -- symbolic of the special and enduring friendship between India and the Netherlands. President Kovind was received at Keukenhof by the Dutch Foreign Minister & Deputy PM @WBHoekstra. President Kovind spoke about the multifaceted partnership between the two countries & vibrant people-to-people connect," read President House's tweet.

Deputy PM Hoekstra, meanwhile said that the visit of President Kovind signals the depth and breadth of friendship, bilateral relationships, and trade relationships between the two countries.

"India and the Netherlands celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations. Today President Kovind and I named a tulip 'Maitri' (=friendship). At this time, it is important to discuss our shared values with an important partner like India and continue to strengthen our cooperation," tweeted Hoekstra.

"It is a friendship we cherish, a great bilateral relationship and it also is a signal that we are both willing to invest and make this blossom even more in future and in years to come," said the Deputy PM.

Talking about the Indian diaspora in the Netherlands, he lauded their efforts and contributions.

"We are proud to have Indian diaspora, they are very much involved in our society. They are very much involved in business and in all other aspects of life. We cherish them being here, making a big contribution to our society," said Hoekstra.

President Kovind is on a visit to the Netherlands at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. This is the first presidential visit to the Netherlands in 34 years since the visit of President R Venkataraman in 1988. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad [Pakistan], March 31 (ANI): Pakistan's former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar held talks with estranged Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Khan Tareen over the current political situation in the country, local media reported citing sources on Wednesday.

Both the leaders also spoke about the no-confidence motion moved against Usman Buzdar in the Punjab Assembly. Buzdar has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Imran Khan but the resignation is yet to be accepted, Geo News reported citing sources within the PML-N and Jahangir Tareen group.

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Dar and Tareen spoke over the phone for about half an hour and discussed the current political situation in Pakistan. They also discussed possible ways of cooperation at the Punjab Assembly level and the centre, said the sources.

The two leaders have agreed to keep the communication channels open and work together in the future including discussions on bringing a joint candidate for the post of Punjab chief minister, Geo News reported.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Peace Talks Did Not Offer Any Breakthrough, Says Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Meanwhile, PTI on Monday announced Leader of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as its candidate for Punjab chief minister after Usman Buzdar resigned from the top post.

This comes in the wake of the Opposition's no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The no-confidence motion was submitted by the opposition parties on March 8. The opposition is confident that its motion would be carried as some allies of PTI have come out in the open against Imran Khan. (ANI)

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Islamabad [Pakistan], April 5 (ANI): As Pakistan continues to stare at a pronged political and constitutional crisis, a US expert explained how Imran Khan is trying to play a "US card" to build up his support base.

On Sunday, Pakistani President Arif Alvi dissolved the Pakistani parliament following Khan's advice. Imran Khan made the proposal minutes after parliament's deputy speaker rejected a motion of no confidence in him as "unconstitutional."

Also Read | UN Says No Request Received Yet from US to Remove Russia from Human Rights Council.

Pakistan media and opposition parties criticised this decision saying that it violated all rules governing proceedings in the House.

Pakistan's PM has based this decision on claims of "foreign conspiracy", which he says aims to oust him from power." He even named a senior American diplomat as the person who was allegedly involved in the "foreign conspiracy" to overthrow his government.

Also Read | Moeed Yusuf, Pakistans National Security Advisor, Resigns From His Position Amid Political Turmoil.

"It's highly unlikely that any US official would get involved in Pakistan's internal politics. I think Imran Khan is trying to play the 'US card' to build up support from his base," said Lisa Curtis, a regional expert who served in the previous Bush and Trump presidencies.

Curtis was responding to a question regarding Imran's allegations that the US was supporting a movement to topple his government. She made these remarks in an interview with Voice of America Deewa.

"It's highly highly unlikely that any US official would get involved in any way..US officials are very careful to stay out of the country's internal politics so this is something that Imran Khan concocted to build up his support from his base," she was quoted as saying Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper.

Lisa Curtis, who is now Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, said the Biden administration has been trying to work with Pakistan on several issues including Afghanistan and "there is absolutely no reason for the US to seek regime change in Pakistan".

She argued that the US is not concerned about the change in the civilian set-up in Pakistan as "any change in the civilian political system really has a very marginal effect on the issues that the US cares most about".

"The US government wants good relations with whatever government is in Pakistan... the political situation of Pakistan has nothing to with the US." (ANI)

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Jerusalem, Apr 5 (AP) Digital-rights researchers have concluded that the mobile phones of four Jordanian human rights activists were hacked over a two-year period with software made by the Israeli spyware company NSO Group.

Tuesday's findings by Front Line Defenders and Citizen Lab said at least some of the hackings appear to have been carried out by the Jordanian government. It was the latest in a series of reports linking NSO's Pegasus spyware software to abuses by authoritarian governments.

Also Read | U.S. House Democrats Voice Mixed Views on $10 Billion COVID Aid Bill  Latest Tweet by Reuters.

Jordan denied the allegations. NSO had no comment on the findings, but said the monitoring of political activists by any client would amount to a severe misuse of its product. Both the company and the Israeli government have faced repeated criticism over their oversight practices.

The report identified the activists as Ahmed al-Neimat, an anti-corruption activist who it said has been banned by Jordan from working or leaving the country; human rights lawyer Malik Abu Orabi; and Suhair Jaradat, a female journalist and human rights activist. It said another female human rights activist and journalist was targeted, but asked to remain anonymous due to security concerns.

Also Read | UN Agencies Say Over 500 Iraqi Children Killed by Explosive Ordnance in 5 Years.

It said at least two of the targets appeared to have been hacked by operators primarily focused on Jordan. It said it identified two operators that were likely agencies of the Jordanian government.

Earlier this year, Frontline Defenders said another female Jordan activist, Hala Ahed Deeb, had also been hacked by NSO software.

Frontline Defenders is a nonprofit advocacy group based in Ireland that says it provides assistance to human rights activists who are in danger. Citizen Lab, based at the University of Toronto, conducts research on information technology, security and human rights. Both organizations have previously investigated NSO.

According to their joint report, the hacks took place between August 2019 and December 2021. It said the last hack took place on an iPhone, indicating that NSO has continued to target Apple's operating system even after a lawsuit by the global technology giant over previous hacks.

In a statement, Andrew Anderson, executive director of Front Line Defenders, said the research shows that human rights defenders undertaking legitimate and peaceful work continue to be targeted by the local authorities in the Middle East.

Jordan's National Center for Cyber Security categorically denied the findings of the report. These allegations are baseless, and Jordan has not cooperated with any agents with the aim of spying on citizens' phones or censoring their calls, it said.

NSO's Pegasus product allows operators to stealthily invade a target's mobile device, giving them access to contacts, messages and movement history.

The company says that Pegasus is sold only to foreign governments after approval by Israel's Defense Ministry as a tool for catching criminals and terrorists. Although it says it has safeguards in place to prevent abuse, it has also acknowledged it cannot control whom its clients monitor and it does not have access to the information that is collected.

While we have not seen the report mentioned in your inquiry, and without confirming or denying specific customers, NSO's firm stance on these issues is that the use of cyber tools in order to monitor dissidents, activists and journalists is a severe misuse of any technology and goes against the desired use of such critical tools, the company said.

NSO does not identify its customers and would not say whether they include Jordan. But the company says that it has cut off seven customers for abusing its technology. These reportedly have included authorities in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.

However, human rights groups and outside researchers have said the company's safeguards are insufficient. They say customers have abused Pegasus to keep tabs on journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents from Mexico to Saudi Arabia to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Last year, the U.S. blacklisted the company, saying its tools had been used to conduct transnational repression.

Critics have also accused Israel of lax oversight over the digital surveillance industry. Late last year, Israel said it was tightening its supervision of cyber exports.

Tuesday's report, however, said the case, along with previous ones, amount to an indisputable indictment against NSO Group, and its ownership, for their inability or unwillingness to put in place even the most basic human rights-respecting safeguards.

Jordan is a monarchy widely seen as a voice of moderation in the turbulent Middle East, making it a strategic ally of the West. But King Abdullah II has placed limits on the amount of public dissent he is willing to tolerate and his government has been accused of corruption and human rights abuses.

A year ago, he accused his half brother, the former Crown Prince Hamzah, of involvement in a malicious plot and placed him under house arrest. In a video statement at the time, Hamzah denied the allegations, saying he was being punished for speaking out against official corruption.

Hamzah, who has been seen in public just once since then, this week relinquished his royal title in apparent protest over how the country is run. He wrote that he was driven to the decision because his convictions cannot be reconciled with the current approaches, policies and methods of our institutions.

The Royal Court did not comment. (AP)

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Washington, Apr 5 (AP) Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney announced Monday night they will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's historic elevation to the Supreme Court, giving President Joe Biden's nominee a burst of bipartisan support and all but assuring she'll become the first Black female justice.

The senators from Alaska and Utah announced their decisions ahead of a procedural vote to advance the nomination and as Democrats pressed to confirm Jackson by the end of the week. GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced last week that she would back Jackson.

Also Read | UN Says No Request Received Yet from US to Remove Russia from Human Rights Council.

All three Republicans said they did not expect to agree with all of Jackson's decisions, but that they found her well qualified. Romney said she more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity.

Also Read | Moeed Yusuf, Pakistans National Security Advisor, Resigns From His Position Amid Political Turmoil.

With three Republicans supporting her in the 50-50 split Senate, Jackson is on a glidepath to confirmation and on the brink of making history as the third Black justice and only the sixth woman in the court's more than 200-year history. Beyond the historic element, Democrats have cited her deep experience in nine years on the federal bench and the chance for her to become the first former public defender on the court.

Both Collins and Murkowski said they believed that the Senate nomination process has become broken as it has become more partisan in the past several decades.

Murkowski said her decision partly rests on my rejection of the corrosive politicization of the review process for Supreme Court nominees, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year.

Biden nominated Jackson to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Biden has sought bipartisan backing for his pick, making repeated calls to senators and inviting Republicans to the White House.

The Senate's 53-47 vote Monday evening was to discharge Jackson's nomination from the Senate Judiciary Committee after the panel deadlocked, 11-11, on whether to send the nomination to the Senate floor.

The committee vote, split along party lines, was the first deadlock on a Supreme Court nomination in three decades.

Judge Jackson will bring extraordinary qualifications, deep experience and intellect, and a rigorous judicial record to the Supreme Court, Biden tweeted earlier Monday.

She deserves to be confirmed as the next justice.

The Judiciary committee's top Republican, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, said he was opposing Jackson's nomination because she and I have fundamental, different views on the role of judges and the role that they should play in our system of government.

The committee hadn't deadlocked since 1991, when Biden was chairman and a motion to send the nomination of current Justice Clarence Thomas to the floor with a favorable recommendation failed on a 7-7 vote. The committee then voted to send the nomination to the floor without a recommendation, meaning it could still be brought up for a vote.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky set the tone for most of his party last week when he said he cannot and will not support Jackson, citing GOP concerns raised in hearings about her sentencing record and her backing from liberal advocacy groups.

Republicans on the Judiciary panel continued their push Monday to paint Jackson as soft on crime, defending their repeated questions about her sentencing on sex crimes.

Questions are not attacks, said Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, one of several GOP senators on the panel who hammered the point in the hearings two weeks ago.

Jackson pushed back on the GOP narrative, declaring that nothing could be further from the truth. Democrats said she was in line with other judges in her decisions. And on Monday they criticized their GOP counterparts' questioning.

You could try and create a straw man here, but it does not hold, said New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.

The questioning was filled with absurdities of disrespect, said Booker, who also is Black, and he said he will rejoice when she is confirmed.

Derrick Johnson, president and chief executive officer of the NAACP, expressed disappointment with the tie, even as he noted that Jackson had cleared an important hurdle. He said history will be watching" during the full Senate vote later this week. (AP)

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Islamabad [Pakistan], April 5 (ANI): As the political crisis turned into a constitutional crisis in the country, Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing over the dissolution of the National Assembly till Wednesday, local media reported.

The case was filed against the "unconstitutional act" of the National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri.

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Speaker Suri had disallowed the vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday -- a move that the Opposition said was a blatant violation of the Constitution, Geo News reported.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Bandial and comprising Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Aijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel resumed hearing this afternoon.

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During the hearing, CJP Bandial also directed NA speaker's counsel Naeem Bokhari to present the minutes of the crucial NA session held on March 31 to debate on the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan, according to Geo News.

At the outset of the hearing, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani walked to the rostrum to present his arguments.

"This is a civilian coup. A stance was created through an alleged cable which is based on malafide intent," Geo News quoted the Senator as saying. Rabbani added that the no-confidence motion against the prime minister was tabled on March 28 but the NA session was adjourned.

"Deputy speaker's ruling is illegal [...] no-trust motion cannot be rejected without voting on it," Rabbani said. "Voting is mandatory within the given duration as per the Constitution".

PPP's counsel said that the no-trust motion cannot be rejected under the Constitution.

"It can be dismissed only when if those who submitted it take it back and the speaker can reject it only after voting is held on it," Rabbani said.

He also requested to form a judicial commission to probe into NA proceedings and asked for a stay on Sunday's assembly session case, Geo News reported.

"The court should consider the misuse of authority instead of the proceedings within the assembly and see whether the speaker can apply Article 5."

After Rabbani completed his arguments, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan presented his arguments before the court.

He narrated the NA's proceedings since the session of March 28 when leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif was allowed to table the no-trust resolution against Imran Khan till April 3, the day fixed for voting on the motion, the Pakistani newspaper reported.

Khan said that a debate had to be held on the no-trust motion on March 31's session under Rule 37 but it didn't happen.

He asked if Suri, as the deputy speaker, had the authority to dismiss the resolution in this way. "The entire case is based on the question whether the deputy speaker can give such a ruling," he added, according to Geo News.

After Pakistani President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly after the deputy speaker rejected the no-trust vote against the PM, the political turmoil turned into a constitutional crisis.

CJP Bandial had taken a suo motu notice of the constitutional crisis that erupted after the incident.

"Any orders and actions that Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi regarding the dissolution of the National Assembly shall be subject to the order of this court," CJP Bandial had said taking the notice on Sunday. (ANI)

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United Nations, Apr 5 (PTI) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to address the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, the first time he will address the most powerful UN organ since Russia's invasion of his country and after streets strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians were found in the suburbs of Kyiv, sparking worldwide horror and condemnation.

The UK is the President of the Security Council for the month of April and it announced in a tweet on Monday that Zelenskyy will virtually address Tuesday's Security Council meeting on Ukraine following his visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Half of Canadian Firms Affected by Conflict in Ukraine, Says Survey.

This will be the first time that Zelenskyy addresses the Security Council since Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Russia is a veto-wielding permanent member of the Council.

Also Read | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Says 'Important To Respect Democratic Process in Pakistan'.

The Council and the General Assembly have held several meetings, including a rare Emergency Special Session in the 193-member Assembly on the situation in Ukraine.

The UK Presidency of the Council will ensure the truth is heard about Russia's war crimes. We will expose (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war for what it really is, the UK Mission to the UN said.

Images and videos of people lying dead on the streets of Bucha, some with their hands tied behind them, drew global condemnation and calls for investigation and tougher actions against Russia.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha.

It is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability, he said.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that she is horrified by the images of civilians lying dead on the streets and in improvised graves in the town of Bucha in Ukraine.

Reports emerging from this and other areas raise serious and disturbing questions about possible war crimes as well as grave breaches of international humanitarian law and serious violations of international human rights law, she said, adding that it is essential that all bodies are exhumed and identified so that victims' families can be informed, and the exact causes of death established.

All measures should be taken to preserve evidence, Bachelet said.

It is vital that all efforts are made to ensure there are independent and effective investigations into what happened in Bucha to ensure truth, justice and accountability, as well as reparations and remedy for victims and their families, she added.

US Ambassador at UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in Bucharest, Romania that Washington, in close coordination with Ukraine, European countries and other partners at the UN, is going to seek Russia's suspension from the UN Human Rights Council.

A hundred-and-forty UN Member States have already voted to condemn Russia over its unprovoked war and the humanitarian crisis it has unleashed upon the people of Ukraine.

My message to those 140 countries who have courageously stood together is simple: the images out of Bucha and devastation across Ukraine require us now to match our words with action. We cannot let a Member State that is subverting every principle we hold dear to continue to sit on the UN Human Rights Council, Thomas-Greenfield said.

She was referring to the UN Member States who voted in favour of General Assembly resolutions deploring Russian action and demanding that Moscow immediately withdraw its forces and cease hostilities.

Russia should not have a position of authority in that body, nor should we allow Russia to use their role on the Council as a tool of propaganda to suggest they have a legitimate concern about human rights.

In fact, we see every day, including yesterday, heartbreaking reports about how little they care about human rights. Russia's participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce. It hurts the credibility of the Council and the UN writ large. And it is simply wrong. Which is why we believe it is time for the UN General Assembly to suspend them, she said.

Thomas-Greenfield told National Public Radio that the US expects action in the General Assembly as soon as possible  this week, and possibly as early as Thursday.

Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, during a press briefing at the UN headquarters on the situation in Bucha, accused the Kiev regime, with active support from its Western sponsors, of promoting in Western mass media "fake news about alleged atrocities of Russian military forces.

From the very beginning, it has been clear that this is nothing else but yet another staged provocation aimed at discrediting and dehumanising the Russian military and levelling political pressure on Russia.

Not many of you know about the Russian military, but I assure you that the Russian military is nothing that it is being accused of, in particular what regards cruel atrocities' against the civilian population. It is not the case. It never was, and will never be, he said.

The Russian envoy asserted that Moscow has factual evidence to prove this point and it intends to present it to the Security Council as soon as possible so that the international community is not misled by the false narrative promoted by Kiev and its Western sponsors.

He said that there are no reports of atrocities which are accredited to the Russian military in Bucha, which happened before the Ukrainian army took control of the town.

Four days after the Russian military left the city of Bucha, there was not a single sign of any atrocities'. I repeat  not a single reference to it, anywhere, Nebenzia said.

"The infamous video depicting bodies on the city roads only appeared on April 3. It is full of discrepancies and blatant lies. According to its authors, the bodies were lying on the streets for at least four days by the time the video was filmed.

However, the bodies are not stiffened. How is that possible? It is against the law of biology. The bodies do not have signs of decomposition known to forensic experts, including cadaver stains. The wounds contain no blood," the Russian ambassador added.

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Brussels, April 5: US Permanent Representative to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Julianne Smith on Tuesday said that the military alliance is gathering evidence to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for "war crime" in Ukraine, according to a media report.

"What we have to do is collect the information we need to hold Putin and his team in Moscow accountable, and you can do that through multiple paths there of course is the ICC path. There's a United Nations option. There are multiple ways to do that," CNN quoted Smith as saying during a press conference in Brussels.

Speaking on how the US will help with this investigation, the US envoy said, "First and foremost, what we want to do is ensure that we expose the truth and in order to expose the truth and fully understand what is happening on the ground we need to collect as much information as possible." Russia-Ukraine War: India 'Unequivocally' Condemns Civilian Killings in Bucha, Supports Call for Independent Investigation.

"We are now relying on first-hand accounts from Ukrainian citizens. We are seeing some international organizations, NGOs are starting to collect information as well. Putting together a narrative, trying to put together some sense of what has gone on, as we've looked again at these horrific images coming out of Bucha, but, but possibly in other locations as well," she added, according to the media outlet.

Though noting that it is "too soon to say definitively what happened" in Bucha, she said, "we're quite confident that we will be able to put together the evidence we need to hold Putin accountable." Notably, US President Joe Biden on Monday called the atrocities allegedly committed by Russia in Bucha, Ukraine, a "war crime" adding that Putin is a "war criminal". Russian President Vladimir Putin Blames Global Food Insecurity on Mistakes of Developed Countries.

Biden said Bucha atrocities is not a genocide, adding that he is looking into more sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of NATO member states will discuss additional assistance to Ukraine at a meeting on April 6-7, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, April 5: A bipartisan group of American lawmakers has sought the help of the Biden administration in restricting the international trade and sale of Russian-origin diamonds, in view of the massive sanctions that the US and its European allies have imposed on Moscow.

In a letter to Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the lawmakers expressed concern that the sanctions issued by the Treasury Department to target Russia's diamond industry will have a minimal impact on Alrosa and its CEO Sergei Ivanov's ability to freely operate globally.

Alrosa is the world's largest diamond mining company.

The company, which reported sales worth USD 4.2 billion last year, is responsible for 90 per cent of Russia's diamond mining capacity, which accounts for 28 per cent globally. It is owned one-third by the Russian government, and until recently, had an office in New York City.

Ivanov is the son of one of Putin's closest allies, Sergei Borisovich Ivanov, who previously served as the Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Defence Minister of Russia and remains a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, the letter said. Russian Currency Bounces Back After Moscow Mandates Payment for Gas in Gold-Pegged Ruble.

According to the Congressmen, the February 24 sanctions that listed Alrosa only blocked debt and equity transactions, making a small dent in Russia's oversized stake in the global diamond trade. Although an important initial step, along with the designation of Alrosa's CEO, these have yet to impede trade and revenues that eventually reach the Kremlin.

The administration also announced an import ban on March 11 which would ban products of Russian Federation origin, including non-industrial diamonds, from entering the United States.

Experts note a major loophole remains in the sanctions regime that allows for importation of diamonds manufactured in India or elsewhere because of the interpretation provided in the Office of Foreign Assets Control's frequently-asked questions, they wrote.

Namely, the term Russian Federation origin excludes goods substantially transformed in a third country, and it has long been the view of Customs and Border Protection that the cutting or polishing of diamonds in a third country would qualify as a substantial transformation.

A recent report on the diamond industry indicated approximately 95 per cent of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in India. Thus, as it stands at this time, a diamond can be mined by an Alrosa subsidiary, polished or cut in India or another country, and sold to the United States without any prohibition, making a profit for the Russian government, wrote the Congressmen.

The lawmakers asked that the Treasury Department reconsider the interpretation of origin that allows for the importation of diamonds from countries that may cut or polish Alrosa's diamonds.

Second, the United States should work with its Indian counterparts, as well as those in trading centers such as Dubai, to ensure they are not being used to line the pockets of those closest to Vladimir Putin, they said.

Finally, the State and the Treasury Departments should provide guidance to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ensure they prohibit the importation of Russian diamonds into the United States.

The lawmakers said that Putin's unprovoked and brazen invasion of the sovereign territory of Ukraine should be met with a forceful response from the United States and its partners.

Luxury goods, especially items like diamonds that are used mainly for export to wealthy nations, should be among the first that Treasury and State Departments consider future action. We ask for your consideration of additional actions that would constrain the Kremlin's capacity to access revenue from their diamond industry which could fund the invasion of democratic and sovereign Ukraine, the letter added.
He didnt run, he didnt disappear. The former Nazi lived peacefully in a Philadelphia row house, sometimes feeding treats to his neighbors dog.

Johann Breyers true identity had stopped being a secret decades ago, at least to the U.S. government and the dwindling number of Nazi hunters who knew his name.

As a young man, Breyer had been an SS guard at Auschwitz, where the Nazis killed more than a million victims, the vast majority of them Jews. Hed worn the skull-and-crossbones insignia of the Deaths Head guard battalion to which he belonged, according to court records, but said he never hurt anyone.

In 1952, Breyer came to the U.S. to build a new life. For almost seven decades since the war, he did not face a criminal trial. But his quiet American retirement ended Tuesday, when U.S. Marshals arrested him at home.

Now 89, Breyer faces extradition to Germany, where he is accused of complicity in the deaths of 216,000 Jewish men, women and children who died at the Auschwitz complex in Nazi-occupied Poland while he was there, prosecutors said. (Overall, an estimated 11 million people were killed in the Holocaust, 6 million of them Jews.)

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A hearing will be held before a U.S. magistrate in August. Breyers attorney did not return messages seeking comment.

A neighbor of 20 years said Breyer was an unlikely war criminal.

He didnt seem like what history says a Nazi should be like, Ken Perkins said. He just seemed like an ordinary person who wasnt hiding anything.

Perkins said rumors had floated around the neighborhood about Breyers past for years, but he had given them little thought.

We never got into his life or what he did, said Perkins, whose backyard faces Breyers. I dont condone what theyre accusing him of, if he did it. But personally, through my experience, he seemed like a nice guy.

By no accounts was Breyer a key cog in the Nazi movement. Born a farmboy of German descent in eastern Slovakia  then part of the young republic of Czechoslovakia  he enlisted in the Waffen-SS  the armed wing of the Nazi party  at age 17 after receiving a recruitment letter in 1942.

Breyers version of events, revealed in court records, is that he was drafted and that the mayor of his village told him he had to go. Even though he was assigned to the Deaths Head guard battalion at Auschwitz, he said, he refused to kill anyone, so he served as a perimeter guard, far from the killing. He says he never shepherded prisoners from the trains to the gas chambers.

Breyer says he soon deserted, hiding in barns and the woods before rejoining his unit for combat duty against the Russians as the wars end neared.

But officials say there is no record of Breyer deserting and assert that his unit would have been closely involved with handling the prisoners who were put to death.

Thats one of the oldest defenses, said Aaron Breitbart, a senior researcher at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. The perimeter-guard defense, and the baker defense: Yes, I was there, but I was a baker. ... It seems as though everybody is a perimeter guard when theyre finally caught. Well, not everybody who is caught could have been a perimeter guard.

Charlie Sydnor, president and executive director of the Virginia Holocaust Museum, said records from Auschwitz showed that Breyers unit on certain days would have been responsible for unloading victims from the trains as they were sorted into groups of who would live and who would die.

Guards in concentration camps did everything that was required to persecute the prisoners in the camp, and Mr. Breyer was doing all of that in Auschwitz, Sydnor said.

Breyer says his war ended when he was captured by Soviet troops. When he immigrated to the United States, he omitted his background as an SS guard at the death camp, according to court records. If he had disclosed it, he would not have received a visa. He became a U.S. citizen in 1957.

Decades later, in 1992, U.S. officials tried to revoke his citizenship to make it easier to deport him for his alleged crimes. But during denaturalization proceedings it was revealed that Breyers mother was an American, born in Pennsylvania, who later moved to Slovakia.

In a series of court battles lasting more than a decade, Breyer successfully argued that his mother had unknowingly bestowed him with American citizenship at birth, meaning he couldnt be deported for lying to get a visa  because, secretly, he had been an American all along.

Breyer returned to his quiet life. Then on June 17, 2013, a district court in Germany issued a warrant for his arrest. The U.S. filed a complaint for his extradition last week.

Attorney Willan F. Joseph, who represented Breyer for several years during the immigration case  and lost several friends in the process  said he was shocked by the latest developments.

Mr. Breyer fought a fight here years ago, he prevailed here, Joseph said. The new case seems like a backdoor effort to achieve what the Justice Department couldnt achieve earlier.

Breyer and his wife appeared to be very pleasant people, Joseph said.

For those who may have suffered at his hands, I understand how they feel. ... [But] I would imagine that when I am 89 years old, I wouldnt want to be sent out of the country where Ive spent half my life, Joseph said.

Batame Hertzbach, the daughter of two Holocaust survivors and the chairwoman of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphias Holocaust Program, learned about Breyer when she read about his arrest in the newspaper.

I find it quite troubling because hes been living amongst us, Hertzbach said. Hes been hiding in plain sight. And, well, he got away with it. He lived a long life.

Michael Herskovitz, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor who lives outside Philadelphia, spent more than a year in Auschwitz as a teenager. His mother, father and 3-year-old brother did not survive.

Although Herskovitz didnt know Breyer, he said, believe me, he was not a nice person, because you couldnt be nice there.

I dont have hate in me anymore, Herskovitz said, but I still feel he needs to be brought to justice.

matt.pearce@latimes.com

maya.srikrishnan@latimes.com
At least 20 inmates were killed following the Ecuador prison riot that occurred on Monday in El Turi jail.

According to the interior minister, Patricio Carrillo, the violence in the facility occurred when one of the gangs tried to "gain control" of the prison, BBC reported.

The commander of Ecuador's national police force, Gen. Carlos Cabrera, mentioned that the deadly fight inside the El Turi jail, near the city of Cuenca, started on early Sunday due to a leadership dispute among imprisoned members of the gang known as The Wolves, per CNN.

France 24 emphasized that the trouble broke out around 1:30 p.m. in the prison's maximum-security section.

Associated Press noted that videos of the incident broadcasted in the local news media included gunfire and screaming.

Carrillo pointed out that the ringleaders behind the recent Ecuador prison riot had been identified by the authorities. Carrillo added that the said ringleaders will lose all the prison benefits they might have enjoyed.

Carrillo also stressed that about 1,000 police and military personnel worked to control the riot.

On Monday, officials from Ecuador announced that they have regained control of El Turi jail.

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Victims of Recent Ecuador Prison Riot

Cabrera noted that 19 of the victims died due to acts of violence and one was killed after ingesting a chemical substance.

Meanwhile, Carrillo noted that five of the dead had been mutilated and six people were hanged, according to AP.

Meanwhile, the interior minister also noted that five people sustained serious injuries after the incident.

Authorities are now in the process of identifying the bodies of the victims to inform their relatives about the tragedy, Cabrera highlighted.

It was not the first time for Ecuador to witness such killing inside their prison systems.

In September, Ecuador's prison system has been under a state of emergency after the deadly clashes that killed at least 118 people. The said incident reportedly involved automatic weapons and even grenades, CNN stressed.

Ecuador has also seen a rise in victims of prison riots.

According to Amnesty International, at least 316 prisoners in Ecuador died in 2020. Meanwhile, in Ecuador's prison service, SNAI, more than 300 inmates were killed in prison violence in 2021.

AP also emphasized that the government of Ecuador blamed confrontations on drug gangs linked to Mexican drug cartels.

Ecuador's President on the Recent Prison Riot

On Monday, Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso said his government's number one priority is safety, contending that they act firmly and immediately.

Con esta decision se evitara cualquier tipo de interaccion entre estos cabecillas y las bases de las organizaciones que representan. Implementamos mano dura a quienes pretenden menoscabar la seguridad de los ecuatorianos, a la vez que damos dignidad y atencion a las demas PPL.  Guillermo Lasso (@LassoGuillermo) April 4, 2022

The president then noted that the country's minister of interior has begun the transfer of the five criminal leaders from El Turi jail to La Roca.

"With this decision, any type of interaction between these leaders and the bases of the organizations they represent will be avoided," Lasso added.

Meanwhile, Patrico Carillo pointed out that they will not stop until they win the war to preserve Ecuador's democracy.

No vamos a parar hasta ganar la guerra para preservar la democracia, los derechos, y las libertades de los ecuatorianos. Como Gobierno no permitiremos que se siga erosionando la imparcialidad de la ley, y socavando la dignidad del ser humano. pic.twitter.com/abGvAOSIxJ  Patricio Carrillo (@CarrilloRosero) April 4, 2022

"As a Government, we will not allow the impartiality of the law to continue to be eroded, and the dignity of the human being to be undermined," Carrillo underscored.

READ NEXT: Joe Biden Pushes Gun Controls Agenda Following Sacramento Shooting

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WATCH: At least 20 killed in Ecuador Prison Gang Riot - From Al Jazeera English
Three Republican states, Arizona, Louisiana, and Missouri, retaliated on Biden adminsitration's plans to rescind the Title 42 expulsion in the borders.

According to Al Jazeera, the Republican-governed states argued that lifting the said program would cause an "unprecedented crisis" at the southern border of the United States.

The Hill reported that the lawsuit filed by Arizona, Missouri, and Louisiana, were aimed at nearly every agency involved with either public health or the border. The outlet furthered that the states listed some 20 defendants, including agencies like the immigration court system.

The said agency had little to do with crafting or enforcement of Title 42 expulsion.

"Defendants' unlawful termination of the Title 42 policy will induce a significant increase of illegal immigration into the United States, with many migrants asserting non-meritorious asylum claims," the lawsuit from the three Republican states argued.

The lawsuit furthered that the termination order on Title 42 would also overwhelm the agencies' capacity to enforce immigration laws at the border.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt also expressed his thoughts on the order to terminate the policy, contending that Title 42 is an essential tool for controlling the influx of illegal migrants on the Southern border.

READ NEXT: Ecuador Prison Riot: What Caused the Deadly Fight in El Turi Jail?

18K Daily Migrant Encounters Possible After Rescinding Title 42 Expulsion - Republican Official Says

Members of the House Republicans have expressed their thoughts on the ending of the Title 42 expulsion, particularly its implications.

New York Representative John Katko said that the current record of migrants trying to cross the border daily is at 8,000, per Washington Examiner. The said number is above the operational capacity of 5,000.

Katko underscored that the current record of daily migrant encounters will increase to 18,000 if Title 42 expulsion goes away. The New York representative also pointed out that issues of unchecked immigration will increase at the same rate.

"This is a national security issue that's going to get worse as time goes on this summer," Katko pointed out.

On Monday, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus admitted that ending Title 42 will cause an increase in migrant encounters, per New York Post.

"As a result of the CDC's termination of its Title 42 public health order, we will likely face an increase in encounters above the current high levels," Magnus stressed.

Magnus also said that they are doing everything to prepare for the increase and that they will continue to process people humanely. Magnus also underscored that they would impose consequences on those who will break the law.

CDC Announces the Termination of Title 42 Expulsion

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced suspending the Title 42 expulsion on May 23.

The agency pointed out that the move is made after considering the current public health conditions and an increase in the availability of tools to fight COVID-19.

"The CDC Director has determined that an order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary," CDC said in a statement on Friday.

READ NEXT: Joe Biden Pushes Gun Controls Agenda Following Sacramento Shooting

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WATCH: U.S. Preparing for New Migrant Wave as Biden Lifts Title 42 - From Bloomberg Quicktake: Now
U.S. President Joe Biden has described media news outlet Fox News as "one of the most destructive forces in the United States," based on an upcoming book by two New York Times reporters.

The New York Times reporters were namely Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns. The two wrote, "This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future," according to The Daily Wire report.

The book is set to be released in May, with Martin and Burns reporting that Biden has a hypercritical view of Fox News and Fox Corporation founder Rupert Murdoch.

Biden reportedly told an associate last year that Murdoch is "the most dangerous man in the world," according to the book.

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New York Times Reporters' Book

The two reporters noted that the Democratic president claimed to have said in mid-2021 that Murdoch was "even more toxic" than Fox News, according to an Independent report.

The book has earlier made the news when the president's wife, Jill Biden, was reportedly not in favor of Kamala Harris' selection as her husband's running mate and the vice president's 2020 presidential campaign being a "fiasco."

Meanwhile, a White House spokesperson has declined to comment on the book's claims.

Biden allies have accused Murdoch and his eldest son Lachlan Murdoch, who is the CEO of Fox News, of endorsing right-wing hosts, such as Tucker Carlson. Carlson is known for his anti-immigrant and racist comments.

The book revealed that White House communications director, Kate Bedingfield, reportedly said that the vice president was to be blamed for "a messy" office.

The authors cited that Bedingfield was saying that Harris' Senate office had been messy, and her 2020 presidential campaign "had been a fiasco."

Bedingfield responded and said she has "utmost respect for the work she does every day to move the country forward."

The White House communications director said that the authors did not "fact check this unattributed claim."

Media News Outlet Fox News

Washington Post's Philip Bump made an analysis about Fox News' role in American media.

Bump noted that there are four elements that make Fox News a "uniquely damaging part" of the American news narrative such as its strength on the political right, the way it shapes its viewers' beliefs, the hold of the news outlet on Republican power, and views of its leadership.

The Washington Post and the University of Maryland conducted a national poll noting where people get their news about politics and government.

Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents were getting their main sources from CNN, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, NPR, the Times, and The Post.

Meanwhile, Republicans get their news sources from local television and Fox News, which was the reason why Fox News wins the rating battle.

Murdoch's son oversees Fox News's parent company, claiming in an interview last month that the channel competes more with network television than its cable-news peers.

Murdoch controls a media empire that includes Fox News Channel, The Times of London, and The Wall Street Journal, with his net worth being around $9.2 billion.

READ MORE: Mexico: Inflation Increases in February 2022, Expert Warns of Higher Prices Amid Russia-Ukraine Crisis

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WATCH: President Joe Biden: What happened in Bucha, Ukraine, was a war crime - from CNBC Television






Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz is currently facing the head start of his death penalty trial as the jury selection started on Monday.

Cruz killed 17 students and staff at a Florida high school on Valentine's Day in 2018. It was considered as one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, according to a Reuters report.

He has pleaded guilty in November to the premeditated murder of 14 students and three members of the staff at the Florida high school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

A jury will now determine whether the judge should sentence Cruz to life in prison or the death penalty.

Broward County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer said that jury selection should take until about May 31. Legal experts have said that the penalty phase could last several months.

A jury must be unanimous in its decision to recommend that a judge's sentence be executed, according to Florida law.

If any of the 12 jurors objects, Cruz will be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The jury will be asked to consider Cruz's brain damage from his mother's drug and alcohol abuse during pregnancy, his long history of mental health disorders, and allegations that he was sexually abused and bullied.

READ NEXT: Florida High School Massacre Families Get $25 Million Settlement From School District Over 2018 Shooting That Killed 17

Parkland School Shooting Death Penalty Trial

Tony Montalto, a parent of one of the victims who died in the shooting, said that the death penalty trial "has been a long time coming," according to The Guardian News report.

Montalto said that he hopes everyone remembers the victims of the mass shooting in the Florida high school.

The father of 14-year-old victim Gina said that Cruz told the world his plans on social media and did those plans in a "cold and calculated manner."

Parents and spouses of the victims have said they are in favor of Cruz's execution. Montalto did not answer the question directly. However, he said on several occasions that Cruz "deserves every chance he gave his daughter Gina and the others."

Juror candidates who will pass will be taken into another room, where they will answer a questionnaire regarding their backgrounds and beliefs for the lawyers to review.

Nikolas Cruz's Mass Shooting

Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of attempted murder for those he injured in the attack. By doing so, he faces the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison, according to a BBC News report.

Cruz was 19 when he shot dead 14 students and three school staff with an AR-15 rifle at his former school, with another 17 people wounded due to the mass shooting incident.

Cruz tearfully addressed the judge and the victims' families after the plea, saying that he was sorry for what he did and have to live with it every day. He added that he would do everything in his power to help others if he was to get a second chance.

Lawyers representing Cruz earlier said that the 23-year-old Florida man would plead guilty if the death penalty was not considered.

However, prosecutors rejected the offer. They noted that they would seek Cruz's execution, adding that they would prove that the crime "was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel."

READ MORE: 13-Year-Old Boy Arrested for Shooting Younger Sister to Death

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WATCH: Live: Nikolas Cruz pleads guilty to Parkland high school mass shooting - Fox 13 Tampa Bay






Republicans on Monday asked Elon Musk to reinstate former President Donald Trump's Twitter account after the Tesla CEO became the biggest stakeholder in the social media platform.

Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was among the Republican officials who asked Musk if he could return the freedom of speech to Twitter, the Independent reported.

"It will require courage [because] the regime is heavily investing in a certain industry, and threats will undoubtedly come. Yet the freedom of speech restored will enable us all to defeat them," Greene added.

Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert also urged the Tesla CEO to lift the political censorship and bring back Trump into the social media platform.

Now that @ElonMusk is Twitters largest shareholder, its time to lift the political censorship.



Oh and BRING BACK TRUMP!  Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) April 4, 2022

The former Treasury Department's assistant secretary for public affairs, Monica Crowley, also seconded Boebert's appeal.

Now that @elonmusk is Twitter's largest shareholder, he should demand the end of political censorship, company-wide reform, and the reinstatement of President Trump   Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) April 4, 2022

On the other hand, conservative activist Ned Ryun noted that it would be "epic" if Elon Musk would force Twitter to lift Trump's ban.

"Although, to be honest, Trump might not want to. Would dilute his value and power with Truth Social," Ryun added.

Fascinating. Would be epic if Musk forced Twitter to let Trump back on, although to be honest, Trump might not want to. Would dilute his value and power with Truth Social. https://t.co/1nUBqOWcJM  Ned Ryun (@nedryun) April 4, 2022

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Twitter Bans Donald Trump

Twitter permanently suspended the account of Donald Trump early last year following the January 6 Capitol riot.

Earlier, a Twitter senior executive said their policies were designed to make sure that people are not inciting violence and applied to everyone, even to a former public official.

Aside from Twitter, the former president was also banned from Facebook and YouTube, which claimed that Trump might "incite violence" in the wake of the January 6 Capitol riot.

Donald Trump will be banned from Facebook until January 2023, while the YouTube ban is indefinite.

Last year, the former president sought the help of a judge from Florida to retrieve his Twitter account, arguing that not granting him the injunction would cause "irreparable harm" to his 88 million followers.

Trump has also launched his social media app called "Truth Social" last February. The Independent reported that Trump encouraged those who followed him on Twitter to join his social media app.

However, some users claimed that there were several problems with the app, including the signing up process. According to Reuters, two executives of Trump's social media app quit on Monday, following a difficult start on the said platform. As of Monday morning, Donald Trump had 827,000 followers.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk Is Twitter's Biggest Shareholder

The appeal of the Republican officials came after Elon Musk became the largest shareholder in Twitter on Monday. According to the Securities Exchange Commission, the Tesla CEO owns 74,486,938 Twitter shares. Furthermore, Musk's stake in the company is worth $2.89 billion as of Friday.

According to PBS, Musk acquired a 9 percent stake in Twitter at a time when he was questioning the social media platform's dedication to free speech and the First Amendment.

Erik Gordon, a law and business professor at the University of Michigan, said no CEO would refuse to take a call from a company's top shareholder.

Elon Musk has yet to address the milestone of becoming Twitter's top shareholder. He only asked his followers if they would like to have an edit button on the app.

Do you want an edit button?  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022

READ MORE: Republican States - Arizona, Missouri, Louisiana - Sue Biden Admin Over Ending of Title 42 Expulsion

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WATCH: Elon Musk Buys 9.2% Stake In Twitter; Becomes Social Media Giant's Largest Outside Shareholder - From KPIX CBS SF Bay Area
Prince William and Kate Middleton are planning to move to Windsor soon due to concerns among the royals that the Queen has been spending too much time with her disgraced son Prince Andrew, who lives right next to her.

According to Cosmopolitan, a source told The Sun that since Prince Andrew lives next door, he is always there for the Queen.

The source said the family was glad Andrew was always on hand, but there were "real fears" that the Duke of York was using his closeness to the Queen to bounce back into public life despite being banished from "The Firm" in January.

Prince Andrew lives in the Royal Lodge, which William and Kate have checked out as an option to move into. However, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge dismissed it as Andrew would "not budge."

The source noted that the royal couple was hoping to move this summer and now looking at private homes in the area due to royal properties being in use already.

The Duke of York reportedly negotiated a 75-year lease on the 31-bedroom home for 1 million in 2003.

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Prince William and Kate Middleton Are Moving Closer to the Queen

Prince William and Kate Middleton have divided their time between Norfolk and Kensington Palace. Kate and William have ruled out Fort Belvedere, which was once home to King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.

Sources told The Sun the couple was also eyeing Frogmore House, where they often take their children -George, Charlotte, and Louis - to play at weekends.

There were also reports that the two could take Adelaide Cottage in the shadow of Windsor Castle. However, the premise is currently being lived in.

Royal sources have dismissed claims that the couple is to have apartments in Windsor Castle. Prince William and Kate Middleton's plan to move to Windsor comes amid fears that Andrew has been getting too close to the Queen.

Prince Andrew Escorted the Queen

A royal expert has claimed that Prince Charles and Prince William will not allow Prince Andrew to be involved in The Firm's future events.

Andrew has taken the center stage during Prince Philip's memorial last week, escorting the Queen to the front row of Westminster Abbey, leaving the royal family "dismayed," according to Daily Mail.

The Dean of Westminster was expected to take the Queen to her seat, with the Duke of York behind. However, Prince Andrew has escorted his mother all the way to her front-row position to the shock of many in the congregation. It was shown in full view of the live broadcast cameras.

It was Prince Andrew's first public appearance since he struck the out-of-court settlement with Jeffrey Epstein victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who had accused him of rape.

According to Daily Mail, insiders claimed that Andrew would use the opportunity as a springboard to support his mother at a Platinum Jubilee service at St. Paul's Cathedral in June. They also claimed that the Duke of York is not bothered if "public opinion is against him."

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams suggested that there was "no way" that Charles and William would accept Andrew's part in the celebrations.

Fitzwilliams noted that he does not expect to see Andrew appear in royal events in the near future. Some experts suggested that Prince Andrew walking with the Queen was Her Majesty's way of signaling it's "ok" and "very clearly stating that he has a role at family occasions."

Last month, Prince Andrew agreed to settle the sexual assault lawsuit from Virginia Roberts Giuffre but made no apology to her or admitted any guilt.

The amount that the 61-year-old prince would pay Giuffre was confidential. But the Daily Mail disclosed that Prince Andrew would pay Giuffre at least 12 million with the help of his mother. The outlet noted that the Queen would partly fund the settlement.

READ MORE: Queen Elizabeth II Warns British Media to Stay Away From Balmoral - And Her Son Prince Andrew

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WATCH: Prince William & Catherine Likely to Move Into King Edward VIII's Home - From Royal Insider






One CRPF Jawan was killed while four including a Kashmiri Pandit were injured in three separate terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday (April 4, 2022).

Two CRPF troopers were attacked at Maisuma in Srinagar and one of them succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. The other CRPF soldier injured in the attack is stable, an official said.

TRF, an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror outfit, has claimed responsibility for the attack on CRPF personnel.
"La Negra," the daughter of the Jalisco cartel's boss Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes or "El Mencho," was released from a U.S. prison after being jailed for over 25 months on charges of money laundering.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons told Univision News that Jessica Johanna Oseguera Gonzalez, known by her alias "La Negra," was released on March 14, a month earlier than her scheduled release date.

Randilee Giamusso, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons, told the outlet that La Negra was released a few weeks earlier because she benefited from the so-called First Step Act (FSA), which was signed into law by former President Donald Trump in December 2018.

It was enacted to reduce the population in federal prisons and prevent recidivism. To date, the Bureau of Prisons said more than 4,000 sentence reductions had been granted.

"Jessica Johanna Oseguera Gonzalez was released from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons on March 14, 2022, through the First Step Law. For privacy and security reasons, we do not disclose additional information about inmates not in BOP custody," Giamusso noted.

El Mencho's 35-year-old daughter served the last part of her sentence at the FCI Dublin prison in San Francisco, California.

La Negra's attorneys earlier asked the court that she serve her prison sentence in a jail in California so she could be close to her relatives. El Mencho's daughter was born in California and moved to Mexico while in high school.

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Jalisco Cartel Boss El Mencho's Daughter Asks U.S. Judge to Free Her

Jessica Johanna Oseguera Gonzalez pleaded guilty in March last year to violating the Kingpin Act for her association with businesses blacklisted by the U.S. La Negra allegedly managed companies that laundered money generated by drug trafficking.

In her sentencing hearing last June, La Negra told district court judge Beryl Howell that her time in prison for more than a year has allowed her to reflect on her decisions and mistakes and their impact on her family and children.

"Your Honor, I regret my actions and I beg your mercy... I ask for a second chance to see my children grow day by day... I have learned my lesson, and I will never do it again," she noted.

The judge then ordered La Negra to serve two years and six months in prison, which she will serve simultaneously. The judge has also ordered the mother-of-two to remain on supervised release for two years after finishing her prison sentence.

Prosecutors had been pushing for a prison sentence of four years and three months. But the court chose the two and a half years sentence, noting El Mencho's daughter's lack of prior conviction and had shown remorse for her actions.

Before she confessed to her crime, the daughter of the Jalisco cartel's boss was initially looking at 30 years in prison.

The Arrest of Jalisco Cartel Boss El Mencho's Daughter, La Negra

Jessica Johanna Oseguera Gonzalez walked into the Washington D.C. courthouse in February 2020 to attend her brother's hearing. However, she was quickly arrested.

La Negra's brother is Ruben Oseguera Gonzales, who is known to inherit the Jalisco cartel throne from his father in Mexico. He was known as "El Menchito."

El Menchito was accused of distributing cocaine and methamphetamine in the U.S. from 2007 to February 2017. Their father, El Mencho, is the head of the Jalisco cartel, which is considered one of Mexico's most powerful and violent criminal organizations.

The Jalisco cartel boss continues to evade capture, and the U.S. government offers a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

The Jalisco cartel or Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) had approximately 5,000 members and was allegedly involved in mass graves, kidnappings, acid baths, and video recording beheadings.

According to reports, El Mencho's drug cartel has not stopped expanding in Mexico and now operates in more than 20 states.

READ MORE: El Chapo's Wife Emma Coronel Could Dismantle Sinaloa Cartel by Cutting Deal With U.S.: Report

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WATCH: 'Menchito,' Son of Chicago's Most Wanted Fugitive 'El Mencho,' Extradited From Mexico to U.S. - From ABC 7 Chicago






Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson had a "disastrous" double date with their friends Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox.

In a recent interview with "The Howard Stern Show," Machine Gun Kelly narrated a hilarious experience about a double date he and Megan shared with the SKIMS founder and the SNL comedian.

Colson Baker, MGK's real name, revealed that they recently went on a double date that really did not go with their plan, Cosmopolitan reported.

According to the musician, they rented out an entire theatre to see a movie together. He said he was vouching for the film so hard, telling them: "It's gonna be the best movie you've ever seen."

However, MGK noted that after 10 minutes into the movie, they discovered it was actually a mistake.

"Do you ever just have that moment where you're like, 'We shouldn't be here?' We were all laughing... I get very kiddish sometimes when I'm excited," Machine Gun Kelly said about their double date with Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson.

MGK then noted that he was so happy for Kim and Pete, adding that the comedian will be by his side for his wedding to Megan Fox.

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Machine Gun Kelly Expresses Support for Pete Davidson Amid Comedian's Feud With Kanye West

Machine Gun Kelly shared the story of their hilarious double date with Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson days after he sounded support to the comedian amid drama with Kanye West.

According to Page Six, the musician said he has been "totally" supporting Pete throughout the drama with Kanye.

"At the end of the day, man, we're young men trying to find our place in the world and figuring it out, and it doesn't help when you've got a million different voices ripping you apart or telling you, 'You're doing this wrong'," MGK noted.

Kanye previously used his Instagram account to attack Pete, which was evident when he posted the music video of his new single "Eazy."

The video featured a clay figure of Pete being kidnapped, tied up, and buried alive. Pete has remained mostly quiet against Kanye's attack until he texted Kanye and defended Kim amid custody drama.

"Kim is literally the best mother I've ever met. What she does for those kids is amazing and you are so f--king lucky that she's your kids mom," the comedian texted Kanye.

"I've decided im not gonna let you treat us this way anymore and I'm done being quiet. Grow the f--k up," he continued.

The screenshots of Pete's text messages were shared by "SNL" guest writer Dave Sirus on Instagram. According to the screenshots, Kanye, who has legally changed his name to Ye, then replied: "Oh you using profanity now. Where are you right now?"

Pete Davidson sarcastically answered: "In bed with your wife." The comedian also sent a shirtless snap between the sheets.

Kanye then replied: "Happy to see you're out [of] the hospital and rehab. And Pete answered: "Same here. It's wonders what those places do when you go get help. You should try it."

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson Visit the Comedian's Grandparents

Kim Kardashian is taking her relationship with Pete Davidson to the next level. The "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" alum has reportedly been introduced to Pete's grandparents.

A source told TMZ that the reality star went to Staten Island in New York to visit the comedian on the movie set where he was working, Fox News reported.

The source noted that the house of the comedian's grandparents was close to the movie set, prompting the pair to visit them. However, the source said Pete has yet to meet Kim's children out of respect for Kanye.

Pete Davidson has already gained the approval of some of Kim Kardashian's family members, including Kris Jenner and her boyfriend, Corey Gamble. Khloe Kardashian has also expressed her approval of Pete and her sister's relationship.

READ MORE: Grammy Awards 2022: Vicente Fernandez Wins Posthumous Grammy for 'A Mis 80's'

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WATCH: Kim Kardashian Meets Pete Davidson's Inner Circle - From E! News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jammu and Kashmir on April 24 on his first visit to the union territory after the abrogation of Article 370, BJP general secretary (Organisation) Ashok Koul said on Tuesday.

Koul said this while addressing a function of Kashmiri Pandits.

"The Prime Minister will address a conference of local body representatives in Samba on National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24.

"Efforts are being made for a meeting between the Prime Minister and representatives of the Kashmiri Pandit community so that they can raise their concerns with him."

This will be Modi's first visit to J&K after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A.
Coillte has removed significant quantities of rubbish in Ballybrittas as illegal dumping increase countywide.

A Coillte spokesperson said: Many of our forests are located in remote areas in rural Ireland and unfortunately, in recent times we have seen an increase in the amount of illegal dumping on our lands.

In relation to Ballybrittas, Coillte is aware of illegal dumping in this area and around County Laois and Coillte have already removed significant amounts of litter this year.

Coilltes policy is to work closely with the County Councils Environmental Officer and liaise with the Gardai to address the issue, the spokesperson said.

Illegal dumping around Ballybrittas was branded sickening and disgusting by a Laois councillor.

According to local Councillor PJ Kelly, it is fly tipping at its best. Its a nightmare.

He said the problem of illegal dumping has been ongoing and is most serious from the Montague Hotel all the way to Ballybrittas. When you see the ditches cut back it is shocking, said Cllr Kelly.

Cllr Kelly believes the majority of the dumping occurs at night time and includes all sorts of material, from domestic waste to commercial and industrial rubbish.

I have come on an industrial air breather as part of the dumping, he revealed.

People wont go take it to the dump themselves because there is going to be a charge on it, Cllr Kelly explained.

He believes that those involved in the illegal dumping will scout out the area first to see if there is a safe exit to quickly dump and go. It would drive you mad. It is sickening, he added.

Every house now has the service of bin lorries. It is people who dont want to pay for a larger amount, claimed Cllr Kelly.

While the issue is primarily on Coillte land, they could be tipped into a farmers gateway. They dont care if they block the gateway, he said.

He said the local community are watchful to see if the perpetrators can be identified but it is very difficult.

If someone is going to go down the road with 200 worth of shit in the morning, barring you get up at four in the morning, you are not going to catch them, Cllr Kelly said.

The issue was recently highlighted by local teenager Niall Keogh 13, who came across a young wild stag trapped in rubbish while out walking with his grandmother Caroline in Ballybrittas.

The young deers antlers were tangled in dumped rubbish and it had tired while attempting to free itself. Had Niall and Caroline not helped free the animal with the assistance of their neighbour William Flood, it probably would have died.

Coillte's spokesperson said it takes the issue of illegal dumping extremely seriously. To specifically deter illegal dumping, Coillte installs signs, barriers and CCTV at known illegal dumping hotspots.

Illegal dumping causes serious problems to habitats, species, waters, soils and human health. It can pollute rivers and drinking water sources, damage biodiversity, and is a threat to both the people who live in an area and recreational users. It also poses risks to Coillte staff who have to remove this illegally dumped material, the spokesperson added.

Coillte urged the public to report illegal dumping to the Local Authority or to contact Coillte via their confidential forest security hotline on 0818 800 455.
Laois has been allocated Laois 351,880 under the Local Improvement Scheme for rural roads and laneways.

The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) funding will support the improvement of non-public roads and lanes that are not normally maintained by the local authorities.

Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys announced the 351,880 funding for Laois as part of 11 million for repairs and improvement works on rural roads and laneways nationwide today.

Local connectivity is vital for rural communities. Our Rural Future clearly recognises this. The Local Improvement Scheme is an important source of funding for small non-public roads and laneways leading to homes and farms or to amenities such as lakes, rivers and beaches, Minister Humphreys said.

I acknowledge that strong demand for this funding remains across the country. In some counties, local authorities have significant levels of applications on hand. My priority is to continue to fund the works on roads leading to agricultural holdings given their importance for farm families and our agriculture sector, she said.

Since the scheme was reintroduced in 2017, over 3,000 roads have been funded for repair works. This has made a real difference to the lives of over 13,000 landowners and residents in rural Ireland.

I would urge each local authority to utilise the funding announced today, and complete the repair works on the selected roads as soon as possible, Minister Humphreys added.

A financial contribution from landowners or householders, as well as local authority resources will be required to access the fund. There will be a cap of 1,200 on the amount that any individual householder or landowner will be asked to contribute towards the cost of repairs to their road.

Welcoming the funding, Minister Pippa Hackett said: It is important that we can all get out and about and enjoy our beautiful countryside and this funding allows for repairs and improvement to access roads.

She said I encourage people to get in touch with their Council to find out how this funding can assist them or their community.

Minister Sean Fleming said "I am pleased to see this funding for County Laois for improvements on our rural roads for landowners and residents in our communities."
A pandemic bonus worth between 600 and 1,000 in recognition of the contribution made by front line healthcare workers during the pandemic may not now be paid until June, it has emerged.

It had originally been expected that the money would be paid to health staff, who worked in very difficult circumstances during the Covid-19 pandemic, in February or March.

The payment of 1,000 will not be subject to income tax, USC, or PRSI. Minister for health Stephen Donnelly told the Dail in January, the measure will be ring fenced to staff ordinarily onsite in COVID-19 exposed healthcare environments within the period between 1 March 2020 and 30 June 2021.

He confirmed a pro-rata arrangement will apply for eligible part time staff / equivalents and supernumerary students who were required to perform training in clinical sites.

A dispute emerged over the value of the award and the number of staff that would qualify for it.

A Department of Health spokesperson told the Irish Independent last night that consultations between the department, the Health Service Executive ( HSE) and health unions have taken place in the last few of weeks to finalise the application of this measure fairly.
A European top court has ruled that mobile data retention practices used in the case against Graham Dwyer, who was convicted of murder, breached European law.

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled that EU law precludes the general and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data relating to electronic communication for the purpose of combating serious crime.

Mobile phone data was used prominently by the prosecution in Dwyers trial for the murder of childcare worker Elaine OHara in 2015.

Dwyer pleaded not guilty to the charge, but was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.



Elaine OHara

The Irish Supreme Court will now consider the ruling and its effect.

Dwyer is expected to remain in prison while the Court of Appeal deals with admissibility issues.

The case was referred to the CJEU by the Supreme Court, following a successful challenge by Dwyer over the retention and accessing of his mobile phone data.

In 2018 the High Court found that legislation allowing mobile phone data to be retained and accessed as part of criminal investigations breached EU law.

The CJEU confirmed it is settled case law which holds that EU law precludes national legislative measures, which was used in Dwyers case.

It means that Irelands system of retaining and accessing mobile phone metadata breaches EU law.

The court said the EUs privacy and electronic communications directive enshrines the principle of the prohibition of the storage of traffic and location data.

The court went on to say that the retention of mobile phone data is an interference with the EUs charter of fundamental rights regarding the respect for private life and the protection of personal data.

The court also said that any limitations on those rights must comply with the principle of proportionality.

It added: Thus, the court has already held that the objective of combating serious crime, as fundamental as it may be, does not in itself justify that a measure providing for the general and indiscriminate retention of all traffic and location data should be considered to be necessary.

In the same vein, even the positive obligations of the member states relating to the establishment of rules to facilitate effective action to combat criminal offences cannot have the effect of justifying interference that is as serious as that entailed by legislation providing for the retention of traffic and location data with the fundamental rights of practically the entire population, in circumstances where the data of the persons concerned are not liable to disclose a link, at least an indirect one, between those data and the objective pursued.

The court rejected the states arguments that particular serious crimes could be treated the same way as a threat to national security.

The court said that a threat to national security which is genuine and current or foreseeable could, for a limited period of time, justify indiscriminate retention of data.

It went on to say that such a threat is distinguishable, by its nature, from serious crime.

Data held in the Cork-born architects work phone was used in the trial to demonstrate how it placed the device at specific places at particular times and dates.

The ruling from the CJEU will have implications for the way police investigations are conducted across Europe.
Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary says he will be not leave his children a "bundle of money' but will make sure they have a good start in life.

His latest statement is consistent with previous comments by him, as over 10 years ago he also told the Guardian newspaper in a lengthy interview that he wouldn't be leaving his children a fortune.

"I'll make sure they're hard-working. My kids won't inherit my wealth. I'll give them money for a nice house but, other than that, go and provide for your own family," he said in a 2011 interview.

Speaking recently to Independent.ie, the Ryanair CEO outlined what he plans to do with his money when he dies.

"I am a firm believer in Warren Buffet's maxim give them enough that they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing," he said.

"So they will all get something. My wife will get most of it, when I pass away, and then she can do what she wants," he said.

#VIDEO Michael OLeary vows that his children will not inherit a bundle of money https://t.co/VEeuwik5m1  Independent.ie (@Independent_ie) April 5, 2022

He said both he and his wife are determined "the kids are not going to inherit a bundle of money".

He said he hoped they would be in the fortunate position to pass on their children a "nice house and they could inherit a farm of land" and then decide what they want to do with it.
The Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) is seeking artists to develop new creative work to support the health and wellbeing of HSE care staff.

The commissions offer comes following a two-year pandemic, which the IHF believes highlighted the value of creative practice in people's lives, particularly for people affected by dying, death and bereavement.

Four commissions of 2,500 per artist (plus a materials budget) are available to explore how creativity can make moments of care and wellbeing for HSE staff.

The IHF are looking for creative people with demonstrable excellence in their chosen field, which can be anything from performance to plastic arts, literature and architecture.

Arts and Engagement Production Officer, Dominic Campbell, said, We are delighted to be working with Creative Ireland and the HSE on supporting professional care teams who engage with dying, death, and bereavement on a daily basis. These commissions will focus on the supporting these workers and figuring out how creative work can be of value to them in their work.

Any artist interested in submitting should send a cover letter (max two sides of A4 explaining why the project interests you), or video clip (max two minutes long) and a current CV detailing work and creative practice to arts@hospicefoundation.ie.

Those who wish to send their entry by post can do so by addressing it to Elizabeth Hutcheson, Irish Hospice Foundation, Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau St, Dublin 2, D02 YE06.

Closing date for applications is Wednesday April 20 at 5pm.
Volunteers from County Kildare are being sought for an online network which helps Ukrainian refugees that have put out specific requests to meet their needs.

Helpify Community Ukraine (HCU), which was recently featured on the Brendan O' Connor show on RTE Radio 1, is calling on individuals in Kildare to join its Europe-wide volunteer network to assist those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

The not-for-profit, online platform aims to ease the burden for refugees by connecting those in need of help with a nearby volunteer who can meet their request.

This might include: travel or legal advice, transport, medical needs, short-term accommodation, translations and/or pet care.

The HCU site is available in English, Ukrainian, Polish, French and Dutch.

Olena Leontieva, a Ukrainian national living in Ireland and HCU spokesperson, explained: "The Helpify Community is about holding Ukrainians hands through every step of their journey  from their homes to the border and onward to their ultimate destination. Like so many people when the war broke out, we felt helpless.

"There were thousands of asks for help per hour on social media, most of them going unanswered; we wanted to find a way to connect the people who need help with those who can provide it.

She continued: "People fleeing their homes dont have the time or headspace to scroll for information on government websites or figure out complicated travel itineraries.

"Helpify takes the burden off the refugees; all the work is done by volunteers and the only ask of Ukrainians is to raise a mission."

HCU was established in Belgium during the pandemic to connect those in lockdown with volunteers who could help with dog-walking, pharmacy runs and other needs.

When the Ukraine invasion began, Olena Leontieva and her team partnered with HCU to repurpose the platform for global use and translate it into Ukrainian and Polish: it was active in just five days.

Ms Leontieva elaborated: "Every day, people in Ireland are asking me how they can help. Registering as a volunteer for Helpify Community Ukraine is a way for everyone to do what they can, whether thats driving a family from the airport to their destination, offering advice, providing clothes or short-term accommodation.

"Over 300 volunteers in Ireland have already joined Helpify, but with up to 100,000 Ukrainian nationals expected here, we need all the help we can get."

How it works:

The HCU website has two simple options: join as a volunteer from any country in the world, or request for help.

Those joining as volunteers complete a simple profile including location and the type of support they can provide.

Volunteers are asked to upload proof of identification which is vetted by the HCU team to ensure the safety of those using the platform.

When someone looking for help logs a 'mission,' nearby volunteers receive an alert with details of the mission.

Those who can help accept the mission and are connected with the person in need.

According to HCU, the project is a citizens initiative, not for profit and free to use, with no commercial links, and the platform was created by and is paid for by volunteers from across Europe.

The website for HCU can be accessed by clicking here.
An independent review of unplanned care at nine hospitals, including Naas General Hospital, found that sometimes there was

no clear understanding of who was providing the patients care.

The Independent Review of Unplanned Care, commissioned by the HSE and covering the years 2018-2019, was procured by the Irish Patients Association under the Freedom of Information Act.

Due to Emergency Department pressures, the findings said there was widespread placing of patients in random beds, including in mixed gender areas.

The report said this did not create extra capacity, but led to increased length of stay and introduced harm by non-specialist care and increased staff absenteeism.

The review has recommended an end to the practice of trolleys being placed on wards as soon as the health system becomes stabilised.

The hospitals involved in the review were: Naas General, Tallaght University Hospital, Midland Regional Tullamore, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital Dublin, Cork University Hospital, University Hospital Limerick, University Hospital Waterford, St Vincent's University Hospital and Galway University Hospital.

However the review team also said it witnessed many incidences of outstanding practice, excellent patient care.

The HSE said the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the implementation of structures and initiatives to address many of the issues and recommendations that were identified in the draft report.

The review team said the nine hospitals accepted the site visits with good grace, openness and a desire to learn.



Kildare North TD Reada Cronin said she has asked the Minister for Health to examine any issues discovered at Naas Hospital.

Responding to the review, Ms Cronin added: "Public health is about the public. It is about highly-qualified medical professionals delivering care when people need it. It is not about bloated management systems and staggering salaries when the same systemic problems follow on year after year after year. Junior doctors are having to battle for the basics of even a clean bed and a hot meal, nurses and doctors are grossly overworked, we have too few consultants, our student nurses are undervalued and neglected, so many of our best and brightest are leaving as soon as they qualify. Not only is the system they are leaving broken, they fear they wont be able to get an apartment or a house.

"The public health system is not working. It is being paid for by the public and that public needs vastly better than what we have seen and are seeing."
Food company Kerry Group has confirmed that it has suspended its Russian operations, while the Irish construction firm Kingspan has sold its operations Russia and Belarus to local management.

Kerry Group said it had taken the decision following extensive ongoing consultation with stakeholders, which would see the company pausing capital investment, stopping all exports and suspending the production of branded products.

It follows after Irish Fianna Fail MEP Billy Kelleher called on the business to close its operation in Russia yesterday.

The company said in a statement: "Kerry Group has continuously monitored the unfolding situation in Ukraine and we are horrified at the escalation of the humanitarian crisis.

"Over the last number of weeks the group has scaled back activities in Russia and Belarus."

However, the company added that it has decided to continue supplying food, beverage and pharmaceutical products that are required to meet the needs of the local population.

Kerry Group had been operating in Russia since 2006 and opened a research and development operation in Moscow in 2014 followed by a manufacturing facility in the city in 2018.

It added that in the event that any profits were made, it would be donated to humanitarian relief efforts.

Meanwhile, Kingspan said that while its decision was made in early March, it had taken several weeks 'to ensure that it could be completed in an orderly fashion, with the safety and welfare of our staff as a key priority.'

"Kingspan is deeply saddened by the growing humanitarian crisis as a result of Russia's unjustified attack on Ukraine and its people.

"We have made a $750,000 donation to UNICEF for the setup of 5 Blue Dot Centres to assist refugees on the Ukrainian border, and are also providing additional local supports" Kingspan added.

Russia accounts for less than 1 per cent of the companys global operations.

However, according to RTE News, it is understood that the decision to sell and the associated costs will result in a small loss being recorded for the firm.
A Naas, Co Kildare, man who secretly captured intimate images of two women by hiding cameras in bathrooms has been jailed for one year.

Anthony Dunne (61) recorded a video of a colleague at the factory where he worked while she was using the shower facilities by attaching a camera to his phone and hiding the devices behind boxes.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Dunne also captured images of his then partner's daughter-in-law while she used the bathroom in her home.

Dunne of Hazelmere, Naas, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty to harassment of Leanne Daly at an address in Clondalkin, Dublin during the period between February 2020 and April 2020.

He also pleaded guilty to recording an intimate image without consent at O'Neills Factory, Long Mile Road, Walkinstown, Dublin, on March 23, 2021. He has no previous convictions.

Mark Lynam BL, prosecuting, told the court that the injured parties had been consulted and neither of them are seeking anonymity.

Passing sentence today, Tuesday, April 5, Judge Orla Crowe said that the invasion of privacy in this case cannot be denied in any way.

The judge said the offending was aggravated by the fact that Dunne knew these women, that they trusted him and this was therefore a gross breach of their trust and gross violation of their privacy.

She said there was a considerable amount of premeditation. She said he would have had to have watched their movements to know where they would be in order to set up the phone.

Judge Crowe sentenced Dunne to one year imprisonment. She also ordered that he have no contact with Ms Daly for two years post release.

In her victim impact statement, Paula Jordan said it had started off as a really good day, but little did she know that by the afternoon she would be left sickened and distraught by a work colleague she had known for 20 years setting up a camera to secretly record her.

Ms Jordan said that to realise now he was obviously stalking her to do what he did was extremely distressing. She said this was very much premeditated and it scares her to think what was going through his mind.

She said it has seriously impacted her level of trust with people. She said she was experiencing sleep difficulties, is on edge most of the time and finds herself anxious.

Ms Jordan said she no longer avails of the shower facilities at work.

In her victim impact statement, Leanne Daly said there has been a serious effect on her since she found out that someone she trusted had been secretly filming her in her house where she had always felt safe.

Ms Daly said she cannot sleep at night and is woken by nightmares of him watching her. She said the visions will not go away no matter how hard she tried and that this will haunt her forever.

She said what has caused her to stress is the length he went to just to record her in the shower. She said he had to have known her routine as the timing had to be perfect to catch her.

Ms Daly said she is so relieved he has been caught because she would not want any other girl to go through what she went through.

Garda Sean Carrick told Mr Lynam that on the date in March 2021, Ms Jordan returned from a run at lunchtime in the factory where she worked in HR. Dunne worked as a delivery driver in the same factory.

Gda Carrick said Ms Jordan used the shower facility in the factory and that as she was drying herself she stumbled slightly and bumped into some boxes. This caused her to notice a phone on the ground, which she realised had a lead sticking out of it connecting to a camera.

Ms Jordan picked up the phone and discovered it had been recording for approximately an hour. She was able to determine that an email address linked to the phone bore Dunne's name and she turned it over to management at the factory before contacting gardai two days later.

Dunne was called into the office by management where he was asked to confirm the phone belonged to him. He confirmed it was his phone, declined to elect for disciplinary proceedings and resigned with immediate effect.

Gardai received custody of the phone and were able to analyse it after Dunne provided the PIN. They viewed the video that had been recorded, which showed a dark room for the first 50 minutes before Ms Jordan comes in and is captured using the shower.

Gardai also found images of another woman on the phone. Dunne had been in a relationship with a woman at the time and had set up his phone to take intimate images of Ms Daly, his then partner's daughter-in-law, in the bathroom of their home.

Dunne had not been living in this house in Clondalkin, but had been a frequent visitor during the approximately 12 years he had been in this relationship. The images were taken between February and April 2020.

Gda Carrick agreed with Oisin Clarke BL, defending, that absent his client giving gardai the PIN for his phone, it would have been much more difficult for gardai to analyse it. He agreed his client has never come to garda attention prior to or since these incidents.

The garda agreed with counsel that the familial ties have been broken because of the nature of this offence. He agreed Dunne is out of work since the offence came to light and that this is of his own making.

Mr Clarke said his client has been assessed as being at a low risk of reoffending.
The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday formed a 13-member panel headed by retired justice of Delhi High Court, Justice (Rtd) D. Murugesan to frame the state education policy.

Former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand and music maestro T.M. Krishna are also a part of the panel. This was announced by the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

The panel members are drawn from various sections and include a middle school headmaster, a chess champion, a musician, a writer, and members of the planning commission other than the retired District Judge.

Chief Minister said that the panel would give its recommendations to frame the new education policy within a year.

In its interim budget for 2021-22, the Tamil Nadu government had said that it would form an experts panel to frame the state education policy. The new education policy, according to the Chief Minister's office will highlight the ancient culture of Tamil Nadu, its present position and future objectives.

It is to be noted that the state government, under DMK, has been continuously objecting to several key features of the National Education Policy, including conducting common entrance examinations for all UGA courses, introduction of a three-language formula, and conducting common exams for Classes 3, 5, and 8.

The state government has also opposed four-year degree and also giving options for multiple exits. The Tamil Nadu state government is of the opinion that giving the option of multiple exits would encourage more dropouts and will create two types of graduates.

Other than the Chairman of the panel, the other members are L. Jawaharneesan, former Vice-Chancellor, Saveetha University, R. Ramanujam, retired professor, Institute of Mathematical science, Sulthan Ismael and R. Sreenivasan, both members of state planning commission, Aruna Ratnam, former education expert with Unicef, Tamil writer S. Ramakrishnan, former world chess champion, Viswanathan Anand, Music maestro, T.M.Krishna, educationists, Tulasidas and S. Madasamy, R. Balu,headmaster, Government panchayatAunion middle school, Kichankuppam and Jayashree Damodaran of Agaram foundation.
Naas author Wayne Byrne is set to celebrate the release of his latest book, Welcome to Elm Street: Inside the Film and Television Nightmares', which is available now and follows his acclaimed works on Burt Reynolds, Tom DiCillo, and Nick McLean.

In addition, the former Hot Press journalist turned local librarian has been busy completing, for McFarland Books, a definitive document on the career of maverick filmmaker Walter Hill, whose work includes cult classics such as The Warriors, 48 Hrs, Alien, and The Getaway.

Byrne has also teamed up with American musician Amanda Kramer (The Psychedelic Furs, Siouxsie Sioux, 10,000 Maniacs) to co-write their upcoming book on female touring players, Hired Guns: Women of the Road and on Record in Alternative Music, which will be released by Equinox Publishing.

Read more Kildare news

Byrnes book delves deep into the making of all nine Elm Street films, including those in the formal franchise and including reboots, not to mention the 1980s television show, Freddys Nightmares. For the author, this was an exciting passion project, even if he isnt passionate about all the films.

Theyre not all great, the remake is awful, but I absolutely adore the first seven films and Freddys Nightmares. They are so important to me, they are my earliest memories of movies! So, Im proud to present this book to other Freddy fans.

An event has been arranged for Friday May 20 at 7pm to celebrate Welcome to Elm Street, and Wayne will be joined by Paul Farren of Film Ireland Magazine for a question and answer session on all things writing.

Refreshments will be available and booking is essential. For more information please contact the library on 045-879111 or at naaslib@kildarecoco.ie
The news that anxious Leitrim football fans had been dreading was confirmed on Tuesday morning as star forward Keith Beirne has been handed a one game ban after his dismissal against Sligo in the final round of the Allianz NFL Division 4 campaign in Markievicz Park.

Beirne's dismissal against the Yeatsmen means he is ruled out of the Connacht Senior Football Championship clash against London in McGovern Emerald Park in Ruislip on Easter Sunday, April 17, robbing Andy Moran's team of their top scorer and chief freetaker for a crucial encounter with the Exiles.

Beirne, who appeared before the Central Hearings Committee on Monday, does have the option to appeal his one game ban to the Central Appeals Committee but any decision on that will only be taken after receipt of the official written decision of the CHC.

There was some good news, however, for Leitrim hurling fans with the news that Joe Murray's red card from the Allianz NHL Division 3B clash with Longford was rescinded, freeing up to play in the hurlers first Lory Meagher Cup clash next Sunday in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada against, ironically enough, Longford.

However, it is Beirne's red card that will have fans talking ahead of the tricky encounter in Ruislip. The Mohill man can appeal the decision but that will depend on the details contained in the written decision that will be furnished to the Leitrim County Board.

Leitrim officials will examine the official decision to see if they have any further grounds for appeal but with the match in Ruislip fast approaching, a protracted battle could lend an air of uncertainty to Leitrim's preparations for what is a tricky encounter across the Irish sea.

The Observer understands that the red card issued to Sligo's Sean Carrabine in the game against Leitrim was rescinded, freeing the midfielder to play against New York on Easter Sunday in Gaelic Park, New York.
GARDAI are appealing for information following the theft of a large quantity of diesel from a construction site in County Limerick last weekend.

Around 300 litres of fuel was stolen from a construction site at Kilgobbin, Adare sometime between 5pm last Friday (April 1) and 8am on Monday morning.

"This is a large quantity of diesel and it would have taken the thieves some time to siphon the diesel from the various machines that were parked there over the weekend," said Garda John Finnerty of Henry Street garda station.

Anyone who has information about what happened or who may have seen any unusual activity over the weekend are asked to come forward.

"As the price of fuel has risen, unfortunately this type of crime has become more attractive to criminals. If you have any information on this matter, then we would like to hear from you," said Garda Finnerty.

Adare gardai station can be contacted at (061) 396216.
A VOLUNTARY group in Limerick has appealed for the return of a flag its members bought to show solidarity with Ukraine.

Limerick Treaty Suicide Prevention (LTSP) spent 150 buying a personalised printed flag to erect on the city side of the Shannon Bridge.

In the yellow-and-blue colours of the war-hit eastern European nation, the flag stated that the group, which patrols the banks of the Shannon, was supporting its people.

However, the weekend-before-last, it was clipped from its cable ties on the railings and taken.

In a post to Facebook, LTSP stated: In this day and age to have to post this alone is very disheartening.

Chairman Matt Collins described the theft as awful and phenomenally bad.

People are asking me why people would do such a thing. I wish I knew  and I wish I could get it back. Nobody really knows why people do silly things. There are lots of cameras in the area, and its right beside the garda station, he said.

Its the second flag LTSP had erected in the spot by the river in as many years.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, they bought a flag which showed their support for Irelands front-line workers.

Matt admits he is confused as to why that one was not taken too.

He said if whoever has taken it returns it, there would be no questions asked  that the charity would just be happy to have it back.

Thered be no animosity. We know people do silly things and regret it later, he said, Just name a place, leave it there and we can collect it.

Please contact 0857845347.
THE COUNCIL'S new public realm strategy for the city will specifically address the safety of women.

This comes after a motion from Labour member Elena Secas was passed unanimously at this months local authority meeting.

She asked the council to initiate a public consultation to get female perspectives on how best to make public spaces safe.

Councillor Secas also called for a safety audit of all public spaces in the city and county to identify which ones are not considered women-friendly, with a view to redesigning these with the safety needs of females in mind.

In a written response, director of planning Nuala Gallagher confirmed the new public realm strategy which will help bring forward the best urban design for the city, will address elements looking specifically at the safety of women.

On top of that, she said it would review how citizens would change public spaces in order to facilitate safer and more positive environments, and review how citizens currently see and use the public realm. The provision of street lighting would also be addressed.

Addressing the meeting, Cllr Secas said: The recent random attacks on women in public spaces in Ireland have brought into sharp focus the issue of gender-based violence.

She said women now need to constantly look over their shoulder or carry keys between their fingers while out for a walk or jog.

Its mostly women who will choose a longer route instead of a shortcut to get somewhere if they feel uneasy taking the shortcut, added Cllr Secas.

With half the Limerick population female, she has called for additional CCTV, plus the identification of no-go and unsafe areas, so these can be redesigned with the safety needs of women in mind.
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SHANNON Airport have welcomed nine new firefighters to the team.

The Airport Police and Fire Service (APFS) recruits, who began their training in January, celebrated their passing out on Monday in the company of their family and loved ones at the Shannon Airport Fire Station.

The nine recruits underwent a three-month intensive training programme which now equips them to work in the combined role of airport police and fire personnel at Shannon Airport.

Part of the specialist training programme has taught the fire service graduates how to battle Jet A1 aviation fuel fires which can reach up to 1000 degrees Celsius.

Congratulating the new APFS graduates and presenting them with medals of achievement, Mary Considine, CEO, Shannon Group said: "We are delighted to celebrate the passing out of our latest intake of firefighters.

"They are joining a service with a great history and tradition. One that is professional in how they deal with the day-to-day airport activities and problems that present to them, while also being empathetic and helpful to passengers, public and staff alike.

"Already the class of 22 have formed a fantastic rapport, having recently raised over 3,000 after climbing Croagh Patrick, in aid of Milford Hospice. We are very proud of them and delighted to welcome them to the Shannon Airport family."

Pat OBrien, Chief Officer Fire & Rescue, Airport Police Fire Service, Shannon Airport said: "It is fantastic to be able to facilitate the official passing out service in person, and for recruits to celebrate with family here today.

"All nine recruits have shown their dedication throughout their training as Airport Police and Fire Service members. Through the selection process they have proved themselves to be capable of working well in challenging environments, and with people who may be in distress.

"We are also thrilled to have, not only one, but two members of Shannon Airport Police and Fire Service celebrating the passing out of their sons today.

"Our recruits come from a variety of backgrounds like the defence forces, the hospitality sector, local authority fire service, graduate straight out of secondary school, a tradesman and one of our airport screening personnel."
LIMERICK gardai have issued a warning after secondary school students were targetted by a WhatsApp "blackmail" scam.

Garda John Finnerty, of Henry Street Garda Station says some teenagers have been receiving inappropriate communication in the messaging platform either from an unknown telephone number or account on social media.

The message says the sender has "intimate" photographs of the student, with doctored images then sent out which appear to show the recipient in compromising positions.

Garda Finnerty said the pictures of their faces may have been lifted from a social media account such as Instagram.

"The student is then told to pay money to the sender or the sender will send the photo to everyone in their Instagram account. In effect the student is being threatened with blackmail," the officer said.

If a student does receive such a message, they are being advised to not respond to it, and under no circumstances pay money to the scammer.

"Tell your parents or guardians and the school, and report the matter to the gardai," added Mr Finnerty.

"Screenshot any message that you receive then delete the message immediately," he said, adding unknown numbers should immediately be blocked.

He also advised if pictures are received from an unknown source showing a friend in a a similar situation, to do the same.

Gardai have in the past said anyone who does pay money following a threat of this fashion will more than likely face further demands, with the image likely still being shared regardless.
A NEW chapter has begun in the long history of King Johns Castle in Limerick with the transfer of ownership and business operations to Limerick City and County Council.

All business operations and staff at King Johns Castle have transferred from Shannon Heritage to Discover Limerick DAC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Limerick City and County Council.

This was established specifically to operate and develop key tourism attractions in Limerick that will strengthen Limerick as a destination and attract increased visitor numbers.

King Johns Castle is the first attraction to come under the Discover Limerick umbrella.

The 14 staff, who had previously worked in the castle for Shannon Heritage and contributed significantly to its success, have transferred to Discover Limerick with no change to their employment terms and conditions.

King Johns Castle will remain open seven days a week, welcoming people from near and far.

Located at the heart of Limericks medieval quarter, King John's Castle is the largest tourist attraction in Limerick city.

It brings to life more than 800 years of dramatic local history through the art interpretive centre and exhibition showcases which tell the story of the most iconic building in Munster.

With around 100,000 visitors annually, the towers of King Johns Castle provide panoramic views across Limerick city and the River Shannon.

Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Daniel Butler said that the day marks a wonderful start to a new era for King Johns Castle.

"With the Castle back under Limerick control, we are the masters of our own destiny. We have a wonderful attraction here that we all need to support and showcase in whatever way we can.

And I would encourage all Limerick people to come and visit King Johns Castle over the coming months. Great attractions on our doorstep are for locals as well as tourists.

Dr Pat Daly, Chief Executive of Limerick City and County Council said that the transition of the castle presents an exciting opportunity for Limerick to grow and develop the tourism industry in the city and county.

Commenting on the transfer Mary Considine, CEO, Shannon Group said:

The transfer will enable Shannon Group to concentrate our energies on restoring passenger numbers at Shannon Airport, thereby supporting local economic activity and attracting tourists.

"Shannon Group will maintain an important relationship with the visitor attraction by rebuilding vital air services at Shannon to support the return of much needed international tourists to Ireland.
Moscow faced global revulsion and accusations of war crimes after the Russian pullout from the outskirts of Kyiv revealed streets flooded with corpses of what appeared to be civilians, some of whom had seemingly been killed at close range.

The terrifying images of battered bodies left out in the open or hastily buried led to calls for tougher sanctions against the Kremlin.

Germany and France reacted by expelling dozens of Russian diplomats, suggesting they were spies, and US President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin should be tried for war crimes.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government says that 18 journalists have been killed in the country since Russias invasion began on February 24.

The Ukrainian Culture and Information Ministry said in a statement on social media Monday that each of the deaths and other crimes against media representatives will be investigated.

The ministry added that another 13 journalists had been wounded, eight had been abducted or taken prisoner and three journalists were still missing.
Almost half a million euro worth of cocaine has been discovered by Gardai after reports of a stabbing prompted the search of a house in Co Carlow.

Following reports of the serious assault yesterday evening (Monday April 4), Gardai arrived at the scene in Tullow shortly after 3am.

On arrival of Gardai, a man aged 33 years was discovered with apparent stab wounds.

He was taken to St Luke's Hospital in Co Kilkenny for treatment, where his condition is described as "serious but stable".

In a follow-up operation, Gardai searched a house in the Tullow area and a man in his mid-20s was arrested in connection with the alleged assault.

A large quantity of cocaine - with an estimated street value of 490,000, subject to analysis - was discovered inside the house.

Drugs seized will now be forwarded to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis.

The arrested man is currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Carlow Garda Station.
Energy giant Chevron Corp. is working to reduce operating expenses related to its production of oil and fuels and increase its output.

The San Ramon, Calif.-based oil major in January reported profit of $15.6 billion for 2021, up from a loss of $5.5 billion in 2020. It brought down costs during the Covid-19 pandemic. Its $5 billion acquisition of Noble Energy Inc. in 2020 gave Chevron additional exposure to the Permian Basin in West Texas and added several mature, less-risky assets to its portfolio. Operating expenses last year totaled $20.73 billion, down 3.1% from 2019, when the company said it would restructure its operations.

Chevron last year produced an equivalent of 3.1 million barrels of oil per day. It said it expects production to rise at a compound annual growth rate of at least 3% through 2025.

Chief Financial Officer Pierre Breber discussed layoffs, cutting back on operating costs and how to get more out of its capital investments. This is the fourth part of a series that focuses on how CFOs reduce debt and other costs. Edited excerpts follow.

WSJ: What have you done to reduce expenses?

Mr. Breber: Were a much better company than we were a few years ago because we are more capital- and cost-efficient. I wouldnt necessarily call it a cut in capital, [but] an improvement in capital and cost efficiency. We can get the same business results for less capital. We gave guidance [in March] to lower our cost per barrel [of oil] by 10% over the next five years. So its a unit cost and you can do that, both by becoming more cost efficient, but also by having underlying production growth.

WSJ: Your head count last year fell 10.8% to 42,595 compared with a year earlier. To what extent did you cut staff?

Mr. Breber: We did, as part of our enterprisewide transformation. Weve been operating under the new model for more than a year. We did have reductions in staff. The majority of them were essentially voluntary and then some were involuntary.

WSJ: How much net debt do you have?

Mr. Breber: Our net debt ratio [which compares net debt to equity] at the end of [the] fourth quarter was just under 16% and its heading down. We are generating excess cash, which is why we doubled our share buyback guidance. [Note: Chevron last year bought back $1.4 billion in shares. The company in March said it would buy back between $5 billion and $10 billion worth of stock a year.]

WSJ: How are you managing your capital investments?

Mr. Breber: Our capital expenditures are up this year by nearly 30%to an expected $15 billion from $11.7 billion [in 2021]and then [they] will be in a flattish range. Were clearly going to have more cost pressure. We deliberately reduced capital when Covid hit because we didnt want to add short-term supply in markets that were oversupplied. We didnt know exactly how long it was going to go on, but we expected it to get back to that prior investment level [of about $14 billion]. Now were on that level.

Demand has bounced back faster. Supplys trying to catch up. Theres been a lag and then, of course, you have geopolitical risk that has increased commodity prices in general and including oil, and its a fast-moving environment.

WSJ: How are you affected by Russias invasion of Ukraine?

Mr. Breber: We were in a recovery even before the [Russian] war with Ukraine was under way. We do not have exploration production activities in Russia like a number of our peers do.

WSJ: Do you have tips for other CFOs on how to become more efficient?

Mr. Breber: We are a big company, but were not everywhere and we dont do everything. We pick our spots. If you think of our downstream business, were primarily on the U.S. West Coast, U.S. Gulf Coast and parts of Asia. Thats a very focused portfolio. Its easy for companies to think you can do more than you can and thats when you tend to get cost inefficient.

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At least 15 women of color have left the BBC in the last year saying they are exhausted from fighting a system that is not systemically built to support anyone who is different, a Variety investigation has uncovered.

There has been an exodus, says Simone Byrne, a Black Scottish journalist who spent 16 years at the BBC, first in news and then in diversity and inclusion (D&I), a unit that recruits diverse talent and ensures compliance with in-house D&I policies.

Byrne left in November 2021 after being told by her managers that she needed to be sensitive about how I speak about race to white people. She had pointed out that after two years of lockdown, the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, no one at the organization had asked how Im feeling or about being Black in the BBC or in this media space.

I said, this should really have been addressed, says Byrne. In response, she was told people felt uncomfortable [with] me saying that.

In a statement, a BBC spokesperson told Variety: As an employer we are committed to being welcoming and inclusive, where people can thrive regardless of background, but if some individuals have had a negative experience we always want to hear about that and learn from it. We have long established processes in place for people to raise any concerns internally.

The statement continues: More broadly, the BBC is committed to reflecting and representing the diverse audiences we serve both on and off air, and we are delivering on industry-leading plans to make this a reality, which is why we have grown our Diversity & Inclusion team in recent years.

Despite the BBCs attempts to reform, however, multiple sources  many of whom have refused to speak on the record for fear of being penalized professionally and socially at the BBC  point to a culture that favors white, middle-class and privately educated staff, and has all but abandoned a generation of older, female Black, Asian and other minority employees.

As of March 2021, Black, Asian and minority staff accounted for 15.9% of all BBC workers, and 12.6% of leadership. The target, according to management, for these groups is 20%. Just 12.3% of news and current affairs staff in leadership identified as Black, Asian or a minority, while 79.5% identified as white-British.

BBC staff from Black and brown backgrounds describe a culture of survival that stems from not seeing themselves reflected in their workplace. When you know that nobody around you thinks like you, understands your weekend and your social life, they dont understand anything about you, says one source.

  

The majority of those who have left hail from two departments: news and D&I. The newsroom within the BBC has a significant issue [with women of color], says one former BBC journalist, a woman of color who spoke on condition of anonymity.

After over a decade with the corporation, she left in 2021 feeling like she just mentally couldnt go on. She is now seeing a psychotherapist to help me move on from my experiences.

In the last year, at least eight women of color have left BBCs news department, including Byrne. The corporations most senior Black news executive, Debbie Ramsay, left in February 2021 to move to Channel 4, followed by reporter and editor Helier Cheung, who took up a London-based position at the Washington Post in August 2021. Similarly, Rozina Breen left to join the Bureau of Investigative Journalism last month as chief executive and BBC News presenter Sangita Myska also recently exited.

Preceding the current exodus were the departures of BBC Londons arts and culture correspondent Brenda Emmanus, who left in October 2020, and BBC News broadcaster Nina Robinson, who left in December 2020.

Crucially, industry sources stress that many of those leaving arent executives in the public eye but rather the experienced, unshowy people who are actually really good at their jobs, and who spend their entire career driven by public service, according to one source working in news. Most of the women leaving the department have been with the corporation for almost a decade, if not more. Ramsay had been with the BBC for 15 years; Cheung for 9.5 years; Breen for 13 years; Myska for 16 years and Emmanus for 18 years.

I am super grateful for my experience, but at the same time, I am disappointed how alienated I was made to feel in the run-up to leaving, says the journalist who is now seeing a psychotherapist. At one point, while recounting her experiences to Variety, she broke down in tears.

Among the experiences she recounted are having to ask a white male colleague to send emails on her behalf because hers were often ignored; being repeatedly confused with other women of color in her department; being patted on the head and spoken to condescendingly by a white male colleague; being left off the nominations list when a project she had initiated and worked on was put forward for an award; and repeatedly being denied opportunities to move from a junior to senior journalist position over 10 years of being at the BBC.

In one case, she was told a role she was working in was junior level and could not be upgraded to senior despite her experience and extensive responsibilities. However, after she moved to another department, the role was taken over by a white journalist who was given a senior title.

They have no problem with entry-level hires, one 15-year BBC veteran who recently left tells Variety. You can get a job at the BBC if youre from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background, no problem. But you will get to a certain level, and then youre not going any further.

The D&I department  which was first formed in 2016 when workplace diversity was written into the renewal of the BBC charter  has seen a similar exodus, with at least eight women leaving and another senior female executive believed to have handed in her resignation. Of the eight, six were women of color, including Jackie Christie, a race lead for a key BBC human resources program, and the BBCs de-facto deputy head of diversity, Miranda Wayland, who resigned last month.

Sources from the D&I department report an atmosphere of frustration with a sense, both internally and externally, that the department was unable to effect any systemic change throughout the corporation.

I think everything with the BBC starts off with a great intention, says one woman of color who worked for D&I until last year. And then the caution kicks in and exaggerated bureaucracy kicks in, and then it becomes a wall.

A tougher D&I gig it would be hard to find, Christie wrote in a public LinkedIn post in early March. [I] leave the BBC grateful and positive but absolutely certain the masters [sic] tools will never dismantle the masters [sic] house. Time to make my own tools.

  

Current and former BBC staffers tell Variety the latest exodus can be attributed to a number of factors, chief among them a culture that has struggled to tackle racism and sexism. As a Black person or a person of color, they cannot see you as being part of the target audience, Byrne says. I think that is where a lot of the issues kind of come from.

Figures for the ethnic distribution of all staff by length of service, broken down in the 2020-2021 BBC Annual Report, reveal that Black, Asian or other minority staff have fewer years of service than their White-British colleagues. As of March 2021, 23.9% of Black, Asian or minority staff worked at the BBC for less than a year, and 20.9% for anywhere between 1-3 years. Only 12.4% worked for stints of 10 years or more.

In comparison, 66.5% of White-British staff worked at the BBC for less than a year and 69.2% for 1-3 years, while 78.1% stayed for longer than a decade.

In the background, the BBCs fear of losing its license fee  an annual fee charged to anyone in the U.K. who uses the BBC, which constitutes the broadcasters main source of funding  as well as its newfound commitment to impartiality under director-general Tim Davie have also contributed to a years-long build-up of hurt, frustration and neglect that was finally acknowledged during the pandemic, when staff had an opportunity to get some distance from the workplace and reflect.

In particular, Davies determination to ensure that employees political views are left at the door  so as to prevent any impugnment of the broadcasters neutrality  has led to confusion says Philippa Childs, head of crew union BECTU.

There is now confusion among our members about what they can and cant do and what they can and cant say, because of controversy around attending anti-racism events like Black Lives Matters protests, or LGBT+ events like Pride parades, Childs tells Variety. I think they feel a bit uncertain, and a bit cowed, which does not make for a healthy work environment.

Byrne gives one example, when she was forbidden from using a Black History Month hashtag on a BBC social media post because her editors thought it wasnt impartial. Its a celebration of culture, its not [political], Byrne points out. But theres a mix-up because at the top of the business it is all essentially white; they are unsure of what diversity is and where that tips over into impartiality, and its just causing more damage.

One male BBC journalist echoed Byrnes comments. So, youre telling me that its impossible for me to attend an event in remembrance of Black people and people of color whove lost their lives in custody? he tells Variety. You have deliberately confused the Black Lives Matter, the political organization, with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter as a social movement.

Crucially, these issues have festered as the BBC has implemented three consecutive years of voluntary redundancies in an attempt to restructure the newsroom and recover from funding deficits that have accumulated, first due to the license fee deal in 2015, and more recently the governments decision to freeze the license fee for two years. A BBC modernizing round announced in January 2020 hit the news division particularly hard with 520 job cuts, including senior management posts.

A lot of people have taken that opportunity [of voluntary redundancy] to leave, confirms another former BBC journalist, a woman of color, who left in 2021 after over a decade with the corporation.

Conversely, in the D&I department many of the losses have been down to competitors poaching BBC employees because the corporation is viewed as a leader in the field. Nobody left without a better opportunity, a former D&I employee tells Variety.

Miranda Wayland is set to move over to Prime Video/Amazon Studios Europe later this year where she will take up the position of head of Europes diversity, equity and inclusion for Amazon Studios and Prime Video, while Anne Foster, who was the head of Workforce Diversity & Inclusion, left last August to move to the House of Commons, where she is director of diversity and inclusion.

Last September, diversity specialist Serena Lloyd Smith left the BBC to take up a position as head of diversity and inclusion at Global radio.

The BBC nurtures world class talent and people move on for a variety of reasons, including to take up excellent jobs elsewhere, which we have seen happen recently, said a spokesperson as part of the BBCs statement to Variety.

Many former staffers have been reluctant to discuss how they feel about finally leaving the BBC. They say they stayed for so long because, in their estimation, its the only place for sound journalism. But the experience has become personal for so many people that being without it feels like a weight has been lifted.

While the corporation is trying to improve its landscape with waves of young, diverse entrants, the forgotten lot are us  weve been left behind, says one BBC World Service journalist of more than 10 years who is planning her departure. It feels like youre going into not just a workplace but like youre in a battle. Youve got to put on your armorand thats the bit thats exhausting.

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Feature documentary The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft, directed by German filmmaker Werner Herzog and distributed by Abacus Media Rights, has been acquired by Arte for France and Germany.

In addition, ahead of its official launch at MipTV in Cannes, AMR has pre-sold the feature, about French volcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft, to BBC Storyville for the U.K., DR in Denmark, SVT in Sweden and NRK in Norway.

Written, directed and narrated by Herzog, The Fire Within pays homage to the Kraffts, who left an archive of more than 200 hours of footage.

Herzog has produced, written and directed more than 60 narrative and documentary feature films, including Grizzly Man, Invincible, Encounters at the End of the World and Cave of Forgotten Dreams. He was named one of the worlds 100 most influential people by Time magazine in 2009.

The film is produced by Brian Leith Productions, Bonne Pioche and Titan Films. The producers are Mandy Leith, Alexandre Soullier and Julien Dumont. Archive producer is Jess Winteringham, and the film is based on an original idea from Peter Lown who has followed the process with the three producers.

Jonathan Ford, managing director, Abacus Media Rights, commented: It is an exceptional piece of storytelling by one of the worlds greatest filmmakers. As well as being a glorious feast for the eyes, it reveals the intensity and determination of a couple who died fearlessly pursuing their absolute passion of volcano exploration.

Soullier said: The Kraffts are myths of French exploration, through their work they have reached a wide audience by making science extraordinary. Discovering their archives three years ago with my friends at Brian Leith Productions was a shock; a revelation. The Kraffts were born storytellers, as is Werner Herzog. Uniting his vision, his talent, his sensitivity to the fabulous material collected by the Kraffts can only result in a bubbling, mesmeric and powerful film. Watching Werner Herzogs Grizzly Man was a unique experience for me. Sometimes disturbing. Powerful. Captivating. No doubt The Fire Within will be the new Grizzly Man. But of volcanoes.

The Kraffts are also the subject of Sara Dosas documentary Fire of Love, which was acquired by National Geographic Documentary Films in January after its premiere at Sundance.

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After an announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that the Title 42 public health order would be terminated on May 23, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency commissioner responded to the news on Monday by indicating several developments and plans to continue securing the border.

Title 42 was never an immigration policy but a law that "allows the government to prevent the introduction of individuals during certain public health emergencies," said Olga Byrne, immigration director at the International Rescue Committee on ABC news.

CDC Director Rochelle Walenskys order stated that the CDC determined that the danger of further introduction, transmission or spread of COVID-19 into the United States from covered non-citizens, as defined in the August order, ceased to be a serious danger to the public health.

"In making this determination, I have considered myriad facts, including epidemiological information such as the viral transmissibility and asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19; the epidemiology and spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants; the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease for individuals in certain risk categories; COVID-19 community levels; national levels of transmission and immunity; the availability and efficacy of vaccination and treatments; as well as public health concerns with congregate settings at border facilities," Walensky said.

"While holding non-citizens in congregate settings with limited options for COVID-19 mitigation is accompanied by inherent risk, the overall public health landscape in the United States has changed such that the justification for the August order is no longer sustained."

However, the CDC stipulated that if a variant of concern or a substantial change in the public health respective of the pandemic, they could determine a new order under 42 U.S.C.  265, 268 and 42 C.F.R.  71.40.

Walensky added that the May 23 date will allow states, local governments or law enforcement agencies time to fully resume Title 8 border processing. According to Magnus, the shift to Title 8 will see the return of the full range of options and returning immigrants will be sent to their countries of origin.

"Throughout our agencys history, we have capably managed immigration at the border utilizing the authorities under Title 8 of the US Code (traditional immigration management authorities)," Commissioner Chris Magnus stated. "These authorities allow non-citizens appropriate access to make asylum claims and include a range of enforcement options to hold individuals accountable for entering the U.S. illegally. This means most individuals who cross the border without legal authorization will be promptly placed in removal proceedings."

Magnus added that the orders termination would most likely result in an increase in encounters above current high levels, but the CBP is preparing with in several ways throughout the agency. These include using CBP resources along the border including an increased use in technology, on-ground monitoring, drones and additional support personnel.

Walensky addressed those concerns of increased traffic, acknowledging that there will be an uptick in non-citizens being processed, but the Department of Homeland Security reported that there will be steps in place to plan for such increases, including by readying decompression plans, deploying additional personnel and resources to support U.S. Border Patrol, and enhancing its ability to safely hold non-citizens it encounters.

As for further and potential developments, the CBP plans to partner with other government agencies as well as non-government agencies throughout the border. These range from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Emergency Management Agencies, the Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to possible non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, such as the Holding Institute, Catholic Charities and beyond.

With the anticipated increase, Magnus also indicated that CBP agents, processing coordinators and contractors -- sworn and non-sworn -- will be shifted to border areas to help patrol and process migrants. This may also lead the CBP to see additional short-term tent facilities to reduce overcrowding.

Aside from these potential measures, he also included:

Continuing work with foreign governments to increase economic opportunities and stem migration out of those countries.

Developing and utilizing new approaches in the use of social media to educate and warn migrants about the dangers of human smugglers (often associated with cartels) who facilitate travel to the U.S.

More effectively tracking the movements of various migrant groups who may be headed toward the U.S. border.

Maximizing the use of air and ground transportation to move migrants from sectors that are over capacity to other CBP locations.

Shifting our processing of migrants to utilize the full range of options under Title 8 (traditional immigration authorities).

Increasing the investigation and prosecution of human smuggling networks responsible for illegal border crossings.

Increasing access to and efficiency of the asylum system by restarting normal asylum-seeker processing at ports of entry and working with other DHS partners to decrease the length of these processes (this is being done, in part, by adopting a new rule to expedite processing by asylum officers).

"Our nation has asked for much of the CBP team over the past several years," Magnus stated. "This challenging work is not done; we face demanding days ahead. I am continually impressed by the dedication of CBP personnel every day and honored to serve as CBPs Commissioner."

Locally, Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz asked the federal government to not financially burden the city after the termination is set.

"We understand that every federal administration has its specific policies toward border security. All we ask is for such policies to be fully enforced, financed and operationally managed by the federal government without causing any significant financial or social impact to local communities," he said. "This requires for the federal government to be adequately prepared in terms of budgetary appropriations for facilities, personnel and other needed operational requirements. Federal government should not expect cities to use resources and money from the local taxes to pay for the implementation of federal policies."
The Oklahoma Legislature passed a law Tuesday that makes performing an abortion in the state a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The governor is expected to sign the bill into law, and it would go into effect this summer.

Once in place, the law would have major regional impacts. More Texans have sought abortions in Oklahoma than in any other state since a Texas law banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy went into effect Sept. 1.

Oklahoma is going from a state where weve been a haven for refugees whove needed support to a state that has chosen to make refugees of its own citizens, said Emily Wales, the interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which operates clinics in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri.

Oklahoma has been scrambling to keep up with the deluge of patients from Texas for more than seven months. The states four providers have extended hours, hired additional staff and worked long shifts to absorb more than 600 additional patients a month.

But now, these providers are facing the opposite problem: not a deluge, but a drought, as the state follows its neighbors lead in limiting abortion access.

Before the ban

On a recent Wednesday morning, the Trust Women abortion clinic in Oklahoma City got more than 200 phone calls in just two hours. People were calling, again and again, trying to get through to someone so they could book an appointment for an abortion several weeks out.

There wasnt anything special happening that Wednesday, said communications director Zack Gingrich-Gaylord. That has just been the case every day since Aug. 31.

Oklahomas four abortion clinics  two in Tulsa and two in Oklahoma City  have absorbed more Texas patients than any other state. Nearly half of all Texans who got abortions out of state between September and December went to Oklahoma, according to a study from the Texas Policy Evaluation Project at the University of Texas at Austin.

Oklahomas population is a fraction of the size of Texas, and the state has historically provided a fraction of the abortions  roughly 5,000 procedures in 2019, compared with more than 56,000 in Texas.

To accommodate more than 600 additional procedures a month, the Oklahoma clinics have had to scale up  and scale back. Trust Women has stopped providing other health care services to focus more fully on abortion care, doubling clinic days and adding half a dozen doctors between its two clinics.

The clinics are seeing more patients later in pregnancy because of weekslong waiting lists. And still, theyre having to turn a lot of patients away, creating a regional ripple effect as patients from Oklahoma are pushed into Kansas and Illinois.

The capacity of these states is not enough for their own state, let alone to be able to absorb  Texass needs, even if you split them up, Gingrich-Gaylord said. And again, people shouldnt have to leave their own communities for health care.

At Planned Parenthoods two Oklahoma clinics, Texas patients made up 60% of the caseload between September and January, compared with just 10% during that same period in 2020, according to a spokesperson.

Oklahomas existing abortion restrictions also made it a somewhat more convenient option for Texans seeking care. The state has a 72-hour waiting period, but unlike in neighboring Arkansas, the first visit does not need to be in person.

If Oklahomas new abortion ban becomes law, Texans will have to either travel further or stay longer  or carry the pregnancy to term.

Its incredibly difficult for people to travel out of state [for an abortion] already, said Cristina Parker with the Lilith Fund, a nonprofit that helps Texans pay for abortions. Having anything happen in a neighboring state that would cut off that access even more just makes every single one of those barriers a little bit more intense.

In the first few months of this year, about a third of the Lilith Funds clients went to Oklahoma for care.

For someone who cant just dip into a savings account, who cant schedule paid time off, who has to find child care, Parker said, its not an option to go further, spend more and be away from home longer.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives recently passed a bill that banned abortions by empowering private citizens to bring lawsuits against anyone who aided or abetted in an abortion. The bill is in front of the Senate and contained an emergency provision that allowed it to go into effect as soon as the governor signed it.

But in a surprise move Tuesday, the House passed a different bill, making it a felony for doctors to provide abortions. The bill already passed the Senate last year, and it now goes to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt. According to the Associated Press, Stitt has said he will sign any anti-abortion bill that comes to his desk.

Disclosure: Planned Parenthood and the University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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Disclosure: Planned Parenthood and the University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/05/oklahoma-abortion-texas-ban/.

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Using the Subaru Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have found evidence for a Jupiter-like protoplanet around the young star AB Aurigae orbiting at a wide separation (93 AU).

AB Aurigae is a very young star located approximately 531 light-years away in the constellation of Auriga.

Also known as HD 31293, HIC 22910 and SAO 57506, the star is a member of the 1-3-million-year-old Taurus-Auriga star-forming region.

The newly-discovered exoplanet, named AB Aurigae b, is embedded in a protoplanetary disk of dust and gas with distinct spiral structure swirling around AB Aurigae.

Nature is clever; it can produce planets in a range of different ways, said Dr. Thayne Currie, an astronomer with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, NASAs Ames Research Center, and Eureka Scientific Inc.

All planets are made from material that originated in a circumstellar disk.

The dominant theory for Jovian planet formation is called core accretion, a bottom-up approach where planets embedded in the disk grow from small objects colliding and sticking together as they orbit a star. This core then slowly accumulates gas from the disk.

In contrast, the disk instability approach is a top-down model where as a massive disk around a star cools, gravity causes the disk to rapidly break up into one or more planet-mass fragments.

AB Aurigae b is about 9 times more massive than Jupiter and orbits its host star at a whopping distance of 93 AU  over two times farther than Pluto is from our Sun.

At that distance it would take a very long time, if ever, for a Jupiter-sized planet to form by core accretion.

This leads the astronomers to conclude that the disk instability has enabled this planet to form at such a great distance.

And, it is in a striking contrast to expectations of planet formation by the widely accepted core accretion model.

This new discovery is strong evidence that some gas giant planets can form by the disk instability mechanism, said Dr. Alan Boss, an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution of Science.

In the end, gravity is all that counts, as the leftovers of the star-formation process will end up being pulled together by gravity to form planets, one way or the other.

The discovery is reported in a paper published this week in the journal Nature Astronomy.

_____

T. Currie et al. Images of embedded Jovian planet formation at a wide separation around AB Aurigae. Nat Astron, published online April 4, 2022; doi: 10.1038/s41550-022-01634-x
Humans share sensory systems with a common anatomical blueprint, but individual sensory experience nevertheless varies. In olfaction, it is not known to what degree sensory perception, particularly the perception of odor pleasantness, is founded on universal principles, dictated by culture or merely a matter of personal taste. To address this, a research team led by Karolinska Institutet and University of Oxford scientists asked individuals from nine diverse non-Western cultures  hunter-gatherer to urban dwelling  to rank odorants from most to least pleasant.

In 1878, the famous Irish romance novelist Margaret Wolfe Hungerford wrote, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, suggesting what one person finds beautiful, another may not.

Consistent with this, we now know that facial preferences vary across individuals. Importantly, however, they are also strongly shaped by culture and may even have components that are universal.

Similar to beauty, the perception of odor pleasantness or valence  the principal dimension by which odors are categorized  is said to vary across cultures.

For example, fermented herring is a greatly appreciated delicacy in Sweden, but it also emits a smell described as the most repulsive in the world. In addition, people also display individual variability in food preference, even within families.

At the same time, more recent studies of urban western participants demonstrate that valence can be objectively predicted from an odorants chemical structure, despite the fact that universal odor preferences have been disputed historically.

It is unclear how to reconcile these perspectives: is odor preference culturally relative, driven by individual preferences, or universally constrained by molecular structure?

We wanted to examine if people around the world have the same smell perception and like the same types of odor, or whether this is something that is culturally learned, said Dr. Artin Arshamian, a researcher in the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet.

Traditionally it has been seen as cultural, but we can show that culture has very little to do with it.

For the study, Dr. Arshamian and colleagues selected nine communities representing different lifestyles: four hunter-gatherer groups and five groups with different forms of farming and fishing. Some of these groups have very little contact with Western foodstuffs or household articles.

Since these groups live in such disparate odiferous environments, like rainforest, coast, mountain and city, we capture many different types of odor experiences, Dr. Arshamian said.

The study involved 235 individuals who were asked to rank smells on a scale of pleasant to unpleasant.

Contrary to expectations, culture explained only 6% of the variance in pleasantness rankings, whereas individual variability or personal taste explained 54%.

Importantly, there was substantial global consistency, with molecular identity explaining 41% of the variance in odor pleasantness rankings.

Personal preference can be due to learning but could also be a result of our genetic makeup, Dr. Arshamian said.

The odors the participants were asked to rank included vanilla, which smelled best then followed by ethyl butyrate, which smells like peaches.

The smell that most participants considered the least pleasant was isovaleric acid, which can be found in many foods, such as cheese, soy milk and apple juice, but also in foot sweat.

A possible reason why people consider some smells more pleasant than others regardless of culture is that such odors increased the chances of survival during human evolution, Dr. Arshamian said.

Now we know that theres universal odor perception that is driven by molecular structure and that explains why we like or dislike a certain smell.

The next step is to study why this is so by linking this knowledge to what happens in the brain when we smell a particular odor.

A paper on the findings was published in the journal Current Biology.

_____

Artin Arshamian et al. The perception of odor pleasantness is shared across cultures. Current Biology, published online April 4, 2022; doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.02.062
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Longford has been allocated funding of 351,880 for repairs and improvement works on rural roads and laneways.

Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD on Tuesday announced a nationwide package of 11 million under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS), to support the continued improvement of non-public roads and lanes that are not normally maintained by the local authorities.

Such roads represent a vital piece of infrastructure for rural residents - providing access to peoples homes and farms, as well as outdoor amenities such as lakes, rivers or beaches.

Minister Humphreys said: I would urge each local authority to utilise the funding announced and complete the repair works on the selected roads as soon as possible."

Senator Micheal Carrigy welcomed the announcement from Minister Heather Humphreys of 351,880 in funding towards the Local Improvement Scheme.

He said, The LIS is a lifeline for many rural families who live on roadways which are not on the Public Roads Programme.

Minister Humphreys added, Im pleased to announce 11 million in funding which will improve hundreds of our rural roads and laneways across the country.

Local connectivity is vital for rural communities. Our Rural Future clearly recognises this. The Local Improvement Scheme is an important source of funding for small non-public roads and laneways leading to homes and farms or to amenities such as lakes, rivers and beaches.

Since the scheme was reintroduced in 2017, over, 3,000 roads have been funded for repair works. This has made a real difference to the lives of over 13,000 landowners and residents in rural Ireland.

I acknowledge that strong demand for this funding remains across the country. In some counties, local authorities have significant levels of applications on hand. My priority is to continue to fund the works on roads leading to agricultural holdings given their importance for farm families and our agriculture sector.
Gardai have issued an urgent appeal to the public to help them identifying a driver suspected of being behind the wheel of a car which has left a motorcyclist in a serious condition in hospital.

Gardai renewed an appeal for dashcam footage and other information regarding a crash on the Sleaty Road near Knockbeg College at the weekend after discovering a vehicle in Athy.

Laois gardai are working on the basis that the black coloured Passat Volkswagen car was involved in the collision at around 4.30 pm on Sunday, April 3.

However, they have yet to identify the driver of the vehicle. While they urged the individual to contact them to help them with their enquiries, they also appealed to the public to get in touch.

Gardai say they particularly want to hear from anybody who may have seen the VW Passat in the Carlow town, Graiguecullen, Athy areas between 4pm and 5pm on Sunday. They say they car may have been driven erratically.

Anybody with dashcam footage is also asked to make contact with gardai in Portlaoise.

It's understood that the motorcyclist, who is aged in his 60s, remains in a serious condition in a Dublin hospital to which he was airlifted on Sunday afternoon from the crash scene at the gates of Knockbeg College which is located in Laois near the Carlow and Kildare borders.

The victim is understood to have been living in Carlow but was a native of the area of Laois where the accident happened.

The Sleaty Road is a busy link route between Carlow and Athy.
Hundreds of rural roads and laneways all across Ireland are set to benefit from 11million in funding for their repair and improvement.

News of the funding was announced today (Tuesday April 5) by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS).

The funding will support the continued improvement of non-public roads and lanes - not normally maintained by local authorities - to provide access to people's homes and farms, as well as outdoor amenities like beaches.

Speaking about the funding, Minister Humphreys said, "Local connectivity is vital for rural communities. Our Rural Future clearly recognises this. The Local Improvement Scheme is an important source of funding for small non-public roads and laneways leading to homes and farms or to amenities such as lakes, rivers and beaches."

Galway has received the biggest individual allocation of 958,831, followed by Cork with 879,099 and Donegal with 716,560.

All counties have received at least 300,000 as part of the initiative, with the exception of Waterford, which has received 92,910.

According to the minister, over 3000 roads have been repaired since the LIS scheme was reintroduced in 2017.

"I acknowledge that strong demand for this funding remains across the country. In some counties, local authorities have significant levels of applications on hand. My priority is to continue to fund the works on roads leading to agricultural holdings given their importance for farm families and our agriculture sector.

"I would urge each local authority to utilise the funding announced today, and complete the repair works on the selected roads as soon as possible."

The funding is an increase of 500,000 on the initial 2021 allocation, with each county getting a boost in funding accordingly.

Thanks to this top-up, over 90million has now been allocated to local authorities under the LIS.

Funding will be complemented by a local financial contribution from landowners, as well as local authority resources. A cap of 1,200 will be placed on the amount any individual householder or landowner will be asked to contribute towards the cost of repairs to their road.

The full list is as follows:

Carlow

351,880

Cavan

371,140

Clare

582,690

Cork

879,099

Donegal

716,560

Galway

958,831

Kerry

704,030

Kildare

351,880

Kilkenny

390,790

Laois

351,880

Leitrim

351,880

Limerick

485,970

Longford

351,880

Louth

351,880

Meath

340,500

Monaghan

351,880

Offaly

380,760

Roscommon

456,990

Sligo

358,030

Tipperary

644,070

Waterford

92,910

Westmeath

358,320

Wexford

431,760

Wicklow

384,390




Arts & Culture

By Ls Cohen Published: April 05 2022

For starters, its part of the largest park in all of Suffolk County.

Smith Point Bridge Photo: Mastics - Moriches - Shirley Local History Collection. This image may be freely used for education purposes, as long as it is not altered in any way.

Long Island beaches are some of the best in the world - okay, THE best in the world. We have Fire Island, Jones Beach, Robert Moses, the Hamptons, Montauk, Long Beach and even the North Shore beaches (albeit those are a little rocky).

Also read, History: Photos of Smith Point.

Many who grew up in Suffolk County remember spending countless summer days lounging around and soaking up the sun at Smiths Point, actually called Smith Point Park. The beach at Smith Point Park offers up plenty of adventure in summer including swimming, surfing, camping, fishing, off-roading, a boat launch or just a place to set down your blanket and soak up some rays.

Below we gathered up some historical and crazy facts about Smith Point Beach.

William "Tangier" Smith, Namesake of Smith Point

Smith Point Beach is named for William "Tangier" Smith, an early settler in New York State

Smith was born in 1655 in England

He was given grants and purchased land from the native Americans on the south shore of Long Island accumulating more than 81,000 acres of land

His property was originally known as the Manor of St. George

Smith was one time mayor of Tangier, Morocco

Even Long Islanders mispronounce the name of the beach as Smiths Point

Geography

The beach is actually located in Suffolk County Smith Point Park

Smith Point Park is the largest park owned by Suffolk County

Smith Point Beach is located at the eastern end of Fire Island

Interestingly, the park gets its name from Smith Point, a peninsula on the mainland that juts into Bellport Bay

And Smith Point peninsula is not actually a part of the park

Northeasters and Superstorm Sandy have taken a toll on the beach causing erosion

The park once extended from the east end of the Fire Island Wilderness portion of the National Seashore to the end of the island at Moriches Inlet, but its west end has been cut short by the breach created during Superstorm Sandy (cite: US Harbors website )

In 2015, the United States Army Corps of Engineers put about 2.5 million cubic yards of sand onto the beaches to restore them

Smith Point Park is habitat to piping plover and the outer beach is often closed due to unfledged (chicks that do not have feathers yet and cannot fly) birds spotted in the area

Piping plovers are considered threatened under federal guidelines and are endangered in New York State

Smith Point also hosts a number of different species of birds

Gulls, Loons, Osprey, Canada Geese, Turkey Vultures, and Bald Eagle have all been spotted there

Every year, thousands of hawks can be spotted in their migration from August to November

Photo: Shutterstock.

The Bridge

A wooden footbridge to connect Smith Point Beach to the mainland of Long Island was built in 1911

It was originally called Tangier Bridge

The bridge had been destroyed by ice flows a few years later

In 1959, a steel drawbridge bridge was erected and opened on July 4th of that year

It crosses the narrows between the Great South Bay to the west and Moriches Bay to the east

It is the southern terminus of William Floyd Parkway

According to the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library , Robert Moses attended the dedication ceremony

The bridge spans 1,216 feet and carries about 1 million vehicles to the beach every year

There was a toll of 75 cents to cross the bridge when it opened

This bridge is the one still in use today

There are only two bridges that connect Fire Island to the mainland - one is the Fire Island Inlet Bridge (Robert Moses Bridge) and the other is the Smith Point Bridge

There is a plan to replace the Smith Point Bridge

Construction is slated to start in 2022

The new bridge will not be a drawbridge and have a 55-foot vertical clearance

The current bridge has a 22-foot clearance

The new bridge will be built 125-feet west of the current bridge

In 2019, the project was estimated at $75 million

Funding was to come from the federal government, New York State and $7 million allocated by Suffolk County

The new bridge is planned to last for over 75 years

Development

At the turn of the 20th Century, a man named Fredrick J. Quimby had grand plans to develop the beach but he went bankrupt trying

In 1964, Smith Point County Park was designated as part of the Fire Island National Seashore

Smith Point has a four-wheel drive section that is accessed by a Suffolk County Parks permit

Off-road vehicles, with permit only, may drive on the eastern portion of the outer beach

There is a 270-tent campground on the north side of the barrier island

Reservations are required for all the sites in the campground

The campground was named one of the 15 best Labor Day camping spots in New York State

Tiki Joes Beach Club serves food and beverages at the beach

Beach access is gained through a short underground tunnel that dips under the roadway

"The Son of the Sheik" starring Rudolf Valentino was filmed on the beach in the 1920s

Photo: Shutterstock.

TWA Flight 800

Tragically, on July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800, exploded a few miles over the Atlantic off Fire Island killing all 230 passengers

There is a memorial to TWA Flight 800 which was dedicated on July 17, 2002

Want more crazy facts? Click here to read Crazy Facts About Jones Beach Theater!
Channel Infrastructure (CHI), New Zealands largest fuel import terminal based at Marsden Point in Northland, has today released its inaugural Sustainability Report: Our Transition to a Sustainable Future. The report outlines the companys response to the impacts of Climate Change on our business, as well as the opportunities and risks we see from the energy transition that is taking place in New Zealand.

CEO Naomi James said:

We know the world is warming and that carbon emissions from human activity, including transport, is contributing to this. As a business that forms a critical part of New Zealands energy supply chain, we have a role to play in responding to this challenge and playing our part to support New Zealands shift to a lower-carbon economy. And that is exactly what we plan to do.

On 1 April, the company completed the shutdown of New Zealands only oil refinery and shifted to an import terminal; we have now received the first shipments of imported refined fuel products to our Marsden Point site. The transition to Channel Infrastructure means we can now look at the future with confidence and we have a sustainable business that will continue to contribute to our community, and New Zealand, long into the future.

Ms. James added:

We have chosen to be part of the broader energy transition in New Zealand and leaned into the changes that were necessary for our business. There is never an ideal moment to transition, especially when peoples jobs are at stake. But we have also been clear from the start: the way we respond to climate change is about more than just bringing down emissions. It is about supporting people who are affected and doing our part to mitigate the impact on individuals, and our community.

At the same time, we must keep fuel affordable and available for everyone, throughout the energy transition. As a country, we cant pursue an at any cost commitment to lower carbon energy, especially when energy costs are already at peak levels. We need to be doing more to ensure that in the future there is a mix of fuel options to meet the differing needs and choices of consumers, which keeps fuel affordable and available for everyone.

Channel Infrastructure is committed to using Marsden Points highly strategic assets and infrastructure to support New Zealands shift to a lower-carbon economy. With our change to an import terminal, our customers can now access lower-carbon sources of fuel, from newer, larger and more efficient refineries, and lower carbon shipping options  opening up more choice for how we reduce transport fuel emissions.

Channel Infrastructure has strong aspirations for growth and is well positioned to support New Zealands changing future fuel needs. Growth opportunities at the Marsden Point site include additional fuel storage to support fuel security, renewable electricity supply through the Maranga Ra solar project and work underway with customers and partners on biofuel and hydrogen opportunities.

Attached are a copy of the Sustainability Report and a letter from Board Chairman, Simon Allen, which are both being sent to shareholders today along with the Notice of Meeting and Proxy Form for the forthcoming Annual Shareholders Meeting.

- ENDS -

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LONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - The British-based subsidiary of Gazprom said Germany's move to take control of its parent had removed any concerns about the viability and future of its operations, and it would look to rebrand soon.

UK-registered Gazprom Marketing & Trading (GMT) buys gas on wholesale energy markets and owns a number of subsidiaries including in Switzerland, France, Mexico and Singapore.

Its British subsidiary, Gazprom Energy, supplies industrial companies including parts of the National Health Service.

Some customers had sought to cut ties with the business as part of Western efforts to shun Russia, industry sources had told Reuters, sparking alarm about the broader market impact if the business collapsed.

Both GMT and Gazprom Energy said late on Monday that any doubts about the companies had been erased after the German state took control of their immediate owner, Gazprom Germania, following the sudden withdrawal of ultimate parent Gazprom .

"This completely removes with immediate effect any concerns about the viability and future of GM&T and its subsidiaries(including Gazprom Energy) since ultimate control is now held indirectly by the German state and not by PJSC Gazprom," it said on its website.

"Given the operational and financial independence of GM&T from PJSC Gazprom, there are no adverse financial or other implications from the actions of the German government." 

The statement said the business would announce any future steps, such as a rebranding.

Britain also had an option, called the Supplier of Last Resort, which would have enabled it to take control of the UK subsidiaries to maintain supply if needed, however that would have been expensive and put customers at risk of losing their hedged contracts. (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Jason Neely)
CyanConnode Holdings PLC - Cambridge, England-based narrowband radio frequency smart mesh networks - Receives order for a smart meter deployment from an unnamed customer in the Middle East and North Africa region. Notes that this is its first order from this territory. Says it will supply its cellular communications product, which will be used to connect smart electricity and smart water meters. The delivery is expected to start this year. Does not disclose the value of the order.

"We look forward to working with this customer to further develop our business in the Middle East and North Africa," Executive Chair John Cronin comments.

Current stock price: 17.20 pence, up 4.2% on Monday

12-month change: more than doubled from 6.60p

By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
SysGroup PLC - Liverpool-based IT services and cloud-hosting provider - Buys Truststream Security Solutions Ltd, a managed cyber security services provider based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The acquisition worth GBP4.8 million will be funded from Sysgroup's existing cash balance and a new revolving credit facility of GBP8.0 million, the Liverpool-based firm says. In the financial year ended September 30, 2021, Truststream generated a pretax profit of GBP800,000 and revenue of GBP3.2 million.

"The addition of Truststream to the group further supports our stated strategy to become the leading provider of managed IT services to the UK mid-market," says Sysgroup Chief Executive Officer Adam Binks.

Current stock price: 28.00 pence, up 19% on Tuesday

12-month change: down 32%

By Tom Budszus; tombudszus@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Intercede Group PLC's shares plunged on Tuesday after the cybersecurity software firm said it expects revenue for its recently ended financial year to be lower due to delays on large deals.

Shares were trading 27% lower at 42.50 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.

The Leicestershire, England-based said it expects revenue for the year ended March 31 to be in the range of GBP9 million to GBP10.0 million. This would reflect a decrease of 10% to 11% from the GBP11.0 million earned in financial 2021.

The company explained that it experienced delays with a number of "large new opportunities," leading to it not being able to secure a substantial license order within the year.

Further, Covid-19 has continued to hurt trading outside the US market.

Nonetheless, Intercede said that it is still expected to remain profitable.

As at March 31, gross cash balances totalled GBP7.8 million, down 2.5% from GBP8.0 million. This was supported by growth in annual recurring revenue from its Support & Maintenance business, as well as revenue growth in its Professional Services unit.

Intercede also received an order totalling USD300,000 from a "large" US federal agency. A portion of the amount will be recognised in financial 2022.

By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Stocks in London were mostly lower at midday on Tuesday as the West considered further sanctions against major crude producer Russia in response to killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

The EU and US are currently preparing more sanctions against Russia on oil or coal after allegations that Russian forces carried out war crimes when dozens of bodies were discovered near Kiev.

The Europeans are under pressure to hit Moscow in the crucial energy sector and stop paying out the huge proceeds from gas, oil and coal that are helping Russia pay for the war.

"I don't want to preview but indeed there are discussions on what can be done in an area of energy like coal and oil," said EU Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis as he arrived for EU minister talks in Luxembourg.

The FTSE 100 index was down 14.47 points, or 0.2%, at 7,544.45. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 14.23 points, or 0.1%, to 21,315.66. The AIM All-Share index was up 4.46 points, or 0.4%, at 1,059.72.

The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.3% at 750.80. The Cboe 250 was up 0.1% at 18,806.24, and the Cboe Small Companies was flat at 15,540.55.

In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 1.0%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was down 0.5%.

"The overall environment remains hard to read as investors' focus keeps being torn between lingering tensions with Russia, the prospect of an economic downturn brought by flattening yield curves and the sudden hawkish switch from the Fed. On top of this, a Covid resurgence in Asia and Europe could dent demand for a bunch of industries, sparking higher market volatility," said ActivTrades analyst Pierre Veyret.

In the FTSE 100, Airtel Africa was down 2.5% after the telecommunications provider said it has adopted regulatory SIM card measures at its Nigeria telecommunications unit, though the financial impact of the move is uncertain.

Under a directive announced by the Nigerian Communications Commission back in December 2020, operators were required to ensure all their subscribers provided a valid National Identification Number to update SIM registration records.

The Africa-focused telecommunications provider on Tuesday said that so far, it has collated NIN records for 73% of its Nigeria active customer base, accounting for 79% of revenue at the unit.

By nation, Nigeria was Airtel's largest revenue contributor in the first half ended September 30. The Nigeria arm generated revenue of USD896 million, up 25% yearly. Airtel's total interim revenue was USD2.27 billion.

Lloyds Banking Group was down 2.0% after Barclays cut the lender to 'equal weight' from 'overweight'.

In the FTSE 250, IP Group was up 3.8% after the intellectual property commercialisation company said its stake in its portfolio company First Light Fusion is set to double after the company achieved fusion.

IP noted First Light's achievement of fusion with a projectile approach; the first of its kind, which has been independently validated by the UK Atomic Energy Authority. IP Group said its 27% holding in First Light was valued at GBP57.3 million at December 31, and it now expects the value to double by around GBP57 million, or around 5 pence per share.

At the other end of the midcaps, Darktrace was the worst performer, down 5.0%, after JPMorgan started coverage on the cybersecurity provider at 'underweight'.

Moneysupermarket.com Group was down 4.5% after Barclays downgraded the price comparison website to 'equal weight' from 'overweight'.

Crest Nicholson was down 1.5% after the housebuilder said it intends to sign the pledge committing the housebuilder to high-rise building remediation, saying it was "in the best interests" of the company.

The Chertsey, Surrey-based firm said it would be taking further steps to support those living in affected buildings. As a result of making these new commitments, it said it would need to record a further exceptional charge in its financial statements.

The pledge will cost the company between GBP80 million and GBP120 million, the midcap housebuilder explained. Its board "does not consider this to present a risk to current or future operations," the firm said.

Large-cap peer Persimmon joined Crest Nicholson in signing the UK government building safety pledge. The York-based firm continues to believe a GBP75 million provision will be sufficient for the rectification works. The stock was down 0.1%.

Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey were among the worst blue-chip performers, down 3.2% and 2.2% respectively.

Elsewhere, Go-Ahead Group was up 4.6% after the transport operator said it will reinstate its pre-Covid dividend policy as it set out medium-term plans to boost revenue and profit.

The public transport operator will return to paying a dividend equivalent to between 50% and 75% of underlying earnings per share. As such, it intends to recommend a dividend of not less than 50 pence in respect of the financial year ending July 2022.

It revealed payout plans alongside a new strategy, "The Next Billion Journeys".

Go-Ahead is targeting annual group revenue of around GBP4 billion in the medium-term, which it said would be up by around 30%, and operating profit of at least GBP150 million. For the 2021 financial year, Go-Ahead posted adjusted operating profit of GBP115.5 million.

Oil prices extended gains Tuesday on the prospect of further sanctions on Russia for alleged "atrocities" in some occupied Ukrainian cities. Brent was quoted at USD108.46 a barrel, up from USD107.45 late Monday.

Gold stood at USD1,928.53 an ounce, soft from USD1,930.80 late Monday.

The pound was quoted at USD1.3132 at midday on Tuesday, up from USD1.3121 late Monday after data from S&P showed the UK service sector activity accelerated in March at its fastest pace since May 2021.

The S&P Global-CIPS UK services PMI rose for the third month running to reach 62.6 points in March, up from 60.5 in February. The reading was higher than the preliminary estimate of 61.0.

S&P said UK service providers signalled a strong increase in business activity during March, and the rate of expansion accelerated to its fastest for 10 months. Survey respondents widely noted that the removal of pandemic restrictions and return to offices had led to a sharp rebound in customer demand, it noted.

The euro was priced at USD1.0966, down from USD1.0996 late Monday.

On the continent, the eurozone's private sector growth faded in March, figures showed, after hitting a five-month high the month prior.

The "main impetus" for March's growth came from the services economy, S&P Global noted. Eurozone factories saw progress slow in March.

The S&P Global services purchasing managers' index inched up to 55.6 points in March, from 55.5 in February. The composite PMI, calculated using the services and manufacturing scores, slipped to 54.9 in March, from 55.5 in February.

Germany's services sector saw its best expansion for six months in March, figures from S&P Global showed, though inflation hit a record high and growth in the wider private sector slowed. The S&P Global services PMI rose to 56.1 points in March, from February's tally of 55.8. March's number, further above the 50.0 neutral threshold, was the best since September.

Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY122.95 in London, up from JPY122.70.

New York was pointed to a lower open ahead of PMI readings at 1445 BST.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.2%, the S&P 500 down 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.3%, based on futures trading.

By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - Airtel Africa PLC on Tuesday said it has adopted regulatory SIM card measures at its Nigeria telecommunications unit, though the financial impact of the move is uncertain.

Under a directive announced by the Nigerian Communications Commission back in December 2020, operators were required to ensure all their subscribers provided a valid National Identification Number to update SIM registration records.

Africa-focused telecommunications provider Airtel on Tuesday said that so far, it has collated NIN records for 73% of its Nigeria active customer base, accounting for 79% of revenue at the unit.

By nation, Nigeria was Airtel's largest revenue contributor in the first half ended September 30. The Nigeria arm generated revenue of USD896 million, up 25% yearly. Airtel's total interim revenue was USD2.27 billion.

"However, our experience of adopting similar procedures in other countries suggests that SIM consolidation is likely to occur in response to implementation, potentially reducing any financial impact," Airtel explained.

"We will continue to work with impacted customers to help them to comply with the registration requirements and continue to benefit from full service connectivity."

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

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YouGov PLC - London-based market research and data analytics company - Launches YouGov Global Profiles which it describes as the "world's largest globally consistent audience dataset". Chief Executive and Co-Founder Stephen Shakespeare says: "It will be central to their global strategies, campaigns and partnerships. With more than 1,000 consistent questions and thousands of datapoints across 43 markets, it's never been easier for them to build and compare accurate, precise portraits of their audiences across key markets."

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IGas Energy PLC - London-based oil and gas exploration and production company focused on the UK - Welcomes the UK government's support following its review of shale gas by the British Geological Survey. The UK government said that it was right that all possible energy generation and production methods, including shale gas, should be kept on the table following the invasion of Ukraine. Chief Executive Stephen Bowler says: "With government support to rapidly accelerate the development of this strategic national resource, the IGas Board believes it can make this vital, indigenous supply of energy available to British consumers and businesses in a short timeframe."

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Aberdeen Standard Asia Focus PLC - invests in smaller, listed companies in Asia and Australasia, excluding Japan - Changes its name to abrdn Asia Focus PLC following the name change of its manager's business to abrdn PLC.

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Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas Ltd - oil and gas exploration company focused in Guyana, Namibia and South Africa - Intends to raise USD25 million through a placing set to raise USD21 million and a subscription set to raise USD4 million. Company also announces a conditional offer for subscription via a PrimaryBid of shares at a price of 30 pence per retail offer shares. Says it will use the proceeds to fund its share of the drilling of the Gazania-1 well on Block 2B, offshore South Africa. This is estimated to be USD23 million.

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Alternative Liquidity Fund Ltd - Guernsey-based closed-ended investment company - Says, in light of the current market volatility connected to Ukraine, Waverton Investment Management Ltd has decided not to proceed with the launch of a new share class for the company. As a result, Alternative Liquidity decides to not change its name or adopt the proposed investment strategy for the new class of shares.

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Rambler Metals & Mining PLC - copper and gold producer, explorer and developer focused on Canada - Says the Ming Mine averaged production of 1,188 wet metric tonnes per day in March, nearly doubles its average production of 603 wet metric tonnes in the same month the previous year. The Nugget Pond copper and gold milling facility achieved throughput of 27,193 dry metric tonnes, up 43% from 19,060 dry metric tonnes the previous year. Also during the month, the operation produced 1,556 tonnes of concentrate, containing 410 tonnes of saleable copper and 266 ounces of saleable gold. This compares to 1,122 tonnes containing 293 tonnes of saleable copper and 241 ounces of gold the previous year.

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SRT Marine Systems PLC - Bath-based provider of maritime surveillance - Says trading for the year ended March 31 has been in line with expectations. Expects revenue of GBP8.2 million and a loss before tax of GBP6.9 million. Says its transceivers business performed well but suffered from constrained production due to inconsistent component supply, resulting in lower revenue. Expects supply chain issues to normalise moving forward.

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Seed Innovations Ltd - Guernsey-based wellness and life sciences firm - Notes that a number of cannabidiol products sold by its portfolio companies have been included on the UK Food Standard Agency's list of CBD product permitted to stay on the market in England and Wales.

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Water Intelligence PLC - London-based leak detection services - Expands its credit facilities to include an additional USD15 million for further acquisitions of its American Leak Detection franchises as well as a two-year extension of its USD2 million line for working capital.

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Eastinco Mining & Exploration PLC - exploration and development company focused in Africa - Says early observations from work at its tantalum-tin projects in Rwanda are "encouraging". 16 new pegmatite zones were discovered during the geochemical soil sampling on the HCK joint venture in Rwanda. Chair Charles Bray says: "The extensive occurrence of potential tantalum-niobium bearing pegmatite zones across the HCK licence is very positive. We will now seek to establish an operating hub in the area to service the two joint ventures we have in the south."

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Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd - gold mining company focused on Armenia - Notes that the government of the Kyrgyz Republic and Centerra Gold Inc have resolved the dispute on the Kumtor Mine in the Kyrgyz Republic. Company calls resolution a "positive" development and is confident that it will be "beneficial" for investor sentiment in the region. Chaarat said in February that the dispute had slowed down construction activities and delayed debt financing at Tulkubash.

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Castillo Copper Ltd - base metal explorer focused on Australia and Zambia - Identifies multiple targets for drill-testing with the potential to host copper mineralisation at its 100% owned Mkushi project in Zambia. Managing Director Dennis Jensen says: "The IP survey results from the Mkushi Project are outstanding, especially as they throw off numerous potential targets to test-drill for copper mineralisation. More significantly, it complements the results from the Luanshya Project which has 14 identified primary targets".

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MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd - biopharmaceutical company - Signs exclusive agreement with Scienus Rare for the distribution of CannEpil and CogniCann in the European Union and the UK. Scienus is a pharmaceutical services company based in the Netherlands. It will become exclusive distributor of the products. After the initial 12 months of the agreement, Sciensus Rare will be subject to minimum purchase order requirements to maintain its exclusive distributor status.

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Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd - clinical stage biopharmaceutical company - Closes Hibiscus trial assessing Traumakine due to low Covid-19 infection and hospitalization rates in the US. Traumakine is a first-line treatment for Covid-19 patients who require low flow oxygen support. Company reverts its resources to the development of bexmarilimab.

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AdvancedAdvT Ltd - London-based acquisition vehicle - Lifts share suspension and announces a net asset value of 94p per share at March 31. Reports a cash balance of GBP105.1 million.

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Caspian Sunrise PLC - Kazakhstan-focused oil & gas exploration and production company - Proposes cancellation of its share premium account and its deferred shares. A decision regarding the approval will be made at a general meeting on April 22.

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Altus Strategies PLC - Oxfordshire, England-based mining royalty company - Reports copper and gold royalty revenue of USD1.7 million in the first quarter since its acquisition of Newcrest Mining Ltd's portfolio. Altus owns 33 royalty interests in total. Chief Executive Steven Poulton says the company is "delighted" that its royalty acquisition strategy is delivering "significant" returns.

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Primorus Investments PLC - investment firm focused on small and mid cap firms in financial services, technology and natural resources - Agrees to extend the time for Alteration Earth PLC to complete its prospectus and obtain its listing on the standard segment of the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Date extends to May 4 from April 4.

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Clean Invest Africa PLC - London-based renewable energy investor - Renegotiates its facility agreement dated June 14, 2019. The balance now outstanding amounts to GBP5.0 million, down from GBP5.2 million previously. All debt currently owed to the lenders Contax Partners Inc and Shaikh Mohamed Abdulla Khalifa AlKhalifa will be settled by a convertible loan note with a 0% coupon for a 5-year term and repayable only in Clean Invest Africa shares at a price of 1p per share. GBP2.7 million will be issued to Contax and GBP2.3 million will be issued to Shaikh Mohamed Abdulla Khalifa AlKhalifa.

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By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Wellington International Airport Limited (Wellington Airport), in which Infratil is a 66% shareholder, yesterday announced that Matt Clarke will succeed Steve Sanderson as Wellington Airports Chief Executive Officer on 1 May 2022, following 10 successful years in the role.

Mr Clarke is currently Wellington Airports Chief Commercial Officer with over 20 years experience in the airport industry

A copy of the Wellington Airport release is attached.

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Chennai Metro is a rapid metro transit system serving the capital city of Tamil Nadu. Started in 2015, the Chennai Metro system is the 4th longest metro network in India. As of March 2022, the Chennai Metro had two operational metro lines and three under-construction lines. Chennai Metro is built and operated by the Chennai Metro Rail Corporation (CMRL).

Chennai Metro Rail Corporation is a joint venture of the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Union Government of India. The Chennai Metro system has a mix of elevated and underground metro stations. With a view to ensure seamless connectivity and interoperability, Chennai Metro Rail Corporation plans to take over the Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System. It is an elevated railway network operated by the Indian Railways. The mover is expected to further streamline the connectivity infrastructure across Chennai.

Also Read: Plot Approval Authority in Chennai

Let us examine the Chennai metro routes in greater detail.

Chennai Metro Route Map

At present (March 2022), there are two operational metro lines and 3 under construction lines.

The official map of the Chennai metro is as follows-

Chennai Metro Map

Chennai Metro Routes

Chennai Metro routes can be divided into two broad categories.

Operational Lines- Blue Line, Green Line

Under-construction Lines- Purple Line, Orange Line, Red Line

Also Read: Ready Reckoner rates in Chennai

Chennai Metro: Operational Lines

The following lines of Chennai Metro are currently operational-

Chennai Metro: Blue Line 1 from Wimco Nagar Depot to Chennai International Airport

Blue Line 1 is one of the two operational metro lines of the Chennai Metro network. The Blue Line 1 of Chennai Metro stretches from Wimco Nagar to the International Airport of Chennai. Line 1 consists of a total of 26 metro stations along the stretch. Out of the 26 metro stations, 13 are underground, and 13 are elevated.

Blue Line 1 of Chennai Metro Sr No Metro Station Connected with Elevation Opening Date 1 Wimco Nagar Depot Chennai Suburban Railways Elevated 14-Feb-21 2 Wimco Nagar Chennai Suburban Railways Elevated 14-Feb-21 3 Tiruvottriyur Chennai Suburban Railways Elevated 13-03-2022 4 Tiruvottriyur Theradi None Elevated 14-Feb-21 5 Kaladipet None Elevated 14-Feb-21 6 Tollgate Chennai Suburban Railways Elevated 14-Feb-21 7 New Washermanpet station None Elevated 14-Feb-21 8 Tondiarpet Station None Underground 14-Feb-21 9 Sir Theagaraya College Station None Underground 10-Feb-19 10 Washermanpet Chennai Suburban Railways Underground 10-Feb-19 11 Mannadi Station None Underground 10-Feb-19 12 High Court Bus Terminus Underground 10-Feb-19 13 Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Green Line Connection Underground 10-Feb-19 14 Government Estate None Underground 10-Feb-19 15 LIC None Underground 10-Feb-19 16 Thousand Lights Line 3 (Chennai Metro) Underground 25-May-18 17 AG  DMS None Underground 25-May-18 18 Teynampet None Underground 25-May-18 19 Nandanam Line 4 (Chennai Metro) Underground 25-May-18 20 Saidapet None Underground 21-Sep-16 21 Little Mount None Elevated 21-Sep-16 22 Guindy Chennai Suburban Railways Elevated 29-Jun-15 23 Arignar Anna Alandur Green Line 5 Elevated 21-Sep-16 24 Nanganallur Road None Elevated 21-Sep-16 25 Meenambakkam Chennai Suburban Railways Elevated 21-Sep-16 26 Chennai International Airport Chennai Suburban Railways Elevated 14-Feb-21

With seamless connectivity to the Chennai International Airport, Blue Line 1 is very useful for frequent commuters. Moreover, its intersection with the Green Line and proposed linkages with the Mass Rapid Transit System will further boost the connectivity quotient.

Also Read: FSI or FAR in Chennai

Chennai Metro: Green Line 2 from Chennai Central to St Thomas Mount

Green Line 2 is one of the two operational lines of the Chennai metro. The Green Line stretches from St. Thomas Mount station to Chennai Central metro station. The Green Line metro network consists of a total of 17 stations. Out of the 17 stations, eight metro stations are elevated, and nine are underground.

Sr No Metro Station Connected To Station Layout 1 Chennai Central Blue Line, Chennai Central railway station, Chennai Park Suburban, Chennai Park Town MRTS, Chennai Moore Market Underground 2 Egmore Station Chennai Egmore Train station Chennai Suburban Railways Underground 3 Nehru Park Station None Underground 4 Kilpauk Medical College Station Chennai Suburban Railways Line 3 Underground 5 Pachaiyappa's College None Underground 6 Shenoy Nagar None Underground 7 Anna Nagar East None Underground 8 Anna Nagar Tower None Underground 9 Thirumangalam None Underground 10 Koyambedu None Elevated 11 CMBT Line 5 (Chennai Metro) and Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus Elevated 12 Arumbakkam None Elevated 13 Vadapalani Line 4 Elevated 14 Ashok Nagar None Elevated 15 Ekkattuthangal Station None Elevated 16 Alandur Station Blue Line Line 5 of Chennai Metro Elevated 17 St. Thomas Mount Station Chennai suburban railways or MRTS Elevated

A key metro stretch, the Green Line connects the Central, Western and Southern parts of Chennai. Its interconnection with the MRTS system is conducive for travellers using both suburban railways and the metro channel.

Also Read: 7 Plot Investment Corridors in Chennai

Chennai Metro: Under Construction Lines

At present (March 2022), three lines of Chennai Metro are under construction, viz Purple Line, Orange Line and Red line.

Chennai Metro: Purple Line 3 from Madhavaram Milk Colony to Siruseri SIPCOT 2

Purple Line 3 of Chennai Metro is an under-construction metro line. This will run from Siruseri SIPCOT 2 to the Madhavaram Milk Colony. The Purple Line will have a total of 48 stations in total. Out of these, 29 will be underground, and 19 will be elevated. The Purple Line will have the following stations-

Purple Line of Chennai Metro (Under-construction) S.No Metro station Interconnections Layout 1 Madhavaram Milk Colony Line 5 Underground 2 Thapalpetti None Underground 3 Madhavaram high road None Underground 4 Moolakadai None Underground 5 Sembiyam None Underground 6 Perambur Market None Underground 7 Perambur Suburban railway Underground 8 Ayanavaram Bus Terminal Underground 9 Otteri None Underground 10 Pattalam None Underground 11 Perambur Barracks Road None Underground 12 Purasaiwakkam Station None Underground 13 Kelleys None Underground 14 Kilpauk Medical College Green Line Underground 15 Chetpet Station Chennai Suburban Railways Underground 16 Sterling Road Junction None Underground 17 Nungambakkam None Underground 18 Anna flyover Station None Underground 19 Thousand Lights Blue Line Underground 20 Royapettah None Underground 21 Dr.Radhakrishnan Salai None Underground 22 Thirumayilai Chennai Suburban Railways MRTS Line 4 (Chennai Metro) Underground 23 Mandaiveli Station Bus Terminus Underground 24 Greenways Road None Underground 25 Adyar Junction None Underground 26 Adyar Depot Station Bus Terminal Underground 27 Indra Nagar None Underground 28 Thiruvanmiyur Station MRTS Underground 29 Tharamani None Underground 30 Nehru Nagar None Elevated 31 Kandanchavadi Station None Elevated 32 Perungudi None Elevated 33 Thoraipakkam Station None Elevated 34 Mettukuppam None Elevated 35 P.T.C. Colony None Elevated 36 Okkiyampet Station None Elevated 37 Karapakkam Station None Elevated 38 Okkiyam Thoraipakkam None Elevated 39 Sholinganallur Station Line 5 Elevated 40 Sholinganallur Lake 1 None Elevated 41 Sholinganallur Lake 2 None Elevated 42 Semmancheri 1 None Elevated 43 Semmancheri 2 None Elevated 44 Gandhi Nagar None Elevated 45 Navalur Station None Elevated 46 Siruseri Station None Elevated 47 Siruseri Sipcot 1 None Elevated 48 Siruseri Sipcot 2 None Elevated

Chennai Metro: Orange Line 4 from Poonamallee Bypass to Lighthouse

Orange Line 4 of the Chennai Metro is one of the three under-construction lines of Chennai Metro. Once completed, the orange line would run from the Lighthouse area to the Poonamallee Bypass. The orange line is planned to have 28 stations. Out of the total stations, 10 would be underground, and 18 would be elevated.

The total length of the Orange Line stretch will be over 26 Km. Line 4 of the Chennai metro has the following stations on its route.

Orange Line of Chennai Metro (Under-construction) Sr No Metro Station Interconnection Layout Status 1 Lighthouse None Underground Under-construction 2 Kutchery Road None Underground Under-construction 3 Thirumayilai MRTS Line 3 (Chennai Metro) Underground Under-construction 4 Alwarpet None Underground Under-construction 5 Bharathidasan Road None Underground Under-construction 6 Boat Club None Underground Under-construction 7 Nandanam Blue Line Underground Under-construction 8 Panagal Park None Underground Under-construction 9 Kodambakkam Chennai Suburban Railways Underground Under-construction 10 Kodambakkam Flyover None Underground Under-construction 11 Kodambakkam Powerhouse None Elevated Under-construction 12 Vadapalani Green Line Elevated Under-construction 13 Saligramam None Elevated Under-construction 14 Saligramam Warehouse None Elevated Under-construction 15 Alwarthiru Nagar Line 5 (Chennai Metro) Elevated Under-construction 16 Valasaravakkam Line 5 (Chennai Metro) Elevated Under-construction 17 Karambakkam Line 5 (Chennai Metro) Elevated Under-construction 18 Alapakkam Line 5 (Chennai Metro) Elevated Under-construction 19 Porur Junction Line 5 (Chennai Metro) Elevated Under-construction 20 Porur Bypass None Elevated Under-construction 21 Thelliyaragaram None Elevated Under-construction 22 Iyyapanthangal Bus Terminus Elevated Under-construction 23 Kattupakkam None Elevated Under-construction 24 Kumananchavadi None Elevated Under-construction 25 Karayanchavadi None Elevated Under-construction 26 Mullaithottam None Elevated Under-construction 27 Poonamallee Bus Terminus Elevated Under-construction 28 Poonamallee Bypass None Elevated Under-construction

Also Read: How to check the zone of land in Chennai?

Chennai Metro: Red Line 5 from Madhavaram Milk Colony to Sholinganallur

Under-construction Red Line 5 of Chennai Metro will connect the Madhavaram area with the Sholinganallur region. This key metro line will have a total of 48 metro stations. Out of the total stations, 41 will be elevated, 1 at-grade and 6 stations will be underground.

Red Line of Chennai Metro (Under-construction) Sr No Metro Station Interchange Layout Status 1 Madhavaram Milk Colony Line 3 (Chennai Metro) Underground Under-construction 2 Madhavaram Depot None At-grade Under-construction 3 Assisi Nagar None Elevated Under-construction 4 Manjambakkam None Elevated Under-construction 5 Velmurugan Nagar None Elevated Under-construction 6 Madhavaram Bus Terminal Bus Terminal Elevated Under-construction 7 Sastri Nagar None Elevated Under-construction 8 Retteri Junction None Elevated Under-construction 9 Kolathur Junction None Underground Under-construction 10 Srinivasa Nagar None Underground Under-construction 11 Villivakkam MRTS Underground Under-construction 12 Villivakkam Bus Terminus Bus Terminal Underground Under-construction 13 Villivakkam MTH Road None Underground Under-construction 14 Anna Nagar West Bus Terminus Elevated Under-construction 15 Thirumangalam Junction None Elevated Under-construction 16 Anna Nagar K.V. None Elevated Under-construction 17 Koyambedu 100 feet Road None Elevated Under-construction 18 Puratchi Thalaivi Dr. J. Jayalalithaa CMBT Elevated Under-construction 19 Koyambedu Market None Elevated Under-construction 20 Natesan Nagar None Elevated Under-construction 21 Virugambakkam None Elevated Under-construction 22 Alwarthiru Nagar Line 4 (Chennai Metro) Elevated Under-construction 23 Valasaravakkam Line 4 (Chennai Metro) Elevated Under-construction 24 Karambakkam Line 4 (Chennai Metro) Elevated Under-construction 25 Alapakkam Line 4 (Chennai Metro) Elevated Under-construction 26 Porur Junction Line 4 (Chennai Metro) Elevated Under-construction 27 Mugalivakkam None Elevated Under-construction 28 Ramapuram None Elevated Under-construction 29 Manapakkam None Elevated Under-construction 30 Chennai Trade Centre None Elevated Under-construction 31 Butt Road None Elevated Under-construction 32 Aringar Anna Alandur Blue and Green Lines Elevated Under-construction 33 St. Thomas Mount MRTS Elevated Under-construction 34 Adambakkam MRTS Elevated Under-construction 35 Vanuvampet None Elevated Under-construction 36 Ullagaram None Elevated Under-construction 37 Madipakkam None Elevated Under-construction 38 Kilkattalai None Elevated Under-construction 39 Echangadu None Elevated Under-construction 40 Kovilambakkam None Elevated Under-construction 41 Vellakkal None Elevated Under-construction 42 Medavakkam 1 None Elevated Under-construction 43 Medavakkam 2 None Elevated Under-construction 44 Medavakkam 3 None Elevated Under-construction 45 Perumbakkam None Elevated Under-construction 46 Classical Tamil Institute None Elevated Under-construction 47 Elcot Park None Elevated Under-construction 48 Sholinganallur Line 3 (Chennai Metro) Elevated Under-construction

Chennai Metro: Fares

As the Chennai metro system was floated to help the masses, the fares have been kept reasonable. The minimum charges in the Chennai metro are Rs 10, and the maximum has been capped at Rs 50. The fares depend upon the distance travelled by the passenger.

To know the exact fare of the Chennai metro, Click Here

Chennai Metro Timings

Chennai metro has significantly contributed towards the reduction of travel time for daily commuters. At present, Chennai Metro operates from 04:30 AM in the morning to 11:00 PM at night. The frequency of one train remains 4-5 minutes during peak hours and 15 minutes during lean hours.

Conclusively, Chennai Metro is gradually becoming the most preferred mode of travel for the citizens of Chennai. Given the growth of the IT sector and commercial activities, the metro expansion would prove immensely beneficial in improving the connectivity quotient of the city.

Also Read: Top 10 Coworking Spaces in Chennai
Goonew, a rapper who was shot dead on March 18, had his corpse put on display during his funeral, hosted at Bliss nightclub in Washington DC on Sunday night.

The 24-year-old rapper, whose real name was Markelle Morrow, had his embalmed body propped up on stage as mourners partied alongside him. Dubbed "The Final Show," footage from the event outraged fans of the rapper and others who couldn't believe the macabre nature of the situation.

The Bliss nightclub management released a statement on Instagram saying they were not aware of what would transpire at the send off. They claimed a funeral home reached out to rent the venue and apologized for those who became offended.

"Bliss was contacted by a local funeral home to rent out our venue for Goonew's home-going celebration," the statement read. "Bliss was never made aware of what would transpire. We sincerely apologize to all those who may be upset or offended.

"Please keep Goonew's family and friends in your prayers at this difficult time."

Is Goonew's body the one that appears in his funeral video?

It remains unclear whether it was really Goonew's corpse on display or a wax figure. Rapper Black Fortune, who performed at the event, confirmed on his IG stories that it was really Goonew's body.

Black Fortune wrote, "No this ain't no wax figure. My Brodie went out gansta."

No arrests have been made in the shooting of Goonew. Prince George's County Police is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
CAIRO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has congratulated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on his ruling coalition's victory in parliamentary elections, the Egyptian Presidency said on Tuesday.

Winning the fourth consecutive term by landslide "reflected the Hungarian voters' confidence in Orban's visions and ability for continuing to rule his country," said a presidency statement.

During their phone conversation, Sisi hailed the strong Egyptian-Hungarian relations at all levels and expressed his will to promoting the bilateral ties, it added.

Orban underlined the importance of enhancing communication and dialogue with Egypt in different fields, according to the statement.

The two leaders also discussed the latest regional and global events, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it added.

Orban's ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition gained more than 130 seats out of the 199-seat parliament in Hungary's elections on Sunday, securing a two-thirds majority. 
Mamata suggested the Centre convene an all party meet to tackle an 'economic crisis' over the unabated fuel price hike

Claiming India's economic conditions to be worse than that of Sri Lanka's, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday suggested the Centre convene an all party meet to tackle an "economic crisis" over the unabated fuel price hike across the country.

The Trinamul Congress supremo also warned the BJP claiming that she knows "how to pour mobil" if anyone sprinkles black ink on her saree.

On the economic situation, she said, "Sri Lanka's economic condition is bad. The citizens have revolted there. But India's condition is worse than Sri Lanka's though the two countries can not be compared with each other. Fuel prices have been hiked here continuously. But the Centre has no plans to deal with it. The BJP is responsible for this crisis. It is their return gift to the country after winning the Uttar Pradesh elections. Instead of using agencies like the CBI and ED against opposition parties, the Centre must convene an all-party meeting to resolve the ongoing economic crisis."

Sniffing ploys by the BJP to create disturbances in the state, the TMC chief added, "We get hear many plans. Though Mamata Banerjee never plays with colours, she knows how to pour mobil if someone sprinkles black ink on her saree."

Taking cue from Chief Justice of India NV Ramana's recent adverse remarks on the CBI, the CM also trained guns on the Centre observing, "When it comes to opposition parties, it becomes proactive but remains inactive on the ruling party."

She renewed her attack on Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar alleging that he has not cleared the names her government recommended for the appointment of Lokayukta and state human rights commission. Ms Banerjee further passed the blame of smuggling of arms, cattle and drugs through West Bengal on other states.

( Agencies)
The Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program was introduced in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic led to school closures in the United States, and the aim of this is to provide some grocery benefits for families.

When the P-EBT program was first implemented it applied to families with school-age children, but in 2021 it was extended to also include families with young children.

How much is the P-EBT benefit?

As part of the P-EBT program, 6.82 dollars is given to each eligible child for each school day that saw in-person learning affected by the pandemic. The maximum benefit per week is about 34 dollars per child, and the program also ran in the summer of 2021, with an average of 375 dollars per child over the course of the break.

Who qualifies for the P-EBT benefit?

Not all children automatically qualify for the P-EBT program, as this is aimed at those kids who are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. Also, all students going to schools that offer free meals via the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) also qualify. The student must be learning either virtually or through a hybrid model as a result of the pandemic-enforced school closures, too.

How long will the P-EBT benefit last in Florida?

The P-EBT card remained in place in 2021 and that is set to largely be the case in 2022, as the state of Florida is quickly processing P-EBT benefit payments. Starting in 2022, all recipients will be sent a staggered disbursement.

How long will the P-EBT benefit last in California?

Although the federal backing for the P-EBT benefits came to an end after the 2020-21 school year, California has made it a goal to keep this program in place in 2022 in order to support offer support to those families that need it most.
At the tail-end of 2020 it was announced that WhistlePig would be partnering with Moet Hennessy  given that its rye whiskey is all about farm to bottle, how will it keep its charm with the backing of one of the worlds luxury industry leaders? We chatted with CEO Jeff Kozak to find out.

WhistlePig takes the crown as the most-awarded rye whiskey in the world. Not only that, but being founded in 2007, it spearheaded the rye whiskey renaissance and a wave of innovation within the American whiskey industry. The team began by sourcing 10-year-old Canadian rye whiskey as it slowly grew its own production. It wasnt until 2015 that the brand opened its own distillery at its current home, the 500-acre farm in Vermont. The process from milling, mashing, fermentation, and distillation to maturation was overseen by the late Dave Pickerell. The brand is very open about the sources of its liquid with a complete breakdown on the back of bottles.

A new stakeholder

When we met with CEO Jeff Kozak in London a few months back, he was very excited about the future of the brand  and for good reason, as this meeting was following the announcement of the international partnership between Moet Hennessy and WhistlePig in 2020. We had never been widely distributed internationally  we always had a small foothold in the UK, Kozak tells me. But we also never had the inventory or the volume. Our aged whiskies are super scarce, inventory is very tight. Having signed with LVMH, we now have the ability to sell more to the international market.

Its early days of going back out and reintroducing ourselves to the markets, its almost like going back and re-educating people all over again, says Kozak. But the reaction has been super positive, with bartenders and sales teams genuinely eager to (re)learn the story, given the events from the last two years. Its really exciting to have someone who has the brand building history like Moet Hennessy, otherwise its tough to do it all yourself.

Age statement American whiskey isnt a particularly common sight, which, paired with its focus on rye, are what makes WhistlePig unique. I wonder if, with the expansion, there might be a microcosm of the Japanese whisky industry, where huge demand stripped it of many of the age statement expressions. Theres no plan for us to remove age statements or reduce them, because it just gives us that edge, Kozak affirms. Weve been planning for international expansion and building our infrastructure for a while. I dont see us not being able to support our ambitions. We have eight warehouses with whisky in the US. We have the backing, and now we have the power to get into countries we wouldnt have been able to before. After the core range, the 10-, 12-, and 15-year-old releases, are established, WhistlePig will then begin to introduce other (currently) US-only bottlings.

Charm on the farm

Part of the discussion with the new investment has been about how Whistlepig doesnt lose its youth and freshness. Not in terms of the whiskey, but in terms of the freedom to experiment, make mistakes, and learn from them. A huge benefit that WhistlePig has is that it isnt bogged down with history, something that so many other brands have to take into account. There are no traditions that you cant break, says distiller Mitch Mahar. Its nice as a distiller to have that freedom and just run with things. For example, distilling bucketloads of maple syrup, which took nearly four weeks to ferment. Four weeks is an insanely long time, and I ask if there was ever a point where they would have given up on the project, to which Kozak simply answers: Do you know how expensive maple syrup is?!

While some of the core range is matured in Vermont oak, cask finishing is where Kozak believes WhistlePig really got recognised. Finishing in rye whiskey, or US whiskey in general, was never a thing five years ago  of course we stole that idea from Scotch and ran with it. There are over 50 different types of barrels on the farm at any one time, ready to experiment with. For the first time ever, were beginning to run out of potential barrels. One-off standout finishes end up in the annual BossHog releases. Last years was finished in a teakwood ex-cachaca barrel for little over two-and-a-half days (the shortest finish theyve ever used), so as not to overwhelm the spirit. Where do you go from there?

Fermentation

The team are already wondering what to experiment with after exhausting a lot of the cask finishing options. Fermentation may well be it. Four of the five current WhistlePig distillers came from craft brewing backgrounds. Kozak uses the term blurring categories. Unlike the rules and regulations surrounding Scotch, within US whiskey the team can propagate their own yeast strains, their own enzymes. We try to see whats going on not just in the whisk(e)y world but also in the beer world, Mahar tells me. They found a yeast strain from the maple tree, but got so excited experimenting with it that they forgot to keep any back, so Mahar is hoping to find it again this year. Its intriguing, and incredibly on-brand.

Another focus is becoming more self-sufficient. Whats the advantage of being grain to glass? Control of the supply chain from start to finish, being able to tell the story behind the grain and the spirit, says Kozak. But with the expansion comes a flipside. I dont think well ever be able to distil as much as we want because we live in the middle of nowhere on a small farm  youre limited. I think its a balance of how much we can do ourselves versus how much we can source from other individuals. Sourcing isnt a bad thing. Its FarmStock series, first launched in 2017, was a big deal because the releases had a proportion of aged whiskey produced from rye grown and distilled at the farm. Now, FarmStock Beyond Bonded rye and bourbon have hit the market, the first expressions that fully encompass the farm to bottle philosophy.

In the end, it comes down to balancing the volume of whiskey they want to make with the intricacy that has always made WhistlePig special. When youre a fledgling company, you dont have all the resources, Kozak continues. With LVMH we can be in more places, be in the right places, and tell the right stories.

Master of Malt tastes WhistlePig 10, 12 & 15

Nose: Cracked black pepper, fresh mint, white chocolate, toasted nuts, and orange curd.

Palate: A symphony of clove, nutmeg, sweet oak, and cinnamon sugar, balanced by fresh grassiness.

Finish: A good dose of peppery spice alongside vanilla shortbread.

Nose: Super jammy, with toasted butterscotch, strawberries and raspberries, and golden syrup. The wine casks really shine.

Palate: Toasty wood spices come in, alongside more berries, ripe pears in syrup, and sultanas.

Finish: Earthy rye balances out a bright, fruity finish.

Nose: Bittersweet cocoa, dried thyme, pear skin, burnt marshmallow, and oak char.

Palate: Rich and viscous, with runny honey, dark caramel, peppery rye spice, and oily orange peel.

Finish: Tannic oak, herbal rye, cinnamon-spiced milk chocolate, and more barrel char.
Are you keeping track of the ever-lengthening list of those who are injured or killed by the injection, which is taking place in the background of this war?

by Robert J. Burrowes

In a televised address on 24 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his decision to order Russian military forces to invade Ukraine in what he labeled a special military operation to defend the recently declared self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine. Watch President Putins speech here or read a transcript here.

Since the invasion started, there has been a huge amount of commentary on it from a vast range of authors with a remarkably diverse range of perspectives. Beyond this, the cascading impacts of the war along with the changes that have been precipitated at various levels, have already been far-reaching and will be increasingly devastating for humanity as a whole.

In this article I will focus on some of the more obscure aspects of the deeper agenda that is driving this conflict to manifest in the way that it is occurring. This reflects my own long-standing interest in understanding how elite power manifests in the world.

As I have explained previously, since the dawn of human civilization 5,000 years ago, ordinary people have been engaged in an ongoing struggle against elites, whether local, imperial, religious, economic, national or, now, global. See Why Activists Fail. But whatever the context, the elite intention is always the same: to kill undesired populations and/or control the lives of everyone else by depriving them of their fair share of political, economic, social and ecological resources.

Since about 1500CE, the intensity of this conflict has deepened considerably with elites intent on killing off a substantial proportion of the human population and enslaving those left alive. This has been done through imperial conquest precipitating genocidal campaigns against indigenous peoples, wars, control of food supplies and other resources to generate mass starvation, medical technologies, the deployment of lethal technologies notably now including 5G and, most recently, an injectables program, ostensibly to protect against a virus. See Killing Off Humanity: How the Global Elite Is Using Eugenics and Transhumanism to Shape Our Future.

In essence, elite intention has never really wavered. To reiterate: Whatever ideology supposedly guided any elite in a particular context, the elite has usually wanted a substantial proportion of any local human population killed off and the bulk of those left alive reduced to slavery, in one form or another, while endlessly commandeering planetary resources for elite use.

The only differences between earlier eras and the present is that the assault on humanity is now genuinely global and it is in its final stage.

Unfortunately, too, this assault is happening in plain sight with the bulk of the population completely unaware of what is taking place and those who are at least concerned and resisting in some way focused on the smoke and mirrors distraction presented by the virus/vaccine narrative and the antics of politicians.

Which means that the Elites kill and control agenda, being implemented through the World Economic Forums Great Reset, proceeds with minimal resistance. And those not killed by the various measures being used to depopulate humanity will be enslaved in a technological prison from which there will be no escape. After all, the absolutely minimum requirements for effective resistance are life, a mind with free will and food to eat, none of which can be taken for granted any longer.

So where does the war in Ukraine fit into all this?

Well, at immediate and great personal cost to those soldiers and civilians killed or otherwise adversely impacted by the fighting, the war is being used as a smokescreen to obscure a highly orchestrated sequence of events that accelerate the Global Elites kill and control agenda, in just the same way that the Covid-19 narrative has done.

Using two wealthy members of the World Economic Forum  President Vladimir Putin of Russia (see All Putins Men: Secret Records Reveal Money Network Tied to Russian Leader) and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine (see What Pandora Papers revealed about Zelensky offshore accounts and funding from Ukranian kleptocracy)  backed by a supporting cast of key elite agents and unwitting accomplices throughout institutions such as NATO, the European Union, the US and other governments, the corporate media and elsewhere, the military conflict rages on in clear public view, with much debate about various measures being implemented as part of this conflict  such as sanctions by many countries on Russia  while several vitally important outcomes are obscured from general view or accepted as unfortunate consequences of the war rather than planned measures of the elite to kill or control us all.

What outcomes are these? you might ask.

Well, while this war rages on, generating enormous emotion among those siding with either Russia or Ukraine  and thus, in extremely simplified terms, outraged by either NATOs precipitating encroachment and military buildup over recent decades or Putins unjustified aggression  here is a short, partial list of rapidly accelerated key outcomes, all compliments of this war, that bring you closer to death or technological slavery in the near term, wherever in the world that you live.

1. The war, by accident (given that other key elite agents are well aware of what is happening and probably wont precipitate it deliberately), could go nuclear, and kill off a huge proportion of humanity and, depending on its severity, starve most or even all of those left alive. But, assuming this outcome is avoided, there are plenty of other unpalatable options to contemplate.

2. Russia and Ukraine supply 30% of the worlds wheat and significant percentages of other grains, sunflower oil, fertilizers, oil and gas, and strategic minerals (such as palladium and platinum), among other products. The war, as well as the sanctions imposed on Russia by many countries, has exacerbated the already seriously interrupted supply chains of these products, which either cannot be alternatively sourced or not as cheaply. And the previously generated supply chain collapses in all sectors, causing food (and other) shortages, price hikes and energy crises around the world, cannot be restored in any timeframe that is short. Millions will starve to death because of these supply chain collapses.

According to one recent report: We believe we are at the onset of a global famine of historic proportions. See Farmers on the Brink.

To repeat: we are at the onset of a global famine of historic proportions.

And the thoughtful account by Riley Waggaman includes this comment from Anatoly Nesmiyan: That is why the special [military] operation is a minor episode of little importance against the background of impending cataclysms. The fact that Ukraine and Russia have been used as a tool speaks not so much about the mind of the West, but about the impenetrable stupidity of the direct participants in the current competition. See Up next: Global food crisis?

If you want to keep close track of the destruction of your food supply, now being dramatically accelerated by the war in Ukraine, check out the daily updates shared by the Ice Age Farmer (Christian Westbrook) on various channels.

3. Intended deaths from the injectable continue to climb rapidly, despite concerted efforts by elite agents such as the World Health Organization, politicians, official medical systems, the pharmaceutical industry and the corporate and government media to conceal these deaths from public view. For just two recent attempts to compile a list of reports, see UPDATED: How Many People Are the Vaccines Killing? and COVID-19 Vaccine Massacre: 68,000% Increase in Strokes, 44,000% Increase in Heart Disease, 6,800% Increase in Deaths Over Non-COVID Vaccines.

Of course, many eminent experts, heavily suppressed by the corporate media, have long ago warned that these death shots will decimate humanity. For a small sample, see The Truth about the Covid-19 Vaccine, A Final Warning to Humanity, JAccuse! The Gene-based Vaccines Are Killing People. Governments Worldwide Are Lying to You the People, to the Populations They Purportedly Serve, COVID Shots to Decimate World Population, Warns Dr. Bhakdi and BREAKING  Over 150,000 people including 600 children have died due to the Covid-19 Vaccines in the USA.

But a quick check reveals that the Russian and Ukrainian governments have both enthusiastically participated in the entire Covid-19 virus/vaccine scam imposing the familiar range of measures  mandatory vaccinations, QR codes...  implemented elsewhere to fulfil the elites kill and control agenda.

This includes elite Russian participation in the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) which, as noted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his recent book The Real Anthony Fauci is the real-life authoritative collective for imposing rules during the... pandemic. This so-called independent monitoring and accountability bodys purpose was to validate the imposition of police state controls by global and local political leaders and technocrats: subduing resistance, ruthlessly censoring dissent, isolating the healthy, collapsing economies, and compelling vaccination during a projected worldwide health crisis. See I Believe We Are Facing an Evil That Has No Equal in Human History and Sputnik V is a scam: A socioeconomic experiment on the Russian population.

The government of Ukraine is no different, using coercive measures to force vaccination on its citizens despite an unusually high level awareness of the dangers of vaccines  leading to substantial resistance  among the general population. See As COVID Surges, Protesters Hit Streets of Ukraine to Decry Vaccine Mandates.

Are you keeping track of the ever-lengthening list of those who are injured or killed by the injection, which is taking place in the background of this war?

4. The rollout of 5G, essential to elite creation of their surveillance and control grid, gathers pace under cover of the virus/vaccine narrative and now the Russia/Ukraine war. Of course, the electromagnetic radiation will also kill vast numbers of people, both outright and via decimation of the insect population (thus further reducing global food supplies), and the surveillance and control grid it will make possible will trap you in your home and immediate neighborhood, with any semblance of human freedom and human rights consigned to memory. See Sleepwalking into Hell: The Global Elites Technological Coup detat Against Humanity and Deadly Rainbow: Will 5G Precipitate The Extinction Of All Life On Earth?

5. And, unless you have been ignoring the World Economic Forums Great Reset, you are well aware that the Global Elite plans to transform 200 areas of human life using technologies associated with the fourth industrial revolution and transhumanism (including 5G and 6G, military weapons, artificial intelligence [AI], big data, nanotechnology and biotechnology, robotics, the Internet of Things [IoT], and quantum computing). These technologies will subvert human identity, human freedom, human dignity, human volition and human privacy reducing those left alive to transhuman slavery in which you will have a digitized personal identity. This digitized identity will be connected to your banking, health, legal and other records to establish your personal social credit score, like that used in China, to determine what you can, and cannot, do while living in your smart city eating food-like substances synthesized from trash and insects. See The Great Reset.

In Ukraine, the government is simply using the war to rapidly expand what was already one of the most expansive government-run digital ID systems in the world, making the country the world leader in some aspects of digitization via their Diia app, with all that this portends for the human future. See How Ukraine Government Is Converting Digital ID System Into Wartime Tool. Of course, there will be no backtracking from this at wars end.

Russia is equally committed to its digitization program, although it is also playing a key role in developing the elite-controlled banking system, complete with digitized currencies, that will supersede the current model. It is hosting the annual Cyber Polygon simulations. See Taking Control by Destroying Cash: Beware Cyber Polygon as Part of the Elite Coup.

If all of this sounds preposterous, here are two other geopolitical analysts who offer a similar conclusion based on their own analyses: The Ukraine Crisis: What You Need to Know and Ukraine-Russia: A Proxy-War, Advancing the Agenda of the Great Reset?

What About the War in Ukraine?

Like many people, I am concerned about the war too. In drawing attention to the deeper elite program that is rapidly trapping humanity in a nightmarish future, I am not suggesting that the war does not matter.

But I also know from long experience that the anti-war movement remains devoid of the capacity to act to prevent or halt wars because it lacks the analysis, strategic orientation, tenacity and courage to do so. I wish it was otherwise.

Still, if you want to participate in a strategy to end this war, particularly given the possibility of it morphing into a longer term insurgency  see Ukraine And The New Al Qaeda  you can read how to do so here: Nonviolent Defense/Liberation Strategy.

And if you want to participate in a strategy to end all war, you can read how to do so here: Nonviolent Campaign Strategy.

Having noted this, let me highlight that key aspects of these strategies are the need to recognize that violence is built deeply into human society by a parenting model that, in essence, is based on demanding obedience from a child, rather than nurturing the childs Self-will. See Why Violence? and Fearless Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice.

And this generates a society in which many people are so adversely impacted that they are rendered effectively insane. Unfortunately, some of these people end up in situations where they exercise extraordinarily levels of control. See The Global Elite is Insane Revisited.

Hence, if you want to reduce violence and war in the future, consider making My Promise to Children.

So what does all of this mean?

Whatever your concerns about the war in Ukraine however, I encourage you to not let it distract you from acting powerfully to defeat the deeper elite agenda. If you get caught up in the war hysteria and fail to defend yourself and those you love, you will soon find that everything about the life you have known has been taken away, irrespective of the outcome of this war.

So what can you do?

Ideally, if you wish to strategically resist the elite agenda, your most powerful option is to participate in the We Are Human, We Are Free campaign.

The simplest version of this strategy is explained on the one-page flyer that identifies a short series of crucial nonviolent actions that anyone can take. This flyer, now available in 15 languages (Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish & Slovak) with more in the pipeline, can be downloaded from here: The 7 Days Campaign to Resist the Great Reset.

Conclusion

The war in Ukraine is a tragedy for those immediately impacted but for all of us as well. Particularly if we do not recognise the threat it conceals and act powerfully in response to this deeper threat.

For 5,000 years elites have been pitting us against each other  at work, on the battlefield, in life generally  by drawing attention to, and magnifying, superficial differences (based on gender, race, religion, class, nationality.), exacerbating conflicts and convincing us that they are acting in our own best interests when we do what they tell us via their agents in government, the corporate media and elsewhere, and that human solidarity is worth nothing.

Well, one day very soon now, we would do well to realize that in the end only three things matter: Human solidarity is essential if we are to survive this existential crisis, our true enemy is not each other but the insane Global Elite, and we must act powerfully and nonviolently if we are to defeat it.

A human future worth living will be short otherwise.

Biodata: Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of Why Violence? His email address is flametree@riseup.net and his website is here.
ARISS contact is scheduled with students at Space Hardware Club, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and U.S. students at the Space Hardware Club in Huntsville, Alabama. ARISS conducts 60-80 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

Space Hardware Club (SHC) is a student organization at the University of Alabama (UAH) in Huntsville. Within SHC, students at UAH get the chance to gain hands-on experience with designing, building, and flying numerous types of aerospace payloads. The clubs Outreach Program activities includes high- altitude ballooning, payload design, low powered ESTES rockets, and the launching of high-altitude model rockets. SHC will host this ARISS contact for the following rural/suburban public schools: Buckhorn Middle School, Mountain Gap Middle School, New Hope Elementary School, and Sparkman Middle School. SHC Outreach members have been helping about 800 students from these schools to learn more about rocketry, high-altitude ballooning, amateur radio technology, and the research being conducted on the ISS. Leading up to the ARISS radio contact, SHC outreach members helped the students with hands-on amateur radio activities such as circuit building and antenna construction.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of Astronaut Thomas Marshburn, amateur radio call sign KE5HOC. Local Covid-19 protocols are adhered to as applicable for each ARISS contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHZ and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the relay ground station.

Amateur radio operators in Huntsville, Alabama using call sign K4UAH will operate the amateur radio ground station

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for April 7, 2022 at 12:07 pm CDT (Huntsville, AL) (17:07:39 UTC, 1:07 pm EDT, 11:07 am MDT, 10:07 am PDT).

The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://uah-uasystem.zoom.us/j/87179587580

_______________________________

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. How hard was it to adjust your regular activities so you can survive with zero gravity?

2. When you heard you were going to the ISS, were you terrified? Because I know I would be.

3. What made you want to go to space? Who inspired you?

4. Is it hard to communicate with astronauts from other countries?

5. What do you think is the most interesting thing you do on the ISS?

6. How well does life (plants, bacteria, fungi) grow in space compared to Earth?

7. What do you believe is in the future of space exploration and is it promising or not?

8. Is there a type of food you are just absolutely sick of eating because youve had it so much?

9. What do you do for fun to pass the time when you arent doing experiments?

10. When you go into space do you see everything like planets, asteroids or the Milky Way?

11. What shocked you the most when you got to space?

12. What is the hardest challenge you have faced while living in space?

13. What was your training like before you got to space and your favorite/least favorite part?

14. Do you hydrofarm? If not, could you start one?

15. Do you enjoy it when people from other countries join the ISS?

16. What belongings can you bring up to space with you?

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) and NASAs Space communications and Navigation program.

The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.

Media Contact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.

Check out ARISS on Youtube.com.
New licensing regulations in Bangladesh The Financial Express reports new Ministry of Post, Telecommunication and ICT licensing regulations came into effect in Bangladesh on March 16, 2022



The newspaper says the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) issued a new licensing regulation, categorising services for getting licences through tender and open allocations.



Some eight telecommunication services, including internet services, V-SAT service, radio communication, amateur radio, internet protocol telephony service, telecommunication transmission service, national internet exchange service, and vehicle tracking service, have been fixed to get licence from the BTRC through open application.



Read the article at

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/btrc-issues-new-licensing-regulation-1648522422



Bangladesh Telecommunication Acts

http://btrc.gov.bd/site/view/law/-



Amateur Radio Society of Bangladesh

https://s21arsb.com/ https://www.facebook.com/S21ARSB
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According to BHU Spokesperson Rajesh Singh, the novel findings of this study have been published in two parts in a reputed international journalThe study was done by research student Pradip Kumar Jaiswara along with researchers Vishal Kumar Gupta, Rajan Kumar Tiwari and Shiv Govind Rawat, and was funded by the UGC Start-up Research Grant.The researchers said Neem (Azadirachta indica) is a traditional medicinal plant, flowers and leaves of which are widely used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of several diseases due to its various pharmacological properties, including anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-feedant and anti-allergic activity in India and Africa.Recently, nimbolide, a bioactive component isolated from leaves and flowers of the Neem, and has been identified as one of the crucial molecules behind its medicinal values.The anti-tumor efficacy of nimbolide has only been evaluated against a few cancers.Source: IANS
Kangana Ranaut, who is among the most successful female stars of Bollywood's current generation, is also dubbed 'controversy's favourite child'. Besides her memorable performances in films like Fashion, Queen, Tanu Weds Manu among others, the actress often makes headlines due to her bold and controversial statements.

After slamming Alia Bhatt and Karan Johar in her recent social media posts, Kangana has now taken a dig at Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, and other successful celebrities who have hosted reality shows.

Kangana, who is currently hosting Lock Upp for Ekta Kapoor's ALTBalaji and MX Player, is elated with the huge success of her reality show. Taking to social media, the actress has called herself a 'superstar host' and put herself in the league of Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan. She went on to call SRK, Priyanka, Akshay Kumar, and Ranveer Singh 'unsuccessful hosts'.

Taking to Instagram, she wrote, "Many successful actors have tried their hands on hosting like SRK, Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh they may have successful careers but they failed at hosting. They are unsuccessful hosts, so far only Shri Amitabh Bachchan Ji, Salman Khan Ji, and Kangana Ranaut have achieved this glory to be a superstar host privileged to be in this league".

The Thalaivi actress, who claimed in a previous post that many in the industry are sobbing over her show's success, now claims that others are jealous of her work as a host. She added, "I wish I didn't have to state the obvious but jealous movie mafia is doing everything to discredit me and my show so I had to do the needful and I don't mind if I can stand up for everyone else I can stand up for myself also it is wonderful to be the only successful host of this generation #lockupp".

Take a look at her Instagram story below:

 Instagram

For the unversed, SRK had turned host for Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?, Zor Ka Jhatka: Total Wipeout, India Poochega Sabse Shaana Kaun?, and TED Talks India. However, all of his shows failed to fetch the expected TRPs. Akshay, on the other hand, initially tasted success with Khatron Ke Khiladi. But, his other shows MasterChef India, Dare 2 Dance, and The Great Indian Laughter Challenge failed to make a mark.



Interestingly, Priyanka replaced Akshay as a host in Khatron Ke Khiladi 3. While the show fetched decent numbers, the makers went back to the Khiladi star for its fourth season. Ranveer too had a flop stint as a TV host with The Big Picture.

Coming back to Kangana's Lock Upp, the show is doing well and recently crossed 200 million views.
As Sri Lankas economic condition worsens by the day, the entire world is appalled and scared at how badly a beautiful country is collapsing and crushing under its own debt trap. The country has its residents protesting on the streets, forcing the government to resign and dealing with life altering issues like no fuel, food and electricity. Actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who hails from Sri Lanka, took to social media to post about the situation and urged people to pray for her country.



What was supposed to be a heartfelt appeal from her end, soon turned upside down and ended up becoming a trolling station for the actress. While a lot of people acknowledged her pain and angst and wrote about praying for Sri Lanka, there were a lot of unkind comments on asking her to donate money, take Indian citizenship and even calling her a hypocrite.



 Instagram

 Instagram

 Instagram

Some even called it a metaphoric heartbreak claiming that she probably doesnt feel the actual pain of people enduring it back home. While it's true that she works and lives in India, by that logic, so do many more people who leave their country for work. That doesnt mean that they are no longer eligible to call a place home or feel the pain. Being a celebrity comes with a price and sadly sometimes the B-town celebs end up paying a lot for it.
Is mens jewellery already a part of your wardrobe?

If not, wed like to share an update: Jewellery has taken a prominent place in menswear. And were not just talking trends on the runway, we mean serious business that extends to all sorts of celebsBollywood, Tollywood, Hollywood, sports.

Mens jewellery is no more a thing yogis and rappers wear, its boardroom material baby.

If youre shy, then work your way up slowly from the easiest pieces to work into your rotation.

1. Metal Chain

Indian men have worn fine gold chains for the longest time. If youre ready to move on to something a little more advanced, a bit more trendy, might we suggest going in the direction Ranveer Singh and Hardik Pandya are taking us with their obsession for metallic chains?

It has a beachy-cool vibe. So let it show when youre playing the style god. For formal settings, button up. Such is the beauty of a necklace.
I have aspired to be a writer since I was a little girl. In fact, if I am being really honest, I havent just aspired to be a writer, but to be a profound author who has several books published under her name. But I am often told how writing a book is more about learning and gaining experiences in life, than it is about writing them down.

After all, what youve known and closely experienced is what youre better able to articulate. A theory, that was taken a tad bit too seriously by another author across the world who was recently put on trial for allegedly murdering her husband.

 Twitter

And the creepy part is, in the list of what all she had authored, the romance novelist had written an essay titled, How To Murder Your husband. Isnt the irony killer?



Nancy Crampton-Brophy, 71, from Oregon, U.S., had authored the essay back in 2011 and had gone on to share several motives for and means of killing your spouse.

Little did anyone know that her own researched article will one day serve as an instruction manual for killing her husband. Nancy has now been put on a murder trial after she was accused of fatally shooting her husband Daniel Brophy, in June 2018 with a view to gain more than $1.5 million in life insurance.

A report shared by The Washington Post shared that the body of Daniel was found by his co-worker in a kitchen at the Oregon Culinary Institute (OCI), in Portland, on 2 June 2018. He had two gunshot wounds, one to his chest and another in his back.

 Twitter

Upon investigation, it was found that Nancy lied about her whereabouts during the time of death, as she claimed that she was home the whole time. She even took to her Facebook and broke the news of her husbands death as she wrote, I have sad news to relate. My husband and best friend, Chef Dan Brophy was killed yesterday morning. Im struggling to make sense of everything right now. While I appreciate toy loving responses, I am overwhelmed."



She also wrote, "For those of you who are close to me and feel this deserved a phone call, you are right, but I'm struggling to make sense of everything right now."

A woman who wrote a paper on how to kill your husband is on trial for murdering her husband. She also wrote a romance called The Wrong Husband. https://t.co/J9jrCQCOMv  A Grand Romance (Kate) (@AGrandRomance) April 5, 2022

However, later in September 2018 she was arrested and pleaded guilty. Whether or not she committed the crime or would be prosecuted for it, is yet to be known, but in the meantime we clearly cant get over the similarity it has to the film Basic Instinct.

Guess, writing an essay about how to kill your husband, wasnt a great choice, after all!

Source: Indiatimes
Madrid, 4 April 2022 (SPS) - The President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, described Monday the change of position of the Spanish government on the conflict in Western Sahara as a "grave" decision, which contradicts its position until then in favor of "a solution based on UN resolutions.



"It is obvious that this is a radical shift that is not expected from a country that is the de jure administering power of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony," said Brahim Ghali in an interview with Spanish daily El Mundo.



"I feel like any Sahrawi facing this grave decision. Spain abandoned us to our fate in 1975 and 47 years later, they are doing the same thing", added Mr. Ghali.



He continued: "Spain has always defended a solution within the framework of the UN, based on the resolutions" of the United Nations, "which means defending the self-determination of the Sahrawi people to complete its decolonization process. That's why we don't understand this radical move of the Spanish government".



It should be recalled that the new position of the Spanish government supporting the Moroccan plan of the so-called "autonomy" in Western Sahara has been widely criticized by the Spanish political class, calling it "unilateral" and "provocative".



062/T
During the two world wars of the 20th century, Europe was the self-proclaimed center of the world. That is why we call the two wars world wars.

by Boaventura de Sousa Santos

More than 100 years after World War I, Europes leaders are sleepwalking toward a new all-out war. In 1914, the European governments believed that the war would last three weeks; it lasted four years and resulted in more than 20 million deaths. The same nonchalance is visible with the war in Ukraine. The dominant view is that the aggressor should be left broken and humbled. Then, the defeated power was Germany. Some dissenting voices, such as John Maynard Keynes, felt that the humbling of Germany would be a disaster. Their warnings went unheeded. Twenty-one years later, Europe was back at war, which lasted six years and killed 70 million people. History neither repeats itself nor seems to teach us anything, but it does illustrate similarities and differences.

The hundred years before 1914 offered Europe relative peace. What wars took place were of a short-lived nature. The reason for this was the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), which brought together the victors and the vanquished from the Napoleonic wars to create a lasting peace. The chair of the conference was Klemens von Metternich, who made sure that the defeated power (France) paid for its actions with territorial losses but that it signed the treaty along with Austria, England, Prussia, and Russia to secure peace with dignity.

Negotiation or Total Defeat

While the Napoleonic wars took place between European powers, todays war is between a European (Russia) and a non-European (United States) power. It is a proxy war, with both sides using a third country (Ukraine) to achieve geostrategic goals that go well beyond the country in question and the continent to which it belongs. Russia is at war with Ukraine because it is a war with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which is commanded by the United States. NATO has been at the service of U.S. geostrategic interests. Once a steadfast champion of the self-determination of peoples, Russia is now illegally sacrificing these same principles to assert its own security concerns, after failing to have them recognized through peaceful means, and out of an undisguised imperial nostalgia. For its part, since the end of the first cold war, the U.S. has striven to deepen Russias defeat, a defeat which in fact was probably more self-inflicted than brought about by any superiority on the part of its opponent.

From NATOs perspective, the goal of the war in Ukraine is to inflict an unconditional defeat on Russia, preferably one that leads to regime change in Moscow. The duration of the war depends on that goal. Where is Russias incentive to end the war when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson permits himself to say that sanctions against Russia will continue, no matter what Russias position is now? Would it be sufficient for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be ousted (as was the case with Napoleon in 1815), or is the truth of the matter that the NATO countries insist on the ousting of Russia itself so that Chinas expansion can be halted? There was also regime change in the 1918 humbling of Germany, but it all ended up leading to Hitler and an even more devastating war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys political greatness could be construed as being either in recognition of the brave patriot who defends his country from the invader to the last drop of blood or in recognition of the brave patriot who, faced with the imminence of so many innocent deaths and the asymmetry in military strength, successfully enlists the support of his allies to negotiate fiercely to secure a dignified peace. The fact that the former construction is now the prevalent one probably has little to do with President Zelenskyys personal preferences.

Where Is Europe?

During the two world wars of the 20th century, Europe was the self-proclaimed center of the world. That is why we call the two wars world wars. About 4 million of Europes troops were in fact African and Asian. Many thousands of non-European deaths were the price paid by the inhabitants of remote colonies of the countries involved, sacrificed in a war that did not concern them.

Now, Europe is but a small corner of the world, which the war in Ukraine will render even smaller. For centuries, Europe was merely the western tip of Eurasia, the huge landmass that stretched from China to the Iberian Peninsula and witnessed the exchange of knowledge, products, scientific innovations, and cultures. Much of what was later attributed to European exceptionalism (from the scientific revolution of the 16th century to the industrial revolution in the 19th century) cannot be understood, nor would it have been possible, without those centuries-old exchanges. The war in Ukraineespecially if it goes on for too longruns the risk not only of amputating one of Europes historic powers (Russia), but also of isolating it from the rest of the world, notably from China.

The world is far bigger than what you get to see through European or North American lenses. Seeing through these lenses, Europeans have never felt so strong, so close to their larger partner, so sure of standing on the right side of history, with the whole planet being run by the rules of the liberal order, a world finally feeling strong enough to go forth sometime soon and conqueror at least neutralizeChina, after having destroyed Chinas main partner, Russia.

Seeing through non-European lenses, on the other hand, Europe and the U.S. stand haughtily all but alone, probably capable of winning one battle, but on their way to certain defeat in the war of history. More than half of the worlds population lives in countries that have decided not to join the sanctions against Russia. Many of the United Nations member states that voted (rightly) against the illegal invasion of Ukraine did so based on their historical experience, which consisted of being invaded, not by Russia, but rather by the U.S., England, France, or Israel. Their decision was not dictated by ignorance, but by precaution. How can they trust countries that created SWIFTa financial transfer system aimed at protecting economic transactions against political interferenceonly to end up removing from that system a country on political grounds? Countries that arrogate to themselves the power to confiscate the financial and gold reserves of sovereign nations like Afghanistan, Venezuela, and now Russia? Countries that trumpet freedom of expression as a sacrosanct universal value, but resort to censorship the moment they are exposed by it? Countries that are supposed to cherish democracy and yet have no qualms about staging a coup whenever an election goes against their interests? Countries in whose eyes the dictator Nicolas Maduro becomes a trading partner overnight because the circumstances have changed? The world is no longer a place of innocenceif it ever was.

This article was produced by Globetrotter.

Boaventura de Sousa Santos is the emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. His most recent book is Decolonizing the University: The Challenge of Deep Cognitive Justice.
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MANISTEE  The Armory Youth Project will be offering its students an opportunity to be a part of a songwriting workshop led by the band The Accidentals.

The band is going to be in town to perform at the Ramsdell Theater and they are coming in a day early to teach a songwriting workshop for our students, said Amy Wojciechowski, Armory executive director, in a news release. This is a rare opportunity to work with an amazing group of people.
The following editorial was published by the New York Daily News:

Eighteen states all over the physical and political map - including California, Arizona, Virginia, Michigan, Montana, Illinois, Oregon, Nevada, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York - now permit the recreational use of cannabis.

Those states are opting to regulate and collect taxes from adult use of the substance rather than continue to treat it as a problem to be contained through cops, courts, jails and prisons.

Thirty-seven states have made medical marijuana legal.

Yet the federal government still lists the weed as a Schedule I narcotic with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, classifying it among the most dangerous substances in America.

Anyone who isnt under the influence can see theres something very, very wrong with this picture.

Fortunately, the U.S. House Friday did something about the biggest current disconnect in American politics, passing a bill  authored by New Yorks own Jerry Nadler  to remove marijuana from the Drug Enforcement Administrations naughty list; impose a 5% tax, which would rise to 8%, on cannabis products; let some pot convictions get expunged; and urge review of sentencing for weed-related crimes  while making small businesses that sell the weed eligible for federal loans and services for which any other enterprise can apply.

Washingtons backwardness isnt just a moral and criminal justice problem. It amounts to an unfair tax on a budding industry.

Because of the federal prohibition, many financial institutions wont touch cannabis clients with a 10-foot pole. Nor can marijuana travel efficiently across state lines like almost every other product.

Nadlers MORE Act, which also passed the House two years ago, has some Republican support, but its seen as a dead letter in the Senate, where, despite Chuck Schumers best efforts, it will struggle mightily to get near 60 votes. Schumer is working on his own legalization bill, with plans to unveil it later this month.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress, battling 20% approval ratings, should have no fear of doing what 68% of Americans, including 50% of Republicans and 71% of independents, say they want.

Legalize it.
BIG RAPIDS  Officers with the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety responded to the following calls. All calls may not be reported. All suspects are assumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

A civil matter was reported in the 1300 block of Catherine Street. Caller was upset that her ex-boss keeps calling to her to get money she owes him. Ex-boss advised he would stop calling her and pursue the matter in civil court.

Officers conducted a traffic stop for expired plate near Elm and South Michigan. Vehicle had valid insurance and was released from the scene.

Found property was returned to owner.

Two scooters were found in the 300 of block North Second.

A traffic stop in the 200 block of North Warren led to passenger being cited for open intoxicant in a motor vehicle.

Police responded to an alarm in the 100 block of Maple Street. Unfounded.

Saturday, April 2

Officers were dispatched for a report of breaking and entering that had occurred in the 1700 block of South State Street earlier in the morning.

Officers dispatched to a 2-vehicle personal injury crash in the 1200 block of Perry Avenue. One driver was taken to hospital due to being pregnant.

Officers responded to assist the Mecosta County Sheriff's Office with a fatal one-vehicle crash on northbound U.S. 131 near mile marker 139. While responding, officers were advised that the crash was a one-vehicle personal injury and that the vehicle was on fire.

A traffic stop near Second and Maple led to driver being cited for driving while license suspended.

Officers assisted Michigan State Police with TruNarc.

Sunday, April 3

Officers were dispatched to an alarm in the 100 block of Maple Street and found the building secure. Keyholder responded and advised that she would work with management and the alarm company to fix the ongoing unfounded alarm issues.

A suspicious situation was reported in the 1200 block of Perry Avenue. Officers were dispatched to a suspicious complaint involving an unknown person putting something under the steel cover that protects the light post bolts. The investigation revealed this was a part of a game, possibly geocaching, that was being played. A note within a pill bottle with peoples names and dates on it was found.

A traffic stop near North State and East Bridge led to the driver being cited for DWLS, unregistered motor vehicle, and no insurance. Curries towed the vehicle.

A domestic situation was reported in the 500 block of Rust. Police said a female was highly intoxicated and upset that mom wouldn't turn her child over to her due to her intoxication. The female allegedly pushed her mothers head while she was on video call with her other children and refused many attempts to get her to go to with aunt to sleep it off. Police said she had a stungun in her purse.
SCOTTVILLE  The Mason County Central Educational Foundation's largest fundraising event raised over $20,000 in March to support educational projects in the Mason County Central school district.

The 27th annual Spring CommUNITY Auction featured hundreds of items online, and organizers were pleased to see 269 registered bidders take part in the event. Successful bidders won trip packages, entertainment, sporting goods, tools, crafts, home items and more.

I truly appreciate the bidders, sponsors and the committee that put together an outstanding event  an event that supports MCC Schools and the community,'' said Gary Andersen, of the Mason County Central Educational Foundation, in a news release.

Some bidders were from as far away as Arizona, Indiana, Illinois, Florida and Utah.

Sponsored by the educational foundation, the annual spring auction helps fund educational programming in the community. The foundation has been supporting Mason County Central since 1989 with teacher mini-grants and other larger scholastic projects, scholarships and educational events. Recent projects have included Clevertouch smartboards, campus beautification, an outdoor activity center, library renovations, marketing, and security cameras for all school buildings.

The foundation annually funds $15,000-$30,000 worth of projects and scholarships.

This year's auction will support the district's band program with new uniforms, in addition to annual projects including post-prom, graduating senior scholarships, the districts art show, staff recognition and book giveaways.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Mason County Central Educational Foundation transitioned to an online format in 2021. The move proved to be a satisfactory alternative to the in-person gathering traditionally held at the Scottville Optimist Hall. The Optimist Club is presently raising funds for renovation of the hall in downtown Scottville, and the educational foundation may return to in-person gatherings in the future.

To learn more about the Mason County Central Educational Foundation, or to donate, visit mccedfoundation.org.
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A 22-year-old Freeland man and 23-year-old Sanford woman are in stable condition at Hurley Medical Center in Flint where they are being treated for burn injuries after fire engulfed their off-road vehicle Sunday following a crash near Gladwin.

Both riders were air lifted to Hurley and treated for severe burn injuries. Another man was also taken to Hurley for burns he suffered while trying to help the female passenger out of the burning ORV, said Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division Lt. Brandon Kieft.

Kieft said Tuesday that officers are still investigating to see what the major cause of the crash and burning was.

Authorities withheld the victims' names, but their names were learned from a GoFundMe page. The victims' names are Carter Bean and Karleigh Zmikly. A family member said the ORV became engulfed in flames and flipped with the couple getting out just before the vehicle exploded. Their longtime friends, Zac and Chad Chichester, reportedly saved their lives. Chad Chichester also suffered serious burns.

The family reported that both Bean and Zmikly suffered burns on their heads, necks, faces and bodies. Both are reportedly sedated and on ventilators, facing several surgeries to address their immediate medical needs and multiple more to try to rescue them from the extreme burns covering their faces and bodies.

Bean attended H.H. Dow High School and played on the Chargers' hockey team.

Zmikly attended Meridian Early College High School and is one of three triplet sisters, along with Kennedy Zmikly and Kassidy Zmikly.

The accident occurred in an area of state-managed land west of Adams Road near the Island Lake Road intersection about 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Emergency workers were told the ORV rolled and possibly exploded.

Conservation Officer Ryan Weakman was the first law enforcement officer to arrive at the scene, joining EMS personnel. Both riders were on the same ORV. They had been parked at the Gladwin County snowmobile trailhead with a group of friends they had been riding with.

Witnesses told Weakman that the man drove a 2020 Can-Am X3 side-by-side over a small dirt hill. The ORV landed on its nose, flipped, overturned, and caught fire.

The man was reportedly able to crawl away from the ORV, but the woman passenger was stuck in the safety harness, and she had to be removed by others at the scene. Both people in the ORV were wearing safety harnesses. Helmets are not required on this type of ORV and neither person wore one. Kieft said the event serves as a reminder that it is a good idea to ride with others.

The Gladwin Fire Department, Gladwin County Sheriff's Office, MyMichigan Medical Center EMS and LifeNet (helicopter) assisted the DNR.

Michigan conservation officers are fully commissioned state law enforcement officers who provide natural resources protection, ensure recreational safety, and protect residents through general law enforcement and lifesaving operations in the communities they serve.

Were doing a lot more crime enforcement, Kieft said, citing that the DNR has vehicles that navigate tough terrain better than most police cruisers. This is especially in northern Michigan area where its tough to get police to certain calls."

The GoFundMe page was set up by Chloe Bean and has raised $8,350 out of $1 million. To donate, go to https://bit.ly/3ubxr8g
MIDDLETOWN  Compared with other countries around the globe, the United States has not yet fully tapped into the potential of offshore wind energy, but one city-based company is trying to change that.

Geo SubSea moved to its location on Middletowns Main Street in 2018. Since then, the firm has been making strides in bringing wind energy to the state, and the country as a whole.

Owner and President Jeff Gardner said that the city has been great so far. I really like the atmosphere, he said.

He has made sure the company collaborates with, and contributes to, the community as well. This includes helping with local nonprofits such as the Rockfall Foundation and Connecticut River Conservancy, participating in environmental clean-up events, and visiting local schools for informational programs and seminars.

Its very important because its a way to give back, Gardner said.

Geo Subsea is also in the process of creating an internship program with Wesleyan University, and is actively looking to hire local people to help achieve one of its goals  growing the offshore wind energy industry.

Geo SubSea supervises and manages everything that goes into such development, including environmental surveying, data collection and construction preparation. It was first company in the state to get involved in this industry, the president said.

Were helping move these renewable energy projects forward, Gardner explained.

Wind turbines built on the coast and offshore can harvest more wind than turbines set up on land, Gardner said. The industry, which began in the late 1990s, has finally started to see some growth, but the United States is still far behind, he said.

Were about 30 years behind Europe, he explained.

While there are thousands of offshore wind farms along the coasts in Europe, there are only a handful on the East coast. There are a few south of Block Island, and two located off the coast of Virginia Beach.

Through the work Geo SubSea has done, in collaboration with other like-minded companies in and around the state, the nations first commercial scale offshore wind farm will soon open on Marthas Vineyard.

Staff are also heavily involved in another project known as Park City Wind, which entails building Connecticuts first offshore wind farm south of Bridgeport. It would deliver renewable energy to the Connecticut power grid.

This could make energy both cheaper and greener for Connecticut residents.

Gardner explained why this work is important, saying it is necessary to both develop enough energy for the worlds population and fight climate change.

Eventually, fossil fuels may not be available, so we need to transition energy sources toward renewable options, Gardner said. People need to think globally and act locally to improve and conserve the earths natural resources.

Its a mission he and his staff are very passionate about.

I personally collected rocks, crystals and minerals as a kid and I loved the water, so I combined the two and went to college to become a marine geologist, Gardner said.

The GSS staff have similar background stories and we all love science, and know how important renewable energy is to society, he added. We enjoy our jobs, and it gives us a larger purpose to our the work to try and leave the planet in better condition when we depart.

More information about Geo SubSea and the work it does is available at geosubseaconsulting.com.
An attorney for Superior Court Judge Alice Bruno argued before the state Supreme Court Tuesday that her more than two-year absence from the bench was not an ethics violation, but rather his client did not receive the necessary accommodations for her disability.

The show-cause hearing, which Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson said was held to determine if the matter should be further investigated, questioned whether Brunos absence since November 2019 had violated judicial code of conduct related to confidence in the court, competency and giving precedence to duty. No decision was made on Tuesday.

Judges have an extremely important job, extremely important, and ... the people of the state of Connecticut, through the constitution and through statute, give us (the Supreme Court) a certain responsibility over the administration of justice in Connecticut. That is what this is about, Robinson said.

In remarks before the court, Bruno described the process as extremely difficult, while acknowledging she has respect for the judiciary and the law.

Theres nothing I want more than to serve the people of Connecticut fairly and appropriately, Bruno said.

While Brunos health was at-part an underlying focus of the hearing, neither her attorney, Jacques Parenteau, nor the justices discussed specifics of her medical history.

In an affidavit filed by Bruno, she alleged that a hostile work environment had worsened preexisting conditions and eventually accommodations for those conditions were needed. A March court filing from Parenteau acknowledged his client first went on medical leave in November 2019 after she was hospitalized for cardiac testing related to the stress of her job.

Addressing whether her absence should be further investigated, Parenteau argued there is no reason to do so considering she had informed judicial administrators in December 2020 that there were judicial districts in which she could return based on the guidance of her medical providers.

Parenteau said those accommodations were not granted. And he later argued there was not a good faith on the side of court administration to find a solution that would return Bruno to the bench.

Judge Bruno wanted to be back at work in a judicial district where she had a supportive environment since 2020, so theres no cause to commence an investigation to determine whether or not she violated these judicial rules, the code of conduct, Parenteau said.

Despite her lengthy absence from the bench, Bruno has continued to be paid her roughly $170,000-a-year salary, state records show.

Youve indicated that over the last two-plus years, Judge Bruno has not performed any services on behalf of the people of Connecticut in exchange for the $400,000 she has received. Is that correct? Justice Andrew J. McDonald asked Parenteau.

While Parenteau was not sure if it was $400,000, he said Brunos pay was an accommodation given her condition.

A medical leave is a form of accommodations. She had every right to believe she was being accommodated by the Judicial Branch while we were trying to find a solution. And that solution was there to be had. We couldve had that solution if only there was good faith on the other side, Parenteau said.

In the hearing Tuesday, several justices asked about her service leading up to her extended absence, including assignments in courthouses in Bridgeport and Waterbury.

Amid questioning from Robinson on whether matters were being handled while she was working, Bruno said: Theres no doubt there are matters that may not have decisions, but I did everything I could to do all my decisions. I did all the data entry. I did all the decisions myself.

Robinson then replied, but you said you didnt complete them all before asking if any matters needed to be retried.

Bruno said she was not aware, and that no one had contacted her for any input. Im sure that may be the case, but again I dont know, she said.

Ahead of going on medical leave, court filings from Parenteau show court administrators suggested she seek disability retirement during an August 2019 meeting. Bruno later told the justices this was a daunting and devastating circumstance for me.

The filings show she later decided to withdraw the application for disability retirement and seek a return to work with accommodations.

Parenteau said he regretted advising Bruno to withdraw her disability retirement application in May 2020, acknowledging he believes she has been vilified in the ensuing months, referencing news headlines about her extended absence.

She wants to be at work. She wanted to be at work. She tried to come to work, Parenteau said.
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MIDDLETOWN  While COVID-19 case counts remain low across the state, a city health official says there isnt as much of an urgency to get a second booster shot for certain populations as it was when third shots became available late last fall.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week authorized the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna booster vaccines for those 50 and older, as well as those 12 and older who are immunocompromised.

Acting Health Director Kevin Elak said those 65 and older should get the second booster if theyve taken the first one four or more months ago because effectiveness wanes. In most cases, he said, others can decide to wait.

Elak is going to postpone his second booster until right before he goes on vacation this summer.

It is possible to become infected with the omicron subvariant BA.2, even for those whove had COVID multiple times, the acting health director said.

While the CDC has relaxed its COVID guidance, it recommends people consider wearing masks if they are in a community with high transmission levels, at large gatherings  or anywhere else to feel safe.

The coronavirus risk level is low in Middlesex County. The latest health department report, released Saturday, shows there were 27 positive COVID tests in the last two weeks, and no additional deaths.

Throughout the state, cases have slightly increased. The state reported on Monday a seven-day positivity rate average of 4.26 percent.

Elak is keeping an eye on Europe, where BA.2 has been dominant for the past couple weeks. Its hard to say whether Connecticut will see a similar surge, he said, because overseas cases have started to wane.

With the warm weather approaching, more people will be outside, a much safer environment to avoid catching coronavirus than indoors. Its certainly going to keep it manageable, Elak said.

A bad sore throat is the most common symptom of the BA.2 strain, followed by a fever. That differs from other variants, where infection presents itself as a cough, fever and fatigue.

Wastewater surveillance has helped greatly in predicting possible surges, Elak said. There are a handful located across the state, including Yale University in New Haven.

Elak recently reached out to board members of the Mattabassett Sewer District, a regional wastewater treatment facility, to see if they were aware that the CDC offers free tests and shipping. It would require the district to sample wastewater a couple times a week, he said.

The only cost would be to have a staff member collect samples, he said. Wastewater surveillance is really a valuable tool. Its pretty incredible how its been able to predict future waves, Elak said. When we see spikes, two weeks later, it mirrors in the number of cases.

Nearby, such testing is being done in Hartford, but not as far south as Middletown, he said.

The city is conducting booster clinics at senior centers in Middletown, Durham and Cromwell, and will be administering them at AME Zion Church Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Future clinics will be planned if demand grows.

Shots can also be obtained at Walgreens and CVS stores, Middlesex Health and other locations.

There will be one held at the Durham Activity Center, 350 Main St., April 12 from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. For information, call 860-638-4965.
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A Brookfield woman has been accused of breaking into dozens of cars and injuring seven officers during a chase from Waterbury to Monroe on Sunday, police said.

Waterbury police said they took Hannah Casperson, 25, into custody Sunday in Monroe where she had crashed a Hummer she had used to ram several cruisers earlier that morning to evade authorities.

Casperson was originally wanted in Wolcott where police said she and a man broke into 41 vehicles early Friday morning.

This is a terrible situation that we just had to deal with, Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said Monday. I think that all the officers involved did a spectacular job.

He said the seven officers, whose injuries included contusions and strained backs, have been released from the hospital, but they all have not yet returned to work. Those injuries were caused by motor vehicle crashes and airbags going off, the chief said.

Eight Waterbury police vehicles were struck during the pursuit, with damages totaling around $135,000, according to Spagnolo.

The pursuit ended in Monroe early Sunday after Casperson attempted to make a turn on Route 111, striking several Waterbury police cruisers, Spagnolo said Monday. She veered-off one of the police vehicles, causing the Hummer she was driving to roll and strike a utility pole, the chief said.

The chief said Casperson was apprehended after she tried to run away from the crash. She was hospitalized with injuries that included a broken femur and a dislocated hip and was in stable condition on Monday, police said.

Those were injuries that were caused by the accident, Spagnolo said.

At one point during the pursuit, an officer had cornered Casperson on a dead-end road off East Main Street in Waterbury, using his cruiser to block the end of the street and approached the car on foot, according to body-camera footage released Monday.

I got the street blocked, youre not going anywhere, the officer says, according to the video.

The officer tried to open the Hummers door, which appears to be locked. The Hummer then takes off away from the officer as he runs in pursuit. The white SUV rams the officers car, driving up onto the side of the cruiser, the video shows.

While aiming his handgun at the SUV, the officer can be heard shouting at the driver to put the vehicle in park, the video shows. The SUV then drives through a gap between the cruiser and a building, the video shows.

The chief commended that officer, whom he did not identify, for not firing his weapon.

There came a point in time where this officers life was in jeopardy, he feared for his life, he drew his weapon. He had the fortitude, he had the stamina not to use deadly physical force although he was faced with deadly physical force, and I commend that officers actions, Spagnolo said.

A spokesperson for Inspector General Robert Devlin, the state official charged with investigating police use-of-force incidents, said Monday the office is not investigating the incident.

Waterbury police said Casperson has been charged with assault on a police officer, engaging in a pursuit, reckless endangerment, disobeying an officers signal, interfering with an officer, and criminal attempt at an assault on a police officer. She is also facing a number of motor vehicle offenses, according to police.

The Hummer is registered to a member of Caspersons family, according to police, and city officials are looking into what might be covered by the vehicles insurance.

Its unclear if Wolcott police have charged Casperson for her alleged role in the break-ins. However, they have charged the man they said smashed the windows of the vehicles that were broken into.

Police identified the man as 31-year-old Thomas Crawford, of Naugatuck. Spagnolo said he did not know if the two were a couple, but said they are believed to be tied to thefts in the Waterbury area that have occurred in the past month.

Those alleged crimes include the thefts of parking meters and what Spagnolo described as smash-and-grab thefts in Waterbury.

Casperson has not yet been interviewed by police, Spagnolo said.

But officials said Crawford has been cooperating with their investigation. Crawford was charged with 41 counts each of third-degree burglary, conspiracy at third-degree burglary, conspiracy at and sixth-degree larceny and second-degree criminal mischief.

He admitted everything, Wollcott Police Chief Edward Stephens said during Mondays press conference.

Wolcott police said Crawford was arrested around 11:30 a.m. Friday at a grocery store as he was heading toward the exit with a cartload of meat. Waterbury police had informed authorities that the white Hummer believed to have been involved in the car burglaries had been seen heading north into Wolcott.

He had been wearing the same coat that he wore when committing crimes in area towns, Wolcott police said.

Crawford had a device for breaking car windows in his pocket when he was taken into custody, Stephens said.

He was ready to go out the door, but evidently (Casperson) had seen the police pulling into the lot. She fled, Stephens said, describing Crawfords arrest. My detectives got out, they knew theres only one person in the car, so they figured he was in the store. He added that Crawford was found near the door with a carriage containing a pile of meat.

Stephens said Wolcott police pursued Casperson as she fled the parking lot, but the chase was called off because it was not a violent crime.

On Sunday morning, Waterbury police said they received information about the location of the Hummer and Casperson.

Police said they responded to the area of Rutledge and East Main streets where Casperson was located behind the wheel of the Hummer. From there, officials said, the chase ensued.

Following the chase, Casperson was taken into custody by Waterbury police and transported to St. Vincents Medical Center in Bridgeport.

Court records on the states judicial website show Casperson has one previous case pending in Danbury Superior Court for interfering with an officer/resisting. Casperson has pleaded not guilty to the charge stemming from the incident that occurred Nov. 20, 2021, court records show.
Marine Corps leaders have come out with a strong defense of their future vision for the service -- known broadly as Force Design 2030 -- after a string of editorials and pushback from former generals was published in several media outlets.

The plan, announced more than two years ago, has the Corps shedding its tanks, some aircraft and thousands of Marines to make way for anti-ship missile capabilities, as well as unmanned systems and other high-tech equipment, in an effort to refocus the service on amphibious and expeditionary warfare.

"Ethos, war fighting spirit, offensive nature, Marine air-ground task force, combined arms -- that doesn't change," Gen. Eric Smith, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, told a ballroom of people Tuesday at the Sea-Air-Space Exposition outside of Washington, D.C.

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"Anybody that thinks that's changed, you should go to Parris Island, or to MCRD [Marine Corps Recruit Depot] San Diego, or to Quantico," he added.

The comments seemed aimed squarely at editorials criticizing the service's revamp that have come out in the last few months.

Jim Webb, a medically retired Marine officer and former Navy secretary, called the plan "a policy that would alter so many time-honored contributions of the Marine Corps" in a recent Wall Street Journal editorial that claimed to represent the views of 22 four-star generals.

Webb has been a frequent critic of the plan, writing editorials going back to 2020 arguing it would "dramatically alter the entire force structure of the Marine Corps" to take on China while "ignoring the unpredictability of war itself."

Other critics, such as author and former Marine infantry officer Bing West, argue that, by ditching tanks and artillery assets, the Corps will be less capable in urban battlefields like Ukraine. West pointed out that Marines were crucial in two major urban battles in recent memory -- Hue City during the Vietnam War and Fallujah during the second war in Iraq.

However, Smith, in his remarks Tuesday, said he had a different takeaway from recent events in Ukraine.

"You really have to look no further than Ukraine to see  the value of an individual, one individual," said Smith, who as a lieutenant general led the command that helped develop the redesign plan.

Lt. Gen. Karsten S. Heckl, the man who now leads that development command, argued that the conflict in the Middle East -- which included the battle of Fallujah -- was part of the problem for the Corps.

"For all the right reasons, they called, we went," Heckl said. "But we kind of lost a sense of who we were."

"Our stuff grew in both size and weight.  We were a little less concerned about being shipboard compatible," Heckl explained, before adding that the conflicts cost Marines a different aspect of their ethos and culture -- the maritime fighting force.

"Things started sneaking into our lexicon -- no longer called chow halls, mess decks. They were DFACS," hel said, using the Army term for a dining facility.

Later, at the same conference, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro expressed support for the Marine Corps' restructuring plan.

One of the elements of the plan is to make Marine units smaller and more nimble to allow them to move freely inside the enemy's territory and make decisive strikes.

And Heckl said that the high-tech gear that the new regiments are expected to field is developing apace.

"I'm not talking fairy dust and unicorns and pixies. This is stuff we're doing now," he said, before noting that he now has a piece of drone debris courtesy of one of the new weapons systems.

Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper, who spent 41 years in uniform, charged in a Marine Corps Times editorial that the changes mean the service will become "a mere shadow of what was once a feared fighting force."

But the leaders on the panel were especially adamant about one thing: The plan does not mean a less lethal Marine Corps.

"Someone has to take more risk for the joint force," Smith said. "This is what we do; it's our nature."

A short time later, Smith called the Corps the "primary risk taker in forcible entry."

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Troy Black declared, "We locate, we close with, and we destroy the enemy. Period.

"We have people, and we're ready to do that across the continuum of time," he added.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at Konstantin.Toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Marine Corps Begins Shutdown of All Tank Battalions
Adm. Linda Fagan, the Coast Guard's vice commandant and the service's most senior Marine Safety Officer, has been nominated to assume the post of Coast Guard commandant, the first woman to head any branch of the U.S. armed forces.

The announcement, first reported by USNI News, was acknowledged in a statement Tuesday from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

"Adm. Fagan is a tremendous leader, trailblazer, and respected public servant who will lead the Coast Guard across its critical missions with honor," Mayorkas said in a statement. "Within the Coast Guard and across the Department of Homeland Security, Adm. Fagan is admired as a role model of the utmost integrity, and her historic nomination is sure to inspire the next generation of women who are considering careers in military service."

Read Next: Navy, Marine Leaders See Ukraine Invasion as a Chance to Prepare for China

Fagan, a 1985 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, became the service's first female four-star last June when she assumed the duties of vice commandant, five years after the post became a four-star billet. She also became the third woman to serve as vice commandant, following Vice Adms. Vivien Crea and Sally Brice-O'Hara.

She rose through the ranks as a Marine Safety Officer, responsible for investigating maritime accidents, as well as monitoring merchant vessels and marine facilities, licensing mariners and overseeing safety programs.

Throughout her nearly 40-year career, Fagan worked more than 15 years as a marine inspector and has served aboard the heavy icebreaker Polar Star.

Her command assignments include overseeing Sector New York and serving as Captain of the Port of New York; leading the service's First District; and heading Coast Guard Pacific Area, from 2018 to 2021, where she was responsible for all operations from the Rocky Mountains to Asia, a job she held before being named vice commandant.

Shortly after her promotion to admiral, Fagan laid out the service's priorities to "CBS This Morning," saying that the Coast Guard is committed to homeland security, maintaining a global presence, supporting and training the coast guards of other countries, enforcing drug laws and fishing regulations, and protecting the supply chain.

"We are globally deployed. That is probably a misconception -- 'Well, you're the Coast Guard, shouldn't you just be along the coast?' ... Homeland security. It's about presence and law enforcement, much more than about lethality, like our Navy counterparts talk about," Fagan said during an interview.

During the same interview, she stated her commitment to continuing changes within the Coast Guard to attract and retain women -- one of her daughters, Aileen, is a Coast Guard lieutenant -- and increasing recruitment of racial minorities.

"We are looking at some of the policy changes that are helping us retain women, the focus on diversity and inclusion, so we better represent the public that we serve," Fagan said. "We've made a lot of progress in the junior ranks; we need to keep making progress."

While Fagan will be the first woman to become a service chief if she is confirmed by the Senate, she will not be the first to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Coast Guard commandant is a de facto member of the panel, lacking full voting rights.

Last year, Reps. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., and Steven Palazzo, R-Miss., sponsored a bill that would give the Coast Guard commandant full voting rights on the Joint Chiefs, but the legislation has not made it through the House Armed Services Committee.

The Coast Guard's current commandant, Adm. Karl Schultz, a 1983 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, is set to retire in May. During Fagan's promotion ceremony last year, he called her a "top performer and a trailblazer."

"Vice Adm. Fagan is an outstanding leader with 36 years of Coast Guard operations, policymaking, joint service and interagency experience," Schultz said. "As the Coast Guard's first female four-star admiral, and  the Coast Guard's 32nd vice commandant, Adm. Fagan will be instrumental in moving the service forward at a critical juncture in our history."

The White House also has nominated Vice Adm. Steven Poulin, current commander of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, to serve as vice commandant. Poulin, a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, has previously served as the service's Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel of the Coast Guard. He graduated in 1984 from the Coast Guard Academy.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: Coast Guard's $13.8 Billion Budget Request Includes a Commercial Icebreaker
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin defended U.S. military efforts related to Ukraine and the strength of the military in general during a fiery exchange with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Tuesday.

At a wide-ranging House Armed Services Committee hearing, Gaetz pressed Austin about a lecture on democratic socialism at the National Defense University that became a target for conservative media, accusing Pentagon officials of misplacing their focus.

"You guys said that Russia would overrun Ukraine in 36 days," Gaetz said. "You said that the Taliban would be kept at bay for months. You totally blew those calls, and maybe we would be better at them if the National Defense University actually worked a little more on strategy and a little less on woke-ism."

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A fired-up Austin shot back: "Has it occurred to you Russia has not overrun Ukraine because of what we've done and what our allies have done? Have you ever even thought about that?"

Since the start of the Biden administration, conservatives have been accusing Pentagon leadership of being more focused on so-called "woke" ideas such as diversity, equity and inclusion than on combat effectiveness. Similar GOP criticism during last year's House Armed Service Committee hearing with Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley prompted an impassioned response from Milley.

This year's hearing took place amid the backdrop of the five-week-old war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces have so far failed to achieve any major goals in the face of what U.S. officials have described as disastrous logistics and stronger-than-expected Ukrainian resistance. American defense officials have acknowledged that there could have been an intelligence gap that led the U.S. to overestimate Russia and underestimate Ukraine before the invasion.

Republicans have also accused the Biden administration of failing to deter the invasion by, among other things, not shipping enough weapons to Ukraine early enough.

In other exchanges at Tuesday's hearing, both Austin and Milley said they doubted that anything besides sending U.S. forces directly into Ukraine could have deterred Putin from what Milley described as a "long-standing" goal of invading. Milley added that he "certainly wouldn't have advised" deploying U.S. troops to Ukraine.

But it was the exchange with Gaetz that stoked the ire of the typically mild-mannered Austin.

Gaetz's early questioning, in which he did not let Austin rebut his allegations that the National Defense University was teaching socialism, prompted a warning from committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., that "we're not going to let the guy say four words and still talk and then cut him off."

But the exchange with Austin devolved into a shouting match shortly after that, when Gaetz contended that the military has fallen behind in the development of hypersonic weapons, which are also being pursued by adversaries such as Russia.

"What do you mean we're behind in hypersonics," Austin interjected.

After some back-and-forth on hypersonic weapons, Gaetz held that "it's not just the hypersonics."

"It's all over the world," he continued, citing increased Chinese military flights near Taiwan and North Korean missile tests.

Austin defended the U.S. military as the "most capable, most combat-credible force in the world" and accused Gaetz of being "embarrassed" by his country.

"I'm embarrassed by your leadership," Gaetz shot back. "It seems the Biden administration is trying to destroy our military by force-feeding it woke-ism."

Several Democrats later used part of their time to defend Austin and implicitly criticize Gaetz. Given the opportunity by Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., to further rebut the GOP's use of "contrived boogeymans," Austin maintained that he and the military are focused entirely on defending the country.

"So any notion that they're woke or that our military is woke, I take issue with that," Austin said. "Because it's just not true. It's a false narrative, and they deserve better than that."

When he concluded the hearing, Smith, without mentioning Gaetz by name, apologized for "one notable exception" to an otherwise "very, very good discussion."

"I looked it up. Sadly, I don't have the power to simply take a member's time away," Smith said.

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: Military Leaders Fire Back at Lawmakers as Critical Race Theory Debate Erupts on Capitol Hill
Camp Lejeune, located on the North Carolina coast, is home to more than 30,000 Marines and another 30,000 families. It's hardly an out-of-the-way post. In fact, it's a major installation that is host to more than 10 units and training schools.

Yet despite its size and significance, the base's hospital is struggling to provide care to pregnant Marines and expectant family members.

"If I see a patient in clinic today and I tell her to follow up in two weeks, I'm either opening up my lunch, staying after night shift, or forgoing that two-week follow-up and seeing her in about six weeks, because my next available appointment is about six weeks out," a provider at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune told Military.com.

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The U.S. military health system is in the middle of seismic changes that will send many of its civilian patients to private care. While planned reductions in uniformed medical personnel have yet to begin, the shift to private care is underway in some places -- often leaving patients waiting months for appointments, including expectant mothers who require consistent care to avoid potentially life-threatening complications.

It's not just happening at Lejeune: Military family members and lawmakers have reported appointment access problems in the Pacific Northwest, California and Japan.

In these affected areas, the civilian network of doctors who are supposed to help support military patients doesn't really exist.

The provider who contacted Military.com explained that there is only one actual obstetrician who handles deliveries in the immediate area of Jacksonville -- the small town that hosts Camp Lejeune.

"Basically, our patients keep coming back because they say, 'That person they referred me to doesn't do OB care,' or 'They no longer practice GYN surgery," they said. "They're just not your full-scope OB/GYN. They are now women's health clinics."

Some of those physicians are likely registered as board-certified OB/GYNs -- giving potential patients and health care administrators the impression that care is available -- but in reality, the doctors have stopped doing deliveries or surgeries because of insurance costs, according to the provider.

Ongoing reforms of the military health system may make the problem worse.

The Department of Defense has sought to manage the rising cost of health care since at least 2013, when it established the Defense Health Agency to handle functions that existed in triplicate across the Army, Navy and Air Force medical commands, such as administration, training and logistics.

At the time, the DoD's health care budget had ballooned to nearly $49 billion, up 300% from 2001. Under the Obama administration, DoD health officials sought to manage costs by bringing patients back into military hospitals and clinics.

But increasingly, there has been a shift toward sending civilian patients to care in the communities surrounding bases -- a move the DoD hopes will be cost-effective with the restructuring of Tricare and non-active duty families paying a larger portion of their health care costs.

In this March 19, 2013 photo, the globe and anchor stand at the entrance to Camp Lejeune, N.C. (AP Photo/Allen Breed)

In 2017, Congress gave the Defense Department broad authority to reevaluate and potentially scale back its facilities. The agency began instructing military medical commands to focus care on active-duty personnel while shifting the bulk of health services for non-military beneficiaries to contract or private care.

As part of the plan, the military services are expected to cut roughly 12,800 military health billets and the Defense Health Agency will downsize or close 50 health facilities in the next four years.

The Navy stands to shed 5,169 uniformed medical billets, including 80 OB/GYN specialists and obstetrics nurses. Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune is slated to lose 141 military medical personnel, including 109 physicians, nurses and corpsmen.

Exactly how many are in the OB/GYN clinic is not stipulated in downsizing documents presented to Congress last year.

But already there are signs of a shortage of care, according to a Marine wife who went 12 weeks without a prenatal appointment after moving to Camp Lejeune from Quantico, Virginia.

For the first three months of her pregnancy, she received care at a military health clinic in Virginia.

After arriving at Camp Lejeune, she contacted the medical center for an appointment and was told she needed a pregnancy test and positive result before starting any paperwork to get care.

Then, she learned she would be referred out to civilian care anyway, first to a place an hour away.

"Shouldn't they have been able to get my records from the [Virginia] clinic? They should have had access to them, right?" said the spouse, who requested anonymity out of concern for reprisal for speaking to the press. "Instead, I missed 12 weeks of appointments and tests."

A hospital spokeswoman said in February the OB/GYN clinic currently has 10 active-duty physicians, nine midwives, a civilian nurse practitioner and eight family medicine doctors who can provide obstetrics care.

According to the OB/GYN clinic provider who contacted Military.com, the facility is expected to downsize to one active-duty doctor by 2024.

"[There's] a thought that they will hire a few civilians to help supplement the patient load here," the provider said. "The plan was to decrease our OB delivery -- projected deliveries -- by 50% for the month of March by again, with the new OB appointments coming in, deferring them to the network."

But with appointments scarce in the community, according to both the provider and the patient, any further cuts would likely put even more stress on expectant mothers.

A spokeswoman for Humana Military, the company that manages the Tricare network in North Carolina, said there are 65 OB/GYN providers in the area, and during the week of Nov. 15 identified "five OB/GYN providers located in the immediate area of Jacksonville, N.C., with confirmed appointment availability within 7 to 14 days."

"Humana Military strives to provide a robust network of civilian providers throughout TRICARE's East Region. We monitor network adequacy and access to care on a continuous basis to ensure our beneficiaries are able to receive the care they need within a reasonable timeframe," said Humana Military spokeswoman Nan Frient in an email.

The provider who works at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune, however, said the case of the expectant mother who had so much difficulty finding an appointment is more the norm than the exception. And under the DoD's current plans, the medical center became a Level III trauma center in 2018, serving as the primary medical facility for severely injured patients in the region, including civilians who need highly specialized care.

That change means an increase in the number of orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists, emergency medicine specialists, radiologists and critical care providers -- specialties often needed in combat care.

But the OB/GYN clinic will downsize, even though it gets great reviews from military spouses on a Marine spouse Facebook group.

"I gave birth at Onslow [Memorial Hospital, in Jacksonville] in May of 2019 and it was a terrible experience. I just gave birth at Naval and it was amazing," wrote one patient in response to a question about the quality of care at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune.

In this March 11, 2015 photo, storm clouds roll over the Fayetteville Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Fayetteville, N.C. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Riley Eversull, the public affairs officer at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune, said there have been delays in appointment wait times as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and "common occurrences such as military mission readiness needs, which may pull staff away from our facility for a time."

In February, she said, the average wait time for an initial appointment was 18.9 days, while the average wait for specialty care was 17.4 days -- shorter than the average national wait time of 26.4 days for care, according to a 2017 survey by Merritt Hawkins, a recruiting and staffing firm.

In the six months that ended in March, the clinic made 106 referrals for routine OB care, an average of 17.6 referrals a month, to the Tricare network, she said, adding that the patient relations office at the hospital has not "observed any trend of complaints regarding access to our OB care."

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Defense Health Agency is reviewing its plan to restructure the medical care provided to service members and their families and must submit an update to Congress before resuming changes.

David Smith, who is performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said March 29 that the new plan contains modifications as a result of changes in the medical infrastructure that occurred in some communities because of the pandemic but declined to give specifics, noting that the plan is still being vetted through the Department of Defense.

But, he added during an interview with Military.com, the DoD plans to monitor access to care and appointment times in the Tricare network to ensure that patients are getting the care they need.

"The clear intent is to do conditions-based assessments, so if we're getting feedback -- and that's also why we're going to take up to four years to transition because we want to make sure that everywhere we are doing it, [it's working]," Smith said. "Clearly, industry has assured us that they can do this right, but the proof will be in the pudding."

The provider who spoke to Military.com said the shortage of OB/GYN appointments is much broader than Camp Lejeune.

"It's definitely Navy-wide [and military-wide]," they said.

The Marine spouse who spoke to Military.com had a baby boy in late February at Onslow Memorial Hospital. He had a medical complication that caused him to be hospitalized for a few days but is doing well and is healthy, she said.

It wasn't a terrible experience, she said, but it wasn't like her first delivery at a private health facility in San Diego. She said she didn't learn there was a shower down the hall until the day she was discharged.

"Pregnancy is a very vulnerable time for a woman, with their bodies and their health in general. To not have access to proper health care, proper appointments, it's super stressful," she said.

Editor's note: This story was updated April 6 to accurately reflect the status of Camp Lejeune as a trauma center and to clarify the number of obstetrics referrals made to the Tricare network.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at Konstantin.Toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Navy Reconsidering Plan to Cut Medical Staff in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic
SEOUL, South Korea  For the second time this week, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un berated South Korea for touting its supposed preemptive strike capabilities against the North, saying her countrys nuclear forces would annihilate the Souths conventional forces if provoked.

In a statement carried Tuesday by North Koreas state media, Kim Yo Jong called South Korea Defense Minister Suh Wooks recent comments about preemptive strikes a fantastic daydream and the hysteria of a lunatic.

She stressed that North Korea doesnt want another war on the Korean Peninsula but warned it would retaliate with its nuclear forces if the South opts for preemptive strikes or other attacks, which would leave the Souths military little short of total destruction and ruin.

North Korea has repeatedly stated it would preemptively use its nuclear weapons when threatened by rivals as it accelerated its development of nuclear bombs and missiles, which Kim Jong Un sees as his strongest guarantee of survival.

In another statement directed toward Suh on Sunday, Kim Yo Jong called him a scum-like guy and warning that the South may face a serious threat because of his comments.

Her statements come amid tensions over North Koreas accelerating weapons tests this year, including its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 on March 24, as her brother revives nuclear brinkmanship aimed at pressuring Washington to accept the North as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions.

Some experts say the North may up the ante in the coming months, possibly test-flying missiles over Japan or resuming nuclear explosive tests, as it tries to get a response from the Biden administration, which is distracted by Russias invasion of Ukraine and an intensifying rivalry with China.

The renewed tensions have been a major setback for outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in, a dovish liberal who had staked his presidential term on his ambitions for inter-Korean rapprochement.

During a visit to the countrys strategic missile command last week, Suh said South Korea has the ability and readiness to launch precision strikes on North Korea if it detects the North intends to fire missiles at South Korea.

Seoul has long maintained such a preemptive attack strategy to cope with North Koreas missile and nuclear threats, but it was highly unusual for a Moon administration official to publicly discuss it.

In case (South Korea) opts for military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty  a dreadful attack will be launched and the (South Korean) army will have to face a miserable fate little short of total destruction and ruin, Kim said in her latest statement.

South Koreas government didnt immediately respond to her comments. Seoul had issued a low-key response following Kims earlier comments on Sunday, urging Pyongyang to refrain from further raising tensions and return to dialogue.

Moon met Kim Jong Un three times in 2018 and lobbied hard to help set up his Kims first summit with then-President Donald Trump in June that year.

But the diplomacy derailed after the second Kim-Trump meeting in 2019 where the Americans rejected North Koreas demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a limited surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

Kim has since vowed to bolster his nuclear forces and sped up weapons development despite limited resources and pandemic-related difficulties. North Korea has also severed all inter-Korean cooperation while expressing anger over U.S.-South Korea military exercises and Seouls inability to wrest concessions from Washington on its behalf.

Before its resumption of long-range testing last month, the North had spent the much of the past three years expanding its arsenal of nuclear-capable short-range missiles threatening South Korea.

Experts say those missiles, which could potentially be armed with tactical battlefield nuclear weapons, communicate the Norths threat to use smaller nuclear arms even during conventional warfare to overcome the stronger conventional forces of South Korea and the U.S. The U.S. stations about 28,500 soldiers in the South to deter North Korean aggression.

Moon's term ends in May, when he will be replaced by conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, who could possibly take a harder line on Pyongyang.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Bidens special envoy for North Korea, Sung Kim, plans to meet his Chinese counterpart in Washington to discuss the North's growing threat. China, Pyongyang's major ally and economic lifeline, has repeatedly called for the easing of U.N. Security Council sanctions against the North, citing the economic toll on civilians.

___

AP writers Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
The Navy officer in charge of overseeing a fuel supply facility in Hawaii, where recent spills have contaminated drinking water and displaced thousands of troops and their families, was fired, the service announced Tuesday.

Capt. Albert Lee Hornyak, head of the Navy Supply Command Fleet Logistics Center, was relieved of command by Rear Adm. Peter Stamatopoulos after a "loss of confidence in his ability to perform his duties following a series of leadership and oversight failures at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility," a statement from the Navy said.

Hornyak's termination immediately followed news that "no more than 30 gallons" of fuel had been spilled at the storage facility on Friday.

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That was the third recent spill at the site. In November, families, troops and pets were sickened by their tap water, which smelled like fuel after 14,000 gallons of fuel leaked, contaminating drinking water. In October, the Navy was fined more than $325,000 after a previous leak.

Those issues, which drew bipartisan ire from Congress, prompted Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in March to order a year-long process to close down the facility and remove the fuel.

"When we use land for military purposes, at home or abroad, we commit to being good stewards of that resource," Austin said in a statement. "Closing Red Hill meets that commitment."

Hornyak has been the commanding officer since August 2021. Rear Adm. Kristin Acquavella will be temporarily assigned to Hornyak's position until a replacement is found, the Navy said.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: 'We Have Put You in an Unsafe Condition': Top Navy Officials Apologize for Tainted Water at Pearl Harbor
The Portland Air National Guard's 142nd Security Forces Squadron became the first Guard unit in the nation to receive a new "robot dog" and plans to test the technology for surveillance and base security operations.

The Oregon-based Guard unit's "Quad-legged Unmanned Ground Vehicle," otherwise known as the Q-UGV, can conduct video surveillance and patrol a fence line without putting airmen in danger. Robot dogs first made an appearance at active-duty bases last year, and the equipment and testing are now trickling down to the Guard.

The 142nd received the Q-UGV at the start of the year, according to the base's public affairs office, and the security forces have started demonstrating the technology to other units throughout the state this past month.

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"We've just been testing it by programming in different routes and seeing how the GPS works in our situation here at the base," Tech. Sgt. Jamie Cuniff of the 142nd told ABC's KATU TV station in Portland last month.

"[We're] also putting it through different terrain tests, up and down hills and stairs, seeing how it interacts with vehicles and how vehicles interact with it and the people on the installation," he said.

The Q-UGV, designed by Ghost Robotics and Immersive Wisdom, has a variety of cameras and sensors on board and can climb up rugged terrain as well as high-step over obstacles.

A single charge powers the robot dog for seven hours. It is controlled remotely by a security forces operator on the base, but the plan is to eventually have the Q-UGV set on a pre-programed path to run autonomously.

Last year, the 325th Fighter Wing out of Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida became the first in the Defense Department to acquire the technology. It received four Q-UGV's for base security operations.

"I can say that there is definitely a lot of interest in the capabilities of the technology," Master Sgt. Krystoffer Miller of the 325th Security Forces Squadron said in a news release last year. "I'm hopeful that other units will see some of the successes at Tyndall and will continue to explore the use of nonconventional tactics."

The 142nd in Portland has taken the Q-UGV to other bases, such as Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon, last month, to showcase how it could help with routine base duties.

"We're also going to have the capability to speak to people through the robot," Cuniff told KATU. "So if we do encounter an individual, we can engage with them verbally, remotely, from another place on base, while we're responding at the same time. It's a simultaneous response capability that we've never seen before."

The Q-UGVs in Portland and at Tyndall are unarmed but, notably, Ghost Robotics displayed one of the robot dogs fitted with a rifle at the Association of the United States Army's 2021 annual conference.

The use of autonomous weapons and equipment in the military has gained interest and popularity over the last decade.

Ghost Robotics' Q-UGV resembles the four-legged creation of Boston Dynamics, a yellow robot named Spot, which has been in viral videos from the company since 2019.

Ghost Robotics also partnered with the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year to test its robot dogs for use on the border.

The news made many Twitter users compare the Q-UVG to the killer dog robot from the "Metalhead" episode of "Black Mirror," in which a woman runs through the desert to escape the clutches of the autonomous villain.

The larger discussion of the role of autonomous systems in the military, and how they will affect future jobs in the ranks, is just beginning to take shape as more inventions reach the field.

But Henrik Christensen, director of the Institute for Contextual Robotics at UC San Diego, told Military.com it's unlikely that we'll see widespread replacement of security forces by robot dogs in the near future.

"I think the trend we're seeing is we're trying to automate what are called the dirty, dull and dangerous tasks," Christensen said. "The dull task is going around and patrolling ... but we're still going to need the people, because if something is detected, we're not going to have dogs that can automatically do intervention."

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

Related: Robot Security Dogs Have Arrived at Tyndall Air Force Base
The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.

This article first appeared in The Conversation.

Throughout the latter half of 2021, as it became clear that Russia was massing a large portion of its conventional combat power on the eastern borders of Ukraine, analysts offered contrasting predictions about the role cyberspace would play in an armed conflict. These predictions capture an ongoing debate about whether conflict in cyberspace is destined to supplant conventional conflict or exacerbate it.

As the war has evolved, it's clear that analysts on both sides of the debate got it wrong. Cyber operations did not replace the military invasion, and as far as we can tell, the Russian government has not yet used cyber operations as an integral part of its military campaign.

We are political scientists who study the role of cybersecurity and information in international conflict. Our research shows that the reason pundits on both sides of the argument got it wrong is because they failed to consider that cyber and military operations serve different political objectives.

Cyber operations are most effective in pursuing informational goals, such as gathering intelligence, stealing technology or winning public opinion or diplomatic debates. In contrast, nations use military operations to occupy territory, capture resources, diminish an opponent's military capability and terrorize a population.

A tactical role for cyberattacks?

It's common in modern warfare for new technologies to substitute for traditional military tactics. For example, the U.S. has made extensive use of drones, including in conflicts in Yemen and Pakistan where crewed aircraft and ground forces would be difficult or impossible to use. Because drones allow the U.S. to fight on the cheap with much less risk, they substitute for other forms of warfare.

In theory, cyber operations could have played a similar tactical role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But the Russian government has yet to use cyber operations in a manner that is clearly coordinated with military units and designed to smooth the advance of ground or air forces. When Russia invaded Ukraine, hackers disrupted access to satellite communications for thousands of people, and it was apparently a concern for Ukrainian defense officials. But overall, Ukraine has managed to maintain internet access and cellphone service for most of the country.

Russia has sophisticated cyber capabilities, and its hackers have worked their way into Ukrainian networks for many years. This raises the question of why Russia has not, for the most part, used cyber operations to provide tactical support for its military campaigns in Ukraine, at least until this point.

People look at the gutted remains of Russian military vehicles on a road in the town of Bucha, close to the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Serhii Nuzhnenko)

Separate roles

In recent studies, we examined whether cyber operations mostly serve as complements to, or substitutes for, conventional conflict. In one analysis, we examined conventional military campaigns around the world over a 10-year period using the Militarized Interstate Disputes dataset of all armed conflicts. We also focused on the conflicts in Syria and eastern Ukraine. Our results suggest that cyber operations are generally not being used as either.

Instead, nations tend to use these two types of operations independently from each other because each mode of conflict serves different objectives, and cyberwarfare is most effective for gathering intelligence, stealing technology or winning public opinion or diplomatic debates.

In contrast, nations use traditional forms of conflict to control tangible assets, such as capturing resources or occupying territory. The various goals offered by Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine, such as preventing Ukraine from joining NATO, replacing the government or countering fictitious Ukrainian weapons of mass destruction, require occupying territory.

There may be other reasons for the lack of overlap between cyber and conventional fronts in Ukraine. The Russian military could consider cyber operations ineffective for its purposes. The newness of cyber operations as a tool of war makes it difficult to coordinate with conventional military operations. Also, military targets might not be accessible to hackers because they might lack internet connectivity.

In any event, evidence that the Russian government intends to use cyber operations to complement military operations is thin. Our findings suggest hacking groups in previous conflicts faced considerable difficulties in responding to battlefield events, much less shaping them.

How Russia is using cyber operations

The main target of Russia's digital campaign in Ukraine is ordinary Ukrainians. To date, Russian cyber operations have sought to sow panic and fear, destabilizing the country from within, by demonstrating the country's inability to defend its infrastructure, for example, by defacing or disabling websites.

In addition, Russia has been using information campaigns to attempt to win the hearts and minds of Ukrainians. Prior to the start of the conflict, White House press secretary Jen Psaki warned of a 2,000% increase from the daily average in November in Russian-language social media content. This suggests that the purpose of these information operations was to make the case for Russia's intervention on humanitarian grounds and to build support for intervention among the Ukrainian public. The Russian government's domestic actions emphasize the value its leadership places on information operations.

A supporting role

Hackers' actions tend to occur out of the public eye, rather than in the flamboyantly violent manner favored by Hollywood cyber villains, which means it's difficult to know for sure what's happening. Nevertheless, the lack of overlap between cyber and conventional military operations makes sense operationally and strategically. This is not to say that the informational focus of cyber operations has no effect on military operations. Good intelligence is essential for success in any military conflict.

We believe Russia is likely to continue conducting information campaigns to influence Ukrainians, its domestic public and international audiences. Russia is also likely to seek to further penetrate Ukrainian networks to access information that potentially assists its military operations. But because cyber operations have not been thoroughly integrated into its military campaigns so far, cyber operations are likely to continue playing a secondary role in the conflict.

Nadiya Kostyuk is Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology and Erik Gartzke is Professor of Political Science, University of California San Diego.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
When Gen. Douglas MacArthur took command of the United Nations Command in South Korea, he was already a World War II hero, Medal of Honor recipient, commander in chief of the Far East and supreme commander of the Allied Powers.

North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950. MacArthur, with his long pedigree as a leader and already based in Japan, was the natural choice to lead the American troops in Korea. Within a year, the president of the United States relieved the general of all his commands.

Gen. MacArthur was confident that the Korean War would be a short one. Even after the South Korean capital of Seoul fell to the communists three days after the invasion, he assured President Harry S. Truman that the war could be won.

Even before the president named him the overall commander in Korea, MacArthur was ahead of the situation. He sent ammunition and supplies to Pusan on the southern tip of the Korean peninsula to help ensure the allied forces could make a stand there. MacArthur already authorized the U.S. to use naval and air forces on North Korean troops by the time Truman approved it.

Read: The Korean War: Everything You Need to Know

The general's most audacious move was a landing at Inchon, behind the North Korean advance. In the minds of the other generals of his time, Inchon wasn't just a bad landing area; it was the worst that could be chosen. High tides and higher seawalls meant a hazardous landing for American forces, who would be at risk until they could establish a beachhead.

Even though many doubted the possible success of the Inchon Landing on Sept. 15, 1950, it was a spectacular success. As allied forces fought for their lives at the Pusan Perimeter, the U.S. X Corps of the Army's 7th Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Division found Inchon ripe for the taking.

Brig. Gen. Courtney Whiting (front left), Gen. Douglas MacArthur (second from right), and Maj. Gen. Edward M. Almond (far right) observing the attack on Inch'on, South Korea, September 15, 1950. (National Archives)

Within two days, the Marines had broken through and captured Kimpo Airfield, the Army had landed and blocked a communist counterattack and the battle to retake Seoul had begun. Back in the south, South Korean and U.S. Army forces broke out of the Pusan Perimeter and sent the North Koreans into a full retreat.

MacArthur had broken the back of the communist invasion, and his stock had never been higher. With the North Korean People's Army back across the 38th parallel, the president and the general were soon at odds over how to proceed: end the war with a ceasefire or advance into the north and topple the communist regime?

In a meeting on Wake Island in October 1950, where President Truman presented Gen. MacArthur with his fifth Distinguished Service Medal, the president asked about the likelihood of Chinese or Soviet intervention in the war. MacArthur knew the Chinese had hundreds of thousands of troops across its border with North Korea and stated his belief that a Chinese intervention was unlikely, and if it happened, the UN forces would "slaughter" them before they reached Seoul.

But by the time Truman met with MacArthur, Chinese troops had already crossed the Yalu River, which separated China and North Korea.

When MacArthur returned to the war, he ordered a full invasion of North Korea. UN forces advanced rapidly toward the Yalu River. Pyongyang fell on Oct. 20, 1950. Five days later, the UN force encountered the Chinese for the first time at the Battle of Onjong. The Chinese intervention had begun, the Republic of Korea II Corps was completely destroyed and now the UN forces were being pushed south.

As the war raged on across the Korean peninsula, a public battle was being fought between Gen. MacArthur and the president of the United States. As 1950 turned into 1951, MacArthur told reporters that political constraints were hampering his ability to conduct the war. In response, the Truman White House ordered that all press statements would have to be cleared with the administration before being made public.

That didn't stop MacArthur, who continued to make public complaints. On the battlefield, however, the UN had pushed back the full extent of the Chinese intervention. On March 14, 1951, the UN captured Seoul for the fourth and final time, pushing the communists back across the original border.

MacArthur, believing China's military power was actually much weaker than it was, believed that expanding the war into mainland China would cause a total collapse of the government in Beijing. In a communique to Lt. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, he advocated that expansion, which included bombing China and landing Nationalist Chinese forces from Formosa (now known as Taiwan) onto the mainland.

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur meets with President Harry S. Truman on Wake Island after the successful Inchon Landing, 1950. (National Archives)

Truman, along with many in his administration, believed that the Soviet Union would intervene for China in the case of a larger war. Although the general submitted a plan for the use of nuclear weapons against China, he had not yet requested their use. Atomic bombs were a critical component to his plan to defeat communist China, a plan that was explained in an interview published after MacArthur's death.

The general also believed nuclear weapons should be used at the field commander's discretion, not the president's. The Truman administration did not want to use nuclear weapons and did not have faith that MacArthur could win a prolonged, expanded war in Asia without them. Instead, Truman wanted a negotiated truce and an orderly withdrawal from the conflict.

On April 5, 1951, MacArthur gave the greenlight to Ridgway to launch Operation Rugged, an invasion of North Korea 20 miles across the 38th parallel, securing Seoul's water supply and a further advance, all without consulting Washington. It was the last straw for Truman.

After conferring with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Truman relieved MacArthur of his command because the general was "unable to give his wholehearted support to the policies of the United States Government and of the United Nations in matters pertaining to his official duties." Truman named Ridgway as MacArthur's replacement.

MacArthur returned to the United States to a hero's welcome and a ticker-tape parade. He addressed a joint session of Congress to deliver his now-famous "Old Soldiers Never Die" speech.

Truman was widely panned for his decision, which was incredibly unpopular among the American public. Some legislators even called for Truman to face impeachment charges, but closed-door Senate hearings confirmed that Truman was acting within his authority to fire MacArthur, even if the decision was unpopular.

While MacArthur's dismissal reinforced the concept of civilian control of the military, it would have doomed Truman's chances in the 1952 presidential election. He decided not to run for another term, clearing the way for another former general, Dwight D. Eisenhower, to take office and end the war in a negotiated truce.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on Facebook.

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American base and Ghanaian rapper Ohene Ntow has expressed his disappointment over lack of professionalism in the field of photography and unreasonable concept flooding the internet in the name of photo shoot.

According to the rapper and businessman, the field of photography is one of the most explored field the youth are venturing into and its very important they know what they do and research more about the job opportunities it brings.

Rapper Ohene Ntow wrote on his timeline Looks like Photographers are running out of ideas, as he shares an image of an absurd photo of a lady with pant running through her legs.

The rapper who is set to release an album this year dubbed Already King has a lot of surprise packed on his project which he, has promise will conquer Africa through a promotional and tour strategy. His previous album Born Prince die King was able to accumulate huge numbers across streaming platforms and make headlines on major platforms in the USA.

Ohene Ntow is not only a rapper but a business man who owns tons of business including a show line named Ntow doing so well and competing with notable shoe brands in the world.

The rapper has shown dexterity in performing and has performed on well-known platforms in Ghana and beyond. Ohene Ntow has songs like Fatofom, Boss, Money Sugar Banana among other well relatable songs from his camp with Couple of good features.
Ghanaian media personality, Efia Odo says Nigerian men treat women better than Ghanaian men.

In an interview with Asaase Radio, the socialite was asked to share her preference when it comes to men.

According to her, Nigerian men know how to care for their women.

She indicated that Ghanaian men end up insulting their women after lying to them in relationship.

Honestly, I love Nigerian men more because they know how to take care of their women, I cant say the same for Ghanaian men.

When a Nigerian man is lying to you, the way he will come afterward to apologize you will easily forgive him, but a Ghanaian man will lie and even insult you on top of it all. So, Im not dealing with any more Ghanaian men, she emphasised.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar have agreed to return to re-start talks on integrating their rival forces into the army after escalating tensions threatened to derail the 2018 peace agreement.

Under the agreement that ended five years of civil war, both sides were expected to integrate fighters into the army. Intermittent clashes had resumed a few weeks ago after Kiir released a plan that Machar publicly refused to endorse.

South Sudan security forces surrounded his house after he made the statement, but eventually left the premises.

Machar's Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) had suspended its participation in parts of peace deal implementation on 23 March, stressing that they had been attacked by government forces. The suspension was lifted after the agreement was signed Sunday night.

On Sunday evening, both Kiir and Machar recommitted to the peace deal, signing a text in Juba that states their agreement to abide by a previous ceasefire and that will deal with an accelerated integration of their forces.

"We must implement what we say. The people of South Sudan expect that from us," said Martin Gama Abucha, an SPLM/A-IO representative, after the signing.

Opposition generals will receive their appointments in the unified command next week. The next step will be to integrate into the army the SPLM/A-IO soldiers currently in training centres.

A Sudanese mediator was on hand to help broker the signing.

Tut Gatluak Manime, representing Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) party, thanked Sudan "for standing with us to prevent another escalation into war and supporting the implementation of the peace deal".

Kiir and Machar regularly disagree on how to share power.

Although the details are not yet set, the pro-Kiir and the pro-Machar troops would be integrated into a unified army, which SPLM/A-IO indicated that it would be roughly 60 percent pro-Kiir troops, 40 percent pro-Machar troops.

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), a regional bloc involved with disputes between the two, welcomed the signing, calling it a "major milestone."
The World Bank today released GHS42 million through the Ghana Productive Safety Net Project 2 (GPSNP 2), to support Government of Ghana (GoG) to pay two cycles of arrears 75th and 76th cycles of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) for 344,000 beneficiary households.

The ongoing global economic challenges, which have been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, have increased the economic strain domestically, leading to progressive delays in LEAP payments. This has in turn impacted LEAP beneficiaries, notably the poor and vulnerable who naturally suffer the most.

We are happy to support in the interest of beneficiaries to assist government with the LEAP payments to avoid eroding gains made over the years and safeguard beneficiary households wellbeing and their resilience to shocks. These payments will be completed in April 2022 and will help cushion GoG in the interim as efforts are made to identify and provide sustainable, and reliable funding for the LEAP program and social protection interventions, in general said Pierre Laporte, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The LEAP program is one of the Government of Ghanas flagship social protection programs, initiated in 2008. The program seeks to smoothen consumption of targeted extreme poor households, specifically focusing on poor within the following categories: orphans and vulnerable children, the elderly (65years and above) severely disabled, and pregnant women or mothers with children under one year.

The program also aims to increase access to basic social services like healthcare through the enrolment on the National Health Insurance Scheme, as well as boost human capital by encouraging beneficiary households to enroll their school-going aged children in school. Per the GPSNP 2 program design, beneficiary households receive cash grants through electronic payments every two months. The cash benefit sizes differ, depending on how many persons in the household are considered eligible to receive the grant.

The benefit ranges from GHS32 to GHS53 per eligible beneficiary, per month. Over the years, the Government of Ghana has progressively increased the programs beneficiary reach from 1,645 beneficiary households in a few districts at initiation in 2008, to a current reach of 344,023 beneficiary households in all districts across the country. Additionally, Government has demonstrated its commitment to the programs implementation by progressively increasing its contribution to the program. It is currently funding approximately 80 percent of the total funding of the program, with development partners support comprising the remaining 20 percent.

Particularly within global economic downturns, such as the current one on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be important for the Government to identify ring-fenced funding to ensure regular payments of social welfare programs. The World Bank remains committed to working with the Government of Ghana, through both technical and financial support, in its agenda to support the poor and vulnerable populations, through needed social assistance programming.
The Member of Parliament for the South Dayi constituency Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has accused government of destroying the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).

In a tweet today, April 3, he said government used GETfund receivables as collateral for huge monies it borrowed.

According to him, on December 31, 2021 government took GHC1.21 billion and remitted only GHC350 million to the GETfund for its 2021 programme.

He added that an amount of GHC810 million was used by government to service the US$1.5 billion it took.
Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, is a corrupt and deceitful person, who uses white shirts to cover up his corruption. Unfortunately, the strength of his corruption has defeated the white shirts he uses to deceive Ghanaians that he is clean.

Ken Ofori-Atta, prefers putting on white attire where ever he goes. What does he have in mind putting on white shirts? Does he want to demonstrate that he is pure or clean?

White is just a transparent color but it has a spiritual meaning, for example, the white background of the aura is considered ideal, because such energy surrounded Jesus.

Ken Ofori-Atta, the worst and most corrupt Finance Minister in Ghana's political history

The white color also demonstrates modesty, care for other people, and charity but none of them reflects on Ken Ofori-Atta. He is probably the most corrupt Finance Minister in Ghanas political history.

Being corrupt, Ofori-Atta has personal issues with himself, which are affecting him psychologically and the best way to hide his double identity of corruption is to put on white attires to deceive Ghanaians.

I have said many times that there is no government that can be successful if the countrys president is related to the Finance Minister because such appointment is done purposely to amass wealth.

Ghanaians can see that under Akufo Addos government, the NPP has incurred over (GH351 billion) in debt, yet the government cant give an account of how the money was used. Such a situation occurs only when there is massive corruption.

Corruption in Ghana is inevitable because nobody resigns, or goes to prison; in fact, they are added to the government. If Ghana is not a shithole nation, Ken Ofori-Atta should have been in prison by now. The man is so corrupt that he has no shame.

In May 2021, the Qatar Finance Minister, Ali Shareef al-Emadi, was arrested over allegations of abuse of power and misuse of public funds in the gas-rich Gulf state. Ken Ofori-Atta has probably stolen more money than Al-Emadi but he is still Ghanas Finance Minister.

Corruption and stealing of money from the governments coffers are in the DNA of Akufo Addos family. They told us John Mahama is corrupt but this family has stolen more than him without accountability.

We have so many uncompleted projects left by the NDC. Akufo Addo and his family should tell Ghanaians what they did with the money after such a huge debt. It's a shame.

Until these people are out of power, Ghanaians will continue to suffer and be under psychological torture. I even feel embarrassed to give any support to such a corrupt-fraudulent government, I cant, Im sorry.
France has confirmed it is to expel 35 Russian diplomats as part of a joint European response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, following the massacre of civilians blamed on retreating Russian trooops.

In a statement released by France's foreign ministry on Monday: "France decided ... to expel a number of Russian personnel with diplomatic status stationed in France whose activities are against our security interests."

35 Russian diplomats are set to be be expelled, with the foreign ministry adding the action is part of a concerted "European approach."

"Our first responsibility is always to ensure the safety of French people and Europeans," it said.

Bucha massacre sparks outrage in Europe

Meanwhile, Germany expelled a "significant number" of Russian diplomats on Monday in what Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called a response to the "unbelievable brutality" the Kremlin had unleashed in Ukraine.

Berlin's move reportedly involves 40 Russians.

This comes as Lithuania said it was expelling Russia's ambassador over the aggression in Ukraine.

There has been outrage across Europe over killings in the town of Bucha near the capital where dozens of bodies were found in mass graves or littering the streets near Kyiv over the weekend.

The Kremlin has rejected Western accusations that Russian forces were responsible.

EU, US prepare new sanctions against Moscow

The United States and Europe are planning new sanctions on Tuesday to punish Moscow over civilian killings in Ukraine, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warning that more deaths were likely to be uncovered in areas seized from Russian forces.

Zelensky is due to address the U.N. Security Council later this Tuesday over growing evidence of what he call Russia's campaign of "genocide".

Russian soldiers withdrew from towns north of the capital Kyiv last week as the Kremlin turns its assault to Ukraine's south and east.

U.S. President Joe Biden called for a war crimes trial against Russia's President Vladimir Putin and the United States will ask the U.N. General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.

Russia says it will present "empirical evidence" to a meeting of the United Nations Security Council this Tuesday proving its forces were not involved.

Ukraine vows to hold war criminals to account

Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said he spoke with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the Bucha massacre and stressed "that Ukraine will use all available UN mechanisms to collect evidence and hold Russian war criminals to account."

Meawwhile, Kuleba also spoke with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in a phone call on Monday, with Beijing again calling for talks to end the conflict in Ukraine.

The call, which Beijing said was made at Ukraine's request, was the first reported high-level conversation between the countries since 1 March, when Kuleba asked China to use its ties with Moscow to stop Russia's invasion.
Albert Kan-Dapaah, the Minister of National Security, has reiterated that maintaining peace and security in troubling Bawku has not been an entirely easy task.

He, however, said there is light at the end of the tunnel.

According to him, government was engaging various stakeholders within the Bawku area to help bring lasting peace to the Municipality.

Mr Kan-Dapaah said this on the floor of Parliament in his response to a question by Mr Kingsley Nyarko, Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso, who asked the Minister the current state of security in the country considering the instability within the sub-region and the measures that had been put in place to ensure the safety of people and stability of the country.

The Minister said the first quarter of 2022 had been characterized by some tensions emanating from lands and chieftaincy problems; notably the tension between the Kusasis and the Mamprusis in the Bawku Municipality of the Upper East Region.

He recalled that in November last year, a curfew was imposed on Bawku Municipality following reports of gun shots in the area ahead of the Samanpiid Festival, which was celebrated in December.

Mr Speaker, although the festival was observed, it was observed with no major incidence, it was followed with some isolated cases of gun attacks resulting in the deaths of some persons including one Police Officer, Constable Regina Adzabu, he said.

Disturbingly, Mr Speaker between the 14th and 16th of March, there were further reports of gun shots resulting in the deaths of some persons and injuries of others including three personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces.

Mr Kan-Dapaah reiterated that the afore said development underscored the need to intensify existing security measures in Bawku and to that end the Upper East Regional Security Council (RESEC) continued to institute some measures to address the situation.

The Minister said they were going to conduct investigations to unravel the individuals behind the shooting incidences.

We try to make sure that all persons connected to the shooting incidences are arrested as quickly as possible and we will continue to intercept arms and ammunitions through the conduction of stop and search, said.

He lauded the six MPs from the Bawku area namely Zebila, Bawku Central, Garu, Pusiga, Tempane and Binduri, for visiting Bawku on their own initiative.

He said during the visit, the MPs met the RESEC as well the Municipal Security Council (MUSEC), the Bawku Naba, the Bawku community leaders, as well as the Pusiga Naa and residents of certain communities, all to resolve the conflict.

Mr Kan-Dapaah said on behalf of the Mamprusis, the Nayiri, the Overlord of the Mamprusis, had recently communicated that as a peace-loving King, it was his strong conviction that matters pertaining to chieftaincy should be settled through time tested institutions.

And we believed he and his people would do just that, the Mister said.

He noted that last week, the Bawku Naba, who was also in Accra, had a meeting with them and assured them that he would also do all that was necessary to get his people to desist from violent activities.

So, we believe it won't be long before we see the end of the hostilities, he said.

Mr Kan-Dapaah said there had been a noticeable decline in criminal activities across the country; saying, Mr Speaker, I want to also say that Ghana was ranked 93rd in the recently published Global Terrorism Index for 2022.

He said according to the Index, Ghana was considered a country with low impact on terrorism.

Mr Speaker, in spite of this our neighbours, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Mali were ranked fourth, sixth and seventh respectively, while the Sahel region was identified as the global centre of terrorism, accounting for 48 per cent of global terrorism related deaths, he said.

Mr Speaker, although the index gives a positive outlook for Ghana, the proximity of terrorists' activities to the country coupled with ongoing attempts by terrorists to extend their activities, southward, demands that we in Ghana should remain on high alert to address the terrorists' infiltration.

He said in view of this the Government had put in place a number of proactive measures to address the situation such as ongoing counter-terrorists' activities along the borders of the country.

GNA
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has said he supports the principle of banning medical trips abroad for public officials particularly the political class.

His comment comes after his critics bashed him on social media for his incessant criticism of President Akufo-Addo for using a luxurious private jet during his trips abroad at the nations expense but has remained quiet on the medical trips of the Speaker of Parliament abroad particular in Dubai.

To the critics, Mr Ablakwa said: The day Speaker Bagbin uses a private jet at taxpayer expense, you can be assured in all sincerity and humility that he wont escape my tracking system and stern condemnation.

Also, on medical trips abroad for public officials, particularly the political class  I pray for the day we can ban the practice for all including the President, Vice President, Speaker, Deputy Speakers, MPs, First and Second Ladies, Ministers, Presidential Staffers, Special Assistants, etc., he added.

Mr Ablakwa recalled that the NPP promised to ban the tradition of medical treatment abroad for public officials in its 2000 Manifesto, some 22 years ago, but it appears they abandoned the pledge when they won the 2000 elections.

He noted that it is most unfair to single out Speaker Bagbin and accuse him [Ablakwa] for being hypocritical especially when we havent criticised the many others for embarking on medical travels abroad.

He called for a frank and open discussion on the state of Ghanas healthcare delivery, confidentiality of all patients regardless of status and how we can insist that those responsible for public health policies patronise what we create for the masses.

This, he said must be a bigger, sincere, patriotic discourse and not something that the speaker must be singled out for.

Mr Ablakwa noted these in a Facebook post on Tuesday, 5 April 2022.

Source: Classfmonline.com
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has given justification to why his government has decided to implement the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) despite the opposition from Ghanaians.

Speaking to BBCs Peter Okwoche in an interview on Monday, April 4, 2022, the President argued that it is important to bring more people into the tax net.

He said Ghana is a country that has been undertaxed for a long time, insisting that the time is right for the government to tax the digital economy which has emerged as the biggest economy in the country.

The digital economy, the mobile economy is emerging as the biggest economy in the country and for a long period has not had any taxation at all. So it is important now that they also come into the net, President Akufo-Addo stressed.

The Ghana President continued, Our country has one of the lowest tax to GDP ratios of any country in West Africa and of an equivalent economy. In the ECOWAS area, the general average today, tax to GDP average is about 18%.

Ghana we are 13%. So if you are talking about a country which is already overtaxed, if for anything at all it is undertaxed.

Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has refuted claims that Ghanas economy is doing terribly when compared to other economies of the world.

According to him, no country has been spared by the ravages of the Coronavirus pandemic and it will be inaccurate to single out Ghanas economy as performing terribly.

President Akufo-Addo told BBC his government has put in place credible measures that will revive Ghanas economy and make it stronger again.
The Sunyani Senior High School Old Students Association (SOSA) have rejected the appointment of a new Headmaster for the school, Gordon Osei Marfo.

Reasons for the rejection of the new Headmaster, Gordon Ose Marfo who took office in February 2022 is not known.

However, this portal has sighted a letter signed by the National President of SOSA, Professor Emmanuel Opuni -Frimpong indicating that the Association has written officially to the Ministry of Education for the rejection of the appointment of the new headmaster.

"The Executive committee held a virtual meeting to dialogue the way forward. As it stands, our appeal letter has been dispatched to the Ministry of Education where the Director General and the Minister were copied. With our last check, the letter has been forwarded to the appropriate quarters. The Association would like to state emphatically that until we get a feedback from the Ministry we would like to put on hold with our affiliation to the school. Having said this, SOSA as an association would continuously seek to its membership welfare and promote interest of the association."
Chinas distant water fleet  by far the worlds largest  is rife with human rights abuses and illegal fishing, and targets endangered and protected marine life across the worlds ocean, EJFs new report reveals. In the most comprehensive analysis of the fleet to date, EJF shows that Chinas state subsidies have allowed the grossly overcapacity fleet to exploit the waters of nations such as Ghana that need marine resources for livelihoods and food security.

This destruction is enabled by the often total lack of transparency across global fisheries, says EJF, and to prevent it, all nations must implement freely available, cost-effective measures that would give all stakeholders much greater control over their seafood supply chains.

Chinas distant water fleet operates across the entire globe with consequences that impact almost every nation, shows EJFs report  which cross-references data from the Chinese government with illegal fishing records and testimony from crew.

Illegal fishing

Illegal fishing is rife among the fleet, EJF found. Testimony from over a hundred crew aboard 88 vessels showed that 95% reported witnessing some form of illegal fishing.

Almost all the crew interviewed said that sharks were illegally finned on their vessels, a cruel and wasteful process where the more valuable fins are removed, and the shark is thrown overboard to die. Smartphone footage obtained by EJF also shows seals being clubbed to death and beheaded, with over a third of the interviewees reporting that protected species such as turtles and seals were caught and killed on their vessels. Around a fifth of the crew also said dolphins were routinely slaughtered as bait for sharks.

It did not matter whether the shark was big or small, even babies inside the sharks' belly - we took them all. I guess you could call it a devil vessel because it really took everything," said one crew member.

Human rights abuse

These destructive practices are enabled not only by harmful state subsidies  amounting to around US$ 1.8 billion  but also by gross human rights abuses of migrant crew. These workers spoke of physical and verbal abuse, gruelling hours, inadequate food and water, and forced labour at the hands of Chinese captains and senior crew.

The testimony and footage EJF received revealed Indonesian crew being beaten with metal pipes and threatened with knives by senior Chinese crew. Overall, 58% of the crew EJF interviewed said they had witnessed or experienced physical violence and 85% reported abusive working and living conditions. I was being restrained and hit. They beat every part of my body, said one Indonesian man. In addition, almost all the crew (97%) interviewed said they had experienced some form of debt bondage or had documents such as passports confiscated.

Opaque corporations

As well as offenses carried out at sea, the report examines the corporations involved in these infringements  mapping the complex onshore corporate structures of the fleet. In Ghana, for instance, at least 90% of the nations industrial trawl fleet is suspected to be owned by Chinese corporations who use local front companies to register as Ghanaian and circumvent the law. Many of these vessels have been repeatedly associated with illegal fishing.

Where the fish caught by the fleet ends up is also shrouded by opacity, making it difficult or impossible to trace supply chains. However, what is known is that a number of Chinese distant-water vessels are licensed to export to Europe, and China is the USs largest seafood trading partner.

Exploitation of developing nations waters

The Chinese fleet has become a substantial presence in many developing countries and regions that have limited capacity for monitoring fishing vessels yet are heavily dependent on fishing for local food security and livelihoods, the report shows.

Africa stands out, accounting for 78.5% of the Chinese government-approved fishery projects in other countries waters. In West Africa the Chinese bottom trawl fleet catches an estimated 2.35 million tonnes of seafood every year  by some estimates, around half of China's total distant-water catch  valued at over US$ 5 billion. Many fish populations in the area  such as small pelagic fish in Ghana  are heavily exploited, to the point of possible collapse, which would spell disaster for coastal communities.

Steve Trent, CEO and founder of the Environmental Justice Foundation, said: These state-subsidised vessels are ravaging the ocean, committing human rights abuses and driving environmental injustice, all while hiding behind complex onshore corporate structures preventing those responsible from being held to account. These findings highlight the overarching failure of the Chinese government to effectively control and regulate its distant-water fleet, but also reveal a wider international problem: the shocking lack of transparency across the sector. As well as China controlling its fleet, any nation importing fish caught by Chinese vessels should be demanding full transparency along the whole supply chain. That is the only way we can be sure that we, as consumers, dont end up eating slave-caught fish and driving the destruction of our ocean.

Key findings

A high proportion of the 116 crew interviewed had seen some form of illegal fishing. For example, 95% of those spoken to had seen sharks being finned, 22% and 38% had seen dolphins and false killer whales killed respectively, and 34% reported seeing other protected species including seals and turtles being caught and killed.

According to the data analysed, fishing without a licence or authorisation is the most common recorded illegal fishing incident, constituting 42% of the total. Using prohibited gear and the capture of prohibited species are the next highest ranking offences, at 11.5% and 10.3% respectively.

Interviews conducted by EJF with 116 Indonesian crewmembers who have worked on vessels belonging to the Chinese distant water fleet indicate that 99% have experienced or witnessed wages being deducted or withheld, 97% have experienced some form of debt bondage/confiscation of guarantee money and documents, 89% have worked excessive overtime, 85% reported abusive working and living conditions, 70% experienced intimidation and threats, and 58% have seen or experienced physical violence.

Data

This report is informed primarily through a rigorous review of data published by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) detailing its various offshore fishery projects, i.e. vessels approved by MARA to operate outside of Chinese waters; and information retrieved from the Criminal Record of Fishing Vessels and associated platform Spyglass. This is the first such published analysis of official MARA data on its distant water fleet, supplementing reports produced elsewhere that have relied on the use of non-governmental sources such as satellite data to estimate the size and location of the Chinese distant water fleet.

The Environmental Justice Foundation is an international non-governmental organisation working to protect the environment and defend human rights. EJF is a charity registered in England and Wales (1088128). www.ejfoundation.org
The Member of Parliament for Wassa East Constituency in the Western Region, Isaac Adjei Mensah says he was not impressed with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos posture during his interview on BBC.

The President whiles on his trip to the UK sat with BBCs Peter Okwoche on Monday, April 4, 2022, to discuss many important issues.

Among other things, President Akufo-Addo refuted claims that Ghanas economy is performing terribly while also insisting that the cedi is gradually appreciating against foreign currencies.

I dont know the economy in the world that is doing well. The Cedi has begun to firm up. The world is going through a difficult [moment], Ghana is no exception, Nigeria is no exception. There is no country in the world that is escaping the ravages of Covid-19 and also the impact of the [Russia-Ukraine conflict].

In Ghana, the recovery programme we have is very credible and that is what is going to give us the opportunity to come out of this period a stronger economy, and it is that future we are looking at, President Akufo-Addo said.

Reacting to the Presidents interview, Hon. Isaac Adjei Mensah says he is disappointed the President could not deliver on the international platform.

According to him, not only was the Presidents posture during the interview bad he was also exposed because he did not prepare well.

The President was not in the good mood. If you check his disposition at the time of the interview, he became upset at a point in time. The whole posture of the president was bad. It is not his normal style, the Wassa East MP shared in an interview on 3FM.

Hon. Isaac Adjei Mensah continued, He never put us [Ghana] in a good position because Britain is a big state in terms of development towards Ghana.

I was disappointed that the President couldnt deliver. I think he didnt prepare well. His managers did not manage him well. The President lost his cool and to me it was not a good step.
As part of activities geared towards the celebration of this years World Malaria Day, which will be marked on Monday, April 25, Global Pharmaceutical company, Bliss GVS Pharma Ghana has extended its donation of antimalarial drugs to the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

The company over the weekend, donated drugs worth GHC 30,000 to the hospital to help in the fight against malaria.

Presenting the medicines on behalf of the company, Medical Representative for Bliss GVS Pharma Ghana in Tamale, Mr. Seidu Ibrahim Mumuni, reiterated the companys commitment in the fight against malaria.

Malaria has been crippling us as a country and also in Africa so we have been leading the initiative to provide certain antimalarial drugs particularly LONART to combat and eradicate malaria from Ghana and Africa at large, he said.

Mr. Ibrahim Mumuni further explained that the donation is also aimed at creating awareness and empowering healthcare providers to be able to reduce the malaria burden in Ghana and Africa.

He said Bliss GVS Pharma Ghana, will continue the donations in some selected regions in the country as it had already begun and added that the team will also engage in community health talks, to educate people on personal hygiene and other preventive measures against malaria.

We are doing these donations across the nation. Last week we did the first donation at the Koforidua Regional Hospital and we are here at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. We will be going to other parts of the country to do similar donations. It is our hope that these donations will go a long way to help the needy access healthcare. The Act for Africa campaign is not only about donations. We also include educating the communities around us to create health awareness, Mr. Ibrahim Mumuni said.

Receiving the medicines on behalf of the hospital, Dr. Adam Atiku, of the Tamale Teaching Hospital, appreciated the gesture and commended Bliss GVS Pharma Ghana for its instrumental role in the health sector.

He indicated that malaria is the leading cause of admissions at the childrens ward and leading cause of attendance at the hospitals poly clinic.

The fight against malaria is still very important to us and donations such as these will help us. People from the hinterlands come here for malaria treatment but do not have the resources to buy the basic antimalarial drugs so donations such as these will help us to support them, he said.

Dr. Atiku said the drugs will also be used to treat children who have malaria to reduce the increasing mortality rates caused by malaria.

Also expressing appreciation for the donation, Director of Pharmacy for the Tamale Teaching Hospital, Dr. Salifu Alhassan Tiah, disclosed that Malaria is among the top ten leading causes of deaths in the hospital and so such donations would go a long way to help the fight against the disease.

I believe that this is not going to be the end of it, we will expect that we will keep this relationship into the future so that together we can all combat this monster called malaria, he said.

Health Talk

Bliss GVS Pharma Ghana also continued its visit to the Nurses and Midwives Training College in Tamale, where the company donated antimalarial drugs and other medicines worth GHC 8,000.

After the donation, Medical Representative for Bliss GVS Pharma Ghana in Tamale, Mr. Seidu Ibrahim Mumuni advised the students to visit the hospital and get tested for malaria whenever they show symptoms of malaria.

He discouraged them from self-medicating and described the act as very dangerous.

For her part, Madam Angakumpo Dorithy Talata, Staff Secretary Nurses and Midwives Training College also educated the students on personal hygiene and advised them to bathe at least twice a day, drink more water and eat healthy to keep their immune systems strong always.

She also called for future collaborations between the school and Bliss GVS Pharma Ghana towards the common goal of eradicating malaria.
The termination of the appointment of Mr Yaw Kwakwa, Managing Director (MD), Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), was within the labour laws of the country, Mr Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Minister of Transport, tells Parliament.

He said the termination of appointment of persons holding public offices were governed by appropriate legislation and persons holding offices in the GACL were not exempted from these legislations; adding that Section 17 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) had made provision for notice of termination of appointments.

Mr Speaker, guided by this Act, the letter that I signed on the 4th of March, 2022, was issued without prejudices, Mr Asiamah stated on the floor of Parliament in his response to a question by Mr Kwame Governs Agbodza, Member of Parliament (MP) for Adaklu and Ranking Member for Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament.

The MP wanted to know from the Minister of Transport, what necessitated a letter dated 04/02/2022 signed by the Minister to the Board Chairman of GACL, calling for the termination of the appointment of MD.

On what necessitated the sacking of the MD, the Minister maintained that his action was within the ambit of the labour laws of the country; saying, I don't think that I have done anything ultra vires per the laws of Labour Act and Company's Law.

Mr Asiamah said that under the labour laws, the employer was not bound to give reasons for the appointment of a person or for the termination of a person's appointment.

Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, said the circumstances leading to the termination of the appointment of the Managing Director of the Ghana Airport Company was in relation to some developments at the Kotoka International Airport between McDan Aviation and the Ghana Airport Company, and Mr Kwakwa insisting on right being done; saying, does the Minister hold the view that the Chief Executive was dismissed as a victim of political victimization?

Mr Asiamah said: Mr Speaker, my good friend, the Minority Leader made the assertion that the former MD suffered a political victimization. Mr Speaker, I rejected it entirely.

GNA
Reverend Fr. Lawrence Anani Quist, the Parish Priest of The Blessed Heart of Mary Roman Catholic (R.C) Church, Kadjebi, has asked the citizenry to forgive each and reconcile for the rapid development of the nation.

He said forgiveness is the best policy if a people can work together to develop a nation as it was paramount in emotional healing of which without it the nation would stall in its progress agenda.

Rev. Fr. Quist made these remarks at the observation of the Fifth Sunday of Lent service at St. Paul's R.C Church Chapel at Asato in the Kadjebi District of the Oti Region.

The Catholic Priest said forgiving someone indicates a strong spirituality since the flesh would stay in a state of anger and bitterness, but forgiveness shows spiritual maturity.

He said unforgiveness stands between man and God because all are sinners, but through Grace, God had forgiven us and made us righteous.

Rev. Fr. Quist said if God could forgive us all the awful things we have done, then we can also forgive others.

He said holding on to resentment and not forgiving was sinful and stands in the way of the physical wellness of all.

The Fifth Sunday of Lent is a date on the Roman Catholic Calendar which precedes Palm Sunday.

GNA
Marcela Ganea, Linguist and international journalist, with particular interests in geopolitics, security, outer space, economy, culture and education.

05.04.2022 LISTEN

Asias Century International Project 2022  2027 was launched in Bucharest late March by a consortium of think-tanks consisting of the Bucharest-based MEPEI (Middle East Political and Economic Institute), Eurodefense Romania and ICI (National Institute for Research & Development in Informatics), together with the Ljubljana-based IFIMES (International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies), and the Vienna-based AIES (Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy) and Culture for Peace. It was supported by a numerous live and online audience, consisting of ambassadors and representatives of Asias (and MENA) embassies, academics, researchers and media.

To explain the goal of their project, the organizers quoted several Western thinkers who emphasized the propensity towards superiority of the Western world which created a global order for the benefit of the West, and they explained the need for the EU to work towards an in-depth understanding of Asia, as well as the need for Asia to develop a better understanding of the EUs complexity and diversity and the potential of cooperation.

Sven Biscop from Egmont Foundation underlined that The superiority complex is hard to cure. Nobody in Europe is longing for a return to empireMost Americans still pretend they never even had an empire. But Europeans and Americans that we are entitled to dominate international politics and that it is perfectly natural that the EU and the US are the wealthiest places on Earth. We feel that we have merited this through our hard work  the implication being that if other people are less well off, they have merited that also. The reality is, of course, that we created the international order to our economic benefit.. Under the current circumstances of increasing global interdependences, there is a need for the EU to overcome its superiority complex.

Neither Europe nor Asia has any alternative. The difference is that Europe knows there is no alternative  and therefore is multilateral. Asia thinks it has an alternative  and therefore is strikingly bilateral, while stubbornly residing enveloped in economic egoisms. No wonder that Europe is/will be able to manage its decline, while Asia is (still) unable to capitalize its successes, said Anis Bajrektarevic from IFIMES, keynote speaker during the event. Prof. Bajrektarevic reminded us that there is no country in Asia without at least 2 border conflicts, and that hence Asia is not like Europe which architecture itself on the spirit of Helsinki. He also stressed that globalization favours the strong and the fast, while multilateralization provides the same footing for a slower and the weak, and that trade and economic relations do not necessarily prevent war, as we have already seen in the eve of both WWI and WWII. In his words we must all acknowledge that peace requires a comprehensive setting based on mutual understanding and good on-going communication domesticated in the house of pan-continental multilateralism. Concussively, prof. Bajrektarevic invited participants: Let us help Asia in their Asian Century but let us not forget us  our continent needs recalibration  hence, let us extend this project for additional leg  Europe in Asian Century.

The Ukraine conflict is an occasion for everybody to see clearer, to learn, to become wiser and to act accordingly.

Werner Fasslabend from AIES, former Austrian minister of Defense, also declared the 21st century to be the Asian century, if not the Indo-Pacific century, where China will play a major role, especially with its OBOR/ Belt and Road Initiative in which the maritime corridor will have a vital role, since 70% of the world is covered by water and 90% of the world trade is done by sea. Fasslabend also stressed the importance of the Asian powers that are technological leaders and of the Asian markets that are very useful for Europe because they are huge. His only concern is whether Europe will be able to take part in this huge Asian development.

Adrian Severin, Romanian former minister of foreign affairs and former European parliamentarian, reminded that the West imposed its power on the others, the US imposed Pax Americana but America no longer has the strength to promote the American Dream and a new world order. Its not our job to tell the Asian countries what to do but its our interest to look at Asia. We should look at Asia with Euro-Atlantic eye-glasses, concluded Severin.

Viorel Isticioaia-Budura, former Romanian ambassador to China and former Head of Asia-Pacific Department of the European External Action Service of the EU, deplored the lack of action of the EU institutions in Asia which he labels as anaemia of EU institutions under circumstances where the potential exists but the results are rather disappointing.

It looks unavoidable that two major regions of the planet, the West and the East, may embark upon a new phase of interaction, seeking a new balance, mutual adjustments and refreshed ideas for partnership, not in the polarizing, but in a spirit that may help to explore possible convergence and mutually beneficial cooperation. An Asian Century does not mean throwing other regions into shadow or letting the West slide into an eclipse. On the contrary, it means a new game. With its high-speed industrialization and urbanization, rising rates of consumption and the dynamic generation of Millenials, Asia looks challenging.

Isticioaia-Budura put forward the idea that there is already an economic order in Asia with China leading it. Indeed, starting with January, 1, 2022, the worlds largest trade agreement ever, the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), initiated by China, entered into force. It will facilitate trade among the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. RCEP will cover about 30% of global GDP and nearly a third of the worlds population, about 2.2 billion people.

According to Flavius Caba-Maria, director of MEPEI, the goal of this Asias Century International Project 2022  2027 is to understand the mutual needs and interests between Europe and Asia, to stimulate the interest of officials, business people towards Asia, and to raise the public awareness, especially of the young generation, about Asia because in 2040, Asia will have had 50% of the world population and 40% of the global consumption, and in 2050, 3 billion Asians will live at European standards. In 2030, China will be the first economic power of the world. China may lead the process of Asianization and we are now wondering how the Asia-led global order will be like.

Liviu Muresan from Eurodefense Romania, co-organizer of the event, informed the participants that Asias Century International Project 2022  2027 will have a regular Asian Club organized monthly in downtown Bucharest and he will make efforts to organize multi-level cross-sectorial visits across Asia to bring together all the parties interested in extending their pan-Asian relations with concrete outcome on the ground.

The follow up to this launch is expected in a due time. Numerous entities from Europe and Asia signalled their willingness to join soon. Among them are segments of the Vienna Process; such as the Vienna-based Culture for Peace and the Brussels-based Modern Diplomacy (Compressive Cultural and the Media platform, respectively), as well as the think-tanks, institutes and media houses from southern and southeaster Asia. Consequently, it is to expect that the Project itself will turn into the standing platform of the (Europe in the) Asian Century, transforming itself to the Asian Century Process rather soon.

Marcela Ganea

Linguist and international journalist, with particular interests in geopolitics, security, outer space, economy, culture and education.
Member of Parliament for Wassa East, Isaac Adjei Mensah has called on the media in Ghana to hold President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo more accountable the same way they did to John Dramani Mahamaa when he was the President.

Some of us think the media is not pressing like the time of President John Dramani Mahama. It is a prerequisite of democracy for the President to engage the press at least once in a year, he said on the Sunrise show on 3FM with host Alfred Ocansey.

A cross section of Ghanaians share the opinion that President Akufo-Addo has been overly protective when it comes to media engagements, especially the Ghanaian media. Former Presidents of Ghana during their tenure periodically held 'Meet the Press' meetings to engage the media on pertinent issues.

He advised that, if the president avails himself, though cosmetic, it shows some respect to the media. We expect the president to engage the press. He must avail himself for that encounter and however cosmetic it is, it is good for the sake of democracy.

He was responding to a question on the performance of President Akufo Addo in an interview he granted the BBC on Monday April 4, 2022 in the UK.

Mr Adjei Mensah observed that the president probably lost his cool in the interview with the BBC and couldn't rise to the occasion and attempted to evade local issues.

I think it is not in good taste and he must take steps to redeem himself, he said.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo , on Sunday, 3rd April 2022, launched one of his governments flagship projects in the tourism sector, dubbed Destination Ghana, in London, United Kingdom.

The objective of the Destination Ghana London event is to build on the successes of the Year of Return to invite and welcome the rest of the world to visit Ghana to enjoy nature-based adventure and leisure tourism and new opportunities for visitors.

3news.com
The Deputy Ranking Member for the Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport has suggested that road tolls can be free for Ghanaian drivers but not trucks from neighbouring countries that use the country's roads.

Mr. Isaac Adjei Mensah who is also the Member of Parliament for Wassa East Constituency in the Western Region said there are four corridors of Ghana and all of them have huge trucks coming through Ghana to other parts of the continent but they are not paying anything to Ghana.

The Former Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways was commenting on the closure of the toll booths in Ghana on 3FM's Sunrise hosted by Alfred Ocansey on Tuesday.

We are losing money day in and day out. It is a waste. We are throwing money away, the MP added.

Mr. Adjei Mensah said one of the greatest sins the Ministry has committed is the closure of the toll booths.

They did that illegally and we are losing money. It is irresponsible; it is illegal that they [government] closed the toll booths. Do you know the number of trucks from neighbouring countries that are using our roads without paying, but when we enter their countries, we pay?

He suggested that just give it to Ghanaians for free. Why should foreigners have it free? We have four corridors in the country so there is huge revenue coming from them. but now they are using our roads for free because they come with a weight. This government and the road ministry have lost it.

3news.com
The Bono Regional Police Command has begun investigations into the gruesome murder of John Bonyaa, a 21-year-old rickshaw rider at Bodamni-Nkwanta, a farming community near Chiraa in the Sunyani West Municipality.

The incident happened on Thursday, March 31, 2021 at around 1100 hours and the Police had since deposited the body of Bonyaa at the Sunyani Regional Hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Augustine Kingsley Oppong, who is the Bono Regional Police Public Relations Officer confirmed the story to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, said no arrest had been made so far.

He said the body was discovered lying in a supine position with a nylon rope tied at the neck through the mouth with blood clot and bruises on the face.

ASP Oppong said the Police received a distress call from Ahmed Ibrahim, the Assembly member for the Imamkrom Electoral Area in the Municipality, saying, the Police followed up and brought the body to the Chiraa Police station, where one Sylvester Bonyaa, the father of the deceased identified the body.

The Police then suspected that the deceased might have been killed by thieves and his rickshaw stolen, he said, adding that, the Police later went back to comb the scene and found a yellowish rickshaw with an empty tank abandoned in the bush.

GNA
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has rubbished allegations that his government is targeting already impoverished Ghanaians with the introduction of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy).

Speaking to BBC in an interview in the UK on Monday, April 5, 2022, the President argued that his government is only focusing on raking in revenue from an industry where a lot of value is being created.

We think it is necessary, theyre not already impoverished, we are talking about taxing an industry where a lot of value is being created and we want to also bring that value into governments coffers, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo told BBCs Peter Okwoche.

President Akufo-Addo further explained, It is not only Ghana that has digital tax People never like taxes, I dont know any group of people, especially businesses when taxes are brought to them that like it.

During the interview, the Ghana President also refuted claims that his countrys economy is performing terribly as compared to other economies.

In his argument, the President said no economy is doing well in the global Coronavirus pandemic and the geopolitics of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

I dont know the economy in the world that is doing well. The Cedi has begun to firm up. The world is going through a difficult [moment], Ghana is no exception, Nigeria is no exception. There is no country in the world that is escaping the ravages of Covid-19 and also the impact of the [Russia-Ukraine conflict].

In Ghana, the recovery programme we have is very credible and that is what is going to give us the opportunity to come out of this period a stronger economy, and it is that future we are looking at, President Akufo-Addo said.
05.04.2022 LISTEN

The University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) has held its tenth matriculation at its Dormaa Ahenkro campus and the institutions main campus in Sunyani, the Bono regional capital.

This year, the University offered 4,652 admissions into its undergraduate programmes out of which 2,850 successfully enrolled.

For admissions into postgraduate studies, out of the 324 offers, 257 have enrolled, making the total number of students enrolled in the University for both undergraduate and graduate programmes 3,107.

Addressing the two separate matriculation ceremonies, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako, on behalf of management officially welcomed the freshers into the university community and hoped that their dreams and expectations of being equipped with knowledge, skills, sense of responsibility and vision for the future will be met at the end of their studies in the institution.

He noted that the event marks the tenth matriculation ceremony of this University since its establishment by Act 830 of Parliament a decade ago. "You are privileged to be with us as we celebrate our tenth anniversary this year as an institution of higher learning in Ghana.

Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako continued that, Your choice to pursue your undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at UENR is indicative of your trust in UENRs place as one of the young but best destinations of tertiary education in Ghana and West Africa. Our stride towards becoming a great force to reckon with on the horizon of higher education in Ghana and Africa is on course and we are happy that you have joined the boat to that destination.

The Vice-Chancellor encouraged them to abide by the tenets of the Matriculation Oath as well as the guidelines that spell out their rights as cherished stakeholders in the Universitys Undergraduate Student Handbook and Graduate Students Handbook.

Remember always the words of advice of your parents and guardians and of your own self-encouragements before you came to school.

Prof. Asare-Bediako further asked the students to be strong and keep their eyes focused on their goals and work hard towards them.

Acquire the necessary communicative, leadership and critical thinking skills you need not only to survive in this challenging world but also to impart it. Remember too that you are here not only to acquire academic knowledge but also to get ready as a polished adult for yourself, the nation and the world.

Core values

He further said UENR is driven by the core values of promoting innovation, creativity, freedom of thought and creative expression; operating with integrity, commitment and transparency; respect for conservation of energy and the environment; partnership with stakeholders in skills and knowledge generation and application.

Explore the world through your creative thinking; learn from others and acknowledge the gift in all people; be committed to hard work and live by your integrity and transparency, Prof. Asare-Bediako stated.
05.04.2022 LISTEN

The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed an application filed by embattled Assin North MP, James Gyakye Quayson, praying the Apex court to set aside its March 8 ruling that ordered the legislator to file his defence in a case seeking to stop him from performing parliamentary duties.

The Court on March 8 noted that the case against the MP has been sufficiently brought to his attention after it had directed on 22 February 2022 that court processes be brought to the attention of the MP through a publication in the Daily Graphic newspaper.

The court ordered that the processes be published in the Daily Graphic after it became difficult for the private citizen who filed the case against the MP, Michael Ankomah Nimfah to serve the MP the court documents.

Mr Quayson is in court after a Cape Coast High Court in July 2021 annulled his election as Assin North MP for owing allegiance to another country other than Ghana at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest the polls.

The MP is appealing the ruling at the Court of Appeal.

However, Mr Nimfah wants the embattled lawmaker to be restrained from performing Parliamentary duties while they await the decision of the Court of Appeal.

Source: Classfmonline.com
The outgoing U.S Ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie S. Sullivan's has visited Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to officially inform him of her departure from Ghana.

Ambassador Sullivan used the occasion to thank the Asantehene for the remarkable working relationship she and the U.S Embassy staff have enjoyed throughout her time in Ghana.

Ms Sullivan has completed three and a half years of duty in the country.

She assumed duty in September 2018 ahd initiated a number of bilateral interests which have deepened US-Ghana relations.

She leaves Ghana on Saturday, April 9, 2022 after a three and half year duty tour.

Ms Sullivan has visited about 35 African countries but lived and worked in four of them for an extended period of time.

Source: Classfmonline.com
05.04.2022 LISTEN

Ghana is caught up in an unprecedented crisis; both social and political. And it is inherent in any societal shakedown for able men to rise and defend, at least, their acquired values which embody their jurisdiction. In the spirit of such duties, men and women become activists, either for political discourse or against social upheavals. It is not prudent to criticize their zeal and willingness. But it is morally imperative, if not principled, to remind the civic audience, on the ambivalent account history holds for both activism as a mechanism in the society and activism as a purpose for political gains.

Ghana is having her own share of such an enthused and motivated men and women, both in our time and the time past. There are no structures and principles which independently stand to define and restrain the limits and the scopes of their activism, for that matter it becomes imminent, perhaps, crucial, to point out to the raw fact that not all activists could be trusted.

Activists are, but the by-products of democracy, they are not the end-products of free speech. The crisis they determine to resolve, or manage does not come as a result of predetermined flaws of civic duty requiring their efforts. Their motives and actions are solely inspired by concurrent problems. Problems that didnt erupt, but were substantially orchestrated. Meaning their proposed solutions are self-evident, bearing no long-term prospects, its nature ignites the crowd by inflammable slogans, placing them directly to the emotions of the masses.

But history has had several people who later turned into sycophants, tyrants, butchers and Inhumans. Hence, it is a warning for all who think that slogans of certain activists are the last resort to this current turmoil. We will become eternal victims to their hollow rhetoric if we are to continuously seek to appease emotions and sentiments in finding measures to restore our true existence.

Hundreds of political and social activists, tens and dozens of them have become leaders in their various countries. Others were paid-off, perhaps with what they were looking for. For this reason, Ghana must beware! The journey through our politics, since 1992, has been worthwhile, yet we havent still recorded any pristine past. Many are those who claim to have the resolution catalogs of our crisis; opposition parties, individual politicians, activists, and so on. But more of these people, especially opposition parties and politicians have helped compound the problems. If Akuffo Addo-Bawumia days of politics and activism didnt serve Ghanaians the toxic sign towards partisan slogans, then there wouldnt be any other time to read political symptoms fuming diseases of this nation.

As I have written in previous articles; that this current crisis only appears to be political, but it is not. And those who have emerged to be soluble in the solutions should be seen as immiscible solutes. Because their intentions cannot be fully ascertained. The current President used to be an active, perhaps, die-hard advocate of transparent and corruption-free governance. Now, the comparison between his years in politics and years in presidency is a task one should attempt only when his heart is in good condition.

In politics, crisis is a prospect; so, we see some politicians, busily exploiting the situations as if Athens is falling on them. The years that preceded 2016, in the United States gave birth to Donald Trump who changed the face of US politics. The Versailles Treaty in Paris gave birth to Adolf Hitler who murdered more then 8million Jews, and Gypsies. Chinas cultural upheaval in the 1960s gave birth to Mao Zedong who murdered more than 40million Chinese. Venezuelas economic turmoil gave birth to Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro, people in Venezuela sometimes have to search for food in dump areas. And of course, it was Mahamas shaky government that gave birth to Akufo Addo. If we make a mistake again, we will have another Akufo Addo.

Crisis are but an exploitative venture for demagogues, they will appear as whitish so they could bounce and reflect all other colors. In times where streams of anger and depressions are flowing like Nile, people will seek to initiate and ignite their political careers, having no intentions to bear the burdens of the nation on them when they get power. They will tap into appealing and catchy slogans; arise for change, freedom for all, youth in power and many others, just to appear nice.

It is important to emphasize that political activism is part of a political career. The real time test of true statesmanship is when one is given all the mandate to send the country back to where it belongs. It is not when one is being allowed to enjoy what has been granted by constitutional right. Ambitions meet convictions when one is given few options with or without a time frame to make big decisions; few people are able to endure such nuances in governance. In our time, we have seen no one.

Activists, when they get into government can only run experiments. Like Akufo Addo, many of them cannot convert their proposed solutions to achievable policies that yield long term results. When their experiment fails, they fall at the mercies of paranoia, and incompetence having no option than to impose more experimental measures. It is what we are seeing today. Free SHS and 120-member cabinet, from the initial stages of his presidency werent the solutions to our problems, it was rather corruption and bloated bureaucracy. Unfortunately for us, those have been the avenues of his presidency.

Political activists, again, have no idea about how instantaneous decision-making is done. Their visions are clear when they are outside, on the inside, it looks blurry. Their intentions to become the peoples voice are motivated either by destiny or ambitions. Destiny as in when a loved one; relative or parent, had been maltreated and one determined to seek for justice, for him and other victims of the same course. Here, the activists say goodbye to politics when all is achieved, and get lost in the political scene to return to personal course. For ambitions, an activist wouldnt rest until he achieves a political power; minister, president, or MP. His activism program may come to an end, not his ambitions.

In times of chaos and civil unrest, it becomes absolutely difficult, if not impossible, to separate those who seek justice and fairness from those who seek to fulfill their personal ambitions. Only the restraint of thought and objective participation with keen reasons are needed at this juncture.

We are seeing political players who are energized by the current situations. Some of them are engulfing the hearts of the public with their intellectual sweeps, others with their entrepreneurial drives. Such people too need scrutiny, because it might be their only opportunity to announce their political ambitions.

One shouldnt be out-witted. The several donations and voices that activists throw into the system arent new in our society. Many individuals, who for some reasons, didnt want to be known in public space have done countless amounts of donations bountifully. NGOs, and other concern groups, even some journalists who have no political ambitions also keep helping the people in folds. The freedom fighter or the political activists soliciting for funds to do donations isnt more important than these people.

Some journalists in this country have dedicated their lives for accountability; seeking for social justice, transparent governance and fairness for people they dont know and havent met before, sometimes going beyond the bounds of journalism. For so many years, such journalists are unrecognized, even suffer insults and vindictiveness from the same people they are fighting for. It is because they arent politically motivated, having no slogans.

No political activist is unaware of the impending consequence that activism brings. There are imminent risks they consider when calculating for their actions. In the end, they account for their own gains and losses, of which we may or may not see or hear about.

These nuances put historians in tight corners. Because the contributions of unsung heroes and heroines during upheavals like these goes undocumented. The supposed real heroes and heroines who have their actions being written will be those that initiated social media hashtags and slogans. In our struggle, lets not forget the true contributors of change.
Riots associated with mineral concession struggles in Ghana result in dire consequences for the nation, in terms of loss of investor confidence and political instability. These conflicts are serious national security issues that the government should upscale its game to deal with them immediately. I therefore call on the President, Nana Akufo Addo to ensure that the heads of law enforcement institutions in Ghana, including the IGP, Interior Minister, Chief Justice, Attorney-General and the National Security Minister execute their constitutionally sanctioned duties diligently and effectively devoid of favouritism and selective justice.

Again, the Lands and Natural Resources Minister and his Deputies should expedite their efforts to change the whole artisanal and small-scale mining status quo to ensure environmentally-friendly and sustainable operations. The fundamental problem is that the current operational procedures used by both the illegal miners and the legally licensed small-scale miners lead to water pollution and land degradation, unlike the standardized practices followed by the large-scale mining companies. The authorities should stop the politicization of the galamsey problem and adopt a holistic approach in dealing with the canker from professional and technical perspectives.

Mismanagement of similar mineral conflicts due to lax enforcement of the law and injustices led to devastating civil wars in other countries, including DR Congo, 1996 (gold, diamond, copper, coltan); Angola, 1975 (diamond, oil); Liberia, 1989 (gold, diamond, iron); Sierra Leone, 1991 (diamond); Sudan, 1953 (oil); Cambodia, 1978 (gems); Morocco, 1975 (oil, phosphate); Colombia, 1984 (gold, oil); Indonesia, 1969 (gold, copper); Papua New Guinea, 1988 (gold, copper); Afghanistan, 1978 (gems, opium) and Burma, 1949 (gems, tin, opium). These despicable and inhuman crimes started with minor mineral-related conflicts like it is currently happening in Ghana. Such civil disturbances usually take away millions of lives, destroy billions worth of properties and take many years for them to be resolved.

Considering the investor-distrust, many large-scale mining companies find it difficult to rely on countries with horrible investor confidence index. During the feasibility studies of mining projects, quantitative analyses of investment risks are considered to evaluate the viability of a projects success in terms of political stability and profitable returns. Encroachments and riots are key factors in mining areas that delay productivity and hence, immensely degrade the confidence index in mineral investment decisions. A typical example is how galamsey invasion contributed to the temporary shutdown of Anglogold Obuasi Mine in 2014. Also, the invasion of illegal miners, including some foreign nationals on Asanko Gold Mine concessions in the Manso areas in the Ashanti Region is impeding the development of the companys Life of Mine Planning.

After the preliminary investigations into the three mining riots in Tarkwa, Ellembelle and Akyem Asunafo within two weeks in the Western and Eastern Regions of Ghana, it is established that two fundamental issues created that chaos. These are concession ownership issues between two small-scale mining factions and land encroachment into large-scale mining concessions. The riot that happened on Friday April 1, 2022 at Akyem Asunafo in the Atiwa West District in the Eastern Region was due to misunderstanding of mining concession ownership between two small-scale mining factions. The disorder led to death of one person and recorded degrees of injuries of several others.

At Teleku-Bukazo in the Ellembelle District in the Western Region, a shooting incident happened on the same last Friday, April 1, 2022. It was due to arrest and prosecution of illegal miners who encroached on a mining concession owned by Adamus Resources Limited, a large-scale mining company in the area. The military fired gunshots, leading to loss of life of one person and injuries of several others. The Tarkwa conflict on March 23, 2022 involved two small-scale mining groups due to concession ownership problems. The riot caused the death of one person with various degrees of recorded injuries to others. Looking at the root cause of the problem, it is fair to suggest that negligence from the law enforcement agencies in the Western Region contributed to the unfortunate incident.

Okobeng Mining, owned by Nana Amponsah, popularly known as Okobeng was operating illegal mining on Adamus Resources concession that contained appreciable amount of gold in 2019. The company reported the encroachment activities of Okobeng to the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry and the Minerals Commission, which is the regulatory body of mining activities stopped Okobeng from operating on the concession. The illegal miner was not arrested like it happened to other illegal miners in Ghana. Knowing that Adamus was not operating on the site at that time, the Ministry officially requested for the release of the site to support the Community Mining Scheme and the company accepted the proposal. The Ministry took this initiative with good intentions to create employment opportunities for the youth and also enhance the socio-economic development in the area.

After realizing that Adamus had released the same concession to the Community Mining Group, Okobeng decided to fight for the concession by resorting to using murderers, instead of seeking for legal redress. In December 2021, the Western Regional Police Command intercepted a purported assassination plot conversation voice recording between Okobeng and a leader of some unknown assailants. In the tape, they were planning to kill the Manager of the Community Mining Group, Mr. Emmanuel Kutubebi and another person called Mr. Adjei Ben. During the conversations, Okobeng promised to provide the assailants with a pump action gun to help expedite the killing assignment. Also, he instructed the gunmen to monitor Emmanuels locations and kill him instantly. The police managed to arrest the assailants and upon interrogations, the suspected assassins disclosed that Okobeng contracted them to cause the planned murder.

He was subsequently arrested and proceeded to Takoradi Circuit Court A together with the suspected assailants on Tuesday, January 11, 2022. Surprisingly, the Judge granted all of them bail after they were charged with conspiracy to commit murder. On March 23, 2022, alleged assailants from the Okobengs group bushwhacked to attacked Emmanuel and his team on the Tarkwa-Bonsaso highway. The killers who were driving a white Toyota Corolla saloon car with registration number GM 8700-13, killed one person and injured several others in a riot. The Tarkwa police retrieved dangerous weapons from the attackers, including 2 foreign pistols, 10 machetes, 2 jackknives and a pump action gun. Amazingly, Okobeng who allegedly hired the murderers to commit this despicable crime has since not been arrested.

The big questions are; (1) Is Okobeng above the law? (2) Can anybody also hire assailants to kill other people and walk freely like Okobeng? (3) Is he a special citizen, such that his involvement in barbaric act is not punishable by law? (4) Is Okobeng governed by a different constitution than any Ghanaian? (5) Why was Okobeng not arrested for operating mining but ordered to stop instead? (6) Were the Operations Vanguard guys still operating in the Western Region in 2019 when Okobeng was operating illegal mining on Adamus Resources concession? (7) Why was the galamsey crackdown selectively applied, leaving Okobeng as untouchable illegal miner? This selective justice in this despicable crime gives cause for concern, especially as it relates to the safety and security of the citizens.

I therefore call on the heads of the law enforcement institutions in Ghana, including the IGP, the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, the Interior Minister and the National Security Minister to ensure that the laws are fully applied and the perpetrators involved in all the recent and possible future mining-related riots are severely punished to serve as deterrent to others. Considering the seriousness of the riots in Tarkwa, Ellembelle and Akyem Asunafo, the cases should be expeditiously probed to avoid denial of justice due to unnecessary delays. This can help calm down nerves and avoid future potential civil disorder.

Small-scale mining is associated with many significant challenges but it is difficult to stop the sector in entirety. However, the sector can be effectively managed to create millions of productive and lucrative employment opportunities for the Ghanaian youth. Unfortunately, the sector has been politicized instead of properly and holistically formalizing the activities from professional and technical point of view. The problem can be addressed through the implementation of the following: (1) Strategy to avoid concession encroachment (2) Proper land acquisition (3) Rightful registration plan (4) Legitimate, expedited and decentralized permitting process (5) Development of standard operating procedures (6) Establishment of standardized mining regulations (7) Pollution-free mining strategy (8) Effective monitoring and (9) Indiscriminate law enforcement.

The continuous global demand for minerals, particularly precious metals such as gold has made mining a remunerative business, which has attracted youth participation. Currently, Ghana is the largest gold producing country in Africa and ranked sixth in the world. The Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) operations contribute between 30% and 40% of total gold produced in Ghana. The ASM sector constitutes Licensed Small-Scale Mining, Illegal Mining popularly known as Galamsey and the recently established Community Mining. Generally, the sector supports traditionally agrarian rural households to build more resilient and diversified livelihood strategies. It is a get-rich-quick activity and an important source of minerals and metals. The sector has been practiced for more than a century in rural communities in Ghana and the proceeds contribute remarkably to the growth of the local economies.

Although a moneymaking venture, the ASM business exposes miners and communities to environmental, health and safety (EHS) problems. It is obvious that the drinking water sources in areas where ASM is pervasive are significantly contaminated with heavy metals of notable public health and ecological concern. However, if the suggested 8-point aforementioned guidelines can be considered and effectively executed by people with knowledge and experience in the mining discipline, the associated menace and the riots can be controlled to enable Ghanaians to witness environmentally-friendly small-scale mining operations that can lead to sustained economic growth and high-yielding mining employment across Ghana.

Written by:

Solomon K. A. Owusu, PhD

Mining Engineering & Mineral Economics Consultant

Colorado, USA
The General Secretary hopeful of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Frederick Opare Ansah has said, if elected, he will speak truth to power without being abusive.

He said his mannerism toward party supporters will be far from insulting.

He noted that he will not encourage the habit of skewing electoral processes in favour of one person in the party.

Mr. Ansah, the former Member of Parliament for Suhum Constituency in the Eastern region speaking on the Ghana Yensom morning show on Accra 100.5 FM hosted by Kwame Obeng Sarkodie, on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, stated that as the former Majority Chief Whip in the fifth Parliament, he had a way of speaking to the leaders in the party.

When I was the Majority Chief Whip, I had the likes of Mr. Hackman Owusu Agyemang, Prof Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi among others as MPs under my whip, he stressed.

I was the Chief Whip who punished P.C. Appiah Ofori, Member of Parliament for Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa Constituency in the Central Region for making some derogatory comments about the then-Majority in the matter of the sale of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone. I have always spoken my mind without insults, he noted.

According to him, the party needs a new style of dealing with recent issues in the party.

He was of the view that the party needs a different approach to dealing with emerging issues.

He said the party needs a General Secretary who will not be teleguided.

He pledged to work with all the past General Secretaries of the party and find a role for the immediate one if he is elected the new General Secretary of the governing party.

Source: Classfmonline.com
It was emotional at the Kumasi High Court on Tuesday when family members of the missing staff of the Lands Commission in Kumasi sat through court proceedings for the very first time.

Mother of Rhodaline Amoah-Darko, Cecilia Obenewaa Appiah who could not control her tears after the court proceedings said taking care of the three children Rhodaline left behind has been extremely difficult as they keep asking about their mothers whereabouts.

She is thus calling on the general public to volunteer any information that could lead to her daughters whereabouts.

It has not been easy at all because the children keep asking about the whereabouts of their mother. I have not had it easy these past months as I have had to juggle between pretending everything is alright for the sake of my grandchildren and worrying about my daughter.

I appreciate all the efforts that have been made since her disappearance. I encourage members of the general public to volunteer any information that could lead to her daughters whereabouts."

The court adjourned the case to 12th April 2022 after the state attorneys served the lawyers of the accused persons with a new document which they asked for more time to peruse.

The case management conference is expected to begin during the next hearing, where persons who will serve as witnesses in the case would be presented to the court.

Rhodaline Amoah-Darko has been missing since 2nd September 2021.

----citinewsroom
The Accra Circuit Court 11 has for the third time denied bail to the four accused police officers standing trial for their alleged involvement in bullion van robberies in Accra.

A civilian alleged to be complicit in the case has been charged.

The suspects were arrested by the police upon an intelligence-led operation at their hideout at Borteyman in Ashaiman.

The four who are standing trial had earlier been denied bail following calls by the prosecutor in the case to remand the suspects to allow for further investigations.

During the hearing on Tuesday, lawyer for the suspects prayed the court to grant the accused bail, explaining that they were police officers who are known by the service and cannot abscond.

The defense lawyer further said there's no substantial evidence against the accused officers and that they are not flight risk.

However the prosecution, Sylvester Asare vehemently opposed the prayer and called for the suspects to be remanded.

Giving her ruling on the bail application, Justice Patricia Amponsah said the counsel for the accused didn't have enough reasons for the suspects to be granted bail. The four suspects have thus been remanded into police custody and are to reappear in court on April 25, 2022.

Their arrest was part of the police's special operation into recent incidents of bullion van robberies in the country.

Two police officers who were earlier arrested in connection with the investigation are said to have died in a shoot-out when they led the police to another hideout of criminals involved in the crime.

The deceased officers are, Constable Reindolph Ansah and Lance Corporal Stephen Kwaku Nyame.

---citinewsroom
Communication Team Member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kafui Amegah, believes Ghanaians have no other alternative means of conducting financial transactions with ease other than with the mobile money platforms.

According to him, choosing to travel to hand over money to a third person is problematic as the risk involved is way higher than being charged a fee for transferring the money electronically.

Parliament approved a new electronic transaction tax which the government says will help raise the much-needed revenue but which has sparked widespread criticism.

The e-levy bill, passed on Tuesday, will introduce a 1.5 percent tax on electronic money transfers and transactions. President Nana Akufo-Addos government has said the move will help address problems from unemployment to Ghanas high public debt.

But for many Ghanaians, the tax represents yet another burden as they are already struggling with high living costs.

With the government disclosing the e-levy will take effect from May 1, 2022, some Ghanaians have begun withdrawing their monies from mobile money platforms and resorted to cash payment rather than mobile money transfers.

Addressing news of panic withdrawals, Kafui Amegah said, What other alternative do you have if you decide not to use momo transactions? It is either you send the money to the person by car or issue a cheque to them. This becomes another problem all together. Momo provides convenience in transactions and will still be used by Ghanaians.

In an interview with Happy98.9FMs Don Kwabena Prah on the Epa Hoa Daben political talk show, he advised Ghanaians against panic withdrawals, urging them to pay the e-levy. We all want to enjoy development in Ghana and if that is what we want then we have to pay for it through taxes. I know it will not be easy initially but considering the importance of the levy we should all contribute to it as a people.

---Happyghana.com
Hon. Nii Armah Ashietey, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Chairman hopeful, has extended a goodwill message to the National Chief Imam , Sheikh Dr. Osuman Nuhu Sharubutu during the weekend as they embark on this year's long month Ramadan fasting period.

Mr. Nii Armah Ashietey urged the Ghanaian Muslims and Muslims worldwide to hold fast the core values of the Islamic religion which included peace, submissive, love for one another, tolerance , mutual cohesion and respect.

The Holy Month of Ramadan according to the former Mayor of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly was to teach the people lessons of love , cohesion, compassion, and helping one another and must be applied as part of our daily lives after the fasting period is over.

As Muslims, you must be strengthened by the values and lessons to be learnt in this month which is described as holy and sacred . Holding fast the core values of the Islamic religion will help ensure national cohesion and tolerance for other people's faith and beliefs .

He asked for Allah's blessings , protections and guidance in this Holy month for the Imam and Muslims at large and was hopeful after the end of the fasting period , not only Muslims but Ghanaians at large will benefit from the blessings of the Holy month.

The visit to the Islamic leader in Ghana was to amongst other things wish the Imam and the entire Ghanaian Muslim fraternity well as they embark on the month long fasting in the Holy Month of Ramadan.

The former Greater Accra Regional Minister used the opportunity to officially announced to the Imam and Muslims in general his intentions to contest for the National Chairmanship position of the NDC in the next NDC national primaries.

Nii Armah Ashietey described the National Chief Imam as an epitome of peace, love and stability and a great blessing not only for the Muslim fraternity but Ghana at large. The old man is a blessing to us all and I am glad to have lived in the same era with such a blessed person."

He said Ghana enjoys consistent peace and stability because of persons such as Dr. Nuhu Sharubutu and "I am asking the Almighty Allah to prolong his life with good health as well as wealth and prosperity."

According to Nii Armah Ashietey, the National Chief Imam is amongst the few religious leaders in Ghana who preach and practice religious tolerance amongst the religious groups in the country. We all can attest to the Imam's tolerance and respect for other religions and faith-based organizations in the country and we must all emulate these positive examples and traits so as to live peacefully with one another".

In his response, Dr. Osumanu Nuhu Sharubutu thanked Nii Armah Ashietey and wished him well in his battle for the position of the National Chairman of his party.

He cautioned the aspirant to be circumspect and mindful of the words as he embarks on his nationwide campaign. "You must campaign purely on peace, unity and what you can bring on board when given the nod but not to campaign on insults, hatred, rancour and other negativity that will rather create divisions amongst party members."
A former Sudanese militia chief oversaw murder, rape and torture across Darfur, the International Criminal Court heard on Tuesday, as the first trial for war crimes in the region got underway.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, an ally of deposed Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir, faces 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the conflict almost 20 years ago.

His trial is the first before the Hague-based ICC for crimes in Darfur, in which 300,000 people were killed and two and a half million fled their homes, according to UN figures.

It comes as the world's eyes turn to possible war crimes committed in Ukraine.

"You will hear evidence that he (Abd-Al-Rahman) and his forces rampaged across different parts of Darfur," the ICC's chief prosecutor Karim Khan told judges.

He "inflicted severe pain and suffering on women, children and men in the villages that he left in his wake," Khan said.

Abd-Al-Rahman, 72, a senior commander of the Janjaweed militia -- a notorious armed group created by the Sudanese government -- pleaded not guilty after the historic trial opened.

"I reject all these charges. I am innocent of all these charges," Abd-Al-Rahman told judges at the ICC, a court set up in 2002 to try the world's worst crimes.

About 300,000 people died in the Darfur conflict. By ASHRAF SHAZLY AFPFile

Wearing a dark blue suit, light blue shirt and fiddling with his maroon tie, Abd-Al-Rahman sat motionless as the 31 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity allegedly committed in 2003-04 were read.

The long charge sheet describes acts of murder, rape, torture and pillaging.

Fighting broke out in Darfur when black African rebels, complaining of systematic discrimination, took up arms against Bashir's Arab-dominated regime.

Khartoum responded by unleashing the Janjaweed, a force drawn from among the region's nomadic tribes.

Rights groups described it as a deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.

'Challenging'

In April 2007, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Abd-Al-Rahman, also known by the nom de guerre of Ali Kushayb.

He fled to the Central African Republic in February 2020 when the new Sudanese government announced its intention to cooperate with the ICC investigation.

Four months later, he surrendered voluntarily.

Abd-Al-Rahman's trial is the first-ever stemming from a UN Security Council referral.

Former president Omar al-Bashir and three others are still being sought by the ICC for crimes in Darfur. By Yasuyoshi CHIBA AFPFile

Former president Omar al-Bashir and three others are still being sought by the ICC for crimes in Darfur.

Following his ouster in 2019, Bashir remains in Sudan despite calls for him and two other associates to be handed over to the ICC for prosecution.

Asked about efforts to get Bashir to The Hague to stand trial, Khan said negotiations with Khartoum's military government continued, but "cooperation is challenging".

"The situation has improved, but I would really like to close this situation," Khan said.

"But I can't do that unless we move forward... and it will be made much easier with an ever... deeper cooperation with the government of Sudan."

'Feared reputation'

Prosecutors said Abd-Al-Rahman, who carried the title of "colonel of colonels" in the Janjaweed, played a central role in a series of attacks on at least four villages in West Darfur.

He is charged with both directing attacks, as well as mobilising, recruiting, arming and supplying to Janjaweed militia under his command.

Abd-Al-Rahman "took pride in the power that he thought he exerted... and a strange glee in his feared reputation," Khan told the judges.

During these attacks, at least 100 villagers were murdered, women and girls were raped and the members of the predominantly Fur ethnic group subjected to forcible transfer and persecution.

After one such an attack in late February and early March 2002 on a village, 100 Fur men including community leaders, doctors and teachers were taken to a police station in the town of Mukjar, where they were interrogated and tortured.

Fifty detainees were driven out into the countryside, told to lie face down and were then executed, prosecutors said.

Still languishing in refugee camps today, victims of the Darfur conflict said they were relieved that justice was finally being done.

But Adam Musa, speaking from the sprawling Kalma refugee camp in Darfur, said: "I was surprised to hear that Kushayb denied the charges of killing our people."

"I have seen him take away men from our village and none of them came back," Musa said.
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in collaboration with Education and Justice Ministries has turned over 58 students to authority of Nimba County.

The students who are predominantly children were brought to Monrovia on Monday, March 28, 2022 from the D. Baryon Memorial Institute located in Graie Township, Tappita Education District #1, Nimba County, for what the institution termed an excursion tour.

The Ministry of Gender received a tip-off via its 116 Toll-Free number alerting them of a deplorable condition the students were experiencing while on their excursion tour. Upon inspection of the students' residential facility by Gender, Education and Justice Ministries, it was established that the students were poorly fed and sleeping in an inhospitable structure that is mosquito-infested and in an unacceptable serried space.

In a well-coordinated and supportive approach, Gender, Education and Justice quickly evacuated the students and on Sunday, April 3, 2022 returned the students to their parents/guardians and authorities of Nimba County respectively.

Speaking during the turning over ceremony held at the Bain-Garr Education District #1 Office, Peace Community, Ganta City, Nimba County, Assistant Minister for Children and Social Protection at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Maminah Carr-Gaye, appreciated the whistleblower, line ministries, the Nimba Legislative Caucus and the entire leadership of Nimba County for the prompt and result originated responses in rescuing and reuniting the students with their families.

"The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection headed by Williametta E. Saydee-Tarr looks forward to a detailed investigation and applicable actions of all those found liable for exposing our children to such despicable and unfortunate hazardous experience," Assistant Minister Carr-Gaye asserted.

She said it would serve as a deterrent if people are held accountable for their actions or inactions.

Receiving the students, Ganta City Mayor, Amos N.G. Suah, expressed deep appreciation to the line ministries for expeditiously and successfully returning the students.

According to Mayor Suah, he was deeply distressed when the news of the students reached him. He was limpid that his office will remain fully engaged with the Justice Ministry in ensuring that justice is served the victims.

For his part, the County Education Officer (CEO) of Nimba County, Moses S. Dologbay said they were relieved not just for the parents of the students but for the entire County of Nimba and Liberia at large.

CEO Dologbay announced a temporary suspension of all academic activities at the D. Baryon Memorial Institute and asked parents to transfer their children/students to the Varmie Memorial Public School in Tappita Education District #1 until further notice. Dologbay stated that the transfer will be absolutely free of charge.

Also speaking at the turning over ceremony was Chief Superintendent of the Liberia National Police, Dixon Nimely Jlateh, Deputy Chief of Women and Children Protection Section (WACPS).

Superintendent Jlateh confirmed the detention of the D. Baryon Memorial Institute Principal Amos Cooper along with three of the school's instructors: Melvin Sonkaly, Archie Grupee Saady and James Gaye Grupee, at the Ganta Police Detachment Office.

According to him, the detainees are undergoing investigation at the Women and Children Protection Section at the Ganta Police Detachment on the allegation of endangering the welfare of the children, which he said, is in violation of 16.4 of the revised Liberia Children Act of 2011.
05.04.2022 LISTEN

The Executive Secretary for Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah has described President Akufo-Addos submission on BCC as eloquent.

The Ghana President was on the international media platform on Monday, April 4, 2022, as he addressed several issues.

Reacting to the interview, Sulemana Braimah says although H.E Akufo-Addo was knowledgeable on economic issues, he skillfully dodged a question on the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) that would have given him a killer punch.

President was eloquent and knowledgeable on economic issues. He skillfully dodged a deadly question on E-Levy, which he needed to dodge: "But you are taxing money that has already been taxed?" That was certainly a killer punch, the MFWA Executive Secretary posted on his Twitter page.

During his interview with the BCC, President Akufo-Addo denied claims that his government is taxing the impoverished citizenry.

He stressed that what his government is seeking to do is to rake in revenue from an emerging economy that has not been taxed for a long time.

I dont know the economy in the world that is doing well. The Cedi has begun to firm up. The world is going through a difficult [moment], Ghana is no exception, Nigeria is no exception. There is no country in the world that is escaping the ravages of Covid-19 and also the impact of the [Russia-Ukraine conflict].

In Ghana, the recovery programme we have is very credible and that is what is going to give us the opportunity to come out of this period a stronger economy, and it is that future we are looking at, President Akufo-Addo said.

Listen to President Akufo-Addo in the attachments below:
The outgoing United States Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Stephanie Sullivan has called on the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharubutu to pay homage and bid goodbye.

As part of the farewell visit, the US Ambassador presented the annual US Embassy Ramadan gift to the National Chief Imam as captured by Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult).

The US Embassy delegation included the Deputy Chief of Missions Nicole Chulick, Political Officer Christopher Perry, and other Embassy staff.

The US Embassy initiated the tradition of presenting symbolic food items during Ramadan and Eid ul Adha to the National Chief Imam over the past 15 years in solidarity with the Ghanaian Muslim Community.

She thanked the National Chief Imam for the support and welcoming gesture that she and the Embassy staff had received anytime they paid him a visit. She also appealed to the Chief Imam to pray for her to achieve her goals in her next appointment.

The US Ambassador said her deputy would be in charge of affairs at the Embassy before the arrival of the new Ambassador at the end of April.

Ms Sullivan said that the United States holds in high esteem its relationship with the Muslim Community in Ghana, especially with the National Chief Imam who has proven to be a champion of religious freedom and harmony, promoter of inter-faith relations and tolerance with other religions.

The National Chief Imam thanked the Ambassador for maintaining the gesture of kindness to the Ghanaian Muslim community during the Ramadan and Eid ul Adha celebrations over the years.

He added that we appreciate the role America plays in liberating and empowering people in America and other continents, especially in the areas of Freedom, Religious Liberty and Youth Empowerment.

Present at the meeting was Sheikh Armiyau Shaibu, the spokesman to the National Chief Imam, Alhaji Abdul Lateef Abdul Salam, protocol officer of the National Chief Imam, Alhaji Khuzaima Mohammed Osman, Executive Secretary of the Tijjaniya Muslims Movement of Ghana.
The outgoing United States Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Stephanie Sullivan has presented the US Embassy Ramadan gift to the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr Osman Nuhu Sharubutu.

The Embassy initiated the tradition of presenting symbolic food items during every Ramadan and Eid ul Adha to the National Chief Imam starting in 2007, which has run for the past 15 years in demonstrating solidarity with the Muslim Community.

Ambassador Sullivan used the occasion to bid goodbye to the National Chief Imam as she ends her tenure in Ghana.

She thanked the National Chief Imam for the support and welcoming gesture that she and the Embassy staff had received anytime they paid him a visit and appealed to the Chief Imam to pray for her to achieve her goals in her next appointment.

The US Ambassador said her deputy would be in charge of affairs at the Embassy before the arrival of the new Ambassador at the end of April.

Ms Sullivan said that the United States holds in high esteem its relationship with the Muslim Community in Ghana, especially with the National Chief Imam who had proven to be a champion of religious freedom and harmony, promoter of inter-faith relations and tolerance with other religions.

The National Chief Imam thanked the Ambassador for maintaining the gesture of kindness to the Ghanaian Muslim community during the Ramadan and Eid ul Adha celebrations over the years.

He added that we appreciate the role America plays in liberating and empowering people in America and other continents, especially in the areas of Freedom, Religious Liberty and Youth Empowerment.

Present at the meeting was Sheikh Armiyau Shaibu, the spokesman to the National Chief Imam, Alhaji Abdul Lateef Abdul Salam, protocol officer of the National Chief Imam, Alhaji Khuzaima Mohammed Osman, Executive Secretary of the Tijjaniya Muslims Movement of Ghana.

The US Embassy delegation included the Deputy Chief of Missions Nicole Chulick, Political Officer Christopher Perry, and other Embassy staff.

GNA
The Reverend Dr. Samuel Worlanyo Mensah, an Economist has cautioned the public against investing in cryptocurrencies as the Bank of Ghana (BoG) is yet to license it, making it a high-risk venture.

Rev. Dr Mensah who is the Executive Director of the Centre for Greater Impact Africa (CGIA) explained that until the BoG regulate cryptocurrency investments, it was inadvisable to invest in it.

Speaking on the topic, Investment and sustainable development, at the Ghana News Agency Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue platform, Rev. Dr. Mensah stressed that as Ghana has not accepted and not regulating crypto if you engage in it, it is at your own risk, because if it is accepted by the laws of the country, then it is safe and trusts worthy.

He explained that even though some countries have accepted it as part of their national currencies, Ghana was yet to do so, therefore investing in it was equivalent to investing in the air with nobody to hold responsible in case of any eventuality, according to him, there were no physical offices and workers to turn to.

On having prominent people endorsing cryptocurrency the economist disclosed that it was a business strategy that was being used to lure many unsuspecting people into investing in such currencies.

He stressed that having realized that most countries were cautioning their citizens against it, operators were now conniving to convince the public about it through endorsements.

Mrs. Ramat Ebella Ellis, Banking Executive and CGIA Investment Advisor contributing to the discussion reminded Ghanaians that the higher the return rate for an investment, the higher the risk involved.

She added that based on recent happenings on such high yield investments, a potential investor must do a proper background check, and if possible contact the Bank of Ghana to ensure all legal fulfilments and licenses had been done for the said investment product.

Mrs. Ellis said potential investors could consider some bank products such as treasury bills, fixed deposits, cocoa bills, bonds, trust accounts, shares, and mutual funds among others.

She encouraged the public to consider investing for longer periods, opening high-yield savings accounts by shopping around and comparing the rates of banks, as well as taking advantage of other available bank products instead of venturing into high-risk unregulated investments.

The investment analyst noted that it was okay to start small, it was a wrong notion that investment must be done only when one was earning more or have a lump sum.

Mrs. Ellis who is also a Financial Planner reminded the public that investment was for everyone and it was the best way of securing the future for personal sustained development stressing that, investment is all about what you can do with what you have, it is earmarking money for the future with the hope that it will grow over time.
The Strategic, Business and Operational Framework for an African Diaspora Finance Corporation (ADFC) as the framework for the AU legacy project on diaspora investment has been adopted by the African Union (AU) Executive Council.

This came after the endorsement by the African Ministers of Finance in December 2021, and consideration by the relevant sub-committee of the AUs Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC), AU document made available to the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema stated.

Mr Albert Muchanga, AU Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Industry, and Mining, described the AUs decision as historic.

He recounted that the Heads of State and Government first made a commitment for a legacy project on diaspora investment a decade ago in May 2012, at the Global African Diaspora Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Commissioner Muchanga expressed the AUCs gratitude to all Member States, stakeholders, and development partners who supported and participated in the long formulation and consultative process.

He thanked Professor Gibril Faal, the AUC Lead Consultant on Diaspora and Innovative Finance, author of the ADFC Framework Report, and founder of the Remittance Match Funding (RemitAid), for his leadership and longstanding commitment to expanding and enhancing diaspora contributions to development.

He also urges all development and corporate partners to team up with ADFC, starting with the RemitAid scheme, to harness the untapped options and opportunities of diaspora investment and finance.

In view of the adoption, the AU Commission shall undertake a further feasibility study, covering business operations, investment planning and criteria, and the application of ADFC funds.

ADFC will be set up as an independent, non-AU continental finance institution, operating as a social enterprise and working together with other African and global finance, development, and diaspora institutions, the AU stated.

The first phase of the ADFC implementation involves the initiation of an innovative finance scheme through the RemitAid.

According to the AU, working closely with partners, ADFC will develop, issue and manage Diaspora Bonds and Mutual Funds, to harness and channel diaspora savings and resources into socially responsible and impactful ventures, in priority sectors in Africa.

The AU said the ADFC profits and surpluses will be invested in a legacy Endowment Fund, and income earned from the Endowment Fund will be disbursed in the form of grants and soft loans to African development organisations, and institutions, both in the diaspora and on the continent.
Mr. Francis Mishiame, Kpone-Katamanso, Deputy Director of Education in-charge-of Supervision and Monitoring has encouraged parents to support schools to supervise the activities of their children especially those in the final years.

He also appealed to community members to help check the children by sacking them from game centers in the area, revealing that most of them after being registered for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), often sneaked out of class to those centers during school hours.

Mr. Mishiame stated during a community fundraising durbar at Gbetsile in the Kpone-Katamanso municipality as monitored by Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult).

Mr. Samuel Okoe Amanquah, the Municipal Chief Executive for Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Assembly described education as a major live transformer that serves as the vehicle to bridge the poverty gap.

He said in view of that the Assembly is working towards the provision of the needed education infrastructure across the municipality.

Mr. Amanquah said it was commendable that the traditional leaders of the area deemed it necessary to gather the people and raise money for the completion of a school building to support the existing government one.

The MCE acknowledged that the municipality was bedeviled with several challenges, adding that measures had been put in place by the Assembly to work together with the communities to solve the problems.

He said the important thing was that the government had recognized the importance of the various stakeholders of development and was working together to achieve a common aim of developing the area, and therefore called on citizens to do their part by support with the payment of their taxes, fees, and rates.

Nii Teye Kojo Amanquah Sune I, the Chief of Gbetsile in the Kpone-Katamanso Municipality has appealed to residents and natives of the town to partner with the traditional leaders to construct a community public basic school.

Nii Sune said the only public basic school in the town was congested due to the increase in population, and therefore the need to construct a new one to accommodate the pupils.

He said there was the need for stakeholders of education, such as traditional leaders, parents, the Assembly, and organizations to augment the effort of government by helping to provide the needed infrastructure, and learning and teaching materials.

The Gbetsile chief noted that educational challenges such as school infrastructure were one of the many problems residents were struggling with, saying however that the traditional leaders had embarked on some self-help projects to alleviate the issues.

He, therefore, reiterated that residents and natives should help with cash or materials to help complete the school building project which had been initiated by the traditional leaders and was currently under construction.
05.04.2022 LISTEN

The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has suspended the planned increment of transport fares today, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.

The unions were set to announce the new transport fares at a press conference in Accra but a visit by a delegation from the Transport Ministry forced the leadership to revise their plans.

Speaking to Citi News this evening, GPRTU Industrial Relations Officer Imoro Abass said the union planned to announce a 15% increment in transport fares.

However, due to a scheduled meeting with the Minister for Transport on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, the increment has been put on hold.

We were about to start when a high powered delegation from the Transport Ministry came to us and pleaded for not responding swiftly to our request or our letter and that the Minister has sent them to do that on his behalf, requesting to meet us next week Tuesday for final settlement on the lorry fare issue, Imoro Abass indicated.

He continued, After a lengthy deliberation our leadership accepted so our main aim of todays meeting was suspended pending next week Tuesdays meeting with the Transport Minister. We had wanted to announce new lorry fares today. We intend not to come out with not less than 15%. We now have to swallow it until next week Tuesdays meeting with the Transport Minister.

According to the Union, the increment is necessary to mitigate the suffering of members in the midst of the high cost of fuel in the country.

At next weeks meeting, the Transport Ministry is likely to make efforts to convince GPRTU to either hold on with the transport fare increment or push for the percentage to be reduced.
The Executive Secretary of the Public Utility Regulatory Commission, PURC, Dr. Ishmael Ackah, says the PURC will announce a review of utility tariffs in July 2022.

He however did not clarify whether the review will be upwards or downwards.

Dr. Ackah in a Citi News interview on the sidelines of an interaction with the Western Regional Managers of ECG and the Ghana Water Company in Takoradi, said it is currently reviewing tariff proposals received from various utility companies and will make an announcement in July.

He added that the announcement will also depend on the Ghana Utility Performance Index satisfaction which the PURC will also publish this year.

This year is a major tariff review year. Before we start, we develop guidelines, and in these guidelines, we go around to engage utilities, consumers, and other groups after which we ask utilities to submit proposals. These proposals have been submitted. In coming out with the tariff, we look at the proposals, we look at microeconomic indicators, exchange rates, and others. We look at customer services, which is how utilities over the period have also responded to customer concerns.

Let me add that this year PURC is going to start publishing what we call the Ghana Utility Performance Index looking at the regional performance based on customer satisfaction and the number of indicators. So we look at all these things before we come out with the tariff. Where we are now is that all utilities have submitted their proposals to PURC. We have started doing the initial analysis, and as we speak, it will be very difficult to tell you whether it will go up or come down, but we hope to announce the tariff in July, he said.

The Executive Secretary of the PURC said the Commission will engage all consumers, the media, and civil society before coming out with the tariff. He however said he does not foresee much impact on the tariffs from the increment in the prices of petroleum products.

When we look at the generation mix, we have the Hydro, and we have thermal plants, but most of them use natural gas. I think we have only one plant using petrol now, and then we have the solar system contributing about one percent. So if there are any changes in gas price, then it is going to have an effect on the tariff. Because we have only one plant using petrol, yes petrol can have some effect, but it is just one plant, so it may not be that much as gas if there are changes in gas price, he added.

Reacting to plans by the PURC to publish the Ghana Utility Performance Index this year, the Western Regional Manager of the ECG, Emmanuel Ofori, said it will enhance performance among the utility service providers.

I think it is good to be ranked because it helps you to perform better. For the Western Region, with our performance so far, we have been doing very well, especially with the liability in the indices, we have been meeting all the targets this year. So I believe when the ranking starts, we will not have any challenges. We hope to come up as one of the top regions in the company, he said.

Dr. Ishmeal Ackah, who also visited and interacted with the management of GRIDCO and VRA at Ketan and Aboadze respectively, commended the utility service providers in the Western Region where he visited on the first day of his tour.
05.04.2022 LISTEN

TrueCare Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) has presented a cheque of GH 27,608.00 to Focus Orthopedic Hospital to enable a 3-year-old boy Master Adom Jedia who is suffering from a tight hamstring to undergo surgery.

Adom Jedia has been incapacitated by the sickness for the past three years and needed the aforementioned amount to enable him to undergo the surgery.

Madam Rachael Ofori, the mother of Adom Jedia said as a single mother all efforts to raise funds for her son's surgery have proved futile.

She stated that her son's health keeps getting worse due to lack of financial assistance.

Barely two months now, I was introduced to TrueCare Ghana to seek their support to help address the plight of my son and to my surprise, they have not disappointed me. And to my greatest surprise, they have been able to raise the required fund needed for the surgery.

"All I can say now is that may God richly bless them for their intervention," she exclaimed, her face beaming.

Presenting the cheque to the hospital, the Executive Director of TrueCare Ghana, Saint Ofosu Koranteng disclosed that over the years the NGO has taken an active interest in facilitating funds to assist patients who cannot afford their surgical bills.

When you take a closer look at the National Health Insurance Scheme, there are many restrictions and limitations to the beneficiaries such that, certain areas are not being covered especially when it comes to surgeries.

"In this regard, we are stepping in as an NGO to complement the governments effort to help address the plight of the vulnerable in the country," he stated.

Stressing that, TrueCareGhana is currently focused on addressing issues related to health, community development, and disaster relief.

Saint Ofosu Koranteng added that the foundation will continue to support government in diverse ways in order to help address the plight of the vulnerable in society.

The Administrator at Focus Orthopedic Hospital Mrs. Vivian Quashie-Kumasa who received the cheque on behalf of the hospital applauded TrueCare Ghana for their swift intervention.

She also used the occasion to appeal to other corporate organizations, philanthropists, and well-meaning individuals in the country to emulate the gesture and come to the aid of individuals facing similar challenges.
April 05, 2022

If The Pentagon Can Not Confirm The Bucha Tales, Who Can?

This was the most important one of yesterday's news items.

Pentagon can't independently confirm atrocities in Ukraine's Bucha, official says

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. military is not in a position to independently confirm Ukrainian accounts of atrocities by Russian forces against civilians in the town of Bucha, ...

...

"The Pentagon can't independently and single handedly confirm that, but we're also not in any position to refute those claims."

If the Pentagon, which includes the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, could not confirm what the government in Kiev claimed, who else could?

Certainly not the European minions who reacted to those dubious claims by removing more Russian embassy personal from their countries.

The U.S. is again pushing the Europeans into suiciding their economies. The U.S. would of course be the only country that would gain from that.

Its over. The Ukraine has lost the war. Its navy, air force and defense industry no longer exist. The Russia air force is doing hundreds of bombing runs per night eliminating any fuel and ammunition depot that is left in Ukraine.

Without fuel tanks and trucks are immobilized. Without ammunition artillery falls silent. The heavy Ukrainian units along Donbas are now unable to do maneuver warfare. They can not even flee. Replenishment and reserves are unable to reach them. They have the choice of giving up or getting destroyed in place.

Anyone who is still pushing more weapons into Ukraine or tells Kiev to prolong the war is putting more Ukrainian lives at risk for zero potential gain.

That's criminal.

Posted by b on April 5, 2022 at 11:09 UTC | Permalink

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Editor's Note: The following article includes clarified information about this event and another crawfish event later in the month.

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A crawfish cookoff by Down South Seafood will feature guest judge Stalekracker.

The cookoff will be from noon to midnight on April 9 at The Tailgate.

Down South Seafood is a food truck offering fresh boiled crawfish, shrimp and other Cajun foods. Owner Ryan LeJeune, an organizer for the event, has been cooking crawfish for about four years in the area. He has participated in other crawfish cookoffs held in Midland.

This is something we do just to kind of mix it up a little bit, LeJeune said. Theres a lot of Louisiana people and theres no reason why we cant get a lot of those guys involved with the community.

There will be the opportunity to sample contests crawfish and cast votes with a golden ticket for the winner to take home a prize. Da Bayos Apostrope, DTop and Treaty Oak Revival are among the live music acts. The event also will have face painting, fresh boudin and kracklins from Niceaux and Sons, boiled crawfish, live crawfish races, two different crawfish eating contests, alcoholic beverage specials and more. About 15 teams had signed up as of last week.

There will be live crawfish for the crawfish racing, he said. We will be doing some drug testing before to make sure theres no enhanced crawfish competing.

The crawfish eating contest will be for either 3 pounds (speed eating) or 15 pounds (stamina). He said attendees should come hungry for crawfish.

We are going to have crawfish for days out there, he said. We will have some Cajun food, like crab legs and shrimp; someone will be cooking boudin and kracklins as well as a person serving sweets too.

The cookoff will feature guest judge Stalekracker, a Cajun influencer on TikTok.

Want to go? Tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crawfish-cook-off-tickets-269213925097?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&fbclid=IwAR2AQEG516Qi_Lwql792u24ecxrpI4q6BOfAvSEPMsah4KRdej8PqWJYvms. See More Collapse

I had some friends who were bringing Stalekracker out for their party and they said we should look into bringing him out to our cookoff, he said. I touched base with his manager, and we got it lined up.

Justin Chiasson, who is better known by his TikTok handle @Stalekraker, teaches people about grilled alligators, crawfish and seafood boils. He wears iconic trucker hats, overalls, Yeetz sunglasses and an American flag waist belt filled with cans of beer. He is originally from Labadieville, Louisiana, which is located by Bayou Lafourche, a 106-mile waterway.

Stalekracker opens almost every video where he is showing watchers how to cook Cajun dishes with Im about to learn yall. He has a cookbook Da Cajun Two Step, merchandise and a two-step spice blend. His catchphrase Dats Money Dude! is on a variety of merchandise from shirts to baby bibs. Stalekracker has more than 360,000 subscribers on YouTube which he started in 2020 and 5.1 million followers on TikTok with 59.3 million likes.

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Clarification: There will be a different crawfish event -- the Crawfish Boil and Bash, a third annual event -- April 30 at the Destination.

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The Bites

-- Opals Table will host a benefit dinner for MSS at 7 p.m. on April 11. The menu includes greens with lemon ranch, roasted corn, croutons and heirloom tomatoes; pan-roasted chicken breast with green beans and mashed potatoes; brown butter cake with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel. Tickets are available at resy.com/cities/mld/venues/opals-table/events/mss-fundraiser-dinner-2022-04-11.

--The Bar will host a pajama brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 10. Customers can wear their comfy pajamas while enjoying The Bars schooner size Bloody Marys and Mimosas. Door prizes will be given away from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

--Taste of the Permian Basin will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on April 21 at the Horseshoe Pavilion. More than 30 Permian Basin restaurants will be featuring sample sand desserts at the event. Tickets are available at https://txrestaurant.org/events/37th-annual-taste-permian-basin.

--Churchs Chicken offers a celebratory fiesta meal box now until April 10. The fiesta meal box is available at participating locations in honor of San Antonios Fiesta Celebration. The meal box will include Churchs version of Chicken on a Stick as well as a medal commemorating 70 years of Churchs Texas Chicken. Participating locations are 202 N. Midkiff Road and 1400 N. Big Spring St.

--Raising Canes donated $2,500 to the West Texas Food Bank this week during the grand opening event of the new and biggest restaurant in Texas in Odessa.

--Cochineal Marfa has introduced its first wine produced in collaboration with Texas winemaker and multiple James Beard nominee, Kim McPherson out of Lubbock, according to an Instagram post. The McPherson family has been growing grapes and making wine for more than 40 years. McPherson Cellars was created to honor winemaker Clinton Doc McPherson, a founder and pioneer of the modern Texas wine industry and Kims father. Cochineals Texas High Plains Red is a blend of Rhone varietals Carignan, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Syrah which are all grown exclusively in the Llano Estacado region of the panhandle. Its a smooth, medium-bodied red wine with notes of blackberry, red fruit, slight smokiness and a little West Texas warmth.

--Chef Alejandro Barrientos competed on the McCain Sure Crisp Showdown during March. He created dishes for Rounds 3 and 4. He created a West Texas Beef and Reef, consisting of SureCrisp fries deep fried in duck fat then tossed in a black truffle salt blend, topped with a jumbo lump crab cake, an 8-ounce prime filet mignon all smothered in a roasted jalapeno, lemon hollandaise sauce. The Cowboys Chicken Fried Steak featured prime ribeye coated in seasoned flour and deep fried until golden brown on a bed of SureCrisp Waffle Fries tossed in a seasoning blend of three dried chiles. The dish is topped with a roasted jalapeno, bacon cream gravy and vegetables.
David Livingston/Getty Images

In a recent tweet, Kim Kardashian urged others to support a petition related to clemency in the death row case of Melissa Lucio, a Texas death row inmate scheduled for execution on April 27.

In 2008, Lucio was convicted of murder for the death of her 2-year-old daughter in Harlingen. Kardashian posted on Twitter on Monday to support the movement in asking Texas Governor Greg Abbott for clemency in the case.
Many years ago I happened to attend a meeting which was to try and resolve a festering conflict between the late Chief Madzanga Ndwandwe and the late Chief Mdvuba Magagula over the control of land in and around Madlangempisi.

This was a high powered meeting convened by His Majesty King Mswati III and national advisory councils (emabandla) at Lozitha Palace. The deliberations from representatives of both sides were long and the King listened attentively throughout all the presentations. At the end of all the speakers, His Majesty then informed the gathering that this matter had been resolved by King Sobhuza II and that he would not attempt to change anything from that judgement. He asked that we all listen to a recording by the King on this matter. As we set in silence and anticipation, the familiar voice of King Sobhuza II suddenly echoed from loud speakers throughout the building.

The elderly men among us were taken aback in nostalgic shock and found themselves blasting out his traditional praises which were quickly rebuked by security personnel in the house to silence. King Sobhuza II narrated the events that led to the Magagula Clan losing control of the Madlangempisi land. This would lead to a long drown ouy hate for the monarchy through generations. The King basically told the story that the Magagula Clan harassed a group of travellers on the way to King Mswati II, carrying buganu as tribute. King Mswati II, who had expanded his kingdom from Witbank (Emalahleni), taking parts of the Kruger National Park all the way down to Jozini and Ngwavuma, was livid. Basically, present day Mpumalanga was his. On hearing of this insolence from his royal residence in present day White River, South Africa, it is said he was so furious that he promised total distraction of the Magagula Clan on his return.

Madzanga Ndwandwe arrival

Madzanga I, the son of Zwide, had arrived in Eswatini after the defeat and death of his father, King Zwide of the Ndwandwe Kingdom. He had been received with great hospitality by the Magagula Clan who were the original natives of the land even before emaSwati and the Dlamini dynasty. It is said they were of Sotho origin, hence their salutation Suthu. The Usuthu River had been named by them. The Ndwandwes Prince Madzanga I and his people had been given land by King Mswati II as they were his uncles through Queen mother (Indlovukazi) Thandile Ndwandwe (daughter to Zwide) his mother and he had asked them to stay at a place he named Bulandzeni, saying he was bringing back (kulandza) his mothers home which had been destroyed by King Shaka of the Zulus.

On hearing of the pending distraction of his kind hosts, the Magagulas, King Sobhuza II said Madzanga I immediately took the Magagula Clan leader to King Mswati IIs royal palace, threw him at the feet of the King and covered him with his own body, and said; You will have to kill me first, Your Majesty, before you kill him and his people. King Mswati II was moved by his uncles compassion and ordered that they be dead to him and their land will be under the Ndwandwes and they will remain only as tindvuna. This would be the case until his death and future kings gave back most of the land such that we now have the late Chief Malamulela Magagula controlling vast Magagula land again but not all.

Madlangempisi political hot spot

Madlangempisi has remained a very sensitive political hot spot over the years because of this history. The antimonarchy and anti-Dlamini sentiments remained very strong. Most of the political parties trace their origins back to Madlangempisi. The June 2021 uprising has put Member of Parliament (MP) Sibusiso Scorpion Nxumalo under great pressure by the highly politicised youth to take a stand against the monarchy, claiming this is the will of the people. You are with us or against us was the slogan. His picture with the King might have broken the camels back. He has weathered the storm carrying a very big political constituency with a population of more than 28 000 and having won with a convincing 1 084 majority votes to his closest rival. However, political rivalry for future elections still exists and anything to undermine the incumbent is possible.

SNAT connection

Madlangempisi has one of the strongest SNAT branches in the country. This again brings in a strong political element as we all know the sentiments of the teachers union towards the monarchy. The recent unrest has had an even greater stress towards the local MP. This political climate has also affected negatively relationships even within the Nxumalo family and close relatives who are affiliated with various organisations. The MP has to juggle these relationships while staying focused and working for the majority.

MP Scorpion the man

This is a self-made businessman/politician who was recovering from the loss of his wife (best friend) only five years ago and was on his way to recovery. His children have lost everything again, having lost their mother and now losing their home with everything inside including all their most important documents, memories, clothing and everything imaginable in one cruel act. His business has suffered the loss of his partner and CEO, his CFO to COVID-19 complications and recently his mechanic to a car accident, who was also a brother. To make matters worse copper thieves broke into the business and stripped the machinery of copper wiring rendering it useless. However, he has been able to fight his way back and the company will be ready for operations soon in time for the sugar mill opening.

Conclusion

The Magagulas and the Nxumalos, with all that has been said, have lived together peacefully with a very close relationship for decades. The generations have intermarried and there is no family that does not have relations with one or the other surname. However, the antimonarchy sentiments which have spread throughout all the various surnames at Madlangempisi are disturbing. It has found fertile ground for all political parties calling for change. The brutality of the attack on the home of the MP has served to put fear and take away our freedom of expression. Ordinary emaSwati will not be able to freely express themselves at the dialogue. This is the death of the call for real democracy and the entry of new forceful dictatorship. septembereswatini@gmail.com
MBABANE  A parent has claimed that he was chased out of the head teachers office for raising concern over his stepdaughters affair with a teacher.

Mfanawemphi Mngometulu, a parent of a Form 5 pupil at Somnjalose High School, alleged that his stepdaughter was having an intimate relationship with a certain teacher at the school.

According to him, he found out about the alleged relationship after gaining access to his stepdaughters phone, which had suggesting conversations between her and the teacher. Mngometulu mentioned that there were also voice recordings between the two. He claimed that a meeting was then convened between him, his wife, the head teacher and his stepdaughter, which, however, did not go as planned. He alleged that he was kicked out of the head teachers office.

He said this was after he questioned the head teacher on why the teacher had not joined them in the meeting to narrate his side of the story. Mngometulu further stated that after finding out about the relationship, he confronted her stepdaughter, who then confessed to the relationship. I then decided to go to the school to have this reported but to my surprise, the head teacher chased me out of his office. He told me he would not be able to assist me as there was no proof that the messages and recordings I had were from the teacher, he said. Mngometulu mentioned that as he had not received assistance from the head teacher, he went to the regional education offices (REO) to complain about the issue. He said he was disappointed when he reported the case as he was given a lot of paperwork to do without any explanation. They told me that I needed to write a series of letters, first explaining the issue. I am disappointed because while I was trying to seek justice for my family, I have been turned into a laughing stalk and those who I am expecting to take this issue seriously did not, he said.

Police

He mentioned that he had not yet reported the case to the police as he was seeking advice first on how to go about the case. Mngometulu further stated that means to meet up with the teacher were made. He said he called him several times to arrange a meeting but he never showed up. After I tried several times to meet up with him, one day my stepdaughter came back from school with a E100 note, which she claimed was from the teacher. According to my stepdaughter, the teacher said she needed to give it to me and tell me to buy myself alcohol. I reported all that to the head teacher but he did not do anything about it,he said. Somnjalose High School Head teacher Macandza Mamba, denied the claims that he kicked the parents out of his office. He said, based on the evidence which was presented to him, he decided to have the REO deal with the case instead.

Recording

It is not true that they were kicked out but rather, I told them that I could not recognise the voices on the voice recording they presented. I then told them that the REO, together with the police, would be the right people to address the matter. I then called the REO to update them on the issue and requested that they attended to their case, Mamba said. When questioned why he had not called in the teacher during his meeting with the parents, Mamba said this was because he could not accuse the teacher of a crime he too would have not been able to prove. He said this was because it was a criminal offence to defame someone without evidence. He mentioned that the school did not condone any relationships between pupil and teachers.

I hope that the REO, together with the police, would assist them get the answers they need. The school is willing to cooperate in any way we can, he said. In an interview with this publication, Hhohho Regional Education Officer, Thulile Langwenya, confirmed the matter. She said currently, the office only had the schools side of the story and were hoping that the parents would show up and tell their side. I only got back to the office and as a result I was not able to meet up with the parents when they came. For now, I only have the side from the school. They told me about the recordings and the head teacher narrated that he was not able to recognise the voice. I am hoping that the parents will also come to tell me their side of the story, in order to be able to deal with the matter, she said. When questioned on if the school handled the issue well, she said she was not able to judge as yet until she could also listen to the parents, but based on the story told by the head teacher, it was handled well. I do not know the full story, but any matter which the school is not able to deal with should be referred to the REO, she said.
Democrats in the General Assembly, under pressure from a law enforcement community that feels unappreciated in a time of rising crime, introduced a package of legislation Monday to bolster support, from pinning badges on top candidates to allowing retirees to keep their service revolvers.

The plan would provide unspecified funding for local police departments to recruit and train candidates; to buy body cameras and storage capacity for video; to create off-hours daycare for single parents to advance careers despite the job's unusual hours; and to expand mental health resources for first responders to deal with the trauma that can lead to an early exit from the field.

We are all experiencing across the nation an uptick in violence," said the mental health programs sponsor, Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, a Chicago Democrat, adding that survivors and first responders "are carrying the biggest burden of this crisis.

With four days left in the spring session, this is the second crime-reduction package to come from Democrats in four days. The first focused on support services for victims. Monday's measures aim to support police communities that complained they were demonized 15 months ago when the Black Caucus-led policing overhaul was signed into law. Known as the SAFE-T Act, the overhaul came amid a spate of police-involved shootings in Chicago and nationwide.

SAFE-T set standards for police use of force, set a schedule to require all police to wear body cameras, eliminated cash bail for criminal suspects and more.

Presenters at the Democrats' state Capitol news conference on Monday were overwhelmingly white. Rockford Democratic Rep. Dave Vella said members of the Black Caucus were meeting on other issues but had worked on and endorsed the package. He rebuffed a question about whether the plan is an antidote to ease the discomfort police feel about SAFE-T.

This isn't an antidote to anything, Vella said. This is us trying to make the streets safer and get more police on the street. Thats it.

Some Republicans have gone so far as to blame rising crime on the SAFE-T Act, despite virtually none of it having taken effect. House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, a Western Springs Republican, continued the campaign Monday.

Democrats in Illinois have repeatedly attacked our police and justice system," Durkin said in a statement. "Today, they are trying to rewrite history. Until they wake up and repeal their pro-criminal SAFE-T Act, there will be no safe communities in Illinois.
MBABANE  Former EFF Swaziland Secretary General Ncamiso Ngcamphalalas comments on the ongoing arson attacks have caused a social media stir.

The former Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Swaziland Secretary General, Ngcamphalala, when questioned on his Facebook post wherein he condemned the ongoing arson attacks on private, public and individual properties across the country, said; I cannot keep quiet when the country moves from better to worse. Ngcamphala, who has since taken a backseat in the leadership of the organisation, said the ongoing burning of properties, at the time emaSwati were looking forward for a better country, was uncalled for. He likened the act of burning properties to barbarism. Ngcamphalala stated that he was speaking in his capacity as a liSwati, who had a right to freedom of expression, which was enshrined in the Constitution.

He said the burning of properties had resulted in the international community not taking them seriously as the struggle required order and discipline. He said in the absence of order and discipline in the ongoing struggle, the burning of properties was tantamount to crime. He said guerilla warfare did not require the burning of properties, especially when there was a chance to engage in a meaningful dialogue. People do not have respect for freedom of expression, which is why they come hard on those who differ in opinion. This is because everyone wants to be a leader. They do not care about what other people say but want to have the final say. How can we achieve democracy if we fail to respect other peoples rights to freedom of expression? Does this mean we want a country where the right to freedom of expression will not be respected? asked Ngcamphalala.

He further asked why people would burn ones property just because he took a picture with the King. It should be noted that taking a picture with the King was listed as one of the reasons Madlangempisi MP Sibusiso Scorpion Nxumalos house was set alight by unknown arsonists. I heard that some people were attacked for applying for the recently advertised police jobs. Then you ask yourself, how those who attack the aspiring police officers expect them to live without jobs. To be part of the struggle does not mean you do not need a job. All this is happening because the leaders are selfish and they do not want other people to make means to survive yet, they already have means to survive, he said.

We have seen people attacking journalists and you ask yourself, where the leaders are when all these things happen, he added. He said, the root cause of the unruly behaviour among those who actively participated in the struggle could be lack of education and training. He said training of people could remove the mentality that those who differed in opinion should be attacked and have their properties burnt. Ngcamphalala also observed that at times, it was difficult to instil order and discipline because some people involved in the struggle disregarded education. Instead, he said people followed those who came with money and wanted to take over the struggle.

I felt duty-bound to talk about this before it is too late. I foresee a situation where it will be too late to educate and train those involved in the struggle. By that time, worse will be happening in the country and I do not want to be counted among those who remained silent when the country is heading for danger, he said. It should be noted that the people behind the burning of structures remain unknown; however, there are claims that they form part of underground forces who want to speed up change in the country.
Sheriff

THEFTS, BURGLARIES

 A 9mm handgun was reported stolen about 7:15 p.m. Sunday from a residence in the first block of Valevue Acres Drive.

 A boat was reported stolen about 10:50 a.m. Saturday from a garage in the 2000 block of Illinois Route 100 in Meredosia.

Jacksonville Police

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Tiffany L. Lee, 34, of 363 Marnico Road was booked into the Morgan County jail at 10:09 p.m. Saturday on a burglary charge.

 Scott L. Prince, 35, of 129 Cherry St., Quincy, was booked into the Morgan County jail at 2:05 a.m. Saturday on a theft charge.

 Kenya L. Johnson, 26, of 127 Diamond Court was arrested on a domestic battery charge at 6:52 p.m. Saturday after being accused of biting someone.

 Robbie D. Barton, 46, of Jacksonville was cited on a charge of driving while license is suspended after being stopped at 11:31 p.m. Sunday in the 200 block of West Walnut Street.

ACCIDENTS

 Mary L. Moore, 48, of Jacksonville was cited on a charge of failing to give information after police said the car she was driving struck a car parked in the 500 block of West Morton Avenue about 10:23 a.m. Monday.

 Euvaga L. Bailey, 81, of Roodhouse was treated at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital after the car she was driving and one being driven by Eric P. Hohmann, 40, of Jacksonville collided at 12:41 p.m. Sunday at West Morton Avenue and Illinois Route 104.

THEFTS, BURGLARIES

 A table saw was stolen between Friday and 3:36 p.m. Monday from a trailer in the 300 block of Brown Street.

A bicycle was stolen between 7:40 and 8 p.m. Saturday from the 200 block of Brookside Drive.

VANDALISM

 Someone riding a bicycle threw an egg at a car parked in the 400 block of Dorset Lane about 12:28 p.m. Sunday.

OTHER REPORTS

 Police were called at 2:24 a.m. Monday to look for a patient who left Jacksonville Memorial Hospital with an IV in his arm. The man could not be located.

South Jacksonville Police

THEFTS, BURGLARIES

 A car was reported stolen about 7:14 p.m. Sunday from the 2300 block of Magnolia Drive. It was found abandoned about 7:30 a.m. Monday behind a business in the 900 block of West Morton Avenue.

Brown County

Sheriff

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Wyond L. Bynum, age unavailable, of Clayton was cited on charges of driving while license revoked, leaving the scene of an accident, having no valid insurance, failure to notify authorities, improper lane use and failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident after the car he was driving went into a ditch on U.S. 24 at County Road 200 E. about 11:40 p.m. March 28. Police said the driver left the scene and later was found in Timewell. Bynum also was arrested on warrants from Missouri and Illinois and was lodged in Adams County Jail.

Pike County

Sheriff

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Denton T. Bowen, 35, of Barry was booked into Pike County Jail at 4:40 p.m. March 28 on a violation of bail bond and a petition to revoke or modify bond.

 Madelyn S. Syrcle, 23, of Baylis was booked into Pike County Jail at 6:04 a.m. March 26 on a charge of driving under the influence.

 Rachelle R. Gress, 25, of Griggsville was booked into Pike County Jail at 9:41 a.m. March 29 on warrants accusing her of possession of methamphetamine and unauthorized video recording or harassment by electronic communication.

 William A. Friedel, 65, of Hamburg was booked into Pike County Jail at 6:43 p.m. March 25 on a charge of criminal defacement of property.

 Heather D. Herrin, 32, of Nebo was booked into Pike County Jail at 4:51 p.m. March 24 on charges of domestic battery, resisting or obstructing a peace officer and driving while license is revoked or suspended.

 Alexander L. Bartels, 26, of Perry was booked into Pike County Jail at 12:41 a.m. March 28 on a domestic battery charge.

 Travis W. Hileman, 48, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 7:59 a.m. March 22 on a petition to revoke probation.

 Andrew J. Westmaas, 30, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 3:35 p.m. March 26 on charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

 Adam D. McKenzie, 57, of Quincy was booked into Pike County Jail at 8:02 p.m. March 23 on a charge of possession of a controlled substance and on a petition to revoke probation.

Pittsfield Police

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Trenton M. Thomas, 22, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 8:27 p.m. March 22 on a domestic battery charge.

 Phillip P. Barnes, 22, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 11:37 a.m. March 23 on a charge of possession of methamphetamine and a warrant to revoke or modify bail bond.

 Sandi M. Goodrich, 50, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 7:23 p.m. March 23 on a petition to revoke conditional discharge.

 Rashelle L. Pruett, 30, of Pittsfield was booked into Pike County Jail at 1:50 p.m. March 25 on a warrant accusing her of stealing.

State police



ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Anthony C. Rodriguez, 42, of Kansas City, Missouri, was booked into Pike County Jail at 5:47 p.m. March 24 on a charge of possession of methamphetamine.

Compiled by David C.L. Bauer
Redneck Fishing Tournament/Provi

BATH  The founder of what is arguably the quirkiest fishing tournament in the state is being honored for raising awareness about the fight against the invasive species of fish the tournament targets.

Betty DeFord started the Redneck Fishing Tournament more than a dozen years ago. Anglers gather every summer in the community of Bath to see how many silver carp they can collect from the Illinois River.
North Koreas test of a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. Capitol is barely noticed here while Americans focus on the war in Ukraine and immediate domestic issues, including wild inflation.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un no doubt sees the test of a missile that might carry a nuclear warhead with the explosive power to wipe out entire cities as a way to intimidate the United States into doing away with sanctions, but hell have to test fire more of them to catch serious attention in America.

I cant get too excited about the latest missile test, said an American friend whos lived and worked for years in South Korea and Japan. Everybody knew it was coming, but no one could stop it.

Certainly, President Biden and his top advisers, notably Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have gone through the motions of ritualistic statements condemning the ICBM launch, and the United States is raising the matter in the United Nations, as it has done often after previous missile and nuclear tests.

It is going to take much more than a single ICBM test, however, to set alarm bells ringing in the corridors of power in Washington.

For that if for no other reason, it is thought Kim sooner or later will order the Norths seventh nuclear test. Kim may think a nuclear test will be needed to arouse real concerns in Washington.

Pyongyangs Korean Central News Agency signaled the possibility of a nuclear test in a 1,100-word article boasting of the ICBM launch and the Norths nuclear deterrence against all enemies. The word nuclear appeared 13 times in the article, a warning of what lies ahead.

North Korea has not tested a nuke since September 2017, but North Korean physicists and engineers have gone right on making them, storing them in the Norths main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang, and in deep caves and tunnels elsewhere. By now North Korea is estimated to have 6o nuclear warheads.

Americans feel safe from North Koreas nukes as long as the North Koreans have not figured out how to make a warhead small enough to fix to the tip of a missile. Before accomplishing that feat, however, Kim Jong-un hopes to arouse enough fears to persuade Biden and his advisers to drop sanctions as a prelude to a dialog in which he would press for dissolution of the U.S. alliance with South Korea and withdrawal of U.S. forces from the South.

Thus, North Koreas test of the latest Hwasong-17 opens a new chapter in the worsening confrontation of forces on the Korean peninsula. As a conservative government prepares to take over in Seoul, one of the first questions is whether the South should increase its missile defenses.

South Koreas military command responded to the challenge posed by the North Korean missile test with missile tests of its own. The South Korean missiles do not need the range of ICBMs to threaten missile and nuclear sites anywhere in North Korea.

While brandishing missiles, South Koreas President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is sure to cooperate much more closely on defenses with the United States than was possible while the outgoing leftist president Moon Jae-in dreamed of an end-of-war declaration. It is hoped we can forget about a nonsensical statement that anyone could see as a prelude to yielding to North Koreas demands.

Pyongyang, however, may be confident theres little the United States will do about its latest missile test. Washington cannot count on the U.N. Security Council to impose new sanctions that both China and Russia are likely to veto.

Americans, meanwhile, remain largely unconcerned about North Korean missiles, even ICBMs. The calculus remains the same, said my American friend, looking back on years of assessing the confrontation with North Korea. Its a threat that can never be used.

Still, he said, the test brings back the question of how the most sanctioned country on earth can develop and manufacture missiles. Policymakers may be sure China is propping up the North Korean regime in accordance with its strategy of challenging the United States everywhere in the region.
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Virginia Thomas, wife of U. S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, is free to hold whatever opinions, thoughts, judgments or impressions of politics and public policy she desires.

And, like any other American, she may express them without fear of censorship no matter how zany or repellent others may find them. Her views are hers. She owns them.

However, her husband sits on the the nations highest court, which determines the validity or constitutionality of matters which she has publicly commented or groups she is closely allied with, whose activities may come before the court.

In a series of text messages she exchanged with Mark Meadows, chief of staff to former President Trump, following the 2020 election, Mrs. Thomas expressed her belief it was riddled with fraud, that Trump was cheated of victory and intense efforts should continue to overturn the results. She also repeated bizarre conspiracy theories that border on sheer lunacy.

Despite her conviction Trumps re-election was stolen, swapping emails messages with the top White House staffer in the naive belief they would never be revealed was a serious error in judgment, one bound to turn back on her and the Justice to create a public relations and political nightmare.

In Washington  where secrets last as long as it takes one person to tell another  her correspondence with Meadows was sure to emerge publicly.

Not surprisingly, the messages  included in documents Meadows turned over to the Congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U. S. Capitol  were leaked by committee members or staffers who routinely elbow one another aside in their zeal to get to reporters first.

The leaks  a way of life in the overheated partisan environment suffocating the nations capital  are not the issue; Mrs. Thomas judgment lapse and the impact on her husband are.

Congressional Democrats joined private self interest pressure groups in demanding Thomas recuse himself from participating in any further court proceedings touching on the presidential election.

Others predictably went into their customary indignation overdrive, calling for Thomas impeachment despite a lack of any evidence of misconduct or unethical behavior.

They warn that driving him from office is necessary because he may, might, potentially, possibly, perhaps vote favorably on a court opinion upholding a Trump campaign inspired challenge.

By one report, Thomas has participated in nine election-related cases without recusal, a step taken at the discretion of a justice who decides on his or her own whether to step aside.

The sole response from Ginni Thomas was that she never discusses Supreme Court matters with her husband and her longtime political activism has not impacted the Justices responsibilities or influenced his actions.

There is, according to her, no How was your day at the office, honey? dinner table conversation in the Thomas household.

Her assurances, though, are difficult to accept, even by those who may sympathize with her view of election fraud.

It requires a colossal leap of faith to accept the notion that husband and wife occupy the same home, engaging in mundane conversation about the weather or the latest movies while tip-toeing around an issue that has dominated politics and government for some 16 months.

The nation should be excused for its skepticism, not because it feels either Thomas is deliberately lying, but because in real life experience such an explanation is not credible.

While impeachment is a non-starter, a product of self-serving individuals who see the controversy as an opportunity to grab a slice of the political and media attention, recusal appears a logical and sensible response.

By standing aside, Thomas would spare himself from a continued torrent of partisan abuse and allegations of unethical conduct while reinforcing judicial independence and the reputation of the court as an institution immune from political pressures and rooted firmly in the rule of law.

Going forward, Justice Thomas should exercise recusal by acting prospectively in the handful of election-related cases that may reach the court.

His wifes emails constituted partisan political activism.

His recusal will give meaning to the words chiseled above the doors of the court Equal Justice Under Law.
MBABANE  The family of the police officer who was shot in cold blood during a robbery at Siphofaneni Buy Cash Hardware, is demanding E6 million from the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and Eswatini Government.

Constable Bongani Bernard Maphalala was shot after about five armed men staged a robbery at the Siphofaneni Buy Cash Hardware store, where an amount of about E200 000 was reportedly stolen. The constable was accompanying a vehicle that had come to collect money from the hardware store. His wife, Dumsile Tholakale Maphalala, who is an executor of his estate, contends that Bonganis death could have been avoided under the circumstances. Through her attorneys from N.E Ginindza Attorneys, the wife has caused to be issued a letter of demand, where she wants the government to compensate the family with a sum of E6 million.

The aforementioned amount, according to the executor, was in respect of loss of dependency, loss of financial support and loss of expectation of life. The wife, through her attorneys, narrated that on December 23, 2021, her husband passed on during an armed robbery at or near Buy Cash, Siphofaneni. She said at all times during the aforesaid robbery, her husband was a member of REPS, based at Siphofaneni Police Station and he was within the course and scope of his employment when he met his death, which could have been avoided under the circumstances.

Executor

The executor submitted that on the day in question, the REPS allegedly failed to ensure that Bongani was deployed with the necessary backup team and also to ensure that he was easily identifiable, as a police officer on the day. According to the wife, REPS purportedly failed to guarantee her husbands personal safety by allowing him to escort alone. The police service, according to the executor, also allegedly failed to ensure and/or provide conducive dress code for the assignment on the day in question. It was further the executors contention that the police service also allegedly failed to ensure that the driver from Buy Cash Hardware, had knowledge on transporting cash and equipped in advanced defensive driving skills.

These are allegations whose veracity is still to be tested.

In the letter of demand, which was delivered to the office of the attorney general (ag) on March 22, 2022, the REPS also allegedly failed to ensure that the motor vehicle that was to be used by the deceased on the days assignment was an armoured motor vehicle. REPS is further accused of having failed to ensure that the environment where Bongani had to pick and/or escort the cash was conductive for a single police officer. The management of the police is further said to ensure that Buy Cash Hardware had its own security company for transporting its money. REPS also failed to ensure that, the deceased as an escort police officer on the day, was not supposed to have been driven in the same motor vehicle, which was also transporting the money he was escorting on the day, reads part of the correspondence. It alleged that on the day in question, REPS as employer, allegedly failed to exhaust all manpower and motor vehicle resources, which could have accompanied the deceased on his assignment on the day.

To that end, we do advise that, your failure to do what was reasonably necessary and necessity in the circumstances has led you to be vicariously liable to our clients husband death, which death you (REPS) are the sole cause. As a result of the aforementioned negligence on your part, our client and her children have suffered damages in the sum of E6 million, submitted the executors attorney.
Senator Mitch McConnell View Photo

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered remarks Monday on the Senate floor regarding Ukraine.

McConnell was Tuesday KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words:

It hardly seemed possible that the reports and images from Ukraine could grow even more horrifying. But they have.

In recent days, Ukrainian troops have reclaimed the town of Bucha from the illegal and illegitimate Russian invasion. And in the wake of the retreating Russians, the Ukrainians and the press have reported evidence of evil, wanton torture, rape, and murder of civilians.

There are reports of mass graves. Of people executed with their hands bound behind their backs. The photographs and reports are sickening and appalling.

Since before Putin even began his escalation, I have spent months pushing the Biden Administration and our allies and partners to get as much lethal assistance possible to the Ukrainians as quickly as possible. I have supported many of the steps our President has gotten around to taking, but in almost every case, I wish he had acted sooner and more boldly.

We know of the horrors committed by Russian forces in Bucha because the Ukrainian military reclaimed the town after pushing back the Russians. These latest revelations must only strengthen and intensify our resolve to get the Ukrainians what they need, on the timeframe they need, to liberate more towns currently under Russian control, to prevent Russia from committing new atrocities, to fight and win this war.

This also further reinforces what I wish more of our European friends realize: This is a time for choosing.

This is not time for business as usual, and there can be no return to business as usual whenever and however the dust settles.

Europe must move more urgently to decouple from Russia. Yes, this will entail some short-term economic pain. Yes, their own shortsighted energy policies have left their countries too dependent. But there are times when geopolitical realities and moral imperatives must outweigh short-term financial costs. Our partners should recognize that such a time is staring them in the face.

So should our own American private sector.

Internationally, Im sure there will be much virtue-signaling rhetoric over the atrocities committed on Ukrainian soil by Russia. Let us be honest that referrals to the International Criminal Court or invocations of the UN Human Rights Council may slake peoples consciences, but will not curtail the atrocities or stop the violence.

Only victory by Ukraine can do that.

Finally, the outpouring of outrage at these atrocities should prompt a second look at other terrible actions that the world has come to simply shrug and accept.

The Biden Administration is right to ask the UN to expel Russia from the Human Rights Council, but they should not stop there. The world that rightly recoils in horror at the photographs from Ukraine should not look the other way past Xis concentration camps for the Uyghur people.

The modern totalitarianism of the Peoples Republic of China is no less abhorrent because it is sanitized and organized. The worlds worst abusers of human rights do not deserve to sit on such a council.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
Sonora City Hall View Photo

Sonora, CA  The Sonora City Council had planned to vote last night on the Social Equity Committees proposed resolution, among other things.

However, the meeting was canceled shortly before it was scheduled to occur. A member of the public alerted the city that it failed to post an agenda out front, a requirement of the Brown Act regulating government transparency.

Mayor Matt Hawkins provides further clarification that a TV screen was put out front of city hall a couple of months ago that had been posting community information. However, the screen was just taken down recently after some concerns were raised about it (being in a historic downtown district). It was originally supposed to have the agenda on it, so there was a mix-up, and it was not posted in any other place outside.

Mayor Hawkins says out of an abundance of caution, the meeting was canceled, and most of the items, like the Social Equity resolution, will now be reviewed on April 18. Some of the more timely items will be reviewed at a special meeting on Wednesday.
Voting center at the Tuolumne County Elections Office in Sonora View Photo

Update to original story: Abernathy appeared in court before Judge Kevin Seibert on Tuesday. The judge is expected to issue a ruling this Thursday.

Original story: Sonora, CA  A court decision in Southern California has prompted prospective Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools candidate, Zachary Abernathy, to seek more information about his potential eligibility.

We reported earlier that Abernathy filed paperwork to run against incumbent Cathy Parker just before the election deadline closed last month. However, Abernathy does not have an administrative services credential, a requirement for the position. There were legal questions posed about whether he could still run because he would be eligible to receive one in the near future. After meeting with local election officials, he eventually decided to withdraw his candidacy for the position, with the understanding that he did not meet the requirements.

A similar situation, however, is playing out in Santa Barbara County where a Superintendent of Schools candidate has the same qualifications as Abernathy. A superior court judge down there last week permitted that particular candidate to remain on the ballot. In light of this, Abernathy confirms to Clarke Broadcasting that he has filed a request for a review of his eligibility with the local court. Abernathy stressed that he feels local officials have acted with integrity and treated him fairly throughout the process, but he would like an additional legal review on his unique circumstances.

Depending on how things play out, Superintendent Parker could either run unopposed during the June Primary, or against a potential challenger, Abernathy. Parker is currently finishing her first term in office, and Abernathy is a teacher and Activities Director at Sonora High School.

Tuolumne Countys Clerk and Auditor-Controller, Debi Bautista, reports that a judge is expected to review the issue late today and likely provide further clarity. We will pass along more information when it becomes available.
MBABANE  Government has refuted reports that the Kingdom of Eswatini dodged being part of the agenda of a regional meeting of the SADC Troika in South Africa.

Yesterday, South African publications, including the Daily Maverick and eNCA, were abuzz with news that the countrys authorities had removed the Kingdom of Eswatini from the agenda of the said meeting. It should be noted that on Sunday, all eyes were on South Africa by virtue of being the chair of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, as it convened a ministerial meeting in preparation for a summit which was to take place yesterday. The ministerial meeting, as was stated on the official social media pages of the SA Department of International Relations and Cooperation, widely referred to as DIRCO, was for the SADC Organ Troika Plus, the Republic of Mozambique and the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Summit

It was expected that the ministerial meeting would be followed by the Extra-Ordinary Organ Troika Summit yesterday, which was to receive progress reports and consider recommendations on a way forward, based on the operational situation on the ground in the two countries. However, the summit was postponed. The Daily Maverick reported that in the absence of a discussion of Eswatini, the SADC Troika ministers meeting on Sunday focused entirely on SADCs mission in Mozambique. The publication alleged that His Majesty King Mswati III made a last-minute move, which it claimed raised concerns that he could be determined to conduct the proposed national dialogue on his own terms despite his agreement with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in November last year, to accept the involvement of the regional SADC.

The SADCs Security Organ Troika was scheduled to meet on Monday with Ramaphosa in the chair, to discuss both the Eswatini national dialogue, as well as SADCs military intervention in northern Mozambique against an Islamist insurgency, the publication reported. It also stated that the summit was postponed without a new date set. Foreign ministers met in Pretoria on Sunday anyway to prepare for the summit. The minister of International Relations and Cooperation told the meeting that the summit had been postponed because Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi and Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi could not make it, it was mentioned in the publication.

Original

It also alleged that Pandor did not explain why Eswatini had been removed from the original agenda of the ministerial meeting but that sources had said it was done at the Kings request.

They alleged that the King requested more time to consult internally about the proposed dialogue. Following the reports, this publication sought clarity from the Kings Office on whether they were factual or not. Kings Office Director of Communications Percy Simelane refuted the reports saying: It is fake news. Eswatini continues to, with the SADC Troika and this can be verified with the office of the Troika chairperson. We suspect another projection of fallen journalism, where the reporters make up news instead of covering it as it breaks around the world.

This publication went on to seek further clarity from the Office of the Government Spokesperson and this time, the plan was to ascertain if the Kingdom of Eswatini was initially on the agenda and why exactly it ended up not being mentioned. Deputy Government Spokesperson Thabile Mdluli responded and said there was no truth to the circulating reports. Instead, she said the Summit of the SADC Organ Troika Plus Mozambique and Eswatini was announced a few weeks ago and as a country, Eswatini was requested to provide a report on the civil situation.

Circumstances

However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the summit was postponed and the opportunity to present such a report was lost. The ministerial meeting, being the highest segment, would not have heard this report as it was prepared for the summit. The SADC secretariat and the chairperson of the Organ are fully aware of this adjustment, she sated. Explaining further, Mdluli said the Kingdom of Eswatini will join the Troika Summit in the next opportunity that would be availed, if invited. Eswatini will work closely with SADC in all aspects of the aforementioned agenda, she said.

It should be noted that during a breakfast meeting with editors last Thursday, Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini said government would facilitate the national dialogue. The PM was responding to a question on who exactly would facilitate the dialogue. In particular, the PM was asked if it would be the SADC or government facilitating the dialogue. The PM highlighted that the dialogue would be a process that would go along the structures that were in line with the Constitution. He said SADC would provide a consultative ethical system and also play an observer role and this it would do together with other organisations like Commonwealth.
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Anotha one! DJ Khaled will be the latest recording artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

DJ Khaleds unveiling ceremony will take place on April 11. The star is on the 6200 block of Hollywood Boulevard, close to the location of recent inductees the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose star was revealed on March 31.

Well known for lighting up songs with his eclectic catchphrases that include major key and we the best music, Khaled is a superstar music producer and DJ who has worked with everyone from Beyonce to Justin Bieber. His most recent album, Khaled Khaled, was released in April 2021, and includes collaborations with Drake, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B and Post Malone. He was nominated for album of the year at Sundays Grammy Awards, as a producer on H.E.R.s Back of My Mind. His song Higher, featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend, won a Grammy in 2020 for best rap/sung performance.

Khaled has released 10 of his albums through his record label, We the Best Music Group, which he founded in 2008. The label is also home to artists Mavado and Flipp Dinero. Khaled has also received Grammy nominations for best rap album and best rap/sung collaboration for his 2016 album Major Key and his 2017 collaboration Im on One, with Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne.

In addition to his high-charting albums and songs, Khaled has made appearances in television and film, including the 2019 movie Spies in Disguise and 2020s Bad Boys for Life. His book, The Keys, was published in 2016.

Khaled was most recently heard on the remix of Lattos Big Energy, alongside Mariah Carey, released on March 27. Although the track was met with positive reviews, some expressed disappointment in Carey and Khaled for collaborating with producer Dr. Luke, who was accused of sexual assault by Kesha in 2014.

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Theres no question that the 1997 biopic Selena on the life and career of late Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla has made a lasting impact on the Latino community and beyond.

Now, the film, which stars Jennifer Lopez in the title role, is making its way back to theaters starting April 7, 2022, in celebration of its 25th anniversary.

This movie means so much to me, Lopez wrote recently on Instagram. Selena and her family mean so much to me, and I was so lucky to be chosen to play her. Ill never forget this time in my life and its an honor as an artist to have been part of the magic that is this movie.

Director and Oscar-nominated writer Gregory Nava (El Norte) led Lopez and the rest of the Selena cast, which included Edward James Olmos, Jon Seda, Constance Marie, Jacob Vargas and Jackie Guerra. Although 1997 delivered blockbuster movies like Titanic, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Men in Black, Nava takes pride in the fact that Selena is the only film from that year getting re-released in theaters nationwide.

Selenas whole career was about overcoming obstacles, and here she has done it yet again, Nava, 72, told MySA during a recent interview. Selenas spirit lives on, and shes still helping us and our community overcome tremendous obstacles with her beautiful story and her beautiful light.

Selenas 25th anniversary also comes at a special time because this is the first anniversary where fans can celebrate the film as an official title in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. The film was added to the prestigious list in December 2021.

Texas congressman Joaquin Castro, on behalf of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, nominated Selena and other Latino films for preservation early last year.

You have to bring it up and speak out and let your voice be heard, so I think thats what [Castro] did, Nava said. He saw that a lot of our great works were being overlooked and brought attention to it. Now, Selena is right up there with all those classic films like Citizen Kane, Casablanca and The Godfather.

Other Latino films in the registry include Navas 1983 drama El Norte, 1987s La Bamba, 1988s Stand and Deliver and 2002s Real Women Have Curves, among others. Like those films, Selena, Nava said, spotlight the Latino culture in a positive way.

We have to let people know how beautiful our culture it, he said. We have to let them see our hearts and our souls, and thats what Selena does.

One group of Selena fans that Nava said he is especially excited to hear from are Tejanos. He remembers during production when over 35,000 people volunteered to spend the entire day in the Alamodome in San Antonio to recreate Selenas last concert for the film.

We talk about the magic of Selena and the great work that Jennifer Lopez and the whole cast did, but this movie wouldnt be the classic that it is without the Tejano community, he said. What they gave to this film is one of the reasons it is so successful. The Tejano community came out of love. Thats what Selena inspired in all of us.

Find a theater in San Antonio showing Selena starting April 7 at selena25anniversary.com.
MBABANE - Today marks the official opening of schools, but lessons will not be conducted in most schools.

This is because most head teachers confirmed that they would still be busy with the administration work of registering pupils, among other things, this week. The reason for the delay was that most pupils had not yet received their results, despite that the Ministry of Education and Training had announced the release of both the Eswatini Primary Certificate (EPC) and the Junior Certificate (JC) results last Thursday afternoon. Some of the schools visited yesterday included Mater Dolorosa (MDS) High School, KaBoyce High School, Woodlands High and KaSchiele High School. Some teachers said they were skeptical to start teaching, because some of the pupils would be left behind as registration was still ongoing. They further said it would make their work difficult as they had to make sure that all those pupils who were admitted caught up with the syllabus.

Unfortunate

A teacher from MDS High said it was unfortunate that some pupils, who were still not admitted to any schools, would miss out if, by next week, they would not have secured spaces. She argued that the Ministry of Education and Training should have postponed the opening of schools by a week, until all pupils were admitted across the country. The head teachers, in various interviews and through one of their associations, said as much as the Ministry of Education and Training had announced that schools should be opened today; and they should hit the ground running thereafter, lessons would not be conducted as schools would be focusing mostly on administrative duties. The administrative duties, according to the head teachers, would entail the admission of newcomers and the distribution of stationery and textbooks, as some schools would be piloting the new four-year compressed syllabus.

Manzini Nazarene High School head teacher Phindile Makhanya, when asked if lessons would resume today, said: No, tomorrow (today) well be receiving Form I and Form IV pupils. There will be registrations and issuing of textbooks, then lessons will resume on Wednesday (tomorrow).  The same concerns were raised by Mjingo High School Deputy Mbhekile Khumalo, who shared that teachers always tried to teach as much as they could. We have prepared ourselves for lessons, but for the Form I and IV classes, it will be quite difficult for them to learn because they have just been admitted today (yesterday), the deputy said. He added that the pupils parents and guardians were still organising school fees. Also, Duze High School Head teacher Zanele Dlamini, said it was unfortunate that lessons would not start today as her institution was one of those that were part of the four-year programme that was piloted by government.

However, the school head teacher said she believed they would start as soon as they had settled. She pointed out that Form II, III, as well as V classes would resume lessons before the end of the week. Mhubhe High Head teacher Nxumalo expressed that it was tricky to say they would begin lessons today, because some pupils had lost textbooks and they were in the process of clearing that. He said pupils were still to be given report cards. Nxumalo added that the school was in the process of starting registrations. He invited parents to come to the school to look for spaces for their children as they (spaces) were available. The head teacher said the school admitted all pupils, notwithstanding the fact that the results were not commendable. Meanwhile, Salesian High School Head teacher Petros Horton, said he believed they would have to start but they would break lessons at 1pm. Horton mentioned that he was not sure if spaces were still available as he had attended a workshop away from the school.

Symbols

On the other hand, Swaziland Association of Schools Administrators (SASA) Secretary General (SG) Siphasha Dlamini said it was not practical at all to resume lessons today, given that external examination results (symbols) were only issued yesterday. Dlamini said it was unfortunate that public announcements could sometimes set teachers against parents when they came to schools and not find what they were told was available with head teachers. This, she said, was the issuance of the examination results, which many parents had sought to collect yesterday and were planning to use them in securing spaces for their children in other schools. She further said there was also a challenge with the disbursements of grants (orphaned and vulnerable (OVCs) and the free primary education (FPE programme), as many schools were yet to receive them yet the money was needed for the day-to-day operations.

In terms of being at work today, Dlamini said as employees of government, they would have to be in school and ready to meet parents to admit their children, despite the challenges that came with such, as burnout. She said the biggest shortcoming in having the schools reopen today was that they were tired. Dlamini said this was because there had not been enough time to unwind the longest year ever 2021. She said the past academic year was marred with the shortage of teachers since their contracts had not been renewed and there had been no replacement of teachers who had transferred to others schools, retired or had passed on. The SASA SG also bemoaned that there had been no communication to them as head teachers on the filling of vacant posts in schools. On the other hand, Dlamini extended appreciation to the Ministry of Education and Training in collaboration with Micro Projects for the refurbishment of classes that were destroyed last year.

Affected

On the issue of classrooms, the Regional Education Officers (REOs) of the affected school, in collaboration with Micro Projects and Planning Department at the Ministry of Education and Training, have always done their level best to fix damaged schools; the hold up might be with the Ministry of Finance if no money is given to the relevant departments on time, Dlamini said. It is worth noting that the education system was marred with challenges as pupils boycotted classes and in the process vandalised and burnt some classrooms. Also, some schools were set on fire in the midst of the political unrest that was witnessed in the last week of June and the beginning of July. There were also random arson attacks which targeted schools, resulting in the destruction of infrastructure.
Lockhart's burgeoning popularity has been well documented in recent months, with splashy magazine features and newspaper articles dedicated to this small Texas town. (MySA alone has dedicated two lengthy stories to Lockhart over the past six months.) Perhaps one of these pieces has sparked your curiosity or you know someone who has made the move to this small hamlet. Maybe you already make annual trips to the BBQ Capital of Texas or are just looking for a little vacation inspiration.

Whatever the reason, it is quickly joining Fredericksburg among our favorite spots for a little get-out-of-the-city getaway. With a rich history, growing culinary community, and an arts scene rivaling its big city neighbors, you just might leave a little piece of your heart in this historic spot.

How to get there

Lockhart is about 65 miles away northeast of San Antonio, making it a quick and easy destination for a long weekend. For the purposes of your trip, ditch I-35 in favor of back roads, which is good advice all the time, but especially when you're heading out for a vacation and want to keep stress to a minimum.

Katie Friel/MySA

Take FM 78 east to FM 20, a route that's going to tack on about 40 minutes, but is overwhelmingly nicer and more predictable than navigating I-35 through New Braunfels. Feeling peckish? Stop in Seguin and grab a bite at Seguin Donuts & Kolaches, which specializes in ... doughnuts and kolaches. Once you've carbo loaded, queue up your next podcast and head on towards Lockhart.

Where to stay

Lockhart has some truly darling Airbnbs, including the 1913 Lockhart Carriage House and this charming Texas tiny home, both located a few blocks from all the action on the historic town square. Perhaps you have a bigger group or want something a bit fancier? Take a look at Nightbirds Hospitality's "flock" of properties (their joke, not mine), including The Caroline and The Carlisle, two stately homes with high-end amenities, and the Last House on Church Street and The Brock, two smaller, chic properties that have been fully renovated.

If you're looking for more of a hotel-ish vibe, the Ellison House is an 1880s farmhouse that bills itself as a "boutique boarding house." Opened in 2017 by Austin ex-pats, the Ellison House is a funky, fully restored inn and event space that will appeal to fans of properties like Hotel Havana.

Billy Calzada, Staff / Staff photographer

What to do

Once you've checked in and made your way to the town square, head to Chaparral Coffee for an iced latte before popping into Firewheel Trading Co., a darling gift shop next door. Once you've loaded up on souvenir T-shirts, walk across the square to Commerce Gallery, a high-end arts space also owned by the Nightbirds Hospitality folks. Shows in the gallery rotate regularly, and if you're in the market for a new piece of art, the back area has work from artists like Cruz Ortiz and Camille Woods. We suggest timing your trip with a new show to enjoy the opening night festivities, but there are often community events happening no matter when you visit. During our recent trip, we were able to chat with the gallery's artist-in-residence, who was painting in the back studio.

Later that evening, take in a show at the Gaslight-Baker Theatre, a 102-year-old theater and playhouse that stages plays and hosts events and classes. The current 2022 season includes productions of Gods of Carnage and Crimes of the Heart, among other shows. First Fridays, a community-wide event held on the first Friday of every month, is also worth scheduling your visit around. At night, the shops, markets, galleries, and bars open their doors while vendors and music take over the town square.

Other highlights are the historic, and architecturally iconic, Caldwell County Courthouse and the Southwest Museum of Clocks and Watches, which I have never been to because it's only open for six hours every week.

Billy Calzada /Staff photographer

Where to eat and drink

Lockhart is the BBQ Capital of Texas, aka the capital of the world (fight me, Kansas City), and its main three shops  Kreuz Market, Smitty's Market, and Black's Barbecue  are all fun stops where you will get your fill of smoked meats and Instagram shots of brisket on butcher paper. If I had to choose one, I choose Smitty's because the interior feels cozy like a church hall on Sundays, and it also has my favorite sides.

In recent years, a host of hip Austin chefs and restaurateurs and hospitality pros have made the sojourn out to Lockhart to either expand their empires or find a more affordable space. The result is some of the Capital City's hippest haunts now have sister projects in the small Central Texas town.

Begin your evening at Old Pal, a neighborhood spot from the folks behind Austin's uber popular Nickel City. Though it has the soul of a dive bar, Old Pal dishes out some fantastic fried chicken, available on the bone or off. The kitchen also serves a very good brunch and the bartenders are friendly and chatty, metrics that may seem silly when judging a dive bar, but are actually pretty telling.

Chef Casey Wilcox's Little Trouble is a sexy, underground spot reminiscent of Justine's, the East Austin brasserie where he last led the kitchen. Also nearby is Commerce Cafe from Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley, the chefs behind the award-winning Foreign & Domestic, also in Austin.

Perhaps you're in the mood for something without Austin ties. La Cantera Mexican Restaurant comes highly recommended and also offers breakfast all day, meaning you can sleep in and take advantage of your nice accommodations. And while it's hard to be off the beaten path anywhere in a small town, Taqueria Los Huaraches, located a few blocks off the main square, is a local favorite.

As you head back to ol' San Antone or wherever you call home, head back into the town square for a final stop at the Good Things Grocery. Along with organic produce and other road snacks, Good Things sells hats, home goods, and even children's toys  perfect to pick up last-minute gifts for those back home.
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WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden approved a $100 million transfer of Javelin anti-armor missiles to Ukraine on Tuesday, according to an administration official.

The transfer brings the total of U.S. military assistance for Ukraine to $2.4 billion since Biden took office last January.

The White House announced late Tuesday that Biden approved the assistance, which is funded as part of a broader $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine approved by Congress last month after Russias invasion.

The administration official confirmed that it was for a transfer of the Javelin missiles, which have been requested by the Ukrainian military to combat Russian armor.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.

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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:

 In Bucha, Ukraine, burned, piled bodies among latest horrors

 Ukraine president Zelenskyy at UN accuses Russian military of war crimes

 EU proposes Russian coal ban in new sanctions

 US official: US, allies, to ban new investments in Russia

 Harvard students site helping Ukraine refugees find housing

 Japans top envoy brings back 20 Ukrainians from Poland

 Go to https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine for more coverage

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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

LVIV, Ukraine  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said French President Emmanuel Macron has agreed to provide technical and expert support for an investigation into crimes committed by Russian troops in Bucha and elsewhere.

Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he also asked Macron to help the people trapped in the besieged southern city of Mariupol.

In an interview with Turkeys Haberturk television in Kyiv, Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to hide its actions in Mariupol and didnt want humanitarian aid to enter the city until they clean it all up.

Zelenskyy said he also expects European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to visit Kyiv soon.

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LVIV, Ukraine  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces still are trying to push deep into Ukraine in the east, but the Ukrainian army is holding them back.

In his daily night-time video address to the nation late Tuesday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was aware that Russia was gathering up reinforcements for another offensive.

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine is outnumbered both in troops and equipment.

We dont have a choice  the fate of our land and of our people is being decided, he said. We know what we are fighting for. And we will do everything to win.

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LVIV, Ukraine  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Tuesday that he and Western leaders have discussed a new round of sanctions against Russia.

After what the world saw in Bucha, the sanctions against Russia must be commensurate with the gravity of the war crimes committed by the occupiers, Zelenskyy said in his daily night-time video address to the nation.

In coordination with the European Union and Group of Seven nations, the U.S. will roll out more sanctions against Russia on Wednesday. That reportedly will include a ban on all new investment in the country.

Also, the EUs executive branch has proposed a ban on coal imports from Russia in what would be the first time the 27-nation bloc has sanctioned the countrys lucrative energy industry over the war.

The coal imports amount to an estimated 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year.

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KYIV, Ukraine  A Ukrainian official says Russian troops have allowed 1,496 civilians to evacuate the besieged city of Mariupol by private vehicle but blocked a convoy of evacuation buses from entering.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the Russian forces stopped the buses accompanied by workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross from traveling to the Sea of Azov port on Tuesday. The civilians who were able to leave in their personal vehicles traveled to Zaporizhzhia.

Mariupol has been besieged by Russian forces for a month, cut off from food, water and energy supplies and has faced relentless artillery barrage and air raids that killed thousands.

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LVIV, Ukraine  A regional official in western Ukraine says a Russian missile hit fertilizer tanks, polluting ground water.

Ternopil region Gov. Volodymyr Trush said Tuesday that the Russian missile strike destroyed six reservoirs filled with fertilizers, resulting in an ammonia leak into ground water and the Ikva River.

Authorities are advising residents not to use water wells and stop fishing and officials have organized drinking water deliveries. Trush say the environmental situation is expected to stabilize in a few days.

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MOSCOW  The Russian foreign minister is accusing Ukraine's government of sabotaging talks on ending the fighting in Ukraine, warning that Moscow will not play cat and mouse.

Sergey Lavrov specifically warns that Moscow will not accept the Ukrainian demand that a prospective peace agreement include an immediate pullout of Russian troops to be followed by a referendum in Ukraine on accepting the deal.

In televised remarks Tuesday, he says that if the peace deal fails to win approval in a referendum, a new deal will have to be negotiated. He says that we dont want to play such cat and mouse.

Lavrov pointed at a 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine signed in Minsk, Belarus, that was brokered by France and Germany but never implemented. He says that we dont want a repeat of the Minsk agreements.

He also says Ukraine is sabotaging the talks by stonewalling Russian demands for demilitarization and denazification of the country.

The tough statements from Lavrov contrasted with optimistic signals made by both Ukrainian and Russian representatives after the latest round of talks in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 29.

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KYIV, Ukraine  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged all Spanish companies to completely halt business with Russia and called for tougher Western sanctions against Moscow that would include a ban on Russian oil imports.

Speaking in a video address to the Spanish Parliament on Tuesday, Zelenskyy denounced the Russian atrocities against civilians in Ukrainian cities, saying they represented war crimes for which Russian officers should face an international tribunal.

Zelenskyy said the sanctions must be really powerful.

How can it be allowed that Russian banks generate incomes even as the Russian military tortures ordinary civilians to death in Ukrainian cities, how can European companies engage in trade with the state that deliberately destroys our people? he asked.

In an emotional speech, he drew parallels between the Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and the 1937 bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by Nazi aircraft during the Spanish Civil War.

Zelenskyy said the fate of the entire European project, the values that unite us all is being decided in Ukraine, and urged Spanish lawmakers to do even more to force Russia to start searching for peace and respect the international law.

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KYIV, Ukraine  Speaking in a video address to the Spanish Parliament on Tuesday, Zelenskyy denounced the Russian atrocities against civilians in Ukrainian cities, saying they represented war crimes for which Russian officers should face an international tribunal.

Zelenskyy said the sanctions must be really powerful.

How can it be allowed that Russian banks generate incomes even as the Russian military tortures ordinary civilians to death in Ukrainian cities, how can European companies engage in trade with the state that deliberately destroys our people? he asked.

In an emotional speech, he drew parallels between the Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and the 1937 bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by Nazi aircraft during the Spanish Civil War.

Zelenskyy said the fate of the entire European project, the values that unite us all is being decided in Ukraine, and urged Spanish lawmakers to do even more to force Russia to start searching for peace and respect the international law.

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LONDON  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has issued a direct appeal to the Russian people, urging them to seek the truth about a war he called a stain on the honor of Russia.

In a video message, Johnson said Russians were being kept in the dark about the invasion of Ukraine because Russian President Vladimir Putin knows that if you could see what was happening, you would not support his war.

Johnson said Russian authorities were hiding the truth of sickening slayings of civilians and other crimes, which betray the trust of every Russian mother who proudly waves goodbye to her son as he heads off to join the military.

He told Russians they only needed an online VPN connection to gain access to independent information from around the world.

Switching from English to Russian, Johnson said: Your president stands accused of committing war crimes. But I cannot believe hes acting in your name.

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WASHINGTON  The U.S. and its European allies will impose stiff new sanctions, including a ban on new investments in Russia on Wednesday, a U.S. official says, in retaliation for Russias war crimes in Ukraine.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.

The joint action will include a ban on new investment in Russia, toughened sanctions on its financial institutions and government-owned enterprises, and more sanctions on Russian government officials and their family members.

The official said they would further Russias economic, financial and technological isolation from the rest of the world as a penalty for its attacks on civilians in Ukraine.

- AP writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

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ANKARA, Turkey  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said everyone in the Russian leadership and army who is involved in the war is responsible for war crimes committed in Ukraine.

In an interview with Turkeys Haberturk television in Kyiv on Tuesday, Zelenskyy also accused Russia of trying to hide its actions in the besieged southern city of Mariupol and did not want humanitarian aid to enter the city until they clean it all up.

Zelenskyy spoke following the discovery of bodies of civilians in towns around Kyiv that were recaptured from Russian forces.

The Russian military political leadership and everyone involved in the planning of this war and everyone who gave this order, committed war crimes in my opinion, Zelenskyy said in comments translated into Turkish. We are not dealing with a situation where only one person can be prosecuted and be found guilty.

On the situation in Mariupol, Zelenskyy said thousands may have been killed or injured there.

I think Russia is afraid that we will successfully send humanitarian aid to Mariupol and the whole world will see whats going on there, he said. Russia doesnt want anything to be seen until they take control of the city (and) until they clean it all up.

Zelenskyy said Turkish ships were involved in efforts to evacuate injured civilians from Mariupol, but would not elaborate.

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BUCHAREST, Romania  Authorities in Romania said Tuesday that the country is expelling 10 diplomats from Russias embassy in Bucharest.

Romanias foreign ministry said the actions of 10 embassy workers, who have been declared persona non grata, contravene the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relationships.

The move by Romania follows a string of expulsions of Russian officials across the 27-nation European Union following a wave of criticism and shock after Russian troops are accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine.

As of Tuesday, more than 200 Russian diplomats or employees had been expelled from at least a dozen countries, including Germany, France and Italy.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I.  Ukrainian officials are renewing pressure on Chinese consumer drone-maker DJI to block a tool that they say is enabling Russian troops to find and attack Ukrainian drone operators.

Ukraines top cybersecurity official Victor Zhora told reporters Tuesday during a press call that DJIs drone detection tool AeroScope has been sharing information on Ukrainian drones to Russians.

Both sides of the war have flown small consumer drones to monitor troop movements and help target attacks. But Ukrainian officials said Tuesday they have evidence that DJIs tool for detecting the location and flight information of nearby drones is working for Russians and not Ukrainians. A government report called for blocking all DJI products operating in Ukraine that were purchased and activated in other countries such as Russia.

DJI has previously denied such claims, saying in March that it doesnt apply preferential treatment but also cant switch off the AeroScope tool. It has expressed openness to using technology that could ground its drones in the war zone if Ukraine made a formal request but the no-fly zone would apply to both Ukrainian and Russian drones and some would still be able to fly.

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RICHMOND, Va.  Ukraines top cybersecurity official says cyberattacks against his country have increased in the last two weeks and theres evidence that Russian military hackers that tried to break into Ukrainian state agencies also attempted to hack Latvian officials email accounts.

Victor Zhora told reporters Tuesday that a major Ukrainian telecommunications provider, Ukrtelecom, suffered an attack on March 28, but was able to restore most of the affected service within a day.

Kirill Goncharuk, Ukrtelecoms chief information officer, said hackers used compromised credentials of an employee in Russian-occupied territory occupied to break in to his companys network. He said the employee was okay but couldnt disclose additional details for safety concerns.

Zhora said hackers had also recently gained access to the emails of staff at Ukraines foreign ministry. He said despite the increased hacking attempts in recent days, hes not seen any successful complicated attacks on any Ukrainian critical infrastructure targets.

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UNITED NATIONS  Ukraines president told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that the Russian military must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes, accusing invading troops of the worst atrocities since World War II.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, making his plea via video, cited reported atrocities against civilians carried out by Russian forces in the town of Bucha on the outskirts of the capital Kyiv, saying they are no different than other terrorists like the Islamic State extremist group.

Images of slain bodies on the ground, particularly from the town of Bucha, have stirred global revulsion and led to demands for tougher sanctions and war crime prosecutions against Russia.

Zelenskyy, making his first appearance before the U.N.s highest body, stressed there are more places in Ukraine that have suffered similar horrors. He called for a tribunal to be established that is similar to the Nuremberg tribunal set up to try war criminals after World War II.

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WARSAW, Poland  Britain's foreign secretary says her country will urge the G-7 group to impose more sanctions on Russia, saying that current sanctions have already had a crippling effect.

Liz Truss said in Warsaw that sanctions have already frozen $350 billion of Putins war chest, saying that makes more than 60% of Russias $604 billion in currency reserves unavailable.

Our coordinated sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back to the Soviet era, she said at a news conference with her Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau.

She observed that Poland had seen more clearly the threat that Moscow posed in past years, even as Western countries embraced doing business with Russia.

Poland has always been clear-eyed about Russia. You have understood Putins malign intent. You were right, she said.

Truss said Britain will encourage the other G-7 countries to ban Russian ships from its ports, crack down on Russian banks, set a timetable to eliminate imports of Russian oil and gas, and try to prevent Russia from using gold to fund its war effort.

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UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations chief says it is more urgent by the day to silence the guns in Ukraine, citing rising deaths and a new U.N. analysis indicating that 74 developing countries with a total population of 1.2 billion people are especially vulnerable to spiking food, energy and fertilizer prices.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that as a result of the global impact of Russias full-fledged invasion on several fronts of Ukraine, he said we are already seeing some countries move from vulnerability into crisis and signs of serious social unrest.

The flames of conflict are fueled by inequality, deprivation and underfunding, he said. With all the warning signals flashing red, we have a duty to act.

On food, Guterres urged all countries to keep markets open, resist unjustified export restrictions, make reserves available to countries at risk of hunger and famine and fund humanitarian appeals.

On energy, he said that using strategic stockpiles and reserves could help ease the energy crisis in the short-term but the only medium- and long-term solution is to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy.

On finance, he said international financial institutions must go into emergency mode. He urged the worlds 20 leading economies, the G-20, and international financial institutions to increase liquidity and fiscal space so that governments can provide safety nets for the poorest and most vulnerable.

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BERLIN  Germanys foreign minister has spoken out in favor of providing Ukraine with additional weapons to defend itself against Russia.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday that we are looking at what solutions there are, together with the EU, NATO and in particular the G-7 partners.

She dismissed criticism that Germany wasnt doing enough to arm Ukraine, saying there arent many other countries that have supplied more (weapons).

Baerbock spoke following a conference in Berlin on support for Moldova, a poor, small eastern European nation bordering Ukraine that has been strongly affected by the conflict.

Participants agreed to take in 12,000 Ukrainian refugees currently in Moldova, provide 71 million euros in aid and almost 700 million euros in loans to the country, and support its efforts to fight corruption and decrease its energy dependence on Russia.

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MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that any move by foreign countries to nationalize Russian stakes in companies would be a double-edged sword.

We are already hearing statements from officials about a possible nationalization of some of our assets, he said. How far will that get us? Let no one forget that it is a double-edged sword.

Putin also bemoaned what he said was administrative pressure on our company Gazprom in some European countries. Germany on Monday put a government agency in charge of a longtime German subsidiary of Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled energy giant.

The move falls short of nationalization because the German state has not taken ownership of the shares, and it is a temporary change of administration through September.

Gazprom said last week it had cut ties with the unit but Germany says that was invalid because the identity of any new owners is unclear and the deal happened without the required government approval.

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JERUSALEM -- Israels prime minister says he is shocked by the gruesome images emerging from the Ukrainian town of Bucha, but he stopped short of accusing Russia of being responsible or calling the atrocities a war crime.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told reporters Tuesday that we are, of course, shocked by the harsh scenes in Bucha. Terrible images, and we strongly condemn them.

He said that the images are extremely horrible. The suffering of the citizens of Ukraine is huge and we are doing everything we can to help.

With Israel one of the few countries to have good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Bennett has emerged as a mediator in efforts to end the war.

In order to preserve his relationship with Vladimir Putin, Bennett has been measured in his criticism of the Russian president. Instead, he has allowed Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to voice harsher condemnations.

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BRUSSELS  NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says he expects more atrocities to come to light in Ukraine as Russian troops continue to retreat from areas around Kyiv.

Stoltenberg said Tuesday that we havent seen everything that has taken place because Russia still controls most of these territories around the capital. But when and if they withdraw their troops and Ukrainian troops take over, Im afraid they will see more mass graves, more atrocities and more examples of of war crimes.

Stoltenberg rejected Russian assertions that the atrocities were staged.

He said that these atrocities have taken place during a period in which Russia controlled these areas. So they are responsible. Second, we have information from many different sources.

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BRUSSELS  The European Unions executive branch has proposed a ban on coal imports from Russia in what would be the first sanctions targeting the countrys lucrative energy industry over its war in Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday that the EU needed to increase the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin after what she described as the heinous crimes carried out around Kyiv.

Von der Leyen said the ban on coal imports is worth 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year. She added that the EU has already started working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports.

Von der Leyen didnt mention natural gas. A consensus among the 27 EU member countries on targeting gas thats used to generate electricity, heat homes and power industry would be more difficult to secure.

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MOSCOW -- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the expulsions of Russian diplomats by European countries will prompt a response from Moscow and will complicate international relations.

Germany, France, Italy and Spain are among the countries which have expelled diplomats since Monday.

Peskov said that we view negatively, we view with regret this narrowing of possibilities for diplomatic communication, diplomatic work in such difficult conditions, in unprecedent crisis conditions.

He added that it is short-sighted and a step which firstly will complicate our communication, which is required in order to seek reconciliation. And secondly it will inevitably lead to reciprocal steps.

___

PARIS  French prosecutors say theyre opening investigations into possible war crimes committed against French nationals in Ukraine since Russian troops invaded.

The national prosecutors office that specializes in terrorism cases said it launched three war crimes investigations on Tuesday, against suspects yet to be identified.

French law allows prosecutors to investigate suspected war crimes committed outside of France if they involve French victims or suspects who are French or who reside in France.

The three French probes will look into suspected suspected crimes in Mariupol, Chernihiv and Hostomel.

The prosecutors statement said the suspected crimes could include deliberate attacks against civilians and deliberately withholding the essentials they needed to survive, physical assaults, and the deliberate destruction of civilian installations.

___

GENEVA  The U.N. migration agency now estimates that more than 11 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine since Russias invasion.

The International Organization for Migration, in its first such full assessment in three weeks, reported Tuesday that more than 7.1 million had been displaced within Ukraine as of April 1. That comes on top of the figure of more than 4 million who have fled abroad, reported by the U.N. refugee agency.

IOM said more than 2.9 million others are actively considering leaving their place of habitual residence due to war.

Ukraine had a pre-war population of 44 million.

___
Lionel Hahn/Getty Images

Reality star Kim Kardashian is showing support for a Texas woman who's been on death row for over 14 years for the death of her 2-year-old daughter. Kardashian tweeted about the case on Monday, April 4, calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to take action and stop her execution.

"I recently just read about the case of Melissa Lucio and wanted to share her story with you," Kardashian tweeted. "She has been on death row for over 14 years for her daughter's death that was a tragic accident."
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Just when we thought we were done with tornado videos. A storm chaser video shows multiple vehicles getting flipped, including an 18-wheeler truck, as a tornado moved through North Texas overnight on Monday, April 4.

Severe thunderstorms ripped through North Texas counties Monday night, producing a tornado in Ellis County that hit the Midlothian area, according to the National Weather Service. A video from storm chasers shared on social media and on YouTube channel called Live Storms Media shows a semi-truck on its side at a Loves Travel Stop at the corner of U.S. highways 287 and 67.
Yves here. The effort to engage in estimating financial risk of climate change is a fools errand. First, climate change is subject to positive feedback loops, which means that really dire outcomes can come faster than anticipated. But second, financial risk approaches all use discounted cash flows. Having done lots of modeling, anything more than 10 or 15 years out is worth pretty much nothing in NPV terms. That effect is made worse by the fact, as Andrew Haldane at the Bank of England and others have documented, investors employ discount rates that are unduly high, which has the effect of reducing long-term costs and payoffs.

Requiring a stab at risk metrics is analogous to a very very weak form of taxation: investors are supposed to take note and punish companies that are behaving badly, and/or the companies themselves are supposed to self-tax by spending more on less climate-ravaging approaches.

Taxation is the wrong approach when the future of the planet is at stake. As Haldane explained in his paper, The $100 Billion Question:

The car industry is a pollutant. Exhaust fumes are a noxious by-product. Motoring benefits those producing and consuming car travel services  the private benefits of motoring. But it also endangers innocent bystanders within the wider community  the social costs of exhaust pollution The banking industry is also a pollutant. Systemic risk is a noxious by-product. Banking benefits those producing and consuming financial services  the private benefits for bank employees, depositors, borrowers and investors. But it also risks endangering innocent bystanders within the wider economy  the social costs to the general public from banking crises.

Stop for a minute. This paper was written in 2010. As people are more willing to say now, the big risk of auto exhaust is not pollution, as in damage to lungs, but greenhouse gas emission, which is on track to produce such large scale climate change as to threaten agriculture, lower the level of ocean life, flood out major world cities, in other words, damage human life and potentially undermine production to a degree that Life on the Prairie level lifestyles will look like not too terrible downside.

Back to the paper:

In making these choices, economists have often drawn on Martin Weitzmans classic public goods framework from the early 1970s.13 Under this framework, the optimal amount of pollution control is found by equating the marginal social benefits of pollution-control and the marginal private costs of this control. With no uncertainty about either costs or benefits, a policymaker would be indifferent between taxation and restrictions when striking this cost/benefit balance. In the real world, there is considerable uncertainty about both costs and benefits. Weitzmans framework tells us how to choose between pollution-control instruments in this setting. If the marginal social benefits foregone of the wrong choice are large, relative to the private costs incurred, then quantitative restrictions are optimal. Why? Because fixing quantities to achieve pollution control, while letting prices vary, does not have large private costs. When the marginal social benefit curve is steeper than the marginal private cost curve, restrictions dominate. The results flip when the marginal cost/benefit trade-offs are reversed. If the private costs of the wrong choice are high, relative to the social benefits foregone, fixing these costs through taxation is likely to deliver the better welfare outcome. When the marginal social benefit curve is flatter than the marginal private cost curve, taxation dominates. So the choice of taxation versus prohibition in controlling pollution is ultimately an empirical issue.

Translated out of econospeak: if the choice is between oil industry and all their dependents profits versus danger to civilization, its a no-brainer that governments should be engaging in wide-ranging prohibition, not angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin level debates about what proper financial risk metrics should be.

But no one believe in muscular government any moreoutside literal muscle, as in policing.

By Julie Vano, PhD, is Research Director at the Aspen Global Change Institute, and Lana Vali is a Philanthropy Senior Associate at Energy Innovation. Originally published at Yale Climate Connections

Weather and climate disasters have cost the United States more than $600 billionover the past five years, with impacts to individuals, businesses, and public sector coffers. As just one example, the climate-fueled, record-breaking rainfall of Hurricane Maria in 2017 significantly disrupted pharmaceutical manufacturing in Puerto Rico, which accounted for 25% of total U.S. pharmaceutical exports and 72% of Puerto Ricos 2016 exports, harming investors and people who needed critical medical supplies like I.V. bags.

In response to the increasingly extreme weather patterns, global policymakers and investors are keen to predict and better prepare for future climate-change risks. Yet, to reduce damages caused by climate impacts and make fully informed policy and financial decisions, they need to accurately value those risks.

Investors, companies, and policymakers especially need this type of climate risk information. But despite large sets of publicly available climate data, the connective tissue required to apply that data to financial risk analyses is not fully developed and requires better coordination among climate scientists and those trying to assess financial risk. Researchers are now increasingly considering how climate science can better inform business risk analysis.

Policymakers Require transparency  Easier Said Than Done

Policymakers now are starting to take the risks climate impacts pose to the economy much more seriously. Last year, the Biden Administration released an Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk, directing federal agencies to analyze and mitigate risks climate change poses to homeowners, consumers, businesses, workers, the financial system, and the federal government. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently proposed a mandate, which, if adopted, would require that all publicly traded companies for the first time disclose climate-related impacts to their business and report their greenhouse gas emissions in a standardized way. And the Financial Stability Boards Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) is charged with developing consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies, banks, and investors in providing information to stakeholders.

The Task Force developed a set of recommendations for disclosing information about climate risks and opportunities, and as of October 2021, 1,069 financial institutions(responsible for $194 trillion in assets) have pledged to support these recommendations. Broad public and bipartisan support backs these corporate climate risk disclosure mandates: 87 percent of Americans are in favor of companies reporting their climate-related risks, including nearly three-quarters of Republicans.

But assessing climate risks to businesses is easier said than done, as researchers point out. Individuals preparing climate-related financial disclosures encounter significant obstacles. In a recent survey, they reported finding relevant data and applying appropriate risk assessment methodologies as their two greatest challenges, both of which are central to their work. Furthermore, despite the wide availability of public climate data, the data does not match the geographies or timelines used in most financial risk analyses.

Climate Models Dont Readily Predict Local, Specific Climate Risks

Existing climate models help climate scientists better understand how greenhouse gases increase surface temperatures, thereby warping weather patterns across large swaths of the globe. Most model outputs are relevant for evaluating climate-change conditions at a global scale and in 50 to 100 years, so model outputs cannot easily answer the top question on investors minds: What are the potential impacts to a specific project in the next few years or couple of decades?

Attempts to use current climate data to inform financial decisions vary considerably and can be fraught. Squeezing long-term, global-scale climate data into a model that outputs projections of short-term, region-specific financial risks without adequate interpretation leads to artificial information at best. These misguided attempts can actually lead to maladaptation and heightened vulnerability to climate change, an overconfidence in risk assessments, and a misrepresentation or greenwashing of a companys climate response, the authors of this study point out.

While the direct use of climate-change data is no silver bullet to assess climate risk for business, an interdisciplinary team of experts in Australia has charted a path forward for how climate science can better help businesses and their investors, lenders, and insurance underwriters make informed economic decisions. Recent research led by Tanya Fiedler, of the University of Sydney Business School, and Andy Pitman, of the Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW, Sydney, explains the core problem with current attempts to assess risk: Climate research usually flows in only one direction, from researchers to businesses attempting to make well-informed decisions. This limitation does not allow businesses to communicate their needs or questions to climate researchers, nor does it allow climate researchers to adapt models and outputs to meet business needs.

A New Design for Better Risk Assessments  and Helping Make the Business Case for Action

As an alternative, Fielder and her colleagues propose strengthening intermediary groups of professionals focused on operational prediction and climate service to encourage more engagement among climate scientists and businesses and to bring more transparency to the value and limits of climate model information. They emphasize that current barriers will not be solved simply by open access data or by climate service providers repackaging information. Instead, they call for a redesign of the information flow so appropriate climate projections are developed, refined, and communicated in consultation with key decision makers.

The weather forecasting industry has shown that a more engaged approach is possible, as outlined by Fielder and her colleagues. Weather forecasts use complex numerical models that are 1) continuously updated and improved and 2) supported by major national and international investments in science and data systems. Additionally, weather forecasters translate complex weather simulations into information useful to non-experts. Fielder and her colleagues say a similar level of investment in climate risk modeling is needed to understand and communicate climate risks to decision makers beyond just climate specialists, such as those in the financial sector.

With the help of these climate translators and dedicated modeling, businesses can build more resilience so they can continue to operate safely and profitably in an evolving and warming world. Without better understanding of and preparation for the new uncertainties of climate change, assets, supply chains, jobs, and livelihoods will be disrupted more severely and more frequently as climate feedback loops accelerate. Weather will become more extreme, but with the right support, the financial system on which we rely can be better prepared.

Increased and improved awareness of climate risks has already led some businesses to commit to reducing emissions in their own operations to help slow unmanageable climate change. As more companies come up to speed on the threat climate poses to their business, increased climate leadership from the corporate sectorleadership desperately needed to lower global greenhouse gas emissions.
Lambert and I, and many readers, agree that Ukraine has prompted the worst informational environment ever. We hope readers will collaborate in mitigating the fog of war  both real fog and stage fog  in comments. None of us need more cheerleading and link-free repetition of memes; there are platforms for that. Low-value, link-free pom pom-wavers will be summarily whacked.

And for those who are new here, this is not a mere polite request. We have written site Policies and those who comment have accepted those terms. To prevent having to resort to the nuclear option of shutting comments down entirely until more sanity prevails, as we did during the 2015 Greek bailout negotiations and shortly after the 2020 election, we are going to be ruthless about moderating and blacklisting offenders.

Yves

P.S. Also, before further stressing our already stressed moderators, read our site policies:

Please do not write us to ask why a comment has not appeared. We do not have the bandwidth to investigate and reply. Using the comments section to complain about moderation decisions/tripwires earns that commenter troll points. Please dont do it. Those comments will also be removed if we encounter them.

* * *

Hooray!

Source: BanklessTimes.com

I Cant Stop Watching This Teensy Dachshund Carry Around Extremely Large Sticks Daily Paws (David L)

The hidden world of octopus cities and culture shows why its wrong to farm them The Conversation

Ted Polumbaums photos of MLK, Jackie O and more shine off the page in new book NPR (David L)

Alzheimers Study Finds 42 More Genes Linked To Higher Risk of Disease Guardian

Almost all the worlds population breathes harmful air, says WHO Financial Times

Why virtue signalling is not just a vice, but an evolved tool Aeon Essays (David L)

#COVID-19

Climate/Environment

China?

India

How India showcased its diplomatic maturity while handling Russian and Chinese foreign ministers FirstPost. Ouch, no mention of pushy US and UK emissaries in the headline! But interesting discussion of protocols.

Old Blighty

The government which Rees-Mogg is part of chose a hard Brexit with the EU. It is profoundly dishonest to blame the consequences of that choice upon the EU. https://t.co/9fO7YRkG20  Steve Peers (@StevePeers) April 4, 2022 Rishi Sunak asks Royal Mint to create NFT Guardian (Kevin W)

Macrons far-right rival, Le Pen, reaches all-time high in presidential second-round vote poll Reuters

New Not-So-Cold War

Syraqistan

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Wyze Camera Vulnerability Bruce Schneier

Imperial Collapse Watch

Trump

Biden

Biden doing more harm to renewables than Trump, says solar boss Financial Times Hunter Biden grand jury witness was asked about deal with Chinese firm  and the big guy New York Post. I know Twitter is not the real world, but when I put in Biden to see if there was anything new I might have missed, there were >5X as many tweets on matters Hunter as on Ukraine. And no, I follow Covid and finance and some bona fide lefty types.

Efforts To Ban Books Jumped an Unprecedented Four-Fold In 2021 NPR

A Spot of Bother for Bitcoin Doomsberg. Important if you are interested in crypto.

Mercedes-Benz Puts 5,600 Workers On Vacation In Brazil Due To Chips Shortage Reuters

New Vehicle Sales Plunge as Chip Shortages, Production Cuts, Low Inventories Drag On. Back Where Theyd Been in 1979 Wolf Richter

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour. Tracie H:

Im not sure what gender this little squirrel is, but I believe s/hes a Beldings Ground Squirrel. S/he lives near the Kern river along Hwy 178 (California). When it first spotted me it jumped off its rock into these brambles, but when I didnt go away, it came out for a better look. Later, after about 5 minutes of following it from perch to perch, it finally decided I was harmless and came all the way up to me. I felt bad that I had nothing to offer as reward for its bravery, so went to the car and brought back the only thing I had to offer, a strawberry. S/he ran up to me, grabbed it from my hand, and darted away.

And a bonus (furzy). I think weve run this clip before, but still fun:

this dog knows how to have fun in all kinds of weather

(jukin media) pic.twitter.com/CUEUkoAeQC  theworldofdog (@theworldofdog) April 4, 2022

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Beyond Green, a global portfolio of iconic hotels, resorts, and lodges that represent sustainability, has launched a new travel booking platform with &Beyond, one of the worlds leading luxury experiential travel companies.



The new online Plan Your Trip itinerary programme provides custom, turnkey booking and facilitation services for travellers seeking intentional getaways, with Africa and South America as its launch destination offerings.



Serviced by &Beyonds expert team, Beyond Greens new end-to-end itinerary planning services help travellers seamlessly book experiences that align with their sustainable travel values and aspirations. Inclusive of tried-and-tested, pre-set itineraries along with custom, one-of-a-kind global exploration opportunities across Africa, South America, and Asia (coming soon), travellers can enjoy complimentary use of Beyond Greens itinerary booking platform to confirm multifaceted trips that are created with respect for nature, communities, and culture.



Keeping clients informed and inspired, the team behind the new service provides assistance with everything from arranging activities, transfers, reservations, and tours led by expert guides, while expertly addressing any related Covid-19 protocols or potential international restrictions.



With &Beyond a proven leader in travel based on its Care of the Land, Wildlife and People, Beyond Green is particularly proud of this incredible new partnership to make planning a sustainable travel holiday easier than ever in two of the worlds great travel destinations  Africa and South America, said Lindsey Ueberroth, CEO of Beyond Green.



The Beyond Green platform aligns perfectly with our mission statement of striving to leave the world a better place through the delivery of extraordinary guest experiences, said Joss Kent, CEO of &Beyond.



Having been one of the brands Founding Members, we are even more proud to partner with Beyond Green even more closely. With the world more focused on the need for preserve its wild places than ever before, we believe that this new partnership will be a powerful new outlet to convert ever more travellers to sustainable travel practices.



Visitors to StayBeyondGreen.com/plan-your-trip will find a range of meticulously crafted, all-inclusive itineraries across Africa and select South American countries incorporating a mix of different hotels, including &Beyond properties and members of the Beyond Green portfolio that exemplify sustainable tourism leadership through actions and impact.



Alternatively, travellers seeking a fully customised trip can submit a request form via the dedicated Plan Your Trip landing page and, in response, they will receive a meaningful itinerary recommendation that combines their interests in compelling guest experiences and great hotels committed to people and the planet, all tailored to their desires.



A selection of Beyond Greens all-inclusive itineraries powered by &Beyond available for immediate booking via the dedicated Plan Your Trip platform includes:



 9-day/8-night Journey Across Rwanda and Kenya with Gorilla Trekking and Safari Experiences

 9-day/8-night Expedition Around Namibia Discovering the Countrys Most Unique and Iconic Places

 12-day/11-night Adventure in Chile Exploring Antarctica and The Lake District

 14-day/13-night Voyage Through South America Focused on Wildlife Conservation

 15-day/14-night Beyond Green Southern Africa Excursion featuring four Beyond Green member properties across South Africa, Namibia and Botswana



The two brands launched their collaboration in 2021, when four &Beyond properties  &Beyond Bateleur Camp (Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya), &Beyond Mnemba Island (Zanzibar, Tanzania), &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge (Namib Desert, Namibia), and &Beyond Vira (Pucon, Chile)  joined the Beyond Green portfolio as founding members, with a shared commitment to making travel a force for good.  TradeArabia News Service
(Natural News) Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and other drug companies are now facing class-action lawsuits from individuals who developed cancer after taking Zantac. The drug was found to be contaminated with a chemical that can cause cancer.

Two years ago, many outlets reported that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an immediate recall of the drug ranitidine, best known by its brand name Zantac.

Lawyer Brent Wisner said even though the FDA recalled Zantac in 2020, evidence showed that the drug companies knew the profitable heartburn drug was contaminated with cancer-causing agent N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) for decades but continued to sell them anyway.

He explained that NDMA was a very potent human carcinogen that was discovered in the 1930s, during the development of rocket fuel. He said it literally has no purpose in our world, except for the fact that it causes cancer, adding that it is used in laboratory experiments to induce cancer in animals.

[NDMA] is probably something that has caused an innumerable number of peoples cancers, because it was such a widely used product, Wisner said. Some of the cancers linked to Zantac include cancers of the bladder, liver, stomach, colorectal organs, prostate and breast. (Related: Popular heartburn drug may have given millions of people cancer, found contaminated with cancer chemical.)

The FDA told all drug manufacturers to stop selling Zantac made with ranitidine in the United State in 2020 because NDMA contamination can increase over time. The longer the drug sits on the shelf, the greater the amount of NDMA develops  and the FDA has no idea how long it has been in Zantac.

Sanofis new drug, Zantac 260, however, was made with famotidine and is not part of the recalls or lawsuits.

Meanwhile, ranitidine lawsuits claim that Zantacs design is defective because its active ingredient is an unstable molecule. The drug label failed to properly warn the public about the risk of cancer as well.

Doctors who diagnosed patients with cancer after taking Zantac said these people had no family history or genetic markers for cancer. Instead, the patients were told that their cancers were caused by something from the environment, which could include NDMA contamination.

Bladder cancer has the strongest connection to Zantac so far, but other health issues can also be claimed in the lawsuits.

People diagnosed with cancer after taking Zantac were also diagnosed with primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) and Chrons disease.

PPH is a rare lung disorder that causes high blood pressure in the lungs and usually happens when the blood vessels in the lungs narrow and raise the pressure in the pulmonary artery level above normal levels.

Chrons disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes the digestive tract to become inflamed, causing severe diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramps and weight loss.

Several conditions must be satisfied to join class-action lawsuit

Zantac lawyers said people must satisfy several conditions to join the class-action lawsuit: proven Zantac use, a cancer diagnosis and a connection between the two. The lawyers are also only accepting claims from people who took the brand name Zantac  generic ranitidine is no longer included. (Related: Virginia woman SUES Zantac for heartburn drug that gave her esophageal cancer.)

Potential claimants will have to prove that they took the brand name Zantac with ranitidine for at least one year before being diagnosed with cancer, and those who have a prescription can provide proof through medical records. However, those who took over-the-counter Zantac must have a receipt and other evidence that showed they took the drugs, such as a statement or doctors note.

The main injury claimed in Zantac and ranitidine lawsuits is cancer. Potential claimants have to be diagnosed with bladder, stomach, esophageal, liver or pancreatic cancer and there must be less than 20 years between the last time a potential client took Zantac and their first cancer diagnosis. Potential claimants should also have received their first cancer diagnosis at age 89 or younger.

To prove the connection between cancer and Zantac, claimants should be taking higher medication doses consistently. The length of time that someone has used the drug can also affect the case. To qualify, the claimant should have taken Zantac at least once a week for a year or longer.

More news like this can be found at BigPharmaNews.com.

Watch the video below for more information about Zantac and its cancer-causing agents.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

FDA: Research unveils cancer-causing chemicals found in popular medications used for heartburn.

Popular hypertension drug found to contain high levels of a CANCER-CAUSING ingredient.

Chemists finally identify the molecule responsible for a carcinogen in recycled wastewater.

Zantac side effects and nutritional deficiencies.

Pfizer suspends distribution of anti-smoking drug after cancer-causing agents found in the pills.

Sources include:

NaturalHealth365.com

DrugWatch.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Republican North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn has exposed in an interview the debauched orgies and rampant illegal drug use of elected officials in Washington, D.C.

On March 24, Cawthorn made an appearance on the Warrior Poet Society podcast. During his interview, host John Lovell asked Cawthorn if House of Cards, the Netflix series starring alleged sex abuser Kevin Spacey as a Democratic congressman with a secret life of corruption, power, money and perversion, was close to the reality of what politicians do in Washington, D.C.

The only thing thats not accurate in that show is that you could never get a piece of legislation about education passed that quickly, said Cawthorn, who was astonished at the levels of sexual perversion that occur in the nations capital.

Cawthorn added he was surprised by how many of the older politicians in Washington who he used to look up to suddenly invited him to orgies.

Ive always paid attention to politics. Then all of a sudden, you get invited, he said. Were going to have a sexual get-together at one of our homes, you should come. What did you just ask me to come to? And then you realize theyre asking you to come to an orgy.

Cawthorn then claimed that illegal drug use is very common among many politicians in Washington, as well as other D.C. insiders. In fact, he said some of the people leading national anti-drug campaigns are themselves prolific users of cocaine and other illegal substances.

And then you watch them do a bump of cocaine right in front of you and its like, this is wild, he said.

Cawthorn should be praised for standing up to establishment Republicans

On an episode of The Stew Peters Show on Brighteon.TV, guest hosts Edward Szall and Lauren Witzke, the GOPs former candidate for the Senate in Delaware, said Cawthorn should be praised for having the courage to speak up about whats actually going on in the nations capital. (Related: ANALYSIS: Embedded good guys are turning against the cabal Its ALL coming out and the awakening cannot be halted.)

Witzke said the backlash Cawthorn has received from other more established politicians, like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, proves that Cawthorn is telling the truth.

It sparked some outrage, she said. It has upset some people in the GOP that Madison Cawthorn would have the audacity to expose them for the orgy-attending, drug-sniffing, children-raping people that they are.

When we hear congressmen like Congressman Cawthorn speak out in this manner, we have to applaud them, said Szall. We have to stand with them because what hes doing is, hes showing us behind the scenes. Hes showing us behind the curtain.

Learn more about the evil people inhabiting the nations capital at Evil.news.

Watch this episode of The Stew Peters Show as guest hosts Edward Szall and former Republican Senate candidate for Delaware Lauren Witzke go into detail regarding Rep. Madison Cawthorns allegations.

This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com.

The Stew Peters Show also airs every Monday to Saturday from 8-9 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

Rep. Madison Cawthorn says hes been asked to orgies in DC, has seen politicians do coke while media gathers blackmail materials.

Meta contacts journalists, tries to suppress story after top manager busted in amateur child-sex sting.

Ghislaine Maxwell found guilty of sex trafficking a minor, rest of Epstein clan escapes all accountability.

YouTube blacklists R. Kelly days after he threatened to expose Hollywood pedophile ring.

COVID-crazed Leader of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern announced that 25-person sex orgies can now resume safely.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

ValiantNews.com

NYPost.com

Newsweek.com
(Natural News) On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a controversial law dubbed the Dont Say Gay bill.

(Article republished from Mishtalk.com)

Its OK to say gay. Its more than OK. Its encouraged, Ally Sammarco, a volunteer for the PAC, told NBC affiliate WESH of Winter Park.

What Does the Bill Really Do?

The law goes into effect starting July 1. Its actually called the Parental Rights in Education Law.

The seven pages never mention the word gay.

The most controversial measure states Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.

President Biden Calls the Bill Hateful

I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community  especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill  to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are. I have your back, and my Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve. https://t.co/OcAIMeVpHL  President Biden (@POTUS) February 8, 2022

Offensive Words Like Boy or Girl

Extreme liberals want to teach first graders about being gay, and encourage the use of the word gay.

But please dont use offensive terms like boy and girl.

Disney leads the way.

SCOOP: Disney diversity and inclusion manager Vivian Ware says the company has eliminated all mentions of ladies, gentlemen, boys, and girls in its theme parks in order to create that magical moment for children who do not identify with traditional gender roles. pic.twitter.com/OWsGTUoeCA  Christopher F. Rufo ?? (@realchrisrufo) March 29, 2022

The company has eliminated all mentions of ladies, gentlemen, boys, and girls in its theme parks in order to create that magical moment for children who do not identify with traditional gender roles.

Magical Moment

Yes folks we have arrived at that magical moment in Florida where its OK to say gay but not boy. Its also OK to say lesbian but not girl.

The words boy and girl are clearly offensive but gay and lesbian arent.

Hopefully, the irony of this asinine development sinks in to those who wish to remove all gender references, but dont hold your breath earthlings.

Read more at: Mishtalk.com
(Natural News) Epoch Times correspondent Ken Silva talked about a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) program that infiltrates and incites groups to violence when he appeared as guest in the March 29 episode of The Sheriff Mack Show on Brighteon.TV.

Silva revealed that Salt Lake City practicing trial lawyer Jesse Trentadue managed to get information about the FBIs secret operations, and one of his findings in his various Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits was about a 1990s era program called Patriot Conspiracy or PATCON.

What I hope to do through my reporting efforts is just to get PATCON as a household name so the Conservative movement knows that the FBI has a program that was meant to infiltrate them and incite them to violence. And God-willing, maybe well actually have some lawmakers ask the FBI a few questions if Republicans can take back Congress, Silva told guest host Sam Bushman, who is pinch-hitting for regular host Richard Mack.

The PATCON program is documented in detail in thousands of pages of FBI records obtained through the FOIA. Supplementing this information are interviews with people involved on both sides of the infiltration.

FBI agents posing as domestic terrorists

According to Silva, the PATCON program entailed three undercover FBI agents posing as domestic terrorists. These agents pretend to be white supremacist bank robbers who funded terrorism through their proceeds of crime and they spent the early 90s networking with other right wing extremist groups. He added that the program never made any major arrests, which means that PATCON was a massive domestic spying operation failure.

Bushman noted that PATCON was supposedly intended to stop threats like violent acts of terrorism, but somewhere along the way it ran off the rails.

Silva said thats exactly what a PATCON whistleblower claims it to be. However, another whistleblower that came out about 10 years ago said that PATCON was not really an operation to infiltrate and inform but rather an operation to infiltrate and incite.

Trentadue filed the FOIA request lawsuit against the FBI and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in relation to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing records. The Salt Lake City lawyer believes that there was a link between the bombing and the death of his brother, Kenneth.

PATCON whistleblowers story gets censored

Silva said Trentadue was able to procure many records before he was contacted by a former FBI informant who worked on PATCON. Trentadue and the whistleblower gave the story to Newsweek hoping that it would be a huge expose on PATCON, its connections to the Oklahoma City bombing and other findings.

The Newsweek story, however, got censored. Trentadue would later receive a message that the whistleblower was backing out.

Bushman pointed out PATCON has received little media attention because journalists have either been censored, threatened or shut down. Silva said its not only media censorship that is happening but also government suppression.

The FBI had been inciting violence in several places, including the Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 last year, which Bushman said was the culmination of the bureaus underground operation. (Related: Tucker: Jan. 6 insurrection organizers were FBI assets.)

Silva said that on paper PATCON was conducted from 1991 to 1993 but he agrees with Trentadues belief that this was an operation that spans multiple decades.

Follow FBICorruption.news to know more about the the FBIs dirty deeds.

Watch the full March 29 episode of The Sheriff Mack Show below. Catch new episode of the program every Tuesday at 10-11 a.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

Terror plots foiled by the FBI turn out to be planned, funded and weaponized by the FBI itself.

The FBIs long history of destroying evidence and obstructing justice SEIZE FBI RECORDS NOW.

FBI too busy committing TREASON to stop the Florida shooter who was reported to the FBI months ago.

Project Veritas releases bombshell video showing NYTimes reporter admitting there were a ton of FBI informants at Jan. 6 Capitol incident.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

New America.org
(Natural News) Just hours after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized a fourth shot of the Moderna and Pfizer Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines, the agencys website said a fifth shot may be necessary by fall.

Dr. Peter Marks, head of the FDA center that regulates these vaccines, told reporters on a call that there may be a need to get an additional booster in the fall, as well as a more general booster campaign, especially if there is a need to shift over to a different variant coverage.

The recently announced emergency use authorization is for the fourth shot for Americans ages 50 and above and for children as young as 12 with weakened immune systems. These boosters from Pfizer and Moderna specifically target the strains circulating in early 2021, but multiple strains have since emerged and become dominant in the United States.

Moderna and Pfizer are not testing vaccine formulations that specifically target omicron. The Office for National Statistics in the U.K. has previously noted that the risk of being reinfected by the omicron variant was around 10 times greater compared to the delta strain.

Marks said they will move to a vaccine that is either against one of the variants or something else, but thats still up for discussion. However, he did state that it is possible that people will need another vaccine.

The FDA was also said to authorize the outdated boosters because regulators felt that doing so could save lives and because it may take several more months to figure out if an omicron-specific booster works. Moreover, it is not actually clear yet what the optimal booster will be, according to Marks. (Related: NEEDLES FOREVER: United Kingdoms NHS launches FIFTH COVID jab.)

The matter regarding more vaccine shots will be discussed on April 6 with the FDAs expert advisory committee.

Some have raised concerns about repeatedly injecting people with the COVID-19 vaccines, partly because the main vaccines were developed using mRNA technology, which has never been cleared before the use of the pandemic. Others, on the other hand, believe the vaccines are better taken at less frequent intervals, although multiple studies have shown that the vaccines effectiveness drops in a matter of months.

Repeated boosters could pose problems with immune responses

If boosters are administered repeatedly, there could be potential problems with immune responses.

Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccines strategy of the European Medicines Agency, said vaccinated individuals immune responses may end up not being as good as authorities would like them to be, so people should be careful not to overload their immune systems with repeated immunization.

Dr. Robert Malone, who had input in the mRNA technology also said in the research hes reviewed, the vaccines were shown to lead to immune suppression, where the bodys natural immune system is weakened against all kinds of infections and diseases. This is the risk associated with this strategy of reboosting, he said.

When presented with Marks remarks, he said they were unfounded and are pure speculation. Thats a forward-looking statement. Theres no scientific basis for evaluating it. And its inappropriate for the FDA to be speculating like that, in my opinion. (Related: White House seeks more funding for COVID vaccine boosters  but Republicans say NO.)

WHO expects COVID-19 to be less severe over time

The World Health Organization expects COVID-19 to be less severe over time, with a report setting out how countries should react to worst-case, best-case and intermediate-case of the pandemic.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHOs director-general, said at a press briefing: Based on what we know now, the most likely scenario is that the COVID-19 virus continues to evolve, but the severity of the disease it causes reduces over time as immunity increases due to vaccination and infection.

The emergence of the omicron variant made people more optimistic that the COVID virus was evolving into a more transmissible but less dangerous illness, but this is not always the case for virus evolution.

However, COVID-19 immunity, whether naturally acquired or via vaccines, does tend to wane over time and leave people more prone to reinfection  with omicron evolving to better evade immunity with a higher reinfection rate compared to other variants.

Follow Vaccines.news for more updates regarding COVID-19 vaccines and mandates.

Watch the video below for more information on the dangers of COVID-19 vaccines.

This video is from the RealTruthRevealed channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Pfizer CEO: People may need to take third coronavirus vaccine shot as booster dose  a convenient strategy for an endless revenue stream.

AstraZeneca vaccine creator says continual Covid vaccine booster shots are UNSUSTAINABLE.

Australian media personality continues battle with shingles two months after covid vaccine booster dose.

More mainstream scientists now speaking out against the total fraud of covid vaccine booster shots.

BioNTech CEO: Third dose of coronavirus vaccine necessary after a year, followed by annual booster shots.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

NewScientist.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) A former ranking official within the Justice Department is sounding the alarm over a plot to professionally destroy any and all lawyers who were associated with then-President Donald Trumps cases challenging some electoral results from battleground states where unconstitutional changes to voting procedures took place ahead of the 2020 election.

In an article posted at Revolver News, Jeffrey Clark, a former Assistant Attorney General at the DOJ, writes about Project 65, which he said is a plot hatched by left-wing extremists to take down those attorneys in ways that he believes will permanently damage a founding pillar of our legal system, which is part of the scheme as well.

The evenhanded application of the law is a principle that must be defended. Everywhere, balance and perspective are under attack. Whatever the costs of Americas process-heavy adversarial contests, that feature of our polity is a key bulwark of liberty, he begins. Due process is not something to be trifled with, deconstructed, or thrown away based on the passions of the political moment.

Yet that is happening, right now. The Left has set the lines of battle: Any lawyers who worked for President Trump with verve and ingenuity, along with any lawyers he retained to mount his various 2020 election contests, must be crushed, must have their noses rubbed into the dirt, must, if possible, lose their jobs and even their right to practice law, he continued. Its not right, just as it would not have been right to demonize the lawyers who mounted Al Gores challenges to the 2000 presidential election in Florida.

For those on the left, the rallying cry in this diabolical scheme is Remember Jan. 6!  which Clark describes as a woke version of Remember the Alamo!' It is a slogan that the left is using to divide and conquer instead of uniting the country under a banner of America-First patriotism, which, of course, is anathema to countercultural left-wing Marxists who abhor the Constitution and the rule of law it represents.

Clark writes:

When the Left wants something, you can be sure that limitless streams of money will soon pour forth to fund their destructive crusade. Recently, Axios profiled something significant you might have missed: Project 65, a new initiative funded by millions in dark money to destroy as many Trump-affiliated lawyers as possible.

At the retail level, Project 65s purpose is to file bar complaints against 111 lawyers wherever they are licensed. At the wholesale level, it seeks to amend state bar rules, so that no lawyers with a sense of self-preservation will ever again want to bring election-related contests on behalf of President Trump, or any other populist conservative candidate.

Clark says that Project 65 is led by former conservative David Brock, who founded the far-left media watchdog site Media Matters for America, as well as the super PAC American Bridge 21st Century. Brocks original sin was writing the book, The Real Anita Hill, in which he attacked the credibility of the woman who accused Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.

Brock will be joined by an advisory board that includes former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle [D-S.D.] Clinton affiliate Melissa Moss, and Republican Paul Rosenzweig, Clark wrote, before going on to chastise Rosenzweig, whom he worked with in the Bush 43 administration.

According to Brock, [Project 65] will not only bring the grievances in the bar complaints but shame them and make them toxic in their communities. Axios added that Brocks plan is nothing less than a war of the strong against the weak: I think the littler fish are probably more vulnerable to what were doing Youre threatening their livelihoods. And you know, theyve got reputations in their local communities.

What pieces of garbage these people are.

Later, Clark mentions some names as to who Project 65 will target:

Project 65 plans to target three categories of lawyers: (1) Trumps inner circle of lawyers, e.g., Jenna Ellis and Boris Epsteyn, (2) lawyers who signed on to be alternate presidential electors; and (3) attorneys who participated in the attack on the Capitol or were simply present at the events of January 6.

Clark concludes: Attacking the dignity of the bar will be the death knell of our Anglo-American legal system and for fair, competitive politics more generally. Project 65s lawsuits are an assault on the principle of equal protection under the law and on the Constitutions Petition Clause. This is a fight that patriotic Americans must win, or the United States will just be the latest example of a republic decayed into a phony, failed oligarchy.

Source include:

Revolver.news

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) All wars are full of lies. Winston Churchill famously said, In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.

(Article by James Rickards republished from DailyReckoning.com)

We accept that idea broadly. Secret invasion plans should be closely held. The identities of spies must be kept under wraps. New weapons and defensive tools should not be revealed because enemies will be alerted to their potential and begin offensive workarounds.

Still, just because the government has legitimate reasons to deceive the public in wartime does not mean that citizens dont have a duty to find the truth to the extent they can.

The Russian-Ukraine kinetic war and the broader U.S.-Russian economic war are full of more lies than any public events Ive seen in my lifetime including Vietnam, Watergate and the Iraq War.

Thats how big the lies are.

The Bodyguard of Lies

Heres the official U.S. narrative as echoed by the mainstream media: Russias invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked, Putins three-day blitzkrieg of Kyiv has failed, Russian forces are bogged down and valiant Ukrainian troops are putting up a powerful defense and regaining lost ground with the help of weapons from NATO.

In this version, President Zelenskyy is the new Churchill rallying patriots against an evil dictator. All of that is either entirely or mostly false.

Heres the real story: Russias invasion is the end result of 14 years of provocation by the West, including repeated declarations that Ukraine will join NATO and a U.S.-backed coup detat in 2014 that displaced a pro-Russian president.

Russia never planned a blitzkrieg on Kyiv. Thats a Western invention intended to make Putin look like a failure. In fact, Russia is slowly and methodically taking territory in the south and east of Ukraine in order to control the seacoasts, eliminate pro-fascist elements in Mariupol and establish pro-Russian autonomous zones in Donbas.

Churchill? Really?

A full assault on Kyiv, if it ever comes, is last on the list. Ukraine may reoccupy a village here and there, but theyre losing ground in Kherson, Mykolaiv, Melitopol, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk and surrounding areas.

Moreover, Zelenskyy is no Churchill.

Hes succeeded in presenting himself as a strong wartime leader, standing up to the big, bad Putin. But in reality, hes a corrupt oligarch with millions of dollars hidden offshore. His acting skills have enhanced his propaganda efforts, but it doesnt take much training to see how phony he is.

Innocent civilians, including women and children, are dying under his failed leadership and inability to come to terms with Putin before the invasion began. In a nutshell, Zelenskyy bet on support from Biden and the West and lost.

There is ample evidence from numerous sources to support this analysis. Some of the best sources come from Switzerland, where military experts are infuriated that traditional Swiss neutrality has been cast aside.

Most tellingly, Pentagon leaks say the same thing. The story from inside the Pentagon is that Putin is not acting recklessly but is being patient and methodical. It also says that, despite some civilian casualties, Putin is actually using a restrained approach. Furthermore, there are no signs he is preparing for the use of chemical or biological weapons.

So what about the economic sanctions? Are they working?

The Most Severe Sanctions in History

Payments in and out of Russia have been blocked. The Central Bank of Russia has been banned from the global dollar payments systems. The same is true for the 10 largest Russian banks and a long list of oligarchs and Russian government officials.

Accounts of Russian targets in Western banks have been frozen. Exports of critical technology and high-tech equipment to Russia have been banned. U.S. and European airspace has been closed to Russian airlines.

Secondary sanctions have been imposed so that if another nation like China sells goods to Russia made with U.S. technology or machines, that nation will be punished also. The list goes on.

Economic sanctions of these kinds sound powerful when theyre announced and do have some impact. But in the long run they never work. In the end, the costs are real but the effects of the sanctions are nil. Its a lose-lose proposition.

Sanctions Against Oligarchs Are Doing Putin a Favor

Some losses are incurred by those whose accounts are frozen or whose businesses are handicapped. A few Russian oligarchs may lose their yachts, but guess what? Putin doesnt like the oligarchs anyway.

Read more at: DailyReckoning.com
(Natural News) Economic fallout between Russia and the rest of Europe worsened on Saturday after a Russian energy giant decided to cut off natural gas to the continent that flowed through a major pipeline.

The action by Gazprom to shut down the Yamal-Europe pipeline, a crucial artery for energy flows, came just a day after European countries imported the most liquified natural gas (LNG) from Russia that they had in months, apparently in an attempt to stock up on the commodity ahead of a deadline imposed by President Vladimir Putin to either pay for their purchases in rubles or be completely cut off.

Now, instead of flowing into Germany and the European Union, supplies of LNG on Friday and Saturday started flowing the other way, according to Gascade, the operator of the network.

Earlier during his gaffe-filled visit to Europe to address NATOs response to Russias invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden pledged that the U.S. would increase its exports of LNG to Europe while going on to stipulate that not all of the supply deficit would be filled by U.S. suppliers (though it could be if he would stop bowing to the left-wing progressive lunatics and their greenie agenda).

But that said, Goldman Sachs energy industry researchers have already shown that U.S. exports of the commodity are already at current capacity, so no additional supplies will be forthcoming.

In addition, there are other problems for European nations dependent on Russian energy: The entire continent lacks the infrastructure to rapidly expand imports of LNG because, over the past couple of decades, the left-wing EU leaders shunned fossil fuels in lieu of unreliable and far-more-expensive green renewable energy. LNG must be very carefully processed and then regassified before it can then be sent to utility companies and other energy distributors.

The map below illustrates the level of dependence that various European economies have on Russia:

Quite clearly, the bulk of Europe is somewhat-to-highly-dependent-upon Russian energy  a fact that Putin was no doubt aware of before he launched his calculated attack on Ukraine.

In addition to Germany now having to deal with dramatically reduced supplies of Russian gas, British energy giant Shell has also been cut off from Moscows supplies in response to the United Kingdoms economic sanctions on Russia, according to Dmitry Peskov, Putins press secretary.

London wants to be the leader of everything anti-Russian. It even wants to be ahead of Washington! Thats the cost! Peskov he said.

Zero Hedge explains what is now at stake:

Now that Putin is turning up the pressure, the European nations have a difficult choice ahead: either they can play ball and demonstrate to the world that their efforts to wean themselves off of their dependence on Russian energy have been mostly in vain. Or they can face a catastrophic economic crisis as energy prices soar, leading to rationing, blackouts and other measures that will make the 1970s oil crisis in the US look like childs play.

Ahead of the weekend, Martin Brudermuller, CEO of the worlds largest chemical company, Germanys BASF, warned that in the event of a loss of LNG from Russia, his country would face an economic collapse.

While Germany could be independent from Russia gas in four to five years, its clear that LNG imports cannot be increased quickly enough to replace all Russian gas flows in the short term, he said.

Russia covers 55 percent of German natural gas consumption, he continued, pointing out that if Russian gas disappeared overnight, many things would collapse here  given that we would have high levels of unemployment, and many companies would go bankrupt. This would lead to irreversible damage.

Europes nightmare scenario appears set to play out now.

Sources include:

FAZ.net

ZeroHedge.com
(Natural News) Hospitals under the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) are denying treatment to a woman who cannot wear a face mask due to a traumatic experience she suffered in childhood.

Sixty-two-year-old Rayne Barton had been a UPHS patient for 40 years due to her several medical issues such as diabetes, kidney issues, spinal stenosis and an implanted pacemaker. Aside from this, she also suffers anxiety whenever her mouth is obstructed by a covering. The Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the subsequent hype on face masks only made things worse.

Back when she was five years old, Barton was assaulted by several teenage boys. [They put] their fingers down my throat [and put] dirt in my face, up my nose, in my ears and [stepped] on my face. They flipped me over and started rubbing my face into the dirt, where I just couldnt breathe, the 62-year-old shared. While she survived the assault, she carried a fear of having her face covered her entire adult life.

In 2020, she sought treatment for a grapefruit-sized cyst located on the back of a knee. Barton visited Lancaster General Hospital (LGH) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania  which is under UPHS  to have the cyst checked, and a medical worker handed her a mask. However, she suffered an anxiety attack and left the hospital; the cyst remains untreated as of writing.

I told them that Im unable to wear a mask because I was assaulted as a child. [The UPHS employee] said, we cant help you,' Barton said, explaining why she didnt push through. Since that moment, she was able to get some medical care through videoconferencing. She was initially allowed to visit LGH for CT scans without a mask, but was no longer allowed to enter unmasked on the second instance.

Barton returned to LGH in December 2021 to talk with a neurologist for her spinal stenosis treatment, but was told to mask up first before entering. Her insistence to get treated forced the hospital to call law enforcement. She and her husband left the hospital to avoid further escalation.

They said I couldnt go in without a mask, because the doctor I was going to see just got back from getting [chemotherapy] and we cant risk her. Why is she working if shes that fragile? Why is that my responsibility? I dont understand that, she commented. (Related: Coroners report links face masks to death of hospital patient.)

Hospital responds, insists its just following CDC guidelines

LGH offered different accommodations for Barton such as a COVID-19 test, but she declined as it involved putting a cotton swab up her nose. While she has sought counseling through the years, she guards her face and avoids situations that require her to cover it.

On Feb. 17, Barton received a letter from LGH informing her that the provider-patient relationship had been terminated. The letter argued that she had refused accommodations and had been rude and argumentative to staff. She was also banned from seeking non-emergency medical treatment at the hospital, with LGH officials adding that they will happily facilitate the transfer of [her] records to an alternative provider.

She then called LGH CEO John Herman, but was unable to connect with him directly. Barton received another letter in March, this time from LGH Executive Director of Legal Services Kathyrn Weinrich, warning that her calls to Herman amounted to harassment. Weinrichs letter stated that Barton is to have no further contact with LGH, other UPHS hospitals and other satellite offices.

LGH Public Relations and Corporate Communications Director John Lines said in a provided statement: While we are unable to discuss specific patient situations, we follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for patients and visitors  including guidelines for accommodations that enable the delivery of effective care, while ensuring the safety of all our patients and providers.

Theres nothing I can do. Ive been under [the UPHS] umbrella and part of their family for the last 40 years. If my family cant take care of me, surely a stranger cant. If they can call me and tell me to come get treatment without a mask, Ill go. But Im not going to stand and fight for it anymore. Im tired [and] Im too old to have to fight for medical care, said Barton.

MedicalFascism.news has more on patients being denied treatment due to mask and vaccine mandates.

Watch the footage of a British man denied treatment at the Manchester Royal Infirmary in the United Kingdom for not wearing a mask below.

This video is from the Jay channel on Brighteon.com.

More related news:

Dr. Lee Merritt: Mask wearing was never about controlling the virus.

Texas doctor who succumbed to COVID-19 was wearing same N95 mask for weeks.

Go out and ABUSE people who arent wearing a Covid mask  thats the message from China Joes science regime.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

TheEpochTimes.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Slowly but surely, the Biden regime is eliminating access to monoclonal antibody treatments in the United States.

The latest reports show that another 14 states are now prohibited from receiving shipments of sotrovimab, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology.

A March 30 announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) indicated that the total number of states that are no longer receiving sotrovimab has reached 22.

The latest 14 states to get the axe include Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Nevada, Washington and Wisconsin.

Biden has been on a witch hunt against monoclonal antibodies for several months now, having previously cut off most of the Northeast from receiving shipments in recent weeks.

Both in 2021 and in January of 2022, the United States government purchased millions of doses of sotrovimab to distribute across the country. The drug was granted emergency use authorization (EUA) during the early days of the plandemic to treat patients with mild-to-moderate Fauci Flu infection.

Monoclonal antibodies compete with Pfizers new paxlovid pill, so theyve got to go

Because the drug is supposedly not effective against the latest subvariant of omicron (moronic) strain of the Fauci Flu, called BA.2, the Biden regime says that it should no longer be distributed to states.

The ruling came from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which decided that EUA for sotrovimab is now obsolete because the latest subvariant of moronic does not respond to it.

Federal data suggests that BA.2 of moronic is now causing a majority of cases in which Americans are testing positive using fraudulent PCR tests. Based on this, the government is now pushing more vaccine boosters as the solution.

HHS has divided the country into 10 regions, and currently five of them have had their sotrovimab shipments paused, reports said. These five regions are also no longer allowed to administer any sotrovimab that they still have in stock.

Besides competing with the so-called vaccines, sotrovimab is also getting in the way of Pfizers new paxlovid pill, which the drug giant is now marketing as an alternative to monoclonal antibodies.

Since Pfizer appears to call many of the shots when it comes to U.S. government policy, monoclonal antibodies are quickly being canceled from the plandemic lineup of drugs in order to generate more profits for Pfizer.

GSK and Vir are preparing a package of data in support of a higher dose of sotrovimab for the omicron BA.2 subvariant and will be sharing these data with regulatory and health authorities around the world for discussion, read a statement issued by the two manufacturers of sotrovimab.

The COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel has stated that it will no longer recommend monoclonal antibodies in any region of the U.S. because of the FDAs updates and the increasing prevalence of the BA.2 subvariant across all regions.

Instead, the panel, which was assembled by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Francis Collins and Tony Fauci, will now recommend paxlovid from Pfizer and remdesivir from Gilead Sciences.

The panel will also recommend Mercks new ivermectin rip-off drug molnupiravir in situations where neither of the other two drugs are available.

In other words, Pfizer has a whole lot of paxlovid to sell, and so does Merck with molnupiravir, so monoclonal antibodies have got to go. Just another day in the land of Big Pharma fascism, eh?

Is this because Ol Dementia Joes paper sacks from Pfizer stopped due to him not holding up his end of the bargain? asked a commenter at the Epoch Times about these latest developments.

The latest Fauci Flu news can be found at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Peymon Mottahedeh, founder and president of Freedom Law School, thinks Americans have become slaves and workers of enemies inside the United States government.

The American people never realize that they have been duped and deceived into becoming slaves and unwittingly working for the enemies in the U.S. government to use their own labor and money to destroy them. And what Im trying to do is help people to stop that insanity, Mottahedeh told Dr. Lee Merritt during the March 30 episode of Merritt Medical Hour on Brighteon.TV.

The immigrant from Iran of Jewish descent learned about this truth way back in 1992, when he heard on a radio program in Los Angeles that there is no law requiring the average American to file and pay federal income tax.

I went to one of their meetings. And I was just blown away that what they are saying is based on federal tax laws in the Internal Revenue Code and they were not making it up. And since then, I have not followed and paid any income tax for 29 years. Ive had court battles and have beaten them in their own tax court. But Im not in prison because they know Im right, Mottahedeh said.

Mottahedeh pointed out that people dont know that America is not a country. He said America has 51 countries and these are the 50 States of the Union and the federal government of the District of Columbia.

Federal tax laws apply only to Washington D.C.

The Freedom Law School founder stated that the federal tax laws apply only to Washington D.C. and sometimes the Washington D.C. territories  not to the 50 states. He explained that when the U.S. is mentioned in the federal tax law books, it does not refer to the 50 states but only to the District of Columbia.

Merritt asked Mottahedeh if he sees any kind of major tax revolt happening where the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is going to come crashing down. Mottahedeh said the IRS is already collapsing on its own. He added that the IRS is the most corrupt, wasteful and inefficient agency in America and that it is beyond repair now.

The president of the Freedom Law School believes a general tax strike wont happen since most people have been brainwashed to think about it. He noted that the fear and the deception in the IRS have been so deep because of decades-long brainwashing. (Related: YES, The IRS has an emergency apocalypse plan to collect taxes.)

Workers need to understand income tax code

Mottahedeh said workers need to understand the income tax code if they want to avoid income taxes. He added that his 30 years of experience studying the code and the enemy has enabled him to help people to live free.

The Jewish immigrant from Iran founded Freedom Law School in 1996 and it is known as one of the most successful organizations in the tax honesty movement. Freedom Law School also exposes the fact that the income tax is a huge fraud as there is no law that requires the average American to file and pay income taxes.

The Freedom Law School founder mentioned that he has been self-taught and has found, located and learned from the best freedom and legal people in the movements aside from having activists to help him out.

I got all the best from the best people and I learned from them. And I did my own research on top of that and I was 29 years old when I got into all this in 1992, recalled Mottahedeh, who has put on their website live free.org a seven-step easy plan to live free of IRS deception, robbery and slavery.

Merritt also talked with Mottahedeh about the Lets Go Brandon Rally in Brandon, which is part of Tampa, Florida.

Mottahedeh said he has assembled 16 of the greatest truth, health and freedom speakers that people want to and need to hear. Among the guest speakers at the event are well-known truth-teller Dr. David Martin, broadcaster Stew Peters, freedom lawyer Leigh Dundas, natural health advocate Mary Tocco, lawyer Larry Becraft, Dr. Simone Gold, Dr. Jane Ruby, Stanford Graham and Jack Maxey.

Follow Corruption.news to know more about the corruption happening in the IRS.

Watch the full March 30 episode of the Merritt Medical Hour below. The Merritt Medical Hour airs every Wednesday at 7-8 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related articles:

Powerful, wealthy corporations continue to pay NO federal taxes while Biden plans to sock it to wage earners to fund more covid bailouts.

Dems planning a $3 trillion tax hike on working families, small businesses.

Your tax dollars at work: Ukrainian officials keep getting caught fleeing country with suitcases full of cash and euros.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

LiveFreeNow.org
(Natural News) Even though the London Metals Exchange (LME) is based in the United Kingdom, its true controller is communist China, which has the power to change the rules at will in order to protect and benefit itself at the rest of the worlds expense.

The recent nickel squeeze, which was unfairly stopped and reversed in order to protect short sellers from potentially infinite losses, is a perfect example of how the LME is manipulated, just like Wall Street, to benefit the super-rich.

The rules get bent and changed all the time on Wall Street, of course, in order to protect hedge funds. And we now know that the same thing is happening at the LME, which is governed and controlled by Chinese communists.

When the price of nickel on the LME rose to over $100,000 per ton before being halted recently, it appeared as though Chinese stainless steel giant Tsingshan Holding Group (THG) was going to face unprecedented losses. According to The Epoch Times, the manipulation that kept nickel from squeezing even more than that has effectively capped THGs losses at around $8 billion  but it would have been much worse had the free market naturally played itself out.

Conveniently, Russias invasion of Ukraine occurred right as THG was on the hook for failing to deliver 200,000 tons of nickel sold short. This allowed the blame to fall on Russia (of course), which was kicked out of the LME trading market under newly imposed sanctions.

Then, for the first time since 1985, the LME, a 145-year-old trading institution, announced that nickel trading would be suspended until March 15. It also retroactively canceled all nickel trades executed on all platforms from midnight until 8:15 a.m. on March 8 when trading was officially halted.

The LME also postponed delivery of all settled nickel contracts due for March 9 to 23 and set daily limits on nickel price fluctuations before resuming nickel trading, the Times reported. The LME itself called these actions unprecedented.'

Truly free markets do not exist

To prevent any future potential losses of such magnitude from occurring due to bad bets, THG announced that it had collaborated (more like conspired) with the LME and a syndicate of futures banks creditors to reach a silent agreement.

Simply put, THG will no longer have to deliver on this failed bet or any future failed bets because it is now held to a different standard than everybody else. So much for a free market.

The agreement shows that during the silent period, THG does not need to add margins and will not be forced to close the deal, the Times explains.

The LMEs prompt actions made it possible for THG to walk away from deals made unprofitable by uncertain margins and delivery difficulties. This raises an important question: why did the LME, an international entity, change its market trading rules to save a Chinese company?

The answer to this question was provided by Jing Chuan, deputy general manager and chief economist for the Wuchan Zhongda Futures Company: Communist China and its many entities control the LME and use it for self-preservation and self-propagation, the rest of the world be damned.

The LMEs measures should be the most positive among the many incidents, and it also shows that the relevant domestic parties have taken the initiative, which is very effective in quickly resolving the crisis of the incident, Jing is quoted as saying.

According to Mike Sun, a North American private investor, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) paid a pretty penny that the British could not refuse. Once again, money talks, and the rules for fairness go right out the window in an instant.

We now know that the CCP has the ability to directly influence base metal trading policies and prices on a whim just to protect its domestic enterprises. Keep this in mind if you are ever considering participating in the LMEs free market for commodities.

More related news coverage can be found at Corruption.news.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) There is no doubt by now that the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines do not work against omicron, or any variant for that matter. Yet, it seems that governments have put greater punishments in place to enforce the vaccine mandates.

Children are being taken away from their parents, families are being kicked out of fast-food restaurants and there is the continuous beat of propaganda demanding people to get the jab.

In the March 31 episode of The American Journal, host Harrison Smith talked about people complying with vaccine mandates and the governments forceful actions to bring the hammer down. Even Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla came in to say that the shots do not really work and that there has been no lowering of infection rates so far.

According to Bourla, the two doses of Pfizer vaccines are not enough for omicron and they do not provide robust protection against infection. The vaccines ability to prevent hospitalization has also declined, according to Bourla, adding that a third shot is necessary to provide good protection against death and decent protection against hospitalization.

Governments have not stopped pushing for the vaccines despite all evidence saying they dont work and are killing people, including children.

While children and athletes are dropping like flies, President Joe Biden is making a big show of getting yet another booster shot on live TV, while other places like Shanghai, China, are on a tight lockdown.

Chinese president urges officials to minimize the impact of COVID on economy

Millions of people in Shanghai are in strict lockdown and are required to participate in mandatory daily COVID testing to keep their QR code passports valid.

In March, President Xi Jinping urged officials to minimize the impact of the virus on the countrys economy as authorities continue to reflect on the zero-COVID policy.

A record 3,450 asymptomatic cases were recorded in Shanghai last week, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the nationwide total. There were also 50 symptomatic cases, according to officials.

While these numbers are insignificant in a global context, with some countries listing cases in the hundred thousand, these are Chinas highest since the first weeks of the pandemic in late 2019. Millions of residents in affected areas across the country have been subjected to citywide lockdowns. They say some healthcare workers arrive to conduct tests as early as 7 a.m.

Residents were told to remain indoors and all business employees and government personnel not involved in the supply of essential services were advised to work from home. However, those involved in providing vital services are exempt from the stay-at-home order. (Related: China implements strict lockdown, claiming they have to stop the spread of COVID the supply chain will be impacted.)

Australian MP slams medical establishments handling of COVID crisis

In Australia, Member of Parliament George Christensen criticized the medical establishment for its failure to deal with the COVID crisis.

Christensen pointed out that the ineffectiveness of restrictive COVID measures: lockdowns did not work and vaccine passports were unjustified discrimination.

People still could get COVID, including the vaccinated; people still in the hospital, including the vaccinated; and regrettably, people still died, including the vaccinated, he said.

He also noted that the majority of deaths were among the vaccinated and the premiers and state governments stopped giving breakdowns, while the media hasnt bothered to ask why. (Related: Australian MP condemned for speech saying mask mandates, lockdowns are unscientific.)

Because results prove they were wrong. When the tyrannical measures failed, either in court or at the ballot box. The perpetrators will be held to account and I offer this word of warning to private enterprises sacking workers under discriminatory policies, Christensen went on. They too will be held to account for wrongful dismissal. They knew or ought to have known their policies would make no difference.

Christensen does not limit his disdain for the governments actions in privileged speeches. On his website, he urged visitors to reject the great reset, which he described as a globalist plan that seeks to fuse socialism and corporatism and embed it permanently into our economy and society, under the guise of a pandemic.

Follow Pandemic.news to get more updates about the status of COVID-19 around the world.

Watch the video below to see Christensen completely destroy Australias COVID narrative.

This video is from the InfoWars channel at Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Australia uses omicron variant to push medical tyranny.

Australias COVID Medical Network: Aussie regulators, health officials LIED about COVID vaccines

Report: 4 of every 5 COVID deaths in Australia are among VACCINATED people.

Australia government threatens its own citizens: No freedom until you comply with vaccine shot quotas.

Australia considers quarantining citizens with COVID-19 in camps isolated in the Outback.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

CNBC.com

TheGuardian.com

SMH.com.au
(Natural News) She can dish it out, but she cant take it herself.

(Article by Richard Moorhead republished from WesternJournal.com)

A left-wing hit-piece journalist named Taylor Lorenz broke down in tears in an MSNBC interview segment published Friday, claiming that shes the victim of supposed online harassment.

Taylor Lorenz says that she has severe PTSD from mean tweets directed at her. Its horrifying, she says before breaking down in tears. pic.twitter.com/ryFweRtnSd  Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) April 1, 2022

I have severe PTSD, claimed the former New York Times journalist. I contemplated suicide.

You feel like any little piece of information that gets out on you will be used by the worst people on the internet to destroy your life.

And its so isolating, claimed Lorenz, breaking into tears. Its horrifying.

Lorenz made herself a target of mockery across the internet for her attempt to play the woke crybully victim card.

I take no joy in seeing someone cry, but Taylor Lorenz is a trench warfare veteran and she dishes out crap like this all the time. Just recently she joined the dogpiling of Emma Camp for her NYT op-ed about feeling silenced on campus. Also why is she in an under 35 segment? https://t.co/fLySC1ynwZ  Noam Blum (@neontaster) April 1, 2022

Taylor Lorenz has made it her career to ruin peoples lives. Youd think someone in that field of work would have a tougher constitution. https://t.co/eiPJ6yc5wX  Will Upton (@wupton) April 1, 2022

Lorenz has published hit pieces on quasi-public figures throughout her career, previously identifying the family members of conservative internet personalities.

What Taylor Lorenz does to people on the front page of the worlds most powerful newspaper, and then the way she turns herself into the victim over the life-destroying weapons she deploys against people, is just unreal. Just look at this:https://t.co/3N2nHjNKLG pic.twitter.com/XuVsOI1Lhe  Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 15, 2021

One talent agent who works with social media influencers explained why shes suing Lorenz for defamation, following a hit piece Lorenz wrote that Ariadna Jacob says is based on lies.

It was devastating when Taylor Lorenz came along with the megaphone of the New York Times and decided to write a scathing article full of lies about us, said Jacob in a 2021 Tucker Carlson interview.

Lorenz falsely accused one tech entrepreneur of calling someone retarded in a private Clubhouse chat room in 2021, according to Fox News.

Maybe service in the military or work in a blue-collar construction job should be considered mandatory for employment at an establishment media news outlet.

That would instill thick skin in some of the biggest whiners in the world.

Read more at: WesternJournal.com
(Natural News) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has produced another 11,043 pages of Pfizer documents, one of them showing that the company had to hire an additional 2,400 employees to handle the onslaught of adverse reactions caused by its Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine.

Page 6 of FDA-CBER-2021-5683-0000059 clearly states: Due to the large numbers of spontaneous adverse event reports received for the product, the MAH [marketing authorization holder] has prioritized the processing of serious cases, in order to meet expedited regulatory reporting timelines and ensure these reports are available for signal detection and evaluation activity.

The document goes on to reveal that Pfizer did multiple actions to help alleviate the large increase of adverse event reports.

This includes significant technology enhancements and process and workflow solutions, as well as increasing the number of data entry and case processing colleagues. To date, Pfizer has onboarded approximately 600 additional full-time employees (FTEs). More are joining each month with an expected total of more than 1,800 additional resources by the end of June 2021.

Remember when Albert Bourla denied these adverse effects and said that people who talk about them are criminals?

Company CEO Albert Bourla, meanwhile, has condemned anyone who dares to speak up about these revelations.

Any person who even suggests that Pfizers Fauci Flu shot is dangerous should be designated as a criminal, Bourla insisted. According to him, saying anything negative about the injections constitutes misinformation  this being a common sociopathic trait.

The Pfizer document ends with nine full pages of reported adverse events  you know, the ones that Bourla does not want any criminals talking about. Many of them are autoimmune-related, which makes sense in the context of vaccination.

Thousands, if not millions, of people were punished for just saying no to these deadly injections. For the crime of refusing to have their immune systems damaged, the non-jabbed lost their jobs, were removed from school, and in some cases, became homeless simply for trying to protect themselves.

Many are calling this whole jab situation the greatest conspiracy of our lifetime, and it really looks like it. And the sad part is that it is still not over, as people continue to face the ultimatum of either obeying Big Pharma or sacrificing their freedoms.

While everyones eyes have been on Ukraine, the World Health Organization (WHO) has quietly moved forward with a pandemic treaty,' warned Strange Sounds. This law will supersede state law for any countries who sign into it. And Republicans joined with Democrats to pass the national digital vaccine registry.

This registry, in case you missed hearing about it, will log every Americans vaccination status with the government, that way the authorities will know who to round up for disobedience at some later date.

So, while it might seem like COVID is mostly over at this point, do not be fooled. It is far from over. The plan is to birth a new global infrastructure out of the sham that will eventually force all human beings to either take whatever injections they are told or be punished.

The Great Reset is in full swing! Strange Sounds further warned. Get ready!

In the comment section, someone wrote that people should be reminded that the government has repeatedly stated that there are too many people on the planet.

They also believe that you are one of those too many people, this person added.

Another wrote that the government continues to serve up goolash and everyone thinks its just awesome when no one knows the long-term effects, referring to the injections.

More of the latest news about Fauci Flu shot injections can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources include:

StrangeSounds.org

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Dmitry Medvedev, a senior Russian security official who previously served as the nations president, is warning that Russia might limit its vital food exports exclusively to countries that it considers friendly.

As it faces continued aggression from the West in the form of sanctions, Russia is responding with a reminder to NATO that it produces many things that the West needs, which Western leaders seem to have forgotten.

Russias first priority is taking care of its own people  what a concept and a stark contrast to United States leaders, which take care of everyone else except actual Americans. After that, whatever Russia has left over will be exported to its friends and allies.

Cutting off North America and the European Union from agricultural inputs, Medvedev said in a Telegram post, is a useful and effective way to retaliate against all of the Western aggression against Russia.

It so happened that the food security of many countries depends on our supplies, the Russian official wrote. It turns out that our food is our quiet weapon. Quiet but ominous.

The priority in food supplies is our domestic market. And price control. We will supply food and crops only to our friends (fortunately, we have a lot of them, and they are not at all in Europe and not in North America). We will sell both for rubles and for their national currency in agreed proportions.

Putin isnt bluffing: the West will pay

Medvedev went on to reiterate that Russia will not be supplying agricultural or any other products to its enemies, nor will Russia buy anything from its enemies  although we havent bought anything since 2014, Medvedev added.

 the list of products prohibited for import can be further expanded, he went on to state about how Russia has no problem cutting off ties from the West even further.

Medvedevs statements come after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will no longer deliver natural gas or any other fossil fuels to countries that try to pay in anything other than rubles.

Since Russia has no use for dollars or euros, and faces escalating sanctions, it is in the countrys best interests to use its own currency to protect its own economy and people from ongoing Western aggression.

The Russian government has also reportedly placed new limits on sunflower oil exports, as well as banned the export of sunflower seeds and rapeseed (similar to canola).

Even before the ban, countries that rely on these sunflower and rapeseed exports were already feeling the pinch. Panic buying ensued in Germany, which relies heavily on Russian imports along with Belgium.

For me, its not whether we are moving into a global food crisis  its how large the crisis will be, said Svein Tore Holsether, the head of Yara International, a company that specializes in fertilizer.

Half the worlds population gets food as a result of fertilisers  and if thats removed from the field for some crops, [the yield] will drop by 50 per cent.

Another expert from the United Nations warned that Europe especially will soon face hell on earth migration flows if it does not act soon. A food shortage in the Global South as a result of all this chaos will likely trigger another migrant crisis, the likes of which has never before been seen.

If you think weve got hell on earth now, you just get ready, warned David Beasley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina.

If we neglect northern Africa, northern Africas coming to Europe. If we neglect the Middle East, [the] Middle East is coming to Europe.

To keep up with the latest news about the Wests aggression against Russia, be sure to check out WWIII.news.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The City of San Diego has done something that is so incredibly stupid and shortsighted  in the name of combating climate change  that even some liberal residents are confused and angry about it.

Specifically, the city, without consultation or announcement, redesigned a two-lane road along a stretch of Gold Coast Drive in the Mira Mesa suburb that accommodates two lanes of bike traffic but only one center lane for vehicles. But it isnt a one-way road; its still a two-way traffic road with a single lane. Vehicles are expected to dodge each other as they drive toward head-on collisions.

Take a look:

This is not safe for anybody. I dont know why any city would do something like this, said local resident Tommy Hough, who is running for city council.

Gold Coast is essentially two streets  the length from Black Mountain Rd. to Camino Ruiz (east) is the worst road in the city. Everyone here knows it. Not good for bicycles or cars. The shorter length from Camino Ruiz to Parkdale (west) is newer and regularly resurfaced, he noted further in a tweet.

Gold Coast is essentially two streets  the length from Black Mountain Rd. to Camino Ruiz (east) is the worst road in the city. Everyone here knows it. Not good for bicycles or cars. The shorter length from Camino Ruiz to Parkdale (west) is newer and regularly resurfaced. pic.twitter.com/mutuYNANBW  Tommy Hough for City Council (@The_Tommy_Hough) April 1, 2022

Definitely agree on how bad Gold Coast is  I rode here last week after a neighbor sent me a note about what was being done. Im curious tho, considering youre calling on the city to restripe the street: what would you do differently? one resident asked in response to Houghs post.

Definitely agree on how bad Gold Coast is  I rode here last week after a neighbor sent me a note about what was being done. Im curious tho, considering youre calling on the city to restripe the street: what would you do differently? pic.twitter.com/9xcsbXZGAG  Jacob Mandel ?? (@TallDarknJewish) April 1, 2022

Were asking the city to simply restore the previous alignment on this heavily-used arterial. The stenciled bicycle person is imperfect, but (most) folks know how to negotiate it. Lets collaborate on truly safe lanes or corridors, and better utilize avail. street opportunities, Hough replied.

Were asking the city to simply restore the previous alignment on this heavily-used arterial. The stenciled bicycle person is imperfect, but (most) folks know how to negotiate it. Lets collaborate on truly safe lanes or corridors, and better utilize avail. street opportunities.  Tommy Hough for City Council (@The_Tommy_Hough) April 1, 2022

KUSI reported further:

Residents told KUSIs Dan Plante that its not only laughable, but they think the new design is much more dangerous than it was before. To make matters worse, the City of San Diego didnt consult or notify anybody in the community before they did it.

As KUSIs Dan Plante reports, this is just the latest example of the Citys, Climate Action Goals Gone Wild.

Chris Cate, the only Republican on the San Diego City Council, represents the district where the block-long goofy climate design was added recently, and told local media that no one from the city even bothered to contact him to tell him what was being planned and implemented.

Im not sure where this traffic pattern came from. Im not sure why its only running for one block. And I dont know if were being treated as guinea pigs here in Mera Mesa for something special, Hough (pronounced How) said in an interview with KUSI. But the reason I say neighborhoods first, the reason I am running for San Diego City Council District 6, is because of the hubris downtown that applies [to] revamped traffic patterns like this without letting any of the residents know, even Chris Cates office didnt know about this.

Without a doubt, this has to be one of the dumbest ideas yet inspired by climate change libtard lunacy. But if the lanes arent changed back, chances are good either a motorist or bicyclist is going to be injured or killed.

Sources include:

KUSI.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Its bad enough that Joe Bidens regime has dismantled all legal hurdles to entering the United States illegally, but the administration was apparently getting some assistance from a couple of dishonorable U.S. soldiers.

Two Army soldiers stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, have been sentenced in a case involving the trafficking of illegal aliens into the interior of the United States, according to reports earlier this week.

Isaiah Gore, 21, and Denerio Williams, 22, pleaded guilty Dec. 2, 2021, while another co-conspirator Ivory Palmer, 21, pleaded guilty Jan. 10, the Department of Justice noted in a press release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Texas. The three were sentenced March 25.

The press release stated: Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo imposed a 30-month-term of imprisonment for Gore, while Williams received 24 months. Both must also serve three years of supervised release following their sentences. In handing down the prison terms, Judge Marmolejo noted that Gore and Williams, as soldiers in the Army, were not the average citizen, which justified a tougher sentence. Judge Marmolejo also emphasized that everyone involved in the scheme knew that wearing a uniform would assist in evading detection or arrest.

The investigation began June 13, 2021. On that day, authorities caught Emmanuel Oppongagyare and Ralph Gregory Saint-Joie smuggling, undocumented aliens, in the trunk of a vehicle at the Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint located in Hebbronville. At the time of arrest, both men were wearing their U.S. Army uniforms.

Oppongagyare later admitted Gore recruited them to pick the aliens up from McAllen and drive them to San Antonio. Oppongagyare and Saint-Joie were indicted and pleaded guilty Aug. 11 and 12, respectively, in 2021. Both are currently awaiting sentencing before U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana.

A joint investigation that involved the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) investigative unit as well as the U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division later confirmed that Oppongagyare, Saint-Joie, Williams and Palmer all played a role in the conspiracy, acting as drivers who traveled to locations in the Lone Star State to pick up illegal aliens in exchange for payment. Later, investigators confirmed that Gore was active in recruiting the other soldiers in picking up the illegals.

Both Gore and Williams were permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. Gore has since been discharged from the Army, the press release said, adding that Palmer has not yet been sentenced.

Meanwhile, Border Patrol encounters with illegal aliens have continued to set new monthly records throughout Bidens awful tenure  and they are about to go off the charts again.

Reports this week say that the regime is considering ending Title 42, a statute enacted during the Trump administration authorizing Border Patrol and other immigration enforcement agents to immediately deport migrants caught crossing the border illegally during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As word has spread south of the border that Biden will soon sign the order ending Title 42, up to one million migrants who have been camped out along the U.S.-Mexico border are preparing to essentially storm the border en masse  and the regime knows it.

U.S. intelligence officials are privately bracing for a massive influx of more than 170,000 migrants at the Mexico border if COVID-era policies that allow instant expulsions during the public health emergency are ended, sources with direct knowledge of the discussions tell Axios, the outlet reported.

Two Democratic senators, in fact, have implored the administration not to end the statute. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, both of Arizona, have written to Biden pleading with him to leave the authority in place.

We write to you to express great concern about the lack of a specific plan from your Administration with respect to potential changes to the Title 42 Public Health authority, which the DHS has relied on at the border during the coronavirus pandemic, their letter said.

Given the impacts that changes to Title 42 could have on border communities, border security and migrants, we urge your Administration not to make any changes to Title 42 implementation until you are completely ready to execute and coordinate a comprehensive plan that ensures a secure, orderly, and humane process at the border. We also request that you provide a full briefing to Congress on your plan before implementation and execution, it continued.

Last month alone, CBP expelled 91,513 migrants under Title 42, and processed 73,460 individuals under Title 8.1 The January figures are comparable, showing only a slight trend upward on the number of expulsions. Of those encounters, nearly 30 percent occurred in Arizona. A sharp end to Title 42 without a comprehensive plan in motion would significantly increase the strain on DHS, border communities and local nonprofits that are already near or at capacity, the senators added.

Prediction: Bidens handlers dont care and will have him sign an order ending Title 42 anyway. Expect more chaos.

Sources include:

Yahoo.com

Justice.gov

Axios.com

PatriotsForPresidentTrump.com
(Natural News) Medical facilities all across England are embracing the woke new age as they adopt a new policy of asking all male patients whether or not they are pregnant at the time of receiving a medical procedure.

New guidance from several National Health Service (NHS) trusts, which are similar to state hospital associations in the United States, instructs U.K. hospitals to ask the pregnancy question to all patients under the age of 60, regardless of how [they] may identify [their] gender before administering treatment.

The change comes after health officials were reportedly pressured and bullied by transgender activists, who insist that the existence of single-sex wards in British hospitals are discriminatory against trans people, who are trying to erase their own sex.

In one highly publicized case, a man who claimed to be a transgender was placed in a female hospital ward, and during that time he raped one of the women there. The hospital then proceeded to cover up the crime, claiming that the perpetrator could not have raped any women because he is not a man anymore, making it impossible.

It took an entire year for the hospital to finally fess up to the crime, which was mostly swept under the rug.

When police were called to the unnamed hospital in England, they were allegedly told by staff that there was no male on the single-sex ward, therefore the rape could not have happened,' reported the Daily Mail.

They forgot that there was CCTV, nurses and observers, said Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, who presented details about the case during a debate on single-sex wards that took place in the Upper Chamber.

None the less, it has taken nearly a year for the hospital to agree that there was a male on the ward and, yes, this rape happened.

Entire world is being transformed to give special treatment to transgenders

Changing the definition of man and woman to accommodate people with gender dysphoria, a mental illness, is what causes and will continue to cause crimes like this to happen.

And now the entire U.K. hospital system, which is government-run, plans to adopt the new woke approach in order to be more sensitive to the so-called trans community.

All men who enter an NHS facility for any kind of care will now be asked if they are with child, just to make sure that no transgender anywhere gets offended by not being asked.

This was very confusing for him in his post-surgical daze, his vulnerability and needs completely ignored, said the wife of one man who was asked if he was pregnant before undergoing brain surgery for cancer.

The man was rightfully upset as the question created unnecessary confusion and agitation. It is also unfair to put very ill people through this nonsensical line of questioning.

The trans community is even now taking aim at homosexuals by protesting things like men only campgrounds, since transgenders do not fit into either sex anymore.

There are two genders and many mental illnesses, wrote someone at The Gateway Pundit (TGP) about what is really going on here.

Women over 40: remember to have your prostate checked every year, joked another about the inverse of this new NHS policy.

There are XX chromosomes for women and XY for men, suggested another. There are no genetic identifiers/chromosomes for gay, transgender, bisexual or undecided.

Their bodies are biologically XX or XY and NOTHING they do will ever change that fact, wrote someone else. Unless  the mRNA gene therapy can actually change their genetics.

The latest news coverage about transgender madness can be found at Gender.news.

Sources include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

NaturalNews.com
Tokyo has cherry blossoms, the Netherlands has tulip meadows, and Paris has itself to give. But the Canadian province of Manitoba, on the other hand, has a strikingly unusual springtime attraction: tens of thousands of amorous snakes writhing around in pits.

While Manitoba's tourist bureau does not promote the Narcisse Snake Dens with the same zeal that it does Canada's national human rights museum in Winnipeg, the yearly mating ritual of red-sided garter snakes draws thousands of people snake fans and snakephobes alike to an otherwise neglected portion of the province for a few days each spring.

Snakes of Narcisse's best viewing times

During spring, tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes crawl to the open from their winter burrows in the Narcisse Snake Dens.

These snakes are getting ready for their yearly mating ritual.

Depending on the weather, this stunning ceremony lasts one to three weeks in late April or early May, as per the official website of Manitoba.

Male snakes are generally the first to emerge, and they patiently wait for the females to do the same.

Male snakes are eager to mate with the larger females as they emerge.

This desire may be seen in a "mating ball," in which one female is encircled by up to one hundred men.

The Narcisse Snake Dens have four active snake dens, with a 3.0-kilometer self-guided interpretive route connecting them.

Although garter snakes are not dangerous, they are best observed from viewing platforms placed near the dens.

During the spring and fall, the activity level of the snake dens is updated every few days. When planning a journey to Narcisse, make sure to check the status.

Spring: The Narcisse Snake Dens are best visited in the latter part of April and the first three weeks of May. Snakes are obsessed with mating at this time and are easily observed by tourists.

The busiest time of year is usually Mother's Day weekend.

In early September, garter snakes return to their dens. They stay active and visible to visitors until the chilly, damp fall weather drives them underground.

The ideal time to see snakes in the fall is on warm, bright days.

Also Read: LOOK: Creepy 'Ball of Snakes' Spotted Along Greenway Trail

Narcisse is the Hotspot for snake mating

The land near Narcisse is so appealing to snakes for the same reason that many farmers abandoned it decades ago: its thin topsoil rests on top of limestone that water has progressively worn beneath, producing a network of tiny caverns accessible through sinkholes.

This is the ideal winter habitat for snakes in a region that is famously chilly even in Canada.

The snakes' spring eruption, and the ten days they spend cavorting in joy, is weather dependent and difficult to forecast.

Clouds, low temperatures, and rain are all capable of keeping them buried.

"It's perhaps the world's largest collection of snakes," said Prof. Robert T. Mason, an integrative biology professor at Oregon State University who has visited Narcisse every spring since 1982.

Otherwise, Narcisse is a near-deserted town.

The most noticeable elements of the town are a long-abandoned gas station adjacent to a collapsed ruin of a home.

Scientists, like Professor Mason, frequently conduct a study on private land in smaller snake pit regions.

However, Manitoba's wildlife department has created a park around what it likes to term snake dens - not "snake pits" - that are home to an estimated 70,000 of the critters throughout the winter.

Related article: LOOK: Reptile Enthusiast Breeds Extremely Rare Snake With Emoji Prints
Another severe tornado will strike the parts of Southern US again just like in the past two weeks that left residents in a devastating condition to.

The weather phenomenon may not be happening in the same spots, but it will be the third week in a row that there is a chance of severe weather.

Because storm systems frequently follow patterns, severe thunderstorms in the same regions may be more prevalent than ever believed.

According to Bill Bunting, the Storm Prediction Center's chief of forecasting activities, storms have been returning to the same locations recently.

More tornadoes in Southern US

Although the atmosphere includes a chaotic component, it does periodically get into routines where we may detect this consistency, as per CNN.

Tragically, the potential of severe weather has been present for the previous month, and will very likely be present again in the coming week, in many of the same locations that have already suffered enough severe weather in the last four weeks.

He said that the extreme weather that occurs week after week is linked to the location of the jet stream, which sets the circumstances for it to happen again.

Strong southwesterly breezes in the mid-levels and powerful southeast to southerly winds closer to the surface are typical of these atmospheric circulations.

Bunting noted that this produces a natural setting for wind shear that is suitable for structured thunderstorms and tornadoes.

He also said that the highly moist air streaming northern from the Gulf of Mexico, which has aided the development of storms in recent weeks, will be present again this week.

According to the Weather Prediction Center, precipitation from the Gulf of Mexico will continue to rush north into the southern tier states and merge with a frigid front slowly advancing into the southern Plains (WPC).

Over the next few days, this will result in a growing penetration of showers and thunderstorms from either the southern Plains into the Deep South.

As the storms move away from the East Coast, the hazard reduces by Thursday. While the system is largely delivering storms to the South, much of the Eastern Seaboard may get rain on Thursday.

Rain is expected from Florida to New England, so there may be some travel delays at several major airports on Wednesday and Thursday when this system passes over.

"Straight hodographs signal a predominantly wind-driven hazard for any torrential rains that form," the NWS office in Atlanta noted, "but attention may need to be taken to watch this event as it enters the short term."

Hodographs are graphs that show how the wind changes direction and speed as it rises in altitude.

Also Read: US Meteorologist Issues Warning for Tornado 'Threat Area' Expansion

Weather insisting for the past week

Several people were hurt, homes and businesses were destroyed, and power lines were felled in Mississippi and Tennessee on Wednesday after severe storms caused damage in Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas overnight before moving to the deep south.

Officials indicated that as of Wednesday night, no deaths had been reported as a result of the storms.

According to The Guardian, which recorded utility outages, over 185,000 people were without power on Thursday morning in the aftermath of the storm across a band of states: Mississippi and Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, and Michigan.

According to weather service forecasts, strong winds in Louisiana overturned semitrailers, pulled the roof off mobile home, brought a tree crashing into a house, and knocked down power lines, but no tornadoes were confirmed.

To avoid cramming youngsters into buildings or buses, schools in Memphis and others around Mississippi shuttered early or turned to online instruction.

In Mississippi, shelters were opened, while the Federal Emergency Management Agency encouraged individuals living in trailers in Louisiana to be prepared to leave after Hurricane Ida.

Related article: Recent Storm System Represents Future Multiple-Day Tornado Activity
Abu Dhabi has started a long-term strategy to make the emirate climatic resistant while also providing a vibrant, better environment for its residents.

The "Abu Dhabi Environmental Centennial 2071" will also lay out a plan to become the emirate a preservation leader in the next 50 years.

The vision, developed by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD), the emirate's environmental sector regulator, is in line with the UAE government's goal of being the finest country in the world by the union's 100th anniversary in 2071.

It establishes objectives, goals, and strategies that are in accordance with future global megatrends as well as the UAE's own objectives.

Abu Dhabi unveils major plan

The Centennial, according to EAD Secretary-General Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, "draws three major routes that promote the green transformation, with a total of 12 pillars, 33 targets, and 76 future projects," as per Zawya.

These are recognized because they go beyond short-term aims, whereas visions, goals, and programs aimed at framing Abu Dhabi's environment for the next 50 years accomplish long-term UAE aspirations, Abu Dhabi government directives, and core strategies.

The Environmental Centennial 2071 lays forth three paths for ushering in a greener future, the first of which is a prosperous emirate surrounded by nature.

It also comprises four pillars that describe Abu Dhabi's aspirations to conserve the environment, natural resources, and communities within sophisticated structures in order to maintain a healthy environment for all residents and to make Abu Dhabi the most advanced city in the context of ecological health.

The three pathways

The first method focuses on creating a "vibrant emirate that thrives in nature," it is built on four pillars: safeguarding Abu Dhabi's resources and the environment, establishing ecosystems within sophisticated structures to ensure a healthy ecosystem for everybody, and making Abu Dhabi the most sophisticated city associated with environmental health, as per Gulf news.

The second approach aims to transform the emirate into a "climate-resilient green force."

The use of diverse renewable energy to enable conversions into low-carbon fleets, and the development of resource efficiency with no waste is among the pillars that aspire to achieve excellence and proactivity in climate action.

The third route aims to transform Abu Dhabi into an ecological leader capable of shaping the future and enabling action to protect resources for future generations.

Green legislation and regulations, as well as nontraditional nature conservation, will be crucial in making this possible.

Also Read: New Chile President Gabriel Boric Signed For United Nations' Escazu Agreement

The global megatrends

The centennial plan was developed in response to a number of major global megatrends.

In 2071, the world's population will have risen to 10.6 billion people, a 25% increase that will put further strain on natural and food resources.

If no action is taken to reduce current consumption, the world economy will be four times larger than it is today, requiring 80% more energy output.

Rising sea levels will force 1.4 billion people to relocate throughout the world.

Increased industrial, thermal generation of power, and home consumption are predicted to drive global water demand up by more than 55%.

Related article: Montreal Protocol: Reducing HFCs Can Mitigate the High Temperatures of the Earth
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations (UN) released its latest report.

The third IPCC report said the chance to aim for a lower global temperature has reached a crucial point of immediately taking action or there is no turning back.

Mitigation of Climate Change

As the third part of the Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC, its latest report on Monday, April 4, is about the mitigation of climate change, including reducing the global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius, similar to the pre-industrial era.

The third IPCC report highlighted that decreasing the emission of the potent greenhouse gas methane by 33% is necessary before global warming reaches a point of no return.

This also applies to other greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases.

Without the immediate and deep reduction of greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors, limiting global warming to the global temperature threshold will be impossible, according to Jim Skea, co-chair of the IPCC Working Group III, as cited by CNBC.

Despite the narrowing corridors between reversing climate change and long-term environmental consequences, the latest IPCC report said knowledge and tools are still available for a future where extreme weather events are not aggravated by climate.

Also Red: UN Assessment Warns About Worsening Climate Crisis Despite the Agreement in the Paris Agreement

Extreme Weather Events

Prior to the third IPCC report, extreme weather phenomena have been evident over recent months.

From extreme flooding in Eastern Australia, the torrential rain-driven landslides in Brazil, and the collapse of a New York City-sized ice shelf in East Antarctica in March, climate change has led to a series of natural disasters that were never seen before prior to the Industrial Age of the 18th century.

In Australia, approximately 20 people were killed due to the massive flooding in New South Wales and Queensland in late February.

In Brazil, at least 200 people were killed in the landslides in Petropolis since February.

In the United States, a series of tornado outbreaks have occurred over recent months, including the deaths of seven people in central Iowa due to multiple twisters in early March, as per The New York Times.

Previous IPCC Reports

The latest report is launched in a span of eight months, with the first IPCC report being published in August 2021 and the second IPCC report in February 2022, some of the world's top climate scientists in the third IPCC report focused on the ways on how to reach the said global temperature objective.

In the first report, the IPCC explored the physical science behind climate change and found that if no concrete action is taken, lowering the global heating down to 1.5 degrees Celsius will soon be beyond reach, as cited by CNBC.

Meanwhile, the second report highlights the climate change impact and discovered that approximately half of the world's population will be vulnerable to natural disasters due to the burning of fossil fuels.

2015 Paris Agreement

The UN spearheads the Paris Agreement, also called the Paris Treaty, the Paris Climate Agreement, the Paris Climate Accord, or the Paris Accord. Its members consist of most countries of the world.

Under the agreement, member states are required to do their part to achieve the ideal global temperature.

Some of the measures that a country can take are to create policies or laws that would limit the burning of fossil fuels and the emission of greenhouse gases.

These human industrial-related activities accelerate the greenhouse gas effect, trapping gases in the Earth's atmosphere and absorbing solar energy, leading to global warming.

Related Article: Paris Agreement to Push Through With or Without Trump
An unidentified wild animal mauled to death a 14-year-old boy in the Sanjay Tiger Reserve (STR) in Madhya Pradesh, India, on Sunday, April 3.

Details regarding the identity of the attacker and the whole incident remained unclear at this time as the investigation is still ongoing.

Boy Found Dead

The unknown wild animal attacked the teenager in the Baghdhara village of the Vastua range of STR on Sunday, April 3.

Residents in the area claimed that a tiger killed the boy.

However, forest officials said the animal involved in the attack is yet to be identified, as per the Deccan Herald.

The boy's body covered with blood was found near the Kodmar river where he reportedly went to graze cattle.

However, it is uncertain what events led to the incident.

Local authorities attributed it to an animal attack since the teenager's body had large wounds on the neck and back.

Also Read: Tiger Shot to Death After Attacking Zoo Cleaner That Attempted to Pet it

Human-Wildlife Conflict

The case of the recent attack by the unidentified wild animal in Madhya Pradesh is not yet resolved.

Nevertheless, there is a strong indication that it was an alleged tiger based on the elated cases over recent years, as well as the reported first-hand account from the villagers in Baghdhara.

In a case of extreme human-wildlife conflict, related cases of animal attacks, notably from tigers, are common in India since the 19tg century.

During the British colonial rule, tigers have killed 33,247 people in India between 1876 and 1912, as per the Kerala Travel Tours.

Tiger Attacks in India

Between 2019 and 2021, the Indian government said a total of 108 people have been reportedly killed due to tiger attacks across the country, as per The Times of India.

The following data below is some of the breakdowns of fatalities from tiger attacks for affected states in a given year:

2021 - five in Maharashtra, five in Uttar Pradesh, three in Bihar, and one in Uttarakhand

2020 - 25 in Maharashtra and four in Uttar Pradesh

2019 - 26 in Maharashtra and eight in Uttar Pradesh

The highest cases can be found in the state of Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, there have been no reports of tiger attacks in the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh during the said period.

As a result, India's National Tiger Conservation Authority created three standard operating procedures (SOPs) to deal with the human-animal conflict.

The SOPs included the dispersal of tigers in a large area and the management of livestock to reduce tiger attacks on humans, as per The Times of India.

Related Study

In Indonesia, tigers killed 146 people, at least 870 livestock, and injured 30 other humans between 1978 and 1997, as per a study published by the Cambridge University Press in the journal Oryx in 2004.

The researchers of the study found that poor and inadequate policies have led to an increased frequency of conflict between tigers, humans, and livestock.

In protected areas, conflict was lesser compared to areas where tigers and humans live together.

The findings of the said study can still be correlated with the tigers of India since the so-called man-eating predators are known to be territorial animals.

The expansion of human settlement or even entering an area perceived by a tiger to be its territory is plausibly the main cause of the conflict.

Related Article: Tiger Leaps onto Boat, Snatches Helpless Fisherman in East India
Advanced Micro Devices took a big step toward competing in data-center networking with its announced agreement to acquire Pensando for approximately $1.9 billion.

AMD wants the DPU-based architecture and technology Pensando is developing that includes intelligent, programmable software to support software-defined cloud, compute, networking, storage, and security services that could be rolled out quickly in edge, colocation, or service-provider networks.

There are a wide range of use casessuch as 5G and IoTthat need to support lots of low latency traffic, Soni Jiandani, Pensando co-founder and chief business office told Network World last November:Weve taken a ground-up approach to giving enterprise customers a fully programmable system with the ability to support multiple infrastructure services without dedicated CPUs.

AMD envisions Pensandos technology as a way to compete in data-center networking as Pensandos products are already deployed across cloud and enterprise customers, including Goldman Sachs, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud, AMD stated.

Its technology is a key component in HPE company Arubas data-center switch, the Aruba CX 10000. That switch includes an integrated Pensando DPU that reduces the need for separate security and load-balancing appliances. HPE is a big investor in Pensando having been part of its $145 million Series C funding in 2019 along with Lightspeed Venture Partners. HPE, too, has implemented the Pensando technology in some of its server line.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise was an early partner of Pensando because we shared the vision that the world would become far more distributed, and that enterprises would need edge-to-cloud architectures to accelerate their insights and outcomes, said Antonio Neri, president and CEO, HPE, in a statement. We look forward to accelerating the development of these technologies with our long-standing partner AMD, whom we congratulate on this strategic acquisition.

Pensando is also part of VMwares Project Monterey, which melds bare-metal servers, GPUs, FPGAs, NICs, and security into a large-scale virtualized environment.

The company is entering a hot DPU market as a number of key players including Intel, Nvidia, AWS are looking to develop smartNIC architectures.

Pensando is lead by a circle of ex-Cisco stars, including its chairmen of the board, former Cisco CEO John Chambers, Mario Mazzola, Prem Jain, Luca Cafiero and Jiandani. The latter four have founded a number of companies that were spun back into Cisco during Chambers time as CEO including Andiamo Systems for SAN switching, Nuova Systems for data-center switching and Insieme Networks for software-defined networking systems.

CEO Jain and the Pensando team will join AMD as part of its Data Center Solutions Group, led by AMD Senior Vice President and General Manager Forrest Norrod.

The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low near 45F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low near 45F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Patients kept at a body temperature of 37 C during major surgery had no fewer cardiac complications than patients kept at 35.5 C, according to data presented at the American College of Cardiology's 71st Annual Scientific Session. There were also no differences in the number of infections or required blood transfusions in patients kept at cooler body temperatures.

Body temperature generally decreases during surgery, largely because anesthetic medications interfere with the body's processes for regulating temperature. While practices vary around the world, nursing staff in Western countries typically use forced-air heaters to keep patients warm during surgery, with a target temperature of 36 C, or 96.8 F. This trial, one of the largest to date, sought to determine whether warming patients even moreto 37 C, or 98.6 Fwould reduce the risk of cardiac complications, which are a leading cause of death in the first 30 days after major surgery.

Results showed no significant differences between groups for the trial's primary endpoint, a composite of troponin elevation due to ischemia (an indicator of heart injury), non-fatal cardiac arrest or death from any cause within 30 days after surgery. Researchers also reported no differences for any of the trial's secondary endpoints.

This trial tells us that there is no benefit to aggressively warming patients to 37 C during surgery. It is simply unnecessary, and it doesn't improve any substantive outcomes. Also, the results show that 36 C should not be considered the threshold for defining mild hypothermia since there was no harm at 35.5 C." Daniel I. Sessler, MD, Michael Cudahy professor and chair of the Department of Outcomes Research at Cleveland Clinic and the trial's lead author

The researchers enrolled 5,050 patients who had surgery at 13 medical centers, mostly in China. Participants had various major noncardiac surgical procedures, with a minimum duration of two hours and an average duration of four hours. Half of the patients were randomly assigned to receive routine care, with a target body temperature of 35.5 C, while half received aggressive warming, with a target body temperature of 37 C.

For patients assigned to routine care, nursing staff put a warming cover in position but did not activate it until the patient's body temperature decreased to less than 35.5 C, resulting in an average group body temperature of 35.6 C. With the more aggressive warming protocol, nurses covered patients with a heated blanket for 30 minutes before surgery and then used two forced-air heaters to keep patients warmed to a mean of 37.1 C during surgery.

In addition to seeing no benefit in terms of the composite primary endpoint, the trial reported no significant differences between groups in terms of serious wound infections, length of hospitalization, hospital re-admissions or the need for blood transfusions. The investigators were surprised that rates of wound infections and transfusions were similar to previous studies, which suggested that both were more common in patients maintained at lower body temperatures.

Nearly all patients were enrolled in China, Sessler said, but the results should be generalizable to patients and health care settings in other countries.

"This study shows that it is reasonable to keep patients warm, but we saw no evidence whatsoever that it makes a difference if they're just above or just below 36 C," Sessler said. "Surgical patients should still be warmed, but there's no need to be super-aggressive about the warming."

The study did not assess less serious or non-medical outcomes, such as patient comfort or shivering. Sessler said that patients maintained at a lower body temperature may shiver or feel cold after surgery, but both are temporary and unlikely to have a meaningful health impact.

This study was simultaneously published online in The Lancet at the time of presentation. The study was partially funded by 3M.

Sessler will be available to the media in a press conference on Monday, April 4, at 10:00 a.m. ET / 14:00 UTC in Room 103AB.

Sessler will present the study, "Very Mild Perioperative Hypothermia Versus Aggressive Warming and Myocardial Injury after Non-cardiac Surgery: The PROTECT Trial," on Monday, April 4, at 8:30 a.m. ET / 12:30 UTC in the Main Tent, Hall D.
Cow dung, widely used as a fuel and in rituals in India, is likely behind an epidemic of black fungus that killed or maimed thousands of patients treated in the country for COVID-19 in 2021, say medical researchers.

Mucormycosis, a dangerous infection caused by Mucorales fungi, has an overall mortality rate of 54 per cent, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In May 2021, mucormycosis was declared an epidemic in India  during a devastating second wave of COVID-19  with the country accounting for 71 per cent of all Mucorales infection cases worldwide.

The country had recorded 51,775 cases of mucormycosis as of November last year. Mucorales, a coprophilous (dung-loving) group of fungi, thrives on the excrement of herbivores and India has the world's largest population of bovine cattle, counting 300 million in its inventory.

The paper published April in mBio, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, hypothesizes that "Mucorales-rich cow excrement, given its use in multiple Indian rituals and practices, especially during the pandemic, probably played a key role in India's COVID-19- associated mucormycosis epidemic".

Jessy Skaria, an author of the paper and an independent researcher from Houston, Texas, tells SciDev.Net that the unusually high incidence of COVID-19- associated mucormycosis in India was attributed by most physicians and researchers to a combination of SARS-Cov-2 viral infection with diabetes and treatment using steroids.

"However, since the same factors existed in other countries as well, we looked at unique local causes in India that could increase exposure to Mucorales spores, such as through fumes from burning cow dung," says Skaria.

"Increased fungal spore burden in the Indian environment has been demonstrated in a recent multi-center study which showed the burden of Mucorales in areas close to hospitals to be as high as 51.8 per cent."

Fungal spores disperse widely through the smoke of burning biomass, so the practise of burning Mucorales-rich cow dung and crop stubble to dispose of it may lead to Mucorales spores being released into the environment, she explains.

This could potentially explain India's disproportionate case burden of mucormycosis at all times, even before the pandemic." Jessy Skaria, author of the paper and independent researcher from Houston, Texas

She cited studies suggesting that Mucorales could be detected in 14 per cent of patients in India's intensive care units and that an average of 65,500 deaths a year were attributable to mucormycosis.

"Our hypothesis is also based on pioneering work that proved that fungal spores could travel long distances in smoke from biomass fires," she adds.

Cow excreta is a part of traditional life in India and used as an ingredient in many traditional ayurvedic medicines. Common rituals in parts of India include applying cow dung on bodies, drinking cow urine, and burning and inhaling cow dung fumes as a form of ritual purification during festivals, prayers, or cremations, the paper said.

Considered a sacred animal, cows are not slaughtered in many Indian states.

"Notable exceptions are Kerala and West Bengal where the incidence of mucormycosis was far lower than in Maharashtra and Gujarat where the slaughter of cattle is strictly banned and where the use of cow excreta for fuels and rituals is popular," says Skaria. "It's hugely pertinent that in Kerala where there is no ban on slaughtering cows and no taboo on eating beef and where cow dung is almost never used as fuelthe incidence of mucormycosis was found to be low."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, political and religious rhetoric inspired many Indians to liberally use cow dung and urine to prevent or treat COVID-19, including through mass fumigations with smoldering cow dung cakes, the paper observed.

Similarly, in Iran an unusual spike in mucormycosis cases during the pandemic could potentially be attributed to the burning of donkey dung to produce "anbarnesa smoke", a traditional medicine, the paper said.

"To establish the role of herbivore dung in the causation of COVID-19-associated mucormycosis, case control studies, genetic (phylogenetic) studies and other aerosol viability analysis of Mucorales spores, post-burning, is critical," Rodney Rohde, chair and professor of clinical laboratory science at Texas State University, tells SciDev.Net.

"However, the hypothesis has strong support based on the epidemiological and case data that is occurring in India. The burning of cow dung is a possible vehicle for spore distribution and one that needs examining to help further the understanding of the ongoing and dangerously high prevalence of mucormycosis in India."

Judy Stone, a US-based infectious disease and clinical research specialist, tells SciDev.Net: "Exposure to Mucorales spores in cow dung is a very plausible hypothesis  I think it is pretty clear that there is more to the mucormycosis epidemic than diabetes and steroids. Other countries (e.g. China) have a much higher prevalence of diabetes, yet have not had the overwhelming numbers of patients with mucormycosis.

"I hope that this hypothesis, now embraced by academic physicians and published in a peer-reviewed journal, will finally prompt further study by aerobiologists and other scientists in India."
Many people have felt the sudden and uncontrollable urge to eat a certain food. These urges -; known as cravings-; are very common, mostly during pregnancy. At this stage, the mother's body undergoes a series of physiological and behavioral changes to create a favorable environment for the embryo's development. However, the frequent consumption of tasty and high calorie foods -; derived from the cravings-; contributes to weight gain and obesity in pregnancy, which can have negative effects on the baby's health.

There are many myths and popular beliefs regarding these cravings, although the neuronal mechanisms that cause them are not widely known." March Claret, lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona and head of the IDIBAPS Neuronal Control of Metabolism Group

Claret leads, together with the researcher Roberta Haddad-Tovolli, a study published in the journal Nature Metabolism that provides new evidence on the alterations of the neuronal activity that drive cravings in an animal model.

Dopamine and compulsive eating behavior

According to the results, during pregnancy, the brain of female mice undergoes changes in the functional connections of the brain reward circuits, as well as the taste and sensorimotor centers. Moreover, just like pregnant women, female mice are more sensitive to sweet food, and they develop binge-eating behaviors towards high-calorie foods. "The alteration of these structures made us explore the mesolimbic pathway, one of the signal transmission pathways of dopaminergic neurons. Dopamine is a key neurotransmitter in motivational behaviors", notes Claret, member of the Department of Medicine of the UB and the Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERDEM).

The team observed the levels of dopamine -; and the activity of its receptor, D2R-; to increase in the nucleus accumbens, a brain region involved in the reward circuit. "This finding suggests that the pregnancy induces a full reorganization of the mesolimbic neural circuits through the D2R neurons", notes Haddad-Tovolli. "These neuronal cells -; and their alteration-; would be responsible for the cravings, since food anxiety, typical during pregnancy, disappeared after blocking their activity".

The team led by Claret and Haddad-Tovolli showed that persistent cravings have consequences for the offspring. They affect the metabolism and development of neural circuits that regulate food intake, which leads to weight gain, anxiety and eating disorders. "These results are shocking since many of the studies are focused on the analysis of how the mother's permanent habits -; such as obesity, malnutrition, or chronic stress-; affect the health of the baby. However, this study indicates that short but recurrent behaviors, such as cravings, are enough to increase the psychological and metabolic vulnerability of the offspring", concludes Claret.

The conclusions of the study could contribute to the improvement of nutritional guidelines for pregnant women in order to ensure a proper prenatal nutrition and prevent the development of diseases. Among the participants in the study were Guadalupe Soria and Emma Munoz-Moreno (IDIBAPS), Analia Bortolozzi (IIBB-CSIC-IDIBAPS) and Emmanuel Valjent (INSERM and University of Montpelier).

This project received funding from the European Research Council (ERC), given to Marc Claret, and a grant from the Marie Skodowska-Curie Actions program, given to the researcher Roberta Haddad-Tovolli.
Ministerial Reshuffle Announced

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo QC MP, has made a statement on a Ministerial reorganisation of some portfolios.

Mr Picardo said: Today I am advising His Excellency the Governor that I am carrying out a minor adjustment to ministerial responsibilities. The decisions about this reshuffle were made when the estimates process started in November and are being implemented today, on the first Monday of the new financial year.

As I said at the time of our last press conference on matters related to COVID, Samantha Sacramento gave everything she had to the Health Authority at the worst time in our history and bringing decision making on Health and Civil Contingencies together at the most stressful time in our history.

Now that the GHA will be entirely independently run, I have asked Albert Isola to become the Governments policy lead.

A new super-regulatory ministry is created which will deliver in all the areas where the Government regulates itself and others.

Samantha Sacramento retains responsibility for Justice (including the Anti-Corruption Authority & the Ministerial Code as well as Sanctions), Civil Contingencies, Town Planning, Multiculturalism, Equality & Community Affairs including The Quality of Care and Data Protection and The Gibraltar Regulatory Authority as well as the Prevention of Online Harms. She will also take responsibility for the Office of Fair Trading.

She will continue to chair the COVID SCG.

A Bill to establish an Anti-Corruption Authority is about to be published in coming weeks and Samantha, having taken an additional oath, as Minister for Justice, to uphold the Rule of Law, will be establishing that Authority and its work.

As the United Kingdom's Online Harms Bill is making its way through Parliament, and similar work is being undertaken in Brussels, it is our intention to mirror those provisions in our law. For that reason, Samantha has had those aspects of the prevention of online harm added to the description of her responsibilities under the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority, which will likely be the repository of those responsibilities in lieu of others.

Albert Isola will relinquish responsibility for Town Planning and Data Protection and consequently the GRA.

He will take the additional responsibility for the policy making aspects of the provision of a free, universal health service in Gibraltar as well as Elderly Residential Care and Social Services.

Albert has already been working on the delivery of some of the digital services he has responsibility for, for the benefit of users of the health services and I expect that this will now be able to accelerate as Albert takes full policy responsibility for the GHA.

Industrial Relations, which I have been managing since 2011 and which has brought me the benefit of being in touch with Union colleagues, will now be led by a former Trade Union leader, Steven Linares. Steven will refer to the Minister for Financial Stability in the first instance, and ultimately to me as Minister for Finance, any decisions with financial implications.

This responsibility will sit well with Steven's existing responsibilities for Employment and the Industrial Tribunal.

I will, of course, like every Chief Minister, also continue to handle matters of industrial relations which have general political importance, given these will inevitably have financial implications.

But it is clear to me that whether we have a Treaty or we don't, the next 18 months available in the life time of this Parliament will require me to be pursuing the wider issues of our relationship with the United Kingdom, the European Union and Spain as we settle the new reality of life in Gibraltar with or without a UK/EU Treaty.

Today is the first Cabinet meeting of the new financial year 2022/23.

It will be, in financial terms, probably the most challenging year that elected politicians representing the civilian population of Gibraltar, since the Franco restrictions started in 1967 and the frontier closed in 1969. In those days, however, we enjoyed the benefits of the UK policy of "support and sustain". That is not the situation today. With the ravages of the COVID pandemic on our public finances and the potential for a hard-Brexit knock to our economy, I have to ensure that my ministerial team now plays to its core strengths as best as possible in the time we continue to hold responsibility for the public affairs of Gibraltar under the writ of the last election.

I am not honing the team to prepare to win an election, although that is an important element of how we work in our democracy in an adversarial, first past the post, system.

I am honing the team to ensure we deliver the maximum possible for Gibraltar at this time.

I am therefore advising His Excellency to make these changes to the assignment of business to Ministers with effect from today so that the whole financial year will be the responsibility of one minister in each department.
In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers evaluated the impact of changes in infection fatality rate (IFR), intrinsic reproductive number (R0), and the durability of immunity on the annual coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) death toll in the United States (US). This study demonstrated the risks of abiding by the live with the disease COVID-19 mitigation strategy.

In the present-day scenario, solely relying on vaccines to put the COVID-19 pandemic to an end seems unfeasible due to waning immunity and the emergence of several immune-evasive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants. The live with the disease strategy is now being employed by health administrations and involves reducing COVID-19 severity while permitting uninhibited SARS-CoV-2 transmission, with the expectation that the future SARS-CoV-2 variants would have milder outcomes due to viral attenuation or progressive build-up of immunity.

Study: Endemicity is not a victory: the unmitigated downside risks of widespread SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Image Credit: FrankHH / Shutterstock

About the study

The present work explores the strategic implications of permitting widespread viral transmission while relying on vaccines to limit short-term morbidity and mortality. The researchers assessed the impact of changes in SARS-CoV-2 virulence on its transmissibility. They also evaluated the effects of IFR alterations of the endemic SARS-CoV-2 variants on the annual COVID-19 mortality rates in the US.

For calculating the viral fitness disadvantage incurred by COVID-19 fatalities, the team estimated the fractional loss of transmission that occurred on the death of a SARS-CoV-2-positive patient.

To determine the loss of transmission that occurred on the death of a COVID-19 patient, the team converted the probability distribution function (PDF) of time from symptom onset to death to a cumulative distribution function (CDF) representing the likelihood of survival over time.

Subsequently, they calculated the product of viral transmissibility and survival distributions to determine the probability of transmission before death, given that both events occur. The loss of transmission due to a fatal outcome was calculated as 1  the fractional transmissibility before the fatal outcome. The endemic COVID-19 condition was defined as that occurring when steady-state levels of disease spread are reached and maintained since the level of population immunity is equal to the herd immunity threshold (R0  1)/ R0.

The loss of transmissibility occurred in the fraction of infections that resulted in fatal outcomes, estimated as the IFR. Thus, the overall loss of transmissibility was the IFR multiplied by the fractional loss of transmissibility in fatal cases.

For determining the impact of changes in SARS-CoV-2 properties such as the R0, IFR, and duration of natural immunity on the annual US death tolls and infection rates, the team varied these parameters in a susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered-susceptible (SEIRS) model, under several vaccination scenarios: 90%, 50%, or 0% decrease in risk of infection (VEi) with 100% or 70% vaccine uptake. They assumed that vaccination reduces the risk of death given infection (VEm) and the risk of infection (VEi) but has no additional benefit in preventing transmission in breakthrough cases.

Results

The expected loss of infectivity incurred on the death of a patient was approximately 1.3% of that individuals overall propensity to transmit. Therefore, the overall loss of transmissibility for a lethal strain of SARS-CoV-2 was 1.3* IFR, assuming that the PDFs for infectivity and the fatal outcome would remain unaltered.

High yearly US infection counts persist under endemic conditions without vaccines that prevent transmission. Yearly US SARS-CoV-2 infections under the following conditions for vaccine compliance and VEi: A) 70% vaccinated with 0% VEi, B) 70% vaccinated with 50% VEi, C) 70% vaccinated with a 90% VEi, D) 100% compliance with a vaccine with 0% VEi, E) 100% compliance with 50% VEi, F) 100% compliance with 90% VEi. Green regions represent complete suppression of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Changes in IFR did not substantially affect the viral transmissibility. This indicates that there was no evolutionary pressure that favored a decrease in COVID-19 severity. Furthermore, the trajectory of SARS-CoV-2 evolution revealed that a higher IFR was not associated with a faster timeline to death or decreased transmission. As an example, the Delta variant with 80% higher transmissibility also had a 50% greater risk of death.

Considering 70% vaccination that decreased the COVID-19 risk by 90%, an R0 of 5, and an 18-month duration of natural immunity would result in over 50 million yearly infections, whereas an R0 of 8 and a 9-month duration of natural immunity would result in about 100 million infections.

Variation in the duration of natural immunity and IFR can result in catastrophic death tolls. The black point represents parameter values corresponding to best-estimates of immunity and IFR for ancestral SARS-CoV-2. Yearly US COVID-19 deaths under the following transmissibility (R 0 ) and VEi conditions: A-C) 0% VEi and R 0 of 2, 5, and 9; D-F) 50% VEi and R 0 of 2, 5, and 9. G-I) 90% VEi and R 0 of 2, 5, and 9. Vaccine compliance is 70% and VEm is 90% in all panels.

The team observed that minor losses in vaccine effectiveness could result in a substantial increase in population-level COVID-19 mortality. For example, the model predicted that the COVID-19 mortality under best-estimate parameters (R0 of 5, 70% vaccine coverage, and 18-month natural immunity with a 50% Vei vaccine) was nearly 400,000 if the vaccine prevented 90% of COVID-19 deaths. If the vaccines VEm is reduced to 70%, there would be a 50% increase in COVID-19 deaths, approaching 600,000 per year.

For a SARS-CoV-2 variant with R0 of 5, 1% IFR, and a 12-month duration of natural immunity, about 700,000 deaths were predicted annually if a vaccine prevented 90% of infections were administered to 70% of the population. This indicates that even a slight change of 1% in IFR could significantly impact the annual COVID-19 death toll.

Overall, the study findings showed that increased viral virulence would cause minimal loss of transmission. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 implies extensive transmission, which results in hundreds of thousands of deaths annually in the US under several plausible scenarios, with even a modest increase in IFR giving rise to an unsustainable mortality burden.

*Important notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
African-American adult patients are more likely than white patients to receive substandard gastrointestinal cancer surgery, according a large study led by researchers at Yale Cancer Center. The findings are reported today in the journal JAMA Network Open.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light previously reported race disparities in the healthcare system, and our study unfortunately highlights patients with cancer are not immune to these disparities. Lapses in the healthcare system by medical providers and hospital systems contribute to these racial differences and changes are needed to address and eradicate root causes of disparities in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers." Dr. Sajid Khan, associate professor of surgery (Oncology), section chief of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) and Mixed Tumors at Yale Cancer Center, and senior author of the study

According to the American Cancer Society, gastrointestinal cancers account for 35% of cancer deaths. For the new study, researchers wanted to examine whether race-specific treatment disparities exist with curative intent surgery for these patients across the United States.

For the study, scientists examined a cohort of 565,124 adult patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing surgery between 2004 and 2017. They found that compared to white patients, African-American patients had lower rates of negative surgical margins, and this was most pronounced for surgeries of the esophagus, rectum and bile duct (lower likelihood of negative resection margins 29%, 29% and 25%, respectively). They also found that African Americans had an adequate numbers of lymph nodes removed less frequently than white patients, with the greatest disparities seen in surgeries of the small intestine, esophagus, colon, pancreas, and rectosigmoid (lower likelihood of adequate lymph node removal 29%, 28%, 11%, 10% and 10%, respectfully). Negative surgical margins and adequate lymphadenectomies are both standards of cancer surgery care and were associated with longer median survival (87.3 vs 22.9 months and 80.7 vs 57.6 months, respectfully). African-American patients were also 68% more likely to not receive recommended chemotherapy and 118% more likely to not receive recommended radiation therapy than white patients after surgery for unknown reasons.

In addition, the authors found that American Indians experienced these disparities with an 11% lower likelihood of negative resection margins and 23% lower likelihood of adequate lymph nodes removed compared to whites.

"Further research should probe both system- and physician-level drivers of disparities within cancer care and address places of bias that allow for this inequitable treatment of African American and American Indian patients," said Khan. "We are currently performing a deeper look into our striking study findings, and our areas of focus are means of communication, education, socio-economic factors, healthcare system workflows, and differences in cancer biology which exist by race and ethnicity."

Funding for the study was provided by a research scholar grant from the American Cancer Society and grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Several variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have emerged globally, undermining the protective antiviral immunity established by previous infection or vaccination.

Study: Defining the risk of SARS-CoV-2 variants on immune protection. Image Credit: Red-Diamond / Shutterstock.com

Background

As a result, the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the SARS-CoV-2 Assessment of Viral Evolution (SAVE) program to tackle the public health hazard posed by rising SARS-CoV-2 genetic diversity. This project aimed to provide a real-time risk assessment of SARS-CoV-2 mutations that could affect transmission, pathogenicity, as well as convalescent and vaccine-induced immune resistance.

The SAVE initiative is an important data-gathering component of the U.S. government's SARS-CoV-2 Interagency Group, which is assessing the impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on diagnostics, vaccines, and therapies, as well as communicating public health dangers.

Early Detection and Analysis Group

SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing data has been published in several public databases, with more than 6.5 million sequences uploaded in the global initiative on sharing all influenza data (GISAID) databases. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) that are associated with an increased risk to global public health began in late 2020, thus prompting scientists to develop novel approaches for the detection and tracking of new SARS-CoV-2 variants.

To this end, the Early Detection and Analysis group was formed to develop a method for identifying and predicting SARS-CoV-2 variants that could increase virus reproduction, transmission, or immune escape. The primary goal of this group is to choose and prioritize variants for the production of essential experimental reagents and viruses for challenge investigations, as well as notify In Vitro and In Vivo groups about projected variant attributes to better guide their experiments.

About the study

In this recent Nature study, researchers utilize several animal models to describe the coordinated method they employed to acquire new data on SARS-CoV-2 variants, as well as their impact on both immunity and vaccine protection.

Genomic monitoring consists of periodic downloading of SARS-CoV-2 genomes from GISAID/GENBANK, quality filtering, alignment, and the discovery of variant or co-variant substitutions. The major objective of these efforts has been the identification of mutations in key epitopes in the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) and N-terminal domain (NTD) supersite to identify potential antibody escape. Notably, areas proximal to the furin cleavage site or those that have experienced convergent/parallel evolution have also been considered.

The mechanics of these spike mutations are evaluated as a function of time and geographic spread, considering sequence predominance and viral population growth rate, as well as comparisons to other variants circulating in the same area. Taken together, these mutations have been found in several SARS-CoV-2 variants, as well as newly emerging lineages.

The rankings of SARS-CoV-2 variants are divided into two broad approaches, each with minor differences. Whereas one approach is centered on evolutionary processes as the primary signal for mutation-selection and functional impact, the other is focused on mutation prevalence and growth patterns, as well as designated lineages.

The In Vitro group

To learn how SARS-CoV-2 mutations affect vaccine- and infection-induced immunity, the In Vitro group implemented antibody binding, neutralization, Fc effector, and T-cell stimulation procedures. By providing quality data to validate variant lineage prioritizing and ranking viruses for in vivo challenge research, the In Vitro group acts as a vital link between the Early Detection and Analysis and the In Vivo groups.

To extract, grow, and sequence newly emerging viruses, the authors created a pipeline amongst SAVE investigators. To this end, hundreds of SARS-CoV-2 variants covering over 40 lineages were cataloged and isolated as a result of this effort.

Additional efforts have been made to create infectious clones for SARS-CoV-2, which is more difficult to obtain. To accelerate the creation of recombinant variant spike proteins and expression plasmids, the Early Detection group prioritized viral variants and curated sequences.

The In Vivo group

The design and implementation of vaccines and antiviral treatments have relied heavily on SARS-CoV-2 animal models. Initial countermeasures concentrated on efficacy testing against homologous strains and focused on the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike.

However, due to the introduction of variants and their potential impact on transmission, pathogenesis, and infection- or vaccine-mediated immunity, animal models must be quickly adapted in order to validate vaccination efficacy against VOCs. Thus, the In Vivo group was formed to establish animal models, standardize reagents and assays, and investigate the influence of SARS-CoV-2 mutations on vaccine- or infection-induced immunity-induced protection and transmission.

The Early Detection and Analysis group identifies variants for inquiry, which are subsequently verified in the In Vitro group and passed to the In Vivo group. The In Vivo group uses a variety of animal models, including mice, hamsters, and non-human primates (NHPs), to investigate protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants. This has resulted in a collaborative process in which data on transmission, pathogenesis, and protective immunity are shared to reach an agreement on the influence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants on these viral characteristics.

Implications

The SAVE initiative is characterized by cooperative science and the sharing of results between researchers in real-time. These efforts have made it possible to examine the effects of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants on both infection and vaccine-induced immunity in a more accurate and effective manner.

The Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant, which has over 30 mutations in its spike protein, threatens the efficacy of clinically authorized monoclonal antibodies, as well as both natural and vaccine-induced immunity. Soon after the emergence of the Omicron variant, the SAVE team reacted quickly by producing plasmids and spike proteins, as well as isolating, propagating, and disseminating authenticated Omicron viral samples. In addition, the researchers presented reagents to public repositories, completed binding and neutralization tests, and analyzed virus infection in a variety of animal models.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the rapid outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has put immense pressure on healthcare systems worldwide. It is important to identify individuals at the highest risk to devise prompt decisions and treatment strategies. This is particularly important when dealing with novel respiratory viruses. Identification of shared and divergent determinants of clinical severity across respiratory viruses is also crucial while dealing with novel or re-emergent respiratory pathogens.

In a new study available on the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers performed a retrospective cohort study to identify predictors of mortality following hospitalization with influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, or SARS-CoV-2. Population-based health administrative data from Ontario, Canada, were used for this analysis.

Background

Previous research has compared the determinants (shared and divergent) of severe disease outcomes in patients with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). However, not many papers have addressed the issue of comparing predictors of severity across influenza, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2.

Given that countries are gradually returning to pre-pandemic contact and exposure patterns, the risk of respiratory infections could rise. There is also a possibility that only a fraction of hospitalized patients with viral respiratory illness will receive laboratory-confirmed diagnoses. Therefore, identifying shared predictors of disease could help reduce morbidity and mortality and prepare healthcare settings, which should require greater resources based on the prevalence of the identified predictors.

A new study

In the present study, scientists conducted an observational study using extensive health administrative data from Ontario, Canada. They aimed to identify the direction and magnitude of shared and divergent predictors of 30- day all-cause mortality.

Researchers focussed on patients hospitalized with influenza, RSV, or SARS-CoV-2. The sample included 45,749 influenza patients hospitalized between September 2011 and May 2019, 24,345 RSV patients hospitalized between September 2011 and April 2019, and 8,988 SARS-CoV-2 patients, hospitalized between March 2020 and December 2020 (pre-vaccine).

Associations between potential predictors and mortality were evaluated using the multivariable modified Poisson regression technique. The direction, magnitude, and confidence intervals of risk ratios were compared to identify shared and divergent predictors of mortality.

Key findings

The common predictors of 30-day all-cause mortality following hospitalization included old age, male sex, residence in a long-term care home (LTCH), and chronic kidney disease. Across all respiratory cohorts, old age and male sex were predictive of increased mortality, especially in patients with SARS-CoV-2. This emphasizes the need to prioritize age and sex in clinical practice and consider them to guide targeted COVID-19 preventions and therapeutics.

Apart from age and sex, LTCH residence was also a common predictor of 30-day all-cause mortality. In this case, the associations were weaker among SARS-CoV-2 patients. These differences could be driven by selection bias. To illustrate further, consider that during the first wave of the pandemic in Ontario, 24.3% of COVID-19-positive LTCH residents were hospitalized before death, compared to 79.3% of SARS-CoV-2-infected community residents. Limited resources could have led to less frequent hospitalization of COVID-19 patients.

Chronic kidney disease was found to increase the risk of 30-day all-cause mortality. The magnitudes were similar for influenza, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2 patients. Other comorbidities were found to predict mortality among patients with influenza or RSV, but not SARS-CoV-2, probably owing to smaller sample size in case of SARS-CoV-2, greater hospitalization of less severe SARS-CoV-2 patients with comorbidities, and/or clinical differences between patients requiring hospitalization with SARS-CoV-2 versus seasonal influenza or RSV.

Researchers did not observe associations between mortality and local social determinants of health for all three viruses. They stated that this result could be driven by misclassification of neighborhood-level social determinants of health, ecological fallacy, etc.

Limitations

The present study has some limitations, including the potential misclassification of influenza and RSV cases. Patients were not identified using their diagnostic test results, which could lead to such misclassification. Researchers, however, mentioned that misclassification should be rare because case definitions were validated against a population of hospitalized patients. A second limitation was the lack of data on the other predictors of disease severity, such as pregnancy and obesity. These limitations must be considered while using the results to prioritize services or develop clinical prediction tools.

Conclusion

In the present study, the authors identified common predictors of 30-day all-cause mortality following hospitalization with SARS-CoV-2, influenza, or RSV. This work is important because common predictors could help identify patients at the greatest risk of developing severe disease and prioritize preventions and therapeutics during viral epidemics.

*Important notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Many so-called night people feel that, when it comes to society's expectations about when the workday should start, they drew the short straw.

Research shows that "night owls" are hard-wired to sleep later, yet 9-to-5 work schedules force them to battle their physiology and wake up early. Research also has shown that conventional timetables leave them vulnerable to physical and mental health issues.

It is harder for night owls to function in the world because theyre out of sync with the conventional schedule," said Kelly Baron, an associate professor at the University of Utah who studies sleep health and clinically treats patients who have insomnia. She noted that poor sleep is also a driver of worker absenteeism and use of sick days. "We would get better performance out of employees if they were allowed to work at their best working time."

Her research has found that keeping late evening hours can cause even healthy night owls to be prone to bad habits like eating fast food, not exercising, and socializing less.

But the covid-19 pandemic, which forced many people to telework, allowed more flexibility in work schedules, prompting sleep scientists to rethink assumptions about sleep and how to assess patients.

The pandemic "was an international experiment to understand how sleep changes when work hours and work environments change," said Baron.

Researchers in Italy are among those tapping into this question. In a recent study, they found that many Italians who don't typically fit into a traditional daylight timetable thrived and their health improved when the pandemic's remote working conditions allowed them to work later hours.

Federico Salfi, a doctoral student at the University of LAquila and self-professed night owl, joined with colleagues late in 2020 to examine how the work-from-home trend influenced Italian sleep habits. Through social media, they identified 875 people who represented in-office and remote workers. They then used web-based questionnaires to discover the impacts of remote working on sleep health. The findings: The pandemic's work-from-home flexibility helped the participants better align their work and sleep schedules  many of them for the first time.

More specifically, the researchers found evidence that evening-type people slept longer and better while working from home, with a corresponding decrease in symptoms of depression and insomnia.

They also pointed out an important theme that echoes other studies  that people who fall into the night-owl category regularly sleep less than early risers. On his podcast, Matthew Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California-Berkeley and author of "Why We Sleep," said it was the difference of 6.6 hours a night versus more than 7 hours a night, leading night owls to accumulate a chronic sleep debt. (The study is available as a preprint and has not yet been peer-reviewed.)

So why don't such people just go to bed earlier? The answer is complicated.

To feel sleepy requires a biochemical cascade of events to kick into action, and that timing is determined by a person's chronotype. A chronotype is an internal "body clock" that determines when people feel awake or tired during a 24-hour period. The cycles are genetically set, with about half of people falling into the midrange  meaning they neither wake at dawn nor fall asleep past midnight  and the others evenly split as morning larks or night owls.

In prehistoric times, a mix of mismatched bedtimes served an evolutionary purpose. Evening types would watch over morning types while they slept, and vice versa. Modern society, however, rewards early risers while stigmatizing those burning the midnight oil, said Brant Hasler, associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh and part of the university's Center for Sleep and Circadian Science. "We are catering to one portion of our population at the expense of another."

Walker has outlined specific health consequences on his podcast. Late-night types are 30% more likely than early birds to develop hypertension, which can lead to strokes or heart attacks, and 1.6 times as likely to have Type 2 diabetes since sleep affects blood sugar regulation. They are also two to three times as likely to be diagnosed with depression and twice as likely to use antidepressants.

A study published in February also found that evening people who slept more during the pandemic still had remarkably poorer mental health compared with morning larks.

Neither Walker nor Hasler was involved in the Italian study.

Still, some experts noted that the Italian study had limitations.

"I couldn't find clearly included in the study: Were people always on those schedules? [Or did they change after the pandemic?] Because that is something that really matters," said Stijn Massar, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore. Plus, since covid has drastically affected almost all aspects of life, pandemic-era sleep data can get muddied by the many lifestyle changes people have had to endure.

Moreover, sleep scientists are still wondering if it is always healthier for someone to sleep in sync with their chronotype.

It's a question of prioritizing individual schedules versus community schedules. But "sleep is one of the great mysteries of life," said Massar. "This is all somewhat speculative," with each new study providing glimpses of the bigger picture.
In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers assessed the robustness and feasibility of a layered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mitigation strategy involving the use of ionizers, masking, filtration, and ventilation in limiting in-school transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

In the present-day scenario, elucidating the mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is essential for mitigating COVID-19. Studies have reported on the SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools that could accelerate viral evolution and thereby further prolong the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study and results

In the present study, researchers used a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to simulate the SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools and evaluate the efficacy of layered COVID-19 mitigation strategies required if schools were to be kept open. They assessed the effect of infection-control methods in several scenarios that corresponded to variants with different viral loads.

The model was designed to assess the viral transmission in indoor settings assuming aerosol transmission of the airborne SARS-CoV-2 in enclosed spaces. The classroom was assumed to be a well-mixed container.

The team evaluated the virion concentration released into the classroom air by a viral emitter (infected individual). The estimated concentration of emitted virions was subsequently inserted into the model to determine the likelihood of uninfected individuals becoming SARS-CoV-2-positive.

The effects of air quality (ionizers, ventilation, and filtration) and masking on the steady-state viral concentrations of the emitted virions by the infected and inhaled virions by the uninfected individual were assessed for Omicron, Delta, and Wuhan strains with differing viral loads to evaluate the effect of viral evolution on viral loads.

The model estimated that for a standard classroom (120 inches x 240 inches x 240 inches), the steady-state viral concentration emitted by a Wuhan-infected (low viral load) individual was about four virions/L, which would increase up to hundreds and thousands in case of infection by Delta (high viral load) and Omicron (medium viral load) infections. The virion steady-state concentration would be reached if an emitter would be present in the room for one to two hours in the case of the Wuhan-like variant and within minutes in the case of the Delta- or Omicron-like variant. This indicates that the concentration of emitted virions was directly proportional to the viral load of the SARS-CoV-2 strain.

If the emitter was masked, the virion emission rate would lower, decreasing the steady-state virion concentration. However, masking had no impact on the period in which the virion steady-state concentration would be attained. After the emitter exited the room, viral loads would return to almost zero in five hours.

By using air filters, the steady-state virion concentration would be lower since the virions would be eradicated from the classroom at a faster rate. For emitters infected by the Wuhan strain, masking and air filtration would decrease the virion steady-state concentration to one virion/L of air. However, for those infected by the Delta or Omicron variants, the steady-state virion concentration would be persistently high despite the high rate and efficiency of virion emission.

Further, virion emissions could also be reduced by ionizers to less than one virion per liter per hour in case of slow virion emission (Wuhan strain infection or masked emitter). The ionizers inactivate virions and eliminate them from the air. However, if the emitter had Delta infection or if virion emission continued for several hours (such as an eight-hour school day), the viral concentrations could attain high levels despite ionizer use.

To acquire COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 needs to be inhaled and deposited on the nasopharyngeal and airway mucosal surfaces. The amount of virion deposition in the nasopharynx was assessed by CFD airflow simulations which showed that 0.6% of the virions inhaled per breath were deposited in the nasopharynx. This estimated nasopharyngeal virion deposition value was used to evaluate the virion deposition in the airway mucosa of an uninfected individual per hour.

High-quality masks that filter out almost all (>95%) virions could decrease viral spread in high-risk zones and increase the time for transmission by 10-folds if the emitter is masked (single masking). If both the virion emitting and inhaling individuals are masked (double masking), less effective masks such as well-fitted surgical masks could attain a similar transmission time. Additionally, the team noted that if an emitter sat in the middle or rear end of the classroom, aerosolized virions could be efficiently transmitted to uninfected individuals.

Conclusion

To conclude, the study findings showed that reopening schools without robust measures for mitigating COVID-19 such as masks, ionizers, air filters, widespread COVID-19 tests, and school closures during periods of high local viral transmission and restricted classroom capacity (by providing remote schooling) could accelerate the COVID-19 pandemic.

*Important notice

medRxiv preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Scientists have reported the continual evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causal agent of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, due to genomic mutations. Several SARS-CoV-2 variants have been identified worldwide, which have been classified as variants of concern (VOC) and variants of interest (VOI) by the World Health Organization.

Background

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant has been characterized as a VOC. It has become the dominant circulating strain in many countries, replacing the previously circulating Delta variant. This variant was first identified in South Africa in November 2021, and soon it was transmitted to many parts of the world. Researchers detected three subvariants of Omicron, namely, BA.1, BA.1.1, and BA.2, in twenty-eight different continents within weeks of BA.1 being the dominant strain.

About the study

Previous studies have indicated the possibility of using incoming travelers for SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance. In a new study available on medRxiv* preprint server, researchers have focussed on detecting BA.1/BA.2 recombinant in travelers through surveillance. In this study, researchers used a next-generation sequencing method for their analysis.

Scientists observed that 198 out of 793 samples collected from travelers arriving in Hong Kong between November 15th, 2021, and February 4th, 2022, were SARS-CoV-2 real-time polymerase chain reaction reverse transcription (RT-PCR) positive. The authors conducted near-full genome sequencing of 180 positive samples. They found that most of the genomes belonged to either the Delta (58 samples) or the Omicron variant, including 66 samples belonging to BA.1, 28 with BA.1.1 infection, and 26 with BA.2.

Findings

Scientists reported that most of the identified BA.2 cases were from travelers coming from the Philippines and Nepal. This observation indicated that the subvariant might have initially established itself in these countries. The phylogenetic analysis conducted by the authors revealed that two additional nearly identical sequences formed a distinct branch in the Omicron clade. These two genomes, referred to as from patient 1 and patient 2, were identified from two epidemiologically linked cases.

Both the patients traveled together to Hong Kong in February 2022 from Europe. They tested SARS CoV-2 positive at the airport upon arrival. Patient 1 complained of having a sore throat and cough in late January 2022, while patient 2 was asymptomatic. Both the patients had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech.

Owing to the unique topology of viral sequences from Patients 1 and 2, scientists hypothesized that both the patients were infected by a recombinant virus. To test this hypothesis, they used previously reported BA.1 and BA.2 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to analyze the new genomic sequences of patients 1 and 2. Scientists reported that the 5 end sequences of the two patients contain only BA.1-specific SNPs, while the corresponding 3 end sequences contain only BA.2-specific SNPs.

The authors conducted recombination analysis and confirmed the presence of only one breakpoint, which was present between nucleotide positions 20055-21618 in this recombinant. They observed phylogenetic similarities between this breakpoint and authentic BA.1 and BA.2 sequences. Scientists identified the location of the breakpoint of this recombinant virus to be near the 5 ORF of the spike gene. Previous studies have also reported a breakpoint in this region, indicating that this region might be the hotspot for recombination.

Researchers conducted extensive experiments to exclude any possibility that coinfection or contamination could generate biased recombinant observations. They observed that the minor allele frequencies (MAF) associated with BA.1-and BA.2- defining SNP positions were extremely low. This finding implies that these samples, i.e., from both patients 1 and 2, only contained a single virus population.

Additionally, scientists cloned an RT-PCR product spanning the recombination breakpoint using the patient 2 sample. They observed both BA.1-specific and BA.2-specific SNPs in the same plasmid clone, confirming that patients 1 and 2 were infected by a BA.1/BA.2 recombinant virus.

As the authors failed to find similar BA.1/BA.2 recombinant sequences in GISIAD or Genbank, this sequence could be a novel recombinant. They stated that both BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants are dominantly found in many parts of the world, which made detecting the geographical location where this recombination event occurred difficult.

Conclusion

The authors of this study stated that a high rate of transmission of the Omicron variant along with co-circulation of BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants in many parts of the world presents a greater possibility of generating novel recombinants. Even though the current global surveillance data has indicated the identified recombinant variant to be a sporadic case, the potential of the novel recombinants virus must not be underestimated. In the future, scientists recommended conducting more long-term genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 at the global level.

*Important notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Spokane, Washington, was supposed to be the center of the Department of Veterans Affairs tech reinvention, the first site in the agency's decade-long project to change its medical records software. But one morning in early March, the latest system malfunction made some clinicians snap.

At Spokane's Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, the records system  developed by Cerner Corp., based in North Kansas City, Missouri  went down. Staffers, inside the hospital and its outpatient facilities, were back to relying on pen and paper. Computerized schedules were inaccessible. Physicians couldn't enter new orders or change patients' medications.

By the next day, the electronic health records were only partially available. Dozens of records remained "sequestered," meaning that doctors and nurses struggled to update patient charts.

The snafu, the latest in a series at Mann-Grandstaff, heightened Spokane medical staff members' frustration with a system that has been problematic since it was installed a year and a half ago. The VA said no patients had been harmed because of the problems.

But physicians on the ground there said its only a matter of time before serious safety problems  those causing injury or death  emerge, pointing to the program's ongoing weaknesses amid VA leadership's full-bore push toward implementation nationwide. One provider said she was glad she didn't have a relative in Mann-Grandstaff.

The one-two punch of a dangerous outage and staff grievances is the latest setback in the VA's more than $16 billion effort to upgrade its record-keeping technology. The issues have at times forced clinicians to see fewer patients and file tens of thousands of requests for help to Cerner with patient-safety problems, congressional and agency watchdog reviews show.

If those issues multiply over the vast VA system  which employs more than a quarter-million workers and serves 6.3 million active patients  it could create rampant patient-safety and productivity problems. Despite the VA's goals of using the technology upgrade to provide seamless records for patients from enlistment in the military until discharge, the doctors and clinicians who spoke to KHN are convinced that the problems experienced in Spokane will be repeated again and again.

The records system, scheduled for deployment at multiple VA facilities in the Pacific Northwest in the coming weeks and months, most recently rolled out at Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in Walla Walla, Washington.

Both Cerner and Mann-Grandstaff officials declined to comment and referred KHN to officials at VA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"If it's a total meltdown" in Walla Walla, said Katie Purswell, the American Legion's director of veterans affairs and rehabilitation, it's a problem for the department and its decade-long initiative. Initial impressions from staffers are positive, but the issues in Spokane appeared over the course of weeks after the system was turned on.

The distress was particularly acute in early March. On March 2, Cerner turned on a software update to a database containing patient identification information. Problems emerged the next morning. In the record of a patient who was checking in for surgery, staff members discovered incorrect data, including gender information for a different patient. About an hour later, a staffer from the national VA's medical records office told some clinicians at Mann-Grandstaff to "log out."

Robert Fischer, Mann-Grandstaff's medical center director, sent a dire warning later that morning. "Assume all electronic data is corrupted/inaccurate," Fischer said in an email. He urged clinicians to limit orders for lab work, imaging studies, and medications. The facility shifted to "downtime procedures," meaning a reliance on paper.

Some staffers didn't absorb the late-morning message and continued entering information in the mixed-up records, adding to the stew of erroneous data.

According to information provided to Congress later by the VA, Cerner had informed Mann-Grandstaff of a "complete degradation" the night before  leading to questions from staffers about why it took until late morning the next day to shut down the system. Agency spokesperson Erin Crowe told KHN there wasn't any delay in notifying staff.

Problems stretched into the following week. Some records  70 as of March 10, according to a briefing provided to Congress  remained unusable while auditors tried to ascertain what information had been mixed in from other charts. This left clinicians in some instances unable to keep track of patients' care. Doctors said it became a confusing and chaotic environment. They couldn't, for example, help patients refill prescriptions.

Members of Congress are concerned  not only about the outage but also VA's explanations about it. In a letter to agency leadership, the leading Republicans on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and the subcommittee overseeing technology, Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois and Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana, expressed worries the agency was "soft-pedal[ing]" its communications and argued that veterans were misled by assurances that records had been corrected.

The full committee plans to do a deeper examination soon. It has scheduled a closed-door roundtable with VA staffers from Spokane and Walla Walla on April 5.

The outage deepened unhappiness at Mann-Grandstaff. Clinicians there were already frazzled by a deeply buggy system. Downtime was common, a congressional aide told KHN.

A March 17 VA inspector general report documented nearly 39,000 requests for technical help or improvement since the October 2020 deployment of the new records system. Cerner employees often closed requests without resolving the underlying problems, the report said. Mann-Grandstaff staffers became disengaged or devised shortcuts to bypass the malfunctioning software, the inspector general wrote  each a potential root of patient-safety incidents.

The department said the shortcuts  or workarounds  aren't its policy. "Workarounds are not authorized nor encouraged," Crowe said.

The Biden administration tried to overhaul the software initiative, putting the program on hiatus before installing new leadership in the medical records office at the end of 2021. But by then, low morale had sunk in. "People in Spokane VA are  demoralized and unhappy," Rep. Frank Mrvan (D-Ind.), chair of the House subcommittee focused on the VA's technology modernization programs, told agency leaders during a November congressional hearing. He said staffers told him they felt as though they were beating their heads against a wall to make things function.

Other observers shared Mrvan's concerns.

Purswell of the American Legion questioned whether appropriate steps are being taken to prepare the Walla Walla facility and its staff for the technology rollout. She asked whether staffers feel as if the Cerner system has been thrust upon them or are excited about the change.

Whether the VA has been persuasive about the benefits of the program is unclear. "I think it's incumbent on us to demonstrate it's not a loss," said Dr. Terry Adirim, the leader of the VA office in charge of implementing the new records technology. "We might have dropped the ball on explaining what a benefit this is."

Indeed, Adirim conducted a virtual town hall meeting March 21 for veterans in the Walla Walla area  where she was pressed about the problems in Spokane. "If Spokane has been a year figuring this out, why is this moving forward?" one questioner asked, expressing a point made frequently during the call. Adirim said the VA had made "thousands of changes" since the initial rollout.

Medical staffers at the Spokane and Walla Walla VA facilities are part of informal networks sharing their often-negative experiences about the program despite a perception among staff members that dissent will hurt their careers.

Adirim thinks negative feelings can be addressed by stepping up technical support. She also said training programs have been overhauled since the deployment in Spokane. Bottom line: The VA is proceeding.

"People want to revert back to what they did before," Adirim said, but that's not going to happen.
With its reinforced commitment to digital transformation of Customs, the WCO has taken further steps to develop new electronic training tools. A new e-learning course on commodity classification and the Harmonized System has been made available recently on the CLiCK! platform. It has been developed under the EU-WCO Programme for Harmonized System in Arica (HS-Africa Programme), with the financial support of the European Union. The course has the title HS Foundation and is designed to be used as an introduction to all of the most essential concepts and elements of the Harmonized System.

The new course is designed to be studied within approximately 6 hours and consists of three modules. The first two modules introduce the HS as a whole, explain how to navigate it and discuss product-specific aspects of classification with regard to main product categories while also addressing common challenges encountered by HS users. The third module deals with the standards of managing tariff classification work and related infrastructure in Customs administrations, including advance ruling systems.

The HS Foundation Course comes to complement and serve as an introduction to the existing comprehensive HS Advanced course, which zooms in on individual Sections, Chapters and headings of the Harmonized System providing detailed information, examples of products, and plenty of exercises. That course has been recently migrated from Adobe Flash format to a new open-source platform. The migration of the course was also funded by the EU, within the framework of the HS-Africa Programme.

Both the HS Foundation Course and the HS Advanced Course are available for free to Member administrations via the WCO CLiKC! platform. An e-certificate will be issued upon successful completion of the course. Apart from the WCO official languages, the HS Foundation course will soon also be available in Portuguese, to address the needs of Portuguese-speaking countries to access basic training on the HS in a digital format.

For more information, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.
(Newser)  The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which provides 30% of California's fresh water, is at its lowest level in seven yearsa devastating sign of drought conditions to come. The end-of-winter snowpack measurementwhich comes from measurements at more than 265 sites across the state, taken annually on April 1usually returns the most snow of any measurement taken throughout the year. But it's 38% of the normal level this year, officials announced Friday. The measurement at Phillips Station, south of Lake Tahoe, was particularly alarming with snow just 2.5 inches deep, compared to an average of 66.5 inches for this time of year, and containing the equivalent of an inch of water, per CNN.

The first three months of the year marked the driest January to March period "by a huge margin" in 101 years of records at three observing stations, according to the National Weather Service. "During that period, California's only received about half the amount of rainfall recorded in comparison to 2013, which ended up turning into the driest calendar year on record," said Sean de Guzman of the California Department of Water Resources, per CNN. Snowpack levels were above average in December, after a very dry November, but weak precipitation followed. Now "we are looking down the barrel of a loaded gun with our water resources in the West," Dr. Andrew Schwartz of the Central Sierra Snow Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, writes at the New York Times.

The results signal "a deepening of the droughtalready the worst in the western United States in 1,200 yearsand another potentially catastrophic fire season for much of the West," adds Schwartz. He notes current models, lacking information on snow melt patterns and the climate, are in dire need of an update despite "shrinking funding for science and engineering." "Given the shrinking reservoir levels and meager snowpacks of recent years, discrepancies between the amount of water expected and what arrives could mean the difference between having water in the taps and entire towns running dry." California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order last week calling for "aggressive water conservation," per the Los Angeles Times. (Read more California drought stories.)
(Newser)  Some Republicans aren't happy with Chris Sununu for poking fun at "crazy" Donald Trump during a Washington, DC, event over the weekend, but the New Hampshire governor says his critics need to lighten up. At the annual Gridiron Dinner's triumphant return after two years off during the pandemic, the Republican governor pretended to reflect on Trump's "sense of integrity" before he said, "I'm just kidding, he's f------ crazy," Politico reports. "The press often will ask me if I think Donald Trump is crazy," he added. "And Ill say it this way: I don't think hes so crazy that you could put him in a mental institution. But I think if he were in one, he aint getting out!"

Sununu is seen as a potential rival to Trump in 2024, but he insisted Monday that he was joking and doesn't believe Trump is crazy, the New Hampshire Journal reports. "Its a roast, its a comedy roast," he said. "I know some of my words got a bit of a headline yesterday, but I opened by making fun of my father and myself. I made fun of Republicans, I made fun of Joe Biden." Sununu said that anybody criticizing him doesn't understand the Gridiron Dinner, the Hill reports. The Washington Post describes the event as full of "corny jokes, off-key singing" and "skits lampooning the politics of the moment."

Sununu was chosen to deliver the GOP "response" to the comedy. His other targets incuded Ginni Thomas, Mike Lindell, and Sen. Ted Cruz. "You see that beard? He looks like Mel Gibson after a DUI or something," the governor told the crowd of around 600 VIPs. The dinner is held by the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalists' association. Trump attended in 2018, and joked that it was the most fun he'd had with the media since he watched their faces on election night in 2016. This year, President Biden sent in a video saying he wanted to be there, but "the truth is I just couldnt find a 7-hour-and-37-minutes gap in my schedule." (Read more Chris Sununu stories.)
(Newser)  Still more people were killed or wounded in cases of road rage last year, an analysis has found, reaching an average of 44 per month. For the year, the totals rose steeply, to 130 people shot to death and almost 400 wounded after encountering an angry driver, NBC News reports. Traffic was down in 2020 as the pandemic took hold, but the comparable 2019 figures are 68 deaths and 225 injuries. The count came Monday from Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that works for gun control. The numbers were the highest in the six years the organization has been counting, per the Wall Street Journal.

No one can know why attacks are increasing. "But the pandemic and its continuing effects have brought all kinds of new stressors into people's lives and exacerbated underlying ones," Everytown said in a statement. A psychology professor said the current economic uncertainty is among the factors that can spark anger among drivers. "One of the contributors to any angering situation is the mood we're in at the time we are provoked," said Ryan Martin of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. "If we're already stressed, we're more likely to snap."

Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, attributed the increase to the rise in gun sales and industry lobbying efforts to permit guns to be carried in more places. The FBI ran more background checks of buyers in 2020 than ever. "We will not accept a new normal in which the retaliation for a honked horn is gunfire," Watts said. The analysis found the states with the highest rates of shootings attributed to road rage were New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Tennessee. (Read more road rage stories.)
(Newser)  Moscow faced global revulsion and dozens of Russian diplomats were expelled from European countries Monday after the Russian pullout from the outskirts of Kyiv revealed streets strewn with the corpses of civilians and other evidence of apparent war crimes. The French foreign ministry announced Monday that France has decided to expel "numerous Russian diplomats, saying their activities were contrary to our security interests." The announcement came hours after Germany said it was expelling 40 diplomats and Lithuania said it expelled the Russian ambassador and will recall its envoy in Moscow, the AP reports.

German news agency dpa quoted German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser as saying that the diplomats being expelled are those "whom we attribute to the Russian intelligence services. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left the capital, Kyiv, for his first reported trip since the war began nearly six weeks ago to see for himself what he called the genocide and war crimes in Bucha, reports the AP. He said dead people had been found in barrels, basements, strangled, tortured. Later, in a video address to the Romanian parliament, Zelensky said he fears there are places where even worse atrocities have happened.

"The military tortured people, and we have every reason to believe that there are many more people killed, he said. Much more than we know now. The Ukrainian Prosecutor-Generals Office described one room discovered in Bucha as a torture chamber. In a statement, it said the bodies of five men with their hands bound were found in the basement of a childrens sanatorium where civilians were tortured and killed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the horrific scenes outside Kyiv as a stage-managed anti-Russian provocation." (President Biden says Vladimir Putin should be put on trial for war crimes.)
(Newser)  Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney announced Monday that they'll cast yes votes on Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination for Supreme Court justice, giving her enough for confirmation. Another Republican, Sen. Susan Collins, already had committed to voting to confirm. Those three votes give Jackson at least 51, the Washington Post reports. A couple of Democrats haven't announced their intentions, so she could well end up with more than the minimum. Later Monday, the nomination went to the full Senate from the Judiciary Committee, despite its 11-11 deadlock. The preliminary vote in the Senate was 53-47.

Murkowski praised Jackson's experience and "demonstrated judicial independence" in a statement. The Alaska senator added that her decision "also rests on my rejection of the corrosive politicization of the review process for Supreme Court nominees, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year." In his statement, Romney, of Utah, said he doesn't expect to agree with all of Jackson's decisions but called the federal judge a "well-qualified jurist and a person of honor."

The nomination is on track to be approved by the end of the week, the Democrats' goal. Though Murkowski said "no one questions" Jackson's qualifications, per CNN, Republicans in the committee did not budge Monday in their opposition. Democratic members had been trying to build bipartisan support. "I thought that Judge Jackson was going to be the messenger of good news that the Senate Judiciary Committee was changing," Democratic Chairman Dick Durbin said. "Unfortunately, it didnt happen." (Read more Ketanji Brown Jackson stories.)
(Newser)  Details are scarce, but a Biden is about to celebrate their wedding in the White House. That would be Naomi Biden, Joe and Jill Biden's oldest grandchild, who'll have her nuptials hosted by the president and first lady on Nov. 19, a spokesperson for Jill Biden tells CNN. Naomi Biden, 28, an attorney based in DC, will marry 24-year-old Peter Neal, a law school student whom she's been dating for about four years. "The first family, the couple, and their parents are still in the planning stages of all of the wedding festivities and look forward to announcing further details in the coming months," Elizabeth Alexander said.

Naomi Biden, a graduate of Columbia Law School and the oldest of seven Biden grandkids, is the daughter of the Bidens' son, Hunter, and his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle. Weddings are rare in the White House: Only one president (Grover Cleveland, in 1886) and nine kids of presidents have married there, per the New York Times. Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of George W. and Laura Bush, was the last first-family member to have her wedding reception there, in 2008. The last White House wedding overall was in 2013, when Pete Souza, the official photographer for President Obama, tied the knot, notes the AP. Taxpayers, meanwhile, don't have to worry that they'll be footing the bill for Naomi Biden's big day.

"Consistent with other private events hosted by the first family and following the traditions of previous White House wedding festivities in prior administrations, the Biden family will be paying for the wedding activities that occur at the White House," Biden spokesman Michael LaRosa says. As for Naomi Biden, she seems thrilled at the prospect of a 1600 Pennsylvania party. "Peter and I are endlessly grateful to my Nana and Pop for the opportunity to celebrate our wedding at the White House," tweeted Naomi Biden on Monday. "We can't wait to make our commitment to one another official and for what lies ahead." (Read more Joe Biden stories.)
(Newser)  As the world recoils at the images of death emerging out of Bucha, Ukraine, Ukrainian officials fear civilian massacres in Borodyanka might be even worse. An animal rights group now announces another apparent horror in the settlement northwest of Kyiv: hundreds of dogs found dead in a shelter, neglected since the beginning of the Russian invasion more than a month ago, reports CBS News. UAnimals says that the shelter had 485 dogs onsite when the Russians made their way into Borodyanka at the end of February. Troops didn't leave the town until the beginning of this month, which is when charity volunteers say they were finally able to return to the shelter, where they found only 150 dogs still alive after the animals had been left without food or water during their ordeal.

"I have no words," a tearful Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties, tweeted Sunday as she walked through what looked to be dozens of dead dogs in the shelter. "WHY??" The Independent notes it couldn't verify the authenticity of the video, though a Ukrainian government official posted a separate video said to be from the same shelter showing a similar scene, though involving just one dog carcass. Nearly 30 of the surviving dogs in the worst condition were reported taken to private clinics to be treated, per UAnimals. "They died a terrible death without food and water, locked in their cells," the charity noted in a Tuesday Facebook post, which included more disturbing pictures from the shelter. "All guilty ... should be punished."

UAnimals says it's offering a $1,700 reward to anyone willing to take the surviving dogs in. Writing for the Atlantic, George Packer notes how animals are often an uncounted casualty during war, though in this case, "animals have become Russian targets for no purpose other than sheer cruelty." Packer adds: "The Russians have identified yet another way to inflict pain on the Ukrainian peoplenot by starving them but by breaking their heart." The Moscow Times has published a pictorial that shows the people of Ukraine who are fleeing their homes and hunkering down in shelters across the nation, their furry friends by their side. (Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.)
(Newser)  As far as Chris Rock's brother is concerned, the Academy Award Will Smith won shortly after slapping Rock onstage at the Oscars should be revoked, and Smith should be banned from attending future ceremonies. "I might have looked at it differently had he initially apologized when he got on the stage and cried and accepted the award, but he didnt, so, right there that tells me that it is something else," actor Kenny Rock tells the Los Angeles Times. He adds, as other sources have also said, that Chris Rock didn't know Jada Pinkett Smith had alopecia when he made the joke about her shaved head that prompted the slap.

Smith did eventually apologize to Rock and his family in a public statement, but Kenny Rock was having none of that. "No, I dont accept it because I dont think it was genuine, he says. I think his publicist and the people that work under him probably advised him to do that." Another brother, Tony Rock, who is a comedian like Chris, had also previously said he did not accept the apology, and later called Smith out during a stand-up show, Page Six reports. "There are ten Rock brothers, you 'boutta see all of us," he said, per BET. Chris Rock is the eldest of seven siblings, and also had a half-brother who died in 2006. (Read more Chris Rock stories.)
(Newser)  A man is facing hate crime charges after allegedly attacking seven Asian women in New York City over three hours. Steven Zajonc, 28, who was arrested last month, is charged with six felony counts of third-degree assault as a hate crime and seven counts of second-degree aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor hate crime, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a Monday statement, per NBC News. Zajonc's alleged attacks came on the East Side of Manhattan during the evening of Feb. 27. "As alleged, within just three hours, Steven Zajonc selectively ambushed seven Asian women in separate assaults, some of which he struck from behindfor no other reason than their perceived race," Bragg said.

The victims ranged in age from 19 to 57, police say. The 28-year-old Zajonc allegedly first punched a 57-year-old woman in the face around 6:30pm. Ten minutes later, he allegedly punched a 25-year-old woman in the face, per the Washington Post. He allegedly continued to target Asian women in unprovoked attacks just minutes apart. Other victims were punched, elbowed, or pushed to the ground, and one was knocked unconscious and hospitalized for a concussion, per NBC and CNN. Zajoncnow held on Rikers Island on a $50,000 bond, per the Postwas arrested March 2 at a public library in midtown after security employees noticed his resemblance to security footage of the suspect.

Zajonc, who's reportedly homeless, barricaded himself inside the building before officers detained him, per NBC New York. His mother later told WFLA that her son has mental health issues and was committed multiple times in Florida before returning to his native New York in 2020. "These attacks on seven New York women, each fueled by anti-Asian hate, are yet another sobering reminder of the demonstrable fears [Asian American and Pacific Islander] communities, particularly AAPI women, in our city continue to face," Bragg said in his statement, noting his office has 27 open cases related to anti-Asian hate crimes. The NYPD reported a 357% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes throughout 2021, per the Post. (Read more hate crime stories.)
(Newser)  Charles Darwins notebooks, thought to have been stolen from Cambridge University's library nearly 22 years ago, have turned up in a bright pink gift bag with a note reading "Happy Easter." The package was discovered March 9 outside the librarian's office in a public area "not covered by security cameras," per the AP. Inside were Darwin's two leather-bound notebooks, worth millions of dollars, wrapped in clingfilm inside their archive box. The library's last record of the books came from an internal request that they be moved to a temporary building during construction work in November 2000. They were discovered missing two months later, though the public was only notified in 2020.

Librarian Dr. Jessica Gardner, who feared she would never see the postcard-sized books again, described her sense of relief as "profound and almost impossible to adequately express," per the BBC. "They're some of the most remarkable documents in the whole history of science," Jim Secord, emeritus professor of history and philosophy of science at Cambridge, told the outlet. They date from the late 1830s, after Darwin returned to England from the Galapagos Islands, and feature his famous "Tree of Life" sketch. "Every page that should be there is there," said Gardner, who described the books as "in remarkably good condition." "They've clearly been looked after with care, wherever they have been."

Cambridgeshire Police are still very interested in that question. "Our investigation remains open and we are following up some lines of inquiry," according to a statement. "We also renew our appeal for anyone with information about the case to contact us." Gardner said police were given security footage from the library, which has cameras monitoring the front and back of the building, the vaults, and specialist reading rooms, per the BBC. Officers will presumably be searching for anyone seen with a pink gift bag around March 9. The note was only signed with an "X." Meanwhile, the notebooks are being held in a secure room ahead of their public display as part of the "Darwin in Conversation" exhibition in July. (Read more Cambridge University stories.)
(Newser)  An Ohio woman who abandoned her newborn in the woods nearly 30 years ago was convicted of murder Monday and now faces up to life in prison. Gail Eastwood-Ritchey was "stoic" as the verdict was read in court, though one of her lawyers "widened his eyes, seeming stunned," per the New York Times. Eastwood-Ritchey, 51, of Euclid, found through genetic genealogy, had admitted to abandoning the baby in a trash bag in a wooded area before animals came upon it. The dismembered body of the boy, dubbed "Geauga's Child," was found along a road in Geauga County's Thompson Township, where animals had presumably dragged it, in March 1993. Eastwood-Ritchey was then in her early 20s.

She was acquitted of aggravated murder as jurors apparently found a lack of premeditation. Prosecutors argued Eastwood-Ritchey had in no way prepared to become a mother in the three months prior to the birth, when she knew she was pregnant. They also noted she admitting to abandoning another newborn two years earlier; police say that case is still under investigation. Joseph Felo, the medical examiner for Cuyahoga County, testified that "Geauga's Child" hadn't been stillborn, but had died from "some action." Prosecutors claimed Eastwood-Ritchey had killed the child before leaving his body in the woods. "She literally treated him like a piece of garbage," they said, per CBS News.

But defense lawyer Steven Bradley said Eastwood-Ritchey believed the baby was stillborn. "I don't remember it making any noise," she'd told investigators in 2019, per the Times. Bradley said his client gave birth in the home of children she was carrying for as a nanny, put the baby in a trash bag, and then put the bag in the trunk of her car. He said it was days later that she abandoned the body during a retreat with members of her Baptist church. He said she told no one, including her boyfriend (now her husband), with whom she now shares three children. He added he was "shocked and surprised" at the verdict, as prosecutors "did not have enough evidence to meet their burden of proof," per CBS. (Read more murder stories.)
(Newser)  It's not just expensive to own a home in San Francisco, it's expensive to rent. As in, it's the most expensive city in the nation to do so, as the San Francisco Chronicle has reported. The average monthly price for a one-bedroom place clocked in at $2,720 last summer, meaning that exorbitant prices for bigger, luxe apartments aren't unusual. A new one on Craigslist, however, caught the attention of SFGate for a remarkable reason: Prospective tenants must earn at least $432,000 to be in the running.

To be clear, it's a nice place: a two-bed, 2.5-bath penthouse in the Mission Bay district with plenty of nice touches (see the listing). Rent is $12,000 a month. And under "requirements" for future renters is the stipulation that they make three times the annual rent. Thus, the $432,000 total. As Andrew Chamings of SFGate points out, requiring people to pull in three times the yearly rent isn't all that unusual in the city. But "in this instance that calculates out as showing receipts for nearly half a million bucks a year, making one wonder whether the price tag is a little steep for a two-bed apartment." (Read more San Francisco stories.)
(Newser)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the Russian military must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes, accusing the Kremlin's troops of the worst atrocities since World War II. The Ukrainian leader made his plea via video as grisly evidence continued to emerge of civilian massacres carried out by Russian forces on the outskirts of Kyiv before they pulled back from the capital, per the AP. Part of his appeal came in the form of questions, notes the New York Times:

Are you ready to close the UN? Zelensky asked. Do you think that the time of international law is gone? If your answer is no, then you need to act immediately.

Making his first appearance before the UN's highest body, Zelensky said the Russian troops are no different from other terrorists like the Islamic State group. He showed the council brief video footage of bloody corpses that ended with the words Stop Russian Aggression. He stressed that Bucha was only one place and that there are more with similar horrors, and he called for a tribunal similar to the one that was set up at Nuremberg to try war criminals after World War II. Other lines:

"The Russian military searched for and purposefully killed anyone who served our country. They shot and killed women outside their houses when they just tried to call someone who is alive. They killed entire families, adults and children, and they tried to burn the bodies."

There is not a single crime" Russian troops had not committed, Zelensky said. Now the world can see what the Russian military did."

(Read more Russia-Ukraine conflict stories.)
(Newser)  It's an old haunt he hadn't graced in a while: Former President Barack Obama on Tuesday visited the White House in what CNN reports was his first time in the building in more than five years. Obama had last been there for coffee with then-President-elect Trump on the morning of Trump's inauguration (it was marked, you'll recall, by this awkward moment). But it was "good to be back" Obama said in appearing with President Biden to mark the 12th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. The Hill reports Obama got a standing ovationand got in some ribbing too.

Obama kicked off his remarks by jokingly calling Biden by his former vice president title and then said, "I confess I heard some changes have been made by the current President since I was last here. Apparently Secret Service agents have to wear aviator sunglasses now. The Navy Mess has been replaced by a Baskin-Robbins. And there's a cat running around." During the event, Biden signed an executive order that he said would close a "family glitch" the will allow a projected 200,000 additional people to gain affordable coverage.

But the AP reports that before signing the order, Biden jokingly advised Obama, "Let me remind you, its a hot mic." It was a nod to the moment in 2010, when then-Vice President Biden whispered to Obama it was a "big f---ing deal" the Affordable Care Act passed, a comment that was picked up on a hot mic. CNN points out that Obama's Washington residence is about 10 minutes from the White House, and reads into the timing: "That it took more than a year for Biden to welcome his former boss to the White House reflects his desire to stake out a presidency of his own." (Read more Barack Obama stories.)
Local_news

Borough mayor calls for a decrease to base property tax rate

Amanda Bohman/News-Miner Borough Mayor Bryce Ward introduces his budget Monday, April 4, 2022, in the Mona Lisa Drexler Borough Assembly Chambers during his State of the Borough speech. Amanda Bohman/News-Miner

Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Bryce Ward is proposing to decrease the base property tax rate from 13.799 mills to 12.510 mills for 2022.

His new $180 million budget proposal for the fiscal year beginning July 1 is $5.3 million more than the current borough budget, reflecting a 3% increase in government spending, including three new public employee positions. One of those positions, a code enforcement officer, has already been approved by the Borough Assembly.

In his State of the Borough speech Monday, Ward also reviewed highlights of the past year and listed new endeavors, including 33 upcoming public works projects valued at $39 million. The projects include construction of a new transit garage, new skylights at the Noel Wien Public Library and upgrades at the Growden Memorial Park, home of the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks.

Ward said borough government continues to deal with impacts from Covid-19, including a worker shortage that is impacting municipal pools and public transit with a shortage of lifeguards and bus drivers.

We are looking at programs where we can provide training, the mayor said.

He spoke in the Mona Lisa Drexler Borough Assembly Chambers with the remarks streamed online. A recording will be published on the borough website.

His full budget proposal for fiscal year 2022-2023 will be published on the municipal website, fnsb.gov, between now and Thursday when his administration makes a formal budget presentation to the Borough Assembly at 5:30 p.m.

The mill rate decrease, pending assembly approval, could offset a sharp increase in assessed values due to rising home prices. That would result in tax bills holding steady at 2021 numbers but it depends on how much the propertys value went up and on what changes are made to Wards spending plan, which the assembly will comb through during multiple meetings in the coming weeks.

Wards budget proposal is $12.1 million under the voter-approved tap cap, a limit on government revenue collection.

The boroughs biggest expense is an annual local contribution to public schools, and Ward is proposing to keep that flat at $49 million. The Board of Education is asking for a $2 million increase this year. Ward said the assembly, if they choose to fund that, could take the money from reserves.

As we looked at development of the budget, we did leave room in the fund balance, he said.

The mayor said he intends to continue developing the Carlson Center into a community center. An indoor playground for small children opened there late last year. One of the administrations priorities is to expand public use of the building, which has been under borough management since July after spending decades under corporate management.

The plan is we want the parking lot being at least somewhat full, if not completely full, as many days of the year that we possibly can, Ward said.

He listed his administrations achievements this last year to include a successful land sale, the launching of a new transfer site education campaign and a new coalition that was formed between the borough, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the Interior Gas Utility and the Alaska Railroad Corp. They originally teamed up to apply for a federal grant, which fell through.

Ward also noted some challenges: Borough operations shut down for five days in late December due to back-to-back snow storms. Also, more trash has been generated since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, driving up costs in the solid waste collection district by about $500,000.

Ward added that the borough is raising wages for temporary summer hires in the Parks and Recreation Department by 25% to address a 50% staff vacancy rate.

The assembly usually approves the annual spending plan after hosting public hearings in May. Leaders are scheduled to vote on the 2022 property tax mill rate on June 9. Property tax bills go out on or by July 1.




NINGBO, April 4 (Xinhua) -- In China, the Qingming Festival is for families to visit their ancestors' tombs and make ritual offerings.

The steamed Qingtuan, a sweet green rice ball, is not only the carrier of craftsmanship but also the ceremony for thousands of families to convey their sincere feelings of reunion and the hope for spring.

In the past, eating Qingtuan was a tradition in south and east China. In recent years, the recipe is more well-known both domestically and internationally.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The United Nations (UN) honoured Bahrain, represented by the Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF), in appreciation of its efforts in humanitarian work and support for refugees and the afflicted in various countries and its sustainable development and aid projects.

RHF Secretary General Dr Mustafa Al Sayed received an honorary shield from UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) Senior Advisor and GCC Representative Khalid Khalifa. The UNCHR senior advisor praised the Kingdoms efforts in supporting refugees taking into account their humanitarian situation, and its provision of aid to various affected and afflicted from around the world.

He streseed that this special honor from the UN comes in appreciation of Bahrain for being one of the first countries in providing support and taking initiative.

Dr Al Sayed expressed his gratitude to the Honorary President of RHF His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, for his constant care for all RHFs work, hailing the support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

He highlighted the keenness of His Majesty the Kings Representative for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and the help of Bahraini citizens to the needy in various circumstances.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

An Arab woman was divorced from her husband after paying only 23 Bahraini fils, which equals the dowry she received from him, and giving up all of her other rights as dower.

The woman married in her native Egypt, and her husband gave her one Egyptian pound in dowry, which is equivalent to 23 Bahraini fils.

He brought her to live in Bahrain, but problems arose between them, prompting her to file for divorce with the High Shariat Court.

She contended that Islam encourages patience and addresses the root causes of hatred. However, she said that tensions between them had reached a breaking point and that there was no way to resolve their differences, and that all attempts to get them to reconcile had failed.

As a result, she petitioned the court for a divorce, agreeing to return the dowry and waive her rights. In its judgement, the court stated that the plaintiff had resorted to it, seeking for divorce from her husband on the basis of her hatred for life with him, pointing out that she had refused the courts efforts for reconciliation between them and insisted on her request.

As a result, the court decided to grant the plaintiffs request in exchange for relinquishing the full dowry mentioned in the marriage contract, equal to one Egyptian pound, as well as giving up all of her other rights, the ruling read.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The Pearl Lounge at Bahrain International Airport (BIA) has received a 5-star rating from Skytrax, which issues an annual list of the best airports, airlines, and airport lounges in the world, announced Transportation & Telecommunications and Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) chairman Kamal Ahmed.

The minister announced this during an event hosted by BAC and Hala Bahrain at The Pearl Lounge with the media in attendance. The Minister expressed his gratitude to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for his patronage and continuous support of the aviation sector as well as the support of the government, headed by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for its efforts to bolster the achievements of the sector, which is a key pillar of economic growth in Bahrain.

Kamal Ahmed expressed his pride at BIAs achievement, noting it comes on the back of another 5-star rating by Skytrax last February. He said: This achievement reflects the tireless efforts of the BAC and HalaBahrain teams, who strive to implement the highest international standards in their provision of services to travellers and airlines.

BAC Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah, said: Airport lounges are one of the most appreciated aspects of the travel experience for premium passengers and BIA strives to maintain the highest standards at The Pearl Lounges. Offering traditional Bahraini hospitality in a modern setting, the lounges provide an ideal and exceptional retreat for individuals, groups, business travellers, and families.

Skytrax CEO, Edward Plaisted, said: Fashioned on the principles and design of a 5-Star hotel, The Pearl Lounge is finished to the most excellent standard, offering a most luxurious and relaxing ambience where customers can easily forget they are in an international airport. The lounge Decor and furnishings are of a truly exceptional standard.

Operated by Hala Bahrain, the premium hospitality service provider at BIA, The Pearl Lounge achieves a luxury level akin to a 5-Star hotel.
UNITED NATIONS, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Monday issued a statement, welcoming the April 1 call by UN special envoy Hans Grundberg for a two-month truce announcement on Yemen and the positive response from the parties.

The council members underscored the opportunity a truce affords to alleviate the humanitarian suffering of Yemenis and improve regional stability, according to the statement issued by council president Barbara Woodward.

They urged the building of confidence through measures such as, but not limited to, the re-opening of Taiz road, and the regular flow of fuel deliveries, goods and flights, in accordance with the agreed truce, it said.

The council members called on all parties to seize the opportunity provided by the truce and work with the UN special envoy to make progress toward a comprehensive ceasefire and an inclusive political settlement.

They expressed full support for the envoy's political consultation efforts, reiterated the urgency of an inclusive Yemeni-led, Yemeni-owned process, under UN auspices, and underscored the importance of a minimum 30 percent participation in them by women, in line with the Outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference as recalled by resolution 2624 (2022).

They welcomed the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative for Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue which launched last week, in support of the UN's own efforts. They expressed deep concern about Yemen's humanitarian crisis and underlined the urgent need to fund the humanitarian response, according to the statement. 
NEW MILFORD  The town will vote on spending $1.9 million from its American Rescue Plan Act federal relief funds in a Special Town Meeting on April 12.

Of the $7.9 million federal relief money the town received, a total of $5.8 million was already approved in the first round of spending.

This go around, the heftiest asks involve the repair of three bridges  Boardman Bridge, Lovers Leap Bridge and Cherniske Bridge.

Additionally, there is $500,000 being set aside for future expenses related to COVID-19 that may come up.

There is also sewer abatement for $136,000. That amount would allow a moratorium on connection fees for the sewer plant.

All items being voted upon have previously been approved by New Milfords Board of Finance and Town Council.

Some of the approved items in the first round included a small business relief fund, rental assistance, and two new town positions a domestic violence and family advocate couched in the Social Services department, and an EMS operations manager for New Milford Ambulance.

Should the second round of funds get approved, the amount of ARPA funding that would be left is roughly $200,000.

The full list of items in the $1.9 million includes:

Water Witch adjustment  $22,147

Lovers Leap bridge  $150,000

Boardman Bridge  $125,000

COVID-19 response  $500,000

New Milford ambulance adjustment  $32,525

VFW roof Veterans Affairs  $100,000

New Milford sewer abatement  $136,000

Addiction Services  $33,000

Library maker space  $24,000

Cherniske Bridge  $600,000

Harrybrook Park bridge $126,000

Medical kits  $10,246.88

New Milford sewer camera  $38,000

The voting will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the E. Paul Martin Room
BROOKFIELD  Local nonprofits, small businesses, the towns volunteer firefighters and social services resources will be among the first to benefit from roughly $5 million in federal COVID-19 relief money directed to Brookfield

At a special town meeting last week, voters approved $734,000 in in U.S. American Rescue Plan, or ARPA, funding to support a list of 10, so-called stand-alone projects put forward by local officials in recent months. Another $1.74 million may go toward capital projects proposed for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

The list of stand-alone projects includes $400,000 split between supporting the towns behavioral health, case management and a small business grant fund, as well as $117,000 to be split among members of the towns volunteer fire department.

Additional approved projects will see $50,000 directed to the Brookfield YMCA to support programming for residents, $50,000 for a resident grant program, and $39,000 to hire a consultant for a planned overhaul of the towns emergency communications system.

Only a couple of residents spoke Tuesday night before those in attendance raised their hands in a vote described by the meetings appointed moderator as showing overwhelming support for the projects.

Citing ARPAs inherent reliance on the American taxpayer, Andrew Kane took issue with the town directing federal dollars to local nonprofits who are already exempt from local property taxes.

The YMCA does not pay any income taxes, does not pay any property taxes, and does not pay any personal properties to the Town of Brookfield, Kane said. Since 1987 they havent paid a single penny in tax money to the Town of Brookfield.

The total sum for the 10 projects represents less than one-fifth of the roughly $5 million allocated to Brookfield under ARPA, a federal pandemic relief program that distributed more than $5 billion to municipalities across the country.

Roughly $1.9 million in Brookfields ARPA money is designated as lost revenue to be used toward future budgets, with the remaining $1.74 million spread across 11-line items in the towns proposed 2022-23 capital budget set to be voted on at a referendum scheduled for Tuesday, May 17. Allocations for an additional $652,000 are not-yet-decided, according to budget figures provided by the town.

Under the U.S. Treasury rules established to guide the allowed uses and required reporting for the federal municipal aid package, money provided to Brookfield must be allocated by the end of 2024 and distributed before the end of 2026 and used only in areas specifically defined as being impact by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last summer, the formation of a special ARPA committee consisting of town officials and community members began working to collect and review proposals submitted by town departments, local organizations, and members of the public on how to best spend the federal money within the emerging Treasury guidelines.

After being elected first selectwomen last fall, Tara Carr said she reviewed the committees recommendations over the course of her first months in office, meeting with relevant departments to discuss the proposals before making changes, and taking feedback from the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance in March.

Out of 26 proposals ultimately produced, 21, including the standalone projects approved last week, were included with changes made first by Carr, then with input from the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance.

The review process saw Carr and the Board of Selectmen replacing eight of the committee's proposed line items and adding almost $808,000 to the town's package of proposed ARPA spending, according to budget documents included in Carrs presentation last week.

More Information Approved Brookfield ARPA Funding: "Stand Alone Projects" 1. Behavioral Health/Case Management - $200,000 2. Small Business Grants - $200,000 3. Brookfield Volunteer FD Stipends - $117,000 4. YMCA for Brookfield residents - $50,000 5. Resident Grant Program - $50,000 6. Town-wide communication system consultant - $39,000 7. Brookfield Library - $25,500 8. Brookfield Playhouse - $20,379 9. Museum and Historical Society, AC unit and roof re-shingle - $20,000 10. Social Services Resource Center - $12,000 Proposed Brookfield ARPA Funding: 2022-2023 Capital Projects 1. Engine 5 Replacement - $533,333 2. Equipment for Fire Companies - $375,217 3. Ambulance Replacement - $316,000 4. Hurst Tools - $140,000 5. Building Conditions Study for BHS and WMS - $100,000 6. BHS Rooftop Air Handle/Air Conditioning Unit - $90,000 7. Still River Greenway Design - $75,000 8. Emergency Services Services Study - $50,000 9. Town Building Accessibility - $32,750 10. Life Packs - $12,882 11. Fire Marshal Training Kit - $12,108 See More Collapse

For its part, the Board of Finance voted to remove from consideration a sum of $652,000 to support sewer instillation in the Brookfield Market area and $53,755 for a police vehicle.

The towns budget and capital budget referendum, including the approval of the 11 ARPA-funded items, is scheduled for 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 17.
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BETHEL  It took years, but local business owner B. Shawn McLoughlin can finally claim victory in his long-fought battle to build a crematorium in Clarke Business Park.

The state Supreme Court has reversed a lower courts decision and ruled Bethels Planning and Zoning Commission must grant McLoughlin a special permit to build a crematorium on his 6.47-acre property in the industrial park.

The court basically said generalized, speculative concerns voiced by people who just dont like crematories because of the stigma that some people attach to them (is) not a valid basis for denying a special permit, McLoughlins attorney, Dan Casagrande, said about the decision rendered Friday.

This has been pending for years, and its the right outcome, he said.

First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker, Town Planner Beth Cavagna and Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Kitty Grant declined to comment Monday, saying they had only recently learned about the recent court ruling and had not yet read through it.

It all started about eight years ago when McLoughlin proposed building a crematorium next to his concrete business, Mono-Crete Step, in Clarke Business Park, which the town is working to expand.

Not only did residents detest the idea, but some business owners threatened to leave the industrial park if such a facility were built.

Even though it approved a zoning regulation text amendment McLoughlin proposed to make crematory operations a specially permitted use in Bethels industrial zones, the Planning and Zoning Commission rejected his special permit application in 2015.

In its decision, the commission cited a failure by the applicant to meet their burden of demonstrating that (the) application satisfied the general standards for special permits under the towns zoning regulations, according to court documents.

McLoughlin appealed the decision  but a Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the commission, saying it had the authority to reject the proposal because it would have driven down property values and hurt planned development of the business park, among other reasons.

The trial courts judgment was later affirmed by a state Appellate Court, after which Casagrande filed a petition on McLoughlins behalf to appeal to the Connecticut Supreme Court.

The petition was granted, and the case was argued before the state Supreme Court this past fall. After a six-month wait, the court reversed the Appellate Courts decision, concluding the commission denied McLoughlins special permit application absent any substantial evidence.

In sum, the commissions decision to deny the plaintiffs application for a special permit to construct a crematory on its property was based only on general facts regarding crematory operations not specific to the proposed site, development decisions motivated by general objections to the proposed facility, and evidence not pertinent to the required considerations, the ruling states. The record, therefore, does not reveal substantial evidence on which the commission based its decision.

The Supreme Court ruled the case should return to the Appellate Court with direction to reverse the judgment of the trial court and to remand the case to that court with direction to sustain the plaintiffs appeal and to order the commission to approve the plaintiffs application for a special permit.

McLoughlin could not be reached directly for comment on Monday, but Casagrande said his client is gratified that the Supreme Court saw the merits in his argument.

Casagrande said he, too, is happy about the state Supreme Courts ruling.

This decision restores fairness and stability to the special permit process, he said. It limits the discretion of a commission to deny a special permit on general public health, safety and welfare standards when theyre not tied to any specific concerns about the proposed activity at the proposed location in the proposed neighborhood.

The Planning and Zoning Commissions next meeting is scheduled for at 7 p.m. April 12.
SANAA, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Monday called on the Houthi militia to sit at the negotiating table with the government to reach a political settlement and end the seven-year civil war, the official Saba news agency reported.

"Return as a Yemeni political component that adheres to national constants, and come to the dialogue table to make peace," Hadi made the call in a statement during a meeting with his government's ministers in his residence in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

"Our hands stretch out to you for reaching a just and comprehensive peace and rebuilding our country," he said, stressing that the ongoing truce is a big chance for all Yemenis to pave the way for "permanent peace."

On Saturday, a two-month cease-fire brokered by the United Nations (UN) and agreed by the Yemeni warring parties entered into force.

The truce includes the halt of all offensive ground, aerial and naval military operations, as well as facilitating the entry of 18 fuel ships into the ports of Hodeidah and allowing two commercial flights a week to and from the Sanaa International Airport.

The Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and the capital Sanaa are under the control of the Houthi militia.

The terms also include convening a meeting between the parties, to lift the siege, open the roads and allow humanitarian aid access to the government-held Taiz city.

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said the truce aims to give Yemenis a necessary break from violence, and relief from humanitarian suffering, stressing that the truce can be renewed beyond the two-month period with the consent of the Yemeni parties.

However, the government and Houthis have traded accusations of breaching the truce in the past two days.

The truce would be a major breakthrough in the seven-year civil war in Yemen if implemented, as previous cease-fire deals had all failed.

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 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 UN. 
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DANBURY  It was early in the morning as she was on her way to school that Olivia McDonoughs mom told her that Ukraine her familys home country had been invaded by Russian soldiers.

Her mom, a first generation Ukrainian, was visibly upset as she told the 14-year-old Immaculate High School freshman the news. And that worried Olivia McDonough. Her grandparents had emigrated to New York from the Lviv area, the largest Ukrainian city, in their teens after World War II. They still had lots of family there.

Yet, at school, few of her classmates seemed to know where to find Ukraine on a map, much less that the country was under attack.

I was really upset, Olivia McDonough said of hearing about the invasion. My mom was so upset. My whole family was upset. It was just really devastating.

But instead of sitting in her sadness, she decided to do something about it. She and her mom started baking: heart-shaped sugar cookies with blue and yellow sprinkles. Through a bake sale and a blue-and-yellow dress down day at Immaculate High School, Olivia McDonough helped raise over $7,000 that is headed to a Catholic charity aiding Ukraine.

It was a simple way for her to raise awareness and educate her classmates while also helping her familys country.

As soon as I was notified that Russia invaded Ukraine, I just then thought about a way to inform Immaculate, just educating them on whats going on by spreading awareness, the Ridgefield teen said.

So far, the war has displaced roughly 10 million people, caused hundreds of billion dollars in damage, and resulted more than 1,000 civilian deaths, according to Reuters.

Olivia McDonough began hearing news reports of families forced to leave their homes, and one particularly heartbreaking story about two teenage boys separated from their father in Poland.

I just can't imagine what the kids in Ukraine are going through right now.

Earlier that month, on March 10, the school had invited Father Ihor Vorontsov, a priest from the Byzantine Catholic Diocese of Mukachevo originally from Ukraine, to speak with students, a press release from the school said. The diocese is located in the western part of country near the Romanian, Hungarian and Slovakian borders, but Vorontsov is working at St. Nicholas Church in White Plains, N.Y.

Olivia McDonough said it made her really happy that the priest came to speak to her classmates and inform them about the war. She said she is very proud to be Ukrainian.

When it was over, I went to him and I shook his hand. I just said, Thank you for doing this. Because it means a lot to a lot of people like me, and even someone who isn't Ukrainian, it probably meant a lot to them, she said.

The cookies at her bake sale sold out fast, and Olivia McDonough was heartened that many of her friends and classmates had learned more about what was going on in Eastern Europe.

Just to know that I'm Ukrainian and how proud I am, how proud of my family is, it really just puts a smile on my face, she said.

Immaculate students, families and staff rallied to help make a difference for Olivia's family and so many others who are suffering from the war in Ukraine by raising $7,040 in which was sent directly to the Diocese of Mukachevo. Our prayers of hope and peace in Ukraine remain fervent, wrote Mary Maloney, president of Immaculate, to the News-Times.

A community coming together

Olivia McDonoughs grandfather, who the family said was taken from his home at 16 and put into a concentration camp, arrived at Ellis Island without knowing a soul.

Her grandparents didnt know each other back home, but met through New York Citys tight Ukrainian community and eventually moved to Yonkers, where Daria McDonough grew up.

Daria McDonough said the Ukrainian history, culture and pride were so strong in her family home in Yonkers, N.Y., and it was something she also tried to instill in her three children. She learned Ukrainian before she spoke English, and took traditional dance lessons growing up.

On Saturdays, she would go to class to learn more about her native countrys history, language, geography, songs.

They just wanted to instill it [pride] in us, just to make sure that it was never forgotten, and it never will be. It never will be, she said.

The war brings back lots of memories for Olivia McDonoughs grandmother.

We prayed that it would never happen again, Daria McDonough said.  And it is happening, but hopefully with prayers  this will end soon.

Olivia McDonough has never been to Ukraine, but can speak the language and understand it well, her mother said. While the teens grandfather is no longer living, she still visits her grandmother in Yonkers. Together, they talk about the farm she lived on, tell stories, and bake traditional Ukrainian food for cultural holidays. Olivia McDonough said they have spoken about the current conflict there, but rarely.

I dont bring up the subject often because it just gets her really upset, she said.

The McDonough family has lived in Ridgefield for about a year and a half after moving from Greenwich. But they still have many relatives living in Ukraine  a great aunt and uncle, and several cousins. Theyve been getting some updates from these family members, but communication has not been great of late, Daria McDonough said.

I have more family in Ukraine than I have here in America, Olivia McDonough said.

One of her cousins left with her two small children for Poland, separated from her husband who remained in Ukraine. Her aunt is still in Lviv.

Shes just petrified, she refuses to leave. She says that thats her home, shell never leave, Daria McDonough said. Its heartbreaking.

And their activism goes beyond fundraising at the school. The mother-daughter duo has also been attending rallies in Stamford and New York.

Im so proud of her, honestly, Daria McDonough said of her teenage daughter. She's second generation here, and her pride is being carried over from what I received from my parents.

Olivia McDonough hopes that their Connecticut community will continue to support her familys home country through this difficult and trying time.

I would just like for people to donate and spread awareness just as much as they can, she said.

But perhaps the most touching tribute thus far has been the quiet support of the McDonoughs Ridgefield neighbors. While buying the cookie sprinkles, Daria McDonough also grabbed some blue and yellow ribbon. She tied it carefully around a tree trunk in their front yard. Soon, other be-ribboned trees and mailboxes started popping up around them.

We just have to keep our voices loud. We just have to keep everyone knowing this is still going on, Daria McDonough added. We have a very strong faith, and we pray that good will prevail.
FORT SEVERN, ON, April 5, 2022 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is investing in community-led clean energy projects with Indigenous Peoples to develop innovative solutions that will displace fossil fuels and advance reconciliation and self-determination.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, announced an investment of over $865,000 to Fort Severn First Nation for a solar project to reduce the need for diesel-generated electricity and boost the reliability of energy systems in the remote northern Ontario community.

This project will also allow the community to lower its greenhouse gas emissions while creating health benefits and saving money. It will generate renewable electricity through a 290-kilovolt solar photovoltaic installation that is expected to reduce diesel consumption in the community by up to 400,000 litres annually.

Federal funding for this project is provided through Natural Resources Canada's Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program . The $220-million program strives to reduce reliance on diesel in rural and remote communities by deploying and demonstrating renewable energy projects, encouraging energy efficiency and building local skills and capacity. The program is part of the government's Investing in Canada plan , a more than $180-billion investment in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes and Canada's rural and northern communities.

Fort Severn First Nation, the Government of Ontario and Hedgehog Technologies also contributed to the project for a total investment of nearly $2.6 million.

Canada's strengthened climate plan, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy , ensures Canada will remain a world leader in clean power. Canada is investing an additional $300 million over five years to help rural, remote and Indigenous communities, currently reliant on fossil fuels, to transition to clean, reliable energy by 2030.

Quotes

"In remote communities that don't have access to the larger energy grid, building clean energy capacity in the community is crucial to reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Their tireless efforts to find alternative solutions to replace their use of diesel with clean energy and to lessen their impact on the environment are a great example for us to follow."

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson

Minister of Natural Resources Canada

"I am showing the world, if I can do this here, being so remote, we can do this anywhere."

Fort Severn Chief Paul Burke

"Fort Severn is a shining example of a community working together and providing strong leadership to overcome a challenging renewable energy project that will improve the quality of life for everyone. We're excited for what tomorrow holds in Fort Severn as they take charge of their energy future."

Dr. Michael Wrinch

President of Hedgehog Technologies

"Our government is committed to providing safe, reliable and affordable electricity in remote communities and across Ontario. We are proud to support this innovative clean energy project that will help deliver cost-effective electricity for the most northern First Nation in Ontario while reducing emissions."

The Honourable Todd Smith

Minister of Energy (Ontario)

Related Information



Fort Severn First Nation

Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program

Investing in Canada plan

A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy

Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan ( http://twitter.com/nrcan )

SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

For further information: Contacts: Natural Resources Canada, Media Relations, 343-292-6100, [email protected]ca; Keean Nembhard, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Natural Resources, 613-323-7892, [email protected]
More than $46 million in grants to support colleges as they help local and regional businesses seize new technological opportunities

OTTAWA, ON, April 5, 2022 /CNW/ - Colleges play a critical role in Canada's innovation ecosystem by working with local and regional partners to develop innovative solutions to community challenges that will have direct and tangible benefits for Canadians.

Today, the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry is announcing $46.9 million over two years for 74 grants that will foster applied research partnerships between Canadian colleges, CEGEPs and polytechnics and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to help these businesses seize new opportunities to grow and become more competitive.

This funding is being provided through additional investments announced in the 2021 Federal Budget for the Applied Research and Technology Partnership grants, made available through the Tri-agency College and Community Innovation (CCI) program, managed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Through these partnerships, colleges will help SMEs address real-world challenges in priority areas from machine learning and manufacturing technologies, to the environment and agriculture, by applying the latest applied research, knowledge and technologies and creating useful new products and services.

These grants will also provide valuable training experience for the next generation of skilled workers who will be essential to the success and competitiveness of these SMEs.

Quotes

"Science and innovation lead to a stronger and more resilient economy. As a government we will always be there to support small and medium-sized businesses as they adopt new technologies, and our college sector plays a crucial role in supporting these businesses. Today's announcement will see strong partnerships that will foster innovation and support the next big idea all while providing top notch training to Canada's future generation of skilled workers."

 The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

"This additional support from the Government of Canada is a testament to the value of colleges, CEGEPs and polytechnics and how they contribute to Canadian innovation  from exceptional applied research expertise and training experience, to outstanding facilities and equipment. On behalf of the tri-agencies, congratulations to the successful colleges who will benefit from this special investment that will help their students, local businesses and communities thrive."

 Alejandro Adem, President, NSERC

Quick facts

The Tri-agency CCI program is one of the largest vehicles for funding applied research at colleges, polytechnics and CEGEPs across Canada . In 2021 alone, participants reported that 350 applied research projects involved more than 950 students and over 250 new products developed for partner organizations.

. In 2021 alone, participants reported that 350 applied research projects involved more than 950 students and over 250 new products developed for partner organizations. Budget 2021 also provided an investment of $5.7 million over two years, to provide more businesses with access to the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program's Interactive Visits, where firms can access equipment, facilities, and expertise at college-affiliated Technology Access Centres.

Associated links

Stay connected

Find more services and information at Canada.ca/ISED.

Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.

Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation, Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn

Follow Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada on social media.

Twitter: @NSERC_CRSNG , Facebook: @nserccanada, Instagram: @NSERC_CRSNG,

YouTube: NSERCTube and LinkedIn

SOURCE Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

For further information: Media Relations, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, [email protected]; Laurie Bouchard, Senior Manager, Communications, Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, [email protected]; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 343-291-1777, [email protected]
GATINEAU, QC, April 5, 2022 /CNW/ - Today, Minister of Seniors Kamal Khera, along with Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos, and Minister of Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health Carolyn Bennett, issued the following statement:

Today is National Caregiver Day and we would like to thank the millions of caregivers who make a difference in the lives of so many. Throughout the pandemic, caregivers have been there for our country. And, as the pandemic evolves, we celebrate the contributions caregivers have made  and continue to make  to help people in Canada in their communities and in their homes and residences.

Caregivers  thank you! Your hard work helps so many fight isolation, live independently for longer, and remain connected. We appreciate that for many of you the struggle to balance paid work and unpaid caregiving is significant. While you may feel that your actions are small and go unnoticed, we want to tell you that your impact is larger than you can imagine. You are improving the quality of life of your family member, your friend or your neighbour. Your dedication to caring inspires us all.

The job of a caregiver can be a difficult one. Caregivers often think of others before themselves, particularly because those we care for are those we love. Sometimes, however, that level of caring comes at the expense of mental health. It's important to acknowledge that more than half of caregivers feel their own mental health has been negatively impacted.

Caregivers - you are not alone. If you need to talk to someone, visit the Wellness Together Canada portal or download its companion app PocketWell. These are among the services we hope you access to ensure you get the support you need as you care for others.

On National Caregiver Day, please join us in recognizing, celebrating and thanking caregivers across Canada.

Join the conversation online by using the hashtag #NationalCaregiverDay or visit the Seniors in Canada Facebook page.

SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada

For further information: For media enquiries, please contact: Jasmeen Shergill, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Seniors, Kamal Khera, [email protected]; Marie-France Proulx, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, 613-957-0200; Maja Staka, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, Carolyn Bennett, 343-552-5568; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]; Media Relations Office, Health Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected]
TORONTO, April 5, 2022 /CNW/ - WeTraq, a Canadian family safety platform, is pleased to announce a new collaboration with Lumino Health, Canada's largest health network. Lumino Health is a digital innovation from Sun Life. WeTraq's 'GuardIO  Family Care' is an easy-to-use smartphone application that is designed to protect and connect families by offering intelligent location sharing, coordination, and driving safety features.

WeTraq is now available through the Lumino Health's Discovery lab by clicking here. This new collaboration will allow WeTraq to reach many more Canadians, helping them provide care to their loved ones.

"A growing number of working family caregivers are members of the 'sandwich generation', who are expected to simultaneously balance care for children and aging parents with personal lives and employment expectations," said Ishaan Singla, founder of WeTraq. "Our goal is to support this underserved and overstressed population by creating a private and secure tool to ensure family caregivers are always connected to their loved ones, improving their mental health and quality of life."

WeTraq platform uses predictive technology to perform a detailed analysis of mobility behaviors and provide alerts to caregivers. This data can also be used to design better risk mitigation strategies to prevent patient wandering. It ensures the safety of loved ones by providing real-time safety alerts and the information you need to have a conversation about safe driving at just the right time.

Lumino Health, an award-winning and free platform connects people with the tools and resources they need to manage their health. Lumino's provider search allows people to find and connect with local paramedical providers. The search engine has been used over 11 million times.

About WeTraq

WeTraq is an Ontario-based service provider licensed by Health Canada. WeTraq is dedicated to providing powerful tools for parents and caregivers concerned about the safety of their loved ones. WeTraq's mission is to improve the mental health and quality of life for family caregivers and helping seniors age-in-place. Caring for at-risk loved ones, such as seniors or individuals affected with conditions including dementia can be difficult, particularly when it comes to ensuring that the individual remains safe and in a protected area. WeTraq is a member of AGE-WELL's startup affiliate program. AGE-WELL is Canada's technology and aging network.

To learn more, please visit: www.wetraq.ca

SOURCE WeTraq
Yemeni people walk past the site of airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, March 26, 2022. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

The council members called on all parties to seize the opportunity provided by the truce and work with the UN special envoy to make progress toward a comprehensive ceasefire and an inclusive political settlement.

UNITED NATIONS, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Monday issued a statement, welcoming the April 1 call by UN special envoy Hans Grundberg for a two-month truce announcement on Yemen and the positive response from the parties.

The council members underscored the opportunity a truce affords to alleviate the humanitarian suffering of Yemenis and improve regional stability, according to the statement issued by council president Barbara Woodward.

They urged the building of confidence through measures such as, but not limited to, the re-opening of Taiz road, and the regular flow of fuel deliveries, goods and flights, in accordance with the agreed truce, it said.

The council members called on all parties to seize the opportunity provided by the truce and work with the UN special envoy to make progress toward a comprehensive ceasefire and an inclusive political settlement.

They expressed full support for the envoy's political consultation efforts, reiterated the urgency of an inclusive Yemeni-led, Yemeni-owned process, under UN auspices, and underscored the importance of a minimum 30 percent participation in them by women, in line with the Outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference as recalled by resolution 2624 (2022).

They welcomed the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative for Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue which launched last week, in support of the UN's own efforts. They expressed deep concern about Yemen's humanitarian crisis and underlined the urgent need to fund the humanitarian response, according to the statement. 
Malik's counsel Nilesh Bhosle informed the press that the former has challenged the legality of his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under money laundering charges.

Maharashtra minister Nawab Maliks judicial was extended on Monday. The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has extended Maliks custody till April 18. The senior NCP leader was produced in court following the end of his custody on Monday. Maliks counsel Nilesh Bhosle informed the press that the former has challenged the legality of his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under money laundering charges.

Moreover, Malik has requested home-cooked food and medicines, said Bhosle. He stated, Nawab Malik was produced in Court today, with the end of his judicial custody; now its been extended till April 18. He has requested his home food and medicines and has also challenged his arrest calling it illegal and unconstitutional.

Earlier, the Bombay High Court rejected an interim bail plea by Nawab Malik and ruled that his arrest was in accordance with the law. Malik has challenged the Bombay HC ruling in the Supreme Court.

Malik is currently in judicial custody in connection with a money laundering case related to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. He was arrested on February 23 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The major focus of the debate likely to be on the ongoing situation in the eastern European nation. The discussion on the issue will reportedly last for nearly two hours.

The Lok Sabha will today discuss the issue of Ukraine crisis under Rule 193. The notices for the discussion under Rule 193 were moved by Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) MP N.K. Premachandran and Congress MP Manish Tewari. The discussion will be followed by a reply by Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar. As per ANI, the discussion on the issue will last for nearly two hours.

Members of Parliament (MPs) are seeking a response by the government about what it has planned to accommodate the students, mostly medical students, whose studies have been affected by the war in Ukraine. However, the major focus is likely to be on the ongoing situation in the eastern European nation.

The government is considering putting forward Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia during the debate. Scindia was one of the four special envoys appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to oversee Indias repatriation efforts in the Ukraines neighbouring countries from where citizens stranded in Ukraine were flown back to India.
A statement by the I&B ministry said the blocked YouTube channels that had a combined viewership of over 260 crores were used for spreading fake news on sensitive topics like national security and India's foreign policy.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued orders to block several YouTube channels under provisions of the IT Rules, 2021 for spreading disinformation over Indias national security and foreign relations. With this, the number of YouTube channels blocked by the Indian government since December 2021 reaches 78. Apart from 22 YouTube channels, the ministry has also ordered the blocking of three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account, and one news website for anti-India content. As per the ministry, this is the first time action has been taken on Indian YouTube-based news publishers since the notification of the IT Rules, 2021.

A statement by the I&B ministry said that the blocked YouTube channels that had a combined viewership of over 260 crores were used for spreading fake news on sensitive topics like national security and Indias foreign policy. The statement read, The blocked YouTube channels had a cumulative viewership of over 260 crore, and were used to spread fake news, and coordinated disinformation over social media on subjects sensitive from the perspective of national security, Indias foreign relations, and public order. The ministry observed that a significant amount of content published by these publishers was aimed at jeopardizing Indias foreign relations with other countries over the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The press release by the I&B ministry also said that the content ordered to be blocked included anti-India content posted from Pakistan in a coordinated manner. Multiple YouTube channels were used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc. The content ordered to be blocked also included certain anti-India content posted from multiple social media accounts operated in a coordinated manner from Pakistan, read the press release.

Allegations against the blocked YouTube channels also include using templates and logos of certain TV news channels, including images of their news anchors, to mislead viewers.
The UP Police team in its initial probe found out that the accused Murtaza Abbasi, a Gorakhpur resident, had not met his family members for the last three years.

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) reached Mumbai on Tuesday to probe the attack on two police personnel outside the Goraknath Temple in Gorakhpur. The UP Police team in its initial probe found out that the accused Murtaza Abbasi, a Gorakhpur resident, had not met his family members for the last three years.

The father of the accused, Munir Abbasi, has told ANI that Murtaza is mentally unstable and had no intention of staging the attack. He stated, He [Murtaza] is not mentally stable. Since childhood, he is suffering from depression. He also received medical treatment. Munir added, He had no planning and did this due to his current mental state.

According to media reports, the UP Police have recovered a laptop and a mobile from the accused that contain videos related to Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI.

As per footages of the attack on social media, Murtaza Abbasi attacked police personnel outside the Goraknath Temple with a sickle. Passersby can be seen lobbing rocks at the accused to defend themselves.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath handed over the investigation in the case to UP ATS on Monday. In the aftermath of the attack, UP ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that a terror angle cannot be ruled out in the case. Notably, Yogi Adityanath is the head seer of the Goraknath Temple.




On being asked if the US will mount pressure on India and China to abide by US sanctions, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that Washington expects every country to abide by the sanctions.

Addressing the press briefing on Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the US believes that increasing Russian energy imports is not in Indias interest. This comes after Indias decision to buy discounted crude oil from Russia after the latters invasion of Ukraine forced western countries to cut down on energy imports from Russia.

On being asked if the US will mount pressure on India and China to abide by US sanctions, Psaki said that Washington expects every country to abide by the sanctions. She stated, Well, certainly our expectation and our public and private message is  will continue to be that every country should abide by the sanctions that we have announced and that we are implementing around the world.

The White House press secretary further said that US Deputy NSA for International Economics Daleep Singh during his Delhi visit discouraged India from importing Russian fuel. What Daleep did make clear to his counterparts during this visit was that we dont believe its in Indias interest to accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy and other commodities, said Psaki.

India has stood stern against western pressure to limit energy imports from Russia amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Last week, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tore through Europes hypocrisy when he pointed out to his UK counterpart that European countries remain the biggest buyers of oil and gas from Russia.
Sri Lanka has ordered the closure of its missions in several countries as the country faces an unprecedented economic crisis. The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry has decided to close its embassies in Norway and Iraq along with the Consulate General in Sydney, Australia with effect from April 30. The ministry said in a statement, Following a recent decision by the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has initiated action to temporarily close down the Sri Lanka Embassy in Oslo, the Kingdom of Norway; the Sri Lanka Embassy in Baghdad, the Republic of Iraq; and the Sri Lanka Consulate General in Sydney, the Commonwealth of Australia; with effect from 30 April 2022.

The ministry said that the decision is aimed at restructuring Sri Lankas diplomatic relations in view of the current economic situation of the country. The decision with regard to the temporary closure of the two Missions and Post was taken by the Government of Sri Lanka following careful deliberation. It is part of a general restructuring of Sri Lankas diplomatic representation overseas, undertaken by the Foreign Ministry in the context of the current economic situation and foreign currency constraints faced by the country, said the statement by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ministry also stressed that the closure of the missions would not affect the bilateral ties with the host countries. The ministry stated, The decision to close the resident Missions in Norway and Iraq, undertaken as a temporary measure in the current context, would not in any way impinge upon Sri Lankas bilateral relations with the two countries which are maintained at an optimum level of friendship and cordiality.

The Foreign Ministry also announced that the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Stockholm, Sweden will be concurrently accredited to Norway, and the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates will be concurrently accredited to Iraq following the closure of the missions. The consular jurisdiction of the Consulate General in Sydney will revert to the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Canberra, Australia in order to continue carrying out the routine work of the diplomatic missions.


The decision was taken in a meeting of the emergency general committee of the country's Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA).

The top medical professionals body of Sri Lanka has declared an emergency health situation as the country faces severe drug shortage amid a terrible economic crisis. The decision was taken in a meeting of the emergency general committee of the countrys Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA), as reported by Daily Mirror. The decision means that now healthcare facilities in Sri Lanka will only prioritise emergency and urgent care services.

GMOA Secretary Dr Shenal Fernando said that the decision to announce the emergency health situation is aimed at protecting the lives of patients. Dr Fernando slammed the Sri Lankan government and the health ministry for the dire situation of the healthcare services. He stated, After declaring the health services essential, the government should have ensured the supply of essential medicinal drugs in the country

During a meeting, the GMOA had said that the country would face a severe drug shortage due to poor management by the government. The drug shortage is expected to worsen with a worsening economic crisis in the island nation.

Recently, Peradeniya Hospital in the central district of Kandy announced the temporary suspension of all routine surgeries due to the shortage of medicine. Upon coming across a cry for help, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asked the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka to direct resources to help resume suspended operations in the hospital.




The UK on Monday informed that the Ukrainian President would speak at the Security Council to apprise the body of the ongoing situation in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to address a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the alleged mass killings of civilians by Russian troops in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, as per international media reports. The UK on Monday (EST) informed that the Ukrainian President would speak at the Security Council to apprise the body of the ongoing situation in Ukraine. The UK holds the presidency of the UNSC this month.

Zelensky is to address the meeting virtually. The meeting will be briefed by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, his political chief Rosemary DiCarlo, and U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, as reported by news agency Associated Press (AP).

Earlier, UN chief Antonio Guterres had called for an independent probe into the reported killings of civilians in Bucha after images and footages allegedly showing dead bodies strewn across the city streets emerged in the media. Guterres said in a tweet, I am deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha, Ukraine. It is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability.
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EAST HAVEN  A decision to remove a skate park in East Haven has led to outcry from skaters in and outside of town.

The park, located at Joseph Melillo Middle School, was removed March 25. Recreation Director Elizabeth Franco-Spano cited alleged drug and alcohol use and neighbor complaints among the reasons.

Franco-Spano said she began monitoring the skate park a few weeks after joining the department this past summer, after receiving complaints about alleged misbehavior at the park, and said its removal was not a rash decision.

The Police Department says it has received only three complaints related to the skate park between July 1, 2021, and March 25, the day the park was dismantled. The oldest complaint dates back to Sept. 18, 2021, for a traumatic injury, records show. The next complaint was a call for a noise disturbance on Oct. 17, 2021.

The most recent call to police was March 25, when a resident visited the park after learning that Public Works was removing it, police said. The resident began a Facebook Live outside of the fence at the park as employees dismantled the ramps. Police listed the complaint as unfounded.

When asked about the March 25 call, Michelle Benivegna, assistant director of administration and management and the person who called police, said she received a report from Public Works that the person involved was yelling at workers.

Mayor Joseph Carfora said Friday he did not know what complaints were made in the last week but cited ongoing complaints at the site, which he also mentioned during his State of the Town address Wednesday. Carfora said that when town staff went to evaluate the skate park, they found graffiti with profanity and racial slurs, liquor bottles, drug paraphernalia such as needles and evidence of sexual activity.

The town had put in measures to stop these illegal behaviors, such as fencing, a keypad for access and ample signage, but those who wanted access gained it by cutting the fence multiple times, Carfora said. These actions caused a grave safety concern for visitors, students in the nearby schools and the neighborhood.

As the mayor spoke during his town address, a group of about 30 protesters jeered, interrupted, called the statements lies and said these safety measures were not done.

Twice, while the mayor was talking about the skate park, Council Chairman Joe Deko asked the protesters to stop, stating theyll get their time to speak in public but not Wednesday night.

Carfora also said many using the skate park were not town residents and that the recreation director, Franco Spano, has been receiving threats of harm and death against herself, her family and her pets.

Olivia Calabrese, who has been one of the protest organizers for keeping the skate park, said she was upset and disappointed that officials were not listening to her group.

Im very frustrated and angry because they tore something down that many people loved, Calabrese said, adding that she was shaking with anger after the mayors comments. This is peoples place to exercise after work. Not everyone works a 9-to-5. Some people get out at 8 p.m. and they could go exercise at the skate park.

Calabrese said the lights at the park and the safety  the police station is nearby  appeal to people who go to the park, even after hours.

She vehemently denounced any threats being made and said they are not being done by her group.

People should definitely stop, because its ruining our name as skaters trying to fix this problem right now, Calabrese said, adding it feeds the negative stereotype of skaters despite the fact those protesting are married, parents and sometimes children.

Another jeer the protesters had for the mayor was his plan to use American Rescue Plan Act funds to improve East Haven parks and fields. Protesters yelled that grant money was used for the skate park, too.

The skate park was paid for using Connecticuts Local Capital Improvement Program through the Office of Policy and Management. East Havens project for a permanent skate park was authorized in 2016, before Carfora was mayor, and the town was awarded $200,000.

Lora Rae Anderson, the director of communications for the state chief operating officer, said Friday that OPM has been in contact with the mayor and his staff regarding the 2016 grant.

While the State has no mechanism to obligate the town to return LoCIP funds with the park being removed, we will work with East Haven to make sure the funds are utilized in accordance with LoCIP guidelines as the tax payers will be left to pay the debt on the 20 year bond, Anderson wrote.

Anderson also said the concerns expressed for closing the skate park are valid and East Haven intends to utilize the funds for other projects with LoCIP guidelines.

During a phone call Friday, Carfora said the money will be reallocated for other projects that fall under LoCIP guidelines, such as paving.

So, no, that money does not get kept by us like everybody on social media is saying, Carfora said. It's going to get reallocated to some other project that the state will approve.

The mayor said the decision to remove the park was a hard one, but he had to worry about 28,000 people and the liability, including potential lawsuits, the park could cause.

I could never live with myself if a kid comes out of that classroom and they go in there for recess and god forbid, a kid ever stepped on an infected needle or something like that, Carfora said.

Calabrese and other skaters are concerned that the full disassembled skate park is already up for auction on GovDeals, a liquidity services marketplace, and the auction is set to end roughly 24 hours after skaters will be able to voice their concerns to the Town Council at its April 5 meeting.

The group planned to have Calabrese speak on their behalf at that meeting to respectfully get their point across, she said.

They have one day to make up their mind and stop the auction, thats our main concern right now, Calabrese said of the town.

When asked if the town planned to stop the auction or move the skate park away from the middle school, Carfora said it is keeping to its original plan of removing the park entirely.

christine.derosa@hearstmediact.com
Li Xinyue, director of the first service branch of the China Will Registration Center in south China's Guangdong Province, receives an interview in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, March 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Jun)

by Xinhua writers Zhou Ying, Deng Ruixuan, Li Jun

GUANGZHOU, April 5 (Xinhua) -- A young man surnamed Deng, born in 2000, was concerned about the eventual fate of his WeChat and QQ accounts until he listed the digital assets in his will, choosing to leave them to his younger brother.

Deng, who chose not to give his full name, visited the China Will Registration Center branch in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, to make a will.

"I want to do something meaningful when I'm young," Deng said. As he currently has no houses or cars, he said the only things he can leave for his brother are his digital assets.

Like Deng, an increasing number of young Chinese people are beginning to write their wills.

After analyzing 220,000 copies of wills, the China Will Registration Center, a public welfare project, found that the average age of individuals who had made a will decreased from 77.43 to 68.59 from 2013 to 2021. By 2021, 1,204 adults born after 1990 had made a will. People born after 2000 have even joined in on this trend.

Most wills are made to distribute physical property, such as real estate and bank deposits, to avoid unnecessary family disputes. However, unlike the wills of older generations, young people's wills focus more on digital assets, like Alipay, WeChat and gaming accounts.

"The younger generations in China have become more open-minded, and their wills are no longer associated with death, but are more about conveying love to family members and friends they care about," said Li Xinyue, director of the first service branch of the China Will Registration Center in south China's Guangdong Province.

"I finally got a copy of my will. It's so cool," Luo Wenya, who was born after 1990, wrote on one of her social media accounts after she successfully made a will at the registration center.

"I chose to make a will because I want my son to know that I love him very much, even if I pass away unexpectedly one day," said Luo, who counseled her son to be independent, brave and confident in a video attached to her will.

Li said she had been most impressed by a young male nurse, who chose to make a will to leave all his property to his mother after seeing patients die in hospital.

"It would be a great regret if I were to leave this world unexpectedly one day without leaving any words for my loved ones," the nurse said.

"Making a will is not the end, but a new beginning of life. A will can help you reflect on the past and better embark on a new journey," Li said. 
HAMDEN  Police searched for possible explosives at Hamden High School after a bomb threat Tuesday morning that also prompted an evacuation, according to officials.

They have brought in a dog from New Haven to go through the building. The students and staff were evacuated, Mayor Lauren Garrett said at 9:30 a.m. The Fire Department and Police Department are at Hamden High making sure that it is safe for students and staff to return.

Around 10 a.m., Garrett said 5 dogs had searched the school and that students and staff were being allowed back in the building.

According to a release from police Lt. Anthony Diaz, the school and surrounding area was searched With the assistance of Canine Units from the New Haven Police Department and the Yale-University Police Department.

Nothing was found to substantiate the threat, Diaz said in the release.

The threat was received by 911 dispatch at around 8 a.m., according to a message sent to families and shared with Hearst Connecticut Media.

Administration immediately implemented the districts emergency operations plan and evacuated all students and staff to a safe location, the message said. All students and staff are safe. ... Please do not come to the building as it will interfere with first responder operations.

There is an ongoing investigation into the threat, Garrett said.

Police are investigating. The FBI is involved in this as well, said Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler. Any law enforcement that we can throw at this ... Im all in favor of. Its very disruptive to student learning. It also puts everybody at risk just because we have to evacuate the building.

He hopes they catch whoever was behind the threat, he said.

While authorities have not yet found evidence that the threat was credible, Chief of Police John Sullivan said the matter is still under investigation.

In the coming days, well probably increase patrols (near the school) just out of precaution, he said.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com
NEW HAVEN  Good government advocate Aaron Goode compared redistricting to a balloon: you squeeze it at one end and every part of it is affected.

It creates a domino effect, Goode said, once you set out to change boundaries.

The Special Committee on Ward Redistricting has until May 31 to equalize the population in the citys 30 wards by within 5 percent over or under the new ideal ward size of 4,467 residents, based on the latest census figures.

The acceptable spread would be as low as 4,243 to as high as 4,690.

The citys review of its population by wards shows the movement of addresses will be the greatest in the current high population areas in Dixwell, Newhallville, Downtown and West Hills, which will lose residents.

The wards set to receive more residents as they are now on the low end of the population count are in Dwight, Beaver Hills, a part of Westville, and the Hill.

The process follows a patchwork of federal and state laws, as well as local charter requirements.

The city has seen growth in the past decade and now has a population of 134,023, according to the 2020 census, an increase from the previous census of 129,779.

The main point is to make sure every residents vote has the same weight by equalizing the number of residents in the ward as close as possible. The other requirement is to preserve communities of interest.

While the numerical measure of population range is clear, Goode said communities of interest are vague, which is why public hearings are held to get feedback on how people define their neighborhood.

Goode is a leader in the New Haven Votes Coalition; a member of the Steering Committee of the New Haven and West Haven League of Women Voters chapters; a board member with the citys New Haven Democracy Fund; and an attendee at multiple city board meetings weekly.

Tisha Rossi, who heads the New Haven chapter of the League of Women Voters, Goode and others have a few requests for the 10 aldermanic members who make up the special committee.

Number one is creating wards that nest completely within the state House of Representatives and Senate boundaries.

Currently, several wards cross different state districts, which means polling places there change depending on whether there is a state election or a local election, confusing voters.

This is huge. We (the LWV) feel very strongly about this, Rossi said.

They (the special committee) need to really take care in what theyre doing. I think it can be done. They didnt take enough care last time, which is why we continue to have this problem with people being confused, Goode said of the group that tackled redistricting a decade ago.

A resident of East Rock, Rossi said in a mayoral election her polling place is Wilbur Cross High School, but it changes to the East Rock Community Magnet School in the even years.

People are always confused and annoyed, she said and this could contribute to fewer voters casting a ballot once they are turned back from the wrong poll.

Another request is to have a public hearing on a draft of the proposed new ward boundaries before it is adopted.

As the advocacy vice president for the LWVs state board, Rossi said a town in western Connecticut was unhappy with its ward boundaries from the last census and lobbied this time to get them changed, which they were.

The changes in the House and Senate boundaries however, were not presented to the public for comment before adoption, which has now caused problems in Trumbull, Rossi said.

She said the issues probably could have been worked out if Trumbull had seen them before final adoption. Now it is a done deal for the next 10 years, Rossi said.

Former downtown Alder Abby Roth submitted testimony for the recent public hearing that echoed those concerns of Goode and Rossi.

She added that the alders and the Registrar of Voters office should engage in a robust education and outreach effort once redistricting is finalized.

She asked how the changes would affect people currently serving on ward committees; where people go in the upcoming elections; and whether people are considered in their new ward for the next Board of Education meeting.

A guide given to the committee on the redistricting process listed as a key consideration keeping the part of the ward already in a single state representative district in that district.

Another consideration was to keep as much of an old ward together as possible and move the rest into as few new wards as can be done.

Lastly, it said a key consideration was to keep the current alder in his or her current ward.

Rossi said such a consideration is not really the best redistricting process as recommended by good government groups.

Goode said concern for an incumbent should be a consideration, but not a priority.

The guide explains that the movement of residents in and out of a ward would be done by census blocks, the smallest units of population data.

The next meeting is 6 p.m. April 12 at aldermanic chambers. The city is expected to come up with new boundaries by using city staff and a consultant.

If they miss the May 31 deadline, Mayor Justin Elicker, according to the charter, gets to appoint a replacement committee of 15 people, three of them alders and not more than 9 from the same party.

Currently, the highest ward populations include: Ward 22, Dixwell, with 5,425; Ward 7, Downtown, with 5,171; Ward 21, Newhallville, 5,077; Ward 30, West Hills/West Rock, 4,996; and Ward 20, Newhallville, 4,807.

Those with the lowest populations currently are: Ward 6, Hill/City Point, 3,595; Ward 29, Beaver Hills, 3,715; Ward 3, Hill, 4,010; Ward 27, Westville/Beaver Hills, 4,107; Ward 28, Beaver Hills, 4,111; Ward 24, Edgewood, 4,221; and Ward 26, Beaver Hills, 4,241.

The wards with an acceptable population include the East Shore, Fair Haven, East Rock, Yale, Dwight, parts of Westville and West River.
Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media / Christian Abraham

MILFORD  A Naugatuck man was charged with causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to a United Illuminating transformer in Milford, the police department said Tuesday.

A United Illuminating employee called police around 10 a.m. Monday about a man using power tools to tamper with a transformer on North Street. The employee confronted the suspect, who then left in a blue Dodge Dakota pickup truck, the Milford Police Department said in a Facebook post Tuesday.
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KILLINGWORTH  The Connecticut Yankee Council has rejected the latest offer from a local group to buy the Deer Lake camp, officials said, to the disappointment of town and local Scout officials as well as U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

The Council had agreed in February to sell the site to a private developer with a $4.6 million offer, but had extended its deadline to March 31 to allow for a better offer  with the high bidder in recent days welcoming such an offer.

That deadline was pushed back to May 1 last week after the state attorney general got involved.

Attorney General William Tong currently is reviewing legal questions raised regarding the sale of the camp.

While Pathfinders officials would not disclose the amount of their bid, they need to raise an additional $1.8 for their next offer, according to Ted Langevin, president of Pathfinders.

Langevin said he was disappointed but seemed to take the decision in stride.

We just have to raise the funding before we make the offer  because thats one of the things that Council said in their response  is that they need to see the money, essentially, Langevin said.

I was not totally surprised, he said about the rejection. I just thought they might consider it because it was pretty close to the price  and had the benefit of getting them out of the pickle theyre in with the community pressure and folks being very upset that they hadnt gone with the green option, Langevin said.

Langevin said he would be meeting with the Pathfinders to find out how they want to proceed.

A Council spokesperson said the council has  encouraged our Realtor to work with the Pathfinders, and any other interested party, to submit a superior offer until May 1.

The Council in February accepted Council board members Margaret Streickers bid of $4.6 million to buy the 255-acre camp on Paper Mill Road. Streicker, who is CEO of Fortitude Capital LLC, had urged the state or a third party to step in and beat her offer, she told Hearst Connecticut Media.

The Council said it is selling the camp because of declining enrollment.

This shocking decision by the Connecticut Yankee Boy Scout Council is antithetical to the mission of the Boy Scouts, Blumenthal said in a written statement Tuesday. The Boy Scouts are choosing money and development of a pristine part of Connecticut over a competitive offer that preserves open space for future campers and all Connecticut residents, he said.

... I strongly urge the Boy Scouts to engage in good faith negotiations with Pathfinders to reach a mutually agreeable price, Blumenthal said.

Killingworth First Selectman Nancy Gorski was also disappointed with the rejection.

Im disappointed in the Boy Scouts accepting Margaret Streickers offer, Gorski said Tuesday. It demonstrates their lack of commitment to conservation.

Gorski addressed Streickers recent statement to Hearst Connecticut Media that she would welcome a higher bid from the state or federal government or a third party.

The state and the local community cant offer anything more than the market value for this  its just the way it works, Gorski said. I cant ask my taxpayers to get into a bidding war over a piece of property.

To donate visit Pathfinders new website, savedeerlake.com. Questions about donations can be directed to savedeerlakecamp@gmail.com.
ADEN, Yemen, April 4 (Xinhua) -- A newly-reached ceasefire between Yemen's warring parties, which came into force on Saturday, has brought hope to the millions of citizens in the war-torn country, who have been locked in an abysmal humanitarian crisis.

However, analysts say they are not optimistic about the future of the truce, and it still needs a great amount of work to achieve lasting peace in Yemen.

NEW HOPE

An audible sigh of relief could be heard across Yemen, the poorest Arab country, when the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg declared the ceasefire on April 1.

It is the first all-around ceasefire agreed by Yemen's warring parties in years, and has offered new hope for reducing violence and suffering in the brutal conflict, which caused "the biggest humanitarian crisis on earth," according to the UN.

In a statement, Grundberg said that the success of this initiative will depend on the warring parties' commitment to implementing the truce agreement and humanitarian measures.

The UN envoy pointed out that this truce aims to give Yemenis a necessary break from violence, and relief from humanitarian suffering, stressing that this truce can be renewed beyond the two-month period with the consent of the parties.

The Yemeni government and Houthi militia welcomed the ceasefire in separate statements on Friday. They also voiced their readiness to exchange all war prisoners and political detainees.

According to Adel Al-Shujaa, a political science professor at Sanaa University, the ceasefire is an important step toward alleviating the suffering of Yemenis who have been subjected to nonstop shelling and armed clashes for the past seven years.

On Sunday, just several hours after the announcement of the ceasefire, the Yemeni riyal gained almost 13 percent, a rare uptick for the country's currency that has lost more than half of its value since the start of the war.

Money traders confirmed to Xinhua that the riyal climbed for the first time in months, reaching 1,070 riyals against 1 U.S. dollar in the government-controlled areas, compared to 1,260 riyals a week earlier.

"We hope the peace can last and our life can be normal again," said Mohammed Weshah, a Sanaa resident who has lost a family member to an airstrike back in 2017.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the 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 Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened on March 26, 2015, to support the Yemeni government.

In a recent report, The United Nations said the war had killed more than 370,000 people by the end of 2021 and displaced around 4 million. Around two-thirds of the country's 30 million citizens are in need of humanitarian assistance.

TRUCE RIDDLED WITH OBSTACLES

When the third month of 2022 started, hardly anyone would have predicted a ceasefire could be reached in Yemen at its end.

For months, the Houthi group has stepped up their cross-border drone and missile attacks on oil and military facilities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In response, the Saudi-led coalition launched an array of retaliatory airstrikes that killed hundreds of people.

Fares Albeel, a Yemeni college professor and political commentator, told Xinhua that the ceasefire was rushed into effectivity, and the truce deal lacked powerful guarantees and observation teams on the ground to watch over the cessation of hostilities between the warring parties.

The ceasefire is possible because the Gulf countries are facing pressure from the international community as Yemen's humanitarian crisis has gone from bad to worse, said Albeel, adding that this does not mean that the Saudi-led coalition is happy to see a legitimatized Houthi presence in the country.

Al-Shujaa from Sanaa University also pointed to the fragility of the ceasefire as the reasons and regional players behind the country's years-long conflict are still in place.

"It seems that the regional powers are not currently convinced to put an end to Yemen's war," Al-Shujaa told Xinhua.

Al-Taher also expressed skepticism about achieving a lasting truce because both sides lack common ground on which to build peace, adding that there is widespread skepticism about the Houthi's sincerity in Aden, where the internationally recognized government is currently seated.

On Sunday, one day after the beginning of the ceasefire, the internationally recognized government accused the Houthis of frequently breaking the UN-brokered deal.

The Yemeni Defense Ministry said two attacks were repelled by pro-government army troops in the central province of Marib and in the southwestern province of Taiz.

On the other hand, the Houthi militia also claimed on Sunday that the pro-government forces breached the UN-brokered ceasefire in many contested areas across the war-ravaged country. 
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, has declared his intention to contest the Kebbi State governorship in 2023. M...





The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, has declared his intention to contest the Kebbi State governorship in 2023.





Malami declared his intention to run for the office at an event in Kebbi on Monday.





He lost the Kebbi governorship ticket to Atiku Bagudu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who is currently the state governor, in 2014.





Bagudu is now set to complete his second term in office.





If God in His mercies permits and all goes well, I will as a politician contest the governorship of Kebbi State. I am seeking your support.





I want to announce that I will contest indeed and as such, I am counting on your prayers and support so that we can all work and survive the race together.





I have no history of betrayal and I wont betray you people. I will work for you, ThisDay quoted Malami to have said.
Bandits have attacked some houses at Anguwar Maji, Jere town, along Kaduna-Abuja highway, abducting 22 persons in the process. The invasion ...





Bandits have attacked some houses at Anguwar Maji, Jere town, along Kaduna-Abuja highway, abducting 22 persons in the process.





The invasion of the area by the bandits happened barely 24 hours after Usman Baba, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) paid a visit to the highway.





A source, who confirmed the incident to newsmen, explained that the recent kidnapping took place in the night, on Sunday, around 11pm.





According to him, the bandits came to the area in their large numbers, attacked some houses and went away with about 22 residents, including five women.





He explained, Some of the bandits wore security uniforms and attacked the villagers in their large numbers.





He added that they (bandits) moved from house to house and woke their victims up before they marched them into the bush at gunpoint, adding that the bandits operated silently in the community for over an hour.





According to the source, the bandits started shooting sporadically while leaving the community with their victims.





He stated that one of the 22 villagers kidnapped escaped from the abductors while they were leading them into the bush.





Spokesman of the State Police Command, ASP Mohammed Jalige could not be reached when contacted.





Jere, which shares a boundary with Tafa-Sabon-Wuse in Niger State, is located on the ever-busy Abuja-Kaduna highway.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdulahi Adamu, Tuesday, left the journalists covering the activities ...





The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdulahi Adamu, Tuesday, left the journalists covering the activities of the party stranded following his eviction order.





Adamu, 75, emerged as the national chairman of the party at the national convention held on March 26 through consensus.





The eviction of journalists at the press centre within the party secretariat, which started as a rumour, was eventually confirmed when the party started renovation works at the Media and Publicity office, which is beside the press centre on the ground floor of the Secretariat.





The development forced the journalists to take refuge under the tree from where they filed their reports.





It was gathered that the eviction of the journalists from the press centre may not be unconnected with the inability of Adamu to walk up the stairs to access his office on the third floor.





Since Adamu started coming to the secretariat, it always takes about 20 minutes or more to walk up the stairs.





His inability to go through the rigours of climbing the stairs is attributed to his age





It was gathered that Adamu will convert the Media department of the party and the press centre to his office pending the installation of lift at the party secretariat.





A staff of the party that informed journalists about the development said the party was remodelling, noting that that was the reason the staff of the media department and the journalists were evicted.





We are remodeling the secretariat, my office is also affected. As I am talking to you, I have no office now, he said.





At the moment, the media and publicity department will now be making use of the National Executive Committee (NEC) office, while the remodeling or renovation lasts.





They have not provided any alternative for journalists covering the governing party.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has served supplementary orders to Apples Appstore and Google Play Store to take down more loan apps. The...





The Federal Government of Nigeria has served supplementary orders to Apples Appstore and Google Play Store to take down more loan apps.





The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has also secured new freezing orders against accounts and financial institutions involved.





A statement by the CEO, Babatunde Irukera said the actions were in furtherance of the March 11 raid on certain digital money lenders in Lagos.





He said evidence procured from the locations led to further investigative activities, including additional discoveries that are material to the investigation.





FCCPC now has information about other money lending operators; account information associated with some of the companies; information about staffing and recruiting policies and strategies.





The agency found a complex web of ownership or corporate relationships with mostly foreign/offshore companies and promoters; recognized and unknown payments systems, sources of operational capital, and methods of repatriating business proceeds..





Irukera announced that certain operatives (including foreign nationals) of some operators have been interrogated.





The scope of questioning includes the commissions continuing undercover surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.





It was discovered that one of the money lenders corruptly secured a public official as an asset to assist with providing critical and sensitive internal confidential information about the investigation.





FCCPC confirmed custody of credible evidence of the planning, discussions, meetings, execution (including tangible evidence of inducement), and participants in the criminal enterprise.





The statement said many conspirators have provided useful information and other evidence under caution, and with legal advice.





The commission is proceeding in contemplation and, or preparation of criminal charges and admissible evidence with respect to potential criminal defendants.





Meanwhile, some of the lenders under investigation, or whose bank accounts have been frozen, have agreed to assist the commission under the Investigative Cooperation/Assistance Rules and Procedure 2021.





They are expected to stop contacting people on contact lists/third parties of borrowers or defaulters; discontinue further abusive and inappropriate language in communication with loan defaulters or borrowers.





Such are further required to provide a mechanism for transparency regarding loan repayment fees, default or late payment charges as well as interest calculation to the government.





The FCCPC added that the mechanism must include open, accessible and responsive feedback and a dispute resolution framework that complies with fair lending and loan recovery principles.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (Front) speaks during a press conference at the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia, on April 3, 2022. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)

Serbia held regular presidential and local elections on Sunday, along with extraordinary parliamentary elections. Vucic on Sunday already declared victory for himself and his party, promising peace and stability, good neighbor relations, the continuation of EU integration, and strengthening of the country's traditional partnerships, such as those with China and Russia.

BELGRADE, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Serbia's current President Aleksandar Vucic convincingly won presidential elections, while Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won the most votes in parliamentary elections, according to preliminary results published by the Serbian Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) Monday evening.

According to RIK's report, after counting 8,030 out of 8,255 polling stations, Vucic won 58.59 percent of the votes in the presidential elections, which enabled him to claim victory in the first round, ahead of the second-ranked candidate, former chief of the Serbian General Staff Zdravko Ponos (18.32 percent).

Moreover, SNS won 42.97 percent of votes for the parliament, which translates to 119 out of 250 MP seats, and enables Serbia's ruling party to form the new government together with smaller coalition partners.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (Front) attends a press conference at the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia, on April 3, 2022. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)

SNS's ruling coalition partner Serbian Socialist Party (SPS) won 11.5 percent of the votes (32 MP seats) and will likely partake in the new parliament majority together with the Alliance of Hungarians of Vojvodina (6 MP seats).

The opposition coalition "United for the Victory of Serbia" won the second most votes in parliamentary elections with 13.57 percent of votes (38 MPs).

Serbia held regular presidential and local elections on Sunday, along with extraordinary parliamentary elections

Vucic on Sunday already declared victory for himself and his party, promising peace and stability, good neighbor relations, the continuation of EU integration, and strengthening of the country's traditional partnerships, such as those with China and Russia.

RIK is obliged to announce the final results 96 hours after the closing of polling stations.



Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic casts his ballots at a polling station for presidential, parliamentary and local elections in Belgrade, Serbia, April 3, 2022.(Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua) 
There's a shift in thinking about the role of foster parents. While they're typically asked to provide emergency or short-term child care, they're also helping create the kind of lasting relationships that children need.

Louisiana is one of 10 states to join the Quality Parenting Initiative, which began in 2008 in Florida to help develop culture change within the child welfare system. Currently, foster parents receive training in how to model good parenting for birthparents who regain their child.

Teri Hrabovsky of Marrero recently received the Elevate and Celebrate Award from the initiative for her work as a foster care advocate helping provide material support as well.

She and her husband, Brian, became certified foster parents in 2007 and have helped hundreds of children and families. But with thousands of children in foster care in the New Orleans area, she saw a need to help provide the extra help these families need to succeed.

She founded the nonprofit One Heart NOLA, an organization she calls "grassroots people taking care of people." It operates a building where social workers, foster and birthparents or relatives who care for a child can come to get free clothes, toiletries, household goods and other items.

The award came for the work the One Heart did during Hurricane Ida when families were scattered.

"We sent out gift cards by email for food, gas, diapers," Hrabovsky said.

The group also helped two girls who had recently aged out of the foster system with gas money to get back home.

"Last year, One Heart NOLA helped over 1,000 people," she said. "This is a community award. No one person does this. My award is our award. I'm just the face of it."

Carole Shauffer, of New Orleans, co-founder of the Quality Parenting Initiative, also is senior director of the Youth Law Center. She has been recognized with the Childrens Bureau Champion Award for Reshaping Foster Care as a Support for Families by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Shauffer nominated Hrabovsky for recognition by the initiative for her foster parenting and work with birthparents to achieve reunification.

"During Ida, she focused on foster families and did a fundraising drive for children recently emancipated from care, and for birthparents recently reunited with their children who lacked support or resources" to overcome the disaster, Shauffer said. "Teri is the epitome of what we are trying to do."

Shauffer said the initiative is the result of litigation by the Youth Law Center. Every case involves a social worker, the birthparents and a relative or the foster parent. The initiative sets standards on what is expected to best serve the child.

Louisiana has chosen a foster model that will be an asset for the recruitment and training of the right people, Shauffer said, "because the people doing it will feel satisfied that it is worthwhile work."

"They are asked to make a commitment to a lifetime relationship," Shauffer said. "The nature of care is moving in that direction. It's a relationship for life."

Hrabovsky is one of four Southeast Louisianans to be honored by the initiative's national network, which includes thousands of child welfare advocates, as well as foster and birthparents in 10 states. Krista Bruno of Mandeville and Kara and Erik Medlock of Livingston Parish were also recognized for their work as foster parents.

For more information, visit oneheartnola.com or email teri@oneheartnola.com. For information on the initiative, visit www.qpi4kids.org or email Terry Harrak at tharrak@qpiylc.org.
UNITED NATIONS, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The UN mission in Mali is investigating reports of civilians killed during clashes last week between government troops and militants, a UN spokesman said on Monday.

Published reports vary in the number of civilian deaths, but they do agree the number is in the hundreds. They said the army of Mali engaged with militants believed associated with the Islamic State or al Qaeda, known to be in the area.

"Our peacekeeping colleagues are very concerned about these reports, and they are working to verify the facts and circumstances of the incident, including whether human rights violations and abuses were committed," said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Haq told reporters at a regular briefing that a fact-finding mission would travel to the area where the fighting occurred, about 400 km northeast of the capital, Bamako.

The mission itself, known as MINUSMA, said it is working with Malian authorities to carry out the inquiry. 
Most schools in New Orleans and across Louisiana do not have the number of mental health professionals they need. While the American School Counselor Association recommends one school psychologist per every 500 students, Louisiana has one for every 3,365 students. Not to mention, there's a lack of resources for kids  especially for New Orleans' Black and Latino children  outside of school hours.

It has been a growing problem for years, but students in New Orleans need those resources now more than ever. New Orleans kids and their families are facing enormous stressors, from growing up in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures to now living through two years of a pandemic and more recent natural disasters.

In this week's Gambit, staff writer Kaylee Poche talks with teachers and activists about their work to help students on the brink. Flip through the digital edition below to read more.

Cant see the e-edition above? Click here.

Also in this week's Gambit: The Graduates, a group of formerly incarcerated women, perform at the Contemporary Arts Center; Political Editor Clancy DuBos examines the split between criminal justice reform allies over a new mugshot bill; Blake Pontchartrain tells readers about the first D.H. Holmes store, which opened 160 years ago this month; Wishing Town Bakery opens its new dim sum restaurant in Uptown; the New Orleans Giant Puppet Festival returns  plus news and more.

This week's issue also includes a new edition of Details. Flip through the digital edition below for rabbit-themed decor for spring, a feature about New Orleans DIY couple Beau Ciolino and Matt Amato, and home accents for the festival season.

If pandemic restrictions make it harder to pick up a Gambit in your usual spot, we have you covered. Our e-edition is available to download at bestofneworleans.com/current and read at your leisure.

If you enjoy this weeks issue, please share this digital edition on social media.

And as always, New Orleans, thank you for your support.

 The Gambit staff
A Marianite nun and Kenner native was kidnapped in West Africa by armed men during a Monday night raid, according to the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Sister Suellen Tennyson, 83, was abducted by unidentified men who vandalized a convent where she lived with other religious women in Burkina Faso, one of ten countries in the Sahel region of Africa, according to information relayed to local church leaders by Bishop Theophile Nare of the Kaya Diocese.

Tennyson had been serving as a missionary in the town of Yalgo since 2014. Yalgo borders the province of Soum where armed groups have been particularly active.

According to Human Rights Watch, there was a noticeable deterioration in Burkina Fasos human rights and security situation in 2021. The group said attacks by armed Islamist groups surged, causing over 237,000 people to flee their homes, adding to an already dire humanitarian situation. Unlawful killings by state security forces and pro-government militias during counterterrorism operations also continued, the group said.

We first and foremost are praying for Sister Suellens safety and for her release from her captives," said Sister Ann Lacour, congregational leader for the Marianites of Holy Cross. "Let us pray too for all impacted by the actions of this group, particularly our sisters who witnessed the vandalism and kidnapping.

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The U.S. Embassy in Burkina Faso issued a statement saying officials were aware of a U.S. citizen who was missing, according to Reuters.

Prior to moving to West Africa, Tennyson was a teacher and principal at elementary and high schools throughout Louisiana, including Resurrection of Our Lord Elementary School in New Orleans East. She also served as provincial superior for the Marianites in North America and the congregational leader of the worldwide order.

"For many years, Sister Suellen ministered to the people of the Archdiocese of New Orleans with great joy," Archbishop Greg Aymond said in a statement. Today, we express our sadness and shock at her abduction and offer our prayers for her safe return."

Archdiocesan officials will provide updates as they become available.
The NOLA Angel Network, a group of local investors that back early stage companies and has become a key part of the New Orleans area's startup "ecosystem," said it invested a record $1 million in March.

The latest round included investment in Tympanogen, founded by Elaine Horn-Ranney, who earned a doctorate from Tulane in biomedical engineering. She has developed ear, nose and throat devices and wound-healing therapies for children.

"It is unprecedented for (the network) to close three deals and invest $1 million in a single month," said Mike Eckert, the network's chairman and founder. He said the faster pace of investment for the network is emblematic of what has been happening in the local startup scene in the last few years as it has seen more money flow in.

Other companies which received the network's investment last month were CryptoStopper, a software company that protects against ransomware attacks, and De Oro Devices, which helps patients with neuro-motor afflictions improve their abilities.

Joining the club

Other local companies backed by the network include El Guapo Bitters. The angel network led a $1 million financing push to help fund a move to much larger premises and a national distribution expansion.

The group has also been an investor in Pet Krewe, a New Orleans pet accessories company, and TrayAway, a finalist in IdeaVillage's 2019 pitch competition which provides software to hotels to help manage customer service.

The network comprises 140 accredited investors, including former corporate executives, lawyers, doctors and independently wealthy individuals who are looking for promising young companies to back.

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The risk of early stage investing is high, with a failure rate of about 50%, according to the Angel Capital Association, an industry body. The reward of backing promising companies early is that if they succeed, the return can be extraordinary.

Eckert said the latest major exit for the network was Qure4U, a Florida-based healthcare software provider that was bought last summer by a venture capital fund looking to "roll up" a number of such companies to create a major player in the sector.

The NOLA Angel Network investors made 8.3 times their original investment in the deal.

'A virtuous cycle'

Though it is not a fund and individual members can choose to invest or not in the 36 companies vetted and recommended by the network to date, Eckert said investors can expect to have made annual returns of between 20% and 30% if they backed all the deals.

The network did not invest in the two big New Orleans startups-made-good last year, Levelset and Lucid, which sold to larger companies for $500 million and $1.1 billion, respectively. Both companies already were beyond their early stage when NOLA Angel Network was formed.

But Eckert said that some executives who profited from the sale of those two companies have now joined the network as investors.

"I see it as a virtuous circle, just as you saw in Silicon Valley, or the research triangle in North Carolina, and the insurance sector in Nashville, where a lot of millionaires are created when big companies sell," said Eckert.

"It's not just investing in the ecosystem that follows but starting new companies, too," he said. "So, we'll be watching to see which of these fortunate people who became wealthy from recent acquisitions will start their own companies; and that is where the cycle begins again."
Hancock Whitney Bank will no longer charge clients fees when their accounts slip into the red, making it the latest bank to ditch the charges that are a lucrative revenue stream but also a widespread source of consumer complaints.

The Gulfport, Mississippi-based bank said last week that the fees for nonsufficient funds and some overdraft charges would be eliminated by the end of this year.

The bank said it will also be introducing services later this year to give customers earlier access to their pay in order to avoid overdrafts and the need to resort to payday lenders.

The bank  which has 237 branches in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas  said it expects to cut a total of about $11 million in charges by the time it phases in the changes by the end of this year.

John Hairston, Hancock Whitney president and CEO, said in a prepared statement announcing the changes that banking practice was changing.

Today the financial industry has entered a new era in banking designed to provide customers with the tools needed to help them manage their overall finances, and we believe these changes are another step towards achieving that goal, Hairston said.

Big banks cutting charges

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In a report at the end of last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal government watchdog, said that banks in general relied too much on overdraft and nonsufficient fund charges for their profit. The agency also said that customers suffered as a result.

The agency said it would be increasing its scrutiny of banks that rely too much on such fees and was looking to take more actions, such as those taken against TD Bank and TCF Bank, which were ordered to make restitution to customers who had been overcharged.

Citibank, Capital One, Bank of America, Regions Bank and Wells Fargo are among the large banking groups to announce that they have or will soon be eliminating overdraft and nonsufficient fund fees.

The consumer protection agency noted that smaller banks did not depend as much as larger groups on the charges.

Text alert: low balance

Chris Ferris, CEO of Fidelity Bank in New Orleans, said that technology also has helped drive down overdraft charges.

"It's easier for customers to manage their finances now from a digital perspective," he said. "In the last two years, that has really accelerated with the pandemic as well as the flow of stimulus money."

Fidelity also still charges some overdraft and nonsufficient fund fees but plans to eliminate them this year.
A Metairie man accused of firing a gun at a pursuing Kenner police officer has been formally charged with several crimes. Also charged were the two women who allegedly helped him hide from police.

The Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office filed a bill of information on Sept. 10 charging Hassan Norris, 20, with aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated obstruction of a highway and obstruction of justice, court records show.

Sandra Fugate, 20, of Kenner, Norris' girlfriend, was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm.

And Shanay Robinson, 27, of New Orleans, a former girlfriend who was apparently still close to him, was charged with being an accessory after the fact to aggravated assault with a firearm.

Kenner police said Norris sped away from an officer who tried to pull him over for a traffic stop on West Esplanade Avenue on the morning of Aug. 5. Norris drove into Metairie before stopping his car at Riverside and Apollo drives.

He then hopped out of the vehicle and fired a single shot at the pursuing officer, authorities said. The bullet missed. Norris then disappeared into a group of large apartment complexes along Riverside Drive, kicking off a three-hour search.

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In a bid to help Norris, authorities said, Fugate contacted the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office to report that Norris had stolen her Buick Century and was driving it when he fled the traffic stop.

While being questioned, however, Fugate allegedly took photos of documents on a detective's desk, and investigators later found evidence that she sent copies of the photos to Norris while he was in hiding, authorities said.

Authorities said Norris also turned to Robinson, a former flame, who is accused of driving him to Jackson, Tennessee, to hide out.

The U.S. Marshals Service tracked Robinson, which led them to Norris, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Norris, Fugate and Robinson all pleaded not guilty to the charges in 24th Judicial District Court. They return to court Sept. 25 for a pretrial conference.
A 43-year-old Mandeville area man who had crashed his car near the entrance of his subdivision early Tuesday later crashed inside the wrong house, where the homeowner found him sleeping in one of her bedrooms, according the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office.

Deputies went to Quail Creek subdivision off Louisiana 1088 after a report of a vehicle that had been abandoned after it had crashed into a tree near the entrance. They found the heavily damaged vehicle near the intersection of Soult Street and Sycamore Place. The registration showed that the owner, Stephen Carlin, lived in the subdivision.

The Sheriff's Office said deputies found Carlin when another resident of the neighborhood called to report finding an unknown man, who had apparently entered through an unlocked door, asleep in a bedroom.

Deputies woke up Carlin, who appeared to be heavily intoxicated, and arrested him, according to a news release.

He was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail for careless operation of a vehicle, failure to report a crash and unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling.

Carlin was released on $4,000 bond.
TRIPOLI, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday said it has distributed aid to 200 displaced families living in eastern Libya.

The UN refugee agency and partner LibAid (Libyan Humanitarian Relief Agency) have provided those items to the nearly 950 Tawergha refugees in settlements in Ejdabia, 150 km south of Benghazi, the UNHCR said.

"With this last distribution, UNHCR and LibAid have completed the distribution of winter assistance in eastern Libya, reaching out to 1,146 displaced Libyan families," the statement said.

The items include mattresses, blankets, winter clothing, footwear, kitchen sets, solar lamps, school bags, and electric heaters, it added.

During the 2011 uprising, some residents of Tawergha allied with the forces of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi against the rebels in the nearby Misurata City. They fled to other cities in Libya after Gaddafi's regime was toppled.

Since the fall of Gaddafi's regime in 2011, Libya has been suffering political instability and continuous armed conflict, forcing hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee their homes to other cities and towns. 
ADDIS ABABA, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's Abay River bridge project, which spans 380 meters, is slated for completion by the first quarter of 2023, an official at the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) disclosed on Monday.

Chen Li, project manager of CCCC's Abay River bridge project, said the project which is currently 60 percent complete, is expected to be finished before the first quarter of next year, reported state affiliated media outlet Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC).

Chen also said the bridge will have spacious walkways to accommodate pedestrians alongside vehicles at the same time.

Gebeyawe Belay, deputy general manager of Bahir-Dar city Construction Development Division, Amhara regional state, said the bridge which will have 52.2 meters' width when finished, aims to facilitate smooth traffic flow in the city.

The CCCC has been in Ethiopia for over two decades, building landmark projects including the 85-km Addis Ababa-Adama expressway and the Addis Ababa Bole international airport passenger terminal. It has also built and commissioned several industrial parks, including Mekelle and Jimma industrial parks. 
Reportedly, Motorola is preparing to release the Edge 30, a mid-range alternative to the Edge 30 Pro and Edge 30 Ultra. Still, the Edge 30 is rumoured to feature some interesting features, including a 144 Hz refresh rate and dual 50 MP cameras.

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Last week, Evan Blass revealed a roadmap for upcoming Motorola handsets, including the Edge 30. While Blass shared a few specifications, Yogesh Brar has shared many more on Twitter. Supposedly, the Edge 30 could launch later this month, although it is unclear in which markets.

Regardless, Brar expects the Edge 30 to arrive with a 6.55-inch POLED display that offers an FHD+ resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. Also, the Edge 30 is rumoured to feature the Snapdragon 778G+, an older chipset that Qualcomm is yet to replace. For context, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 780G less than two months after the Snapdragon 778G+ and Snapdragon 778G+, but a potential Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 is not here yet.

Additionally, the Edge 30 is expected to have 50 MP primary, 50 MP ultra-wide, 2 MP depth and 32 MP front-facing cameras. All these will be powered by a 4,020 mAh battery that supports 30 W fast charging. Predictably, Motorola will release the Edge 30 with Android 12, overlaid with its My UX skin. Pricing for the Edge 30 has not leaked, but Motorola is believed to have created the following memory configurations:
While it took Samsung until January 2022 to release the Galaxy S21 FE, it has already re-released the Galaxy S20 FE in South Korea. Now re-branded as the Galaxy S20 FE 2022, the smartphone has received a price cut and now comes with no headphones in the box. For reference, Samsung used to include wired AKG-branded earbuds with the Galaxy S20 FE , which were a nice touch. However, Samsung has not explained why it has removed these earbuds for the Galaxy S20 FE 2022.

Additionally, the Galaxy S20 FE 2022 retails for KRW 700,000 (~US$576), reduced from KRW 900,000 (~US$741). In other words, the Galaxy S20 FE is now KRW 200,000 (~US$165) cheaper than it was in October 2020. Still, the Galaxy S20 FE 2022 continues to rely on its predecessor's core features, which look rather outdated in 2022. It is unclear whether Samsung will re-release the Galaxy S20 FE outside South Korea; the Galaxy Note FE only made it to Malaysia and the Philippines, so there is no guarantee that the Galaxy S20 FE 2022 will receive a global launch at some stage.
YAOUNDE, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon's Minister of Public Health, Malachie Manaouda on Tuesday called for more caution as the cholera death toll in the Central African nation exceeded 100.

In a latest update on the cholera outbreak, Manaouda said in a tweet that 226 new cases and two death cases were reported in the Littoral and Southwest regions between March 23 and April 5.

According to the update, a total of 4,627 confirmed cases have been reported in six regions since October last year, among which were 105 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 2.3 percent.

The outbreak of cholera in Cameroon has remained persistent, occurring annually but the latest outbreak has been severe, affecting mostly impoverished communities with poor sanitation and lack of clean water, according to health officials.

Cameroon plans to begin a mass vaccination campaign to curb the epidemic, according to officials.

Cholera is a highly virulent disease characterized in its most severe form by a sudden onset of acute watery diarrhea that can lead to death by severe dehydration. 
MERRILLVILLE  Kids' eyes widen with wonder when they first enter the cat room at Northwest Indiana's first cat cafe.

Cats lounge on furniture, cat trees and every available surface in the glass-windowed room in the Region Cat Cafe at 281 W. 80th Place in Merrillville. People can pet the sprawled-out cats, play with them if they're feeling rambunctious or just watch them while they stretch, yawn or lay about.

A new concept for Northwest Indiana, the Region Cafe Cafe sells coffee, tea, espresso drinks, food, beer and 50-minute blocks of time inside the cat room, which is walled off from the dining and coffee shop area. But it's also a business with a mission. After just a few months, the cat cafe at the former Cafe Fondue space is already more than a third of the way to its goal of finding 100 furry felines forever homes in its first year.

"When I first heard it was going to be opening, it was definitely something I wanted to do," Dyer resident Caitlin Rudzinski said. "I'm a self-proclaimed crazy cat lady. I was super-excited. I couldn't wait to go."

Several cat cafes have opened in Chicago over the last few years, but Rudzinski said "it's not really my jam to drive into the city."

"I wanted something closer to home for animal therapy," she said.

She and her husband ended up adopting a cat who had been abandoned by its previous owners in the Valparaiso area after they moved. The Second Chance 4 Pets Network in Whiting brings cats to the cafe in the hope that they will be adopted.

It's how Rudzinski ended up taking in Sammie Jo.

"When cats are antisocial, I try to make them my friends," she said. "We'd go to the cafe to sit with the room full of cats to decompress from work and would come back to check on Sammy Jo because she looked sad. My husband was the one who first vocalized bringing her home."

Sammie Jo had been getting more sociable in the cat cafe and has been flourishing since they took her in.

"She's been super snuggly and loving since we brought her home," he said. "She is totally different. She lets us pet her back and loves affection. She is super playful. She was a late bloomer."

They have three older cats she's still feeling out.

"It's a nice, lowkey social way for the rescue to introduce people to cats," she said. "It's low-stress. They're out on the furniture and in the sun playing with toys. You get to better know their true personalities and better know them."

Owner Linda Ramos envisioned the Region Cat Cafe as being a place where cats could audition for adoption by mingling with people and seeing how they got along. A "wall of fame" string of photos hung on the wall in the two-story cafe shows all the kitties who ultimately went home with visitors.

"So far, 40 cats have been adopted," she said. "Quite a few kitties go to homes."

The 2,000-square-foot cafe seats about 15 people on the first floor, including at tables and the counter. The majority of seating  up to about 30 people  is on the second floor, where there are books, board games, cards and an aerial view overlooking the cat lounge.

Typically, about eight to 12 cats are splayed out in the lounge at any given time.

"People can hang out and enjoy coffee, pastries, fresh food, wine and seltzer," Ramos said. "So the way the cat cafe works is there's a reservation system. People get 50 minutes in the cat room for $11. It gets pretty busy, especially on weekends. But if you just come to the coffee shop, you can still see the cats from multiple places. You can see them through the windows or upstairs looking down. People who just want to have lunch can look at cats instead of looking at the back of someone's head in a booth at a different restaurant."

The menu includes many light options like a roast beef sandwich with caramelized onions, chicken salad croissant, fresh veggie on 12-grain bread, smokey poblano cheese soup, pasta salad and taffy apple salad.

The dining area is kept entirely separate from the cats, who dwell in a living room-like environment that includes recliners, couches and a nine-foot-high tree built into the wall to satisfy their desire to climb.

"They're all just domestic cats who for different reasons need to be rehomed," Ramos said. "Some owners passed away. Some had kittens born outside a home. Others were rescued from more overpopulated environments. There are a number of different reasons."

All the cats are at least 12 weeks old because all have been spayed or neutered.

The Region Cat Cafe has many toys available for people to play with them, such as teaser wands and lasers. But don't expect them to always be animated.

"The cats aren't trained to entertain and sleep about 20 hours a day," she said. "When you walk in many are going to be sleeping. But you can pet them, relax with them and sit down next to one while it sleeps."

About a dozen people are allowed in during a visitation session. Children must be accompanied by an adult, and no children are allowed in under the age of seven so they don't disturb the cats.

Cadence Qualls, an 8-year-old kid from Crown Point, said she was impressed by the Region Cat Cafe and how friendly all the cats are when stopping by last week.

"It's nice," she said. "The cats are very lovey."

Her mother, Vanessa Qualls, said they wanted to support the business because they liked cats.

"We'd never been. We impromptu wanted to go check it out and then go get dinner," she said. "What surprised me is that it's really well done: all the decorations and decor. Everything looks really nice. We'd definitely come back."

The first cat cafe started in Taiwan, and the concept was popularized in Japan before coming to the United States.

Most cat cafes tend to operate in larger cities. Chicago has the Tree House Cat Cafe and the Catcade Cat Cafe & Rescue, both on the north side. It had a few more before the coronavirus pandemic when restrictions made the business model difficult.

Indiana has just a smattering of cat cafes in Indianapolis, Kokomo, South Bend, Lafayette and Evansville.

"Most people who come in love cats," Ramos said. "It helps socialize shy kitties to have a loving touch, to guide them to be more social so people are more apt to adopt it. It's a really good introduction to the cats, including those more on the gentle and shy side. People can see whether the kitty loves to jump, run and play. They can really learn the personality of each. Kids can dangle toys over them and get to know them while hanging out and relaxing for 50 minutes."

It's meant to be a destination for all of Northwest Indiana. The logo features three cats whose tails spell out 219.

Ramos likes to joke "out with the Region rats, in with the Region cats."

"We're the first cat cafe in Northwest Indiana. We're here to serve Lake, Porter, Jasper, Newton and LaPorte counties," she said. "People come in from all over and say, 'Oh my gosh cats, this is the cutest thing we've ever seen.' We want a place to go where people can find happiness, that's calming, relaxing and fun at the same time."

Customers come from all ages and backgrounds, including high school kids just hanging out, college students studying and older women meeting for tea. Many families with young kids visit.

"It's a great place to go for a date night," Ramos said. "You definitely have something to talk about. It's a unique and different experience."

The business employs about a half dozen people who make coffee, clean out litter boxes and tidy up the cat lounge between visits.

"We want to adopt 100 kitties in our first year and are on pace to blow that goal out of the water," Ramos said. "People meet these cats and fall in love. It's the personal interaction."

Rudzinski believes it can help connect more rescue cats to pet owners.

"Whether you're a cat lover or not, it's got a nice ambiance. It's a nice cafe to get a cup of coffee," she said. "You can socialize, hang out or sit in the upstairs area looking down on the cat room. It's an excellent way to meet cats in a casual setting, which is why they've had so much success with adoptions. You can meet a new furry friend and get to know their unique personality. It helps get cats to their homes."

The Region Cat Cafe is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, visit theregioncatcafe.com or email welovecatsandcoffee@gmail.com.

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TOKYO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Japan's fisheries federation said on Tuesday that it remained firmly opposed to the government's plan of dumping toxic water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific.

"I told (Prime Minister Fumio) Kishida our position to oppose the discharge remains exactly the same," Hiroshi Kishi, head of the national fisheries cooperatives, told reporters after his meeting with the prime minister.

Kishida, for his part, said the government will be fully responsible for the impact of the discharged treated water, Kishi said.

Earlier in the day, Kishi held talks with Industry Minister Koichi Hagiuda, during which he also expressed his ardent opposition to the plan to dump contaminated water from the crisis-hit plant into the ocean.

"We just hope people in the fisheries industry will be able to continue fishing with peace of mind," Kishi said after meeting Hagiuda in the federation's office in Tokyo.

Hagiuda's visit to the organization was his first since the decision was made in April last year to release low-level radioactive water into the sea from around the spring of 2023.

During the meeting, Hagiuda reportedly explained ways to ensure safety and measures to tackle reputational damage to food products.

The minister said the government will keep its promise to the fishermen that the crippled plant will not dump the water into the ocean without their understanding and that it will "create a very large fund to support their businesses," Kishi said.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., the operator of the crippled nuclear plant that underwent core meltdowns after being pummeled by a devastating earthquake-triggered tsunami in 2011, said that it is running out of storage tanks to hold water used to cool the melted-down cores.

The Japanese government has been looking into ways to dispose of more than 1 million tons of water used to cool the cores, with the plant struggling to store the water, the amount of which is rising by around 150 tons per day.

After cooling the melted-down cores, the radioactive water is treated before being stored in the tanks by an Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). This process, however, does not remove radioactive tritium and some other radioactive materials.

Much to the chagrin of the international community, including some of Japan's closest neighbors, Japan unilaterally decided in April last year that it plans to release radioactive water that has accumulated at the crisis-hit plant into the Pacific. The toxic water, stored in tanks at the plant in Japan's northeast, is expected to soon reach capacity.

The tainted water contains radioactive tritium as a result of being used to cool down melted nuclear fuel at the plant in Fukushima Prefecture.

The plan is to release the water through a tunnel under the seabed into the Pacific roughly 1 km away from the stricken plant. The controversial plan is proposed to begin in the spring of 2023, much to the consternation of local fisheries and the international community.

Japan's fisheries industry has on numerous occasions voiced its opposition to the plan, as it will almost certainly cause further damage to the industry's reputation.

Moreover, some of Japan's closest neighbor countries have voiced strong concerns over the plan.

Japan's government had been considering a number of feasible alternative plans other than its unilateral proposal to just dump radioactive water into the ocean.

These options included injecting the toxic water deep into the ground, releasing it into the atmosphere after vaporizing it, or making it into a solid state and burying it underground. 
Hoosiers needing emergency assistance can now text 911 in their native language and have their plea for help immediately translated for a police, fire or ambulance dispatcher.

The Indiana Statewide 911 Board recently announced it has partnered with INdigital to translate text-to-911 messages into English from 108 different languages.

"We've already seen the benefits of texting to 911. It allows people in sensitive situations to communicate with law enforcement, and now we are removing the language barriers to those services," said State Treasurer Kelly Mitchell, chairwoman of the Statewide 911 Board.

Indiana in 2014 was one of the first states to launch text-to-911 services. All 92 counties were connected to the system by 2016.

Altogether, Indiana 911 telecommunicators have processed more than 1.3 million inbound and outbound text messages. Though there occasionally have been communication struggles with text messages sent in languages other than English.

"With technology constantly evolving, this upgrade shows why Indiana is on the forefront in providing 911 services to our non-English speaking citizens," said Ed Reuter, executive director of the Statewide 911 Board.

"This new translation upgrade will help bridge the communication gap and speed up sending emergency services when every second counts."

Calling 911 for emergency assistance still is recommended over texting. Since 2019, dispatchers at Indiana 911 centers have had access to "Language Line" services for immediate voice translation of up to 250 different languages, with Spanish accounting for 91% of translation calls.

Mitchell, a Valparaiso University graduate, said extending translation services to text-to-911 will ensure that an alternative way of reaching a 911 dispatcher is available to everyone in the Hoosier State.

"Text-to-911 enables direct access to emergency services for those who are deaf or speaking-impaired, having a medical emergency that prevents them from being able to speak or in a situation where making a voice call would put them in danger," Mitchell said.

Mark Grady, CEO of INdigital, said his company works to improve 911 service every day. He said strong state programs like Indiana's, with good legislation and targeted funding, help them build better systems.

"Our goal is for everyone to have access to 911 when they need it most. Bridging language barriers and providing more ways to communicate are essential in todays world," Grady said.

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HOBART  Pilar Garcia moved to the Region from Chicago "in search of a better life." The home she purchased in the Eagle Creek subdivision should be completed this fall; however her view of quiet cornfields could be replaced by an industrial complex.

Garcia said she was "alarmed" when she learned about the proposed development, which would include six buildings that would have about 2 million square feet of space in total. She said she fears increased truck traffic and nearby manufacturing may impact both her home's property value and her son's health.

My son is immunocompromised, so anytime you are going to add more air pollution, he gets triggered." Garcia said, explaining that her son has Lyme disease. With everything going on, I am not sure how long we will be in the neighborhood.

Garcia is not alone in her opposition. The Hobart Plan Commission held a public hearing for the project at the start of February where many residents voiced concerns. After the meeting, the "No Re-Zone" Facebook page was created. With a little over 280 followers, the page's intro describes it as an "information clearinghouse" for residents. The group also created an online petition opposing the development, which had received just over 900 signatures as of Monday evening.

Run by about a dozen core members, the No Re-Zone group has plastered the nearby area with yard signs and flyers. Members have a multitude of concerns, ranging from visual pollution to the potential for increased flooding.

"The area is like a gateway point to our city, and I just feel like this development has not taken into consideration the health and the happiness to the citizens who live here, resident Myra Cseke said. We would really like to have a community that is thriving and attracting more families.

Becknell Industrial is asking the city to rezone about 156 acres of land at 61st Avenue and Colorado Street. The property currently has a residential classification and Becknell wants it to have a light manufacturing zoning. The industrial complex would bring about $2 million of investment to Hobart.

City Planner Ross Pietrzak said the design is "strictly conceptual" at this point. If the land is rezoned, Becknell will submit a site plan, which will also go before the Plan Commission.

The Plan Commission is holding a public hearing for the rezone April 7, and the Hobart City Council will make the final zoning decision.

'Beautiful natural area'

Used primarily for corn and soybeans, the land is lined with trees along the east side and contains a stream that is a tributary of Deep River. Joseph Conn, former Hobart City Council candidate, said the prospect of an industrial development that close to the stream is concerning because Deep River is connected to Lake George, which ultimately feeds Lake Michigan, "and that is our drinking water."

"It is just beautiful natural area up there, and if you have a bunch of trucks with leaking fumes, all of that is going to wash right into Deep River," Conn said.

There are also a number of surrounding residents that still use well systems, Conn said.

On a rainy March afternoon, Conn looked across the field Becknell hopes to develop and noted the many puddles that had formed. Even with the project's proposed stormwater ponds, Conn worries that the increased number of impervious surfaces will worsen the flooding that already occurs at Deep River.

The surrounding area also contains a number of parcels that are protected, including the Indiana Dunes National Park's Hobart Prairie Grove Trails, land that Save the Dunes, the National Park and a number of other organizations have partnered to restore to a bur oak savanna, ideal for wildflowers and native pollinators.

Jennifer Williams lives in the Amber Creek subdivision, which would sit directly across from the complex. She said her two children have enjoyed the natural areas surrounding their home, frequently exploring deer tracks and turtle migrations.

"We have a nice little neighborhood. We are all family, we are all friends, we watch out for one another," Williams said. "Becknell's developments look like cement prisons. ... The ramifications of this will be devastating."

Becknell created the NorthWind Crossings park in Hobart in 2005. The park is located on 200 acres immediately off Interstate 65 at the 61st Avenue exit, Becknell has continued to add buildings to the project over the years. The gray, box-like buildings sit just behind the Meadows subdivision.

Garcia said the berms Becknell created to provide a screen between the Meadows and the development are not very effective.

According to plan

Ethan Frisch, a senior project engineer with Becknell Services, has said the buildings would be set back about 325 feet from the community to the north and 515 feet from the western neighborhood. Current plans include berms that are 8-feet-tall and 48-feet-deep.

Under Hobart's current comprehensive plan, most of the land Becknell is eyeing is designated industrial. The strip along 61st Avenue is shown as being "Office/Service," which Pietrzak said is essentially a transition area. Current Becknell plans show the berm set back about 60 feet from the road, with a stormwater pond behind it.

The comprehensive plan was released in 2016. Hobart is currently working with The Lakota Group to craft a new plan, a process that Pietrzak said will likely open up to public comment this spring and summer. The city hopes to approve the final draft Jan. 1, 2023.

Conn would like to see Becknell's development paused until the new comprehensive plan is finalized, but Pietrzak said that because Becknell submitted the request under the current master plan "that is the plan we have to operate under."

"I understand that it is in the master plan. ... It may have been OK at some point, but it is not OK now. There is too much residential development around here for this to work peacefully, but on top of that, it is just a lack of imagination. We need to find a better way to use this land other than just putting up a bunch of concrete boxes," Conn said. "Put this project on hold until we can revisit that master plan and get public input into this process because I can guarantee you almost no one knew that the master plan for this area was to rezone this into manufacturing."

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VALPARAISO  Candidates got a lesson in using Porter Countys new online campaign finance software as well as how to fill out forms the old-school way.

Weve never had this many people at a campaign finance training before, Porter County Clerk Jessica Bailey.

The Porter County election board has begun to levy fines as it enforces campaign finance rules. Even filing one minute late can bring a $50 fine, said Kenard Taylor, who led the training.

Taylor, of KLT Consulting LLC, was the countys test pilot for the software and brought about numerous tweaks, he said. Over the years, he has filed some 300 reports and is currently treasurer for 17 campaigns, he said.

Dont kid yourself; people are looking at these reports, he told the attendees.

Taylor has testified in two federal trials involving campaign finance and spoke with FBI agents on a third, he said.

His first advice for candidates is to not be treasurer of their own campaign committee. The candidates job is to get elected, and if youre spending your time on campaign finance reports, youre not spending enough time on your campaign, Taylor said.

Another no-no is to use your personal bank account for campaign donations. That can bring IRS scrutiny of your finances because all deposits in your personal account count toward your personal income. Instead, get an employer identification number from the IRS and set up a separate account for your campaign.

Taylor advised not opening an interest-bearing account. Earning interest automatically triggers the need to file an income tax return for the campaign. Most local banks dont charge interest, but some bigger national banks do, he said.

Keeping meticulous records is vital. For example, being sloppy on whether the donation is from an individual or a company can force the donor to go before the county election board to answer charges of violating a campaign finance law. Guess how long that donor is going to be your donor if he or she must get a lawyer to sort it all out, Taylor said.

Contributions need to be recorded carefully.

The best thing you can accept is checks because that gives you all the information you need, Taylor said. He advised photocopying checks before depositing them and using cash receipt books that give the campaign a duplicate copy.

In-kind donations have to be reported as both an income and an expense. It would be best if he gave you a letter saying what that fair market value is, he said.

Taylor walked candidates and campaign workers through a 70-slide PowerPoint presentation to explain the intricacies of filling out the reports.

Over the last 10 years, Ive faced a lot of questions, he said, including what to do if the candidate dies before the campaign committee is dissolved. If that happens, its up to the executor to determine whether to give the balance to charity or to another candidate.

Taylor praised Baileys work in administering the countys elections. One of the greatest things she did was get this countys easy campaign finance thing going, he said.

Some of you may want to do the old way. I feel sorry for you, but thats your choice, he said.

The online reporting system allows the campaign treasurer to enter information frequently throughout the campaign to ease the burden of spending a lot of time just before the deadline to fill out reports.

This year is also the first that Porter County will be using vote centers. Voters will be able to cast a ballot at any polling place, not just the one for their assigned precinct, as was the case in the past.

Early voting has begun. Hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hours on April 23 and April 30, the last two Saturdays before the election, will be 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Early voting locations are Porter County Administration Building, 155 Indiana Ave., Room 102A, in downtown Valparaiso; Chesterton Town Hall, 790 Broadway; Hebron Community Center, 611 N. Main St.; North County Government Complex, 3560 Willowcreek Road, Portage; Union Township Fire Station 2, 267 N. 600 West; the Valparaiso Fire Department training building, 355 Evans Ave.; and USW Local 6787, 1100 N. Max Mochal Hwy., Chesterton.

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Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

More than 10 million Ukrainians have been displaced and more than 4 million have fled the country since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Cities and towns throughout the country continue to be bombarded by Russian artillery. Some are now nearly unrecognizable. Civilians have died, families have been ripped apart and lives have been forever changed.

But within the chaos and disruption, reporters have witnessed moments of humanity and resilience: Neighbors helping one another; families reuniting after panic; people organizing aid.

Below, Times journalists on the ground in Ukraine and elsewhere share some of the displays of courage and acts of kindness theyve seen over the course of the conflict.

Valerie Hopkins, Moscow correspondent, reporting from Lviv, Ukraine

I interviewed Eduard Zarubin, a 50-year-old urologist from Mariupol, Ukraine. The city is currently under siege  residents have no heat, water or gas, and it is nearly impossible to communicate with the outside world. There is very little food.
During six days of a grueling cross-examination he admitted to lying a lot in life. He was forced to admit to initially lying to federal agents, to his fellow partners at Goldman and to his wives and girlfriends.

But Ms. Smith said Mr. Leissner did not lie when he testified in federal court in Brooklyn to the key facts of the scheme, which was funded by a series of bond offerings that Goldman arranged for the 1MDB fund.

When it was time for Mr. Ngs lawyer to present his closing arguments, he did not waste time calling out Mr. Leissner. The lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said Mr. Leissner was a man who will lie if it suits his interest. He said that, despite what the prosecution had said, without Mr. Leissners testimony the government could not connect Mr. Ng to the conspiracy to steal billions from the 1MDB fund.

There is no evidence that connects Roger, Mr. Agnifilo said. There is not a dirty email. Not a bad text message.

By contrast, Mr. Agnifilo said, the jury had seen text messages in which Mr. Leissner was instructed on whom to pay bribe money to by Jho Low, a flamboyant Malaysian businessman who was the architect of the scheme and is a fugitive believed to be living in China.
Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter, follow our live coverage of the news.

Elon Musk, the worlds richest man, reached out to Parag Agrawal, Twitters chief executive, a few weeks ago with a friendly heads-up. He was buying shares of the social media company, Mr. Musk confided, and wanted to discuss how to make Twitter better.

Mr. Musk had ideas for reshaping social networks that dovetailed with those of Mr. Agrawal and Jack Dorsey, Twitters co-founder, according to their public exchanges. All three have floated the notion of radically shifting the power in social networking to users and away from behemoth companies, by using an approach to technology that would give people control over what they see in their social media feeds.

In the ensuing weeks, Mr. Agrawal discussed having Mr. Musk become a more active participant in Twitters future, according to two people with knowledge of the conversations who were not authorized to speak publicly. Mr. Agrawal also welcomed having Mr. Musk  who has more than 80 million Twitter followers and sometimes tweets a dozen or more times a day  join the companys board, one of the people said.

On Tuesday, Twitter announced that Mr. Musk, 50, would be appointed to its 11-person board in a term that expires in 2024. That followed the revelation on Monday that Mr. Musk had accumulated a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, making him its biggest shareholder. Mr. Musk has agreed not to own more than 14.9 percent of Twitters stock or take over the company, which is based in San Francisco, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A Nebraska state senator, Bruce Bostelman, last month warned of an alarming new variety of deviance making its way into the states schools. Its something called furries, he said. Schoolchildren, Bostelman claimed, were identifying as cats or dogs. They meow and they bark. And educators, indulging them, are wanting to put litter boxes in the schools for the children to use, said Bostelman.

Perhaps needless to say, none of this was true. Bostelman later apologized for spreading falsehoods, saying, It was just something I felt that if this really was happening, we needed to address it and address it quickly.

What interests me is why he thought this was really happening, and not just in decadent enclaves like New York City or San Francisco, but in his own Midwestern backyard.

Part of the answer is surely social media. As The Associated Press reported, the rumor, a mockery of transgender identification, has persisted in a Facebook group called Protect Nebraska Children. The same rumor has cropped up in Iowa, where a school superintendent had to send out a letter to students and parents debunking it; in Michigan, where a parent brought it up at a school board meeting; and in Wisconsin, where it was spread by a conservative radio host.
PYONGYANG, April 5 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has warned South Korea of "total destruction and ruin" if it "adopts military confrontation" against Pyongyang, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday.

Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and younger sister of DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un, gave the warning in a press statement on Monday concerning a comment made by South Korea's Defense Minister Suh Wook describing preemptive strike capabilities against the DPRK.

Kim said South Korea is not her country's principal enemy. "Unless the South Korean army takes any military action against our state, it will not be regarded as a target of our attack."

However, she added, "such nonsense itself is a very dangerous and nasty expression."

"In case South Korea opts for military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty. It is the primary mission of the nuclear force to prevent such war before anything else, but in case of war, its mission will convert into the one of eliminating the enemy's armed forces at a strike," Kim warned.

If the situation reaches such a phase, a dreadful attack will be launched and the South Korean army "will have to face a miserable fate little short of total destruction and ruin," she added.

Kim made a similar warning on Saturday, saying the South Korean military chief's reckless and intemperate rhetoric about the "preemptive strike" had further worsened the inter-Korean relations and the military tension on the Korean Peninsula. 
Image A health care worker administering Covid vaccines to students in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe, last week. Credit... Aaron Ufumeli/EPA, via Shutterstock

Senators announced a deal on a $10 billion coronavirus aid package on Monday to provide additional aid for domestic testing, vaccination and treatment efforts, after dropping a push to include billions for the global vaccination effort.

The agreement requires at least $5 billion to be set aside for therapeutics and $750 million for research and clinical trials to prepare for future variants. The remaining funds will be used for vaccines and testing.

It does not include $5 billion in funding for the global vaccination effort that had previously been proposed, after senators spent the weekend haggling over a Republican demand to claw back money Congress previously approved.

The package was announced by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, and Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah. Both have led negotiations in recent days. In a statement, Mr. Schumer said that President Biden supported the agreement, even though it was less than half of the White Houses original $22.5 billion request.

This $10 billion Covid package will give the federal government  and our citizens  the tools we need to continue our economic recovery, keep schools open and keep American families safe, Mr. Schumer said in a statement. While this emergency injection of additional funding is absolutely necessary, it is well short of what is truly needed to keep us safe from the Covid-19 virus over the long-term.

He added that he planned for additional bipartisan negotiations over another emergency aid package that could include both aid for the global vaccination effort and additional assistance for Ukraine as it battles a Russian invasion.

Every dollar we requested is essential, and we will continue to work with Congress to get all of the funding we need, but time is of the essence, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a statement. We urge Congress to move promptly on this $10 billion package because it can begin to fund the most immediate needs, as we currently run the risk of not having some critical tools like treatments and tests starting in May and June.

The domestic spending is paid for largely by repurposing unspent money that was approved in March 2021 in the $1.9 trillion pandemic law that Democrats pushed through without any Republican votes, as well as some funds from the $2.2 trillion law approved under the Trump administration, a key Republican demand.

Among the programs and agencies affected are a grant program for shuttered venues, the Economic Injury Disaster loan program, the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, as well as agriculture and transportation funding, according to summaries provided by the two offices.

In a separate statement, Mr. Romney called for the legislation to receive broad bipartisan support and added that he was willing to explore a fiscally responsible solution to support global efforts in the weeks ahead.

Lawmakers are pushing to move the aid package through before the end of the week, when both chambers are scheduled to leave for a two-week recess. It is unclear if there will be enough support for such a swift timeline, given that Senate Democrats aim to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court this week and all 100 lawmakers would have to agree to waive procedural hurdles to speed up the process.

Multiple House Democrats have also expressed frustration with the omission of the global vaccination aid, which is central to Mr. Bidens strategy of reducing vaccine inequality and limiting the impact of the next coronavirus variant.

Without global vaccination funding, we are simply not tackling the problem of COVID, Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington, the chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on Twitter.

Several Democrats, however, said the urgent need to provide domestic aid was enough to warrant their support.

I understand that domestic public health spending is also urgently needed, and so I intend to vote for this bill, Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware and one of the negotiators, said in a statement. However, this is only a partial step, and I will push my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass a robust international funding bill in the coming weeks to address pandemic-related needs and the growing global hunger and food security crisis.

Recent efforts to pass an initial $15.6 billion Covid package collapsed last month when House Democrats balked at clawing back money that had been set aside for state governments in last years law.

Those funds remained untouched in the current plan. But the measure also includes a bipartisan bill, led by Senators John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, and Alex Padilla, Democrat of California, that will give state, local and tribal governments more flexibility in how coronavirus aid is spent.

While access to vaccines has gradually expanded around the world, administering the shots remains a challenge. In many low-income countries, only about 15 percent of the population has received at least one vaccine dose, compared with about 80 percent of the population in many middle- and high-income countries, according to the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford.
Alan J. Hruska, a corporate litigator who had a second, wide-ranging career as a founder of the independent publishing house Soho Press, which invests in serious fiction by unsung authors; as a novelist; and as a writer, director and producer of plays and films, died on March 29 at his home in Manhattan. He was 88.

The cause was lymphoma, his daughter, Bronwen Hruska, the publisher of Soho Press, said.

Even before Mr. Hruska retired from his day job at Cravath Swaine & Moore in New York in 2001 after four decades there, he published his first novel, in 1985. The next year, with his wife, Laura Chapman Hruska, and Juris Jurjevics, a former editor in chief of Dial Press, he founded Soho Press.

Soho Press made its reputation by welcoming unsolicited manuscripts from little-known writers. Its ambitions, Mr. Jurjevics said, were not to have a certain percentage of growth a year and not to be bought by anybody.

Soho Press, based in Manhattan, has specialized in literary fiction and memoirs with a backlist that includes books by Jake Arnott, Edwidge Danticat, John LHeureux, Delores Phillips, Sue Townsend and Jacqueline Winspear. The company also has a Soho Teen young adult imprint and a Soho Crime imprint that publishes mysteries in exotic locales by, among others, Cara Black, Colin Cotterill, Peter Lovesey and Stuart Neville.
4. Sol e Pesca Restaurant in Lisbon Its in an old tackle shop about the size of a shoe box on this little road in Lisbon. It feels very tucked away. You go in and sit on this tiny stool, they bring you a basket of bread and you order a few tinned fish items. They put them in a bowl so youre not just eating out of the tin, and they have Vinho Verde on tap. Its the simplest, most beautiful meal Ive ever had.

5. The Detroit Industry Murals by Diego Rivera My sister did her masters in Detroit, and we went to the Detroit Institute of Art and saw these fresco paintings by Diego Rivera. There are 27 murals that are all 360, with a big skylight above you. Its a tribute to Detroits manufacturing industry, and you have people pushing and pulling on machines, the fire and the uniforms. Its so character driven, and the detail of each individual person  I was dumbstruck. I didnt want to leave.

6. Charlie Chaplins The Great Dictator Charlie Chaplin said later that he wouldnt have made the film if he had known what was going on in Nazi Germany at the time, but Im glad he did. It was an entry point for me to understand how the arts can both start conversations about meaningful things  and make fun of them. It takes a turn for the serious and he gives this impassioned speech, this kind of plea for humanity at the end that people have been rediscovering and posting on Instagram. Its one of the great speeches of all time. And it still has so much relevance, especially when we see whats going on in Ukraine. Theres a line thats like, You are not machine men. Its a plea to the army to put down your weapons.

7. Canyon de Chelly I used to take part in the gold rush of pilot season, when all the Canadian actors would flock down to Los Angeles to try to scare up some work. I would drive down and take a different route each time because I thought it would be interesting to see a little bit of America. I did this walk down into this canyon, in the Navajo Nation in Arizona  its about an hour to the bottom  and its red soil and trees and there are buildings built into the cliffs from probably 1,000 years ago. I was just standing there and having this tangible realization that this country is ancient.

8. Long Days Journey Into Night by Eugene ONeill When I was in 11th grade, I saw the Bob Falls Broadway production with Brian Dennehy, Vanessa Redgrave, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Sean Leonard. I bought the play shortly after and was completely obsessed with it. Its certainly not my family history, but there are things in every family that it feels that you cant talk about or, or things that are difficult to talk about or behavioral patterns that drive you crazy. I fantasize about getting to play any part in that play some time in my life.

9. Spiral Arc on Lake Huron My parents bought this vacant piece of land overlooking Lake Huron in southwestern Ontario the year I was born, and it became our family cottage. That was in 1987, and over the next two decades, they spent countless hours designing and building the strangest building in Huron County. The neighbors call it the spaceship  its shaped like half a heart, and its clad in metal and its mostly windows and the sun sets over this uninterrupted view of Lake Huron. Its my favorite place in the world.

10. The Ultrasound This is my favorite piece of media at this moment. Its an ultrasonic photograph of my son in his mothers womb, and its occupying the gallery on my fridge right now. Im completely obsessed. Hes about four months out from being born. I have a name in mind, but I might have to do some work with my wife to get it over the finish line, so I dont want to say what it is yet!
Gran Fury went on to design fake currency that was handed out on Wall Street to protest a pharmaceutical companys profiteering; bloody handprints meant to symbolize the New York City mayors culpable reluctance to act; and posters for the Venice Biennale that juxtaposed the pope and an erect phallus. The group also coined the slogan Women dont get AIDS, they just die from it to pressure the C.D.C. to update AIDSs official definition, allowing women access to government support.

Some Gran Fury artworks were duds. Indeed, members of the collective themselves dismissed one nearly illegible piece as the eye chart, and in Lowerys telling such put-downs were common. One member compared the sniping to that of The Boys in the Band; of the groups eventual demise, another quipped that it died because nobody wanted to be in the same room anymore.

The splintering paralleled tensions within ACT UP, which held together for as long as possible two contrary impulses: outrage against an establishment willing to let social outcasts die, and a wish to understand and repair, which required collaboration with the same establishment. In 1991, Harrington led an exodus from ACT UP of members who had become experts in the science and bureaucracy of drug research and had grown impatient with being told not to work too closely with authorities  a story told in more detail by both David France and by Sarah Schulman, books with markedly different perspectives that suggest that the rift may well be recapitulated in the historiography.

Gran Furys last great work grew, in 1993, out of a series of political funerals (including one in which a friend of mine, David Robinson, threw his partners ashes onto the White House lawn) and out of Simpsons awareness of his own imminent death. Modeled on the liturgy of the Passover Seder, the understated graphic work is echo of and answer to the command printed at the bottom of the original Silence=Death poster: Turn anger, fear, grief into action. As Simpson told a friend, before his death, Theres only so much the art can do.

IT WAS VULGAR AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic

By Jack Lowery

423 pp. Bold Type Books. $35.

Caleb Crain is the author of Necessary Errors and Overthrow.
SCHOOL DAYS

By Jonathan Galassi

Believing is the act of love, the poet Anne Sexton wrote. In Jonathan Galassis sophomore novel School Days, belief and love are often at odds. The setting is Leverett, an elite, formerly all-male boarding school in Connecticut and a stopover for the scions of old-money families before the Ivy League. When a former student claims that one of the schools deceased star pedagogues sexually harassed him decades ago, Leveretts privileged culture unravels in a narrative that cuts between 1964 and 2007.

At the center of the novel is Sam Brandt, an English teacher at Leverett who bears a striking resemblance to the author. He, like Galassi, separates from his wife in late middle age after years of stifling his gay desires. His self-reinvention is interrupted when the schools headmaster instructs him to discreetly investigate the harassment allegations. (Why a faculty member is entrusted with such an explosive task is never satisfactorily explained.) The catch  and a clear conflict of interest  is that Sam and the accuser were classmates in the 1960s. Memories of their student days together rush back like the slap in the face of an unexpected wave.

Theo Gibson  a cynical, chain-smoking bachelor who cut a raffish figure on Leveretts campus  looms over those years. Part mentor and part intellectual pugilist, Gibson imported a kind of alienated bohemianism to the school. He directed drama club productions of Beckett and Pinter, and convened a student seminar in his apartment to debate modernist poetry. The other masters eyed him with scornful fascination, Galassi writes. Gibson was certainly not one of them as far as they were concerned. It comes as no surprise (and is no spoiler) that Gibson is the harasser.

The other titan of those years is Eddie Braddock, the grandson of a five-term Republican senator and the object of Sams teenage lust. Other classmates fade in and out of focus, although most of the boys are entangled in casual affairs with one another. Put warm bodies together in a sealed environment  and unnaturally intense attachments were bound to form, Galassi writes. Yet, his rendition of heteroflexibility in Vietnam-era New England has a guilelessness that strains credulity. Boys snuggle, hold hands, confess their homosexual inclinations without shame. One confides in Sam that he is a transvestite and stashes books about female impersonation in his dorm room. Alongside such wishful uninhibitedness are scenes that verge on parody, as when Sam and another boy enjoy a lobster-and-champagne lunch on the beach, and the boy hands over a copy of Thomas Manns stories. Read Death in Venice, he says, referring to the classic novella about an older mans infatuation with a beautiful boy. It explains everything.
BOMB SHELTER

Love, Time and Other Explosives

By Mary Laura Philpott



Heres something Im pretty sure Ive never shared before: In the weeks after 9/11, with anthrax fears in the air and rolls of duct tape and plastic sheeting in the basement, I would dress my baby daughter on top of the chest of drawers in the bedroom she then shared with her sister. Holding her hands, Id stand her up, and wed both smile, and Id think, Will you be allowed to grow up?

Do not blame me for dropping this stink bomb of an anecdote on you. Its not my fault; I was triggered. I was struck to my core  all kinds of overripe feelings and neglected memories shook loose  by Mary Laura Philpott, or more precisely, by her new masterwork, Bomb Shelter.

Its a memoir of interconnected essays that begins with the story of the December morning when Philpott was awakened at 4 oclock a.m. by a series of strange, scary and unrecognizable thumps that turned out to be the sound of her teenage sons body hitting the bathroom floor as he had a seizure. The chapters span the approximately two-year period that follows, as the family first digests the news that the high school sophomore has been diagnosed with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, and then learns, along with him, how to control it with regular sleep, good stress management and daily medication. They work hard to think of the disease as one of those everyone has their thing things  because thinking this is the closest they can get to making it so. They are successful: The boy gets ready to leave for college, Philpott and her husband grow closer than ever, and their daughter  scared and silent, alone in her room, and all but forgotten on that terrible morning  is just fine.

Except that just-fineness is not a register in which a writer like Philpott  a person like Philpott  can dwell. And thats where her genius comes in: Her book is about so much more. Its about a certain kind of love thats inextricably bound up with the fear of loss. A certain kind of anxiety  the anticipatory fear of the looming empty nest, which if youre someone of Philpotts sort, may begin at the moment your baby is born. Its about having had a certain kind of childhood  a Gen X childhood, full of kidnapping news, sordid after-school TV specials, and adults who, no matter how physically present, just werent quite  there  and how that environment could lead a smart and sensitive girl to grow up viewing the world through disaster-colored glasses.
In July 1827, fed up with low pay and humiliating treatment by superior officers, Lewis sneaked out of an Agra encampment and fled west. Well aware that the companys punishment for desertion was often execution, Lewis changed his name to Charles Masson and tried to blend in  a challenge as a British foreigner in South and Central Asia.

Masson eventually reached Kabul, where he befriended an Afghan monarch, Dost Mohammad Khan. He ultimately spent two decades roaming the subcontinent, crossing paths with princes, pretenders, dreamers and rogues. In his accounting of the details of Massons life, Richardson crafts a remarkable story, full of grandeur and violence. The book is also a powerful commentary on the horrors inflicted by the East India Company, which operated with wanton cruelty.

But, as the line the Deadly Quest for the Lost City of Alexandria in the books subtitle suggests, there was more to Massons life than itinerant wandering. Alexander the Great was said to have founded countless cities throughout his travels, all of them eventually lost to time and nature. Masson heard stories everywhere about Alexanders exploits, began to identify with the conqueror and then became fixated with finding one of his lost cities. Richardson engagingly captures Massons sense of wonder and growing conviction, never proved, that hed uncovered the conquerors realm as he dug up ancient relics from the plains of Bagram, convinced that he had stumbled on a second Babylon. Yet this strand of the narrative falls short of expectations: The piles of ancient gold, silver and copper coins that Masson finds seem paltry evidence for the majestic metropolis of his imagination.

Far more intriguing is Massons reluctant transformation into a British secret agent, thanks to a venal East India Company official named Claude Wade. Wade, whom Richardson describes as a squat, perpetually hungry man, with a dimpled chin, a scrubby mustache and the look of a sleepy spider, learned Massons true identity and threatened to expose him unless Masson gathered intelligence in Afghanistan for the company. Masson hated the life of duplicity and longed to focus on archaeology, but, Richardson writes wryly, he was an exceedingly good spy. Partly on the strength of Massons reports about Dost Mohammads relationship with a Russian agent, the East India Company army set out for Kabul, intent on overthrowing the reigning leader.
Gerstle carefully recreates the new order Reagan wanted to put in its place. It had its origins, he says, in classical liberalisms faith in the free market as the guarantor of both individual liberty and the common good. In the mid-20th century a handful of European intellectuals and their American acolytes gave that faith a new name  neoliberalism  and an institutional home in a scattering of generously funded research institutions and iconoclastic university economics departments. From there it seeped into the right wing of the Republican Party, where Reagan embraced it as the revelation he believed it to be. But Reagan was no intellectual. He was a popularizer, skilled at turning neoliberalisms abstractions into sound bites that in the dire circumstances of the late 1970s managed to seem simultaneously common-sensical and inspirational. Government wasnt the solution, he said again and again. It was the problem. Cut its regulation, slash its taxes, lower its trade barriers and capitalisms genius would be released, the American dream restored.

Reagan also insisted that the government had overreached in its promotion of racial change, a position that was meant, Gerstle says, to anchor the white Souths vote. Theres a great deal of truth to that argument, but it doesnt go far enough. When Reagan denounced affirmative action or busing or welfare queens, he was playing to the racial animus that coursed through places like Allen Park, where whites made up 97 percent of the population, as much as he was playing to Mississippis prejudices. In November he lost majority-Black Detroit. But he swept its segregated suburbs.

Over the next eight years Reagan laid the neoliberal orders foundations. Gerstle emphasizes its market side  the administrations busting of the air-traffic controllers union, its deregulation of key industries, its dramatic reduction of the wealthiest Americans tax rate and its attempt to construct a Supreme Court hostile to the New Deal order  which, as it turned out, released the force of greed more than it did the genius of the marketplace. The administrations racial policies, Gerstle says, centered on the drug war it waged on young Black men, though he could have chosen any number of other positions as well  from the ravaging of public housing to the quiet resegregation of public schools  so thoroughly was race embedded in the Reagan Revolution.

What Reagan created, Bill Clinton consolidated. The economic story is straightforward. Having stumbled through his first two years in office, Clinton claimed neoliberalism as his own, proudly promoting the globalization of manufacturing, the deregulation of banking and telecommunication, and a fiscal policy designed to convince investors that they could make as much money under a Democratic government as they could under a Republican one. By the turn of the 21st century the American economy had been remade, its old industrial base replaced by the wondrous world of high tech, high finance and high-end real estate. The racial story was more complicated. Clinton celebrated multiculturalism as a marker of the nations vitality, Gerstle says. But he also doubled down on Reagans racialized law-and-order campaigns and completed the assault on the welfare state, even as the new economy was hitting poor communities with particular force. By the end of the Clinton years, Allen Parks median household income was 15 percent lower than it had been when Reagan stopped by for a beer. Detroits had tumbled by 39 percent.

There the neoliberal order remained, all but untouchable in its orthodoxy, until the crash of 2008. In that seismic event Gerstle sees a dynamic much like the one that had shattered the New Deal order. At its center stood Barack Obama, the erstwhile champion of hope captured, in Gerstles telling, by a coterie of Clinton-era advisers convinced that neoliberalism could right itself. To Obamas left a new generation of social Democrats demanded a state-directed reconstruction of the economy, while a new generation of Black activists turned the horror of racial violence and a brilliantly phrased hashtag into a mass movement. But it was the right that brought down the neoliberal order with a candidate who understood how to exploit the frustrations and furies of those whites the new economy had left behind. Donald Trumps mix of anti-elitism, hyper-nationalism and raw racism didnt win him the popular vote in 2016. But it won him Allen Park.
But its unclear if Russia can succeed, even with its radically downsized goals.

Russian forces carrying out frontal assaults in the east are making little to no progress and are facing supply issues and declining morale, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank. Russian troops being redeployed to the east will need significant amounts of equipment repairs and new hardware, British defense intelligence said today.

A small swath of land in the east encompasses Donetsk and Luhansk, two breakaway enclaves that are collectively known as the Donbas, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian government forces for eight years. Many Ukrainian forces are still entrenched there.

Russian troops have been able to solidify their front lines with the seizure of Izium, a city some 75 miles southeast of Kharkiv, last week. Russia now appears to be pivoting to seize the eastern city of Sloviansk in the coming days, the Institute for the Study of War said.

Image

Efforts by Russian forces advancing from Izium to capture Sloviansk and threaten Ukrainian forces in Donbas with encirclement will likely prove to be the next pivotal battle of the war in Ukraine, the institute said. If Russian forces are unable to take Sloviansk, Russias campaign to capture the entirety of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts will likely fail.
KATHMANDU, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Teams led by Nepal Army will be collecting waste on four mountains including Mt. Qomolangma, the tallest peak in the world.

General Prabhu Ram Sharma, chief of the Army Staff, announced the commencement of the Clean Mountain Campaign and handed over a banner that reads "An Endeavour to Save the Himalayas."

Three teams are mobilized for the cleaning campaign with a view to collecting 35 tons of waste left by climbers on Mt. Qomolangma (8,848.86m), Mt. Lhotse (8,516m), Mt. Kanchenjunga (8,586m) and Mt. Manaslu (8,163m), and they will set off in two batches on Wednesday and April 16.

"A total of 92 people, including Nepal Army personnel, doctors and the Sherpa guides, are mobilized for the campaign," Himansu Khadka, a Nepal Army brigadier general, said at a press meet.

The waste collected will be segregated as biodegradable and non-biodegradable, and they will be buried and recycled respectively.

The teams have accepted acclimatization training from February 28 to March 29, and the cleaning campaign is scheduled to end in late May.

The Nepal Army has been leading the clean campaign since 2019 amid waste piling up on the tall mountains that attract climbers from around the world.

The teams collected 10 tons of waste in 2019, and the amount went up to 27.6 tons in 2021. The campaign was postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

April to May is the main season to summit the Himalayan mountains on Nepal's side, in particular Mt. Qomolangma which straddles Nepal and China. 
Atrocities prompt calls to isolate Russia

Images of dead Ukrainians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, some with their hands tied and others haphazardly buried in pits, spurred shocked Western leaders yesterday to promise even tougher sanctions against Russia, including possibly on energy. The Kremlin dug in and showed signs of preparing a new assault. Follow the latest updates.

President Biden called for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, to face a war crime trial. Germany and France expelled a total of 75 Russian diplomats, and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said the E.U. should consider sanctions against Russian coal and oil.

A spokesman for Putin said that the Kremlin categorically denied any allegations of Russian involvement in the atrocities, which Russian state media denounced as a Western fabrication. The authorities threatened to prosecute anyone who publicly blamed Russians for the Bucha killings.

A review of satellite images by The Times shows that many of the civilians were killed more than three weeks ago, when Russias military controlled the town. There were bodies in the streets as early as March 11, well before Russia says it withdrew completely from Bucha.
Zelensky addresses the U.N.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine delivered a fiery speech to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, a day after visiting Bucha, where images have surfaced of civilian bodies in the wake of Russias retreat.

Zelensky said that more than 300 people had been tortured and killed in the town north of Kyiv and that soldiers raped women in front of children. He lamented the organizations inability to stop the bloodshed: Where is the Security Council? he asked. It is obvious that the key institution of the world to protect peace cannot work effectively. Follow live updates here.

His speech came as the E.U. moved to ban Russian coal imports and the bloc said it was working on soon banning Russian oil. But energy remains a tense issue: Germany, the E.U.s largest economy, is heavily reliant on Russian energy and cant simply pull the plug.

The war is moving east as Russia shifts its attention to regions led by separatist governments in Donetsk and Luhansk. Military analysts said supply issues and declining morale had stymied Russian progress and that the next pivotal battle would happen in the eastern city of Sloviansk.
Last year, Russia supplied more than half of the natural gas and about a third of all the oil that Germany burned to heat homes, power factories and fuel cars, buses and trucks. Roughly half of Germanys coal imports, which are essential to its steel manufacturing, came from Russia.

Russian gas, oil and coal are embedded in the German economy and way of life. The roots run deep.

The first natural gas pipeline connecting what was then West Germany to Siberia was completed in the early 1980s. The legacy of the Cold War can still been seen in the energy infrastructure in Germanys east, which remains directly linked to Russia, making it harder to get oil from other providers into that part of the country.

Today, those entanglements loom large as European leaders debate whether energy should be included in more sanctions on Russia amid growing evidence of atrocities committed by Russian troops against Ukrainian civilians. Officials in Germany, Europes largest economy, are caught between outrage at Russias aggression and their continuing need for the countrys essential commodities.

It was a mistake that Germany became so heavily dependent on energy imports from Russia, Christian Lindner, Germanys finance minister, said Tuesday, heading into talks with his European Union colleagues in Luxembourg.
JetBlue Airways has offered to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.6 billion, throwing a wrench into Spirits plan to merge with Frontier Airlines and create a behemoth budget carrier.

Spirit and Frontier, both low-cost airlines, agreed in February to merge in a deal that the companies said would save consumers about $1 billion a year. JetBlue offered $33 a share in cash, Spirit said on Tuesday. Frontiers shares have fallen since it and Spirit announced their deal, reducing the value of its offer, which has an implied value of about $25 a share at current prices.

JetBlues chief executive, Robin Hayes, said in an interview that the acquisition would allow the carrier to offer more quality, affordable flights, helping it to better compete against the airlines that dominate the U.S. market.

This is about really allowing a bigger JetBlue to compete against four large legacy airlines, bringing the JetBlue experience to more customers, bringing more JetBlue flights into high-fare legacy hub airports and offering real competition, he said.
The United States has started blocking Russia from making debt payments using dollars held in American banks, a move designed to deplete its international currency reserves and potentially push Russia toward its first foreign currency debt default in a century.

A Treasury Department spokeswoman said the action was taken on Monday. It was the same day that more than half a billion dollars in Russian sovereign debt payments came due. The new restriction, the spokeswoman said, is intended to force Russia to choose between draining the remaining dollar reserves it has in Russia or using new revenue (from natural gas payments, for example) to make bond payments to avoid defaulting on its debt.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February and sanctions were imposed, the Russian government has kept up its foreign currency debt payments. While it has shown a willingness to pay, it has been able to pay investors using American banks with the approval of the U.S. government. Last month, the Treasury Department created an exemption from its sanctions that allowed Americans to accept debt payments from Russia until May 25 to avoid destabilizing the broader financial system.

On Monday, a $2 billion bond came due as well as an $84 million coupon payment. But last week, Russia bought back about three-quarters of the bond that matured on Monday in exchange for rubles. It was a relatively unusual move, but it shrank Russia's dollar obligations, leaving about $552 million to be paid. The Treasurys action on Monday has blocked these payments, but Russia has a 30-day grace period to complete the transaction before it might be found to be in default.
President Biden will allow millions of federal student loan borrowers to freeze their payments until Aug. 31, according to an administration official briefed on the matter, the latest extension of a pandemic relief measure that began more than two years ago.

The delay would be the seventh since the pauses began early in the pandemic, and it would come less than a month before payments were scheduled to restart and affect tens of millions of borrowers, including 35 million who have not been making payments that would otherwise have been due. Those debts have not been accruing interest, and seven million borrowers in default have received a break from paycheck garnishments and other collection efforts.

The extension is expected to be announced this week, according to the administration official, who was not authorized to speak about the plans before the announcement.

The four-month delay means the pause will become an issue again before the midterm elections and remain a rallying cry for student debt activists who have called for Mr. Biden to cancel at least some debt outright. Americans owe $1.6 trillion on federal student loans  more than they owe on car loans, credit cards or any consumer debt other than mortgages.
In response to censorship by Moscow and provocative posts about the war in Ukraine, Twitter detailed new policies on Tuesday that it said would reduce amplification of Russian government accounts and ban some tweets containing images of prisoners of war.

Twitter, like other companies, is updating its content moderation policies for war, and the changes escalate its existing policies for posts from state-affiliated media. They also show how the company is trying to walk a line between supporting important documentation of events in the conflict and exploitation.

Twitter said it would stop amplifying government accounts from countries that limit access to the open internet while theyre engaged in armed conflict, Yoel Roth, Twitters head of site integrity, said in a press call on Monday. In practice, the policy applies only to Russian government accounts, which will no longer be recommended on Twitters home timeline, explore page or search results.

Russia has throttled access to Twitter, meaning that pages load slower for users in that country and in some cases dont load at all. Mr. Roth said the policy would apply to any wartime country that placed restrictions on the internet, whether Twitter was blocked or not.
Maybe because Im the child of immigrants. Or maybe because Im a Virgo. I cringe at questions about climate hope. I also cringe at the hype that the planet is about to become unlivable.

Im a practical type. So the urgent question for me is: What can be done to slow down climate change? Tell me whats possible. Tell me what stands in the way.

Thats what I find most valuable in the new report this week from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It tells us the world already has many of the tools required to shift away from fossil fuels and slow down climate change quickly.

Its doable, in other words. Its just not getting done.

(The previous I.P.C.C. report, in February, focused on adaptation, or efforts to live with the reality of climate change. We wrote about that here. The panel puts out periodic reports, and this latest one deals with mitigation, or how to reduce the emissions that cause global temperatures to rise.)
Tema Smith, 38, a multiracial Black Jewish woman in Toronto who works as an educator and diversity advocate, said she felt inspired by the work of Mr. Twitty, a friend and colleague.

As Jews become more diverse in the U.S, and are in more racially diverse leadership roles, modeling that its OK to bring all of your culture into Judaism is really beautiful and important, because food is such an important part of who we are, she said.

Mr. Twitty recalled his first Passover celebration, when he was in high school, as the moment he connected with the holidays deeper, progressive themes. My general impression was that it was these ideas about freedom and about your cultures destiny, and your peoples destiny, that were being discussed, he said. It develops into a full-blown conversation that lasts the better part of the whole night.

The holiday, he said, can be a reminder of the work that needs to be done in the United States and around the world.

Were making a claim on how we do our culture, he said. There have been Jews of African descent since there was Judaism. And we wont stop telling that story.

Audio produced by Tally Abecassis .

Recipes: Matzo-Meal Fried Chicken | Kachumbari (Tomato and Onion Relish) | West African-Inspired Brisket

And to Drink 

Fried chicken goes with just about any wine, as long as the wine is not too oaky or tannic, which essentially means that you can choose anything you like. I love Champagne  it goes beautifully with most fried dishes. Riesling is great as well, either dry or moderately sweet. My other top choices among whites include Chablis, dry chenin blancs and assyrtiko from Santorini. If you prefer red, pinot noir is a great choice. So is Beaujolais or sangiovese. You could drink a modest Bordeaux or a restrained malbec, whether from Mendoza or Cahors. If you are preparing this dish for Passover, many of these wines are available in kosher versions. You could also try good Israeli producers like Domaine du Castel and Tzora, or kosher American producers like Hagafen and Covenant, which makes wine in Israel as well. ERIC ASIMOV
Headliner

The Lambs Club

The Stanford White-designed building that, since 2010, has been the Chatwal Hotel was originally built as a home for the Lambs Club, a theater group, for which the hotels bar and restaurant is now named. A bright spot for theater district dining for more than a decade, it has been closed since the start of the pandemic, but will reopen early next week with Michael White, in his return to New York, as executive chef. (He replaces Geoffrey Zakarian, who departed in the fall.) Mr. White was a partner in the Altamarea Group (Marea, Osteria Morini, Ai Fiori, etc.), but severed his ties with the group and left New York almost two years ago, and wound up in Surfside, Fla., where he became the executive chef of the Lido Restaurant at The Surf Club, a post he will retain. Its been like a sabbatical, he said. His food will maintain Mr. Zakarians high-end American style; Mr. White is planning a seasonal array, with Montauk fluke crudo, asparagus hollandaise with morels, steak tartare, roast chicken with artichokes and snap peas, a strip steak with peppercorn sauce, and what hes calling the Stanford White burger with raclette cheese. Its a great opportunity for me not to do something thats strictly Italian, to step outside my box, he said. But hell also slip in Italian tastes with lobster spaghettini and a risotto. The restaurants deep wine cellar remains available. A handsome restaurant with a fireplace, Art Deco touches, red leather upholstery and an upstairs bar, all designed by Thierry Despont, Lambs Club has undergone some cosmetic fixes without altering its elegance. Grand Tour Hospitality is running the restaurant in partnership with David Rabin, a partner since its inception, and Mr. White. (Opens Monday)

Chatwal Hotel, 132 West 44th Street, 212-997-5262, thelambsclub.com.

Opening

Place des Fetes

This restaurant was first a pop-up in the courtyard behind Oxalis in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The chef, Nico Russell; the director of operations, Steve Wong; and the beverage director, Piper Kristensen, wanted a more casual spot than the Michelin-starred Oxalis, and they finally found a location in a Clinton Hill brownstone. Neutral tones, brick walls and an open kitchen are the backdrop for a seafood-centric menu with a number of small plates inspired by France, Portugal and Spain. Anchovies, sea urchin, skate wing and mussels are featured, and there are also cured meats, cheeses, vegetables like grilled brassicas, and country pork ribs. The chef de cuisine, Jacob Harth, is from Ashland, Ore. France and Spain dominate the wine list.

212 Greene Avenue (Grand Avenue), Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, 718-857-0101, pdfnyc.com.

Melodys Piano Bar

This spot from Tom and Anthony Martignetti, who own the East Pole in the neighborhood, and other places around the city, is replacing Lexington Bar and Books, the clubby Upper East Side lounge. Sophistically decorated with lots of black and gold, it will feature piano music nightly. (Monday)

1020 Lexington Avenue (73rd Street), 646-559-2808, melodyspianobar.com.

Honest

More than 60 years ago, Ramesh Gupta had a street cart in Ahmedabad, India. It evolved into a restaurant in 1987 and then a franchise chain of nearly 100 Indian vegetarian restaurants worldwide. The signature is bhaji pav, a spiced vegetable curry with buttered bread. There are 31 locations in the United States, but this is the first in Manhattan. Another first for the chain: The new location plans to serve alcohol (beer and wine). Like the other locations, this one has a varied menu of chaat snacks, Indian-style pizzas, sandwiches, dosas and Indo-Chinese dishes like Hakka noodles and Sichuan fried rice, all to eat in or take away.

176 Bleecker Street (Sullivan Street), 917-261-2610, nychonest.com.
MOSCOW, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Moscow and Kiev have conducted several rounds of peace talks with the aim of searching for a political settlement to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, which has intensified over the past month.

The outcomes of these talks, as delegations from both sides have indicated, are expected to lay an important foundation for de-escalation of tensions between Russia and Ukraine, but key divergences have yet to be resolved.

The latest round of face-to-face negotiations in Istanbul last week resulted in Kiev handing Moscow its proposals, which contained its refusal to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and deploy foreign military bases and troops on its territory, its readiness to fix its current status as a non-bloc state, and willingness to renounce nuclear weapons as well as other weapons of mass destruction.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he saw positive signals from the peace negotiations, while Vladimir Medinsky, Russian presidential aide and head of Russia's negotiation team, said that Ukraine has demonstrated its readiness to negotiate with Russia "for the first time in years."

Meanwhile, both sides have confirmed that they were continuing talks in an online format since Friday.

Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said that the two sides would intensify efforts to work out an agreement needed for a meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Medinsky said Russia saw that Ukraine had taken "a more realistic approach" to talks, but the draft agreement was not sufficient for a potential meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

The Russian side has said repeatedly that a meeting at the highest level would only be possible when a clear draft treaty was formulated, and both sides agreed on key aspects.

Ivan Timofeev, director of programs at the Russian International Affairs Council, said that the Russian and Ukrainian leaders could potentially meet in person, but only when all negotiation parameters are agreed upon.

"There is a theoretical possibility of such a meeting, but a practical basis has not yet been prepared," Timofeev said.

Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director of the Commonwealth of Independent States Institute, said that the latest round of negotiations is just one stage of the process, and it is by no means over.

"Russia received an offer from Ukraine, these proposals are necessary, but still insufficient for concluding a peace agreement," he said.

While the results of the ongoing talks and statements made by both sides prompted "cautious optimism," it is also clear that both Moscow and Kiev are making every effort to ensure their respective economic, diplomatic and security interests are met.

The Russian defense ministry has decided to significantly reduce military activities from Kiev and Chernihiv directions. The decision can be seen as a move towards de-escalation, and an effort to create more favorable conditions for further negotiations.

Besides diplomatic approaches aimed at defending its security interests, Russia has also taken a series of measures to protect the country's economic interests.

Putin signed a decree on Thursday on new rules of natural gas trade with "unfriendly" countries and regions, vowing to halt existing contracts if these buyers refuse to pay in rubles.

He said this was an "important step towards strengthening Russia's financial and economic sovereignty," adding that western countries have used the financial system as a weapon.

The Russian president also signed a decree on Monday introducing visa restrictions for citizens from "unfriendly countries," a decision made in retaliation to hostile measures taken by the European Union.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, the international community has been supporting Russia-Ukraine peace talks as well as any efforts taken to reach a peace deal.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday that the country could host Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers for peace talks within the following weeks.

The minister said he was in contact with both Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov for the meeting. 
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

Michele McNally, who served as The New York Timess director of photography and then as a top newsroom manager, died on Feb. 18 at age 66. When she started at the newspaper in 2004, her mission was clear: to enhance The Timess photojournalism and to show the newsroom just how powerful visual storytelling could be. She achieved both. Under her leadership, The Times won six Pulitzer Prizes for photography. But she also left a mark on the lives of those she worked with. Here, two Times photographers, Josh Haner and Joao Silva, share how Ms. McNally shaped The Times and their careers.

Early Mornings in the Archives

When Michele saw something in you, that was it  she would encourage you, challenge you, allow you to reinvent yourself and then keep pushing you.

When I first met Michele in 1995, Id never seen someone as passionate about photography. Her small frame belied her intensity. She was the epitome of the hard-charging New York photo editor who demanded excellence and didnt put up with excuses.

Years later, I had graduated and moved into my parents basement in San Francisco when I crossed paths with Michele again. I put together a portfolio of my photographs and found a way to get it in front of her at Fortune magazine. A few months later, she called and asked if I had any upcoming plans to be in New York; she wanted to interview me for a job. I lied and said I was planning to be there later that week. She laughed, seeing through my invented story, and told me to come to her office on Thursday. She offered me the job on the spot.
Have you ever held onto a library book past its due date? If so, did you pay a fine? Have fines made you more hesitant to use the library?

Do you think late fees are a necessary way to nudge patrons to return items on time? Are they a good approach for raising money? Or, do you think libraries should get rid of fines as a way to create a more equitable system while encouraging more people to use the library?

In The Library Ends Late Fees, and the Treasures Roll In, Gina Cherelus writes about what happened when New Yorks public library systems eliminated late fines:

Some items, checked out decades ago, arrived with apologetic notes. Enclosed are books I have borrowed and kept in my house for 28-50 years! I am 75 years old now and these books have helped me through motherhood and my teaching career, one patron wrote in an unsigned letter that accompanied a box of books dropped off at the New York Public Librarys main branch last fall. Im sorry for living with these books so long. They became family. Three DVD copies of The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, a 2009 action film about Irish Catholic vigilantes in Boston that has a 23 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, were returned to three libraries in three different boroughs. When New Yorks public library systems announced last October that they would be eliminating all late fines, the goal was to get books and people back to the more than 200 branches, as well as research centers, across the city after a year and a half of limited hours and access. The goal was achieved: A wave of returned overdue materials came crashing in, accompanied by a healthy increase (between 9 and 15 percent, depending on the borough) of returning visitors.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

Have you ever held onto a library book past its due date? Have you ever had to pay late fees? Do library fines  and overdue books  stress you out?

Do you think its a good idea for libraries to get rid of overdue fines? Why or why not?

Do you think fines encourage patrons to return library books on time? Or, are there better ways  ones that dont disproportionately impact high-need communities  to get people to bring overdue items back?

Would you be more likely to check out books if you knew you wouldnt have to pay a late fee? Would you be more likely to keep a library book past the due date?

Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
The origins of Fifty Shades of Grey are perhaps more widely known than those of BP Capital or Koch Industries. Fifty Shades sprang from the mind of Erika Mitchell, an English television executive who in 2009 wrote a fan-fiction riff on Stephenie Meyers Twilight vampire-romance series under the name Snowqueens Icedragon. When the work picked up readers, Mitchell rewrote it, removing any references to Meyers material but keeping its spirit, and sold the resulting work to an Australian publisher as Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James, in 2011. The small-press book became a sensation that resulted in a seven-figure deal, one that transferred the rights from the original press to Vintage Books, a division of Knopf Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House. Its the kind of deal that could form a chapter in one of the billionaire memoirs, a complex transfer of capital that spawned a billion-dollar book-and-movie franchise, even before estimating the cash value of the many books that have sprouted like mushrooms in its shadow.

Poor [expletive]-up, kinky, philanthropic Christian, the narrator of Fifty Shades, Anastasia Steele, muses about her billionaire, the eponymous Christian Grey. Steele is a graduating college senior and virgin who meets the 27-year-old telecommunications billionaire when she interviews him for the school paper. Grey has a large and mostly unexplained business empire that leaves him plenty of time to pursue his interest in sadomasochism, dominance and control  pursuits, we are told, that stem from a tortured childhood with a crack-whore mother and teenage sexual abuse by a much older woman. When he is not courting Steele or pressuring her to join him in his sex dungeon as a submissive, he is issuing gruff instructions about Darfur on the phone. In this setup, Grey is Ragged Dick reincarnated, the orphan made good, paying it forward to Darfur but also playing fairy goddaddy and letting Steele, another waif, step into her own power as the mistress of an astronomically rich man. The levels have levels.

If Pretty Woman was a Cinderella story for the American Psycho era of corporate raiding, its hero wearing his aggression on his sleeve, Fifty Shades is one for the Dark Money era. James presents Greys frustrating silences and elliptical back story, his penchant for surveillance, as part of his allure. The fact that the effort is so wildly successful reveals the way that Algers DNA persists in chaotic bastardizations and reimaginings; Fifty Shades has all the potency of luxury and comfort but flirts also with the allure of submission, the dark side of the Alger oeuvres suppressed and troubled eroticism made palatable, mainstreamed.

Grey is controlling in and outside his dungeon. He finds out where Steele is by tracking her cellphone. He buys her a laptop that she uses only to email him. I want you to behave in a particular way, he tells her, and if you dont, I shall punish you, and you will learn to behave the way I desire. Steele demurs. I am not a merger. I am not an acquisition, she thinks, before she is merged and acquired. And yet, while Grey does get Steele into his dungeon, ultimately the series is about his slow domestication  her ultimate rejection of his style of sexual dominance. Hailed as a filthy exploration of bondage, the S.&M. element is in fact subverted at every juncture for a marriage plot and what Grey calls vanilla sex.

Fifty Shades has played an outsize role in the destructive, hypercapitalist consolidation of Amazons algorithm-based book business. Digital and physical shelves teem with additions to the house that James and Meyer built. Many are in explicit conversation with Fifty Shades. In Bared to You, where the billionaire is again a bad boy with a traumatic past and a heart of gold, the author Sylvia Day thanks E.L. James in her acknowledgments. And there are thousands of these books. Searching billionaire romance on Amazon Books yields more than 50,000 results with series like Billionaire Bad Boys, Blue-Collar Billionaire$, Billionaires Captive, Bostons Billionaire Bachelors. In fact, the only kind of book for which billionaire is an explicit category is the romance novel, where it has developed into its own distinct subgenre.

Ultimately, these books are rehabilitory projects for billionaires, laundering their exploitative politics and recasting them as mildly edgy sex  not to mention putting hot young faces on a class of men that is in reality mostly approaching or past retirement age, for an audience of women who often have far less economic power. In Everything and Less: The Novel in the Age of Amazon, the literary scholar Mark McGurl writes of Grey: While it is tempting to read him as little more than a poster boy for neoliberal capitalism, for that set of brutalities, he is also the symbolic vehicle by which that system is softened and made caring again in the little welfare state of a loving marriage. Billionaires already lived rent-free in our heads; these books simply extend the lease, adding ever weirder terms, continuing to disappear everyone who falls outside the beautiful capitalist trajectory of up, up, upward to domestic comfort. After all, Greys ultimate goal is to help eradicate hunger and poverty across the globe.
While the Slap Heard Round the World has been vigorously debated and dissected since Will Smith confronted Chris Rock at the Oscars, there was more to the incident than its abrupt physicality.

Rocks joke, and Jada Pinkett Smiths resulting eyeroll, echoed even more thunderously for Black women. Her glare encapsulated the fatigue and frustration that so many of us deal with in the complex daily feat of simply wearing our hair as we like. That Chris Rock would point to a Black womans hair for a joke left me breathless, and I wasnt alone.

When Black womens hair is mocked by comedians like Rock, he ushers in the everyday forms of microaggressive hatred against Black women that normalized blatant discrimination, Ralina Joseph, a professor at the University of Washington, Seattle, and the director of the Center for Communication, Difference and Equity, said in an email interview.

Black womens hair has been the object of scrutiny, derision and ridicule in American society since its been growing out of our heads. Thanks to standards of beauty that for too long excluded us, we are arguably the largest demographic in the country whose hair is continually policed. Court cases document fights against school districts and corporations trying to govern how we can wear our hair. A segment of people who dont live with it, in all its iterations of textures and lengths, somehow wants to dictate how and when its pretty, professional or unkempt.
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In Apollo 10: A Space Age Childhood, an animated comedy on Netflix set in the suburbs of 1960s Houston, a gaggle of preteens descend upon a Popsicle stand in a bid to ward off the Texas heat. One by one, they go for that first delightful lick, only to discover that their tongues instantly stick to the freezer-burned treats upon contact. Panic starts to spread, and the kids wriggle frantically, until  Rrrrip!  one daring boy ends up with a bloody tongue.

That joke, with its blend of humor and horror, comes from the ripe memory of the films writer and director, Richard Linklater. But its golden timing is the work of Linklaters longtime editor, Sandra Adair.
Its not long in RRR before a tiger and a wolf collide midair during a brawl with one of the films two musclebound heroes. Scenes of glorious excess make the screen hum with energy in the latest feature from S.S. Rajamouli, the director of the Baahubali blockbusters.

Set in 1920s India before independence, RRR pairs two of the countrys biggest stars, N.T. Rama Rao Jr. (known as Jr. NTR) and Ram Charan, as superfriends from either side of a bloody colonial divide. A goofily gallant Jr. NTR plays Bheem, a warrior from the Gond tribe, while Charan smolders as Ram, a fearsome police officer who is underestimated by his white superiors. (The characters are inspired by two rebel heroes from the era, Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitarama Raju.)
Looks like Dominic Taddeos big breakout was more like a spring break.

Mr. Taddeo, the fearsome hit man from upstate New York who walked away from a Florida halfway house last week, was recaptured without incident on Monday, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

The apprehension  in Hialeah, Fla., near Miami  came exactly a week after Mr. Taddeo took an unofficial detour after an authorized medical appointment and did not return to his halfway house, northwest of Orlando, prompting an escape warning from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

In a statement, U.S. Marshal Bill Berger of the Middle District of Florida credited the tenacious work of the involved deputy marshals and various law enforcement agencies for the quick capture of Mr. Taddeo.

Mr. Taddeo, 64, had been in the homestretch of a lengthy prison term, less than a year from his projected release, related to his killing of three men in the early 1980s, as part of a Rochester-area crime family. He had a bevy of other convictions as well, involving guns and drugs.
A 61-year-old woman was fatally shot on Monday night in the Bronx, caught in the crossfire after two groups of men began arguing nearby with guns drawn, the police said.

The woman, identified by the police as Juana Esperanza Soriano De-Perdomo, was shot in the back on East 188th Street, Deputy Chief Erik Hernandez told reporters at a news conference late Monday. A preliminary investigation confirmed that the gunfire came from the same street, where the armed men were fighting, he said.

We do not yet know what that dispute was about, but we do know that an innocent bystander lost her life, the New York City police commissioner, Keechant Sewell, said.

Ms. Soriano De-Perdomo joins a grim list of injured and killed bystanders amid a surge of pandemic-era shootings in the city that shows little sign of abating. Last month, a 3-year-old girl was shot in the arm outside a day care center in Brooklyn. In January, an 11-month-old girl was struck by a stray bullet in the Bronx.
But this requires a clear articulation of Western aims in this crisis. Do we want peace now  or at least as soon as possible? Do we want Ukraine to achieve an unmistakable victory over Russia? And do we want Putin to go?

The advantage of peace now  a cease-fire followed by a negotiated settlement  is that it would end both the immediate fighting and the risk of a wider war. These are not small things, and the temptation to seize them will be great, especially if Putin hints at an escalation that terrifies the West. An added temptation is to suppose that Russia has already suffered a strategic defeat, as Antony Blinken argued on CNN on Sunday, on the pretense that a truce would represent a victory for both Ukraine and the West while giving Putin the offramp he supposedly needs.

Problems with this course of action? It would consolidate most of Russias territorial gains in the war. It would allow Russian forces to continue terrorizing their captive Ukrainian subjects. It would give Putin the chance to present himself as a victor to his domestic audience. And it would provide him with the option to restart the conflict at a future date  an exact replay of what happened after Russias first Ukraine invasion, in 2014.

The second option is to help Ukraine seek a decisive military victory. That would mean more than simply beating back Russian troops in the vicinity of Kyiv. It would also mean clearing them out of every other area theyve seized since February, if not of what Russia seized in 2014.

This would require months of bloody fighting, a small but real risk of wider war and the long-term economic consequences of trying to wean the West from Russian energy. It would also require the West to supply Ukraine with the kinds of weaponry it needs to win: anti-ship missiles, high-altitude antiaircraft missiles, mine-resistant armored personnel carriers and so on.
Jasmin Tahmaseb McConatha, a professor of psychology at West Chester University, told me that shes seen a lot of people become used to spending time at home during the pandemic. It can get to a point that people become like shut-ins, she said. They get anxious when they go out.

I dont get anxious when I leave home, exactly. I just find that now that the connection between things I need to survive and leaving my house has been severed, my desire to do so has waned.

Going out in the world means confronting people who intrude on our personal space or make demands on us or smear peanut butter on subway poles. People who maybe talk too loudly about an argument they had with their mother or who snore in a movie theater and who cant  because they have just as much a right to the streets or coffee shop or subway as you do  be gently ushered to the door and handed a coat.

Ive been trying to remember that the unpredictability of shared social space also introduces the possibility of surprise and the chance of unexpected delight, which is half the joy of living near other people in the first place.

The things that used to make my day in prepandemic times were small and unplanned for  noticing a street sign that prohibited the capture of pigeons or overhearing one stranger scolding another for ordering salad at a barbecue restaurant. I prized the sudden appearance of a man exiting a bar in a dapper hat and three-piece suit, cigar hanging lazily over his lip. Moments like this cant be planned for or Postmated or arranged.

And werent there also moments when the frustration of society was, too, part of the point? The way that the behavior of others (especially on the subway  it seems always to be on the subway) tested our patience and our empathy, all of us reminded, constantly and sometimes gratingly, that our wants and needs and concerns were just one persons among billions.

Im not yet a parent, but I imagine this is good practice for life with children. Or for life with challenging people. Or perhaps its not practice for anything at all but just life itself, which human societies have long accepted as more painful and joyous and full when lived alongside others.
BUDAPEST, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Several people were killed after a truck caused a train derailment in southern Hungary early on Tuesday, police said. 
The prospects for success remain shaky. The package is expected to get squished from $15.6 billion down to around $10 billion. And some Republicans have expressed doubts about whether we really need to be throwing more money at things like prepping for future variants. (Let no one accuse Congress of taking the long view!) All last week, Mr. Romney and Mr. Schumer swapped suggestions for how to pay for the package. Assuming something does pass the Senate, it will still need to make its way through the House. With Congress, failure is pretty much always an option.

Opinion Debate Will the Democrats face a midterm wipeout? Elizabeth Warren explains her priorities and writes, if we fail to use the months remaining before the elections to deliver on more of our agenda, Democrats are headed toward big losses.

explains her priorities and writes, if we fail to use the months remaining before the elections to deliver on more of our agenda, Democrats are headed toward big losses. Mark Penn writes that without a U-turn by the Biden administration, voters increasingly motivated by fear over a variety of issues will generate a wave election like those in 1994 and 2010.

writes that without a U-turn by the Biden administration, voters increasingly motivated by fear over a variety of issues will generate a wave election like those in 1994 and 2010. Thomas B. Edsall asks, as the midterms approach, to what degree are Democratic difficulties inevitable, and which challenges stem from the partys strategic choices?

asks, as the midterms approach, to what degree are Democratic difficulties inevitable, and which challenges stem from the partys strategic choices? Ezra Klein speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging.

It is nonetheless refreshing to have someone other than Mr. Manchin at the center of these negotiations  and especially Mr. Romney. While plenty partisan, he is the exceedingly rare Republican to have shown himself willing, now and then, to put country over party. (See: The Impeachment Trials of President Donald J. Trump, Vols. 1 and 2.) He has also displayed the occasional willingness to embrace bipartisan legislation. His negotiating work on the infrastructure deal got him slammed as a Super RINO by Mr. Trump.

Going forward, Democratic leaders should consider drawing Mr. Romney into the center of the action more often, taking some of the heat  and light  off Mr. Manchin whenever possible.

Trying to corral Mr. Manchin on policy votes (versus, say, judicial nominations) has proved an extended exercise in teeth-grinding, hair-pulling frustration  not to mention public humiliation for the president. (Look! The guy cant even get his own team members in line!) No Republican is going to aid the Democrats very often. But trying to find sporadic, narrow patches of common ground with Mr. Romney could hardly prove less productive in terms of getting stuff done. And politically speaking, it could be considerably more expedient.

The political incentives for Mr. Manchin and Mr. Romney are different. By and large, it is not in Mr. Manchins interest to help Democrats achieve their legislative dreams  whatever the policy particulars. The voters of West Virginia love Donald Trump more than his own daddy did, and Mr. Manchin clings to office by aggressively frustrating his fellow Democrats. That is his brand. His superpower. The moment he stops, hes on the fast track to being dumped for a MAGA-head.
Its hard to imagine the Stepford Wives state as a ground zero of military-industrial capitalism. But for decades Connecticut has received billions of dollars in Department of Defense contracts annually  in 1990, the state received the eighth-highest amount in the country, and the third in per capita spending, despite its modest size and small population (28th in the country). In towns like Torrington, the twin motors of manufacturing and defense kept the place running. The Torrington Company made the bearings necessary for trucks, tractors, cars and helicopters. A few miles away, Howmet, where my father worked next, made airfoils, rings, disks, forgings and other parts for airplanes, including the infamous F-35 fighter jet. These companies made the parts, in other words, that turned men and machines into fighters. Or as an advertisement from Torringtons manufacturers during World War II put it: We are Behind the Men Behind the Guns.

My father became one of those men. Not that he would have put it that way. Connecticuts industries gave my dad a rare opportunity for steady, unionized work, open to him thanks to decades of organizing by activists to integrate factories. Elsewhere, he might have landed where many other Vietnamese refugees found themselves: in low-wage service work  in nail salons, restaurants and the like; or in low-end manufacturing work  in sweatshops and their ilk; or, drawing on their own histories of combat, as police and corrections officers. Instead, he vanished into those factories for 10 hours a day and helped shore up the same military that had set our family adrift.

Connecticut in January is cold. When we first arrived, my lips bled constantly  the frigid temperatures outside and blasting heat inside causing them to split wide open. At the beginning of the 1980s, thousands of Southeast Asian families like ours, fleeing decades of war and occupation, were dropped into small towns like Torrington, where we were purposely isolated from one another in the hope that we would quickly assimilate. With no social network and few resources, our lives split open too. We moved into a small, squat, brick rowhouse, a part of a public housing complex on a street optimistically called Terrace Drive. Our neighbors were poor white and Black Americans, with a few recently arrived Cambodian families thrown in. We did not know much about them, except that some worked at the Torrington Company.

Recently, while looking through the archives at the Torrington Historical Society, I came across copies of The Precisionist, a magazine the Torrington Company put out for its workers. On the cover of one, from March/April 1971, was an image of a helicopter, with the caption, The CH-47 Chinook  And Were In It.

Im sure my father would have recognized this iconic helicopter. He was a U.S. ally, working with the South Vietnamese Army. He would have known the sound of their twin blades chopping through the air. I wonder what it felt like to stand below as the copter floated above, leaving him behind. I wonder what it meant for him to join some of his neighbors and work for a company that helped make more and more Chinooks, for more and more wars. I wondered what happened to him in those hours when he vanished.

On impulse, I recently drove into the parking lot of Howmet, where my dad held his last and longest job. It was noon and some employees were having lunch outside on a picnic table. I told them my father once worked there, and to my surprise, they all remembered him. They remembered he loved kung fu movies, that he always took extra shifts if they became available, that he ate sandwiches every day. They even remembered me, though I had never set eyes on them. Most had worked alongside my dad for over 15 years  stood right next to him on the line, a man named Mike said. This might be Mikes last year at the factory, but he has said that before and hes still there. The work is not so bad, he said. You get used to it.

I remember picking up my dad in this lot once, when his car was in the shop. He stood by himself as the other workers streamed out, his shoulders hunched and chest caving inward, making his five-foot frame appear even smaller and more alone. He never spoke about these men. They never came to our house, did not attend his funeral. They disappeared into that world together, but he always came out alone.
Angelica and Gustavo Nechar moved many times in Brazil, where they were born and raised, and in France, where their careers flourished and they owned a Haussmann-style apartment in the 17th Arrondissement of Paris. But it wasnt until Mr. Nechars work as a human-resources executive brought the couple to Houston in 2013 that they realized all of their previous homes had lacked one enticing thing: a design conceived just for them.

The expansive suburban house they bought upon arriving in Houston, they decided, wasnt quite right. For one thing, it was too big for a couple with two adult sons. And it was too far from the action of the city, which had pleasantly surprised them with its cosmopolitan vibe and cultural offerings, even after 13 years in Paris.

What they wanted, they realized, was to build a house in the city that would support an urban, walkable lifestyle.
In late February, when President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia declared that his countrys nuclear arms were entering special combat readiness, Americas surveillance gear went on high alert. Hundreds of imaging satellites, as well as other private and federal spacecraft, began looking for signs of heightened activity among Russias bombers, missiles, submarines and storage bunkers, which hold thousands of nuclear warheads.

The orbital fleet has yet to spot anything worthy of concern, image analysts said. Echoing the private assessments, U.S. and NATO officials have reported no signs that Russia is preparing for nuclear war. We havent seen anything thats made us adjust our posture, our nuclear posture, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to President Biden, told reporters on March 23.

But Americas atomic watchdogs have reason to continue looking, experts said. Moscow has long practiced using relatively small nuclear blasts to offset battlefield losses. And some military experts are concerned over what Mr. Putin might do, after setbacks in Ukraine, to restore his reputation for edgy ruthlessness.

If Russia were preparing for atomic war, it would normally disperse its bombers to reduce their vulnerability to enemy attack, said Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, a private research organization in Washington. But right now, he said, none of thats evident.
Three Russian astronauts were not making a political statement when they boarded the International Space Station in mid-March wearing yellow flight suits with blue highlights, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, according to a NASA astronaut who was on the station at the time to greet them.

I think the folks that wore them had no idea that people would perceive that as having anything to do with Ukraine, said the NASA astronaut, Mark Vande Hei, who returned to Earth last week. I think they were kind of blindsided by it.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Mr. Vande Hei said the colors were those of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, which all three of the new arrivals had attended.

Mr. Vande Hei and a Russian astronaut, Pyotr Dubrov, spent 355 days in orbit. They and another Russian astronaut landed in Kazakhstan after a short trip back to Earth in a Russian Soyuz capsule. While relations between the United States and Russia deteriorated on Earths surface after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the two countries continued to cooperate as usual to safely bring the astronauts home.
Terry Wallis, who spontaneously regained his ability to speak after a traumatic brain injury left him virtually unresponsive for 19 years, and who then became a subject of a major study that showed how a damaged brain could heal itself, died on March 29 in a rehabilitation facility in Searcy, Ark. He was 57.

He had pneumonia and heart problems, said his brother George Wallis, who confirmed the death.

Terry Wallis was 19 when the pickup truck he was in with two friends skidded off a small bridge in the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas and landed upside down in a dry riverbed. The accident left him in a coma for a brief time, then in a persistent vegetative state for several months. One friend died; the other recovered.

Until 2003, Mr. Wallis lay in a nursing home in a minimally conscious state, able to track objects with his eyes or blink on command.

But on June 11, 2003, he effectively returned to the world when, upon seeing his mother, Angilee, he suddenly said, Mom. At the sight of the woman he was told was his adult daughter, Amber, who was six weeks old at the time of the accident, he said, Youre beautiful, and told her that he loved her.
(Whitman Cobb said that these views were hers, and not that of the U.S. government, which employs her. She also said that she didnt receive funding from commercial space companies.)

The ultimate goal, though, goes far beyond tourism. Musk and Bezos imagine moving people or polluting industries into space or creating a Mars civilization. I worry that is a pretext to ignore problems on Earth.

Whitman Cobb understood why I asked if those were reckless delusions, but she also doesnt want us to lose sight of the potential benefits from dreaming. The history of space exploration, she said, is of kooky and not necessarily high-minded visions becoming doable and helpful.

The U.S. missions to the moon in the 1960s were driven by a desire to prove American superiority over the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, nationalist space missions helped spur the development of ever-smaller electronics that we use every day, improved health technology and even gave us memory foam. The past decades boom in commercial spaceflight has lowered the cost of space access and enabled novel ideas like small-scale satellites to map the Earth from above it.

Whitman Cobb said that the advanced technology that commercial space companies developed for spaceflight could likewise trickle down to other areas that help us.

A self-described space geek, she also said that the awe of space was a worthy goal. It also scratches an itch, so to speak, of humanitys longing to explore, to discover, and to understand the world around us, she said.

I asked Whitman Cobb if she would want to live on Mars. Absolutely, she replied. Maybe not forever.
So far, said Mr. Krakovitch, demand has been strong.

Its true that this is a huge draw for passengers. The idea of being able to fall asleep in Paris and wake up in Nice saves a night in a hotel, said Mr. Krakovitch. It allows you to arrive very early in Nice without being tired. Its a product that has many benefits, but we had to invest heavily to relaunch it. We hope to keep this momentum going.

Its a similar story elsewhere in Europe. Last year, the Swiss Federal Railways launched a new overnight connection from Zurich to Amsterdam (with stops in Basel and Cologne), adding to overnight services connecting Switzerlands largest city to Berlin, Budapest, Prague and Zagreb, among other destinations. European Sleeper, a Dutch-Belgian company founded by two entrepreneurs, is planning an overnight connection between Brussels and Prague, with stops in Amsterdam and Berlin, among other cities; they hope to launch the service this summer, but the start date is not yet confirmed.

Meanwhile, the Austrian operator OBBs Nightjet service has recently begun offering an overnight link between Vienna and Paris, with tickets ranging from about 30 euros for a normal train seat, to 200 euros or higher, depending on the date of travel, for a first-class private cabin. (A midweek, low-season flight on the same route costs 44 euros, not including baggage fees, on the low-cost carrier Transavia.)

Nightjet, which also runs overnight services to cities like Rome, Milan, Brussels and Amsterdam, is offering passengers more options to book private compartments, a Nightjet spokesman said, adding that some cabins have a private shower and toilet. The prices scale with the amenities provided: A couple traveling overnight from Vienna to Amsterdam on a weeknight in July, for instance, can book two seats in a private compartment for a total of 129 euros. Alternatively, they could opt for a two-bed sleeper cabin for 378 euros for both travelers, including breakfast. Add a private shower and toilet and the price rises to 418 euros. At the moment, all of the Nightjet rolling stock is in use, but new services should be coming online in the years ahead, the spokesman said. More than 30 new sleeper trains should be delivered beginning in 2023.

Ongoing challenges

But while night trains are offering new connections for travelers, they serve only specific routes. People who are looking to make connections between cities that arent linked on those networks continue to face challenges, both in booking their tickets and in the prices they are charged. Some long-distance journeys with multiple stops are still much cheaper by plane than by train.
If theres one thing we know about Californias officials, its that they love to declare that California is a leader in everything  whether its tackling climate change or transforming the world through technology.

In recent months, California has taken the lead in yet another way: As conservative states move to enact far-right legislative agendas, politicians in California say theyre spearheading the resistance. State lawmakers have proposed measures that would make California a kind of legal sanctuary for women seeking abortions and parents with trans children. Gov. Gavin Newsom called for gun control legislation modeled on Texas abortion law, which would allow private individuals to sue makers of restricted firearms.

And as my colleague Shawn Hubler and I reported in this article about why red and blue states are shifting even further apart, Newsom has also become more vocal in his criticisms of the policies implemented by his conservative counterparts.

We are not going to sit back and neutrally watch the progress of the 20th century get erased, he told us.
They said their lawyer then contacted the Washington police to pick up the five remaining ones, which the activists said they considered evidence of violations of federal laws, including the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which bans certain methods to terminate pregnancies starting at 12 weeks.

At the news conference, they showed pictures of a Curtis Bay truck and a box with the companys name as well as graphic video of what they described as Ms. Bukovinac and Ms. Handy opening the box at the apartment.

Pro-life Americans will not stay silent in the face of such aggressive and barbarous violence, said Ms. Bukovinac, who identified herself as an atheist and a leftist.

Curtis Bay denied the activists claims.

On March 25, a Curtis Bay employee took custody of three packages from the Washington Surgery Center (Washington Surgi-Clinic) and delivered all of them to Curtis Bays incineration facility, the company said in a statement. The driver did not hand packages over to the protesters or anyone else, it said. Any allegations made otherwise are false.

The company, which said it was cooperating with the police, added that its client agreements prohibit customers from disposing of fetuses and human remains using its services.

The Washington Surgi-Clinic referred questions to the National Abortion Federation, which said that providers comply with state and federal laws that regulate the handling of tissue.

Anti-abortion individuals and groups are increasingly resorting to extreme and illegal antics to attempt to intimidate clinic workers and patients, and stop them from seeking or providing abortion care, Melissa Fowler, the federations chief program officer, said in a statement. She said the groups were making false claims to encourage medically unnecessary and politically motivated legislative restrictions to push safe and affordable abortion care out of reach.
South Africa: Release of sixth assessment report on climate change mitigation welcomed

South Africa has welcomed the long-awaited sixth assessment report on mitigation by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

This important report on mitigation emphasises the urgency of acting on mitigation, globally. For South Africa, we take a developmental approach to climate action, and this report provides valuable scientific information to guide our Just Transition, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, said on Tuesday.

The assessment report released on Monday is the third in a series of reports to be adopted under the IPCC 6th assessment cycle.

In September 2022, the IPCC will release a final Synthesis Report of the key findings, drawing together findings from the best available science on the physical science basis; the impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability; and the recently approved report dealing with mitigation of climate change; as well as the three special IPCC reports on 1.5C, the land, and the oceans.

The IPCC Working Group III (WGIII) report on mitigation finds that the world has spent four-fifths of the carbon budget consistent with 1.5 C already. That means that a very small carbon budget remains. Given that poor countries and communities will suffer most from climate impacts at higher global warming levels, all countries and stakeholders, need to take action, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said.

The WGIII mitigation report also highlights the systemic nature of mitigation.

We have recognised that the consequences of climate change will be catastrophic for the world and for South Africa in particular. We have also realised that we cannot continue on the current economic path which is unsustainable and ecologically damaging, Creecy said.

This is evident from South Africas updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) deposited with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2021.

The updated NDC contains South Africa's first Adaptation Communication and updated mitigation targets for 2025 and 2030.

Not only has South Africa very significantly increased the ambition of its mitigation targets, but we have also brought forward the year in which emissions are due to decline from 2035 in the initial NDC, to 2025 in the updated NDC, the Minister said.

Meeting these mitigation targets will depend on considerable levels of multilateral support, as specified in the Paris Agreement, in the form of the provision of finance, technology transfer and capacity building.

However, support to adequately fund a just transition remains vital to ensure that no one is left behind and that South Africa's urgent development goals are met at the same time.

The WGIII report provides new framing of shifting development pathways towards sustainability (SDPS), which goes together with the climate resilient development pathways (CRDP) in the WGII report released earlier this year.

The IPCC reports thus show that climate action is part of a developmental agenda and that mitigation and adaptation must be addressed together with means of implementation.

In the context of this report, issues of Climate Justice have never been more compelling. As we transition our energy generation and at least seven sectors of our economy, we are encouraged to see the IPCC report highlights a growing number of just transition commissions, laws, institutions, and processes, said the Minister.

Work is well under way in South Africa to implement the Just Energy Transition Partnership to support the accelerated phase down of coal-fired power and to support social justice.

Eskom has already commissioned significant research on social labour plans for the transition of coal fired power stations facing decommissioning later this decade.

Labour unions have published a blueprint for workers in a just transition, which has been welcomed.

Climate action remains a national and international priority and South Africa remains firmly committed to contributing its best effort towards the global cause of addressing climate change, the department said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-04-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Deccan Herald, April 1, 2022

The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration and the security forces are doing themselves a great disservice by creating an extremely coercive eco-system for journalists in the Union Territory (UT). Those administering the UT are rapidly losing out on the critical feedback that could make the system more stable. An apocryphal story amongst journalists in Srinagar is that a senior official holds that of "five Ms" that are the cause of the Kashmir issue - Masses, Mosques, Maulavis, Militants and Media, all have been tamed in the last year except the media. People have been prevented from reaching out to the media as they had begun to do by staging protests outside Srinagars Press Colony.

Local journalists in Srinagar claim that they are routinely questioned about their sources, and if they refuse to reveal them, their reports are dubbed fake news. They allege that the security forces often ask journalists to hand over their cell phones to examine their call records. This has curtailed source-based reporting in the Valley. Even the social media accounts of journalists are closely monitored, and they are questioned about their posts even if they relate to public grievances.

This coercive attitude towards the media has been amplified by the recent arrest, bail and subsequent re-arrest of two journalists  Sajjad Gul and Fahad Shah. Gul, a trainee reporter with The Kashmir Walla news site, was arrested on January 6 after he posted a video of a protest outside the home of a militant killed in an encounter with the security forces. He was accused of misusing journalism to "spread disinformation and false narratives" on social media in a bid to make people "resort to violence". When he was granted bail, he was promptly re-arrested under the draconian Public Safety Act, allowing the administration to keep him in jail without trial for up to two years.

Fahad Shah, editor-in-chief of The Kashmir Walla, was arrested under UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) on February 4 for his social media posts termed "anti-national" by Pulwama Police. When he was granted bail on February 26 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court, he was immediately arrested by police from another district, Shopian, in another case of provoking riots. A week later when he got bail, he was re-arrested yet again, this time by Srinagar police on charges of defamation, public mischief and UAPA. On March 14, afraid that he would be granted bail, the police detained Shah under PSA, a favourite mode by which the J&K administration can avoid due judicial processes.

The Kashmir Times is a reputed newspaper whose editor took an adversarial position on the Centres policy towards the erstwhile state. The paper was silenced by using the Estates Department to seal its offices in Srinagar and reopening income tax cases going back nearly three decades. The bank accounts of the newspaper and its editor were sealed. The editor is now occupied with attending courts every day, and the newspaper is unable to print its hard-copy edition regularly.

These are not exceptional cases. Journalists are routinely summoned and questioned in the Kashmir Valley. Noted senior journalist Ashiq Peerzada of The Hindu had two FIRs lodged against him and was questioned by the Cyber Police for a report. Freelance photographer Masrat Zahra was charged under UAPA by the Cyber Police for allegedly uploading "anti-national" social media posts.

Such is the terror of the administration that apprehensive of being locked up, even author and journalist Gowhar Geelani was forced to go on the run after an arrest warrant was issued for not appearing before a Tehsildar to sign a bond committing to maintaining peace. A lot of learning in journalism takes place through interaction with ones peer group as well as senior journalists. Instead of encouraging such interaction, the administration used a putative coup against the office bearers of the Kashmir Press Club to seal the club and take over the building which housed it.

Almost every journalist of repute complains of surveillance and monitoring by the state. Journalists are told not to report the version of the family members of victims/militants who are killed in encounters with the security forces. The extent to which the administrations suspicion of the media is evident from the instance of a journalist, who recalled being asked by an army officer before an interview, "First, tell me whether you consider yourself an Indian citizen or not."

Simultaneously, the police and the security forces are apparently creating a new group of "influencers" on social media who target reporters working for the national or foreign media. The adversarial attitude of the administration is justified as preventing misuse of journalism by militants. If the aim of the UT administration is to drain the swamp of misinformation and disinformation in a conflict zone, then it must ask itself whether this is the best way to achieve that goal.

Preparing background notes on journalists listing the name of their parents, siblings, spouses, bank accounts, property owned, and often, even ideology is clearly intimidatory tactics. These BGs (background notes) are then used to categorise journalists so that the administration can decide whether to deny or give them access.

The best method of countering misinformation and disinformation is by setting in place a rule-bound and collaborative accreditation process to recognise serious journalistic practitioners and ease their access to the administration. Yet in J&K, especially in the Valley, the administration, suffering from a siege mentality, is shutting out journalists and using draconian methods to deal with inconvenient reportage. It is important that the "managed" news now emerging is displaced by news that is credible, evidence-based and which highlights different facets of truth. The quest for one truth, one version and the promotion of fake normalcy by the J&K administration is destined to fail. An attempt at homogenising journalism to report only the official version of events will never bring normalcy.

(The writer is an independent journalist based in Delhi. He was recently in J&K)

source URL: https://www.deccanherald.com/amp/opinion/media-persecution-in-jk-is-a-misguided-venture-1096616.html
SARAJEVO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The 23rd International Economy Fair in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), opened on Tuesday, after a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some 750 exhibitors from more than 20 countries will present their products and services in the 30,000-square meter exhibition area in Mostar, with the majority of companies coming from Croatia, Serbia, Italy, Austria, China, Hungary, Slovakia, and Turkey.

Bilateral political talks will also be held at the fair, with this year's edition organized in partnership with Hungary.

Political leaders from BiH and surrounding countries led the opening ceremony, pointing out the importance of growing economic cooperation to increase the stability of the region and push forward European integration for the Western Balkan countries.

Since it was first launched in 1997, the fair has grown into Bosnia's biggest exhibition, attracting companies from sectors including agriculture, gastronomy, tourism, and IT. This year's edition is due to close on April 9. 
His chosen conduit for terror was Interstate 65, preying on women working as night clerks at motels along the highway.

For more than three decades, the serial killer evaded the authorities, who say he was responsible for at least three murders and a separate sexual assault in Kentucky and Indiana during the late 1980s and in 1990.

Investigators now say that they have discovered the identity of the man known as the I-65 Killer, and that he died in 2013 at age 68.

At a news conference on Tuesday in Indianapolis, the authorities said that the killings were committed by Harry Edward Greenwell, who had served at least two prison sentences, in Iowa and Kentucky, for a string of violent crimes.
Lawmakers in Oklahoma on Tuesday approved a near-total ban on abortion, making it the latest Republican-led state to forge ahead with stringent abortion legislation as the Supreme Court weighs a case that could overturn Roe v. Wade later this year.

The measure, Senate Bill 612, would make performing an abortion except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $100,000.

The Oklahoma House voted 70 to 14 to send the bill, which passed the Senate last year, to Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican whose office responded by noting that Mr. Stitt vowed in September to sign every piece of pro-life legislation that came to his desk.

If Mr. Stitt signs the bill, it would take effect on Aug. 26, according to the Senate clerks office.
Mr. Sussmanns defense lawyers accused Mr. Durham of promoting a baseless narrative that the Clinton campaign conspired with others to trick the federal government into investigating ties between President Trump and Russia, asking the judge to block prosecutors from making arguments and introducing evidence related to the Steele dossier.

But there was no such conspiracy; the special counsel hasnt charged such a crime; and the special counsel should not be permitted to turn Mr. Sussmanns trial on a narrow false statement charge into a circus full of sideshows that will only fuel partisan fervor, they wrote.

The Durham teams filing also asked the judge to bar the defense from making arguments and presenting evidence that depict the special counsel as politically motived or biased based on his appointment by the Trump administration.

The only purpose in advancing these arguments would be to stir the pot of political polarization, garner public attention and, most inappropriately, confuse jurors or encourage jury nullification, it said. Put bluntly, the defense wishes to make the special counsel out to be a political actor when, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

In the spring of 2019, the special counsel investigating the Trump campaign and Russia, Robert S. Mueller III, detailed numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign but did not charge any Trump associate with conspiring with Russia. As Mr. Trump continued to claim that he was the victim of a deep state conspiracy, the attorney general at the time, William P. Barr, assigned Mr. Durham to scour the Russia investigation for any wrongdoing.

But Mr. Durham has not developed any cases against high-level officials. Instead, he has brought false-statements charges involving two efforts by outsiders to hunt for signs of Trump-Russia links, both of which were thin and involved Perkins Coie in some way. He has used the indictments to insinuate that the Clinton campaign may have orchestrated the concoction of false smears against Mr. Trump, but without charging such a conspiracy.

One such effort was the Steele dossier, and the other was the suspicions that Mr. Sussmann relayed to Mr. Baker. The latter suspicions had been developed by a group of data scientists who analyzed odd internet data they thought might suggest clandestine communications between a server for the Trump Organization and a server for Alfa Bank, a Kremlin-linked Russian financial institution.
There are some signs that Greitenss support is softening. The latest public poll of the primary, by the Trafalgar Group, showed Greitens falling into second place among likely primary voters for the first time. Another recent survey commissioned by Schmitts campaign showed similar results. And on Saturday, in what some saw as evidence of his growing difficulties, Greitens skipped a Republican Party event in Taney County, one of the bigger annual gatherings of activists in the state.

The turmoil in the Republican primary has complicated Donald Trumps efforts to influence the outcome. Some party insiders had feared that Trump would endorse Greitens, who has tailored his campaign message around defending President Trumps America First policies and has questioned the 2020 presidential election results.

After the previous round of allegations by Sheena Greitens, Trump issued a statement praising the big, loud and proud personality of Congressman Billy Long, who is also running for the Missouri Senate seat but has failed to gain much traction. This is not an Endorsement, but Im just askin? Trump said.

Eric Greitens has struggled to raise money, with finance reports showing that his campaign had less than $300,000 in the bank as of January. Super PACs supporting Greitens have received large donations from two Republican billionaires, Richard Uihlein, a shipping magnate, and Bernard Marcus, a founder of Home Depot. Greitens has also brought in nearly $900,000 through his joint fund-raising committee, and a spokesman said his upcoming fund-raising report would show that the campaign had raised a six-figure sum of money since Sheena Greitens made her first statement.

But James Harris, a Republican lobbyist who has been talking with Missouri donors and activists about the race, said, Theyre really just done with him. Harris recounted a conversation with a donor who recently turned down a fund-raising pitch by Greitens, saying his wife would kill me if he gave money to the former governor.

And now, the entry into the race of an heiress to a beer-company fortune threatens to make the general election competitive.

Image Trudy Busch Valentine, an heiress to the Anheuser-Busch fortune, is a well-known donor in Missouri. Credit... Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, via Associated Press

Democrats dilemma: The heiress or the veteran?

Republicans are warily eyeing the newly announced campaign of Trudy Busch Valentine, who is the daughter of August Busch Jr., the Anheuser-Busch beer baron who died in 1989.
WASHINGTON  Ivanka Trump, former President Donald J. Trumps elder daughter, who served as one of his senior advisers, testified for about eight hours on Tuesday before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to people familiar with the matter.

It was not immediately clear how revelatory her testimony was for the committee, but those familiar with the interview said Ms. Trump did not seek to invoke any privilege  such as executive privilege or the Fifth Amendment, as other witnesses have done  and broadly, if not garrulously, answered the panels questions.

Ms. Trump was one of several aides who tried to persuade the president to call off the violence that ultimately injured more than 150 police officers and sent lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence fleeing for safety, according to evidence gathered by the committee. She is not known to have been associated with the more extreme supporters of the former president who spread lies about widespread fraud after the 2020 election and planned efforts to try to keep him in power.

Her testimony came days after her husband, Jared Kushner, who was also a top adviser to Mr. Trump, sat for an interview and provided what one member of the panel described as valuable and helpful information.
It will require, I think, several amendments in order to get across the floor, said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader. So if the majority leader tries to move forward, well have to have a discussion about a reasonable amendment process.

While Republicans have pushed for other amendments, the most politically fraught provision they hoped to put to a vote would bar the Biden administration from ending the Trump-era pandemic restrictions at the border, which have granted officials the ability to turn away migrants, including those seeking asylum.

In announcing plans on Friday to end the order in late May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight Covid-19. But Republicans argued that it was contradictory for the administration to implement that policy change while asking Congress to approve more pandemic aid.

Getting that money replenished is significantly complicated by announcing in the same week that youre going to determine that Section 42 of this effort to fight this disease is no longer necessary because the disease is no longer the same kind of problem it was, said Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri. Its clearly a big issue with our members.

Multiple Democrats, including senators facing tough re-election contests in November, have said they have concerns about the decision to roll back the policy, given that it is expected to draw thousands more migrants to the southwestern border, where stations are already backed up and overcrowded. On Tuesday, Senator Jon Tester of Montana became the latest Democrat to ask the administration to provide a comprehensive plan on how it will address the increased strain on our immigration system and increased security needs.

Some of those Democrats, including Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Raphael Warnock of Georgia, declined to say whether they would support a Republican amendment, given that text has not been released. But if even one Democrat were to back it, the amendment could pass the evenly divided Senate. That would most likely kill the funding package in the House, where most Democrats have cheered the Biden administrations decision to end the immigration rule.

Democrats in both chambers have also grumbled over the decision to jettison $5 billion for global vaccination efforts, which was removed from the funding package after senators could not agree on how to pay for it. Republicans refused to back any new money for responding to the pandemic, so negotiators had to agree on repurposing funds Congress already approved in previous legislation.
Five tornadoes touched down in Mississippi and at least one tornado struck in South Carolina on Tuesday as meteorologists and emergency officials braced for another round of unsettling storms in parts of the South on Wednesday, following a recent pattern of unpredictable weather in the region.

In Texas, local officials said a 71-year-old man was killed in Whitehouse, about 100 miles southeast of Dallas, when a tree fell on his home Tuesday morning during a storm.

The National Weather Service in Jackson, Miss., confirmed five tornadoes in parts of Scott, Newton, Jefferson Davis and Covington Counties on Tuesday morning. Survey crews were continuing to assess other sections of the state, the Weather Service said.

Nearly five million people in the South, from the Florida Panhandle through southeastern Georgia and southern South Carolina, had been under an enhanced threat of severe weather on Tuesday, the National Weather Services Storm Prediction Center said.
They were known as the janjaweed, the armed militia men who came racing on camels and horses at dawn, moving fast to kill and rape, burning huts and leaving another village destroyed in the Darfur region of Sudans impoverished far west.

Their leader was reputed to be Ali Kushayb, who human rights groups say stood out for his ruthless efficiency in the government-led campaign to crush a 2003 rebellion in Darfur.

On Tuesday, Mr. Kushayb went on trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he is charged with 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including persecution, pillaging, murder and rape, all of which he denies.

Mr. Kushayb is the first suspect to be tried on charges of playing a major role in the bloody campaign that took more than 200,000 lives and drove more than two million people from their homes.
BORODYANKA, Ukraine  Andreiy Ziuzko stood near the flattened apartment complex in Borodyanka that was once his home, his belongings in plastic bags on the sidewalk beside a few blackened cooking pots on Tuesday.

The building had lain in ruins for weeks, struck just after fighting had driven him and his family to flee. It was only after a while that he explained something even worse had happened. His mother lived a few doors down, and her apartment had also been bombed.

Moms home was hit on the same day, Mr. Ziuzko said. I cant find her.

Russian troops recently withdrew from the area around Borodyanka, a Ukrainian commuter town near Kyiv, the capital, that was among the first places to be hit by Russian airstrikes after the invasion. Now, dozens of people who were sheltering in basements or apartments are missing and presumed dead under the rubble, the acting mayor said Tuesday.
Twenty-two years after a pair of notebooks filled with Charles Darwins early musings went missing from the Cambridge University Library, they were anonymously returned in good condition last month along with a note to the elated librarian: Happy Easter.

Happy scarcely begins to describe the reaction of Jessica Gardner, the university librarian who spearheaded an international publicity blitz in 2020 to recover the notebooks. Filled with Darwins scrawled handwriting and sketches from 1837, including the famous tree of life drawing, the notebooks recorded his thought process as he began sketching out ideas that would later develop into world-famous theories still revered and studied today, including the theory of natural selection.

On March 9, outside her office in an area of the library with no cameras, someone placed a bright pink gift bag. Dr. Gardner and her colleagues first recognized the original blue box that had been taken from the archives. Then, inside a brown envelope, they found the notebooks they had long sought inside tightly wrapped cling wrap, along with the typed note wishing her a Happy Easter.

I still feel shaky, she said in an interview on Tuesday, when the university announced that the notebooks had been recovered. Its really hard to express how overjoyed I am.
LOS ANGELES, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Sacramento police announced on Monday the first arrest of a suspect related to Sunday's mass shooting downtown, in which six people were killed and 12 others were injured.

But Sacramento County District Attorney said that the man in custody had not been charged in connection with any of the six deaths.

Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester told local KCRA 3 news channel on Monday that Dandrae Martin, a 26-year-old man, was taken into custody and booked on charges of assault with a firearm and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

"As you know this is a complex investigation and we're looking for multiple suspects and so we're currently working to identify what his role was the night of the shooting," she said.

Martin was named as a "related suspect" in a press release issued by Sacramento Police Department later, which also disclosed that he was being held without bail in the Sacramento County Main Jail on the weapons charge and a separate count of assault with a deadly weapon.

According to local newspaper Sacramento Bee, records of Riverside Superior Court in Southern California showed Martin had a 2014 conviction for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse. He also has 2018 convictions in Maricopa County, Arizona, for a count of criminal damage and a marijuana violation, as well as 2016 conviction of aggravated assault and domestic violence by impeding breathing.

However, Sacramento County District Attorney Ann Marie Schubert noted in a statement on Monday that Martin had not been arrested for homicide.

"This is an ongoing investigation and we anticipate more arrests in this case," Schubert said.

A law enforcement source revealed that detectives are studying videos from the shooting scene when gunfire erupted at 2 a.m. local time (0900 GMT) on Sunday to determine how many potential shooters were involved in the incident and they believed that the shooting involved exchanges of gunfire between multiple shooters, Sacramento Bee reported.

The potential suspects are validated gang members and the shooting left more than 100 shell casings at the scene, the report said. 
AMIENS, France  During the last presidential campaign, the troubled Whirlpool factory in the northern city of Amiens became the setting for frantic, dueling appeals for support by Emmanuel Macron and his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen.

Mr. Macron promised to save the plant  which happens to be in his hometown  and once he was elected, his government poured millions in subsidies toward the factorys reinvention, as a showpiece of his commitment to reviving French industry.

As Mr. Macron seeks re-election, he and Ms. Le Pen are preparing to square off once again as the front-runners before the first round of voting in presidential elections on Sunday. But the fate of the plant has proved much the opposite of what Mr. Macron had hoped for.

Today, the plant is an example of the difficulty of rehabilitating ailing French industries and of the presidents challenge in winning the confidence of French workers, who have been gravitating for years to the far right.
World leaders have vowed to hold President Vladimir V. Putin responsible for war crimes as evidence mounts that Russian forces killed civilians in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has denied the allegations and says that recent images from the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, which was liberated from Russian control in the past week, were staged. But President Biden has called him a war criminal. And President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Mr. Putin is responsible for genocide.

If past prosecutions of war crimes are any indication, the process is arduous and thorough, and takes years of investigations and litigation that are only decided decades after a conflict ends.

Heres what you need to know:

What is a war crime?

A war crime is an act committed during armed conflict that violates international humanitarian laws designed to protect civilians. The rules of war are codified in various treaties, including the Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907.
Raging at Russia over growing evidence of atrocities, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Tuesday delivered one of his most forceful denunciations of the invasion in a live video speech to the United Nations Security Council, calling the Russians war criminals who he said had killed families, raped women in front of their children, pillaged homes and left his country in ruins, filled with mass graves.

In his speech  a day after touring Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, the capital, where images have surfaced of many bodies of civilians Mr. Zelensky said had been killed by retreating Russian troops  the Ukrainian president said the Security Council was useless if it could not find a way to hold the perpetrators to account.

There is not a single crime that they would not commit there, Mr. Zelensky said of the departed Russian troops.

Now the world can see what the Russian military did in Bucha, but the world has yet to see what it has done in other parts of our country, Mr. Zelensky said.
An unnamed 61-year-old man in German reportedly got 90 doses of Covid-19 vaccine injected into his body so he could make money selling vaccination certificates to people who didnt want to get vaccinated.

The man from the eastern German city of Magdeburg, whose name was not released, allegedly managed to receive up to 90 shots of Covid-19 vaccine at various vaccination centers in the eastern state of Saxony for months, before finally being caught earlier this month. He was finally discovered when he came to a vaccination center in Eilenburg, Saxony for the second day in a row, asking to get a Covid-19 jab. It turns out the man kept getting Covid-19 shots in order to sell forged vaccination cards with real vaccine batch numbers to people not wanting to get vaccinated themselves.

Photo: Steve Cornfield/Unsplash

According to information obtained by the Freie Presse newspaper, the 61-year-old man got vaccinated up to three times a day, racking up no less than 87 coronavirus vaccinations in the state of Saxony alone. Its unclear what, if any, effects the 90 doses of Covid-19 vaccine, which were from a different brand, may have on the mans body in the long term.

A police report made available to the media suggests that every time the man entered a vaccination site, he brought a new, blank vaccination document with him. Then, after getting the shot, he removed the pages with the information about the vaccine batch numbers and sold them to vaccine opponents who wanted to enjoy the freedom of having proof of vaccination.

The unnamed man always registered for the vaccination appointments using his own name and birthdate, but never presented his health insurance card at the appointments, as that would have raised suspicion.

Photo: Hakan Nural/Unsplash

This isnt the first time we cover the topic of multiple Covid-19 vaccinations. Back in January, we featured the story of an 83-year-old man who received 11 vaccine doses, and they were feeling excellent. Then there was the guy who got five doses of vacine injected into his body in 3 days.

The suspect was not detained but is under investigation for unauthorized issuance of vaccination cards and document forgery.
The sand dunes behind Barril Beach on Portugals southern Algarve Coast are home to over 200 rusty anchors abandoned there almost 60 years ago by the local tuna fishing community.

O Cemiterio das Ancoras (The Anchor Cemetery) is one of the most iconic Sights of the Algarve Coast, yet not many people know its history and meaning. This isnt just a random place where old ships abandoned their anchors many years ago, but a memorial to a now-defunct trade going back hundreds of years. In 1964, the local community decided to commemorate the death of traditional Bluefin Tuna fishing by burying the anchors that once formed the backbone of the complex tuna traps known as armacoes. Theyve remained there ever since as a reminder of the effect of industrialization and over-fishing on the locals.

Photo: Tolbxela/Flickr

Consisting of vertical nets supported by stakes, buoys, cables, and anchors which created a series of channels, barriers and chambers, armacoes played a huge part in the traditional Bluefish Tuna trade of the Barril region. They were the backbone of the local fishing trade upon which more than 80 fishermen and their families depended. However, when industrial fishing became a thing, it quickly made this traditional fishing method obsolete.

By 1964, fishing with armacoes became unsustainable, and the locals abandoned their old installations, burying the hundreds of anchors than once supported their networks of nets behind Barril Beach, and the site became known as the Anchor Cemetery. The rusty anchors have remained there ever since, as a symbolic memorial for the defunct traditional tuna fishing.

In 2016, Joana Madeira Rebelo, a masters student in conservation and restoration at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, documented the Anchor Cemetery of Barril Beach and found that it consisted of 248 anchors in various degrees of degradation. She warned that this now iconic site will cease to exist in a matter of decades, if measures to protect it are not taken.

Rebelo said that, while all anchors are heavily rusted, some are actually very fragile, and at risk of breaking apart, while others maintain their structural integrity and can be preserved. She identified chlorine as the main cause of the anchors degradation, as it penetrates the anchors and causes the iron to detach.

The rise of industrial fishing has severely depleted tuna stocks, and today there are virtually no Bluefish Tuna in the waters along the Algarve coast. Like the anchors used in armacoes, the old fishing huts along the shore have been repurposed as tourist attractions.
Where theres smoke Global Strategy Group, the Democratic polling & PR firm, denies that it was hired by Amazon to thwart the union drive at its Staten Island warehouse.

Workers voted 55 percent to 45 percent to join the newly created Amazon Labor Union on April 1, making the facility the first unionized shop in Amazons network.

CNBC reported March 31 that GSG created anti-union materials in a bid to defeat the organizing drive and noted the shop did polling for a pro-Biden super PAC before the 2020 election.

Following the vote, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president was glad to see the vote in favor of the union. Biden was happy to see that the voices of Amazon workers were heard and believes they made their choice to organize a grassroots union to bargain for better jobs and a better life.

Global Strategy released a statement that called the CNBC story grossly inaccurate and misrepresents the work we do for Amazon. It claims the story incorrectly attributes anti-union work to GSG that was done by others.

CNBC says it has documents that backs up its reporting about GSG.

Eric Adams, New Yorks control freak mayor, says every press release or advisory issued by his administration must be approved by City Hall, or else.

In a March 31 Zoom call with about 50 officials, Adams said hes noticed that press releases have gone out that he knew nothing about or jumped the gun on a policy issue.

He has a new city agency press release tracker where releases or statements must be submitted for approval, according to an audio of the Zoom call obtained by Politico.

The mayor fancies himself as a big believer in discipline of message and action.

I am the mayor of the city and all communications that come through this city government are coming through with my message, said Adams.

The new mayors micromanagement strategy could work if he was the leader of a village somewhere upstate.

Adams, though, oversees a city government of more than 300K civil servants including doctors, teachers, firefighters, nurses, engineers, sanitation workers, artists and police officers.

He has to trust the judgment of the people that he selected to help him run the city.

If he doesnt, Adams will tie himself up in knots. Press releases will be the least of his worries.
BCW, H+K Strategies, VMLY&R, Group M and Kinetic are the WPP shops that donated creative content and advertising space for New York mayor Eric Adams' move to run digital billboards in Florida to denounce its "Don't Say Gay" law.

The legislation bans instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in grades kindergarten through third grade.

The ads, which kicked off April 4 and will run through May 29 in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach, are expected to chalk up 5M impressions.

They position NYC as a champion of free speech and a welcoming place for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Adams called the "Don't Say Gay" law "the latest shameful, extremist culture war targeting the LGBTQ+ community." He invited them "to come to a city where you can say and be whoever you want."

Christina Pushaw, a spokesperson for Florida governor Ron DeSantis, dismissed NYC's billboard push.

"Thousands of New Yorkers have moved to Florida since the pandemic began, and I doubt many will leave Florida because they're so upset about the lack of classroom instruction on gender theory and sexuality for children in grades K-3," Pushaw said in a statement.
Helping the Austrian business sector to cope with new opportunities and challenges in Austria

The economic shock induced by the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating structural changes and is posing new challenges. Austria faces wider growth opportunities and new adjustment challenges related notably to two major structural transformations: transition to carbonless growth and the generalisation of more advanced forms of digitalisation. These imply new entries and exits in the business sector, more capital and labour re-allocations and greater geographic mobility of labour. A better activation of the existing talent pool, in particular female, elderly and migrant workers is also needed to address the ageing of the society. In this context public policies should aim at further stimulating business dynamism by facilitating market entries; supporting firms capacity to invest by helping strengthen their balance sheets; better adapting skills to jobs for all categories of workers; and providing the right incentives to R&D to boost long-term innovation.

In series:OECD Economics Department Working Papersview more titles
A MAN who was prosecuted for an alleged breach of the Covid-19 travel rules told gardai he had been lamping rabbits at the time.

John McDonagh (24), Drumbane, Birr, Co Offaly, was summonsed by Garda Brendan Kenny of Cloghan Garda Station under the movement of persons regulations.

Mr McDonagh did not appear at Tullamore District Court to answer the summons which alleged he breached the regulation limiting movements to within 5km of a person's home on February 4, 2021 at Leabeg, Boora.

Garda Kenny told the court it was 2.10am when he saw the accused with a number of other persons and when he asked him if he had a reasonable excuse for being more than 5km from his home the reply was that he was lamping rabbits.

Garda Kenny said there was evidence of lamps in a car and evidence of rabbits having been killed.

The garda added that he told Mr McDonagh that lamping rabbits was not a reasonable excuse for breaching the rule.

Having heard the garda, Judge King dismissed the prosecution because there had been no evidence put before him in relation to the regulations which had allegedly been breached.

Meanwhile, Judge King imposed a fine of 80 on a man who pleaded guilty to breaching the Covid-19 travel rules. Patrick Delaney (55), Gortnamuck, Kilcormac, was convicted of committing the offence at Leabeg, Boora on February 19, 2021.

Garda Brendan Kenny said the man told him he was returning from checking on a horse. A fixed charge penalty notice of 80 was not paid.

Defending solicitor Donal Farrelly said his client was bringing water and hay to his horse and may have gone a "roundabout route".
LOS ANGELES, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Sacramento police announced Tuesday that a second suspect has been arrested in connection with Sunday's mass shooting in the capital city of the western U.S. state of California, in which six people were killed and 12 others were injured.

Smiley Martin, 27, was located at the scene with serious injuries from gunfire and was transported to an area hospital for treatment. He was quickly identified as a person of interest and has remained under the supervision of an officer at the hospital while his treatment continues, said the Sacramento Police Department in a news release.

Once the suspect's medical care has been completed and he is determined to be fit for incarceration, he will be booked at the Sacramento County Main Jail for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun, said the department.

Martin is the brother of the first suspect, 26-year-old Dandrae Martin, who was arrested by police on Monday.

Homicide detectives and crime scene investigators have worked continuously to investigate the incident and investigators are continuing to examine evidence, contact witnesses, and interview involved parties to gain a complete understanding of the incident, according to the department. 
A strongly worded independent review of unscheduled care at the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore carried out between 2018- 2019 has found that while the demands and capacity shortfall at the hospital was stressed by staff they did not ''provide sufficient assurance to convey an impression of operational grip'' or of being ''sufficiently solution focused.''

Tullamore was one of 9 hospitals reviewed in The Keane Report. Delays in publishing the review by the HSE have been criticised by the Irish Patients Association.

The report indicated that at the time of the review 7 patients on trolleys were waiting up to 25 hours for a bed. It said the Emergency Department expects that up to 9 patients will wait on trolleys along the corridor on a daily basis. ''The way this was described to the review team suggests that their presence has become normalised,'' the report stated.

The team also noted that all patients attending the ED - Emergency Department are triaged on arrival. The aim is for a 15-minute triage but this target often slips as investigations are started during triage which delays the process.

The review team said the ED acts as ''a mini hospital within a hospital''. It stated that 15% of medical patients are cared for there ''reflecting a significant disconnect with the wards.''

The ED information system operates as an excel spreadsheet on a laptop as there is no other electronic system or whiteboard. The review team described this as ''suboptimal to support effective patient flow. There is no telemetry. Meanwhile nurses can manage up to 12 patients each,'' the review found.

High admission rates at the hospital is attributed to either the perceived need for medical input, the lack of a day hospital, limited rehab facilities (3 community rehab beds) or an inadequate number of health and social care professionals in the community.

30% of discharges are COPD - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease related. There is a respiratory nurse in the community but there is no respiratory consultant. Clearly, this is an area to be addressed,'' the review team emphasised.

Both Medical and Surgical Wards were visited. Multiple consultants have patients located on the ward with little evidence of cohorting of specialities leading to safari rounds and prolonged lengths of stay. There are plans in place to commence cohorting of patients at ward level starting with the Age Related service. Despite the hospital being on 'Full Capacity Protocol,' beds were also closed ''but it was uncertain why'' the team commented.

Medical discharges appear to occur late in the afternoon with poor visibility of any Multi Disciplinary Team led Predictive Date of Discharge (PDD).

Nurses expressed their frustration that there are very limited rehab facilities and few places for patients to transition to prior to going home. Nevertheless, ''there did not appear to be any visible initiatives within the hospital such as Get up, get dressed and get moving  patients were in bed and in their pyjamas.''

Commenting on the findings of the 9 hospital reviews, Stephen McMahon co-founder of the Irish Patients Association said ''There is a culture at the top of the HSE which sets up the conditions for error and mishap due to poor systems design, leadership, oversight, and intent on implementation which is at the core of Slaintcare. This issue clearly points to a lack of appetite for engaging in meaningful reform from the top and a narrow focus on capacity and resource without attending to the many other elements which impact performance,'' he said.

''It perhaps sheds further light on why senior executives leading Slaintecare resigned. It also highlights a culture of secrecy, indeed a lack of respect towards other stakeholders,'' said Mr McMahon.

In a recent open letter to the Minister for health Stephen Donnelly, Mr McMahon said You are well aware of our long-standing view on the need for management to be regulated in the same way as medical and allied professionals. In addition, corporate and clinical governance must move beyond a comfort seeking way of working and closing their eyes, to one of being attuned to a keen sense of problem sensing and putting solutions in place.''

Continuing Mr McMahon said: ''The days of commenting on problems by those remunerated and charged with solving them must be called out and stopped. Patients everywhere in Ireland deserve better, much better, performance. We can all play an important role in bringing real reform to our health services.
BRUSSELS, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe said on Monday that the finance ministers of the euro zone discussed the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the euro area economy, and they saw significant challenges.

Addressing a news conference following a Eurogroup meeting in Luxemburg, Donohoe said the growth of European economies will slow down this year due to the conflict, although "we continue to see positive growth in 2022 for many economies."

The trade policy must therefore remain flexible, he added.

It was still too early to assess the effect of the conflict on the economy, European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni said.

Gentiloni also said that he did not believe that EU economies would go into recession, thanks to a year of positive growth last year.

Asked about the possibility of a gas embargo on Russia, Gentiloni said that they know any sanctions would have impacts on the European economy, and if they want to use economic tools, they have to face the cost. 
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the United Nations to remove Russia from the Security Council, Australia will build hypersonic missiles with the United States and Britain and Labor will push for the country to host major international climate talks if it wins government.
Ukrainian authorities are concerned about further Russian assaults in eastern areas such as Kharkiv and Luhansk, with the White House warning the next phase of the war could last "months or longer." DW has the latest.
The German government has declared 40 Russian diplomats unwelcome and taken temporary control of Gazprom's German subsidiary. This comes as the world digests images of civilian deaths in a Kyiv suburb.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is addressing the UN Security Council over the killings in Bucha. Numerous civilian casualties were left on the street following Russian forces' withdrawal from the Kyiv suburb.
Ukraine's Zelenskyy will talk to the U.N. Security Council, Obama returns to the White House and more news to start your Tuesday.


Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe, but is taking in the most Ukrainian refugees per capita. Berlin has pledged a 50 million to support the country with an influx of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.
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Attacks against Russian and Ukrainian migrants in Germany have risen since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Interior..
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has addressed a UN Security Council over the killings in Bucha. Numerous civilian casualties were left on the street following Russian forces' withdrawal from the Kyiv suburb.
HONG KONG, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Andrew Leung, president of the Legislative Council (LegCo) of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said on Tuesday that the LegCo has returned to rationality after the improvement of Hong Kong's electoral system.

Leung said in the LegCo's annual report that improving Hong Kong's electoral system has ensured the implementation of the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" and the steady progress in the practice of "one country, two systems."

Noting the LegCo's working efficiency has greatly improved, Leung said it held 49 meetings in the past year, with no member's grossly disorderly conduct causing meetings to be suspended or terminated.

He said that the LegCo effectively handled a huge backlog of agenda items and passed a record 46 government bills in 2020/2021, more than double the average of about 20 bills for the previous legislative years.

In the past year, the LegCo's Finance Committee effectively discharged its functions to examine and approve public expenditure proposals submitted by the HKSAR government, passing a record high of 120 proposals, involving 327.8 billion HK dollars (41.84 billion U.S. dollars), Leung said.

At present, the overriding task in Hong Kong is to bring COVID-19 under control and restore normal life and economic activity as soon as possible, Leung said, noting that all members of the seventh-term LegCo will work with the HKSAR government and the public to fight the epidemic. 
Chilling aerial video from Ukraine adds to the evidence of Russian atrocities against civilians and undercuts their denials of..

NYTimes.com 06 Apr 2022
India had earlier abstained from a vote on a resolution in the UN Human Rights Council seeking a commission of inquiry to look into violations committed during Russias military operation in Ukraine. China did not condemn the killings even as it described Bucha images as very disturbing.
The Defence Minister asked his colleagues to send javelin anti-tank missiles to help Ukraine but the Cabinet has so far backed out."We've already put towards Cabinet a number of options, which include some lethal support," Defence...
The United States Senate has struck a $10 billion COVID-19 bill that would distibute funding to support the country in therapeutics, vaccine distribution, and testing. The deal comes after President Joe Biden's initial request of $22.5 billion in coronavirus relief failed to garner enough support.
Hundreds continued to flee from Odesa on Monday, one day after the attack launched by Russian forces which hit facilities in the Ukrainian port city. (Apr. 5)


As foreign outrage mounted over evidence of possible executions and other atrocities by Russian forces in Ukraine, world renowned ballet dancers from the two countries at war danced together in a performance in Naples to appeal for peace. (5 April)


The United Nations has said that all the signs from Bucha pointed toward civilians having been directly targeted and killed in the town outside Kyiv.
The Ukrainian president described the horrific scenes he saw in Bucha, calling it just one example of the destruction Russia has wrought. He urged the Security Council to hold Russia accountable.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Russians of gruesome atrocities in Ukraine and told the UN Security Council that those responsible should immediately be brought up on war crimes charges in front of a tribunal like...
WASHINGTON, April 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. senators voted on Monday to send the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve in the Supreme Court for floor debate and votes.

Three Republicans joined Democrats for a 53-47 vote to discharge Jackson's nomination to the full Senate after the Judiciary Committee deadlocked in their voting.

It was reportedly the first time the Senate had had to take the procedural step for a Supreme Court nominee since 1853.

Monday's vote put Jackson on track to be confirmed as the first African American female justice on the Supreme Court by the end of the week.

Senate Majority Leader and Democrat Charles Schumer is expected to tee up an initial vote on Jackson's nomination for Thursday.

Republicans in the upper chamber, most of whom have opposed her nomination, could delay a final vote until Friday.

Jackson, 51, was nominated by U.S. President Joe Biden in late February to succeed liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who is about to retire this summer.

Jackson is currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, often referred to as the nation's second most powerful court.

The Supreme Court is the final appellate court of the U.S. judicial system, with the power to review and overturn lower court decisions, and is also generally the final interpreter of federal law, including the country's constitution.

The justices have life tenure and can serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and removed from office. 
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Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia:

Chicago-based private equity investment firm Freeport Financial Partners has closed its fifth fund and now has $1.5 billion on hand to lend to companies in the lower midmarket.

The middle-market direct lending manager said that the fund, Freeport First Lien Loan Fund V, collected $900 million in equity to pair with $600 million in leverage.

Fund V obtained commitments from a wide range of institutional investors including public and private pension plans, insurance companies as well as endowments and foundations across North America, Europe, and Asia, said a press release.

Fund V invests primarily in directly originated and independently underwritten senior-secured first lien, floating-rate loans to private equity-owned U.S. lower middle-market companies that have EBITDA between $3 million and $25 million.

Over the past year, Fund V has deployed approximately 35% of its capital across a diverse group of industries including business services, industrial components, and healthcare services, the release said.

"We are pleased with the strong response to our most recent fund from both our existing and new investors to achieve a diversified base of limited partners," said Josh Howie, Managing Director at Freeport.

Freeport's principals have invested together since 2005 and have provided $8.6 billion in loan commitments to more than 300 companies.

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To view our full article Click here
seb_ra/Getty Images/iStockphoto

News professionals may be the last people some may think to lend a comforting hug to.

After all, there are those who think we have hidden agendas and lean a little too far left in some pieces while other times leaning too far right. But nonetheless, if you're up to date on your local news, politics or even have all the details from last night's game (whatever the sport) you might as well find a journalist and thank them with a hug.
Santi Visalli/Getty Images

The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee was merely just a place for travelers, but once the history-altering shots rang out, the Lorraine Motel became an event.

It's where prominent civil and equal rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was shot and killed on this day, April 4, 1968 and in response riots broke out in major cities across the country. An angering experience for so many who had felt a sense of healing and unity could very much be on the horizon because of King's countless efforts.
BIG RAPIDS  Making a difference for community members is a focus for many higher education institutions, and Ferris State Universitys Department of Public Safety recently partnered with Central Michigan University for an initiative called Purses with a Purpose to aid individuals facing abusive situations.

Throughout April, the two universities will be collecting new purses and personal care items. The goal is to fill donated purses with items that could benefit an individual facing sexual assault or an abusive situation. Suggested items for donation include toiletries, socks, candy, slippers, journals, bath towels, and cleaning supplies.

Ferris and Central Michigans safety departments are working with the Michigan State Police on the effort, and the purses will be available through WISE of Mecosta County and Women's Aid Service Inc. in Isabella County who will distribute the bags.

John Allen, director of Ferriss DPS, said the initiative came about due to one officer recognizing the potential benefit it could have for community members.

The is an initiative that was brought to our attention by Trooper Cabria Shirley out of the (Michigan State Police) Mount Pleasant post, Allen said. This is an important topic because it assists women who have been victimized. It makes a difference by showing victims of crimes that they are supported and not alone. It also takes the burden of them not worrying about trying to obtain some basic needs, which they may have had to leave behind, due to escaping a dangerous situation.

Allen said any efforts to help victims is a positive move.

Oftentimes women escape bad situations and do not have time to gather their belongings and this will help assist with their needs, Allen said. "Our hope is to assist WISE and Woman Aid Services, so they can further help victims of crimes. We encourage anyone who witnesses abuse to report things you see and support victims by assisting in trying to get resources."

New purses and other items may be dropped off at the Ferris State University Public Safety Department, at 1319 Cramer Circle in Big Rapids.
Foundation of Hope

The village of Hope was first platted in 1831 by a man named Harvey Pike. Some prominent families from this early time in Hope history were the Maxwells, the Fillmores, and the Havens.

The village was officially incorporated in 1871, with the committee for that led by E. J. Brewster. Andrick added that the township was founded as a double township that split into Mills Township in 1894.

In 1875, the population of Hope was at 400, with even the sister of U.S. President James Garfield, Mehitable Garfield, living there for a short spell. She left when her brother moved into the White House, saying that she would, never come back to this godforsaken place of Hope, Michigan. She kept her word, and lived out the rest of her days in Ohio.

Another village even popped up during this time called Pansy, but this village lasted only lasted through the 1890s and the early 1900s. Andrick said there is little to no indication left today that there was ever a town where it stood.
Courtesy of City of Midland

South Saginaw Road will be closed to through traffic from Waldo Avenue/Gordonville Road to Salzburg Road daily beginning Tuesday through Friday for tree work and brush removal near the roadway.

Work is estimated to begin at 8 a.m. and conclude by 6 p.m. each day. Once work has been completed each day, Saginaw Road will be reopened to traffic.
Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

A Wexford County woman who stole thousands from her adult child has been sentenced to 24 months of probation, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced on Monday.

Part of her sentence includes paying back the $32,578.81 she took for her own purposes, a decision made by Wexford County's 28th Circuit Court Judge Jason Elmore.
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Nairobi, Kenya (PANA)  Malian armed forces and associated foreign soldiers allegedly summarily executed an estimated 300 civilian men, some of them suspected Islamist fighters, in the central Malian town of Moura in late March 2022, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said
Photo: (Photo : Getty images )

New data from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that more than half of high school students in the U.S. have experienced emotional abuse either from a parent or another family member ever since the beginning of the pandemic.

The alarming statistics show that many of them report emotional abuse at home in terms of U.S. high school students' mental health.

Emotional Abuse

The research involved more than 7,700 high school students, and emotional abuse was defined in the survey as one or more of the following: being insulted, put down, or sworn at by a parent or another adult in their home. It may also include manipulating, constant criticism, or even isolating and gaslighting them. Researchers collected the responses from high school students during the first half of 2021. They also collected information about the experiences of these youngsters in 2020. These periods covered the months when the government imposed lockdowns due to COVID-19.

The statistics gathered are a stark change compared to other statistics that gather representative samples of emotional abuse. Other surveys taken before the pandemic are common. However, the recent data show a sharp increase.

Read Also: Chinese Woman Gives Birth to Quadruplets on Separate Dates

Stark Increase

In another study from the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence released in 2014, the data showed that minors aged 14 to 17 who have had some emotional abuse from the prior year were just 15.7 percent.

The recent findings from the CDC are an appraisal of how these high school students fared during the pandemic. In addition, the CDC's acting principal deputy director, Dr. Debra Houry, said that this data is a cry for help. According to Dr. Houry, the COVID-19 pandemic has created traumatic stressors that may further affect these students' mental and emotional health.

"Abnormal"

Some students or youngsters who are abused may not even realize that they are being abused. According to Stanford Children's Heath child psychologist Hilit Kletter, these children may think that these types of treatment and behavior are just normal within families. Being a recipient of such treatment daily will make them feel ashamed and worthless.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to many stressors and uncertainty that may have increased the stress and fatigue of parents. However, if an adult's ability to parent their child is impaired, Kletter recommends that parents seek professional help. She also advised that teenagers should seek assistance from a trusted adult such as a teacher or counselor if they fear being emotionally abused in their homes.

Brian Martin, the Childhood Domestic Violence Association founder, said that it would not make a parent weak to have an open dialogue and apologize to their children. Kletter also emphasized that one of the most important ways to address any abuse is finding support to hurdle the factor of being isolated or alone.

Related Article: Increased Social Media Use Causes Adolescent Girls to Manifest Lesser Life Satisfaction Earlier
Photo: (Photo : Emma McIntyre/Getty Image)

Former "Saturday Night Live" (SNL) mainstay Bill Hader has refused to talk publicly about his rumored romance with "Pitch Perfect" actress Anna Kendrick because he wants to respect his three kids from his previous marriage.

In a report on The Hollywood Reporter, Hader excused himself from opening up about his new relationship. The actor explained that his children just want to look up to him as the dad who likes to watch "Encanto" over and over with them.

Hader shares three daughters, Hannah, 13, Harper, 10, and Haley, 8, with ex-wife Maggie Carey, a writer and director. The ex-couple has been divorced since 2017 after 11 years of marriage.

Read Also: After Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock, Son Jaden Smith Backs Father in Oscar Shocker

Bill Hader is Friends with His Ex-Wife

Hader and Carey's divorce was amicable and was completed after three months of court litigations. The star of "Barry" said in an interview with Variety that he is fortunate to have maintained a good friendship with Carey, despite the end of their marriage.

Two years after their divorce, Hader decided to quit his lucrative job on SNL because he wanted to focus on his daughters. The actor revealed that he decided to give up on SNL when he realized he spent a total of five days with his children one summer. From then on, he committed to be with them every single day for their summer breaks.

Just like mom guilt, Hader had dad guilt over the fact that he missed a lot of moments with his children growing up. He almost teared up in the interview, explaining why he's choosing family over his career.

"It's this weird thing when you're in this industry, you don't have time to be with them, and it's really, really difficult," the actor said.

But quitting SNL also gave Hader a restart in his career since he landed "Barry," the dark comedy series with HBO. He also had some time to devote to doing movies instead of just doing his weekly TV series.

Bill Hader and Anna Kendrick's New Romance

In January 2022, People broke the story of Hader and Kendrick's romance. They worked on the Disney+ Christmas movie, "Noelle," in 2019 but have been friends for a while since they were also in the 2013 film "The To-Do List" together.

The source explained that Hader and Kendrick wanted to keep their relationship low-key despite their A-list status in Hollywood. They both see eye-to-eye when it comes to privacy, and it was easy to hide their romance for an entire year from the public because of the pandemic lockdowns.

Kendrick said during an Australian daily interview that she has always believed her relationships should be just for her. However, she acknowledged that it's hard to do because her work puts her in the spotlight.

Another source revealed that the couple has been spending their time together in the last year on hikes, weekend trips away from Hollywood, hanging out with friends, and watching many movies. The source said that Kendrick has bonded with Hader's daughters.

Related Article: Will Arnett Opens up on Divorce From Amy Poehler, Acknowledges 'Painful Couple of Years'
Photo: (Photo : TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

An irate New York City mom crashed a City Hall press conference of Mayor Eric Adams on Monday, April 4, accusing him of reneging on his promise to abolish the toddler mask mandate. The New York Daily News reported that Daniela Jampel stole the show in a press conference for LGBTQ issues, telling Adams that he pulled the rug out from under NYC parents.

Jampel said, "Three weeks ago, you told parents to trust you that you would unmask our toddlers. You stood right here, and you said that the masks would come off April 4. That has not happened."

Jampel told Adams that not only did he renege on his promise to rescind the toddler mask mandate, he also had his lawyers race to court on Friday night, making an argument that there would be irreparable harm if children under the age of 5 are allowed to take off their masks along with their older siblings in school.

Jampel questions Adams about toddler mask mandate in NYC

After her compelling opening statement, Jampel went on to ask Adams two questions-"What is the irreparable harm to children aged 2 to 4 to take off their masks, just as they do in Long Island, just as they do in Westchester? and "When will you and will you unmask our toddlers?"

The New York Post reported that City Hall staffers tried to cut Jampel off when they realized she was not a reporter. Adams, who looked miffed at the furious Big Apple mom getting a question in, allowed Jampel to continue her questioning. Adams told her, however, that she needed to turn on her phone so she could get his answer correctly.

Adams said there has recently been an uptick in new COVID-19 cases locally, which is why he decided to keep the toddler mask mandate order in place. Adams admitted that he was looking forward to announcing taking the masks off for children ages 2 to 4 years old.

Read Also: Ukrainian Children Used As Human Shields by Russian Forces, Kids Placed in Front of Tanks

Adams keeps toddler mask mandate in place as COVID cases rise

The NYC mayor clarified, though, that he also stated that if they see an uptick in COVID cases, they will come back and announce what they are going to do. Adams added that they would pivot and shift as COVID pivots and shifts. That he did with the Seattle Times reporting that the mayor vowed to keep the toddler mask mandate in place for the time being.

Adams reminded everyone that there is a new COVID variant, and the numbers are increasing. Adams said they would move at the right pace because of this, and that is the role he must do.

Jampel found Adams' reply unacceptable, slamming the New York City mayor for his decision to punish toddlers because he does not have the political will to put masks on everybody in the Big Apple. Jampel said in an interview that they should not require masks only on the youngest members of their society and on the people with the lowest case rates, with the mother citing a chart published by the New York City Department of Health.

Related Article: Lack of COVID Vaccines for Babies, Toddlers Leaves Parents, Teachers, Caregivers Frustrated
Photo: (Photo : PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Every mom in labor goes through different levels of the physical trauma of giving birth, but a TikTok mom shared her painless birth story, where she didn't realize she had her second baby because she did not feel anything.

Elimarie, 21, revealed on her TikTok video that she asked for an epidural when she was dilated at four centimeters during labor. She shared that it was her choice to induce the birth because of her experience with her first pregnancy.

But as soon as the epidural kicked in, her labor quickly progressed. She felt her body getting numb because of the drug and then felt something between her legs after 15 minutes. Elimarie reached out and touched the catheter wire attached to her but thought nothing of it.

At some point, however, the nurses had to rush to her because they thought they had lost the baby's heartbeat. Elimarie even managed to joke that it's likely because her baby is already out of her womb.

But when the mom looked down, she was shocked to see that it was true. Her son was right there in between her legs.

Read Also: New Mom Experiences Eyeball 'Popping Out' While Giving Birth

Baby Boy's Father Missed the Whole Birth

Elimarie said that her son's father was in the birthing room with her but figured that the delivery would take hours. So, her partner had his headphones on as he watched a movie on his gadget. He had planned on a long wait for the actual birth.

"He didn't even know what was going on," Elimarie exclaimed, as per The Sun. "I was like, 'He's here! He's here!' and he was like, 'What?!'"

The baby's dad quickly grabbed the camera to record what was left of this momentous birth, but he, unfortunately, missed some of the most precious minutes. Regardless, Elimarie is grateful that she had the easiest time and the best painless birth story to share with everyone.

The young parent said even her doctor and the nurses were freaking out but laughing at this unusual experience. The mom and the baby were fine after that very short labor.

Women Describe the Pain of Childbirth

According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), some 45 percent of mothers describe the pain of childbirth as an extreme menstrual cramp, while 16 percent compared the experience to bad back pain.

Some 15 percent of moms said that giving birth feels like having a broken bone, especially the part where they have to push during the delivery. However, the experts noted that most moms between 18 to 39 years old are more likely to feel more pain post-delivery than the actual birth.

At least 73 percent of mothers prefer an epidural for pain management, while a small percentage said they prefer other complementary methods without the drug. Dr. James D. Grant of the ASA said that it's important for expecting moms to discuss their pain management options with their doctor and the anesthesiologist on call during the delivery if they're having a natural childbirth.

Meanwhile, a rare group of women might have a unique threshold for childbirth pain because they have a particular gene variant that works as a natural epidural. A study published in the Cell Reports by experts at the University of Cambridge said that this gene, KCNG4, is only common to one in every 100 pregnant moms.

Related Article: Brooklyn Decker Reveals She Asked Best Friend To Check 'Down There' After First Baby's Birth
Photo: (Photo : ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

The devastated mom of slain student Kade Lewin issued a heart-wrenching plea on Monday, April 4, for his son's killers to be caught after the 12-year-old was shot dead last week in a parked minivan in Brooklyn.

According to the New York Post, Suzette Lewin was emotional when talking to reporters outside her Flatlands home, saying, "I'm asking for justice for Kade." Lewin, who was seen clutching a photo of her little boy, pleaded with anyone who had information regarding her son's murder to come forward and help in the investigation.

Lewin fought back the tears while making her plea, saying, "All I'm asking, please come forward. Please, please, somebody say something. I'm asking for justice for Kade. Please. Please, I'm asking for justice, please."

NYC Mayor Eric Adams lends support to Lewin

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was there to lend his support to the grieving Lewin, standing beside the heartbroken mother while holding a pair of the slain boy's sneakers. Adams decried the tragic shooting as he repeatedly asked: "Whose child is next?"

Adams said, "When you understand the realness of this, you understand the urgency, and so when I move with the urgency and people are telling me to slow down, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Adams added that the overwhelming number of the victims are black and brown. The NYC mayor said that they could replace the name of Kade with so many other names and that promising young people have been snatched away from them.

Adams went on to talk about the background of the Lewins, telling CBS News that the entire country should listen to the narrative of this family. Adams said that they are immigrants coming here to the United States looking for a better way of life and not for someone to take their life.

Standing alongside Lewin and Adams was the mother of Jenna Ellis, Kade's 20-year-old cousin, who was in the driver's seat of the car during the shooting. She suffered gunshot wounds to her stomach and jaw and is still recovering in the hospital.

Read Also: Louisiana Mom Gives Birth to Son in Restroom of Dunwoody Hotel During Business Trip

Lewin and Ellis were eating in her vehicle when the shooting transpired

Lewin and Ellis were sitting in the latter's car on Thursday, March 31, eating in East Flatbush when a gunman suddenly opened fire, striking them both. Police said that Kade's niece, an 8-year-old girl, was also in the car at the time of the shooting but was not hit by the bullets.

Jennifer Jones Ellis, who was seen holding her daughter Jenna's portrait, told reporters that she wants the neighborhoods to know that this violence, this gun action, must be stopped. Ellis added that way too many of their people are being targeted, and way too many innocent people are being killed, according to a report by the New York Times.

Ellis said that her nephew is now gone and never to return to this world. Ellis said her daughter is laid up in the hospital, blaming herself for the incident, but that should not be the case. Ellis then asked the question, "Why should she blame herself?"

Related Article: Hospital Refuses Woman in Labor, She Gives Birth in Gas Parking Lot Instead
Photo: (Photo : Getty images )

Pamela Harris, the mother of Sergio Harris, 38, one of the victims in the Sacramento mass shooting, called the shooting on early April 3, Sunday, a "senseless massacre" and hopes that the authorities catch the people responsible and prosecute them to the fullest" as the hunt for multiple gunmen continues.

The mother said that the killing was senseless. There were "bullets everywhere" after at least two unidentified men discharged more than 75 rounds in less than a minute when people entered the street and left bars and clubs, The Independent reports.

Sergio Harris, father of two young girls

Pamela Harris "just collapsed" when she heard about her son's death. She said," All I know is my son's dead."

She told reporters that her son, Sergio Harris was a married father of two young daughters that loved him dearly, and he loved them. Unfortunately, the girls will not see their father anymore, she said.

The mother also told KCRA that her son was a very energetic young man. He was fun to be around, liked to party, and was always smiling. He said his son does not bother people. Ms. Harris admitted that she does not know what to do as she does not even feel that what is happening is real. She said it just feels like a dream.

The incident was a sad and terrible act of violence that killed many people. She said she wants answers so she can have closure for her children.

Read Also: Hero Sister: Three-Year-Old Saves Toddler Sister from Drowning After Screaming for Help

She recalled that she just had dinner with her son Saturday night.

Sergio Harris was one of the six people killed in the shooting. Twelve others were wounded in the shooting at around 2 AM Sunday on K street. Four of the injured have critical injuries.

The Sacramento County coroner identified the victims as Sergio Harris, 38; Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; Devazia Turner, 29; and Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi.

Fox News reported that one of the victims identified was Devazia Turner, 29, a cousin of Harris. Turner's father, Frank, said that he wants everyone to know that his son is a good father and that he does not have another son.

Action on Gun Crimes

According to Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester, a large fight occurred before the shooting. The police also confirmed that there were multiple shooters. They asked witnesses to send additional footages to aid in the search. Lester told reporters that the scale of violence in Sacramento is unprecedented in her 27 years in the area.

As of Monday, the six people who were gunned down in Sacramento were identified. The police have also arrested Dandre Martin, 26, for assault and illegal firearm possession in connection with the Sunday shooting.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden called for action on gun crimes. He encouraged people to do more than mourn but act.

Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom described gun violence as a "US crisis."

Related Article: Meteorologist Dad Calls His Family on Air to Warn About Looming Tornado
Photo: (Photo : ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Have you been to a place where you're unfamiliar with the language and tried to communicate with the locals without any success? That's what people with aphasia deal with every day. The loss of ability to communicate is one of the early symptoms of aphasia, a brain disorder that affects two million Americans, including Hollywood star Bruce Willis.

According to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), an average of 180,000 Americans experience aphasia every year. About 40 percent of these patients have suffered a stroke, but the language disorder may happen to anyone, especially in middle-aged or older individuals.

Dr. Hugo Botha, a neurologist with the Mayo Clinic, said that the condition is more linked to a collection of symptoms that show a language problem. It's not a disease, but doctors often try to figure out what's causing the communication struggles with the patient.

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Bruce Willis' Early Symptoms of Aphasia

People with aphasia lose their ability to communicate by speaking, writing, or understanding others. Their speech could be fragmented, garbled, or filled with nonsense words. Their letters could be full of errors in cohesion and grammar.

Willis was said to have struggled with his lines while working on the " Glass " set in 2017. Two production sources relayed that something was quite off with the actor during the filming of the M. Night Shylaman.

The sources told Page Six that Willis often appeared confused with his dialogues with the other actors. Those who were unaware might have even concluded that the actor was a little drunk at work, or he seemed like he didn't want to be on the set.

Five years after "Glass," the sources said that his behavior on the set "makes more sense" today as early symptoms of aphasia after he recently announced his retirement from acting. The condition impacts a person differently; thus, they are either categorized as fluent or nonfluent, depending on the extent of the speech damage.

Aphasia is Treatable

In some cases, the language struggles improve and resolve on their own even without any treatment. However, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, early intervention is crucial to recover from this condition though many patients might never completely regain their full speech and language functions back.

Treating aphasia will be based on the person's specific symptoms, but most go through speech therapy to relearn how to speak and write. On the other hand, those with degenerative conditions might need more nonverbal communication therapies or group therapies that involve their families.

Doctors also advise patients to keep an active lifestyle and pursue activities like painting or singing to boost the left side of their brain. They also need to have constant social interaction to ignite their brain cells.

Dealing with aphasia can be frustrating for the patient and those they interact with, such as family members. Thus, it's crucial for everyone to take part in the patient's treatment plan.

Related Article: Student With Misophonia Files Lawsuit Against School for Failing to Ban Gum Chewing
Photo: (Photo : Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images)

History was made in Australia with Shaun Resnik becoming the first single man to be accepted under the state of Victoria's strict surrogacy laws after welcoming his newborn son Eli into the world.

Resnik, a Victorian man in his 40s, had to wait a long time for his dream of becoming a father to turn into a reality, with the entire surrogacy process spanning three and a half years. Surrogacy in Victoria has been notoriously difficult for single people, but the long wait finally ended for Resnik when the surrogate mother, Carla Pincombe, gave birth to his baby boy.

The new father can't stop gushing about the latest addition to his family, telling 7News that it is a love like he has never experienced before. Pincombe, who has now carried two egg donations to other families, said she felt pure joy and relief that the entire surrogacy process was over.

Fertility specialist hails Resnik's surrogacy news

In the state of Victoria, around 100 babies are born to surrogates each year. They first need federal government approval, though, for the process to go ahead. Resnik said in the interview that he had found love since the federal government approved his surrogacy application, but he made it clear that any choices he makes in the future regarding further extending his family will come with the best interests of baby Eli at heart.

Fertility specialist Dr. Lyn Burmeister was delighted with the news of Resnik becoming a father via surrogate in Australia, saying, "We shouldn't be sending people overseas for surrogacy or egg donation."

When Resnik found out that his application to become a dad through a surrogate was approved last year, he hailed the decision. Resnik said it is time society got to see single gay men as dads. Resnik added that he has always wanted to be a dad, but he did not know how he would make it possible.

According to a report by The Australian, the answer that Resnik sought was through the surrogacy program with the Melbourne native establishing a connection with Pincombe. Resnik was an intended parent at the time, while Pincombe was pregnant with a same-sex couple's child.

Read Also: Intended Parents Can Bring Ukrainian Surrogates to the United Kingdom: 3-Year U.K. Visas to Be Issued

Besties Pincombe and Resnik share surrogacy journey

Pincombe said that she never intended to become a part of Resnik's personal surrogacy path. The two of them were partnered to support each other through their separate journeys in the surrogacy process.

Pincombe and Resnik hit it off instantly during their first meeting, with the latter believing they were long-lost "besties." Pincombe watched Resnik endure endless roadblocks in his quest to become a father through surrogacy for two and a half years.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that after Resnik failed in his three previous surrogacy journeys, Pincombe offered her services to her friend to become his baby's surrogate. The process went full steam ahead when Resnik met Bree, who agreed to donate her eggs to him a year ago for surrogacy.

Related Article: Newborn Baby Brings Hope to Ukraine Maternity Ward in the Middle of War; Mykolaiv Sees Baby Boom
Last year, we wrote that Windows 11 was, in a word, unnecessary. Have six months changed our opinion? No, though there are signs that Microsoft is fixing some of Windows 11s most obvious flaws.

Because virtually all of Microsofts development work now takes place on Windows 11, by necessity most of my work is done on Microsofts latest operating system. Ive left most of my familys PCs running Windows 10, however, in part because theyre simply used to the familiar Windows 10 environment. I still think thats the right decision for most people.

What follows isnt a re-review of Windows 11. But its a good opportunity to think about whether the original review was influenced by first impressions, and what, if anything, Microsoft has accomplished in the intervening months.

Start, Taskbar, Themes and more: Still no fun

At release, Windows 11s most significant flaw was that it feels both less fun and less functional. Thats still the case, months later.

Case in point: In Windows 10, navigating to Personalization > Themes brings up large, vibrant icons telling you what themes you have installed, tacitly encouraging you to use them. Technically, the same options are available within Windows 11, but everything is far more subdued. Your PC feels less like an extension of your personality than a condominium with a few paint schemes that have been pre-approved by an HOA.

Windows 11s Settings menu is nicely organized, and a real strength of the OS. But theres a price to be paid for its efficiency, and thats its sense of fun. Windows 10 on left, Windows 11 on right.

Personalization matters, which is why we wrote a how to personalize your PC story for Windows 10. But that story includes a section thats hardly applicable to Windows 11: the Start menu.

To be fair, I use the Start menu as a Start about half the time. Windows has a variety of ways to launch apps within Windows. You can also type Win+R to run programs, or simply search for them by hitting the Windows key, typing the name of the app, and hitting Enter. I usually launch apps using the latter method.

When I do need to use the Start menu, though, I really loathe doing so in Windows 11. It feels so horribly institutional, a sea of icons with no rhyme or reason. Yes, I know that Start folders appear to be scheduled for release during the fall, but lets face it: Theyve already botched those too. One of the key visual elements of Windows 10 was the ability to visually weigh specific apps and folders by resizing them. Now, you can group Windows 11 apps together in a folder and make the icons smaller as a consequence. Doesnt this contravene the idea of making Windows more accessible?

Even in a blown-up screenshot, I struggle to make out the Disney app in the third folder within this Windows 11 Start menu, which shows the Start folders which have appeared in Microsofts Insider releases. This is not a step forward. Microsoft

At this point, I simply cant see why Microsoft enforces such ridiculous limitations on the ability of users to resize the Start menu as a whole. Those of us who prioritize aesthetics can leave everything primly centered. Otherwise, why not offer people the freedom of choice to expand their workspace?

Choice matters, too. I can understand Microsoft placing the most commonly used apps front and center within Start. But theyre clogged with Microsofts insistence that I include, say, the Instagram app, which Ive literally never used. In Windows 10, you can see both the preferred app tiles alongside the alphabetical list of apps. Windows 11 secrets the list of alphabetical apps behind the All apps button, and I simply forget about them.

Basically, I simply refuse to engage with the Start menu if I can avoid it. Its frustrating and futile, and I havent even mentioned the wasted space that is the Recommended files at the bottom of it. At least you can turn those off. (Go to Settings, then Personalization>Start>Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer and toggle the buttton off.)

The same argument holds for the taskbar. I honestly have no issue if Microsoft wants to move all the way away from the Fisher-Price tiled layout of Windows 8 into an ultra-efficient, clean layout, with an aesthetic that collects icons into the center of screen with minimal badging. But again, its about flexibility. I wouldnt dream of putting my Favorites bar within Edge onto the left-hand nav barbut Edge does allow you that choice. So why not Windows?

Arranging your tabs vertically along the left edge of the screen is a choice Microsoft affords Edge users, but not those who use Windows 11. Mark Hachman / IDG

Fortunately, third-party tools like Start11 and StartAllBack fix many (but not all) of the most annoying issues with Windows 11s Start menu and taskbar. It would be nice if Microsoft did the same officially.

Widgets, Teams Chat, and Search: The forgotten functions

I can say only one thing about Teams Chat: I went to the Settings menu (Personalization > Taskbar) and toggled it off months ago. I have Google Meet, I have the real Microsoft Teams, and I have Zoom. I simply dont need anything else.

As a journalist, Im technically in favor of Widgets, Microsofts collection of news and information. But I usually dont bother hovering over the weather icon in the taskbar to trigger Widgets. Its just not in my muscle memory. On the other hand, I chronically read an article or two in Edge every time I open a new tab in the Informational view. Microsoft/Edge/Bing benefits either way, I suppose.

Thats probably the same way I view Windows built-in Search icon  its simply not programmed into my daily use. As Ive noted above, I search to launch apps, but most of my Internet searches are conducted via a browser or file searches within File Explorer, or I simply open the most recent document within a specific app. My gut tells me that I could probably be more efficient by using the Search app, and it might be worth forcing myself into the habit to see if thats a more effective method. Maybe Ive become acclimated to using a search bar, which is what I tended to use in Windows 10.

For whatever reason I dont find myself using Widgets, or the search box within it or the Windows 11 search icon. But Im willing to believe most people find a way to find what they want, however that is, and settle on it. Mark Hachman / IDG

I do miss Cortana, somewhat. But I honestly dont care what service I use for general queries, such as the exchange rate of the euro or when Halo was first released. Cortana doesnt seem like its worth installing just for quickly setting up reminders, which is one reason I used it fairly heavily in Windows 10.

Action Center and Notifications: A step forward

My opinion has changed on the Action Center, which occupies the lower right-hand corner within Windows 11. After a few months, Ive come to like how everything is clustered together, rather than being scattered across multiple taskbar icons on Windows 10. But its not perfect; in Windows 10, the various icons present more opportunities to communicate information, such as which audio device is being controlled by the volume slider. I also find I look at the notifications less than I used to.

Windows 11s Action Center is more neatly organized, but excludes some information that Windows 10 provided up front. Windows 10 on left; 11 on right.

The real glaring issue with the Action Center is the lack of a fully-functional calendar, which just seems too weird. Whats the point of a calendar if I cant add appointments to it, review holidays, or simply do anything with it? With Cortana being pushed aside, theres no real simple way to schedule a quick reminder. (Microsoft To Do volunteers, as the first thing it does is ask to be pinned to the Taskbar. Shouldnt this be part of the operating system, though? You need to manually install it via the Microsoft Store.)

Windows 11 also presents this weird UI interface in that the OneDrive cloud storage icon is a functional yet hidden button; yet so are the cluster of the networking icon, the volume icon, and the battery icon. Click anywhere in the latter group and the Action Center opens. Where I often get confused is after I turn on Focus Assist, the icon that indicates its on and working (the crescent moon icon, in the screenshot above) appears to the far right, next to the time and date. Clicking on that opens the notifications, insteadwith the Focus Assist settings all the way at the top. Its like a treasure map!

At least they finally restored the clock to multi-monitor setups.

The Windows Shell: Still some basic problems

My colleague Alaina Yee detests the Windows shell, and shes absolutely right. The menu system that appears when you right-click a file, and then cascades over to a secondary menu requiring a second click, is unforgivable. Couldnt this all live on a single menu? Why should approved Windows apps like PowerToys place their PowerResize capabilities on a secondary menu, especially ones that certain users (like me) use frequently? Ive finally learned which of the shortcut icons (like cut and rename) represent which functions, but the right-click menu options still feel sloppy. Theyre a big step backwards in efficiency.

Presenting one Windows 11 context menu, then hiding others inside a legacy menu (show more options is just silly. Mark Hachman / IDG

I still think Snap View is a success, though, and a marked improvement over Windows 10. Yes, you can still use PowerToys and its fantastic Fancy Zones utility in either Windows 10 or Windows 11, but Snap Views ability to partition part of your screen is really handy, and the default alignments usually satisfy my requirements.

Im still a fan of dictation, too. For whatever reason, I dont have to be in the mood to type a long phrase, and a quick tap of WIN+H opens up the dictation widget almost instantly. I say the phrase, tap Win+H again, and move on. You dont have to write everything in dictation! Its especially handy for locked PDF files you want to copy a paragraph or two from, but are prevented from doing so.

It feels, though, like Microsofts designers have never quite found the right way to manage files. I dont love File Explorer in either Windows 10 or Windows 11, and no matter what I do it feels like I expend far too much effort looking for what Im searching for. Using the File Explorers search bar feels unnecessarily slow. I dont instinctively click the Search button, though, nor do I search for documents by name. I tend to simply search for files using the respective apps, or folders such as Photos. Ive always felt that searching for files is where I, as well as Windows, flail.

I admittedly dont use Windows 11s dictation that much. But I dont use touch that often eitherbut when I want to, its there. Mark Hachman / IDG

Bur theres a bigger problem, and, frankly, Im not even sure that Windows is the answer. As more and more collaboration moves online, files are increasingly being stored or shared or collaborated on within apps like Google Workplace, Zoom, Teams, and more. But its more than that. Knowledge, whether its a to-do list or a shared insight with a colleague, simply isnt a file. Can I use Windows built-in Search to search Teams? Maybe eventually, but not now. Zoom? Google Meet? Not at all. If Windows cant even understand what Im looking for, as well as where its found, what good is a search function or file explorer, anyway?

Microsoft Edge: Finally, you can easily switch

Microsoft finally seems to have resolved its serious issue of a lack of browser choice in Windows 11, via an optional update that will almost certainly pushed to the general Windows 11 user base as part of an upcoming Patch Tuesday. It still feels a bit sleazy  the one-click option to make a browser like Chrome your default browser still sets Edge as your default browser for opening PDF files, for example  but it at least gives consumers back the choice that should have never been taken away in the first place.

Microsoft Store and Windows apps: It all looks nice

On balance, Microsofts changes to Windows apps have been positive, though not profound. Say what you want about the Microsoft Stores utility  you can hardly argue that it doesnt look more professional and feels more useful, at least on the app pages. The front page of the Store, though, still feels sparse.

Microsoft revamped the Photos app, making it far worse  then fixed it, somewhat, largely accomplishing its original goals. Youre still not going to convince me that the app wholly improved, though, with the elimination of the spot fix tool as well as separating the profoundly useful Magic Select tool in Paint 3D. Microsoft also unnecessarily reorganized Paint, the app that Microsoft has tried to kill before. Again, redesigning for the sake of a redesign simply messes with muscle memory and makes people less productive.

The revamed Microsoft Store is both aesthetically and functionally improved. Microsoft

I enjoy using the Windows 11s new Terminal and PowerShell apps, though I hardly ever have a need to.

Under the hood: PC makers are pushing the hardest

Really, the strongest argument for Windows 11 currently isnt the operating system, but whats inside the chassis. Virtually all new PCs now ship with Windows 11, so the most advanced laptops in my office now run Microsofts latest operating system. In part, thats likely because of Intel and the Thread Director technology it made synonymous with its 12th-gen Alder Lake Core chips. But its also due to Microsofts goal to push PCs into the modern era of security, ruling out most older PCs with strict hardware requirements (that it later relented). To be fair, we havent seen Windows 11, and its Virtualization Based Security (VBS) cause any drastic hits to performance save for on much older, unsupported hardware.

Microsoft also integrated three other fundamental technologies as selling points for Windows 11: DirectStorage, Dynamic Refresh Rate, and AutoHDR. Of these, DirectStorage appears like it could provide a profound advantage to Windows 11 gaming. After releasing DirectStorage in March, Microsoft showed how it could cut game loading times down to about a second. We still dont know how many games the technology will end up in, though, or when those games will even be released.

Otherwise, I havent seen Dynamic Refresh Rate or AutoHDR present a significant upgrade. Its nice to use DRR to run a laptop display at 120Hz, especially for inking, but how often do I do that? On the other hand, 120Hz displays do make a difference, even just moving an interface around.

Matt Smith performed a direct evaluation of AutoHDR on PCs, which adds HDR detail to games that dont natively support it. Its noticeable, yes, but not that much of a selling point unless you have a top-grade HDR monitor. Youll want one with a minimum of at least 1,000 nits of peak brightness to fully bask in its abilities, and those are rare indeed.

Whats being fixed

The recent release of a new build into Microsofts Beta Channel of its Insider program signals what Microsoft probably has planned for the fall: Start folders, the ability to drag-and-drop files into Taskbar shortcuts, and Live Captions, among others.

Start folders, as I explained earlier, dont seem like they add that much to the Windows 11 experience. Being able to drag and drop a file onto the appropriate Taskbar shortcut and open that file is a nice feature that a small but vocal group of users demanded, and thats fine  that shows, essentially, how the process of adding new features should work. And I really think that Live Captions are a useful feature that shows off Microsofts AI capabilities  but, more and more, content is being streamed via Netflix, YouTube, Amazon and others (even Teams!), which have closed-captioning services already.

Windows 11s Live Captions provides captioning that appears at the very top of the screen. Microsoft

Conclusion: Windows 11 isnt there yet

Im asked to review laptops periodically, and there are aspects of a laptop review Ill suffer through. Ill write the review using its keyboard, for example, to discover if its truly a black mark or if I just havent become used to it. Aside from the Start menu, I dont really detest anything about Windows 11  and with Start, I simply avoid using it by searching for an app, just like I might avoid a likely traffic jam by driving on surface streets instead.

But theres little I still particularly recommend about Windows 11. I truly do like Snap View (again, which can be configured using Fancy Zones) and flipping on dictation from time to time. My general sense is that Microsoft is still trying to reconcile the changes it made with what users truly want, or at least complain about. In the future, a feature like DirectStorage could be what sells Windows 11 to gamers, and the more mainstream audience that leans on the enthusiast community for advice. Dictation works, and features like the Xbox app and its cloud gaming service certainly add value to Windows 11 and 10.

Im willing to believe that, over time, Ill warm to Windows 11. Maybe in six years or so, when Microsoft launches Windows 12, Ill feel a pull of nostalgia. But, six months in, theres still a genuine sense that Microsoft is playing catch up to where Windows 10 is now, and without a critical mass of features it needs to justify Windows 11 as a genuine improvement.
Microsoft is beefing up its PC in the cloud, Windows 365, with some additional capabilities that recognize how workers will be moving back and forth from the office as they transition back to work, including an offline mode.

Microsoft launched Windows 365 in July 2021, offering businesses the option to use a PC in the cloud, rather than a physical device at their desk. Among the differences between Windows 365 and Windows 11 includes the option for a business to upgrade their Cloud PC by spending more to add additional virtual hardware. (Windows 365 is Microsofts PC in the cloud; Microsoft 365 is the replacement for Office 365.)

We see a future where Windows increasingly will take advantage of the capabilities of the hardware, the device it runs on, and the cloud, Jared Spataro, Microsofts corporate vice president of modern work, said in a briefing before Microsofts Future of Hybrid Work event on Tuesday morning. Spataro also said that he believes that the future of Windows will see more and more of what makes a users experience unique  settings, content, and even apps  to be put into the cloud and used on any device.

Three new features represent Microsofts first steps down this path.

Windows 365 Switch will make it as easy to switch between a Cloud PC and a local PC as easily as switching between virtual desktops. Microsoft

Windows 365 Boot will allow Windows 365 users to boot directly into the cloud  in other words, you wont boot a PC, then access the cloud. When the boot cycle completes, youll simply be working within the Cloud PC.

People who boot into a local PC will have two options to move back and forth between it and the cloud. First, Microsoft says that youll be able to swipe back and forth between virtual desktops, only that one of those desktops will be your cloud PC. Microsoft calls this Windows 365 Switch. The Microsoft 365 app in the taskbar will also toggle between the cloud and the local version of Windows.

I cant overemphasize the importance of this, Spataro said. In other words, you can move between whats happening on your local device and whats happening on your Cloud PC.

Finally, Microsoft will introduce Windows 365 Offline, which, like the name suggests, will allow users to work within Windows 365, but offline. When a connection is restored, the offline and the online versions of Windows 365 will sync up. Microsoft hasnt said how the Cloud PC will be stored on the client PC.

This will be an important part of the way we help people move to the cloud over time, Spataro said.
The International Energy Agency will hold an emergency meeting on Friday among consuming nations to discuss a new release of strategic reserves alongside a plan by the United States to pump massive supplies starting in May to cool soaring oil prices.



Major consumers are seeking ways to ease the impact of global oil prices, which have soared more than 30% this year, on their economies after top producers group OPEC+ stuck to plans to add a modest 432,000 barrels per day of supply in May.



Western sanctions on Russia after their invasion of Ukraine are expected to see a loss of about 3 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil in April, according to the IEA. Moscow calls its activity in Ukraine a "special operation" to disarm its western neighbour.



To fill the shortfall, President Joe Biden on Thursday authorized the largest release ever from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserves, a release of 1 million bpd of crude for six months starting in May.



The U.S. announcement comes a day before IEA member countries are set to meet at 1200 GMT on Friday to discuss a further emergency oil release that would follow their March 1 agreement to release about 60 million barrels.



Several members in the Asia Pacific have said they would support the IEA's initiatives.



Japan will act appropriately on oil reserves release while closely watching global developments, the industry minister said on Friday.



"It is not clear whether the release will be done by the U.S. alone or the United States will make a proposal at the IEA meeting," Japanese industry minister Koichi Hagiuda told a news conference.



"In any case, we would like to act appropriately while keeping an eye on the international situation," he said.



South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement last week that it plans to support additional international cooperation in oil and gas and has already committed to releasing 4.42 million barrels in the March 1 agreement.



New Zealand has reserves available for release if called upon, a spokesperson for Energy Minister Megan Woods said in an email.



New Zealand has already released 369,000 barrels of oil as part of the IEA collective release agreed on March 1, she added.



Australia has committed to release the full 1.7 million barrels it holds in its emergency stockpile in the U.S. strategic reserves in the March agreement.



India, an associate IEA member, is committed to supporting initiatives for reserve releases, for mitigating market volatility and calming the rise in crude oil prices, junior finance minister Pankaj Chaudhury told lawmakers this week.

Source: REUTERS









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Russian gas was still flowing to Europe on Friday despite a deadline set by President Vladimir Putin to cut it off unless customers start paying in roubles, Moscow's strongest threat to retaliate for sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.



Negotiations aimed at ending the war were set to resume by video link, with Ukrainian forces making more advances on the ground in a counterattack that has repelled the Russians from Kyiv and broken the sieges of some cities in the north and east.



After failing to capture a single major Ukrainian city in five weeks of war, Russia says it has shifted its focus to the southeast, where it has backed separatists since 2014.



The area includes the port of Mariupol, scene of the war's worst humanitarian emergency, where the United Nations believes thousands of people have died after more than a month under Russian siege and relentless bombardment.



The Red Cross had hoped to begin evacuations from the city on Friday with the first aid convoy, but Ukraine said Russia had prevent buses from reaching it on Thursday.



Western sanctions imposed over the war have cut off Russia from much of world trade, but exceptions have been carved out for oil and gas.



Putin signed an order setting a Friday deadline for buyers from "unfriendly" countries to pay for gas using roubles or be cut off, a demand Western customers have rejected as an attempt to rewrite contracts that call for payment in euros. Germany, the biggest buyer, called it "blackmail", and had warned this week of a potential emergency if supplies were curtailed.



But there was no sign on Friday of an immediate interruption. Flows remained steady through two of the three main pipelines bringing Russian gas into Europe - Nord Stream 1 across the Baltic Sea, and into Slovakia over Ukraine.



Flows through the other main route, the Yamal-Europe pipeline over Belarus, had reversed direction, now bringing gas from Germany to Poland, but this occurs occasionally and did not necessarily indicate a new policy.



Gazprom, Russia's state-owned gas giant, said it was continuing to supply Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from consumers that were down only fractionally from Thursday.



A source had told Reuters that some contracts involved gas being delivered before payments were due, suggesting the taps might not be turned off immediately.



'EVERLASTING FEAR'



Putin sent troops on Feb. 24 for what he calls a "special military operation" to demilitarise Ukraine.



Western countries call it an unprovoked war of aggression and say Putin's real aim was to topple Ukraine's government in a campaign that has so far failed, due to strong Ukrainian resistance and poor Russian logistics.



Irpin, a commuter suburb northwest of Kyiv that had been one of the main battlegrounds for weeks, was now firmly back in Ukrainian hands, a wasteland littered with burnt-out tanks.



Volunteers and emergency workers were carrying the dead on stretchers out of the rubble. About a dozen bodies were zipped up in black plastic body bags, lined up on a street and loaded into vans.



Lilia Ristich was sitting on a metal playground swing with her young son Artur. Most people had fled; they had stayed.



"We were afraid to leave because they were shooting all the time, from the very first day. It was horrible when our house was hit. It was horrible," she said. She listed off neighbours who had been killed - the man "buried there, on the lawn"; the couple with their 12-year-old child, all burned alive.



"When our army came then I fully understood we had been liberated. It was happiness beyond imagination. I pray for all this to end and for them never to come back," she said. "When you hold a child in your arms it is an everlasting fear."



Over the past 10 days, Ukrainian forces have recaptured suburbs near Kyiv, broken the siege of Sumy in the east and driven back Russian forces advancing on Mykolaiv in the south.



In the latest Ukrainian advance, Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Friday Ukrainian forces had recaptured villages linking Kyiv with the besieged northern city of Chernihiv.



At talks this week, Moscow said it would reduce offensives near Kyiv and Chernihiv to build trust at peace talks. Kyiv and its allies say Russia is pulling troops out in those areas, not as a goodwill gesture but to regroup, because they have taken heavy losses.



The Russians are still bombarding cities even as they pull out, and could be preparing a major new assault in the southeast, where they say they want to "liberate" the Donbas region claimed by the separatists, including Mariupol.



Ukraine's general staff said Russian troops had started a partial withdrawal from the Kyiv region towards Belarus and were taking looted vehicles with them.



A fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukraine border caught fire, and the regional governor said it had been hit by two Ukrainian helicopters in what would, if confirmed, be Ukraine's first known airstrike on Russian soil. Ukraine's defence ministry did not immideately respond to a request for comment. Russian oil firm Rosneft, which owns the depot, reported the fire without identifying the cause.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned of "battles ahead" in Donbas and the besieged southern port city of Mariupol.



"We still need to go down a very difficult path to get everything we want," Zelenskiy said.

Source: REUTERS









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Prudential Life Insurance Ghana, a leading insurer in the country, in collaboration with Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential Plc in Africa and Asia, has announced their partnership with 3 institutions; United Nations Population Fund Ghana (UNFPA), National Cardiothoracic Centre and the Ghana Infectious Disease Centre (GIDC) to fund projects that are set to impact hundreds of Ghanaian lives.



A ceremony to hand over the funds and sign the corresponding governing agreements was held at the Prudential Life Insurance Head Office, 335 Place, in Accra.



Marc Fancy, Executive Director of Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential Plc, said: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on peoples health, livelihoods and economies, highlight the important role that we can play in providing safety nets for citizens, businesses and governments.



"Through the new Group-wide Prudence Foundation COVID-19 Relief Fund, we are pleased to collaborate with our business units across Asia and Africa to contribute through a wide range of initiatives.



Emmanuel Mokobi Aryee, Regional CEO for Prudential West Africa said: Prudential is passionate about providing relief in these trying times. We believe in helping people get the most out of life and our position remains resolute particularly in these unusual times.



Now, we are happy to be associated with these institutions to provide some much needed relief for many more Ghanaians through these projects.



UNFPA, the lead UN Agency that targets vulnerable adolescent populations, will use their expertise to fill the gaps that exist in addressing the needs of Kayayei. Prudentials fund will provide 100 Kayayei in the Tema station area with access to basic healthcare services, personal development and reproductive health education, provision of food supplies and care kits.



The project provides funding to the Ghana Infectious Disease Centre to cater for 6 months worth of medical consumables in the provision of critical care to persons in Ghana who have been diagnosed with the COVID-19 pandemic.



The National Cardiothoracic Centre, a tertiary Healthcare services Institution offering medical and surgical cardiovascular care to cardiothoracic patients suffering from heart and chest conditions, will cover the operating costs for 10 paediatric patients, who are unable to pay for their surgeries due to the financial constraints brought about by the pandemic.



The representatives of the various institutions hailed Prudential Life Ghana for its unflinching support to Ghanaians who have been affected by the pandemic and recognised this donation as a demonstration of that support.



The Prudential COVID relief fund has been provided by Prudential Life Insurance Ghana with the support of the Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential plc in Asia and Africa, and Chairmans Challenge, Prudentials flagship international volunteering, that brings together people from across the Group to help their communities.







Prudential Life Insurance Ghana

Prudential Life Insurance Ghana is a wholly owned subsidiary of Prudential plc. , which provides life and health insurance and asset management, with a focus on Asia and Africa.. The business helps people get the most out of life by making healthcare affordable and accessible and by promoting financial inclusion. Prudential protects peoples wealth, helps them grow their assets, and empowers them to save for their goals.



The business has more than 17 million life customers in Asia and Africa and is listed on stock exchanges in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York.



Prudence Foundation is the community investment arm of Prudential plc in Asia and Africa. Its mission is to secure the future of communities by enhancing education, health and safety. The Foundation runs regional programmes as well as local programmes in partnership with NGOs, governments and the private sector in order to maximise the impact of its efforts.



Prudence Foundation leverages Prudentials long-term mindset and geographical scale to make communities safer, more secure and more resilient. The Foundation is a Hong Kong registered charitable entity.



For more information: www.prudencefoundation.com









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Dean of the School of Performing Arts of the University of Ghana, Professor Kofi Agyekum, has thrown his full support to the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) which is a system for placing Junior High School students in Senior High Schools (SHS) and Senior High Technical Schools (SHTS).



Although thought to be a good initiative, this CSSPS is however criticized as being full of problems.



There are some parents and guardians who complain bitterly about their children or wards having been placed in schools which are not their first choices or schools at remote areas.



Abolish Unfair CSSPS



Wading into this discussion is the former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Prof. Philip Ebow Bondzi-Simpson, who wants heads of schools to be allowed to admit students into their schools just as authorities at the basic and the tertiary levels do.



Speaking at the Mfantsipim Stakeholders Forum in Cape Coast, on Monday, the Founding Dean of the UCC Law Faculty indicated that the Computerized School Selection and Placement System is destroying traditions of schools and hurting them.



He indicated that if in Ghana, out of all the levels of schools, it is only the secondary school that theres computer placement, then, theres the need for the stakeholders in education to evaluate it and change such a system.



The Mfantsipim Forum is a forum initiated by the school, its old boys, the church and other stakeholders to think about the school and the educational system.



Prof Bondzi-Simpson intimated that the system put in place to admit the students, should take into account old boys/girls of the schools, children of staff, a consideration of the members of the church and small amount of protocol, adding that its out of place to centralize a placement system that disadvantages those who have been contributing to the growth and development of the school.



Prof. Bondzi-Simpson believes the system is unfair and destroying the traditions of the school, apart from the human interferences in the process that are putting many stakeholders of the school at a greater disadvantage.



But despite all these concerns, Prof. Kofi Agyekum, popularly called Opanyin Agyekum, is admonishing authorities not to cancel the CSSPS.



According to him, contrary to criticisms that it is problematic, the CSSPS has made it "easy for parents and students in the choice of schools. It's also reduced the pressure that used to mount on Heads of the SHSs and people of influence to place students in their suitable schools".



Opanyin Agyekum also asked "parents to stop compelling their children to attend schools they attended or see the schools with big names as the only good schools," hence when their wards are placed in a different school based on their performance, it becomes an issue.



To him, the "CSSPS is the best option for placement of students in schools."





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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[April 04, 2022] VICTRA ACQUIRES GO WIRELESS Adding More Than 600 New Sales Jobs RALEIGH, N.C., April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Victra's footprint now includes nearly 1,600 locations nationwide. Under the plan, Go Wireless' field staff, store managers and sales associates will become Victra employees and the company's Las Vegas-based back-office support staff will stay on to help support post-acquisition integration. "Victra has a great reputation as a top industry retailer with years of strong performance," said Victra CEO and Chairman of the Board, Rich Balot. "Similar to Go Wireless, Victra has a focus on delivering a world-class retailer experience with a commitment to growth for our company and our employees, and we look forward to bringing our organizations together." Victra was founded as a partnership by in October 1996 in Wilson, North Carolina, and recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Victra was incorporated as ABC Phones of North Carolina, Inc. in 1999. Today, Victra is independently owned and operated in Raleigh, North Carolina, with more 230 people in the Store Support Center. In 2020, Victra opened its Victra Contact Center in Winterville, N.C., now employing hundreds of team members who handle calls in support of Victra stores.

Victra believes in inspiring its employees through its unique culture and core values of innovation, collaboration, integrity, performance, and celebration. In addition, the company supports giving back in the communities where our employees live and work. To aid in this goal, the company launched Victra Cares, a program that promotes a culture of giving that inspires employees, helps make positive change within local communities and assists our own employees during times of need. Through Victra Cares, the company has partnered with many charitable organizations including Building Homes for Heroes, Feeding America and in 2022 a new partnership just launched with the USO. In 2020  2021, Victra made a sizable donation to support Feeding America that provided 1.5 million meals to those in need across the country, with a focus on communities where they have stores. If you are interested in joining the Victra team, learn more about open roles www.victra.com/careers and apply today. About Victra, Inc.

Victra, headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., operates as the largest exclusive authorized agent for Verizon Wireless, the nation's best performing wireless network. Victra has approximately 1,600 Verizon-branded retail stores across 49 states, offering a comprehensive mix of wireless devices including smartphones, feature phones, tablets, mobile broadband, and wearables; as well as a broad range of accessories and device insurance coverage. For more information, visit www.victra.com . CONTACT: victra@boltpr.com SOURCE Victra

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The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has called on the public not to mistake the lifting of the coronavirus (COVID-19) mandatory restrictions for an annulment of the safety protocols.



It explained that COVID-19 still lingered and so abandoning the safety protocols and vaccination could result in a retrogression of the strides made so far.



Speaking with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, explained that not making the wearing of face masks mandatory did not mean the safety protocols were no longer necessary.



He said it only meant that with the strides made so far, people should be able to willingly take responsibility for their health by willingly adhering to the safety protocols and getting

vaccinated.



Staying safe



Dr Kuma-Aboagye appealed to the public to continue washing their hands with soap under running water frequently, wear face masks responsibly and adhere to the social distancing principle to avoid catching the virus in the first place.



He emphasised that the wearing of face masks, in addition to vaccination and other safety protocols, would protect dear ones who had not been vaccinated yet or were not eligible, such as people below 15 years.



While appealing to all eligible persons who had not been vaccinated to do so, the GHS D-G reiterated that although the vaccine did not prevent a patron from catching the disease, it protected the individual against the severe form of COVID-19 or death.



The vaccination is helping so much in the national COVID-19 response, and it is an undeniable fact that vaccination will yield maximum impact if used together with the preventive protocols, such as hand-washing, wearing of face masks and adherence to social distancing, he emphasised.



He further appealed to the public to continue adhering to the safety protocols because they had complemented vaccination to bring the country this far and said the same was required to either sustain or improve national gains in the COVID-19 fight.



He said apart from boosting the immune system to fight the disease and other health benefits, vaccination was also a way to stop or limit mutations, considered a major challenge in the deployment of vaccines.



Long COVID



Additionally, the D-G of the GHS advised people to be mindful of the risk of post-COVID-19 complications, such as injury to internal organs such as the pancreas, the lungs, the kidneys and brain, medically referred to as long COVID.



People, particularly the vaccinated, should not take the safety protocols for granted just because they are not at risk of death or severe sickness or because the wearing of face masks is no longer mandatory. This is because the implications of post-COVID-19 complications or long COVID could be dire, he said.



Observation



Following President Akufo- Addos lifting of the COVID-19 occasioned restrictions in his update number 28, the Daily Graphic went round to observe how people were readjusting to the lifting of the restrictions.



It was observed that while some people still had their masks on, others were going about their activities without them. In most public modes of transport, such as the trotros, only a few passengers were seen in masks.



But in most corporate institutions, face mask wearing is still being encouraged and most staff turn up to work in them.



Low sales



In an interview with some face mask sellers, the general concern was that sales had gone down since the restrictions were lifted.



A trader who identified herself as Tawiah said since the update by the President, sales had dropped drastically.



"These days, they no longer buy them because of what the President said. I have been here since 5 a.m. and I've sold just two face masks," she complained.



Another trader, Belinda Nkrumah, also lamented that before the directive, she used to make sales of about GH60 in a day, but since the announcement, she hadn't been able to sell even GH10.



She said she was not in support of the Presidents announcement.



Easter is just around the corner and it is going to see many mass gatherings, so on the wearing of face masks, the government should have waited till after the festivities to lift the restriction. What if we record a fifth wave during or after the festive season? Ms Nkrumah asked.

Source: graphiconline.com









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The acting mission Director United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Ghana, Janean Davis, has announced $24.7 million in new funding to Ghana to support vaccination efforts nationwide as part of the Initiative for Global Vaccine Access (Global VAX).



The funding, provided through USAID will accelerate the delivery of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccinations in every part of Ghana.



The acting mission Director also announced the recent arrival of nearly two million more Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, which arrived in Ghana the week of March 21.



Since September 2021, the United States has donated more than 9.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Ghana, representing more than 30 percent of all vaccines available in Ghana. Worldwide, the United States has donated more than 500 million vaccine doses, including 144 million doses to 43 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.



Speaking at an event at the Ridge hospital, Janean Davis indicated that the bottom line is that vaccines are safe, effective, and readily available in Ghana".



However, the donation of vaccines are not enough. Thats why, today, I am excited to announce on behalf of the U.S. government, an additional $24.7 million dollars to Ghana to accelerate the delivery of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccinations as part of Global VAX, she added.



The Director General of the Ghana Health Service Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye and other Ghana Health Service officials joined USAID Ghana Acting Mission Director Janean Davis at the Greater Accra Regional (Ridge) Hospital to make the announcement.



The group toured the hospitals maternity ward, emphasizing the need for expecting mothers to get vaccinated as well.



GLOBAL VAX



Global VAX is a U.S. Government effort to contribute to the global goal to vaccinate 70% of the population of every country against COVID-19 in 2022. It is a whole-of-government approach that builds on the extraordinary commitment President Biden has made to donate more than 1.2 billion vaccine doses by the end of 2022 and intensifies efforts to get shots in arms.



It also encompasses the U.S. Governments work with more than 100 countries in every region of the world to increase uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. It will also incorporate an intensive surge of financial, technical, and diplomatic engagement in an initial group of countries with both significant need and potential for rapid progress, with an initial focus on sub-Saharan Africa.













Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline/[email protected]









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The Chairman of the Appiatse Support Fund Committee, Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee says the over GHc35 Million received as donations to the Appiatse Support Fund is not sufficient to rebuild the community.



According to her, although it is not sufficient, she is, however, grateful to all contributors for their enormous contributions so far.



Addressing Journalists in Accra on Monday, she said "This amount notwithstanding, we are far from reaching what we would call sufficient funds. This is because the extent of damage to the Appiatse Township cannot be overemphasized and this amount raised so far will not be adequate"



Dr. Joyce Aryee made this declaration when the Appiatse Support Fund Committee held a Press Briefing on Monday, 4th April, 2022 to among others update the general public on funds received so far and to deliberate on how to develop concrete proposals for soliciting more funds to be able to support the project which is set to begin by end of April 2022.



She also stated clearly that the monies collected does not include the 5 million dollar fine allotted to Maxam Company to pay into the fund, disclosing that Maxam is yet to pay that Fine through the Minerals Commission.



She further opined that, for the purpose of utmost transparency, the committee will at an appropriate time, make available to the Press and the general public the list of Corporate Institutions and Patriotic Individuals who have donated both in cash and kind to the fund and captured in the Bank Statements of the Fund.



The Chairman of the Support Fund Committee, Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee also made a passionate appeal to all who are yet to donate, to do so and enable a fast and steady reconstruction of the town in order to ensure that the people of Appiatse, are relieved from the untold hardship and damage to their properties.



"We are still insisting on our hashtag: obiara entuabi to enable us to make this project a reality"



She hoped that every means available will be employed to equip the Reconstruction Implementation Team with the requisite funds to construct an Eco-Friendly, Green and Sustainable town that is energy efficient while reecohing the account details to the support fund.



"Monetary contributions may be deposited in the name of APPIATSE SUPPORT FUND at GCB Bank account number 1011130036123 or Stanbic Bank account Number 9040009974967 and We encourage you to kindly send your donations through MTN, Vodafone, AirtelTigo to G-Cash short code *422*530# or Stanbic short code *718*25*096#"



She expressed her profound gratitude on behalf of her team and the people of Appiatse to all those who have donated and assured us that her Committee will work collaboratively with the Reconstruction Implementation Committee to bring Appiatse back on its feet.



The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and Chairman of the Appiatse Reconstruction Implementation Team who joined the ASF for the Briefing further explained that the amount of work to be done at Appiatse would determine the exact amount the Fund would need to raise for completion of the project.



He asked Ghanaians through the media to be patient while they put together an inventory to know how much will be needed, adding that the exact quotation of the amount will also depend on the contractor who is awarded the contract to reconstruct the community.



Mr. Blankson Hermans, a member of the Appiatse Reconstruction Implementation Team and a representative from the Ghana Institute of Architects gave a summary of the activities of the Reconstruction Implementation Committee, to give the media and Ghanaians a fair idea of the work done so far.



"For the time period that we've been working, we've come up with a land-use plan which was developed by the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority. It forms the basis for the design that will be used for the provision of the housing and commercial facilities for the community" He said



"So we've inspected a root going through the main town and out of it, we've got about 120 of 126 bedroom houses to reconstruct. But essentially, as we develop, what we are doing now is to start with the road networks by April ending and we hope to meet that deadline" he concluded.























Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) on Monday, March 4 2022, dispatched relief items and rescue boats from Accra to Agavedzi and Salakope in the Ketu South Municipality in the Volta Region to aid victims of the latest tidal waves.



In yet another spillage by the sea, 85 houses were flooded in the early hours of yesterday, with more than 300 people displaced in the two towns.



Speaking with the Daily Graphic yesterday, the Director General of NADMO, Eric Nana Agyemang Prempeh, said: I am moving there with rescuers and rescue boats, as well as relief items, to support the victims.



The Ketu Municipal Coordinator of NADMO, Torgbi Alossode Eve Agadzi II, who had visited the area earlier, said life was returning to normal after the waves had hit the two areas.



He said the sea had started receding and some of the people were returning to their homes, adding that Agavedzi and Salakope are drying again.



According to him, the tidal waves hit the area at about 4:30 a.m.





We are still assessing the situation. This time, the tidal waves did not affect other communities in the area, Torgbi Agadzi explained.



Some of the displaced people who had nowhere to turn to for relief were seen squatting beside coconut trees, while some children avoided school because the sea sometimes overrun the school compounds.



Some personal belongings retrieved after the tidal waves



Almost all the trees in the centuries-old revered forest at Agavedzi, known as Srive, were uprooted and carried away by the sea.



Resettlement



The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, told the Daily Graphic that he was in Accra yesterday with the Ketu South Municipal Chief Executive, Maxwell Lugudor, holding talks with high-level government officials to seek appropriate interventions in the situation and also discuss the issue of resettling the victims on higher ground.



Previous destruction



Although there had been promises to construct the Agavedzi sea defence project, it was nowhere near starting.



The sea has, since April last year, destroyed many houses and displaced more than 1,000 people in the municipality.



It also carried away more than 100 graves from the local cemetery at Agavedzi and claimed vast farmlands, depriving the people of their livelihood.



Last year, the sea nearly ran over the Aflao-Keta road, threatening to cut off Agavedzi, Amutinu and Salakope from the rest of the municipality.



Some residents exhumed the bodies of their dead relatives from the few remaining graves in their homes for reburial on higher ground.



Government commitment



Last year, the government pledged to commit at least GH10 million to feasibility and engineering studies to find a permanent solution to tidal waves in the country.



According to the government, it wanted a holistic approach to coastal erosion.



Speaking at a media briefing in Accra on December 6, 2021, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, said: In respect of the unfortunate tidal waves which rendered about 3,000 people homeless in the Keta, Ketu South and Anloga constituencies, we shall make the necessary budgetary allocation of at least GH10 million to complete feasibility and engineering studies for the coastline.



We will broaden the scope of the studies to consider a more comprehensive solution to protect Ghanas 540 kilometres of coastline, including the 149 kilometres between Aflao and Prampram, he added.



When the Daily Graphic enquired from Dr Letsa how far that promise had been carried through, he said: We believe it will definitely be done.









Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL) has been awarded Excellence Change Management Brand of the year at the just ended 4th Africa Human Resources Innovation Awards 2022 (AHRIA) held on Friday, March 25, 2022, at Movenpick Hotel, Accra.



Also, Mr. Collins Kofi Frempong, who is the Group Head, Human Capital for the Environment and Sanitation Cluster of Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), was awarded Male HR Professional of the Year.



This years event, which was on the theme Rewarding Excellence in the HR Sector, was graced by the creme de la creme of the HR fraternity within Ghana and its neighbouring countries.



The 4th AHRIA was organised to recognise organisations with excellent HR practices and outstanding HR practitioners who have demonstrated excellence and innovation in the HR profession within the African sub-region.



The night provided an exceptional opportunity for stakeholders to network, entertain clients and reinforce relationships with partners and reward staff with exceptional performance.



In a welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer/Founder of Instinct Wave, Mr. Akin Naphtal, commended organisations and practitioners who have pushed the boundaries and raised the bar of excellence in the profession in spite of the effect of the Covid -19 pandemic on the global workforce.



HR undoubtedly is the focal point of every organisation, However, the Covid-19 pandemic has permanently solidified the position of this noble profession. Employers and employees were thrown into chaos and uncertainty, with no clear end in sight.



...HR operated in crisis mode for much of 2020 and the first half of 2021, figuring out how employees could work from home, trying to provide extra mental and physical health support, and working more than ever on C-level strategies for keeping their organisations functioning. As the dust continues to settle and companies adjust to a new normal, the role of HR has fundamentally changed, he stressed.



Some of the winners during the gala night included telecommunication giant, MTN Ghana, who went home with six most coveted awards, Goldfields Ghana, Absa Bank, VRA, DVLA, Bank of Ghana, Nigerian Brewery, among others.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia will speak on the economy on Thursday, April 7, 2022.

He will be using the opportunity of an invitation extended to him by the National Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Danquah Institute (DI) to address issues on the economy.



There have been public calls for the Vice President, noted for his economic prowess, to speak on the economy.



Some critics have in recent times, asked about the whereabouts of the Vice President at a time Ghanas economy was going through some challenges as a result of Covid-19 and the ongoing Ukraine/Russia invasion which has had global effects on oil and economic activities.



Dr Bawumia has been at the forefront of Ghana's digitalisation agenda.



His political opponents, have accused him of intentionally recently shying away from commenting on the economy.



But responding to his critics last week when he addressed participants in this years agricultural students career guidance and mentorship dialogue bootcamp (AG-STUD Africa Bootcamp 2022) at the Jubilee House in Accra the Vice-President said: Sometimes people say well, we thought you were an economist, but youre doing so much in the IT space.



Have you left economics behind?



No, no, not at all. In fact, it is because of the economy that I am focusing on digitisation because without building those pillars, our economy will just not be able to stand on its own feet.



The Vice-President said he has not abandoned matters on the economy, as some people seek to suggest.



He explained that what he was doing with regard to digitisation and digitalisation had a direct bearing on the economy.



National TESCON training and orientation



The Vice-President will therefore be using the opportunity of the event to be hosted at the Pentecost Convention Centre at the Millenium City at Kasoa to speak on the economy.





The event will also host the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo as the Special Guest of Honour.



In an interview with the BBC on Monday, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said he does not know an economy in the world that is currently doing well.



President Akufo-Addo on economy



President Akufo-Addo said Ghana was instituting measures to help the country recover from the ravages of COVID-19.



He acknowledged that the world is going through difficult times and "Ghana is no exception."



"There is no country in the world that is escaping the ravages of both Covid-19 and also the impact of Ukraine [invasion] but what you need to look at, where are the elements being put on the ground that looks beyond the Covid and beyond the Russian Ukraine war? I think that you will find that in Ghana."

President Akufo-Addo for instance said the recovery programme that Ghana have is that which is considered "very credible. And it is what is going to give us [Ghana] the opportunity to come out of this period a stronger economy, and it is that future that we're looking at, when we're attracting people."

Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A portion of the Takoradi temporary market has been razed down by fire.



The Fire, according to DO 11 Emmanuel Bonney, Western Regional Public Relations Officer, Ghana National Fire Service, started around 2:18 am when a Police Officer on duty put in a distress call to the Command.



He said the Command then mobilized eight fire tenders from the Ghana Ports, the Air Force and started firefighting at about 2:22 am until about 5:35 am when the situation was brought under control.



DO 11 Bonney said about one-quarter of the temporary market housing clothing, maize and food crops, hairdressing salons and jewelry shops had been affected.



Currently, the Fire Officer could not point to any cause of the fire but advised that gadgets used at the market should be unplugged or disconnected.



Meanwhile, Secretary to the Stores Association, Mr. Ernest Dzepe, has called on city authorities to come to the aid of the affected victims while creating proper access roads in the market.



He noted how congestion in the market had contributed to adverse effects of the Fire and the need for spacing in the temporary market.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has provided support to the Good Shepherd Development Outreach, an orphanage at Akwatia in the Eastern Region to mark his 40th birthday.



Mr Nkrumah who is a regular donor to the facility says sharing the goodness that God has shown him in his life so far is his only way. express gratitude on his birthday.



In brief remarks on the day, Mr Nkrumah lauded the caretakers of the orphanage for their dedicated service to the children and urged the children to strive to do better than him in future.



He also pledged to mobilise support to assist the orphanage complete an abandoned dormitory block it started years ago. This he said will help solve the accommodation problem facing the orphanage.



The Director of the orphanage, Mrs Philomena Asantewaa Adjei expressed gratitude to the Minister and thanked him for putting a smile on the faces of the children always.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Ghanas Hubtel and its CEO, Alex Bram won laurels at the maiden Africa Technovate Awards, making the company the only one to have received two awards on the night.



Hubtel emerged as the Fintech Company of the Year, while its CEO was adjudged the Most Outstanding Tech Entrepreneur of the Decade.



The awards event was organised by Africa Integrated Development Communications (AIDEC) Consultancies, under the theme Information Technology and the Way Forward for Africa Under the Fourth Industrial Revolution.



A total of 17 awards were given, out of 154 entries vetted by a high-powered panel of judges, and finally audited by Deloitte and Touch.





The Fintech Company of the Year award was in recognition of Hubtels consistent deployment of new technologies that make financial services and retail delivery more efficient, convenient, safe and accessible to its customers and the public.



Hubtel has enhanced its customer user interfaces and experience by building an intuitive digital infrastructure that is robust enough to minimise service disruptions and maximise merchant returns.



The company competed against Kippa and M-KOPA in the Fintech of the Year category.



Alex Brams award for the night  Most Outstanding Tech Entrepreneur of the Decade was in recognition of his work at building one the biggest technology companies in Ghana, his contributions at creating new ventures using existing digital technology and his pioneering work at developing new digital services for users across Africa over the past 16 years.



Alex Bram  CEO Hubtel



Alex Bram co-founded Hubtel in 2005 and oversaw its growth with zero external financing to annual revenue of more than US$10 million by 2014, and a current transacting user base of over 11 million.



In 2021, the company processed more than 8.3% of all successful mobile money transactions in Ghana  effectively making the company the 2nd biggest payment platform after MTN Mobile Money.



The KNUST Chemistry and Standford Graduate School of Business alumnus made it into the Forbes List for the first time when his company was barely seven years old. Alex has a reputation for being a deliberate, methodical, action-oriented leader with a fierce resolve to succeed.



He competed against Herman Chinery-Hesse of theSOFTtribe and Jesse Moore of M-KOPA.



Other Awards



Within the past six months, the company and its CEO, have won several awards, including Digital Company of the Year, eCommerce Personality of the Year at the maiden Foreign Investors Network (FIN) Cashless Awards in Ghana last December.



Again, at the Ghanaweb Excellence Awards in December 2021, Alex Bram emerged the Tech and Innovation Personality of the Year.



Hubtel was the first fintech company to establish a private platform for the deployment of Ghanas GHQR. The platform is called myghqr.com and it allows users to create their own GHQR codes to accept payments into their bank accounts and digital wallet, including mobile money wallet.



The company is known for its many years of leading the bulk SMS aggregation space, but it has recently upgraded that service with digital financial service features and renamed it SMS&Money. The service now allows users to collect payments and send money to many contacts at the same time via SMS.



It also runs a quick commerce platform where users can make purchases of any items and pay via various channels  bank card, myghqr and digital wallets for delivery within minutes.



Hubtel is also one of three Ghanaian Fintechs that built and currently operates Ghana.GOV, which is a government platform for all residents of Ghana to access and pay for government services such as passport, birth certificates, and many more.







Hubtel currently operates in Accra, Tema, Takoradi, Kumasi and recently Cape Coast.



Find the full list of Award winners below



1. Digital Agribusiness of the Year  Esoko

2. Tech Insurance Company of the Year  BIMA

3. Fintech Company of the Year  HUBTEL

4. EHealth Company of the Year  Africa ICT Right

5. Outstanding EduTech Institution of the Year  Academic City University College

6. Digital Innovation and Creativity of the Year  Chatbot Africa

7. Digital Business Transformation of the Year  Enterprise Computing

8. Tech Startup of the Year  MSoft

9. Young Tech Startup of the Year  Gambia Tech Project (The Gambia)

10. Blossoming Tech Company of the Year  Soko Aerial

11. Mature Tech Company of the Year  Isolutions Associates (Kenya)

12. Ambitious Tech of the Year  DreamOval



Africa

13. Long Standing Service Engagement  Delbondtek

14. Quality Standards  Research ICT Africa

15. Digital Excellence  Hanergy Global

16. Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Decade  Alex Bram

17. Lifetime Achiever of the Year  Prof. Nii Narku Quaynor

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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STC Chief Executive Officer, Nana Akomea, has asked former President John Mahama to elevate his debate and speak like a Statesman.



This follows John Mahama's critique of the Judiciary at the United States Chapter of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Bentley University on Sunday, March 27, 2022.



He said the NDC has a problem with the judiciary.



We do have problems with the judiciary, I must say. I think that it is necessary for some internal reforms to take place there. It is necessary for the Chief Justice or whoever is responsible to make some reforms. Most of the governance institutions have been politicized. I give the example of the judiciary. It is only in Ghana that a Supreme Court will make a decision that a birth certificate is not proof of citizenship.



There are many such funny judgements that have been given. I remember at one time, our colleague Professor Raymond Atuguba said that from a research he had done, judges turn to give their judgements in favour of the political party or leader that appointed them. He was subjected to such a whirlwind of indignation by the judiciary but if you bring it down to what is happening today, and you look at it and see who appointed who, you will find that there was some truth in the research.



The thing is, our constitution gives security of tenure to judges. Once you have been appointed you cannot be removed. That is why we give security of tenure so that you will have the courage no matter who appointed you to give judgement according to your conscience. That is what our judges should do. They must rise up to the occasion, he said.



Speaking to Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's Morning show 'Kokrokoo' Nana Akomea asked the former President to be consistent and avoid making comments that "can easily be seen as Hypocrisy".



"What Mahama said about the Judiciary is not good . . . I just don't understand. I'll plead with the former President; you're a Statesman. let your words bring us together not the one that can easily be seen as hypocrisy. He has to elevate his debate," to told the former President.



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.

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A leading member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Kwabena Duffuor, is set to launch an NDC grassroots empowerment and self-financing project dubbed the NDC Ahot Project for the grassroots.



Ahot means relief in the Akan language.



In a statement, the project manager stated that the former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, who is one of Ghanas few business magnates, makes it clear that the main aim of the project is geared toward setting up micro-businesses in all the 275 constituencies in order to create the much-needed but currently unavailable local funding for the day-to-day running of the NDC party at the grassroots level.



This initiative, according to the statement, is a direct response to the recommendations of a business feasibility studies commissioned by Dr Duffuor and carried out by a team across the country.



It was to establish the most feasible and sustainable business idea capable of helping to finance the NDC party activities at the local level, the statement said.



The former finance minister in the erstwhile NDC government of Professor Evans Atta Mills, the statement noted, bemoans the present situation where the responsibility of raising resources for grassroots activities of the NDC is either left in the hands of branch and constituency executives whose work for the party is purely voluntary, thus, affecting their personal businesses and families; or in the hands of sitting MPs who are also overwhelmed by financial demands of their constituents, is not a sustainable way for financing a modern-day political organisation.



This project, which is yet to be implemented, is meant to lessen the burden on MPs, relieve local executives of the huge financial difficulties they face in running the party, the statement clarified.



It is believed that the NDC Ahot Project will create a medium for the local party machinery to be financially self-sustaining through regular income streams to help support their ongoing initiatives.



It is also to empower and reposition the NDC and make it battle-ready for election 2024 and beyond, the statement explained.



According to the project manager, the NDC Ahot Project will mainly be about micro-businesses focusing on social events such as funerals, naming ceremonies, marriage ceremonies, durbars, political campaigns, and rallies, which are mostly outdoor activities.



The nature of these activities places high demands on the use of plastic chairs, canopies, public address systems, power generators, podiums, and mobile toilets among others.



A local rental business of the accessories owned and run by the party at various constituency levels, will create employment opportunities and generate income which will bring relief (Ahot) to the grassroots, the statement mentioned.



Dr Kwabena Duffuor is, therefore, sponsoring and financing all the 275 constituencies with all the equipment and accessories necessary to set up a rental business.



The pilot phase of the project is set to be launched at the Ashaiman Constituency in the Greater Accra Region on Thursday, 7 April.

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 leading member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Dr Kwabena Duffuor is set to launch an NDC grassroots empowerment and a self-financing project dubbed the NDC ahotor project for the grassroots.



Ahotor means relief in the Akan language.



In a statement, the project manager stated that the former governor of the Bank of Ghana and former finance minister in the erstwhile NDC government of Professor Evans Atta Mills and a business magnate makes it clear that the main aim of the Project is geared towards setting up micro-businesses in all the 275 constituencies in order to create the much needed, but currently unavailable local funding for the day-to-day running of the NDC party at the grassroots level.



This Initiative is a direct response to the recommendations of a business feasibility studies commissioned by Duffuor and carried out by a team in Ghana. It was to establish the most feasible and sustainable business idea capable of helping to finance the NDC party activities at the local level.



He bemoans the present situation where the responsibility of raising resources for grassroots activities of the NDC is either left in the hands of branch and constituency executives whose work for the party is purely voluntary affecting their personal businesses and families or in the hands of sitting MPs who are also overwhelmed by financial demands of their constituents, is not a sustainable way for financing a modern-day political organisation.



Aim of project



This project which is yet to be implemented is meant to lessen the burden on MPs, relieve local executives of the huge financial difficulties they face in running the party. It is believed that the NDC Ahot Project will create a medium for the local party machinery to be financially self-sustaining through regular income streams to help support their ongoing initiatives. It is also to empower and reposition the NDC and make it battle-ready for election 2024 and beyond.



According to the project manager, the NDC Ahot Project will be micro-businesses focusing on social events such as funerals, naming ceremonies, marriage ceremonies, durbars, political campaigns, and rallies which are mostly outdoor activities.



The nature of these activities places a high demand on the use of plastic chairs, canopies, public address systems, power generators, podiums, mobile toilets etc. A local rental business of the accessories owned and run by the party at various constituency levels, will create employment opportunities and generate income which will bring relief (Ahot) to the grassroots.



Duffuor is, therefore, sponsoring and financing all the 275 constituencies with all the equipment and accessories necessary to set up a rental business.



The pilot phase of the NDC Ahoto project is set to be launched at the Ashaiman constituency in the Greater Accra Region on Thursday 7 April.





Source: 3 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.

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Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has advanced the view that there are currently 274 Members of Parliament in the lawmaking chamber.



According to him, the people of Assin North Constituency in the Central Region are without a representative after the courts asked their Member of Parliament, MP, James Gyakye Quayson from holding himself out as their representative.



The Majority Leader, who is also MP for Suame, in a yet-to-be-aired Joy News interview stressed that the decision of the courts meant that the Assin North seat had automatically become vacant.



Asked whether or not it did not require the Speaker formally to declare the seat vacant, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu quoted portions of the Constitution that supported his view that there is automaticity that comes with the courts pronouncement.



They (the Minority) know that technically, the Assin North person (Member of Parliament) has been ousted by the courts, they know. That seat doesnt have to be declared vacant because if  what is the process of declaring vacancy?



In explaining why the vacancy did not require the Speakers pronouncement, he added: that is not the case. The Constitution provides in Article 97, that a Member of Parliament shall vacate his seat in Parliament if any circumstances arrive such that if he were not a Member of Parliament, would cause him to be disqualified or ineligible under Article 94 of this Constitution.



There is that automaticity, you shall vacate your seat, who says that it must necessarily come from the mouth of somebody? So, if the person decides not to make the pronouncement, that person will be there? No? he quizzed.



Background



James Gyakye Quayson polled 17,498 votes against 14,793 by the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) Abena Durowaa Mensah in the December 7, 2020, parliamentary election.



On December 30, 2020, a resident of Assin North, Mr Ankomah-Nimfah, filed a parliamentary election petition at the Cape Coast High Court challenging the eligibility of Mr Quayson to be an MP.



On July 28, 2021, following that petition by Mr Ankomah-Nimfah, the Cape Coast High Court declared Quayson's election as void, on the basis that he owed allegiance to another country other than Ghana, contrary to Article 94(2) of the 1992 Constitution.



It was the considered view of the court that as of the time Mr Quayson filed to contest the MP position, he had not renounced his Canadian citizenship and, therefore, he was not qualified to become a legislator.



The court, presided over by Justice Kwasi Boakye, ordered the EC to organise a new election in the constituency.



Quayson then filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal challenging the judgment of the Cape Coast High Court. That case is still ongoing.

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.

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The Chief Executive Officer of State Transport Corporation (STC), Nana Akomea, has lauded President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for what he believes were brilliant submissions by the President in his interview with BBC's Peter Okowche.



BBC Interview



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says Ghana like any other country was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, hence the ailing economy in recent times.



He expounded that the current economic hardship facing Ghanaians is not a unique case because several economies including Nigeria and the United Kingdom are also in dire straits.



The world is going through very difficult times. Ghana is no exception, Nigeria is no exception



There is no country in the world that has escaped the ravages of COVID-19. What you need to look at is the elements being put on the ground that looks beyond the Russia-Ukraine war, he told BBCs Peter Okowche.



[the economy] has gone through very difficult times. I can quote statistics of the US and UK economies but they will not serve a purpose. It is a phenomenon that is going on which has made life difficult", he added.



He was very optimistic that Ghana will emerge stronger and better from this global crisis as his government is working around the clock to revamp the economy.



In Ghana, the recovery programme we have is very credible and that is what is going to give us the opportunity to come out of this period a stronger economy, and it is that future we are looking at, President Akufo-Addo stressed.



President Was Frank



Speaking on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Nana Akomea firmly opined that ''the President was frank'' in his interview.



He sided with the President on emphasizing how the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia/Ukraine conflict adversely impact Ghana's economy like every other country in the world.



Nana Akomea stressed the President was spot on saying "of course, government is not perfect. Government will make one or two mistakes but the economy is where it is because of COVID and the Russia/Ukraine conflict has also affected the oil prices. We all also know when the oil price goes up on the international market, it affects everything in this world. It affects everything in our country . . . last year, our deficit was about 12 percent. If your deficit is 12 percent, it's serious. In fact, by law, our deficit should not be more than 5 percent".



He was however certain, like the President, there will be a massive economic recovery for Ghanaians.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Ghanaian actress and Efia Odo has explained why she loves Nigerian men more than those from her country.



In an interview on Asaase Radios Accra-Lagos-Joburg show, the actress who was asked about her past relationship and experience with Ghanaian men, said she prefers Nigerian men because they know how to care for their women.



Efia said;



Honestly, I love Nigerian men more because they know how to take care of their women, I cant say the same for Ghanaian men.



When a Nigerian man is lying to you, the way he will come afterwards to apologise you will easily forgive him, but a Ghanaian man will lie and even insult you on top of it all. So, Im not dealing with any more Ghanaian men









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A police officer carries flowers in Ajax, Ont., on Thursday, March 15, 2018, from a sympathizer for for the victims of a triple slaying. Cory Fenn who viciously attacked and killed a mother and two of her children east of Toronto is set to get sentenced today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel
Canadian Farmer Brett Kunz Gets Dream Opportunity Through ClubWPT

April 05, 2022 Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S.

Brett Kunz, a Canadian farmer, will take his shot at winning life-changing money in South Florida this weekend all because of ClubWPT.

The 28-year-old World Poker Tour fan earned a seat in the $3,500 buy-in WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown by playing in a tournament on ClubWPT. He even admitted he didn't expect it to happen.

"It's been a dream of mine to play in a WPT tournament, and after winning this with around 2,400 people entered, I was kind of in shock that I actually won," Kunz told PokerNews.

Chasing Life-Changing Money

Kunz has just one recorded live tournament cash, an $11,065 score for winning a 194-player field in a $300 tournament in March at Casino Regina in Canada. He could tack on a significant amount of money to his Hendon Mob results should he run deep at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida this weekend.

Last year, Brekstyn Schutten won it for $1,261,095, beating out 2,482 entrants. If Kunz were to win it this year, that would certainly make for quite an interesting storyline.

"I grew up on a grain farm and currently farm with my father, brother, cousin, and uncle," he said.

The poker player lives in a community of around 200 people near a town called Annaheim (not to be confused with Anaheim, California), located in Saskatchewan, Canada. After graduating high school, he became an electrician before getting into the family farming industry.

"I learned to play poker in high school with friends and have enjoyed playing it ever since," says the Canadian poker fan.

He said he learned to play poker in high school and has enjoyed it ever since, but outside of the $11k score a couple weeks ago, his Hendon Mob is bare. That could all change this coming weekend, of course.

Best Free to Play Slots

Improbable Run to Glory?

Running deep in any WPT event is never easy. The competition is stiff with crushers such as Darren Elias, Chino Rheem, and others almost always in attendance. So, going from playing on a pay-per-month poker client to joining the WPT Champions Club won't be simple.

But Kunz has already conquered one task by dominating a ClubWPT tournament just to make it to Florida. He's now just one step away from winning some unthinkable money. If he doesn't cash in the live poker event, maybe he'll at least cross off a bucket list item  to tilt the "Poker Brat."

"To be able to play in a televised event with all the professionals you see on tv is just so exciting to me. There is so many of them which would be awesome to play with but if I had to say one to be seated at a table with it would be Phil Hellmuth, to win a big hand against him and watch him drop some f-bombs would be a goal of mine," Kunz joked.

Kunz has been a member of ClubWPT "for about a year and a half." He mostly plays during the winter months because he's too busy with work the rest of the year.

"I decided to play ClubWPT after seeing a commercial about the chance to win a prize package just like the one I won," he explains. "It's pretty crazy after I decided to join seeing that there was a two week free-trial within those first two weeks I won this prize package so it was a pretty great way to start off on ClubWPT."

However this story ends  whether he cashes in Florida or not  Kunz is getting an opportunity to live out a dream all because of ClubWPT, and he isn't the only one. Numerous players over the years have won prize packages just like this on ClubWPT.

Click here to learn more about ClubWPT and how you can win!

The 2022 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown kicks off April 8 and will play down to a final table of six April 12. Once the final table has been achieved, the remaining players will take a break and then fly out to Las Vegas to play it down to a winner at the Esports Arena on May 25.

Sharelines Find out how Brett Kunz won a free seat into the upcoming @WPT Main Event in Florida.
Redemption for Mulder As Dutchman Takes Down Triton Poker Special Event #2: $100,000 8-Handed NLH ($1,940,000)

April 05, 2022 Connor Richards Editor & Live Reporter U.S.

Teun Mulder of the Netherlands is the latest winner at 2022 Triton Poker Cyprus after taking down Event #2: $100,000 NLH 8-Handed for $1,940,000, defeating fellow Dutch pro Tom Vogelsang during heads-up play, who in turn takes home $1,390,000.

It would be fair to say that this win would be some form of redemption for Mulder. Just last month, he put on a dominating display in the EPT Prague 5,300 Main Event and seemed to have one hand on the title. Despite having the chip lead for most of Day 5, he would bow out in seventh place for 138,570.

The high-roller tournament attracted 69 entrants which generated a prize pool of $6,624,000. Players in the field included Johan Guilbert, Mikita Badziakouski, Cary Katz, Sam Greenwood, Stephen Chidwick, Ben Heath, Chris Brewer and Michael Addamo.

Nine spots paid out in the tournament, and it was Hungary's Andras Nemeth who went out on the money bubble when he got it in with ace-five and Vogelsang made a straight with his jack-six. Nemeth was looking for his second victory of the series after taking down Event #1: $50,000 NLH 6-Handed for $1,082,000.

Andras Nemeth

Final Table Action

An early bust out at the final table was from 2021 GPI Player of the Year Ali Imsirovic, who bowed out in eighth for $251,700 when he ran ace-four into the Big Slick of Vogelsang. Vogelsang went on to send Paul Phua out next in seventh for $324,500 when the Malaysian high-roller's pocket tens were out-flopped by the eventual runner-up's jack-ten.

Event #2: $100,000 NLH 8-Handed Final Results

SEAT PLAYER COUNTRY PRIZE (IN USD) 1 Teun Mulder Netherlands $1,940,000 2 Tom Vogelsang Netherlands $1,390,000 3 Jake Schindler United States $903,000 4 Mike Watson Canada $683,300 5 Daniel Dvoress Canada $529,000 6 Michael Soyza Malaysia $410,500 7 Paul Phua Malaysia $324,500 8 Ali Imsirovic Bosnia $251,700 9 Elton Tsang China $192,000

Mike Watson had the final table chip lead at one point but ultimately fell in fourth place for $683,300 after calling off with top pair, only to be outkicked by Jake Schindler.

Schindler took the chip lead but lost nearly his full stack in a gut-wrenching suckout where Schindler got it in with pocket queens against the pocket four of Mulder, who spiked a four on the river to stay alive. Schindler ended up falling in third place for $903,000 when he flopped top pair but couldn't hold against the flush draw of Mulder.

Heads-up play lasted only two hands as the two Dutch players tangled in a hand where Mulder made a king-high straight on the river to crush the ten-high straight of Vogelsang. Mulder led out with a river bet and snap-called when Vogelsang raised all-in, locking up the victory for Mulder and earning him the seven-figure score.

The PokerNews live reporting team are still on the ground and will bring you all the latest updates from Event #3: $75,000 Short Deck.
The South Carolina Supreme Court may weigh in on S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson's decision to pay a total of $75 million to two law firms for their work in litigating the state's plutonium storage lawsuit.

The five-member court is expected to hear oral arguments at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning in a lawsuit filed in 2020 that challenges Wilson's authority to pay a total of $75 million from the $600 million settlement to Willoughby & Hoefer P.A., and Davidson, Wren & DeMasters P.A.

Columbia attorneys James Griffin and James Carpenter will argue on behalf of the South Carolina Public Interest Foundation and John Crangle that Wilson exceeded his authority when he paid the law firms and that the foundation and Crangle have the ability to sue over the payments.

Deputy Solicitor General J. Emory Smith Jr. will represent Wilson and argue that Wilson had the authority to make the payments and that the foundation and Crangle don't have the ability to sue.

William H. Davidson II and Kenneth P. Woodington will represent their firm, Davidson, Wren and DeMasters.

S.C. Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington; S.C. Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland; and attorney John Simmons will represent Willoughby & Hoefer.

Each side will have 20 minutes to present their case to the five judges on the court. Then, there will be five minutes for each side to refute the points made by the other side.

The suit originated when South Carolina received $600 million from the federal government after the federal government failed to meet an agreed timeline to remove plutonium from the Savannah River Site.

Wilson allocated and paid the two law firms $75 million.

The foundation and Crangle then sued in state court asking for the court to declare that Wilson did not have the authority to make the payments.

Wilson and the law firms then asked the court to dismiss the suit because Crangle and the foundation did not have the ability to file the suit.

Judge Kirk Griffin granted the motion to dismiss in a March 5, 2021 order.

The case was appealed directly to the South Carolina Supreme Court, leading to Wednesday's hearing.
GEORGETOWN  Liberty Steel's request for a preliminary injunction to keep the city of Georgetown from taking zoning action against it was denied, city Board of Zoning Appeals chairwoman Ede Graves confirmed to Georgetown Times.

The board is set to take up on April 6 Liberty Steel's appeal of a February zoning decision declaring the company's Georgetown mill was out of compliance and had to close. Efforts to reach Liberty's lawyers were not successful.

Liberty Steel filed a lawsuit against the city of Georgetown on March 25, less than two weeks after the city sent a second letter saying the mill triggered a zoning change by being closed for more than a year.

Liberty alleges in the lawsuit that Georgetown cannot file another letter arguing the plant should close while the first appeal with the city is underway.

A 2018 ordinance changes the zoning of the 50-acre site on the Sampit River from industrial to commercial if the plant is not operating for a year. The commercial zoning would prevent the mill from reopening and would open the site for hotels, stores and restaurants meant to draw visitors to the states third-oldest city.

The Georgetown Board of Zoning Appeals will meet at 6 p.m. in the Georgetown municipal courtroom, 2222 Highmarket St.
WASHINGTON  South Carolina Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott will join most of his GOP colleagues and vote against appointing Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

While noting the historic nature of the pick regarding the first Black women headed to the court, Scott announced it is the ideology of President Joe Biden's nominee that is blocking his support.

"The historic nature of Judge Jacksons nomination reinforces the progress our country has made," Scott said in a statement late on April 4 and after the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked 11-11 on sending her name to the Senate floor.

"However, ideology must be the determining factor  not identity  when considering such an important lifetime appointment," he continued.

"It is clear that Judge Jacksons judicial philosophy and positions on the defining issues of our time make her the wrong choice for the Supreme Court," Scott said. "From leaving the door open on court packing to her multiple overturned opinions, I cannot support a nominee with her record of judicial activism."

Scott joins with fellow South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham in announcing against the pick.

He went on to blame Biden for making a selection that "missed the opportunity to unite the country with a mainstream nominee that could have received resounding bipartisan support."

Scott originally met with Jackson on March 17 where he pledged his support would come down to "a comprehensive examination of her record and judicial philosophy."

Even though the Judiciary Committee tied 11-11, the nomination is still on track to be voted on by the full Senate later this week. It was the first time the committee has deadlocked on a Supreme Court nomination in three decades, The Associated Press reported.

The vote will not be on pure partisan lines. Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney said they will vote to confirm Jacksons nomination.

Jackson is a federal appellate court judge who would take over for retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
A judge denied bail for a woman accused in the robbery and murder of a Sumter man she allegedly lured to a North Charleston apartment for a Tinder date.

Judge Jennifer McCoy heard testimony from the parents of the slain man, Alan Johnson III, at Asherai Gadsden's bond hearing April 5 in Charleston County's General Sessions Court.

Johnson's parents said their 24-year-old adopted son was a Morris College graduate who succeeded despite a tough upbringing.

The judge said in denying Gadsden bail the seriousness of the allegations gave her "concern."

Gadsden, 21, is charged with murder and attempted armed robbery on allegations she conspired with two others  Joshua Latray Mack and Zora Simone Henderson  to rob the victim Jan. 9 at an apartment on Suzanne Drive off Dorchester Road.

North Charleston police officers arrived at the apartment around 3:45 a.m. for reports of a possible alcohol poisoning, according to police and court records.

Gadsden, who was intoxicated, met officers in the driveway and led them inside the apartment, where they found Johnson dead from gunshot wounds, records state.

Gadsden told officers she met Johnson through the dating app Tinder. They went downtown that night before returning to her North Charleston home.

She claimed she found Johnson dead after she returned from the bathroom, but deleted messages on her phone suggested she conspired with Henderson and Mack to rob Johnson, records state.

Minutes before witnesses reported hearing gunshots, Gadsden allegedly sent a message to Henderson telling him the apartment door was unlocked, according to records.

Mack, 28, and Henderson, 19, were arrested Feb. 28 in Johnson's killing. They also face charges of murder and attempted armed robbery.

Latarasha Foy-Richardson and her husband, Rashon, appeared virtually at the bond hearing. Photos of their adopted son decorated a cardboard display that sat on a kitchen table behind them as they spoke.

"He was a good boy," the father said. "He had a bright future."

Johnson grew up in foster care in New Jersey before the Richardsons adopted him and moved the family to South Carolina, 9th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Lemuel Zeigler said.

"They built the support system for him to succeed, and he did just that," Zeigler said.

Johnson graduated from Morris College in May 2020 with a bachelors degree in history. He was awarded the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Scholarship from the United Negro College Fund while at the school.

The $10,000 scholarship is awarded to students from historically Black colleges that demonstrate high academic achievement, strong leadership skills and a commitment to community service, according to the UNCF website.

Foy-Richardson said her son planned to go back to school for a master's degree.

"At a young age, he accomplished a lot," the mother said.

Johnson's parents asked the judge to deny bail for Gadsden.

Gadsden had no criminal history before her arrest and cooperated with the investigation, defense attorney Eduardo Curry said at Tuesday's bond hearing.
A new yoga studio, located in a pink house in North Augusta, is hard to miss.

Allison Seiloff-Pratcher, owner of Buti and Soul Self Love Studio found a need for yoga spaces in North Augusta and the CSRA during the COVID-19 pandemic. As restrictions began to lift, she decided to take the leap and open her own studio.

I wanted to bring that to the community now that things have kind of settled down. We need yoga now more than every and there wasnt really a space that I found that I felt at home, Seiloff-Pratcher said.

Seilof-Pratcher is a certified Buti style yoga teacher, which involves cardio and plyometric styles of yoga with tribal roots. The classes offer inclusivity, ranging from mommy and me to to classes for those 50 and older, and beginner to expert levels.

The whole community can practice yoga and so we really just like to encourage everybody so there is a class for everybody, she said. ...It has been a dream of mine to do something like this and I think the fact that it is actually happening is pretty magical and I love that it is in North Augusta because I just love it.

Inside Buti and Soul also offers lash and waxing services done by licensed esthetician Haren Blackshear.

Her main goal is to help people feel as beautiful on the outside as they do on the inside and just bringing that to the surface, Seiloff-Pratcher said.

Seiloff-Pratcher is happy to be a point of contact for yoga for those who have never tried it before, creating an intimate environment for healing and exercise.

The community is so well receiving and so nice and genuine and it is that southern comfort that people are open to trying something new and yoga is new to a lot of people here. It is an ancient healing method, but it is still kind of new to people in North Augusta, she said. I feel like a lot of people that have never done yoga before have done it here and I feel honored that I get to be the person to introduce it to them. It feels really good.

The studio is located at t 709 West Ave. Suite A, in North Augusta. To book classes, services and learn about upcoming workshop events, visit butiandsoul.com.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Isolated thunderstorms this evening. Skies will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 66F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Isolated thunderstorms this evening. Skies will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 66F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Higher wind gusts possible.
COLUMBIA  Two of the eight GOP candidates for state superintendent have withdrawn from the race, acknowledging they lack an almost-forgotten qualification for the job.

At least three Republicans lack a master's degree required under a 2018 change in state law, though one of them  top fundraiser Ellen Weaver  says she will obtain the advanced degree through an online program before the November election.

Charleston County School Board member Cindy Bohn Coats and GOP activist Sheri Few of suburban Columbia both bowed out April 5, the deadline for parties to certify their candidates are qualified to be on the June primary ballots.

Questions about the criteria circulated shortly after the two-week filing period for candidates ended March 30, sending campaigns scrambling.

What happens if voters elect someone who doesn't meet the legal requirement to occupy the office is unclear. The state Election Commission, which lists the qualifications on its website, has no legal opinion on that hypothetical situation yet, spokesman Chris Whitmire said.

"Thats something wed have to do our homework on," he said, adding "the law is the law."

Like other candidates, Few said she was unaware of the new criteria when she signed up to run. She reluctantly withdrew, she said, hours after her attorney told her she wouldn't win a court fight.

"I learned late last night that the law is valid and there isn't a good constitutional argument to defend my candidacy," she wrote in an email addressed to her supporters.

However, she still disagrees with the law. According to her website, the daughter of a retired Air Force fighter pilot attended college classes while in Germany.

"I believe requiring a masters degree for this office is absolutely an attempt to keep me or other ordinary people like me from this office," said Few, of Lugoff, who has previously run unsuccessfully for superintendent, Congress and the state House.

"A person can run for president, governor, Congress and the S.C. Legislature without any college degree, and these offices have more influence over education policy than the superintendents position," she said. "Shame on the S.C. Legislature for passing this law."

Coats confirmed to The Post and Courier last week that she lacked a master's degree, but she was among candidates the state Republican Party certified for the ballot anyway. She withdrew hours later, saying in a two-sentence letter emailed to the Election Commission "I do not wish to be a certified candidate."

A spokeswoman for the GOP did not return voicemail or text messages April 5.

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At issue is a law signed by Gov. Henry McMaster in May 2018 which, along with a master's degree, requires the state superintendent to have "broad-based experience" in either public education or financial management. It accompanied a separate law that asked voters on the ballot that November whether the governor should appoint the superintendent instead of the post continuing to be filled by popular election.

Voters soundly rejected the idea, with 60 percent saying "no" to removing the superintendent from future ballots.

But the qualifications became law for all future superintendent candidates beginning this year, despite the referendum failing.

Weaver said last week she recently enrolled in an online program through Utah-based Western Governors University to get a master's degree in leadership before voters go to the polls in seven months. The president of the conservative think tank Palmetto Promise Institute  founded by her previous boss, former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint  holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Bob Jones University in Greenville.

"As a Republican, I believe in the rule of law and will be fully qualified to fulfill all of the legal obligations required by the oath of candidacy I took to be ready to serve as superintendent on day one," Weaver said in a statement April 5.

She's referring to an oath every candidate signs when they file to run, swearing that they either already meet eligibility requirements in state law or will meet them by Election Day in November.

"While we know that letters behind your name are no substitute for bold leadership and common sense, I am excited by this opportunity to show our students what it looks like to be a lifelong learner," Weaver continued. "I plan to lead by example and want them to know that they too can accomplish anything they set their mind to."

GOP candidates reporting they already hold a master's degree are Greenville County School Board member Lynda Leventis-Wells, who holds a master's in guidance and educational psychology; Kathy Maness, director of the Palmetto State Teachers Association and longtime Lexington Town Council member; elementary school teacher Kizzi Gibson, who has a doctoral degree in online learning; and Florence One school board member Bryan Chapman, a pastor who holds master's degrees in divinity and religious education.

It remains unclear if Charleston-area businessman Travis Bedson has a master's. He did not return phone and email messages from The Post and Courier over the last week.

"I'm glad I earned my master's from the University of South Carolina in early childhood education, and when I filed for the office of state superintendent I met all of the qualifications outlined on the Election Commission page and S.C. code of laws," Maness said.

The superintendent's race is the most crowded of any statewide office in South Carolina following Molly Spearman's announcement last fall that she wouldn't seek a fourth term.

All three Democrats, as well as the Green Party candidate, have at least one advanced degree.
COLUMBIA  State Rep. Jonathon Hill, a Townville Republican whose scathing criticism of fellow legislators has made him a Statehouse pariah, is facing more than 130 ethics charges related to allegations he mishandled campaign funds.

Among the most serious charges against the four-term House member: that Hill spent campaign money on a personal mortgage, accepted  but didnt report  cash donations, and failed to publicly report fundraising and spending for his Statehouse campaigns.

The S.C. House Ethics Committee slapped Hill with 133 charges April 5, taking 45 minutes to deliberate behind closed doors before agreeing with findings from an independent investigation by the state Ethics Commission. Hill faces up to $266,000 in ethics fines.

Hill, a software engineer who started the Anderson Tea Party in 2008, attended the hearing Tuesday with his lawyer, Tom Fernandez. Neither was offered a chance to speak. Hill will have a chance to contest the charges in a public hearing within the next month.

Hill referred questions to Fernandez, a Summerville lawyer who told The Post and Courier the charges stem from mere accounting mistakes the legislator quickly rectified.

Hill told investigators he erred in using campaign money to cover a personal mortgage payment of nearly $1,200 as well as two payments of $14.95 for Audible, a podcast and audiobook service, charging documents state.

Hill used the same bank, SunTrust, for both his personal account and campaign account, Fernandez said. He mistakenly used the wrong account to pay for the mortgage and Audible subscription, Fernandez said. Hill discovered the mistakes on his own, Fernandez said, and quickly reimbursed his campaign account.

"There is no money missing at all," Fernandez said. "It was just financial missteps."

Fernandez questioned why Hill's mistakes led to a monthslong investigation and more than 130 charges.

"It's admitted that the mistakes were made," he said. "But does it rise to the level of some type of ethics violation investigation? Absolutely not."

Hill has rankled feathers at the Statehouse since his election in 2014. In turn, GOP leaders have kicked him out of strategy discussions and ignored his policy proposals.

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Hill, a bespectacled 37-year-old with a bushy gray and-black beard, is already on the way out of office, having announced he wont run for a fifth two-year term this year.

Like many conservatives, Hill has spent his House career working to shoot down gun-control measures, curb abortion access and defeat any proposal that could be interpreted as infringing on personal liberties.

But unlike most of his colleagues, Hill has regularly sparred with members of his own party, labeling them RINOs  Republicans in Name Only  in Facebook posts and becoming a reliable no vote in hundreds of floor debates every year.

The chambers GOP leaders took the rare step of kicking Hill out of the House Republican Caucus in 2019. Top Republicans accused Hill of posting details of their closed-door discussions on Facebook, mischaracterizing their comments to make them look bad to GOP voters, and siccing his followers on them by posting their cellphone numbers online.

He sued his own party in 2020, alleging the state GOP overstepped its bounds by helping the campaign of his Republican primary opponent. Hill won the race anyway.

In a Statehouse where legislators must forge and leverage relationships to advance and get things done, Hills tactics have come at a cost.

In eight years in the Legislature, Hill has sponsored 42 bills. None have passed.

The ethics charges against Hill include:

Three counts of using campaign funds for personal expenses

Six counts of failing to disclose campaign contributions of more than $100

Seven counts of failing to deposit contributions into a campaign bank account

11 counts of failing to report spending from a campaign account

13 counts of failing to fulfill expenditures from a campaign account

12 counts of failing to deposit checks into a campaign account within 15 days

61 counts of failing to deposit contributions from Anedot, a GOP fundraising platform, into his campaign account

Four counts of failing to report donations of more than $100

14 counts of accepting cash contributions of more than $25

Six counts of failing to report contributions of less than $100

One count of failing to maintain a record of cash contributions

One count of spending from a Rally campaign account instead of his official campaign account.

The investigation sprang from an audit that found Hill's campaign records were a mess.
We dont need to be reminded not to get excited about Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden ever being brought to justice or even seriously embarrassed. The coverage of the longstanding grand jury investigation into Hunter Biden is nevertheless reaching a fever pitch. Todays New York Post cover story reports that a grand jury witness was asked to identify the big guy in Hunter Bidens laptop emails.

Please spare me. The Post does not report who the witness was or how he answered. I would guess the witness, whoever it was, got the answer right, but Im not going to get excited about it at this late date.

Post columnist Miranda Devine highlights the obvious point overlooked by the mainstream media:

There is evidence on the laptop that Joe Biden profited from Hunters overseas business dealings, indicating mingled finances, shared bank accounts and household bills Hunter was expected to pay for his father. Hunter complained about having to give half his salary to his father and pay for everything for this entire family for 30 years. But even if [White House chief of staff Ron] Klain and media pals want to dismiss evidence of Joe Bidens involvement in his familys influence-peddling scheme  including meetings with Hunters foreign partners  that doesnt clear the president. There is no country in the world where millions of dollars paid to a top officials son for doing nothing would not be regarded as corruption. Large payments to the children of powerful government officials by those with interests potentially affected by those officials actions are universally understood to be corrupt efforts to influence the officials, Manhattan litigation lawyer Francis Menton writes in the Manhattan Contrarian blog. In cases involving people other than the Bidens, whether the official/parent personally benefited from the payments or knew details of the transactions are considered completely irrelevant.

Devines column omits a link to Francis Mentons excellent Manhattan Contrarian post. Find it here.

UPDATE: Rich Lowry adds more in his column today.

JOHN adds: This is all so blindingly obvious. No one has ever bribed Hunter Biden, an unemployable crackhead. Obviously the point of the operation was influence with Joe.
A certain amount of caution is recommended about reporting and commenting on the Ukraine War, mostly because solid facts are hard to come by (the fog of war and all that), and judgment about what to do is in equally short supply, especially inside the head of our president.

A few things appear certain. First, the Ukrainians have fought with great skill and effectiveness, and surprised the world with their resilience and ability to land counterblows, including, apparently, an attack on an oil storage facility inside Russia. They may yet hold off Russias army, or convert the war into a stalemate. But as I look at the reliable maps of the order of battle, while Ukraine has more manpower, Russian forces outgun Ukrainian forces by a wide margin and enjoy superiority in maneuver. Even if poorly or corruptly led, with low morale among troops, and short of fuel and spare parts, this material advantage may yet suffice to wear down Ukraine and/or destroy the country, which is likely Putins backup plan. It is possible, by the way, that Putin never intended to take Kyiv, but was surrounding it to pin down Ukrainian forces while Russia extends and consolidates control of eastern Ukraine and the Black Sea coast, where the bulk of Ukraines energy resources (especially natural gas) are located.

Second, the reports of war crimes against civilians on a large scale appear to be well founded. Which brings us to President Bidens remark yesterday that Putin should be put on trial for war crimes. Maybe this is correct in the abstract, but it is a foolish thing for a president of the United States to say out loud the way he did. Better if the Europeans took the lead on this.

What is the only condition under which Putin could be put on trial for war crimes? Hed have to be captured by a foreign power. In other words, outside of an unlikely outcome that a coup inside Russia led to his own people handing him over, the only way Putin is put on trial is if Russia is defeated, just as the Nuremberg trials for the Nazis were only possible because we imposed unconditional surrender on Germany. The one more recent precedent is not encouraging: Serbias Slobodan Milosevic was extradited to the custody of the International Criminal Court only after his own government arrested him failed to prosecute him and then handed him over for international prosecution, but this only took place, recall, after a sustained bombing campaign by the United States to blunt the Serbian aggression Croatia.

You can see why people are suspicious that Biden wants to get the United States directly engaged on the battlefield in Ukraine.

What does Putin want? Did he miscalculate? Above all, how is it possible that we are seeing an old-fashioned total war of conquest in this postmodern age? I keep going back to some classic treatments of the fundamental reasons behind grand strategy that long ago fell out of fashion, but become suddenly relevant when the world surprises us.

Start with Halford Mackinder (d. 1947), considered one of the founders of modern geopolitics. He believed in the importance of old-fashioned geography, for which the coming of air power changed little. His famous 1904 paper, The Geographical Pivot of History, makes the case that the Eurasian region is the key spot on the planet, and therefore the most important bastion of global power:

Is not the pivot region of worlds politics that vast area of Euro-Asia which is inaccessable to ships, but in antiquity lay open to the horse-riding nomads, and is today about to be covered with a network of railways? There have been and are here the conditions of mobility of military and economic power of a far-reaching and yet limited character. Russia replaces the Mongol Empire. Her pressure on Finland, on Scandinavia, on Poland, on Turkey, on Persia, on India, and on China replaces the centrifugal raids of the steppe-men. In the world she occupies the central strategical position held by Germany in Europe. She can strike on all sides and be struck from all sides, save the north.

Mackinder did note in passing the possibility that China could be the ultimate hegemon, raising the prospect of another Sino-Russia split:

Were the Chinese, for instance, organized by the Japanese, to overthrow the Russian Empire and conquer its territory, they might constitute the yellow peril to the worlds freedom just because they would add an oceanic frontage to the resources of the great continent, an advantage as yet denied to the Russian tenant of the pivot region.

Separately Ill treat some of the questions surrounding Russias supposed Slavic ideology and figures like Dugan, but for the moment I want to draw attention to the thoughts of my late professor of strategic studies that I have mentioned many times before: Harold Rood. Writing a few years after Rood died in 2011, J.C. Crouch and Patrick Garrity summed up Roods view of Russia after the breakup of the Soviet Union:

The enduring Russian Problem, Rood believed, cannot be considered solved for the same reason that the German Problem had not been solved in 1918. Germany had not been defeated on German soil, just as Russia has not been defeated on Russian soil. The German Problem, as it manifested itself from 1871 to 1945, was only solved when the Allies met in Berlin and dictated a peace that included the division of Germany and the change of regime. Rood did not argue for the defeat of Russia (the Soviet Union) on Russian soil, unless that became necessary as the result of a war begun by Moscow. But the fact that Russia, like Germany after 1918, had not been occupied meant that, in the minds of its leaders and people, it had not been truly defeated [in the Cold War]. It had been cheated out of its rightful place in the sun by traitors and scheming foreign agents. If that were the case, then the Kremlin most likely began to take covert steps to recover its position almost immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, just as democratic Germany had done after the armistice of 1918. If so, Russia has been on the path to strategic recovery for over two decades now.

Change two decades to three decades in this last sentence, and you have a tolerably accurate description of Putins long-term ambition and current disposition.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has advised Nigerians to shun unlicensed financial operators offering mouthwatering returns on investments.

Many Nigerians have fallen victims to such firms that offer up to 100 per cent return on investments to unsuspecting people. The firms, usually online with no physical office, disappear after receiving the investment sums from hundreds of people.

Some of the perpetrators of such firms, including those called wonder banks, have been arrested and prosecuted by relevant authorities.

On Monday, the CBN, through its Financial Services Regulation Coordinating Committee (FSRCC), advised Nigerians to stop dealing with such firms.

In a statement posted on its website on Monday, the CBN said the illegal financial operators lure and defraud unsuspecting members of the public by offering extraordinary returns on investments as bait.

It also described the increasing activities of Illegal Financial Operators (IFOs) as worrisome, saying it portends a grave risk to public confidence and the stability of the Nigerian financial system.

The FSRCC in its continuing efforts to end the scourge of IFOs in Nigeria, hereby issues the following advisory:

The general public is advised to refrain from dealing with unlicensed or illegal financial operators, who lure and defraud unsuspecting members of the public by offering extra-ordinary returns on investments as bait.

Members of the public are advised to visit the websites of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other relevant member agencies of the FSRCC to verify the registration and license status of such companies and schemes before investing in them.

You are also advised to report any individual or entities suspected to be involved in such nefarious activities to the law enforcement agencies.

It assured that financial regulatory agencies shall continue to carry out all necessary due diligence before registering or licensing any operator under their regulatory purview.

In addition, Agencies shall refer to relevant supervisory authorities for confirmation before finalising on any registration/licensing application, the statement said.

It encouraged member agencies to engage in regular sensitisation campaigns on the threats posed by the activities of illegal financial operators.

It also urged the general public to address further enquiries to the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation, Central Bank of Nigeria, and/or the Executive Commissioner, Legal and Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission.
ZirooPay, a Lagos and Helsinki-based startup, announced Tuesday it has raised $11.4 million in Series A funding.

Launched in 2014, ZirooPay is a developer of mobile POS payment systems designed to facilitate mobile payments.

The round was led by Lagos-based VC fund Zrosk Investment Management.

Existing investors Nordic venture fund Inventure returned, with participation from other private and institutional funds such as Fedha Capital and Exotix Advisory.

Individual investors like Petri Kivinen, the former managing director at Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Renaissance Capital; Abiodun Ajai, the director, Sub-Saharan Africa of Bank of America; Kurt Bjorklund, managing partner at Permira; Stephane Kurgan, venture partner at Index Ventures; and Jonas Dromberg, former bureau chief at Bloomberg, participated.

The new funding, the startup said, will enable it to expand its payment infrastructure, accelerate growth and grow its team.

According to TechCrunch, Ziroopay CEO, Omoniyi Olawale, said one of the biggest challenges to the mass adoption of card payments at retail locations is the rate of transaction failures as a result of poor internet connection.

He noted that its mobile application allows small businesses across the retail, agency banking, hospitality and services sectors to perform similar tasks, such as tracking sales and managing business operations.

Think about everything that the cash registers seen in big supermarkets can do; with an Android application and a mobile point-of-sale card reader, we provide that same functionality to small businesses, he said.

Weve been able to see over 70 per cent of our users migrate from paper-based accounting to depend on in-app sales accounting within three months of onboarding. Mr Olawale was quoted by TechCrunch as saying.

No major company is coming in with modern technology trying to tackle this space and thats one area that we see an opportunity for us because we are primarily a retail payment platform. Even though we provide agency banking on the side, our focus is on retail, and thats something that differentiates us from the other players,  he said.

Samson Esemuede, the managing director and chief investment officer of Zrosk said The growth in the online economy of the African continent has been remarkable; however, the offline economy is orders of magnitude larger than the online economy.

ZirooPay has a patented technology advantage (that works without an internet connection) and distribution model that significantly increases the odds of digitizing the offline economy at a unit cost that makes the story particularly compelling. The payment space has become well-resourced and competitive, but the white space we see in the digitization of cash is the reason we are optimistic about the outlook for this investment.
About two days after the Nigerian government announced a review of its COVID-19 travel protocols, travellers who arrived in Abuja Sunday evening decried the fact that they were still made to pay for a post-arrival PCR test or a Rapid Antigen Test.

The Nigerian government announced Friday that fully vaccinated travellers coming into the country would no longer be required to undergo COVID-19 tests. However, the policy was to commence at 12:01 am on Monday, a fact that led to the controversy at the airport on Sunday.

John Imoke, a medical doctor who arrived in Abuja from Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening, said he got a PCR test before departing for Nigeria and he is also fully vaccinated with booster shots.

When we got here, we drew the attention of our port health authority to the fact that it will make no sense for fully vaccinated travellers to pay for a PCR test when it will be scrapped in few hours, April 4th, of course, they refused to see reasons and have been extorting people, he said.

Mr Imoke said his flight arrived at 2 p.m. (this reporter arrived at the airport at 4 p.m.) and despite the outrage and questions by angry passengers, no one had addressed their concerns.

It is a terrible feeling, having been out of the country and wanting to come back to your home country. It is highly insensitive that no one is here to explain to us why we need to pay, he lamented.

If we were unvaccinated, it would be understandable. But you do a test 48 hours before we journey into the country and you are fully vaccinated and you are now forced to pay for a test that will happen 48 hours after, where is the sense in it? It is really absurd and I am disappointed; everywhere in the world, restrictions are being lifted and here we are all about extorting ourselves, Mr Imoke added.

Another traveller, Anthony Esomchi, who had just returned from Dubai, said he got a PCR test on Saturday before boarding the flight to Nigeria only to get to Nigeria to witness the demand to pay for another test.

I just came back from Dubai, the airport agency stopped us and started extorting us, N79,000 without explanation. They asked everyone to pay N79,000 for Covid test. I did a Covid test in Dubai yesterday before coming in today. I do not know what is going on but I want to call on Nigerians, we need to stop these corrupt people. What are they using the N79,000 to do?

According to Nigerias new travel protocol which was announced on Friday but became effective from 12:01 a.m. Monday, fully vaccinated passengers arriving Nigeria will not also be required to carry out post-arrival PCR test or a Rapid Antigen Test upon arriving Nigeria; they will also not need a COVID-19 PCR test before boarding Nigeria-bound flights.

However, in-bound Passengers who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated for COVID-19 shall take a COVID-19 PCR test 48 hours before departure and undergo Days two and seven post-arrival PCR tests at their own cost.

The statement added that all in-bound passengers MUST register via the online Nigeria International Travel Portal.

Children below the age of 18 years will be accorded the same privileges as persons who are fully vaccinated, it added.

This reporter spoke to two Port Health Authority officials who did not want to be named.

While one told this reporter that she did not need a PCR test to travel out or into the country if she is vaccinated, the other said outbound passengers are subject to the rules of the country they were heading to and inbound passengers were required to pay for a PCR test whether fully vaccinated or not until the revised protocol comes into effect.

The official added that while fully vaccinated passengers were required to pay N39,500, partially vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers were to pay twice that amount.

When asked why fully vaccinated passengers who arrived Sunday were made to pay for a test that would no longer be required in a few hours, he said he was only an enforcer of a law put in place by the government.

This newspaper also observed that the optional use of face masks as disclosed last week by Mr Muhammed was yet to be accepted by officials working at the airport.

Mr Muhammed in an interview with PUNCH said the use of face masks in open spaces is now discretionary. But when this reporter got to the airport and tried to make it through an entrance that had less than 10 people at the time, she was stopped for not using a facemask.

When she reminded the officials of the optional use of face masks, they told her that that was only in the news and they had yet to receive a memo to that effect.

PREMIUM TIMES attempt to reach Muktar Muhammed, the secretary of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 failed as he did not respond to calls or messages.
Kano State High Court on Tuesday sentenced an atheist, Mubarak Bala, to 24 years imprisonment after he reportedly pleaded guilty to an 18-count charge of blasphemy levelled against him by the Kano State government.

Mr Bala, who is the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was arrested at his home in Kaduna State on April 28, 2020, over his Facebook post considered to be critical of Prophet Mohammed and Islam.

The post reportedly caused outrage among Muslims in many parts of Northern Nigeria who are predominantly Muslims.

Mr Bala was subsequently arrested following a petition by a lawyer, S.S Umar, and other Islamic clerics and transferred to Kano State

He was then held for two years without charges and with whereabouts unknown to his family and lawyer.

He was later charged.

On Tuesday, the suspect appeared before a judge, Farouk Lawan, of Kano High Court 4, and pleaded guilty to all the 18 counts he was charged with.

Mr Bala insisted he was not going to change his plea when the judge asked him whether he understood the consequences of his guilty plea.

The spokesperson, Kano Ministry of Justice, Baba Jibo, in a statement, said Mr Bala was sentenced to 48 years for inciting contempt of religion and breach of public peace.

He was convicted after pleaded guilty before the court with 18 count charges. The court ordered that the imprisonment term be commenced from the time he was initially arrested.

Similarly, the court ordered the term should similarly run concurrently.

By the order, the convict should serve 24 years in a correctional facility, Mr Jibo said.
A high court in England has ruled that Shell Plc, Africa Finance Corporation, and seven Nigerian banks have established their right to block Aiteo Eastern E&P Company Limited from taking legal action when a suit initiated by them against the oil firm has not been resolved.

The verdict approving the final anti-suit injunction was delivered on April 1, according to court documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

Aiteo had urged the court to set aside the interim anti-suit injunction that had been granted ex parte. An anti-suit injunction is an order of a court restraining a party from commencing a legal action in relation to a dispute subject to an ongoing arbitration.

The claimants are Africa Finance Corporation, a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Nigeria, Shell Western Supply and Trading Limited, and several Nigerian banks including Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Fidelity Bank plc, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Sterling Bank plc, Union Bank of Nigeria plc, and Zenith Bank plc.

Outstanding Debt

The case concerns a debt allegedly owed by Aiteo to the nine claimants. Details seen by PREMIUM TIMES show that based on two agreements dated September 2, 2014, Aiteo borrowed some US$2 billion from the lenders in order to purchase an interest in Nigerian oil fields and facilities. They include Shells OPL 29.

About 75 per cent of that funding came from AFC and the banks, regarded as the onshore lenders, via a Nigerian-law governed facility agreement known as the Onshore Facility Agreement. The rest came from Shell in the form of vendor financing via an English-law governed agreement and was dubbed the Offshore Facility Agreement.

In October 2018, the parties began to correspond in relation to sums which the lenders said were due to them from the borrower. On August 19, 2019, the lenders alleged certain breaches of the agreements and asked the borrower to remedy them. On September 10, 2019, the borrower denied that any sums were due in a letter addressed to the lenders.

On October 23, 2019 the lenders Nigerian lawyers, Aluko & Oyebode, sent a letter demanding payment of the outstanding debt within seven days.

Eight days later, Aiteo commenced proceedings against the lenders (and four other parties) in the Nigerian Federal High Court, asking the court to declare that it was not liable as alleged in the demand letter.

PREMIUM TIMES understands that the basis of the claim concerned allegations of force majeure which led to requests by the borrower to restructure the facility agreements. Force majeure is an unforeseeable circumstances that prevent a party from fulfilling a contract. The borrower argued that since the lenders refused to restructure, there was no default.

Aiteo subsequently obtained an injunction in from the Nigerian court restraining the banks from taking legal action and acting in any way or manner or taking any step to interfere with the res of this dispute by giving effect to the content of the [Demand Letter], or taking any step to enforce any right in respect of alleged indebtedness of the plaintiff (being contested and disputed in this suit).

The court injunction also restrained the banks from acting on or taking any step pursuant to or in furtherance of the [Demand Letter], from taking over, obstructing, or interfering in any way or manner howsoever with the running of the business of the Plaintiff.

The banks appealed against the court injunctions, and sought an order dismissing the borrowers suit.

Both parties have since engaged in commercial negotiations over the alleged debt. In one of its written evidence, the claimants argued that the loans, being in extremely large amounts, were systemically important loans within the Nigerian banking system and represent significant credits on the books of the Onshore Lenders and a default under the loans would be a very serious matter for each Lender.

The court documents stated that no progress was made with the Notice of Appeal for a number of reasons. In early 2020 there were two adjournments, and between 24 March 2020 and 4 May 2020, court sittings were suspended on account of COVID 19. The high court and court of appeal only returned to full operation on September 28, 2020, it stated.

By October 2020, one of the claimants said that it was becoming clear to all the lenders that the negotiations were stalling and although some lenders continued to hope that they would be successful, others began to doubt that there would be a successful restructuring.

On November 23, 2020, an attempt by the CEO of Sterling Bank, one of the lenders, to break the impasse with the borrower failed.

Subsequently, in December 2020, the lenders prepared arbitration proceedings and an arbitration claim in the English court seeking an anti-suit injunction.

Arguments

In the UK court judgement, the judge noted that the commencement of proceedings in the High Court of Nigeria by the borrower seeking declarations of non-liability was a breach of the arbitration agreement in the Onshore Facility Agreement and the continuation of those proceedings was a breach of the arbitration agreement in the Offshore Facility Agreement.

After considering arguments from lawyers of both parties, the judge noted that the Nigerian Court of Appeal has recently dismissed the borrowers application for injunction restraining the lenders from proceeding with the London arbitrations.

That dismissal sits unhappily with the suggestion that the Lenders Notice of Appeal had caused the Lenders to have lost their right to arbitrate, the judgement reads in part.

With regard to the Offshore Facility Agreement, the court found that there has been no waiver of the right to arbitrate and that decision binds the borrower and the sixth claimant. It follows that the borrower remained in breach of the arbitration agreement in the Offshore Facility Agreement in December 2020, the judge noted.

Thus, there is in the present case a clear case of a breach of the agreements to arbitrate. The court will in such a case grant an anti-suit injunction unless there are strong reasons for not doing so, the judge declared.

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Two security guards were killed on Monday when gunmen attacked a Catholic Church in Ekwulobia, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigerias South-east.

The attack happened at St. Josephs Cathedral Church Ekwulobia.

It happened hours after a prayer session which the Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, directed churches in the state to organise.

The governor said the prayer marked the end of the sit-at-home order in the state.

Ndunaku Ezeh, a resident of the area, told PREMIUM TIMES that the gunmen stormed the area and shot sporadically killing two security guards on duty.

The gunmen shot at the church gate several times, maybe because of the sit-at-home. Two security men were gunned down, he said.

The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed incident in a statement on Tuesday.

He, however, said only one security guard was killed.

Mr Ikenga said the attack happened around 10:30 p.m.

Hoodlums along the express way of Ekwulobia by St. Josephs Cathedral (Church) started shooting sporadically. Unfortunately, (stray) bullet hit one of the security guards in the church and he died instantly, the police spokesperson said.

Mr Ikenga, a deputy superintendent of police, said the police have intensified patrol and that normalcy had been restored in the area.

He said the police have begun investigation into the incident to track down the suspects.

Police officers and officials of other security agencies have been the target of deadly attacks in the South-east by gunmen.

The separatist group, IPOB, has been linked to the attacks in the region.

IPOB is leading the agitation for the creation of an independent state of Biafra which they want carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south.

The group leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is detained in Abuja where he is standing trial for alleged reasonable felony and terrorism.
The State Security Service (SSS) on Monday paraded a nursing mother and five other suspected members of a six-person kidnap syndicate in Ondo.

Jonathan Kure, the SSS director in the state, told journalists that the group was deeply involved in the kidnapping of toddlers.

They have been terrorising the state, kidnapping children between the ages of two and four years, he said.

Mr Kure said that the SSS collaborated with the army to arrest the suspects.

He further said the arrest was in adherence to the Federal Governments commitment to fighting crime and violence.

We launched a crackdown on the syndicate; the group is made up of young men and a nursing mother.

The nursing mother is married to one of the members. She keeps weapons for them.

This group has tormented many families, so we decided to launch a crackdown on them, he said.

The director expressed the commitment of the SSS to collaborate with other law enforcement agencies to tackle kidnapping.

Mr Kure said they would charge the suspects to court after investigation of their activities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the SSS also presented laptops, locally made guns, and cash as items recovered from the group.

Speaking during the exercise, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the deputy governor, said the state government was committed to protecting the lives and property of the residents.

Mr Aiyedatiwa urged residents of the state to always report suspicious movements around their environment to security agencies.

Security is everybodys business. If you notice any one that is living above his means, report such person to the security agencies, he said.(NAN)
The former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has declared his intention to contest for the Senate in 2023.

Mr Oshiomhole, who has just turned 70, wants to represent the Edo North District under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The former national chairman of the APC made the declaration on Monday at an APC meeting held in his country home, Iyamoh, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo.

He said he had consulted the people in the district, his family, friends and political associates over his ambition.

Many people have been asking me if I will run for the Senate, but I pleaded with them to wait until our national convention when I would have made up my mind, Mr Oshiomhole said.

Now that the APC convention is over and we now have a new National Working Committee, I have decided to contest for the Senate come 2023, he added.

He said he wants to go to the Senate in order to provide purposeful leadership for the people in his district.

Mr Oshiomhole said the Senate should not be seen as sabbatical leave for ex-governors.

My intention to vie for the Senatorial seat is to ensure that the voice of Afemai land is heard and my concept of empowerment will be modified, not just giving Keke Napep, generator or motorcycle.

We should be thinking of how we can bring infrastructure development to our people, he said.

The incumbent senator of the district, Francis Alimikhena, who has served two terms so far, has expressed his intention to seek re-election.

Mr Oshiomhole said he would meet with Senator Alimikhena to decide who between the two of them would be the partys candidate for the election.

You all know how the incumbent became the candidate for Edo North senatorial district, he was denied the PDP ticket, and we allowed him to fly out partys flag, which he had used twice to represent us.

We voted for him twice and there is nothing wrong in him voting for me in return.

I will personally meet with him because I want us to still keep the Afemai unity together and I think he will be the director-general for my campaign.

So, I have resolved to contest and am sure to get the ticket and become the candidate to represent Edo North senatorial district come 2023, he said.

A member of the APC Board of Trustees Mike Afegbua, and the Deputy State Chairman of the party, Jariet Tenibe, said the partys senatorial ticket would be given to Mr Oshiomhole to rescue Edo North.

The former APC Chairman, Etsako West Local Government Area, Abubakar Akokhia, moved a motion that the Senate seat should be zoned to Etsako West and that Mr Oshiomhole be given the opportunity to fly the partys flag.

The APC leader in Owan East Local Government Area, Fred Omoregbai, seconded the motion.

The Senate race provides an opportunity for Mr Oshiomhole to redeem his political image after he was unceremoniously removed as the APC national chairman and his candidate in the Edo 2020 governorship election, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, defeated by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

(NAN)
The impact of the war in Ukraine has placed West Africa on the brink of its worst food crisis in a decade, 11 international aid organisations said on Tuesday.

The aid agencies, including Oxfam, Save the Children and World Vision, said they were concerned the war was worsening the already catastrophic situation in the region.

Over 27 million people were already suffering from hunger in the region, which could rise by another 11 million by June, the groups said in a joint statement.

According to United Nations estimates, 6.3 million children aged six months to five years will be acutely malnourished in the region.

A decline in cereal production precipitated this crisis because of droughts, floods, conflicts, and the coronavirus pandemics economic impact.

That has led food prices in West Africa to soar by up to 30 per cent in the past five years.

Now, the war in Ukraine is exacerbating the situation, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), so food prices could rise by 20 per cent worldwide.

In addition, they expect the war to lead to a significant decline in wheat availability for many African countries, which import much of the commodity from Russia or Ukraine.

On the other side of the continent, in the Horn of Africa, the worst drought in 40 years is currently risking the livelihoods of millions.

According to UN figures, in parts of Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, acute hunger threatens over 13 million people.
The Lagos State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) has flagged off a five-day induction programme for the newly recruited 1,000 secondary school teachers in the state.

According to the Commissions chairman, Elizabeth Ariyo, the induction was necessary to prepare the new teachers for their role as education officers in the states public service.

Represented by Adeleke Kara, one of the boards commissioners, Mrs Ariyo congratulated the inductees for being recruited into the states teaching service.

She said: I am proud to inform you that Lagos State is one of the few states, if not the only one, where teachers have the opportunity to be elevated to the level of Tutor General/ Permanent Secretaries and appointed as commission members in the teaching service commission of the state, considering their unparalleled role in nation-building

I, therefore, seek your total cooperation and civility in all that you do. Your ability to adapt to changing situations is also very germane, especially with the new normal as occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. You must be technically savvy to fit into the 21st century best practices.

Training in phases

In a statement issued by the Commission on Tuesday and signed by an assistant director of the public affairs unit with the agency, Kayode Sutton, the induction was organised in collaboration with Nuture House Consulting, a private training organisation.

The statement added that the induction will be in three phases.

The first phase of 380 participants is holding presently at the Teaching Service Staff Development Centre, (TSSDC), Owutu, Ikorodu, between 5th and 8th April, while the remaining two phases of 295 and 325 others will hold concurrently at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), CBD, Alausa and Ajeromi Ifelodun Senior Secondary School, Agboju, Lagos, between 11th and 15th of April, 2022, the statement reads in part.

Applause

Mrs Ariyo also applauded Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for what she described as his uncommon support in providing needed resources for capacity building for teachers in the state.

She said the support will help in no small measure towards achieving Mr Sanwo-Olu-led administrations T.H.E.M.E.S agenda which she noted has Education and Technology as its nucleus.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World , which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.
Gunmen who kidnapped three persons in Ayobo Housing Scheme Extension, Oshin in Ayobo-Ipaja, Lagos State, have released them.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the gunmen invaded the estate and abducted two sisters and a man on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

Oluwalogbon Salami, a parent of the abducted sisters, told NAN during a visit on Tuesday that the entire family was happy because not all that were kidnapped usually returned.

We are very grateful to God for the victory He has given to our family, to God alone be the glory, she said.

The correspondent of NAN observed that people were trooping into the residence of the Salamis to rejoice and congratulate them on the release.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the release of the victims.

The kidnapped persons have regained their freedom and had been reunited with their families, he said.

NAN gathered that the yet-to-be-identified gunmen came through the boundary between Lagos State and Ogun, and escaped with their victims inside a speed boat.

Earlier, the Financial Secretary of the Landlords Association in the area, James Ojuade, told NAN that the gunmen also killed two landlords who tried to prevent them from escaping with their victims.

The gunmen, who kidnapped the two married sisters, daughters of Mr Rashidi Salami, on Friday killed Messrs Nurudeen Olanrenwaju, the Secretary of the Landlords Association and Idris Olowolayemo.

They came again on Sunday and kidnapped one Mr Kehinde, Mr Ojuade said.

A landlord, who requested anonymity, told NAN that the kidnappers demanded N15 million for the release of the victims in their custody.

They, however, released them yesterday evening, when some undisclosed amount was paid.

The landlord said residents have deserted their community because of insecurity.

Residents have abandoned their houses, and I now sleep in the church, he said.

The kidnappers may return to our estate as the police officers who were initially drafted to the scene of the incident had been withdrawn.

We are no longer safe. The government should come to our aid to provide security so that the incident will not repeat itself.

. (NAN)
An Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court on Tuesday sentenced a man, Collins Okechukwu, to life imprisonment for raping and robbing a 25-year-old student (name withheld) at the University of Lagos.

Delivering judgment, Justice Abiola Soladoye, who described Mr Okechukwu as a pathological liar, held that the prosecution proved the charges of rape and robbery against him beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge sentenced Mr Okechukwu to life imprisonment for rape, and 21 years imprisonment for robbery.

The judge, however, ordered that the two sentences should run concurrently.

She said, The testimony of the defendant portrayed him as a pathological liar in the sense that he claimed that University of Lagos Guest House was fully booked and the survivor was sex-starved, which made them have sex on the bare floor.

This is unbelievable and watery.

The defendant lured the survivor into the Admin Block, brought out a pistol, raped her, and robbed her of her valuables thereafter.

The claim of the defendant to have met the survivor at the guest house and she agreed to have sex with him was consistently laced with irregularities and found unreliable.

The defendant is found guilty as charged, of the two offences, and thereby sentenced to life imprisonment in respect to rape and 21 years jail term for robbery.

The sentences shall run concurrently.

He should have his name entered in the Sex Offenders Register of the Lagos State Government.

Mrs Sholadoye also cautioned female students in tertiary institutions against giving out their telephone numbers to strangers.

What manner of a woman is the victim herself? She should desist from giving out her numbers for unnecessary frolicking, the judge said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that four witnesses testified at the trial and three exhibits were tendered.

According to prosecution counsel, Peter Owolabani, the convict committed the crimes on December 17, 2017, at 9.00 p.m. behind the Faculty of Arts Building, UNILAG.

He said that the convict also robbed the survivor of her phones, money, and a gold chain.

He also submitted that the survivor met the convict one year after the incident, invited him to her supposed birthday party, and got him arrested. (NAN)
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Faruk Yahaya, has reiterated the commitment of the Nigerian Army to deal with all forms of insecurity confronting the country.

Mr Yahaya, a Lieutenant General, gave the assurance at a one-day seminar on Intensifying Warrior Ethos organised by the Army Headquarters Department of Transformation and Innovation, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans (Army), Anthony Omozoje, a Major General, the COAS said the volatile and complex security emergencies facing the nation had necessitated the continuous review of the national security architecture to contain the threats.

He said although the varied acts of insurgency, terrorism, kidnapping and banditry and other terrorist organisations had continued to pose substantive threats to the nation, the troops had continued to respond assiduously to contain and decimate all adversaries in line with his maiden message on assumption of office, that all adversaries of Nigeria must be defeated decisively.

According to him, sustaining and insisting on a winning mentality must be inculcated into all troops.

Mr Yahaya said the seminar was designed to consolidate the initial gains of the first edition and provide an avenue for wider participation and academic contribution towards enhancing warrior ethos.

According to him, the essence is to continue to seek strategies to enhance the spirit and zeal of own troops for better combat efficiency and readiness.

He urged participants to make conscious efforts to glean good ideas from the seminar, saying it would impact positively in galvanising troops to optimal performance.

The successes recorded in the fight against terrorism and banditry as well as general conduct of its operations across the country is a testament to this. However, much is still required from us.

Let me also seize this opportunity to reiterate the unwavering commitment of the President, Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces for his invaluable support to the Nigerian army towards ensuring success in our various operations.

We must, on our part, continue to justify these resources and goodwill by consistently executing all assigned tasks swiftly and in the most efficient and professional manner as warriors, he said.

Earlier, the Chief of Transformations and Innovation (Army), Charles Ofoche said the seminar was premised on the need to shore-up the fighting spirit of our personnel deployed in the North East and other operational theatres across Nigeria.

Mr Ofoche, a Major General, said the seminar was also timely, considering the changing tactics of the adversaries by focusing on kidnapping for ransom, attacking the nations critical infrastructure such as rail lines, power lines, communication networks, airports among others.

He said it had become expedient to review the current security architecture and re-strategise to bridge observed gaps as well as build the right fighting will for the threats.

According to him, the purpose of this seminar, therefore, is to brainstorm and proffer practicable ways of imbibing in our troops the warrior ethos which encompasses the will, zeal and spirit to fight to the end.

The re-invigoration of the fighting will is essential to building a formidable 21st Century Army.

This will not only boost the attainment of Nigerian Army missions, but also effectively propel the cardinal pillars of Chief of Army Staffs Command philosophy, which is hinged on professionalism, readiness, administration and cooperation.

Furthermore, it is expected to inspire the Nigerian Army to strive for better output in terms of operational effectiveness, he said.

(NAN)
The German government on Monday declared 40 Russian diplomats undesirable persons, an act that is tantamount to expulsion from the country, Al Jazeera reported.

The announcement by foreign minister Annalena Baerbock follows similar moves by European partners in recent days as a reaction to Russias war on its neighbour Ukraine.

Also, France has said it would expel some Russian diplomats as part of a joint European action after Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

France decided this evening to expel a number of Russian personnel with diplomatic status stationed in France whose activities are against our security interests, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

A French ministry source, who asked not to be named, according to AFP news agency, said 35 Russian diplomats would be expelled. Earlier on Monday, Lithuania expelled its Russian ambassador.

Ms Baerbock said Germanys move was a response to the unbelievable brutality the Kremlin had unleashed in Ukraine.

The images from Bucha speak to unbelievable brutality by the Russian leadership and by those who follow its propaganda with a boundless will to exterminate, Ms Baerbock said, referring to the town near Kyiv where dozens of bodies were found in mass graves or littering the streets following the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Russias foreign ministry said it will respond to Germanys decision to expel 40 Russian diplomats, the Interfax news agency reported.

The Kremlin has denied Western allegations that Russian forces were responsible for killing civilians in Bucha.

This information must be seriously questioned, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. From what we have seen, our experts have identified signs of video falsification and other fakes.

The Bucha Killings

Russia has been accused of a deliberate massacre in Bucha, a town near Kyiv where dozens of bodies were found in mass graves or littering the streets following the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Bucha had been under Russias siege until Ukraine reclaimed the city around March 30, 2022.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of carrying out a deliberate massacre in the town calling on the G7 to impose devastating new sanctions on Moscow.

However, Ms Baerbock said similar images could be found in other places that Russian troops have occupied.

She said it was essential to stand up for our freedom and be prepared to defend it.

That is why the German government has decided to declare a significant number of staff of the Russian embassy, who have worked every day here in Germany against our freedom, against the cohesion of our society, as persona non grata, she said.

She described the diplomats presence as a threat to the more than 300,000 Ukrainians who have sought protection in Germany since the invasion began.

We will no longer tolerate that, we communicated that to the Russian ambassador this afternoon, she said.

Ms Baerbock said Germany would take further steps with our partners including imposing harsher sanctions on Russia, decisively expanding support for Ukraines fighting forces and bolstering NATOs eastern flank.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday the evidence of civilian killings from Bucha was just the tip of the iceberg and showed the need for tougher sanctions on Moscow.

Half measures are not enough anymore. I demand most severe sanctions this week, this is the plea of the victims of the rapes and killings. If you have doubts about sanctions go to Bucha first, he said during a press conference with British foreign minister Liz Truss.

Russias February 24 invasion has left thousands of people dead, according to Ukrainian authorities, and forced more than 4 million Ukrainians to flee the country.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia has said the attack is aimed at eliminating a security threat and has demanded that Ukraine drop its bid to join NATO, which Kyiv is now considering.

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U.S. stops Russian bond payment

The United States has stopped the Russian government from paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600 million from reserves held at American banks, Al Jazeera is reporting.

This is a move meant to ratchet up pressure on Moscow and eat into its holdings of U.S. dollars.

Although the economic sanctions earlier placed on Russia after it attacked Ukraine, froze its foreign currency reserves held in U.S. financial institutions, the U.S. Department of Treasury had been allowing the Russian government to use those funds to make coupon payments on dollar-denominated sovereign debt on a case-by-case basis.

On Monday, the largest of the payments came due, including a $552.4 million principal payment on a maturing bond. The U.S. government decided to cut off Moscows access to the frozen funds, according to a U.S. Treasury spokesperson.

An $84 million coupon payment was also due on Monday on a 2042 sovereign dollar bond.

The move was meant to force Moscow to make the difficult decision of whether it would use dollars that it has access to for payments on its debt or for other purposes, including supporting its war effort, the spokesperson said.

Russia must choose between draining remaining valuable dollar reserves or new revenue coming in, or default, the spokesperson said.

U.S., UK call for suspension of Russia from UN Rights Council

The United States says it plans to ask the UN General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, Al Jazeera is reporting.

The request by U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, on a visit to Romania, comes after Ukraine accused Russian troops of killing dozens of civilians in the town of Bucha.

Russias participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce, Ms Thomas-Greenfield said.

And it is wrong, which is why we believe it is time the UN General Assembly voted to remove them.

A two-thirds majority vote by the 193-member assembly in New York can suspend a state for persistently committing gross and systematic violations of human rights.

Ms Thomas-Greenfield said she wants to have the vote this week.

The United Kingdom has backed Washingtons effort to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council over the killings in Ukraines Bucha.

Given strong evidence of war crimes, including reports of mass graves and heinous butchery in Bucha, Russia cannot remain a member of the UN Human Rights Council. Russia must be suspended, Al Jazeera quoted British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss as saying.

Responding to the call for its suspension, Russias Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said, what the West is trying to do with Russia, trying to exclude it from multilateral forums we are having in the world  this is unprecedented.

This is unbelievable, he said. Adding that this will not facilitate or encourage or be helpful to what is happening between Russian and Ukrainians in peace talks, he added.

Chiamaka Okafor is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World , which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.
The Senate has extended the implementation of 2021 budget from March 31 to May 31.

This followed the consideration of a bill to Amend the 2021 Appropriation Act.

The Senate before considering the bill suspended Rule 78(1) of the Senate Standing Orders 2022 (as amended), to enable the upper chamber to expeditiously introduce and pass the bill.

The bill was read during plenary on Tuesday for the first, second and third time after the suspension of Rule 78(1).

The bill was sponsored by Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi.

Leading debate on the bill, Mr Abdullahi said that Appropriation Act in the past was passed mid-year, with its implementation usually extended to the following year.

In previous Appropriation Act, these extensions were usually covered by a clause.

The clause is in line with the provisions of Section 318 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that the Act runs for a period of 12 months, starting from the date it comes into effect, he said.

He, however, observed on the contrary that Clause 12 of the provisions of Section 318 of the Constitution provided that the 12- month period started from the first day of Jan. to Dec. 31. 2021.

He said the 2022 Appropriation Act was amended to extend the implementation from December 31, 2021 to March 31, 2022.

Mr Abdullahi said the extension of the budget period became imperative in view of the need to complete ongoing projects nearing completion.

As you are aware, the 2021 virement of the aggregate sum of N276 billion was approved for several MDAs by the National Assembly in December 2021 along with 100 per cent release of the 2021 Capital Budget of the MDAs.

A significant portion of the releases to the MDAs has been utilised following the extension to March 31.

In view of the critical importance of some key projects nearing completion, it is expedient to grant further extension of the expiration clause.

This is to avoid compounding the problem of abandoned projects given that some of the projects were not provided for in the 2022 budget hence the need to extend the implementation year form March 31 to May 31, he said.

Meanwhile, a total of three bills scaled second reading on the floor.

The bills included the National Industrial Technology Park; the Federal College of Agriculture Ise-Orin, Ekiti State; and Federal University of Agriculture Ogoja, Cross River bill.

The bills were sponsored by Ibikunle Amosun (APC-Ogun), Biodun Olujimi (PDP-Ekiti) and Agom Jarigbe (PDP-Cross River).

(NAN)
The police in Jigawa State on Tuesday said six people died in a fire at a filling station in Kaugama local government of the state.

The station, Al-masfa Global Enterprise Nigeria LTD, located in Marke town, caught fire after a gas cylinder exploded within its premises.

The police spokesperson in Jigawa, Lawan Adam, said the police received distress at about 6 p.m. on Monday and rushed to the scene of the fire.

A team of policemen rushed to the scene and conveyed the corpses and victims to Hadejia General Hospital. Later the two victims gave up to Ghost while receiving treatment, he said.

The police said those who died in the fire are Nasiru Umar, 30, Dahawi Hakilu, 35, Hamza Adamu 15, Sule Hamza, 30, Idris Adamu, 25.

Witnesses, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES, said the fuel attendants immediately fled the scene when the fire started.

He said those who died were sleeping inside a mosque within the filling station.

The police spokesperson said it is still investigating how the cylinder exploded.
Barely a week after the Nigerian government announced that wearing face masks in open public places will no longer be compulsory, the country Tuesday recorded 48 additional COVID-19 infections.

The latest statistics as revealed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Tuesday morning show that the new infections were recorded across four states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

It is, however, not clear whether the relaxation of the protocol instituted by the government contributed to the new infections announced by the disease centre.

COVID-19 update

Cumulatively since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, NCDC said Nigeria has recorded a total of 255,516 infections, while the fatality toll remains at 3,142 since February 18, 2022, when the last fatality case was recorded.

NCDC noted that the latest figures include data for April 2 to 4, 2022, raising the infection toll to 255,516 cases, without affecting the fatality toll.

The breakdown of the latest data shows that Lagos State, Nigerias epicentre of the disease, topped the infection chart with 25 new cases.

Rivers State in the South-south and Kaduna State in the North-west reported 11 and six cases respectively.

While the FCT recorded five infections, Abia State in the South-east recorded a single case.

Relaxation of face masks protocol

On April 30, the head of the technical secretariat, Presidential Steering Committee, PSC, on COVID-19, Muktar Muhammed, disclosed in Abuja that the decision on the final relaxation of COVID-19 measures will be taken after Easter, Tribune newspaper reported.

Countries across the world have started relaxing COVID-19 measures, including Ghana, which recently announced that the use of face masks was no longer mandatory.

He said: We are easing up restrictions, but its important we do so responsibly.

Last week, we suspended the limit placed on public gatherings, curfews, and other social measures.

The use of face masks in open spaces is now discretionary.

We shall not hesitate to remove all mandates once the disease is no longer of public health consequence. We are aware that cases are rising in the Western Pacific and Eastern Europe.

The US just mandated a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for adults older than 50. We fear a reversal of the pandemic situation, where largely unvaccinated poor countries will be made to bear the burden because the West has developed very high immunity through large-scale vaccination.

Our biggest fear now is the upcoming Easter holidays. If we can cross and the cases continue to go down with no significant increase in hospitalisation and death, then certainly, we will lower our level of alertness and relax most of the measures.

We are working with data and algorithms to determine our line of action. Everything depends on what happens next. We learn from other countries, but we dont have to necessarily copy what they are doing. Every country should evaluate its risk and take responsibility.
The leadership of the House of Representatives is currently in a closed-door meeting with the Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor and the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, over attacks on transportation infrastructures in Kaduna.

Others at the meeting, which commenced at 3 p.m. are the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali, the Director-General of the State Security Service, Yusuf Bichi, Minister of Aviation, and Hadi Sirika, among others.

These officials had shunned the invitation of the House to a hearing last week. Instead, they sent representatives but the Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase, who presided over the session, refused to allow the representatives to speak on behalf of their principals.

Mr Wase had berated the officials and adjourned the meeting to another date.

The House had mandated the leaders of the House to investigate the attacks on transportation infrastructure following a motion moved by Nnaji Nnolim (PDP, Enugu).

Mr Nnolim had moved a motion on the attack on the Kaduna Airport by bandits, which led to the death of one guard. The motion was amended to include the attack on the Kaduna-bound train by terrorists on Monday last week.

Speaking before dissolving into the executive session, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said the House is hoping to explore other options to tackle insecurity in Nigeria.

Details later
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has issued a fresh warning to political parties against undermining its guidelines on the 2023 General Elections.

In a statement on Tuesday by its spokesperson, the commission said it would not tolerate any attempt by political parties to ignore constitutionally-allowed processes in the nomination of its candidates as they prepare for the primary elections.

Since the INEC announced the changes in the dates for the countrys general poll in February and rolled out its schedule of activities, only two out of the 14 activities in its timetable have so far been executed.

The two activities are the publication of notice of elections in states and nomination forms on the commissions official website.

As stipulated in Section 84 of the Electoral Act, all political parties have a period of 61 days, from April 4 till June 3, to present their flag bearers for presidential, governorship, state and national legislative seats in the coming election.

While INEC has fixed February 25, 2023 for the presidential and national assembly elections, the governorship and state assembly elections will hold on March 11.

The commission said candidates for the 1,491 constituencies for which elections will be conducted must emerge from democratic, transparent and valid primaries, in line with the provisions of Sections 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

The statement added: Where a political party fails to comply with the provisions of the Act in the conduct of its primaries, its candidate shall not be included in the election for the particular position in issue.

As required by law, the Commission shall monitor the primaries of each political party that provides the required legal notice in line with Sections 82 (1) and (5) of the Electoral Act. Failure of a political party to notify the Commission of any convention or congress convened for the purpose of nominating candidates for any of the elective offices specified in the Act shall render the convention or congress invalid.

Primaries must be conducted in the various constituencies as provided in Section 84 of the Electoral Act as it is a violation of the law to conduct primaries outside the constituencies for which parties are nominating candidates. The Commission will not monitor such primaries and their outcome will not be accepted.

Parties gunning for consensus

With political parties settling into the primary election season, in line with the timetable, many aspirants have indicated their plan to run for different positions on their platforms while others are still consulting.

Although the two major parties  All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  are yet to zone the presidency, some of their members have formally declared their interest in the position.

Among those who have formally declared their intention to run for president on the ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are a former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, former Imo State governor and serving senator, Rochas Okorocha, and the governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi.

There are speculations that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi; former Abia governor and serving senator, Orji Uzor Kalu; and the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, will join the race.

In the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, two former Senate President, Pius Anyim and Bukola Saraki, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto, Publisher of Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu, a renowned pharmacist, Sam Ohuabunwa and Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State are among those that have indicated their plan to contest for the presidency.

Some of the aspirants are already pushing for consensus candidates ahead of their primary elections.
A former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has withdrawn his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Zoning Committee.

Mr Fayose disclosed this in a letter dated April 5 and addressed to the Chairman of the committee, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, obtained by journalists on Tuesday in Abuja.

Mr Fayose, in the letter, cited his ambition to run for presidential election in 2023 on the ticket of the party as reason for his withdrawal.

I write to formally appreciate the Party and all members of this committee.

I thank you all for your statesmanship, selflessness and sense of patriotism to our party and by extension our nation in the way you have all handled and comported yourselves so far in deliberations regarding this delicate and sensitive issue/assignment, the Zoning of public offices, particularly that of the President.

I pray the outcome will bring understanding, peace and stability to our party and our country at large.

Having hinted during our last meeting of my intention to run for the office of the President in the coming primary election and by Gods grace; the general election, it will not be morally right to continue to participate in the zoning debate being an aspirant myself, he said.

He added that his state had nominated Gbenga Faseluka to replace him.

The National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, recently inaugurated a 37-member committee to work out an acceptable zoning arrangement for the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Mr Fayose was a two time governor of Ekiti State. He is currently standing trial for alleged corruption while in office.

(NAN)
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said Tuesday that he has yet to declare to run for any political position.

A statement by his spokesperson, Umar Gwandu, said the clarification became necessary following a false and fabricated publication in some sections of the media.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, (Dr.) Abubakar Malami, SAN has not yet declared interest to contest any elective position come 2023, Mr Gwandu said.

Although, Mr Malami has yet to publicly declare to run for governor of his home state, Kebbi, in the forthcoming 2023 general elections, he is believed to have been nursing the governorship ambition for many years.

It is believed that Mr Malami swiftly vowed to enforce a court judgement nullifying section 84(12) of the newly amended Electoral Act to guarantee his smooth run for the governorship office while keeping his coveted position as the AGF just before the forthcoming election.

The novel section 84(12) of the Electoral Act had prohibited political appointees from voting as delegates in party conventions or congresses for the election or nomination of candidates.

If allowed to stand, the innovative provision would prematurely force Mr Malami out of office as the AGF to realise his governorship ambition.

The other option would have been for him to forego the governorship ambition to remain the AGF till the end of President Muhammadu Buharis administration in May 2023.

A prominent senior advocate, Femi Falana, accused Mr Malami of manipulating the Federal High Court on the matter of the section 84(12) of the Electoral Act.

The National Assembly, which was curiously not made a party to the suit at the trial court, has cautioned Mr Malami against hurried enforcement judgement, vowing to to appeal against the widely criticised verdict.

Expect to hear from me at the appropriate time

Mr Malami, through the statement issued by his spokesperson on Tuesday, said his interest to contest for a political position was never a hidden affair or clandestine operation that could be reported as a scoop by a section of the media.

A video had emerged on social media, on Monday, being circulated as the purported declaration, which Mr Malamis spokesperson described as being mischievously translated with fabricated insersions and interpolations that cannot in spirit and context establish the malinformation circulated.

Mr Gwandu noted that at the appropriate time, Nigerians would hear from the horses mouth in full glare of the media, stakeholders, like-minds, party faithful and teeming supporters, as to Mr Malamis intention to run for office in 2023.
Phone companies on Tuesday barred several phone lines linked to National Identity Numbers, as the government-ordered enforcement targeting those yet to connect their lines to NINs began on a chaotic note.

Subscribers shared their frustration offline and online about how they realised they could not make calls despite connecting their phone lines to their NINs. Some who had not connected continued to make calls.

After repeated extension of deadlines, the federal government on Monday mandated telecom firms to bar lines yet to link to NINs from calling out.

The government said the move will enhance security but critics say the lack of political will may hinder authorities from utilising the measure to go after terrorists, kidnappers and bandits.

Some subscribers, who claimed to have linked their phone numbers, said they were unable to make calls from the early hours of Tuesday.

I dont understand this. Why restricting my line when I had linked this to NIN over a year ago. Who is responsible for this? Who bears the brunt for the dereliction of duty? Why do we have to pass through this hassle in our country? Why? a Twitter user, I.G Onyekachi, wrote.

Hello, I have linked my NIN with my glo sim a long time ago and I still cant make calls since morning till now.Kindly help me rectify this please, another user said.

The federal government issued a directive to operators to disconnect phone numbers yet to be linked to NINs on April 4.

The directive came after the government extended the deadline the 10th time on March 31. Registration started December 2020.

The operators sent messages to customers notifying them that the directive will take effect immediately.

Yello! Following the directive to bar SIMs not linked to NIN. Your line has been barred from making outgoing calls and sending SMS. To reconnect, dial *785# to link your NIN. To register for NIN, visit any MTN shop, a message from MTN said.

Dear Customer, Due to NIN non-compliance, your line has been restricted from making calls as directed by the Federal Government. To continue to enjoy the service, kindly submit your NIN by dialing *109# or call at 109 now. Thank you for choosing Glo, said a message from Glo.

Authorities React

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Glos head of public relations, Toni Kan, he said the company was obeying the government directive.

Just to be clear so I am not misquoted. Glo has not barred anyone from making calls. We are, simply, like all telcos, obeying a ministerial directive regarding unlinked SIMs, he said.

No phone number that has been linked to a NIN will be barred on the Glo network. If anyone has been barred they should please go to a Glo customer care centre and it will be resolved, he added.

MTN apologised to the affected customers, asking those who claimed their lines were barred despite linking them with their NINs to send in their numbers for rectification.

The spokespersons of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ikechukwu Adinde, and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Kayode Adegoke, did not respond to messages and calls.

Another source (who asked not to be named) said the complaints were industry wide and will take a few days to resolve.
Debates are an integral part of a democratic system  either as part of a political campaign or engagements between citizens who have different opinions. In the political context, debates provide a platform where citizens can listen to candidates, ask questions, and make informed choices on who they will elect to govern them. It shapes campaigns and prepares serious candidates for governance. In some cases, debates can help reduce political tensions

We must begin to imbibe a culture by which those who aspire to lead our people are subjected to a rigorous process of public debates that will assess their suitability on objective criteria, rather than the religion they practise or where they come from.  Olusegun Adeniyi, Chairman, ThisDay Editorial Board

In 2010, we protested to the National Assembly in Abuja and to then Governor Babatunde Fasholas office in Lagos, asking if Mr President was dead or alive in Saudi Arabia; demanding that the killings in Jos be stopped and wondering why an oil-producing nation had fuel queues. 12 years later, Mr President is alive but hes in London for a medical checkup; killings are not only in Jos but in several hotspots across the country and, yes, there are still fuel queues.

12 years. Has nothing really changed? Is enough not yet enough?

Well, were still lying to ourselves about fuel subsidy; Mr President shows a lack of capacity to lead the worlds largest black nation and insecurity has fully become an enterprise. However, citizens have become more aware, more restless, and more courageous. Certainly not Uhuru, but its becoming clearer by the day that the status quo is not sustainable. As my dear friend, Aisha Yesufu says, Tomorrows victims are todays survivors; todays victims were yesterdays survivors.

So, back to 2010. After the protests, we spent time discussing what next, and since elections were the next year, we decided to focus on getting as many young people as possible to participate in the process. We adapted the popular RSVP from Rice and Stew Very Plenty to Register | Select | Vote | Protect. The original meaning of the acronym is Respondez sil vous plait, which is a formal request to respond if you will attend an event. For us, we were asking young people to RSVP for the 2011 elections  signifying that they will register to vote; select credible candidates; vote and protect their votes. The V later became Vote not fight, when we partnered with the 2Baba Foundation, which runs the Vote not fight campaign advocating against election violence. 2Baba is also a major supporter of EiEs work. RSVP is now the longest-running get-out-the-vote campaign in Nigeria.

Elections were in April 2011 and for idealistic young people who saw democracy and elections in the United States as a model, hosting a presidential debate was a no-brainer! As such, the What About Us? Presidential Debate was organised as Nigerias first youth-focused debate and we co-hosted it with Sleeves Up, Stand Up Naija (NLI), and Vote or Quench; with media support from Channels TV. It was moderated by Chimamanda Adichie and Ebuka Obi-Uchendu was the master of ceremony.

This would begin EiEs journey, with debates as the core component of our work in educating voters to select credible candidates  the S in RSVP. Over the last decade, we have hosted or co-hosted twenty-five debates of different formats  presidential, governorship, local government chairmanship, youth members of political parties and town hall meetings for legislators. I believe EiE has hosted/co-hosted more debates than any other civil society organisation in Nigeria, working with Channels TV, TVC News, Arise TV, several radio stations, state television stations and online platforms.

We have innovated with language and accessibility, as we continue to work to mainstream debates. During #AnambraDecides2017, in partnership with Channels TV and the Anambra State Broadcasting Service (TV & radio), Anambrarians could either watch the debate in English or a voice-over dub in Igbo. This was repeated in Yoruba for #OsunDecides2018, in partnership with TVC News, Rave FM & Adaba FM. In 2019, we made history when the Peoples Debate (Presidential debate) was the first TV programme broadcasted as a live radio simulcast in partnership with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN). The radio simulcast was a live broadcast in five languages  English, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Pidgin; also, the first time this would happen in Nigerias history.

Debates are an integral part of a democratic system  either as part of a political campaign or engagements between citizens who have different opinions. In the political context, debates provide a platform where citizens can listen to candidates, ask questions, and make informed choices on who they will elect to govern them. It shapes campaigns and prepares serious candidates for governance. In some cases, debates can help reduce political tensions, as the optics of the hug or handshake before and after the debate should communicate to supporters that we can disagree without being disagreeable. It also provides an opportunity for the candidates to commit to peaceful elections and encourage their supporters to follow the process. The power of debates to promote accountability hasnt been used effectively. During a debate, a candidates statements, policy positions and campaign promises become public record that civic groups and the media should use to hold them accountable. EiE believes in the intrinsic value of debates as a mechanism to deepen democratic ideas and we are committed to hosting/co-hosting as many as we can to further that objective.

March 16 was the 12th anniversary of the historic Enough is Enough Nigeria protest to the National Assembly. To commemorate it, well host a symposium titled On Debates & Democracy at the YarAdua Centre in Abuja. The YarAdua Centre was the venue of the What About Us?: 2011 Presidential Debate, so it is significant. The keynote address will be given by Janet Brown, the executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates. This is the body that hosts all presidential debates in the U.S. The media panel will have the four debate moderators that weve worked with over the last decade  Maupe Ogun-Yusuf, Ngozi Alaegbu, Reuben Abati, and Seun Okinbaloye  in conversation with Segun Adeniyi. We will also have the debate panel with Abdulfatai Buhari (invited), the Oyo North senator who proposed a bill to make debates mandatory; Babatunde Fashola, former Lagos State governor; Mahmood Yakubu, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman; Mercy Tosin Ayodele, 2018 Osun Governorship Election candidate and I.

Mr Fasholas role is particularly important as it is a classic case study of the power of debates. Hes easily the most debated politician in Nigerias history. He went from an unknown Chief of Staff to a candidate to be reckoned with the more he participated in debates and Lagosians got to experience his understanding of Lagos and his plans. Unfortunately, most candidates are not like him, and they shy away from debates, preferring unidirectional rallies where their views and promises cannot be challenged.

Mercy Ayodele is a model for the neutrality of our process. As a woman, I am often accused of not giving female candidates an opportunity to participate in our debates to give them visibility. We have a clear process of selecting candidates using qualitative and quantitative parameters. For the 2018 Osun Gubernatorial Debate, Mercy Ayodele was seventh on the list after our analysis and we had space for five candidates. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidates declined to participate, and she got a slot on stage and held her own. It wasnt tokenism; she was assessed as the other candidates and competed on her own merit.

Debates are increasingly seen as a benchmark of a healthy democracy. We have seen shifts over the last decade and more citizens are interested in listening to candidates debate. #AnambraDecides2021 that we co-hosted with Arise TV is the most recent example of the conversation and analysis generated from the top candidates challenging each others ideas and statements. We will continue to host/co-host debates that are accessible in multiple languages and channels using radio as an alternative to television.

Save the date and join us in-person or online as we have a conversation to explore how political debates contribute to democracy via citizens engagement; legislature (should debates be mandatory); the media and the role of political parties.

As Jesse Jackson, the African-American political activist and presidential aspirant put it, Deliberation and debate is the way you stir the soul of our democracy.

Yemi Adamolekun is the Executive Director of Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE Nigeria). She has an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics (LSE) and an MBA from Oxford Universitys Said Business School.
A hundred years ago, the principle of elective representation was introduced to Nigeria, courtesy of the Clifford Constitution, so named after the Governor-General, Sir Hugh Clifford.

The 1922 Constitution provided for African elites in a new 46-member legislative council of which 27 were officials and 19 un-officials. With the new law, four African representatives were to be elected as un-officials  three for Lagos and one for Calabar municipal areas- every five years. Suffrage was however limited to adult males who must be at least 21 years-old, were propertied and natives of the protectorate with a gross income of not less than 100 pounds per annum. Nominations for candidates were made by a minimum of three male registered voters who must also meet the above criteria.

A flurry of renewed nationalist activity was triggered and political parties were formed as vehicles into elective office. The Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) founded by Herbert Macaulay ruled the electoral space, until this was broken by the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) in 1938.

Historically, Nigerias political parties started off on a patriarchal and hierarchical note. This may be traced to that fact that the Constitution with its underlying victoria ideologies, did not allow women to vote or contest in elections. Of course, this colonial philosophy merged with existing indigenous patriarchy, and a male-dominant political class was birthed in Nigeria.

Both in character and conduct, political parties promoted and entrenched male interests, power and authority. Yes, women were invited to rallies and campaigns, but it was to listen and carry forth the political messages to their menfolk. So for example, NNDPs rallies were populated by market women led by Alimotu Pelewura. Eventually, recognition of the value women added to the electoral politics, led parties to establish womens wings/sections.

Indeed, it was due to the fact that the organisational structures of the NNDP and NYM did not include women, that Oyinkan Abayomi (a member of the NYM) formed the Nigerian Womens Party in May 1944. During the launch at her Broad Street residence in Lagos, she said: The interests of women are sorely neglected.

Newspapers affiliated with some of the parties, campaigned for the inclusion of women in electoral politics. One of the earliest editorials was published by the NYMs Daily Service in March 1949, titled Enfranchisement of Women. But this did not reflect in the partys organisational structure and activities. Indeed the same year, NYM created an all-male representative council to discuss Nigerias constitutional problems.

The next group of political parties were the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), Action Group (AG), Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) and Northern Peoples Congress (NPC). Just like their predecessors, these parties also established womens sections and with some fanfare too. For instance, the launch of the AGs Womens Section was advertised in the 24th February 1953 edition of the Daily Service.

Sometimes women were in invited to sit on a partys National Executive Committee (NEC) which is the highest decision-making body. But this too had its limitations. They for example were invited to adhoc committees on the NEC. In the NCNC, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, Keziah Fashina and Felicia Obua were invited to serve on the Manifesto, Appeals and Finance Committees respectively. The likes of Wuraola Esan and Rachael Brown, were at some point in the AGs Executive Committee. In the NPC, the Executive Committee of the Congress accompanied by other party structures such as Provincial Committees, Central Working Committee, Parliamentary Committee were all male-dominated party organs. However, there was a thriving womens section with Shugaba Jallo Baturiya and Malama Laraba Tashim Gobe known to be leaders. In NEPU, Hajia Gambo Sawaba, served as the president-general of the national womens wing and Malama Ladi Shehu who was also a female columnist, served as the Secretary-General.

In general, women were expected to operate in their own section, form their own executive committees with posts such as President Womens Wing, Secretary-General Womens Wing, Organising Woman Secretary, Regional Woman Leader etc. The pattern of patriarchal culture which drove the first and second waves of political parties, has remained in place ever since.

Political parties in the Second and Third Republic adopted a slightly different format. History shows that the womens section was merged into the main body of the party, and a position called National Women Leader became fossilised. During the Second Republic, the main parties of National Party of Nigeria, Unity Party of Nigeria, Peoples Redemption Party, Great Nigeria Peoples Party and Nigeria Peoples Party, institutionalised this position. Though, it was not unusual to find a female running-mate to a presidential candidate, womens inclusion in a partys structure, remained a cosmetic arrangement.

The array of political groups of the Third Republic including the initial thirteen parties, as well as the military regime-created National Republican Convention and Social Democratic Party, also followed the same pattern.

In the current Fourth Republic political landscape, the main parties have retained the historical status quo for women in the structures. Party organs and compositions listed in their Constitutions, show the eternal position of Women Leader is stratified into several other layers at the National, Zonal, State, Senatorial District, Local Government and Ward levels. Hence, several positions revolve around the Women Leader as follows: Deputy Women Leader, State Women Leader, State Assistant Women Leader, Senatorial District Women Leader, Local Government Area/Area Council Party Women Leader, Ward Women Leader and Ward Assistant Women Leader etc. It appears they were created to mollify womens demands for inclusion in party hierarchy.

In the recently-held national conventions of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), women were unsurprisingly not included in top key positions in the national executive party structures/ national working committees. They were relegated to the usual National and Deputy Women leader posts; a few others were made assistants and ex-officios.

Promotional video clips from party chieftains pledging to comply with 35 pr cent affirmative action as contained in their constitutions, have so far not yielded any fruit. For instance, despite its public pledges, PDP in March, inaugurated 37 men as its 2023 zoning committee. In the APC, only a handful of women made it through to the 77-person National Executive Council. The picture is the same for other parties including the Social Democratic Party and the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

One of the consequences of a political party system that practices patriarchy and discriminates against women members in its organisational structure is, it produces male-dominated candidate lists and legislative institutions. Today, 449 out of 469 (96 per cent) legislators in the National Assembly are men. The under-representation of women in our legislatures has always been the pattern.

Last months shocking rejection of five gender bills by the National Assembly is one of the consequences of this imbalance in electoral politics.

Nigeria cannot move forward without the meaningful inclusion of its women in public office. As the gatekeepers to the democratic process, political parties must provide equity from the starting blocks, all the way to the top.

Tayo Agunbiade is the author of Emerging from the Margins: Womens Experiences in Colonial and Contemporary Nigerian History.
Oro Ahmed yi nikan na ni o un ba mi leru. (It is the issue of Ahmed that is giving me a lot of concern). That was the fear expressed by the late Alhaji Lam Adesina, a former governor of Oyo State, on the chances of the then governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in winning the gubernatorial election in 2003. Out of genuine concern, Alhaji Adesina, a great lover of Tinubu, was bothered that the Lagos State governor might not get a second term because of his repugnance to Obasanjos overtures and frolics.

That was at a time when all the other governors in the South-West, Chief Bisi Akande of Osun, Chief Adebayo Adefarati of Ondo, Otunba Niyi Adebayo of Ekiti, Akinrogun Segun Osoba of Ogun and Alhaji Lam Adesina himself were obeying the dictates and dancing to the falsehearted music of the then president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. The governors were not alone in the travesty; they were goaded by the Pan Yoruba group, Afenifere ,under the leadership of late Pa Abraham Adesanya.

Obasanjo had, in the most deceitful manner, cajoled the governors and the Pan Yoruba group, Afenifere, in believing that he (Obasanjo) would be soft on them and make their victories eas,y insofar as they supported his election for a second term in office. The five governors fell for Obasanjos antics and openly worked for his second term in office. In fact, the promotion of Obasanjos second term bid took precedence over the campaigns of these governors and the National Assembly candidates in the build up to the general elections of 2003.

Despite the fact that we were in the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the opposition party, we campaigned vigorously for the second term of Olusegun Obasanjo and indirectly his Peoples Democratic Partys candidates, who eventually defeated us. I was a victim as the AD candidate for House of Representatives in the Oluyole Federal Constituency.

With heavy music and beautiful lyrics, we introduced a new dimension, and new lexicon into our politics: we birthed the splitting of votes between Aremu Oke and Aremu Isale. Vote one for Aremu at the top (Obasanjo for president) and one for Aremu at the bottom (Alhaji Lam Adesina). But at the end of the day, General Obasanjo trounced us, with the deployment of all the tricks and antics you can think of.

But, in Lagos, Tinubu, in his wisdom, refused to follow either his fellow governors or Afenifere in supporting Obasanjo, and instead answered his own fathers name. He campaigned only for his party, the Alliance for Democracy. He asked voters to concentrate all their votes at the top, the space for AD on the ballot papers in all the elections.

As we were rollicking to the lovely melody of Aremu Oke and Aremu Isale in the South-West, from Ibadan to Saki, Ogbomosho, Tede, Idere and so on, particularly in Oyo State, the people of Lagos State were eating to the top (won un jeun soke). And in the real sense of it, they actually ate well and this is evident, till today, in the yarning gap in riches and wealth between the people of Lagos and those in other parts of Yoruba land.

Tinubu, using all in him: Wisdom, knowledge, smartness, boldness, exposure, contacts, etcetera, turned Lagos around within eight years. Bola Tinubu grew the economy, politics and sociology of Lagos and the stability being enjoyed in Lagos today is as a result of his right leadership. Lagos has become the model for virtually all developmental projects and ideas in Nigeria today.

From Fashola to Ambode to the incumbent Sanwo-Olu, Lagos has continued to progress steadily, while sadly, other states in the West are grappling to survive. Tinubu has established himself as the best and most dynamic leader and politician of this generation.

With the enormous powers of the Presidency, particularly under the leadership of Olusegun Obasanjo, who was touted to have possessed and exercised more powers than the American President during his time, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu still crushed Obasanjo in all aspects of governance. He challenged Obasanjo on legislative matters and won; he contested against Obasanjos position on the judiciary and made mincemeat of him; and in Obasanjos desperate bid to conquer Lagos State, along with other Yoruba States, Tinubu triumphed over Obasanjo and is still beating him till today.

For decades now, Nigerias major problem has been poor leadership. After the departure of the Balewas, Azikwes and Awolowos of this world, Nigeria has been largely unlucky with the sets of people that have been ruling us. All these past leaders that we are still praising till date did well because they were properly equipped for the positions they occupied and while serving they got the best persons for all the assignments.

Tinubu, in his time as governor of Lagos State, gathered the best brains in Lagos to improve the lots of the State socially, economically and politically. Tinubu, with his team of financial wizards, raised the internally generated revenue of Lagos from about N1 billion naira to over N20 billion when leaving office in 2007. In the socio-political scene, Tinubu took Lagos far ahead of other states in Nigeria, particularly in the South-West, when it became the centre of attraction virtually in all spheres. Ibadan that was the cynosure of political activities in the West was taken over by Lagos as major actors and leaders of Oyo State started running to Lagos for political directions and handouts.

I know that the children born during and after the governorship of Tinubu, Lam and others that are now of age to vote would not believe it that before the 1999 elections, Ibadan was of greater or of the same socio-political standing with Lagos. That Tinubu used to come to Ibadan for political advice and directions would appear to them as tales by the moonlight. But that is the truth. The story of Bola Ahmed Tinubu is that of a person who is naturally endowed to lead and who has been ceaselessly improving himself, and enabling people that would lead and make leadership functional, with profound results.

That the former governor of Lagos State was able to accomplish all these, including standing boldly with the Lagos people on the creation of local councils, was as a result of the ability of Tinubu to identify and engage the right people for the jobs at hand. Without knowing the incumbent vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Tinubu head-hunted him and made the Ogun State born legal luminary the Attorney General of Lagos State. Appointing with precision, Tinubu led Osinbajo to win the legal battle against the all-conquering Olusegun Obasanjo, who was then sitting as the president of Nigeria.

It is an open secret that the major problems of the country today border on the lack of adequate knowledge, right policies and directions. Thus, to solve the problems, Nigeria needs a person with adequate knowledge about Nigeria, her challenges and prospects. The country needs a person who knows Nigeria inside out and without any pretence or any primordial baggage.

Secondly, Nigeria needs a leader who is educated and versed in all aspects of life to formulate the right policies from the economy, education, health, employment, to security. A person who can get the best amongst us to engender insightful policies and programmes that would generate wealth and reasonable employment for our teeming youth. And thirdly, a person who is bold enough to look the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the likes in the face and declare that this is the best for my country and it is what I will do.

Certainly, Tinubu, more than any other Nigerian, is the most suitable for the job of being the next president. It is not about, I can do it. What Nigeria deserves now is I have done it before and I am ready, more mature, more experienced and obviously more prepared to do it again. It is not about I worked or learnt under Tinubu, as it is a well known fact that no one can do it as the original person, especially when the teacher is still alive, strong and willing. You cant beat experience.

As I wish Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Jagaban of Borgu a happy 70th birthday, it is almost certain that he will celebrate his 71st birthday as the president-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He possesses an uncanny ability to win against all odds as he did contrary to the fear lovingly expressed by the late Alhaji Lam Adesina on his chances of returning to the Lagos State Governors Office for a second term in 2003.

Kehinde Olaosebikan, CEO, Midas Communications Ltd and former Chairman of Oluyole Local Government served as the Chief Press Secretary to the late former governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Lam Adesina from 1999 to 2003.
The Nigerian military said gunmen, locally called bandits, killed 11 soldiers and three members of a pro-government vigilante in Kaduna State on Sunday.

In a signal released on Monday, the military said the bandits attacked a military based at Polewire along the Kaduna -Birnin Road in Birnin Gwari local government of Kaduna State.

The signal, which was got by Sahara Reporters, further revealed that the base came under attack from an unconfirmed number of bandits at 4:45 p.m.

The memo said the assailants used rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons in the attack.

It also stated that the firefight lasted until 8 p.m. before the bandits could dislodge the troops.

The military stated that around 9:15 p.m. reinforcement was sent from another base in Gwaska but no further contact was made with the assailants.

The military said the bandits wounded 19 soldiers and two members of the vigilante group during the attack.

Kaduna State and a large part of the North-west region are under siege by bandits. These gunmen have become a source of terror to inhabitants of the region and people travelling around the area.

They have embarked on a killing orgy that has left thousands dead since they started their campaign of terror. They force villages to pay protection levies while they regularly kidnap travellers and other residents for ransom.

Despite several promises to purge the area of these marauders, Nigerian authorities seem helpless, and the attacks have become bolder and more frequent.
Fourteen suspected illegal oil refiners have been arrested in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The all-male suspects were arrested for allegedly attempting to sell adulterated diesel to motorists and other users.

They were intercepted by NSCDC operatives on surveillance.

NSCDC spokesperson in Rivers, Olufemi Ayodele, disclosed this on Tuesday, while parading the suspects before reporters in Port Harcourt.

The items seized from the suspects were shown to reporters.

Mr Ayodele said the items recovered from the suspects were four fuel tankers, two wooden boats and four vehicles all loaded with varying quantities of adulterated diesel.

The 14 suspects were arrested for illegal dealings and transportation of petroleum products without haulage licences.

The first suspect was arrested at Ada George in Obio/Akpor with 18,000 litres capacity white man diesel truck with registration number: Rivers MHA 435 XZ.

But a part of the content inside the truck was discharged before our operatives apprehended the suspect.

Mr Ayodele said the second suspect was detained at Abua Junction in Ahoada East while conveying 45,000 litres of suspected illegally refined diesel with his truck NGL 141 XA.

On interrogation, the suspect confessed that he loaded the truck at a dump in Ekporoho community in Ahoada East in the state.

Also, operatives arrested a Kaduna registered truck MKA 701 ZF conveying 40,000 litres of suspected illegally refined diesel along Airport Road.

Four other suspects were arrested along with their truck with registration number Ebonyi ZLL A3 XY, while moving products used for the construction of illegal refineries, he added.

The NSCDC spokesperson said the other three suspects were apprehended for transporting four drums of fake diesel concealed inside cellophane bags, equivalent to 800 litres.

According to him, the suspected illegal oil refiners conveyed the petroleum product in four vehicles, including, a light grey coloured Toyota Camry with Imo registration number: AG 342 KGE.

Others are a Blue coloured Toyota Camry with registration number Delta LEH 64 EX; a white Toyota Camry Lagos LSD 58 BJ and a deep grey Toyota Camry, Rivers AM 25 BNY.

The four vehicles were all impounded at Airport Road at Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers, he said.

Mr Ayodele said the NSCDC operatives, in a separate operation, arrested four suspects onboard two wooden boats fully loaded with suspected illegally refined diesel on Bakana River and Abonema Wharf waterways.

The arrests were part of NSCDCs Rivers state commands renewed vigour to eradicate the menace of vandalism of oil pipelines and other illegal dealings in petroleum products, he said.

Mr Ayodele said the suspects would be charged to court under the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Law of the Federation 2004.

He said the NSCDC Commandant in Rivers, Abu Tambuwal, has zero tolerance for acts of sabotage of oil and gas installations and illegal dealings in petroleum products.

Economic saboteurs are hereby warned to engage themselves in legal ventures or they risk facing the full wrath of the law, he warned.

(NAN)

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Residents in the South-east, as usual, shut their businesses and stayed indoors throughout Monday, in compliance with the IPOBs sit-at-home order.

The closed shops and the deserted roads showed that the efforts by some Igbo leaders to bring an end to the sit-at-home order yielded no result.

The Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council, on Saturday, announced that IPOB, the outlawed separatist group, had declared an end to the order.

Nnaemeka Achebe, the chairman of the council, 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, had said after its meeting with the group, that IPOB placed a call to all its members to put down their arms and accept dialogue.

Many residents of the five states in the region, however, stayed indoors, while economic and social activities in the region became paralysed.

Major roads in Enugu State were deserted.

The shops at the popular Ogbete Main Market, Enugu, were closed when a PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited the market on Monday.

I am at home. We didnt open today, said Maduka, a shop owner in the market.

Mr Maduka said he was not aware of any group declaring an end to the sit-at-home order in the region.

The situation was the same in Anambra State. Major markets were closed. Banks and other businesses did not open shops.

There were, however, minimal human and vehicular movements in the state.

Arinze Ajaezu, a businessman in Onitsha Main Market, said business activities were grounded in the state due to the sit-at-home order.

Markets did not open today. I have been sleeping, he said.

Prayers to mark an end to sit-at-home order

Prayers were held across Anambra State on Monday to mark the end of the sit-at-home order, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

There was no movement at all in Imo State. Filling stations, banks and other businesses were closed throughout Monday.

Imo and Abia states were on lockdown on Monday, residents said.

Nobody is going out. Everywhere is dry. Even (the) markets did not open today, said a business owner in Aba, Abia State.

The situation was slightly different in Ebonyi State.

There were partial business activities on Monday at Margaret Umahi International Market, Abakaliki.

The market was open and a few traders showed up for business, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

Many residents in the South-east are still afraid of likely attacks by gunmen who enforce the sit-at-home order.

Billions of naira have been lost and the local economies disrupted by the sit-at-home order which IPOB conceived as a strategy to put pressure on the Nigerian government to release the group leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

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Mr Kanu is standing trial for alleged treasonable felony and terrorism at Abuja.

IPOB is agitating for the creation of an independent state of Biafra from the South-east and some parts of the South-south.

The group has been linked to deadly attacks in the two regions.
The conditions that a NASA spacecraft endures are extreme: the violent shaking and cacophony of a rocket launch, the jolt of separating from the launch vehicle, the extreme temperature fluctuations in and out of the Sun's rays, the unforgiving vacuum of space.

Before launch, engineers do their best to replicate these harsh conditions in a rigorous series of tests to ensure the spacecraft can withstand them. NASA's Psyche spacecraft just completed its own gauntlet of electromagnetic, thermal-vacuum, vibration, shock, and acoustic testing at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Psyche was deemed healthy and ready to proceed toward launch.

"This is the proof that everybody's done their job right. Not only those who have brought flight hardware into assembly, test, and launch operations [ATLO] but also the ATLO team in putting it all together," said Randy Lindemann, the JPL engineer who oversaw Psyche's dynamics testing, which includes vibration, separation shock, and acoustic testing. "The tests show that, yes, the spacecraft is flight worthy."

This spring, the spacecraft will be shipped from JPL to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will be prepared to launch from Cape Canaveral. The launch period opens Aug. 1, and nine months after leaving Earth's atmosphere, Psyche will sail past Mars. It will use the Red Planet's gravitational force to slingshot it toward its target, a metal-rich asteroid, also named Psyche, that lies in the main asteroid belt.

It's a journey of about 1.5 billion miles (2.4 billion kilometers). The spacecraft will reach the asteroid in 2026 and will spend 21 months collecting science data during progressively lower orbits. Scientists believe the asteroid may consist largely of metal from the core of a planetesimal, a building block of the rocky planets in our solar system. Learning more about it could tell us more about how our own planet formed.

Put Through Its Paces

But to learn about the asteroid, the orbiter has to get there first, which is why testing is so critical. Engineers call this particular regimen "environmental tests," as the spacecraft is subjected to a simulation of the harsh environment it will have to survive.

The campaign began in December with electromagnetic testing, to ensure the spacecraft will operate correctly in the electrical and magnetic conditions of space - and that the electrical and magnetic components that make up the spacecraft are compatible and don't interfere with one another.

The team then rolled the spacecraft into JPL's 85-foot-tall, 25-foot-wide (26-meter-by-8-meter) ultra-sturdy vacuum chamber for thermal-vacuum (TVAC) testing. All of the air was sucked out of the chamber to replicate the airless vacuum of space. This test ensures that the spacecraft can survive the vacuum of space, and it helps engineers see how the spacecraft heats and cools itself without the movement of air to help it regulate temperature.

"Here on Earth, when you have air around the spacecraft, that changes how heat moves around it. Picture having a fan blowing on you that changes your temperature. In space, we don't have that kind of heat movement," said JPL's Kristina Hogstrom, a flight systems engineer who helped lead Psyche's TVAC testing.

The temperatures around the spacecraft will fluctuate wildly. The hardware will be hot in the hours after launch, when it's still close to Earth and facing the Sun, especially with its electronics running. Later, when the spacecraft gets farther from the Sun, it faces intense cold, especially when flying in the asteroid's shadow.

Over 18 days of TVAC testing, engineers exposed the spacecraft to the coldest and warmest conditions it will experience in flight, to prove that it is capable of regulating its own temperature. The orbiter has louvers that open and close, insulation blankets, electric heaters, and a network of tubing that carries fluid to move heat around; all of these devices are tested to be sure they'll work in flight.

TVAC isn't just an endurance test. The data about how the spacecraft performs helps engineers refine models they'll use when Psyche is in flight so they can better understand how the spacecraft is performing.

After Psyche's ordeal in the TVAC chamber came dynamics testing, which included vibration, shock, and acoustics. In vibration testing, the spacecraft gets shaken repeatedly - up and down and side to side. Shock testing ensures that the spacecraft won't be damaged by the sudden push the orbiter will get when it separates from the rocket after launch.

Finally, acoustic testing ensures Psyche can withstand the noise of launch, when the rumbling of the rocket is so loud it can actually damage the hardware if a spacecraft isn't sturdy enough. In JPL's acoustic chamber, the spacecraft was strapped in and blasted with noise a hundred times louder than a typical rock concert.

More About the Mission

Arizona State University leads the Psyche mission. JPL is responsible for the mission's overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis.

JPL also is providing a technology demonstration instrument called Deep Space Optical Communications that will fly on Psyche in order to test high-data-rate laser communications that could be used by future NASA missions.

Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of NASA's Discovery Program.

For more information about NASA's Psyche mission go to:

http://www.nasa.gov/psyche and https://psyche.asu.edu/



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SHANGHAI, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Envision Group (Envision) announces that it has signed a Letter of intent (LOI) with Impact Energy Asia Development Limited (IEAD) for the supply of wind turbines to the iconic 600MW Monsoon Wind Project in Lao PDR. The wind farm will commence construction this year and is expected to achieve commercial operation in 2025. Once completed, it will be the largest wind farm in ASEAN as well as region's first cross-border wind energy project.

The wind farm will be located in the Sekong and Attapeu provinces in Southern Lao PDR. Envision plans to supply 133 units of EN-171 wind turbines with a power rating of 4.51 MW. The Monsoon Wind Project will generate over 1,700 GWh of green energy each year. The project's electricity generation will be delivered from Lao PDR to Central Vietnam through the project's dedicated 500 kV transmission line.

Mr. Nat Hutanuwatr, Managing Director of IEAD, commented "As we are making excellent progress in developing the first and largest cross-border wind farm in South East Asia with a very competitive tariff, we are delighted to welcome Envision to join our exciting journey to deliver zero carbon electricity. Envision's state-of-the-art technology for the proposed wind turbine solution and its successful execution track record will be key enablers for the project to achieve its objectives reliably and economically."

The Monsoon Project has attracted global attention since its initial stages. IEAD's affiliate, Impact Electrons Siam Company Limited (IES), started developing the wind farm in 2011 and IEAD signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement with Vietnam Electricity (EVN) in July 2021.

Envision is also collaborating with IES on IES' development of the Xekong Wind Project, a further 1,000 MW wind farm on a site adjacent to the Monsoon Project. IES recently announced that it had obtained exclusive rights from the Government of Lao PDR to conduct a feasibility study and preliminary Environment Impact Assessment for the Xekong Wind Project.

About Impact Energy Asia Development Limited

Impact Energy Asia Development Limited (IEAD) is developing the Monsoon Wind Project and is 55% owned by Impact Wind Investment Limited and 45% by BCPG Public Company Limited, a leading renewable energy company in Thailand and Asia-Pacific.

About Impact Electrons Siam Limited

Impact Electrons Siam Limited (IES), is a pioneering renewable energy development firm headquartered in Thailand with over 1,900 MW of wind and solar energy projects in development and operation in Thailand, Japan, Lao PDR and Vietnam. IES is a privately owned company established in 2011. IES develops clean, affordable and reliable renewable energy solutions and is a pioneer of visionary innovation in the renewable energy sector with a vision to build a better future for communities across the region.

IES is leading the development of the Monsoon and Xekong wind farms in Southern Lao PDR, which will have an aggregate capacity of 1,600 MW. IES recently announced that the Monsoon Wind Power Project had signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Vietnam Electricity, with the project on schedule to achieve financial close during 2022.

For more information, please visit http://www.impactelectrons.com/

About Envision Group

Envision Group is a world-leading green technology company and net zero technology partner. With the mission of "solving the challenges for the sustainable future of humankind". Envision designs, sells, and operates smart wind turbines and smart storage system through Envision Energy; AIoT-powered batteries through Envision AESC; and the world's largest AIoT operating system through Envision Digital. It also owns Envision Racing Formula E team. Envision continues to promote wind and solar power as the "new coal", batteries and hydrogen fuel as the "new oil", the AIoT network as the "new grid", the net-zero industrial parks to the "new infrastructure", and to promote the construction and cultivation of green "new industry".

Envision Group was ranked among the Top 10 of the 2019 'World's 50 Smartest Companies' by the MIT Technology Review. In October 2021, Envision was ranked second in the world on the Fortune "Change the World" list. Envision Group joined the global 'RE100' initiative and became the first company in mainland China committed to 100% renewable electricity by 2025.On April 22, 2021, Envision Group announced it will achieve carbon neutral in operations by 2022 and achieve carbon neutral throughout its value chain by 2028.

For more information, please visit www.envision-group.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/747745/Envision_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Envision Energy
BOYERTOWN, Pa., April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ClimeCo, a leader in developing and managing environmental commodities, announces a partnership with YAKOPI (Yayasan Konservasi Persisir Indonesia) and PUR Projet for the reforestation of 6,000 acres of vital mangroves in the Aceh and North Sumatra Regions of Indonesia.

Mangroves sequester three to five times the amount of carbon as regular forests. Indonesia is home to over 20% of the world's mangroves. Over the past three decades, 40% of Indonesia's mangroves have been lost due to shrimp and fish aquaculture, leaving many former shrimp ponds abandoned and local communities with little access to economic opportunities. The North Sumatra region has lost 60% of its pristine mangroves due to aquaculture, putting coastal resilience, biodiversity, and wildlife habitats at enormous risk. In the Aceh region, a substantial amount of its mangroves were lost due to a tsunami in 2004.

ClimeCo will fund the reforestation of these mangroves by selling the resulting third-party verified carbon credits and implementing the project through their local partnerships with YAKOPI and PUR Projet. This investment supports gender-equitable employment, ecosystem services payment to local communities, ecotourism business development, and a pilot program for locals to implement silvofisheries - a form of sustainable aquaculture.

"The improved livelihoods of the local communities and the long-term success of this mangrove reforestation project are interdependent, and this project achieves both," says ClimeCo Program Development Manager David Chen.

About our Partners:

YAKOPI is a local Indonesia group dedicated to restoring mangroves and providing employment opportunities for local women and youth. Directed by Eling Tuhono, YAKOPI are experts and local leaders in mangrove restoration and will be responsible for managing many logistical aspects of the program on the ground.

group dedicated to restoring mangroves and providing employment opportunities for local women and youth. Directed by Eling Tuhono, YAKOPI are experts and local leaders in mangrove restoration and will be responsible for managing many logistical aspects of the program on the ground. PUR Projet is a certified B Corporation that specializes in designing and implementing agroforestry projects, nature-based solutions, and sustainable supply chain interventions. As an on-the-ground project developer, PUR Projet will manage components of the carbon offset certification, help navigate local culture/politics and advise on reforestation efforts.

About ClimeCo

ClimeCo is a respected global advisor, transaction facilitator, trader, and developer of environmental commodity market products and related services. We specialize in voluntary carbon, regulated carbon, renewable energy credits, plastics credits, and regional criteria pollutant trading programs.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1227498/ClimeCo_Horizontal_12in_AI_Logo.jpg

SOURCE ClimeCo
More than 120 speakers. The top names in the cannabis space. 2 days. One event. All of your networking needs, satisfied.

DETROIT, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 14th Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, the best-attended cannabis investing event in the world, which gathers the top decision makers in the industry, is returning to Florida on April 20 and April 21, 2022. Meet us at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel to enjoy exclusive opportunities for curated networking and unparalleled access to private deal flow at an event hosted by Benzinga, a financial news and data company recently acquired at a $300 million valuation.

Hear directly from the executives of top-performing cannabis companies and get priceless insights from the world's leading cannabis investors, all in one place.

Get your tickets now, following this link.

Who's Speaking

The upgraded version of the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, the biggest and best yet, will not only feature the traditional keynotes, panel discussions, fireside chats, networking, company presentations, and investor and celebrity appearances, but also a larger exhibit floor and enhanced industry networking opportunities.

Among the more than 120 speakers in our lineup, you'll hear from:

Irwin Simon , CEO, Tilray

, CEO, Tilray Kim Rivers , CEO, Trulieve

, CEO, Trulieve Jason Wild , CIO JW Asset Management & President of Terrascend

, CIO JW Asset Management & President of Terrascend Rep. Nancy Mace , Congresswoman, U.S. Congress

, Congresswoman, U.S. Congress Boris Jordan , Executive Chairman, Curaleaf

, Executive Chairman, Curaleaf Jen Drake , Co-COO, Ayr Wellness

, Co-COO, Ayr Wellness Ricky Sandler , CEO & CIO, Eminence Capital

, CEO & CIO, Eminence Capital David Klein , CEO, Canopy Growth

, CEO, Canopy Growth Troy Datcher , CEO, The Parent Company

, CEO, The Parent Company Aaron Miles , CIO, Verano

, CIO, Verano Nancy Whiteman , CEO, Wana Brands

, CEO, Emily Paxhia , Managing Partner, Poseidon

, Managing Partner, Poseidon Jim Kirsch , Senior Managing Director, Alliance Global Partners

, Senior Managing Director, Alliance Global Partners Chad Bronstein , Founder & CEO, Fyllo

, Founder & CEO, Fyllo Brett Novey , CEO, PharmaCann

, CEO, PharmaCann Rep. Davis Joyce , Congressman, U.S. Congress

, Congressman, U.S. Congress Mike Tyson , Founder, Tyson 2.0

, Founder, Tyson 2.0 Isiah Thomas , CEO & Chairman, One World Products

Get your tickets now, following this link.

A Proven Model

After 13 extremely successful editions in Toronto, Chicago, Detroit, New York and Miami, the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference is going bigger than ever.

The April 20 and April 21 Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference will include, for the first time ever, an expo floor to give more visibility to the brands that are shaping this space. In addition, attendees will enjoy private meeting areas, comfortable seating and premium food options.

"We've seen cannabis businesses raise tens of millions of dollars at our events and this year's meeting will be even larger, with a record level of investment capital and top-notch operators," said Chief Zinger Jason Raznick. "We'll also dive into key issues related to cannabis and capital markets with these incredible speakers."

Get your tickets now, following this link.

SOURCE Benzinga
MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- American Residential Services (ARS/Rescue Rooter), the nation's largest provider of residential heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), and plumbing services, today announced it has acquired ESCO Heating, Air Conditioning, Plumbing, and Electric in Salt Lake City, Utah.

ESCO Heating, Air Conditioning, Plumbing, and Electric has been serving residential customers in the greater Salt Lake City and Park City areas since 1977.

"As Mark Baker and I were looking into the future for our company, finding the right partner was extremely important to us," said Brian Templin, ESCO President. "ARS/Rescue Rooter, as the largest operator of HVAC and plumbing businesses in the country, has a proven track record of acquiring and integrating companies like ours and offers us access to many centers of excellence in areas such as recruitment, marketing, and operations. Keeping the local culture and brand while allowing our teams to be part of a national organization providing opportunities for advancement across the United States seems like the best of both worlds to us."

"Acquiring ESCO Heating, Air Conditioning, Plumbing and Electrical are consistent with our strategic vision for continued growth in the West," said Scott Boose, CEO, ARS/Rescue Rooter. "I'm pleased to have the team join the ARS network. Their dedication to customers along with years of experience in the industry will be a successful partnership for our company."

ABOUT AMERICAN RESIDENTIAL SERVICES (ARS):

Based in Memphis, Tenn., privately-owned ARS operates a network of more than 70 locally-managed service centers in 24 states, with approximately 6,000 employees. ARS serves residential and light commercial customers by providing heating, cooling, indoor air quality, plumbing, drain cleaning, sewer line, radiant barrier, insulation, and ventilation services. The ARS Network features industry-leading brands including 4 Eco Services, Air Experts, A.J. Perri Aksarben ARS, Allgood, Andy's Statewide, ARS, Aspen Air Conditioning, Atlas Trillo, Beutler, Blue Apple Electric, Blue Dot Services, Blue Flame, Bob Hamilton, Brothers, Columbus Worthington Air, Comfort Heating & Air, Conway Services, DM Select Services, Efficient Attic Systems (EAS), Elite Air, Florida Home Air Conditioning, Greenstar Home Services, Hauser Heating & Air Conditioning, McCarthy Services, My Electric Works, Rapid Repair Experts, Rescue Rooter, Rescue Rooter / Jack Howk, RighTime Home Services, Roger the Plumber, RS Andrews, The Irish Plumber, The Rooter Works, Total Comfort, Unique Services, Will Fix It, and Yes! Air Conditioning and Plumbing. Providing exceptional service and ensuring the highest quality standards, ARS has the experience to do any job right  the first time, with all work fully guaranteed. ARS: "Making it work. Making it right." For more information, visit www.ars.com .

SOURCE American Residential Services, LLC
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Stati Parties have filed an appeal against the November 16, 2021 Brussels Court of Appeal decision which upheld a challenge, brought by Kazakhstan, against the enforcement of the $544 million Energy Charter Treaty Award. The cassation appeal is based on the grounds that the Belgian Court of Appeals exceeded its legal authority and failed to give proper recognition under Belgian law to the binding effect of the Swedish court judgments.

A separate challenge by Kazakhstan in Italy, on the same grounds, was rejected on February 3, 2022. The Supreme Court of Italy confirmed that "it appears ex actis that both the Stockholm Court of Appeal and the Swedish Supreme Court were aware of the appeal against the Award for reasons that substantially resemble those that have now been brought before the Court."

The Tristangate Award is final, binding and non-appealable. The Italian Supreme Court denied Kazakhstan's challenge to Award recognition proceedings in Italy and confirmed the possibility of attaching additional Kazakh assets.

A US court has previously agreed with the Italian position that the seat of the judgement  Sweden's courts  have already ruled on this question.

A group of bondholders, including Argentem Creek, is due to receive approximately 70% of the Award proceeds under a sharing agreement with the Award creditors.

Daniel Chapman, CEO of Argentem Creek Partners, commented:

"Certain individuals in Kazakhstan have long sought to obstruct payment of the Award and avoid the country's international obligations. Their disregard for the rule of law should make foreign investors wary. We hope President Tokayev will take a different and more constructive view and resolve this dispute once and for all."

Since December 2013, Kazakhstan has refused to pay the Award to Tristan Oil's owners in compensation for the harassment campaign and illegal expropriation of assets.

The Award has since been recognized in multiple jurisdictions, including the U.S., Sweden, Luxembourg, Italy, France, and the Netherlands.

Kazakhstan's refusal to honor the Tristangate Award has led to the freezing of Kazakhstani state assets worth a total of US$5.8 billion worldwide.

For a history of the Tristangate dispute and an archive of all related court documents and news articles, please visit www.tristangate.com .

SOURCE Argentem Creek Partners
The Asia Pacific customer, located in Shanghai, China, is a publicly traded, large biopharma with over 15 products on the market and working extensively to release a COVID-19 treatment. The company's adoption of LifeSphere Clinical is particularly noteworthy as they also use LifeSphere Safety for pharmacovigilance and will now be able to expand and amplify their data sharing capabilities seamlessly between internal research and development teams with the utilization of LifeSphere's flexible, open architecture.

In the Middle East, the Saudi Arabian customer is new to the LifeSphere product family, selecting LifeSphere Clinical to support seven different therapeutic areas, ranging from rare genetic disorders to diabetes and breast cancer. The customer is taking a strategic and scalable approach to clinical trials, with increased focus on digitizing healthcare functions to create a more technology-powered future for the country.

"LifeSphere Clinical has been a powerful solution for top pharma, emerging biotech, and CROs for over 10 years, and these large global entities signal that our Clinical products are primed to step into the spotlight," shares Aman Wasan, SVP of Global Commercials. "By building Clinical programs rooted in approachable automation, with expert guidance from industry leaders on our product councils, LifeSphere Clinical is a refined suite of products for companies looking to simplify, streamline, and safely accelerate clinical processes."

LifeSphere Clinical is a technology suite comprising eTMF, CTMS, EDC, and SUSAR Reporting solutions. Customers can select a la carte software or amplify their collaborative efforts across Clinical operations by enlisting the entire Clinical product suite. This suite also integrates with LifeSphere's complementary product lines in Safety, Regulatory, and Medical Affairs.

This news follows announcements of ArisGlobal's gained recognition for supporting these key functional areas in the 2021 Gartner Hype Cycle Life Sciences Report along with a recently announced record year of growth that will drive its next phase of life sciences software innovation.

About ArisGlobal: ArisGlobal is transforming the way today's most successful Life Sciences companies develop breakthroughs and bring new products to market. Our end-to-end drug development technology platform, LifeSphere, integrates our proprietary cognitive computing engine to automate all core functions of the drug development lifecycle. Designed with deep expertise and a long-term perspective that spans more than 30 years, LifeSphere is a unified platform that boosts efficiency, ensures compliance, delivers actionable insights, and lowers total cost of ownership through multi-tenant SaaS architecture.

Headquartered in the United States, ArisGlobal has regional offices in Europe, India, Japan, and China.

SOURCE ArisGlobal
ARLINGTON, Va., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Transportation Research Institute today issued a call for motor carriers to participate in ATRI's annual update to its Operational Costs of Trucking report.

Now in its 14th year, ATRI's annual Operational Costs of Trucking collects cost information derived directly from trucking fleets and owner-operators, and it is among the most requested ATRI research studies. This annual analysis is used as a key benchmarking tool by motor carriers of all sizes. Public sector agencies also utilize this ATRI operational cost analysis to make better-informed transportation planning and infrastructure investment decisions. This year for the first time, participating motor carriers will receive a customized report that compares their fleet's operational costs to those of peer carriers of the same sector and size.

"ATRI's Operational Costs report has been a long-standing tool for evaluating our operational efficiencies and identifying where we need to improve," said Harold A. Sumerford, Jr., J&M Tank Lines CEO. "The new customized fleet report will be a tremendous value for participating fleets, and I encourage carriers of all sizes to contribute data and take advantage of this great offer from ATRI."

Among the for-hire fleet metrics being requested by ATRI are driver pay, fuel costs, insurance premiums and lease or purchase payments. Carriers and owner-operators are asked to provide 2021 cost per mile and/or cost per hour data using the easy-to-use online data entry form.

For-hire motor carriers are encouraged to provide operational cost data to ATRI by Friday, May 13, 2022. ATRI's data collection form, which protects all confidential information, is available here. Participating motor carriers will receive an advance copy of the full report and the new customized fleet report.

ATRI is the trucking industry's 501c3 not-for-profit research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation's essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.

SOURCE American Transportation Research Institute
TORONTO, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Auvenir is excited to announce our partnership with Validis, an award-winning secure data ingestion platform that pulls your client's financial information in real-time, standardized for easy consumption. The partnership between Auvenir and Validis will integrate the Validis API solution within Auvenir's platform to enable integrated access to client financial data creating a seamless end-to-end audit, review, compilation, and preparation process.

Validis currently supports a wide range of larger audit firms that use its platform to instantly access business data from major accounting packages. The integration to Auvenir's workflow platform is designed to offer up this capability to the tens of thousands of small to mid-size accounting firms globally that are seeking to innovate their audit and assurance processes through a smart, scalable, cloud-based solution.

The latest integration will provide Auvenir platform users with granular level accounting data, including General Ledger, Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable, that can be refreshed throughout the year and made accessible directly through Auvenir's workflow solution. For smaller firms, this will help streamline internal processes, improve the engagement experience, and deliver deeper financial reporting insights to their clients.

"We are delighted to partner with Validis leveraging their powerful API capabilities," said Alexandra Romanet, Director of Market Strategy and Partnerships at Auvenir. "Validis' integration enables our customers to seamlessly pull ledger, sub-ledger, and transactional level data from the largest assortment of accounting packages in an easy-to-use module directly into Auvenir's end-to-end workflow and reporting tools. We believe this will propel small to mid-size firms to deliver more efficiencies, higher quality, and a more enhanced experience for their clients."

Jeff Gramlich, Managing Director Accounting at Validis, said "The Validis integration to Auvenir's platform is very exciting, it will further enhance a sophisticated workflow platform and provide smaller audit firms with a powerful, ready-made solution that will replace manually driven data collection processes and analysis. Through Validis' market-leading, API, Auvenir customers will have on-demand access to a vast amount of accounting data, all standardized and at a level of granularity not found elsewhere. The partnership fits well into our vision and together, Validis and Auvenir are on a mission to help build a better, frictionless audit and assurance experience for auditors, their teams and their clients across the globe".

Anyone interested to learn more about the partnership between Auvenir and Validis can contact Alexandra Romanet at [email protected] and Jeff Gramlich at [email protected].

About Auvenir

Auvenir delivers smart, cloud-based financial audit & assurance solutions designed specifically for small to medium sized accounting firms. We have built an intelligent platform that enables accounting firms to leverage the best of today's technology to create a better engagement experience for practitioners and their clients. We are on a mission to help everyone Audit Smarter. Visit www.auvenir.com

About Validis

We manage the acquisition and curation of data through a single platform, driving value, business insight and operational efficiency for some of the world's biggest brands across accounting and financial services. Validis is an intelligent API that accesses and standardises financial information, powered within an easy-to-use interface. Visit www.validis.com

SOURCE Auvenir
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America Corporation announced today that it will redeem on April 24, 2022 all $1,500,000,000 principal amount outstanding of its Floating Rate Senior Notes, due April 2023 (CUSIP No. 06051GGJ2) (the "Floating Rate Notes"), and all $1,250,000,000 principal amount outstanding of its 2.881% Fixed/Floating Rate Senior Notes, due April 2023 (CUSIP No. 06051GGK9) (the "Fixed/Floating Rate Notes" and, together with the Floating Rate Notes, the "Senior Notes").

The redemption price for each series of the Senior Notes will be equal to 100% of the principal amount of such series, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the redemption date of April 24, 2022. Since April 24, 2022 is not a business day, the redemption price together with accrued and unpaid interest will be paid on the next succeeding business day, April 25, 2022. Interest on each series of the Senior Notes will cease to accrue on the redemption date.

Payment of the redemption price for the Senior Notes will be made through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company. The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. is the trustee and paying agent for the Senior Notes.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 67 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,200 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000 ATMs, and award-winning digital banking with more than 54 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Forward-looking statements

Certain information contained in this news release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions difficult to predict or beyond our control. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should consider the uncertainties and risks discussed under Item 1A. "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, and in any of our subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statement was made.

For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for news email alerts.

www.bankofamerica.com

Investors May Contact:

Lee McEntire, Bank of America

Phone: 1.980.388.6780

[email protected]

Jonathan G. Blum, Bank of America (Fixed Income)

Phone: 1.212.449.3112

[email protected]

Reporters May Contact:

Christopher P. Feeney, Bank of America

Phone: 1.980.386.6794

[email protected]

SOURCE Bank of America Corporation
Fast-Growing Personal Security Startup One of Few Companies Chosen to Demo for Lawmakers This Week in Washington, DC

LOS ANGELES, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As a testament to its continued, consistent growth, award-winning fingerprint lock startup BenjiLock will join several tech giants in sharing its innovative product line with Washington DC's lawmakers this week. BenjiLock CEO and Founder Robbie Cabral will travel from California to join his team at CES on the Hill, an exclusive CTA Tech Week event that gives members of Congress, and Hill staff information and demonstrations, on the leading technologies that are improving the lives of millions of Americans each day. The invite-only event will be held at CTA's Innovation House in DC and feature exhibitors including Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, Peloton and more.

Inventor, CEO & Founder of BenjiLock, Robbie Cabral, showcases the award-winning technology. The BenjiLock TSA Fingerprint Travel Lock made BuzzFeed's 2022 top small travel products.

During the event, which CTA describes as a "mini, curated CES," Cabral will offer hands-on demos with BenjiLock's line of fingerprint padlocks. Ideal for traveling, work, the gym, school, and many other settings, BenjiLock offers an easy, affordable personal security option. By hosting the CES on the Hill event, CTA hopes to show policymakers how progressive policy can lead to innovation.

"From our humble roots as a contestant on ABC's Shark Tank to the present day, we've witnessed incredible growth. The opportunity to participate in this small-scale event alongside companies such as Samsung and Meta speaks volumes about our brand and technology," said Cabral. "We're honored to be included and join the larger consumer technology industry in showing the importance of public policy for continued innovation."

In addition to the CES on the Hill event, BenjiLock has received multiple accolades already this year. Last month, Buzzfeed included BenjiLock's TSA-approved fingerprint padlock on a list of 36 small travel products that will make a difference on your next trip. Separately, Innovation & Tech Today listed BenjiLock's fingerprint bike lock on its list of the top 50 most innovative products of 2021.

To learn more about Robbie Cabral and BenjiLock, please visit https://BenjiLock.com/ .

About BenjiLock

Based in Los Angeles, California, and founded in 2014 by inventor and entrepreneur Robbie Cabral, BenjiLock has redefined the personal security experience through hybrid technology with the consumer in mind. Featured on ABC's hit show Shark Tank, Robbie Cabral landed Kevin O'Leary as an investor with a 15% equity stake in the company, catapulting BenjiLock's potential and success by securing a licensing partnership with Hampton Products International, the leader in security and hardware innovations and makers of BRINKS locks. Through this strategic partnership, BenjiLock was able to utilize the 30+ years of experience of Hampton Products International to further its production and manufacturing, escalating the brand to unprecedented levels. Today, BenjiLock's fingerprint technology is expanding into a portfolio of products, including an upcoming line of bike locks, next-generation of padlocks, drawer closets, and cabinet locks, as well as a brand new line of smart home door locks.

For more information, visit BenjiLock.com and follow BenjiLock on Instagram , Twitter , YouTube , Facebook , and LinkedIn .

SOURCE BenjiLock
SAN DIEGO and ADELAIDE, Australia, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BioCina, a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $3.0M AUD grant under the Federal Government's Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) Grants scheme to fund work with its industry partners to further develop RNA vaccines and therapeutics.

Working with partners, we aim to speed RNA-based product development, accelerating pace to clinical trials for vaccines. Tweet this BioCina has extensive pharmaceutical development and manufacturing experience, augmented with the recent acquisition of Pfizer's facilities in Adelaide, Australia.

The grant has been awarded by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources and supports a three-year collaborative project with a total value of over $11.9M AUD with industry and academic partners, Cytiva and the University of Adelaide.

The project, commencing in March will help BioCina address the post-pandemic mRNA demand for specific and essential attributes of new RNA products. It's anticipated the market will prioritize sophisticated LNP (lipid nanoparticle) formulations that optimize delivery and therapeutic efficacy of the mRNA cargo. There will also be increasing demand for next-generation RNA constructs such as circular RNA (circRNA) that circumvent limitations of conventional first-generation mRNA products.

BioCina will collaborate with the University of Adelaide and established industry leaders at Cytiva to address these emerging challenges. "We will determine the critical process parameters for the production of LNP-mRNA complexes using a Quality by Design (QbD) approach to develop a template of activities that can be systematically applied to any RNA molecule that a customer would require, to specifically bridge gap facing late-stage clinical trials here in Australia. Working with our industry partners, we aim to build a new expert capability to speed RNA-based product development, and to make them more stable, accelerating progress to clinical trials, for future vaccines we well as for other diseases including cancer", said BioCina CEO Ian Wisenberg.

BioCina Chairman, Rick Hancock added "BioCina has extensive pharmaceutical development and manufacturing experience, augmented with the recent acquisition of Pfizer's facilities in Adelaide, Australia. It's extremely exciting to be in a position to advance our expansion in this arena with such an esteemed group of experts in their field from highly respected Australian and International companies and institutions. We have state-of-the art facilities supported by our high-quality systems and standards that have allowed us to receive multiple international regulatory body approvals."

The University's Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice-President (Research), Professor Anton Middelberg commented "BioCina has the only facility that currently has the registrations needed to make mRNA vaccines onshore in Australia. mRNA vaccines will impact a huge number of diseases in future, and the key will be speeding translation of discoveries from bench to market. It's about more than just COVID."

About BioCina

BioCina Pty Ltd. is a multi-product biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), focused on the development and cGMP manufacture of microbial-based biological pharmaceuticals, including proteins, pDNA, mRNA, vaccines and biosimilars, from early development through to commercialization. The BioCina Adelaide facility, formerly the Pfizer/Hospira plant, has a physical footprint of almost 60,000 ft2 for GMP manufacturing, process development, warehouse, and administration. The team has over 35 years of experience and extensive capabilities in microbial process development and manufacturing, with expertise from early process development to commercial manufacturing. Unique to Australia, the BioCina Adelaide site is currently the only TGA, EMA, Health Canada and US-FDA approved commercial facility of its kind in Australia. BioCina is a Bridgewest Group portfolio company.

Contact:

BioCina:

Ian Wisenberg, CEO BioCina: [email protected] / +61 4 7919 6225 or +1 858 722-2552

SOURCE BioCina
ApexBrasil and Centrorochas sponsor more than 70 Brazilian stone companies this week at Coverings Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ApexBrasil, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, along with partner organization Centrorochas, the Brazilian Center of Natural Stones Exporters, will sponsor 72 Brazilian exhibitors at Coverings 2022, taking place this week from April 5-8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For 30 years, Coverings has been the foremost event for the ceramic tile and natural stone industry in North America. The trade show is attended by thousands of distributors, retailers, stone fabricators, contractors, specifiers, architectural and design professionals, builders, and remodelers from all over the world.

The Brazilian companies that will be onsite at Coverings  which, in total, come from seven different Brazilian states and 29 cities  will showcase their products and designs to a global audience including industry professionals from the United States, the largest market (representing 62.7% of all sector exports in 2021) for Brazilian stone products. These companies represent the fast-growing stones sector in Brazil  a sector that is capturing international attention. In fact, Brazil's presence at Coverings 2022 comes on the heels of the most successful year for the Brazilian ornamental stones sector in history, which recorded USD $1.34 billion in export sales in 2021.

Maria Paula Sobral Velloso, Manager of Industry and Services at ApexBrasil, explains the importance of Brazil's participation at Coverings this year: "Brazilian stones have always been in high demand, and over the past year we've seen an exponential increase in exports from the sector. In fact, sales of Brazilian exports of ornamental stones in 2021 exceeded those in the entire history of the sector, with a 35.5% increase from 2020 alone. We are sponsoring the largest Brazilian presence ever seen on the Coverings trade floor as a recognition of this success. While at the event, the companies will be able to network with industry professionals, who attend Coverings with the goal of exploring trends and finding new global products to source. Brazil is well-equipped to scale to match international demand for natural stones that, thanks to our country's distinctive geological characteristics, can only be found in Brazil."

Some of the exciting Brazilian companies in attendance at this year's event include but are not limited to:

Granos Granitos, one of the largest granite, quartzite and marble processing companies in Brazil which exports pearl and high-end stones.

which exports pearl and high-end stones. Decolores, a global exporter with a catalog of more than 100 natural stones ranging from classic to super exotic materials.

Brasigran, a stone supplier carrying a variety of granite, quartzite, and marbles with an emphasis on beauty, durability, and sophistication.

Pettrus, a producer and exporter of semiprecious and super exotic ornamental stones, which are mined from its own quarries.

The Qualita Group, an organization which has operated in the ornamental stone market for more than 30 years and invests in innovation and sustainability.

Margramar, a producer and exporter of classic, exotic, and precious stones including jade, berillo, and breccia.

"We are delighted to collaborate with ApexBrasil for this event as a continuation of our partnership," said Tales Machado, President of Centrorochas. "Our organizations have worked extensively over the past year on our joint export incentive program, 'It's Natural - Brazilian Natural Stone,' which  in a year of logistical challenges related to global supply chains and container shortages  has successfully contributed to stimulating and increasing the exports of Brazilian ornamental stones worldwide. At Coverings, we hope to continue to convey the value of Brazilian stone to an audience of professionals looking to make new business and sourcing deals while in Las Vegas."

The inauguration of the Brazilian Pavilion  located in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center  will take place on the first day of Coverings, April 5th, at 3:00pm, PT. The celebration, which will mark the first year of ApexBrasil and Centrorochas' partnership at the event, will be attended by the Brazilian delegation and their guests and will give attendees the opportunity to explore the 1,780 square-meter space to enjoy food, drinks, and other elements of Brazilian culture.

ApexBrasil considers the ornamental stones industry as a key priority sector. To learn more about other trade sectors ApexBrasil supports, visit: http://www.apexbrasil.com.br/en/trade-sectors.

About ApexBrasil

The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) works to promote Brazilian products and services abroad, and to attract foreign investment to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy. ApexBrasil organizes several initiatives aiming to promote Brazilian exports abroad. The Agency's efforts comprise trade and prospective missions, business rounds, support for the participation of Brazilian companies in major international trade fairs, arrangement of technical visits of buyers and opinion makers to learn about the Brazilian productive structure, and other select activities designed to strengthen the country's branding abroad. ApexBrasil also plays a leading role in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Brazil, by working to identify business opportunities, promoting strategic events and lending support to foreign investors willing to allocate resources in Brazil. ApexBrasil is an agency linked to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry (Itamaraty).

About Centrorochas

The Brazilian Center of Natural Stone Exporters (Centrorochas) is present in all the national demands to increase the competitiveness of the natural stone sector. The entity acts directly supporting the procedures related to the presence of Brazilian entrepreneurs abroad, combining commercial and operational activities related to the development and evolution of Brazilian companies.

Media Contact

Savanna Fuller

Ruder Finn  PR on behalf of ApexBrasil in the U.S.

[email protected]

+1-808-317-8758

SOURCE ApexBrasil
Leading Tex-Mex Franchise Brand Gears Up for Growth in the Southeast

TAMPA, Fla., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Only two months after announcing the launch of its franchise opportunity, Capital Tacos, the corner taco shop turned nationally-awarded Tex-Mex restaurant chain, is preparing, for the first time, to expand its reach beyond the borders of the Tampa Bay area and into five new markets across the Southeast. Through a recently unveiled partnership with CloudKitchens, a virtual restaurant company, the franchise brand will establish and build its presence in Orlando, Atlanta, Miami, Nashville, and Charlotte over the course of the next few calendar quarters.

The Capital Tacos team undertook its franchise endeavor with the clear goal of establishing the brand as a fan-favorite destination for families, foodies, and Tex-Mex enthusiasts throughout all major markets in nine designated states  Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

This most recent expansion showcases Capital Tacos' innovative and multi-faceted approach to brand development. It converts second generation restaurants to power its brick & mortar success, is further growing its Capital Tacos Express offering, and will be rolling out a variety of other ways consumers can conveniently procure its expansive menu offerings as the brand seeks to buildout a robust presence in an ever-growing lineup of markets.

"Our goal with building the Capital Tacos brand is direct and comprehensive. We never felt the restaurant industry was in need of another taco shop, but it was in desperate need of a company that rewards hard work, is based on inclusivity and remembers to have fun along the way," said Josh Luger, Co-Owner and Operator Partner of Capital Tacos. "Now, after having spent the better part of a decade perfecting such a company, we're exhilarated to be able to bring that experience to as many people as possible, starting with these first five markets."

Capital Tacos has become a revered staple of the Tampa Bay community for its family-friendly atmosphere, uniquely-crafted, chef-inspired food, and authentic culture. Though, perhaps one of the most inviting practices exercised by the franchise is handled by their team of culinary professionals, who, upon entering into any new market, take it upon themselves to perfect a new taco flavor inspired by, and initially only available in, that respective community. A tribute to locals for welcoming the company into their neighborhoods and their lives.

As a franchise opportunity, those same qualities are responsible for affording the brand an industry leading degree of profitability, in addition to its one-of-a-kind locations, unparalleled support team, and impeccable style and standard of service best summarized by their popularly known slogan, #DoneRight.

National notoriety and recognition of the Capital Tacos brand has mounted to peak heights in recent years, earning the franchise the rank and reputation as one of the top taco restaurants in the United States. A fact that the Capital Tacos team anticipates creating a great deal of fervor amongst those in the franchising community and aiding in the company's larger vision throughout the country.

For more information on Capital Tacos franchise opportunities, please visit capitaltacosfranchise.com.

About Capital Tacos

Capital Tacos is a nationally-awarded, fast-casual Tex-Mex chain of restaurants based in Tampa, Florida. They've been named a top 3 Taco restaurant in the nation, the 2nd best restaurant in any category in the Tampa region, and one of the few taco chains disrupting the fast casual sector, amongst a variety of other awards. The emerging franchise brand is known for scratch-made, innovative, and unmatched Tex-Mex flavors that keep customers coming back for more and push the boundaries of quality that the FSR industry is capable of providing. They are currently seeking qualified candidates to help expand the franchise to select markets across the southeast.

SOURCE Capital Tacos
Nationwide CBD Retailer Responds To Consumer Demand For Wellness Elixir

KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CBD American Shaman , the nation's largest brick and mortar CBD retailer with over 360 locations nationwide, is thrilled to announce the launch of its newest product, CBDA CBGA Extract, a comprehensive immune support solution that aims to improve wellness and boost energy. The new wellness elixir comprises CBDA, CBGA, CBD, CBG, vitamin D3, zinc, and vitamin C.

The wellness benefits from this powerful combination stem from CBDA and CBGA, two hemp compounds identified in the recent Oregon State study , and known to be at the frontier of cannabinoid-based therapies; CBD, which works with the body's endocannabinoid system to help reduce inflammation and re-regulate the body overall; CBG, a compound best utilized for gut mobility and resetting the gut microbiome; and several vitamins known for providing immune support, including vitamin D3, C, and zinc.

The origin of this new product launch differs from others on CBD American Shaman's shelves because it was created specifically in response to high consumer demand. After the release of the Oregon State study, consumers were seeking a solution comprising the compounds listed in the study in an easy-to-use, high-quality, and digestible consumable.

"Our clients' overall wellness needs to be the priority," said Vince Sanders, Founder and President of CBD American Shaman. "My mission when starting this company has always been to help people feel better. The new CBDA CBGA Extract Immune Support solution takes wellness support to the next level. You're getting powerful hemp compounds, but also the benefits of CBD, CBG, and other super potent vitaminsand no one else is providing this comprehensive solution."

For more information on CBD American Shaman and all products for sale please visit https://cbdamericanshaman.com.

About Vince Sanders and American Shaman

Vince Sanders founded CBD American Shaman in March of 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri as a way to help with the discomfort many cancer patients experience. Since then, Sanders has built CBD American Shaman into a team of doctors, chemists, lawyers, and advocates. Sanders pioneered the use of nanotechnology in the hemp industry to enhance the plant's health-supporting effects and to increase the bioavailability of CBD.

CBD American Shaman produces high quality cannabinoid tinctures, creams, pet products and more. CBD American Shaman is certified by the US Hemp Authority for its manufacturing and quality control standards. Currently with 365 locations offering its premier CBD products, American Shaman is one of the largest CBD retailers in the United States.

Press Contact:

Ericho PR

Liz Zarins

[email protected]

323-553-2027

SOURCE CBD American Shaman
OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Colson Group, the global leader in caster and wheel products, has unveiled a new equity participation program which grants employees shares in the company and encourages employees to "act like owners." Chief Executive Officer Rich Kobor announced that the organization will provide this opportunity to all Colson employees worldwide at an employee appreciation event held at the construction site of the new Colson Group facility in Jonesboro, AR.

Colson Group Makes All Employees an Owner with New Employee Ownership Program

"We are working to create a culture of ownership and transparency," said Kobor. "Our employees make our company what it is, and we want all of them to better share in our success. Our goal is to inspire our employees to act like owners, so that they have a stake in our company's growth and a voice in our direction."

The program, which is being structured and implemented in partnership with non-profit Ownership Works, aligns with Colson Group's interest in creating and developing a strong culture of pride and engagement among its employees. The program aims to encourage employees to take greater responsibility for their work at the company by aligning the interests of both the company and the individual.

"Importantly, we believe this program could make a meaningful difference in the lives of our employees and their families, while driving increased value for Colson," said David Wells, Chief Human Resources Officer.

This approach is based on the conviction that employees are significantly more likely to personally identify with their company if they own a part of it. Employee co-owners are more motivated and committed, willing to assume responsibility, and contribute to their company's long-term success.

Colson Group is a portfolio company of Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC, New York-based private equity firm that builds stronger businesses by combining financial and operational discipline with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles.

About Colson Group:

Colson Group, the global leader in caster and wheel products, creates and drives solutions that move lives forward. World renowned brands provide specialized mobility for every industry and market. A leading product portfolio and proprietary global value chain delivery unparalleled efficiencies and support. With over 1,600 employees across 25 global facilities, Colson Group is committed to its customers' success, ensuring proper products are selected or designed from the start, and always keeping the end-users' safety, efficiency, and happiness in mind.

Press Contact: Eric Gorte

Phone: 989-859-1864

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Colson Group
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, New Mexico, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dan Parker, a blind racecar driver, achieved the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the "Fastest Speed for a Car Driven Blindfolded" on Thursday, March 31. Parker set a new speed record of 211.043 miles per hour on the runway at Spaceport America in his custom-built Corvette, which included an innovative audio guidance system designed to his specifications. The previous record was held by Mike Newman of the United Kingdom, who achieved a speed of 200.51 miles per hour in 2014. Parker went blind as the result of a racing accident that took place ten years before, on March 31, 2012, and graduated from the Louisiana Center for the Blind seven years ago on March 31 as well. The record attempt was made as part of the acceleration of the National Federation of the Blind's Blind Driver Challenge  an initiative that aims to call attention to the importance of breaking barriers in mobility and to demonstrate the incredible achievements of blind people. It was sponsored by San Francisco-based zero emission self-driving company Cruise and certified by Guinness World Records official Michael Empric.

The effort built on the inaugural Blind Driver Challenge event that took place on January 29, 2011, when Mark Riccobono, now President of the National Federation of the Blind, independently operated a modified Ford Escape hybrid on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. Mr. Riccobono navigated the course's turns and steered the car around dynamic obstacles by following haptic prompts generated by input from the vehicle's GPS, cameras, and LIDAR sensors.

"Our Daytona Blind Driver Challenge demonstration changed the perceptions of blindness held by society, including the perceptions that we ourselves held as blind people," said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. "It further demonstrated to the world that the expertise of the blind is critical to the development of nonvisual vehicle interfaces. NFB member Dan Parker has now raised the expectations of blind people even higher by independently driving a vehicle faster than any blind person has done before, proving that the combination of accessible technology and our own capacity allows blind people to safely operate motor vehicles even at high speed. This demonstration reinforces our determination to work with Cruise and other partners to make cars that can be operated independently by blind people on America's roadways a reality. Transportation is a critical barrier faced by blind people across the nation and we seek the increased availability of all transportation options in order to successfully live the lives we want."

"With the help of my Federation family, my outstanding pit crew, and our partners at Cruise, I am proud to bring the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for fastest speed for a car driven blindfolded to America," said Dan Parker. "We have not only demonstrated that a blind person can operate a vehicle safely, but that we can do it at over two hundred miles per hour. We hope this success inspires blind people and shows the world the potential of modern technology like self-driving cars to help the blind break barriers in everyday mobility and beyond."

About the National Federation of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), headquartered in Baltimore, defends the rights of blind people of all ages and provides information and support to families with blind children, older Americans who are losing vision, and more. Founded in 1940, the NFB is the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans with affiliates, chapters, and divisions in the fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. We believe in the hopes and dreams of blind people and work together to transform them into reality. Learn more about our many programs and initiatives at nfb.org.

CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

[email protected]

SOURCE National Federation of the Blind
"The purchase of Kodi Klip, LLC, further expands Dayton Superior's presence in the rebar connection market and is well-aligned with our commitment to deliver innovative, highly-engineered product solutions to the concrete construction industry," said Mark Carpenter, Dayton Superior's President and CEO. "The Kodi Klip system unites cutting-edge engineering with forward-thinking safety and labor-saving features that ultimately provide notable cost savings."

Dayton Superior will augment their existing rebar connection product portfolio with the Kodi Klip system. Leveraging the Kodi Klip's patented four-point grip, rebar connections are made more consistent and more stable over traditional hand tied methods. This secure four-way grip holds tight for ease in lifting mats and cages while eliminating racking. Comprised of a non-corrosive polycarbonate resin, the Kodi Klip's engineered versatility works for cross, parallel and vertical connections and form spacers.

Significantly faster than wire-tying, the Kodi Klip's engineered design reduces injury risk and eliminates the need for expensive, higher grade rebar required for welding, making it a leading-edge, yet economical, solution for rebar connections.

The Kodi Klip product line includes 10 Imperial Klip sizes for #3 to #6 rebar, 15 metric Klip sizes for 6mm  20mm rebar, Imperial and metric Korner Klips, 4 Klipper gun models to accommodate the range of rebar sizes, and 3 unique Klipper gun extension handles.

The integration of both companies will occur over the next six months. The process will include transitioning Kodi Klip into the family of other well-recognized concrete construction industry brands such as Symons, Accubrace and Unitex. At this time, Kodi Klip operations will continue at the company's Lebanon, TN facility, but will transition to Dayton Superior's Dayton, OH headquarters by year end.

ABOUT DAYTON SUPERIOR CORPORATION

Dayton Superior Corporation is the leading provider of highly engineered accessories, chemicals and forming solutions within the concrete construction industry. The company's products are found on many of the world's most prominent civil infrastructure, institutional and commercial construction projects. For more information, visit www.daytonsuperior.com.

SOURCE Dayton Superior Corporation
The Border Patrol should not be allowed to police themselves. Tweet this

The Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, its parent agency, have a history and culture of violence and secrecy. The agency must answer questions about how Border Patrol agents failed to deescalate the situation, why the use of force was deadly, why Carmelo's body was not retrieved until the following day, and why Border Patrol agents prevented the Cochise County Sheriff's Office from immediately accessing the scene to conduct their own investigation.

The Border Patrol's use of their own Critical Incident Teams to investigate their own use-of-force and other misconduct incidents has been the subject of criticism because of the glaring conflict of interest presented by such an arrangement. The Border Patrol fosters an environment of vile and racist behavior towards migrants and should not be allowed to police themselves.

Carmelo leaves behind his wife, Yazmin Nape Quintero, and three children ages nine, eight, and two.

"My husband was a gentle and peaceful man trying to provide for his family," Yazmin says. "He would never threaten the Border Patrol, and it is despicable for the Border Patrol to claim that he did. We seek to clear his name, and we seek justice so other families won't suffer like we are suffering."

SOURCE Karns & Karns, LLP
Demesmin and Dover Law Firm to collaborate with Tortuga Music Festival and help host a pre-party that supports ocean conservation efforts.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Demesmin and Dover law firm, located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, loves the area they live in. It is there and throughout Florida in which they handle cases related to car accidents, boating accidents, slip and falls, nursing home abuse, and more. Beyond helping individuals with their personal injury cases, they work towards building the community that surrounds them. Fort Lauderdale, where their office is located, is right by the ocean which needs help because of pollution. The firm is an avid advocate for cleaning our oceans and takes part in monthly beach cleanups. This collaboration for the pre-party is a great way to bring together the community for some great music and support the environment.

Ocean conservation has always been a big part of Tortuga music festival. The festival has no single use plastic, meaning straws, bottles, plates, cutlery, etc. and they favor sustainable locally sourced foods. The entire event is hosted on the beach with the ocean habitat in mind, with both the concert sound and lighting levels.

"Tortuga music festival is a staple event for this area. The fact that it is hosted by the water with ocean conservation efforts in mind is just fantastic." says Jeremy Dover, a founding partner at Demesmin and Dover law firm. "We have always loved supporting exceptional events and helping the beautiful place we live in," says Victor Demesmin Jr., another founding partner at Demesmin and Dover law firm.

This event brings together the community to support the place they live in while enjoying great music. The hope is that this will entice people to keep our beaches clean of pollution as well as reduce our carbon footprint.

"Tortuga has always attempted to make this event as eco and ocean friendly as possible." says the sponsors of Tortuga music festival. "We are happy to be working with a personal injury law firm that truly cares about the community and environment."

This collaboration reflects Demesmin and Dover's ideal of We Care More. They display their love of the community and the place they live in, by being an active member in the community. Demesmin and Dover are excited to help host an event that is both fun and impactful for Fort Lauderdale, the place they call home.

About Tortuga Music Festival

Tortuga Music Festival will be hosted at Fort Lauderdale beach on April 8th, 9th, and 10th.

To purchase tickets check out https://www.tortugamusicfestival.com/

About Demesmin and Dover PLLC

Demesmin and Dover law firm is all about supporting the community in our home of South Florida. We treat everyone here as our people, family, and future. The difference between us and other personal injury law firms is we care more about helping you and your loved ones, because to us, it is personal.

Call Now at 866-954-MORE (6673) or visit us on our website at https://youraccidentattorneys.com

SOURCE Demesmin and Dover PLLC
Summit North America has passed 1,000 attendees for October while raising $40,000 to aid user group members in Ukraine. Tweet this

Summit North America, the largest independent gathering of the Microsoft business applications ecosystem of users, partners, independent software vendors (ISVs), and Microsoft MVPs, has been hosting the user community for deep-dive educational programming in a communal setting for more than a decade. With a committee-based approach of experts in the user groups defining the agenda, education programming, speaker selection and more, Dynamic Communities serves this group by creating the best possible environment for these "for community, by community" events to thrive.

"We are thrilled to offer support for our friends and colleagues in Ukraine in this small way, and we're very excited for this great reset of the user community we are developing for the Summit North America event in October," said Pam Misialek, Community Director at Dynamic Communities. "We are 100% committed to creating an exceptional environment for our four types of users attending the event." Those include:





Considering: Users that are determining if Microsoft ERP platforms, CRM and Power Platform are right for their company and its business needs New To: Users that have recently invested in Microsoft Business Applications and need help defining their steps forward (this is a big group with the growth in Microsoft's Dynamics 365 Cloud ERP Business and Power Platform) Migrating: Users that are going through an on-premise to cloud migration (think GP or NAV to BC or F&O/AX) or scaling from one ERP platform/version to another ERP platform/version (acquisitions, mergers, business growth, etc.) Optimizing: Users that are looking for tips, tricks, ideas, and best practices to get the most out of their current investment in Microsoft Business Applications

The event, in traditional fashion, will be organized by the Microsoft technology products and associated User Groups from Dynamic Communities, including sessions designed for users that are considering, new to, migrating or optimizing a Microsoft Dynamics 365 business application investment:

GPUG: Dynamics GP (Great Plains Software ERP)

NAVUG/BCUG: D365 Business Central (Navision ERP)

AXUG/F&O: D365 F&O (AX & Finance & Operations ERP)

CRMUG: Dynamics CE (Customer Engagement/CRM)

Power Platform UG: Power BI, Power App, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agent

"Under Pam's leadership, we are implementing new ideas, like our Ukraine aid program, as she collaborates with the amazing experts across this network of user groups that Dynamic Communities is serving," said John Siefert, CEO of Dynamic Communities. "One of the great things we have seen over the last few weeks is the number of companies sending multiple employees to the event, in some cases up to 10 people from a single organization, and we are thrilled to host them as they navigate this amazing community and programming."

Go here to register for Summit North America.

About Dynamic Communities

Dynamic Communities is an event, media and analyst firm connecting buyers, users, vendors, partners, and integrators of top business technology solutions around the globe. The company's flagship event is Community Summit North America, an annual user group educational conference for the Microsoft Business Application ecosystem. Dynamic Communities strives to create the best possible environment to exchange ideas and best practices for Microsoft user groups through digital and physical events through a User Group Expert Network.

About Community Summit North America

Community Summit NA is the largest independent gathering of the Microsoft business applications ecosystem, attracting thousands of users, partners, ISVs and Microsoft MVPs each year. It features a committee-based approach with experts in the user groups defining the agenda and programming. This year's Community Summit takes place Oct. 10-13 in Orlando, Fla.

PR contact: Tom Smith

[email protected]

www.summitna.com

SOURCE Dynamic Communities
Charlap Is Nurturing the Business Success of the Company's Senior Brokerage Team

NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jack Charlap has been named chief revenue officer of Eastern Union, one of America's largest commercial real estate mortgage brokerages.

Eastern Union, one of the country's largest commercial real estate mortgage brokerages, has named Jack Charlap to the position of chief revenue officer.

In his capacity as chief revenue officer, Mr. Charlap's primary responsibility is to carry forward his existing work of facilitating the professional development and productivity of the company's senior brokerage team. He helps them develop their teams, manage their callers, and generate a strong and steadily growing deal flow. He also works with experienced brokers to develop their networking capabilities and broaden their marketing platforms.

Mr. Charlap also supports Eastern Union's recruitment program by attracting qualified, senior-level brokers to join the company. He then supports these newly arrived, experienced brokers by supplying them with a business development infrastructure that includes caller teams of young, front-line brokers.

He also works with brokers across the board to promote deal origination, enable smooth execution, and ensure closings.

In addition, Mr. Charlap assists with the onboarding and training of newly hired brokers, ensuring that they are maximizing their potential for success within the firm.

He has worked with Eastern Union for nearly eight years. He began as a loan consultant, and in January -- shortly after Abraham Bergman assumed the presidency of the firm -- took the position of head of origination. In this expanded role, he assumed the various responsibilities enumerated above.

In his first quarter fulfilling his new duties, Mr. Charlap played a valuable role in helping to trigger an increase in the number of new transactions brought into the company's deal pipeline and in the number of transactions closed. He is being elevated to the position of chief revenue officer in recognition of the contribution he has been making to boost productivity among the company's most-seasoned brokers.

"Jack Charlap has quickly proven that he's well-qualified to help boost the productivity of Eastern Union's senior brokerage staff," said Abraham Bergman, the company's president and CEO. "He has a solid record as a broker and a strong record of success in sales, and he knows how to motivate brokers to elevate their level of performance.

"Jack is always ready with fresh ideas and has the kind of people skills that enable him to help individual brokers tailor their own individual formulas for professional success. I'm confident he'll exert a positive influence on our entire brokerage team."

"I'm gratified to take on this exciting new position with Eastern Union," said Mr. Charlap. "Eastern Union is a lot more than just an employer to me. I feel like it's family. I'm committed to maximizing the success of the senior broker team."

About Eastern Union

Founded in 2001, Eastern Union is a leading, national commercial mortgage brokerage firm. It employs more than 90 real estate professionals and closes an average of $4 billion in transactions annually. Eastern Union leverages its relationships with lenders and its marketplace knowledge to secure the best available rates and terms.

Headquartered in New York, Eastern Union secures financing for transactions of all sizes across the United States. Transactions -- which can include multi-state and multi-site portfolios -- encompass conventional commercial mortgages, structured debt, healthcare, hospitality, mobile home parks, self-storage, single-family rentals, investment sales, and -- handled in conjunction with company affiliate Eastern Equity Advisors -- equity placement.

For more information, visit www.easternunion.com

Media contact:

Steve Vitoff

Eastern Union

516 652 0785

[email protected]

SOURCE Eastern Union
With a two-year revenue growth of 310 percent, Elite Creative joins the regional list of the fastest-growing private companies.

BALTIMORE, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Elite Creative, a market leader in content writing, editing, and publishing services, announced that it has been ranked no. 33 on the third annual Inc. Regionals 2022: Mid-Atlantic list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies based in Washington, DC, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the mid-Atlantic region economy's most dynamic segment: its independent small businesses.

Inc. Regionals 2022

"Ranking in the mid-Atlantic region is a major achievement for us," said Jennifer Rotner, Elite's CEO. "This success is due to the ingenuity and creativity our team has demonstrated over the past year. We've been able to expand our services based on our clients' needs. And that's a huge reflection of our core values: working collaboratively and finding the yes when opportunities present themselves."

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the region. Between 2018 and 2020, these 131 private companies had an average growth rate of 161 percent, and in 2020 alone, they added 7,365 jobs and $1.9 billion to the mid-Atlantic region's economy.

"This year's Inc. 5000 regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of America's off-the-charts-growth companies. They're disruptors and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies you'll be hearing about for years to come," says Scott Omelianuk, editor in chief of Inc.

About Elite Creative

Elite Creative is a woman-owned, full-service content and publishing services firm that offers editing, writing, and creative support for companies of all sizesfrom small businesses and nonprofit organizations to Fortune 50 companiesas well as for independent authors at every stage of the publishing journey.

Elite Creative does business as Elite Editing, a content strategy, writing, and editing company, and Elite Authors, a publishing services company that helps independent authors create, publish, and market their books. www.eliteediting.com

About Inc.

One of the world's most trusted business-media brands, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than fifty million people each month across a variety of channels, including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers and a credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent.

Contact:

Jennifer Rotner

[email protected]

917-922-1339

SOURCE Elite Creative
Innovative Chinese beauty brand celebrates Asian culture and heritage at the Hangzhou Asian Games

HANGZHOU, China, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- C-Beauty brand Florasis (also known as Huaxizi in China) announced that the brand has been named the Official Supplier of Makeup Products and Makeup Service for the Asian Games Hangzhou 2022.

This announcement builds on the company's earlier success as an official exhibitor of the 2020 Dubai World Expo in the China Pavilion. The brand is looking forward to another opportunity to share its rich Chinese heritage through its beauty products on a world stage.

Promoting the spirit of the Hangzhou Asian Games is a natural extension of Florasis' brand story and message. Launched in 2017 by the West Lake in Hangzhou, Florasis has drawn inspiration from Chinese heritage to create its aesthetics and storytelling. Florasis is known for selling products inspired by Chinese culture, such as a TikTok-trending carved lipstick inspired by Chinese relief sculpture, and elaborate packaging celebrating the beauty of China.

Hangzhou has a long history and profound cultural heritage. It is the site of the Southern Song Dynasty imperial city site and the birthplace of Southern Song culture - rich with sophisticated visual arts, music, literature, and philosophy. Florasis looks forward to sharing and incorporating the Song Yun heritage in its partnership with the Hangzhou Asian Games.

ABOUT FLORASIS:

Florasis is an innovative makeup brand born by the West Lake in Hangzhou, China. Florasis takes inspiration from Chinese culture and heritage and infuses its products with locally sourced flowers and natural essences. The brand explores wisdom in traditional beauty rituals, inherits the philosophy of Chinese aesthetics and adopts modern technologies in creating cosmetic products.

www.florasis.com

MEDIA CONTACT:

[email protected]

SOURCE Florasis
Founded in 2002 by Paul and Lisa Sutton, Peak Structural serves communities in Denver and Colorado Springs as one of the region's trusted experts in foundation repair, concrete lifting, crawl space encapsulation, and basement waterproofing. For two decades, the company built a reputation of trust by delivering remarkable customer experiences. In addition to significant capital investments that will expand operations in Colorado, Groundworks will offer Peak employees enhanced training, a 401K plan, profit-sharing programs, and meaningful career growth opportunities.

As part of the agreement and to better serve customers in Colorado, Groundworks also announced that its two other Colorado-based companies, Complete Basement Systems (CBS) and Foundation Repair of Western Colorado (FRWC), will unite with Peak Structural under one brand, Groundworks. Together, the three award-winning local companies with four locations throughout Colorado, will form the largest and most reputable foundation services company in Colorado, offering homeowners unmatched customer service, industry-leading foundation solutions, and a nationally backed warranty program.

"Acquiring Peak Structural will further solidify our market presence in Colorado," said Matt Malone, Groundworks Founder and CEO. "By merging these three great companies, we bring together over 60 years of local history and expertise to best serve our customers in the region with the finest foundation solutions in the industry and to provide our employees unlimited potential for professional growth."

"We started and grew this business with a mission to protect our customer's home values while growing the careers of our employees. This decision was made with both those objectives in mind," said Paul Sutton, Founder of Peak Structural. "Bringing together the three of the best companies in the state with national-level funding, training, and supply chain resources means more solutions to help more customers and exponential career development opportunities for our employees. Colorado homeowners will benefit from the best of the best working on their homes."

Since 2016, Groundworks has been disrupting an industry, building the country's first national foundation solutions company through a combination of acquiring industry-leading local brands and opening new locations across the country. This announcement marks the first time the company will make an in-market acquisition to strengthen its leading market share position.

About Groundworks

Groundworks, headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA, is the nation's leading and fastest-growing foundation and water management solutions company. Groundworks Companies provide residential foundation and water management solutions, including foundation repair, basement waterproofing, crawl space repair and encapsulation, plumbing, gutters installation, and concrete lifting services. Since inception, our combined brands have helped nearly 1.5 million homeowners protect and repair their most valuable asset, their home. Groundworks operates over 45 offices and has been named numerous times to the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies, Qualified Remodeler Top 500, BBB integrity award, and Best Places to Work.

For more information about Groundworks, please visit: https://www.Groundworks.com.

SOURCE Groundworks
EFI Supports Awareness Initiatives During Harassment Prevention Month

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Equitable Food Initiative, the workforce development and certification organization that partners with growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumer advocacy groups, has collaborated with Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (PNASH), a part of the University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, to support the development of a worksite training and toolkit, Basta! Preventing Sexual Harassment in Agriculture.

Female farmworkers are at greater risk at sexual harassment at work EFI-certified farming operations have a zero-tolerance harassment policy

April is National Sexual Harassment Awareness and Prevention Month, and EFI is using the time to shine a light on this important topic. Several studies have found that 75%-80% of female farmworkers have experienced sexual harassment at work, compared to 50% in non-agricultural office settings as reported by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The EFI website offers statistics, facts and study citations on harassment at work, links to access the Basta! Preventing Sexual Harassment toolkit, which features videos in both English and Spanish, and educational materials that can be used in workplaces (posters, shareable graphics and a detailed fact sheet). The information and resources can be found at equitablefood.org/harassment, and all are provided free of charge.

"Development of the Basta! toolkit was catalyzed by female farmworkers in Eastern Washington who brought the issue of sexual harassment to PNASH," explained Dr. Jody Early, a professor at University of Washington who worked on the project. "This is the first program created by and for agricultural stakeholders to address the prevention of sexual harassment, and we tailored it to the needs of Latino/a/x farmworkers, growers and supervisors."

The PNASH team worked for six years and engaged more than 48 different stakeholders in the development  including farmworkers, grower associations, health care advocates, human rights organizations, state and federal agencies, farmworker rights groups, private businesses and nonprofits like Equitable Food Initiative.

"This can be a difficult topic, but it's essential that we address it industrywide," said LeAnne Ruzzamenti, director of marketing communications for EFI. "We know that harassment happens more frequently among farmworkers, we know that it goes unreported, and we know that agriculture workplaces include characteristics that make women more vulnerable to it."

EFI's certification program goes beyond a simple audit and introduces workforce development solutions along with training in communication, conflict resolution, problem-solving and collaboration. Third-party evaluation studies have found that the program fosters culture shifts on farms that result in respectful and trusting workplaces where women and indigenous workers report reduced harassment and discrimination.

"EFI's mission is to improve the lives of farmworkers by bringing everyone in the system together to address the fresh produce industry's most pressing problems," Ruzzamenti continued. "I can't think of a more important goal than creating safer and healthier workplaces through a zero-tolerance approach to harassment."

About EFI

Equitable Food Initiative is a nonprofit certification and skill-building organization that seeks to increase transparency in the food supply chain and improve the lives of farmworkers through a team-based approach to training and continuous improvement practices. EFI brings together growers, farmworkers, retailers and consumers to solve the most pressing issues facing the fresh produce industry. Its unparalleled approach sets standards for labor practices, food safety and pest management while engaging workers at all levels on the farm to produce Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured fruits and vegetables. For more information about Equitable Food Initiative, visit equitablefood.org.

View a list of EFI-certified farms at equitablefood.org/farms.

Media

Contact: LeAnne R. Ruzzamenti, (202) 524-0540, [email protected]

SOURCE Equitable Food Initiative
LONDON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hakluyt, the strategic advisory firm for businesses and investors, announced today that it has opened a new office in Chicago.

This office, which will be Hakluyt's base in the Midwest, will be jointly led by Gretchen Crosby Sims and Tom Wyler. Gretchen joined Hakluyt in 2021, having previously spent 20 years in politics, policy, philanthropy and impact investing, including as executive director of the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics, director of Social Finance UK, and chief programme executive of the Joyce Foundation. Tom Wyler also joined the firm in 2021, having been senior vice president for global strategy at PSP Capital, a privately held investment firm headquartered in Chicago. He has also served as counsellor and senior adviser to the US Secretary of Commerce.

Varun Chandra, Hakluyt's managing partner, said: "I am proud that Hakluyt has opened a fourth office in the US, which continues to be one of our most important markets. Gretchen and Tom are both excellent colleagues who have already brought a lot to our company, and we are very fortunate to have them leading our work in Chicago."

Mark Hanson, Hakluyt's deputy managing partner, who leads the company's North American business, added: "Hakluyt has worked with clients in the Midwest for many years, so opening an office in Chicago is a great opportunity to expand our presence there. Our firm is continuing to grow in North America, and I am very much looking forward to supporting Gretchen and Tom as they lead our business in the region."

Gretchen Crosby Sims commented: "I am pleased to be opening Hakluyt's newest office alongside Tom Wyler. Chicago is a tremendous global city and home to some of the most important businesses in North America. Our client base in the Midwest is strong, and it is an honor to be advising corporations and investors here on the opportunities and challenges they face in these complex and unpredictable times."

Tom Wyler said: "Chicago is a large and dynamic market, and it is the perfect home for Hakluyt's newest office. Every day, companies and investors are being forced to make significant commercial decisions in an increasingly complex global environment that is defined by hyper-competitiveness and volatility. The support and advice that we provide to our clients has never been more important, and I look forward to continuing to work with them in Chicago and across the Midwest on a wide range of their most strategic issues."

Notes to editors

Hakluyt is a strategic advisory firm that works with corporate leaders and investors around the world on their most important commercial issues. For more information on the firm, please visit www.hakluytandco.com.

SOURCE Hakluyt
"This is an important milestone," said Ed Schmults, Chief Executive Officer of Harborside. "By combining the businesses of Harborside, Sublime, Urbn Leaf and Loudpack, we established a true leader in California's cannabis industry with a strong platform for growth. The Loudpack team, led by CEO Marc Ravner, has built a tremendous business that is highly complementary to the rest of our operations. We welcome them aboard and look forward to building a stronger company together as StateHouse."

"StateHouse has a very promising future,"1 said Marc Ravner, who has been appointed President of Integration of the Company. "We are ideally positioned with an integrated platform that features strong brands, a broad retail footprint, scaled manufacturing, state-wide distribution and proprietary cultivation. On behalf of everyone at Loudpack, I look forward to building shareholder value as part of the StateHouse team."

STATEHOUSE HIGHLIGHTS1

One of the largest vertically integrated California public cannabis enterprise with estimated pro-forma gross revenue of approximately US$165 million for the first nine months of 2021; 2,3

public cannabis enterprise with estimated pro-forma gross revenue of approximately for the first nine months of 2021; Statewide presence with 15 retail locations and further strategic expansions in the pipeline; 4

#3 ranked brand house in California with nine renowned brands, including top-five ranked brands in the pre-roll (Fuzzies and Kingpen), edible (Smokiez) and value flower (Dime Bag) segments; 5

with nine renowned brands, including top-five ranked brands in the pre-roll (Fuzzies and Kingpen), edible (Smokiez) and value flower (Dime Bag) segments; Manufacturing facilities with annual capacity of more than US$400 million 6 in branded products revenue at full utilization, with capabilities to produce across all product formats offered by the Company;

in branded products revenue at full utilization, with capabilities to produce across all product formats offered by the Company; Fully scaled greenhouses featuring capacity of 230,000 square feet of cultivation space, with additional near-term expansion capacity of more than 100,000 square feet of canopy to support the Company's vertically integrated platform; 7 and

and Substantial and imminently realizable synergies, with expected margin expansion at most stages of the value chain from cultivation to retail.

TERMS OF LOUDPACK ACQUISITION

Pursuant to the terms of the definitive agreement announced on November 29, 2021, Harborside acquired 100% of the equity interests of Loudpack through the issuance of 90,752,140 subordinate voting shares ("SVS" or "Share"), 2,000,000 warrants (the "Warrants"), the restructuring and assumption of US$50 million of debt and cash consideration of approximately US$5 million (the "Loudpack Acquisition"). The Warrants are exercisable to purchase SVS at a price of US$2.50 per SVS, anytime within five years of the closing date. Harborside has the option to accelerate the expiration date of the Warrants in the event that the volume weighted average trading price of the SVS is equal to or greater than US$5.00.

Concurrent with the closing of the Loudpack Acquisition, the Company entered into a lock-up agreement with the stockholders of Loudpack in respect of the SVS received pursuant to the transaction (the "Loudpack Lock-Up Agreement"). Pursuant to the Loudpack Lock-Up Agreement, Loudpack's stockholders have agreed not to sell, assign or otherwise transfer the SVS received, except to their respective members, who will be required to enter into equivalent lock-up agreements. The restrictions lapse in three installments, with each one-third of the shares released from the restrictions six months, 12 months and 18 months from the closing date, respectively.

NAME CHANGE TO STATEHOUSE AND SHARE CONSOLIDATION 1

With the acquisitions of Loudpack and Urbn Leaf now completed, Harborside plans to file articles of amendment to officially be renamed StateHouse (the "Name Change") and to effect the consolidation (the "Consolidation") of all of its issued and outstanding SVS.

Pursuant to the Consolidation, shareholders are expected to receive one post-Consolidation Share for every six pre-Consolidation Shares (the "Consolidation Ratio"), subject to the Company continuing to meet minimum listing requirements of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE"). Accordingly, following the Name Change and Consolidation, shareholders currently holding six Shares of Harborside will instead own one Share of StateHouse. In the event that the Consolidation would result in the issuance of fractional Shares, each fractional post-Consolidation Share will be rounded down to the nearest whole, with any fractional Shares deemed to have been tendered for cancellation for no consideration. The trading price of the SVS is expected to reflect the Consolidation Ratio immediately upon the resumption of trading following the Name Change and Consolidation.1

The Company expects the Name Change and Consolidation to be completed on or about April 28, 2022, following which the post-Consolidation SVS will trade on the CSE under the new ticker symbol "STHZ". The Name Change and Consolidation were approved by the shareholders of the Company on February 22, 2022. The Company's new corporate website, statehouseholdings.com, will launch following completion of the Name Change and Consolidation.

All registered shareholders holding physical share certificates representing their existing Shares are required to send such certificates to the Company's registrar and transfer agent, Odyssey Trust Company, at 702-67 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M5E 1J8, Attention: Corporate Actions. Shareholders who hold their securities through a broker, investment dealer, bank or trust company should contact that nominee or intermediary for assistance in depositing their securities in connection with the Name Change and Consolidation.

RECONSTITUTION OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND APPOINTMENT OF NEW OFFICERS

Harborside is also pleased to announce that Marc Ravner, Tiffany Liff and Jonathon Roy Pottle have joined the board of directors of the Company (the "Board"), effective immediately, as approved at the Special Meeting of Shareholders of Harborside on February 22, 2022. Mr. Ravner, who has been appointed President of Integration of the Company, was a founding member of Loudpack and served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Kevin K. Albert, Andrew Sturner and Peter Kampian have departed the Board to create vacancies for the new members (the "Resignations"). Mr. Sturner will transition into the role of a board observer, alongside Mr. Roger Jenkins and Mr. Willie Senn, who will retain their existing roles as board observers, following the completion of the Loudpack Acquisition. Harborside sincerely thanks Mr. Albert and Mr. Kampian for their substantial contributions to the Company and wishes them the best in their future endeavours.

In addition to Mr. Ravner's appointment as President of Integration of the Company, Harborside also announces that Robert Bacchi has been appointed Chief Technology Officer of the Company. Mr. Bacchi has extensive experience in regulated and unregulated supply chain industries and has led IT teams for companies across a variety of industry verticals for over 20 years. As a consultant, he also provided technology solutions for Fortune 500 companies including Dell, Best Buy, Abbott Labs, Verizon, Rite Aid, and Cisco. Over the last four years, he has served as Chief Technology Officer for several cannabis businesses covering the entire 'seed to sale' ecosystem, including the last year at Urbn Leaf. During his tenures, Mr. Bacchi ensured that technology supported business strategies and deployed secure platforms led to operational efficiencies, revenue generation, and employee collaboration.

GRANT OF INCENTIVE OPTIONS AND RSUs TO THE BOARD AND MANAGEMENT

The Company also announced that, pursuant to the appointments of Ed Schmults as Chief Executive Officer to the Company, and Will Senn as Chief Corporate Development Officer of the Company, as announced on March 1, 2022, following the acquisition of Urbn Leaf, the Company granted to Mr. Schmults and Mr. Senn: (i) options (each, an "Option") to purchase an aggregate of 5,758,797 SVS; and (ii) restricted share units (each, an "RSU") representing the right to receive up to an aggregate of 912,599 SVS, subject to the satisfaction of certain vesting conditions. Each Option granted to Mr. Schmults and Mr. Senn on March 1, 2022 is exercisable into one SVS at an exercise price of C$0.70 per SVS for a period of five years following the date of grant.

Following completion of the Loudpack Acquisition, the Company granted: (i) Options to purchase an aggregate of 10,801,203 SVS; and (ii) RSUs representing the right to receive up to an aggregate of 787,401 SVS, subject to the satisfaction of certain vesting conditions, to certain employees of the Company. In addition, the Company granted RSUs representing the right to receive up to an aggregate of 1,950,000 SVS, subject to the satisfaction of certain vesting conditions, to members of its newly reconstituted Board.

The Company also granted Options to purchase up to 50,000 SVS to each of Mr. Albert, Mr. Sturner and Mr. Kampian, for certain advisory and consulting services to be provided to the Company following the Resignations, and Options to purchase up to 50,000 SVS to Mr. James Scott, in connection with his role as Chair of the special committee of the Company.

Each Option granted is exercisable into one SVS at an exercise price of C$0.75 per SVS for a period of five years following the date of grant. All Options and RSUs were granted in accordance with Harborside's equity incentive plan adopted by the Board on January 17, 2022, and approved by shareholders on February 22, 2022 (the "Plan"). A copy of the Plan is available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

ADVISORS

ATB Capital Markets Inc. ("ATB") and Stoic-Solidum Advisory ("SSA") acted as financial advisors to Harborside. Aird & Berlis LLP and Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP acted as Canadian legal counsel and Duane Morris LLP acted as United States legal counsel to Harborside. PI Financial provided a fairness opinion on the Loudpack Acquisition to Harborside. Ducera Partners LLC and Beacon Securities Limited acted as financial advisor and Feuerstein Kulick LLP acted as United States legal counsel to Loudpack.

The Company has agreed to issue an aggregate of 1,443,493 SVS at a deemed issuance price of C$0.72 per SVS to settle C$798,822 owing to ATB and C$236,825 owing to SSA (collectively, the "Indebtedness") for certain advisory services provided to the Company in connection with the Urbn Leaf and Loudpack acquisitions. The SVS will be issued in reliance on certain prospectus exemptions available under securities legislation and will be subject to a four-month plus one day statutory hold period. The issuance of SVS to settle the Indebtedness remains subject to all necessary regulatory approvals including final acceptance by the CSE.

For the latest news, activities, and media coverage, please visit the Harborside corporate website at http://www.investharborside.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Harborside

Harborside Inc., a vertically integrated enterprise with cannabis licenses covering retail, major brands, distribution, cultivation, nursery and manufacturing, is one of the oldest and most respected cannabis companies in California. Founded in 2006, Harborside was awarded one of the first six medical cannabis licenses granted in the United States. Today, the company operates eleven major dispensaries covering Northern and Southern California and one in Oregon, as well as a manufacturing facility in Oakland, California, distribution facilities in San Jose and Los Angeles, California and integrated cultivation/production facilities in Salinas and Greenfield, California. Harborside is a publicly listed company, currently trading on the CSE under the ticker symbol "HBOR" and the OTCQX under the ticker symbol "HBORF". The Company continues to play an instrumental role in making cannabis safe and accessible to a broad and diverse community of California and Oregon consumers.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates, and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements include, among other things: statements relating to the benefits and synergies created by the acquisitions of Urbn Leaf and Loudpack, including with respect to revenue, production capabilities, product offering and expectations of future profitability; StateHouse's brands and retail footprint, manufacturing, distribution and cultivation capabilities; the ability of Harborside, Urbn Leaf and Loudpack to successfully integrate their operations; StateHouse's ability to drive margin expansion; market expansion efforts and the ability of the Company to capture additional market share; the ability of the Company to complete additional acquisitions; the outlook of the Company and expectations of future growth; the increase in shareholder value as a result of the transactions contemplated hereunder; the Company's plans and ability to complete the Name Change and Consolidation within anticipated timeframes, if at all; trading of the SVS under the StateHouse name on a post-Consolidation basis following the Name Change and Consolidation within anticipated timeframes, if at all; and the impact of the Consolidation Ratio on the trading price of the SVS following completion of the Name Change and Consolidation.

These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: implications of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's operations; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; expectations regarding the size of the cannabis markets where the Company operates; changing consumer habits; the ability of the Company to successfully achieve its business objectives; plans for expansion and acquisitions; political and social uncertainties; inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; employee relations; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on cultivation, production, distribution, and sale of cannabis and cannabis-related products in the markets where the Company operates; and the risk factors set out in the Company's management discussion and analysis for the period ended September 30, 2021 and the Company's annual information form dated December 13, 2021, which are available under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

The Company, through several of its subsidiaries, is indirectly involved in the manufacture, possession, use, sale, and distribution of cannabis in the recreational and medicinal cannabis marketplace in the United States. Local state laws where the Company operates permit such activities however, investors should note that there are significant legal restrictions and regulations that govern the cannabis industry in the United States. Cannabis remains a Schedule I drug under the US Controlled Substances Act, making it illegal under federal law in the United States to, among other things, cultivate, distribute or possess cannabis in the United States. Financial transactions involving proceeds generated by, or intended to promote, cannabis-related business activities in the United States may form the basis for prosecution under applicable United States federal money laundering legislation.

While the approach to enforcement of such laws by the federal government in the United States has trended toward non-enforcement against individuals and businesses that comply with recreational and medicinal cannabis programs in states where such programs are legal, strict compliance with state laws with respect to cannabis will neither absolve the Company of liability under United States federal law, nor will it provide a defense to any federal proceeding which may be brought against the Company. The enforcement of federal laws in the United States is a significant risk to the business of the Company and any proceedings brought against the Company thereunder may adversely affect the Company's operations and financial performance.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in the United States. The Company's securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

__________ 1 This is forward-looking information and based on a number of assumptions. See "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information". 2 Through the first nine months of 2021, Harborside, on a pro-forma basis including revenue of Sublime for the entire period, had gross revenue of US$57.8 million, while Urbn Leaf and Loudpack had revenue of US$45.9 million and US$61.4 million, respectively. Therefore, on a pro forma basis, management estimates that StateHouse would have generated gross revenue of approximately US$165 million for the same period (see footnote 2 below). 3 Certain financial information included in this press release is neither audited nor reviewed. Where possible, the information has been constructed by management from available audited or audit reviewed financial statements. Where no audited or audit reviewed information has been available, additional management accounting information has been utilized to construct financial information. Financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the same standards. Harborside and Loudpack prepare their financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. Urbn Leaf prepares their financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the United States. Sublime for the period prior to acquisition by Harborside on July 2, 2021 prepared their financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the United States. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. 4 Includes retail locations expected to open by the end of 2022. 5 Based on BDS Analytics for sales in 2021, with brand house being a company with a portfolio of more than one brand. Kingpen pre roll ranking measured for the last six months of 2021. 6 Assumes current market pricing for branded products, maximum utilization of currently installed equipment and operating the facility 24 hours per day 6 days per week. 7 Includes Harborside's Salinas facility and Loudpack's Greenfield facility. Current cultivation capacity assumes increased plant density at the Salinas facility with consistent yields. Additional near-term cultivation capacity assumes completion of two additional greenhouses that are partially completed at our Salinas facility.

SOURCE Harborside Inc.
The launch of Create 3 coincides with National Robotics Week , which began April 2 and runs through April 10, 2022. National Robotics Week, founded and organized by iRobot, is a time to inspire students about robotics and STEM-related fields, and to share the excitement of robotics with audiences of all ages through a range of in-person and virtual events.

"iRobot is committed to delivering STEM tools to all levels of the educational community, empowering the next generation of engineers, scientists and enthusiasts to do more," said Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot. "The advanced capabilities we've made available on Create 3 enable higher-level students, educators and developers to be in the driver's seat of robotics exploration, allowing them to one day discover new ways for robots to benefit society."

With ROS 2 support, forget about building the platform, and focus on your application:

The next generation of iRobot's affordable and trusted all-in-one mobile robot development platform, Create 3 brings a variety of new functionalities to users, including compatibility with ROS 2 , an industry-standard software for roboticists worldwide. Robots require many different components, such as actuators, sensors and control systems, to communicate with each other in order to work. ROS 2 enables this communication, allowing students to speed up the development of their project by focusing more on their core application rather than the platform itself. Learning ROS 2 also gives students valuable experience that many companies are seeking from robotics developers.

Expand your coding skills even further with Python support:

iRobot also released a Python Web Playground for its iRobot Root and Create 3 educational robots, providing a bridge for beginners to begin learning more advanced programming skills outside of the iRobot Coding App . Python, a commonly used coding language, enables users to broaden the complexity of projects that they work on. The iRobot Education Python Web Playground allows advanced learners and educators to program the iRobot Root and Create 3 educational robots with a common library written in Python. This provides users with a pathway to learn a new coding language, opening the door to further innovation and career development.

With more smarts, Create 3 lets you do more:

As a connected robot, Create 3 comes equipped with Wi-Fi, Ethernet-over-USB host, and Bluetooth. Create 3 is also equipped with a suite of intelligent technology, including an inertial measurement unit (IMU), optical floor tracking sensor, wheel encoders, and infrared sensors for autonomous localization, navigation, and telepresence applications. Additionally, the robot includes cliff, bump and slip detection, along with LED lights and a speaker.

A 3D simulation of Create 3 is also available using Ignition Gazebo for increased access to robotics education and research.

Create 3 Pricing and Availability

Create 3 is available immediately in the US and Canada for $299 USD and $399 CAD. It will be available in EMEA through authorized distributors in the coming months. Additional details can be found at https://edu.irobot.com/what-we-offer/create3 .

iRobot Education Python Web Playground Availability

The iRobot Education Python Web Playground can be accessed in-browser at python.irobot.com.

For more information:

Create 3 photos, videos and information can be found at: http://media.irobot.com/media-kits .

Please join iRobot on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok, Twitter , and YouTube .

Follow iRobot CEO Colin Angle on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About iRobot Corporation

iRobot, the leading global consumer robot company, designs and builds the world's most thoughtful robots and intelligent home innovations that make life better. iRobot created the home robot cleaning category with the introduction of its Roomba robot vacuum in 2002. Today, iRobot is a global enterprise that has sold more than 40 million robots worldwide. iRobot's product portfolio features proprietary technologies and advanced concepts in cleaning, mapping and navigation. Leveraging this portfolio, iRobot engineers are working to build an ecosystem of robots and smart home devices to help consumers make their homes easier to maintain and healthier places to live. For more information about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com .

For iRobot Investors

Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements relating to iRobot Corporation's expectations concerning new product availability and new product features. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. iRobot undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by iRobot, see the disclosure contained in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.

1 Create 3 does not have vacuuming hardware.

SOURCE iRobot Corporation
AUSTIN, Texas, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. service members, veterans and their families will benefit from an innovative, holistic career training and wellness program launched in March through a joint initiative of The University of Texas at Austin's Center for Professional Education and the Institute for Military and Veteran Family Wellness.

UT Austin's new Oscar Mike (UTOM) program is being rolled out nationally to provide a steady path for re-entry to civilian life, in what can be a challenging transition for employment, health care, housing, finances, and often identity and purpose as service commitment winds down. (Oscar Mike means "On the Move" in military lingo.)

Not only will UT offer professional training programs allowing transitioning military to upskill quickly and make connections with veteran-friendly employers, but wellness and family life will be addressed through help with social, economic and mental health needs.

"With its focus on wellness, this new partnership is unique across the country. It supports not only transitioning service members, but also their spouses and families, as they re-enter civilian life while facing financial, housing and even food insecurities," said Joseph Kopser, special adviser for military leadership and strategy policy at UT Austin.

"UT is a world-class partner and destination for service members and their families. Just as they are on the front lines helping preserve our democracy, we as a university proclaim 'Disciplina, Praesidium, Civitatis,' meaning our mission is to guard democracy through education," Kopser said. "It is only natural that we put in place programs and opportunities to serve our veterans and their families."

UT Austin was recently ranked as the No. 1 school for veterans in the state of Texas by U.S. News & World Report and educates around 475 veterans and 1,300 spouses or children of current or former military members. The Oscar Mike program is expected to significantly increase those numbers with its holistic approach that ensures veterans and spouses can obtain educational credentials and social supports that will pave their way for a successful military to civilian transition.

"We care. We understand. We are military-led and military-spouse led," said Kopser, who served in the U.S. Army for 20 years. "Developers of this program came from the military, and we are taking it to the next level  a sense of purpose, beyond just a paycheck."

With emphasis on outreach to military installations conducted in partnership with the Expiration Term of Service Sponsorship Program, a national nonprofit dedicated to assisting service members making the transition to civilian life successfully, UTOM program support will begin before service members leave their military assignments so that they can graduate, separate, and move straight into desirable jobs. Professional training lasting two to three months will be offered virtually and in the evenings with some options available for spouses. A virtual pilot program launches in June with a projected cohort of 60-80 trainees. Initial professional choices will be project management, human resources and personal training, with more options in the future from the robust Extended Campus, which serves more than 75,000 learners annually.

"Employers appreciate the experiences and skills that our veteran graduates bring. We are actively negotiating with corporate and government partners for this qualified worker pipeline," said Liliya Spinazzola, senior director of professional education and strategic initiatives at UT Austin. "Certificates through our training are in high demand among employers, particularly the booming technology-related sector in Central Texas."

UTOM is positioned to enroll a growing number of veterans and spouses. Annually, more than 200,000 men and women leave the service to enter the civilian world. It can be a stressful time, with high suicide rates, for those lacking preparation or support. Spouses and family members can be overlooked, and they often miss long-term work histories, career training or community connections because of frequent moves.

"We are excited to partner with the University of Texas and bring these great opportunities to service members bound for Texas. By addressing the critical needs of employment and education for our new Veterans and their families, together we can set conditions for a smooth transition back to civilian life," said retired Brig. Gen. Mike Eastman, Executive Director of the ETS program. "UTOM will serve as a model for similar programs in development across the country."

Seminars on topics like housing and health care, connections to local resources, peer transition coordinators and a monthly social and emotional support group are some of the programs designed to ensure success.

"The Institute for Military and Veteran Family Wellness is a research center that focuses on developing effective programs that benefits spouses and veterans. We are honored to provide comprehensive support for transitioning service members and their spouses. Spouses in particular can be overlooked in the transition process," said Elisa Borah, director of the institute, which is a joint effort of the Steve Hicks School of Social Work and Dell Medical School's Department of Health Social Work.

"Spouses of veterans often put their education and careers on hold, in support of their service members' military careers," Borah said. "We recognize that and have developed and tested effective employment and peer support for spouses. The university has so much to offer and by working across programs we can provide transitioning military families holistic help. There is no reason for families or spouses to be left out of the educational process."

The UTOM collaboration echoes President Jay Hartzell's strategic vision for bringing community, faculty, staff and students together with lifelong learning goals. Kopser calls the new program a one-stop shop for now and in the future. "We want our veterans and their families to know that they can return here at every transition, for new skills, certificates, whatever they need. We are here every step of the way," he said.

For more information: https://professionaled.utexas.edu/oscar-mike

SOURCE TEXAS Extended Campus
GUANGZHOU, China, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- This April, merchants in Guzhen Town, Zhongshan City, will be hustling hard during the 131st Canton Fair. The town is famous for occupying a 70% market share of the domestic lighting industry and sells to more than 130 countries and regions, making it a vital participant of the Lighting Equipment section of the Canton Fair.

As a window of China's foreign trade, the Canton Fair has witnessed firsthand the transformation of Guzhen Town, where farming was replaced by decorative lighting manufacturing, simple table lamps by high-end products sold at home and abroad. It also has attested to the transformation of China's lighting industry from traditional manufacturing to a smart one. According to the China Association of Lighting Industry, the Chinese lighting industry showed strong resilience and potential in 2021 despite COVID-19. The export of lamps in 2021 amounted to US$65.47 billion, an increase of 24.5% year-on-year and of 44.09% over that in 2019, indicating a two-year average growth of 12.95%. The rising share of intelligent, integrated, networked lighting products boosted exports to hit a new high.

With overseas demand for diversified products, the innovation of China's lighting industry is accelerating with improved service. New products showcased at the Canton Fair include the space station series, APP remote controlled solar lawn lights, alternative energy-saving lamps for high-powered products, smart lighting without main light, and solar spotlights. The Fair also brings plant lighting, UV lighting, immersive lighting, and cultural tourism lighting into people's horizons. Considering various situations, the supplier offers user-friendly and all-in-one solutions through automated control and smart home connectivity.

The success of the winter games in Beijing refreshed the world's memory, with hashtags such as #300millionWinterSportsParticipants and #Countdownfrom24SolarTerms trending on social media. Various market-sensitive manufacturers put traditional Chinese cultural elements into their designs, creating high-end 'Chinese retro' lighting that is of interest to overseas buyers.

Smart Manufacturing in China aims to illuminate every corner of the world with its intelligence. According to Alan Liu, Deputy Director General of Foreign Affairs Office of Canton Fair, well-known Chinese lighting brands have registered for the 131st Canton Fair and will release their new smart lighting products online. Exhibitors also said they expected to secure more overseas orders via the Canton Fair.

Visit https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en-US/register/index#/foreign-email for more opportunities.

SOURCE Canton Fair
RICHARDSON, Texas, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After working in executive search for almost 40 years, Jeff Nixon has officially retired and passed on his legacy to the recruiters with Genesis Resources.

Jeff began his executive search career in 1984 and quickly rose to Regional Vice President. In July of 1990, Jeff opened J.L. Nixon Consulting. Throughout his career he held numerous leadership positions including President and Vice President at Insurance National Search and Board Member at National Insurance Recruiting Association.

We had the pleasure of asking Jeff a few questions about his career:

Q  When did you start your career in executive search?

Jeff  I started my career with Fuller & Associates in 1984 recruiting insurance professionals. I was interested in an opportunity to work with professionals and eventually open my own firm, which occurred in July of 1990.

Q  How has executive search affected you in a positive way?

Jeff  I've had the privilege of working with people from all walks of life and assist them in a very personal way which led to many special friendships over the years.

Q  What is the biggest difference in the executive search industry from when you began to today?

Jeff  Without a doubt, it is the technology aspect. When I first started, people mailed their resumes, and I typed up presentations and sent them with the resumes via first class mail to my clients. When the fax machine arrived, the delivery time to clients was shortened immensely. To be successful in this business, you must adjust your business style to paradigm shifts which happen approximately every 18 months to 2 years.

Q  What was the decision-making process behind leaving J.L. Nixon Consulting to Genesis Resources?

Jeff  I have worked with Trey Hugley for nearly 20 years. I knew Trey, his honesty and his business acumen were similar to mine. We actually discussed the possibility of merging firms years ago, but the timing was not right.

Q  What's the first thing you are going to do when you officially retire?

Jeff  I plan to attend my final National Insurance Recruiters Association convention in Nashville in March, and then sail a 50 ft. Catamaran in the British Virgin Islands with my oldest son, Philip, and my Irish sailing partner in June. That is a good start!

Thank you, Jeff, for your contributions to the industry! We wish you the very best!

Media Contact:

Kahli Santoyo

214-741-2000

[email protected]

SOURCE Genesis Resources
LONG BEACH, Calif., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Laserfiche  the leading SaaS provider of intelligent content management and business process automation  today announced the opening of its new global headquarters in Long Beach, California.

Designed to reflect the company's vision of reimagining how technology can transform lives, the expanded and updated headquarters facilitates innovation and collaboration for Laserfiche's rapidly growing team. The opening of the new building launches a new chapter in Laserfiche's 46-year legacy and reflects the visionary perspective of founder Nien-Ling Wacker.

"Laserfiche is in the business of transformation  just as the Laserfiche community uses our software to transform their work, we followed our company vision to transform our workspace," said Laserfiche CEO Chris Wacker. "Nien-Ling would be proud to see her innovative spirit present in every feature of our state-of-the-art global headquarters."

Laserfiche's new headquarters represents the company's place as a cornerstone of technology-focused enterprise in Long Beach.

"The City of Long Beach is proud to call Laserfiche a partner in driving tech and enterprise growth," said Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia. "This new Laserfiche headquarters symbolizes the innovative spirit of our city."

Laserfiche was also honored by recognition by the greater Southern California business community upon receiving a Los Angeles Business Journal 2022 Commercial Real Estate Award, recognizing the building's construction and design.

The new Laserfiche headquarters features versatile, open workspaces designed to facilitate collaboration between team members and foster the connection between Laserfiche and its community of users. Areas designated for team collaboration will be optimized to simplify communication between team members who are in office with those who are working remotely. Each floor features both large and small conference spaces, including a conference room on the first floor with a capacity of 133.

"Building during the pandemic gave us the opportunity to reimagine our headquarters as a hub for collaboration and creativity, as well as prioritize both the productivity and the wellness of our team," said Laserfiche President Karl Chan. "Now, we can accommodate up to 700 employees working in a hybrid fashion."

In addition to their global headquarters in Long Beach, Laserfiche team members work from offices or remotely from every business region in the world. A leader in the enterprise content management software space, Laserfiche was named a Visionary in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Content Services Platforms. Enterprises in industries including government, education, financial services, healthcare and manufacturing use Laserfiche to boost productivity, scale their business and deliver digital-first customer experiences.

About Laserfiche

Laserfiche is the leading SaaS provider of intelligent content management and business process automation. Through powerful workflows, electronic forms, document management and analytics, the Laserfiche platform accelerates how business gets done, enabling leaders to focus on growth across the enterprise.

Laserfiche pioneered the paperless office with enterprise content management. Today, Laserfiche's cloud-first development approach incorporates innovations in machine learning and AI to enable organizations in more than 80 countries to transform into digital businesses. Customers in every industryincluding government, education, financial services, healthcare and manufacturinguse Laserfiche to boost productivity, scale their business and deliver digital-first customer experiences.

Laserfiche employees in offices around the world are committed to the company's vision of empowering customers and inspiring people to reimagine how technology can transform lives.

Connect with Laserfiche:

Laserfiche Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook

SOURCE Laserfiche
TEL AVIV, Israel , April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lightspin , the next-generation cloud security platform, today announced the first free AWS cloud security tool that scans any and all domains to reveal publicly exposed cloud assets. Recon.Cloud is a free AWS cloud threat intelligence resource that provides a clear view of any domain's current exposure from an attacker's perspective. Users will have vastly greater visibility into and increased transparency of their publicly exposed assets.

Attack surface management is a rising challenge of cloud migrations. Gartner predicts that, through 2025, 99% of breaches in cloud environments will come as a result of human error , such as misconfiguration of cloud roles, permissions, and policies. Existing subdomain enumeration tools do not provide the granular specifics for cloud environments. Unlike other tools, Recon.Cloud scans provide a full picture of an AWS environment with all AWS metadata accessible within the user interface. Users can then easily export their results via a JSON file or incorporate their findings into the Lightspin platform to see even more contextual risk within their broader attack surface.

"With Recon.Cloud, we are helping to solve the issue of poor visibility in cloud environments," said Gafnit Amiga, Director of Security Research at Lightspin. "Recon.Cloud is specifically designed to focus on only the pertinent publicly exposed cloud assets in a domain. DevOps and red team members can use Lightspin's free and easy-to-use threat intelligence tool for an in-depth picture of their AWS environment with the option of exporting and analysis just one click away. It also allows security operations to scan targets for research or to better understand recent acquisitions during threat modeling."

Recon.Cloud is available now and is free to all users. To begin scanning an AWS environment, simply go to https://recon.cloud/ , insert a domain in the search bar, and click search.

Follow Lightspin

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspin/

Twitter: @lightspintech

Blog: https://blog.lightspin.io/

About Lightspin

Lightspin's next-gen cloud security posture management (CSPM) platform protects cloud and Kubernetes environments from build to runtime and simplifies cloud security for security and DevOps teams. Using advanced graph-based technology, Lightspin prioritizes risks across the cloud environment focusing security efforts on the critical issues that matter most. Lightspin serves Fortune 500 customers across the globe and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel with offices in New York, NY. For more information, visit https://www.lightspin.io/ .

Media Contact:

Cathy Summers

Summers PR

[email protected]

+1 (415) 483-0480

SOURCE Lightspin
The Phoenix-based nonprofit health system deployed the virtual triage tool to improve the consumer experience throughout its network of six hospitals and 70 clinics

ATLANTA, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Loyal , the preferred software solution for improved care utilization among the nation's leading health systems and hospitals, announced today that its Symptom Checker , part of an end-to-end set of virtual triage tools, is live at HonorHealth , a non-profit, local community healthcare system serving the greater Phoenix area.

Today, health consumers search online for information about their medical conditions before seeking treatment. Providing users a means of checking symptoms and recommending care options early in their care lifecycle allows health systems to establish a dialogue with consumers and build a relationship rooted in trust.

Loyal's Symptom Checker is a highly configurable, white-label technology that can be implemented into a wide variety of workflows to support current and new patients. Symptom Checker and Chatbot work together to make the consumer's experience seamless and the consumer can download the triage level as well as suggested conditions and take it to their provider visit.

HonorHealth leveraged the Symptom Checker's machine learning capabilities to personalize the consumer's experience. Further, by using Loyal's flexible Application Programming Interface (API), HonorHealth created an omni-channel experience across all relevant systems and departments while maintaining full control of their data to enhance patient privacy and security.

"Our main goal is to provide our patients with the 'just right' level of care in a way that is convenient for them, right at home," said Seth Kaplan, Director of Marketing, Digital and CX, HonorHealth. "Our patients can ask the chatbot their questions and get access to care in real-time."

"Symptom Checker is an efficient way to communicate smoothly and effectively with patients and meet their needs where they are," said Chad Mallory, CEO of Loyal. "Loyal is proud to work with HonorHealth, employing Symptom Checker to advance quality healthcare and make it more accessible to all consumers, where they communicate."

The chatbot leverages established clinical protocols and natural language processing (NLP) to identify clinical symptoms affecting the user, available in 20 language versions, including symptom-checking for over 1,200 symptoms, 660+ conditions and over 130 risk factors.

"The integration between Loyal and Infermedica's solutions is a powerful combination for increasing healthcare efficiency. HonorHealth's Symptom Checker uses our API to accumulate the right data to assess the patient's state of health, as such proposing a list of possible conditions and recommended triage," said Piotr Orzechowski, Infermedica CEO and Co-founder. "Our thorough clinical validation, use of trusted resources, and team of medical and technical experts are instrumental in helping to provide accessible healthcare to the local community of the greater Phoenix area through Honor's use of our combined solution."

Further, Loyal's solution gives the patient more than one option in a single interaction, providing dynamic question selection, an opportunity to enter multiple chief complaints, and the ability to handle multiple health conditions in real-time.

Symptom Checker is powered by Infermedica's API and clinical taxonomy. Infermedica's system is based on statistical modeling, used by over 10 million patients world-wide, and is the leading provider of AI-based patient triage.

For more information about how Loyal supports hospitals and health systems in their quest to improve healthcare consumers' online experience, visit LoyalHealth.com.

To read more about how the Loyal Symptom Checker is answering health questions in real time and easing the emergency room visit our blog .

About Loyal

Loyal is a healthcare consumer experience company solely dedicated to the betterment of patient care, Loyal is the preferred platform for improved care utilization used by the nation's leading health systems and hospitals. Loyal's AI-powered solution makes it easier for patients to connect and access care across their entire health journey, thereby driving loyalty with their trusted health provider. Learn how to streamline patients' navigation of your health system and network of clinical services at LoyalHealth.com .

About HonorHealth

HonorHealth is a non-profit, local community healthcare system serving an area of 1.6 million people in the greater Phoenix area. The network encompasses six acute-care hospitals, an extensive medical group, outpatient surgery centers, a cancer care network, clinical research, medical education, a foundation and community services with approximately 12,800 employees, 3,500 affiliated providers and 3,100 volunteers. HonorHealth was formed by a merger between Scottsdale Healthcare and John C. Lincoln Health Network. HonorHealth's mission is to improve the health and well-being of those we serve.

About Infermedica

Infermedica is a leading digital health company, specializing in AI-powered solutions for symptom analysis and patient triage. The company's mission is to make healthcare accessible, convenient and affordable for everyone worldwide, by automating primary care, from symptom to outcome. Infermedica has been adeptly interweaving medical and technical expertise into their technologies since 2012, to support industry leaders including Loyal, Allianz, Global Excel, Gothaer, Microsoft, and Sana Kliniken. Infermedica is currently being used in more than 30 countries, in 20 languages, and has completed more than 10 million successful health checks to date. To learn more, visit www.infermedica.com

Media Contact:

Lauren Ren

857-210-9545

[email protected]

SOURCE Loyal
Lakeview software enables easier data analysis, solidifying the end-to-end C-Trap solution for dynamic single-molecule analysis, and democratizing use by researchers

AMSTERDAM, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LUMICKS, a leading life science tools company that develops instruments for dynamic single-molecule (DSM) and cell avidity (CA) analysis to advance science and improve human health, today announced that it is strengthening its DSM platform with a new software platform 'Lakeview', designed to simplify data analysis by researchers. Lakeview is a turnkey, integrated software suite that enables users to easily manage, view and analyze data on biomolecular processes made possible with the C-Trap instrument.

With this key upgrade to the C-Trap DSM workflow, LUMICKS continues to broaden the ecosystem supporting researcher's groundbreaking discoveries using dynamic single-molecule analysis. This analysis and reporting software platform significantly expands the market as it allows a wider range of scientists to adopt C-Trap technology. By using the Lakeview platform, data from single-molecule research can be more easily translated into deep scientific insights on the true nature of molecular mechanisms.

The new Lakeview data analysis suite will be officially launched at the Experimental Biology 2022 conference in Philadelphia, PA this week and will be used to analyze results from several experiments, using various reagents from LUMICKS' consumable offerings. These live experiments will directly and automatically produce quantitative information such as the dynamics and genomic binding position of Cas9, illustrating the key benefits of integrated workflow and data analysis.

Jos Maas, General Manager of the LUMICKS Dynamic Single-Molecule (DSM) Business, said, "As more and more researchers leverage the incredible power of the C-Trap system, there is a growing need to simplify and interpret the rich data sets generated by this revolutionary tool. Previously, data analysis on C-Trap technology required time and knowledge of data analysis scripts. With the release of the Lakeview Platform, we are bridging one of the biggest hurdles in our quest to democratize dynamic single-molecule instruments: straightforward data analysis that allows scientists to translate complex data sets to biologically relevant information."

He added: "With our growing reagent line in combination with the C-Trap instrument for automated data acquisition, we already provide a unique capability to unravel how molecular processes truly work. By integrating Lakeview, we complete the workflow and make the entire process, from acquisition to analysis, significantly easier. We are pleased to showcase our full end-to-end solution, from sample, to experiment, to data analysis, to results."

About LUMICKS

LUMICKS is a leading life science tools company that develops equipment for Dynamic Single-Molecule and Cell Avidity analysis, two rapidly emerging areas in biology research and immuno-oncology. LUMICKS' tools allow researchers to build the crucial and as yet unfinished bridge between structure and function at both a molecular and a cellular level. This is achieved by applying and measuring forces around biological interactions, enabling the detailed real-time analysis of underlying biological mechanisms. LUMICKS' C-Trap Optical Tweezers  Fluorescence & Label-free Microscopy, allows scientists to analyze complex biological processes in real-time. Similarly, the z-Movi Cell Avidity Analyzer enables the measurement and selection of immune cells based on their real-time interactions with target cells.

For more information contact:

Kassandra Barbetsea, media contact

+31 (0) 63 482 09 48

[email protected]

Joshua Young, investor contact

[email protected]

SOURCE LUMICKS
- A major commercial third party payer in Utah and Idaho, representing 837,000 covered lives, has established positive coverage for both one- and two-level lumbar total disc replacement (TDR) procedures, which includes prodisc L.

- Numerous commercial third party payers have recently adopted positive coverage policies for lumbar TDR, increasing covered lives in the United States from less than 50% in 2017 to now over 85%.

- Centinel Spine continues to advance lumbar motion preservation, through a recent two-level FDA approval and launch of Angled Anatomic Endplate implants.

- Centinel Spine's prodisc L is the only total disc replacement system in the U.S. approved for two-level use in the lumbar spine.

WEST CHESTER, Pa., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Centinel Spine, LLC, a leading global medical device company addressing cervical and lumbar spinal disease through anterior surgical access, today announced significant expansion of coverage for lumbar total disc replacement (TDR) procedures in Utah and Idaho. This policy expansion announced by a major commercial third party payer represents 837,000 covered lives across the two states and includes a positive coverage recommendation for both one- and two-level lumbar TDR. The policy specifically references coverage with Centinel Spine's prodisc L system, the only total disc replacement system in the U.S. approved for two-level use in the lumbar spine.

prodisc L Lumbar Total Disc Replacement (PRNewsfoto/Centinel Spine, LLC)

The commercial third party payer, the largest operating in Utah and the third largest operating in Idaho, previously had no coverage policy for either one- or two-level lumbar disc replacement. The new positive coverage policy opens access to patients suffering from symptomatic degenerative disc disease (DDD), who can benefit from total disc replacement using prodisc L.

Centinel Spine's CEO, Steve Murray, stated, "This recent announcement of expanded disc replacement coverage benefits patients in Utah and Idaho, providing them with access to a broader spectrum of life-changing treatment options. We are encouraged that commercial payers continue to recognize the extensive existing clinical evidence and ongoing long-term outcome publications that demonstrate that one- and two-level lumbar total disc arthroplasty is a safe and effective procedure for a significant group of patients. The prodisc L system grew nearly 50% in the U.S. in 2021 as we are seeing an increased demand from both surgeons and patients."

Centinel Spine continues to innovate in the total disc replacement market, with several recent prodisc L system achievements, including FDA approval of two-level lumbar indications, the launch of new Angled Anatomic Endplates designed to aid in pelvic balancing, a 2021 Orthopedics This Week Spine Technology Award, and continued advancement of clinical evidence supported through a recent long-term safety and effectiveness study presented during the Best Paper session at the North American Spine Society (NASS) 36th Annual Meeting in September 2021.

About Centinel Spine, LLC

Centinel Spine, LLC is a leading global medical device company addressing cervical and lumbar spinal disease through anterior surgical access. The company offers a continuum of trusted, brand-name, motion-preserving and fusion solutions backed by over 30 years of clinical successproviding the most robust and clinically-proven technology platforms in the world for total disc replacement (prodisc) and Integrated Interbody fusion (STALIF).

Centinel Spine continues to advance its pioneering culture and corporate mission to become a catalyst of change in the spine industry and alter the way spine surgery is perceived. Centinel Spine remains the only company with comprehensive motion-preserving and fusion solutions for both cervical and lumbar anterior column reconstruction.

For more information, please visit the company's website at www.CentinelSpine.com or contact:

Varun Gandhi

Chief Financial Officer

900 Airport Road, Suite 3B

West Chester, PA 19380

Phone: 484-887-8871

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Centinel Spine, LLC
Grant to Support Minority Business Development

BOSTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC) has received a grant from MassMutual to invest directly into minority business development. This grant will immediately impact the success of certified minority business enterprises (MBEs), helping them grow, thrive, and prosper by having access to Intellectual Capital and Financial Capital.

For more than 170 years, MassMutual has had a single purpose: to help people secure their future and protect the ones they love. MassMutual believes that "diversity includes the broadest possible range of cultures, backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, while inclusion means creating an environment where all people and ideas are valued", which aligns with the mission of GNEMSDC. Together in this collaboration, both organizations will use their resources to aid MBEs in flourishment.

"Business inclusion, when done thoughtfully and purposefully, can expand marketplace opportunities, help close the wealth gap, and spark economic recovery", says Regina Heyward, MassMutual's Head of Supplier Diversity.

With this grant, GNEMSDC will continue to suffuse funds into MBE development, which includes strategic advisory services and subject matter training focused on targeted connections, financial management, strategic planning, and marketing.

Through the financial support from MassMutual, GNEMSDC is able to continue to strengthen the capacity and value of MBEs, making them a greater prospect for partnerships with buyers in both the public and private sectors. Essentially, this work will add economic value to the supply chain while also increasing economic opportunities for the minority business community  with the ultimate goal of closing the racial wealth gap.

About the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council

GNEMSDC (www.gnemsdc.org) promotes economic inclusion and minority business development. GNEMSDC's 250 minority businesses have aggregate revenue of $2.7 Billion and over 20 thousand employees (65% of whom are ethnic minorities). GNEMSDC connects our corporate members with our MBEs, our corporate members with each other, and our small MBEs with our larger MBEs. Our Development Program ensures that our MBEs are contract ready when opportunities arise. Our Advocacy focuses on the impact of minority business development in making communities stronger. An independent economic impact study on GNEMSDC's MBEs found that their economic impacts included: GDP contribution of $4.3 Billion; wages supported on $1.9 Billion; and total jobs supported of over 32 thousand. GNEMSDC operates the Massachusetts MBDA Business Center (Center), which is funded by the MBDA. The Center provides "no cost" business development and capacity building services to MBEs in New England with at least $500 thousand in revenue. Connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.

About MassMutual

MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyowners. Founded in 1851, the company has been continually guided by one consistent purpose: we help people secure their future and protect the ones they love. With a focus on delivering long-term value, MassMutual offers a wide range of protection, accumulation, wealth management and retirement products and services. For more information, visit www.massmutual.com.

SOURCE Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council
LOS ANGELES, April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 6th, the humble tomato has its day. While tomatoes are not in season in this part of the hemisphere, we can still appreciate all that the terrific tomato has to offer, and enjoy the best quality canned tomatoes from the GREATEST TOMATOES FROM EUROPE!

Preserving fresh tomatoes ensures that their flavor, nutrients and freshness are kept intact so that your dishes reflect the original quality that comes from under the European sun.

Use those exceptional canned tomatoes to celebrate special times such as the upcoming Easter holiday.

Easter Holiday Recipes You Can Try ~

Meat Lasagna - This Italian recipe for lasagna will be the star of your Easter meal. Follow the directions for spectacular results! Get the recipe here: https://greatesttomatoesfromeurope.com/recipes/meat-lasagna/

Fusilli with Ricotta - want a meatless meal for your holiday celebration? Not only is this creamy pasta dish delicious, but it comes together in no time! Get the recipe here: https://greatesttomatoesfromeurope.com/recipes/fusilli-with-ricotta/

Sweet Tomato and Chocolate Cake - although we view tomatoes as a vegetable, it is actually a fruit! So this unique chocolate cake is a great choice for a healthier dessert. Get the recipe here: https://greatesttomatoesfromeurope.com/recipes/sweet-tomato-and-chocolate-cake/

GREATEST TOMATOES FROM EUROPE is not a specific brand, but rather, a campaign by ANICAV -- The Italian Association of Canned Tomato Producers, co-financed by the European Commission -- promoting European preserved (canned) tomatoes. www.greatesttomatoesfromeurope.com

SOURCE Greatest Tomatoes from Europe
TORONTO , April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Info-Tech Research Group, one of the top information technology and research advisory firms globally, has published its annual CIO Priorities for the coming year. The CIO Priorities 2022 report combines insights from the recently released 2022 Tech Trends Report to help CIOs better compete in the digital economy and support their organizations through change.

"In the CIO Priorities 2022 report, we're looking at how to set priorities to compete in the digital economy and support the organization through a dynamic period of change," explains Brian Jackson, Research Director and lead analyst for the report. "This report will help CIOs understand how to balance everything that's on their plate and become inspired with case studies that show once you make the commitment, successful outcomes are possible."

Info-Tech's annual CIO Priorities are based on proprietary, primary data and consultation with experts with CIO experience, as well as insights from related industry reports that the firm releases throughout the year. The CIO Priorities 2022 report also includes insights in the form of exclusive podcast audio, quotes, and case studies from experts at Harvard Business School, Cross Country Mortgage, Allianz Technology, and CVS Health, to name a few.

"CIOs bear a greater burden than ever after the pandemic," adds Jackson. "They've facilitated new remote work scenarios and now must adapt to a hybrid operating model. Talent is at an all-time premium, so staff retention is crucial, and there's more pressure to automate more tasks. At the same time, CIOs face a severe cybersecurity threat in ransomware and new compliance pressures from investors and governments."

Five Priorities from Info-Tech's 2022 CIO Priorities Report:

A priority is created when external factors hold strong synergy with internal goals, and an organization responds by committing resources to either avert risk or seize the opportunity.

The top five priorities Info-Tech's research has indicated should be top of mind for CIOs and tech leaders are outlined below:

Reduce Friction in the Hybrid Operating Model. CIOs will need to work through new pain points related to the friction of collaboration. In 2020, CIOs adapted to the pandemic's disruption to offices by investing in capabilities to enable remote work. In 2022 and beyond, the focus shifts to solving problems created by the new hybrid operating model where some employees are in the office and some are working remotely.



Improve Your Ransomware Readiness. The ransomware crisis threatens every organization, and prevention alone is insufficient. Cybersecurity is always top of mind for CIOs but tends to be deprioritized due to other demands related to digital transformation or cost pressures. Going forward, organizations should look beyond multilayer prevention strategies and lean toward quick detection and response, spending evenly across prevention, detection, and response solutions.



Support an Employee-Centric Retention Strategy. The report cautions that organizations can avoid being victims of "The Great Resignation" by putting employees at the center of an experience that will engage them with clear career path development, purposeful work, and transparent feedback. Professional development and opportunity for innovative work are the next two most common reasons for resignations and signal another area for CIOs to focus on over the coming months. Organizations must ensure they create enough capacity to allow workers time to spend on development.



Design an Automation Platform. Build it or buy it, platform integration can yield great benefits. Digital transformation accelerated during the pandemic, and most organizations became more digitalized as formerly manual processes became automated through software. But how they pursue it depends on their IT maturity.



Prepare to Report on New Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Metrics. The risks posed to organizations and broader society are becoming more severe, driving a transition from voluntary frameworks for ESG goals to a mandatory one that's enforced by investors and governments. Organizations will be expected to tie their core activities to a defined set of ESG goals and maintain a balance sheet of their positive and negative impacts. CIOs should become experts in ESG disclosure requirements and recommend to the business the steps needed to meet or exceed competitors' efforts.

For each of the priorities for the coming year, the report examines how CIOs are responding by referencing survey data and panel interviews.

The comprehensive report is now available. To learn more about each priority, download and read the full CIO Priorities 2022 Report today.

To learn more about Info-Tech Research Group and to download all the latest research, visit www.infotech.com and connect via LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Media professionals are encouraged to register for Info-Tech's Media Insiders program for more research and insights. This program provides unrestricted, on-demand access to IT, HR, and software industry content and subject matter experts from a group of more than 200 research analysts. To apply for access, contact [email protected].

About Info-Tech Research Group

Info-Tech Research Group is the world's fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals. The company produces unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. Info-Tech partners closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group
Modern cybersecurity is a battle over human behavior  and defenders are losing ground. Tweet this

"While the industry treats people as liabilities, adversaries have been wildly successful in exploiting human behavior to launch attacks," said Spitler. "Nudge Security will reclaim human behavior for the defenders."

Nudge Security's technology nudges employees towards secure decision-making anywhere they work without disrupting workflows. It also gives cybersecurity teams the insights they need to protect employees and the organization.

"We are harnessing human intelligence at scale to help strengthen organizations' cybersecurity postures," said Blasco.

Leading the seed round is Ballistic Ventures, a VC firm dedicated to early-stage cybersecurity and cyber-related companies. Ballistic co-founders and general partners include Ted Schlein (Kleiner Perkins, Fortify), Barmak Meftah (AlienVault, AT&T Cybersecurity), Jake Seid (Lightspeed Venture Partners), Derek Smith (Oakley Networks, Shape Security) and Roger Thornton, (AlienVault, AT&T Cybersecurity, Fortify). Kevin Mandia (Mandiant) serves as strategic partner.

"Nudge Security has a unique approach that will transform the human element of cybersecurity," said Roger Thornton of Ballistic. "Nudge Security defines an entirely new category of cybersecurity, one that has gone ignored for far too long."

Also joining Nudge Security as advisors are Kunal Anand (Imperva, Prevoty) and Nicole Perlroth, the cybersecurity journalist, author, and advisor to CISA.

"I'm thrilled to work with Nudge Security to help address the undeniable role human behavior plays in our digital vulnerability," said Perlroth. "Russell and Jaime are taking on the biggest challenge to true cybersecurityusand I'm eager to apply my unique set of experiences to help Nudge Security address this problem once and for all."

Nudge Security founders and Ballistic partners have previously:

Established the $12.9 billion application security market , founding Fortify Software in 2003. Spitler led products through acquisition by Hewlett Packard.





, founding Fortify Software in 2003. Spitler led products through acquisition by Hewlett Packard. Unlocked mass market adoption of threat detection at AlienVault, helping drive 10-fold expansion of the SIEM market. As Chief Scientist, Blasco led the company's threat intelligence and research teams.





Democratized threat intelligence with the AT&T Alien Labs Open Threat Exchange  the world's largest crowd-sourced threat intelligence community of over 180,000 cybersecurity professionals.

With investment from Ballistic, Nudge Security is expanding its team and engaging early access development partners. For more, visit www.nudgesecurity.com .

About Nudge Security

Nudge Security is a cybersecurity startup securing modern organizations through the power of the modern workforce. Learn more at www.nudgesecurity.com and follow on Twitter and LinkedIn .

About Ballistic Ventures

Ballistic Ventures is solely dedicated to early-stage cybersecurity and cyber-related companies. Our partners have spent their entire careers defending against every cyber threat conceivable. Combined, we have founded, operated, or funded over 90 successful cybersecurity firms, led over ten thousand security professionals globally and have 40+ years of experience in venture capital. Our experience provides entrepreneurs impactful support from people focused on the same mission. Our networks and relationships open doors for our founders.

Learn more at ballisticventures.com .

SOURCE Nudge Security
CARPINTERIA, Calif., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PlanMember Financial Corporation is pleased to announce the opening of their new Financial Center, Barron Financial, in Puyallup, WA. Barron Financial will expand retirement and investment planning and financial education opportunities to school districts, employer groups and individual investors throughout the area.

The new Financial Center will be managed by Matt Sinclair, Steve Barron and Julie Barron.

PlanMember, with more than $17 billion in assets, specializes in the 403(b), 457(b) and 401(k) marketplace. To date, PlanMember has established 44 Financial Centers in 24 states, with a goal of expanding to 80 Financial Centers nationwide.

"We are pleased to help Steve, Julie, Matt and their clients as we emerge from the lessons learned during this period of COVID," says Al Close, Executive Vice President of Sales and Distribution. "As a PlanMember Financial Center, Barron Financial Services and its clients will benefit from PlanMember's model by making available such services as our participant call center, personalized planning services, robust financial education resources, and product diversity."

"We're very excited to partner with Steve, Julie and Matt," says Jon Ziehl, President and CEO of PlanMember, "and the affiliation with Barron Financial supports PlanMember's ongoing efforts to expand our Financial Center business model across the country. We look forward to a successful long-term relationship."

About PlanMember: For more than three decades PlanMember Financial Corporation, through its operating subsidiaries, has provided personalized retirement planning and administrative services to public and private sector employers and employees utilizing a broad selection of investment programs. The company is headquartered in Carpinteria, CA.

Securities and advisory services are offered through PlanMember Securities Corporation (PSEC), a registered broker/dealer, investment advisor and member FINRA/SIPC. Barron Financial and PlanMember Securities Corporation are independently owned and operated companies.

SOURCE PlanMember Securities
Relativity6 enables true and transparent classifications of Small Businesses - Emy Donavan, Partner, Fin Capital Tweet this

Relativity6 streamlines and simplifies the underwriting process through its proprietary real-time API that retrieves up-to-the-second information about a business to automatically detect its 6-digit NAICS code and verify its digital existence.

Understanding what a small to mid-sized business does is challenging. A carpenter could also provide roofing services, but carpentry and roofing are two drastically different classes of business from a risk and pricing perspective. If you are unable to accurately capture everything a business is doing you run the risk of improperly classifying the risk.

"Businesses are more versatile than ever before. We are providing a critical operational asset, allowing companies to classify a business quickly and confidently," says Alan Ringvald.

Fin Capital Venture Partner Emy Donavan says "Relativity6 enables true and transparent classifications of SMEs, solving for a pain point that has stifled automation of financial market products for today's multi-dimensional SME offerings. We're thrilled to be supporting Relativity6 as they provide a translation and verification layer for insurers seeking to provide better and more accurate insurance products for small businesses."

About Relativity6

Relativity6's AI platform retrieves up-to-the-second information about a business in order to automatically detect its 6-digit NAICS code and verify its digital existence. Relativity6 is the fastest and most accurate NAICS detector on the market, improving commercial underwriting workflow and overall business classification and segmentation. Relativity6 is backed by Fin VC, State Auto Labs Fund, Vectr Ventures, Cortado Ventures, and Angel Ventures. For more information visit: www.relativity6.com

About Fin Capital

Fin Capital is a global asset management firm focused on full life cycle investing in B2B FinTech companies across the US, UK, Europe, LatAm, Israel, and Canada. with offices in San Francisco, New York and London (Q1 '22). Fin's investing platform includes Pre-Seed (Regatta), Early Stage (Flagship), Growth Equity (Horizons), and Public Equity (Constellation) strategies, and has invested in over 80 portfolio companies globally. The firm focuses broadly across FinTech in six sub-sectors: Embedded Finance, Asset Management/Capital Markets, CFO Tech Stack, InsurTech, Enterprise Blockchain, and Enabling Tech/Infrastructure. For more information, visit https://fin.capital/.

About Vectr Ventures

Vectr is a global venture capital fund and hybrid venture studio based in Hong Kong that combines capital, creation, and partnership to deliver game-changing impact to teams ready to tackle global issues, transform industries, and improve the lives of millions. Vectr invests in early and late stage companies with a focus on software disrupting antiquated industries, computational and synthetic biology, regenerative consumer products, and cross-border fintech. Vectr has over 100 portfolio companies with business reach in over 50 countries. For more information, visit https://vectr.co/ .

About Cortado Ventures

Cortado Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in ambitious, growth-driven companies to define a new generation of economic prosperity for the Midcontinent region. As one of the largest VC funds in Oklahoma, Cortado's focus is on tech companies bringing innovative solutions to the energy, logistics, life sciences, aerospace and the future of work sectors. For more information, visit cortado.ventures .

Relativity6 Media Contact:

Jon Ringvald, Chief Product Officer

[email protected]

SOURCE Relativity6
NEW YORK and MENLO PARK, Calif., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Riverstone Holdings LLC (Riverstone), a leading asset management firm that invests in the private markets, primarily within energy, power, decarbonization and infrastructure, today announced that Laurel Buckner has joined the firm as a Managing Director. Ms. Buckner was previously a Managing Director with WestRiver Group, a Seattle-based venture-debt and equity firm that provides integrated capital solutions to the global innovation economy. WestRiver Group was founded and is led by Erik Anderson, a dynamic entrepreneur who has challenged and disrupted numerous industries including low carbon mobility.

Robert Tichio, a Partner at Riverstone Holdings and head of the firm's decarbonization efforts, said, "We are pleased to welcome Laurel to the firm, as we have collaborated with her and the broader WestRiver Group team, particularly founder and CEO Erik Anderson, in evaluating and executing numerous opportunities. Laurel is an experienced investor with distinct expertise at the intersection of technology and decarbonization. Her addition underscores Riverstone's commitment to attracting superb talent, while capitalizing on a host of compelling investment opportunities brought on by rapid, cross-industry decarbonization, for which Riverstone is uniquely positioned to succeed."

Ms. Buckner added, "I am delighted to join Riverstone as the firm builds upon its established franchise in renewable infrastructure and low carbon investments  with a keen focus on addressing climate change through decarbonization. I look forward to leveraging my experience and to working closely with my new colleagues, many of whom I have gotten to know over the last couple of years."

The addition of Ms. Buckner builds on recent developments contributing to the growth and potential of Riverstone's decarbonization growth platform. This includes announcements earlier this year concerning the launch of a strategic partnership with Blackhorn Ventures to accelerate and enhance decarbonization opportunities and the addition of Cynthia Kueppers to the decarbonization investing team.

Bio of Laurel Buckner

Prior to joining Riverstone, Ms. Buckner was a Managing Director at WestRiver Group, and co-head of the firm's Pacific Northwest Fund. Prior to WRG, she was Senior Vice President, Managing Director of ATN Ventures, investing in novel technologies and business models that benefited ATN's worldwide operating subsidiaries in the renewable energy and communications sectors. Previously, Ms. Buckner founded and ran GCI's corporate venture fund where she invested in and was on the Board of the Blue Box Group (sold to IBM); Telesphere, (sold to Vonage); and ZipWhip (sold to Twilio). Ms. Buckner began her career at the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle, Washington and has extensive experience in corporate law, tax and mergers and acquisitions. She is a Governance Fellow with the National Association of Corporate Directors and currently serves on the Board of TeraGo in Toronto, Canada, where she is Chair of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Audit Committee.

Ms. Buckner holds a bachelor's degree from the Colorado College with Distinction, a Juris Doctor from the University of Denver, and an LL.M in Taxation from the University of Washington.

About Riverstone Holdings LLC

Founded in 2000 by David Leuschen and Pierre Lapeyre, Riverstone Holdings LLC is an asset management firm that invests in the private markets primarily within energy, power and infrastructure. Since inception, the Firm has raised $43 billion of capital to invest across the capital structure and in all major components of the industry's value chain. Riverstone's sole mission is to build great businesses and deliver strong returns to investors through our platform of investment strategies. For more information on Riverstone, please visit www.riverstonellc.com.

About Riverstone's Low Carbon Investment Platform

Riverstone's low-carbon investment franchise began 16 years ago, and has invested more than $6.6 billion in the renewable infrastructure and decarbonization categories since inception. During this time, the Firm has established industry leading, scaled companies. Within the last two years alone, Riverstone has raised more than $3 billion for over a dozen transactions involving differentiated companies that are decarbonizing critical industries.

Media:

Daniel Yunger or Jon Morgan

Kekst CNC

[email protected] / [email protected]

SOURCE Riverstone Holdings LLC
ATLANTA, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- RPC, Inc. (NYSE: RES) announced today that it will release its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 before the market opens. In conjunction with its earnings release, the Company will host a conference call to review the Company's financial and operating results on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Individuals wishing to participate in the conference call should dial toll-free (833) 579-0910 or (778) 560-2620 for international callers, and use conference ID number 5965842. For interested individuals unable to join by telephone, the call also will be broadcast and archived for 90 days on the Company's investor website. Interested parties are encouraged to click on the webcast link 10-15 minutes prior to the start of the conference call.

RPC provides a broad range of specialized oilfield services and equipment primarily to independent and major oilfield companies engaged in the exploration, production and development of oil and gas properties throughout the United States, including the Gulf of Mexico, mid-continent, southwest, Appalachian and Rocky Mountain regions, and in selected international markets. RPC's investor website can be found on the internet at RPC.net.

For information about RPC, Inc. or this event, please contact:

Ben M. Palmer

Chief Financial Officer

(404) 321-2140

[email protected]

Jim Landers

Vice President Corporate Services

(404) 321-2162

[email protected]

SOURCE RPC, Inc.
BALTIMORE, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Urology Care Foundation (UCF), the world's leading nonprofit urological health foundation and official foundation of the American Urological Association (AUA), announces the creation of the new humanitarian endowment fund between the UCF, the AUA Southeastern Section (SESAUA) and the Puerto Rico Urological Association (PRUA). The new $150,000 fund between UCF/SESAUA/PRUA supports humanitarian work within the geographic area of Puerto Rico.

Harris M. Nagler, MD, Urology Care Foundation President, said, "This tripartite collaboration is evidence of our organization's focus on eliminating health care disparities with the UCF's burgeoning focus on the humanitarian efforts."

An annual $4,500 grant will be available starting in 2023. The selected grantee and identified project will support the improvement of urological care in underserved communities and/or research involving health policy to improve patient access to care and education.

"On behalf of the Southeastern Section of the American Urological Association, we are grateful to partner with PRUA and UCF to establish the SESAUA/PRUA/UCF Humanitarian Endowment," said David M. Kraebber, MD, SESAUA Immediate Past President. "The Section understands the importance of humanitarian volunteerism and this endowment will serve to elevate urologic care in underserved communities in Puerto Rico."

This program is designated for AUA members who are Board certified urologists and for Resident/Fellow members who are sponsored by and work in collaboration with a board-certified urologist providing oversight in connection with the project. Residents/Fellows must also provide permission/approval from their institutions to participate in the project.

Applicants must highlight their affiliation with an established organization and project taking place in Puerto Rico. A Program Announcement detailing the application requirements, review and selection process will be distributed by the Urology Care Foundation at the beginning of the application cycle. Applications will open in January 2023.

"On behalf of the Puerto Rico Urological Association, I would like to give thanks to all the parties involved in making the Puerto Rico Humanitarian Fund a reality," said Marcos Perez Brayfield, MD, FAAP, FACS, PRUA President. "We applaud the initiative of UCF and SESAUA to elevate urological care in underserved communities and we look forward to all the initiatives arising from this fund that will contribute to the wellbeing of all the communities in Puerto Rico."

For more information visit www.urologyhealth.org.

About the Urology Care Foundation: The Urology Care Foundation is the world's leading nonprofit urological health foundation, and the official foundation of the American Urological Association. Collaborating with physicians, researchers, patients and the public, the Foundation supports and improves urologic clinical care by funding research, developing patient education and pursuing philanthropic support. To learn more about the Urology Care Foundation and its programs visit: www.urologyhealth.org.

About the American Urological Association: Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology and has nearly 24,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy.

Media Contact:

Caitlin Lukacs, Corporate Communications and Media Relations Manager

410-689-4081, [email protected]

SOURCE Urology Care Foundation
Global Independent Omnichannel Ad Exchange Taps Former OpenX Executive Richard Ottoy to Expand Global Footprint

MONTREAL, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharethrough , one of the top global independent omnichannel ad exchanges, today announced the opening of its new office in London and the appointment of Richard Ottoy as General Manager, EMEA. Ottoy will lead the company's efforts to expand its global footprint and accelerate business development across Europe. He will report directly to JF Cote, CEO & President of Sharethrough.

Ottoy brings more than 18 years of experience to Sharethrough, having held leadership positions at both adtech companies and publishers. Prior to joining Sharethrough, Ottoy was Vice President of Business Development, EMEA at OpenX, where he led the publisher development team, managed various teams across Europe and developed relationships with top level publishers. Ottoy has worked with some of the largest brands in the world throughout his seven years at OpenX, helping publishers better manage and monetize their ad inventory.

"Richard Ottoy brings a wealth of invaluable experience to Sharethrough's global expansion plans," said JF Cote, CEO & President of Sharethrough. "With Richard at the helm of our EMEA team, Sharethrough will continue to provide seamless service to our clients with European interests while opening the door to new partnerships throughout the region".

Ottoy will be responsible for overseeing the EMEA region, utilizing his key leadership and business acumen to lead all departments as a cultural leader and head administrator. This expansion lays the groundwork for Sharethrough to increase the company's overall global footprint, as the UK is projected to increase programmatic ad spending for a third successive quarter at 5.2%, according to the IPA Bellwether Report.

"The opportunity to work for a company that is investing so heavily in its product roadmap is very exciting, and I jumped at the chance to lead Sharethrough's EMEA expansion efforts," Ottoy said. "It's thrilling to be part of such a growth-driven team, and I look forward to having the EMEA office serve as the blueprint for additional Sharethrough offices around the globe."

About Sharethrough

Sharethrough is one of the top global independent omnichannel ad exchanges. Driven by our conviction that advertising should be underpinned by respect & care, we believe taking a human-centric approach to advertising and monetization is the key to a sustainable path forward for the independent and accessible internet to thrive. Advertisers & publishers leverage Sharethrough's unique technology to enhance every impression by rendering a higher-performing banner, video, CTV or native ad that dynamically fits into any placement on any site. Our publisher partners benefit from directly-sourced demand, scale, and quality, prioritizing their monetization efforts while elevating performance. With its headquarters in Montreal, Sharethrough has several offices across North America including San Francisco on the west coast & New York City in the east.

SOURCE Sharethrough
Data will be critical to informing effective cost-containment policy options for states.

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hospitals provide critical care for many consumers across the states. However, as health care spending continues to rise for consumers and payerswith the largest proportion of those expenditures on hospital servicesstates and other purchasers are seeking to better understand and address hospitals' costs. Even with increased hospital transparency requirements, it is unclear how hospital prices relate to the expenses hospitals incur to provide services. The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) in partnership with the Rice University Baker Institute for Public Policy and Mathematica Policy Research, with support from Arnold Ventures, has developed the Hospital Cost Tool (HCT) to help shed some light on this issue.

The HCT identifies different cost measures including hospital revenue, cost to charge ratios, and profitability across more than 4,600 hospitals nationwide from 2011 through 2019. It is interactive, allowing users to examine data for an individual hospital or specific health system, by state or users can compare data across hospitals and states. The tool is based on NASHP's Hospital Cost Calculator that uses Medicare Cost Report data annually submitted to the federal government by hospitals. Data for 2020 will be added to the tool after more hospitals have completed their reports for that year.

"This new tool provides a view of publicly reported hospital data that isn't otherwise available to policymakers and purchasers," says Hemi Tewarson, NASHP's Executive Director. "NASHP's tool is an important resource for understanding costs of individual hospital and health systemsa critical first step to thoughtfully addressing rising health care costs."

One notable metric within the HCT is hospitals' breakeven point, which is the amount a commercial health plan would need to reimburse a hospital to cover its expenses. In calculating the breakeven, the tool accounts for a hospital's operating costs, profit or loss from public coverage programs, charity care and uninsured patient hospital costs, Medicare disallowed costs, and a hospitals other income and expense. Purchasers of care, including states and employers, can compare the breakeven point to the data point showing what commercial payers pay. Depending on the hospital, the breakeven point and what commercial payers reimburse can be significantly different, indicating an opportunity to renegotiate payment rates.

"Understanding a hospitals' breakeven point allows a purchaser like a state, an employer, or a health plan to negotiate a payment that offers an increase from the hospital's costs rather than a discount from the hospital chargemaster, which is how most payment rate discussions start," said Marilyn Bartlett, Senior Fellow at NASHP and former Administrator of the Montana State Employee Health Plan. Bartlett led the development of the HCT and conceptualized and used the breakeven calculations in Montana's successful efforts to move its state employee plan to reference-based purchasing, saving millions of dollars.

Several employer purchasing coalitions have already begun using data from the HCT to help differentiate charges from costs to leverage the information in payment negotiations. A growing number of states are also using the data to develop strategies that address high costs in order to provide effective cost-containment policy options.

"Peak Health Alliance has used the NASHP hospital cost tool extensively and credits a good bit of the millions of dollars we have saved our members to the insight it provides. This tool helped us go from conceptually recognizing how important it is to understand a hospital's finances to having practical hands-on knowledge that informs our negotiations and ensures a fair and reasonable agreement. It has really leveled the playing field between Peak and our hospitals," said Claire V. S. Brockbank, Chief Executive Officer of Colorado's Peak Alliance.

Jane Beyer, Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the Washington Insurance Commissioner and the Chair of NASHP's State Academy said, "Addressing rising health costs is necessary but is complicated and one-size does not fit all. States with urban centers and vast rural areas; with large health systems and small to mid-sized independent hospitals, need individualized hospital financial information to develop and implement data-driven policies. NASHP's tool that allows examination of multiple variables by hospital bed size or of hospitals in one health system that cross multiple states, is critical to designing meaningful policies."

NASHP is hosting a demonstration (for press only) of the Hospital Cost Tool with Marilyn Bartlett this Thursday, April 7 at 1:00 pm ET. Register for more details.

For over 35 years, NASHP has been a nonpartisan organization of, by, and for state policymakers, committed to developing and advancing health policy innovations and solutions. NASHP provides a unique forum for the productive exchange of strategies across state government, including the legislative and executive branches.

SOURCE National Academy for State Health Policy
The market is driven by the increased demand for premium beauty products and cosmetics. In addition, the adoption of omnichannel retailing is anticipated to boost the growth of the personal luxury goods market.

The rising awareness about skin-related issues such as spots, acne, and pigmentation is increasing the demand for anti-aging products. In addition, the increase in disposable incomes has increased consumer spending on premium cosmetic products containing high-quality ingredients. To capitalize on this consumer demand, vendors in the market are making significant investments to develop innovative skin care ingredients and technologies. This is increasing the availability of a wider portfolio of products for consumers, thereby driving the growth of the market.

Know about other factors impacting the growth of the market. Download a Free Sample Now

Major Five Personal Luxury Goods Companies:

Coty Inc.: The company offers personal luxury goods under various brands.

Hermes International: The Company offers luxury goods such as leather goods, fashion jewelry, shoes, fragrances, watches, and ready-to-wear.

Kering SA: The company offers a wide range of personal luxury goods such as handbags, shoes, apparel, and accessories through brands like Gucci, Balenciaga, Ulysse Nardin, Bottega Veneta, and Saint Laurent.

LOreal SA: The company offers a wide range of luxury cosmetics and beauty products through its Loreal luxe division. Some of its brands include Urban Decay, Kiehls, Lancome, Giorgio Armani, and Clarisonic.

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton: The company offers a range of personal luxury goods, such as watches and jewelry, cosmetics and beauty products, and leather goods, under its brands such as Louis Vuitton, Guerlain, Givenchy, Kenzo, and Christian Dior.

Personal Luxury Goods Market: Segmentation Analysis

The 120-pages report segments the global personal luxury goods market by product (accessories, apparel, hard luxury, cosmetics, and others) and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, MEA, and South America).

Personal Luxury Goods Market Product Outlook (Revenue, USD bn, 2020-2025)

Accessories - size and forecast 2020-2025

Apparel - size and forecast 2020-2025

Hard luxury - size and forecast 2020-2025

Cosmetics - size and forecast 2020-2025

Others - size and forecast 2020-2025

By product, the market observed maximum growth in the accessories segment in 2021. The market growth in the segment is expected to be significant over the forecast period.

Personal Luxury Goods Market Geography Outlook (Revenue, USD bn, 2020-2025)

APAC - size and forecast 2020-2025

North America - size and forecast 2020-2025

- size and forecast 2020-2025 Europe - size and forecast 2020-2025

- size and forecast 2020-2025 MEA - size and forecast 2020-2025

South America - size and forecast 2020-2025

By region, APAC will have the largest share of the market. The region currently holds 48% of the global market share. Factors such as the increasing number of high-net-worth individuals, rising growing disposable incomes, increasing consumer interest in luxury products, the availability of a wider portfolio of products, and the thriving tourism industry are driving the growth of the personal luxury goods market in APAC.

Explore other dominant players and major revenue-generating segments in the market. Request a Free Sample Report Now

Related Reports:

Luxury Perfume Market by End-user, Distribution Channel, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Luxury Massage Chair Market by End-user, Distribution Channel, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Personal Luxury Goods Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 3% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 33.53 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 1.45 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, MEA, and South America Performing market contribution APAC at 48% Key consumer countries US, China, Japan, Italy, and France Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Coty Inc., Hermes International, Kering SA, LOreal SA, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, PRADA Group, Ralph Lauren Corp., Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, Rolex SA, and The Estee Lauder Companies 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:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2020

Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Five Forces Analysis

Five force summary

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Product

Market segments

Comparison by Product

Accessories - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Apparel - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Hard luxury - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Cosmetics - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Others - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by Product

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Coty Inc.

Hermes International

Kering SA

LOreal SA

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton

PRADA Group

Ralph Lauren Corp.

Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA

Rolex SA

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory has announced the appointment of Atul Dubey as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., effective April 1. Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. (LRUS) is a leading provider of information and expert solutions for legal and business compliance professionals.

Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory Names Atul Dubey as Head of Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.

Atul joined Wolters Kluwer in 2016 as Chief Strategy Officer, working closely with the Executive Board in leading the development of the company's strategies to successfully drive growth and transformation with a focus on expert solutions. Wolters Kluwer has greatly benefited from Atul's expertise in customer-focused innovation, journey to the cloud and go-to-market transformation. As head of LRUS, Atul will work with the team in focusing on new growth opportunities for the business.

"We are delighted to have Atul lead the Legal & Regulatory U.S. business," said Martin O'Malley, CEO, Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory. "With Atul's expertise in customer-focused innovation and transformative technologies, he will accelerate our delivery of new value to our customers."

"It is a privilege to lead the talented team at LRUS and to continue to serve our valued customers with expertise and excellence," said Atul. "With our strong customer focus and ongoing investment in both expert content and software solutions, we are dedicated to finding innovative ways to help our customers achieve the best outcomes for them and their customers."

Before joining Wolters Kluwer, Atul has had a strong track record in developing and expanding businesses in the fintech space with leadership roles at Citigroup and S&P Global Ratings.

Atul succeeds Dean Sonderegger, who was named Senior Vice President and General Manager, Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting Canada and Research & Learning U.S.

About Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.

Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare; tax and accounting; governance, risk and compliance; and legal and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2021 annual revenues of 4.8 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,800 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY).

For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Linda Gharib

Director, Brand & Communications

Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.

Tel: +1 (646) 887-7962

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.
DUBLIN, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Patch Cable Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global patch cable market reached a value of US$ 2.57 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach a value of US$ 4.23 Billion by 2027 exhibiting a CAGR of 8.10% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different end use sectors. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor.

Patch cable, also known as patch cord, is used to connect a power supply to an end device for signal routing. It carries telephonic, audio, and video signals between non-networked devices, such as headphones and microphones. It is shorter than other conventional networking cables and widely available in numerous colors. At present, a surge in need for data transfer and networking in all commercial activities is catalyzing the demand for patch cables across the globe.

The rising demand for a high-speed network in production facilities to evaluate real-time data, improve production processes and offer smooth as well as secure transmission of data represents one of the key factors driving the market. Moreover, enhancement in cable technologies and usage of patch cables in transmitting power over ethernet (PoE) is propelling the growth of the market. In addition, there is an increase in the development of data centers to store, manage, and disseminate a huge amount of data.

This, along with the emergence of the 5G network, is positively influencing the market. It relies on patch cables to connect equipment within the domain of radio access network (RAN) and back to the core and routing network infrastructure. Besides this, the increasing utilization of patch cables in residential and institutional spaces on account of their low latency and noise interference, easy installation, and reliability is contributing to the growth of the market. Apart from this, the growing penetration of fiber to the x (FTTx) is offering lucrative growth opportunities to the key players. Furthermore, technological advancements in healthcare, telecommunication, and administrative sectors are stimulating the growth of the market.

Competitive Landscape:

The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of the key players being AGC Networks Limited, CommScope Inc., Corning Incorporated, CP Technologies, Legrand, NAI Group LLC, Panduit, Prysmian Group, Quabbin Wire & Cable Co. Inc. and Schneider Electric SE.



Key Questions Answered in This Report:

How has the global patch cable market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global patch cable market?

What are the key regional markets?

What is the breakup of the market based on the product type?

What is the breakup of the market based on the cable type?

What is the breakup of the market based on the application?

What is the breakup of the market based on the end use?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry?

What is the structure of the global patch cable market and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the industry?

Key Topics Covered:



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global Patch Cable Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup by Product Type

6.1 Copper Cable

6.1.1 Market Trends

6.1.2 Market Forecast

6.2 Fiber Optics

6.2.1 Market Trends

6.2.2 Market Forecast



7 Market Breakup by Cable Type

7.1 CAT 3

7.1.1 Market Trends

7.1.2 Market Forecast

7.2 CAT 5

7.2.1 Market Trends

7.2.2 Market Forecast

7.3 CAT 5E

7.3.1 Market Trends

7.3.2 Market Forecast

7.4 CAT 6

7.4.1 Market Trends

7.4.2 Market Forecast

7.5 CAT 6A

7.5.1 Market Trends

7.5.2 Market Forecast

7.6 CAT 7

7.6.1 Market Trends

7.6.2 Market Forecast

7.7 Multimode Optical Fiber

7.7.1 Market Trends

7.7.2 Market Forecast

7.8 Others

7.8.1 Market Trends

7.8.2 Market Forecast



8 Market Breakup by Application

8.1 Networking

8.1.1 Market Trends

8.1.2 Market Forecast

8.2 Non-Networking

8.2.1 Market Trends

8.2.2 Market Forecast



9 Market Breakup by End Use

9.1 Industrial

9.1.1 Market Trends

9.1.2 Market Forecast

9.2 Enterprise

9.2.1 Market Trends

9.2.2 Market Forecast

9.3 IT and Network Security

9.3.1 Market Trends

9.3.2 Market Forecast

9.4 Others

9.4.1 Market Trends

9.4.2 Market Forecast



10 Market Breakup by Region



11 SWOT Analysis



12 Value Chain Analysis



13 Porters Five Forces Analysis



14 Price Analysis



15 Competitive Landscape

15.1 Market Structure

15.2 Key Players

15.3 Profiles of Key Players

15.3.1 AGC Networks Limited

15.3.1.1 Company Overview

15.3.1.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.1.3 Financials

15.3.2 CommScope Inc.

15.3.2.1 Company Overview

15.3.2.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.2.3 Financials

15.3.2.4 SWOT Analysis

15.3.3 Corning Incorporated

15.3.3.1 Company Overview

15.3.3.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.3.3 Financials

15.3.3.4 SWOT Analysis

15.3.4 CP Technologies

15.3.4.1 Company Overview

15.3.4.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.5 Legrand

15.3.5.1 Company Overview

15.3.5.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.5.3 Financials

15.3.5.4 SWOT Analysis

15.3.6 NAI Group LLC

15.3.6.1 Company Overview

15.3.6.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.7 Panduit

15.3.7.1 Company Overview

15.3.7.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.8 Prysmian Group

15.3.8.1 Company Overview

15.3.8.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.8.3 Financials

15.3.8.4 SWOT Analysis

15.3.9 Quabbin Wire & Cable Co. Inc.

15.3.9.1 Company Overview

15.3.9.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.10 Schneider Electric SE

15.3.10.1 Company Overview

15.3.10.2 Product Portfolio

15.3.10.3 Financials

15.3.10.4 SWOT Analysis

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tvwwz3

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

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SOURCE Research and Markets
XanEdu announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Charles (Chad) Bonney as Chief Executive Officer. Tweet this

"XanEdu has been on an impressive growth trajectory since its inception," says Bonney. "I am excited to be a part of their talented leadership team as we work together to grow their portfolio of educational products and services that effectively address the increasing complexities that surround education."

Bonney succeeds John DeBoer who will transition to a role on XanEdu's Board of Directors. DeBoer served as XanEdu's CEO where he led consistent revenue growth and multiple acquisitions that have been instrumental in the Company's building of a robust portfolio in the education space.

Ty Field, XanEdu's Executive Chairman stated, "XanEdu's growth has been significant under John's tenure. He has successfully led the company as it navigated acquisitions, market changes and impressive year-over-year growth. We look forward to John's continued expertise and advisement as a member of the XanEdu Board." Field went on to say, "As we look to the future of XanEdu we are fortunate to have an experienced and dynamic leader like Chad join our team to guide the continued growth and expansion of our educational portfolio."

ABOUT XANEDU

XanEdu has been increasing student engagement and enhancing learning outcomes since 1999 by delivering innovative solutions across the K-12 and Higher Education communities. We address our clients' unique needs through customized curriculum and publishing services at any scale while maintaining our commitment to affordability and accessibility for all stakeholders. XanEdu is a privately held company headquartered in Livonia, MI. More information can be found at xanedu.com.

Contact:

Joyce Mueller

Vice President of Marketing

[email protected]

SOURCE XanEdu Publishing, Inc.
SEOUL, South Korea, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji) hosted a press conference with over 1,500 pastors from various countries in the world who established MOUs with Shincheonji at 5:00 PM(KST), on April 2nd.

Shincheonji hosted this event to share the progress of the online seminars that began from last year, MOUs established thus far, along with some case examples. and participating pastors' testimonials.

1,500 Pastors Establish MOUs with Shincheonji Church

"In the past I thought heaven was somewhere one went to after death" Dongsu Kim, head pastor of Peace Church, who is presently teaching Shincheonji's Revealed Word to his own congregation, said. "I want to share Shincheonji's Revealed Word to my fellow pastors; I want them to learn the Word and realize that their ideas of salvation are incorrect."

Pastor Willifred Endohu, a pastor who has been leading his church for 11 years in Cote d'Ivoire and a lecturer at a seminary school, also expressed a dramatic change in his faith, after learning from Shincheonji's seminar.

"[Chairman Lee] could not have taught such a profound Word if he had not met God and Jesus," Pastor Endohu said. "I want to tell my fellow pastors that what I have seen and verified is that all the answers are in the Bible and Shincheonji is testifying those answers according to the Bible."

At the event, Chairman Lee spoke about how he has come to share the Word and the role of pastors today.

"Writing the word of all the chapters of Revelation in people's hearts is harvesting, sealing, and nurturing those who have been born of God's seed and making them into the citizens of God's kingdom," Chairman Lee said. "[This is why] Jesus showed me the events of all the chapters of Revelation and commanded me to testify to all the churches."

According to Shincheonji, 2155 pastors, 22 seminary schools, 958 churches in 67 countries have established MOUs with Shincheonji Church of Jesus. Following MOUs, several pastors and seminary instructors in countries including US, Philippines and Pakistan, are teaching their congregation and students Shincheonji's teachings.

The event, as well as Shincheonji's Intermediate Level lessons which will air till June 27, every Monday and Thursday, can be viewed on the church's official Youtube Channel (https://bit.ly/SCJyoutube).

Contact:

Scott Alwin

562-354-1653

[email protected]

SOURCE SCJ News
Employees and Company Recognized by Leading Industry Group

NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifteen Con Edison employees have won coveted industry awards for findings that will help energy companies maintain reliable service for customers and protect the environment.

The employees earned Technology Transfer Awards from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a nonprofit that encourages innovation to make sure customers have clean, safe, reliable and affordable electric service that is available to everyone on an equitable basis.

"Con Edison's impressive showing in this year's Technology Transfer Awards demonstrates the expertise and knowledge our women and men apply every day as they serve our customers," Matthew Ketschke, the president of Con Edison, said. "Their projects reflect our company's goal of maintaining our industry-leading reliability while innovating to ensure a clean energy future."

The Projects

The Con Edison researchers worked with EPRI on four projects. The largest group of Con Edison winners invented a method to quickly seal leaks of sulfur hexafluoride, a greenhouse gas known as SF6.

SF6 is difficult to detect because it consists of small molecules. That makes leaks difficult to find and repair. SF6 is in substation high-voltage circuit breakers and some electrical conductors.

The group discovered that tightly wrapping stretchable tape around the area of a flange that is leaking and then sealing the bolt holes with an epoxy stops a leak. Previously, operators had to take the equipment out of service and apply a clamp to stop SF6 leaks.

Con Edison has reduced its SF6 emissions by 98 percent since 1996, which is well ahead of a commitment it made to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Con Edison researchers on the project included four employees from Con Edison's Substation Operations group: James Haufler, an area manager; Rory Kiernan, an engineering inspector; Abebe Lawrence, a senior specialist; and Kenneth Waldun, a mechanic.

Sergo Sagareli, senior engineer in Research and Development; Jozsef Szabo, senior engineer in Central Engineering; and Matthew Walther, section manager in Central Engineering, also worked on the SF6 project.

Two engineers, Sebastian Vero and Patrick Dilillo, came up with a way to protect high-voltage equipment at a Con Edison substation near the East River from contamination.

The contamination is worst during the winter, as vehicles on the highly travelled FDR Drive splash salty water into the air. Excessive contamination on components called insulators can cause a flash and potentially interrupt service to customers.

Vero, an area manager in Substation Operations, and Dilillo, a technical specialist in Substation Field Engineering, worked with EPRI to install sensors that detect excessive contamination on the insulators.

They then developed a website where operators can monitor the levels. When the contamination reaches excessive levels, the company takes steps to address the condition before a flash and customer outages occur.

Three researchers, Serena Lee, project manager in Research and Development; Steve Kim, director of Cyber Forensics; and Raul Cabrera, project specialist in Corporate Security, worked with EPRI and experts from six other utilities to develop a guidebook on cyber security.

Protecting their systems and customers from cyber attacks has emerged as an urgent priority for energy companies, as would-be attackers become more sophisticated and relentless.

Attack attempts on companies can come from the inside or from foreign governments thousands of miles away. Con Edison's comprehensive network is designed to protect from internal and external threats. The company has expanded its use of detection and prevention tools to protect our customers' personal information.

The Insider Threat Management Guidebook provides energy companies with information on running a cyber protection program, behavior that may indicate someone is a potential attacker and technical guidance for detecting suspicious activity.

In addition, four engineers won awards for a project that improves the security of substations. They are: Sagareli; Robert Brantley, vice president of Central Engineering; Daniel Taft, chief engineer in Central Engineering; and Vincenzo Panuccio, manager in Central Engineering.

SOURCE Consolidated Edison Company of New York
ESSEN, Germany, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 19 and 20, 2022, the 16th international MiningForum and trade exhibition takes place in Berlin. Every two years, this dialog platform initiated by the DMT GROUP brings together key decision-makers, experts, and specialists from the industry for an intensive exchange on relevant topics along the mineral resources value chain.

The motto of this year's event is "For a Sustainable Future". The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) is once again acting as patron. Visitors can expect a series of presentations, lectures, and discussions as well as an integrated industry exhibition as part of the event.

The MiningForum is a well-established event in the mining industry and all related segments. The international event offers a wide-ranging 360-degree view of complex, commodity-relevant topics and contexts. Partner countries are Australia and Chile, which, led by the countries' chambers of foreign trade, offer sessions and panel discussions on current mineral resource topics from both countries with their delegations.

A total of 60 renowned speakers from business, science and politics will address topics from the national and international mineral resources markets in a practice-oriented manner. The spectrum ranges from applications and innovations in exploration, extraction and processing to supply chain topics to the rehabilitation of former mining sites. The event will demonstrate how these processes can be made effective and efficient through sustainable action, digitalization, process management, and health and safety management. The participants include renowned, international organizations such as ABB, BAUER, BGE (Bundesgesellschaft fur Endlagerung), DMT GROUP, GFZ, Montanuniversitat Leoben, Siemens, Rio Tinto, Thyssen Schachtbau, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, TUV NORD or Voith.

400 top experts and business leaders are expected to exchange views on current and future developments. In addition to the lectures with their cross-section of all important key topics from basic research from industrial application according to the state of the art, to applied research close to the market, to future concepts, there will be ample opportunity for in-depth discussion of topics and an inspiring exchange. In parallel, the integrated trade exhibition with 40 exhibitors provides a platform for presenting innovative products and services.

Focus on sustainability

The motto "For a Sustainable Future" sets the focus of the event and thus addresses one of the most important topics of the time. New approaches, sustainable solutions and the shaping of the transformation are elements that are reflected in numerous contributions and exhibits and signal what is happening in the industry.

"The transformation of the industry is in progress, and there will be far-reaching changes. With the motto 'For a Sustainable Future', we want to take responsibility for shaping the transformation. Transparently, efficiently and as collaboratively as possible, we will work on new standards that have a global impact and are fit for the future. Whether ESG - Environmental, Social, Governance - or digitalization, whether sustainable raw material extraction or long-term strategies: there are numerous challenges to which the MiningForum can make a significant contribution. We are very pleased that it can take place again this year as a face-to-face event and are convinced that it will provide important impulses for the entire industry," explains Jens-Peter Lux, Managing Director of the DMT GROUP.

The MiningForum will take place on May 19 and 20, 2022 at the Estrel Berlin (Germany).

Among others, FAB, SBN, Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola, BSN (Branchenverband Steinkohle und Nachbergbau), TSU e.V., VBGU (Verband Bergbau, Geologie und Umwelt), German Engineering Federation (VDMA) are partners of the event.

For more information on the MiningForum including company portraits of the partners and exhibitors as well as the complete program, please visit: https://www.the-miningforum.com

- Cross reference: Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) -

Press Contact:

Knut Hirsch

Director Marketing and Communications DMT GROUP

Mail [email protected]

Tel. +49 201 172 1315

Mob. +49 151 125 235 58

About DMT GROUP:

Excellence and innovation: DMT GROUP is an independent, globally active engineering services and consulting company specialising in the markets of plant and process engineering, infrastructure and civil engineering, natural resources, and energy. The goal of DMT GROUP is to create sustainable value for its clients through a full-service engineering and consultancy offering led by knowledge, digitalisation and internationalisation.

DMT GROUP is headquartered in Essen, Germany, and maintains 13 engineering and consulting companies at 30 locations worldwide. DMT GROUP leads the engineering division of TUV NORD GROUP, contributing more than 280 years of experience and working and acting in the spirit of partnership and trust to realise hundreds of projects around the globe every year. DMT GROUP's approach is defined by being solution-orientated and sustainable, ensuring value creation and client success under the guiding principle of Engineering Performance.

www.dmt-group.com

SOURCE DMT GROUP
10,000 Mentors Provide Free Expert Advice and Education

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SCORE, mentors to America's small businesses and a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration, is celebrating the impact of its 10,000 volunteers during National Volunteer Month. SCORE's volunteers provide business mentoring and education in 1,500 communities nationwide, empowering local entrepreneurs, creating jobs and growing the American economy.

New impact data shows that in 2021 alone, SCORE volunteers:

SCORE, mentors to America's small businesses and a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration, is celebrating the impact of its 10,000 volunteers during National Volunteer Month.

Donated 4,580,420 hours

Helped create 25,084 new businesses, 71,475 non-owner jobs and 96,559 total jobs

Provided clients with 326,617 total mentoring sessions

"We cannot thank our volunteers enough for the years of industry expertise they lend to small business owners trying to jumpstart their entrepreneurial dreams," said SCORE CEO Bridget Weston. "Our volunteers are fundamental to SCORE's mission of helping foster vibrant small business communities."

The impact of SCORE volunteers

SCORE volunteers come from diverse backgrounds and offer expertise in different areas of industry. All are experienced business people with a passion to help small business owners succeed. About half currently work as entrepreneurs and executives and half are retired. SCORE mentors help entrepreneurs by sharing their knowledge and real-world experience of running a small business.

"I enjoy giving back to my community and helping other small business owners start and grow their business," said Mary Harris, SCORE's Mississippi District Director. "Small businesses are the backbone of our community."

SCORE data shows that entrepreneurs who receive more than three hours of mentoring report higher revenues and increased business growth. In addition, SCORE offers a wealth of resources to guide entrepreneurs in every phase of their small business journey.

"You know when you reach a milestone yourself and you want to celebrate?" said SCORE Savannah mentor DeLisa Clift. "That's what it feels like to me when I see a SCORE client reach a goal that they've set for themselves."

SCORE is actively recruiting diverse volunteers to share their expertise and business insight with current or rising entrepreneurs. To learn more about becoming a volunteer, visit www.SCORE.org/volunteer.

About SCORE:

Since 1964, SCORE has helped 11 million entrepreneurs start or grow a business. SCORE's 10,000 volunteers provide free mentoring, workshops and educational services to 1,500+ communities nationwide, creating 25,084 new businesses and 71,475 non-owner jobs in 2021 alone. Visit SCORE at www.score.org. Follow @SCOREMentors on Facebook , Twitter and LinkedIn .

Funded [in part] through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Contact:

Meghan Dooley

SCORE

202-968-6428

[email protected]

SOURCE SCORE
Attendees Can Interview, Receive Offers on Site; Signing Bonuses Available

EIGHTY FOUR, Pa., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 84 Lumber, the nation's largest privately held building materials supplier, is recruiting for more than 10 immediate openings at locations in Louisville, KY, as the company's business continues to expand nationwide. Interested job seekers can interview for open positions at a hiring event on April 12, 2022, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Holiday Inn (1325 S Hurstbourne Pkwy, Louisville, KY 40222).

"At 84 Lumber, we are on the leading edge of the ongoing rise in residential construction across the nation," said Rob Woodrow, divisional vice president at 84 Lumber. "Greater demand for our products means a need for more motivated, dedicated employees who want to take advantage of the phenomenal growth opportunity in our industry. If you have a strong work ethic and are eager for something new, you could be the perfect fit for us."

Hiring event attendees will participate in job interviews, learn more about 84 Lumber's company culture, and get more details about signing bonuses being offered for certain positions. Some attendees may receive a job offer on site. Open positions include:

Yard associates . Applicants need no prior experience and perform essential functions behind the scenes  from the management of supply shipments to the operation of forklifts and other equipment. Starting pay is $17 per hour. Yard associates also receive an $840 sign-on bonus.

. Applicants need no prior experience and perform essential functions behind the scenes  from the management of supply shipments to the operation of forklifts and other equipment. Starting pay is per hour. Yard associates also receive an sign-on bonus. Field operations trainees will travel to assist stores with operational functions including marketing, sales, and management. This position provides an advanced education in management and operations. Starting compensation is $51,000 per year.

will travel to assist stores with operational functions including marketing, sales, and management. This position provides an advanced education in management and operations. Starting compensation is per year. Manager trainees (MTs) , who enter an intensive, one-on-one, on-the-job training program that teaches them about the company's business and puts them on a path to become a future leader within the enterprise. Starting compensation for manager trainees is $40,000 per year plus monthly incentive compensation. MTs also receive an $840 sign-on bonus.

, who enter an intensive, one-on-one, on-the-job training program that teaches them about the company's business and puts them on a path to become a future leader within the enterprise. Starting compensation for manager trainees is per year plus monthly incentive compensation. MTs also receive an sign-on bonus. Customer service managers are responsible for assisting salespeople in managing customer accounts, including ordering and processing materials, setting pricing, and invoicing and back charging decisions. Starting compensation is $41,600 per year plus monthly bonuses.

are responsible for assisting salespeople in managing customer accounts, including ordering and processing materials, setting pricing, and invoicing and back charging decisions. Starting compensation is per year plus monthly bonuses. Multi-family project managers are responsible for the solicitation of project documents and information, ensuring that all information is delivered to hub estimators, and supporting team members and outside vendors through RFP procedure. Compensation is based on experience.

"As a family-owned company, 84 Lumber is committed to helping our employees build a long-term career with us. We are proud to say that 95% of our store managers started in our manager trainee program," Woodrow said. "We believe that a wide variety of candidates can find a home with the company and open doors for themselves  a person with no construction experience but a desire to learn, military veterans ready to open their next chapter, or someone simply ready to make a fresh start. We'll give every one of them the tools to grow."

Candidates interested in participating in the Hiring Event should pre-register online and complete the form. Registrants will then receive an email from 84 Lumber with the link to apply for the desired position. To save time, Woodrow strongly encourages candidates to apply for positions online before they attend the event.

On-site pre-employment drug screening will be available for applicants at the hiring event. Candidates who advance in the process will also be required to pass a background check prior to employment.

To learn more about 84 Lumber, follow the company on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

ABOUT 84 LUMBER

Founded in 1956 and headquartered in Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, 84 Lumber Company is the nation's largest privately held supplier of building materials, manufactured components and industry-leading services for single- and multi-family residences and commercial buildings. The company operates nearly 250 stores, component manufacturing plants, custom door shops, custom millwork shops and engineered wood product centers in more than 30 states. 84 Lumber also offers turnkey installation services for a variety of products, including framing, insulation, siding, windows, roofing, decking and drywall. A certified national women's business enterprise owned by Maggie Hardy Knox, 84 Lumber was named by Forbes as one of America's Largest Private Companies in 2018 and one of America's Best Large Employers in 2019. For more information, visit 84lumber.com or join us at Facebook.com/84lumber and linkedin.com/company/84-lumber .

Contact: Jeff Donaldson, BLD Marketing

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (412) 347-8039

Photos: http://www.bldpressroom.com/84lumber/louisville

SOURCE 84 Lumber
According to the firm's 2022 HR Trends Report, organizations that prioritized employee needs over organizational needs during the pandemic were 1.5 times more likely to experience high overall performance and 1.4 times more likely to experience high workforce productivity.

Organizations with effective wellbeing programs see many benefits, such as increased productivity, engagement, morale, and talent attraction. Furthermore, these organizations realize decreased turnover, absenteeism, and burnout.

McLean & Company's research has found that most organizations report that less than half of their employees participate in the wellbeing programs being offered. This is often due to the misalignment between the initiatives provided by organizations and the needs of the employee.

Creating an effective employee wellbeing program requires a mindset shift. Traditional employee wellbeing programs focused on helping employees better manage work-related stressors. However, some of these approaches failed to account for the range of stressors employees experience and the active role organizations play in creating a culture that encourages or inhibits wellbeing.

The firm's new blueprint explains that organizations have a responsibility to acknowledge the role individual stressors, such as caregiving responsibilities and financial strain, and societal stressors, including political, social, and economic, have on employees and need to provide resources to support their wellbeing.

The research further indicates that effective employee wellbeing programs address systemic barriers and provide resources that target multiple levels, such as:

Individual initiatives that employees can choose to participate in based on their needs and interests.

Team initiatives that target team culture or social norms, supervisor behaviors, and co-worker relationships.

Organizational initiatives that target all employees and promote a culture that recognizes, rewards, and reinforces wellbeing.

As the boundary between work and life becomes increasingly blurry, employees are no longer able to leave their personal lives at the door, making employee wellbeing programs much more essential. McLean & Company recommends that organizations use the following holistic steps to create an effective wellbeing program:

Gather data and employee feedback to identify gaps in the existing initiatives and uncover employee wellbeing needs.

Select the organization's wellbeing priorities and build a program composed of initiatives that meet employee needs and address systemic barriers.

Create a customized and targeted communications plan to ensure employees are fully aware of the wellbeing initiatives being offered.

The complete blueprint on how to Create a Holistic Employee Wellbeing Program is available for download now so that HR departments can implement recommendations immediately.

To learn more about McLean & Company and to download all the latest research, visit hr.mcleanco.com and connect via LinkedIn and Twitter.

Media professionals are encouraged to register for McLean & Company's Media Insiders program for more research and insights. This complimentary program provides unrestricted, on-demand access to HR, IT, and software industry content and the ability to speak with subject matter experts from a group of more than 200 research analysts and thought leaders. To register for access, contact [email protected].

About McLean & Company

Through data-driven insights and proven best-practice methodologies, McLean & Company offers comprehensive resources and full-service assessments, action plans, and training to position organizations to meet today's needs and prepare for the future.

McLean & Company is a division of Info-Tech Research Group.

SOURCE McLean & Company
Stock Symbol: AEM (NYSE and TSX)

TORONTO, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM) (TSX: AEM) ("Agnico Eagle" or the "Company") today announced that it will release its first quarter 2022 results on Thursday, April 28, 2022, after normal trading hours. Additionally, the Company will host its Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders (the "AGM") the following day, Friday, April 29, 2022, in a hybrid format (in Toronto and virtually).

First Quarter 2022 Results Conference Call and Webcast

Agnico Eagle's senior management will host a conference call on Friday, April 29, 2022 at 08:30 AM (E.D.T.) to discuss the Company's financial and operating results.

Via Webcast :

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's website at www.agnicoeagle.com.

Via Telephone :

For those preferring to listen by telephone, please dial 1-416-764-8630 or toll-free 1-888-390-0608. To ensure your participation, please call approximately five minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call.

Replay archive :

Please dial 1-416-764-8677 or toll-free 1-888-390-0541, access code 747635#. The conference call replay will expire on May 29, 2022.

The webcast, along with presentation slides, will be archived for 180 days on the Company's website.

Annual Meeting

The AGM will begin on Friday, April 29, 2022 at 11:00 am (E.D.T). During the AGM, management will provide an overview of the Company's activities.

Hybrid Format

The AGM will be held in person at the Arcadian Court, 401 Bay Street, Simpson Tower, 8th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2Y4 and online at: https://meetnow.global/MX6S7HV.

The Company is conducting a hybrid meeting that will allow registered shareholders and duly appointed proxyholders to participate both online and in person. The Company is providing the virtual format in order to provide shareholders with an equal opportunity to attend and participate at the AGM, regardless of the particular constraints, circumstances or risks that they may be facing as a result of COVID-19.

For details explaining how to attend, communicate and vote virtually at the AGM please see the Company's Management Information Circular dated March 21, 2022, filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Shareholders who have questions about voting their shares or attending the AGM may contact Investor Relations by telephone at 416.947.1212, by toll-free telephone at 1.888.822.6714 or by email at [email protected].

About Agnico Eagle

Agnico Eagle is a senior Canadian gold mining company, producing precious metals from operations in Canada, Australia, Finland and Mexico. It has a pipeline of high-quality exploration and development projects in these countries as well as in the United States and Colombia. Agnico Eagle is a partner of choice within the mining industry, recognized globally for its leading environmental, social and governance practices. The Company was founded in 1957 and has consistently created value for its shareholders, declaring a cash dividend every year since 1983.

SOURCE Agnico Eagle Mines Limited
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- American Jewish Committee's (AJC) Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) inter-parliamentary group convened a virtual roundtable discussion on transatlantic responses to Iran's nuclear ambition. Introduced by new American TFI co-chairs Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), the discussion brought together 22 members of Congress, members of the Knesset, and lawmakers from Europe and Canada. The event was moderated by AJC Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson.

As negotiations on Iran's nuclear program continue in Vienna, the lawmakers from across the political spectrum and from both sides of the Atlantic consulted yesterday on the challenges in addressing Tehran's quest for nuclear weapons, its regional aggression, and its support for global terrorism.

"It is in the interest of the world that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. Period, stop. And we need to do everything to ensure that that never happens. The only way to peacefully end Iran's nuclear ambitions and activities is through diplomacy. But we need to make sure all options are on the table," said TFI co-chair Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) who, alongside Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), leads the 25-member congressional delegation of TFI.

TFI co-chair Rep. Andrew Garbarino said: "There needs to be bipartisan buy-in from Congress to make sure that whatever is done will last - and the rules won't change. I think you will get a stronger deal that way and it is something that everyone can come out together and say they support. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) continues to actively support - both financially and with weapons - terrorist organizations that want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. We can't allow that to continue. Taking them off the terrorist watch list is a reward that they don't deserve."

Members of Knesset from both the coalition and the opposition shared their concerns about Iran's nuclear escalation. MK Yuval Steinitz of Likud, previously Minister of Strategic and Intelligence Affairs responsible for International Relations, said: "The world must prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. The scenario of what happened with North Korea will repeat itself in the Middle East. Israel will have to prevent it - but I hope that won't be necessary. But we have to be prepared for any scenario. In the past, Israel already twice - in Iraq and Syria - destroyed nuclear military projects after the world refused to do anything. I hope this time it's different."

MK Moshe Tur-Paz (Yesh Atid), who serves on the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said: "In the last seven years, Iran has launched more terror and now has much more extreme leadership than it had in 2015. Because of this we cannot look at Iran in an optimistic way. Israel won't stand alone against Iran."

TFI President Anna Michelle Asimakopoulou, a Greek Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the European People's Party (EPP), said: "We're seeing right now the degree to which Russia's possession of nuclear weapons is curtailing our room for maneuver in pushing back against its invasion of Ukraine. The idea that we could end up in a similar position when it comes to Iran is pretty terrifying."

TFI Chair in the European Parliament, MEP Lukas Mandl of Austria, added that also Iran's non-nuclear malign activities must be addressed: "The EU must finally end the artificial distinction between a so-called military and political wing. Hezbollah is one organization and its 'political' operations make it only more dangerous. We must designate it in its entirety."

Canadian MP James Bezan (Conservative Party) underlined that "all efforts must be made to make it impossible for Iran to achieve their nuclear aspirations and spread their terror around the world and ultimate goal of attacking Israel."

The Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) was founded in July 2019 in the European Parliament by the AJC EU office in Brussels, the Transatlantic Institute. TFI is the first cross-party, interparliamentary group of its kind that connects lawmakers from the U.S. Congress, the Knesset, the Parliament of Canada, and legislatures across Europe. With over 160 legislators from 25 countries, TFI fosters the transatlantic bond with Israel by engaging legislators to create synergies across the Atlantic, to advance mutual interests, and to address common threats.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee
The science behind AlloSource's cartilage cryopreservation process, ViaTrue, will be highlighted in two posters; P#171  Cryopreservation of Thin OCA ProChondrix CR Suppresses Apoptosis and Maintains Viability, and P#173  Cryopreserved OCAs Provide an Alternative to Refrigerated OCAs. AlloSource's ProChondrix CR Osteochondral Allograft will also be featured at oral session #16.3.2  Allografts-Biomechanical Effects of Cryopreservation on ProChondrix CR Thin Osteochondral Allografts. Abstracts can be found on the ICRS web page by searching the associated number.

"As a leading innovator and manufacturer of allograft cartilage for joint preservation, we are excited to be at ICRS showcasing our scientific expertise," said Carolyn Rorick, AlloSource Senior Director Product Development, Innovation and Clinical Affairs. "We remain motivated to advance our cartilage allograft tissue offerings to better support the surgeon community and their patients."

Among the many types of cartilage products that AlloSource manufactures, the company developed ProChondrix CR, a viable hyaline cartilage osteochondral allograft used for single-stage cartilage restoration procedures. This cartilage restoration therapy contains live functional chondrocytes and other biological components necessary for repair and regeneration of damaged cartilage tissues.1 ProChondrix CR has an average of 94.97% chondrocyte viability after two years of storage at -40C. The two-year shelf life helps to alleviate the inventory management challenges of other cartilage products and provides surgeons with more flexibility for their patients.

For more information on AlloSource and featured product ProChondrix CR, please visit allosource.org or contact [email protected].

About AlloSource

Founded in 1994, AlloSource is a nonprofit leader in providing allografts that maximize tissue donation to help surgeons heal their patients. The company has grown into one of the largest tissue networks in the country creating more than 200 types of precise bone, skin and soft-tissue allografts for use in an array of life-saving and life-enhancing medical procedures. As a leading manufacturer of cartilage tissue for joint repair and skin allografts to help heal severe burns, AlloSource's products bridge the proven science of allografts with the advanced technology of cells. The company is accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks and is headquartered in Centennial, CO. For more information, please visit allosource.org.

1. Data on file

Media Contact

Cindy Mason

AlloSource

720. 873. 4744

[email protected]

SOURCE AlloSource
CALABASAS, Calif., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) (the "Company"), a leading provider of high-quality single-family homes for rent, today announced its intent to redeem all outstanding shares of its 5.875% Series F Perpetual Preferred Shares (NYSE: AMH-F), $0.01 par value per share, for cash at a liquidation preference of $25.00 per share plus any accrued and unpaid dividends, on May 5, 2022.

About American Homes 4 Rent

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and "American Homes 4 Rent" is a nationally recognized brand for rental homes, known for high-quality, good value and resident satisfaction. We are an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing, and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties. As of December 31, 2021, we owned 57,024 single-family properties in selected submarkets in 22 states.

Additional information about American Homes 4 Rent is available on our website at www.americanhomes4rent.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that relate to beliefs, expectations or intentions and similar statements concerning matters that are not of historical fact and are generally accompanied by words such as "believe," "expect," "will," "intend," "anticipate" or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These forward-looking statements include the intent to redeem all outstanding shares of the Company's 5.875% Series F Perpetual Preferred Shares. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations and assumptions about future events. While the Company's management considers these expectations to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control and could adversely affect our cash flows and ability to redeem the 5.875% Series F Perpetual Preferred Shares. Additional information about these and other important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from anticipated results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements is available in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform to actual results or changes in expectations, except as required by applicable law.

Contacts:

American Homes 4 Rent

Investor Relations

Nicholas Fromm

Phone: (855) 794-2447

Email: [email protected]

American Homes 4 Rent

Media Relations

Megan Grabos

Phone: (805) 413-5088

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE American Homes 4 Rent
HOUSTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- American Residential Services (ARS)/Rescue Rooter, the nation's largest provider of air conditioning, heating and plumbing services, has named 9thWonder Agency its media agency of record.

The new engagement between 9thWonder, a national independent marketing agency, and ARS focuses on securing broadcast paid media and offline paid media opportunities to promote local brand awareness, supporting many of ARS's network of locally managed service centers in 26 states under 34 different brand names. 9thWonder will provide ARS with a full spectrum of services, including media strategy development, and broadcast buying. 9thWonder's media efforts will serve as a key source of lead generation for ARS in 40 media markets across the nation.

"We are thrilled to support ARS in helping the company achieve its goals and objectives," said Scott Thaler, 9thWonder chief marketing officer. "We look forward to helping build ARS and drive appointments for its established brands."

The Memphis-based company that offers repair, installation and emergency heating and cooling services initiated a partnership with 9thWonder because the agency's demonstrated ability to offer collaborative services as well as holistic and strategic thinking about its marketing performance across all channels. 9thWonder is an award-winning agency that provides brand strategy, media planning, creative, research, digital strategy and social media services to clients across the globe.

"After an extensive RFP process, we selected 9thWonder Agency as our national media agency of record because of its proven performance with building brands and driving traffic," said Mike Midgett, ARS Chief Sales and Marketing Officer. "The 9thWonder team understood our brand and business needs, and the agency focuses on the return on investment that will drive profitable business growth in our markets."

For more information on 9thWonder Agency, please visit 9thWonder.com.

About 9thWonder

9thWonder is a minority-owned independent marketing agency comprised of diverse thinkers committed to harnessing the power of difference. 9thWonder has offices spanning North America, South America and Asia, with capabilities including: brand strategy, media planning, creative, research, digital strategy and development, public relations, social media and more. With clients across a wide-range of industries, 9thWonder knows how to market to a diverse America and generate real marketplace results.

About American Residential Services (ARS)

Based in Memphis, Tenn., privately-owned ARS operates a network of more than 70 locally-managed service centers in 24 states, with approximately 6,000 employees. ARS serves residential and light commercial customers by providing heating, cooling, indoor air quality, plumbing, drain cleaning, sewer line, radiant barrier, insulation, and ventilation services. The ARS Network features industry-leading brands including 4 Eco Services, Air Experts, A.J. Perri Aksarben ARS, Allgood, Andy's Statewide, ARS, Aspen Air Conditioning, Atlas Trillo, Beutler, Blue Apple Electric, Blue Dot Services, Blue Flame, Bob Hamilton, Brothers, Columbus Worthington Air, Comfort Heating & Air, Conway Services, DM Select Services, Efficient Attic Systems (EAS), Elite Air, Florida Home Air Conditioning, Greenstar Home Services, Hauser Heating & Air Conditioning, McCarthy Services, My Electric Works, Rapid Repair Experts, Rescue Rooter, Rescue Rooter / Jack Howk, RighTime Home Services, Roger the Plumber, RS Andrews, The Irish Plumber, The Rooter Works, Total Comfort, Unique Services, Will Fix It, and Yes! Air Conditioning and Plumbing. Providing exceptional service and ensuring the highest quality standards, ARS has the experience to do any job right  the first time, with all work fully guaranteed. ARS: "Making it work. Making it right."

Media Contact:

Avery Jones [email protected]

SOURCE 9thWonder Agency
New Senior Managing Directors significantly bolster the Firm's Expert Forensic Accounting, Financial Investigations, and Anti-Financial Crime offering in the EMEA region and globally

LONDON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ankura Consulting, LLC ("Ankura"), a leading global expert services and advisory firm, today announced that Lee Hale, Jonathan Brown, and Richard Indge have joined the Firm as Senior Managing Directors in London with a remit to significantly augment Ankura's Expert Forensic Accounting, Financial Investigations, Sanctions, and Anti-Financial Crime offerings in the United Kingdom (UK) and internationally. These new hires further underscore Ankura's strong growth trajectory, following the recent acquisition of McLarty Associates, the world's leading commercial diplomacy firm, and launch of the European Turnaround and Restructuring practice in London.

"We are delighted to have Lee, Jonathan, and Richard join us at such a critical time for the business," said Kevin Lavin, Chief Executive Officer at Ankura. "Ankura's accelerating growth story allows us to continuously attract some of the industry's best talent and we are certain our new colleagues' excellent reputations in the market, rooted in their deep expertise and experience, will take our offering to the next level, providing our clients with unmatched forensic accounting support."

"The importance of a strong senior team of forensic accounting, sanctions, and anti-financial crime experts in our business has never been more important at a time when business risk and complexity has increased," added Steve Richards, Senior Managing Director and Ankura's Global Leader of Risk, Forensics & Compliance. "Combined with the deep expertise in our global platform, as well as the commercial diplomacy experience of McLarty Associates, our team can help engage with all stakeholders to solve their biggest challenges."

"Ankura delivers leading analysis and testimony in the world's most complex disputes, investigations, and arbitration," said Mary Beth Edwards, Senior Managing Director and Ankura's Global Leader of Disputes and Economics. "The addition of Lee, Jonathan, and Richard will strengthen our industry-leading position in helping clients solve complex problems in the marketplace."

About the new Senior Managing Directors:

Lee Hale is an anti-financial crime expert who joins the business from Deutsche Bank, where he was Global Head of Anti Money-Laundering and Sanctions. Over the past 25 years, he has held roles in anti-financial crime, audit, sanction matters, and project management, including long-term assignments in Africa and the Middle East . His experience includes leading international teams, overcoming cultural differences, and successfully delivering large-scale, complex initiatives. He is particularly proficient in developing and implementing end-to-end financial crime controls, which involve complex technology deployments.

is an anti-financial crime expert who joins the business from Deutsche Bank, where he was Global Head of Anti Money-Laundering and Sanctions. Over the past 25 years, he has held roles in anti-financial crime, audit, sanction matters, and project management, including long-term assignments in and the . His experience includes leading international teams, overcoming cultural differences, and successfully delivering large-scale, complex initiatives. He is particularly proficient in developing and implementing end-to-end financial crime controls, which involve complex technology deployments. Jonathan Brown is a forensic accountant and has supported clients exposed to acute reputational and regulatory risk for over 20 years. He specializes in multi-jurisdictional matters, relating to fraud, corruption, and complex accounting issues. Jonathan has undertaken investigations and compliance projects in over 50 countries and has worked for enforcement agencies, including the Serious Fraud Office and the UK's insolvency regulator.

is a forensic accountant and has supported clients exposed to acute reputational and regulatory risk for over 20 years. He specializes in multi-jurisdictional matters, relating to fraud, corruption, and complex accounting issues. Jonathan has undertaken investigations and compliance projects in over 50 countries and has worked for enforcement agencies, including the Serious Fraud Office and the UK's insolvency regulator. Richard Indge is a highly experienced forensic accounting specialist having worked on some of the largest and most complex cases. He advises clients and provides expert testimony on accounting, valuation, and damages quantum in dispute resolution. This includes acting in commercial litigation, international arbitration, and expert determinations for clients across a range of industry sectors and jurisdictions.

About Ankura

Ankura Consulting Group, LLC is an independent global expert services and advisory firm that delivers services and end-to-end solutions to help clients at critical inflection points related to change, risk, disputes, finance, performance, distress, and transformation. The Ankura team consists of more than 1,700 professionals serving 3000+ clients across 55 countries who are leaders in their respective fields and areas of expertise. Collaborative lateral thinking, hard-earned experience, expertise, and multidisciplinary capabilities drive results and Ankura is unrivaled in its ability to assist clients to Protect, Create and Recover Value. For more information, please visit, www.ankura.com.

SOURCE Ankura
Ralph's Coffee set to open this summer; Toku Modern Asian this fall

AVENTURA, Fla., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aventura Mall continues expanding its selection of restaurants and eateries with the addition of Sugar Factory, Motek and Carrot Express.

Sugar Factory is a family-friendly, world-famous celebration destination known for its over-the-top treats, which earned it Food & Wine Magazine's "Most Instagrammed Restaurant in the U.S." designation. Diners can indulge in a range of exciting menu items such as Rainbow Sliders, Monster Burgers, Insane Milkshakes like Caramel Sugar Daddy Cheesecake, a King Kong Sundae that serves 12 people, and colorful cocktails served in fishbowl-style cauldrons. Additional menu items include towering salads and sandwiches, meat and seafood entrees, and pasta dishes.

Motek, a family-owned, Kosher-style eatery offering flavorful Israeli-Mediterranean fare, serves authentic dishes such as falafel, hummus, shawarma, malawach and more. Offering brunch, lunch and dinner, as well as sweets and coffee, Motek's menu features both big and small plates. The Miami-based owners sought to elevate fast-casual food culture by bringing fresh Israeli food to the mix: Motek uses only the highest quality ingredients and offers a variety of vegetarian options.

Carrot Express was founded in South Florida in 1993 by Mario Laufer, who was passionate about cooking simple, healthy and flavorful dishes. The eatery  recently named one of "The Absolute 12 Best Vegan Restaurants in Miami" by Pure Wow  has grown into a spot for fresh, handcrafted food made with natural, high-quality ingredients. The menu includes acai and poke bowls, healthy burgers and wraps, salads with homemade dressings, and more.

Additionally, Ralph's Coffee, which represents the timeless American spirit of the Ralph Lauren brand and features custom blends crafted from the world's finest coffee beans, is set to open this summer. Toku Modern Asian, which features a diverse, modern Asian menu consisting of Japanese and Chinese inspiration with touches of Thai, is set to open this fall.

Complementing Miami's eclectic and diverse culture, Aventura Mall's dining experience enables visitors to brush with cuisines from around the globe. Guests enjoy a multitude of classics and newcomers, many offering indoor and outdoor seating, including Estiatorio Ornos by Chef Michael Mina, Laduree, CVI.CHE 105, Pubbelly Sushi, PANI, Tap 42 Craft Kitchen + Bar, Pollos & Jarras, Serafina Miami, Bella Luna, Trattoria Rosalia, The Cheesecake Factory, and Divieto Ristorante.

Treats Food Hall, a curated food emporium on the expansion wing's third level, is a gastronomical delight, home to Jrk!, Shake Shack, Chicken Guy! by Guy Fieri, Chipotle, Zuuk Mediterranean Kitchen, Poke 305, and more.

For more information about Aventura Mall's dining options, call 305-935-1110 or visit aventuramall.com/dining.

ABOUT AVENTURA MALL: Aventura Mall is the premier shopping destination in Miami and South Florida, and one of the top shopping centers in the U.S. Anchored by Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, the center is highlighted by a mix of over 300 stores, from luxury fashion brands to shopper favorites, including the largest Apple store in Florida, Adidas, Anthropologie, Balenciaga, BVLGARI, Burberry, Cartier, Givenchy, Gucci, H&M, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, MCM, Ralph Lauren, Sephora, and Zara. Aventura Mall also features more than 50 eateries and restaurants, including Treats Food Hall; The Aventura Farmers Market, which showcases dozens of farmers and artisans; and the experiential Arts Aventura Mall program highlighting 20+ museum-quality pieces in a range of mediums. For hours of operation, visit AventuraMall.com or call (305) 935-1110.

SOURCE Aventura Mall
"These are the types of investments that give more D.C. residents a fair shot," said Mayor Muriel Bowser. "Bank of America and the organizations it's partnering with know D.C., they know what our residents and neighborhoods need to thrive, and I'm confident in their ability to help us realize our shared goal of building a more equitable and connected D.C."

Aligned with Bank of America's $1.25 billion, five-year commitment to help advance racial equality and economic opportunity in local communities, the funding is aimed at improving the area's long-term economic growth and stability.

As part of its commitment to safe, affordable housing, Bank of America has invested $39 million in the mixed-use affordable housing development, MDL Flats Apartments, in the Buzzard Point neighborhood of Southwest D.C. The bank's funding will help provide 76 units for individuals and families in need of affordable housing in the community.

Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR), a nonprofit dedicated to providing residents east of the Anacostia River with a thriving, equitable community, is receiving a total of $1.25 million to build the 11th Street Bridge spanning the Anacostia River, D.C.'s first elevated public park. To help fund construction of the bridge and further environmental education efforts, BBAR will receive a $1 million grant. BBAR will also receive $250,000 to support workforce development efforts to train Ward 8 residents in construction skills necessary for employment opportunities to help build the park.

"We are thrilled about Bank of America's investment in the 11th Street Bridge Park and our workforce training strategies," said Rahsaan Bernard, President, Building Bridges Across the River. "This naming gift for the environmental education plaza moves us one step closer to realizing this community driven civic space that will literally and figuratively bridge D.C."

The bank is providing $1 million in support to the Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Wacif) to help to fund the acquisition and redevelopment of the Anacostia Arts Center to promote small business development in the region. Wacif, which helps promote equity and economic opportunity in underserved D.C. area communities, will create a new hub for inclusive, diverse entrepreneurship in the heart of Historic Anacostia and hopes to support more than 1,000 underserved entrepreneurs over five years.

"As a long-term, strategic partner in our mission and growth, we are delighted to deepen our work with Bank of America by reimagining the Anacostia Arts Center as a new regional hub for inclusive entrepreneurship," said Wacif CEO Harold B. Pettigrew, Jr. "This critical gift accelerates Wacif's efforts to scale investments that help small businesses recover and be resilient, and drives our commitment to deploy greater capital to under resourced entrepreneurs and create thousands of local jobs in the years ahead."

To support mental and preventive healthcare in the region, Bread for the City, a nonprofit providing D.C. residents living with lower income with resources and services to reduce the burden of poverty, is receiving $1 million. The grant will help Bread for the City provide critical care, such as health screenings, nutrition consultation and mental wellness treatments, in its Anacostia clinic.

"The partnership with Bank of America, the Ward 8 Community Economic Development Initiative and Bread for the City is helping us provide much needed behavioral health support and care to young ward 8 residents and their families as they struggle with the trauma caused by the intersection of pandemic, and the persistent socioeconomic disparities that are so prevalent in the community," said George Jones, CEO of Bread for the City.

This announcement is the latest in a series of investments that Bank of America has made in the Greater Washington, D.C. community. In 2021, Bank of America invested $350 million in local grants and additional capital investments to help finance small businesses, affordable housing, and other economic revitalization projects benefiting communities throughout the Washington region.

"Through our business offerings, our partnerships with non-profit and community leaders, and the trust of our neighbors, we are driving meaningful growth and helping create opportunity and prosperity in Anacostia, and throughout the DMV," said Larry Di Rita, President of Bank of America Greater Washington, D.C.

Bank of America

At Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), we're guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We're delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do business with. It's demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Learn more at about.bankofamerica.com, and connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News).

For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for news email alerts.

www.bankofamerica.com

Reporters May Contact:

Andrew Aldridge, Bank of America

Phone: 1.980.387.0514

[email protected]

SOURCE Bank of America Corporation
SAN FRANCISCO, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global base oil market size is expected to reach USD 29.9 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 4.3% from 2022 to 2030. This is attributed to rising demand for base stocks in the automotive and industrial applications. Lubricants are mainly used in gearboxes, lubricants & transmission oils, and diesel engine oils, in various automotive applications including commercial vehicles, motorcycles, and passenger cars. The automotive industry is one of the largest consumers of base oils that are growing at a faster pace.

Key Insights & Findings from the report:

The Group V product segment witnessed the fastest growth rate of 7.0% over the forecast period, owing to its increasing use as an additive to other base oil products, and the usage of high-performance lubricants due to OEM recommendations.

The market is projected to benefit from the expansion of the base oil production capacity of emerging economies. As automobile manufacturers globally focus on downsizing their engines and prolonging the oil change intervals, these factors are anticipated to stifle the growth in the coming years.

The automotive oil application segment witnessed for the fastest growth rate of nearly 5.7%, as we can see growth in the sales of consumer automotive such as trucks, buses, and other forms of public transport.

Asia Pacific witnessed the fasted growth rate of 5.7% over the forecast period. This is because of the high consumption of automotive fuel in this region, especially in China , India , and Japan .

witnessed the fasted growth rate of 5.7% over the forecast period. This is because of the high consumption of automotive fuel in this region, especially in , , and . The competition is high due to numerous companies engaging in strategic divestitures and investments in the upstream facilities.

Read 130-page market research report, "Base Oil Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Group I, Group II, Group III, Group IV, Group V), By Application (Automotive Oils, Process Oils, Industrial Oils), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030", published by Grand View Research.

Base Oil Market Growth & Trends

This industry is currently facing massive shifts in terms of production from group I to group II and III. Although the shift in the sector is gradual, various factors including government directives, feedstock choices, and demand patterns play a major role in propelling the market. Also, key industry participants are expanding their businesses in the Asia Pacific region, owing to the rising industrial and automotive sectors in this region, which can further contribute to group II product demand.

Moreover, base oil manufacturing technologies adopted worldwide would further reinforce the demand for the products to suffice the growing demand for end-use utility productions. Meanwhile, prices and availability of crude oil are anticipated to largely affect the production processes globally. The turbulence in the sector has had a significant impact on multiple other dependent industries such as base oils, lubricants, and others. Since 2019, the petroleum market has faced critical challenges as vehicle efficiency measures taken by governments worldwide to curb carbon emissions led to lower consumption of transport fuel. However, the market witnessed a strong presence of key players that competes to dominate the market and to gain a strategic and competitive advantage over the other players.

Base Oil Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global base oil market report on the basis of product, application, and region:

Base Oil Product Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

Group I

Group II

Group III

Group IV

Group V

Base Oil Application Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

Automotive Oils

Process Oils

Hydraulic Oils

Metalworking Fluids

Industrial Oils

Others

Base Oil Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

North America

U.S.



Canada



Mexico

Europe

Germany



U.K.



France



Italy



Spain

Asia Pacific

China



India



Japan



Thailand



Malaysia

Central & South America

Brazil



Argentina

Middle East & Africa

& Saudi Arabia



South Africa

List of Key Players of Base Oil Market

CNOOC Limited

PetroCanada Lubricants Inc.

Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SINOPEC)

PETRONAS Lubricants International

PT Pertamina (Persero)

PetroChina Co., Ltd.

Exxon Mobil Corporation

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company

Chevron Corporation

Shell plc

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.

BP p.l.c

Saudi Arabian Oil Co.

Sepahan Oil

Bahrain Lube Base Oil Company

LUKOIL

SK Lubricants Co., Ltd.

H&R OWS Chemie GmbH & Co. KG

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

GS Caltex Corporation

Neste

Repsol

Check out more related studies published by Grand View Research:

Compressor Oil Market - The global compressor oil market size is estimated to reach USD 5.59 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., progressing at a CAGR of 5.1% during the forecast period. Growing industrial sector in the Middle East and Asia Pacific is anticipated to drive the demand for compressor oils over the forecast period.

The global compressor oil market size is estimated to reach by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., progressing at a CAGR of 5.1% during the forecast period. Growing industrial sector in the and is anticipated to drive the demand for compressor oils over the forecast period. Lubricant Additives Market - The global lubricant additives market is expected to reach USD 18.85 billion by 2024, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Stringent regulations regarding the permissible amount of carbon emission in the atmosphere are expected to remain a key driving factor for global lubricant additives market. Additive prices witnessed a significant decline in 2015 as a result of fluctuations in prices of key raw materials. Their prices are heavily dependent on prices of calcium carbonate, zinc metal, and crude oil.

- The global lubricant additives market is expected to reach by 2024, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Stringent regulations regarding the permissible amount of carbon emission in the atmosphere are expected to remain a key driving factor for global lubricant additives market. Additive prices witnessed a significant decline in 2015 as a result of fluctuations in prices of key raw materials. Their prices are heavily dependent on prices of calcium carbonate, zinc metal, and crude oil. White Oil Market - The global white oil market size is projected to reach USD 1.4 billion by 2027 registering a CAGR of 3.1%, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Rising demand for the product from personal care and pharmaceutical applications is the key factor driving the market.

Browse through Grand View Research's Petrochemicals Industry Research Reports.

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research Helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc.

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com

Grand View Compass | Grand View Pipeline

Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter

SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc.
Masks No Longer Mandatory

BELIZE CITY, Belize, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Belize Tourism Board (BTB), the official tourism marketing organization for Belize, has announced that all previous COVID-19 regulations within the nation have been lifted.

As of April 1, 2022, the country of Belize has removed all remaining COVID-19 restrictions for visitors and citizens alike. Effective immediately, the following guidelines are now in place:

Masks are no longer mandatory both indoors and outside

All curfews have been removed

Social distancing is no longer required

All clubs, bars, restaurants, and casinos are fully reopened to maximum capacity

And, there are no limits on any forms of social gatherings

"Thanks to the steady decrease in COVID-19 cases at both the district and national levels, there is no longer a threat of community spread due to the virus," said Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health and Wellness for Belize.

Nevertheless, while most restrictions have been lifted, it is still necessary to control and prevent any possible spread of COVID-19 from persons entering any port by air, land, or sea, therefore certain protocols for travelers entering Belize are still in place.

Although fully vaccinated travelers, who can show proof of vaccination, are no longer required to present a negative COVID-19 test for entry to Belize , proof of a negative PCR test result taken within 72 hours of arrival or a negative Antigen Rapid test taken within 48 hours of arrival must be presented if unable to show proof of vaccination, or if the traveler is unvaccinated.

, proof of a negative PCR test result taken within 72 hours of arrival or a negative Antigen Rapid test taken within 48 hours of arrival must be presented if unable to show proof of vaccination, or if the traveler is unvaccinated. Mandatory testing will be administered at land border points and sea ports for unvaccinated travelers. No test result taken prior to arrival will be accepted at the land borders or sea ports.

All international visitors must purchase Belize Travel Health Insurance and complete the Customs and Immigration form provided on all flights to Belize .

. If not fully vaccinated, or unable to show proof of vaccination, children ages 5 and older will be subjected to SARCoV2 testing for entry to Belize .

About Belize Tourism Board

The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) is a statutory body within the Belize Ministry of Tourism and Diaspora Relations, and it is governed by a Board of Directors appointed by the Minister of Tourism and Diaspora Relations. The BTB works in conjunction with members of the private sector  including the Belize Hotel Association, Belize Tourism Industry Association and Belize National Tour Operators Association  and is dedicated to building tourism in the most economically and environmentally sustainable manner. As a part of its responsibilities, the BTB promotes Belize as a premier tourism destination to both in-country and international consumers. Among its outreach to the international travel market, the BTB markets the country's unique attractions to travelers, members of the travel trade industry and media outlets in key markets. The BTB is also dedicated to developing and implementing tourism programs that will help strengthen and grow the Belizean tourism industry; promote good destination stewardship, and instill high-quality standards for accommodations and travel experiences. For more information on the BTB and its services, visit www.travelbelize.org .

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Belize Tourism Board
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insight Partners published latest research study on Bioplastics Market Forecast to 2028  COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis  by Type (Biodegradable and Non-Biodegradable), Application (Packaging, Agriculture, Consumer Goods, Automotive & Transportation, Textiles, Building & Construction, and Others), and Geography," the market is expected to grow from US$ 5,799.8 million in 2021 to US$ 13,806.1 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.2% from 2021 to 2028. Several factors such as the wide application of bioplastics and the rising demand for eco-friendly plastic in the packaging industry are driving the market growth. However, high prices and short lifetime of bioplastics restrict the market growth.

Get Exclusive Sample Pages of Bioplastics Market Size - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis with Strategic Insights at - https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00003267/

Report Coverage Details Market Size Value in US$ 5,799.8 million in 2021 Market Size Value by US$ 13,806.1 million by 2028 Growth rate CAGR of 13.2% from 2021 to 2028 Forecast Period 2021- 2028 Base Year 2021 No. of Pages 146 No. Tables 56 No. of Charts & Figures 71 Historical data available Yes Segments covered Type and Application Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; MEA Country scope US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Argentina Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends

Wide Application Scope of Bioplastics

Bioplastics are increasingly used in various applications across many industries, such as packaging, consumer electronics, automotive & transportation, building & construction, and textiles. The adoption of bioplastics has increased due to its advanced technical properties and functionalities as well as due to the favorable legislation implemented by numerous governments across the world. Consumers are increasingly using bioplastic packaging material over synthetic plastic packaging since it is capable of being decomposed with food. In the biomedical industry, bioplastics are highly applicable in skin replacements for burnings and wounds, scaffolds for tissue engineering, bone reconstruction, nerves and gum reconstruction, drug-releasing system, blood vessel growth, and stent covering. In recent years, the electronics industry has started to address the sustainability of the materials it utilizes in its products. Bioplastics are suitable alternatives for numerous components used by the electronics sector.

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Bioplastics Market Size: Segment Overview

Based on type, the global bioplastics market is segmented into biodegradable and non-biodegradable. The non-biodegradable segment dominated the market in 2020. The market for the non-biodegradable segment is further segmented into Polyethylene (PE), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyamides (PA), Polytrimethylene Terephthalate (PTT), and others. Non-biodegradable bioplastics are made from biomass that microorganisms cannot easily break down. The growing demand for non-biodegradable bioplastics from various end-use industries is anticipated to drive the growth of the market for the non-biodegradable segment in the coming years.

Based on application, the global bioplastics market is segmented into packaging, agriculture, consumer goods, automotive & transportation, textiles, building & construction, and others. The market for the packaging segment is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. The use of bioplastic offers rigid and flexible packaging, which propels the demand for bioplastics in the packaging industry.

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Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Bioplastics Market

Many industries, such as the chemicals & materials industry, faced unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The shutdown of the manufacturing units adversely affected the production and supply side of the bioplastics market. Also, the logistics and transportation sector hampered the market due to the imposition of lockdown. The shutdown of various end-use industries, such as automotive, textile, and consumer goods, decreased the demand for bioplastics, restraining the bioplastics market growth. The ease in lockdown restrictions positively impacted the transportation and trade for the chemicals & materials industry, which is driving the bioplastics market. Moreover, the bioplastics industry is predicted to make essential contributions in preventing the spread of novel coronavirus. The 3D printing of medical equipment is among the critical areas of application for bioplastics. As per European Bioplastics e.V., with a donation of 5 metric tons of PLA, more than ~125,000 masks had been produced, which is having a positive impact on the bioplastics market.

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Bioplastics Market: Competition Landscape and Key Developments

Teijin Limited; Toray Industries, Inc.; Sabic; Basf SE; Total Corbion PLA; Braskem S.A.; Biome Bioplastics; Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation; Novamont S.P.A.; and Natureworks LLC are a few key players operating in the bioplastics market. Leading market players adopt various business strategies, such as mergers and acquisitions, to expand their geographical presence and consumer base across the world. For instance, in 2020, Corbion and Total entered into a joint venture to build first world-scale PLA plant in Europe.

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SOURCE The Insight Partners
Ownership Works and founding partners to advocate for and implement employee ownership programs that create economic opportunity for working families, advance racial equity, enhance employee engagement and build stronger companies

NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - BMO Financial Group (BMO) announced today its partnership with Ownership Works, a new nonprofit with a mission to increase prosperity through shared ownership at work  a mission that strongly aligns with BMO's own advocacy efforts and its Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good, in business and life.

BMO is one of a group of partners across the private, public and nonprofit sectors committed to helping Ownership Works develop and implement broad-based employee ownership programs. These programs will create better work environments and financial opportunities for employees, and help businesses improve their performance by attracting and retaining engaged employees who are invested in their company's success. By 2030, Ownership Works anticipates that the shared ownership movement will create hundreds of thousands of new employee-owners and generate at least $20 billion of wealth for working families.

"We've been advocating for public policy that enables greater levels of employee ownership because the benefits are clear: more employees that realize the benefits of ownership translates to more financial progress for all," said Dan Barclay, CEO, BMO Capital Markets. "As a leading lender in the US to employee owned companies, we're proud to support Ownership Works and the work they're doing to develop a more inclusive society."

Ownership Works' founding partners include financial services firms and pension funds to elevate shared ownership as a leading ESG strategy; public companies with employee ownership to share their knowledge and expertise; labor advocates to advance shared ownership as one core pillar of a quality job; and investment firms to co-create replicable models of shared ownership for implementation at over 50 companies by the end of 2023. The non-profit provides companies and investors with hands-on support to design and implement shared ownership programs, along with a suite of tools and best practices, based on a model that has four components:

Structuring & Implementing Broad-Based Ownership Programs Developing a Culture of Ownership Creating a Financially Inclusive & Resilient Workforce Sharing Data, Best Practices & Insight

BMO's commitment to Ownership Works includes a $500,000 donation over five years, as well as ongoing expertise and guidance related to building effective and equitable employee ownership programs. In the coming months BMO will work with Ownership Works to build a partnership roadmap to support the movement and companies in their transition to employee ownership models.

For more information, including a list of the firms that have committed to Ownership Works please click here. For BMO's perspective on the public policy changes needed to increase employee ownership in Canada, click here.

About Ownership Works

Founded in 2021, Ownership Works is a nonprofit organization on a mission to increase prosperity through shared ownership at work. We partner with business leaders and investors to provide all employees with the opportunity to participate in the success they help create. Our shared ownership approach improves employees' financial security, helps them build wealth and increases their on-the-job engagement. By creating stronger workplace cultures, our model also sets the stage for businesses to enhance performance and competitiveness.

About BMO Financial Group

Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $1.02 trillion as of January 31, 2022, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group
The effort to close 183 homes was no small task. With ongoing supply constraints, labor shortages, and a constant influx of demand, the Hunter family had to remain disciplined and focused on finishing homes. "Our staff continued to overcome obstacles to deliver beautiful homes to our customers," said Cody. "On top of that, we locked home prices to our buyers in the face of rising material costs. During an impossible time to build, we managed to close more homes than ever before".

As Boise Hunter Homes starts 2022, the company is poised for another banner year. The company has hired world-renowned architect, Mike Woodley, to design a menu of ultra-high-end floorplans to capture the best views in Boise in its Harris North community. Additionally, a new riverfront community is underway in Star, ID, aptly named River Park Estates, which will feature a half mile of riverfront greenbelt and four large lakes. Meanwhile on the north border of Eagle, recent phases of Dry Creek Ranch have been delivered including The Estates featuring rare 1+ acre lots, and The Hills taking advantage of the natural rolling topography.

Boise Hunter Homes has secured nearly 2,200 entitled homesites in the Treasure Valley and is well positioned for a bright future. Travis Hunter notes "The success of Boise's real estate industry has recently attracted new homebuilders to our market, but without a doubt newcomers will face challenges that we will not. We have spent the last decade acquiring the best developable real estate in the Treasure Valley, and have a mature company that is capable of delivering the quality communities and homes that buyers are looking for."

Media Contact:

Steven Siwek

2085775508

[email protected]

SOURCE Boise Hunter Homes
Lionell Dotson says City of Philadelphia and UPenn treatment of sisters' remains is a nightmare

PHILADELPHIA, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys for Lionell Dotson, Sr., whose sisters Katricia and Zanetta were killed in the 1985 MOVE bombing when the Philadelphia police dropped a bomb on a residential home on Osage Avenue, are calling on Mayor Jim Kenney to release the sisters' remains and finally do the right thing in a story of deception, denial, disrespect and outfight racism that reaches back nearly 37 years.

"The City of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania have had countless opportunities to treat Mr. Dotson, his sisters and the MOVE bombing victims with dignity and respect and they have failed time and again," said renowned Civil Rights attorney Bakari Sellers who represents Dotson. "All Mr. Dotson wants is to finally put his sisters to rest. But they won't even let him do that."

"Of course I don't trust the University of Pennsylvania or the City of Philadelphia to do the right thing. How could I? Everytime I think this nightmare is over, another lie comes to light and the pain starts all over again," said Dotson. "This isn't about making a statement and I'm not affiliated with MOVE. This is about my sisters."

"They don't have a voice so I have to speak for them and I have to be there myself and make sure they are finally put to rest"

Outrage over the MOVE bombing reignited in April 2021 when it was reported that the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Museum still held remains of Katricia Dotson and that they had been used in anthropology demonstrations and classes without the family's knowledge or consent.

Weeks later, the City revealed the Medical Examiner's Office also had remains of both Katricia and Zanetta Dotson though former Health Commissioner Thomas Farley had ordered them destroyed in 2017.

All of Katricia and Zanetta's remains were supposed to be turned over to their uncle Isaac Dotson for burial in 1985.

"This is one of the most disgusting cases of racial injustice and inhumanity I have ever seen and Lionell Dotson has been living with it since he was 8-years-old," said attorney Daniel Hartstein who also represents Dotson. "The least that the City of Philadelphia and Penn can do is take some responsibility for their actions."

SOURCE Strom Law Firm, LLC
Seller Server Classes Offers State-Approved, Mobile-friendly, Self-paced Online Training Course in Both English and Spanish

SHERMAN, Texas, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The California legislature passed Assembly Bill 1221 in 2017 creating the Responsible Beverage Service Training Act which required the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control to create the Responsible Beverage Service Training Program (RBSTP). The goal was to ensure servers of alcoholic beverages, and their managers, are educated on the dangers of serving alcohol to minors and over-serving alcohol to patrons with the intention of reducing alcohol-related harm to local communities. The original mandate created a new training requirement for the state's estimated 1,000,000 on-premises alcohol servers, their managers, and licensees beginning in 2021, but to alleviate the financial strain on the hospitality industry caused by the COVID-19 state of emergency, the legislature extended the deadline into 2022.

California.SellerServerClasses.com - Only ABC approved Spanish RBS course

Beginning July 1, 2022, any alcohol server and their manager must have a valid RBS certification from an ABC accredited RBS training provider and pass an online ABC administered RBS exam within 60 calendar days from the first date of employment.

Fortunately, getting the required training is convenient and affordable through Seller Server Classes' California state-approved online training course. This self-paced online alcohol seller-server safety certificate program, provided by California.SellerServerClasses.com, meets the certification requirements of bar staff, drinks servers, alcohol sellers, vendors, and security staff working for employers in cities and counties within California. And to date it is the only state-approved Responsible Beverage Service training course that is also available in Spanish! While individuals can sign up for the program at https://california.sellerserverclasses.com/ for just $9.95, businesses can enjoy the convenience and savings of purchasing the program in bulk for multiple people.

Seller Server Classes California RBS course was designed for those who want the best training in the least amount of time. Course modules impart an understanding of laws and regulations for the sale of alcohol to minors/intoxicated people, and the course covers the social impact of alcohol, Civil/General Liabilities, Responsibilities and Obligations due to serving intoxicated people. This RBS course has the added benefit of being self-paced, which means users may stop or start the training material at any given point, then pick it up again when ready by logging in with your username and password. The knowledge checks must be completed at the time you begin it.

California Seller Server Classes notes that completing an approved course is only one part of staying compliant with California state law. Once you have purchased Seller Server Classes California Approved RBS Training Course, it is required that you register through the State of California ABC RBS Portal to receive your Server ID. Once you are issued a Server ID you may continue training and access the RBS exam.

The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control will not issue a physical or downloadable RBS certificate. Instead, upon completion of training and the certification exam, the alcohol server will be issued a certification number which is valid for three years. The alcohol server certification number is recorded on the Alcohol Server's Dashboard in the training history at the bottom of the page of the RBS Portal. Licensees will be able to verify that their servers are RBS certified using the certification number and the server's name.

About California Seller Server Classes and EduClasses.org

California.SellerServerClasses.com is part of the EduClasses family of certificate courses for workers in a variety of industries. Drawing on over two decades of hands-on experience providing online solutions for businesses, educational organizations and governmental agencies, including website design and integration, EduClasses.org utilizes a custom suite of WebItems Software, developed by DSBWorldWide, to continually upgrade their students' experience with richer features and applications.

Please notify your employer and friends about sellerserverclasses.com so they can take advantage of this simple-to-use online seller server certificate course, too.

For more information about SellerServerClasses.com or Educlasses.org, visit www.EduClasses.org.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE California.SellerServerClasses.com
Cancer Biologics Market 2022-2026: Scope

The cancer biologics market report covers the following areas:

Cancer Biologics Market 2022-2026 : Segmentation

By product, the market has been segmented into monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, cell and gene therapy, and others. The monoclonal antibodies segment will have significant market share growth during the forecast period. The expected approvals of monoclonal antibodies such as Avelumab (renal cell carcinoma), Ipilimumab (colorectal cancer), Nivolumab (liver cancer), and Sintilimab (Hodgkin's disease) and their launch in the market are expected to contribute to the segment growth in the coming years.

By geography, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest Of World (ROW). North America will have significant market share growth during the forecast period.

Learn more about the contribution of each segment of the market. Download a Free Sample

Cancer Biologics Market 2022-2026: Driver and Challenge

The rising global incidence of cancer is driving the global cancer biologics industry growth. Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. In 2020, Cancers such as melanoma, prostate cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, uterine cancer, thyroid cancer, and bladder cancer are mainly contributing to the increased number of new cancer cases in the US. Thus, the rapidly rising incidence of cancer will be a major factor driving the market over the forecast period.

The high cost of cancer biologics is one of the key challenges to the global cancer biologics industry growth. For instance, the NHS in the UK reported that KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) is the first drug costing more than USD 25.6 million a year. Similarly, in the US, the costs of TECENTRIQ, KEYTRUDA, and OPDIVO are USD 219,179, USD 240,049, and USD 415,950 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY), respectively. Such factors are expected to hinder the market growth in the forecast period.

Cancer Biologics Market 2022-2026: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the cancer biologics market, including Amgen Inc., AstraZeneca Plc, Bayer AG, Biocon Ltd., Biogen Inc., Bristol Myers Squibb Co., Celltrion Co. Ltd., Cipla Ltd., Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd., Eli Lilly and Co., F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd., Gilead Sciences Inc., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc, Johnson and Johnson, Lupin Ltd., Merck and Co. Inc., Novartis AG, Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and Mylan NV among others.

Get lifetime access to our Technavio Insights. Subscribe to our "Basic Plan" billed annually at USD 5000.

Cancer Biologics Market 2022-2026: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2022-2026

Detailed information on factors that will assist cancer biologics market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the cancer biologics market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the cancer biologics market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of cancer biologics market vendors

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Cancer Biologics Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 8.91% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 34.97 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 8.43 Regional analysis North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW) Performing market contribution North America at 53% Key consumer countries US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Amgen Inc., AstraZeneca Plc, Bayer AG, Biocon Ltd., Biogen Inc., Bristol Myers Squibb Co., Celltrion Co. Ltd., Cipla Ltd., Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd., Eli Lilly and Co., F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd., Gilead Sciences Inc., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc, Johnson and Johnson, Lupin Ltd., Merck and Co. Inc., Novartis AG, Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and Mylan NV Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period, Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table Of Contents :

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview



Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview



Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics



Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography



Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Product



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 09: Parent market



Exhibit 10: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 12: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2021

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026

Exhibit 13: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 14: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 15: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 16: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

4 Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 17: Five forces analysis - Comparison between2021 and 2026

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 18: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors 2021 and 2026

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 20: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 21: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 22: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 23: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026

5 Market Segmentation by Product

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 24: Chart on Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 25: Data Table on Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%)

5.2 Comparison by Product

Exhibit 26: Chart on Comparison by Product



Exhibit 27: Data Table on Comparison by Product

5.3 Monoclonal antibodies - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 28: Chart on Monoclonal antibodies - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 29: Data Table on Monoclonal antibodies - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 30: Chart on Monoclonal antibodies - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Monoclonal antibodies - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.4 Vaccines - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 32: Chart on Vaccines - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Vaccines - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 34: Chart on Vaccines - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Vaccines - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.5 Cell and gene therapy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 36: Chart on Cell and gene therapy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Cell and gene therapy - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 38: Chart on Cell and gene therapy - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Cell and gene therapy - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.6 Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 40: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 42: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.7 Market opportunity by Product

Exhibit 44: Market opportunity by Product ($ million)

6 Customer Landscape

6.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 45: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

7 Geographic Landscape

7.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 46: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 47: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)

7.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 48: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 49: Data Table on Geographic comparison

7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 50: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 51: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 52: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 53: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 54: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 55: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 56: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 57: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.5 Asia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 58: Chart on Asia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 59: Data Table on Asia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 60: Chart on Asia - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 61: Data Table on Asia - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.6 Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 62: Chart on Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 63: Data Table on Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 64: Chart on Rest of World (ROW) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 65: Data Table on Rest of World (ROW) - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.7 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 66: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 67: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 68: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 69: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.8 Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 70: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 71: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 72: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 73: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.9 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 74: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 75: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 76: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 77: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.10 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 78: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 79: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 80: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 81: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.11 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 82: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 83: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 84: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 85: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.12 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 86: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

8.1 Market drivers

8.2 Market challenges

8.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 87: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026

8.4 Market trends

9 Vendor Landscape

9.1 Overview

9.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 88: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

9.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 89: Overview on factors of disruption

9.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 90: Impact of key risks on business

10 Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 91: Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 92: Matrix on vendor position and classification

10.3 Amgen Inc.

Exhibit 93: Amgen Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 94: Amgen Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 95: Amgen Inc. - Key offerings

10.4 AstraZeneca Plc

Exhibit 96: AstraZeneca Plc - Overview



Exhibit 97: AstraZeneca Plc - Product / Service



Exhibit 98: AstraZeneca Plc - Key news



Exhibit 99: AstraZeneca Plc - Key offerings

10.5 Bayer AG

Exhibit 100: Bayer AG - Overview



Exhibit 101: Bayer AG - Business segments



Exhibit 102: Bayer AG - Key offerings



Exhibit 103: Bayer AG - Segment focus

10.6 Biocon Ltd.

Exhibit 104: Biocon Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 105: Biocon Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 106: Biocon Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 107: Biocon Ltd. - Segment focus

10.7 Biogen Inc.

Exhibit 108: Biogen Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 109: Biogen Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 110: Biogen Inc. - Key offerings

10.8 Bristol Myers Squibb Co.

Exhibit 111: Bristol Myers Squibb Co. - Overview



Exhibit 112: Bristol Myers Squibb Co. - Product / Service



Exhibit 113: Bristol Myers Squibb Co. - Key offerings

10.9 Celltrion Co. Ltd.

Exhibit 114: Celltrion Co. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 115: Celltrion Co. Ltd. - Key offerings

10.10 Eli Lilly and Co.

Exhibit 116: Eli Lilly and Co. - Overview



Exhibit 117: Eli Lilly and Co. - Product / Service



Exhibit 118: Eli Lilly and Co. - Key offerings

10.11 F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd.

Exhibit 119: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 120: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 121: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Key news



Exhibit 122: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 123: F. Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. - Segment focus

10.12 Merck and Co. Inc.

Exhibit 124: Merck and Co. Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 125: Merck and Co. Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 126: Merck and Co. Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 127: Merck and Co. Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 128: Merck and Co. Inc. - Segment focus

11 Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 129: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 130: Exclusions checklist

11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 131: Currency conversion rates for US$

11.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 132: Research methodology



Exhibit 133: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 134: Information sources

11.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 135: 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
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cancer Study Group, LLC is pleased to announce the launch of a cancer navigation service called "Cancer Navigator" backed by two years of proprietary research and claims data analytics. "Cancer Navigator" is designed to get every cancer patient to a fantastic expert for their care. The benefit is offered through employer and union health plans and delivers real time education and guidance to newly diagnosed cancer patients as they face key decisions early in their cancer journey.

Spencer and Adam Bradley founded Cancer Study Group in 2020 to learn what goes wrong for cancer patients and how large employers and unions might be able to help. In partnership with 30+ large employers and unions, Cancer Study Group embarked on a two-year research and analytics initiative, mapping exactly what goes wrong for cancer patients in commercial populations.

As part of this work, Cancer Study Group's team of researchers and data analysts studied where patients with every type of cancer should go to get fantastic care for their disease. The result of this work is the Cancer Navigation Database  the company's proprietary knowledge platform that answers two important questions for every cancer patient: "What matters in my disease?" and "Which centers in my area are best-equipped for my care?" This Cancer Navigation Database is the research and data engine of the "Cancer Navigator" service.

"A cancer diagnosis is extremely hard for patients" says Spencer Bradley, co-founder of Cancer Study Group, "but finding a great doctor and team for your specific type of cancer does not have to be."

Cancer Navigator leverages data feeds to identify cancer patients as quickly as possible after their diagnosis. Spencer explains the importance of this approach: "We are hyper focused on setting up the infrastructure to find newly-diagnosed patients in their moment of need  the burden cannot be on the patient to reach out to us for assistance." Oncology Nurses reach out directly to newly diagnosed patients to help them understand exactly what matters in their type of cancer and which centers nearby are best-equipped for their care.

Cancer Navigator launched first in Pennsylvania in partnership with three union health plans. Across the coming months, Cancer Navigator will begin serving national populations.

About Cancer Study Group

Cancer Study Group, LLC, is a cancer navigation and analytics startup on a mission to guide patients through cancer, helping them reach fantastic doctors for their care. Cancer Study Group offers its Cancer Navigator service as a benefit to patients through their employer and union health plans. Cancer Study Group serves as an impartial advisor to cancer patients and has no financial relationship with any hospital.

Contact: Spencer Bradley, Co-founder, [email protected]

SOURCE Cancer Study Group
Chick-fil-A's signature bottled sauces, available at select retailers nationwide, play a pivotal role in helping support the dreams of restaurant Team Members. For every retail store purchase of a 16-oz bottled sauce, 100% of the Chick-fil-A, Inc. royalties go towards the Remarkable Futures Scholarships initiative. Since the launch of Chick-fil-A bottled sauce in 2020, retail sales have contributed over $6.4M to the program, making it possible to increase the number of scholarships awarded each year. This year, bottled sauce retail sales enabled 2,200 additional scholarships to be awarded.

"The Chick-fil-A scholarship initiative has been instrumental in our investment in the growth and success of restaurant Team Members," said Tim Tassopoulos, president of Chick-fil-A, Inc. and a former Remarkable Futures Scholarship recipient. "Our inspiring recipients this year have overcome great obstacles and remain dedicated to pursuing academic and personal success. We recognize their enormous potential and hope to play a small part in furthering their education, providing them with more opportunities to help achieve their goals."

Chick-fil-A's scholarship initiative is unique in the benefits to its restaurant Team Members, including:

Up-front payment: Chick-fil-A scholarships are awarded to recipients up front and can be directly applied to tuition, housing and other on-campus expenses, without requiring tuition reimbursement.

Chick-fil-A scholarships are awarded to recipients up front and can be directly applied to tuition, housing and other on-campus expenses, without requiring tuition reimbursement. Applicable at any school, college or university: Scholarships can be applied in any area of study at any accredited institution of the Team Member's choice, including two- or four-year colleges and universities, online programs, or vocational-technical schools.

Scholarships can be applied in any area of study at any accredited institution of the Team Member's choice, including two- or four-year colleges and universities, online programs, or vocational-technical schools. Employment requirements: There is no requirement of hours worked or length of service to qualify. Both full-time and part-time employees at a franchised, company-owned and/or affiliated restaurant in the United States , Canada and Puerto Rico are eligible.

Chick-fil-A offers two types of Remarkable Futures Scholarships, awarding 12 $25,000 True Inspiration Scholarships as well as Leadership Scholarships in the amounts of $1,000 and $2,500, which will be awarded to 12,687 Team Members this year. To celebrate this year's True Inspiration Scholarship recipients, Chick-fil-A invited these Team Members to its Atlanta Support Center where they were surprised with the news and presented with new personal laptops for continuing their studies.

Since 1970, Chick-fil-A, Inc. has awarded more than $136 million in scholarships to more than 80,000 restaurant Team Members. To be eligible for a scholarship or educational assistance, applicants must be restaurant Team Members employed by an independent, franchised

Chick-fil-A restaurant business, a Chick-fil-A, Inc.-operated restaurant, or an S. Truett Cathy (STC) brand restaurant.

About Chick-fil-A, Inc.

Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. is a restaurant company known for the Original Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich and signature hospitality. Represented by more than 170,000 Team Members, Operators and Staff, Chick-fil-A restaurants serve guests freshly prepared food at more than 2,700 restaurants in 47 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Canada. The family-owned and privately held restaurant company was founded in 1967 by S. Truett Cathy and is committed to serving the local communities in which its franchised restaurants operate.

Known for its leadership and growth opportunities, in 2022 Chick-fil-A was named a Best Employer in America by Forbes and a top company for career opportunities for Black employees by Glassdoor. The company was also awarded the Employee's Choice by Glassdoor honoring top CEOs and was named a Culture 500 Culture Champion in 2020. A leader in customer service, Chick-fil-A was named QSR magazine's Drive-Thru Restaurant of the Year in 2021. More information on Chick-fil-A is available at www.chick-fil-a.com and @ChickfilANews.

SOURCE Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Robert Guice, CEO of Citron Hygiene, said, "We are committed to combating period poverty. We help businesses, companies and institutions in Canada, USA and UK satisfy the basic needs of females and other menstruators who use their public washrooms by providing them free menstrual products for emergency use and proper, safe disposal units for them. By partnering with Aunt Flow and ISTG, we extend our support of period dignity to Ukraine."

"Periods don't stop for pandemics or wars", said Claire Coder, CEO and Founder of Aunt Flow. "By donating these period products to affected Ukrainians, we hope this will be a small but meaningful way to help. With so much going on, menstruators should not need to worry about how to access essentials like tampons or pads. We're so grateful to Citron Hygiene and ISTG for partnering with us to make this donation possible to support the health, hygiene, and safety of those in Ukraine and globally."

Join Citron Hygiene and Aunt Flow in combating period poverty around the globe by donating what you can to ISTG and other organizations committed to this cause.

About Citron Hygiene LP

Citron Hygiene LP is a leading global company that provides washroom hygiene services and products to businesses that seek to enhance their brand by providing their customers and employees with an elevated washroom experience. Citron Hygiene, founded in 1996, is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and has service locations throughout Canada, US, and the United Kingdom. Citron Hygiene is a private portfolio company of Birch Hill Equity Partners, a Canadian mid-market private equity firm. To learn more, visit www.citronhygiene.com

About Aunt Flow

Aunt Flow is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to period products. Claire Coder founded Aunt Flow after getting her period in public without the supplies needed. At 18-years-old, she dedicated her life to developing a solution to ensure businesses and schools could sustainably provide high-quality menstrual products for free in bathrooms. Now, 900+ companies have joined the menstrual movement with Aunt Flow, providing free-vend dispensers stocked with 100% organic tampons and pads. For every 10 tampons and pads sold, Aunt Flow donates 1 to a menstruator in need. We call this people helping people. PERIOD. For more information and to join the menstrual movement, visit www.goauntflow.com.

SOURCE Citron Hygiene
SAN ANTONIO, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Clearday, Inc. (OTCQB: CLRD) is pleased to announce it has begun marketing its Clearday at Home digital care service through Association Healthcare Partners (AHP) to accelerate the sales of Clearday at Home. Working with AHP, Clearday will first offer Clearday at Home digital care as a benefit to the Independent Route Drivers Association of America (IRDAA) members.

James Walesa CEO of Clearday said, "Offering our digital care services to IRDAA member is a great first step to helping as many older Americans as possible to age at home in a manner that is safe and comfortable for clients and their family members. Clearday at Home offers a low cost alternative to support Americans Aging in the Right Place."

Clearday at Home, in a few simple clicks offers:

-Support to the at home caregiver

-Daily streams supporting the Mind, Body and Soul for enhanced client engagement

-A Digital Care Map for better engagement

-24/7 access to the Clearday library of streams for around the clock help

About Independent Route Drivers Association of America

Independent Route Drivers Association of America (IRDAA) is the only national trade association dedicated to the success of our entire industry through ethics, education and excellence. We are the Washington D.C. based voice of independent route drivers and ride share providers before the U.S. Congress and federal agencies. IRDAA serves and supports the independent spirit of our members. IRDAA Members deliver the 21st Century way of life for America's businesses and families. The independent driving industry generates and supports billions of dollars in economic activity annually and employs several million dedicated and skilled people. IRDAA is recognized and supported by many leading companies, manufacturers and suppliers as the premier organization committed to helping professional independent drivers improve their business.

About Clearday

Clearday is an innovative non-acute longevity health care services company with a modern, hopeful vision for making high quality care options more accessible, affordable, and empowering for older Americans and those who love and care for them. Clearday has decade-long experience in non-acute care through its subsidiary Memory Care America, which operates highly rated residential memory care communities in four U.S. states. Clearday at Home  its digital service  brings Clearday to the intersection of telehealth, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and subscription-based content.

Learn more about Clearday at www.myclearday.com.

Learn more about Clearday at Home at www.cleardayathome.com.

Learn more about Clearday Clubs at clubs.myclearday.com.

Learn more about the Clearday Network at https://business.cleardayathome.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terms such as "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," "could," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "should," "will," "expect," "objective," "projection," "forecast," "goal," "guidance," "outlook," "effort," "target," "trajectory," "focus," "work to," "attempt," "pursue," or other comparable terms. However, the absence of these words does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors we believe are appropriate in the circumstances and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Clearday's views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof. Except as required by applicable law, Clearday undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations

Andrew Barwicki

516-662-9461 / [email protected]

SOURCE Clearday, Inc.
"While state PML benefits can be helpful, some employees may need additional income protection to cover living expenses if a disability prevents them from working," said Donna Longo, assistant vice president of Product and Market Development at Colonial Life.

Sixty-three percent of households state they would feel the financial impact of a wage earner becoming disabled in six months or less.1

Disability Plus is an innovative and unique solution because there are three flexible plan options that can offer benefits during and after state program benefits end. It also includes:

Optional health benefits available such as mental and nervous, hospital confinement and critical illness

Guarantee issued options; no health questions asked

Benefits for returning to work part-time

Easy online claim submission and payment processing

1 2020 Insurance Barometer Study, LIMRA

About Colonial Life

Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company , a subsidiary of Unum Group, provides financial protection benefits to America's workers and their families when the unexpected happens. The company offers workplace benefits, including disability, life, accident, dental, cancer, critical illness and hospital confinement indemnity insurance. Colonial Life's benefit services, education and innovative enrollment technology supports over 87,000 businesses and 4 million workers. In 2021, Colonial Life paid $800 million in benefits to policyholders.

Connect with Colonial Life on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn , and Instagram .

SOURCE Colonial Life
Company Executive Travels to Lviv to Personally Train Ukrainian Medevac Personnel

BROOMFIELD, Colo., and WASHINGTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In partnership with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and their Federal Emergency Management organization, Vita Inclinata (Vita), a privately-held developer and producer of helicopter and crane load stabilization and precision hardware, has donated their Vita Rescue System (VRS) to assist the Ukrainian Army with medevac operations. The VRS, valued at approximately $500,000, will be accompanied by a Vita executive who will train Ukrainian medevac crews in a Mil Mi-8, a medium twin-turbine helicopter originally designed by the Soviet Union and now produced by Russia, in the region of Lviv and Kyiv.

Who: Vita Inclinata company executive.

What: Donates Vita Rescue System to Ukrainian medevac personnel to make airlift rescues faster, safer, and more precise.

Where: Training will take place in the region of Lviv and Kyiv.

When: Training takes place April 11th - 12th.

How: Training in a Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter.

Why: Vita is standing up new military capabilities for Ukraine. Because of the current situation, the Ukrainian troops cannot conduct medical evacuations. With the VRS donation and training, Vita can bring a whole new capability to the Ukrainian Army, which will save civilian and military lives.

View a U.S. Army simulated medevac rescue using the VRS at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLi1y0b447M&t=369s.

About Vita Inclinata

A friend's death during a rescue operationwith a helicopter close but unable to stabilize due to weather and terrainwas the genesis of Vita Inclinata. Founded in 2015 as a way to solve a real problem, Vita today controls chaotic swinging and spin, and adds safety and precision for rotor-wing and fixed-wing aircraft and cranes. With the mission of "Bring them home, every time," Vita's technology changes the narrative while saving lives, time, and money across industries, including search and rescue, military, firefighting, public safety, construction, wind energy, and oil and gas. The company is headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, with offices in Washington, DC, and Huntsville, Alabama. For more information, please visit www.vitatech.co .

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:

Betsey Rogers

BridgeView Marketing

603-821-0809

[email protected]

Michael Emerton

BridgeView Marketing

603-766-3688

[email protected]

SOURCE Vita Inclinata
"We are confident with Jeremy's strategic sales approach and deep understanding of the market that he will bring a fresh lens and be a strong asset to these two hotels," said Jennifer Porter, Chief Operating Officer for Commonwealth Hotels. "He is a proficient hospitality leader."

Prior to joining the Hyatt House and Hyatt Place, Daniuk built his career as a food and beverage leader with tenures at award-winning venues including the Ruth Lake Country Club, the Metropolitan, Morton's The Steakhouse, and Norwegian Cruise Lines America. Daniuk holds a Culinary Arts degree and a Hotel Restaurant Management degree from Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

About Commonwealth Hotels, LLC

Commonwealth Hotels, LLC was founded in 1986 and is a proven partner in providing hotel management services with superior financial results. The company has extensive experience managing premium branded full service and select service hotels. Commonwealth Hotels currently manages 61 properties with nearly 7,600 rooms. Additional information may be found at www.commonwealthhotels.com.

Contact

Barbara E. Willen

Commonwealth Hotels, LLC

[email protected]

859.392-2254

SOURCE Commonwealth Hotels, Inc.
BOSTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CRIO (Clinical Research IO), the leader in eSource technology, marks a noteworthy milestone, announcing over 1000 clinical research sites on the CRIO system. Headquartered in Boston, CRIO is one of the fastest growing health tech companies in the United States. CRIO helps pharma, biotech, research sites, and academic research centers streamline regulatory workflows with one system, delivering a single source of clinical data capture. CRIO's modules allow sites to capture data electronically in real-time, enhancing transparency for data managers and monitors, and enabling remote monitoring by sponsors and CROs.

CRIO supports a variety of clinical research data. Today, the system has been adopted at over 1000 sites worldwide and embraced by over 3,500 investigators and CROs who rely on the platform to reduce protocol deviations, and improve data capture efficiencies. With over 4,000 protocols and 250,000 subjects in the system, CRIO's global network spans 15 geographies, supports four languages, and is compliant across 21 CFR 11, ICH - GCP, GDPR, HIPPA, and other other regulations.

"We're proud to see that sites have recognized the value of the CRIO system. As the trial landscape evolves, sponsors and sites around the world are demonstrating the value they place in systems that genuinely improve and streamline data collection," said Raymond Nomizu, CEO and co-founder at CRIO. "We have an ambitious roadmap for 2022. CRIO is in a great position to create a true end-to-end workflow system that unlocks values for all parties." The company has indicated plans to launch highly anticipated new platform features and integrations to round out the system later this year. Enabling sites, sponsors and CROs to have direct access to clinical data in real-time will drive efficiencies in clinical research and will be the hub for supporting decentralized clinical trials (DCT).

Built by a former site owner, CRIO was founded in 2016 and was the first company to widely commercialize an eSource system to clinical research sites. CRIO is known for CRIO eSource, CTMS, eRegulatory, and now, another industry first, CRIO Reviewer (eSource/EDC), with EMR/EHR to EDC and eConsent coming soon. Boasting 24-hour customer support and the ability to service international locations, CRIO's next steps include new strategic partnerships, further platform development and continued expansion of their sponsor offerings.

About CRIO

Innovation is at the heart of everything we do. CRIO's mission is to streamline clinical research to bring new medications to market faster. CRIO has created a holistic paperless platform for conducting clinical trials that reduces data errors, streamlines regulatory workflows and accelerates trial timelines.

For more information about CRIO, visit www.clinicalresearch.io

Media Contact:

Daenya McDonald, Marketing Director

(781) 296-8975

[email protected]

SOURCE CRIO
CAMBRIDGE, England, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Darktrace, a global leader in cyber security AI, today announced that its Autonomous Response technology, Antigena, successfully stopped an in-progress ransomware attack that recently targeted a financial services company in South Africa.

The company, a growing firm providing various financial services to customers across South Africa, was trialing Darktrace AI when it was targeted by a ransomware attack. The AI technology had formed a unique understanding of the company's 'normal' behavior across its digital estate so it could spot the subtle signs of a threat and fight back at machine speed.

In the early morning hours in mid-March 2022, Darktrace AI detected that a mail server within the company was making unusual HTTP connections to an external endpoint, indicating communication with a malicious server on the internet. Equipped with an understanding of the organization's 'normal' operations, the AI instantly identified that this behavior was abnormal and potentially threatening.

The compromised mail server subsequently attempted to perform reconnaissance and lateral movement. Attackers were using 11 employees' credentials during the incident, including those belonging to C-level executives. Following this, additional machines in the organization began communicating with the malicious external server.

Darktrace's Autonomous Response technology then took action to interrupt further communication with the malicious server on the internet across the organization, while allowing the previously learned, regular behavior of machines to continue. The response was targeted and proportionate, avoiding disruption to normal business operations. After the attack was contained, the company's security team and dedicated Darktrace experts were able to conduct a full investigation to ensure that the attack was fully contained.

"The speed and scale of ransomware attacks today makes it absolutely critical that organizations are armed with technology capable of interrupting in-progress, sophisticated attacks without relying on humans to take the sledgehammer out and interrupt wider business operations in the incident response process," commented Max Heinemeyer, VP of Cyber Innovation, Darktrace. "It is inevitable that attackers will strike, often out-of-hours, and stories like these elucidate the power of handing over the keys to AI as the first responder to maintain business as usual while freeing up human teams to focus on high-level work like strategy and cyber hygiene."

About Darktrace

Darktrace (DARK:L), a global leader in cyber security AI, delivers world-class technology that protects over 6,500 customers worldwide from advanced threats, including ransomware and cloud and SaaS attacks. Darktrace's fundamentally different approach applies Self-Learning AI to enable machines to understand the business in order to autonomously defend it. Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, the company has more than 1,700 employees and over 30 offices worldwide. Darktrace was named one of TIME magazine's 'Most Influential Companies' for 2021.

Media Contacts

Tom Bermingham Brands2Life (UK) +44 (0) 7983 857 952 [email protected] Jessica Cheney CommStrat (US) +1 419 350 4614 [email protected]

SOURCE Darktrace
Sneak preview webinar set for April 13, 2022

CANTON, Ohio, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Media Group, one of America's largest real estate technology solutions providers for brokers, today announced the upcoming launch of a next-generation, CRM-based, all-in-one digital marketing platform, available this fall.

In September, Delta Media will launch its new DeltaNET 7 technology that leverages automation and artificial intelligence to create "the most customizable, most automated all-in-one platform in the marketplace." Registration is open for a sneak preview webinar on April 13 at 2:00 pm ET here (bit.ly/DeltaNET).

Delta Media will launch its new DeltaNET 7 CRM-based digital marketing platform for real estate brokers and agents in September, leveraging automation and artificial intelligence. A sneak preview webinar is set for April 13 at 2:00 pm ET (bit.ly/DeltaNET). Delta Media will launch its new DeltaNET 7 CRM-based digital marketing platform for real estate brokers and agents in September that leverages automation and artificial intelligence.

For the first time, large real estate brokerage customers can create and design their own all-in-one platform, with individually customized brokerage branding and features throughout. The DeltaNET 7 breakthrough allows personalized down-to-the-button design and navigation, all of which brokerages will control.

Delta Media has reinvested over $40 million into its technology offerings. Family-owned and profitable for over 25 years, Delta is known as one of the most stable firms among major real estate technology providers.

"DeltaNET 7 is game-changing," said Michael Minard, CEO and owner of Delta Media. "We will be launching the easiest-to-use, most automated CRM solution  and more importantly, the deepest customization available  to give brokerages their own all-in-one platform that they control, making it completely unique from what their competitors are using," he added.

With DeltaNET 7, brokerages also will be able to design specific "roles" that deliver a personalized experience for each agent, based on the tech tools each agent uses.

In addition to universal styling, DeltaNET 7 offers a mobile-centric and customizable workflow that eliminates "endless scrolling." Brokerages also can create specific training courses through Delta Academy for their customized DeltaNET 7 platforms.

"With DeltaNET 7, our highly successful integrations, automation, and artificial intelligence will be enabled by default. So instead of asking real estate brokerages what tech tools they want to feature, we will be coming to them with a data-driven success model giving them the ability to choose what they want to customize," says Minard. "This will help firms do more business in less time, utilizing data analytics that only the largest technology firms can provide."

DeltaNET 7 also is fully integrated with Delta Websites, featuring Patent-Pending SEO, the Delta Academy training system, as well as its full stack of digital marketing tools, including Ad Wizard, Local Showings, Properties in Motion and Open House Connector.

New CMA tech tool

The launch of DeltaNET 7 also will introduce a new "two-click" Comparative Market Analysis or CMA tool, Delta Pitch.

"While most brokerages want an all-in-one solution, others just want one tool to complete their tech stack for agents. That's why Delta Media is now all-in-one when you want it, best-in-class when you don't  when you only need just one superior tech solution that we offer," Minard added.

Delta's new CMA offering, Delta Pitch, features a quick-build platform allowing agents to create a "beautiful CMA in just two-clicks," explained Minard. "Delta Pitch is more than a CMA builder; it's an entire presentation builder."

Once an agent enters a property address, Delta Pitch automatically pulls in all the data it needs to create a digital CMA, offering a "flip book" link that agents can share with their clients. A built-in Delta Pitch feature gives an agent the ability to automatically launch a Zoom video call to share and review the CMA with a client.

Delta Media will rollout Delta Pitch in May and will begin piloting DeltaNET 7 this summer. The planned full launch for DeltaNET 7 is in September.

About Delta Media Group

Delta Media Group, Inc., located in Canton, Ohio, is a leading and trusted technology partner for many of the best-known real estate brands, including 75 LeadingRE Affiliates, and more than 50 top-ranked brokerages nationwide. The creator of the DeltaNET "all in one when you want it, best-in-class when you don't" digital marketing platform. Delta provides automated digital marketing, unmatched SEO, easiest to use CRM, on-time and on-budget website launches, and its new Local Showings app and platform. Real estate's largest family-owned and operated technology innovator since 1994. Discover more at deltamediagroup.com.

Media contact:

Kevin Hawkins

(206) 866-1220

[email protected]

SOURCE Delta Media
Tcheandjieu is a human geneticist who incorporates machine learning with more traditional statistical approaches to understand the genetic roots of disease. By analyzing immense amounts of genomic and health record data, she develops models to uncover factors that predispose to disease and may differ between people of different ancestries. Her work is especially focused on examining data from Black and Indigenous populations, who have so far been largely understudied.

"There is a huge need for Catherine's work," says Katie Pollard, PhD, director of the Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology. "Her research has already revealed new pathways that may cause heart disease, which were missed in earlier studies that centered on people with European ancestry. Catherine is a natural trailblazer who already displays impressive leadership at her early career stage."

In her recent work as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, Tcheandjieu conducted the largest genetic study to date for coronary artery disease in European, African, Hispanic, and Asian populations. Her previous research aimed to predict risk for thyroid cancer and cardiovascular diseases in people of various descent.

"I'm thrilled to be bringing my unique expertise to Gladstone," says Tcheandjieu. "I think I have a lot to contribute, and also a lot to gain from this organization, its environment, and its culture."

Finding Your Predisposition to Disease

The human genome contains over 20,000 genes. People have different versions of each gene, and some of these genetic variants are associated with a higher risk of developing certain diseases.

Tcheandjieu is interested in better understanding the specific parts of a person's genome that contribute to their predisposition to disease. She uses the latest genomics and machine learning technology to define the genes associated with cardiovascular disease in diverse populations, and aims to eventually apply her expertise to other complex disorders too.

Once she identifies genes that contribute to the risk of a particular disease, she combines the information with data on environmental exposure to build models that can predict a person's risk of developing the disease.

"My goal is that these models will one day allow you to go see your doctor and they can tell you, based on your lifestyle and genetics, 'This is the likelihood that you will develop a given disease, and this is the prevention protocol that we can put in place to help you avoid that situation,'" says Tcheandjieu.

In addition to providing a new tool to help guide healthcare decisions, her work can help identify genes that could be used as therapeutic targets to cure diseases.

Bringing Diversity to Genomic Studies

As part of her research, Tcheandjieu compares groups of patients with a certain disease to groups without the disease, and analyzes their DNA for genetic variants. To do so, she uses platforms like the Million Veteran Program from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, which contains genetic information on over 650,000 people.

"This is one of the most diverse data sets in the country, and includes data from over 100,000 African American individuals," she explains.

This diversitywhich has historically been lacking in genomic studiesis particularly important to Tcheandjieu.

To date, most studies have relied solely on genetic data from people with European ancestry, who only account for 30 percent of the global population. As a result, the drugs and precision medicine tools developed from those efforts are not necessarily helpful to all patients.

"I really want to orient my research to populations that have been understudied and forgotten over time, like African, African American, Latinx, and Indigenous populations," Tcheandjieu says. "I want to do something that's going to be useful for me and my family, because we are part of the forgotten. It's important to focus on 100 percent of the world population to make sure treatments can help everyone."

From Dissecting Mice to Studying Heart Disease

Tcheandjieu grew up in Bafang, an agricultural town in Cameroon. Her passion for research and medicine started when she was 8 years old and decided to adopt a sick newborn baby goat.

"No one could separate me from that baby goat," she recalls. "We were together 24/7, even sleeping together. In fact, I caught a very bad cold from it, and I ended up having a stuffy nose for years after that."

When the goat died a few months later, Tcheandjieu was devastated. That's when she pledged to take care of people and become a doctor. She read biology books and began following her father around, who was a registered nurse specialized in gynecology and obstetrics and essentially acted as the town's physician.

At 12 years old, she started setting mouse traps to catch rodents and, using a box-cutter, she would sit in her front yard and dissect them to look at their organs and understand how they are interconnected.

Tcheandjieu eventually got a scholarship to study veterinary medicine in Algeria, where she did her dissertation on using genetic selection to improve economical yield in cows. The field of genetics captivated her so much that she decided to go into research, with the goal of becoming a professor.

She completed her PhD on the epidemiology of thyroid cancer at University Paris-Saclay in France. During that time, she lost her father to complications from a stroke.

"My dad was my biggest inspiration, and the person who drove my energy and my willingness to do science," she says. "To honor his memory, I decided to switch the focus of my research to cardiovascular disease to see how I could help people."

So Tcheandjieu next went to Stanford University to study the genetic risk factors for cardiovascular disease. There, she identified several genetic variants linked to the shape and size of the aorta, which could be used for early prediction of aortic valve disease.

Building Representative Biobanks

By starting her own lab at Gladstone, Tcheandjieu looks forward to pursuing her work in cardiovascular disease, as well as expanding to other areas including neurological and immunological disease.

"I've really liked my connection and interaction with other investigators at Gladstone and I can't wait to collaborate with them," she says. "Compared to large universities, I don't feel like a statistic here, but like a person that my colleagues care about. This is the type of place where I want to start my faculty career."

She also likes that, at Gladstone, she will be relieved of much of the administrative burden that often comes with academic positions.

"Science comes first here," she adds. "Gladstone has so many professionals to support me, from editors who can help refine my grant applications to people who can raise funds for my big ideas, and I've been impressed by how efficient they all are."

One of Tcheandjieu's big ideas is to eventually create her own datasets, rather than relying on existing sources.

"I'm early in my career, but what I get really excited about is figuring out a way to build a giant African biobank," she says.

Africa is the most genetically diverse continent. So, a platform that captures Africa's genetic diversity would provide a greater opportunity to observe genetic changes that explain disease risk.

But Tcheandjieu doesn't intend to stop there. She also wants to create a biobank for Indigenous and Native American people.

"These populations have been widely understudied and widely misrepresented, and the consequences have been really bad for people from Black and Indigenous communities," she says. "I want to make sure they can be correctly represented in future genomic studies, and reap the same benefits of research as others have."

About Catherine Tcheandjieu

Catherine Tcheandjieu, DVM, PhD, is an assistant investigator at Gladstone Institutes. She earned a doctorate of veterinary science from the National School of Veterinary Medicine of Algiers in Algeria, and a Master's degree in public health followed by a PhD in genetic epidemiology from the University of Paris-Saclay in France. She trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, where she focused on the genetics of cardiovascular diseases.

Her expertise includes epidemiology, genomics, and statistics, which she applies to complex disorders such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. She specializes in mining large genomics and epidemiological datasets from diverse populations to discover genetic and environmental factors that predispose to disease and may differ between different ancestries.

Tcheandjieu is a recipient of the Stanford Postdoc Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Champion Award, the Stanford Jump Start Award, and the Million Veteran Program early career investigator award. She is a co-founder of BlackInCardio.

About Gladstone Institutes

To ensure our work does the greatest good, Gladstone Institutes focuses on conditions with profound medical, economic, and social impactunsolved diseases. Gladstone is an independent, nonprofit life science research organization that uses visionary science and technology to overcome disease. It has an academic affiliation with the University of California, San Francisco.

Media Contact: Julie Langelier | Associate Director, Communications | [email protected] | 415.734.5000

1650 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA 94158 | gladstone.org | @GladstoneInst

SOURCE Gladstone Institutes
The eco-friendly Igloo and Dogfish Head ECOCOOL Playmate Elite positively impacts drinkers' enjoyment without negatively impacting the planet. Crafted with post-consumer recycled resin that saves discarded plastic yogurt cups and milk jugs from landfills, the iconic Playmate cooler features flourishing nature-inspired artwork paired with Dogfish Head 's signature green color scheme to bring drinkers closer to the environment as they explore the great outdoors with a cold-one in hand.

"With our continued environmental stewardship, it was only natural for us to partner with Igloo to create a sustainable cooler that pairs perfectly with a refreshing beer as another eco-conscious step toward standing up for Mother Nature," said Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Founder & Brewer. "From sourcing regenerative or organic ingredients for many of Dogfish Head beers to implementing sustainably minded initiatives through so many facets of our brand and community, we share the same ethos with Igloo when it comes to protecting and celebrating Mother Nature and its many bounties, one small grain or yogurt cup at a time. And, as beer and nature lovers explore what our world has to offer this Earth Month and beyond, we collectively hope to inspire them on thoughtful choices that give back to the environment."

As part of the collaboration, Dogfish Head is inviting drinkers to stand up for Mother Nature by participating in an Earth Month sweepstakes for a chance to win a variety of eco-friendly prizes, including the limited-edition Dogfish Head ECOCOOL Playmate Elite cooler. For every entry, Dogfish Head will donate $1.00 to Keep America Beautiful during their 2022 Great American Cleanup, up to $10,000, with Igloo matching the donation. The sweepstakes will run through April 30, and drinkers can enter at http://www.dogfishheadearthmonthsweeps.com/ and follow the submission instructions for a chance to win. Keep America Beautiful is a section 501(c)(3) organization.

"At Igloo, as we continue our mission to become the most environmentally friendly cooler company on Earth, we're incredibly excited to partner with Dogfish Head," said Jon Sinko, Vice President of Partnerships and Licensing at Igloo. "We share a vision that two brands together can do more good for the planet than each of us could on our own. The collaboration and teamwork from both sides have made this not only fun but also a fulfilling project to work on together, especially with the contribution we're able to make to Keep America Beautiful."

The Igloo and Dogfish Head ECOCOOL Playmate Elite cooler has a 16-quart capacity that fits up to 30 12-ounce cans and is currently available to purchase for $45.00 on Dogfish Head's webstore and at their coastal Delaware merchandise shops. The cooler can also be purchased on igloocoolers.com starting on Earth Day, April 22, while supplies last.

"Having the opportunity to partner with two respected and well-recognized brands, Igloo and Dogfish Head, means a tremendous amount to Keep America Beautiful and the work our team does each day," said Keep America Beautiful Chief Marketing Officer, Noah Ullman. "To know these two companies believe in and support our mission in such a way speaks volumes about their concern for every community's health and well-being, and about their efforts toward sustainability."

For more information, please visit www.dogfishhead.com and igloocoolers.com. Learn more and get involved with Keep America Beautiful by visiting https://kab.org/ .

ABOUT DOGFISH HEAD CRAFT BREWERY

Dogfish Head has focused on brewing beers with culinary ingredients outside the Reinheitsgebot since the day it opened as one of the smallest American craft breweries in 1995. A Delaware-based brand and supporter of the Independent Craft Brewing Seal, Dogfish Head sells beer in all 50 states and Washington D.C. For more, visit www.dogfish.com, Facebook: @dogfishheadbeer, Twitter: @dogfishbeer and Instagram: @dogfishhead.

ABOUT IGLOO COOLERS

Born from a modest metalworking shop back in 1947, Igloo has been instrumental in redefining how we live, work and play. What began with bringing clean water to the worksite quickly moved into super-functional, best-in-class ice chests. Igloo products made the family outdoor recreation movement of the 20th century possible. Suddenly, taking your kids camping on the weekend became easy and cross-country road trips became a summer vacation staple.

As we approach our next century, Igloo is 1,200 employees strong. We are proud to calla 1.8-million-square-foot, three-building facility inKaty, Texas home. With more than 500 products sold at thousands of retailers around the globe, we can confidently call ourselves the number one cooler manufacturer in the world.

And through it all we haven't lost sight of our original goalto create products that enable the pursuit of happiness (however you define it). That's why we're still working hard every day to innovate, create and make it easier for you to get out, work hard and play even harder.

ABOUT KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL

Keep America Beautiful, the nation's leading community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful strives to End Littering, Improve Recycling, and Beautify America's Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green, and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision. The organization is driven by the work and passion of nearly 700 Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the collaborative support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.

SOURCE Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Atlanta-based brand distributes plush unicorns to Children's kicking off ongoing support

ATLANTA, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlanta-based Edible , the world's largest franchisor of fresh fruit arrangements and other sweet treats, announces a sweet collaboration with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (Children's) to provide "Swizzles," rainbow-hued, purple-horned, plush unicorns, to children throughout the system in honor of National Unicorn Day on April 9. Additionally, the brand will donate $1 to Children's for every Swizzle purchased online with an Edible arrangement throughout the month of April.

Atlanta-based Edible spreads sweetness to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta on National Unicorn Day. Were grateful to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for giving us the opportunity to lift spirits and bring smiles to children with our beloved Swizzle the Unicorn, said Somia Farid Silber, vice president of e-commerce for Edible. And were going to keep the sweetness going throughout the year with ongoing distributions of plush toys as well as financial support. (PRNewsfoto/Edible)

"We're grateful to Children's for giving us the opportunity to lift spirits and bring smiles to children with our beloved Swizzle the Unicorn," said Somia Farid Silber, vice president of e-commerce for Edible. "And we're going to keep the sweetness going throughout the year with ongoing distributions of plush toys as well as financial support."

It's the little day-to-day gestures that make a difference in people's lives, according to Silber. Edible pioneered the fresh fruit arrangement and now offers fresh fruit smoothies, fresh produce boxes, baked goods, and other delicious treats both online and at over 1,000 Edible locations worldwide. The brand moved its headquarters from Wallingford, Conn. to Atlanta in March 2018.

Edible's iconic "Be Sweet Today" campaign is intended to incite random acts of kindness through everyday gifting. And now, for every Swizzle purchased (in select markets) in April, $1 will go to Children's for a maximum $10,000 donation. Edible also celebrated the tireless contribution of child life specialists at Children's by providing dessert platters to the hospital in March, which is Child Life Month.

"We at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center are extremely grateful for Edible's generous gift of so many adorable stuffed unicorns, and we are also so thankful that Edible allowed our Child Life teams to be celebrated with treats during Child Life Month," said Lindsay Whiteside, senior program coordinator for Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children's.

About Edible Brands

Edible Brands is the parent company of Edible, the world's largest franchisor of stores offering fresh fruit snacks, dipped treats, and fruit arrangements with over 1,000 locations worldwide. Since its founding in 1999, the company has been recognized as an industry leader, ranking first in its category in Entrepreneur magazine's annual "Franchise 500," Entrepreneur's Top 40 of "Fastest Growing Franchises'' and "America's Top Global Franchises" as well as being included among the "Inc. 5000" list of the fastest growing privately-held companies. Edible's fresh fruit arrangements, chocolate Dipped Fruit, fresh fruit smoothies, fresh produce boxes and other treats can be ordered through any local Edible store or online at edible.com . Edible has franchise opportunities available in a number of key markets in the United States and Canada. For more information about owning an Edible please visit ediblefranchise.com.

Media Contact:

Sarah Collins

Tombras

[email protected]

510.541.3774

SOURCE Edible
Groundbreaking ambient voice-to-insights technology captures and digitizes behavioral health sessions, liberating care providers to focus on therapeutic alliance and personalized care

Overlaying any mainstream EHR, Eleos autonomously identifies in-session themes and generates post-session clinical progress notes, lending clinicians new insights into potential care gaps or the need for care coordination

In use by 20+ national care providers and health plans, Eleos looks to unlock up to 30% more provider capacity as the U.S. grapples with behavioral health clinician shortages



BOSTON and TEL AVIV, Israel , April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eleos Health , the leader in CareOps Automation for behavioral health, today announced that it has raised $20 million in Series A funding. The round was co-led by F-Prime Capital and Eight Roads Ventures , with participation from existing investors aMoon Fund , lool ventures , and Arkin Holdings , bringing Eleos' total raise to $28 million.

30 million Americans are living with untreated mental health conditions. Even the most optimistic math shows that the current supply of 600,000 active licensed U.S. therapists falls far short of meeting patient demand. As the U.S. works to expand its behavioral health workforce , existing mental health care providers are shouldering a crushing workload , with self-reported burnout rates among psychiatrists at 78% .

Launched in early 2020, Eleos Health is a breakthrough clinical application for voice AI, operating ambiently in the background of behavioral health clinician-patient conversations (full patient consent and permission are pre-conditions of clinical use).

Overlaying mainstream electronic health records (EHRs) and operable in both virtual and in-person care settings, Eleos securely and autonomously captures and interprets in-session themes and moments, generating post-session clinical progress notes and insurance coding. On average, Eleos cuts clinician documentation time by 40%. Eleos' superpower is its ability to give both individual clinicians and clinical leadership original insights. Some of the most common insights Eleos produces are:

Recurring in-session keywords spanning major conversational themes and moments

How a clinical intervention was used: CBT might include a mood check, agenda setting, reflective listening, homework and action planning

Clinician listen time vs. talk time, or when and how often a clinician interrupts a patient

Practice-wide percentage of clinicians delivering evidence-based practice

Patient improvement rate

"Behavioral health practitioners deserve advanced technology representative of and equal to the role they play in caregiving and healing," said Alon Joffe, CEO and Co-Founder, Eleos Health. "In behavioral care, the conversation is the treatment. For the first time, Eleos is making it possible to digitize and manage the unstructured nature of behavioral health conversations, lending psychotherapists a new line of sight into patient needs, progress and outcomes."

Eleos is currently used by thousands of clinicians across more than 20 national care providers and health plans, including Gaudenzia Home, The Brookline Center for Mental Health and Coleman Health Services. Eleos has captured more than 6.5 million minutes of treatment to date, and is projecting 30 million minutes captured by the end of 2022.

"When our clinicians are in-session with patients, they can be tuned into relational energy, body language or empathetic mirroring in addition to patients' vocal feedback and the overall dialogue," said Dr. Dale Klatzker, CEO, Gaudenzia Home. "Eleos has given our team a new level of insight into how we are delivering care and how patients are responding. Smart, augmentative and non-intrusive technology like Eleos improves the ability of our team to focus on clinician-patient trust and overall treatment and outcomes."

"Eleos Health offers a unique approach, by combining the power of voice and Natural Language Understanding, together with enterprise-grade security and compliance standards in the clinical workflow. Eleos allows providers and payers to unlock the synchronization of behavioral, medical and SDoH data, which leads to improved outcomes and reduced clinician burnout," said Carl Byers, Partner at F-Prime Capital. "We look forward to working with this talented team as they take the next steps to scale the business."

"Eleos delivers a unique approach that harnesses the power of voice and Natural Language Understanding coupled with enterprise-grade security and compliance standards directly right into the clinical workflow," said Davor Hebel, Managing Partner, Eight Roads Ventures. "CareOps Automation is the future of behavioral health. It allows providers and payers to unlock the holy grail in behavioral health - the synchronization of behavioral, medical and SDoH data to improve outcomes and reduce clinician burnout all without changing the clinical workflow."

About Eleos Health

Eleos is pioneering CareOps Automation. By consolidating the entire behavioral care workflow  everything from progress notes all the way to session intelligence clinicians are freed from time-consuming operational burdens. Eleos takes care of CareOps, honing in on automating operational necessities, including all documentation, compliance administration as well as providing deep clinical insights through session intelligence. Eleos makes evidence-based behavioral care a reality so clinicians, providers, and networks can measurably and comparatively track treatment and progress. Now clinicians put all their focus into care itself. So the care they aim to provide becomes the care they actually deliver. Eleos. More Care. Less Ops.

About F-Prime Capital

F-Prime Capital is a global venture capital firm investing in healthcare and technology. For the past 50 years, our venture capital group has had the privilege of backing great entrepreneurs building groundbreaking companies. With over $3 billion dollars under management and a global portfolio of more than 200 companies, we champion those dedicated to creating positive change in the world. Our healthcare fund has created or co-created 27 companies including Denali, Beam, Innovent, Orchard and Sana and has helped build many others including Blueprint Medicines, Iora Health, PatientPing, Devoted and Ultragenyx. F-Prime portfolio companies have seen more than 30 products and drugs approved by regulatory agencies worldwide. Our team of investors, engineers, doctors and scientists is committed to bringing the insight, domain expertise and relationships required to help our companies make a transformational impact.

For more information, please visit www.fprimecapital.com .

About Eight Roads

Eight Roads is a global venture capital firm managing over $6bn of assets across offices in the UK, China, India and Japan. It backs and partners with game-changing technology and healthcare companies and its 50-year history of investing includes partnerships with over 300 companies including Alibaba, AppsFlyer, Cazoo, Fireblocks, Funnel.io, Gloat, Hibob, Icertis, Made.com, Neo4j, Spendesk, Paidy, Ping Identity, Pony.ai, Wallapop and WuXi PharmaTech. For more information please visit eightroads.com .

Media Contacts

Nate Hermes | 646-828-9172

Loretta Mock | 646-726-7886

[email protected]

SOURCE Eleos Health
Four-year commitment and a six-figure donation from Embedded Ventures provides new STEM opportunities for female middle school students

LOS ANGELES, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Embedded Ventures , a venture capital firm investing in dual-use space startups beyond launch, announced a collaboration with the USC Viterbi School of Engineering to reignite Project Payload , a program in which middle school-aged girls will authentically experience what it's actually like to have a career in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through the design of rockets, payloads, and satellites, along with programming. Participants in Project Payload's summer camp, taking place this July, will design, build and launch rockets and high-altitude balloon sensor devices at STARBASE in Los Alamitos, CA.

Both Project Payload alumni and students from USC's annual summertime program now in its seventh yearSummer High School Intensive in Next-Generation Engineering ( SHINE )will serve as mentors, helping girls to form a STEM identity and bridging the gap to high school opportunities available through SHINE.

A portion of the donation from Embedded Ventures will be made in honor of Summer Medford, a 2019 Project Payload alumna. She was enthusiastic about space tech and STEM, but she really had an unmatched flare for rockets. She even once said, "I only want to do rockets" while brainstorming how she wanted to spend her time on school break. "What an incredible opportunity to honor Summer's legacy by bringing back her cohortnow in the ninth and tenth gradesto mentor the incoming class of students as they collaborate on something Summer was so passionate about," said Brit Bostic, Director of Operations at Embedded Ventures.

"Investing our time in the next generation of scientists through STEM education is an extremely important endeavor for us," said Jenna Bryant, CEO, General Partner, and Co-founder at Embedded Ventures. "My co-founder Jordan Noone (USC Viterbi '14) introduced me to the Viterbi School and its impressive set of programs, and as I learned more about Project Payload, I knew we had to make sure that this opportunity was not only visible but also readily available to all young women who are interested. We are so excited to provide an experience that encompasses the core elements of the STEM field while celebrating Summer, a fearless engineer who dreamed big and inspired us to do the same."

According to iD Tech , 74% of middle school girls express an interest in engineering, science, and math, but only 0.4% choose computer science as a major when they get to college (Source: Girls Who Code ). Additionally, in a 2019 STEM survey by Emerson , it was stated that two of three U.S. women said they weren't encouraged to pursue a STEM career.

Since 2019, USC Viterbi reached gender parity in its entering engineering class. "At the Viterbi School of Engineering, our priority is ensuring that every student interested in STEM has equal access to opportunities they wish to pursue, regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic standing," said Darin Gray, Co-Director Viterbi K-12 STEM Center. "We thank Embedded Ventures for their commitment to reviving Project Payload, helping to assist young women and girls achieve their dreams."

"I am incredibly proud to be an alumnus of a school that is offering such crucial education initiatives to young women," said Noone ('14), General Partner and Co-founder at Embedded Ventures. "The STEM fields should be as inclusive as any other profession, and it is an honor to help facilitate opportunities for girls to advance their passions."

To encourage those who previously may not have had the opportunity to be immersed in STEM programming, priority is given to historically underrepresented female students in STEM, but this is not a requirement, and all females are encouraged to apply. To learn more on the program and submit an application, visit the Project Payload website here .

About Embedded Ventures

Launched in 2020, Embedded Ventures is a next generation venture capital firm investing in dual-use space startups beyond launch, best described as "the skunkworks of Venture Capital," named both for their unique investment approach and backgrounds. Co-Founders Jenna Bryant and Jordan Noone both have atypical industry experiences and strong passions for the communities they represent. The firm prefers to invest in the pre-seed and seed stage startups focused in space operations, digital engineering, and advanced manufacturing. To date, Embedded Ventures has announced investments in Inversion Space, Chromatic 3D Materials, Slingshot Aerospace, KittyCAD, and Skyryse. To learn more about Embedded Ventures, please visit its website , Medium , Twitter , Twitch and YouTube pages.

For more information:

Erin Haworth, High10 Media for Embedded Ventures, [email protected]

SOURCE Embedded Ventures
Supported with a Two-Year Grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

AUSTIN, Texas, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Embracing Equity, a Woman-of-Color (WOC)-led social justice nonprofit organization announces the launch of a two-year initiative to address inequities in New Mexico's education system with a focus on training educators and education leaders. A $500,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will support Embracing Equity to uplift culturally-appropriate training, professional development and capacity building. Embracing Equity takes a partnership approach when working with educators to cultivate environments where all students can thrive. Embracing Equity's virtual learning platform, programs and services are designed by teachers for teachers.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (PRNewsfoto/Embracing Equity)

Prior to this initiative, the Embracing Equity team has been working with local school leaders in New Mexico. The founder of the esteemed Keres Children's Learning Center (KCLC), Trisha Moquino , says that "Embracing Equity has been a game changer in my life. They helped me share with my people all of the ways our children can be seen and educated as their whole Indigenous selves inclusive of our native language and everything embedded in it."

Founder and CEO of Embracing Equity, Daisy Han stated, "Our vision is to open pathways to have a legacy of truth, justice and liberation. All students will be honored for their rich cultural and multilingual roots and nurtured to thrive." While other organization's program and service offerings may sound similar, Embracing Equity's unique developmental approach to enacting change has proven incredibly effective. "It's not enough to create new mandates, policies and procedures. Actual people must interpret and deliver on these ideals. If these same individuals charged with making change have not been affirmed and guided in their own self-directed learning journey for liberation, there is very little hope for changing the way things have always been done," concluded Han.

The Kellogg Foundation grant in New Mexico enables Embracing Equity to expand their immersive learning model for change across an expansive geographic area encompassing four regions: Central, North/Northwest, South and West. According to Deputy Secretary of Teaching, Learning and Assessment at New Mexico's Public Education Department, Gwen Perea Warniment, Ph.D., "We are thrilled to welcome Embracing Equity. Our unique multicultural diversity and history presents a compelling challenge, but we have seen the work that they do and we know how effective they have been. Given their proposed work, we see a unique opportunity for us to show leadership in creating fundamental and sustainable progress that benefits all students."

Embracing Equity CEO and Founder, Daisy Han will keynote at the New Mexico Association for Bilingual Education's (NMABC) 47th annual state conference on April 7th at 8:30 am MST. For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact [email protected].

About Embracing Equity

A WOC-led social justice nonprofit organization founded in 2017 by education leader and entrepreneur, Daisy Han, MA, M.Ed. (she/her). Embracing Equity was incubated while Daisy was a graduate student at Harvard Graduate School of Education. With over 14 years as a teacher, principal, and teacher trainer, Daisy was deeply committed to dismantling the racism in the U.S. education system. Word spread quickly, and in a few short years, over 2,000 people from 14 countries, 47 states, DC and Puerto Rico have embraced equity through immersion in the organization's dynamic online virtual learning platform and community. Learn more about Embracing Equity at www.embracingequity.org .

About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

For more information about the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, please visit wkkf.org .

Media contact:

Kimberly Strenk

[email protected]

415-515-9414

SOURCE Embracing Equity
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Euclid Transactional, LLC ("Euclid Transactional"), a global managing general agent focused on transactional insurance, announced today that Hudson Insurance Group ("Hudson") and Westfield Insurance will participate in its North American program and current partner Zurich North America has agreed to increase its committed capacity. The new and expanded insurance carrier support will raise Euclid Transactional's maximum per-deal underwriting limit of liability to $90 million.

Hudson and Westfield join Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, SCOR, Aspen, Zurich North America and CNA in supporting Euclid Transactional's global team, which specializes in representations and warranties, tax and contingent insurance underwriting and claims handling services.

Jay Rittberg, Managing Principal of Euclid Transactional, commented, "With use of transactional insurance at record levels, we are grateful to have support from a world class panel of creditworthy insurance carrier partners. The addition of Hudson and Westfield and increased capacity from Zurich will enhance our ability to deliver thoughtful, commercial solutions to our valued clients."

Christopher Gallagher, President and CEO of Hudson Insurance Group, noted, "We support several affiliated Euclid programs. Our first program relationship with Euclid incepted in 2003. We are excited to expand on this core relationship by being a part of the panel that will allow Euclid Transactional to continue to focus on best-in-class execution on transactions."

"Euclid Transactional is a leader in the growing transactional insurance market and well positioned to help our clients with their M&A deals," stated Jack Kuhn, President of Westfield Specialty. "Westfield looks forward to supporting Euclid's talented team through this partnership."

John N. Colis, President and CEO of Euclid Insurance Services and a Director on the Board of Directors of Euclid Transactional, noted, "It is fantastic to have Hudson on yet another Euclid program and to welcome Westfield to Euclid Transactional's panel of A.M. Best rated A or better carriers."

Euclid Transactional has increased in scale significantly since its inception in 2016 and today features a team of more than 120 members across offices in New York, Chicago, Toronto, London, Frankfurt, Stockholm, and Copenhagen. The company recently expanded its tax and middle market practices in 2021 and now has the largest fully dedicated U.S.-based tax insurance underwriting team in the transactional insurance space.

Since its founding in 2016, Euclid Transactional has underwritten nearly 4,000 policies and insured deals with a combined value of over $3 trillion.

About Euclid Transactional

Euclid Transactional, LLC is a managing general agency specializing in the underwriting of representations & warranties, tax liability, contingent liability and other transactional insurance coverages. Operated by one of the industry's largest teams of experienced underwriters and claims executives, Euclid Transactional provides the size and security of a large insurer with the customer service of a boutique. The firm has offices in New York, London, Chicago, Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Toronto, and offers full-service underwriting for deals across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Euclid Transactional is an affiliate of Euclid Insurance Services, a program administrator that provides its partners with advisory, accounting, information technology and human resource services. Euclid Transactional's insurance capacity is provided by premier insurers, all of which are rated AM Best A (Excellent) or better.

About Hudson Insurance Group

Hudson Insurance Group is a market-leading specialty insurer that offers a wide range of property and casualty insurance products to corporations, professional firms and individuals through retailers, wholesalers and program administrators. Headquartered in New York City with offices throughout the U.S. and in Vancouver, Canada, Hudson underwrites specialty primary and excess insurance on both an admitted and non-admitted basis. Its companies are rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best, Financial Size Category XV. Hudson Insurance Group is the U.S. Insurance Division of the Odyssey Group, a leading global provider of reinsurance and specialty insurance. Odyssey Group is a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. For more information, visit hudsoninsgroup.com.

About Westfield Insurance

Westfield Specialty Insurance Company offers innovative insurance solutions to help customers manage risk and safeguard the value of their business. Westfield Specialty is backed by Westfield, one of the nation's leading property and casualty insurers with proven financial strength and over 2200 employees in the U.S. Westfield has an "A" XV ("Excellent") rating by A.M. Best Company, Inc. Learn more about Westfield at www.westfieldinsurance.com.

Media Contact:

Davis MacMillan

RF|Binder

[email protected]

212-994-7509

SOURCE Euclid Transactional, LLC
Highlights include; training on new flavours and techniques, a tequila- pairing dinner with Patron, and our annual speed-bartending competition. Plus, we are excited to announce that Global Rum Ambassador, Ian Burrell, is our latest recruit to join the EBS Board of Education

A legend in the world of rum, Ian was voted 10th most influential person in the World Drinks industry by Drinks International in 2020, and has transformed the brand ambassador landscape since he started out.

Ian will share his deep knowledge and enthusiasm while discussing his new rum section for the EBS compendium. He is joined by our other illustrious board members, world-renowned gin connoisseur and Global Head of Ambassadors for William Grant & Sons, Charlotte Voisey, and Giacomo Gianotti, founder of Bar El Paradiso and expert mixologist, who will attend virtually.

EBS partners Hennessy, Hendrick's and Patron are also here to ensure it's not all 'work, work work', and will host sundown beach parties, tequila-pairing and chill-out brunches to ensure everyone is refreshed and ready to continue with the hard work.

Don't miss the opportunity to see the best and brightest at work, helping to set the path for the future of hospitality!

"In an ever-evolving industry - it's imperative at EBS that we train our trainers.

"The EBS convention elevates and improves our alignment and contribution to the drinks business, ensuring we remain at the forefront of bartending education"

- Gavin Wrigley, Head of Education, European Bartender School

Website: https://www.barschool.net/

Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1778626/EBS_1_Infographic.jpg

Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1778627/EBS_2_Infographic.jpg

SOURCE European Bartender School
New report from Mobile Experts outlines the cost-saving future of vRAN adoption

CAMPBELL, Calif., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile Experts just released a five-year forecast for virtual radio access networks (vRAN), with detailed technical information about acceleration techniques and processor core choices, along with a five-year forecast of adoption and revenue for vDU and vCU software.

Mobile Experts

Cost analysis in the report compares the impact of centralization, virtualization, and openness, analyzing the impact of each step in the modernization of the network. The report also breaks down the trends for virtualization in various world regions, by air interface, by public and private networks, and several other aspects.

"Virtual RAN made the major leagues this year," commented Joe Madden, Chief Analyst at Mobile Experts. "After a decade of anticipation, large-scale deployments using this technology in mainstream networks are a reality. Operators such as Verizon, KDDI, Vodafone, and others have blessed vRAN with their stamp of approval."

The report dives into detail about the benefits of adopting vRAN; while initial cost benefits may be mild initially, over time, virtualization can result in important cost savings, especially for upgrades that would require a site visit for dedicated hardware.

"Major network operators have introduced vRAN in some of their most difficult markets. For example, Samsung has deployed with Verizon in New York City, and with KDDI in Tokyo. This technology has 'crossed the chasm' to mainstream adoption, and we have analyzed precisely how the vDU and vCU will be implemented," said Chief Analyst Joe Madden.

Mobile Experts has investigated Open RAN thoroughly in other reports, and while Open RAN can cut the cost of radio equipment dramatically in some networks, Mobile Experts concludes that vRAN has proven its ability to save money for almost any network in long-term costs for upgrades.

The questions that the market need answered are: How will a dedicated 5G network adopt vRAN for future expansion? Will operators wait for 6G, or overlay vRAN on existing networks? Mobile Experts' new report applies their usual methodical investigation to these questions and more.

Subscribers to Mobile Experts research will receive:

Full access to the Virtual RAN 2022 report;

62 comprehensive charts and figures;

The detailed Excel file with forecast data through 2027;

Quarterly market share, shipment, adoption updates;

Quarterly Expert INSIGHT strategic reports;

strategic reports; Access to the analysts behind the reports.

To learn more about this report, click here.

About Mobile Experts Inc. :

Mobile Experts provides insightful market analysis for the mobile infrastructure and mobile handset markets. Our analysts are true Experts, who remain focused on topics where each analyst has 25 years of experience or more. Research topics center on technology introduction for radio frequency (RF) and communications innovation. Recent publications focus on vRAN, Private Enterprise, Satellite and Mobile, Macro Base Stations, Cellular V2X, Private LTE, ORAN, RAN Revenue & CAPEX, Fixed Mobile Convergence, and more.

Contact:

Rachel Winningham

Mobile Experts Inc.

[email protected]

+1 (408) 374-0690

www.mobile-experts.net

SOURCE Mobile Experts
LOS ANGELES, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- City Attorney Mike Feuer should resign following a bombshell KNBC-TV report revealing Feuer was calendared for a meeting in which his office okayed an extortion scheme to keep the DWP billing debacle from becoming public.

Watch the report here: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/dwp-scandal-what-did-the-la-city-attorney-know/2862816/

Feuer has said he knew nothing about the extortion scheme that engulfed a former high-ranking attorney in his office, Thomas Peters. However, a Public Records Act request by KNBC places Feuer at a key Dec. 1, 2017 meeting in which federal prosecutors and Peters agreed that the extortion scheme was discussed. Feuer claims he doesn't remember the meeting.

Feuer has repeatedly denied knowledge of the collusive DWP billing litigation that took place under his watch as city attorney.

"If he was in the room, he knew about it," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. "It's inconceivable that Mike Feuer was in the room when an order was given to pay off an extortionist to cover up the city attorney's misconduct and he didn't remember it. The calendar entry corroborates a mountain of circumstantial evidence pointing to Feuer's involvement. He has disgraced the office of City Attorney and it's time for him to resign."

Feuer's knowledge of the the extortion threat is backed up by other sources, including the federal government, and two former Feuer employees.

According to the latest criminal plea agreement in the DWP saga, former city attorney official Thomas Peters agreed to plead guilty to aiding and abetting extortion, a federal offense that carries a penalty of up to 20 years in jail. The scheme pertained to an unnamed person who demanded nearly $1 million from city counsel in exchange for burying information that would reveal the city's collusive litigation strategy to cover up the Department of Water and Power's faulty billing system.

During the December 1, 2017 meeting, Peters admitted that he met with "senior members" of the City Attorney's Office and updated them on the status of a threat only named by prosecutors as "Person A." KNBC's new evidence points to Feuer as one of those senior members.

Peters conveyed that "Person A" was a former longtime employee of Paul Kiesel, whom the city hired to litigate the DWP billing fiasco alongside Paul Paradis. Kiesel described "Person A's" threats as "extortion" and Peters was "directed to take care of the situation" by a higher up, according to the plea agreement. The payment was made.

Paradis in a recent ethics complaint with the State Bar of California said Feuer lied when he said he didn't know about the scheme.

According to Paradis, Feuer knew about the payment demand and was "extremely unhappy," and unless city co-counsel Kiesel and Paradis "cleaned up" the situation, they would be fired. Paradis, via Peters, said Feuer and his deputies "could not tolerate the fact of the collusive settlement in the Jones v. City of Los Angeles class action becoming public," according to the complaint.

Paradis also produced a text message following the December 1, 2017 meeting between him and Peters.

"Mike is not firing anyone at this point. But he is far from happy about the prospect of a sideshow," Peters wrote. A screenshot of the text is attached to an Ardent bankruptcy filing.

Feuer's denials contradicts a body of heavy circumstantial evidence showing that he knew about the DWP billing litigation, in which the city manufactured a fake lawsuit in order to deflect bad attention away from DWP. Part of the strategy involved installing an attorney for customers who filed a dummy, city-drafted complaint.

During his deposition related to the litigation, Feuer said "I do not recall" over 60 times. According to emails from his deputy, Feuer signed off on the original plan to get other attorneys to drop their suits against the city.

The DWP scandal has so far ensnared four figures within DWP and the city attorney's office, who will plead guilty to charges of bribery, making false statements, and extortion. It's estimated the corruption will cost taxpayers at least $200 million.

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Global independent marketing and communications firm FINN Partners announced today that it has promoted Peter Hahn to Brand Innovation and Transformation Practice Leader. FINN created this new Practice in response to increasing client demand for brand and business consulting services in the face of rapid digital transformation. In his new role, Hahn will lead multidisciplinary teams across marketing strategy, digital experience, data and analytics, and creative to help clients maximize their brand value and performance in today's challenging business landscape. Hahn is based out of FINN's Washington D.C. office and will continue to report to Matt Bostrom, Managing Partner, Integrated Marketing.

Peter Hahn, Senior Partner, Brand Innovation and Transformation Practice Leader

"We're living through a period of transformative change. While the shift toward omnichannel marketing has been a driving business imperative for years, a convergence of factorsfrom the pandemic to supply chain issues to volatile global dynamicshave accelerated the pace of digital transformation," said Peter Finn, CEO & Founding Partner, FINN Partners. "We've successfully helped many major clients across health, technology, nonprofit and manufacturing, navigate inflection points in their business, whether a major merger, acquisition, market disruption or major pivot. Building on that foundation, our Brand Innovation and Transformation Practice is the natural evolution and next step in the growth of our strategic consulting and integrated marketing offering for clients."

A seasoned business and creative leader, Hahn brings more than 25 years of experience to the role, most recently as Senior Partner, Executive Creative Director at FINN. Throughout his career, he has built award-winning brands and campaigns for global companies including Pfizer, Nestle and JPMorgan; leading foundations such as Carnegie, Kellogg and Broad; B2B clients including Trintech and Omnitracs; technology giants such as EDS, Titan and AOL; associations including IEEE, NSTA and ACS; and a host of disruptive start-ups, federal and state agencies, lobbyists and advocacy groups.

In his new role as Senior Partner, Brand Innovation and Transformation Practice Leader, Hahn said, "Helping clients navigate uncertainty and maximize business opportunities has been an integral part of my previous roles. I'm excited to make it my singular focus and bring the full extent of my management consulting and marketing experience to bear on growing our business even further in this burgeoning space. FINN is at the forefront of innovating to meet the complex challenges spurred by digital transformation, and I'm proud to be a part of that momentum."

Noah Finn, Founding Managing Partner, Global Integrated Marketing, added: "Peter is exactly the kind of multifaceted partner that clients need to thrive during these disruptive times. He is a rare, hybrid strategic and creative business leader with proven experience harnessing the power of our integrated marketing teams and tools to drive business success. His work has fueled tremendous growth for FINN and transformative results for our clients."

About FINN Partners, Inc.

Founded in 2011 on the core principles of innovation and collaborative partnership, FINN Partners has grown from about $24 million in fees to almost $170 million in fees over ten years, becoming one of the fastest growing independent public relations agencies in the world. The full-service marketing and communications company's record setting pace is a result of organic growth and integrating new companies and new people into the FINN world through a common philosophy. With more than 1,000 professionals across 27 offices, FINN provides clients with global access and capabilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia. FINN Partners clients are also supported through longstanding partner agencies and its membership in the PROI network of leading agencies around the world. Headquartered in New York, FINN has offices in: Atlanta, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Dublin, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Guam, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Jerusalem, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Nashville, Orange County, Paris, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore, Vancouver and Washington D.C. Find us at finnpartners.com and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @finnpartners.

Contact:

Celia Jones

Global Director of Marketing Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE FINN Partners
Saperica Inc., Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery & trendy chama mama restaurant from NYC present the 1st annual Saperavi Festival in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

HAMMONDSPORT, N.Y., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Saperica Inc, is pleased to announce that the 1st annual Saperavi Festival will take place at Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery in Hammondsport, New York on Saturday, May 14, 2022. The festival will bring together producers of Saperavi and Rkatsiteli wines from the Finger Lakes region of New York along with their counterparts from the country of Georgia. Authentic Georgian cuisine with a modern twist will be featured from New York City restaurant, Chama Mama.

Saperavi Festival attendees will have the opportunity to taste a wide variety of wines crafted from Saperavi and Rkatsiteli grape varieties native to the country of Georgia. These tastes will be paired with Georgian food specialties like Khachapuri, Lobiani, Khinkali, Pkhali and the special dish, duck kalia. Cooking demonstrations will be presented throughout the afternoon.

The Saperavi Festival will take place on Saturday, May 14, 2022 from 2pm to 5pm, on the grounds of Dr Konstantin Frank Winery located at 9683 Middle Rd, Hammondsport, NY 14840. More details and tickets are available for purchase at Eventbrite via this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/saperavi-festival-tickets-274172135237?aff=ebdssbeac

The event can also be found on Eventbrite by using the search words "saperavi festival".

Members of the trade and media are invited to participate in educational seminars and events which will occur prior to the festival from 11am to 1pm. For more information about attending as a member of trade or media, please send an email to [email protected]

The 1st annual Saperavi Festival is organized by Saperica Inc, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, featuring Chama Mama restaurant from New York City and hosted by Dr. Konstantin Frank winery. Saperica's mission is to promote Saperavi and other Georgian grape varieties along with Georgian gastronomy and culture in the Finger Lakes, NY and around the U.S., by organizing and facilitating educational seminars and exchange programs between the regions, for wine and culinary professionals and enthusiasts. Any proceeds from the festival will help to fund future Saperica programs.

For additional info, please visit www.saperica.org

Email questions to [email protected]

SOURCE Saperica, Inc.
This is the first time fusion has been achieved using the unique targets developed by First Light, and the corresponding projectile technology. First Light's mission is to solve the problem of fusion power with the simplest machine possible. Projectile fusion is a new approach to inertial fusion that is simpler, more energy efficient, and has lower physics risk. First Light has achieved fusion having spent less than 45 million, and with a rate of performance improvement faster than any other fusion scheme in history.

Business & Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said:

"First Light Fusion's British-born technology could potentially revolutionise power production in the coming decades. That is why this government is investing in UK science and innovation, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of the global scientific endeavour to make safe, clean, limitless fusion energy a reality."

Projectile fusion offers a simpler, cheaper, faster approach to fusion

Fusion is the phenomenon which powers the sun. The challenge is to control the complexities involved in replicating this process to produce a clean, abundant but also commercially viable source of power.

First Light is taking a unique projectile fusion approach to solve this challenge, which it believes offers the fastest, simplest and cheapest route to commercial fusion power. This means that instead of using complex and expensive lasers or magnets to generate or maintain the conditions for fusion, First Light's approach compresses the fuel inside a target using a projectile travelling at tremendous speed. The key technology in First Light's approach is the target design, which focuses the energy of the projectile, imploding the fuel to the temperatures and densities needed to make fusion happen.

To deliver this fusion result, First Light used its large two-stage hyper-velocity gas gun to launch a projectile at a target, containing the fusion fuel. The projectile reached a speed of 6.5 km per second before impact. First Light's highly sophisticated target focuses this impact, with the fuel accelerated to over 70 km per second as it implodes, an increase in velocity achieved through our proprietary advanced target design, making it the fastest moving object on earth at that point.

A key step towards a projectile fusion power plant

First Light's power plant design involves the target being dropped into the reaction chamber and the projectile launched downwards through the same entrance, so it catches up with and impacts the target at the right moment [see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW4eufacf-8 for visual representation].

The impact is focused and amplified by First Light's advanced target technology, and a pulse of fusion energy is released. That energy is absorbed by the lithium flowing inside the chamber, heating it up. The flowing liquid protects the chamber from the huge energy release, sidestepping some of the most difficult engineering issues in other approaches to fusion. Finally, a heat exchanger transfers the heat of the lithium to water, generating steam that turns a turbine and produces electricity.

First Light's equipment is relatively simple, built in large part from readily available components. First Light believes this approach accelerates the journey towards commercial fusion power as there is a large amount of existing engineering that can be reused to realise its proposed plant design.

A consumables business model and competitive LCOE

With this simpler approach that reuses existing technology, peer reviewed analysis[1] conducted by First Light shows that projectile fusion offers a pathway to a very competitive Levelised Cost Of Energy ("LCOE") of under $50 / MWh, directly competing on cost with renewables. This would make it the most cost competitive source of baseload power.

First Light's approach, centred around the sophistication of its target design, will also enable it to pursue a high value-added consumables business model (i.e. mass manufacture of the targets themselves), where it will partner with power plant operators and become the fuel provider in the form of the targets.

First Light believes this focus not just on the science, but also its future business model, presents another important point of difference, showcasing not just the environmental but also the commercial benefits of First Light's approach to fusion power.

UKAEA validation

The UK Atomic Energy Authority ("UKAEA"), an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was invited to analyse and validate First Light's fusion results before these were officially made public. The process included independent modelling of the detector configuration and response, review of all calibration data for both types of neutron detector used, review of the processing and statistical analysis of the data, full physical access to all detection equipment for hands-on inspection, and the witnessing of a fusion shot. This work has taken place over a period of over three months and UKAEA is able to confirm there is evidence that First Light has produced neutrons that are consistent with those produced from the fusion of deuterium fuel.

Next Steps

Plans for a "gain" experiment (more energy out than in) are advancing at pace. First Light expects to also partner with existing power producers to develop a pilot plant using its unique fusion approach. First Light is working towards a pilot plant producing ~150 MW of electricity and costing less than $1 billion in the 2030s. First Light is working with UBS Investment Bank to explore strategic options for the next phase of its scientific and commercial development.

Dr Nick Hawker, co-founder and CEO of First Light Fusion said:

"Our approach to fusion is all about simplicity. Being simple, we believe projectile fusion is the fastest path to commercially viable power generation from fusion. We aim for simplicity in the power plant engineering, but we also want to make the fusion process itself as simple as possible. The key technology is our target designs. As objects, these are very complex, but the physics is simpler than other fusion approaches; it can be understood and simulated accurately. With this result we have proven our new method for inertial fusion works and, more importantly, we have proven our design process. The design used to achieve this result is already months out of date. As soon as we reach the maximum with one idea, we invent the next, and that incredible journey of discovery is what is so exciting."

Steven Chu, Jerry Chittenden, Richard Dennis, Richard Garwin, Sir David King, Arun Majumdar, Andrew Randewich, Steven Rose and Ron Roy, members of First Light's Advisory Boards* said:

"We congratulate the First Light team on reaching this significant milestone. We have watched first hand as they have advanced along this path to fusion. First Light's target designs are remarkable, and the team's ability to accurately simulate and thus optimise their performance gives them an invaluable tool on the path to gain. That journey will undoubtedly involve many hurdles, but in reaching fusion, First Light's technology has shown its merit."

Professor Yiannis Ventikos FREng, Kennedy Professor, Head of Department for UCL Mechanical Engineering, and co-founder of First Light said:

"While achieving fusion in the lab is a tremendous success in its own right, the context is equally important. True to First Light's rigorous scientific approach, this result is supported by strong and continuously evolving computer modelling. This capability sheds light, in exquisite detail, into the processes that generate these neutrons. Such tools are in daily use by First Light's scientists, helping design unique targets, launchers and amplifiers, navigating the challenging path towards gain and a first-of-a-kind reactor. This pursuit of practical and affordable fusion will give us the clean and abundant baseload power that we so desperately need in our effort to address - and hopefully reverse - global warming."

Bart Markus, Chairman of First Light Fusion, said:

"By focusing on an approach to fusion which is both simpler and cheaper than other fusion technologies, we believe we have identified a genuine route to commercial fusion, with a view to meeting not just vital scientific milestones, but also to develop a sustainable business model. Our unique target technology enables a business model based on consumables, which differentiates us from all other fusion technologies. This includes the manufacture and distribution of the targets themselves, using partners for the plant development largely borrowing from existing technologies. Our focus on the business model is equally important: fusion must show it is more than an expensive science experiment, but that it can be a commercial solution to the challenge of producing baseload clean energy"

Ian Chapman, UKAEA chief executive, said:

"Fusion promises to be a safe, low carbon and sustainable part of the world's future energy supply, and we support all advances in this scientific and engineering grand challenge. These results are another important step forward, and we are impressed that First Light have arranged independent analysis of their result."

FUSION FACTS

First Light has shown the most rapid progress on fusion triple product of any project in the history of fusion

The number of neutrons produced is low, around 50, however, this matches the predicted yield exactly

The speed of the projectile is 6.5 kilometres per second, which is 14,500 miles per hour

The fuel implodes at over 70 kilometres per second, over 6 times escape velocity

The fuel is compressed to a pressure of 10 Terapascals, which is 100 million atmospheres, higher than the pressure in the centre of Jupiter

The fuel capsule within the target is a few mm in size

When it fuses, the fuel has been compressed down to less than 100 microns in size, smaller than the thickness of a human hair

Our targets boost the pressure of impact by over 20 times

In a power plant the process would be repeated every 30 seconds

In a power plant, each target would release enough energy to power the average UK home for over 2 years

The need for fusion

Global power demand is expected to double by 2040 and could increase fivefold by 2060 when new technologies enable the electrification of a wider range of applications, particularly important at a time of ongoing global energy insecurity and in the broader context of achieving critical net zero goals as part of collective efforts to address climate change.

First Light commissioned research concluded that 19,900 TWh per year could be generated from wind and solar globally by 2040. This is an 8-fold increase on today but is still less than half of the projected requirement.

So while the rapid and maximum deployment of renewables is key to achieving the 2050 Paris target, in several parts of the world wind and solar power alone will not be able to meet projected energy demand, opening up a market for clean baseload power to complement renewables.

To mitigate the impact of climate change a large global market for baseload clean power will open up to complement renewables and that is where fusion energy will play a key role.

For more information, please contact:

First Light Fusion Ltd

Gianluca Pisanello

Chief Operating Officer

+44 (0) 1865 807 670

UBS Investment Bank (Financial Adviser)

David James

+44 (0) 20 7567 8000

Sandip Dhillon

Powerscourt Group (Public Relations Adviser)

Peter Ogden

+44 (0) 7793 858 211

[email protected]

Images available at www.firstlightfusion.com

About First Light Fusion

First Light Fusion was spun out from the University of Oxford in 2011 to address the urgent need to decarbonise the global energy system. First Light's inertial confinement approach aims to create the extreme temperatures and pressures required for fusion by compressing a target using a hypervelocity projectile. First Light's approach to fusion energy, which is safe, clean, and virtually limitless, has the potential to transform the world's energy system. Unlike existing nuclear, there is no long-lived waste, no meltdown risk, and raw materials can be found in abundance. First Light's investors include Oxford Science Enterprises (formerly OSI) and IP Group plc.

* Advisory Boards members:

Steven Chu , the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular & Cellular Physiology at Stanford University , 12 th U.S. Secretary of Energy and Nobel Prize winner (Physics, 1997);

, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular & Cellular Physiology at , 12 U.S. Secretary of Energy and Nobel Prize winner (Physics, 1997); Jeremy Chittenden , Professor of Plasma Physics at Imperial College;

, Professor of Plasma Physics at Imperial College; Richard Dennis , formerly Global Director of Research and Development for Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd;

, formerly Global Director of Research and Development for Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd; Richard L. Garwin , IBM Fellow Emeritus at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center;

, IBM Fellow Emeritus at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center; Sir David King , former UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser from 2000 to 2007;

, former UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser from 2000 to 2007; Arun Majumdar , the Jay Precourt Professor at Stanford University ;

, the Jay Precourt Professor at ; Andrew Randewich, Director of Science, Engineering and Technology at AWE

Steven Rose , Chair in Plasma Physics at Imperial College;

, Chair in Plasma Physics at Imperial College; Ronald Roy , Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Head of Department, Department of Engineering Science at University of Oxford .

Important notices in relation to financial adviser

UBS AG London Branch is authorised and regulated by the Financial Market Supervisory Authority in Switzerland. It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom. UBS AG London Branch is acting as financial adviser to First Light Fusion and no one else. In connection with such matters, UBS AG London Branch will not regard any other person as its client, nor will it be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to such matters, the contents of this Announcement or any other matter referred to herein.

[1] Published in October 2020 in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

SOURCE First Light Fusion
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Gatos Silver, Inc. (NYSE: GATO) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.

This lawsuit is on behalf of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Gatos: (a) common stock pursuant and/or traceable to documents issued in connection with the Company's initial public offering conducted on or about October 28, 2020; and/or (b) securities between October 28, 2020 and January 25, 2022, inclusive.

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: April 25, 2022

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in GATO:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/gatos-silver-inc-loss-submission-form?id=25503&from=4

Gatos Silver, Inc. NEWS - GATO NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Gatos Silver, Inc. made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the technical report for Gatos's primary mine, the Cerro Los Gatos deposit, contained certain errors; (2) among other things, the mineral reserves had been overestimated by as much as 50%; and (3) as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Gatos you have until April 25, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Gatos securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the GATO lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/gatos-silver-inc-loss-submission-form?id=25503&from=4 .

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

Empire State Building

350 Fifth Avenue

59th Floor

New York, NY 10118

[email protected]

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com

SOURCE The Klein Law Firm
DUBLIN, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Bioanalytical Testing Services Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Bioanalytical Testing Services Market was estimated to be USD 2,573.86 in 2020 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.59%.

Bioanalytical technologies have played a critical role in the mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to be foundational in the prevention of the subsequent waves of this pandemic, along with future infectious disease outbreaks. Companies, such as SGS, offer a full range of bioanalytical services for both small molecules and biologics, including mass spectrometry, immunoassays, and cell-based assays. In November 2020, SGS, the world's leading inspection, verification, testing, and certification company, invested in its Biosafety Center of Excellence in Glasgow, boosting its capacity to support scientists and manufacturers in the development of effective vaccines, cell and gene therapies, and other biological medicines.

The major factor attributing to the growth of the studied market is the increased necessity for specific types of tests in R&D activities and the increasing trend of outsourcing laboratory testing services. Due to the increasing trend of outsourcing laboratory testing services, companies are expanding their market position by offering various types of services and solutions. Additionally, major players are focusing on different strategies, such as a merger, acquisition, and other developments. For Instance, in August 2021, Eurofins Scientific signed an agreement with Noritsu Koki Co. Ltd to acquire GeneTech Inc., leading player in genetic analysis in Japan to expand Eurofins' testing portfolio in Japan.? The bioanalytical testing service plays an important role; hence, the market is anticipated to grow promptly in the future years.

The rise in demand for bioanalytical testing services can also be due to the growing prevalence of infectious diseases, HIV, and others. Additionally, rising government initiatives to control the outbreaks of infectious diseases such as Coronavirus Disease is expected to provide more opportunities, which is expected to contribute to the growth of the studied market.

Key Market Trends

The Small Molecule Sub-segment is Expected to Show Better Growth in the Bioanalytical Testing Services Market

The small molecule testing services sub-segment is anticipated to witness growth in the Bioanalytical Testing Services market due to their pivotal role in the development of generic versions of branded drugs. Bioanalytical testing plays a major role in proving the efficiency to simulate generic drug release profiles with that of branded drugs resulting in the growth of the segment.

On the other hand, the large molecule segment is expected to witness lucrative growth during the forecast period. Bioanalytical testing of large molecules is one of the challenging tasks for the biopharmaceutical industry. Hence, various techniques are used, such as Maldi-TOF-MS, Ligand Binding Assays, size exclusion affinity chromatography, etc. Bioanalytical testing of large molecules is generally conducted in the well-established R&D by the biopharmaceutical industries, followed by other Phase II studies, and long-term toxicity studies are mostly outsourced. Hence, outsourcing bioanalytical testing of these molecules is likely to be the prevailing trend over the forecast period.

Moreover, in the context of COVID-19, many biotech and pharmaceutical firms have been focusing on the effective and rapid technologies for the fast diagnosis of COVID-19 and to develop the vaccines/therapeutics that can help mitigate the spread by ensuring the appropriateness of care across all healthcare settings and achieve high-quality outcomes which are further driving the demand for the bioanalytical testing services globally. For instance, in July 2020, CIRION BioPharma Research Inc., a US-based GLP-certified contract research laboratory announced that the company is expanding its bioanalytical services by expanding its existing laboratory facilities to support drug and vaccine developments related to COVID-19. Thus, owing to the above-mentioned factors, the small molecule sub segment is expecetd to contribute significantly over the forecast period.

North America Dominates the Market and it is Expected to do the Same in the Forecast Period

North America is expected to dominate the bioanalytical testing services market, and this trend is expected to continue over the forecast period. This is majorly attributed to the rising demand for bioanalytical services with a high volume of ongoing research activities and clinical trials, which fuels the market growth in the region.

In North America, the United States holds the largest market share due to the increased patient pool of various chronic diseases and increased adoption of the peptides, other large molecule therapeutics as an alternative for small molecules that have more side effects. For instance, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around USD 3.5 trillion of the amount is spent on chronic diseases in the United States. Therefore, the companies have been taking initiatives to meet the greater demand, which is expected to fuel the studied market.

Moreover, according to the International Diabetes Federation in 2020, about 48 million adults in North America were living with diabetes, and the trend is expected to continue resulting in higher demand for bioanalysis of the novel therapeutics to stop the growing volume of patient pool with diabetes. Thus, the rising demand for bioanalytical services, the large number of ongoing clinical trials, and the huge investment by many of the major pharmaceutical companies are the key factors driving the growth of the studied market in the country.

Key Topics Covered:

1 INTRODUCTION

2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

4 MARKET DYNAMICS

4.1 Market Overview

4.2 Market Drivers

4.2.1 Increased Necessity of Specific Types of Tests in R&D Activities

4.2.2 Increased Trend of Outsourcing Laboratory Testing Services

4.3 Market Restraints

4.3.1 Complex Regulatory Framework for Maintaining Laboratories

4.3.2 Challenges in the Development of Proper Analytical Techniques

4.4 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

5 MARKET SEGMENTATION

5.1 By Molecule Type

5.1.1 Small Molecules

5.1.2 Large Molecules

5.2 By Test Type

5.2.1 Bioavailability and Bioequivalence Studies

5.2.2 Pharmacokinetics

5.2.3 Pharmacodynamics

5.2.4 Other Test Types

5.3 Geography

5.3.1 North America

5.3.1.1 United States

5.3.1.2 Canada

5.3.1.3 Mexico

5.3.2 Europe

5.3.2.1 Germany

5.3.2.2 United Kingdom

5.3.2.3 France

5.3.2.4 Italy

5.3.2.5 Spain

5.3.2.6 Rest of Europe

5.3.3 Asia-Pacific

5.3.3.1 China

5.3.3.2 Japan

5.3.3.3 India

5.3.3.4 Australia

5.3.3.5 South Korea

5.3.3.6 Rest of Asia-Pacific

5.3.4 Middle East and Africa

5.3.4.1 GCC

5.3.4.2 South Africa

5.3.4.3 Rest of Middle East and Africa

5.3.5 South America

5.3.5.1 Brazil

5.3.5.2 Argentina

5.3.5.3 Rest of South America

6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

6.1 Company Profiles

6.1.1 Pharmaceutical Product Development LLC

6.1.2 ICON PLC

6.1.3 Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings

6.1.4 Charles River Laboratories International Inc.

6.1.5 Syneos Health

6.1.6 SGS SA

6.1.7 Toxikon Corporation

6.1.8 Intertek Group PLC

6.1.9 Wuxi Apptec Co.,Ltd

7 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wf8dhs

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

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U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

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SOURCE Research and Markets
Southern Evangelical Seminary's 28th Annual National Conference on Christian Apologetics Begins this Weekend

Attendees of premier event starting on April 8 will be beneficiaries of life-changing sessions and hear from top apologists



NEWS PROVIDED BY

Southern Evangelical Seminary

April 5, 2022



CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 5, 2022 /Standard Newswire/ -- A leading event that will bring together many of the nation's best minds to address the most pressing cultural and religious issues of the day in the Christian apologetics community kicks off this weekend.



Southern Evangelical Seminary's (SES, www.ses.edu) 28th National Conference on Christian Apologetics will be held April 8-9, 2022 at First Baptist Church Rock Hill in Rock Hill, SC. Thousands attend every year, and 2022 marks the 28th annual National Conference on Christian Apologetics (NCCA) with the theme of "Remaining Steadfast in an Upside-Down World."

WHO: Southern Evangelical Seminary



WHAT: National Conference on Christian Apologetics



WHERE: First Baptist Church Rock Hill in Rock Hill, SC



WHEN: Friday, April 8 to Saturday, April 9



WHY: To provide Christians with the tools, knowledge, and motivation to defend their beliefs in a culture that is hostile toward Christianity.



HOW: Tickets can be purchased online through April 4. Live-stream ticketing options also available. Tickets and speaker details available at www.ses.edu.

The NCCA welcomes some of the nation's top apologetics speakers, including Richard Howe, Hugh Ross, Frank Turek, J. Warner Wallace, as well as a debate between Brian Huffling (SES) and James Sterba (Notre Dame) titled "Is a Good God Logically Possible?" Sessions include "The False Gospel of Social Justice," "Scriptural Womanhood in the Twenty-First Century," "Answering Progressive Christianity," and many more. A Thursday night pre-event titled "Engage and Equip  A Christian Conversation about Extraterrestrial Phenomena" will also address questions like life on other planets, space travel, and UFOs.



The mission of SES is to train men and women, based on the inerrant and infallible written Word of God, for the evangelization of the world and the defense of the historic Christian faith. SES offers a range of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees (along with several for-credit certificates) that uniquely integrate theology, philosophy, and apologetics to build a complete and systematic Christian worldview.



For more information on SES, visit its website at www.ses.edu or its Facebook page, follow the SES Twitter feed, @sesapologetics, or call (704) 847-5600.



SOURCE Southern Evangelical Seminary



CONTACT: Hamilton Strategies, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com; or Jeff Tolson, 610-584-1096 ext. 108


DUBLIN, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Border Security Systems - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Global Border Security System Market to Reach $51.4 Billion by 2024

The global market for Border Security System is projected to reach US$51.4 Billion by 2024, registering a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% over the analysis period.

United States represents the largest regional market for Border Security System, accounting for an estimated 46.1% share of the global total. The market is projected to reach US$24.2 Billion by the close of the analysis period. China is expected to spearhead growth and emerge as the fastest growing regional market with a CAGR of 10.4% over the analysis period.

With the world witnessing a consistent threat of terrorism, countries are focusing efforts on protecting national boundaries. The rising geopolitical tensions and increasing territorial disputes are also enhancing the need for ensuring security of the international borders. All of these factors are driving demand for a range of highly efficient border security systems that will enable border security agencies to address various threats emerging at the borders.

Driven by the growing need to prevent terrorist activities and cross-border disturbances, the border security systems market is witnessing high growth with military sector and border control agencies emerging as the most widespread users of border security systems.

Technological advancements in border security systems have been playing a critical part in enabling more effective and efficient monitoring and surveillance of international borders. The development of advanced security systems with greater product features and better features for border security agencies to benefit from is driving market growth.

North America represents the leading regional market for border security systems. The country is using advanced border security systems for border security monitoring and surveillance purposes in the country and in conflict areas such as Libya and Syria. The growing investments being made to bolster surveillance capabilities at borders in countries such as China and India are contributing towards the region`s high growth.

The increasing skirmishes at the border areas over territorial disputes between China and India, the influx of immigrants from Myanmar into neighboring nations, and the illegal immigration from Bangladesh into India are also leading to intensified internal security concerns in these nations, driving the governments to focus on better surveillance along the border areas.



The market for Air-based border security systems is forecast to witness high growth over the analysis period. Air-based border security systems, in particular, unmanned aerial systems for border surveillance and security purposes is experiencing high demand. Aerial security systems are used for performing reconnaissance, intelligence and security operations using airborne vehicles.

Air-based security systems are intended to help in border management by monitoring and reporting any security-related emergencies, detecting people and vehicles and tracking from the skies to detect less observable objects on the land, sea and in the air.



Key Topics Covered:



I. METHODOLOGY

II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. MARKET OVERVIEW

Border Security Systems: Protecting Borders against Illegal Movement of People, Weapons, Drugs & Contraband

Ground-based Border Security Systems Segment Leads the Global Market

Unmanned Vehicles Leads the Global Market, Biometrics Spearheads Future Growth

Developed Markets Lead, Developing Regions to Witness High Growth in the Global Border Security Systems Market

2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS (Total 50 Featured)

BAE Systems Plc

Canon Inc.

Cobham Plc

Elbit Systems Ltd.

FLIR Systems Inc.

General Atomics

Leonardo DRS

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Raytheon company

Thales SA

3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

Growing Geopolitical Conflicts and Territorial Disputes Enhance Investments into Border Security Systems

Continued Threat of Terrorism Drives the Focus on Surveillance as Counterterrorism Response

Consistent Rise in Defense Budget Allocations in Developed and Developing Economies Spurs Spending on Border Security Measures

Increased Defense Spending Bodes Well for Border Security Market

Radar Systems: An Important Technology for Securing International Borders

Biometric Systems: Poised for High Adoption in Border Control Security

Facial Recognition Technology Gains Prominence in Immigration Control

Rising Prominence of Iris Biometrics Travel & Immigration Control

Automated Border Control Systems (eGates) for Faster Processing at Border Checkpoints

Proportion of Airports Worldwide Implementing e-Gates in Comparison to Other Security Self-Service Applications

Thermal Cameras: An Important System for Securing Borders

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Set to Transform Border Security

Healthy Military Spending Worldwide Provides a Fertile Environment for the Growth of Drone Technologies in Border Security Applications

Increasing Use of Drones in the Battlefield Pushes Up the Need for Counter-Drone Systems

Autonomous Border Security Systems Increasingly Find Favor among Border Agencies

Staff Shortage Gives Rise to Need for Automated and Autonomous Border Security Systems

Introduction of Innovative Solutions Drives Market Growth

4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE



III. REGIONAL MARKET ANALYSIS



IV. COMPETITION

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ifwgcx

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
New EV series expected to go on sale in 2027 starting in North America

Honda and GM collaboration designed to enable global production of millions of EVs

Companies will explore opportunities for advanced battery collaboration

DETROIT and TOKYO, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Honda today announced plans to expand the two companies' relationship to a new chapter by codeveloping a series of affordable electric vehicles based on a new global architecture using next-generation Ultium battery technology.

The companies are working together to enable global production of millions of EVs starting in 2027, including compact crossover vehicles, leveraging the two companies' technology, design and sourcing strategies. The companies will also work toward standardizing equipment and processes to achieve world-class quality, higher throughput and greater affordability. The compact crossover segment is the largest in the world, with annual volumes of more than 13 million vehicles.

GM and Honda also will discuss future EV battery technology collaboration opportunities, to further drive down the cost of electrification, improve performance and drive sustainability for future vehicles.

GM is already working to accelerate new technologies like lithium-metal, silicon and solid-state batteries, along with production methods that can quickly be used to improve and update battery cell manufacturing processes. Honda is making progress on its all-solid-state battery technology which the company sees as the core element of future EVs. Honda has established a demonstration line in Japan for all-solid-state batteries and is making further progress toward mass-production.

"GM and Honda will share our best technology, design and manufacturing strategies to deliver affordable and desirable EVs on a global scale, including our key markets in North America, South America and China," said Mary Barra, GM chair and CEO. "This is a key step to deliver on our commitment to achieve carbon neutrality in our global products and operations by 2040 and eliminate tailpipe emissions from light duty vehicles in the U.S. by 2035. By working together, we'll put people all over the world into EVs faster than either company could achieve on its own."

"Honda is committed to reaching our goal of carbon neutrality on a global basis by 2050, which requires driving down the cost of electric vehicles to make EV ownership possible for the greatest number of customers," said Toshihiro Mibe, Honda president & CEO. "Honda and GM will build on our successful technology collaboration to help achieve a dramatic expansion in the sales of electric vehicles."

"The progress we have made with GM since we announced the EV battery development collaboration in 2018, followed by co-development of electric vehicles including the Honda Prologue, has demonstrated the win-win relationship that can create new value for our customers," said Shinji Aoyama, Honda senior managing executive officer. "This new series of affordable EVs will build on this relationship by leveraging our strength in the development and production of high quality, compact class vehicles."

"Our collaboration with Honda and the continuing development of Ultium are the foundation of this project, utilizing our global scale to enable a lower cost foundation for this new series of EVs for millions of customers," said Doug Parks, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. "Our plans include a new all-electric product for North America positioned at a price point lower than the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV, building on the 2 million units of EV capacity the company plans to install by the end of 2025."

GM and Honda have developed a close working relationship over many years, including several projects in recent years focused on electric and autonomous vehicle technologies. In 2013, the two companies began working together on the co-development of a next-generation fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technologies. In 2018, Honda joined GM's EV battery module development efforts. In 2020, GM and Honda announced plans to codevelop two EVs, including the Honda Prologue, to be launched in early 2024, soon followed by Acura's first EV SUV. Further, the companies have an ongoing relationship with Cruise and are working together on the development of the Cruise Origin, one of the first purpose-built fully autonomous vehicles designed for driverless ride-hail and delivery.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is a global company focused on advancing an all-electric future that is inclusive and accessible to all. At the heart of this strategy is the Ultium battery platform, which will power everything from mass-market to high-performance vehicles. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities sell vehicles underthe Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Baojun and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries can be found at https://www.gm.com.

Honda Motor Co. (NYSE: HMC) is responsible for the development, production and sales of automobiles, motorcycles, power products and aviation products worldwide. Honda now delivers over 30 million products annually through its three product lines. Honda and its partners build products in more than 60 manufacturing plants in 27 countries, employing about 220,000 associates globally. On a global basis by 2050, Honda is striving to achieve carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities, as well as zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda automobiles and motorcycles.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release and related comments by management may include forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations about possible future events and thus are inherently uncertain. Our actual results may differ materially from forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including: (1) our ability to deliver new products, services and customer experiences in response to increased competition in the automotive industry; (2) our ability to timely fund and introduce new and improved vehicle models that are able to attract a sufficient number of consumers; (3) the success of our crossovers, SUVs and full-size pick-up trucks; (4) our ability to successfully and cost-effectively restructure our operations in the U.S. and various other countries and initiate additional cost reduction actions with minimal disruption; (5) our ability to reduce the costs associated with the manufacture and sale of electric vehicles and drive increased consumer adoption; (6) unique technological, operational and regulatory risks related to our autonomous vehicle regulations; (7) global automobile market sales volume, which can be volatile; (8) our significant business in China which is subject to unique operational, competitive and regulatory risks as well as economic conditions in China; (9) our joint ventures, which we cannot operate solely for our benefit and over which we may have limited control; (10) the international scale and footprint of our operations which exposes us to a variety of political, economic and regulatory risks, including the risk of changes in government leadership and laws (including labor, tax and other laws), political instability and economic tensions between governments and changes in international trade policies, new barriers to entry and changes to or withdrawals from free trade agreements, changes in foreign exchange rates and interest rates, economic downturns in foreign countries, differing local product preferences and product requirements, compliance with U.S. and foreign countries' export controls and economic sanctions, differing labor regulations, requirements and union relationships, differing dealer and franchise regulations and relationships, and difficulties in obtaining financing in foreign countries; (11) any significant disruption at one of our manufacturing facilities could disrupt our production schedule; (12) the ability of our suppliers to deliver parts, systems and components without disruption and at such times to allow us to meet production schedules; (13) prices of raw materials used by us and our suppliers; (14) our highly competitive industry, which is characterized by excess manufacturing capacity and the use of incentives and the introduction of new and improved vehicle models by our competitors; (15) the possibility that competitors may independently develop products and services similar to ours or that our intellectual property rights are not sufficient to prevent competitors from developing or selling those products or services; (16) our ability to manage risks related to security breaches and other disruptions to our vehicles, information technology networks and systems; (17) our ability to comply with increasingly complex, restrictive, and punitive regulations relating to our enterprise data practices, including the collection, use, sharing, and security of the Personal Identifiable Information of our customers, employees, or suppliers; (18) our ability to comply with extensive laws and regulations applicable to our industry, including those regarding fuel economy and emissions and autonomous vehicles; (19) costs and risks associated with litigation and government investigations; (20) the cost and effect on our reputation of product safety recalls and alleged defects in products and services; (21) any additional tax expense or exposure; (22) our continued ability to develop captive financing capability through GM Financial; and (23) significant increases in our pension expense or projected pension contributions resulting from changes in the value of plan assets or the discount rate applied to value the pension liabilities or mortality or other assumption changes.. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, and our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. GM cautions readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. GM undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements.

SOURCE General Motors Co.
SYDNEY, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- HEAL Partners, an Australia and Cayman based global Growth and Follow-On Fund specialising in Health, Education and Lifestyle sector investments ("HEAL"), today announced it has signed a Strategic Relationship Agreement with affiliates of Elliott Investment Management L.P. ("Elliott"). HEAL will launch its US$ 350-500 million Fund II in H1 2022. As part of the Strategic Relationship, Elliott is expected to contribute a significant anchor commitment to HEAL's Fund II.

This Strategic Relationship follows Elliott's January 2021 investment in Removery, the world's largest tattoo removal business and a HEAL portfolio company founded by HEAL Partners' Mark Evans, Chris Chambers and Peter Chapman. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Removery has 90 studios across U.S., Canada and Australia and plans to open a further 200 studios during the next two years.

Removery founder and HEAL Partner Mark Evans said "Elliott has been a great partner at Removery and we are excited to build on this strong relationship through our future HEAL funds". On behalf of Elliott, Isaac Kim said, "We are pleased about this Strategic Relationship with the HEAL team. We believe HEAL's focus on bringing operational expertise and follow-on growth investment into strong business models, many of which the team has created, is genuinely differentiated. Our work together through Removery underscores our confidence in HEAL's active management approach and ability to generate significant deal flow."

HEAL's Investment Partners are Mark Evans and Chris Chambers from Normanby Capital, Peter Chapman and Martin Dalgleish from Asia Principal Capital and Martin Robinson.

HEAL is also backed by pre-eminent industry leaders in the Health and Education sectors, including Chris Rex (Former CEO of Ramsay Healthcare), Stuart Giles and Cathie Reid (Co-founders of Icon Group and Epic Pharmacy), and Rod Jones (Founder and Executive Chairman of Navitas), Dr Andrew Meikle, (Dental Corp Canada and The Fertility Partners) and Jonathan Sudharta (Halodoc) alongside other industry luminaries.

HEAL's Investment and Advisory Committees have collectively created more than $19bn of shareholder value in the targeted HEAL sectors of Health and Education.

HEAL launched Fund I in August 2020 with three cornerstone investments, demonstrating the calibre of high growth opportunities available to the Fund: Edge Early Learning Centres (Australia), Removery (Tattoo Removal, USA) and Fertility Partners (IVF, Canada) and has made several further investments across the U.S, Australia and Asia. Fund I has closed heavily oversubscribed with A$140 million of commitments, surpassing its initial target of A$100 million. HEAL Partner, Martin Robinson, said, "We are very pleased with the composition and performance of our Fund 1 portfolio companies. We have committed the majority of our funds to date, with the remainder to be deployed into the existing portfolio over the next six months or so. We have seen several third party investments across our portfolio companies at significant premiums to our initial entry prices".

HEAL targets Health, Education and Lifestyle assets that are high-growth and globally and/or regionally scalable and has a strong commitment to ESG. Aside from founding its own opportunities, HEAL invests in later stage rounds where it can be an active and engaged participant in the management and operation of the underlying asset.

"Since launching HEAL, we have been impressed with the large number of high quality and investible opportunities we have evaluated that demonstrates the seismic shifts underway across the HEAL sectors. For Fund II, we have a strong pipeline of exciting new opportunities in addition to the follow-on opportunities available in several of our Fund I portfolio companies", concluded Robinson.

NOTES:

About HEAL Partners

HEAL is an early growth stage acceleration investment vehicle focused on revenue generating growth businesses in the health, education and lifestyle sectors with the potential for global scale or industry disruption. Led by a team of proven founders, investors, portfolio managers and operators, we are focused on capitalising on opportunities created by new specialties in developed markets.

Visit: www.healpartners.com

About Elliott

Elliott Investment Management L.P. manages approximately $51.5 billion of assets. Its flagship fund, Elliott Associates, L.P., was founded in 1977, making it one of the oldest funds under continuous management. The Elliott funds' investors include pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, funds-of-funds, high net worth individuals and families, and employees of the firm.

SOURCE HEAL Partners
WALNUT CREEK, Calif., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Heffernan Insurance Brokers, one of the largest full-service, independent insurance brokerage firms in the United States, announces a new resource group called Women Empowered (WE). WE is open to all interested in participating and aims to increase confidence and competence, encourage a positive self-brand, provide an opportunity to expand their network, support career planning, and offer guidance on how to align their work and life goals.

Women Empowered is the next iteration of the Women of Influence (WOI) group founded at Heffernan Group by Leticia Trevino, Elizabeth Bishop, and Jennifer Mahoney, who demonstrate professional merit and leadership in their careers. We are united, connected, and gather as one integrated front. Together WE are empowered.

"As women, we have so much to offer. WE is focused on creating opportunities and forums for us to share, learn, and grow as we strive to be the best versions of ourselves," said Jen Mahoney, Chief Operations Officer, Heffernan Insurance Brokers.

"We are all enriched by providing a place and space for women from different backgrounds to come together and support each other along life's journeys while educating men on the challenges women face," said Leticia Trevino, Chief Insurance Compliance Officer, Heffernan Insurance Brokers.

About Heffernan Insurance Brokers

Heffernan Insurance Brokers, formed in 1988, is one of the largest independent insurance brokerage firms in the United States. Heffernan provides insurance and financial services products to a range of businesses and individuals. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., Heffernan has offices in San Francisco, Petaluma, San Jose, San Mateo, Truckee, Bakersfield, Woodland Hills, Cypress, Los Angeles and Irvine, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; St. Louis, MO; Philadelphia, PA; and London UK.

Employee-owned, Heffernan Insurance Brokers was named the Top Mid-Sized Broker in the United States to work for in 2009 by Business Insurance Magazine. The firm has been among the Top Greater Bay Area Philanthropists since 2003.

For more information, visit www.heffins.com. License #0564249

SOURCE Heffernan Insurance Brokers
Single-source and strain-specific, Lift Off BHO Extracts are crafted at HLF's state-of-the-art cultivation and extraction facilities through a unique BHO process using cold hydrocarbon extracton with a pre-distilled butane and propane blend. Prior to extraction, HLF distills the butane and propane blend to remove any impurities in the solvents, leaving behind a pure solvent wash.

"We are delighted to finally introduce Lift Off BHO Extracts to consumers across the state of Michigan," said Ben Celani, co-founder of High Life Farms. "Our team has meticulously perfected our unique BHO process utilizing top-of-the-line equipment to create a pure, flavorful product. High Life Farms takes immense pride in our ability to meet our consumers' preferences with high-quality, carefully crafted products offered at a range of price points. We are confident that Michigan cannabis connoisseurs will be thrilled with Lift Off BHO Extracts."

The majority of Lift Off BHO Extracts are live resin and are currently available in 1g and 3.5g sauces in a variety of strains including Grape Pie, Hippie Crasher, Lemon Dosidos, Sundae Driver, Melted Strawberries and more.

For dispensary availability, please visit High Life Farms - MI on Weedmaps .For more information on High Life Farms, please visit https://highlifefarms.com/ .

About High Life Farms

High Life Farms is a national privately held, vertically integrated cannabis company based in Michigan with operations in the world's largest cannabis market: California. High Life Farms' best-in-class portfolio includes cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, in-house brands, brand partnerships, white labeling solutions and ownership stakes in numerous dispensaries. The company believes in the cannabis plant's potential to improve health, wellness, happiness and that everyone should have the right to make choices that improve their personal wellbeing. For more information, visit https://highlifefarms.com/ .



Media Contact:

MATTIO Communications

Juliet Fairbrother

[email protected]

SOURCE High Life Farms
Hartzler joined the Hilb Group in 2016 as part of the company's acquisition of Patriot Insurance. Additionally, he is a 2021 graduate of Hilb Group's Brad Post Leadership Institute with the College of William & Mary. With more than two decades of experience in the industry, Hartzler's background in insurance sales and underwriting includes positions specializing in life, auto, and commercial lines of business.

"Our growth strategy and approach focus on surrounding ourselves with the right agencies and partnering with these talented individuals to create and ensure opportunities for new associates to have a direct impact on our current and future success," said Chief Executive Officer Ricky Spiro. "Ryan and this role are proof of our belief in what our agencies and associates can contribute, collectively as well as individually."

"As Hilb Group continues to grow nationally and in the Midwest, I am excited by the potential for what we will achieve," Hartzler added, "as well as to build on our reputation for expert solutions and outstanding service for the clients and communities who depend upon us."

About Hilb Group: The Hilb Group is a leading property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and advisory firm headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Hilb Group is a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm. Hilb Group seeks to grow through strategic acquisitions and by leveraging its resources and expertise to drive organic growth in its acquired agencies. The company has completed more than 130 acquisitions and now has over 100 offices in 22 states. Hilb Group is rated as one of the Fastest Growing Brokers by Business Insurance, a Top P/C Agency by Insurance Journal, and one of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Inc. 5000. For more information on Hilb Group's growth as well as career opportunities, please visit our website at http://hilbgroup.com.

Media Contact:

Peter Lobred

804.548.4629

[email protected]

SOURCE The Hilb Group, LLC
Bids Due April 25, 2022

NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilco Streambank is seeking offers to acquire more than $12 million in final judgments against five judgment debtors. The position of plaintiff and judgment creditor is being offered on behalf of Raymond A. Yancey, in his capacity as Plan Administrator of the Liquidation Trust in the bankruptcy case of Min Sik Kang and Man Sun Kang in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria Division).

Offers to acquire the Plan Administrator's position are due by April 25, 2022, and a virtual auction is scheduled for April 28, 2022. The Plan Administrator reserves the right to enter into an agreement to sell and/or transfer the judgments prior to these dates, so interested parties are encouraged to submit competitive offers prior to the bid deadline.

Interested parties should CLICK HERE or contact Hilco Streambank directly using the contact information provided below. Access to a virtual data room containing additional information is available to parties that enter under a nondisclosure agreement.

About Hilco Streambank: Hilco Streambank is a market-leading advisory firm specializing in intellectual property disposition and valuation. Having completed numerous transactions, including sales in publicly reported transactions, private transactions, and online sales through IPv4.Global, Hilco Streambank has established itself as the premier intermediary in the consumer brand, internet, and telecom communities. Hilco Streambank is part of Northbrook, Illinois-based Hilco Global, the world's leading authority on maximizing the value of business assets by delivering valuation, monetization, and advisory solutions to an international marketplace. Hilco Global operates more than twenty specialized business units offering services that include asset valuation and appraisal, retail and industrial inventory acquisition and disposition, real estate, and strategic capital equity investments.

SOURCE Hilco Streambank
Ahead of Annual Cannabis Holiday 420, Wellness Brand Partners With Cannabis Reform Nonprofit Last Prisoner Project to Call For Public Support and Petition Signatures Seeking Expedited Relief for Families Impacted by Cannabis Convictions

MIAMI, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, CBD and personal wellness brand House of Wise and Last Prisoner Project , a nonprofit dedicated to advancing criminal justice reform for the cannabis community, announce their new campaign, Justice For All.

In honor of 420  a holiday celebrated on April 20 that has long stood for community among cannabis and hemp users  and in recognition of the work still required to change policy and remove stigmas for cannabis and hemp users, House of Wise and Last Prisoner Project are working together to promote a petition urging the Biden Administration to create a Presidential Cannabis Clemency Board.

This board would be tasked with expediting the review and processing of clemency petitions from individuals with federal cannabis-related convictions. The campaign aims to secure 100,000 unique signatures to urge President Biden to deliver bold action and immediate relief for thousands of Americans.

READ AND SIGN THE PETITION FOR CANNABIS CLEMENCY

Following U.S. House of Representatives approval (220-204) on Friday, April 1, 2022 in favor of H.R. 3617: The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2021, now more than ever it is imperative to continue pushing for policies that support criminal justice reform.

If H.R. 3617 is signed into law, marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols will be removed from the federal list of Controlled Substances, and with that, many of the federal criminal penalties associated with cannabis cultivation, distribution, and possession will also be removed. Additionally, certain federal cannabis-related convictions and/or adjudication of juvenile delinquency could be expunged.

H.R. 3617 does not mention the violations in the Federal penal code that would be considered "nonviolent Federal cannabis offenses" for the purposes of expungement and/or resentencing process. The Act also disqualifies otherwise eligible individuals who received an aggravating role adjustment at sentencing in relation to a Federal cannabis offense from having their records expunged. Additionally, for automatic expungement to occur in an expeditious fashion, exact offense codes would need to be determined rather than needing to make eligibility determinations on a case by case basis. H.R. 3617 will soon be voted on by the Senate and need 60 votes to pass and move forward in the legislative process.

The effects of our country's decades-long war on marijuana will reverberate for years to come, especially in communities of color, which has been disproportionately affected by arrests and incarcerations. There is still much work to be done when it comes to cannabis and criminal justice reform. House and Wise and Last Prisoner Project are focused on bringing awareness to and amplification of the existing petition for a Presidential Cannabis Clemency Board, which would provide more impactful relief for cannabis convictions, helping thousands of present and former incarcerates secure their freedoms and provide legal relief to those still suffering the burden of collateral consequences following conviction.

Using their respective platforms to encourage advocacy and deliver accurate information, House of Wise and Last Prisoner Project will continue their work to dismantle stigmas around cannabis, raise awareness and funds to fuel real change, and offer wellness solutions for our communities.

Inspired by the countless number of families suffering devastating emotional, physical, mental, and economic repercussions stemming from cannabis criminalization, the Justice For All Campaign is driving change by:

Calling for 100,000 signatures for the Cannabis Clemency Petition

Raising money for the Last Prisoner Project Family Support Fund, as well as specific Last Prisoner Project constituents, through a limited-edition product release coming to House of Wise April 13

coming to Raising money for Last Prisoner Project through the auction of a one-of-a-kind NFT inspired by the 420 holiday and the Justice For All campaign, launching April 15

Sharing ongoing educational content around cannabis policy, how to get involved, and the stories of real people impacted by cannabis convictions through the company's Wise Reads

Last Prisoner Project constituents and House of Wise creative partners Sean and Eboni Worsley are using their story and voice to share firsthand how unjust cannabis convictions have deep ripple effects on families. The Worsleys' story is a harrowing illustration of how the criminal sentence doesn't truly end after leaving prison, and why cannabis clemency is vital in criminal justice reform. Their story inspired the designs behind the upcoming Justice For All Limited-Edition CBD Sampler Box product release and NFT .

In 2016, Iraq War veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and legal card-carrying medical marijuana user Sean Worsley and his wife, Eboni Worsley, were arrested in the state of Alabama with the charge of Class C felony for possession of marijuana, despite his state-granted rights from Arizona to be in possession of marijuana. Follow along with House of Wise as it continues to share more about the Worsleys' story, how their experience has continued to have negative repercussions on their lives since the conviction, and how they're rebuilding and looking ahead to a brighter future for all in the cannabis community.

"The direct harms and collateral consequences of a cannabis conviction send ripple effects of trauma throughout each family that is negatively impacted. Those families deserve support, community, and the comfort of knowing that there are folks out there fighting for their loved one's freedom," said Mary Bailey, Managing Director of Last Prisoner Project. "It is with the support of partners like House of Wise that we are able to keep pushing for the full freedom of our constituents and provide financial assistance to their families through our reentry resources ."

Since day one, House of Wise has been committed to an ongoing partnership with Last Prisoner Project. House of Wise was built on the premise of empowering women, helping them take charge of their lives and their routines with the help of originally formulated CBD products. In 2022, it remains a privilege to create, sell, and share House of Wise's high-quality collection of hemp-derived CBD products legally, and it is the moral obligation of the company to help combat cannabis-related incarcerations.

"It's 2022, and when you have cannabis dispensaries that look like premium retail shops popping up across the country, while thousands of people still remain behind bars for selling or using the same products sold in these shops, it's time for a bigger push for change, and fast," said Amanda Goetz , Founder & CEO of House of Wise. "We believe it is critical for us to collaborate with Last Prisoner Project and their community of constituents to share their stories and support the work they're doing to ultimately grant freedom and destigmatize cannabis convictions for thousands of vibrant people whose lives and well-being matter."

"420 is both a day to celebrate communities of cannabis users, and, more importantly, an opportunity for those same communities to call for action from political leadership to change policy and grant freedoms," Goetz continued. "This petition is a first step toward granting freedom for more people."

All are invited to sign the petition starting today . People can also sign up for a special waitlist to have access to the unveiling of the House of Wise x Last Prisoner Project Limited-Edition Justice For All product drop on April 13 and get information about  and a first look  at the upcoming NFT auction benefiting Last Prisoner Project.

About House of Wise

House of Wise empowers women to take control of their lives and daily routines, while working to shatter the stigmas and double standards they continue to face today. The brand offers high-quality, originally formulated CBD products, empowering users to give more intention and purpose to their daily routines so they can take back control of their sleep, stress, strength, and sex. House of Wise features a collection of seven trusted, premium CBD products in addition to wellness products and custom merchandise. Each CBD product is specially designed and paired with additional, thoughtfully selected active ingredients to help women make the most of every day.

About Last Prisoner Project

The Last Prisoner Project (LPP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cannabis-related criminal justice reform. As the United States moves away from the criminalization of cannabis, giving rise to a major new industry, there remains the fundamental injustice inflicted upon those who have suffered under America's unjust policy of cannabis prohibition. Through intervention, advocacy, and awareness campaigns, the Last Prisoner Project works to redress the past and continuing harms of these inhumane and ineffective laws and policies. Visit www.lastprisonerproject.org or text FREEDOM to 24365 to donate and learn more.

SOURCE House of Wise Co
Study finds Americans average a higher frequency of fraudulent charges than other countries, while total value of theft is highest in regions outside of US

ARMONK, N.Y., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report commissioned by IBM (NYSE: IBM), geographies and generations differ greatly in the frequency and impact of financial fraud, as well as their attitudes toward fraud detection and the institutions responsible for protecting them from bad actors.

The 2022 IBM Global Financial Fraud Impact Report also found that as global consumers have moved nearly exclusively to credit card and digital payments, US citizens have been victimized more regularly than all other countries surveyed in the report, costing American consumers an average of $265 per year in fraudulent financial charges made by unauthorized third parties.

As consumers nearly exclusively use credit card & digital payments the US has been victimized more than other countries. Tweet this

"Financial fraud and cyber threats are a growing menace to global financial institutions and their clients, increasing the need for companies to accelerate preventative measures to stay ahead of sophisticated criminal activity," said Shanker Ramamurthy, Managing Partner, Global Banking & Financial Markets, IBM. "As the global economy's evolution toward a cashless society continues at breakneck speed, banks and other financial institutions must continue to invest in modernizing their infrastructure and bolstering critical talent to meet the challenges they face from bad actors."

Global Financial Impact

According to the report, when it comes to fraud on a global scale, American citizens are the most frequent victims of debit card fraud of all the countries surveyed. Americans also registered a large percentage of instances when it comes to being victims of credit card fraud, banking fraud, or digital payment fraud, when respondents were asked about their experiences using digital payment apps including PayPal, Venmo and Square. American respondents also spent the most time trying to recover money lost due to fraudulent charges.

However, US credit and debit card users reported the second lowest amount of money lost on fraudulent charges out of the countries surveyed. Only Japan reported a lower amount of losses over the last 12 months, while Germany, by far, was the most victimized country, with respondents losing more than three times the total financial amount of the second most victimized country (Singapore).

Across all countries, respondents believe banks are the financial institution most responsible for preventing fraud, when asked about their experiences using payment networks including Visa and Mastercard. In most countries, consumers see banks as the most responsible financial institution for preventing fraud, with a higher percentage in Brazil, while in Japan, payment networks were the financial institutions most likely to blame. In China, respondents registered the highest percentage of consumers who think government regulators are most responsible for preventing fraud.

In the US, nearly one-quarter of all respondents (22%) are not confident in their bank or credit card's ability to handle fraudulent charges or suspicious activity, not nearly as much as Japan, where almost one half of respondents claim to not have faith in their financial institutions.

One quarter of Americans (25%) report spending less than an hour a year checking their accounts for fraudulent activity  while more than two out of five US consumers (44%) spend less than ten hours per year checking their banking accounts.

With the US experiencing the highest number of financial fraud instances, it would make sense that the US has the highest percentage of respondents who had to contact their bank or credit card company to either cancel a card, dispute a charge, or reported losing money as the result of fraudulent charges.

Generational Differences Found in Study

The report also found a wide range of generational differences, as Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) are consistently the biggest victims of all forms of fraud, ranging from credit and debit card fraud to digital wallet, digital payment, banking and tax fraud.

GenXers (born between 1965 and 1980) reported the second highest number of fraudulent charges made by their credit cards or digital payment apps, while GenZers (born between 1997 and 2012) report the third highest instances of losing money as the result of a fraudulent charges.

Millennials also spend the most time trying to recover money lost due to fraudulent charges, disputing fraudulent charges, and checking accounts for fraudulent or unusual activity out of any of the generational groups. GenZers spend the second most amount of time addressing fraudulent activity, followed by GenXers and Baby Boomers.

GenZers experienced fraud most frequently through digital payment apps when asked about their experiences using digital payment apps including PayPal, Venmo and Square, while all other generations experienced financial security issues most frequently by credit card fraud. GenZers were also the generation least impacted by credit card fraud.

While Millennials and GenZers were concerned financial fraud is most likely to occur through their digital payment apps, for GenXers and Baby Boomers, credit cards are the biggest concern when it comes to potential fraud targets.

Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) reported the lowest instances of fraudulent charges in nearly all categories, also spending the least amount of time trying to recover money due to fraudulent charges or dispute fraudulent charges.

However, when broken down further by generation, Millennials were more likely to buy from businesses with fraud protection, while Baby Boomers were the least likely to do so.

Other Findings

Credit card fraud is the most common type of fraud experienced across all countries. Nearly a third (31%) in Brazil have experienced credit card fraud.

Nearly a third (31%) in have experienced credit card fraud. Brazilian and Singaporean consumers are most concerned with financial security issues (85% of Brazilian and 79% of Singaporean respondents cite concerns with credit card fraud), but a substantial portion across all countries are concerned about credit card fraud, debit card fraud, digital payment fraud, digital wallet fraud, and banking fraud.

(85% of Brazilian and 79% of Singaporean respondents cite concerns with credit card fraud), but a substantial portion across all countries are concerned about credit card fraud, debit card fraud, digital payment fraud, digital wallet fraud, and banking fraud. On average, German adults lost more due to fraudulent charges than adults in any other country  with an average of 3,520 euros ( $3,917 in US currency) lost in the past twelve months due to fraudulent charges. Singapore had the second highest amount of fraudulent charges, with an average of S$1,648.52 Singapore dollars ( $1,217 in US currency) per adult.

 with an average of ( in US currency) lost in the past twelve months due to fraudulent charges. had the second highest amount of fraudulent charges, with an average of dollars ( in US currency) per adult. Japanese respondents are less confident in their bank/credit card company's ability to handle fraud (only 59% have confidence in their financial institution's ability to handle fraud prevention), but a majority across all countries feel confident in their bank/credit card company's ability to handle fraud.

(only 59% have confidence in their financial institution's ability to handle fraud prevention), but a majority across all countries feel confident in their bank/credit card company's ability to handle fraud. A majority of adults in all countries are "more likely" to purchase a product from a business that has fraud prevention technology in place, led by Brazil (91%) and China (90%).

About the 2022 IBM Global Financial Fraud Impact Report

IBM commissioned the study to maintain its understanding of present-day challenges that consumers are facing when it comes to financial fraud, as well as the ability of global financial institutions to retain control of their mission critical infrastructure to provide secure payment transactions in real-time.

The study was commissioned by IBM and conducted by Morning Consult, a third-party market research firm based in the United States. The study was conducted among 1000 adults in six countries: the US, China, Singapore, Brazil, Japan, and Germany. The study was conducted online, and the data were stratified to match a target sample of adults in US, China, Singapore, Brazil, Japan, and Germany on age and gender, then weighted based on age, gender, race, and education level. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The full report can be downloaded here.

Contact:

Ben Stricker

[email protected]

SOURCE IBM
New Refreshing Bubbly Beverages Infused with Organic Kombucha

MIDDLEBURY, Vt., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Better than your average bubbles! Today, Vermont-based Kombucha brand Aqua ViTea introduces Aqua Seltzers, a better-for-you bubbly beverage packed with probiotics for immune and gut health. Like all of Aqua ViTea's beverages, the new Aqua Seltzers are USDA Organic, GMO-free, gluten-free, vegan, and always low in calories and sugar.

Aqua ViTea Aqua ViTea

As the leading East Coast manufacturer of Kombucha, Aqua ViTea has made it their mission for more than 15 years to educate and introduce consumers to the many health benefits of Kombucha through supremely unique product innovations. Aqua Seltzer is disrupting the bubbly beverage category with a light body, approachable and inventive taste, and vibrant packaging. Aqua Seltzer comes in four dynamic and refreshing flavors: Grapefruit + Thyme, Raspberry + Lime, Cucumber + Mint, and Pomegranate + Cherry. Each shelf-stable can is packed with five billion live probiotics and powerful antioxidants and enzymes. With only 15 calories and 1 gram of sugar, it's the perfect healthy and functional seltzer to sip on all summer long.

"As one of the first commercial Kombucha brands, we keep our finger on the pulse of what consumers need from functional beverages while remaining true to our core value that food can be used as medicine," said Jeff Weaber, Founder of Aqua ViTea. "A crowded market no doubt, Aqua Seltzer shines as a replacement to sugary beverages with beneficial living food properties that can help consumers achieve overall wellness from the inside out."

Aqua ViTea is authentically crafted with naturally occurring probiotics, blending ancient Kombucha fermentation traditions with modern brewing techniques to produce refreshing beverages that are verified non-alcohol compliant (below .5% ABV) and rich with clean ingredients. To date, Aqua ViTea has composted 26K pounds of tea for local agriculture and 75K pounds of wastewater for renewable energy. Additionally, up to 35% of the fills at Aqua ViTea's Kombucha fountains utilize reusable glass.

Also new in April, Aqua ViTea announced distribution expansion with the launch of an e-commerce vertical on its website ( https://www.aquavitea.com/ ) making it easy for customers nationwide to purchase and receive their favorite beverages from the brand.

Priced at $36 per 12-pack, Aqua ViTea's New Aqua Seltzers are available now on the Aqua ViTea website. For more information on Aqua ViTea, please visit https://www.aquavitea.com/ .

ABOUT AQUA VITEA

Founder Jeff Weaber started homebrewing Aqua ViTea from his farmhouse basement in Vermont in 2005. Today, the company employs a team of thirty full-time employees at its Middlebury-based facility and has become the East Coast's largest Kombucha manufacturer. Aqua ViTea is a sustainably driven Kombucha brand, focused on providing delicious and authentic better-for-you beverages. Aqua ViTea artfully blends ancient brewing traditions with modern techniques to create a healthier drink option, packed with natural probiotics, enzymes, and antioxidants. Each beverage flaunts a label exploding in colors and storytelling that invite you to sip on the refreshing flavors, like Blueberry Social, Elderberry, and Pineapple Lemonade among others, or enjoy one of the special CBD concoctions, like Chaga Chai. Its offerings extend to Aqua Seltzer and the hard kombucha category, dubbed AfterGlow, featuring noteworthy flavors like Ginger & Blueberry, Citrus Rush, Cherry Sour, and Apricot Dream. Aqua ViTea is offered at retailers like Whole Foods and Bristol Farms. To learn more please visit https://www.aquavitea.com/

MEDIA CONTACT:

Taylor Engert | Carissa Izquierdo

[email protected]

213-542-8980

SOURCE Aqua ViTea
Significant innovative impulses will also come from Plug and Play, the world-leading innovation platform for corporations with headquarters in Silicon Valley. Starting this April, Austrian Airlines will be joining Plug and Play's Travel & Hospitality program based in Vienna. The corporate innovation program is designed to connect major industry corporations to startups and scale-ups with the goal of fostering their digital transformation.

In an innovation partnership between Vienna Airport and Austrian Airlines, a joint team has recently been developing initial ideas for making the processes even easier and more convenient for customers and making operations as efficient and safe as possible. In addition to innovative solutions from startups, increased digitalization should help to foster travel comfort for guests even further in the future.

By using the open innovation principles, Austria's largest airline wants to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency, as well as develop new products, digital solutions, and additional services for its guests.

As Vienna International Airport is already part of the Plug and Play program, the opportunity is unique to jointly drive innovative solutions to strengthen the position of Vienna as an attractive hub in Europe. Together with other program partners such as the founding partner Vienna International Airport, Fraport, Star Alliance, Brussels Airport, and Aeroporti di Roma, exchange will take place on best practices and new technologies.

"Together with Plug and Play we want to offer a wide-ranging travel experience for our guests and take a leading role in fostering digital transformation in aviation around the world," commented Francesco Sciortino, COO of Austrian Airlines.

Julian Jager, executive board member Vienna International Airport: Within this new innovation partnership, Austrian Airlines, and Vienna Airport work jointly on concepts, which aim to make passenger processes or check-ins even easier and more efficient. Digitalization opens new perspectives. Through our common expertise and the support of Plug and Play and their Startups, new innovative solutions will be created."

"We are proud to kick off this partnership with one of Austria's most iconic and beloved brands. Austrian Airlines is one of the most renowned airlines in the world, and Plug and Play is looking forward to actively supporting their efforts to drive innovation and to bring customer experience to the next level," said Benjamin Kloss, Director at Plug and Play Vienna.

For more information about Plug and Play Travel & Hospitality, please visit: https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/travel/

Media contacts

PLUG AND PLAY VIENNA

Baiba Dreimane

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/press/



AUSTRIAN AIRLINES

Press Office

Telephone: +43 (0)5 1766-11231

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.austrianairlines.ag/Press/

About Austrian Airlines

Austrian Airlines is Austria's leading airline. The once state-owned and still convincing red-white-red airline operates a global route network. Thanks to its favorable geographical location and Austrian history as a melting pot of the former crown lands, its home airport Vienna Schwechat is still a hub between East and West today. "AUA", as it is often abbreviated in Austria, has been part of the Lufthansa Group since 2009 as well as a member of Star Alliance, the first global alliance of international airlines, since 2000. In 2018 Austrian Airlines celebrated its 60th anniversary. For more information, visit https://www.austrianairlines.ag/

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present in 35+ locations across 5 continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/

SOURCE Plug and Play
GUANGZHOU, China, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, news from its official website heralds the opening of 131st Canton Fair.

One can analyze the heatmap and see that Consumer Electronics and Information Products is perennially the most-visited area of the Fair. To mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on China's foreign trade and the world economy, the Canton Fair has paused the on-site business and innovated an online trading platform, starting from the 127th session, which has led to an upsurge of consumer electronics exports.

China is the world's leading manufacturer and exporter of electronics and information products, holding a foremost position in enterprise quantity, employment scale and business revenue. Yet, long has China been subdued to the assembly role, where foreign multinationals dominate the industrial and value chain and foreign trade. Worse still, consumer electronics always face fierce market competition due to rising homogeneity and industry concentration.

Since the reform and opening up in the late 1970s, Chinese brands have tapped into independent innovation to turn the situation around. According to a survey, the median R&D investment of Chinese consumer electronics and electrical companies was RMB102 million in 2021, indicating that half of them have invested over RMB100 million in R&D. China also has the most patent applications in the consumer electronics and electrical industry.

The Internet of Things (IoT) steals over the consumer market, making smart consumer electronics and IoT products the "new blood" of China's consumer electronics and electrical industry. You can find cross-industry creation of intelligent living scenarios in living rooms, balconies, kitchens, and bathrooms, meaning a richer experience and increased interactivity for global users. According to Maggie Pu, Deputy Director General of Foreign Affairs Office of Canton Fair, the number of intelligent and personalized consumer electronics at the Canton Fair is increasing year by year. China's consumer electronics brands now have to win the global competition through technological innovation instead of price efficiency, as has been the case during the past decades.

China is also a huge consumer market for consumer electronics and information products. China contributes more than 50% of the world's production of complete appliances such as phones, computers, and LCD TVs, and key components such as LCDs and integrated circuits. Chinese entities, backed by a huge home market, are enhancing their presence in the international market through technological innovation and more energy-efficient and eco-friendly products.

Visit https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en-US/register/index#/foreign-email for more opportunities.

SOURCE Canton Fair
GUANGZHOU, China, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The 131st Canton Fair is around the corner. According to China Foreign Trade Centre (CFTC), the New Product Launch at Canton Fair will be unveiled this session. New products, technologies, brands, services will be selected and showcased in the event. As the electric era heats up, much of the attention goes to New Energy Vehicle (NEV) innovations.

Though frustrated by COVID-19 and plummeting subsidies, the NEV market in China has shown strong momentum as both production and selling surpassed 3.5 million in 2021, topping the world for 7 consecutive years. The penetration rate of NEV sales in China is also increasing, which will reach 22% in 2022, predicted by China Passenger Cars Association (CPCA).

Overseas buyers have expressed their amazement that China's auto industry has become as good as some centuries-old established markets in just a few decades. The core components of NEV, such as power batteries, drive motors, and electronic control systems, are all emerging products. The concerted efforts of the Chinese government and companies have given themselves a pole position on NEV market competition.

The rapid growth of China's NEV industry is clear in the scale and focus of the displays. At the 130th Canton Fair, nearly 20 NEV exhibitors brought 186 products, including cars, trucks, sightseeing vehicles, buses, vans, and accessories & components of NEVs. The exhibition section was under the spotlight with new technologies capturing much attention. Premier Li Keqiang inspected the exhibition halls and remarked that China is the largest market for traditional vehicles and NEVs. He encouraged companies to seize opportunities, rise to market competition, follow business rules, and invest more in R&D, thus leading an innovative and sustainable NEV industry.

For consumers, NEVs bring a new mode of transportation. China is a leader in NEVs with advantages in battery charging/switching stations, 5G communications, and mega markets. These merits will facilitate national NEV industrial advancement. According to Alan Liu, Deputy Director General of Foreign Affairs Office of Canton Fair, As "Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries are investing in infrastructure, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is boosting export volumes, it's a perfect time to overtake the competitors. At the 131st Canton Fair, we will encourage NEV exhibitors to self-innovate and deliver a more enjoyable, convenient, and smart driving experience to customers at home and abroad.

Visit https://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en-US/register/index#/foreign-email for more opportunities.

SOURCE Canton Fair
Introhive's end-to-end platform will help organizations using Dynamics 365 increase overall platform adoption and data accuracy while boosting sales efficiency and revenue. When organizations deploy Introhive for Dynamics 365, they'll be able to benefit from capabilities including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and data automation to help users improve productivity to build deeper relationships, drive more revenue, and increase client retention.

In an increasingly complex business environment where quality relationship mapping is a critical differentiator for organizations trying to stay competitive, customers rely on well-integrated, AI-powered solutions like Introhive to enhance their Dynamics 365 CRM workflows and unlock hidden revenue opportunities. Introhive's customer intelligence solution will continue to help Microsoft customers optimize their productivity and performance.

It's been reported that up to 69% of all CRM projects fail*, which is a problem Introhive uncovered early on. Companies not using CRM to its potential, relationship data not being mapped internally, and a lack of insight into actionable data were all opportunities Introhive identified and built a platform dedicated to helping client-facing teams overcome. Leveraging proprietary algorithms and artificial intelligence to provide automatic updates to companies' sales and client data, communications and behavior, Introhive provides teams with actionable insights on one of their organizations' most important focus areas: growing customer relationships and generating more sales.

With Introhive for Dynamics 365, organizations are now able to unlock evergreen CRM data to operate more efficiently and accelerate earnings. Introhive's rich relationship data fuels Microsoft Power BI to create insight-packed visualizations to help make informed business decisions that drive business forward, including white space and lonely client analysis.

Stuart Cassie , Vice President of Sales at Hitachi Solutions Europe , has deployed the combined Introhive/Microsoft solution.

"Initially we brought in 12 months of historic data on our contacts, which immediately identified those missing from CRM and contacts which had updated information that we could apply," said Cassie. "The implementation was painless, quick and training was minimal. The continued use of Introhive has led to better quality data, proactively provided business insight, unearthed valuable connections and allowed us to manage our relationships with clients and suppliers more effectively. Little effort, high reward!"

Building on a fully functional Dynamics 365 integration, this new Introhive and Microsoft integration will make it easier for organizations to benefit from the immense benefits of customer intelligence on Dynamics 365.

"Introhive's integration with Microsoft solidifies our goal of adding tremendous value for our prospects and customers," said Diana Sapienza , Introhive's Global Head Strategic Alliances & Partnerships. "With the prominence of Microsoft in the global business community, they are a natural partner for us. Over the coming months and years, we're excited to keep building on this relationship and serving organizations who are using tools in the Microsoft ecosystem."

Toby Bowers , General Manager, Business Applications Group, Microsoft said, "We're happy to welcome Introhive to Microsoft AppSource, which gives our partners great exposure to cloud customers around the globe. Microsoft AppSource offers partner solutions such as Introhive for Dynamics 365 to help customers meet their needs faster."

About Introhive

Introhive is the fastest-growing AI-powered customer intelligence solution, with the single largest deployment of its kind in the world. Trusted by some of the world's most recognizable brands, including PwC, Clark Nexsen, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Colliers International, and Plante Moran, the company has been recognized with 2019, 2020 and 2021 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Canada Awards , 2020 and 2021 Deloitte Fast 500 North America Awards , 2020 and 2021 MarTech Breakthrough Awards , and is Great Place to Work certified in Canada. Introhive's AI-powered SaaS platform seeks to enable organizations to realize the full value of their relationships across the business and to leverage untapped data to drive revenues and increase productivity while simultaneously improving the customer experience. Introhive has grown to 350+ employees with 10 global office locations, supporting 250,000+ customers in over 90 different countries around the world. Learn more at www.introhive.ai

*Source: Why Do CRM Projects Fail

SOURCE Introhive
SANDVIKEN, Sweden, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sandvik will publish its first quarter results on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at approximately 11:30 AM CEST.

A combined webcast and conference call for investors, analysts and financial media will be held at 13:00 PM CEST.

The report will be presented in a webcast and conference call by Stefan Widing, President and CEO as well as by Cecilia Felton, CFO.

The presentation will be broadcasted live on our website home.sandvik

Dial-in details for the conference call:

SE: +46 8 505 583 50

UK: +44 333 300 90 30

US: +1 646 722 49 02

From about 12:30 PM CEST presentation slides will be available on our website home.sandvik

Stockholm, April 5, 2022

Sandvik AB

For further information, contact Louise Tjeder, Vice President Investor Relations, phone: +46 70 782 6374 or Johannes Hellstrom, Press and Media Relations Manager, phone: +46 70 721 1008.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/sandvik/r/invitation---presentation-of-sandvik-s-report-of-the-first-quarter-2022,c3539961

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/208/3539961/1559645.pdf Invitation - presentation of Sandvikas report of the first quarter 2022

SOURCE Sandvik
Rapidly Expanding Italian Ice Franchise Remains a Frozen Force in the QSR Dessert Space as Q2 Begins

ORLANDO, Fla., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeremiah's Italian Ice  the hottest franchise in the frozen dessert category  is continuing its rapid growth throughout the country and celebrating its 26th anniversary this April as well as the milestone opening of its 50th franchise location with help from their devoted franchisees in Asheville, North Carolina. The brand, which has seen tremendous success throughout the last 20+ years, is proud to say that they are continuing to find new ways to innovate as a company, bolstering growth.

"We are all so proud of the work that we have done to help make Jeremiah's the amazing frozen dessert franchise that it is," said Nicole DiPietro, Vice President of Jeremiah's Italian Ice. "Our goal every step of the way is to create smiles and bring joy to every community that we enter. I am pleased to say that for the last 26 years, we have done just that and will continue to do so for the next 26 years and beyond."

Since its franchising launch in 2019, Jeremiah's has awarded more than 240 units across 102 franchise groups and has increased its footprint by more than 200% with 68 units and counting now operational across 7 states. Jeremiah's has introduced new franchise programs and initiatives to help current and future franchisees succeed with their new business ventures. These programs and initiatives have helped to propel Jeremiah's Italian Ice into the national spotlight, gaining recognition from Entrepreneur Magazine as well as Nation's Restaurant News for their achievements as a dominant franchise business.

For all of the hard work and determination, Jeremiah's has been awarded multiple honors since launching the franchise program, putting them not only in the dessert industry spotlight but in the national franchise and QSR spotlight as well. At the start of 2022 alone, Jeremiah's has been awarded four Entrepreneur 500 awards which include being named to the Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list and also identified as the #3 Top Food Franchises in Miscellaneous Frozen Desserts, a Top New and Emerging Franchise, and a Fastest Growing Franchisee, In addition, Vice President of Jeremiah's Italian Ice, Nicole DiPietro, was recently named one of Nation's Restaurant News' Most Influential Restaurant Executives Across the Country.

"2021 was a year of resilience, introspection, and gratitude," stated CEO and Founder of Jeremiah's Italian Ice Jeremy Litwack. "It was a year of putting our heads down and continuing to challenge ourselves to overcome unforeseen obstacles. Fortunately, this has led to unprecedented growth for our brand that drove us into the national spotlight in 2022. I am so proud of our team and the incredible work that they have done and continue to do. These awards are just validation for the ideas and principles that we founded this company on as well as the strong-minded individuals that continue to make Jeremiah's the outstanding brand that we had envisioned from its creation."

For 2022, the brand has launched a new Franchisee Advisory Council to help current and prospective franchisees start this new business journey. Its mission is to assist franchisees by getting their location up, running, and profitable while providing continued support and advice whenever they may need it. The brand also did something out of the ordinary this year to show appreciation for its devoted franchisees. In February of 2022, the brand hosted its First Annual Franchise Frog Squad Operations Summit. The summit, which included franchise owners from all over the United States, also hosted store managers and any other franchise partners listed on their franchise agreements. It was the brand's biggest gathering yet, and they are excited to see how many frog squad members attend the next one.

"Coming out of the tail end of a global pandemic, we wanted to show appreciation for the dedication and continued excellence of our franchisees," said Nicole DiPietro. "This paired with our new Franchisee Advisory Council, we wanted to create a helpful resource for our franchisees to get them off the ground and running while answering any and all questions they may have throughout the process of opening their location. We want our franchisees to feel appreciated and valued and I hope they can see how admired they are."

The brand is excited to announce that they have opened 8 new units in the first quarter of 2022 with a total of 45 anticipated to open in 2022. Jeremiah's now operates in FL, AZ, GA, TX, LA, SC & NC with additional units planned for Colorado, Tennessee, Alabama, and Nevada. In addition, the brand was able to sign four additional area rep groups in 2022, with a total commitment of 148 units in the markets of Dallas, Houston, Alabama/Mississippi, and Eastern Tennessee.

To learn more about Jeremiah's Italian Ice franchise opportunities, please visit: www.jeremiahsfranchise.com/

About Jeremiah's Italian Ice

Founded in 1996 and franchising since 2019, Jeremiah's Italian Ice has come to be known not only for its superior frozen treats, but also for its outstanding customer service, community involvement, and an exciting brand image that exudes the Jeremiah's motto - LIVE LIFE TO THE COOLEST. Focused on delivering flavorful experiences to each and every guest, Jeremiah's is committed to serving its vibrant, flavorful treats up with a smile in a lively environment. With 68 locations throughout Florida, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Texas, Jeremiah's is offering franchises across the Southern United States. To help guide the brand's rapid expansion, Jeremiah's Italian Ice has partnered with Pivotal Growth Partners  a team of franchising veterans who've led some of the top brands in foodservice to award-winning growth. For more information about Jeremiah's franchise opportunity, visit https://jeremiahsfranchise.com/

About Pivotal Growth Partners

Pivotal Growth Partners (PGP) is a full-service Growth & Development Firm with an unparalleled track record of success in growing franchise brands. The experienced team at PGP has awarded & developed more than 5000 franchised businesses across the US and internationally, working with startups and some of the world's largest companies. With a combined 50+ years of experience and a network of growth and development partners, Pivotal Growth Partners creates value, growing small, regional companies into nationally acclaimed brands. PGP deploys proven processes and systems to effectively grow a business, by creating a "Results Focused" Franchise Growth & Support Culture within its brands. For more information, visit www.pivotalgrowthpartners.com .

SOURCE Jeremiahs Italian Ice
Martin C. Grant will hold the position of Global Head of Regulatory Affairs & Integrity

SUMMIT, N.J. and SINGAPORE, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- JST Capital ("the Company" or "JST"), a global financial services firm specializing in digital assets, today announced the hiring of Martin C. Grant as Global Head of Regulatory Affairs & Integrity. In his new role, Mr. Grant will be responsible for navigating the evolving digital asset regulatory environment on behalf of JST. He will work within JST to ensure best practices and will also be a resource for the firm's clients and will continue JST's discussions with global regulators as they work to adopt policies for the evolving digital asset markets.

Mr. Grant joins JST from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he held the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer for over 15 years. He was responsible for building and leading their internal compliance efforts. Mr. Grant also worked with other state and federal regulators as well as government agencies to harmonize compliance policies within Federal Reserve Banks and financial institutions around the globe. Additionally, he provided technical assistance and guidance to central banks around the globe on compliance policies and practices. Prior to his tenure as Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer, Mr. Grant was a lawyer in the New York Fed's enforcement and litigation division. Grant is also the Chair of the Conference Board's Global Business Conduct Council and a member of the Compliance Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He is a trustee of the Citizens Budget Commission in New York City and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Grant is a graduate of both Princeton University & Harvard Law School and he clerked for the Hon. Richard Erwin, US District Court in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Scott Freeman, Co-founder and Partner at JST Capital, commented on the news, "Throughout 2021, JST has continued to expand in order to meet growing institutional demand. We increased our headcount, tripled the number of clients and saw a 10-fold increase in gross revenue. By bringing in Martin, who has over 30 years of experience operating in the regulatory and compliance space, JST is doubling down on its mission to not only offer clients unmatched financial services in the crypto sector, but to also assist in navigating the regulatory environment. We are excited to welcome Martin to the team and work alongside him to engage with regulators around the globe."

As JST's Global Head of Regulatory Affairs & Integrity, Mr. Grant will leverage his extensive experience and reinforce the Company's mission to provide its institutional clientele with unmatched services in a secure, transparent, and regulatory compliant manner. He will play an instrumental role in reinforcing the Company's internal compliance processes. Additionally, Mr. Grant will be a resource that JST's global client base can utilize to understand the intricate nature of regulations and make informed investment decisions. This latest hire is the continuation of the Company bolstering its headcount to capitalize on recent growth across the engineering, quant, operations, finance, sales and trading teams.

Mr. Grant concluded, "The team at JST has been operating within the crypto ecosystem since 2015 and the full suite of financial services they provide to a diverse client base has positioned them to take full advantage of the growing digital asset ecosystem. Regulators around the world have begun to realize the full scope of digital assets and the role they play in the global economy and as a result are rushing to establish fulsome policies that protect market participants at all levels. I have genuinely enjoyed my time at the Fed and am looking forward to leveraging my background to build out a regulatory framework for this nascent asset class. I am looking forward to working with regulators and establish an open dialog in order to advance regulation that benefits both the investors that use our services and the wider crypto industry."

About JST Capital

JST Capital is a global digital asset financial services firm servicing institutional investors, blockchain companies, banks, and broker-dealers. With operations in the United States and Singapore, the Company provides trading, asset management and structured products services across all digital assets.

For more information about JST Capital, please visit https://www.jstcap.com/

Media Contact

Kevin McGrath

M Group Strategic Communications (on behalf of JST Capital)

+1 646 859 5955

[email protected]

SOURCE JST Capital
Headquartered in Irvine, California, Kia America continues to top automotive quality surveys and is recognized as one of the 100 Best Global Brands. Kia serves as the "Official Automotive Partner" of the NBA and offers a range of gasoline, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electrified vehicles sold through a network of nearly 750 dealers in the U.S., including several cars and SUVs proudly assembled in America.

For media information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com. To receive custom email notifications for press releases the moment they are published, subscribe at www.kiamedia.com/us/en/newsalert.

SOURCE Kia America
Brinkmann represents healthcare providers and other clients in litigation and investigations, with a particular focus on those that arise under the False Claims Act (FCA). An experienced litigator, Brinkmann's clients include hospital systems, academic medical centers, medical device companies, retail pharmacies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, universities, and defense contractors. She also counsels her clients on fraud and abuse issues and other healthcare regulatory matters. She joins from Reed Smith.

"Sara's skills will be an immediate asset to our Healthcare clients, and she'll add depth to our growing practice in an important region," said Mark Polston, co-head of King & Spalding's Healthcare team. "She has a great reputation among our lawyers and clients, and her FCA experience will be in demand for government investigations and Special Matters issues as well."

Brinkmann has represented her clients in qui tam cases involving the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute, Medicare billing and payment issues, claims related to Medicaid supplemental payment programs, pharmacy discount programs and drug pricing, university grant requirements, and government contracting regulations. She has also represented her clients in other complex dispute matters and has advised them on due diligence and risk issues in mergers and acquisitions. She has been recognized by Chambers USA and Best Lawyers.

"Sara is well known in the Texas market, particularly on the issue of healthcare fraud," said Tracie Renfroe, managing partner of King & Spalding's Houston office. "She'll be an excellent addition to our office in a key area of strategic growth for the firm."

Prior to joining private practice, Brinkmann clerked for Judge David Hittner of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. She earned her JD and MBA from the University of Houston Law Center and C.T. Bauer College of Business, respectively, and her undergraduate degree from Baylor University.

"I am excited to join King & Spalding and start the next chapter of my practice. The firm's internationally recognized Healthcare and Special Matters teams attracted me to the firm, and I believe its collaborative approach to providing excellent legal advice will serve my clients well," Brinkmann said. "I look forward to continuing to help my clients achieve their goals alongside the top-notch attorneys at this firm."

About King & Spalding

Celebrating more than 130 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 1,200 lawyers in 22 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality, and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com .

SOURCE K&S
OSLO, Norway, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lytix Biopharma AS (Lytix), a clinical-stage company with an in situ vaccination technology platform targeting cancer indications, notes that the first patient has been dosed in Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Phase II study evaluating LTX-315 for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer). This triggers a USD 1 million milestone payment to Lytix in accordance with the licensing agreement between the parties.

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc ("Verrica") has an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Lytix to develop and commercialize LTX-315 for dermatologic oncology conditions.

"We are delighted to see Verrica doses the first patient in its Phase II trial evaluating LTX-315 as a non-surgical treatment option for patients with basal cell carcinoma. Non-melanoma skin cancers, including basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, are the most common form of cancer in the U.S., with over 5 million diagnoses each year, and there is a high unmet need for new treatments. We look forward to following the development of our novel oncolytic molecule as a potential new treatment for non-melanoma skin cancer," said ystein Rekdal, CEO of Lytix Biopharma.

LTX-315 is a first-in-class oncolytic molecule representing a new and superior in situ therapeutic vaccination principle, and in August 2020, Lytix licensed LTX-315 to Verrica for the treatment of dermatologic oncology indications.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lytix is entitled to receive an upfront payment, contingent regulatory milestones based on achievement of specified development goals, and sales milestones, with aggregate payments of up to USD 111 million, including the mentioned milestone. In addition, Lytix is entitled to receive tiered royalties based on worldwide annual sales. There are approximately 3-4 million patients diagnosed with basal cell carcinomas in the U.S. each year, with a high unmet need for new treatment options.

To view the full announcement from Verrica, please visit https://verrica.com/press_release/verrica-pharmaceuticals-announces-first-patient-dosed-in-phase-2-study-of-ltx-315-a-potential-first-in-class-oncolytic-peptide-based-immunotherapy-for-the-treatment-of-basal-cell-carcinoma/

For information about Verrica's clinical trial, please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.

For more information about Verrica, please visit www.verrica.com.

For further information please contact:

ystein Rekdal (CEO),

Telephone: +47 975 73 358

E-mail: [email protected]

About Lytix Biopharma AS

Based in Oslo, Norway, Lytix Biopharma is a clinical-stage biotech company developing novel cancer immunotherapies, an area within cancer therapy that is aimed at activating the patient's immune system to fight cancer. The Company's technology is based on pioneering research in "host defense peptides"  nature's first line of defense towards foreign pathogens. Lytix Biopharma's lead product, LTX-315, is a first-in-class oncolytic molecule representing a new and superior in situ therapeutic vaccination principle to boost anti-cancer immunity, with the potential to be the ideal combination partner with other types of immunotherapies. LTX-315 target cancer cells and disintegrate their cell membranes, causing immunogenic cell death and release of a patient's tumor specific antigens. This mode of action allows cytotoxic T cells to recognize, infiltrate, and attack cancer cells. The Company was listed on Euronext Growth in Oslo in June 2021, following a private placement covered by investors such as PBM Capital, a U.S. based, healthcare-focused investment firm. For more information, visit www.lytixbiopharma.com.

About LTX-315

LTX-315 is a potential first-in-class oncolytic molecule administered directly into a tumor to induce immunogenic cell death, which may offer a non-surgical option for patients suffering from skin cancer. The technology is based on pioneering research in "host defense peptides"  nature's first line of defense towards foreign pathogens. LTX-315 has demonstrated positive tumor-specific immune cell responses in multi-indication Phase I/II oncology trials.

About in situ vaccination

In situ vaccination stimulates a patient's immune system by injecting drugs with the ability to kill cancer cells straight into the tumor environment. Lytix Biopharma has applied this approach with its first-in-class oncolytic molecules, representing an alternative and unique approach to cancer vaccination. Importantly, this approach generates an immune response against a broad antigen repertoire without pre-identifying the antigens, which in turn can save considerable costs and valuable time.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/lytix-biopharma-as/r/lytix-biopharma-receives-milestone-payment-from-verrica-pharmaceuticals-inc--triggered-by-first-pati,c2839791

SOURCE Lytix Biopharma AS
VANCOUVER, BC, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - April 5, 2022  MANTARO PRECIOUS METALS CORP. (TSXV: MNTR) (OTCQB: MSLVF) (FSE: 9TZ) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Craig Hairfield to the position of Chief Executive Officer and director of the Company. Mr. Hairfeld succeeds Dr. Chris Wilson who will continue as Executive Chairman and Chief Geologist for Mantaro.

Mr. Hairfield is an accomplished mining engineer with more than 17 years' global experience working with a number of private and publicly listed mineral resource companies as a mining engineer, private equity investor and M&A advisor.

From 2011 to 2018, Mr. Hairfield evaluated and executed investment opportunities globally for Resource Capital Funds, a leading natural resources-focused private equity fund, across a wide breadth of commodities. Thereafter, Craig provided M&A advisory services through Farnham Ventures to a number of international clients in the mining space.

Craig Hairfield, Chief Executive Officer of the Company states, "My primary focus will be to lead the capital markets strategy by connecting with both existing shareholders and new potential investors of the Company. Our path forward will be to communicate to the markets our continued progress on our impressive Golden Hill Property, located in Bolivia, as well as our Santas Gloria and San Jose Silver Properties in Peru. Our technical team has done an incredible job of acquiring these high-grade projects and preparing them for an aggressive drill campaign. The upcoming months will be exciting for shareholders of Mantaro."

"We are excited to have someone of Craig's caliber join the team to lead the development and growth of Mantaro Precious Metals going forward", commented Dr. Chris Wilson, Chairman of the Company. "Craig has a proven track record for M&A, investment evaluations and building shareholder value. His strong understanding of the financial and technical ingredients to successfully develop a project will be essential for our success as well as his operational experience will be a key compliment to the current Mantaro board and management team."

In connection with the appointment, the Company has granted a total of 250,000 stock options to Mr. Hairfield exercisable at a price of $0.20 per share for a period of five years from the date of grant.

About Mantaro Precious Metals Corp.

Mantaro Precious Metals Corp. is a British Columbia company that holds a diversified portfolio of gold and silver focused mineral properties in Bolivia and Peru. The Company's holds an option to acquire up to an 80% interest in the advanced Golden Hill Property ("Golden Hill"), located in the underexplored, orogenic Bolivia Shield, Bolivia.

The Company also has a 100% interest in the high-grade Santas Gloria Silver Property as well as a 100% interest in each of the San Jose, La Purisima, Cerro Luque and Huaranay Properties (collectively, the "Silver Properties"). The Silver Properties are located in Peru.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Company's limited operating history and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Resulting Issuer undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Mantaro Precious Metals Corp.
Offtake agreement to take and distribute 100 percent of first phase potash fertilizer production Tweet this

"By partnering with an agricultural industry leader, Michigan Potash will help satisfy farmer requirements for potash as world supplies are unaffordable or utterly unavailable," said Ted Pagano, founder and CEO of Michigan Potash. "Together, we will create a new, complementary production, logistical, and sales powerhouse by supplying Michigan White Potash to the American farmer."

Currently, the U.S. imports approximately 96 percent of the potash necessary for healthy crops  including 1 million short tons per year from Russia as per the Department of Interior. At full buildout, MPSC's project stands ready to replace one-to-one for those Russian imports of potash with domestic production from Michigan.

"With foreign potash supply dramatically impacted by war, sanctions, tariffs, rail, and production challenges, MPSC represents a new, reliable, domestic source for U.S. producers," said Ward Forquer, Vice President of Potash Markets.

The Michigan Potash & Salt Company is in the final stages of financing for the construction and operation of the U.S.'s largest potash and food-grade salt facility near Evart, Michigan  home to one of the highest-quality natural potash and salt deposits in the world. Known as the U.S. Potash Project, the facility will strengthen and secure the supply of this critical mineral and fertilizer that only Michigan can supply domestically.

Creating more than 300 union construction jobs over three years and over180 full-time operations positions, the U.S. Potash Project represents over a $1 billion capital investment on a 150+ year resource base  making it one of the largest union-supported economic development projects in the country.

About Michigan Potash & Salt Company

The Michigan Potash & Salt Company management team brings together over 300 years of industry experience, together with its EPC partner in Barton Malow  the largest trade employer in Michigan. The company is committed to developing the U.S. Potash Project in a safe and responsible manner that protects Michigan's critical natural environment and waters while supporting communities across Osceola and Mecosta counties, Michigan. To learn more about the project, please visit www.mipotash.com.

SOURCE Michigan Potash & Salt Company, LLC
Midwest emerging growth companies set to present virtually

ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Organizers of the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS) announced today that Michael Stark, Jan Garfinkle, and Tim Petersen will Keynote the 2022 program. The conference will also include panel discussions on venture capital, technology, and DEI topics led by industry experts, as well as presentations from high-growth Midwest ventures. More than 300 entrepreneurs, researchers, investment professionals, and business executives are expected to attend.

Day one presentations will open with a joint Keynote address by Jan Garfinkle and Tim Petersen, the highly accomplished co-founders and managing partners of Arboretum Ventures, LLC of Ann Arbor, MI Michael Stark, founder and general partner at Crosslink Capital LLC of San Francisco, CA, will present the second Keynote address on day two. An engaging lineup of panels on topics including mobility, medical technologies, diversity in board leadership, and tech transfer follows each Keynote presentation. Each day will feature presentations in the MGCS company showcase by emerging growth companies to venture capital investors from around the US and Canada.

The companies in the MGCS showcase span the life sciences, medical devices, agriculture/food, and tech industries. All featured companies will be seeking seed, Series A, or Series B funding. Presenting companies and investors will be in attendance from throughout the Midwest.

"Despite the pandemic, U.S. venture capital firms raised a record-shattering $128.3 billion in 2021," said David Brophy, founder of the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium and University of Michigan professor emeritus. "The Midwest Growth Capital Symposium exposes these investors and business leaders to the innovation and growth opportunities that are happening in the Midwest."

The 2022 Symposium will be hosted virtually on a robust online platform that provides easy access to companies' executive summaries. The integration of a calendar tool will allow attendees to connect and schedule meetings with others directly on the platform. This provides ample opportunity for early-stage companies, angel investors, venture capitalists, technology transfer professionals, and leading entrepreneurs to connect in groups, in 1:1 meetings, or via chat/email. Presenting companies and sponsors will be able to build out their company pages to best promote their brand and product, in a space where attendees and investors can view at any time.

For more information on applying, attending, or sponsoring the symposium, please visit www.midwestgcs.com or email Hannah Burke & Drea Shipp-Caldwell at [email protected].

About the Midwest Growth Capital Symposium

The Midwest Growth Capital Symposium (MGCS) is the original university-based venture investment fair. First held in 1980, this decades-old event is the largest Midwest venture fair of its kind that brings together venture capital investors, angel investors, high-growth companies, university tech transfer officers and research faculty. The Symposium is presented by the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

SOURCE Zell Lurie Institute University of Michigan
"Today biopharmaceutical companies are under immense pressure to get products to patients faster. The acquisition of the MAST  platform adds fully automated sampling to our bioprocessing portfolio," said Andrew Bulpin, Head of Process Solutions, Life Science business sector of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. "This technology, coupled with the software to analyze and manage data, allows us to offer unique and integrated solutions to help customers optimize their bioprocesses. The MAST  platform moves us closer toward our vision of connected and continuous bioprocessing to increase speed and lower costs," said Bulpin.

The MAST platform enables the gathering of more frequent samples and collection of real-time data, including product attributes in hours instead of weeks, compared to manual sampling. The average cell culture process can save more than 80 hours of labor generally required for sample collection, handling, and analysis. Additionally, one MAST platform unit can collect samples from up to 10 bioreactors and connect them to four primary analyzers.

Upon closing the deal, the MAST Platform will be part of MilliporeSigma's BioContinuum Platform : It includes the Bio4C Software Suite, a first-of-its-kind ecosystem that combines process control, analytics, and plant-level automation for GMP manufacturing. The Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany is the first life science business to converge advanced process technologies with software, automation, and analytics into one ecosystem, moving the biopharmaceutical industry another step closer to the digitally enabled facility of the future.

"The Life Science business sector's established experience implementing real-world data into its projects will enable it to further unlock the potential of the MAST platform that Lonza has worked diligently to develop. With this divestment, we remain focused on our broad Bioscience offering, providing our customers with the tools to develop, manufacture and test therapeutics from basic research to the final product release," said Jean-Christophe Hyvert, President, Biologics and Cell & Gene, Lonza.

The acquisition of the MAST platform is another milestone to accelerate innovation in the Process Solutions business unit, one of the company's three growth engines ("Big 3"), through targeted smaller to medium-sized acquisitions with high impact. The deal follows the acquisitions of Exelead, a CDMO specializing in complex injectable formulations, including Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP) based drug delivery technology, in January and AmpTec, a CDMO, with expertise in PCR-based mRNA technology, in 2021.

Follow MilliporeSigma on Twitter @MilliporeSigma, on Facebook @MilliporeSigma and on LinkedIn.

All Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany news releases are distributed by email at the same time they become available on the EMD Group website. In case you are a resident of the U.S. or Canada please go to www.emdgroup.com/subscribe to register again for your online subscription of this service as our newly introduced geo-targeting requires new links in the email. You may later change your selection or discontinue this service.

About the Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

The Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates as MilliporeSigma in the U.S. and Canada, has more than 26,000 employees and 52 manufacturing sites worldwide, with a portfolio of more than 300,000 products focused on scientific discovery, biomanufacturing and testing services. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and electronics.

Around 60,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people's lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene-editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices  the company is everywhere. In 2021, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany generated sales of  19.7 billion in 66 countries.

The company holds the global rights to the name and trademark "Merck" internationally. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Electronics. Since its founding in 1668, scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to the company's technological and scientific advances. To this day, the founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. For more information about Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, visit www.emdgroup.com.

All Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany news releases are distributed by email at the same time they become available on the EMD Group website. In case you are a resident of the U.S. or Canada please go to www.emdgroup.com/subscribe to register again for your online subscription of this service as our newly introduced geo-targeting requires new links in the email. You may later change your selection or discontinue this service.

About Lonza

Lonza is the preferred global partner to the pharmaceutical, biotech and nutrition markets. We work to enable a healthier world by supporting our customers to deliver new and innovative medicines that help treat a wide range of diseases. We achieve this by combining technological insight with world-class manufacturing, scientific expertise and process excellence. Our unparalleled breadth of offerings enables our customers to commercialize their discoveries and innovations in the healthcare industry.

Founded in 1897 in the Swiss Alps, today, Lonza operates across five continents. With approximately 16,000 employees (full-time equivalent), we comprise high-performing teams and individual talent that make a meaningful difference to our own business, as well as to the communities in which we operate. The company generated sales of CHF 5.4 billion with a CORE EBITDA of CHF 1.7 billion in Full-Year 2021. Find out more at www.lonza.com.

Follow @Lonza on LinkedIn

Follow @LonzaGroup on Twitter

SOURCE MilliporeSigma
MindBridge deploys a proprietary AI solution leveraging its best-in-class risk discovery platform against Equifax's industry-leading credit reporting data sets and analytics

OTTAWA, Ontario, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MindBridge, the world's leading discovery platform for financial integrity, and Equifax Canada, a data, analytics, and technology company that helps businesses make critical decisions with greater confidence, teamed up on an early detection solution for synthetic ID fraud. MindBridge's first-of-its-kind AI solution gives Equifax end clients access to synthetic identity detection within their credit scoring products.

"Synthetic identity fraud costs organizations over $1 billion a year in Canada. We're pleased to work with MindBridge to provide additional protection to businesses impacted by synthetic ID fraud. This can help our customers by providing them with richer context and information to make decisions throughout the lending lifecycle, which can ultimately help Canadian consumers," said Carl Davies, head of Fraud & Identity at Equifax Canada. "We have been impressed with the simplicity and effectiveness of the MindBridge technology and are looking forward to continuing our partnership with the MindBridge team."

Equifax Canada chose MindBridge to jointly develop a solution to identify unusual activities, allowing clients to understand and detect synthetic activity. The solution helps detect risks by recognizing anomalous patterns, identifying suspicious behaviour in data, and presenting clear, actionable results.

"Synthetic identity fraud is one of the hardest problems to crack in the credit fraud world. MindBridge and Equifax Canada, working in close collaboration, have delivered a uniquely effective solution," said Robin Grosset, chief technology officer at MindBridge. "We are excited to see the significant results and benefits for Equifax Canada clients as we've seen with products in our other markets. It's yet another proof point that the MindBridge platform is a leading choice for financial risk discovery."

The world of fraud is constantly evolving, and fraud attack tactics are increasing in sophistication. MindBridge empowers organizations to get ahead of that risk by leveraging advanced analytics and AI to detect fraud and minimize exposure.

About MindBridge

MindBridge, provider of the world's leading financial risk discovery platform, helps auditors, accountants, and financial professionals become more efficient and effective. MindBridge provides users with AI-embedded tools, visualized analytics, and in-depth resources for stronger analysis, assessments, and advisory services, from transactional risk assessment to organizational process improvements. Artificial intelligence and industry expertise set the MindBridge platform apart to surface errors, intentional or not. The organization was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer in 2020 and by Forbes as a Top 50 AI Firm to Watch in 2021 for its contribution to transforming accounting and financial professionals' ability to analyze data. Founded in 2015 in Ottawa, Canada, MindBridge serves customers in audit and advisory, enterprise, government, and financial institution segments around the world.

About Equifax



At Equifax (NYSE: EFX), we believe knowledge drives progress. As a global data, analytics, and technology company, we play an essential role in the global economy by helping financial institutions, companies, employers, and government agencies make critical decisions with greater confidence. Our unique blend of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology drives insights to power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and supported by more than 13,000 employees worldwide, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. For more information, visit Equifax.ca .

Media contact:

Madeline Knapp

[email protected]

SOURCE MindBridge
MSA sensors monitoring for excess hydrogen

PITTSBURGH, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- For MSA Safety, helping men and women stay safe does not apply to just those working on earth, but also to those working in space. MSA Safety, Inc. (NYSE: MSA), the global leader in the development, manufacture and supply of sophisticated safety solutions that help to protect people and facility infrastructures, is testing new ways to keep astronauts safe with a technology demonstration of its hydrogen sensors onboard the International Space Station to detect for the highly flammable gas.

Now onboard the International Space Station (ISS), MSA Safety's combustible gas sensors are part of NASA's Advanced Hydrogen Sensor Technology Demonstration. The system is testing new ways to keep astronauts safe by detecting for hydrogen, a highly flammable gas. Photo Credit: MSA Safety

MSA combustible gas sensors are part of the Advanced Hydrogen Sensor Technology Demonstration that is testing an alternative technology to detect the presence of excess hydrogen in the output stream of the Oxygen Generation Assembly that provides breathing oxygen to the ISS crew. Existing monitoring systems help to keep the ISS astronauts safe by alerting NASA to warning signs of high hydrogen levels onboard the space station. The test system reached the ISS in February with the system's deployment expected to begin in April. The system is designed to demonstrate the suitability and reliability of the MSA sensors for use in space, after years of successful ground testing.

Brett Ashmore, MSA Safety Senior Field Sales Manager, has been a member of the MSA team involved in this sensor project that dates back a decade.

"Lives are at stake when providing breathing air to astronauts in space," Ashmore said. "This is a great accomplishment to finally have our sensors launched, and we are really proud of our team. Seeing the sensors used in space is really a badge of honor for all of us."

Known for their sensitivity, reliability and longevity, MSA's gas sensors have a history of performing in some of the toughest environments on the planet and are now going one step further. The sensors are manufactured by MSA in the United States and sold throughout the world.

"Our sensors are used in some of the most extreme operating conditions, like offshore oil and gas rigs, and it is exciting to see them proven to be effective in the aerospace industry," Ashmore said. "In all testing, our sensors consistently performed with reliability, long life, and high accuracy, which we believe makes them a trusted choice for use on critical life support systems."

MSA has a history of working with NASA dating back to the 1950s and 1960s. A part of the company, then called General Monitors, developed a hydrogen-specific sensor for Project Gemini to protect NASA workers and astronauts from explosions and fires. MSA played a role in Project Mercury with its canisters designed to absorb the carbon dioxide exhaled by astronauts and was involved the Apollo Program by designing respiratory protection for NASA astronauts.

"We're extremely proud of the work our associates have done in collaboration with so many organizations on this project," said Greg Martin, MSA Safety Vice President of Strategy and Product Development. "This is yet another example of MSA's innovation and reliability in the fixed gas and flame detection market and has led to additional opportunities for the company in the aerospace market. We are excited to be helping to keep people safe around the world and in orbit."

For more information about the mission, please visit NASA's mission page here.

About MSA Safety

Established in 1914, MSA Safety Incorporated is the global leader in the development, manufacture and supply of safety products that protect people and facility infrastructures. Many MSA products integrate a combination of electronics, mechanical systems and advanced materials to protect users against hazardous or life-threatening situations. The company's comprehensive product line is used by workers around the world in a broad range of markets, including the oil, gas and petrochemical industry, the fire service, the construction industry, mining and the military. MSA's core products include self-contained breathing apparatus, fixed gas and flame detection systems, portable gas detection instruments, industrial head protection products, firefighter helmets and protective apparel, and fall protection devices. With 2021 revenues of $1.4 billion, MSA employs approximately 4,800 people worldwide. The company is headquartered north of Pittsburgh in Cranberry Township, Pa., and has manufacturing operations in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. With more than 40 international locations, MSA realizes approximately half of its revenue from outside North America. For more information visit MSA's web site at www.MSAsafety.com.

SOURCE MSA Safety
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- For students at 33 National Heritage Academies partner-schools, spread across six states, the Kids Heart Challenge means more than learning about the importance of exercise and health eating. It means saving lives.

This year, those schools have raised more than $130,000 for the American Heart Association.

"It's amazing what these kids can do," said Walker Charter Academy Gym Teacher Jason Dykstra. "I don't know if they're aware of the magnitude of it all. It's a big number for you and me, but I don't know if they grasp the impact this can have."

Students at Walker have raised more than $20,000 for the AHA this year and have accrued over $245,000 since the school started participating in 2002.

"Those dollars that the NHA students are raising in order to support the American Heart Association, it's saving lives, that's what it comes down to," said AMA Youth Market Director Julie Neuhaus. "If we didn't partner with the NHA, we would not be able to fund as many grants, and those grants are creating the next breakthrough. We see loved ones and their lives get extended because of it."

Dykstra said teaching students about heart health is more than jumping rope and being active. He works to encourage positive life-long habits in them, which is a large part of NHA's Moral Focus program. Walker Charter Academy was recently named a Top 10 Best Charter School in Michigan by U.S. News & World Report.

"We talk about the food groups and eating healthy, we do water drinking challenges," said Dykstra. "We talk about how to stay heart healthy, staying active, and exercising. We also do a lot of activities. You have to change things up, so you don't get stagnant and boring."

Fellow Physical Education Teacher John Howell at South Canton Scholars, another NHA school, got students excited by filming teachers jumping rope, but not showing their faces. He said the kids had fun trying to figure it out, which got them excited for the fundraiser.

"I still had students that were trying to give money after the competition was over," Howell said. "We had an amazing year."

The school raised $15,348.03, more than doubling its previous best effort. That number has him a bit bamboozled for next year.

"The kids really look forward to the Kids Heart Challenge," Howell said. "Now next year, I don't know how I can beat that number, that number is huge. What am I going to do next year to try and promote it to make it better? I'm going to be thinking about that."

About National Heritage Academies:

NHA is a network of 98 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 60,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.

SOURCE National Heritage Academies
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- For students at 33 National Heritage Academies partner-schools, spread across six states, the Kids Heart Challenge means more than learning about the importance of exercise and health eating. It means saving lives.

This year, those schools have raised more than $130,000 for the American Heart Association.

"When I announced to our students that we raised over $16,000, they were all grinning from ear to ear," Queen's Grant Community School PE Teacher Jillian Fairfax said. "They were so proud of themselves for all their hard work and dedication to raise money for the American Heart Association. I told them that this was the most money the school had ever raised for AHA, and they cheered and danced around! It was such a fun moment!"

Queen's Grant students worked at learning new jump roping routines to see how long they could jump without stopping. They raised $16,561.82 and signed posters to declare they could jump for one, two and three minutes straight.

"Those dollars that the NHA students are raising in order to support the American Heart Association, it's saving lives, that's what it comes down to," said AMA Youth Market Director Julie Neuhaus. "If we didn't partner with the NHA, we would not be able to fund as many grants, and those grants are creating the next breakthrough. We see loved ones and their lives get extended because of it."

Leaders at Winterville Charter Academy set a fundraising goal of $2,500 and students surpassed that easily by raising $4,278.98 as they learned about ways to keep their hearts and brains healthy.

"Some students do personally know someone impacted with a heart condition and can really understand where their donation is going and what it's going to help with," Winterville Charter Physical Education Teacher Amanda Glowacki said. "I do think lower elementary gets more excited for learning about their heart, and upper elementary starts to realize the impact they have."

Seven NHA schools throughout North Carolina are participating in the Kids Heart Challenge.

About National Heritage Academies:

NHA is a network of 98 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 60,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.

SOURCE National Heritage Academies
LOS ANGELES, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Boutique Los Angeles law firm Reuben Raucher & Blum announced that Partner Stephanie Blum has been named to the National Law Journal's 2022 list of "Family Law Trailblazers," published today.

National Law Journal says it compiles a list of professionals who have moved the needle in the legal industry, attorneys "that are truly trailblazers." The special report features for each of the honorees, examples of their pioneer spirit, trails blazed and future explorations.

Blum, a Certified Family Law Specialist who has practiced exclusively in the area of Family Law for 25 years, was selected for her work supporting those who face the turmoil, uncertainty and challenges of divorce. The publication reveals that experiencing her parent's difficult divorce as a child is part of the genesis of Blum's trailblazing path. "Not only can I help guide my clients through what can be one of the difficult times in their lives," says Blum, "but I can also help make a difference in the lives of their children."

The publication says that partnership and responsiveness are what sets Blum apart from other divorce attorneys. "I believe that clients should understand the pros and cons of their options since their decisions have lifelong impact," Blum says in the feature. "I support my clients' efforts to mediate their disputes. However, if that is not possible, I will fight aggressively to ensure my client's rights are protected."

A Cornell University graduate and USC School of Law alumna, Blum speaks regularly before professional organizations on various aspects of family law. She has frequently appeared on radio and television shows and co-authored the book "Divorce and Finances: Know your Rights Clearly and Quickly." Blum has been featured and quoted in publications and print, such as Variety, CBSMarketWatch.com, People Magazine, US Weekly and the Los Angeles Daily Journal and she is a Contributing Expert to Living Brentwood Magazine on family law topics.

In 2022, the Daily Journal named Blum to its list of Top Family Law Attorneys. Last year, she was selected by the Los Angeles Times as an "Inspirational Women Award" nominee and was honored by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a "Leader in Law." Blum has been recognized by Southern California Super Lawyers as a "Top Rated Family Lawyer" for the past 10 years.

REUBEN RAUCHER & BLUM has earned widespread recognition as a boutique litigation and family law firm representing a broad spectrum of clients. The firm has an outstanding track record in resolving complex disputes for its clients through mediation and other settlement methods, but also has obtained multi-million dollar results, as well as total vindication and recovery of attorney's fees when representing the defense. For more information, please visit https://www.rrbattorneys.com/.

SOURCE Reuben Raucher & Blum
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Major Price Models in the Natural Rubber Sourcing and Procurement Market



The report discusses in detail each pricing model and the pros and cons attached to every pricing model prevalent in the market. Also, the report provides insights with respect to the category supply chain and the margins of various suppliers within the supply chain.

The most widely adopted pricing models in the Natural Rubber Sourcing and Procurement Market

o Spot pricing model

o Volume-based pricing model

Learn about various other pricing models: Request for a FREE sample report

Spend Growth and Demand by Region

The Natural Rubber Sourcing and Procurement market will register an incremental spend of about USD 4.49 Billion during the forecast period. However, only a few regions will drive the majority of this growth. Moreover, on the supply side, North America, Europe, and APAC will have the maximum influence owing to the supplier base. The growth is expected to be primarily driven by increasing demand and adoption of the category across those few regions.

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Most Adopted Procurement Strategies by Buyers Across the Natural Rubber Sourcing and Procurement Market

The report provides a detailed insight of the most adopted procurement strategies by buyers across industries and analysis of these strategies with respect to innovation, regulatory compliance, quality, supply, and cost. Adoption of these procurement strategies will enable the buyers to reduce category TCO and achieve cost savings, while sourcing for thermal equipment requirements.

To get the exact information on various procurement strategies:

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This Natural Rubber Sourcing and Procurement Market report answers help buyers identify and shortlist the most suitable suppliers, for instance:

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SOURCE SpendEdge
The $175K award will fund the first-ever development of a flare definition from the patient perspective.

NOVATO, Calif., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Eczema Association (NEA) announces it has been awarded a competitive grant from Pfizer in the amount of $175K to support its novel research study titled "Atopic Dermatitis Flares  An Understanding and Definition from the Patient Perspective." The grant period commenced in January 2022 with a timeline of 18 months.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common chronic inflammatory conditions affecting over 31 million people in the U.S. and over 55% struggle with inadequately controlled AD, characterized by periods of disease worsening known as flares. While 'flare' is the word most frequently used by patients and healthcare providers to indicate a disease exacerbation, no consistent definition is currently used in clinical trials or patient care, limiting understanding of this important measure of disease management and treatment outcomes in research and real-world settings.

With Pfizer's grant award, NEA will conduct a research study to identify what constitutes a 'flare' from the patient perspective. Wendy Smith Begolka, MBS, Senior Vice President of Scientific and Clinical affairs at NEA, is the principal investigator on the study. Results of the study will identify similarities and differences in patient descriptions of an AD flare and lead to a consensus-based, patient-centered definition that can support patient and healthcare provider dialogue on managing this key aspect of long-term disease control.

"The onset and anticipation of AD flares contribute to considerable patient anxiety and negative emotional sentiment," said Smith Begolka. "And yet we don't have an agreed-upon, clinical definition of flare. In fact, there seems to be a number of definitions for flare that aren't necessarily based on the patient experience."

For the study, NEA will engage its diverse adult patient audience to participate in a series of focus groups and surveys. The anticipated results from the study will provide a comprehensive understanding of what an AD flare means from the patient perspective and provide direction to advance eczema research and care and evaluate treatment effectiveness. At the conclusion of the study, NEA will develop and publish manuscripts of the findings in peer-reviewed journals for wide dissemination.

About the National Eczema Association

Founded in 1988, the National Eczema Association (NEA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the largest patient advocacy organization serving the over 31 million Americans who live with eczema and those who care for them. NEA provides programs and resources to elevate the diverse lived experience of eczema, and help patients and caregivers understand their disease, actively engage in their care, find strength in one another  and improve their lives. Additionally, NEA advances critical eczema research and partners with key stakeholders to ensure the patient voice is represented and valued in education, care and treatment decision-making. The eczema community is at an exciting juncture, with increased recognition of the seriousness and burden of eczema and a surge in scientific interest and development of new treatments. Bolstered by NEA's strategic plan, Blueprint 2025, we are driving toward the ultimate vision: a world without eczema. Learn more at NationalEczema.org.

SOURCE National Eczema Association
New American Funding is proud to announce that it has partnered with Buyer Accepted, which recently launched a nationwide cash buyer program, to turn traditional homebuyers into cash buyers. Through this program, Buyer Accepted will buy the borrower's chosen home upfront with cash and then sell it to the borrower with financing provided by a New American Funding mortgage.

New American Funding wants to help level the playing field for traditional homebuyers at a time when cash buyers make up more than 25% of all home purchases1.

The program offers numerous benefits, including:

Homebuyers using Buyer Accepted may be able to buy their home for less and close faster than those using traditional homebuying methods

Buyers don't have to sell their current home first. They have up to 90 days to sell their existing home, which allows them to make a full cash offer without a financing or appraisal contingency

Helps buyers win the bidding war over others using traditional financing and directly compete with all-cash buyers

The process is easy. Buyers simply need to get approved by New American Funding at the beginning of their home search. Once they find their dream home, Buyer Accepted will win the bidding war and buy the house with cash. Buyers can then move in when they are ready.

New American Funding's Buyer Accepted program is available nationwide, excluding New York and Hawaii, and can be used on Conventional, Jumbo, VA, and FHA loans.

"So many buyers, especially first-time homebuyers, are struggling in today's housing market. They find the home of their dreams only to lose it to a cash buyer. It's just crushing for them," New American Funding Co-Founder and CEO Rick Arvielo said. "That's why we partnered with Buyer Accepted. We want to help those buyers win the bidding war and help more deserving homebuyers secure the home of their dreams."

To learn more about buying your home with cash, contact New American Funding today.

About New American Funding

New American Funding is an independent mortgage lender with a servicing portfolio of over 226,000 loans for approximately $59.6 billion, 167 nationwide locations, and about 4,400 employees. The company is a 2021 Mortgage Professional America 5-Star Retail Lender and has made Inc. 5000's list of Fastest-Growing Companies in America seven times. It offers state-of-the-art career training and provides its branch Loan Officers with innovative technologies to streamline the mortgage process.

About Buyer Accepted LLC

Buyer Accepted was created for today's real estate market. We provide a clear and creative solution to get homebuyers into their dream home while providing a stress-free homebuying process. Buyer Accepted buys their house with cash and sells it back to them, meaning they get the house of their dreams. With Buyer Accepted, they become a cash buyer, get their offer accepted, and win the bidding war.

Buyer Accepted Program is fulfilled by Buyer Accepted LLC, an affiliated real estate company of New American Funding. Buyer Accepted LLC is a separate legal entity that is managed and operated in compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

1 https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2022-01-realtors-confidence-index-02-18-2022.pdf

SOURCE New American Funding
Heartland Forward releases its annual rankings of America's Most Dynamic Metropolitans

BENTONVILLE, Ark., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Heartland Forward has released the 2021 edition of its annual Most Dynamic Metropolitans (MDM) report, which ranks and analyzes which locales are making themselves more resilient and moving toward better economic futures for their citizens. Those highly ranked have propelling factors for a dynamic metro to sustain itself including assets such as tech hubs, outdoor and lifestyle recreation and the presence of higher education institutions. In addition, those at the top of the ranking lack a dependence on energy or international tourism and business travel which were affected by COVID.

To determine the rankings and analysis, the index captures:

recent employment growth

wage growth

GDP growth

two entrepreneurship metrics: 1) the density of young business activity within the overall economy and 2) density of well-educated workers within the workforce employed by those young businesses

the average income of the metro area

Tracking progress. As an annual index, Heartland Forward shares that several metropolitans have shown improvement over past years. For example, heartland metro Columbia, Missouri, jumped to 51st place from 75th. Other heartland university towns such as Madison, Wisconsin, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, regained positions in the Top 100.

Pandemic considerations. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life and contracted our local economy in unprecedented ways. That is why the underlying structural composition of metropolitan economies played a larger role than ever. Given the differences between 2021 and years past, population density and vaccination rates influenced movements up or down the rankings as well.

Ross Devol, President and CEO of Heartland Forward said: "In a time of unprecedented crises and economic turbulence, American metropolitans have shown their resilience and creativity. We are proud to present the annual Most Dynamic Metropolitans index for the third year in a row, which tracks fluctuations in local economies over a most-challenging time and reveals some glimmers of hope, particularly for those heartland metros that are anchored to universities, experiencing a re-emergence in manufacturing, entrepreneurship, transportation hubs and growing their outdoor recreational amenities. We look forward to tracking this progress year-over-year to help policymakers understand the forces that will improve their economic outputs."

Jonas Crews, Economist at Heartland Forward said: "The 2021 edition of Most Dynamic Metropolitans tells the story of American metropolitan life during the pandemic. The story has varied significantly across the country, but there are some patterns in that variation. Thus, instead of focusing on which metros ranked at the top, we decided to focus on the ingenuity some of America's urban centers displayed in navigating a complex public health and economic crisis. This makes us profoundly optimistic about America's metropolitans, including those in the heartland, that might have been previously cast-aside but are now finding their footing in ever-more inventive and opportune ways."

Governor Spencer Cox, State of Utah: "Once again, we're honored to have five metro areas in the Top 25 Most Dynamic Metros, the most of any state in the nation. From job growth to GDP growth to record-low unemployment, Utah continues to be a national economic leader and we appreciate this recognition."

The rankings.

Top 25 Metropolitan Areas in the United States for 2021:

San Jose - Sunnyvale - Santa Clara, California The Villages, Florida San Francisco - Oakland - Berkeley, California St. George, Utah Provo - Orem, Utah Logan, Utah - Indiana Austin - Round Rock - Georgetown, Texas Bend, Oregon Boulder, Colorado Naples - Marco Island, Florida Seattle - Tacoma - Bellevue, Washington Boise City, Idaho Salt Lake City, Utah Reno, Nevada Idaho Falls, Idaho Ogden - Clearfield, Utah Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Fort Collins, Colorado Durham - Chapel Hill, North Carolina Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin , Florida Fayetteville - Springdale - Rogers, Arkansas Colorado Springs, Colorado Raleigh - Cary, North Carolina Bremerton - Silverdale - Port Orchard, Washington Wilmington, North Carolina

Key takeaways.

1) The Bay Area remains dominant. Despite more restrictive COVID-19 protocols than much of the nation, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California was first. It is on a peninsula but doesn't have the population density of large cities such as New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley was third. While experiencing an 8.3% decline in employment in 2020, jobs rebounded in 2021 and strong income growth over the medium term, along with the knowledge-intensity of its young firms, helped sustain its high ranking. Many workers chose to work remotely, but most remained in exurban locations, places beyond the city and suburbs of the Bay Area.

2) Emerging tech hubs continue to cultivate their national positioning. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas, was another tech hub that ranked high (seventh). While it doesn't have as high a share of its startups in the tech sector as the West Coast hubs, it has a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem with lower costs. Several California tech firms announced they were moving their headquarters to Austin (Tesla and Oracle being the most prominent). The University of Texas and being the state capital assisted as well. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue was another tech hub among the most dynamic, coming in at 11th. Home to Microsoft, Amazon and many other corporate headquarters, and the cutting-edge biomedical research-producing University of Washington, Seattle barely slipped from its previous spot.

3) Natural amenities are becoming a premium asset. Perhaps the most salient pattern present in the annual evaluation is the extent that several Rocky Mountain states exerted their dominance. Utah achieved a remarkable accomplishment all five metro areas in the Top 25 (St. George, 4th; Provo-Orem, 5th; Logan, 7th; Salt Lake City, 13th; Ogden-Clearfield, 16th). Several are emerging tech hubs with attractive outdoor recreational amenities that are appealing to knowledge-worker talent, including entrepreneurs. Many tourists, who might have gone abroad if not for COVID-19 travel restrictions, visited Utah, and some remained to work remotely. Altogether, Rocky Mountain states claimed 12 of the Top 25 spots (Idaho and Colorado with three each and one in Nevada). These other metros (Boulder, Colorado, for example) share these characteristics and several have research universities. Although not in the Rockies, Bend, Oregon, at eighth falls into the outdoor recreation category close to coastal tech hubs.

4) Major universities are community and economic anchors. Another group are attractive, lower cost locations anchored by major research universities not in Mountain states. The Research Triangle has Durham-Chapel Hill (16th) and Raleigh-Cary (18th), North Carolina; and Wilmington, North Carolina, joins the top 25. North Carolina State, the University of North Carolina and Duke are research leaders and incubators of tech firms. Software firms such as SAS and Red Hat are anchors as well as major biopharmaceutical firms. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Arkansas, (Northwest Arkansas) home to Walmart in Bentonville, combines the advantages of the University of Arkansas, outdoor amenities such as mountain biking, arts and recreation, along with corporate headquarters of logistics giant, J.B. Hunt, and the world's second largest protein producer--Tyson Foods.

5) Urban flight benefited retirement destinations, such as Florida. Florida had The Villages at second. It has seen rapid population growth due to retirees flocking there. Additionally, Naples-Marco Island, Florida was 10th, and Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida, was 20th. Pent-up demand for travel, and substitution of domestic for international visitation, aided their performance.

6) Oil and gas economies were largely losers. A key reversal of fortunes occurred among oil and gas focused metros. Due to COVID-19 and the collapse in energy demand and prices, as well as more capital constraints on the fracking sector, oil and gas exploration declined in 2020 and most of 2021. Even with oil prices recovering in recent months, exploration activity is recovering slowly. Former No. 1, Midland, Texas, slipped to 38th, marking the first time Midland has not held the top spot in the index's three-year history. Greeley, Colorado, and Odessa, Texas, among the most oil and gas dependent in the nation, slid more than 200 spots. Four of the top seven metros experiencing the biggest fall from last year's rankings were in oil and gas extraction-dependent metros. Even former top heartland performers such as Houston and Dallas fell in the ranking due to reliance on oil and gas, though Dallas had airline dependence further harming it.

7) Foreign tourism and business travel-reliant economies suffered. Another structural component of the change in fortunes was how susceptible metropolitan areas were to foreign tourism and business travel. Foreign tourists have longer hotel stays and spend more per day than domestic tourists at museums, galleries and eating and drinking establishments. For example, Orlando, Florida dropped to 125th; Miami to 140th; Las Vegas to 164th; and Honolulu to 316th.

8) Looking ahead: the heartland is on its way to growth. Although the heartland had just two metros in the Top 25, four in the Top 50 and 17 in the Top 100; there were encouraging trends that will manifest themselves over the next couple of years. Heartland university towns witnessed an improvement in ranking in this edition. In addition to Austin and Northwest Arkansas, Columbia, Missouri, home to the University of Missouri, rose 24 positions to 51st. Madison, Wisconsin, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, moved back into the Top 100. Columbus, Ohio, home to Ohio State University, was just outside the Top 100 at 102nd. Intel just announced they are establishing two computer chip plants at a site in the metro area, and Ohio State and the technical schools were big reasons. As firms look at reshoring high value-added manufacturing or expanding capacity domestically rather than abroad, heartland locations will look increasingly attractive with lower costs and renewed focus on upskilling.

9) Other heartland metros to watch: Memphis rose 51 positions this year. Kansas City climbed 60 places over the last two years. Nashville should resume its high ranking as tourism begins to recover with its business-friendly environment and mix of cultural and natural amenities. Michigan saw several metros begin to advance in the rankings including Niles, Bay City, Jackson and Midland.

About Heartland Forward:

Heartland Forward is a nonpartisan, 501c3 organization whose mission is to improve economic performance in the center of the United States by advocating for fact-based solutions to foster job creation, knowledge-based and inclusive growth and improved health outcomes. Heartland Forward conducts independent, data-driven research and programs to facilitate action-oriented discussion and impactful policy recommendations. To learn more, visit https://heartlandforward.org/ .

Contact: Erika Tannor, [email protected] 917-626-2487

SOURCE Heartland Forward
"Collectively, we have a wall of inventory, and we've found a way to work together to make it easy for agencies to access that," said Samantha Osborne, senior director of national sales for the Scripps Political CTV Consortium in Washington, D.C. "They can reach a high percentage of voters while making their own decisions but without having to work through numerous sales reps from different organizations. With the broadcasters we've assembled, we have billions of monthly premium connected TV impressions available for political advertisers."

Experts project roughly $9 billion in spending in 2022, matching the presidential cycle of 2020, with as much as $1.8 billion of that expected to go to internet-delivered television platforms, or CTV.

In 10 states alone  Florida, California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan  $3.9 billion is projected to be spent on political advertising.

The Scripps Political CTV Consortium allows agencies to work with one representative to reach multiple publishers who have premium, guaranteed owned-and-operated inventory. Osborne said Scripps is exclusively working with Magnite, the world's largest independent omnichannel sell-side advertising platform, to make CTV inventory available to agencies and programmatic buyers.

"Magnite is excited to be powering the technology for the Scripps Political CTV Consortium," said Mike Laband, senior vice president of CTV Platform for Magnite. "Working closely with Scripps and the consortium media owners, we are providing the market with a unique, scaled offering for political CTV ad investment."

Officials from participating organizations say that local news is where voters go to be informed during election seasons. Objective local broadcast journalism provides access to audiences that political advertisers are trying to reach.

"There are times when it makes sense to work together to produce a new and innovative product for the best interest of customers," said John Conway, vice president of WRAL Digital for Capitol Broadcasting. "This is one of those times when we can provide industry-leading service by collaborating."

About Scripps

The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As one of the nation's largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of 61 stations in 41 markets. The Scripps Networks reach nearly every American through the national news outlets Court TV and Newsy and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Defy TV, Grit, ION Mystery, Laff and TrueReal. Scripps is the nation's largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, "Give light and the people will find their own way."

SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company
TUSCALOOSA, Ala., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NHS Management, LLC ("NHS") is providing notice of an event that may affect the security of certain information. NHS provides consulting services to nursing and physical rehabilitation facilities located in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Missouri. On May 16, 2021, NHS discovered that it was the victim of a sophisticated cyberattack. NHS immediately took steps to stop the attack and mitigate the harm. NHS launched an investigation with the assistance of a third-party forensic team to confirm the full nature and scope of the incident and restore functionality to impacted systems. Through the investigation, NHS determined that an unauthorized actor accessed certain NHS systems and information stored therein between February 25, 2021 and May 16, 2021. Although NHS has no evidence of any identity theft or fraud in connection with this incident, the documents on these systems that were determined to have been accessed or potentially accessible were reviewed by a third-party data review team to determine what, if any, personal information was contained within them. On February 4, 2022, this extensive review identified certain personal information was present within the affected documents. NHS then undertook efforts to confirm the identities of the individuals whose information was present in the documents and began providing notice once they located the contact information to do so.

To be clear, NHS has uncovered no evidence that any employee or patient information was misused. Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution, NHS is working to provide notice to its employees, nursing home residents and patients, and any other individuals whose personal information was contained within the affected systems and involved in the incident. As a precautionary measure, NHS is providing notice to potentially affected individuals for whom they have valid mailing addresses, so that these individuals may take further steps to best protect personal information, should they feel it is appropriate to do so. NHS also notified the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Office for Civil Rights and federal law enforcement.

The information that may have been impacted by this incident could have included one or more of the following: an individuals' name; address and other contact information; medical history; treatment or diagnosis information; health information; health insurance information; Social Security number, date of birth, and/or driver's license number. However, not every data element would have been impacted for every individual, and there is no evidence of unauthorized access to the database that contains electronic medical records.

NHS takes this incident and the security of personal information in their care very seriously. Upon learning of this incident, NHS moved quickly to investigate, to secure the relevant NHS systems, and begin notifying potentially affected individuals. As part of their ongoing commitment to the security of information, NHS is also reviewing and enhancing existing policies and procedures to reduce the likelihood of a similar future event. NHS encourages potentially impacted individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements, explanation of benefits, and credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors over the next 12 to 24 months. Under U.S. law individuals are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Individuals may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of their credit report, place a fraud alert, or a security freeze. Contact information for the credit bureaus is below.

Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended "fraud alert" on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a one-year alert that is placed on a consumer's credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer's credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer's identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.

As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a "credit freeze" on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer's express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on your credit report. To request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:

1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);

2. Social Security number;

3. Date of birth;

4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;

5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;

6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver's license or ID card, military identification, etc.); and

7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if you are a victim of identity theft.

Should you wish to place a fraud alert or credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

Equifax, P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA, 30348, 1-800-685-1111, www.equifax.com; Experian, P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013, 888-397-3742, www.experian.com; TransUnion, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, 800-680-7289, www.transunion.com. Potentially impacted individuals may also find information regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes and the steps they may take to protect their information by contacting the credit bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission or their state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement or the individual's state Attorney General.

For more information you may write to NHS at 931 Fairfax Park, Tuscaloosa, AL 35406.

SOURCE NHS Management, LLC
- Core Material Used for Targeted Alpha Therapy (TAT) Expected to Be Novel Treatment for Cancer -

TOKYO, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nihon Medi-Physics Co., Ltd. (NMP), a leading radiopharmaceutical company in Japan, announced on April 5, 2022, that the company has successfully manufactured actinium-225 (Ac-225), a core material used for Targeted Alpha (*1) Therapy (TAT), on a GBq (*2) scale at its drug production facility (*3). The success represents the world's first (*4) manufacturing of Ac-225 with cyclotron at a quality level of materials for investigational drugs on a GBq scale.

Photo: Drug research facility "CRADLE Building"

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M107116/202203309354/_prw_PI1fl_9KZ9EEj5.jpg

TAT, in a form of Theranostics (*5), is a new therapeutic concept to attack cancer cells in the body, applying a therapeutic agent in which alpha particle-emitting radionuclides that can kill cancer cells are bound to antibodies selectively accumulated in protein in cancer cells. In particular, following the report on its high therapeutic effects in patients with prostate cancer with systemic metastases in 2016 (*6), clinical studies on TAT with alpha particle-emitting Ac-225 have been globally and increasingly conducted.

Image: Conceptual diagram of NMP's Theranostics

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M107116/202203309354/_prw_PI2fl_VEP8UH2J.jpg

Active development and manufacturing of Ac-225, a radionuclide not naturally present, are ongoing accordingly. The manufacturing technology developed by NMP applies a commercially used small accelerator using radium-226 (Ra-226) as a material. This method using (p, 2n) nuclear reaction (*7) is economically efficient and ensures more stable production than other methods with an electron accelerator similarly using Ra-226 as a material because the former uses less Ra-226.

NMP aims at early commercialization of Theranostics by promoting a research project (*9) adopted in 2017 in (the second) Cyclic Innovation for Clinical Empowerment (CiCLE (*8)) conducted by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). NMP's manufacturing technology allows production of sufficient Ac-225 required for clinical development at its production facility. Thus, the company can further accelerate the research and development of TAT with collaboration among industry, academia and government.

For notes, visit the following website:

https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202203309354-O2-p9j9cUm7.pdf

About Nihon Medi-Physics Co., Ltd.

Nihon Medi-Physics is engaging in ensuring stable supply and research and development of the products as a leading manufacturer of radiopharmaceuticals in Japan. Based on the technological proficiency and trust built over the years, the company is also working on research and development of "Theranostics (a combination of therapy and diagnosis)," which is a novel medical technology to provide optimal medical service to each patient, as well as on the dissemination of nuclear medicine in Asian countries by licensing its products. The company will continue contributing to society by creating values as a life science company.

Official website: https://www.nmp.co.jp/eng/index.html

SOURCE Nihon Medi-Physics Co., Ltd.
MINNEAPOLIS, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pure Capital Solutions (OTC:PCST) is pleased to announce its subsidiary, Nova Space Inc. (https://www.novaspaceinc.com/) has released a new set of courses, dramatically expanding its product catalog in concert with the 37th Space Symposium. These four new short courses meet a serious market need to onboard and upskill professionals in the space economy with a range of foundational skillsets.

Nova Space Inc.'s development team has also invested in new technology as part of its expanded course catalog, which provides new economies of scale for the release of advanced courses later this year.

As compared to training that utilizes methods such video lectures and click through slide presentations, Nova Space takes a much different approach focused on practical application of knowledge. Building on previous successes, these new courses continue to follow the award-winning Context, Challenge, Activity, Feedback (CCAF) learning design model founded by digital learning expert Dr. Michael Allen. By using this approach, Nova Space has developed courses designed to be an immersive learning experience, allowing students to explore and practice skills and behaviors they will be expected to demonstrate within their careers.

Nova Space COO, Christopher Allen explains, "today's professionals, regardless of industry, are facing the need to learn and adopt new skills faster than ever before. For employees to succeed outside of training, their learning journey needs to incorporate safe and challenging opportunities to practice new skills. By using CCAF as our design methodology, Nova Space students know that their time is being spent in learning experiences that are backed by science and trusted by over 300 of today's Fortune 500 organizations to improve performance."

Nova Space is already well-known for its signature space professional development programs, designed to support the growth of space industry professionals, entrepreneurs and business leaders, commercial companies and governmental organizations. The founders of the company have more than five decades of combined experience in space operations, astronautics, and custom learning development in both commercial and government settings.

SOURCE Pure Capital Solutions
NOIDA, India, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A comprehensive overview of the Global Offshore Wind Turbines Market is recently added by UnivDatos Market Insights to its humongous database. The report has been aggregated by collecting informative data from various dynamics such as market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. This innovative report makes use of several analyses to get a closer outlook on the Offshore Wind Turbines Market in the Global context. This report offers a detailed analysis of the latest industry developments and trending factors that are influencing the market growth. Furthermore, this statistical market research repository examines and estimates the Global Offshore Wind Turbines Market at the regional & country levels. The Global Offshore Wind Turbines Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.1% from 2021-2027 to reach USD 33 billion by 2027.

Market Overview

The Global Offshore Wind Turbines Market is experiencing significant growth due to higher potential of power production as compared to onshore wind energy, technological advancements in offshore foundations, and increasing investments & favorable policies for offshore wind power generation globally. Constant advancements in Offshore Wind Turbines have been made in the turbine technology for augmenting the turbine capacity and generating more energy, with an emphasis on achieving significant cost reductions. As per BNEF, the global offshore wind average LCOE has dropped 67.5% to US$84/MWh since 2012.

Request Sample Copy of this Report @ https://univdatos.com/report/offshore-wind-turbines-market/

COVID-19 Impact

Travel bans, supply chain pressure, and deferred maintenance of offshore wind turbines are among the key challenges faced by wind farm owners during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of manpower to fix the breakdown of wind farms is another challenge that companies in the offshore wind turbines market need to tackle. Moreover, factory shutdowns worldwide have affected the uptake of renewable energy. This led to difficulties in adhering to deadlines for building new projects.

However, as per IEA, the impact of Covid-19 on offshore deployment in 2020 and 2021 remains limited as Offshore projects have longer construction periods than do onshore projects. Most projects in their period for 2020 and 2021 are either partially commissioned or at an advanced stage of development, particularly in Europe, which is the largest offshore market.

Ask for Price & Discounts @ https://univdatos.com/report/offshore-wind-turbines-market/

Global Offshore Wind Turbines Market report is studied thoroughly with several aspects that would help stakeholders in making their decisions more curated.

By Installation Type, the market is primarily bifurcated into:

Fixed

Floating

The Fixed segment dominated the Offshore Wind Turbines Market and accounted for nearly 99% market share. This segment will witness a considerable CAGR of almost 8% during the forecast period (2021-2027F) owing to the ease of operation and cost-effectiveness.

By Turbine Capacity, the market is primarily studied into:

Up to 3 MW

3 MW to 5 MW

> 5 MW

The > 5 MW segment generated revenue of more than USD 0.9 billion in 2020. The segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.4% during the forecast period to reach a market valuation of USD 19.2 billion by 2027 owing to factors such as more installations of large-sized turbines in Europe and the Asia Pacific & their impact on achieving more power generation offsetting initial capital costs.

Global Offshore Wind Turbines Market Region Segmentation Includes:

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Rest of World

Based on the estimation, Europe dominated the market in 2020 and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period (2021-2027).

Ask for Report Customization @ https://univdatos.com/report/offshore-wind-turbines-market/

The major players targeting the market include:

Nordex SE

Suzlon Energy Ltd

rsted A/S

GE Renewable Energy

ABB Ltd.

Vestas Wind Systems A/S

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA

Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd.

Envision Energy Limited

Ming Yang Smart Energy Group Limited

Competitive Landscape

The degree of competition among prominent companies has been elaborated by analyzing several leading key players operating in the global context. The specialist team of research analysts sheds light on various traits such as global market competition, market share, most recent industry advancements, innovative product launches, partnerships, mergers, or acquisitions by leading companies in the Global Offshore Wind Turbines Market. The major players have been analyzed using different research methodologies for getting insight views on market competition.

Key questions resolved through this analytical market research report include:

What are the latest trends, new patterns, and technological advancements in the Offshore Wind Turbines Market?

Which factors are influencing the Offshore Wind Turbines Market over the forecast period?

What are the global challenges, threats, and risks in the Offshore Wind Turbines Market?

Which factors are propelling and restraining the Offshore Wind Turbines Market?

What are the demanding global regions of the Offshore Wind Turbines Market?

What will be the market size in the upcoming years?

What are the crucial market acquisition strategies and policies applied by the companies?

We understand the requirement of different businesses, regions, and countries, we offer customized reports as per your requirements of business nature. Please let us know If you have any custom needs.

For more informative information, please visit us @ https://univdatos.com/report/offshore-wind-turbines-market/

About UnivDatos Market Insights

UnivDatos Market Insights (UMI) is a passionate market research firm and a subsidiary of Universal Data Solutions. We believe in delivering insights through Market Intelligence Reports, Customized Business Research, and Primary Research. Our research studies are spread across topics across the world, we cover markets in over 100 countries using smart research techniques and agile methodologies. We offer in-depth studies, detailed analysis, and customized reports that help shape winning business strategies for our clients.

Contact

UnivDatos Market Insights

Ankita Gupta

Director Operations

Ph: +91-7838604911

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://univdatos.com/

SOURCE UnivDatos Market Insights Pvt. Ltd.
Booz Allen team joins dedicated global management consulting firm with robust strategic offerings

team joins dedicated global management consulting firm with robust strategic offerings Acquisition expands Oliver Wyman's strategic portfolio and accelerates its position in the region

Shared vision, culture and complementary capabilities will deliver excellent results for clients

NEW YORK and MCLEAN, Va., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm and a business of Marsh McLennan [NYSE: MMC], announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Booz Allen Hamilton's [NYSE: BAH] management consulting business serving the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The acquired entity will join Oliver Wyman's India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) practice, further bolstering Oliver Wyman's capabilities in both the Middle East and globally, as part of Oliver Wyman's commitment to delivering impact for clients and helping unlock greater value.

Booz Allen is a leading strategic advisory firm and one of the Middle East's longest serving management consultancies, supporting clients across the private and public sector. With this acquisition, its MENA-based management consulting business will join Oliver Wyman's more than 5,500 professionals worldwide fully focused on international management and strategy consulting, with dedicated investments in strategy, operations, risk management, and organizational transformation.

Oliver Wyman gains a management consulting practice fully dedicated to the MENA region, expanding the firm's strategic capabilities and accelerating its growth position in the Middle East and beyond.

"With Oliver Wyman's unwavering commitment to breakthrough impact, we've long admired Booz Allen Hamilton's shared ethos of client excellence and deep sector expertise of the highest standards," said Pedro Oliveira, Managing Partner of Oliver Wyman IMEA. "Indeed, Oliver Wyman and Booz Allen already share a long history, with two former Booz Allen Hamilton partners having founded Oliver Wyman, and we are deeply pleased this culture of entrepreneurship and DNA of deep-seated values endures some four decades later. We are confident this move to come together will offer exponential value to our clients, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Oliver Wyman team."

Booz Allen's MENA-based management consulting business has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors across Energy, Climate & Sustainability, Real Estate, Financial Services, and will enhance Oliver Wyman's range of competences and advisory credentials in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Climate & Sustainability, and more. Additionally, Booz Allen's specialized Cybersecurity offering will boost Oliver Wyman's rapidly growing Digital capabilities in the Middle East.

"The Middle East is one of the most aspirational, ambitious and exciting markets we support. To help service this trajectory, we are deeply pleased to be investing in and bringing aboard talent of this caliber that will enable us to have even greater impact and exceed client expectations," said Nick Studer, President and CEO of Oliver Wyman. "Booz Allen's experience and expertise will help propel both our firm's strategic direction but most importantly the path of the clients we serve in this rapidly evolving and dynamic market."

Booz Allen will continue to serve US government clients requiring support within the MENA region, including in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Booz Allen will continue to provide proprietary cyber, defense, and security solutions and related support to clients in the MENA region.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for our MENA-based management consulting business and talented workforce to grow in new ways," said Karen Dahut, Booz Allen's Global Defense Sector President. "Booz Allen has a proud, long-standing management consulting legacy in the MENA region and has become a true transformation leader. Oliver Wyman provides the management consulting focus, investment and culture that will allow our people and clients to thrive, while enabling Booz Allen to retain a core focus on serving US government clients at the center of mission and technology."

Booz Allen Executive Vice President and MENA Managing Director Souheil Moukaddem will join Oliver Wyman's Management Leadership Council, led by Pedro Oliveira.

"Oliver Wyman is a global management consulting leader that will be a great home for our people, capabilities and clients. Bringing together our shared vision for the Middle East, cultures of entrepreneurship, inclusivity and diversity, and leading strategy consulting capabilities will deliver tremendous value as we enter a new era together," said Moukaddem.

The transaction is expected to close in 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Oliver Wyman

Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in more than 70 cities across 30 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. The firm has more than 5,500 professionals around the world who work with clients to optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a business of Marsh McLennan [NYSE: MMC]. For more information, visit www.oliverwyman.com. Follow Oliver Wyman on Twitter @OliverWyman.

About Booz Allen

For more than 100 years, military, government, and business leaders have turned to Booz Allen Hamilton to solve their most complex problems. As a consulting firm with experts in analytics, digital solutions, engineering, and cyber, we help organizations transform. Booz Allen is a key partner on some of the most innovative programs for governments worldwide and trusted by its most sensitive agencies. Booz Allen works shoulder-to-shoulder with clients, using a mission-first approach to choose the right strategy and technology to help them realize their vision.

With global headquarters in McLean, Virginia, our firm employs approximately 29,500 people globally as of December 31, 2021 and had revenue of $7.9 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2021. To learn more, visit www.boozallen.com. (NYSE: BAH)

SOURCE Oliver Wyman
- Net Israeli revenues in 2021 increased 38% to 83.6 million.

- Initial revenues from medical cannabis oils export from Israel, which began at the end of 2020, were 5.6 million in 2021.

- As of February 2022, about a year after the oils export's launch, Panaxia is ranked #3 in cannabis oils sales in the category in Germany, with about 8% market share (Insight Health Report, Feb 2022).

- Export revenues yet to include revenues from cannabis extracts for vaporization sales, Panaxia's flagship product, whose sales in Germany started this year.

- The company anticipates that the cessation of contract manufacturing activities, distribution, logistics, and retail in Israel will significantly improve the company's gross profitability, along with a decrease in the company's sales turnover revenues in the first stage.

LOD, Israel, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Dadi Segal, CEO of Panaxia Israel: "We conclude 2021 with double-digit revenue growth, including export revenues of approximately 5.6 million and 8% market share in the oils category in Germany. It was a launching year and a market penetration of the first product we have exported, clinically repellent and clinically backed. We are proud that at such an early stage, about a year after we first started exporting our premium oils to Germany, Panaxia ranks #3 in cannabis oil sales in Germany. At the beginning of the year, we began initial sales in Germany of our flagship product  medical cannabis extracts for vaporization, a clean product with 100% active ingredients and no hazardous combustibles. This product has many benefits, and it's the first and only product that, as we estimate, will have a market share of a few dozen percent. It receives very positive reactions from doctors, and we presume all this will be reflected in demand for the product by patients along the road".

Panaxia Israels revenues (in millions): Quarterly revenues, 2019-2021

"Looking ahead to 2022, the company continues to pursue its profitability improvement plans and in the production and export of unique finished products, including the extracts for vaporization in Germany and cannabis tablets for the experimental government program in France, as well as expansion to other countries. The experimental program in France is expected to be finalized on March 2023, and we then intend to submit a regulatory marketing permit request to the authorities in France for commercial marketing and product distribution. We believe that this market is expected to be one of the largest markets in the Western world".

The Israeli subsidiary of Panaxia Global, Panaxia Labs Israel Ltd. ("Panaxia Israel"), (TASE: PNAX), a global pharma company that develops, manufactures, and markets advanced medical cannabis products in pharmaceutical quality, published its financial results for the 4th quarter and the fiscal year of 2021.

4th quarter and 2021 Results:

The Company's revenues in the 4th quarter of 2021 amounted to approximately 23.8 million, an increase of approximately 40% from the revenues of approximately 17 million in the corresponding quarter last year.

The Company's revenues in 2021 amounted to approximately 83.6 million, an increase of 37.6%, compared to revenues of approximately 60.7 million in 2020.

The increase in the Company's revenues in 2021 is due to 'its progress and the sale of its products, in parallel with a reduction in the volume of production services to third parties and retail sales to patients. In addition, in December 2020, the company began exporting its medical cannabis oils to Germany and Cyprus.

Exports: During 2021, which was a year of penetration into the German market, the company recorded revenues from exports of medical cannabis oils in the amount of approximately 5.6 million. As of February 2022, about a year after it started selling cannabis oils in Germany, Panaxia ranks 3rd in cannabis oil sales in the country, occupying about 8% share in the category, despite a late entry into the German market due to restrictions on exports from Israel.

It should be emphasized that the above export revenues do not yet include revenues from sales of inhaled medical cannabis extracts, the company's flagship product, whose sales began this year. As of the date of publication of the report, this will be reflected in demand for the purchase of the products by patients later on.

About Panaxia Labs Israel

Panaxia Labs Israel, Ltd., which is traded on the Tel Aviv stock exchange (TASE: PNAX), is a global pharma company, which develops, manufactures, and markets advanced medical cannabis-based products of pharmaceutical quality and is the largest manufacturer of medical cannabis products in Israel. Panaxia is a pioneer in the medical cannabis market in Israel with an EU-GMP European production standard from the EU Health Authority, which is required for the commercial manufacturing and export of medical cannabis and its products to Europe. Panaxia specializes in developing, producing, and marketing of complex and advanced cannabis plant products based on clinical information and a broad database of tens of thousands of patients.

Panaxia Israel is a subsidiary of Panaxia Pharmaceutical Industries, established in 2010 by Dr. Dadi Segal (Ph.D.), Dr. Eran Goldberg (Ph.D.), and Adv. Assi Rotbart (LL. B, BSc), as the cannabis division of Segal Pharma Group, has been operating for over four decades, manufacturing more than 600 different pharmaceuticals distributed in over 40 countries.

Panaxia USA (a subsidiary of Panaxia Global) manufactures in North America more than 60 medical cannabis-based products, including sublingual tablets, lozenges, oils, inhalers, and more, designed to treat diseases such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Cancer, Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, Anorexia, Burn Treatment, and many other conditions.

To learn more about Panaxia, please visit https://panaxia.co.il.

For further information, please contact: [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1780762/PANAXIA.jpg

SOURCE Panaxia Pharmaceutical Industries
"Since its founding in 1998, we have built PDFTron into the industry's definitive document processing platform poised for continued growth and category leadership and I'm so proud of all we've achieved together and the team that we've built," said Catherine Andersz. "Following last year's investment from Thoma Bravo and with the acquisition of iText, this is the right time to transition leadership. On behalf of Ivan and myself, we are pleased to welcome Cassidy and Joel and look forward to working with them to further advance PDFTron's growth."

"Catherine and Ivan's strategic vision and leadership have made PDFTron the dominant player in the industry and we are grateful for the remarkable work that has undoubtedly positioned the company for long-term success," said Hudson Smith, a Partner at Thoma Bravo. "We look forward to Cassidy and Joel carrying forward this strong momentum as CEO and CTO."

Smirnow has significant experience with private equity and growing market leading technology franchises, previously serving as CRO and CCO of Vertafore. Prior to that, she served as CCO and SVP Operations at FourWinds. Martins also has extensive experience with scaling software businesses, previously serving as CTO of Social Solutions. He also served as CTO of MicroEdge and Senior Director Engineering of Symantec.

"I am thrilled to be joining PDFTron and am excited by the opportunities for future product innovation and continued market expansion" said Cassidy Smirnow, CEO of PDFTron. "Alongside Joel, I am eager to lead the company forward as we look to scale globally and as we continue our strong partnership with Thoma Bravo and Silversmith Capital Partners."

About PDFTron

PDFTron is a premier global provider of high-performance document processing technology serving OEM and enterprise customers across a broad spectrum of industries. PDFTron's market-leading SDK drives digital transformation and powers next generation software applications with dynamic document viewing, annotation, processing, and conversion capabilities, as well as advanced features such as document understanding, data extraction, and redaction. PDFTron technology supports all major platforms and dozens of unique file types, including support for PDF, MS Office, and CAD formats. For more information, visit www.pdftron.com.

About iText

iText is a global leader in innovative award-winning PDF software. It is used by millions of users - both open source and commercial - around the world to create digital documents for a variety of purposes. iText's customer base includes many of the Fortune 500 companies, as well as small companies and government agencies. iText has dedicated international teams with offices in Belgium, Singapore and in the USA. www.itextpdf.com

About Thoma Bravo

Thoma Bravo is one of the largest private equity firms in the world, with more than $103 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2021. The firm invests in growth-oriented, innovative companies operating in the software and technology sectors. Leveraging the firm's deep sector expertise and proven strategic and operational capabilities, Thoma Bravo collaborates with its portfolio companies to implement operating best practices, drive growth initiatives and make accretive acquisitions intended to accelerate revenue and earnings. Over the past 20 years, the firm has acquired or invested in more than 375 companies representing over $190 billion in enterprise value. The firm has offices in Chicago, Miami and San Francisco. For more information, visit www.thomabravo.com.

About Silversmith Capital Partners

Founded in 2015, Silversmith Capital Partners is a Boston-based growth equity firm with $2.0 billion of capital under management. Silversmith's mission is to partner with and support the best entrepreneurs in growing, profitable technology and healthcare companies. Representative investments include ActiveCampaign, DistroKid, impact.com, Iodine Software, LifeStance Health, and Webflow. The partners have served on the boards of numerous successful growth companies including ABILITY Network, Dealer.com, Liberty Dialysis, Passport Health, SurveyMonkey, and Wrike. For more information about Silversmith, please visit www.silversmith.com or follow the firm on LinkedIn.

SOURCE PDFTron
Marigo joined Pelican Products in 2010, as Managing Director of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Under his leadership, there has been continued expansion and the implementation of several new strategies such as the opening of key business offices, and production and distribution centers throughout the region. All those initiatives, among others, led to almost doubling the revenue in the more than 50 countries belonging to the EMEA region, plus the newly added Indian market.

In his new role, Marigo will continue to lead the company's EMEAI headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, and will be responsible for the overall direction and strategy of those countries, as well as the addition of Asia and Australia.

"Piero Marigo's impressive track record makes him the ideal leader to head our international division as President of International Business," said CEO Phil Gyori. "His proven leadership acumen and expertise in growing our business across diverse regions, to now include Australia and Asia, in addition to EMEAI, will be invaluable to the company as we enter a new chapter of expansion."

Prior to joining Pelican, Marigo held management positions at the Security, Water & Process Technologies and Plastics divisions of General Electric (GE). Marigo graduated from both the University of California San Diego and Universita di Padova, where he studied Chemical Engineering. He also received his Master of Business Administration degree from INSEAD in France.

In Europe, the company does business under the name Peli Products, S.L.U. For more information visit www.pelican.com or www.peli.com.

About Pelican Products

Pelican Products, Inc. is the global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance protective cases, temperature-controlled packaging solutions, advanced portable lighting systems and rugged gear for professionals and outdoor enthusiasts. Their products are used by professionals in the most demanding markets including fire safety, law enforcement, defense / military, aerospace, life sciences, industrial, entertainment, and in numerous outdoor markets. Pelican products are designed and built to last a lifetime. The company operates in 27 countries, with 23 international sales offices and eleven manufacturing facilities around the globe. In Europe, the company does business under the name Peli Products, S.L.U. and the division which manufactures temperature-controlled packaging for the healthcare industry, does business worldwide under the brand Peli BioThermal. For more information, visit www.pelican.com.

SOURCE Pelican Products, Inc.
Heather Nagengast to head up company's career agency system

HORSHAM, Pa., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company (Penn Mutual), a Fortune 1000 company, announces that Heather Nagengast has joined the company as head of the career agency system, reporting to Tom Harris, president, life insurance and annuities.

Heather Nagengast joins Penn Mutual as head of its career agency system.

"Heather's extensive financial services experience includes leadership roles in a wide range of sales, operations and staff functions," said Harris. "She is a dynamic leader who has successfully recruited and retained top financial advisors across the country. I'm excited about the next era of our career agency system under Heather's leadership."

Nagengast joins Penn Mutual with more than 20 years of financial services experience. Most recently, she served as president of Ameritas Investment Company/Ameritas Advisory Services, the broker-dealer and registered investment advisor (RIA) of Ameritas.

She received her bachelor's degree in business administration and accounting from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She holds her FINRA Series 7, 24 and 53 securities licenses and Nebraska insurance license. She is located in Omaha as part of Penn Mutual's hybrid first approach which capitalizes on the success of the flexible workplace program the company formally adopted in 2021.

About The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company

For more than 175 years, Penn Mutual has been helping people get stronger. Our expertly crafted life insurance is vital to long-term financial health and strengthens people's ability to enjoy every day. Working with our trusted network of financial professionals, we take the long view, building customized solutions for individuals, their families, and their businesses. Penn Mutual supports its financial professionals with retirement and investment services through its wholly-owned subsidiary Hornor, Townsend & Kent, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Visit Penn Mutual at www.pennmutual.com.

2022 The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, 600 Dresher Road, Horsham, PA 19044

Contact:

Jeff Leinen

Penn Mutual

215-956-8530

[email protected]

SOURCE The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company
Petco Love and Victoria Stilwell Positively traveled throughout the country to surprise these Unsung Heroes with a $10,000 grant award for their animal welfare organizations and to document their work. Victoria Stilwell Positively created five short films on behalf of Petco Love to honor these heroes by sharing their stories.

Now through April 18, animal lovers can view all the Unsung Hero stories and vote for their favorite as the national Unsung Hero award winner. Petco Love will award the hero with the most votes an additional $25,000 to support and further their powerful work. Viewing and voting for the national awardee is here: petcolove.org/unsunghero.

"Heroes are all around us; heroes are in every community who dedicate their lives to helping animals. They are true lifesaving champions," said Susanne Kogut, president of Petco Love. "Honoring these extraordinary people and sharing their stories is our way of thanking them, and we hope they inspire others to be heroes, too."

This year's Unsung Heroes honorees include:

Samira Yahi , Fairfield County Animal Shelter ( Winnsboro, South Carolina ): Sam is the personification of a hero. Her second job  to and from which she drives 90 minutes each way, every day after her first job  is as a tireless volunteer for an underfunded shelter. From coordinating transports and fundraising to promoting adoptions across all social channels, those who work with Sam at FCC credit her with singlehandedly reducing the euthanasia rate. She has improved the lives of over 4,000 animals to date and she's nowhere near finished with her lifesaving work.

, Animal Shelter ( ): Sam is the personification of a hero. Her job  to and from which she drives 90 minutes each way, every day after her job  is as a tireless volunteer for an underfunded shelter. From coordinating transports and fundraising to promoting adoptions across all social channels, those who work with Sam at FCC credit her with singlehandedly reducing the euthanasia rate. She has improved the lives of over 4,000 animals to date and she's nowhere near finished with her lifesaving work. Eric Jayne DVM , Sovereign Nations Veterinary (Rosebud, North Dakota ): The Unsung Hero award was granted posthumously this year to Eric for his indefatigable work on behalf of animals in need throughout his 50-year career. His life ended too soon in a tragic accident, but his Unsung Hero award honors his unparalleled work. Eric dedicated his life to dismantling institutionalized racism by creating opportunities for self-determination for tribal members on Indian reservations. He also created and worked in spay/neuter clinics domestically and abroad. He was a tireless advocate for both humans and animals and his legacy of caring will continue for generations to come.

, Sovereign Nations Veterinary (Rosebud, ): The Unsung Hero award was granted posthumously this year to Eric for his indefatigable work on behalf of animals in need throughout his 50-year career. His life ended too soon in a tragic accident, but his Unsung Hero award honors his unparalleled work. Eric dedicated his life to dismantling institutionalized racism by creating opportunities for self-determination for tribal members on Indian reservations. He also created and worked in spay/neuter clinics domestically and abroad. He was a tireless advocate for both humans and animals and his legacy of caring will continue for generations to come. Jerry Anderson , Kanawha-Charleston Humane Society ( Charleston, West Virginia ): An army veteran who served 15 years on overseas deployments, Jerry is known as generous, humble, and big-hearted. As an animal control officer, he's been dedicated to serving Kanawha County animals for almost 10 years, possessing the remarkable ability to help  whether people or animals  with patience, compassion, and love.

, Kanawha-Charleston Humane Society ( ): An army veteran who served 15 years on overseas deployments, Jerry is known as generous, humble, and big-hearted. As an animal control officer, he's been dedicated to serving animals for almost 10 years, possessing the remarkable ability to help  whether people or animals  with patience, compassion, and love. Jennifer Stonequist DVM , Kitsap Humane Society ( Silverdale, Washington ): Dr. Jen  as she's known  whose compassion for animals and people is contagious, has helped transform Kitsap Humane Society into a beloved non-profit known for its high-lifesaving rate. Over the last 11 years, she's saved the lives of countless pets in her community and in Mulege, Mexico during yearly "spay-cations." She helped alter legislation in WA to allow shelters to treat pets from low-income families, keeping them together. Trained in mindfulness, Dr. Jen also provides mentorship and compassion fatigue training to veterinary professionals across the country.

, Kitsap Humane Society ( ): Dr. Jen  as she's known  whose compassion for animals and people is contagious, has helped transform Kitsap Humane Society into a beloved non-profit known for its high-lifesaving rate. Over the last 11 years, she's saved the lives of countless pets in her community and in Mulege, during yearly "spay-cations." She helped alter legislation in WA to allow shelters to treat pets from low-income families, keeping them together. Trained in mindfulness, Dr. Jen also provides mentorship and compassion fatigue training to veterinary professionals across the country. Jayne Johnson, Lifeline Puppy Rescue ( New Mexico and Brighton, Colorado ): For 18 years, Jayne Johnson and her husband helped saved the lives of 50,000 homeless puppies and mom dogs, mainly from rural New Mexico , by coordinating and transporting them to waiting homes in Colorado . Jane, whose husband passed away in 2020, continues to coordinate with 35 shelters and rescues to ensure nearly 50 puppies a week make their way to new homes. Her unrelenting service on behalf of these pets has created as many new families as dogs she has saved, and Jane has generated positive impact for generations to come.

Exceeding the daily hard work of saving animals, Unsung Heroes share Petco Love's mission to create a lifesaving nation. Their powerful stories reveal the enormous difference one person can make in creating a better world for pets  and for the people who love them.

"Seeing what these incredible, humble people do in their communities is inspiring," said Victoria Stilwell. "It was a tremendous honor to record their spirit and compassion, and I'm very excited for a wider audience to witness their amazing work in the Unsung Heroes video series."

Petco Love wants animal lovers across the nation to help select the $25,000 awardee through popular vote. Watch the stories here: petcolove.org/unsunghero. Voting closes April 18, 2022.

About Petco Love

Petco Love is a nonprofit changing lives by making communities and pet families healthier, stronger, and closer. Since our founding in 1999 as the Petco Foundation, we've empowered animal welfare organizations by investing $330 million in adoption and other lifesaving efforts. We've helped find loving homes for more than 6.5 million pets in partnership with Petco and organizations nationwide. Our love for pets drives us to lead with innovation, creating tools animal lovers need to reunite lost pets and lead with passion, inspiring and mobilizing communities and our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners to drive lifesaving change alongside us.

Is love calling you? Visit petcolove.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter , and LinkedIn to join the lifesaving work we lead every day.

About Victoria Stilwell

Victoria Stilwell is a world-renowned dog trainer and behavior expert, best known as the star of the international hit TV series It's Me or the Dog (Animal Planet, US). Having filmed over 130 episodes since 2005, Stilwell reaches a worldwide audience with her philosophy of positive, humane dog training methods. She also served as a judge for Greatest American Dog (CBS) and as the on-camera behavior specialist for Dogs Might Fly (Sky One) and the One Show (BBC1). She recently created, produced and narrated the popular nature series, Dogs With Extraordinary Jobs (Smithsonian Channel).

Stilwell is the founder and President of the Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training and Behavior  the world's premier dog trainer educational institution, creating new generations of positive dog trainers and enhancing "The Future of Dog Training." She is the author of four best-selling books: It's Me or the Dog  How to have the Perfect Pet, Train Your Dog Positively, The Secret Language of Dogs and The Ultimate Guide to Raising a Puppy. Her website www.positively.com is a popular destination for dog lovers across the globe.

A regular guest on talk shows, news broadcasts and radio programs in the US, Europe and Asia, Stilwell has been the recipient of multiple international awards and honors. She was the resident pet expert on CNN's HLN and has been a regular columnist for several magazines including The Bark, American Dog, Dogster and Dogs Today. She has been featured in numerous journals, magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Time.com, Oprah Magazine, Rachael Ray Everyday, MSNBC.com, Self Magazine, Shape Magazine, The Daily Mail, the Sunday Times, The Mirror and The Sun.

A co-founder of the National Dog Behavior Conference series, Stilwell also serves on the Advisory Boards of RedRover, The Grey Muzzle Foundation, DogTV, Canine Assistants, and the Georgia Pet Coalition, and is an ambassador for the RSPCA and the Soi Dog Foundation.

Media Contact:

Lisa Lane Cardin, Petco Love, [email protected]

SOURCE Petco Love
PetSmart is expanding its fresh and frozen pet food options with an exclusive partnership with Nom Nom Tweet this

"There is great opportunity in the fresh pet food market which accounted for nearly $1.5 billion in sales last year alone and is projected to grow 25-30% annually over the next few years," said Stacia Andersen, EVP and chief customer officer at PetSmart. "Nom Nom excels in the space, focused on producing quality, nutritious products made here in the U.S. With this exclusive partnership, we are the only retailer to offer Nom Nom fresh food in stores, making their food available to consumers same-day alongside the many products and solutions pet parents already rely on PetSmart to provide."

Nom Nom products are available in select PetSmart stores, with convenient shopping options like curb-side pickup and DoorDash delivery, so pet parents can quickly and easily get fresh pet food options when they want. Additionally, PetSmart customers nationwide can order Nom Nom fresh dog food to be delivered directly to their door at PetSmart.com.

"Our partnership with PetSmart lets even more people access the pet health benefits that Nom Nom's fresh food can provide," said Nate Phillips, co-founder and CEO of Nom Nom. "We see this as a great opportunity to introduce the brand and the fresh feeding experience to a whole new group of people who may otherwise not have found it. We're excited to share these positive outcomes with PetSmart customers."

Four Nom Nom flavor choices, including Beef Mash, Pork Potluck, Chicken Cuisine, and Turkey Fare, means there's an option for every pet's taste and needs. Nom Nom customers report their pet has better energy, healthier skin and coat, and improved digestion in as little as a month when making the switch to fresh.

Learn more about Nom Nom at PetSmart, at PetSmart.com.

* Available in the continental U.S. only, excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico

About Nom Nom

Nom Nom is committed to improving the health and wellness of pet across the country. Founded in 2014, Nom Nom serves fresh, whole ingredient pet foods, developed by on-staff board-certified veterinary nutritionists. With recipes backed by science, and in line with AAFCO nutrition guidelines for all life stages, each meal contains fresh and visible ingredients that are packed with natural vitamins and minerals. Nom Nom remains at the forefront of the pet wellness industry and has accounted for nearly 38 million individualized meals to pet owners across the country.

About Mars Petcare

At Mars Petcare we have one purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. Through comprehensive veterinary care, nutrition (including brands such as ROYAL CANIN, EUKANUBA and Nom Nom), breakthrough programmes in diagnostics, wearable health monitoring, DNA testing and pet welfare we help pets in more than 130 countries. For decades we've supported research into the incredible science of human animal interaction at the Waltham Petcare Science Institute where scientists discover important advances in pet health and wellness. Mars Petcare is part of Mars, Incorporated, a global, family-owned business with a focus on becoming Sustainable in a Generation. Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn

About PetSmart

PetSmart LLC is the largest specialty pet retailer of services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. At PetSmart, we love pets, and we believe pets make us better people. Every day with every connection, PetSmart's passionate associates help bring pet parents closer to their pets so they, together, can live more fulfilled lives. This vision impacts everything we do for our customers, the way we support our associates and how we give back to our communities.

PetSmart operates approximately 1,660 pet stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as more than 200 in-store PetSmart PetsHotel dog and cat boarding facilities. The retailer provides a broad range of competitively priced pet food and products, as well as services such as dog training, pet grooming, pet boarding, PetSmart Doggie Day Camp and pet adoption.

PetSmart, PetSmart Charities and PetSmart Charities of Canada work with nearly 4,000 animal welfare organizations to bring adoptable pets into stores so they have the best chance possible of finding a forever home. Through this in-store adoption program and other signature events, PetSmart has facilitated nearly 10 million adoptions, more than any other brick-and-mortar organization.

SOURCE PetSmart
Working together iC Consult and PlainID will manage and enforce sophisticated authorization policies Tweet this

"We're keen on working together with PlainID to implement cutting-edge solutions for our clients to manage and enforce sophisticated authorization policies. This is a cornerstone for every wholistic Zero Trust initiative. PlainID's focus on B2B identities helps us provide a best-of-breed solution for this business-critical element of each identity strategy," said Andre Priebe, Chief Technology Officer, iC Consult.

By forming a global partnership, PlainID is also able to operate in iC Consult's new offices in the US.

"We strongly believe that iC Consult is a leading force in the market that only chooses the best-of-breed products in its portfolio and we are very happy to be a part of that," said Kaltrina Ademi, Head of Partnerships & Alliances, Europe, PlainID. "This partnership will extend and enhance PlainID's ability to help organizations more easily implement authorization policies to protect their data so they can focus on growing their business faster."

About iC-Consult Group

The iC Consult Group, headquartered in Munich, Germany, is the worldwide leading independent consultancy, systems integrator, and services provider for Identity & Access Management (IAM). The service portfolio covers advisory, architecture, design, implementation, and integration with IAM managed services and identity-as-a-service offerings. The company's more than 500 employees have successfully delivered over 3,000 projects and managed services for IAM. The iC Consult Group, with its affiliates iC Consult, SecureITsource, xdi360, IAM Worx and Service Layers, has offices in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Bulgaria, the UK, the U.S., Canada, and China.

About PlainID

PlainID Inc. is the recognized leader of Policy-Based Access Control (PBAC). PlainID's simple, straightforward solution to authorization management enables organizations to govern, administer and control who can access assets across their digital landscape. PlainID recognizes the frustrations of businesses struggling to understand, incorporate, and best implement Identity and Access Management, and is using Policy-Based Access Control (PBAC) to solve it. PlainID Policy Manager enables rapid business growth by connecting new and legacy technologies with the latest and most advanced authorization features.

Media Contact

Jeff Tieszen

[email protected]

SOURCE PlainID
New integration will make it easier than ever for PPDocs and Full Skope customers to originate their loans.

SAN ANTONIO, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PPDocs, a leading document service provider to the real estate industry for over 30 years and Full Skope, creator of the lending industry's latest and most flexible loan origination platform, have announced the integration between their two platforms, PPDocs and Full Skope's SkopeLend Loan Origination System, making it simpler than ever for banks and credit unions to originate loans via SkopeLend LOS.

Loan Origination System

PPDocs provides mortgage document preparation as well as compliance and regulatory support across all fifty states, with turn times of 2-3 hours for full-service loans and 1-2 hours for legal reviews.

Because SkopeLend has a modern integration framework that simplifies the creation and transmission of custom data elements, one of the key benefits for PPDocs and SkopeLend customers is that it will allow them to enable "lights out" integration for a broader set of PPDocs products. This type of integration means that customers will not need to log in to multiple systems to enter additional or different data elements required for commercial loan documents, consumer loan modifications, or attorney legal reviews, most all of which is not supported by legacy loan origination systems today.

With the new integration, PPDocs customers now have access to a modern, configurable loan origination platform that delivers a seamless end-to-end experience from digital application through loan document generation and e-signature. The SkopeLend platform supports all loan types, consumer or commercial, including SBA, USDA, and more.

Mike Patterson, CEO of PPDocs explains "PPDocs and Full Skope share similar values in that we both believe in a strong personal touch with our customers and picking up the phone. We've found that to be the case in working with Full Skope on our integration, as well as some other exciting projects we're working on together that we'll announce soon."

"We're proud to partner with a leader and fellow Texas-based technology company in PPDocs that complements our system and brings so much value to our mutual customers" says Doug Hogan, CEO of Full Skope, "we're unlocking new capabilities and creating efficiencies that didn't exist yesterday, and that's what we're all about."

About PPDocs

PPDocs, Inc. has been a leading document service provider to the real estate industry for over 30 years. A leader in technology, PPDocs, Inc. has enabled clients the ability to order, produce, deliver, print, and track closing document packages through the use of our website, www.ppdocs.com.

About Full Skope LLC

Full Skope LLC is a financial services technology company with offices in downtown San Antonio, TX. Full Skope offers a range of leading, innovative products for banks, credit unions, and non-bank lenders, in addition to its flagship product, SkopeLend Loan Origination System. For more information visit www.fullskope.com.

Contact:

Chris Edson

866-357-5673

[email protected]

SOURCE Full Skope LLC
Propeller automates bond underwriting, simplifying how retail agents purchase surety bonds

PHILADELPHIA, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Propeller, Inc., a high-growth insurtech MGA specializing in surety bonds, has signed an agreement with Amwins, the largest specialty insurance distributor in the U.S., to serve as a preferred surety partner to their network of over 25,000 retail agencies.

Joe Perschy, the Chief Executive Officer at Propeller, stated, "Amwins and Propeller are a natural fit. Amwins is a premier distribution partner, while Propeller is the most forward-thinking surety solution empowering retail agents to extend services to their clients. This solution truly provides retailers a bolt-on surety department overnight, equipping them with surety technology, market access, and expertise."

The partnership focuses on delivering Propeller's proprietary, white-labeled (URL) technology to agents and brokers, allowing the surety bond process to become fully automated from application to billing and issuance. Propeller onboards agents in minutes for free, with no premium requirements. Amwins retail agents can expect to write transactional surety bonds instantly with no friction and leverage the Propeller markets and team to place more complex risks.

"We are thrilled to partner with Propeller and bring this automated end-to-end underwriting platform for surety bonds to our retail clients," said Tom Parsons, head of digital at Amwins. "Our continued focus is creating the best placement experiences for our clients and Propeller's leading technology and product expertise provides this best experience within the surety market."

Aaron Steffey, Propeller's Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer, quoted, "I met Amwins almost exactly one year ago during our participation in the Brokertech Ventures Accelerator. The immediate synergies were obvious, and we knew this could be an incredible partnership as we continue to transform the way surety is viewed, distributed and underwritten. We are excited for this next chapter."

The Amwins and Propeller Bonds rollout will commence immediately with continued efforts throughout the year.

About Propeller, Inc.

Propeller Inc. is an insurtech MGA/MGU equipped with a proprietary instant issue surety bond platform. The platform currently houses more than 6,000 instant issue surety bonds, with thousands more to be added by the end of 2022. Propeller private labels the platform for agencies, allowing agents to either purchase bonds for clients or by empowering clients to self-service. Agents are compensated for all purchases via their unique site link. The company partners with highly respected "A" rated carriers. Click here to book a demo today.

About Amwins

Amwins is the largest independent wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products in the United States, dedicated to serving retail insurance agents by providing property and casualty products, specialty group benefit products, and administrative services. Based in Charlotte, N.C., the company operates through more than 155 offices globally and handles premium placements in excess of $26 billion annually.

Media Contact:

Jamie Bercik

[email protected]

SOURCE Propeller, Inc.
Data presented at Microbiology Society Annual Conference, Belfast, 4-7 April 2022

LONDON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- UK genomics company, RevoluGen Ltd. (RevoluGen or the Company), welcomes data presented by scientists from its collaborator the Quadram Institute at this years' Microbiology Society Annual Conference being held in Belfast. The Quadram's team results demonstrate the advantages of Fire Monkey high molecular weight (HMW) DNA extraction with multiplexed Oxford Nanopore sequencing for cost effective complete hybrid assemblies of pathogen genomes in resolving genomic rearrangements important in acute and chronic Salmonella infections.

"Whilst small nucleotide-level variations in bacteria that can affect antibiotic resistance and entire metabolic pathways can often be resolved by short-read DNA sequencing, bacteria can also exhibit genomic rearrangement, where large genome fragments shift position and/or orientation around long-repeat sequences to produce different unique genome structures without necessarily affecting the underlying nucleotide sequence. Such variation cannot be identified by short-read sequencing as long-repeat sequences require reads of thousands of base pairs for resolution," explained Dr Emma Waters, senior postdoctoral scientist within the Microbes in the Food Chain group at the Quadram Institute, Norwich.

At the conference, Dr Waters presented a poster1 showing the ability of multiplexed, long-read DNA sequencing to investigate genome structure relationships between strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Agona associated with acute and chronic infection. Extraction of long length HMW DNA using RevoluGen's Fire Monkey technology facilitated 48-plex sequencing and the successful generation of complete assemblies for samples with ~30X theoretical coverage. "The quality of HMW DNA we're getting from Fire Monkey has supported our efforts in driving up the number of samples we can multiplex on the Oxford Nanopore MinION, whilst still getting good outcomes in terms of genome assembly," said Dr Waters.

In a separate poster2, presented by Luisa Bautista de Carvalho, the Quadram team were able to resolve and investigate structural chromosome rearrangements in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), the causal agent of typhoid fever, again using DNA extracted with RevoluGen's Fire Monkey Kit and long-read sequencing on the MinION. "In S. Typhi, these rearrangements can impact on the metabolic ability of the bacteria, promoting survival in their human host under certain environmental conditions. Long-read sequencing of other medically important bacterial pathogens also could benefit from this approach," concluded Ms Bautista de Carvalho.

In an oral presentation3, Dr Gemma Langridge, a Group Leader at Quadram and an early adopter of RevoluGen's Fire Monkey technology summarised the benefits and opportunities for long-read sequencing of bacteria, "To date, scalable techniques have not been applied to genome structure identification, so it has remained unclear just how variable this is and the extent of its impact on gene expression. However, the emergence of multiplexed, long-read sequencing overcomes this problem, as reads of several thousand bases are routinely produced that can span long repeat sequences to identify the flanking chromosomal DNA, allowing genome structure variation (GSV) identification. GSV may provide a mechanism through which bacteria can quickly adapt to new environments and warrants routine assessment alongside traditional nucleotide level measures of variation."

RevoluGen's patent-protected technology is derived from a spin-column based protocol to extract HMW-DNA using a high g-force that does not break the long and fragile DNA molecules. Fire Monkey produces DNA fragments that are not too short and not too long for the long-read sequencing technologies. This size-tuned DNA fragment extract improves the overall sequencing results from the technologies by not wasting sequencing resources on either reading the less useful small fragments or reducing sequencing throughput by blocking the reading pores with fragments that are too long. It also facilitates hybrid sequencing from a single extraction, saving valuable DNA samples as well as reducing time and cost. In addition, for PacBio HiFi users, Fire Monkey offers a parallel fragmentation/extraction protocol option that removes the need for time-consuming and costly post-extraction fragmentation workflows that are needed to achieve a very tight DNA lengths distribution required for optimal results.

Quadram and RevoluGen have been working together for some three years across a number of DNA sequencing projects and RevoluGen is industrial partner in a joint PhD studentship grant awarded to Quadram. RevoluGen has recently transferred its automated Fire Monkey system robot to Quadram to enable automation of HMW DNA extraction across two high volume bacterial sequencing projects: the first will be processing Salmonella samples collected by a UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) lab; and the second will be processing Salmonella and Campylobacter samples from the Norfolk area looking at antimicrobial resistance (AMR) amongst other things.

RevoluGen has invested over 12 months in automating its Fire Monkey HMW DNA extraction into a standard 96-well filter plate format, the world's first automated extraction of library ready long HMW DNA. The extraction protocol has been validated to extract and purify DNA from bacterial and mammalian samples, and the collaboration with Quadram is the Company's first customer roll-out.

"We are delighted to be collaborating with Gemma and the teams at Quadram in their world-leading projects in DNA sequencing and pathogen genomics," said Dr Georgios Patsos, inventor of the Fire Monkey technology and CSO at RevoluGen.

Fire Monkey is easy to use and as fast as a spin column kit. Now that it can be multiplexed and automated it can be routinely adapted to support large, short-read genomics programmes, which require easy and adaptable extractions, and still go back to the same extract for supplemental long reads, with no need to locate the original biological sample and re-extract for HMW DNA.

In addition to its use at Quadram, Fire Monkey is being used by scientists at the UK's Health Security Agency. "HMW DNA extraction is the critical first step in the DNA sequencing workflow. Rapid growth of sequencing worldwide has driven the need for automation to handle the volume of samples needed for applications such as population genomics, epidemiological mutation screening and antibiotic microbial resistance gene monitoring," Dr Patsos said.

Presentations and posters as follows:

Poster: 48-plex Long-Read Sequencing to Generate Complete Assemblies and Determine Genome Structure in Salmonella Agona, Emma V. Waters , Winnie W. Y. Lee , Amina Ismail Ahmed , Marie A. Chattaway and Gemma C. Langridge , 4 April 2022 , 6.30-8pm Poster: Screening and phenotypic characterisation of Salmonella Typhi colonies that have undergone genomic rearrangement, Luisa Bautista de Carvalho , Emma V Waters and Gemma C Langridge, 4 April 2022 , 6.30-8pm Presentation: Impact of Salmonella genome rearrangement on gene expression, Emma V. Waters , Liam A. Tucker , Jana Haase , John Wain and Gemma C. Langridge , 5 April 2022 , 10.15am

About RevoluGen - www.revolugen.co.uk.

RevoluGen is a privately held scientific research and development company commercialising molecular tools with a specific focus on rapidly extracting long and pure DNA fragments from cells.

RevoluGen's Nucleic Acid Isolation and Purification (NAIP) products have broad application across all of both short- and long-read DNA sequencing technologies, including their use in particular for population genomics, epidemiological mutation screening and antibiotic microbial resistance gene monitoring.

Fire Monkey significantly improves sequencing results by extracting long-fragment DNA with a simultaneous size selection function built into the protocol that minimises the small-fragment DNA contamination. Used independently, the size selection protocol of Fire Flower can improve the molecular ratio of the products from any extraction kit and its output is compatible with all sequencing technologies.

The Company headquarters, R&D, manufacturing and direct customer sales and support are based in the UK. RevoluGen serves customers worldwide and has secured agreements with world-leading molecular biology tools companies including Merck KGaA (sales), Welgene (distribution), Cytiva (manufacturing), Tecan (automation) and A4P (logistics).

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Watch our film https://vimeo.com/465291714 and animation https://lnkd.in/dHy3E3s

About Quadram Institute Biosciences - https://quadram.ac.uk/

The Quadram Institute is an interdisciplinary research centre at the forefront of a new era of food and health research. It brings together researchers and clinicians under one roof and houses one of Europe's largest endoscopy units and a clinical research facility.

Based on the Norwich Research Park, The Quadram Institute is a partnership between Quadram Institute Bioscience, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the University of East Anglia and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Its mission is to deliver healthier lives through innovation in gut health, microbiology and food and its vision is to understand how food and microbes interact to promote health and prevent disease.

Interconnected research themes in Quadram Institute Bioscience deliver a pipeline of research in plants, microbes, food and health: microbes in the food chain; the gut and the microbiome; and food innovation.

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For more information or to arrange media interviews please contact:

Sue Charles, Head Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, RevoluGen

+44 (0)7968 726585, [email protected]

SOURCE RevoluGen Ltd.
TAMPA, Fla., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Quala announced today that it had reached an agreement to acquire Polar Service Centers (PSC). The combined organization brings together two companies with complementary nationwide networks of facilities offering container cleaning and maintenance services. This acquisition will enhance both companies' offerings in the marketplace by further expanding the overall geographic footprint, capacity, and capabilities.

Quala and Polar Service Centers combine to bring industry-leading capabilities to maintenance and tank cleaning sector. Tweet this Quala's first terminal in Savannah Georgia

Quala and PSC remain committed to delivering the services their customers expect. Integrating the two companies will be the top priority following the close. Additional information will be available following the deal completion, which is expected in the next 1-2 months.

With a network of 89 locations across North America, Quala has a strong reputation for delivering quality cleaning services that are reliable, safe, and environmentally sound. PSC has 38 locations nationwide and has a history of providing best-in-class maintenance and parts services. PSC also operates container cleaning services facilities in select locations.

"We feel that adding PSC to the Quala family will allow us to continue to grow our core service offerings while complementing our network across the U.S. and Canada," said Scott Harrison, CEO of Quala. "The team is excited about this significant addition and believes it is only the beginning of a great future for its customers and the communities in which we operate," stated Harrison.

Jerry Cignarella, President of PSC, said: "The joining of Quala and PSC is the perfect combination. We're very excited about the growth opportunities this transaction presents. We look forward to integrating our teams, operations, and complementary strengths to bring our customers an even broader range of solutions".

We will continue to operate independently during this period. Both teams remain committed to delivering the services our customers have come to expect. The transaction is expected to close in the next 1-2 months.

About Quala

Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, Quala is the largest independent provider of comprehensive cleaning, test, and repair services for Tank Trailers, ISO Containers, IBCs, and Railcars. Founded in 1986, the company began independent operations in 2009 and today has 85+ locations servicing the most active bulk transportation routes and eight of North America's busiest ports. Advent International owns Quala. For more information about Quala, visit our website at www.quala.us.com.

About Polar Service Centers

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, PSC is the nation's largest network of commercial parts and repair facilities dedicated to the tank trailer and tank truck industry. Founded in 1995, the company began operations in seven facilities across the U.S and today operates 35+ locations servicing the entire country along key transportation routes. Engineered Transportation International owns PSC. For more information about PSC, visit our website at www.psctank.com.

About Advent International

Advent International is one of the largest and longest-serving independent private equity partnerships. Since their founding in 1984, they have invested $61 billion in 390 private equity investments across 42 countries. For more information about Advent, visit our website at www.adventinternational.com.

About Engineered Transportation International

The Engineered Transportation International family of established brands brings over 100 years of experience. A global footprint and local, regional presence enable industry-leading support and products that exceed customer expectations as they expand into new markets worldwide. For more information about ETI, visit our website at www.entransinternational.com.

Contact Information:

Paul Hofley, Quala, VP, Sales & Marketing

500 N. Westshore Blvd. Suite 435, Tampa, FL 33609

(248) 219-0012 / [email protected]

Contact: Maria Black, Marketing (813) 245-2799

SOURCE Quala
Home-based, patient-centered approach to treat complex bone marrow transplant patients will leverage expert-led patient monitoring and virtual care to improve outcomes

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Reimagine Care, an innovative provider of technology-enabled services that supports oncologists in delivering high-quality, home-centered, value-based cancer care, today announced that it has collaborated with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (CU Anschutz) to deliver care to bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients. The collaboration will leverage specialized clinical technology, advanced remote patient monitoring (RPM), and Reimagine Care's Virtual Care Center to detect infections earlier and begin life-saving treatments faster to improve outcomes and enhance patient and caregiver experience.

BMT patients are especially vulnerable post-transplant as they have severely compromised immune systems. This population is not only at high risk of infection but also can deteriorate quickly if proactive care measures are not taken in a timely manner. Oftentimes, infections are not detected or treated until they are relatively far along. This presents challenges for patients, families and clinicians and can lead to poor patient outcomes and costly emergency department visits and repeat hospitalizations.

These challenges prompted Reimagine Care and CU Anschutz to design a clinical trial to address this opportunity for patient care improvement. The initial phase of the study, "Design of a Patient-Centered Approach to Manage Bone Marrow Transplant Patients in a Home Setting," focuses on the feasibility of in-home RPM for early detection of febrile neutropenia, a common life-threatening complication of cancer therapy which is typically treated as an oncologic emergency. Febrile neutropenia leads to major complications in 25 to 30 percent of patients and may lead to death in approximately 10 percent of patients. Time to antibiotic administration has also been independently associated with mortality  and each hour delay in starting antibiotics can increase the risk of 28-day mortality by 18 percent.

"As an early-mover in the home-based oncology space, we hope not only to continue innovating to improve outcomes and satisfaction for our patients but also to inspire other clinicians to lead the new path forward to provide improved patient-centered oncology care for their patients," said Clay Smith, MD, Medical Director at CU Innovations. CU Innovations led the establishment of the business relationship with Reimagine Care while the CU Anschutz research team will focus on creating clinical research.

Clinical trial patients from CU Anschutz will benefit from technology-enabled oncology care in the home. The clinical study phased approach will include RPM, predictive analytics, telemedicine, portable imaging, supportive therapies such as antibiotics and IV hydration, and 24/7/365 oversight from a team of oncology certified Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) via Reimagine Care's Virtual Care Center. The clinical trial is also significant because remote patient monitoring and virtual care reduces the amount of time that patients are away from the comfort of their homes, which can speed healing, reduce exposure to infections, improve quality of life and reduce overall costs.

"We're honored to collaborate with CU Anschutz to demonstrate the value of home-centered care in BMT patients," said Aaron Gerber, MD, Co-founder and CEO of Reimagine Care. "By measuring outcomes, along with feedback from patients, caregivers, and providers, we will demonstrate the impact of empowering patients to receive high-quality oncology care in the comfort of their homes. This is exactly the type of work that Reimagine Care is all about  and it's a first step in changing the lives of cancer patients and their families for many years to come."

To learn more about Reimagine Care, please visit www.reimaginecare.com.

About Reimagine Care

Reimagine Care provides technology-enabled services to support health systems and oncologists in delivering high-quality, home-centered, value-based cancer care. The company's holistic approach addresses the clinical, operational and financial challenges in healthcare today that make it challenging for healthcare providers to make the transition to home-centered, value-based care and empower them to innovate and deliver these important, much-needed services for their patients at scale. Please visit https://www.reimaginecare.com/ to learn more.

About the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is a world-class medical destination at the forefront of transformative science, medicine, education and patient care. The campus encompasses the University of Colorado health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes, and two nationally ranked independent hospitals - UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado - that treat more than two million adult and pediatric patients each year. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus delivers life-changing treatments, patient care and professional training and conducts world-renowned research fueled by over $650 million in research grants. For more information, visit www.cuanschutz.edu.

Contact:

Nicole Althaus

6126361892

[email protected]

SOURCE Reimagine Care
Attorney Cody Villalon stays abreast of proposed changes to laws protecting Virginia crime victims.

RICHMOND, Va., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, proposed changes to Virginia law were announced that may affect access to vital police records.

Attorney Cody Villalon, a Richmond criminal defense attorney, stays abreast of pending legislation and wants to help his clients mount a solid legal defense while gaining access to important police records related to their cases.

Proposed Changes to Virginia Law

For years, police and prosecutors have controlled public access to records that are not filed in court.

Recently, a bill was introduced that would reverse a change in the law made last year. This new legislation would stop public access to police investigative files in closed cases. The bill is sponsored by Delegate Rob Bell, who represents Albemarle.

Public Access to Police Records

After the 2019 mass shooting in Virginia Beach, families of the victims had a difficult time gaining access to police records. It is that event and the subsequent issues of access that spurred the new legislation.

In 2021, the law was changed. The change requires police to provide records to the public in cases where the release of such records would not harm the prosecution.

The law is not designed to give the public unfettered access to police records. The Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council ensured that the law contained privacy protections for victims.

For example, police are still prohibited from releasing photos or records that depict or identify victims. In addition, released records cannot disclose confidential informants, along with other privacy provisions.

Revised Law Can Provide Additional Protection for Victims

After being a law for a mere eight months, lawmakers are asking for a change to protect victims and eliminate public access to criminal records.

Richmond criminal defense attorney Cody Villalon explains, "This proposed change in the law would eliminate public access to any closed police records to protect victims of crime."

In the age of social media and online access to information, lawmakers express concern that sensitive information, like photographs of crime victims, could end up on popular platforms like YouTube, Facebook and TikTok.

Proposed changes to the law would help to protect victims and their families by giving access only to immediate family members and attorneys working on post-conviction matters in closed police cases.

About Cody Villalon, Attorney at Law

Attorney Cody Villalon is a criminal defense attorney in Richmond, Virginia. With over a decade of experience and over 5,000 hours in court, attorney Cody Villalon currently represents clients accused of a variety of charges, from driving under the influence, to more serious violent offenses. He is dedicated to serving his community while upholding the United States Constitution.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE Cody Villalon, Attorney at Law
Rare, historical firearms to go up for auction, including a pair of revolvers owned by 18th U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant

ROCK ISLAND, Ill., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rock Island Auction Company (RIAC), the world's No. 1 firearms auction company, hosts its first Premier Firearms Auction event of 2022, Friday, May 13 through Sunday, May 15. One of the highlights is a spectacular American treasure, Ulysses S. Grant's Remington New Model Army revolvers, numbered 1 and 2, which has a pre-auction estimation of $1 million to $3 million.

Ulysses S. Grant's Remington Revolvers

Recognized as the flagship event of fine arms collecting, RIAC's May Premier Firearms Auction will feature an intriguing lineup of incredibly rare, world-class collectibles making this one of the most notable antique firearms auctions of the year.

The premier auction event will kick off with a preview day on Thursday, May 12, followed by three full days of auctioning some of the rarest firearms available. Throughout the three-day event, more than 2,000 historical pieces will be up for auction.

Grant's historic Remington's feature grips carved with his likeness and exquisite masterwork engraving to honor the General and Chief of the Army of the United States and the 18th President of the United States. They come in their original rosewood presentation case with a full complement of accessories.

"The Rock Island Auction Company team is curating an auction event that's going to excite a lot of collectors," said Kevin Hogan, President of Rock Island Auction Company. "Not only with the high condition pieces, and the rarely seen, but with well-known names of American history: George Custer, Wild Bill Hickok, J. Edgar Hoover, Kit Carson, and others. It's the perfect follow-up to last year's record setting auctions."

Additionally, the May auction will feature many of the world's finest revolvers and pistols ever offered to the collecting public. Especially noteworthy is a Colt U.S. contract Single Action Army revolver documented as a battlefield pick-up following the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Other highlights from the May Premier Firearms Auction include museum-worthy firearms such as Wild Bill Hickok's factory engraved Colt Model 1851 Navy, a rifle inscribed to frontier scout and trapper Kit Carson, and a lavish, ruby-studded revolver belonging to Prince Albert.

The May Premier Firearms Auction is one of Rock Island Auction Company's crown jewel events in fine arms collecting. Their three annual Premier Auctions feature hundreds of the most historic, publicly available firearms from around the world. In addition to bidding in-person, RIAC offers bidders and participants the opportunity to bid over the phone, through the online bidding platform (RIAC Live), absentee bidding or through third-party websites.

For more information, visit Rock Island Auction Company's Premier Firearms Auction.

About Rock Island Auction Company

Rock Island Auction Company is the world's #1 auction company for firearms, bladed weapons and militaria. Founded in 1993 by its current CEO Patrick Hogan, RIAC continues to lead the industry with record sales numbers and their extensive and beautiful marketing efforts. Their 150,000 square foot campus consists of two buildings and hosts around 18+ auctions each year. They actively seek consignments, be it a single weapon or a collection of hundreds, a thousand-dollar item or one million.

For more information, please visit www.rockislandauction.com or call 1-800-238-8022.

Media Contact Information:

Lauren Witt, Account Supervisor

[email protected]

(817) 721-5576

SOURCE Rock Island Auction Company
Partnership lets patients tell their health story prior to meeting with their physician on the virtual Rocket Doctor platform.

TORONTO, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Rocket Doctor is excited to announce the integration of FirstHx into their virtual care marketplace, further enabling the most advanced digital health ecosystem available for patients and physicians today.

This partnership enables patients to seamlessly input their medical history on a smart phone or home computer prior to their online appointment with a Rocket Doctor physician. Such integration of real-time and historic medical data means both patient and clinician get the most out of every interaction. The initial implementation of FirstHx into the Rocket Doctor platform will be for Canadian patients, and will soon expand to the United States.

"We have been very impressed by the positive impact FirstHx has had on our patients, our clinicians and our organizational workflow," said Dr. William Cherniak, CEO and founder of Rocket Doctor. "Patients love the natural interview approach of the application and how it gives them time to think about their medical history before seeing their physician. Then the healthcare team really appreciates the time saved in documentation, added insight into patients' reason for visiting, and overall, it improves the care experience. It has been great to use."

Chris O'Connor, CEO of FirstHx, "This is a great demonstration of the positive impact FirstHx can have on patients and healthcare organizations. We have been impressed by how Rocket Doctor has seamlessly integrated FirstHx into their clinical workflow. Almost 100% of patients report that the FirstHx solution is helpful to them in their care process. We are looking forward to strengthening our partnership with Rocket Doctor as we continue to develop improved features and new functionality."

About Rocket Doctor

Rocket Doctor is a rapidly growing digital health marketplace transforming the way comprehensive care is delivered across North America, by bringing an advanced doctor's office directly to patients' homes. They are a passionate group of medical doctors, researchers, technical experts, and patient care professionals who believe every person deserves access to quality healthcare. Though they launched only 18 months ago, they have now cared for over 135,000 patients across Canada (currently Ontario, Alberta and BC) as well as the State of California with over 350 physicians of all specialties running virtual practices.

About FirstHx

FirstHx is a health tech platform that empowers patients to effectively tell their medical story to their healthcare team. They provide value at the intersection of patient & clinician communication through a proprietary adaptive, knowledge-based technology to take medical histories prior to patients seeing a clinician. FirstHx technology is used in many acute health settings including virtual care, urgent care clinics, emergency departments, and primary care offices.

SOURCE FirstHx
"The Rombauer family's goal has always been to produce the highest quality wines possible. Having control over our own vineyards and consistent access to premium fruit is key to our philosophy of continual improvement in wine quality and style" said President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Knebel. "The acquisition of these long-established premium vineyards also gives us the resources to satisfy the increasing demand for our world class portfolio of wines."

The 52-acre Haire Vineyard in Carneros has been a source of Chardonnay for Rombauer for nearly two decades, ever since Koerner Rombauer shook hands with owner Jim Haire on a deal to acquire the fruit. Planted by the Haire family in 2000 and farmed by them ever since, this historic block near the San Pablo Bay features Haire clay loam soils. Fruit from the vineyard is described by Rombauer Vice President of Viticulture and Winemaking Richie Allen as having the classic characteristics of melon, peach, and nectarine. It is a prized source for Rombauer's Carneros Chardonnay.

The Carriger Vineyard sits in a small pocket on the southwestern reach of Sonoma Valley, an historical AVA with a tradition of winegrowing dating back over 150 years. With well-drained soils of high rock content, the vineyard has been a source for Rombauer's popular Sauvignon Blanc, with 45 acres planted to the variety. Climatically the site is a "sweet spot" between Rombauer's other Sauvignon Blanc sources in the warmer Napa Valley and cooler Russian River Valley, and the fruit brings punchy varietal intensity to the wine. Rombauer plans to replant 45 additional acres at Carriger to Sauvignon Blanc to meet demand for this wine.

The Rombauer family has long been a fan of the Sierra Foothills and the Fiddletown AVA in Amador County where it owns a winery, tasting room and vineyards. This new acquisition of 90 acres  13 planted to old vine Zinfandel  further solidifies its commitment to the growing region. Sitting at an elevation ranging from 1,600-1,700 feet, this new Fiddletown vineyard features multiple sloping hillsides with different aspects and sandy loam soils from decayed granite. With plans to plant an additional 50 acres to Zinfandel and Barbera, Rombauer has begun preparing the land and laying out new blocks destined to become part of the winery's classic California Zinfandel.

"Owning and farming our own vineyards is essential to the high-quality winemaking we are dedicated to, and these three sites are destined to become jewels in Rombauer's portfolio," said Vice President of Viticulture and Winemaking Richie Allen. "It's especially gratifying to see properties like Haire and Fiddletown pass from family to family. Rombauer is determined to be an excellent, long-term steward of these premium sites."

About Rombauer

Rombauer Vineyards is a Napa Valley based, family-owned winery founded in 1980 by Koerner and Joan Rombauer. Dedicated to providing gracious hospitality, the Rombauer family and staff take pride in creating joyful moments for their customers across the country and at their Napa Valley and Sierra Foothills tasting rooms. Rombauer owns and sustainably farms 830 acres of vineyards in Carneros, Atlas Peak, Stags Leap, St. Helena, Calistoga, Sonoma Valley, and the Sierra Foothills. Rombauer's Chardonnays, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignons, Barbera, Zinfandels and Sauvignon Blanc are beloved by wine enthusiasts around the world. www.rombauer.com

SOURCE Rombauer Vineyards
MIAMI, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The building of Royal Caribbean International's highly anticipated cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, has reached a pivotal milestone ahead of its fall 2023 debut. A keel-laying ceremony took place at Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku to officially mark the start of the revolutionary ship's physical construction, with Royal Caribbean and Meyer Turku senior executives and teams in attendance.

Royal Caribbean International's highly anticipated Icon of the Seas reached a construction milestone ahead of its fall 2023 debut. A keel-laying ceremony took place in Turku, Finland, to mark the start of the ships physical construction. Icon will set sail with the latest innovations and signature features, including a shift toward cleaner energy. The cruise lines first to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG)  the cleanest fossil fuel available to cruise ships today  the Icon Class ship represents the next important step in Royal Caribbeans journey toward a clean-energy future. Construction on Royal Caribbean's highly anticipated Icon of the Seas reached a new milestone. A keel-laying ceremony took place at Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku to celebrate the progress on the revolutionary cruise ship.

The keel laying, a longstanding maritime tradition, involved a 3,000-ton crane lifting a massive steel block that is placed into the new ship's building dock and on top of freshly minted coins, which represent the shipyard and cruise line. The coins are meant to bring luck during construction, and they will be retrieved and given to Icon's captain and crew before setting sail.

"Five years ago, we began dreaming of Icon of the Seas, and now the next phase of this iconic adventure is beginning," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "As this game-changing ship takes shape, the excitement from families and travelers alike, travel advisors and our partners continues to build. Later this year, we'll reveal the lineup of firsts and favorites that will set a new standard for vacations come fall 2023."

At the ceremony, the working teams behind constructing Icon were joined by Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group; Richard Fain, chairman, Royal Caribbean Group; Meyer Group Managing Partner Bernard Meyer; and Meyer Turku CEO Tim Meyer.

Icon will set sail next year with the latest innovations and signature features Royal Caribbean's teams have imagined and reimagined in bold, new ways, including a shift toward cleaner energy. The first of three Royal Caribbean ships will be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG)  the cleanest fossil fuel available to cruise ships today. Combining LNG with a lineup of the cruise line's proven applications, such as shore power connection and waste heat recovery systems that repurpose excess energy to help power the ship's operations, Icon will be the next important step in Royal Caribbean's journey toward a clean-energy future.

To stay tuned on upcoming details about Icon, visit Royal Caribbean's website.

About Royal Caribbean International

Royal Caribbean International, owned by Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL), has been delivering innovation at sea for more than 50 years. Each successive class of ships is an architectural marvel that features the latest technology and guest experiences for today's adventurous traveler. The cruise line continues to revolutionize vacations with itineraries to 240 destinations in 61 countries on six continents, including Royal Caribbean's private island destination in The Bahamas, Perfect Day at CocoCay, the first in the Perfect Day Island Collection. Royal Caribbean has also been voted "Best Cruise Line Overall" for 19 consecutive years in the Travel Weekly Readers' Choice Awards.

Media can stay up to date by following @RoyalCaribPR on Twitter and visiting RoyalCaribbeanPressCenter.com. For additional information or to make reservations, vacationers can call their travel advisor; visit RoyalCaribbean.com; or call (800) ROYAL-CARIBBEAN.

SOURCE Royal Caribbean International
DALLAS, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Simmons Bank, as Trustee of the Sabine Royalty Trust (NYSE: SBR) today announced that the Special Meeting of Sabine Royalty Trust scheduled for April 4, 2022, has been adjourned, due to lack of a requisite quorum until Monday, May 2, 2022 at 11:00 a.m., Central time, at 2911 Turtle Creek Blvd., Dallas, Texas 75219. This deadline is fast approaching and we want to remind unitholders that it is extremely important for you to vote on the matters described in the proxy materials that were mailed to you on or about February 11, 2022.

We strongly encourage you to vote your units today. If sufficient units are not voted to achieve a quorum, we will not be able to hold the Special Meeting, so your vote is important no matter how many units you hold. Your response is encouraged to avoid additional time and expense for the Trust.

Simmons Bank, the Trustee, recommends that you vote "FOR" the proposals outlined in the proxy material.

To avoid delays, you are encouraged to vote your units by completing and returning the enclosed proxy form utilizing the enclosed postage-paid envelope as soon as possible. More detailed information about the proposals was included in the proxy statement that was mailed to you on or about February 11, 2022.

The proxy statement is available at the SEC's website at https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/710752/000119312522031730/d295058ddef14a.htm.

If you have any questions, need assistance, or need copies of the proxy statement, please contact our proxy solicitor, D.F. King & Co. Inc.at (800)-848-3402 (toll-free).

Regardless of the number of units you own, it is important that you cast your vote and make your voice heard on the important matters regarding the Trust. If you have already submitted your vote, please accept our thanks and disregard this letter. We thank you for your investment in and support of the Trust.

SOURCE Sabine Royalty Trust
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Purcell & Lefkowitz LLP, a class action law firm dedicated to representing shareholders nationwide, is investigating a potential breach of fiduciary duty claim involving the board of directors of The Beachbody Company, Inc. (NYSE: BODY).

If you are a shareholder of The Beachbody Company, Inc. and are interested in obtaining additional information regarding this investigation, free of charge, please visit us at:

http://pjlfirm.com/the-beachbody-company-inc/

You may also contact Robert H. Lefkowitz, Esq. either via email at [email protected] or by telephone at 212-725-1000. One of our attorneys will personally speak with you about the case at no cost or obligation.

Purcell & Lefkowitz LLP is a law firm exclusively committed to representing shareholders nationwide who are victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty and other types of corporate misconduct. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://pjlfirm.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

SOURCE Purcell & Lefkowitz LLP
Braun joins the home security company's executive team to help launch the company into its next stage of growth

BOSTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SimpliSafe , maker of award-winning home security systems, today announced the appointment of Scott Braun as Chief Growth Officer, where he will be responsible for the oversight of the company's marketing channels (brand, media acquisition, and communications) as well as its growth channels (eCommerce, retail, partnerships, and SimpliSafe UK).

The appointment comes after a pivotal year for SimpliSafe. Over the last year, SimpliSafe has increased its customer base to protect more than 4 million people, raised $130 million in growth funding and announced the opening of a new headquarters designed for the future of work . The company has no plans of slowing down in 2022 and looks to Braun to help build upon SimpliSafe's ambitious goals.

"We're thrilled to have Scott join the SimpliSafe team," says Christian Cerda, Chief Executive Officer at SimpliSafe. "From our very first conversation, it was clear that he was well-equipped to lead our marketing and commercial groups. SimpliSafe has a history of being a disruptor in the category while being rooted in trust and reliability, and Scott is the perfect leader to build upon that legacy and steer us into our next phase of growth."

Braun brings more than 25 years of experience in brand and consumer marketing leadership to the new role. Most recently, he served as the Chief Marketing Officer at Drizly, the largest alcohol eCommerce marketplace in the world, where he oversaw demand generation, brand building, and consumer and B2B customer relationship management. Prior to his work at Drizly, he served as the Global Marketing Director for Procter & Gamble, as well as Vice President of Marketing at Vistaprint.

"Since its beginning, SimpliSafe has been a standout in the home security space and a tremendous growth story, all while being steadfast in its commitment to protecting consumers and making every home secure. It's an exciting time to join the company, and I am thrilled to take part in bringing its mission to life," says Braun.

In addition to naming Braun Chief Growth Officer, SimpliSafe has promoted Brenda Bynarowicz to Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing and made her a permanent member of the executive team in recognition of her outstanding work and leadership since joining the company as its interim marketing leader. She will undoubtedly lend to SimpliSafe's continued success.

To learn more about career opportunities at SimpliSafe, please visit https://careers.simplisafe.com .

About SimpliSafe

SimpliSafe fundamentally changed the alarm industry, pioneering a new way to make home the safest place on earth for everyone. Founded in 2006, SimpliSafe now protects millions of people and is committed to its founding goal: to make every home secure. SimpliSafe has been coined the number one home security pick by several highly-esteemed publications and was recently awarded " Best Overall Home Security System of 2022 " by U.S. News & World Report. SimpliCam, SimpliSafe, and the SimpliSafe logo are the registered trademarks of SimpliSafe, Inc. in the US and other countries.

SOURCE SimpliSafe
This marks the third consecutive year the multi-location marketing platform has been honored for its growth

SAN DIEGO, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SOCi , the marketing platform for multi-location brands, is proud to announce it has been recognized as part of The Financial Times (FT) list of The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies 2022. The award is presented by FT and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. This is the third consecutive year SOCi has received this prestigious honor.

"I am extremely proud of the dedicated team we've built at SOCi in the last several years, one that consistently goes above and beyond to improve our business and ultimately, increase our customers' bottom lines," said Afif Khoury , Co-Founder and CEO of SOCi. "Our growth is tied to our push for innovation, and we are nowhere near being done innovating solutions to help multi-location businesses optimize their digital footprint and drive more business."

The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies list is comprised of the enterprises that contribute most heavily to economic growth. From thousands of entrants, only 500 companies are featured on the list, which can currently be viewed on the FT website . The FT, in collaboration with Statista, ranks companies from across the Americas by compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue between 2017 and 2020.

To learn more about how SOCi helps businesses scale marketing that's brand directed, locally perfected, and data connected, visit www.meetsoci.com .

About SOCi

SOCi is the marketing platform for multi-location brands. We empower businesses like Ace Hardware, Sport Clips, and Anytime Fitness to scale marketing efforts across all digital channels in a way that's brand directed, locally perfected, and data connected. As one central place to scale marketing, SOCi makes the impossible possible by enabling top brands and their locations to strengthen and scale their digital presence across limitless local search and social pages while protecting what matters most, their reputation. For more information on how SOCi can help fuel your localized marketing success - visit us at www.meetsoci.com or message us at [email protected] .

Media Contacts

Avery Nunez

BLASTmedia for SOCi

[email protected]

SOURCE SOCi
Leading Sparkling Water Brand to Support Veteran Community Through Charitable Partnerships and New Flavor Campaign Launch

SEATTLE , April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Talking Rain Beverage Company, the maker of Sparkling Ice beverages, is proud to announce the third annual Cheers to Heroes campaign to honor and celebrate America's Veteran heroes. This year's campaign will have a strong focus on saluting U.S. Veterans by partnering with charitable organizations, Honor Flight Network and Homes For Our Troops, using new flavor launches to increase awareness of this deserving campaign.

From April 1  July 31, Sparkling Ice consumers will be able to use Sparkling Ice's reward program to make donations towards Honor Flight Network and Homes For Our Troops. Sparkling Ice's reward program allows consumers to earn points by uploading their purchase receipts of participating Sparkling Ice products to the brand's rewards website, www.sparklingicerewards.com, where they can then redeem for donations supporting either charity partner.

Additionally, Sparkling Ice is set to launch two new highly anticipated flavors, Berry Lemonade as part of the brand's core line along with +Caffeine Watermelon Lemonade, its caffeinated drink offering. Sparkling Ice's Berry Lemonade flavor mixes fresh berries with a hint of lemon, with zero sugar and packed with vitamins and antioxidants. The new +Caffeine Watermelon Lemonade flavor combines a refreshing watermelon taste paired with a tangy lemonade flavor, giving the perfect boost with zero sugar, 70mg of caffeine, antioxidants and vitamins.

Both flavors will be included in limited edition packaging that proudly displays the logos for Honor Flight Network and Homes For Our Troops in an effort to increase awareness for these organizations and the Cheers to Heroes campaign. The reimagined packaging will boast a bright red, white and blue color scheme as a nod to the American Veterans set to benefit from the campaign.

Honor Flight Network is a national network of independent hubs working together to honor our nation's Veterans with an all-expenses paid trip to the memorials in Washington, D.C., where Veterans have the chance to remember friends and comrades lost, share the trip with other Veterans, and tell their stories and experiences with each other. Homes For Our Troops is a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting the severely injured Veteran community by building and donating specially adapted custom homes nationwide for severely injured post-9/11 Veterans, enabling them to rebuild their lives. To date, the organization has built over 330 homes for injured Veterans nationwide, with 68 more projects underway.

"We are excited to kick off the third year of the Cheers to Heroes campaign, especially with such deserving partners as Honor Flight Network and Homes For Our Troops," said Nina Morrison, Senior Vice President of Community Experience at Talking Rain. "The past two Cheers to Heroes campaigns have been immensely successful in raising awareness about America's everyday heroes, and this year, we're looking forward to further supporting our Veteran community and inviting consumers to take part in a new way."

This is the seventh year Talking Rain has partnered with Honor Flight Network and second year working with Homes For Our Troops, moving from a regional sponsorship to a national sponsor level. Over the course of the partnership with Honor Flight, Talking Rain has raised more than $900,000, sponsoring over 900 Veteran trips to Washington D.C. Throughout 2022, Talking Rain will join the Homes For Our Troops team in supporting the building of more than 15 specially adapted custom homes for deserving Veterans across the U.S.

For more information on Sparkling Ice's Cheers to Heroes contest and its Honor Flight and Homes For Our Troops partnerships, please visit: www.sparklingicerewards.com.

About Sparkling Ice Beverages

Sparkling Ice beverages are made with sparkling water, real fruit flavor, vitamins, antioxidants, and naturally sourced colors. Full of flavor with zero sugar, Sparkling Ice and Sparkling Ice +Caffeine offer better-for-you beverage options with products available in retailers nationwide.

With 23 fizzy, fruity flavors, the Sparkling Ice brand is on a mission to Live in Full Flavor. In 2020, the brand launched a series of campaigns to promote a message of positivity and togetherness across America, including the Cheers to Heroes campaign, honoring everyday heroes, and the Cheers to You Town Beautification Program , celebrating small towns across America through community-driven projects.

Sparkling Ice is the number one selling brand from Talking Rain Beverage Company. The brand is committed to connecting with like-minded partners who prioritize corporate, social, and environmental responsibility, so together, they can educate and inspire the continuous work that supports these efforts. Through innovative carbon reduction initiatives, positive social programs, and philanthropic support, the Sparkling Ice brand aims to create a lasting impact in the community. To learn more about Sparkling Ice, please visit www.sparklingice.com

About Honor Flight Network

The mission of Honor Flight is to celebrate America's Veterans by inviting them to share in a day of honor at our nation's memorials. The Honor Flight Network is a national network comprised of independent Hubs working together in furtherance of the Honor Flight mission. In furtherance of this common goal, we have the opportunity to show our nation's Veterans the appreciation and honor they deserve. Participation in an Honor Flight trip gives Veterans the opportunity to share this momentous occasion with other comrades, to remember friends and comrades lost, and share their stories and experiences with other Veterans. All honored Veterans travel at no cost to the Veteran.



The Honor Flight Network is currently serving Veterans from the WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War eras. We also serve terminally ill Veterans serving during any era.

About Homes For Our Troops (HFOT)

Homes For Our Troops (HFOT) is a publicly funded 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that builds and donates specially adapted custom homes nationwide to severely injured post-9/11 Veterans, to enable them to rebuild their lives. Most of these Veterans have sustained life-altering injuries including multiple limb amputations, partial or full paralysis, and/or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). These homes restore some of the freedom and independence our Veterans sacrificed while defending our country, and enable them to focus on their family, recovery, and rebuilding their lives. HFOT builds these homes where the Veteran chooses to live, and continues its relationship with the Veterans after home delivery to assist them with rebuilding their lives. Since its inception in 2004, nearly 90 cents of every dollar spent has gone directly to our program services supporting Veterans. For more information, visit www.hfotusa.org .

SOURCE Talking Rain Beverage Co
Data being presented at the EHRA 2022 shows Cardiologs' deep neural network model is better than Apple Watch ECG 2.0 algorithm at detecting & classifying irregular heart rhythms

PARIS and BOSTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cardiologs , a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) cardiology diagnostics, today announced the results of a new clinical study that showed Cardiologs' deep learning AI dramatically reduces inconclusive results returned by the latest Apple Watch ECG companion app (Apple ECG 2.0) while maintaining performance (sensitivity and specificity).

"Wearable devices, such as the Apple Watch, are capable of recording a single-lead ECG to determine cardiac rhythm. However, a large proportion of the smartwatch readings come back as inconclusive. This problem was solved using Cardiologs' AI algorithm. The data showed Cardiologs' AI performed equally as well but, remarkably, the results were almost never inconclusive," said Dr. Laurent Fiorina, Cardiac Electrophysiologist at the Institut Cardiovasculaire Paris-Sud (ICPS).

The study included 101 patients in a typical tertiary care hospital who were assessed for atrial arrhythmia (AA). It was conducted using simultaneous ECGs: one 12-lead ECG along with single lead smartwatch ECGs taken from the wrist. The smartwatch recordings were then processed to compare the two algorithms' performances against 12-lead ECG readings by physicians, which is considered to be the gold standard method.

Overall, the Apple Watch ECG 2.0 App yielded inconclusive diagnoses for 19% (19/101) of all SmartWatch recordings. In comparison, Cardiologs' deep neural network model reduced that number to 0% (0/101) while maintaining performance in accuracy, specificity and sensitivity.

"These results offer great promise for using smartwatches to screen for irregular heart rhythms. Even the latest Apple Watch algorithm returns inconclusive results for one in five patients, which physicians must then review. By eliminating inconclusive results, we can save physicians significant time spent on triage and analysis, and reduce the risk of missed, delayed, or incorrect arrhythmia detection," said Cardiologs CEO and Co-Founder Yann Fleureau.

Cardiologs' ePoster presentation, " Smartwatch-based detection of atrial arrhythmia using a deep neural network in a tertiary care hospital, " will be presented on Tuesday, April 5th (from 8:30 to 15:00 CET) at the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) 2022 Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

For more information visit www.cardiologs.com or visit booth #D100.

About Cardiologs

Cardiologs is a medical technology company committed to transforming cardiac diagnostics using medical-grade artificial intelligence and cloud technology. Developed in partnership with leading physicians, the Cardiologs Holter Platform empowers clinicians worldwide to deliver expert cardiac care faster and more efficiently. CE-Marked and FDA cleared for detection of 14 cardiac arrhythmias, the Cardiologs Holter Platform is built on a growing database of more than 20 million ECG recordings and is supported by a number of clinical publications.

In November 2021, Cardiologs announced that they were being acquired by Philips to expand their cardiac portfolio.

Media Contact:

Andrea LePain

eMedia Junction

[email protected]

617-894-1153

SOURCE Cardiologs
Ohio outpaces national average in agricultural R&D investment, engineers and food specialists; Pandemic and war in Ukraine highlight the importance of Ohio's robust food industry

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As the national supply chain and food industries continue to see increased strain, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian attack on Ukraine, new research released today finds that Ohio's food and agribusiness industry could be part of the solution.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Innovative Food Technology and JobsOhio, " Ohio's Food Industry, " a series of four new white papers authored by TEConomy Partners, highlight that Ohio has been a leader in research and innovation in the food industry, which is a primary economic driver for the state. This enables the food industry to be adaptable, flexible, and nimble to overcome the challenges it faces.

Employing nearly 126,000 people across the state and investing over $100 million in food-related research and development (R&D), Ohio's food industry sectors include food and beverage machinery and packaging; food and beverage processing and manufacturing; and food and beverage wholesale and warehousing.

With a commitment to innovation, Ohio's food industry performs 43% more R&D than the national average, and hires more high-skill workers to advance the sector. For instance, Ohio's broad food packaging, processing, manufacturing, and distribution sector boasts 60% more engineers than the U.S. average, 40% more engineering technicians, and 38% more food scientists and technologists.

"Innovation is the key to avoiding a repeat of the bare shelves from the supply chain shortages we saw during the pandemic," said J.P. Nauseef, President and CEO of JobsOhio. "The reports show that Ohio is already out ahead, investing into the R&D needed and hiring more engineers and food scientists to accomplish tomorrow's technological advancements for our state's growing food and agribusiness."

As the report highlights, innovation in the food industry is not just a matter of economic importance, but also an issue that is critical for the longevity and security of the nation. With Ohio remaining a primary supporter of the national supply chain, Ohio is a net exporter of food industry products, processing, packaging, and equipment, where export sales totaled $42.2 billion in 2020. Additional findings from the report include:

$114 million in food-related R&D expenditures

in food-related R&D expenditures 43% more food industry R&D than the nation

1,207 patent records, including 580 issued patents

60% more engineers than the U.S. average and 40% more engineering technicians, and

38% more food scientists and technologists than the U.S. average, with growth outpacing the nation.

The report notes that Ohio's end-to-end supply chain gives the state a distinct advantage in being part of the food system.

"Ohio is a major U.S. producer of corn, bean, and soft red winter wheat and home to a significant commodity processing sector," said Tim Derickson, JobsOhio's Senior Director of Food & Agribusiness. "Before we even imagined that there would be an attack on Ukraine - which has led to wheat shortages - we were using innovative programs, like H2Ohio, to encourage sustainable farming practices. This year alone, Ohio farmers increased by 20% the production of soft wheat, used for cookies and cakes."

The new research also finds that innovation in the food industry will further insulate the longevity and security of the state's supply chain. Researchers note that it is imperative that public policy be enacted, and public-private partnerships be developed that seek to strengthen the food industry sector to help ensure a sustainable future for Ohio. The four white papers cover:

Why the Food Industry Matters : A report on the high value of the food and agribusiness industry as a key economic driver.

: A report on the high value of the food and agribusiness industry as a key economic driver. State of the Industry : A critical review of the current and future realities of the industry.

: A critical review of the current and future realities of the industry. Disruptive Technologies : An informative report on the technologies transforming the food and agribusiness industry.

: An informative report on the technologies transforming the food and agribusiness industry. Executive Summary: A high-level overview of Ohio's burgeoning food and agribusiness sector.

About JobsOhio:

JobsOhio is a private nonprofit economic development corporation designed to drive job creation and new capital investment in Ohio through business attraction, retention, and expansion. The organization also works to seed talent production in its targeted industries and to attract talent to Ohio through Find Your Ohio . JobsOhio works with six regional partners across Ohio: Dayton Development Coalition , Ohio Southeast Economic Development , One Columbus , REDI Cincinnati , Regional Growth Partnership and Team NEO . Learn more at www.jobsohio.com . Follow us on LinkedIn , Twitter and Facebook .

About the Center for Innovative Food Technology

The Center for Innovative Food Technology is a developer and provider of technical innovations and solutions for the food processing, agribusiness and agricultural sectors.

About TEConomy Partners, LLC

TEConomy Partners, LLC, is a global leader in research, analysis, and strategy for innovation-driven economic development. TEConomy is experienced in developing innovation/entrepreneurial ecosystems, and has worked with numerous regions and states to develop strategic action plans to generate results. The experts at TEConomy also work with clients to assess scientific and technological core competencies and develop strategic roadmaps that leverage science and technology assets. TEConomy extensively practices economic analytics and applies this expertise to in-depth economic and functional impact analysis for government, higher education institutions, academic medical centers, industry associations, and other client groups.

SOURCE JobsOhio
It's time to take a look under the hood to discover how this innovative company, built with buckets of "Kiwi" work ethic and a huge passion to deliver "better", has gone on to become one of the most exciting agritech companies on the global stage.

Last week, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Hectre were named finalists in two categories at the prestigious NZ Hi-Tech Awards. How did they arrive at this point?

It all started with an apple. It was 2016 and Hectre was a team of three visionary co-founders, who upon learning of the daily struggles faced by apple growers, set out to find a better way. In consultation with a group of growers, they created the design for the Hectre Orchard Management App and importantly, growers backed them.

Simon Easton, co-owner of Wairepo Orchards, grows apples near Nelson, in NZ's South Island, and still remembers when one of the founders, Menilik Dyer, turned up at his orchard with a large notebook and asked, "As a grower, what is it that you need that we could help with?" Easton was sick to death of writing out bin tickets - the labels that must go with each full fruit bin detailing the immense amount of origin data that growers have to capture (it's even greater now).

Easton is a numbers man and is driven by continually improving the performance of his orchard. He wants to get his hands on data so he can hone in on what's working well and identify opportunities to perform even better. He's enjoyed seeing the journey of the Hectre app from those early days to where it is now. "Being able to get cost info out of Hectre is awesome. To know that picking cost me this amount and pruning cost me that amount...I just love all of that."

"We've always been keen to roll up our sleeves, get alongside growers and learn everything we can from them. I think they respect the fact that we genuinely value their insights, their skills and their extraordinary commitment to what has to be one of the hardest industries to be in. When you consider that fruit growers only get one chance each year to make money (after harvest), and the rest of the time they're slogging their guts out and pouring in funds. It takes bravery and an immense amount of care and hard work to survive and thrive. Our team is continually in awe of the growers we work with," says Hectre Co-founder and CEO, Matty Blomfield.

In the first few years, Hectre built out the Hectre Orchard Management App, an app that enables fruit growers to digitise their orchards, removing all the double and triple handling of paper they traditionally deal with and the wasted time that goes with it. Growers can manage all their labour through the app, including auto calculation of piece rates, plus integration with payroll programs. The ability to gain insights on the performance of pickers and fruit quality, delivers direct benefits as growers continue to battle the challenges rising from the pandemic and environmental factors.

Those early relationships formed with NZ fruit growers, led to invaluable introductions to growers in one of the world's apple growing meccas, Washington, USA. "I remember one of our first US trips. We had recognised how important it was to have boots on the ground. So, with no appointments in place, we booked a flight to the US and then glued ourselves to the phone, calling up every grower we could and telling them we'd be in their area next week and could we meet," reflects Blomfield.

The app now covers numerous fruit types such as apples, pears, high value cherries, kiwifruit and more. And the Hectre app is currently being used by fruit growers and packers in 11 countries, including US industry giants Washington Fruit & Produce and Borton Fruit.

"The platform and tools they've built support fruit growers of all sizes, from small family farms, to large integrated global fruit institutions. We believe Hectre's dedication to constant innovation provides a significant competitive advantage and aligns well with our own approach to business," says Byron Borton, Chief Visionary Officer at Borton Fruit.

Hectre's innovation approach has centred on what they term, "clever simplicity". Creating leading edge tech for fruit growers and packers, with user simplicity at the forefront. Kylie Hall, Marketing Manager at Hectre, says that focus on clever simplicity has created a unique market advantage and one Hectre has become known for. "We recognise that it's not enough to just create awesome technology. We've got to be fully focused on who will be using that tech and how we can make it as simple as possible. That way, users can learn quickly, and our customers can optimise their tech investment, gaining full benefit from their spend."

In Waterport, New York, Lamont Fruit Farms are using Hectre's Orchard Management App. CEO Jason Woodworth says the insights are excellent. "Hectre is now the tool we use to evaluate all of our blocks in the true sense of real time. You can track each and every project and monitor costs from the start of pruning until the end of harvest. The staff are fantastic with support and are always thinking forward."

Two years ago, Hectre launched Spectre for Apples, a computer vision AI app that helps fruit growers and packers assess the size of their fruit, from the very first pick. In an industry where size really does matter, it's a crucial piece of information, enabling improved decision-making regarding storage and packing, and empowering growers and packers to secure sales orders earlier than ever before.

Spectre works straight off an iPad or iPhone and serves up sizing information within seconds. Users simply take a photo on their iPad and Spectre will detect and size more than 100 pieces of fruit from the fruit bin. Mobile, fast and simple. "We've since developed Spectre models to meet the needs of citrus packers too and are working with pilot customers this US harvest for Spectre for Cherries," notes Hectre R&D Manager, Luke Butters. The pilot was quickly oversubscribed.

The upcoming US apple harvest will see yet another leading-edge innovation delivered by Hectre, this time focused on providing insights for huge US apple packhouses. It will be another world first piece of fruit tech, developed by a Kiwi company shining brightly. "We'll share more about that later," grins Butters.

Today, Hectre now has the collective talents of a team of 34, spread across NZ, the US and Vietnam. "Our tech is delivering huge benefits for both growers and packers, but it's our people that really make the difference. Our people uncover the needs. They build our tech. They help growers learn our tech and they support the success of our customers. Each of them is humble, caring, hard working and hugely supportive of each other. They are our secret ingredient, and we value them highly," adds Hall.

David Downs, Chair of the NZ Hi-Tech Trust which organises the NZ Hi-Tech Awards program, says the standard of entries continues to grow each year. "This year's finalists span the full spectrum of the hi-tech sector, and the level of innovative tech products and solutions continues to astound us all." Hectre has been named a finalist for both the Most Innovative Hi-Tech Agritech Solution and for Hi-Tech StartUp Company of the Year.

About Hectre

Hectre is an award winning startup empowering fruit growers and packers with the world's simplest to use orchard technologies. Originating in New Zealand, with teams in the US, NZ and Vietnam, Hectre creates simple to use, leading edge orchard management and mobile fruit sizing apps. With the Hectre app fruit growers can digitise their orchard management processes, saving time and money, and getting more of their fruit to market, enhancing their financial sustainability. Fruit packers can increase their early size sample rates by up to 3000%, gaining access to sizing data as soon as the fruit is picked, enabling better decision making, reduced costs and achieving greater sales. To learn more about Hectre, please visit www.hectre.com

SOURCE Hectre
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Tal Education Group (NYSE: TAL) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.

Class Period: April 26, 2018 to July 22, 2021

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: April 5, 2022

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in TAL:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/tal-education-group-loss-submission-form?id=25494&from=4

Tal Education Group NEWS - TAL NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Tal Education Group made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (a) TAL's revenue and operational growth was the result of deceptive marketing tactics and illicit business practices that flouted Chinese laws, regulations and policies, and exposed the Company to an extreme risk that more draconian measures would be imposed on the Company; (b) TAL had engaged in misleading and fraudulent advertising practices, including the provision of false and misleading discount information designed to obfuscate the true cost of the Company's programs to its customers, the creation of fake customer reviews designed to fraudulently lure new customers to TAL programs, the misrepresentation of teacher qualifications and course qualities, and the marketing of rigged promotional events; (c) TAL had defied Chinese policies designed to alleviate the burden imposed by tutoring services on students and their families, including by imposing hefty advances and recurring debt payments on course enrollees, by offering courses designed to give affluent students unfair advantages, by holding courses outside of allowable tutoring hours, and by linking for-profit courses to government-mandated schooling; (d) as a result of the foregoing, TAL was subject to an extreme undisclosed risk of adverse enforcement actions, regulatory fines and penalties, and the imposition of new rules and regulations adverse to the Company's business and financial interests; and (e) as a result of the foregoing, TAL's historical growth was not sustainable or the result of legitimate business tactics as represented, and defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and lacked a reasonable factual basis.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in TAL you have until April 5, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased TAL securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the TAL lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/tal-education-group-loss-submission-form?id=25494&from=4 .

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

Empire State Building

350 Fifth Avenue

59th Floor

New York, NY 10118

[email protected]

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com

SOURCE The Klein Law Firm
The hole in this release is located within the Bralorne West block. The principal targets were the 55HW and 55 veins.

Hole SB-2022-003 intersected 23.05 g/t Au over 6.95 metres close to the surface (125.2-132.15 metres depth) in the 55HW vein.

close to the surface (125.2-132.15 metres depth) in the 55HW vein. This increases the total intersects on the 55HW Vein to 53 with previously released high grade results including 38.01 g/t Au over 1.55 metres (SB-2021-100) and 33.44 g/t Au over 1.00 metres (SB-2021-058).

Talisker drilling to date at the Bralorne Gold Project has produced 307 vein intersections with a combined weighted average diluted grade of 8.49 g/t over an average intersection length of 1.83 metres.

Terry Harbort, Talisker CEO and President commented, "At just approximately 100m vertical from surface (125m downhole) this headline intercept demonstrates easily accessable high grade mineralization over a considerable intercept length. The remaining pierce points for the 55HW vein will target additional close to surface vein material completing an extensive mineralized panel down to 600 metres depth for this structure."

Eight diamond drills are now operating at the Bralorne Gold Project. A total of 128,491 metres (269 holes) has been drilled since Talisker initiated drilling at the Bralorne Gold Project in February 2020. Currently, there are 4,762 samples at the assay laboratory, which are expected to be received by the Company shortly.

SB-2022-003 Hole Description

Complete results received

Located in the Bralorne West block and intersected dioritic intrusive

55HW Vein intersected as a bifurcated structure from 125.20 to 126.75 m and 129.75 to 132.15 m

and 129.75 to 55 Vein intersected from 144.85 to 147 m

Major vein structures intersected are considered classic Bralorne crack-seal quartz-carbonate veins with densely banded sulphide septae. Crack-seal septae host fine-grained arsenopyrite and pyrite mineralization. Alteration halos consist of strong silica-sericitemariposite alteration halos.

All reported drill assay results are available on the Company's website at the following link: https://taliskerresources.com/bralorne-gold-project-released-drill-results/.

Table 1: Bralorne Gold Project - Drill Hole SB-2022-003 Diamond Drill Hole Name From

(m) To

(m) Interval

(m) Au

(g/t) Zone Method Reported SB-2022-003 125.2 125.7 0.5 36.90 55HW Vein Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 125.7 126.25 0.55 169.00 Au-GRA22 SB-2022-003 126.25 126.75 0.5 11.65 Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 126.75 127.25 0.5 0.13 Dike Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 127.25 127.75 0.5 0.24 Dike Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 127.75 128.25 0.5 0.08 Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 128.25 128.75 0.5 0.01 Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 128.75 129.25 0.5 0.04 Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 129.25 129.75 0.5 0.01 Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 129.75 130.35 0.6 23.50 55HW Vein Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 130.35 131 0.65 3.34 Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 131 131.5 0.5 28.30 Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 131.5 132.15 0.65 18.90 Au-AA26

SB-2022-003 144.85 145.35 0.5 6.32 55 Vein Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 145.35 145.85 0.5 0.37 Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 145.85 146.5 0.65 0.09 Au-AA26 SB-2022-003 146.5 147 0.5 3.80 Au-AA26

Notes: Diamond drill hole SB-2022-003 has a collar orientation of Azimuth 178; Dip -70. True widths are estimated at 40 - 90% of intercept lengths and are based on oriented core measurements where available. Method Reported includes the most up-to-date information as of the date of this press release.

Qualified Person

The technical information contained in this news release relating to the drill results at the Bralorne Gold Project has been approved by Leonardo de Souza (BSc, AusIMM (CP) Membership 224827), Talisker's Vice President, Exploration and Resource Development, who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Talisker Resources Ltd.

Talisker (taliskerresources.com ) is a junior resource company involved in exploring gold projects in British Columbia, Canada. Talisker's projects include two advanced-stage projects, the Bralorne Gold Complex and the Ladner Gold Project, both advanced-stage projects with significant exploration potential from historical high grade producing gold mines, as well as its Spences Bridge Project, where the Company holds ~85% of the emerging Spences Bridge Gold Belt and several other early-stage Greenfields projects. With its properties comprising 296,983 hectares over 346 claims, three leases and 198 crown grant claims, Talisker is a dominant exploration player in south-central British Columbia. The Company is well funded to advance its aggressive, systematic exploration program at its projects.

Sample Preparation and QAQC

Diamond drilling at the Bralorne Gold Project is drilled in HQ to NQ size ranges (63.5mm and 47.6mm, respectively). Drill core samples are a minimum of 50 cm and a maximum of 160 cm long along the core axis. Samples are focused on an interval of interest, such as a vein or zone of mineralization. Shoulder samples bracket the interval of interest such that a total sampled core length of not less than 3m both above and below the interval of interest must be assigned. Sample QAQC measures of unmarked certified reference materials (CRMs), blanks, and duplicates are inserted into the sample sequence and makeup 9% of the samples submitted to the lab for holes reported in this release. ALS Global performs sample preparation and analyses in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and SGS Canada in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Drill core sample preparation includes drying in an oven at a maximum temperature of 60C, fine crushing of the sample to at least 70% passing less than 2 mm, sample splitting using a riffle splitter, and pulverizing a 250 g split to at least 85% passing 75 microns (ALS code PREP-31 / SGS code PRP89). Gold in diamond drill core is analyzed by fire assay and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) of a 50g sample (ALS code Au-AA26 / SGS code GO_FAA50V10), while multi-element chemistry is analyzed by 4- Acid digestion of a 0.25 g sample split with detection by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) for 48 elements (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, Ge, Hf, In, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, Re, S, Sb, Sc, Se, Sn, Sr, Ta, Te, Th, Ti, Tl, U, V, W, Y, Zn, Zr). Gold assay technique (ALS code Au-AA26 / SGS code FAA50V10) has an upper detection limit of 100 ppm. Any sample that produces an over-limit gold value via the gold assay technique is sent for gravimetric finish (ALS method Au-GRA22 / SGS method GO_FAG50V) which has an upper detection limit of 1,000 ppm Au. Samples where visible gold was observed are sent directly to screen metallics analysis and all samples that fire assay above 1 ppm Au are re-analysed with method (ALS code Au-SCR24 / SGS code - 6 - GO_FAS50M) which employs a 1kg pulp screened to 100 microns with assay of the entire oversize fraction and duplicate 50g assays on the undersize fraction. Where possible all samples initially sent to screen metallics processing will also be re-run through the fire assay with gravimetric finish provided there is enough material left for further processing

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on Talisker's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to operations of the Company and the timing which could be affected by the current global COVID-19 pandemic. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to Talisker. Although such statements are based on reasonable assumptions of Talisker's management, there can be no assurance that any conclusions or forecasts will prove to be accurate.

While Talisker considers these statements to be reasonable based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include market risks and the demand for securities of the Company, risks inherent in the exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined, risks relating to variations in grade or recovery rates, risks relating to changes in mineral prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of minerals, risks related to increased competition and current global financial conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks, and regulatory risks, including risks relating to the acquisition of the necessary licenses and permits, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is made as of the date hereof, and Talisker is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

SOURCE Talisker Resources Ltd
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Taurian Consulting, a joint venture between Guidehouse, a leading provider of management consulting services to the public and commercial sectors, and ReefPoint Group, a veteran-owned firm specializing in transforming government agencies with health IT and data analytics support, has won a five-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract to support enterprise-wide sustainability initiatives for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Building upon decades of support to the VA as individual businesses, Taurian Consulting, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, will provide innovative sustainability consulting services to the Office of Asset Enterprise Management through the Program Support and Services for Energy, Environment, & Fleet Program Service IDIQ.

Under this contract award, Taurian Consulting will provide insights to support a broad range of sustainability initiatives related to energy and water, environment, fleet, sustainable buildings, and climate change. This IDIQ will help VA address an emerging set of requirements and opportunities pertaining to improving environmental sustainability, while executing the department's mission to provide comprehensive healthcare and benefits to the nation's veterans.

"We are honored by this opportunity for Taurian Consulting to provide support to the VA through this important work," said Scott McIntyre, CEO of Guidehouse. "Given the transformational nature of this engagement for the VA, we will leverage our collective capabilities and strengths to bring forward innovative technologies and market-leading sustainability solutions to support the VA mission while helping them continue to provide high-quality services to our nation's veterans."

"I couldn't be prouder of the team we have built to support Taurian Consulting, and this contract win is indicative of the positive impact Taurian will make for our government clients," said Peter Anthony, president of ReefPoint Group and managing director of Taurian Consulting. "I look forward to continuing to serve alongside Guidehouse as we empower our clients to improve performance, efficiency, and effectiveness for the people they serve."

As a pioneer with a 30-year history in sustainability, decarbonization, and environmental, social, and governance spaces, Guidehouse blends leading-edge commercial sustainability experience with decades of public sector sustainability impact. It is well-positioned to tackle the breadth of VA's needs addressing energy efficiency, environmental justice, fleet electrification, climate risk, climate literacy, public engagement, capital planning, and other related issues. VA's sustainability initiative, supported by one of the first Cabinet-level agency procurements to respond to new sustainability mandates and opportunities, will draw on Guidehouse's strategy and program management solutions, data-driven approach, robust frameworks, and predictive intelligence to address risks and ensure operational efficiencies.

Guidehouse and ReefPoint Group created Taurian Consulting in 2021 as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business company in accordance with the US Small Business Administration's "All-Small" Mentor-Protege Program.

About Taurian Consulting: Taurian Consulting, a joint venture between Guidehouse and ReefPoint, brings more than two decades of combined public sector consulting experience focused on driving healthcare innovation and transformation for defense, federal, and commercial health markets. A Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business company, Taurian Consulting strengthens the continued service and community commitments of both organizations. To learn more about the services and capabilities of Taurian Consulting LLC, please visit www.taurianconsulting.com or contact [email protected].

About Guidehouse: Guidehouse is a leading global provider of consulting services to the public sector and commercial markets, with broad capabilities in management, technology, and risk consulting. By combining our public and private sector expertise, we help clients address their most complex challenges and navigate significant regulatory pressures focusing on transformational change, business resiliency, and technology-driven innovation. Across a range of advisory, consulting, outsourcing, and digital services, we create scalable, innovative solutions that help our clients outwit complexity and position them for future growth and success. The company has more than 13,000 professionals in over 50 locations globally. Guidehouse is a Veritas Capital portfolio company, led by seasoned professionals with proven and diverse expertise in traditional and emerging technologies, markets, and agenda-setting issues driving national and global economies. For more information, please visit www.guidehouse.com.

About ReefPoint Group: Reefpoint Group, LLC is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business founded by US Naval Academy graduates in 2008 who saw an opportunity to continue serving others to help ensure our nation's veterans and servicemembers receive the finest healthcare and support services. Reefpoint Group furthers this stewardship mission today using proven, agile development and improvement methodologies to optimize processes and achieve desirable outcomes for a variety of federal agencies. Learn more: www.reefpointgroup.com

Contact: Maureen Dooley Contact: Joy Jarrett

VP, Marketing & Communications Chief Marketing Officer

ReefPoint Group Guidehouse

[email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Taurian Consulting
Mr. Hervovich joins the company with significant experience in corporate, commercial law, and M&A deals.

MIAMI, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tekmovil is pleased to announce the addition of Global General Counsel, Matias Hercovich. In his position, Hercovich will lead the company's worldwide transactional corporate and general legal affairs.

"We are delighted to welcome Matias to our growing enterprise," said Claudia Rodriguez, COO at Tekmovil. "His highly credentialed experience will not only benefit our organization, but the clients and partners we represent as well. We look forward to having his legal expertise on our side."

Matias Hercovich

Prior to joining Tekmovil, Mr. Hercovich held the General Counsel position at biotech company Crystal Lagoons, the worldwide leader in large clear waterbodies technologies. He also previously held the position of Global Legal VP for hospitality unicorn Selina and served as LATAM General Counsel at the Blackstone telecom-infrastructure portfolio company Phoenix Tower International. Before transitioning in-house, Mr. Hercovich worked at the Miami-based firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP and in his native Chile at Prieto y Compania with a special focus on transactional, mergers and acquisitions, and new technologies matters.

Mr. Hercovich graduated cum laude from Chile's and Latin America's first-ranked Pontificia Universidad Catolica, obtained master's degrees in telecommunications and intellectual property from Universidad de Chile, and received his LLM degree from Columbia Law School in New York, where he earned the Harlan Fiske Stone scholars award for outstanding academic achievement. Recently, Matias has been commended in several specialized publications and is listed twice in the Legal 500 GC Powerlist US.

For more information on Tekmovil and the company's growing team, visit www.tekmovil.com .

About Tekmovil

Tekmovil is a highly innovative mobile technology distribution and services enterprise committed to taking the best mobile technology to new frontiers. Tekmovil leverages industry-leading expertise to provide manufacturing, network operator, and key channel partners with an edge over the competition by providing high-value services. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Tekmovil has operations that span over 14 countries in three regions.

Tekmovil's value proposition is to disrupt the traditional distributor model with technology-enabled services that seamlessly maximize brand and client performance while providing innovative, customer-driven, technology-backed services that translate to increased sales, customer satisfaction, and value for clients and their customers. For more information, visit www.tekmovil.com.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Tekmovil
TORONTO, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tequity, an M&A advisory firm specializing in global Enterprise B2B Cloud, SaaS, and IT company transactions, acted as the exclusive financial advisor to full-service technology provider, Triella, in their acquisition by Miii MSP.

Tequity Advised Managed Services Firm Triella on their Acquisition by Miii MSP

Triella is a leading managed services provider in Toronto with in-depth knowledge in the legal sector. Triella helps its clients to maintain and enhance their underlying technology through consulting, assessments, and managed services and solutions. The firm helps to facilitate technology transformations that drive and support business success with their legal clients, and professional services firms, private schools, and charitable organizations.

On working with Tequity, Charles Bennett, founder of Triella said, "When the going got tough, we could always count on Wilf to pave a way through the issue by finding a path that would work for all parties. Tequity knows the MSP market in North America really well. Their team ran an efficient process and were able to achieve what we were looking for."

Miii MSP are long-term growth investors in the MSP market with a mission to become North America's leading network of innovative, interactive, and integrated managed service providers.

Pamela Miranda, Co-Founder and Partner at Miii MSP said, "Working with Wilf Rapp and Tequity was an absolute pleasure. Wilf was very patient and despite being the sell side advisor, he also provided honest advice on how to win this deal and work with the seller. Overall, it was a great experience and we're looking forward to working with Wilf and the Tequity team again soon."

About Triella

Triella's managed private cloud and targeted solutions in security and managed IT offer clients fully managed service support so they can focus on their business. The company is focused on and has a deep knowledge of the legal industry and the unique requirements in this market, along with other professional service firms, schools, and SMEs.

About Miii MSP

Miii MSP offers founders an opportunity to protect their legacy and achieve their succession objectives. The company strives to be the first choice for MSPs looking to grow through a strategic M&A transaction.

About Tequity

Tequity assists Enterprise B2B SaaS, Cloud, and IT companies with business growth and exit strategies. Our mission is simple: Achieve the best outcome for our clients. With decades of combined experience as executives, consultants, and owners of software and technology companies, we leverage our deep industry knowledge across tech ecosystems and our relationships with strategic, growth-focused buyers around the globe to drive successful M&A transactions. For more information visit www.tequityadvisors.com

Contact:

Diane Horton, Managing Partner

[email protected]com

+1 (905) 581-7424

SOURCE Tequity Advisors
dtac Happy Tourist SIM would like to welcome all international visitors to Thailand with "Welcome Back to Thailand promotion" offering amazing value by doubling the validity period of our SIM cards for Internet access at the same price with two package options. One is a 15GB Internet package at 299 baht which allows Internet access for up to 16 days (up from 8 days in a normal package), and the other is a 30GB Internet package at 599 baht valid for up to 30 days (up from 15 days in a normal package) . dtac aims to double the pleasure of visitors to Thailand using dtac Happy Tourist SIM cards by giving them more days to share their travel experiences with families, loves ones, and friends, and conveniently keep in touch during their time in Thailand.

dtac Happy Tourist SIM provides superior services to meet the needs of tourists to make their experience more special. dtac is also offering its users free travel insurance from Falcon Insurance, which provides coverage for up to 30 days throughout the use of the SIM, covering accident and illness including COVID-19, as well as discounts at popular retail stores such as Family Mart, all Dean & DeLuca crafted food and gourmet coffee shops in Thailand, as well as with Grab services.

In addition, dtac also offers free dtac HAPPY Tourist SIM together with 6 GB of data as well as special offers and gifts to customers of dtac partners such as Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, Agoda, and Tune Protect Insurance. The dtac partners' customers can receive the sim and the premiums at dtac counters at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Don Mueang Airport and Phuket Airport until 31 August 2022 .

dtac Happy Tourist SIM is also available in four other main packages: (1) 8-day Highlight Package with 15 GB data at 299 baht; (2) 15-day Package with 30 GB data at 599 baht;

(3) 4-day Package with 5 GB data at 149 baht; and (4) Pay-As-You-Go Package at 49 baht.

Tourists want seamless connectivity from the moment they land in Thailand, and that's the mission of dtac Happy Tourist SIM.

For more privileges from dtac, visit Facebook: dtac , or www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/touristsim.html

SOURCE dtac
Food Edge connects leading food innovators and creates collaboration opportunities to advance the food and agriculture industries.

BOSTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Branchfood , the premier convenor of food innovators and entrepreneurs, will host its fifth annual Food Edge taking place May 3rd-5th, 2022. With participants from around the world, the summit will spark conversation and catalyze strategic connections to propel the food and agricultural industries forward. By convening the industry's leading minds, this curated, online gathering will catalyze the industry's effort to create long-term value across the supply chain and increase food production, all while conserving our natural resources.

"Strategic partnerships and collaboration between innovators, experts, and corporate food companies are key to accelerating food system transformation. Food Edge is the best place to learn about innovation at the forefront of the food industry and meet others who can help support your development goals," said Food Edge conference Founder, Lauren Abda.

The food and agricultural industries are at a critical inflection point. It is a time of enormous innovation and excitement, but also significant food insecurity and uncertainty. Food Edge provides a platform for aspiring founders, corporate executives, experts, investors, and country representatives to learn from and forge connections with innovators who are developing solutions to our greatest food system challenges. This year's conference will focus on innovations relating to sustainability, nutrition, consumer trends, and technology. Topics include but are not limited to:

Agricultural Adaptation and Collaboration in Times of Climate Change

Controlled Environments and Aquaculture for Sustained Food Production

Proteins of the Future to Feed a Growing Population

Mutually Beneficial Food and Retailing: For the Planet and the People

Supply Chain Technologies to Achieve Resiliency Across Sectors

Nutrition Innovation in Time of Rapid Changes

Food Edge participants will experience three days of education, ideation, and community building with virtual content sessions led by pioneers from around the world. The event will also include virtual networking and breakout sessions, an in-person 'Happy Hour' at the Sam Adams Boston Taproom on Tuesday, May 3rd at 6 PM EST, and an in-person 'Watch Party' at the Silicon Valley Bank's offices in Downtown Boston on Wednesday, May 4th.

The line-up of speakers include prominent business leaders, inventors, retailers, and investors including, but not limited to:

Phil Taylor , Global Open Innovation Lead, Bayer

, Global Open Innovation Lead, Bayer Megan Nunes , Founder, Bountiful

, Founder, Bountiful Julianne Stelmaszyk , Director of Food Strategy, Rhode Island Commerce

, Director of Food Strategy, Rhode Island Commerce James Petrie , CEO, Nourish Ingredients

, CEO, Nourish Ingredients Dariush Mozaffarian , Dean, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

, Dean, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Luda Kopeikina, Investment Director, DSM Venturing

Priyanka Srinivas , Founder, Live Green Co

, Founder, Live Green Co Sam Hseng-Hung Hsu , Executive VP Strategic Planning, Ecolab

, Executive VP Strategic Planning, Ecolab Henry Gordon-Smith , Founder & CEO, Agritecture

, Founder & CEO, Agritecture Ian Miller , Chief Development Officer, Pairwise

Sponsors include Branch Venture Group, Silicon Valley Bank, FRESH Communications, The Boston Beer Company, Motus Experiential, Yes! Apples, Consulate General of Canada in Boston, Incredible Foods.

To learn more, or to register for this year's summit, visit the Food Edge event page. https://www.foodedge.co/2022-summit

About Branchfood

Branchfood is a launchpad for food innovation. By bringing together all corners of the industry through curated events, investments, shared workspaces, and advisory support, Branchfood connects innovators and fosters growth to transform the future of food. With headquarters in Boston, Branchfood catalyzes the connections among food founders, experts and corporate leaders, accelerating the key partnerships that will transform the future of food. Learn more at Branchfood.com .

Carole Sioufi

Branchfood

[email protected]

(617) 320-7440

SOURCE Branchfood
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- USA for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has accepted its first stablecoin crypto donation towards the organization's humanitarian support. The $2.5 million USD equivalent from Binance through Binance Charity is further demonstration of how cryptocurrency is playing a key role in raising vital funds and providing humanitarian aid.

Stablecoins bridge the world of cryptocurrency and fiat currency together as their prices are tied to a reserve asset like the US dollar.

The BUSD donation will go towards providing humanitarian, legal and social assistance including psychosocial support and emergency shelter to people in need. More than 10 million people have already been displaced.

"Binance Charity's commitment to the families shows the innovative philanthropic power of crypto in action," said Anne-Marie Grey, Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR. "This generous support will make a life-changing difference for those families, and more importantly, it shows families that a caring and committed global community is stepping forward to help during their darkest times."

Helen Hai, Head of Binance Charity, said: "Every day we see more casualties, more destruction, more lives lost. We are proud that we've been able to work with UNHCR to deliver its first BUSD crypto donation. UNHCR's tireless efforts and second-to-none experience in assisting refugees, makes them an obvious choice to support as part of our $10 million USD in crypto donations."

UNHCR delivers assistance to communities which are in need when it is safe to do so and is closely tracking negotiations for safe passage. UNHCR is providing cash assistance so families can purchase basics like food, rent and hygiene items and also delivering core relief items and emergency shelter. Additionally, teams are setting up reception and transit points for internally displaced people and facilitating access to legal aid and psychosocial care.

This is the latest donation following Binance's $10 million USD commitment to help people impacted.

SOURCE Binance
Increase in adoption of thermal energy storage (TES), owing to their dependable, safe, and environmental-friendly operations is estimated help the global thermal energy storage market to be valued at US$ 22.6 Bn by 2031

Growth in number of R&D projects on energy storage systems is expected to help in market expansion during the forecast period

ALBANY, N.Y., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global thermal energy storage market is estimated to register growth at a CAGR of 16.3% during the forecast period, 2021-2031, highlights a study by Transparency Market Research (TMR).

Due to the growing understanding of environment and global warming, there has been an increase in the inclination among global population toward the use of renewable energy. This factor is generating sizable business prospects in the global thermal energy storage market.

Major players operating in the global thermal energy storage market are increasing their focus on spreading awareness on different advantages of the sensible heat technologies together with their use in solar air receiver systems. In addition, they are also publicizing HVAC applications for buildings in order to diversify the application of sensible heat. These factors are favoring the growth of the thermal energy storage market.

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The thermal energy storage market in North America is projected to maintain its leading position in the upcoming years, owing to rise in use of renewable energy sources in the region. Moreover, the North America thermal energy storage market is prognosticated to be driven by constant advancements in solar thermal generation technologies in the region. While the regional market is comparatively mature, rise in installations of concentrated solar plants is likely to generate lucrative prospects in the North America thermal energy storage market during the forecast period.

Different businesses across the globe are experiencing negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this critical situations, several nations globally are growing efforts to fulfill their needs of the renewable energy. As a result, there has been a surge in the deployment of thermal storage systems. This, in turn, is estimated to generate prominent demand opportunities in the thermal energy storage market in the upcoming years.

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Thermal Energy Storage Market: Key Findings

Rise in prices of fuel and increase in concerns on greenhouse gas emissions have resulted in a surge in the need for effective employment of renewable energy sources. Moreover, there has been an augmented demand for advanced energy technologies, owing to exhausting resources of energy across the globe. At the same time, the need for energy is increasing continuously. These factors are leading to inclination toward effective utilization of renewable energy sources. Thus, advanced energy technologies are being increasingly used in order to boost energy supply and decrease the consumption of energy, states TMR report on the thermal energy storage market.

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems are gaining impetus across the globe due to different advantages they offer, including environment-friendly, safe, and dependable operations. Hence, rising adoption of these systems is expected to fuel the sales growth in the global thermal energy storage market during the forecast period. As a result, the market is prognosticated to gain the valuation of US$ 22.6 Bn by 2031.

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Thermal Energy Storage Market: Growth Boosters

Increase in use of TES systems in the electrical energy generation field for large-scale applications is leading to revenue-generation opportunities in the global thermal energy storage market

Rise in awareness about different advantages of TES, including their ability to assist in balancing energy demand and decreasing CO2 emissions, costs, and energy consumption is propelling the global thermal energy storage market

Thermal Energy Storage Market: Key Players

Some of the key players profiled in the report are:

Evapco

Calmac

Goss Engineering Inc

McDermott International Ltd

Brenmiller Energy

Trane Technologies Inc

Azelio

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy

BrightSource Energy Inc.

Abengoa Solar S.A.

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Thermal Energy Storage Market Segmentation

Technology

Sensible Heat

Latent Heat

Thermochemical Heat

End-user

Commercial and Industrial

Utilities

Residential

Region

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa

Energy & Natural Resources Industry battles Tangible Impact of Economic and Cultural changes, Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the global Energy & Natural Resources:

Marine VFD Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/marine-vfd-market.html

Conveyor Belt Repair Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/conveyor-belt-repair-market.html

About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyse information.



Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

For More Research Insights on Leading Industries, Visit our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8e-z-g23-TdDMuODiL8BKQ

Contact

Rohit Bhisey

Transparency Market Research

State Tower,

90 State Street,

Suite 700,

Albany NY - 12207

United States

USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Press Release Source: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/thermal-energy-storage-market.htm

SOURCE Transparency Market Research
"Stephanie is an accomplished business leader with deep expertise in manufacturing and operations," said Shabbir Dahod, President and CEO at TraceLink. "She will add great value as we drive supply chain transformation with our Opus digital network platform. The Opus low-code/no-code development platform enables companies to quickly and easily create digital networks with a new class of multienterprise software. Stephanie's insights into the needs of operating executives will be invaluable as we expand our supply chain application solutions and ecosystem."

Ms. Hart is currently the Senior Vice President of Operations at Warby Parker. During her tenure, Warby Parker went public through a direct listing, opened a second optical lab, and has maintained exceptional quality and customer service as the company continues to inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose, and style. Prior to joining Warby Parker, Ms. Hart was the Senior Vice President of Global Operations at Beyond Meat, where she was part of the leadership team that took the company public in one of the best performing IPOs by a US company in almost two decades. Ms. Hart has also held senior operating positions at Nestle and Jenny Craig.

"I am excited to join TraceLink's Board of Directors", said Ms. Hart. "I've spent the last twenty-one years of my career running manufacturing operations for global brands. The Opus platform and the network-based applications built on it will solve some of the supply chain challenges that I face every day - traceability, supply and demand fluctuations, sustainability and social responsibility. TraceLink's Opus platform is a true break-through technology that will foster a wave of innovation across the supply chain and I am thrilled to help make TraceLink's vision for digital supply chain transformation a reality."

About TraceLink

TraceLink is the only business network creation platform for building integrated business ecosystems with multienterprise applications. Business networks are the foundation of an Industry 4.0 digitalization strategy that delivers customer-centric agility and resiliency of the end-to-end supply network leveraging the collective intelligence of an industry. The TraceLink Opus Digital Network Platform enables speed of open innovation and implementation with a partner ecosystem for no-code and low-code development of solutions and applications. For more information on TraceLink and our solutions, visit www.tracelink.com .

SOURCE TraceLink
BOSTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TraceLink Inc, the leading digital network platform company, made a series of announcements today that highlight the progress being made in the development of Opus, the operating platform for Industry 4.0. These announcements include the launch of new software solutions on the platform, milestones in collective intelligence, additions to the partner ecosystem, the release of new Opus platform capabilities, and the expansion of the executive leadership team.

"I've been watching the development of the Opus platform with great interest." said Alessandro De Luca, Group CIO and Head of Information technology at Merck KGaA. "Today's supply chain challenges exist outside the four walls of our organizations - things like traceability, demand fluctuations, supply disruptions, and sustainability to name just a few. These are Industry 4.0 problems that can only be solved through the creation of digital networks, sharing processes with network partners, and leveraging shared data across the industry. I see Opus and the capabilities that it brings as the operating platform for Industry 4.0 transformation."

TraceLink Launches First Supply Chain Work Management Solution on the Opus Platform: The first step for many organizations in their journey to Industry 4.0 transformation, the TraceLink Supply Chain Work Management solution allows any company in the supply chain to build collaborative networks across their trading partners to enhance the performance of their integrated supply planning and execution processes through better management of supply chain issues and planning exceptions like material shortages, short shipments, and forecast changes.

TraceLink Announces a Partnership with Kinaxis: Kinaxis, a recognized leader in supply chain planning, is partnering with TraceLink to launch an out-of-the-box integration between TraceLink Supply Chain Work Management and Kinaxis' Rapid Response planning platform. By uniting Kinaxis' market-leading supply chain planning solution with digital network creation and supply chain work management capabilities from TraceLink, supply chain executives will rapidly access the multi-company execution tools necessary to improve their integrated supply planning and execution processes.

TraceLink Announces Product Availability Intelligence, Enabling Manufacturers to Predict Drug Shortages up to 90 Days in Advance with Greater Than 80% Accuracy: Product Availability Intelligence is a groundbreaking solution that will allow participating members of the Healthcare and Life Sciences value chain to predict and react to critical medicine shortages up to 90 days in advance with greater than 80% accuracy over current industry information sources. Created in partnership with leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesale distributors, healthcare systems and retail pharmacies, Product Availability Intelligence applies machine learning to the movement of more than 30 billion serialized medicines across the TraceLink network of more than 287,000 member Healthcare and Life Science companies to predict drug shortages, and is the first realization of Collective Intelligence enabled by the Opus platform.

TraceLink Announces Opus Compliance Framework In Preparation For Over 30 Country Compliance Mandates in Next Three Years: The new Opus Compliance Framework makes use of the Opus low-code platform and Opus Event Canonicals to accelerate the development of individual compliance applications. These efforts will reduce the effort of developing compliance applications by four times and also result in higher quality solutions by simplifying the overall compliance application architecture.

TraceLink Delivers Major Enhancements to the Opus Digital Network Platform: The TraceLink Opus Platform, the operating platform for Industry 4.0, enables the creation of digital networks with a new class of multienterprise software applications built on the Opus low-code, no-code development environment. Major enhancements to the platform's infrastructure, application layer, development environment and UI framework will enable many important improvements. Companies will be able to choose their data residency from data centers in different geographic regions, initially with Frankfurt as the second supported data region, and seamlessly create networks and integrate and exchange information with supply chain partners across data regions. Localization support will be provided for FIGS and multibyte languages. The user experience has been improved through the addition of new Opus Ensemble UI capabilities. Integration between apps on the Opus platform and third-party apps will be enabled through API tokens to authenticate and authorize API requests. Performance and scalability enhancements have been added along with improvements to CI/CD deployment automation. Performance monitoring has been upgraded with new health checks and additional cloud ops metrics capture and monitoring. Additionally, a new Opus admin app will allow customer self-management of multienterprise app networks and members on the networks.

TraceLink Announces Addition of Karl Waldman as General Manager of Agile Supply Chain Organization: Karl Waldman brings a wealth of supply chain and digital network experience to TraceLink. Before joining, Karl was the VP of Retail at One Network Enterprises where he led the deployment of multienterprise applications. Karl has also held senior leadership positions at L7 Informatics, Retail Solutions Inc., i2 Technologies, and was co-founder of OATSystems. In his new role, Karl will lead the go-to-market strategy for the TraceLink portfolio of applications designed to bring agility and resilience to supply chain operations, including TraceLink Supply Chain Work Management.

TraceLink Announces Appointment of Stephanie Hart to Board of Directors: Ms. Hart is currently the Senior Vice President of Operations at Warby Parker. During her tenure, Warby Parker went public through a direct listing, opened a second optical lab, and has maintained exceptional quality and customer service as the company continues to inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose, and style. Prior to joining Warby Parker, Ms. Hart was the Senior Vice President of Global Operations at Beyond Meat, where she was part of the leadership team that took the company public in one of the best performing IPOs by a US company in almost two decades. Ms. Hart has also held senior operating positions at Nestle and Jenny Craig.

"I am extremely proud of the TraceLink team and the milestones we are achieving in our quest to become the world's leading digital supply chain platform company," said Shabbir Dahod, President and CEO at TraceLink. "Our Opus platform has the power to revolutionize supply chains. Opus can transform the way supply chain partners work together, predict drug shortages, and ensure that medicines are tracked and traced to prevent theft and diversion. And this is just the beginning of what is possible with the Opus platform and the platform ecosystem that we are creating."

About TraceLink

TraceLink is the only business network creation platform for building integrated business ecosystems with multienterprise applications. Business networks are the foundation of an Industry 4.0 digitalization strategy that delivers customer-centric agility and resiliency of the end-to-end supply network leveraging the collective intelligence of an industry. The TraceLink Opus Digital Network Platform enables speed of open innovation and implementation with a partner ecosystem for no-code and low-code development of solutions and applications. For more information on TraceLink and our solutions, visit www.tracelink.com

SOURCE TraceLink
The Opus platform enhancements will enable integration and data exchange with supply chain partners across data regions, third party app integrations, localization, UI improvements, scalability, performance monitoring, and customer self-management of multienterprise app networks

BOSTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TraceLink Inc., the leading digital network platform company, today announced the 2022.1 release of Opus, the operating platform for Industry 4.0. Opus is the only platform that enables the creation of digital networks with a new class of multienterprise software applications built on the Opus low-code, no-code development environment.

"We developed a practical blueprint for Industry 4.0 execution through our digital network deployments for pharmaceutical track-and-trace," said Shabbir Dahod, President and CEO at TraceLink. "The Opus platform creates digital networks for all business processes, shares business processes and applications across the network, leverages shared applications and customizable solutions for cross-functional and cross-company execution, connects information through a common data model, and enables collective intelligence for enhanced decision making. The release that we are announcing today will bring us one step closer in our quest to power the digital transformation of the healthcare and life sciences supply chain."

Opus is a low-code, no-code development platform and partner ecosystem for constructing digital networks for Industry 4.0 deployments. Opus provides capabilities in five distinct layers to build, manage, and grow networks with and among supply chain partners.

Network Layer: The network layer provides capabilities for creating and managing interoperable networks of authenticated companies, users, products and partners, and provides a single source of truth for network master data. Opus network services include company and partner onboarding, company administration, user administration and network master data management.

Integration Layer: The integration layer provides capabilities for deploying APIs, plug-ins, B2B data exchange, and other information sharing protocols through canonicalized messaging, thereby creating an interoperable business transaction network that can scale to companies of any size or digital maturity. Opus integration services include a message hub for interoperable information exchange among network partners, a transformation service for metadata and canonical data definition and mapping, and an integration and plug-in marketplace.

Information Layer: The information layer provides capabilities for leveraging metadata applied to all business objects across the network through data mesh pipelines, enabling machine learning out-of-the-box to create industry-wide predictive analytics and collective intelligence. Opus information services include data mesh pipelines and machine learning tools.

Application Layer: The application layer provides capabilities for building new or leveraging existing multienterprise applications, like Agile Process Teams and the Track-and-Trace suite of apps, which link supply chain partners across shared networks, thereby creating digital networks of shared business processes for execution excellence. Opus application services include the TraceLink development environment for multienterprise app design, application administration for network interoperability, a metadata manager, a workflow manager and a messaging processing framework.

Solution Layer: The solution layer provides capabilities for customizing solutions to create unique user experiences, workflows, data objects, roles, permissions, and more, thereby creating company-specific configurations while also maintaining network interoperability with partners using those shared applications. Opus solution services include Solution Builder for creating and customizing solutions, a solution marketplace and partner ecosystem, and solution training.

The 2022.1 Opus release includes major enhancements to the platform's infrastructure, application layer, development environment and UI framework that will enable many important improvements.

Companies will be able to choose their data residency from data centers in different geographic regions, initially with Frankfurt as the second supported data region, and seamlessly create networks and integrate and exchange information with supply chain partners across data regions.

Localization support will be provided for French, Italian, German, Spanish, and multibyte languages.

The user experience has been improved through the addition of new Opus Ensemble UI capabilities.

Integration between apps on the Opus platform and third-party apps will be enabled through API tokens to authenticate and authorize API requests.

Performance and scalability enhancements have been added, along with improvements to CI/CD deployment automation.

Performance monitoring has been upgraded with new health checks and additional cloud ops metrics capture and monitoring.

And a new Opus admin app will allow customer self-management of multienterprise app networks and members on the networks.

"I am extremely proud of the TraceLink team and the milestones we are achieving in our quest to become the world's leading digital supply chain platform company," said Mr. Dahod. "Our Opus platform has the power to revolutionize supply chains. Opus can transform the way supply chain partners work together, predict drug shortages, and ensure that medicines are tracked and traced to prevent theft and diversion. And this is just the beginning of what is possible with the Opus platform and the platform ecosystem that we are creating."

About TraceLink

TraceLink is the only business network creation platform for building integrated business ecosystems with multienterprise applications. Business networks are the foundation of an Industry 4.0 digitalization strategy that delivers customer-centric agility and resiliency of the end-to-end supply network leveraging the collective intelligence of an industry. The TraceLink Opus Digital Network Platform enables speed of open innovation and implementation with a partner ecosystem for no-code and low-code development of solutions and applications. For more information on TraceLink and our solutions, visit www.tracelink.com.

SOURCE TraceLink
VANCOUVER, BC, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Trilogy Metals Inc. (TSX: TMQ) (NYSE American: TMQ) ("Trilogy" or the "Company") welcomes the recent announcement by President Biden invoking the Defense Production Act ("DPA"). The DPA is an aggressive measure to increase the US domestic production of metals including cobalt, nickel, lithium, manganese, and graphite. The DPA is a Cold War-era statute that gives the President access to funding and other enhanced powers to shore up the American industrial base and ensure the private sector has the necessary resources to defend national security and face emergencies.

Tony Giardini, President and CEO of Trilogy, commented, "With the statement by President Biden specifically highlighting that the United States needs to end its long-term reliance on adversarial countries for metals that are critical to a green economy, we want to reiterate that the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects ("UKMP") hosts Indicated Resources of 3.4 billion pounds of copper and 3.4 billion pounds of zinc, and Inferred Resources of 5.4 billion pounds of copper and 88 million pounds of cobalt1. We believe that the resources at the UKMP will become a critical source of green metals for the US economy, as well as a significant economic contributor within the Northwest Arctic Borough, its Native communities, and the Alaskan economy."

Dickie Moto, Northwest Arctic Borough Mayor, stated, "Resource development when carried out in a way that respects our subsistence lifestyle, our culture, and the wellbeing of the land, has the potential to create progressive economic and employment outcomes for the people of our communities within the Northwest Arctic Borough. I believe that the Ambler Access Project would have a positive, meaningful effect on our communities given that gas prices are currently $16 a gallon and that we are witnessing some of the highest unemployment rates in Alaska. I also want to reiterate that on October 11, 2021, the Northwest Arctic Borough, which is the regional government for Northwest Alaska, passed a resolution in support of the Ambler Access Project. Also, the villages of Kobuk, Shungnak, Kiana, Selawik, and Deering have also passed resolutions in favor of development of the road. The road and the proposed mines, if developed responsibly, would provide jobs and the ability to sustain our subsistence lifestyle for future generations of Inupiaq within the borough."

Update on the Ambler Access Project ("AAP")

The AAP is the proposed 211-mile industrial-use-only road that would link the UKMP in Northwestern Alaska to the Dalton Highway.

On February 22, 2022, the United States Department of the Interior ("DOI") filed a motion to remand the Final Environmental Impact Statement ("FEIS") and suspend the right-of-way permits issued to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority ("AIDEA") for the AAP (the "Voluntary Remand Motion"). For more information on the motion by the DOI, please go to DOI documents or go to the Trilogy website at https://trilogymetals.com/news-and-media/news/2022.

On March 22, 2022, the Intervenor Defendants (the State of Alaska, NANA, AIDEA, and Ambler Metals LLC ("Ambler Metals")) filed motions in response to the DOI's Voluntary Remand Motion.

In its motion, Ambler Metals, the joint venture operating company equally owned by wholly owned subsidiaries of Trilogy and South32 Limited, stated that it does not oppose the Voluntary Remand Motion subject to the following conditions:

No vacatur or termination of the permits;

The remand must be completed within nine months;

That there must be status updates to the court every 60 days during the remand period; and

Federal Defendants (DOI) must lodge the administrative record within 30 days of issuing any new decision.

The Company expects that the DOI and the United States Department of Justice will prepare and submit their response brief to the United States District Court for the District of Alaska ("US District Court") by April 5, 2022. It will then be left to the US District Court to decide on the motion for a remand.

Mr. Giardini commented, "Again, I want to thank the people within the Northwest Arctic Borough in Alaska for taking the time and effort to express their support for the AAP. All five villages have been clear that the construction of the road is expected to have positive impacts for their communities, where a balance can be achieved with respect to the environment and the local people's subsistence culture and lifestyle."

Technical Reports

1The Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects, which includes the Arctic Project and the Bornite Project, contains mineral resources referenced in the technical reports below:

"Arctic Feasibility Study Alaska, USA NI 43-101 Technical Report" with an effective date of August 20, 2020 , which was prepared on a 100% ownership basis, of which Trilogy's share is 50%, and under National Instrument 43-101 standards by independent consultant, Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. of Vancouver, Canada . A copy of the report is available at www.edgar.com, www.sedar.com and www.trilogymetals.com.





, which was prepared on a 100% ownership basis, of which Trilogy's share is 50%, and under National Instrument 43-101 standards by independent consultant, Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. of . A copy of the report is available at www.edgar.com, www.sedar.com and www.trilogymetals.com. "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Bornite Project, Northwest Alaska, USA " with an effective date of December 31, 2021 which was prepared under National Instrument 43-101 standards by independent consultants Robert Sim , P.Geo., SIM Geological Inc., Bruce M. Davis , FAusIMM and Jeff Austin , P.Eng., International Metallurgical & Environmental Inc

Arctic's Indicated Mineral Resources total 36.0 million tonnes grading 3.07% copper and 4.23% zinc, at a 0.5% cut-off grade, containing 2.44 billion pounds of copper, and 3.35 billion pounds of zinc.

Bornite's In-Pit Indicated Mineral Resources total 41.7 million tonnes grading 1.04% copper, at a 0.5% cut-off grade, containing 955 million pounds of copper.

Arctic's Inferred Mineral Resources total 3.5 million tonnes grading 1.71% copper and 2.72% zinc, at a 0.5% cut-off grade, containing 131 million pounds of copper, and 210 million pounds of zinc.

Bornite's In-Pit Inferred Mineral Resources total 93.9 million tonnes grading 0.98% copper, at a 0.5% cut-off grade, containing 2.03 billion pounds of copper. It also has 135.6 million tonnes grading 0.017% cobalt, at a 0.5% cut-off grade, containing 51 million pounds of cobalt.

Bornite's Below-Pit (South Reef) Inferred Mineral Resources total 35.3 million tonnes grading 3.39% copper, at a 1.5% cut-off grade, containing 2.64 billion pounds of copper. It also has 35.3 million tonnes grading 0.039% cobalt, at a 1.5% cut-off grade, containing 30 million pounds of cobalt.

Bornite's Below-Pit (Ruby Zone) Inferred Mineral Resources total 15 million tonnes grading 1.98% copper, at a 1.5% cut-off grade, containing 653 million pounds of copper. It also has 15.0 million tonnes grading 0.021% cobalt, at a 1.5% cut-off grade, containing 7 million pounds of cobalt.

About Trilogy Metals

Trilogy Metals Inc. is a metal exploration and development company which holds a 50 percent interest in Ambler Metals LLC which has a 100 percent interest in the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects ("UKMP") in Northwestern Alaska. On December 19, 2019, South32, a globally diversified mining and metals company, exercised its option to form a 50/50 joint venture with Trilogy. The UKMP is located within the Ambler Mining District which is one of the richest and most-prospective known copper-dominant districts in the world. It hosts world-class polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") deposits that contain copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver, and carbonate replacement deposits which have been found to host high-grade copper and cobalt mineralization. Exploration efforts have been focused on two deposits in the Ambler Mining District  the Arctic VMS deposit and the Bornite carbonate replacement deposit. Both deposits are located within a land package that spans approximately 181,387 hectares. Ambler Metals has an agreement with NANA Regional Corporation, Inc., an Alaska Native Corporation that provides a framework for the exploration and potential development of the Ambler Mining District in cooperation with local communities. Trilogy's vision is to develop the Ambler Mining District into a premier North American copper producer.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, statements relating to the potential of the UKMP to become a critical source of green metals for the US economy; the potential of the UKMP to become a significant economic contributor within the Northwest Arctic Borough, its Native communities, and the Alaskan economy; the potential for the development and operation of the Arctic Project to create jobs; the benefits of the AAP and the merits of the UKMP; the status, timing and potential outcome of litigation regarding the AAP; and potential permitting and development of the AAP are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include the uncertainties involving whether the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority will build the AAP; the results of the additional supplemental work on the FEIS resulting from the voluntary remand; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; success of exploration activities, permitting timelines, requirements for additional capital, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services, uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and geological tests, unexpected cost increases and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 30, 2021 filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and in other Company reports and documents filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time. The Company's forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors

This press release has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource and reserve estimates included in this press release have been prepared in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM)CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council, as amended ("CIM Definition Standards"). NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Canadian standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and resource and reserve information contained herein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the term "resource" does not equate to the term "reserves". Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. The SEC's Industry Guide 7 did not permit the inclusion of information concerning "mineral resources". The SEC's new mining disclosure rules under Regulation S-K 1300 are closer, but not identical to NI 43-101 and CIM Definition Standards. As the Company is not yet subject to Regulation S-K 1300, it remains subject to SEC industry Guide 7. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth herein may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards under either SEC's Industry Guide 7 or Regulation S-K 1300.

SOURCE Trilogy Metals Inc.
Truck Transmission System Market 2022-2026: Scope

The truck transmission system market report covers the following areas:

Truck Transmission System Market 2022-2026 : Driver and Challenge

The increase in sales of pickup trucks is driving the truck transmission system market growth. The reopening of the economy, improving customer sentiments, stimulus checks, and tax refunds contribute to increased demand. The average price of a used pickup truck has increased. However, there is a high demand for used vehicles, especially full-size pickup trucks. Moreover, some buyers travel large distances to buy the items, regardless of the price. These two factors related to the coronavirus pandemic are driving the market growth. Therefore, the growing sales of pickup trucks will drive the global truck transmission system market.

Advanced transmission system design leading to vehicle malfunction and recalls is challenging the truck transmission system market growth. For instance, Daimler AG's Navistar brand has recalled nearly 21,000 trucks equipped with a faulty transmission, which led to the failure of an internal component in the clutch assembly, resulting in vehicle instability while moving. Such recalls raise concerns over the reliability of the transmission system and also pressurize different stakeholders operating in the value chain to undertake liability-sharing to share the cost burden. The maintenance and repair costs are also higher, which can incur additional costs. Such additional costs are hindering market growth.

Truck Transmission System Market 2022-2026: Segmentation

Volume

Light-duty trucks



Medium and heavy-duty trucks

Geography

North America



APAC



Europe



South America



MEA

Learn more about the contribution of each segment of the market. Download a Free Sample

Truck Transmission System Market 2022-2026: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the truck transmission system market, including Aisin Corp., Allison Transmission Holdings Inc., American Axle and Manufacturing Inc., BorgWarner Inc., Eaton Corp. Plc, Grupo KUO SAB de CV, Magna International Inc., thyssenkrupp AG, Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG among others.

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Truck Transmission System Market 2022-2026: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2022-2026

Detailed information on factors that will assist truck transmission system market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the truck transmission system market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the truck transmission system market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of truck transmission system market vendors

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Truck Transmission System Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Decelerate at a CAGR of 7.24% Market growth 2022-2026 6484.46 th units Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 8.37 Regional analysis North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA Performing market contribution North America at 43% Key consumer countries US, China, Mexico, Japan, and Thailand Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled Aisin Corp., Allison Transmission Holdings Inc., American Axle and Manufacturing Inc., BorgWarner Inc., Eaton Corp. Plc, Grupo KUO SAB de CV, Magna International Inc., thyssenkrupp AG, Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table Of Contents :

***1. Executive Summary

**1.1 Market Overview

*Exhibit 01: Key Finding 1

*Exhibit 02: Key Finding 2

*Exhibit 03: Key Finding 3

*Exhibit 04: Key Finding 5

*Exhibit 05: Key Finding 6

*Exhibit 06: Key Finding 7

*Exhibit 07: Key Finding 8

***2. Market Landscape

**2.1 Market ecosystem

*Exhibit 08 Parent market

*Exhibit 09: Market characteristics

**2.2 Value Chain Analysis

*Exhibit 10: Value Chain Analysis: Auto parts and equipment

*2.2.1 Inputs

*2.2.2 Inbound logistics

*2.2.3 Operations:

*2.2.4 Distribution and logistics

*2.2.5 Marketing and sales

*2.2.6 Service

*2.2.7 Industry innovations

***3. Market Sizing

**3.1 Market definition

*Exhibit 11 : Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

**3.2 Market segment analysis

*Exhibit 12: Market segments

**3.3 Market size 2021

**3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021 - 2026

*Exhibit 13: Global - Market size and forecast 2021 - 2026 (thousand units)

*Exhibit 14: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2021 - 2026 (%)

***4. Five Forces Analysis

**4.1 Five Forces Summary

*Exhibit 15: Five forces analysis 2021 - 2026

**4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

*Exhibit 16: Bargaining power of the buyer

**4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

*Exhibit 17: Bargaining power of the supplier

**4.4 Threat of new entrants

*Exhibit 18: Threat of new entrants

**4.5 Threat of substitutes

*Exhibit 19: Threat of substitutes

**4.6 Threat of rivalry

*Exhibit 20: Threat of rivalry

**4.7 Market condition

*Exhibit 21: Market condition - Five forces 2021

***5. Market Segmentation by Application by Volume

**5.1 Market segments

*The segments covered in this chapter are:

Light-duty trucks

Medium and heavy-duty trucks

*Exhibit 22: Application by Volume - Market share 2021-2026 (%)

**5.2 Comparison by Application by Volume

*Exhibit 23: Comparison by Application by Volume

**5.3 Light-duty trucks - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (thousand units)

*Exhibit 24: Light-duty trucks - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (thousand units)

*Exhibit 25: Light-duty trucks - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

**5.4 Medium and heavy-duty trucks - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (thousand units)

*Exhibit 26: Medium and heavy-duty trucks - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (thousand units)

*Exhibit 27: Medium and heavy-duty trucks - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

**5.5 Market opportunity by Application by volume

*Exhibit 28: Market opportunity by Application by volume

***6. Customer landscape

*Technavio's customer landscape matrix comparing Drivers or price sensitivity, Adoption lifecycle, importance in customer price basket, Adoption rate and Key purchase criteria

**6.1 Overview

*Exhibit 29: Customer landscape

***7. Geographic Landscape

**7.1 Geographic segmentation

*The regions covered in the report are:

North America

APAC

Europe

South America

MEA

*Exhibit 30: Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)

**7.2 Geographic comparison

*Exhibit 31: Geographic comparison

**7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

*Exhibit 32: North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (thousand units)

*Exhibit 33: North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

**7.4 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

*Exhibit 34: APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (thousand units)

*Exhibit 35: APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

**7.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

*Exhibit 36: Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (thousand units)

*Exhibit 37: Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

**7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

*Exhibit 38: South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (thousand units)

*Exhibit 39: South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

**7.7 MEA - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

*Exhibit 40: MEA - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 (thousand units)

*Exhibit 41: MEA - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

**7.8 Key leading countries

*Exhibit 42: Key leading countries

**7.9 Market opportunity by geography

*Exhibit 43: Market opportunity by geography (thousand units)

***8. Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

**8.1 Market drivers

*8.1.1 Increase in sales of pickup trucks

*8.1.2 Growing penetration rate of the automatic transmission system

*8.1.3 Increased use of aluminum in the truck transmission system

**8.2 Market challenges

*8.2.1 Advanced transmission system design leading to vehicle malfunction and recalls

*8.2.2 Challenges associated with the design of transmission systems

*8.2.3 Growing demand and sales of all-electric vehicles

*Exhibit 44: Impact of drivers and challenges

**8.3 Market trends

*8.3.1 Increased use of high-speed transmission in trucks

*8.3.2 Rising adoption of all-electric powertrains

*8.3.3 Emergence of the triple-clutch transmission system

***9. Vendor Landscape

**9.1 Overview

*Exhibit 45: Vendor landscape

**9.2 Landscape disruption

*Exhibit 46: Landscape disruption

*Exhibit 47: Industry Risk

**9.3 Competitive Scenario

***10. Vendor Analysis

**10.1 Vendors covered

*Exhibit 48: Vendors covered

**10.2 Market positioning of vendors

*Exhibit 49: Market positioning of vendors

**10.3 Aisin Corp.

*Exhibit 50: Aisin Corp. - Overview

*Exhibit 51: Aisin Corp. - Business segments

*Exhibit 52: Aisin Corp. - Key news

*Exhibit 53: Aisin Corp. - Key offerings

*Exhibit 54: Aisin Corp. - Segment focus

**10.4 Allison Transmission Holdings Inc.

*Exhibit 55: Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. - Overview

*Exhibit 56: Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. - Business segments

*Exhibit 57: Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. - Key news

*Exhibit 58: Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. - Key offerings

*Exhibit 59: Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. - Segment focus

**10.5 American Axle and Manufacturing Inc.

*Exhibit 60: American Axle and Manufacturing Inc. - Overview

*Exhibit 61: American Axle and Manufacturing Inc. - Business segments

*Exhibit 62: American Axle and Manufacturing Inc. - Key news

*Exhibit 63: American Axle and Manufacturing Inc. - Key offerings

*Exhibit 64: American Axle and Manufacturing Inc. - Segment focus

**10.6 BorgWarner Inc.

*Exhibit 65: BorgWarner Inc. - Overview

*Exhibit 66: BorgWarner Inc. - Business segments

*Exhibit 67: BorgWarner Inc. - Key news

*Exhibit 68: BorgWarner Inc. - Key offerings

*Exhibit 69: BorgWarner Inc. - Segment focus

**10.7 Eaton Corp. Plc

*Exhibit 70: Eaton Corp. Plc - Overview

*Exhibit 71: Eaton Corp. Plc - Business segments

*Exhibit 72: Eaton Corp. Plc - Key news

*Exhibit 73: Eaton Corp. Plc - Key offerings

*Exhibit 74: Eaton Corp. Plc - Segment focus

**10.8 Grupo KUO SAB de CV

*Exhibit 75: Grupo KUO SAB de CV - Overview

*Exhibit 76: Grupo KUO SAB de CV - Business segments

*Exhibit 77: Grupo KUO SAB de CV - Key offerings

*Exhibit 78: Grupo KUO SAB de CV - Segment focus

**10.9 Magna International Inc.

*Exhibit 79: Magna International Inc. - Overview

*Exhibit 80: Magna International Inc. - Business segments

*Exhibit 81: Magna International Inc. - Key news

*Exhibit 82: Magna International Inc. - Key offerings

*Exhibit 83: Magna International Inc. - Segment focus

**10.10 thyssenkrupp AG

*Exhibit 84: thyssenkrupp AG - Overview

*Exhibit 85: thyssenkrupp AG - Business segments

*Exhibit 86: thyssenkrupp AG - Key news

*Exhibit 87: thyssenkrupp AG - Key offerings

*Exhibit 88: thyssenkrupp AG - Segment focus

**10.11 Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA

*Exhibit 89: Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA - Overview

*Exhibit 90: Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA - Product and service

*Exhibit 91: Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA - Key news

*Exhibit 92: Voith GmbH and Co. KGaA - Key offerings

**10.12 ZF Friedrichshafen AG

*Exhibit 93: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Overview

*Exhibit 94: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Business segments

*Exhibit 95: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Key news

*Exhibit 96: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Key offerings

*Exhibit 97: ZF Friedrichshafen AG - Segment focus

***11. Appendix

**11.1 Scope of the report

*11.1.1 Market definition

*11.1.2 Objectives

*11.1.3 Notes and caveats

**11.2 Currency conversion rates for US$

*Exhibit 98: Currency conversion rates for US$

**11.3 Research Methodology

*Exhibit 99: Research Methodology

*Exhibit 100: Validation techniques employed for market sizing

*Exhibit 101: Information sources

**11.4 List of abbreviations

*Exhibit 102: List of abbreviations

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SOURCE Technavio
The Nation's Fastest-Growing Engineering and Consulting Firm Appoints Former BrandSafway and General Electric Executive to Strengthen Leadership Team and Accelerate Growth

ORLANDO, Fla., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Engineering Sciences (UES), a leading national engineering and consulting company, has appointed David Witsken to the role of Chief Executive Officer. UES, recognized as the fastest-growing AEC firm in the U.S. and Canada, continues to expand its operations nationally, with 67 branches in nearly 20 states and more than 3,100 professionals today. Dave will be located at UES' headquarters in Orlando and will begin later this month.

"UES is poised to make a tremendous impact nationally." - Dave Witsken, CEO Tweet this Universal Engineering Sciences CEO Dave Witsken

Most recently, Dave served as the President of BrandSafway's Industrial, Energy, and Commercial business for the United States, Canada and Mexico. BrandSafway is a provider of services and products to the industrial, commercial and infrastructure end markets worldwide. Dave worked in various global executive leadership roles throughout his 17 years at the company, including M&A, Sales, and General Management. During his tenure, BrandSafway completed 30 successful acquisitions and grew from $300 million in revenue in 2005 to $5 billion today. Previously, Dave spent 18 years at General Electric in various leadership positions. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from Westminster College, where he currently serves as an Advisory Board member.

"Dave's strong track record of leadership in the industry and extensive experience driving growth positions him exceptionally well to lead UES in its next exciting chapter," said UES Chairman Michael Burke. "In the past 18 months, UES has tripled in size through both organic growth and acquisitions. This includes notable project wins, as well as the successful completion of 13 strategic acquisitions. Looking ahead, we are excited to continue UES' expansion across high growth geographies in the United States. I look forward to working closely with Dave and our talented leadership team to seize the incredible opportunity ahead of us."

"I'm excited to join UES at this moment of its journey," said newly appointed UES CEO Dave Witsken. "UES is poised to make a tremendous impact nationally. Between the national commitment to infrastructure spending and the increased population shift to the Sun Belt, there is a significant opportunity for UES to build stronger communities, serve more clients and create exciting career paths for our people."

For more information, visit universalengineering.com.





About Universal Engineering Sciences

Universal Engineering Sciences, headquartered in Orlando, is a rapidly growing engineering and consulting firm with nearly six decades of experience in geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, building code compliance, threshold inspections and environmental consulting. UES is considered a pioneer of the industry and stands at the forefront of emerging technology, best practices, and influential legislature. Projects include both public and private clients, ranging from transportation and healthcare to commercial and education. UES engineers, geologists, certified inspectors, and scientists offer an unwavering commitment to excellence, approaching each project as an opportunity to cultivate enduring relationships with clients. BDT Capital Partners is the primary investor in the company.

UES has made a commitment to growing through strategic acquisition and organic growth. UES' presence includes locations throughout the high growth markets in the South, Midwest and West, including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Metro DC, California, Utah, Nevada, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

UES was named number one on the Zweig Group Hot Firm List which honors the fastest-growing firms in the architecture, engineering, planning, environmental and construction (AEC) industry. With nearly 3,100 professionals across 67 branches in nearly 20 states nationwide, UES consults on projects of all sizes to help deliver needed infrastructure and build safe and successful communities. For more information, please visit universalengineering.com or follow UES on Social Media .

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Universal Engineering Sciences
Panel of successful women encourages students to broaden their education, apply for tuition grants

PHOENIX and MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Technical Institute (UTI) and IGNITE Worldwide recently brought together high schools in nine states from across the country together for a virtual panel featuring a group of incredible women working in the automotive and motorsports industries. As part of UTI's effort to diversify the workforce and increase recruitment into the skilled trades, it has also been hosting in-person events for high school girls at its network of campuses, and offering $100,000 in tuition grants.

During the virtual panel, students heard from moderator Kristin Labonte, president of Breaking Limits, panelist Sophie Fox, CEO of Women & Wheels, Madison Conrad, vice president and engine builder at Roush Yates Engines, Jennifer LaFever, vice president at Roush Yates Engines, and Brooke Ulrich, regional facilities and equipment service manager for Home Depot. The women talked about their education and career paths, the future of women in STEM and some of their challenges along the way.

"When I was in high school, I applied for an automotive technician program. And my family discouraged me because they said it wasn't for women," said Fox. "But if you have that passion, that spark, go for it. In 51 weeks (at UTI), you will have taken that first step to fulfilling your dreams."

"Women and non-binary people are on such an accelerated track for growth in traditionally male-dominated careers and industries," said Ulrich. "We are closing the gap. In STEM industries, women are now being welcomed, invited and promoted, instead of just tolerated. We're finally at a place where we're beginning to understand what women can contribute and the future looks better than ever."

Currently, workforce demand in the transportation sector is significant nationwide, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimating there are approximately 84,000 new openings each year for automotive, diesel, and collision repair technicians.

"We know that a diverse workforce benefits employers, employees and the economy, and we're constantly working to diversify our student body in order to meet the demand for skilled workers," said Universal Technical Institute CEO Jerome Grant. "Through alliances with organizations like IGNITE Worldwide, we're able to raise awareness about the career opportunities available to our graduates, and offer tuition grants to further help girls and women pursue a rewarding, lifelong career in the transportation industry."

Grant eligibility is extended to any female or female-identifying student who attends an onsite or virtual IGNITE Worldwide event. Tuition grants can be used toward UTI programs at any of their 12 campuses located across Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas, and are offered at the following levels: a $25,000 grant; a $15,000 grant; a $10,000 grant; and 22 $2,000 grants. The application deadline is April 29, 2022.

"IGNITE Worldwide has been working to achieve gender and racial equity in STEM for more than 20 years," said IGNITE Worldwide CEO and Founder Cathi Rodgveller. "Currently, women represent just over 1 in 4 STEM workers, but we strongly believe all girls deserve equal access to STEM education. By bringing girls together virtually and in-person, we're promoting economic equality and workforce development, and connecting IGNITE students with role models who live and work in their communities."

About Universal Technical Institute, Inc.

Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Phoenix, Universal Technical Institute's (NYSE: UTI) mission is to serve our students, partners, and communities by providing quality education and support services for in-demand careers. Approximately 250,000 students have graduated from one of UTI's 14 campuses located across Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Texas. UTI's campuses are accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), while its employer-aligned technical training programs are offered under four brands: Universal Technical Institute, Motorcycle Mechanics Institute / Marine Mechanics Institute, NASCAR Technical Institute, and MIAT College of Technology. For more information and a complete list of all programs offered, please visit www.uti.edu or follow on LinkedIn @UniversalTechnicalInstitute and on Twitter @news_UTI.

About IGNITE Worldwide

For over 20 years IGNITE Worldwide provides a sustainable, scalable, and effective program that directly connects educators and their students to STEM professionals, to create memorable and life-changing experiences through program events including field trips, workshops, and panel presentations. Program offerings, both virtual and in-person, are available nationwide to schools, educators, and their students at zero cost. IGNITE Worldwide also engages with academic institutions at an international level.

The IGNITE Worldwide Program works to directly address the gender and racial disparity experienced in STEM fields. By reaching the students at a young age, during the school day, IGNITE encourages participating students to explore non-traditional STEM opportunities at their school, after graduation, and beyond.

For more information on opening an IGNITE Chapter at your school, please visit www.igniteworldwide.org or email us directly at [email protected]. Follow IGNITE Worldwide on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 Job openings include openings due to net employment changes and net replacements. See Table 1.10 Occupational separations and openings, projected 202030 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, viewed March 9, 2022.

Media Contact

Alanna Vitucci

[email protected]

480-710-6843

SOURCE Universal Technical Institute, Inc.
Four highly experienced executives have recently joined USMM as a new era in patient care begins

TROY, Mich., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Medical Management "USMM", a recognized leader in providing high-quality, compassionate healthcare within proven care models that support complex and fragile individuals in the home setting, has appointed four experienced industry professionals to its leadership team. Shelly Martin has joined as Chief Operating Officer, Kristin Darby as Chief Information Officer, Jim Lydiard as Chief Strategy Officer, and Jonathan A. Meyers, FSA, MAAA as USMM Chief Actuary.

"We are so pleased that top healthcare executives from around the country are joining our team at USMM. Our new executive leadership team will build upon the incredible foundation and legacy of USMM to create a new, transformational care experience for all our patients and their families. I couldn't be prouder of the energy, excitement, and experience that this new leadership team brings to USMM," said Adam Boehler, Executive Chairman of USMM and CEO of Rubicon Founders.

Shelly Martin has more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare community. Prior to USMM, Shelly was the President of Optum in Utah. Prior to joining Optum, she served as the Vice President of Operations for Healthcare Partners of Nevada, managing 32 primary clinics, and more than 100 providers and staff. Shelly holds multiple health care certifications, and is an active member of the American Association of Managed Care Nurses (AAMCN).

Kristin Darby is a trusted technology strategist with more than 25+ years in the field. Kristin comes to USMM from Envision Healthcare in Nashville, TN where she served as the Enterprise Chief Information Officer. Kristin also held CIO roles for the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Tenet Healthcare (Northeast and North Midwest Business Units), and the Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institute (CRICO). She was also the Director of IT for Fresenius Medical Care North America. Kristin is an Independent Director with Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati where she serves on the Risk Committee and is Chair of the Business Operations Committee. Kristin has been honored with many awards, including CIO Hall of Fame in 2021.

Jim Lydiard most recently led Payer Contracting and National Accounts as the Strategy & Development Vice President at Strive Health; a tech-enabled, value based startup in the field of kidney care. Prior to his role at Strive health, Jim was the Staff Vice President at CareMore/Anthem. His industry contributions have been documented in Senior Housing News, McKnights, Milken Institute on Aging, National Investment Center (NIC), amongst others.

Jonathan A. Meyers FSA, MAAA has worked his entire 30 year career in the Managed Care industry. In his most recent role, Jonathan was Chief Actuary Officer for InnovaCare Health. His prior roles include running Government Programs Actuarial Services for Horizon BCBS of NJ, helping launch a successful ACO in NY, CFO and Chief Actuary of HealthCare Partners in NY (subsidiary of Heritage Medical Systems), Employee Benefits Consultant with key clients such as Northwell Health, Johnson and Johnson and International Paper, and various Actuarial rotations at United HealthCare. Jonathan is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

About USMM

U.S. Medical Management (USMM), along with its affiliated entities (Visiting Physicians Association, Pinnacle Senior Care, and Grace Hospice, among others) is a leading management services organization and provider of home based primary care services for complex/fragile patients. Based in Troy, Michigan, USMM operates Visiting Physician Association practices in 11 states, constituting a 200 + primary care provider group, providing continuity-based primary care under an integrated, physician-driven model which includes ancillary services such as home health, hospice, radiology, diagnostics, DME and laboratory. USMM also operates a multi-state Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO serving approximately 20,000 complex/fragile Medicare patients. In December 2021, Rubicon Founders acquired a majority stake in USMM.

For more information:

usmmllc.com

SOURCE U.S. Medical Management
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in rankings and consumer advice, brings its legacy of health reporting, analysis and industry insights to life in "Building Toward Health Equity for All: Taking a Community-Level Approach" on Saturday, April 9 at the 51st Annual Legislative Conference of the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislators (NYSABPRHAL). The event, led by Marion Phillips, III, U.S. News Senior Vice President of Community Development & DEI, and former senior vice president of community development for Empire State Development, includes a cross-sector panel of experts discussing how policymakers and change agents can make an impact in health equity in their own communities.

Hosted by New York Senator Leroy Comrie (D-NY District 14), Assemblywoman Karines Reyes (D-NY District 87) and Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez (D-NY District 80), the discussion features perspectives from Dr. Moro Salifu, chief of nephrology and director, Kidney Transplant Program, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University; Dr. Tiffany Mitchell, emergency medicine physician, The Mount Sinai Hospital; and Dr. Miguelina German, director of pediatric behavioral health services, Montefiore Medical Group. Bill Holiber, president and CEO of U.S. News & World Report, will present U.S. News data relating to each of these districts and the state of New York overall.

U.S. News published in 2021 health equity data analysis alongside the Best Hospitals rankings, exploring whether the patients at each hospital reflected the racial and ethnic diversity of the surrounding community. In addition, in partnership with CVS Health , U.S. News provides useful data with an equity focus through the continued development of its Healthiest Communities rankings. For more than four years, Healthiest Communities has drawn from an examination of nearly 3,000 counties and county equivalents on 84 metrics across 10 categories, informing residents, health care leaders and officials about local policies and practices that drive better health outcomes for all.

"At U.S. News, our focus on equity is central to our mission of using data to help consumers and institutions make important decisions," said Phillips. "This panel of community healthcare heroes will enlighten policymakers about the challenges and opportunities that come with tackling the social determinants of health."

"We're thrilled to welcome U.S. News and these healthcare leaders to the NYSABPRHAL conference," said Sen. Comrie. "U.S. News' rigorous data and our panelists' on-the-ground experience addressing health disparities for the citizens of New York will demonstrate the impacts of proactively addressing inequality at the community level, and provide actionable solutions for attendees to replicate in their districts."

ABOUT U.S. NEWS

U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower consumers, business leaders and policy officials to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. A multifaceted digital media company with Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars, News and 360 Reviews platforms, U.S. News provides rankings, independent reporting, data journalism, consumer advice and U.S. News Live events. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

SOURCE U.S. News & World Report, L.P.
"Our members are stationed all over the world and we know they need a smart, simple, safe and reliable way to manage their insurance and banking needs in the palm of their hand," said Ameesh Vakharia, chief strategy and brand officer at USAA. "Amid the pandemic, we're seeing that mobile options continue to be the preference for members to interact with USAA, with an increase in our mobile app traffic of nearly 12% over the last year and nearly 10 million unique users."

USAA's mobile app is one of the only apps within the financial services industry that provides the all-in-one, fully integrated consumer experience for banking and insurance, including property, auto, and life. The new app leverages the power of machine learning to provide integrated, personal insights and actions with visual upgrades, faster speeds on delivery and performance as well as simplified, engaging messaging. Specifically, the upgraded app is:

Smarter  Using the app's personal assistant, EVA, it understands individual member needs and automatically customizes to prominently display personalization solutions (e.g., letting members know their bill is past due, providing travel alerts, location-based catastrophe alerts and proactive, relevant life-event advice.) Reduction of 6.5 seconds off load time across the app.

 Using the app's personal assistant, EVA, it understands individual member needs and automatically customizes to prominently display personalization solutions (e.g., letting members know their bill is past due, providing travel alerts, location-based catastrophe alerts and proactive, relevant life-event advice.) Reduction of 6.5 seconds off load time across the app. Simpler  The new predictive search function leverages natural language, allowing members to type or talk normally; reduced number of taps to get to key transactions  98% of transactions on the app are accessible within 1-2 taps.

 The new predictive search function leverages natural language, allowing members to type or talk normally; reduced number of taps to get to key transactions  98% of transactions on the app are accessible within 1-2 taps. Safer  Utilizes state-of-the-art, real-time automated behavior analysis to help protect members from fraudulent activity.

"We are looking forward to further personalizing for individual member needs within the leading financial services app that combines a turnkey banking experience with insurance serviceability," said Ryan Barth, vice president of enterprise digital at USAA. "This upgrade sets the stage for future implementations such as enabling artificial intelligence and machine learning integrations for digital offerings."

To learn more about the upgraded mobile app, visit www.usaa.com/mobile.

About USAA

Founded in 1922 by a group of military officers, USAA is among the leading providers of insurance, banking and investment and retirement solutions to nearly 13 million members of the U.S. military, veterans who have honorably served and their families. Headquartered in San Antonio, USAA has offices in seven U.S. cities and three overseas locations and employs more than 38,000 people worldwide. Each year, the company contributes to national and local nonprofits in support of military families and communities where employees live and work. For more information about USAA, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@USAA), or visit usaa.com.

Contact: USAA Media Relations

[email protected]

210-498-0940

SOURCE USAA
The market is driven by the increasing demand for fertilizers. The rapid growth in the global population has increased the demand for food, which has resulted in a significant rise in the number of agricultural activities worldwide. In addition, the shrinking availability of arable land due to rising urbanization and industrialization has compelled farmers to increase the use of fertilizers to enhance the yield per hectare. Thus, with the rising consumption of fertilizers, the demand for potash is expected to increase over the forecast period.

As per Technavio, the increasing global potash production capacity will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2022-2026.

Potash Market: Increasing global potash production capacity

The global demand for potash has been increasing steadily over the years. Globally, potash is produced in amounts exceeding 90 million tons per year, mostly for use in fertilizer. This growing demand potash manufacturers to increase their production capacities. For instance, Belaruskali, one of the major manufacturers of potash, is planning to increase its production capacity for potash fertilizers to 15.9 million tons by 2025. This trend among potash manufacturers will have a positive impact on the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Identify other major drivers and trends influencing the growth of the market. Request a Free Sample Report

Potash Market: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the potash market by product (muriate of potash, sulfate of potash, potassium nitrate, and others), end-user (fertilizers, general industrial, and others), and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa).

The APAC region led the potash market in 2022, followed by North America, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa respectively. During the forecast period, the APAC region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to the increasing demand for food led by expanding population. Also, the growth in the per capita income of consumers will be supporting the growth of the potash market in APAC over the forecast period. China and India are the major markets for potash in APAC. The market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of the market in other regions.

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Request a free sample report

Some of the key topics covered in the report include:

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario

Related Reports:

Potash Fertilizers Market by Crop Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

Potassium Nitrate Market by End-user and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Potash Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.44% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 21.62 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 4.11 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 51% Key consumer countries US, Canada, China, India, and Spain Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Agrimin Ltd., Arab Potash Co., Compass Minerals International Inc., EuroChem Group AG, Evergrow, GFS Chemicals Inc., Haifa Group, HELM AG, Intrepid Potash Inc., Israel Chemicals Ltd., JSC Belaruskali, JSC Uralkali, K S AG, Kalium Lakes Ltd., Nutrien Ltd., Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA, Tessenderlo Group NV, The Mosaic Co., Vale SA, and Yara International ASA Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Contents:

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview



Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview



Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics



Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography



Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Product



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by End-user



Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 09: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 10: Parent market



Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics

Agriculture o

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 13: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2021

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026

Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

4 Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 18: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2021 and 2026

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 20: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 21: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 22: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 23: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 24: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026

5 Market Segmentation by Product

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 25: Chart on Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 26: Data Table on Product - Market share 2021-2026 (%)

5.2 Comparison by Product

Exhibit 27: Chart on Comparison by Product



Exhibit 28: Data Table on Comparison by Product

5.3 Muriate of potash - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 29: Chart on Muriate of potash - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 30: Data Table on Muriate of potash - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 31: Chart on Muriate of potash - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 32: Data Table on Muriate of potash - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.4 Sulfate of potash - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 33: Chart on Sulfate of potash - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 34: Data Table on Sulfate of potash - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 35: Chart on Sulfate of potash - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 36: Data Table on Sulfate of potash - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.5 Potassium nitrate - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 37: Chart on Potassium nitrate - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 38: Data Table on Potassium nitrate - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 39: Chart on Potassium nitrate - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 40: Data Table on Potassium nitrate - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.6 Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 41: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 42: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 43: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 44: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.7 Market opportunity by Product

Exhibit 45: Market opportunity by Product ($ million)

6 Market Segmentation by End-user

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 46: Chart on End-user - Market share 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 47: Data Table on End-user - Market share 2021-2026 (%)

6.2 Comparison by End-user

Exhibit 48: Chart on Comparison by End-user



Exhibit 49: Data Table on Comparison by End-user

6.3 Fertilizers - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 50: Chart on Fertilizers - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 51: Data Table on Fertilizers - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 52: Chart on Fertilizers - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 53: Data Table on Fertilizers - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

6.4 General industrial - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 54: Chart on General industrial - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 55: Data Table on General industrial - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 56: Chart on General industrial - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 57: Data Table on General industrial - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

6.5 Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 58: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 59: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 60: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 61: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

6.6 Market opportunity by End-user

Exhibit 62: Market opportunity by End-user ($ million)

7 Customer Landscape

7.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 63: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

8 Geographic Landscape

8.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 64: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 65: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)

8.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 66: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 67: Data Table on Geographic comparison

8.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 68: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 69: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 70: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 71: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

8.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 72: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 73: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 74: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 75: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

8.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 76: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 77: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 78: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 79: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

8.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 80: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 81: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 82: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 83: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

8.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 84: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 85: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 86: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 87: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

8.8 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 88: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 89: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 90: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 91: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

8.9 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 92: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 93: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 94: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 95: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

8.10 Canada - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 96: Chart on Canada - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 97: Data Table on Canada - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 98: Chart on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 99: Data Table on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

8.11 India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 100: Chart on India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 101: Data Table on India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 102: Chart on India - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 103: Data Table on India - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

8.12 Spain - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 104: Chart on Spain - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 105: Data Table on Spain - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 106: Chart on Spain - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 107: Data Table on Spain - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

8.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 108: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

9.1 Market drivers

9.2 Market challenges

9.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 109: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026

9.4 Market trends

10 Vendor Landscape

10.1 Overview

10.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 110: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

10.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 111: Overview on factors of disruption

10.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 112: Impact of key risks on business

11 Vendor Analysis

11.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 113: Vendors covered

11.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 114: Matrix on vendor position and classification

11.3 Agrimin Ltd.

Exhibit 115: Agrimin Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 116: Agrimin Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 117: Agrimin Ltd. - Key offerings

11.4 Arab Potash Co.

Exhibit 118: Arab Potash Co. - Overview



Exhibit 119: Arab Potash Co. - Business segments



Exhibit 120: Arab Potash Co. - Key offerings



Exhibit 121: Arab Potash Co. - Segment focus

11.5 Evergrow

Exhibit 122: Evergrow - Overview



Exhibit 123: Evergrow - Product / Service



Exhibit 124: Evergrow - Key offerings

11.6 Haifa Group

Exhibit 125: Haifa Group - Overview



Exhibit 126: Haifa Group - Product / Service



Exhibit 127: Haifa Group - Key offerings

11.7 HELM AG

Exhibit 128: HELM AG - Overview



Exhibit 129: HELM AG - Product / Service



Exhibit 130: HELM AG - Key news



Exhibit 131: HELM AG - Key offerings

11.8 Israel Chemicals Ltd.

Exhibit 132: Israel Chemicals Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 133: Israel Chemicals Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 134: Israel Chemicals Ltd. - Key news



Exhibit 135: Israel Chemicals Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 136: Israel Chemicals Ltd. - Segment focus

11.9 JSC Belaruskali

Exhibit 137: JSC Belaruskali - Overview



Exhibit 138: JSC Belaruskali - Product / Service



Exhibit 139: JSC Belaruskali - Key offerings

11.10 JSC Uralkali

Exhibit 140: JSC Uralkali - Overview



Exhibit 141: JSC Uralkali - Business segments



Exhibit 142: JSC Uralkali - Key offerings



Exhibit 143: JSC Uralkali - Segment focus

11.11 K S AG

S AG Exhibit 144: K S AG - Overview



Exhibit 145: K S AG - Business segments



Exhibit 146: K S AG - Key offerings



Exhibit 147: K S AG - Segment focus

11.12 The Mosaic Co.

Exhibit 148: The Mosaic Co. - Overview



Exhibit 149: The Mosaic Co. - Business segments



Exhibit 150: The Mosaic Co. - Key offerings



Exhibit 151: The Mosaic Co. - Segment focus

12 Appendix

12.1 Scope of the report

12.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 152: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 153: Exclusions checklist

12.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 154: Currency conversion rates for US$

12.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 155: Research methodology



Exhibit 156: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 157: Information sources

12.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 158: List of abbreviations

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
Baby Toiletries Market Vendor Landscape

The baby toiletries market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. To leverage the current opportunities, market vendors must strengthen their foothold in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Artsana Spa, Babisil Products Co. Ltd., California Baby, Colgate Palmolive Co., Domtar Corp., erbaviva, Farlin Corp., First Quality Enterprises Inc., Hengan International Group Co. Ltd., Himalaya Global Holdings Ltd., Johnson and Johnson, Kao Corp., Kimberly-Clark Corp., Mothercare Plc, Naterra International Inc., Pigeon Corp., Sebapharma GmbH and Co. KG, The Procter and Gamble Co., Unicharm Corp., and Unilever PLC are some of the key vendors in the market.

The vendors emphasize on building brand and brand equity to differentiate themselves from the competing brands. The vendors differentiate themselves based on quality, regulatory compliance, and innovation as well as offer products with different features.

For instance, vendors like Artsana Spa operates in brands such as Chicco, Boppy, and NeoBaby and offers products for children between the age of 0 and 36 months. The company offers baby toiletries product brands such as NeoBaby.

Get insights on strategic initiatives by vendors and understand the competitive scenario, as you View our Market Report Overview

Baby Toiletries Market Segment Highlights

Distribution Channel

Offline

The offline distribution channel segment held the largest baby toiletries market share in 2021. The segment will continue to account for the highest share throughout the forecast period. The revenue of the offline distribution channel comes from the sale of products through specialty stores, hypermarkets, and others. Specialty stores include baby product stores, brand-owned stores, multi-brand stores, and personal care product stores.

The offline distribution channel segment held the largest baby toiletries market share in 2021. The segment will continue to account for the highest share throughout the forecast period. The revenue of the offline distribution channel comes from the sale of products through specialty stores, hypermarkets, and others. Specialty stores include baby product stores, brand-owned stores, multi-brand stores, and personal care product stores.

Online

Geography

Europe



North America



APAC



South America



Middle East And Africa

Get Segment Highlights with contribution of each segment as you Download our FREE Sample

Baby Toiletries Market Scope

Technavio categorizes the global baby toiletries market as a part of the global personal products market. Our report provides extensive information on the value chain analysis for the baby toiletries market, which vendors can leverage to gain a competitive advantage during the forecast period.

The report also covers the following areas:

Baby Toiletries Market 2022-2026: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2022-2026

Detailed information on factors that will assist baby toiletries market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the baby toiletries market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the baby toiletries market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of baby toiletries market vendors

Related Reports:

Baby Diaper Pails Market by Distribution Channel and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Baby Diapers Market by Product, Distribution Channel, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025

Baby Toiletries Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.34% Market growth 2022-2026 $ 8.22 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 5.98 Regional analysis Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution Europe at 32% Key consumer countries US, China, Japan, Germany, and UK Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Artsana Spa, Babisil Products Co. Ltd., California Baby, Colgate Palmolive Co., Domtar Corp., erbaviva, Farlin Corp., First Quality Enterprises Inc., Hengan International Group Co. Ltd., Himalaya Global Holdings Ltd., Johnson and Johnson, Kao Corp., Kimberly-Clark Corp., Mothercare Plc, Naterra International Inc., Pigeon Corp., Sebapharma GmbH and Co. KG, The Procter and Gamble Co., Unicharm Corp., and Unilever PLC Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period, Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Content

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview

Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview

Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics

Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography

Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel

Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth

Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth

Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 09: Parent market

Exhibit 10: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 12: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2021

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026

Exhibit 13: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 14: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 15: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 16: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

4 Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 17: Five forces analysis - Comparison between2021 and 2026

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 18: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors 2021 and 2026

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 20: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 21: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 22: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 23: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026

5 Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 24: Chart on Distribution Channel - Market share 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 25: Data Table on Distribution Channel - Market share 2021-2026 (%)

5.2 Comparison by Distribution Channel

Exhibit 26: Chart on Comparison by Distribution Channel

Exhibit 27: Data Table on Comparison by Distribution Channel

5.3 Offline - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 28: Chart on Offline - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 29: Data Table on Offline - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 30: Chart on Offline - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 31: Data Table on Offline - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.4 Online - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 32: Chart on Online - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 33: Data Table on Online - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 34: Chart on Online - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 35: Data Table on Online - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.5 Market opportunity by Distribution Channel

Exhibit 36: Market opportunity by Distribution Channel ($ million)

6 Customer Landscape

6.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 37: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

7 Geographic Landscape

7.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 38: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 39: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)

7.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 40: Chart on Geographic comparison

Exhibit 41: Data Table on Geographic comparison

7.3 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 42: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 43: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 44: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 45: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 46: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 47: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 48: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 49: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 50: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 51: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 52: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 53: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 54: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 55: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 56: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 57: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 58: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 59: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 60: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 61: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.8 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 62: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 63: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 64: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 65: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.9 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 66: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 67: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 68: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 69: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.10 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 70: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 71: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 72: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 73: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.11 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 74: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 75: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 76: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 77: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.12 Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 78: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 79: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 80: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 81: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 82: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

8.1 Market drivers

8.2 Market challenges

8.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 83: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026

8.4 Market trends

9 Vendor Landscape

9.1 Overview

9.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 84: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

9.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 85: Overview on factors of disruption

9.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 86: Impact of key risks on business

10 Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 87: Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 88: Matrix on vendor position and classification

10.3 Artsana Spa

Exhibit 89: Artsana Spa - Overview

Exhibit 90: Artsana Spa - Product / Service

Exhibit 91: Artsana Spa - Key offerings

10.4 Babisil Products Co. Ltd.

Exhibit 92: Babisil Products Co. Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 93: Babisil Products Co. Ltd. - Product / Service

Exhibit 94: Babisil Products Co. Ltd. - Key offerings

10.5 California Baby

Exhibit 95: California Baby - Overview

Exhibit 96: California Baby - Product / Service

Exhibit 97: California Baby - Key offerings

10.6 Colgate Palmolive Co.

Exhibit 98: Colgate Palmolive Co. - Overview

Exhibit 99: Colgate Palmolive Co. - Business segments

Exhibit 100: Colgate Palmolive Co. - Key offerings

Exhibit 101: Colgate Palmolive Co. - Segment focus

10.7 Himalaya Global Holdings Ltd.

Exhibit 102: Himalaya Global Holdings Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 103: Himalaya Global Holdings Ltd. - Product / Service

Exhibit 104: Himalaya Global Holdings Ltd. - Key offerings

10.8 Johnson and Johnson

Exhibit 105: Johnson and Johnson - Overview

Exhibit 106: Johnson and Johnson - Business segments

Exhibit 107: Johnson and Johnson - Key news

Exhibit 108: Johnson and Johnson - Key offerings

Exhibit 109: Johnson and Johnson - Segment focus

10.9 Kimberly-Clark Corp.

Exhibit 110: Kimberly-Clark Corp. - Overview

Exhibit 111: Kimberly-Clark Corp. - Business segments

Exhibit 112: Kimberly-Clark Corp. - Key news

Exhibit 113: Kimberly-Clark Corp. - Key offerings

Exhibit 114: Kimberly-Clark Corp. - Segment focus

10.10 Sebapharma GmbH and Co. KG

Exhibit 115: Sebapharma GmbH and Co. KG - Overview

Exhibit 116: Sebapharma GmbH and Co. KG - Product / Service

Exhibit 117: Sebapharma GmbH and Co. KG - Key offerings

10.11 The Procter and Gamble Co.

Exhibit 118: The Procter and Gamble Co. - Overview

Exhibit 119: The Procter and Gamble Co. - Business segments

Exhibit 120: The Procter and Gamble Co. - Key offerings

Exhibit 121: The Procter and Gamble Co. - Segment focus

10.12 Unilever PLC

Exhibit 122: Unilever PLC - Overview

Exhibit 123: Unilever PLC - Business segments

Exhibit 124: Unilever PLC - Key news

Exhibit 125: Unilever PLC - Key offerings

Exhibit 126: Unilever PLC - Segment focus

11 Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 127: Inclusions checklist

11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 128: Currency conversion rates for US$

11.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 129: Research methodology

Exhibit 130: Validation techniques employed for market sizing

Exhibit 131: Information sources

11.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 132: 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 provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
Use of array of scientific, technological, and management tools such as closed circuit televisions and DNA confirmation equipment to investigate crime fuels the growth of the market

Mature markets such as the U.S. could influence stakeholders in the market for further R&D in applications of scientific methods and techniques for investigation of crime

ALBANY, N.Y., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Analysts at TMR project the forensic technologies market to expand at a CAGR of 13.2% over the forecast period from 2021 to 2028. The increase in crime rates that are carried out with sophistication and finesse account for the high demand for advanced forensic technologies for investigating and solving cases across industries, including healthcare, banking, and telecommunications.

Advancements in forensic technologies are gaining considerable traction since the past few years. The forensic technology constitutes principles of several fields of science that are increasingly being supported by avant-garde electronic devices. Law enforcement agencies are now investing in next-gen technology equipped to trace the smallest evidence left by lawbreakers during execution of crime.

Request Brochure of Forensic Technologies Market Research Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=819

North America is a key region in the forensic technologies market. The extensive use of scientific methods and techniques for investigation of crimes in the U.S. makes it a mature market for stakeholders in the forensic technologies market to draw findings from. Consistent efforts of technicians and scientists in crime laboratories across the U.S. to develop technologies that serve to be standard to be adopted by forensic agencies in other parts of the world make the region significant in the forensic technologies market.

Furthermore, the expanding use of forensics by law enforcement agencies and private companies in various industries, including healthcare, explains the leading share of the North America forensic technologies market.

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Forensic Technologies Market  Key Findings of Report

Portable forensics and laboratory forensics are two key mediums used in the forensic technologies market. The laboratory forensics segment held considerable share of the forensic technologies market in 2020. Laboratory forensics enables examination of samples without any contamination since most of the evidence collected from the site of crime are contaminated.

Advanced technologies such as alternative light photography are increasingly becoming an integral part of forensic investigation. Alternative light photography uses blue and orange light filters to measure the magnitude of damage on the skin, drug testing, and facial reconstruction.

Significant rise in the number of cybercrimes stimulates the adoption of digital forensic technologies. Digital forensic technologies are adopted to respond to incidents of procurement fraud, IP infringement, and white-collar crimes.

Prolonged prevalence of COVID-19 posed obstacles for smooth investigation of crime for forensic agencies. Presence of coronavirus particles that are transmitted through air contaminated evidence at crime site, and thus affected outcomes of sample collection, laboratory examination, transport, and storage of evidence. This has roused stakeholders in the forensic technologies market to adopt best biosafety practices. Such practices will help to balance to conduct investigations and adopt necessary safety guidelines for protection against virus in the air.

Chemical analysis segment held the leading share of the forensic technologies market in 2020. Technological advancements such as GC/MS system for analysis of toxic substances and drugs fuels the growth of chemical analysis segment of forensic technologies market.

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Forensic Technologies Market  Growth Drivers

Significant rise in crime executed with sophistication and finesse across various industries that requires advanced forensic technologies to investigate and solve cases fuels the growth of forensic technologies market

Integration of principles of various fields including science, management, technology for effective investigation of crime boosts the forensic technologies market

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Forensic Technologies Market  Key Players

Some of the key players operating in the forensic technologies market are;

AB Sciex

Forensic Pathways

Eurofins Medigenomix GmbH

LGC Limited

NMS Labs

SPEX Forensics

Forensics Consulting Solutions

GE Healthcare Lifescience

Neogen Corporation

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Pyramidal Technologies Ltd.

The forensic technologies market is segmented as follows;

Forensic Technologies Market, by Service

DNA Profiling

PCR



Y-STR



RFLP



Mitochondrial DNA



Others

Chemical Analysis

Mass Spectrometry



Chromatography



Spectroscopy



Others

Biometric/Fingerprint Analysis

Firearm Analysis

Others (Computer Forensics, Network Forensics, Cloud Forensics, etc.)

Forensic Technologies Market, by Location

Laboratory Forensics (LIMS)

Portable Forensics (FaaS)

Forensic Technologies Market, by Region

North America

U.S.



Canada

Europe

U.K.



Germany



France



Spain



Italy



Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China



Japan



Australia



India



Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil



Mexico



Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

& South Africa



GCC Countries



Rest of Middle East & Africa

Modernization of healthcare in terms of both infrastructure and services have pushed the healthcare industry to new heights, Stay Updated with Latest Healthcare Industry Research Reports by Transparency Market Research:

DNA Forensic Market: The forensics and DNA market is expected to grow considerably on account of increasing concerns of security, technological innovations in diagnostics, and rising awareness of the serious implications of forensics use. Analysis of DNA is used to identify the genetic distinguishing factors of an individual. The plethora of areas of the genome are called polymorphic regions, which are used for forensic analysis and genetic mapping.

Forensic Swabs Market: Swabs are used for forensic purposes. These are specially developed for proper sample detection, analyzes, and securing the remains and traces left at the crime scene. Various types of samples can be used as forensic swabs such as saliva, blood, epithelial cells, or sperms from semen. The samples recovered on the forensic swabs are sent for DNA testing in order to find the culprit through genetic fingerprinting.

Gene Therapy Market: Gene therapy market was valued at US$ 1.3 Bn in 2020 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 19.8% from 2017 to 2028. Gene therapy is a way of fixing genetic disorders by introducing a normal and healthy gene in place of the defective one in a cell to prevent or cure different types of genetic and chronic disorders for which no cure has been developed.

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SOURCE Transparency Market Research
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Volta Inc. (NYSE: VLTA) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.

Class Period: August 2, 2021 to March 28, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 31, 2022

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in VLTA:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/volta-inc-loss-submission-form?id=25516&from=4

Volta Inc. NEWS - VLTA NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Volta Inc. made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Volta had improperly accounted for restricted stock units issued in connection with the business combination of Volta Industries, Inc. ("Legacy Volta") and Tortoise Acquisition Corp. II; (2) as a result, the Company had understated its net loss for third quarter 2021; (3) there were material weaknesses in the Company's internal control over financial reporting that resulted in a material error; (4) as a result of the foregoing, the Company would restate its financial statements; (5) as a result of the foregoing, Legacy Volta's founders would imminently exit the Company; (6) as a result, the Company's financial results would be adversely impacted; and (7) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Volta you have until May 31, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Volta securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the VLTA lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/volta-inc-loss-submission-form?id=25516&from=4 .

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

Empire State Building

350 Fifth Avenue

59th Floor

New York, NY 10118

[email protected]

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com

SOURCE The Klein Law Firm
VANCOUVER, BC, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - WELL Health Technologies Corp. (TSX: WELL) ("WELL" or the "Company"), a company focused on positively impacting health outcomes by leveraging technology to empower healthcare practitioners and their patients globally, is pleased to announce that Hamed Shahbazi, Chairman and CEO, will be participating in Credit Suisse's The Investor Landscape: Hidden Gems Conference.

The conference will take place in person at Credit Suisse's offices in New York City on April 7, 2022. Mr. Shahbazi will be participating in one-on-one meetings with institutional investors throughout the day.

Credit Suisse's The Investor Landscape: Hidden Gems Conference provides investors access to premier, publicly traded businesses that are potentially undervalued. To register for the event, please contact your Credit Suisse representative.

WELL HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES CORP.

Per: "Hamed Shahbazi"

Hamed Shahbazi

Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Director

About WELL Health Technologies Corp.

WELL is a practitioner focused digital healthcare company whose overarching objective is to positively impact health outcomes to empower and support healthcare practitioners and their patients. WELL has built an innovative practitioner enablement platform that includes comprehensive end-to-end practice management tools inclusive of virtual care and digital patient engagement capabilities as well as Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) and data protection services. WELL uses this platform to power healthcare practitioners both inside and outside of WELL's own omni-channel patient services offerings. As such, WELL owns and operates Canada's largest network of outpatient medical clinics serving primary and specialized healthcare services and is the provider of a leading multi-national, multi-disciplinary telehealth offering. WELL is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "WELL" and is part of the TSX Composite Index. To learn more about the Company, please visit: www.well.company.

SOURCE WELL Health Technologies Corp.
Shift to a leaner operation will also reduce environmental footprint

VANCOUVER, BC, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. ("West Fraser" or the "Company") (TSX andNYSE: WFG) announced today that it will permanently reduce capacity at its pulp mill in Hinton, Alberta ("Hinton Pulp") by the end of this year. One of Hinton Pulp's two production lines will shut, and the remaining line will produce Unbleached Kraft Pulp ("UKP") rather than Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft Pulp ("NBSK").

"Hinton Pulp has been in operation since 1956 and these changes are necessary to simplify our operation, reduce capital requirements and greenhouse gas emissions, and better align with consumer expectations," said Ray Ferris, President & CEO, West Fraser.

The capacity reduction will see staffing levels transition from 345 positions to 270. West Fraser expects to mitigate the impact on employees through natural attrition, retirements and by offering employment opportunities at other West Fraser operations.

"Our Hinton Pulp team has been engaged in a comprehensive review process and I want to thank them for their creativity and commitment to the mill, our customers and the environment. We remain strongly committed to the community of Hinton, the future of the plant, and to our neighbouring lumber operation, Hinton Wood Products," said Ferris.

The environmental benefits of moving to a single UKP production line include:

an estimated 35% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions ("GHGs"), which is equivalent to taking approximately 19,900 cars off the road per year

an estimated 25% reduction in water use, air emissions and waste generation, and

elimination of chlorine dioxide emissions

As the world moves away from single-use plastics, UKP is now used increasingly in a wide variety of everyday items including cardboard packaging, grocery bags, fibre-cement board and specialty products.

Since late 2021, the mill has undertaken several product trials and received positive initial customer feedback as to the quality and strength of the pulp produced. Currently, mill employees are preparing for the transition after satisfying all existing customer commitments for NBSK.

It is anticipated that an impairment charge of approximately US$13 million will be recorded in West Fraser's first quarter 2022 results associated with the write-down of equipment that will be decommissioned permanently as part of the transition to UKP.

About West Fraser

West Fraser is a diversified wood products company with more than 60 facilities in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. From responsibly sourced and sustainably managed forest resources, the Company produces lumber, engineered wood products (OSB, LVL, MDF, plywood, and particleboard), pulp, newsprint, wood chips, other residuals, and renewable energy. West Fraser's products are used in home construction, repair and remodelling, industrial applications, papers, tissue, and box materials. For more information about West Fraser, visit www.westfraser.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including those relating to the Company's plans to reduce the capacity at Hinton Pulp through decommissioning and transition from NBSK to UKP by the end of the year and our ability to meet the related objectives including simplifying operations, reducing capital requirements and GHG emissions and better aligning consumer expectations, expectations around the reduction of Hinton Pulp's environmental footprint and related environmental benefits, expectations on employee staffing levels and related mitigation strategies, and expectation around the financial impact in West Fraser's first quarter 2022 results of the decommissioning and transition to UKP. Any such forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to us and are based on assumptions and analyses made by us considering our experience and our perception of historical trends and current conditions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties including our ability to undertake the required capacity reductions within the time period specified, and realize the expected benefits therefrom described in the news release, including achieving the environmental benefits. Readers should also refer to the risk factors set forth in the Company's annual information form and management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2021, each dated February 15, 2022, available at SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and EDGAR (www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml). There can be no assurance that the plans, intentions, or expectations upon which forward-looking statements are based will be realized. Actual results may differ, and the difference may be material and adverse to the Company and its shareholders. Except as may be required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

SOURCE West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.
Technology and life sciences companies are increasingly facing bet-the-company scrutiny on multiple fronts, often facing simultaneous globe-spanning regulatory inquiries, high-stakes litigation, and congressional inquiries. In introducing its strategic risk and crisis management group, Wilson Sonsini aims to help clients manage major controversies while building upon its client-centric model of service. The group will help companies address a wide range of issues, such as highly publicized data breaches, supply chain failures, corporate malfeasance allegations, executive misconduct, and technology's role in disinformation campaigns. Such controversies can lead to serious business disruptions, damage corporate standing, lose consumer trust, and erode shareholder value.

"In forming our group, we're leveraging multidisciplinary experience and talents to help clients facing increasingly complex and multi-dimensional problems," said Doug Clark, Wilson Sonsini's managing partner. "The group will benefit from the leadership of Beth George, who is well versed in crisis management, and its introduction also coincides with the arrival of Andy Dockham and Janet Kimboth of whom have substantial experience in high-profile congressional investigations and credibility on both sides of the aisle."

"With so much at stake for technology and life sciences companies confronting fast-developing situations, they need a firm that understands their business models and can help them react immediately, to mitigate the damage and minimize further risk," said Beth George, who returned to Wilson Sonsini in late 2021 after serving as acting general counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense. "Our multidisciplinary group has substantial and highly relevant experience to help clients prepare, respond, and react quickly with global response strategies. Our team draws upon decades of experience in and out of government, working on some of the most high-profile issues of the day."

Prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Dockham served as Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director for retiring U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), the Ranking Member for the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs (HSGAC). In that role, he led Sen. Portman's team in producing a bipartisan report on the security and intelligence failures that led to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. From 2017 to 2021, he served as Chief Counsel and Staff Director for then-Chairman Portman on the U.S. Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), the Senate's premier investigative entity. Under his leadership, PSI issued a number of bipartisan reports and held hearings, tackling important issues facing the country, including prescription drug prices; research and IP theft by foreign adversaries; private sector data breaches; the opioid crisis; and international money laundering and sanctions evasion. Dockham also served as General Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2015 to 2017. He began his career on Capitol Hill working for Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) as Counsel on PSI from 2010 to 2012, and later as Chief Counsel for Sen. Coburn on HSGAC from 2013 to 2014. In that role, Dockham led a bipartisan investigation that uncovered $550 million in fraudulently awarded healthcare benefits, which led to the indictment of two administrative law judges, an attorney, and a doctor. Dockham's investigative reports were routinely covered by high-profile print and broadcast media, including three investigations featured on 60 Minutes.

"Returning to private practice at Wilson Sonsini gives me an excellent opportunity to draw on my 10-plus years of experience leading complex, high-profile bipartisan congressional investigations. That background, combined with Janet's expertise and the firm's crisis management experience, will build on the firm's ability to provide top-notch service to clients navigating both internal investigations and all aspects of investigations by Capitol Hill," said Dockham. "I look forward to working with Wilson Sonsini's impressive base of innovative technology and life sciences clients that are increasingly drawing the attention of lawmakers."

Kim served as Associate Counsel to the President in the Office of the White House Counsel since January 2021, providing White House officials and senior Executive Branch officials with strategic and legal counsel on litigation and risk matters, including congressional oversight investigations. Her portfolio included managing high-profile litigation, oversight, and investigative matters; negotiating with congressional and government investigators regarding requests for documents and testimony directed at the Executive Branch; and providing compliance and risk mitigation advice to White House officials. From 2017 to 2020, she served on the staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, the primary investigative committee of the House of Representatives. First serving as Investigative Counsel and then Chief Counsel for Investigations, Kim led multiple high-profile investigations and staffed congressional hearings on a wide variety of matters, including topics related to the financial sector, environment, energy, national security, technology, the coronavirus pandemic, health care, personnel practices, ethics, and consumer products.

"I'm excited to continue my practice of helping clients manage high-profile crises strategically and comprehensively, and advising them alongside Andy as part of an experienced, bipartisan congressional investigations team," said Kim. "I have known Beth for many years and hold her brand of client serviceclear-eyed, nimble, and effectivein the highest regard. I hope to provide similarly critical assistance to the innovative and disruptive companies in Wilson Sonsini's client base as they manage formidable threats. I also look forward to leveraging Wilson Sonsini's deep and impressive expertise in risk management, compliance, and investigations."

Dockham received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2003. He earned a B.A. from Wake Forest University in 1998. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Virginia.

Kim received her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2012, and a B.A. from Stanford University in 2009. She is admitted to practice in California and the District of Columbia.

About Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

For more than 60 years, Wilson Sonsini's services and legal disciplines have focused on serving the principal challenges faced by the management and boards of directors of business enterprises. The firm is nationally recognized as a leading provider to growing and established clients seeking legal counsel to complete sophisticated corporate and technology transactions; manage governance and enterprise-scale matters; assist with intellectual property development, protection, and IP-driven transactions; represent them in contested disputes; and/or advise them on antitrust or other regulatory matters. With deep roots in Silicon Valley, Wilson Sonsini has offices in Austin; Beijing; Boston; Boulder; Brussels; Hong Kong; London; Los Angeles; New York; Palo Alto; Salt Lake City; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Shanghai; Washington, D.C.; and Wilmington, DE. For more information, please visit www.wsgr.com .

SOURCE Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Firm announces third fund at $460M dedicated to Seed and Series A investments

SAN FRANCISCO, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Base10 Partners , the world's largest Black-led venture capital fund, announces today that it has closed a new $460M fund for early stage investmentsits largest fund to date. Base10 raised $760M in 2021, including the firm's now $300M growth stage fund, The Advancement Initiative , that donates 50% of carried interest to Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) to create student scholarships and support university endowments.

The firm has kept its focus on its original thesis around automation of the largest sectors of the Real Economy, keeping concentrated portfolios of about only 25 companies per fund in three to four core sectors that the firm considers "global megatrends." Since inception Base10 has invested more than 60% of its capital in just four trends: Food, Retail, Logistics and Global Fintech. Notable existing investments include Figma (Series E), Notion (that most recently raised at a $10B valuation ), Handshake ( Series F ), Aurora Solar (that most recently raised $200M led by Coatue), Popmenu (that most recently raised a $65M Series C ), Shelf (that raised a $52M Series B co-led by Insight Partners and Tiger Global), Nowports (most recently raised a $60M Series B ), and Chili Piper (that raised a recent $33M Series B ).

"Base10's strong reputation investing in the worldwide logistics industry, as well as in Latin America regionally, made them an obvious partner for us when we brought them on for our Series Seed back in 2019," said Alfonso de los Rios, co-founder and CEO of Nowports. "Ade and TJ's experience as founders themselves has made their support invaluable while we have navigated several new rounds of funding and accelerated growth. We're so excited to see Ade, TJ, and the Base10 team continue their firm's expansion."

"Despite it being heavily oversubscribed, we partnered with Base10 in our Series C round because we loved the Advancement Initiative's mission. Since then, we have been really impressed with the team and the resources that Base10 has put at our disposal: through various Base10 programs we are hiring several interns across our organization, and we have turned to Base10 for advice on important personnel matters," said Samuel Adeyemo, co-founder of Aurora Solar. "We are fortunate to count several of Silicon Valley's top tier VCs as investors, and Base10 is up there amongst them in terms of value provided."

While Base10 is minority-led, the firm does not operate minority-focused funds but rather just focuses on finding and investing in the best entrepreneurs all over the world solving problems for the 99%. The firm follows a data-driven approach to identifying the most interesting trends and companies through its Base11 proprietary software and publishes its work on its research portal . The portfolio reflects this global mindset: Although the firm is based in San Francisco, more than half of the portfolio is headquartered outside Silicon Valley and more than 60% of founders in the Base10 portfolio are minorities.

"Doing this job every day is a privilege and we are truly grateful for the continued trust our investors have placed in our growing team that allows us to keep working in what we love. It truly is a lot of fun!" said Ade Ajao, co-founder and Managing Partner of Base10. "We have the honor of working with the best founders in the world, solving problems that impact all of us at a time when we all really need it, and we wouldn't want to be doing anything else."

About Base10 Partners

Founded by Adeyemi Ajao and TJ Nahigian, Base10 is a San Francisco-based venture capital fund investing in founders that believe purpose is key profits and are automating sectors of the Real Economy, including transportation, healthcare, retail, logistics, and construction. The Advancement Initiative, Base10's growth-stage fund, donates 50% of profits as scholarships to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Portfolio companies include Notion, Figma, FTX, Nubank, Nowports, KeepTruckin, Chili Piper, and Popmenu. Connect via base10.vc .

SOURCE KCPR
" We are so pleased to once again be a part of the prestigious Inc. 5000 list. It's incredible to see how we've continued to progress as a company over the last few years. This achievement wouldn't have been possible without the unwavering commitment of the entire GoSaaS team and the trust of our partners and clients. We take this recognition as a welcome challenge to keep delivering on our mission and to continue this upward trajectory in 2022 and beyond .'' said Hassan Ramay, Managing Partner at GoSaaS.

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Pacific. Between 2018 and 2020, these 150 private companies had an average growth rate of 195% percent and, in 2020 alone, they added 10,252 jobs and $5.1 billion to the Pacific region's economy. Companies based in the Irvine, Santa Monica, and Venice, California, areas had the highest growth rate overall.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals Pacific, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/pacific starting March 15, 2022.

"This year's Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of America's off-the-charts growth companies. They're disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies you'll be hearing about for years to come," says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc.

About GoSaaS

GoSaaS helps product manufacturers modernize business applications used to design, engineer, manufacture and support products. GoSaaS has helped companies in high-tech manufacturing, life sciences and CPG industries, including many fortune 100 companies, in improving their product value chain. As a leading Oracle partner for Industry 4.0, GoSaaS specializes in on-premise to cloud migration.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2022 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2018 and 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

About Inc. Media

The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent.

The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com .

Related links: www.gosaas.io

SOURCE GoSaaS
DUBLIN, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "E-Cigarette Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global e-cigarette market reached a value of US$ 20.4 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 30 Billion by 2027, exhibiting at a CAGR of 4.5% during 2022-2027. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor.



E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that are considered less toxic than traditional cigarettes. Also known as e-cigs, e-vaping devices, vape pens and electronic cigarettes, these cigarettes consist of three main components, namely, a heating coil, battery and an e-liquid cartridge. These components help in delivering dosages of vaporized nicotine or flavored solutions to the users. E-cigarettes are gaining popularity, especially among young adults and adolescents, due to the rising awareness about the harmful effects of traditional tobacco-based cigarettes. However, researchers are still assessing the impact of e-cigarettes on the human body, which is not yet known.



Market Drivers:

The willingness of consumers to quit smoking tobacco products and their perception of e-cigarettes as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes have led to the increased demand for these devices across the globe. In line with this, the manufacturers are introducing new-generation e-cigarettes which offer different strengths of nicotine and allow the users to refill the cartridge.

Moreover, the leading manufacturers are acquiring or entering into partnerships with small and domestic vendors. For instance, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) acquired the UK-based e-cigarette brand E-Lites to develop new products and to commercialize its vaporizers worldwide. These players are also introducing an extensive range of flavors, such as tobacco, fruits and botanicals, in response to the evolving consumer preferences. Further, they are developing the designs of and technology used in e-cigarettes to improve their functioning.



Competitive Landscape:

The competitive landscape of the market is characterized by the presence of several manufacturers who compete in terms of price and quality.

Some of the key players are:

Philip Morris International Inc.

Altria Group Inc.

British American Tobacco PLC

Japan Tobacco, Inc.

Imperial Tobacco Group

International Vapor Group

Nicotek LLC

NJOY Inc.

Reynolds American Inc.

VMR Products LLC

MCIG Inc.

ITC Limited

J WELL France

Key Questions Answered in This Report:

How has the global e-cigarette market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What are the key regional markets in the global e-cigarette industry?

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global e-cigarette market?

What is the breakup of the market based on the product?

What is the breakup of the market based on the flavor?

What is the breakup of the market based on the mode of operation?

What is the breakup of the market based on the distribution channel?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the global e-cigarette industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the global e-cigarette industry?

What is the structure of the global e-cigarette industry and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the global e-cigarette industry?

What are the profit margins in the global e-cigarette industry?

Key Topics Covered:



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global E-Cigarette Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Market Breakup by Product

5.5 Market Breakup by Flavor

5.6 Market Breakup by Mode of Operation

5.7 Market Breakup by Distribution Channel

5.8 Market Breakup by Region

5.9 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup Product

6.1 Modular E-Cigarette

6.1.1 Market Trends

6.1.2 Market Forecast

6.2 Rechargeable E-Cigarette

6.2.1 Market Trends

6.2.2 Market Forecast

6.3 Next-Generation E-Cigarette

6.3.1 Market Trends

6.3.2 Market Forecast

6.4 Disposable E-Cigarette

6.4.1 Market Trends

6.4.2 Market Forecast



7 Market Breakup by Flavor

7.1 Tobacco

7.1.1 Market Trends

7.1.2 Market Forecast

7.2 Botanical

7.2.1 Market Trends

7.2.2 Market Forecast

7.3 Fruit

7.3.1 Market Trends

7.3.2 Market Forecast

7.4 Sweet

7.4.1 Market Trends

7.4.2 Market Forecast

7.5 Beverage

7.5.1 Market Trends

7.5.2 Market Forecast

7.6 Others

7.6.1 Market Trends

7.6.2 Market Forecast



8 Market Breakup by Mode of Operation

8.1 Automatic E-Cigarette

8.1.1 Market Trends

8.1.2 Market Forecast

8.2 Manual E-Cigarette

8.2.1 Market Trends

8.2.2 Market Forecast



9 Market Breakup by Distribution Channel

9.1 Specialist E-Cig Shops

9.1.1 Market Trends

9.1.2 Market Forecast

9.2 Online

9.2.1 Market Trends

9.2.2 Market Forecast

9.3 Supermarkets and Hypermarkets

9.3.1 Market Trends

9.3.2 Market Forecast

9.4 Tobacconist

9.4.1 Market Trends

9.4.2 Market Forecast

9.5 Others

9.5.1 Market Trends

9.5.2 Market Forecast



10 Market Breakup by Region



11 SWOT Analysis



12 Value Chain Analysis



13 Porters Five Forces Analysis



14 Price Analysis

14.1 Price Indicators

14.2 Price Structure

14.3 Margin Analysis



15 Competitive Landscape

15.1 Market Structure

15.2 Key Players

15.3 Profiles of Key Players

15.3.1 Philip Morris International

15.3.2 Altria Group Inc.

15.3.3 British American Tobacco PLC

15.3.4 Japan Tobacco, Inc.

15.3.5 Imperial Tobacco Group

15.3.6 International Vapor Group

15.3.7 Nicotek Llc,

15.3.8 Njoy Inc.

15.3.9 Reynolds American Inc.

15.3.10 Vmr Flavours Llc.

15.3.11 MCIG Inc.

15.3.12 ITC Limited

15.3.13 J Well France

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/3xf7cq

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
The Ukrainian Brand Continues to Support its Employees During Conflict

NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- XDar, a world-renowned Ukrainian vodka, has safely resumed production at its distillery in this time of unrest. Translated to "gift of grain," XDar was created to celebrate the special moments of life, inspiring warm memories in the company of your dearest ones, and is doing its best to live up to that claim in their business too. Celebrating their 20th anniversary this year is a bittersweet milestone for the brand.

When conflict broke out in mid-February, XDar was forced to halt vodka production but continued to pay employees. Their staff totals upwards of 4,400 some of whom are currently serving to protect their country in the Ukrainian army.

"The people at XDar are committed to their employees," said Natalya Kolosok of Liquorum Imports, Inc., the US importer of XDar. "They are some of the strongest people in the world. The employees, while grateful for the assistance, don't just want a check, they want purpose. They want to work, which is why, as safely as possible, XDar opened up their facility to resume production."

The modern, high-tech XDar Distillery was built in 2005 in Cherkassy region, where the largest supply of mineral and freshwater resources is concentrated. XDar has created more than 100 signature recipes of distilled beverages and continues to innovate past the 18 unique patents already in place. Prior to the invasion by Russian forces, the factory was capable of producing over 150 million bottles per year. In 2021, the brand sold upwards of 8 million cases worldwide.

Bayadera Group is one of the largest alcohol holding companies in Eastern Europe, with 30 distribution offices nationwide. Currently, the company exports brands such as XDar to 45 countries, and has officially donated more than $150,000 in support of Ukrainian troops.

XDar has also seen support from its partners in the US. Royal Wine Corp, distributor of XDar vodka in the New York and New Jersey markets, is donating all proceeds from sales during March to Ukrainian relief efforts, with more than $100,000 raised already.

"Knowing how much our simple gesture means to the Ukrainian people is very humbling," commented Mordy Herzog, CEO of Royal Wine Corp. "The drive and determination of the Ukrainian people in the face of adversity is truly amazing, and we look forward to raising awareness for this incredible company."

"The amount of support we've seen has been incredible," added Kolosok. "People want to do what they can to help, and the more vodka we sell, the more people we can bring back to work."

XDar is made from ecologically pure artesian well water and premium grain harvested from black soil, so there is no need for additional purification or artificial enrichment. The vodka rests for 24 hours to ensure the best spirit and water dissolution before being processed through eight meticulous filtration stages. ABV 40%. $16 on Drizly and shop.royalwinemerchants.com.

ABOUT XDAR

XDar symbolizes and maintains such age-old values as family, friends, relatives and national traditions. The product is created according to the classic technology of blending the finest alcohol and artesian water. Xdar Wheat Vodka is created with natural ingredients and according to the unique technology. Vodka is a chameleon and blends seamlessly with just about anything. This is no accident: While there are no universal rules for producing the spirit, the final product is supposed to be colorless, odorless and tasteless. With that said, vodka isn't completely neutral, and a number of distillers actually leave in a good amount of flavor. Made in accordance to the traditional Ukrainian recipe. It is based on artesian water and "Lux" class alcohol from the best wheat varieties. This vodka is created for those who appreciate real vodka taste.

Media Contact:

Tina Carletto

Vice President, KLG Public Relations

[email protected]

SOURCE XDar
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

As part of the visit to Georgia, Azerbaijan's Digital Development and Transport Minister Rashad Nabiyev held a series of meetings with Georgian officials.

During the meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, they discussed current and prospective cooperation between the two countries in the field of transport and ICT.

The parties exchanged views on the proposals put forward to establish closer ties and work that needs to be done.

It was noted that Azerbaijan and Georgia have important potential and favorable conditions to expand successful cooperation in all areas, including transport and ICT sectors.

Stressing the importance of the BakuTbilisiKars project, the sides noted the joint work being carried out to increase the volume of freight transport.

At the same time, the sides emphasized the successful cooperation on the Black Sea-Caspian Sea transport route, the Persian Gulf-Black Sea corridor, and the green ports.

They noted that the coordinated cooperation between Georgia and Azerbaijan creates conditions for the process of attracting cargo to the EuropeAsia transport corridor, which ultimately has a positive impact on the economies of both countries.

Additionally, the importance of peace and stability for the development and long-term progress of the region was particularly emphasized at the meeting.

Moreover, Rashad Nabiyev also met with Georgian Deputy Prime Minister, Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Levan Davitashvili.

During the meeting, discussions were held in the fields of road transport, maritime transport, aviation and ICT, where bilateral cooperation is developing in the spirit of mutual support and understanding.

The sides exchanged views on the organization of cargo transportation via the Baku Tbilisi Kars railway and ways to solve existing problems.

They stressed that multilateral cooperation is of particular importance in using the transit potential of countries in the implementation of international transport. In this regard, it was noted that such mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries is carried out on the platforms of TRACECA and the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.

Additionally, it was emphasized that Azerbaijan seeks to take full advantage of the existing potential of the countrys transportation industry in order to establish full and mutually beneficial relations with partners at the international level.

Azerbaijani Digital Development and Transport Minister Rashad Nabiyev paid a working visit to Georgia to familiarize himself with the progress of work on the project of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway.

Azerbaijan and Georgia are collaborating in a variety of economic fields. Azerbaijan and Georgia signed a number of cooperation agreements in 2021 as part of a meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation.

Simultaneously, as part of the trilateral business forum held in Baku in December 2021, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey signed five memorandums and agreements on cooperation.

In 2021, the two countries' trade turnover totaled $763.6 million, with exports accounting for $661 million and imports accounting for $102.6 million.
Madrid, April 5 : Spain welcomed 3.15 million tourists in February this year as the tourist industry continues to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, said the Spanish Statistical Office (INE).

The number of foreigners visiting Spain increased by 1,007.8 per cent when compared with February 2021, when many travel restrictions were still in place due to the pandemic, Xinhua news agency reported.

Spending also rose strongly, with visitors spending a total of 3,757 million euros in February 2022, which was 1,060.2 per cent up from the figure in February 2021.

Although the signs of recovery continue, INE points out that the number of foreign visitors to Spain accounted for only 71 per cent of pre-pandemic figure.

The lifting of restrictions has seen a large increase in the number of tourists from other European countries, especially from the UK, France and Germany, according to the INE.

Reyes Maroto, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, said travellers view Spain as "a safe destination," considering there is "a growth of more than 670,000 travellers in February compared to January".

She expected the number of tourists to continue to increase in April, reaching about 80 per cent of pre-pandemic figure.
Jalalabad : , April 5 (IANS) The Afghan security forces have launched a clearance operation in Jalalabad city, capital of eastern Nangarhar province, and the surrounding districts as the latest preventive measures to ensure a high level of security, the local government said.

The clearance operation was launched on Sunday by the security forces of the Interior and Defence Ministries as well as the National Intelligence Agency, the government added on Monday in a statement.

The operation aimed at arresting and eliminating the thieves, kidnappers and other culprits who had already been listed by the security forces, the statement said.

"During the operation, civilians and private properties would be safe and all cautionary measures had been put in place. Nangarhar residents should not worry about this operation," the statement added.

It said that dozens of policewomen also take part in the house to house search which is part of the operation, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Sunday, a hostage was freed in Jalalabad. Weapons and ammunition as well as several state-owned vehicles were also found and seized as a result of the ongoing operation, the statement added.

The statement called on citizens to help the security forces during the operation.
Tehran, April 5 : Iran is ready to resume talks with Saudi Arabia to solve differences, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman announced.

"We are ready for the continuation of talks and for the settlement of differences. We have submitted our views in written form to the Saudi side, and they should express their views," Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday in his weekly press briefing.

Repeating Iran's welcome of a ceasefire in Yemen, he said this "should be completed with the beginning of intra-Yemeni dialogue and we should wait for the results." Following the UN-backed two-month truce in Yemen, Khatibzadeh on Saturday 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 ceasefire to find a political solution to the crisis, Xinhua news agency reported.

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.

According to the UN, the war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.
Moscow, April 5 : Moscow hopes Kiev will follow its national interests at Russia-Ukraine peace talks, but not listen to "advisers" from afar, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"It is not the talks that influence the course of the operation, but external 'players' who are trying to hinder these negotiations and keep the clashes 'on the ground' going on for as long as possible," he told a press conference on Monday following talks with Arab League (AL) representatives on Ukraine, according to a statement published by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"We know who gives such 'advice' to our Ukrainian neighbours. This is done with useless goals that have nothing to do with the interests of the Ukrainian people, the security of Ukraine, the security in the region of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and in our European region," he added.

"I hope that those who lead the delegation of Kiev at the said talks will start to be guided by their own national interests, the interests of their people but not listen to 'advisers' from afar, who sometimes only want to see how the crisis situation will continue to build up," Lavrov said.

He added that Russia will debunk fake charges related to the special operation in Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Minister also expressed the readiness to cooperate and continue to inform colleagues in the AL about the development of the situation, according to the statement.

The Arab Ministerial delegation, headed by Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, Secretary-General of the AL, visited Russia to seek a diplomatic solution for the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The group, including representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates, will travel to Warsaw on Tuesday for another meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

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Lisbon, April 5 : The Portuguese government authorised an expenditure of 32.7 million euros ($35.9 million) for the purchase of medicines against Covid-19 in 2022, according to a government decree published.

The resolution of the Council of Ministers on Monday said the expenditure is necessary "because of the evolution of the pandemic situation," and aims to ensure the Portuguese people have access to "therapeutic options for the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus".

Signed by Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, the order authorises the acquisition of the antiviral drug Remdesivir, as well as funding for the storage and acquisition of vaccines against Covid-19, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Portuguese government said the expenditure is justified to "put an end to the pandemic" and provide "therapeutic alternatives to treat infected people", such as "monoclonal antibodies," "oral antivirals," and "immunomodulators".

Access to these medicines can only be granted through a centralised procurement procedure within the framework of the Strategy for Covid-19 Therapeutics program, whose management is the responsibility of the European Commission. (1 euro = $1.10)
Tunis, April 5 : Tunisian President Kais Saied has urged the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) to be ready to organise the legislative elections slated for December 17, according to a statement released by the presidency.

During his meeting with ISIE Vice-President Farouk Bouasker on Monday, Saied said, "It is imperative to preserve the independence and the neutrality of the body." For his part, Bouasker highlighted the elections' importance for the country's political future and its stability, in addition to the ISIE's critical role to ensure the elections' success, Xinhua news agency reported.

Last week, the Tunisian President announced the dissolution of the Assembly of People's Representatives, or the parliament.

Tunisia's Islamist party Ennahdha (Renaissance) on Monday voiced its opposition to the dissolution of the Tunisian parliament.

According to a statement on its Facebook page, Ennahdha said the President's decisions "are in violation of the provisions of the constitution".

In December 2021, Saied announced a constitutional referendum will be held in July this year, followed by parliamentary elections at the end of 2022.
United Nations, April 5 : The UN mission in Mali is investigating reports of civilians killed during clashes last week between government troops and militants, a UN spokesman said.

Published reports vary in the number of civilian deaths, but they do agree the number is in the hundreds. They said the army of Mali engaged with militants believed to be associated with the Islamic State or al-Qaeda, known to be in the area.

"Our peacekeeping colleagues are very concerned about these reports, and they are working to verify the facts and circumstances of the incident, including whether human rights violations and abuses were committed," said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Haq told reporters at a regular briefing that a fact-finding mission would travel to the area where the fighting occurred, about 400 km northeast of the capital, Bamako, Xinhua news agency reported.

The mission itself, known as MINUSMA, said it is working with Malian authorities to carry out the inquiry.
Sanaa, April 5 : Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has urged the Houthi militia to sit at the negotiating table with the government to reach a political settlement and end the seven-year civil war, the official Saba news agency reported.

"Return as a Yemeni political component that adheres to national constants, and come to the dialogue table to make peace," Hadi made the call in a statement on Monday during a meeting with his government's ministers in his residence in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

"Our hands stretch out to you for reaching a just and comprehensive peace and rebuilding our country," he said, stressing that the ongoing truce is a big chance for all Yemenis to pave the way for "permanent peace".

On Saturday, a two-month ceasefire brokered by the United Nations (UN) and agreed by the Yemeni warring parties entered into force, Xinhua news agency reported.

The truce includes the halt of all offensive ground, aerial and naval military operations, as well as facilitating the entry of 18 fuel ships into the ports of Hodeidah and allowing two commercial flights a week to and from the Sanaa International Airport.

The Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and the capital Sanaa are under the control of the Houthi militia.

The terms also include convening a meeting between the parties, to lift the siege, open the roads and allow humanitarian aid access to the government-held Taiz city.

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg said the truce aims to give Yemenis a necessary break from violence, and relief from humanitarian suffering, stressing that the truce can be renewed beyond the two-month period with the consent of the Yemeni parties.

However, the government and Houthis have traded accusations of breaching the truce in the past two days.

The truce would be a major breakthrough in the seven-year civil war in Yemen if implemented, as previous ceasefire deals had all failed.

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 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 UN.
Kiev, April 5 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has formed a delegation to participate in talks with Russia on the preparation and approval of a draft 'Treaty on Security Guarantees of Ukraine'.

Under a presidential decree issued on Monday, MP David Arakhamia, who also leads the Ukrainian side in the peace talks with Russia, was appointed head of the delegation, reports Ukrayinska Pravda.

The other delegation members include Minister of Justice Denys Malyuska, Senior Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, Minister of Defence Oleksiy Reznikov and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mykola Tochytsky.

Under the decree, Arakhamia has the capacity, upon approval by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to make changes in the composition of the delegation, as well as to engage employees of government agencies, enterprises, institutions, organisations to the workupon the approval by their superiors, scientific advisers and experts.

"The decree also adopts the directives of the Ukrainian delegation on participation in negotiations with Russia regarding the preparation and approval of draft Treaty on Security Guarantees of Ukraine." However, the content of these directives is not disclosed.

On March 29, another round of peace talks between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place in Istanbul, where Kiev voiced its own proposals, Ukrayinska Pravda reported.

Ukraine expects several states to become security guarantors instead of NATO, and in case of aggression these states will provide weapons, assistance to the armed forces, and a no-fly zone.

Such security guarantees will not extend to the regions of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The Ukrainian delegation also suggested that the status of Crimea and Sevastopol should be negotiated and defined in bilateral talks over the next 15 years, and the issue of Donbas will be discussed in direct talks between the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War

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Kiev, April 5 : Vadym Boichenko, the Mayor of Mariupol, has said that at least 130,000 people still remain stuck in the besieged Ukrainian city where a Russian blockade has been in place since March 1.

Addressing reporters on Monday, the Mayor said: "130,000 civilians remain in Mariupol. The enemy has destroyed all of our municipal buses. First there were 150 of them, then 100, then 50 - and now, zero. Everything is destroyed.

"Since March 13 we have managed to open a (humanitarian) corridor even in the absence of a ceasefire, to allow at least people in private cars to leave the city and go to Berdiansk. Today this route still operates, but with interruptions. The corridor from Berdiansk to Zaporizhzhya also works, but with great difficulty." According to the Mayor, nearly 90,000 Mariupol residents were able to leave the blockaded eastern city for Zaporizhzhya via Berdiansk, reports Ukrayinska Pravda.

Around 70,000 Mariupol residents are now housed in villages around Zaporizhzhia, Boichenko added.

He further claimed that not only does the Russian forces stop Ukrainian aid to the city, but they also steal the relief materials.

The Mayor added that at least 15 buses were currently stuck in the village of Vasylivka in the Zaporizhzhia region, not being able to pass the Russian blockade into Mariupol.

"We beg the international community to unite to ensure a complete evacuation of Mariupol residents," Ukrayinska Pravda quoted the Mayor as saying.

Since the Russian blockade in Mariupol began on March 1, some 5,000 people have been killed and 150,000 were evacuated from the strategic Ukrainian port city, according to preliminary estimates.

Meanwhile, 90 per cent of the high-rise apartment buildings in the city have been damaged, of which 1,560 (60 per cent) were directly hit by Russian missiles, bombs, or artillery, and 1,040 (40 per cent) were completely destroyed.

At least 61,200 private residences have been damaged, while a total of seven hospitals were also hit.

On March 28, the Mayor had called for the complete evacuation of the city as there is no water, light, heat or any means of communication.

Mariupol is key to Russia's ongoing invasion. If the city falls, it would give Russia control of one of Ukraine's biggest ports and create a land corridor between Crimea and the Russian-backed regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
New Delhi, April 5 : The Centre is likely to table on Tuesday 'The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022' in the Rajya Sabha to unify three municipal corporations in the national capital.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will move the Bill further to amend the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, as passed by the Lok Sabha, and be taken into consideration and to be passed.

Last week, the Lok Sabha passed the The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to unify three municipal corporations in the national capital.

As per the List of Business of the Upper House, the Centre is also likely to table the Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2022 for consideration and passing in the Rajya Sabha. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will move the Bill further for amendment, to be taken into consideration and to be passed.

Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda to move that the Bill further to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 for inclusion of certain community in the list of Scheduled Tribes in relation to Tripura, as passed by the Lok Sabha, be taken into consideration and to be passed by the Upper House.

The discussion on the working of the ministry of labour and employment is also likely to conclude in the Rajya Sabha with a reply by the minister.

Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya is to move the motion to elect, in the manner as directed by the Chairman, one woman member from amongst the MPs of the House to be a member of the Central Supervisory Board, constituted under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994.
New Delhi, April 5 : The Jharkhand Congress leaders are scheduled to meet in Delhi on Tuesday to take stock of the situation a month after there was no response from the JMM on the issue of a common minimum programme proposed by the Congress.

About two dozen leaders from the state have been called to Delhi to discuss the party affairs in the state. The new Jharkhand in-charge Avinash Pande had visited the state several times since R.P.N. Singh switched over to the BJP.

The relationship between the two parties -- JMM and Congress -- are strained but the Congress rejects it and says that the functioning of the coalition government is smooth with no major hiccups.

The Congress unit in Jharkhand has prepared a roadmap for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and party general secretary and Jharkhand in-charge Avinash Pande said that the party has decided to constitute a coordination committee in the state to harmonise with the Hemant Soren-led government and is working on the revival plan.

In order to strengthen the party prior to the 2024 polls, an exercise at the local level and a roadmap for the next 100 days has been prepared.
New York, April 5 : Given the clamour in some US media and among politicians criticising India for buying oil from Russia, President Joe Bidens spokesperson Jen Psaki has clarified that its imports were minuscule and energy payments did not come under American sanctions.

"Right now, just to give everybody the full scope of it, India's imports of Russian energy represent only 1 to 2 per cent of their total energy imports," she said at a briefing in Washington on Monday.

Psaki also clarified that "just given some of the reporting, energy payments are not sanctioned; that's a decision made by each individual country".

She gave the clarifications while answering a reporter's question that if "as part of this new effort to ramp up sanctions, is the administration going to be ramping up pressure on China and India to abide by existing sanctions?" In contrast to India, Germany imports about 55 per cent of its enormous gas requirement from Russia in addition to buying coal from it but it has escaped criticism or the snide questions that have dogged India.

The other countries in the European Union that import Russian energy have also been free of criticism or demands to immediately cease imports.

Given India's pivotal role in the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific strategy and its attempts to curtail China's influence, Washington has generally been supportive of New Delhi despite its neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its purchases from Mosocw.

"We also we've been very clear that each country is going to make their own choices, even as we have made the decision and other countries have made the decision to ban energy imports," Psaki added.

In another indication of this policy, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby deflected questions about sanctions on India for buying the Russian S-400 Triumf missile defence system drawing attention instead to New Delhi's defence purchase diversification.

"We remain encouraged by India's continued diversification of their defence equipment over just the past decade," he said at a Pentagon briefing on Monday.

Psaki said that US Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh had offered to help India reduce the minuscule amount of its oil needs that it imports from Russia.

In his talks with Indian officials last week in New Delhi, Singh "made clear that we'd be happy to be a partner in reducing their reliance or even their small percentage of - of reliance on that", she said.

But he also told Indian officials that it was not in their country's interests to increase imports from Russia, she said.

"While he explained both the mechanisms of our sanctions and reiterated that any country or entity should be abiding by those, we also made clear that we'd be happy to be a partner in reducing their reliance or even their small percentage of - of reliance on that," Psaki added.

At the Pentagon briefing, Kirby was asked if the Biden administration would issue sanctions against India if it operationalises the S-400 system, which began arriving in India in November.

"I don't have anything on the sanctions to talk to you. We've been very clear with our Indian partners about our concerns over this purchase and encouraging them, as we encourage many others, not to purchase Russian equipment." Noting New Delhi's diversification of defence purchases, he added: "We'll continue to have that conversation with the Indians." Asked if the S-400 would be incompatible with India being in the Quad, Kirby said: "I think we've made it very clear to India, our concerned about this particular purchase. We've been very clear about that." The Quad is the four-nation group of India, the US, Japan and Australia that try to coordinate their strategies to ensure a free Indo-Pacific region where China has stepped up its aggressive posture.

When a reporter tried to draw a parallel with Turkey, a NATO member that was being sanctioned for buying the S-400 system, Kirby said: "And we expressed the same concerns to them and that's why we had to make a decision on the F-35 (advanced fighter jets).

"Because we believe that that capability, that air defence capability was fundamentally incompatible with them also having F-35s. And we were very clear with our Turkish allies as well." (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis)

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Bengaluru, April 5 : Amid the series of developments threatening to challenge the law and order situation in the state, ruling BJP party is all set for a cabinet rejig in Karnataka.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who is reaching New Delhi on Tuesday, is expected to take final instructions from the high command. The aspirants of cabinet positions from the state have also reached the national capital to rally support for space in the cabinet.

According to sources in the BJP, the party is contemplating to fill four vacant cabinet berths as well as drop more than five cabinet ministers to make way for new faces as well as to put the ruling party in advantageous position for the upcoming Assembly elections in 2023.

Though the prime agenda of Bommai's meeting is to discuss obtaining clearance for the Mekedatu project, getting green signal for the cabinet reshuffle or expansion is another important matter. Sources in the party said that the party is thinking of dropping more than five sitting ministers to make way for more than 10 new faces.

The decision on the cabinet berth to B.Y. Vijayendra, son of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa will be made. The party will have to take a call on the issue as the support of BJP strongman Yediyurappa is much needed for the party during the upcoming elections. As investigations have reopened against Yediyurappa in land denotification recently, the move of the party in this regard has aroused a lot of curiosity.

Meanwhile, former minister Ramesh Jarakiholi, who has got clean chit in alleged sex CD case by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has intensified lobbying for re-entering cabinet. Providing his mass appeal with the backward classes and considering his efforts to bring the BJP to power in the state, the ruling party is seriously considering giving him a cabinet berth.

The party is also keen to accommodate former minister C.P. Yogeshwar to the cabinet. Yogeshwar, who caught the wrath of Yediyurappa for running a campaign against him, was dropped from the cabinet when Bommai took charge as the Chief Minister. The party is considering his candidature to strengthen its roots in south Karnataka. Yogeshwar has been challenging the dominance of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda family on one hand and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar on the other hand in the region.

The party is contemplating dropping non-performing senior cabinet ministers and handing them over organisational responsibilities.
Kiev, April 5 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he will address an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

In his nightly video address, the President said that it is in Ukraine's interest to have an open and transparent investigation into the alleged killing of civilians in Bucha city, located about 60 km from Kiev, reports the BBC.

"I would like to emphasise that we are interested in the most complete, transparent investigation, the results of which will be known and explained to the entire international community," he said.

"There will come a time when every Russian will learn the whole truth about who of their fellow citizens killed. Who was the one who ordered. Who closed their eyes to murder.

"We will set it all up. And we'll make it globally famous. It's the year 2022 now. And we have far more tools than those who held the Nazis accountable since WWII," the President added.

His announcement comes after he made a trip to Bucha on Monday.

During the visit, Zelensky "inspected the road with the destroyed Russian equipment and talked to the locals", reports Ukrayinska Pravda.

The city of Bucha, along with Monastyrskyi, Irpin, Hostomel, Borodyanka, Makariv, Kopyliv, Motyzhyn, all in the Kiev region, were liberated from Russian forces on April 2.

Later that day, Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk announced that a mass grave was discovered in the city where almost 300 people were buried.

On April 3, Iryna Venediktova, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, said that the bodies of 410 civilians killed in Bucha have been taken to be examined by forensic experts, adding that any evidence gathered will be recorded for the ongoing case of Russian war crimes.

According to the Prosecutor General, there is "crucial evidence of brutal war crimes perpetrated by the Russian Federation in the liberated territories of the Kiev region".

Zelensky has termed the killings as "genocide".

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New Delhi, April 5 : The third report from the IPCC during the current assessment cycle, completes the full picture of the climate crisis facing humanity. And it is not a pretty picture.

The first two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change, reports say climate change is here, now, and causing huge disruption to the natural world and human wellbeing.

This report tells "us that we are still not doing enough to cut greenhouse gas emissions, confirming the findings of UNEP's 2021 Emissions Gap Report", says UN Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen.

"The last two decades saw the highest increase in emissions in human history, even though we know how much trouble we are in. The next decade cannot follow the same pattern if we are to hold global warming this century to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

"Half-measures won't halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, which is what we need to do. We need to go all in.

"The IPCC tells us that we have the knowledge and technology to get it done. Through a rapid shift from fossil fuels to renewables and alternative fuels. Through moving from deforestation to restoration. Through backing nature in our landscapes, oceans and cities.

"Through transforming our cities into green and clean spaces. And through behaviour change to address the demand side of the equation," she says.

The IPCC on Monday released a new climate science report from its Working Group III on climate change mitigation.

It covers actions the world can take to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.

The IPCC report, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stresses that climate action plans must be turned into reality, finds that rapid transformations across all sectors and systems are necessary to avoid the worst climate impacts. The analysis highlights how total GHG emissions continued to climb over the last decade but should peak before 2025 to preserve the best chance at not overshooting 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The report reveals that global action remains far off-track. It makes clear that finance, technological innovation, smart policies, and changes in lifestyles and behaviour, including dramatically reducing fossil fuels, are all critical components of effectively and equitably mitigating climate change.

Responding to the report, Ani Dasgupta, President & CEO, World Resources Institute, told IANS, "The newest IPCC report confirms what we feared: our window to limit warming to 1.5 degrees C is extremely narrow, but the world's leading scientists have shown us how to keep that goal alive.

"It's time world leaders wake up and realize that business as usual is a recipe for total disaster.

"This report is an urgent call to action to peak GHG emissions before 2025 and nearly halve GHG emissions by 2030 to set the world on a path to reach net-zero by around mid-century." The IPCC report finds that emissions continue to rise and yet current climate plans and policies are woefully inadequate to change this trajectory.

"We must sprint to avoid climate catastrophe," said NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) President and CEO Manish Bapna.

"This report makes it clear we must go from a trot to a sprint to avoid climate catastrophe. Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine makes breaking our dependence on fossil fuels a strategic imperative. It's equally an environmental necessity," he told IANS in a statement.

"The good news is that we have the climate solutions needed, and they work. While the fossil industry tries to exploit the crisis in Ukraine and lock us in to decades more dependency, this report affirms tremendous gains, here at home and abroad, in clean energy, in wind and solar power and battery storage, and foresees little future for fossil fuels. But we simply have to move much faster." Christian Aid Head of Global Policy and Advocacy, Fionna Smyth, told IANS: "This report is a wakeup call that shows we must address the root cause of the climate crisis by urgently cutting emissions. Emissions continue to go up and reversing that needs to be a global priority.

"Most of the people living on the front lines of the climate emergency have done the least to cause this problem. For example despite accounting for 17 per cent of the world's population, Africans contribute just four per cent of global emissions. They need major emitters to take drastic action so that we can all have a safe and secure climate." Among the IPCC report's authors are three researchers from the Delhi-based public policy think tank, Centre for Policy Research (CPR): Navroz K. Dubash, Lavanya Rajamani and Parth Bhatia.

They are among 14 Indians who have been involved in developing the report.

"The unavoidable reality is that human emissions over this past decade have been the highest in history. Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees is out of reach without immediate and substantial short term measures by 2030, in addition to longer term efforts to reduce emissions to net-zero," said Dubash.

"This report is a sobering reminder of how much we still need to do to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system," added Rajamani.

The Working Group III (WGIII) report is the third report of the IPCC's AR6 assessment cycle, with two previous reports on 'The Physical Basis' (WGI) and 'Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability' (WGII) released in recent months.

WGIII focuses on climate change mitigation. The WGIII report is co-authored by 278 authors from 65 countries, has 354 Contributing authors, and is approved by 195 governments.

(Vishal Gulati can be reached at vishal.g@ians.in)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Seoul, April 5 : Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said Pyongyang won't "fire even a single bullet or shell toward South Korea because we do not regard it as match for our armed forces", state media reported on Tuesday.

In a press statement, her second in two days, Kim Yo-jong again took issue with the South Korean defense chief's talk in public last week of his troops' "preemptive strike" capabilities, boasting repeatedly about Pyongyang's nuclear combat force, reports Yonhap News Agency.

"If anyone does not provoke us, we will never strike it before anything else," she said in the statement carried by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"We will not fire even a single bullet or shell toward South Korea. It is because we do not regard it as match for our armed forces.

"In other words, it means that unless the South Korean army takes any military action against our state, it will not be regarded as a target of our attack," Kim Yo-jong added.

She however, warned that although the North opposes a war that may put the Peninsula into a "disaster" like that in the 1950s, things could change, depending on the South's moves.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Chennai, April 5 : Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian has assured striking nurses who worked during Covid-19 that the government would recruit them as and when vacancies arise.

He said that for the time being, the government would recruit around 800 of them who were part of the 4,000 nurses hired on a contractual basis at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

The nurses were recruited by the health department to help handle the pandemic. The Government had hired 4,000 nurses but a few had left later and 3,200 remained on duty and so there are 800 vacancies at present.

Soumya, one of the protestors while speaking to IANS said: "We felt deceived by the government as they have extended the service of 3,200 nurses but left out 800 of us and we had worked tirelessly during Covid -19 period." Health Minister Ma Subramanian said: "The government is considerate of the demands of the nurses and doctors who had worked during the Covid. As and when the vacancies arise, we will consider providing them employment." Nursing association leaders said that the government has to provide them jobs as they were assured of jobs by the government during the pandemic.
Los Angeles, April 5 : Harrison Ford will be seen starring opposite Jason Segel in the comedy series 'Shrinking' for the streamer Apple.

The show was first announced in October 2021. Segel will write the series alongside 'Ted Lasso' co-creator Bill Lawrence and "Ted Lasso" star, writer, and co-executive producer Brett Goldstein, reports 'Variety'.

'Shrinking' follows Jimmy (Segel), a grieving therapist who starts to break the rules and tell his clients exactly what he thinks. Ignoring his training and ethics, he finds himself making huge, tumultuous changes to people's lives, including his own.

Ford will play Dr Phil Rhodes, described as a down-to-earth, sharp as a tack "blue collar shrink," blunt but with an ever present twinkle.

Phil is a pioneer in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy who has built a successful practice over the years that he shares with his two young proteges, Jimmy and Gaby. Fiercely independent, Phil has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's, which forces him out of his comfort zone as he grapples with intrusive friends, his estranged family and his legacy.

The role will mark Ford's first ever television starring role.

The iconic actor is best known for starring in film franchises like 'Star Wars', 'Blade Runner', and 'Indiana Jones'.

Segel, Lawrence, and Goldstein all serve as executive producers on 'Shrinking' in addition to writing. Lawrence executive produces via Doozer Productions, with Doozer's Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer also executive producing alongside Neil Goldman. Warner Bros. Television, where Doozer is under an overall deal, is the studio.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Paris, April 5 : The French Foreign Ministry said that the country has decided to expel "many" Russian diplomats, "whose activities are contrary to our security interests".

The Ministry said in a statement that "the action is part of a European approach", reports Xinhua news agency.

It however, gave no further details about the numbers.

The development comes after French President Emmanuel Macron termed the killings in the Ukrainian city of Bucha as "unbearbale".

Bucha, located about 60 km from Kiev, was liberated from Russian forces on April.

The Mayor however announced that a mass grave of more than 300 bodies was found, which has led to widespread condemnation.

In a similar move on Monday, Germany also expelled a "significant number" of Russian diplomats, while Lithuania announced that it was expelling Moscow's envoy over Moscow's invasion of Kiev.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
Thiruvananthapuram, April 5 : The Kerala unit of the Congress on Tuesday said that the much hyped K-Rail or SilverLine project, the mega infrastructure project of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, is not the present day development perspective as it should have been discussed 50 years back.

Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan told the media that the CPI-M has got it all wrong and they speak of K-Rail as a development perspective.

"It should have been taken up 50 years back, while across the globe any development perspective discussed today is sustainable development in the light of climate change and K-Rail is one which is going to cause havoc to Kerala's environment and under no circumstances will the opposition allow this project to go forward," he said.

"The entire Kerala is against this project as it will not only be an environmental disaster but a financial burden also. Public transport system should be complimentary, while K-Rail is predatory, as for this to flourish all the other modes of transport should play second fiddle," said Satheesan.

He went on to point out that today inter operability is the buzz word, when it comes to railway development.

"K-Rail is going to be mooted in the standard gauge, which is an outdated technology and what's most suspicious is JAICA (Japanese based Japan International Cooperation Agency) which is providing funds is deciding what technology should be adopted, which is in no way acceptable. It's really a cause of concern as to why the Vijayan government did not go in for a global tender. We have asked numerous questions and till now no answers have been given," added Satheesan.

He said that the detailed project report is nothing but "fudged" and the financial aspects of it besides the ridership datas have all been manipulated.

"The data on ridership jumped from 40,000 to 80,000 in a matter of two months. Likewise the Vizhinjam Port which should have been completed in 2019 is still incomplete due to non-availability of rocks (limestone)," according to Vijayan.

The port requires a 3,000 metre long seawall and till now only a quarter of it is completed and Vijayan says it's delayed because of inadequate supply of rocks. The K-Rail project requires a construction of over 5 lakhs metres. Even if the entire Western Ghats is broken down, it would not be enough. So from where and how are rocks going to arrive for K-Rail construction.

While Satheesan emphasised that the Congress-led UDF will step up their protest, they do not intend to form a strike pact with the BJP.

"The BJP in Kerala should not waste its time protesting here, instead should prevail upon Prime Minister to see that no sanction is accorded to the project," said Satheesan.

Meanwhile, top CPI-M central committee member E.P.Jayarajan, a former State Minister at the venue of the 23rd CPI-M Party Congress which opens at Kannur on Wednesday said there is not going to be any discussion on K-Rail at their conference.

"What K-Rail, this project has been given the clearance by the people of Kerala and hence there will be no discussion of it at the five-day party meeting," said Jayarajan.

Now all eyes are on the Kannur meeting as the party delegates who come from outside Kerala and have opposed the upcoming Mumbai-Ahmadabad rail corridor, on what their attitude will be to K-Rail and the protests.

"Vijayan has stopped all the survey works going on in the state just because their party meeting is going on and he knows if the K-Rail officials goes around laying marking stones when the meeting is going on, it could lead to numerous issues and hence to avoid it, till the party meeting gets over, all such works have been stopped," added Satheesan.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Ayodhya, April 5 : Three passengers have been killed and over 30 injured when a bus, they were travelling in, overturned on Tuesday near Mumtaz Nagar in Cantt Kotwali area of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

According to reports, the accident took place when the bus driver tried to overtake another vehicle and lost control.

The bus, coming from Delhi, was on its way to Siddharth Nagar.

The injured passengers have been admitted to district hospital.

The bodies have been kept in mortuary and their families have been informed.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased. He has directed officials to ensure proper treatment and relief to the injured.
Srinagar, April 5 : People's Conference Chief Sajad Lone said on Tuesday that the recent attacks by terrorists were aimed at crippling Kashmir's economy.

In a series of tweets Lone said the terrorists were creating scare which was working against a prosperous Kashmir.

"The violence in Kashmir is not only senseless and barbaric but also aimed at economically crippling the Kashmiri economy. After a long time business seems to have resumed in hotels and allied sectors. And the butchers seem to be hell bent on destroying all that," he tweeted.

"Note the targets. The whole game plan seems to be to scare and to chase out. Whatever one's ideology maybe. The least we can do is to understand the ideology of the other side and the strategy of other other side." "There is an economic component in the strategy of those indulging in violence. It is clear that a rich Kashmiri, an economically prosperous Kashmir is antithetical to the strategy of these violent thugs. Let us hope we understand that." Lone's statement comes after a series of attacks on non-locals and security forces.
Islamabad, April 5 : Farah Khan, a close friend of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans wife Bushra Bibi, has left the country amid serious allegations of corruption levelled against her by the opposition, a media report said According to sources, Farah Khan had left for Dubai on Sunday after the dissolution of the National Assembly in the wake of the no-trust move against Imran Khan, said the Dawn news report.

Her husband had reportedly left the country already, the report added.

Opposition PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz alleged that a friend of Bushra Bibi received a huge sum of money for getting officers transferred and posted according to their choice, calling her the "mother of all scandals" amounting to 6 billion PKR.

"I dare to name Farah, a friend of Bushra Bibi who is involved in receiving millions of rupees in transfers and postings and these are directly connected to Banigala (residence of Prime Minister Khan)," Maryam Nawaz said.

She claimed once the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government was sent home the mind-boggling stories of corruption of the premier and the company would come to the fore, Dawn news reported.

"The mother of all scandals of transfers and postings amounting to 6 billion PKR is related to Banigala. In the coming days, startling evidence will surface. Imran Khan has fears that once he is out of power his 'thefts' will be exposed." Sacked Punjab province Governor Chaudhry Sarwar and Aleem Khan, an old friend of the premier, also alleged that Farah Khan had made millions in transfers and postings done in Punjab through former Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.
Chennai, April 5 : A Dalit family in Vedaranayam, Nagapattinam district has complained to the district collector over police inaction against a government official, who had molested their 12-year-old daughter.

According to the Dalit couple, who are farm labourers, their two daughters aged 12 and 9 were going to the government school when a person named Sivajiraja (50) dragged the elder daughter to the backside of a building and molested her. He took the photograph of the incident and then fled.

The couple said that the incident occurred on February 9. After two days the person barged into their house and threatened them that they will have to face dire consequences if they file a complaint. However, the family filed a complaint at the Vedaranayam All Woman Police station on February 13, which registered a case against Sivajirajan under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 and IPC Sections 294b and 506 -2.

The family in their complaint to the Nagapattinam district collector on April 4 said that the police did not take any action and that Sivajirajan, who is a government employee with the Highways department, is continuing with the job. They said that the children are afraid to go to school as they have to cross the home of Sivajirajan and his relatives who are constantly threatening the Dalit family, including the children.

Vedaranayam police when contacted said that Sivajirajan has not been going to the office and is absconding from the place. The police officer while speaking to IANS said that they are on the trail of the accused and that there was no dereliction of duty on the part of the police in the case.

The officer also said that the district collector has ordered a thorough inquiry into the matter.
Hyderabad, April 5 : Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday paid tributes to former Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Babu Jagjivan Ram on his 115 birth anniversary.

Chandrasekhar Rao recalled the services rendered by former Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the weaker sections Babu Jagjivan Ram who fought for India's Independence, casteless society and equality in the country.

KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, said that the Telangana government is striving hard to root out the socio-economic disparities encountered by the Dalit Community in the state. Taking inspiration from Jagjivan Ram, the state government has launched the prestigious Dalit Bandhu scheme to uplift the poorer sections economically.

The CM said that the slew of Dalit empowerment programmes launched by the state government gave a boost to the self-confidence and socio-economic self respect to the Dalit communities.

Jagan Mohan Reddy also paid rich tributes to Jagjivan Ram. He said the late leader had dedicated his life for the people.

The Chief Minister said Jagjivan Ram's services as a Parliamentarian and Deputy Prime Minister will always be remembered.

In both the Telugu states, different programmes were organised to pay tributes to Jagjivan Ram.

Ministers garlanded the statue of the late leader and recalled his services to the nation.

Telangana's minister for tribal welfare Satyavati Rathod paid tributes to Jagjivan Ram by garlanding his statue at Mahabubabad.

Minister for panchayat raj E. Dayakar Rao offered floral tributes at the statue of Jagjivan Ram in Jangaon. He said that the Telangana government is working with inspiration from B.R. Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram.
Colombo, April 5 : President Goatabya Rajapaksa's ruling party, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) on Tuesday lost its majority in Parliament as 42 MPs announced they would sit independently.

Among the 42 MPs, 14 are from Sri Lanka Freedom Party, 10 belong to constituent parties of the government, and 12 are SLPP MPs, among others, reports Xinhua news agency.

The ruling SLPP-led alliance won 146 seats in the 225-member Parliament in the 2020 general election.

Tuesday's development comes amid an ongoing turmoil in the island nation due to the country's worst ever economic crisis, triggering widespread anti-government protests.

On Monday night, Rajapaksa had said that he will not resign, but was ready to hand over the government to whichever party holds 113 seats in Parliament.

On Monday, he held back-to-back political meetings amidst public protests throughout the nation, calling on the President and government to resign, reports the Daily Mirror newspaper.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former Defence Secretary in his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa's government, played a crucial role to end 26-year-long war against Tamil rebel Tigers.

At the 2019 Presidential election, he was elected President with a sweeping 2/3 majority with over 6.9 million votes.

Lack of dollar reserves and depreciation forced economic crisis lead to severe shortages of fuel, LPG, electricity and essential food and people are demanding Rajapaksa to give up power immediately.
Mumbai, April 5 : Hitting back hard, the Maharashtra government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of corruption levelled against the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil said here on Tuesday.

The development comes nearly two months after Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice-President & Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on February 28, levelling serious charges against the ED and accusing the central agency of running an 'extortion racket' in Mumbai.

"We have set up an SIT to probe these allegations... It is headed by Additional Commissioner of Police (Addl. CoP) Viresh Prabhu. We will give them whatever time period required for its investigations," said Walse-Patil.

Among other things, Raut had submitted a list of the ED officers who allegedly extorted money of crores of rupees with the help of one Jitendra Navlani under threats of framing them in various cases.

Earlier, the Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW), monitored by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, was conducting the probe but now it has gone to the SIT.

On March 8, Raut had made a sensational expose before the media claiming how ED officials and Navlani -- reportedly close to the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party -- had taken huge sums of money illegally from various builders and corporates against investigation of threats, and directly charged the central agency of acting like the 'ATM' of the BJP.

Later, Shiv Sena leader Arvind Bhosale lodged a police complaint, which initiated the probe, and now it will be further investigated by the SIT, with Raut warning of another big exposure into the ED's affairs.
Islamabad, April 5 : Speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly (NA), Asad Qaiser had opposed the PTI leadership's script of rejecting the vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan under Article 5 of the Constitution, a media report said citing sources.

On Sunday, the National Assembly had to vote on the no-trust motion against Khan, but NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri ruled out the motion under Article 5.

Subsequently, President Arif Alvi dissolved the NA on the premier's advice and ordered fresh polls in the country.

According to legal and constitutional experts, by not conducting a vote on the no-trust motion and subsequently dissolving assemblies, the PTI leadership has subverted the Constitution and interpreted article 5 wrongly as it is openly a violation and abrogation of the Constitution.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Sunday took notice of the political situation in the country and said that "any orders and actions that Prime Minister Khan and President Alvi regarding the dissolution of the NA shall be subject to the order of this court".

On the day of voting, the NA Speaker Qaiser did not preside over the lower house session.

Instead, Deputy Speaker Suri conducted the session and left the country in a tumultuous situation, Geo News reported.

Sources close to Qaiser said that he was not ready to give a ruling under article 5 of the Constitution to reject the no-trust motion against Khan.

Qaiser has expressed concern with the PTI leadership over ruling under Article 5, said sources.

As per the sources, the premier's legal team endeavoured to woo Qaiser to foil the trust motion; however, he disagreed with the legal team's point of view and refrained from attending the lower house session.
New Delhi, April 5 : Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday said that it was for the Saudi Arabian government and not the Government of India to decide the date for Haj Yatra.

Responding to a mention during the Zero Hour by Trinamool Congress MP Nadimul Haque, he said that the Haj yatra could not be done for two consecutive years because of the Covid-19 pandemic from other countries, including India.

"We are trying for this year, and the Saudi government has to decide when this pilgrimage will commence. We have all prepared for this year," he added.

"The Haj yatra is an international journey, and the government will follow what the Saudi Arabian government decides, and how many people will go from India," Naqvi further said.

He also said that over two lakh people have gone on the Haj Yatra during the Modi government.

While raising this issue, the Trinamool MP also said that it was believed that this yatra will be commenced this year as the pandemic effects are at the minimum, he also wanted to know when the nine members from the states will be nominated to the newly constituted Haj Committee.

The Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu asked the Minority Affairs Minister to have consultation with Nadimul Haq for other related issues on the Haj Committee.
Kolkata, April 5 : The West Bengal government has fired fresh salvos at state banks over the alleged negligence in sanctioning and disbursing loans under the state's Student Credit Card Scheme.

Former West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra, who is currently the Chief Economic Advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state Higher Education Department Secretary Manish Jain have communicated to the members of the the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) that as many as 16,000 provisionally sanctioned cases under the scheme are lying pending.

In addition to that, Mitra and Jain have communicated to the bankers that as many as 51,000 loan applications under the said scheme are lying unattended by different branches.

According to documents available with IANS, Dr Amit Mitra, in a communication sent last week, has questioned the banks' reluctance in prompt sanction and disbursement of loans under the scheme when the state government itself stands as its guarantor.

However, the bankers have argued that often sanction and disbursement of loans on this count are delayed or held back because of procedural lapses in loan application. These procedural lapses in application are mainly pertaining to submission of supporting documents like PAN card and income tax return files of the parents of the loan applicants, the bankers added.

Just two weeks back, state's minister of state for finance Chandrima Bhattacharya informed the state assembly that since inception of the scheme in June 30, 2021, the state government has received 1,12,745 applications, of which the state government forwarded 1,07,899 to different banks operating in the state.

However, so far, the banks have sanctioned only around Rs 413 crore to just 20,000 loan applicants, Bhattacharya added.

An applicant under the said scheme is eligible for loan up to Rs 10 lakh against a simple interest of four per cent per annum.

Former bank trade union leader Ashoke Mukherjee told IANS: "State government's guarantee is not 100 per cent assurance that the bank loan under the scheme will be sanctioned and disbursed automatically.

"There can be many reasons why a loan applications even with a state government guarantee can be rejected. The first reason is of course procedural lapses in loan application like absence of crucial supporting documents and liabilities details, PAN card and income tax return files of the parents of the loan applicants. Secondly, although the West Bengal government describes the scheme as a collateral-free loan scheme, but under the existing norms, a bank can demand collateral security if the loan amount is Rs 4,00,000 or above. This can be yet another reason for loan rejection," Mukherjee said.

According to former journalist and economic analyst Santanu Sanyal, there had been several instances in the past that loan accounts with state government guarantee have turned into bad loans or non-performing assets.

"So, it is quite likely that the bankers will check other credentials apart from the state government guarantee before sanctioning the loan. Secondly, the bankers are well aware of the cash-strapped exchequer of the West Bengal government which is heavily dependent on state excise and high market borrowings for running the recurring expenditure. So, the bankers cannot really be blamed for their over-cautious approach in sanctioning loans under the West Bengal Student Credit Card scheme," Sanyal opined.
New Delhi, April 5 : An eight-year-old child was first allegedly abducted and later killed by his friend aged 13 in the national capital, an official said on Tuesday.

According to the official, the incident was reported from the Kanjhawala area of Rohini district.

"A call was received on April 2 at 9.13 p.m. by a woman stating that her eight-year-old son went outside home around 3.00 p.m. and has not returned since then," Deputy Commissioner of Police Pranav Tayal told IANS.

Based on her statement, the police initially registered an FIR under section 363 of the Indian Penal Code and initiated a search operation to locate the boy.

Meanwhile, the mother of the missing boy informed that her son left the house with his 13-year-old friend after which the police questioned the teenager.

During questioning, he revealed that he had a fight with the victim and subsequently murdered him with a stone and also robbed him of his mobile phone.

The victim died on the spot, the senior official said.

After this the police added section 302 to the FIR and apprehended the boy.

The body of the child was also recovered from the jungle area of village Sohati (Haryana) along with the stolen mobile phone.

"The accused boy has been sent to an observation home," Tayal added.
Bengaluru, April 5 : Reacting to the slew of developments in the state relating to religious matters, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said all are equal before the government and mosque loudspeakers will not be taken down forcefully.

"All steps would be taken to ensure peace by not letting any individual or organisation take law into their hands," he said.

He further stated that the ruling BJP has the blessings of the people. He said that he would deliver more pro-people programmes in the coming days and the crisis won't be solved by mere issuing of statements. "There are many things behind these developments. The orders were made in 2001, 2002. The ruling BJP has not passed any order. We will keep everything in mind and take decisions," he said referring to the ban on Muslim merchants in temples and religious fairs and the use of loudspeakers in mosques.

Explaining about 'Azaan', Bommai said that there was already an order by the Apex Court in this regard. "There is also another order questioning why its orders are not being implemented. The limit of decibel is prescribed and there is an order to purchase a decibel meter.

"This is work which has to be done by taking everyone into confidence. It can't be done forcefully. At the ground level meetings are being conveyed by the police with the community leaders. It will be done in future also and action would be taken," he said.

Commenting on the cabinet expansion, Bommai maintained that the issue was likely to be discussed when he meets Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President J.P. Nadda.

Reacting to the comment made by K.T. Ramarao, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development of Telangana state regarding a call for an entrepreneur to pack his bags to Hyderabad in the backdrop of poor infrastructure in Bengaluru, Bommai said the tweet made by Telangana Minister Ramarao is laughable.

"People from all over the globe are coming to Bengaluru. More numbers of unicorns and startups are in Bengaluru," he said.
Madikeri : , April 5 (IANS) The Karnataka Forest Department on Tuesday intensified its search operation for a tiger in Madikeri district, while also issuing an alert for the residents of villages surrounding the Virajpet town in connection.

As many as 150 Department sleuths continued the search operation with tamed elephants and sharpshooters.

The tiger had attacked and killed a labourer Ganesh at Rudraguppe village near Virajpet on March 29.

Following the attack, the Department swung into immediate action to locate the tiger.

It has also installed 35 cameras in and around the region. The combing operation is being taken up in the 10 km radius of Rudraguppe village.

Meanwhile, measures have been taken up to ensure safety of the local residents, including the creation of WhatsApp groups to exchange messages and issue alerts.

The CCTVs installed by the Department have captured images of the tigerand it is ascertained that the big cat is very much in the vicinity.

Laborers in the area have complained about the continued threat to their lives by tigers and elephants.

The last official count revealed that there are 524 tigers in the state making Karnataka forests home to the second largest population of tigers in the country.
London, April 5 : Imran Ahmad Khan, the UK Conservative MP for Wakefield, is on trial at Southwark Crown Court, where he denies sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in a bunk bed at a house in Staffordshire in January 2008. A separate alleged incident in Pakistan happened almost three years later, in November 2010.

Imran Ahmad Khan, 48, was elected as the Conservative MP for Wakefield in West Yorkshire in 2019, Sky News reported.

He had been working on a project funded by the UK Foreign Office at the time of the alleged incident in November 2010.

The man, who was then in his early 20s, told a jury that Khan offered him a sleeping pill as they shared a room in a guest house in the city of Peshawar, Sky News reported.

He said he later woke up to find Khan performing a sex act on him, adding that he "pushed him off and told him to stop".

The man's claim was detailed at Southwark Crown Court, where Khan is on trial over the alleged sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy in a bunk bed at a house in Staffordshire in January 2008.

He allegedly forced the youngster to drink gin, dragged him upstairs and asked him to watch pornography before touching his feet and legs, the report said.

The MP, who is gay and a Muslim, denies the allegation - and claims he only touched the Catholic teenager's elbow when he "became extremely upset" after a conversation about his confused sexuality.

Prosecutor Sean Larkin QC told jurors on Monday of the separate allegation against Khan in Peshawar, which is not part of the charge they are trying him on.

"It is a different incident involving an adult in Pakistan," he said.

The man came forward as a witness after hearing Khan had been charged with sexual assault, the court heard.

Jurors heard that on the night of the alleged sexual assault, Khan and the man had been at a party where everyone was drinking whiskey, Sky News reported.
New Delhi, April 5 : India is the fifth largest car market in the world and has the potential to become one of the top three in the near future with about 40 crore customers in need of mobility solutions by the year 2030.

Keeping in mind the goals set under the Paris agreement, the increasing number of automobile customers shall not imply an increase in the consumption of conventional fuels. The Indian government is religiously pushing the introduction of Electric Vehicles (EV) and this would not only reduce India's oil import bills in the longer term but also ensure a cleaner environment. India's initiative would also encourage many developing economies to adopt a similar strategy.

Lately, there is a growing consensus among automotive professionals and the public alike that the future of vehicles is electric and India's recent deal with Australia to source critical minerals will help its endeavour to produce electric vehicles.

India is among a handful of countries that support the global EV30@30campaign, which aims for at least 30 per cent new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.

India's advocacy of five elements for climate change -- "Panchamrit" -- at the COP26 in Glasgow is a commitment to the same.

Various ideas were espoused by India at the Glasgow summit, such as, renewable energy catering to 50 per cent of India's energy needs, reducing carbon emission by 1 billion tonnes by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2070.

The government of India has taken various measures to develop and promote the EV ecosystem in the country such as: the remodelled Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME II) scheme; Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) for the supplier side; the recently launched PLI scheme for Auto and Automotive Components for manufacturers of electric vehicles.

EVs will contribute to improving the overall energy security situation as the country imports over 80 per cent of its overall crude oil requirements, amounting to approximately USD 100 billion.

By 2030, 80 per cent of two and three-wheelers, 40 per cent of buses, and 30 to 70 per cent of cars in India will be electric vehicles, according to the NITI Aayog. As the nation gears towards its 'Zero-emission' 2070 dream, funds and focus are directed towards electric mobility.

In March 2022, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari mentioned in the Parliament that between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, the two-wheeler EVs rose by 422 per cent; three-wheelers by 75 per cent and four-wheelers up by 230 per cent. The number of electric buses also increased by over 1,200 per cent.

The push for EVs is also expected to play an important role in the local EV manufacturing industry for job creation.

Additionally, through several grid support services, EVs are expected to strengthen the grid and help accommodate higher renewable energy penetration while maintaining secure and stable grid operation.

Opportunities for Battery Manufacturing and Storage: With recent technology disruptions, battery storage has great opportunity in promoting sustainable development in the country, considering government initiatives to promote e-mobility and renewable power (450 GW energy capacity target by 2030).

With rising levels of per capita income, there has been a tremendous demand for consumer electronics in the areas of mobile phones, UPS, laptops and power banks that require advanced chemistry batteries. This makes manufacturing of advanced batteries one of the largest economic opportunities of the 21st Century.

The Ministry of Power has prescribed at least one charging station to be present in a grid of 3 km and at every 25 kms on both sides of the highways.

India's Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Model Building Bye-laws, 2016 (MBBL) has mandated setting aside 20 per cent of the parking space for EV charging facilities in residential and commercial buildings and such an example is worth emulating by developing economies.

Till such time that EVs become affordable, the Indian government has stepped in with a host of incentives under the umbrella FAME 2 Scheme. The level of incentives now on offer for EVs in India are the highest ever -- up to Rs 32,000 for electric two-wheelers, Rs 3 lakh for electric cars and Rs 35-55 lakh for buses. There is an additional income tax rebate on loans taken for buying electric cars.

As per a study by the CEEW Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF), the market opportunity is worth nearly USD 206 billion (Rs 14,42,000 crore) with cumulative EV sales in all vehicle segments projected to jump to over 100 million units by FY30. It has been estimated that over USD 180 billion (Rs 12,50,000 crore) investment will be required in vehicle production and charging infrastructure until 2030 and this presents a huge opportunity for foreign investors.

It is this opportunity that has lured many startups to this space. The solutions are also innovative. One-year-old Bengaluru-based Charzer, for example, wants to set up an electric two-wheeler charging station on every street of every city in the country. Vehicles zipping down roads and making zero noise and pollution. They can be recharged at malls, parking lots, overnight at home, docked at a supercharging station or even your friendly neighbourhood kirana store. Or a discharged battery itself can be swapped for a new one. That is the future of mobility.
Colombo, April 5 : Sri Lanka's newly-appointed Finance Minister Ali Sabry resigned on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after his appointment.

Sabry said he had accepted the portfolio only as an interim measure, reports Xinhua news agency.

He said he was also willing to step down from his parliamentary seat if the President wished to appoint a suitable person to handle the situation from outside the current Parliament.

Sabry also told local media that his resignation was to pave the way for establishing an interim government.

Sabry and three other ministers were sworn into the new cabinet on Monday after the Sri Lankan Cabinet offered to resign from their positions on Sunday night in response to calls from the protests amid economic instability and a severe fuel shortage in the island nation.

Sri Lanka has for days been facing public protests calling for immediate measures to be taken by the government to solve the economic crisis, hours-long power cuts and shortages in fuel and other essential supplies.

The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) lost its parliament majority as 42 MPs on Tuesday announced they would sit independently.

On Monday, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa extended an invitation to all political parties to join the government to find solutions to the ongoing crisis.
New Delhi/Washington, April 5 : As pressure mounts on Big Tech to sanitise their platforms and stop scraping users data, India needs to learn from the US antitrust bill called the American Innovation and Choice Online Act which has now been endorsed by the Department of Justice (DoJ).

In January this year, the Senate Judiciary Committee in the US approved the key antitrust reform that would ban Big Tech from favouring their own services and products over those of their rivals.

The bill, spearheaded by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), was introduced after reports surfaced that a number of tech companies, including Apple, were guilty of engaging in "deeply disturbing" anti-competitive behaviour.

If enacted, the bill would give federal antitrust agencies the authority to issue civil penalties and injunctions against so-called "covered platforms", according to bipartisanpolicy.org.

The biggest tech companies -- Apple, Amazon, Facebook-owner Meta and Alphabet's Google (it is still unclear if Microsoft would qualify) -- would be barred from behaviour like biasing search results in their favour, limiting rivals' access to platform data, and using non-public data from customers to compete against them.

Tech giants are worried about the new antitrust legislation and reports earlier surfaced that Apple CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai have been personally "calling and meeting with Senators," urging them to oppose the mooted legislation.

The current draft is limited to online platforms with at least 50 million monthly active users (or 100,000 business users), annual market capitalisation or US net sales exceeding $550 billion.

"The bill causes some very significant security concerns... We're requiring companies to take down protections that are in place today, and instead, allow hackers and those looking to steal personal data to access the devices," said Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who voted for the bill.

According to latest reports, the DOJ has now thrown its weight behind the bill, arguing that it would enhance its ability to challenge anti-competitive behaviour.

However, industry groups and critics opposed to this legislation argue the bill is vague, overly broad, and will hurt consumers.

In India, the Joint Parliamentary Committee's (JPC) report on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 was finally tabled in both houses of the Parliament on December 16, 2021 after two years of deliberations.

However, over the last few months, the Data Protection Bill and the JPC's recommendations have been criticized by the industry in light of their potential adverse impact on the ease/cost of doing business in India.

Concerns have now been raised on the impact of increased compliances on India's domestic start-up ecosystem, overall global competitiveness and FDI.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai on March 31 released the '2022 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers' (NTE Report), reviewing significant foreign barriers to American exports of goods and services, foreign direct investment (FDI), and electronic commerce (e-commerce) in key export markets for the country.

The NTE Report identifies a range of important challenges and priorities to guide the Biden administration's trade policy and also raises serious concerns over the proposed and promulgated restrictive data policies in India and cites them as 'Digital Trade Barriers'.

Given the importance of India-US digital trade, it is a serious setback to the attempts by the Commerce Ministry to get a trade deal going with Washington.
New Delhi, April 5 : Shares of food-aggregator Zomato declined on Tuesday after the Competition Commission of India ordered a thorough investigation into the conduct of online food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy.

The two online food delivery platforms are allegedly involved in delayed payment cycles and exorbitant commissions.

At 3.26 p.m., the shares traded at Rs 83.75, down 2.9 per cent.

Following a complaint from the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), the CCI said that it is of the view that there exists a prima facie case with respect to some of the conduct of Zomato and Swiggy, "which requires an investigation by the Director General (DG), to determine whether the conduct of platforms have resulted in contravention of the provisions".

The NRAI represents over 50,000 restaurant operators across the country. The NRAI had alleged that the commissions that are charged from restaurants are "unviable" and "are to the tune of 20 per cent to 30 per cent, which are extremely exorbitant".

Post the CCI's order, Zomato said in a regulatory filing to the exchanges that it will continue to work closely with the Commission to assist them with their investigation and explain to the regulator why all of its practices are in compliance with competition laws and do not have any adverse effect on competition in India.

"We intend to promptly comply with any recommendations given to us by the Hon'ble Commission," it further said in the filing.

Since the start of the calendar year 2022, the shares of the company fell 41 per cent.
Mumbai, April 5 : Bengaluru-based music composer and environmentalist Ricky Kej, who won his second Grammy for his new-age album 'Divine Tides', was left "speechless" after he received a congratulatory message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his win.

Modi took to Instagram to congratulate Kej on Twitter, he wrote: "Congratulations for this remarkable feat and best wishes for your future endeavours!" An awestruck Kej replied: "Wow.. speechless! To receive praise from the Hon'ble Prime Minister himself! Thank you @narendramodi ji, I hope I made you proud. You set me on the path of Environmental Consciousness 7 years ago when I won my 1st GRAMMY Award, and here I am today :-) Thanks for your blessings." Kej won his first Grammy in 2015 for his album 'Winds of Samsara', when none other than celebrated Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer congratulated him.

The dentist-turned-composer, who has also done ad jingles and written the scores of many Kannada films, on Monday greeted the audience with a namaste as he stepped on to the stage at the MGM Grand Marquee Ballroom, venue of the 64th Grammy Awards in Las Vegas.

Latest updates on Grammys 2022
New Delhi, April 5 : As India reopened international travel last month after two years of the pandemic, MakeMyTrip's fintech arm TripMoney on Tuesday said it has acquired a majority stake in BookMyForex, India's leading online foreign currency exchange services provider, for an undisclosed sum.

With this move, BookMyForex's suite of services, including currency exchange that offers real-time exchange rate, multi-currency prepaid forex cards, cross border remittances as well as other ancillary products, will soon be available for MakeMyTrip and Goibibo customers.

"The acquisition of a majority stake in BookMyForex is in line with our strategic vision to build a travel super app offering a complete suite of services for the discerning traveller," said Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO of MakeMyTrip.

The leading online travel platform will also leverage the network of BookMyForex's partners, including select banks and reputed exchange companies, to fulfil forex requirements of customers in multiple cities across the country.

"The investment from TripMoney comes at an opportune time, as the world warms up to international travel. We will leverage the strength of MakeMyTrip and Goibibo to scale new heights by gaining deeper geographic penetration," said Sudarshan Motwani, CEO of BookMyForex.

Leading private equity firm Faering Capital as well as founders and promoters - Nitin Motwani and Sudarshan Motwani -- will continue to stay invested in BookMyForex.

"We are delighted to welcome MakeMyTrip as a shareholder in the company," said Aditya Parekh, Managing Director at Faering Capital.

BookMyForex is India's first tech initiative in the foreign exchange domain and the market leader in the online retail forex space.

MakeMyTrip last month forayed into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to celebrate the popular as well as unexplored travel landscapes in the country.
New Delhi, April 5 : India on Tuesday said the IPCC report vindicated and scientifically established the country's position on the historical responsibility of developed countries for consuming the carbon budget and justifies it's emphasis on equity at all scales in climate action and sustainable development.

"The report underlines the need for deep and urgent global emissions reduction. Four-fifths of the total carbon budget for 1.5 degree Celsius temperature increase and two-thirds of the total carbon budget for 2 degrees Celsius warming has been already consumed. Fifty per cent of the global population, vast majority in the developing world, is responsible for only 14 per cent of the global emissions," Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said commenting on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report of the Working Group III (AR6 WGIII) on 'Mitigation of Climate Change.' It mentions that 'equity' remains a central element in the UN climate regime, notwithstanding shifts in differentiation between states over time and challenges in assessing fair shares. The finding is based on the report's assessment that with a shrinking remaining carbon budget, the access to a fair share of this budget for developing countries has become an important question, he said commenting on the IPCC report.

The report focuses on mitigation - what one can do to reduce emissions to keep the world on a Paris aligned temperature pathway - and mentions the carbon free and low carbon technologies available as well as the potential of digitalisation through robotics, artificial intelligence for supporting energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Reminding that the report fully supports India's view on the necessity of public finance for developing countries and that it notes specifically that 'Tracked financial flows fall short of the levels needed to achieve mitigation goals across all sectors and regions', the Minister said: "The challenge of closing gaps is largest in developing countries as a whole. Public finance falls short of the Copenhagen goal of USD 100 billion per year by 2020." Yadav said the report also endorses India's position on the need for scale, scope and speed in climate finance.

Asserting that the report embodies that changes in lifestyle and behaviours have a significant role to play in mitigating climate change, Yadav said: "The report endorses India's view on the need for curbing unsustainable consumption. The report notes that both cumulative and per capita annual emissions rose during the pre-2020 period. Pre-2020 emissions reduction in developed countries has been insufficient in comparison to the developing world's needs for sustainable development. Both historical cumulative emissions and per capita annual emissions show that India's role (as part of South Asia) is minimal." Yadav also narrated the multitude of actions taken by India to address the threat of global climate change and how India demonstrates to be the voice of ambition as well as the champion of equity on behalf of developing countries by specific, targeted actions, in specific suggestions and proposals and a firm faith in both science and human values.
Kolkata, April 5 : Finally, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court headed by Justice Subrata Talukdar on Tuesday afternoon agreed to hear the cases related to recruitment irregularities by the West Bengal School Service Commission.

The development brings an end to the uncertainty over the hearing of the cases as consecutive judges heading division benches recused themselves from hearing the cases.

On Monday, Justice Harish Tandon recused himself. Accordingly the hearing for the cases was transferred to the bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi. However, on Tuesday, Bagchi also recused. Justice Bagchi, like Justice Tandon, cited personal grounds as the reasons behind his decision to recuse from hearing.

In fact, the transfer of the cases from the bench of Justice Tandon to the bench of Justice Bagchi involved a lot of complications since Monday. After Justice Tandon recused from hearing on Monday noon, the cases went back to the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava for his decision to allot a new bench for the cases.

First Justice Srivastava decided to allot the cases to the bench of Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, who expressed his inability to hear the cases on grounds of his busy schedule with other assignments. Then Justice Srivastava decided to allot the cases to the division bench of Justice Soumen Sen. However, Justice Sen too expressed his inability on this count.

Finally, the Calcutta High Court chief justice allotted the cases to the division bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Bivas Pattanyak. However, on Tuesday morning Justice Bagchi announced his decision to recuse from the cases.

According to senior advocate of the Calcutta High Court, Kaushik Gupta, it is a welcome move that finally a judge heading a division bench has agreed to hear the cases. "Had the judges heading all the division benches recused from hearing, the only option that would have been was that cases had to be heard by the division bench of the chief justice of Calcutta High Court," Gupta said.

Meanwhile, opposition political parties in the state said that the development of judges recusing proves how pathetic the socio-political condition of the state is.

According to the state president of BJP in West Bengal and the party MP, Sukanta Majumdar said even the judges are scared and feeling unsafe in West Bengal. CPI-M central committee member, Dr Sujan Chakraborty said that since the ruling Trinamool Congress has created an air of terror in the state even the judges feel uneasy in hearing cases relating to sensitive matters.
Mumbai, April 5 : In a major development, the publishers of a college sociology textbook - which dwelt on the "boons" of the dowry system - on Tuesday said they have decided to withdraw the book from the market with immediate effect.

"We would like to inform that we have taken immediate steps to withdraw the (text)book from the market. We take such matters with utmost seriousness and shall continue to strengthen internal processes to avoid such incidences in future," Samina Khan, spokesperson for the New Delhi-based Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers Pvt. Ltd, told IANS in an email.

Jaypee Brothers are "a responsible publisher" and serving the medical community for more than five decades, she stressed. However, details of how many copies will be withdrawn and how they will be replaced are not provided.

The step comes as a huge climbdown as the publishers had told IANS, which highlighted the issue on Monday - that they would not revise the title, but delete the offensive sections in future editions of the textbook.

The "Textbook of Sociology for Nurses", penned by senior author T. K. Indrani propounded the theory that the much-abhorred system of dowry was actually good for society and argued that it helps parents of "ugly looking girls" to get them married off.

The "gems of social wisdom" are visible in its Chapter 6, Pg. 122, justifying how the main cause of accepting dowry by the groom's parents is that they have to, in turn, give dowry to their daughters and sisters (outgoing).

"Naturally, they look to the (incoming) dowry of their sons to meet their obligations in finding husbands for their daughters," it claimed.

The content sparked off a furore in various quarters besides a storm in the social media demanding stringent action against the author and the publishers from hawking such stuff.

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi shot off a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to "immediately stop the circulation" of the textbook, prescribed for second year B.Sc. students in Maharashtra and other states, and take it off the curriculum.

"It is appalling how such derogatory and problematic text remains in circulation and that a textbook elaborates the merits of dowry. It actually exists in our curriculum and is a shame for the nation and constitution," an aghast Chaturvedi said.

She also appealed to the Union Minister to chuck out the textbook off the academic curriculum as well as circulation and review all existing textbooks by a panel of experts.

The Indian Nursing Council (INC) also slammed the textbook for the "substandard, derogatory content" which is also against the prevailing laws of the land.

It made it clear that it only prescribed the syllabus for nursing programmes but did not endorse any author or publication, nor has allowed anybody to use its name for their publications.

Agitated academics in Mumbai like retired Prof. Mangal Gogte and former lecturer R. N. Desai had strongly castigated the textbook for "its poisonous ideas" and sought content quality checks plus prompt withdrawal of all copies from the Indian market.

The textbook also refers to how young boys earning high salaries or promising professional careers become "scarce commodities" and hence, their parents demand huge amounts of money from the girl's parents to accept her as their daughter-in-law.

The author lists several "merits and advantages" of the dowry system, that is not only frowned upon and banned under the Indian laws, including "ugly-looking girls can be married off with attractive dowry with well or ugly-looking boys".

Dowry helps (the young couple) in establishing their new household as the custom of giving things like cots, mattresses, television, fan, refrigerator, utensils, clothes and even vehicles are given by the girl to her husband in many parts of India, it said.

In the form of dowry, the girl automatically gets her share in the parental property at the time of her marriage, is another contention.

The dowry system helps spread education among girls as due to the burden of dowry, many people have started educating their girls, it said.

"When the girls are educated or even employed, the demand of dowry will be less. Thus, it is an indirect advantage," says the textbook.

Incidentally, around 6 years ago, similar claims on the alleged 'goodness of dowry', featuring in HSC textbooks of Maharashtra had triggered a huge row.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, April 5 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea against the laws allowing political parties' funding through the electoral bond scheme.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana that it is a critical issue, which requires urgent hearing. He cited a news report where a Calcutta-based company paid Rs 40 crore through electoral bonds to ensure that no excise raids are conducted on it.

The Chief Justice replied that if it was not for Covid, then the court would have heard the matter.

The bench, also comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, assured Bhushan an early listing of the matter.

In 2017, the NGO had filed a plea alleging subversion of democracy through illicit and lack of transparency in the accounts of all political parties. The government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme on January 2, 2018.

In March, last year, the NGO filed an interim application, in its pending petition, claiming there was a serious apprehension that any further sale of electoral bonds before the upcoming state elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam, would further increase illegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies.

"The Electoral Bonds Scheme has opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate donations to political parties and anonymous financing by Indian as well as foreign companies which can have serious repercussions on the Indian democracy", the plea had argued.

The top court, in January last year, had declined to grant an interim stay on the 2018 Electoral Bonds Scheme. It had also sought replies from the Central government and the Election Commission on the NGO's plea.

The plea said the Finance Act of 2017 had introduced the use of electoral bonds which is exempt from disclosure under the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, opening doors to unchecked, unknown funding to political parties. It argued that these amendments have removed the existing cap of 7.5 percent of net profit in the last 3 years on campaign donations by companies and have legalised anonymous donations.

"Even loss-making companies now qualify to make donations of any amount to political parties out of their capital or reserves. Further, it opens up the possibility of companies being brought into existence by unscrupulous elements primarily for routing funds to political parties through anonymous and opaque instruments like electoral bonds," argued the plea.
New Delhi, April 5 : A 15-year-old girl who went missing from the national capital was finally found in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district, an official said on Tuesday.

According to the official, a complaint regarding the missing teenager was received on March 2, following which the police registered an FIR under section 363 (Punishment for kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code at the Mehrauli police station.

A senior Delhi-based journalist had also mentioned about the incident in one of his social media posts after which the matter came to light. "This 15 year old girl, XXXXXX, my driver's niece, has been missing from near the Paryavaran Complex in Saket (close to the Saket Court) since Saturday. She was last seen at 6pm. The Delhi Police are trying their best to find her. If anyone sees her, please DM me," the scribe had tweeted.

During the probe, the police found that the missing girl was seen with another girl, a friend, in a CCTV footage. The friend was then questioned, who after initially refusing to reveal the whereabouts of the girl, later broke down and told the police that her mother had taken away the girl.

The police then questioned the mother of the missing girl's friend, who disclosed that the girl was at her mother's house in Chandausi in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh.

The motive for the abduction is still not clear. "The interrogation of the accused is underway," Deputy Commissioner of Police (south district) Benita Mary Jaiker said.

The Delhi Police recovered the allegedly abducted girl Chandausi.
New Delhi, April 5 : A Special CBI court in Bangalore has sentenced head cashier of a bank to seven years Rigorous Imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2.19 crore in connection with fraudulent exchange of demonetised currency with valid currency.

B. Dinesh, the then head cashier of State Bank of Mysore (presently SBI) Periyapatna Branch, fraudulently exchanged the demonetised currency with valid currency to the tune of Rs 2,18,46,300 in violation of the Union Government's Notification, and was sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment and Rs 2,19,35,000 fine, the CBI said on Tuesday.

He had altered the actual denominations, figures written on the deposit slips submitted by the other customers of the bank for crediting the said amount to their respective accounts.

Acting on a complaint, the CBI lodged a case in 2016 and filed a chargesheet against the accused in 2017.

Noting that there are enough evidences against Dinesh, the court convicted him.
Kolkata, April 5 : The West Bengal government on Tuesday sought a report from the Aliah University over allegations of a now expelled student heckling, threatening and abusing the university Vice Chancellor, Mohammad Ali.

The incident is said to have taken place on April 1. A video that went viral next day showed a student -- Giasuddin Mondal, having close links with the ruling Trinamool Congress, heckling, threatening and abusing Ali.

On April 3, Mondal was arrested from his rented accommodation in Kolkata's Salt Lake area.

Next day, following Mondal's arrest, there were state-wide protests, with Ali saying he wishes to get relieved from the chair of the vice chancellor, seeking to go back to Jadavpur University.

On Tuesday, West Bengal Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department, which has the authoritative jurisdiction of the Aliah University, sought a detailed report from the varsity's authorities in the matter.

During an interaction with the mediapersons, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said Mondal was arrested for using some "bitter words".

Confirming that the state government has sought a report from the university authorities, Mohammad Ali said he will send a report to the state government, and also forward a separate letter to the chief minister.

Mondal, the former unit head of the students' wing of Trinamool Congress, was recently expelled from Aliah University.

The vice chancellor has alleged that while he was being heckled by Mondal last Friday, he had called up the police for help but did not receive "satisfactory response". The university authorities also lodged a complaint with the police then on this matter.
Mumbai, April 5 : Actor Kovid Mittal who was previously seen in 'Awaara Hoon' is excited to star in upcoming music video 'Labon Se Baarish'. It is sung by Yaser Desai.

He says: "I'm excited about my upcoming song 'Labon Se Baarish'. We will be heading to Bangalore and also later Goa for our shoots. I'm sure that my audience will enjoy watching me in this romantic song. The song is afterall written by popular lyricist Azeem Shirazi who also wrote 'Kabhi Jo Baadal Barse', starring Sunny Leone." Mittal known for featuring in songs like 'Meri Jannat', 'Closed Eyes', 'Tanha' feels blessed that his previous song turned out to be a hit.

"I'm enjoying my growth in the music industry. My last song 'Awaara Hoon' was loved and praised. We had a hectic time and a lot of hard work while shooting. We had to shoot for 18 to 20 hours a day. You can see the exotic locations we have shot at. Like Honnavar, Mangalore beach, Chikmagalur hills, Kassala is a mini hill station and in terms of picturesque it is amazingly beautiful." "Shifting the set was all together a big task. We have shown a 30 year love story in four minutes runtime. All I can say is that it took a lot of hard work and creativity to bring this song to reality in terms of story and emotional content."
Aizawl, April 5 : The Mizoram police arrested a drug peddler and seized a large quantity of drugs, smuggled from Myanmar, valued at over Rs 30 crore, police said on Tuesday.

Police officials said that acting on secret information, a team of CID officials detained an illegal drug dealer at Vaivakawn in Champhai district late on Monday night and recovered one lakh highly addictive methamphetamine tablets, weighing 9.602 Kgs, from him. The value of the drugs, smuggled from neighbouring Myanmar, would be at least Rs 30 crore in the international market.

The CID team continued their raids on Tuesday in connection with the seizure of the drugs. Police and para-military officials said that drugs smuggled from neighbouring Myanmar are often seized in Manipur, Mizoram and other northeastern states as the smugglers and drug peddlers are using the northeastern states as their corridors of these illegal trades.

Varied harmful drugs, especially heroin, highly-addictive methamphetamine tablets, also commonly known as 'Yaba' or 'party tablets', poppy seeds, opium, ganja (marijuana), morphine, bottles of cough syrup and various other contraband as well as arms and ammunition are often smuggled from Myanmar which shares a 1,643 km of unfenced border with the states of Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland.

The Assam Rifles, which guard the India-Myanmar borders, recently deployed additional troopers and stepped up their vigil along these sensitive frontiers.
Chennai, April 5 : The Tamil movie 'Jai Bhim' of superstar Surya had depicted the woes of the Irula community of the state who are mainly snake charmers and snake catchers. The movie was based on a real-life incident that led to the death of an Irula man following brutal police torture.

Several members of the community are now working almost as bonded labourers on duck farms and paddy farms in Karnataka and most of them are working for a pittance there.

Sengottayian, an Irula tribal who was rescued by social activists, narrated his ordeal in a duck farm in Karnataka. "My wife and my two children aged 3 and 9 years and I were working in the duck farm from dawn to dusk and we were paid Rs 500 per day. While I had to work in the farm, my wife had to do all the household chores. We were rescued from this ordeal by a group of social workers." In another incident two children from the Irula community of Krishnagiri, aged 14 and 12, were sent to Karnataka by their parents to help rear ducks about a year ago and have not returned to their native Bargur in Krishnagiri district as yet.

Arumugam and Malasri of Kamatchipuram had sent their children to a duck rearing farm in Mandya district of Karnataka and the children have not returned since then.

The Irula tribal family said that a person named Shankar had taken their children to the duck farm and had promised Rs 55,000 per child for a year but even after one year the children have not returned. Arumugam told IANS, "I spoke to my children after the intervention of my panchayat president, K. Jayanthi. We were given Rs 16,000 in three instalments and after that, he did not pay us. We want the children back." Krishnagiri district child welfare officer, Sivagandhi told IANS, "The parents should file a petition before us, only then can we act." When contacted, Krishnagiri district superintendent of police said that the police will act once a formal complaint is lodged.
Jaipur, April 5 : Adani Power has received Rs 3,000 crore dues with interest from the Congress-ruled Rajasthan's state-owned power distribution companies as compensation for higher fuel costs.

Holding the three Rajasthan discoms guilty of contempt of its August 31, 2020 order, a Supreme Court bench led by Justice Vineet Saran had on February 25 asked the top brass of the Rajasthan discom to be personally present before it for framing of charges if they failed to pay Adani Power its dues, as directed.

The Supreme Court gave four weeks to the discoms to make a payment of Rs 3,048.63 crore to Adani Power, along with the interest.

Sources said that in the last hearing on March 31, Adani Power had informed the apex court that Rajasthan discoms made a payment of Rs 3,000 crore to the company on March 30.

The officials, who the court said would need to be personally present before it if the latest order is not complied with, are Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Chairman Subodh Agarwal and its MD Bhaskar Atmaram Sawant, Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam MD Navin Arora, Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam MD V.S. Bhati and Jodhpur Vidyut Nigam MD Avinash Singhvi.

Adani Power had signed an agreement with the Rajasthan discoms in March 2008 to set up a 1,200 MW coal-based power project near Kawai in Baran district at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore.

As per the agreement, the state had to facilitate the supply of coal either from the Central government or other sources. Since it failed to do so, the company procured imported coal to supply power. The company claimed higher costs from the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC).

The RERC in 2018 ordered in favour of Adani Power and directed payment of compensation by the discoms. The discoms moved the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (Aptel), which upheld the Commission's order. The matter moved to the Supreme Court as the discoms argued that Adani Power was responsible for the fuel arrangement.
Islamabad, April 5 : The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday denied there being any truth in reports of it being unable to hold fresh elections within three months, Express Tribune reported.

According to the spokesperson of the ECP, the Commission has convened an emergency meeting on election preparations.

"There is no truth in the reports that the next general elections cannot be held in three months," the spokesperson said, adding: "The Election Commission will fulfil its responsibility under the Constitution and the law. The meeting will review the preparation in the event of general elections." In a tweet, the Commission said, "It is necessary to clarify that the Election Commission of Pakistan has not issued any statement regarding the polls."
Chennai, April 5 : The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday formed a 13-member panel headed by retired justice of Delhi High Court, Justice (Rtd) D. Murugesan to frame the state education policy.

Former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand and music maestro T.M. Krishna are also a part of the panel. This was announced by the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

The panel members are drawn from various sections and include a middle school headmaster, a chess champion, a musician, a writer, and members of the planning commission other than the retired District Judge.

Chief Minister said that the panel would give its recommendations to frame the new education policy within a year.

In its interim budget for 2021-22, the Tamil Nadu government had said that it would form an experts panel to frame the state education policy. The new education policy, according to the Chief Minister's office will highlight the ancient culture of Tamil Nadu, its present position and future objectives.

It is to be noted that the state government, under DMK, has been continuously objecting to several key features of the National Education Policy, including conducting common entrance examinations for all UGA courses, introduction of a three-language formula, and conducting common exams for Classes 3, 5, and 8.

The state government has also opposed four-year degree and also giving options for multiple exits. The Tamil Nadu state government is of the opinion that giving the option of multiple exits would encourage more dropouts and will create two types of graduates.

Other than the Chairman of the panel, the other members are L. Jawaharneesan, former Vice-Chancellor, Saveetha University, R. Ramanujam, retired professor, Institute of Mathematical science, Sulthan Ismael and R. Sreenivasan, both members of state planning commission, Aruna Ratnam, former education expert with Unicef, Tamil writer S. Ramakrishnan, former world chess champion, Viswanathan Anand, Music maestro, T.M.Krishna, educationists, Tulasidas and S. Madasamy, R. Balu,headmaster, Government panchayatAunion middle school, Kichankuppam and Jayashree Damodaran of Agaram foundation.
Pune, April 5 : A 12-week-old pet dog, which suddenly fell ill last month, is now recovering after a team of veterinary surgeons successfully extricated a plastic ice-cream spoon she had accidentally swallowed, doctors said on Tuesday.

The Golden Retriever named Nora was rushed to the Pune Small Animal Clinic where Dr. Narendra Pardeshi examined the dog.

Nora's owners, the Shekhar family, said she was perfectly normal, playful and active till mid-March but later was unable to eat, and developed ulcers.

She underwent an x-ray which revealed the plastic spoon embedded in her stomach and Dr. Pardeshi performed a gastroscopy operation, removed the foreign object and Nora has fully recovered.

"On admission in an emergency, the pup was weak, couldn't eat anything and had ulcers in the tummy. After conducting all tests, we performed the procedure on March 29 under anaesthesia," he said.

For the gastroscopy, the medicos used a long flexible tube called gastroscope or endoscope, which has a mini-camera and light at the end to look inside the stomach.

The plastic spoon was located and then removed with the help of forceps passed through the gastroscope, making it a non-invasive procedure lasting just 45 minutes, but saving the life of Nora.

The now-relieved Shekhar family said that Nora has fully recovered to her usual bouncy self, doing all her activities and eating normally now.

Dr. Pardeshi said that plastic is not digestible nor can it break down in the tummy, its sharp edges could get lodged in stomach or intestinal lining leading to inflammation or holes that could be life-threatening.
New Delhi, April 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday paid tributes to freedom fighter and Dalit icon Babu Jagjivan Ram on the occasion of his 115th birth anniversary.

Paying tributes to the former deputy Prime Minister, Modi posted on Twitter: "Tributes to Babu Jagjivan Ram Ji on his birth anniversary. Our nation will always remember his remarkable contribution be it during the freedom movement or after Independence. He was widely admired for his administrative skills and concern for the poor." The Prime Minister also posted an old picture in which he is seen offering tributes to Jagjivan Ram along with former finance minister Arun Jaitley.

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi also led the grand old party in paying tributes to Jagjivan Ram.

He had quit the Congress because of differences and joined the Janata Party alliance.
Chandigarh, April 5 : Days after the Punjab assembly adopted a resolution to shift Chandigarh to the state, its neighbouring state Haryana on Tuesday too passed a similar resolution unanimously by urging the Centre not to take any step that would disturb the existing balance till all issues emanating from the reorganisation of Punjab are settled, besides reiterating its claim over joint state capital Chandigarh.

The House in Haryana also urged the Central government to take measures for the construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal (SYL) in compliance with the Supreme Court's directions.

Like Punjab, Haryana called a one-day special Assembly session that passed the resolution to stake claim for Chandigarh.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar moved the resolution in the assembly, asking the Centre not to take any steps until all concerns related to the Punjab Reorganisation Act were addressed.

The House also urged the Centre to prevail upon Punjab to withdraw its case and permit the Hansi Butana Canal to be able to carry waters to deficient areas of Haryana.

"This House notes with concern the resolution passed in the Legislative Assembly of Punjab on April 1, recommending that the matter for transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab be taken up with the central government," reads the resolution moved by the Chief Minister.

The resolution demanded that the central government should not take any steps that would disturb the existing balance between the two states and maintain harmony till all the issues emanating from the reorganisation of Punjab are settled.

After a three-hour discussion, Khattar, while thanking the members for unanimously supporting the resolution, said the provisions of Section 3 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, through which the state of Haryana came into existence and several measures that came into effect due to it.

"The right of Haryana to share waters of Ravi and Beas rivers by the construction of the SYL canal were is historically, legally, judicially and constitutionally established over time. The august House has unanimously on at least seven occasions passed resolutions urging the early completion of the SYL canal," reads the resolution.

Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda questioned the AAP's intention in Punjab to pass such a resolution, terming it as a "political jumla" that holds no meaning.

"Punjab should not disrupt communal harmony between the two states by taking such undemocratic steps," said Hooda.

Saying Chandigarh belongs to Haryana too and that Punjab and Haryana have 60:40 representation in the Chandigarh administration, Hooda extended the Chief Minister his party's support in the fight against Punjab.

Expressing concern over Punjab's resolution, Speaker Gian Chand Gupta said state's right on water reiterated several times. Work on handing over of Hindi-speaking areas still incomplete.

Saying that Chandigarh is Haryana's capital and will stay that way, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala demanded that two satellite towns in Punjab -- Kharar and Mohali -- to be given to Haryana.

He also sought 50 per cent share in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and 60:40 share in Panjab University in Chandigarh.

Saying the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab is still in infancy stage, Health Minister Anil Vij said: "Punjab's resolution is politically motivated and mischievous. It is an attempt of the Punjab government to divert people's attention from the pre-election promises made to grab power. We need to understand the designs of the Punjab government." The Punjab Assembly on April 1 besides adopting the resolution to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab also implored the Central government to honour the principles of federalism enshrined in the Constitution and not to take any steps which may disturb the balance in the administration of Chandigarh and that of other common assets like the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).

Interestingly, the passing of a resolution in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is not the first such resolution.

Earlier, six resolutions were passed in the legislative assembly.

The first one dating back to May 18, 1967, and that was non-official resolution moved by Acharya Prithvi Singh Azad, who sought inclusion of Chandigarh in Punjab. The resolution was carried.

The previous one before the latest was of December 23, 2014. It was also a non-official resolution for transfer of Chandigarh and other Punjabi-speaking areas to Punjab. The resolution was agreed by everyone.

The flashpoint between both the neighbouring states is Union Home Minister Amit Shah's announcement on March 27 that the Centre notified Central Service Rules for employees in the Union Territory of Chandigarh instead of the Punjab Service Rules.

The Centre had earlier changed rules for appointments to the BBMB by enabling that the recruitments can be done from anywhere in India, instead of Punjab and Haryana.
Islamabad, April 5 : Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Vice Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former Foreign Minister, said on Tuesday that India wants a soft government in Pakistan, Express Tribune reported.

Qureshi said the neighbouring country is "disgusted" with a Pakistani government that defends its interests and adopts an independent foreign policy, the report said.

The former FM added that the PTI aims for good relations with India, but it will not tolerate the 'indiscretion' against Kashmir.

Qureshi also said that no country should be allowed to interfere in Pakistan's internal affairs.

Pakistan is a free and independent country and its decisions should be in accordance with the Constitution, law and the public's aspirations, he said.

Qureshi further said that the primary cause of anxiety in Pakistani society stems from external interference in internal affairs, adding that the National Security Committee (NSC) had reported foreign interference and deemed it inappropriate, Express Tribune reported.

"At the direction of the NSC, we summoned a diplomat to the foreign office to issue a demarche," Qureshi stated, confirming that the government had recorded the protest through the ambassador in Washington.

The former FM claimed that Turkey, China and Russia had issued statements to the foreign office extending their support for the PTI.

"They want a better Pakistan," Qureshi said while referring to the declaration issued by Turkey.
New Delhi, April 5 : As India reopens, more than 54 per cent of the employers have expressed their intent to hire in the April-June quarter - 4 per cent higher than the previous quarter, a new report showed on Tuesday.

Out of the 21 sectors reviewed in the country, 16 indicated keenness to hire.

The IT sector (95 per cent of the employers keen to hire) was followed by educational services (86 per cent), e-commerce and technology startups (81 per cent), and healthcare and pharmaceuticals (78 per cent), according to people supply chain company TeamLease Services.

"While the overall growth in intent may be moderate, more than 14 per cent of the sectors have indicated a double-digit growth indicating that the modest approach will soon taper off and the appetite to scale up manpower will grow significantly," said Rituparna Chakraborty, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President, TeamLease Services.

The report also gave a detailed view on the attrition trends as it plays an important role in the business growth.

As per the report, attrition still seems to be on a rise across most sectors compared to the previous quarter.

While the hiring intent in the metro and tier-1 cities has grown from 73 per cent in the previous quarter to 83 per cent in the current quarter, tier-2 cities are not far behind.

The hiring intent in tier-2 cities will see a rise from 48 per cent to 55 per cent in the quarter, said the report.

"Bengaluru (91 per cent of the employers keen on hiring) and Chennai (78 per cent) are continuing their bull run. But when it comes to growth, Mumbai has recorded a 17 per cent growth over last quarter in the hiring intent," the findings showed.
New Delhi, April 5 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to list next week, a plea filed by the Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee -- the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and his wife Rujira Banerjee, challenging the ED summons in a money laundering case linked to an alleged coal scam.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Abhishek Banerjee, urged a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana to urgently list the matter for hearing. The bench, also comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, said it may list the matter for hearing next week.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned Banerjee and his wife to appear for questioning on March 21 and 22. The couple had earlier moved the Delhi High Court against the ED's summons, contending that since both are resident of West Bengal, they should not be called by the agency to appear before it in the national capital.

On March 11, the high court dismissed their plea. The couple has moved the apex court challenging the high court order. Their plea, filed through advocate Sunil Fernandes, said: "The party to which the Petitioner No.1 (Abhishek) belonged, comprehensively trounced the political party at power in the Centre, thereby giving justifiable cause to 'target' and 'fix' the Petitioner No.1, by misusing the Central Investigation Agencies." It further added: "It is not only against the basic principles of territorial jurisdiction, but could also result in absurd consequences and situations wherein the officers of the respondent agency situated in any state in India can summon any person residing in any other state, without any regard to the place of occurrence of offence, or the place of residence of the summoned person." The plea said the ED did not even attempt to interrogate the petitioners firstly at Kolkata, and it is still unclear as to what are the impediments that ED will face if it interrogates them at their full-fledged office in Kolkata.

The plea added: "The petitioners' contention of political victimisation is further fortified by the inscrutable and inexplicable insistence of the ED to interrogate the petitioners at their New Delhi office instead of their full-fledged office in Kolkata. The ED seems more interested in causing prejudice to the petitioners herein rather than sincerely and expeditiously investigate the alleged offence." The petitioners urged the apex court to stay the high court order and direct the ED to summon the petitioners under section 50 PMLA only in Kolkata.
Kolkata, April 5 : Trinamool Congress strongman and the party's district president of Birbhum in West Bengal, Anubrata Mandal alias Keshto, will in all probability finally appear for interrogation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths on Wednesday. Mandal left his residence at Bolpur in Birbhum district for Kolkata on Tuesday evening.

Although Mandal himself was not reachable for confirmation, his close associates told IANS that he might do a night-stay somewhere in Kolkata on Tuesday and will appear at the CBI's Nizam Palace office in central Kolkata at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

Earlier, the CBI had summoned Mandal five times for questioning in the central agency's ongoing probe into cattle and coal smuggling in West Bengal. However, each time, he ignored the summon on the pretext of physical ailment.

Mandal had even approached the bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of the Calcutta High Court seeking a legal shield against arrest by the CBI. However, on March 11, the court refused to grant Mandal any relief on grounds that the court cannot intervene in the process of investigation by any probe agency. Later, Mandal approached a division bench of the Calcutta High Court, which also upheld the order of the single bench. The court observed that the accused person can approach for anticipatory bail against arrest.

On April 3, 2022 IANS, quoting legal experts, said that with both the single and division benches of the Calcutta High Court having refused to give him a legal shield, Mandal was left with little legal option to avoid the CBI summons again. Legal experts told IANS that though options were open to Mandal to approach the Supreme Court but there too the chances were bleak of getting any legal shield.

The Supreme Court a number of times has also observed that the court cannot interfere in the process of investigation by any probe agency.

Meanwhile, there is speculation in West Bengal over whether the CBI would also tag Mandal in the investigation into the deaths of eight people at Bogtui village in Birbhum district of West Bengal on March 21. Already serious differences have cropped up between Mandal and the Trinamool Congress legislator from the same district, Asish Banerjee over the massacre.
New Delhi, April 5 : PRAHAR, a non-profit organisation, citing national interest, has called for ban on PUBG/BGMI app.

The NGO in a letter to Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) has urged the government to ban the app under Section 69A of the IT Act "in the interest of India's sovereignty, integrity... and saving millions of unsuspecting players from falling prey into the Chinese trap".

PRAHAR said it had written an open letter to Pony Ma, CEO of Tencent daring him to fully and transparently disclose Tencent's direct and indirect stake in Krafton Inc. and his ambitions of "conquering the Indian gaming industry".

"It has been brought to our attention that the MeiTY, in a reply filed in a PIL in Telangana High Court said that PUBG and BGMI are not the same. However the ministry has not detailed any reasons or explanation for coming to this conclusion," it said.

"We would like to submit that the government has been misled by an elaborate charade perpetrated by Chinese company Tencent," PRAHAR said, adding that the documents available in the public domain including documents submitted in the court and with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) expose "this elaborate cover up".

Krafton and PUBG India simultaneously authorised Hyunil Sohn to represent and defend the company in any proceedings that are filed or may be filed by or against the company in India.

"If PUBG and BGMI are different, why is Krafton, the so-called publisher of 'BGMI' authorising Hyunil Sohn of PUBG India to represent the company?" PRAHAR said in the letter to MeiTY.

"Is Hyunil Sohn a representative of PUBG or BGMI or both? In reality, he represents the Chinese company Tencent in India," it claimed.

"Also, as per documents available with the MCA, there is no company called Krafton India. The only Krafton in India, as per the MCA documents, is a paper manufacturing company with no relation to Krafton of South Korea." "Krafton is nothing but a puppet of Tencent with all levers controlled by Tencent," PRAHAR claimed.
New Delhi/San Francisco, April 5 : In a significant development, Indian-origin Twitetr CEO Parag Agrawal on Tuesday announced that the company has appointed Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to its board of directors.

Musk, who acquired 9.2 per cent share in the micro-blogging platform for nearly $3 billion, is limited from buying more than 15 per cent of Twitter's stock.

"I'm excited to share that we're appointing @elonmusk to our board! Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board," Agrawal posted.

Musk replied to Agrawal: "Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!" According to a fresh filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Twitter said that Musk will serve as a class II director until 2024.

This is a type of position that can be used as an anti-takeover measure.

"The Company will appoint Mr. Musk to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") to serve as a Class II director with a term expiring at the Company's 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders," the filing read.

"For so long as Musk is serving on the Board and for 90 days thereafter, Musk will not, either alone or as a member of a group, become the beneficial owner of more than 14.9 per cent of the Company's common stock outstanding at such time, including for these purposes economic exposure through derivative securities, swaps, or hedging transactions," the filing added.

Agrawal said that Musk is both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service "which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term. Welcome Elon!"
Srinagar, April 5 : The Delimitation Commission on Tuesday concluded its 2-day visit to J&K, in which it met 400 delegations, an official statement said.

"The Delimitation Commission of Jammu and Kashmir met with approximately 400 delegations from different parts of UT of J&K during its two day public sittings at Convention Centre, Jammu and SKICC, Srinagar," it said.

According to the statement, in response to the draft delimitation proposal published in Gazette of India (extraordinary) and in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Gazette on March 14, around 400 suggestions/representations with 4,000 signatories were received by the commission till March 21.

"The Commission decided to provide personal hearing to all these delegations, both in Jammu as well as Srinagar so that the public can directly interact with the members of the Commission and present their suggestions before them.

"During the public sittings, the main points of all the representations were read out and the concerned delegations were given opportunity to highlight any additional points for the consideration of the Commission," it said, adding that the general public, public representatives, social workers and members of political parties utilised this opportunity and highlighted their demands/suggestions/grievances before the commission which were duly noted.

"The Commission informed the participants that the Delimitation exercise of Jammu and Kashmir has been carried out by the commission in a record time of two years despite the prevalence of Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

"It further noted that the entire exercise has been carried out as per the provisions of the Delimitation Act 2002 and the J&K Reorganisation Act 2019, keeping in view population, public conveniences, communication facilities, geographical compactness of the areas as well as the existing administrative boundaries while delimiting the constituencies." The statement said that it was also mentioned that the Commission is mandated under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 to increase the Assembly constituencies from existing 83 to 90.

It, for the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir, has proposed to reserve nine seats for the Scheduled Tribes and in addition to it, seven seats have been proposed to be reserved for Scheduled Castes.

"The members of the public largely appreciated the efforts of Delimitation Commission and expressed their satisfaction on the entire exercise and termed it fully democratic and transparent process which will benefit the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"The Delimitation Commission assured the delegations who called on the Commission in Jammu as well as Srinagar that the commission shall consider their genuine suggestions/grievances sympathetically in accordance with the Delimitation Act." The Commission is headed by Chairperson, Justice (Retd.), Ranjana Prakash Desai with Chief Election Commissioner, Sushil Chandra and State Election Commissioner, K.K Sharma as its members.

The five members of Lok Sabha from J&K are its associate members.
Colombo, April 5 : Amid mounting protests and vandalisation of properties of politicians, Sri Lanka's military on Tuesday warned the protesters of severe action if they resort to violence.

Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary, General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne, who said the military is strictly monitoring the protests, urged the public to refrain from violence.

Gunaratne said that there are two groups of protesters -- one conducting peaceful protests while the other group is deliberately engaging in violent protests in an organised manner.

He reiterated that staging peaceful protests amid Emergency law is a right of the people, but the security forces would not hesitate to enforce the law against those involved in violence.

The country's police also announced that it would arrest protesters indulging in violence using video evidence.

After the Cabinet resigned on Monday, mass protests erupted around Colombo, including at the heavily-guarded office of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and at his brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's official residence -- Temple Trees -- in the heart of the city.

The protests continued till late on Monday night. During the day, the President's younger brother and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa's house in Colombo suburbs and elder brother and former minister Chamal Rajapaksa's house were surrounded by the protesters.

The agitation spread to other parts as well with protesters attacking the houses of government lawmakers. The agitators also surrounded Rajapaksa's house in his hometown Tangalle in southern in Sri Lanka, while the houses of nearly 10 former Cabinet ministers were surrounded, leading to damage of properties including vehicles.

The police had to use tear gas to disperse the protesters, while four people were injured during an attack on former Petroleum Minister Gamini Lokuge.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday urged the Speaker to take action to control the protesters attacking politicians.

"The protests started against the Executive President and then the government. By Monday, many houses of MPs were surrounded by the people. The anger against the ruling party politicians has now extended to all politicians in the country. We must control this situation," Wickremesinghe warned.

On Tuesday artistes, professional, lawyers, university and the Catholic Church which has accused Rajapaksa government for the Easter Sunday attack conducted protests against the government in Colombo.

The security in and around the Parliament has been tightened when the House proceedings started on Tuesday for the first time since the political crisis broke out in the island nation.

All the lawmakers had to enter the Parliament via the backdoor entrance as the road to the main entrance to the Parliament was blocked by the protesters.

Burdened by months long sufferings due to lack of fuel, LPG, medicine, food and extensive power cuts, the protesters on Thursday night surrounded the President's private residence at Mirihana in Colombo suburbs.

The police used teargas and water cannons on the protesters, who demanded President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign.

Later, they were beaten up by the police and the military and over 50 were arrested. Amid the pressure, the Cabinet was dissolved on Sunday night. The President invited the opposition parties to join the Cabinet which was turned down.

Amid protests around the country, President Rajapaksa has refused to step down but has agreed to hand over power to whoever proving 113-seat majority in the Parliament.
New Delhi, April 5: The United States is working closely with its Allies to provide longer-range anti-aircraft, artillery and coastal defence systems as part of its military assistance to Ukraine which it says is having a "critical impact" in the ongoing conflict with Russia.

Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Advisor, said on Monday that the Ukrainians are "effectively defending themselves" with US-produced air defence systems and anti-tank systems, such as Stingers and Javelins, as well as radar systems that give early warning and target data, and multiple other types of arms and munitions.

"The administration is working around the clock to fulfill Ukraine's main security assistance requests -- delivering weapons from US stocks where they are available and facilitating the delivery of weapons by Allies where Allied systems better suit Ukraine's needs. This is happening at what the Pentagon has described at an unprecedented pace," said Sullivan at a briefing last night.

Last Friday, Washington had announced up to $300 million in security assistance to Ukraine, underscoring its "unwavering commitment" to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity "in support of its heroic efforts to repel Russia's war of choice".

The latest package includes laser-guided rocket systems, Puma unmanned aerial systems, armoured High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, and more.

The US NSA said that the Ukrainians are defending their homeland courageously and "as the images from Bucha so powerfully reinforce", now is not the time for complacency as material is arriving every day from the United States and its Allies and partners.

"We are working with the Ukrainians, as I said, to identify solutions to their priority requests. In some cases, that means sourcing systems from other countries because the US either doesn't have the system or doesn't have a version that could effectively be integrated into the fight. Sorts of systems like this include longer-range anti-aircraft systems, artillery systems, and coastal defence systems," he said.

The US package to Ukraine includes laser-guided rocket systems; Switchblade Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems; Puma Unmanned Aerial Systems; Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems; Armoured High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles; Small-to-large caliber non standard ammunition; Night vision devices, thermal imagery systems, and optics; Tactical secure communications systems; Non-standard machine guns; Commercial satellite imagery services; Medical supplies, field equipment, and spare parts.

Certain reports had also suggested that after receiving a special request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the US is also planning to send Soviet-era tanks to help Ukrainian forces conduct long-range artillery strikes on Russian targets.

"We expect additional new capabilities to be delivered in the near future. We can't always advertise what is being delivered out of deference to our Allies and partners or for operational sensitivities, but we are moving with speed and efficiency to deliver," commented the US National Security Advisor.

The decision to widen the package of military support for Ukraine and explore new ways of sustaining the armed forces of Ukraine over the longer term was taken during the second International Defence Donor Conference for Ukraine hosted by the United Kingdom last week.

The conference brought together over 35 international partners to discuss the latest situation in Ukraine and the country's most pressing requirements for "lethal and non-lethal" military aid.

"We are increasing our coordination to step-up that military support and ensure the Armed Forces of Ukraine grow stronger as they continue to repel Russian forces," UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had said at the conference to secure military aid for Ukraine on March 31.

On Monday evening, during her speech at the British Embassy in Poland, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also spoke about providing "more weapons of the type the Ukrainians are asking for" and stepping up efforts to stop Vladimir Putin's "appalling war" in Ukraine.

"Later this week, the G7 Foreign Ministers and the NATO Foreign Ministers will meet. We need to announce a tough new wave of sanctions. The reality is that money is still flowing from the West into Putin's war machine, and that has to stop," said Truss.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative

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Koppal, April 5 : Following the boycott of a Dalit family by villagers, the subsequent police action against the practice of untouchability has put at risk the future of the victim family in the village in Koppal district of Karnataka. The police and Dalit organizations supported the Dalit man at the time of the FIR and arrests, but have failed to provide succour to the family.

The family of Chandrashekar Shivappa Dasar, a 29-year-old Dalit man, has been allegedly forced to move out of Miyapur village in Koppal district following the police action against untouchability including the arrest of five persons belonging to the upper caste. Dasar, who has to take care of his parents and two children including a new born baby, told IANS that after the police action, his life turned to hell in the village.

"When my wife was 9 months pregnant and faced health issues, a villager who gives a car on rent denied me transport. The whole village stopped talking to me after the police action. More than that they saw me as if I was a rapist. We could not send our 4-year-old son to the Anganwadi centre.

"Insulting looks and the postures of the people made me feel that my family was living under the Britishers. We can't even fold our hands and stand before the upper caste people. I do not want my children to grow up in such a humiliating environment.

"What they go through during childhood will remain with them throughout their life. As the delivery date of my wife was nearing, I could not take any chances with it and shifted to my wife's house," he stated.

Talking about his livelihood and future, Dasar said that he is planning to move to the nearby town of Kushtagi and starting a small business there. "People used to tell me that I don't speak at all, now they have boycotted me completely. I don't feel safe anymore in the village," he said.

The Karnataka government has announced a scheme in the name of Dasar's son Vinay to bridge the gap between the upper castes and the Dalits. It is called the 'Vinaya Samarasya Scheme'. "The move of the government is good. But, it has to look into the plight of the oppressed people who raise their voice against oppression after police action," Dasar said.

Dasar has got a Rs 1 lakh loan from the government but feels that he should at least have been given a loan of Rs 5 lakh to restructure his life.

Recalling what happened, Dasar said that his family had gone to the Marutheshwara temple in Miyapura village to get the 'abhisheka' (ritual) done on the occasion of the birthday of his son Vinay. They had to stop at the main entrance of the temple as Dalits are not allowed inside and the priests would perform the rituals and bless them.

There is a tradition of pieces of coconut being placed on either side of the doors of the main entrance of the temple. The boy took one of the pieces of the coconut from there and it was observed by the upper caste people, he said.

Later a Rs 25,000 fine was imposed on the family for letting the boy pick up the coconut piece saying that the sanctity of the temple has been violated. The news came out and it made headlines after which the police were forced to take action.

Miyapur village in Koppal district where the incident took place has 1,000 houses. Some 970 houses belong to the Ganiga Lingayat community people, 25 families are from the scheduled caste and 5 families belong to the Valmiki community.

When contacted Amaregouda Bayyapur, Kusthagi constituency MLA from the Congress party, told IANS that he had gone to the village on Tuesday but could not find the victim. He took the phone number of Dasar and assured full support and action. Government officials had gone to the village and told the people to live harmoniously. The local people claim that they have not harassed the victim's family. However, the problem will be looked into.

Meanwhile, authorities have made announcements in the village stating that the victim should not be troubled once he returns.

Dasar said that he has named his second son Vijay. "I don't want my sons to undergo any humiliation. No father wants it. I will put all my efforts into getting them educated and help them lead a dignified life."
Kathmandu, April 5 : Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's recent three-day visit to India has yet again brought the focus back to Indo-Nepal relations, which had been on a shaky ground for quite some time but are now showing definite signs of improvement.

Nepal shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states -- Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. But more importantly, the two countries share ancient links with each other, thanks to a porous border and close ties between its peoples. The age-old "Roti-Beti" relationship between the two nations has meant that citizens often cross over for livelihood, marriage etc. The fact that Hindus constitute over 80 per cent of the population in both countries has also cemented these ties to a certain extent.

But for some time now, these relations were getting frayed, especially since 2015, when a major territorial dispute erupted between the two countries over the Lipulekh region.

Basically, India and China had agreed to develop transit and trade via this region, which Nepal claimed was a violation of its territorial integrity.

In the same year, another tension cropped up between the two neighbours. Nepal adopted a new, democratic constitution, which was being opposed by the Madhesi parties in the country. A 135-day long agitation near the Indo-Nepal border followed, which, according to the Indian government, created security issues and hampered the supply of fuel and basic commodities to the Himalayan country.

Other minor issues have also plagued the countries' relations. For instance, Indians need work permits to get employment in Nepal. Also, vehicles with Indian number plates face many difficulties in the country. A kind of trust deficit has been hampering the progress of many India-led projects there.

However, matters have not all been dire. India has a Neighbourhood First Policy and to honour that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited Nepal four times during his tenure. Not only that, Nepal PM Deuba's recent tour was the fifth time he has visited India. The two leaders have launched multiple projects this time around, giving a fresh impetus to the countries' relations.

In a first, the PMs inaugurated a 35-km cross-border rail link from Jayanagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Nepal, and also a passenger train service, built under India's Grant Assistance.

Another project that has been launched under the Government of India's Line of Credit is the Solu Corridor 132 KV Power Transmission Line and Substation. The project will be completed at a cost of Rs 200 crore.

On the occasion, PM Modi said, "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." "PM Deuba is an old friend of 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," he added.

The leaders also launched financial and payments service system 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," PM Modi said.

Further, the leaders reviewed the progress in construction of 132 health facilities in Nepal, being done under the $50 million post-earthquake reconstruction grant. On India's 75th Independence anniversary, the country will also launch as many as 75 development projects in Nepal. Besides, the two PMs agreed to speed up the progress in the implementation of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project. Regarding the border dispute, reportedly, both sides agreed that the issue should be addressed in a responsible manner through dialogue and politicisation should be avoided at any cost.

This India-Nepal bonhomie is especially pertinent in view of China's faltering closeness to the Himalayan country. In May 2017, Nepal and China had inked an agreement under China's flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for several infrastructure projects in Nepal.

Then in 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Nepal and it seemed things were progressing. Feasibility studies for a cross border rail and a high-voltage power transmission line between the neighbours were also on the anvil.

But despite huge expectations, no substantive progress was made in any of these projects. At least nine projects were shortlisted under the BRI framework but not a single one has kicked off.

Reportedly, the bone of contention is that Nepal wants either grant assistance or a concessional loan from China while China prefers a commercial loan. Also, a recent $500 million US grant to Kathmandu has really irked the Red Dragon. The grant was given under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which China claims is a part of the US strategy to contain China.

The glacial speed at which the BRI projects are proceeding made China focus on the more political aspects in Nepal, but it made the grave mistake of focussing on only one party, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP). This has left the other parties, especially the opposition Nepali Congress (NC), on the side-lines.

Meanwhile, India and Nepal are going from strength to strength. During the pandemic, India provided one million vaccine doses to Nepal as grant assistance and earlier this year, agreed to provide help to build a motorable bridge across the Mahakali river in Nepal. This carries huge significance as the river marks the boundary between the two countries.

Also, since coming to power, Nepali PM Deuba, who is fighting for another term as the PM, has made several active attempts to reach out to New Delhi. Recent trends in the countries' bilateral relations are encouraging. For instance, bilateral meetings have become more regular, and hurdles are being cleared in many pending projects. Even as the Nepal-India relations are largely governed by people-to-people relations, the importance of government-to-government relations cannot be denied now. And it seems, the two countries are on just the right track.
New Delhi, April 5 : Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops, stationed at the disputed Line of Actual Control with India in eastern Ladakh, have started learning Hindi language, indicating they are not moving back CCTV-7, China's military TV network devoted to the PLA, has recently broadcast visuals of PLA soldiers deployed near Pangong Tso learning Hindi. It showed a notebook of a soldier which says: "Hum Chini Sainik hain. Yeh humare commander hain. Hum batcheet kare? (We are Chinese soldiers and this is our commander. Shall we talk)?" The state media broadcast headline stated: "Mastered Hindi in 4 months! He negotiated with foreign troops on the front line of border defence." This clearly stated that Chinese soldiers, deployed at disputed locations in eastern Ladakh, have started learning Hindi and they are there to stay.

On his recent visit to India, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during his talks with Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, had stated that China and India should not let the border issue define or affect the overall development of the bilateral relationship.

He reiterated China's stated position that the LAC standoff should be placed in its "proper position" while the two sides take forward ties in other spheres.

To this, both Jaishankar and Doval, in their separate meeting with Wang, sent a clear message that the disturbed situation will continue to hold up normalisation of bilateral relations and asked for speedy disengagement of troops at all friction points in Ladakh sector in order to set the stage for de-escalation along the LAC.

Jaishankar said that 15 rounds of military talks and eight rounds of diplomatic talks had resulted in disengagement at several friction points but more needs to be done.

"This needs to be taken forward since the completion of disengagement is necessary for discussions on de-escalation to take place. I would describe our current situation as work in progress, obviously at a slower pace than desirable and my discussions with (Wang) were aimed at expediting the process," he had said.

Jaishankar said he was "very honest" in conveying "our national sentiments" that tensions created by China's troop deployments since April 2020 "cannot be reconciled with a normal relationship between two neighbours".
Mumbai, April 5 : National Award-winning filmmaker Shyam Benegal who directed the Bengali language film 'Mujib: The Making of a Nation' based on the life of the founding father of Bangladesh - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - says the language was never a barrier for him in making the film.

Shyam told IANS : "I did not know the Bengali language, even though I am familiar with the sound of the language. But I never fear losing the nuances in translation. Nothing is lost in translation. They (actors) knew the language I speak, I know the emotion I want in the performance. You see, when we are speaking in a language, the thing is in the idiom." "A spoken language is different from the way it is written on paper. And spoken language is far more idiomatic than written one. The Bengali, Bangladeshi people speak is slightly different from what the people of West Bengal speak. But in writing, it is the same Bengali language. So for me, not knowing the language, was not a problem to make the film 'Mujib'." However, his relationship with Bengal and Bengali culture goes a long way. When Benegal was a youngster, one of his elder brothers who used to stay in Kolkata back in the days, used to send him different books and magazines by post.

"Back then I was not familiar with the city of Kolkata, in fact then, it was Calcutta (smiled). Calcutta was the hub of literature, politics, and cultural discussion in 1940s and 50s. I remember one of my uncles, who was a part of Bose's All India Forward Bloc, was also a huge admirer of Bengali literature. I was eight or nine years old I guess...when he would come to our house in Hyderabad, read out Bengali books aloud. Then he would translate that in English for me." The veteran filmmaker said that such memories of his childhood somewhere stayed in his mind and eventually all came out, when he made films like 'Bose' and 'Arohan'.

"I would say my friendship with Bengal, and the city of Calcutta started with 'Arohan' when I shot the entire film over there," he recalled.

The protagonist of the film 'Mujib' is played by Bangladeshi actor Arifin Shuvoo.

Asked about his thought behind the casting, Benegal said, "He is a very good actor, a method actor. Earlier he had worked on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Since he is a performer, he also acted few speeches by Rahman as part of his live performance. He managed to get the nuances right. He was absolutely steeped in the process. The actor has that fire that we saw in those speeches of Bangabandhu. The audience will see once the film comes out." The film 'Mujib: The Making of a Nation' is jointly produced by the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) and the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC). It is likely to release at the end of this year.
New Delhi, April 5 : As many as 88 per cent of households using portability succeeded in collecting their rations even when stock availability is a real concern among PDS dealers due to fluctuating demand, a study on deliveries under One Nation One Ration Card focusing on five states released on Tuesday has shown.

Designed primarily to benefit migrants, the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) reforms were launched in 2019 and forms a key part of India's Public Distribution System (PDS).

The study 'Fulfilling the promise of One Nation One Ration Card' carried out by Dalberg, a leading social impact advisory group and supported by Omidyar Network India, an investment firm focused on social impact, said 48 per cent of all beneficiaries were fully aware of portability and 31 per cent were partially aware, while at least 20 per cent of households who wanted portability were unaware.

A total of 88 per cent of households using portability succeeded in collecting their rations while 4 per cent could not.

At least 12 per cent reported experiencing a transaction failure for the consumers and the most common reasons for failure for dealers too included technology related failures and their fear of stock outs, the study focused on five states, i.e., Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh that were among some of the early adopters of the scheme and account for more than 40 per cent of PDS transactions conducted under portability, found out.

At least 20 per cent of migrant households with ration cards used portability recently, while 12 per cent of all households with a ration card surveyed tried portability usage recently; 14 per cent of households desired to use it in the future, the study said.

Lead for the study is Swetha Totapally, who heads Dalberg's technology and gender equality practice areas. Pointing out that widowed, divorced, or separated women faced steeper barriers in getting or updating their ration cards, the study said, 2 per cent of beneficiaries were yet to seed their ration card with Aadhaar.

The report has found that the ONORC scheme which was primarily created to provide food safety to migrant families has had a positive impact even on non-migrants. It has given households benefiting from PDS more choice and flexibility to choose which Fair Price Shop (FPS) they can get their rations from.

It was not just the consumers/beneficiaries but also PDS dealers that the study interacted with and underlined the need for their better education about ONORC's entitlements as well as better support to them in key areas.

For instance, a whopping 97 per cent of PDS dealers knew or partially knew of ration portability, but only 74 per cent knew that inter-state portability is also possible, it said.

Almost half of the dealers - 52 per cent to be precise - did not use any exception handling when ePoS-based transactions failed due to connectivity or biometric authentication.

Then, there were also issues of perceptions wherein 32 per cent PDS dealers believed their business model was not viable under portability, due to fear of poor customer retention or a lack of capacity to handle demand surges.

"A total of 10 per cent ran out of stock at least once in the three months preceding the survey," the study found out.
New Delhi, April 5 : The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Tuesday withdrew its previous circular that granted a short leave to all its Muslim employees during the Ramzan days.

According to earlier circular, a short leave for aprroximately two hours a day was granted to the Muslim employees of the department during the Ramzan i.e. from April 3 to May 2 or till the date of Idu'l-Fitr is declared, subject to the condition that they will accomplish their work during the remaining office hours so that the office work do not suffer.

"Now the competent authority vide their order has decided to withdraw the above said circular with immediate effect," reads the circular issued on Tuesday, adding that the said notice is for information and compliance of all concerned.

Ramzan is globally observed by Muslims as a month of fasting and prayers.
Mumbai, April 5 : In what is billed as a 'counter-attack', the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday slapped attachment orders on assets worth Rs 11.15 crore belonging to friends and wife of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in a money-laundering case -- hours after the Maharashtra government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of corruption against the central probe agency.

The ED said it has attached eight plots of land at Saphale in Palghar, Alibaug in Raigad districts, and a flat in a 32-storeyed building in Dadar east, Mumbai, which belongs to the wife of Raut - the Sena's Chief Spokesperson and a confidante of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

This is the second too-close-for-comfort swoop by the ED in a fortnight after it attached assets worth around Rs. 6.50 crore linked with Thackeray's brother-in-law (brother of Rashmi Uddhav Thackeray) S.M. Patankar in Thane, in an alleged money-laundering case.

Today's shock attachments are part of the ED's ongoing probe into the Rs 1,035-crore Patra Chawl 47-acre land-scam case in which Raut's friend Pravin Raut was arrested and a chargesheet filed in the matter last week.

The attachments include: plots of land belong to a realtor Pravin M. Raut, a former Director or Guru Ashish Constructions Pvt. Ltd. (GACPL), beach properties jointly held by Varsha (Sanjay) Raut and Swapna Sujit Patkar, and the Dadar flat owned by Varsha (Sanjay) Raut.

Reacting to the developments, Sanjay Raut said in New Delhi that the flat was attached without serving notice, but he was "not scared of even the father of ED" and would continue his exposure against the ED officers.

"I am a fighter and a Shiv Sainik... I am not scared of even the 'baap' (father) of the ED... They have attached properties made out of my hard-earned money," Raut declared.

The fast-paced developments on Tuesday came nearly two months after Sanjay Raut wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice-President & Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on February 28, levelling serious charges against the ED and accusing the central agency of running an 'extortion racket' in Mumbai.

"We have set up a SIT to probe these allegations.... It's headed by Additional Commissioner of Police Viresh Prabhu. We will give them whatever time period required for its investigations," said Walse-Patil, just hours prior to the ED action on the Sena MP.

The ED said the action came in the probe into GACPL into an FIR lodged by Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority on March 13, 2018 (when the erstwhile Bharatiya Janata Party-led government was in office).

The MHADA complaint named GAPCL, Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan and Sarang Kumar Wadhawan (both of HDIL and accused in the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank scam), and others.

The ED probe revealed that GAPCL was given the task of redevelopment of nearly century-old Patra Chawl with 672 tenants and a tri-partite agreement was signed with MHADA comprising GAPCL and the Wadhawans, to build the tenants' flats, flats for MHADA and the rest to be sold in the open market.

The GAPCL misled the state government's apex housing body and siphoned off the plot's FSI to 9 other developers, collecting Rs 902 crore, without constructing either the tenants' or MHADA's flats.

Besides, GAPCL launched another project called 'Meadows', collected Rs 138 crore from the flat buyers and the total fraud amounted to Rs 1,035 crore, said the agency.

The ED said Rs 100 crore was transferred to the HDIL accounts of Pravin Raut, and later diverted to other entities and his family members.

It claimed that in 2010, an amount of Rs 55 lakh was received by Sanjay Raut's wife, Varsha (Sanjay) Raut, from Pravin Raut's wife Madhuri.

The ED action attracted huge flak from the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President and Minister Jayant Patil, Walse-Patil, Chief Spokesperson Mahesh Tapase, Congress Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat, President Nana Patole, Shiv Sena's MoS Kishore Tiwari, MP Arvind Sawant and other seniors from the 3 parties.

The political bigwigs pointed fingers at the BJP for "misusing" the central probe agencies like ED, CBI, ITD, NCB, etc., to target MVA leaders to topple the Maharashtra government, and accused the ED of 'leaking probe information' to some BJP activists.

In his complaint to the PM and VP, Raut had submitted a list of the victims comprising realtors and corporate from whom the ED officers allegedly extorted crores of rupees with the help of one Jitendra Navlani under threats of framing them in various cases, and the agency acting like the 'ATM' of BJP.

Later, Shiv Sena leader Arvind Bhosale lodged a police complaint which initiated the probe and now it will be further investigated by the SIT.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)
New Delhi, April 5 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to file its response on a plea challenging the constitutional validity of Sections 15 and 16 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.

A bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and Bela M. Trivedi granted three weeks to file a counter affidavit on the plea, filed by Kamal Anant Khopkar, through advocates Mrunal Dattatraya Buva and Dhairyashil D. Salunkhe, terming the sections "highly discriminatory".

In January, this year, a bench of Justices Chandrachud and Surya Kant had said the matter should be heard by a three-judge bench.

The bench, in its order, had said: "List the petition on 10 February 2022. Learned counsel for the parties would be at liberty to file their written submissions before the next date of listing and a copy of the submissions in the PDF format." The plea has argued that Section 15 in the Act, discriminates in connection with the devolution of property in case of a woman dying intestate, when compared with the devolution of property of a man dying intestate, contending that discrimination in the provisions is only based on gender and not on family ties.

According to the plea, Section 15 gives priority to the heirs of the husband over the parents of the deceased, if a Hindu woman dies without making a will. The plea contended that since the husband is alive at the time of her death, he takes all her property, without leaving any share for her own mother or father. It added that this is because they come in the next order in comparison to the hierarchy of the Hindu man who dies intestate and whose mother is provided in the class 1 heir class.

"Section 15(2) provides source of acquisition of property as a basis to devolution of a property of a woman dies intestate-issueless; whereas for man u/section 8 or 10 of HSA, 1956, no source-based devolution of a property is provided when he dies intestate. Further the property of a woman goes back to a source from whom she inherited the property such as father, husband, and father-in-law. However again it discriminates with the mother, as, even if a woman inherits from her mother, her father's heirs succeed to the property," said the advocates for the petitioner in a statement.

The plea added that Section 8 of the Hindu Inheritance Act, 1956 gives preference to children/men and blood relatives can only be inherited by men, not by women.

"Succession laws for Hindu women are governed by the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Section 14 of this Act clarifies Hindu woman is absolute owner of her property. While Sections 15 and 16 give the rules of inheritance and the order of succession. The relevant provisions of this Act do not consider a Hindu woman to be an independent person capable of transferring her property to her blood relatives. Pursuant to Section 14 of the Hindu Inheritance Act, 1956, any property in her possession is said to belong entirely to a Hindu woman," added the statement.

In 2019, the court had issued notice on the petition noting that it raised an important question on gender equality.
Bhopal, April 5 : A Bhopal based Congress MLA Arif Masood has raised objections over a circular issued by the party office asking the cadres to celebrate the upcoming 'Ram Navami' and 'Hanuman Jayanti' and to recite the 'Hanuman Chalisa'. Masood, who is a prominent Muslim leader of the Congress in the city, said the party was setting a 'wrong precedent' by issuing such a circular.

Masood asked why such directives were not issued for the Congress workers to celebrate Ramadan and the festivals of other faiths. Masood said that he has no objection to celebrating Ram Navami, Hanuman Jayanti or any other religious festival, but the political party (Congress) which treats all religions equally should not issue a circular referring to one particular religion.

Talking to IANS, Masood said, "I have questioned the circular issued by Congress to its leaders. I have no objection to celebrating any festival, be it related to any religion. But, being a political party, Congress should not have issued such a circular. We take along all the religions." He stated that the Congress has always respected all religions equally since its inception and should not follow the BJP's ideology.

"Issuing such a circular is the BJP's ideology where religions are treated differently. The Congress has always treated all religions equally and that is why people have faith in it. If we issue a circular to celebrate Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti then such a letter should also be issued about Ramadan and festivals of other faiths. This is not a good tradition for a political party," he added.

A circular, issued on behalf of state Congress president Kamal Nath on April 2 asked the party leaders and workers to organise religious programmes on April 10 and April 16 to mark Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti, respectively.

Masood's statement gave an opportunity to the BJP to take a dig at the Congress. BJP leader and state home minister Narottam Mishra, who never misses an opportunity to take on the Congress said, "Masood's objection is justified. The Congress is only concerned about Muslim votes." "Masood is not able to digest that Congress leaders who used to organise 'Iftar' parties are now visiting temples," Mishra said while talking to reporters on Tuesday.
New Delhi/Itanagar, April 5 : Chakma and Hajong people on Tuesday organised protest demonstrations at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar against "racial profiling" of these two tribes by Arunachal Pradesh government through a special census only for them.

Chakma leaders said that after the sit-in demonstrations of a large number of Chakma and Hajong men and women, they sent a memorandum to Home Minister Amit Shah demanding to stop and abandon the ongoing process of the "illegal census".

"Bring an end to the repression on the Chakma and Hajong tribals through racial profiling, proper implementation of the Supreme Court judgments on the conferment of citizenship and compliance with the directions of the National Human Rights Commission," the memorandum said.

The Arunachal Pradesh Chakma Students Union (APCSU), the Committee for Citizenship Rights of the Chakmas and Hajongs of Arunachal Pradesh (CCRHCAP), the Arunachal Pradesh Chakma and Hajong Students Association (APCHSA), and the Chakma Development Foundation of India (CDFI) led the protest demonstrations.

APCSU President Rup Singh Chakma said that on August 15 last year, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu announced that the Chakmas and Hajongs who were settled in the state about 60 years ago would be relocated outside the state and from Tuesday (April 5), the training of the government enumerators conducted at Diyun under Changlang district.

"In clear violations of the directions of the NHRC against the ongoing racial profiling, on January 24, the Arunachal Pradesh government officials sought to conduct illegal census. Chakmas and Hajongs shall not participate in any such illegal census," he said.

CCRHCAP General Secretary Santosh Chakma said that the Chakmas and Hajongs who had migrated during 1964-1969 are citizens of India as per the Indira-Mujib accord of 1972 and Section 5 (1) of the Citizenship Act of 1955. "Those who are born in India are citizens by birth too. The state of Arunachal Pradesh, instead of implementing NHRC order of 1966 to confer citizenship and enrolling the Chakmas and Hajongs into electoral rolls, had started racial profiling of the Chakmas and Hajongs to keep the pot boiling," he said.

Addressing the protest in the national capital, writer and rights leader Suhas Chakma said that there is no law in India which can make particular citizens stand in the queue for census, solely based on their ethnic origin and this is prohibited by Article 14 of the Constitution.

By conducting special census, the Arunachal government is destroying the communal harmony and cordial relations between the Chakmas and Hajongs and the other communities, he added.

"There is need for immediate intervention from Home Minister to bring some sanity to this organised targeting of the worst victims of the descendants of the partition of India," he stated.

There are about 65,000 Chakma and Hajong people in Arunanchal, out of which about 4,500 are migrants from 1964-1969, while the rest are the descendants and citizens by birth under the Citizenship Act.
Kolkata, April 5 : An order by the division bench of the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice, Prakash Srivastava has come to the aid of the suffering carriage horses in Kolkata.

The division bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Tuesday granted permission to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India and CAPE Foundation to work with the West Bengal government to take care of the suffering horses used for rides. The division bench also called for providing veterinary services and food to improve the well-being of the horses.

The Bench also gave the state government four weeks to place on record a policy for addressing the miserable condition of the horses used for carriage and other rides near the iconic Victoria Memorial in central Kolkata.

Thanking the High Court for this verdict, PETA India's legal counsel, Apurva Vikram Singh said that this will be of great help in improving the living conditions of the carriage horses. According to Singh, Mumbai and Delhi have already banned the use of horses for pulling carriages or tongas. "Policy decisions are in place in those cities for the rehabilitation of horses and for the carriage owners and drivers to earn a livelihood through e-carriages or other non-animal means, and Kolkata can do the same," he added.

A recent report by PETA India has revealed that cruel practices such as forcing emaciated and injured horses to work has continued which often leads to a slow, painful death. The latest report has also pointed out that the horses are denied proper veterinary services.

Earlier on January 18, 2022, PETA India submitted its recommendations to the West Bengal government, requesting that the use of horses for tourist and carriage rides in Kolkata be prohibited, the horses be rehabilitated, and horse owners and carriage drivers be provided with an alternative livelihood through e-carriages or other means, such as taxis and commercial goods vehicles.
Patna, April 5 : RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav slammed the Nitish Kumar government over rising "lawlessness" in Bihar, claiming that the criminals are using AK-47 assault rifles to commit crime.

"This is really shocking that criminals are using AK-47s to commit crimes in Bihar," he said, in a reference to the Siwan incident where 'Bahubali' leader Rais Khan was attacked by four to five assailants, armed with AK-47s, leaving one person killed and two others critically injured.

"The law and order situation can be imagined with the fact that the Chief Minister himself is not secure here. He was also under attack in Patna's Bakhtiyarpur town. Interestingly, not a single senior police officer faced action in it," Tejashwi Yadav said.

Charging the state government with failing in all aspects, he alleged that the policies of Nitish Kumar government are not implemented on ground "thanks to the callous approach of bureaucrats and police officials on ground".

On the amendment on liquor prohibition act, Tejashwi said that the liquor ban has completely failed in Bihar, and hence, there is no meaning of the amendment.

"People are dying due to poisonous liquor in Bihar. Liquor is frequently smuggled from the other states. Why is the Nitish Kumar government not addressing the core issues," he asked.

The Nitish Kumar government on Monday amended the liquor prohibition act wherein first time offenders can be eligible to get bail after paying Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 before a duty magistrate. This is, however, conditional and it is applied only on the past record of offenders.

In case of an offender unable to pay the fine, they are liable to serve a normal jail term of one month. In case of repeated offence, a maximum of 10 years jail is mentioned in the amended act.
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan and Israel have discussed bilateral cooperation in trade and tourism.

The discussion took place during the visit of Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov and Israel's Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov on April 5.

"We met with the Minister of Tourism of Israel, Co-Chair of the Azerbaijan-Israel Joint Commission, my colleague Yoel Razvozov, during his visit to Azerbaijan, in order to exchange views on the current state of economic relations between our countries, the work done to attract investment, cooperation in trade and tourism," the minister wrote on his official Twitter page.

Azerbaijan and Israel have been expanding bilateral cooperation over the years.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan and Israel's cooperation is founded not only on economic partnership but also on traditional historical and cultural roots, as well as mutual respect and trust. Israel was one of the first countries to recognize Azerbaijan's state independence and establish diplomatic relations.

Furthermore, during the 44-day Second Karabakh War, Israel was among the first countries to express support for Azerbaijan's just position and territorial integrity. Azerbaijan expressed its willingness to involve Israel in the restoration of the country's newly liberated territories in January 2021. As a result, Israel will construct a buffalo farm in Azerbaijan's liberated Zangilan region.

Azerbaijan established its first Trade and Tourism Representative Office in Israel last year.

In 2021, the two countries' trade turnover totaled $928.4 million.
Bhubaneswar, April 5 : The second wife of a fake doctor was arrested by the Odisha police for helping the him in cheating his other wives, an official said here on Tuesday.

The fake doctor, Ramesh Chandra Swain, had married at least 18 women from different states and duped them with lakhs of rupees. He was arrested by Odisha police on February 14.

Swain, a matric fail, use to introduce himself as a doctor, a senior officer of Health Ministry and the Medical Council of India.

He had married to at least 18 middle-aged single women including lawyers, Delhi school teacher, police officer and doctor, and acquired their money before abandoning them. Swain married the women through various matrimonial sites.

During the investigation, the police found that the second wife had helped him in cheating other women, said Bhubaneswar DCP, Umashankar Dash.

"Initially, we requested her to help the police in the investigation. However, she had not cooperated with the police and later remained at large. Our team first raided places like Prayagraj and Varanasi to catch her. However, she had already left the places," Dash said.

Following further investigation, the police were able to arrest the second wife, a medical practitioner, from Ranchi on Monday. She has been brought to Bhubaneswar on transit remand for interrogation, the official added.

She helped the fake doctor in duping other women and was absconding since Swain's arrest, said the DCP.

The woman, identified as Kamala Tirky, was employed at Jamnagar in Gujarat.

Earlier, the police had arrested Swain's driver and another woman who claimed to be Swain's sister, on the charge of helping him to get married multiple times and duping the women of money.
Amaravati/New Delhi, April 5 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi and discussed several key issues related to the state including the Polavaram project, Kadapa Steel Plant, rationality in coverage of beneficiaries under National Food Security Act and arrears from Telangana discoms to the state.

During the interaction, the Chief Minister requested the Prime Minister to approve the revised cost estimates of Rs 55,548.87 crore for Polavaram as per Technical Advisory Committee meeting on February 11, 2019.

He said Rs 31,118 crore needs to be spent on the project of which Rs 8,590 crore is for construction and Rs 22,598 crore is for rehabilitation. He also requested the Prime Minister to clear the bills in toto, and not component-wise and added to directly transfer R&R package amount to the accounts of beneficiaries without any delay.

According to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), the Chief Minister said there is inadequate coverage of beneficiaries under NFSA (National Food Security) Act, and a large number of needy and deserving persons being uncovered. He said while the state government is providing ration to 1.45 crore families, only 0.89 crore families are receiving ration from Central government and the state government is providing ration to remaining 0.56 crore families.

He also urged the Prime Minister to renew the approvals of the site clearances for greenfield international airport at Bhogapuram. In regard to setting up of an Integrated Steel Plant in YSR district, he said MECON, a Government of India undertaking, has not yet concluded its report as to the feasibility of the integrated steel plant. He said the state government has incorporated 'YSR Steel Corporation Ltd' for establishing the steel plant and sought the Centre's support.

The Chief Minister also asked the Prime Minister to give approvals to allot beach sand minerals to the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation in 16 places, and give approval for setting up another 12 teaching hospitals in the state.

He said the state government has spent Rs 32,625.25 crore in the form of pending bills during bifurcation and as a part of implementation of X Wage Commission recommendations and urged the Prime Minister to fill the revenue deficit.

The Chief Minister said the state government has lost revenue due to bifurcation and Covid pandemic and urged the Prime Minister to relax the credit limit of the state.

He said an amount of Rs 6,455.76 crore is receivable by the Andhra Pradesh Generation Corporation Ltd (APGENCO) from the Telangana state distribution utilities and Telangana discoms and requested the Prime Minister to direct the authorities concerned to settle these dues at the earliest so that the state power sector is financially strengthened.

Later, the Chief Minister called on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and discussed issues related to the state.
New Delhi, April 5 : Rise in domestic petrol prices, due to high crude oil costs, is comparatively lower than other countries such as the US, Germany, the UK and France, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told the Parliament on Tuesday.

Lately, global crude oil prices have risen due to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Participating a debate in Lok Sabha on the fuel price rise, Puri defended the Centre and said that price of petrol have been raised by Rs 9 over 12 or 13 days, whereas the international prices have shot up. He cited figures, which compared petrol prices between April 2021 and March 2022.

The Minister pointed out that in the US, during this period, the increase in petrol prices was 51 per cent. Similarly, in Canada, the increase was 52 per cent, while in Germany and the UK, it was 55 per cent, in France, it was 50 per cent, in Spain, it was 58 per cent, in Sri Lanka, it was 55 per cent, and in India, it is just 5 per cent, he said.

The minister said that domestic petrol price in terms of percentage increase was one-tenth of what it is elsewhere.

On Tuesday, state-run oil marketing companies raised key transport fuel prices for the 13th time in the last 15 days. Consequently, in the past 15 days, petrol prices have increased by a little over Rs 9 per litre in the national capital.

These prices were revised for the very first time on March 22 after a gap of more than four months.

The OMCs revise the transportation fuel cost based on various factors such as rupee to US dollar exchange rate, cost of crude oil and demand of fuel amongst others.

The final price includes excise duty, value added tax and dealer's commission. Lately, crude oil prices have been volatile on fears of tight supplies due to sanctions against Russia.

The crude oil price range is a cause of concern for India as it may ultimately add Rs 10-15 in petrol and diesel selling prices. At present, India imports nearly 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements.
New Delhi, April 5 : A court here has dismissed the bail pleas of eight accused persons arrested for vandalising the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's noting that prima facie it is clear that their fundamental right to peacefully protest is exceeded by them knowingly or intentionally.

Though the right to assemble and protest by political party is a fundamental right, it is subject to certain restrictions and not an uncontrolled one, Additional Sessions Judge Naveen Kumar Kashyap observed in Monday's order while denying bail to the accused.

The court also observed that the accused persons caused damage to the public property and injury to the police officials.

"... it is rightly stated by the police official concerned that investigation is at very initial stage and they are still investigating the other offences which are committed, if any... It is further stated that they are still awaiting reply to the notice given to the concerned official of the CM house regarding the CCTV footage and the damage to the boom barrier. Further, even the period to seek police remand is not yet over. Therefore, having regard to the manner in which the present offence is committed, the very initial stage of the investigation and the role assigned to the present accused persons, this Court is not inclined at this stage to grant them regular bail. With these obsevations these eight connected bail applications are disposed of as dismissed," the order read.

As per the Delhi Police, the FIR was registered under sections 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) of the IPC and under section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

On March 30, around 70 people were detained for creating ruckus outside Kejriwal's residence during a protest that was spearheaded by the BJP's Yuva Morcha over the Chief Minister's recent remarks in the Assembly on 'The Kashmir Files' that were deemed as "against" the Kashmiri Pandit community among the saffron clans.

Kejriwal was not present inside the residence at the time of the incident.
New Delhi, April 5 : Days after the visit of Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to its headquarters in a diplomatic outreach, BJP chief J P Nadda will interact with foreign envoys of BIMSTEC nations and Europe on the occasion of the party's Foundation Day on Wednesday.

The head of the Bharatiya Janata Party's foreign affairs department, Vijay Chauthaiwale said that on April 6 a new initiative 'Know the BJP' (Bhajapa ko jaaniye) will be launched for the foreign audience. "On Wednesday, BJP chief Nadda will interact with heads of 13 missions. Interaction will have everything to do with knowing the party and briefing foreign envoys about the BJP. No element of foreign policy will be part of the interaction," Chauthaiwale said. The envoys will interact with BJP chief Nadda to know more about the world's largest political party, he added.

Envoys from France, the European Union (EU) delegation, Portugal, Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Italy, Hungary, Vietnam, Norway, and the High Commissioners of Bangladesh and Singapore will be present at the event that will take place at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The BJP has made elaborate plans to celebrate its 42nd Foundation Day with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to party workers on Wednesday. The BJP will also observe a 'Samajik Nyay Pakhwada' (Social Justice Fortnight).

Sharing details of the programme at a press conference, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said, "BJP chief Nadda will hoist the party flag in the morning. At 10 a.m., Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address BJP workers virtually across the country. BJP chief Nadda will participate in the procession at 11 a.m. starting in the national capital. For the next 15 days every day will be dedicated to one flagship programme of the government."
Chennai, April 5 : A male passenger was arrested on Tuesday while trying to smuggle in 840 grams of gold, said Commissioner of Customs, Chennai International Airport.

Based on intelligence, a male passenger who flew in from Dubai was intercepted at the exit by the officials of Air Intelligence Unit.

On examination of his person, two packets containing gold in paste form, concealed in his inner wear, were recovered.

Totally, 840 grams of gold worth Rs 40.08 lakh was seized by the Chennai Air Customs and the passenger was arrested.
Gurugram, April 5 : The Gurugram Traffic police have issued challans amounting to Rs 2,11,08,900 against 1,30,512 traffic offenders, and recovered Rs 1,42,77,623 as penalty from January 2022 to March 2022 for various offences.

These offences include wrong side driving, wrong side parking, drunken driving, speeding and jumping red lights among others.

The data of the traffic police reveals that in March, a total of 42,315 challans were issued against traffic violators, on which a fine of Rs 92,21,200 was also imposed.

The data further pointed out that only in March around 3,497 challans for wrong side driving and 3,399 challans of wrong side parking, 2,212 fines for without helmet and other traffic violations shows that the motorists have no fear of traffic police.

Traffic police officials said that it is extremely worrying that people are openly flouting the traffic norms as wrong side driving can cause the life of several pedestrians and other motorists.

"To curb the traffic violence and accidents across Gurugram we have been organising special drives and adopting multiple tactics for smooth traffic movement from time to time. We have put several checkpoints to catch traffic violators. A trial run for smooth traffic flow at the Rajiv Chowk on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway is underway," Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) traffic, Ravinder Kumar Tomar, told IANS.

In the past few months, the traffic police in Gurugram have been focusing particularly on offences that cause fatal accidents.
Hyderabad, April 5 : Wipro will continue to invest in Telangana as the state government here is progressive, Founder-Chairman of Wipro Group, Azim Premji, said on Tuesday.

"Wipro will continue to invest here because we find the state government to be very progressive," he said at the inauguration of a manufacturing facility of Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting in Hyderabad.

Stating that Wipro is pro-active, Premji said the group will continue to support Telangana in terms of investment and creating employment opportunities, especially for women as "we find women to be extraordinarily committed".

He said there was complete disruption of life during the Covid-19 pandemic when many poor were compelled to take loans at high rates of interest. He then suggested the Telangana government to work with the banking and non-banking institutions to subsidise the loans taken by the poor.

He also praised Telangana for its handling of the Covid crisis, saying that the state has by and large contributed significantly towards managing the pandemic.

Premji along with Telangana Minister for Industries and Information Technology, K.T. Rama Rao, inaugurated the facility at Maheshwaram.

The company has invested Rs 300 crore to set up the facility and is creating direct and indirect employment for about 900 people, with over 90 per cent of employment opportunities for the locals.

The facility, which has come up on 30 acres of land, produces Santoor soaps and Softouch fabric conditioners. It will add manufacturing capability to produce Yardley talcum powder, Santoor handwash and Giffy dishwash.

It has invested in a state-of-the-art soap finishing line that runs at the highest speed of 700 soaps per minute. In addition, the company has four more soap finishing lines.

Rama Rao requested Premji to set up Wipro's proposed facility of manufacturing LED lights in Telangana, stating that the state has a dedicated LED park.

The minister also urged Premji to consider setting up a private university in Telangana to encourage social sciences. He pointed out that Telangana has already enacted a private university legislation.

KTR, as the minister is popularly known, said Telangana approved investment proposals worth over Rs 2.20 lakh crore during the last seven-and-a-half years under its unique industrial policy, TSiPASS. This is expected to create over 16 lakh jobs.

The minister said that under this self-certification policy, an investor can start working on a project without any approvals with a mere online application.

"You will get all the approvals in 15 days. If you don't get the approval in 15 days, it's deemed approved on the 16th day. No other state in the country has this policy," he said.

KTR noted that the Azim Premji Foundation was the single largest contributor to Telangana during the Covid pandemic as it provided healthcare relief worth Rs 25 crore, another Rs 12 crore for vaccination efforts and also gave Rs 44 crore to various NGOs working to provide relief to the people.

Telangana's Education Minister Sabitha Indira Reddy, Principal Secretary, Industries Commerce & Information Technology, Jayesh Ranjan, and CEO of Wipro Consumer Care, Vineet Agrawal, were also present on the occasion.
New Delhi, April 5 : As many as 641 Twitter accounts, e-mails, websites pertaining to the government were hacked during the last five years, Centre said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

According to Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, they have tracked a total number of 175, 114, 61, 77, 186 and 28 websites, emails and social media accounts which were hacked during the year 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 (upto February) respectively.

Responding to a query regarding the measures taken by the government, the minister said that whenever a compromise takes place, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) notifies the affected entities along with remedial actions to be taken.

"CERT-In coordinates incident response measures with affected entities, service providers, sectoral Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) as well as Law Enforcement Agencies," the Minister told Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Thakur said the government has taken several measures to enhance the cyber security posture and prevent cyber-attacks.

"CERT-In issues alerts and advisories regarding the latest cyber threats and countermeasures on a regular basis to ensure safe usage of digital technologies. It has issued 68 advisories for organisations and users for data security and mitigating fraudulent activities," the Minister informed the House.

He said that all the government websites and applications are audited with respect to cyber security prior to their hosting. The auditing is also conducted on a regular basis post-hosting.
New Delhi, April 5 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed discontent at the fact that the cases either before a lower court or tribunal, eventually ended up before it.

A bench headed by Justice K.M. Joseph orally observed: "We do not want to use the word, but legislature has been dumb in this regard. We don't want to use the word but that is the word." It noted that that every case ultimately ends up before the top court, as it highlighted that the legislature was not correct in providing statutory appeals against orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directly to the Supreme Court.

The top court made this observation during the hearing of a plea by the Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association, challenging Section 3 of the NGT Act, in connection with the establishment of the tribunal. The plea has been filed through advocate Mrigank Prabhakar.

The bench queried the counsel representing the petitioner whether the Act excludes the jurisdiction of the high courts under Articles 226 and 227.

Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, representing the Centre, submitted before the bench that it was legislature's prerogative to provide for statutory appeals to the apex court. He said that the Tribunal Reforms Act was brought but it was struck down, and later an ordinance was brought, which is also under challenge.

The petitioner's counsel submitted that there is no explicit exclusion, rather has an implicit exclusion and this is by way of direct appeal in the top court. The AG submitted that tribunals are highly specialised, in matters of electricity, telecom, copyright etc.

Venugopal emphasised that specialisation in these areas makes tribunals equal to the high courts and they cannot be termed inferior to the high courts.

After hearing arguments, the bench, also comprising Justice Hrishikesh Roy, reserved judgment in the matter.

"Judgment reserved. Parties may file written submissions within five days," it said.
United Nations, April 5 : In what is likely its strongest statement on the Ukraine situation so far, India on Tuesday "unequivocally condemned" the killings of civilians in Bucha after hearing Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and UN officials giving heart-rending descriptions of the atrocities in the city.

"Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing. We unequivocally condemn these killings and support the call for an independent investigation," India's Permanent Representative to the UN, T.S. Tirumurti, said at the Security Council.

While making probably the harshest criticism of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Tirumurti straddled the fine line of neutrality by not naming Russia.

"India continues to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation and reiterates its call for immediate cessation of violence and end to hostilities," he said.

"We continue to emphasise to all member states of the UN that the global order is anchored on international law, UN Charter and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states," he added in an implied criticism of Russia.

Over the weekend, harrowing images of atrocities against civilians in Bucha dominated the Security Council meeting.

Before Tirumurti spoke, Zelensky through a video link said that in Bucha, "there is not a single crime that they (Russia) would not commit" and listed a range of horrific atrocities that he said had been committed by the Russian troops that withdrew from the city near Kiev.

He likened the atrocities there to those committed by the Islamic State terrorist organisations in the Middle East.

He showed the Council a video that he said documented what he called war crimes, showing piles of bodies, some with hands bound.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council, "I will never forget the horrifying images of civilians killed in Bucha." "I am also deeply shocked by the personal testimony of rapes and sexual violence that are now emerging," he added, while calling for an independent inquiry into the matter.

Russia's Permanent Representative to UN<vasily nebenzia, asserted that some images in the video were staged and others showed victims of ukrainian forces or "neo-nazis" and questioned the timeline of the video and other images that have emerged.

UN Under-Secretary-General, Rosemary DiCarlo, said, "The horror deepened this past week as shocking images emerged of dead civilians, some with hands bound, lying on the streets of Bucha, the town near Kiev formerly held by Russian forces. Many bodies were also found in a mass grave in the same locality." "Reports by non-governmental organisations and media also allege summary executions of civilians, rape and looting in Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Kiev regions," she added.

As the invasion continues into its second month, Tirumurti said, "The situation in Ukraine has not shown any significant improvement since the Council last discussed the issue. The security situation has only deteriorated, as well as its humanitarian consequences." He added, "When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option. In this context, we take note of the ongoing efforts, including the meetings held recently between the concerned parties," he added.

Representatives of Russia and Ukraine have held in-person meetings in Turkey and followed it up with virtual talks, but with no sign of a ceasefire yet.

In addition, Guterres has designated Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths for a UN peace effort in Ukraine.

He had visited Moscow over the weekend.

Tirumurti said that New Delhi hoped the international community would continue to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, adding, "We stand ready to provide more medical supplies to Ukraine in the coming days." India has already sent medicines and relief materials to Ukraine and its neighbours, he said.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) --IANS

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New Delhi, April 5 : Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday also attended a dinner at NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's residence where scores of Maharashtra MLAs, cutting across party lines, were present.

Apart from Gadkari, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut was also at the dinner but sources say that politics was not on the menu as the dinner was for the state MLAs visiting Delhi for training in the Parliament.

The dinner party gains significance as on Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate had attached asebts linked to Raut, amid the tussle between the Centre and the state over the ED.

The ED on Tuesday slapped attachment orders on assets worth Rs 11.15 crore belonging to friends and wife of Raut in a money-laundering case -- hours after the Maharashtra government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of corruption against the central probe agency.
Islamabad/Dubai, April 5 : PML-N leader and former Pakistan Finance Minister, Miftah Ismail, alleged on Tuesday that the handbag carried by First Lady Bushra Bibis close aide Farah Khan costs $90,000, Geo News reported.

The former minister's comment came after a picture of Farah went viral on social media.

Ismail, while addressing a press conference alongside former Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, said that PML-N has been saying the same things that the estranged PTI leader Aleem Khan had previously said about Farah.

The PML-N leader alleged that the First Lady's close aide "took the money" for the transfer of civil servants in Punjab.

"Who did that money go to," asked Ismail, adding that the PTI was claiming that Farah Khan cannot be a corrupt person as she was a "private person".

"She can engage in corrupt activities because she is friends with the wives of public officeholders. She was someone's frontwoman," alleged Ismail.

Including Usman Buzdar into his broadside, Ismail said the former Punjab Chief Minister was "also someone's frontman", Geo News reported.

"When Aleem Khan claimed to inform Imran Khan about Usman Buzdar's corruption but Imran Khan kept him, who was Buzdar paying," Ismail asked.

The former Finance Minister said that a picture is circulating on social media since Monday, showing Farah with an allegedly high-value bag.

"Farah Gujjar, while using a Punjab government's plane, had a bag that was worth $90,000," claimed Ismail. He added that in local currency, the bag was worth Rs 16.2 million.

The PML-N leader shared that the masses were told to have "one roti" instead of two, adding that people bought a single roti due to the rising wheat and sugar prices, but Farah Khan's bag was worth Rs 16.2 million.

Farah, a close friend of Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi, has reportedly left the country amid serious allegations of corruption levelled against her by the Opposition, a media report said.

According to sources, Farah left for Dubai on Sunday after the dissolution of the National Assembly in the wake of the no-trust move against Imran Khan, Dawn reported.
Agartala, April 5 : Three persons who were arrested in Tripura on suspicion of being involved in anti-national activities, had links with the four individuals arrested in Bhopal on Sunday for their affiliation to the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a police officer said on Tuesday.

Top central and Tripura intelligence officials continued their interrogation of Imran Hussain, 25, an Imam, Abul Kashem 32, a teacher, and Hamid Ali, a farmer, who were arrested on Sunday from Jatrapur, a village in Sepahijala district along India-Bangladesh border.

"We have found their close links with the Bhopal detainees and they also confessed that they are in alliance with the people arrested in Bhopal," a top police officer, who is a part of the investigating team, told IANS on Tuesday night.

The police officer, however, declined to share more information, saying an investigation is underway.

The Anti-Terrorist Squad of Madhya Pradesh has arrested the four persons affiliated to the outlawed JMB from different areas of Bhopal on Sunday.

The three individuals in Tripura were booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Before their arrest, an intelligence team from Delhi came to Jatrapur village and in a joint operation with the Tripura police, arrested the three individuals.
New Delhi, April 5 : About two dozen Congress MLAs from Maharashtra met party President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday to discuss issues of the party in the state, and share their grievances.

Sources say that MLAs have complained that Congress ministers in the MVA government ignore them and party workers and apprised her that there is a strong resentment against the ministers due to this.

Sonia Gandhi gave them a patient hearing and assured them of amicable solution within a week.

A letter written by the MLAs over the "cold response" of the ministers in the state. The party chief is likely to call ministers of the Congress along with the state in charge to address their grievances.

The meeting comes on heels of after the Congress asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to now start implementing the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the three partners.

In a letter to Thackeray, state Congress President Nana Patole said that the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress -- hailing from different ideological backgrounds -- had decided to run the government on the basis of a CMP.

"Owing to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic since March 2020, the CMP implementation was delayed, but now as the coronavirus threat is over, the CMP should be executed for the overall development of all sections of society," he said.

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New Delhi, April 5 : "The Kashmir Files" director Vivek Agnihotri on Tuesday said Kashmir has been the epicentre of the conscience of India since centuries.

"The philosophy of Shiva which is being admired across the globe was born in the Kashmir Valley. Shaivism and Buddhism emerged in Kashmir," he said here at an event organised by the Global Kashmiri Pandits Diaspora to felicitate him and his team for making "The Kashmir Files".

Agnihotri said: "Whenever you are in the valley, it gives a feeling that it is the centre of the universe. One cannot understand the universe without knowing Kashmir." "The Kashmir Files is not much focused on the truth of Kashmiri Pandits as they are themselves a living truth. But the film has brought the truth of anti-humanism which we call terrorism. That is the reason people are criticising the film," he said, adding terrorism has become a trade now.

"... one part is talking about the humanity in the film and another is advocating for terrorism. I don't find anything which is worth of being criticized in the film," he said.

"The day we will realise the essence of Kashmir, and the motive to destroy Kashmir, terrorism will end in the valley," Agnihotri said while addressing the gathering.

"Not even a single time, the term Pakistan has occurred in the film. The film just narrates the pangs of those families who were the victims of terror attack. It does not have any type of communal, and hate speech," Agnihotri said, adding: "The success of film shows that if truth is told honestly, people accept it. We have not maligned anyone in the film."
New Delhi, April 5 : The Ministry of Ayush will celebrate 'Yoga Amrit Mahotsav' on World Health Day on April 7.

The Ministry, along with its stakeholders, will also initiate a 75-day countdown to the International Day of Yoga (June 21) on April 7 with a grand programme for the demonstration of common yoga protocols at the Red Fort.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to be the chief guest at the programme, which will be attended by Union ministers, Members of Parliament and Ambassadors from various countries.

Union Minister of Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal said that the worldwide acceptance of yoga is a matter of pride for the country.

Yoga has been accepted as an integral part of the cultural and spiritual heritage, he said, adding that the preparations for the International Day of Yoga are in progress in full swing.

The Ministry expects to inspire a mass movement for good health and wellbeing through yoga during the 75-day countdown to the International Day of Yoga, which will be observed at 75 iconic sites across the country as part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations marking 75 years of India's Independence.
Dhaka, April 6 : April 5, 2022, marks an important date in East Turkistan history because 32 years ago the 'Baren Revolution' erupted on this day. On April 5, 1990, the people of Baren township and surrounding areas in Akto county, East Turkistan, being unable to bear the operation and the genocide, rebelled against the Chinese occupation forces.

To mark the occasion of Baren Revolution, different socio-cultural organisations and civil society platforms, Alems and Ullemas took part in processions-cum human-chain programmes.

Sammilito Islami Okkyajot (SIO) organised a seminar-cum-discussion meeting at National Press Club. During the discussion, leaders of Islami Okkyajot and other like-minded Islamic parties demanded the government to cut-off diplomatic relations with China over genocide and brutal persecution of Uyghur Muslims by Chinese authorities.

Bangladesh Social Activists Forum conducted a human chain and a bike rally to mark the occasion of Baren Revolution and Uyghur genocide and atrocities by Chinese authorities. During the procession, the participants demanded justice for Uyghurs. The programme was attended by more than 100 participants with bikes and posters highlighting Chinese atrocities against Uyghurs were flashed.

Jatiyo Ullema Kalyan Parishad (Chowgacha unit) organised a protest rally and human chain at Jessore demanding to stop Uyghur Muslim persecution by China and urged the world community to be vocal on the issue.Separately, another protest march highlighting the Uyghur issue was carried out by Sunni Islam Qawmi Madrassa at Jessore.

In another programme, Jagroto Muslim Janata, Narayanganj branch, conducted a protest rally urging to boycott China and stop persecution of Uyghur Muslims. Nearly 500-600 protestors carrying banners and posters attended the protest rally. Protestors urged for a worldwide protest against Uyghur Muslim persecution by China. The protest was attended by prominent personalities from cross-section of society.

Swadhinata Sangram Parishad organised a human chain in front of BTV Gol Chakkar on April 5 from 11a.m. to 1 p.m, protesting against the Chinese high-handedness over Uyghur Muslims at Baren town in East Turkistan. This was the 32th anniversary of the genocide at Baren. People congregated with posters saying 'Chinese did not allow building of Mosque', 'Chinese forcible implementation of one child policy is wrong' and 'Protest against Chinese genocide on Uyghurs'.

Muktijoddha Mancho carried out a discussion and demonstration against the Chinese atrocities on Uyghurs and commemorating Baren Revolution in front of National Museum, Shahbagh, near Dhaka University between 3-4 p.m. on April 5.

A short picture exhibition and protest meeting was held at 10 a.m. in the Central Shaheed Minar. The protest meeting was presided over by the founding Chairman of the organisation, Tawfiq Ahmed Tafshir. He said the Muslims of Bangladesh along with the people of East Turkistan stand up to defend and fight against the Chinese government forces.
United Nations, April 6 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council have condemned the killing of a Nepali UN peacekeeper in Congo a week after six Pakistani peacekeepers in the UN force died there.

The Nepali's death came during an attack on peacekeepers by a local militia on Tuesday in Congo, which hosts one of the deadliest UN peacekeeping operations.

"The Secretary-General strongly condemns today's attack against peacekeepers serving in the United Nations Organisation Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Guterres's Spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

The mission is known by its French acronym MONUSCO has 963 peacekeepers from Nepal.

Just after an acrimonious meeting on Ukraine, the 15 members of the Security Council spoke in one voice issuing a joint statement condemning "in the strongest terms all attacks and provocations against MONUSCO" and "called on the Congolese authorities to swiftly investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice".

The Security Council said it was important to strengthen MONUSCO by giving it "the necessary capacities to fulfil its mandate and promote, including by taking additional measures as appropriate, the safety and security of the United Nations peacekeepers and its operations".

Haq added that the attack was carried out in Bali in the Djugu territory of Ituri province by "suspected members" of the Cooperative pour le developpement du Congo (CODECO) militia when the peacekeepers were carrying out operations in the area.

The peacekeeper, who is the eighth to die in the UN's Congo operations, has not been identified.

"The Secretary-General recalls that attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime. He calls on the Congolese authorities to investigate this incident and swiftly bring those responsible to justice," UN Secretary General Spokesperson said.

On Tuesday last week, the helicopter operated by Pakistani peacekeepers crashed down.

In addition to the Pakistanis, a Russian and a Serbian in the helicopter also died.

The UN said the crash of the helicopter that was on a reconnaissance mission in the area of Tshanzu, south-east of Rutshuru in North Kivu was under investigation.

The area has witnessed clashes there between the M23 rebel group and Congolese, according to the UN, which did not assign blame for the attack.

Media reports have quoted the Congolese armed forces as saying that the helicopter was shot down.

The CODECO, which is suspected in the killing of the Nepali peacekeeper, was originally an agricultural cooperative that turned into an armed group fighting Congo and the MONUSCO.

It is made up of the Lendu ethnic group and is sometimes described as a cult.

South Asian peacekeepers dominate the 14,000-strong military segment of the MONUSCO operation with 1,974 from Pakistan, 1,888 from India and 1,634 from Bangladesh in addition to the Nepalis.

The peacekeeping operations in Congo -- the current MONUSCO and its previous version known as MONUC -- have had at least 400 deaths.

Thirty Indian peacekeepers have died in the operations, as have 33 from Pakistan and 31 from Bangladesh in addition to the eight from Nepal.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)
New Delhi, April 6 : With a view to celebrating 25 years of art, the New Delhi-based Threshold Art Gallery is presenting a solo show of Pandit Khairnar's 'Between Light and Shadow: Travels Through an Indian Landscape' (on till May 1, 2022 -- India Art Fair Parallel show).

The recent works on canvas and paper, travel a pathway of memories -- feeling the sunshine and shadows of clouds cast on desert or mountains, the crisp cool morning air and hear the sound of a stream running. There is an intuitive feeling about the scale of his large paintings that encourage emotional memories.

Khairnar's subtle, new graphite works on paper enforce skilful graduated tonal values using horizontal lines to create a strong sense of space and form. Though the horizontal lines suggest distance and calm, the broken lines express the ephemeral or the insubstantial. To be able to capture the sensitivity of a landscape with such an economy of means is not only a remarkable testament to the power of line as an expressive force but also an illustration of Khairnar's outstanding drawing skills. His series of graphite studies leads the viewer through a process of abstraction, refining form, tone and texture to extract the essence of his colour field painting using the pure line.

He builds the image layer upon layer until they establish a foreground with a dense tracery of lines and uses it as a device to pull your eye to the illusion of depth created by the work. It is abstract calligraphy of expressive lines drawn on the surface of the paper with an interaction between positive mass and negative space which heightens their spatial drama.

The artist says, "What is simple is really complex and this becomes visible for us and emerges only at a later stage, though one begins with this sense of something that's only abstract in form. This becomes real to us only when it manifests into something cognitive but not necessarily a mirror image of what's visible to the naked eye." The convincing techniques that Pandit uses, persuades the viewer to engage with the impossible search for rational meaning. He adapts his compositional approach to incorporate a grid-like arrangement, which not only offers him more control over the spatial organisation of his work but also referenced natural horizontals and verticals of the rural and urban landscapes. The influence of the grid underpins the composition of his paper works and gives him a point of reference from which to observe the effects of reconfiguring the elements of work over a series of images.

The artist stresses, "Art for me is an emotional response of my perception. Nature is always stable with its properties, but the visible changes are only outer. It is also a complete union of what I understand as a medium, matter, idea and intention of forming a harmonious relation, a narrative of human expression."
Budapest, April 6 : The Hungarian government has asked the European Commission (EC) "not to punish the Hungarian voters" who allowed a new victory for Prime Minister Viktor Orban in parliamentary elections with the suspension of funds.

The EC is set to trigger a new, powerful disciplinary procedure allowing the disbursement of European Union (EU) funds to be suspended, it formally notified Budapest on Tuesday.

Orban's government and the EU have been at odds in recent years over a series of issues, ranging from the "rule-of-law" to minority rights, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Prime Minister's conservative Fidesz party won a fourth consecutive super-majority in the general elections held on Sunday.

In response to the EU executive's announcement, Gergely Gulyas, Orban's Chief of Staff, urged the Commission "not to punish Hungarian voters" for expressing an opinion "that Brussels does not like".

"The fundamental rules of democracy must be accepted by the Commission," he said, urging it to "return to common sense and dialogue".

The procedure could ultimately deny Orban's government more than 40 billion euros ($43.6 billion) in EU funding.

However, it is likely to still take months to complete. The ultimate decision will rest with the Council of the EU, composed of representatives from each member state.
...rising prices and recession are when the need for weights and measures presence in the marketplace is most pronounced.

Consumers are reeling under rising prices, making it even more critical to get a full gallon at the fuel pump and a full pound at the supermarket. That is something Americans often take for granted, but few know the effort this takes on the part of state and local weights and measures inspectors across the nation.

The National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) is a not-for-profit association that develops the United States standards for weights and measures in commerce. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) publishes NCWMs standards, and the states and territories reference them in regulations for enforcement purposes. The NCWM also ensures that weighing and measuring devices are manufactured to perform in accordance with its published standards. Regulatory programs use the standards to protect consumers by verifying the accuracy of fuel dispensers, supermarket scales, price scanners, net contents of packaged goods, and more.

However, inspectors also protect the business community. Regulated industries are among the strongest advocates for effective weights and measures standards and inspection programs. Businesses struggled to survive under the stresses of the pandemic, said NCWM Chair Ivan Hankins of the Iowa Department of Agriculture. It magnifies the importance of fair competition on a level playing field.

Hankins stressed the need for consumers and businesses to support adequate funding for weights and measures regulation. A common response by government is to cut program budgets when times are tough. Fairness and equity are always important, but rising prices and recession are when the need for weights and measures presence in the marketplace is most pronounced. Our communities facing difficult times can be harmed even more by unfair practices.

The National Conference on Weights and Measures has developed United States weights and measures standards for commerce since 1905. It draws on the expertise of state and local weights and measures officials, federal agencies, manufacturers, retailers, and consumers, bringing the right interests together to keep pace with innovative advancements in the marketplace.
Agworld, the world's leading collaborative farm information ecosystem, and Mobble, a livestock farm management software that strips back complications and puts a focus on connection and simplicity, announced that they have created a data integration between both platforms. Agworld and Mobble both have a strong belief in creating an all-inclusive farm data ecosystem that centralises data for farmers. With Agworld and Mobble masters of their respective trades, an integration between the two platforms creates the best of both worlds for mixed farmers. Creating a data integration that allows farmers to see certain data from Mobble on the Agworld maps page is a natural next step for both providers.

Created by farmers and for farmers, Mobble is a cloud-based software that works to provide a practical solution that gives livestock farmers more visibility and better access to their records on the fly. The software works offline, simplifies record keeping and connects the team - helping farmers make more informed decisions for their operation, says Mobble CEO Jock Lawrence. At the end of the day, Mobble is all about keeping it simple with livestock record keeping at the core. Agworld has a laser focus on what they're doing with the cropping side of things and same goes for us with livestock management. Bringing together the two gives the best of both worlds and ultimately makes mixed farmers' lives easier.

The initial integration stage allows livestock data from Mobble, such as paddock grazing duration and days rested, stocking rates, age, groups and classes, to be visualised in Agworld via 'Frames by Agworld'. Farmers that already use Agworld and are looking to trial Mobble as well are able to seamlessly import the Agworld boundaries into Mobble.

Agworld CEO Doug Fitch comments: Since the day we started Agworld, it's been our mission to 'connect the industry' and break down the many different data silos that exist in Agriculture. The digital revolution is great for farming in many aspects, but having to use a plethora of apps on a daily basis isn't something that farmers are looking for. With that in mind we developed 'Frames by Agworld' as it allows Agworld and its many integration partners to create simple and easy to execute integrations that enable third parties to visualise data in Agworld. Having livestock data from Mobble displayed in Agworld is a huge step for us as a company, as it caters towards the large group of mixed farmers in Australia and New Zealand that want to use both a cropping and a livestock farm management solution, but that also like to see a connection between the two. What Agworld and Mobble are doing is industry-leading and I know that it will be well received in our farming community.

About Mobble

Created by farmers and for farmers, Mobble is a livestock farm management software that works to provide a practical solution that gives farmers more visibility and better access to their records on the fly. Founded back in 2018, the idea behind the homegrown company was born on Founder Jock Lawrence's family farm in a bid to find software suitable for their operation. The cloud-based software works offline, simplifies record keeping and connects the team - helping farmers make more informed decisions for their operation. With over 1,000 farmers across Australia and New Zealand using Mobble and close to 4 million stock units under management, Mobble is on a mission to make farmers' lives easier and more successful. Learn more about Mobble at Mobble.io

About Agworld

Agworld is an international Farm Information Management Ecosystem, founded in 2009, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, and part of the Semios group of companies. Agworld is a global leader in collaborative farm management enabling growers, advisors and third parties to work together as one on a single platform. Agworld's industry-leading standardised database makes it quick and easy to create accurate, reportable farm data. With over 100 million acres paid for and managed in Agworld across five countries, Agworld has the experience, capacity and market presence to support the delivery of innovation to growers, agronomists and those that serve them. Learn more about Agworld at http://www.agworld.com.
Robert Irwin (left) and Dr. Ludovica Valenza (right) with the newly donated HVM veterinary hyperbaric chamber at Australia Zoo. Photo Credit: Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors The new hyperbaric chamber will be utilized to treat koalas and other patients caught in catastrophic bushfires, suffering from severe burn injuries, smoke inhalation and other ailments.

The world-famous Australia Zoo, founded by the Irwin family, has added a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to its new Perry MacFarlane Intensive Care Ward. The chamber is donated by Hyperbaric Veterinary Medicine (HVM), and the new ward is named after the mother of actor/producer Seth MacFarlane who funded the center with a $1 million donation.

Australia Zoo treats around 800 koalas each year, the largest in the country. The new hyperbaric chamber will be utilized to treat koalas and other patients caught in catastrophic bushfires, suffering from severe burn injuries, smoke inhalation and other ailments. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) works by diffusing medical grade oxygen 3 to 4 times farther into the tissues than blood alone can deliver.

HVM has been the world leader in veterinary hyperbaric treatments for over a decade, Australia Zoo joins other prestigious animal treatment centers in the world now capable of delivering HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment) to its patients. In the United States, The University of Florida, Auburn University and Louisiana State University have all been using and teaching the benefits of HBOT. And in Brazil, the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) inaugurated the first Institute of Veterinary Hyperbaric Medicine in 2020 in accordance with the Veterinary Hyperbaric Association (VHA) and HVM.

HVM chambers are now treating patients in 9 countries throughout the world as more and more veterinarians are learning about how HBOT can help heal indications through non-invasive means and as an adjunctive treatment to standard procedures and recovery.

Some of the most recent veterinary facilities to acquire HVM chambers are:



Coastal Animal Referral Emergency in Williamsburg, VA

Steel City Emergency Vets in Hoover, AL

Zampe Amore Fisioterapia in Italy

BrightCare Veterinary Group in Mission Viejo, CA

Miami Veterinary Specialists in Miami, FL

A complete list of all current and future locations of HVM chamber-equipped facilities can be found at http://www.hvmed.com
Without Risk, there's no success.

See the YouTube influencer showing people how credit can become their best friends. Deonta Lee, also known as Dr Tay G., is a YouTube influencer, a financial expert, a civil engineer, a US Navy veteran and an entrepreneur. He is the CEO of the entity 21st Century Business Consulting, which helps individuals accomplish their goals by educating and demonstrating how credit may be their best friend. Due to his vast knowledge in increasing credits and the mind-blowing results obtained, the YouTube influencer has further adopted the name "Doctor Credit" in his videos.

But while Deonta Lee constantly teaches about increasing credit scores, they are not the only aspect of financial education that the young entrepreneur talks about. He also educates on crypto, stocks, and ways to turn individuals into entrepreneurs. The financial specialist is widely known for his YouTube video with Bandman Kevo, where he talked about "HOW 50 DOLLARS TURNED INTO A MILLION DOLLARS".

In his upcoming video, Dr Tay G. opened up about coming from a small town in Mississippi. He attended college at Jackson State University and gained his bachelor in Science of Civil Engineering. The YouTuber said he transformed his own life during the COVID pandemic and described how people who knew him then would find it hard to believe how far he had come. The young entrepreneur urged individuals to take risks as there is no reward without risks. One of his favorite quotes is "Without Risk, there's no success." He also further advised individuals to invest in crypto and stocks and invest in themselves because that's the only investment where individuals don't lose.

He mentioned this in the video, saying, "The more you learn, the more you earn." He also acknowledged that he could not have come this far without a solid network, which emphasizes why his favorite quote remains, "Your network is your net worth."

On his business website, 21st Century Business Consulting, the young entrepreneur claimed to use his wealth of knowledge to help young people make the best use of their credit and invest it in opportunities that would diversify their sources of income. This was stated on their website, saying, "If you're a young professional, we'll show you different ways to take advantage of credits for your business and use it to invest into assets to multiply your sources of income. If you're an individual looking for financial freedom, we'll teach you how to leverage credit to get what you want out of life."

Deonta Lee also stated why he wanted to share his story to the world on his website; he said, "I founded 21st Century Business Consulting because I wanted to share my story with the world about how leveraging your debt has helped me grow my wealth exponentially."

Dr Tay G will be releasing his upcoming books "Credit To Cash" & "The Business BluePrint; Structure Your Business from Scratch" in the month of May 2022.

To learn more about Deonta Lee and his consultancy services where he teaches on various financial opportunities, visit: https://www.21stcenturybusinessconsultingllc.com/

Name: Dr Tay G.

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We set out to develop a solution that allows data scientists to solve their complex text-based problems more efficiently and accurately,  said Shannon Hynds, CEO of quickcode.ai.

Today, Quickcode.ai publicly launched their SaaS product for unstructured text, designed to help users realize the power of their data and optimize training the best machine learning models. Because great machine learning requires great training data, QuickCode.ai helps data scientists save time and train more accurate models by improving the quality of unstructured text datasets before they are labeled.

QuickCode.ai is text processing software for data scientists who want to solve complex problems with machine learning, especially domain specific problems that require expertise for curating and labeling. Unlike random sampling, keyword sampling, and pre-trained classifiers, which sacrifice data quality for the sake of convenience, QuickCode.ai combs through every word of unstructured text, using machine learning and expert insight to quickly identify the most representative training data before its labeled. QuickCode.ai is able to process any language, any topic, and any size text, producing domain-specific data rather than traditional generic training data. In other words, QuickCode.ai unlocks the potential of your unstructured text data.

We set out to develop a solution that allows data scientists to solve their complex text-based problems more efficiently and accurately, said Shannon Hynds, CEO of QuickCode.ai. Bad training data limits the potential of machine learning, and traditional methods of hand labeling brings its own set of challenges. QuickCode.ai integrates expert knowledge into the workflow even earlier, helping companies save time, money, and headaches down the road.

With the public release of QuickCode.ai, users can build representative training data from across their entire dataset, providing recommendations and empowering data science teams or subject matter experts (SMEs) to validate those recommendations in minutes. QuickCode.ai gives companies complete confidence in their training data, allowing them to focus on building the best possible machine learning models.

About QuickCode.ai:

QuickCode.ai is text processing software for data scientists who want to solve complex, text-based problems with machine learning. Using proprietary machine learning models, QuickCode.ai helps experts, analysts, and linguists create targeted, relevant, and representative datasets. QuickCode.ai is the first solution that builds representative training data from across a users dataset, providing recommendations and empowering data science teams to validate those recommendations in minutes. Our machine learning technology finds patterns in unstructured text making data curation, wrangling, and labeling easier and more accurate than ever. QuickCode.ai gives you complete confidence in your training data, so you can focus on building the best possible machine learning models. Quickcode.ai received a seed round of funding by Maryland based DataTribe in December 2021. The company is based in McLean, VA. Learn more at QuickCode.ai.
"ColoWrap has been a huge satisfaction driver for our endoscopy staff and providers," said Cheryl Langford, Director Surgical Services & Endoscopy at Northfield Hospital. "Musculoskeletal pain and fatigue the team has experienced associated with colonoscopy has been significantly reduced."

ColoWrap, LLC., the early-stage medical technology company behind the first and only anti-looping colonoscopy compression device, today announced two abstracts highlighting the technologys ability to reduce procedure time and address ergonomic risks during colonoscopy that were selected for presentation during the Society for American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) 2022 Annual Meeting. SAGES 2022 was held from March 16 through March 19 in Denver, Colorado.

Colonoscopy remains the gold standard for colorectal screening and prevention with over 19 million procedures conducted annually in the United States. Looping during colonoscopy remains the largest barrier to delivering colonoscopies safely and efficiently. The status quo to reduce looping, including manual abdominal pressure and patient repositioning, introduces unique ergonomic challenges and increases the risk for musculoskeletal (MSK) injury amongst endoscopy staff. Torquing associated with loop reduction is also a contributor to ergonomic strain in physicians.

Presented as part of the SAGES Next Big Thing session was ColoWrap Colonoscopy Compression Device Shortens Procedure Time and Increases Physician and Staff Satisfaction. Research was conducted at Northfield Hospital located in Northfield, Minnesota. The hospital self-reported that 60% of endoscopy personnel had experienced injuries, strains, or MSK pain attributed to applying manual pressure and repositioning patients during colonoscopy. Of those experiencing pain, 20% of endoscopy staff reported that they suffer daily MSK pain due to the requirements of manual abdominal pressure and patient repositioning during colonoscopy.

At Northfield, ColoWrap use reduced average cecal intubation time by 3.6 minutes and reduced procedure time by 5 minutes per case. There was also a 48% reduction in manual pressure and a 79% reduction in patient repositioning. All endoscopy personnel reported moderate to very significant reductions in MSK pain and general fatigue while physicians reported reductions in looping and personal physical strain, as well as improved patient comfort. (Gross, S., Langford, C., & Lusk, A., 2022)

"ColoWrap has been a huge satisfaction driver for our endoscopy staff and providers," said Cheryl Langford, MSN, RN, CNOR, Director Surgical Services & Endoscopy at Northfield Hospital. "Musculoskeletal pain and fatigue the team has experienced associated with colonoscopy has been significantly reduced."

Also selected for presentation, Preventing Staff Injury and Enhancing Satisfaction: Results from Use of ColoWrap Colonoscopy Compression Device in High-Volume Endoscopy Unit, highlights research conducted at Barnes Jewish West County Hospital, where 85% of endoscopy personnel had experienced MSK pain or injury related to applying manual pressure or repositioning patients during colonoscopy.

"The use of ColoWrap in my department has been a tremendous benefit to our staff and patients. said Connie Hall, BSN, RN, CGRN at Barnes Jewish West County Hospital. Staff don't complain about hand, back, and shoulder pain nearly as much. On a recent survey on safety, my department scored very high on questions about whether the facility cares about the safety of the staff, Hall continued. Using ColoWrap was pointed out as something done to protect staff from potential injuries on the job. I also feel it is much safer for our patients. I have not had any reports of abdominal pain or bruising from patients since we started using ColoWrap."

This single-center observational study focused on patients at risk for difficult colonoscopy, including those with a BMI greater than 35, prior difficult colonoscopy, abdominal hernia, or multiple prior abdominal surgeries. In the study, ColoWrap reduced the use of manual abdominal pressure and patient repositioning by 73.6%, and 59.5%, respectively. 100% of staff reported significant to very significant reduction in MSK pain, general fatigue, cecal intubation time, and the frequency of prolonged colonoscopies. Interestingly, staff also reported a significant improvement in their ability to focus on other procedural duties during colonoscopy due to the need for manual pressure and repositioning being drastically reduced. (Gross, S., Wang, J., Hall, C. & Eason, B., 2022)

Collectively, this research was led by Dr. Seth Gross (NYU Langone Medical Center) and Dr. Jean Wang, MD, PhD (Washington University in St. Louis), in collaboration with Cheryl Langford, MSN, RN, CNOR (Northfield Hospital), Amber Lusk, MSN, RN, CNOR (Northfield Hospital), Connie Hall, BSN, RN, CGRN (Barnes Jewish West County Hospital), and Blair Eason, RN (Barnes Jewish West County Hospital).

About ColoWrap, LLC.

ColoWrap is an early-stage medical technology Company dedicated to creating a Zero Harm Endoscopy Environment. The Companys flagship product, the ColoWrap Anti-Looping Colonoscopy Compression Device is the first and only non-invasive device that has been clinically proven to mitigate looping during colonoscopy. Worn by the patient during the exam, the device applies targeted, adjustable abdominal pressure to minimize sigmoid and transverse looping. In clinical trials, ColoWrap has been shown to shorten procedure time, improve patient comfort, and reduce staff-reported musculoskeletal pain by 85%. Learn more at https://www.colowrap.com

Follow ColoWrap on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

References:

1. Gross, S., Langford, C., & Lusk, A. (2022, March 18). ColoWrap Colonoscopy Compression Device Shortens Procedure Time and Increases Physician and Staff Satisfaction, SAGES Conference, Denver, CO. https://eventpilot.us/web/page.php?page=IntHtml&project=SAGES22&id=121734

2. Gross, S., Wang, J., Hall, C. & Eason, B. (2022, March 18). Preventing Staff Injury and Enhancing Satisfaction: Results from Use of ColoWrap Colonoscopy Compression Device in High-Volume Endoscopy Unit, SAGES Conference, Denver, CO. https://epostersonline.com/sages2022/poster/etp421?view=true
Airgap Networks Pent-up demand for a credible ransomware protection solution has driven Airgaps exponential growth over the last 9 months, said Ritesh Agrawal, Chief Executive Officer at Airgap.

Airgap Networks, today announced the closing of a $13.4M Series A funding round. Storm Ventures led with support from all existing investors, including Cervin Ventures, Engineering Capital, and Sorenson Ventures. In addition, individual investors Manoj Apte, Josh Leslie, Anuj Kapur, and Robert Tinker also participated. To date, Airgap has raised a total of $18.6M.

Pent-up demand for a credible ransomware protection solution has driven Airgaps exponential growth over the last 9 months, said Ritesh Agrawal, Chief Executive Officer at Airgap. Recent wins include Fortune 500 enterprises in manufacturing, healthcare and pharma, insurance, and public sector agencies. Cyberattacks have repeatedly exploited lateral movement to inflict destructive harm and exfiltrate data.

The ability for a bad actor to easily navigate an organization's network is a fundamental flaw that remains unaddressed by existing vendors. Solutions today offer piecemeal protection for endpoints that need to be retrofitted with agents, require APIs across mission-critical infrastructure, or entail a complete overhaul of enterprise networking assets. Airgap has created the worlds first frictionless, agentless, universal segmentation solution optimized for IT, OT, and Cloud deployments while maximizing the value of existing infrastructure.

A single pane of glass for visibility and management guarantees lower operating expense, improved agility, and the ability for NetOps and SecOps staff to focus on more value-added support for lines of business. Airgaps Zero Trust Segmentation Platform has been developed over the last three years by an all-star team of security and networking experts. The patented solution can be deployed within minutes providing customers immediate benefit and creating a roadmap for a comprehensive Zero Trust defense architecture.

Ransomware breaches are an inevitable reality in todays environment. The classic approach of shutting down networking infrastructure to protect critical assets has a material impact, made more acute in the current supply-constrained environment. In contrast, Airgaps patented Ransomware Kill Switch is a surgical incident response to ransomware attacks and stops the spread of ransomware without loss of business productivity.

We are thrilled to lead Airgaps Series A investment round as it blazes the trail for innovation in mitigating cybercrime and quickly takes the necessary action to stop nefarious actors, said Arun Penmetsa, Partner at Storm Ventures.

We are delighted to continue investing in Airgap, said Shirish Sathaye, General Partner at Cervin Ventures. We were one of the first firms to invest, and we are excited to watch their growth as they build out new products that mitigate ransomware attacks in innovative ways.

About Airgap

Based in Santa Clara, Calif., Airgap Networks delivers an Agentless Zero Trust Segmentation platform with a patented Ransomware Kill Switch that is the most potent response against ransomware threats. To learn more about Airgap and its offerings, please contact info@airgap.io.
HRA has broken ground on The Edison, a multifamily community consisting of 232 luxury apartments homes. The Edison will be the greenest apartment community in Reno. We spent more than sixteen months designing the project and put heavy emphasis on sustainability throughout the process.

Horizon Realty Advisors (HRA), a Seattle-based property owner, developer, and operator specializing in conventional multifamily and student housing, has broken ground on its newest multifamily development in Reno: The Edison. Conveniently located just north of downtown and the University of Nevada, The Edison will consist of 232 luxury apartments homes comprised of studios, one, and two-bedroom residences. Leasing will commence in spring 2023 with homes first becoming available for occupancy in fall 2023.

The Edison will feature amenities including a resort-style hot tub, fitness center, multiple fire pits, outdoor grills, community gathering space and study nooks. The communitys lobby will feature a resident kitchen and lounge, coffee bar, living wall, and parcel locker system. The building features include garage parking, secured bike storage, ski/snowboard workshop and storage. The University is just a few blocks from the site while downtown Reno is a short walk down Valley Road. With its proximity to the McCarran Loop, a short drive from the Tesla Gigafactory and other major employers, the Edison will be a great option for professionals seeking to be close to university or downtown Reno.

With a heavy focus on sustainability, The Edison will be constructed to LEED Gold standards, achieving amongst the highest environmental certification levels to-date of any apartment community in Reno. There will be a 200kw solar array on the roof, which will offset much of the total energy needs for the building. Electric vehicle charging stations will be plentiful throughout the property with access to charging at over 25% of the propertys 213 parking spaces. Residences will feature efficient Energy Star appliances and LED lighting to reduce energy consumption, and low flow plumbing to minimize water usage. Energy-efficient heat pump technology will be utilized for primary heat, air conditioning, and water heating needs. The building will go well beyond code requirements to incorporate energy-efficient envelope and insulation ratings, which reduces hot/cold air leakage and in turn the need to generate new heat or A/C. During the construction phase, local products and materials will be utilized whenever possible to minimize shipping and transportation distances in order to keep lifecycle energy costs as low as possible, limiting the projects overall carbon footprint.

Graydon Manning, HRAs Director of Development, further highlights the merits of the project, The Edison will be the greenest apartment community in Reno. We spent more than sixteen months designing the project and put heavy emphasis on sustainability throughout the process. The project is comprised of studio, one and two-bedroom private residences. Most of the apartment communities around UNR provide pure student options- typically four- and five-bedroom apartments leased by the bedroom. The Edison will be a departure from the norm, serving both students and conventional residents.

Each apartment home will feature stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, slow-close cabinets, LVT flooring, air conditioning, smart thermostats, walk-in closets, dedicated work-from-home space and valet trash. Garage parking will be available for most apartments in addition to abundant street parking around the site.

The Edison is HRAs first development in Reno, though they own and manage two existing apartment communities- The Republic, located adjacent the Edison, and The Phoenix. HRA currently owns and operates more than 10,000 apartments nationwide, with assets under management valued in excess of $2.5 billion.
BlueSky Statistics version 10 I have been a user of SPSS since 1980 and I have found BlueSky Statistics to be more powerful and very easy to use, said Dr. Frank Castronova, Ph.D., Faculty at Wayne State University, USA.

BlueSky Statistics just announced a major new version (10.0) of their comprehensive R GUI for statistics and data science. BlueSky Statistics 10 puts even more of Rs power into everyones hands, said Sanjay Kumar, CEO, and Founder of BlueSky Statistics. It has both the efficiency of a no-code GUI with full reproducibility for all users and an R code editor for programmers.

BlueSky Statistics provides a GUI (Graphical user interface) with hundreds of popular data preparation, graphics, statistics, machine learning, and model fitting methods. In addition, BlueSky Statistics delivers a powerful framework for extensibility to build GUIs for any R function in minutes. Leading organizations use the extensibility framework to build and deploy customized applications within departments and enterprise wide.

BlueSky Statistics Version 10 includes the following new features:



Support for Mac (Intel and Mac M1 chipsets)

Revamped modernized user interface to support reproducibility, a new R code editor, better locale support for opening SPSS datasets, publication support with different output formats e.g., HTML, MS Office, APA, and LaTeX, interoperability with RStudio for R code and R Markdown, .

More Statistics: MANOVA, Repeated measures ANOVA, N Way ANOVA, Effect sizes in t-test...

Better graphics: Support for facets and themes

Robust support for model fitting and scoring

Organizations continue to ask for more - more analytics, more graphics, and extensibility. The BlueSky Statistics team listened and delivered said Bob Muenchen, thought leader and founder of the R4stats blog.

The feedback from the R user community on the latest release has been overwhelmingly positive. I have been a user of SPSS since 1980 and I have found BlueSky Statistics to be more powerful and very easy to use. Also, I have a Mac with the M1 chipset and had no problems running the software said Dr. Frank Castronova, Ph.D., Faculty at Wayne State University, USA.

Adoption continues to grow in academia and other verticals. "BlueSky Statistics is an excellent software for statistical analysis, its easy to use, with a lot of functions," said Luca Bertolaccini from IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Italy.

For additional information, visit What's New in BlueSky Statistics 10

About BlueSky Statistics

BlueSky Statistics mission is to create a feature-rich statistical and machine learning software with an easy-to-use R GUI that unleashes the power of R to the masses and levels the economic playing field for all users. BlueSky Statistics is used by data analysts, researchers, educators, and students, to learn, teach, practice, and build statistics, data mining, and machine learning expertise for the benefit of the community across the world irrespective of economic background and affordability. Both commercial and open-source editions of BlueSky Statistics are currently in use by organizations across 90 countries globally. For more information about BlueSky Statistics, visit http://www.blueskystatistics.com.

 2022 BlueSky Statistics. All rights reserved.

The information provided herein is subject to change without notice. In addition, the development, release, and timing of any product or functionality described herein remain at the sole discretion of BlueSky Statistics and should not be relied upon in making a purchasing decision, nor as a representation, warranty, or commitment to deliver specific products or functionality in the future.
Matt Smith, President of Smith Insurance & Bonds Its great when you have a team of like-minded thinkers that join together to become an even stronger force in the industry, said Smith.

Nielson, Hoover & Company, Inc. (NHC), Americas number one provider of surety bonds, is proud to announce that Smith Insurance & Bonds has merged with NHC and joined forces with Acrisure, LLC as an Agency Partner. According to the August 2021 edition of Insurance Business Journal, Acrisure is the second largest insurance broker in the U.S. with an estimated annual revenue of $3.2 billion.

Smith Insurance & Bonds will be collaborating and working side by side with Nielson, Hoover & Company (an Acrisure Agency Partner). NHC is the largest writer of surety bonds in Florida and top 10 in the U.S.

Matt Smith, President of Smith Insurance & Bonds, has more than 20 years of commercial construction insurance and surety bond industry experience. Matt and his team have built a strong reputation and proven track record of providing contractors with strategic risk management and surety solutions. Its great when you have a team of like-minded thinkers that join together to become an even stronger force in the industry, said Smith. Im excited about our future and growth opportunity as a result of this partnership.

Smith Insurance & Bonds footprint has grown to cover the entire state of Florida and continues to be a leader in the construction focused surety and insurance industry. "Their merger with NHC will add a new level of strength and market availability to deliver more products to their current and future client needs," said David Hoover, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, of Nielson Hoover Group.

About Nielson, Hoover & Company, Inc.

Nielson, Hoover & Company (NHC), part of the Nielson Hoover Group of companies, and an Acrisure Agency Partner, is Americas number one provider of surety bonds. They bond more projects than any other agency. Throughout the years, NHC has developed a deep understanding of the surety industry. This knowledge allows them to provide superior services and a comprehensive solutions way to maximize your bonding capacity with the best terms and conditions. They have the capacity and experience it takes to support the largest national contractors and the hometown knowledge and personal service to ensure mid and small size contractors receive the same attention and expertise. NHC does business with over fifty sureties which ensures you will be matched with the surety that is best for your need. As your needs change, they have the market that will best match your changing needs. Whether you are out growing your existing relationship, or have gone through some difficult times, they can help you.

Nielson, Hoover & Company is the largest independent surety agency in the Southeast with offices in Miami, Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa, Pensacola, Atlanta, Savannah, and Asheville. They have an extensive network of more than 20 experienced surety bond specialists. Their producers average over 20 years each in the industry with their customer service representatives averaging nearly 15 years.

To learn more about how Nielson, Hoover & Company can help you obtain the best rates and most favorable terms and conditions, please visit http://www.nielsonbonds.com or call 305.722.2663.

About Smith Insurance & Bonds

Located in Fort Myers, Florida, Smith Insurance & Bonds has been supporting the construction industry for nearly a decade. They are commercial insurance specialists with an extensive knowledge of general liability, commercial auto, equipment, contractors, builders' risk, and workers compensation insurance. They understand the bidding process, contracts, and the effect they have on the bottom line. Smith Insurance & Bonds has a wide variety of insurance carriers to meet clients needs. They pride themselves on delivering a mutually rewarding surety and insurance experience to their clients in a professional, optimistic, and ethical manner.
"As we forge ahead to provide our carbon neutral dairy products to customers at more than 1,200 stores by year's end, we are thrilled to add these three leaders, each with a deep natural and organic industry experience, to our team," said Marcus Lovell Smith, CEO, Neutral.

Neutral Foods, the first carbon-neutral food company in the United States, announced the hiring of three key employees to accelerate the companys goal of radically reducing the carbon footprint of agriculture for good.

These leaders have hit the ground running to support the companys highest growth phase to date as it supplies more than 700 stores nationwide with milk from dairy farms that collaborate with Neutral on carbon reduction projects. Implementing a number of strategies on dairy farms, the company works with farmers to drive down the carbon emissions of their milk. What can't be reduced is offset by Neutral through the purchase of carbon credits from U.S. dairy farmers who are turning cow emissions into renewable energy.

As we forge ahead to provide our carbon neutral dairy products to customers at more than 1,200 stores by years end, we are thrilled to add these three leaders, each with a deep natural and organic industry experience, to our team, said Marcus Lovell Smith, CEO, Neutral.

Leading Neutrals growth and profitability, Isabelle Francois joins as Head of Revenue.

Francois comes from a varied career of leadership and consulting roles in the food industry, including more than a decade of senior strategic positions at Whole Foods Market. Francois is a board member at Food System 6, a business accelerator for entrepreneurs in the food and agriculture industry. I joined Neutral because of its authentic and bold vision to transform animal agriculture to fight climate change, said Francois. Neutrals science-based approach and work on the ground with our farmers is exciting because it is a real, authentic way to make an efficient and effective impact right on the farm.

Jim Jarman is Neutrals Vice President of Product & Commercialization, working previously at Organic Valley, where he was responsible for multiple businesses including International Retail, eCommerce, Foodservice and Ingredients as Vice President of Strategic Channels. Jarman has spent most of his career in the food and manufacturing industries, working directly with farmers, retailers, and foodservice partners. At Neutral, were able to ensure customers and consumers that their purchase decisions are having a real impact on reducing the impact of climate change, said Jarman.

Leading creative initiatives at Neutral, Jill Visit is the Executive Creative Director. Ive spent my career working for mission-based companies, and this is the most important mission yet, said Visit. Her nationally recognized work, with both agency and in-house experience, including more than a decade as Global Creative Director at Whole Foods Market, emphasizes conceptual design and clear, creative messaging. Visit is an entrepreneur and the inventor of the Salad Sling, a greens-drying device featured previously on Shark Tank.

Its such an exciting time to join Neutral, said Lovell Smith, who lives on his familys own New England dairy farm. Were continuing our work with dairies across the country to make a massive and beneficial impact on climate change with an everyday product found in 93% of U.S. households.

Neutral provides American consumers with a simple way to reduce their climate footprint, while still enjoying the dairy products they love, including whole milk, 2 % and half-and-half products. Neutral is sold at Whole Foods Market stores nationwide and at hundreds of regional retailers.

To learn more about Neutral, please visit https://www.eatneutral.com.

About Neutral Foods

Neutral Foods, the first carbon-neutral food company in the United States, offers carbon-neutral dairy products nationwide. The national brand is on a mission to radically reduce the nearly 37% of global emissions produced by the agriculture industry. Started in 2019 in Portland, Oregon, Neutral works directly with farmers to radically reduce the carbon footprint of dairy products. Neutral has organic and conventional carbon-neutral solutions for retail, food service, and ingredient needs and intends to broaden its impact with additional agricultural foods.
Irrigated Alfalfa Field on North Platte Irrigated Investment Farm The North Platte River Irrigated Investment offers a quality farm and improvements with stable income from several sources, or one can substitute private use of the property for farming, living and or hunting and recreation.

Mason & Morse Ranch Company listed the Nebraska farm for sale including the home, center pivot irrigation equipment, pasture land and spring fed pond. The farm was in the same family since homesteaded in 1887. Mason Morse Ranch Company marketed the listing as the North Platte River Irrigated Investment property.

Located in the western portion of the Nebraska Panhandle southeast of Morrill, Nebraska. The property featured 225.89 total acres.

Acreage Breakdown:

135 +/- acres, pivot irrigated - alfalfa

11 +/- acres, flood irrigated - alfalfa grass mix

50 +/- acres, sub irrigated grass pasture

25 +/- acres, lake pasture with 13 acres flood irrigated grass pasture

4.89+/- acre, home site with four-bedroom residence

The seven tower Lockwood irrigation pivot is fed from the irrigation pond. It is controlled by a Reinke Touch Technology control panel with end-gun controls can be operated remotely. The pivot is powered by a 25 HP electric pump.

A second pump (15 HP) services 3 underground pipelines that irrigate areas the pivot does not service including the 13-acre pasture below the irrigation pond. The pivot corners are Irrigated with 52 Sections or 1,560 feet of 8-inch PVC gated pipe. An additional 17 sections or 510 feet of 10 PVC gated pipe is included.

The entire farm is fenced in five strand barbwire and fenced haystack yard is located right off the paved county road. The working corral is pipe construction and includes a working chute.

The main pasture is split in half with cross fences allowing for rotational grazing and is sub irrigated and partially irrigated by the pivot. It has year around live water and seven fence line cattle guard crossings for the pivot to enter & exit the pasture.

The 158.3 acre Mitchell Irrigation District served as a water right diverts from the North Platte River near the Nebraska and Wyoming border.

The sale also included the modern multi-level four-bedroom two-bath home with 2,572 square feet, ground level living room, kitchen and dining room and a sliding glass door access to a patio with a great view. As a recreational component, the spring fed irrigation pond has been stocked with fish including catfish, bass and blue gill.

The North Platte River Irrigated Investment offers a quality farm and improvements with stable income from several sources, or one can substitute private use of the property for farming, living and or hunting and recreation. added John Stratman, listing broker and a principal owner partner of Mason Morse Ranch Company.

The property was listed by John Stratman and Buck Hottell, Mason & Morse Ranch Company for $980,000 on March 1, 2021 and sold direct to an out of state buyer closing on March 25th, 2022. Nebraska Title Company of Scottsbluff, Nebraka was the escrow agent and Zions First National Bank of Ames, IA was the lender of record.

About Mason Morse Ranch Company

A leading provider of farm, ranch and recreational land brokerage services across the American west. Professional services include real estate brokerage, auction and market analysis. The real estate brokerage specializes in helping clients buy and sell high-value and large acreage farm, ranch and recreational land properties. Combined, Mason & Morse Ranch Company agents offer clients more than 133 years of experience in real estate land sales and acquisitions. http://www.ranchland.com 877-207-9700
The University of California Merced is the 50th and latest institution added to ARCS Foundations list of approved academic partners. UC Merced is known for its graduate program excellence and STEM research achievements.

The tenth campus, and newest of the University of California system, UC Merced has proven itself as a leading STEM research university since its founding in 2005. The campus sits in the San Joaquin Valley, one of Californias fastest growing regions. UC Merced has the most diverse student population body of any University of California campus.

ARCS Foundation Board of Directors unanimously approved the addition of UC Merced for scholar award funding. The three approved departments within the institution are: Environmental Systems, Physics, and Cognitive and Information Sciences. The first scholar awards for graduate students in those programs will be given in fall of 2022.

The board was extremely impressed with UC Merceds high academic ranking, research excellence, and its dedication to serving a diverse student body, ARCS National President Caron Ogg stated.

We are honored to be named an ARCS partner, UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sanchez Munoz said. The approval demonstrates the organizations confidence in our emergence as a preeminent national research institution.

The Environmental Systems graduate program at UC Merced trains students to tackle problems facing the planet  water, soil, climate energy, and resources  by viewing the Earth as an integrated system.

The Physics graduate program includes research in the traditional disciplines of physics, and related interdisciplinary areas.

The Cognitive and Information Sciences (CIS) PhD program offers students interdisciplinary training in cognitive science emphasizing computation, technology, and applications.

The process for approval as an ARCS university partner is rigorous. It includes evaluating the strength of graduate degree programs, faculty size and quality, national rankings, and national research grant funding, among other criteria.

ARCS Foundation Board of Directors also approved the Department of Biomedical Informatics at Arizona State University (ASU). This new multidisciplinary research field involves the generation, acquisition, management, and analysis of biomedical and health data, and its translation into information and knowledge for improving individual and population health.

"The Phoenix Chapter is very enthusiastic about potentially funding students from this program, which is an interdisciplinary tour de force with biology, computer science, engineering, epidemiology, mathematics, medicine, nursing, pharmacology, public health and statistics among the component sciences, ARCS Phoenix Chapter President Jill Bray states.

Currently, twenty students are enrolled in the Biomedical Informatics PhD program.

The Department of Biomedical Informatics is the second program at Arizona State University to be approved by ARCS National. Earlier this year, ASUs Speech and Hearing Sciences program was approved for scholar award funding by ARCS National Board of Directors.

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About ARCS Foundation: ARCS Foundation is a national nonprofit volunteer womens organization that promotes US competitiveness by providing financial awards to academically outstanding US citizens studying to complete degrees in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and health disciplines at 50 of the nations leading research universities. The organization has awarded more than $120 million to more than 10,900 scholars since 1958. ARCS Foundation Scholars have produced thousands of research publications and patents, secured billions in grant funding, started science-related companies, and played a significant role in teaching and mentoring young people in the STEM pipeline. More information is available at arcsfoundation.org.
Fear Frees rigorous standards and empathetic approach to animal handling and care... will help the next generation of veterinary professionals reach a deeper understanding and level of care for animals than ever before. Sean Callanan, MVB, CertVR, MRCVS, PhD, FRCPath, DiplECVP, Dean of Ross Vet

The prestigious Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (Ross Vet) will add Fear Free certification requirements to its DVM curriculum this summer, Fear Free, LLC announced today. Founded in 2016, Fear Free provides education to veterinary professionals, pet professionals, the animal welfare community, and pet owners on emotional wellbeing, enrichment, and the reduction of fear, anxiety, and stress in pets. Fear Free certification is currently required or highly encouraged in the majority of the 33 veterinary schools in the United States, but this development marks the first time that Fear Free certification requirements have been enacted internationally.

The Fear Free curriculum will provide Ross Vet students with the tools and techniques needed to deliver the best possible care for pets and certifies their commitment to preventing and alleviating fear, anxiety, and stress in pets. Becoming Fear Free Certified can also provide Ross Vet students an advantage when looking for a job post-graduation. According to Fear Frees 2021 annual member survey, 98% of certified veterinarians report that patient care has improved since implementing Fear Free. The survey also noted increases in patient visits and workplace safety.

As part of the development, Fear Free companion animal certification and equine certification will be implemented into the curriculum for all Ross Vet DVM students beginning in the summer 2022 semester, with avian certification being offered as an elective in the avian medicine program. Fear Free certification will also be required for all clinical faculty and staff.

"Veterinarians of my generation were taught and remember the harsh physical restraint we utilized to immobilize animals, Dr. Marty Becker, Fear Frees founder and Chief Professional Relations Officer, said. It was designed to protect people with little regard for the animals emotional wellbeing. Most of these animals were terrified and felt they were going to be harmed or even killed. Now Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine students will learn Fear Free techniques, which still achieve positional compliance to take X-rays, vaccinate, place a catheter, or examine a wound but are designed to protect the animals emotional as well as physical state.

Ross Vet, located in St. Kitts, has nearly 6,000 graduates since its founding in 1982. Clinicians and staff at the Ross University Veterinary Clinic on campus are Fear Free Certified, but this marks the first time that Fear Free certification will be officially introduced as a part of the curriculum for all students. With their Fear Free membership, students will get exclusive access to 60+ hours of additional RACE-approved CE, supplemental resources, marketing assets, a listing in the Fear Free directory, and more.

Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine has always strived to develop a deep understanding of veterinary science and a passion for keeping our patients wellbeing front and center, Sean Callanan, MVB, CertVR, MRCVS, PhD, FRCPath, DiplECVP, Dean of Ross Vet, said. Fear Frees rigorous standards and empathetic approach to animal handling and care is a natural fit for our curriculum and will help the next generation of veterinary professionals reach a deeper understanding and level of care for animals than ever before.

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ABOUT FEAR FREE

Founded by Dr. Marty Becker and developed by hundreds of experts in behavior, medicine, and handling, Fear Free offers online and in-person education to veterinary professionals, the pet professional community, animal shelter staff and volunteers, and pet owners. Fear Free provides both professionals and pet lovers alike with the knowledge and tools to look after a pets physical and emotional wellbeing.

Veterinary or pet professionals can learn more about becoming Fear Free Certified by visiting fearfreepets.com. Pet owners can visit fearfreehappyhomes.com to access free videos, articles, and more that will help improve the physical and emotional health of their pets right at home. Shelter, rescue, and animal welfare employees and volunteers can visit fearfreeshelters.com to enroll in the complimentary program.

ABOUT ROSS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) is an institution of Adtalem Global Education (NYSE: ATGE). Founded in 1982, RUSVM is committed to preparing students to become members and leaders of the worldwide public and professional healthcare team and to advance human, animal, and ecosystem health (One Health Initiative). RUSVM offers postgraduate masters, PhD, and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) programs accredited by the St. Christopher & Nevis Accreditation Board. Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine confers a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, which is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA COE), 1931 N. Meacham Road, Suite 100, Schaumburg, IL 60173, Tel: 800.248.2862. Ross Veterinary Clinic is accredited by the American Animal Hospital Association. For more information, visit http://veterinary.rossu.edu and follow RUSVM on Twitter (@RossVetSchool ), LinkedIn, Instagram (@rossvetschool) and Facebook (@RossVetSchool).

ABOUT ADTALEM GLOBAL EDUCATION

Adtalem Global Education (NYSE: ATGE) is a leading healthcare educator and provider of professional talent to the healthcare industry. With a dedicated focus on driving strong outcomes that increase workforce preparedness, Adtalem empowers a diverse learner population to achieve their goals and make inspiring contributions to their communities. Adtalem is the parent organization of American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Chamberlain University, Ross University School of Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, and Walden University. Adtalem and its institutions have more than 10,000 employees and a network of more than 275,000 alumni. Adtalem was named one of Americas Most Responsible Companies 2021 by Newsweek and one of Americas Best Employers for Diversity 2021 by Forbes. Follow Adtalem on Twitter @adtalemglobal and LinkedIn or visit Adtalem.com for more information.
With FDA data integrity requirements among the most stringent within regulated industries, compliance is challenging for drug and device manufacturers. This interactive virtual workshop makes it infinitely easier.

Data Integrity for GMP/Postmarket Professionals

Core Requirements, Expectations and Challenges

A Virtual Workshop Presented by FDAnews and Cerulean Associates LLC

Tuesday, April 19 and Thursday, April 21, 2022, 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. EDT

https://wcg.swoogo.com/data-integrity-for-gmp-postmarket-professionals-22

Data Integrity for GMP/Postmarket Professionals Core Requirements, Expectations and Challenges Virtual Workshop starts in two weeks.

Is the FDAs increasing scrutiny on data integrity producing a data migraine? One must establish internal competency and assessment programs; otherwise, one can expect to receive a Form 483 or warning letter.

With FDA data integrity requirements among the most stringent within regulated industries, compliance is challenging for drug and device manufacturers. This interactive virtual workshop makes it infinitely easier.

Data Integrity for GMP/Postmarket Professionals: Core Requirements, Expectations and Challenges will give one the tools needed to ensure electronic records are trustworthy and reliable across their entire data lifecycle, from initial data creation through long-term archives.

It will be led by award-winning FDA compliance expert, author and Cerulean Associates founder, John Avellanet. He can explain complex FDA data integrity regulations in simple what to do, how to do it language using real-world examples and offering practical advice you can follow. A former FDA and Department of Justice prosecutor calls Mr. Avellanet, The best in the business. Period. Confirm this for when he shares:



How to apply the elements of data integrity characteristics  attributable, legible, contemporaneous, original and accurate (ALCOA+)

An exploration of overlooked guidance documents that can help define expectations (including what the FDA and the European Medicines Agency inspect for and why)

How to address recall handling and reporting and product complaint trending

How to deal with suppliers, including the typical supply chain red flags that the FDA and other regulatory health agencies look for

What to take away from recent, relevant GMP and QSR data integrity enforcement examples

Considerations for both on-site and remote inspections, with questions and tactics you must be prepared to handle

The modern, risk-based validation techniques you need to know, along with the FDAs view of sampling, test cases and supplier-provided validations

The record-keeping musts to consider: which records to retain to prove good data integrity controls, incorporating quality audits and sampling techniques and developing a media migration strategy

The risks and realities of true and certified copies with digital records, from the basics of true/certified copy and legal admissibility to putting together a scanning process for manufacturing records and the true copy requirements from submission guidances

No more data migraines. By attending this virtual workshop one will be equipped to help the team and the entire company stay compliant.

Reminder: Data Integrity for GMP/Postmarket Professionals Core Requirements, Expectations and Challenges Virtual Workshop starts in two weeks.

Virtual Workshop Details:

Data Integrity for GMP/Postmarket Professionals

Core Requirements, Expectations and Challenges

A Virtual Workshop Presented by FDAnews and Cerulean Associates LLC

Tuesday, April 19 and Thursday, April 2221, 2022, 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. EDT

https://wcg.swoogo.com/data-integrity-for-gmp-postmarket-professionals-22

Tuition:

Single Attendee - $597.00

Group of 2-4 Attendees (Save 10%) - $537.00

Group of 5-6 Attendees (Save 15%) - $507.00

Group of 7-9 Attendees (Save 20%) - $478.00

Group of 10+ Attendees (Save 25%) - $448.00

Easy Ways to Register:

Online: https://wcg.swoogo.com/data-integrity-for-gmp-postmarket-professionals-22

By phone: 888.838.5578 or 703.538.7600

About FDAnews:

FDAnews is the premier provider of domestic and international regulatory, legislative, and business news and information for executives in industries regulated by the US FDA and the European Medicines Agency. Pharmaceutical and medical device professionals rely on FDAnews' print and electronic newsletters, books and conferences to stay in compliance with international standards and the FDA's complex and ever-changing regulations.
Leaseweb Global, a leading hosting and cloud services company, today announced that Adcash, a global online advertising platform, has selected Leaseweb Dedicated Servers to power its high-performance ad technology utilized by media buyers, affiliates, ad networks and publishers in 196 countries worldwide.

Founded in 2007, Adcash builds digital advertising tools that allow advertisers to reach global audiences and publishers to monetize their web traffic. The company has grown into a major player in the global AdTech space, delivering more than 200 million unique visitors daily and processing over 90 billion ad requests a month. After experiencing recurring problems with its previous hardware, the company sought a new infrastructure solution that could effectively meet the performance demands of its data-intensive workloads and easily scale to support future growth.

Adcash turned to Leasewebs cloud hosting and Dedicated Servers, which enables the company to reduce downtime and significantly improve performance for its customers. Adcash also relies on Leasewebs technical support team and global network of data centers to ensure additional server resources are always available as the company onboards new customers and continues to expand its presence across the world.

The consultative and technical support services that Leaseweb provides our business was a key differentiator in our decision to partner with them, said Anthony Rouillot, chief technology officer for Adcash. Using a combination of cloud hosting and Dedicated Servers, Leaseweb helped us build a robust, but cost-efficient infrastructure solution that delivers the reliability and scalability we need to continue serving our clients better.

Adcash joins the growing number of AdTech companies that rely on Leaseweb infrastructure services to meet the real-time performance demands of their digital advertising platforms, said Brian Sullivan, Account Manager at Leaseweb. Weve worked collaboratively with the Adcash team to optimize their infrastructure environment based on their current resource needs and that will be able to seamlessly scale with them as their business grows.

To view the full Adcash case study on the Leaseweb website, please visit: https://www.leaseweb.com/customers/adcash

About Leaseweb

Leaseweb is a leading Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provider serving a worldwide portfolio of 20,000 customers ranging from SMBs to Enterprises. Services include Public Cloud, Private Cloud, Dedicated Servers, Colocation, Content Delivery Network, and Cyber Security Services supported by exceptional customer service and technical support. With more than 80,000 servers under management, Leaseweb has provided infrastructure for mission-critical websites, Internet applications, email servers, security, and storage services since 1997. The company operates 23 data centers in locations across Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America, all of which are backed by a superior worldwide network with a total capacity of more than 10 Tbps.

Leaseweb offers services through its various subsidiaries, which are Leaseweb Netherlands B.V. (Leaseweb Netherlands), Leaseweb USA, Inc. (Leaseweb USA), Leaseweb Asia Pacific PTE. LTD (Leaseweb Asia), Leaseweb CDN B.V. (Leaseweb CDN), Leaseweb Deutschland GmbH (Leaseweb Germany), Leaseweb Australia Ltd. (Leaseweb Australia) and Leaseweb UK Ltd (Leaseweb UK), Leaseweb Japan KK (Leaseweb Japan), Leaseweb Hong Kong LTD (Leaseweb Hong Kong) and iWeb Technologies Inc. (iWeb Canada).

For more information visit: http://www.leaseweb.com.
Always listening to the needs of our customers and the market, weve expanded our bestselling Cove collection to pair stunning new colors, mosaics and decors with the soft, handcrafted look of chalk to offer one of the most complete concrete-look tile collections.

To provide customers with a complete range of tiles and decors inspired by the natural beauty of organic materials, Atlas Concorde USA welcomes Element, a stone-inspired tile collection, and expands Cove, its most popular concrete-look tile collection. Well-suited for residential and commercial spaces as both floor and wall applications, the new and extended tile collections make it possible to design authentic, comfortable and beautiful spaces.

Always listening to the needs of our customers and the market, weve expanded our bestselling Cove collection to pair stunning new colors, mosaics and decors with the soft, handcrafted look of chalk to offer U.S. customers one of the most complete concrete-look tile collections, said Federico Pifferi, Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Concorde USA. We are also pleased to debut Element, a highly textural stone-look tile collection that evokes biophilic design and delivers design continuity between indoor and outdoor living spaces with its grip finish.

ELEMENT

Inspired by rich, untouched quartzite stone, the Element collection adds polychromatic textures and energy to any surface. Designed to blur the line between the built environment and nature, the stone-look tile is offered in a color palette that gradually transitions from light tones to dark tones, mixing warm and cool shades. Element is offered in a regular, matte finish for indoor applications and a grip finish that is suitable for outdoors, allowing for seamless design between spaces. The new tile collection is available in the traditional 12 x 24 size, three mosaic patterns and coordinating trim pieces to create a sense of comfort and wellbeing in residential, commercial or hospitality settings.

COVE

Inspired by chalk manually spread by artisans, the extended Cove collection blends the warm, soft look of chalk with small imperfections of handcrafted surfaces to create rooms of material expressiveness and artisanal beauty. Thin scratches and delicate reliefs on the surface combine with an expanded array of neutral tones, giving living spaces a contemporary, urban aesthetic suitable for every kind of application. The best-selling collection comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, four mosaic patterns and coordinating trim pieces in ten beautiful tones. Cove is available in the traditional 12 x 24 size, large format 24 x 48 size, solid 10 x 8.5 hexagons and 3D effect hexagons, and an 8 x 8 square, all in a matte finish.

To learn more about Atlas Concorde USAs newly debuted porcelain tile offerings, visit atlasconcordeusa.com/en/.

About Atlas Concorde USA

Atlas Concorde USA is a ceramic and porcelain tile brand created to blend true American heritage and tradition with Italian cutting-edge design and excellence. Atlas Concorde USA aims to enhance American living spaces with innovative US-inspired surfaces. For more information, please visit atlasconcordeusa.com/en/.
"AVANT already has the number one security practice within the channel, and Im committed to continually scaling our practice"  Stephen Semmelroth, Senior Director of Security, AVANT

AVANT, a platform for IT decision-making and the nations premier Technology Services Distributor, today launched an enhanced Security practice, naming a new senior director of security, Stephen Semmelroth, to lead the initiative. The enhanced Security practice division of AVANT provides its vast network of technology and channel professionals, known as Trusted Advisors, with reliable resources to keep them ahead of the constant pace of change in security technology services across the IT landscape.

As security becomes increasingly more important in technology, the enhanced Security offering includes the launch of a Security Task Force made up of a diverse group of industry experts from around the channel to provide fresh and unique perspectives to ensure Trusted Advisors are consistently armed with the most up-to-date and impactful tools and resources. Additionally, the practice will build on extensive existing resources including expert engineers, robust training and certifications and a deep portfolio of more than 50 top security providers to offer their customers the most comprehensive security protection in the channel. Key providers include eSentire, Alert Logic, Comcast Business/Masergy, Cloudflare and Trustwave.

I couldnt be more excited to join AVANT to lead the Security practice at a time when technology security is a top priority across all organizations, said Semmelroth. AVANT already has the number one security practice within the channel, and Im committed to continually scaling our practice to help our Trusted Advisors simplify complex and multi-faceted security discussions. With the support of our experienced security engineers, Trusted Advisors will have access to a deep security knowledge base that will help them develop dynamic plans to better guide their customers.

A West Point graduate, prior to joining AVANT, Semmelroth served as a Ranger in the US Army and led an infantry platoon in Afghanistan as well as cyber teams. After retiring from the Army, he founded and sold a cyber recruiting company which is where he first fell in love with the broker community. Semmelroth is a vCISO, CISSP, keynote speaker, podcast host, involved in multiple nonprofits and personally mentors hundreds of founders and cybersecurity professionals every year. In his role as senior director of security, Semmelroth will serve as AVANTs security evangelist, responsible for business development for security vendors, scaling and evaluating new vendors and emerging technologies, developing the training curriculum and content for AVANTs Trusted Advisors, and serve as a knowledge resource for AVANT, AVANT vendors and Trusted Advisors with the latest information, trends and technology on security.

Stephens background in security is incredibly impressive and were thrilled to welcome him to AVANT, said Drew Lydecker, co-founder and president of AVANT. His experience in practicing cybersecurity and leading clients through disaster and change makes him the perfect expert to support AVANTs Trusted Advisors and continually build AVANT Security practice.

To date, more than 900 Trusted Advisors have completed the AVANT security certification program. The company ended 2021 with a 183% increase in revenue compared to 2020 driven in part by the expert insight provided by AVANT Sales Engineers including senior director of engineering Niko OHara, senior director of cloud engineering Bill Franklin, sales engineer Dane Menke, director of engineering James Christian, cloud sales engineer Sarah Arnstein and Semmelroth.

Were proud to be the number one resource to navigate the ever-evolving state of security and that starts with our talented team members who are able to draw on their vast experience and next-level knowledge to simplify complex challenges, said Shane McNamara, executive vice president of engineering and operations at AVANT. Security is increasingly becoming the primary focus for companies across all industries and our team, training and technology enables Trusted Advisors to develop unique plans tailored to companies needs in order to keep them protected against threats.

The AVANT team will be in attendance at the 2022 Channel Partners Conference & Expo taking place April 11 through April 14 in Las Vegas. The AVANT Security Zone, located at the expo entrance, will provide attendees an opportunity to network and review research from the AVANT Analytics team, connect with AVANTs world-class engineers, experience the newest Pathfinder features and learn more about the companys industry-leading Security Taskforce and vision for supporting Trusted Advisors. A Security VIP Session with AVANT will take place on Tuesday, April 12 at 2:30 p.m. PST in the main keynote ballroom. Visit here for more information and to reserve your spot.

To learn more about AVANT and its industry-leading security practice, please visit https://goavant.net/.

About AVANT

AVANT is the nation's premier Technology Services Distributor and leading industry platform for IT decision-making. AVANT provides unique value to its extensive network of Trusted Advisors with its proprietary customer facing tool, Pathfinder, original research, channel sales enablement, training, and resources to guide business decisions for next generation technologies. From the strongest security services and latest UCaaS and CCaaS solutions, to complex cloud designs and global wide-area network deployments, AVANT sets the industry standard as the leading Technology Services Distributor, enabling its partners and clients to make intelligent, data-driven decisions about services, technology and cost-effective communications. For more information about AVANT, visit http://www.goavant.net, or connect on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Boston Childrens Museum Announces Closure of Boston Black: A City Connects and Construction on You, Me, We Exhibit As Boston Childrens Museum is thought of as an inclusive and welcoming public space, it is an ideal environment for exploring the important issues of identity, diversity, and bias; topics that are often very difficult for families to discuss.

Boston Childrens Museum announces the recent closing of the beloved exhibit Boston Black: A City Connects. This closure marks the start of construction for a new exhibit, You, Me, We, slated to open later this year.

Boston Black: A City Connects, which opened to visitors in 2004, was developed collaboratively with community advisors. The exhibit was created to highlight the diversity across Bostons Black populations and inspire dialogue between families about race, ethnicity, and identity. The Museum worked to engage our visitors in these conversations and celebrations of diversity through community-focused programming.

The Ghanaian (Akan) word Sankofa describes the principle of reaching back and gathering the best of what our past has to teach us, so that we can achieve our full potential as we move into the future. Boston Black has long been a vibrant part of Boston Childrens Museums landscape. In 2016, the Museum introduced Block Party, an ongoing program within Boston Black to explore bias, belonging, and race with children and families. Building on the programmatic success of Block Party, the Museum undertook the development of You, Me, We. The exhibit builds on the themes explored in Block Party, creating an environment and experiences where families will be able to examine bias, belonging, and race.

You, Me, We will address assumptions based on race, ethnicity, class, religion, ability, and gender, and is rooted in current scholarship on multicultural understanding and empathy. You, Me, We will invite visitors to explore our similarities and differences, with a focus on how these differences are understood and valued. The exhibit will support families in examining their associations and connections to music, food, family traditions, beliefs, art, and history. Envisioned as a collaborative, interactive, and participatory experience, You, Me, We will encourage conversations, create opportunities to experiment with appreciating differences, and raise philosophical questions about identity and the nature of bias.

We are very proud to bring this new experience to our visitors. As Boston Childrens Museum is thought of as an inclusive and welcoming public space, it is an ideal environment for exploring the important issues of identity, diversity, and bias; topics that are often very difficult for families to discuss, said Carole Charnow, President & CEO. We envision You, Me, We as a space where visitors can learn about themselves and others, and practice being empathic and thoughtful. We hope this exhibit will help to build bridges and contribute to greater good will and understanding amongst our diverse community.

You, Me, We has been made possible with the support of Amazon; Bank of America Charitable Foundation; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; The Boston Foundation; Jack & Eileen Connors; Jesus and Danielle Gerena; Harvard Asia Center; Kerri Hurley; Institute of Museum and Library Services; John Hancock Financial Services; Kellogg Foundation on behalf of Ramon Murguia; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, a program of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, administered through a collaborative arrangement between MassDevelopment and the Mass Cultural Council; Sean McGrath; Brian Mulvey; National Endowment for the Humanities; Pamela & Pierre Omidyar; Bob and Susan Schechter; Sun Life Financial; and Anri Wheeler.

Stay tuned for the opening of You, Me, We, which is scheduled for late summer of 2022.

For additional information visit http://www.BostonChildrensMuseum.org

About Boston Children's Museum

Boston Childrens Museum engages children and families in joyful discovery experiences that instill an appreciation of our world, develop foundational skills, and spark a lifelong love of learning. More information about Boston Childrens Museum can be found at http://www.BostonChildrensMuseum.org. Become a fan of the Museum on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

Hours and Admission

The Museum is open with two set daily time slots, 9:00am-12:00pm and 1:30-4:30pm. To reduce touchpoints and enable timed visits, all ticketing will be done online. Members must also make reservations online. There are a limited number of visits reservations available for each time slot. Adults, $18, children (1-15) and senior citizens, $18; children under 12 months and Museum members are always free.

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IARFC US Chapter Board President, Bradley K. Maples Sr., MRFC I feel our Board is composed of talented and experienced professionals  all of whom are leaders in their own right. I look forward to setting out definite strategies to reach our goals for the next 12 months...IARFC US Chapter President, Bradley K. Maples Sr., MRFC

Maples is an enthusiastic volunteer serving his second term on the Board. He has fulfilled the role of Treasurer for the US Chapter and has participated in the Master Registered Financial Consultant Accreditation process, serving on the MRFC Exam Item Review Committee. He will be presiding over the annual in-person meeting of the IARFC US Chapter Board at the end of April in Cincinnati, OH and throughout the year on virtual Board and Committee meetings. High priority on his Chapter agenda will be membership acquisition and a revamp of the IARFC National Financial Plan Competition.

A graduate from Brigham Young University, Maples holds a degree in Finance and International Business (co-concentrations with minors in Spanish and Portuguese). He has received two Masters degrees - an MBA and a Masters in Management and Leadership from Western Governors University.

In addition to being an Investment Adviser Representative, Maples holds the FINRA series 7, 63, and 65 licenses as well as insurance licenses for Life, Health, Disability, Long Term Care, Property and Casualty, Life Consultant and Variable. He is a licensed tax preparer and has the MRFC (Master Registered Financial Consultant), RICP (Retirement Income Certified Professional), and CFP (Certified Financial Planner) designations. Maples is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker. With his thirty years of experience in the financial services industry, he is adept and analytical with helping clients formulate their financial and retirement plans and a highly qualified leader for guiding the Chapter into an expansion phase.

On his appointment as President, Maples commented I feel our Board is composed of talented and experienced professionals  all of whom are leaders in their own right. I look forward to setting out definite strategies to reach our goals for the next 12 months. This will be the main agenda when we convene in person next month in Cincinnati, OH. I appreciate that together, we will continue to serve the Mission of the IARFC admirably. I look forward to serving with the new Board as well as the staff in moving the IARFC forward and meeting our united goals and objectives.

For more information on the IARFC US Chapter Board of Directors, visit http://www.iarfc.org. Questions on membership and inquiries on serving the US Chapter through volunteer roles can be directed to Vicki Caplinger, IARFC Chapter Liaison (vicki@iarfc.org).


MEIGs expertise in identifying, negotiating, and managing deals with licensing partners in order to expand the reach of Briefing.coms content means even more investors and analysts will find the timely information they need, more easily. -- Dick Green, Founder and CEO, Briefing.com

Today Briefing.com, which has been providing independent, live analysis of US and international equity markets since 1993, announced that it has chosen MEI Global, LLC (MEIG), a leader in helping publishers monetize their digital assets, to create third party licensing partnerships to help disseminate its proprietary financial analysis to more end users.

Briefing.com was the first company to use the power of the Internet to provide live market coverage, commentary, and analysis, says Dick Green, founder and CEO of Briefing.com. Users in almost 90 countries around the world already rely on our objective, unbiased approach to market analysis. Green says, MEIGs expertise in identifying, negotiating, and managing deals with licensing partners in order to expand the reach of Briefing.coms content means even more personal and professional investors and analysts will find the timely information they need, more easily.

MEIG was founded to help publishers in their efforts to identify, negotiate, and grow distribution partnerships. Chris Broekhoff, MEIGs president, says, The market for content and the associated business models evolves rapidly. In a time of tightening budgets, publishers are too often forced to focus on day-to-day operations at the expense of a long-term strategic focus on distribution.

Broekhoff says, Without the time and resources to focus on licensing and the significant upside it can generate, publishers may miss out on emerging content distribution opportunities. MEIGs team will bring its deep industry experience and a commitment to safeguarding publishers intellectual property to the collaborative relationship we look forward to building with Briefing.com.

About MEI Global, LLC: MEIG provides a suite of services to help publishers monetize their digital assets. MEIGs expertise includes prospecting, negotiating, relationship management, and extensive knowledge of vendors and their needs, thanks to decades of industry experience within MEIGs dealmaker team. The company assists publishers with strategic decision making through a lens of revenue growth, brand extension and intellectual property protection. For additional information, please contact Vice President of Business Development Nancy Davis Kho at ndkho@marcinko.com.

About Briefing.com: Briefing.com has been a trusted source of powerful and professional stock market analysis, research, and investing ideas for nearly 30 years. By maintaining an objective and unbiased approach, Briefing.com provides investors and market professionals with the context and insight they need to stay well-informed and reach their financial goals. For more information, please contact Media Relations Manager Cassandra Bayna at cbayna@briefing.com.


Gamarra tells students that she knows there are challenges that they must face every day. She also lets the students know they are not alone on their journey, and that she is there to help. These honorees are strong and resilient women who have been champions of change across the country, leading and inspiring as they promote and fight for equity, and give others a place to seek help and find hope.



USA Todays Women of the Year program recently announced that Luz Gamarra was selected as one of its honorees. One woman from each state was chosen for her significant positive impact on her community, and Gamarra was selected for Utah.

These honorees are strong and resilient women who have been champions of change across the country, leading and inspiring as they promote and fight for equity, and give others a place to seek help and find hope, USA Today stated.

Gamarra serves as Lead Academic Advisor for Humanities and ESL students at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) and has spearheaded a number of peer mentoring programs to support students in achieving their educational goals.

Through the SLCCs Amigos Mentores and ESL Legacy Mentors programs, immigrants and ESL students work together to help each other find resources to stay in school, stay motivated and realize their dreams.

Its not just about connecting them to resources, but it is also about making them [the students] feel valued and to encourage them to believe in themselves. The mentors start seeing themselves as leaders, and eventually they do become leaders in their communities, said Gamarra, who at one time was an ESL student at SLCC when she first came to the United States in 2005 from Peru.

Gamarra earned her masters and Ph.D studies in Law and Political Science in Peru and worked as a prosecutor for seven years; she had plans to eventually become a judge. Gamarra, her husband and their three young children moved to Utah when one of her daughters needed critical medical care. People told her it would be impossible to start over with a new career in the United States, and to just get whatever job she could get.

Gamarra didnt believe them, and she sought out ESL classes and was eventually introduced to SLCC, where she discovered resources and support for students like her. She earned her associates degree from SLCC and then went on to earn a masters degree in Social Work at the University of Utah. She is currently working on her PhD in Education, Culture, and Society at the University. After earning her masters degree, Gamarra returned to SLCC to work as an advisor and has been at the college for more than a decade.

She understands how overwhelming it can be to be a non-English speaker, new to the country, with a desire to find more opportunities. She tells students that she knows there are challenges and problems that they must face every day. She also lets the students know they are not alone on their journey, and that she is there to help.

I tell them that it is up to us to leave our comfort zone and to make changes happen. We must start little by little and if you have difficulties, you need to ask for help. No one can be successful alone, we need to be successful together, Gamarra said, adding, And look for the angels along the way.

Gamarra dismisses that the USA Today recognition is based on her efforts alone. This is for everyone in my department and other areas at SLCC who collaborate with us to reach minorities to provide them with educational and social-emotional support.

The annual USA Today Women of the Year program is a continuation of Women of the Century, a 2020 project that commemorated the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. The program aims to inspire women, girls and their supporters to work toward a better world.

ABOUT SLCC

Salt Lake Community College is Utahs largest two-year college, proudly educating the states most diverse student body in 8 areas of study at 10 locations and online. The majority of SLCC graduates transfer to four-year institutions, and thousands more are trained in direct-to-workforce programs. In 2023, SLCC will celebrate 75 years of providing Utahns with education and training in fields that contribute to the states vibrant economy and high quality of life.
Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel While a 40-year milestone is a reason to celebrate, it is also a time to reflect. We are very aware that good luck has also played its role, for which we are truly grateful.

Cline Family Cellars, a family-owned and operated winery based in the Carneros wine appellation of Sonoma County, California, is proud to announce its 40th anniversary this year.

Fred Cline founded Cline Family Cellars in 1982 in Oakley, California, restoring 100-year-old vines to produce Mourvedre, Carignane and Zinfandel. In 1989, Fred and his wife, Nancy Cline purchased a 350-acre horse farm in Carneros and moved the winery to Sonoma County. As one of the original Rhone Rangers, Fred began planting vineyards dedicated to Rhone style varietals. Since those first plantings, the pair have continued to plant vineyards throughout Sonoma County, expanding to include Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Merlot. The result is an expansive, award-winning portfolio of wines with a range of styles and offerings that have evolved over the past 40 years.

To mark the 40th anniversary, Cline Family Cellars is celebrating with a specially created anniversary bottle design for their legendary Ancient Vines Zinfandel, sourced from the familys dry-farmed 100-year-old vineyards in Contra Costa County. The wine will be released with its 2020 vintage late Spring.

Achieving this 40-year milestone could not have happened without the ongoing support of a tremendous team of individuals who have lent their expertise and hard work to our efforts, said Fred Cline. While a 40-year milestone is a reason to celebrate, it is also a time to reflect. We are very aware that good luck has also played its role, for which we are truly grateful.

Speaking to the future Nancy added, It doesnt seem possible that Cline Family Cellars is 40 years old. When Fred and I started the winery, we didnt really think about time  we just worked the grapes and farm with our kids. However, before long we recognized that having the best job in the world comes with a responsibility to caretake history and promote sustainability  a mission we have strived to maintain daily and that we hope our children will continue with into the future.

Since its founding, Cline Family Cellars has been a family affair. Some of Fred and Nancys children are now guiding the operations along with a talented leadership team.

Its very special to be part of a multi-generational family winery, said Hilary Cline. Along with my siblings, we look forward to leading our family business into the future with the same respect for the land, and a continued commitment to the sustainable practices that have been a huge part of our parents legacy here at the winery.

Please join us on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/clinecellars/

https://www.facebook.com/clinefamilycellars

https://twitter.com/ClineCellars
100 Year Anniversary We owe our century of success to the partners, customers and employees whose trust and loyalty brought us to this celebration

Tripp Lite began as a maker of automobile headlights in 1922. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, the company evolved to become a leading supplier of distributed IT solutions, including uninterruptible power supplies, surge protectors, connectivity products, networking accessories and AV products. In March 2021, Eaton acquired Tripp Lite, and the business is now a key part of the companys Critical Power and Digital Infrastructure division. We owe our century of success to the partners, customers and employees whose trust and loyalty brought us to this celebration, said Glen Haeflinger, senior vice president and general manager, Distributed IT, Eaton. Now, as part of the Eaton family, were excited for the next 100 years of accelerated growth and the opportunity to continue providing innovative IT solutions backed by unwavering customer support.

Its interesting that two great companies like ours started in the automotive segment and, over the years, built strong brands in the IT industry. Acquiring Tripp Lite greatly expanded our portfolio and capabilities in distributed IT and edge applications, said Chris Butler, president, Critical Power and Digital Infrastructure, Eaton. Tripp Lite has long been recognized as an innovator and a trusted supplier. But the brands longevity can be attributed to much more than products. Tripp Lites people share Eatons passion for customer success and continuous improvement. That passion will be our guiding light as together we tackle the challenges of the next 100 years.

The company will celebrate the anniversary with events throughout 2022. A number of activities will occur at Eaton locations and customer events around the globe.

The addition of the Tripp Lite product portfolio brings a range of complementary products to Eatons selection, enhancing the companys ability to fully support edge applications and distributed networks for end-user vertical markets and data centers of all sizes. Read more about Tripp Lites future with Eaton and see the full line of Tripp Lite product solutions here.

Eatons Tripp Lite business provides industry-leading digital infrastructure solutions for consumers and IT customers worldwide, including cables and connectivity, charging solutions, mounts, carts, server racks, cooling, KVMs, UPS systems, PDUs and surge protectors. Learn more here.

Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment for people everywhere. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power  today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, were accelerating the planets transition to renewable energy, helping to solve the worlds most urgent power management challenges, and doing whats best for our stakeholders and all of society.

Founded in 1911, Eaton has been listed on the NYSE for nearly a century. We reported revenues of $19.6 billion in 2021 and serve customers in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit http://www.eaton.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.


It is nice when you can find two organizations that have the same mission and culture for their employees and customers. This acquisition made all the sense in the world. Karen Kittleson Clay has established two of the best swim schools in the country, and our goal is to continue that legacy.

Award-winning Emler Swim School has acquired SwimWest Swim School in Madison, Wisconsin. SwimWest will be Emlers 32nd and 33rd locations, and marks the fifth state in which it is operating in addition to Texas, Kansas, Nevada and Oregon.

"We are excited to add locations in such a strong market to the Emler family, especially one with similar values, said Greg Laird, Emler CEO. It is nice when you can find two organizations that have the same mission and culture for their employees and customers. This acquisition made all the sense in the world. Karen Kittleson Clay has established two of the best swim schools in the country, and our goal is to continue that legacy.

Emler Swim School will be a tremendous community partner in water safety and will take exceptional care of our SwimWest Families, said Karen Kittleson Clay, SwimWest Swim School Founder, and CEO. I have known Dave and Jan Emler for over 32 years. Our mission and goals perfectly align.

SwimWest Swim Schools number one core value is safety, which aligns with Emlers safety-first approach. SwimWest also believes that learning happens best when students are having fun, so they make classes playful and exciting. This mirrors Emlers approach, making the acquisition a great cultural fit. Additionally, both curricula focus on the goal of safety in every lesson and the swim development through the four strokes.

SwimWests learn-to-swim programs have been internationally recognized throughout its accomplished 32-year history. The organization keeps the water a balmy 90 degrees and air a temperate 92 degrees to ensure students can learn to swim comfortably year-round. It also has adult and senior water exercise classes, lap and recreational swimming, and homeschool physical education classes.

Emler Swim School has a 100 percent swimmer guarantee and focuses on empowering kids with the knowledge and skills to help rescue themselves if they unexpectedly fall into water. Emler has made a name for itself not only in the swimming world but also with families. Parents have recognized the organization with the honor of Best Swim Lessons in a variety of publications, including D Magazine, DFW Child, Austin Family and Best of Metroplex.

SwimWest will continue to operate under the name SwimWest Swim School. All staff will stay on after the acquisition, and there will be no changes to current monthly enrollment plans.

SwimWest Swim School has two locations. The West Madison facility is located at 1001 Deming Way, Madison, WI 53717. The Fitchburg facility is located at 6220 Nesbitt Rd, Fitchburg, WI 53719.

For more information about swim lessons, visit http://www.swimwest.com/

About Emler Swim School

In 1975, Emler Swim School was founded on two principles, that every child should experience a fun lesson that causes them to fall in love with the water, and that every parent should receive a guarantee that their child will learn to swim.

Emler utilizes a proven, ever-evolving curriculum, a quality staff that undergoes thorough training and  above all  a passion to nurture children in a healthy, safe and fun environment.

With more than 20 different classes and levels, the award-winning swim school is proud to meet the need of every swimmer with the same Emler Sure, 100 percent guarantee. For more information on each location, visit emlerswimschool.com. Follow us: Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter.
Law Office of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP For more information about the class action lawsuit against Elica Health Centers, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today.

The Sacramento employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP, filed a class action complaint alleging that Elica Health Centers violated the California Labor Code. The Elica Health Centers class action lawsuit, Case No. 34-2022-00316184, is currently pending in the Sacramento County Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the Complaint can be read here.

According to the lawsuit filed, Elica Health Centers allegedly (a) failed to pay minimum wages, (b) failed to pay overtime wages, (c) failed to provide legally required meal and rest periods, (d) failed to provide accurate itemized wage statements, (e) failed to reimburse employees for required expenses, and (f) failed to provide wages when due, all in violation of the applicable Labor Code sections listed in California Labor Code Sections  201, 202, 203, 226, 226.7, 510, 512, 1194, 1197, 1197.1, 2802, and the applicable Wage Order(s), and thereby gives rise to civil penalties as a result of such alleged conduct.

Additionally, the complaint alleges Plaintiff was subjected to discrimination for her Puerto Rican descent by an office manager. Plaintiff reported the racial remarks to Defendant. Plaintiff was also allegedly retaliated against and denied promotion opportunities after she advised Defendant of her pregnancy. Defendant terminated Plaintiff approximately 5 months after becoming aware of her pregnancy. There is a casual link between the protected activity and Plaintiff being terminated.

For more information about the class action lawsuit against Elica Health Centers, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today.

Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP is an employment law firm with offices located in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside and Chicago that dedicates its practice to helping employees, investors and consumers fight back against unfair business practices, including violations of the California Labor Code and Fair Labor Standards Act. If you need help in collecting unpaid overtime wages, unpaid commissions, being wrongfully terminated from work, and other employment law claims, contact one of their attorneys today.

***THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT***
Kenall's New CleanSlot Luminaire Kenall created the new SimpleSeal CleanSlot CRS4 Series  the industrys first recessed slot luminaire series with ISO 3-9 and NSF2 ratings

Cleanroom ceilings can hide a maze of ductwork, conduit and other equipment that may make luminaire placement a challenge. In order to address this challenge, Kenall created the new SimpleSeal CleanSlot CRS4 Series  the industrys first recessed slot luminaire series with ISO 3-9 and NSF2 ratings. The new luminaire series was introduced on March 30, 2022.

Designed with a slim footprint and Biosafety level (BSL) level 1-2 protection, the CleanSlot is ideal for areas with lower footcandle requirements, such as gowning rooms, locker rooms, passageways, airlocks and packaging areas. A tunable white option helps cleanroom staff maintain circadian rhythms in rooms that often receive no direct sunlight.

Lynn Walldorf, Kenalls Product Manager, said, Our new MedSlot and SafeSlot luminares have been well received by the healthcare community, as the demand for performance certified slot fixtures continues to grow. The CleanSlot meets ancillary lighting needs in critical cleanroom and containment spaces and helps protect both the staff and the integrity of the work they do.

Kenall has a full slate of new LED lighting product introductions planned for 2022, including the recently introduced EnviroPro IN9 for natatoriums and the MedMaster MPH headwall luminaire for healthcare facilities. Visit Kenall.com for the latest updates.

About Kenall

Kenall Manufacturing, a Legrand company, was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1963 and has built a reputation for durable lighting solutions of superior quality and exceptional value. Today, the company creates specialized solutions for the healthcare, cleanroom/containment, food processing, transportation, high abuse, and correctional lighting markets. Kenall luminaires are designed and manufactured in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and comply with the Buy American Act (manufactured in the United States with more than 50% of the component cost of US origin).
The New 2022 Toyota RAV4 Comes with Numerous Top-Notch Interior Elements

One of Toyotas frontline crossover SUVs, Toyota RAV4 continues to stay on the assembly lines and is back for the 2022 model year. The 2022 Toyota RAV4 addresses the predicaments of its predecessors conveniently and is well on its way to becoming one of the best-selling vehicles in its segment. Customers who are interested in getting behind the wheel of the 2022 Toyota RAV4 can head to Baierl Toyota in Mars, Pennsylvania, and test drive the vehicle.

The 2022 Toyota RAV4 comes with a 2.5-Liter Dynamic Force 4-Cylinder DOHC D-4S Injection engine that features Dual Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i), with SPORT, Eco, NORMAL Modes. At its best, the engine can make a maximum of 203 horsepower @ 6,600 rpm and generate a torque rating of 184 pound-feet @ 5,000 rpm. An eight-speed ECT-I automatic gearbox with sequential shift mode routes engine power to either the front wheels or all axles of the 2022 Toyota RAV4, depending on the configuration opted for. The 2022 RAV4 gets a gas mileage of 27 MPG city, 35 MPG highway, and 30 MPG combined.

Another highlight of the vehicle is its utility quotient. Featuring a hands-free power liftgate and 12V/120W accessory power outlet in the rear cargo space, the 2022 RAV4 is incredibly convenient when compared to other vehicles in its segment. Also, thanks to its eight-inch ground clearance, the 2022 RAV4 can easily maneuver over rocky roads and other patchy terrains. On top of these best-in-breed features, the 2022 Toyota RAV4 is also home to a wide range of best-in-class technology features and safety elements.

Customers in the Mars, Pennsylvania area who are interested in checking out the 2022 Toyota RAV4 can visit Baierl Toyota located at 19045 Perry Hwy Mars, Pennsylvania 16046. They can also visit the website of the dealership at https://www.baierltoyota.com/ or give them a call at (724) 655-4309.
I have witnessed the companys tremendous growth over the years, driven by exemplary leadership, clever innovation and world class collaboration and teamwork. I greatly admire the amazing culture that Gregg and Bob Ontiveros have created and nurtured, and am excited to become part of it.

Group O announced today that Kevin Kotecki has been appointed new CEO of Group O. A visionary leader with a unique combination of skills and accomplishments from both large corporations and entrepreneurial businesses, Kevin will continue the momentum built by Gregg Ontiveros.

Gregg Ontiveros entrepreneurial spirit and continuous interest in emerging technologies has taken Group O from a $49M company in 1999 to the thriving $900M multi-faceted enterprise it is today. As principal owner, Gregg Ontiveros will continue to focus his time and talents to building new and existing client relationships.

With a knack for creating successful strategies and potent tactics, Kevin Kotecki has consistently generated strong sales and profitable growth. He excels at igniting positive cultural transformations, engaging a diverse workforce, and building high functioning teams.

By leading world-class brands like Pabst Brewing Company, Proctor & Gamble, Mark Anthony Brands, Brachs, and Coors Brewing Company, Kevin not only brings extensive experience in strategic planning, sales, marketing, and operations, but a fresh perspective to a B2B business model, said Gregg Ontiveros. Group O is ready to take the business to the next level and is excited to welcome Kevin to our Group O family.

In his previous roles as President and CEO of Pabst Brewing Company and Brachs Confections, Kevin implemented new vision, strategy and marketing approaches to improve financial performance resulting in both organizations being named fastest growing brand in their categories.

I am thrilled to be joining the Group O team, said Kotecki. I have witnessed the companys tremendous growth over the years, driven by exemplary leadership, clever innovation and world class collaboration and teamwork. I greatly admire the amazing culture that Gregg and Bob Ontiveros have created and nurtured, and am excited to become part of it.

Mr. Kotecki received his Bachelors in Business Administration from University of Iowa and his MBA from Northwestern University  Kellogg School of Management.

About Group O: Group O is an End-to-End solutions provider specializing in marketing, supply chain, packaging and mobile device lifecycle solutions. Headquartered in Milan, Illinois, and with major operations in Minnesota and Texas, Group O employs more than 1,000 professionals with diverse industry experience in optimizing inventory, materials, logistics, fulfillment and customer engagement.

Founded in 1974 as a small, family-run packaging company, Group O has grown into a thriving $900M multi-faceted enterprise with world-class industry experience supporting brands including AT&T, Michelin, Samsung, and PepsiCo. For more information on Group O, visit GroupO.com.
Achieving ISO 27001 is a testimony to our commitment to compliance and an important milestone to ensure we meet the demands of our clients in regards to information management and security, says Parham Akhavan, Co-Founder and CTO of KUDO

KUDO Inc., the multilingual meeting SaaS company built around a B2B managed marketplace powered by the largest network of professional conference interpreters today announced the successful completion of the ISO 27001: 2013 certification.

As a SaaS company providing a cloud-based live interpretation solution to governments, multilateral institutions and Fortune 500 companies, meeting the highest standards in security compliance is an important undertaking. This certification adds another milestone to the companys security program, which already includes FedRAMP Ready for Agency Authorization approval received in May 2021, Soc 2 type 2 audit completion last December after successful completion of Soc 2 type 1 in December 2020.

Achieving ISO 27001 is a testimony to our commitment to compliance and an important milestone to ensure we meet the demands of our clients in regards to information management and security, says Parham Akhavan, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at KUDO.

ISO 27001:2013 is an information security standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the world's largest developer of voluntary international standards, and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). KUDOs certification was issued by A-lign, an independent and accredited certification body based in the United States on successful completion of a formal audit process. This certification is evidence that KUDO has met rigorous international standards in ensuring security measures and countermeasures that protect it from unauthorized access or compromise. Additionally, KUDOs IT personnel were found to be conscientious and knowledgeable in security best practices.

By meeting the information protection and management regulations on a global scale, we want to highlight our commitment to security, availability, confidentiality, and privacy and show current and future clients that their interests are fully protected, adds Parham Akhavan.

About KUDO: KUDO is a multilingual meeting SaaS company built around a B2B managed marketplace powered by the largest network of on-demand conference interpreters. Accessible from anywhere, on any device, KUDO redefines possibilities in global communication. More info at http://www.kudoway.com
Richard Grossi, CEO of ION Corporates, said, As the market addresses the need for increasing demand, we are excited to partner with Linetrale LLC to address the complexities of managing the LNG supply chain through the use of our ION Aspect solution.

ION Commodities, a global leader in energy and commodity management solutions, announces that Linetrale LLC has selected IONs commodities trading and risk management solution Aspect. With Aspects market coverage, Linetrale LLC will be empowered to achieve its goal of becoming a global supplier of liquified natural gas (LNG).

Recent geopolitical events and the continued push for energy transition is drawing investment interest in LNG, particularly in Africa. Europe is actively looking for an alternative supply to Russian pipeline gas while avoiding the use of fossil fuels with higher carbon emissions, such as coal and oil. With core experience in trading LNG and natural gas liquids (NGL), Linetrale LLC  one of the leading energy trading house in West Africa  views the new drive towards low carbon fuels as fundamental to its global trading strategy.

Being the fastest growing hydrocarbon, LNG demand is expected to rise 2550% by 2030. Our aim was to select a technology solution that will help us meet the increasing demand. With Aspect, we can implement sophisticated strategies in-house, bring order to our operations, and prepare to scale our business, said Chinedu Nwokedi, Managing Director at Linetrale LLC.

This aligns with Linetrales ambition to maintain its market leading position as the demand for LNG grows. Having established a reputation as one of the most respected energy businesses in Africa, said Nwokedi. We want to work with trusted partners that understand what we do and have the industry expertise to enable our participation in the global gas market exporting Nigerian natural gas via LNG.

Linetrale LLC selected Aspect, a software as a service (SaaS) solution, for its out-of-the-box LNG and oil trading, risk management, end-to-end processing, and reporting capabilities. With Aspect, Linetrales trading business will use data to unlock business insights and more efficiently mitigate risk, enabling Linetrale LLC to maintain a competitive edge in todays volatile and increasingly complex market.

Richard Grossi, CEO of ION Corporates, said, We are pleased to welcome Linetrale LLC to the ION Commodities community and to support their ambition of becoming a global supplier of LNG. As the market addresses the need for increasing demand, we are excited to partner with Linetrale LLC to address the complexities of managing the LNG supply chain through the use of our ION Aspect solution.

About ION

ION provides mission-critical trading and workflow automation software, high-value analytics and insights, and strategic consulting to financial institutions, central banks, governments, and corporates. Our solutions and services simplify complex processes, boost efficiency, and enable better decision-making. We build long-term partnerships with our clients, helping transform their business for sustained success through continuous innovation. For more information, visit https://iongroup.com/.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

About ION Commodities

ION Commodities delivers data-driven energy and commodities trading and risk management solutions across the supply chain. Our scalable ETRM and CTRM solutions equip clients to use real-time risk analytics and reporting, minimize supply chain risks, automate critical business processes, and make faster, more informed decisions. We provide full support and transparency for procurement, supply, and trading to a global community of over 1,200 clients. For more information, visit https://iongroup.com/commodities.

About Linetrale LLC

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Lagos-Nigeria, Linetrale LLC is an energy and commodity trading house that trades across the oil and gas hydrocarbon value chain. Specializing in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Linetrale LLC also covers other energy commodities including Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) Condensates, Naphtha, Crude Oil, Gasoline, Middle distillates, and Fuel Oil. Linetrale LLC has market presence in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean regions; and continually seeks to expand to new regions to reinforce its position as one of the major suppliers of clean transition fuels in the African and global market. For more information, visit: https://linetrale.com/
Were excited to partner with Roers Companies to provide affordable housing in Sun Prairie, shared Alison Gorham, Director of Wisconsin Market at McShane. The Wildwood at Main will be a beautiful, amenity-filled development and an asset to the community.

McShane Construction Company was selected by Roers Companies to provide design-assist construction services for The Wildwood at Main. Located in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, the new affordable housing development will offer 172 units.

Were excited to partner with Roers Companies to provide affordable housing in Sun Prairie, shared Alison Gorham, Director of Wisconsin Market at McShane. The Wildwood at Main will be a beautiful, amenity-filled development and an asset to the community.

Positioned on a 5.3-acre site at 150 Schneider Road, the development will incorporate two podium-style buildings with three stories of wood framing atop an underground parking garage. The exterior of the buildings will feature a white utility brick and Hardie panel facade with large windows allowing for abundant natural light in the units.

The site will offer best-in-class amenities including a club room, fitness room, playground, play berms and an outdoor grill and fireplace area. Additionally, the underground parking garage will provide 209 parking spaces for tenants, while surface lots will provide 134 spaces.

The project was designed with sustainability in mind to achieve Wisconsin Green Built Home certification.

As a design-assist project, McShane was engaged by the client during the schematic phase to offer input into the projects design and provide value engineering services. Benefits of this delivery method include a reduction in cost and schedule overruns, improved constructability and added value to the project.

Korb + Associates is the architect for The Wildwood at Main. Completion of the development is slated for August 2023.

About McShane Construction Company

McShane Construction Company was established in 1984 and is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois with regional offices in Madison, WI, Auburn, AL, Irvine, CA, Nashville, TN and Phoenix, AZ. The firm offers integrated design-build and build-to-suit construction services for the multi-family, industrial, commercial, health & fitness and institutional markets. For more information, visit the firms website at http://www.mcshaneconstruction.com.

About Roers Companies

Roers Companies is a top multifamily real estate developer based in Minnetonka, Minn. with more than $1 billion developed in just 10 years. Roers Cos. has built more than 5,000 market-rate, affordable, active 55+, student and senior housing units in six states, and is currently on pace to reach 20,000 units nationwide by 2025.


PENETRON ADMIX reduces shrinkage cracking and self-heals hairline cracks over the service life of the structure. This virtually eliminates any maintenance costs for waterproofing over the lifespan of the structure.

The RBC Gateway tower in Minneapolis, Minnesota welcomed its first office tenants in February 2022, with the remaining office tenants and condo residents expected later this summer. The project engineers specified PENETRON ADMIX SB, a crystalline waterproofing admixture, for the towers below-grade concrete structures.

With a population of around 430,000, Minneapolis metropolitan area is the largest business center between Chicago and Seattle. The city features one of the country's most comprehensive park systems, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks, and waterfalls; many of which are connected by parkways within the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway. As a result, the region has very high groundwater levels.

The RBC Gateway project, a 37-story tower redevelopment in downtown Minneapolis, was designed by Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates, an international architectural firm. The tower is one of downtowns tallest buildings and is located at the north end of Nicollet Mall and is connected via skyway to the Minneapolis Central Library, extending the citys unique system of enclosed pedestrian bridges.

The RBC Gateway complex has over 1.2 million ft2 of floor space, with 531,000 ft2 of office space, an 8-floor, 222-room Four Seasons Hotel  Minneapoliss first 5-star luxury hotel  a cafe, a restaurant, 34 residential condos, underground parking (428 spaces), a bike garage, and an outdoor public plaza with green space.

Surrounded by Groundwater

Due to the high groundwater levels of the area, the project engineers required a reliable system to protect the below-grade concrete structures  including the multi-floor parking garage and basement areas  from the high hydrostatic pressure, explains Christopher Chen, Director of The Penetron Group. Our local Penetron team worked with Cemstone Products, the ready-mix concrete supplier, to ensure a durable and waterproof mix design.

PENETRON ADMIX SB  in soluble bags  was added to the concrete mix during the batching phase. The pre-measured bags dissolve quickly and completely for accurate (and easy) dosage for any project. This helps save time and costs in addition to enhancing the durability of the finished concrete.

Reducing Permeability is Key

The PENETRON ADMIX SB-treated concrete for the RBC Gateway project was used for the below-grade retaining walls and the towers foundation slab.

While an optimal W/C ratio is key in achieving the desired overall concrete performance, reducing permeability is the most crucial aspect of concrete durability, adds Christopher Chen. PENETRON ADMIX reduces shrinkage cracking and self-heals hairline cracks over the service life of the structure. This virtually eliminates any maintenance costs for waterproofing over the lifespan of the structure.

The Penetron Group is a leading manufacturer of specialty construction products for concrete waterproofing, concrete repairs and floor preparation systems. The Group operates through a global network, offering support to the design and construction community through its regional offices, representatives and distribution channels.

For more information on Penetron crystalline technology solutions, please visit www(dot)penetron(dot).com, email: CRDept(at)penetron.com or contact our Corporate Relations Department at 631-941-9700.
The Amputation Prevention Symposium will be held Aug. 17-20 in Chicago "We have worked hard to build an agenda with more than 70 multidisciplinary experts, and the additions of Drs. Brodmann, Bryce, Dua, and Scott as Course Directors make this years AMP meeting even more powerful, said Dr. Mustapha, founder of AMP.

Four world-renowned faculty presenters are joining the Course Director lineup for HMP Globals 2022 Amputation Prevention Symposium (AMP), the only meeting dedicated to addressing the need for education and technologies for treating critical limb ischemia (CLI) in patients facing amputation.

The event, now in its 12th year, will take place Aug. 17-20 in Chicago, and offers training and learning opportunities for participating clinicians. Driven by a team of multidisciplinary course directors and led by Dr. Jihad A. Mustapha, a pioneer in the field of interventional cardiology, AMP provides opportunities for endovascular and vascular specialists to learn the latest advances in revascularization and explore groundbreaking techniques that will improve the future for CLI patients.

We have worked hard to build an agenda with more than 70 multidisciplinary experts, and the additions of Drs. Brodmann, Bryce, Dua, and Scott as Course Directors make this years AMP meeting even more powerful, said Dr. Mustapha, founder of AMP and the Co-Founder and CEO of Advanced Cardiac & Vascular Centers. Attendees will come away with new approaches and techniques for treating CLI through access to complex live case broadcasts and practical education, featuring hands-on workshops and presentation of late-breaking data.

Joining the AMP 2022 lineup are the following faculty presenters:

Dr. Marianne Brodmann, Head of the Clinical Division of Angiology, Medical University Graz, AT

Dr. Brodmann trained in internal medicine at the University Hospital of Graz and her main focus, after specializing in Vascular Medicine (Angiology), is doing peripheral endovascular procedures. She is involved in many trials dealing with new endovascular techniques in both claudicants as well as CLI patients.

Her presentations include:



IN.PACT Global Study 5-Year Diabetic and Gender Subgroup Outcomes (Aug. 17)

Panel Discussions (Aug. 17, 19)

This Is How I Would Do It! (Aug. 19)

Dr. Yolanda C. Bryce, Assistant Attending, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Cornell University

Dr. Bryce joined the faculty in Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the Department of Radiology in August 2016 where she specializes in diagnosing and treating cancer patients including patients with breast cancer, treating both primary and metastatic tumor. She also has a special interest in vascular pathology in oncologic patients and holds Registered Physician Vascular Interpretation accreditation and is Boarded through the American Board of Vascular Medicine. She opened her institution's Vascular Lab - the MSKCC Noninvasive Vascular Imaging Center and started the hospital's peripheral arterial disease program.

Her presentations include:



Closing the Gaps in Racial Disparities in CLI Outcome and Amputation Rates (Aug. 17)

Panel Discussions (Aug. 17, 19)

Disrupt PAD BTK2 Interim Update (Aug. 19)

Dr. Anahita Dua, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Dr. Dua is a vascular surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital and an assistant professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. At Mass General, she is the director of the Vascular Lab, co-director of the Peripheral Artery Disease Center and Limb Evaluation and Amputation Program (LEAPP), associate director of the Wound Care Center, director of the Lymphedema Center and associate director of the Vascular Surgery Clerkship.

Her presentations include:



Gender Disparities in CLI Care (Aug. 17)

Panel Discussions (Aug. 17, 18)

Infection & Thrombosis and the Utilization of Thromboelastography & Platelet Mapping to Predict Patients Who Will Have Negative Outcomes (Aug. 17)

Hybrid Approach to CLI: When and Why? (Aug. 18)

Dr. Eric C. Scott, Vascular Surgeon, The Iowa Clinic

Dr. Scott is a board-certified vascular surgeon at the Iowa Clinic in Des Moines, Iowa where he began practice in 2008. He performs both arterial and venous procedures and has special interest in endovascular therapies for PAD and treatment of critical limb ischemia.

His presentations include:



Three-Year Outcomes of Surgical vs. Endovascular Revascularization for CLI (Aug. 18)

Panel Discussions (Aug. 18, 19)

Session 8: Revascularization Planning: Are Guidelines Being Followed? (Aug. 18)

How to Approach the CLI Patient Who is a Candidate for Both Surgical Revascularization & Endovascular Revascularization (Aug. 18)

Bypass Surgery Decision Driven by Anatomical Characteristics (Aug. 19)

AMP 2022 features more than 70 faculty presenters, more than 10 complex CLI cases, hands-on workshops, and opportunities to earn more than 20 CME/CNE credits. AMP is designed for interventional cardiologists, vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, wound care specialists, podiatrists, nurses, vascular technologists, and cardiovascular catheterization laboratory team members.

For more information or to register, visit amptheclimeeting.com.

ABOUT HMP GLOBAL

HMP Global is the force behind Healthcare Made Practicaland is an omnichannel leader in healthcare content, events, and education, with a mission to improve patient care. The company produces accredited medical education events  in person and online via its proprietary VRTX virtual platform  and clinically relevant, evidence-based content for the global healthcare community across a range of therapeutic areas. Its brands include the HMP Global Learning Network, healthcare's most comprehensive source for news and information; Psych Congress, the largest independent mental health meeting in the U.S.; the Evolution of Psychotherapy, the worlds largest independent educational event for mental health professionals; the Leipzig Interventional Course (LINC), the leading, global gathering for interdisciplinary cardiovascular specialists; EMS World Expo, North America's largest EMT and paramedic event; and the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC), the largest wound care meeting in the world. For more information, visit hmpglobal.com.
NFI, a leading supply chain provider, joined an event at the White House yesterday showcasing the Biden Administrations 90-Day Trucking Apprenticeship designed to grow the trucking industrys workforce and bolster the U.S. supply chain.

NFIs apprentice driver, Maria Rodriguez, spoke about her journey to truck driving after being laid off from the restaurant industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a new mom, she needed a job to provide for her family while being close to home. Rodriguez, a first-generation immigrant from Venezuela, attended the New England Tractor Trailer Training School (NETTTS) and immediately felt comfortable in the typically male-dominated trucking field.

During her time at the NETTTS, NFIs core family values and local routes stood out to Rodriguez. My family and home time are everything to me, so I knew NFI would be my top choice, said Rodriguez. NFI offered Rodriguez a driver trainee opportunity after she completed driving school. Once hired, she received hands-on training and mentorship, all while being able to provide for her family. I love that my schedule is consistent, and I get home before my son finishes school.

The Biden Administration's 90-Day Trucking Apprenticeship Challenge is designed to build clear paths to careers in truck driving that are fulfilling and offer endless opportunities. The Trucking Action Plan, unveiled last year, focuses on building supply chain resilience through better quality trucking jobs. Per industry estimates, truckers move 72% of the U.S. economy's goods. Still, the Covid-19 pandemic saw a spike in labor shortages for the industry, with the American Trucking Association citing that the sector was short 80,000 drivers.

Realizing the need for a driver training program, NFI has been at the forefront for more than five years in offering paid on-the-job training. NFI's training program provides the knowledge and skills to drive safely for NFI. While in the training program, trainees are home every day, paid weekly, and receive immediate benefits.

Investing in our people and sharing our value of family is NFIs number one commitment, shared Bob Knowles, President of Transportation for NFI. We commend the White House for shedding light on the trucking industry and their commitment to growing and training more talent.

Rodriguez is one of only seven percent of women truck drivers nationally. NFI and the trucking industry are making great strides in improving opportunities for women. The Women in Trucking Association named NFI a Top Company for Women to Work For in Transportation in 2020. NFI also recognizes its women drivers throughout the year in its She Drives initiative by highlighting female NFI drivers and encouraging them to share why NFI is a great place to work for women. Since the initiative's launch, NFI has continued to increase its female driver population.

Rodriguez thanked President Biden and Vice President Harris for leading the 90-day Trucking Apprenticeship Challenge. As an essential part of the supply chain, I feel like Im a part of something bigger than myself, which is rewarding, shared Rodriguez.

Learn more about working for NFI and apprentice opportunities by browsing our careers here.

About NFI

NFI is a fully integrated North American supply chain solutions provider headquartered in Camden, N.J. Privately held by the Brown family since its inception in 1932, NFI generates more than $2.6 billion in annual revenue and employs more than 15,500 associates. NFI owns facilities globally and operates approximately 53 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space. Its dedicated fleet consists of over 4,500 tractors and 12,500 trailers operated by 3,900 company drivers and leveraging partnerships with 1,700 owner-operators. NFI has a significant drayage presence at nearly every major U.S. port, leveraging the services of an additional 1,200 owner-operators. The companys business lines include dedicated transportation, distribution, brokerage, transportation management, port drayage, intermodal, global logistics, and real estate. For more information about NFI, visit http://www.nfiindustries.com or call 1-877-NFI-3777.
This QR code gives access to the documentary's trailer and ticket information. David Marsh is amazing and awesome. Despite his loss and grief, he soldiered on and captured the spirit, love, and hope that emerges from every Diveheart trip.

Diveheart, a Downers Grove-based nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, and Los Angeles filmmaker David Marsh will be presenting the world premiere of the documentary called Adapting To Dive at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at Classic Cinemas Tivoli Theatre, 5021 Highland Ave. in Downers Grove.

Since 2001, Diveheart has been helping youth, veterans, and others with disabilities through adaptive scuba and scuba therapy. Last year, Marsh went on a life-changing Diveheart scuba adventure trip to Cozumel, Mexico. As a result, he experienced a transformational journey while doing the film after losing his son to an overdose just seven days before the trip.

After doing some pre-trip research, Marsh felt he understood the spirit of the Diveheart mission and vision. He had completed backstories on many of the adaptive divers who went on the trip when his son passed. He chose to go on the trip and said nothing to anyone until asked about his experience on the very last day. He then shared his loss and that he had been remotely planning his sons funeral while filming the documentary.

David Marsh is amazing and awesome. Despite his loss and grief, he soldiered on and captured the spirit, love, and hope that emerges from every Diveheart trip, said Diveheart Founder and President Jim Elliott. He really captured the essence of our mission and shared the real-life experience of what Diveheart does to help those with disabilities experience freedom underwater.

In the documentary, every day embraces a theme. One day it is trust. Another day it is about freedom and then finally adapting. Audiences will see how Marsh emphatically listened and translated the feelings of the adaptive divers who shared with him their losses, struggles, fears, and hopes.

We are so grateful to David for capturing Diveheart in action, Elliott said. Im hoping this documentary will reach many people and give awareness to Divehearts mission: to revolutionize rehabilitation by using zero gravity underwater to help those with everything from mobility issues to chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder. We help our participants find that self-confidence, personal strength, and independence, and we will continue to do so in the years to come.

To see a trailer of the documentary, visit this link. Tickets are $12 for general admission and accessible seating. For information about the documentary and tickets, visit this link.

About Diveheart:

Diveheart provides adaptive scuba diving programs open to any youth, adult, or veteran with a disability. Underwater, the weightless wonder of the water column gives wheelchair users and others with disabilities freedom from gravity where their chronic pain has been known to evaporate. Through these programs, participants develop confidence, independence, and self-esteem, as well as other physical and psychological benefits. More information at http://www.Diveheart.org.
We are very excited to meet again with all our valued customers, partners, and industry stakeholders and share solutions to what was once thought impossible

Open Access Technology International, Inc. (OATI) announces an in-person return of the energy industrys biggest Meet-Up, the 2022 OATI Energy Conference. After two long years, OATIs energy innovators look forward to reconnecting with customers, listening to their challenges, and sharing how the companys new technologies and novel approaches can move the energy industry and its businesses forward.

Join us at the JW Marriott at Mall of America on September 20-22, and expect the unexpected! We are very excited to meet again with all our valued customers, partners, and industry stakeholders and share solutions to what was once thought impossible, says Dr. Sasan Mokhtari, OATI President and CEO. We have been very busy over the past two years, and we are proud that we pushed forward in business, technology advancements, new deals, and partnerships during the challenging pandemic time. We understood the challenges of the market and continued to devise solutions to meet our customers needs, to continue our position as the best solution and technology provider in the energy arena.

The 2022 OATI Energy Conference will feature the companys new business vision, its successes, and its challenges. Plan to meet in Minneapolis this fall to take the energy industry to a new level of success!

Registration is now open for the 2022 OATI Energy Conference. Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/Energy2022.

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About OATI

OATI provides innovative solutions that simplify, streamline, and empower the operational tasks required in todays energy commerce and Smart Grid. Serving more than 2,500 customers in North America, OATI successfully deploys and hosts diverse mission-critical solutions committed to next generation technology and stringent security guidelines.

OATI (http://www.oati.com) is a leading provider of Smart Grid, Energy Trading and Risk Management, Transmission Scheduling, Congestion Management, Distribution, and Market Management products and services. OATI is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with offices in California, Punjab, and Telangana. For more information, please contact sales@oati.net.
With Fortress, we aim to make the lives of property managers and owners easier by creating a core property management software with everything in one place, said Fortress Founder and CEO Kerri Davis.

Fortress, a real estate technology firm that creates property management software solutions for multi-family and commercial property owners and operators, announces the expansion of its workflow solutions through its newest integration with The Work Number from Equifax. The Work Number is the industry-leading, centralized commercial repository of income and employment information in the U.S. Through this partnership, The Work Number will help affordable housing properties across the country save time and money.

With Fortress, we aim to make the lives of property managers and owners easier by creating a core property management software with everything in one place, said Fortress Founder and CEO Kerri Davis. Were grateful to bring automated income and employment verification and other solutions to the countrys critical affordable housing communities through our integration with The Work Number. We are focused on creating robust and embedded integrations as we continue to improve our platform.

How It Works

When affordable housing properties need to verify potential tenants, they look for solutions like The Work Number to instantly pull employment and income records. This integration allows on-site teams to submit income verification screenings and receive results within seconds, which is a time-saver since the alternative requires having to obtain this information manually from applicants.

The Work Number integration utilizes a Social Service Verification (SSV) screening function. When this feature is active, affordable housing property managers and owners have the ability to screen each leaseholders employment records and can drill down on specific paystub details for each record through a second screening submission. This can help the property determine if this applicant is eligible and meets income requirements to rent a home.

Why It Works So Well

The qualification process can be expensive for affordable housing properties. Each screening costs a fee. This integration may result in more qualified renters since the income verification comes directly from employers, potentially saving time and money for each property. In addition, The Work Number will leverage better and more efficient workflows for each request with the following key features:



Permissions: Administrators on the platform can use permissions to help control costs and limit access to the appropriate team members.

Documentation and Result Visibility: When screenings occur, results are automatically displayed, and a report is matched to the appropriate tenant profile for reference and compliance purposes. With Affordable Screening Benefits, income verification is a required step for affordable housing certifications and needs to be pulled consistently within certain timeframes. Since the results remain in the tenant profile with the date of last screening, users can quickly determine if a re-screen needs to be completed, which prevents over-screening and saves money for the property.

Reporting: A report can be pulled for any date range and will display summary information, a breakdown of the screenings that occurred, and total screening cost for that timeframe.

The Fortress team is also developing an integration with The Work Number to offer its users income and employment verification for market-rate applications in addition to affordable households. For more information on Fortress and its property management solutions, visit FortressTech.net.

About Fortress:

Fortress is a core property management software product created on the basis that property management software should be easy, transparent and informative. Existing property management platforms are outdated, lack proper support and require a computer science degree and a deep bank account to fully understand. Fortress recovers lost time and money through in-system training, support from the perspective of a property management company and real-time data for immediate knowledge and action. Fortress is based in Nashville, Tennessee. To learn more, visit fortresstech.net.
Pure Table Top Selects Centric PLM to Support Year of Information The information stored in PLM will allow our teams to collaborate and share ideas in ways we have never been able to before.

Pure Table Top, the UK-based specialist supplier of ceramics and glass, has selected Centric Softwares Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to plan, design, develop, source and sell products such as apparel, footwear, sporting goods, furniture, home decor, cosmetics, food & beverage and luxury to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.

Founded at Tanith Sellicks kitchen table in 2014, Pure Table Tops mission is simple; to lead the way in design and innovation across the ceramic, glass and home accessories market. They work closely with retailers and brands in the UK South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Canada and source from factories around the world. They supply only the highest quality products for retail and online and deliver over three million items across the globe every year.

Pure Table Top doubled in size over the past two years and they needed a digital transformation solution to manage information, streamline product development and support category expansion. As weve grown, weve had more difficulty with data and processes, says Geoff Mann, Head of Operations at Pure Table Top. We have been focusing on improving our systems and PLM enables us to streamline our design and product development.

Pure Table Top discovered Centric PLM in their pursuit to obtain B Corporation() Certification. Companies in the B Corp() community meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Our sustainability officer originally came across PLM whilst researching tools to track our carbon footprint and record factories green credentials, shares Mann. However, we quickly realized Centric PLM could bring together our sourcing, design and product development in one place.

Pure Table Top had a smooth and rapid implementation, going live in January of this year. The Centric team was supportive, they facilitated the rollout really well and gave us advice on how Centric PLM could work for us, shares Mann.

Pures product development and account management teams have started to adopt Centric PLM and are already realizing benefits. Before Centric PLM our product information was scattered in emails, spreadsheets and different systems and a lot of time was wasted with duplication of work and manual data entry, says Mann. We can already see how Centric PLM will be able to help us drive efficiencies in communication and collaboration with one source of the truth.

Centric PLM will help us with range plans and design presentations adds Mann. The information stored in PLM will allow our teams to collaborate and share ideas in ways we have never been able to before.

The company has coined 2022 the Year of Information for Pure Table Top, with Centric playing a major role. Looking to the future, Pure can see greater opportunities for growth. We can see further potential for PLM to benefit our business, says Mann. They expect to expand Centric PLM to factories and use it to streamline the packaging process, reduce the number of samples produced and decrease carrier costs.

We are thrilled that Pure Table Top has chosen Centric Software as a partner in their digital transformation journey, says Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software. We look forward to working with them in their pursuit to becoming a more sustainable company leading the way in home accessory design and innovation.

Learn more about Centric PLM

Request a Demo

Pure Table Top (http://www.puretabletop.com)

Pure Table Top was founded in 2014, and is a specialist supplier of ceramics and glass. They work closely with major UK retailers and brands, as well as global retailers based in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and South Africa.

Pure Table Top is based in their beautiful showroom, The Cherry Shed, in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside. Their mission is simple; to lead the way in design and innovation across the ceramic, glass and home accessories market. They supply only the highest products for retail and online and deliver over three million items across the globe every year.

The Pure Table Top team designs, develops and innovates. Sourcing from factories around the world, they are highly experienced with their backgrounds spanning from retail buying, design and merchandising. They thrive on giving employees an inclusive working environment, in which they have access to development opportunities and in which their voices are heard and valued every day.

Specialists

Pure Table Top is a specialist supplier of ceramics and glass. They work closely with retailers and brands in the UK and around the world, including South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

Quality

Taking pride in their quality and value for money, they work closely with their factories and customers alike to design and deliver excellence.

Experience

Their team is highly experienced, with team members from retail buying and merchandising roles, giving Pure a valuable insight into the needs of the retailers.

Design

Pure aims to lead the way in design and innovation: working with their experienced ceramic and glass designers / makers.
Mausoleum III: Lucifers Vile Plot: a gripping tale of a rising darkness with unexpected twists of fate. Mausoleum III: Lucifers Vile Plot is the creation of published author Ron McConnell, a poet, playwright, and musician.

McConnell shares, The adventure returns at deaths doorstep! This is the third book in the Mausoleum series. The fantasy world of the Mausoleum awaits you. This is Mausoleum III: Lucifers Vile Plot.

There is a vile plot cooked up and served deathly hot by Satan himself. Why is Lucifer winning but at the same time getting weaker? The dark spoils of evil are directed at the very heart of the royals. It means certain death is around the corner for one or more of our heroes. Elixor and the army of demons she summons from the Lost Souls door slither back into the Mausoleum after being banished. Her foul curse is preventing the royals from gaining access, cutting them off from their heavenly Guardians when they need their help the most.

The town turned against the royals and are hunting them like wild animals. The royals have been scattered and are in hiding. Traps have been laid to capture them. There is no escape! The dwarf island is under siege. Gritta, Prince, and the Silver are missing.

The queen steals something very precious to Lucifer. Its a book that may turn the tide of the battleand Lucifer wants it back! Whats left of the royals and their allies will have to fight to the death to try to take back the Mausoleum. Who is this mysterious Time Keeper? How can he help?

The ultimate battle is at hand! The royals have to engage in battle with Lucifer himself. Find out what happens in this third adventure. This exciting adventure story twists around and around like a roller coaster. But this ride ends with a real jolt. Its all in Mausoleum III: Lucifers Vile Plot.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Ron McConnells new book is an action-packed continuation of the authors Mausoleum Series.

McConnell offers readers another thriller within the pages of this exciting installment.

Consumers can purchase Mausoleum III: Lucifers Vile Plot at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Mausoleum III: Lucifers Vile Plot, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.


Walking in the Light of Jesus: a helpful reminder of Gods eternal love. Walking in the Light of Jesus is the creation of published author Rosalie Cowick, who was born and raised in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and has been blessed with two terrific sons, a very dear daughter-in-law, and four precious grandchildren. She has been employed for several years as a transportation manager on a military base.

Cowick shares, God promises victory over the world and supplies every need to live triumphant as Christians. Walking in the light of Jesus will take you through daily communication and devotion with our Savior and bring you into a closer, more loving, and intimate relationship, one that will allow you to really get to know God and to walk through this life in the light of Jesus, honoring, obeying, and serving him in wondrous joy.

We can live kingdom lives now! We dont have to walk in misery and despair until we get to heaven. God doesnt leave us to work this life alone. We can live in the presence of God now as his Holy Spirit dwells within us. But how can we know this? Through time spent in the things that honor God. Doing the will of the Father, walking in the footsteps of Jesus, reading Gods Word daily, and spending precious time in prayer to our heavenly Father.

We dont need to see these as chores or rituals but as times filled with delight and awe at Gods breathtaking power, faithfulness, and willingness to be with us. He showers his lavish love upon us. Through this book, find the joy of seeking Gods will to realize abundant spiritual living. Truly meet with God in prayer. Use the gift he supplies to us of talking with Jesus. Be assured that he hears and is faithful to answer. Learn more and more about him through his glorious Word, the Bible.

What he has done before, he will do again. Learn that you can trust the absolute truth of Gods Word which never returns void. Having an encounter with Jesus, we can never be the same again. Draw close to him today, then get up and change the world!

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Rosalie Cowicks new book will encourage and challenge believers to live in a kingdom lifestyle in honor of Gods promise.

Cowick shares in hopes of empowering new and established believers alike as they seek opportunities to celebrate their faith.

Consumers can purchase Walking in the Light of Jesus at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Walking in the Light of Jesus, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
Setton Farms In todays modern age, internet speed and reliability are not just a convenience, but a necessity for quality of life, and were fortunate to partner with Setton Pistachio to help make this expanded coverage a reality.

Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc. and VARCOMM announce the expansion of high-speed broadband coverage to nearly 1,600 homes in Terra Bella as part of their ongoing commitment to providing affordable broadband to the people of Tulare County.

Setton Pistachio, the nations second-largest pistachio grower and processor, and VARCOMM will work jointly to deploy a total of three communications towers to enable affordable broadband service and customer care to the residents of Tulare County.

In todays modern age, internet speed and reliability are not just a convenience, but a necessity for quality of life, and were fortunate to partner with Setton Pistachio to help make this expanded coverage a reality, said VARCOMM CEO and Chairman of the Board Eric Votaw. Our priority is to be your true hometown network, and with our Be Better mission strategy in all our territories, we look forward to welcoming Terra Bella residents to our VARCOMM family.

After months of planning and approval from Tulare County, and delays from Southern California Edison electrical crews to provide power to the tower, construction will be completed in early April 2022. One tower is located in Terra Bella on Road 234, on the Setton Pistachio Community Parkland. Additional towers will be located at higher elevations at Deer Creek and on the valley floor in Pixley.

We are happy to partner with a company that has similar values of quality and service, and has been a part of the community for so long, said Fernando Rios, Community Liaison of Setton Pistachio.

Setton Pistachios team will take the lead in helping maintain the infrastructure, tower, and utility connections freeing VARCOMM to focus on customer installations and customer service with affordable packages to Tulare County residents. VARCOMM will offer eligible customers the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), an FCC benefit program that provides a discount of $30 per month towards internet service. VARCOMM customer service representatives are well versed in this new federal program and are excited to help customers navigate the process.

Customers may choose from two service plan options, including 25Mbps download / 3Mbps upload speed for $50 per month, or 50Mbps download / 5Mbps upload speed for $90 per month.

The launch of the broadband service will be marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a customer appreciation event at the Setton Pistachio Playground in Terra Bella on May 2 from 10 a.m. to noon. Terra Bella residents are invited to enjoy refreshments, activities, and chat with the Setton Pistachio and VARCOMM teams.

For more information on Setton Farms, visit settonfarms.com and on social media: Instagram @setton_farms, Facebook @settonfarms, and Twitter @settonfarms. For more information on VARCOMMs services, visit varcomm.net or call 888-539-5234.

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About Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc.

Since 1986, the Setton family has taken a hands-on approach to growing and processing Americas Best Tasting Pistachios in the Central Valley of California. As the second-largest pistachio grower-processor in the United States, Setton produces pistachios that make their way to more than 60 foreign markets worldwide. Setton Farms' pistachios are grown, processed, and packaged using renewable energy, eco-friendly practices, and proprietary techniques to offer the highest quality pistachios with a fresh-from-the-orchard taste. Setton Farms' pistachios are also vegan, Non-GMO Project Verified, Certified Gluten Free, and Kosher, while a select variety features the AHA Heart-Check mark.

About VARCOMM

VARCOMM was founded in 1910 when farmers in southern Tulare County California, banded together to create a small telephone network with a single telephone line, and the company incorporated in 1954 to create Ducor Telephone Company. In 1977, the company then began to expand to service Rancho Tehama and later to Kennedy Meadows, and began providing Internet services in 1993 under the name Varnet, Inc. The company adopted the name VARCOMM (part of VARCOMM Holdings, Inc.) in 2018, along with the introduction of broadband and enhanced services. In 2021, with Eric Votaw and Jenifer Vellucci at the helm, VARCOMM became the first Mexican-American and female-owned incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) in Californias history.
Villa Maria, New Zealands renowned winery, is pleased to announce their corporate sponsorship of Billion Oyster Project, the nonprofit oyster reef restoration initiative that grew out of The Urban Assembly New York Harbor School.

A founding member of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand in 1997, Villa Maria continues to serve as a leader in sustainability, focusing on the well-being of the land, people, and the community as core values in its long-term vision. The partnership with Billion Oyster Project is a testament to Villa Marias commitment to sustainable practices, and includes participation in corporate volunteer days where participants can learn about oyster restoration through hands-on experience, and a co-hosted Oyster Soiree event designed to engage and educate guests about the Projects work alongside a tasting of Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc wines with freshly shucked oysters.

"Our love for this planet and our communities guides us to put sustainability at the forefront of all that we do from a global perspective  we take care to preserve our resources so they last well into the future and like to raise up communities throughout the world where people enjoy our wines, said Sarah Szegota, head of marketing and communications at Villa Maria. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to team with Billion Oyster Project, with whom we have a strong synergy in shared values and perfect food and wine pairings, to support their oyster restoration initiatives.

Billion Oyster Project was founded in 2014 by Murray Fisher and Pete Malinowski, then colleagues at the Harbor School, as a solution to the degradation of the New York Estuarys once 220,000 acres of oyster reefs. Oysters grow in intricate reef formations that act as natural barriers to shoreline storm damage, filter pollutants, and provide habitat for hundreds of species. Billion Oyster Project believes a successful restoration of New York's reefs and their ecological functions will revitalize local biodiversity, prepare a generation of environmental stewards, and build a more resilient Harbor to meet the consequences of climate change.

Teaming with the local community, Billion Oyster Project has planted 75 million juvenile oysters across 14.5 acres and 18 reef sites, and engaged more than 8,000 students and 11,000 volunteers since its inception.

We are determined to engage one million people in the effort to restore one billion oysters, explains Brian Reagor, Director of Development at Billion Oyster Project. Thanks to Villa Marias support, we are on a path to reviving these ecosystem engineers and igniting local passion and appreciation for New York Harbor.

Last year, Villa Maria forged their relationship with Billion Oyster Project by sponsoring their tentpole fundraising event, the Billion Oyster Party, to promote the initiative and further the nonprofits efforts. With the new corporate sponsorship, Villa Maria aims to continue supporting environmental preservation and combat the destruction of marine habitat, on which natural life depends.

Villa Maria is represented by Winebow Imports in the U.S. For more information about the winerys sustainability practices, please visit https://www.villamariawines.com/aboutus/sustainability/. To learn more about Billion Oyster Project, please visit https://www.billionoysterproject.org/.

About Villa Maria

Villa Maria, New Zealands most iconic winery, has been pioneering a new breed of fresh, vibrant and adventurous wines since 1961. From simple beginnings in Auckland, New Zealand, Villa Maria has expanded significantly to become one of the world's most admired wine brands, sold in over 60 countries and amassing over 2000 awards. Villa Maria remains proudly New Zealand-owned, and this contributes to its agility and unrelenting focus on core values quality, innovation and sustainability. https://www.villamariawines.com/

About Billion Oyster Project

Billion Oyster Project is a nonprofit organization on a mission to restore oyster reefs to New York Harbor through public education initiatives. Oysters reefs provide habitat for many marine species, have the ability to filter water, and help shield New York City shorelines from storm damage. Founded on the belief that restoration without education is temporary, and observing that learning outcomes improve when students have the opportunity to work on real restoration projects, Billion Oyster Project collaborates with public schools. The crew designs STEM curriculum for NYC schools through the lens of oyster restoration, and engages Urban Assembly New York Harbor School students in large-scale restoration projects, collects discarded oyster shells from dozens of NYC restaurants, and engages the local community. https://www.billionoysterproject.org

About Winebow Imports

Winebow Imports has been an industry leader for over 40 years, representing some of the most esteemed properties from both prominent and emerging growing areas around the world. A national importer known for cultivating lasting relationships with extraordinary vintners who are dedicated to their unique regions, Winebow Imports continues to balance its impressive growth with a culture of specialization and excellence. For more information, please visit https://www.winebow.com/imports.
This years peoples choice winners, who will each receive the coveted crystal Peoples Choice Stevie Award include DHL Express Bangladesh, John Hancock Signature Services, Linode, and more. Voting was conducted from March 1 through April 1, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in 11 industry categories. More than 32,000 votes were cast this year.

Winners of the 2022 People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Customer Service, a worldwide public vote, were announced today. Voting was conducted from March 1 through April 1, with the highest number of votes deciding the winners in 11 industry categories. More than 32,000 votes were cast this year.

All organizations honored in the Customer Service Department of the Year categories of this years Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service were eligible to be included in voting for the peoples choice awards. The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, now in their 16th year, are the worlds top honors for customer service, contact center, business development, and sales professionals.

More than 2,300 nominations from organizations of all sizes, in virtually every industry, in 51 nations were evaluated in this years competition. Finalists were determined by the average scores of more than 150 professionals worldwide in eight specialized judging committees and were announced last month.

This years peoples choice winners, who will each receive the coveted crystal Peoples Choice Stevie Award, are:



Airlines, Distribution & Transportation: DHL Express Bangladesh

All Other Industries: Element Electronics

Computer Hardware & Services: Linode

Computer Software Less Than 100 Employees: Nerdio

Computer Software Greater Than 100 Employees: Heavy Construction Systems Specialists (HCSS)

Consumer Products & Services: Delta Faucet Company

Financial Services Greater Than 100 Employees: John Hancock Signature Services

Healthcare & Pharma: RxBenefits, Inc.

Public Services & Education: Curriculum Associates

Retail: CarrefourSA

Telecommunications: PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk

Nicknamed the Stevie from the Greek word crowned, Stevie Award winners will be celebrated at a virtual awards ceremony on May 11. Tickets for the event are now on sale. More than 500 Stevie Award winners and their guests from around the world are expected to attend.

About the Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

Sponsors and supporters of the 16th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include Sales Partnerships, Inc. and ValueSelling Associates, Inc.
Summary: There is good news for people suffering from depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and other mental health disorders. New research published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science explains how people who have suffered from mental illness can go on to develop a long-lasting sense of well-being and achieve a high-functioning life.

Past research on mental illness has focused mostly on chronic and recurring mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders that keep people from thriving and enjoying life. New research published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science, however, reports that many people who have suffered from mental illness are able to thrive and lead a high-functioning life.

Our research tells us how many people can recover from a mental illness and go on to experience a life with high levels of well-being and functioning, said Andrew Devendorf, a researcher at the University of South Florida and lead author of the article. Contrary to traditional clinical wisdom, we found that mental illness and substance use disorders may reduce but do not prevent the possibility of thriving.

The researchers also found that having longer episodes of mental illness or experiencing multiple mental illnesses in ones lifetime reduces, but does not eliminate, the chances of thriving.

Data for this research came from the 2012 Canadian Community Health SurveyMental Health, a nationally representative survey that included more than 25,000 Canadian participants aged 15 to 80 and older. The survey collected information about participants lifetime and 12-month mental health status, their access to and perceived need for formal and informal services and supports, their functioning and disabilities, and other factors that influence mental health.

These findings show that mental illnesses reducebut do not precludethe possibility to meet thriving criteria. A. Devendorf, University of South Florida

Devendorf and his colleagues compared the mental health conditions tracked in the survey and other data associated with each participants quality of life, including their social relationships, positive emotions, perceived quality of life, and functioning (ability to fulfill life roles). The researchers then calculated how many people with a lifetime history of mental illnessincluding depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or substance use disordermet thriving criteria at the time of the study.

The researchers noted that this study used a relatively strict definition of thriving, which included a three-part definition. First, a person had to be free of a diagnosed mental illness in the past 12-months. Second, a person had to demonstrate very high levels of well-being by scoring in the top 25% on a well-validated measure of social, emotional, and psychological well-being. Third, a person had to demonstrate the ability to function in everyday roles by scoring in the bottom 25% on a widely used measure of disability status.

We set a very high bar for thriving, said Devendorf.

The results of the comparison showed that about 10% of Canadians with a history of mental illness met thriving criteria, compared to about 24% of Canadians who did not have a history of mental illness. People with a history of substance use disorders (10%), depression (7%), and anxiety (6%) were more likely to thrive compared to people with a history of bipolar disorder (3%).

These findings show that mental illnesses reducebut do not precludethe possibility to meet thriving criteria, said Devendorf. Although thriving after mental illness was not necessarily common, it should be noted that diagnostic recoveries after mental illness were much more common.

The study found that about two thirds (67%) of people with any mental illness in their lifetime met symptomatic recovery, meaning they no longer met the diagnostic criteria for a particular illness. The rate at which people recover from mental illness and attain moderate to good, rather than optimal, levels of well-being is likely much higher, the researchers speculate.

While we know traditional mental health treatments, like therapy and medication, can reduce mental illness symptoms, there is a lack of research on how treatments affect outcomes like well-being and functioning, said Devendorf. Now that we know thriving is possible after mental illness, we hope that researchers will begin to investigate how existing treatments can increase the chance for thriving after mental illness.

Related Research >

Mental Health Psychological scientists have amassed a vast amount of empirical knowledge on the causes of and best treatments for mental disorders.

Substance Abuse and Addiction Research from APS on addiction and substance abuse.

Feedback on this article? Email apsobserver@psychologicalscience.org or comment below.

Media may request a copy of this article at: news@psychologicalscience.org.

Reference: Devendorf, A., Rum, R., Kashdan, T., & Rottenberg, T. (2022). Optimal well-being after psychopathology: Prevalence and correlates. Clinical Psychological Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/21677026221078872
Award-winning childrens book author Patricia MacLachlan, widely lauded for her spare, realistic stories about everyday family life, died on March 31 at her home in Williamsburg, Mass. She was 84.

MacLachlan was born March 3, 1938, in Cheyenne, Wyo., the only child of Philo and Madonna Pritzkau, both teachers. When Patricia was five, the family moved to Rochester, Minn., where they stayed until she finished elementary school. In her autobiography from Something About the Author, MacLachlan stated that the prairie landscape of those early years has always been a powerful source in my life, fueling my mind and my imagination and giving me a sense of belonging to a particular place. As an adult, she always carried a bag of prairie dirt with her. Its important to remember where I began, she told PW in 2010.

MacLachlan recalled her parents as being very liberal and very literate. There was no such thing as an unsuitable or banned book in our household, she wrote. She became an avid reader, noting, I measured my life in terms of when I read a particular book. She also remembered a home filled with music, which she studied via piano and cello lessons.

As a girl, MacLachlan was fond of inventing characters of all sorts and was especially attached to a free-spirited imaginary friend. But it would still be some time before she felt compelled to commit any of her story ideas to paper.

In the 1950s MacLachlan had moved with her parents to Connecticut where her father was a professor in the English department at the University of Connecticut. MacLachlan earned a B.A. from the university in 1962, the same year she married Robert MacLachlan, a clinical psychologist, whom she had met as a student there. The couple would eventually have three children, John, Jamison, and Emily.

Upon graduating from college, MacLachlan followed in her parents footsteps and became an educator. She taught English at Bennett Junior High School in Manchester, Conn., from 1963 to 1979. During that time, MacLachlan also became involved with the Childrens Aid Family Service Agency, where she worked on publicity campaigns and interviewed foster mothers. When MacLachlans children got a bit older, she told SATA, I felt the need to do something else. It dawned on me that what I really wanted to do was write.

MacLachlan said that turning her attention to writing was very scary, but she promised herself she would change course if she didnt get something published after a few years of trying. She found there were many stories to tell in mining the memories and experiences of her own life. Living in the western Berkshires during this period offered MacLachlan the opportunity to meet a number of other writers, including childrens author and writing instructor Jane Yolen, who introduced MacLachlan to her first literary agent (Craig Virden) and offered advice on where to submit manuscripts. In 1979, Pantheon published MacLachlans debut picture book, The Sick Day, about a girl whose father takes care of her when she has a cold. Two more picture books followed, then, MacLachlanencouraged by her editor at Harper, Charlotte Zolotowembarked on writing a novel. The result was Arthur, For the Very First Time (Harper & Row, 1980). Following a boy who spends the summer with his great-aunt and great-uncle, that book includes a charactermail-order bride Aunt Magwho would prove the spark for MacLachlans best known and most critically acclaimed work, Sarah, Plain, and Tall (1985), about a woman who answers the newspaper ad of a widower seeking a new wife to help care for his two children.

Sarah, Plain and Tall earned MacLachlan the 1986 Newbery Medal as well as the Scott ODell Award for Historical Fiction that same year. The book served as a launching pad for four additional books about the central family, and the first three titles were adapted into a trio of movies starring Glenn Close and Christopher Walken, with MacLachlan penning the screenplays. Since publication, Sarah, Plain and Tall has sold more than seven million copies.

In all, MacLachlan created more than 60 titles for children, including several picture-book collaborations with her daughter Emily. Among her many accolades, she won the Christopher Award in 1986 and received the National Humanities Medal in 2002 for her contributions to childrens literature.

Author-illustrator Joanna Cotler, former publisher of Joanna Cotler Books at Harper, became MacLachlans editor following Charlotte Zolotows tenure. Patty was one of a kind, Cotler said. From the moment I met her I was knocked out by her wit, her sharp intelligence, and her laugh-out-loud sense of humor. I had the very great privilege of working with her for 21 years on many of her extraordinary books, and each one was a gift. I feel so lucky to have known and loved her, and were all so lucky she leaves us her beautiful books.

Katherine Tegen, v-p and publisher at Katherine Tegen Books, who took the reins from Cotler when she left the company in 2008, is MacLachlans current editor at HarperCollins. Over the past 13 years, I worked on many books with Patty, and I will miss her salty wit and joyous enthusiasm, she said. She had a great respect for young people and a general respect for everyone she met; she was always generous, funny, and self-deprecating. So many people have told me that Sarah, Plain and Tall was an important book in their lives and to everyone who knew Patty, she was a continual source of wisdom and love.

Neal Porter, v-p and publisher of Neal Porter Books at Holiday House, who published three books with MacLachlan, shared this tribute. Patty always called me her favorite editor, but I suspect she probably said that to each of us who were fortunate enough to work with her. I think she was a bloody genius, and I dont know anyone who took such utter pleasure in crafting a sentence. She was also deeply, uproariously funny, on the page and in person, and one sidelong glance from her would reduce me to a puddle. Her Iridescence of Birds, acquired over a glass of chardonnay and a purloined cigarette or two at an SCBWI conference, still gives me goosebumps with each rereading. Like all whose lives she touched, I will miss her desperately.

Justin Chanda, senior v-p and publisher of Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, worked on 11 books with MacLachlan, including the forthcoming Snow Horses (Nov.). He offered this remembrance: Patty was a brilliant writer, but what made her a genius was that she could express more in one sentence than most accomplish in a chapter or two. She wrote in an almost secret language that made children feel seen and made adults remember. Every word a gem. Being around her you always felt like you were catching up with your best friend and most wicked co-conspirator.

And author Jane Yolen recalled her longtime friend and former writing student this way: PattyMac, as we in the writing group often called her, was more than just a brilliant writer. She was a sort of Dorothy Parker figuresharp and funnycrossed with an Emily Dickinson wordsmith. Im no poet, you know, she would say to us, when we were talking about a piece she just read to us, her own lines of the picture book putting the lie to such a statement. We watched her struggle with macular degeneration and marveled that even blind, she was writing more than any of us. She always had a new piece, or part of a new book for us to hear. She was finishing revisions on a new novel even as death crept up behind her.

Was she one of a kind? She was three of a kind, I think. I know no one else like hersoft and sharp, witty and snarky, and the most loving mom and grandmother in the world. In fact, the world has been mothered by her. Just read her books and you will know what I mean.
Publishers have waited three years to reconvene at the London Book Fair, and the level of enthusiasm for a near return-to-normal book fair is riding high. The first hours of the fair saw lines forming outside the venue for the obligatory Covid vaccination checks and the largely mask-free crowd streamed into the still-under-renovation Olympia hall.

Though the presence of the large American publishing conglomerates is muted compared to previous years, English publishers have crowded the floor and numerous international standsranging from the United Arab Emirates to Indonesia, Lithuania to Germanyhave taken even more prominent positions.

Here are a few sights from the first hours of the fair:

The Ukraine stand at the London Book Fair entreated publishers to "translate, translate, translate," and warned them that "war in Ukraine is not fiction."

A panel discussed the future of the publishing industry after Covid-19 on the fair's Main Stage. Panelists included Kate Wilson, managing director of Nosy Crow; Meryl Halls of the Booksellers Association; Chantal Restivo-Alessi, chief digital officer at HarperCollins and CEO of the company's International Foreign Language division; Eoin Purcell, head of Amazon Publishing's U.K. and Germany branches; and Jenny Geras, managing director of Bookoutre,

In a session entitled "Beyond the Bookshop," a variety of professionals working in the self-publishing space addressed the value of intellectual property for the "creator economy." Panelists included Joanna Penn, founder of the Creative Penn; Orna Ross, founder and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors; and Michael Anderle, founder of LMBPN Publishing.

A view of the show floor depicting several prominent international collective stands.
Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin, chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, plans to hold a hearing to examine the wave of attempted book bannings in schools and libraries across the country. The hearing is set for April 7 at 10:00 a.m. ET. A livestream will be available on YouTube and the Committee on Oversight and Reform website.

The hearing comes during National Library Week, and after the American Library Association announced on Monday that it counted some 729 challenges to remove nearly 1,600 books from school and public libraries in 2021a striking uptick and the highest number of attempted book bans in the 20 years that the ALA has tracked this data. The vast majority of challenged books involve issues of race and LGBTQ+ issues.

"The current efforts to ban books are part of a broader attack on free speech in the classroom that amounts to educational censorship," reads a release announcing the hearing. "Combatting these efforts is paramount to protecting the First Amendment rights of students and teachers, and preserving free speech in America."
Published on:

4 April 2022



Ukrainians arriving at the train station in Lviv, Ukraine. Credit: istock.com/Joel Carillet Ukrainians arriving at the train station in Lviv, Ukraine. Credit: istock.com/Joel Carillet

In recent years, conflicts in Ethiopia, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen have caused huge suffering. They have devastated the health and wellbeing of local populations and led to countless unnecessary deaths. Russias invasion of Ukraine is showing the world, yet again, the abhorrent consequences of war.

As well as the direct casualties of these conflicts, yet more people will suffer illness and death due to disrupted health systems and lack of access to clean water, food, medicines or simply warmth and shelter. In these desperate conditions, control of infectious diseases breaks down. One such infectious disease is tuberculosis (TB).

TB is an infectious disease spread through coughing. It has killed more people than any other single infectious agent in history, including SARS-CoV-2. TB is curable, but people need support to get through the many months of treatment required.

More difficult to treat are multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), which affect half a million people per year.

MDR-TB is a major global public health challenge and a leading cause of death from antimicrobial resistance. It requires a more extensive range of drugs, sometimes for up to 24 months. This, coupled with myriad side-effects, makes MDR-TB harder to cure.

The effect of TB and MDR-TB is not only physical but socioeconomic. Being ill with MDR-TB, seeking care, and being hospitalised are associated with out-of-pocket costs and lost income that can be catastrophic.

Previous decades have seen an epidemic of MDR-TB in Russia and former Soviet countries, including Ukraine. Drug resistance thrives on fractured health systems and sporadic medicine supply. Such conditions plagued these states following the breakdown of the Soviet Union, and are exacerbated by war.

But illnesses do not exist in isolation. Untreated HIV is a significant risk factor for TB and this region has experienced rapidly increasing numbers of people living with HIV. Despite reducing TB incidence in recent years, Ukraine still has one of the highest burdens of TB in Europe. Also, it is of great concern that nearly a third of the people affected have drug-resistant TB, with high and increasing rates of MDR-TB and XDR-TB.

The invasion of Ukraine is an impending disaster for TB control across the entire region and potentially beyond. War anywhere lays the foundations for outbreaks and epidemics of infectious diseases from cholera in Yemen, to polio in Syria, and measles in Afghanistan. Indeed, both world wars caused a profound increase in TB deaths.

Wars lead to conditions that are the perfect breeding ground for TB, including food insecurity and overcrowding in poorly ventilated spaces. This is the dire situation currently facing many people in bomb shelters across Ukraine. Wars ravage healthcare infrastructure, decimate immunisation programmes, and limit access to quality care. This means unwell people often have late diagnoses, resulting in worse complications and a greater chance of onward transmission.

Over 3 million people have fled Ukraine following Russias recent invasion. This follows extensive recent migrations from Syria, Afghanistan and Ethiopia, all of which have high MDR-TB prevalence. Such displacement is going to challenge public health responses.

COVID set back efforts to eradicate TB

These challenges come on the backdrop of the COVID pandemic, during which TB notification rates plummeted. This was not because TB suddenly went away. It was due to disruptions in access to TB diagnosis and treatment.

Estimating the pandemics true impact on TB infections, disease, and death is complex. However, the World Health Organization has suggested that the pandemic has set back efforts to end TB by more than a decade.

Failure to control TB and MDR-TB will cause untold harm to communities, particularly those made vulnerable by their living conditions. To avoid this, the war in Ukraine and other conflicts must end.

In the meantime, we must provide support to people living in or displaced by conflict. This includes ensuring access to free, quality, person-centred care. Care encompasses TB prevention, rapid diagnostics, resistance testing and treatment across borders and throughout a persons migratory journey. But care should be more than just clinical. People with TB and MDR-TB, especially people fleeing conflict, can benefit from social, economic and psychological support.

This year was always going to be an uphill battle as global health systems recover from the pandemic. The war in Ukraine will only make eliminating TB harder. Investment is key because for every dollar we spend on TB prevention and care, we get 43 back.

If we have learned anything from COVID, its that bugs dont respect borders. Global communities are interconnected like never before.

Ending TB is a fight we all need to invest in.

This article first appeared in The Conversation on March 22.
Since launch in November 1982, the channel has striven to provide diversity and offer a cultural alternative to output from the BBC and ITV . Yet almost from inception, the state-owned, commercially-funded channel has battled with successive Conservative governments, regarded as an unremitting voice of opposition to its policies.Channel 4s future has been under debate for a while, dating back to 2016 when the idea of privitisation was first floated by the UK Conservative government then headed by David Cameron. At the time an academic report suggested rumoured plans by the UK governments to sell off its stake in Channel 4 would likely not benefit the UK economy, the broadcasting industry or indeed the nations creative industries. It fundamentally contradicted the view of the then UK Culture Secretary John Whittingdale that Channel 4 could be better off and have a stronger future in private hands.In July 2021, the UK government began the process of a consultation regarding the future of Channel 4government began the process of a consultation regarding the future of Channel 4 , considering whether a change of ownership of Channel 4 would ensure its future success and sustainability. It noted that the current strength and variety of the UKs TV production sector was in part thanks to the role of Channel 4 which the government said it wanted to protect. However, it warned that the fast evolving media landscape, with increased competition and changing audience habits, was posing serious challenges to traditional linear TV broadcasters, which meant it was now time to review its ownership structure. The government said that it wanted to preserve Channel 4s status as a public service broadcaster producing original, distinctive content as well as high quality news and current affairs serving every corner of the country.Dorries in particular has appeared to have particular opposition to the channel. In her first appearance before a Culture Select Committee in the UK Parliament in November 2021 she gave evidence that she was under the impression that the channel was funded by the British taxpayer, rather than by commercial means, mostly advertising.In a Tweet explaining the reason for her decision for privatisation, Dorries said: Channel 4 rightly holds a cherished place in British life and I want that to remain the case. I have come to the conclusion that government ownership is holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon. A change of ownership will give Channel 4 the tools and freedom to flourish and thrive as a public service broadcaster long into the future. I will set out the future plan for Channel 4 in a White Paper in due course. I will seek to reinvest the proceeds of the sale into levelling up the creative sector, putting money into independent production and creative skills in priority parts of the country - delivering a creative dividend for all. Commenting on the announcement, Channel 4 said that with over 60,000 submissions to the Governments public consultation, it was disappointing that the announcement had been made without formally recognising the significant public interest concerns which have been raised. Channel 4 had recently presented DCMS with what it regarded as a real alternative to privatisation that would safeguard its future financial stability, allowing it to do significantly more for the British public, the creative industries and the economy, particularly outside London. This it added was particularly important given that the organisation was only two years into a significant commitment to drive up its impact in the UKs Nations and Regions.The proposal to privatise Channel 4 will require a lengthy legislative process and political debate. Opposition to the move has come across the political spectrum. Former Conservative Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "I'm not in favour of it because as it stands Channel 4 provides competition to the BBC on public service broadcasting."The news of the privatisation came immediately after UK regulator Ofcom announced that Sir Ian Cheshire had been appointed Chair of Channel 4. The appointment  for which Ofcom is responsible for, subject to Government approval  had been approved by Dorries. Businessman Cheshire, served on a business taskforce for former Conservative prime minister David Cameron prompting calls of cronyism.
Staff of Journey On! were recognized for their outreach efforts at the April 4 City Council meeting.

JOURNEY ON! COMMENDED FOR HOMELESS OUTREACH EFFORTS

The Rapid City Council received a briefing on the homeless outreach efforts by Journey On! at last evenings meeting.

Presenters included Police Chief Don Hedrick, Fire Chief Jason Culbertson, Rich Braunstein and staff members of Journey On! who provided details on work of the group. The group has responded to more than 1,700 calls of service since outreach efforts began in mid-December. The calls include outreach interactions, conducting follow ups and delivering human services to individuals.

After the briefing, Mayor Allender shared a letter of commendation to the group for their efforts and exceeding expectations just months since beginning their efforts.

LETTER OF COMMENDATION

Journey On!

Journey On!, a local non-profit organization focused on homeless street outreach, is directing community response efforts to homeless individuals. In November, the Rapid City Police Department and the City of Rapid City finalized a co-response contract with Journey On! to support the homeless population on non-violent calls for service.

Many of these interactions involve transporting homeless individuals to meetings with service partners, medical appointments, safe beds, or meeting with service organizations to work on ongoing care plans with clients. Other interactions consisted of simply making contact for follow-up or mentorship with individuals.

Journey On! staff members check various areas in the community where houseless individuals are known to congregate. They forge relationships, and through all of these efforts, are making a noticeable difference in our community.

The street outreach work performed by Journey On! consists of working all hours, day and night, and being out in harsh conditions. Their outreach work is engaging and has helped to reduce police and ambulance calls for service. We are proud of what they have accomplished in the short time they have dedicated to participating in the co-response effort in Rapid City.

Since December 14 through April 2, the staff at Journey On! have together responded to a total of 1701 calls for service that otherwise would have been answered by a police officer or firefighter. That is over 15 calls for service every day, for the past 111 days. These calls consist of outreach interactions, conducting follow-ups, and delivering human services to vulnerable individuals.

The success of Journey On! is first credited to a very active board of directors. The front-end work done by these directors before there were any boots on the ground, has been instrumental in setting the organization up for success, and would not have been possible without the work of Jamie Kirsch, Lance Lehman, Tracy Sigdestad, and Rich Braunstein. We would like to recognize their commitment and dedication to addressing homelessness and related issues in our community.

We would like to recognize these efforts of the board and all of the employees of Journey On! and promote their work moving forward. Journey On! is a wonderful example of what collaboration and coordination of resources can accomplish. The time, effort, patience, and compassion displayed by Journey On! is to be commended.

Sincerely,

Steve Allender

Mayor
From when Elon Musk was very young he plotted an escape from his surroundings and dreamed of a place that would allow his personality and dreams to flourish. Those are the words of Ashlee Vance, from his 2015 biography of the remarkable entrepreneur. According to Vance, Musk saw America in its most cliched form, as the land of opportunity and the most likely stage for making the realization of his dreams possible.

Musks towering vision of the United States is useful as a jumping off point with regard to what Tesla, the electric vehicle maker that Musk grew into a business behemoth against the longest of odds, is enduring right now in California. The states regulatory bodies are increasingly not worthy of the brilliant business minds within the state, and Californias Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is ugly evidence of this truth.

For background, in February the DFEH filed a lawsuit against Tesla alleging systematic racial discrimination and harassment. Notable about the suit is that DFEH attorneys have based it on media stories and administrative complaints that the state agency has never actually investigated itself. Where it becomes rather troubling is the horrid nature of the allegations that the regulatory body hasnt bothered to look into. Indeed, the suit contends that Teslas Fremont factory is racially segregated and a slave ship.

On their face, the allegations should raise skeptical eyebrows. That is so because as part of purchasing a Tesla vehicle, one of the perks for the buyer is a tour of the factory. Beyond that, Musk has long kept his factories open to automakers of all stripes with the proliferation of electric vehicles top of mind. In Musks view, the more the merrier. The more electric cars are accepted as the future of the automobile, the better the odds of growth for Tesla itself.

Both anecdotes rate mention as a way of questioning the brutal nature of the charges. That is so because for many Tesla buyers, its about much more than the car. Its about making a purchase that right or wrong is the path toward improving life on the planet. This being true, does anyone seriously think Tesla would allow passionate buyers of a vision bigger than the car into a factory that was racially segregated at best, and a slave ship at worst? The question answers itself.

Considering other businessmen and potential competitors, does anyone seriously think Musk would allow them to witness 19th century conditions for a brand that prides itself on rushing an entirely different driving future into the 21st? This question similarly answers itself.

In short, from the outset the DFEH should have found itself seriously wondering about the validity of media stories and other complaints. They in no way tessellated with the Tesla that has so profoundly captured the enthusiasm of its customers and shareholders, but also their hearts. In reality, as of this writing theres no claim from the DFEH that its attorneys have even visited the factory that lies at the heart of its lawsuit. Basically, DFEH is filing a lawsuit without evidence supporting its filing, and worse, its doing so without providing Tesla with any specifics about the allegations that are said to have informed its suit.

All of which calls for a brief detour, or digression. Here its worth pointing out that the DFEH is in a crucial way unlike the typical state agency. In particular, DFEH acts as a law firm in and of itself whereby the proceeds from its settlements are not disbursed in total to the plaintiffs. Instead, a portion is kept by the agency to pay its own expenses, along with the outside law firms that it outsources some of its activism to. To say that this arrangement creates substantive conflict of interest when it comes to mugging businesses of the deep-pocketed kind brings new meaning to understatement.

And as readers can probably imagine, its not just Tesla thats subject to the DFEHs quizzical behavior. In their investigation of the California-based video gaming company, Activision, DFEH was found to have violated California legal ethics rules when two of its attorneys didnt disclose that they had previously worked on the case at the federal level. Even more disturbing are DFEHs unprecedented and repeated attempts to block a federal settlement to pursue its own case, a move which would have delayed the aggrieved individuals access to an $18 million settlement fund.

Applied to Tesla, and branding of same whereby it strives for purpose above the profits born of manufacturing cars, its perhaps not surprising that the DFEH would happen upon it. Lawsuits like those of DFEH would in particular scare a company like Tesla given its customer base; possibly into an expensive, but also early settlement. The DFEH recently wrangled an unprecedented $100M settlement out of Riot Games. Simply put, Tesla more than most cannot risk the compromise to its brand that would emerge from horrid and drawn-out allegations that give the impression of slave ship.

Which is why its response is encouraging. Rather than caving, Tesla has replied in a blog post that Over the past five years, the DFEH has been asked on almost 50 occasions by individuals who believe they were discriminated against or harassed to investigate Tesla. On every single occasion, when the DFEH closed an investigation, it did not find misconduct by Tesla. Amen.

In fighting back, Tesla is requiring the DFEH to lay its proverbial chips on the table; chips it likely doesnt have. Evidence supporting the previous claim is the aforementioned truth about the companys very open factories.

Still, its worth asking if the damage has already been done. Its well known that Musk has already taken his own herculean talents to Texas and its lighter regulatory and litigious ways, along with substantial parts of Tesla. Will the companys Fremont factory eventually be moved, along with other Musk businesses (think SpaceX, Solar City) presently headquartered in California? This is the question. And its a sad one to ask.

To see why, please think back to a young Musk plotting his escape to the great United States. Once here, Musk knew that California would be his essential stage on which to make his massive mark on commercial and global progress. For doing so, he and his businesses are now being harassed in expensive fashion.

How sad if young individuals inside and outside the U.S., but with dreamy visions like Elon Musk once had, are taking notes as California becomes ever more hostile to business. Is this how the truly Golden State wants its beautiful story to end?
Tiesto and his wife, Annika Backes Verwest, revealed at the 64th annual Grammy Awards that they are expecting their second child together.

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While posing for photos on the red carpet Sunday night, Tiesto cradled his wife's stomach and crouched down to draw attention to the baby bump while she looked on.

The Dutch DJ was dressed in a black and gold floral print suit made by Dolce and Gabbana, while Anika was clad in an off-the-shoulder black gown from the Italian design house.

Tiesto confirmed the news Monday on his Instagram, writing: "I am having another baby with the love of my life."

In the post, Tiesto shared a boomerang video that showed him kissing his wife's stomach. The post also included additional pictures from their night in Las Vegas for Sunday's award show.

Tiesto, who was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Record for his track, "The Business," is already a father to 1-year-old daughter, Viola Margreet, who was welcomed in November 2020.

Tiesto and his wife, Annika, tied the knot in 2019 during a desert ceremony in Utah.
Celebrity couple Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are married.

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TMZ reported Tuesday that Kardashian, 42, and Barker, 46, secretly married at a Las Vegas wedding early Monday morning following the Grammy Awards.

Kardashian and Barker reportedly arrived at One Love Wedding Chapel around 1:30 a.m. Monday, just hours after Barker performed at the Grammys. The couple had a marriage license and presented it to the chapel owner, who served as a witness.

Sources said the couple had an Elvis impersonator officiate the wedding. The pair didn't allow the venue to take any photos but brought their own photographer and security.

Kardashian and Barker will reportedly hold "several" other wedding celebrations with friends and family.

One Love Wedding Chapel owner Marty Frierson confirmed Kardashian and Barker's marriage to People.

"They came, got married, tossed the bouquet in the driveway, and danced to Elvis," Frierson said. "They showed a lot of love and had a lot of fun."

Kardashian and Barker got close and shared a kiss as they walked the red carpet Sunday at the Grammy Awards.

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The couple got engaged in October after being first linked in January 2021.

Kardashian has three children, Mason, 12, Penelope, 9, and Reign, 7, with her ex-partner Scott Disick, while Barker has two kids, Landon, 18, and Alabama, 16, with his ex-wife, Shanna Moakler.

Kardashian will discuss her relationship with Barker in an ABC interview Wednesday and on her family's new Hulu reality series, The Kardashians.
People gathered in Harmony Parking lot in Brattleboro on Friday, April 22nd for a street festival and parade in celebration of Earth Day. According to Nancy Braus of 350 Brattleboro, the goal was to celebrate the ways in which the community is working towards climate justice and to empower 
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Can't beat this borscht  and it's for a good cause
By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

The history of the Azerbaijani theater and cinema is rich in outstanding personalities. It's impossible to imagine the history of the national theater without Aghasadikh Garaybayli.

The actor made an invaluable contribution to the development and prosperity of cinematography and theater art in Azerbaijan.

Aghasadikh Garaybayli was born in 1897 in Shamakhi region. After the devastating earthquake, his family moved to Baku.

Garaybayli was drawn to the stage from an early age. His uncle was one of the best friends of Azerbaijan's eminent actor Huseyn Arablinski.

Moreover, they were neighbors, and the theatrical rehearsals often took place in Garaybayli's house. So, it is not surprising that a teenager was drawn to the stage from an early age.

For the first time, Garaybayli appeared on the theater stage in the role of a woman. At that time, all female roles were embodied by men. His acting skills were highly appreciated by Huseyn Arablinski.

Since that time, Garaybayli had been actively involved in theatrical life. He was one of the active members of the Nijat Theater Society established in 1917 by director and actor Mir Mahmud Kazimovski.

Furthermore, he created a new theater troupe "Safa" that was financially supported by well-known philanthropist and industrial magnate Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev.

In 1933, Aghasadikh Garaybayli started working at the Azerbaijan Drama Theater, where he performed until the last days of his life.

The actor brilliantly embodied both comedy and dramatic roles.

Garaybayli stood at the origins of not only the national Azerbaijani theater but also cinema. He started acting when feature cinema was just beginning to develop in Azerbaijan.

In the days of "silent cinema", he starred in the film "The Maiden Tower Legend" (1924).

Next, national playwright and film director Jafar Jabbarli invited Aghasadikh Garaybayli to play the role of Balash in the film adaptation of the playwright "Sevil" together with Izzat Orujova, known as the first Azerbaijani woman who acted in films.

The playwright focuses on the theme of the role of women, their oppression, struggle, and ultimately, victory over dated patriarchal traditions. Many women discarded their veils in the city theater after seeing the play.

After these films, Garaybayli had a break in cinematography for more than 25 years. The next time he acted in films was in the film "Bakhtiyar" (1955).

Undoubtedly, the role of Rustam bay in the film "If Not That One, Then This One" brought him great fame.

"If Not That One, Then This One" is a 1910 operetta in four acts that reflects social and everyday life relations in pre-revolutionary Azerbaijan. It is the composer's second work written in this genre.

In his work, Hajibayli used the Azerbaijani mugham and included extracts from Fuzuli's ghazals in the libretto.

The premiere of "If Not This One, Then That One" was held in Baku on April 25, 1911, at the Mayilov brothers' theater (now State Opera and Ballet Theater).

In 1956, Huseyn Seyidzade shot the movie "If Not This One, Then That One". The film criticized backward traditions and celebrated emerging modern lifestyles. It was translated into many languages and within the next three years was shown in more than 40 countries.

"If Not This One, Then That One" film is considered one of the most famous and successful cinematographic pieces in the history of Azerbaijans film industry.

Aghasadikh Garaybayli believed that the actor should be young at heart so that his roles wouldn't be forgotten.

His name has been inscribed in the history of Azerbaijani cinematography in golden letters.

The State Film Fund has recently opened a photo exhibition dedicated to Aghasadikh Garaybayli's 125th anniversary.

The exhibition featured 30 photos that reflected the legacy of the outstanding actor. The photo exhibition aroused great public interest.
'I probably will wait a bit'  Gov. Scott will likely delay second booster shot
Courtesy of Artisan Restaurants

A new drink on the menu at the Artisan restaurants in Southport and West Hartford shows support for Ukraine, as the Russian invasion continues.

The "United for Ukraine" drink is now available at both restaurants, which are located at the Delamar hotels. The cocktail ($14) is designed in the blue-and-gold colors of the Ukrainian flag, using Empress gin and blue curacao, Pavan liqueur, lemon, honey, tiki bitters and a twist of lemon peel as garnish.
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TORRINGTON  Camp Moe will open this summer after all, thanks to the Northwestern Connecticut YMCA.

Director Greg Briscoe said his agency is taking over the operations of the summer camp, which provides sessions for children with and without disabilities.

Were getting lots of calls, and registrations are coming in, Briscoe said. Were glad to be in a position where we can take this on.

Camp Moe, owned by the Arc of Litchfield County, or LARC, announced in late February that the organization would not open the camp this year, citing financial constraints and a need to refocus its operations, and that it was looking for a buyer.

The LARC program was dubbed Camp Moe a decade ago to honor 12-year-old Moe Renzullo, an avid camp attendee with Down syndrome who died of leukemia in 2010. It has served as a special place to many children over the years at the Tall Timbers property off Route 4.

LARC Executive Director Michael Menard said the decision to close the camp was based on the cost of running it for a short two months each summer, and that the agency no longer can support it. Now that the YMCA has stepped up, LARC said it will help.

We know how important Camp MOE has been to our community and were excited that the Y is willing to step forward to continue this camping tradition, Menard said. The board felt strongly that we should help the Y in any way we could to make this happen this summer.

LARC, a Torrington-based nonprofit supporting residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, bought Tall Timbers from the Girl Scouts of Connecticut Council in 2016 for $1.2 million.

Briscoe said the YMCA was a natural fit for running Camp Moe.

Were used to doing camps, hiring staff; we have the software in our system for registration, he said. So we felt like we could do this, and we did. As soon as they found out we were running Camp Moe, families jumped right in.

The Y and LARCs partnership to operate an inclusive summer day camp program dates back to the early 1960s, when the Y owned Camp Oleout, and for ten years from 1999-2008 at the Girls Scout-owned Camp Maria Pratt. LARC continued the camp program on the property from 2009 through 2021.

The YMCA will be able to run the camp with little advance planning or infrastructure improvements, Briscoe said.

LARC has done a wonderful job with the property, he said. We ran camp for 10 years with the Girl Scouts, but LARC has done a lot. Its beautiful now, the buildings are all renovated, and the place is pristine.

The other thing is, Ive gotten calls from people saying, How can we help, youre so great to do this. One anonymous donor said, make a list of the things you need, and well get them for you, he said. That kind of generosity is coming through from a number of people, which is just great.

Collaborating to keep Camp Moe going is important to the community, he said. Torringtons public school administrators are helping children sign up, too.

Were collaborating with the schools, like LARC did, and were all pulling together, Briscoe said. Its all working very well.

The YMCA is also getting ready to present its many other summer camps: Camp Torymca, Ninja Warrior Training Camp, Camp Golden Arrow,and Camp Rising Star, which is run by the Winchester Youth Service Bureau at Elks Pond in Torrington. The Y also runs a camp for preschool children at the YMCAs child care center.

Camp Torymca is a traditional day camp, and the Ninja Warrior Camp is at the Y in Torrington, Briscoe said. We converted two racquetball courts into a training center, with obstacle courses, climbing walls; and the kids love it. The building is air conditioned, and the pool is right there.

Kids at Camp Ninja Warrior have activities all day, but theres actually a half hour of quiet time where the kids can just lie down and relax, he said. Its a very popular program.

Camp Golden Arrow is offered through the YMCA in Winsted. Camp Rising Star, a smaller program, is for children who have trouble with other camp experiences, Briscoe said. Its a very small staff-to-kid ratio, and along with the fun summer camp activities, the kids learn about problem solving, getting along with others, things that will help them have a good experience and learn skills. We enroll up to 50 kids each summer in that program.

So as you can see, we have lots of camps going on already, with different focuses at different places. Camp Moe is a larger program, but its the same, and were ready, Briscoe said.

Now more than ever, summer camp continues to be an important service for parents with young children, according to the YMCA. Not only does it serve as childcare for parents while they work, but also as a fun stimulating activity where youth can try new things, be active, make new friends and just have fun.

Studies have shown that children who dont attend a vibrant summer program experience a learning loss as compared to their peers, Briscoe said. This makes it difficult for struggling students to resume the school year at the same pace as their classmates.

For families with children with special needs, there are far fewer options available to them and Camp Moe has been that one place that they can count on, he said. Attending summer camp allows kids a chance to be physically active, have healthy lunches and afternoon snacks where they can socialize, and participate in activities with friends in a safe environment.

The Y will be fully responsible for the camp operation including staff recruitment and training, camper registration, and all of the day-to-day operations necessary to ensure the safety of campers and staff. LARC is providing the property to the Y at no cost, Menard said.

Our compliments to LARC for all of the work the agency undertook after purchasing the property to improve it, make it safe and competitive. Its a beautiful facility and fits very well with the Ys mission to serve its communities building healthy spirit, minds and bodies, said Bob Teittinen, President of the YMCA Board of Directors.

Both organizations are also open to offering areas of the property to other community groups in need of space for smaller programming this summer. They can contact Briscoe at 860-489-3133 ext. 116 or Menard at 860-482-9364, ext. 280.

To find out more information or to register for Camp Moe go to www.campmoe.org or email campmoe@nwcty.org or call 860-618-2800 or 860-489-3133, ext. 143. To register for other YMCA summer programs, go to www.nwcty.org/
Myanmar, which had no journalists behind bars at the end of 2020, has rocketed up in the rankings to rival China, the nearly perennial top jailer of journalists, and authoritarian states like Egypt and Turkey. Since the since the Feb. 1, 2021 military coup, the junta has arrested 135 journalists, according to a local press freedoms group, which says the arrests of media workers is still going on.
Authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong have expelled a student from Yantai's Ludong University after he protested the government's COVID-19 policies, which have led to strict lockdowns in major cities across China in recent weeks.



Postgraduate student Sun Jian, 38, was expelled after he held up a placard on campus on March 27 that read "resolutely oppose the campus lockdown," among other slogans, he told RFA on Tuesday.



"The placard I held up was made of grey cardboard on a wooden stick, and it said I resolutely oppose the campus lockdown; resolutely oppose such high-frequency PCR testing of all staff; resolutely oppose such strict restrictions on students; resolutely oppose the school making epidemic prevention its top priority," Sun said.



He said he was approached and obstructed several times by university personnel during the 20 minutes he displayed the sign.



"I was stopped by a teacher about three minutes after I left the postgraduate apartment building," he said. "A while later, two security guards from the university came and followed me in an electric vehicle."



"One of them asked me for my personal details, and also advised me not to raise the placard," Sun said. "Another teacher recorded me on their phone."



Sun's walk took him from the postgraduate dorm to Ruzi Lake in the northern sector of the Ludong University campus.



"Another teacher came along and tried to dissuade me, and also asked for my personal details," he said. "Later, I heard someone say they were going to snatch the placard away from me and I started running at the that point, and they chased me."



"Soon after that, a teacher came up and tackled me from behind and I fell to the ground ... they snatched my phone," he said. "Two security guards and a teacher escorted me to the concierge at the No. 1 administrative building."



Four days after his solo protest, Ludong University published a document accusing Sun of publishing "untrue and inappropriate remarks" about China, Shandong province, Yantai city and the school's disease prevention strategy to his WeChat public account.



Sun also continued to post video and commentary about his protest to social media, even after he was detained by the university authorities.



Sun was expelled from the university on the grounds that he had "openly opposed and resisted campus regulations, and seriously disrupted public order on campus."



'Detention center' conditions



Sun had earlier complained in a letter to the school authorities that he felt he had been sent to a detention center rather than a university, owing to the COVID-19 restrictions imposed there.



"The students at Ludong have become highly dependent on daily express deliveries for their day-to-day existence," he told RFA. "Online shopping is now an indispensable part of their lives, but the school banned it across the board."



"This has been very troublesome and hugely damaging," Sun said. "I have been at the school since 2020, for more than 18 months now, and there were also lockdowns back then, even where there were no COVID-19 cases."



"They had to go to restaurants to buy food and eat it back in the dorms, because they weren't allowed to eat in restaurants, and the prices on campus were so high," he said.



"The libraries were all shut down, so we couldn't study there, so all of that was very troublesome for the students."



He said that foreign students and the family members of teachers were allowed to come and go freely, but Chinese students were banned from leaving campus.



"Excessive disease control measures have sowed panic among students; I think the PCR testing of all staff was unnecessary and also caused huge disruption to students studies, and their daily lives," Sun said.



"I feel that my behavior fell purely within the scope of freedom of speech," he said. "I did abide by the disease control regulations that I didn't agree with."



"I expected that Ludong University would punish me or expel me. I expected these consequences, but I couldn't predict the specific outcome," he said.



"I feel that people should carry on speaking out, always speak up," Sun told RFA, adding that he plans to file an official complaint against the university.



Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Topics could include maritime security and territorial disputes with Beijing in the East and South China Seas.

The Philippines and Japan will hold an inaugural four-way meeting of their foreign and defense ministers later this week to deepen bilateral security cooperation, Manila confirmed on Tuesday.

The two-plus-two talks, which will consist of two ministers from each side sitting together in the same room, could include discussions on maritime security and the countries respective territorial disputes with Beijing in the East China Sea and South China Sea. The meeting, agreed to by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in November, is scheduled for Saturday in Tokyo, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

The 2+2 is the next logical progression in the deepening policy and security cooperation between the two countries and is envisioned to be a key component in further strengthening the decade-old PH-Japan Strategic Partnership, it said.

The close ties between the two countries for six decades now continue to expand to various areas of cooperation and have resulted in the improvement of the Philippines maritime law enforcement capabilities, increased maritime domain awareness and enhanced counterterrorism and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities, among other areas, the department said.

While it did not mention any specific topics for discussion, the department said the meeting was to lay the groundwork for a security partnership in the next decade.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana plan to discuss with their Japanese counterparts ways of working together amidst the growing complexity in the regional and international security environment, the department said.

Last week, Kyodo News Agency said Japanese and Philippine ministers were expected to discuss arms exports to the Philippines. It also said Tokyo planned to hold similar discussions with New Delhi later this month.

Tokyos plans for the two-plus-two talks could send a nuanced message to Beijing about Japans determination to foster security ties with like-minded partners, an analyst said last week.

If Japan could bring the Philippines and India on board for maritime deterrence, it will be a big deal, Huynh Tam Sang, an analyst at Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Vietnam, told RFA.

South China Sea claims

US Marines take their positions during the joint Balikatan military exercise hosted by the Philippines on a beach in Cagayan province, March 31, 2022. Credit: AP Beijing has overlapping claims with Manila in the South China Sea while four other Asian governments  Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam  also claim territories in the waterway.

Still, China holds the most expansive claim, saying it has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over nearly all of the South China Sea.

While Japan is not a claimant, it is a strategic rival of China. The two powers have competing claims in the East China Sea, including the Tokyo-administered Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims and calls Diaoyu.

China and the Philippines

The Philippines-Japan two-plus-two meeting will also occur the day after a scheduled virtual meeting between Duterte and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The Philippine foreign ministry has not yet released details of what is to be discussed then.

Xi Jinping wants to talk to me. We are friends, Duterte said, according to a transcript released last week announcing the meeting.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted Locsin for talks in Tunxi, a district in Chinas Anhui province.

Chinese and Philippine officials said maritime issues should be put in a proper place in bilateral relations, according to a statement issued by the Chinese foreign ministry after Sundays talks.

Wang said Manila and Beijing should eliminate interference and calmly and properly manage differences, so as to prevent the overall China-Philippines relations from being affected.

In the meantime, Filipino and U.S. forces have been conducting their largest joint military exercises in years on Philippine territory. The Balikatan (Shoulder-to-Shoulder) exercises began on March 28 and go till April 8.

On Tuesday, Lorenzana told reporters that a Chinese ship that had entered Manila-claimed waters in January was shadowing another military exercise involving Philippine and American forces.

The area where the Chinese ship passed is not international waters. ... It is the waters between Palawan and Mindanao, Lorenzana said, referring to the countrys islands in the west and south.

On March 14, the foreign affairs department said it had summoned Beijings envoy, Huang Xilian, over the alleged incursion of a Chinese Navy electronic reconnaissance ship from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1.

What the ship did was shadow the ongoing exercises with the U.S. forces, U.S. Navy, that we were having, Lorenzana said, referring to a joint exercise near Palawan from Jan. 28 to 31.

The exact military term is shadowing. In Intel, that is following and watching, he said. [I]t stayed in the area for several days, shadowing the exercise which contradicts the Chinese claim of innocent passage.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.
YouTube has suspended the account of Odessa-based Chinese national Wang Jixian after he reported on atrocities committed as Russian troops withdrew from Bucha, RFA has learned.



Odessa-based programmer Wang has been uploading videos since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began last month, but hasn't published any new videos since one on March 30 in which he hits out at pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) critics as "human trash," and translates news reports of gang rape being committed by Russian troops in Bucha, including of a young girl.



Wang had been uploading to the site daily, with the same introduction every time: "It's Jixian. I'm in Odessa."



YouTube told Wang that his account had been suspended for posting "violent content" in his March 28 video, ignoring an appeal submitted by Wang.



"I find this inexplicable," Wang told RFA. "YouTube claims that my account was reported for violent content, which violates the rules, but where is the violence? I didn't include photos [of violence] in my video."



"This was a front-line war report ... In my appeal, I asked them to say which video or photos weren't allowed, but within five minutes of my submitting the appeal, YouTube sent its final decision, which was that my account has been suspended for a week," he said.



Wang said he didn't blame YouTube, but the "ulterior motives" of whoever reported him.



Wang's March 28 video included footage of Odessa with air-raid sirens going off, and the sounds of missiles exploding, but also footage of him cooking in h is kitchen, and compiling Ukrainian government and media dispatches about the war, including news that the Ukrainian army had intercepted a Russian missile over the city.



In the second half of the video, Wang turns his attention to the CCP-backed media in China, which is still strongly supportive of Russia, particularly the claim that Russia has the upper hand in the war, despite arms sales from Western countries.



He shows photographic evidence suggesting that large numbers of Russian tanks have been captured by the Ukrainian army, as well as Russian soldiers fighting from electric tricycles and motorbikes.



The video also included footage of Ukrainian soldiers taking Russian soldiers captive, with one handed one a coat with the words, "Welcome to Ukraine, you bastard!"



Wang also takes issue with praise by pro-CCP commentator Sima Nan's claim that Russian president Vladimir Putin is "kind-hearted," and had refrained from sabotaging the power and water supply to Ukrainian homes.



'Countering lies and panic'



Wang said his suspension came after he was targeted by multiple messages warning him "don't provoke the Chinese government," and "don't be too aggressive with your comments."



He told RFA he is trying to stem the flow of "lies and panic" by spreading accurate information.



"I'm countering lies and panic by reporting from the front line," Wang told RFA. "Panic can be very contagious and spreads like a virus, like a plague."



"If an authoritarian power tries to intimidate you, you have to give back as good as you get ... I humiliated them mercilessly," Wang said. "The more you fear them, the happier they will be and the more they will do to you."



Wang has since shifted to Twitter, where his account quickly garnered tens of thousands of followers within a day of opening.



Wang has been subject to repeated vitriol on social media sites in China, however, where he is accused of spying for the U.S., and insulting China and the CCP.



But he thinks his videos will remind the world that not all Chinese nationals follow the official line on the war without question.



"I kept going with the YouTube channel so at the very least there would be a Chinese voice in the international community," Wang said. "I've been asked by ... journalists why all Chinese people support Russia, and I ask them in return why they only give a platform to one voice in such a huge country."



"[The party line] does not represent all voices in China; it's just that any dissenting voices are being filtered out," he said.



'Weaponizing propaganda'



Japan-based Chinese national Ding Dong said Wang's YouTube suspension wasn't the result of "normal reporting," suggesting a malicious reporting campaign by pro-CCP actors.



"Wang Jixian hit CCP propaganda and lies about the Russian war in Ukraine especially hard," Ding told RFA. "The suspension of his YouTube channel was likely the result of a large number of organized, [pro-CCP] supporters."



"I am really indignant that a big company like [that] will carry major channels for foreign propaganda [like Chinese state media outlets] for economic gain," he said.



Chinese blogger Wangguo Wahaha agreed.



"Wang Jixian made his opposition to Russia's violent invasion very clear in his videos, but because his stance didn't conform to the CCP official line, he was maliciously reported, which triggered the suspension mechanism," he said. "The CCP weaponizes propaganda every day ... and there is now a tendency for the CCP ... to extend its tentacles beyond the Great Firewall, to overseas social media platforms."



"We have seen a whole string of such instances ... we really need to put pressure on platforms like YouTube to re-examine their terms of service, which are so easily abused by the CCP," he said.



Earlier this month, Twitter briefly suspended an anonymous account translating online internet comment about the Russian invasion of Ukraine from inside the Great Firewall for readers outside China, in a bid to highlight online opinion about the war, which has been heavily influenced by ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda and a ban on criticism of Russia.



The crowd-sourced Great Translation Movement account @TGTM_Official on Twitter features online comments made on Chinese social media platforms rendered into English by volunteer translators.



The account started out in mid-February, amid growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, with volunteers selecting and tweeting various examples of Chinese online comment using the hashtag #TheGreatTranslationMovement in various languages.



The suspension, which was reversed on April 3, came after the account was criticized by the CCP-backed Global Times newspaper in March, which accused it of "smearing China with malicious words and deeds."



Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Citizens are angry because the crackdown makes it even harder to find gasoline.

In this April 1, 2016 file photo, cars line up at the pumps at a gas station in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Authorities in North Korea are cracking down on citizens who privately sell gasoline as fuel shortages spread across the country, sources in the country told RFA.

Private ownership and sale of fuel reserves is technically illegal in North Korea but is tolerated under normal circumstances. Now that fuel is hard to come by the government is finding the private sellers and seizing their fuel.

The crackdown began at the beginning of the month, a resident of the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFAs Korean Service on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

This investigation is a move to confiscate privately owned fuel in the country as it faces a fuel shortage, he said. These days in North Korea, the economic sectors including transportation, agriculture and fisheries are experiencing a severe shortage of gasoline and diesel fuel.

Demand is higher this time of year with the start of the farming season, but fuel reserves are lower than normal because of a two-year trade moratorium with China due to coronavirus concerns. Though the ban ended at the start of 2022, trade has not yet reached its former volume, so stocks have not yet been fully replenished.

Global prices are also high right now due to sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

At the beginning of this year, the price of fuel at the gas station operated by a trading company was 9,800 won per liter of gasoline [U.S. $6.17/gallon], 7,500 for diesel ($4.72/gallon), the source said.

No one expected that gasoline would rise to 17,000 won per liter [$10.71/gallon] or 12,000 won per liter [$7.56/gallon] for diesel by the end of March, he said.

Prices of gas sold by individuals also shot up but is still 1,000 won cheaper per liter ($0.60 cheaper per gallon) than the government price, according to the source.

People began to prefer trading with the individual sellers. Also, everyone knows that the fuel sold at gas stations is of inferior quality to that of private individual sellers, the source said.

Gas stations are known to mix gasoline with cheaper fuels, such as naphtha (lighter fluid), during times of shortage. Though it stretches the gas reserves further, the adulterated gas can damage vehicles or machines intended to run on gasoline.

It was this very practice that drove people in the northwestern province of North Pyongan to flock to the individual sellers, a resident there told RFA.

As the individual traders started selling fuels more actively, authorities began to take preliminary measures to take away their business, the second source said.

Residents of the city of Sinuiju believe that the reason the price of fuel is soaring these days is because of the government's series of missile test launches.  These continuous missile launches are preventing the smooth phase-in of fuel, she said.

She said the government tried to put price controls on gas in the city on the Chinese border, but it still has risen to unbelievable highs. Despite its proximity to China, gasoline in Sinuiju costs $7.10 per gallon and diesel costs $4.26.

Food and other necessities are skyrocketing right now as well, she said. Residents are very unhappy with the police departments crackdown on  the private sellers.

In springtime gas is in high demand for farming, fishing and transportation, but the authorities crackdown is making it difficult to get fuel because the private sellers are hiding so they dont get caught. It is causing a major disruption to our daily lives, the second source said.

RFA reported last month that people were trying to cash in on the fuel shortage by buying fuel vouchers in one part of the country and selling them in other parts where gas was more expensive. Fuel vouchers, however, can only be redeemed at gas stations.

Translated by Claire Lee and Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
A sudden discharge of water from a dam on the Sekong River in Vietnam flooded downstream villages in Laos, destroying property and sending residents scrambling to higher ground, sources in Laos told RFA.

The 170-megawatt A Luoi Dam near the border between the two countries in Vietnams Thua Thien-Hue province has been releasing water since April 2 as the dams reservoir swelled to alarming levels after days of rain in the region.

Sources downstream in Laos Sekong and Attapeu provinces told RFA that whole buildings were washed away by the rising waters after the release.

More than 30 restaurants out of 40 have been swept away and other food stands have all been lost too, a restaurant owner on the banks of the river in, Sekong province told RFAs Lao Service.

The district authorities issued a warning notice saying that the release wouldnt pose any danger to the residents, but the water level has jumped higher than expected. We didnt have time to move our chairs, tables and equipment to a safe place at all, the restaurant owner said.

The warning came on the afternoon of April 1, so few had time to prepare, according to the owner.

Then the water from the dam in Vietnam came so quickly. The water is now almost overflowing the river bank. The strong current hit the river wall causing a lot of landslides and damage. For an exact damage toll, the authorities of Sekong Province are still assessing the cost.

A villager in Attapeu province told RFA that residents received a vague warning message on their smartphones.

That warning didnt specify how much water was being released. The Lao authorities shouldve warned us several days earlier and they should have told us how much water will be released so people below the dam could have avoided a lot of the dam, the villager said.

A district-level official in Attapeu told RFA that the sudden discharge was because of nonstop rain.

Satellite imagery of the A Luoi dam in Vietnam. Credit: CNES/Airbus

The dam operator warned the Energy and Mines Department of Attapeu province earlier on April 1, an official of the department told RFA.

After that, Sekong province and Attapeu province publicly issued a similar warning to residents along the Sekong River to move their belongings to higher ground and stay away from the river.

All activities in the river were banned, including fishing and boating. But many villagers didnt heed the warning, the official said.

Many residents assumed that the water current wouldnt be that strong. Thats why there is some damage to property of the people who live on the river bank. Their homes, cars, motorcycles and some heavy equipment of a sand dredging company, including a pick-up truck, sand trucks and a backhoe, are flooded. The discharge is causing quite a bit of damage to floating restaurants, food stands and huts because their owners didnt have time to rescue them, the official said.

RFA reported on two previous floodings of Attapeu and Sekong provinces by the A Luoi dam in October and November 2018. A villager in 2018 told RFA that every time A Luoi releases water it floods the community.

Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Authorities are holding the ex-wife and daughter of one of two Uyghur men held in the country since 2020.

Muslims gather around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque complex in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, ahead of prayers on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan, April 2, 2022.

Two more Uyghurs  a mother and her daughter  are in danger of being deported from Saudi Arabia back to China, where they could face severe punishment at the hands of authorities there, an international human rights group said.

Police detained Buhalchem (in Chinese, Buheliqiemu) Abula and her 13-year-old daughter near the holy city of Mecca on March 31 and told them that they faced deportation to China along with two Uyghur men already held, according to a message received by Abulas friends, London-based Amnesty International said in a statement on Monday.

One of the men held, Nurmemet Rozi (Nuermaimaiti Ruze), is Abulas former husband and father of the 13-year who are now also being held. Rozi and Hamidulla Wali (Aimidoula Waili), a religious scholar, have been detained without charge in Saudi Arabia since November 2020.

The two men traveled to Saudi Arabia from Turkey on a religious pilgrimage to Mecca and were arrested, though authorities allegedly never told them why they were being held, RFA reported in March. Family members of the two men told Amnesty that the pair had been transferred from Jeddah to Riyadh, Saudi Arabias capital, in a move they believed was a precursor to extradition.

Buhalchem and her daughter were detained in the evening of March 31, Walis daughter, Nuriman Hamdulla, told RFA. I spoke to her as she and her daughter were taken away. They were given no reason for the detention. Were not sure where theyre detained now.

Theyre innocent, she said. They must be detained at the request of the Chinese government because they didnt break any law.

Hamdulla also said that she had not received a response from the Saudi authorities about whether her father and Rozi had been sent back to China.

Deporting these four people  including a child  to China, where Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities are facing a horrific campaign of mass internment, persecution and torture, would be an outrageous violation of international law, said Lynn Maalouf, Amnestys deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

With time seemingly running out to save the four Uyghurs from this catastrophic extradition, it is crucial that other governments with diplomatic ties to Saudi Arabia step in now to urge the Riyadh authorities to uphold their obligations and stop the deportations, she said.

Rights groups, the United Nations and some Western countries have denounced Chinas persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang. China is believed to have detained about 1.8 million people in a network of internment camps across the region, with survivors reporting forced labor, torture and rape.

Call for international action

Under the international law principle of nonrefoulement and as a state party to the U.N. Convention against Torture, Saudi Arabia is prohibited from returning people to countries where they would face torture, cruel punishment, persecution or other serious harm.

Alkan Akad, Amnestys China researcher, told RFA that the Uyghurs would likely face arbitrary detention and torture if they were deported to China.

They would be taken to internment camps, and the daughter also would be forcibly separated from her family, he said. And so, we call on the Saudi government to release them immediately unless there is international recognizable crime they are charged with.

An official at the office of the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in New York told RFA that the countrys policy on the Uyghur issue is very clear in all our statements, but said that she was not responsible for the issue.

Amnesty also called on the international community, especially the United States and the United Kingdom as strategic allies of Saudi Arabia, to take action to prevent the illegal extradition of the Uyghurs to China.

The call came after two U.N. experts, Fernand de Varennes and Ahmed Shaheed, urged Saudi Arabia on April 1 to abide by the nations nonrefoulement obligations and to refrain from extraditing Rozi and Wali.

We are alarmed by the arrest of two Uyghur men in Saudi Arabia, since November 2020, and their continuous detention without proper legal justification or implementation of fundamental safeguards, reportedly on the basis of an extradition request made by China, the experts said in a statement.

Detention should remain an exceptional measure subject to an individual assessment and regular judicial review, otherwise Saudi Arabia would be depriving the two men of their fundamental rights provided for under national and international law, they said.

De Varennes and Shaheed also requested that Saudi authorities immediately allow the two men to contact their families.

The Saudi government has publicly supported Chinas antiterrorism measures in what rights activists have said is a tacit approval of the crackdown on predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang.

Saudi authorities have returned other Uyghurs back to China after they traveled to the country for work or to make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

We call on the Saudi authorities to immediately release the detained Uyghurs and refrain from deporting them to China, a country thats committing active genocide against Uyghur Muslims, said Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress in Germany. We urge the Saudi government to allow the Uyghurs to leave for a third safe country.

Translated by RFAs Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Intezar Elham said she wants to be a stronger voice against Chinese persecution of Uyghurs.

A young Uyghur-Australian chiropractor is running for a seat in Australias Parliament in part to address Chinas threats to the continent and to Uyghurs in Xinjiang and elsewhere in the world.

Intezar Elham, 28, told RFA that she decided in October 2021 to run in the countrys May 2022 election after she was invited to become a candidate by the newly formed Drew Pavlou Democratic Alliance, a small party that promotes human rights in China.

On her website, Elham says she is the first and youngest Uyghur-Australian Muslim to run for parliament.

Elham said she wanted to serve as a voice for Uyghurs in Australian politics. She attended a demonstration on March 30 in front of the Chinese consulate in Adelaide in southern Australia.

In a speech there, Elham noted that Australians are now waking up to the reality that Uyghurs have faced for decades. She also described her determination to run for office because of what she said is the ruling Liberal Partys failure to be tough on China.

But even if we dont win  our goal is bigger than that, she said at the gathering. My goal is to shift the national conversation and debate on major issues like the threat the Chinese government poses to this country and the world.

Elham spoke of her admiration for late Australian Sen. Kimberley Kitching, an Australian Labor Party MP, lawyer and trade unionist who died of a heart attack on March 10.

Kitching was a staunch advocate for Uyghurs cause in Parliament and around the world, standing up to China having founded the Inter-Parliamentary Group on China and was the main politician pushing for an Australian Magnitsky Act, Elham said, referring to an act passed by

Australian Parliament in December 2021 to create a legal framework for sanctions.

Kimberleys legacy is a world where countries like this one stand up for those who need us, and for that she has the thanks of Uyghurs here and around the world, she said.

Elham, who goes by the nickname Inty, says on her website that she never saw herself entering politics.

But because my grandparents fled the brutality of the authoritarian Chinese government, I cannot sit by and watch the Chinese Communist Party corrupt Australia and our democracy, she said.

We can see this influence for example, in the imposing Chinese consulate in Joslin built without consultation with the community and spying on us, she said, referring to the consulate, which opened in March 2021 in an area containing a large number of Uyghurs and near a Uyghur language school. We must stand up.

Dilzat, a Uyghur intellectual who lives in Adelaide and supports Elhams campaign, said Uyghurs around the world are pleased that the aspiring politician who was born and raised in Australia is fighting on behalf of Uyghurs in China.

What she made public to the media and the world there at the demonstration in front of the consulate was her political platform, what shes fighting against, who is standing behind her, he said. This event was a formal opening ceremony of sorts.

Translated by RFAs Uyghur Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Nguyen Hoai Nam uncovered corruption at a government agency, and then alleged authorities tried to cover it up.

A court in Vietnams Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday sentenced a journalist to three years and six months in jail for criticizing how authorities handled a corruption case he uncovered as a reporter.

While working for the Ho Chi Minh City Law newspaper in 2018, Nguyen Hoai Nam submitted evidence of wrongdoing among employees of the Vietnam Internal Waterways Agency to the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Public Security.

Authorities used the evidence to charge and sentence three employees at the agency for abusing their positions of power while performing public duties.

But 14 others identified in evidence as having been involved in bribery went unpunished.

Nam wrote on Facebook that the authorities handling of the case was insufficient and that investigators were trying to cover it up and allow the defendants to slip away.

On April 2, 2021, Ho Chi Minh City Police arrested Nam on charges of abusing freedom and democracy to infringe on the legal interests of the state, organizations and individuals, a violation under Article 331 of Vietnams Penal Code.

He was found guilty in Tuesdays trial. The court concluded that Nams posts also violated anti-defamation laws.

International human rights organizations have said Article 331 and other vaguely written and arbitrarily applied laws are tools for the government to silence dissenting voices and restrict freedom of speech.

In January 2022, civil society groups in Vietnam composed a joint petition, calling for the removal of three sections of the countrys criminal code, including 331, because they are often used arbitrarily to crack down on political dissidents.

Translated by An Nguyen. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Ex-inmates who said they had no religious rights behind bars called the move a PR stunt.

Vietnamese authorities announced plans to deliver thousands of religious books to the countrys prisons, but former inmates and activists told RFA that prisoners are still likely to be prohibited from freely practicing their faith behind bars.

Several government ministries collaborated to approve a list of 17 books, including the Bible, and distribute 4,400 copies to 54 prisons. The books include religious and theology texts, books on the history of religions, and analyses of Vietnamese laws regarding religion, state media reported.

Maj. Gen. Thuong Van Nghiem, deputy director of the Ministry of Public Securitys Department of Homeland Security, said that the plan demonstrates Vietnams commitment to ensuring religious freedom, and conveys a message about the countrys efforts to support civil, political and human rights.

But distributing the books is just a public relations move, Tran Minh Nhat, a Catholic who was jailed from 2011 to 2015 on charges of attempting to overthrow the government, told RFAs Vietnamese Service.

The important thing is what books they are, who the author is, who published them, where they are placed and how they are managed," said Nhat.

In most cases, their inclusion of scriptures or religious publications is mainly for embellishment purposes. The government or the Ministry of Public Security review and provide religious publications mainly to deceive public opinion and cover the public's eyes, not to meet the needs of those who are serving jail sentences. It's just for the sake of doing it, he said.

Nhat spent time at six different prisoners during his five-year sentence. In each, prisoners were prohibited from having their own Bibles, Buddhist scriptures or any kind of religious publication, even items that had been licensed by the government. Prisoners of any faith are prohibited from praying in groups, he said.

The practice of religious rites is prohibited. This is not only applied to Catholics but also Buddhists and Protestants. Because of such a ban, many people do not ask for the right to practice their religion, said Nhat.

There can be exceptions though, for example, when I myself went on a hunger strike for almost a month, then they finally gave me a Bible to read.

The Vietnamese government has never cared about religious, political or ethnic rights, Siu Wiu, who spent 13 years in prison for disturbing security by performing Protestant rituals in public, told RFA.

As far as I know, the Communists never tell the truth. They say one thing but do another. I'm living proof, there's no such thing," he said.

During his years in prison, Wiu was only able to pray alone and quietly, as the prisoners were not allowed to pray publicly.

Punishments for practicing his religion were severe.

One time my wife visited me and smuggled a Bible in an instant noodle packet for me. When prison staff spotted the Bible, they chained me up for seven days, said Siu.

Prior to that, I was disciplined and shackled for two weeks and then put in solitary confinement for six months because one time, when I called home, I asked the people in the village to pray for me on Sundays, he said.

Allowing religious texts in prison should raise awareness about the Communist Party's guidelines and governmental policies and laws on beliefs and religions as well as the values and influences of religion on social life, Maj. Gen. Nguyen Viet Hung, deputy director of the Police Department of Prisons, Correction Centers, and Juvenile Reformatory Management, told RFA.

RFA confirmed that 17 approved texts include the Bible, Ho Chi Minh's Viewpoints on Mobilizing Religious Followers, and Study on Religions and Beliefs by Do Lan Hien, who is the director of the Institute of Religion and Belief at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

RFA did not have access to the latter two books to verify their content.

The latest report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, released on Feb. 7, 2021, marked the 15th consecutive year that Vietnam was included by the U.S. on its list of "countries of particular concern" on religious freedom because of its repression on independent religious groups not recognized by the government.

Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
At least 50 Ukrainian civilians were evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant amid the ruins of Mariupol, even as Russia continued to batter the strategic port city, Ukrainian officials said.

"Today we were able to evacuate from Azovstal 50 women, children, and elderly people," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on May 6 on her Telegram channel.



Vereshchuk added that, in the face of Russian attacks, the evacuation was extremely slowtomorrow morning we will continue the evacuation operation."

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

The United Nations has scrambled to broker a deal to help evacuate some of the 200 civilians who are holed up along with an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters in the massive Azovstal steel plant, one of the largest in Europe.



Ukrainian officials have accused Russian forces of disrupting an agreed evacuation process by firing on vehicles attempting to transport people out of the plant.



Russia confirmed that some 50 people had been evacuated but did not comment on Ukrainian allegations of attacks on those leaving.



Throughout the day, Russian forces continued their assault on the sprawling steel factory against the Ukrainian fighters holding out there.

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.

Zelenskiy said that, if Russian forces killed civilians or troops who could otherwise be released, his government would no longer hold peace talks with Moscow.



He said there was basically nothing left of the once-flourishing port city, only "this little turf, this little structure, the Azovstal steel mill, or what remains of it."

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."

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.



Ukrainian forces have been 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
AQTOBE, Kazakhstan -- The small town of Embi has a mayor who -- unlike many of his counterparts around the country -- has no connection to Kazakhstan's powerful ruling party, Amanat.

Embi residents say former school director Raiymbek Musaghali -- known for his criticism of corruption among local officials -- won last month what many are calling the first real election in Kazakhstan.

Several residents told RFE/RL's Kazakh Service that Musaghali also had a reputation as a hardworking and honest man "who doesn't take bribes."

Musaghali, 39, was thrust into local politics during the nationwide unrest in early January, which began with a protest over a fuel price hike in the oil-rich, Central Asian state. As in many other parts of the country, Embi residents took to the streets to condemn the price increase before the dayslong protests turned into a call for social and political reforms.

The protesters in Embi -- a town of some 13,000 in the Mughalzhar district of the northwestern Aqtobe region -- demanded that the regional government remove their unpopular mayor. And then many called for the well-liked Musaghali to become Embi's new mayor.

An election was held on March 13 with three candidates and Musaghali, running as an independent, won 81 percent of the vote over a department head in the Mughalzhar district government and a local entrepreneur.

"Musaghali has indeed been chosen by the people," said Yerqasym Qutzhanov, a member of Musaghali's election team. "In Kazakhstan, free and fair elections could only happen in villages and small cities, like Embi."

Qutzhanov says he doesn't think the Kazakh authorities would allow a similar "free" election to be held at the provincial or national level, where the positions are more powerful and the stakes higher.

Kazakhstan has never held elections deemed free and fair by Western election monitors and many officials are appointed or put in their posts through controlled elections in which "opposition" candidates are not allowed to run.

Musaghali's supporters say that during his 14 years as a school director he never ordered teachers to "voluntarily" sweep the streets ahead of important official visits or for them to subscribe to state-owned newspapers, a practice that is widespread in Central Asia.

He has also fought another notorious "tradition" that involves district authorities ordering schools to raise cash for various government projects. The money is often illegally collected from parents and teachers, a practice criticized by some as extortion.

Musaghali once even sued a deputy district chief who demanded 100,000 tenges ($210) from each school director to raise funds "for members of a panel that was visiting the district to conduct graduation exams."

The residents of Embi are expecting Musaghali to bring a similar attitude to his new position.

Exception, Not The Rule

Expectations are high for the new mayor of Embi, where plenty of problems are still waiting to be resolved, residents say.

Unemployment is a major issue, as many people go to the provincial capital, Aqtobe, and the district center, Qandyaghash, to look for work. Some work on nearby farms in order to feed their families.

Locals also complain about bad roads in the town and have asked the new mayor to repair potholes and build a new bridge to replace an old one.

"I heard that Musaghali is a responsible leader. He once asked a construction team doing repair work at his school to count each nail," taxi driver Suyindik Zhapaqov said. "We expect him to treat the town's affairs with the same sense of responsibility."

People want the mayor to take real action, says Embi resident Muqan Medetov, who told RFE/RL that he voted for Musaghali because he is known "as an official who doesn't take bribes."

Musaghali says he long supported the Kazakh government's policies but became disillusioned after working on election commissions during parliamentary and presidential votes and seeing "votes being stolen" to ensure victory for a certain candidate or the ruling party.

But Musaghali still believes that free and fair elections could one day be held all across Kazakhstan. "To win in an honest election, the candidate must have a good reputation among the people," he said.

Some experts believe Musaghali's victory in a free and fair election was a rare exception that was only possible because it occurred at a delicate time in Kazakhstan following the deadly January unrest.

"The authorities were afraid this time to brazenly violate the law as they did before [in other elections]. Obviously, they wanted to push their own candidate against Musaghali," independent lawyer Baqtyghul Qanatov said.

He says the authorities don't want strong-willed and independent-minded people like Musaghali in their ranks. They prefer "dependable people," the lawyer said, who will do as they are told.

In his new job as mayor, Musaghali is working with officials that he has challenged in the past for what he believed were unjust practices. One of Musaghali's new bosses is a deputy district chief who Musaghali sued due to the illegal collection of money, though the man was later cleared of the charges in an appeals court.

Two weeks into his new job, Musaghali says he has thus far felt no pressure from the authorities. And the winner of Kazakhstan's first "free election" is hoping it stays that way.

Written by Farangis Najibullah based on reporting by Zhanagul Zhursin of RFE/RL's Kazakh Service
A great deal has been written about high-tech, high-precision weapons in Ukraine's battle against Russia's invasion. But Grad rocket systems, a technology many decades old, are also playing a role in the fight. Both the Russian and the Ukrainian militaries have this truck-mounted multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) in their arsenals. On April 3, RFE/RL correspondent Roman Pahulych spoke with a Ukrainian Army unit operating a Grad launcher in the country's east.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a grave miscalculation by invading Ukraine, triggering a conflict that could ultimately spill over its borders, possibly igniting a larger conflagration, a former presidential adviser and Kremlin spin doctor has said.

In an interview with RFE/RL's Georgian Service, Gleb Pavlovsky, speaking through Zoom from an unknown location, said Putin's decision to invade Ukraine on February 24 made "no political sense."

"This is all Putin's own personal decision. Nobody other than Putin would have made it, not even Ramzan Kadyrov, had he had a say in it," Pavlovsky said, referring to the authoritarian ruler of Russia's Chechnya region. "Nobody, including myself, realized just how maniacally obsessed he must have been with Ukraine. We underestimated the extent of decay of the Russian government."

A dissident during the Soviet era, Pavlovsky served a sentence of internal exile before the fall of the Soviet Union. After the collapse of communism, Pavlovsky became a "political technologist," serving as a consultant to the Kremlin from 1996 to 2011, after which he became a critic of Putin's presidency.

His comments come with Russian forces largely bogged down or in retreat in Ukraine, making small gains or holding positions in the south, mostly along the Black Sea coast. More than 4 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee the country amid the unprovoked Russian assault.

During their invasion, Russian forces have been accused by Human Rights Watch and many others of committing war crimes and atrocities in occupied areas of the Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv regions.

In his interview with RFE/RL, Pavlovsky, 71, said that Putin had "stepped into a trap in Ukraine."

"Ukraine was supposed to be a lever for pressuring the West into discussion over security issues," Pavlovsky said, referring to Kremlin demands that Putin first aired in December. "It's a game of strategy. But I was flabbergasted to see him throw away all negotiating opportunities over the genuine security of Russia and instead opt for this strange pogrom that he calls a 'special military operation.'"

With Russia's military having largely retreated from areas north of Kyiv and stating it will now focus on areas of southeastern Ukraine already held by Russia-backed separatists, Pavlovsky said Putin will find it difficult to declare "victory."

"Signing a cease-fire immediately would be the smartest thing Russia could do right now. It could get a neutrality status out of Ukraine, but that would amount to next to nothing. As for 'demilitarization,' which has been turned into a propaganda slogan, the extent of damage to Ukraine's military infrastructure is large enough to claim that 'demilitarization' has been achieved.

"Russia will try to keep the territories it has seized so far, especially the ones bordering the Sea of Azov, but this will depend on the willingness of Ukrainians to negotiate and stop the fighting," Pavlovsky said.

Like other Kremlin watchers, Pavlovsky believes Putin is hoping for an end to hostilities by May 9, when he could claim "victory" as Russia marks the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Celebrations normally includes a huge military parade on Moscow's Red Square complete with goose-stepping soldiers, tanks, and other military hardware.

"If a cease-fire is reached before May 9, so Russia can celebrate and 'sell' this as a victory, then that's a good outcome. If not, we won't have peace, the negotiations will drag on, and Russia will encounter even greater problems with sanctions," predicts Pavlovsky, cautioning that sanctions pose an even more serious long-term threat to the well-being of Russia.

The longer the conflict drags on, the likelier Moscow could escalate in Ukraine, Pavlovsky predicts, with the possibly of a spillover beyond the borders of Ukraine becoming greater.

"And if Russia doesn't choose peace and decides to continue the war, then it might do things in Ukraine that will see this conflict escalate to an unforeseen level. And this next level will take place beyond Ukraine's borders. This might spill into conventional warfare between Russia and the West, with NATO. How exactly this would look is hard to say, but I no longer think this to be unthinkable and impossible," Pavlovsky said.

If Russia's aggression in Ukraine drags on -- including mounting casualties and hardware losses -- and global sanctions begin to bite even harder, Pavlovsky believes it is unlikely Russians will turn on Putin but will rather rally around the flag.

"I don't think the people realize the impact of sanctions yet. They will start feeling it come summer. And as soon as they realize that the sanctions are designed to destroy both the Russian economy and the Russian Federation, everyone will unite to resist.

"Will they blame Putin or themselves for it? Was any Russian seeing German tanks rolling in in 1941 blaming [Josef] Stalin and [Vyacheslav] Molotov?" said Pavlovsky, referring to the former Soviet dictator and Soviet foreign minister, who first signed a nonaggression pact with Nazi Germany that included secret protocols on divvying up Central and Eastern Europe into respective "spheres of influence," before Hitler scrapped it and invaded the Soviet Union.

The chance that Russia's elite -- the so-called oligarchs -- could turn on Putin is also something Pavlovsky is skeptical will happen.

"That so-called theory assumes that the oligarchs rule Russia. Oligarchs have never ruled Russia, even during the times of weak [Boris] Yeltsin," Pavlovsky explained, referring to Russia's first postcommunist president.

Pavlovsky also dismissed the recent exit of the well-known post-Soviet reformer Anatoly Chubais, who left his post as Putin's envoy for stable development.

"There is a false and even strange assumption that Putin's inner circle will start distancing itself from him. This won't happen. And Chubais himself was not a member of this inner circle anyway. He won't be missed because he is no longer relevant, hasn't been for years. He is a political relic of a long bygone era. Had he been of any value to the Kremlin, he would not have been allowed to 'escape,'" Pavlovsky said.

Unconfirmed reports have said that Chubais had left Russia and was believed to be in Turkey.

That doesn't mean Putin couldn't face threats to his power, not least from his inner circle, Pavlovsky added.

"They aren't idealists. They have their own designs on that throne. They are all waiting for the transition moment. And it's actually making Putin quite nervous, being surrounded by people who crave his throne. Especially considering that the majority of day-to-day running of the country is done by them and not by him," Pavlovsky said.

"If anyone thinks Putin is sitting and running the country's economy, or public life, then that's just laughable. Putin actually isn't much of a hardworking type," he added.

Looking back at his time working with Putin, Pavlovsky said he now has some regrets.

"What I regret is that I switched off my brain as an analyst during that time and, in a way, donated my brain to Kremlin and Putin franchising,'" he explained. "Now I realize that I should have had a wider perspective of things, that I should have recognized the features of the system that we were building.

"Putin is a child of this system. Putin will be gone, one way or another, but the system will stay."

Written in Prague by Tony Wesolowsky based on an interview by RFE/RL's Georgian Service.
The United States and Britain have imposed new and tougher sanctions against Russia in response to the killings of civilians in towns near Kyiv, and the European Union planned similar steps as U.S. President Joe Biden denounced the widespread killing of Ukrainian civilians as "war crimes."

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

The United States targeted Russia's largest bank, a private investment bank, and oligarchs in a new package of sanctions that includes a ban on all new U.S. investment in Russia. The fresh sanctions also targeted President Vladimir Putin's two adult daughters.

The sanctions against Sberbank and Alfa Bank mean the United States is "locking down" any accounts or funds those banks have in the United States, Biden said in a speech on April 6 to a labor-union conference in Washington.

Biden said the new sanctions were in response to the killings of civilians in towns near Kyiv, whose bodies he said were left "for all the world to see, unapologetically."

Biden said he was sure the union members had seen the pictures from Bucha showing "bodies left in the streets as Russian troops withdrew, some shot in the back of the head with their hands tied behind their backs. There's nothing less happening than major war crimes."

The steps that Washington has taken thus far "are predicted to shrink Russian GDP by double digits this year alone," Biden said. And the United States will continue to raise the economic costs on Russia, he said, urging "responsible nations" to come together to hold the perpetrators of crimes in Bucha and other towns accountable.

Britain also announced a ban on investment in Russia and a freeze on the assets of Credit Bank of Moscow and Sberbank, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said. In addition, London said it would end imports of Russian oil and coal by the end of the year.

The latest British measures amount to "some of our toughest sanctions yet" and were "decimating Putin's war machine," Truss said.

The European Union plans to ban imports of Russian coal, and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said there would be more EU sanctions to come.

European Council chief Charles Michel said on April 6 that the bloc will need to slap sanctions on Russian energy such as oil and gas "sooner or later."

The actions come as accusations of atrocities committed by Russian troops continue to pile up. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the UN Security Council on April 5 that Russian troops had committed some of the worst war crimes since World War II and urged the council to hold Moscow accountable.

A spokeswoman for UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid said on April 6 that the assembly will vote on April 7 on suspending Russia from the body's Human Rights Council amid reports that Russian troops committed atrocities in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

Two-thirds of the countries who cast votes in the 193-member assembly must support suspension for Russia to be temporarily removed from the Geneva-based council.

In an address to the Irish parliament on April 6, Zelenskiy warned Europe that there is no time for hesitancy in adopting measures against Russia. He said he could no longer "tolerate any indecisiveness after everything we have gone through in Ukraine and everything that Russian troops have done."

"We still need to convince Europe that Russian oil cannot feed the Russian military machine with new sources of funding," Zelenskiy said in urging that the continent cut off imports of Russian crude.

Much of the world's focus over the past few days has been on Bucha, a town near Kyiv where Russian forces were positioned until their withdrawal late last week. People there said they witnessed brutal killings and torture, and evidence has emerged of mass graves and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians.



Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said that while Bucha was under Russian control "not a single local person has suffered from any violent action." Reiterating the Kremlin's previous statements, he said videos showing bodies in the streets were a "crude forgery" staged by the Ukrainians.



"You only saw what they showed you," he said. "The only ones who would fall for this are Western dilettantes."

WATCH: A children's summer camp in Ukraine is the site of another grisly atrocity. In a basement, there were bodies with their hands tied behind their backs and bullet holes in their heads. The Ukrainian authorities said it was a war crime committed by Russian forces.

Zelenskiy said the events in Bucha will make "even the possibility" of peace talks with Russia a challenge.



Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the West of fueling "hysteria" over alleged Russian war crimes as a way to derail negotiations. Several rounds of talks so far have yielded no deal.



Lavrov said that Moscow won't accept a Ukrainian demand that any prospective peace deal include an immediate pullout of troops followed by a Ukrainian referendum on the agreement.



In televised remarks, he said a new deal would have to be negotiated if the vote failed, and "we don't want to play such cat-and-mouse."

Ukraine and Russia are now gearing up for what could become a major battle in eastern Ukraine. Calls for the evacuation of civilians from towns near the front line have been stepped up ahead of the anticipated Russian offensive.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said intelligence reports showed Russia is repositioning its troops for a major offensive in the eastern part of Ukraine to capture enough area to create a land bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula.

Stoltenberg also said Russia's war with Ukraine could last a long time, as Putin has shown no signs of changing "his ambition to control the whole" country.

"We have to be realistic and realize that this may last for a long time, for many months, for even years," Stoltenberg said ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on April 6.



The region includes the shattered port city of Mariupol, where authorities continue strained efforts to evacuate civilians. Heavy fighting and Russian air strikes are continuing there, British military intelligence said early on April 6.

The humanitarian situation in the city is worsening. Most of the 160,000 remaining residents have no light, communication, medicine, heat, or water, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.



"Russian forces have prevented humanitarian access, likely to pressure defenders to surrender," it added.



More than 3,800 people were able to leave Mariupol on April 5 along agreed humanitarian corridors, said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.



But a convoy of seven buses that had set out to evacuate people from Mariupol had not managed to make its way through a Russian blockade, Vereshchuk said.



Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces had "cynically disrupted" the evacuation effort, TASS cited a senior official as saying.



The buses, however, were able to evacuate people from the city of Berdyansk, including some people from Mariupol who had made it that far.

Ukraine's General Staff said the northeastern city of Kharkiv remained under attack on April 6, and Kyiv expected Russian forces to launch a full-blown assault soon to try to take the city.

Several towns in the Luhansk region were being shelled by artillery, and the assault on the city of Mariupol continues, the General Staff said in a report on April 6.

Many in the town of Derhachi, which lies just north of Kharkiv, have decided to leave while they can. At least eight buses and vans left the town on April 6 in an evacuation organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"This convoy's arrival to Zaporizhzhya is a huge relief for hundreds of people who have suffered immensely and are now in a safer location," Pascal Hundt, the ICRC's head of delegation in Ukraine, said in a statement. "It's clear, though, that thousands more civilians trapped inside Mariupol need safe passage out and aid to come in."



Ukrainian authorities said nearly 5,000 people were evacuated from combat areas on April 6.



Vereshchuk said late on April 6 that 1,171 people were evacuated from the besieged city of Mariupol, and 2,515 more left the cities of Berdyansk and Melitopol and several smaller cities and towns in the south. They traveled to Zaporizhzhya by bus or in their own vehicles. Vereshchuk said an additional 1,206 people were evacuated from the eastern region of Luhansk.



Vereshchuk and other officials have been urging residents of eastern regions to evacuate in the face of an impending Russian offensive.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that, as of April 4, Russia's war had killed 1,480 civilians and wounded another 2,195.



"Most of the civilian casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide range of damage, including heavy artillery and rocket-propelled grenade launches, as well as missiles and air strikes," the statement said.



The UN believes that the real numbers of dead and wounded is much higher as information from some places where hostilities are taking place is delayed, and many reports need to be confirmed.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged the UN Security Council to seek full accountability for crimes that he says were committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

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.

Zelenskiy spoke to the council on April 5, providing graphic details of events that took place in the town of Bucha, where he said entire families were killed indiscriminately, particularly those who had served Ukrainian forces in some capacity.

People "were killed in their apartments, houses...civilians were crushed by tanks while sitting in their cars in the middle of the road, just for [the Russian soldiers'] pleasure. They cut off limbs...slashed their throats," Zelenskiy told the 15-member council in a live video address.

"Women were raped and killed in front of their children, their tongues were pulled out only because the aggressors did not hear what they wanted to hear from them," he said. "This is no different from other terrorists such as Daesh (Islamic State)...and here it is done by a member of the United Nations Security Council."

He said the crimes committed in Bucha were the most terrible war crimes since World War II and that Bucha was only one of many examples of what the occupiers have been doing on our land for the last 41 days.

Zelenskiy, who spoke one day after visiting Bucha, said that wherever Russian troops have been deployed, ruins and mass graves have been left behind.

Zelenskiy added that "tens of thousands" of Ukrainians had been deported to Russia, saying that Russia "need[s] our wealth, our people," and he accused Russian soldiers of stealing everything from food to gold earrings from Ukrainians.

The Russian ambassador to the UN, who spoke to the council after Zelenskiy, denied the claim of mass deportations and that Russian forces have targeted civilians.

"Now, overall, since the beginning of the special military operation, over 600,000 people have been evacuated to Russia, including over 119,000 children," Vasily Nebenzya said.

"And we're not talking about any kind of coercion or abduction, as our Western partners like to present this, but rather the voluntary decision by these people as testified by many of these videos that are accessible in social media," he told the council.

The Ukrainian president called on the United Nations not only to act immediately to bring Russia to account for the deaths of civilians in Bucha, but also to expel Russia from the council, which has been unable to take any action beyond passing nonbinding resolutions over Russia's invasion because Moscow holds veto power.

"We are dealing with a state that turns its veto at the UN Security Council into the right to [cause] death," Zelenskiy said.

WATCH: Images of dozens of bodies lying in the streets of the village of Bucha, near Kyiv, have been seen around the world, prompting accusations of war crimes against Russian forces:

He said the United Nations must take a hard look at itself and ask whether the time of international law is over. He called for reform of the UN Charter and an international war crimes tribunal similar to the one that judged the Nazis after World War II.

"The United Nations can be simply closed. Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to close the UN? And the time of international law is gone?" he asked. "If your answer is no, then you need to act immediately."

His address came after global outrage over the discoveries of civilian victims in Bucha after Russian troops withdrew. U.S. President Joe Biden has called for a war crimes trial, and the United States and Britain have called for the removal of Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

"What we've seen in Bucha is not the random act of a rogue unit. It's a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said before leaving for a NATO meeting in Europe.

Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk said in an interview that the massacre was the Russians' revenge for the resistance that the Ukrainian people have shown.



"My people were shot for fun or out of anger," Fedoruk told Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper. "The Russians shot at everything that moved: passersby, people on bicycles, cars marked 'children.'"

Washington and the European Union have promised more economic sanctions aimed at forcing President Vladimir Putin to halt the war.

The EU announced a fifth package of measures that would target oil and coal exports and prohibit Russian ships from entering European ports, while the U.S. Treasury Department said Russia would no longer be able to pay its foreign debt with dollars held in American banks.

With reporting by AP and AFP
Poles along East Rd. in Milton head towards Duffy Rd. Town Manager Don Turner said this area in Milton is one of the most affected by poor broadband access. Turner said this area would require Comcast go over or under the railroad "which is almost impossible."
After 21 years of running one of Julians best-known businesses, a place bird lovers from all over the county drive up the mountain to visit, Rick and Brenda Campbell are reluctantly closing their The Birdwatcher store in September.

Its very bittersweet, said Brenda Campbell. Closing the store is not what we wanted. We wanted somebody to buy it and continue it. But time marches on and were not getting any younger. We want more time to travel and see our grandkids.

For years the store has served a dual purpose. Its a service business where locals buy their birdseed and feeders. There no longer is a feed store or a hardware store in town. The local economy has become almost entirely tourism based.

The Birdwatcher is also a gift store offering tourists and locals alike a vast variety of bird-themed items: humming bird feeders, greeting cards, T-shirts, books, stuffed toys and more.

I get lots of people coming up to get birdseed even though they can get it in San Diego, Rick Campbell said. It gives them an excuse. They like coming here and then they go get a pie and go shopping other places. We are truly a destination store so it kills us to have to do this.

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Its really a bummer, thats for sure, said Robin Boland, vice president of the Julian Chamber of Commerce. The Birdwatcher has been a great draw to Julian. Lots of people come up to Julian exclusively to visit that store.

Three years ago the Campbells decided they were looking for a way out and tried in earnest to find a buyer who would continue the business. But it never happened.

Brenda and I have built this through our own passion and love of the business. We just cant find anybody with that kind of commitment, Rick said. We wanted to retire but the people that came forward were just interested in the bottom line, what they would get out of the store, not what they would have to put into it.

Business has always been good at the store, but recently Ricks health has not.

Various ailments, including shingles which attacked his face and eye earlier this year, have forced the couples decision to close the doors. Once they sell all the merchandise, they plan to lease the building at the corner of 4th and B streets for whatever type of business its new operators plan to run.

I feel like Im abandoning the birds of Julian, Brenda said. The locals will need to go down the hill (thats the way Julian residents talk about driving to Ramona or San Diego) to get their seed. Some people will do that but others just wont feed the birds anymore.

Rick Campbell, who co-owns The Birdwatcher store in Julian with bags of bird seed. The store is closing in September after 21 years. (J. Harry Jones /San Diego Union-Tribune)

Rick said his doctor has told him to get rid of the shingles he needs to reduce the stress in his life. The doctor said I need to quit, he said.

The Campbells will still live in Julian where theyve been for more than 40 years. Before opening the bird store, Rick, 68, owned a feed store for 18 years and Brenda, 65, owned a gift shop.

They have been putting 60 to 70 hours a week into The Birdwatcher for decades and say its simply time to stop.

We raised our kids here. Rick said. Its safe. It has a small town feel. Its a great place to live.

The store still appears to be fully stocked but thats an illusion. Usually they have $100,000 in extra inventory stored on the second floor of the store. Now its virtually empty, Brenda said.

The couple want their loyal customers from all over the county to know whats happening ahead of time.

We dont want them to drive up here and be surprised to find the doors closed, Brenda said.

Rose Mary Gossman moved to Julian about the same time the store opened its doors.

Over the years it has become my go-to gift shop because they have fabulous greeting cards, dish towels, books, calendars, she said. Im just really sad. Brenda and Rick have done a wonderful job. They would go to the trade shows several times a year and their stock was always up to date. Certain times of the year Im in there weekly buying bird seed.

Roz Brooks, an 18-year Julian resident, had similar thoughts.

Its a wonderful shop and they are great people, she said. They are going to be really missed, both the store and themselves.

She called the store unique, and both Rick and Brenda Campbell friends.

As opposed to so many of the tourist stores we have up here, this one is just not catering to the tourists but also to the actual birdwatcher, the people who enjoy the birds and stock up on the seed and all sorts of different things, Brooks said. Were going to miss the fact that the store is not there and well miss the happy, smiling faces that weve become used to over the years.

jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones
(Photo : Pexels/Dick Scholten) A new study found that coffee beans are bigger and more plentiful and thats because of the teamwork between birds and bees.

Groundbreaking new research recently revealed that coffee beans are bigger and more plentiful when bees and birds work as a team to protect and pollinate coffee plants.

Without these winged creatures, a Phys.org report specified, some that gravel thousands of miles, coffee farmers would see a 25-percent decline in crop yields, a loss of approximately US$1,066 per hectare of coffee.

That is essential for the $26 billion coffee industry, which includes farmers, corporations, and consumers who rely on the unpaid labor of nature for their morning buzz, although the study has even more extensive implications.

This forthcoming research is the first to exhibit, using actual-world experiments at 30 coffee farms, that nature/s contributions, in this circumstance, "bee pollination and pest control by birds," are larger combined compared to their contributions.

ALSO READ: Humans in New Guinea May Have Hatched, Raised Cassowaries 18,000 Years Ago





Positive Interactions

According to lead author Alejandra Martinez-Salinas of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center CATIE, until now, researchers have usually calculated the benefits of nature separately "and simply summed them up."

However, nature is an interacting system filled with essential synergies and trade-offs. The researchers have shown the ecological and economic significance of such interactions in one of the experiments at realistic scales on real farms.

These results from the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, suggested that previous analyses of individual ecological services, including major global initiatives such as IPBES, may underestimate the benefits provided by biodiversity to agriculture and human wellbeing.

From the University of Vermont's Gund Institute for Environment, Taylor Ricketts explained that such positive interactions mean ecosystem services are more valuable together than separately.

Combined Positive Impacts of Bees and Birds

For this investigation, researchers from Latin America and the United States manipulated coffee plants on 30 farms, excluding bees and birds, with huge nets and tiny lace bags.

The researchers tested for four key scenarios, including bird activity or pest control alone, bee activity or pollination alone, no bird and bee activity at all, and lastly, a natural environment where birds and bees were free to pollinate and eat insects like the coffee berry borer, one of the most damaging pests that affect the production of coffee worldwide.

The combined positive impacts of birds and bees on fruit set, fruit uniformity, and fruit weight, the key factors in price and quality, were greater than their impacts, as shown in the research. Minus the bees and birds, the average yield dropped almost 25 percent, valued at approximately $1,066 a hectare, as earlier mentioned.

According to Ph.D. candidate Natalia Aristizabal, from the UVM's Gund Institute for Environment and Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, they measure such contributions to help shield and conserve the many species humans depend on and, at times, take for granted.

She also said that birds, bees, and millions of other species support human lives and livelihoods, yet they face threats such as habitat destruction and climate change.

The Secret To Better Coffee? The Birds And The Beeshttps://t.co/6blh0GgKUt

A groundbreaking new study finds that coffee beans are bigger and more plentiful when birds and bees team up to protect and pollinate coffee plants.



Without these winged helpers, some traveling t... pic.twitter.com/VxJMJ0fWMh  Eurasia Review (@EurasiaReview) April 4, 2022

One of the most surprising aspects of this research was that many birds that provide pest control to coffee plants in Costa Rica had migrated thousands of miles from the US and Canada, including Vermont, where the UVM team is based, a related Eurasia Review report said.

Related information about coffee plant pollination is shown on Jungle Joel Video's YouTube video below:

RELATED ARTICLE: Chemical Compound in Plants: New Study Reveals Potential Protection for Bees Against Deadly Deformed Wing Virus

Check out more news and information on Bees and Birds in Science Times.
The family of a 13-year-old boy who was allegedly detained by a police officer as he was leaving school plans to file a racial-profiling lawsuit against the San Francisco Police Department, claiming that the boy was singled out because he is Black.

A precursor to a lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court, and alleges that the boy was unlawfully detained and that police were deliberately indifferent to the boys safety, according to documents reviewed by The Chronicle.

The boy, identified as Michael, is a seventh-grader at Sterne School in the Financial District. He was getting into his tutors car outside the school at about 1 p.m. on March 15 when he was approached by an officer investigating a car burglary case, according to the familys attorneys.

Witnesses said the officer yelled for Michael to get out of the car and put his hands behind his back before grabbing the boy and holding his arms behind his back, the claim states.

Several adults intervened, including Michaels tutor and school employees, who vouched to the officer that the teenager was in class all day.

The officer said Michael fit the description of the burglary suspect, who was seen wearing black pants, a black hoodie and red shoes. Michaels attorney, civil-rights lawyer John Burris, said the boy was wearing predominantly black shoes with red shoelaces, and added that he weighs less than 100 pounds.

The officers vague description was not enough to justify grabbing and detaining (Michael), Burris said in his claim.

A San Francisco police spokesman referred to the City Attorneys Office for comment.

Jen Kwart, a spokesperson for the City Attorneys Office, said the city strives to foster trust between law enforcement and local communities. We do not yet have the claim, but when it is filed we will review it and respond appropriately.

The plaintiffs attorneys said the officer physically released Michael after one minute, but continued to detain him for upward of 20 minutes, Burris said.

I was just shocked and really really scared, Michael told The Chronicle. The first few nights after, he said, It was hard for me to sleep because Id keep thinking about everything.

Dolores Coleman, Michaels mother, said she got a hysterical call from Michael during the incident, who told his mother that police were trying to arrest him.

He said, Mama theyre trying to take me to jail, Coleman recalled.

Coleman said she was in San Rafael at the time and Michaels father was in Petaluma, where the family lives, and felt helpless that she couldnt reach her son fast enough. By the time Michael made it home that day, Coleman said, he was crying and kept telling his mother he was sorry.

I grabbed his face and I said, You did nothing wrong, Coleman recalled telling her son. You have nothing to be embarrassed about (or) shameful about.

Coleman said theres no doubt in my mind that her son was racially profiled.

This is the problem that we continue to have in our society  that we continue to peg these young black boys as criminals, she said. My son was wearing Mickey Mouse pants for Gods sake.

Security camera footage, posted by Burris office on YouTube, captures the incident from a distance.

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 an email sent by the school to students families two days later, Sterne officials called the incident disturbing and said the student did nothing wrong.

The result of this incident deeply affected them, their family and our school community, Head of School Melissa Myers said in the email, which Coleman provided to The Chronicle.

The email added that the school had filed a formal complaint with the San Francisco Police Department.

School officials were on spring break and did not immediately return a request for comment.

The lawsuit will be seeking more than $25,000, according to the claim.

Coleman said Michael has been clinging to his parents since the incident and has missed several days of school out of fear hell be arrested.

The police need to learn that (they) need to stop doing this to our Black kids, Coleman said. This is not OK.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
A student stabbed another student during a fight Monday morning at a San Jose high school, officials said.

Police were called to Henry T. Gunderson High School around 10:12 a.m. following an altercation among multiple students that escalated into a stabbing, according to San Jose police and a statement from the San Jose Unified School District.

The student who was stabbed, a male juvenile, suffered an injury that was not considered life-threatening. The suspect, another student, was arrested, San Jose police said in a tweet.

A law enforcement officer who was already at the school campus quickly stopped the violence and apprehended the suspect, school district officials said.

The school did not activate its lockdown or shelter-in-place protocols. A crisis support team was on campus to offer students and employees emotional support, officials said.

The stabbing is under investigation, police and school district officials said.

Andy Picon (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @andpicon
St Lowitsch / Getty Images/St Lowitsch / Getty Images

San Francisco firefighters rescued two people from a four-story apartment building that caught fire in the Ashbury Heights neighborhood on Monday night.

Flames shot out of the third and fourth stories of the building on 400 Upper Terrace Drive and the fire could be seen for miles. Firefighters rescued two trapped individuals and also helped several families out of the building, SFFD spokesman Jonathan Baxter said in a video posted on social media. After the fire was put out, firefighters began searching for missing pets.
Update: The Sacramento mass shooting was gang-related, police say. They are seeking at least 5 shooters.

Four years ago, the mass killing of 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Fla., elevated gun control into a top-three issue for Democrats  and helped them to win back control of the House by appealing to moderate suburban voters frustrated by the never-ending string of mass shootings and the collective shrug from Washington about how to respond to gun violence.

Since then, concerns about guns have taken a back seat to the pandemic. In 2019, two-thirds of Californians were concerned about a mass shooting where they lived, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Last year, only half were. Nationally, even though gun deaths are on the rise, Gallup found that support for stricter gun laws dipped to its lowest point (52%) since 2014.

But more attention could be drawn to gun safety  at least in California  after Sundays mass shooting in Sacramento that killed six and wounded 12.

There are still too many unknowns from Sundays carnage to predict how the horrific incident could influence the midterm elections or what legislation could gain more support. Investigators have not revealed what kinds of weapons were used, how many shooters there were or what their motivations might have been.

But what is known is that it has become all too familiar. The incident was one of seven mass shootings last weekend and one of 121 this year nationwide, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

These events galvanize voters and become flash points for pollsters, but the truth is that the gun violence that occurs in communities every day is why we see broad and consistent support for common-sense gun violence prevention laws year after year, said Christian Heyne, vice president of policy at Brady: United Against Gun Violence, a leading national gun control advocacy organization.

Californians are lucky to live in a state with some of the strongest gun violence prevention laws, Heyne said. But the shooting in Sacramento reminds us all of the need for local, state and especially federal leaders to take action now.

Andri Tambunan/Special to The Chronicle

While national gun legislation has stalled, Californias laws are among the nations toughest and could become even more stringent. Democrats have nearly a dozen pieces of gun control-related legislation moving through the Legislature.

Guns have already become a top issue in the states high-profile race for attorney general, where one of the candidates is Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, a Republican-turned-independent.

While Schubert regularly faults San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin for whatever ails his city  including during a February visit to San Franciscos embattled Tenderloin neighborhood  Sacramento had more homicides in 2021 than in any year since 2006.

After Sundays shooting, Schubert, who has received the endorsement of Californias largest law enforcement organization  the Peace Officers Research Association of California  called for more resources for law enforcement organizations to help them better investigate crime.

She told KCRA-TV in Sacramento that prosecutors should crack down on the illegal possession of firearms. And, in an unnamed swipe at Boudin and his ally, her June 7 primary opponent Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta, prosecutors should not be advocating for the early release of people who commit gun crimes and not letting those types of individuals out on zero bail.

Sacramento police have arrested two men in connection with the shooting. One, Smiley Allen Martin, has a criminal record that began nearly a decade ago. Last year, Schuberts office asked that he not be released early from prison, where he was serving a 10-year sentence for domestic violence and assault with great bodily injury, The Sacramento Bee reported Tuesday.

Schuberts office wrote the letter as it was about to join with 44 other county prosecutors in filing suit against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation over policies that they say would result in the early release of 76,000 inmates, according to The Bee. A prison system spokesperson told The Bee that its changes were about how good conduct credits are applied (and) do not amount to such a policy.

We cant consistently weaken responsibility when we actually catch somebody that shouldnt (be in possession of a gun), Schubert said. We see this kind of chaos across our state, across our country and we have to be willing to hold people accountable for committing crimes like this.

Schubert, however, has had little to say about one of Bontas top gun priorities in the Legislature.

One measure, AB1594, would enable Californians or the attorney general to sue gunmakers and distributors when crimes are committed using their weapons.

Another, SB1327, would enable Californians to sue anyone who manufactures, distributes, transports, imports into the state or sells assault weapons, .50 caliber Browning machine gun rifles or ghost guns  the untraceable weapons that can be purchased without a background check and assembled on their own.

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Several of the proposed gun violence bills before the Legislature arent directly related to weapons. One measure, for example, wants to see community violence prevention and recovery programs covered as a Medi-Cal benefit.

Assembly Member Mike Gipson, D-Carson (Los Angeles County) is sponsoring a bill (AB1621) to further restrict the use of ghost guns. He planned to visit the scene of the shooting with his staff on Monday.

Its my job, my responsibility to raise the conversation, Gipson said Monday. It will be on the priority list of our states agenda. Im not going to allow what happened here in Sacramento on Sunday to be swept under the rug.

While state gun control laws have a better chance of moving forward because Democrats hold a supermajority in the Legislature, that isnt true in Washington, where there has been little progress on gun violence prevention legislation.

The House has passed bills to close gaps in background check requirements, written in part by St. Helena Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson, backed by Democrats and a small number of Republicans. But those have gone nowhere in the Senate, where negotiators have been unable to get anything that would garner 60 votes, the threshold required to advance legislation.

Supporters of the Violence Against Women Act had to drop efforts to close whats known as the boyfriend loophole in gun ownership to reauthorize the bill after it sat expired for years. That gap in federal law bars domestic abusers from having guns if they were married, lived with a partner or had children together, but not if they were just in a relationship.

Though some of the GOP negotiators supported closing the loophole, enough Republicans opposed doing so that it could not make it into the final bill.

The Biden administration has made some efforts to use executive authority to regulate guns. The Justice Department has proposed regulation that would curtail the use of ghost guns and another to regulate bracing devices that make pistols function more like rifles.

But those efforts are still in progress and will almost certainly face court challenges from the right. Other efforts have involved encouraging states to pass legislation and set up anti-gun task forces between law enforcement and prosecutors.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer and Tal Kopan is The Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com, tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli, @talkopan
Seven women filed a lawsuit Monday accusing former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli of sexual assault and alleging that both his Sonoma County winery and a national civic organization enabled the North Bay politicians misconduct.

The suit, filed in Sonoma County Superior Court, states that Christopher Creek Winery, an estate outside Healdsburg, and Active 20-30, a national childrens charity, profited financially from Foppoli luring women to events, then declined to investigate reports of sexual assault.

The complaint calls Foppoli, 39, a sexual predator who continuously used his power, connections and alcohol to prey upon dozens of women in Sonoma County. It seeks unspecified damages.

Today, we are taking charge of seeking justice in the Civil Court as we approach the one year anniversary of the beginning of this investigation, the women said in a joint statement provided to The Chronicle. We are united in our voice and stand against Foppoli as well as the entities that enabled him and provided a place for him to continue his predatory behavior which harmed many women beyond us. This is our call for and time for justice.

The lawsuit comes one year after a Chronicle investigation first exposed four womens sexual assault allegations against Foppoli, then a charismatic young mayor whose political star promised to put Windsor on the Wine Country map. Ultimately, 13 women came forward with accusations of sexual assault or sexual misconduct against Foppoli.

The women who brought the lawsuit are not named in the petition and are identified only as Jane Does. However, all seven have previously spoken with The Chronicle.

Foppoli, who has previously denied sexually assaulting any women, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Last spring, Foppoli stepped down as mayor and as chief executive of Christopher Creek Winery, identified as the location of four of the alleged assaults.

It was not clear whether Foppoli has maintained an ownership stake in Christopher Creek. Representatives with the winery declined to comment.

Erik Castro/Special to The Chronicle

In a subsequent investigation, The Chronicle examined Active 20-30, a social club and charity organization for young adults with a popular all-male chapter in Santa Rosa. Reporters found that local and national leaders of Active 20-30 had known for years that female members had accused Foppoli of sexual assault and misconduct, but had ignored or joked about the encounters rather than reckoning with them. Foppoli joined the Santa Rosa club around 2007.

Jared Goble, current president of Active 20-30s Santa Rosa chapter, and Roger Hebert, past president, did not respond to requests for comment. The local club expelled Foppoli from the organization in response to The Chronicles original investigation last year.

Ashley Corbett, president of Active 20-30 U.S. and Canada, did not respond to requests for comment. Corbett and her predecessor, Tiffani Montgomery, have previously said in statements to The Chronicle that they couldnt change what happened in the past or even how our predecessors handled things. But they said they had, since learning of the allegations against Foppoli, done EVERYTHING to make sure our members are safe.

The lawsuit is the first civil complaint to be filed against Foppoli and adds momentum to efforts to hold him accountable. Last month, the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office sent its yearlong criminal investigation into some of the sexual assault allegations against Foppoli to the California Attorney Generals Office, which must decide whether to bring charges.

Sometimes in civil court, because there is money damages, it is the way to change behavior and change a culture, especially in terms of these businesses and organizations that have enabled Dominics behavior for so long, said Traci Carrillo, an attorney representing the women.

In the 30-page suit, the women assert 12 causes of action, including sexual assault, gender and domestic violence, defamation, and negligence.

They seek both compensatory and punitive damages, and are asking the courts to order Foppoli and his agents not to release any information, images, photographs, videos, and/or any recordings of Plaintiffs to anyone, and to stay 100 yards away from Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs homes and worksites.

They were each scared that if they complained about Defendant Foppoli, he would ruin their careers, their businesses, their families and their reputations, the complaint reads. Ultimately after survivors started to come forward, he and his agents did everything in their power to try to do just that. ... In some cases, Defendant and his agents were successful.

When the women came forward in The Chronicle, the lawsuit alleges, Foppoli violated their civil rights by enlisting a longtime associate, Washington lobbyist Robert Stryk, to make dramatic, false claims about the women, while implying he was going to have them secretly recorded to damage their credibility.

Erik Castro/Special to The Chronicle

The Chronicle reported last spring that Stryk made threats and baseless claims that he would provide or publicly release images, emails and videos that would discredit the women who came forward.

Specifically, the seventh plaintiff alleges that Foppoli and Stryk threatened to release a sex tape of her.

The womens allegations span 20 years and include forcible groping and kissing, nonconsensual oral copulation and rape. Six of the women allege that Foppoli used alcohol or other substances to render them unable to legally consent to or ward off his sexual abuse. Three of these women said they believe Foppoli drugged them.

Although all the plaintiffs were 18 years old or older when the alleged assaults occurred, four of the women were in their late teens or early twenties. The lawsuit alleges that Foppoli took advantage of their youth and inexperience, in at least two cases convincing the women that rape was consensual intercourse because they were in a relationship.

The Chronicle does not generally identify victims of sexual assault. But six of the seven plaintiffs agreed to be named in previous stories. The woman who requested anonymity lives in Windsor and said she was not yet ready to share details of the encounter with her adolescent children.

The woman told The Chronicle that, during a brief relationship in 2003 when she was 18 and Foppoli was 21, he digitally penetrated her without her permission, then raped her twice at a New Years Eve party.

Another woman, Shannon McCarthy, said she began dating Foppoli in 2001, when she was 19, and that he sexually assaulted her dozens of times during the three-year relationship. On at least one occasion, she said, he handcuffed her wrists and ankles to a bed and then inserted grapes into her vagina as she cried and begged him to stop.

Sophia Williams accused Foppoli of climbing into bed with her, thrusting his groin against her buttocks and trying to remove her pants while she told him no after a night out with friends in 2006.

Allison Britton said that in 2012, while attending an Active 20-30 convention in Reno, Foppoli engaged her in nonconsensual oral copulation when she was nearly unconscious and too intoxicated to consent. Britton said that she later told leaders in Active 20-30 what had happened, but that they ultimately failed to report her allegations to the Santa Rosa board or to the organizations national board.

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Sonya McVay said Foppoli ripped off her bikini top, exposing her breasts, and tried to pull her into his lap when they were in a hot tub at Christopher Creek Winery as part of a night out with members of Active 20-30 in 2016.

Rose Fumoso said that, after a party at Christopher Creek, Foppoli drove her to an unknown house, forcibly grabbed her waist, kissed her and groped her buttocks while pinning her body against his own.

Esther Lemus, Windsors vice mayor, told law enforcement in April 2021 that she believes Foppoli drugged and raped her after they attended a community event in February 2020.

That August, Lemus reported, she attended an event at Christopher Creek Winery. There, she told law enforcement, she believes Foppoli drugged her before one of Foppolis friends engaged her in oral copulation in the winerys barrel room while she was too intoxicated to consent. This was the incident that led to Robert Stryks threats.

The following day, Lemus alleged, Foppoli told her he had a video of the sexual act and that she was lucky he had control of the video. Lemus said she feared that Foppoli would retaliate against her if she reported either alleged assault.

The lawsuit claims that both Christopher Creek Winery and Active 20-30 had an obligation to warn women about Foppoli. A majority of the alleged assaults, the suit states, occurred during parties at Christopher Creek, where Foppoli was then the chief executive, or in settings associated with Active 20-30  or both.

The lawsuit contends that both the winery and Active 20-30 ratified Foppolis behavior by allowing him to continue to work at the winery and to be a member of the childrens charity despite knowing that Defendant Foppoli was assaulting, abusing and harassing women.

The Chronicle reported last April that a woman who belonged to Christopher Creeks wine club emailed the club manager in 2013, asking to halt her membership because Foppoli had sexually assaulted her fiancee in the winery hot tub. The fiancee  who asked The Chronicle to identify her by her middle name, Jane  said Foppoli put his penis in her hand under the water, leaving her nauseous, shocked, in disbelief.

The lawsuit states that Christopher Creek continued to allow Foppoli to lead the business and host events at the winery as both a politician and winery owner, enabling him to continue preying upon women by providing alcohol and committing additional sexual assaults.

In an investigation published in November, The Chronicle found that national and local Active 20-30 leaders were aware of several allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against Foppoli, including those made by Britton and McVay. Yet reporters found that Active 20-30 leaders chose not to thoroughly investigate the womens allegations.

The lawsuit claims that both Christopher Creek and Active 20-30 sought to conceal the allegations to maintain a positive public opinion and continue to profit from members, invitees and other funding sources.

The effects on the women, meanwhile, were severe and ongoing, the complaint states. The women suffered and continue to suffer injury, including medical bills, significant emotional pain and suffering, mental anguish, humiliation, loss of enjoyment of life, embarrassment, and damage to their reputation.

We have patiently waited for some measure of justice from the criminal justice system, which has continued to be delayed, all while we have continued to suffer the emotional toll of Dominic Foppolis crimes against us, the women said in their statement. He has continued to live his life normally, while we have continued to process what he did to us and others.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Julie Johnson contributed to this report.

Alexandria Bordas (she/they) and Cynthia Dizikes (she/her) are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: cdizikes@sfchronicle.com, alexandria.bordas@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @crossingbordas, @cdizikes
Nora Mishanec / The Chronicle

The man who made national headlines after a video of his brazen Walgreens theft went viral has been sentenced to 16 months in prison, time served, and one year of probation, the San Francisco District Attorneys Office announced Monday.

Jean Lugo Romero pleaded guilty to felony grand theft and misdemeanor petty theft for the June incident, in which he was seen cramming items into a trash bag and then cruising out of the store on a bicycle without paying.
Modern drinking has made a mincemeat of the old ways. Everythings a mash-up, a melange, a deconstruction of hierarchies in search of discovery. This is how we arrive at the Mission District natural wine discotheque and the Temescal Sherry shot, and other assorted, ever-blurry boundaries of Bay Area bar culture in 2022.

Such is the scene youll find inside Millay, a pandemic-pivot bottle shop and bar from proprietor Angel Davis. In an earlier drinking epoch, Millay might have fallen into a neatly defined category, happy to operate as a simple wine shop. But here, Davis has embraced the modern moment for multi-hyphenate beverage businesses by offering a place where small-production, minimal-intervention wine shares equal footing with a beverage stepping into a bigger American moment: Japanese craft sake.

Inside this earth-toned, softly lit space just off Duboce Triangle, any semblance of a drinkers barricade between the worlds of wine and sake has been irrevocably breached. Davis vision is to create a shared context between the small-maker vigneron of the minimal-intervention wine world and the artisan toji of Japan  sake brewers working within the 1,000-year-old tradition.

All of this is about going back to small-production beverages, and people making something because they really care, says Davis. People will taste these kinds of sakes for the first time and say, Wow  what just happened?

Many of the sakes at Millay defy conventional expectations. They can be earthy or sweet, mushroom funkd or chocolate bitter, wildly complex, heady even, and miles away from the extended exercise in soft subtlety to which most sake drinkers are accustomed. Nothing here is served warm. If weird drinking is the new normal, these small-batch sakes offer a ready complement to the psychotropic universe being explored by the extra-experimental winemakers, hazy craft beer heads and herb-obsessive vermouth freaks.

Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle

Its a sort of light-switch moment that people talk about often in fields like craft beer, specialty coffee and wine. Yet even among drinking enthusiasts, sake remains relatively underappreciated  sales are up and expected to continue growing in the coming years, but sakes market share in America remains behind wine, beer, cocktails and zero-proof drinks, and it is on just 3% of restaurant menus nationwide.

Thats now starting to change. Japanese exports of sake have grown at 10% year over year for the last 15 years, and for those in the American sake trade, breaking into wine lists and pairing menus at high-end dining experiences has long represented a holy grail for the categorys growth, showing up at luxe destinations like the French Laundry or Nashvilles the Catbird Seat.

You can see it in the evangelism of hybrid shops like Millay, as well as at the wonderfully modern approaches to sake found at Charles Namba and Courtney Kaplans Tsubaki and Ototo restaurants in Los Angeles; George Padillas work at Rule of Thirds and Bin Bin Sake in Brooklyn; and the integrated role sake plays in the wider drinking psychedelia at Oaklands Daytrip. In their capacities to meet drinkers where theyre at  with no prix fixe required  and their embrace of unconventional drink styles, spaces like these are on the very forefront of sakes fresh contextualization, and nowhere else does this impact feel more fresh and immediate than at Millay.

Its fitting that this genre-defying shop should be in San Francisco, a city that has long been a hub for the culinary appreciation of sake, and not just at revered Japanese restaurants like Village Sake, Rintaro and Kaiseki Saryo Hachi. Since 2002, True Sake in Hayes Valley has pioneered sake sales in San Francisco and is widely regarded as among the very best sake retailers in America; meanwhile out in the Bayview, Sequoia Sake is part of a vanguard of American sake breweries.

Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle

For Davis, cultivating sakes role in the conversation has become a mission. She was first exposed to the possibilities of sake at Fig & Thistle, the influential Hayes Valley wine bar/cannabis dispensary hybrid, which she co-founded in 2012. A friend of mine who used to work at True Sake turned me on to it, she remembers. Before long, sake started showing up on the shelves at F&T, and sneaking into wine club pickups.

Then the pandemic happened, and I really didnt know sake as well as I would have liked, Davis recalls. I started learning more and something just clicked for me, came over me.  I fell for sake so hard. I felt like I didnt have a choice. I had to do more with it.

The space Millay occupies was originally a second Fig & Thistle location, but the environment inside has been entirely reimagined. Against a backdrop of pastel pink neon cursive displaying the shops logo, Davis sells 150 bottles of small-production natural wine alongside 50 bottles (and counting) of sake. My goal is for it to be equal, Davis says. I want to sell as much sake as I do wine.

On the shelves, in the same little space as the cartoon foxes and drunken gnomes that make up much of natural wines visual iconography, one can find a little pocket wonderland of sake flasks, 1-cup jars, elegant Junmai Daiginjos and endlessly complex Tokubetsus. In this context sake argues for itself beautifully, complementing the artistic language of the modern wine bottle with vivid aesthetics and evocative language.

Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle

The conceptual overlap between sake and natural wine offers a sort of X marks the spot bulls-eye in the form of namasake, a rare sake subcategory with a growing profile in the United States. Sparingly produced and unpasteurized, bottles of nama emerge just a few times a year, and must be kept refrigerated throughout their journey across Japan and beyond. Once something of a regional, seasonal delicacy in Japan, namasake has become a subject of great interest among a small but growing group of flavor-chasers worldwide. This is thanks to the wild, evocative flavors and textures these sakes are capable of: mushroom bombs, dark chocolate raspberries, creams, violets and florals, and unctuous, heady, cheese-like tones that profoundly upend any preconceived notion of sake as a game of refinement and subtlety.

Though the production process of making sake differs wildly from that of wine, for curious and adventurous drinkers, placing a bottle of Amabuki Ichigo Namasake next to bottles of Duckman Pet Nat or orange-hued Hungarian Kiralyleanyka makes a kind of intrinsic sense. Theres something thoroughly modern about considering sake this way alongside natural wine, a post-genre kaleidoscope of flavors and resonances, all of it crafted by tiny artisan producers creating giant evocative flavors.

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Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle

Youve had sake before but not like this, in a room like this, unmoored from cultural or culinary orthodoxy, afforded the room to breathe and play and to stand on its own merits as a drinking leitmotif ready for its close-up, embraced by open-minded drinkers primed for the moment.

Light attracts light, Davis says. The curiosity and openness of the people who come in here is amazing, and adventurous drinkers are open to trying these sakes they may have never heard of.

Indie importers like Floating World and Sake Suki help keep the good, rare stuff flowing through Millays doors, and behind the shops small bar a daily menu is available, featuring both wine and sake by the glass. I try a pour of the Amabuki Ichigo Junmai Ginjo, an experimental sake made using strawberry flower yeast, and it is a little jewel box of flavors: soft and creamy at first, growing into something like a fruited attack thats reminiscent of a good sour lambic beer.

Thats a big thing for us too, converting the beer people, laughs Davis. Once they find out sake is brewed, its like a whole world opens up to them. The process is just fascinating.

As pandemic restrictions and social norms soften, Millay will host a series of events, focused on both wine and sake, and also tea  by day this is a tea bar, featuring teas from buzzy new Japanese tea purveyor Tea With Tekuno. A sign out front of Millay implores passersby to Join The Wine / Sake Club and there it is again, that blurring, the co-mingling of two very old beverage traditions remixed into something new and modern.

I just want sake to be an everyday thing for people, Davis says. There is perhaps a touch of proselytizing in her voice, the genuine kind, when you know youre onto something big and you want to share it with the world.

Millay. Open noon to 7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; noon to 9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. 691 14th St., San Francisco. 256-651-9903 or millaysf.com .

Jordan Michelman is an author and James Beard Award-winning journalist. Instagram: @suitcasewine Email: food@sfchronicle.com
With reference to the recent spate of shootings, I am so sick of hearing politicians spitting out platitudes about gun violence, as though guns were jumping out of boxes and shooting people by themselves. This Sacramento affair is another senseless act of criminal violence.

Its well past time that we start holding criminals accountable for the things they do, and not seek to deflect blame to inanimate objects. If a someone ran these victims down with his car, would they say thats another act of car violence? Of course not!

Our community needs to be made safe from these vicious criminals, regardless of their economic or racial background. Only through vigorous prosecution leading to incarceration (and judicious implementation of the death penalty) can we ensure people like this will no longer prey upon the innocent. Until we turn away from so-called progressive criminal justice reform, our community will continue to devolve into a politically correct hellscape of unchecked violence and death.

Mike Drew, San Francisco

Crime is on the decline

Regarding  Refunding the police doesnt work (Insight, April 3): This essay ignores history. Since the mid-1990s through the 2010s, the U.S. and California have experienced an unprecedented decline of 50% and more in violent and serious crime.

This decline followed major efforts nationally and locally in the 1980s and 1990s to increase financing for police, increase penalties for crime (for example, the three strikes law), reduce judicial discretion, and, for worse or better, increase incarceration of those convicted of crimes.

Whether these measures were justified can be debated endlessly. But crime did decline  dramatically  in the 1990s, a reduction that for the most part persisted for over 25 years and still persists. Serious crime rates generally remain much lower than they were in the early 1990s.

No one knows exactly why crime declined so much, but the decline did in fact follow on measures that added to the police, tightened criminal law and increased incarceration.

Steve Koppman, Oakland

Free speech fallacy

Regarding Stifling speech is not free (Letters to the Editor, April 3): The writer objecting to the idea that protest is free speech offers a common misunderstanding of the First Amendment, stating that it is about everyone having the right to voice their opinion and for that opinion to be heard. No, it isnt. The First Amendment says: Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. In other words, the government cant prevent you from saying things.

Nowhere in the amendment or court decisions around it is there a requirement that other people listen to you or an obligation for institutions or companies to provide a platform to anyone who wants one (another common misunderstanding).

If you want to silently listen to a speaker who offends your deepest values and advocates discrimination against you or others, that is your option. If you want to speak back at them, that is also your option. In either case, the First Amendment has nothing to with it.

Sandra Stewart, San Francisco

Laugh at yourself

Regarding Jada Pinkett Smiths hair loss is not a joking matter (Letters to the Editor, April 3): If Jada Pinketts hair loss is no joking matter, then why is mens androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness), the basis of so many jokes? Especially by women? Its called sexism. Lets face it: We often laugh at loss of dignity, even when someone is hurt. The key is learning to laugh at ourselves, not striking others.
A little over a year ago, a police force of around 400 battle-ready officers descended upon Echo Park Lake, a public park in a gentrifying neighborhood of Los Angeles, to evict an unhoused community that at one time had nearly 200 residents. Hundreds of protesters faced off with police; dozens were arrested and beaten, including journalists. As these battles played out, city workers swiftly erected a chain-link fence, which encloses the park to this day.

Despite the clearly troubling optics, the citys liberal establishment declared the Echo Park Lake displacement to be a success, with Mayor Eric Garcetti claiming it as the largest housing transition of an encampment ever in the citys history. All displaced residents, city officials declared, would be in stable, permanent housing within a year.

However, a recently released study by the After Echo Park Lake research collective, of which we are members, dramatically disproves such claims. Our analysis of the citys own data shows that only 17 of 183 displaced residents are currently in housing. Our ethnographic work has further revealed that more people who were evicted from the park have died (seven) than have been permanently housed (four). Many are waiting in temporary placements with no path to a permanent home. Many more have been expelled from these placements. Veronica, who was a focal point of our study, was expelled from the park only to wind up on the streets not far away, in a location that is now subject to the citys recently expanded anti-camping law. Veronicas belongings are regularly destroyed by sanitation clean-ups and the police threaten her with outright banishment.

Despite the abject failure of the Echo Park Lake operation, the ruse of forcing people off the streets and into so-called housing is becoming a blueprint for displacement in California cities.

San Franciscans should be wary of three elements of this blueprint.

The first is the temporary placements that are being touted by politicians as better than living in encampments. Our data shows that the unhoused are not shelter-resistant, but rather that the system is housing-resistant  with a focus on shuffling people through numerous short-term placements.

Consider Project Roomkey, the Federal Emergency Management Agency-funded program meant to provide non-congregate shelter to the unhoused during the pandemic. Promised as a path to permanent housing, the program took in the bulk of the 183 displaced Echo Park Lake residents. But 82 of the 183 have exited the program and have disappeared from the homeless management system. Another 48 are still waiting in Project Roomkey, but under conditions that they vividly describe as humiliating and dehumanizing. Subject to isolation and curfews, constant surveillance and policing, they find themselves severed from social networks and vulnerable to expulsion over arbitrary rules. La Donna Harrell, an artist and unhoused member of our research collective who was expelled from the program for noncompliance and is now living on the streets, recently said: That people prefer a tent to a hotel room tells you everything you need to know about Project Roomkey.

The second is the resurgent conflation of homelessness with mental illness and substance abuse, setting the stage for state control marketed as care. In December, Mayor London Breed declared a short-lived state of emergency San Franciscos Tenderloin neighborhood to address the crisis of people dying of drug overdoses on the streets. Now Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court, which purports to deliver mental illness and substance abuse treatment to people experiencing homelessness. Such efforts may claim to be about helping save the lives of those in dire need, but they are too often used as a pretext to strip the unhoused of rights and subject them to carceral supervision  where research shows that overdose deaths are in fact exacerbated, not mitigated. A previous report by our collective shows a higher rate of overdose deaths (60%) in hotel and motel rooms, which includes Project Roomkey, than on the streets (40%).

Third, at a time of unprecedented expansion of federal and state funds for housing, such forms of homeless management entail the misuse of public resources for police enforcement and criminalization. The city of Los Angeles spent over $2 million on just the police raid of Echo Park Lake. And there are others besides police who benefit from a system where a safe sleeping village costs $61,000 per tent per year. As broker of the Echo Park Lake displacement, Urban Alchemy surveilled local residents on behalf of the city while attempting (often unsuccessfully) to move people out of the park. In the Tenderloin, the group acts as part security, part services provider under a $8.8 million, two-year contract with the city (supplemented with $3 million from UC Hastings) for trash pickup and the occasional overdose reversal. Its main role, though, is to place system-impacted and housing-insecure people of color in charge of the displacement and policing of the poor and unhoused.

It is more urgent than ever before to follow a different path.

As PolicyLink data shows, an eviction cliff of those suffering economically from the COVID-19 pandemic is around the corner. California now faces a choice. Do we keep spending public resources on the criminalization of poverty? Do we endorse the farce of the right to shelter, which imposes punishment on the unhoused for not accepting shelter that is clearly in too short supply and, where available, inadequate to meet their needs? Or, in a time of plenty, do we make a genuine investment in housing the poor?

Ananya Roy is director of the UCLA Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy. Sam Lutzker is a doctoral student in sociology at UCLA.
Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle

San Francisco Mayor London Breed endorsed Supervisor Matt Haney over former Supervisor David Campos in the 17th Assembly District race Tuesday, praising Haneys work in helping her to craft the citys $13 billion budget.

Matt stepped up to work with me during extremely challenging times during the pandemic to craft a balanced budget that delivers the services and priorities our city needs, Breed said in a statement Tuesday, referring to Haneys work as chair of San Franciscos Budget and Finance Committee.
By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

The Estate of Haji Gulu is a historical and architectural monument in Shusha.

Constructed in 1849 by the order of merchant Gulu Mahammadalioghlu, the three-story building brilliantly reflected the national architectural style. There were 46 rooms and two large halls in the Estate of Haji Gulu.

One of those halls of the Estate of Haji Gulu is supposed to be described in the picture of the Russian artist V. V. Vereshchagin who traveled to Shusha in 1865.

In plan, the home was shaped like an extended rectangle.

A staircase connected the service area of the ground floor with the second floor (dining and living areas).

The third floor consisted of a large hall and guest rooms located next to it.

On the facade overlooking the courtyard, there was an open three-storey veranda.

A staircase built on the back of the house led to the veranda.

There was a large living room in the Estate of Haji Gulu, typical for the wealthy Shusha houses.

The dining room and the bedroom were made in a beautiful architectural style that corresponds to the profile of their use.

Communication with the first floor is assured through the main staircase and another for the servants.

Unlike most of the Shusha houses and palaces, a considerable number of large windows were installed in the Haji Gulu estate. All windows are in the shabaka style.

Shabaka art appeared in Azerbaijani architecture between the 9th and 12th centuries.

The main feature of this art is based on the fact that no glue or nails have been used during the construction of the figures. Little pieces of colored glass are inserted into a wooden lattice usually made from walnut or oak trees.

Folk craftsmen used their compositions with thicknesses of only one millimeter.

Nowadays no one can reach this skill level: the material used by them is glass about three millimeters thick.

After Armenia's occupation, the Estate of Haji Gulu was shelled by artillery fire and its walls were destroyed. Only some parts of the walls have survived until our days.
After striking out multiple times at the Board of Supervisors, housing production advocates plan to go to San Francisco voters in November with a charter amendment that would streamline the approval process for some residential development.

The initiative, which proponents are calling Affordable Homes Now, would speed up housing production by allowing some qualified projects to circumvent the citys discretionary review process, cutting several years from the multiyear timeline it takes to get housing approved in San Francisco.

Mayor London Breed has made three attempts to put the charter amendment on the ballot since 2020, but has been unable to get the necessary support from the Board of Supervisors. In order to get on the ballot, charter amendment initiatives require either a majority vote at the Board of Supervisors or the signatures of 52,000 voters.

Housing Action Coalition Executive Director Todd David said that the coalition supporting the measure  which includes GrowSF, Habitat for Humanity, Nor Cal Carpenters Union, the Housing Action Coalition, SPUR and YIMBY Action  has raised the roughly $1 million it will cost to pay for the signature gathering effort. The deadline to qualify is July 11.

The charter amendment would streamline three types of projects: those that are 100% affordable; those catering to teachers; and those that include 15% more below-market-rate units than is required under the citys affordable housing requirements.

We believe the Board of Supervisors has completely failed and is incapable of addressing the housing crisis, said David. We have thought for a while that in order to address the housing shortage and displacement crisis we were going to need to bring it directly to the voters.

Sachin Agarwal of Grow SF  which advocates for improved public transportation, better public schools and more housing  said it wasnt hard to get its members to contribute.

The support for this ballot initiative is so widespread, he said. This is about normal people not being displaced.

Those contributing to the campaign so far include Yelp founder Jeremy Stoppelman and Pantheon CEO Zach Rosen.

The carpenters union is backing the charter amendment, but its unclear whether other trade unions will be behind it.

Jay Bradshaw, executive officer of the Nor Cal Carpenters Union, said the initiative includes strong labor protections. Projects looking to take advantage of the streamlining will have to pay prevailing wage, include apprentice programs, and either offer health benefits or pay into the citys Healthy SF health insurance program.

He said carpenters in San Francisco continue to be priced out of the city, and are moving farther and farther way from their work in order to find affordable accommodations. Making it easier to build will create jobs for his members, and also housing options.

The perception that every union carpenter owns a house is not true anymore, he said.

Bradshaw said his members will be active members of the campaign.

We already have volunteers lining up to help out on weekends and evenings, he said.

Building Trades Council Secretary Treasurer Rudy Gonzalez said he hasnt read the final version of the charter amendment, but that he is skeptical that it include language that requires developers to employ what he considers an adequate skilled and trained workforce.

YIMBY Action executive director Laura Foote said the polling shows that more than 60% of voters would back the amendment, which requires only a simple majority to pass.

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.

Housing is popular  more people want it built than dont want it built, she said. Its just that the people who dont want it built have a disproportionate say in the process.

She said the curtailed process would encourage more property owners to build housing on lots that may be underutilized or used for parking.

David said the charter amendment would mean that projects like 469 Stevenson St. which was turned down by the Board of Supervisors  would be able to go forward.

You are going to be activating the projects that were never approved in the first place, Foote said. There are a lot of projects that get contemplated and abandoned.

Fernando Marti, director of the Council of Community Housing Organizations, called the charter amendment a market rate streamlining bill masquerading as an affordable housing bill. He argued that most affordable housing projects are already streamlined by other laws  SB35 and the 2019 Prop E, which addressed educator housing  and that the level of affordability of the units in most market-rate development is too high for workers most at risk of being displaced.

He argued that the city should focus on getting developers to actually start construction on the tens of thousands of housing units that are already approved but have not been built. This includes thousands of units at multi-phase mega-projects like Parkmerced, Schlage Lock and Candlestick Point.

They are trying to create a solution to a problem that doesnt really exist, said Marti. Is the problem how much housing has been approved and entitled or is the problem that investors are not investing right now?

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen
An apartment fire displaced 40 residents from a four-story building on the hills above Haight-Ashbury Monday night.

The two-alarm blaze broke out on the third floor shortly after 8:30 p.m. at 400 Upper Terrace. Two occupants and a cat had to be rescued while the others got out safely. It took an hour and a half to contain the blaze, which burned so intently that one firefighter had to be taken to the hospital for treatment of burns.

The rescued cat was taken to an emergency pet hospital.

The American Red Cross and the Human Services Agency both responded to the scene. The displaced residents were housed in two hotels following arrangements made by the buildings property manager, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.

The 21-unit building was yellow-tagged Monday night and may be upgraded to red tag, meaning it is uninhabitable.

I cant remember a fire with this many displacements in my district, and many of them are seniors and longtime residents. Its a nightmare situation, said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.

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.

We are trying to figure out what will happen to the building and how long those people will be displaced.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation.

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @samwhitingsf
A heat wave was expected to descend on the Bay Area on Wednesday, bringing what meteorologists called a weather roller coaster of dramatically swinging temperatures.

Above-normal temperatures were predicted Wednesday through Friday, with Thursday potentially breaking high-temperature records in several locations, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures will start to cool down on Friday, but will remain at above normal conditions, weather officials said. By Sunday, the region will see a drastic change in conditions with a 10-20 degree drop, weather officials said.

It might be a little bit of a roller-coaster ride, where we go from really warm this week to below-normal next week, said Cindy Palmer, a meteorologist with the weather service.

The heat wave was expected to bring the hottest temperatures of the year so far with coastal cities reaching into the 80s and interior areas into the 90s.

San Francisco could reach a high of 82 degrees on Thursday; Oakland 86 degrees; Petaluma 87 degrees; and Palo Alto 88 degrees.

Meanwhile interior areas like Livermore and Concord will near or reach the low 90s on Thursday.

The South Lake Tahoe area could see a high of 70 degrees on Thursday before dropping back into the 30s on Monday with a slight chance of snow showers, weather officials said.

Seek out the shade, try not to be out on the hottest part of the day, drink water (and) wear light, loose clothing to protect yourself from the sun, warned Palmer.

Those who plan to go to the beach on Wednesday were warned of dangerous waves that could reach over 11 feet at several Bay Area beaches. A beach hazards statement was issued through 9 p.m. Wednesday.

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.

By Monday, weather conditions will return to normal and below normal temperatures with highs in the 50s and 60s across the region and a slight chance of rain early next week, weather officials said.

Jessica Flores (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jessica.flores

@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jesssmflores
A hotly tipped San Francisco-based startup that snagged a major funding round in 2021 has abruptly shut down just days after it was revealed that the company only generated $600,000 in revenue that same year.

Fast, a financial technology startup with an emphasis on one-click payments, announced its closure Tuesday morning on Twitter, shortly after tech publication The Information broke the news Tuesday.

After making great strides on our mission of making buying and selling frictionless for everyone, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors, Domm Holland, the companys CEO and co-founder, wrote in a statement.

The company, despite having raised about $124 million in two rounds of early-stage funding with the aid of the wildly successful fintech company Stripe, according to TechCrunch, seemed to be struggling, according to recent reports. The Information reported last week that the company, once valued at nearly $600 million according to NPR, had only generated $600,000 in revenue  and was looking for a buyer after an unsuccessful fundraising round.

Holland, an Australian-born businessman, has been beleaguered by bad PR in recent months. Most notably, an NPR expose about him published in February, with allegations of owing employees at a previous company millions of dollars and exploiting Nigerian software engineers early in Fasts development.

Sometimes trailblazers dont make it all the way to the mountain top, Holland wrote. But even in those situations, they pave a way that all others will follow.

Fast, strangely enough, may best be remembered for its cheap merchandise  selling hoodies for $1 and $5 as part of a branding deal with NASCAR racer Parker Kligerman. Even if the company no longer exists as we know it, the hoodies will probably be seen around San Francisco and Silicon Valley for a while.

The service is scheduled to shut down April 15.
A California home formerly owned by convicted murderer Scott Peterson and his late wife, Laci, was listed for sale March 31, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The 1949 bungalow at 523 Covena Ave. in Modesto was listed for $459,888.

The couple lived at the residence when Scott Peterson was accused in 2002 of murdering 27-year-old Laci and their unborn son, Conner. Laci disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002, the day her husband Scott left their Modesto home to go fishing at the Berkeley Marina. Scott came under suspicion almost immediately, with detectives noting he seemed far too calm for a man whose pregnant wife had suddenly vanished.

"Authorities speculated that Peterson strangled his pregnant wife in the house on or just before Christmas Eve 2002 before slipping her weighted body into San Francisco Bay," the Modesto Bee said.

In April 2003, passersby found the bodies of Laci and the fetus of her son, Conner, washed up on the shoreline near Richmond. Their remains were badly decomposed from time in the water and no cause of death was ever determined. A few days later, police arrested Scott, who had dyed his hair blond and filled his car with survival gear, $15,000 in cash and other evidence of a possible escape to Mexico.

Peterson was convicted of double murder in March 2005. He was on death row at San Quentin until 2020 when his sentence was overturned by the California Supreme Court due to errors made during jury selection for his original murder trial. Last year, he was re-sentenced to life in prison without parole. Peterson has maintained his innocence and is currently back in court attempting to get a new trial.

Laci and Scott bought the the 1,700-square-foot Modesto home for $177,000 in 2000. There have been several owners since then, including real estate agent Gerry Roberts, who bought the house in 2005 for $390,000 in 2005, the Bee reported. The home sold again in 2007 for $280,000 and in 2013 for $180,000, records posted on Zillow show.

The home in Modesto's La Loma neighborhood is advertised on Zillow as "move-in ready" with a swimming pool and hot tub, a freshly painted interior and a remodeled kitchen featuring stone countertops, a six-burner gas stove and a built-in wine rack.

Cyndy Hackett of Open House Real Estate is the listing agent. Hackett did not respond to SFGATE's request for comment.

SFGATE managing editor Katie Dowd contributed to this story.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

The man recorded in a viral video last year piling items from a San Francisco Walgreens into a trash bag and fleeing on a bicycle has been sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Jean Lugo Romero pleaded guilty to felony grand theft and misdemeanor petty theft, according to a press release issued by the San Francisco District Attorneys Office Monday, less than a year after the incident was circulated by KGO reporter Lyanne Melendez with the hashtag #NoConsequences" and a Chesa Boudin namedrop.
Its night in the rugged hills of northeastern California. A herd of cows, many with young calves at their sides, begin shifting nervously. The October winds have brought news of danger nearby: A lone gray wolf, eyes glowing yellow in the moonlight. Known as OR-103, the young male has gone days, perhaps weeks, without a kill. And hes hungry.

If youve never seen a gray wolf up close, you may be imagining a husky or a large coyote. Instead, think of a mastiff. Males weigh up to 150 pounds, with paw prints the size of human hands and fangs as long as your thumbs. Most American wolves prefer deer and elk, but OR-103 has a crippled front paw, and no way to catch such lightning-quick prey.

Frankly, even calves are a struggle for him. Two nights ago, he tried to grab one from this same herd, but something chased him off before he could get a good meal; its still alive, though seriously injured. Now, fiercely determined, he rushes first one calf, and then another, tearing chunks from their hind legs. Each time, the mother cows charge him, tossing him into the mud like a rag doll.

The next morning, Patrick Griffins phone rings. Hes spent just over 6 years as a wolf liaison, paid by Siskiyou County to help investigate attacks and run interference between ranchers and government agencies. Hes unsurprised by the news, having seen OR-103s handiwork before. Of 15 wolf attacks confirmed or suspected by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2021, OR-103 has been linked to six, injuring at least 10 calves. The real number is likely higher.

Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Patrick Griffin

If this were any other state, the solution would be easy: Either government agents or ranchers could kill him. But of all the states where wolves live, California offers the strongest legal protections to its wolves, and the fewest resources to its ranchers. Wolves here can only be legally killed if they attack a human. Griffin is fighting for things to change: With his help, the owner of the five calves  two of which needed to be euthanized  is one of the first beneficiaries of a new program to compensate ranchers for confirmed wolf depredations. But the programs shaky start has left ranchers wondering whether reporting attacks will even be worthwhile.

In the weeks following the October attack, Griffin receives constant phone calls from ranchers demanding OR-103 be relocated or killed; in November, CDFW links him to four more attacks. It wouldnt surprise Griffin if ranchers took matters into their own hands. After all, eight other California wolves have disappeared in the past few years, including an entire pack that vanished after being spotted feeding on a dead calf.

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

High emotions, Griffin wrote in a notebook he keeps about wolf activity. People expressing concerns and demanding action to remove wolf. Wolf plan review  no provisions for relocation found.

And yet by April 2022, OR-103 is still alive and hasnt been linked to an attack in months. The story of how, and why, may hold lessons for people like Griffin, charged with maintaining peace between wolves and ranchers. Griffin knows its key to implement solutions now, when there are just 20 wolves in the state; it will only get harder as the wolf population in California grows, and attacks on livestock inevitably mount. In the meantime, the livelihoods of the ranchers and the lives of the wolves hang in the balance.

The quietest place I know

In March, I drive into the sprawling agricultural heart of Siskiyou County to meet Griffin and some other ranchers. This hardscrabble, open country is rarely seen by most Californians  and most of the self-reliant residents prefer it that way.

Griffin greets me at his ranch in a camouflage hat, a khaki vest and a flannel button-down. In his home office, he shows me footage of OR-103, hunched and limping on three paws. I think the cows rolled him around pretty bad up there, he tells me. You could see the imprint of his body in the mud.

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

Like OR-103, Griffin migrated to California from rural Oregon. Hes lived and worked on cattle ranches for nearly his whole life, and served for 10 years as the agricultural commissioner of Siskiyou County. If he had his way, itd be legal to kill wolves that keep attacking livestock  not least because if an animal like OR-103 finds a pack, he could easily teach other wolves how to go after cows.

Some ranchers have accused him of being pro-wolf, a label that seems unfair given the time and effort hes spent helping them. Still, hes well-liked in the community, the kind of man who visits with neighbors who live alone, packs extra toilet paper for others on hikes and gifts people homemade pepperoni from wild boar hes hunted.

These days, he spends his time checking trail cams, helping other ranchers install deterrents and mediating debates between ranchers, CDFW and activists who push for the absolute protection of wolves. He also helps Kent Laudon, an environmental scientist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, investigate alleged wolf attacks. Wolves are not the only threat to cattle who graze in the mountainous terrain; investigators swab wounds for DNA and look for wolf bites, hemorrhages or wolf tracks nearby. If scavengers have been at a body too long, it can be impossible to tell whether the animal was killed by illness, accident, mountain lions, bears, coyotes or wolves.

Still, its clear that wolf attacks here are increasing alongside the wolf population. There were nine attacks in both 2019 and 2020. Last year, there were 15, with a population of just 20 wolves, most of whom prefer wild prey.

Patrick Griffin

Griffin invites me for a hike through Davis Gulch to pick up new trail cam footage; hes hoping to have captured videos of the Whaleback Pack, which currently includes two parents, including a heavily pregnant female, and seven pups from last spring. Before we hike, Griffin sends out a message to ranchers with approximate locations of collared wolves. The goal is to let ranchers know when to be more careful  bringing cows in closer to home, or babysitting them on horseback  without giving exact coordinates. [CDFW] doesnt want me to get specific, he tells me. Theyre concerned somebody will come out and shoot em.

On the trail, Griffin quickly spots wolf tracks in the fresh mud, bending down to show me theyre the same size as his hand. I cant help but feel a little nervous as we head deeper into the woods. I know attacks on humans are exceedingly rare  but still, if alls well with the pack, thats two of us and nine of them.

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

We trudge upslope, replacing memory cards and drizzling skunk-smelling lure on the ground to tempt the wolves. Eventually, we reach a clearing that overlooks a vast wilderness of timberland and ranches. When Griffin first moved to Little Shasta Valley in 1966, nearly all of the land was undeveloped. But as drought and fuel costs have taken their toll on already-slim profit margins, many ranches have been sold to developers, cluttering the southern stretches of the valley with homes, fencing, and other eyesores.

If ranchers cant make it, more good land is going to look like that, Griffin tells me. Then, nobody wins. Not the ranchers. Not the conservationists. And certainly not the wolves.

On our way down, he stops in the forest and encourages me to simply listen for a while. All I can hear is the call of a blue jay, carrying on the wind.

This is the quietest place I know, Griffin says.

Patrick Griffin

Just not acceptable

The first wolf to return to California, OR-7, arrived in 2011. Like OR-103, he crossed from Oregon into Siskiyou County and was welcomed to the state as something like a hero.

His arrival was covered by hundreds of media outlets; books and movies were soon made about him. Conservation groups, which renamed him Journey, began pushing the state to list gray wolves under the California Endangered Species Act. Some supporters showed up to public hearings dressed in wolf suits; others sang their testimonies, a cappella-style.

They had plenty of good arguments. Studies show that wolves benefit entire ecosystems, thinning out weak and sick animals, leaving smaller and more resilient herds that exert less pressure on highland vegetation. They also keep coyote numbers in check, allowing foxes, badgers and martens to thrive, while the carcasses they leave behind feed birds and bears.

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

Endangered species in California have broad legal protections; its illegal to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap or capture them, unless they go after a human. The Fish and Game Commission voted 3-1 to list gray wolves, against the recommendation of CDFW.

Today, ranchers can hang red flags from electric fences to spook wolves, set off strobe lights, sirens, or recordings of gunshots and people screaming. They can also use guardian dogs or ride the range  patrolling the vast grazing territories, usually on horseback, to keep an eye on herds and move them away from danger.

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

Conservation groups are vocal about the effectiveness of these nonlethal deterrents. But wolves are smart, and learn fast, so ranchers have to cycle between them. With all of these tools, you worry about habituation, says CDFW scientist Laudon, who has been working around wolves since 1997, first in Idaho, then Montana, then Arizona and now California.

Shoot, shovel and shut up

As wolf enthusiasts hoped and ranchers feared, more wolves have followed in OR-7s pawprints. Four packs the Lassen, Shasta, Beckwourth and Whaleback families  have established themselves in the northeastern part of the state. Theyre not exclusively California wolves, given their enormous ranges and lack of respect for state lines, but theyre protected by CDFW, as well as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which considers wolves endangered.

Wolf killers face a $100,000 fine, plus probable imprisonment. And yet some ranchers have almost certainly employed the 3-S method of herd protection  thats shoot, shovel and shut up.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Back in the fall of 2015, a group of ranchers were rounding up a herd in the foothills of Mount Shasta when they came upon the Shasta Pack, the first contemporary gray wolf pack to reproduce in California, feeding on a dead calf. The black and brown adult wolves had dispersed from Oregon and created their den on California soil, and trail camera images showed a litter of five healthy black pups. Shortly after, the Shasta Pack vanished. Just one of the pups was ever seen again, spotted on a trail camera before decamping to Nevada.

While those disappearances are still officially mysterious, two others are not: One wolf was shot in 2018, and another was found dead in 2020. State investigations into the wolves disappearances and deaths have all hit dead ends.

None of the ranchers I spoke with were openly in favor of the 3-S method, but all of them were clear about wanting legal options to remove or kill problematic wolves. I really do wish we could have that as a bare minimum, says Peter Townley, whose five calves were attacked by OR-103.

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

In every other state where wolves roam, they are frequently killed legally by wildlife departments, hunters and ranchers. Nearly 200 have been killed in Montana this hunting season; in Idaho, recent legislation legalized killing up to 90% of local wolves, including by trapping pups near their dens and beating them to death. In Wyoming, wolves are considered vermin and can be chased and run over with snowmobiles. In other states, including Oregon and Washington, wolves are protected  unless they attack livestock. If they do, theyre legally killed.

California also differs from every other wolf state in its lack of an established program to compensate ranchers for lost livestock. This year, though, the state set aside $3 million for a pilot program to compensate ranchers for wolf depredations; an interim grant program began accepting reimbursement applications for incidents dating back to September 2021. The program is still very much working out growing pains.

Townley, the Little Shasta Valley rancher whose five calves were attacked by OR-103, qualified for repayment for the two calves he lost. But when he applied, he was offered less than $100 per calf  far less than what they wouldve been worth when auctioned. In response, Griffin met with CDFW officials, arguing for much higher payments.

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

This is just not acceptable, Griffin recalls telling officials. If we do this, were not going to get any participation. Ranchers wont even bother. Then youll have more loss of trust, and ranchers will just go back to doing things the way theyve done it for the last 150 years. Meaning killing the wolves.

Eventually the officials changed their policy, offering the future market value of the calves. Townley is likely to get around $1,000 each.

Weve been invaded

On a crisp March morning, a blue sky peeks through wispy clouds over Townleys family ranch. Dressed in neutral tones and a pair of working gloves, Townley shifts his truck into first gear and lets it roll across the field as cows line up behind us, waiting for breakfast. He scoots out and jumps onto the back, tossing flakes of hay down to the girls.

Yeah, youre going to give me a little sniff, Townley coos to an 80-pound calf as it approaches him. Youre going to give me a little kiss. Youre going to let me scratch your ears a little bit.

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

This undulating 3,000-acre property was once largely covered in wheat, but the family couldnt make a profit, so they shifted their focus to cattle. Thanks to the ongoing drought, Townley tells me, theyve recently had to downsize their cattle herd, too; they only have a few dozen now, so losing two was a significant blow. When I ask exactly how many he owns, he hesitates.

Its sort of like how our culture considers it impolite to ask how much money you have, he says gently. The cows are the main physical asset, other than the land.

Townley struggles to talk about the incident last year. It was not only distressing because my animals were harmed, but the severity of the bite wounds was just  Townley pauses, choking up. It was one of the most horrible things. It just broke my heart.

After the attacks, Griffin helped Townley to install electric fences with red flags around the pasture closest to his home and suggested he confine his cows in large groups  safety in numbers. Although keeping cows that close together can spread disease and degrade pastures, Townleys been doing it anyway. He has yet to lose another calf.

For ranchers with more cows and more land, though, flags and confinement are nonstarters. After my visit with Townley, I drive down the road to Dan Chases ranch. Chase owns nearly a thousand cows that graze on leased Forest Service property and private timberlands, referred to as turnouts, all summer long. Its the only economically viable option for him  unlike paying for hay all summer  but those turnouts are in wolf country, on what ranchers have started calling the front lines.

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

Chase grew up working on other peoples ranches, always dreaming of owning his own. These days, though, the economic pressures of the drought and skyrocketing gas prices have been weighing on him. On bad days, he wonders whether the wolves will be the last straw. He knows plenty of nearby ranchers who have drastically downsized their herds, or even sold their land in recent years. Sometimes, he finds himself idly looking at property in other states.

The wolves, he tells me, arent just a financial issue. Theyre also a peace-of-mind problem. Chase used to let his three herding dogs run around as they pleased, accompanying his wife on walks and trail rides and protecting the house in the evenings. Once the wolves came, the walks got shorter, and the dogs had to be left behind on mountain rides. Theyre never allowed outside at night.

Chase can see that the presence of wolves stresses his cows out, and hes lost several calves since the wolves came to Little Shasta. Although he suspects at least four fell prey to wolves in recent months, CDFW has not confirmed any depredations on his property. At the neighboring Table Rock Ranch, wolves have killed two calves, including one in late March. Several more have died under mysterious circumstances, but could not be confirmed as wolf kills. You feel helpless, Janna Gliatto, a manager at Table Rock, tells me. Our hands are tied. Weve been invaded.

Scaring off a wolf feels almost pointless, Gliatto says. In a place like Little Shasta, the predators can just move to another ranchers property. Then, eventually, theyll come back to yours.

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

Chase tells me he doesnt even report some incidents, especially if it seems hard to tell whether a wolf was responsible. Calling out a wildlife officer seems like a burden without benefit  just like the red flags he installed, which kept blowing over, or range riding when Griffin texts that theres a wolf nearby. Keeping an eye on the cows during the day doesnt really solve the problem, he tells me. The wolves hunt at night.

It truly takes a lot of the joy out of being up on the mountain, Chase says.

An equilibrium

After the failed attacks on cattle in Little Shasta Valley, OR-103 remained in dispersal mode, crossing Interstate 5 a few times, making several appearances in relatively populated areas around Siskiyou County. The wolf is around 2 years old, an unpredictable age when most wolves strike out on their own to find a mate. That means hes alone and vulnerable, an easy target for the 3-S method. And yet, despite the chaos hes caused, the wolf is still alive.

Its hard to know exactly why no one has taken care of the problem. Certainly, some ranchers are deterred by the harsh penalties, although no one has ever been tried in California; others may not want to disappoint Laudon and Griffin, who have expended so much energy on helping them co-exist. But the most obvious reason may also be the strongest: OR-103 hasnt been linked to any attacks since November. And thats because ranchers are feeding him.

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

On a wind-whipped afternoon in Scott Valley, 35 miles from Little Shasta Valley, rancher Jim Morris is showing me his bone pile, and OR-103s buffet. Morris has been accumulating this above-ground graveyard for years, hauling carcasses from a variety of domestic animals out to an otherwise lovely meadow, encircled by juniper trees.

The air around us smells faintly putrid, though thankfully not as bad as I had been expecting. The corpses are mostly skeletons now, picked clean by mountain lions, coyotes, eagles, bears and  as of a month ago  OR-103.

Bone piles are highly controversial. State officials maintain that they attract predators, making them more likely to kill livestock. But in Scott Valley, ranchers who have been keeping bone piles for more than a century have found just the opposite. There have been no reported attacks in years; ranchers believe theyve found an equilibrium with area predators.

Surprisingly, this isnt far off what wolf conservationists call for when deterrents dont work. OR-103 is obviously trying to survive in a severely compromised physical state, says Sophia Ressler, a staff attorney with the Carnivore Conservation Program at the Center for Biological Diversity. Getting creative to support OR-103 and the livestock producers is going to be our best solution. Ressler also proposed two more ideas: compensation for ranchers helping to support OR-103 (which theyd certainly be in favor of) and pairing OR-103 up with a mate to help him hunt (which would make ranchers lose their minds).

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

Griffin is one of the regions foremost experts on coexistence, but honestly, he has no idea whether the Scott Valley ranchers should keep their bone piles. These ranchers are his friends, and their livestock is seemingly protected from the injured wolf, at least for now. He doesnt want to upset that balance.

Still, hes very concerned about long-term consequences. If more wolves show up and there isnt enough deadstock to go around, he worries theyll turn to living animals. That makes bone piles a temporary solution, at best. As we progress, and wolves enter the county and become more established, perhaps in Scott Valley, thats going to be a totally different picture, he says.

The best long-term approach in California, he knows, would be to clean up the bone piles and focus on nonlethal practices. But he knows theres no perfect solution. Theres no 100% effective tool, theres no silver bullet, he tells me.

Morris, for one, isnt giving up his bone pile anytime soon. And hes happy to share his resources with OR-103, if thats what keeps him from turning his attention to cows and sheep. Im willing to be a good neighbor with anyone who will be a good neighbor back, he tells me.

Ranchers shouldnt be the only ones shouldering the burden

Griffin only crossed paths with OR-103 once, in late 2021, while driving past a ranch in Little Shasta. He noticed a group of coyotes (or kai-yotes, as they say around here) feeding on the carcass of a stillborn calf. OR-103 was standing nearby, watching the action.

I might be exaggerating a little bit, but it looked like the kai-yotes could almost walk under the wolfs belly without touching it, he tells me.

Ashley Harrell/SFGATE

When he thinks about the future of OR-103  and the Whaleback Pack, who recently killed a calf on Table Rock Ranch  Griffin gets nervous. Wolves are relatively new to the region, and he wants so much for sound practices and policies to help ranchers navigate the conflicts. But for now, hes mostly stuck watching and waiting.

Its so hard to know what the future will hold for the adolescent OR-103, trying to find his way in the world. Will he kill another calf? Will he continue eating carcasses in northeastern California, or move somewhere else entirely? Will California develop a fair compensation program in time, and will the ranchers accept it? Or will they lose patience and take matters into their own hands?

Perhaps the biggest question is whether Californias citizens will ever vote to let wolves be killed for attacking livestock  but Griffin isnt getting his hopes up on that last one. I ask him what it would take for the state to amend its Endangered Species Act, and he gets sassy. Probably some politicians daughter to get chewed up by a wolf, he says. "When California's Endangered Species Act was being written, there wasn't really anything that was being considered for listing that had big teeth."

California Department of Fish and Wildlife

As long as killings not an option, hed like to see more wolves in GPS collars, so ranchers can be warned when theyre around; locations also help establish culpability in livestock deaths. And hed like the state to consider a pay-for-presence compensation model similar to the one in Arizona and New Mexico, where cash payments are distributed to rural residents who share territory with the endangered Mexican gray wolf.

Griffins overarching goal, he tells me, is simply for ranching to endure. That lifestyle is where his heart is, and so too is the protection of open spaces that allow for entire ecosystems  wolves included  to thrive. In this way, he sees the fate of the ranchers and the wolves as interconnected.

So when Californians think about how to best protect wolves, he hopes they also think about protecting the people who must live with them.

Ranchers shouldnt be the only ones shouldering the burden of having wolves present on the landscape, he says.
It was the safest rushing of the stage Ive ever seen.

Thats Alexandra Llamas. She handles marketing for the San Francisco Symphony and is the one answering my questions about Friday night at the Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.

Specifically about the two-night collaboration between the SF Symphony and Boyz II Men  one of the most popular R&B groups in history  and their rendition of Ill Make Love To You, a song that features the lyrics:

Throw your clothes on the floor

I'm gonna take my clothes off, too

I made plans to be with you

Girl whatever you ask me you know I can do

Women in the audience somewhat politely rushed the stage as soon as the first notes were played Friday night as Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman handed out dozens of red roses while they serenaded:

Baby, tonight is your night

And I will do you right

Just make a wish on your night

Anything that you ask

I will give you the love of your life

It was a magical moment in a magical night for someone who grew up listening to Boyz II Men and credits the group with basically getting me through 5th to 8th grade relationships. But maybe even more so because it was at Davies Symphony Hall and in concert with the SF Symphony, which  for the first time in its 111-year history  collaborated with an R&B group. And that inaugural group delivered a night filled with their hits that sent those in attendance into a frenzy, from On Bended Knee to Water Runs Dry. Stockman told the audience that performing with the symphony brought the group back to its roots.

Along with Michael McCary (who left the group in 2003 after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis), Morris, Morris and Stockman attended Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, where classical music was part of the bedrock of their education. Llamas says when the group approached the symphony about the collaboration, they already had the requisite chart music the orchestra would need (It made them an ideal partner, Llamas says).

Christopher M. Howard

Llamas tells me Friday and Saturdays performances were two of the top attended events of the young year (I dont think I saw a single empty seat Friday), and 71% of ticket buyers were new to the symphony  one of their highest percentages ever. In recent years the SF Symphony has gotten far outside of its comfort zone, screening feature films while playing the score behind them (movies like Get Out, Indiana Jones and Ghostbusters), plus collaborating with big-name musicians like Tony Bennett, Bob Weir, Common and Rufus Wainwright. Usually about half of the audience is new to the symphony for those engagements.

It was a breath of fresh air, Llamas says.

And a welcome one after two pandemic years that devastated indoor art institutions. Nathan Morris, rocking a very symphony-appropriate suit on Friday, intimated as much before the final song of the night, calling todays music trash before pleading with San Franciscans to support the symphony.

On Friday, it seemed entirely possible they might. Friday night was fun. It was different. People in tuxedos were seated next to guys in tiger-print streetwear.

The wonderful thing about SF is we accept you as you are, whether you dress up or dress down, Llamas said.

And on Friday, they were both. And they were loud. The crowd hooted and hollered, and Boyz II Men did it right back  everyone fed off of each other. They told the audience to get out of their seats, to dance, to sway, to sing along, to let the music consume them and do whatever felt right  whether that was rhythmically moving left-to-right or standing in the aisle.

Or, even, charging the stage to get a rose.
WASHINGTON - Russia's apparent retreat from Kyiv and retrenchment into Ukraine's easternmost regions marks the latest sign that the war is at an inflection point - one that U.S. officials believe could portend even uglier fighting to come.

"The next stage of this conflict may very well be protracted," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Monday during a news conference, as he outlined new U.S. assessments indicating Russia is "revising its war aims" in the face of significant opposition.

The ferocious resistance has claimed Russian materiel, momentum and troops' lives in quantities that far exceeded expectations - forcing Moscow to scramble so much that now its armed forces have largely sapped readily available reinforcements in Ukraine, according to military analysts. That leaves Russian commanders in the short term to fight with the resources at their disposal. U.S. officials believe that about two-thirds of the units that had been focused on Kyiv, the capital, are heading north, back to Belarus and Russia, for expected repositioning in Donbas.

The turn of events has presented Ukraine with an opportunity, observers say, to seize the upper hand. But doing so may come at a steep price, as Moscow shows no signs it is willing to abandon President Vladimir Putin's ultimate goal, which U.S. officials believe is to "weaken Ukraine as much as possible," Sullivan said.

"All indications are that Russia will seek to surround and overwhelm Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine," he added, noting that U.S. assessments indicate Russia is preparing to deploy "dozens of additional battalion tactical groups constituting tens of thousands of soldiers" to Ukraine's east. "We should be under no illusions that Russia will adjust its tactics, which have included and will likely continue to include wanton and brazen attacks on civilian targets," Sullivan said.

Moscow, he said, will probably continue to conduct air and missile strikes throughout the country - in cities such as Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv and Lviv - as it refocuses on objectives in the east. Putin's intent, Sullivan asserted, "is to cause military and economic damage and, frankly, to cause terror."

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, now in its sixth week, has claimed thousands of casualties on both sides. Images of scorched earth and death - including mass graves in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha that have further fueled accusations of war crimes - have punctuated the conflict's toll. The staggering loss of life makes it unlikely that either side will be willing to strike a peace deal anytime soon, observers say.

"Ukraine has the momentum right now, and they're less likely to make concessions," said Rob Lee, a Russian military expert and senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute. After the discovery of atrocities in Bucha, he added, "I think concessions are even less likely." The issue for Russia "is going to be, the greater the casualties, the harder it is to stomach a compromise solution."

Yet neither side has the ability to gain the upper hand swiftly. Ukraine's forces will probably be able to redeploy to the eastern part of the country faster than Russia can reposition the assets it is withdrawing from Kyiv. But Ukraine does not have overwhelming operational control of its skies - nor the full use of the Russian machinery it captured to buoy its military operation.

On the Russian side, strategic consolidation of manpower and firepower in the east will not by itself solve Moscow's mounting attrition problem.

"At this stage, the Russian force is tapped out. . . . Without national mobilization, there are very hard limits on what is available in terms of fighting power," said Michael Kofman, a Russian military expert with CNA, a think tank based in Washington. The only way out for Putin, Kofman said, is to make a massive policy shift, by admitting to the Russian people that the Ukrainian offensive is not a "special operation," as he has claimed, but a full-fledged "war," allowing him to call up additional forces from across the country.

"Russian political leadership will have a very significant choice to make," Kofman continued. "They cannot sustain a war with Ukraine as a 'special operation.' They're trying to have it both ways."

It is unknown, however, whether the Russian leader is ready or willing to make that shift. "We're not sure what the long-range goal is here for Mr. Putin," a senior U.S. defense official said Monday, speaking on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the Pentagon. Donbas is clearly the Russians' priority, the official added, but it is "completely unclear" to U.S. officials where things could go from there.

In his comments Monday, Sullivan predicted that Russia will try to capitalize on the battalion tactical groups it is moving from Kyiv to Ukraine's east with efforts to defeat forces loyal to Kyiv in the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk. "In order to protect any territory it seizes in the east, we expect that Russia could potentially extend its force projection and presence even deeper into Ukraine. . . . At least that is their intention and their plan," he added.

But doing so will take a long time - and some experts are skeptical that it will ever be possible for Putin to realize such goals.

"I just don't see how, given the materiel constraints, they could hope to prosecute a long war with these large objectives," Kofman said of the Russian side. "It's just not sustainable. . . . They'll run out of troops."

- - -

The Washington Post's Alex Horton contributed to this report.
French prosecutors opened three probes Tuesday into potential war crimes committed by Russian soldiers against French nationals in Ukraine - as at least six European countries joined other European nations in expelling Russian diplomats.

The moves came as pressure has increased on European governments to respond to allegations that Russian soldiers committed war crimes in Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv. Ukrainian authorities and independent journalists have reported finding mass graves and streets lined with dead civilians in Bucha after Russian troops began to withdraw from the area.

Speaking by video at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded that Russian leaders and soldiers to be brought before a special tribunal to be tried "immediately" over the atrocities committed in Bucha.

"They killed entire families, adults and children, and they tried to burn their bodies," Zelensky said. "This undermines the whole architecture of global security. They are destroying everything."

Russia, which has denied killing civilians in Ukraine and claimed that the images out of Bucha are fake, criticized the expulsions and vowed to retaliate.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 100 Russian diplomats in nearly a dozen countries have been asked to leave their postings - Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Italy and Denmark were the latest to announce expulsions Tuesday. In recent years, Russian diplomats have also been expelled from several Western nations in response to the Kremlin's actions, including hacking related to the 2016 U.S. presidential election and after Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal was targeted with a nerve agent in England.

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said his country would expel 13 Russian diplomats and staff and shut two Russian consulates. Estonia said it notified Russia's ambassador that it would shut two Russian consular outposts and expel 14 diplomats and consular staff.

Also Tuesday, E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he had decided "to designate persona non grata a number of officials of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the EU for engaging in activities contrary to their diplomatic status."

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that about 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff "who represent a threat to the interests and security of our country" would be expelled from Madrid.

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said her country had "decided to deport three Russian diplomats whose work in Sweden is not in accordance with the Vienna Convention."

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Italy would expel 30 Russian diplomats, citing national security concerns.

And Denmark's Foreign Ministry said 15 Russian diplomats it accused of spying would have 14 days to leave the country. Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said the move sent "a clear signal to Moscow" that Denmark would not accept "Russian intelligence officers spying on Danish soil."

Russia promised to retaliate against Italy and Denmark, state-backed news outlets RIA Novosti and Tass said, citing Russian officials. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the expulsions as "a shortsighted step" that would narrow the possibilities for diplomacy to resolve the crisis, according to Tass.

Also on Tuesday, France's counterterrorism prosecutor's office said it had opened three war crimes probes concerning "acts likely to have been committed to the detriment of French nationals in Ukraine in recent weeks," giving French courts jurisdiction.

French authorities said the incidents were believed to have occurred in Mariupol, Hostomel and Chernihiv between Feb. 24 and March 16. The presumed crimes include "deliberate attacks against civilians not taking part in hostilities," "voluntary attacks causing psychological harm," deliberate damage or destruction of civilian objects and property, and depriving civilians of items essential for survival.

After images of destruction emerged from Bucha last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter that "the Russian authorities will have to answer for these crimes."

French prosecutors had already opened an investigation last month into the death of Pierre Zakrzewski, a French-Irish cameraman with Fox News, who was killed in Ukraine on March 14.

After images from Bucha emerged over the weekend, France and other European countries agreed that stronger measures were needed to target Russia but disagreed about whether those measures should include a total ban on Russian oil and gas.

That debate has highlighted the role of Germany, which Poland's prime minister has accused of being the main European Union holdout after German leaders sent mixed messages Sunday and Monday about their willingness to stop buying Russian energy. A third of Germany's crude oil and half its coal came from Russia last year.

Still, Berlin moved Monday to take control of a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom, three days after the St. Petersburg-based company said it was abandoning business in the country.

The German Finance Ministry said Monday in a news release that Bundesnetzagentur, the federal agency that regulates the energy sector, would take control of the Gazprom Germania Group until Sept. 30.

The ministry said its decision to place Gazprom's German subsidiary under the trusteeship of the government came "against a background of unclear legal relationships and follows the violation of the reporting obligation under the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance." It said it was not clear who owns the two Russian firms moving to acquire and liquidate Gazprom Germania, calling that a national security risk.

The ministry said the company "operates critical infrastructure in Germany and is therefore of outstanding importance for the gas supply."

Germany also moved Monday to expel 40 Russian diplomats.

- - -

The Washington Post's Sammy Westfall, Emily Rauhala, Isaac Stanley-Becker and Ellen Francis contributed to this report.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's pariah status is only deepening in Europe amid reports of his forces carrying out suspected war crimes in Ukraine. Dozens of Russian diplomats were expelled from European capitals on Monday as more grim scenes - including images of mass graves and dead bodies scattered in the streets - emerged from the Ukrainian town of Bucha. The United States is also pushing for a vote at the United Nations General Assembly to suspend Russia from the organization's Human Rights Council.

But over the weekend, Putin received other welcome news from the Western front. In Hungary and Serbia, illiberal nationalist leaders both cruised to reelection on Sunday. The Fidesz party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Europe's illiberal demagogue de jour, won a comfortable two-thirds majority in parliament, giving Orban a fourth consecutive term in power. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic avoided the possibility of a runoff election by winning close to 60 percent of the vote, securing another five-year term after a decade already in power.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitored both elections, said that, though competitive, the votes were shaped by "an uneven playing field" that gave "undue" advantages to the ruling parties. But Putin was quick to congratulate both Orban and Vucic. In a message to the former, the Russian president expressed "confidence" that ties between Budapest and Moscow would only grow greater. And he said he hoped to build on the Kremlin's "strategic partnership" with the latter.

Belgrade has a long cultural and political affinity with Russia, as well as a shared antipathy to NATO, which bombed Serbian targets as part of its intervention in Kosovo 23 years ago. Hungary, meanwhile, has a more tangled history of distrust of Russian ambitions and overreach. But as both Orban and Vucic consolidated their illiberal - many critics would say autocratic - rules over the past decade, their relations with Moscow as well as Beijing grew closer. Even as much of Europe has rallied around Ukraine and against Russia, the two reelected leaders have taken conspicuously defiant lines.

Vucic's government has resisted European pressure to impose sanctions on Russia. Many in Serbia harbor resentment of what they see as NATO bullying and hold sympathy for Russia, a perceived fellow victim of hegemonic Western agendas. Vucic's government took the symbolic measure of voting in favor of a U.N. resolution in early March that condemned the Russian invasion, but has mostly adopted a neutral line, wary of burning bridges with a European Union it may still hope to one day join.

Culturally, though, Vucic's nationalist base finds kindred spirits backing the Kremlin and has its own revanchist project in the Balkans. "Putin's 'Russian world' is an exact copy of what our nationalists call Greater Serbia," said Bosko Jaksic, a pro-Western newspaper columnist, told the New York Times.

But it's Orban who now looms as the most controversial - and problematic - elected leader in the European Union. In February, as Russia built up its forces on Ukraine's borders, Putin hosted Orban and voiced hope for the "many years we can work together" going forward. After the war began, Orban went along with an initial tranche of E.U.-mandated sanctions but has since balked at further measures like a ban on Russian energy imports. Hungary is not allowing its territory to be used for the transit of lethal weapons to Ukraine. Its quasi-neutrality over the war next door has led to a split of sorts with erstwhile illiberal ally Poland, which has rushed aid to Ukraine and is seeking far more punitive action on Russia.

While long-standing ties with Putin have posed problems for other far-right European politicians like Italy's Matteo Salvini and France's Marine Le Pen, the reluctance to come to Kyiv's aid hardly hurt Orban and his allies in the polls. The opposition cast the voters' choice as one between Putin and the West, but far more prevalent pro-government messaging painted a different picture - of Orban maintaining peace for Hungary while avoiding a deadly conflagration.

In his victory speech Sunday night, Orban lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had urged Budapest to do more for its neighbors, placing the Ukrainian leader in a constellation of perceived leftist and liberal enemies of his Christian nationalist project. Orban said his triumph came despite the efforts of the "left at home, the international left all around, the Brussels bureaucrats, the [George] Soros empire with all its money, the international mainstream media, and in the end, even the Ukrainian president."

All the while, Orban presides over a Hungarian polity in the heart of Europe that would be familiar to a strongman like Putin. "In addition to reworking the electoral system to give his party a big advantage, Orban has constrained nongovernmental organizations, deployed spyware against journalists, and dismantled a system of checks and balances," explained my colleague Chico Harlan. "He has built up a pro-government media empire that amounts to an echo chamber for his narrative."

Orban also can count on major admirers in the United States, where a wing of the conservative movement has embraced his government - which censors LGBT content, demonizes immigrants and ethnic minorities, extols the virtues of the traditional family, and feuds constantly with the supposed globalists of the European Union - as a kind of political ideal. Never mind that Hungary has a middling economy hollowed out by years of its best and brightest emigrating away from an Orban-dominated nation and a graying population smaller than many second-tier cities in countries like India or China.

Hungary's democratic backsliding under Orban has triggered procedural action within the European Union, which has withheld some E.U. funds earmarked for Hungary but otherwise struggled to compel Budapest to change course. As the war in Ukraine rages on, onlookers in Kyiv don't count on much from the next Orban term either.

"We have no new expectations toward the Hungarian side," Olha Stefanyshyna, Ukraine's deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, said in a Monday news briefing, adding that she believed Budapest's policy of friendship with Russia would continue.
NEW YORK - An Ivy League-educated doctor exchanged a promising career for years of physical and psychological torment, allegedly at the hands of Lawrence "Larry" Ray, a man decades her senior. Another woman worked as a prostitute, giving Ray $2.5 million of her earnings even as he allegedly told her - falsely - that she owed him more. The younger brother of the aspiring doctor dropped out of Sarah Lawrence College after being brainwashed by Ray, who allegedly beat him with a hammer and held a blade to his neck.

Ray, now 62, is accused of corrupting the lives of these and other promising young adults - three of them siblings - between 2010 and 2020, dragging them into a life of servitude and maniacal rituals. His trial on racketeering, sex trafficking, money laundering and other charges is expected to wrap up on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, with jury deliberations beginning after that.

Prosecutors say Ray amassed blackmail material on his victims - often by getting them to admit to shameful conduct that they had not actually carried out. He stored recordings of their confessions to use against them if they thought about disobeying him or leaving the cultlike group that he had organized and that he referred to as a "family."

The case is reminiscent of the 2019 prosecution in Brooklyn federal court of Keith Raniere, who led the Albany, N.Y.-based self-improvement network NXIVM. He was convicted on racketeering and sex trafficking charges involving a group of women he called his "slaves," but he is appealing the guilty verdict and his 120-year sentence.

Like Raniere, Ray was seen as a source of experience and knowledge who guided his emotionally vulnerable followers through life's difficulties. "In addition to violence, Ray used classic techniques of coercion to manipulate his victims, such as isolating people from their friends and family, using means of financial control, taking away basic human agency like food and sleep," said Moira Penza, a former federal prosecutor who tried the case against Raniere.

Marne Lynn Lenox, one of Ray's defense lawyers, said in her summation Monday afternoon that his accusers engaged in ongoing "storytelling" that grew out of Ray's notion that there was a "vast government conspiracy" of powerful people wanting to cause him harm.

"The world that [Ray] and others cultivated over the course of a decade may not be one that you or I could ever understand," Lenox told jurors. She argued that the group's reality was "through the looking glass" and amounted to a shared belief in alternate truths.

- - -

After a federal securities fraud conviction, charges related to a custody dispute and a bail-jumping case, Ray was released from a stint behind bars in 2010. He began living at his daughter Talia's dorm suite at Sarah Lawrence, a private liberal arts college in Westchester County, just north of New York City.

There, he encountered Talia's roommates and injected himself into their lives.

Ray cooked meals and hosted late-night chats for the college sophomores, promising them he could help them lead "better, more honest lives," Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon said in her opening statement.

"He told them that he had special training that could help them gain clarity and discipline," Sassoon said. "He said if they shared their deepest feelings with him, he could help resolve their problems."

Claudia Drury was 19 when she met Ray at the dorm suite called Slonim Woods 9. She testified that after drawing her into his orbit, Ray eventually physically abused her. At the same time, she said, he convinced Drury that she had tried to poison him and owed him huge sums of money as a result.

Eventually, Drury told jurors, she worked four years as a prostitute, meeting clients in hotel rooms and paying Ray $10,000 to $50,000 per week. In 2018, she said, Ray suffocated her with a plastic bag after she told a regular client that his name was on a website Ray created to post embarrassing and damaging information he could use to control her.

Santos Rosario also met Ray at Sarah Lawrence. He had dated Talia Ray, who is not charged in the case and did not testify. The elder Ray served as Rosario's and Drury's spiritual adviser and life counselor, according to court testimony. Rosario said he grew so enamored with Talia Ray's father that he told his sisters Felicia and Yalitza that they also should meet him and get the benefit of his guidance.

- - -

The sisters joined their brother in spending time at a crowded one-bedroom apartment Ray occupied on East 93rd Street in Manhattan in 2011. Felicia Rosario, then 29, had degrees from Harvard and Columbia and was training to become a medical doctor at a hospital in California. She began what she believed was a romantic relationship with Ray - who, she testified, referred to her as his "wife."

Ray's demands on the group grew increasingly outlandish, and his hold on them increasingly firm, prosecutors alleged. He regaled them with stories about his contacts in the military, government and law enforcement, including former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik, and described impressive personal feats, according to testimony from the Rosarios and Drury. He claimed to have negotiated a cease-fire in Kosovo in the late 1990s and bragged about being the one responsible for landing Kerik in prison on corruption-related charges in 2010.

The young people testified that they confided their secrets and insecurities to Ray, who used that information to compile dossiers on them. Ray allegedly got them to confess on video to poisoning him, his daughter and others, and to other fabricated wrongdoing, and told them he could have them arrested - or worse.

Ray also began tasking the young adults with abusive chores, the Rosario siblings and Drury testified, giving them sexual assignments and instructing them to have sexual encounters with each other.

On one occasion, Felicia Rosario said, Ray ordered her to proposition the doorman on duty at the Waterford condominium building, where they lived. The doorman, Carlos Pagan, testified that the young woman approached him to say Ray "sent her down so she could have sex with me outside in the car." Pagan noticed she was "shaking" and had a bruise on her face. "Young lady, you need to go back upstairs," he recalled telling her in reply.

Over time, Felicia assumed an unsettling, childlike demeanor, evidence presented by the prosecutors showed. In videos Ray took of her and her siblings, her gaze is glossy and disconnected. In one disturbing recording, Santos slaps himself in the face repeatedly over the course of an hour, apparently because Ray had convinced him that doing so would be the only way to get his sister to stop speaking. Felicia, rocking back and forth on a black leather couch, appears agitated.

"I learned my lesson. I learned my lesson. I learned my lesson, Larry!" she moaned.

- - -

In 2013, Ray brought Felicia and her sister Yalitza - six years her junior - to Pinehurst, N.C., to do unpaid landscaping and other chores at his stepfather's property, the siblings testified. They said Ray rationed their food and made the sisters sleep on the front porch. Santos stayed at the New York apartment and worked as a waiter, giving all of his earnings to Ray, he testified.

To meet Ray's demands for money to "repair" their supposed wrongs, his alleged victims sometimes asked family and friends for money, prosecutors said. The Rosarios' mother, Maritza, testified that she gave Santos about $150,000 in installments to give to Ray - much of which she had to borrow. She also said her son separately stole nearly $13,000 from her money transfer business in 2014. Santos, who had attempted suicide in high school, said he told his mother that he would take his own life if she didn't help him.

All three Rosario siblings have been hospitalized for psychiatric issues since their alleged abuse at Ray's hand, testimony showed. Yalitza said she ran away from the Pinehurst house at one point, walking through the woods along a highway overnight until she reached a Walmart, where she acquired Tylenol that she planned to use for a fatal overdose.

Someone later saw her collapsed next to the Walmart building and called for help. When she was released from the hospital, she went back to Ray. Later, she ran away again and headed to New York. She said she planned to make another suicide attempt there but decided against it.

By 2016, Felicia Rosario and Isabella Pollok were the only members of the "Ray family" still living with him. The trio moved to Piscataway, N.J., into the home of a friend of Ray's. The young women stayed there for several months following Ray's arrest in 2020, which came less than a year after a lengthy article in New York magazine describing the cult and his alleged abuse of his victims. Pollok was also eventually arrested, charged with being Ray's accomplice. She is awaiting trial.

Twice during Ray's 312-week trial, he was been rushed out of the courthouse on a stretcher after complaining about medical ailments, halting the proceedings for a day or more.

Defense attorneys presented their case in just hours on Monday morning. Witnesses included a former attorney for Ray who said Ray had told him about being poisoned, and who said he told Ray it was legal to take money from Drury for "restitution." Another defense witness for Ray disputed the accuracy of certain cellphone records prosecutors used to corroborate witness accounts.

Ray, who faces the possibility of life and many additional years in prison if convicted on all counts, did not testify.
The spokeswoman for Florida's Republican governor tweeted in early March that anyone who opposes a bill forbidding teachers from talking about gender identity or sexual orientation with students in early grades is "probably a groomer or at least you don't denounce the grooming of 4-8 year old children." A few days later, Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked on national television, "When did our public schools, any schools, become what are essentially grooming centers for gender identity radicals?"

And, speaking before the Tennessee House of Representatives in February, country music star John Rich compared librarians who allow children access to graphic books to sexual predators - adding he believes that there is "bona fide grooming taking place" in the state's public schools.

"What's the difference between a teacher, educator or librarian . . . or a guy in a white van pulling up at the edge of school when school lets out?" he asked. Students "can run away from the guy in the white van."

In the charged debate over what and how children should learn about sexual orientation and gender identity, some mainstream Republicans are tagging those who defend such lessons as "groomers," claiming that proponents of such teaching want children primed for sexual abuse. The argument draws on previous tactics adopted by the right to oppose the erosion of traditional gender roles at moments of societal transition, experts say. They point out that, while groomer rhetoric seems designed to appeal to fringe partisans, it is part of a conservative effort to foster a moral panic that will help limit how and what educators teach - by restricting history lessons, banning books, and curbing discussions of systemic racism and LGBTQ issues.

Last month, Florida lawmakers passed a bill forbidding educators from offering instruction "on sexual orientation or gender identity . . . in kindergarten through grade 3." Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law on March 28.

"The bill that liberals inaccurately call 'Don't Say Gay' would be more accurately described as an Anti-Grooming Bill," DeSantis's spokeswoman Christina Pushaw tweeted March 4. In response to questions from The Washington Post, she elaborated: "Those who read the bill and decide they do support teaching kindergartners about sexuality and gender transition may or may not be trying to exploit children themselves - but by sexualizing young kids and normalizing sexual conversations between adults and children, they are contributing to an environment that endangers children by exposing them to inappropriate content while eroding parental rights."

Similarly, a bill introduced - and tabled - in the Virginia Capitol in January would require "written parental consent before a student is permitted to check out from the school library any such printed or audiovisual materials that could be considered grooming video or materials."

In part spurred by the Florida bill, talking points on the right have coalesced around the idea that children will become vulnerable to sex abuse by receiving certain forms of sex education. As Max Eden, a research fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, argued in a Newsweek op-ed, parents are not being told enough about what happens in schools. They must wonder: "Is there anything obscene or immoral that public schools might start doing to my child?"

The lack of visibility into the classroom is reason for worry, many parents and activists now say. Tamra Farah, an executive director at Moms for America, a group that says it "empowers moms to raise patriots and promote liberty," said she is "concerned" about grooming, although she noted that she cannot "authoritatively" say if it's occurring in classrooms.

"But I want to put that back on educators," she said. "You prove to me that won't happen, and you prove it to me through studies - prove that what you're doing won't harm children."

In Florida, Rick Stevens, a founder of the conservative educational advocacy group Florida Citizens Alliance and the pastor of Diplomat Wesleyan Church in Cape Coral, said he frets about the potential grooming of young schoolchildren.

"We don't have any evidence that it's happening, either deliberately or accidentally," he said. "But anytime you start to desensitize kids and normalize certain behaviors, then it makes it easier for someone who wants to recruit them for sex trafficking, or anything else, because the kids don't know the difference."

Sophie Bjork-James, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University who studies evangelical politics and the white-nationalist movement, said the religious right has advanced similar lines of argument in the past. In the 1980s, for instance, when women were entering the workforce in large numbers and placing their children in day care centers, she said, some Christian conservatives drove what became known as the "satanic panic" - the false alarm that day cares were sites of satanic ritual and sexual abuse.

She said focusing on the sexual predation of children is an effective tactic because it paints political opponents as inherently evil. "Every decent person wants to protect children from grooming, sexual assault and sexual predators," Bjork-James said. White evangelicals, she added, are especially focused on child sex abuse because of the importance the movement places on sexual purity and innocence.

Fears about "grooming" are spiking at a moment when long-marginalized LGBTQ identities are starting to appear in popular culture and to become more accepted, Bjork-James said. A Gallup poll released in February found that a record number of U.S. adults - 7.1% - identify as LGBTQ, with 21% of Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2003, reporting that they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual.

"It's a strategy to unify the right," Bjork-James said of groomer rhetoric. "Both White evangelicals but also the more radical right like QAnon supporters - for a while that movement was really focused on saving children from purported sexual predators, so it's a clever strategy."

Advocates of expanding sex education in schools say that lessons for young children include learning the proper names for body parts and teaching them how to recognize when they are being abused. And more high schools are piloting efforts to teach teenagers about consent, with the aim of preventing sexual assaults.

"Children who have learned that teachers or school personnel aren't supposed to do certain things . . . are much more likely to go to an adult to report it," said Charol Shakeshaft, an education professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who has studied educator sex abuse for more than three decades. Multiple studies have shown that students who receive sex education have a better grasp on what constitutes abuse and to whom to report it.

Learning, too, about what it means to be gay or transgender can help children understand how to treat those different from them, curtailing bullying down the road. Lesbian, gay and bisexual teens reported being bullied at twice the rate of their straight peers and were three times as likely to contemplate suicide, according to a 2019 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We can introduce the fact that there are families that look like theirs, and there's families that don't look like theirs," said Christine Soyong Harley, president and chief executive of SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, a group devoted to advancing sex education. "It just gives them the ability to understand difference of families."

Educators and LGBTQ advocates warn that "grooming" charges will harm both LGBTQ teachers and students.

Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, the executive director of LGBTQ education group GLSEN, said she is already hearing reports that teachers in Florida - since the bill passed the Florida Senate on March 8 - are being instructed to remove pro-LGBTQ signage and stickers from their classrooms.

"There is a chilling effect on educators, in order to silence and marginalize and invisibilize support for LGBTQ-plus students," Willingham-Jaggers said. "The real effect of this stuff is diminishing opportunities for LGBTQ young people."

Some mainstream Republican activists and strategists say the intent of legislation like the Florida bill is to restore power to parents who should rightfully control when and what their children learn about these sensitive, complicated and controversial topics.

Rick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, said conservative parents feel "like we're living in a bizarre-o universe." He said that this population began paying closer attention to their children's lessons during the pandemic and that many were shocked to see the amount and the substance of education focused on issues such as gender identity and sexual orientation. For these people, Hess said, laws like Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill "feel very much like defensive measures."

Parents "are saying, 'Wait a minute, how did schools start talking about gender identity to first-graders anyway?' " Hess said. " 'Wait a minute, when did anybody ask us if we wanted children in grades K through 3 to be taught about gender fluidity? We never discussed it!'"

Conservative parents say they have lost trust that trained educators in the public school system can teach about sex and gender in an evenhanded, nonideological way - and some say they do not think educators should be addressing the topics at all.

One of those parents is Jamie Merchant, a Florida mother and a member of the Florida Citizens Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for parental choice in education. She said she was "thrilled" to see the bill pass. Asked about her concerns with early sex education, Merchant said she opposes it because she wants to keep children innocent as long as possible, although she did not mention grooming.

"There is a time and place for everything," she said, "and I think parents have the ultimate decision whether or not to have discussions with their children on certain topics, sexuality and orientation being one of them."

Hess said he thinks most Republican opponents of early sex education share sentiments similar to Merchant's. He said he thinks only a few far-right pundits and politicians are pushing the "groomer" line of attack - mostly because they know it will rile their base and drive clicks and donations online. He added that focusing on these people unduly is unfair, and he pointed to the text of the Florida bill, which he noted "in no way suggested that teachers, based on their sexual identity or gender, were less needed [or] should be evaluated or inspected based on that."

Still, the regular drip-drip of groomer rhetoric has begun to inform how activists and parents on the ground approach their work.

At a school board meeting in Northern Virginia last month, mother Stacy Langton walked to the microphone during the public-comment period and slammed the Fairfax County Public Schools board for denying her repeated requests to remove from school libraries the books "Gender Queer" - a graphic novel about being nonbinary - and "Lawn Boy," a novel that features a sexual encounter between two male fourth-graders. Langton had alleged that the books are pornographic and obscene, but a school system review determined that the texts have literary value and that neither depicts pedophilia.

"I am asking a pro-communist, pro-pedophile school board to remove the child grooming books," Stacy told the board at the meeting. "These perverse books sexualize and confuse children to the point of causing profound mental illness."

Karl Frisch, an openly gay member of the Fairfax board - whom Langton accused in her remarks of admiring pedophilia - wrote in a text message that "this is about the chilling message these attacks send to LGBTQ young people who deserve our compassion and protection."

Jesse Kelly, a conservative pundit with 400,000 Twitter followers, recently posted a long thread of messages arguing that "every Republican in America should be running ads" targeting Democrats who support early education on sexuality: "Call them groomers and pedophiles," Kelly wrote. "Put THEM on the defensive. Make THEM afraid. . . . Stop worrying about what the media says. If they parrot Dem talking points, call them groomers too."

Sexual assault - perpetrated by students and adults - is a concern at elementary, middle and high schools, where staff are often ill-prepared to investigate complaints. In the 2017-2018 school year, the Education Department tallied nearly 15,000 reports of sexual assault on K-12 campuses, a massive jump from the previous school year. But there is no evidence suggesting a link between sex education and sex abuse, said Shakeshaft.

Shakeshaft has studied hundreds of cases of teacher sex abuse and has not found any in which an educator groomed a student - much less a classroom full of them - under the guise of teaching them sex education. Her work has shown that the most common scenario involves male teachers preying on girls.

In some cases, Shakeshaft said, educators who are actually attempting to groom students will talk explicitly about their own sex lives in private settings. And the vast majority of the time, when a teacher discloses their sexual identity to a student, "it's not to groom them. It's to give them courage and strength to know they have supporters."

In classrooms, LGBTQ teachers are reconsidering how much of themselves they are willing to share with their students - including LGBTQ children who might be searching for mentors.

"We heard of a principal telling a transgender teen that they can't talk about being trans even privately to friends while on campus," said Nadine Smith, director of the LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida. Her organization has been flooded with calls from school administrators, teachers, parents and students who are confused and concerned about the effects of the bill, she said.

D. Rae Garrison, the principal of a middle school in West Jordan, Utah, who is openly LGBTQ, said her phone pinged with a text from an unknown number last year. The stranger wrote saying, "We know you're a lesbian and we're not comfortable with you being around our young girls," Garrison said. She contacted police, but they were unable to trace the message.

She said that she cannot recognize America these days, that it is no longer the same country that felt so welcoming when she came out in 2007. Then, Garrison felt proud. Now, she just feels scared.

It feels, she said, like society is "pushing all of us back in the closet."
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  Zoos across North America are moving their birds indoors and away from people and wildlife as they try to protect them from the highly contagious and potentially deadly avian influenza.

Penguins may be the only birds visitors to many zoos can see right now, because they already are kept inside and usually protected behind glass in their exhibits, making it harder for the bird flu to reach them.

Nearly 23 million chickens and turkeys have already been killed across the United States to limit the spread of the virus, and zoos are working hard to prevent any of their birds from meeting the same fate. It would be especially upsetting for zoos to have to kill any of the endangered or threatened species in their care.

It would be extremely devastating, said Maria Franke, who is the manager of welfare science at Toronto Zoo, which has less than two dozen Loggerhead Shrike songbirds that it's breeding with the hope of reintroducing them into the wild. We take amazing care and the welfare and well being of our animals is the utmost importance. Theres a lot of staff that has close connections with the animals that they care for here at the zoo.

Toronto Zoo workers are adding roofs to some outdoor bird exhibits and double-checking the mesh surrounding enclosures to ensure it will keep wild birds out.

Birds shed the virus through their droppings and nasal discharge. Experts say it can be spread through contaminated equipment, clothing, boots and vehicles carrying supplies. Research has shown that small birds that squeeze into zoo exhibits or buildings can also spread the flu, and that mice can even track it inside.

So far, no outbreaks have been reported at zoos, but there have been wild birds found dead that had the flu. For example, a wild duck that died in a behind-the-scenes area of the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa, after tornadoes last month tested positive, zoo spokesman Ryan Bickel said.

Most of the steps zoos are taking are designed to prevent contact between wild birds and zoo animals. In some places, officials are requiring employees to change into clean boots and don protective gear before entering bird areas.

When bird flu cases are found in poultry, officials order the entire flock to be killed because the virus is so contagious. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has indicated that zoos might be able to avoid that by isolating infected birds and possibly euthanizing a small number of them.

Sarah Woodhouse, director of animal health at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, said she is optimistic after talking with state and federal regulators.

They all agree that ordering us to depopulate a large part of our collection would be the absolute last-ditch effort. So theyre really interested in working with us to see what we can do to make sure that were not going to spread the disease while also being able to take care of our birds and not have to euthanize, Woodhouse said.

Among the precautions zoos are taking is to keep birds in smaller groups so that if a case is found, only a few would be affected. The USDA and state veterinarians would make the final decision about which birds had to be killed.

"Euthanasia is really the only way to keep it from spreading," said Luis Padilla, who is vice president of animal collections at the Saint Louis Zoo. That's why we have so many of these very proactive measures in place.

The National Aviary in Pittsburgh  the nation's largest - is providing individual health checks for each of its roughly 500 birds. Many already live in large glass enclosures or outdoor habitats where they don't have direct exposure to wildlife, said Dr. Pilar Fish, the aviary's senior director of veterinary medicine and zoological advancement.

Kansas City Zoo CEO Sean Putney said hes heard a few complaints from visitors, but most people seem OK with not getting to see some birds. I think our guests understand that we have whats in the best interests of the animals in mind when we make these decisions even though they cant get to see them, Putney said.

Officials emphasize that bird flu doesn't jeopardize the safety of meat or eggs or represent a significant risk to human health. No infected birds are allowed into the food supply, and properly cooking poultry and eggs kills bacteria and viruses. No human cases have been found in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

___

Associated Press Writers David Pitt contributed to this report from Des Moines, Iowa, Lindsay Whitehurst contributed from Salt Lake City, Julie Watson contributed from San Diego, Chris Grygiel contributed from Seattle and Tom Tait contributed from Las Vegas.
Professional and student musicians wrestle with homelessness, police violence and the pandemic in '(Re)Imagine'

By Georgia Rowe

Bay City News Foundation

Some birthday presents are bigger than others. In honor of the Community Music Center's 100th birthday, composer Cava Menzies is producing a gift worthy of the milestone: a commissioning project to create 100 new works of music.

Now, she's about to unveil those works. "(Re)Imagine: 100 New Works From Cava Menzies and Community Music Center" makes its debut in streamed performances available April 4 to May 23, and a live, in-person event on May 14.

Composing, producing and performing are nothing new for Menzies, an Oakland-based musician, visual artist and educator. The daughter of famed jazz trumpeter Eddie Henderson, her musical roots are deep, and her collaborations have included work with artists such as Daveed Diggs, Coldplay, Dave Grohl and others.

When she learned that Community Music Center (CMC), the 100-year-old nonprofit music school and performance space with branches in San Francisco's Mission and Richmond districts, was turning 100, Menzies -- a founding faculty member at Oakland School for the Arts -- went to work on the new project, enlisting a wide range of students and professional musicians to compose new works.

In a recent interview, Menzies recalled the early days of the pandemic, and said the cancellation of classes was devastating, both for her and her students.

"Just the abruptness of it, the lack of access to my students, was pretty heartbreaking," she said. "The norm in our classroom was to have a musical space where everybody was always collaborating. At lunchtime, we'd always keep the room open; people would be playing piano, drums, and I'd sometimes jump in there."

One day Menzies, using an online app, asked drum student Jayla Hernandez to send her a drum groove, and reached out to New York MC Ajai Kasim to contribute. With Menzies on keyboards, the impromptu trio created a new work; she posted it online, and the response was startling, she said.

"I immediately started getting a flood of texts from other students, saying, 'That's so cool, can I do it with you?'," she said. "It started out with students, and alumni started to catch wind of it."

Soon she was getting messages from South Africa, Jerusalem, Madagascar, Mexico. "It just started to build a life of its own -- everybody wanted to connect with each other."

The CMC project, she added, seemed to come at just the right time.

It was Sylvia Sherman, CMC's advancement director, who suggested the 100 years, 100 videos concept. That morphed into the "(Re)Imagine" project, which pulled in 50 student groupings -- duets, trios, brass and woodwind ensembles, jazz duos and quartets, Latin jazz and vocal music.

Half of the resulting 100 works are by Menzies and her collaborators; the other 50 are by international and local musicians, CMC's Young Musicians and Mission District Young Musicians programs.

Today, Menzies says that the turbulence of the time -- the COVID shutdowns, the epidemic of homelessness, the killings of Black Americans like George Floyd and others -- yielded an atmosphere in which musicians had a lot to express.

"It was like a pressure cooker," she said, one that yielded responses from dozens of students and artists she knew.

"It's been really cool to go there and work directly with the students, come up with ideas with them, and just watch how they're creating with each other," said Menzies, who continued to create a compilation of her own videos -- the initial works from 2020, along with new collaborations.

Drawing on her network of professional artists -- musicians such as Kev Choice, Jennifer Johns, Valerie Troutt, Justin Ouellet and Jaz Sawyer -- the project continued to expand and grow.

As it progressed, three principal themes emerged: community, cultural identity and international music. Menzies said that many of the younger students wanted to focus on community issues, and they spent many sessions delving into that.

"If the topic is homelessness, what does that feel like?" she said. "What's the climate of homelessness? Is it warm, cold, hard? How do you represent that in music? We did a lot of exercises like that, exploring how to take thoughts and ideas, and make musical representations of those."

CMC executive director Julie Rulyak Steinberg praised Menzies' work on the project.

"Collaboration, inspiration and empowering the music in everyone have been fundamental values of Community Music Center since it was founded 100 years ago," she noted. "Our centennial is more than a chance to look back at a century of music making -- it calls us to imagine a future of learning, loving and making music together. '(Re)Imagine' is a bold demonstration of the power of music to unite and inspire."

Menzies believes that the pandemic, in an unexpected sense, freed students to work in new ways.

"Working in music education, there's all these technical standards of being a musician," she said. "The idea was just to take all that off the table. I felt like all the preconceived notions we had about what life was supposed to look like, how we're supposed to function, what does productivity look like, didn't really matter during COVID. Everything got sort of flipped on its head.

"Part of the philosophy behind this project was that every kid could enter wherever they were at. There was no right or wrong expression. That was very freeing."

In that way, she added, "(Re)Imagine" was an apt title for the project.

"I think as a creative person, re-imagining is something that you always do," she said. "You're always re-thinking, reflecting, re-building; taking things apart, building them back again. So I love the idea of '(Re)Imagine.' It's not a fixed thing. If there's anything we've learned from this time, it's fluid. There's still a lot of ambiguity. It's a time stamp of this moment, versus anything fixed."

"(Re)Imagine: 100 New Works From Cava Menzies and Community Music Center" will be offered as videos to stream April 4 to May 23. A live, in-person event will take place at 7 p.m. May 14 at a venue to be announced. For more information, and to register to receive the videos via email, visit https://sfcmc.org/reimagine/.

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By Jana Kadah

San Jose Spotlight

San Jose's COVID-19 mask mandate may be coming to an end almost two years after it was adopted.

The move would align San Jose with the county and state, which lifted mask mandates earlier this year in almost all public indoor settings. The City Council needs at least eight votes at its Tuesday meeting to rescind the mandate, as opposed to a simple majority. If passed, it will go into effect immediately.

San Jose's mask mandate was implemented in June 2020 and since then has required residents to wear masks in public indoor settings. If repealed, residents, regardless of vaccination status, will not be required to wear a mask except in certain settings such as hospitals, jails, homeless shelters, long-term care facilities and on public transit.

Health experts and city officials said while masks are still an effective tool against COVID-19, the timing makes sense to ease restrictions. This is because vaccinations are high and transmission rates are low. The seven day rolling average in Santa Clara County is 168 new infections--a stark difference from 1,922 in early February. More than 85 percent of the county's eligible population is vaccinated and 69 percent is boosted, as of March 30.

"It's also a time of year when most people are outdoors so it's as good a time as any to discontinue the mandates," said Dr. George Rutherford, professor of epidemiology at University of California, San Francisco. "We just have to be aware of potential backtracking in winter or in the future."

The mask mandate is one of the few remaining local regulations from the pandemic-era, as closures and vaccine mandates have reversed in San Jose. But like checking or requiring vaccines, business owners can still mandate masks in their own stores if desired.

"I think leaving the decision to businesses is a good thing," Councilmember Sergio Jimenez told San Jose Spotlight. "Most businesses are probably catering to the needs and wants of their clientele. So I think that some businesses will continue to ask for masks, but others are not."

Michelle Mello, public health law professor at Stanford University, said the upcoming council vote is more a question of the city's role, rather than the role of masks.

"The question they're trying to answer is, are things bad enough that taking away people's choices is justified?" Mello told San Jose Spotlight. "I think it's a reasonable time to raise that question, but it's not a message that everyone should whip off their masks and go about their business."

Mello continued that COVID cases will likely rise once the mask mandate is lifted. But she has confidence residents will continue masking, as many have been in neighboring cities that do not require face coverings.

"That is a natural consequence of lifting measures that we know are very effective in containing them," Mello said. "But we also can't live under those measures forever."

Santa Clara County lifted its mask mandate on March 2, two weeks after the state. South Bay officials have long touted their COVID prevention efforts have been stricter than those at the state and federal level--moves that have drawn criticism and frustration from residents.

However, Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody previously said these efforts helped save an additional 2,000 lives. If Santa Clara County had the same death rate as the state, the toll would have been closer to 4,000 people, according to the county's calculation. The county would have lost more than 5,000 people if it had been at the national rate. The current death rate is 2,217.

Councilmember Pam Foley said she hopes to see the mask mandate lifted on Tuesday because it would minimize mask confusion among residents, as rules would be consistent.

"Masks are a critical tool we can use to stop the spread of COVID-19," Foley told San Jose Spotlight. "But I miss being able to see people's smiling faces. Facial expressions are so important in creating empathy, compassion, understanding and for conducting business."

San Jose councilmembers will vote on this at their Tuesday meeting. Learn how to watch and participate.

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By Eli Wolfe

San Jose Spotlight

Two pernicious problems in Silicon Valley--lack of affordable housing and declining school enrollment--are closely tied, new research suggests.

A recent report commissioned by the nonprofit Silicon Valley Community Foundation says building more housing could help reverse long-term declines in student enrollment across Santa Clara County. Enrollment is expected to decline by more than 15 percent in the county over the decade--dropping from 253,625 students in 2020-21 to 212,501 students by 2030-31.

The report's collaborators say they want to convince people that more housing will help revive struggling school districts. They say it's critical to address this as many cities in the South Bay are actively updating plans for where to prioritize building new homes, and many local officials aren't aware that these issues are linked.

"It's not on the city radar when they are doing housing site inventory, as far as I can tell," Stephen Levy, author of the report and director at the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, told San Jose Spotlight. "No one thinks of looking at whether a school district could really benefit from added students and added housing."

California requires cities to update their plans for housing every eight years. The so-called housing element update is vetted and approved by local officials in a process that may take more than a year. These updates are designed to meet a state goal set in 2020 to build more than 441,000 across the Bay Area over the next eight years.

All the cities in Santa Clara County need to collectively build 129,577 homes of all income levels by 2031, with San Jose responsible for 62,200 homes.

The report--developed in partnership with Silicon Valley@Home and Palo Alto Forward--focuses on five cities that are in the middle of updating their housing plans: Cupertino, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. SV@Home and Palo Alto Forward are housing advocacy organizations.

According to the report, all of these cities are experiencing steep declines in student enrollment. In Cupertino, enrollment in elementary schools has fallen 17 percent since 2014-15. In Palo Alto, it's dropped 62 percent over the last six years.

According to the report, this trend is driven by a long-term drop in birth rates, but also the more immediate problem of unaffordable housing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there has been a steady decline in birth rates across the country since 2008.

"It's very difficult for a young family to purchase a single-family home in Silicon Valley," Mathew Reed, policy director for Silicon Valley@Home, told San Jose Spotlight. "Some of the areas that haven't been targeted for increased housing are areas that have seen the greatest decline in enrollment."

Santa Clara County is home to some of the most expensive places to live in the country. A growing number of residents are unable to afford to live in the region, and cities are struggling to build homes accessible to people with low and moderate income. State laws meant to expand local housing, such as a policy that allows homeowners to split their lots and build more homes, have been met with fiery opposition in San Jose and elsewhere.

Claudia Rossi, a trustee on the Santa Clara County Board of Education and candidate in the county's Board of Supervisors District 1 race, said this trend is contributing to a mass exodus of lower-income families. Losing them has a direct impact on school districts, she added.

"You have to have a certain number of students to also be able to employ a certain number of teachers, so with declining enrollment comes job cuts," she told San Jose Spotlight. "If declining enrollment meets a certain point, you're looking at school closures--it's a domino effect."

This is already happening in the county. Last year, the Alum Rock Union School District board voted to close two middle schools after noting that enrollment is expected to drop by 50 percent by 2027.

Levy said one goal of the report is to refute an anti-housing argument that adding more homes to a community will overburden local schools. San Jose Councilmember Dev Davis, who is running for mayor, is fighting a state law that makes it easier to build more densely in single-family neighborhoods, saying it will overburden local infrastructure, including schools.

"I personally think that school quality and changing demographics has a bigger impact on the enrollment declines than the state of the housing market," Davis told San Jose Spotlight. "A lot of people vote with their feet, and send their kids to private school, if they have that option available to them."

Gina Dalma, an executive vice president at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, told San Jose Spotlight she hopes the report will inspire community members--especially people who already care about school issues--to see these two issues as interlinked.

"If you call yourself an educational advocate, make sure you're involved in housing," Dalma said.

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The 52nd Annual San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Celebration and Parade will take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 25 and 26.

Sadly, the 50th anniversary of the celebration had to be cancelled due to the pandemic, but the organizers promise to make up for lost time -- and fun.

Pride 52's theme is "Love Will Keep Us Together," sure to put the Captain and Tennille in the heads of anyone born before 1980.

This year's festivities will include rallies, stages and the famous parade. 200 parade contingents have signed up along with more than 20 community-run stages and venues, according to Pride 52's media spokesperson. The stages will include Trans Stage, Latin Stage, Homo Hip-Hop, Urban Global Village, API LGBT Stage, Soul of Pride and a Sober Drag Show.

A man died in Santa Rosa early Sunday after his vehicle collided with another one while traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of U.S. Highway 101 near the Yolanda Avenue off-ramp.

The California Highway Patrol first received reports of a wrong-way driver on the highway at roughly 1:58 a.m. Officers subsequently found the two vehicles with major damage in the northbound lanes of the highway.

According to the CHP, a preliminary investigation found that the man was driving a Toyota Tacoma southbound in the highway's northbound lanes and crashed into a Ford Explorer.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision, while the woman driving the Explorer was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with severe injuries that are not believed to be life threatening.

The CHP reopened the northbound lanes of the highway just before 4 a.m. Sunday.

The National Weather Service has issued a sneaker-wave hazard watch for 3 a.m. Tuesday through 9 p.m. Wednesday.

A moderate northwest swell associated with water heights of over 11 feet -- and up to 22 feet in surf zones -- will arrive early on Tuesday, impacting Bay Area beaches, forecasters said. The swells could create sneaker waves and strong rip currents.

Impacted areas will include San Francisco, the coastal North Bay including Point Reyes National Seashore, the San Francisco Peninsula Coast, northern and southern Monterey Bay and the Big Sur coast.

The advisory urges people to stay out of the water and avoid beachcombing during this period. Keep children close, pets on leashes and stay off of coastal rocks and jetties. Never turn your back on the ocean.

Tuesday will be slightly warmer than the day before but highs could rise 20 degrees by Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

As strong, high pressure builds over the region, highs are expected to be 15 to 25 degrees above normal, with coastal areas reaching the 80s and inland areas topping 90 degrees Thursday.

Daytime temperatures Wednesday will rise by 5-10 degrees above normal at the coast and by 10-20 degrees above normal throughout interior locations. By Thursday, the peak of the heat event, temperatures are likely to warm into the upper 70s to mid 80s near the coast with widespread 80s to lower 90s across the interior (15-25 degrees above normal).

Police in Union City have arrested two men on suspicion of killing a man whose body was found by firefighters putting out a vegetation blaze on March 23, UCPD said.

David Madrid, 67, from Union City, was found deceased after Alameda County Fire crews discovered him among a burned encampment near Isherwood Way and Quarry Lakes Drive.

Union City Police have determined that Madrid's death was a homicide and arrested two suspects on March 31, Andrew Dela Cruz, 24, and Jeramie Cosper, 29, after issuing warrants.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has sworn in the first Latino member of the Airport Commission, her office announced on Monday.

Jose Fuentes Almanza was appointed to the five-member body charged with establishing the airport's policies. The commission oversees construction, management, maintenance, extension and operational base decisions and financial aspects of the San Francisco International Airport, also known as SFO.

Almanza is an San Francisco native, born and raised in the Mission District, according to the mayor's office. Currently, he serves as a business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 6. Almanza represents the union's private sector electrical workers.

The National Weather Service forecast for Tuesday for the greater San Francisco Bay Area calls for warm temperatures under sunny skies with highs in the 60s on the coast and on the north peninsula, while reaching the low to mid 70s around the rest of the bay.

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Courtesy of Capitol Police

For at least two days, a brown fox has eluded officials and nipped at politicos at the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C.  and has become the talk of the town.

A fox was finally captured by animal control Tuesday afternoon, Capitol Police said in a tweet  but not before counting a Northern California congressman as one of its victims. Rep. Ami Bera, who represents portions of Sacramento County, says he was bit by the wily mammal Monday while walking to his office, according to Axios and Punchbowl News managing editor Heather Caygle.
(photo: Mary Inhea Kang)

Jenny Tinghui Zhang is an Austin, Texas-based Chinese American writer and the prose editor for the Adroit Journal. Both an essayist and fiction author, she's been published in outlets including The Cut, Bustle, Apogee, CALYX and Ninth Letter. She holds an MFA from the University of Wyoming. Her debut novel, Four Treasures of the Sky, is available now from Flatiron Books.

How did you land on the title Four Treasures of the Sky, and what does it mean to you?

The title was a happy accident. The original title was much more explicit, but it no longer captured what the novel had transformed into. During an editorial call earlier this year with Caroline Bleeke, my U.S. editor, and Jillian Taylor, my U.K. editor, I suggested, "Four Treasures of the Sky." It was a slip of the tongue--I meant to say, "Four Treasures of the Study," which refers to the four crucial tools of Chinese calligraphy. But everyone loved it, and we settled on the new title quickly.

For me, there are many ways to interpret this title, which I think is its beauty. It could hint at the many identities and iterations of self that Daiyu shuffles through during her journey. It could reference some of the characters that appear. It could be an homage to calligraphy itself. I think what's most important to me is that the new title feels like an acknowledgment and marker of what the novel became.

What was the inspiration for this novel? How much of the story was pulled from events you've witnessed?

The inspiration for this novel came from my father--back in 2014, he was driving through Idaho for work. While passing through the small town of Pierce one evening, he saw a historical marker on the side of the road that said something about a "Chinese Hanging Tree." The marker stated that this was the site where five Chinese men were hanged by vigilantes for the alleged murder of a local white storeowner in 1885. What were Chinese people doing in Idaho back in that time? my father wondered. He brought the anecdote back with him and told it to me, then asked if I could write the story out so he could know what happened. I didn't actually take his request seriously until I was in the last semester at my MFA program five years later.

This novel is inspired by that historical marker, but on a larger level, it's inspired by things that really took place in history--the Chinese Exclusion Act and the systemic oppression faced by Chinese immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. The character of Daiyu emerged after I read a research article stating that Chinese girls were packed into crates of china or buckets of coal and shipped across the ocean. It was so arresting and horrifying to me, the image of a young girl crammed into a small space like that. That was where Daiyu began.

In a time of so much anti-Asian sentiment in our country, what drove you to travel back to the 1800s? Is this a case of, to paraphrase, "We must understand the past to understand the now"?

I didn't learn about the Chinese Exclusion Act until I took an Asian American studies intro course in my senior year of college. My K-12 American education just brushed over that part of history. It wasn't until I did more research at my father's request that I realized just how much anti-Chinese history informed where we are today.

After the Atlanta spa shooting, a few friends reached out to me via text. I'm so sorry this is happening, they would say. But that's the thing that many people don't realize: this isn't happening. It has been happening. The time period I'm writing in doesn't even begin to capture the full extent of anti-Chinese racism and practices in the U.S. There was so much legislation that reinforced the fact that the Chinese were not welcome: court rulings in favor of disenfranchisement and dehumanization of the Chinese; the Page Act of 1875; the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882; the Geary Act of 1892. Even when the Chinese Exclusion Act was "repealed" in 1943, Chinese could not own property or businesses.

During my research for the book, I found that the historical marker my father saw in Pierce had already been stolen several times. All along the Pacific Northwest, there are sites where violence against Chinese immigrants occurred (you can see some of them in The No Place Project). If these little-known historical sites were being built over, eroded and vandalized, then we were at great danger of forgetting. Even if historians and academics remembered, I needed people like my friends to know. That the racism I endured growing up, the calls of ching chong ching chong and go back to where you came from, did not exist in a vacuum. That it was a concerted effort. That it all came from a place we are not very far from today.

I love that this is a western that breaks the mold of the white male outlaw shooting his way across a desert. How did you nail the key themes that would make this book feel like a familiar yet fresh take on a classic genre?

I have been so hesitant to call this book a western, mostly because I have never felt like "the western" was a genre that was accessible to or inclusive of me. It still feels strange to say it out loud. But when I look at the recent books that have rewritten the West, like C Pam Zhang's How Much of These Hills Is Gold, Tom Lin's The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu, Anna North's Outlawed and all the books to come, I am excited and proud that the western is opening, expanding, or perhaps, becoming what it was always meant to be. Because there was and is more to the West than white men. In this way, I am proud to call my book a western and have it live alongside the books that are redefining the genre.

One thing I've noticed about books set in the West is the emphasis on land--notably, the fight to survive on the land. When I lived in Wyoming for my MFA program, I was so constantly aware of the land, so awed and terrified by it. My body was such a small thing compared to the relentless Wyoming wind and unbearable cold. This is what I wanted to bring into my book: the constant question of survival, of the perseverance of the body, spirit and mind in the tremendous face of nature.

What is your desired result from this book? When people read it, what do you want them to walk away with?

I have always loved writing because it's the best way for me to express myself to other people. I'm bad at communicating in groups, and I really don't think I'm a good oral storyteller. But on the page--that's when you have people's attention. That's where the power is. And so, with this book at least, I hope that it will connect in some way with someone, whether it's because they love Daiyu, or feel for Nelson, or want to eat some of the mooncake that Nam makes during the mid-Autumn festival. The books I love most are the ones that feel like they've reached down your throat and taken a hold of your heart. The ones that see you from the inside out. I felt this way, most recently, with E.J. Koh's stunning memoir, The Magical Language of Others.

When I think about the books I love, I want to cry. I don't mean this to be melodramatic or hyperbolic--I love those books that much. I hope my book can be that for someone.

On a more serious note, I hope that it alerts folks to the history of anti-Chinese violence in this country, and how it has informed the anti-Asian violence we've seen rise in recent years. I hope, at the very least, that this book serves as a reminder, and that it is not the last of its kind. --Lauren Puckett
As India reopened international travel last month after two years of the pandemic, MakeMyTrip's fintech arm TripMoney on Tuesday said it has acquired a majority stake in BookMyForex, India's leading online foreign currency exchange services provider, for an undisclosed sum.

With this move, BookMyForex's suite of services, including currency exchange that offers real-time exchange rate, multi-currency prepaid forex cards, cross border remittances as well as other ancillary products, will soon be available for MakeMyTrip and Goibibo customers.

"The acquisition of a majority stake in BookMyForex is in line with our strategic vision to build a travel super app offering a complete suite of services for the discerning traveller," said Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO of MakeMyTrip.

The leading online travel platform will also leverage the network of BookMyForex's partners, including select banks and reputed exchange companies, to fulfil forex requirements of customers in multiple cities across the country.

"The investment from TripMoney comes at an opportune time, as the world warms up to international travel. We will leverage the strength of MakeMyTrip and Goibibo to scale new heights by gaining deeper geographic penetration," said Sudarshan Motwani, CEO of BookMyForex.

Leading private equity firm Faering Capital as well as founders and promoters - Nitin Motwani and Sudarshan Motwani -- will continue to stay invested in BookMyForex.

"We are delighted to welcome MakeMyTrip as a shareholder in the company," said Aditya Parekh, Managing Director at Faering Capital.

BookMyForex is India's first tech initiative in the foreign exchange domain and the market leader in the online retail forex space.

MakeMyTrip last month forayed into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to celebrate the popular as well as unexplored travel landscapes in the country.
Cash-strapped social commerce platform Trell, which has been under a probe for alleged financial irregularities, has sold its 10% stake in AppsForBharat to one of its existing investors, Mirae Asset, multiple people briefed on the matter said.

The secondary transaction amounting to $9-9.5 million also saw Middle East investment fund MSA Novo buy AppsForBharat shares from the influencer-led video and shopping app, one of the sources said.

South Koreas Mirae Asset owns close to 11% in Trell. While it has picked up about 7-8% stake in AppsForBharat, MSA Novo has bought 2%. The transaction is an effort by Trell to keep itself afloat even as it has laid off 200-300 of its employees, said a person in the know.

It's majorly Mirae which has picked the stake as there were conversations held by the fund to buy a stake in AppsForBharat for some time nowbut things moved quickly keeping in mind the dire situation Trell was in, a person briefed on the matter said. For Mirae it was better to invest in AppsForBharat and in a way be able to give some cash to Trell, the person said.

A Trell spokesperson said on Monday that the divestment was always the plan as it was non-core.

A forensic team from EY India has been looking into alleged related-party transactions, incorrect reporting of business numbers, and other financial irregularities in Trell.

AppsForBharat, a product studio for spiritual and devotional content, was founded by Prashant Sachan, one of the Trell founders. It is backed by the likes of Sequoia Capital, Elevation Capital, Matrix Partners, among others. Sachan left Trell last year and sold his entire stake last year, as per a report.

So, when did the trouble start?

Last year, Trell was in talks for a new round of funding and even received a term sheet from Bestseller India, which runs brands like Vero Moda, Jack & Jones and Only, at a valuation $750 million, up from $120 million just a few months earlier. Bestseller A/S is a privately held family-owned clothing company based in Denmark. But it was stalled after a whistle blower raised concerns to Sequoia Capital about alleged financial misappropriation at the Bengaluru-based startup. And Sequoia  a common investor in Trell and AppsForBharat  initiated the probe.

In a fiery note to investors, as per a report that had said one or two investors had begun the probe and claimed that it was not authorised by the company board.

However, according to a person aware of the matter, now the company is cooperating with the probe. A handshake has happened between Trell and its investors and Agarwal is now cooperating with investors on the probe and its outcome, the person said.

The Trell spokesperson said that there are no differences between founders and investors of the company. "They remain deeply committed to the business and have full faith in the founders and leadership of the company.

Asked about the EY India investigation, the person said the company conducted a 'usual review' without giving specific details and that it was 'standard practice' for businesses to check on their business controls and 'tighten the system and processes.' "Hence, your questions have no basis, the person added.

As per sources, EY probe has reviewed related party transactions in the firm. Trell was allegedly inflating revenue and gross merchandise value (GMV) numbers by 30-40% and relied on bots to boost its DAU (daily active users) and MAU (monthly active users) numbers, they said.

The company denied it. That is incorrect. We stand for onboarding and engaging only genuine users at Trell. All the figures mentioned are grossly misrepresented. However, we cannot share confidential company information, the spokesperson said.

Mails sent to Mirae, Sequoia Capital, MSA Novo, and Bestseller India did not elicit a response as of press time Monday. AppsForBharat founder Sachan confirmed the transaction and reiterated he is no longer associated with Trell and had sold his stake in the firm last year.

A report said that Trell has undertaken a huge cost cutting exercise with major layoffs already being executed.
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Russia is attempting to use its energy to blackmail the EU - but if it turns off its tap therell be no winners.

Both Russias President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz knew each had a lot to lose when they spoke one-to-one last week.

Russia receives an estimated $US350 million per day in payments from EU countries for gas. Credit:Bloomberg

The call followed days of escalating tensions over gas supplies, with Russia threatening to cut off buyers who did not start to pay in roubles, and Germany hitting back with accusations of blackmail.

But the uncomfortable reality is that a cut-off from Russian energy exports suits neither side - depriving Russia of an estimated $US350 million ($467 million) per day in payments from EU countries for gas alone, and depriving Europe of the source of more than 40 per cent of its gas.
The Sydney Opera House will join international landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, the Golden Gate Bridge, Machu Picchu and the Suez and Panama Canals when it receives the worlds highest engineering accolade from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on Wednesday.

As well as joining the historic landmark program administered in the United States, which recognises historically significant international civil engineering projects, it will also receive an engineering heritage international marker from Engineers Australia, joining other Australian successes such as the Furphy water cart, the stump-jump plough, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Brisbanes Story Bridge.

While the building on Bennelong Point has previously been recognised for its architectural and heritage importance, with the 2003 awarding of architectures highest honour, the Pritzker Prize to its original architect Jorn Utzon, and its 2007 addition to UNESCOs World Heritage List, it has never received a gong from the international engineering arbiter, the ASCE.

The Sydney Opera House during construction in 1966. Credit:Fairfax archives

These awards recognise several engineering innovations that underpinned the design and construction of the Sydney Opera House, which inspired generations of engineers worldwide, said Gianluca Ranzi, the past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Australia section.
Those looking to book a last-minute Easter getaway may be surprised by some of the flight deals that are still available for the upcoming long weekend.

Figures provided to Money by airfare, accommodation and car hire search engine Kayak show the costs of return economy-class seats on flights for destinations popular with Sydneysiders and Melburnians are down by as much as 27 per cent compared to last Easter when travel volumes were hit by COVID-19 restrictions.

Kayak figures show return flights to Coolangatta from Sydney are discounted by 20 per cent - $229 return, on average - compared to a year ago.

Return airfares to Brisbane from Sydney or Melbourne are heavily discounted this Easter. Credit:Lydia Lynch

Return fares to Melbourne from Sydney are 7 per cent lower, at $207. Brisbane is the most heavily discounted destination among the places popular with Sydneysiders - down 27 per cent to $247.
But experts say while the new variants should be watched closely, they could be an indication that the virus is finally settling into a more manageable form.

Rather than a cause for concern, new hybrid variants of COVID-19 could point the way out of the pandemic, experts say. Credit:

For some, news of new COVID-19 variants, which appear to have formed when different strains of the virus combine, sounds like a worst-case scenario. And its little comfort that they have appeared as many of Australias measures to control the pandemic are being wound back , including reopening our borders to more and more of the world.

Examine, a weekly newsletter covering the latest developments in science, is sent every Tuesday. Below is an excerpt  sign up to get the whole newsletter in your inbox .

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Much has been made in the past few weeks about a potential strain of the virus, detected in the northern hemisphere, which has been dubbed Deltacron because it appears to be a hybrid of the Delta and Omicron variants.

Infectious diseases expert Professor Robert Booy from the University of Sydney says it is not unusual for different strains of the same virus to combine into new forms. [Deltacron] arises through someone having a dual infection with both variants and then an exchange of genetic material occurring between viruses, he says.

The hybrid was first detected by scientists in Paris in February and has since appeared in other parts of Europe as well as the US. However, there is not just one single strain but several, which indicates that Delta and Omicron have been combining independently in different parts of the world.

To date, only a relative handful of cases of the hybrid variants have been recorded worldwide, says infectious diseases expert Professor Nigel McMillan from Griffith University. Its really tiny numbers, and in some ways its just a waiting game now to see whether they become more prominent or disappear.
We are offered poor choice in candidature for Prime Minister when there is only one candidate that can be properly judged. Conservative ideology and attitude is slowly but surely squeezing the life out of Scott Morrison and, in many aspects, our nation. So why is there doubt around Anthony Albanese? Thats politics I guess, but remember John Curtin was not considered dynamic or theatrical, but gave his all for the nation in WWII. We should never judge a book by its cover. Brian Jones, Leura I do not think Scott Morrison is racist, but I do believe he was willing to use a racist argument for his own political gain (Morrison accused of lying about denials he used race in bid for preselection, April 5). Im sure all those from the Lebanese community coming to his defence are honest in their appraisal of him, but again this is the outcome of a political calculation on his part. As outgoing Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells has argued, I see little evidence of a moral compass, just an ends justify the means approach to political life. Neil Ormerod, Kingsgrove If Morrison did indeed make racist comments about his opponent, Michael Towke, why did the Liberal Party accept his views? Marina Garlick, Balmain The question isnt whether Morrison is racist. The question is whether he is ruthless enough to use race as a tool to advance his own interests. Various events over the course of his political career suggest the answer to that is yes. George Dodd, Canterbury The Coalition, aware that it could be facing defeat, desperately appoints compatriots to positions of influence, with salaries completely obscene compared with aged care workers, child care workers and many other unsung heroes who struggle to make ends meet (Goward heads list of Libs picked for tribunal gigs, April 5). Another demonstration of this governments misplaced priorities and the disrespect for those who actually do jobs that have a much larger responsibility and provide a more meaningful, necessary and valuable public service. Chris Gresham, Upper Lansdowne

Nothing like the smell of defeat to see the real Liberal Party, days out from an election being called. Laughable about them being better economic managers as they cant stomach looking after Australians in aged care, but lets stack a few government agencies with well-paid jobs for the mates. Wendy Atkins, Cooks Hill If pub noise annoys then move on Having lived two blocks from Five Ways and the Royal Hotel Paddington for almost 50 years it always amuses me how people complain about the pub (Sydney nightlife returns, and so do noise complaints, April 5). If you buy near a pub it comes with both benefits and problems but usually the closer you are the cheaper the real estate. The Royal is the heart of Five Ways, it brings the community together; it has provided employment to literally hundreds of young people from the area while at university (disclosure: including two of my sons); it supports local groups and school fundraising activities; and for the community punters the only TAB for blocks. Yes, there is noise and I get bottles and cans left on my fence; occasionally vomit and the inconsiderate customers talking on the top of their voices as they walk up the street but it also provides solace knowing there is life around. After two years of doom and gloom its a little piece vibrancy. I could go on but suffice to say its a vital part of our community and if you cant handle the noise move out to the suburbs. Dorothy Harding, Paddington After two long years (and still counting) of restrictions and lockdowns, and businesses on their knees, there are people complaining about music and the sound of others having a good time. The simple solution for the complainers is for them to move to the suburbs - away from venues that host live music and dancing. There they will have all the quiet they crave. Alice Khatchigian, Ermington

Show them the exit Today we receive more evidence of war crimes committed by Putins invaders (Satellite images contradict Russian claims, show bodies in Bucha for weeks, smh.com.au, April 5). Last Tuesday Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland expelled dozens of Russian diplomats. The US followed by kicking out 12 intelligence operatives. Poland showed the door to 45 Russians suspected of espionage. Add Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania to that list. But our Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne is still thinking things over. We need to totally isolate these killers to truly support the brave Ukrainians. Mark Paskal, Austinmer All war is a crime but the deliberate targeting of civilians is an abomination. Sanctions need to be shored up with action if Putin is to pull back. Genevieve Milton, Newtown With friends like these Its a sick world we live in. India respects Russias invasion of Ukraine so it can save a few rupees on cheap oil (Indias refusal to condemn Russia not an issue for Australia: Barry OFarrell, smh.com.au, April 5).

Australia respects Indias position, presumably so we can flog them a swag of free-trade produce. Barry OFarrell likens our differing views on invasion, mass murder of citizens and devastating destruction of another countrys infrastructure to two friends tolerating different choices of footy teams or schools for their kids. What a disgusting example of Liberal-speak. Dave Watts, Avalon

Penalty own goal Three payments made to victims of Dyson Heydon, paid not by Heydon but by the taxpayer (Morrison government ensured secrecy over alleged victim payouts, April 5). Then the government insists on secrecy. What is going on ? Why isnt Heydon penalised ? Tony Redmond, Wyong Winning attitude All children should have the opportunity to play sport: nothing too organised; no large, fancy grounds just having fun with friends (Theres more to sport than winning, April 5). When I see boys and girls laughing, giving cheeky advice to friends as they play on the grassy verge outside their home it brings back happy childhood memories. Friendships made then have lasted a lifetime. Always make time for this. Developing skills and talent is another part of life when winning is the thing. Bea Hodgson, Gerringong Many years ago a group of us aged in our early twenties, organised weekly after work softball and played with teams made up on the day  for fun. It was very much enjoyed by all until we were hijacked by someone who set up rules and strict regulations, so all of us folded and never played again. I still remember the disappointment and have never played organised sport since. Kris Mckeon, Cowra

EV ambition parked Im happy to admit I am an EV-evangelist when it comes to the future of transport, so you can imagine how saddened I was reading of Dr Akhil Gupta having to park his ambition to help save the planet and concentrate on saving lives, dumping his EV for a petrol car due to lack of supportive infrastructure (EV charging fuels strata power struggle, April 5).

Governments both state and federal have been adding to emissions by omission; full of hot air, all talk, no action on building the promised charging facilities necessary to transition, as usual, relying on people power. When I look at the way countries around the world are moving forward I am green with envy. Janet Argall, Dulwich Hill Watered-down inquiry Is the independent inquiry into Australias handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, funded by philanthropic sources, designed to pre-empt a full-blooded royal commission-style inquiry by an incoming Labor government (New COVID inquiry must improve preparedness, April 5)? This is a valid question seeing that the announced inquiry will be dominated by two former heads of commonwealth departments not previously renowned for providing fierce and robust advice to Coalition governments. The panel otherwise includes a leading businesswoman, the 2021 Young Australian of the Year and only one infectious diseases expert. Michael Frawley, Downer (ACT)

Re-location, location, location In the early sixties Jindabyne was moved from a valley to higher ground to build a dam (Heavy falls and floods likely to hit this week, April 5). Could this be done to help the people of Lismore? Costly yes, but climate change is definitely with us and the future looks bleak for those living up in the Northern Rivers area. Pat Allen, Lane Cove All good, mate Surprisingly, many dont have difficulty with my name. They call me mate (Letters, April 5). Mustafa Erem, Terrigal

Third eye My wife is a left-hander and like correspondents have related before, can write with both hands on the blackboard (Letters, April 5). My only trick was to put my glasses on the back of my head to keep an eye on the class as I wrote. Worked much better because I am bald. Phil Armour, Yass Matter of time Judy Hungerford only needs to wait till the end of June to realise her wish to wake with the sun at 7am (Letters, April 5). Peter Stuart, Carlingford Why am I suffering full jet lag when the daylight savings changeover is a mere hour? I dont care what our time zone is, but please dont make me go through all of this twice a year. Margaret Grove, Abbotsford
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree on awarding Ikram Karimov with the Shohrat Order for long-year productive activity in the legal sphere in the country.
A Queensland man has been arrested and charged with the murder of his girlfriend in suburban Melbourne almost 18 months ago, and will be extradited to face a Victorian court.

Robert Rickerby, 28, was arrested in his home suburb of Nerang on the Gold Coast on Tuesday morning by Queensland police officers acting on information from Victoria Police.

The home where Jessica Geddes was allegedly killed by her de facto partner Robert Rickerby in November 2020. Credit:Google Maps

Mr Rickerby was charged with one count of murder, and the case was the subject of a brief extradition hearing at Brisbane Arrests Court on Tuesday morning.

Mr Rickerby made no application for bail, and his extradition was approved. He will be flown to Victoria on Wednesday morning under police guard.
The High Court will be asked to make the final decision on an extraordinary legal challenge to the validity of Liberal Party preselections on the eve of Prime Minister Scott Morrison calling the election, after a NSW court threw out the case on Tuesday.

Sources close to the challenger, NSW Liberal Party state executive member Matthew Camenzuli, said an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court was being prepared and would be lodged on Wednesday. However, the court is not bound to hear the appeal.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison campaigning in Sydney on Tuesday. Credit:Janie Barrett

The court challenge had attempted to overturn a federal intervention in the troubled NSW division and the preselection of three sitting Liberal MPs by a troika of Mr Morrison, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and a former party president, Christine McDiven.

Also at stake was the endorsement of nine other Liberal candidates for NSW seats  some of them winnable for the government  by the same three-person committee last weekend, bypassing local branch members.
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has taken a public swipe at several publicly listed companies, including Tabcorp and Boral, for poor female representation on their boards, warning they must do better.

As Mr Kean prepares to shape his first budget in June around women, including increasing the number of females in leadership positions across the state, he urged the corporate sector to set and measure gender diversity targets for their boards.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has urged corporates to do more about female representation on their boards. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The time for talk is over. Women make up half our population and should make up half our boardrooms, Mr Kean said.

Mr Kean will call for gender diversity targets on boards in an address to key investors in NSW bonds, global infrastructure funds and corporates at a RBC Capital Markets event on Wednesday.
Lord mayor Sally Capp will lobby the next federal government to make it easier for international students to work in Australia for as long as they like once they finish their degrees, as she works to revive Melbournes pre-pandemic trajectory of overtaking Sydney as the countrys biggest city.

Cr Capp wants every student who completes a bachelors degree or above to have automatic access to a four-year visa, doubling the maximum allowable period for most students.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp wants international students to form a pillar of Melbournes population rebuild. Credit:Simon Schluter

Graduates who maintain work over four years would then have a clear pathway to permanent residency under the proposal, which Cr Capp will outline in a speech to the Melbourne Press Club on Wednesday.

It comes as the peak body for Victorias property sector calls on the state government to launch an international marketing campaign to entice foreign students and offer $15,000 grants to anyone who relocates from interstate or overseas.
The war in Ukraine took a grim turn in recent days when evidence emerged that Russian troops had committed atrocities against civilians in occupied areas. Ukrainian forces who re-took the town of Bucha, north of Kyiv, after the Russians pulled back, say they found the bodies of civilians who appeared to have been executed. The towns mayor said more than 270 residents had been killed and buried in mass graves.

Russia has denied the allegations, claiming they are another staged performance by the Kyiv regime for the western media but satellite imagery appears to back the claims. Its worth stating the obvious here: we are appalled and sickened by these revelations and for such barbarism to occur in Europe in 2022 is shocking.

These scenes, as well as the utter devastation of cities such as Mariupol, show that Russia, as feared, is prepared to do anything to achieve its ends. Its goals are not to liberate Ukraine from nazis, as President Vladimir Putin has routinely claimed, but to subjugate its people entirely, even at the cost of killing civilians and rendering their towns and cities uninhabitable. The lies Kremlin uses to try to weasel out of accountability  that the images and videos of corpses were fakes and not a single local resident has suffered from any violent action  are simply an insult.

The discovery of mass killings of civilians raises grave concerns for those living in other Russian-held areas, particularly the town of Borodyanka. Ukraines prosecutor-general, Iryna Venediktova, said that town was likely to have suffered even worse than Bucha under occupation. Residents of cities such as Odesa and Mariupol, who have yet to fall into Russian hands must wonder, as they hide in their basements, what treatment lies in wait for them if the Russians finally move in?

The evidence that has emerged from towns near Kyiv might provoke further escalations from Europe and the United States, both in terms of sanctions and weapons supply. The atrocities uncovered appear to have embarrassed Russias Chinese allies and will further entrench Russia as a pariah state. Germany, which has been reluctant to impose more severe sanctions on Mr Putins administration because of its dependence on Russian natural gas, may now have its hand forced.
In the past 24 hours, President Zelensky visited the township of Bucha. Surrounded by a cordon of security, he had come to witness first-hand the handiwork of the Russian butchers who had recently turned this quiet corner of Ukraine into a 21st century killing ground. He said afterwards that this breaks the heart of every Ukrainian. It breaks my heart.

Russia has launched a full counter offensive to discredit the reports of journalists, and the Ukrainian government. Over the weekend, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sought to debunk the Bucha massacre. Its statement on April 4 noted that: All the photos and videos published by the Kiev regime in Bucha are just another provocation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy examines the site of a recent battle in Bucha. Credit:Efrem Lukatsky

Satellite images tell the true story. Be assured, these are not the actions of a few bad apples. It is the outcome of a systemic, command-initiated program to terrorise Ukrainians, as Russia did with Syrians and Chechens before, into political accommodations. And it is the inevitable outcome of the brutal targeting of Ukrainian cities by Russian commanders. Russian military leaders have permitted a culture of indiscriminate killing to flourish. They must bear full responsibility for the killings at Bucha and other cities and towns across Ukraine.

What happens now?
PHILIPSBURG:--- On behalf of the Government and the People of St. Maarten, the Council of Ministers hereby extends congratulations to the newly appointed President of the Collectivite of Saint-Martin Louis Mussington, the Executive Council including the four Vice-Presidents and the elected members of the new Territorial Council on Sunday, April 3, 2022. As we continue to navigate these challenging times, particularly for our small island, I wish the new Government steadfast resolve as they take on this new role as leader of the government and people of Saint-Martin. Cultivating the relationship between the Northern and Southern sides remains one of our most important policy objectives, and I look forward to the continued close, open, and fruitful dialogue which will lead to actions that positively impact the lives of our people, and has been the cornerstone of our coexistence, stated Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Philipsburg Jubilee Library (PJL) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI) signed a mutual agreement to produce and publish a booklet about youth entrepreneurship in Sint Maarten. Both organizations experience a growing demand from youngsters to learn more about the possibilities of starting their enterprise.

COCI became very much aware of this demand during an educational campaign at the (high) schools about the rules and regulations to start an enterprise in 2021. In the school year 2020 - 2021, the campaign engaged 372 students from 10 secondary and advanced schools. After positive feedback, continuous engagement ensued for 2021  2022, reaching 418 students and 12 educational institutions. In their report, the COCI acknowledges: 'Through this initiative, COCI desires to foster an entrepreneurial culture among the youths within our educational institutions. The Chamber sees this as an opportunity to engage, inspire, and educate the youth of St. Maarten on entrepreneurship and innovation. The Chamber would like to know that the youth is inspired and curious about solving their issues and island-wide matters. The Chamber knows of the talent and potential of the younger generation and would like to help equip them better and advance their potential'.

PJL started in 2021 with the building up of a collection of books and e-books about young entrepreneurship. This effort was sponsored by the Dutch Royal Library. At the same time, the PJL sent out a survey to all high schools to learn more about the young entrepreneurship spirit among the Sint Maarten youth. So far, 173 students between 12 and 19 years old responded, and, interesting enough, 95 of them were female, and 78 were male. Some students are pretty aware of their talents and are confident that they can start an enterprise. Others are still in an orientation phase. More than 50% are already involved in some enterprise and have a well-defined product or service they are selling. A vast majority save the profits in their piggy bank or re-invest in their enterprise and are interested in a young entrepreneurship program.

The Chamber and the Library take the bull by the horns by sharing facts and figures, experiences and challenges, successes and broken dreams. This booklet about young entrepreneurship in Sint Maarten will be the second volume in the series about youth in Sint Maarten. The booklet's publication is scheduled for international entrepreneurship day, August 21, 2022. Don't hesitate to contact the Chamber and/ or the Library for more information.
PHILIPSBURG:--- On Tuesday 5th April 2022, MP S. Ludmila Duncan submitted a request to the Presidium of Parliament for the launch of a public awareness campaign on the submission of petitions.

According to article 24 of the Constitution; everyone is entitled to submit written petitions to the competent authorities. Parliament must also respond to those petitions in a timely manner.

Residents often have concerns that require greater attention; however, they may not be aware of their constitutional right to submit a letter, also known a petition, to Parliament. As Chairlady of the Committee for Petitions, I have submitted a request to the Presidium to initiate a public awareness campaign informing the people of St. Maarten of this important right so that this avenue can be used to assist where necessary, stated the MP.

The Committee for Petitions is a permanent committee of Parliament, currently consisting of 6 members, with its own rules on submission criteria and processes for handling and reporting. The Committee must review petitions to determine whether they qualify for investigation by one or additional committees of Parliament in addition to other possible actions.

According to the Rules of the Committee for Petitions, the petitioner must submit a letter in writing or by e-mail to the Committee containing their name, address, signature, an elucidation of the reasons that led to the filing of the petition, and the reasons surrounding the need for further investigation.

The Committee may investigate any matters raised in petitions regarding the manner in which Government fulfills its task in addition to other actions.

Once the campaign has been approved, MP Duncan hopes that more persons will make use of their constitutional right to ask Parliament to investigate matters that affect them.

Duncan concluded the Ombudsman is the defender of the public and does, in my opinion, an excellent job in handling complaints against Government. As Members of Parliament, we too have an obligation to represent the general interests of the people. Thats why we were elected. We also have a key public forum in which we can debate issues of interest to the public and more importantly, give voice to our people while we jointly pursue solutions to our countrys challenges. As Chairlady I will do my best to ensure that the Committee handles petitions in the most effective manner and will be working to improve the overall efficiency and work of the Committee.

Petitions can be e-mailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or submitted in person at the Parliament building.
Set in the idyllic but fragile beach paradise of sunny 1980s San Diego, Physical is a half-hour dark comedy following Sheila Rubin, a quietly tortured, seemingly dutiful housewife supporting her smart but controversial husbands bid for state assembly. But behind closed doors, Sheila has her own darkly funny take on life she rarely lets the world see. Shes also battling a complex set of personal demons relating to her self-image that is, until she finds release through the unlikeliest source: the world of aerobics.At first hooked on the exercise itself, Sheilas real road to empowerment comes when she discovers a way to merge this newfound passion with the burgeoning technology of videotape to start a revolutionary business. The series tracks her epic journey from a stifled, overlooked enabler to a powerful, confident economic force, as Sheila transforms into someone we take for granted today (but was entirely radical at the time)  the female lifestyle guru.STUDIOTomorrow StudiosSEASON 2 RELEASE DATEJune 3, 2022NUMBER OF EPISODES10
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FAIRFIELD  Republican Bob Stefanowski said Tuesday he found a fellow outsider to join his second campaign for governor who will otherwise serve as foil for his staid corporate background: A mother, lawmaker and resolute critic of Democratic leadership in Hartford.

State Rep. Laura Devlin represents a cross-section of experiences that Stefanowski told reporters he lacked after announcing his decision outside the Town Hall in Devlins home of Fairfield.

Im an outsider, Lauras been an outsider until recently, but she knows how to manage the legislature  thats going to be critical, Stefanowski said. I wanted a diverse candidate, somebody from Fairfield County that can help me understand the issues.

Stefanowski, a businessman from Madison who has never held political office, said he considered around 20 candidates to serve as his running mate, before interviewing several and ultimately asking Devlin to join his ticket as candidate for lieutenant governor within the last few days.

Devlin said she accepted the offer over the phone with no hesitation.

He kept asking me if I had any questions and Im like, No, I dont, Devlin said. I really think hes the right guy and Im so honored to have the opportunity to work with him.

During their announcement, Stefanowski and Devlin also foreshadowed what will likely be a central theme of their campaign over the next six months: Railing against incumbent Gov. Ned Lamont and Democrats ties to various political scandals, including a federal investigation into school construction contracts overseen by a former state budget official.

Devlin, who is serving her fourth term in the legislature, previously helped lead the successful effort by Republicans to defeat Lamonts trucks-only toll proposal to fund infrastructure projects, which he touted in his 2018 campaign for governor against Stefanowski.

We would not have gotten the outcome that we got if it wasnt for Laura, Stefanowski said of Devlins role in the fight against tolls. Shes tough when she needs to be, Ive seen that side of her, which you need up in Hartford.

Devlin, who grew up in the Chicago suburbs, moved to Fairfield more than 20 years ago while commuting to New York City for work, according to her legislative biography. Devlin said Tuesday that she first became involved in politics running for the towns Board of Assessment Appeals out of frustration with local tax increases.

I wanted answers about how our local government worked and where our taxes were going and why they were so high, Devlin said.

After being elected to that board in 2011, Devlin went on to serve on Fairfields Representative Town Meeting and later the state House of Representatives, representing House District 134 since 2015.

State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, who previously represented the 134th district, said he was an early champion of Devlin as Stefanowski was rumored to have several women on his short list for lieutenant governor, calling her an absolutely perfect complement to the ticket.

I think she really has a voice, an elegant touch with the people she represents, Hwang said. From Day One, I thought she would be a perfect candidate.

Stefanowskis running mate in the 2018 campaign, state Sen. Joe Markley, R-Southington, was chosen by voters during a three-way primary. That ticket ended up losing to Gov. Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz by less than 5 percentage points in a strong year for Democrats nationally.

This time, Stefanowski said it was very important for him to be able to choose his own running mate to ensure diversity on the ticket. He also noted Devlins former role as vice president of communications for Pfizer when asked what management experience she brought to the ticket.

No other Republicans have publicly declared their intentions to run for the GOP nomination for governor or lieutenant governor at next months party convention, paving the way for Stefanowski and Devlin to receive the nomination.

In their initial response to Stefanowskis choice of a running mate, Democrats avoided making any direct criticisms of Devlin, and instead focused their message on Lamonts record over the last three years.

Dan Morrocco, Lamonts campaign manager, deferred comment Tuesday to the state party, which had Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons provide a response to the pick at a nearby coffee shop in Fairfield.

I think its unclear, what policies the Republican ticket will pursue, Simmons said.

Weve seen the track record that the governor and Lt. Gov. [Bysiewicz] have had in our state, we know we can trust their leadership, they are full of integrity, compassion and devotion to our state, Simmons said.

Lamont and Bysiewicz are expected to be re-nominated at a state party convention in May. Like the Republican ticket, they are not expected to face any challengers for their partys nomination.

The general election will take place on Nov. 8.
A New York man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday in connection with the 2020 robbery and killing of a Stamford jeweler, federal prosecutors said.

Robert Rallo, 58, of New York, pleaded guilty to interference with commerce by robbery, or Hobbs Act robbery, interstate transportation of stolen property and using a firearm to cause a death during a robbery. He faces between 25 years and life in prison, the U.S. Attorneys office said.

Rallo is scheduled to be sentenced on June 28 in Bridgeport federal court.

Police were called to Marco Jewelers on Sixth Street in Stamford around 2:45 p.m. on March 28, 2020. When officers arrived, they found evidence of a robbery and found the store owner, Mark Vuono, lying on the ground in front of an open safe with a head wound and a large amount of blood, according to a criminal complaint.

Emergency medical personnel pronounced Vuono dead at the scene.

Investigators collected and analyzed surveillance footage from the store, surrounding businesses and city cameras. The footage showed that Rallo and his associate, Thomas Liberatore, entered the store. Rallo, who was armed with a handgun, engaged in a physical altercation with Vuono while Liberatore stole items from the display cases, according to the complaint

Vuono, who also had a firearm, and Rallo struggled next to a large safe for about three minutes before Rallo reached into the safe and pulled out a third gun, a Magnum revolver. Rallo then shot and killed Vuono with the revolver, according to the U.S. Attorneys office.

Surveillance footage showed a black Jaguar picking up Rallo and his associate before fleeing the area, according to the complaint.

After the robbery, law enforcement found the black Jaguar, which they later discovered belonged to Rallo, in Staten Island and kept an eye on the vehicle. At around 5:30 p.m. on March 30, a black BMW pulled up beside the Jaguar. Rallo exited from the back of the BMW and got into the drivers seat of the Jaguar. Both cars quickly left the area, the U.S. Attorneys office said.

The Jaguar then crashed on Tompkins Street. Though Rallo attempted to flee on foot, he was quickly apprehended, according to the U.S. Attorneys office.

The BMW also crashed into a tree and a parked car. The driver, later identified as Paul Prosano, along with the initial getaway driver from the robbery, attempted to flee but was apprehended as well, the U.S. Attorneys office said.

In the BMW, police found 63 rings, eight bracelets, two tie pins, and earring and a cufflink. Police later searched Prosanos home, where they discovered 23 pairs of earrings and three rings. All of the jewelry was determined to have been stolen from Marco Jewelers, according to the complaint.

Rallo has been detained since his arrest. He has a lengthy criminal history, including prior felony convictions for possession of stolen property, robbery and murder. For the murder conviction, Rallo was sentenced to 25 years to life in 1992 and was released on parole in March 2019, according to his affidavit.

Investigators learned that Rallo, Prosano and Liberatore were friends and had met while serving their respective sentences in the New York State Department of Corrections facilities, the complaint states.

Rallos two associates have also been charged with related offenses. They are detained while awaiting trial, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.
Milford Public Librarys Childrens Department is offering the following programs in the coming weeks. To register for any of these programs, visit the Childrens page at milfordlibrary.org.

A new session of Spring Storytimes will be Tuesdays and Thursdays, May 10 to June 16. Registration begins April 25.

Tuesday or Thursday, beginning at 10:15 a.m. are toddlers and crawlers. Tuesday or Thursday, beginning at 11:15 a.m., is for ages 3 and older.

Registration will be required, and space will be very limited. Walk-ins cannot be guaranteed a spot.

Please register for one session only. Siblings are always welcome. Your registration reserves your spot for the entire six-week session. Due to demand, if more than two storytimes are missed during the six weeks, your spot may be given to a family on the waiting list.

Wednesday Night Mash-Up

This program will be April 6 for grades K-2 and April 27 for grades 3-5. Both run from 6 to 7 p.m. The program combines a little bit book club, a dash of arts and crafts, and a pinch of creativity.

Earth Day-to-Go: Turtle Planters

These Take & Makes will be available beginning April 18.

Earth Day-to-Stay programs

Children can stay and decorate a book bag on April 20 at 2:30 p.m. This is for children in grades K to 5. Registration begins April 4 and is required.

Family Movie Night

Encanto will be the featured movie on April 22. The movie starts at 1:30 p.m. Encanto focuses on the Madrigals, who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift, every child except one, Mirabel. But when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her exceptional family's last hope.

Celebrate Poetry Month

The library will host a poetry celebration on April 23 at 11 a.m. The event will feature animal persona poems with Milfords Poet Laureate, Joan Glass. Glass will guide kids in grades K-5 in writing original poems. Registration required.
Of the 115 people who have served as U.S. Supreme Court justices, none has been a Black woman, although people of color represent 40 percent of the U.S. population. But theres a glaring omission in our home state judiciary, as well.

Astonishingly, Connecticut has never had a Black woman sit on its own Supreme Court. Connecticut lags behind Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Oregon in naming a Black woman to its high court.

In the 238-year history of the Connecticut Supreme Court, there have only been three Black men, one Latina woman, one member of the LGBTQ community and four white women justices. According to my research, all other 122 justices have been white men.

Full equity to the people of Connecticut is less likely without diverse perspectives. We need the skills of a judge who has lived as a Black woman.

Ive avoided this discussion until now because of rumors that I was among the short list of candidates for the state Supreme Court. Having retired from the bench, I now feel liberated to address this topic.

Sadly, until 2020, Connecticut didnt even have a Black woman on our appellate court. The omission was remedied when Gov. Ned Lamont appointed the well-qualified Judge Melanie Cradle, a former prosecutor and young star in the criminal trial courts.

There are far too many overqualified Black women jurists and lawyers for there to be a reasonable excuse for not having one on my home states Supreme Court.

State supreme courts decide critical issues that affect the lives and livelihood of their state residents. Where state law is concerned, the buck stops with these state courts of last resort.

As the home of three law schools, Connecticut loses far too many talented legal minds due to a lack of opportunity. Such was the case in 1931, when Jane Matilda Bolin chose to pursue a legal practice in New York, after having lived in New Haven for three years while attending and graduating from Yale Law School.

Such was also the case when New Haven native Constance Baker Motley opted not to return to Connecticut as a practicing lawyer, though she continued throughout her life to have a residence here.

Such is the case every time a Black woman comes to one of Connecticuts dozens of institutions of higher education and then opts to establish a thriving legal career elsewhere.

Connecticut has too many diamonds in our backyard to be satisfied with courts that lack the diversity they deserve.

We know that diverse groups reach better, more well-reasoned and carefully considered outcomes. Thus far, the Connecticut Supreme Court has lacked the input of a Black woman to its detriment.

This commentary is not criticism of current or past justices. Connecticut has been well-served by a particularly strong appellate judiciary.

But each time the state Supreme Court has become more diverse, it has become stronger. As when Robert Glass became the first Black justice; or when Ellen Peters became the first woman justice; or when Carmen Espinosa became the first Latina Justice; or when Raheem Mullins became the youngest justice in the courts history; or when Andrew McDonald became the first openly LGBTQ justice; or when Richard Robinson became the first Black chief justice. Each elevation has led Connecticuts Supreme Court to become one of the strongest in the nation.

Its time to appoint a Black woman to the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Connecticuts current bench and bar include numerous qualified candidates. Among them are national legal scholars such as UConn School of Law Dean Eboni S. Nelson, Assistant Dean Karen DeMeola, Professors Nadiyah Humber and Willajeanne F. McLean. Also, Yale Law School Professors Tracey L. Meares and Monica C. Bell.

There are leaders in the legal community such as Vanessa Avery in the state attorney generals office, who is expected to be confirmed as the first Black woman to serve as Connecticuts U.S. attorney, the states top federal law enforcement officer; Leander A. Dolphin, managing partner of Shipman Goodwin; Elicia Spearman, general counsel and vice president of Quinnipiac University; and Moy Ogilvie of McCarter English.

And such rising stars as Christine Jean-Louis, also in the state attorney generals office and, of course, any of the 11 talented Black women jurists serving on the Connecticut Superior Court, including (but certainly not limited to) Judge Dawne G. Westbrook, the administrative judge of Tolland and the chief administrative judge for juvenile matters, or former New Haven Family Presiding Judge Erika Tindill.

2022 seems the perfect time for the appointment of the first Black woman to the Connecticut Supreme Court, just as it is the time for the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Retired Connecticut Superior Court Judge Angela Robinson is counsel with Halloran and Sage. She is the Waring and Carmen Partridge Faculty Fellow and visiting professor at Quinnipiac University School of Law. She is also the author of First Black Women Judges: The Story of Three Black Women Judges in the United States.

This opinion was updated Monday evening to add that Vanessa Avery is expected to be confirmed as Connecticuts U.S. attorney.
Weve been rocked by overwhelming crises. Disease, societal unrest and war have dominated the headlines. Its easy to feel like nothing any one of us can possibly do will have a meaningful effect in the face of what appears to be an unstoppable wave of negativity.

Passover reminds us that we can.

The Jewish people were enslaved for hundreds of years by the world superpower of the timethe Egyptians. There was no logical reason to believe theyd ever go free. And yet, in the face of overwhelming persecution, they resisted dehumanization and assimilation. They kept their Jewish names, their language, and their unique dress. These were small, seemingly meaningless actions  how much of a difference can the color of a slaves shirt make? But those actions coalesced them as a nation, one which G-d miraculously freed from slavery. And leaving wasnt easy either: the Jewish People left the only existence they had ever known to wander into a barren desert without even the time to bake bread for the journey. Instead, they took along unleavened dough and baked it into matzo.

They put their best foot forward and had faith in G-d. And then they picked up and left. Thats the decision we have to make as well.

Europe today faces the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II. Its natural to see the devastation, the toll on human lives, the millions who have lost their homes and belongings, and to feel helpless. Why bother doing anything at all?

But Passover reminds us that its not our job to calculate. Our job is to do what we can; to do what we must. And all those little actions have a way of adding up. We dont do because it makes sense to; we do because we know we must; because we are in a position to take a positive action  however small. And there have been so many stories of people stepping up to do what they could: the people lining the arrivals lounges in Germany offering their homes to perfect strangers; the people who cooked massive cauldrons of food to feed refugees who had just crossed the border; and the rabbis who  while fleeing bombardment of their homes  stopped at the side of the road to make calls and help others in their community. The spirit of the Passover message of action first shines through these individuals.

Its that Passover message that is inspiring our Fairfield Matzo campaign, which will see 1,200 gifts of handmade shmura matzo, the staple food of Passover, gifted to local families in advance of the holiday. As countless new families moved into town in recent months, the easy thing to do is to mind our own business. But a small gift, a small action can make people feel welcomed and at home in a new community. And what better way of doing that than with matzo, which symbolizes the simple, yet profound action of picking up and going, a simple action that represents everything.

This is why the Rebbe  Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory  encouraged everyone to gift their friends and colleagues the shmura matzo. Dont underestimate what one genuine matzo can accomplish. Dont underestimate what one positive action can accomplish.

For two years, we have been stuck in a pandemic mentality of staying home and avoiding contact with others. Its time for that to change. Its time for each of us to think about what small actions we can take to bring more positivity, more connection into the world.

Rabbi Shlame Landa is a rabbi and educator who co-directs Chabad of Fairfield together with his wife Miriam. Chabad offers Jewish education, outreach and social service programming for families and individuals of all ages, backgrounds and affiliations. For more information visit ChabadFF.com .
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The Mihail Kogalniceanu River Flotilla is carrying out the Danube Protector 22 drill, where naval combat capabilities are taking part, as well as infantry structures of Land Forces, marine infantry structures and combat support structures of the Pontica Logistics Naval Base.

The scenario of the drill contains sequences of repelling and neutralizing enemy scout-diversion elements, sequences of repelling river and aerial assault at the Danube's mouths, in the Delta and in the seaside area in Northern Dobrogea, according to a press release sent by the Naval Forces to AGERPRES on Tuesday.According to the quoted source, seven military naval crafts, ten quick assault crafts, a company of marine infantry and a platoon of infantry from the 9th Mechanized Brigade are carrying out, on the Danube and the Sfantu Gheorghe branch, training actions for defending river communication channels and infrastructure around the mouths of the Danube in the Black Sea.The main objective of the exercise is represented by consolidating the soldiers' skills for executing tactical actions of countering an air-mobile assault, in the context of hybrid type threats and the risk of CBRN (chemical-bacteriological-radionuclear) attacks, the press release specifies.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) condemns "any sort of act of intimidating journalists" and expresses its support for their independence.

"We firmly support the freedom of the press and the right to free speech of any person. Furthermore, we condemn any sort of act of intimidating journalists and we support their independence. The civil society and the media are institutional partners that have a huge input for the well functioning of MAI," reads a press release sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday, in the context of aspects that appeared in the public space that concern journalist Emilia Sercan being threatened.According to the MAI press release, the Minister of Internal Affairs "expresses his trust that institutions with attributes in investigating criminal cases can clarify these aspects, also encouraging them to act with celerity".The Ministry of Internal Affairs says that "the involvement of journalist Emilia Sercan is relevant in the process of reform initiated at the level of the Alexandru-Ioan Cuza Police Academy"."The Minister of Internal Affairs constantly displays his openness towards the concerns of media representatives, their activity having a positive impact on the institution," the quoted source also says.Journalist Emilia Sercan wrote on Facebook on Monday that she is subject to "discredit and intimidation" after January 18 when she "revealed that the doctorate thesis of the Prime Minister was plagiarized".
Companies from Estonia, where the public sector is 99% digitized, are ready to assist in strengthening the Romanian IT sector, said the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eva-Maria Liimets, who is carrying out an official visit to Romania, Agerpres reports.

She took part in the Romania-Estonia Business Forum, organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania and the Estonian Embassy in Bucharest."Estonia and Romania have had very good economic relations for many years and there is a huge potential for developing these relations. The commercial volume between our countries is approximately 90 million Euro, but, based on the number of inhabitants in both countries, it should be around 300 million Euro. So I hope that through today's seminar, along with the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Estonian Enterprise (Estonian Investment Bureau, ed. n.) we will improve the commercial relation between our countries," Liimets said.She stressed that the main sector of cooperation between the two countries is digital economy."We see a potential for our business in various sectors of the Romanian economy, especially in the digital economy. In our delegation we have companies from fintech, cybersecurity, defence industry, but all have a connection with digitizing the economy, and also, we have in our delegation the company that created electronic ID cards in Estonia. I believe that this is the future and this is the sector we need to focus on," the Estonian Foreign Minister said.According to her, public services in Estonia have almost been entirely digitized.Asked about how her country managed to do this, she replied: "We began digitizing since the 90's, when Estonia had a project of connecting all schools to the Internet. Then the first digital services for business and people were launched in 2000. So we have been developing this type of service for 22 years for our population and companies and we now have 99% online public services".According to Mihai Daraban, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR), there are 73 companies with Estonian capital in Romania, with a subscribed capital of 1.2 million Euro."Many companies are in the IT&C sector and collaborate very well in the area with Romanian companies," Daraban said.
Russia is responsible for the "war crimes" committed in Ukraine, and the International Criminal Court must send representatives to the field to gather evidence, Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu told a press conference he held jointly with his German, French and Moldovan counterparts in Berlin on Tuesday.

"I would like to emphasize that it is clear that the responsibility for the war crimes committed in a part of Ukraine which, at the time of the crimes was committed, was occupied by the Russian army, belongs to Russia, and the perpetrators must be held accountable, International Criminal Court must send collaborators to collected evidence on the spot," Aurescu said, according to the official translation.

He added that "Romania continues to be with its partners, France, the Federal Republic of Germany and other European countries, in moving to increase pressure on Russia to end this illegal war."

"It is extremely important, especially considering what we saw the other day in Bucha and other parts of Ukraine. It is important to stop the aggressions immediately," the Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister pointed out.

Bogdan Aurescu co-chaired in Germany, alongside Annalena Baerbock, Germany's Foreign Affairs Minister - as Germany is currently holding the G7 Presidency, and Jean-Yves Le Drian, France's Foreign Affairs Minister - as France is currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the International Support Conference for the Republic of Moldova (Moldova Support Platform), Agerpres informs.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, states that at the conference in Berlin dedicated to supporting the Republic of Moldova financial commitments of almost 660 million euros and relocation for 12,000 Ukrainian refugees were declared.

"Final results of the International Conference we co-chaired today: 659.5 million euros in loans, budget support and other financial assistance; relocation commitments for 12,000 Ukrainian refugees from the Republic of Moldova and 71.3 million euros available for humanitarian aid," Aurescu wrote on Twitter.

Bogdan Aurescu co-chaired Moldova Support Conference on Tuesday in Berlin, alongside German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Germany - the country holding the G7 presidency), and Jean-Yves Le Drian, Foreign Minister of France (the state ensuring the Presidency of the Council of the European Union), Agerpres informs.
The Republic of Moldova is Ukraine's "most vulnerable" neighbour, receiving the largest number of refugees per capita, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu told the International Support Conference for the Republic of Moldova (Moldova Support Platform), in Berlin, on Tuesday, Agerpres reports.

"The war in Ukraine, started illegally by Russia, has created many problems in the neighbourhood, not only related to the security challenges facing the region, for European and Euro-Atlantic security, but also for the countries neighbouring Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova had to face a large number of refugees," said the head of the Romanian diplomacy.At the same time, he explained, the conflict created an "economic burden" and put the economy and finances of the Republic of Moldova in difficulty. Aurescu also mentioned issues related to the energy security of this country.According to him, the platform, which will be launched on Tuesday, aims to "provide and stimulate aid, very robust assistance, coordinated for the Republic of Moldova," namely financial assistance, taking over refugees and looking for solutions to vulnerabilities such as energy security.He spoke about the corridors through which refugees from Ukraine can pass from the Republic of Moldova directly to Romania and brought to mind that Romania provided fuel worth 3.4 million euros for this purpose.Bogdan Aurescu specified that, following the conference, an additional aid will be announced, in addition to the 100 million euros part of the assistance package announced by the Romanian Government in February."Romania also supports the European perspective of the Republic of Moldova and, according to our Strategic Partnership for the European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, we believe that the place of this country is in the European family," the Romanian Foreign Minister added.He co-chairs with Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, as Germany is currently holding the G7 Presidency, French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, with France currently holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the International Support Conference for the Republic of Moldova (Moldova Support Platform), which takes place in Berlin.
The Romanian film industry expresses its solidarity with the Ukrainian filmmakers through the campaign "United through film", at the XVI edition of the Gopo Awards.

According to a release of the Gopo Awards Gala sent to AGERPRES, cinema lovers can get involved, through the campaign, in helping the Ukrainian professionals in the field, whose life and artistic activity have been severely affected by the armed conflicts in their country.To help support them and to ensure the survival of a field strongly shaken by the context of the war, starting Tuesday, creators and cinephiles in Romania can donate 2 euros by sending a text message with the text FILM to 8840.All funds raised under the campaign will be distributed to professionals in the Ukrainian film industry with the help of the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR), a body established by the European Film Academy, together with the International Film Festival in Amsterdam and the Rotterdam International Film Festival.Joining this initiative, the Gopo Awards Gala offers film industry representatives and cinephile audiences in Romania the necessary tools to act in support of Ukrainian creators. The entire image campaign of the Gopo Awards 2022 bears the colours of the Ukrainian flag, in a message of solidarity with our neighbors, the press release states.The XVI-th edition of the Gopo Awards Gala will take place on May 3rd, at the I. L. Caragiale National Theatre in Bucharest.On the weekend of April 8-10, on TIFF Unlimited (https://unlimited.tiff.ro/) will be broadcast online the films nominated in the category Best European Film at the Gopo Awards 2022. They will be available for free viewing for 24 hours, some of them will be available later exclusively to subscriptions. The films nominated this year in the category of Best European Film are: "Adieu led Cons!" (directed by Albert Dupontel), "Another Round" (directed by Thomas Vinterberg), "Les Traducteurs" (directed by Regis Roinsard), "Annette" (directed by Leos Carax) and "Portrait of a Woman on Fire" (directed by Celine Sciamma).The Gopo Awards 2022 are organized by the Association for the Promotion of Romanian Film.
Unaffiliated deputy Violeta Alexandru announces that the journalist Emilia Sercan, as well as the heads of the Romanian Police and the General Directorate for Defence Intelligence (DGIA) will be invited for discussions, next week, Agerpres reports.

"If we allow time to pass without clarifying what is happening to Emilia Sercan, silence will settle. And this is exactly what those who seem to be dealing with intimidating or even destroying the image of a journalist would like to happen. Everything about the accusations of plagiarism - the doctoral thesis of Mr. [Prime Minister] Nicolae Ciuca. I proposed, together with my colleagues from the Force of the Right, in the Committee for Human Rights of the Chamber of Deputies, to invite to a discussion Mrs. Sercan, the Chief of the Romanian Police and the Chief of the DGIA (Army Service). They voted 'in favour', and the Committee's staff is set to continue to organize for the first days of next week. End practices that have nothing to do with a democratic state!" Violeta Alexandru wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.Journalist Emilia Sercan accused on Monday that she was subject to "actions of discredit and intimidation" after January 18, when "she revealed that the doctoral thesis of the prime minister is plagiarized".
A memorandum of understanding on economic cooperation was signed by the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIB) and the Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO) at the Turkey-Romania Economic and Investment Forum in Istanbul.

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES, CCIB negotiated with the partners of the Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO) a Framework Cooperation Agreement, in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed at the Forum in Istanbul by Iuliu Stocklosa, President of the CCIB, and Aytac Muhittin Dincer, Member of the Board of Directors of the Ankara Chamber of Industry.The signing of the memorandum of understanding took place under the high patronage of the two co-chairs in the Joint Romania-Turkey Joint Intergovernmental Economic Cooperation Commission, Fuat Oktay, Vice President of the Republic of Turkey and Sorin Mihai Grindeanu, Deputy Prime Minister, the Romanian Minister of Transport and Infrastructure.The event was also attended by government delegations and business representatives from the two countries, including Virgil Popescu, Minister of Energy, Stefan Tinca, Romanian Ambassador to Turkey, Lucian-Ioan Rus, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Mihai Daraban, President of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry."This is the 7th agreement signed by the CCIB with similar institutions in Turkey after previous agreements with the Istanbul, Ankara, Trabzon, Gaziantep and Iskenderun Chambers of Commerce, as well as the Eskisehir Chamber of Industry, to which is added the Cooperation Agreement concluded with the Association of Turkish Businessmen of Romania (TIAD)," reads the release.The trend of increasing Romanian-Turkish trade in 2021 was maintained in January 2022 (latest data available), thus, on January 31, 2022, the total volume of bilateral trade was 802 million USD, of which exports worth 246 million USD and imports worth 556 million USD, with a balance of 310 million USD in Turkey's favor.Compared to the same period in 2021, the volume of total trade increased by 33.7%, of which exports increased by 4.4% and imports by 52.6%.At the end of January, Turkey ranked first among non-EU trading partners, surpassing China in total volume, being the main non-EU destination market for Romanian products and the second country of origin, after China, for products imported from outside the EU.As of January 31, 2022, 16,842 companies with Turkish capital were registered in Romania, the value of the subscribed share capital being the equivalent of 890 million USD, accounting for 1.42% of the total capital subscribed by foreign investors. By the number of foreign capital companies registered in our country, Turkey ranks 3rd, after Italy and Germany, with a share of 7.1%, and according to the value of investment in foreign currency equivalent, it ranks 15th in the ranking by country of residence of investors in companies with foreign contributions.
The Minister of Education, Sorin Cimpeanu, participated on Tuesday, in Luxembourg, in the meeting of the Education Council, among the topics addressed being investments in education, crisis management in the field and the financing of European universities.

According to a press release, during the debate on crisis management in the European area of education, Minister Cimpeanu underlined that Romania had a rapid reaction to adapt the legal framework and specific regulations in order to allow effective support for children and young people. Ukrainians need not only support from the perspective of education, but also support to generate a sense of balance and normalcy as much as possible.

"In the next period, a sustained effort is needed to move from an emergency humanitarian response, in which we ensured access to education, to the development of quality services for the effective protection of refugees, beneficiaries of temporary protection," said Cimpeanu.

He specified that the management of the problems of refugees who want to continue their education is handled by both central and county structures.

"The logistical support provided by the Romanian schools is essential for the provision of classrooms, IT infrastructure and equipment, teaching materials. I had the chance to note with satisfaction this support, even 3-4 days ago, during the meeting with over 200 Ukrainian children studying in Romanian schools, a meeting which was also attended by Commissioner Nicolas Schmidt," the minister said.

Sorin Cimpeanu appreciated the promptness of the European governance system to ensure a coordinated response of the member states in the face of the crisis in Ukraine.

The education ministers adopted several documents at the Luxembourg meeting on improving the European mobility of teachers and trainers, the European strategy for strengthening the position of higher education institutions for the future of Europe and building bridges for effective European cooperation in higher education.

At the proposal of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Declaration for a Common Vision on Efficient, Effective and Equitable Investments in Education was adopted, on which occasion the education minister reiterated Romania's commitment to make investments of 3.6 billion euros for the education and training system through the National Recovery and Resilience Program, Agerpres informs.
The Ministry of Health will establish, starting on Wednesday, a call center where specialists will answer questions about potassium iodide pills used, in the event of a nuclear incident that would increase radiation levels.

According to a press release on Tuesday, the call center will be linked to the telephone number 021/317.40.06 from Monday to Thursday between 8.30 am and 4.30 pm, and on Friday between 8.30 am and 2.30 pm.

The Ministry of Health has also developed the General Information Guide with information on the conditions for the administration of 65 mg potassium iodide, the recommended doses, how and when treatment should be started. The guide is posted on www.ms.ro.

The Ministry of Health announces that it has started the information campaign regarding the administration of potassium iodide pills. These pills should only be given in case of exposure to radioactive iodine, as a result of a nuclear incident, within the first six hours after the announcement by the authorities, in a single dose, Agerpres informs.
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca asked the local authorities to get involved in drawing the European funds Romania has at its disposal these years, 80 billion euros, stressing that it is important that at the local level to determine the "complementarity of efficiency" that each of the European financing instruments can generate, Agerpres reports.

The head of the executive had, on Tuesday, an online intervention at the works of the General Assembly of the Association of Romanian Cities (AOR)."And because it came to EU funding programmes, it is a personal approach I want to share with you, namely that at the moment we have at least four instruments at our disposal. (...) Each of the four instruments offers opportunities. The important thing is to determine the complementarity of the efficiency that each of them can generate. Why am I talking about this complementarity? Because not a few times we saw that we started certain projects, which should have been placed in another order of priorities, we paved and then we had to redo, because we had not made the sewerage or the water supply system, the lighting was not solved and so on," Ciuca said.He referred primarily to the completion of the projects that were undertaken under the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020."We already find ourselves in that extension period and this programme has benefited from three years of extension. (...) We have another year and nine months and I ask you to think very seriously and to consider which of the projects are being completed and which are not, because there is flexibility on the part of the Commission, so that the money that we anticipate that we will not spend can be used (...) in the measures that we have in the works on the table of the Government, so that we can compensate for the effects generated both by the crisis of the electricity and gas price and by the crisis generated by the war in Ukraine," Nicolae Ciuca said.He then mentioned the second European financial instrument, provided by the PNRR, asking the local authorities for their involvement in order to get the most out of this programme."We need at the level of the local authorities, with the support of the regional development authorities, with the support of the managing authorities, to find the practical solutions in order to be able to achieve everything that can be obtained from this programme. It would be unforgivable to not be able to carry out everything that can represent reform projects, transformation projects, investment projects with European money. I do not think we should repeat the mistakes that have been repeated in the past (...). It is human to be wrong, but here we cannot make mistakes on very large sums of money and opportunities, which really ensure the development and modernization of our country," Ciuca stressed.The prime minister explained that another third European financing instrument is the one represented by the Multiannual Framework 2021-2027, and here all the steps are initiated to ensure the framework for accessing these funds."Please, let us be as organized as possible, so that we can not stay on the last hundred meters (...) to access money from these European funds," pointed out Ciuca.The prime minister also referred to a fourth instrument of attracting funds, the one generated by the Anghel Saligny National Investment Programme."A programme that we will launch very soon. We are going to make the decision at the level of the government, so that we can supplement the amount to be able to cover everything that means the requests coming from the territory and it is directed, as I said, mainly towards this commitment of ours to eliminate the development differences between the counties, to eliminate, to reduce, because we cannot eliminate, but to reduce the differences between rural and urban areas," Ciuca stressed.The prime minister emphasised the importance of accessing the 80 billion euros that Romania has at its disposal in these years."All these opportunities out of the four programmes I have talked about, please, once again, (...) it's an opportunity that I don't know when we meet again and it would have been a shame not to get the most out of all this budgetary effort. And this opportunity, because I didn't specify the amount - it's an opportunity of 80 billion euros - everything we're discussing now is or should be nothing more than an act of will and a firm attitude of the local authorities in order to be able to access the money and get all the projects we've undertaken, but please keep in mind that I have assumed them together with the citizens. Citizens have these expectations from us. We will all be the beneficiaries of everything we have discussed so far," Ciuca said.
Academician Ioan-Aurel Pop, re-elected on Tuesday for a new term as president of the Romanian Academy, says that the trust placed in him by the members of the General Assembly represents a great responsibility, giving also assurances that the institution's strategic projects will continue.

"The re-election was difficult for me, first of all the decision to run, because it entails a huge responsibility. The presidency of the Romanian Academy is an exceptional responsibility. It is therefore a special honor my colleagues confirmed to me, but it is also a great responsibility on my shoulders and I hope to be able to deliver and respond to the trust with which they surrounded me," Ioan-Aurel Pop declared for AGERPRES.He specified that the Academy's strategic projects will continue during his new term, as will support to the youth."There are strategic projects of the Romanian Academy which carry on regarding scientific research, the consecration of the most important values, the award of doctoral and habilitation degrees to the best candidates. The Romanian Academy carries along its strategic guidelines. We also have novelties, such as youth support, the Academy has connections to the students. The Secretary General, Academician Dumitrache promoted the idea of rewarding young people, encouraging them. Young pupils turn towards the Romanian Academy, and the best ones are offered scholarships, they are encouraged to become eminent students, to study to the highest possible extent in Romania and then join the researchers in the Academy's institutes," said Pop.A corresponding member of the Romanian Academy since 2001 in the Department of Historical Sciences and Archeology and a full member since 2010, Professor Ioan-Aurel Pop served as president of the country's highest scientific and cultural institution between 2018 - 2022, following the elections held on April 5, 2018.
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca is asking the competent authorities to investigate any form of press intimidation, and that the offenders are held accountable, said the government's spokesman Dan Carbunaru, Agerpres reports.

"The government of Romania fully supports the freedom of the press. Romania is a democratic country where the right to information and the freedom of expression are sacred. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca is asking the competent authorities to investigate any form of press intimidation and hold the offenders accountable," the government's spokesman said.Acting Chairman of the Save Romania Union (USR) Catalin Drula on Monday called on Prime Minister Ciuca to no longer block the investigation into plagiarism accusations over Ciuca's doctoral thesis, after journalist Emilia Sercan complained in a Facebook post that she has been targeted by a "smear and intimidation campaign" ever since she exposed the Prime Minister's academic plagiarism, on January 18."I have decided to publicly denounce the smear and intimidation actions I have been subjected to since January 18, 2022, the day when I revealed that the doctoral thesis of the Prime Minister of Romania, Nicolae Ciuca, is plagiarized. I made this decision because the key player in this operation is the Romanian state itself: a piece of evidence that I provided to the Romanian Police for them to identify the perpetrator of a privacy violation act was leaked on the same day and later became the source of a large operation of kompromat. I gave the criminal investigation authorities - Prosecutor's Office and Police - time to investigate the information leak I complained of on February 18, 2022. For 45 days I was not even heard in the case opened following my complaint over the information leak and for 19 days the Prosecutor's Office and the Police refused to give me the registration number of the criminal case!," Sercan wrote.
Romania has decided to declare personae non gratae 10 people working with the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bucharest because their activities and actions have been found to violate the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE), the information was communicated to the Russian side on Tuesday, when Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu summoned Russian ambassador in Bucharest Valery Kuzmin.

MAE said it reiterated Romania's firm condemnation of the crimes committed in Bucha and in other parts of Ukraine that are blamed on Russia, Agerpres informs.
Romania is preparing an additional package of non-reimbursable financial assistance to Moldova worth 10 million euros, Romania's Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said on Tuesday.

He opened in Berlin, together with his counterparts from Germany and France, an international conference on the creation of the Moldova Support Platform.

The joint initiative of Romania, Germany and France aims to generate immediate political, financial and material assistance, as well as expertise for democratic reform from institutions and member states of the European Union, G7 countries, financial institutions and other international organisations, as well as development partners.

In the opening speech to the conference, Aurescu announced that the Romanian government is preparing an additional package of non-reimbursable financial assistance to Moldova worth 10 million euros. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE), the decision is taken at a time when support for Moldova is particularly necessary, while reconfirming Romania's constant and firm involvement in ensuring the stability and development of Romania's neighbouring country.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy mentioned financial grants amounting to 100 million euros to be implemented under development projects based on an agreement signed by Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and his Moldovan counterpart Natalia Gavrilita at a February joint meeting of the two countries' national governments.

Aurescu also mentioned Romania extending amid the ongoing crisis total assistance of 3.8 million euros consisting of 5,000 tonnes of fuel oil to support the energy security of Moldova and of important quantities of fuel.

He mentioned the humanitarian shipments that were carried out consisting of bare necessities and the organisation of green corridors for the direct takeover in Romania, by road and rail, of Ukrainian refugees from Moldova.

Aurescu announced that Romania will host in Bucharest a second ministerial conference of the Moldova Support Platform.

The minister called for the mobilisation of "robust" financial assistance from the international community to enable Moldova to manage the energy crisis, stabilise public finance and support the incumbent government's reform goals, such as strengthening the rule of law, modernising public institutions, and raising the standards of living.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy said it is imperative to support Moldova building energy security, especially by expanding the electricity interconnection network between Moldova and the EU via Romania, expanding the natural gas interconnection network inside Moldova and diversifying natural gas supply, Agerpres informs.
A squad made up of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) specialists from the 307th Marine Regiment in Babadag carry out a mission on Tuesday in Sfantu Gheorghe locality of Tulcea county of defusing a grenade, reported by a civilian near the place where the Danube River flows into the Black Sea.

According to a release from the Ministry of National Defence, after the call received to the emergency number 112, specialists from the Police, Emergencies Inspectorate and the Border Police showed up at the indicated place. The first investigations observed that the reported object is a grenade launcher shot, being, most likely, an inert shot (empty, without explosive charge, used for exercises).

According to the procedures for such situations, the beach area was restricted and the intervention of the military specialized in bomb defusing was requested. As a result, a team of bomb squad marines was sent from Babadag at around 3pm to Sfantul Gheorghe beach with two fast boats on Sfantul Gheorghe Arm, with the task of intervening to neutralize the shot, Agerpres informs.
Head of the Chancellery of the Romanian Prime Minister, Mircea Abrudean, had a working meeting with a visiting delegation of the Council of Europe led by Christophe Poirel, director of human rights and responsible for the execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), at the Government House on Tuesday.

According to a government press release, the exchange of views was aimed at assessing the latest developments in the execution by Romania of ECHR judgments given some delays in the implementation of certain court decisions.

Abrudean gave assurances about the attention of the government and the sustained efforts of Romania to proceed to the rapid correction of the delays in complex cases that have not been resolved for a very long time.

"The dignitary highlighted the importance of the execution by Romania of the court's judgements, stating that the fulfillment of this obligation is also meant to strengthen the citizens' trust in the state institutions. Minister Mircea Abrudean pointed out that Romania's execution of ECHR judgments is an essential foundation for the consolidation and efficient functioning of the rule of law, an objective that the current Government has firmly and responsibly pledged. Its commitment has been clearly marked by recent decisions in support of justice reform."

At the meeting, the importance of paying priority attention to those national causes that are related to the observance of citizens' property rights, the rights of private companies, and also in general, to the observance of fundamental human rights in Romania was underlined.

At the same time, the attendees reaffirmed the basic principle of state functioning, according to which all citizens are equal before the law, and the state is responsible for ensuring adequate and correct measures to ensure compliance with this fundamental principle, Agerpres informs.
USR (Save Romania Union) MEPs and 206 other MEPs, in an open letter, ask for convening an emergency meeting of the European Council to decide on new sanctions against Russia, following the Bucha massacre, Agerpres reports.

According to a press release of the USR, MEPs Alin Mituta, Dacian Ciolos, Ramona Strugariu, Dragos Pislaru, Dragos Tudorache, Vlad Gheorghe, Nicolae Stefanuta and Vlad Botos, along with the other signatories of the letter, demand the following new sanctions: complete embargo on oil, gas and coal; the closure of all European ports for Russian ships; disconnection of all Russian banks from SWIFT; additional military support for Ukraine."The massacre in Bucha and other localities must have consequences. We must make sure that Putin's regime is completely isolated and that he no longer has access to resources to continue the war and commit such atrocities. That is why we have called for an urgent meeting of the European Council to take new measures. The European countries pay between 600 million and 1 billion euros a day for Russian imports of gas, oil and coal, and we must stop this indirect financing of Putin's war machine immediately. We must also close all European ports for Russian ships and disconnect all Russian banks from SWIFT. At the same time, we have a duty to continue helping Ukraine, including with lethal military equipment," said USR MEP Alin Mituta.For his part, USR MEP Vlad Gheorghe underscored that "a united Europe cannot turn a blind eye to the horrors committed in Ukraine" and has a duty to impose the proposed sanctions on Russia."If we still debate what sanctions are proportional to the war crimes committed by Vladimir Putin's regime on the borders of the Union, it means that we cannot represent the European citizens correctly and completely, we do not have in mind their prosperity and security in front of a third party. Unfortunately, Romania knows too well the actions of the "liberating" Red Army. And I am also certain that the Romanians who have volunteered at the border crossing points for the past 40 days and have welcomed the Ukrainian refugees in their homes, helping them as they were some relatives who came to visit, also never forgot.We have the duty to impose all the sanctions that me and my colleagues proposed on Russia, and to establish a Rebuilding Fund for Ukraine financed from the frozen assets of the Kremlin and its oligarchs from all over Europe," he said.
Environment Minister Tanczos Barna is the main to blame for illegal forest logging, the environmental damage, the state's inability to take advantage of green economy opportunities and the "arrogant contempt" wherewith the civil society is being treated when it raises issues to public attention, reads the simple motion tabled by the Save Romania Union (USR) to the Chamber of Deputies, Agerpres reports.

The USR deputies advise the Environment Minister to quit "not just from government", but also from any other political position he still holds."This motion would not have been necessary had still Minister Tanczos had the common sense to step down on his own, after a Recorder report showed the Romanians what kind of a character has come to manage the forests of this country. Incompetence could be a valid excuse in his case. There have been other cases of incompetent ministers. However, the signatories of this motion believe that there is more at play than that. His incompetence is doubled by militant ill-will, cynicism and deliberate efforts to sabotage his own mandate. Mr. Minister respects neither the citizens of this country in whose government he sits, nor the legacy we must all leave to our descendants," the motion reads.According to its signatories, the Environment Minister "respects only political fishy dealings he clumsily disguises as administrative decisions"."The political henchman turned Environment Minister is the main to blame for the disappearance of our forests, for the environmental damage that could be easily stopped, for the state's inability to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the green economy and for the arrogant contempt wherewith the civil society is treated when it raises issues to public attention," the motion goes on."From time to time, Mr. Minister has public media appearances where he promises to take action. Meanwhile, landfills in Bucharest-Ilfov catch fire, waste is being burned in the fields, garbage litters hectares of vacant land, waste is being introduced into the country as second-hand items, and mayors do as they please with the waste," the motion further states.The Lower House USR group tabled on Tuesday the simple motion against Environment Minister Tanczos Barna in the Parliament plenary sitting."The USR group tables the simple motion titled: 'Woe to environment. Minister Tanczos Barna must leave while we still have forests to defend'," said USR Chamber floor leader Ionut Mosteanu.
The Vacaresti wetland park fire in Bucharest City has been contained, and firefighters are working to extinguish its last lashes, the Bucharest-Ilfov Emergency Management Inspectorate (ISUBIF) said on Tuesday, Agerpres reports.

The area engulfed by the fire is about 15,000 square metres.Eleven trucks were dispatched to extinguish a wildfire that broke out on Tuesday in the Vacaresti wetland park.Authorities issued a RO-ALERT text message warning the population.
EAST ST. LOUIS  State and federal officials allege that a Michigan-based health care provider for years fraudulently billed Medicare for patient visits in long-term care facilities in multiple states, including Missouri and Illinois.

The provider, General Medicine P.C., billed for unusually large numbers of patient visits, and billed routine visits as though they were more complex appointments for which Medicare pays higher prices, the lawsuit says.

For example, on a single day in 2017, a southern Illinois doctor working for the company reported 40 patient visits. He coded them under a category of appointment that is estimated to take 35 minutes, meaning the visits would have added up to more than 23 hours of work.

The lawsuit, filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, alleges that the defendants played a numbers game designed to bill as many patient visits as possible, regardless of whether those visits were actually performed as documented or medically necessary.

From April 2016 through March 2021, General Medicine P.C. received more than $40 million from Medicare Part B alone. The lawsuit says much of that money came from fraudulent claims.

The suit named Michigan resident Dr. Thomas Prose as president and senior medical director for General Medicine P.C. It says the practices clinicians spanned Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Louisiana, Iowa, Ohio and North Carolina.

Efforts to reach Prose this week were unsuccessful.

Prose founded the practice in 1983, according to the companys website. The business focuses on patients in post-acute, long-term care and assisted living settings.

In 2014, the lawsuit says, a southern Illinois nurse practitioner reported 60 patient visits in one day.

Thats excessive, Prose told his director of clinical operations, according to the court documents. No one will believe ... she worked 18 hours without a meal break or a bathroom break.

Prose instructed the nurse practitioner to redo the reports to move 25 patient visits to a different day.

The company also paid its workers a rate per patient visit rather than per hour, incentivizing clinicians to see more patients in shorter amounts of time.

This most recent filing follows cases against two Illinois residents who worked for General Medicine P.C.

In September 2020, Jami Mayhew, a nurse practitioner in Madison County, pleaded guilty to health care fraud for false claims submitted in 2017.

And in September 2021, Illinois resident Dr. Phillip Jeffery Greene was indicted for submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. That indictment alleges that in one case Greene reported a visit with a patient who was in a different facility at the time, and in another case, he reported a visit with a patient who had died the day before.

The latest filing includes a list of corporations of different names all registered under General Medicine P.C.s address in Novi, Michigan, a structure that apparently helped the providers dodge audits.

For example, the suit says that in October 2016, Missouris Medicaid Audit and Compliance Unit sent a letter to Prose saying the agency had identified red flags in the practices billing. General Medicine P.C. voluntarily surrendered its state Medicaid agreement in January 2017. But the following day, it submitted paperwork applying for enrollment in the state Medicaid program under one of its other entities, flouting the entire purpose of the MMAC investigation, the lawsuit says.

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EAST ST. LOUIS  A man from Jefferson County pleaded guilty to a federal charge here Tuesday and admitted being caught in an FBI underage sex sting last year.

Michael Joseph Smith pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempted enticement of a minor. He admitted meeting someone via a dating app on June 23. During subsequent messages, she told Smith she was 14, and Smith later arranged to meet her for sex, his plea says.

Smith didn't know the teen was an undercover employee of the FBI.

Smith was arrested when he showed up at a house in Collinsville on June 26 with condoms and a White Claw alcoholic beverage, his plea agreement says.

Smith, then 39, of Barnhart, was one of six area men arrested at the time.

Both sides will recommend 10 years in prison at Smith's Aug. 10 sentencing, his plea agreement says.

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Updated at 11 a.m. April 6 with the identity of the victim.

ST. LOUIS COUNTY  A 23-year-old man was fatally shot early Tuesday in the Glasgow Village area of north St. Louis County.

Keauntay Evans, of Monteith Circle in Glagow Village, was found shot just before 1 a.m. Tuesday in the 200 block of Ben Nevis Road, said St. Louis County police Sgt. Tracy Panus.

He died later at a hospital.

Police haven't said if they have a suspect in the killing.

Ben Nevis Road, in unincorporated St. Louis County, is west of Riverview Drive and south of Interstate 270.

Check back for updates.

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ST. LOUIS  Even as the contentious battle to confirm the nations first Black female Supreme Court justice rages in the Senate, Justice Sonia Sotomayor brought a sense of levity during a talk at Washington University on Tuesday afternoon.

Sotomayor was in St. Louis this week to sit down with the schools chancellor, Andrew Martin, to answer questions, share personal anecdotes and dole out life advice to the masked-up college students who filed into the schools Field House.

Serving as the first Hispanic and the third woman on the countrys highest court, she touched on topics from self-awareness, family and personal growth, to approaching the justice system as a minority and showing empathy as a judge.

Oh, and she let everyone know about her newfound interest in poker.

My playing is a bit of a charity. I invite people to my home, I feed them, I give them all the liquor they want ... and so when I win their money, I dont have to report it, she joked.

But more seriously, Sotomayor said she is engaged in and devoted to helping people understand the importance of their obligation to better the world  a value instilled by her mother and grandmother while she was growing up in the Bronx.

Sotomayor also told the audience she believes the path to self awareness and success involves a few key elements: seeking out mentorship, knowing and acknowledging ones own fault in a situation, and having the courage to say, I dont know.

The justice meandered her way through the audience for most of the talk, shaking hands and even taking photos with students, all while answering questions and reflecting on her experiences.

One person asked her how she approached discussing polarizing issues such as the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War during her formative years as a young woman, and what advice she would give young people navigating todays politically polarized landscape.

Sotomayor said she tries hard to see the good in everyone, something the justices mother, who died last year, was steadfast in doing throughout her life.

Youre going to differ in views with people and some of those views will be or feel offensive to you, she said.

Sotomayor shared her experience during the Supreme Court confirmation process, how she was hurt when people said she wasnt smart enough for the position and had only been nominated because of affirmative action efforts.

(They forget) you dont judge a person by who opens the door, you judge them by what they did when they went through the door, she said.

Sotomayor told the crowd that however hurt they may be by anothers views, they should not write people off.

Stop screaming, listen, try to put yourself in the shoes of that other person; try to figure out what it is theyre feeling and why they feel that way, she said.

In answer to a question about how to trust the justice system as a minority, knowing it has failed those groups of people in the past, she said its important to take the long view and recognize the, albeit slow, progress the system has made.

Thats how I keep confidence, by realizing yes, there have been inherent flaws in our system of justice, but I am here working as hard as I can, even when I dissent, to try to avoid us going off in the wrong direction, she said.

Sotomayor was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009. The Senate confirmed her on Aug. 6, 2009, on a 68-31 vote divided mostly along party lines.

The first Black woman nominated to the high court, Ketanji Brown Jackson, is expected to be confirmed soon.
JEFFERSON CITY  To meet national accreditation standards, Childrens Division caseworkers should work with no more than 15 children at one time. But in Missouri, that standard has long since fallen by the wayside.

Ive been all over the state, and Ive not found one worker who actually had 15 cases  not one, said Darrell Missey, the new director of the states Childrens Division, to a group of lawmakers Tuesday morning.

The former juvenile court judge on Tuesday reported on his first 90 days as director to the Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. Within the division, which oversees child welfare in the state, caseworkers are critically overworked, Missey said.

I was in Liberty this week talking with a person (saying), I dont know how I get to stay. Because I cant do my job. I cant really take care of these people. Because she had 38 cases, Missey said. And shes not the highest Ive heard. Shes just the one who was crying with me this week.

The turnover for Childrens Division for the year is projected to be 37%, beating out other embattled public service professions recent rates, including Missouri teachers. Certain areas have fared far worse, said the Deputy Director Joanie Rogers, noting the turnover in the Kansas City region recently reached 88%.

At the same time, applicants are quickly dropping. Between March 2020 and October 2021, Rogers said, applicants for job postings decreased by 76%.

The division currently has hundreds of vacant positions. And to do more than narrowly meeting legal obligations, Missey said, they would need to go much further than just filling those vacancies.

I would be shocked if I could find a case worker doing 40 hours of work with 15 (cases) who was meeting goals toward reunification or toward permanency, said Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lees Summit, a licensed social worker.

Though lawmakers have been at odds with child welfare officials over the past year following reports on missing kids and abuse and neglect within facilities, the committee welcomed collaboration with the new director on issues facing the division Tuesday. During the meeting, Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder, R-Sikeston, apologized on the behalf of lawmakers for running our state like slumlords.

The division is ramping up recruitment efforts and partnering with community organizations, Missey said, but a primary limiting factor is funding.

The starting salary for Missouris college-educated caseworkers, after a 5.5% pay increase for state employees instituted in February, is $34,666. This is thousands lower than surrounding states, including those that dont require a degree.

Its past time for us to really put our money where our mouths are when were talking about protecting and looking after children, said Rep. Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson.

Originally posted at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, April 5.

Grace Zokovitch gzokovitch@post-dispatch.com
COLUMBIA, Mo.  Sheena Chestnut Greitens says since she accused Eric Greitens, her ex-husband and former Missouri governor, of abuse, he has become unhinged, launching a campaign to destroy her reputation.

When his political future is at risk, he becomes erratic, unhinged, coercive, and threatening, Greitens told Boone County Associate Circuit Judge Leslie Schneider in a sworn statement on Thursday. He accuses me of things that are untrue and generates conspiracy theories about me collaborating with his enemies, when I have done no such thing.

Sheena Greitens, an associate professor at the University of Texas, is seeking to move a custody case involving the couples two sons, ages 7 and 5, to Austin. In a sworn affidavit on March 21, she accused Eric Greitens, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, of physical abuse, including causing one of their sons to lose a tooth.

She said she would provide documentation of her abuse claims.

He also claims that these allegations have never been reported; in fact, they were reported to multiple lawyers, therapists, and our mediator, in 2018 and afterward, Sheena Greitens said.

I will provide contemporaneous documentation of the relevant communications, as well as photographic evidence of my childs 2019 injuries, to the court at the appropriate time, she said.

Sheena Greitens said in addition to causing one son to lose a tooth, during an argument in April 2018, Eric knocked me down and confiscated my cell phone, wallet, and keys so that I was unable to call for help or extricate myself and our children from our home at Innsbrook.

Eric Greitens, in a statement March 21, called the allegations completely fabricated and baseless.

He later appeared as a guest on Steve Bannons War Room podcast, in which he accused his ex-wife of aiding political operatives, including RINOs  Republicans in name only  who oppose his candidacy. He claimed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was behind the effort.

Erics behavior since 3/21 is consistent with several patterns that I have previously experienced, Sheena Greitens said on Thursday. He uses words like nasty and vicious to describe my behavior, and threatens to try to take my children away.

He did each of these things in June 2018, leading me to leave our home with my children out of fear for our safety, and he has done each of them again this week and last week, she said. The video that he posted on 3/25 is a particularly troubling demonstration of his mental state when he perceives his political life to be under threat.

In that video, Greitens, appearing with a raspy voice and unkempt hair, placed blame for the scandal on McConnell and Republican political strategist Karl Rove, calling them disgusting cowards and saying true patriots, true conservatives, we are coming for you.

Erics out-of-court statements are professionally damaging to my work in public policy and national security, Sheena Greitens said. He has repeatedly claimed that I spent spring break in Washington, DC to plan a political attack orchestrated by political operatives, naming Senator Mitch McConnell and Karl Rove.

He said that they wrote the affidavit and that it was distributed to the press in Washington, DC, she said. None of these claims are true. I went to Washington, DC to discharge my responsibilities as a paid employee and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and my conversations there were about American national security and U.S. policy towards China.

Sheena Greitens notes that she has refused to comment on the case in the news media despite Eric Grietens giving numerous interviews on the topic.

I would like to continue to restrict my comments on this to the courtroom, Sheena Greitens said, but it will be difficult to do so if we cannot resolve the question of where this case should be decided until May 27, because I expect I will have to go through two months of untrue public attacks on my character, motherhood, and professionalism.

She said his continued attacks on her professional reputation could harm her ability to provide for their sons.

Eric is not required to pay regular child support as part of our original agreement, Sheena Greitens said, meaning that it is especially important that his attacks do not threaten my work and my ability to be the main financial support for our sons.

In a statement distributed via Twitter on Tuesday, Tim Parlatore, an attorney for Eric Greitens, accused Sheena Greitens of lying in a sworn affidavit. She lied when she claimed that she wanted to keep these family matters private and protect her children from public disclosure because she is the one who leaked her own affidavit to the media to bring public attention, he said.

Originally posted at 7:36 a.m. Tuesday, April 5.

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President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a Decree on awarding Judge Isa Najafov with the Shohrat Order.

According to the decree, the judge was awarded for his longstanding activity within the Judiciary of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The government is working towards distributing machineries to small scale farmers to help increase the scale of production and reduce post-harvest losses.

The machineries include tractors, combine harvesters, thrusters, handheld machinery, small rice milling machinery, among others, the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mohammed Hardi Tufeiru, disclosed this in Accra.

Speaking on the sidelines of the opening of this year's Agrictech West Africa Exhibitions in Accra, he noted that most of the machinery have arrived in the country and would be distributed in the coming days.

The three-day event was organised by AgricTech West Africa in partnership with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, with support from CalliGhana.

The exhibitions saw 100 exhibitors from India, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, among others, at the Accra International Conference Centre for the annual Agrictech West Africa.

According to Mr Tufeiru, the government would absorb 60 per cent of the cost while farmers cater for the remaining 40 per cent.

He said the government acquired the machinery through an initiative with the Indian government.

Additionally, Municipal and District Assemblies would also benefit from the machinery with the goal to make the Agricultural sector vibrant.

Mr Tufeiru encouraged companies with intentions of penetrating the Ghanaian market to go through the necessary licensing procedures, adding that the Ministry was ready for partnerships and to implement innovative ideas to help boost the sector.

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Project Director of Agrictech West Africa, Thomas James, said Ghana was a country with a growing agricultural economy in Africa, hence, the need to do more in the area of food production and security to meet the ever-increasing population.

"When this is done in the next five years, Ghana could be the finest agro Food processor exporter to meet the demands in the region.

It will make Ghana the stopping point for investors and food processing industries," he stated.

The Managing Director of CalliGhana, Bernard Okuto, on his part, said the event was to give access to innovative inputs needed to scale up production and distribution.

He noted that his outfit had intensified education to help farmers adopt modern technologies to increase production.
JEFFERSON CITY  One Republicans controversial amendment has caused turbulence for another lawmakers plan to fully legalize marijuana in Missouri.

Rep. Nick Schroer, of St. Charles County, amended the so-called Cannabis Freedom Act on Thursday to exclude transgender women from access to no-interest loans for women- and minority-owned cannabis businesses, drawing bipartisan scorn.

Schroer then voted no on the underlying legislation to legalize marijuana in Missouri, but the plan still passed the House Public Safety Committee on a 5-4 vote, with the committees three Democrats helping rescue it.

He literally either was showboating and needed his sound bites in the committee or he was deliberately trying to kill that piece of legislation, Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Defiance, the bills sponsor, said Thursday.

The amendment may not ultimately kill the bill, and Schroer said that was not his intent.

Im hopeful we will strip that language off on the floor, said House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, one of the co-sponsors. It is frustrating that one member will take a bipartisan-supported bill and use it simply for campaign fodder.

Schroer, who is running for a state Senate seat, expressed concern about the constitutionality of the loan program altogether. He said he would like the entire provision stripped from the bill.

Schroer said he didnt vote for the underlying plan because of last-minute changes before the vote.

If I wanted to kill the bill, I think we could have, he said.

Schroer said he would rather have the Legislature legalize marijuana than have voters do it through a constitutional amendment. The Legal Missouri 2022 campaign is currently collecting signatures for such a ballot question.

Legalizing marijuana through a constitutional change would mean voters would have to amend the program through the constitution if the program encounters major issues, Schroer said.

Schroers amendment wasnt the only change to the plan last week.

Whether and how to cap the number of marijuana businesses has been the main point of contention in negotiations between the medical marijuana industry and lawmakers. Legislators want to open the market after hundreds of lawsuits were filed against the state following the medical programs rollout in 2020.

An amendment by Rep. Shane Roden, a Cedar Hill Republican and chair of the Public Safety Committee, would have allowed the state to limit the number of comprehensive cannabis business licenses to the number of current medical marijuana permits.

But Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, negotiated an amendment that would allow twice as many business licenses as are currently issued. Her amendment also did away with a so-called microlicense program Roden proposed Thursday morning.

Bland Manlove said during the hearing Thursday that Rodens amendment was clearly written by the Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association, or MoCannTrade.

Im just grateful to the chair for not using the first draft of the amendment, which was clearly drafted by the MoCannTrade lobbyists who are pushing the IP (initiative petition), who also called some of the witnesses clowns, Bland Manlove said.

She was referring to recorded comments by Legal Missouri and MoCannTrade lobbyist Thomas Robbins comparing the bills proponents to a clown car.

Roden denied that MoCannTrade drafted his amendment but said he spoke to Robbins and one other stakeholder in an attempt to reach a compromise before the committee hearing.

I want some form of this being put into statute, said Roden, who was one of the five yes votes in committee Thursday. I would rather us do it than through the initiative petition process.

Robbins did not respond to a request for comment.

Jack Cardetti, spokesman for MoCannTrade, which has endorsed the Legal Missouri 2022 initiative, said the group still isnt fully on board with Hicks bill.

We have concerns about the current version of the bill, including a lack of automatic expungements for past nonviolent marijuana offenders, he said in a statement.

Hicks said he was disappointed that Schroers amendment was added to the bill and also that the amended bill includes limits on licenses.

Im still disappointed that we had to put caps on it to get it out of committee when Im more than willing to have a conversation on the House floor about caps, Hicks said.

He added he wanted to limit cultivation so there isnt a surplus.

I was trying to do everything for the people of Missouri, and now its starting to get swayed by politics, which is not a surprise to me, said Hicks, who is term-limited.

Its just when you work so hard on something and then youre in that last stage in a committee hearing and then the poison pill gets slammed on it ..., he said.

House Speaker Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, has referred a second legalization measure to committee, evidence House leadership wants debate on legislation that could sideline Legal Missouri 2022.

Rep. Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin, whose House Joint Resolution 83 would place legalization on the November ballot, said his Special Committee on Criminal Justice would hear the plan on Tuesday.

Its just good to have multiple options for the Legislature to take the lead on this issue, he said. The Legislature failed to do so on the issue of medical marijuana, and we got a ballot initiative that was not necessarily my first choice.

Dogan said he was open to negotiations on his proposed constitutional amendment.

Im not ruling anything out at this point, he said.

Youre going to have to make some compromises to get anything out of this body, much less the Senate, he said.

The legislation is House Bill 2704.

Originally posted at 12:32 p.m. Tuesday, April 5.

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A newly equipped Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) facility has been handed over to the Chorkor-Chemuena community in the Ablekuma South Constituency and the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

It was handed over last week Friday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Government of Japan.

The health facility, valued at an estimated amount of 60million US dollars, would serve the people in the community who had been faced with moving to other health facilities to receive medical care.

Funded by the Government of Japan, the facility formed part of UNDP project which was aimed at strengthening community health system to support the community of essential services during and post COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the event, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan, Mr Mochizuki Hisanobu, said the COVID-19 pandemic had shared light on the need to strengthen health systems by building the capacity of local health facilities to respond to health matters.

Mr Hisanobu noted that the handing over of the CHPS facility formed part of their commitment to promoting the concept of human security where everyone could live in dignity without fear through the protection and empowerment of individuals.

Japan, he said, had offered various support to Ghana in the area of maternal, new born and child health services before the outbreak of Covid-19 and would continue to do so going forward.

The Deputy Director of Public Health at the Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate, Dr Luis Ammouzou, in his remarks, indicated that the establishment of the health facility was a welcoming relief for health workers who had to overwork themselves in trying to provide health care services to the people in the community during the outbreak of COVID-19.

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"Chorkor-Chemuena is one of the four areas or zones in the Ablekuma South with a population of 19,850 with about 2,551 children under 5 years of age. At the Health Directorate, they were offering services to cover the children through Child Welfare Clinic (CWC), among others, and mathematically it was taking it needed staff into the communities", Dr Ammouzou said.

He also noted that it would also help solve the accessibility challenge faced by the people in the community as they have to visit the Mamprobi Polyclinic to receive health care.

Dr Ammouzou thanked UNDP and the Government of Japan for thinking about the health needs of the people by establishing the facility.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma South, Alfred Okoe Vanderpuye, urged the Health Directorate to ensure a proper maintenance of the facility to enable it serve the purpose for which it was established.
Afghanistan Afghanistan and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defence Policy

Steven Biddle Summary The defense debate tends to treat Afghanistan as either a revolution or a fluke: either the Afghan Model of special operations forces (SOF) plus precision munitions plus an indigenous ally is a widely applicable template for American defense planning, or it is a nonreplicable product of local idiosyncrasies. In fact, it is neither. The Afghan campaign of last fall and winter was actually much closer to a typical 20th century mid-intensity conflict, albeit one with unusually heavy fire support for one side. And this view has very different implications than either proponents or skeptics of the Afghan Model now claim. Afghan Model skeptics often point to Afghanistans unusual culture of defection or the Talibans poor skill or motivation as grounds for doubting the wars relevance to the future. Afghanistans culture is certainly unusual, and there were many defections. The great bulk, however, occurred after the military tide had turnednot beforehand. They were effects, not causes. The Afghan Taliban were surely unskilled and ill-motivated. The non-Afghan al Qaeda, however, have proven resolute and capable fighters. Their hosts collapse was not attributable to any al Qaeda shortage of commitment or training. Afghan Model proponents, by contrast, credit precision weapons with annihilating enemies at a distance before they could close with our commandos or indigenous allies. Hence the models broad utility: with SOF-directed bombs doing the real killing, even ragtag local militias will suffice as allies. All they need do is screen U.S. commandos from the occasional hostile survivor and occupy the abandoned ground thereafter. Yet the actual fighting in Afghanistan involved substantial close combat. Al Qaeda counterattackers closed, unseen, to pointblank range of friendly forces in battles at Highway 4 and Sayed Slim Kalay. Al Qaeda defenders eluded detection or destruction by American air attack and had to be overrun at Bai Beche, Highway 4, and Operation ANACONDA. At Tora Bora, failure to commit properly trained and motivated ground troops to traditional close combat probably allowed the al Qaeda quarry to escape. None of this means that precision weapons or special operations forces are not tremendously valuable. Few 20th century combatants enjoyed anything like the power or efficiency of U.S. high-tech fire support in Afghanistan. But just as weeks of bombardment failed to kill the entirety of 1916s trench garrisons, so 2001s precision-guided fire support killed many but not all of its al Qaeda opponents. And even a handful of hostile survivors armed with modern automatic weapons can be lethal to unskilled militia allies, just as they were to poorly trained draftees in 1916. The key to success, whether in 1916 or 2002, is to team heavy, well-directed fires with skilled ground maneuver to exploit their effects and overwhelm the surviving enemy. This kind of skilled maneuver, however, is beyond the reach of many potential indigenous allies. In Afghanistan, U.S. proxies with American air support brushed aside unskilled, ill-motivated Afghan Taliban, but against hard-core al Qaeda opposition, outcomes were often in doubt even with the benefit of 21st century U.S. air power and American commandos to direct it. Where we face opponents with the gumption and training to stand and fight, our allies need the same, even with all the modern firepower we can offer them. This in turn implies that we should neither restructure the military to wage Afghan-style wars more efficiently, nor reflexively commit conventional U.S. ground forces in every conflict. Where we enjoy local allies with the needed skills and motivation, we can expect the Afghan Model to work, and we should use it. But we will not always be so lucky. In Iraq, for example, the lack of a credible, trained opposition bodes ill for an Afghanistan-style campaign without major American ground forces. Deep cuts in ground capability could thus be very risky in spite of our strengths in air power or special operations forces. More broadly, though, we should be wary of suggestions that precision weapons, with or without special operations forces to direct them, have so revolutionized warfare that traditional ground forces are now superceded. Where our allies are good enough, they may provide the ground troops for us, but what Afghanistan really shows is that the wars of tomorrowlike those of yesterdaywill continue to require skilled, motivated forces on the ground, in strength, if we are to exploit our technologys effects. Precision weapons are making that ground-air combination ever more capable, but against resolute opponents, neither air power nor conventional ground forces will be able to prevail without the other any time soon. Link to download entire article: Afghanistan and the Future of Warfare Afghanistan The Latest Comment On This Topic: From: Fashion Desginer 5/2/2022 3:03:40 AM Subject: An especially tangling page I saw this sort of blog. I like your work. I like your chance out also. Thankful for sharing. http://www.shalinibangaloreescorts.in/ http://www.bangalorehotescorts.com/ http://www.jasmineescortsbangalore.com/ http://www.femaleescortbnagalore.com/ http://www.escortsinbangalore.biz/ http://www.bangaloreescortagency.co.in/
Casualty Budgets:

applications to both military planning and commercial wargaming.

by

Matthew Caffrey, Lt Col, USAFR

John Tiller, Ph. D., HPS Simulations "It was crucial that casualties should be kept to a minimum if final victory was to be seen worth the purchase" The Battle for the Falklands, Hastings and Jenkins, 1983, p. 184. In military history, there have been similar circumstances arise at very different times. For example, when Lee encountered Union forces on the first day of Gettysburg, he hesitated, not sure if he should commit his army to this particular battle. At Normandy, during the early days of the World War II invasion, the Allies hesitated, not sure if they should advance with more risks or take a more cautious approach to their campaign. At Borodino, during Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, he failed to commit his entire army to the battle, unsure if he could "afford" the resulting casualties. In more modern times, it is interesting to compare the Vietnam War battles of Ia Drang and Hamburger Hill, one occurring during the early years of the American involvement, and considered a victory for the doctrine of airborne assault, with the second occurring during the later years of the war, and considered a terrible defeat, although tactically it accomplished the destruction of an NVA regiment. The questions that arise from these situations are twofold: How do we understand how to estimate eventual victory or defeat outcomes in such a way that transcends strictly attrition factors.

How do we implement military caution in artificial environments such as commercial wargames. While the first question concerns primarily serving military strategists while the other is the concern of the recreational wargamer/civilian strategist the approach presented here actually addresses both of these issues. The concept of Casualty Budgets is based on the following: In military situations, the participants are often constrained or influenced by the potential or actual casualties of the current situation in a way that transcends a pure military analysis of the situation. This concept can be illustrated using the previous examples: When Lee first arrived on the Gettysburg battlefield, he was forced to make decisions in a very uncertain situation. Although he appeared to hold the advantage at the time, there were too many unknowns about the situation for him to be able to commit his forces with certainty. Thus, for a long period during the first day of the battle of Gettysburg, Lee's forces waited for reinforcements before advancing.

After the initial success of the Normandy landings, the British forces actually withdrew from their furthest advance at the end of the first day, despite the fact that they were largely unopposed at that point. Likewise, the entire course of the Normandy campaign is made up of short periods of offensive activity followed by periods of inactivity, despite many weaknesses in the German position, in a way that goes far beyond mere logistical concerns at the time. The entire campaign was conducted in a very measured and paced manner despite the result that the Germans were able to prolong the fighting in the Normandy hedgerow.

Napoleon failed to deliver a knock-out blow at Borodino and consequently failed to conquer the Russians. He had additional uncommitted forces at Borodino, notably the Imperial Guard, but was uncertain whether he should commit them in that battle. On a purely military basis, he could have decided that the commitment of his entire force might yield a decisive result, but the uncertainty he found himself under compelled him to save a significant portion of his force for a later battle that never happened.

The casualties suffered by the American forces at the battles of Ia Drang and Hamburger Hill in Vietnam cannot be compared in an abstract numerical manner. If you did, you might conclude that both of these battles were significant victories for the Americans in terms of the corresponding losses suffered by the NVA. However, historically we view the first of these as a heroic battle demonstrating the new tactic of airborne assault, while the second is viewed as a senseless shedding of blood to no good purpose. In each case, the concept of Casualty Budgets illustrates the basis for these situations and the decisions associated with them by introducing a concept that transcends the numerical victory/loss accounting that is normally done. In the case of Lee at Gettysburg, he was not in a position to commit his force to a substantial battle just on the basis of the initial clash that first day. By the third day, when it was clear that this battle would significantly determine the outcome of the war, he was prepared to commit his last remaining reserves in an all-or-nothing charge, something that just wasn't justified until then. At Normandy, the Allies and particularly the British were under significant political pressure to avoid what might be viewed as horrendous and unacceptable losses during the campaign. Although the total number of casualties suffered in the historical Normandy campaign was quite large, they were incurred over the course of the campaign and in such a way that they did not occur in such high numbers at any one time so as to invoke a serious political backlash as a result. Likewise, although Napoleon would in the end lose almost all of his force in the campaign, at the time of Borodino the situation was too early and uncertain for him to commit all of his forces to a decisive conclusion. He was compelled by his caution to hold back a certain portion of his force for later eventualities.
The THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) and Patriot air defense systems were both developed and manufactured by Lockheed, which made it easier to modify their fire control systems so both could use the superior radar and fire control system of THAAD. In February 2022 this was successfully tested when a Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile missile intercepted an incoming target detected by the THAAD radar.

THAAD is a step up from the Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile, which is an anti-aircraft missile adapted to take out incoming missiles. PAC-3 works, but has a limited (35 kilometers) range. THAAD was developed to defend against longer-range ballistic missiles that come at their targets at higher speeds than Patriot PAC-3 can handle. The changes to the THAAD fire control system enable THAAD to have Patriot handle targets it was designed to intercept while the more expensive THAAD missiles concentrate on missiles PAC-3 cannot deal with.

Each THAAD battery has 48 missiles and six launchers (an 8x8 truck carrying eight missiles in storage/firing containers) plus an AN/TPY-2 radar (on a tractor-trailer vehicle) and two truck mounted mobile tactical control stations. Total cost for each battery is about a billion dollars. The 6.2- meter (18 foot long) THAAD missiles are 340mm in diameter and weigh 900 kg (1,980 pounds). This is about the same size as the Patriot anti-aircraft missile, but twice the weight of the smaller PAC-3 anti-missile version of the Patriot.

The range of THAAD is over 200 kilometers, max altitude is 150 kilometers, and top speed is 2,800 meters (9,000 feet) a second. THAAD is intended for short (like SCUD) or medium range (up to 2,000 kilometer) range ballistic missiles. THAAD began development in the late 1980s and entered service in 2006. Originally the U.S. Army planned to buy at least 18 launchers, 1,400 missiles, and 18 radars. That goal has been adjusted as the number of export customers increases.

The United States has another BMD (Ballistic Missile Defense) system; the U.S. Navy RIM-161A, also known as the Standard Missile 3 (or SM-3). This missile has a longer range than THAAD (over 500 kilometers) and max altitude of 160 kilometers. The Standard 3 is based on the Standard 2, and costs over three million dollars each. The Standard 3 has four stages. The first two stages boost the interceptor out of the atmosphere. The third stage fires twice to boost the interceptor farther beyond the earth's atmosphere. Prior to each motor firing, it takes a GPS reading to correct the course for approaching the target. The fourth stage is the nine kg (20 pound) LEAP kill vehicle, which uses infrared sensors to close on the target and ram it. In addition to Patriot, Aegis and THAAD there is GBI (ground-based interceptor), a system specifically designed for intercepting ICBM warheads and only stationed in North America.

THAAD and Patriot are often used in close proximity to each other and operated by the same country. Patriot entered service in 1984 but PAC-3 was not available until 1995, with updates in 1996 and 2000. Any Patriot battery can be upgraded to handle PAC-3 by adding some software and hardware upgrades. The Patriot launcher can carry and launch four canisters each with one PAC-2 anti-aircraft missile or four of the smaller PAC-3 missiles.
Up-Listing of the Company's Common Shares to OTCQB Coincides with Receipt of DTC Eligibility, Enhancing Ability of Investors to Become Shareholders

DALLAS, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Armm Inc. ("Armm" or the "Company") (OTCQB: ARMM), a firearms lifestyle platform that is at the intersection of technology, Self Reliance and responsible gun ownership, is pleased to announce that its common shares have been successfully up-listed (the "Up-Listing") from the OTC Pink Sheet Open Market to the OTCQB Venture Market (the "OTCQB") by the OTC Markets Group Inc. ("OTC Markets"). The Company's common shares began trading on the OTCQB under the symbol "ARMM" as of the opening of the market on April 4, 2022. The Up-Listing complements the Company's previous receipt of DTC Eligibility.

Operated by OTC Markets, the OTCQB offers transparent trading in entrepreneurial and development stage companies that have met a minimum bid price test, are current in their financial reporting and have undergone an annual verification and management certification process. The OTCQB is recognized by the United States ("US") Securities and Exchange Commission as an established public market providing public information for analysis and value of securities. These standards provide a strong baseline of transparency, as well as the technology and regulations to improve the trading experience for investors.

Armm Inc. has a verified profile and is 12g3-2(b) Certified by OTC Markets. Investors or other interested parties in the US can obtain real-time quotes and access its most current news and other information at www.otcmarkets.com. Shareholders also now have greater access to information via the OTC Disclosure and News Service and transparent prices through full depth-of-book with Real Time Level 2 quotes.

"We are excited for Armm's common shares to be accepted onto the OTCQB by OTC Markets. We are firearms meets Facebook (Meta) meets masterclass without the big tech overreach and are uniquely positioned to strategically fill the educational void for the close to 10 million Americans that just bought a gun for the 1st time in the last 18 months. Given that we are part of an autonomous ecosystem that includes private servers, this mitigates our risk of being de-platformed. The listing of our shares on the OTCQB is important step forward for the Company as it makes it easier for investors to obtain information about our securities and the purchase of our common shares. Combined with DTC Eligibility, the Up-Listing enables investors who want exposure to the firearms and rugged outdoor sector to become shareholders and participate in our growth," said Mark Lawson, Chief Executive Officer of Armm Inc.

ABOUT ARMM

ARMM is a firearms lifestyle platform focused on SELF RELIANCE, and is disrupting the $51 Billion consumer firearms and rugged outdoor recreational market. The platform includes an app in which users can take safety & training course via the ARMM Academy, access firearms insurance products, firearms related apparel and accessories, and engage with like minded outdoor enthusiasts while gaining exposure to your favorite brands.

Safe Harbor and Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that involve expectations, plans or intentions (such as those relating to future expansion or financial results), and other factors discussed from time to time in the Company's OTC Markets filings. These statements are forward-looking and are subject to risks and uncertainties, so actual results may vary materially. You can identify these forward-looking statements by words such as "may," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "plan" and other similar expressions. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors not within the control of the company. The company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The company disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/armm-commences-trading-on-the-otcqb-marketplace-301518141.html

SOURCE Armm Inc.
STUTTGART, Germany  A contingent of V Corps soldiers uncased their unit colors Tuesday in Ansbach, marking a return to Germany for the headquarters as it helps coordinate Army efforts along NATOs eastern flank.

Once a mainstay in Germany during the Cold War, the unit is now carrying out its mission temporarily in Ansbach.

Throughout our units history, we have stood as guardians of peace in Europe, and we once again proudly answer the nations call, V Corps commander Lt. Gen. John Kolasheski said Tuesday in a statement.

Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine prompted the Pentagon to order 300 additional V Corps soldiers to Europe. The deployment will be reassessed in the coming weeks to better determine the units length of stay in Germany, V Corps deputy commander Maj. Gen. Robert Burke said during Tuesdays ceremony.

German officials at the ceremony extended a welcome to the incoming soldiers.

The speed with which American forces have arrived in Europe these past weeks have lifted spirits and given hope in many countries, said Johannes Urban, a representative of the Bavarian governors office.

The command operates on a permanent basis out of Fort Knox, Ky., and also at a forward headquarters in Poland.

In November, V Corps was declared fully operationally capable by the Army, which revived the unit to support a growing U.S. Army Europe and Africa mission.

That mission has grown further as the Pentagon puts thousands more forces in Europe to strengthen NATO amid the Russia-Ukraine war, which began with a full-scale invasion Feb. 24.

V Corps tasks involve managing the day-to-day operations of soldiers maneuvering up and down NATOs eastern flank, stretching from the Baltics in the north to Romania and Bulgaria in the south.

V Corps history in Europe dates to World War I. The unit was deactivated in 2013 as part of the Armys gradual drawdown in Europe.

The United States has been reversing its European military drawdown in the years since 2014, when Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine by force and began fomenting a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
It is now clear that tidal waves cannot be ruled out of decisions to wholly develop the country and bring some comfort to all the people.

This is because frequent tidal waves are giving sleepless nights to coastal residents, particularly in the Volta Region as well as parts of the Central and Western regions.

This is a perennial problem and more intense in the Ketu South District of the Volta Region as just recent records show that it has been suffering it continuously from 2017.

Therefore, in April last year, residents of Ketu South communities like Adina, Agavedzi, Amutinu, Blekusu and Salakorpe protested against challenges they were facing as a result of tidal waves and seeming lack of concern from officialdom.

Two months after the protest (in June), these communities suffered a devastation of tidal waves followed by another in November of the same year.

Unfortunately, months after the November disaster, on Sunday afternoon, tidal waves struck Agavedzi and Salakope in the Ketu South District.

The waves, as usual, have swept away homes and displaced affected people and also washed away sources of livelihoods of some of the people.

Being natural occurrences, tidal waves are difficult to control but not impossible to do anything about.

Studies have found that an offshore defence wall can, at least, reduce the wave heights, which means less devastation.

The Ghanaian Times believes that it is on this basis that the government for decades has been working on a sea defence wall in Keta to contain the ravaging of the waves in the town and its surrounding communities.

This paper agrees with the affected communities that even though sea defence projects are very expensive, the government must source funding to continue work on the defence wall being built in the region.

This is a legitimate appeal judging from the trauma they go through on daily basis.

Some of the affected residents and others say the continuous ravaging of the sea has left them in constant fear and anxiety, which prevents them from sleeping soundly, not even in alternative accommodation offered them anywhere.

The residents of communities affected by the waves are appealing that if nothing done urgently, the whole communities along the coast will be swallowed up by the sea.

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The Ghanaian Times is aware of the country's budget constraints but anything to contain the waves must be prioritised to bring some solace and mental stability to the people.

Anytime disasters occur in this country, state officials visit victims and give them various promises of helping them to get out of their problems.

Most of the times, the officials' actions and promises turn out to be charade as such officials, particularly the politicians among them, fail to return to such communities except during political campaigns.

On the basis of that, the Ghanaian Times wishes to appeal to the Municipal Chief Executive for Ketu South, Maxwell Lugudor, to ensure that the government's commitment to addressing the perennial problem is solved once and for all is made a reality and not another empty promise by a state official, who must not have been authorised by the political establishment to speak on its behalf.

Also, this paper and other media outlets would monitor the commencement and progress of work on 15 units of two-bedroom self-contained accommodation the assembly intends to put up on a 37-acre land for people that have lost their homes to the ravaging sea.

The Ghanaian Times wishes to remind Mr Lugudor that the 37-acre land is too much for just 15 of the housing units he himself has described and so he should disclose its boundaries and all that will be done on it.

The country would not like to hear the story later that public officials have taken a larger part of it for their private use.
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa  The U.S. Army on Okinawa on Tuesday denied a local newspapers claim that a Marine pointed his rifle at a Japanese reporter during a security exercise at a U.S. military port last week.

Reporter John Matsumoto photographed the masked Marine  his rifle at chest height and its muzzle facing the camera  on Thursday evening at the Naha Port Facility. The Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper published the photograph the following morning.

I have taken photos of many exercises, but that was the first time that someone pointed a gun at me, Matsumoto said in the report.

Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki called the incident outrageous as he passed reporters at the prefectural offices Monday and proof that the U.S. military regards Okinawans as an enemy, according to the Okinawa Times on Tuesday.

But the Marine in Matsumotos photograph could not have seen the photographer or pointed his weapon at him, an Army spokesman told Stars and Stripes on Tuesday. The photograph was taken with a telephoto lens at a distance of 820 feet, 10th Support Group spokesman Army Maj. Richard Barker said in an email.

The image captured of a Marine maintaining a security posture has been mischaracterized as threatening a reporter positioned outside the base's fence line at a significant distance. We reject this mischaracterization, Barker wrote. The Marine was scanning his position, per basic defensive procedures, and possessed no live ammunition or hostile intent.

The weapons position, with its side and the edge of the barrels interior visible, proves it was not pointed directly at the reporter, Barker said.

Matsumoto took down his Twitter account after Japanese commenters criticized him for sensationalism, Barker said. Matsumoto was unavailable for comment on Tuesday, according to his editors at the Ryukyu Shimpo.

Tsuyoshi Arakaki, the papers associate managing editor and news director, told Stars and Stripes by phone that Matsumoto was a considerable distance from the Marine when the photo was taken, but he still felt threatened.

It is possible that the soldier did not intend to threaten the reporter, but I think it is regrettable that there was a behavior that made our reporter feel threatened, Arakaki said.

The Military Base Affairs Division of Okinawa prefecture has not decided whether to respond to the incident, a spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday.

Government spokespeople in Japan typically speak to the media on condition of anonymity as a condition of their employment.

The Army gave prefectural officials advance notice of the exercise from 4 to 6 p.m. at the port, Barker said, information that was posted on the prefectures Military Base Affairs Division Twitter.

During the exercise, soldiers and Marines with unloaded weapons practiced their responses to foreign aggressors, he said. The Armys 835th Transportation Battalion conducted the exercise.

Matsumoto photographed the scene from a stepladder along the base fence line, Arakaki said. At approximately 5:30 p.m., the Marine turned in Matsumotos direction, paused for several seconds, and made eye contact, Arakaki and the article said.

A video on the incident posted on the Ryukyu Shimpos YouTube channel had more than 58,000 views by Tuesday afternoon.
The Navy officer who oversaw the fuel storage facility thought to be the source of jet fuel contaminating the water supply to thousands of homes on and near Joint Base Pearl Harbor was relieved of duty Monday, the Navy said.

The Navy took the action against Capt. Albert Lee Hornyak, commanding officer of Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center, citing a lack of confidence in his ability to perform his duties following a series of leadership and oversight failures at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Honolulu, a Navy statement said Monday.

Hornyak had served as commanding officer since August. Rear Adm. Kristin Acquavella has been temporarily assigned as commanding officer while a replacement is identified, the Navy said.

Rear Adm. Peter Stamatopoulos, NAVSUP commanding officer, relieved Hornyak of duty. Stamatopoulos also will assign additional senior fuel supply experts to assist Acquavella, the statement said.

It wasnt clear where Hornyak was reassigned. Commanding officers are typically sent to a higher headquarters command following an involuntary relief, while their future with the service is determined.

Hornyak previously served as the military deputy at the Office of Research and Engineering, director of Advance Capabilities, Prototyping and Software in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from September 2020 through July, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He also served as the ordnance logistics director for U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor from August 2018 to September 2020, among multiple military assignments since 2003.

The decision to remove Hornyak follows an additional spill Friday at the beleaguered underground facility, which the Navy said released no more than 30 gallons of a water and fuel mixture.

That spill  the third in less than a year  happened during routine maintenance that flushes water out of holding tanks, the Navy said in a Friday statement.

In November, Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Pacific Fleet, ordered an investigation into the causes of Nov. 20 and May 6 fuel leaks from Red Hill after jet fuel turned up in one of three wells the Navy uses for its water distribution system.

Last month, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the facility permanently closed.
Workers safely removed jet fuel over the weekend from a Navy aircraft that crashed in Virginia last week, killing one crew member and injuring two others.

The fuel was emptied Saturday from an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye that crashed near Wallops Island and the coastal town of Chincoteague while on routine operations, the Navy said in a statement.

The Navy didnt specify how much fuel had been removed from the plane.

But measures were taken to ensure that environmental safeguards (were) in place to protect the local ecosystem throughout the entirety of the defueling process, Alan Kersnick, the Navy on-scene coordinator, said Sunday in the statement.

The Navy is working with local and state officials on salvage planning efforts, the statement said.

The Hawkeye was attached to VAW-120, the Greyhawks Command and Control Squadron. It crashed Wednesday, killing Lt. Hyrum Hanlon, a pilot. The crash remains under investigation.

news@stripes.com
Pacific Northwest neighbors Oregon and Washington offer terrain ideal for training special operations troops, but while Army Green Berets have trained in one of those states in recent years, the Navy SEALs have had their plans derailed in the other.

On Friday, a judge in Olympia, Wash., sided with an activist group that had been fighting a decision to allow the Navy limited use of some two dozen waterfront parks for nighttime SEAL training. Group members said they didnt want the Navys ninjas creeping around areas reserved for recreation.

The Navy had trained in the coastal recreation sites for more than 30 years, state officials said. But the service paused activities in the face of organized opposition to the renewal and expansion of a five-year agreement that expired in 2020.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge James J. Dixon rescinded permission for the SEAL training, ruling that state law does not give Washingtons parks and recreation commission the power to let parks be used for military purposes.

But about 70 miles southwest of Olympia in Astoria, Ore., at the mouth of the Columbia, Army Green Beret training continued last year with little attention or outcry, just as it has for some five decades, officials told Stars and Stripes.

The coastal terrain and conditions in both states provide valuable training grounds for special operations troops, officials in both services say.

The main difference between the two services approach seems to be that the Army coordinates with property owners to use their land and facilities rather than drilling its personnel on state grounds.

Opponents of the Navys use of Washington state parks were concerned about SEALs making amphibious landings, carrying simulated weapons and lurking in the dark, which they described as creepy.

In public comments, many residents said they would stop using the parks as a result.

Thats a significant adverse impact on recreation, even if the recreational users never see the so-called ninjas in the woods, Zachary Griefen, an attorney representing Whidbey Environmental Action Network, said in a court hearing that was recorded and shared online.

Griefen said the Navy itself has described the SEALs as training to be essentially the ninjas.

At a meeting of the state parks and recreation commission in November 2020, however, Navy Chief Warrant Officer Esteban Alvarado said the SEALs are not your Rambo guys or the loud explosion guys.

In the 1982 movie First Blood, starring Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam veteran John Rambo, the former Green Beret battles the military and the police after fleeing into the forest outside the fictional town of Hope, Wash.

The SEALs, Alvarado said, are like ninjas, the guys who ghost into the environment and they disappear.

He said Puget Sounds coastline, cold water and currents provide a challenging environment that cant be found anywhere else in the continental U.S. and forms a critical cornerstone of training them to be undetected.

Astoria, which was the setting for much of the 1985 movie Goonies, also has been a frequent stomping grounds for the Armys goons, as some special operations troops refer to themselves.

The width of the river, the strength of the current and the areas forested surroundings make for a premier training experience that would be impossible to replicate on any federal installation, said Maj. Natasha Fultz-Castro, spokesperson for 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

The conditions challenge the Green Berets riverine and marine capabilities with the kinds of difficulties they might face in the Indo-Pacific region, she said in an email.

But their training events are carefully designed to prevent injury or disruption to civilians, Fultz-Castro said, and mostly are held in rural areas or controlled situations. As a result, the Green Berets dont attract much notice, she added.

Though 1st Group was shown in Army public affairs photos and videos last year near Astoria conducting helicopter insertions and exfiltrations, both day and night, there appeared to be no local news stories about it.

There also appeared to be little evidence of the earliest Special Forces training in the area, which Fultz-Castro said began when a company of 12th Special Forces Group (Airborne) soldiers returned from Vietnam and created an unconventional warfare training scenario involving Portland and Astoria residents.

One of the few Green Beret activities in the region in the past 50 years that garnered much press was in 1971, when 22 Special Forces members based at Fort Bragg, N.C., ended a four-month trek retracing the Lewis and Clark expedition in rubber rafts.

The group of Vietnam veterans landed in Astoria in September and held a ceremony at Fort Clatsop, a National Park Service historical site near the mouth of the Columbia River.

But against the backdrop of widespread resistance to the U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, a group of local Democrats passed a resolution denouncing the 3,200-mile trip and the use of tax dollars to sell the Pentagon and militarism.

Dixon also evoked domestic political tensions in his ruling against the Navy in Washington state, citing the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

He also referred to Russias ongoing war against Ukraine, noting that some Russian troops had said they initially believed that the full-scale invasion launched on Feb. 24 was an exercise.

In light of such events, Dixon held that the state parks commission had failed to consider the creep factor of letting the SEALs infiltrate public recreational areas and the effect that would have on enjoyment of the parks.

Naval Special Warfare Command did not immediately respond to a Stars and Stripes query about its training plans or Dixons ruling, which could be appealed.

In 2020, Navy officials said they also had considered using private facilities.
(Tribune News Service)  Right around New Years Day, 1945, the Japanese army released an unmanned balloon from the east coast of the main island of Honshu.

It was made of 600 pieces of paper glued together, in all likelihood, by schoolgirls. It measured 33 feet in diameter and when fully inflated held about 19,000 cubic feet of hydrogen. It carried several incendiary bombs.

The balloon rose into the currents of the jet stream and began its long path eastward. It was equipped with an ingenious equilibrium system that spit out hydrogen when it climbed too high and dropped sandbags when it dipped too low. The teardrop-shaped specter crossed 6,200 miles of the Pacific Ocean in two or three days, and finally fell apart on Jan. 4, 1945, landing in an orchard off Vine Hill Road, just east of Forestville.

It was 5 or 6, and Dad and I were going out to bring in the goat for the evening, said Terence Alberigi, who was 14 at the time and still lives in the area. We heard a whistling sound, and we saw this thing fall from the sky. It hit an apple tree and broke a branch.

Alberigi, now 91, estimates the contraption landed 150-200 feet from him and his father, Frank. It fell behind a workmans cabin, Terence said. We werent that far from it.

Frank Alberigis reaction? What the hell is it? his son recalled.

The Alberigis didnt know it, but the strange occurrence was part of a coordinated campaign by the Japanese military to bomb the U.S. mainland in a slow-motion, unguided onslaught. Between November 1944 and early April 1945, it is believed, the Axis power launched roughly 9,300 weaponized balloons.

Most probably fell into the ocean, but the U.S. government logged 285 incidents on its soil  balloons spotted, fragments found or explosions plausibly related. One killed six people in Oregon, the only enemy-inflicted casualties on the U.S. mainland in World War II.

The incident at the Alberigi farm, an attack by a foreign power on a private residence in Sonoma County, should have been banner news for The Press Democrat. Especially because, as the newspaper would later write, hundreds of people saw the balloon sweeping inland from the Jenner area, highlighted by the rays of the setting sun.

But The Press Democrat didnt reveal the story for more than eight months. Just hours before the balloon hit the Alberigis apple tree, the U.S. Office of Censorship issued a nationwide gag order on the press, seeking to tamp down the terror the Japanese were hoping to instill.

The success of the censorship order is nearly as unbelievable as the operation that inspired it.

A number of countries tried to use hot-air balloons in battle before World War II. The Japanese were the first to mount a sustained campaign. They called it Operation Fu-Go.

The first balloon bomb was set free on Nov. 3, 1944. The last few set sail around this time of year, 77 years ago. Fu-Go ended after that as American B-29 raids disrupted Japanese hydrogen production.

Axis military leaders knew the balloons were too unpredictable to inflict major damage. The goal was trigger dread in U.S. citizens  just as American planes had terrified the Japanese when they bombed Tokyo in the Doolittle Raid on April 18, 1942. A secondary goal, which surely resonates today, was to ignite forest fires in the Pacific Northwest.

The footprint of the bombardment was vast. Army Air Corps planes shot down balloons in the Aleutian archipelago, part of Alaska. Fragments were found as far east as Michigan, and as far south as Mexico.

The Japanese were more successful than they knew. One bomb caused a momentary loss of electrical power at the atomic energy plant in Hanford, Washington  a facility that would ultimately produce materials for the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

And on May 5, 1945, Rev. Archie Mitchell and his wife, Elsie, took five 11- to 14-year-olds from their Sunday school class for a picnic and fishing excursion on nearby Gearhart Mountain in Oregon. Elsie Mitchell was pregnant with their first child. As the reverend was moving the car, the rest of the group found a strange object on the forest floor. It was a Japanese bomb. It exploded, killing Elsie and all the children.

Almost none of it made the newspapers or radio bulletins at the time.

When the balloon fell on their property, Frank Alberigi called the Sonoma County Sheriff.

The next day, three or four Army trucks full of soldiers came out, and they were looking all over the place for bits and pieces, said Terence, a retired librarian who worked at City College of San Francisco for 26 years. They were probably there all day. We had two dogs, and they loved it. They got more attention.

The Army guys were ballistics experts from Hamilton Field near Novato, according to a story that ran in The Press Democrat on Aug. 16, 1945, the day after the censorship order was lifted. The FBI was there, too. Authorities stored the device for two days in the lobby of the sheriffs office in Santa Rosa, and at one point invited Press Democrat editors and reporters to examine it.

Terence Alberigi said he might have told a neighbor about the balloon, but mostly kept it quiet.

That incident is one of 285 listed in a G-2 Periodic Report  a series of World War II operational documents  from Aug. 4, 1945, and later published in an account by Robert C. Mikesh in a 1973 edition of Smithsonian Annals of Flight. (As many as 1,000 balloons may have reached North America, with many going unnoticed in remote terrain.) Assigned as  Sebastopol, California, it was the 11th documented incident; just the sixth to strike the U.S. mainland; and the first in this state.

The G-2 notations read, Paper balloon, including envelope fragments, rigging, and apparatus, landed at 1815 PWT.

Thats pretty close to Alberigis recollection: A tangle of ropes, and some wood.

In his 2014 book Fu-Go: The Curious History of Japans Balloon Bomb Attack on America, author Ross Coen devotes an entire chapter to the Vine Hill fragments, writing that, From a military intelligence perspective it was one of the most significant incidents becasue the undercarriage of the balloon offered more intact equipment than any recovered to that point.

The carriage included a wooden box with a clear plastic top, Coen wrote. Inside was a sealed wet battery and about a quart of slushy liquid with a peculiar chemical odor. Attached to the outside of the wooden box was a small metal container with what looked like a detonator. The fuse leading to this device had worn through a few inches from its connection point, perhaps explaining why the detonator failed to function.

The slushy liquid was later determined to be an antifreeze solution, necessary to keep the battery running in the subzero temperatures of the upper atmosphere.

The most significant discovery from Vine Hill: four damaged incendiary bombs, still attached to the aluminum wheel that suspended the sandbags. As The Press Democrat wrote in August 1945, None who examined the infernal machine realized at the time that an avid bomb in the mechanism could have exploded at any time, causing death and destruction.

The day after Vine Hill, balloon scraps turned up in Napa; analysts deduced they were part of the same vessel. The G-2 report also noted balloon paper fragments found in West Cloverdale on March 12, 1945, and Guerneville on March 18.

The Press Democrats August 1945 story mentioned additional examples. Remnants of a balloon were found near the Mount Jackson mine on March 23. (There was debate over whether this, too, was part of the Vine Hill balloon.) Scraps were uncovered near Geyserville on May 15. And a bomb started a fire near Cotati in June, though The Press Democrat wasnt sure if it had arrived via a Japanese balloon.

The most dramatic event came on Feb. 23, 1945, when a balloon was spotted over the Mayacamas range. The military dispatched a Lockheed P-38 Lightning from Santa Rosa Army Air Field  now the site of the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport  and shot it out of the sky near Calistoga.

That was the first of only two known instances of a U.S. plane bringing down a Japanese balloon. The other happened about a month later, near Reno, Nev.

The last incidents related to Fu-Go in the G-2 report occurred July 20, 1945  an undetonated bomb in Oregon, and a balloon envelope in Nevada. But nearly a decade after that, the Department of Defense confirmed that a Japanese bomb still highly explosive and dangerous even after exposure had been found in Alaska.

As Mikesh wrote for the Smithsonian Institution in 1973, It would be safe to assume that ... hundreds of balloons and their bombs have yet to be discovered.

phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com .

(c)2022 The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.)

Visit at www.pressdemocrat.com
TOKYO  The daughter of a former Air Force officer is on her way to Brown University to pursue a degree in medicine, but she didnt take the easy path to get there.

Naomi Jack, 18, graduated No. 1 in a class of 277 at Hiroo Gakuen Junior and Senior High School, a Japanese school in central Tokyo. She also received the schools Chairmans Award, given to one elite and model student, during her March 5 graduation ceremony.

She was an amazing student, teacher Micah Wetzel told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday. She always knew what she wanted to achieve and worked hard to achieve her goals. She was also willing to help other students.

Naomi attended Hiroo Gakuen after spending her elementary years in Department of Defense Education Activity schools at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, where her father was a DOD employee until retiring in 2016.

I felt extremely overjoyed after receiving my acceptance to Brown, she told Stars and Stripes by email March 23. It felt as though my long-held passions and recognition of my hard work all intersected at that moment.

Naomi was born in Utah to Keiko Jack, originally of Chiba, Japan, and Lloyd Jack, an Air Force officer and native of Brooklyn, N.Y. The family was stationed at Hill Air Force Base at the time. When they moved to Yokota in 2004, Naomi went to pre-school at a Japanese-run day care.

Afterward, Naomi attended Yokota West Elementary and Yokota Middle School through grade seven, Lloyd Jack told Stars and Stripes by email March 23.

He retired from the Air Force in 2010 as a lieutenant colonel and went to work as the civilian chief of plans and resources for the 374th Communications Squadron. He said the family decided to send their daughter back to the Japanese school system when he left his civilian job in 2016. By then, Naomi had spent seven years in DODEA schools.

Were very proud and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for her at Brown University and the chance to pursue medicine, which is her passion, Lloyd Jack said.

Naomi went first to Keimei Gakuen, a Christian school near Yokota for three years, then transferred to Hiroo Gakuen, a college preparatory school, where she took classes in English and Japanese

Being educated in the Japanese schooling system was at first difficult due to classroom culture rather than the language, Naomi said. The system is very results oriented. My school would post the rankings of the students exam scores for each subject after the midterm and final exams.

Posting her scores for her peers to see was discouraging, at first, she said. I was embarrassed that my peers would judge me based solely on my academic ability.

Naomi said she also quickly realized the limits of her Japanese speaking ability. But she turned those obstacles to her advantage.

It was empowering and, honestly, surreal, she said. Throughout my time in a Japanese junior and senior high school, there were many moments where I doubted my abilities to not only excel academically, but also socially with my classmates due to my lack of confidence in my Japanese language skills.

Those doubts kept her from joining school clubs or trying for leadership positions, Naomi said. Eventually, her Japanese improved, and during her junior year she interned at Meiji University International Institute and worked on a research project to find treatment options for Marfan syndrome, a debilitating genetic disorder of the connective tissues.

I realized that my cultural background and experiences as an American student was an advantage as it opened me up to realizing connections and making observations that werent as apparent to my Japanese peers, she said.

In December, Naomi was accepted into the class of 2026 in Liberal Medical Education, the undergraduate program that segues into medical school at Brown, the Ivy League school in Providence, R.I.

She said the acceptance letter proved the value of self-confidence and her unique path.

I remember looking back on my journey transferring to a Japanese school from a [DODEA] school and how that environment change has shaped who I have become and led to what I have achieved, she said.

Stars and Stripes reporter Mari Higa contributed to this report.
TOKYO  A capability to strike enemy bases would let potential adversaries know theyd pay a price for attacking Japan, according to the countrys defense minister.

The Japanese government, in closed-door hearings the past few months, has heard from security experts about possibly acquiring the means to conduct counterstrikes, Kyodo News reported Monday.

The Defense Ministry plans discussions over acquiring this capability, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said in another Kyodo report Tuesday.

Chinese Communist Party channels screened a video last summer that threatened a nuclear strike if Japan intervenes in war over Taiwan, Australias Sky News reported July 19.

North Korea test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile March 24 for the first time since November 2017. The missile splashed down in waters within Japans exclusive economic zone, prompting Vice Defense Minister Makoto Oniki to call it a serious threat to our countrys security.

Theres a consensus among Japanese defense experts that their country needs a strike capability, according to Tetsuo Kotani, a senior research fellow at The Japan Institute of International Affairs.

Japan operates Patriot and Aegis missile defense systems on shore and at sea. But simply aiming to defeat incoming missiles from China and North Korea will not be enough, Kotani told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday.

We are trying to introduce counterstrike capabilities, he said. We will rely on existing missile defense systems to intercept the first wave of missiles but after missile strikes start, we need to eliminate the missile launchers or runways in enemy territory to disrupt their operations.

The Japanese government might allow the U.S. to deploy medium-range guided missiles inside Japanese territory, Kotani said.

Deployment of U.S. missiles is more politically sensitive but as the war in Ukraine shows, enhancing air defense and missile deference is critical for national security, he said.

The U.S. military is developing new ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles, Kotani said, noting Americas 2019 withdrawal from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia, which had prohibited such weapons.

Japans pacifist constitution can be interpreted to permit the country to acquire a strike capability, according to retired U.S. Marine Col. Grant Newsham, a senior researcher with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo.

Japan has finally woken up to the fact that they are pretty much defenseless (against Chinese missiles), he told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday.

However, Japan hasnt thought through whats needed for an effective strike capability, such as the intelligence and surveillance required to target enemy facilities, Newsham said.

Some of the Japanese rationale for seeking the new capability is concern about Americas reliability as an ally, he said.

The country would be smarter to focus on improving the military capabilities it has and recruiting and retaining more troops, Newsham said.
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  Representatives for North Koreas leader and South Koreas president-elect volleyed threats of nuclear attack and pre-emptive strikes in public on Tuesday.

Seoul would not hesitate to strike without the slightest error to a threat or provocation from Pyongyang, Kim Eun-hye, spokeswoman for President-elect Yoon Seok-youl, said at a press briefing. Pre-emptive strikes, she said, are one of the actions accepted in the world.

Yoon, whose public stance favors stronger ties with the United States, is scheduled to take office May 10.

Earlier Tuesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns sister, Kim Yo Jong, threatened nuclear retaliation against the South in the event of a conflict, while simultaneously dismissing its military as a viable threat.

North Korea will not fire even a single bullet or shell toward South Korea because we do not regard it as a match for our armed forces, she said in a statement released through the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

Kim Yo Jong, along with being part of North Koreas ruling family, holds a post in the ruling Workers Party of Korea.

We have already clarified that South Korea is not our principal enemy, she said in Tuesdays statement. In other words, it means that unless the South Korean army takes any military action against our state, it will not be regarded as a target of our attack.

However, she continued, North Koreas nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty during a military conflict.

Kim Yo Jong was responding to remarks Friday by South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook, who spoke during a reorganization ceremony for the Army Missile Strategic Command.

Suh said the South Korean military could strike any North Korean target accurately and swiftly, including sites from which attacks appeared to originate.

South Koreas Army Missile Strategic Command is being revamped to deal with omnidirectional security threats being raised day by day, Defense Ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan said on Jan. 20.

Kim Yo Jong described Suhs comments as abrupt bluffing that shows South Koreas military is frightened.

Suh spoke Friday as a representative of the Moon Jae-in presidency, which ends in another month, Kim Eun-hye said Tuesday. She referred reporters questions to the Defense Ministry.

North Korea has conducted at least 11 rounds of missile tests so far this year, including an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the continental United States.

South Korea on March 24 held its own missile drill to show its capabilities and its will to react, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a message to reporters.
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KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany  An additional COVID-19 booster shot for adults ages 50 and over and younger people with certain underlying health conditions will soon be available at many U.S. bases in Europe, military health officials said Tuesday.

It will be a fourth jab for most, and a fifth for those with conditions that made them previously eligible for three primary doses.

The Army in Europe received authorization this week to administer another booster shot following Defense Health Agency approval, said Gino Mattorano, a spokesman for Regional Health Command Europe.

The vaccine is voluntary and only available at least four months after the first booster was administered.

The intent of the second booster is to provide better protection against developing severe COVID-19 illness for these at-risk populations before another potential COVID wave hits, Mattorano said.

Some military treatment facilities have already started offering a second booster, Mattorano said, while many are developing plans to offer another round of the vaccine. More details are expected to be released soon, he said.

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the Armys largest hospital overseas, is planning several booster events in the coming weeks, but details are still being worked out, he said. Information will be posted on the hospitals public website and on Facebook, Mattorano said.

The U.S. Naval Hospital in Naples also announced last week that it will offer a second booster of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to those eligible.

It doesnt matter what type of vaccine people have previously taken, the hospital said.

Additional booster shots at Army bases in Europe also will be either Moderna or Pfizer.

Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily, Naval Station Rota in Spain and Naval Support Activity Souda Bay in Crete did not provide information about whether they also would be offering second boosters.

Meanwhile, the Air Force in Europe is beginning to offer second boosters.

Ramstein Air Base in Germany will administer them to the eligible population Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the 86th Medical Groups vaccination clinic, said Lt. Col. Jaime Rojas, the groups chief of aerospace medicine. Appointments are available through the DHA portal at https://informatics-stage.health.mil/COVAX/.

Ramstein will offer Moderna on Mondays and Pfizer shots the rest of the time, Rojas said.

In addition to adults 50 and over, anyone 12 and older considered to be moderately or severely immunocompromised is eligible for another booster shot, according to DHA, which is using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Younger people who qualify include cancer and HIV patients, and anyone with conditions that depress the immune system or require immunosuppressant drugs.

The CDC allows for mix-and-match dosing of booster shots for adults. Those in ages 12 to 17 years old are eligible only for the Pfizer vaccine.

People younger than 50 who received two doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine also are eligible for either a Moderna or Pfizer booster, Mattorano said.

Though much of Europe has relaxed pandemic restrictions, many countries still are seeing high case numbers. In Germany, home to tens of thousands of U.S. service members and their families, as well as older U.S. civilians and retirees, the rate of new coronavirus infections reached record highs last month.

Army health care providers in Europe may prescribe the antiviral drug, Paxlovid, to COVID-positive patients who are at risk for developing severe cases of the virus, Mattorano said.

Those who believe they are at high risk after contracting COVID-19 should promptly contact their health care provider, Mattorano said. To be effective, the medication must be administered early on in the course of the infection.

Naples and other Navy bases in Europe did not respond to a question asking whether they were offering COVID-19 antiviral drugs being endorsed by the Biden administration.

A Naval Medical Forces Atlantic and Tidewater spokeswoman said Tuesday they were working on answering the question and others related to the availability of second booster shots.

Stars and Stripes reporter Alison Bath contributed to this report.
Unity Party National Assistant Secretary-General for Press, Publicity and Outreach Cornelia Kruah -Togba has warned authorities at the National Elections Commission (NEC) not the tamper with the party's candidate Galakpai Kortima in the upcoming Lofa County senatorial by-election.

According to her, the Party's has met all of the requirements concerning the nomination process at the National Elections Commission.

Speaking on the OK FM Thursday, March 31, 2022 Madam Kruah-Togba further said, the Unity Party has also met the requirements as a political party under the law of Liberia that grant the party its constitution and legal rights to feed candidate in the Lofa County Senatorial By-Election.

She alleged that Liberty Party's embattled Chairman Musa Bility is interfering into the decision by the NEC, something she alleged that he is now boasting both on the social media and those he interacts with.

The Unity Party National Assistant Secretary-General for Press, Publicity and Outreach said the party will not accept anything but to ensure that their candidate who is a resident of Lofa County is declared candidate by NEC.

She said contrary on the part of the National Elections Commission to revert its decision not give party's candidate the constitutional legal rights to contest in the By-Election, will be a recipe for conflict and the NEC will meet stiff resistance from the party.

Kruah-Togba further indicated that the National Elections Commission has been working with the Unity Party as a single party signing documents.

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She said, in the original framework documents that were signed by the four Collaborating Political Party at the time, did not have such a provision that she alleged was criminally infused into the framework documents by the Alternative National Congress (ANC), a crime that is now in court.

She said it was due to such crime committed on the part of the ANC that prompted the Unity Party to end the political marriage in line with the constitution and the original framework documents.

Kruah -Togba urged authorities at the NEC not to allow the country to go back to those dark days in the country's history due to electoral dispute and irregularity.

She disclosed that the Unity Party is an independent Political Party in Liberia that is in compliance of all the legal laws and the constitution of Liberia, stressing that the UP is no longer a part of the Collaborating Political Party( CPP).

The Unity Party National Assistant Secretary-General for Press, Publicity and Outreach said their focus is for the party to win the senatorial by-election in Lofa County, the stronghold of the party.
The Treasury Department on Monday prohibited Russia from withdrawing funds held in American banks to pay its debt obligations, a major escalation aimed at forcing the Kremlin to pick between a catastrophic default and other difficult economic measures.

Until now, the Biden administration had allowed Russia to continue to repurpose the substantial funds it has kept in U.S. financial institutions to make required payments on its sovereign debt. But with two large payments coming due - and amid the ongoing atrocities in Ukraine - the Treasury Department changed course, blocking the Kremlin from processing payments on the Russian bonds.

The measure means that Moscow will have to default because of missed debt payments or repurpose other government funds to meet those payments. Russia continues to bring in large amounts of money from oil and gas exports because of European dependence on Russian energy, but it has faced the increasing strain of Western sanctions. The United States and allies have announced multiple steps to hurt Russias economy, curbing the countrys technology exports and imposing sanctions on Russian financial institutions, the defense sector and government officials. Preventing Russia from using its international reserves to pay its debt creates another financial problem at a time of already enormous economic strain for the country.

Russia has 30 days to find another way to meet the two payments. A default would make it more difficult for Russia to borrow from international lenders, dramatically pushing up the cost of borrowing for the Kremlin.

Beginning today, the U.S. Treasury will not permit any dollar debt payments to be made from Russian government accounts at U.S. financial institutions, a Treasury Department spokeswoman said in a news release. Russia must choose between draining remaining valuable dollar reserves or new revenue coming in, or default. . . . This will further deplete the resources Putin is using to continue his war against Ukraine and will cause more uncertainty and challenges for their financial system.

The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on the new U.S. measure, which was reported earlier by Reuters.

The Biden administration is under growing pressure to escalate its economic strikes against Russia as scenes emerge of massacres of civilians in Ukraine. Treasury officials have argued that the steps taken so far have punished Russia with nearly unprecedented speed, telling reporters in a call Friday that Russias economy is projected to contract by more than 10% this year.

By other measures, Russias economy has weathered the economic countermeasures announced so far. After initially falling dramatically, the ruble has bounced back to close to its preinvasion value. And even though about half of Russias foreign reserves have been hit by sanctions, the Kremlin still has access to them at a premium to offset the costs of the war, according to Philip M. Nichols, an expert on Russia at the University of Pennsylvania. Nichols said Russia appears well-equipped to keep paying its debts for many months, even if the sanctions make doing so more expensive and difficult.

The sanctions are doing what theyre meant to: Theyre causing low-level, but fundamental, stress on the Russian economy, Nichols said. But in the short term, were not going to see anything approaching a collapse in the Russian economy, and, in many respects, they will keep chugging along undeterred.

The United States is contemplating other economic punishments, including sanctions in response to reports of Russian massacres of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv. Edward Fishman, a former Russia and Europe sanctions lead at the State Department, said the move announced Monday would further strain Russias government. But he has called for going much further by imposing secondary sanctions that would effectively force the world to have to pick between trading with the United States and trading with Russia.

This is narrowing the economic flexibility the Russian government has. Its a significant move, Fishman said. It presents the Russian sovereign with much more difficult choices about how to use its precious hard currency.
AUSTIN, Texas  The state adjutant general on Tuesday promised better use of National Guard troops deployed to stop crime along the Mexico border with funding for the mission due to run out by the end of the month.

I think you'll find an output of my assessment will be that it will be more rotational and more sustainable over time, newly appointed Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer said during a Texas Senate Committee on Border Security hearing. We can be more effective and efficient. We need to do so, and, in turn, that will drive the cost down.

Now three weeks into his appointment as the commander of the Texas Military Department, Suelzer said reducing the number of troops working at the border will make it less burdensome for the state and the service members who received one-year deployment orders. There are about 10,000 state troops along the Mexico border now.

If the mission, known as Operation Lone Star, continues in its current form, it will be out of funding by May 1, Suelzer said. The Guard would need about $531 million to maintain its current force at the border through the end of the fiscal year in Texas, which is Aug. 31, he said.

Personnel is a big cost, Suelzer said.

In March and April, the payroll for Operation Lone Star is expected to cost $100 million, according to a contract posted online.

The deployments also come at a big cost to some troops, who are pulled from their civilian lives and jobs not knowing when theyll return home, said Sen. Juan Chuy Hinojosa, a Democrat from the border town of McAllen.

I really don't understand the number of having to use 10,000 National Guard troops for border security. I think they can do the job, the same job, with a lot less, said Hinojosa, who served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.

Troops primarily work at observation posts along the Rio Grande and also install fencing and coiled barbed wire along the border. About a dozen soldiers also provide paralegal support to counties that have become overwhelmed by increased arrests spurred from the mission, said Brig. Gen. Monie Ulis, commander of Operation Lone Star.

By using more boats along the river and contracting out other jobs not unique to military forces, Suelzer said he can send some troops home and save the state money.

We're looking at all these things to see if we can drive that number down as we move into this last phase of the fiscal year and possibly into the next fiscal year, he said.

Since Operation Lone Star began in March 2021, Texas National Guard troops have worked in partnership with the Department of Public Safety to stop criminal activity between the legal ports of entry connecting Texas cities to Mexico.

Of those troops deployed, about 6,500 work in counties directly along the Rio Grande, while the remainder support the mission from elsewhere in the state.

The governor authorized troops to arrest anyone breaking Texas laws, stopping short of immigration enforcement, because that is a federal activity. Troops have been involved in 123,000 arrests, Ulis said. Those people are turned over to Texas DPS or U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The efforts stem from Abbotts assertion that the federal government is not doing enough to stop illegal immigration at the border. Last year, he made it a priority of the Texas Legislature, which responded by increasing its biennium budget for border security from roughly $800 million in 2020-21 to more than $2.9 billion in 2022-23.

About $411 million went to the Texas Military Department, which includes the Texas Army and Air National Guards and the Texas State Guard. Abbott approved an additional $480 million be redirected to the Guard in January from other state agencies to help further fund the mission.

Abbotts office was able to move the funds by backfilling public health and safety payrolls in other agencies with federal money sent to Texas for coronavirus relief, Sarah Hicks, the governors director of budget and policy, said Monday during a hearing with other agencies associated with Operation Lone Star. This could be done again with an additional $600 million, she said.

We have already spent close to $3.9 billion, and I don't see that the immigration challenges we're facing on the border will stop anytime soon, Hinojosa said. I am very much concerned that we can sustain this type of spending. Perhaps, but how long? It is something that we need to prepare for.

Senators also said illegal entry into the U.S. has continued to climb during the year since Abbott began his border security mission. Hinojosa expressed concern that a shift in federal immigration policy next month will further increase illegal activity.

President Joe Biden announced he will end a pandemic-driven border policy known as Title 42, which allowed Border Patrol agents to send migrants back across the border quickly because of concerns they would spread coronavirus. The policy is scheduled to end May 23.

Border Patrol has said about one-third of people found crossing illegally between ports of entry are repeat offenders and were expelled under Title 42.

Ulis told senators that Border Patrol and DPS have said there are about 1.7 million people in Central and South America as well as in northern Mexico watching the policy.

All indications are that those individuals will make their way to the United States in between the [ports of entry], he said.

The initial surge of troops to Operation Lone Star came in September when a group of about 14,000 mostly Haitian migrants entered the U.S. through the Texas city of Del Rio seeking asylum. In the following two months, the mission doubled from about 5,000 to 10,000 state troops.

The rapid expansion caused problems with troops receiving their correct paychecks and left many scrambling to deploy on one-year orders with little notice. The Guard hastily built six base camps along the border to house troops and the poor conditions caused morale to drop.

I don't think that you all pay enough attention when a National Guard person is asking for hardship discharge, or at least an exception or exemption, based on their family back home and health care issue that they have to take care of. Those are the very issues, in many ways, that simply have been ignored or not given enough attention, Hinojosa said.

Concerns about the deployment have also come from Democrats serving in the Texas House and Congress. U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from El Paso, said last week on a call with reporters that she has not heard back about whether the Texas Military Departments inspector general will conduct or has conducted a review of the mission, as she and other lawmakers requested.

Regardless, she is now looking at ways to provide federal oversight on state-sponsored Guard missions.

Some kind of pathway that would allow the federal government to either withhold funds or be able to better control the misuse and, indeed, the abuse of our National Guard as what we've seen happen under Gov. Greg Abbott, she said.

Texas Guard officials told state senators that many of those concerns brought up early in the mission have been resolved.

Morale has increased significantly, Ulis said.

One of the biggest concerns from troops was the living conditions at the six base camps established in border locations where there isnt enough hotel capacity to house troops. Service members were sleeping in windowless trailers capable of holding up to 36 people in three-tiered bunk beds.

Two of the camps now offer troops four-person rooms, Ulis said. Two more are between 70% to 90% complete and two have not yet begun the transition.

The pay accuracy rate is now 99.4%, Suelzer said.

State Sen. Bob Hall, a Republican from the Dallas area, pressed military leaders on why they had such challenges and whether they are reviewing how to prevent similar problems in the future.

Pay is not an uncommon thing in our society, said Hall, a former Air Force officer. With all the technology we have, I just have a hard time understanding why that particular aspect of it is so difficult to get right.

Suelzer said theyve focused much of their efforts on fixing a pay system that is manual and relies heavily on the contractor. They are piloting a new system beginning this month that could be running by September.

These folks that are in the Guard, many live paycheck to paycheck and a hiccup is a ripple  through the entire family structure, Hall said.

He also urged Suelzer to review the necessity of having so many troops at the border, specifically those serving in support or administrative roles to agencies outside the Texas Military Department. He also called on the Guard to employ more technology that can expand reach without using troops.

Suelzer agreed.

Let's not all along the border have soldiers staying at points. Let's have them moving up and down the river in boats. Let's have them using aerial vehicles or ground sensors to take the place of many additional troops, he said.
-In Curriculum Revisions Board in Bong

Cuttington University Campus, Bong County-USAID Transforming the Education System (TESTS) implemented by RTI International in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the National Commission on Higher Education has concluded a three-day Curriculum Revisions Board Workshop at the Cuttington University Campus in Suakoko, Bong County.

USAID's development partnership with Liberia dates back to the very founding of the Agency in 1961. As the largest bilateral donor in Liberia, the United States plays an influential and vital role in many aspects of Liberia's development.

USAID/Liberia has strived to ensure that the Agency's development strategy for Liberia complements and supports the Government of Liberia's development vision as articulated in its Agenda for Transformation and other national development strategy documents.

In particular, USAID partners with the Government and people of Liberia to address the underlying structural and institutional problems that gave rise to fourteen years of civil strife and war, while at the same time tackling the Country's more immediate development needs and challenges.

Given the objective of the workshop, USAID-Liberia Deputy Education Office Director, Barton Pogue said the workshop was intended to adopt a new core curriculum for Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Primary Education students at eight higher education training institutions.

He said the curriculum adopted at the end of the workshop will be used to train more than 3,500 teachers and help improve ECE and Primary Education instructional delivery in Liberia.

Mr. Pogue said the curriculum standardization and adoption process is coordinated by Mississippi State University in the US.

Remarking at the opening ceremony of the workshop, Cuttington University President Dr. Romelle A. Horton thanked USAID Liberia for their huge contribution to the development of the University.

The Cuttington University Interim female President at the same time lauded USAID for selecting the University to be part of the Curriculum Revisions Board Workshop in the County.

For his part, the Director-General of the National Commission on Higher Education in the Republic of Liberia, Prof Dr. Edward Lama Wonkeryor lauded the effect of USAID Liberia for always helping the Liberian government through the revamping process of the education system of the Country.

He said USAID Liberia has always been hugely involved in the transformation process of the education system of Liberia.

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The National Commission on Higher Education Director General revealed that in other for Liberia to be transformed in this 21st century, there is a need to educate the younger generation or people of the Country, adding this is why USAID and the American people are using taxpayers' dollars from the United States to help train Teachers to develop Early Childhood Education curriculum in other to meet the global standard.

Prof. Dr. Edward Lama Wonkeryor further appealed to USAID Liberia not to only train the 3,500 teachers, but rather they should do everything possible in their power to train at least 18 to 20 Liberians from various higher institutions of learning in the area of Early Childhood Education; so that the program will become sustainable and there will be a continuous after the departure of USAID.

The workshop which was held from March 28 - 30, 2022 on the Campus of Cuttington University brought together hard profile educators from eight of Liberia's higher institutions of learning.
Having overhauled its investment strategy to slash its own carbon footprint, BayTrust has been enjoying record financial returns and is now championing its sustainable investing approach to other trusts around New Zealand.

To align with its purpose of ensuring Bay of Plenty communities and the environment flourish, BayTrust is working to ensure its entire $250m+ investment portfolio is truly sustainable by 2030 by only investing in companies that provide goods and services consistent with a low-carbon, prosperous, equitable, healthy and safe society.

It is already well on its way to achieving its short-term goal of halving its carbon exposure by 2025.

It has also resulted in BayTrust recording the second highest return of any NZ community trust (24.3 per cent) in the last financial year  helping to justify its approach and the principle of sustainability when it comes to investing in todays global market.

When I first joined BayTrust, we had exposure to stocks such as tobacco, armaments and fossil fuels producers, to name just a few, says chief executive Alastair Rhodes.

It was very traditional. Effectively the primary question for our investment advisors and the trust was what is the financial risk and what is the financial return? The impacts of these investments were not considered.

Now we are putting climate change risk and opportunities, as well as sustainability, at the heart of every investment decision we make to align with our core purpose of ensuring Bay of Plenty communities and our environment can flourish.

We fundamentally believe this approach is going to provide superior financial returns as this is where the best and brightest want to work, where capital is flowing and where the regulatory environment is supportive.

 If youre investing in companies that dont think about carbon exposure or climate change, they will likely be poor investments over the next 10 or 20 years  which as a perpetual trust, is our investment horizon. Why would you not want to invest in companies that have a positive impact?

BayTrusts success to date is now being shared with other leading New Zealand trusts, who collectively manage over $5 billion worth of funds and distribute profits to their local community organisations, groups and projects.

Rhodes recently shared BayTrusts journey with representatives of the community trusts of Aotearoa New Zealand which has initiated The Funders Commitment on Climate Action to better understand climate action needs, issues and opportunities, show leadership, share learnings and undertake individual and collective action on these issues.

Rhodes urges fellow trusts to act immediately.

If you set targets for 2040 or 2050 its kicking the can too far down the road, and increasingly climate change evidence points to the fact we only have five or 10 years to act to mitigate the worst long-term impacts. If you set targets that are only three or four years out, that means you have to start now and you cant ignore those deadlines.

BayTrusts investment committee chair, Steve Napier, says a sinking lid policy was initially applied to reduce BayTrusts exposure to fossil fuels before its SIPO (Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives) was updated to ensure it aligned with its sustainability ambitions.

For every single investment decision, we now not only look at its financial risk and return, but also its impact which includes social and environmental as well as our Te Tiriti o Waitangi commitments.

Every fund manager we look to invest in, we measure against these things, and the investment needs to improve upon what weve already got to assist with our 2030 goal of being truly sustainable.

Napier says investing in sustainable companies aligns with BayTrusts core purpose, values and beliefs.

And as a long-term investor were seeing increasing evidence that it provides superior long-term adjusted returns as well.

Rhodes acknowledges it can be difficult to measure a companys carbon footprint but thats no excuse not to try. Instead of focusing solely on how many carbon tonnes are emitted per $m invested, BayTrust instead looks at how many degrees of global warming BayTrusts portfolio is contributing to  a measure which people understand better and can relate to.

While BayTrust has reduced its own carbon exposure by 90% in its global equity and emerging markets portfolio since 2018, those results reflect the easy wins and the next stage will be a lot harder.

BayTrust will also be looking for more carbon positive opportunities around the world to help with the transition to a greener future and has committed to increasing its impact investments to 20 per cent of its investment portfolio (~$50m) within the next 10 years, with much of this to be invested in innovative BOP housing models to help with the current local housing crisis.

At the moment, we see more opportunities offshore than in New Zealand in terms of impactful infrastructure opportunities. And as climate change knows no boundaries, we can invest offshore while continuing to explore national opportunities.

Weve already invested in offshore wind farms and theres significant opportunities in the US and Europe around helping to decarbonise their energy sector.

We will be targeting investments that assist with the transition to greener and climate-friendly economies, particularly in the unlisted private equity and infrastructure space.

BayTrust plans to upskill its staff and trustees further in this area and is looking to involve more climate change sustainable investment experts.

There used be that saying, you cant have your cake and eat it, but I think its clear now you can actually invest really positively and get those superior financial returns at the same time.

The full video of Rhodes recent presentation can be accessed on Climate Action Aotearoa and he is more than happy to come and share BayTrusts journey and their learnings with other investors across Aotearoa.

The session was facilitated by Linn Araboglos, CEO of Wellington Community Trust, alongside other representatives from community trusts and funders.

The community trusts also invite all philanthropic funders in Aotearoa to sign up to the voluntary pledge and to access resources.
As emergency ambulance staff continue to face unprecedented demand, St John is asking New Zealanders to have a heart of gold and support its annual appeal this April.

St Johns Heart of Gold Annual Appeal is the most significant fundraiser of the calendar year, but this year the call for the public to support St John with a donation is as important as ever.

Last year, 111 call volumes increased almost 10 percent nationwide to more than 600,000 and St John ambulance officers attended over 400,000 emergencies  about five percent more than the previous year.

This pressure comes on top of ongoing year on year increases in demand for emergency ambulance services which have experienced unprecedented demand in recent months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, St John predicts 2022 to be an even busier year.

Our Heart of Gold Annual Appeal is about showing kindness and helping in a time of need. As demand on our services has increased, our ambulance staff have continued to step forward and be there for communities throughout Aotearoa. In return, we have seen incredible acts of support from the public  and their ongoing support right now is as important as ever, says St John Chief Executive, Peter Bradley.

Due to the ongoing risks associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, this is the second time in recent years St John has had to make the decision to cancel nationwide street collections and other face-to-face fundraising activities such as bake sales and sausage sizzles in order to keep New Zealanders safe.

Unfortunately, this significantly hampers the ability for St John to connect with the community at a local level and thank donors and supporters in person.

With ever increasing pressure on ambulance services, through this years Heart of Gold Annual Appeal St John aims to raise two million dollars to go towards much needed support for ambulances and lifesaving equipment.

We appreciate the continued funding and support we receive from the Government for our ambulance service, as well as the generosity of the public that helps to ensure we maintain the best level of critical care to our patients. We are extremely grateful to every individual and group that offers their support, says Bradley.

The importance of funding ambulances and lifesaving equipment became immediately apparent to one Blenheim family recently.

Eleven-year-old Aiden McKendrick was playing in a friends swimming pool with his 14-year-old brother, Liam, when he noticed his siblings face go blank and become unresponsive.

Very quickly, Liam sank to the bottom of the pool and Aiden recalls there was no time to be scared  he had to save his brothers life.

I swam down and pulled up his arms and brought him to the surface. It was kind of scary at that moment because I was smaller than him and because the pool was slippery  I couldn't touch the bottom of the pool, says Aiden.

Once adults had pulled Liam out of the pool, Aiden was able to put him in recovery position, something he had learned through the ASB St John in Schools programme.

We had St John come to our school to teach us what to do in an emergency a few days before, so I knew what to do, recalls Aiden.

St John ambulance officers arrived, treated Liam and took him to hospital where his family was told hed had a tonic-clonic seizure. Aidens bravery and quick thinking led to the ambulance crew nominating him for an ASB Super Saver Bravery Award, which was presented to Aiden at the St John Blenheim ambulance station.

Saving lives is a team effort, says Bradley.

We saw this in Aidens actions  how he applied what he had learned in the first aid training he received from St Johns community education team at school, coupled with the swift and expert response from our caring paramedics.

We have also seen this in the tremendous support and generosity the public have shown us over the years and we look forward to seeing their hearts of gold again this year, says Bradley.

Donations to St Johns Heart of Gold Annual Appeal can be made online by searching St John Appeal, directly at heartofgold.org.nz, by texting APPEAL to 2790 or by calling 0800 ST JOHN (0800 785 646)
Analysis of new data from birds fitted with transmitters has revealed North Island kaka flying long distances and even taking an avian OE.

Kaka are a native parrot usually found in ancient forests. They have central North Island strongholds in the Pureora Forest and on offshore islands.

Known for their boisterous antics and raucous socialising in the early morning and late evening, kaka face threats from habitat loss and introduced predators., little has been known about the birds seasonal movements.

In a joint project involving DOC and Manaaki Whenua  Landcare Research, GPS and VHF transmitters were fitted to 25 birds near Hamilton and Morrinsville, with flight movements tracked through 2020 and 2021.

For many years weve known about kaka visiting some towns and rural parts of the Waikato over winter  places that dont look like typical kaka habitat, and a long way from known breeding areas, says Neil Fitzgerald, Manaaki Whenua Researcher.

We wanted to find out where these birds were coming from and to try to start to understand why. By identifying important sites and threats we hope to help make their conservation as effective as possible.

Kaka have been tracked with different gadgets in the past but those devices had limitations, with relatively poor accuracy or being easily lost if a bird moves far from where researchers know to look.

The VHF tags used in this work allowed researchers to track the birds for detailed observation of feeding and other behaviour.

These new GPS tags allow us to see where they go, anywhere in New Zealand, and with accuracy that often allows us to identify which tree they were in, he says.

Through winter and early spring, the monitored North Island birds typically stayed within a few kilometres of where they were tagged  as expected. From late spring, 10 moved at least 100 km away, and another six between 35km and 55 km away.

One of the things that has surprised me most is, so far, we havent tracked any birds to Waipapa Ecological Area, which has a very healthy, relatively close population thanks to years of good control of pest mammals, says Neil Fitzgerald.

It illustrates how the movements of highly mobile birds like these are much more complicated than just distance.

DOC Science Advisor Terry Greene says the GPS data is another piece in the puzzle in the study and protection of these birds. There have been reports of kaka appearing in urban environments like Hamilton and Auckland, and it was assumed the birds were from nearby forested areas and island sites. However, the new data from the GPS tracking suggests its possible roving kaka embark on a sort of avian OE, zooming around having a look at the place.

In the first year several tagged birds went to Hauraki Gulf islands including Kawau, Aotea and Hauturu, while in the second year, birds have stayed more around the Waikato.

Of particular interest was one bird fitted with a GPS which completed 1000km round trip encompassing various points around Waikato, Coromandel and islands in the Hauraki Gulf  a travel distance and behaviour never encountered before in study of kaka.

Kaka are hugely mobile in the landscape  as shown by the new research and GPS monitoring  and that has implications for ongoing protection of the species.

How do we ensure theyre protected as they travel around, and their populations expand? The new information from the GPS study has given us some great new insights into the species, and a lot to think about, too.

The new research and data suggest some of the birds habitats have increasingly higher densities of kaka  particularly in some known mainland environments.

The solar-powered GPS tags sent regular, accurate location data, revealing movements over large distances and potentially long time periods. The tags sit on the birds like a little backpack, with a harness that goes carefully under the wings. When the kaka are released, they tend to test their new accessories for a short time then go back to usual kaka business.

DOC carries out aerial 1080 and ground-based toxin operations to control predators in known kaka habitats like the Pureora Forest. Kaka are classed as at risk  recovering.
Although the More FM Mount Everest Challenge ended on Sunday, the charity fundraiser is still open for donations for another week.

More FM Promotion Manager Kelsey Harrap is delighted that more than $80,000 has been raised for Good Neighbour through the 50-day challenge.

It was my first year organising the challenge and I had set myself a goal of $50k, says Kelsey. So I was more than happy with the latest tally.

The challenge, which ran from February 12 to April 3 has so far raised $81,085. The challenge is now on to see if it can reach $85,000 before the end of the week.

Over the last eight years, More FM has raised $462,000 for local charities. In 2015, $95,000 was raised for surf clubs, while in 2016, Homes of Hope was the chosen charity with $45,000 raised.

The list goes on: 2017 - Womens Refuge, $71,000; 2018 - Waipuna Hospice, $120,000; 2019 - Riding for the Disabled, $63,000; 2020 - Rescue Helicopter, $32,800. Last year St Johns received $36,200.

More FM wants to continue to grow this to support various charities in the Bay of Plenty, but they can only do it if people seize hold of this challenge, whether its participating in climbing or donating to those who are.

I am already looking forward to organising next year's challenge, says Kelsey.

Kelsey and the More FM team will be presenting a cheque to Good Neighbour in the coming weeks.

We will be handing over a large cheque to Good Neighbour once the Give a Little page closes, says Kelsey.

We have kept it open for an extra week for last minute donations.

To donate, go to https://givealittle.co.nz/event/mount-everest-challenge-2022
A Consumer NZ comparison has found that ink tank printers are about 16 times cheaper to print than a similar ink cartridge model.

Consumer purchased two printer models, the refillable ink tank Epson ET-2850 ($499), and a near-identical Epson XP-3100 ($149) ink cartridge model to identify the differences.

The ET-2850 EcoTank printer looks expensive next to the seemingly identical XP-3100, says Consumer test manager Paul Smith.

I picked up the more affordable printer on sale for just $49, so it seemed a bargain. But manufacturers can be sneaky. You pay much less for cartridge-based printers like this because they know youll end up paying much more for ink in the long run.

In the box, the XP-3100 Epson includes black and colour ink cartridges thatll print 130 pages each. However, the ET-2850 EcoTank printer is supplied with enough ink to print about 6500 black and white pages and 5200 colour pages.

Youll need to buy 13 of the best-value, high-capacity ink cartridges to match the out-of-the-box printing from the ink tank printer. That $49 printer doesnt look such a bargain when you add in those extra cartridges  it works out costing $170 more than the ink tank printer.

It gets worse, too, says Paul. If I was to go on and print another 7500 black and white pages, the extra ink for the EcoTank would cost just $35 compared to $600 for the equivalent cartridges. Thats less than half a cent per page to refill the ink tank, compared to 8 cents per page if you buy cartridges. And its even worse if you print in colour.

All four major home-printer companies sell ink tank models alongside a range of cartridge-based printers. They say customer preferences vary and the cartridge models are good value for people who dont need to print very often.

However, if youre looking to get a printer at home, youre better off getting something that doesnt drain money every time you need to replace the ink, says Paul. Even if you only print occasionally, the cartridge costs soon add up.

In the trial, there was very little difference in the performance of the two printers. Both produced good-quality printing, easily connected wirelessly to WiFi, printed directly from connected devices and were intuitive to use through the Epson print app. They are both multifunction devices, so they can duplex print, copy and scan.
SUU to Hold Campus-Wide Forum on Hope

Published: April 04, 2022 | Category: Special Events

As war and natural disasters continue around the world, Southern Utah University will host a forum on Hope, in a Time of War, Natural Disaster and Instability. The event will be Tuesday, April 5 in the Great Hall starting at 1:00 PM.

We continue to witness many troubling developments around the world. These include the current war in Ukraine, continued conflict in North Africa, natural disasters in Polynesia, and many others, said SUU provost Dr. Jon Anderson. Many in our campus community are looking for hope and understanding. They also need an outlet to express the emotions we all feel.

The forum will consist of three parts. The first section will include brief comments from international members of our campus community who have been directly impacted by war, natural disaster, and instability. The second portion will include messages from campus leaders about proactive approaches we are taking to prepare and protect our campus community. The third portion will focus on finding hope and learning about how we as individuals might contribute to global relief efforts in affected nations.

For those who are unable to attend the forum, the event will be recorded and made available for future viewing.

Contact Information:

David Bishop

435-586-5400

davidbishop@suu.edu


Nimba County Wee-gbeh District Commissioner, Kenech Kuoh Miapuie has appealed to the Liberian Government through the Ministry of Internal Affairs to empower local leaders, especially commissioners.

According to Commissioner Miapuie, commissioners are not respected within their areas due to the lack of empowerment.

Speaking recently during a Community Engagement and Outreach on the National Road Fund of Liberia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs Engagement with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) Capacity Building Workshop in Sacleapea, Nimba County, the strong female Commissioner said most of the times, citizens do not respect their offices only because they are not fully empowered with logistics and finance.

Commissioners Miapuie further said one of the major factors that is responsible for the attitude of citizens not respecting their leaders is politics.

"Before you and myself were born, we used to see our parent's side brushing the roads to every village, but as we speak, politics beating us, because how many days should I go on the media and tell my people to side brush their roads if I am not funding them or I'm not having the finance to empower them, it will be difficult", she said.

She also expressed graduate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and that of the Ministry of Public Works for providing information relating to cleaning their community's roads through side brushing as a national and patriotic duty as citizens to maintain their roads.

Commissioner Miapuie said, with the new information regarding the road, there is a need for the government to empower them for effective implementation of monitoring and ensuring that the roads are kept clean at all times.

"The CBOs, because they are getting funding from the road fund, they do not recognize my office as Commissioner, but they are my people, we will work together, but if we are not empowered, we will not be able to empower them", she said.

She also vows to ensure that no resident within their area will take sand from the road within their communities, stressing that the community Watch Forum officers will arrest anyone who will be in such habit to undermine the road.

Commissioner Miapuie further urged the residents to voluntarily side brush their community roads and the major roads within their areas, indicating that her inspector will visit the various communities and towns with in the district.
The clerk of the National Assembly of The Gambia, Momodou A. Sise, on Thursday paid a courtesy call on the clerk of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom.

John Benger welcomed his Gambian counterpart and delegation on a brief discussion on the roles, responsibilities and key challenges in running their parliament.

The latest engagement was part of bilateral punctuation to the week-long working visit of parliamentary staff of the West African State to the UK parliament in Westminster.

Mr. Sise pointed out that the practice, procedures and processes of The Gambia are generally informed by the Westminster model.

The clerks discussed their roles as constitutional and principal procedural advisers.

Clerk Sise thanked Benger for the reception accorded to his delegation to learn and share parliamentary processes, best practices and administration.
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The Commission on Political Debate (CPD) in collaboration with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) with an objective to promote accountability, peace, stability, issue-based political dialogue, and diverse political opinion ahead of the 2022 Parliamentary Election and beyond on Thursday concluded a parliamentary debate for Foni Bondali constituency candidates.

The debate was held at Mayork Senior Secondary School Hall.

The debate was meant for three independent aspirant candidates - Ousman Marcus Nyassi, Ousman Jallow, Pa Dembo Sanneh and Kaddy Camara, an Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) candidate.

However, Kaddy Camara of APRC and Pa Dembo Sanneh, an independent candidate did not attend the debate.

During the debate, aspirant candidates debated on their oversight functions as National Assembly Member candidates, the presence of ECOMIG soldiers in Foni, fundamental human rights and freedoms as well as socio-economic activities.

Ousman Jallow, independent candidate and Bondali youth leader in highlighting his oversight functions, said he would engage government to cater for public facilities for his constituency, adding that his priority will be for his people to engage in farming (agriculture).

He also expressed his intention to empower women by helping them register and get funds from projects.

He went on to say that he would also sensitise his people on their civic rights and responsibilities, human rights and freedom limitations.

Jallow stated that the presence of ECOMIG soldiers in Foni is a threat to the peace people of the area as Foni is close to Cassamance. He demanded that the ECOMIG forces be replaced by Gambian or other foreign soldiers.

Ousman Marcus Nyassi, also an independent candidate, said the minister of Agriculture should endeavour to engage Gambians on farming to minimize poor harvest as well as provide fertilizer for farmers.

He further stated that the provision of medical drugs to hospitals across the country should be a prioritised for the Ministry of Health.

Hannah Forster, board chairperson for the Commission on Political Debate, thanked their partners for their support and collaboration and candidates for participating in the debate.
A hot potato: Amazon's reputation for having a toxic work environment has been strengthened by a report that claims the company's planned internal messaging app filtered words that could make it sound bad or related to unions.

According The Intercept, the planned employee messaging app has a filter that flagged words many have come to associate with Amazon's working conditions through years of negative reports on the company.

Some of the blocked terms included "union," "slave labor," "grievance," "living wage," "prison," and "plantation." Even using the word "restrooms" was disallowed, likely due to claims that many employees, especially delivery drivers, are forced to urinate in bottles because of the unrealistic targets and deadlines imposed on them.

The publication writes that in November 2021, Amazon held a meeting where executives discussed plans to create a social media platform specifically for employees that would highlight co-workers' performance using posts called "Shout-Outs."

The idea was for these Shout-Outs to be integrated into Amazon's gamification rewards system that awards employees with virtual stars and badges for high productivity. But there were warnings about the "dark side of social media," so it was agreed that employee posts would be monitored if the platform ever became a reality.

A list of words was devised that would be blocked if they appeared in any employee messagesthe app was to be more like dating app Bumble, where workers engaged with each other one on one, rather than something more traditional like Facebook.

In addition to profanities, words that could be critical of Amazon's workplace and practices were banned. "union," "grievance," "pay raise," and "compensation" were off-limits, along with "ethics," "unfair," "slave," "master," "freedom," "diversity," "injustice," "vaccine," and "fairness." Even phrases such as "This is concerning" or "This is dumb" were on the list.

Amazon gave a statement defending its plan, saying that even if the internal platform went ahead, only "offensive and harassing" words would be flagged, while many (but not all) of those on the list would be allowed.

"Our teams are always thinking about new ways to help employees engage with each other," Amazon spokesperson Barbara Agrait said in a statement to The Verge. "This particular program has not been approved yet and may change significantly or even never launch at all. If it does launch at some point down the road, there are no plans for many of the words you're calling out to be screened. The only kinds of words that may be screened are ones that are offensive or harassing, which is intended to protect our team."

Back in January, the controversial Amazon FC Ambassador program, which involved the retail giant paying workers to tweet about how amazing it is to work at the company, was shuttered.
In brief: Coming in at 1,299 RMB or just over $200, Xiaomi's Redmi Curved Monitor is an attractively priced bit of kit considering the features onboard. It's not extreme in any way but is sprinkled with decent specs throughout, including an immersive 1800R curved panel, high refresh rate and HDMI 2.1. It goes on sale in China later this week.

There are quite a few interesting things to note about Xiaomi's latest (and first) Redmi curved monitor. Apart from the low price tag, this ultrawide gaming monitor bears a rather sleek and minimalist look, with no extreme angles/design elements or RGB lighting in its chassis.

As for the specs, this 30-inch Redmi monitor features an ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio display with narrow bezels, 1800R curvature, a resolution of 2,560 x 1,080px and a fast 200Hz refresh rate. The 8-bit panel uses VA technology with 4ms GTG response times, 300 nits of peak brightness and 126 percent sRGB coverage.

The monitor's Chinese listing page mentions a 3000:1 contrast ratio (no HDR info, apparently) and support for AMD FreeSync Premium for tear-free, low-latency gaming. It's also reasonably equipped in terms of connectivity, which includes 2 x HDMI ports (1 x 2.1 and 1 x 1.4 spec), DisplayPort 1.2 and a 3.5mm audio jack.

The Redmi Curved Monitor will become available in China on April 8. It's currently unknown if Xiaomi has plans for an international launch.
In brief: General Motors and Honda have announced plans to co-develop a series of affordable electric vehicles based on next-gen Ultium battery technology. The partnership will leverage the companies' technology, design and sourcing strategies to enable production in 2027, catering to key markets including North America, South America and China.

The duo will also work toward standardizing processes and equipment to boost output and lower costs.

GM CEO Mary Barra said that by working together, the two will be able to put people into EVs faster than either company could achieve on its own.

"Our plans include a new all-electric product for North America positioned at a price point lower than the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV," said Doug Parks, executive VP of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain at GM.

Until recently, one major hurdle to adoption was cost. EVs won't become mainstream until they are readily available across a spectrum of price points. Vehicles like the Model 3 have brought us closer to that goal, but more variety is still needed.

The partnership will also help GM deliver on its commitment to eliminate tailpipe emissions from light duty vehicles in the US by 2035 and reach carbon neutrality globally by 2040. Honda, meanwhile, is on track to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

This isn't the first time the two automakers have joined forces. In 2018, GM and Honda came together to accelerate the development of advanced chemistry battery components for EVs. GM also helped Honda co-develop the Prologue all-electric SUV which is due out as a 2024 model.
China is trying to release its new e-CNY digital currency to four cities: Tianjin, Chongqing, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou. The central bank is now giving out incentives for banks, local authorities, and even tech firms to adopt the new e-CNY.

People's Bank of China Meeting Pushes for the Support of the Digital Yuan

According to the story by SCMP, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) made the official decision in a meeting held on Mar. 31, as per a statement released just recently. This will be the PBOC's first move when it comes to supporting the digital yuan.

The Xiamen and Fuzhou provinces will cover the program. In addition, the experiment on China's e-CNY will include cash reward bonuses to consumers and merchants for the acceptance of e-CNY as a form of payment.

Central Bank's Aim to Help Banks, Local Governments, and Tech Firms Benefit

The experiment showed initial feasibility regarding the digital sovereign currency. However, additional research and exploration are still needed to improve security, potential impact, and compliance when it comes to the current banking system.

As per the central bank, policies should be designed in order to stimulate enthusiasm and creativity when it comes to banks, local governments, and tech firms when it comes to the digital yuan's development, proliferation, and promotion.

US Treasury Former Senior Advisor Says e-Yuan Could 'Skirt US Financial Sanctions'

The active roll-out of China's digital currency has been moving ahead of other banks, including the Bank of Japan and the US Federal Reserve, which the source said raised "suspicion as to the Chinese government's intent."

A US Treasury former senior adviser, Robert Green, recently published an article noting that the upcoming e-CNY could "skirt US financial sanctions." The central bank of China's released summary did not include any mentions of the digital currency cross-border. It will be focused mostly on the use of the digital yuan domestically.

Read Also: China Tax Evasion Crackdown Now Targets Streamers! Streaming Platforms Now Ordered To Collect Taxes, Personal Info

e-CNY Gained a User Base of 261 Million Users At the End of 2021

The article by SCMP states that the e-CNY is a digital form of the country's fiat money that won't be easily convertible outside of the country. With that, the digital yuan experiments have taken place in Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Changsha, Xiong'an, Suzhou, Xi'an, Dalian, and Qingdao.

Central bank data shows that the e-CNY had a massive user base of 261 million users at the end of 2021, as per Yahoo Finance. This is about double the number of users that the digital yuan had back in October of last year.

There are already plans in Hong Kong to roll out a new pilot scheme for using the digital yuan in dining and shopping. This would make the special administration the very first offshore city that sees the use of e-CNY outside of the mainland, as per CEO of Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Eddie Yue Wai-man.

Related Article: Biden Administration To Regulate Crypto Transaction in the US? Here's Why a New Executive Order Might Be Approved

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian B.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Google experiences outages from time to time. Sometimes the search will operate, while the services themselves will have issues of their own.

There is also a possibility that the problem is on your end and not on the website. Here's how you can check of Google is really down.

How to Check if Google is Down or Not

Google does suffer technical issues, but that rarely happens. The first thing that you can do is to double-check it using tools like DownForEveryoneOrJustMe, IsItDownOrJustMe, Down.com or IsItDownRightNow.

Remember that an outage could be localized to your region, or the websites may show incorrect results, according to HowtoGeek.

If you think that there is an outage, you can check on social media websites like Reddit and Twitter. This sort of event does not happen often, and so people will be talking about it, especially if it is also affecting its other services such as Google Drive and Gmail.

There is a possibility that the problem is on your end, so it is best to check some remedies.

Also Read: Google Maps Outage Now Fixed After Technical Issues Surface Worldwide

Review Google's Service Status Page

Google's Workspace Status Dashboard shows the status of apps such as Gmail and Google Drive, according to LifeWire. If you are having issues access a certain product, that is a great place to begin.

If something is down, you will have to wait until the problem is fixed so you can get a resolution.

Try a Different App or a Different Browser

One of the first things that you may want to try is to use a different browser. Sometimes, there are issues with Safari, particularly using iCloud Private Relay, where Google searches hang.

These issues don't happen in Google Chrome or Firefox, so it is another example of why it is a good idea to have more than one browser in your PC or smartphone.

Google services such as Sheets and Docs usually always work best in Chrome, though most browsers should work just fine. Mobile users can use the corresponding app for Android and iOS to get the best results.

If you are having trouble with Google App for Android or iOS, try using your web browser instead and not the app. You can update or reinstall the app if the problem persists.

Restart Your PC or Smartphone

Turning your PC or smartphone off and on again is the fastest way to fixing a massive number of issues. If you are having issues searching Search or a particular Google service, reboot your device and try to launch it again.

Use a Different Connection Type

If the problem is caused by your internet connection, you can connect through a different connection type. If you are having trouble with your PC over your home wireless connection, you can connect using your smartphone over cellular.

You can create a hotspot and share your cellular connection with your home computer and try connecting that way, which may be a temporary fix in some instances.

If you find that switching to cellular works, you may want to reboot your network hardware to see if that fixes the issue. You can also check your ISP's service status page to see if any known issues are affecting the services.

Related Article: Google Cracks Down on 8 Fake Crypto Apps | Bitfunds, Crypto Holic, and More

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Written by Sophie Webster

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Toyota's plug-in hybrid vehicle sales figured in a dramatic decrease of up to 20 percent in the first quarter of 2022 in the United States.

On the other hand, the sales of the RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid increased significantly.

Toyota Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle Sales 2022

As per a news story by Inside EVs, Toyota Motor North America announced its sales report for the first quarter of 2022, wherein the Japanese carmaker admitted that it suffered 14.7 percent fewer shipments than in 2021.

Meanwhile, the luxury car division of Toyota that goes by the name Lexus also saw a decline in its sales in the first quarter of 2022, wherein it plummeted by 13.3 percent.

In total, the sales of both Toyota and Lexus for the first three months of 2022 are down by 514,592 units of shipments than their performance last year or in the first quarter of 2021.

On top of that, it is worth noting that the Japanese carmaker, which has dominated the world of fuel-powered vehicles, is now also venturing into electric plug-in cars.

However, Toyota plug-in sales declined by 20 percent, or 7,819 hybrid vehicles in the first quarter of 2022 when compared to the figures of the automaker in 2021.

Inside EVs noted in its report that Toyota offers three plug-in hybrid vehicles in the United States, such as the Toyota Prius Prime, the Toyota RAV4 Prime, and the new Lexus NX Plug-in Hybrid.

Toyota Prius Prime Sales

According to a recent report by Forbes, the Toyota Prius Prime is the top "biggest money-saving plug-in hybrid" vehicle for 2022.

The news outlet highlighted that the Prius Prime flaunts a 54 mpg when it is in hybrid mode. However, its EV power books up to 133 mpg for its first 25 miles.

Toyota Motors North America disclosed that the sales of the Prius Prime plug-in hybrid in the first quarter of 2022 sank by 63 percent.

Read Also: Man Tries to Scam Toyota for $4.3 Million but Gets Six Years in Prison, Taking Advantage of 150% Buyback With 350 Trucks

Toyota RAV4 Prime Sales

On the flip side, the Toyota RAV4 Prime plug-in impressively garnered a massive increase in sales of up to 87 percent in the same period.

Forbes stated that the hybrid more of the RAV4 Prime goes up to 38 mpg, whereas its EV power when it is running its first 42 miles boasts up to 94 mpg.

Related Article: 2023 Toyota Sequoia's Hybrid V6 Engine Boasts 437 HP | Here's What to Expect

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Written by Teejay Boris

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Apple speculations feature a new factor about the iPhone 14 Pro's rear camera and it is a bigger sensor that will apply to the same 48-megapixel lens at the back for a better shot. The new speculation points out to a new camera system but will not necessarily upgrade to a larger MP compared to the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi, and other smartphone manufacturers.

Apple's iPhone 14 Pro Rear Camera: 48 MP with Bigger Sensors

The leak and speculation about the iPhone 14 Pro's rear camera came from an account called "Fishing 8" on Weibo, a Chinese social media forum that discusses many things. The leak featured technical specifications of the iPhone 14 Pro's rear camera and it is one of the earliest that dove into the numbers and details.

The rear camera will open its sensors 21 percent bigger compared to the last iPhone 13 Pro, and it will remain the same 48-megapixel camera setup for its main telephoto lens. Other lens specifications remain as it is, particularly with the zoom lens and the macro lens that the Cupertino giant includes in its three-camera setup for the iPhone.

Read Also: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Leak Suggests Taller Screen, Satellite Features | No More 'Mini'?

iPhone 14 Pro to Retain 48MP, Not Changing Much

Mac Rumors said that the lens came from Sony, and many believe that the Japanese manufacturer made this for the company. It is the Dual Pixel Auto Focus camera that Apple showcases as the "Focus Pixels," bringing the camera system to its massive features for the public.

That being said, the 48MP camera is not changing as much as people speculated for the iPhone, but rather a larger sensor that would capture more light for better output.

The New Apple iPhone 14 Series

Right at the end of March, the famous Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, said that the iPhone 14 will sport a new camera bump that will be larger compared to older iPhones in circulation. Of course, the analyst also said that the camera will have a better configuration, but he also said that the device is going to feature the same 48MP rear lens.

That means the iPhone 14 series will not have much of a change for its rear camera, as opposed to what many thought would come.

Speculations and leaks also center on the iPhone 14 having significantly less storage compared to the iPhone 13 released as Apple's first 1 TB smartphone in existence. It may be so that the iPhone's last release did not see much of a massive sale or hype over the 1 terabyte expansion, or more people are going into the cloud service.

The new Apple iPhone 14 series may be coming this fall, and it will align exactly a year later since its last release since it is a regular release from the company. The new camera specs of the iPhone 14 Pro will bring a larger sensor that is enough for Apple to improve its capabilities and output, capturing more of the image compared to its last iPhone.

Related Article: iPhone 14 Leaked Renders Don't Show A Notch--Is Apple Finally Doing It?

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Written by Isaiah Richard

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Mailchimp confirms its security breach in the company that focused on an internal tool that threat actors exploited to include their phishing scam malware to dupe the public into giving up their details. The attack first happened with partner companies that use Mailchimp's service, particularly with Trezor which confirmed it over the weekend.

Mailchimp Breach: Phishing Attacks Due to Internal Tool

Tech Crunch reported that Mailchimp now recognized the breach that took over its systems and posed a phishing scam using its services for the public that uses its service. It greatly affected the services and partner companies that use its features for their needs, mainly as Mailchimp is a marketing automation platform.

The company recognized that its services got hacked via its internal tool that held the entry point for the threat actors to use against its services and enact its reign of terror for everyone. The internal tool made way for the threat actors to include its phishing scam within its offers, and it made a domino effect on the services that the company brings to the table.

The Mailchimp CEO Siobhan Smyth confirmed this attack and said that the company is well aware of this since March 26.

Read Also: Instagram iPhone Scam 2022: Avoid Becoming a Victim by Following These Tips; Limiting Mentions and More

Services Using Mailchimp Affected by Tool Hack

The Mailchimp breach got discovered by Trezor (via Bleeping Computer), a cryptocurrency wallet company that brings an online service for the public to hold and trade their digital coins. Trezor partnered with Mailchimp for its newsletters and email campaigns, with its partnership resulting in the breach that recently took place.

Security and Phishing Scams

There are numerous phishing scams in the world right now and many threat actors use it as a way to exploit the public in their goals to gather information and use it for many possible crimes. There are numerous systems flagged with phishing attacks, and one massive service is already used by threat actors to steal data, with Norton's security service's name.

Phishing scams cannot be helped at this time and it is because many members of the public fall for the method time and time again, as the system gets more complicated or complex. The act of phishing for information masquerades as a trusted website, and sometimes, the public may not see it as an act of hacking or giving up their information.

Microsoft recently discovered a phishing service on many subdomains on the web and warns the public of it.

Mailchimp's recent attack is a dubious one, but it convinced many to give up their information linked to the cryptocurrency wallet company that hackers effectively breached. Nevertheless, actions are made during this time, and it is to protect their systems and improve security for all the needs of the public, focusing on the many aspects that may be taken away from them.

Related Article: Lapsus$ Operations Are Ongoing? Bad Actors Might Still Be Active in Hacking Despite Recent UK Arrest

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Written by Isaiah Richard

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Elon Musk is asking Twitter users if they want to have an edit button, which has been a long-awaited feature in the social media platform, in a poll on the official account of the Tesla CEO and founder.

Elon Musk and Twitter

It comes as the billionaire tech entrepreneur recently announced that he owns 9.2% of the common stock of Twitter, which according to a recent report by Reuters, accounts for about $3 billion.

In turn, that makes the Tesla CEO the largest shareholder of the social networking platform, the news outlet added in its report.

Since then, the shares of the microblogging site have skyrocketed by an impressive 27 percent since Musk has disclosed his position in the tech giant.

Elon Musk's Twitter Edit Button Poll

As per a news story by Teslarati, the largest shareholder of Twitter, Musk, is now asking its users if they want its long-awaited feature, the edit button.

Musk posted a poll on his official Twitter account, asking the folks on the social media site if they "want an edit button."

There are two options on Musk's Twitter poll, a misspelled affirmative choice, which says "yse," while the other button says "on."

It appears that the billionaire tech exec could no longer edit the misspelled yes and no options in the poll, but users will get it anyway.

The Twitter poll of the Tesla boss already got a whopping 1.2 million votes as of writing, which could still rise in the next 21 hours until it is closed.

At the time of writing this article, about 75 percent of the 1.2 voters had agreed that Twitter should include an edit button.

On the other hand, about 25% of the respondents said they do not want an edit button.

Do you want an edit button?  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022

Read Also: Elon Musk: SpaceX Raptor Engines Are Superior Over Tesla-No Electric Option for Starship?

Elon Musk and Twitter Polls

Teslarati said in the same report that the tech billionaire has been using Twitter polls to understand what the customers of Tesla need.

In fact, the news outlet highlighted that Musk must have also used the poll feature on the platform to decide whether he is investing on Twitter.

The assumption comes after the Tesla CEO previously asked Twitter users if the social media platform adheres to free speech, wherein the results show that the majority believes otherwise.

Related Article: Elon Musk to Host 'Biggest Party on Earth'? Expects 15k People to Be Invited to the 'Cyber Rodeo'

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Written by Teejay Boris

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The company is suing a man it accuses of having sold information to a competitor

A former Telkom employee will not get his pension for now.

The former employee, who is being sued for over R200-million, will have to await the outcome of a civil case.

The judge said if the pension is released, any judgment against him will have no value.

Telkom has succeeded in "freezing" a pension pay-out to a former employee it is suing for over R200-million.

In a civil trial, Telkom alleges Andrew Johannes Jacobs sold information to its competitors. He resigned in October 2012, ahead of an internal disciplinary hearing.

Jacobs applied to the Pretoria High Court to have his pension released. He said his family was suffering financially due to an "inordinate delay" in proceedings against him.

Telkom launched a counter application asking for an interim interdict, preventing the payout of the pension money until the civil case is concluded.

Judge Ronel Tolmay, in her ruling last week, said on the facts before the court, it was in the interests of justice to grant the interim interdict, in spite of the inordinate delay.

"It is clear that if the monies are paid to Jacobs he will, on his own version, try to meet his existing financial obligations which would, in turn leave Telkom with no recourse. Any judgment against him would have no value.

"The disputed evidence is serious and potentially criminal. As a result I am of the view that it is in the interests of justice to grant the interdict."

Read the judgment here.

The judge said the civil trial would probably be set down for hearing during the course of this year, or next year, and the parties could apply for an early date from the deputy judge president.

The judge said the law pertaining to the withholding of pension benefits and the rules of the relevant pension fund provided that a benefit may be retained where legal proceedings have been instituted or a criminal charge had been laid and, on the face of it, the employer had a reasonable chance of success in either forum.

Judge Tolmay said evidence before her was that Telkom had laid a criminal charge in 2013 under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. Jacobs was not prosecuted but in 2021 his attorney had been informed by the NPA that a criminal matter was proceeding.

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In 2014, Telkom had issued a summons against him.

Telkom produced emails indicating that the NPA had asked that it hold back on the civil proceedings until the outcome of the criminal matter.

"Telkom says it had no control over the delay at the NPA ... The NPA had assured that the matter was being attended to but nothing was done," the judge said.

She said Telkom had put up documentary evidence, including a forensic report, which formed the basis of the allegations against Jacobs.

He had chosen not to respond to these.

"He relies on his right to remain silent and not incriminate himself in criminal proceedings which may follow. The result is, that although he had a right to remain silent, the court is largely left in the dark as far as his version is concerned.

"The unintended consequences is that this court only has the evidence provided by Telkom to determine whether the requirement for an interdict has been met."

She said there was no question that there had been an inordinate delay, brought about by various factors to which both parties had contributed.

"If it were not for the exceptional circumstances of the case, the delay would have been unreasonable. If the [civil] matter could not be finalised in the foreseeable future, the court may have come to a different conclusion," the judge ruled.

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FIN7, a notorious group of cyber criminals known for disrupting businesses by infiltrating their payment systems might have another operation to pull off.

Cybersecurity firm Mandiant recently found out that the hackers under this group have transitioned to launching ransomware attacks on their victims.

FIN7 Hackers Move into Ransomware Operations

In an initial report released by Mandiant on Monday, April 4, the tactics of hackers have changed operations in recent years. The cybersecurity company said that there has been an increase in the case of ransomware attacks spearheaded by FIN7.

To note, the researchers wrote that the group has deployed several security threats such as BlackCat, Ryuk, and Maze.

Mandiant added that there was a huge change in the hackers' operation. Even so, they could also have links to previous ransomware attacks that took place in some parts of the world.

The researchers discovered that Bastion Secure also serves as FIN7's front for carrying out malicious operations. The experts considered this to be a "major indicator" of the group's transition to a different venture.

The FIN7 group was also allegedly the mastermind behind the controversial Colonial Pipeline attack. Mandiant said that these hackers were the ones who handled the software used by the DarkSide suspects.

Related Article: Lapsus$ Operations Are Ongoing? Bad Actors Might Still Be Active in Hacking Despite Recent UK Arrest

How FIN7 Started its Operation

In another report from Cyberscoop, FIN7 has been widely-known for targeting financial corporations over the past years. The group first began its operations in 2014 when it managed to rob over $1 billion in funds which came from over 100 global firms.

At that time, cybercriminals were deceiving a lot of people into pretending to be government officials. The system was indeed suspicious since when a person clicks it, the malware will automatically be injected into the system.

However, FIN7 leaders were prosecuted by the US authorities last year. Denys Iarmak and Andrii Kolpakov were found guilty when they led the country-wide data breach that affected many US companies. The operation resulted in huge financial losses for the victims.

Mandiant wrote that the group had also disrupted a website by injecting malware installers to the specific download links. The site was popular for selling different products.

FIN7 Linked to Malware-Spreading USB Drives

Earlier this year, Tech Times reported that the FBI warned people about the widespread malware which affects USB flash drives. Later, the authorities found out that the hackers behind the incident were members of the FIN7 gang.

It should be noted that the FBI also said that the group was masquerading as a legitimate US Department of Health and Human Services. That's not only that since it also pretended to be Amazon by tricking the customers to install ransomware.

The federal agency clarified that these operations have been existing since August 2021. For everyone who is unaware of this scenario, it's quite alarming that what you click on the internet might steal your financial or personal information.

Read Also: Sugar Ransomware-as-a-Service Operations Target Individual Devices With Low Ransom Demands

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Written by Joseph Henry

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The second man in the two-person, $1.5 million Apple gift card heist was finally sentenced to prison.

According to Apple Insider, Jason Tout-Puissant will now serve a 60-month (five-year) prison sentence for his role in the scheme, following the conviction of co-conspirator Syed Ali to 37 months (just over three years) back in October last year.

The sentencing was announced by the Northern District of Texas' US Attorney's office via a post on the Justice.gov website. The post revealed that Tout-Puissant was sentenced by the same judge, Judge David Godbey, who also convicted his co-conspirator in the fraud several months earlier. Aside from that, the suspect is also ordered to pay Apple $1.26 million in restitution.

US attorney Chad Meacham was absolute in the sentencing, pumping out this fiery statement:

"If these defendants thought their million-dollar fraud would go unnoticed simply because they targeted a trillion-dollar company, they were sorely mistaken. The Justice Department will not tolerate fraud against any company, be it a multinational corporation or a mom-and-pop operation."

The two men were first charged back in 2019, but they weren't the only ones in on the Apple gift card heist. A still-unnamed third accomplice helped them pull off their fraud within a three-year span starting in 2015. But Ali, the first conspirator to get charged, wouldn't actually plead guilty to the fraud until May 2021.

He did so after an example of 26 digital gift cards stolen from Apple's Southlake Town Square store in Texas, themselves already worth $50,000, were presented in court. Afterward, he actually aided the authorities in their pursuit of Puissant, as also reported by Apple Insider.

Here's a statement from the FBI regarding the case:

"The FBI is committed to tackling fraud schemes from every angle, and today the defendants will now be held accountable. This carefully orchestrated scheme resulted in financial loss for a large corporation, and that fraud also victimizes American consumers."

Read also: Apple Support Technician Impersonator in La Puente Steals 620,000 Photos From iCloud Accounts in Phishing Scam

How Were The Apple Gift Card Thieves Able To Pull It Off?

The way the Apple gift card thieves pulled their heist off is quite "devious," as they used Apple's own devices to do it over three years.

According to MacRumors, the convicted scammers used a device called an "Isaac," which was only exclusive to Apple employees. All workers at the Cupertino giant's retail locations use their Isaac devices around the store, which allows them to sell products and check the store's inventory.

To perform their scam, one of the thieves walked into unsuspecting stores to try to steal Isaac. Afterward, the accomplice will sit outside the store, using the device still connected to the store's Wi-Fi network. They will then use the employee's account who's still logged into the device to steal the actual gift cards.

This is among the most recent scams to target Apple in the past few years, including a former employee defrauding the company of $10 million within a ten-year span.

Related: Apple Urges US Senate To Junk Sideloading App Bill-Saying Can Lead To Scams, Malware, Other Data Exploitation

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Written by RJ Pierce

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(Photo : Unsplash/Jeremy Bezanger) DeepMind

Three former employees of DeepMind, a British artificial intelligence subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., are currently training a machine to invest in stocks and cryptocurrencies before purchasing price and value changes.

DeepMind Employees Developing AI

The three employees, Martin Schmid, Rudolf Kadlec, and Matej Moravcik, left the AI company in January to launch EquiLibre Technologies. The three also relocated from Edmonton, Canada, to Prague, Czech Republic.

The three developers formerly worked at IBM. In 2017, they created an AI called DeepStack that became the first AI that could beat professional poker players at poker.

Now, the developers are looking to apply some of the concepts to financial markets, such as company stocks and cryptocurrency investments.

Schmid told CNBC that their idea is instead of playing poker, their algorithms will play algorithmic trading. They are also looking into crypto.

Also Read: Elon Musk Admits He is Scared of Google as He Calls Deepmind's Digital Superintelligence an 'Unintentional Trojan Horse'

The three developers want to use a technique known as reinforcement learning to train an AI system to purchase and sell shares and make a profit.

Reinforcement learning involves training an AI to achieve a certain goal, whether winning a game of chess or accurately spotting a tumor on a mammogram, by rewarding it every time it gets a task done right.

Schmid said he is not concerned about the regulators going after their technology because other tech companies are already doing the same thing.

EquiLibre Technologies is expected to compete with the likes of AI algorithmic stock-picking products such as Yuyostox and Candlestick.

Schmid added that most of the trading out there is already considered algorithmic. They wish to do better algorithms than those already available in other tech companies.

In the next few years, EquiLibre Technologies hopes to either use the AI it develops to underpin a new fund or sell it to a massive institutional bank or sell it to another investor, according to Galaxy Concerns.

Advisory Board of EquiLibre Technologies

The advisory board of EquiLibre Technologies includes two senior staff members of DeepMind that are well known in the field of artificial intelligence, according to Business Insider.

Michael Bowling is the head of DeepMind's Edmonton office, while Richard Sutton co-authored DeepMind's controversial "Reward is enough" paper in 2021.

In the paper, the researchers claim that if you keep rewarding an algorithm every time it does something you want it to, it will eventually begin to show signs of general intelligence.

Several venture capitalists have already backed EquiLibre Technologies. Schmid said it had raised the largest-ever seed round in the Czech Republic, but he refused to reveal the exact number.

Schmid said his understanding is that there is always more money than startups and that venture capitalists are having difficulty finding promising startups.

Schmid and his two co-founders are among a growing number of ex-DeepMind employees raising money from venture capitalists. He said that if you worked at massive tech companies such as DeepMind and Google, it is already expected that you are good.

Schmid added that DeepMind staff are also likely to have a good network of tech contacts that they could recruit.

In October 2021, DeepMind engineers created a new model that could predict precipitation chance.

In November 2021, tech CEO Demis Hassabis shared how DeepMind AI started and expanded.

Related Article: DeepMind AI 'AlphaFold' Gets Closer to Perfect Prediction of Protein Folding with Groundbreaking Accuracy

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Written by Sophie Webster

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The advanced iPhone SOS feature was able to save a trapped snowboarder. Rescuers were contacted by the man's smartphone, even when it was already at 3% battery power.

Although this story is not really unique, this just shows that the SOS function comes in handy all the time. Apple explained that this iPhone feature could automatically reach the local emergency number.

Once you use your device's SOS feature, your added emergency contacts will also be notified. After contacting authorities or your emergency contacts, SMS messages will also be sent to them.

They will know your location, the time you used the iPhone SOS mode, and other essential information that can be useful for the rescue.

iPhone SOS Saves Trapped Snowboarder

According to BGR's latest report, Tim Blakely, the trapped snowboarder, used his Apple smartphone's SOS mode to contact the authorities to inform them that he is in trouble.

Also Read: Apple iPhone Health App: How to Check Your 'Walking Steadiness' in iOS 15

"Thank you to @apple, their side button 5 click to emergency services -especially great when your screen is constantly being dripped on," said Blakely via his official Instagram post.

Aside from Apple, his network provider's 3G connection service also allowed him to contact the rescuers. What makes his situation quite scary is that his handset was already at 3% during that time.

But luckily, the iPhone SOS feature was able to do its job. After 45 minutes of waiting, the rescuers arrived at his location. There's also a helicopter that airlifted him out of the deep crack.

Using iPhone SOS

Since the SOS feature of Apple is quite efficient, it is important to know how it can be activated. As of the moment, iPhone 8 and other newer models offer this advanced function.

If you want to use it, all you need to do is hold the side button and the volume button. After a few seconds, the SOS slider option will appear.

Once it appears, you need to drag it to the right side. This will allow you to reach the local emergency and your personal emergency contacts.

Meanwhile, a new iPhone Pro 4 leak claimed that the rear camera bump of the Apple smartphone will be adjusted.

On the other hand, the giant tech creator might soon the long-rumored iPhone leasing service.

For more news updates about iPhone SOS and other advanced Apple technologies, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: iPhone Users Claim Their Battery Gets Drained Easily After the iOS 15.4 Update

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Written by: Griffin Davis

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Jack Dorsey's Block has recently confirmed the company experienced a data breach. As per the company's note, a former employee could download reports coming from Cash App, containing customer information of users from the United States.

Block Confirms Cash App was Breached by a Former Employee

Block is the new name for what was previously known as Square, as seen on a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing that revealed the breach. Block confirmed that reports were accessed on December 10 2021, by an insider.

The filing revealed that while the employee was able to get regular access to the particular breached data as part of the responsibilities of their last job, the data, however, was accessed in certain incidents without permission after their employment was ended.

What Cash App Customer Data was Accessed During the Breach?

According to the story by TechCrunch, no answer was given on why the former Block employee was still able to access the important data. There was also no news given regarding how long they could keep their access despite the end of their employment.

Information accessed includes the full names and brokerage account numbers of their users. Some users also had their brokerage portfolio value accessed along with brokerage portfolio holdings and stock trading activity for the period of a trading day.

Block Declined to Reveal the Number of Affected Customers, but Estimations Say 8.2 Million

As per the report, Block, a San Francisco-based company, declined to reveal how many customers of their Cash App were impacted. Estimations, however, say that an approximation of 8.2 million current and former customers were affected by the incident.

Block assures the public that no other information aside from names was accessed during the incident. This means Social Security numbers, passwords, payment card information, or addresses have been breached.

Cash App Users Outside the United States Remain Safe as Per Filing

The filing states that other products and features of Cash App for customers outside of the United States remained safe. After the incident was discovered four months after the breach, the company has already launched an internal investigation and assures that they have notified law enforcement and the applicable regulatory authorities.

Danika Owsley, a Cash App spokesperson, gave a statement to TechCrunch saying that they value the trust their customers give and are committed to providing security regarding their customers' information.

Read Also: Norton Phishing Scam Uses Personal Info to Steal Money from Victims

Block Spokesperson Says Company Took Needed Steps to Remediate and Launch an Investigation

Owsley noted that when they discovered the issue, they took the needed steps to remediate it and launched an investigation with the help of a leading forensics firm. The spokesperson said they already knew how the reports were accessed, and law enforcement was notified.

The spokesperson also said that they continue to review and strengthen the current administrative and "technical safeguards to protect information."

Related Article: NCSC Cybersecurity Chief Warns Citizens About Using Russian Technology

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Written by Urian B.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi, as acting Minister of Public Service and Administration.

This follows Minister of Public Service and Administration Ayanda Dlodlo's appointment as an Executive Director on the board of the World Bank in Washington in the United States.

Minister Nxesi will continue to perform his responsibilities as Minister of Employment and Labour while acting as Minister of Public Service and Administration.

The President has wished former Minister Dlodlo well in her new responsibility in which she will be one of three board members representing the interests of 25 African member states.

"President Ramaphosa thanks Minister Dlodlo, who has served government and the nation in various leadership roles including, since 2017, four ministerial portfolios of Communications, Home Affairs, State Security and Public Service and Administration," the Presidency said in a statement.

President Ramaphosa has also wished Acting Minister Nxesi well in providing continuity in the functioning and impact of the Department of Public Service and Administration.
South Africa: Minister urges care to prevent return to National State of Disaster

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has warned that government can declare a National State of Disaster again should COVID-19 infections spiral.

South Africa exited the National State of Disaster following an announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa during an address to the nation on Monday night. Declared in terms of the Disaster Management Act (DMA) in March 2020, the country remained in the arrangement for 750 days.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Dlamini Zuma said the COVID-19 pandemic no longer qualified as a disaster.

In the place of the National State of Disaster, the country will be in a 30-day transitional post-disaster management period that will be legislated accordingly, with Dlamini Zuma saying the DMA cannot be used permanently as its of temporary use.

As of Monday evening, the pandemic is being managed in terms of the National Health Act while the draft Health Regulations have been published for public comment  and which close on 16 April. Once the comments have been considered, the new regulations will be finalised and promulgated.

The Minister said, however, that Cabinet could revert back to the National State of Disaster should the COVID-19 pandemic escalate and reach a level where it became a disaster.

If we look after ourselves, wear masks and make sure that we do what needs to be done we may avoid a situation where this pandemic becomes a disaster again. That is what were hoping for. In the event that it becomes a disaster, we will have to revert back to the Act.

She said since the pandemic was still existent, government needed to introduce transitional measures which were allowed by the DMA and were post-disaster measures.

The post-disaster management measures and rehabilitation measures require that the wearing of masks continue for at least another 30 days for indoor gatherings. Masks are not necessary for outdoor gatherings, she said.

Existing restrictions on gatherings will continue as a transitional measure.

This means that both indoor and outdoor venues can take up to 50% of their capacity without any maximum limit, provided that proof of vaccination or a COVID-19 test not older than 72 hours is required for entrance to the venue. Where there is no provision for proof of vaccination or a COVID-19 test, then the current upper limit of 1000 people indoors and 2000 people outdoors will remain.

The existing provisions with respect to international travel remain in place.

Travellers entering South Africa will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours. If a traveller does not submit a vaccine certificate or proof of a negative COVID-19 test, they will be required to do an antigen test on arrival and if they test positive, they will need to isolate for 10 days.

Also, the directions that provide for the extension of the validity of a learners licence, driving licence card, licence disc, professional driving permit and registration of a motor vehicle will remain in place.

Meanwhile, the directions that provide for the payment of the special R350 SRD grant will remain in place. This will enable the Department of Social Development to finalise the regulations that will allow the payment of the grant to continue.

We are just transitioning that through this arrangement. It will continue through other legislation, said the Minister.

She said the No Fault Compensation Fund would also remain in place beyond the 30 days.

This is an arrangement for people who might have had adverse side effects from the vaccine. [These] people can still apply for compensation and that process will continue beyond the National State of Disaster."

As long as people are still being vaccinated, they should be able to have access to the Fund. But from the DMA these will only continue for the next 30 days, after that they will lapse. We will then have to go back to normal except legislation from different sectors would then take on where necessary, she said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-04-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe have signed and ratified 65 agreements, including seven more documents, during their 21-year cooperation, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has said.

He made the remarks at a meeting with visiting Council of Europe Secretary-General Marija Pej?inovi? Buri?.

The parties exchanged views on the current condition and prospects for the development of mutual cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe.

During the meeting, the minister emphasized the importance of mutual cooperation within the framework of previous action plans between the Council of Europe and Azerbaijan, also a new Action Plan from 2022 through 2025 based on the needs of Azerbaijan and the recommendations of the Council of Europe.

The secretary-general will take part in the founding meeting of the Council of Europe - Azerbaijan Action Plan from 2022 through 2025 during her visit to Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, Bayramov informed about the current regional post-conflict situation, the fulfillment of tripartite statements signed by Baku, Yerevan and Moscow, and the steps taken by Azerbaijan, including the delimitation process and the reconstruction carried out on Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenian occupation.

The minister described the implementation of tripartite statements on Karabakh as important for regional peace.

He highlighted the grave consequences of the mine threat on Azerbaijan's liberated territories and mentioned the government's humanitarian de-mining activities.

The Council of Europe secretary-general was informed of Armenia's failure to provide any information about the fate of about 4,000 Azerbaijanis who have been missing since the early 1990s.

The mass graves found on the liberated territories of Azerbaijan testify to the systematic and targeted killing of Azerbaijanis and the concealment of information about this, the minister noted.

It should be mentioned that in the 20th century, Armenians perpetrated systematic crimes and atrocities against Azerbaijanis to break the spirit of the nation and annihilate the Azerbaijani people of Karabakh. The Khojaly genocide is regarded as the culmination of Armenian mass murders.

Some 613 Azerbaijanis, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 elders were brutally murdered on the ground of national identity in Khojaly in 1992.

This heinous act was preceded by a slew of others. Armenians set fire to around 20 buildings in the Baghanis-Ayrim village of Gazakh region, killing eight Azerbaijanis. A family of five, including a 39-day-old newborn, were all burnt alive.

Between June and December 1991, Armenian troops murdered 12 and wounded 15 Azerbaijanis in Khojavand region's Garadaghli and Asgaran region's Meshali villages.

Armenian military detachments bombed buses on the Shusha-Jamilli, Aghdam-Khojavand, and Aghdam-Garadaghli routes in August and September of the same year, killing 17 Azerbaijanis and injuring over 90 others.

In October and November 1991, Armenians burned, destroyed, and plundered over 30 settlements in the mountainous area of Karabakh, including Tugh, Imarat-Garvand, Sirkhavand, Meshali, Jamilli, Umudlu, Garadaghli, Karkijahan, and other significant villages.
The latest survey of the continent's agribusiness Chief Executives has seen a sharp rise in the number of industry leaders calling for immediate action on climate change adaptation for smallholder farmers.

Improved access to more flexible finance for the sector and increasing productivity on smallholder farms continue to be among the top priorities of the continent's agribusiness sector. Business leaders also want policy actions to be introduced to transform the sector and boost productivity. Weak policy, legal and regulatory environments were identified as a barrier to growth in the sector and SMEs called for a more enabling environment to support their operations and growth.

With agribusiness leaders showing concerns about the effects of climate change on the sector, the 2022 Africa Agribusiness Outlook recommends that businesses develop innovative solutions which will enhance resilience to the impacts of climate change. These include implementing and scaling business models and innovations that reduce the risk of climate change and ecological damage.

The findings were revealed in the 2022 Africa Agribusiness Outlook released by AGRA and KPMG East Africa. Informed by surveys with agribusinesses in 13 countries across the continent, the report serves as a barometer of the operating environment in the region.

Speaking during the launch of the report, AGRA President, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, said: "Agribusiness holds the key to Africa's economic recovery in a challenging world. The resilience and determination of the continent's agribusinesses to keep moving forward are inspiring. At AGRA, we are committed to supporting the development of policies and innovative financial solutions to help address challenges that SMEs and businesses, in general, continue to face."

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The report notes that increasing agricultural output is key for the continent's economic recovery from the effects of the pandemic. The agribusinesses surveyed faulted financial services providers for setting near impossible terms and conditions for accessing financing even when they qualify. They recommended that the private commercial finance institutions and donors, including philanthropists, consider blending finance to create concessional finance that delivers sufficient returns and provides the necessary patient capital that so many agribusinesses require.

Benson Ndung'u, Chief Executive Officer and Senior Partner, KPMG East Africa noted: "Any response to any challenge that the agricultural sector faces, requires a systemic multi-sectoral approach. Collaborations and partnerships will help drive agricultural transformation since they lead to knowledge sharing which is key for Africa's agribusinesses in supporting the building of healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable food systems."

The surveys found SMEs are also keen on increased investments in affordable smart technologies for smallholder farmers as part of a measure to transform agriculture on the continent. Knowledge gaps emerged as a major challenge facing agribusinesses in Africa today with sixty percent of the CEOs mentioning investment in people as one of the key agribusiness investment priorities in the year ahead.
In Latvia, they said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have the opportunity to "strike at the Crimean bridge" on May 9
Rwanda has signed seven agreements with Zambia as the two countries seek to deepen bilateral relations.

The signing ceremony was presided over by President Paul Kagame and his host, President Hakainde Hichilema.

Kagame is in Zambia for a two-day visit.

The agreements, the Presidency said, include cooperation in taxation, immigration and health.

Others are on investment promotion, agriculture, fisheries and livestock.

"Zambia has signed 7 MoUs with Rwanda focussed on increasing investment, improving living standards & creating jobs for both our peoples through win-win partnerships," tweeted Hichilema.

"We're getting on with job of delivering on Zambian people's priorities," he added.

The signing ceremony followed different ceremonies including a tete-a-tete before both heads of state and a bilateral meeting with members of their delegations.

Rwanda's delegation includes several cabinet ministers and heads of security organs.

The two heads of state also toured Victoria Falls, a waterfall on the Zambezi River in Southern Africa that provides habitat for several unique species of plants and animals, and are expected to participate in a state banquet in honour of Kagame.

According to the agenda, released by the office of the President, Kagame together with host President Hakainde and First Lady Mutinta Hakainde will visit Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is home to one half of the Mosi-oa-Tunya - 'The Smoke Which Thunders' - known worldwide as Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River.

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They are also expected to conduct a guided tour of the Kazungula Bridge, a road and rail bridge over the Zambezi River between Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

To conclude his visit, Kagame's last stop will be to the Kazungula One Stop Border Post.

The seven agreements reached during Kagame's visit come at a time both countries boast of cordial bilateral relations.

Rwanda and Zambia have occasionally engaged in high-level consultations on issues of strategic importance to both, including on the United Nations and the African Union.

Growth of bilateral ties in leaps and bounds is further evidenced by an established Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation cutting across many sectors.
Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente has indicated that the government has been dolling out subsidies in order to help farmers to access chemical fertilisers at a relatively low cost in the midst of rising prices.

He made the observation on Monday, April 4, while presenting government actions related to agriculture inputs to the plenary session of both Chambers of Parliament.

The Premier told legislators that fertiliser prices rose drastically on the global market because of various factors.

They include, he said, the Covid-19 pandemic effects which disrupted the supply chain such as through rising the transport cost, major fertiliser producing countries that cut exports in a bid to increase their local [agricultural] production, as well as the hike in gas tariffs used as one of the raw materials in fertiliser manufacturing.

Consequently, imported fertilisers were more expensive by the time they arrived on the local market.

In a bid to continue promoting the use of fertilisers and supporting farmers to get access to them, Ngirente said, the government has been increasing the budget for fertiliser subsidies as it more than doubled from Rwf5 billion in the fiscal year 2018-2019 to Rwf13 billion in the current fiscal year 2021-2022.

The move, he said, helped ease the cost for farmers.

For instance, he said that for NPK NPK - one of the commonly used fertilisers in the country which is made of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium - the government was providing Rwf107 per kilogramme for the farmer, but increased the financial support to Rwf475 a kilogramme after the fertiliser price hike, representing a fourfold increment.

"As such, a farmer only pays Rwf882 per a kilogramme of NPK instead of Rwf1,357. This shows the role of subsidies and how the government takes care of agriculture development and supporting our farmers," he said.

According to accounts from some farmers, chemical fertiliser use significantly increases farm productivity, sometimes doubling or tripling it.

The Premier indicated that the Crop Intensification Programme (CIP) - which started in 2008 improved farmers' understanding on the importance of chemical fertiliser use in agriculture production.

Such a situation, he said, later resulted in the increase in the [average] fertiliser use in the country, indicating that it rose to 60 kilogrammes per hectare in 2021 from 32 kilogrammes per hectare in 2017, implying an increase of 87.5 per cent over the last four years.

The average fertiliser use in Rwanda is way above that of Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 20 kilogrammes per hectare. But, it still falls short of the global level average - 140 kilogrammes of fertiliser per hectare, according to the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB).

Under the first phase of the National Strategy for Transformation which runs from 2017 to 2024 (NST1), Rwanda targeted to use an average of 75 kilogrammes of fertilisers per hectare by 2024.

Ngirente observed that the current progress is promising towards the achievement of that target.

He also said that the government was in a drive to encourage farmers to use a mixture of organic and chemical fertilisers in order to optimise farm yields, and indicated that there are also some private entities that were making composted manure from organic wastes.

MP Theoneste Begumisa Safari said that the rising fertiliser prices on the international market should stir interest in the local production of this crop growth stimulant.

"Increasing fertiliser prices are a challenge to farmers. There is a need for efforts to produce it locally," he said.

For MP Christine Mukabunani, more efforts should be invested in promoting the use of organic fertilisers among farmers.

"Some farmers are requesting a Government subsidy on organic fertiliser... Instead of putting more money in chemical fertiliser, you should invest it in scaling up the use of manure so as to gradually cut the former's use," she said, arguing that consumers tend to prefer foods produced by using organic fertiliser instead of the chemical one.

Construction of fertiliser blending factory

Meanwhile, the Premier talked about the construction of a fertiliser blending factory which it said would help Rwanda reduce reliance on fertiliser imports, though he pointed out that it would be importing some of the raw materials to use in producing this farm input.

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It was estimated that the factory, which would be located in Bugesera District, would cost $38 million (about Rwf38 billion at the current exchange rates), and the capacity to blend 100,000 tonnes of fertilisers annually, according to data from the RAB.

The project is a joint venture involving Morocco's OCP Group - one of the leading exporters of phosphate fertilisers in the world - the Government of Rwanda and a local firm--Agro-Processing Trust Corporation (APTC).

With Rwanda's annual demand for fertilisers at 53,000 tonnes as of 2019, as per RAB, once the factory begins production, Rwanda will have a surplus of fertilisers, potentially opening up a new avenue for export diversification.

Initially, the factory was expected to be operational by the end of 2019. However, Ngirente told legislators that its construction works were delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We hope that in the coming few years, the factory will be helping us to produce the fertilisers we need in the country," he said, without specifying when it will be operational.
Kyle R Chip Kline Jr. has chaired the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) Board and has been the Director of Coastal Activities for the State of Louisiana since 2018. Kline oversees policy initiatives related to Louisianas coastal program. He doesnt think fixing the states fast receding coastline will ever be finished.
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A former employee at one of the countrys biggest stockbroking houses has been accused by his wife of forging her signature to transfer shares in unlisted companies, which were not approved by the firm, and then secretly selling them to clients.

Kristofer Ridgway, a former adviser of Shaw and Partners, is said to have bought shares in Steppes Alternative Plc in his wifes name without her knowledge. He is then alleged to have sold the shares in Steppes to a client of Shaw and Partners.

Kristofer Ridgway was sacked from Shaw and Partners. Credit:LinkedIn

Steppes, an unlisted company, was an investment product that Shaw and Partners didnt authorise or recommend to clients.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age revealed last week that Mr Ridgway was sacked by Shaw on February 25. Shaw discovered that Mr Ridgway had secretly put millions of dollars of clients money into three investment products, which the 35-year-old broking house didnt have on its approved product list, in breach of its rules.
As the fabulous mirage of Sydney Modern rises on the edge of the Botanic Garden, the Art Gallery of New South Wales last week revealed what we might see when the building opens, which is due to be before Christmas. The gallery announced it had commissioned nine new works from Lorraine Connelly-Northey, Karla Dickens, Simryn Gill, Jonathan Jones, Yayoi Kusama, Richard Lewer, Lee Mingwei, Lisa Reihana and Francis Upritchard.

This is a multimillion-dollar project but in its usual reticent manner, the AGNSW has declined to reveal the actual cost. Presumably, we are supposed to be impressed by the big-spending, but not disturbed by the over-spending. As these commissions have yet to be unveiled, its impossible to make any judgements about them, but the announcement itself raises a few questions.

Lindy Lees $14 million sculpture for the NGA, Takashi Murakamis work commissioned by the Art Gallery of NSW, All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins by Yayoi Kusama, who will create a work for Sydney Modern.

Firstly, why have art museums developed such a taste for commissions, when the time-honoured method is to acquire pre-existing works? Having commissioned a work, what degree of control does the gallery exert over the final product? If the result is disappointing, can it refuse to accept the piece, or ask the artist to do it again?

With this commissioning binge, it appears the gallery is no longer content to reflect the evolving nature of contemporary art. Instead, it wants to exert a stronger influence over artists and the kind of art deemed significant.
Rwanda has signed a total of seven agreements with Zambia as the two countries seek to deepen bilateral relations.

The signing ceremony was presided over by President Paul Kagame and host President Hichilema, alongside respective delegations.

Kagame is in Zambia for a two day visit.

The agreements, Presidency said, include one on taxation, immigration and health.

Others are on investment promotion, agriculture, fisheries and livestock.

"Zambia has signed 7 MoUs with Rwanda focussed on increasing investment, improving living standards & creating jobs for both our peoples through win-win partnerships," tweeted host President Hichilema.

"We're getting on with job of delivering on Zambian people's priorities," he added.

The signing ceremony followed different ceremonies including a tete-a-tete before both heads of state and a bilateral meeting with members of their delegations.

Part of Rwanda's delegation included several cabinet ministers and head of security organs.

The two heads of state also toured Victoria Falls, a waterfall on the Zambezi River in Southern Africa that provides habitat for several unique species of plants and animals, and are expected to participate in a state banquet in honour of Kagame.

According to the agenda, released by the office of the President, Kagame together with host President Hakainde and First Lady Mutinta Hakainde will visit Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is home to one half of the Mosi-oa-Tunya - 'The Smoke Which Thunders' - known worldwide as Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Rwanda External Relations Zambia By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

They are also expected to conduct a guided tour of the Kazungula Bridge, a road and rail bridge over the Zambezi River between Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

To conclude his visit, Kagame's last stop will be to the Kazungula One Stop Border Post.

The seven agreements reached during Kagame's visit come at a time both countries boast of cordial bilateral relations.

Rwanda and Zambia have occasionally engaged in high level consultations on issues of strategic importance to both, including on the UN and the African Union.

Growth of bilateral ties in leaps and bounds is further evidenced by an established Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation cutting across many sectors.
Bathurst musician Gabbi Bolt once hustled her way into duetting with a former Australian prime minister.

During lockdown she got behind Kevin Rudds call for a Murdoch royal commission by making a really awful old-school hip-hop song [as an online video] which I tagged him in, she says. Then K-Rudd shared it to his socials. I wrote him another song and left a space for him to simply say his name and he actually went the whole nine yards and did some vocal ad-libs in his duet.

Gabbi Bolt went viral after an online exchange with Kevin Rudd.

Bolt is one of a handful of content creators performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival who blew up online  some before they ever saw a real life stage. Many found fame on TikTok, the Chinese-run social media platform which last September hit 1 billion active users.

For Bolt, the K-Rudd duet wasnt even The Big One.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Theres a palpable sense of energy in the rehearsal room for Sydney Theatre Companys new production White Pearl. Its partly because playwright Anchuli Felicia King is present but also because, after endless COVID-19 cancellations, the show will finally reach the stage. The dialogue is sharp, the jokes are flying and King, who is watching alongside director Priscilla Jackman, is laughing as though this is the first time she has seen rehearsals for the play she wrote in 2016. King is effervescent with a clear passion for the play that has launched what looks set to be  no pressure  a spectacular career. The 28-year-old is one of Australias brightest new screen and stage writing talents. White Pearl, her laugh-out-loud first full-length play, was staged in Sydney, London and Washington DC in 2019. That same year her play Golden Shield was produced by Melbourne Theatre Company. Shes a Patrick White Fellow, the winner of 2021s Mona Brand Emerging Writer Award. King has also moved from stage to screen, in the writing room for HBOs The Baby, Foxtels The Twelve and the Amazon comedy series Deadloch. After rehearsals as we make our way to lunch, shielding ourselves from the torrential rain as the once in a century weather event takes hold of Sydney, we talk about her jet lag: she arrived in Sydney from London the previous night. Jet lag is my norm, she quips, with a trace of an American accent. For the last few years, King has been jetting around the world, living mostly out of her suitcase, making her way from London to New York to Melbourne, and back round all over again. Kaori Maeda-Judge, Nicole Milinkovic, Deborah An, Manali Datar and Melissa Gan in White Pearl. Credit:Phil Erbacher I dont know how sustainable it is. But its very liberating to not have that much shit in your life, King says. I have maybe seven shirts and three pairs of jeans. I have a laptop, an iPad, some notebooks, a bag for all my cables, a wallet, a USB microphone. That might be all of my earthly possessions. Im trying to think, oh yeah, and two pairs of shoes. Identifying as a third culture kid, King is used to making a home in different places. Born to an Australian father and a Thai mother, King spent her early childhood between the town of Kanchanaburi in western Thailand and Manila, before moving to Melbourne. She spent much of the lockdown in Melbourne and London is home, at least for now. I really do feel like, in a very practical, logistical sense, a global citizen, she says. By and large I have been working on projects that are about international culture, globalisation, macrocosmic themes and for that reason, my lifestyle invigorates my work. I find the constant travel and being exposed to other cultures and being in transit means that thats where I have time to think about this stuff.

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Loading King goes where the work takes her, and the work is taking her far and wide. She is in Sydney for a week, before briefly heading to Melbourne, then London and New York where she will need to be by the end of March for rehearsals of Golden Shield, which is being performed off-Broadway. King is enjoying the success most writers dream of, although she never even expected to become one. When I moved to New York, and I went for grad school, I wasnt a writer. I just knew that I wasnt excited about the theatre that was happening here [in Australia] at the time, King says. And I felt really strongly that the kinds of plays that I was interested in by writers of colour were happening in New York. So I was like, Ill just go there, and then I can work on the kind of theatre that politically I am interested in. And then in the time that I was there, and I started writing plays, the landscape changed, both in terms of the theatre and the media landscape. Shirong Wu, Manali Datar, Melissa Gan, Kaori Maeda-Judge and Deborah An in Sydney Theatre Companys White Pearl. Credit:Phil Erbacher Her career-launching play White Pearl is a fast-moving satire that follows the story of six young women from different Asian backgrounds working in a Singaporean start-up in damage control, after its racist commercial for whitening cream (or bright and light cream as they say) goes viral. As the clicks increase, the teams cohesiveness decreases. Twists and turns keep the audience in a state of discomfort, the show as edge-of-your-seat viewing as any Netflix episode. It is perhaps a play quite unlike anything weve seen on Australian main stages. But, King says, Australian theatres were the first to embrace White Pearl, which took off after it had a reading at the National Play Festival in Sydney in 2018. Sydney Theatre Company programmed it off the back of the National Play Festival reading. Somewhere in there, the Royal Court  it got on their desk, and they very quickly programmed it, which is one of the great things about that theatre. And then the play got programmed at Studio Theatre in DC at some point during there as well.

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King acknowledges shes experienced a level of success rare for a young playwright in Australia. Im a little confused. Like, it wasnt, you know, there was no master plan. I didnt intend on being a writer. I didnt really have any aspirations for what my career would look like, other than I think Id really like to work out how to be a theatre artist and subsist. And I thought I would keep just being a bit of a weirdo multidisciplinary artist for the rest of my life  But yeah, I feel the path of being a writer just kind of emerged and I was like, OK, sure. I feel enormously lucky. There was no master plan. I didnt intend on being a writer, says Anchuli Felicia King. Credit:James Brickwood I mention the evident enthusiasm in the rehearsal room, from her and the actors, who seemed buoyed by working on a play that not only has six weighty roles for Asian women but stands out for not presenting Asian as the only descriptor for a character. King says that theres a lack of creatively sustaining roles for Asian actresses. There was this sort of pervasiveness, like Asia as monolith narrative, but I think that has changed, King says. Even in the time since I wrote the play that narrative has been disrupted enormously. But were still lacking messy, ugly, complex Asian characters in a lot of media. It makes a huge difference to their careers to get to do roles like that where theyre not just bit parts playing one-dimensional characters, they actually get to show what they can do, she says.

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As for her enthusiasm?: Its my first play. Its like my baby, you know. I love it. Seeing it and hearing it again, I always discover new things about it that the actors are bringing to it that I find really exciting. Loading Did King, as a writer of colour, feel she had to go overseas to find the success she is enjoying now? It is a well-trodden path, after all. I mention how I, too, moved to London where I also got a start as a playwright because I didnt see playwrights who looked like me having their works presented on Australian stages. But King feels the landscape in Australia is changing. I do feel like there is a really exciting generation of playwrights of colour in Australia who are subsisting on screenwriting gigs. It is happening. Its changing. And a huge shift in the media landscape here has been streaming services. Like, there are opportunities for young writers of colour here now that didnt exist even three years ago, she says. To get to do this and make enough money to live like this is an incredible luxury. And I genuinely feel passionately about the job and I feel passionately about the impact that it can have. So I just hope that I have the opportunity to keep doing that. White Pearl is at Wharf 1 Theatre (Sydney) until April 23; The Playhouse Theatre (Canberra) from April 27 to 30 and the Riverside Theatre (Parramatta) from May 5 to 7. A cultural guide to going out and loving your city. Sign up to our Culture Fix newsletter here.
Julia

Foxtel, Binge



In American culture, Julia Childs name is synonymous with food. The author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and later a television personality with the pioneering 1963 series The French Chef, she is remembered for her culinary gusto and near-falsetto voice.

She found new fame, along with American public television painting teacher Bob Ross, in the last decade as a proliferation of second-tier streaming services, hungry for content, unearthed and showcased vintage television programs.

Sarah Lancashire (left) is delightful as Julia Child (right).

Shot initially in black-and-white and live-to-tape (pre-recorded but by not pausing for minor errors, essentially live), the series is a glorious pastiche to vintage cookery, with period studio kitchen decor and Childs signature sign-off, This is Julia Child, bon appetit!
Over the past week, Ive been involved in a project tracking petrol prices around the country to monitor how retailers respond to the federal budgets 22 cents-per-litre cut to the fuel excise.

Each day, weve pored over the data to see which stations are passing on the full cut and by how much  and which ones arent.

The good news is that thousands of stations have now dropped their prices since budget night by 20 cents a litre or more. More than 400 have even cut prices by at least 30 cents a litre.

Petrol stations that havent passed on the cut to the fuel excise are running out of excuses. Credit:Eddie Jim

But still, a week on, there are hundreds that have not  and theyre fast running out of excuses.
A new era of transparency allowing superannuation fund members to see how their retirement savings are being invested started last week, but some of the biggest super funds are leaving consumers befuddled by gobbledegook contained in reams of spreadsheets.

New rules require funds to disclose the identity, value and weightings of their investments. Yet some of Australias biggest and best resourced super funds have seen fit to meet only the minimum requirement that says the data need only be provided in multiple downloadable spreadsheets.

Sunlight is being shed on the investments of super funds, but some disclosures are hard to understand.

Actual currency exposure (% of assets (including derivatives) in the investment option) reads one of those clear-as-mud disclosures.

Balanced Growth Cash Commonwealth Bank of Australia 8.15E+080.015353 AUD, reads another.
A Sydney woman was obsessed with a married man and violently killed her disapproving mother, who refused to fund the pairs plans for a joint business, the NSW Supreme Court has heard.

Isabela Carolina Camelo-Gomez, 47, has pleaded not guilty to the 2001 murder of her mother Irene Jones, who was strangled and stabbed to death in her home, in an attack the Crown alleges was made to look like a home invasion.

Isabela Camelo-Gomez was charged with the murder of her mother 18 years after the death. Credit:Nine News

In his opening address on Tuesday, Crown prosecutor David Scully told the jury Ms Jones disapproved of her daughters relationship with Carlos Camelo-Gomez, believing the married man was using her for money. And on the Crown case she was right, Mr Scully said.

Ms Jones cousin Ronald Dallaway gave evidence that while attending her funeral, he had overheard Ms Camelo-Gomez say, Mum I didnt mean it to go this far, as she put her hand on the coffin. It was quite clear, he said, dismissing the suggestion he had misheard.
The allegations that Scott Morrison played an active role in white-anting one of his preselection rivals over his Lebanese heritage and false claims that he was a Muslim should spark big questions about Australias attitude to race, and inspire deep soul-searching about our countrys media and political institutions.

For those of us from migrant or Muslim backgrounds the allegations were met less with shock than a familiar sense of resignation. The idea that race and religion would be used to undermine someones political aspirations  especially in the febrile atmosphere of Cronulla in 2007  isnt surprising, its predictable. Whats worse is how little has changed.

The Cronulla Riots in 2005 came less than two years before the Cook preselection in question. Mobs of mostly young, white men randomly attacked passers-by of Middle Eastern appearance. Credit:Andrew Meares

Fifteen years on from the bitter Cook preselection, the Liberal Party is yet to elect a single Muslim MP to Federal Parliament. Less than 4 per cent of the federal Coalition party room is made up of MPs from non-European backgrounds, compared to 21 per cent of the Australian population. These stark numbers suggest that there is a deep, structural problem within our governing political party that extends well beyond internecine warfare in the Sutherland Shire Liberal branches back in 2007.

Morrison has denied the claim that he actively lobbied Liberal preselectors for support on the basis that Michael Towke, as a Lebanese Australian, was unfit to represent the electorate of Cook. On Monday several high-profile figures in the Lebanese Australian community defended Morrison and said that they hadnt personally experienced racism from him.
Melbourne City Council will consider the future of one of Victorias most significant modernist buildings on Tuesday. But the fate of Shell House still lies with the Planning Minister, who took over the approvals process last year in the first intervention of a heritage application since 2011.

The wealthy owners of the 28-level skyscraper at the corner of Spring and Flinders streets have amended their plan for a 32-storey (170-metre high) secondary tower on the buildings rear plaza.

Shell House is a modernist building at the corner of Spring and Flinders streets in the Melbourne CBD. Credit:Jason South

The new high-rise  used by office and retail tenants  would overhang Milton House on Flinders Lane and connect by a sky bridge to Shell House, which was designed by world-renowned architect Harry Seidler. Both Shell and Milton houses are heritage-listed.

The developers resubmitted their plans for the site in February after objections from heritage advocates and residents.
Five former students of Brighton Secondary College are suing the state of Victoria over what they allege was years of anti-Semitic bullying and discrimination at the government school and chronic negligence by its principal and some teachers in their duty to protect them.

Five former students of Brighton Secondary College are suing the state over the schools alleged failure to protect them from years of anti-Semitic discrimination and abuse. Credit:Joe Armao

The students, all of Jewish descent, are seeking damages for alleged breaches of their human rights and of the Racial Discrimination Act.

They allege the school tolerated a culture of anti-Semitism that deprived them of their right to safety and to an education.

The Federal Court on Tuesday accepted a request to suppress the names of more than 20 other students alleged to have victimised the five students over several years, before an expected hearing later this year.
The Court of Appeal has issued its verdict in the FLN/MRCD appeal case where different sides were protesting several decisions taken by the High Court Chamber for International and Cross Border Crimes (HCCICC) which handled the trial at first instance.

The FLN is the militia outfit that was behind the 2018 and 2019 attacks in South-Western Rwanda, where at least nine unarmed civilians lost their lives, more others injured and property destroyed or looted.

In September last year, the HCCICC convicted 21 criminals belonging to the militia and sentenced them to jail terms ranging from three to 25 years.

After the HCCICC's verdict, all the sides - including the prosecutors, victims of the attacks and some of the convicts filed an appeal case, challenging the legitimacy of the jail terms given to the convicts, the compensations awarded to the victims, among other things.

The appeal trial started in January and was concluded in the following month, and the verdict was initially scheduled to be issued in March but was postponed to April.

Reading the verdict on Monday, April 4, the judges resolved to maintain Paul Rusesabagina's jail term at 25 years, despite the fact that the prosecutors had appealed for life imprisonment.

Rusesabagina who was the political head of FLN was convicted by the HCCICC of creating a terror group and committing acts of terrorism, and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Among other points, the prosecutors, in their appeal petition, wanted Rusesabagina to be convicted of more crimes which the HCCICC had absolved him as it ruled that they were under the context of terrorism and had to be considered under the terrorism crime.

The Court of Appeal, however, ruled to maintain the verdict of the HCCICC, upholding Rusesabagina's 25-year jail term.

His counterpart Callixte Nsabimana alias Sankara had his 20-year jail term reduced to 15, due to the fact that he pleaded guilty throughout the various stages of the trial, in addition to providing key information that exposed the terror activities of militias fighting against Rwanda.

Herman Nsengimana, a former spokesperson of the militia had his jail term increased from 5 to 7 years, as the judges ruled that the mitigating circumstances that the HCCICC considered in giving him such a lenient sentence were not adequate since he had not fully pleaded guilty.

Marc Nizeyimana, a former "Colonel" in the FLN had his jail term maintained at 20 years.

FLN soldiers Emmanuel Iyamuremye, Theogene Hakizimana, Marcel Niyirora and Andre Kwitonda had their 5-year jail terms upheld, while Emmanuel Nshimiyimana and Jean Cretien Ndagijimana had theirs kept at 3 years.

Former FDLR Generals Felicien Nsanzubukire and Anasthase Munyaneza also had their prison sentences maintained at 5 years, while Joseph Ntabanganyimana, a man who helped FLN soldiers to buy a boat that they used to cross into Rwanda to make an incursion against civilians, had his prison term maintained at 3 years.

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For the persons who were behind the grenade attacks in Rusizi district, including Cassien Bizimana, Jean Berchamns Matakamba, Shaban Emmanuel, Innocent Ntibiramira, Jean Claude Byukusenge and Jean Damascene Nsabimana had their 20-year jail terms upheld, mainly due to the gravity of the crimes they committed.

Simeon Nikuzwe, their counterpart who received a 10-year jail term from the HCCICC had it maintained by the Court of Appeal as well. His lenient punishment is as a result of the fact that he did not take part in the attacks.

Angelina Mukandutiye, the only woman in the case had her jail term increased from 5 years to 20, as the judges ruled that she been prosecuted before by a Gacaca Court and convicted of genocide crimes, but she did not change her ways to stop committing crimes.
The family of a three-month-old girl killed when her mother laid her down on train tracks say warmth has forever vanished from their homes.

In victim impact statements read to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, the childs father and great aunt said their lives had been shattered after Lily was killed in an act of infanticide at Upwey, in Melbournes outer east, on July 11.

Melissa Arbuckle has formally pleaded guilty to infanticide in the Victorian Supreme Court. Credit:

She was so innocent, happy, healthy and strong, she deserved so much more. I loved Lily more than life itself, the childs father said.

Her great aunt said: Rest in peace, Lily Arbuckle, Im so sorry I couldnt save you.
A police radio transmission in the minutes after two officers were fatally shot referred to two offenders as the search began across Melbournes south-eastern suburbs for a suspect car, according to a recording played to a trial.

Communications between officers and operators on police radio after midnight on August 16, 1998, captured the response of officers in the minutes after Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller were shot in Cochranes Road, Moorabbin.

Jason Roberts (right) outside the Supreme Court. Credit:Jason South

In the recording, played to a Supreme Court jury on Tuesday, David Pratt  then a sergeant  reported that when he arrived in Cochranes Road he saw one officer was down and knew another was missing.

Mr Pratt said in the recording that officers were checking if Sergeant Silk was alive. Members are attending now, but it doesnt look good, he said.
Victorias public service corruption watchdog wont publish the report of an investigation that involves the actions of an allegedly corrupt developer at the heart of the Casey land deals saga while he seeks an injunction.

Property developer John Woodman went to the Supreme Court in March to prevent the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission tabling a report in State Parliament on its long-running investigation of allegedly corrupt land deals in Melbournes south-east. He said he needed more time to respond to IBACs draft report of the Operation Sandon probe.

A Victorian anti-corruption probe into developer John Woodman centres on his influence in political circles. Credit:Justin McManus

Mr Woodman claimed IBAC denied him procedural fairness and breached its statutory obligations by not providing him with a reasonable opportunity to respond to the draft report, which mentions him 1450 times among hundreds of pages.

On Tuesday Supreme Court justice Timothy Ginnane granted orders, agreed to by lawyers representing IBAC and Mr Woodman, that the report not be published until after the next hearing at the end of April.
For four days straight, nine-year-old Gibson James couldnt keep anything down and his stomach pains were so severe his mother Emma considered calling an ambulance.

Ms James said the gastro-like symptoms her son experienced after he contracted COVID-19 came out of the blue.

With more children contracting COVID-19 in WA, parents are reporting symptoms which differ from the usual sore throats and coughs associated with the virus. Credit:Getty

The high temperatures came first and on the second day he woke up through the night vomiting and didnt stop, she said.

He couldnt keep anything down and had stomach cramps that were so severe we were going to get an ambulance thinking it could be appendicitis.
The Labor campaign has walked back leader Anthony Albaneses promise to mandate 24/7 nurses in aged care as part of its $2.5 billion reform package, clarifying that providers will be given flexibility if they cannot find enough staff.

Mr Albanese used his federal budget reply speech last Thursday to announce a Labor government would introduce laws requiring aged care homes to roster a nurse in each home around the clock by July 2023, a year earlier than the Aged Care Royal Commission recommended.

Labor has clarified its 24/7 aged care nurse plan. Credit:Matt Dennien

Under a Labor government, every aged care facility will be required to have a registered, qualified nurse on site, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Mr Albanese said.

But on Tuesday morning, Labors election campaign HQ told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in an emailed statement that an Albanese government would give providers flexibility to ensure they were not unfairly penalised where workforce supply issues limit their ability to meet this standard.
London: As a librarian at the prestigious Cambridge University, Dr Jessica Gardner is used to receiving mail.

But there was something different about the parcel she received on March 9, which was left in a public area of the library outside her office. It would set her heart racing, cause tears to well in her eyes, and leave her shaking with joy but also disbelief.

The pink gift bag, brown envelope and empty blue archive box in which two notebooks belonging to Charles Darwin were anonymously returned. Credit:Stuart Roberts/Cambridge University

Inside a bright pink gift bag was a dark blue, but empty, archive box. Its priceless contents were wrapped separately in cling film and sealed in a brown paper envelope with the following typed words: Librarian. Happy Easter. X.

Inside that envelope was what wed all been looking for so many years, Gardner told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
The war in Ukraine took an even grimmer turn in recent days when evidence emerged that Russian troops had committed atrocities against civilians in occupied areas. Ukrainian forces who retook the town of Bucha, north of Kyiv, after the Russians pulled back say they found the bodies of civilians who appeared to have been executed. The towns mayor said more than 270 residents had been killed and buried in mass graves.

Russia has denied the allegations, claiming they are another staged performance by the Kyiv regime for the Western media but satellite imagery appears to back the claims. Its worth stating the obvious here: we are appalled and sickened by these revelations, and for such barbarism to occur in Europe in 2022 is shocking.

These scenes, as well as the utter devastation of cities such as Mariupol, show that Russia, as feared, is prepared to do anything to achieve its ends. Its goals are not to liberate Ukraine from Nazis, as President Vladimir Putin has routinely claimed, but to subjugate its people entirely, even at the cost of killing civilians and rendering their towns and cities uninhabitable. The lies the Kremlin uses to try to weasel out of accountability  that the images and videos of corpses are fakes and not a single local resident has suffered from any violent action  are simply an insult.

The discovery of mass killings of civilians raises deep concerns for those living in other Russian-held areas, particularly the town of Borodyanka. Ukraines Prosecutor-General, Iryna Venediktova, said that town was likely to have suffered even worse than Bucha under occupation. Residents of cities such as Odessa and Mariupol must wonder as they hide in their basements what treatment lies in store for them if the Russians finally move in?
The President of the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL), Atty. Philomena T. Williams wants President George Weah to nominate a female as the next Chief Justice of Liberia.

The current Chief Justice, Cllr. Francis Saye Korkpor is expected to be retired in September 2022 after reaching the constitutional age limit. Atty. Williams has also applauded the Chief Justice, an astute, strong, and energetic luminary of the legal profession for the judicial progress made over the years.

Speaking recently at the first Assembly of the Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA), the AFELL boss empathized that AFELL is determined in her advocacy to ensure access to justice and straight adherence to the rule of law.

She further stressed that AFELL will endeavor to advance that violators of the laws are accountable for their actions.

The AFELL boss stated that such will accelerate deterrence and guarantee peace and security. Atty. Williams further stated that the Association is championing compelling issues affecting women and children, gender equality, gender insensitive laws and all forms of violence perpetrated against women and girls. The AFELL President's remarks come at a time of increase in rape cases and mysterious deaths.
The new Country Representative for UN Women in Liberia, Ms. Comfort Lamptey, has presented her Letter of Credence to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah at an official ceremony held in Monrovia last week.

Presenting her credence, Ms. Lamptey expressed gratitude to the Government and people of Liberia for the warm reception she has received since her arrival.

She said taking up an assignment in Liberia was an honor of service that will enable her and the UN Women team to implement development activities of the organization and empower women and girls in Liberia. Ms. Lamptey, who served in Liberia a few years back as UNMIL Head of Gender Services, said she was glad to be back to continue the path of enhancing the capacities of Liberian women.

"Our work is to support the activities of the government in assisting women and girls for improved standard of living. I can assure you of UN Women's unflinching commitment to collaborate in all areas that would bring empowerment to our women and girls," she said.

Madam Lamptey has an established track-record of working to promote women's rights and gender equality at the regional level in Africa, as well as globally. She has served in senior advisory and management positions with different UN entities in New York, Geneva and in countries across the African region.

She has worked extensively on issues of governance peace and security and has been instrumental in helping to establish the policy architecture on gender, peace and security in the context of UN peacekeeping. Prior to taking up assignment in Liberia, Ms. Lamptey served as UN Women's Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS.

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In response, Liberia's Foreign Minister, Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, congratulated Ms. Lamptey on her preferment to serve as UN Women's Country Representative in Liberia. He highlighted the numerous contributions of UN Women to the welfare, development, and empowerment of Liberian women and girls.

"UN Women has been working in a strategic manner since 2004 in close collaboration with the Government of Liberia in Delivering As One through the UNDAF," said Ambassador Kemayah.

He also underscored the commitment the Government attaches to enhancing gender equality in Liberia as demonstrated by President George Weah's role as Feminist-in-Chief who leaves no stone unturned for the women of Liberia.

UN Women began operations in Liberia in 2004, collaborating with the UN System, line government ministries, implementing partners, women's groups as well as Liberians from all walks of life to promote gender equality and women empowerment.

UN Women Liberia's strategic direction is tailored towards helping address issues affecting women and girls through five thematic areas including women's economic empowerment; peace, security and humanitarian action, ending violence against women and girls; women's political participation and leadership; and gender responsive planning and budgeting.
Rehabilitation works on Kigali-Huye road have kicked off, after a days-long standstill that was caused by last week's flooding.

Movement, especially around the road section between Ruyenzi centre and Bishenyi market in Kamonyi district had been paralysed by waters that surpassed conveyance capacity of the drainage channel under the road, which led to its destruction.

Currently, people moving from Kigali to Huye are advised to use Kigali- Ruyenzi- Nkoto road while those from Huye can use Nkoto-Gihara- Ruyenzi road.

The alternative roads which are not paved (earth roads) have been delaying the transportation of goods and people, especially during heavy rains as vehicles get stranded, according to witnesses.

Sylvere Nahayo, the Mayor of Kamonyi district told The New Times on Monday, April 4, that rehabilitation works have kicked off and should be complete in less than a month.

"We have committed to rehabilitate that part of the road in the shortest period which should not exceed a month. The rehabilitation is being carried out under the support of Rwanda Transport Development Agency," he said.

He said the road is being rehabilitated by increasing the conveyance capacity of the water channel that crosses underneath the road.

"We hope the road will soon be passable again as works are being fast-tracked," he said.

The Kigali-Muhanga-Nyanza-Huye-

The heavy rains that caused landslides also made the road Kigali- Nyamagabe- Nyamasheke impassable.

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According to the National Police update, the road has become passable again.

The sections of roads are among many others that have been damaged by heavy rains since the beginning of this year.

According to the ministry in charge of emergency management, so far 126 sections of roads, 134 bridges have been damaged since last year.

Last year alone, disasters damaged 44 roads, 32 bridges, four water supply systems, 59 electrical transmission poles among others.

In 2020, at least 151 roads and 102 bridges were damaged by disasters while 30 roads and 40 bridges were damaged in 2019.

This was in need of Rwf120 billion to be rehabilitated.

Emile Patrick Baganizi, Deputy Director General of RTDA told the media that there is a plan to rehabilitate old and damaged roads as well as pave the new ones so as to ensure alternative roads in case of disasters and inconveniences.

"For instance, we are paving the road from Ngoma-Bugesera-Nyanza road. This road can be used by vehicles from the Rusumo border to the southern province instead of using the Kigali road. Vehicles from Kigali can also use the same road as an alternative to reach parts of southern and western provinces," he said.

Weatherman warns of more heavy rains impact

Meanwhile, different sectors including the transport sector could be further affected following the forecast of heavy rains in April.

"During the month of April 2022, the amount of rainfall ranging between 100 and 300 mm is expected across the country. Higher amounts of rainfall varying between 260 and 300 mm are expected in some parts of Nyungwe National Park, Karongi, Rutsiro, Ngororero and Rubavu Districts," warns the forecast.
Kisii  The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) head of presidential campaign in the Gusii Region Okengo Nyambane has commended aspirants for a smooth consensus ahead of the general elections.

In a statement to newsrooms, Okengo who dropped his Senatorial ambitions in Kisii said the unity exhibited across other parts of the country has also been a major motivation that consensus is guiding the future of democracy in the country.

"As Kisii County UDA leaders and aspirants, we have been greatly honored by our party leader and Deputy president William Ruto. We have all shown the spirit of willingness and the urge to have the right leadership," he stated.

This comes after the Kenyan-USA ex-military man Charles Matoke dropped his bid for Gubernatorial seat for Kisii under Amani National Congress (ANC) and rallied behind UDA gubernatorial candidate Ezekiel Machogu.

Okengo noted that with Charles Matoke, they have illustrated that party loyalty is the basis of success in any democracy.

"We humbly accept the new roles and hope that we will work as a unit in the region to deliver votes and seats come August. These moves are part of the pacesetter decisions towards a great future," he added.

On his side the USA exmilitary Matoke assured his supporters not to despair, and that his journey will deliver the full hope they hold dearly.

"Every party has its vision bearer, and Kenya Kwanza is no exception. The long walk through the nomination process has tested my mettle in many ways, and the most tested of my traits is the ability to play in a team and deliver victory on behalf of the team," he stated.

"I urge all of you to see Machogu in the same tradition you have seen me - the first among equals," he noted.
Nairobi  Kenya has received a boost after China provided military vehicles and engineering equipment to the Kenya Army as Military Aid Gratis last week.

Speaking during the ceremony held at the Kahawa Garrison in Nairobi, Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa commended China for their support noting it marked an important milestone in the defence relation between the two countries.

CS Wamalwa said that the vehicles and engineering equipment will boost the capability of troops in the conduct of their mandate within and outside the confines of Kenyan borders.

"The capacity of a defence force in protection of the sovereignty of any nation lies with its personnel and equipment. Further, a highly motivated soldier coupled with the requisite tools of trade will endeavor to complete the assigned mission irrespective of the operating environment," he said.

The Defence CS stated that that the support will enhance Kenya's troops morale and boost its mission readiness.

"The Military Aid Gratis accorded to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) by the People's Republic of China goes a long way to enhance the mission readiness of troops in execution of their mandate," Wamalwa said.

The Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Zhou Pingjian who also graced the event said the longstanding friendship between Kenya and China has existed for centuries, thanking the leadership of both countries for the good working relationship.

"I am proud of the wide-ranging cooperation between the two countries, including that of the military relations. We are committed to focusing on the China-Kenya relations so as to promote peace within the region," Ambassador Zhou said.

During the ceremony, the Deputy Army Commander and General Officer Commanding Eastern Command Major General Ayub Matiiri noted that the military aid gratis was a great milestone in supporting the KDF to sharpen the arrowhead as per the Chief of Defence Forces Strategic Vision in enhancing KDF mission readiness.

The event was graced by a delegation from China, senior officers, officers and service members.
Kylie Jenner had a sweet reason she truly 'didn't care' if people hated her Met look

The backwards cap and wedding gown that everyone freaked out over was actually "very special"
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

President Ilham Aliyev has stated that Azerbaijani-Israeli cooperation in renewable energy and high technologies has a high potential.

He made the remarks at a meeting with the co-chair of the Israel-Azerbaijan joint intergovernmental commission, Israels Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov on April 5.

Stating that Azerbaijan has already invested extensively in renewable energy, the president noted the Israeli companies' interest in this field, as well as their experience in the field of high technologies.

Pointing to economic relations, the head of state emphasized the importance of cooperation in the energy sector. He noted that Azerbaijan was one of Israels important oil suppliers.

The president also praised the involvement of Israeli companies in the restoration and reconstruction work underway in Azerbaijan's liberated territories.

He pointed out the many years of successful cooperation between the two countries in the military-technical sphere.

Moreover, noting the successful development of relations between the two countries, the president underlined the importance of the Azerbaijani trade mission in Israel and the opening of a tourism center. He added that the reciprocal visits had also contributed to the development of bilateral relations.

Aliyev also highlighted the role of diasporas in the development of bilateral relations both in Azerbaijan and Israel, emphasizing that representatives of the two peoples had lived in friendship for centuries. He noted that Azerbaijan appreciates the participation and courage of members of the Jewish community in the first and second Armenia-Azerbaijan wars.

Yoel Razvozov pointing to expressed his satisfaction that for many years there have been ties of friendship and mutual understanding between the two peoples.

He said Israel appreciates the peace and tranquility of the Jewish community in Azerbaijan, describing it as an exemplary country in this regard.

Israel has always supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. We welcome the restoration of the territorial integrity of your country. This is very important, he said.

The minister expressed hope that talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan would be successful and contribute to strengthening regional stability.

Furthermore, he expressed Israeli companies' eagerness to get involved in a variety of fields in Azerbaijan's liberated territories, such as agriculture, smart cities, energy, water supply, and so on.

He described Azerbaijan as a very attractive country for doing business and said that the existence of safe and secure conditions for business in the country was beneficial for Israeli companies.

Razvozov emphasized that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic Azerbaijani-Israeli diplomatic relations.

Additionally, he congratulated the president on the beginning of Ramadan.
Blog

Nigeria Health Watch is thrilled to announce recipients of the Solutions Journalism Africa fellowship. The fellowship is part of the Solutions Journalism Africa Initiative supported by the Solutions Journalism Network, U.S.A. Over the next four months, the 1o selected fellows will produce and publish stories of how people are responding to various social problems across Nigeria and in their communities. They will also amplify the practice of solutions journalism through their various project ideas from advocacy visits to journalism training institutions and facilitating solutions journalism trainings.

Meet the Solutions Journalism Africa Fellows:

Israel Olatunji Tijani is a multimedia journalist and data analyst with 5 years of experience across, mainstream print, radio, and digital outlets in Nigeria. Passionate about telling untold stories and powerful impact data stories, investigative and solution journalism. His journalism career spans social, gender equality, health, tech, and environmental issues, focusing on Nigeria's marginalized communities. His work has been published by major Nigerian newspapers including The Nation and Sahara Reporters.

Umo Akwang is a Nigerian journalist with experience covering gender advocacy, global health, and development. While her journalism career started as a reporter and news anchor, she presently is an on-air-personality, news editor, legislative correspondent with Sparkling FM Calabar and Publisher, Glocal Media - an online News platform. She is the Cross River State Freedom of Information Ambassador with Y-monitor Project and has been engaged in various forms of journalism, including but not limited to development, advocacy, and solutions journalism.

Adam Alqali is a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of African Newspage, a digital newsmagazine focused on reporting Africa's development. He won the 2018 West Africa Media Excellence and Conference Awards (WAMECA) in the SDGs reporting category. Beyond his work as a journalist, Mr. Alqali has successfully handled several communication and research consultancies.

Blessing Oladunjoye is a journalist and publisher of BONews Service, a platform that leverages on the digital space to report about the vulnerable groups: Women, Persons with Disabilities and Children

Rasheed Ademola ADEBIYI holds a PhD from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He teaches PR & Advertising; News Writing and Reporting as well as Development Communication at the Department of Mass Communication, Fountain University, Osogbo, Nigeria. He is a Co-Founder/Editor-in Chief of AbitoCitta (abitocitta.com) where he publishes solution-focused stories in the education sector in Nigeria and Africa.

Usman Aliyu is a Principal Correspondent with the News Agency of Nigeria. He joined the service of the agency in 2010 as a reporter and has reported from both the Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria. He has had a stint in many the beats over the years with a particular interest in Health and Gender, Sports, Judiciary, Education, Agriculture and Environment, Politics, and Economy beats.

Abiodun Jamiu is a journalist based in Sokoto, North-West Nigeria. His reporting is at the intersection of social justice, conflict, and humanitarian issues, and has been published by Guardian UK, Premium Times, HumAngle Media, Ijnet.

Folakemi Ajala is a freelance writer, ghostwriter, and editor. Her articles have been featured in The Guardian, and Nigeria Health Watch. She is passionate about using words as a driver for positive change. Folakemi earned her B.Sc. in Environmental Science and Education and has had a versatile work history which span the fields of early childhood education, human resource management in the agile industry of oil and gas, and Environmental Science. She has served as a contributing scriptwriter for AIT's 'The 3L Show'.

Misbahu el-Hamza is a freelance multimedia journalist based in Kano, Nigeria. He has reported on health, sciences, and agriculture for the Nigeria Health Watch, and Nigerian Tracker where he serves as an editor. He is the organiser of TEDxAminuKanoWay, has a bachelor's in Statistics, and currently a post graduate diploma student in Mass Communications.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Health Nigeria Media By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Emiene Erameh is a multimedia journalist who is passionate about issues affecting women. She is a media practitioner with ten years of cross-functional consultation and management as well as content creation for national and international outlook and outreaches. She is a Report Women Fellow and 2020 African Women in Media Pitch Zone Award winner in the Digital Transformation Category.

The Solutions Journalism Africa Initiative is training and supporting newsrooms and freelancers across Nigeria to produce stories that highlight how people are responding to various social problems.

For more details;

Contact; Chibuike Alagboso

Email; chibuike@nigeriahealthwatch.com

Phone; +2348063946394
1 Killed in Texas as Damaging Storms Tear Across South

MONTGOMERY, Ala.Violent storms killed one person in Texas on Tuesday as hail pelted communities and high winds knocked trees into power poles elsewhere in the South. Authorities issued a flurry of tornado warnings at the start of what could be two days of violent weather in the region.

In eastern Texas, W. M. Soloman, 71, died when storm winds toppled a tree onto Solomons home in Whitehouse, about 100 miles southeast of Dallas, Whitehouse Mayor James Wansley said. Officials said at least four homes in the area had trees fall on them.

More than 50,000 homes and businesses were without power Tuesday afternoon from eastern Texas to South Carolina. No injuries were reported, but the National Weather Service issued a nonstop stream of tornado warnings for hours as the storm system tore across Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.

In South Carolina, Allendale County Manager William Goodson said a tornado, captured in a video on social media, caused damage in his rural county, but exactly how much and whether there were any injuries were unknown.

I know we have buildings damaged and power lines down, Goodson said. My deputies and emergency officials are out there assessing it.

The weather service said it was sending survey teams to examine potential tornado damage in Wetumpka, Alabama. Lightning struck a flea market in the north Alabama community of Laceys Spring, causing a fire that gutted the building, news outlets reported, and rising water in Mobile Bay covered part of a ramp on Interstate 10.

Fallen trees and limbs closed a stretch of highway for several hours in Newton County, Mississippi. As the line of storms pushed into Georgia, a large tree fell and crashed through the roof of Marie Jordans home in metro Atlanta, coming down in the living room, kitchen and garage.

It just took everything, Jordan told WSB-TV. For years and years, I have watched that tree.

Elsewhere in Texas, one person was injured when the storms swept through Johnson County, about 40 miles southwest of Dallas. Brittaney Deaton said she became trapped in an RV trailer behind her familys home after the trailer flipped over. She said her stepfather got injured trying to free her.

I was screaming on the phone. I couldnt get out. I was terrified, Deaton told KDFW-TV. And I felt like I was just trapped, like it was going to roll with me in it. And I just thank God that I got out.

Her mother, Amber Zeleny, said her husband suffered injuries to his nose, leg and ribs but that he was expected to recover.

Severe storms with powerful tornados are possible across a broad area stretching from southern Mississippi to the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, the Storm Prediction Center said. The area most at risk includes more than 8 million people in the Alabama cities of Mobile and Montgomery; Tallahassee, Florida; and Columbus and Savannah in Georgia.

Isolated areas could receive as much as 5 inches of rain during the day Tuesday, increasing the risk of flash flooding and softening the ground so that even more trees could blow down, forecasters said.

The threat of damaging weather will move to the north on Wednesday, forecasters said, with severe storms possible across an area stretching from western Alabama to the western tip of the Carolinas. More than 10 million people in metro areas including Atlanta; Birmingham; and Chattanooga, Tennessee, will be at risk, the Storm Prediction Center said.

Springtime often brings strong storms to the Southeast, and the region has faced a barrage of weather recently that included a tornado last month in metro New Orleans, where one person died, and storms that killed at least two people in the Florida Panhandle last week.
2 California Nurses Reflect on Vaccine Mandates as State Prepares to Add Laws

As California state lawmakers prepare to vote on seven COVID-19-related bills this month, two nurses reflected on how their hospitals managed vaccine mandates and religious exemptions.

Theres a lot of data suggesting that the mandate we did, didnt make a lot of difference, said Authur Gorman, a registered nurse from northern Californias Shasta County. Going forward, I want people to research that data, but I also want them to do local control.

Gorman said Californias blanket mandate pushed many healthcare workers out from their jobs during the pandemic.

Gorman said that when the state mandated vaccines for all healthcare workers, many staff at Mercy Medical Center in Reddingthe hospital he worked atwere put on leave. Then in July 2021, the state implemented a vaccine mandate for all healthcare workers. Those who did not comply by Sept. 30, 2021, were put on leave.

Gorman said that mandating the vaccine didnt make sense from a healthcare perspective.

[For] many other diseases we have, if you get the natural infection, then you dont need a vaccination for it, like chicken pox or measles, he told The Epoch Times.

He said it didnt make sense for people like himself to take the vaccine after they had contracted COVID-19 and recovered. He contracted COVID-19 in April 2020 and again in Dec. 2020.

I worked in the vaccine clinics, giving vaccines. I probably gave over 700 vaccines, trying to get the community to a level that we thought would reach herd immunity with natural immunity and vaccination immunity, said Gorman.

Authur and Katie Gorman during a video interview on March 15, 2022. (Cynthia Cai/The Epoch Times)

After the mandates were in place, the National Guard was called in Oct. 2021 to help staff hospitals in Shasta County and throughout the state. Gorman explained that National Guard members were going around various counties to support areas with large surges and helping with patient care, drawing blood, and other general tasks.

He said that aside from natural immunity, many of his coworkers didnt want the vaccine for religious or personal reasons and protested the mandates.

Many of the people I worked with got denied the religious exemption multiple times, Gorman said.

He said his exemption was accepted but many of his coworkers requests were denied. He described the exemption process as long and arbitrary.

[The hospital] said they sent everything out to a third party, so the third-party agency was supposed to follow what the federal guidelines were for accepting religious exemptions, said Gorman. Some people put in a medical exemption for the religious exemption and got approved, which [the hospital] said was an automatic denial, but those folks got approved. Other people that put in a religious exemption got denied.

Craig and Regina Sharrett during a video interview on March 23, 2022. (Cynthia Cai/The Epoch Times)

Craig Sharrett, another nurse from Shasta County, said he had a similar experience with the religious exemption at his hospital, though he did not specify the hospital name due to privacy concerns.

I filed for that, as did a lot of other people that I was working with. Mine got denied, which was interesting because it was very similar in verbiage to people that had theirs accepted, Sharrett told The Epoch Times.

He said some of his coworkers applied multiple times but were consistently denied. When he asked his supervisors for an explanation, none of them knew why either, he said.

I didnt like the way they handled it. One of the main things I didnt like was that people that were enforcing the rules didnt know why they were enforcing them, Sharrett said.

After having his exemption rejected, he worked until Sept. 30, 2021, and took a one-month stress leave from his job. Throughout October 2021, Sharrett worked in construction as a general contractor.

In late October 2021, the hospital reached out and offered staff the chance to resubmit their exemption requests. This time, the exemption form only required people to check a box.

So I did that, and then it got accepted, Sharrett said. I went back the first week of November, and its been good. I havent had to deal with the stress. There wasnt a big push [for vaccines] like before.

Moving forward, both nurses hope the legislature will allow for more personal and local control when it comes to managing pandemics and medical decisions.

You have to stand up for what you believe in. Its really hard to believe for me that someone would sacrifice their own well-being because theyre being coerced into it, Sharrett said. A person should have the right to choose what is done to their bodies.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers are considering a handful of new laws that directly relate to COVID-19 and mandates.

Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks announced on March 29 that she is shelving AB 1993, which would have required all California businesses to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for their employees and any independent contractors.

This provides for us the opportunity to work more collaboratively with labor and employers to address concerns raised by the bill. That is why we have decided to put AB 1993 on pause, and allow space for these conversations to continue and progress, said Wicks, a Democrat, in a March 29 Twitter post .

However, seven other vaccine and mandate-related bills remain active, namely: AB 1797 , AB 2098 , SB 871 , SB 866 , SB 1479 , SB 1018 , and SB 1464 .

The two assembly bills would allow healthcare providers to disclose certain immunization information to local and state health departments and would allow disciplinary action against doctors and surgeons who disseminate or promote misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19.

The five senate bills would mandate all children (from age 0) to get a COVID-19 vaccine to attend daycare or school; allow children aged 12 and older to get a COVID-19 vaccine without parental consent; require tech companies to publicly disclose how algorithms interact with information; and require law enforcement to enforce public health orders.

SB 1464 is scheduled for a hearing on April 6, while the other bills are waiting for a date to be set.
People attend a candlelight vigil for victims of a fatal shooting held at Ali Youssefi Square in Sacramento, Calif., on April 4, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

2nd Man Arrested in Sacramento Mass Shooting

SACRAMENTO, Calif.A second suspect was arrested Tuesday in connection to the mass shooting in Sacramento that killed six people in Californias capital, and police said he is the brother of the first suspect.

Smiley Martin, 27, was arrested while hospitalized with serious injuries from the gunfire. When his condition improves enough for him to be jailed, he will be booked for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun, a police statement said.

Smiley Allen Martin on Feb. 6, 2022. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP)

More than 100 shots were fired early Sunday in downtown Sacramento, creating a chaotic scene with hundreds of people trying desperately to get to safety. In addition to the dead, 11 people were wounded along with Smiley Martin.

A day later police announced the arrest of Dandrae Martin, 26, as a related suspect on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun. His first court appearance was set for Tuesday.

Dandrae Martin in a file photo. (Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry via AP)

Detectives and SWAT team members found one handgun during searches of three area homes. Smiley Martin was located at the scene and taken to a hospital, police said.

Smiley Martin was quickly identified as a person of interest and has remained under the supervision of an officer at the hospital while his treatment continues. Based on information developed during this investigation, Smiley Martin was taken into custody by Sacramento Police Department detectives on April 5, 2022, the statement said.

The arrests came as the three women and three men killed were identified. The shooting occurred at about 2 a.m. Sunday as bars were closing and patrons filled the streets near the state Capitol. The fallen included a father of four, a young woman who wanted to be a social worker, a man described as the life of the party, and a woman who lived on the streets nearby and was looking for housing.

The Sacramento County coroner identified the women killed as Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21. The three men were Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and Devazia Turner, 29.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg read their names during a vigil Monday evening attended by grieving relatives, friends and community members.

So we gather here to remember the victims and to commit ourselves to doing all we can to ending the stain of violence, not only in our community but throughout the state, throughout the country, and throughout the world, Steinberg said.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg reads the names of the shooting victims during a candlelight vigil held at Ali Youssefi Square in Sacramento, Calif., on April 4, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

Turner, who had three daughters and a son, was a protector who worked as the night manager at an inventory company, his mother, Penelope Scott, told The Associated Press. He rarely went out, and she had no reason to believe he would be in harms way when he left her house after he visited Saturday night.

My son was walking down the street and somebody started shooting, and he got shot. Why is that to happen? Scott said. I feel like Ive got a hole in my heart.

The burst of gunshots sent people running in terror in the neighborhood just a few blocks from the arena where the NBAs Sacramento Kings play.

Police were investigating whether the shooting was connected with a street fight that broke out just before gunfire erupted. Several people could be seen in videos scrapping on a street lined with an upscale hotel, nightclubs and bars when gunshots sent people scattering.

Detectives also were trying to determine if a stolen handgun found at the crime scene was connected to the shooting, Police Chief Kathy Lester said. Witnesses answered her plea for help by providing more than 100 videos and photos of evidence.

District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert noted that Dandrae Martin was not arrested on suspicion of homicide, but suggested investigators were making progress.

The investigation is highly complex involving many witnesses, videos of numerous types and significant physical evidence, Schubert said in a statement. This is an ongoing investigation and we anticipate more arrests in this case.

Dandrae Martin, who was held without bail, was freed from an Arizona prison in 2020 after serving just over 1.5 years for violating probation in separate cases involving a felony conviction for aggravated assault in 2016 and a conviction on a marijuana charge in 2018. Court records show he pleaded guilty to punching, kicking, and choking a woman in a hotel room when she refused to work for him as a prostitute.

It was not immediately clear Tuesday whether the Martins had attorneys who could speak on their behalf.

Four of those wounded suffered critical injuries, the Sacramento Fire Department has said. At least seven of the victims had been released from hospitals by Monday and two patients were still hospitalized at UC Davis Medical Center on Tuesday, according to spokesperson Tricia Tomiyoshi. She did not disclose their conditions.

At the scene where the chaos erupted, memorials with candles and flowers grew on the same sidewalks where video showed people screaming and running for shelter as others lay on the ground writhing in pain.

A small bouquet of purple roses was dedicated to Melinda Davis, who lived on the streets for years, with a note saying Melinda Rest In Peace.

A person who did not want to be identified holds a photograph of Melinda Davis, 57, during a candlelight vigil held at Ali Youssefi Square in Sacramento, Calif., on April 4, 2022. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

The California Assembly held a moment of silence Monday in honor of the victims. Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, a Democrat who represents Sacramento, noted lawmakers could see the crime scene from the buildings balcony.

Tragic is too small of a word to describe what occurred just two nights ago as a devastating loss for our city, McCarty said.
Jason D. Riddle, 39, of Keene, N.H., was sentenced to 90 days in jail for drinking wine and stealing a book at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshots via The Epoch Times)

90 Days in Jail for Wine-Chugging Book Thief at US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021

A New Hampshire man who chugged from a bottle of wine in the Office of the Senate Parliamentarian and stole a leather-bound book from the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced on April 4 to 90 days in jail followed by three years of probation.

Jason Daniel Riddle, 39, of Keene, New Hampshire, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich to pay $754 in restitution. The 90-day jail sentence matched the recommendation made by federal prosecutors, although the three years of probation was triple what the U.S. Department of Justice recommended.

In a November deal with prosecutors, Riddle pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property and one count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

Riddle was arrested in February 2021 after he was interviewed by the NBC television affiliate in Boston and mentioned chugging a glass of wine inside the Capitol. Based on evidence on his phone, the FBI found that Riddle also stole a gold-embossed hardcover book and sold it outside the Capitol for $40.

Jason D. Riddle outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He admitted to stealing a $254 book from a Senate office. (U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

According to court records, Riddle walked to the U.S. Capitol after President Donald Trumps speech at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021. Once on Capitol grounds, he heard an individual perched atop the scaffolding set up for the inauguration shouting instructions to the crowd, such as move forward and keep moving.

At one point, he observed police lobbing concussion grenades into the crowd, which he said fired people up.

Riddle followed the crowd into the Capitol and observed chaos.

He saw papers everywhere, people breaking things, and he saw a man smashing printers and computers with what appeared to be a fence pole from the barriers outside, reads a statement of facts that he signed.

Riddle entered the Office of the Senate Parliamentarian, where he found a refrigerator containing a bottle of wine and poured himself a glass. He told the Boston television station that he chugged the wine before leaving the office.

He also purloined a leather-bound book on Senate parliamentary procedure, which he sold outside to an unknown individual for $40, according to court records. The book was valued at $254.

Riddle photographed the destruction in and around the Capitol and treated the chaos and disorder around him as an entertaining spectacle, even posing for selfie-style photographs in the middle of the riot, reads the governments 31-page sentencing memorandum, which was written by prosecutor George Eliopoulos.

Months after his arrest, Riddle gave another interview to NBC in Boston, during which he expressed no contrition, but instead announced he was running for Congress and that his involvement in the riot and the resulting criminal case would be good for him, giving him valuable publicity for his run for elected office, Eliopoulos wrote. Any attention is good attention, so I think it will help me.

Riddles attorney, Eric Wolpin, told the court that since his arrest, Riddle has addressed a long-standing issue with alcohol.

Jason acted impulsively, but not violently, Wolpin wrote in his 12-page sentencing memorandum. He violated the law and has pled guilty to two misdemeanors that will forever remain upon his criminal record.

In the year that has followed, Jason has been law-abiding and done nothing to suggest that he intends to steal, harm others, or unlawfully disrupt government administration.

Wolpin asked the court not to sentence Riddle to jail time, but instead impose 30 months of probation and $754 in restitution.
Figurines are seen in front of the Airbnb logo in this illustration taken Feb. 27, 2022. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters)

Airbnb Suspends Operations in Russia, Belarus

Airbnb is suspending its operations in Russia and Belarus, the company announced late Monday.

This means that new reservations cannot be made for stays or experiences in Russia or Belarus, and guests located in both countries will no longer be able to make new reservations anywhere in the world, the company said in a statement.

Guests globally will no longer be able to make new reservations for stays or experiences in Russia or Belarus, and guests located in Russia or Belarus will not be able to make new reservations on Airbnb, the company continued, adding that this is an evolving situation, and well provide further guidance as we receive more information.

Reservations starting on or after April 4 had been canceled, it added.

The companys CEO Brian Chesky previously announced on March 4 that it would be suspending its operations in both countries but did not provide further details as to why it was doing so.

Belarus has been an ally of Moscow in its military invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.

Cheskys verified Twitter account currently displays an icon of the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag.

An Airbnb spokesperson told The Epoch Times at the time: Airbnb has made the decision to suspend our operations in Russia and Belarus. This means that we will block calendars from accepting new bookings in both countries until further notice. We will also restrict users in Belarus and Russia from making new reservations as guests.

The company had previously said it was unable to process transactions affiliated with certain financial institutions in Russia and Belarus due to Western sanctions imposed in the wake of Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has more than 93,000 listings on Airbnb and Belarus almost 4,000, according to market research firm AirDNA.

However, given that multiple countries have limited or completely pulled flights to both countries, it is unclear what impact the new decision will have on Airbnbs profits.

The company previously announced it was going to accommodate up to 100,000 refugees fleeing from Ukraine, free of charge.

More than 4.2 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his special military operation, according to United Nations refugee agency data published on Monday.

The majority have fled to Poland, followed by Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

The speed of the displacement, coupled with the huge numbers of people affected, is unprecedented in Europe in recent memory, said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi last week during his first visit to Ukraine since the conflict began.

I have spoken with women, with children, who have been gravely affected by this war, he added. Forced to flee extraordinary levels of violence, they have left behind their homes and often their families, leaving them shocked and traumatized. The protection and humanitarian needs are enormous, and continue to grow. And while critically urgent, humanitarian aid alone cannot give them what they really needand that is peace.
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, on March 25, 2022. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

Amazons New Union Demands Company Start Bargaining in May

The union that Amazon.com Inc. workers recently voted to represent them has demanded the company start bargaining in early May and cease any changes to employment terms at their warehouse in the interim, according to a letter the group issued Saturday on Twitter.

The Amazon Labor Union also demanded the retailer respect workers rights to union representation during disciplinary meetings, the letter said. Amazon did not immediately comment.

On Friday, after some 55 percent of workers voted to make their warehouse in Staten Island, New York Amazons first unionized worksite in the United States, the company said it may file objections before the election result is certified.

By Jeffrey Dastin
Undated artist impression showing the April 14, 1912 shipwreck of the British luxury passenger liner Titanic off the Nova-Scotia coast, during its maiden voyage. (OFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Anniversary of the Titanic Tragedy: 110 Years of Mystery and Discovery

Commentary

On the night of April 14/15, 1912, the Royal Mail Ship Titanic, a British luxury passenger liner, sank in the icy waters of the western North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg.

The liner was making its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York when tragedy struck, resulting in the death of approximately 1,500 passengers and crew.

Since 1912, 110 years ago, the Titanic has inspired filmmakers and writers. A musical, which premiered in April 1997, was based on the Titanics story. The Titanic movie became top viewing experience with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as the protagonists.

The doomed ship also received scientific attention from scholars who speculated about the causes of the disaster, the delayed rescue of the survivors, the insufficient number of lifeboats, and the economic consequences of the disaster.

Numerous attempts were made to locate the wreck until it was finally discovered in 1985.

It is fair to comment that the Titanic was much more in the limelight after the tragedy than during the short period between its launch on May 31, 1911, and its sinking on April 15, 1912. Over time, the Titanics demise has fuelled an insatiable interest in the gory details of the disaster, thereby elevating its story to a mysterious level, capable of generating conspiracy theories.

The Titanic was one of the ships built by the White Star Line. This Line commissioned the construction, in addition to the Titanic, of sister ships, namely the Olympic and the Britannic, in the first decade of the 20th century.

Both White Star, the owner of the Titanic, and a competing liner, Cunard, vied to increase their share of the market. The ships of both lines competed with regard to the time needed to cross the Atlantic. The Titanic offered comfort to its passengers, and even its third-class offerings were comfortable.

A replica of the grand staircase from the Titanic is displayed at the Metreon in San Francisco, Calif., on June 6, 2006. (David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

However, to place this forensic cruising activity of the early part of the 20th century into perspective, it is interesting to note that modern cruise ships are usually bigger and more sophisticated than the Titanic ever was. Compared to modern-day cruise ships, the Titanic would have looked like a dinghyan exaggeration, perhaps, but not an inappropriate comparison.

Of course, for its time, the Titanic was a luxurious and comfortable ship, and it was built to last. It was described as an unsinkable ship, yet four days into its maiden voyage, disaster struck in the middle of the night after increasing its speed.

The claim that the ship was unsinkable is a reminder that human hubris is but a futile emotion that can have, and did have, disastrous consequences.

For its time, the Titanic could certainly be described as opulent. But, of course, there has been opulence and luxury in every era.

An example of timeless opulence are the two ships built for the Roman Emperor Caligula in the 1st century. These sleek ships, raised from the Nemi lake in Italy in 1929, must have been an incredible sight: a mixture of marble, mosaics, paintings, and indescribable luxury, including heating and plumbing. They were floating palaces.

But the Titanic was certainly the most modern of its era, but not the only one, and cannot compete with the sophisticated modernity of the cruise ships of our time.

The rich and famous wanted to travel on the Titanic. The societal status of the first-class passengers contributed to the Titanics reputation as the worlds best-known shipwreck. They included Macys department store co-owner Isidor Straus and his wife, Ida, and businessperson Benjamin Guggenheim, who perished in the tragedy.

However, most victims came from steerage, unable to reach the lifeboats, which were in short supply. Only 705 people survived the disaster.

The 110th anniversary of the disaster provides an opportunity to restate a few relevant points of interest.

First, icebergs still constitute a navigational danger for ships in the western North Atlantic, where the Titanic sank. Hence, the climatic conditions that existed in 1912 are not substantially different from todays conditions.

4th April 1912: Latitude 41 46N and longitude 50 14W, the place where the Titanic sank. Original Publication: The Graphic, 1912. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Second, the Titanic was a ship with three classes: a first class for wealthy passengers, a second class for affluent passengers, and a third class for the less wealthy passengers, mostly immigrants, who occupied the ships steerage. Passengers in steerage were not allowed to access the facilities available only to first-class passengers, for example, the gym and the swimming pool. Such an arrangement is difficult to imagine on the cruise ships of our time.

Third, the Titanic has given the English language a new word that is very much used as an adjective to qualify a disastrous event or calamity of seismic proportions.

For years, the Titanic disaster adversely affected the willingness of people to go on cruises because they no longer trusted the safety measures taken by the cruise companies.

In a way, the reduction in cruising is reminiscent of the reluctance of people to embrace a cruise holiday today because of pandemic fears.

Indeed, cruise enthusiasts may still be haunted by the television images of dying passengers on cruise linersa calamity that started with the death of many passengers on the now infamous The Princess Diamond that was harboured in Yokohama port in early February 2020.

The history of The Titanic is captivating and became an enduring mystery because it took until 1985 to locate the wreck. Since then, more than 300 artifacts have been raised to the surface and are now exhibited in the United States. The exhibition, known as Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition is at present viewable in the Luxor in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Among the exhibitions displays are an unopened bottle of champagne with a 1900 vintage, passengers luggage, and floor tiles from the first-class smoking room. The exhibitions website reveals that the exhibit features a piece of Titanics hull, a full-scale re-creation of the Grand Staircase as well as a newly expanded outer Promenade Deck, complete with the frigid temperatures felt on that fateful April night. It is the most-visited exhibition ever.

Hopefully, this exhibition will also come to Australia, where the story of the doomed ship is well known. It will undoubtedly assuage 110 years of mystery and generate unabated interest in an important and most unfortunate historical event.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The European Union proposes a fifth round of sanctions on Moscow. Russian energy is included for the first time.

Twitter add Elon Musk to its board of directors a day after he disclosed a 9 percent stake in the company.

China makes its biggest purchase of U.S. corn since May 2021. Why? Is a food crisis on the horizon?

Amazon is lining up satellite launches to beam broadband internet. Its taking on Elon Musks Starlink.

Commercial drone deliveries are taking off across the United States, with a handful of companies officially launching their flying robots.
A Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet in flight after refueling over the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Brisbane, Australia on July 17, 2019. (Senior Airman Elora J. Martinez/U.S. Air Force via AP)

Australia Fast-Tracks Arming of Jets, Naval Ships With New Long-Range Missiles

The arming of Australian fighter jets and naval ships will be accelerated with new long-range strike weapons under a recently announced AU$3.5 billion (US$2.64 billion) plan.

The federal government on April 5 released details of the plan which will see Australian defence forces armed with missiles that can strike targets from 900 kilometres away.

The world has been shocked with what weve seen in Europe and in the Ukraine and we hope and pray that doesnt spread to other countries, Defence Minister Peter Dutton told the Seven Network.

But were also very worried about whats happening in the Indo-Pacific, and this is about Australia being prepared and making sure that we can stare down any act of bullying against our country.

Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton is seen during top of meeting remarks ahead of Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) talks at Admiralty House, in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 21, 2022. (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi)

The Australian government is contending with a freshly minted agreement between Beijing and the Solomon Islands government that will open the door for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to station armed police, troops, weaponry, and naval ships in the South Pacific regionjust 1,700 kilometres from Australias northern city of Cairns.

Under the new plan meanwhile, Australias 24 Super Hornet jets and F-35A Joint Strike Fighters will be armed with Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM-ER) by 2024three years ahead of schedule.

The JASSM-ER is an air-to-ground cruise missile manufactured by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon and has a range of 900 kilometres.

Australias Anzac-class frigate and Hobart-class destroyers will be armed with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) manufactured by Norwegian firm Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace.

The new anti-ship missiles will arrive five years ahead of schedule and will have a range of 185 kilometres, replacing the current Harpoon missiles.

Hi-tech sea mines will also arrive three years ahead of schedule.

Dutton said that in the short-term Australia would buy the weapons from defence partners, but in the medium term, the government will look to develop its own manufacturing capability.

The defence minister also revealed that he expected the timeframe for Australias proposed acquisition of new nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS agreement to be shortened by a considerable period.

They (the United States) understand the situation here in the Indo-Pacific. I think we can condense the timeline of delivery, he said.

Concerns have been raised over potential capabilities gaps between when Australia retires its current Collins-class submarine fleet, and when it receives nuclear submarinesleaving the navy short one of its key weapons.

In early March, the federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese said the centre-left Labor Party would look to refit advanced weapons to Australian jets and naval vessels if it won the next election.

We will consider whether tomahawk missiles can be fitted to the Collins-class submarines, he said. We will review the progress of the Frigates project and explore whether our naval power could be bolstered through upgraded weapons on the Arafura-class offshore patrol vessels or through additional Hobart-class Air Warfare Destroyers.
Cars drive past the Kremlin during the last day of the three-day parliamentary and local elections in Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 19, 2021. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)

Australia to Target Putins Wealthy Enablers With Ban on Luxury Goods Exports to Russia

Australia has taken aim at Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wealthy enablers by banning the export of luxury goods to Russia, including wine, high value cosmetics, and parts for luxury vehicles.

These sanctions target President Putin and his wealthy enablers, not ordinary Russian consumers, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced on April 4.

Australia is moving in step with the European Union and the United States, which already have similar bans in effect, to restrict the Russian elites access to such goods and further isolate Russia from the global financial system.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne speaks at the 2022 Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 19, 2022. (Alexandra Beier/Getty Images)

Japan and Britain are expected to follow suit.

Japans ban will enter into force today, and the United Kingdoms ban is due to follow soon, Payne said in a release.

The Australian Government is deeply committed to imposing the highest costs on Russia for President Putins illegal and unprovoked war, she added.

This ban follows our targeted financial sanctions on President Putin, members of his Government, Russian oligarchs, propagandists and disinformation operatives, as well as senior Russian military leaders. It also follows our ban on the export of alumina and bauxite to Russia.

Luxury car makers Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen AG (parent company of Porsche and Audi) halted their vehicle exports to Russia at the beginning of March.

Luxury car exports to Russia represent about two percent of global sales for Europes major luxury vehicle brands.

The European Union is Russias largest trading partner, and imports from Russia to Europe are worth approximately 94.1 billion euros (US$100 billion) according to the United Nations Comtrade international trade statistics database.

Paynes announcement comes hours after Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton condemned Putin over the killing of Ukrainian civilians in the city of Bucha, near Kyiv, allegedly at the hands of Russian forces.

Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton is seen during top of meeting remarks ahead of Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) talks at Admiralty House, in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 21, 2022. (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi)

Photos and videos captured in Bucha emerged over the weekend, showing dead people in mass graves and on the streets. On April 3, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba claimed that Russian forces had massacred the Ukrainian civilians.

Bucha massacre proves that Russian hatred towards Ukrainians is beyond anything Europe has seen since WWII, Kuleba wrote on Twitter, where he posted a photo of dead civilians that were allegedly targeted by Russian forces.

Dutton said the claims needed to be investigated.

Action should be taken against him because hes a brutal autocrat, and the use of chemical weapons, the use of brutality against women and children, just doesnt phase him, Dutton told Sevens Sunrise program on April 5.

When youre seeing theatres bombed, when youre seeing residential areas bombed, and the potential of mass graves or executions, that is straight up, and down the act of a war criminal, this should be investigated as quickly as possible.

Bryan Jung contributed to this article.
Justice Kazeem Alogba is the Chief Judge of Lagos State, reputed to be the busiest judiciary in Africa. After surviving the destructions of the #EndSARs protest, the court is still operating well. In this interview, he speaks about the physically challenged and access to court; judicial corruption, the appointment of judges, and sundry issues. Excerpt:

What is your take on the challenges faced by physically challenged persons in using the courts in Nigeria as compared to other parts of the world?

Certain things happen in developed countries before they get started here. Beginning with the administration of Mr. Raji Fashola, buildings in Lagos State are now being configured putting into consideration the challenges of the physically challenged persons and lawyers. These buildings before that came into being have been there for years. Likewise our courthouses in Lagos that were gutted by fire.

But for every building that came up in Lagos in the last 10 years, we have always taken the physically challenged into consideration. In our courts, we have blind lawyers who appear. In Lagos State, we consider the physically challenged. Go to the court at Eti-Osa you will see facilities to assist the physically challenged. In Lagos, we are taking the physically challenged into consideration.

What is your assessment of the conflicting orders, and quality of judgments coming out from our courts of first instance?

People sit down to say poor decisions, poor rulings, some even call me to say 'My lord, did you hear that judgment?' I have to call them to order and say do you have the facts that led to that judgment? So as a judge I don't even comment on a judgment or ruling until I have seen the facts. It is okay for society to comment on judgments but it should be constructive.

Recently, on social media, there was a case handled by two judges in my court and then there was this extract that says that a brother judge made a statement that his colleague must have taken a bribe. I was disturbed. In the first place, a brother judge is not likely to say that another judge has taken a bribe because it is not the right thing to say if there is no evidence.

I later called the two judges and I saw the proceedings and discovered that it was mischief from social media. This should not be so because court proceedings and records are public documents that you can apply for before making comments. It is a point of duty that the judiciary must provide them for you, particularly in this era of the Freedom of Information Act and the Lagos State judiciary does not hoard information.

I cannot talk about poor judgments except for literary exposition. When you write a judgment, other members of the society can review it some time to show that proper language has been used, it helps the society. No person can claim perfection.

Is the judiciary in Nigeria the worst in Africa in terms of corruption?

Corruption is not only when you give out money as a bribe. I am not in a position to say that the judiciary is not corrupt because I will be putting myself into the arena. But I can say that the judiciary in Lagos State is not corrupt and so I challenge you, whenever you have information, you have to expose it and Lagos will be better for it. I do not tolerate it at all.

Not only that I want to correct the situation but I want to encourage those who are working well. When one judge is corrupt, it dents the image and integrity of all of us at once. And it takes time to rebuild it, that is why we don't tolerate it here.

It is impossible without empirical evidence to say that the Nigerian judiciary is the most corrupt in Africa. I do not agree that the judiciary in Nigeria is the worse in Africa in terms of corruption. Every country should be considered on its own.

The only place where my salary is attached is where I can speak for - Lagos State. There have been one or two complaints of seeming tendency, all might not be by taking money. Nepotism is corruption, indolence to me is corruption. When you are to do something and the thing drags, I do not tolerate it and I punish people for it.

Some stakeholders in the justice sector believe that the appointment of judges in Nigeria has been hijacked by political office holders?

It is the Nigerian factor, the truth of the matter is that there is incursion by political office holders to ordinarily where they should not. Look at what happened in the USA when they stormed the Capitol City Hall, if that happens in Nigeria, it might take ages. If that happens in Nigeria, he is likely to get away with it. He (Donald Trump) relied on his nominees to stand by him to say that what he did was not wrong. One or two of the nominees wrote against him or what he did. The question is, is it possible in Nigeria? I think it is possible when nobody would run after the judge because of that ruling and his house would not be bombed the next day. When the daughter would not be kidnapped the next day.

But don't forget that we are all human beings. That judge who did that in the USA knew that there would be no reprisal with regards to his job. His file would not be lost so that when he retires, he would not be able to collect his pension and gratuity. In Nigeria, that may happen to you.

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I can tell you that in Nigeria the judiciary is even more independent than those other judiciaries abroad, considering all the factors. But the Nigerian judge could be faced with so many reprisals but if you are worth your salt and you know that even if you quit the bench on principle you will see that Nigerian judges are better. I don't want to deny the fact that there are incursions but it all depends on who is heading the courts.

In Lagos State, neither executive nor legislature interferes in the appointment of judges. Even market women sometimes say these are the people that should be appointed as judges. But there are parameters - one, you show your interest; two, write exams, and three, you pass the exams enough to meet the cut-off marks. Sometimes the exams are so competitive that people who scored 70 per cent do not meet the cut-off mark. Yes, you did well but you did not meet the cut-off.

In Lagos, we follow the NJC guidelines. When we took our last set of would-be appointees to NJC, their qualities were acknowledged and NJC wanted to give us more appointments to the bench. We are so proud of that because we do not want rotten eggs placed on us.
Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton addresses media in front of the Subiaco War Memorial in Perth, Australia on April 19, 2021. (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)

Australian Defence Minister Says Putin Should Be Investigated for War Crimes

Australias Defence Minister Peter Dutton has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be investigated for war crimes allegedly by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Bucha after photos and videos emerged of dead bodies lying in the streets and in mass graves.

On April 3, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba claimed that Russian forces had massacred Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, located near Kyiv, as Western powers said they were preparing more sanctions against Moscow.

Bucha massacre proves that Russian hatred towards Ukrainians is beyond anything Europe has seen since WWII, Kuleba wrote on Twitter, where he posted a photo of dead civilians that were allegedly targeted by Russian forces.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at the Ukrainian-Polish border crossing in Korczowa, Poland, on March 5, 2022. ( Olivier Douliery/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

He added, in a follow-up post that included more photos of dead Ukrainian civilians, that the only way to stop further similar acts was for Ukraines partners to send tanks, combat aircraft, heavy air defence systems to help Ukraine kick Russians out as soon as possible.

The Epoch Times could not immediately verify the photos posted by Kuleba on his Twitter account.

In response to the emerging information, Dutton declared Putin, a brutal autocrat.

It should be investigated. Action should be taken against him because hes a brutal autocrat, and the use of chemical weapons, the use of brutality against women and children, just doesnt phase him, Dutton told Sevens Sunrise program on April 5.

When youre seeing theatres bombed, when youre seeing residential areas bombed, and the potential of mass graves or executions, that is straight up, and down the act of a war criminal, this should be investigated as quickly as possible.

A mass grave is seen behind a church in the town of Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 3, 2022. (Sergei SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

The world needs to unite, become even stronger in the sanctions that were applying against Russia. Australia has been there from day one, supporting our allies and friends, standing united with Ukraine, he added.

Duttons comments follow remarks from Australias Foreign Minister Marise Payne, who said that Russia would be held accountable for the alleged war crimes by Russian troops in Bucha.

Shocked to hear of accounts of summary execution, rape, looting and other crimes by Russian troops in Bucha and across Ukraine, Payne wrote on Twitter on April 3.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne speaks at the 2022 Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 19, 2022. (Alexandra Beier/Getty Images)

The targeting and treatment of innocent men & women in this way is despicable. Russia must and will be held accountable for the actions of its forces.

Shocked to hear of accounts of summary execution, rape, looting & other crimes by Russian troops in Bucha & across Ukraine. The targeting & treatment of innocent men & women in this way is despicable. Russia must & will be held accountable for the actions of its forces.  Marise Payne (@MarisePayne) April 3, 2022

However, Russia has denied responsibility for the killings and accused Ukraine of another provocation.

All photographs and video materials published by the Kyiv regime, allegedly showing some kind of crimes by Russian military personnel in the town of Bucha  are yet another provocation, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on April 3, according to state-run media.

A destroyed building in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, on April 2, 2022. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)

Its particularity concerning that all the bodies of people whose images were published by the Kyiv regime, after at least four days, have not stiffened, do not have characteristic cadaveric spots, and have fresh blood in their wounds, it added.

Instead, the ministry has accused the Kyiv regime of staging the dead bodies for Western media as was the case with the [fake news from the] Mariupol maternity clinic.

The Epoch Times couldnt independently verify Russias claims.

Meanwhile, Payne has travelled to Brussels for a meeting of NATO Foreign Affairs Ministers to discuss a coordinated international response to Russias invasion of Ukraine and other global security challenges, she said in a release on April 4.
A worker cleans while wearing a mask at a restaurant at Southbank, Brisbane in Australia, on June 29, 2021. (Jono Searle/Getty Images)

Queensland to Lift Vaccine Requirement at Many Venues, Shift Focus on Boosters and Jabs for Kids

The Queensland state government of Australia has announced that it will lift COVID-19 vaccination requirements for a large number of venues, including cafes, cinemas, and galleries, as it refocuses its efforts on vaccinating children and pushing booster shots.

From 1 a.m. on April 14, most venues that have been open only to vaccinated staff and patrons will be open to all. This includes pubs, clubs, cafes, restaurants, theme parks, casinos, cinemas, weddings, showgrounds, galleries, libraries, museums, and stadiums.

The restrictions will remain in place at schools, hospitals, aged and disability care centres, prisons, and early learning centres.

These measures have done their job, Queensland Health Minister Yvette DAth said in a release.

Health Minister Yvette DAth speaks after announcing a three-day lockdown for the Greater Brisbane area in Brisbane, Australia, on Mar. 29, 2021. (Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

The measures first came into effect on Dec. 17, 2021, allowing only vaccinated people into a number of venues and premises in Queensland.

At the same time, the state opened its borders after months of being strictly controlled.

Queensland saw its highest COVID-19 infection and hospitalisation rates between late January and early February in the following weeks, as the Omicron variant wave swept the country, causing major workforce shortages and disruptions.

This was concurrently when the vaccination rate climbed to 90 percent of the eligible population nationally.

Citing the 90 percent vaccination rate amongst eligible Queenslanders, DAth said officials were now comfortable to take the next step.

But the best defence against serious illness is to be fully vaccinated, she said. Our focus is now very much on getting Queenslanders boosted, and children vaccinated.

The change comes as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk declared the states restrictions have served the purpose of slowing the spread of COVID.

More than 90 percent of Queenslanders 12 and over have been fully vaccinated, Palaszczuk said. The Chief Health Officer advises we can now safely ease these settings and still maintain a high level of protection.

Meanwhile, Queensland Chief Health Officer John Gerrard urged parents to arrange for their young children to get one of the available COVID-19 jabs.

Numbers of young Queensland children vaccinated are still not where they should be, he said. Their best protection is the vaccine, and I would encourage every parent to consider it.

Expressing skepticism about the Queensland Labor governments motives for dropping the restrictions, outgoing Queensland federal Nationals MP George Christensen said on Facebook, Someone in Labor must have sniffed the wind and realised Queenslanders dont like tyranny.

Queensland LNP MP George Christensen released video announcing he wont renominate as LNP candidate at the next Australian national election. (Screenshot by The Epoch Times)

Christensen, who will not be contesting his seat at the upcoming federal elections, has been a vocal critic of federal and state COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

The conservative elected official was recently part of an extra-parliamentary cross-party inquiry into the Australian governments handling of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The inquiry heard from experts and victims of the state and federal governments epidemic measures.

The inquiry was led by Queensland One Nation federal Senator Malcolm Roberts who recently spoke out against mandating COVID-19 vaccines for children under four.

Leader of One Nation, Queensland federal Senator Pauline Hanson, also tabled a petition with more than 41,000 signatures calling for a Royal Commission, the countrys highest form of public inquiry, into Australias handling of the epidemic.

In response to the announcement that Queensland will lift further restrictions, Hanson wrote on Facebook: While this is a major achievement for everyone who has been fighting to wind back mandates and restrictions there is still much work to be done and many questions to be answered.

It is through continued pressure, both in parliament and in our communities that we have been able to begin the process of restoring our freedoms and removing these draconian mandates, she added.

Meanwhile, Katters Australian Party (KAP) state Queensland MP Robbie Katter said the move comes a week after he tried to debate the vaccine mandates in Queensland Parliament.

Great news that the venue-based vaccine mandate has been lifted, but it never should have been introduced in the first place, he wrote on Facebook on April 5.

Its also curious that this issue wasnt worth the time of day last week when the KAP attempted to debate, and ultimately end, the vaccine mandates in the Queensland Parliament.

Workforce-based [vaccine] mandates remain in place, and these now need to go urgently, he said.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping applauds at the opening session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 5, 2022. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

Backing Russia Will Be Too Costly for Beijing: Ambassador

SYDNEYBacking Russia in the Ukraine War would be costly for Beijing, according to the recently appointed Ukrainian ambassador to Australia.

Vasyl Myroshnychenko, who recently arrived in the country, told audience members of the Western Heritage Australia organisation in late March it was clear the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was fence-sitting regarding publicly condemning Vladimir Putins regime.

The top diplomat said it was not worth the CCPs effort to back Russia given the size of its economy.

This is not an equal relationship. Russia is just one-eighth of the economy of China. If you look at Russia, really at its core, in economic terms, the GDP of Russia is equal to the GDP of the Netherlands, he said. If it was not for the nuclear weapons, it (Russia) would be of very little significance or influence.

Myroshnychenko also said that China was highly integrated into the world economy and questioned whether it would really benefit the CCP to disrupt trade relations with Western countries.

The dependence of China on America is much greater than the dependence of China on Russia, he said. Of course, we understand that by buying Russian oil and gas they will be able to support Putins regime, or trading in Yuan when he is not able to trade in dollars [due to sanctions].

Now Russia totally depends on China, and it will be up to China how they deal with it.

U.S., European, and Australian leaders have ramped up pressure on Beijing not to offer Russia a lifeline amid a wave of economic sanctions on the countrys oligarchs, state-owned enterprises, and military organisations.

Beijing will suffer major reputational damage for its refusal to explicitly denounce Moscow, warned European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Myroshnychenkos comments come just days before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Australian Parliament requesting the federal government send Bushmaster military vehicles to support the war effort.

We have to stop any intention from Russia to bypass sanctions. Most of all, we have to keep the heroes fighting these people armed, he said, according to Sky News Australia.

Meanwhile, photos and videos have emerged of dead bodies lying in the streets of the Ukrainian city of Bucha, near the capital Kyiv.

Bucha massacre proves that Russian hatred towards Ukrainians is beyond anything Europe has seen since WWII, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
Barbara Kay: Equal Shared Parenting Should Be Enshrined in Law in Canada

Commentary

In March, West Virginia passed legislation entrenching a rebuttable presumption that, following separation, parents will enjoy equal time with their child(ren). That is, in the absence of reasonably suspected child jeopardy, judges will no longer award custody to either parent. Equal shared parenting (ESP) will be the norm. West Virginia joins Arizona (2013), Kentucky (2018), and Arkansas (2021) in arriving at this enlightened, long-overdue solution to the inherent deficits of the traditional winner-takes-all system.

In Canada, where post-separation parenting rights are a federal matter, advocacy for ESP has been strong for decades, but political will for actual legislation remains weak to null.

There is evidence that voluntary shared parenting now appears to be the most common parenting arrangement in Canada in cases where both parents have had a significant role in the lives of their children before separation, according to a Queens University research paper. One might therefore argue that there is no need for legislation to entrench what is happening organically. But the sad fact is that in the absence of parental cooperation, the legal mechanisms for one hostile parent to take revenge on the other through financially ruinous litigation, parental alienation, and other abusive strategies are still available, thus still enabling injustice to loving parents and children trapped in the emotional churn such hostility creates.

Data from a cornucopia of peer-reviewed studies tells us that children benefit enormously from equal time, or as close as possible to equal, with both parents, even in babyhood. Data also shows that failure to spend significant time with one parent leads to a failure in bonding. For one important example among many, in 2016 Dr. Richard Warshak, clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas at Dallas, published an analysis of the relevant scientific literature on parental involvement after separation. More than 100 experts in the field endorsed Warshaks conclusion that, [j]ust as we encourage shared parenting in two-parent homes, the evidence shows that shared parenting (for parents who live apart) should be the norm for children of all ages, including sharing the overnight care for very young children. That paper has been translated into at least 18 languages and has informed legislatures and parliamentary deliberations throughout the United States and United Kingdom, as well as Israel, Finland, Sweden, and Canada.

Polls show that ESP is popular with the general public. In a recent interview with Paul Russell of LegalMattersCanada.ca, family law attorney and long-time ESP advocate Gene Colman addressed the results of a March Nanos poll, which found that support for ESP in the general public has increased since 2017. Among the key findings of the poll: 48 percent of Canadians strongly support ESP, as against 35 percent in 2017, and over eight in ten Canadians (64 percent) support having a free vote in Parliament on legislation that includes the principle of ESP after separation, absent special circumstances.

Observing that only 10 percent of Canadians actually oppose legislating ESP, Colman explained: That miniscule fraction includes most family law lawyers, social workers and psychologists, many of whom make a lot of money from the horror and hell that people involved in family law litigation currently must go through. With wry candour, Colman added, By endorsing a rebuttable presumption of [ESP], I am speaking against their and indeed my own economic interests. After all, we all make money from parents who cant agree on what the parenting schedule will be.

One of the most interesting key findings of the new Nanos poll is that about half of Canadians say that if a candidate or party supported the principle of ESP after separation, it would have no impact on their vote. But, significantly, almost one in three (32 percent) said such support would make them more likely to vote for that party or candidate. Interestingly, Colman notes, support is higher in the United States: American polls show that approximately 90 percent of citizens support [ESP], he told Russell. In Vancouver and parts of Quebec, according to Colman, a presumption for 50/50 parenting time is becoming de facto, but not in the rest of Canada.

ESP was a plank in former prime minister Stephen Harpers platform as far back as 2004, and to my knowledge was never officially abrogated. Yet, not only did Harper fail to address the issue as prime minister, he instructed his cabinet (30 members, several of whom would have supported ESP) to quash Bill C-560, a 2014 private members bill sponsored by former MP Maurice Vellacott, proposing a rebuttable-presumption amendment to the Divorce Act. Harpers hostility to the proposed bill seemed inexplicable to me, for he surely knew it would have popular support. Many advocates for ESP were disturbed by the fact that they, who could have provided reams of objective data on the issue, were excluded from consultation, but the testimony of the Canadian Bar Associationwhose members are the biggest financial stakeholders in the adversarial systemwas welcomed.

It is past time for a free vote on this issue. Equal parenting time and equal parenting authority are principles that may be resisted by ideologues who believe the mother is the essential parent and the fathers role contingent, but they are principles that all reasonable people will find fair and just. This is a childrens rights issue. It is neither liberal nor conservative to believe that children belong to their parents, not the state. Or to believe that, absent extraordinary circumstances, the state should have no more power after separation to rank parents as better or worse (an assessment that children normally have no desire to make) than it had before separation. That is, none.

The ESP default does not bind amicably splitting couples to 50/50. Individuals will be free to make their own arrangements. Its primary value lies in precluding the financial and human wreckage strewn about during and following contested cases of child custody. In Canada, 79 percent of of those cases ends with the mother being awarded sole guardianship.

According to recent amendments to the Divorce Act, the word custody is out; parenting time and decision making are in. The change improves the optics. Nevertheless, the root problem persists: The state still has the unnatural power to give or to take away from parents access to their own flesh and blood, too often according to bias. The solution, a rebuttable ESP default in law, cannot be enacted too soon.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Sept. 15, 2021. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Biden, AUKUS Leaders Announce Hypersonic Missile Plan

President Joe Biden, along with other leaders from the trilateral AUKUS international defense partnership, announced on April 5 the group will join in an effort to develop hypersonic missiles.

The pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, known as AUKUS, was announced in September 2021. Its main piece is a plan to build a fleet of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines for the Australian military as part of a security effort in the Indo-Pacific region.

The three leadersAustralian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Bidenissued an agreed statement on April 5, renewing commitment to the partnership and announcing plans for hypersonics.

We also committed today to commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing, and to deepen cooperation on defense innovation, the statement reads.

The announcement comes as news breaks about the United States quietly testing a hypersonic missile in March, first reported by CNN and later confirmed to The Epoch Times by a Pentagon official. The Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) missile was launched on the West Coast from a B-52 bomber, the official said.

The missile reached Mach 5 for an extended period of time, ascended to altitudes greater than 65,000 feet, and flew for more than 300 nautical miles, according to a release from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), marking what the agency says is its second successful flight in DARPAs HAWC program.

Air-breathing vehicles utilize air captured from the atmosphere to achieve sustained propulsion. The speed and maneuverability of such hypersonic cruise missiles allow both evasion of defenses and quick strikes. Their kinetic energy can effectively destroy targetseven without high explosives, according to DARPA.

China has also developed, and successfully tested, its own hypersonic missile in recent years. The Chinese launch was first confirmed by the Pentagon in October 2021.

While the Biden administration has insisted that the AUKUS deal is not aimed [at] or about any one country, many view it as a response to the increasingly assertive actions taken by China in the Indo-Pacific region.

During Department of Defense (DOD) budget hearings on April 5, Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned of the potential for future conflicts with both China and Russia as the DOD seeks $773 billion in increased defense spending from Bidens budget.

We are now facing two global powers, China and Russia, each with significant military capabilities, both [of whom] intend to fundamentally change the rules-based global order, said Milley. We are entering a world that is becoming more unstable, and the potential for significant conflict between international powers is increasing not decreasing.

A fact sheet issued by the White House on April 5 includes updates on the progress of building a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines for the Australian military.

The three AUKUS countries entered into a Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information Agreement (ENNPIA) on Feb. 8 to share information trilaterally.

Morrison announced on March 7 Australias plan to establish a future submarine base on the countrys East Coast. And the Australian government is working to secure land to build the construction yard for the nuclear subs.

The three countries have also made progress developing quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, and undersea capabilities, according to the White House.
People react as they gather close to a mass grave in the town of Bucha, just northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 3, 2022. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden Calls for Putin to Face War Crimes Trial as Violent Images From Ukraines Bucha Surface

President Joe Biden is once again labelling Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal and vowing to ratchet up U.S. sanctions against Russia in response to new images of violence on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Images from the Ukrainian town of Bucha show bodies lying dead in the street with some thrown in hastily dug graves, following the Ukrainian government saying they have retaken the city.

Russian officials have denied killing civilians in Bucha, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of committing genocide.

Addressing reporters as he arrived at the White House Monday, Biden referred to Putin as brutal and called for a war crimes trial against the Russian leader.

You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal, Biden said, referring to when he first gave Putin the label on March 16. Well, the truth of the matterwe saw it happen in Buchathis warrants himhe is a war criminal.

But we have to gather the information, Biden added.

U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, D.C. on April 04, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue to fight and we have to get all the detail so this could beactual have a war crimes trial. This guy is brutal and whats happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyones seen it.

When asked whether he thought the images from Bucha were evidence of a genocide Biden responded, no, I think its a war crime.

When asked if he would move to impose more sanctions, Biden said Im seeking more sanctions, yes. Asked for details, the president said, Ill let you know.

Zelensky left the capital, Kyiv, for his first reported trip since the war began nearly six weeks ago to see for himself what he called the genocide and war crimes in the town of Bucha.

Dead people have been found in barrels, basements, strangled, tortured, said Zelensky, who again called on Russia to move quickly to negotiate an agreement to end the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) speaks to the press in the town of Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, on April 4, 2022. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)

Moscow has denied the allegations, saying the recorded scenes of death in Bucha are staged.

All the photos and videos published by the Kyiv regime, allegedly testifying to the crimes of Russian servicemen in the city of Bucha, Kyiv region, are another provocation, Russias defence ministry said in a statement calling the footage another staged performance by the Kyiv regime for the Western media.

Top government officials in countries including France, Germany, Poland and the EUs top diplomat condemned the actions, and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights called for an investigation into what happened.

Ukrainian officials said the bodies of 410 civilians were found in towns around Kyiv that were recaptured from Russian forces in recent days. Associated Press journalists say they saw 21 bodies in Bucha, including a group of nine in civilian clothes who appeared to have been shot at close range.

A mass grave is seen behind a church in the town of Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 3, 2022. (Sergei SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden has continually increased sanctions against Russia as the war has waged on. These have included blocking Russian financial institutions, as well as individuals in Putins inner circle as well as a ban on all energy imports.

The United States has also pledged billions in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

White House officials have repeatedly said the United States is also looking to contribute to an international war crimes investigation into Putin.

There are a range of international bodies that have ongoing international investigations, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on March 18. We would not be the ones prosecuting, of course. Thered be international bodies prosecuting any case on war crimes. Were going to feed data and information into that, and they support their process.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
US President Joe Biden participates virtually in the annual ASEAN Summit from the South Court Auditorium of the White House in Washington, DC, on October 26, 2021. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden to Host ASEAN Leaders as Part of Indo-Pacific Strategy: Senior White House Official

The Biden administration is organizing the first-ever Washington-based summit of leaders from across the entirety of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to a White House National Security Council official.

New venues like the Quad are important but, foundationally, what is critical is a strong, vital, innovated, committed approach to ASEAN. And thats what were seeking, said Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs at the council.

Deepening engagement with ASEAN nations individually and collectively is a core part of U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific, Campbell said, and the U.S.-ASEAN special summit was specifically called for in the White Houses Indo-Pacific Strategy document, released in February.

Campbell said that ASEAN would be central to the United States engagement strategy in Asia, offering a much-needed entente to curb the malign influence of authoritarianism emanating throughout the region from the Chinese Communist Party. Such collaboration, he said, would help to grow partnerships based on democratic principles, rules, and norms throughout southeast Asia.

The summit of ASEAN leaders, he said, is hoped to take place in the spring and would allow ASEAN leaders to liaise with key players in the U.S. government to broaden and deepen the scope of engagement between the nations involved and to commit to new diplomatic, economic, and security frameworks for mutual prosperity.

The United States is the largest investment partner to ASEAN, accounting for more than the next three partners combined, according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy. Perhaps with that in mind, Campbell noted the unique role in leading the region that the body had, and how it differed from more limited partnerships such as the Quad, composed of India, Australia, Japan, and the United States, or AUKUS, composed of Australia, Britain, and the United States which primarily focuses on security.

The Quad is an unofficial gathering, Campbell said. We think its of critical importance.

But it is also the case that AUKUS has a very specific security component associated with that and it bridges a key partner in Europe.

The idea is to have a web of these interactions that are in many respects reinforcing more generally.

Campbell suggested that ASEAN would therefore be integral to spawning and fostering new agreements like the Quad and AUKUS, across the spectrum of diplomatic, economic, and military affairs.

What we are primarily interested in are not closed architectures, but those that encourage participation, that are about promoting common purposes and approaches to what we believe will be a complex security and political arena in the Indo-Pacific, Campbell said.

Those comments were also closely in line with the administrations strategy document, which called for engagement with ASEAN on everything from transportation to gender equality.

We endorse ASEAN centrality and support ASEAN in its efforts to deliver sustainable solutions to the regions most pressing challenges, the document said. To that end, we will deepen long-standing cooperation with ASEAN while launching new high-level engagements on health, climate and environment, energy, transportation, and gender equity and equality.

Campbell said that this cross-spectrum approach would be difficult to implement initially, but was ultimately necessary for creating a resilient and long-lasting architecture of alliances and partnerships that could be sustained through the development of common approaches and standards to international problems.

To that end, he said that the most important thing was that the upcoming summit looks to craft politicly viable agreements on trade, security, and climate change, through the development of overlapping alliances and partnerships. Financing and technology partnerships, educational opportunities, and even vaccine diplomacy, he said, were also on the table.

The administration hopes to not simply achieve one specific deliverable, he underscored, but to build out a series of engagements that could develop ASEAN into an independent leader of the western Pacific.

I think the key to an effective engagement between the United States and ASEAN is that it is multifaceted and has many strands, Campbell said. That is the key that we seek when the [ASEAN] leaders come to Washington.
Bidens Ominous Proposed Wealth Tax on Unrealized Gains

Commentary

To help fund his over-the-top spending proposal of $5.8 trillion in post-COVID fiscal year 2023, President Joe Biden has called for a brand new tax on wealth in addition to the current tax on income. He would tax assets that have appreciated since they were purchased.

This sounds like a capital gains tax, but it has an entirely new wrinkle: The tax would be levied before the owner actually sells the asset and realizes a gain. It would be a tax on a paper gaina phantom gain, not a real one.

Bidens political allies have come forth trumpeting the alleged virtues of such a tax. As typified in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Jason Furman, a Harvard economics professor who served as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers during President Barack Obamas second term, progressives claim that such a tax would be fair. Is that claim true? As the saying goes, not exactly.

After correctly mentioning that capital gains taxes currently are collected  only when an asset is sold, which is practical because that timing matches the payment of taxes with the cash that is generated to pay those taxes, Furman proceeds to identify three major disadvantages of waiting until an asset is sold before taxing gains. These so-called disadvantages all happen to fall on the government, not the taxpayer. (Surprise!)

The first alleged disadvantage is that not taxing gains until an actual profit is realized by selling an appreciated asset encourages people to hold on to assets and thereby defer paying taxes. Further, those paper gains remain untaxed if the owner dies, because his or her heirs receive the appreciated asset on a step-up basisthat is, their own cost basis for the asset is its price at the date of death of the person making the bequest, not the original purchase price. The step-up basis is irrelevant if the asset has gone down in price, but for the many assets that have appreciated, it lowers the new owners tax liability when he or she sells the asset.

Alas, Furman, Biden, and congressional progressives are impatient: They want more tax revenues now, so they want to tax paper gains before theyre actual gains. This is highly problematic. It reminds me of the Tom Cruise movie Minority Report, in which people were arrested before they committed crimes because state-controlled psychics foresaw crimes before they happened. Punishing someone before they have committed a crime is anything but fair as Americans understand fairness.

Similarly, taxing a gain before it has been realized by an actual sale (as opposed to a hypothetical gain) rests on an assumption that may or may not prove true. It assumes the owner someday will sell the asset for a capital gain. In the real world, though, as anyone who has minimal familiarity with the stock market can see, once-soaring stock prices often come crashing back to Earth. Paper gains often turn out to be real losses.

Furman tells us not to worry, that the feds will go easy on the rich Americans targeted by this new tax by allowing them to pay 20 percent of their tax liability on paper gains each year for five years; further, that if the asset goes down in value sometime during that time period, the taxpayer wont have to pay 20 percent in that particular year. Question: Would such a taxpayer get a refund on the annual tax payments already made on an asset that formerly showed paper gains, but later was sold below the purchase price? Nope. Uncle Sam gets to keep that money. That would run counter to settled law, common sense, and fundamental justice. Only progressives would think it fair to tax an American on a capital loss.

The second objection Furman presents for overturning the current law that taxes only actual gains is that its unfair for Americans of similar income or wealth to be taxed at different rates. As an example, he objects to a person who makes a large capital gain through stock investments paying a lower tax rate than a taxpayer who held stocks that didnt appreciate as much, but instead paid dividends.

This ignores the fact that investors freely choose what kind of stocks they want to invest in. Some individuals happily give up the possibility for massive capital gains by buying stocks that pay regular dividends. Such stocks typically are favored by investors trying to minimize risk. Stocks that dont pay dividends are more likely to soar to the moonand also more likely to crash. Stocks that pay regular dividends supply an ongoing income stream in exchange for greater potential capital gains and greater potential for catastrophic losses.

Different strokes for different folks. Whats unfair about letting each individual investor decide how much risk to take on? And if Furman really finds the higher tax rates on dividends than on capital gains objectionable, the economically fair way to fix that problem is for government to stop the current practice of double-taxation, i.e., taxing dividends that corporations pay out after already having paid taxes on the corporations profits.

According to Furman, the third disadvantage of waiting to tax capital gains when capital gains are actually realized is that the current way of taxing capital gains requires higher federal tax rates and more kinds of taxes to reach revenue goals. Translation: You should support our effort to impose this new tax on the rich, because were going to be spending gobs and gobs of money, and if we cant get enough tax revenues from the rich, well get it from you. Class warfare, anyone?

Whether youre rich or not, the proposal to tax wealth in addition to income is ominous. It indicates that the federal governments continued overspending will prompt politicians to resort to increasingly desperate measures to raise revenue. Buckle up, folks. Its going to be a bumpy ride.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A man paddles his kayak next to a submerged bus on a flooded street in the town of Milton in suburban Brisbane, Australia, on Feb. 28, 2022. (Patrick Hamilton/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)

Billions Being Poured Into Band-Aid Solutions for Flood Problems: Expert

A flood historian has called on authorities to stop people from moving into flood plains following another major deluge that saw thousands of homes inundated and over AU$2.5 billion (US$1.9 billion) of damage in southeast Queensland.

Margaret Cook, author of A River with a City Problem: A History of Brisbane Floods, said billions of dollars were being poured into band-aid solutions to fix damaged roads, rail lines, ferries, and ferry terminals.

Were going to spend millions and millions and months and months fixing stuff, the lecturer at the University of Sunshine Coast told The Epoch Times. What Im saying is dont fix it back the same way. We spend 93 percent of our dollars on recovery and seven percent on preparation.

If we even started spending maybe 40 percent of our money on moving people or redesigning cities, then in the longer term, it would be more cost-effective, she said.

A man carries a child through floodwaters in Vincent Street, Auchenflower in Brisbane, Australia, on March 3, 2022 (Peter Wallis/Getty Images)

Cook said Queensland was prone to flooding, particularly its capital Brisbane, which is built around the Brisbane River. She noted, however, that recent rainfall in February and March had been very intense.

Im not exaggerating. Last month, some parts of Brisbane got over 1,000 millimetres of rain in three days. To give you context, our average annual rainfall is about 1,114 millimetres, she said.

Ipswich, west of Brisbane, received around 580 millimetres of rain in just two days, which Cook said would be unbelievable for countries like the United Kingdom.

As a result, major insurer Suncorp says it has received over 38,000 claims and has employed an extra 700 staff. The federal government is also providing disaster payments to around 242,000 individuals.

Flooding in southeast Queensland comes from three main sources. One is riverine floodingoverflows from major rivers like the Brisbane River, which can be mitigated by dams.

The second is when the creek network surrounding the Brisbane River swellscurrently, 22 creeks are connected to the river. A third is overland flowwhen the stormwater system cannot cope with the sheer volume of water.

A road closed sign in a flooded Torwood Street, Auchenflower in Brisbane, Australia, on March 3, 2022. (Peter Wallis/Getty Images)

These last two sources are located downstream from major dams in Brisbane, so other mitigation methods are needed instead.

Former Queensland Premier and Brisbane Mayor Campbell Newman have revealed that a 2014 plan to build two additional dams and raise the height of Wivenhoe Dama major source of water for Brisbanewas scuppered by the incoming Labor government when he lost the election in 2015.

The report was put together by the states then-Department of Energy and Water Supplies following the devastating 2011 floods.

Analysis indicates that with appropriate infrastructure in place, potentially 8,00010,000 fewer buildings would be inundated in Brisbane and Ipswich in a reoccurrence of any of the three largest historical Brisbane River dominated floods when compared to the current situation, the report read.

One proposal was designed to counteract some of the floodings through the creek network by building a dam on lower Warrill Creek, southwest of Ipswich.

Cook said a whole suite of work needed to be carried out.

Retrofitting houses is really effective to some extent, she said, pointing to work by the Brisbane City Council and James Davidson Architects.

Theyre replacing chipboardsthat get badly damaged in a floodwith hardwood or metal you can clean that. If you put in concrete floors, you can flush them out, she said. Most of our houses have power points at ground level, if you move them higher up the wall, you dont lose all your electricals.

She noted that this was only effective for smaller floodsfor bigger floods she said the solution would be to simply stop allowing people to live in dangerous areas.

Some parts of Brisbane, say, for example, Rockleaa very vulnerable area both in terms of flood severity and the vulnerability of the people who live therethey get flooded every single time, she said. And yet we just let them move back.

Campbell Newman, when he was mayor, did actually have a programme of moving houses, and I think thats something weve got to start doing.
Border Patrol agents apprehend and transport illegal immigrants who have just crossed the river into La Joya, Texas, on Nov. 17, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Border Patrol Braces for New Surge in Illegal Immigration as Title 42 Ends

DEL RIO, TexasAs the Biden administration prepares to drop the Title 42 public health provision on May 23, Border Patrol agents and local officials along the border are bracing for an even greater influx of illegal immigrants.

Theyre preparing for us to start apprehending over 500,000 a month, a Border Patrol agent, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, told The Epoch Times on April 4.

He said agents are expecting to be issued an electronic device into which they can input an illegal aliens data and biographic information while in the field, before releasing them.

So really what Border Patrol is now becoming is essentially just a greeter.

Title 42 is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order that was invoked in March 2020 under President Donald Trump to minimize the spread of COVID-19 by ensuring that only essential travel occurred at U.S. borders.

It directed that illegal immigrants could be quickly expelled back into Mexico as a pandemic precaution, rather than be processed under Title 8 immigration law, which is a much more protracted process inside the United States.

Since March 2020, more than 1.7 million illegal immigrants have been expelled under the Title 42 authority, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. During the same period, just over 1.1 million were placed into Title 8 proceedings.

Since February 2021, however, Title 42 has slowly been whittled downfirst to allow in all unaccompanied children, then families with children under the age of 7, then, most families in general, most single females, and then, single adults from non-Spanish-speaking countries.

In February 2021, 73 percent of illegal immigrants were expelled under Title 42. By February 2022, it had been reduced to 55 percent.

Were already releasing most [illegal aliens]even single malesfrom anywhere in the world, the Border Patrol agent said.

Title 42 was never designed to be central border security or immigration policy, but as the Biden administration removed other border security measures, it became more significant.

As a result of the CDCs termination of its Title 42 public health order, we will likely face an increase in encounters above the current high levels, CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a statement on April 4.

There are a significant number of individuals who were unable to access the asylum system for the past two years, and who may decide that now is the time to come.

In the past six months, 1 million illegal immigrants from 157 countries have been apprehended at the southern border, according to Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz.

During March, Border Patrol agents apprehended an average of about 7,000 illegal immigrants per day, according to preliminary CBP numbers obtained by The Epoch Times. An additional nearly 67,000 were detected by Border Patrol, but not apprehended.

In 2019, when Border Patrol agents were apprehending upward of 4,000 illegal immigrants per day, Obama-era Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the country was truly in a crisis.

Johnson said at the time that when daily apprehensions surge to more than 1,000 people, it overwhelms the system.

Pressure to End Title 42

The Biden administration has long been under pressure from special interest and advocacy groups to rescind Title 42.

In August 2021, several groups sued the administration to get the policy revoked, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Texas Civil Rights Project, RAICES, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, and Oxfam.

We took the government to court over Title 42 because the lives of children, entire families, and extremely vulnerable people are on the line, said Karla Marisol Vargas, senior attorney for Texas Civil Rights Project, in a statement at the time.

Its beyond cruel to use an obscure public health rule to turn away families seeking safety without due process and functionally shut down our asylum systemits illegal.

Later the same day, the CDC issued a statement saying Title 42 was staying, but would be reviewed every 60 days.

Introduction of such non-citizens, regardless of their country of origin, migrating through Canada and Mexico into the United States creates a serious danger of the introduction of COVID-19 into the United States, the CDC stated.

The danger is so increased by the introduction of such non-citizens that a temporary suspension is necessary to protect the public health.

Foreign visa-holders who enter through land ports of entry at the southern border are required to present proof of a COVID-19 vaccination. However, illegal immigrants are exempt from this requirement.

When asked why the vaccination isnt required of illegal border crossers, including for the thousands of Haitians who congregated under an international bridge in Del Rio in September 2021, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said: Theyre not intending to stay here for a lengthy period of time. I dont think its the same thing.

Total and Utter Chaos

Don McLaughlin, the mayor of Uvalde, which sits 70 miles off the south Texas border and has been beleaguered by high-speed smuggling chases through town, said the end of Title 42 spells disaster.

I think youre going to see total and utter chaos, he told The Epoch Times.

Its going to be screwed up from day one, and its going to stay screwed up. This will tip the iceberg, he said, explaining that the result will likely be violence, as illegal immigrants make more demands on border residents, including breaking into their homes and destroying property.

In my opinion, the Border Patrol should be sending everybody back across the border.

And if you come, lets apply the rule of law. Lets go back to what true asylum isbecause if you dont like your country because its poor, or you dont like the school system or education system in your country, Im sorry, but thats not grounds for asylum.

In general, close to 90 percent of illegal aliens who claim credible fear at the border pass the initial screening and are placed into asylum proceedings. Of those who then formally apply for asylum and attend their court hearings, about 15 percent are ultimately granted asylum.

While three states filed a lawsuit on April 4 to keep Title 42 in place, activist groups celebrated its termination.

The attorneys general of Missouri, Louisiana, and Arizona sued the government, saying the revocation of Title 42 is unlawful and will lead to an influx at the border.

Alternatively, Maryland-based activist group CASA in Action is commending the end of Title 42.

Title 42 has served as an excuse to expel Black and brown immigrants for too long, and it must end immediately, Gustavo Torres, CASA executive director, wrote in an April 1 email statement.
The committee overseeing the affairs of the Apo Legislators' Quarters mosque has announced the sack of its suspended imam, Sheikh Nuru Khalid.

Recall that the imam was suspended on Friday following a sermon he made during the Friday prayer in the mosque.

In the sermon, the sheikh flayed the government over its failure to tame the escalating insecurity and killings in the country.

The imam hinted at some measures that the electorate should devise should the authorities fail to protect lives.

He had said, "Nigerian masses should resort to only one term which is - protect our lives, we will come out to vote and you will leave us to be killed. We will not come out to vote, since it's only elections that you people know."

Defending the mosque committee's action, Senator Saidu Muhammed Dansadau, who is its chairman, accused the Sheikh of inciting public outrage.

The imam later said he was not given a fair hearing, adding that he only read about his suspension.

In a press release yesterday by the mosque to confirm the sack, it said the action was taken due to the non-remorseful attitude exhibited by the imam.

While stating that the earlier decision was to correct Sheikh Khalid's behaviour, the statement explained that his media reaction to the suspension created the impression that he was not remorseful of his actions.

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But reacting yesterday, the cleric said the termination of his appointment was a necessary price he had to pay for identifying with the suffering masses.

"My sack is a reflection of how Nigeria is today. "This is the price we pay for aligning with the people and identifying with their sufferings. By the Grace of Almighty Allah, I will be leading my new congregation this Friday, because as clerics we need a platform for operating," he said.

Clampdown won't conquer Nigeria - PDP

Also reacting, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the clampdown on the cleric for speaking truth to power on the failure and refusal of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration to defend Nigerians from terrorists is a dangerous trend of fascism in the country.

The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, in Abuja yesterday cautioned the APC to note that suppressing the concerns of citizens and resorting to fascist measures was capable of triggering widespread social restiveness and escalating the already tensed situation in the country.

The opposition party said APC's recourse to an onslaught on the voice of citizens as witnessed in the clampdown on religious leaders, the opposition, the civil society and the media indicated an unacceptable descent to tyranny and imposition of a siege mentality to suppress dissenting voices in the face of APC's manifest failure.
A general view of the Channel 4 offices on Horseferry Road in London on Jan 22, 2017. (Lewis Whyld/PA Media)

Britains Public Service Broadcaster Channel 4 to Be Privatised

The British government has decided to sell Channel 4, a publicly-owned but commercially funded broadcaster, saying privatisation would allow it to thrive in the face of a rapidly-changing media landscape.

But the main opposition Labour Party called the move cultural vandalism, and a senior Conservative MP questioned if it was intended as the governments revenge for the channels biased coverage.

Channel 4 was founded in 1982 to deliver to under-served audiences and currently receives its funding from advertising.

UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, Nadine Dorries, in an undated file photo. (James Manning/PA)

In a statement issued on April 4, a spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) said that Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries had made the decision to sell the broadcaster and is now consulting with other Cabinet ministers.

We want Channel 4 to flourish and thrive in the face of a rapidly-changing media landscape, said the spokesperson, adding that privatisation would give the corporation new freedoms to innovate and grow while continuing to make an important economic, social, and cultural contribution to the UK.

Writing on Twitter, Dorries said she wanted the broadcaster to remain a cherished place in British life, but felt that government ownership was holding Channel 4 back from competing against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon.

In response, Channel 4 said it is disappointed at the governments decision to proceed with plans to privatise the broadcaster without formally recognising the significant public interest concerns which have been raised.

The broadcaster said that it will continue to engage with the government during the legislative process and plans to do everything it can to ensure that Channel 4 continues to play its unique part in Britains creative ecology and national life.

Labours shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said the move doesnt make any sense and will cause a great deal of damage to jobs and opportunities.

She said, Selling off Channel 4, which doesnt cost the taxpayer a penny anyway, to what is likely to be a foreign company, is cultural vandalism.

Julian Knight, a Conservative MP who chairs the DCMS select committee in the House of Commons, said privatisation can work, though it must be part of a thorough overhaul of all public service broadcasting.

But he questioned if the governments plans to sell Channel 4 are revenge for its political coverage, which many Conservatives see as biased.

He wrote on Twitter, Is this being done for revenge for Channel 4s biased coverage of the likes of Brexit and personal attacks on the PM?

There is a feeling of payback time among many Conservative party members, he added.

PA Media contributed to this report.
Cancel Culture Targets Civil Rights and Biblical Values Activist

Arthur Goldberg has spent a lifetime fighting for the rights of others and promoting biblical morality.

Now, at the age of 81, Goldberg, a devout Orthodox Jew and president of his local synagogue, is engaged in the moral and legal fight of his life.

His offense: insisting that Jewish men and others have the right to obtain counseling and therapy to overcome unwanted same-sex attraction (SSA) and founding a nonprofit organization to refer them to places of help.

For promoting those rights, providing seekers with that information, and referring them for gender affirmation therapy, I have been canceled, Goldberg told The Epoch Times.

Where is the persons right to determine his or her own therapeutic goals? Where is the freedom to choose? What happened to a persons right to voluntarily choose to change his or her sexual orientation?

Men and women desiring help with SSA are being denied the right to information about the availability and effectiveness of gender-affirming methods and therapies.

According to Goldberg, gender affirmation therapy is the empowerment of willing individuals combating unwanted same-sex attraction to affirm the gender of their birth.

When Goldberg, a retired investment banker, saw the painful struggles of some acquaintances dealing with SSA, he was moved to co-found a nonprofit organization called Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) to offer them hope and assistance.

JONAHs mission was to refer primarily Jewish men struggling with SSA to professional and religious counseling.

The goal was to help them fulfill their desire to live a life consistent with the tenets of their Jewish religion as declared in the Torah (the five books of Moses), which holds to heterosexuality, the marriage of a man to a woman, and the bringing forth of children within its confines.

I saw many Jewish men, as well as people of other faiths, who wanted to be free from same-sex attraction and who desperately wanted to start a traditional family, he said.

They needed to know that there is available to them a guided process involving professional counseling, self-discovery, and a combination of spiritual and behavioral self-adjustments characteristic of the Jewish concept of teshuvah, meaning returning to the path, or repentance.

Arthur Goldberg inside an empty room where people used to get therapy to overcome unwanted same-sex attraction at the Committee for the Absorption of Soviet Emigrees, where he is no longer an officer, in Jersey City, N.J,. on March 24, 2022. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

We are not about curtailing the hard-won civil rights of gay people. In fact, we acknowledge what the gay rights movement has done to improve the social status and the economic and political integration for both male and female homosexuals.

The counseling and therapy we recommend are based on love. We only deal with people who come to us wanting to change.

Deep Religious Convictions and Compassion

While Goldberg is a published author of a book and many articles on homosexuality and has much to say about the debate over its clinical and political aspects, hes especially passionate about the spiritual side of the subject.

He views with joy and optimism the Creators stark declaration in the Bibles Book of Leviticus, chapter 18, verse 22, which reads, Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. (King James Bible)

Goldberg points out that toeivah, the Hebrew word for abomination, is referring to the action and not the personthe sin and not the sinner.

Citing the teaching of several prominent rabbis and linguists, Goldberg believes that toeivah has in it more than the idea of abhorrence, which is the common English definition.

The Hebrew word has in its meaning the idea of a straying or to be led astray.

Toeivah contains in it the possibility of teshuvah.

If you can stray off the path, it is implied you can return to the path, he said. This offers so much hope, humaneness, compassion, and relief for those crushed between unwanted powerful personal inclinations and their strong dedication to their religion.

The Torah teaches us that the Creator is not cruel. He is just and loving, much more willing to demonstrate mercy than to punish or destroy.

Primarily in the West, nations have lost their traditional bearings. This has resulted in an unprecedented confusion of values.

Once we threw away the compass of right and wrong passed down to us from ancient wisdom, self-indulgence has become the rule, supported by a good deal of creative rationalization.

We live in a time of moral relativism, which has led to an intolerance of objective morality and those standing for it.

Goldberg says his activism on behalf of those voluntarily seeking help with SSA, or other forms of what he calls sexual brokenness, is for him a religious and moral imperative.

If a Jewish homosexual turns to another Jew for help in finding a way out of his homosexuality, the Torah indisputably forbids turning him or her away, Goldberg said.

A person struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction is told by the gay activist, You cant change. He is told by the ultra-conservative, You are loathsome. He is told by psychiatrists and psychologists, Accept your gay feelings and act upon themeven though they might conflict with your internal values.

In my opinion, such attitudes are immoral and irresponsible when there is help available for those desiring it. But the cancel culture is keeping people from knowing about that help and is suppressing their right to treatment.

Arthur Goldberg reads a prayer book at Congregation Mount Sinai in Jersey City, N.J., on March 24, 2022. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

The High Price of Principle

Goldberg is paying a stiff price for standing for the teachings of the Torah and the rights of others. A series of lost court battles designed to silence him over the past decade has plunged him $3 million in debt for attorney fees, costs, and fines.

Goldberg said he has never taken a salary from the two philanthropic institutions hes been a part of.

Mounting legal bills forced Goldberg and his ailing wife, Jane, to mortgage the Jersey City, New Jersey, home where theyve lived for nearly 50 years.

Even the crowdfunding platform he created to help pay his legal bills was shut down by the court.

With little prospect of a conservative like me being able to use existing crowdfunding platforms, I founded a platform called Funding Morality. They soon went after it and shut it down.

The Cancel Culture employed a strategy of bringing legal action against me and then cutting off the purse strings in order to break me financially, he said.

His foes were not only successful in getting the court to bar Goldberg from referring anybody to counseling and gender affirmation therapy, he has also been banned for life from participating in or serving on the board of any nonprofit organization in the state of New Jersey.

Goldbergs latest legal setback came in February, when the Supreme Court of New Jersey refused to hear his appeal to preserve his constitutional rights of freedom of speech, association, and to freely exercise his religion.

He said for him, an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court at this time appears unaffordable.

The Role of the SPLC

Goldberg says his main adversaries over the years have been the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and what he calls the gay lobby.

The irony of a noted civil rights advocacy organization working to cancel a civil rights advocate isnt lost on Goldberg, who during the 1960s traveled to the South as a Freedom Rider to fight for the civil rights of black Americans.

During the 1990s, when the Soviet Union broke up, Goldberg worked in the humanitarian effort to resettle Jews fleeing Russia in the United States.

The SPLC sued Goldberg several times in a local New Jersey court, forcing him to shut down the two nonprofit organizations he helped found to further his causes.

A 2012 case against Goldberg forced the closing of the nonprofit JONAH.

A second lawsuit, filed in 2015 by the SPLC, forced the closure of the Jewish Institute for Global Awareness (JIFGA), a nonprofit ministry that Goldberg says had a different and much broader mission than that of JONAH.

(L-R) Arthur Goldberg and his wife Jane, with Inga and Michael Slutskin, a couple from Russia who they helped resettle in Brooklyn, in Jersey City in the late 1990s. (Courtesy of Arthur Goldberg)

JIFGA was founded to promote and strengthen the universal underlying morals of the JudeoChristian worldview in the United States and around the globe.

SPLC attorneys persuaded the judge that JIFGA was a mere extension of JONAH, which he had previously ordered to disband, Goldberg said.

On its website, the Atlanta-based SPLC describes itself as a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.

The human rights of all people except those who want to be free from unwanted same-sex attraction and those trying to help them change, said Goldberg, when asked about the posting.

The SPLCs website is still touting its legal victory over Goldberg.

What he calls gender affirmation therapy, the SPLC and gay activists pejoratively call conversion or reparative therapy. The SPLC on its website rejects gender affirmation therapy as harmful, abusive, junk science worse than snake oil.

On its website, the SPLC also praised the court for what it calls the landmark pre-trial ruling in which the judge excluded several conversion therapy proponents from testifying as defense witnesses because their opinions were based on the false premise that homosexuality is a disorder.

The website quotes the judge as saying that the theory that homosexuality is a disorder is like the notion that the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it  outdated and refuted.

The exclusion of defense witnesses was unfair, Goldberg said. We had expert witnesses prepared to explain what gender affirmation therapy actually is and to present real case histories of its effectiveness. The judge barred them from testifying.

The SPLC lawyers were very good at falsely describing to the court how disturbing, dangerous, and harmful gender affirmation therapy supposedly is.

It seems clear the judge bought into the gay lobbys widely publicized and popularly embraced propaganda that homosexuality is an immutable characteristic a person is born with.

The fact is, science has yet to discover a so-called gay gene.'

Goldberg said of the judges comments about homosexuality no longer being considered a disorder, The declassification of homosexuality as a disorder by the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 and the American Psychological Association in 1974 was more a social and political decision than a reevaluation based on any new science.

Political pressure from gay activists to normalize homosexuality has chilled public discourse and has had a detrimental effect not only on patient rights, but also on patient care, Goldberg said.

Concern for Future Generations

To disagree with the ideology of the gay lobby is to be branded a hater and a homophobe. People are afraid to speak. Even many religious leaders wont address the subject.

Even worse, qualified professional psychologists are deciding not to offer what they know are effective gender-affirming therapies for fear of being sued by gay activist groups, he said.

A plaque given to Arthur Goldberg by Russian emigrates in honor of his help to the community, created by Russian-American artist Marc Klionsky, in Jersey City, N.J., on June 5, 1988. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Despite the hardships of the past decade, Goldberg says hes been blessed with a full and happy life.

Born in Jersey City, he attended local schools. He went on to earn a degree from the American University in Washington and graduated from Cornell University Law School.

Early on, I became active in the civil rights movement because of my love for the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the founding principles of our republicprinciples that are increasingly coming under attack from many quarters, he said.

Goldberg has also served as a congressional aide and as a deputy attorney general in New Jersey.

After practicing law for a few years, I went to work on Wall Street as an investment banker specializing in the financing of public purpose projects, he said.

As an author, Goldberg is best known for his nearly 600-page book Light in the Closet, a scholarly yet readable study of the Torah, homosexuality, and the power to change.

Ive lived in Jersey City all of my life, he said. When the city began to decay, I resolved to stay here and do what I could to prevent its further decline.

(L-R) Then-chairman Arthur Goldberg, former Jersey City Mayor Thomas F.X. Smith, and then executive director of Committee for the Absorption of Soviet Emigrees Joseph Shneberg, in the mid-1980s. (Courtesy of Arthur Goldberg)

Goldberg and Jane, his wife of 53 years, have four children and six grandchildren.

He says its for his grandchildren and coming generations that he continues to labor to preserve the values of the United States he grew up in.

Of particular concern to him is the successful efforts of gay activists to infiltrate U.S. schools with what Goldberg calls their anti-religion, anti-family doctrine.

Across America, children from preschool on up are being indoctrinated with the pro-gay, pro-trans agenda under the guise of student health, school safety, anti-bullying, diversity, and tolerance lessons.

The programs I have studied and carefully documented in my book range from sensitization to outright recruitment. Its all part of the effort to prematurely sexualize our children.

Sexually explicit literature, pamphlets, and audio-visual materials are routinely presented to students without the knowledge or consent of parents.

In some schools, special speakers are brought in to graphically describe their homosexual experiences and lifestyle. This happens not just in high school but in elementary school, too.

There are next to no lessons about the physical and psychological risks of homosexual behavior. Even sex-change counseling is being presented to students in elementary, middle, and high schools, unbeknownst to parents.

Parents need to be interested, informed, and proactive in monitoring what their children are being exposed to in public and private schools across our nation, or soon we will not have a country that bears any resemblance to the land of liberty that was founded on and made great by JudeoChristian principles passed down to us by our forefathers.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky Announces Sweeping Review of Agency

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) head Rochelle Walensky announced a sweeping review of her agency.

At the conclusion of this collective effort, we will develop new systems and processes to deliver our science and program to the American people, along with a plan for how CDC should be structured to facilitate the public health work we do, Walensky wrote in an email sent to agency staff on Monday.

Jim Macrae, the associate administrator for primary health care at the Health Resources and Services Administration, will be overseeing a one-month review of the agency, which has been under mounting public scrutiny over how it has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting on April 11, Macrae will begin evaluating the agencys COVID-19 politics and will provide her with insight on how the delivery of our science and program can be further strengthened during this critical time of transition, Walensky also said.

In a statement to news outlets, the CDC said Monday that it has worked to speed up data reporting and scientific processes throughout its pandemic response in the past year, while it added that efforts are needed to institutionalize and formalize these approaches and to find new ways to adapt the agencys structure to the changing environment.

Since she took over the agency in January 2021, Walensky has faced criticism for her public comments and messaging around the pandemic as critics have accused the agency of making politically motivated decisions on COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. During an interview with the Wall Street Journal in mid-2021, the CDC chief admitted that she is struggling with communicating with the public about the pandemic.

Walensky said in a separate statement to CNN on Monday that never in its 75 years history has CDC had to make decisions so quickly, based on often limited, real-time, and evolving science.

The CDC, she added, is working to strategically position and modernize the agency to facilitate and support the future of public health. As weve challenged our state and local partners, we know that now is the time for CDC to integrate the lessons learned into a strategy for the future.

This work will allow CDC to develop new systems and processes to deliver science and program activities to the American people, with a keen focus on the agencys core capabilitiespublic health workforce, data modernization, laboratory capacity, health equity, rapid response to disease outbreaks, and preparedness within the U.S. and around the world, her statement continued.
Garbage and chaos captured at Nanhui makeshift hospital in Shanghai, China in April 2022. (Provided to The Epoch Times)

Patients Describe Poor Conditions, Lack of Food at Shanghai Quarantine Center Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

A frantic scramble for supplies emerged in a Shanghai makeshift hospital as the countrys biggest city cobbles together quarantine centers to house its latest surge of COVID-19 patients.

Shanghai is under an extended, phased, lockdown to curb an Omicron variant outbreak, with a record 13,000 plus new infections reported on April 4. A municipal official claimed the same day that authorities have been renovating public facilities and tens of thousands of more beds will be put into use.

An increasing number of infected patients complained about the lack of food, water, electricity, and medication, at a local quarantine center named Nanhui.

Shanghai citizen Zhimin Liu (pseudonym) was taken to the Nanhui makeshift hospital at 3 a.m. local time on April 3, as he had been in close contact with an infected coworker. There were more than 4,000 people there when I arrived, and 7,000 to 8,000 by the afternoon, he told the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times on April 5.

There was no food, no drinking water, and no hot water. If youre hungrythen you will be hungry.

Liu witnessed a melee as people pushed and shoved to grab bags containing daily supplies without proper direction or supervision. In the meanwhile, an onsite asthma patient fell to the ground in the chaos, but wasnt given any attention or aid, Liu said.

His footage, shot in the hospital, quickly came under Chinas internet censorship system after being uploaded. Liu received an oral warning that his account would be suspended if he dared to release further information.

Pudong resident Wang Jiandong said on April 5 that Nanhui temporary hospital, which was an abandoned school building, is far from a proper quarantine center for people to live in.

Without food, drink, medicine, medical workers [allocated to us], we thousands of confined people, are stuffed into it. People robbed for whatever they eat or drink, he said. There are both elderly people in their 90s and eight-year-old children inside. People had to sleep on the floor last night as some dorms even have no beds.

The Epoch Times contacted the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the municipal governor but neither answered the phone.

Scenes of garbage captured at Nanhui makeshift hospital in Shanghai, China in April 2022. (Provided to The Epoch Times)

Some were not as lucky as Liu, as deteriorating infected residents struggled to find a quarantine center to accept them.

I am now at home, vomiting blood with breathing difficulties, 58-year-old Zhang (pseudonym) told The Epoch Times on April 4, while confined to her home in Shanghais Pudong district.

She tested positive for COVID-19 on March 30 and has since asked for support in any way that she can. I called 110 and 120 many times, but no one has come to my aid yet, Zhang said.

The Epoch Times called local authorities repeatedly but no one answered.

A 63-year-old uremic patient surnamed He, tested positive for COVID-19 at Shanghai Changzheng Hospital on April 3. The man has since quarantined himself at home while also suffering from both kidney and heart failure.

His heart is now uncomfortable, and we cannot find a hospital or an ambulance [to take him], said a member of his family, adding that heart failure can be dangerous when the elderly patient lives alone.

A total of 62 temporary quarantine sites have been designated in hotels, stadiums, and exhibition centers, said Gu Honghui, Shanghais deputy secretary-general, in an April 5 press conference.

Lin Cenxin, Chang Chun, Gu Qinger, and Gu Xiaohua contributed to this report.
Chinas Foreign Minister Speaks With Ukrainian Counterpart

Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in a phone call on Apr. 4, their second reported conversation since the Russian invasion.

Wang reiterated Beijings stance on the Ukraine issue was to promote peace talks, though he didnt make any clear commitment toward mediating an end to the conflict, according to a readout on the website of the Chinese foreign ministry.

The Chinese regime has declined to condemn Russias aggression, despite growing calls from the United States, European Union (EU), and other countries.

Western officials, meanwhile, have warned that Beijing had signaled a willingness to provide Russia with economic and military aid for its war effort. This prompted President Joe Biden to warn Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a March video call of consequences should the regime materially support Moscow.

During the Monday call, Wang said Beijing believes Ukraine had enough wisdom to make choices in accordance with its peoples fundamental interests, without elaborating.

Kuleba later thanked the Chinese regime on Twitter for solidarity with civilian victims. We both share the conviction that ending the war against Ukraine serves common interests of peace, global food security, and international trade, he wrote.

The last time Kuleba spoke with Wang was in a phone call on March 1, during which Kuleba expressed a desire for the Chinese regime to use its influence on Russia to mediate a ceasefire, a proposition Beijing didnt indicate it had agreed to.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a welcoming ceremony at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State in Qingdao on June 10, 2018. (Sergei Guneyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

China, whose ruling Communist Party declared a no limits partnership with Russia before the invasion, has attracted mounting criticism over its tacit support of Moscow throughout the crisis. Chinese diplomats have repeated pro-Kremlin narratives and propaganda surrounding the war, such as blaming the United States and NATO for instigating the conflict. Meanwhile, domestically the regime heavily censors pro-Ukraine remarks on the internet and in the media.

Mondays conversation came days after Wang hosted his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in eastern Chinas Anhui Province on March 30. In their first in-person meeting since the Ukraine war, Wang said the regime was more determined to boost ties with Russia.

On April 1, the leadership of the EU and China held their first video summit in nearly two years. European leaders urged Beijing to use its influence on Russia to end the war in Ukraine, but they said the regime didnt offer any assurances about its stance on the issue.

U.S. lawmakers have warned that the Chinese regime cant be trusted to bring a peaceful end to the conflict as Russia and China share a common goal of undermining the United States.

U.S. intelligence leaders have also warned that the strategic partnership between the Chinese regime and Russia, the top two threats to Washington, is likely to strengthen over the coming years.
Employees make chips at a factory of Jiejie Semiconductor Company in Nantong, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on March 17, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese Takeover of UK Tech Firm Not Probed Despite Prime Ministers Pledge: Lawmakers

A security review pledged by Prime Minister Boris Johnson into a Chinese takeover of one of Britains biggest microchip factories does not appear to have taken place, a UK parliamentary committee has said.

Newport Wafer Fab (NWF), based in Wales, specialises in manufacturing the more advanced compound semiconductors, which is the key technology used in 5G networks and facial recognition software.

In July 2021, Nexperia, a Dutch firm wholly owned by Chinas Wingtech Technology, said it had obtained 100 percent ownership of NWF. Wingtech, whose shareholders include Chinese state-funded investors, supplies chips to Chinese smartphone makers, including Huawei.

The planned takeover triggered national security concerns by MPs across the political spectrum, and the prime minister ordered national security adviser Sir Stephen Lovegrove to investigate the purchase.

But the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons said on April 5 that the promised investigation does not appear to have begun.

Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat asks a question as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (not pictured) gives evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee in London on Sept. 1, 2021. (House of Commons/Screenshot via PA)

Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative MP who chairs the committee, said, So few details have been provided to the committee that we are left with the unfortunate conclusion that no review has taken place.

In its latest report, the committee said the sale of NWF to a company with links to the Chinese Communist Party had resulted in one of the UKs prized assets going to a strategic competitor, and could potentially compromise national security.

The committee questioned why the UK government had not used powers in the National Security and Investment Act to intervene.

The Act, which came into force in January, affords ministers the right to step in on business matters where there is a risk to national security.

Tugendhat said: For over a year, the committee has voiced its concern over the takeover of semiconductor manufacturer Newport Wafer Fab. The National Security and Investment Act has been in place for over three months yet weve seen no evidence of its use.

Semiconductors are essential to every aspect of modern life and Newport Wafer Fab is one of the countrys leading manufacturers. Their takeover by Nexperia left many wondering why we are, seemingly, handing over critical security infrastructure to overseas companies with well-documented links to the Chinese state.

He said the government should make sure the UKs future stability is not sacrificed for the sake of short-term advancement.

The government has the tools, it just needs to use them, he added.

A government spokesman said, The government is considering the case and no decisions have been made.

Alex Wu and PA Media contributed to this report.
A pro-life activist holds a model fetus during a demonstration in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Citing Racial Discrimination, Black Leaders Target Roe v. Wade

An Alabama lawsuit on behalf of unborn black babies thats making its way through the states courts is alleging that the abortion industry is deliberately targeting black Americans and other minorities.

If successful, the attorneys and activists behind the case told The Epoch Times that it might ultimately lead to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 precedent-setting U.S. Supreme Court opinion that struck down state laws against abortion.

Even if the case doesnt succeed in court, legal analysts and experts in the field say the implications in the court of public opinion are hard to overstate.

The lawsuit was filed by pro-life leader Amie Beth Shaver, named Miss Alabama in 1994, on behalf of Baby Q, an African American baby in Alabama who was unborn when the case began. Baby Q represents all other similar black babies in the womb across the state.

According to the complaint, Baby Q and other members of the class are being unlawfully discriminated against and targeted for abortion by the industry. Abortion giant Planned Parenthood acknowledges its roots in the eugenics movement, although it says its working to rectify that legacy.

About 80 members of Baby Qs class, which is African American babies in the womb, lose their lives in abortion every week in Alabama, Sam McLure, the lead lawyer representing the babies, told The Epoch Times in a phone interview. Enough is enough. This has to stop.

Several leaders involved in the case told The Epoch Times that Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry more broadly have a long history of racism and support for eugenics, the highly controversial idea that humanity should be improved by weeding out allegedly inferior genes from the population.

This case really boils down to the question of whether states have the right to prohibit eugenics abortion, McLure added.

Many of the black leaders involved in the case were also behind the Equality Proclamation, signed in 2020 on the 158th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, to shed light on what they describe as the systematic targeting of black babies.

Why Alabama?

Conservative Alabama is the best jurisdiction in the United States to wage this fight, McLure said.

Because of a measure approved by about 60 percent of voters in 2018, Alabama has one of the strongest protections for the unborn in its state Constitution. It says the policy of the state is to recognize and support the importance of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, including the right to life.

The Alabama Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized the personhood of unborn babies in other cases not directly involving abortion, McLure and other attorneys involved in the case told The Epoch Times.

The Baby Q case also hinges on a state law known as the Human Life Protection Act, which makes conducting an abortion a felony punishable by up to life in prison. Signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey in May of 2019, the measure bans all abortions in the state except to protect the health and life of the mother.

That law is widely seen as one of the strongest in the nation prohibiting abortion. It is even stronger than the Mississippi statute currently being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, a case many legal experts on both sides of the debate believe might overturn or at least scale back Roe v. Wade.

In October of 2019, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction against the Alabama law, arguing that it violates existing Supreme Court precedent.

As a result, Ivey and state Attorney General Steve Marshall have declined to enforce it for now, as the U.S. Supreme Court once again takes up the issue of abortion.

Legal filings and attorneys in the Baby Q case also point to the Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects unenumerated rights, as well as the 14th Amendment, which provides for equal protection under the law.

Finally, the plaintiffs cite the U.S. Constitutions 10th Amendment, which reserves to the states or the people all powers not specifically surrendered to the federal government, as authorizing or even requiring state action in defense of the right to life.

Intervening in the case on behalf of Baby Q are almost 50 state lawmakers and a supermajority of the state Senate, as well as dozens of black leaders from across America alleging that the abortion industry is targeting people based on race.

State Republican leaders are also active on the issue, with the executive committee calling on all GOP officials to use every tool at their disposal to stop abortion in Alabama, including shutting down clinics.

The Objective

The Baby Q case, originally filed in October of 2020, is aimed at forcing the government to protect preborn African-American children from discrimination and to ensure their equal protection under the law, according to court filings.

The abortion industry has systematically targeted the African American community for extermination by abortion, and this history is undisputed, said McLure, citing historical evidence and even recent statements.

More than 20 million black babies have been aborted in the United States, and are three to five times more likely to be aborted than white babies, said McLure, who noted that this sort of racial targeting is clearly prohibited under state and federal law.

In New York City, more black babies are killed in abortion than are born alive, he continued. In Alabama, black Americans make up 27 percent of the population, and yet they make up more than 60 percent of the abortion cases. Nobody can argue that this is not deliberate.

The plaintiffs in the case are asking the court to order Ivey to enforce the Human Life Protection Act and protect unborn children in the state from abortion and discrimination based on their race.

Eventually, the goal is to overturn Roe v. Wade and restore protections for the unborn that the landmark Supreme Court case undermined nearly 50 years ago.

Because equal protection and prohibitions on racial discrimination are so firmly established in U.S. jurisprudence, the activists and attorneys behind the case believe it might be a game-changer in the abortion debate.

The next major milestone will come on April 20, when the judge will hold a hearing on the issue after more than a year of inaction.

Finally, on April 20th, these African American babies are going to get their day in court, McLure said.

The previous hearing, which took place virtually on Zoom, dealt with whether the case should be public. While the abortion industry is seeking to keep the case behind closed doors, the state judge expressed a willingness to keep the proceedings open.

Attorney Brent Helms, who is representing the legislators seeking to intervene in the case, explained part of the rationale in a phone interview with The Epoch Times.

If the judge denies this case, that offers us the opportunity to get to the Alabama Supreme Court, he said.

When the legislature looks at this case, Alabamas law is more strict and says that the unborn child is a person with constitutional rights, Helms continued. Those rights cannot be denied without due process and equal protection.

He added, That means the childs right to life would supersede or at least compete with the mothers alleged right to privacy, as the right to life is an enumerated right, while the mothers privacy rights to obtain an abortion were discovered in the penumbras as opposed to actually being written down.

Regardless of how the state circuit court judge rules, the losing side is expected to immediately appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court. The court is known as one of the nations more conservative state supreme courts.

From there, its practically certain that the losing side will appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Role of the US Supreme Court

Numerous legal experts told The Epoch Times that the courts involved in the Alabama case may wait until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks before making any major decisions.

However, the Mississippi statute only protects unborn babies after 15 weeks, while Alabama is seeking to protect them from the time of conception. The Baby Q case also deals with racial discrimination, while the Mississippi case doesnt.

The plaintiffs and intervenors hope the apparent conflict between the Alabama state Supreme Courts positions and the federal district courts rulings will be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of protecting the right to life of the unborn in Alabama and beyond.

McLure, the lead attorney for Baby Q, said justices from the Supreme Court have been leaving breadcrumbs in their opinions regarding what elements they might like to see in a major abortion case.

In his concurring opinion issued in the case of Box v. Planned Parenthood, for example, Justice Clarence Thomas raised the issue of racial targeting as an important component.

We think the type of case the U.S. Supreme Court wants to take on to return abortion issues back to the states involves eliminating the abortion industrys history of racial targeting, a purely state law claim, and a reliance on the Ninth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, McLure said, noting that the Baby Q case had all of those.

Obviously, we care about all life in the womb, but this case in particular deals with the racial targeting of children of African descent and this is a key issue, he added.

The U.S. Supreme Courts own 1973 ruling on abortion acknowledged that if the suggestion of [a fetus] personhood is established, the appellants case, of course, collapses, for the fetus right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the [Fourteenth] amendment.

The people of Alabama, as well as many medical and scientific experts, have concluded that unborn children are indeed persons, attorneys and leaders involved in the case said. Thus, under the reasoning in Roe v. Wade, the high court must act.

The hope is that, through the courts, the abortion industry can be prevented from targeting unborn persons based on race, and eventually, state governments can regain the authority to protect all unborn lives, McLure said.

Racism in Planned Parenthood, Abortion

Dozens of prominent black leaders from across the United States are involved in the case, arguing that Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry have been deliberately targeting the nations African American population and other minorities.

It started with Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, black leaders told The Epoch Times.

In her writings and her speeches to groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), Sanger openly advocated for eugenics to control the reproduction of populations she believed were less desirable.

Indeed, in 1939, Sanger launched the infamous Negro Project to pay and train black leaders to promote birth control and other measures in the black community.

Eventually, when Alan Guttmacher took the helm of Sangers organization, abortion became a major element of the campaign, Georgia gubernatorial candidate and Baby Q intervenor Catherine Davis told The Epoch Times in a phone interview.

After Guttmacher and his allies were able to get the Supreme Court to strike down state laws protecting the unborn, Planned Parenthood established their abortion clinics primarily in communities of color across America, Davis said.

Among other evidence, she pointed to an investigation using 2010 Census data showing that about 80 percent of the organizations abortion clinics were located in minority neighborhoods.

Planned Parenthood would claim that their clinics are located where there is the greatest need, Davis said.

But if you look at their marketing, they are regularly targeting black Americans, she added. On Halloween, they even tweeted out that it was safer for a black woman to have an abortion than to carry the baby to term. This is outrageous.

According to Davis and the dozens of other black leaders involved in the case, this is racist population control and eugenics.

The closest example of this is what Hitler did in Nazi Germany, she added. Look at Planned Parenthood: This is exactly what Hitler was doing to Jews, but Sangers program was more successful because they take care to disguise their agenda as helping women and protecting their right to abortion.

Another prominent leader involved in the case, Martin Luther King Jr.s niece and pro-life leader Alveda King, called this battle the civil rights issue of our time.

No racial group in America has ever been more left out of societal protection nor suffered more deliberate discrimination, dehumanization, agonizing dismemberment, and death legally imposed upon them than black children, she said.

The Baby Q case is a gauntlet, King told The Epoch Times in an email. Pray that the hammer of justice will rule in favor of life.

The controversial racial component of abortion also was highlighted nationally in the 2009 documentary Maafa 21: Black Genocide in 21st Century America, which argued that the targeting of black Americans through abortion constitutes a genocide.

Planned Parenthood Data Speaks

In recent years, as the Black Lives Matter movement gained prominence, almost 20 Planned Parenthood affiliates have issued public acknowledgments of racism within the organization.

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, for instance, condemned Sangers racist legacy, while announcing that her name would be removed from its building.

There is overwhelming evidence for Sangers deep belief in eugenic ideology, the group said. Removing her name is an important step toward representing who we are as an organization and who we serve.

Planned Parenthood of Pacific Southwest, meanwhile, acknowledged white supremacy of the past and present, including our own organization and the implicit bias that it said still exists within Planned Parenthood today.

Planned Parenthood has been complicit in upholding systemic racism, the groups Illinois affiliate said.

Similar statements confessing to present participation in white supremacy and acknowledging that Sangers racist ideals have shaped Planned Parenthood today were issued by numerous other affiliates.

And yet, the massive disparities continue, advocates say. According to a legal filing by black leaders in the Baby Q case that cites state health statistics, 63 percent of the 7,538 unborn children killed by abortion providers in Alabama in 2019 were black.

This shows abortion providers intentionally target African American children, the black leaders said in the legal filing. And this violence based on race would never be tolerated in any other context, they argued.

Where the Case Goes Now

Later this month, a hearing on the case will be held in state court in Alabama to hear arguments from the various parties involved.

In its response to the lawsuit, Planned Parenthood Southeast asked the court to dismiss the case, based on lack of jurisdiction and Baby Q supporters alleged failure to identify a claim where the court would be able to provide relief.

Neither the national Planned Parenthood office nor the Southeast office responded to requests by The Epoch Times for comment about the Baby Q litigation or the claims of racism.

The governors office is taking the same position as the abortion industry, urging the court to dismiss Baby Qs case and refuse to allow legislators behind the Human Life Protection Act to intervene.

Gov. Iveys office didnt respond by press time to requests for comment on why the governor has declined to enforce the Human Life Protection Act or why she is asking the court to dismiss the case. Attorney General Steve Marshalls office also didnt respond by press time.

Col. John Eidsmoe, a prominent constitutional scholar in Alabama who has worked closely with multiple state Supreme Court justices, told The Epoch Times that he doesnt anticipate a ruling by the Alabama courts until after the U.S. Supreme Court issues its opinion in the Mississippi case. That ruling is expected by this summer.

The general feeling is that the Supreme Court will uphold the Mississippi law, but it is not clear yet whether it will overturn or simply modify Roe v. Wade, added Eidsmoe, a professor of Constitutional law at Oak Brook College of Law & Government Policy as well as senior counsel for the Alabama-based Foundation for Moral Law.

Alabamas Supreme Court, he said, would likely want to wait for a favorable decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on the Mississippi law before moving on this. Eidsmoe also believes that, with its current makeup, the U.S. Supreme Court would be likely to uphold Alabamas law protecting the unborn as well.

Potentially even more important than the legal issues is what this case could do in the court of public opinion, he said.

Multiple experts and leaders involved in the case told The Epoch Times that these may be the last days for Roe v. Wade, legal abortion, and racial targeting of minorities by the industry. The outcome of the Baby Q case may play a key role in that historic shift.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis speaks before signing into law the Reproductive Health Equity Act during a ceremony outside the governor's mansion in Denver, Colo., on April 4, 2022. The bill's sponsors, Sen. Julie Gonzalez, far right, Rep. Meg Froelich, center, and House majority leader Daneya Esgar, look on with guests and other lawmakers at the signing. (David Zalubowski/AP Photo)

Colorado Governor Signs Bill Codifying the Right to Abortion With No Restrictions

Colorados governor on April 4 signed a bill into law that makes permanent the right for women to get abortions.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, signed HB 22-1279, also known as the Reproductive Health Equity Act, after the Democrat-controlled state legislature approved the legislation.

The bill states that every individual has a fundamental right to make decisions about the individuals reproductive health care, including the fundamental right to use or refuse contraception and that a pregnant individual has a fundamental right to continue a pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion.

Additionally, the legislation says fetuses, or unborn babies, do not have independent or derivative rights in Colorado.

Polis and other supporters said the legislation will help ensure womens rights are upheld even if the Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade.

No matter what the Supreme Court does in the future, people, women in Colorado will be able to choose when or if they have children, the governor said before signing the bill. That includes assisted reproduction like IVF and it includes the legal ability to terminate a pregnancy without having to worry about being jailed.

Colorado House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar, a Democrat and one of the co-sponsors, said the issue is important to friends, family members, and constituents.

And I think its more important now than ever for all of Colorado to make sure were protecting women and people who choose to be pregnant or choose not to be pregnant across this great state, she said, adding later that This bill is a bill that will make sure that we protect every single person in this state and we dont ever want to see something thats happening in Texas happen here in Colorado.

Texas lawmakers in 2021 passed legislation that enables private citizens to sue women or doctors involved in abortions of unborn children who have a heartbeat.

The bill drew some criticism, including from Republicans.

Republican state Sen. Kevin Priola said the focus should be on compelling men to commit to women if they become pregnant.

I feel that few if any women would ever consider this if they knew that they had a partner that would support them to the ends of the earth in raising a child, he said on the Senate floor before the bill was approved in March.

Priola also said adoption should be the primary path for women who are pregnant and dont want to keep their baby, not abortion. See them as a blessing, not a curse, he said at the time.
From left, Helen Andrews, Micah Meadowcroft, Lee Smith, and Mollie Hemingway speak at "Up from Chaos." Photo courtesy of American Moment.

Conference Inspired by Trump Doctrine Aims to Keep US out of Endless Wars

News Analysis

On March 31, 2021, a hotel in Washington, D.C. hosted a swanky conference for politicosnot exactly an uncommon occurrence. Yet, in a town where conservatives are often expected to back the latest war, Up from Chaos: Conserving American Security bucked that resurgent trend.

As far as we can tell, this is the first major event for right-wing realists thats happened in D.C. in the last twenty years, said Saurabh Sharma, one of the events organizers, in an interview with The Epoch Times.

Sharma, 24, and Nick Solheim, 25, are the founders of American Moment, an educational group that aims to credential the sort of young people who could staff a future Trump administration.

The two host a podcast, Moment of Truth, with guests from an extended universe of conservative populists and Trump administration alumni, from Steve Bannon and Dr. Scott Atlas to filmmaker Amanda Milius, a Trump State and White House alumna, and Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn, who chaired the 1776 Commission.

American Moments stated priorities include combatting China, limiting immigration, curbing the power of multinational corporations, and putting America first in foreign policy.

Sharma and Solheim organized Up from Chaos with The American Conservative (TAC), a magazine founded in 2002 by Pat Buchanan and other paleoconservatives who opposed the neoconservative push for a war in Iraq.

The host committee and major supporters include Turning Point USA, Young Americans for Liberty, the Conservative Partnership Institute, the Claremont Institute, and the John Quincy Adams Society, as well as investor F. Francis Najafi and Rockefeller heir George D. ONeill, Jr. Speakers included Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

While few at Up from Chaos are big fans of President Joe Biden, some still gave him credit for resisting direct U.S. and NATO involvement after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Theres one person near the levers of power whose rhetoric is bad, but who at least then says, Were not going to give them a no-fly zone, said Michael Anton, a Hillsdale College professor who served in the Trump administration.

In September 2016, Anton made the case for his future boss in a famous piece, the Flight 93 essay.

Meanwhile, interventionists on the Republican side of the aisle came in for criticism.

One target was Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who publicly asked for somebody in Russia to take out Russian President Vladimir Putin. Grahams comments were condemned by lawmakers running the gamut from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).

During one panel discussion, Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist speculated that Republicans may feel compelled to take the interventionist line for fear of being branded traitors if they dissenta convenient situation for the anti-Republican corporate media if the intervention is, in her words, politically toxic.

Were not trying to be partisan hacks here, Sharma told The Epoch Times. Liberal internationalism is a bipartisan exercise.

Recent Ukrainian reports of mass civilian killings in and near Kyiv, including the town of Bucha, have intensified demands for action against Russia, beyond the weapons shipments, direct financial aid, and sanctions that have already been put in place.

Russians have asserted they did not kill civilians in the town, arguing that the Ukrainian photos were staged. Recent satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies appears to show bodies in the streets of Bucha during March, in line with reporting from journalists for multiple news agencies on the ground.

With Bucha fresh in mind, some figures in media and politics have stepped up calls for greater action again Russia and Putin.

On April 2, Ali Velshi of MSNBC advocated direct military involvement by NATO and the United States, stating, If never again means anything, then this is the time to act.

They [Americas policymaking class] have no way to reconcile the idea that we can oppose the actions that Mr. Putin has taken, while simultaneously being extremely, extremely skittish about escalating the conflict from the American side of things, Sharma said.

He argued that interventionists are increasingly similar to each other, regardless of their ideological trappings, claiming that Bill Kristol, the neoconservative journalist who promoted the invasion of Iraq, is basically a leftist now.

I believe that the future of restraint has to be on the right this decade, as the left seems utterly captured by a hegemonic global corporate class that loves war and pays none of the costs of it, Sharma told The Epoch Times.

The roots of conservative restraint run deep in America.

George Washingtons 1796 Farewell Address, a touchstone for many at Up from Chaos, famously counseled Americans to beware of entanglements and permanent alliances abroad.

The mid- to late-twentieth century saw greater U.S. engagement abroad, including through the Reagan-era defense buildup that helped break up the Soviet Union.

Yet, several decades (and wars) later, long after the end of the original Cold War, dissatisfaction with the foreign policy status quo helped fuel the rise of Donald Trump.

Sharma derives inspiration from Trumps 2016 foreign policy speech at the Mayflower Hotel.

In those remarks, Trump advocated foreign policy that would put Americas interests first, including through a tougher approach to China, rebalanced NATO contributions, and improved relations with Russia from a position of strength only.

On Fox News last month, Trump described Russias invasion of Ukraine as a crime against humanity.

We live in the world of Trumps Mayflower speech, Sharma told The Epoch Times. Without him, none of these gains would have been on the table.

Some dovish Trump detractors fault his presidency for continued military interventions, such as the targeted drone strike on Qasem Soleimani and the presence of U.S. troops in Syria.

In addition, while Trump did arrange for a withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 as part of the Doha Agreement, the United States did not actually exit the country until Biden was in office, in an evacuation that was heavily criticized by many military commanders.

Trump may even have been kept in the dark on key issues by his subordinates.

In November 2020, the United States outgoing special representative to Syria told a reporter he and his colleagues were always playing shell games to not make clear to our leadership how many troops we had there.

At the end of the day, hes the first president in my lifetime to not start a new foreign war, Sharma said.

One Trump administration alumnus at the conference offered an explanation for what happened.

Russ Vought, Office of Management and Budget Director under Trump, argued that a network of elites in the foreign policy world actively tried to undermine Trumps vision of foreign policy, succeeding in part because few experts would stand up for an America First perspective.

Asked about who made up that network of elites, a spokesperson for Vought said he was referring specifically to H.R. McMaster, Trumps National Security Adviser in 2017 and 2018, and John Bolton, McMasters successor in the NSA role through mid-2019.

At Up from Chaos, Vought asserted that foreign policy in the White House was completely disconnected from what Trump thought. He listed many paradigm-shifting questions that he said were never adequately addressed:

Why are we still in Afghanistan? Why are we on a collision course with Russia? Why havent you brought our troops home from Europe? Shouldnt we prioritize a China fight above all else? Are Japan and Taiwan ready to defend themselves? Why is it the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force just so happen to have the same share of the budget?

The specter of neoconservative foreign policy, on the upswing as events have unfolded in Ukraine, alarmed many speakers.

The world is not Manichean, and its not always 1938and when it is, we should take it quite seriously, said William Ruger, a realist foreign policy expert at the Cato Institute who Trump nominated to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan.

Dan Caldwell, a Marine Corps veteran who serves as vice president of foreign policy at Stand Together, said Congress needs to stop being so afraid of generals.

Some speakers went even further in questioning the United States current approach to the world.

Both Massie and Ohio GOP Senate primary candidate J.D. Vance voiced skepticism about NATO, with Massie deriding it as a Cold War relic.

An entire panel session was devoted to dissecting the medias role in pushing for conflict.

War is the only grand narrative allowed to media in a mass society, where every other story is personal and subjectivethe further liberation from the chains of history, tradition, and biology, said Micah Meadowcroft, managing editor of the American Conservative and an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appointee under Trump.

Incidentally, the personal profile of journalists and CIA analysts appears to be converging, Meadowcroft later added.

Meadowcrofts concerns echoed those of Rachel Bovard, senior director of the Conservative Partnership Institute and a veteran of policy and staff positions in the House and Senate.

In an earlier talk, she highlighted the unaccountable, non-transparent power of intelligence agencies in setting U.S. foreign policy.

Lee Smith, a columnist for multiple papers and host of EpochTVs Over the Target, put it most bluntly.

Weve always known that the press tends to lean to the left. Thats not what were talking about anymore. Were talking about the press as a part of the U.S. intelligence apparatus. Thats what it is, he said. These are the apparatchiks who push out propaganda on behalf of the regime and against the public.

Smith said this insidious change first began in connection with the Iran deal during the second half of the Obama administration. Smith noticed the press echoing regime talking points more and more closely.

The most important component of Russiagate was the Pulitzer Prize-winning team of the Washington Post and the New York Times. Why was that? Because they were taking leaks of classified information, and shaping that to undo an American president, he said.

Unsurprisingly, Up from Chaos has already come under media scrutiny.

Writing in The Atlantic, journalist Ben Jacobs conceded the event wasnt a Putin apologia, instead calling it a gathering of Putin is bad, but Republicans.

As Putins deadly and unprovoked assault drags on, the GOP is also going to waragainst itself, wrote Politicos Jacob Heilbrunn, the author of They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons.

I think what was very clear was that many of the authors of these pieces came in expecting to hear crazy things. And when no one gave it to them, they had to turn otherwise reasonable things into crazy-sounding things, Sharma told The Epoch Times.

If there was a smoking gunus saying, We love Vladimir Putinyou bet they would have led with that.
Ohio GOP U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel is centering his campaign on events at churches across Ohio. (Courtesy of Josh Mandel)

Cruz Endorses Mandel in Ohios Crowded GOP Senate Race

During speeches along the campaign trail, Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel frequently talks about going to Washington D.C. with a Bible in one hand and the Constitution in the other to serve as a reinforcement for conservatives like Ohios U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, and former President Donald Trump.

Trumps support is coveted by multiple candidates in the crowded field to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman.

Trump has yet to make an endorsement in the race, but Mandel gained what is considered by some strategists as the next best stamp of approval on April 4 when Cruz announced his endorsement of the pro-Trump and America First platform advocate.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks during a news conference on the U.S. Southern Border and President Joe Bidens immigration policies, in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on May 12, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

As our nation faces crisis after crisis under Joe Biden, our country needs conservative fighters to stand up to the radical Democrats who want to exploit these problems to deliver socialism to America.

Thats why I am supporting Josh Mandel for U.S. Senate, Cruz said in a statement. A United States Marine, Josh is a proven fighter for our American way of life, a champion for the unborn, and a stalwart advocate for our religious liberties.

I am proud to endorse Josh Mandel for U.S. Senate, and I ask every conservative in Ohio to do the same.

The GOP primary is set for May 3, and early voting begins in Ohio on April 5. The final scheduled debate before the primary will take place on April 5, too, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Cleveland investment banker Mike Gibbons has held a slight lead over Mandel in the past two independent polls of a GOP U.S. Senate primary that also includes Hillbilly Elegy author and venture capitalist J.D. Vance, former Ohio Republican Party chair Jane Timken, state senator Matt Dolan, Columbus entrepreneur and conservative activist Mark Pukita, and Columbus businessman Neil Patel.

Mandel was the frontrunner for several months, but Gibbons has steadily gained ground before overtaking the former state representative and state treasurer.

In a Fox News poll released on March 7, conducted by Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research from March 2 to 6, Gibbons led public opinion with 22 percent support, followed by Mandel (20 percent), Vance (11 percent), Timken (9 percent), Dolan (7 percent), Patel (2 percent), and Pukita (1 percent).

A poll conducted by The Hill/NBC4i/Emerson College in late February also placed Gibbons in first place with 22.4 of the support, followed by Mandel (14.9 percent), Vance (7.7 percent), Dolan (6.2 percent), and Timken (5.7 percent).

Mike Gibbons and Josh Mandel are the leading candidates in the Ohio GOP U.S. Senate race. They became engulfed in an on-state altercation at a campaign debate. (Courtesy of FreedomWorks)

On March 18, Gibbons and Mandel were involved in an on-stage altercation during a debate in suburban Columbus. Mandel took offense to Gibbons comment that the Marine who served two tours in Iraq had never worked a day in the private sector. The pair went nose-to-nose in a heated exchange.

Since then, Mandel and Gibbons have both released TV commercials criticizing the other about what was said that evening. The incident seemed to have a negative impact on Mandel and Gibbons among audience members.

After the forum ended, FreedomWorks conducted a straw poll of the 400 people in attendance that showed Mandel in last place with 5 percent and Gibbons in third at 43 percent. Vance was the winner with 43 percent. No independent poll has been announced since the debate.

Mandel has centered his campaign on churches by hosting Faith and Freedom rallies across Ohio. Last month, a group of 114 clergy members wrote an open letter endorsing Mandel.

The mantra of our campaign is pastors over politicians, Mandel said. Im more interested in earning the support and endorsements of pastors, Christian activists, and citizens who are Christians than getting approval from politicians.

Organizations like Ohio Value Voters and the Right to Life Action Coalition of Ohio are supporting Mandel.

Gen. Michael Flynn, who served as Trumps national security adviser, and North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn have endorsed the Cleveland native as has Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a conservative ally of Cruz.

Club for Growth, a conservative organization that helped elect Cruz in 2012, is supporting Mandel.

One of the things weve seen is, probably second to Trump, an endorsement from Ted Cruz signals the person hes endorsing is a true believer and a fighter for the things they believe in, Club for Growth president David McIntosh said.

Though Trump has not weighed in on the Ohio GOP U.S. Senate race, some of his supporters have.

Gibbons has the backing of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Vance is endorsed by Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway are behind Timken, who also received the approval of Portman, a moderate Republican.

Mandel is proud to have Cruzs backing.

As weve seen in his 10 years in the Senate, he takes on squishy establishment Republicans just as fast as he takes on leftist Democrats, Mandel said about Cruz.

Because for Ted, and for me, this is not about Republican versus Democrat or shirts versus skins type game. This is about standing up for the Constitution, traditional American values, and saving the country for our kids and grandkids.

One of the problems in Washington is, in my mind, you have a lot of Republicans that have gotten wimpy; they got squishy and wimpy, Mandel added.

Weve got to send steel-spined fighters to Washingtonthe kind of Republicans that we want to elect are people like Jim Jordan, Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, and myself. Weve got to elect fighters.
Bandits last night invaded Tsafe town, the headquarters of Tsafe LGA of Zamfara State and killed four persons including the son of the state's Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, retired DIG Ibrahim Mamman Tsafe.

In recent times, many communities in the local government have witnessed a spike in deadly assaults and kidnappings by bandits.

In February, armed men shot dead a Muezzin while he was calling the Subhi prayer in Magazu, a community 5km south of Tsafe town.

The bandits, believed to be fleeing military operations in some states, are gradually turning parts of Tsafe Local Government to their new haven.

Residents told Daily Trust that the criminals, wearing military uniforms, stormed Shiyar Namada area close to the commissioner's residence and opened fire on people.

"Some residents who had earlier spotted them took them for security operatives on routine patrol. So, they didn't bother to raise the alarm.

"The commissioner's son, alongside some other people, were seated at the frontage of his father's residence during Iftar (breaking of fast) when suddenly the armed men showed up and started shooting at everyone in sight.

"During the attack, most people observing Tarawih prayer in several mosques around the area and residents had to flee for safety. The armed men later withdrew into the forest.

"As I'm talking to you, I'm at the Waziri's residence where preparations for the funeral for the dead are underway," a resident identified as Umar said.

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Some residents told our correspondent that the attack might be a reprisal after a man suspected to be a bandit was on Friday intercepted in the area and beheaded by the local vigilante otherwise known as Yan Sakai.

Meanwhile, the police commissioner, Ayuba N. Elkanah, has ordered the deployment of tactical operatives in Tsafe, the police spokesman in Zamfara State, SP Muhammad Shehu, said in a statement.

The statement read, "The Commissioner of Police Zamfara State Police Command, CP Ayuba N. Elkanah, early this morning visited Tsafe town to commiserate with the families of those who lost their lives as a result of bandits' attack on Tsafe town.

"He was there to also assess the existing security emplacement of the area with a view to deploying re-enforcement that would forestall future attacks on Tsafe and its environs.

"While in Tsafe, the commissioner condoled with the Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, DIG Mamman Ibrahim Tsafe (retd) and families of other victims of the attack.

"The commissioner of police further directed the State CID to conduct discreet investigation with a view to unravelling the deadly attack.

"He also assured that the deployment of additional joint tactical teams would go a long way in improving the security and safety of Tsafe and its environs.

"He called on the residents to improve their synergy with the security operatives, by giving credible and timely information on activities of armed criminals," the statement read.
Former Dallas mayor pro tempore Dwaine Caraway pictured in 2017. (Photo by Peter Larsen/Getty Images for MegaFest 2017)

Disgraced Former Dallas Councilman Is Released From Federal Prison

Dwaine Carawaythe former mayor pro-tempore of Dallas, Texas, and a five-term city councilmanwas released from prison in February after his conviction for tax evasion and accepting bribes with kickbacks totaling nearly half a million dollars.

Caraway was sentenced to federal prison in April of 2019.

The disgraced councilman came back to the public eye for the first time in late March in an interview on WFAA-TV.

Caraway was originally sentenced to more time behind bars by Judge Barbara Lynn of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. However, five months were taken off the sentence for his cooperation in testifying against developer Ruel Hamilton.

I was disgusted by your conduct, Lynn said at the trial, adding that she had wished she could give Caraway more than the maximum allowable sentence under the plea agreement, according to a 2019 article by the Dallas Morning News.

Betrayal to Our City

Lynn had been down this legal road previously as the presiding judge in the 2010 case of former Dallas mayor pro-tempore Don Hill, who was convicted of bribery and money laundering charges. Lynn sentenced Hill to 18 years in prison, calling Hills behavior a betrayal to our city.

Hamilton was convicted of paying bribes to both Caraway and four-term Dallas councilwoman Carolyn Davis.

Davis, who also pleaded guilty to the charges, died in a car crash a short time later.

Lynn also countered Caraways 2019 apology to the court for making a mistake, pointing out that the taking of bribes for the years he did was not a one-time mistake, Its a habit.

Caraway spent most of his prison time in the Big Spring Federal Correctional Institute near Midland, about 300 miles west of Dallas, and was released on Feb. 7 according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

In an interview in a WFAA-TV podcast in March, Caraway said he was coming back, to public involvement.

I may run for president of the NAACP, Caraway said. You never can tell. Im going to remain involved  I was sincere [in] representing my community and this city. That doesnt disappear when you come back if you were serious from the beginning.

Because of his felony conviction, he is barred for life from running for public office. Even so, Caraway insisted that he still wants to be part of a broader effort to clean up our community.

Lynn noted during Caraways trial the positive work he had done as a city council member but concluded his good deeds were nullified when he decided to become just another bought and paid-for politician.

Taxpayers to Cover $100 Million

Caraway had pleaded guilty to taking bribes from promoters of a school bus stop-arm camera system, in exchange for supporting its widespread use and distribution.

Dallas County Schools, a government entity, was dissolved as a result of the scandal.

Though Caraway was not held responsible for the collapse, taxpayers will be responsible to pay more than $100 million to cover losses from the dissolution of Dallas County Schools.

Caraway must pay $565,774 in restitution to the city of Dallas.
Police release tear gas into a crowd of demonstrators during clashes outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

District of Columbia Lacks Standing to Sue Oath Keepers and Proud Boys for Jan. 6, Defense Attorney Says

The District of Columbias civil lawsuit against the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, and 37 individual defendants fails for lack of standing, a defense attorney said Monday.

We dont think that they have jurisdiction to sue, attorney Jonathon Moseley, who represents Oath Keepers leader Kelly Meggs, told The Epoch Times. They dont have standing to sue on behalf of the individual police officers. They dont have jurisdiction to sue for what happened on federal land.

On April 1, District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine announced an expansion (pdf) of the districts December 2021 lawsuit to include Oath Keepers founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, four individual Oath Keepers, and one member of the Proud Boys.

The suit seeks to lay the blame for Jan. 6 violence at the U.S. Capitol on an alleged conspiracy between the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys and aims to hold the defendants financially responsible for the unrest.

In March, Moseley and attorney Juli Z. Haller filed a motion (pdf) before U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta to dismiss the lawsuit for lack of foundation. Haller represents defendant Connie Meggs, wife of Kelly Meggs.

The District of Columbias legal filings implausibly seek to make all defendants in this case responsible for the intervening, independent, criminal acts of others who allegedly committed treacherous acts whether intentionally or negligently, the motion reads, whereas plaintiff fails to plead that these individual defendants caused any of these acts or committed any injuries.

Members of the Oath Keepers are seen during a protest against the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Jim Bourg/Reuters)

The 119-page amended suit borrows heavily from dozens of criminal complaints filed in U.S. District Court against members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.

We filed this lawsuit to hold groups and individuals that conspired to attack the Capitol, assault our law enforcement officers, and terrorize our community accountable for their brutal and dangerous actions on January 6, Racine said in a statement.

Over the last few months, we have learned more about the horrors of January 6including more about how the leaders of the two groups behind the attack urged members to use violence to overturn the outcome of a lawful presidential election, Racine said. We are seeking justice for the District, our democracy, and the brave law enforcement officers who risked their lives that day.

Some two dozen members of the Oath Keepersan association of current and former military, law enforcement, and first respondershave been criminally charged for an alleged plot to attack the Capitol. Oath Keepers founder Rhodes was indicted in January on charges of seditious conspiracy and numerous other counts.

Coordinated Attack of Domestic Terrorism

The DC lawsuit describes the Oath Keepers as a militia movement group united by baseless conspiracy theories arising from the idea that the federal government has been co-opted by a nefarious group that is trying to strip United States citizens of their rights.

The suits other target is the Proud Boys, a group formerly headed by Enrique Tarrio of Miami, who is also under federal indictment.

Based in part on a series of encrypted online chats and other communications that were collected by the FBI, the lawsuit alleges the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers worked together to plan a coordinated attack of domestic terrorism.

Defendants and others rioted, broke through police barricades, and physically forced their way into the Capitol, the suit reads.

In doing so, they threatened, assaulted, and injured those who tried to stop them, including officers of the Districts Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and incited terror among those inside and around the building, including members of Congress who were discharging the official duties of their offices.

In addition to conspiracy, the lawsuit alleges the defendants are guilty of assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Moseley said a major issue with the lawsuit is that the Jan. 6 events and unrest occurred on federal land, not on District of Columbia property.

The federal government owns and operates the Capitol, the National Mall, and the Ellipse where then-President Donald J. Trump spoke on Jan. 6, 2021.

I dont know what theyre talking about. I mean, they could say on federal property, maybe, Moseley said. There wasnt anything like that on the property of the District of Columbia. I mean, where was there anything on District of Columbia property?

Claims of assault made in the lawsuit lack specific evidence and attempt to assign guilt to an entire group based on association, according to the motion to dismiss the case.

The complaint does not come close to properly alleging that Connie, much less Kelly Meggs, intentionally aided and abetted assault and battery on the MPDs employees. It does not even allege who injured them, much less any affirmative act the Meggs allegedly took in furtherance of the assault or battery, the motion said.

One of the other broad legal issues with the suit, Moseley said, is it conflicts with the ongoing criminal cases, and potentially involves calling witnesses who risk incriminating themselves in civil court.

I think it would be a pretty strong argument to say these lawsuits have to be put on hold while the criminal cases go forward, Moseley said.

The DC Office of Attorney General is receiving pro-bono legal help from the States United Democracy Center; the Anti-Defamation League; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; and Dechert LLP, according to a statement from Racine.
Elon Musk speaks to reporters during a visit to Germany on Sept. 3, 2020. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Elon Musk to Join Twitter Board of Directors

Elon Musk, who recently became the single biggest shareholder of Twitter, will be joining the social media companys board of directors, according to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and a regulatory filing.

Im excited to share that were appointing @elonmusk to our board! Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board, Agrawal said in a tweet on Tuesday.

In a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it was revealed that Musk will serve as a Class II director with a term that expires at its 2024 annual meeting.

Under the conditions of Musks appointment, he will not own or control more than 14.9 percent of Twitter shares, according to the filing.

The Twitter logo is displayed on the screen of a smartphone and a tablet in Toulouse, southern France on Oct. 26, 2020. (Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images)

Musk made headlines on Monday when regulatory filings revealed that he had taken a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, becoming its biggest individual shareholder.

Musk bought 73.5 million shares of Twitter on March 14, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing released on April 4.

Based on Twitters closing price on April 1, Musks stake was worth $2.89 billion.

The revelation that Musk had become a major stakeholder came weeks after he questioned the platforms attitude toward free speech.

Twitter has been repeatedly accused of censoring some minority and politically conservative viewpoints, claims that the company denies.

Tweeting to his 80 million-plus followers on March 25, Musk wrote that free speech is essential to a functioning democracy and asked his followers whether they believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle.

In a follow-on tweet, Musk asked his followers to vote carefully, as the consequences of this poll will be important.

Over 2 million Twitter users weighed in, with 70.4 percent voting no.

Elon Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, on March 22, 2022. (Patrick Pleul/Pool via Reuters)

A day later, sharing the results of the poll, Musk described Twitter as the de facto public town square, adding that failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy, before asking, What should be done?

While Musk hasnt commented publicly on his purchase of Twitter shares, and his filing didnt reveal any plans he may have for the company, the purchase could signal an effort on his part to influence how the company is run.

Musk later on Monday created a Twitter poll asking users if they want an edit button on the platform. Agrawal shared Musks tweet and asked Twitter users to vote carefully as the consequences of this poll will be important, suggesting possible changes to the platform.

A number of Twitter users have long been asking for an edit button, and the social media platform appeared to tease on April 1 that it was working on an edit button.

In a separate tweet on Tuesday, Agrawal described Musk as both a passionate believer and intense critic of Twitter, saying this is exactly whats needed at the social media company and among its leadership to make us stronger in the long-term.

While any stake of less than 10 percent is considered passive, some analysts have suggested that Musk may seek change at the company.

We would expect this passive stake as just the start of broader conversations with the Twitter board/management that could ultimately lead to an active stake and a potential more aggressive ownership role of Twitter, Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities said in a client note on April 4.

Isabel van Brugen contributed to this report.
Enrique Tarrio Pleads Not Guilty to 7 Counts in Proud Boys Jan. 6 Conspiracy Case

Co-defendants attorney protests trial delays while the accused are held without bail

Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio pleaded not guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to obstruct the counting of Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, 2021, obstruction of law enforcement, and five other federal charges lodged against him by federal prosecutors.

Tarrio, 38, of Miami, was the last of the six Proud Boys defendants named in a March 7 superseding indictment to enter a plea on the Jan. 6-related charges. His five co-defendants have also pleaded not guilty and will prepare for a trial that was supposed to start on May 18 but might not begin until 2023.

Although Tarrio was not at the Capitol on Jan. 6, he is charged with aiding and abetting a conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding; obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; two counts of destruction of government property; and two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding police.

The addition of Tarrio and Dominic J. Pezzola, 45, of Rochester, New York, to the Proud Boys indictment has created headaches for defense attorneys representing the other four defendants, all of whom are being held in jail pending trial.

One attorney objected Tuesday to a decision by U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly to vacate the planned May trial date because the new defendants wont be ready for trial by then, and federal prosecutors wont have turned over all of the discovery evidence to defense attorneys.

Proud Boys members Joseph Biggs, left, and Ethan Nordean, right with megaphone, walk toward the U.S. Capitol, on Jan. 6, 2021. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

Attorney David B. Smith, who represents Ethan Nordean, 31, of Auburn, Washington, said the government cannot force his client to choose between his constitutional right to a speedy trial and his right to examine all of the evidence lodged against him before trialall while he remains in pretrial detention.

Nordean, also known as Rufio Panman, was arrested on Feb. 3, 2021, in Washington state. He has been held in jail ever since. Depending on what final trial date the court sets, Nordean could end up serving close to two years behind bars before the start of his trial.

Prosecutors Create Cruel Trilemma

What the government is attempting to do over a year into this case after charging those two defendants is its trying to give them what the Supreme Court has called a cruel trilemma, Smith said, referring to something that creates an untenable position.

There is no dispute that the government cannot force this choice on a defendant, Smith said.

Smith filed a motion to separate Nordeans trial from that of Tarrio and Pezzola, but Judge Kelly said he will issue a written ruling this week that the six men be tried together.

Were not talking about 13 months of harsh pretrial confinement waiting for trial, were talking about a period much longer than that. Youre talking about possibly two years, your honor, Smith said.

This is extremely troubling. This needs to be emphasized, Smith added. There is no American precedent in this circuit or anywhere else supporting that decision.

Prosecutor Luke M. Jones said the government would be ready for the Proud Boys trial in August and would have the distribution of discovery evidence finished by mid-June. Judge Kelly set the discovery deadline for June 17.

Finding a trial date that works for all of the defense attorneys will be the next challenge because the trial is expected to take a minimum of six weeks and possibly much longer.

Attorney Carmen D. Hernandez, who represents Zachary Rehl, 36, of Philadelphia, told Judge Kelly her trial schedule does not open up for such a long block of time until January 2023. If her November trial can be rescheduled, Hernandez said, she would be available in November.
Activist Joshua Wong (R) meets with Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) and CECC Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) ahead of a hearing about the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, on Capitol Hill on Sept. 17, 2019. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

Ethics Complaint Claims New York Democrat Failed to Report $885,000 in Stock Trades

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) failed to discloseas required by congressional rulesat least 31 stock transactions valued at more than $885,000, including several made more than four years ago, according to a nonprofit government watchdog.

In a complaint filed with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) that cited multiple media reports, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) stated that the New York Democrats transactions occurred between September 2017 and June 2021 and were ultimately disclosed on March 3, 2022. One of Suozzis transactions was the stock purchase of aluminum manufacturer Superior Industries International Inc. on September 5, 2017, which Suozzi disclosed over four years late.

Suozzis other trades involved companies that are either clearly regulated or affected by congressional action, such as Apple, Altria Group, Boeing, BlackRock, Caterpillar, Citigroup, Cisco Systems, General Electric, IBM, and Verizon Communications, according to the Washington-based nonprofit.

Representatives are required to report any financial transaction valued at $1,000 or more within at least 30 days and not later than 45 days after its completion. Such transactions are also required to be included in annual reports by every member of the lower chamber of Congress.

A spokesman for Suozzi didnt respond to The Epoch Times request for comment on the FACT complaint.

Congressional financial disclosure requirements resulted mainly from controversy sparked in 2012 by the publication of investigative reporter and activist Peter Schweizers best-selling book, Throw Them All Out: How Politicians and Their Friends Get Rich Off Insider Stock Tips, Land Deals, and Cronyism That Would Send the Rest of Us to Prison.

The Schweizer book includes details of financial abuses by multiple members of the House from both political parties, including then-former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Congress subsequently passedwith bipartisan supportthe Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK).

There is simply no excuse for making disclosures months to years late, and Suozzis egregious delay makes the law ineffective. This is because the long delay makes it nearly impossible for the public to determine whether Suozzi used nonpublic information or had a conflict of interest at the time he traded the stocks, FACT told OCE.

Additionally, this is not the first time Suozzi appears to have violated disclosure requirements. He was the subject of a prior complaint filed with the OCE on September 22, 2021, alleging he failed to disclose approximately 300 stock trades. The length of the delay in this current instance, the volume of unreported financial transactions, and the repeated inability to comply with the rules clearly indicate an intentional disregard for the law, at a minimum.

The 2021 controversy followed a complaint filed with OCE by the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), another nonprofit government ethics watchdog, that claimed the 300 transactions were valued ranging from approximately $3.2 million to $11 million and that Suozzi did not file any Periodic Transaction Reports (PTRs), which are required for each transaction pursuant to the STOCK Act and House rules.

Violation of the disclosure laws and regulations subjects violators to up to a year in prison and penalties in excess of $60,000, according to the CLC.

Suozzi is presently in a combative Democratic primary running against Gov. Kathy Hochul, who succeeded the disgraced Andrew Cuomo last year when he resigned in the face of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct involving members of his staff. Hochul is heavily favored to win the June 22 primary election.

Whoever wins the Democratic primary is likely to face Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), another Long Island officeholder who was first elected to the House in 2014.

Enforcement of the STOCK Act has been spotty, according to critics, and OCE almost never makes public the results of its work. The House Ethics Committee, which includes five Democrats and five Republicans, hasnt issued a statement regarding the OCE complaints filed against Suozzi.

Suozzi represents a Long Island, New York, district and is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has oversight jurisdiction on tax issues, including the tax treatment of stock market investments. Hes also a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
A man stands next to graves with bodies of civilians, who according to local residents were killed by Russian soldiers, in Bucha, near Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 4, 2022. (Vladyslav Musiienko/Reuters)

EU Proposes New Sanctions on Moscow Amid Claims of Russian War Crimes in Ukraine

Brussels has proposed sweeping new sanctions against Russia, including an E.U.-wide ban on Russian coal imports, as the West responds to allegations that Russian forces engaged in civilian killings and other atrocities in Ukraine.

The European Unions executive on Tuesday proposed a new round of sanctions against Moscow, including barring Russian imports worth nearly $10 billion and exports to Russia worth nearly $11 billion, including semiconductors and computers.

The sanctions, which must still be approved by lawmakers in E.U. member states, would also include an import ban on coal from Russia worth $4.4 billion and a full transaction ban on four key Russian banks, including VTB, the second biggest.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gives a press conference on Russias military operation in Ukraine after talks with the President of the European Council and the NATO Secretary General, at NATO headquarters in Brussels, on Feb. 24, 2022. (John Thys/AFP via Getty Images)

The fifth round of sanctions would also include a ban on Russian ships entering E.U. ports and a ban on Russian and Belarusian road transport operators. Belarus has been an ally to Moscow in the conflict, allowing its territory to be used as a staging ground for attacks into Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was also working on banning oil imports from Russia.

We all saw the gruesome pictures from Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have recently left. These atrocities cannot and will not be left unanswered, she said in a statement on Twitter.

Journalists work next to a mass grave in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 4, 2022. (Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

The announcement came hours after Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more evidence had emerged of mass killings of civilians and other atrocities by Russian forces in regions around Kyiv, while dismissing Russian denials of committing war crimes as lies and new old tactics of Russian propagandists.

Russia has denied allegations that it committed war crimes by executing civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, near Kyiv.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that claims of war crimes in Bucha were a monstrous forgery meant to disparage the Russian army.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks at a press conference in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 18, 2022. (Sputnik/Sergey Guneev/Kremlin via Reuters)

Shocking images from Bucha emerged over the weekend, showing bodies lying dead in the street with some thrown in hastily dug graves.

At present, there is information about more than 300 people killed and tortured in Bucha alone. It is likely that the list of victims will be much larger when the whole city is checked. And this is only one city, Zelenskyy said in a video address Tuesday.

The Ukrainian president added that an investigation has been launched into potential crimes committed by Russian forces and the findings will be made globally known.

There is ample evidence that it is Russian troops who destroy peaceful cities, abduct, torture, kill civilians, Zelenskyy said. He did not disclose evidence of the alleged crimes, saying only that all crimes of the occupiers are documented and vowing to bring the Russian military to justice for war crimes.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looks on as he is surrounded by Ukrainian servicemen in Bucha, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 4, 2022. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that Ukraines claims that Russia committed atrocities against civilians in Bucha is simply a well-directedbut tragicshow.

He claimed that photographs and video footage of the alleged civilian victimssome with their hands bound and appearing to bear close-range gunshot woundswere a forgery aimed at denigrating the Russian army.

The Epoch Times has been unable to verify the claims.

Following the emergence of the grisly images from Bucha over the weekend, von der Leyen said in a tweet that she was appalled by reports of unspeakable horrors in areas from which Russia is withdrawing, while calling for an independent investigation to be launched urgently.

Perpetrators of war crimes will be held accountable, she added.

Crippling sanctions have been imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation to disarm Ukraines military and topple the government in Kyiv.

Ukraine has called for more sanctions against Russia, with Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko calling for all business ties with Russia to be cut, halting the flow of what he called bloody money to Moscow.
Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed, who was detained in 2019 and accused of assaulting police officers, stands inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Moscow, on July 30, 2020. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Ex-US Marine Reed Ends Hunger Strike in Russian Prison: Agencies

Trevor Reed, a former U.S. Marine jailed in Russia, has ended a hunger strike and is being treated in his prisons medical centre, Russian news agencies reported on Monday, citing the prison service and his lawyers.

Reed, 30, from Texas, is serving a nine-year term after being convicted of endangering the lives of two police officers while drunk on a visit to Moscow in 2019. He denied the charges and the United States called his trial a theatre of the absurd.

Reeds parents said last week that Reed had gone on hunger strike to protest at being put in solitary confinement and not receiving proper medical care despite fears that he had tuberculosis.

On Friday, April 1, the convict Reed ended his hunger strike and began to receive food. On the same day, at his request, he was sent to the medical facility, the Federal Penitentiary Service was quoted saying by Interfax and RIA.

Reeds health is satisfactory, the prison service was quoted as saying.

Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed stands inside a defendants cage during a court hearing in Moscow, on July 30, 2020. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Washington had seen the statement from Russia, adding that it was concerned by reports that Reeds health was deteriorating.

We continue to call on Russian officials to provide adequate medical care immediately or otherwise to release him to the United States to receive the care that he needs, Price said.

Reeds lawyers said he had ended the hunger strike after being seen by doctors, and that he required medical treatment, Interfax reported.

Reeds parents said he had been exposed to an inmate with active tuberculosis in December, but their son had not been tested for the illness despite a rapid deterioration in his health.

The prison service said Reed had gone on hunger strike on March 28 to protest disciplinary action against him. It said he had repeatedly tested negative for tuberculosis and had not come into contact with anyone infected.

Reed also went on hunger strike for almost a week last year to protest his incarceration and violations of his rights, which the prison service denied.
Women walk in front of a McDonald's restaurant in central Moscow on March 9, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images)

Famous Brands Could Face Trademark Infringement in Russia

Russias trademark office is seeing a spike in applications for famous Western brands since the Russian government issued a decree early last month permitting the use of patents from unfriendly countries without pay or consent from the owner.

Opportunistic Russians, emboldened by the decree, have so far submitted more than 50 trademark applications for names and logos of well-known brands, including Starbucks, Nespresso, McDonalds, Mercedes-Benz, Chanel, and Christian Dior.

This comes after hundreds of multinational companies announced they will pull out of Russia, closing stores or suspending operations in response to the war in Ukraine.

Its unclear if Russias trademark authority will grant these applications for registration. Some trademark and patent attorneys have raised concerns when a Russian court in Kirov on March 3 determined that anybody can use the trademarks for Peppa Pig and Daddy Pig, British cartoon characters.

Young girl Daria plays with Peppa Pig toys during the press preview of the international toys fair in Germany, on Jan. 28, 2020. (CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP via Getty Images)

The court ruling cited unfriendly actions of the United States of America and affiliated foreign countries as part of the decision.

These actions increase the likelihood of patent infringement in Russia, according to Josh Gerben, a trademark lawyer in Washington.

The Peppa Pig decision turned a lot of heads because it gave a signal that the courts have probably been ordered to start to allow the piracy of, and the infringement on, intellectual property owned by Western companies, he wrote in a blog.

According to U.S. trademark attorneys, it takes months in Russia to process these applications.

Prior to the Ukraine war, it was common to see the Russian trademark office refuse trademarks that were too close to other brands, even those of Western companies, Gerben wrote.

Among Russias list of unfriendly countries are the United States, the UK, European Union members, Canada, Japan, and Taiwan.

In response to media reports, the Russian Patent Office (Rospatent) issued a statement on April 1 about recent trademark applications for Western logos and names.

Rospatent stated that these applications will be subjected to thorough examination before being approved and registered in Russia.

Applications for trademark registration dont automatically provide legal protection under Russian law, the statement reads.

It also clarified the recent application for the Uncle Vanya trademark. Last month, a trademark application was filed for the McDonalds logo, using the name Uncle Vanya. However, the application was withdrawn by the applicant 2 weeks after the filing, Rospatent stated.

A trademark application filed with the Russian patent office on March 12, displaying a picture that resembles the McDonalds logo. (Rospatent)

In reaction to the war in Ukraine, McDonalds announced on March 8 that it would temporarily close all its 850 locations in Russia. Similarly, coffee giant Starbucks said it would withdraw from the country. As of April 5, more than 600 companies have withdrawn from Russia, according to data collected by Yale professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld.

Maksym Popov, an associate partner at Mentors Law Firm in Ukraine, who tracks the trademark applications by copycats on the Russian government website, found that most applications belong to two entitiesthe cosmetics company Smart Beauty and the pharmaceutical company Biotekfarm-M. Both firms together filed 37 applications for Western brands and logos.

In regular times, I could agree with the argument that these are applications from trolls that can be filed in every country. But these are not regular times, Popov told The Epoch Times.

Some of the trademark applications filed in Russia over the last few weeks. (Courtesy of Maksym Popov)

The Russian authorities are violating international agreements and are already canceling compensation for patents for owners from unfriendly countries. Russian politicians are calling for the nationalization of Western companies assets, and we already know that Russia has stolen 400 leased aircraft, Popov said.

As a result, its possible that Russia may steal Western corporations intellectual property, such as trademarks and patents, he said.

According to U.S. trademark attorneys, if the Russian government chooses to infringe intellectual property rights in reaction to Western sanctions, it might have long-term consequences for investments in the country.

Victor Lisovenko, a Russian patent attorney, accused Western media outlets of attempting to make BIG news out of these applications in order to appeal to the general population.

He said that according to Russian legislation, it is absolutely not possible to register a designation thats similar to an existing registered trademark, especially one from a famous Western brand.

It is no surprise the number of such trolls has doubled or tripled, but the legislation has not been changed in this respect at all, and all of such lousy applications are very likely to be withdrawn by the trolls themselves or will be rejected by the Russian patent and trademark office as a result of examination, he told The Epoch Times in an email.

He said the rationale applied by the judge in Kirov has been found erroneous by another court. On March 15, for example, St. Petersburg Commercial Court ruled to collect compensation from the Russian entrepreneur for the infringement of copyright to cartoon characters Peppa Pig and Daddy Pig, he noted.

Our courts continue to take decisions in favor of the U.S. companies who are the trademark owners in Russia, when it comes to clear infringement actions, Lisovenko said.
A voter leaves after filling out a ballot at the Beltrami County Administration building in Bemidji, Minn., on Sept. 18, 2020. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Federal Judge Orders Pennsylvania to Produce Records for Foreigners Registered to Vote

At the urging of an election integrity group, a federal judge ordered Pennsylvania to hand over records showing the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation had allowed foreign nationals to register to vote for decades.

The order came the month after a federal court ruled that Illinois violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993, when it refused to provide the same group access to the states voter roll, as The Epoch Times reported. NVRA provides that election officials must allow inspection of all records related to the maintenance of the voter rolls.

Judge Christopher C. Conner of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania wrote in the courts decision that transparency in how states determine voter eligibilitythe vital bedrock of our electoral systemis generally paramount.

The 26-page order in the case, Public Interest Legal Foundation v. Chapman, court file 1:19-cv-622, was issued March 31 by Conner, who was appointed by then-President George W. Bush.

Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth Leigh M. Chapman, and her colleague, Jonathan M. Marks, deputy secretary for elections and commissions, were named as defendants in the lawsuit.

J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), which brought the lawsuit back in February 2018, described the courts ruling as a huge victory for the rule of law.

This is a monumental victory for election integrity, said Adams, formerly a civil rights attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, in a statement PILF provided to The Epoch Times.

Americans have a right to documents exposing government malfeasance, and non-citizens being registered and even voting. Pennsylvania spent four years fighting transparency and trying to hide their mistakes. It is sad that transparency in Pennsylvania elections had to be enforced by a court.

The Indianapolis-based foundation describes itself as the nations only public interest law firm dedicated wholly to election integrity, saying that it exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections.

PILF says it seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections, and has brought lawsuits and obtained victories in Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and across the United States.

Pennsylvania had publicly acknowledged in late 2017 that what it called a programming glitch at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) had permitted foreign nationals to register to vote for decades.

PennDOTs glitch quickly became a public scandal, generating extensive media coverage and investigative hearings in the Pennsylvania legislature, the court stated.

PILF initiated a public records request, seeking records demonstrating the extent of the problem and actions taken by the state to fix errors in the official voter lists. The state denied the request, saying the documents were outside the scope of federal inspection rights.

In the lawsuit, PILF also asked to inspect the voting history of more than 1,100 non-citizen registrants who self-reported their ineligibility and asked for their voter registrations to be canceled.

At one point in the litigation, the court denied the states request to throw out the lawsuit. The state then shared incomplete records with PILF. The list of names provided to the group was what the court called a veritable sea of black ink that failed to disclose voting histories.

In its new ruling, the court held that the state must disclose these voting histories as well. The court also determined that if states keep records for longer than the two-year requirement by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the Motor-Voter law, they must also disclose these records if they are relevant to a public records request.

PILF said its attorneys in the case were Noel H. Johnson and Kaylan Philips. Philadelphia-based Linda A. Kerns served as local counsel.

The Epoch Times reached out to Chapmans office for comment but had not received a reply as of press time.
Anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy speaks at a news conference on the five fetuses found inside the home where she and other anti-abortion activists were living on Capitol Hill, at a news conference at the Hyatt Regency in Washington on April 5, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Fetuses Discovered at Washington Clinic Suggest Federal Abortion Laws Were Violated: Activists

A clinic in Washington may have violated federal laws governing abortions, pro-life activists said on April 5.

Activists with the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) say they obtained 115 aborted fetuses that were in a box from the Curtis Bay Medical Waste Services and there were indications that five abortions were not done legally.

They were so advanced in their gestational age and the patterns of their wounds suggest violent federal crimes, Lauren Handy, director of activism for the pro-life group, told reporters during a press conference.

Washington police officers went to the home in late March to get the fetuses.

According to a letter released by PAAU, an attorney contacted authorities for the group and asked them to retrieve the unborn children and conduct an investigation into possible live birth abortions, as well as forensic examinations.

Handy and Teresa Bukovinac, who founded PAAU, said they asked a Curtis Bay driver for permission to take a box with medical waste markings from outside the Washington Surgi-Clinic, which conducts abortions, on March 25. The abortions were retrieved on March 30.

We are demanding that the DC police conduct a full investigation into the deaths of these babies, including thorough autopsies. We demand that the US Department of Justice prosecute Santangelo for violations of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act and the Partial Birth Abortion Act. And were demanding it now, Bukovinac said.

Dr. Cesare Santangelo is an abortionist at the clinic, which did not respond to a request for comment.

National groups, including the Susan B. Anthony List, have also called for autopsies of the fetuses.

A red-brick row house (C) is seen where police officers found five fetuses on March 30, 2022, in Capitol Hill in Washington on April 1, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Ashan Benedict, a Metropolitan Police Department official, told reporters shortly after the discovery that there doesnt seem to be anything criminal in nature about that except for how they got into this house.

Due to the ongoing nature of this investigation, we are unable to discuss specifics in this case. This case remains under active investigation, a police spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for D.C. referred comments to the office of Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat. Bowsers office didnt respond to a query. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia declined to comment.

Curtis Bay told news outlets that, per agreements with clients, customers like the clinic are prohibited from disposing of fetuses and human remains via Curtis Bays services.

No people have been charged or arrested yet in relation to the fetuses.

The pro-life activists say they buried the other 110 fetuses, which they described as occurring in the first term of pregnancies.

Handy and eight others were charged on the same day the fetuses were retrieved for blocking access to a clinic in Washington on Oct. 22, 2020. The action was livestreamed on Facebook.

Federal prosecutors would start using a 1984 law called the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act Act, which bars obstructing, injuring, or intimidating a person who is obtaining or providing abortions, to prosecute people who interfered with abortion access, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in 2021.

Handy and the other activists face up to 11 years in prison if they are convicted on the charges.

Handy appeared in court on Monday and pleaded not guilty. She remains free on personal recognizance.
Nairobi  The Jubilee Party has hit out at Deputy President William Ruto over his latest attack on government on fuel prices referring to him as a serial complainer, hypocrite and as a man posing as a Messiah.

The Party's Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni stated that despite Ruto being second in command in government, he has resorted to continuous lamentations instead of offering practical solutions to Kenyans.

"Ruto is taking advantage of the plight of Kenyans to earn political mileage while posing as a Messiah. Ruto should make a choice, to be an ordinary citizen who holds no office or be the second in command, paid by the taxpayers to address challenges facing the country. Ruto, as the Deputy President, cannot pretend to pose the same questions as Wanjiku would," Kioni said in a statement.

Ruto on Monday accused the government of sabotaging and mismanaging the country's economy singling out the fuel crisis which he alleged that the government was to blame for the crisis.

Kioni challenged Ruto to resign from office and declare himself as the official opposition leader in the country and cease sabotaging the government.

"Ruto has two clear choices, occupy his dusty office at Harambee House and help the President dispense his mandate to the people of Kenya, as he constitutionally should, or resign from his position and lead the opposition atop his tax-funded top of the range Land Cruiser," he said.

Ruto who severed ways with his boss President Kenyatta has been on an overdrive gear in recent days blaming the country's woes to the Jubilee government administration.

In his attack, Ruto told off State officials pre-occupied with the defunct Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) constitution review bid and presidential succession politics instead of addressing pressing matters for the benefit of the public.

"This is why in the midst of this distressing crisis, the loudest messages from public officials including ministers are centered around BBI Reggae, Azimio jingle bells and whistles," he said.

He spoke moments after the President assented into law the Supplementary Budget which allocated Sh34 billion to the Government fuel stabilization programme aimed at cushioning Kenyans from high-cost fuel prices occasioned by the worsening global energy crisis.
Coast guard boats patrol in front of the partially collapsed Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside, Fla., on July 1, 2021. (Mark Humphrey/AP Photo)

Florida Condo Near Deadly Surfside Collapse Deemed Unsafe, Evacuation Ordered

The city of North Miami Beach ordered residents of an apartment complex near the Surfside condominium building that collapsed last June to evacuate after an engineer said it was structurally unsafe.

Engineering firm Bronislaus P. Taurinski Structural Engineers alerted the city in a letter on April 4 that the five-story, 60-unit apartment building, at 3800 Northeast 168th Street known as Bayview 60 Homes, was unsafe.

According to the Miami Herald, engineer Brownie P. Taurinski said earlier on April 1 that the building must be evacuated immediately.

The complex had been undergoing repairs since July 2021 ahead of the buildings upcoming 50-year recertification inspections, the city said in a statement.

The owner of the apartment building requested that the city order an immediate evacuation of residents on Tuesday starting at 2:00 p.m., according to the engineering report, the city said.

The engineering firm found a deflection in the elevation of the buildings floor slabs and critical structural issues.

City Manager Arthur Sorey said in a statement that the city is in direct communication with the property owner of Bayview 60 Homes to ensure that all residents are immediately notified and evacuated from the unsafe apartment building.

The City is working with the owner to ensure that all residents will receive proper assistance as they relocate within the next 24 hours. The safety of the residents is our number one concern and were working as quickly as possible to mobilize our resources to the building site, said Sorey.

The city statement noted that per the property owner, all residents currently residing in the building will receive an electronic payment with a full refund for April rent and security deposits made to the owner.

Renters will be allowed to return to the building later in the week to pick up large furniture pieces and personal belongings, it said.

Residents have to find somewhere to go for now, Sorey said, the Miami Herald reported.

Many residents told the Miami Herald that they were told to evacuate with little notice and were told over the phone to leave the building.

I was working and they called me to say I needed to evacuate, resident Andrea Tores told the news outlet.

We dont know where to go, we dont know what to do, Tores added. They will book us a hotel but we need to find out where to live.

The apartment complex is the second to have been ordered evacuated over safety concerns in the city after the deadly collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside on June 24 last year, which had a final confirmed death toll of 98.

A week later, the city ordered the evacuation of a condominium building, the 156-unit Crestview Towers. Sorey told the Miami Herald that residents have not yet been allowed to return to the complex.

The city created a hotline for Bayview 60 Homes residents who may have questions at 305-646-9101.
Florida Lawmaker Says Disney Stepped in Quicksand and Made a Drastic Unforced Error

'The only way they can get to Detente on this is Bob Chapek is going to have to go.'

As the battle between Florida and Disney escalates following Gov. Ron DeSantis signing the Parental Rights in Education bill into law, one Sunshine State lawmaker says Disney stepped in quicksand and made a drastic unforced error.

As The Epoch Times reported April 1, DeSantis floated the possibility at a March 31 press conference in Ponte Vedra Beach that lawmakers in the Sunshine State might repeal the 1967 Reedy Creek Improvement Act in response to Disneys ongoing opposition to the recently signed Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed by liberal opponents as the Dont Say Gay bill. State Rep. Spencer Roach, a Republican, revealed through social media that lawmakers had already met twice to discuss the idea, saying if Disney wants to embrace woke ideology, it seems fitting that they should be regulated by Orange County.

The announcement came as part of the ongoing feud between Disney and the state of Florida since the governor signed the bill into law. Previously silent about the bill until he faced backlash from a minority of Disneys LGBT employees, Disney CEO Bob Chapek issued a statement on March 11, apologizing to them for not being a stronger ally. In a show of action, Chapek also announced Disney would put an immediate stop to all political donations in Florida. In a subsequent demonstration of solidarity, Disney Corporation issued a statement vowing that its new goal was to have this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts and to support organizations working to make that happen. DeSantis quickly reminded Disney that Florida is governed by the interests of the people of the state of Floridait is not based on the demands of California corporate executives.

Recent polling shows the overwhelming majority of Floridas primary voters, including a significant majority of Democrats, strongly support this legislation. Breitbart reported that a flood of families are canceling Disney memberships to their amusement parks and the Disney+ streaming service. The hashtag, BoycottDisney trended on social media and one of the largest mothers advocacy organizations in the United States, Moms for Liberty, has warned Disney of the pushback it will face if it does not stop interfering with Floridas laws.

CEO Bob Chapek needs to be removed, Roach asserted on social media April 3. A man obsessed with sexualizing 4-year-olds should not run a company that built its brand on preserving the innocence & magic of childhood.

I think Disney leadership is well aware they have stepped in quicksand and made a drastic unforced error, Roach told The Epoch Times. I think they are aware of how badly theyve messed up here and the only way they can get to detente on this is Bob Chapek is going to have to go. I think his days are numbered and hes going to be out as CEO in very short order. Whoever comes in is going to have to publicly acknowledge to some extent that Disney is not going to be held hostage by a small number of employees who think they can dictate Disneys political stance and if some employees dont like that they are going to have to leave.

Roach said he has been to a dozen campaign events over the past few weeks and its very clear that people are outraged. At this point, Roach believes the only way for Disney to save face is to acknowledge they didnt read or understand the bill and they are going to stop meddling in Floridas legislative affairs. He also suggests Disney make a clear statement affirming or reaffirming their support of parental rights in Floria.

While he would not provide names, Roach also said he has had numerous discussions with Disney lobbyists who have been very vocal in advising corporate leadership that they are very badly mistaken about the political climate in Florida and they strongly advised them to stay out of it. But the executives in California did not heed that warning.

Its Also Disney Making Money

In the strategic gamble against Floridas Parental Rights legislation, James Baileyprofessor of leadership at George Washington Universitys School of Businesstold the Washington Examiner that Disney knows what its doing.

For Disney to step up and say, Hey, were a progressive company, and you cant tell us what to do, is actually helping their reputation, Baily told The Washington Examiner. And so, this is Disney being Disney and adhering to their values, but its also Disney making money. Baily further argued that Disney has accountants, marketing people, and focus groups that have been able to suss out that their business model will be better off by pushing back on the legislation. While there is a risk of losing some conservative customers, Baily believes the move could gain some new liberal customers.

Conversely, Roach contends the business model of gaining some new liberal customers while sacrificing conservatives in a state where registered Republican voters recently overtook Democrats by 100,000 is not a winning strategy.

Perhaps in California, Roach said. A lot of the executives of Disney live in a California bubble. Roach also believes Chapeks apologies and promises to have the law overturned is a political gamble based on ignorance, scripted talking points, and a lot of bad advice.

The information that Bob Chapek has been receiving is flat out wrong, Roach argued. Despite the fact that we have a strong Disney presence in Florida, this is a California company with California values. Chapek is a man who was raised in Chicago and lives in California. I dont have any idea how often he actually comes to Florida, but I have to believe he is getting his advice from corporate executives in California. I would be absolutely shocked if Chapek actually took the time to read the seven-page bill. Im sure he didnt. He got his talking points from someone in California.

Its a sentiment shared by DisneyBizJournal.com editor and Disney shareholder Ray Keating.

Heres a suggestion for Disney CEO Bob Chapek: Get back to business, that is, excellence in storytelling, and stop wasting shareholders money on political crusades that have nothing to do with Disneys business, Keating told Fox News Digital. We all have the right to have our voices heard on issues, but not on the shareholders dime.

Roach predicts this is the very beginning of the shareholder revolt.

Florida State Representative Spencer Roach. (Courtesy of Spencer Roach)

I think the executives at Disney are well aware that they have made a very critical error and I think their shareholders are starting to respond, Roach asserted. The problem with woke corporations is they fail to realize that they exist to serve their shareholders, not their employees. What happened at Disney has happened at many other corporations, a very small minority of woke radical progressive employees putting pressure on management to speak out on political issues and many times, management is hijacked by these folks thinking it represents a broad consensus of public opinion when it actually doesnt. Ultimately, the shareholders will make a decision on whether Bob Chapek gets to keep his job, not the employees. So, I think you have a real disconcerted corporate model here where a lot of people in the public and employees seem to forget that the shareholders who drive these decisions at companies, not the employees.

Repeal of Reedy Creek More Opportunistic than Retaliatory

While some have accused DeSantis of trying to punish Disney with a show of post-Trump authoritarianism, Roach insists the move to repeal Reedy Creek is more opportunistic than retaliatory.

In the past, it was politically impossible to try to dismantle Reedy Creek because of the overwhelming political power Disney has had in the state of Florida, Roach told The Epoch Times. But now they are politically vulnerable. According to Roach, Disneys political clout is at a 55-year low. Republican candidates are even returning Disneys campaign contributions. This egregious error Disney has made has provided a politically opportunistic time to capitalize on this moment for us to correct this free-market apparition, Roach said.

According to Roach, Reedy Creek has been hotly debated and seriously questioned for years. DeSantis said the repeal would not be entirely retaliatory, but rather made as part of a larger effort to strip Disney of what he called special privileges. Repeal, Roach said, is an opportunity to correct something that should have [been] fixed a long time ago.

There are numerous other amusement parks in Florida. As Roach explained, the special privileges Disney takes for granted are numerous and unique to Disney alone. Of the near 40 square miles of land Disney controls, Reedy Creek exempts all of that land from all county and nearly all state regulations. This means Disney is exempt from impact fees, building codes, surface water control, drainage, and all waste treatment regulations. In fact, Roach said Disney even gets to pick the residentsof which there are only 36who live in the state-cities theyve created in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista.

The problem with this now is they are straying away from what [Disneys] original vision was, Roach said.

As Roach explained, its not just the theme parks anymore. Disney has had long-laid plans to build a $300 million movie studio on the property. Theres a fourth, out-of-this-world expensive Disney-owned hotel where the most modest package starts at $4,809 on weeknights. Disney also has plans for a new apartment complex and expansive residential communities. Disney is also working on plans to develop a business park and transfer jobs to the Sunshine State from its California operation.

When you look at the developers and businesses that want to invest there, Disney has an absolute advantage because they dont have to comply with all of the state and county regulations, Roach clarified. Reedy Creek is an absolute perversion of the free market system. It is the largest privately controlled taxing district in the state of Florida, maybe in the United States. The problem with Reedy Creek is we never should have done this in the first place. Its absolutely anti-free market. There are multiple theme parks near Orlando Osceola County/Orange County area, seven to 11 others. None of them have this special carveout. Only Disney. So its absolutely anti-free market and an enormous tax windfall for Disney. The largest tax evasion scam in the history of the state of Florida and possibly in the United States.

I suspect that Bob Chapeks days as CEO are numbered, Roach reiterated. He will be a casualty of this, and I hope Disney will come out with some kind of statement reconfirming their commitment to parental rights in Florida and acknowledging they are not going to be held hostage by a group of radical, progressive employees who do not speak for the majority of Florida voters or even a majority of Disney employees.

The Epoch Times reached out to Disney CEO Bob Chapek for comment but received no response.
Florida Rolls Out Viewpoint Diversity Survey for Public College Students, Faculty

As part of Floridas effort to promote intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity in higher education, public college and university students across the state are being asked, among other things, whether they feel comfortable expressing their opinions on campus without fear of retaliation.

A survey, developed by the State University System of Florida, was sent out on Monday to students and faculty via emails from their institutions. Emails attaching the survey say participation is voluntary, and that no personally identifiable information will be associated with the responses.

The survey contains 13 questions. The first 11 ask to what extent the respondent agrees or disagrees with various statements, such as I feel comfortable speaking up and giving my views on controversial topics and I would be concerned if most of my professors or course instructors held the same political beliefs.

The last two questions specifically asks respondents whether their professors generally lean liberal or conservative, and whether their institutions are generally more tolerant to liberal or conservative ideas and beliefs.

Meanwhile, faculty and staff are asked how much they agree or disagree with some different statements, such as I rarely inject my own political ideas and beliefs into my classes, and Students in my classes are exposed to competing arguments and multiple perspectives on a topic.

It used to be thought that a university campus was a place where youd be exposed to a lot of different ideas, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said last June when he signed the law mandating the survey. Unfortunately, now the norm is really these are more intellectually repressive environments.

The law (pdf) states that public colleges and universities must compile and publish the survey results by Sept. 1 each year, but does not specify who will use that data for what purpose. However, DeSantis has indicated that state-funded institutions doing poorly in the survey could be at risk of budget cuts.

We do not want them as basically hotbeds for stale ideology. Thats not worth tax dollars and thats not something that were going to be supporting moving forward, the Republic governor said.

The same law also allows Florida students to record video or audio of classroom lectures, so long its for their own personal educational use, or if they want to use the recording as evidence in a civil or criminal case against their school. However, a recorded lecture cannot be published without the consent of the lecturer, and those recordings must follow federal student privacy laws, or the professor could seek damages up to $200,000.

In addition, the law bans the use of so-called safe spaces. Specifically, it prohibits public universities in Florida from shielding students, faculty, and staff from any free speech activities conducted on campus, no matter how much they may find those ideas and opinions uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable or offensive.

The United Faculty of Florida, a union representing faculty at the Sunshine States universities, has encouraged students and employees to ignore the unconstitutional survey.

This survey is an attack on the fundamental rights of all Floridians, and it has no place in a state or society that claims to be free, the Union said in a statement, arguing that many of the questions are leading in nature.

A spokesperson for DeSantis disagrees.

Theyre neutral surveys, Bryan Griffin, the deputy press secretary at the governor office, said in a statement. These surveys are designed to ensure viewpoints are NOT being suppressed in the classroom. This begs many questions about ardent resistance to the transparency that the surveys seek to promote.
A garbage collector who was spotted showing kindness to a woman in need has been lauded by his local community, prompting others to perform their own acts of kindness.

It was a Norwalk, Connecticut deli owner from across the street who spotted the uniformed man stop his garbage truck by the side of the road on the morning of Feb. 17. Dave Kuban of Dave & Charlies Hometown Deli took photos, and later shared the beautiful anecdote with the public group I Love Norwalk CT! on Facebook.

Mike Nance was spotted giving a hug to a woman in need. (Courtesy of Dave Kuban)

Shout out to the @city_carting employee who stopped his truck and gave a few dollars and a much-needed hug to a young lady down on her luck, he posted. If anyone knows who he is, send him to the deli. We want to buy him lunch.

As he looked out the window and saw the kind gesture unfolding in front of him, Kubans business partner, Carlos Gonzales, told News 12 that he saw the man hugging the woman for about five minutes. He shared that it was a real hug.

As the post spread quickly, Gonzales said: We wanted to show him we appreciate him doing something like that. We need that in the world today.

The deli owners eventually got their wish; their local community identified the kind man as Mike Nance, an employee at WIN Waste Innovations. As the social media post worked its magic, Nance got the message, and headed to the deli to meet Kuban and Gonzales.

He explained: Anytime you see somebody walking around with everything that they own, talking to themselves, I dont know. It just took over me  so I hugged her, I said a prayer, and that was it.

Inspired by Nance, the deli owners followed suit by making breakfast for the woman in need, free of charge. Incidentally, Feb. 17 is recognized as National Random Acts of Kindness Day, in the United States.

Humbled by the attention for his kind deed, Nance commented: Im a garbage man. Were about the community; Im about the community. I love Norwalk. Im from Norwalk, I was born here. So whatever I can do to help, thats what Im going to do.

Mike Nance with Carlos Gonzales, co-owner of Dave and Charlies Hometown Deli. (Courtesy of Dave Kuban)

Nance, who believes there are a lot of good people in the world, shared his own philosophy: I try to be the best person I can be, every day.

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
Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez speaks about the governments plans to amend the Broadcast Act during a news conference in Ottawa on Feb. 2, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Government Tables Bill to Make Big Tech Pay for Canadian News

The Liberal government has tabled a bill that will require online platforms to strike revenue deals with news organizations for displaying their content and allowing it to be accessed and shared on those platforms.

As you guys know, the news sector in Canada is in crisis and this contributes to the heightened public mistrust and the rise of harmful disinformation in our society, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said while announcing Bill C-18 in a press conference in Ottawa on April 5.

Rodriguez said news organizations are disappearing in a changing information landscape where big tech platforms are collecting the lions share of ad revenues.

In 2020, online advertising revenues in Canada were close to $10 billion, with two dominant digital platforms taking over 80 percent of those revenues. Thats an incredible chunk of power in the market, Rodriguez said in reference to the market share of Google and Facebook.

Rodriguez added that as news is being shared more widely online, journalists and newsrooms are not earning their fair share of online advertising revenues.

If the law is passed, news organizations deemed eligible by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) will be allowed to bargain with online platforms that represent a significant bargaining imbalance with news media. These include Google and Facebook but not Apple News or platforms covered by other legislation, such as YouTube.

The big tech platforms will have about six months to strike revenue deals with news organizations based on a list of six criteria.

Among the criteria listed in a Heritage Canada briefing document, online platforms are required to not allow corporate influence to undermine the freedom of expression and journalistic independence enjoyed by news outlets. Online platforms must also involve a range of news businesses reflecting Canadas diversity of languages, racialized groups, Indigenous communities, and local news and business models.

When asked during the press conference whether some news outlets could be left out of deals with the digital giants, Rodriguez admitted that may indeed be the case but said its almost impossible as the bill was crafted in a way as to include as many entities as possible.

Eligible news organizations are defined as those that regularly employ two or more journalists in Canada, operate in Canada, and produce targeted news content. Those with the qualified Canadian journalism organization designation under the Income Tax Act, for example, would be eligible. The briefing document says an eligible organization must also be one thats not significantly engaged in producing content that promotes its interests or reports on the activities of an organization.

News organizations will be able to negotiate, on their own or collectively, with the digital platforms. If the platforms make deals that as a whole meet the six criteria, they will be exempt from mandatory arbitration via the CRTC regulator.

Other Objectives

While presented as a means to help news organizations generate more revenues, the Heritage briefing document mentions other objectives, such as to counter the rise of disinformation by supporting fact-based journalism and to uphold press independence from interference by Government or private entities.

Ottawa University law professor Michael Geist raised doubts about the claim of increased independence in an article published on his website on April 5.

Geist, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, says the bill is the fruit of lobbying from the largest players in the news media industry, some of which he says abandoned press independence in the process of lobbying efforts.

For example, I know of cases where opinion pieces have been spiked by mainstream media outlets because they criticized the previous Heritage Minister at a time when he was being actively lobbied on a potential media bill, he wrote.

He also says the bill increases dependence on big tech instead of creating alternatives and fostering innovation, among several other concerns.

Three Online Bills

Bill C-18, the Online News Act, is the second of three legislative pieces the Liberal government is introducing to increase governmental oversight and steering of online content and activities.

Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, completed a first reading in the House on Feb. 2. The bill seeks to give the CRTC the mandate to regulate the internet and impose on it a progressive framework, which some critics say will amount to censorship.

However, CRTC chair Ian Scott said that users of online and social media services expect freedom of expression, and they will continue to enjoy this under the new Broadcasting Act, speaking at Ryerson University on April 1.

For its third bill seeking to curtail online harms by regulating speech, on March 30 the government announced the creation of an expert panel that will advise on how to craft the legislation. An earlier Epoch Times assessment found that many of the panel members share the governments view on some contentious issues, and some work for organizations financed by Ottawa.
Groups Audit of Florida School District Reveals Officials Often Dont Know Own Curriculum

By failing to properly follow state law, its own founding charter, and sponsoring the school districts stated policy, a Central Florida high school had to deny about 40 students college credits they had worked a semester to earn.

What happened in Lake Wales Charter Schools isnt evidence of any grand scheme by local administrators to deceive and it is only marginally newsworthy beyond the small city in Polk County.

But thats just it, County Citizens Defending Freedom-USA (CCDF-USA) maintains: What happened in Lake Wales happens routinely in school districts nationwide because no one is watching and even those who are, often face confounding layers of bureaucracy obscuring transparency and accountability.

This environment, CCDF argues, creates the opportunity for curriculum and other materialsthat many parents would find objectionable and inappropriate for their childrento end up on public school shelves without their knowledge.

This is typical of the matters being brought up during months-long audits being conducted by the group into local school districts operations, CCDF-USA secretary Jimmy Nelson said on April 1.

The group filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests while looking into Lake Wales Charter Schoolsseven schools operated under state charter school statutes with nearly 5,000 students.

Among the documents it received were email exchanges between Lake Wales and Polk County district officials regarding a dual enrollment program offered to high school pupils.

About 40 Lake Wales students had enrolled in a course offered by Wesleyan University, a private liberal arts college in Middletown, Connecticut.

The curriculum for the course was developed by National Education Equity Lab (NEEL)which describes itself as a partnership between Yale, Howard, Cornell, Arizona State University, University of Connecticut, and Harvardthat enables high school students from historically underserved communities to take actual college courses from college professors.

Among the books available for students to read was Fun Home, a tragicomic graphic novel by Alison Bechdel that features graphic sex scenes inappropriate for minors, including high school students, parent groups nationwide argue.

CCDF-USA is among them.

There are those who think this book is appropriate. We wholeheartedly disagree, said Nelson, who served four years on the Lake Wales City Commission before serving on the Lake Wales school board for six years.

But whether the book is appropriate or not, Nelson said what CCDF discovered is that the district violated its own policy, Polk County Public Schools rules, and state law in allowing students access to the book.

They didnt go through the proper process to vet this book. It should never have ended up in [coursework] for a 15-year-old sophomore, he said, noting CCDF isnt agitating to ban books but to ensure parents have the right to know what their children are reading in schools.

In this case, he said, parents were asked to sign off on a vague outline of the curriculum but were never provided any detail of what that entailed, in violation of a 2021 statute adopted by Florida lawmakers.

Florida state law is very clear on the matter, Nelson said. We believe they broke state law.

The NEEL program was delivered by Wesleyan University via a $1 million donation by Henry McCancewhose McCance Foundation has contributed more than $5 million to Lake Wales since it became a charter school operation in August 2004and who is among out-of-state influences that lobbied the board to maintain mandatory mask policies in violation of state law during the summer of 2021.

During its probe, CCDF-USA uncovered emails between officials regarding a failure to properly present the program for board approval as required under its own charter rules and by Polk County Public Schools.

At one point, course teachers attempted to submit a retroactive mutual use agreement with Wesleyan University to the board in November for the NEEL program that had been taught since September.

The board rejected the agreement, alerted by parents upset with Fun Home and other materials.

It may not have mattered anyway because implementing the course without board approval also violated Polk County Public Schools policy and, therefore, the district could not accord the credits the dual enrollment course offered.

Because that critical step was not taken, the students were informed in December that they would not get college credits for the class, but it would be counted as an elective, Nelson said.

Had that critical step been takenas now required under state lawthose students whose parents signed off on allowing them to read Fun Home and other materials, would have received those credits they worked hard for, he said.

The program has been implemented in more than 100 high schools across the country, he said, noting Fun Home has drawn its share of controversy on college campuses as well as among high school students parents.

So far this year, the Wentzville, Missouri, school board voted to remove Fun Home from its shelves even after a review committee overwhelmingly agreed to keep it. The school board of Blue Valley, Kansas, on the other hand, voted to retain Fun Home.

Parents in Somerset County, New Jersey, sued the Watchung Hills Regional High School District in 2019 demanding the removal of the book, claiming that if left on shelves minors will suffer irreparable harm and that New Jersey statutes will be violated. The suit, which remains unresolved, prompted a nearby district to remove the book.

Duke University and University of Utah students have objected to the book being required reading for incoming students. In 2013, Palmetto Family Council challenged the inclusion of Fun Home as a reading selection for incoming freshmen at the College of Charleston.

Nelson said in reviewing the emails that there does not appear to be any intent by officials to be deceptive or promote any type of ideology or lifestyle.

NEEL is overall a good program, he added, and the district was doing its job in using a donors contribution to garner a dual enrollment opportunity for students to get college credits while in high school.

But by not following state law, administrators blew that opportunity and allowed students to be exposed to materials many parents would have objected to, he said.

Were not making this a question of intent, Nelson said, were making this about not following proper process and educating parents to what that process is.

CCDF-USA founder and chair Steve Maxwell said these are the types of issues the group is uncovering as it conducts audits of school districts across Florida and Texas.

Maxwell began the group in his agricultural software business headquarters in Mulberry, outside Lakeland, in March 2021 to make more permanent a coalition that surfaced in April 2020 demonstrations against mask mandates imposed by the Polk County Public Schools Board.

The group has 13 Florida chapters, 10 in Texas, with five being formed in Georgia, he said. The immediate goal is to have 100 county chapters by 2024 and to expand to every state in the years beyond.

Through associations with Moms For Liberty, Defend Florida, Alliance Defending Freedom, Turning Point USA, and Recover America, among other conservative groups, CCDF-USAs local chapters are fielding 2022 school board candidates in races across Florida and Texas.

Most parents are too busy raising families to burrow deeply into the curriculum and the factors and forces influencing contemporary education, but CCDF-USA and its swelling ranks of volunteers are doing just that, he said.

The biggest shock for us is how much our elected officials dont know, he said.

Maxwell said CCDF-USA is winning hearts and mindsand cooperation from school and elections officialsthrough a code of conduct that calls for low-key restraint rather than confrontation.

We have received good responses. If you just expose things to the light, it usually fosters action, he said. Be professional. Have a good legal team. Be patient and consistent and 80 percent of these issues go away.

Correction: A previous version of this article gave an incorrect NEEL program provider for Lake Wales Charter Schools. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
Human right activists hold placards as they march during a protest against an alleged gang rape of a woman, in Lahore, Pakistan, on Sept. 12, 2020. (Arif Ali/AFP via Getty Images)

Helpless Females and Dangerous Males

Commentary

Once again, Australian universities have shown they prefer ideology over evidence. They have just released their latest survey which alleges that there is a rape crisis on our campuses.

This follows the million-dollar survey conducted five years ago by the Australian Human Rights Commission which proved a huge letdown for the activists because all that was found was a lot of unwanted staring and tiny rates of sexual assault.

I was the only journalist in Australia to suggest we should be celebrating our safe universities whilst mainstream media beat up a new narrative about widespread campus sexual violence which activists used to bully universities into setting up the kangaroo courts, implementing sexual consent courses and the like.

Now theyve tried again, and contrary to what has appeared in the media in recent weeks, the results are even more disappointing for the feminists.

The latest survey published last month found that sexual harassment rates were less than a third of those reported in 2015-16 (8 percent compared to 26 percent), and minimal rates of assault (1.1 percent for the year surveyed compared to the earlier figure of 0.8 percent).

What a joke, given that theyd done everything they could to expand the definitions of sexual misconduct. The latest survey included as harassment such items as staring, making comments about your private life or physical appearance, and repeated requests to go on a date.

The response rate for the survey was just 11.6 percent43,819 self-selected responses from those invited to participate, who were in turn just part of the 1.6 million university students in this country. So, the new report is based on a piddling 2.7 percent of the student population.

Not that the facts or statistics matter two hoots when our media remains determined to sing from the radical feminist songbook.

They carefully shifted the goalposts, highlighting such critical matters as the newly discovered peak sexual assault rates for pansexual students and claiming one in three students experienced sexual assault over their lifetimesstatistics that include incidents of assaults for school children unrelated to any campus crisis.

A student walks past Sydenham Hall on the Western University campus in London, Ont. on Sept. 15, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Nicole Osborne)

Additionally, no one bothered to look at official sexual assault rates for this age group.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Personal Safety Survey shows sexual harassment rates for 18-24-year-olds at 27.3 percent and sexual assault at 3.4 percentmaking it very clear that our universities are extremely safe compared to the general community.

Yet the propaganda campaign rolls on. Last month, it was announced that all Australian high school students are to be taught about sexual consent. Mandatory education programs are being rolled out across the country teaching boys not to rape.

Its mainly due to Sydney schoolgirl activist Chanel Contos who burst into the limelight last year when she announced that a school sex education course had led her to discover shed been raped two years earlier.

As a 13-year-old she alleges she had been coerced to go down on a boy at a party, but it took a Year-10 school sex education course for her to realize what had happened to her.

She started a website encouraging other girls to tell stories of similar sexual assaults and nearly 2,000 obliged. Ever since shes been out there calling out male misbehaviour and lobbying for school sexual consent courses.

We heard shocking stories of drunk girls waking up to discover males taking advantage of them, boys behaving badly, circulating photos of their mates having sex, etcsome truly unacceptable examples of male behaviour.

When questions started appearing in online comments about why so vulnerable youngsters were attending these alcohol and drug-fueled parties, any suggestion that girls needed to take care of themselves were howled down. There was only one permissible narrativetoxic males and helpless females.

Now sexual consent education will reinforce that message. Ive just been sent snapshots taken from the brand-new curriculum being introduced in one South Australian school.

Its fascinating seeing how the educators twist themselves into knots to avoid any hint of victim-blaming. Theyve come up with a new slogan: Vulnerability is not the same as responsibility.

Take, for example, this little scenario featuring Kim. Be warned, its pretty confusing because we arent given the gender of Kim, who uses the pronoun they.

Kim is out drinking, and a man they knows offers them a ride home but instead drives to a secluded spot, parks, and wants to have sex. Our educators spell out the message very clearly: its the villain, the driver, who is 100 percent responsible for his actions and whether or not Kim is safe. Kim is simply vulnerable as a result of decisions they have made to get into this situation.

In this particular scenario, we dont know the gender of the potential victim, but the bulk of the responsibility/vulnerability examples given in the curriculum involves males taking advantage of girls who arguably signal sexual interest in various ways by wearing low-cut dresses; or inviting a boy to snuggle with them in a private room at a party.

Another snapshot shows a classic example, featuring Jen and Luke. Note that it is taken from an American publication called Men Stopping Rape which says it all.

The predominantly female teachers who will be guiding the students discussion of these scenes will no doubt work to convince the kids that the boy is inevitably 100 percent responsible while the innocent girl is simply vulnerable.

Demonstrators hold posters outside City Hall in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sept. 28, 2018. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)

The curriculum does include one scenario, Ali and Josh, describing the situation of a girl who has sex because she fears her boyfriend might dump her if she doesnt. Thats true to life a very good example of a girl giving consent she may later regret.

The great pity is there is so little in this curriculum about the many reasons girls might be ambivalent about consent. The central myth of the enthusiastic consent dogma is the notion that girls know their own minds and clearly indicate their desires.

The truth is, that males are often forced to interpret female sexual ambivalence, obfuscation, and confusion. The apparent Yeses that are really should be Maybes or plain Nos.

Instead of properly addressing these muddy waters, these sexual consent courses work hard to convince young females that they are all potential victims, needing protection from dangerous males and taking us one more step towards creating a divided society.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
If youre wandering through the grocery aisles or farmers market in the spring and summer, theres a solid chance that youve spotted chard, and its brightly-colored stalks may have drawn your attention. But what is that rainbow-colored leafy vegetable that sits near the kale and spinach? And whats the best way to cook chard?

What Is Chard?

Also called rainbow chard or Swiss chard, chard is a relative of the beet and the greens of chard look really similar to beet greens. Unlike beets, you wont find the root of chard for sale at the store or farmers market  its inedible.

Its likely chard will stand out to you amid other leafy green vegetables because of its vibrantly colored stalks. It isnt called rainbow chard for nothing  this veggie can be white, red, golden yellow, purple, orange, green and so on, and its really quite pretty. Each of these stems taste slightly different, too, creating a delightful eating experience.

What Does Chard Taste Like?

You can seperate the chard into its leafy greens and its stalks; each part of the plant tastes different. The greens are more mild than spinach, with a sweet, earthy flavor and a bit of bitterness when eaten raw. When cooked, the bitterness lessens, and that sweet, earthy flavor (think beets) becomes more prevalent.

The stalks, meanwhile, are crunchy, crisp and have a sweetness that falls somewhere between celery and beets.

Chances are, if you like spinach, youll like Swiss chard; the two are often compared to each other since the leaves taste similar and the vegetable can be prepared in a similar fashion. You can  and should!  eat both parts of chard, but its easier to separate the stalks and the leaves for cooking and storage.

How to Shop for Chard

You can spot chard at farmers markets from late spring to early fall, and it will be comparable in price and located near the kale at grocery stores. Select bunches that have crisp, dark green leaves free from blemishes or holes. The leaves should be firm, and the stalks should look snappy. Definitely skip chard with brown stems or wilted leaves.

How to Store Chard

Chard is easy to store. Just keep it unwashed and loosely wrapped in plastic, and it will be good for about four days in the vegetable drawer.

If you want to extend the life of your produce, you can do so by separating the leaves and the stems. Wrap the leaves in paper towels loosely, roll them up into a bundle and put them in a plastic storage bag. The stems will be fine simply stacked and wrapped in plastic wrap.

Swiss Chard Recipes

You can cook chard in many of the same ways that you cook spinach, and its a fine swap in salads, sauteed preparations or in quiches. Just know that when eaten raw in a salad, chard leaves will have a texture thats more similar to kale.

One of our favorite (and more accessible) ways to cook chard is to use it in a cheesy gratin. Swapped for spinach, a large bunch of Swiss chard will bring a tart, robust flavor. And the best part about this recipe is that it uses the leaves and the stalks in all of their glory. If you find rainbow chard, that means youll have a bright and beautiful family-friendly side on the table.

Before making this Swiss chard gratin, or cooking chard in general, just be sure to wash it very, very thoroughly. Grit easily finds its way in the folds of the leaves and in the stalks, and nothing ruins a great veggie side dish like sand and dirt.

Once you master this recipe for Swiss chard gratin (and other chard preparations), read up on more spring produce and how to make those ingredients really shine.

Swiss Chard Gratin

This recipe by Peter Kemp originally appeared in The Chicago Tribune.

Ingredients:

1 large bunch (about 1 pound) Swiss chard

Salt

1/4 cup onion, finely diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Butter

Directions:

Step 1: Cut or tear the chard leaves away from the stalks and wash each separately. Cut the chard stalks into 1-inch pieces.

Step 2: Heat a pot of water to the boil. Add a few generous shakes of salt to the water and then the chard stalks. Cook until the stalks are easily pierced with a sharp knife, about 5 minutes. Remove the chard stalks with a slotted spoon and allow them to drain.

Step 3: Heat the water back to a boil and add the chard leaves. Blanch about 30 seconds. Remove and immediately run cold water over the greens to stop the cooking. Drain well and squeeze out excess water.

Step 4: Roughly chop the chard greens and combine with the chard stalks. Set aside.

Step 5: Heat the oven to 425F.

Step 6: Cook 1/4 cup diced onion in a small skillet over medium-high heat until wilted; add 3 cloves chopped garlic and cook 1 minute. Combine with the Swiss chard, salt and pepper.

Step 7: Put chard mixture into a shallow 1-quart gratin or baking dish. Add 1/2 cup stock. Combine 1/4 cup grated Parmesan and 1/4 cup bread crumbs. Cover the top with the mixture and dot with a few pats of butter.

Step 8: Bake the gratin until the top is browned and the chard is tender, not mushy, 10 to 15 minutes.
Hunter Biden walks to Marine One on the Ellipse outside the White House in Washington on May 22, 2021. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Hunter Bidens Dealings With CCP-Linked Chinese Firm Are Illegal Under Foreign Agents Registration Act: Rep. Johnson

Hunter Bidens dealings with Chinese energy firm CEFC are in violation of the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), Rep. Mike Johnson said on April 5.

Johnson lamented at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing that the FBI has shown markedly little interest in enforcing the act now that Democrats hold the White House, after having opened aggressive FARA investigations of people and organizations while President Donald Trump was in office.

The hearing, titled Enhancing the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, explored ways to enforce the statute in a fair and consistent manner. Originally drafted with a view to countering the propaganda and seditious activities of pro-Nazis elements in the 1930s, the act today is ill-understood and spottily enforced at best, legislators have said.

From 1966 to 2017, Johnson noted, investigations under FARA led to only seven prosecutions. Then, with Trump in office, the FBI suddenly grew interested in using FARA prosecutions as a tool and selectively enforced the act in a biased manner with the aim of prosecuting people deemed to be in the Trump camp, such as former 2016 campaign chair Paul Manafort, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former foreign policy adviser Carter Page, and former New York mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, according to Johnson.

Federal agents were quick to use a failure to register certain activities under FARA as a pretext for aggressive enforcement actions, Johnson said, and even raided Giulianis Madison Avenue apartment and Park Avenue office as part of an investigation of his dealings in Ukraine.

Of course, now that President Trump has left office, the FBI again has little interest in enforcing FARA. If thats not evidence of political bias in the depths of government, I dont know what is, he said.

In Johnsons view, the political motivations of earlier FARA enforcement actions stand out all the more starkly in light of the feds current lack of interest in pursuing Hunter Biden in the face of ample evidence that the latter tried to advance the interests of foreign companies when his father, Joe Biden, was vice president during the Obama administration.

The CEFC Connection

The lawmaker expressed consternation that its now known that the FBI has had Hunter Bidens laptop in its possession since December 2019, and in nearly two and a half years since hasnt taken any public action concerning its contents, which are said to include details of business deals, pornographic images, and illicit data.

Johnson noted that his colleague, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), took the step of introducing a copy of the contents of the laptops hard drive into the congressional record last week, adding that he hopes the staff of the majority Democratic Party doesnt delay the disclosing of the laptops contents to the public.

Everybody has a right to know that the son of the vice president used his political influence to benefit, among many other companies, CEFC China Energy, a Chinese conglomerate whose chairman has links to the Chinese Communist Party, Johnson said.

Johnson has no doubt that Hunter Biden knew that his dealings with CEFC violated the law, especially in light of a text message that Biden sent to his business associate Tony Bobulinski on May 1, 2017, stating, We dont want to have to register as foreign agents. In subsequent communications, Biden proposes that they form a shell corporation to conceal their role and permit CEFC to engage freely and without legal complications in dealings with the U.S. government.

Johnson alluded to public statements from Bobulinski acknowledging that then-Vice President Biden had discussed the CEFC dealings directly with the younger Biden.

Johnson cited an email found on Hunter Bidens laptop dated May 13, 2017, that mentioned compensation packages, including substantial equity splits, for a deal with CEFC. The younger Biden mentions that there will be something in the deal for the big guy, a nickname that Bobulinski says Hunter used in reference to Joe Biden.

The laptop also contains evidence of potential FARA violations in the context of Hunter Bidens business dealings in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, Johnson said. It also establishes that Hunter Biden set up meetings with other U.S. officials and engaged in further representational activities on behalf of his foreign counterparties, he added.

Failing to register such behavior is clearly a violation of the law, but to date, zero charges have been filed and FARA has not been used as a pretext, the lawmaker said, adding that the FBIs seeming indifference to the violations of the son of a top Democratic Party figure isnt without consequences for the way that Americans perceive their elected officials and their institutions.

Political bias is rearing its head. The double standard continues to erode faith in our public institutions.

A Colleague Weighs In

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) pointedly challenged the presidents recent denial of any wrongdoing on the part of his son.

Nothing was unethical. My son has not made money from Chinese business interests. There are 4.8 million reasons why that statement is not accurate, Jordan said, alluding to two recent stories that The Washington Post published on the matter.

The laptop story was first reported by the New York Post in late 2020 before Twitter, Facebook, and other social media companies moved to limit its reach. Twitter also locked the NY Posts account for more than two weeks, claiming the outlet published hacked material. Last week, The Washington Post, which hired two security experts to authenticate the laptop, verified the authenticity of much of the laptops content.

They ran two eight-page stories, four minutes apart, when, for 18 months, they had said its Russian disinformation, Jordan said.

The Washington Post reported that Hunter Biden had received large payouts from Chinese firms with links to the CCP, including $4.8 million from CEFC China Energy, the lawmaker noted.

Should Hunter Biden have registered under [FARA]? Why didnt he? Why is the Department of Justice being inconsistent, as it seems? he asked.

Hunter Bidens lawyer, the Justice Department, and the FBI didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
Eric Trump at the Stop the Steal rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Jenny Jing/The Epoch Times)

If I Did 1/100 of What Hunter Biden Did, Id Be in Jail for the Rest of My Life: Eric Trump

There are no equal scales of justice in the United States, and the mainstream media has been covering up for the Biden family, according to Eric Trump, the second son of former President Donald Trump.

Based on their approval rating, [the mainstream media] is really damaged because theyve got 7 percent approval rating in this country. Its horrible. People dont trust them anymore, Eric Trump told NTDs Capitol Report over the weekend.

In October 2021, a Gallup poll showed that only 7 percent of adult Americans have a great deal of trust in the media. Combined with 29 percent a fair amount of trust, they represent the second-lowest confidence level since Gallup first tracked such data in 1972. Another 29 percent of the public has not very much trust, and 34 percent have none at all.

If I did 1/100 of what Hunter Biden did, Id be in jail for the rest of my life, said Eric, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization.

Hunter Biden, the sole surviving son of President Joe Biden, has been involved in controversy for years, particularly concerning his business dealings while his father was vice president. Hunter Biden made $50,000 a month as a board member for Ukraine-based Burisma while his father was charged by Obama with helping improve the countrys governmental practices.

On March 28 and 29, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) released bank records showing payments were made to Hunter Biden from a Chinese Communist Party-linked company. The evidence is stunning, and it is growing, said Johnson.

The U.S. Attorneys Office in Delaware has been investigating Hunter Biden for his possible tax fraud, according to the younger Biden.

Later last year, a New York art gallery helped Hunter Biden sell his artwork. The arrangement was criticized in a CNN interview with Walter Shaub, the Obama administrations Government Ethics Office director, as setting a precedent that is perfect for funneling bribes.

The mainstream media hasnt mentioned Hunter Bidens name in 258 days. Theres a serious problem with that. They let him skirt by. They carry Joe Bidens water, Eric Trump said.

According to media watchdog NewsBusters, the corporate media didnt mention Hunter Biden from July 12, 2021when NBC talked about the ethics of his art saleuntil March 16, 2022, when The New York Times admitted the authenticity of his laptop.

On March 30, The Washington Post confirmed the laptop story as well.

When the New York Post first reported on Hunter Bidens laptop in October 2020, the mainstream media overwhelmingly discredited the report. Some social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, quickly suppressed the report. Twitter locked the newspapers account for more than two weeks.

Eric Trump said the corporate media has been covering up for Hunters father Joe Biden as well. He said if his father had said 1/100 of the stupid things Biden said, the media and the left would call for implementing Article 25 of the Constitution to remove the president.

The elder Biden has been frequently caught uttering gaffes during his public appearances.

But again, theyre on that side, and theyll do anything to cover up for him and let him get away with just about anything under the sun, said Eric.

You dont have equal scales of justice in this country. You dont have equal media coverage. The media is the propaganda wing of the left-wing party. And I think that [has] become very clear to all Americans.

Hunter Biden has acknowledged his actions didnt look good but denied doing anything wrong. President Biden has repeatedly defended his son.

On April 3, White House chief of staff Ron Klain said President Biden believes that his son didnt break the law.

The president is confident that his family did the right thing, Klain told ABC. But again, I want to just be really clear: these are actions by Hunter and his brother, theyre private matters, they dont involve the president. And they certainly are something that no one at the White House is involved in.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.

Harry Lee Follow Harry Lee is a New York-based reporter for The Epoch Times. Contact Harry at harry.lee@epochtimes.com
CITY of Masvingo officials were Monday grilled by parliamentarians and residents over the continuous lack of transparency and accountability concerning the use of devolution funds since 2019.

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government was at Town Hall where it was listening to residents' concerns regarding the handling of devolution funds by the local authority.

Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance (MURRA) had petitioned parliament in May last year seeking reprieve on the dictatorial use of devolution funds and non-delivery of adequate services.

Members of the committee and residents took turns to fire questions at Town Clerk Edward Mukaratirwa who had earlier on presented his report on how they were handling the funds.

In his report, Mukaratirwa accepted that they had not done separate consultations on how to use the devolution allocations but were jointly doing that when they do annual budget consultations.

"It was not very clear for us how we should deal with these funds but when we did our budget consultations for the financial year that is when we were jointly consulting residents on the use of devolution allocation," Mukaratirwa said.

MP Miriam Chikukwa blasted council for not being transparent and for failure to conduct proper consultations with residents in all the 10 wards.

"Devolution funds are not council funds, that money is not yours. You should do different consultations in every ward because communities have priorities. Bottom line is that you haven't been going to the people to hear their priorities when it comes to what they want the money to be used for," Chikukwa said.

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Budiriro MP Costa Machingauta added: "Council should not take directives from the Minister but should consult the people that is the way these funds should be used."

In his remarks, Mayor Collen Maboke appreciated that the local authority was at fault and promised to continuously engage residents in future.

"Every home has its own problems but we are glad that now we have engaged with residents and we will work tirelessly to engage them as we plan on how to use devolution funds and council projects because their input is of paramount importance," Maboke said.

Under the devolution program, council received ZW$400 000 in 2019, ZW$9 million in 2020 and ZW$86.5 million.

Unclear use of these funds has seen residents approach parliament to help them demand answers from city fathers.

Council has chosen to prioritise the Mucheke Trunk Sewer project which has brewed much controversy considering it has gone for a decade but has not been completed.

Residents have, however, complained that the project has been used as a scapegoat when it comes to devolution funds as they claim huge chunk of the city's allocation is channeled to the project.
Indonesias Uncertainties Pique Beijings Hopes

Commentary

Nothing in the global balance seems certain as 2022 evolves. Certainly not in the Indo-Pacific, where China hovers between the hope of strategic growth abroad and the reality of economic contraction at home.

Indonesia, in particular, is impacted significantly by Chinas fortunes, whatever the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) does in the Indo-Pacific, or domestically. But under almost any circumstances, Beijing seeks to expand its influence in Indonesia because of its control of resources and vital sea lanes.

And Indonesiaif it is to keep its economy expanding in a world facing economic disruptioncontinues to see China as its best hope for large-scale foreign investment.

Indonesian President Jokowi Joko Widodo faces massive economic challenges, particularly with his January 2022 decision to move the capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan province in Borneo800 miles awayto a planned city to be called Nusantara. The move was projected to cost 466-trillion rupiah ($32.4 billion) but may ultimately cost 10 times that much.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (on-screen) delivers opening remarks at the opening of the G-20 finance ministers meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Feb. 17, 2022. (Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images)

Indonesian politicians and national security officials were aware that if the move required the government to seek Chinese financial support, then any hope of meaningful resistance to Beijings strategic demands would diminish. But China may not be able to afford such a major project financing commitment, despite the leverage it would give Beijing. Japans SoftBankwhich had indicated an interest in financing the new citywithdrew from the project in March 2022.

It may also prove too expensive for Saudi Arabia. But something must be done quickly to relieve pressures on Jakarta. Much of the present capitals land is subsiding, and pollution and congestion have become untenable.

The United Arab Emirates offered $10 billion for the new capital, but more than 50 percent of the budget would now likely come from the Indonesian government. This would significantly strain other budget areas, particularly defense, which already gets a lower portion of the budget than in other ASEAN states or Australia.

Meanwhile, the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has hinted that it would seek a constitutional amendment to extend Jokowis term beyond 2024. House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Puan Maharani, 48, daughter of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri (2001-04), was even forced last month to deny rumors that she had been offered the chance to replace Jokowis current vice president, Maruf Amin, if an additional term could be found for the president.

The Asia Times said on March 29 that divisions within the PDI-P [over whether to seek an extra term for Jokowi] stem in part from friction between supporters of charismatic Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, 53, a party functionary, and those of Maharani, fed largely by the yawning lead Pranowo has over her in presidential opinion polls.

Megawati still exercises considerable authority over the 128-seat PDI-P, the countrys biggest party, although her relationship with Jokowi has often been rocky. It has been speculated that Megawati, daughter of the late President Sukarno, was anxious to see the family continue to control the presidency. However, Puan Maharani has been rumored to have been in ill health during the past year.

The Indonesian economy may have recovered from its significant fall in 2020with the GDP down to $1.058 trillion from 2019s $1.119 trillionand was anticipated to reach more than $1.15 trillion in 2022.

By comparison, neighboring Australias GDP fared relatively well in 2020 at $1.331 trillion, down only slightly from 2019s $1.393 trillion. But Australia was expected to reach $1.37 trillion in 2021, only a slight improvement over 2020, but then reach $1.45 trillion in 2022.

All of this begs the question as to where Indonesia is going with its defense spending, especially compared with Australia, and especially in light of the question of whether Australia and Indonesia could work together to constrain China militarily. Or whether Indonesia becomes in thrall to Beijing. This may have been of less concern to Canberra a decade ago, but under Jokowi, Indonesias defenses have been entrusted to former Gen. Prabowo Subianto as defense minister.

Indonesian army soldiers take part in Garuda Shield Joint Exercise 2021 at the Indonesian Army Combat Training Center in Martapura, South Sumatra province, Indonesia, on Aug. 4, 2021. (Antara Foto/Nova Wahyudi/via Reuters)

Minister Prabowo inherited a military force that was, in his own words, very weak, and even by the financial year 2021 budget, he had managed to only increase defense spending to 0.78 percent of Indonesias GDP.

Within three months of taking office, Prabowo had visited seven countries: France, Turkey, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and China. He concluded deals to acquire 42 Dassault Rafale fighters, two Scorpene submarines, two Airbus A400M transport aircraft from France, and eight Fincantieri frigates from Italy.

Prabowo, although concerned about Indonesias ability to patrol its extensive exclusive economic zone (EEZ), has indicated that he felt that incursions into Indonesian waters by the Chinese regime were not a major threat because of the sound Indonesia-China economic relationship. Indeed, China remains Indonesias second-biggest investor and largest trading partner. So whether Beijing becomes an investor or not in Nusantara, it will retain a dominant position of influence.

More importantly, Beijing strenuously supports the Indonesian governments control over West Papua, the sovereignty of which is being contested by indigenous Papuans. In Indonesian leaders minds, Australia and New Zealand would not be confident supporters of Jakartas sovereignty over West Papua, Indonesias most significant resource export region.

The civil war in West Papua continues to escalate. The case Papuans make about the illegality of Indonesias seizure of the territory in 1963, when Dutch colonial forces withdrew, is also gaining greater international support and attention.

On March 27, Papuan separatists attacked an Indonesian Navy task force base in Kenyam, Nduga area, in Papua province, killing a Marine and injuring nine others. The KKB separatist group, however, reported killing two Marines.

Several days later, attackers from the West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organization, shot and killed an Indonesian soldier and his wife and injured their two children in an assault in the Yalimo district of Papua. Indonesian and Papuan deaths are being reported almost daily.

This war will not go away, but the provinces gold and energy deposits are now the cornerstone of Indonesias wealth. The United States began its exploitation there, but China needs the resources and the wealth they create for Beijing and Jakartabut not for Papuans.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Two women sitting on a bench look at their mobile phones in Chiang Mai on October 31, 2020. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP) (Photo by MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Investors Approve Thailand Telecoms Mega-Merger Despite Market Competition Worries

The planned merger of True Corporation and Total Access Communication (DTAC), two of Thailands top telecom operators, has officially been approved by shareholders on Monday.

The proposed agreement won the support from some 99.37 percent of Trues shareholders and 89 percent of DTACs shareholders at the companies annual general meeting held on Monday, Bangkok Post reported.

True and DTAC estimated the new companys registered and paid-up capital would be 138.2 billion baht ($41.2 million) and 34.5 billion ordinary shares with a par value of 4 baht ($0.12 cent) per share.

Sharad Mehrotra, DTACs chief executive, said the merger is expected to be completed in the second half of this year. He added that the new tech firm will be able to adapt to rapid changes in the global market and meet customers expectations using advanced technology.

The strength of True and DTAC will be drawn into the new firm with the support of major shareholders of both companies, Mehrotra said at the shareholder meeting.

The planned merger was announced in November last year, but consumer protection groups and academics raised concern that it would result in market dominance and potential financial implications for consumers.

Advanced Info Service (AIS), another of Thailands top mobile operators, lodged a complaint to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) on March 25 over its rivals planned merger, saying that it would affect market competition.

AIS urged the NBTC board to exercise its legal authority and conduct a thorough review of the merger deal, which it believes could impact consumer interest and market competitiveness, Bangkok Post reported on April 1.

Saree Ongsomwang, Thailand Consumer Councils secretary-general, claimed that consumers may face a 20 percent increase in expenses as a result of the merger, which will reduce the number of mobile operators in Thailand from three to two, the Nation Thailand reported.

Saree said that the merger would leave AIS, which holds 46 percent of the market, and the new company as the only two competitors. True Corp holds 32 percent of the market while DTAC controls 22 percent.

Hence, the council has urged the watchdogthe National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC)and related agencies to act on this deal carefully, Saree said.

Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) president Somkiat Tangkitvanich also urged to revoke the True-DTAC merger as it would adversely affect startups and innovators who will suffer the increase in production costs.

During the transition to the digital economy, Thailand will face market domination both domestic and overseas, resulting in difficulties in competition, Somkiat said.
John Durham speaks to reporters on the steps of U.S. District Court in New Haven, Conn., on April 25, 2006. (Bob Child/AP Photo)

John Durham: Ex-Clinton Lawyer Allegedly Lied to FBI in Writing

Special counsel John Durham published potentially conclusive evidence in the case against former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann on Monday night, showing alleged text messages the cybersecurity lawyer sent to the FBI general counsel that he wasnt working for any client when he provided information to the bureau.

Durhams team charged Sussmann last year with lying to the FBI when he presented information about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to then-FBI general counsel James Jim Baker in late 2016. Sussmann allegedly concealed that he was working for the Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign, and tech executive Rodney Joffe when he provided the claim that the Trump Organization had a secret link with a Russian bank, which the FBI later said was not credible.

Jim  its Michael Sussmann. I have something time-sensitive (and sensitive) I need to discuss, Sussmann allegedly wrote to Baker, according to the late-night court filing (pdf). Do you have availibilty [sic] for a short meeting tomorrow? Im coming on my own  not on behalf of a client or company  want to help the Bureau. Thanks.

And Baker responded: Ok. I will find a time. What might work for you? Sussmann then replied, Any time but lunchtime  you name it.

Sussmanns lawyers previously denied that their client made such claims to Baker, saying it was made orally. However, Durhams latest filing suggests that Sussmann may have put it in writing.

Michael Sussmann in an undated interview. (CNN/Screenshot via NTD)

The Special Counsel has brought a false statement charge on the basis of a purported oral statement made over five years ago for which there is only a single witness, Mr. Baker; for which there is no recording; and for which there are no contemporaneous notes by anyone who was actually in the meeting, Sussmanns lawyers said last year.

In October, meanwhile, Durhams team wrote that prosecutors will call Bakerwho now works for Twitterto testify in the upcoming trial.

Sussmann has pleaded not guilty and said he committed no wrongdoing. His lawyers recently called on a federal judge to dismiss the case, arguing that Durhams probe is politically motivated.

But Durham said that Sussmanns allegedly false statement to Baker was, in fact, plainly material because it misled the General Counsel about, among other things, the critical fact that the defendant was disseminating highly explosive allegations about a then-Presidential candidate on behalf of two specific clients, one of which was the opposing Presidential campaign, according to court documents.

Further, Durham asserted that Sussmann repeatedly billed the Clinton campaign for his work on their behalf.

Also on Monday, Sussmanns lawyers wrote (pdf) that the discredited and controversial Steele dossier should not be included in the case as former UK spy Christopher Steeles conduct is wholly irrelevant to the charge against Mr. Sussmann, adding that to allow evidence regarding Mr. Steele would invite a distracting and highly prejudicial mini-trial on a fraught topic with no connection to the charge in this matter.

The Epoch Times has contacted Sussmanns legal team for comment.
Key Player in Ex-Clinton Lawyers Trial Intends to Plead the Fifth

A former technology executive who helped spy on the White House intends to invoke his right against self-incrimination if he is called to testify during the upcoming trial of a lawyer who represented Hillary Clintons campaign during the 2016 election, according to court documents.

Michael Sussmann, the lawyer, is set to go on trial for allegedly lying to the FBI.

Sussmann was representing Rodney Joffe, a tech executive, when he went to the FBI and handed over three white papers that contained unsubstantiated allegations against then-candidate Donald Trump, Clintons rival in the presidential race, according to U.S. prosecutors.

Sussmann says he gave the information to the FBI as a concerned citizen and the parties he was representing at the time are not relevant.

If Joffe were to testify during the trial, he would offer critical exculpatory testimony, Sussmanns lawyers said in one of the new filings. Among the angles would be that Mr. Sussmann and Mr. Joffe agreed that information should be conveyed to the FBI and to Agency-2, believed to be the CIA, to help the government, not to benefit Mr. Joffe.

But Joffe plans on invoking his rights under the Fifth Amendment if called to testify because prosecutors say he remains the subject of an investigation.

Steven Tyrell, representing Joffe, said in a letter just made public that he spoke with Andrew DeFilippis, a prosecutor on Special Counsel John Durhams team, on March 31 after receiving a subpoena for Joffe to testify.

After receiving confirmation Joffe remains under investigation, Tyrell asked for more details.

Rather than provide any additional information to aid in our assessment of the risk of prosecution, Mr. DeFilippis stated that in his view, Mr. Joffes status in the investigation was sufficient to establish a good faith basis to invoke the privilege against self-incrimination. Mr. DeFilippis further stated that OSC did not want to get into any more detail, and presumed that Latham would understand if Mr. Joffe decided to invoke, Tyrell said in the letter, which was sent to Sussmanns lawyers at Latham & Watkins.

Sussmanns lawyers alleged that Durhams team is manufacturing incredible claims of continuing criminal liability to force Joffe to not testify, alleging it is simply inconceivable that Mr. Joffe faces any real continuing criminal exposure in connection with the special counsels investigation.

According to earlier filings, Joffe was part of a scheme to spy on the White House before and after Trump became president. Joffes spokesperson has described him as an apolitical Internet security expert with decades of service to the U.S. government who has never worked for a political party, and who legally provided access to data to the White House.

Since Sussmann also plans to invoke his Fifth Amendment right during trial, Joffe remains the only available witness regarding the relationship between himself and Sussmann, the defendants lawyers assert.

Theyre asking the court to dismiss the case unless prosecutors agree to grant Joffe immunity, which would enable him to testify without fear of repercussions.

In a filing from Durhams team, prosecutors said Sussmann assembled and conveyed allegations regarding Trump to the FBI on behalf of both Joffe and Clintons campaign, citing billing records, conversations, and other evidence. One nexus is a law firm, Perkins Coie, which was paid by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee during the election, with evidence showing Joffe met with former Perkins lawyer Marc Elias multiple times.

Emails that Durhams team is seeking to introduce during the trial would show Sussmann, Joffe, and the campaign were acting in concert toward a common goal, namely, the goal of assembling and disseminating the Russian Bank-1 allegations and other derogatory information about Trump and his associates to the media and the U.S. government, the special prosecutors office said. One email would show Joffe saying he was offered the top cybersecurity job in the White House if Democrats won the election.
LA Councilman Joe Buscaino Releases Tax Returns as Part of Mayoral Run

LOS ANGELESLos Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino Monday became the second candidate for mayor of Los Angeles to release his tax returns from the last five years, following City Attorney Mike Feuer.

According to Buscainos 2021 tax return, which he filed with his wife Geralyn, the couples adjusted gross income was $291,758, and $257,152 was taxable. The couple paid $50,841 in taxes and donated $7,655 to charities.

In 2020, the couples adjusted gross income was $278,819, with $239,235 considered taxable. They paid $43,897 in taxes and donated $6,384 to charities.

In 2019, the couples adjusted gross income was $221,793, with $178,339 being taxable. They paid $27,428 in taxes and donated $6,949 to charities.

In 2018, their adjusted gross income was $224,020, with $180,697 being taxable. They paid $28,077 in taxes and donated $6,209 to charities.

In 2017, their adjusted gross income was $210,769, with $129,699 being taxable. They paid $25,237 in taxes, according to the return. They gave $5,440 to charities.

In these five years of returns, you will see that both my wife and I are public servants. We give to local neighborhood charities and do our best to serve our community. I love this city and thats why Im running for mayorto continue to serve and move Los Angeles forward, Buscaino said.

Buscainos tax returns were released Monday along with his personnel file from his time as an officer at the Los Angeles Police Department.

The release comes after Feuer challenged real estate developer Rick Carusowho is also running for mayorto release his tax returns, alleging during a March 22 debate that he has a $100 million yacht registered in the Cayman Islands.

Caruso responded that he would release everything that I pay in taxes, including on the yacht, once all the other candidates on stage decide to release their tax returns. Along with Feuer, Caruso, and Buscaino, the debate included Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), and City Councilman Kevin de Leon.
President Joe Biden looks on as he attends a North Atlantic Council meeting during an extraordinary summit at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on March 24, 2022. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia-Ukraine War (April 5): US, Allies to Ban Investments in Russia, Sanction Banks on Wednesday

The latest on the RussiaUkraine crisis, April 5. Click here for updates from April 4.

US, Allies to Ban Investments in Russia, Sanction Banks on Wednesday

The United States and its allies will on Wednesday impose new sanctions on Russian banks and officials and ban new investment in Russia, the White House said, after officials in Washington and Kyiv accused Moscow of committing war crimes in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

The sanctions will increase curbs on financial institutions and state-owned enterprises in Russia and target Russian government officials and their families, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.

Tomorrow, what were going to announce  in coordination with the G-7 and EU, (is) an additional sweeping package of sanctions measures that will impose costs on Russia and send it further down the road of economic, financial, and technological isolation, Psaki said, noting that the G-7 and EU comprised around 50 percent of the global economy.

The measures will degrade key instruments of Russian state power, impose acute and immediate economic harm on Russia, and hold accountable the Russian kleptocracy that funds and supports (Russian President Vladimir) Putins war, she said.

She declined to comment on reports that the sanctions would target the daughters of Putin.

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US Defense Chief Defends Ukraine Response

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin defended Americas response to the war in Ukraine on Tuesday during a heated exchange with a Republican lawmaker who accused the Pentagon of over-estimating Russias military capability.

Has it occurred to you that Russia has not overrun Ukraine because of what weve done? And our allies have done? Have you ever even thought about that? Austin asked rhetorically to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) during testimony to the House Armed Services Committee. Austin and other U.S. officials say U.S. support to Ukrainian forces, along with Ukraines strong will to fight, has thwarted Russias plans for a swift victory in its now more than month-long invasion.

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US Imposes Sanctions on Russian Darknet Market and Crypto Exchange

The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Tuesday on a prominent Russia-based darknet market site and a cryptocurrency exchange that it said operates primarily out of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The sanctions against Hydra and currency exchange Garantex, published on the Treasury Departments website, send a message today to criminals that you cannot hide on the darknet or their forums, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

According to blockchain researchers, approximately 86 percent of illicit bitcoin received directly by Russian crypto exchanges in 2019 came from Hydra, which the Treasury Department described as the worlds largest and most prominent darknet market.

The new sanctions prohibit U.S. persons from making or receiving any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services to Hydra or Garantex, the Treasury said.

The department said the sanctions, which prohibit U.S. transactions with Hydra and Garantex and seek to freeze any assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction, is part of an international effort to disrupt proliferation of malicious cybercrime services, drugs and other illegal offerings, including ransomware activity, that emanate from Russia.

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Zelenskyy Demands Russia Get Expelled From UN Security Council

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday told the U.N. Security Council that Russia should be removed from the U.N. body over what he said were atrocities that were committed near Kyiv.

In an address, the Ukrainian leader said Russia should be held accountable and urged the United Nations to take action. Over the weekend, Kyiv officials alleged that Russian forces tortured and massacred civilians in Bucha, which Moscow has categorically denied while accusing the Ukraine government of staging a provocation.

Now the world can see what Russian military did in Bucha, but the world has yet to see what they have done in other occupied cities and regions of our country, Zelenskyy said, adding that the U.N. Security Council should dissolve altogether if it doesnt take action against Moscow.

If there is no alternative and no option, then the next option would be [to] dissolve yourself altogether, Zelenskyy remarked.

Russia, he added, should be removed as a permanent member of the Security Council. The United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia are the only permanent members.

Read the full article here

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Zelenskyy Tells UN Accountability Must Be Inevitable

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the United Nations Security Council that accountability must be inevitable for Russia as he accused Russian troops of committing the most terrible war crimes since World War Two.

Zelenskyy showed a short video of burned, bloodied, and mutilated bodies, including children, in Irpin, Dymerka, Mariupol, and Bucha.

Russias U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia then told the Security Council that Russian troops are not targeting civilians, dismissing accusations of abuse as lies.

Zelenskyy questioned the value of the 15-member U.N. Security Council, which has been unable to take any action over Russias Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine because Moscow is a veto power, along with the United States, France, Britain, and China.

We are dealing with a state that turns its veto at the U.N. Security Council into the right to [cause] death, Zelenskyy said in a live video address from Ukraines capital Kyiv, urging reform of the world body. Russia wants to turn Ukraine into silent slaves.

Russia says it is carrying out a special military operation that aims to destroy Ukraines military infrastructure and denazify it, and denies attacking civilians. Ukraine says it was invaded without provocation.

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Russias Gas-for-Rubles Payment Schedule Explained

Russia wont be seeking gas payments from unfriendly states in rubles immediately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, noting that the switch is likely to be a gradual process.

Nobody is in a rush, Peskov told reporters. He explained This is the move in stages, very cautious, with consideration of financial and economic realities existing on global markets. Certainly, there is no room for sudden changes.

According to Peskov, this must be an absolutely thought-out, gradual and carefully calibrated activity. It is impossible to act otherwise.

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EU Orders 19 Russian Diplomats to Leave Belgium

The European Union has declared 19 Russian diplomats personae non-gratae for engaging in activities contrary to their diplomatic status and ordered them to leave host nation Belgium, the bloc said, joining E.U. members in expelling envoys.

Based on the decision by High Representative Josep Borrell, 19 members of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the EU in Brussels have been declared personae non gratae for engaging in activities contrary to their diplomatic status, the bloc said in a statement.

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Germany to Send Additional Weapons to Ukraine

Germanys foreign minister has spoken out in favor of providing Ukraine with additional weapons to defend itself against Russia.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday that we are looking at what solutions there are, together with the E.U., NATO and in particular the G-7 partners.

She dismissed criticism that Germany wasnt doing enough to arm Ukraine, saying there arent many other countries that have supplied more [weapons].

Baerbock spoke following a conference in Berlin on support for Moldova, a poor, small eastern European nation bordering Ukraine that has been strongly affected by the conflict.

Participants agreed to take in 12,000 Ukrainian refugees currently in Moldova, provide 71 million euros in aid and almost 700 million euros in loans to the country, and support its efforts to fight corruption and decrease its energy dependence on Russia.

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27 Russian Diplomats Expelled From Baltics

Estonia and Latvia will close Russias consular missions in two cities each and expel a total of 27 Russian diplomats and employees currently stationed in the Baltic countries.

Estonias Foreign Ministry said Tuesday the country decided to expel the staff of Russias consulates in the southern city of Tartu and border city of Narva and close the premises. The combined 14-member Russian staff, including 7 employees with diplomatic status, must leave the country by April 30, the ministry said.

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rincevics said in a tweet that Latvia will close Russian consulates in Daugavpils and Liepaja and expel 13 Russian diplomats and employees.

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Putin Warns on Nationalizing Russian Stakes

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that any move by foreign countries to nationalize Russian stakes in companies would be a double-edged sword.

We are already hearing statements from officials about a possible nationalization of some of our assets, he said. How far will that get us? Let no one forget that it is a double-edged sword.

Putin also bemoaned what he said was administrative pressure on our company Gazprom in some European countries. Germany on Monday put a government agency in charge of a longtime German subsidiary of Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled energy giant.

The move falls short of nationalization because the German state has not taken ownership of the shares, and it is a temporary change of administration through September.

Gazprom said last week it had cut ties with the unit but Germany says that was invalid because the identity of any new owners is unclear and the deal happened without the required government approval.

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Kremlin Says Bucha Is Monstrous Forgery Aimed at Smearing Russia

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Western allegations Russian forces committed war crimes by executing civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha were a monstrous forgery aimed at denigrating the Russian army.

Since Russian troops withdrew from towns and villages around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Ukrainian troops have been showing journalists corpses of what they say are civilians killed by Russian forces, destroyed houses, and burnt-out cars.

The West says the dead civilians are evidence of war crimes.

It is a simply a well-directedbut tragicshow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. It is a forgery aimed at denigrating the Russian armyand it will not work.

We once again urge the international community: detach yourself from such emotional perceptions and think with your head, Peskov said. Compare the facts and understand what a monstrous forgery we are dealing with.

Ukraine says Russia is guilty of genocide and President Joe Biden on Monday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of war crimes and called for a trial.

The Kremlin said Bidens remarks were unacceptable and unworthy of a leader of the United States.

Russia casts the evidence of civilian executions in Bucha as a cyclical ploy by Ukraine and its Western backers, who Moscow says are gripped by discriminatory anti-Russian paranoia.

These are fakes that matured in the cynical imagination of Ukrainian propaganda, Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of Russias Security Council, said of Bucha.

He suggested that Ukrainian forces had been prepared to kill their own citizens in a bid to discredit Russia.

Russias defence ministry said it had evidence that the 72nd Ukrainian Main Center for Psychological Operations had helped stage such propaganda in a village 23 km (14 miles) northwest of Kyiv as well as in Sumy, Konotop, and other towns.

Russia has not published evidence for its claims but it says Western media have provided an excessively partial narrative of the war in Ukraine that largely ignores Russias concerns about the enlargement of NATO and the persecution of Russian speakers.

Moscow has questioned why, if its forces withdrew from Bucha on March 30 and the mayor of Bucha declared the area free of Russian forces on March 31, the bodies of dead civilians were only shown for the first time on April 3.

Russia also says the bodies shown in some footage did not show characteristic signs of degradation that would be expected after a number of days.

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NATO Says Russia Regrouping to Try to Take Ukraines Donbass

Russia is not giving up on its offensive in Ukraine but will try to refocus on completely taking the Donbass region in the coming weeks, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.

We now see a significant movement of (Russian) troops away from Kyiv to regroup, re-arm and re-supply and shift their focus to the east, Stoltenberg told a news conference.

In the coming weeks, we expect a further Russian push in eastern and southern Ukraine to try to take the entire Donbass and to create a land bridge to occupied Crimea, he said before Wednesdays meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

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Russia Claims Ukraine Stages More Killings of Civilians

Ukrainian security services have staged more alleged killings of civilians in several towns and villages to make headlines in the Western media and accuse Moscow of war crimes, Russias Defense Ministry claimed on Tuesday.

Moscow insists that same tactics have been used by Kyiv to blame Russian forces for atrocities in the town of Bucha last week.

The troops of the 72nd Ukrainian Main Center for Psychological Operations conducted another staged filming of civilians allegedly killed by violent actions of the Russian armed forces in order for it to be distributed through the Western media, the ministrys spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said during a briefing.

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EU Imposes New Sanctions on Moscow

The European Unions executive branch has proposed a ban on coal imports from Russia in what would be the first sanctions targeting the countrys lucrative energy industry over its war in Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday the ban on coal imports is worth 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year. She added that the EU has already started working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports.

Von der Leyen didnt mention natural gas. A consensus among the 27 EU member countries on targeting gas thats used to generate electricity, heat homes and power industry would be more difficult to secure.

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EU Reveals Why It Wont Ban Russian Gas

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has announced that introducing a total ban on Russian gas imports has been ruled out because the bloc would not be able to pass a unanimous vote due to Hungarys position.

A unanimous decision cannot be taken because there is one country, Hungary, which has said it will veto it, the politician said in an interview with the Spanish outlet COPE.

At the same time, Borrell seemed to acknowledge Budapests position, saying, Giving up what you dont have is easy, adding that countries that are much more reliant on Russian gas imports are in a difficult position right now.

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Zelenskyy Says Ukraine-Russia Talks Only Option to End War

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday Ukraine had no option but to negotiate with Russia to end fighting but that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin might not personally hold talks.

Zelenskyy was speaking after accusing Russian troops of carrying out extra-judicial killings in the town of Bucha west of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the reports of civilian killings in Bucha were fakes aimed at discrediting Russia. Moscow said it would present empirical evidence to a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday proving its forces were not involved.

All of us, including myself, will perceive even the possibility of negotiations as a challenge, Zelenskyy said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists broadcast on national television.

The challenge is internal, first of all, ones own, human challenge. Then, when you pull yourself together, and you have to do it, I think that we have no other choice.

He said the events in Bucha were unforgivable but Ukraine and Russia should take the difficult option of pursuing talks, and signaled that Moscow should recognize what its troops were alleged to have done.

The Russian news agency Interfax cited a deputy Russian foreign minister as saying talks were continuing via video link.

Asked whether he and Putin would hold direct talks, Zelenskyy said it was possible this would not happen but gave no details.

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Ukraine Reports Russian Military Regrouping

Ukraines General Staff reports Tuesday morning that Russia is regrouping its troops and preparing for an offensive in Donbas.

The goal is to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the update posted on the General Staffs Facebook page says.

In the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the Russian military are focusing their efforts on taking control of Popasna and Rubizhne cities, as well as establishing full control over Mariupol, the General Staff said. Other towns and settlements in the two regions are subject to continued shelling.

The Russian troops also continue to block Kharkiv, according to the General Staff.

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Ukraine: Civilian Ship Sinking in Mariupol

Ukraine claims a civilian ship is sinking in the port of the besieged city of Mariupol after Russian forces fired on it.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry claimed in a statement Tuesday that the ship was struck during shelling from the sea by Russia, causing a fire in the engine room. The crew was rescued, including one injured crew member, it added.

The ministry said the ship was flying the flag of the Dominican Republic and posted a picture of a cargo vessel. It didnt specify how many people were on board or the nationalities of the crew members.

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Ukraine President Says Military Situation in Mariupol Very Difficult

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said Ukraines efforts to push back Russian troops from Mariupol were facing difficulties.

In a televised interview with local media, Zelenskyy said the military situation in the southern port city was very difficult.

He also said Turkey had proposed a plan to help evacuate wounded people and dead bodies from the city, but claimed that the initiative depended on the will of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Ukraine Opens Corridors Out of Mariupol

Seven humanitarian corridors will be open on Tuesday, including from the besieged port city of Mariupol and the Russian-controlled Berdyansk, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on the messaging app Telegram.

According to Vereshchuks post, residents of Mariupol and Berdyansk will be able to leave to Zaporizhzhia on their own transport. Corridors will also be open from the city of Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia region and the cities of Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Popasna, and Hirske in the Luhansk region.

It was not immediately clear from Vereshchuks statement whether Russia has agreed to halt the fighting along the announced corridors. Some of the Ukrainian efforts to evacuate civilians via humanitarian corridors had previously failed as fighting along them continued even despite agreements with Russia.

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UN Estimates 11 Million Have Fled Homes in Ukraine

The U.N. migration agency now estimates that more than 11 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine since Russias invasion.

The International Organization for Migration, in its first such full assessment in three weeks, reported Tuesday that more than 7.1 million had been displaced within Ukraine as of April 1. That comes on top of the figure of more than 4 million who have fled abroad, reported by the U.N. refugee agency.

IOM said more than 2.9 million others are actively considering leaving their place of habitual residence due to war.

Ukraine had a pre-war population of 44 million.

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Ukraines President to Address UN Security Council on War

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the U.N. Security Council for the first time Tuesday at a meeting that is certain to focus on what claimed to be killings of civilians by Russian troops.

The United Kingdom, which holds the council presidency this month, announced late Monday that Zelenskyy would speak at the open meeting called for Tuesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy is to address the U.N.s most powerful body virtually after it receives briefings from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, his political chief Rosemary DiCarlo, and U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, who is trying to arrange an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and met with senior Russian officials in Moscow on Monday and will shortly be heading to Ukraine.

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Berlin Reveals Its Stance on Russian Gas

German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock has ruled out an import ban on Russian gas since Berlin does not believe that an energy embargo will make Russia drop its military action in Ukraine.

If imposing a full embargo tomorrow could stop this war then we would do it immediately. Such a ban would only drive the price of this war even higher. But it wouldnt be able to stop the killing tomorrow, said Baerbock in an interview with a German broadcaster Tagesschau on Monday evening.

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Zelenskyy: Hungarys Orban Will Have to Choose Between Russia and Other World

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban would have to choose between Moscow and the other world, and he claimed that the Hungarian leader feared Russian influence.

Zelenskyy was speaking in a televised interview to Ukrainian media. Orban held on to his sweeping majority at elections on Sunday.

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Finland Reveals Timeline of Possible NATO Accession

The Finnish government will provide the countrys parliament with a review of possible NATO accession by the middle of this month, the countrys Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said.

Moscows attack on Ukraine has prompted Finland, which has a common border with Russia, to intensify the discussions on potential benefits of joining the military alliance. Haavisto revealed that Finlands leaders have already discussed the matter with almost all NATO members, and he almost daily talks about it with neighboring Sweden which is also considering joining the bloc.

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Russia Threatens to Fine Wikipedia if It Doesnt Delete False Information

Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor said on Tuesday it wanted Wikipedia to remove material with inaccurate information of public interest about the situation in Ukraine.

The regulator accused Wikipedia of hosting false information on what Russia calls its special operation in Ukraine and on the actions of Russias military too.

According to Russian law, the owner of an Internet resource that does not delete illegal information when asked to do so by Roskomnadzor can be fined up to 4 million roubles ($48,120.30), the regulator said.

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European Union Commission Chief to Visit Kyiv This Week

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Unions executive Commission, will travel to Kyiv this week to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Her spokesman, Eric Mamer, said Tuesday that her trip will come to ahead of a special pledging meeting in Warsaw over the weekend. It is the second such high-level trip by EU officials. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola went to Ukraine last week.

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World Bank Says War Shocks to Drag on Asian Economies

A report by the World Bank says disruptions to supplies of commodities, financial strains, and higher prices are among the shocks from the war in Ukraine that will slow economies in Asia in coming months.

The report released Tuesday forecasts slower growth and rising poverty in the Asia-Pacific region this year. Growth for the region is estimated at 5 percent, down from the original forecast of 5.4 percent.

The report says multiple shocks are adding to troubles for people and for businesses and that governments whose finances have been stretched by the pandemic have less capacity to help.

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Facebook Owner Meta Briefly Blocks Hashtags Tied to Bucha Killings

Facebook owner Meta Platforms briefly restricted hashtags related to civilian deaths in northern Ukraine by Russian forces, a company spokesman confirmed on Monday.

The alleged killings in Bucha, outside Kyiv, have drawn pledges of further sanctions against Moscow from the West.

Meta spokesman Andy Stone said automated systems that scan for violent imagery on Facebook and Instagram, which the company also owns, were responsible for blocking hashtags including #bucha and #buchamassacre.

This happened automatically because of the graphic content people posted using these hashtags. When we were made aware of the issue yesterday, we acted quickly to unblock the hashtags, he wrote on Twitter.

Facebook and Instagram permit the posting of graphic and violent content when it is shared to raise awareness of possible human rights abuses, but deletes the content if it is extremely explicit or celebrates suffering.

The social media company also adds warning labels to some graphic posts that users must click through before they can see the images.

Russia has denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians.

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Red Cross Says Its Team Is Being Held Close to Mariupol in Ukraine

An international Red Cross team has shelved for Tuesday hopes of entering the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol after being held overnight by police in a town about 20 kilometers (12 miles) to the west.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has been trying to get a small team into Mariupol since Friday as part of efforts to escort beleaguered civilians out and aid in, said the team held by police in Manhush was released overnight. It did not identify the nationality of the police involved.

The ICRC said in a statement that the teams focus now is on the evacuation operation, and the incident yesterday shows how volatile and complex the operation to facilitate safe passage around Mariupol has been for our team.

Jason Straziuso, an ICRC spokesman, said the team was not planning on trying to enter Mariupol today. Our teams humanitarian efforts today are focused on helping the evacuation efforts in nearby areas.

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Italy Expels 30 Russian Diplomats Over Security Fears

Italy has expelled 30 Russian diplomats because of security concerns, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Tuesday, and Russia was set to retaliate, according to TASS.

A number of other Western governments have taken similar steps following Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Italy summoned Russias ambassador to the foreign ministry on Tuesday to tell him that the diplomats were being expelled.

The measure is in agreement with other European and Atlantic partners and is necessary for reasons linked to our national security and in the context of the current crisis caused by the unjustified aggression against Ukraine on the part of the Russian Federation, Di Maio said in a statement.

Russia will give an appropriate response, TASS news agency quoted Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

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Ukraine, Russian-backed Separatists Trade Accusations Over Acid Tank Explosion

Ukraine and Russian-backed separatist forces both reported on Tuesday that an industrial acid tank had been blown up in eastern Ukraine, creating a serious potential hazard for local people, and each pinned the blame on the other.

In Rubizhne, Luhansk region, Russian troops hit a tank with nitric acid, David Arakhamia, a member of Ukraines negotiating team at peace talks with Russia, claimed on Telegram.

Luhansk region governor Serhiy Haidai told residents in a message on Facebook: Do not leave bomb shelters. If you are indoorsclose windows and doors.

Luhansk is part of the Donbas region where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian army since 2014.

The armed forces of the self-proclaimed, Russian-backed Luhansk Peoples Republic claimed on Telegram it was Ukrainian nationalist formations who had blown up the acid tank before retreating from the town. They said it had sent up a dangerous cloud of poison gas.

It was not immediately possible to independently verify the incident or to establish who was responsible.

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Denmark Expels 15 Russian Intelligence Officers

Denmarks Foreign Ministry says the country is expelling 15 Russian intelligence officers who worked at Russias Embassy in Copenhagen.

The ministry said the Russian ambassador was informed of the decision on Tuesday.

The officers have two weeks to leave Denmark. Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said they pose a risk to our national security that we cannot ignore.

The move came after France and Germany on Monday announced the expulsion of dozens of Russians with diplomatic status.

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Biden Calls for Putin to Face War Crimes Trial as Violent Images From Ukraines Bucha Surface

President Joe Biden is once again labeling Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal and vowing to ratchet up U.S. sanctions against Russia in response to new images of violence on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Images from the Ukrainian town of Bucha show bodies lying dead in the street with some thrown in hastily dug graves, following the Ukrainian government saying they have retaken the city.

Russian officials have denied killing civilians in Bucha, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia of committing genocide.

Addressing reporters as he arrived at the White House Monday, Biden referred to Putin as brutal and called for a war crimes trial against the Russian leader.

You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal, Biden said, referring to when he first gave Putin the label on March 16. Well, the truth of the matterwe saw it happen in Buchathis warrants himhe is a war criminal.

We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue to fight and we have to get all the detail so this could beactually have a war crimes trial. This guy is brutal and whats happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyones seen it.

But we have to gather the information, Biden added.

When asked whether he thought the images from Bucha were evidence of a genocide Biden responded, no, I think its a war crime.

When asked if he would move to impose more sanctions, Biden said, Im seeking more sanctions, yes. Asked for details, the president said, Ill let you know.

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Moscow Warns of Symmetrical Response to Western Countries Expulsion of Russian Diplomats

Russia will respond proportionately to the expulsion of its diplomats from a number of Western countries, Russian ex-president and deputy head of security council Dmitry Medvedev said late on Monday.

Everyone knows the answer: it will be symmetrical and destructive for bilateral relations, Medvedev said in a posting on his Telegram channel.

Who have they punished? First of all, themselves.

On Monday, France said it would expel 35 Russian diplomats over Moscows actions in Ukraine and Germany declared a significant number of Russian diplomats as undesirable.

If this continues, it will be fitting, as I wrote back on 26th Februaryto slam shut the door on Western embassies, Medvedev said. It will be cheaper for everyone. And then we will end up just looking at each other in no other way than through gunsights.

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France and Germany to Expel Numerous Russian Diplomats

The French foreign ministry announced Monday that France has decided to expel numerous Russian diplomats, saying their activities were contrary to our security interests.

The announcement came hours after Germany said it was expelling 40 diplomats and Lithuania said it expelled the Russian ambassador and will recall its envoy in Moscow. No number was immediately given for how many are being expelled by France.

German news agency dpa quoted German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser as saying that the diplomats being expelled are those whom we attribute to the Russian intelligence services.

Jack Phillips, Nick Ciolino, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report.
Los Angeles Calls for State Pension Funds to Divest From Fossil Fuels

LOS ANGELESA Senate bill to have the Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System divest from fossil fuels was supported by the Los Angeles City Council on April 5.

The council passed a resolution, introduced by Councilman Paul Koretz, to support Senate Bill 1173, which was introduced by Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D- Long Beach) and Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco).

The resolution passed 120 and notes that the pension funds have more than $9 billion invested in fossil fuel production.

Given the damages of climate breakdown, it is in the best long-term interest of the city of Los Angeles to support the dismantling of the fossil fuel system, both physically and financially, the resolution states.

The bill, if passed, would prohibit the boards of the states pension systems from making new investments or renewing existing investments in a fossil fuel company. It would also require the boards to liquidate investments in fossil fuel companies on or before July 1, 2027.

The board would not be required to take any action that is determined to be inconsistent with its fiduciary responsibilities established in the California Constitution.

Joyce Kuo contributed to this report.
A Los Angeles Police Department officer displays recovered guns from residents turning in firearms at a "Gun Buy Back" event taking place in three locations across Los Angeles on Dec. 5, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

Los Angeles Gun Buyback Program Recovers 267 Firearms, Including 15 Ghost Guns

LOS ANGELESSeventeen assault weapons and 250 other firearmsincluding 15 ghost gunswere surrendered to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during a gun buyback program last month, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said on April 5.

The annual buyback program was held at five locations across the city on March 26, Moore said. People were given gift cards of up to $100 for surrendering handguns, shotguns, ghost guns, and rifles, and gift cards of up to $200 for surrendering assault weapons.

I believe its a safer Los Angeles with those 267 fewer firearms. I recognize that the number of firearms in our communities is substantial, but every firearm off the street is one less firearm that can be used against another individual, Moore said.

The buyback program was held in the Exposition Park, Florence-Firestone, Van Nuys, Wilmington, and Westchester neighborhoods. Fliers advertising the program reminded Angelenos that the possession of ghost guns is illegal under a new ordinance that went into effect last year after passing the City Council unanimously. The ordinance also prohibits the purchase, sale, receipt, or transport of ghost guns.

Ghost guns are virtually untraceable firearms, without serial numbers, that can be assembled by unlicensed buyers from legally purchased kits. The unfinished parts are inexpensive and not required under federal law to have serial numbers or a background check to purchase.

Violation of the city ordinance is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail.

This years buyback program was the citys 17th, and over the years the department has received 17,634 firearms, including 716 assault weapons, Moore said.
A homeless woman pushes her belongings past a row of tents on the streets of Los Angeles, Calif. on Feb. 1, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

Los Angeles Supports Bill to Incorporate Womens Needs in Homeless Response

LOS ANGELESA resolution in support of a California Senate bill aimed at incorporating the needs of domestic violence victims and unaccompanied women into homelessness planning was passed by the Los Angeles City Council on April 5.

Domestic violence is one of the leading drivers of womens homelessness, with approximately 57 percent of women reporting domestic violence as the cause of their homelessness, the resolution stated, citing national data.

The resolution was introduced by Council President Nury Martinez and Councilman Joe Buscaino. It shows the citys support for Senate Bill 914, introduced by Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park).

If the legislation is passed, it would require California cities, counties, and continuums that receive homelessness response funding from the state to ensure that domestic violence victims and unaccompanied womens needs are incorporated into the systems.

The resolution notes that unaccompanied women wait more than 10 years to access stable housing, which it says is twice the rate of men. It adds that unsheltered women are at a higher likelihood of sexual violence, trauma, and inadequate access to hygiene supplies.
Los Angeles to Donate Surplus Police Ballistic Helmets, Vests to Ukraine

LOS ANGELESThe Los Angeles Police Commission Tuesday approved the donation of surplus ballistic helmets and vests from the Los Angeles Police Department to a foundation that will deliver the equipment to Ukraine for its army to use in defense against Russia.

The 526 helmets and 378 vests will be donated to the First-In Fire Foundation, which will be responsible for the shipment and delivery to Ukraine. The department said the items are prepared in pallets and ready for immediate shipping.

The equipment has no value to the LAPD, the departments chief Michel Moore said in a letter to the commission. The equipment was going to be destroyed after exceeding the manufacturers five-year warranty.

Moore added that Mayor Eric Garcetti is aware of this donation and fully supports the transfer of the equipment to aid the Ukrainian people.

The commission unanimously passed the motion without a discussion.

Los Angeles has sought ways to aid the beleaguered nation. The City Council on March 25 voted to initiate the process to adopt Kyiv as a Los Angeles sister city, which would allow LA to send Kyiv retired goods such as ambulances and fire trucks.

The motion, presented by Councilman Joe Buscaino, acknowledges that it is literally the last thing on the minds of the leaders of Kyivbut it calls for initiating the sister city process now as a sign of support for the Ukrainian capital amid Russias invasion.
FORMER Ziscosteel employees are still hopeful of getting their gratuities from government following their mass retrenchment in 2016.

The news of Kuvimba Mining House acquiring Ziscosteel has not brought much joy as most of these pensioners cannot be absorbed into the new company due to old age.

However, Redcliff legislator, Lloyd Mukapiko, said workers are still hopeful that government will hear their pleas for pensions payout.

"The issue of Ziscosteel pension payout is a disturbing story. Ziscosteel workers were retrenched in 2016 according to the Pensions and Providence Funds Act. Ziscosteel employees should then have been given their pensions within three months or 90 days of retrenchment. They should have been paid their pensions in December 2016 but up to now they have not been settled," Mukapiko said.

He said when government enacted the Ziscosteel Debt Assumption Bill, there was hope that the workers would get their dues.

"We received information through FML Board of trustees indicating that government, through the Ministry of Finance, had deposited $39 million into the FML account to disburse to beneficiaries in December 2021. Considering that over 3000 workers are supposed to have benefited, it means that each worker would have been given US$70 in pensions, which is quite sad. Therefore, there was an uproar, and the money was not disbursed," Mukapiko he said.

The First Mutual Life has since then not disbursed the money.

"Ziscosteel contributed much to the economy. Therefore, their former workers are important, and they must be treated with dignity. We are going to fight tooth and nail to ensure that the former employees are given what's due to them," said Mukapiko.
Luc Boileau, Quebec interim director of National Public Health holds a mask as he responds to reporters during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic, on Feb. 16, 2022 at the legislature in Quebec City. (The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot)

Mask Mandates Extended in Quebec and PEI

Quebec and Prince Edward Island are extending their provincial mask mandates as a result of the rapid spread of Omicron subvariant BA.2.

Mandatory masking in indoor public spaces will last until at least April 30 in Quebec, the provinces interim public health director Dr. Luc Boileau said in a press conference on April 5.

He said the decision comes just 10 days before the mandates original April 15 expiration date due to the surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations amid the provinces sixth wave.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault told reporters on April 4 that the province was looking to extend its masking mandate, but has no plans for any new restrictions.

Fortunately, many people have their three vaccines, so the impact so far is that we dont expect to have to add new measures, he said.

The Quebec government website currently describes the epidemiological situation in Quebec as under control.

As of April 5, the province added 2,615 new COVID-19 cases with 1,479 hospitalizations, including 69 people in intensive care. Health officials also reported 31 pandemic-related deaths.

Quebec, along with P.E.I. and Nunavut, are the only jurisdictions in Canada that still require masking in public places, although Nunavut plans to end its mandate on April 11.

P.E.I. was set to lift mandatory masking on April 7 but has now announced that the policy will be extended until April 28.

Dr. Heather Morrison, P.E.I.s chief public health officer, said the provinces relatively slow growth in COVID-19 cases compared to other jurisdictions, can be attributed to its gradual easing of public health measures, including the masking mandate.

Despite maintaining the masking rule, P.E.I. will lift most other public health measures at midnight on April 28.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization in Ottawa says provinces and territories should be prepared to start offering the second booster shot of vaccines in the coming weeks for Canadians aged 80 and older.

The Canadian Press contributed to this article
Meet NATO Defence Spending Target in Budget, Says Business Council of Canada

One of Canadas most influential business lobby groups is making an unprecedented request for increased defence spending in Thursdays federal budget because of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The Business Council of Canada says it is time for Canada to commit to matching the NATO target on defence spending of two percent of gross domestic product.

Canadas level currently stands at less than 1.4 percent but has been pressured for years by the United States and other NATO allies to boost spending to the two percent target.

In a March 15 letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, the council says the Russian invasion is forcing the world to shift its focus from domestic priorities to defence and security.

The council, formerly known as the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, is the advocacy group for the countrys top business leaders and has not traditionally pushed for defence spending during past budget cycles.

President Goldy Hyder says it is important for the budget to signal a commitment to NATO and to embrace a larger global economic plan to show how Canada can address the volatile international landscape spawned by the Russian war on Ukraine.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks during a televised address at Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany on April 2, 2021. (Sandra Steins/Bundesregierung via Getty Images)

Mistake to Hold on to Nord Stream 2, Says German President

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday acknowledged that his previous support for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline had been a mistake.

Steinmeier, long an advocate of Western rapprochement with Russia, expressed regret for his prior backing of the controversial pipeline project.

My adherence to Nord Stream 2 was clearly a mistake, he said. We were sticking to a bridge in which Russia no longer believed and which other partners had warned us against.

Steinmeier, a Social Democrat who formerly served as Foreign Minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel, said Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine meant he and others had to reckon honestly with what they had got wrong.

The controversial pipeline project worth $11 billion was completed in September but had stood idle pending certification by Germany and the European Union.

The logo of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project is seen on a pipe at the Chelyabinsk pipe rolling plant in Chelyabinsk, Russia, on Feb. 26, 2020. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Germany halted the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project, designed to double the flow of Russian gas direct to Germany, on Feb. 22, two days before Putin launched an invasion of neighboring Ukraine, declaring a so-called special military operation in the country.

The decision was made after Russia formally recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.

Steinmeier was a prominent member of a wing of his Social Democratic Party, led by former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, that argued close economic ties to Russia were a way of anchoring it within a western-oriented global system.

The now-canceled Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which critics said would have weakened Ukraine by cutting it out of the energy transit business, was a centerpiece of that strategy.

Steinmeier said on Monday that he was wrong to assume Putin would not embrace his countrys complete economic, political and moral ruin for the sake of his imperial madness.

Germany had failed with the approach of including Russia in a common security architecture, Steinmeier told reporters during a press briefing.

He added, In this, I, like others, was mistaken.

In this aerial view, the Castoro 10 pipelay vessel lays concrete-coated pipe for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline onto the seabed of the Baltic Sea near Lubmin, Germany on Aug. 16, 2018. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Washington has long argued that the pipeline project posed security risks by increasing European dependency on Russian gas supplies and giving Moscow the ability to bypass Poland and Ukraine in gas deliveries to Western Europe.

Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in February hailed Germanys decision to halt certification in a tweet, calling it a morally, politically and practically correct step in the current circumstances.

True leadership means tough decisions in difficult times. Germanys move proves just that, he added.

The Epoch Times has contacted Russias Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.

Tom Ozimek and Reuters contributed to this report.
Myths, Equality, and the NHS

Commentary

To call a belief a myth is usually to denigrate it, though there are beneficial myths as there are noble lies. Theres no doubt that myths can be harmful, however, for they can, and often do, obstruct critical thought.

In Britain, the mythology of the National Health Service (NHS), which now manages to combine the baleful characteristics of Stalinist administration with pork barrel politics, has obstructed necessary reform for decades. Because of the mythology, the NHS is the nearest to a religion that the country comes, according to Nigel Lawson, the second-most powerful British politician during Margaret Thatchers premiership. Even the Iron Lady feared to reform it fundamentally. It was much more difficult for her than confronting the Soviet Union.

I do not speak from personal bitterness. I have no personal complaints about the treatment I have received so far under the NHS, and the fact that there are many people who would say the same thing means that theres room for deterioration as well as improvement. Reformers should always bear this in mind.

And yet theres no doubt that to be ill in Britain is an even more unpleasant experience than it is in many equivalent countries. The patient in Britain (unless he goes to the private sector, which has its own drawbacks, not least of them such fantastic expense that its often cheaper to seek treatment abroad) is in essence a petitioner at the court of a monarchical service. He may get what he desires, but he may not according to the whim of the absolute monarch. Horror stories of condescension, disdain, and neglect abound, and the service that was predicated on egalitarianism actually often treats the poor, the inarticulate, the uneducated, and the vulnerable with complete contumely.

For example, I was once asked to see someone aged 72, a widower, for the courts. He was a timid working-class man of few words. He told me that a few weeks before he had woken with a swollen, painful calf and had gone to see his doctor. A second-year medical student would have diagnosed a deep vein thrombosis, a potentially life-threatening condition. But the doctors receptionist told him that the doctor was busy, there were no appointments to see him that day, and that he should go home and take some pain-killers.

Fortunately, he didnt have any at home, so he went to the pharmacist, who asked him what he wanted them for. On hearing his story, the pharmacist recognized his condition at once and telephoned the doctor, who then agreed to see him. He had a DVT all right, and was then treated appropriately. But if he had had pain-killers at home, he wouldnt have been treated.

The receptionist wouldnt have dared treat someone like me in such a cavalier fashion, because I would not have accepted it and I would have kicked up a fuss. The receptionist would have had antennae for whom she could bully with impunity and for those whom she could not. Had the inarticulate 72-year-old man been young and fit, but inarticulate, he might have resorted to violence, by no means an uncommon occurrence, violence being the argument of the inarticulate petitioner: But he would not have been any the better off for it.

Thus, a supposedly egalitarian service grows more and more unequal. The reality is that health inequality has increased under the NHS, not decreased: though of course other factors than health care might also account for this. But the very least that can be said for this socialist-inspired service is that it has not resulted in equalization of life chances.

Somehow, though, the myth that the system is egalitarian in its effect lives on, perhaps because it was intended to be such when it was created and intentions speak louder than evidence or even than experience. The NHS has retained the affection of the population despite the frequent (though not universal) unpleasantness of the way it treats patients and the scandals that emerge from time to time, in which hospitals are found to have mistreated patients abominably.

The latest scandal to emerge is from the obstetric service of Telford and Shrewsbury hospitals, where patients were bullied and blamed for their own problems, and the goal of achieving a low rate of cesarean birth to meet an arbitrary target was allegedly placed above patient safety, with avoidable deaths of babies as a result. Staff were intimidated into not speaking up about what they saw, and malpractices continued for 20 years. The scandal was revealed only because of the efforts of the parents of two babies who died unnecessarily.

In the past, such scandals have not lowered the esteem, almost the veneration, in which the NHS has been held by the British public, perhaps because the system was born with original (ideological) virtue rather than with original sin, like the rest of Mankind. Every scandal was dismissed as an exception, and of course its true that in any vast system of health care there will be shortcomings. Its therefore difficult to know how representative of the whole any scandal is. But the institution is coated in a kind of Teflon, to which no scandal can stick.

And yet everyone knows that its better to be ill in almost any European country than in Britain. The outcomes of various diseasesheart attacks or cancer, for exampleare worse in Britain than elsewhere. When the NHS was established, in 1948, British life expectancy was six years higher than Frances. Now its two or three years lower. Life expectancy is not determined by health care alone, of course, but the government report that led to the establishment of the NHS stated that health care in Britain was superior to that in most of the rest of Europe. No one would claim that any longer.

How, then, did the myth become so deeply ingrained in the British psyche? This should be an interesting subject for political scientists. Part of the answer must be that a certain false historiography was assiduously peddled to the population, namely that until the beginning of the NHS there was no health provision to speak of in the country except for the rich. Therefore, if you arent rich, youre grateful for whatever it is that the NHS doles out to you by way of care. This, of course, is highly convenient for the managers of the system.

As I have mentioned, I have no complaints (yet, though most of my contemporaries tremble at the prospect of being treated in the system for something serious). Im grateful to the people who have looked after me well so far, but I have no reason to think I would have been less well looked after in any comparable country, and less reason in any comparable country to fear for the future.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A view shows an armoured convoy of pro-Russian troops during the Ukraine-Russia conflict on a road near Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 3, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

NATO: Russia Regrouping to Try to Take Ukraines East

Russia is likely to launch a new offensive in eastern Ukraine in the coming months, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday, adding that NATO states are helping prepare the Ukrainian military.

We now see a significant movement of (Russian) troops away from Kyiv to regroup, re-arm and re-supply and shift their focus to the east, Stoltenberg told a news conference in Brussels, adding that Russia will conduct a very special offensive in the Donbas region.

Since 2014, separatists in the Donbas have fought against Ukrainian forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 22 said that Moscow would recognize the Donetsk and Lugansk separatist regions as sovereign states, just two days before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

Stoltenberg said it would be a new, crucial phase of Russias Feb. 24 invasion, which the Kremlin calls a special military operation.

Repositioning of the Russian troops will take some time, some weeks, he said, while in that window, it is extremely important that NATO allies provide support.

Late last month, Russias Defense Ministry announced that its forces will pull back from Kyiv and the outlying areas as well as the Chernihiv region. Instead, according to the ministry, Moscow will try to refocus on the Donbas and areas in southern Ukraine.

Foreign ministers on Wednesday and Thursday are set to discuss how to send more anti-tank weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies to Ukraine, Stoltenberg said.

A Ukrainian soldier checks a destroyed Russian tank, in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Stoltenbergs remark comes as the European Commission proposed a new package of sanctions against Russia and its leadership due to the Ukraine conflict, after Kyivs government accused Russian troops of massacring civilians in Bucha, near Kyiv. Russian officials have categorically denied that their forces carried out summary executions or committed war crimes, accusing Ukraine of trying to manufacture a provocation.

The new reported sanctions include restrictions on coal imports, ships, and more Russian banks. So far, European countries have avoided sanctioning Russian gas and oil amid concerns that it would trigger a widespread energy crisis across the continent.

But European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on Twitter that the bloc is working on banning oil imports now.

We all saw the gruesome pictures from Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have recently left. These atrocities cannot and will not be left unanswered, she said on Twitter, referring to Ukrainian officials allegations of war crimes.

Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, and other countries this week announced expulsions of Russian diplomats. Russias government said it would respond in kind, according to state-run media.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Nearly Half of LA Unified Students Chronically Absent

Nearly half of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) studentsor about 200,000 studentshave been chronically absent since September meaning they have missed almost 10 percent of school days this year, according to an April 3 story in the Los Angeles Times.

This comes as the district struggles to recover from setbacks brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, even as schools returned to in-person learning this year and mask mandates were lifted last month.

At the height of the Omicron variant surge in January, about 30 percent of studentsor 180,000did not attend classes the first week, according to the Los Angeles Times, due to either testing positive for the virus or due to technical issues uploading their COVID-19 status to the districts Daily Pass mobile app, which was required.

Though nearly 90 percent of students over 12 years old are vaccinated, those that arent and who are exposed to the virus must quarantine between five days and 10 daysdepending on whether they want to take a COVID test or notpossibly adding to the high numbers, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Other reasons for the absenteeism cited in the Times story, were lack of transportation, poor physical or mental health, and family issues.

LAUSDs new superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, expressed concern following the Los Angeles Times report, which came after it received the numbers from LAUSD through a public records request.

If we do not address this, we will not be successful at anything else, he wrote in a Tweet shortly after the story was published.

Carvalho previously said, shortly after taking office in February, he would use his first 100 days to assess students academic performance and attendance.

LAUSDs twofold increase in absent students is a trend reflected by the state.

For the 20202021 school year, about 14 percent of students statewide were chronically absent, according to a January 2022 report by the California Department of Education.

So far this year, that number has hit 30 percent, according to a report prepared by the states department of education for the Los Angeles Times.

California is one of the few states nationwide whose federal funding for school districts is tied to the districts average daily attendance numbers.

However, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently proposed using a three-year average attendance for his current proposed budget.

Meanwhile, California Senate Bill 830 is working its way through the Legislature. That bill would change the rule so that funding is based on enrollment rather than attendance.

The absentee average days missed by LAUSD students, over the last handful of years, according to the Los Angeles Times was 19 percent.

A spokesperson for LAUSD did not respond to a request for comment by press deadline.
Thousands of Chinese military personnel are in Shanghai amid a rising virus surge. The global financial hub is now on the front lines of Beijings uncompromising battle to eradicate the virus.

Chinese Communist Party authorities are taking 2-month-old babies away from their parents, and people are questioning the reason for it.

A new subvariant of Omicron emerges in China, not far from Shanghai. The concern now: is this a new danger?

How hostile is the Chinese Communist Party toward the United States? Chinese state media hold clues.

Is China helping Russia with its invasion of Ukraine? Ukraines intelligence was made public just before the China and European Union summit.

The topics in this episode are:

Shanghai Lockdown: Kids, Parents Separated

New Omicron Subvariant Detected Near Shanghai

How Chinese State Media Describe The U.S.

Senators Introduce Bill To Stop CCP Spying

Why The Chinese Communist Party Persecutes Falun Gong

Ukraine War Tops EU-China Summit

Parliament Backs Law On Forced Organ Trade

Unreported Virus Outbreaks: Shanghai Nursing Home

CCP-Russia Alliance A Bigger Threat: Prof.

Have other topics you want us to cover? Drop us a line: chinainfocus@ntdtv.org

And if youd like to buy us a coffee: https://donorbox.org/china-in-focus

Subscribe to our newsletter for more first-hand news from China.

For more news and videos, please visit us on Gettr and Twitter.
A man pushes water out of a flood-affected business in Lismore, Australia, on March 31, 2022. (Dan Peled/Getty Images)

New South Wales Government Provides New Flood Grants as Federal Support Delayed

Flood victims in New South Wales (NSW) will receive a new $20,000 (US$15,100) grant to rebuild their homes after the state could not wait for the federal governments support to arrive.

Repeated floods have stricken northern NSW in recent weeks, devastating homes and businesses and hindering clean-up work.

Housing is currently a priority for impacted residents, with hundreds of people still remaining in emergency accommodation or living with friends and family.

While inspecting Lismore on April 4, Premier Dominic Perrottet and Deputy Premier Paul Toole announced that the NSW government would provide flood victims with cash grants as part of a new Back To Home grant scheme worth $112 million (US$84.5 million).

The deputy premier said that the delay in the $20,000 grants was due to the state government waiting for federal support.

Weve been working on this package now for a number of weeks, we cant wait any longer  we want to make sure that people get back into a home, Toole said.

At the same time, the premier said NSW would welcome as much support as the federal government could give out.

But ultimately, were not going to wait, were going to get on with the job, and were going to rebuild our communities, Perrottet said.

Lismore Labor MP Janelle Saffin said the grants could have gone up to $50,000, which was the amount she requested, had the federal government contributed its share. However, she commented that the NSW governments new support was a good start.

I do want the federal government to step up. Its a bit too slow. Ill leave it at that, she said.

The main street is under floodwater in Lismore, Australia, on March 31, 2022. (Dan Peled/Getty Images)

Flood-affected residents who cannot claim insurance or natural disaster relief for damaged or destroyed homes can use the grants to pay for expenses necessary to restore housing to a habitable condition, such as new carpeting, electrical wiring and plaster repairs.

The grants can also cover the costs of replacing essential household goods such as fridges and washing machines, and moving to a new property.

Residents in eight local government areas in northern NSW and the Hawkesbury region in western Sydney will be eligible for the new fund.

While homeowners can receive $20,000 to rebuild their properties and buy necessary furniture and appliances, the grant amounts available to landlords and tenants are $15,000 and $5,000, respectively.

Opposition Leader Chris Minns welcomed the new support but criticised the state government for the low speed of payments for existing grants.

They still havent gotten the old money out the door: 548 people have actually been paid as part of the governments grants process, but 9,000 have applied and havent got a dollar from the NSW government yet, he said.

Perrottet also expressed the opinion that the payment speed was not fast enough and said that the NSW government would be dealing with the delays in grants being administered.

ServiceNSW, an agency responsible for providing government support and services in the state, will receive more staff to speed up application processing.

An army vehicle drives past debris in the flood-affected city centre in Lismore, Australia, on March 29, 2022. (Dan Peled/Getty Images)

Among the 17 flood recovery centres set up by the state government to support residents and help them file applications, some are currently closed as severe weather returns.

The state government has issued evacuation orders around northern NSW in parts of Coraki, Broadwater, Wardell, Cabbage Tree Island, Bungawalbyn, Woodburn and Swan Bay.

Meanwhile, thousands of Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel were ordered to stay in the region to assist NSW State Emergency Service and Rural Fire Service.

The federal government on March 4 announced a new investment to boost the ADFs deployable infrastructure, which would improve its ability to deploy rapidly on a wide range of operations, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.

This comes as NSW continues to endure wild weather as its beaches were hit by high tides and heavy winds on the weekend.

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast that rain and adverse weather will continue as NSW heads further into the week.
Next Phase of Russia-Ukraine War May Last Months or Longer: White House

The White House said Monday that the next phase of the war in Ukraine could last several monthsor ever longeras Russian forces regroup for a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine that will focus on fewer lines of attack.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at a briefing that Russias military has been surprised by the staunch resistance of Ukrainian forces and support to Kyiv from a unified Western alliance.

The Ukrainian people, backed resolutely by the United States and other nations, have held firm. Kyiv and other cities still stand, Sullivan said.

A Ukrainian soldier checks a destroyed Russian tank, in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Russian forces have continued their pullback from the Kyiv area to Russia-aligned Belarus as Moscow prepares to deploy tens of thousands of additional soldiers to the frontline in eastern Ukraine, he said.

The focus of the Russian forces, regrouped into dozens of additional battalion tactical groups, will be to defeat Ukraines military defending the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, known collectively as the Donbass.

Russia will seek to capture significantly more territory than pro-Russia separatists controlled before the invasion began, Sullivan said, adding that Moscows overall goal is to weaken Ukraine as much as possible.

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 Ukranian capital Kyiv. (Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images)

The Kremlin, which calls the invasion a special military operation, has said its objectives are to disarm Ukraines military and de-Nazify the country.

Ukraine and its Western allies call the invasion an unprovoked, illegal, and groundless act of aggression while dismissing the Kremlins de-Nazification claims as baseless propaganda.

Sullivan said that the next stage of the conflict may very well be protracted and potentially measured in months or longer.

His remarks echo those made by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who on Tuesday said that Russia is likely to launch a very concentrated new offensive in Donbass in the next few weeks.

In the coming weeks, we expect a further Russian push in eastern and southern Ukraine to try to take the entire Donbas and to create a land bridge to occupied Crimea, he told a news conference in Brussels before Wednesdays meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg holds a news conference during a NATO summit to discuss Russias invasion of Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2022. (Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo)

In late March, Russias defense ministry said that it was refocusing on the complete liberation of the Donbass, an industrial region partly under Russian-backed separatist control since 2014.

Sullivan also warned that Russias renewed offensive is likely to include wanton and brazen attacks on civilian targets, while making mention of alleged Russian atrocities in the town of Bucha, near Kyiv.

As Russian forces withdrew from around the Kyiv area, grisly images emerged over the weekend from the town of Bucha, of what appeared to be killed Ukrainian civilians, some with their hands bound and bearing close-range gunshot wounds, as well as mass graves.

Journalists work next to a mass grave in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Ukrainian authorities have accused Russian forces of atrocities, including torturing and killing civilians. Human Rights Watch said it had documented cases of the Russian military committing acts of rape and summarily executing Ukrainian civilians.

Russia has denied the allegations, claiming that Ukraines accusations of war crimes are fake news and provocations meant to denigrate the Russian army.

As Ukrainian forces continue to defend against the Russian assault, Sullivan said the United States would continue to back them with economic support, humanitarian aid, and military assistance.

The United States has provided Ukraine with a number of air defense systems and anti-tank weapons, as well as radar systems that provide Ukrainian forces with early warning and target data.

Sullivan said the Pentagon was working at an unprecedented pace to deliver weapons to Ukraine and facilitate the delivery of weapons by Washingtons allies.

Under the Biden administration the United States has, to date, provided Ukraine with $2.3 billion in weapons and ammunition, Sullivan said.
Nonprofit Ends Art Gallery Lease Over Censorship Claim of Controversial Art

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif.A nonprofit arts organization terminated a 20-year relationship with Wells Fargo over censorship claims after the branch removed a 36 quilt-exhibit containing a gambit of political messaging about civil rights, climate change, and COVID-19.

We were recently informed that the Community Art Project is terminating its pro-bono use of space at our Laguna Beach branch, Wells Fargo spokeswoman Josefina Talavera told The Epoch Times in an email. We wish the organization well and remain committed to the arts in the Laguna Beach community.

At the end of March, the bank amended its agreement with the Community Art Project (CAP), giving the branch the right to review or revoke any art it deems inappropriate or potentially offensive to the customers or employees.

Prior to the amendment, Wells Fargo could not veto the artwork, and the bank never questioned CAPs exhibits in the past, according to Faye Baglin, treasurer of CAP, which was founded in 1998.

The change in the agreement was sparked by customer complaints who allegedly labeled some of the 36 quilts from the Piece-ful Protest exhibit as aggressive earlier this year, Baglin told The Epoch Times.

Although Wells Fargo did not disclose which quilts offended the branch customers, someone from the banks corporate office ordered CAP to remove the display from the building within a week of its installment, Baglin said, adding that was why the nonprofit ended its long-term relationship with the bank effective April 30.

Artist Allyson Allen displays her quilting artwork along the walls of Laguna Friendship Church in Laguna Beach, Calif., on April 1, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

We were disappointed that this relationship has ended because it gave artistsup and coming artists very oftenan opportunity to show their art in downtown Laguna in a very beautiful space, Baglin said. But censorship is just not something we can accept.

Baglin echoed Laguna Beach Mayor Sue Kempfs sentiment on a local radio show shortly after the exhibits removal, who said, if you dont like it, you can look away.

Art is there to cause conversation and make us think, Baglin said. Ive certainly been to many art exhibits in my lifetime where I didnt particularly like the art or feel comfortable with it, but still, theres something to learn from everything you see.

Quiltmaker and textile artist Allyson Allen created Piece-ful Protest after winning the Laguna Beach Arts Alliance $5,000 Honarkar Family Grant in 2019.

Her work, which she called a juxtaposition between soft quilted textiles and harsh text and images, was initially scheduled to be displayed in 2020 at the CAP gallery space inside the Wells Fargo Bank. However, the pandemic postponed its debut.

Artist Allyson Allen displays her quilting artwork along the walls of Laguna Friendship Church in Laguna Beach, Calif., on April 1, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

When CAP told Allen the banks decision to take down her display, which was scheduled to run from Jan. 20 through April 22, she called the response extreme and appalling.

Im still trying to wrap my mind around how this could possibly be the first time in 20 years that theres something controversial about art hanging in that space, Allen told The Epoch Times. Traditionally, your impression of a quilt may be similar to a blanket to comfort you, and these issues are about uncomfortable things. It could only offend someone if they realize whats looking back at them in the mirror.

CAP relocated all 36 Piece-ful Protest story quilts to the nearby Neighborhood Congressional Church Laguna Beach, about a half-mile from the bank. It has attracted approximately 500 visitors, according to Baglin, and will remain on display until April 24 before traveling nationally at various gallery spaces, museums, and quilt shows.
Emirates Airlines, one of the biggest Middle East carriers, has offered to help Nigeria set up its national carrier, Nigeria Air.

The Federal Ministry of Aviation recently advertised for expression of interest for private sector bidders on the national carrier. It is not immediately clear if Emirates Airlines bided for the job as bidders haven't been publicly announced.

Mr. James Odaudu, the Special Assistant, Public Affairs to the Minister of Aviation, said in a statement that the "management of Emirates Airlines recently made an offer to partner with the Nigerian Government in its quest to establish a national carrier."

Speaking recently, during a panel session moderated by Richard Quest on the future of aviation at the Dubai Expo 2020, Tim Clark, President of Emirates, said the organisation would be very happy to help if any assistance was required in starting the national carrier.

According to Clark, who was speaking in support of the position of Nigeria's Aviation Minister Senator Hadi Sirika, the establishment of a national carrier is an almost compelling case for Nigeria, going by certain indices.

"Of course, Nigeria needs a national airline. There is an enormous business case for the national carrier. Nigerians are seeking to travel all over the world. Nigeria is a powerhouse of Africa. We are very interested in flying there because it is a rich nation in terms of demand for services," Clark had said.

According to the minister, the offer by Emirates "cannot be anything other than an endorsement of the need, the zeal, and, of course, the process for the national carrier project."

It is also an expression of confidence of the international aviation community in the commitment of the Buhari government to it.

The minister also saw the offer as an encouragement to the many bidders currently preparing their PPP bids for Nigeria Air in response to the recently advertised request for proposal.

The process for the acquisition of the Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) and the Air Transport License (ATL) is well on course for the expected launch date of the airline, which Senator Sirika has assured, Nigerians would be proud of.
A iceberg floating in the Baffin Bay above the arctic circle dwarfs the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent July 10, 2008. (The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward)

Northern Premiers Discuss Arctic Sovereignty With PM in Light of War in Ukraine

Yukons premier says he and the other two premiers of Canadas northern territories met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the national defence minister on Monday to discuss Arctic sovereignty and security in light of the war in Ukraine.

A statement from Sandy Silver says the uncertainty created by Russias attack on Ukraine has reinforced the need for a strong Canadian presence in the North.

The statement says Silver met with Trudeau and Anita Anand, along with Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok and Caroline Cochrane, premier of the Northwest Territories, and they were assured the current security threat to the North remains minimal.

However, Silver says Russias attack puts at risk the future of what have always been orderly and peaceful relations between Arctic nations.

A readout from the prime ministers office late Monday said Trudeau thanked the premiers for their governments solidarity with, and support to Ukraine and its people in the face of Russias illegal and unjustifiable invasion.

Silver says there was consensus among the premiers that strengthening the resiliency of northern communities enhances Arctic sovereignty, and they agreed on the importance of making significant investments in areas such as energy and climate, housing, healthcare and infrastructure.
An employee holds a sample of crude oil at the Yarakta oilfield, owned by Irkutsk Oil Co., in the Irkutsk region, Russia, on March 11, 2019. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Oil Extends Rally on Prospect of More Russia Sanctions

LONDONOil prices rose on Tuesday as the United States and Europe planned new sanctions to punish Russia over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, raising concerns over tighter global supply, while Irans nuclear talks with world powers stalled.

Brent crude was up $1.17, or 1.1 percent, to $108.70 a barrel at 0952 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was up $1.15, or 1.1 percent, at $104.43.

With the European Union working on new sanctions that may target Russias oil industry, crude prices could edge up in the near term, said FXTM analyst Lukman Otunuga.

There were mounting expectations that Europe would take action to reduce transactions with Russias energy sector, further squeezing supplies, said OANDA senior analyst Jeffrey Halley.

To calm oil prices, U.S.-allied countries agreed last week to a coordinated oil release from strategic reserves for the second time in a month. However, Japanese industry minister Koichi Hagiuda on Tuesday said that the International Energy Agency (IEA) was still examining details of the release.

Oil prices jumped by more than $2 after his comments.

Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, expects oil prices to trade between $90 and $120 a barrel during the second quarter.

Key events that could trigger additional uncertainty remain the prospect for an Iran nuclear deal, Venezuela being allowed to increase production, and, not least, an increase in U.S. shale oil production, he said.

The United States still believes there is an opportunity to overcome the remaining differences with Iran in talks over its nuclear program, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday.

Any signs that the United States and Iran are moving closer to a nuclear deal, which would return up to 1.3 million barrels per day of Iranian oil to global markets, would weigh on oil prices, BCA research said.

The end of the refinery maintenance period in Europe also lent some support to oil prices, analysts said, because it will allow higher crude intake.

By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin speaks during a press conference at his office on February 15, 2022 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Opposition to Recall of San Francisco Progressive Prosecutor Funded With Out of State Donations

As San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin faces a recall election in two months, out-of-state and legal profession donors have chipped in big to keep him in office.

Boudin, a former public defender and son of incarcerated parents, was elected in late 2019 on a progressive platform to reduce the prison population and prosecute police misconduct.

The recall in one of the most liberal cities of the country is viewed by many as a referendum on the progressive prosecutor movement in an era of rising crime.

During the first quarter of 2022, two political committees supporting Boudin raised $96,500 from donors who gave more than $1,000, nearly a quarter of money from out of California, according to campaign finance disclosure statements filed with the San Francisco Ethics Commission.

The Epoch Times took out of the calculation two $50,000 donations between the committees.

On Mar. 16, Friends of Chesa Boudin Opposing Recall Committee donated $50,000 to San Franciscans Against the Recall of Chesa Boudin Committee, which donated the same amount right back to the former committee on the same day, according to disclosure statements.

Most out-of-state donors hail from the east coast, including New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Almost half of the donors who gave more than $1,000 in support of Boudin work in legal professions, mostly criminal defense attorneys and civil rights litigators.

San Francisco Public Defenders Office Chief Attorney Matt Gonzalez and Superior Court judge A James Robertson II also both chipped in $1,000.

According to the San Francisco Ethics Commission, when political committees receive more than $1,000 from a single source in 90 days leading up to the elections, they must file a disclosure statement within 24 hours.

Both committees supporting Boudin had a combined balance of $287,227 at the beginning of the year, according to disclosure statements.

The Real Justice PAC, which sponsors San Franciscans Against the Recall of Chesa Boudin Committee, has framed the recall as part of a nationwide radical, right-wing effort to undo the progressive agenda.

Since 2017, Real Justice PAC has endorsed 43 progressive prosecutor candidates across the country and helped 21 get elected, including Boudin, according to its website.

On the other hand, Boudin recall effort leaders Mary Jung and Andrea Shorterboth longtime local Democratic activistshave described their campaign as a Democratic-led, apolitical movement to make San Francisco a safer place for all residents.

Boudin pushes for policies that keep as many people out of jail or prison as possible, such as limiting cash bail and sentencing enhancements. His term, coinciding with the pandemic years, has been marked by an uptick in property crimes such as car thefts and burglaries as well as homicides, according to San Francisco police data.

Four committees supporting a recall had a combined balance of $146, 978 at the beginning of 2022.

The most active committee, San Franciscans for Public Safety Supporting the Recall of Chesa, raised $121, 250 from donors who gave more than $1,000 during the first quarter of 2022, according to disclosure statements.

All but one donor live in California. Most work at tech companies or investment businesses.

Garry Tan, a capital fund partner and the largest donor supporting recall in 2022, just pledged another $50,000 on April 2, making his total contribution $100,000.

I am not a Republican, Tan wrote on his Twitter announcing the new pledge. I am a Chinese-American who grew up in the Bay Area. Our children and our elders deserve better than what the extremist SF machine is doing to us.

So far this year, Neighbors for a Better San Francisco PAC chipped in $28,250 to recall Boudin.

The PAC was the largest contributor to the effort in 2021, getting most of its money from San Francisco-based Republican hedge fund manager and philanthropist William Oberndorf, according to San Francisco Examiner.

A mid-March poll by EMC research found more than two-thirds of likely voters say yes to recalling Boudin. Sixty-four percent of the recall supporters are Democrats.

The poll was commissioned by the recall campaign.

A newer EMC poll on behalf of the Bay Area Council finds that 64 percent of residents believe it is on the wrong trackthe record high in the polls eight-year history.

The residents top three concerns are homelessness, housing, and crime.
A global analysis has found that kids whose schools closed to stop the spread of various waves of the coronavirus lost educational progress and are at increased risk of dropping out of school. As a result, the study says, they will earn less money from work over their lifetimes than they would have if schools had remained open.

Educational researchers like me know these students will feel the effects of pandemic-related school closures for many years to come. Here are four other ways the closings have affected students well-being for the long term.

1. Academic Progress

At the end of the 2020-2021 school year, most students were about four to five months behind where they should have been in math and reading, according to a July 2021 report by McKinsey and Co., a global management consulting firm.

When the researchers looked at the data from fall 2021, though, they found students attending majority-white schools are catching up. But students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds  including those attending majority-Black or low-income schools  are falling further behind. As a result, students attending majority-Black schools are now estimated to be a full year behind those attending majority-white schools.

Differences also can vary by grade level. High schools have been closed more total days than elementary schools. According to a recent news report, 2021 graduation rates dipped across the country, and some education leaders fear future graduating classes may be hit even harder. Schools have scrambled to provide options such as credit recovery to boost graduation rates, leaving concerns about the quality of learning.

College and university leaders have been preparing for first-year students with less knowledge, weaker study habits and more difficulty concentrating than new college arrivals in past years.

2. Social-Emotional Development

Even early in the pandemic, school closings were harming students social and emotional well-being, according to a review of 36 studies across 11 countries including the U.S. By summer 2021, teachers and administrators in the U.S. said students felt more emotional distress, disengagement, depression, anxiety and loneliness than in previous years.

When schools resumed in fall 2021, large numbers of children in the U.S. had lost a primary caregiver over the previous year to COVID-19. A colleague and I raised concerns about the anxiety and grief those students would likely feel.

In addition, 28% of all parents of children in grades K-12 are very concerned or extremely concerned about their childs mental health and social and emotional well-being. Thats down from a high of 35% in spring 2021, but is still 7 percentage points higher than before the pandemic. Parents of Black and Hispanic students are 5 percentage points more likely to be worried than parents of white students.

Schools and organizations have focused resources on supporting students social, emotional and mental health. The U.S. Department of Education, for example, recommends, based on research, that teachers integrate lessons around compassion and courage into classroom activities, and that schools establish wellness teams to help students.

States have said they plan to address these needs with federal funds meant to help schools respond to the pandemic. In Connecticut, for example, school districts will hire additional mental health support staff, offer social-emotional programs and partner with local agencies to increase access to supports.

3. Behavioral Habits

The return to in-person learning has been accompanied by school leaders reports of increasing student misbehavior and threats of violence. These increases were more likely to be reported in larger districts and where most students had engaged in remote or hybrid learning  rather than in-person instruction  during the prior school year.

Viral social media challenges  like memes on TikTok suggesting students smack a staff member or skip school on a particular day  certainly arent helping educators provide safe and supportive environments.

Parents distress is also affecting their children. Students whose parents are depressed, anxious, lonely and exhausted are more likely to misbehave in school  and that connection grew stronger during lockdown periods when schools were closed.

Meanwhile, news reports show students are missing more school than they were before the pandemic, with more kids out for more than 15 days of a school year. Given links between chronic absenteeism and increased high school dropout rates, researchers warn this increase in missed school could lead between 1.7 million and 3.3 million students in eighth through 12th grade to not graduate on time.

4. Physical Health

Adults have suffered hair loss, sore eyes, irritable bowels and skin flare-ups as a result of the pandemic. One study found that Chinese preschool children whose schools closed during the pandemic were shorter than preschoolers in previous years, though the researchers did not observe noteworthy differences in weight change.

Schools can be a primary place for children to access physical activity and healthy food. Amid school closures, researchers are exploring the effects of losing out on these benefits. During lockdowns in Italy, children with obesity engaged in less physical activity, slept and used screens more and increased their consumption of potato chips and sugary drinks.

In the U.S., 1 in 4 families with school-age children dont have reliable access to food. Abrupt school closures cut off more than 30 million children from free and reduced-price lunches and breakfasts delivered at school.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees school food programs, provided waivers to let schools provide meals in ways that fit their students needs. In Connecticut, for example, researchers found that letting families know about wider availability and pickup sites for to-go school meals boosted the number of students who received food during the pandemic.

Time will tell if the costs of school closings will be worth the benefits. These early indicators show that decisions are not as simple as reducing the physical health risks of COVID-19. A full assessment would consider the effects across all aspects of child well-being, including how diverse populations are affected.

Connection, collaboration and positive interaction are fundamental to healthy childhood growth and development. Working together, schools, families and communities can assess and address every childs needs to reduce the lasting effects of school closings.

Sandra M. Chafouleas, Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Connecticut This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Pausing Production: How the War Is Affecting Ukrainian Companies, Employees

The uncertainty of a war zone in Ukraine has led companies both large and small to push the pause button on their operations. While some are shutting their doors indefinitely, others have looked for ways to continue by relocating employees or modifying work schedules and projects.

The long-term effects for local and global economies remain unknown.

In the auto industry, Porsche shut down some of its manufacturing lines in Europe because of supply chain disruptions; the change affects the production of models including the 911, 718, Macan, Panamera, Cayenne, and Taycan. The company cited a shortage in wiring harnesses as one of the reasons behind its move, as 7 percent of the worlds auto harnesses are made in Ukraine.

Porsche also donated $1.1 million to help refugees and children in Ukraine, and also stopped delivering autos to Russia. Audi and BMW also paused production, while Mercedes-Benz reduced its output levels.

Cornelius Fichtner, president of Silverado, California-based OSP International LLC, a project management training company, notes that some of the companys full- and part-time team members reside in Ukraine.

We are offering Ukrainian team membersand others affectedsubscription-based counseling services, free of charge, he told The Epoch Times. The company also is granting personal time off to employees as needed during the conflict.

While some are taking time away, others are looking to carry on, Fichtner added.

Many people want to keep working to get their minds off the conflict.

Exoft, a Lviv, Ukraine-based software company, saw 10 percent of its team relocate to elsewhere in Europe, where they are continuing their work.

When the war started, we immediately warned our customers about the situation, Bohuslava Zhyvko, head of marketing at Exoft, told The Epoch Times. For our employees, new rules were introduced, taking into account the new realities.

The company introduced flexible schedules and announced it would allow employees to work from anywhere, at any time, with staying safe listed as its Rule No. 1.

Dmytro Serheeiv, a professional tax specialist and co-owner of PDFLiner, which helps U.S. citizens file taxes and fill out other forms, moved to the United States from Ukraine many years ago. About half of his firms employees are Ukraine-based and work remotely from Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa.

Within the first days of the war, my company transferred full monthly salaries and bonus funds to our guys in Ukraine to help them relocate timely and safely, Serheeiv told The Epoch Times. The company also implemented flexible working hours with a guarantee of full wages and weekly payments during the coming months.

Today, all our Ukrainian employees and their families are safe in Poland and receive due help from the local government.

In terms of land area, Ukraine is the second-largest nation in Europe, placing just above France and well behind Russia, which has an area of more than 6.6 million square miles, compared to Ukraines 233,000 square miles. Often called the breadbasket of Europe, around 32 million hectares (79 million acres) of Ukraines land is typically used every year for growing crops. Its main exports are corn, seed oils, iron ore, and wheat. It produces 18 percent of the worlds sunflower seed and cottonseed oils, along with 13 percent of the worlds corn, 12 percent of its barley consumption, and 8 percent of the worlds wheat. In 2020, Ukraine was the worlds biggest exporter of seed oils.

The conflict calls into questions related to this years production levels, as it isnt clear if it will be possible to harvest crops that are currently growing. Uncertainty surrounds the coming growing season too, depending on whether new crops can be planted and if livestock production can continue. If the war persists and prevents workers from continuing farm operations, regions could suffer food shortages because of supply chain disruptions.

Amid the war, wheat prices have risen, although future food shortages could be reduced or avoided if farmers elsewhere can offset the losses coming from Ukraine and Russia. If wheat exports from Ukraine and Russia drop, operations in other regions of the world that typically produce corn could switch to wheat to increase the supply. Consumers choices may shift too, with some opting for lower-priced and more readily available products, such as rice or potatoes.

Verallia, a French glass bottle maker, announced a temporary halt to production at its site in Zorya, Ukraine, to prioritize the well-being of its employees and protect the facility.

We have, for the time being, decided to stop productionin accordance with our crisis plansin an orderly and controlled manner in order to protect our employees, general manager Dirk Bissel stated.

Verallia produces glass packaging for food and beverage items and has 32 glass plants in 11 countries. Another glass manufacturer, Vetropack, had its factory severely damaged by military activity in early March. No employees were injured; the plant closed indefinitely.
Metropolitan Police officers are seen outside Parliament in London on Oct. 16, 2021. (Rob Pinney/Getty Images)

Police Delete Non-Crime Hate Incident Record After Free Speech Union Intervention

An organisation dedicated to upholding free speech in Britain has succeeded in getting a non-crime hate incident (NCHI) from one of its members permanently deleted from the police record.

NCHIs include things like offensive or insulting comments, online, in person or in writing. They have been used by British police if officers are unsure whether a reported incident amounts to a crime.

The Free Speech Union (FSU), which was set up by the British journalist Toby Young in 2020, celebrated the first case of its kind for the mass membership organisation.

This is a major victory because if we can do it once, we can do it again. The member, who we are not naming, had a nonsensical NCHI recorded against him which could have barred from him working with children or vulnerable adults. We wrote to the local police force on his behalf and the record has now been removed for good, said Young in a statement.

Young said that it was able to delete the NCHI thanks to former police officer Harry Millers successful legal challenge last December, which FSU played a role in.

In a landmark case in December 2021 brought on by Miller, the Court of Appeal ruled that the recording of NCHIs is an unlawful interference with freedom of expression and contrary to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Humberside Police contacted Miller for reposting a limerick that was critical of transgender people which was an NCHI, despite no crime being committed.

Miller has subsequently helped to set up the organization Fair Cop, in response to what it calls Big Brother overreach of various police forces and other authorities in England.

According to The Telegraph, police recorded nearly 120,000 NCHIs between 2014 and 2019. The FSU noted that no data is available on how often NCHIs are disclosed on Enhanced DBS checks.

While chief officers must follow detailed guidance in making any disclosures, and must comply with legal protections for free speech and privacy, we are deeply concerned about the possibility of disclosure, it said.

According to the new guidance, police now say that there may be an overlap between a perceived NCHI and the legitimate exercise of rights and freedoms conferred by the Human Rights Act 1998.

Police officers and staff responding to a non-crime hate incident must remember that they have limited enforcement powers in these circumstances, said the College of Policing.
Crowds of protesters demonstrate against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions in downtown Ottawa on Feb. 12, 2022. (Jonathan Ren/The Epoch Times)

Protester Pat King Still in Custody, Seeking Lawyer, More Than Six Weeks After Arrest

Pat King, a vocal protester during the convoy protests against COVID-19 mandates, says he is still looking for a lawyer despite being arrested in mid-February.

King is facing 10 charges related to his alleged leading role in the protests in downtown Ottawa earlier this year to oppose the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate and other restrictions.

While he has appeared in several bail hearings since his arrest on Feb. 18, King says he does not yet have an official legal representative.

Im in the process of shopping for lawyers right now, King told an Ontario court in a virtual hearing on April 4. Due to the importance of this matter, I want to make sure we have proper representation.

Crown attorney Moiz Karimjee has voiced concern about the time King has been taking to secure lawyers on the record.

King has said in past court appearances that it has been hard to connect with legal counsel while hes been in custody. He said two lawyers are representing him for his upcoming bail review, though neither of them appeared in the hearing on April 4, where King spoke for himself.

King, who remains in the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre since his arrest, faces charges including mischief, intimidation, obstructing police and disobeying a court order. He is scheduled to return to court later in April.

Despite being a visible figure during the Ottawa protests, he is not one of the Freedom Convoy organizers, a lawyer from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom, which represents several of the convoy leaders, said in a press conference on Feb. 6.

Another co-accused, Tyson George Billings, also appeared in the virtual hearing on April 4 from the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont. Billings is charged with two counts each of intimidation and obstructing police, and one count each of mischief, counselling to commit mischief, counselling to obstruct police, counselling to intimidation, disobeying a court order, and counselling to disobey a court order, CTV News reported.

He is set to return to court on April 19.

Key Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich was granted bail on March 7 on a $25,000 bond, after spending 19 days in jail for charges related to the protests.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
Russia a Third World Country?

Commentary

In October 1985, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev visited France where he met with French President Francois Mitterrand. In candid conversations, Gorbachev told Mitterrand that the USSR was a Third World country with nuclear weapons, a conclusion that startled Mitterrand and other Western leaders when Gorbachevs description was privately circulated.

How could it be that the all-powerful USSR saw itself as a Third World country, but a nuclear power?

Around the same time, I was speaking to a Jewish group in Washington. In the 1980s, I was a senior official in the Defense Department responsible for technology security. In my presentation, I showed 35 mm slides depicting the best Soviet weapons, and how many of them were copies of American systems. My message: The USSR was a powerful country investing heavily in weapons.

A lady in the back of the room raised her hand. Recognizing her, she said the following: My husband and I visited Moscow, Leningrad, and Kiev [then part of the USSR]. We were surprised at how backward the country was, so much so even the elevators in buildings broke down. How could the USSR be such a powerful country if they arent able to make a reliable elevator?

The Soviet Union, and its successor Russia, showed off its modern weapons in various ways, through military shows, exercises, and the famous parades of equipment and soldiers marching across Red Square. Western analysts watch these demonstrations with great interest, and specialists evaluate the level of technology and capability of the systems put on display.

So how is it, echoing the lady in the back of the room, that Russian conscript soldiers are showing up in Ukraine carrying obsolete early 20th century bolt action rifles, without adequate (or any) food and water, and with cursory training at best?

And what has happened to Russian armor and missiles, shot up by raids of heroic Ukrainian fighters, using hit-and-run tactics, avoiding to the degree possible frontal confrontations where Russian mass would overwhelm much smaller and lighter Ukrainian forces?

While war reporting that we receive is considerably one-sided, and losses are often counted multiple times, inflating the numbers of equipment destroyed, theres no denying that the Russians have lost a staggering amount of equipment, mostly to Ukrainian ambushes.

Its quite true that the United States, UK, Turkey, Poland, Germany, and others have supplied armed drones, anti-tank, and anti-aircraft systems to Ukraines army. But none of what has been supplied is especially new. One would have expected Russia would have developed countermeasures and tactics to offset such threats.

Consider drones. The Ukrainians have got shipments of Bayraktar drones from Turkey and have used them effectively. While a number have been shot down, the Turks have replenished the Ukrainian supplies, and the Russians have taken significant losses from drone strikes. The impact of drones was known to the Russians from their experience in Syria and Libya, where low-performing cheap drones proved costly. Russia lost a number of Pantsir air defense systems in Libya to Bayraktars, and in Syria its huge air base, Khmeimim, was attacked successfully more than once. Even more compelling is what happened in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, where both Bayraktar drones, that fire missiles, and Israeli Harop suicide anti-radiation drones, helped to decapitate Armenian-backed forces. Russia had two years or more to prepare against these threats. But theres little evidence that has happened.

The case of the Stinger is even more profound, because Russia had 36 years to figure out countermeasures to a system which, in the hands of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, brought down Russian helicopter gunships, ground support jet fighters, and troop transports.

The Stinger is a system that resists countermeasures, as the Russians know quite well. Its one of a small handful of man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) used by Ukraine. But Russian aircraft and helicopters mainly are equipped with flares to try to confuse the MANPADS, most of which track their targets looking for infrared hotspots (usually the tailpipe of jet engines). In Ukraine, sometimes it has taken two or more MANPADS shots to bring down a Russian helicopter or jet, but many have been shot down this way. Russia, it seems, relied mostly on dated countermeasures and bad operating tactics. They have paid a high price.

Its even more the case when it comes to armor. The United States has supplied the Javelin, the UK the NLAW, and both these anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) systems and others have knocked out Russian armor and other equipment. These are short-range systems, and it takes some courage to creep up on a target and shoot at it, which is precisely what Ukrainian special forces have done. Russia sent in updated and modern tanks, but they left them exposed on their flanks (bad tactics, made worse because the tanks move without infantry support). Many of the Russian tanks were equipped with reactive armor, which is designed to break the penetrating capability of an incoming shell. But the Javelin, for example, has a tandem-charge warhead designed to defeat reactive armor, and it can also dive on its target at the last moment, taking out the tanks topside and turret where armor is thinner than frontal sloped armor.

Part of the answer to threats posed by ATGMs and multiple other threats (mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, artillery) are active protection systems (APS). An APS, such as Israels successful Trophy APS, carries out three tasks: it can detect an incoming threat, it activates a countermeasure (in Trophy this is an explosively formed projectile) that intercepts the incoming threat, and it aims the tanks weapons at the shooter. Even if the shooter is running away, the shooter probably wont survive.

Russia has developed its own APS, called Arena-M. Among the tank carcasses littering Ukraines cities, roadways, and fields, Arena-M isnt found. This suggests that Russias Arena-M may be more advertising than reality, or alternatively that there arent enough Arena-Ms to go around, perhaps why they havent appeared in the Ukraine war.

One wonders what Russian President Vladimir Putin knows about Russias losses in the Ukraine war. All he would need to do, to find out, is connect to YouTube or to any of the Western media. He doesnt need to read a lot, just look at the pictures.

Would Putin conclude that Russia is a Third World country with nuclear weapons? He could phone Gorbachev and ask him. He wont like the answer.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A delivery man hauls packages past stores advertising international logistics transportation to Russia, in Ritan International Trade Center in Beijing on March 22, 2022. (Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia, China Woes Risk Worst EM Corporate Default Wave Since Financial Crash: JPMorgan

LONDONJPMorgan has warned that the combination of Russias war in Ukraine and Chinas ongoing property crash could see the worst wave of corporate defaults since the global financial crisis.

A new report from the banks analysts on Monday estimated the emerging market-wide default rate would now reach 8.5 percent, more than double the 3.9 percent they expected at the start of the year before the war in Ukraine.

The volume of riskier high-yield emerging market (EM) corporate international market bonds now trading at distressed levels had jumped to $166 billion, the highest since 2009 when the global financial crisis raised the default rate to 10.5 percent.

Eastern Europe is predicted to see a record 21.1 percent default rate due to what are expected to be 98.8 percent and 27.3 percent respective rates in Ukraine and Russia where firms are now in difficulty due to the war or the Wests unprecedented sanctions.

Ukraine corporates have provided frequent updates to investors since the start of the invasion and all have painted a similar picture of their operations: exports are disrupted, revenue generation and collections are decimated.

China property sector woes, meanwhile, saw Asias default rate forecast lifted to 10 percent from 7 percent.

There are expected to be $32 billion worth of defaults by 29 struggling Chinese developers this year. That would be an eye-watering 31 percent default rate for the sector and when added to the $49 billion worth of defaults from 26 firms last year, would mean half of Chinas high yield property bonds will have defaulted.

Together with a 30 percent default rate recorded last year, we could potentially see more than half of the sector being decimated, JPMorgan analysts said, explaining how surprises such as hidden debt and developers unexpectedly defaulting on their entire bond stocks had blindsided investors.

While the government has gradually loosened its housing policies, some weaker developers have already gone beyond their tipping point, they added.

Notably, however, excluding those idiosyncratic situations, the rest of the EM high yield corporate space is expected to see only a modest 1.1 percent default rate this year.

Latin Americas forecast remains sub-3 percent and the Middle East & Africas sub-1 percent, which compares to 0.75 percent and 1.50 percent in the United States and Europes respective high yield markets.

By Marc Jones
Russia Discussing Program to Persuade Highly-Qualified Workers to Return From Abroad: Officials

Moscow is looking into what extra incentives it can utilize to persuade highly-skilled workers who have relocated abroad to return to Russia, the countrys Industry and Trade Ministry said on Monday.

President Vladimir Putins special military operation in neighboring Ukraine has prompted a mass exodus of Russians who oppose the conflict or fear that life may become harder under the strain of multiple Western sanctions.

Since the Moscow-led invasion on Feb. 24, as many as 200,000 Russians have left their country, according to one estimate by Russian economist, Konstantin Sonin, at the University of Chicago, although the official figures are unknown.

However, prior to the invasion, Russia was already trying to counter an influx of highly-skilled workersincluding some of its brightest scientistsfrom leaving the country under Putins regime.

A 2019 report compiled by the Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington, D.C., called The Putin Exodus: The New Russian Brain Drain estimated that between 1.6 and 2 million Russians had fled to western democracies and other destinations since 2000, when Putin took office.

The further development of this program and additional benefits to attract highly qualified Russian specialists from different spheres is being discussed, the ministry said on Monday, Reuters reports.

The ministry did not provide further details regarding what the benefits might be but the current program includes cost of moving compensation, six months of unemployment benefits, and other financial incentives, the ministry said.

The Epoch Times has contacted the Industry and Trade Ministry for comment.

Alexander Sergeyev, president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, last week spoke of the large number of scientists who have fled Russia under Western sanctions, which were imposed in 2014 in response to Russias annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and have been further rightened and reinforced since February.

Its difficult to assess the scale of the losses, I believe they are large, he told a news conference, according to the Interfax news agency.

Competing for science with the whole world is hard; we need to liberate scientists initiative, creativity, give them the opportunity to work easily in (Russia), he added while calling for support measures to be put in place in the country to slow this flow of highly-skilled workers leaving.

It is necessary to introduce benefits, increase the financing of science, so that it provides, in addition to prestige, normal material conditions, he stressed.

The latest alleged incentive program from the Industry and Trade Ministry comes as Russia appears to be retaliating further against Western sanctions and has threatened to limit exports of agriculture products to friendly countries.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who is now deputy secretary of the countrys security council, said on Telegram on April 1 that many counties depend on supplies of food from Russia, and that the countrys priority in food supplies is our domestic market. And price control.

We will supply food and crops only to our friends (fortunately, we have a lot of them, and they are not at all in Europe and not in North America), he said, adding that they could pay in both rubles and their national currency in agreed proportions.

He then explained that Russia would not supply products and agricultural products to those countries it deems as enemies.
Nigeria lost over 9,000 medical doctors to the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America between 2016 and 2018, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has said.

The President of the association, Professor Innocent Ujah, stated this yesterday during the Maiden NMA Annual Lecture Series in Abuja. The theme of this year's lecture is 'Brain Drain and Medical Tourism: The Twin evil in Nigeria's Health System.'

He said the loss left Nigeria with only 4.7 per cent of its specialists to service the healthcare needs of the population, saying this does not paint the country in good light.

"Brain drain worsens the already depleted healthcare resources in developing countries like Nigeria and widens the gap in health inequities worldwide. Healthcare workers generally migrate from developing countries to more developed countries, leaving a scarcity of health workers where the need is greatest."

Quoting World Health Organisation (WHO) data, he said Nigeria has a doctor-to-population ratio of about 1: 4000-5000, which falls far short of the WHO recommended doctor-to-population ratio of 1:600.

He said another issue that posed a great challenge to the country's health system was medical tourism.

He said that Nigerians are said to spend over USD one billion annually on medical tourism according to a Price Waterhouse Cooper's report in 2016. The lead speaker of the annual lecture, Professor Oyewale Tomori, said good governance would go a long way in tackling brain drain, medical tourism and other challenges in the health sector.

Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, said the government was committed to a paradigm shift and that President Muhammadu Buhari had set up a health reform committee geared towards reversing the brain drain among others. Former Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole said corruption was also fueling medical tourism in the country.

He advised medical practitioners to protect patients' information to encourage more public officials to seek medical care in the country.
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)

Russia Resumes Flights With 52 Friendly Countries

The Russian Federation has announced that it plans to resume flights to and from 52 friendly countries, repealing a measure instituted during the initial wave of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic at a time when Russia has been the talk of the world for its recent and ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The announcement was made by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Monday, as reported by Russian state-owned news agency TASS.

Starting from April 9, we are lifting restrictions set for combating coronavirus pandemic, which applied to our regular and charter flights between Russia and a number of other countries, Mishustin said.

Now, we are resuming flights with 52 countries, including Argentina, India, China, South Africa, and other friendly states.

Also included are Afghanistan, Algeria, Israel, Lebanon, North Korea, Peru, Pakistan, Syria, and Turkey, among others. The announcement also included provisions for opening the land border between Russia and China, as the latter country has become increasingly economically and strategically crucial to an increasingly isolated President Vladimir Putin.

In March 2020, Russia introduced a multitude of restrictions designed to stop the spread of the CCP virus, including heavy restrictions on foreign travel. The country has been repealing these measures piece-by-piece in the ensuing years, but the re-opening of the Russian economy has been overshadowed by the countrys aggressive policy towards Ukraine, which broke out into full-blown war on Feb. 24 after months of escalating tensions.

Notably absent from the list of countries where Russians may now travel freely are the 27 member states of the European Union, no doubt on account of the sanctions these nations have levied against Russia in response to the war in Ukraine.

Additionally, the new policy restricts Russian airlines from buying plane parts or maintenance services from Western Europe and the United States, in an effort to punish the Western bloc for bans on Russian aircraft using North American and European airspace.
Russia to Fine Wikipedia If It Doesnt Remove False Information on Ukraine Invasion

Russias media regulator on Tuesday threatened to fine Wikipedia nearly $50,000 if the online encyclopedia doesnt delete material with inaccurate information about its attack on Ukraine.

Roskomnadzor, the communications regulator, has accused Wikipedia of hosting false information on what Russia calls its special operation in Ukraine and on the actions of Russias military too.

Recently, materials have been posted on Wikipedia that disseminates unreliable information on the subject of a special military operation in Ukraine, Roskomnadzor said in a statement posted on Telegram. Wikipedia should remove materials with unreliable information of public interest.

The authors of articles posted on Wikipedia deliberately misinform Internet resource users with frankly false information, it said. In the articles published, an exclusively anti-Russian interpretation of events is promoted.

Larry Sanger, a co-founder of Wikipedia, warned last July that the online encyclopedia is more one-sided than ever and with few exceptions, only globalist, progressive mainstream sourcesand sources friendly to globalist progressivismare permitted.

According to Russian law, Roskomnadzor can fine administrators of an Internet resource by up to 4 million roubles ($48,120.30) if it fails to remove materials deemed illegal by Moscow, the regulator said.

A Wikipedia spokesperson told NPR that it had received several demands in March to remove information from the Russian-language version of the online encyclopedia about the RussiaUkraine conflict.

The Wikimedia Foundation supports everyones fundamental right to access free, open, and verifiable information; this escalation does not change our commitment, the spokesperson said.

In a March 1 statement, the Wikimedia Foundation also confirmed it had received demands from the Russian government to delete content in relation to the war in Ukraine, noting Russias demand threatened censorship.

The information available on Wikipedia is sourced and shared by volunteers who invest time and effort to ensure that the content is fact-based and reliable, the foundation wrote.

Media outlets in Russia are prohibited to describe the situation in Ukraine as an assault, invasion, or declaration of warinstead the government prefers to use the euphemism; a special military operation.

Recently, Russian regulators have frequently threatened to ban or fine tech services, including last month, when a Russian court banned Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, over alleged extremist activities, rendering its operations inside Russia illegal.

From NTD News
CEO of VTB bank Andrey Kostin attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, on Nov. 30, 2021. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin via Reuters)

Russian Banks Need to Be Recapitalized as Losses Loom, VTB CEO Says

Russias banks will need a wider recapitalization, Andrey Kostin, CEO of No.2 lender VTB, has told the TASS news agency, with the scale of it to be determined later this year once there is a clearer picture of the losses the sector faces.

I dont know yet where the capital boost will come from but it will come for sure. Not only for VTB but for the wider banking sector, I think, Kostin said on Tuesday, as he expected the financial sector to post losses this year.

Western sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February have cut Moscow off from the global financial system and from nearly half of its $640 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves.

Some of Russias biggest banks, VTB included, were cut off from the SWIFT global banking messaging system, and international payment cards Visa and MasterCard stopped servicing Russian accounts abroad, adding pressure on banks.

Since major private banking bailouts in 2017 worth over 2 trillion roubles, the central bank has opted for removing banking licenses over providing cash injections.

Previously, VTB was allowed to pay smaller dividends on preferred shares held by the state to boost the banks capital, in a non-cash form of the support.

Russias banks may need as much as 2.2 trillion roubles in state support, according to the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-term Forecasting, of which the bulk, or 1.5 trillion, would be needed for top lenders, private included.

The central bank did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment on Tuesday.
Police officers work the scene on the corner of 10th and L street of a shooting that occurred in Sacramento, Calif., in the early morning hours on April 3, 2022. (David Odisho/Getty Images)

Second Suspect Arrested in Connection to Sacramento Mass Shooting

A second suspect was arrested in connection to the Sacramento shooting that left six dead and more injured over the past weekend, officials announced Tuesday.

Smiley Martin, 27, the brother of Dandrae Martin, 26, was arrested by police, according to the Sacramento Police Department in a Tuesday update. Smiley faces possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun, while Dandrae, who was arrested Monday, faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun.

Neither brother was charged with homicide in connection to the shooting incident, which reportedly occurred during a fight in downtown Sacramento early on Sunday morning.

Police said that Smiley Martin was located at the scene with serious injuries from gunfire and was transported to an area hospital for treatment and is currently under the supervision of an officer at the hospital while his treatment continues. He was taken into custody by detectives on Tuesday, said officials.

Once Smiley Martins medical care has been completed and he is determined to be fit for incarceration, police said in a news release, he will be booked at the Sacramento County Main Jail for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun.

Dandrae Martin, meanwhile, has had previous run-ins with the law, according to local media, citing court records. He has been wanted in Riverside County, California, since 2015, while jail records revealed that he has an outstanding warrant for a domestic violence charge. He was freed from an Arizona prison in 2020 after he served about 18 months for violating probation, according to court records.

Smiley Martin posted a 15-minute Facebook Live video late on Saturday night, showing that he appeared to be holding a handgun, reported the Sacramento Bee.

The coroners office in Sacramento County confirmed the identities of six people who died in the incident: Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; and DeVazia Turner, 29, Sacramento-area news outlets reported.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg read their names during a vigil on Monday night that was attended by grieving family members.

So we gather here to remember the victims and to commit ourselves to doing all we can to ending the stain of violence, not only in our community but throughout the state, throughout the country, and throughout the world, Steinberg said.

Police said theyve recovered more than 100 spent shell casings, a stolen handgun, and other evidence.

Investigators continue to examine evidence, contact witnesses, and interview involved parties to gain a complete understanding of the incident, police said. As these processes occur, different and/or additional charges may apply. The Sacramento County District Attorneys Office will be reviewing all evidence to determine appropriate charges.
U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) waits to speak to reporters following a Senate Democratic luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on June 15, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Sen. Durbin Blocks Legislation That Would Strengthen Sentences for Child Porn Offenders

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Tuesday blocked legislation in the Senate that would have strengthened penalties for child porn possession, saying the bill doesnt reflect the realities of today.

The legislationput forward by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and cosponsored by Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.)comes after weeks of heated debate over Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jacksons track record in sentencing child porn offenders.

After one such debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Durbin, who chairs the committee, said that the Senate had been derelict in its duty to update child porn law, which was originally designed to deal with physical images rather than digital ones.

I hope you will agree we all want to do everything within our power to lessen incidents of child pornography and exploitation, Durbin said last week. I want to tell you, Congress doesnt have clean hands. We havent touched this now for 15, 16, or 17 years.

Durbin added that Congress had shown inattention and unwillingness to tackle an extremely controversial issue.

I dont know if youve introduced a bill to change thisIll be looking for it, Durbin told Hawley. If were going to tackle it, we should.

Referencing that interaction, Hawley said on the Senate floor Tuesday: I agree 100 percent. I agree we should tackle it, this is the time to tackle it, and Im here to do that today.

In 2003, Congress passed legislation instituting mandatory minimum sentencing for child porn offenders. In a controversial decision, the Supreme Court in United States v. Booker struck down the mandatory minimum laws, which bind judges hands, as unconstitutional.

Hawleys bill would reinstate those mandatory minimums, requiring that those convicted of child porn possession receive at least five years in federal prison.

Restore the law back to what Congress intended back in 2003, Hawley said.

Despite his calls last week for Congress to consider the issue legislatively, Durbin on Tuesday blocked Hawleys bill.

I have to ask myselfwhy now? Durbin said in his objection.

Reporting comments allegedly made by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, on which Judge Jackson served for several years, Durbin said these guidelines [imposed by the 2003 legislation] dont reflect the reality of today.

Durbin added, The laws were written in an era where the materials were talking about were physical materials and we now live in a world of internet and access to  tens of thousands of images if that is your decision.

There are some political groupsat least one well-known political groupthat manufactures theories about child pornography and pedophilia and the like, and even inspires deadly reactions to them, and theyre cheering this on, Durbin said in an oblique reference to QAnon, an online group that says that high-level government and Hollywood officials are involved in a major sex-trafficking ring.

Following the exchange, Hawley took to Twitter to criticize Durbins response to the legislation.

I just went to the Senate floor to try to pass a bill toughening sentences on child pornographers, Hawley said in a tweet following the objection. And the Democrats blocked it, again calling the child porn crisis a conspiracy theory. And that tells you everything you need to know.

The issue first arose in a March 16 Twitter thread posted by Hawley. In the thread, he alleged that Jackson has an alarming pattern of leniency in sentencing those in possession of child porn.

Since then, it has been a key issue for Republicans, many of whom have highlighted the controversy to show that Jackson is soft on crime.

According to Sen. Cruz on March 22, Jackson gave 47.2 percent less time behind bars than prosecutors asked for. Cruz and other Republicans have also noted that in every child porn case in which she had some discretion, Jackson sentenced below federal guidelines and prosecutor requests.

While the White House continues to dismiss concerns about leniency toward child porn offenders as a desperate conspiracy theory, the numbers speak for themselves, Hawley said in a March 29 statement on the bill. Congress must act before this problem becomes even worse.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters after a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Jan. 13, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Senators Strike Deal to Reallocate $10 Billion in Unspent COVID-19 Funds

Senate Republicans and Democrats on April 4 struck a deal for $10 billion in additional funding for the United States COVID-19 response, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced.

The funding will provide urgent COVID-19 needs and therapeutics by repurposing unspent COVID funds primarily from the Democrats American Rescue Plan.

The $10 billion will be allocated to the Department of Health and Human Services, of which $9.2 billion will go to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

At least $5 billion of the $9.2 billion funding has been earmarked to research, develop, manufacture and purchase, and administer COVID-19 therapeutics, and at least $750 million is being set aside for research and clinical trials into emerging variants of the virus and to expand vaccine manufacturing capacity if needed.

For example, the new bill will withdraw $500 million from a fund to support colleges and universities during COVID-19, $2,3 billion that was made available to the Department of Transportation, as well as nearly $1 billion from a fund for tribal governments.

The agreed funding is less than half the $22.5 billion that President Joe Biden proposed and does not include money to support the administrations efforts to combat the virus around the world.

Schumer, who has been leading negotiations on the legislation for Democrats, said he was disappointed that the agreement does not include the $5 billion for global health funding.

This $10 billion COVID package will give the federal governmentand our citizensthe tools we need to continue our economic recovery, keep schools open and keep American families safe, Schumer said.

But while this emergency injection of additional funding is absolutely necessary, it is well short of what is truly needed to keep us safe from the COVID-19 virus over the long-term.

The Democrat said he intends to work to include that in separate legislation later this year.

We are all more vulnerable to a major breakthrough variant if we do not support the numerous other countries with lower vaccination rates and fewer resources than the United States, he said, while noting that Moscows invasion of Ukraine has also drastically exacerbated food insecurity around the globe.

Schumer said that Democrats and Republicans plan to pursue an agreement on international aid later this spring.

Biden supports the package and has asked the Senate and House to act quickly to get this bill to his desk, Schumer said.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who also helped negotiate the bill, said that, from the beginning, Senate Republicans have insisted that any new requests from the administration for COVID funding be paid for by repurposing existing funds from the nearly $6 trillion in COVID legislation that the Senate has already passed.

He added that the agreement reached on Monday, does just that by repurposing $10 billion to provide needed domestic COVID health response tools.

Romney noted that the roughly $5 billion set aside for the development and purchase of therapeutics could potentially remove the need for future vaccine and mask mandates.

The GOP senator also stressed that the legislation will not cost the American people a single additional dollar due to it being comprised of dollar-for-dollar offsets from spending already passed by Congress.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki earlier on Monday urged Congress to pass the $10 billion in funding, despite acknowledging that isnt as much as the administration has initially hoped for.

Every dollar we requested is essential and we will continue to work with Congress to get all of the funding we need. But time is of the essence, Psaki said. We urge Congress to move promptly on this $10 billion package because it can begin to fund the most immediate needs, as we currently run the risk of not having some critical tools like treatments and tests starting in May and June.
Residents look at the street from their neighborhood where barriers are being placed around to close off streets around after the detection of new cases of COVID-19 in Shanghai on March 15, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Pushed to the Brink of Collapse: Leaked Recording of Shanghai CDC Expert Describes Chaos Behind Lockdown Measures

While Shanghai continues its lockdown and massive PCR testing campaign as COVID-19 surges through the city, a CDC experts complaint about chaotic PCR test reports that have confused people was recently exposed online. Shanghai CDC issued a notice demanding staff answer public inquiries in line with the policy.

There have been complaints about the conflicting PCR test results on Chinese social media because people receive a negative test result on their cell phones but then receive a positive test result from the CDC.

Shanghai adopted the Healthcare Cloud app as its integrated Internet and Healthcare services platform. Locals register through the app for a PCR test and receive the test result on their cell phones. However, many people received a negative test notice via the app but still were then notified by CDC that they had tested positive and were thus subject to quarantine.

Complaints have flooded the Shanghai CDC hotline.

A recently leaked recording of a CDC expert responding to a caller revealed how the app has been problematic, how overloaded health workers have been stymied by a lack of transparency in pandemic prevention, and how the pandemic has become a political issue.

The Test Negative Is Fake

In the recording, the expert said, We have received hundreds of calls every day, but our jobs are epidemiological investigations. We cant solve your problem.

She said, Let me tell you the facts: Theres no ward, the quarantine sites are filled, and theres no ambulance.

A male was heard complaining, But we have no way to address our issue, even Weibo is blocked.

The expert said, I have brought this up too many times; as an expert, I have suggested that the mild to no symptom patients stay at home. Does anyone listen? No!

She continued, Let me reiterate, do not bother checking your health cloud, its all a negative result. Only we will notify you when you have tested positive.

The caller responded, So what we see is all fake?

She said, Thats right.

In the recording, the expert encouraged making public the recording.

In this photo released by Chinas Xinhua News Agency, people with mild and symptomatic cases of COVID-19 quarantine at the Shanghai New International Expo Center in Shanghai, on April 1, 2022. (Ding Ting/Xinhua via AP)

A Pandemic Turns Political

The expert explained that she had complained to her leader that CDC staff should not be contacting people about their testing positive while people have received a negative test message on the app. It has only exhausted the staff at the CDC and confused the public.

She said, We, as the professionals, are pushed to the brink of collapse by the situation. This pandemic has become a political issue thats consuming so much manpower, resources, and money, just to solve this flu-like disease. What other country do you think is doing this kind of epidemic prevention now?

The expert also suggested to the caller, The quarantine site is not up to standard, and theres no medical service at the site. If you are forced to go to the isolation ward, ask them for proof of a positive test result before they can enforce it. Let me tell you, they wont have it.

After the recording was leaked, multiple online articles confirmed that the Shanghai CDC expert was Zhu Weiping, director of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Section of Shanghai Pudong New Area CDC. The Epoch Times has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the recording.

According to the Chinese article, her comments drew criticism from those who support the communist regime, calling it a serious political incidentan advocate of coexistence with the virus, an aggressive attack on the party, and sabotaging and shaking the anti-epidemic deployment. Many netizens have supported her saying protect Zhu Weiping.

The leaked recording was soon deleted from the Chinese internet.

At the same time, the Shanghai CDC issued a notice to relevant departments demanding the hotline to be answered only by trained staff, and answers should be provided only in line with the current policy.

On March 28, Shanghai imposed a two-stage lockdown of four days, first for the eastern side of the city, and then the western side of the city, divided by the Huangpu River, with two rounds of nucleic acid tests, until April 5.

The city decided on April 4 to extend the lockdown with no known date to lift the restriction that affects more than 26 million people in the city.

Mary Hong contributed to this report.
Workers take off their protective gear next to the entrance of a neighborhood during the second stage of a pandemic lockdown in Jing'an district in Shanghai on April 5, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Shanghai Residents Remain in Lockdown as Citys COVID-19 Outbreak Remains Grim

Shanghai officials have insisted on continuing a strict zero-COVID policy after announcing that over 25 million residents have been tested for COVID-19, with no sign that the citys lockdown will be lifted soon.

As of 8 a.m. local time on April 5, health officials in Shanghai said that the citys 25.66 million residents had taken a mandated nucleic acid test, according to the municipal authoritys official account on Chinas Twitter-like Weibo. The mass testing began on April 4, targeting the citys entire population.

Hours later, another announcement on Weibo stated that the citys health workers would visit the homes of those whose nucleic acid test samples had abnormal results. Residents in these households would be required to take another test.

Additionally, it was also announced that the city will speed up the process to isolate those confirmed to have contracted the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

One of those currently under quarantine is Liu Zhimin (a pseudonym), a resident in eastern Shanghais Pudong district. In an interview with The Epoch Times on April 5, Liu said he was sent to his current locationa local makeshift quarantine center that was originally a school dormitoryat around 3 a.m. on April 3. He said he had close contact with an infected coworker.

He added that he was staying in a three-bedroom dorm with 15 other individuals, including both women and men. He was displeased that the room did not have heating.

Liu had other complaints. He said the places supply of food, electricity, and hot water had not been stable. On April 3, he said he had his first meal of the day at around 4 p.m. local time.

A man stands behind barriers during lockdown in Jingan district, in Shanghai on March 31, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

For over a month now, Shanghai has been hard hit by the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The spike in infection cases prompted Shanghai officials to begin enforcing a two-stage lockdown on March 28, with those living in eastern and southern districts undergoing a four-day lockdown ending on April 1, to be followed by those living in western districts for the next four days. The separate lockdowns have since been extended until further notice.

In a press conference on April 5, Gu Honghui, Shanghais deputy secretary-general, said the citys outbreak was extremely grim.

Gu also said there were 13,354 new infection cases for the previous 24 hours, bringing the citys total since March to over 73,000.

The infection numbers reported by Chinese authorities should be treated with caution. Since the CCP virus was first reported in central Chinas Wuhan city in late 2019, experts and Chinese residents have repeatedly argued that Chinese officials were underreporting infection and death figures.

The Shanghai lockdown has led to widespread discontent among locals, whove complained about a shortage of food and medicine, lacking access to medical treatment for non-COVID-19 diseases, and children being forcibly taken away for quarantine.

Despite mounting public outrage, the communist regime has not shown any sign of abandoning its zero-COVID policy, where officials go after every single virus case in the hope of eliminating the virus altogether. On April 4, Sun Chunlan, one of the Chinese regimes vice premiers, said in Shanghai that achieving the zero [COVID-19] target should be realized in the shortest time possible, according to Chinas state-run media.

Sun also said it was important that every resident was tested for coronavirus.

Policemen wearing protective gear are seen on a street during the second stage of a pandemic lockdown in Jingan district in Shanghai on April 5, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

The Chinese regime has deployed armed police in Shanghai, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on April 4, a sign that Beijing is worried that public anger could lead to social unrest.

In China, the armed police force is a paramilitary force that reports directly to the Central Military Commission, the regimes top military body.

The armed police came on March 28 and 29, and there are a lot of armed police around right now, a Shanghai resident with the surname Feng told RFA. They had been keeping a low profile, but they are much more open since Vice Premier Sun Chunlan arrived here.

Zhang Jin, an academic who lives in western Shanghais Puxi area, told RFA that armed police were patrolling the gates of his residential community.

There are special police with guns stationed at the gates of our community, because the older people on the neighborhood committee cant keep control of the situation, Zhang said.

Zhang added, Theyre afraid therell be some kind of incident in Shanghai, which would be a big deal, so theyve been brought in to keep order.

Gu Qinger and Gu Xiaohua contributed to this report.
Empty streets are seen during the second stage of a COVID-19 lockdown in the Yangpu district in Shanghai on April 1, 2022. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Shanghais Stringent COVID-19 Policies Draw Growing Cries From Residents Struggling to Survive

Shanghais continued insistence on a dynamic clearance strategy to snuff out COVID-19 has led to growing cries from residents voicing hardships ranging from the denial of medical care to being separated from their children sent to quarantine.

Stringent measures have been taken in an attempt to contain the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus outbreak in Shanghai. Persons and vehicles can only enter but not exit the lockdown zones. Convenience stores and supermarkets have stopped operating, while buses, subways, ferries, taxis, and online car-hailing are suspended.

The Epoch Times collected several posts from Chinese social platforms and interviewed residents from parts of Shanghai for a closer look at their hardships.

Ms. Zheng is a retired teacher in Shanghais Minhang District who suffers from uremia and has been unable to receive dialysis treatments due to the lockdown measures. She has been experiencing nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, chest tightness, and dizziness.

On March 31, Zheng asked for help in an internet post. She had reached out to Shanghais CDC on March 28, attempting to arrange for a dialysis treatment but has yet to receive a response.

Ms. Wang, a Minhang District resident, told The Epoch Times that people couldnt go to the hospital on their own amid the ongoing lockdown. They must call 110 and arrange for an ambulance to pick them up. Wang called it a one-size-fits-all approach and only some are lucky enough to get transportation.

On April 1, Ma Lei (pseudonym), a Shanghai Wenlai Middle School student, told The Epoch Times that his two aunts live with his 92-year-old grandmother. His grandmother has cancer, is paralyzed in bed, and has senile dementia. His older aunt, 66, has epilepsy and psychiatric problems. The two elderly women had a high fever for three consecutive days.

His younger aunt, the only person who can take care of the two elderly ladies, tested positive for COVID-19. However, the CDC took her away for quarantine that afternoon, leaving behind the two elderly women despite being unable to take care of themselves and having a high fever.

On April 2, a mother in Shanghai posted on Weibo that she had been forced to separate from her 5-year-old daughter.

My child has had a high fever for a day and a night  I felt very helpless and sad when [the child] was forcibly transported to Jinshan Hospital alone, the mother said. She tried contacting all relevant authorities to get permission to visit her daughter.

At the time of the post, it had been more than 48 hours since the child was taken to the hospital without her mother. During this period, she only received two calls from the hospital giving her a limited brief on her daughters condition and the doctors notes on the case.

On April 4, Xiao Zhang, a resident in Shanghais Changning District, told The Epoch Times that her father suffered from inverted papillomas, aggressive sinonasal tumors that arise in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. The tumors grew to the point that they compressed his right eye, causing blurred vision and massive headaches.

As his condition became increasingly critical, she contacted local hospitals to arrange for surgery but all declined her request and told her to wait until the end of the lockdowns, which shows no sign of being lifted anytime soon.

However, what Xiao couldnt understand was that she received admission orders and bills from the two local hospitals she contacted, but her father was never admitted to the hospitals.
Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has said that Nigerians spend $1billion annually on medical tourism, adding that 9,000 doctors left the country for the United Kingdom, United States of America and Canada in two years (2016-2018), leaving the country with just 4.7 per cent specialists.

This, the NMA said, has negatively impacted the country's health care system.

Speaking at the association's maiden annual lecture, theme: "Brain Drain and Medical Tourism: The Twin Evil in Nigeria's Health System," on Monday in Abuja, NMA president, Professor Innocent Ujah, said Africa, including Nigeria, was encountering a health workforce crisis.

Noting that human resources for health represents one of the six pillars of a strong and efficient health system, Ujah said, "The Nigerian health sector today groans under the devastating impact of huge human capital flight which now manifests as brain drain."

He said the huge amount Nigerians were injecting into medical tourism was weakening Nigeria's economy.
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)

South Korea Seeks to Deploy US Strategic Weapons Amid Heightened Nuclear Threats from North

South Koreas defense ministry is reportedly seeking the deployment of U.S. strategic assets amid heightening tensions with North Korea. The two allies have agreed to reactivate a Trump-era consultation mechanism to further discuss the deterrence measures.

On April 4, South Korea and the United States have agreed to reactivate the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) to counter any North Korean provocation, according to Yonhap News Agency, citing the chief of president-elect Yoon Suk-yeols delegation.

The EDSCG was established in 2016 by the Trump and Moon Jae-in administrations to ramp up discussions over various measures on extended deterrence against North Korea. But its talks have not been held since 2018, as both the United States and South Korea then worked on holding a summit with North Korea.

In late March, Seouls defense ministry told President-elect Yoon Suk-yeols transition team that it is looking to discuss the U.S. strategic asset deployment on South Korean soil via the potential reactivation of EDSCG, Yonhap reported.

Strategic assets refer to formidable U.S. military hardware, such as nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers, which are often used as a show of force to deter provocations or aggression by potential adversaries.

On March 28, after North Koreas recent test launch of a banned intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and its repair activities at a closed nuclear testing site, Seouls defense ministry stressed again that it is necessary to consider re-deploying some U.S. strategic weapons.

Prior to North Koreas ICBM launch, the United States and South Korea were already considering resuming combined drills involving U.S. nuclear-capable bombers on the Korean Peninsula, according to a Yonhap report.

The allies have reportedly discussed restarting the Blue Lightning training after about five years of suspension. Under the exercise, B-52H or B-1B bombers stationed in the U.S. Air Forces Andersen Air Force Base in Guam are deployed to the peninsula to practice security operations. Fighters from South Korea or Japan are also mobilized to escort the long-range strategic bombers.

A U.S. Airforce B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber drops bombs in this undated file photo. (U.S. Airforce/Getty Images)

A South Korean local media speculates that, if the United States agrees to deployment, the first weapons to be sent to the Korean Peninsula will likely be the three major U.S. strategic bombers, B-52H, B-2, and B-1B. These bombers reportedly come with thousands of tons of firepower, capable of destroying specific North Korean targets and military bases within hours.

Among them, the B-1B strategic bomber is reportedly capable of reaching the peninsula in about four hours from the base in Guam. It is also capable of high-speed carpet-bombing, a large area bombardment done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land.

U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, top, and second from top, and South Korean fighter jets F-15K fly over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea, on June 20, 2017. (South Korean Defense Ministry via AP, File)

Meanwhile, the B-2 strategic bomber features stealth technology designed for penetrating tight air defenses. It is reportedly capable of avoiding radar detection and attenuating various signals, minimizing detection from infrared, visible light, and noise.

B-2 flies over Edwards Air Force Base in California, on Aug. 14, 2003. (U.S. Air Force/Getty Images)

The B-52H is a nuclear-capable, long-range heavy bomber. It can reportedly carry 31 tons of weapons, has a combat radius of nearly 4,000 miles, and a maximum flight range of almost 10,000 miles.

The X-51A Waverider, carried under the wing of a B-52H Stratofortress bomber, prepares to launch for its fourth and final flight over the Pacific Ocean, on May 1, 2013. (U.S. Air Force, Bobbi Zapka/AP Photo)

The strategic bombers, land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and nuclear-powered ballistic missile-carrying submarine (SSBN) are whats called the U.S. nuclear triad, a three-pronged military force structure.

North Korea has conducted 13 missile tests since the start of the year, with the most recent on March 24, involving the test-launch of its largest-yet intercontinental ballistic missile, another breach of its announced moratorium in 2018, a suspension on nuclear and long-range missile testing. Experts described it as a monster missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States and beyond.

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)

Meanwhile, South Korean officials have reported new construction activities at the Norths only known nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, which was shuttered in 2018.

South Korean officials believe that an expeditious repair of the Norths closed nuclear test site is underway. And that Pyongyang may be making rapid preparations to carry out a nuclear weapons test for the first time in more than four years, according to a Yonhap report.

On Friday, the United States imposed new 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 South Korean and American flags fly next to each other at Yongin, South Korea, on Aug. 23, 2016. (Ken Scar/U.S. Army/Handout via Reuters)

South Korea, US Agree to Reactivate Extended Deterrence Strategy: Seoul Delegate

South Korea and the United States have agreed to reactivate the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group to counter any North Korean provocation, the chief of president-elect Yoon Suk-yeols delegation said on April 4.

South Koreas policy consultation delegation, led by representative Park Jin, met with Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Washington on Monday for talks on the countries bilateral alliance, Yonhap News Agency (YNA) reported.

[We] relayed the president-elects wish for South Korea and the U.S. to further upgrade the South KoreaU.S. alliance into a comprehensive and strategic alliance and formed a consensus [with Washington], Park told reporters.

Park noted that both sides agreed on the need to maintain deterrence to counter North Koreas provocative acts.

To this end, the countries agreed on the need to strengthen the extended deterrence between South Korea and the U.S. and the importance of reactivating the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group that has failed to play its role over the past few years, he added.

Sherman also reaffirmed Washingtons ironclad commitment to the defense of South Korea and welcomed joint efforts to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to the State Department.

Meanwhile, the top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States have also agreed to jointly push for a new United Nations Security Council resolution against North Korea.

U.S. special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, on Monday met with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, in Washington for talks on Pyongyangs intercontinental ballistic missile launches, YNA reported.

We also agreed on the importance of a strong U.N. security response to these escalatory actions by [North Korea], and I look forward to working with Ambassador Noh and his team and their colleagues in the U.N. to pursue a new U.N. Security Council resolution, Kim told reporters.

The two envoys reiterated that their countries will remain open to dialogue with North Korea and urged the hermit nation to resume denuclearization talks.

I once again call on North Korea to refrain from taking any action that may further deteriorate the situation and return to dialogue and diplomacy, Noh said.

A test-fire of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea, on March 24, 2022. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea has conducted more than 10 missile tests since the start of the year, one of which involved a Hwasong-17, which experts dubbed a monster missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States and beyond.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on March 25 that Washington would propose a resolution to tighten Security Council sanctions against North Korea, though she didnt specify what the new sanctions would be.
People wait to get a vaccine against COVID-19 at a night club which was turned into a mass vaccination center, in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 16, 2021. (Carl-Olof Zimmerman/TT News Agency via Reuters)

Sweden to Offer Fourth COVID-19 Vaccine Jab to People Aged 65 and Above

STOCKHOLMSweden will give a fourth shot of COVID-19 vaccine to people aged 65 and above to boost their defenses against the disease, the health agency said on Monday.

For people aged 65 and over, it is now four months since the previous vaccine dose, and the protective effect of the vaccine diminishes over time, the Health Agency said in a statement.

Sweden had previously offered a fourth jab to people aged 80 or older.

Sweden abolished almost all restrictions in early March.
Taliban Bans Drug Cultivation, Including Lucrative Opium

The Taliban terrorist group announced on Sunday a ban on the cultivation of narcotics in Afghanistan, the worlds biggest opium producer.

As per the decree of the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, all Afghans are informed that from now on, cultivation of poppy has been strictly prohibited across the country, according to an order from the Talibans supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada.

If anyone violates the decree, the crop will be destroyed immediately and the violator will be treated according to the Sharia law, the order, announced at a news conference by the Ministry of Interior in Kabul, said.

The order said the production, use, or transportation of other narcotics was also banned.

Drug control has been one major demand of the international community of the Islamist terrorist group, which took over the country in August and is seeking formal international recognition in order to wind back sanctions that are severely hampering banking, business, and development.

The Taliban banned poppy growing towards the end of their last rule in 2000 as they sought international legitimacy, but faced a popular backlash and later mostly changed their stance, according to experts.

Afghanistans opium productionwhich the United Nations estimated was worth $1.4 billion at its height in 2017has increased in recent months, farmers and Taliban members told Reuters.

The countrys dire economic situation has prompted residents of south-eastern provinces to grow the illicit crop that could bring them faster and higher returns than legal crops such as wheat.

Taliban sources told Reuters they were anticipating tough resistance from some elements within the group against the ban on poppy and that there had been a surge in the number of farmers cultivating poppy in recent months.

A farmer in Helmand who spoke on condition of anonymity said that in recent weeks prices of poppy had already more than doubled on rumors the Taliban would ban its cultivation. But he added that he needed to grow poppy to support his family.

Other crops are just not profitable, he said.

By Charlotte Greenfield and Jibran Ahmad
Italian food has given the world so many different ways to carb-load, and it only makes sense to pay homage to one of Italys oldest recipes, cacio e pepe.

The legend of cacio e pepe first started around the time of Romes birth  about 2,500 years ago when shepherds and merchants carried around the dishs key ingredients in their sacks. Since shepherds lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle, they had to bring food with them that didnt go bad. Typically, theyd carry dry pasta, pecorino cheese and black pepper.

Over the years, there have been many different variations of this signature dish, but one of the best is at New York Citys Lupa Osteria Romana.

A lot of people consider our cacio e pepe one of the best in the city, James Kelly, executive chef at Lupa told The Daily Meal. The popular, trattoria-style restaurant has been serving the dish since it first opened 21 years ago.

So how does Lupa keep this traditional pasta dish a main attraction so many years later? The secret ingredient, according to Kelly, is butter.

After seasoning the boiled water with a handful of salt, chefs at Lupa use bavette, a classic noodle from Rome for their cacio e pepe. For the sauce, Kelly said the biggest key is toasting about 30 cracks of fresh ground black pepper for one serving. Once the black pepper and extra virgin olive oil are mixed well, Kelly tosses in the butter  Lupas staple ingredient.

Classically they wouldnt use butter, but Kelly said it helps the sauce bind to the actual pasta. After combining the noodles and pasta sauce, Kelly makes sure that the cheese is thoroughly melted before serving Lupas iconic cacio e pepe to guests.

If youre looking for the golden standard for cacio e pepe then there is no better place than New Yorks Lupa. But there are, of course, other restaurants where you can try this iconic dish and a good place to start would be at one of the best Italian restaurants in America.

 2020 Tribune Publishing; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington in a file photograph. (Susan Walsh/AP Photo)

Trump Critic Fred Upton to Retire From Congress

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), one of only a handful of Republicans in the House who voted to impeach President Donald Trump, has announced that he will not seek reelection in November.

Upton announced the decision in a Tuesday speech on the House floor.

Even the best stories have a last chapter. This is it for me, Upton said. Ive done the zillions of airline miles back and forth. Ive signed over a million letters, cast more votes while in the chamber here and accomplished what I set out to do with more unfinished work still yet to come.

Due to redistricting after the 2020 census, Upton was facing a tight race with another Republican.

Upton, who is a part of the centrist Problem Solvers Caucus, may have faced a steep challenge in a GOP match up due to his decision to vote for Trumps impeachment.

In his address to the House, Upton called for bipartisanship.

Throughout my career, Ive leaned on lessons from my Reagan White House days, Upton said. Reagan worked both sides of the aisle to get things done, caring less about who got the credit. And I made a promise that such a principle would be my guiding light. Especially in these days of divided government, that is the only way one can actually get legislation enacted.

Hopefully civility and bipartisanship versus discord, can rule, not rue, the day, he added.

Following Uptons announcement, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) praised Upton as a devoted lawmaker.

He has always put the people he served first, Dingell said. To him, bipartisan and compromise are not forbidden words. Fred knew well that if we are going to deliver real solutions for the American people, we need to come together and listen to all perspectives, no matter how complicated the issue might be.

In a statement, Trump applauded Uptons decision to retire, the most recent in a long line of retirements by Republicans who voted to impeach the former president.

UPTON QUITS! Trump said. 4 down and 6 to go. Others losing badly, whos next?

Several Republicans who voted to impeach, including Reps. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), and John Katko (R-N.Y.) announced earlier during the 117th Congress that they would not seek reelection in 2022.

Republicans who voted for impeachment but have not yet retired are facing tough reelection battles.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who serves alongside Kinzinger on the controversial January 6 Committee, has faced especially dire prospects.

In a Jan. 22 straw poll, 71 Wyoming GOP activists voted for their top pick for the GOP nominee in the one district state. According to the Casper Star-Tribune, 59 votes were cast for Trump-backed challenger Harriet Hageman. Cheney, by contrast, received only six. The other votes were cast for Wyoming state lawmakers.

Adding to her troubles, Cheney was censured by the Republican National Committee alongside Kinzinger for her role on the Jan. 6 committee, depriving her of the partys political and financial support.

Many Republicans see the retirement as another sign that the tide is turning against Trump critics, but some have pushed back against this framing.

In a Twitter post Doug Heye, who has worked for the GOP in positions on and off of Capitol Hill, said that the press is making the obvious Trump connection because of impeachment vote more than the blindingly obvious fact that incumbents have their districts massively changed in redistricting years, as did Upton.

Not *everything* is all about Trump, he added.

In comments made on March 31, Trump indicated that he feels confident that the two are linked, and predicted that more retirements are still to come.

I was just telling John, the good news is six out of the ten are gone or effectively gone, Trump said.
Jack Dorsey, then-CEO of Twitter and co-founder and CEO of Square Inc., attends the cryptocurrency conference Bitcoin 2021 at the Mana Wynwood Convention Center in Miami, Fla., on June 4, 2021. (Marco Bello/AFP via Getty Images)

Twitters Former CEO Jack Dorsey Says Hes Partially to Blame for Centralization of Internet, Regrets It

Former Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey has said he is partially to blame for the centralization of the internet while revealing his regret for having done so.

Dorsey took to Twitter on April 2 where he made the comment, writing that the days of usenet, irc, the webeven email (w PGP)were amazing. centralizing discovery and identity into corporations really damaged the internet.

I realize Im partially to blame and regret it, he added.

Ukrainian-American software engineer and businessman Max Levchin, who is the CEO and co-founder of financial technology company, Affirm, responded to Dorseys Twitter post about the early days of the internet.

They were amazing for the number/type of people using it then. Internet changed from arthouse to blockbuster because it needed to gain an audience and make money. The subtlety of those days wouldnt work for todays user at all, Levchin wrote.

To this, Dorsey replied, Perhaps greater emphasis on protocol first and then interface would have helped. I agree there was less technology options around making money tho. It led to advertising dominating.

Dorsey, who helped launch Twitter in 2006, stepped down as chief executive in November 2021 and was succeeded in the role by Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal.

His latest post came just two days before Tesla CEO Elon Musk acquired a 9.2 percent passive stake in the company, according to a U.S. securities filing.

Musk bought nearly 73.5 million shares of Twitter on March 14, and according to Twitters closing price on April 1, the billionaires stake in the company was worth $2.89 billion.

Dorsey has a 2.25 percent stake in Twitter.

This is not the first time that Dorsey has supported decentralizing the internet, meaning it would be controlled by many as opposed to one. Decentralization could create less censorship and take back the power from Big Tech giants such as Google and Facebook, in many ways seeking a throwback to the early days of the internet.

After Twitter permanently removed former President Donald Trumps account from its social media platform due to his posts allegedly violating the companys Glorification of Violence policy, Dorsey said he did not celebrate or feel pride in having to do so.

I feel a ban is a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation. And a time for us to reflect on our operations and the environment around us, Dorsey said, adding that social media bans also set a precedent I feel is dangerous: the power an individual or corporation has over a part of the global public conversation.

Dorsey, who also co-founded and leads the financial services and digital payments company, Block Inc. (formerly called Square), has also funded Bluesky, touted in 2019 as a decentralized standard for social media that would allow for open and unregulated public conversation.

However, shortly after Dorseys 2019 announcement of Bluesky, the official Twitter account of Mastodon, a rival open-source decentralized social network, said the move was not an announcement of reinventing the wheel but rather this is announcing the building of a protocol that Twitter gets to control, like Google controls Android.
Undated handout file photo of the Cuadrilla hydraulic fracturing site at Preston New Road shale gas exploration site in Lancashire, United Kingdom. (Cuadrilla/PA)

UK Government Orders Scientific Review on Fracking as Energy Crisis Bites

The British government has ordered a review of the latest scientific evidence on fracking amid calls for lifting the ban on the practice to alleviate the energy crisis which has been exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The government on Tuesday commissioned the British Geological Survey to advise on the latest scientific evidence around shale gas extraction, the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy said in a statement.

Britains Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng arrives at 10 Downing Street in central London on Feb. 1, 2022. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said that it is absolutely right that we explore all possible domestic energy sources in light of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

However, unless the latest scientific evidence demonstrates that shale gas extraction is safe, sustainable, and of minimal disturbance to those living and working nearby, the pause in England will remain in place, he said.

Francis Egan, chief executive of energy company Cuadrilla Resources, said, The government clearly recognises the huge potential that shale gas offers this country, and this review may be a tentative first step towards overturning the moratorium and exploiting that potential.

We trust that this review will allow Britains huge shale gas resources to be exploited, he said, claiming it would create tens of thousands of jobs, bolster energy security, provide cheaper gas for local communities, and millions of pounds in tax revenues for northern councils.

It comes as the fossil fuel industry and some MPs have urged a restart to fracking or more extraction from North Sea oil and gas to secure energy supplies and ease prices.

The government is set to unveil its new energy security strategy this week, in which it is expected to set out plans to boost new nuclear power capacity, as well as solar and offshore wind.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a process in which liquid is pumped deep underground at high pressure to fracture shale rock and release gas or oil trapped within it.

The government imposed a moratorium on shale gas mining in England in 2019 after two minor earthquakes were attributed to fracking operations.

But there have been calls from Conservative lawmakers for the ban to be lifted to alleviate the acute energy crisis that has been going on since last year, which has hit households with a more than 50 percent increase in energy bills.

The calls have grown louder since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, prompting the UK to commit to phasing out imports of Russian oil by the end of the year.

PA Media contributed to this report.
Crime scene investigators on Sheepstor Road in Plymouth following the murder of Bobbi-Anne McLeod in November 2021. (Ben Birchall/PA)

UK: Musician Admits Murdering Teenager Bobbi-Anne McLeod

A musician has pleaded guilty to the murder of 18-year-old student Bobbi-Anne McLeod.

Cody Ackland, 24, entered the plea during a plea and trial preparation hearing at Plymouth Crown Court on Tuesday.

Ackland spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and admit murdering the teenager on a date between November 19 and 23 last year.

Cody Ackland in this undated police handout. (Devon and Cornwall Police/PA)

Prosecutor Richard Posner asked for the sentencing hearing to be adjourned due to outstanding pathology reports to be served.

Close family members of the teenager, including her mother, father and brother, sat in the courtroom while friends watched proceedings on a video link from an adjacent court.

The teenagers mother Donna McLeod was in tears throughout the brief hearing.

Posner told the court the prosecution would not be seeking a trial on a count of kidnap following Acklands plea to murder.

He said he was awaiting further evidence from a neuropathologists report that he hoped to be able to serve on the court before the end of the month.

Once he had received it, he would be ready to set out a full sentencing note detailing the facts of the murder.

Ray Tully QC, for Ackland, said that he would be providing the court with a psychiatric report about the defendant ahead of the sentencing hearing.

Judge Robert Linford adjourned sentencing until May 19 and remanded the defendant, of Radcliffe Close, Southway, Plymouth into custody.

The judge told him: You have pleaded guilty to murder for which the sentence is fixed by law.

I shall sentence you on May 19. The sentence will be a sentence of imprisonment for life.

The only issue will be the minimum term which I must impose pursant to Schedule 21 of the Sentencing Act 2020.

You will be remanded into custody until that date and you may go down.

A woman lays flowers on Sheepstor Road in Plymouth following the murder of Bobbi-Anne McLeod in November in this undated file image. (Ben Birchall/PA)

The judge also thanked the public for the commendable way you have once again behaved during proceedings.

Student McLeod was last seen waiting at a bus stop in Plymouth on the evening of Saturday November 20 last year, as she set off to meet friends.

Her body was found three days later near the beach at Bovisand, about seven miles from where she lived.

Police said there was no known link between McLeod and Ackland.

During an opening inquest held last year no cause of death for the teenager was given.

In the aftermath of McLeods disappearance, a friend told the PA news agency that she believed the victim didnt have a clue who her attacker or attackers were.

She said her Airpod headphones and tobacco had been found at the bus stop where she was last seen.

The fact Bobbis Airpods and baccy were at the bus stop, that shows she would have struggled, the friend said.

A candlelit vigil was also held at the spot where the teenager was last seen alive.

Her mother attended and was visibly distressed during the vigil but was able to thank the crowd for all the love and support her family had received.

Thank you for doing everything to try and find her and bring our baby home, she said.

One boy at the vigil, aged 16, had known Ms McLeod while she was still at the same school.

I hadnt seen her for ages and I feel really bad about that, but we used to hang around together at school, he said.

She was just sweet, just nice, I think thats why its hit me so hard, not that anyone deserves this, but its just awful that it happened to her.

Ackland was lead guitarist in Plymouth-based indy band Rakuda, who released their first EP in August last year.

The other members of Rakuda announced in November they would disband with immediate effect but weeks later said they would be taking a short hiatus from the music scene with a view to reforming in the spring of 2022.

Alison Hernandez, police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, said: I cant even start to imagine the pain that Bobbi-Anne McLeods family and friends have been through over these past few months.

While there is no justice that can bring Bobbi-Anne back, Im pleased this case will be concluded swiftly and I truly hope the family will get the answers they need to provide some closure on this terrible incident.

Id like to thank the police for their hard work in bringing Cody Ackland to justice.

Id also like to thank the community of Plymouth who have shown courage, empathy and incredible support during this dark time for the city.

Assistant chief constable of Devon and Cornwall Police Nikki Leaper added: Our thoughts remain with the McLeod family and those close to Bobbi-Anne who have had a daughter, sister and friend so cruelly taken from them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the Bundestag via live video from the embattled city of Kyiv in Berlin, Germany, on March 17, 2022. (Hannibal Hanschke/Getty Images)

Ukraine Unlikely to Take Back CrimeaDonbass Corridor Through Military Means: Zelenskyy

Ukraine is unlikely to resort to military means to take back Donbass and Crimea in the short term, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.

Russia has its own vision of Donbass, and Ukraine has its own. So I had a simple suggestion. I believe that we will not be able to agree on all points at once. This is impossible, even if we have negotiations, he said during an interview with Ukrainian media.

Ukrainian armed forces could lose thousands of soldiers if theyre ordered to take back Donbass and Crimea, which he called temporarily occupied territories.

It will also endanger the general security of his country as the group who is fighting in Donbass are the elite segment of the Ukrainian militaries.

Our state needs a strong army. And if we want to lose the most powerful, most experienced people because I want it now, we must understand that [Russian armed forces] will return to us, and not in two or three years, but in the same month. All the military know and think about it, he elaborated. This is a very serious story.

Taking back control of the city of Mariupol, which was taken by Russia after the invasion started on Feb. 24, is also very difficult, he said.

The remains of cars are seen in front of an apartment building destroyed during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 3, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

Zelenskyy made the remarks as the Russian armed forces withdrew from the outskirts of Kyiv after trying to occupy the Ukrainian capital in month-long battles and shifting to the disputed territories in eastern Ukraine.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, and the conflicts in Donbass between the Ukrainian military and Russia-backed separatists escalated into a war the same year.

Both areas have been de facto occupied by Russia or separatists.

The Kremlin said earlier that the Donbass is the main goal of the full-scale invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyy acknowledged that the intention of Russias military operation is to occupy the corridor connecting Crimea and Donbass, with Mariupol being a key city along the corridor.

Donbass, and the south of Ukraine, and the corridor to Crimea, and the Kherson region, and the Zaporizhzhia region, he said. We basically understand what they are doing.

A map by the U.K. Ministry of Defense shows the troop locations of Russia and Ukraine as of April 5. (U.K. Ministry of Defense)

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 4, 1,430 civilians have been killed and 2,097 injured in Ukraine since Russias invasion and over 4.2 million people have fled Ukraine.

Zelenskyys statement reaffirmed one of the two major concessions from the former Soviet country after the war started.

Ukrainian negotiators proposed a security guarantee mechanism including multiple nations at the end of March in the draft ceasefire deal. Crimea and Donbass are excluded from the proposal.

In another major concession, Ukraine renounced the pursuit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership.
By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

The Action Plan for the development of key areas of Russian-Azerbaijani cooperation for the period up to 2024 is being actively implemented.

The Russian Foreign Ministry made the remarks in a statement dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The statement noted that the action plan includes six road maps for trade, transport infrastructure, and high-tech industries, improvement of the efficiency of the economy and tourism, and cooperation in the field of innovative development and digital technologies.

An intensive political dialogue is being maintained at the highest and high levels. Over 150 interstate and intergovernmental agreements are included in the accumulated solid legal base. This ensures the progressive development of trade, economic, military-technical, inter-parliamentary, cultural, humanitarian and regional ties, the ministry said.

The Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation is working very effectively. At present, special attention is paid to investment cooperation and the creation of conditions for expanding the mutual presence of Russian and Azerbaijani companies in the markets of the two countries," the ministry added.

Moreover, the ministry emphasized that special attention is being paid to regional security issues in the South Caucasus.

The ministry expressed that commitment to the top-level trilateral statements of November 10, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021, between Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders following the second Karabakh war, remains an unconditional factor intended to ensure long-term peace, stability and prosperity in this region.

According to the ministry, Russia is one of the leading foreign trade partners of Azerbaijan.

It stressed that the trade turnover between the countries has demonstrated resilience to pandemic challenges and continued to grow in 2021.

Talking about Russian-Azerbaijani ties, the ministry emphasized the symbolism of the sides celebrating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations in a new capacity.

On February 22 this year, in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a Declaration on Allied Cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan. The provisions of this document are directed to the future, finalized the ministry.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia amounted to $2.9 billion in 2021, making Russia Azerbaijans third-largest partner.
Daughter of the President, Hajiya Fatima Buhari, has expressed satisfaction over the performance of IFAD value chain development programme (VCDP) in Taraba State.

Fatima Buhari who is the marketing enterprise development adviser to the International Funds for Agricultural Development (IFAD) stated this while interacting with rice and cassava farmers being supported by the IFAD's VCDP in the state.

This is even as she commended Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba for his tremendous support to the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP).

According to her, Ishaku has been outstanding in the payment of counterpart funding for the success of the project for the good of the people.

"I want to commend Governor Ishaku for his tremendous support to VCDP activities which has led to satisfactory performance by the state team.

"The performance of VCDP in Taraba is very satisfactory. The evidence of the success is so glaring and we are proud of this," she said.

Buhari also visited the Tika Kuru cassava process factory, an off taker for Taraba cassava farmers where she expressed satisfaction with the facilities at the company and pledged to ensure partnership in off-takers.

Mr Dinesh Tiwar, the general manager of the company commended VCDP for properly organizing farmers into clusters for easy farming business.

Earlier, Mr Irimiya Musa, the State Programme Coordinator (SPC) said the Taraba VCDP was happy to play host to Hajiya Buhari and her team.

He also lauded Governor Ishaku for the prompt payment of counterpart funding to allow for timely activities which has been responsible for the successes recorded in rice and cassava production, processing and marketing in the state.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looks on as he's surrounded by Ukrainian servicemen in Bucha, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 4, (2022. REUTERS/Marko Djurica)

Ukraine Warns of More Atrocities in Formerly Russian-Occupied Areas Near Kyiv

Ukraine said that more evidence has emerged of mass killings of civilians and other atrocities by Russian forces in regions around Kyiv, while dismissing Russian denials of committing war crimes as lies and new old tactics of Russian propagandists.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address early on April 5 that he had visited cities in the Kyiv region that had been liberated from Russian occupying forces, namely Stoyanka, Irpin, and Bucha.

Zelenskyy said the cities were simply ruined, with destroyed cars and burnt military equipment littering the roads. While the bodies of killed Ukrainian civilians have mostly been removed from the streets of the towns near Kyiv, where they lay as Russian forces withdrew, Zelenskyy said that in the yards, in the houses, the dead still remain.

There is ample evidence that it is Russian troops who destroy peaceful cities, abduct, torture, kill civilians, Zelenskyy said, noting that an investigation has been launched into potential crimes committed by Russian forces and that the findings will be made globally known.

A Ukrainian soldier checks a destroyed Russian tank in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Zelenskyy didnt disclose evidence of the alleged crimes, saying only that all crimes of the occupiers are documented and vowing to bring the Russian military to justice for war crimes.

Shocking images from Bucha emerged over the weekend, showing bodies lying dead in the street, with some thrown in hastily dug graves.

At present, there is information about more than 300 people killed and tortured in Bucha alone. It is likely that the list of victims will be much larger when the whole city is checked. And this is only one city, Zelenskyy said.

Russian officials have denied killing civilians in Bucha and accused Ukraine of staging a provocation.

These are fakes that matured in the cynical imagination of Ukrainian propaganda, said Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of Russias Security Council.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and deputy security council chief Dmitry Medvedev attend a meeting with members of the government in Moscow on Jan. 15, 2020. (Sputnik/Dmitry Astakhov/Pool via Reuters/File Photo)

In his remarks on April 5, Zelenskyy dismissed Russian denials that its forces committed war crimes in Bucha and elsewhere as the same lies as when Russian-backed separatists denied shooting down a Malaysian plane over Donbas in 2014.

A 15-month investigation by a Dutch-led team concluded that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was downed by a Buk missile brought in from Russian territory and fired from a field controlled by Russian-backed separatists, killing all 283 passengers on board.

Russia denied any involvement in downing the plane, while Russian-backed media ran claims at the time that the plane had been shot down by Ukrainian soldiers, according to the BBC.

People walk amongst the debris at the crash site of the MH17 passenger plane near the village of Grabovo, Ukraine, on July 17, 2014. (Dmitry Lovetsky/File via AP)

Zelenskyy recalled the situation around the MH17 tragedy, saying that Russian-backed sources blamed Ukraine and even came up with various conspiracy theories, including going so far as to claim that the corpses were thrown on board the plane before it crashed.

Now they are doing the same thing. The same lies. They are trying to distort the facts. But, as then, they will not succeed. They will not be able to deceive the whole world, Zelenskyy said.

Claiming that Russias current denials of war crimes are new old tactics of Russian propagandists, Zelenskyy accused Russia of launching a false campaign to conceal their guilt in the mass killings of civilians in Mariupol, the southern port city that has been under weeks of bombardment and urban combat.

Probably, now the occupiers will try to hide the traces of their crimes. They did not do this in Bucha when they retreated. But in another area it is possible, he said.

The remains of cars are seen in front of an apartment building destroyed during the UkraineRussia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 3, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

Zelenskyy earlier accused Russia of committing war crimes and genocide in Bucha, with the discovery of the dead strewn in the streets and in mass graves sparking global outrage and renewed calls for more punitive sanctions against Russia.

Following the emergence of evidence of potential war crimes by Russian forces in Bucha, President Joe Biden once again labeled Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal and vowed to ratchet up sanctions.

Moscow has repeatedly denied that its forces have targeted civilians or committed any war crimes.
Ukrainian Producer Provides Inspiration Through His Films

A Ukrainian film director and producer told The Epoch Times sister media NTD about his new film and the inspiration he hopes to provide to the people of Ukraine.

From NTD News
Traders, brokers and clerks shout and gesture on the first day of in-person trading at the London Metal Exchange in London on Sept. 6, 2021. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

UKs Financial Regulation Authorities Conducting Review Into London Metal Exchange

City regulators have launched an investigation into the London Metal Exchange after it suspended nickel trading last month.

On March 8, the exchange, which is owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, suspended its operations for more than a week and canceled billions of dollars of trades after experiencing significant volatility, prompted by supply fears amid Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

The volatility put pressure on commodity prices and saw nickel costs rise to $100,000 a tonne within a short period of time, leading the exchange to suspend trading for the first time in three decades.

The U.K.s Financial Regulation Authorities (FCA) said on Monday that it would conduct a review of the exchanges handling of the situation to determine what lessons might be learned in relation to the LMEs governance and market oversight arrangements.

The Bank of England said it would also undertake a similar review of the operations of the bourses clearinghouse, LME Clear, to determine whether any lessons might be learned related to its governance and risk management.

Both the FCA and the Bank intend that these reviews will be assisted by the appointment of skilled persons to report on the matter, regulators said. The FCA and the Bank will consider these reports in determining whether further action should be taken and will announce next steps in due course.

Meanwhile, the banks Prudential Regulation Authority and the FCA will be engaging with firms who held significant positions in the market to assess the effectiveness of their risk management and governance during the period.

In a statement (pdf), the LME Group said it welcomes the announcement by the regulators.

In addition, the LME Group will commission an independent review of broader events in the nickel market leading up to the suspension to identify any actions that could be taken to minimize the risk of a disorderly market arising in the future, it added.

The events leading up to the suspension and resumption of Nickel trading were unprecedented, the bourse said. The LME fully recognizes the impact of these events on a broad spectrum of market participants and understands that not all participants agreed with the course of action undertaken.

The LME sought to act in the interests of the market as a whole and acknowledges the concerns expressed by some market participants.

It added that it is committed to ensuring a full review of the actions taken by all participants, including the LME itself is undertaken, and that appropriate actions are taken to both restore confidence and support the long-term health and efficiency of the market.

The events on March 8 came as western sanctions against Russia threatened supplies from the country, creating panic in the market and leading buyers to rush for nickel, a metal that is crucial for making stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries.

Nickel, which traded between US$22,750 and US$25,260 a tonne in February, briefly hit $100,000 a tonne in the March 8 trading session.

One of the worlds top producers of stainless steel, Chinas Tsingshan Holding Group, built up a massive short position ahead of the surge in nickel prices earlier this month and ultimately suffered $3 billion in losses.
Workers transfer daily food supplies and necessities for local residents during the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai on April 5, 2022. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Unrecorded Deaths Plague Hospitals in Locked-Down Shanghai

In 20 days, she would turn 100. The family had been counting the days to bring the Shanghai woman in front of 100 small cakes, surrounded by sparkling candles and grandchildren who grew into adults under her loving care. Little did they know that day would never come.

The woman tested positive for COVID-19 on March 26 and again two days later, and so was sent to the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center for treatment. During the following three days, staff from the hospital assured relatives in multiple phone calls that they had made arrangements for the 99-year-olds care, that she was in pretty good shape and they neednt worry, a relative relayed in a social media post. Her test results turned negative on March 31.

Then the family was told that she was deada result of organ failure caused by existing conditions and aggravated by the virus, the hospital said.

The womans death is one case among many coming out of medical facilities in Shanghai, the affluent Chinese city of 26 million now undergoing a full-scale lockdown in the regimes bid to gain an upper hand over the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

While the causes of death differ, the opaqueness from the citys authorities has frustrated locals, whose grievances have been quickly building as they struggle to survive under the regimes heavy-handed zero-COVID policies.

The center is one of several hospitals seeing a surge in COVID infections, according to interviews and online pleas from caretakers and distressed locals who have families in those facilities.

Nationwide, Chinas official COVID-19 count has been surging at a pace unseen in the past two years since the regime said it had controlled the outbreak in Wuhan in 2020. Caseload on Wednesday hit over 20,000, nearly doubling that of the previous day, with Shanghai identified as the principal virus hotpot. Although residents and experts have consistently argued that Chinese officials have a pattern of underreporting numbers.

China only recorded five COVID deaths since May 1, 2020, and so far, no deaths have been officially reported in the city nor anywhere else in China in the current virus wave. But accounts from localsincluding claims of elderly deaths after contracting COVID-19 and dead bodies left outside hospital doorspaint a far grimmer picture.

Zero deaths to date in this COVID outbreak in Shanghai? wrote an incredulous user whose grandmother had died at one of the citys largest elderly care facilities Shanghai Donghai Elderly Care Hospital, less than a week after receiving a positive COVID-19 test. Who is lying and who should be held accountable?

Health workers wearing personal protective gear walk next to a residential compound during the second stage of a Covid-19 lockdown in Jingan district in Shanghai on April 1, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

The woman who shared about the loss of her 99-year-old grandmother in a widely shared post identified herself as the CEO of a film production company in Shanghai. She didnt respond to inquiries from The Epoch Times.

The saddest and most unacceptable regret is that we werent able to see grandma one last time and couldnt dress her in the burial clothes she wished, she wrote in a lengthy post on April 5, using the moniker Ruru. The hospital said the womans body would have to be cremated as with those who die of infection.

Ruru said the 94-year-old grandmother of her acquaintance had died about a week earlier at Zhoupu Hospital, which was turned into a centralized quarantine facility on March 22. A woman surnamed Li said in a separate social media post that the same had happened to her 73-year-old father at the Donghai hospital, where he had lived for eight years requiring constant care due to his paralysis. The man died on March 30, six days after the family was informed about his COVID-19 infection and subsequent quarantine.

A man stands behind barriers during lockdown as a measure against the Covid-19 coronavirus in Jingan district, in Shanghai on March 31, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Some dead bodies were laid on the streets in front of the Donghai hospital because there were no relatives there to claim them, according to Ruru.

Her grandmother was housed at the Donghai facility prior to testing positive for the virus. In an admission of cluster outbreaks inside the hospital, doctors had pleaded with Rurus family to be patient when her grandmother got infected, saying that only five out of over 20 doctors there were still healthy, she said.

The Epoch Times couldnt independently verify these claims, but the allegations relating to Shanghai hospitals align with investigative reports by Chinese and Western outlets. A now-deleted report by Chinese media Caixin cited a nurse who carried an 87-year-olds body from a patient ward at 3 a.m. into the mortuary, where around 10 more bodies lay. Shanghai Pudong Funeral House confirmed receiving about a dozen bodies from Donghai hospital on April 1, with some more going to other funeral homes, according to the report.

Six orderlies from the elderly care facility had previously told The Wall Street Journal about witnessing the removal of bodies from the hospital, where they said at least 100 people had become infected.

Calls for help from hospital caretakers and staff members have also proliferated on the internet. Some said they werent told about outbreaks in the hospital when reporting for work and became trapped inside sealed wards with the infected. Authorities also threatened to cut all their pay if they failed to show up, some said.

Its a living hell, wrote one man whose wife, a healthcare worker from Shanghai Huangpu Mental Health Center, had been sealed inside for eight days. He said that 50 out of 500 staff members have become infected, so have nearly all patients.

Ruru also reported receiving pressure from authorities regarding her online comments. After her post about the 94-year-old womans death gathered 4 million views online, she said she got several calls from two different local police stations to delete it, because it was too negative and could be exploited by those with ulterior motives.

A worker wearing a protective gear stands next to barriers during lockdown in Jingan district, in Shanghai on March 31, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

A doctor from Shanghais Yangsi Hospital, when reached by phone on April 3, told The Epoch Times that she didnt know how many COVID-19 patients there were at the hospital. Its not proper for me to ask about these matters, she said. She hung up when asked if anyone could confirm such numbers.

Wei Yan (pseudonym) had been video-calling her 95-year-old grandmother regularly since the citys Tongkang Hospital closed to the public late last year. Then, around March 26, she started noticing hazmat suits among caretakers in the background. Weis grandmother tested positive three days later. Doctors and nurses in chat groups wouldnt answer any questions from relatives for the following three days.

More than 30 seniors had fallen sick with COVID-19 at the same facility as of April 1, Wei said.

Worried about her grandmothers heart disease and high blood pressure, Wei had asked to go into the hospital to care for her, saying she would sign an agreement waiving the hospitals responsibility. But the hospital would not let us in no matter what, she told The Epoch Times.

The hospital had told those inside not to reveal the situation to the outside, she said. Even caretakers have to rely on guesswork.

Gu Xiaohua contributed to this report.
The Admiral Gorshkov frigate of the Russian navy launches a Zircon hypersonic cruise missile in the White Sea, on Nov. 29, 2021, in a still image from real-time camera footage released by AP. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

US Conducts Hypersonic Missile Test After Russia Used Similar Weapon

The United States said it tested a hypersonic missile successfully for the second time, just weeks after Russias Defense Ministry said it fired such a weapon in Ukraine.

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) confirmed the hypersonic test in a Tuesday news release. The test was carried out in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force, involving the Lockheed Martin version of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC).

This Lockheed Martin HAWC flight test successfully demonstrated a second design that will allow our warfighters to competitively select the right capabilities to dominate the battlefield, HAWC program manager Andrew Knoedler said in a statement. These achievements increase the level of technical maturity for transitioning HAWC to a service program of record.

The vehicle containing the hypersonic missile was released via a carrier aircraft and was boosted to its Aerojet Rocketdyne scramjet engine ignition envelope, which quickly accelerated to and maintained cruise faster than Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) for an extended period of time.

It then reached altitudes greater than 65,000 feet and flew for more than 300 miles, said DARPAs news release.

We are still analyzing flight test data, but are confident that we will provide the U.S. Air Force and Navy with excellent options to diversify the technology available for their future missions, Knoedler added.

Lockheed Martin was given a nearly $1 billion contract with DARPA to develop its HWAC system, which can, according to the release, be used for land attacks. However, the firm proposed a similar system to the U.S. Navy to make maritime strikes or to be carried by the F-35C stealth fighter, according to reports.

While DARPAs news release did not make mention of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russian officials in March claimed they used hypersonic missiles against Ukrainian targets. President Joe Biden in late March stated that such weapons were used, adding that it is a consequential weapon.

Theyve just launched their hypersonic missile because its the only thing they can get through with absolute certainty, Biden said. It doesnt make that much difference except its almost impossible to stop it. Theres a reason theyre using it.

At the same time, the UKs Ministry of Defense said that the firing of Russian Kinzhal missiles in Ukraine wasat the timehighly unlikely to materially affect the outcome of Russias campaign in Ukraine.

Amid the conflict, the Pentagon confirmed last month that it canceled a scheduled test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, to avoid escalating tensions with Russia.
To Deter China Threat, US Must Increase Support of Taiwan, Avoid Mistakes That Made Ukraine Vulnerable: Lawmakers

The United States and its allies cannot afford to take a passive stance with regard to Taiwan and plan to rely only on sanctions in the event that Beijing acts on long-held plans to invade the sovereign territory.

Thats according to Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) and Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.), who offered their insights at an April 5 virtual event sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace entitled What Russias Invasion of Ukraine Means for the Indo-Pacific.

While Taiwan and Ukraine are similar in respects, namely in the danger posed to them by much larger neighboring authoritarian powers, the sanctions applied in response to Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine are not an all-purpose solution and might not prove an effective punishment against Beijing, they said. Hence other options such as bolstering Taiwans defensive capabilities must be on the table.

A month ago, the world watched in horror as Vladimir Putin began an unwarranted and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The question on a lot of peoples minds is whether Putins illegal acts will encourage other authoritarian regimes across the globe, Chabot said.

While the ramifications of the Ukraine invasion are myriad and complex, Chabot believes that in the context of Indo-Pacific geopolitical relations, the issue of overwhelming importance is the impact on the attitudes and actions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

While the CCPs strategy may evolve, they are pursuing the same gray-zone tactics against several countries in the region that Russia is engaged in. This includes military activity to advance baseless territorial claims against, for example, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and India, Chabot said.

Nations in the Indo-Pacific share a few general goals such as improving their economies through trade and development and boosting the quality of life for their citizens, he said. But Beijings territorial ambitions have forced a new arms race on the nations of the region. Taiwan, in particular, is a coveted prize for Chinese leader Xi Jinping because possession of Taiwan would dramatically expand Beijings ability to project strength both in the Pacific and in Southeast Asia, Chabot said. It would have the further effect of hampering the United States in any efforts to support friendly governments in the region, making the United States look weaker.

Another factor that makes the Taiwan situation unique is the territorys status as the leading maker of semiconductors in the world, Chabot continued. Such products are essential to the new cold war in which Beijing wants to square off against the United States, he said. Chabot called Taiwans spirited Chinese-speaking democracy a direct threat to CCP ideology and control.

The biggest implication of Putins invasion for the Indo-Pacific is that Ukraine must serve as a wake-up call. We must deter Xi Jinping from following Putins playbook. Hopefully, hes learning the right lesson here: dont bite off more than you can chew, the lawmaker said.

But whatever lessons Xi takes away from the Ukraine crisis, imposing sanctions on Beijing over a Taiwan invasion might be a difficult proposition given the communist regimes dominance of the markets for cobalt, lithium, and other rare earth minerals. The corner on the market that Beijing currently holds has drawn concern from President Joe Biden, who said last month that we cant build a future thats made in America if the United States continues to depend on China for the supply of rare earth metals.

Its going to make it a lot tougher to sanction them if they take military action against Taiwan, Chabot said.

Given these realities, the lawmaker said he favors ramping up Taiwans defense and deterrence capabilities, and avoiding the kind of stalling that deprived Ukraine of the resources it needed to resist Russias invasion.

We need to provide aid earlier, and provide deterrence earlier in the process. We knew for months and months that [the Ukraine invasion] was likely to happen, but we really didnt step up getting lethal aid into their hands quickly enough, he said.

Bera said that similar issues are at play elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region. For example, India, which has had border conflicts with China in the past, has its own concerns around territorial integrity. New Dehli, according to Bera, is unlikely to receive support from Russia in any border dispute with China, as Moscow would probably take Beijings side. This creates an opportunity for the United States to bolster its presence in the region by solidifying economic and defense ties with India.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) meeting his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during his first visit to China since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February, at their meeting in Huangshan in China's Anhui Province, on March 30, 2022. (STR/CCTV/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese State Media Spreads Anti-US Propaganda Amid Ukraine War for Domestic Audience: Expert

Chinese state media publicly announced support for Russias invasion of Ukraine last week, following the arrival of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in China.

Lavrov arrived in Huangshan City, Anhui Province, on March 30 for a two-day meeting, presided over by Chinas foreign minister Wang Yi, to discuss issues surrounding Afghanistan. Foreign Ministers from Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Wang told Lavrov that China-Russia relations have withstood the new test of an evolving international landscape, and both countries should promote China-Russia relations in the new era to higher levels.

One day prior to the meeting, on March 29, Chinese state media, Peoples Daily, published an article titled, US Has Inescapable Responsibilities for Ukraine Crisis, in which it claimed that the United States was the initiator and the biggest driving force of the Ukraine crisis.

According to two Chinese commentators, this new line of propaganda is merely another strategy used by the CCP to maintain control.

Zheng Jie, a political commentator based in Japan, called it domestic propaganda.

The tremendous number of articles being published about the United States responsibilities is a form of brainwashing of the Chinese people, Zheng told The Epoch Times. Basically, the CCP tries to maintain its legitimacy by characterizing the United States as an enemy and blaming the United States for Chinas economic recession.

Lu Tianming, a U.S.-based China expert and current affairs commentator, agreed.

The CCPs values are the opposite of the Western democracy and freedom, so its not possible for it to change stance, he told The Epoch Times. It is using the same old tactic to incite anti-American sentiments in the country.

Ellen Wan contributed to this report.
A Palestinian worker holds wheat grains at traditional a wheat mill, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 21, 2022. Russia's invasion of Ukraine could mean less bread on the table for many countries where millions already struggling to survive. (Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images)

Wheat Prices Spike On Potential Russia Sanctions

U.S. wheat prices climbed for the second consecutive day amidst reports that more sanctions are being considered against Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine and alleged crimes against the civilian population.

U.S. wheat futures registered its lowest closing price in a month on April 1 at $9.84 per bushel. After rising on Monday, it is now trading at around $10.55 per bushel as of 13: 55 UTC on April 5, an increase of over 7 percent from Fridays close. Talks of additional sanctions on Russia are pushing up wheat prices.

While speaking to reporters recently, President Joe Biden affirmed that he is going to add more sanctions on Russia. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier confirmed Washingtons stance on the matter in an April 3 interview with CNN.

Were tightening the existing sanctions. Were adding new ones. Were doing it in full coordination with Europeans and other partners around the world. And one of the results is that the Russian economy is reeling, Blinken said.

The E.U. is also working to impose a new slate of sanctions against Russia following allegations that Moscow committed war crimes in Ukraine by killing around 300 civilians in the town of Bucha. Further sanctions would be decided in the coming days, a German spokesperson said to reporters on April 4.

Imposing more sanctions on Russia will likely restrict the countrys exports of wheat while the ongoing war will prevent Ukraine from cultivating a large portion of its eastern regions. As Black Sea ports are closed, shipments from Ukraine have stopped.

Russia and Ukraine combined account for 29 percent of global wheat exports. The two nations are major suppliers of wheat to Northern African and Middle Eastern nations like Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, etc.

Though Ukraines agriculture minister said that he hopes for quite a large harvest of grain this year and expressed hopes that the country will be able to export the grain, he warned that prices will continue to climb as long as the war persists.

In America, farmers have planted two percent of intended acres and three percent of spring wheat acres as of April 3, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Only 30 percent of the winter crop was graded good-to-excellent, a decline of 13 points from last year.

Until the markets comfortable that well have a really good crop, I think youll see premium put in this market, Chuck Shelby, president of Risk Management Commodities, said to Reuters.

Wheat stocks in the country fell to their lowest level in 14 years as of March 31 at 1.025 billion bushels. The USDA also reported that spring wheat plantings were projected to fall to 11.2 million. All these factors are also adding upward pressure on U.S. wheat prices.
A woman receives a booster dose of Covaxin, a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Bharat Biotech, at a vaccination centre in New Delhi, India, on Jan. 10, 2022. (Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

WHO Suspends UN Supply of Bharat Biotechs Covaxin Vaccine for COVID-19

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday it has suspended supply through United Nations agencies of COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin, produced by Indias Bharat Biotech, to allow the manufacturer to upgrade facilities and address deficiencies found in an inspection.

The WHO asked countries that have received the vaccine to take appropriate actions, according to the statement, but did not specify what the appropriate actions would be.

The WHO said the vaccine is effective and no safety concerns exist, but the suspension of production for export will result in the interruption of Covaxin supply. It said the suspension is in response to the outcomes of WHO post emergency use listing (EUL) inspection conducted from March 14 to 22, and the vaccine maker has indicated its commitment to suspend production of Covaxin for export.

Bharat Biotech did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside business hours.

On Friday, the vaccine manufacturer said it was slowing production of Covaxin, as demand was dropping along with a fall in infections and wider immunization coverage in the country.

The WHO said that the company has committed to comply by addressing the GMP deficiencies and is developing a corrective and preventive action plan, for submission to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and WHO.
A farmer harvests wheat in a field in the countryside of al-Kaswa, south of Syria's capital Damascus, on June 18, 2020. (Louai Beshara/AFP via Getty Images)

Farmers Struggling With Increased Food Demands, Supply Chain Disruptions

Talk of food shortages and empty shelves has been at the forefront of agricultural discussions around the globe for more than two years as production demands have increased and farmers are scrambling to match the pace.

Aggravating the economic aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain recovery efforts was Russias invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. That dealt another significant blow to global agriculture, as the conflict involves two of the worlds top wheat producers.

Further impeding global farmers are the limited availability and inflated price of fertilizer.

Russia is one of the worlds largest producers of fertilizer, which was a part of the U.S. sanctions list until March 24, when the Department of the Treasury removed key agricultural items from the embargo because of critical shortages.

However, the move may prove ineffective as Russias deputy secretary of the countrys security council, Dmitry Medvedev, announced on April 1 that Moscow wouldnt sell agricultural products to countries it deemed as enemies, effectively weaponizing key commodities.

Prior to the RussiaUkraine conflict or even the pandemic, it became apparent that there were weak links in the global food chain.

In 2007, food prices skyrocketed because of rising oil costs, explosive demand for corn-based fuels, transportation, financial market speculation, and low grain reserves. At the time, the director-general of the World Food Programme called the combination a perfect storm.

Farmers are now facing a sharp rise in demand for food commodities, which could increase by 98 percent by the year 2050. Combined with the pandemic aftermath and war-related sanctions, global agriculture is riding out a new type of storm.

Farmers harvest with their combines in a wheat field near the village of Tbilisskaya, Russia, July 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Vitaly Timkiv, File)

A Hard Lesson Learned

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed vulnerabilities in the human food supply chain, professor Curtis Youngs told The Epoch Times. Hes the M.E. Ensminger Endowed Chair of International Animal Agriculture at Iowa State University.

He said these vulnerabilities are the reason the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now investing in small- to medium-sized enterprises that process animal-sourced foods.

When COVID hit, the United States learned that having only a few very large meat processors, although efficient from an individual business perspective, created a vulnerability when one or more of those processors closed temporarily due to worker health issues, Youngs said.

Ironing out the kinks in the animal-sourced food chain also has proven important in less developed countries, such as those in Africa and Asia, where streamlined livestock operations are directly linked to greater economic and food security.

The USDA invested $3 billion in September to address the challenges and costs associated with market disruptions for commodities and supply chain issues, along with drought and animal health.

During an October investigation, Erkut Sonmez, an associate professor of supply chain management and analytics at the University of NebraskaLincoln, said production challenges and supply chain disruptions werent going to dissipate. He explained that capacity limitations in the food supply chain exist from start to finish.

The disruptions to the agricultural supply chains are more apparent and more important compared to other supply chains.

On one side, we have a shortage of food supply while people are looking for food, and on the other, we have food actually rotting or going bad in containers in some parts of the world, he explained.

He noted that labor shortages especially in fresh producetransportation problems, and raw material shortages on the production end are at the core of the problems in attempting to ramp up food production in the wake of the pandemic.

But the compounding effect of the RussiaUkraine conflict isnt to be underestimated, especially in nations that already suffer food insecurity, Youngs says.

Africa, in particular, has a heavy dependence on imported grains from Russia and Ukraine.

To me, it is quite unsettling that a human decision to engage in war is affecting so many innocent people, Youngs said.

A baker prepares Egyptian traditional flatbread at a bakery in Cairo on March 2, 2022. The Russian tanks and missiles attacking Ukraine are also threatening the food supply and livelihoods of people in Europe, Africa, and Asia who rely on the vast, fertile farmlands of the Black Sea region. (Nariman El-Mofty/AP Photo)

Small Farming Could Be Key

Fields of less than one hectare (2.47 acres) represent 70 percent of the estimated 600 million farms in the world. Some experts believe that this could become a key factor in increasing global food production and mitigating supply chain disruptions. Additionally, small-scale farming plays an important social and economic role, creating jobs in rural areas and helping reduce poverty in communities.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, 81.3 percent of rural farms belong to families, which accounts for more than 60 million jobs. The main source of employment in rural areas is smallholder farms.

Small farms also account for 78 percent of agro-business in India, which is one of the worlds top food-producing nations.

The United States, China, and Brazil are also among the largest food generators.

Last year, the USDA provided $700 million in economic relief to small farmers in the United States. Small family farms, where the majority of the business is owned by the operator and relatives, made up nearly 91 percent of U.S. farms as of 2021.

In countries such as the United States, smallholder farmers often have outside income that offers unique advantages over their counterparts in less economically developed countries, according to Youngs.

They can often afford to invest in production practices that enable them to target specialty, niche markets such as the direct-to-restaurant trade or online direct-to-consumer markets, he said.

Localized supply chains created by family farmers come with the added benefit of lower transportation costs, less labor required on the production end, and help mitigate supply risk.
An alleged Janjaweed militia leader has pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the first ever trial at the International Criminal Court dealing with Sudan's Darfur conflict of nearly two decades ago.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, is accused of overseeing thousands of pro-government Janjaweed fighters responsible for persecution, murder, rape and torture during the 2003-2004 height of the violence in which hundreds of thousands were killed.

"I am innocent of all of these charges," septuagenarian Abd-Al-Rahman, told judges after the charges were read out at the start of his case on Tuesday.

Abd-Al-Rahman, whom prosecutors say was also known as Ali Kushayb, voluntarily surrendered to The Hague-based court in June 2020 after 13 years on the run.

He has denied the charges.

20 years after the Darfur war, 1.6million remain displaced

The trial comes amid an upsurge in what humanitarian groups say is inter-communal violence in Darfur since the end of the United Nations and African Union mission there.

Decades after the worst of the fighting, the United Nations estimates some 1.6 million people are still internally displaced in Darfur.

Darfur's conflict first erupted when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against the Sudanese government, which responded with a counter-insurgency.

Khartoum mobilised mostly Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, to crush the revolt, unleashing a wave of violence that Washington and activists say amounted to genocide.

Abd-Al-Rahman has been accused of 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity and could face up to life imprisonment if convicted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council via video link in New York City, on April 5, 2022. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Zelenskyy Demands Russia Get Expelled From UN Security Council

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday told the U.N. Security Council that Russia should be removed from the U.N. body over what he said were atrocities that were committed near Kyiv.

In an address, the Ukrainian leader said Russia should be held accountable and urged the United Nations to take action. Over the weekend, Kyiv officials alleged that Russian forces tortured and massacred civilians in Bucha, which Moscow has categorically denied while accusing the Ukraine government of staging a provocation.

Now the world can see what Russian military did in Bucha, but the world has yet to see what they have done in other occupied cities and regions of our country, Zelenskyy said, adding that the U.N. Security Council should dissolve altogether if it doesnt take action against Moscow.

If there is no alternative and no option, then the next option would be [to] dissolve yourself altogether, Zelenskyy remarked.

Russia, he added, should be removed as a permanent member of the Security Council. The United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia are the only permanent members.

We are dealing with a state that is turning the veto [in] the U.N. Security Council into the right to die, Zelenskyy said in his address. This undermines the whole architecture of global security and allows them to go unpunished.

The main thing is today, its time to transform the system, the United Nations, he told the Security Council.

The Kremlin did not issue a public response to Zelenskyys remarks on Tuesday. However, earlier in the day, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov alleged that Ukrainian forces staged the massacre in Bucha and are planning to stage more in other areas.

The troops of the 72nd Ukrainian Main Center for Psychological Operations conducted another staged filming of civilians allegedly killed by violent actions of the Russian armed forces in order for it to be distributed through the Western media, Konashenkov said during a briefing, according to state television.

The Epoch Times has not been able to independently verify either Ukraines or Russias claims about the Bucha massacre. Photos and video footage uploaded online by Kyiv officials appeared to show mass graves and bodies lying in the streets.

Also on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asserted that the focus on Bucha is an attempt by the United States and NATO members to disrupt peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

We tend to think that the reason lies in the desire to find a reason to disrupt the ongoing negotiations. And to do it exactly at the moment when, as they say, the light, even if not very bright, but nevertheless, began to dawn, Lavrov said via state-run media.
Anderson Hospital has been named one of the best hospitals in the United States by Newsweek magazine in its annual "Worlds Best Hospitals" rankings released in March. The 2022 list lands Anderson Hospital in the top six percent of 6,090 hospitals in the United States.



Newsweek is a premier news magazine and website that has been bringing high-quality journalism to readers around the globe for more than 80 years. This marks the fourth year of their Worlds Best Hospitals rankings.



Many medical institutions struggled with challenges over the course of the pandemic but what has set the world's leading hospitals apart is their continued ability to deliver the highest-quality patient care and conduct critical medical research even as they focused on battling COVID, stated Nancy Cooper, global editor-in-chief.

This prestigious award is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry-ranking provider. Newsweek and Statista developed a complex methodology to ensure the quality and validity of the ranking. Three data sources were used for the evaluation, including hospital recommendations from peers, patient experience and medical key performance indicators (patient safety, hygiene measures and quality of treatment).
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A group of Edwardsville High School students are spending a weekend in New York City for the musical experience of a lifetime.

EHS Choir Director Emily Ottwein is taking 23 students to New York to perform in Total Vocal with Deke Sharon at 2 p.m. Eastern time (1 p.m. Central time) Sunday at Carnegie Hall.

The group will fly to New York on Thursday morning and will return on Monday evening.

Sharon is the arranger for all of the Pitch Perfect movies, and this will be the first appearance for the Edwardsville students at his event, but it will be the second appearance for EHS in New York City.

We took a group to New York three years ago, but we sang with a different clinician, Eric Whitacre, who is a big name in choral music, Ottwein said.

About four years ago, I got a call from a concert venue in New York called Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) and they were doing a concert by Dan Forrest, who is another composer.

They had been searching on YouTube and found a video of our choir singing one of Dan Forrests songs. They invited us to perform with them based off that video, but the concert was too soon for us to make it work financially through fundraising.

Instead, Ottwein asked if EHS could perform at a later concert, so she submitted another performance video, and the group was selected again.

Thats when we sang with Eric Whitacre in 2019, which was an amazing experience, Ottwein said. We were supposed to sing with him again two years ago, but COVID got in the way and the concert was canceled.

This year, we chose the Deke Sharon concert because it fit with our schedule. Im really excited and they say this is one of their most popular concerts. Deke Sharon is supposed to be very charismatic, and he works well with the students.

The Edwardsville contingent will meet at 4 a.m. Thursday at the high school and will leave for New York on a 7:30 a.m. flight. They are scheduled to arrive at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time Thursday.

The group will rehearse with Sharon on Friday and Saturday before it performs at Carnegie Hall on Sunday.

Total Vocal with Deke Sharon includes students from high schools around the nation, and Ottwein expects about 150 students will perform on Sunday.

In addition to the full group of 23 Edwardsville students that will perform with the other students, 16 of the EHS students will be singing a song by themselves, while nine students will perform a short solo.

For those 16 students who are from our choral group, I had to submit a recording to be considered, and Mr. Sharon had to approve the song, Ottwein said. They will be on the stage by themselves singing the song Loch Lomond.

The concert company was also looking for some things to fill out the show and we have nine students singing little snippets of solos as part of the larger group. Its quite an opportunity for our group and the Loch Lomond song is self-directed, so they dont need me to direct them.

Raising the money for the trip to New York, which includes airfare and a four-night hotel stay, was part of a fundraising effort that took about two years.

The trip is open to juniors and seniors, plus sophomores that are in our auditioned groups, and once theyre invited for the trip, they start fundraising, Ottwein said. If we sell pizzas or something else, the money goes into our booster account in the students name and when its time to make payments, they can use that money directly for the cost of the trip.

Our goal is to go on a trip every two years, so when students come in as freshmen, they start putting money into that account.

Ottwein saluted District 7 administrators for their efforts in helping to make the students Carnegie Hall concert a reality.

Were so grateful for the support that Dr. (Patrick) Shelton (superintendent of District 7), the school board, Dr. Steve Stuart, the EHS Principal, and all the administration has given for the performing arts, Ottwein said. These kids are getting to do what they love to do and couldnt do so without such great support from the district."
The Senate race provides an opportunity for Mr Oshiomhole to redeem his political image after he was unceremoniously removed as the APC national chairman and his candidate in the Edo 2020 governorship election defeated by Governor Godwin Obaseki.

The former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has declared his intention to contest for the Senate in 2023.

Mr Oshiomhole, who has just turned 70, wants to represent the Edo North District under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The former national chairman of the APC made the declaration on Monday at an APC meeting held in his country home, Iyamoh, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo.

He said he had consulted the people in the district, his family, friends and political associates over his ambition.

"Many people have been asking me if I will run for the Senate, but I pleaded with them to wait until our national convention when I would have made up my mind," Mr Oshiomhole said.

"Now that the APC convention is over and we now have a new National Working Committee, I have decided to contest for the Senate come 2023," he added.

He said he wants to go to the Senate in order to provide purposeful leadership for the people in his district.

Mr Oshiomhole said the Senate should not be seen as "sabbatical leave for ex-governors".

"My intention to vie for the Senatorial seat is to ensure that the voice of Afemai land is heard and my concept of empowerment will be modified, not just giving Keke Napep, generator or motorcycle.

"We should be thinking of how we can bring infrastructure development to our people," he said.

The incumbent senator of the district, Francis Alimikhena, who has served two terms so far, has expressed his intention to seek re-election.

Mr Oshiomhole said he would meet with Senator Alimikhena to decide who between the two of them would be the party's candidate for the election.

"You all know how the incumbent became the candidate for Edo North senatorial district, he was denied the PDP ticket, and we allowed him to fly out party's flag, which he had used twice to represent us.

"We voted for him twice and there is nothing wrong in him voting for me in return.

"I will personally meet with him because I want us to still keep the Afemai unity together and I think he will be the director-general for my campaign.

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"So, I have resolved to contest and am sure to get the ticket and become the candidate to represent Edo North senatorial district come 2023," he said.

A member of the APC Board of Trustees Mike Afegbua, and the Deputy State Chairman of the party, Jariet Tenibe, said the party's senatorial ticket would be given to Mr Oshiomhole to "rescue Edo North".

The former APC Chairman, Etsako West Local Government Area, Abubakar Akokhia, moved a motion that the Senate seat should be zoned to Etsako West and that Mr Oshiomhole be given the opportunity to fly the party's flag.

The APC leader in Owan East Local Government Area, Fred Omoregbai, seconded the motion.

The Senate race provides an opportunity for Mr Oshiomhole to redeem his political image after he was unceremoniously removed as the APC national chairman and his candidate in the Edo 2020 governorship election, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, defeated by Governor Godwin Obaseki.
United Ways Southwest Illinois Division will host its sixth annual Power of the Purse event at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 28, at Clark Community College's N. O. Nelson Campus, 600 Troy Road, Edwardsville.

The event features appetizers from Bella Milano, drinks, a silent purse auction and live auction with a fashion showcase of designer handbags. Admission is $30 per person with additional sponsorship opportunities available. All proceeds will help local people through the Southwest Illinois Division of United Way of Greater St. Louis. To register or purchase a sponsorship, visit Helplingpeople.org/purse or contact Millie Bond at 618-258-9800.



Lisa Hayes, Power of the Purse volunteer committee chair and global talent acquisition, university recruiting talent operations specialist at Boeing, is leading the event once again.



We are really looking forward to being able to host the Power of the Purse event again after having to cancel the past two years due to COVID, said Hayes. We have a great selection of designer handbags and fun accessories so there really is something for everyone at this auction. And its all going to help people in the communities where we live and work, so people can come out and have fun while giving back!



Some of the high-end live auction handbags up for bid include items from Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Dooney & Bourke, Tory Birch and Vera Bradley. Guests can also participate in a Pick of the Purse raffle drawing for one of the live auction handbags of the winners choice or in the Mystery Purse raffle. Selected jewelry items will also be displayed on the silent auction.



Sponsors of the event include Gori, Julie & Associates; 1st MidAmerica Credit Union; Cope Plastics; Busey Bank; Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, PC; Phillips 66. Additional sponsorships are still available at HelpingPeople.org/Purse.



United Ways Southwest Illinois Division helps almost 200,000 people each year throughout Madison, Macoupin, Jersey, Greene and Calhoun counties. Dozens of local health and human service organizations are supported by United Ways Southwest Illinois Divisions annual fundraising campaign.
Katsina State Government has declared as untrue the information circulating on social and main stream media that some Akwa Ibom people residing in Katsina State were attacked and displaced by bandits, resulting in the evacuation of about 38 of the purported victims from Katsina state by the Akwa Ibom State Government.

This was disclosed on Monday at a pres briefing organized by the Katsina State Government in conjunction with some leaders of Akwa Ibom people in the state.

Why Buhari should declare state of emergency on Education -- Clark

The fact of the matter according to the Senior Special Adviser on Security Matters to the Katsina State Government, Ahmed Ibrahim Katsina is that said those who orchestrated the plan took advantage of the insecurity situation in the state to extort money from the Akwa Ibom government.

Similarly, Obong Samson Patrick, an Akwa Ibom man, who was the pioneering Chairman of Nigeria Indigenes Resident in Katsina said the action was mischievous and intended for selfish gains. He called for the removal of the President of Akwa Ibom people in Katsina State who championed the fabrication of this falsehood.

Obong appealed to the people of the state to continue in the spirit of statesmanship and continue to maintain the peace enjoyed in the state.

Recall that Vanguard reported that Akwa Ibom State Government over the weekend evacuated from Katsina State a total of 34 of her citizens, who were stranded following attacks by bandits and insurgents in some parts of Katsina state. The purported victims had since arrived Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital since Saturday

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While debunking the claim, Ibrahim said the insecurity situation in Katsina State is gradually fading away, noting that the state is becoming more stable and peaceful as the government is on top of the situation.

According to the security expert, "there is no single situation where a nonindigene has been attacked or has been subjected to the banditry situation faced in the state."

Ibrahim also noted that most of the attack in Katsina state are community based and the government is not relenting on its efforts to be on top of the situation.

While condemning the attitude of those fond of going round creating unnecessary tension, Ibrahim appealed to every state government to reach out to the affected state government in question to confirm if there is anything of such before sending vehicles there to evacuate people over a problem that does not exist.

He said:

"We want to draw the attention of Akwa Ibom State Government and other state government to be wary of people of mischievous and questionable character trying to justify their reason for returning to their home state because of security issues.

"We want to assure the general public that Katsina State is safe and anybody that is staying in the state is safe and all of you can attest to it that in the whole of northwest no state is as stable as Katsina.

So we should be appreciated for that and not for people to be carrying and circulating the wrong information that there is general uprising and insecurity in Katsina State."
Following the successful graduation ceremony of hundreds of EdoBEST Induction trainees (teachers, headteachers and principals), the Executive Chairman of Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (Edo SUBEB), Mrs. Ozavize Salami, visited 16 schools to assess the implementation of new school management techniques and adherence with the EdoBEST pedagogy.

The visits which covered selected schools in Egor, Ovia North East, Oredo and Ikpoba Okha local government areas mark the beginning of a series of state-wide visits geared at giving Edo SUBEB first-hand insight into how the recently concluded EdoBEST Induction training is impacting Junior Secondary Schools.

In November 2021, the Edo State Ministry of Education brought JSS management and administration under the purview of Edo SUBEB in what is termed the JSS disarticulation process.

Thereafter in late 2021, a comprehensive baseline assessment was carried out to ascertain the level of competence of students in English and Mathematics, ahead of whole-scale intervention by Edo SUBEB.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Salami noted that, "School Environment is one of our thematic pillars under EdoBEST 2.0 and as we consolidate on gains made in improving learning outcomes over the past four years of EdoBEST, it is now time for us to prioritise infrastructure at the primary level but more importantly at the JSS level as we incorporate the Junior Secondary Schools under the umbrella of our reforms.

"Our infrastructure intervention will be structured and planned."

It was established during the visits that teaching and learning using the EdoBEST pedagogy is taking place in the Junior Secondary School system as planned.

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Furthermore, EdoSTAR teachers who were posted to schools are also settling in.

"Many of the EdoSTAR fellows are settling into their assigned schools. Few gaps that were identified are being addressed and we expect a balanced and fit-for-purpose system in the following weeks, Salami said.

In February 2022, a batch of 1,859 teachers and principals from Junior Secondary Schools across Edo state were given a comprehensive 10-day training to prepare them to deliver lessons and manage their schools using the EdoBEST pedagogy.

Most principals and teachers in the schools visited reported that their pupils are learning better while classrooms are being managed better. Students who were interviewed also expressed their preference for the new method of teaching and learning.
That release could not be found.
6006 killed in fifteen months (Jan 2021-March 2022) and 45,644 died in 13 years or since July 2009 Boko Haram uprising

.30, 000 moderate and defenseless Muslim lives lost

The Most Christian Lives Hackers In The World

The Federal Republic of Nigeria and its governing authorities ended the year 2021 as the most hostile country in the world to practice Faith Freedom or Freedom of Worship and peacefully showcase Ethnic Identity. Nigeria also became the Greatest Enemy of Christian Faith and its Faithful or Members in the World and a Country with the Worlds Largest Christian Deaths for the Year 2021-with hacking to death by Islamic radicals and Islamic radicalized members of the countrys security forces of no fewer than 5,191 Christians. Corroboratively and according to the Open Doors 2022 World Watch List on global killing of Christians index, 4,650 Christians were killed in Nigeria between Nov 2020 and Oct 2021, higher than 3,530 deaths recorded in the previous year (Oct 2019-Nov 2020) and 2500 Christians were abducted between Nov 2020 and Oct 2021 as against 900 abducted in the previous year. The country had also in the past fifteen months or January 2021 to March 2022 recorded total Christian deaths of no fewer than 6006.

45,644 Christian And 30,000 Muslim Lives Lost In 13 Years

In the past thirteen years or July 2009 (Boko Haram Uprising) to March 2022, the Christian death tolls had risen to no fewer than 45,644, from 43,000 as at August 2021. Estimated 30,000 moderate and defenseless Muslims were also killed during the period by the countrys Jihadists dominated by indigenous and alien Fulani Herdsmen, Fulani Bandits and other jihadist pastoralists or mercenaries. Patterns and trends associated with killing of moderate and defenseless Muslims in the country especially in the past five years have been centered on Muslim Fulani-Muslim Hausa rivalries in the Muslim dominant Northern States of Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Kebbi and North and Central Kaduna while patterns and trends associated with their fractional killings dating back to 2009 are centered on collateral and revenge killings. In all, 75,644 Nigerians have been killed in the past 13 years with Christians accounting for 45,644 deaths and moderate and defenseless Muslims accounting for 30,000 deaths.

5,191 Christians Killed In 2021

The year 2021 ended disastrously for Christians and their sacred places of worship with killing of no fewer than 5,191 Christians including killing or abduction of at least 25 Christian clerics and attack or destruction of between 400 and 420 Churches and other Christian centers. Also not less than 3,800 Christians were abducted with scores, if not many feared killed in captivity by jihadists. That is to say that while 4.400 Christians were killed between Jan and Sept 2021, additional 700 others were killed between Oct and December 2021 and they included 231 Christian deaths perpetrated by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and Jihadist Fulani Bandits and about seventy killed by Boko Haram and ISWAP in Niger, Adamawa, Taraba, Kebbi and Borno States. No fewer than 400 defenseless Igbo civilian Christians were killed by security forces in open (street shootings and killings) and closed (custodial killings) quarters in Old Eastern Nigeria. The Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen/Bandits killings in Oct to Dec 2021 included the Nasarawa Tiv Christian massacre of Dec 20, 2021 during which no fewer than 52 Christians were hacked to death.

6006 Christians Killed In 15 Months And 915 In Jan-March 2022

No fewer than 6006 Christians have been hacked to death in the past 15 months or from January 2021 to March 2022 and in the first three months of 2022 or January to March, not less than 915 have been killed. The breakdown drawn from our recent investigation/review clearly indicates that the Christian parts of Niger State including Shiroro, Munya and Rafi Local Government Areas are the worst hit with 213 Christian deaths, followed by Southern Kaduna with 143 deaths, Taraba 130 deaths, Benue 72 deaths, Plateau 62 deaths, Ondo/Ogun 40 deaths, Kebbi 20 deaths, Enugu 20 deaths, Edo/Delta 15 deaths and Nasarawa, Kogi, Abia and Imo with 10 deaths each. Boko Haram and ISWAP, on their part, are believed to have killed no fewer than 60 Christians in the past three months or Jan to March 2022. The Nigerian security forces had also in the past three months accounted for not less than seventy Igbo civilian deaths. A dark figure of seventy Christian deaths was added to represent undetected others which grandly brings the total number of Christians killed for their Belief in the country in the past three months of 2022 to no fewer than 915. At least six Christian clerics were abducted or killed and not less than twenty Christian places of worship attacked or destroyed.

3800 Christians Abducted In 2021 And 700 In Jan-March 2022

From findings made severally by Intersociety, not less than 3,800 Christians were abducted in Nigeria in 2021. This is out of estimated 6,000 total religious and tribal and their ransom related abductions and in the past three months of 2022, over 700 anti Christian abductions had taken place with Christian parts of Niger State topping the list with at least 400 abductions. Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen have also abducted no fewer than 30defenseless Igbo Christians in the past three months or January to March 2022 in Enugu, Abia and Imo States and killed not less than 20 in Isi-Uzo and Uzo-Uwani parts of Enugu State.

How Our Findings Are Made

The Intl Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has been monitoring, documenting and exposing the killing of Christians and burning or destruction of their sacred places of worship in Nigeria or any part thereof since 2010, two years after we were founded. Armed with corporate integrity, global respectability and statistics intellectualism and led by graduate experts in the fields of criminology, security studies, law, peace studies, conflict resolution, journalism and so on, our reports have been built on research and investigation, verified eyewitness and survived victims accounts, church bodies, victimized ethnic entities, verified media reports and those from local and international rights and research institutions, such as the Weekly Security Tracker of the Council on Foreign Relations. Others are Christian persecution watchdogs and minority Muslim groups, etc

Group Identities Of Those Killing Christians On The Ground Of Faith And Ethnic Belief

The anti Christian butcheries in Nigeria have been investigated and found to be perpetrated mainly by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and their hired external counterparts. Other than the indigenous Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and their pastoralist counterparts recruited from some African countries, the Zamfara Bandits, now called Fulani Bandits are also responsible for butchering of defenseless Christians. Other Christian lives hackers and Christian properties and worship centers burners or destroyers are Boko Haram, ISWAP, Ansaru and their foreign counterparts. The Muslim dominated and led security forces of Nigeria were also responsible for multiple hundreds of civilian Christian deaths in Igbo parts of the Old Eastern Nigeria in 2021 which have continued in the first three months of 2022.

Muslim Fulani-Muslim Hausa Rivalries Fueling Killings In Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Etc

The ethno-religious jihadists responsible for hacking moderate and defenseless Muslims to death in the Northern Muslim States of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Birnin-Gwari and Igabi parts of Kaduna State are drawn from Fulani Bandits formed in Maradun part of Zamfara State in 2011 and who came into the limelight and embraced group violence in 2013. They were primarily raised against the indigenous Hausa communities and their Vigilante Group, known as Yankasai. Several investigations by Intersociety have further revealed that many victims of Muslim deaths in Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Kebbi and northern Kaduna belong to indigenous Hausa Muslim communities and for economic, political and radical religious reasons (i.e. alliance for Jihad), the perpetrators of this type of violence have extended their mayhem to other parts of the North including members of other ethno-religious nationalities such as northern and non northern Christians and members of non Fulani Muslim Faith. The violence has since 2017 escalated and extended to Niger, Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), Adamawa, Taraba, Nasarawa, Kogi, Gombe and Bauchi States. The Fulani Bandits have also allied with Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen in occupying and terrorizing forests, bushes and farmlands and their owners in the Southern States of Edo, Ondo, Ogun, Delta and the North Central State of Benue.

Revisiting Previous Statistics

Intersociety had in its report of 3rd Oct 2021 disclosed that Muslim Jihadists, comprising state actor and non state actor radical Islamists had between January and September 2021, hacked to death no fewer than 4,400 defenseless and unprotected Christians, in addition to killing or abduction of twenty Christian clerics and burning down or destruction of between 350 and 400 churches or Christian schools as well as abduction of about 3500 traveler and sedentary Christians. On average, 490 Christians were killed monthly and 16 on daily basis. The killing of Christians was further broken down to 2,540 killed by Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen and 1,963 killed by others including 600 killed by Jihadist Fulani Bandits majorly in Niger, Kebbi, Taraba, Adamawa and Southern Kaduna, about 680 killed by Boko Haram and ISWAP in Taraba, Adamawa, Niger, Kebbi, Yobe and Chibok and other Christian areas of Borno State. The Northern Muslim dominated and controlled security forces also accounted for at least 680 civilian Christian deaths majorly perpetrated in the Igbo parts of the Old Eastern Nigeria.

The Southern Kaduna had topped the list with 608 deaths, followed by Benue State with 550 deaths, Plateau State 400 deaths, Christian parts of Niger State 300 deaths, Taraba State 270 deaths, Igbo States of Ebonyi/Enugu/Anambra/Abia 240 deaths, Ogun/Ondo/Oyo/Ekiti/Osun 180 deaths, Kebbi 120 deaths, Nasarawa 60 deaths, Kogi/Kwara 30 deaths, Igbo part of Delta 35 deaths, Edo State 40 deaths, non Igbo part of Delta 25 deaths, Gombe/Bauchi 40 deaths, Christian part of Geidam in Yobe State 25 deaths, Kogi/Kawara State 30 deaths and Katsina ten deaths including a Reverend Father. Borno State also topped the list of Christians hacked to death by Boko Haram/ISWAP/Ansaru with 450 deaths while Adamawa, Taraba and Yobe States accounted for 240 others.

Killing Of 43,000 Christians In 12 Years (July 2009-August 2021)

Intersociety had in its special intl report of 4th August 2021 revealed that 43,000 Christians were hacked to death by jihadists and their collaborators in Nigeria in twelve years or July 2009 to August 2021) while estimated 18,500 others were disappeared without traces. Estimated total of 17,500 Churches and over 2000 Christian schools were attacked, ten million Northern Christians uprooted and six million forced to flee their homes to avoid being hacked to death by the jihadists. The Report further found that as much as 29,000 moderate and defenseless Muslims lost their lives, out of 72,000 total deaths perpetrated on ethno-religious grounds. Over 500 Christian communities in Northern Nigeria were also sacked and taken over by the Jihadists.

Signed

For: International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Emeka Umeagbalasi (Criminologist & Graduate of Security Studies)

Board Chair/Lead-Investigator

Obianuju Joy Igboeli Esquire, LLB, BL

Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law

Ndidiamaka Bernard Esquire, LLB, BL

Head, Intl Justice and Human Rights

Chidimma Evangeline Udegbunam Esquire, LLB, BL

Head, Campaign and Publicity

Samuel Kamanyaoku (HND)

Head, Field Data Documentation

Contacts:

Phone/WhatsApp: +2348174090052

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://intersociety-ng.org
Governors of the Peoples Democratic Party on Monday met with former military president Ibrahim Babangida in Minna, Niger State.

The meeting was held behind closed doors.

Governors in attendance include Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State.

Other dignitaries in attendance at the meeting include former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Senator Gabriel Suswam, Senator Sulaiman Nazif and Senator Olaka Nwogu.

READ ALSO: Kalu Urges APC To Reveal Presidential Zoning Formula

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Deputy Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Ikpeazu, said the delegation was in Minna to consult with the former Head of State in the build up to the 2023 general election.

I have come with my colleagues, the Governor of Rivers, Governor of Enugu, Governor of Oyo, some members of the National Assembly and other stakeholders, he said.

First, to consult with the former Head of State and discuss national issues: economic development, security, and unity of our country.

And also, to commend him for his support for the unity of this country. And the discussions went very well and we will advance it from there.

On what response they got from Babangida, the Abia State Governor said the former military president expressed strong concerns about the need for younger Nigerians to be courageous in taking up the challenge of providing leadership to the country.

He expressed concerns and said that he expects the younger generation to take up the gauntlet and rescue Nigeria.
A Non-Governmental Organisation named Society for Alleviation of Rural Poverty and Integration of Peaceful co-existence (SARPIC), has distributed relief items worth hundreds of thousands to over 1,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Shiroro local government area of the state.

This gesture was in connection to ease burden of the number of IDPs who has been soaring high across the communities of the state as banditry attacks have been unabated.

Among the beneficiaries are the over 4,000 Displaced People currently taking shelters at the Government Day Secondary School in Zumba, Shiroro local government area of the state.

Shiroro local government is one of the epicenter of banditry attacks with eight out of the 15 political wards under the control of the terrorists.

As it is, there are well over 10,000 Displaced People across four different camps in the local government who are in desperate need of relief materials as they struggle to cope in their new environment.

As observed, the presentation of relief items restored a hope in the mind of the IDPs.

The NGO which is led by its founder, Arc. John Agmada Bawa, MNIA, visited two camps in Zumba to distribute relief items to these victims which included women and children.

Arc. Bawa, in his disclosure shortly after distribution of the items including cloths and food stuff, noted that the intervention was through the organisations Community Resilience Action Through the Provisions of Livelihood Support project of which targets to reach out to over 3,000 IDPs in the state.

He listed the items distributed to include clothing, foodstuff, health outreach, formal education and entrepreneurship training, he emphasised that This intervention is for victims of insurgency displaced from their homes and communities. We solicited support from our friends, individuals, sympathizers and corporate organizations to ameliorate the plight of these IDPs.

What we are doing is service to humanity and to God, and we pray God will bring an end to this spate of terror on Nigeria some day. We have items such as clothes, shoes, bags and other household items for victims who obviously fled the attacks for survival, they lost family members, friends, clothes, shoes, homes, food and everything. They are sickly.

He further stated that subsequent intervention would be primarily be for distribution of food items, medical interventions, entrepreneurship training and possible granting of scholarships to brilliant dropped out children who are still interested to go back to school.
Blood test rule urged for drink driving

BANGKOK: The Public Health Ministry will push for a rule to allow blood tests for alcohol on motorists who cannot take a breathalyser test as part of an effort to curb drink-driving.

Safetyalcoholtransportpolice

By Bangkok Post

Tuesday 5 April 2022, 09:22AM

Photo: Bangkok Post

Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha said motorists who break traffic laws would, under a new rule, need to undergo blood tests for alcohol if they dont take a breath test.

If they refuse a breathalyser test they are deemed drunk. Those who cannot take a breathalyser test, [will under the new rule] have to undergo a blood test at the discretion of the attending officer, he said.

The test results will be kept on file for consideration when they apply to renew their driving licences, he said.

Mr Sathit said a certain amount of budget was spent on blood tests - done without the need of a rule - on motorists during the road safety seven dangerous days campaign over the New Year holiday, reports the Bangkok Post.

Opas Karnkawinpong, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) chief, said that the DDC is responsible for enforcing the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, adding that a blood test for alcohol costs about B1,000 for each motorist.

About B1-2 million was spent carrying out blood tests on motorists during a road safety campaign over the New Year holiday, Dr Opas said.

During the New Year holiday period, the Department of Medical Sciences analysed a total of 784 blood samples, 55% of which had alcohol levels exceeding the legal limit.

If the new rule is to be applied, between B20-30mn will be needed annually to conduct blood tests on motorists who cannot take breathalyser tests, Dr Opas said.
Rewat leads mourning over health centre decentralisation bungle

PHUKET: Rewat Areerob, President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO, or OrBorJor), led a symbolic mourning of effective government administration yesterday (Apr 4) to protest the central government failing to hand over operation of community health centres to the provincial level.

health

By The Phuket News

Tuesday 5 April 2022, 12:34PM

The gathering, with members dressed in black, was held in front of the monument of King Rama V at the old Phuket Provincial Hall in Phuket Town. Rama V is honoured and remembered for bringing the modern form of government to Thailand.

Members of the group held up placards calling for the national government to hand over responsibility of Nawamintha Rachinee 60th Anniversary Health Centers and Tambon Health Promotion Centers on the island to the PPAO.

The Phuket symbolic mourning, during which flowers were laid at the foot of the statue of Rama V, was part of a nationwide movement by Provincial Administrative Organisations (PAO) throughout the country.

Mr Rewat explained that a Cabinet resolution had ordered the local health centres to be handed over to provincial authorities in October last year. However , the handover had yet to happen due to budgetary wrangles.

The president of the Association of Provincial Administrative Organisations of Thailand sent a letter to the Provincial Administrative Organisation in every province, calling for members to dress in black and prepare placards with messages calling for transfer of the health centres, he said.

The criteria and procedures to be followed in handing over responsibility for the health centres were set out in the Cabinet resolution on Oct 5, 2021, he said.

The Board of Decentralization to Local Administrative Organisations was duly informed of the procedures, he added.

It now appears some agencies involved in budget allocation for the health centres prepared a budget allocation proposal to submit to the Cabinet that did not account for the transfer, he said.

This has resulted in the delay of transferring such centres and affects public health services. It has caused damage to both the bureaucratic system and the services provided to the people, Mr Rewat said.

In this regard, the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation has joined forces [with the other PAOs in the country] to submit proposals and appeal to the government and relevant ministers to review the Cabinet resolutions and allocate the budget in accordance with the Notification of the Commission on Decentralization to Local Administrative Organisations in order to continue to work for the benefit of the people, he said.
Srisoonthorn mayor steps up for Ramadan

PHUKET: Srisoonthorn Mayor Chalermpol Kerdsup yesterday (Apr 4) visited the five mosques in his area to donate food staples and drinking water to be be used in serving meals at the mosque as local Muslim residents break fast at the end of each day during Ramadan.

religionculture

By The Phuket News

Tuesday 5 April 2022, 10:37AM

Joined by other officials from Srisoonthorn Municipality, Mayor Chalermpol delivered supplies of dates, rice, sugar, tea, coffee, oil, drinking water, and a range of other items.

This time is considered a good event as the month of Ramadan is considered the most blessed month for Muslims. Its the month of doing good deeds, Mr Chalermpol said.

Giving support to the mosques for the religious practice of Iftar in the month of Ramadan shows sincerity and encourages people to practice their religion and fosters doing good deeds in the most noble month which will bring understanding to bring about sustainable peace, he added.

Sheikul Islam Aziz Phitakkumpon, the leading Muslim cleric for the nation, announced the commencement of Ramadan in Thailand on Sunday (Apr 3).

The Islamic holy month will conclude with Eid Al Fitr on May 14.
Temple embezzler says funds a gift

BANGKOK: The alleged embezzler of some B190 million intended for the renovation of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara has denied the charges levelled against him, saying the money was given to him as as a gift, Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) commissioner Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridet said yesterday (Apr 4).

crimecorruption

By Bangkok Post

Tuesday 5 April 2022, 08:59AM

A photo released by the CSD shows luxury cars found at the suspects condominium. They were impounded for examination. Photo: CSD

Police referred to the suspect as Noei during the press conference, but a police source there said his full name was Apirat Jayankura Na Ayudhya, reports the Bangkok Post.

He was arrested by the Crime Suppression Division on March 23 at a condominium in Bangkok, after investigators were alerted that the money meant to fund the renovation of the temple in Bangkoks Phra Nakhon district and its branches had been embezzled.

The man is known to be a close acquaintance of the late abbot of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, Somdet Phra Wannarat.

The embezzlement occurred while the revered abbot was receiving treatment for gall bladder cancer at Chulalongkorn Hospital. He died on Mar 15.

During the suspects Mar 23 arrest, the CSD uncovered an array of luxury goods including Bentley, Porsche, Volvo, BMW and Lexus cars, cash, bank accounts, brand name bags and gold-plated amulets, worth over B100mn in total.

The items were seized for further examination.

Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop said the funds were mostly intended for renovation and construction work at three branch temples in the Central and Eastern regions.

He said the suspect denied embezzling the money, asserting that it was given to him as a gratuitous gift.

A source said police were looking into allegations that the suspect had also embezzled funds from two temples in Trat, totalling some B90mn.
editorial

Recently, precisely on April 2, as it happens every year, the international community marked the World Autism awareness day. On this date, Autism awareness influencers and organisations use the opportunity of the event to create awareness about the health condition as well as the need for the public to accept individuals with Autism and treat them with compassion.

It is instructive to note that Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterised by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication.

Also, there is not one autism but many subtypes, most influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Because autism is a spectrum disorder, each person with the ailment has a distinct set of strengths and challenges. How people affected learn, think and problem-solve can range from highly skilled to severely challenged. Some people with ASD may also require significant support in their daily lives, while others may need less support and, in some cases, live entirely independently.

From indications, the awareness of autism in Nigeria is abysmal. Most parents and health workers often fail to detect autism early in children. In some cases, the children achieve all milestones of their age mates, and only when some of them have speech impediments that parents begin to notice.

Autism experts claim that although there are no known causes of autism, some predisposing factors contribute to a child developing the condition. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in 160 children lives with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) worldwide.

Furthermore, statistics point to the fact that there are 135 million established cases of autism in the world, with more than one million children and teenagers suffering from the condition in Nigeria. Sadly, in our view, the statistics of children in Nigeria with autism are poor because of the low awareness of the spectrum and it keeps increasing every year in the country, essentially, because it is rarely talked about.

Culturally, the ailment is still perceived as a demonic disease or witchcraft. This may be excusable especially in the rural areas where most people, due to ignorance or an attempt to live in denial, pretend to be oblivious of the disease and its manifestations.

According to experts, symptoms to look out for to help in early detection include; limited eye contact, stemming, which could be flapping of arms, tantrum behaviors or limited speech: another spectrum of autism disorder in those that are extremely intelligent but find it difficult to converse with people.

The good news, as researchers say, is that with early detection and management, most autistic children can live normal lives. Regrettably, in our view, the number of schools tailored for autistic and other special needs children are few, far between or even nonexistent.

According to a report by educeleb, a nongovernmental organisation (NGO), there are only 1,177 full-fledged nurseries, primary and secondary special needs schools in the country presently. Of that number, Kano has 153, followed by Kaduna with 79 and Lagos with 75. States with the least number of such schools are Borno, Bayelsa, and Zamfara. Where these schools exist, most of them lack the basic infrastructure adapted for children with special needs.

However, it is gratifying to note that some conventional schools are beginning to bridge the gap by adopting inclusive learning to take care of children with special needs. As a newspaper, we are for this approach based on our conviction that inclusive education is the most effective way to give all children equal opportunities for learning and development.

We are persuaded by the reality on ground to point out the snag in this otherwise encouraging development. The fees demanded by most special needs schools and the accompanying therapy are often beyond the reach of an average Nigerian family. This is an obvious challenge to many parents who happen to have a child with this condition. The financial implications of treatment and different therapy recommended for children with autism can and is, indeed, burdensome. For instance, the average cost of therapy alone for a child with autism ranges from N350,000 to N600,000 quarterly.

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Therefore, in the considered opinion of this newspaper, there is every need to create the required awareness with regard to this ailment which will significantly reduce the stigmatisation associated with the condition. Most children with autism are rejected and abused.

It is from this standpoint that we urge government, at all levels, to invest more in autism and other special needs schools. It will be commendable if the governments feel obligated to subsidise the cost of therapy and management because we are convinced that through this process, more people can be diagnosed early, managed, and placed in therapy.

It is pertinent to stress that this is not a job for the government alone. We also appeal to wealthy Nigerians to support NGOs at the forefront of autism awareness by covering some costs and paying the bills of the children.
Wandering calf killed by car on bypass road

PHUKET: A young calf was killed on the bypass road last night (Apr 4) after it was startled and ran in front of a man driving home with his two children asleep in the car.

accidentsanimalsdeathtransportSafetypolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Tuesday 5 April 2022, 04:11PM

Phuket City Police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers were called to the scene, near the IKEA store in Moo 5 Rassada, at 10pm.

The officers arrived to find a white sedan with heavy damage to its front, and the male calf dead by the side of the road.

The driver, named by police only as Mr Jump, said that he was driving home with his two children asleep in the car when he saw a mother and calf walking by the side of the road.

As he neared them, the calf appeared to have been startled and ran out in front of his car.

Mr Jump said he had no time to avoid hitting the calf, which he said died instantly.

His two children were shocked by the experience, but otherwise unharmed, he said.

Mr Jump said that he looked around and saw many other cows in the field beside the road, but he could not find anyone who might have been tasked with looking after them.

He believed the mother and calf had just wandered away from the herd.

Police said they will investigate who the calf belongs to so Mr Jump may proceed to claim compensation for the damage done to his car.
press release

Premier Winde celebrates end of the National State of Disaster

I welcome the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that the National State of Disaster will finally come to an end. This is a long-overdue announcement, which I have called for since last year.

This step ensures a much-needed focus on economic recovery, and will undoubtedly improve confidence in the economy, as we fight the second pandemic of joblessness.

The 'end' of the National State of Disaster will be followed by the implementation of interim regulations which will remain in place for 30 days, whereafter they will automatically lapse. At the same time, the National Government has announced that they will finalise regulations under the National Health Act, which are due to be finalized on 16 April 2022.

The Western Cape Government is closely studying these draft regulations and will strongly oppose any efforts to sneak unnecessary measures back in. Our response will continue to be guided by the best possible scientific advice based on the latest available evidence.

This announcement now means that each one of us has an important role to play. We should continue to stay safe by practising the golden rules of good hygiene. We should also protect those at risk of severe disease, by acting responsibly. And we should get vaccinated if we haven't yet been able to: this choice is the right choice to save lives and jobs.
The World Bank Group has approved $32 million additional financing to support Rwanda's response to Covid-19, under the country's Covid-19 Emergency Response project.

This is the third additional financing and brings to $92 million the total support Rwanda has received.

Rwanda Covid-19 emergency response project is designed to help the government prevent, detect and strengthen national systems for public health preparedness.

Funds will also go into scaling up various activities including the purchase and deployment of vaccines, including those with authorization for use among children.

To strengthen the national health system, the new funding will support the procurement of an international vaccination status monitoring system that is interoperable with global platforms to ensure acceptance and recognition of Rwanda's Covid-19 digital certificates.

It will also provide cold chain equipment and mechanical ventilation system for the vaccines warehouse; as well as equip the newly established mobile isolation and treatment hospital with a solar energy system.

"This Additional Financing will support the government's decision to expand coverage to the population under 18 years of age, thus advancing from the initial target of 60 percent met in March 2022 to 86 percent of the population (from 5 years and above) by the end of 2022." Said Rolande Pryce, World Bank Country Manager for Rwanda.

"So far, World Bank financing to Rwanda has contributed to fully vaccinating 14 percent of the population," she added.

Pryce maintained that the current AF will increase that amount by an additional 8.4 percent of the population, "while another 1.78 million doses will be administered as a booster dose and will cover 14 percent of the population over 18 years of age".

Amparo Elena Gordillo-Tobar, the World Bank Senior Health Specialist and the Project task team leader, said the vison on the support to the country's response to the pandemic is now expanding.

He added that it is also standing strong behind long-term benefits to the health system with the inclusion of the interoperability of the information systems, the efficiency in the use of energy and the protection to the environment.

"As the world is not free from events such as this pandemic, our efforts include supporting the long-term goal of strengthening the national system for public health preparedness in Rwanda" she added.

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Rwanda Covid-19 Emergency Project is part of the World Bank Group $14 billion fast-track package to strengthen the COVID-19 response in developing countries and shorten the time to recovery.

The immediate response includes financing, policy advice and technical assistance to help countries cope with the health and economic impacts of the pandemic.

The International Finance Corporation is providing $8 billion in financing to help private companies affected by the pandemic and preserve jobs.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association are making an initial $6 billion available for health-response.

The World Bank Group committed to deploying up to $160 billion over 15 months to protect the poor and vulnerable, support businesses, and bolster economic recovery.
Fourteen-year-old Maya, a Jack Russell Terrier, obeys her owner well, although she has never heard one of her commands.

Maya cant hear anything  but she does understand sign language.

Joanne Sparkman, of Gladwin, Michigan realized Maya was deaf when she was about four months old. Maya doesnt miss a beat, though.

Sparkman and Maya have communicated through signing for the past 14 years.

She learned sign language and she knows her commands, Sparkman said.

When Sparkman and her husband, Matthew, suspected Maya was deaf, they tried yelling and making loud noises while Maya was turned away from them. The dog never flinched. They took her to the vet, and sure enough, Maya was diagnosed as hearing impaired.

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Looking for a solution, Sparkman got the book, "Living with a Deaf Dog," by Susan Cope Becker. Through the book, she taught Maya sign language and learned tips on how to give her a high-quality life.

I knew it was doable, Sparkman said of teaching Maya sign language.

Maya was bred from Sparkmans male dog, Aztec, and a friends female dog. Neither one was deaf. Maya is mostly white, a color which is sometimes associated with deafness in the Jack Russell breed.

While teaching Maya sign language, Sparkman sat on the floor, made eye contact, and taught Maya how to recognize her name. Then they worked on the command to come and other commands. In exchange, Maya would get a treat. The Sparkmans also taught Maya to come back inside the house when they flashed the outside light on and off.

There are a couple of commands that Maya doesn't always follow - stop playing and to go to her crate - but Sparkman thinks she understands them just fine.

If shes doing something fun, she wont look at you, Sparkman said.

Maya, the oldest of Sparkmans six-dog pack, was a gift for Sparkmans daughters fifth birthday. But Sparkman said Maya is really her own "baby" and more her dog than anyone elses.

Maya loves other dogs, but she loves people even more. One time at a park, she saw a mother and her children lying on a blanket with a baby in the center. Maya ran right over to them and crawled up and rolled on the blanket.

She just loves attention, Sparkman said.

Sparkman said Mayas deafness has inspired others to learn sign language so they can communicate with her.

Another interesting consequence of Maya understanding sign language is that when people use their hands to communicate in her vicinity, Maya always thinks they are talking to her.

Living in the small town of Gladwin, Sparkman said everyone either knows Maya or knows of her.

When people are around, she always has to stop and be petted, Sparkman said.
LITCHFIELD  Two nights of tornados and cows are coming to the Sky View Drive-In.

Cruise in to see Twister will show at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Litchfield Sky View Drive-In, 1500 Old Route 66 N., in Litchfield.

Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $7 per person at the gate. Children age 5 and younger are admitted free.

A night at the Sky View truly takes you back to the good ole days of drive in movies. The Sky View shows new and throwback movies, like, Twister.

The Sky View Drive-In Theater is more than 70 years old. This outdoor movie theater opened in the spring of 1950. Located on Historic Route 66, it is one of four drive-ins nationwide, and the only one currently that is located on the historic Mother Road in Illinois.

The Litchfield Skyview is in the Route 66 Hall of Fame and hosts a Wayside Exhibit at the front of the property. This exhibit, placed by the Scenic Byway, tells stories of patrons and the history of the property.

The original owners, Frisina Enterprises, sold to Mid America Theaters, and then to Norman and Del Paul. On March 1, 2016, the Litchfield Skyview was purchased by Pastro Properties Inc, made up of the Pastrovich family: Mike, Debbie, Nick and Mindy.

The family has taken a more hands-on approach with the outdoor theater and can be found on the property whenever it is open.

From coloring contests to scavenger hunts, graduations to school plays, they love maintaining the historic venue and being a positive supporter of community events. Currently, you can find the Litchfield Skyview open every weekend from April to mid October.
The Illinois Commission on Discrimination & Hate Crimes, which was relaunched under the leadership of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, has released its inaugural annual report, the state announced in a press release Tuesday.

Through engaging with diverse communities throughout the state, hearing testimony from subject matter experts, locally and globally and collaborating with law enforcement, constitutional offices and other state agencies, the report outlines a yearlong investigative and fact-finding mission.

The Commission was initially created in 2005 and was reinstituted after a decade-long dormancy to address the "alarming rise of hate crimes in Illinois," the state wrote.

"As the state most representative of our nation, Illinois is also home to the hate that plagues our nation  and in turn, an opportunity to lead the way in building a welcoming, inclusive state that all our residents can be proud to call home," Pritzker said in a statement.

"Im grateful to the Commission on Discrimination & Hate Crimes for bringing together the lived experiences of Illinois residents from all around the state in the name of acceptance," Pritzker continued. "Illinois has a long legacy of advancing inclusion, and Im proud to do all that I can to combat hate with the full weight of the Governors Office."

The Commission is made up of experts and thought leaders from across the state, according to the press release, reflecting the diversity of perspectives, racial backgrounds, abilities, religions, gender identities and sexual orientations that help give voice to all Illinois residents.

"Illinois intends to take the lead in working to reduce incidents of hate," Commission Chair Jim Bennett said in a statement. "Our focus is on investigating the root causes of hate, how we respond to incidents in the present, and what we need to do differently in the future to ensure all communities have the tools needed to combat hate crimes and discrimination."

The Commission will be presenting their recommendations to Governor Pritzker and the general assembly in the coming months and will begin formulating additional action steps throughout the year.
The government through Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) has launched a device dubbed "Orbit Reader 20" which is expected to improve learning conditions for students with visual impairments.

The tech-driven device was unveiled on April 4 through partnership between REB, Rwanda Union of the Blind (RUB), and Kilimanjaro Blind Trust.

According to REB, the pilot phase regarding the use of Orbit Reader 20 conducted in six schools was successful and proved that this new device is better and way easier than Classic Braille in various ways.

"It has been identified as one of the best tech solutions among other assistive technology devices which can help remove barriers to accessing education content," said Nelson Mbarushimana, the Director-General of REB.

In addition, he said that this will help ease access to information for the visually impaired learners and promote independence and social inclusion.

"These innovative assistive digital braille devices and appropriate curriculum content in digital braille format is integral to improving learning outcomes for students with visual Impairment," he added.

Mbarushimana further explained that the students who used this device in the pilot have recorded improved teacher-learner interactions in the classroom.

According to REB, currently, there are 377 learners with visual impairment, the orbit reader 20 has been deployed in six schools, and ten teachers and technicians have been trained.

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He added that together with their partners, they will prioritise rolling the devises to various schools with visually impaired students.

Speaking about the benefits of the new device, Joseph Hategekimana, a student with visual impairment pointed out that this has changed their lives as well as made their learning system easy among other benefits

"With this device, it is easy to use, has a long-life battery, simple and inclusive, the documents are easy to keep as well as accessing to all necessary learning materials," he said.

In addition, he said this comes to tackle the challenges they used to face such as carrying a braille book which is huge as well as not easy to navigate for a student, hard to keep their documents among others.

Felicite Nyirakamana the trained teacher from Groupe Scolaire de Gahini, also commend this development saying that this makes their work and communication with their students with visual impairments easier and more private which is different from what they used to have before.

"With this new device, it is easy for us to share with them every document through Bluetooth or USB and easy for them to take notes. With the facility, doing research will be easier," she said.

She added that she expects the students to do better in class.
Legislation revising rules for development tax incentives in Illinois deserves serious attention

The mere phrase Tax Increment Financing District has the kind of aural sting that can rupture the eardrums of even the most dyed-in-the-wool, acronym-addicted government bureaucrat. Yet, TIFs, as the system is generally abbreviated, can have a profound impact on a communitys quality of life.

A TIF can help restore a timeworn declining downtown, or it can suck much-needed funds from an elementary school classroom. Sometimes, it does both. Sometimes, its only the schools or the parks or the libraries or some other taxing body that pay the price.

Legislation under consideration in Springfield aims to reduce the chances of the latter, and it deserves serious review. It is not much of an exaggeration to say that since Illinois first approved the TIF mechanism in 1977, it has become one of the most if not the most common means of encouraging development. The Illinois Municipal League estimates there are now nearly 1,500 such districts across the state spread across more than 500 cities and villages, most of them in the city of Chicago and the suburbs.

How do they work? Its a bit of a procedural sleight of hand that can take some study to understand, but the simple answer is that a communitys governing board identifies the property tax revenues within certain boundaries at a certain time, then declares that for the next up to 23 years, any increased taxes collected within that area will be used solely for encouraging development there.

Since taxes always go up, this can be a nice incentive for developers who might not otherwise be inclined to take a risk on a certain section of town. But it also means that for up to 23 years or more, all those public schools, libraries, parks and other bodies relying on tax income lose a sizable chunk of revenue and have to adjust their own programs and taxing policies accordingly.

For years, these taxing bodies have complained that they and their constituents suffer because municipalities -- often competing with each other to lure developers -- rush to employ a mechanism originally designed to fight blight as a means of bolstering infrastructure in fine areas where development could be supported in other ways.

Legislation sponsored by Arlington Heights Democratic Sen. Ann Gillespie originally sought to reduce the potential 23-year period for a TIFs duration, but that portion of the reform appears to have been abandoned, unfortunately.

Developers have a legitimate concern about the viability of getting a return on their investment, but the prospect of giving up 23 years of property tax income remains a burden it would be worthwhile to address. Even with that removal, though, the bills provisions still call for involving local taxing districts more in the creation and oversight of districts and, importantly, strive to more precisely define blight.

These are all key issues. It is obvious to anyone who has watched the advancing tide of TIFs that the tool can be too handy for planners to resist and too painful for local taxing bodies to endure. It is long past time the legislature began scrutinizing the TIF process, no matter how uncomfortable it can be just to hear the arcane term or, worse, try to plumb its real impact.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  An assailant stabbed three clerics at the most revered Shiite site in Iran on Tuesday, according to Iranian state-run media, killing one and injuring two before he was arrested. The motive for the attack remained unclear.

One cleric died almost instantly after being stabbed at the Imam Reza shrine, a major pilgrimage site for Shiite Muslims in Iran's holy northeast city of Mashhad. Two others were hospitalized, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Mashhad prosecutor Mohammad Hossein Darroudi described the assailant as a foreign national, without elaborating. He said four other suspects were arrested in connection with the case.

State media identified the cleric who was killed as Mohammad Aslani. It did not provide information about the conditions of the other victims.

In a video from the scene that was shared on social media, two men could be seen splayed on the shrines gray marbled floor covered with blood. IRNA news agency posted a video of police arresting the assailant.

The attack happened on the third day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan that draws Muslim worshippers to communal prayers at mosques across the country.

The Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, some 900 kilometers (560 miles) northeast of the capital Tehran, is the largest complex housing a tomb in Iran and its most visited. The shrine draws about 20 million people a year, mostly Iranians and pilgrims from neighboring nations like Iraq and Pakistan.

Such violent acts at the holy shrine are rare. However, one of the biggest terrorist attacks in Iranian history occurred at the shrine in 1994. At the time, the government held an armed opposition group, Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, responsible for the bombing that killed over two dozen people. The group has denied any involvement in the attack.

The stabbings on Tuesday followed a separate attack targeting clerics earlier this week. On Sunday, two Sunni clerics were shot to death in a mosque in the northern town of Gonbad Kavus. Authorities did not offer a motive for that incident, either.
Defending the accused shouldnt be a mark of shame.

But in the world of politics, there may not be a more loathsome creature than a criminal defense attorney.

Ive been thinking about that these past few weeks as I watched Republican Senators attack U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson and Democrats assail Illinois GOP gubernatorial hopeful Richard Irwin.

Their transgressions? At some point in their careers, they defended people accused of crimes.

Never mind that our Constitution gives defendants an absolute right to legal counsel.

In our monochromatic world of soundbite politics, prosecutors are good and defense attorneys are bad.

The last person to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court with any experience as a defense attorney was Thurgood Marshall, who retired from the bench 31 years ago. And his work as a defense attorney ended in the 1950s.

Thats a long time to go without anyone bringing the perspective of a defense attorney into deliberations.

According to a study by the libertarian think tank Cato Institute, defense attorneys are underrepresented among federal judges. As of April 2021, 318 former prosecutors were sitting as federal judges, more than one-third of the 880 total across the country. This was followed by 243 lawyers who had represented the government as noncriminal courtroom advocates. Among the smallest fractions of those who became federal judges were former criminal defense attorneys  about 76 total  and former public defenders, who numbered only 58, less than 7 percent of all judges.

Considering law is a diverse field encompassing nearly every aspect of the human condition it is disappointing that we draw our justices from such a shallow pool.

The Democratic Governors Association launched a television ad against Irwin citing his past as a defense attorney.

In a breathless voice, a narrator says Irwin defended people accused of domestic abuse and sexual assault as if they have unearthed some hidden character flaw. Well, lawyers defend people. Sometimes they are innocent and sometimes they are guilty  but all have a right to effective counsel.

The attack is particularly disappointing considering that Gov. J.B. Pritzker is a lawyer himself. He ought to know how important the role of defense attorneys are in our society. (The same could be said of the multitude of Republican lawyers on the U.S. Senate Judiciary committee taking jabs at Ketanji Brown Jackson.)

A couple decades ago I covered an Illinois Supreme Court race in which one candidate boasted that he had never been a defense attorney.

I found it disappointing that this Harvard-educated lawyer embraced the idea of never having defended anyone as a mark of pride, something that would make him a better Supreme Court justice.

After all, when choosing a judge dont we want someone with diverse experiences in a variety of areas of law?

Ive spent years tracking police misconduct cases. And in my podcast Suspect Convictions I took an in-depth look at numerous cases of wrongful convictions. Although it is nothing new, it remains a national shame. Our country sends innocent people to prison.

Just consider that a 2019 report by the National Registry of Exonerations found:

 Between 2% and 10% of convicted individuals in US prisons are likely innocent.

 2,666 people have been exonerated in the US since 1989.

 Proven innocent people have served more than 23,950 years in prison so far.

 Out of 100 sentenced to death, 4 are likely innocent, but only 2 get exonerated.

Protecting the innocent should be the highest calling of those serving in the legal profession. Ive met many bright, talented and committed defense attorneys. But Ive also met some who have turned their presence as a safety net for the wrongly accused into a hammock of low expectations.

Many of those wrongly accused end up wrongly convicted because of less than zealous work by their attorneys. This underscores the critical need for a vigorous defense bar. We should be praising those who choose this important work  not casting aspersions on their character and fitness for office because they chose to serve defendants.

One of the most zealous advocates for the accused that I have met is John Hanlon, who recently retired as director of the Illinois Innocence Project.

Hanlon expressed disgust for the recent political attacks against members of the defense bar.

It's politics. That's what's going on pure politics, he said. It is repeated over and over again depending on what the cycle is and what office the person is seeking. They try to dirty them up with the alleged acts of their clients. And that's just a shame.

Former Scott County, Iowa, prosecutor Bill Davis said it smacks of hypocrisy.

The people who attack defense attorneys are the same ones who extol the Founding Fathers. Have they forgotten that John Adams represented the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre? Our founders made a right to counsel a basic constitutional right. The system would not work without defense attorneys.
For the Telegraph

EAST ALTON  The National Great Rivers Research and Education Centers (NGRREC) April Neighbor Nights event will showcase the research being completed by several of the centers spring interns.

This months Neighbor Night will be both in-person and broadcast virtually. It will take place from 6-8 p.m., Tuesday April 19. There will be a 30-minute field station tour starting at 6:15 p.m., followed by the intern presentation starting at 7 p.m.
EDWARDSVILLE  A Staunton man was charged after striking two people with a 28-inch sword.

Aric A. Lebro, 24, of Staunton, was charged April 4 with two counts of aggravated battery, both Class 3 felonies.

The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department.

According to court documents, on April 2 Lebro allegedly attacked two relatives with a black metal curved blade sword, the blade being approximately 28 inches in length. One victim was struck in the back and head, while the other was struck in the hand.

Capt. David Vucich, chief of detectives for the Madison County Sheriffs Department, said it started as a domestic dispute, then escalated.

Bail was set at $50,000.

Other felonies filed April 4 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include:

 Brian E. Latimer, 30, of Chicago, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Troy Police Department. According to court documents, on April 3 Latimer allegedly had a loaded and accessible Glock 22 .40 caliber handgun in a vehicle without a valid concealed carry permit. Bail was set at $25,000.

 Robert D. Farmer, 57, of Cottage Hills, was charged with criminal damage to property over $500 and driving while license revoked, both Class 4 felonies. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on April 2 Farmer damaged a slot machine in Cottage Hills, causing in excess of $500 damage, and was driving a 2003 GMC Sierra on West MacArthur Drive with a revoked drivers license. It was noted his license had been revoked due to a 2008 conviction for DUI; and he has prior convictions for driving while license revoked in 2014 and 2017.

 Phoebe D. Jones, 25, of Collinsville, was charged with two counts of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, both Class 4 felonies. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. On April 2 Jones allegedly was driving a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox when she attempted to flee from a Granite City police officer, reaching speeds in excess of 21 miles above the posted speed limit and disobeying two or more traffic control devices. Bail was set at $30,000.

 Joseph M. Mickelson, 19, of Granite City, was charged with two counts of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. According to court documents, on April 1 Mickelson allegedly was driving a 2006 Chrysler 300 when he attempted to flee from a Granite City police officer, reaching speeds in excess of 21 miles above the posted speed limit and disobeying two or more traffic control devices. Bail was set at $40,000.
HIGHLAND  Trouw Nutrition marked the grand opening of its newly opened Blending Innovation Center (BIC) last week with a a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception at Schlafly Highland Square.

The BIC will focus on specialized new blending technology for the pet food industry, marking the start of the company's growth plan.

The addition increased Trouw's existing 8,100-square-foot Pilot Plant to 32,052 square feet, Company officials said the growth will allow for additional business opportunities and create new jobs within the community.

"It is so nice to reach this important milestone for our business and industry," said Terri Boeser, General Manager. "Completing this project while up against COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions is a true testament to the dedication of our employees."

The grand opening came after nearly ten months of construction and development, featuring partners such as The Korte Company, the City of Highland, the Nutreco Industrial Project Team and the Trouw Nutrition Innovation Team.

"I am excited about the possibilities the new Blending Innovation Center will bring to support our growth ambitions in the global companion animal industry," said Saskia Korink, CEO Trouw Nutrition. "The new center will be instrumental in providing our customers with innovative solutions to advance the nourishment of the world's pets."

Highland Mayor Kevin B. Hemann joined Korink, Brent Korte, CEO The Korte Company, and members from the City of Highland and Highland Chamber of Commerce inside the new facility.

The BIC is at 80 Executive Drive in Highland. Trouw Nutrition is Nutreco's companion animal and livestock business line and a global leader in feed, farm, and health. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company has a presence in 105 countries and 22 manufacturing plants. For more information visit trouwnutritionpets.com.
John Badman

GODFREY  A resident hung a home-made Ukrainian flag Monday on a tree in their yard at the corner of East Delmar Avenue and Curvey Street in Godfrey to show support for the Ukrainian people in the Russian invasion of their country.

President Joe Biden has accused Russia of war crimes following the discovery of what the Ukrainians say are hundreds of dead civilians recently in a suburb of Kyiv.
The first Sudanese trial at the International Criminal Court opens on Tuesday April 5, with victims and other suspects held in Khartoum watching. This is one of the ICC's first historic investigations, launched in June 2005. Former Janjaweed militia leader Ali Abd al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, will have to answer for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur some 20 years ago.

High ranking military officers will be watching closely, as will displaced people and refugees from Darfur. This Tuesday they'll be following with interest, on their cell phones, computers or transistor radios, the first hearing in this trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands. Top Sudanese military officers will be fearing that the defendant speaks out during his trial, while the victims and refugees hope that he will do so. The former will certainly want vindication in their refusal to cooperate with the ICC, while the latter will be pleased to see that justice is finally being done.

There is another little group of Sudanese citizens who will be paying attention too: the three other people wanted by the ICC, arrested in Khartoum after the fall of Omar al-Bashir almost three years ago to the day and still held in Kober prison, north of Khartoum on the eastern bank of the Blue Nile. They are former president Al-Bashir himself, former Humanitarian Affairs Minister and governor of South Kordofan Ahmed Haroun, and former minister of defence Abdelrahim Hussein.

Crimes in Darfur in 2003-2004

The charges against Ali Kushayb date back almost two decades. But his court appearance is an event, since it is the first time a militia leader has been tried for mass crimes committed in Darfur, and he is the only one in the hands of international justice. He arrived in The Hague in June 2020 after voluntarily surrendering to authorities in the Central African Republic, the country to which he had fled. "He was afraid of being killed by his ex-colleagues from the intelligence of the former regime, and especially by the NISS," says a Sudanese activist close to the case who prefers to remain anonymous for security reasons. "He thought he would be safer in the hands of the ICC than free in the Central African Republic! He knows all the secrets of the top officials of the former regime in the crimes committed in Darfur - who recruited the militia, who paid them, and who gave the orders, especially among the police and the PDF (Popular Defence Force) officers." This paramilitary force, the PDF, was used by Khartoum in South Kordofan and Darfur to manage the notorious Janjaweed (literally, "demons on horseback") tribal militiamen.

Ali Kushayb is accused of having been a senior member of the PDF, the "colonel of colonels," and as such of having led thousands of Janjaweed who set fire to the Wadi Salih area of West Darfur state at the beginning of what has been called the "Darfur war". His official function remains unclear. According to the ICC prosecutor, Ali Kushayb cooperated with senior Sudanese government officials, including a minister of state in the Interior Ministry, Ahmad Muhammad Harun. He allegedly received "arms and money from Harun and distributed them to the Janjaweed militia. According to the Sudanese activist close to the case, Ali Kushayb "was a member of the Central Reserve Forces, a part of the Interior Ministry, from which he retired before 2000, and then became during the conflict a member of the Popular Defence Forces and a leader of the Janjaweed".

The arrest warrant issued against him in February 2007 contained 51 charges, which were consolidated into 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between August 2003 and March 2004 in and around the towns of Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar and Deleig. It is a long litany of alleged crimes: intentional attack on a civilian population, murder and attempted murder, looting, destruction of property and livestock, inhumane acts, outrages upon personal dignity, rape, torture, forced transfer of population, and cruel treatment.

Behind the legal qualifications are hundreds of testimonies telling of devastated, shattered lives and suffering that still plague the martyred Darfur region of western Sudan. Several dozen witnesses are to be heard by the Court. During one of their visits to Darfur, ICC investigators heard testimony from Yagoub Abdallah, a resident of the Kalma camp for displaced persons, about 15 kilometres from South Darfur's capital Nyala. He is the president of the General Coordination of Displaced Persons and Refugees of Darfur, an organization fighting for their rights, and is in touch with international agencies and NGOs. Yagoub Abdallah was born in the village of Beregi, a few kilometres north of the town of Deleig in the Wadi Salih region. He belongs to the Fur ethnic group, the majority in this area.

Until 2003, he led an uneventful life as a farmer. "I cultivated about 15 feddan [6.3 hectares], growing sugar cane and beans," says Abdallah. "I was the president of the local youth association." He is not a member of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), the main rebel group in Darfur, which is fighting the central government and managed to gain a foothold in several surrounding villages in the first half of 2003. In August 2003, after the SLA attacked police stations, senior officials visited from Khartoum. According to a testimony collected in 2004 by Human Rights Watch, Interior Minister Ahmed Haroun then gave a speech urging the Janjaweed and the army to "kill the Fur". The first attacks in and around the villages of Bindisi and Mukjar began in August 2003. Ali Kushayb's leadership role even then is described by victims.

"Ali Kushayb killed three people with his own hands"

Abdallah was a witness and victim of an attack by Khartoum-linked forces in March 2004. Some time before, he had to flee his village, which was attacked by government forces, and take refuge in the nearest town, Deleig. "It was a Friday morning, March 5, 2004. I was at the mosque in Deleig, I saw Ali Kushayb gathering men arrested in their houses, in the school, in public places, east of the big market where there is the school and a police station," recalls Abdallah. "There were people from villages to the east and south of Deleig, 125 men in all. Ali Kushayb killed three of them with his own hands. One of them, Adam Genef, was the agricultural inspector of the village of Arwalah. Ali Kushayb killed him himself, with a butcher's knife. The others were taken away. We received confirmation the next day that they had all been executed. Among them were the mayors of Tonoko, Forgo and Gaba."

According to a January 2005 report by the UN Commission of Inquiry, the roundup targeted community leaders. Abdallah, his family and other villagers fled from the massacres. The massacres forced the inhabitants to abandon their land and villages, which were then taken over by Arab tribes. Finally, the displaced arrived in Kalma camp, set up in February 2004. They have not left the camp for 15 years, as it is too dangerous.

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In The Hague, Ali Abd al-Rahman's defence will plead mistaken identity. They will say it is not certain that an Ali Kushayb ever existed, and if he did, he is not Ali Abd al-Rahman, who has nothing to do with it. That is at least what the defence brief says. "This is not tenable," says the Sudanese activist who assisted ICC investigators in Darfur. "Dozens of people have recognized him. Whatever his name is, he is the one who is going to be judged, who committed all these crimes, who slit throats, burned, killed, beat people. He did it in broad daylight in front of hundreds of people." Moreover, he continues, Ali Abd al-Rahman, alias Ali Kushayb, was well known before the war. "He had a house in Garsila and my brother often visited him, there were no problems between us," says Abdallah. "He had a veterinary products store. Every week, he came to the market in Deleig to sell them, sometimes with a cart, sometimes by car. He worked like that for several years. Later, he joined the PDF, he took the lead of the Janjaweed, and there he became one who kills."

The trial is taking place at a time when Darfur is once again witnessing numerous acts of violence. These are fomented, according to many witnesses, by the Janjaweed, including members of the Rapid Support Force (RSF), a paramilitary corps led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo... the second in command of the ruling junta in Khartoum. Among the displaced, the satisfaction of seeing Ali Kushayb judged is diminished by the fear of reprisals.
Scranton, PA (18503)

Today

Periods of rain. Low 47F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Low 47F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near an inch.
After two years of Covid, many families are itching to go abroad this Easter.

For some, it may be their first overseas trip since the coronavirus crisis began, and a lot has changed since then.

Britons jetting off on holiday must now navigate new mobile phone roaming charges, redrawn insurance rules and ever-changing compensation criteria for disrupted flights.

Holiday hurdles: Britons jetting off on holiday must now navigate new mobile phone roaming charges, redrawn insurance rules and changing compensation criteria for disrupted flights

What's more, British Airways and EasyJet have cancelled hundreds of flights because of staff shortages. Here is our guide to ensuring your holiday plans aren't thrown up in the air...

Pay for your delay

Under UK law, an airline may have to compensate you if your flight is more than three hours late. This applies to flights departing the UK or Europe, or with a UK or European airline.

You won't be eligible for compensation if the cause of the disruption is out of the airline's control. This would include delays caused by 'extraordinary circumstances' such as extreme weather.

Travellers can currently claim 220 if they arrive more than three hours late on a short-haul flight of under 1,500km.

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Compensation for a medium-haul flight of over 1,500km or a long-haul flight of more than 3,500km is 350 and 520 respectively.

You should also get refreshments and other help if take-off is significantly delayed.

For example, if you wait more than two hours for a short-haul flight, you should be offered food and drink vouchers, accommodation if you have to travel the next day, and transport. If it's not arranged by the airline, pay for it yourself and keep receipts to claim it later.

An overhaul proposed by the Department for Transport (DFT) could mean travellers get less in future.

If a flight is cancelled within 14 days of departure, you may be able to claim between 110 and 520, depending on distance.

Delayed: Under UK law, an airline may have to compensate you if your flight is more than three hours late but not if the cause of the disruption is out of the airline's control

Testing times

Some airlines are still offering flexible booking policies if either you or your travel companion gets Covid-19 before your trip. However, there is huge variation, so make sure you read the terms before you book.

British Airways passengers can ask to cancel their booking and request a voucher if they or another person on the booking tests positive within two weeks of travelling.

The request must be submitted within 48 hours of the positive result, and the voucher must be used by the end of September next year.

If you test positive within five days of your EasyJet flight, you can transfer to an alternative one online.

If you show a satisfactory doctor's note, EasyJet may reimburse you the fee or provide a voucher for future travel.

Virgin Atlantic says customers can make changes to their travel dates, origin or destination with no service fees until December 31, 2023, as well as one free name change. Or you can choose a travel voucher.

Additionally, its 'Too Ill to Fly' guidelines offer a free date change to customers faced with unexpected and late changes to their plans or ability to travel due to an infectious disease, such as Covid-19.

No additional fare difference will be applied if your new travel date is within 90 days of the original one.

Get well covered

Travel insurance is a must, but be sure you check the small print carefully. Many policies now pay out if you have to cancel your trip because you test positive for the virus before your trip, or catch it abroad and need to extend your holiday or get medical treatment.

Lots of firms will also extend the period of time you're covered for, if you can't return as scheduled because you are sick.

A few may also cover you if you can't travel because of restrictions in the UK, such as a new lockdown or a change in travel advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office  but not all do.

Many travel insurance policies now pay out if you have to cancel your trip because you test positive for Covid

And there can be a minefield of exclusions in the small print, so make sure you read it and contact the insurer if it's not clear.

Standard travel insurance will not cover travel against Foreign Office advice, or if you decide you don't want to travel because you don't feel safe.

No policy will cover you for every Covid-related eventuality, so it's also a good idea to book flexible flights and accommodation that can be rearranged if necessary.

Always buy your policy on the day you buy your holiday, or you won't benefit from cancellation cover.

The proof you need

Since 4am on Friday, March 18, travellers entering the UK have no longer had to fill in a passenger locator form, take a pre-arrival or post-arrival test, or self-isolate.

However, other destinations still have their own entry requirements, so check before you travel.

This could include providing proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test result, and a passenger locator form with your flight and accommodation details.

You can check what is needed with your airline, or search for a destination online at gov.uk/foreign- travel-advice.

There may also be requirements for the flight. For example, EasyJet says passengers over six must wear FFP2 masks on flights to, from and within Italy, Austria and Germany.

Make sure your passport is valid for your stay.

For most European countries, you should have at least three months left on your passport on the day you travel but other destinations will have their own requirements.

Health cards

If you are travelling to a European country, a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or the new UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) means you can receive emergency or necessary medical care for the same cost as a resident.

This could be at a reduced cost or free. The EHIC lasts for five years and although it is being replaced with the GHIC, you can continue to use it until it expires.

Lifesaver: A European Health Insurance Card or the new UK Global Health Insurance Card means you can receive emergency or necessary medical care for the same cost as a resident

If you are a UK resident and need a new card, you can apply for the GHIC, which covers treatment in the 27 EU countries including France, Germany and Greece.

Most EHICs and GHICs are not accepted in Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.

If you need emergency treatment while you are visiting another country and haven't received your card, you can apply for a Provisional Replacement Certificate (PRC).

The NHS is warning of delays in processing cards because of high demand, so bear this in mind if you are due to travel this summer.

Apply via services.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/cra/which-service for a free card, and watch out for online firms that charge.

Neither card is a replacement for travel insurance, as they don't cover all health costs, quarantining in hotels if you catch Covid, or repatriation.

Roaming costs

Be mindful of using your mobile phone abroad or you could be hit with a shock bill when you get home.

Roaming fees were scrapped in June 2017  but now the UK is no longer part of the EU, the largest mobile phone firms are bringing them back.

Vodafone customers who signed up to a new contract after August 11 last year will have to pay 2 a day to use minutes, texts and data in European countries.

Brexit loss: Roaming fees were scrapped in June 2017 - but now the UK is no longer part of the EU, the largest mobile phone firms are bringing them back

You can cut this to 1 a day if you buy an eight-day or 15-day roaming pass. Some monthly plans automatically include roaming in Europe.

Those who upgraded or joined EE after last July 7 will pay 2 a day to use their phones in 47 European destinations.

Alternatively, you could buy a 30-day Roam Abroad Pass.

This will cost 10 for those on the Essential plan. If you have a Smart or Full Works plan, it's free to add it to your account.Those who took out a new contract with Three or upgraded from October 1 will have to pay a 2 daily roaming charge from May 23.

Sky Mobile has also reintroduced roaming charges of 2 a day. O2, Virgin Mobile and Giffgaff have not brought back roaming charges.

Car hire hikes

The average cost of renting a vehicle in Europe has soared by more than 100 per cent since 2019.

Many firms have gone two years without income and now need to recoup their losses.

There may also be a shortage of vehicles, after some companies sold cars during the pandemic to keep themselves afloat.

Pre-pandemic, a family could expect to pay about 226 for a week's car hire in popular European destinations, but now it costs 455, according to insurer iCarhireinsurance.com.

Soaring hire: The average cost of renting a vehicle in Europe has soared by more than 100% since 2019

The average cost to rent a vehicle for a week in Tenerife is now 345, up from 155; and 571 in Milan, a rise of 267.

Ernesto Suarez, the founder of iCarhireinsurance.com, says: 'Prices have rocketed since the pandemic for many reasons.

'Rental companies have had to put extra measures in place to keep their staff and customers safe, which has added to the price.

'Also, with fewer people wanting to take public transport, there has been increased demand for rental cars, affecting their supply and causing costs to rise for tourists.

'Then there is a worldwide shortage of new cars, which may also be affecting the number of cars available to rent.'

To cut costs, make sure you book and pay for the car early  as soon as you have bought your flights.

Last summer, the consumer group Which? found that people who booked their August rental in July paid 26 per cent more than those who paid in May.

Use a well-known firm such as Enterprise in the UK, Alamo in the U.S., AutoReisen in the Canary Islands or Zest for bookings worldwide, Which? recommends.

Don't buy insurance, or extras such as satnavs and car seats, at the rental desk, as they will be more expensive. You can download a free maps app such as Navmii and bring your own seat.

Overseas spending

A standard debit card charges 11.88 on a 250 cash withdrawal abroad, while some credit cards charge 14.95 before interest is applied, according to the data firm Moneyfacts.

You will also have to pay fees on purchases. You could be charged an extra 1.38 on a 50 spend on a debit card, or 1.50 on a credit card.

Starling Bank, Monzo and Virgin Money offer free current accounts that don't charge for using a debit card overseas, while Metro Bank customers can use their card in Europe without fees.

You'll get the same benefits with TSB's Spend and Save Plus account, which costs 3 a month, and Nationwide's Flexplus account, which is 13 a month.

Halifax's Clarity credit card and Barclaycard's Rewards card are free to use overseas.

a.murray@dailymail.co.uk
It used to be Bank of England's job to look after the pound, but as consumers jet off again they will find that it doesn't stretch very far, says ALEX BRUMMER
Moneycorp's red foreign currency exchange counters, a staple of UK airports and high streets, are now a thing of the past.

The London-based group said its has completed the exit from retail sites after shutting down its last remaining branches at Gatwick Airport yesterday.

It started to gradually close its 77 currency exchange sites in 2014, including those in Heathrow and Stansted airports, and Oxford Street.

Gone: Moneycorp shut down its last remaining branches at Gatwick airport yesterday

Moneycorp, which holds a banking licence, said the move marked 'an important step' in its evolution from a UK foreign exchange business to a 'global payments and banking services provider'.

Over the last eight years, the group has gone from being largely a domestic provider of traditional foreign exchange to an 'international, digitally enabled, B2B currency solutions provider'.

In 2014, its retail business accounted for nearly 60 per cent of its income, with the vast majority coming from domestic UK revenue streams, the company said.

Today, Moneycorp's income predominately comes from payments and banking services, with 84 per cent business-to-business, and 65 per cent from international revenue streams.

Moneycorp offers international payment services to consumers, for example for people buying properties overseas or sending money to family abroad.

It also works with businesses of all sizes, providing them with global payment solutions and helping them reduce their foreign currency risk.

Mark Horgan, Moneycorp chief executive, said: 'Moneycorp continues to adapt to the evolving needs of our customers in a rapidly changing and increasingly digital environment.

'The retail business has been an important part of our business for many years...

'However, Moneycorp's future is firmly rooted in payments and banking solutions.

'We continue to see a significant increase in demand from SME clients and financial institutions looking for a trusted, scale partner to provide sophisticated currency solutions for their businesses around the world.'
HomeServe is still recovering from the impact of Covid-19, but the emergency home repairs group has managed to hold on to most of its customers for the time being.

The company, which has expanded in recent years through several acquisition, said it has retained 84 per cent of its global customers over the last 12 months.

In the UK, the group told investors it had made 'good early progress' on its transformation plan, with customer numbers ending the year in line with expectations.

Homeserve said it has made 'good early progress' on its transformation plan in the UK

It saw higher retention rates in its North American membership and ventilation business too.

During the year to the end of March, it launched a service for customers to get heating and air conditioning replacements, and an annual check plus breakdown cover for a monthly fee across the US.

It also provides installation and maintenance services for electric car charging points, which it said are now available to 9million households.

Last year saw its revenues jump 15 per cent to 1.3billion as the pandemic kept people at home and made them more reliant on its repair services.

Homeserve shares rose by around 1.7 per cent to 879p in afternoon trading.

Last month, the group became the target of a potential takeover bid.

Canadian asset manager Brookfield said it was 'considering a possible offer' for the company.

It added that there was no certainty that an approach would be made or what the terms of any offer would be.

Brookfield has until April 21 to state if it will make a formal offer for the group or walk away.
By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

The next round of political consultation took place between Azerbaijan and Belgium on April 4, in Brussels, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has reported.

The delegations, led by Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov and Belgian Director-General for Bilateral Affairs Jeroen Koreman, discussed the current state of relations between the two nations and the regional situation, the report added.

The sides underlined that there are a lot of opportunities for bilateral collaboration in all areas and expressed the mutual desire for its further development.

Highlighting the good political ties between Belgium and Azerbaijan, Koreman said there are interactions at the level of governments and parliaments, and the countries are willing to maintain the beneficial discussion.

It was reminded that 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Belgium.

Khalafov informed the opposite side of the region's new political status following the 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijans demining efforts in the lands liberated from Armenian occupation, as well as restoration and reconstruction activities carried out there.

He also detailed Azerbaijan's efforts to restore regional post-conflict stability and security.

Following that, the parties discussed regional and international security problems and decided to continue their political consultations.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, European Council President Charles Michel and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will meet in Brussels on 6 April 2022 to continue discussions, among others on issues raised during the leaders meeting on 14 December 2021. Armenia and Azerbaijan will also address issues related to prospects for a peace agreement between them.
Cape Town  The Bollore Africa Logistics group has confirmed the sale of its activities in Africa to Franco-Swiss shipowner MSC for a record amount of  5.7 billion. In addition to its port activities, the group operates three railway lines on the continent. Africa has been at the base of the logistics firm's business.

Bollore Africa Logistics employs more than 20,000 people and has an annual turnover of 2.1 billion, 250 subsidiaries, three railway lines and a presence in forty-two ports, including the concessions of sixteen container terminals and seven Ro-Ro terminals (roll on/roll off cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as motor vehicles). This probably reflects the astronomical offer of 5.7 billion from MSC. The exceptionally favourable economic context since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the exponential increase in prices in maritime transport and logistics, also explains the high amount.

For more than thirty-five years, Bollore group has also been a leading player in the wood industry. It owns two logging companies, Sepca in Cote d'Ivoire and SEPBC in Cameroon. It works together with a logistics hub in Gabon but manages the bulk of its activities from Cameroon. The company exploits wood from three countries in the Congo Basin (Cameroon, Central African Republic and DR Congo) which is home to 90% of the continent's tropical forest and is the second largest on the planet after the Amazon.

Since 2016, there have been growing tensions between the group and port authorities because the latter want to replace the temporary licences with concession agreements. Such a regime would allow the autonomous ports to impose specifications on SEPBC in terms of investments. It will also increase the number and level of royalties that the company pays to the State. A concession agreement would also give the Autonomous Port the possibility of having a mechanism for monitoring the activities of SEPBC and of having precise statistics on the volume of wood exported from the wood terminal which is not currently the case.

The group's critics complain about "a lot of vagueness" in certain declared figures and mistrust because of corruption. The owner, Vincent Bollore, is cited and being prosecuted in several African countries and in France. According to them these legal proceedings may be one of the reasons which have pushed the multinational to sell its African logistics activities.

However, the Bollore group is leaving the continent with a positive financial balance sheet. It is also increasingly confronted with competition from logging companies from Asia. This competition is tilting the choices of African countries towards the latter.
Niger State governor Abubakar Sani Bello has expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family of Ndanusa Isaiah over the death of Eunice Ndanusa Isaiah, the mother of the founder and publisher of LEADERSHIP Newspaper titles, late Sam Nda-Isaiah.

Governor Sani Bello in a condolence message described the deceased as a great woman who was able to train children of reputable character among whom was the famous late Sam Nda-Isaiah who died on the 11th December, 2020.

He said, "It is really a difficult and grieving moment for the family members of Nda-Isaiah particularly as they buried one of the strong pillars in the family barely a year and three months ago.

"We cannot question what God has done but rather, we are to accept his act and pray that God will forgive her all her shortcomings and grant her eternal rest."

The governor also prayed to God to give the family members and well-wishers the fortitude to bear the loss.
Kingsport, TN (37660)

Today

Thunderstorms, some strong this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. Low 56F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms, some strong this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Damaging winds and large hail with some storms. Low 56F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
Taste of Troy Food Tours is bringing back its two flagship food tours in Albany and Troy for the 2022 season.

The revamped tours will begin April 29 with a progressive buffet of restaurants and craft beverages.

Tour offerings for the 2022 season include: An Historic Downtown Albany Food Tours on most Fridays, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., from the last weekend in April to October; and the Central Troy Historic District Food Tours on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., from the last weekend in April to October.

Each of our tours will have a new taste vendor partner this season. Our food tours tell Albany and Troys stories delectably. Whether it is to offer a unique, rooftop view of Albany or some Gilded Age insights, there are new things for all tour guests this season, said Amy Koren-Roth, owner of Taste of Troy Food Tours.

The Albany tour includes stops at five independent Albany restaurants: C.H. Evans Brewing Company at the Albany Pump Station; Banh Mi 47; The Hollow Bar & Kitchen; Cider Belly Doughnuts; and DeFazios Pizzeria Albany.

The Central Troy Historic District Food Tour, starting Saturday, April 30, includes visits to four eateries and a walk through the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market with tastes from two different market vendors. This seasons tour has been reworked extensively due to the pandemic and now partners with: DeFazios Pizzeria; Sunhees Farm and Kitchen; La Capital Tacos; Troy Waterfront Farmers Market (Maynard Farms and Parchment Baking Company); and Browns Brewing Company.

The tour ends in time for guests to further explore and shop the Troy market. Each three-hour walking tour is a progressive meal, led by a guide who takes tour-goers on a curated exploration of these historic areas.

Tour guests must show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test less than 72 hours old prior to the tour date. New York residents are encouraged to download the Excelsior Pass app for this step.

Additionally, guests are asked to bring a mask with them to use as needed or required.

Food items will be individually plated wherever possible, and guests are asked to bring their own bottles of water.

Tour space is limited to 10 guests and pre-booking is required. Guests have the option of making any public tour (with no other bookings) into a private tour, with purchase of a minimum of five tickets. Included in the $74 to 79 adult ticket ($54 to 59 for children 3 to 12) are food and beverage tastings.

Tours are rain or shine. Private tours for special occasions (corporate events, team building, birthday parties, bachelorette parties, bridal showers, family reunions, etc.) can be arranged upon request. For more information or to purchase tickets for an upcoming Taste of Troy Food Tours LLC tour, visit www.tasteoftroyfoodtours.com https://www.facebook.com/tasteoftroyfoodtoursllc/ or phone 518-495-2277.
The team behind Ollies Pizza in High Falls is bringing a new three-in-one food concept to the former Tonys Pizzeria in Kingston.

Innis Lawrence and his wife Sophie Peltzer-Rollo, who opened Ollies in 2020, will be the seventh owners of Tonys Pizzeria, which had occupied the space at 582 Broadway since 1937. The partners have plans to create a bistro called Eliza, a small commissary called Fletcher and Lus for takeout, and Ollie's Slice Shop pizzeria, all at the location.

Longtime pie joint Tonys closed in late January when owners Nealey Farrell and Dylan Kennedy, who bought Tonys in 2010 after it sat vacant for nearly four years, announced they were moving on and had found a new buyer. Farrell and Kennedy wrote on the pizzerias Facebook page: Its not an easy decision for us to make, but in retrospect, its quite simple because now, for many reasons, its what is best for our family.

Kingston residents will still be able to grab a slice from the Broadway brick-and-mortar once it reopens and serves traditional, New York-style slices.

The proposal for the new business was approved by the City of Kingston Planning Board in March, and the sale was finalized March 23.

Its a place that has a lot of history, said Lawrence. Its being respectful to that history and also understanding the future and that its not going to be exactly what people remember it as.

The new bistro will offer sit-down service, utilizing outdoor patio space in the back as well. Chris Bradley is signed on as the bistros chef and plans to stick to a steady menu of entrees, with a rotating selection of sides.

Its more about simplicity, said Lawrence. What I mean about simplistic is high-quality ingredients that arent overly done  Its going to be refined fare that is accessible, not like fine dining.

The commissary will operate as a marketplace, where people can buy quick bites and ingredients like charcuterie, sausages, meatballs and whole rotisserie chickens for family dinners at home.

Lawrence and Peltzer-Rollo opened Ollies Pizza in August 2020 and have been eager to expand. When they saw the Tonys Pizzeria building was for sale, they knew it was the right fit.

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Naturally it seems like a good thing for us, said Lawrence. We had been talking about the concepts, then the building presented itself as the perfect union to do all three of these things under one roof.

With lingering hiccups in the global supply chain, it could take longer than expected to get the establishments up and running, and they are not yet estimating an open date.

Were all really deeply passionate about food and feeding people in general and the necessity of communal dining as a species, said Lawrence.

Kingstons Midtown will also welcome a new taproom by Catskills-based West Kill Brewing this summer, located off Broadway and a short walk from the new restaurant by the Ollies team.
'The White Line' has been nominated for Best Soundtrack Movie or TV Series and Best Lighting Designer in a Movie or TV Series while 'Hairareb' is in the running for the Best Movie (Southern Africa) award at the 8th Africa Magic Viewer's Choice Awards (AMVCAs) set for 14 May.

"As Africa's most loved storyteller, MultiChoice Namibia aims to shine a light on local content and showcase the best we have to offer to the world. Congratulations to 'The White Line' and 'Hairareb' teams for their massive contribution to the African film industry and we wish them the best of luck," said Roger Gertze, Managing Director at MultiChoice Namibia.

Africa Magic, in association with MultiChoice, will host a prestigious eight-day event to celebrate all things fashion, technology, food and African culture in Nigeria, featuring a runway show, MultiChoice Talent Factory Day movie screenings and a Digital Content Creators' Day, among other events.

Voting for the eighth AMVCAs is officially open and closes on Friday, 29 April.
Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

MENANDS -- The Menands school district said it went into a lockout mode Tuesday after a staff member received a threatening email at about 8:40 a.m.

After the email was read, the district immediately notified the Menands Police Department, and the district went into lockdown. Out of an abundance of caution, the district transitioned to a lockout as the police continued their investigation. During the lockout, access to the building was limited and classroom instruction continued. Students were dismissed at the end of the day without incident, according to the district.
SARATOGA SPRINGS  The citys public safety commissioner wants to discipline a high-ranking police officer over the decision to not press charges against three white teens who allegedly beat an African American student so severely that he sustained a brain injury.

James Montagnino said the senior commander refused to press charges because the 17-year-old victim, who is currently under the care a neurologist, shoved his attacker first and was prone to concussions.

The officer said that the medical records the victim provided (showed he) had previously had a number of concussions and therefore he was prone to concussions, said Montagnino, who is not naming the officer. I know the law. The fact that this young man is more susceptible to concussions doesnt justify the assault that caused the concussion.  This is either gross incompetence or some bias at work there. There is no other rationalization."

The late February incident, which took place at a party on Salem Drive where underage drinking allegedly took place, also left the teen with a split lip, loose tooth, black eye and a cut on his back, Montagnino said. After the victim shoved another teen, he was allegedly thrown against a countertop by one assailant and repeatedly punched by two others. Racial slurs were also allegedly being shouted at the victim, the commissioner said.

There is nothing in the law that justifies responding to a shove that causes no injury whatsoever with throwing someone into a granite countertop and causing that type of an injury, he said. The evidence is overwhelming this was at the very least a third-degree misdemeanor assault.

After what Montagnino referred to as "a gang assault," the teen ended up in a basement room of the home.

He said the victim, who had been accepted into an Ivy League school in the fall, has decided to delay his attendance because of a brain injury.

The dispute comes as the state attorney generals office is investigating Saratoga Springs police's handling of Black Lives Matter protests in the city last year for possible civil rights violations.

The officer who declined to submit charges against the teens did not return a phone call seeking comment. The Times Union also reached out to the officer's attorney, Christopher Silva, but did not immediately hear back.

Sean Briscoe, who is the officer's union representative, said Friday that he couldnt comment on the unsubstantiated rumors that could be detrimental to an officers right to due process.

Saratoga Springs Police Chief Shane Crooks said on Monday he couldnt comment on the matter; he said there is still an open investigation into the alleged assault.

Its an internal matter, Crooks said. I dont feel its appropriate to comment because there are multiple people involved.

The incident came to Montagninos attention after the alleged victim's family reached out to Saratoga County Supervisor Tara Gaston. She said this was the first time the family was ever involved with the justice system and they had questions that, even as an attorney herself, she could not answer.

After Montagnino met with the family at Gaston's request, he asked the senior officer to review the file. After a review, the officer told the commissioner why police weren't charging the other teens, and referred to the victim as a complainant.

Montagnino  a lawyer and former prosecutor who took office at the beginning of the year  said he was stunned at the officer's rationale for that word choice: (The officer) said, I wont refer to him as a victim. Hes a complainant, not a victim, because he pushed the defendant first.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

The commissioner said discussion of the incident on social media has left the family feeling revictimized; they said their son is being harassed on Snapchat with messages calling him a snitch. Montagnino and Gaston said the family wants to remain anonymous.

Montagnino, who according to the city charter provides civilian oversight of the department, has taken criticism for discussing the matter in public  something he said he decided to do only after seeing it raised on various social media platforms.

Gaston, a fellow Democrat, defended Montagnino, saying he's doing what he was elected to do.

"The role of the commissioner of public safety is designed to help drive policy and make sure things are done correctly," Gaston said. "It is the responsibility of a leader, if they see things are not done correctly, especially when it comes to ensuring the equal safety and health in the community, ... to step in."

At this point, a month after the incident, Montagnino said the family no longer wants to press charges. They want their son to heal and they want to put this behind them, he said.

The commissioner, however, is demanding the officer be reprimanded and demoted.

When you have a group of people and something happens at the end of which only one is injured and the injuries consist of a concussion and neurological impairment ... and someone said there is no crime there, I think someone who says that has no understanding of what is supposed to be happening in a society governed by law," he said.

Note: The Times Union corrected the date of the party where the teen was injured. The party took place late Februrary.
SCHENECTADY  Public comments at Schenectady City Council are typically benign, with talk centered around spending, battered public infrastructure and the occasional accolade for a lawmaker.

Now the public comment period is increasingly studded with racist and homophobic diatribes by residents, and lawmakers want to put the kibosh on the growing trend.

The city development & planning committee on Monday resolved to tweak the rules governing what people can say and strengthen guidelines to weed out misconduct.

Clearly theres something happening at that rail that should not be happening, said City Council President Marion Porterfield.

Among the changes being considered: Lawmakers aim to tighten up the language governing conduct, require speakers to use their legal names, verbally review the tightened-up rules, design handouts and consider punishments if the guidelines are broken.

Porterfield, who acknowledged the rhetoric was escalating, said she specifically wanted to see language added to prohibit racism and homophobia.

City Council has navigated two years of strong racial conversations, the result of policymaking following the murder of George Floyd and grappling with the racially-coded language that became a mainstay during last years debate between warring blocs of political factions.

But only now has the language gotten problematic enough for lawmakers to take action.

The most recent example was last Monday, when a frequent commentator who identified himself as Diablo peppered his commentary with the word negro.

Porterfield chided him. Afterwords, he used a sexual slur.

Diablo last month said Black people and "anti-Americans" should have no role in the yet-to-be-formed city panel designed to dole out millions in federal relief funding.

And last December, frequent commenter Anthony Peter Carota said city recognition of Juneteeth, the federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of Black Americans, would amount to domestic terrorism.

Carota was chastised by a leading activist moments later.

We have an obligation  a moral obligation  to be explicit about the things we are tolerating as a governing body, said city Councilman Damonni Farley on Monday.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

Every two weeks, the public is permitted to address City Council as part of privilege of the floor for the legislative agenda. The public can also discuss general city business, which is where much of the insults  many of them part of inchoate stem winders  are flying.

Current guidelines require speakers to keep their comments focused upon the items under consideration on the agenda.

Privilege of the floor is not an opportunity for debate, according to guidelines, and public comment speakers should not expect a back and forth exchange with Council Members.

Speakers should refrain from slanderous or obscene remarks, disruptive outbursts, threats, and other conduct that disrupts or interferes with the orderly conduct of the business of the meeting.

A ban on personal attacks was added in 2018 after ex-City Council President Ed Kosiur duked it out with a foe he claimed was targeting city Councilman John Mootooveren.

Critics said the safeguards were an attempt to silence outspoken government-watchers.
ALBANY  The state attorney general's office has intervened in the investigation of a fatal crash in Albany late Monday in which a 13-year-old boy was killed when a stolen car that was being driven by another teenager slammed into a building on Broadway as they fled police, according to law enforcement sources.

The Times Union has separately confirmed that the teenage girl who was allegedly driving the car had been under supervision with Albany County Family Court for her involvement in an armed robbery two years ago. It was not immediately clear whether her case has been adjudicated or if she remains under court-authorized supervision.

An executive order issued by former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in 2015 empowers the attorney general's office to investigate fatal encounters between police and unarmed civilians. The attorney general's office has invoked that authority at times to investigate vehicle pursuits involving police that result in a fatality.

But it's unclear whether Monday night's crash was precipitated by any pursuit of the stolen car by police. Officers who arrived at the crash scene pulled the 13-year-old out of the vehicle and began administering life-saving efforts. Generally, Albany police will terminate vehicle pursuits because of the dangerousness.

In October, a state trooper was charged with murder and manslaughter for allegedly using his police cruiser to ram a car occupied by four members of a family, killing 11-year-old Monica Goods when the family's vehicle flipped over. Trooper Christopher G. Baldner was indicted for the incident that took place on the state Thruway in Ulster County in December 2020.

Albany's vehicle pursuit policy stretches back years.

In 2012, the city agreed to pay $200,000 to the parents of a 17-year-old who was killed by a woman fleeing police when her vehicle slammed into the teenager's car at a high rate of speed in Arbor Hill.

The insurance company for Marianne Williams, who was driving the car that killed Harrison Carnevale, a Shaker High School graduate, paid an additional $50,000 to Carnevale's parents, according to a settlement order filed in state Supreme Court.

The teenager's parents, Jay and Donna, had waged a years-long legal battle to obtain police records related to their son's death. (The couple separated after their son was killed.)

"It was about holding somebody accountable, the city of Albany accountable, for something they did wrong," Jay Carnevale said in 2012. "Marianne Williams is held accountable because she's serving 6 to 12 years (in state prison)."

Shortly after the crash, police officials said they had terminated their pursuit of Williams, who was being chased for a low-level infraction and had a history of mental health problems. Police officials said a sergeant instructed patrol officers to abandon the pursuit seconds after it began, as Williams drove wildly across the city's densely populated West Hill and Arbor Hill neighborhoods.

Law enforcement sources said that investigators with the attorney general's office were at the scene of the crash late Monday in Albany and have requested copies of records from the investigation, including any video camera footage from street-pole cameras, body cameras or dashboard video cameras in police cars.

The incident began on Northern Boulevard in Arbor Hill when police spotted the stolen vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. The stolen vehicle failed to stop; a few blocks away, it careened into another vehicle and kept going.

Police sources said at least four other teenagers in the car yelled for the driver to stop but she allegedly kept going and lost control of the vehicle as it turned onto Broadway from Lawn Avenue, a few blocks north of Interstate 90.

The Albany school district confirmed Tuesday morning that the victim was a student at William S. Hackett Middle School. Police have not released the dead boy's name, or the identities of any of the other occupants in the car. The Times Union is withholding the name of the driver because of her age and because it's unclear whether she has been arrested.
ALBANY  Lawmakers may avoid making sweeping changes to Kendra's Law, which allows in the involuntary commitment of people struggling with severe mental illness. Instead, they are looking at substantial additions to the state's bail laws related to mental health, according to senators involved in the discussions.

The proposed changes to the state's bail laws on mental illness has alarmed advocates who worry that it could lead to the criminalization of mental illness and a return to institutionalization.

Mental health advocates contend that the "secretive efforts to curtail rights of people with mental illness" ignore tools the courts already have to help get people resources they need. They contend the focus should be fully funding those services that the state already can divert people toward.

"Right now judges don't even refer people for evaluation because they figure there's nowhere to send them," Senate Finance Chairwoman Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, said. "What we're really trying to do is make sure that if someone is determined to be possibly in need of psychiatric evaluation and a greater standard of care and not be thrown into Rikers, that yes, the judge says you have to have an evaluation and yes, the hospital, somewhere is going to have to take you."

The proposed changes with criminal justice policies, like those contained with Gov. Kathy Hochul's 10-point plan, are generally "aligned" between the Senate and the executive chamber, according to Krueger.

"The Senate thinks it does have an agreement" with the governor, Krueger said late Monday.

Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie said changes to Kendra's Law "haven't been finalized yet."

Kendra's Law, which was first passed in 1999, could be expanded but the requested changes by the governor are no longer a part of the conversation.

The governor had proposed to allowing law enforcement to, in effect, involuntarily commit people who may be suicidal and likely to commit harm. That also could be done to people who are found to be unable to feed, clothe or shelter themselves, which advocates argue is unconstitutional. It was first discussed by state officials in the context of addressing homelessness in New York City's subway system.

Instead, changes to the state's criminal law on bail could be altered as it relates to mental illness.

Proposed changes could include allowing a judge to direct a person receive a mental health evaluation at the time the court is determining whether to set bail, according to draft language viewed by the Assembly on April 2 and obtained by the Times Union.

If a person is deemed to be a danger to themselves, as under Kendra's Law, they can be involuntarily admitted to a hospital.

But there has been a shortage of psychiatric beds to meet the demand after some were shifted to patient care to allow hospitals to handle any surge in COVID-19 cases. Krueger said the state plans to spend more money on getting additional psychiatric beds.

"The critical point is are we going to have psychiatric ER facilities that will take you and correctly evaluate you," Krueger said. "And then, if you need XYZ, actually get you XYZ instead of just put you back on the streets. Because next time the police just take you to Rikers directly and that's a disaster."

Some of the language advocates staunchly oppose in the proposed expansion of Kendra's Law centers on a judge's ability to steer someone accused of a criminal offense toward involuntary commitment, including when the person lacks access to stable housing and food. It would also fold in people with a mental illness and those with an addictive disorder or co-occuring disorder.

"When we're bringing criminalization and mental health into the discussion, I think that's not a good thing," said Glenn Liebman, CEO of the Mental Health Association in New York State.

Liebman has been pushing for cost-of-living raises for behavioral health workers to help improve services.

"We are outraged," Harvey Rosenthal, CEO of New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, said. "Not only is it that the extent of these proposals are pernicious, you see them building, and it's frankly done in an atmosphere of behind closed doors, overnight and before an election."

Experts in the field note that judges have the ability to send someone to Mental Health Court and to be evaluated, but do not utilize it. Experts and advocates argue that the focus should be funding resources so judges feel more confident sending individuals for treatment rather than detention.
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ALBANY  Two proposals advanced by the state Legislature, creating greater oversight of New Yorks billions in economic development subsidies, are being actively considered as part of budget negotiations. In both instances, key points of contention have also emerged between lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochuls administration concerning the depth of oversight or who will conduct it.

The budget was due April 1, and as the talks go into overtime, crucial but lesser-publicized issues are being folded into the negotiations.

One of the matters under negotiation would create a so-called Database of Deals that would provide much more information to the public about whether state government subsidies are creating promised economic development. The proposal was part of both the Assembly and state Senates one-house budget resolutions.

According to budget watchdog groups, since a Database of Deals was first proposed in 2015, state government has spent an estimated $4.4 billion per year, or around $20 billion, on economic development incentives.

The proposal made this year by two Democrats, Queens state Sen. Leroy Comrie and Erie County Assemblywoman Monica Wallace, would require the states economic development arm, Empire State Development, to create a searchable database of initiatives receiving subsidies and economic development benefits. It would require reporting how many jobs were being created and what type: Full-time, part-time or contract. Among many other disclosure requirements, ESD would also have to provide information about the number of jobs being filled by women and minorities.

One of the watchdog groups pushing for the Legislature's proposal, Reinvent Albany, believes that Hochuls office is trying to strip out the provision defining whether jobs created are full-time, part-time or temporary.

"It's really not a database of deals if it doesn't include a uniform definition of jobs, because you're throwing apples and oranges into the the mix and you can't compare them," said John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany. "For us, this is a deal killer because it's so fundamental."

Kaehny also believes's Hochul's office is opposing the provision requiring the reporting of jobs filled by women and minorities. Kaehny said while it might be difficult for the administration to compile historical data, theres "absolutely no excuse" not to disclose those figures going forward.

Wallace, the Assembly sponsor of the bill, declined to speak about the specifics of negotiations with Hochuls office.

"I'm pushing for the whole thing to still be in there," Wallace said of her legislation. "There are some counter-proposals and some tweaks, and were trying to thread the needle. I appreciate some of the concerns theyve raised."

Asked if disclosure of the job creation figures is a point contention, Wallace said: "I don't want to get into it, but to the extent thats a possible point of contention, that is an important part of the legislation.

If there are things they can't provide  or want to provide, but there are difficulties technologically to providing it  we are trying to find a way to still achieve the intent, she said.

Comrie, the proposal's Senate sponsor and chair of the Corporations Committee, also declined to discuss specifics of negotiations.

"I cant confirm or deny anything at this critical stage because it could upset whats going on," Comrie said.

Hochul's press secretary, Hazel Crampton-Hays, issued a canned statement saying the governor's "executive budget includes bold initiatives to embrace this once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in our future, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature to finalize a budget that serves all New Yorkers.

On another legislative front, Democratic state Sen. James Skoufis, chairman of the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, said his own proposal to scrutinize subsidies is "very much alive" in budget talks. Hes exchanging legislative language back and forth with Hochuls office.

Under his proposal, state government would be compelled to hire an outside firm to audit every economic development tax incentive offered in the state. That would include big-ticket programs run by Empire State Development such as the Excelsior Jobs Program, START-UP NY and the State Film Tax Credit Program.

The point would be to determine which programs are working and which are not, Skoufis said.

"I'm sick and tired of seeing the governor's office and the Legislature blindly reappropriating billions of dollars every year without any such accounting," Skoufis said.

A possible point of contention with Hochuls office is choosing the outside contractor to conduct the audit.

Skoufis wants an agency outside the executive branch charged with choosing the auditor, such as the state comptrollers office.

"The non-negotiable point to me is: I have to feel assured that it's a truly independent audit," Skoufis said.

Under former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomos administration, concerns about independence were raised about a 2019 audit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In that instance, the MTA paid an outside firm $884,000, and the resulting audit was criticized by transit advocates as lacking depth in examining the agencys spending.

Skoufis said that in contrast with Cuomo, he doesn't believe Hochul's administration would try to exert undue influence over such an audit.

"But I have to be 100 percent confident," Skoufis said. "That means making sure that they dont have that contracting authority."
A grief-ravaged art restorer considers redirecting his anguish after the death of his husband into shattering the object he's working to fix, Michelangelo's statue of David.

That's the premise of the play "Destroying David," being given its first in-person production, after a virtual presentation in February in Seattle, by the four-month-old company Harbinger Theatre. It runs for six performance over one week, from Saturday through April 16.

Although Harbinger is based at the Albany Barn live/work space, "Destroying David" is being staged in the Opalka Gallery on the Albany campus of Russell Sage College and is the first play ever mounted within the gallery itself. (A number of others have been performed in the lecture hall adjoining the gallery.)

"It feels like the perfect place to do this, because the statue of David is in a gallery in Florence," said New York City-based playwright Jason Odell Williams, who finished the first draft of "Destroying David" last summer and considers the Harbinger production a workshop that will help him rewrite, as was the Seattle show, prior to a future official opening.

"The vision is to expand the gallery beyond the traditional confines of an academic gallery, to make it more of a community-responsive space," said Judie Gilmour, in her fifth year as director of the Opalka. "I thought it was a fascinating idea to have the play within the art space," she said.

"Destroying David" will be performed with a backdrop of the large-scale abstract works in the gallery's current exhibit, "Judith Braun: My Pleasure."

"I think it adds an extra layer of meaning to both" play and exhibit, Gilmour said.

Williams is best known for "Church & State," a drama about politics and religion that has been produced more than 60 times since its 2017 premiere. Local audiences have seen it at Berkshire Theatre Group in Stockbridge, Mass., directed by Williams' wife, Charlotte Cohn, in the summer of 2018, and in fall 2019 at Sand Lake Center for the Arts in Averill Park, with actor, director and Harbinger co-founder Patrick White directing. Williams participated in a virtual discussion about the play for the SLCA production and stayed in touch with White, sending along "Destroying David" to gauge interest.

"He asked me if I knew of any local groups that might want it. I said, 'I'll take that, thank you very much,' " said White, who likes to use new or lesser-known plays for the acting classes he's taught for the past seven years. The classes led to the founding of Harbinger last year to perform full productions, White said.

Williams said the idea for the play grew from a 2016 story in The New York Times about how cracks in the ankles of the David statue have caused experts to worry that the 6-ton, 17-foot-tall, 518-year-old priceless artwork might collapse. Because it is carved from a type of marble that contains microscopic holes that cause it to deteriorate faster than other marble, restoration has been especially painstaking. Efforts have included a proposal to insulate it from the vibration of footsteps in its home at the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence, which before the pandemic was being visited more than 1.5 million times a year.

"One of the primary themes of the play is how art manages to survive," said White, one of the busiest people in Capital Region community theater. He plays the central role, the art restorer; the other actor in the two-hander, being directed by Harbinger member Amy Hausknecht, is an equally veteran area actor and director, Chris Foster. He and White, a couple since meeting at an Albany Civic Theater audition in 2001, have been a part of 38 productions together, onstage and off, acting opposite one another in 13 shows.

Foster plays six roles  "Technically it's seven, but one of them is very short," he said  including the dead husband, a gallery official, Michelangelo and a caveman.

"One the things that struck me about (the play) is how it looks at the fragility of life, and how it doesn't take much to create a huge problem and sometimes a catastrophe," said Foster, adding, "I really like how it says that art is one of those things that can help take us to the other side of our grief."

Williams named the art restorer You, and the script does not specify gender or age.

"Sometimes when I'm writing a play, I can clearly see the character, and a name just comes to me: 'Oh, that's definitely Sen. Charles Whitmore,'" Williams said, referring to main character of "Church & State." While working on "Destroying David," however, "I couldn't really see who the person was," Williams said, noting that he imagined in the role actors as varied as the august stage and screen veterans Kathleen Chalfant ("Law & Order," "Angels in America") and F. Murray Abraham ("Amadeus").

"I also know what it's like for small regional theaters, who want to pick the best actor," Williams said. "I didn't want to specify that the character had to be a white man in his 40s. Anybody can be married to a person named David." (Yes, the dead husband has the same name as the statue, which, Williams notes dryly, is not a coincidence.)

As it happens, the role went to a white man in his 50s, and his partner of two decades is the co-star.

But, White insisted, the couple didn't choose the play specifically for themselves.

"I'd pretty much stepped away from acting," said Foster, who has been on area stages for about 30 years. "But I wanted to do this. I'm not saying it's our swan song, but I don't see many more opportunities where we'll be working on stage together in the future," he said.

"It wasn't earmarked for us," White said, adding with a laugh, "I also can't say that after we had an exhaustive search far and wide, the roles happened to go to the two guys in whose living room we hold the (Harbinger) board meetings."
CITIZENS Coalition for Change (CCC) activists Joana Mamombe and Cecilia Chimbiri will now stand trial on May 2 after they bid to be removed from remand flopped.

The two are being charged together with Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) leaders Takudzwa Ngadziore and Tapiwanashe Chiriga on allegations of breaching Covid-19 regulations by holding a press conference outside the Harare Magistrates' court in 2020.

The State requested that the trial be pushed to May 2 and the application was granted by Magistrate Ruth Moyo.

Prosecutors also promised that if the State is not ready by then, the magistrate should remove the four from remand.

The quartet's lawyer Alec Muchadehama however, argued that the case has been dragging for close to two years with no progress.

Mamombe and Chimbiri also stood trial before chief magistrate Faith Mushure in a case they are being accused of fabricating falsehoods against the state.

The two alleged they were abducted by suspected state agents at a roadblock on their way from Harare's Warren Park suburb before they went missing.

Mamombe and Chimbiri said they endured torture for two days before they were dumped in Bindura.

However, the state accuses the two of lying in a bid to soil the government's reputation.

Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officer Venencia Muchenje told court that Mamombe and Chimbiri's vehicle was never seen at the roadblock at Harare Show Grounds as alleged on May 13 2020.

Muchadehama will cross examine the witness on April 12.
Locals warned us that the pandemic wasn't yet complete . . .



Today's proof . . .

CHECK COVID MASK MANDATES BACK IN EFFECT FOR SHAWNEE SCHOOLS!!!

Here's a peek at the renewed orders . . .



The six schools all surpassed the districts 5% threshold of overall student absence rates related to illness, Chief Communications Officer David Smith noted.



The schools impacted are all elementary schools, including:



Arrowhead

East Antioch

Highlands

Pawnee

Rosehill

Sunflower



Smith said parent reports from the impacted schools show a gastrointestinal illness and influenza are circulating, prompting elevated rates of student absenteeism.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Six Shawnee Mission elementary schools bring back mask rules after high student absences Students at six Shawnee Mission elementary schools returned to school Monday with mask rules back in place, according to district officials. The six schools all surpassed the district's 5% threshold of overall student absence rates related to illness, Chief Communications Officer David Smith told the Post via email.

Developing . . .


As we slouch toward the political campaign season of 2022, local voters are confronting a new reality and civic push back amid a "cultural shift" that has gripped the nation.

To wit and thanks to one of the most knowledgeable political insiders we know . . .



UPCOMING COURTHOUSE CAMPAIGN FILINGS REVEAL THAT REPUBLICANS ARE ENERGIZED AND WILLING TO COMPETE IN JACKSON COUNTY ELECTIONS!!!

Here's the word . . .



"Look closely, here's what nobody noticed . . . Republicans have filed a candidate in every single Jackson County district. That hasn't happened for decades. This tells me that the Missouri GOP is willing to spend money in order to make Jackson County inroads . . . Sure, the Democratic Party has the historical advantage but there's a potential that a couple of highly motivated candidates and lingering public frustration could flip one or even two districts."

Even better . . .

Here's inside info and a word of warning about the top job at the courthouse . . .

"What inspired these Republicans and what will be significant for Theresa Galvin's campaign is some very interesting polling numbers that will go public soon. Of course the Executive has the advantage as an incumbent but when voters start to consider some of his negatives, his numbers fall off a cliff. When they get questions about property taxes . . . His numbers show that he's vulnerable."

Conclusion . . .

"A lot of people might be surprised to that Missouri Republicans are going to make a serious push to gain a foothold in Jackson County in 2022 and if they aren't prepared for it . . . There's a very real risk that we could see political power change hands for the first time in nearly 100 years . . . And Jackson County will have Executive Frank White and his property tax increases to thank for it."

Developing . . .


More good news in this local crusade for justice . . .



Missouri's highest court said Carnes met the burden of proof needed to establish "gateway cause and prejudice" claim that the state failed to disclose material evidence, and therefore, Carnes is entitled to "habeas corpus relief," or release from unlawful detention.



On Tuesday, the court determined Carnes should be released within 30 days unless the state elects to retry him.



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Keith Carnes ordered to be released within 30 days pending a potential retrial Keith Carnes has been ordered to be released within 30 days pending a potential retrial by the Missouri Supreme Court. The Kansas City man who says he was wrongly convicted appears to be getting the second chance at freedom he has been seeking. Keith Carnes has been for the murder of Larry White since 2003.

Missouri Supreme Court rules Keith Carnes should be freed after wrongful conviction KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that Keith Carnes, a Kansas City man who says he was wrongly convicted of murder, should be freed. Carnes was sentenced to life in prison for the 2003 murder of 24-year-old Larry White. A defense attorney and private investigator uncovered new evidence in the case in 2020.

After 18 years in prison, Kansas City man wins release by Missouri Supreme Court Keith Carnes, who is now 52, maintained he was innocent of the murder of 24-year-old Larry White in October 2003. The Missouri Supreme Court says Carnes met his burden of proving the state failed to disclose material evidence in his case.

Developing . . .
The Department of Veterinary Services is currently carrying out a vaccination exercise against rabies in the Midlands Province to mitigate livestock mortality rate after losing more than 21 domestic animals to the disease since the beginning of this year.

Rabies is a preventable viral disease most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal.

The rabies virus infects the central nervous system of mammals, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death.

The mass vaccination programme is targeting dogs with a thrust to reduce the spread of the disease.

Twenty-one domestic animals which succumbed to rabies included six donkeys, 10 dogs, four cows and one cat since January after being bitten by infected dogs.

Veterinary provincial director for Midlands Dr Martin Sibanda said the department is currently carrying out mass vaccination against rabies to all dogs in the province.

He said no deaths of human beings so far were recorded but urged all people who were in contact with infected animals to go to seek treatment.

Dr Sibanda encouraged communities to report early to their nearest veterinary offices any suspected cases of rabies and strange behaviour from their animals.

"Dogs that are found with rabies are put down to prevent rabies from spreading to people and other animals. All dog owners should ensure that their dogs are vaccinated. If anyone is bitten by a suspicious dog, they should seek medical attention soon after they are bitten. Currently we are vaccinating in Gweru. Kwekwe, Shurugwi, Zvishavane and Gokwe will be targeted during this coming holiday," said Dr Sibanda.
A bit of legal gamesmanship will either secure Kansas as a red state forever OR affirm Democratic Party progress in Johnson County, The Dotte, Lawrence and some of the trendy spots in Topeka.



Take a peek . . .



Lawsuits rely on state courts and interpretations of the Kansas Constitution, rather than the U.S. Constitution, to stop political parties from putting their fingers on the scale.



In the meantime, the states lone Democratic congressional district hangs in the balance.



The ACLU of Kansas is suing to have the states recently drawn congressional redistricting map thrown out. The organization argues Republican lawmakers drew the new districts in an attempt to dilute the ballots cast by voters in the Democratic strongholds of Lawrence and Wyandotte County.



If the map holds up, Republicans would improve their chances to place conservative lawmakers in all four districts that represent the state in the U.S. House. Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, who represents the Kansas City area, would be most at risk of losing her seat after seeing part of her base shifted from her district.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
The latest KCMO deadly shooting has police asking for community help and for witnesses to come forward.

Unofficially, this is the 36th homicide so far this year compared to 42 at this time last year.



Here's the report . . .

Homicide 5400 Block of Michigan



This afternoon just after 3pm officers were dispatched to the area of the 5400 block of Michigan to Euclid on a sound of shots call.



On arrival to the area officers were directed to a residence in the 5400 block of Michigan. There they located what appeared to be a crime scene and they were told that a shooting had occurred and the victim was taken from the scene in a private vehicle.



While officers were investigating this scene the victim was located in a vehicle on Cleaver II blvd near the fire station at Agnes. EMS transported the victim from that location to the hospital for treatment.



Later this afternoon approximately 5pm detectives were notified that the victim died from his injuries.



Detectives and Crime Scene investigators are at the scene on Michigan at this time canvassing for witnesses and processing the scene for evidence.



Detectives are working on developing any suspect information at this time. No one is in custody.



If anyone in this area heard or saw anything here or has any information they are asked to contact the Homicide Unit directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS, There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest in this case.

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Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Kansas City police investigate homicide on Michigan Avenue SOURCE: KMBC Police in Kansas City are investigating a homicide Monday afternoon.Authorities said officers were called just after 3 p.m. to the area of the 5400 block of Michigan Avenue and Euclid Avenue on a report of gunfire.

1 man dead in Monday afternoon shooting in KCMO KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Police in Kansas City, Missouri, are investigating a deadly shooting that left a man dead on Monday afternoon. At around 3 p.m., officers responded to the 5400 block of Michigan Avenue on reports of shots fired. Upon arrival, officers were directed to what appeared to be a crime scene inside of a residence.

Developing . . .
AND WE'RE BACK!!!

To be fair, we usually take it easy on Monday's but we didn't want to overlook our readers who prefer quick hits.

Accordingly . . . Right now pr0n hottie Siri inspires a bit of midday inspiration as we check pop culture, community news and top headlines.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Local Coffee Considered

Sprudge Maps Spotlight: Broadway Cafe In Kansas City, MO Sprudge Maps Spotlight looks for coffee bars near and far, new and not-so-new, emerging and iconic. But today we are thrilled to be checking in on a coffee bar with deep roots and history in the coffee-loving conurbation of Kansas City, Missouri.

KCPD Need Community Help

Doorbell video shows SUV police believe was used in KC shooting KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Police say they have a small clue in the murder of a Kansas City man. Since the clue is so small, they need the public's help. The department tweeted surveillance video from a Ring doorbell camera. The video was recorded on January 15.

Pain At The Pump Relieved?!?

Kansas City area gas prices fall almost 10 cents a gallon KANSAS CITY METRO (KCTV) - The recent rapid rise in gas prices seems to have stalled and reversed, at least for the time being, as Kansas City area gas prices have fallen almost a dime a gallon over the past week.

War Machines Overhead



Whiteman Air Force Base hosting 'Exercise Agile Tiger' KANSAS CITY, Mo. - You may soon see some different aircraft in the sky if you're passing by Whiteman Air Force Base near Warrensburg, Missouri. The base is hosting Exercise Agile Tiger, a large military exercise involving many forces.

Newsflash: Prices Spike

Your Spire bill may increase even more next year. Here's why and what you can do about it Spire Energy, which provides natural gas to over one million customers across Missouri, has asked regulators to approve an increase to its rates. This request comes on the heels of two recent rate increases, which went into effect in November and December of 2021 and caused gas bills to skyrocket across the metro area.

Tech Troubles Exposed

What Do Sex Workers Do With All the Dick-Rating Pics They Get? While it's safe to say most don't keep them them around in a bedazzled scrapbook or a temperature-controlled preservation vault, it's worth asking a few just to be sure It can be hard to get an honest opinion about your genitals.

PREZ AGAINST FREE PRESS???

Biden: Rupert Murdoch 'most dangerous man in the world' President Biden reportedly decried Fox News owner and media magnate Rupert Murdoch as the "most dangerous man in the world," according to new reporting in a forthcoming book by a team of New York Times reporters. Excerpts from the book "This Will Not Pass," by journalists Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns obtained by CNN reveal...

Quickie MAGA Confession

Trump lets it slip that he 'didn't win the election' during an interview with historians in which he also falsely claimed 'the election was rigged' Trump spoke about his presidency to a group of historians on a Zoom call in July 2021. He stated that he "didn't win the election" twice during the interview before saying that it was "rigged and lost." He has otherwise maintained that the 2020 election was illegitimate. He called it the "real insurrection."

Russia Against The World

Russia faces growing outrage amid new evidence of atrocities BUCHA, Ukraine (AP) - Russia faced a fresh wave of condemnation on Monday after evidence emerged of what appeared to be deliberate killings of civilians in Ukraine. Some Western leaders called for further sanctions in response, even as Moscow continued to press its offensive in the country's east.

Supreme Decision Awaits

Ketanji Brown Jackson supreme court confirmation enters home stretch - live The Senate judiciary meets today, beginning a week expected to conclude with the confirmation of the first black female justice

Brits Catch COVID Again

UK hits record COVID levels; nearly 5 million infected LONDON - The prevalence of COVID-19 in the U.K. has reached record levels, with about 1 in 13 people estimated to be infected with the virus in the past week, according to the latest figures from Britain's official statistics agency.

Easter Bunny All Grown Up

Easter Outings in Kansas City Fit for the Adults - In Kansas City Who says Easter fun is just for kids? Here in Kansas City, there are plenty of ways to spend Easter as an adult. Check out these egg-cellent suggestions to celebrate the holiday. Country Club Plaza Bunnies On display through April 26 Plan your own scavenger hunt around the County Club Plaza as you search out...

Team Building Off-Season

Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire calls for help from Mahomes after plane troubles KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire shared his experience Monday morning after his plane was unable to take off due to engine problems. The former first-round draft pick said his flight was getting ready to take off when it was abruptly stopped.

Forecast For Now . . .

Sunny and Mild Monday Patchy fog this morning with a mostly cloudy sky this afternoon. High 61. Cloudy Tuesday with rain showers possible during the late afternoon and evening. High 65. Rain likely overnight Tuesday ending before sunrise Wednesday. Mostly sunny and windy. West gusts to 30 mph. High 61. Colder, cloudy and windy Thursday.

Harry Styles - As It Was is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
The fifth round of locations for Torontos 50 Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) devices has been announced.
Ontarios chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, right, is shown at a news conference with Premier Doug Ford in February. Moore hasnt been seen in public since St. Patricks Day. An interview request for Moore to the Ministry of Health Monday was declined. - Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO
press release

The department of Human Settlements will construct 97 houses for the Military Veterans in the province in this financial year. The project which is expected to commence in few months, was revealed during the Military Veterans Housing Programme Project Steering Committee meeting held in Mahikeng recently.

The department of Human Settlements is responsible to house the military veterans in line with the Military Veterans Act. This meeting is further held to update on the performance of the Province in implementing the programme. The province has had zero percent housing delivery for the Military Veterans, allocation of stands by Municipalities, bulk infrastructure and state of readiness amongst other challenges since 2020.

The said challenge is a great concern to Jacky Mamabolo, the Deputy Director of People's Housing Project and military veterans from the National Department of Human Settlements. Mamabolo expressed his concern during his presentation about the poor performance of the department dating back for the past two years due to Covid-19 pandemic and other administrative challenges.

He urged the Province to put military veterans projects at the helm in the new financial year, as it has identified such projects as one of the priority projects that can be immediately implemented as part of the recovery plan in the 2022/2023 Financial Year.

Mamabolo further advised the department to ensure that it implement the projects that meet the requirements and specification of military housing project, as he emphasized the importance of proper planning. "This will avoid putting the projects that are not ready for implementation on the Business Plan and thus painting a negative picture when such projects cannot kick start. As a result, this would affect service delivery as planned targets would not be met," he added.

According to Orapeleng Tabile, the Provincial Coordinator for the Military Veterans Housing Programme, the department acknowledges the challenges experienced for the period under review. This however, he said is informed by various setbacks which includes unavailability of serviced stands where approved beneficiaries should be build houses; unavailability of geotechnical investigation reports for the areas or villages where construction of houses must happen. He however, said that it is worth noting that the Department has managed to fast track the appointment of a contractor in Moses Kotane Local Municipality where six houses will be build for approved beneficiaries. The process of contractor's appointment is also at an advanced stage for Ganyesa and Lethabong in Rustenburg.

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"The department is working closely with the Department of Military Veterans on a strategy to communicate with the military veterans who qualify for housing to avoid miscommunications and lack of feedback from the department, as well as to update them on developments in terms of the housing project," said Tabile.

The both the department of Human Settlements as well as that of Military Veterans warned those posing as military veterans, applying for houses in municipalities to refrain. Both departments agreed that a list of legible beneficiaries is recorded by the DMV and are aware of those fraud stars masquerading as former members. DMV further assured military veterans members that a further audit to verify qualification of those who are legible will be done. The Steering Committee sits on a quarterly basis to discuss the implementation of the Military Veterans Housing Programme.
Todays coronavirus news: B.C.s likelihood of introducing a 4th COVID-19 vaccine dose to be discussed at briefing

Meanwhile, Senate bargainers have reached agreement on a slimmed-down $10 billion package for countering COVID-19 with treatments, vaccines and other steps.
Market merchants will be looking for new workers at the St. Lawrence Market job fair. - R.J. Johnston/Toronto Star file photo
This opinion piece is urgent following oil discoveries announced by Shell Namibia Upstream B.V. and TotalEnergies in February 2022. Sadly, public discussions have been less than salutary.

Therefore, I have to clarify President Dr Hage G. Geingob's statement during an interview on Al Jazeera English shortly after the announcements by the companies, and proprietors of the exploration licenses. In responding to a question from the journalist, President Geingob clarified that the oil belonged to those with the right to extract it and on a majority shareholding basis. Logically, explicit in that point by the President is that for national development, Government would extract royalties/taxes from the companies.

Regrettably, the clarification by the President, led to an unnecessary outcry, with some suggesting that the Government did not have the interest of the nation at heart. The contrary is true, our planning initiatives demonstrate the strides we have made as a country. Still, it is important to locate the ownership debate. The discoveries in question were followed by intensive drilling operations in two wells located 300 KM southwest of the Port of Luderitz and in some of the deepest waters in the world.

So, what are the issues at hand? A cursory overview of the applicable legal instruments is paramount for a common understanding of the differences between ownership on the one hand, and rights and obligations on the other. Erring on the side of caution, we will do ourselves a disservice should we not provide clarity to citizens regarding the issuing of petroleum exploration licenses to oil companies.

The Petroleum Act of 1991 is the principal legislation governing operations in the petroleum sector, with supporting Petroleum Agreements and Joint Operating Agreements. Relating to rights, Section 2 of the Act is clear: "Subject to any right conferred under any provision of this Act all rights in relation to the reconnaissance or exploration for, production and disposal of, and the exercise of control over, petroleum vests, notwithstanding any right of ownership of any person in relation to any land under which petroleum is found, in the State".

The only other time when the rights are conferred to a third party is when such party has been issued with an exploration license or production license. Reference to the aforesaid can be found in Sections 29 and 44 of the Act. In the case of Shell and TotalEnergies, consistent with our laws, both companies own the rights to the exploration licenses under which the oil has been discovered. These rights, obligations, percentage shareholding of each party to a license and NAMCOR participation, are codified in a Petroleum Agreement. As a constitutional democracy of processes, systems and institutions, changes, including additional shares to the State/National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia must only be done in accordance with the provisions agreed to in the Petroleum Agreement.

Without a doubt, Article 100 of the Namibian Constitution states that ownership of all resources, including oil and gas within the borders of Namibia, belong to the Namibian people. But the Constitution goes on further to say that such ownership must be exercised within the limits and confines of the law, including duly signed agreements between the State and third parties.

Conscious of Article 100, President Geingob spoke to the issue of Shell and TotalEnergies within the confines of duly signed agreements between the State and these third parties. There is an explicit agreement between the State and License Holders (to whom rights and obligations are conferred) in return for the State to share in the upside in the case of discoveries. License holders must search for petroleum, extract it once discovered and pay taxes/royalties to the State while retaining the right to pay for the investments and earn profits for risks incurred.

Our constitution qualifies Namibia as a mixed economy, and not as communist. In fact, the Namibian Government could play the role of the investor as well, if it could raise the billions required to perform all the work required from exploration to extraction. Such an undertaking, however, does not come cheap. To have a chance of making a discovery, huge sums of money are required. Up to N$ 300 million for exploratory work, and a further N$ 1.5 billion for a single well.

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Once discovery is confirmed, an additional three to four wells are required to determine if the discovery is commercial or not. Around N$ 30 billion has been spent since independence to search for oil. No one would cheer any sitting President to continue spending such sums of money of taxpayer's monies without the prospects of discoveries. While we are only reflecting on the Shell and TotalEnergies discoveries, such triumphs have been preceded by colossal losses in around 30 wells since 1990.

As an investment destination, private companies must be treated in accordance with the law, even if they have found oil. More so after the huge sums of money invested in the venture and the risks they have been subjected to.

We should be excited about these discoveries. Profound pragmatism on our part as a country is needed and we should take due regard to the value that will accrue to Namibia once the oil has been sold. That is the message of the President.
Around 3454 cases of scabies countrywide from January to March, an official said this week.

The most affected populations are communities living along the northern borders, school learners in the affected regions and migrant populations in urban and peri-urban areas where access to water and sanitation facilities is lacking or inadequate, the Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula said at a press conference.

Human scabies is a parasitic infestation caused by Sarcoptes scabiei var hominis. The microscopic mite burrows into the skin and lays eggs, eventually triggering a host immune response that leads to intense itching and rash.

"Scabies infestation may be complicated by bacterial infection, leading to the development of skin sores that, in turn, may lead to the development of more serious consequences such as septicaemia, heart disease and chronic kidney disease," he added.

According to the WHO, Scabies is one of the most common dermatological conditions, accounting for a substantial proportion of skin diseases in developing countries. Globally, it is estimated to affect more than 200 million people.

Shangula urged the public to maintain good hygiene and sanitation, including hand washing.

"Further investigations to establish the magnitude and cause of scabies transmission are ongoing and public health measures have been activated by the health teams in the affected regions in partnership with line ministries such as the Ministry of Education. All detected cases are undergoing treatment in the health facilities," he said.

Meanwhile, according to Shangula, the current transmission of scabies has moved from households to schools with challenges of water supply and where personal hygiene practices are less than adequate.
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.
In the city of Bucha, Kyiv Region, over 300 civilians have been murdered and tortured to death by Russian troops.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his video address, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

We have just begun an investigation into all that the occupiers have done. At present, there is information about more than three hundred people killed and tortured in Bucha alone. It is likely that the list of victims will be much larger when the whole city is checked, Zelensky told.

In his words, Bucha is just one of the Ukrainian cities captured by the Russian military. According to the available information, the number of victims can be even higher in Borodianka and other liberated settlements.

In many villages of the liberated districts of the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions, the occupiers did things that the locals had not seen even during the Nazi occupation 80 years ago, Zelensky stressed.

A reminder that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited the settlements liberated from Russian invaders in Kyiv Region, namely Bucha, Irpin and Stoianka.

mk
Russia is launching a false campaign to conceal the mass killings of civilians in the city of Mariupol, which were committed by Russian troops.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his video address, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

We must also be aware that after the revealed mass killings of civilians in the Kyiv region, the occupiers may have a different attitude to their crimes in another part of our country where they came. They are already launching a false campaign to conceal their guilt in the mass killings of civilians in Mariupol, Zelensky told.

In his words, Russian invaders will do dozens of stage interviews, re-edited recordings and will kill people specifically to make it look like they were killed by someone else.

According to Zelensky, now the occupiers will try to hide the traces of their crimes.

They did not do this in Bucha, when they retreated. But, in another area it is possible, the President of Ukraine stressed.

A reminder that the Russian aggression has caused one of the largest humanitarian catastrophes in the city of Mariupol. Local residents were left without electricity, water, food products and medicines. Meanwhile, Russian invaders have been continuously bombarding unarmed civilians for over a month now. According to the recent data, about 130,000 civilians are remaining trapped in Mariupol.

Photo: Stringer, Anadolu Agency

mk
Ukraine must get all the necessary weapons to drive Russian occupiers out as soon as possible and liberate Ukrainian cities.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his video address, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

I emphasize once again: Ukraine must get all the necessary weapons to drive the occupiers out of our land as soon as possible, to liberate our cities. And if we had already got what we needed  all these planes, tanks, artillery, anti-missile and anti-ship weapons, we could have saved thousands of people, Zelensky told.

According to the President of Ukraine, he does not blame the world leaders. He blames only the Russian military.

But you could have helped. I will continue to say this to the face of all those on whom the decision on weapons for Ukraine depends, Zelensky stressed.

A reminder that such settlements as Irpin, Bucha, Hostomel, and the entire Kyiv Region, were liberated from Russian invaders. The mass murders of civilians were recorded within the liberated areas.

Among the victims of war crimes committed by Russian forces are raped women whose bodies they tried to burn, as well as local government officials killed, children, the elderly, and men. Many have their hands tied, there are traces of torture, and many people were shot in the back of the head.

mk
The Russian forces are regrouping troops and focusing their efforts on preparing an offensive operation in the east of Ukraine.

Thats according to an operational update regarding the Russian invasion as of 06:00 on April 5, Ukrinform reports.

The goal is to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Russian enemy is trying to improve the position of units in the Tavriya and Pivdennobuzhsky operational areas, the report reads.

The units withdrawn from Polissya and Sivershchyna are moving to new operational areas. The redeployment of troops of the Central Military District from the territory of Ukraine has been completed. The designated units of the above, after the completion of the restoration of combat capability, will be moved to the area of the settlement Valuyki and included in the offensive groups of troops, the General Staff wrote.

The movement of columns of armaments and military equipment on the territory of Belarus in the direction of the railway stations Gomel, Yelsk, and Mozyr for loading onto rail cars. A significant part of the aircraft and helicopters of Russias air and space forces were relocated from Belarus airfields to Russia.

The Russian enemy focused its main efforts on preparations for resuming the offensive with the help of separate units of the 6th and 20th All-Armies, 1st Tank Army, Baltic and Northern Fleets, as well as on the attempts to encircle the Joint Forces. The enemy is replenishing supplies of food, fuel, and ammunition, the report reads.

The Russian occupiers pursue their efforts to besiege Kharkiv, further destroying residential neighborhoods and infrastructure in artillery shelling.

In the direction of Sloviansk, the Russians are trying to resume offensive operations. In the direction of Barvinkove, they see partial success, having advanced 7 km and taken control of the village of Brazhkivka. Also, they attacked the area toward the settlement of Sulyhivka, where their advance was repulsed.

The Russian forces are working to restore the bridge in Izium to improve their mobility in the area by crossing the Siversky Donets River.

In the Donetsk and Luhansk areas, the Russian occupiers are focusing their efforts on taking control of the Popasna and Rubizhne districts, establishing full control over Mariupol, and preparing offensive operations near the Zolota Nyva settlement, the report reads.

In the areas of Borivske, Novoluhanske, Solodke, Marinka, and Zolota Nyva, the enemy continued artillery shelling of Ukrainian Army positions and civilian infrastructure.

The Russians carried out assault operations near the settlements of Novotoshkivske, Nyzhne, Popasna, Kalynove, Stepne, Rubizhne, Troitske, Novobakhmutivka, and Novoselivka Druha, none of which saw success.

Russian invaders inflicted massive artillery and air strikes on the city of Mariupol.

In the Pivdennobuzhsky direction, the occupying forces carry out assault missions with artillery support, aiming to take control of the settlement of Oleksandrivka, where they have partial success. In the area of the settlements of Lyubyne, Myrne, and Kopani, the Russian occupiers fired artillery at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Russian troops carried out attacks on Mykolayiv, using cluster munitions proscribed by the Geneva Convention. Civilian quarters and medical facilities, including a children's hospital, came under enemy fire. A number of civilians, including children, were killed and injured in the strikes.

Meanwhile, the Russian occupying forces continue to suffer losses. They have huge issues with replenishing combat and support units with manpower. The enemy soldiers are demoralized, which led to an increase in the number of desertions and disobedience.
On the night of April 5, two Russian Su-35 fighters launched cruise missiles into Ukraine from the territory of Belarus, but the Ukrainian air defense intercepted the missiles.

Russcists could have been aiming at civilian infrastructure in several western regions, the Air Command "West" posted on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

Three cruise missiles were destroyed by anti-aircraft systems, and the fourth one was damaged, which prevented it from hitting the target accurately.

The enemy aimed missiles and conducted reconnaissance of the strike results by two operational-tactical UAVs, which were also destroyed by anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Command West.

On February 24, Russian president Putin started a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops shell and destroy infrastructure, massively fire on the residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages using artillery, MLRS, and ballistic missiles.

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The mass cases of tortures of civilians have been revealed within the areas liberated from Russian occupiers.

The relevant statement was made by Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Two children under the age of 10 with signs of rape and torture were found dead in the city of Irpin, Denisova wrote.

In Kyiv Region, the Prolisok childrens camp has been used as a base by the rashist army unit for three weeks. Five corpses of men with their hands tied behind their backs were found in the basement of the building. They were tortured and then killed in cold blood. One of the victims had his skull crushed with butt blows with special hardness. Others were shot in the back of the head or chest.

In the village of Viktorivka, Chernihiv Region, which has been under occupation for 25 days, rashists held people hostage in the basement, from the elderly to newborns. Residents were escorted to collect at least a bucket of water. No medicines were provided, even to those whose life depends on certain medications. A man with asthma died, and Russian militants ordered the hostages to bury the body next to them in the woods.

In Konotop District, Sumy Region, at least three civilians tortured to death were found within the sites of former enemy camps.

Due to inhumane living conditions and infections brought by Russian occupiers, a number of diseases started to spread, including chickenpox.

According to Denisova, torture and killing of civilians is a crime against humanity and a war crime under Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, for which rashists are awaited by an international military tribunal.

Denisova appealed to the UN Commission for Investigation into Human Rights Violations during Russias Military Invasion of Ukraine and the expert mission set up by the OSCE participating States under the Moscow Mechanism to take into account these war crimes and crimes against humanity and human rights in Ukraine, which are committed by Russian troops.

mk
These days there seems to be an app for everything. Every product or service has been turned into an app and the world can't seem to function without them. A mere five to 10 years ago we didn't have apps, we went to a website if we needed anything, or physically went to a shop and spoke to someone or possibly phoned a helpline. It is worth examining why apps are so popular and an intrinsic part of our world.

An app is not just a 'nice to have for a business, it has major benefits. A mobile app can help users get content faster as information loads faster, give you insights into customer behaviour, and allow for direct engagement with customers. In addition, a mobile app can improve customer service and keep up with the latest trends. They can facilitate more sales and lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction.

By developing a deep understanding of your customer base, an app can craft targeted messaging that will grab their attention and keep them coming back for more. On a more basic level, if we look at Namibia, more people have access to the Internet through a smartphone than through an actual computer. This means, that accessing products or services through an app becomes almost the only way of accessing goods and services.

Almost everyone that has a mobile phone has it with them 24/7, it has become an extension of the person. This is, even more, the case with smartphones and there's a reason for that, the apps. Simply put, WhatsApp is an app, as are Telegram and Twitter and Instagram, but there are many other apps that bring lots of benefits with them.

Mobile apps load fast: Mobile apps load faster than websites, so your customers can get the information they need right away, saving precious airtime. Users are able to load and receive information quickly on their mobile devices, getting the instant feedback, gratification or result we need and crave in today's world.

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However, from an organisation's side, there is a multitude of benefits as well. The valuable data that can be gleaned from your users and how they use the app can improve product and service delivery. From tracking how customers use your app and for how long, what features they engage with, and what pages they visit most often. You can directly engage with customers, and offer live chat, FAQs, and appointment scheduling. All this valuable data can help fine-tune the marketing strategy and improve the overall user experience. This information can help make decisions about future app development and improve the business and make it future-proof.

In the end, all businesses need to make a profit and by developing a mobile app a business can tap into a whole new market or expand market share and realise more conversions and larger order values. Access to a product or service via mobile phone as a customer is almost instant, the convenience factor is what sells it. People are always on the go and don't have time to wait around for a desktop computer to load up, or frankly as in Namibia, often don't have access to a desktop. The app helps to build a relationship with them and keeps them coming back for more.

Mobile apps offer many benefits that can help boost business and it's still in their infancy. Deciding to develop and create an app for your organisation is the sensible thing to do and can transform the smallest business into a powerhouse that is not constrained by location or region or physical presence. It really can take your organisation to the next level.
Ukrainian female soldiers recently released from Russian captivity had been tortured and mistreated by the invaders.

Thats according to Ukraines Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Liudmyla Denisova who addressed the issue on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

According to the Ombudsperson, women who were among 86 liberated soldiers had been subjected to torture and mistreatment in Russian captivity.

The women were transported to Belarus before being put into a pre-trial detention center in Bryansk, Russia, where they were being tortured and threatened. The captives were forced to undress in front of male guards, to make squats, and got their hair cut. They were also being constantly interrogated  all to destroy their morale, Liudmyla Denisova wrote,

Some of the female prisoners of war were forced to take part in the filming of propaganda reports, being forced to switch to Russian.

According to the Commissioner, such actions by the Russian Federation violate Article 13 of the Geneva Convention, which emphasizes humane treatment of prisoners of war. They must always be protected, in particular from acts of violence or intimidation, as well as from insults and public curiosity.

Liudmyla Denisova has called on the UN Human Rights Councils commission investigating violations committed during Russias military invasion of Ukraine and the OSCE expert mission created under the Moscow Mechanism to take into account these violations of the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

As Ukrinform reported, a prisoner exchange took place in the Zaporizhia Region on April 1 resulting in the release of 86 Ukrainian soldiers, including 15 females.
During the OSCE Permanent Council special meeting, the Ukrainian delegation told about the atrocities and war crimes committed by Russian murderers and looters in Kyiv Region, an Ukrinform correspondent reports from Austria.

The liberation of Kyiv Region from the Russian gang of murderers and looters  I cannot call them the army  has revealed the scale of Russias atrocities against Ukrainians. The evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity is enormous and simply makes you speechless, Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, the head of the Ukrainian mission to the OSCE, told.

In his words, Russias atrocities in Kyiv Region confirm that Russians have no limits in their cruelty, know no moral boundaries and have no values.

The killed were lying in the streets. Dozens of them were found with their hands tied and traces of gunshot wounds in the back of their heads, Tsymbaliuk noted.

Tsymbaliuk told the audience about several cases of civilian killings, including executions, which were recorded by Human Rights Watch.

In the basement of the childrens camp in Bucha, a torture chamber was set up. Ukrainian women and girls have been raped for hours, tortured and then murdered. There were attempts to burn the corpses of raped women near the road. The bodies of people were crushed by tanks. The entire family with children was burnt, Tsymbaliuk said.

According to him, more than 400 bodies of civilians, who were murdered by Russians, have already been taken from Kyiv Region.

The coming days will shed even more light on the massacre and crimes committed. According to Ukraines Prosecutor General, the situation in Borodianka is even worse than in Bucha. In addition, even more horrific images and testimonies are expected to be revealed in other liberated areas, especially Mariupol, Tsymbaliuk added.

A reminder that, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting a war. Russian troops are shelling and bombarding peaceful cities and villages in Ukraine, torturing and murdering civilians. A mass grave with about 300 bodies was found in the city of Bucha, Kyiv Region, which had been recently liberated from Russian invaders.

Photo: Oleh Reveha

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Energy Minister of Ukraine German Galushchenko has stated that Ukraine is interested in diversifying fuel supplies, including from the United Kingdom.

Galushchenko made a corresponding statement during a conversation with UKs Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng, Ukrinform informs with reference to the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine.

"The Russian army is trying to destroy our fuel infrastructure, and Ukraine is interested in diversifying the fuel supply," said the Ukrainian minister, thanking his British counterpart for the willingness to promote cooperation in this area.

Galushchenko also informed Kwarteng about the work to assess the damage caused to energy infrastructure as a result of the aggression of the Russian Federation.

As reported, on March 18, a law came into force abolishing the excise tax on fuel and reducing the VAT rate from 20% to 7% for the period of martial law.

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At a meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Britain intends to show the world "Putin's war for what it really is."

Thats according to a tweet posted by the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, Ukrinform reports, noting that Britain is now chairing the Security Council.

"President Zelensky will address Tuesdays Security Council meeting on Ukraine following his visit to Bucha," the statement said.

It is noted that the British presidency of the Security Council will ensure that the truth about Russia's war crimes is heard.

"We will expose Putin's war for what it really is," concludes the statement.

The meeting will start at 10:00 Eastern Time (17:00 Kyiv time).

#Breaking:

President @ZelenskyyUa will address Tuesday's Security

Council meeting on #Ukraine following his visit to #Bucha.



The UK Presidency of the Council will ensure the truth is heard about Russias war crimes.



We will expose Putins war for what it really is.#UNSC  pic.twitter.com/Dnp73aBiX4  UK at the UN  (@UKUN_NewYork) April 4, 2022

As reported, the United Kingdom, which took over the helm over the UN Security Council in April, convenes a UNSC meeting on April 5 to discuss the massacres committed by Russian forces in Bucha. Britain rejected Russia's attempts to convene a Security Council the day before, on Monday, where the Kremlins disinformation would be spread about the situation in the liberated territories of Kyiv region.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Bucha, Irpin, and Stoyanka in Kyiv region  the settlements, recently liberated from Russian aggressors, where mass killings of civilians were recorded.
In a conversation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba has stated that there is no place for Russia in the UN Human Rights Council.

Spoke with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the current security situation and the Bucha massacre. Stressed that Ukraine will use all available UN mechanisms to collect evidence and hold Russian war criminals to account. No place for Russia on the UN Human Rights Council, Kuleba posted on Twitter.

As reported, Irpin, Bucha, Hostomel and the entire Kyiv region were liberated from Russian invaders. Mass killings of civilians were recorded in liberated towns and villages. In particular, a mass grave with almost 300 people buried was found in Bucha. Dozens of bodies lie in the streets, some of them with their hands tied.

UKs Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Foreign Minister of Latvia Edgars Rinkevics, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield called for Russias expulsion from the UN Human Rights Council.

The United Kingdom convenes the UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, April 5, to discuss the massacres committed by Russian aggressors in Bucha.

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Security guarantees for Ukraine are under development, but there have been no specifics yet.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with Ukrainian media outlets, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

We have not yet met with all advisors [countries that expressed readiness to act as security guarantors for Ukraine  Ed.]. Thus, we want to meet all of them, but this meeting has not yet been held. We are looking forward to holding it in the near future, Zelensky told.

In his words, only after the meeting, Ukraine will continue working on the first case named Ukraines security, providing for the neutral status.

According to Zelensky, security guarantees are being discussed with France, the United States, Germany, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Israel, Ireland and other countries.

All these different countries are ready to guarantee different things, but so far Ukraine has not received a specific list of such guarantees and the countries that are 100% ready to join us. We do not need to have 40 countries that are ready to join and fight for Ukraine at the command. We do not need this; we need serious players that are ready for anything. We need a number of states that are ready to provide us with any weapons within 24 hours. We need certain countries, on which the sanctions policy depends, and such sanctions must be developed and written out. We need them to introduce everything at once, as soon as we hear a threat from the Russian Federation, within a day, or two-three days, Zelensky noted.

At the moment, however, there are few specifics. In terms of the Black Sea, Turkey has expressed readiness to act a security guarantor but has not yet signed anything.

According to Zelensky, all security guarantors have a good attitude towards Ukraine, but this is not enough.

The President of Ukraine also stressed that, even after signing the most powerful security agreement, Russia might return in two years.

We must have the Army that is capable to defend the state. We have a common position with the commander-in-chief, and we understand what we are doing. We realize that, even after signing the most powerful agreement, Russia may return in two years. If we accept this, we act accordingly. [] When we talk about certain things related to the defense capacity of our state, we immediately say that we will build a state that is able to defend itself, Zelensky stressed.

In his words, Ukraine would have joined NATO as soon as tomorrow if there had been a real proposal, not just playing with lives of Ukrainians.

But, this will not happen, unfortunately. Hence, we will develop the security guarantees that can protect us, Zelensky added.

A reminder that, on March 29, 2022, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations held another round of peace talks in Istanbul. The Ukrainian side submitted a number of proposals to end the war, including to sign an international treaty on security guarantees for Ukraine.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

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The United States has confirmed its preparedness to allocate more than USD 1 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to ten million Ukraine residents who have become refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as to countries hosting them.

This was stated by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, during a meeting of the UN Security Council Tuesday, April 5, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

We are prepared to provide more than $1 billion in new funding toward humanitarian assistance for those affected by Russias war in Ukraine, the diplomat said.

The ambassador also expressed the readiness of the United States to welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russian aggression.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that Russia's war in Ukraine has created Europes most significant refugee crisis since World War 2. The diplomat also stressed that the countries that welcome people fleeing Ukraine "have a committed partner in the United States."

The U.S. Permanent Representative reminded that, according to UN estimates, Putin's war in Ukraine had turned more than four million people into refugees and another six million into internally displaced persons.

We will continue to assess humanitarian efforts to help the people of Ukraine and all those fleeing Putin's violence, she said.

As Ukrinform reported, a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Ukraine, convened at the initiative of Great Britain, is being held in New York on Tuesday.
Participating in international institutions, Russia is attempting to block everything constructive, spread lies and justify the evil it does.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his video address, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The UN Security Council exists, and security in the world doesnt. For anyone. This definitely means that the United Nations is currently unable to carry out the functions for which it was created. And only one state is to blame for this  Russia, which discredits the UN and all other international institutions where it still participates, Zelensky told.

In his words, Russia tries to block everything constructive and use global architecture in order to spread lies and justify the evil it does.

A reminder that, on April 5, 2022, the United Kingdom, which chairs the UN Security Council in April, convened a meeting to discuss the mass killings committed by Russian troops in Bucha, Kyiv Region. During his speech at this meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Ukraine is ready to provide a platform for one of the main offices of the updated UN security system. The Kyiv U-24 Office can specialize in preventive measures to maintain peace. Talking of Russia, Zelensky stressed that the world is dealing with a state that turns the right of veto in the UN Security Council into a right to kill, undermines the whole architecture of global security and allows evil to go unpunished.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

mk
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Published April 4, 2022

Want to go?

WHAT: 5th Annual St. Vincent DePaul Community Pharmacy: Poor Man's Run/Jambalaya Cook-Off

WHEN: 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday, April 9

WHERE: ULM College of Pharmacy, 1800 Bienville Dr.

COST: $20-35

TICKETS: 5th Annual St. Vincent de Paul Poor Man's Run/Jambalaya Cook-Off

Lace up your shoes and grab your spoons as the University of Louisiana Monroe's College of Pharmacy hosts the 5th Annual St. Vincent DePaul Community Pharmacy: Poor Man's Run and Jambalaya Cook-Off on Saturday, April 9, at 8 a.m.

Registration for the race begins at 7:30 a.m. at the College of Pharmacy, followed by the 1-mile Fun Run at 8 a.m. and 5K at 8:30 a.m. Awards will be announced after the race.

The cost of the race starts at $20 and includes an SVDP Poor Man's Run T-shirt. To register early, go to the 5th Annual St. Vincent de Paul Poor Man's Run/Jambalaya Cook-Off.

After the race, the second-annual Jambalaya for a Cause is 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the College of Pharmacy.

Students and faculty can compete in teams for an entry fee of $50. Competitors can win prizes for Judge's Choice and People's Choice Awards. To compete, register on Jambalaya Cook-Off Sign Up.

Anyone can taste the all-you-can-eat jambalaya for $5.

The race and cook-off raise money for a local non-profit pharmacy, St. Vincent DePaul Community Pharmacy.

SVDP is one of over 1,200 free health clinics that the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics has created across the country. The NAFC utilizes volunteers and donations to provide health care to the medically underserved population.

St. Vincent DePaul Community Pharmacy has served the Monroe community who cannot afford their medications for the past 23 years. It has filled more than 230,000 prescriptions and reached over 7,200 patients.

For more information on SVDP, visit St. Vincent DePaul Community Pharmacy.
THE SUBDIVISION of Redwing Farm of Grasmere in Norton under Chegutu district belonging to former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor, Dr Gideon Gono for residential units is expected to reduce the soaring housing units backlog in the town.

The division which is being done by a local developer seeks to develop over 3500 high, medium and low-density stands in Norton's Ward 15.

Speaking today at Chegutu Rural District Council offices in Chegutu during an all stakeholders consultation, Dr Gono said the move seeks to complement the Second Republic's National Development Strategy 1 and Devolution Agenda.

At least 34 schools and two clinics are earmarked to be established.

A 105-megawatt solar plant currently under construction is going to power the community while excess power will be fed into the national grid.

Chegutu RDC chief executive officer, Mr Admire Machingura was upbeat about the development.
01-04-2022 | Fellows

New Fellows in April

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Four scholars will begin their work at the Kolleg on 1 April. Prof. Dr. Susanne Lepsius and Prof. Dr. Eva Schlotheuber each have a one-year fellowship to pursue their research projects on medieval law, and to conduct interdisciplinary exchange with the other Fellows. Dr. Olga Kozubska will spend the next six months studying religious and legal plurality in late medieval and early modern towns in Ukraine.

Prof. Dr. Dorothea Schulz will take up a so-called Munster Fellowship, which the Kolleg will award for the first time in the summer term of 2022. This fellowship gives researchers at the University of Munster who are working on relevant themes the opportunity for close cooperation, a one-term sabbatical financed by the University allowing them to participate intensively in the Kollegs work.

The new fellows at a glance:

Dr. Olga Kozubska studied history at the Universities of Lviv, Budapest and Leuven. In 2004, she obtained a doctorate and took up a position as lecturer at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. In 2007, she received a second PhD from the Central European University in Budapest with a thesis on urban development and German law in Galician Rus from the 13th to the 15th century. This was followed by research stays at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History and the Institut fur vergleichende Stadtegeschichte in Munster, among others. At the Kate Hamburger Kolleg, she will work on late medieval and early modern legal plurality in historical towns of Ukraine.

Prof. Dr. Susanne Lepsius is professor of learned law, German and European legal history and civil law at the LMU Munich. She studied law and history at the universities of Heidelberg, Chicago, and Frankfurt am Main. She held research and teaching positions at the Max Planck Institute of European Legal History and the University of Frankfurt. Her research interests focus on the field of the European ius commune tradition, courts and procedure in the medieval Italian city republics and the historiography of law. Currently she is a principal investigator in the Collaborative Research Centre SFB 1369 with a project on cultures of vigilance in late medieval and early modern cities. At the Kate Hamburger Kolleg, she will work on the book project Law in the Middle Ages.

Prof. Dr. Eva Schlotheuber studied at the universities of Gottingen and Copenhagen and earned her doctorate in Gottingen in 1994. From 1999 to 2007, she worked as a research assistant at the University of Braunschweig and at the LMU Munich, where she was habilitated in 2003 with a thesis on a convent diary of a late medieval Cistercian. In 2007, she was appointed professor of medieval history and auxiliary sciences at the University of Munster. Since 2010, she has held the Chair of Medieval History at the University of Dusseldorf. From 2016 to 2021, she served as president of the Verband der Historiker und Historikerinnen Deutschlands (German Association of Historians). At the Kate Hamburger Kolleg, she will work on the project The Golden Bull of 1356 - the First Written Constitution of the Holy Roman Empire.

Prof. Dr. Dorothea Schulz has been professor of anthropology at the University of Munster since 2018. After studying anthropology, sociology and biology in Mainz and completing her doctorate at Yale University, she took up a position as a research assistant at the Frobenius Institute in Frankfurt am Main in 1996 and a year later at Freie Universitat Berlin, where in 2005 she completed her postdoctoral studies with a thesis on religiosity in Mali. She was then appointed to an assistant professorship at Indiana University in Bloomington, USA, and a professorship at the University of Cologne. Her research interests include the anthropology of religion and media, as well as anthropological gender studies. At the Kolleg, she will be working on religious plurality under the legal-institutional parameters of the postcolonial state in modern Uganda.

We wish all new Fellows a good start and look forward to stimulating collaborations.
By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

More human remains have been found as a result of the excavations carried out in Khojaly regions Farrukh village in Karabakh, local media reported on April 4.

It is assumed that the remains belong to Azerbaijani servicemen who were killed during the battle for the Farrukh height during the first Karabakh war or to Azerbaijanis who fled during the Khojaly genocide in the early 1990s.

Several more body remains from the first Karabakh war (the 1990s) were unearthed during excavations in three areas around Farrukh village on March 30.

The previous remains were discovered on March 29 during earthwork carried out by Azerbaijani servicemen in the village.

Military expert Adalat Verdiyev said that the discovery of human remains in Khojaly's Farrukh village once again demonstrates Armenia's anti-Azerbaijan atrocities.

The remains found in Farrukh village may belong to our citizens who died during the genocide committed by Armenian armed forces in Khojaly [city], or in the battles for the village. Well know about this for sure only after the DNA examination, Verdiyev underlined.

The expert stressed that almost the entire territory of Azerbaijan's Karabakh is covered with the blood of both Azerbaijani civilians and servicemen killed by Armenian armed forces in the early 1990s.

Human remains were discovered several times during engineering and construction work on Azerbaijani territory recovered from Armenian occupation as a result of the 44-day war in 2020, he added.

"As the construction work in our liberated territories continues, such mass graves will be revealed. Despite the fact that 30 years have passed, thousands of our citizens will be able to learn about the fate of their relatives who went missing," Verdiyev said.

Along with Khojalys Farrukh village, a mass grave was also found in Khojavand regions Edilli village, he said.

One of the reasons why Armenians stubbornly refuse to leave the lands of Karabakh is the likelihood of finding the remains of most of the 4,000 Azerbaijanis who died during the first Karabakh war, Verdiyev underlined.

The policy of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity carried out by Armenian armed forces against Azerbaijanis in the First Karabakh War is well known.

The Karabakh region bears the scars of these atrocities. Eyewitness testimony and research in Azerbaijani-controlled areas of the region have shown the presence of mass graves in the former Nagorno-Karabakh territory, proving such crimes.

To recap, Azerbaijani servicemen hoisted the national flag in Farrukh village on March 27, 2022.

The Azerbaijani armed forces regained full control over the village, clearing it from illegal Armenian armed groups, who had to leave Azerbaijan's internationally-recognized territories in Karabakh under the ceasefire deal signed by Baku, Moscow and Yerevan on November 10, 2020.

Farrukh enters the administrative area of Pirlar village in Khojaly region located 16 km of Asgaran settlement and 32 km of Khankandi.
press release

MEC for Human Settlements in the North West Lina Miga congratulated the newly elected chairperson of the North West province's South African Women in Construction (SAWIC) Nandi Mmakola after she was elected to lead the women organization for the next three years during the Annual General Meeting held in Klerksdorp over Wednesday.

MEC Miga welcomed the election of the provincial committee, and further urged women to work harder and make a breakthrough in penetrating the patriarchal dominated construction industry. She said that women are capable and through small projects that they have been allocated, they have managed to execute them diligently and on schedule. She said that the department and government prioritized women, child headed households, youth and people with disability.

MEC further praised SAWIC for its professional way of doing their business. She said that the memorandum of understanding signed with the department is a clear reflection of how committed the government is, on women and other vulnerable issues. She reiterated that the department is committed to implement and will ensure that she monitors what was agreed upon in the MOU.

"We are currently working on blocked projects and I want to ensure that women are empowered through such. For a long time women have been considered on smaller projects and we will use the MOU as a guiding tool. It is through these structures that we would want to see women in leading positions in and outside government. I therefore request that you double your efforts in starting and completing your projects, and help the department achieve its mandate." said MEC.

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The MEC Miga further condemned corrupt and shoddy workmanship in the construction industry. She urged them to assist in fighting corruption within the industry, and also encouraged women to believe in themselves and stop selling projects to their male counterparts.

The National President of SAWIC, Clara Menze, called on her provincial counterparts to unite and further the women empowerment initiative through their organization."A business person is a CEO of their company and must be smart in driving their company to grow.

We are here as the custodians of our companies and we must walk, tall and be progressive so that SAWIC is not taken for granted." Added Menze

The out-going Provincial Chairperson, Xoli Moagi congratulated the new committee members and wished the newly elected chairperson Nandi Makola well in leading the women organization for the next three years. She called on the department to stick to the signed MOU with SAWIC. "I am handover the baton to the newly elected leadership that will continue to effectively protect and promote the interest of businesswomen in the province, I have full confidence in them," said Xoli

The newly elected committee is as follows: Nandi Mmakola is the chairperson and is deputized by Ndihona Nzinisa, Malebogo Botsheleng was elected as provincial secretary and Botshelo Morei as her deputy, while Maria Molutsi is the treasurer.
press release

             

African Development Bank Group President Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina wrapped up an official visit to the United Arab Emirates on Friday. The three-day visit covered engagements in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The visit--which took place alongside the World Government Summit and the closing days of Expo 2020 Dubai--explored potential partnerships for strategic investment in Africa between the African Development Bank Group and the UAE, in renewable energy, agriculture and food production.

His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Dubai's Deputy Ruler, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the United Arab Emirates, and the African Development Bank chief, discussed strategic opportunities that would strengthen economic ties between the UAE, the Bank, and Africa.

Lauding the UAE's exceptionally visionary leadership, Adesina said: "There is a lot that Africa can draw from the UAE's remarkable success. What the UAE has done, using its resources, its drive and determination to develop the country into what it is today is highly impressive. We are keen to see the UAE become an even more valued and significant investment partner in Africa. The UAE has been a highly valued participant in the African Development Fund, our Bank Group's concessionary lending arm supporting low-income countries since 1978. Hopefully, we may at some point be able to welcome the UAE as a member of the African Development Bank."

Adesina also held a raft of bilateral meetings with other senior members of government and heads of UAE parastatal companies. They included discussions with the Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy--who is also Managing Director of Expo 2020 Dubai--and the Minister of State for African Affairs, His Excellency Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.

Receiving the African Development Bank head, the Minister of State in charge of African Affairs, His Excellency Sheikh Shakhbout, spoke about the UAE's desire to help African countries diversify their economies, provide value-added support for small and medium-sized enterprises, explore potential social housing investment opportunities, and connect young African fintech companies to innovations that would allow them to grow and thrive on the continent.

The African Development Bank President and the Director General of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, His Excellency Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, also signed a memorandum of understanding for closer collaboration, on behalf of their respective institutions.

Suwaidi said: "We consider the African Development Bank to be the continent's Think Tank. We believe that Africa is the world's next growth frontier and we don't want to miss that."

Adesina and His Excellency Sultan Bin Sulayem, CEO of Dubai Ports World, the world's largest port operator, with 78 marine and inland terminals in more than 60 countries, held substantive discussions. The Bank has actively financed port infrastructure projects in Africa. Adesina and Sulayem, discussed investment cooperation that would link African ports to renewable energy and industrial hubs including food production and agro-processing.

Equally productive discussions were held with Dr Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, an innovative Abu Dhabi renewable energy company; with His Excellency Ahmed Saeed Al Calily, CEO and Chief Strategy and Risk Officer of Mubadala, a sovereign investor managing diverse portfolio of UAE and global assets; with senior officials of TAQA, a leading UAE energy company; and with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

Prominent in discussions were investment synergies between the UAE's Etihad 7 energy initiative and the African Development Bank's Desert to Power initiative, with a combined potential to provide 350 million people with renewable energy

As a keynote speaker at Dubai's Annual Investment Forum and during meetings with key government, business and investment leaders, Adesina highlighted the continent's largely untapped potential in several sectors, the bank's unparalleled knowledge of Africa's development and investment landscape, and the institutions risk management instruments.

The African Development Bank head extended invitations to attend the next edition of the Africa Investment Forum--Africa's premier investment platform--in November 2022, to key leaders and institutions. The Africa Investment Forum, founded by the Bank and seven other partner institutions, has attracted over US$100 billion in investment interests into Africa since its inception in 2018.

The African Development Bank Group is Africa's leading infrastructure investor and the continent's only Triple A rated financial institution.

United Arab Emirates: Day 1 of African Development Bank's visit in Dubai

Photos

Contact:

Richard Uku, Communication and External Relations Department - r.uku@afdb.org
press release

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a $7.5 million trade finance guarantee facility for the Central Africa Building Society (CABS) of Zimbabwe. This approval is the first for the Bank under its new transaction guarantee instrument, which was formally launched in July 2021.

The three-year tenor facility will provide guarantees of up to 100% to international confirming banks against the non-payment risk arising from the confirmation of letters of credit and similar trade finance instruments originated by the Central Africa Building Society, on behalf of its clients. The ultimate beneficiaries will be small and medium-sized enterprises and local firms, who rely on the building society to meet their trade finance needs.

Over the next three years, the facility is expected to support more than $50 million in trade between Zimbabwe and the rest of the world. Lack of adequate credit lines from international confirming banks has restricted the building society's ability to support its clients' growth. This facility will support the importation of critical inputs such as agro-chemicals, pesticides, farm machinery and other intermediate goods that Zimbabwe needs to revive its agricultural and manufacturing sectors.

The facility marks the African Development Bank's third non-sovereign intervention in Zimbabwe in recent years and the second to CABS. In 2017, CABS received a $25 million trade finance line of credit, which was accessed by its various clients operating in, among other sectors, agricultural value chain out-grower schemes with smallholder producers of macadamia nuts, cotton, beef and dairy production.

"This trade guarantee facility is a strategic milestone expected to have an important demonstration effect which may prove vital to enhancing comfort to other international lenders to offer additional support to the country's private sector," said Stefan Nalletamby, Director of Financial Sector Development at the AfDB.

The African Development Bank Group currently supports 15 initiatives in Zimbabwe valued at $176 million. These include the rehabilitation of infrastructure in the energy, water and sanitation sectors, financed through resources from the ZimFund. The Bank also supports initiatives to improve governance and public finance management in the public sector. Other initiatives involve supporting women and youth to enable them to engage in value addition in agro-based and mining value chains. The Bank further supports Zimbabwe's private sector through regional financial institutions that operate and invest in the country.

Contact:

Amba Mpoke-Bigg, Communication and External Relations Department, African Development Bank, email: a.mpoke-bigg@afdb.org

Technical Contacts: Bleming Nekati, b.nekati@afdb.org, Chief Trade Finance Officer, and

Bernard Muhati, b.muhati@afdb.org, Senior Investment Officer
Like all great things, the 2021-22 editorial boards term has come to an end. Read more
Alexandria, United States, April 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Apr, 2022 ) :The mother of slain American journalist James Foley said Monday at the trial of one of his alleged Islamic State captors that she initially hoped reports her son had been executed were "some cruel joke." "I didn't want to believe it," Diane Foley testified at the trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, who is charged with the murders of James Foley and three other Americans in Syria.

"It just seemed too horrific," Foley said. "I was hoping it was just some cruel joke." Foley said it sank in later that day when US president Barack Obama went on television to confirm that James had indeed been executed by his IS captors.

Elsheikh, a former British national, is accused of involvement in the murders of Foley, Steven Sotloff, who was also a journalist, and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

Diane Foley, who worked tirelessly to try to obtain her son's release, said James, a seasoned combat reporter, left for Syria in October 2012 and promised to be back for Christmas.

The family began to worry when he did not call in November on Thanksgiving.

"Jim always called us on the holidays," she said. "There was a deafening silence when we did not hear from him." She said the family was informed by a colleague of James that he had been kidnapped.

"Those first nine months, we didn't know if Jim was alive or not," she said.

The first tangible proof that James was alive came when his captors provided emailed answers to three questions that only he would know.

Michael Foley, 46, James's younger brother, also testified on Monday and told the court the kidnappers never engaged in any serious negotiations.

At one point, he said, they asked the Foleys to "pressure the government to release Muslim prisoners." They then asked for a ransom of 100 million Euros.

"This was as ridiculous as the previous one," he said. "There was no ability to secure either of those demands." There were no communications from the kidnappers from December 2013 to August 2014, when the Foleys received a threatening email.

It warned that James would be executed in retaliation for a US bombing campaign against the Islamic State.

He was killed several days later in a gruesome video that was released on the internet.

Michael Foley said he was also informed of his brother's death in a call from a journalist seeking reaction.

He said he went online and watched the video of his brother in an orange jumpsuit and the knife-wielding IS executioner known as "Jihadi John." "I watched it once or twice," he said. "I haven't seen it since but it's burned into my brain." Elsheikh was allegedly a member of the notorious IS kidnap-and-murder cell known to their captives as the "Beatles" because of their British accents.

The group abducted at least 27 people in Syria between 2012 and 2015, including a number of European journalists who were released after ransoms were paid.

Videos of the brutal executions of Foley, Sotloff and Kassig were released by IS for propaganda purposes. Mueller was reportedly handed over to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who allegedly raped her repeatedly before killing her.

Elsheikh and another former British national, Alexanda Amon Kotey, were captured in January 2018 by a Kurdish militia in Syria while attempting to flee to Turkey.

They were turned over to US forces in Iraq and flown to Virginia in October 2020 to face charges of hostage-taking, conspiracy to murder US citizens and supporting a foreign terrorist organization.

Kotey pleaded guilty in September 2021 and is facing life in prison. Under his plea agreement, Kotey will serve 15 years in jail in the United States and then be extradited to Britain to face further charges.

"Beatles" executioner Mohamed Emwazi was killed by a US drone in Syria in November 2015, while the fourth member of the cell, Aine Davis, is imprisoned in Turkey after being convicted of terrorism.

Elsheikh has denied the charges, and his lawyers claim his arrest is a case of mistaken identity. He faces life in prison if convicted.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Lima, April 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Apr, 2022 ) :Peruvian President Pedro Castillo announced a Tuesday curfew for the capital Lima and neighbouring port city Callao following a Monday demonstration that caused roadblocks and "acts of violence".

Protests had erupted across the country in recent days due to a hike in fuel prices and tolls, during a period in which Peru is also suffering from a rise in food prices.

In an attempt to appease protests, the government eliminated the fuel tax over the weekend.

But Monday's demonstration saw truckers and passenger carrier drivers continue to take to the streets.

Several violent incidents, including the burning of toll booths on highways, looting in stores and clashes between protesters and police, occurred in different areas of Peru in the first such stoppage faced by Castillo's leftist government.

Castillo announced late Monday that Peru's Council of Ministers had approved a curfew for the following day.

"In view of the acts of violence that some groups have wanted to create... and in order to reestablish peace... the Council of Ministers has approved the declaration of citizen immobility (curfew) from 2:00 am to 11:59 pm on Tuesday, April 5," he said in a televised message.

The embattled Castillo had survived an impeachment attempt by congress last week -- the second time in eight months in a country with a recent history of ousting its presidents.
press release

Visits highlight Bank's commitment to SADC, regional integration efforts

A senior leadership team from the African Development Bank Group has arrived in the southern African capital Gaborone, on the first leg of an official visit to Botswana and Zimbabwe.

The delegation is led by Acting Vice President, Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Yacine D. Fal. It includes Prof. Kevin Chika Urama, Acting Chief Economist and Vice President for the Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Complex; Director General for the Southern Africa region, Leila Mokaddem; Deputy Director General Kennedy Mbekeani, Martha Phiri, Director of the Bank's Human Capital, Youth and Skills Department, and Jean-Guy Afrika, the African Development Bank's Acting Director for the Regional Integration Coordination Office.

In Botswana from 4-5 April, the team will meet with several government and industry leaders, including the deputy minister of Finance Olesitse H. Masimega. Their discussions will centre on the Bank's support to Botswana's economic transformation agenda and a post-Covid-19 economic recovery. The Bank has provided $137 million in loans to support Botswana's economic recovery from the pandemic.

The delegation will also hold talks with the Southern African Development Community's Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration, Dr. Thembinkosi Mhlongo. They will discuss areas of strategic interest to the SADC region, including the implementation of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), and the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). SADC 's main objectives are to achieve development, security and economic growth, to alleviate poverty and support the socially disadvantaged of the southern Africa region through regional integration.

The visit underscores the African Development Bank's firm commitment to the southern African region's growth prospects and to deepen engagement with SADC at the strategic and technical levels, Fal said.

"We will take stock of ongoing regional integration efforts. We need to continue to encourage the free flow of goods and services across our borders, removal of tariff barriers and to scale up regional value chains," Fal said.

The African Development Bank Group's active portfolio in Botswana amounts to $223 million. The portfolio is dominated by multi-sector projects which account for the largest segment. Sixty-two percent of this falls under the Economic Recovery Support Program, 36.3% to financial support, with the rest financing the country's agriculture, industrial and power sectors.

In Zimbabwe, from 5-8 April, the delegation will meet President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa and other members of government. Talks will focus on Bank support to Zimbabwe's arrears clearance. They team will also meet executives of the African Capacity Building Foundation, as well as private sector and various non-regional partners.

In Zimbabwe, the Bank Group currently supports 15 initiatives valued at $176 million. These include the rehabilitation of infrastructure in the energy, water and sanitation sectors, financed through resources from the ZimFund.

Contact:

Amba Mpoke-Bigg, Communication and External Relations Department, email: a.mpoke-bigg@afdb.org
Co-chairman of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates Tuesday wrote a letter to President Dr Arif Alvi wherein he lauded the latter's high-level commitment to protecting the health and well-being of every child in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Apr 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Apr, 2022 ) :Co-chairman of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates Tuesday wrote a letter to President Dr Arif Alvi wherein he lauded the latter's high-level commitment to protecting the health and well-being of every child in Pakistan.

Bill Gates, also a co-founder of microsoft, an American businessman and philanthropist, particularly spoke high about the work to secure a polio-free future for generations of children to come.

Thanking the president for a warm welcome on his first visit to Pakistan on February 17, this year, he said it was an honour to receive the Hilal-e-Pakistan national award, in recognition of his meritorious services for the people of Pakistan, particularly for the eradication of polio.

"Pakistan has made remarkable progress in the fight against wild polio virus, with no cases for over a yearalthough circulation of the disease has persisted in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa," he remarked.

Bill Gates viewed that the president's continued engagement on polio would go a long way to accelerating Pakistan's continued progress.

He expressed his pleasure in discussing other challenges of vital importance, particularly tackling stunting and malnutrition, access to family planning services and commodities, and effective targeting of social protection programs such as Ehsaas.

"Mr. President, I look forward to a deepening partnership between the Government of Pakistan and our foundation to tackle these and other issues of shared interest. I hope we can speak again soon," Bill Gates concluded.
Pakistan on Tuesday strongly condemned the "senseless" vandalization and burning of more than 40 houses of the Muslim community in Karauli area of Rajasthan, India by radical Hindu zealots belonging to BJP-RSS dispensation with the connivance of local security authorities

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Apr, 2022 ) :Pakistan on Tuesday strongly condemned the "senseless" vandalization and burning of more than 40 houses of the Muslim community in Karauli area of Rajasthan, India by radical Hindu zealots belonging to BJP-RSS dispensation with the connivance of local security authorities.

"Equally alarming is the apathy of state machinery which wantonly looked the other way and failed in its basic duty of protecting the lives and properties of its citizens," the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.

He said regretfully, the minorities in India, especially Muslims continued to live under fear and intimidation.

The BJP-RSS combine has enabled the perpetration of senseless violence against minorities as part of its 'Hindutva' agenda marked by hate and majoritarianism, he added.

The spokesperson said that the recent Indian history was replete with traumatic instances that reflected the current regime's deep-seated animosity against the Muslims in India.

"Deafening silence of the BJP leadership and absence of discernible action against 'Hindutva' proponents must ring alarm bells across the international community," he remarked.

He said rather than relenting in their hostilities against the Muslims, the BJP-RSS activists had intensified the atrocities.

Recently, on April 3, Yati Narsinghan, the infamous Haridwar priest, once again brazenly called upon the Hindus to take up arms against the Muslims. "Pakistan calls upon the international community to take immediate notice of the worrying level of Islamophobia in India and prevail upon Indian authorities to prevent systematic human rights violations against minorities particularly Muslims and take effective steps to ensure the safety, security and well-being of all minorities in India," the spokesperson added.
ISLAMABAD, Apr 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Apr, 2022 ) :President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday urged the Federal Ombudsman to increase its outreach to far-flung areas of the country and utilize the latest information technology tools for the quick redressal of people's complaints against the maladministration of government departments.

The president asked the Ombudsman to provide speedy justice to the complainants against the high-handedness of utility companies as most of the complaints were related to excessive billing by DISCOs and gas companies.

The president made these remarks while talking to the Federal Ombudsman of Pakistan Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi, who called on him and presented the Annual Report-2021 of the organization, here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Secretary to the Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat Ejaz Ahmed Khan also attended the meeting.

The Ombudsman briefed the President about the performance and achievements of the institution during the year 2021.
The district administration imposed fine of Rs 315,600 on various shopkeepers for profiteering and overcharging in the provincial capital during the last 24 hours

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Apr, 2022 ) :The district administration imposed fine of Rs 315,600 on various shopkeepers for profiteering and overcharging in the provincial capital during the last 24 hours.

According to the spokesperson for the district administration here on Tuesday, the price control magistrates got registered 20 FIRs against profiteers while 428 inspections were conducted during the same period, out of which, 133 violations were found.

On the direction of deputy commissioner Lahore Umar Sher Chattha, the inspectionteams of the department visited various shops in different markets and Ramzanbazaars of the city to ensure availability of commodities at government announced rates.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2022) The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday the fifth package of sanctions against Moscow that includes a ban on coal imports from Russia, among other things.

"This fifth package has six pillars. First, we will impose an import ban on coal from Russia, worth 4 billion Euros per year. This will cut another important revenue source for Russia," von der Leyen said ahead of a EU-Eastern Partnership meeting.

The EU will also impose a full transaction ban on four key Russian banks, including the VTB, as well as a ban on Russian vessels and Russian-operated vessels from accessing EU ports, the official said.

"Certain exemptions will cover essentials such as agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid as well as energy. Additionally, we will propose a ban on Russian and Belarusian road transport operators. This ban will drastically limit the options for the Russian industry to obtain key goods," she said.

The package also includes further targeted export bans, worth 10 billion euros, "in areas in which Russia is vulnerable," including, for example, quantum computers and advanced semiconductors, as well as sensitive machinery and transportation equipment.

"(Sanctions will include) specific new import bans, worth 5.5 billion euros, to cut the money stream of Russia and its oligarchs, on products from wood to cement, from seafood to liquor. In doing this, we also close loopholes between Russia and Belarus," von der Leyen said.

Additionally, there will be a number of targeted measures, including "a general EU ban on participation of Russian companies in public procurement in member states, or an exclusion of all financial support, be it European or national, to Russian public bodies."

"Finally, we are also proposing further listings of individuals ... But this is not all. We are working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports, and we are reflecting on some of the ideas presented by the member states, such as taxes or specific payment channels such as an escrow account," the EU commission head added.
The EU executive on Tuesday launched a never-used procedure against Hungary that could see the Hungarian government stripped of EU funding for flouting democratic standards

Strasbourg, France, April 5 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Apr, 2022 ) :The EU executive on Tuesday launched a never-used procedure against Hungary that could see the Hungarian government stripped of EU funding for flouting democratic standards.

The move comes two days after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban won re-election with an overwhelming majority. The nationalist is frequently accused in Brussels of backsliding on democratic norms.

The European Commission "will now send the letter of formal notification to start the conditionality mechanism," European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said to applause at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

Hungary has clashed with Brussels over its public procurement system, conflict of interests and corruption.

The conditionality mechanism was created in 2020, after a summit at the height of the coronavirus pandemic that agreed common borrowing to build an 800-billion-euro ($900 billion) pile of grants and loans for EU countries to recover.

Budget hawks, including Austria and the Netherlands, demanded the conditionality mechanism to put guard rails around the spending of taxpayers' money.

Hungary and Poland challenged the new procedure in the EU's top court. But the European Court of Justice in February greenlit its use, saying the European Union "must be able to defend those values".

The commission has been under pressure from the European Parliament to apply the conditionality mechanism against Poland and Hungary. The legislature launched legal action to make the commission act.

The use of the mechanism adds to a long list of other procedures the commission has taken over concerns against Hungary and Poland.
The US and Israel have approved the sale of Arrow 3 interceptor for longer-range threats, and the sides are set to discuss further details, the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing senior German air force official Ingo Gerhartz

TEL AVIV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2022) The US and Israel have approved the sale of Arrow 3 interceptor for longer-range threats, and the sides are set to discuss further details, the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing senior German air force official Ingo Gerhartz.

The purchase of the air defense system "starts with the approval of Israel and the United States and they gave us the approval," Gerhartz told the newspaper.

"They gave us the approval that we can cooperate on it. But, we still have to talk about the details," the official was quoted as saying.

Additionally, Germany is interested in buying the Iron Dome system because it is used for repelling short-range threats, the newspaper added.

"And for higher interceptors, we have the Patriot weapons system that we will modernize. If it means (threats at a range of ) 15,000km and then it is exoatmospheric we dont have anything and that is why I had a close look at the Arrow 3 and we are really interested in the system," the official said.
Romania has decided to expel 10 employees of the Russian embassy in Bucharest, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday

CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2022) Romania has decided to expel 10 employees of the Russian embassy in Bucharest, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

"The Foreign Ministry reports that the Romanian authorities have decided to declare 10 people working in Russian embassy in Bucharest personae non gratae on the Romanian territory, considering that their activities and actions are contrary to the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the ministry said in a statement.
(@FahadShabbir)

Sri Lanka will temporarily close its embassies in Norway and Iraq, as well as the consulate general in Sydney, in light of the worsening economic situation and shortages of foreign currency, the country's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2022) Sri Lanka will temporarily close its embassies in Norway and Iraq, as well as the consulate general in Sydney, in light of the worsening economic situation and shortages of foreign currency, the country's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has initiated action to temporarily close down the Sri Lanka Embassy in Oslo, the Kingdom of Norway; the Sri Lanka Embassy in Baghdad, the Republic of Iraq; and the Sri Lanka Consulate General in Sydney, the Commonwealth of Australia; with effect from 30 April 2022," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry noted that the temporary closure of diplomatic missions is part of a general restructuring plan undertaken amid the current economic crisis and foreign Currency shortages in the country. Following this decision, the ambassador in Sweden will be concurrently accredited to Norway and the ambassador in the UAE to Iraq, while the consular jurisdiction of the Consulate General in Sydney will be transferred to the High Commission of Sri Lanka in the Australian capital Canberra.

"The decision to close the resident Missions in Norway and Iraq, undertaken as a temporary measure in the current context, would not in any way impinge upon Sri Lanka's bilateral relations with the two countries which are maintained at an optimum level of friendship and cordiality," the ministry said.

Sri Lanka is experiencing by far its worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948. The crisis has been caused by shortages of foreign currency, as tourist flows dried up during the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing the country from purchasing enough fuel. The pandemic has also negatively affected remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad. There is an acute shortage of food and basic necessities, including fuel and gas, with many parts of the island nation facing continuous power blackouts.

On Friday, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a country-wide state of emergency amid public unrest over the crisis. The authorities imposed a curfew, which remained in effect until Monday and restricted access to all social networks.
press release

An estimated $8.3 trillion will be required to meet the climate change, biodiversity and land degradation targets of the three Rio Conventions by 2050.

01-Apr-2022

The African Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank have expressed a commitment to integrate natural solutions into their investments to strengthen climate adaptation and mitigation.

The two development banks co-hosted a live discussion on the topic on the side-lines of the inaugural Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Climate Week, which was held in Dubai from 28-31 March. The four-day meetings, taking place in a hybrid format, aimed to accelerate collaboration and integrate climate action into the global recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The event addressed both nature-based and derived solutions.

Nature-based solutions harness the power of functioning ecosystems to benefit society and the environment. Nature-derived solutions, including wind, wave and solar energy, help fulfil low-carbon energy needs but are not based on functioning ecosystems.

"The African Development Bank is planning and implementing nature-based solutions to address both biodiversity and climate change issues with the understanding that they are closely interlinked and that actions that conserve biodiversity contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation," said Abdourahmane Diaw, African Development Bank Officer-in-Charge, Deputy Director-General, for the North Africa Region, during the session. "Climate change risk, if not addressed, can be a direct driver of biodiversity and ecosystem services loss," he added.

In the MENA region, the Climate Technology Fund, for which the Bank is implementing agency, has committed $750 million to support the deployment of 1 gigawatt of solar power generation capacity, reducing about 1.7 million tons of CO2 per year from the energy sectors of Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, Diaw said.

Amer Bukvic, Acting Director General for Global Practices and Partnership at the Islamic Development Bank, stressed the importance of the two institutions' partnership: "We have joint programs with the African Development Bank on climate-smart agriculture, in particular in Sub-Saharan Africa. We recognize that, without partnerships, we have no substantial chance of succeeding in our ambitions."

Bukvic added that a huge investment was needed. "The estimated requirement is $8.3 trillion to meet the climate change, biodiversity and land degradation targets of the three Rio Conventions by 2050."

The MENA region is a climate change hot spot. Twelve out of the 17 most water-stressed countries globally are in the region, and climate change is expected to exacerbate arid conditions. The region is also projected to experience the greatest economic losses from climate-related water scarcity, estimated at 6% to 14% of GDP by 2050.

The Bank in October 2021 approved a Strategic Framework on Climate Change and Green Growth for the 2021-2030 period.

Representatives of the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture and UNICEF also participated in the webinar, which featured presentations on approaches and strategies to use nature-based and -derived solutions to drive adaptation and mitigation efforts across various sectors.

The Government of the United Arab Emirates hosted the Middle East and North Africa Climate Week, co-organized by the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, United Nations Development Program, United Nations Environment Program, the World Bank Group and MENA-based partners.

The African Development Bank hosted four events during the meetings, three of them with the Islamic Development Bank.
Nigeria Cuts Off 73 Million Callers For Non Registration

The Nigerian government has ordered telecommunication companies to bar calls from phone numbers not yet linked to a National Identity Number (NIN), as well as a ban on unregistered SIM cards to be disconnected.

President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2020, ordered all phone lines to be linked to an identity number to curb rising incidents of abductions in the country's northern region. Based on the inability of subscribers to meet the December 31, 2020 deadline, the government had to postpone the deadline for the tenth time.

The government has said that the 11-digit identification number is the foundation for a comprehensive digital ID system that will help to tackle insurgency by militants such as Boko Haram - as well as other crimes. NIN registration involves the recording of an individual's demographic data and capturing their fingerprints, photo, and digital signature. The number is required for all transactions requiring identity verification, such as opening a bank account, applying for a driver's licence, voting, obtaining health insurance, and filing tax returns.

The registration is also a way in which to track criminals who are using unregistered SIM cards. In 2015, MTN Nigeria faced a hefty fine over the failure to disconnect undocumented SIM cards as part of a security crackdown. The matter was resolved a year later when the company paid at least U.S.1 billion after extensive negotiations.
The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches of Jerusalem decry recent clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians and the occupation of the Little Petra Hotel by Jewish radicals, saying Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Holy Land should show mutual respect.

By Lisa Zengarini

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches of Jerusalem have strongly condemned the acts of indiscriminate violence leading to violent clashes that have been occurring in various locations of the Holy Land over the past two weeks.

The latest incident happened on 2 April, when Israeli security forces killed three Islamic Jihad militants during a raid in the West Bank. It came amid growing tensions ahead of the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, that has seen a surge of violence, leaving over 12 people dead and many wounded.

In the same period last year clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians visiting Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem led to 11 days of devastating conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip's Islamist rulers Hamas.

In a statement released on April 2, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches of Jerusalem expressed their condolences to the families of the victims, offering prayers and their closeness to them.

Risk of escalation

The Christian leaders expressed concern that tensions might "continue to eincrease during the rare confluence of major religious festivals among the three Abrahamic faiths: Ramadan, Pesach, and Holy Week/Easter".

The need to walk in the pathway of peace

They therefore called upon the faithful within each of these three traditions to show forth the mutual respect and care for ones neighbor that is central to the teachings of each of them".

The statement also appealed to governmental authorities to exercise policies of religious tolerance, restraint of force, and de-escalation of conflictand we commend them to the extent that they have already done so.

In these coming weeks that are sacred to our respective religious traditions, we encourage all people of good faith to walk in the pathway of peace that is so central to the symbolism of Jerusalem, the City of Peace. In this way, we can be true witnesses to the world of the common vision of Peace/ Shalom/Salaam that is enshrined within the heart of our separate but intertwined religious beliefs.

The dispute over the Little Petra Hotel



On the same day the Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem issued another statement condemning the recent forceful occupation of the 'Little Petra Hotel' by the Jewish radical group Ateret Cohanim.

The ownership of this building, located near the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem, has been disputed in Israeli courts after it was sold by the former Greek-Orthodox patriarch, Irenaeus I, in a controversial agreement signed in 2004.

The Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, have repeatedly warned against the illegitimate actions of extremists, carried out with intimidation and violence.

Coercion and violence cannot lead to peace

In their statement, they said that by forcibly occupying the property of the Greek Orthodox Church Ateret Cohanim activists committed a criminal trespass and are behaving as if they are above the law, remarking that the 'Little Petra Hotel' is an important part of the Christian heritage of Jerusalem.

The Christian leaders argued that the Judaization of Jerusalem, will only lead to instability and tension. Acts of coercion and violence cannot lead to peace, they said.
Seven years since joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), Vietnam remains committed to integrating further into the world economy. It is in this context...
The Australian government is urging Vietnam to free on health grounds a 72-year-old Vietnamese-born Australian serving a 12-year prison sentence for supporting a pro-democracy group.

A court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced Chau Van Kham in 2019 on terrorism convictions related to his support for democracy group Viet Tan.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said she had argued for Khams release in a conversation with Vietnams Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi last year and in a phone call with Vietnams Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son last week.

In relation to Mr. Chau Van Kham, respecting the Vietnamese legal system and we do, our concern though is his age. He is in his 70s, he is unwell, Payne told reporters.

We have sought an appropriate consideration of his circumstances given those facts and to have him allowed to return to Australia, Payne said.

The South Vietnamese army veteran had lived in Australia since the early 1980s. He is a retired Sydney baker and was arrested during a visit to Vietnam in 2019.

The Tuoi Tre newspaper reported that Kham was found guilty of terrorism to oppose the peoples administration after a half-day trial.

It said two Vietnamese men, Nguyen Van Vien and Tran Van Quyen, were also sentenced to 11 and 10 years respectively on the same charge.

The newspaper described the three men as members of Viet Tan, which Vietnams Communist government has branded terrorist since 2016.

It said Kham was in charge of the groups Australian branch and was assigned to raise funds to finance what it called reactionary activities in Vietnam.

Viet Tan called the charges baseless and said the legal proceedings were a sham.

The newspaper said Kham was arrested when he crossed the border from Cambodia into Vietnam using false ID documents.

He will be deported after serving his prison term, the newspaper said.

Human Rights Watch said Kham received what is essentially a death sentence because of his age and health needs.

His family say his health problems include glaucoma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, prostate problems and kidney stones.
China says it will back neighbor Myanmar no matter how the situation changes, in the latest show of unequivocal support for the ruling military that seized power last year.

China has always placed Myanmar in an important position in its neighborly diplomacy" and wants to deepen exchanges and cooperation," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Myanmar counterpart Wunna Maung Lwin on Friday, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.

Myanmars military, which ousted the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, has continued to face popular resistance that amounts to what some U.N. experts have characterized as a civil war. The government is also facing genocide accusations at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

In return for Chinese diplomatic support and material assistance, Myanmar has been a loyal ally of Beijing within a 10-member regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The sides should accelerate work on the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, step up construction of major landmark projects" and deepen solidarity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," Wang said.

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.

Myanmars military leader has not been allowed to participate in ASEAN meetings following the armys seizure of power and violent suppression of opposition to its rule.

China pursues what it calls an independent foreign policy of peace that generally prioritizes its own narrow interests, with little or no consideration for a country's human rights record or other internal controversies.

China has refused to criticize Russia over its invasion of Ukraine while blaming the West for provoking the conflict.

And on Thursday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued strong backing for Afghanistan while making no mention of human rights abuses by the countrys Taliban leaders, even as much of the world fumed over the hardline Islamic group reneging on a promise a day earlier to open schools to girls beyond the sixth grade.
Coming up on Africa News Tonight: Sudanese Internally Displaced Persons living in the Darfur region welcome the trial of Ali Kushayb at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, describing it as a positive move towards achieving justice for loved ones who lost life due to the Darfur conflict. Zambia and Rwanda approve seven Memorandums of Understanding which could potentially boost economic ties between the Southern African nation and the East African nation. Moroccans who traditionally host family gatherings and large set togethers during Ramadan speak to VOA about the importance of the holiday. For this and more, stay tune to Africa News Tonight!
Zimbabwe 'Behind in Addressing Women's Economic Emancipation'

Zimbabwe's Economic Justice for Women's Project (EJWP) has said that the nation continues to lag behind in plugging the gaps which are perpetuating the exclusion of women on the economic and financial front, writes Alois Vinga for New Zimbabwe.

EJWP executive director, Margaret Mutsamvi said while the government has made strides in alleviating women from gender related imbalances, more still needs to be done on the economic front.

"There remain gaps in implementation and alignment of these legal instruments. In some instances, especially in operationalizing regional, continental and international instruments Zimbabwe remains one of the laggards. On the economic and financial policies, the root causes of discrimination and exclusion of women have not been fully addressed. Policies have been gender-neutral or blind," she said.

The EJWP's comments come nearly a month after the organisation bemoaned the government's abrupt economic policy shifts, saying it negatively impacts consistent tracking of the empowerment impact of such blueprints on women in Zimbabwe.

The findings contained in the organisation's paper titled,"Post-Independence Zimbabwe Finance and Economic Policy Evolution: Impact on Women" published on Women's Day, observes that Zimbabwe has had a legacy of enacting policies which did not have clear cut gender sensitive monitoring and evaluation procedures.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the United Nations Security Council, as it met to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion. What are the ramifications of significant losses among Russian troops in Ukraine?
The Islamic State terrorists who kidnapped American journalist James Foley never made serious attempts to negotiate a ransom before brutally executing him, family members testified Monday.

Foley's brother and mother took the witness stand at U.S. District Court in Alexandria at the terror trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, a Briton accused of played a leading role in a hostage-taking scheme that resulted in the deaths of Foley and three other Americans  Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

James Foley, a freelance photographer who grew up in New Hampshire, left for Syria in October 2012. He was well aware of the potential dangers  indeed, he had spent more than a month in captivity in Libya while on assignment during that country's civil war.

Diane Foley, his mother, testified that she became deeply concerned about her son when he failed to call them as he usually would on Thanksgiving.

It wasn't until late November, after Thanksgiving, that they actually received an email from James' captors seeking to establish a line of communication.

Michael Foley, James' brother, said the emails exchanged in November 2012 and January 2013 sought either the release of Muslim prisoners or 100 million euros.

"We had no ability to secure either of those demands," he said. "It's not a reasonable demand. It's not a negotiation, in my mind."

The captors did provide evidence that they were in possession of Foley and that he was still alive by giving personal details about James' life that would have been known only to him and his family.

But despite repeated efforts to engage the hostage-takers in talks, the Foleys received no replies to multiple emails for roughly 8 months. Finally, in August 2013, they received an email titled: "A message to the American government and their sheep-like citizens."

The email criticized the U.S. for a recent bombing campaign that had been undertaken against the Islamic State.

"As for the scum of your society who are held prisoner by us, THEY DARED TO ENTER THE LION'S DEN AND WHERE [sic] eaten," the message said. It promised retaliation, "the first of which being the blood of your American citizen, James Foley. He will be executed as a DIRECT result of your transgressions towards us!"

A few days later, Foley was beheaded in a gruesome video broadcast across the Internet.

Both Foleys testified that they first learned of James' death from reporters calling for reaction.

Michael Foley said he found the video readily available on the Internet and watched it multiple times. Diane Foley said she kept hoping it was a cruel joke. She called the FBI and other government officials she'd been in contact with, but none would respond throughout the day.

The first official confirmation she received was on the evening news, when then-President Barack Obama confirmed the beheading.

The refusal to negotiate in serious terms stands in contrast to earlier testimony, where negotiators for European hostages engaged in lengthy discussions that resulted in the release of hostages. One hostage was released after raising 2 million euros, a negotiated figure that was just a fraction of what was demanded from the Foleys.

Elsheikh is better known as one of "the Beatles," a nickname he and at least two other Brits were given by their captives because of their accents. Elsheikh and a longtime friend, Alexenda Kotey, were captured together and brought to Virginia to face trial.

Kotey pleaded guilty last year in a plea bargain that calls for a life sentence.

A third Beatle, Mohammed Emwazi, served as executioner in the video of Foley's execution. Emwazi was killed in a drone strike.

There have been conflicting statements during the trial about the existence of a fourth Beatle. An individual previously identified in public discussion as a fourth Beatle, Aine Davis, is serving a prison sentence in Turkey.

Defense lawyers have highlighted the discrepancies over the Beatles' identities, and say there is insufficient evidence to prove Elsheikh was one of the Beatles who participated in the hostage-taking scheme.

Prosecutors, though, plan to present evidence later in the trial that Elsheikh confessed to his role under questioning from interrogators and in media interviews.
An alleged former leader of the janjaweed militia in Sudans Darfur region has pleaded not guilty to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, went on trial Tuesday at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he faces 31 counts of crimes that include persecution, pillaging, murder and rape.

Abd-Al-Rahman allegedly commanded pro-government militia forces that attacked and burned down villages in Darfur between August 2003 and March 2004, as then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir attempted to stamp out a regional rebellion.

The trial started with the reading of charges against Mr. Abd-Al-Rahman. The chamber was satisfied that the accused understood the nature of the charges. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges, ICC spokesperson Fadi El-Abdallah told VOA on Tuesday.

Abd-Al-Rahman is the first Darfur war crimes suspect to go on trial at the ICC. The United Nations estimates the conflict killed more than 300,000 people and displaced more than 2.5 million from their homes.

The lack of justice for crimes and atrocities committed in Darfur nearly two decades ago remains at the root of Sudans instability today, according to John Prendergast, co-founder of the Sentry, an organization that focuses on war crimes and war-linked illicit finances.

"The militia in which Kushayb was a leader committed genocidal crimes, and until this moment has been subject to almost no accountability. It's no surprise, then, that Sudan continues to be marked by dictatorship, kleptocracy, and serious human rights abuses, Prendergast said in a statement.

The trial against Abd-Al-Rahman may take several months before a verdict is reached, ICCs Abdallah told South Sudan in Focus, noting that Taking into account the nature of the charges and the amount of evidence that will have to be presented to the judges for them to be able to decide whether or not theres a reasonable doubt about the guilt of the accused.

Abd-Al-Rahman was first indicted in 2007. He surrendered himself to the authorities in the Central African Republic in 2020, a year after Bashir was ousted from power in Sudan. He was transferred to the Hague and indicted in 2021.

His trial is a chance to begin to create legal accountability for the commission of horrific crimes, Prendergast said.

This case has ramifications beyond one man's guilt. It can help lay the groundwork for justice on behalf of Darfur's victims and survivors," he said.

Yagoub Ahmed, an internally displaced person (IDP) and camp leader at the Kalma Camp in West Darfur state, told South Sudan in Focus that the ICC trial gives IDPs and refugees hope that Abd-Al-Rahman will be held responsible for his alleged deeds.

When justice is served, nobody will try to take the law into his own hands. This has given us hope that justice will finally be served. We have trust in the ICC, and we have been following up with them since day one," Ahmed said.

Hanan Hassan Khatir, who is a displaced person in the Kalma Camp and whose husband was killed in Darfur in 2003, told South Sudan in Focus she is happy to see Abd-Al-Rahman in the Hague courtroom.

"I don't believe my ears that such a trial would have been carried out, but today I am excited that Ali Kushayb has finally been tried in the court of law. This man has committed a lot of mass killing, ethnic cleansing. Some of us have been raped publicly in front of our fathers and husbands. Our hope is that all others involved in committing crimes against our people in Darfur should be taken to ICC," Khatir told VOA.

Although trying Abd-Al-Rahman in the ICC is a big step forward, all alleged perpetrators should be put on trial for crimes committed against civilians, she said.

Former President Bashir was indicted by the ICC in 2009 over alleged atrocities committed by his government but remains imprisoned in Khartoum after being found guilty on corruption charges.
China's navy will strengthen through 2050, analysts say, as the military power expands a key shipyard, steps up coordination and pursues a security deal with a South Pacific ally.

Chinese officials have signed a draft security agreement with South Pacific archipelago the Solomon Islands. That deal, announced last week, alarmed nearby Australia and New Zealand over the possibility of an eventual Chinese base in the Solomons for what is already the world's largest navy.

Recently, Naval News, an official newspaper of the British Royal Navy, published an article describing a "massive expansion" of China's biggest shipbuilding site. That site, the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, is expected to have a basin for fitting out ships and a "large" drydock with multiple berths, the newspaper reported.

China has been expanding another two facilities to build nuclear submarines, the report added. It said the expansion opens the possibly of building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the People's Liberation Army Navy.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not answer a request for comment this week about military modernization.

Parts of longer voyage

The initiatives position the Chinese navy to improve through 2050, said Collin Koh, a maritime security research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

"Clearly the Chinese are already in the process of bulking up, so I think it might actually be sooner than we actually imagine," Koh said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told a Communist Party congress in 2017 that he aimed to "basically complete" military modernization by 2035 and transform the armed forces into a "world-class" military by 2049, according to a U.S. Department of Defense paper released last year.

Jiangnan is a key site for making aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and submarines. The navy had 512 ships in 2012, according to Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies, a research group. It now has more than 700, the database Globalfirepower.com says.

China's most formidable rival would be the United States. The former Cold War rival has sent warships to the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait in respone to Beijing's perceived aggression toward smaller Asian governments. On Monday, U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger said his troops should do more "campaigning forward" to deter China at sea.

Dearth of ports

A port in the Solomons would ease a shortage of places to moor ships as the Chinese navy tries to project influence into the Pacific Ocean, experts believe. China's foreign naval bases today are in Myanmar, Pakistan and Djibouti.

"The CCP (Communist Party of China) not only wants to control the first island chain, but also use that as a base and expand their influence to reach the second island chain," said Chieh Chung, an associate researcher at the National Policy Foundation in Taiwan, in a phone interview with VOA Mandarin.

The first chain refers to the band of islands stretching from the Kuril Islands north of Japan to Borneo. The second includes Papua New Guinea, the Marianas and the Caroline Islands.

Analysts believe any Solomons base is a way off. Protesters rioted in the South Pacific country in November partly because of their country's links with China. The Solomons established diplomatic ties with Beijing in 2019, casting off former ally Taiwan.

Solomon Islanders resented Australia as a "big brother" in the past and wonder whether China is the next one, said Alexander Vuving, professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii.

Command structure overhaul

China faces the longer-term challenge of decentralizing its military command to put battlefield decisions in the hands of field commanders and make fighting more efficient, some experts believe. It's more "top-down" today than the U.S. military despite efforts since 2016 to improve coordination, said Derek Grossman, senior defense analyst with the U.S.-based RAND Corporation, a research organization.

The People's Liberation Army network launched an overhaul in 2017 aimed at improving coordination, according to a National Defense University Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs paper.

A key would be aligning the army, strategic support forces and rocket forces in the event of any war, Grossman said. "It's not just numbers," he said, referring to equipment and troops. "I think it's also obviously the quality of their capability, if they're able to use all of these assets in a coordinated fashion."

China has not entered combat since the 1970s, when it lost a border war to Vietnam.

The crew aboard China's two aircraft carriers need more time to train, said Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies research group in Taiwan. The United States has 11 aircraft carriers.

"I think those two aircraft carriers are not ready for real combat yet, because they need a time to train their crews in how to coordinate other combatants in their mission and also in a way to train the carrier fighter jets," Yang said.

China's growing number of ships "may just come to naught" without more training and improved "command and control," Koh said.

VOA's Lin Yang and Jin Gu contributed to this report.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced plans to expand access to health care by proposing changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to allow millions of additional American families to purchase health insurance plans and obtain tax credits to offset the cost.

"When today's proposed rule is finalized, starting next year, working families will get the help they need to afford full family coverage  everyone in the family," Biden said in remarks at the White House ahead of signing an executive order to improve access to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid.

Biden was accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama, who in March 2010 signed the ACA, the sweeping health care law known as Obamacare.

This was Obama's first return visit to the White House since he left office in 2017 after two terms with Biden as his vice president.

"Joe Biden and I did a lot," Obama said. "But nothing made me prouder than providing better health care and more protections to millions of people across this country."

5 million affected

The proposal to change the rules on ACA would fix the so-called family glitch, where, based on current regulations, family members of an individual who purchases health coverage through an employer are ineligible for a premium tax credit even though they need it to afford coverage. The glitch affects about 5 million people, according to the White House.

The proposed change applies to individuals in households that spend more than 10% of their income on health insurance. According to a senior administration official who briefed reporters, it would allow 200,000 uninsured people to gain coverage and would lower premiums for a million other individuals.

The House Ways and Means Committee's top Republican, Representative Kevin Brady, criticized the move and accused Biden of misusing executive orders that abandon the language of "the very law he claims he wants to build on."

"He even ignores the last 12 years, during which the Obama-Biden Administration made clear it was unlawful to take such actions," Brady said in a tweet.

No universal health care

The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not provide health care for all its citizens. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, 8.6% of people, or 28 million, did not have health insurance at any point during 2020.

The country's health care is delivered by a public-private system, with about 65% of Americans covered by private health insurance and the rest relying on public coverage, including Medicare and Medicaid.

"This is a country that is very much oriented toward the private sector, the employer, and the employer providing benefits," Bill Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told VOA.

Hoagland said that many Americans are also wary of too much government involvement and are concerned that government-run health care would be inefficient or inadequate.

About 55% of Americans support the ACA, according to a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Disparities in health care

Poor people and people of color are more likely to be uninsured, and many health and health care disparities remain entrenched.

"We are the richest country in the world and yet some of our citizens have the poorest health," Dr. Rachel Villanueva, president of the National Medical Association, the largest and oldest organization representing African American doctors, told VOA. "The lack of access to health care is one of the primary causes of health disparities for people of color. Increasing access to health care would help people to achieve their optimal health and reduce the racial and social inequities that are disproportionately impacting our communities."

Since Biden took office, enrollment and coverage through the ACA is at its highest level. The law has significantly cut the number of uninsured, which once stood at 46.5 million. This happened despite repeated attempts by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress to dismantle the law, including efforts to reduce enrollment opportunities and slash subsidies to insurance companies.

The administration has taken steps to boost participation by opening a special enrollment period for people to get health care coverage during the coronavirus pandemic. Nevertheless, millions of uninsured Americans still face the choice of either financial ruin or going without the health care they need as they struggle with medical bills.

Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson advanced one step closer to serving on the U.S. Supreme Court with a key U.S. Senate committee Monday advancing her nomination for a full floor vote later this week.

U.S. President Joe Bidens nominee to serve on the highest court in the country also won the support of two more Republicans Monday, as Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney announced they plan to vote to confirm Jackson. Republican Senator Susan Collins said last week she would support Jackson.

Their votes, along with those of the 48 Democrats and two independents in the Senate, would be more than enough to confirm Jackson and make her the first African American female Supreme Court justice in U.S. history.

Senate Democrats praised Jacksons breadth of experience ahead of the vote on her nomination, calling her one of the most qualified nominees in the history of the Supreme Court.

Justice Jackson will bring to the Supreme Court, the highest level of skill, integrity, civility and grace, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin said Monday. She has impeccable qualifications. We don't agree on much in the Senate but not one senator on this committee has questioned that she is well qualified.

The 51-year-old Jackson served as a judge for almost a decade and has experience clerking at every level of the federal system, including in the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Stephen Breyer, whom she is nominated to replace. Jackson would be the first justice to have experience as a federal public defender.

These critical experiences bring a missing perspective to the court, Durbin noted. It is truly unfortunate that some are trying to use them as reasons to vote against her. These baseless attacks are belied by the broad support for Judge Jackson's nomination from across the political spectrum. Law enforcement, former federal prosecutors, Republican-appointed judges, and even more have vouched for her intellect, her intelligence, her ability to build consensus and her evenhandedness.

Jackson garnered no Republican votes in an 11-11 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. But Democrats were still able to advance her vote to the floor using Senate procedures.

There was widespread Republican criticism of Jackson for her past sentencing of child pornographers. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who has previously voted for Biden judicial nominees, said Monday, I'm inclined to vote for judges of the other side, but this choice of Judge Jackson was really embraced by the most radical people in the Democratic movement to the exclusion of everybody else.

Other Senate Republicans have argued Jackson did not adequately define her judicial philosophy.

Senator Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the committee, said Monday, She and I have fundamental, different views on the role of judges and the role that they should play in our system of government. Because of those disagreements, I cant support her nomination.

The Senate is expected to begin debate and to hold a final vote on her nomination before leaving for the Easter holiday recess later this week.
The Delhi High Court has allowed prominent Indian journalist Rana Ayyub to travel abroad, six days after she was prevented from taking a flight to Europe to speak in a series of lectures there about harassment and intimidation of journalists in the worlds largest democracy.

On Tuesday, March 29, the independent investigative journalist, who writes for The Washington Post, received an emailed summons from Indias Enforcement Directorate (ED), which investigates financial crimes, 14 minutes before her flight for London was to depart from Mumbai.

Known as a Look Out Circular [LOC], the summons was related to an investigation the directorate is conducting into the alleged misuse of donations that Ayyub collected for relief work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, the court quashed the LOC, noting that it was mala fide, or devoid of merits, and infringed on the human right [of Ayyub] to travel abroad and exercise her freedom of speech and expression. The court has now allowed Ayyub to travel abroad on condition that she share her detailed itinerary with the ED and return to India by April 11.

Neither the EC nor the government has commented publicly on the ruling.

Ayyub is a fierce critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Hindu nationalist ideology of his Bharatiya Janata Party and the activities of Hindu right-wing groups and political leaders. On social media, far-right Hindu supporters of Modi regularly abuse and threaten her for her articles highlighting the harassment and persecution of Muslims in India.

Attacks against Ayyub have escalated since the ED froze her bank accounts, accused her of laundering money and launched an investigation into the case in February.

Ayyub has denied the allegation that the ED leveled against her. She has called the actions by the agency an attempt to intimidate her.

Lawyer Vrinda Grover, who represented Ayyub in the Delhi court, said that her client was being harassed by the ED because she was a critic of the government.

After Ayyub was prevented from taking the flight last week, the London programs where she was scheduled to speak on April 1 were canceled. With the Delhi court lifting the ban on Ayyubs travel Monday, she is scheduled to take part in an event, organized by the International Journalism Festival, in Perugia, Italy.

Ayyub is to deliver a lecture titled, When the State Attacks: journalism under fire in the world's biggest democracy, as the scheduled keynote speaker, on Friday, April 8.

Several participants of the festival expressed joy and relief on learning that Ayyub would be at the festival.

Julie Posetti, vice president of global research at the International Center for Journalists, or ICFJ, and an expert in online attacks against women journalists, said she is thrilled that the New Delhi High Court has delivered justice and overruled the totally unjustified ban on Rana Ayyub's right to travel to speak at international events about press freedom erosion in India and threats to women journalists online.

The ban slapped on her as she attempted to board a flight to London at the invitation of ICFJ and UK-based human rights lawyers at Doughty Street Chambers was a bald and ham-fisted attempt to silence her critical journalism and commentary and crush her spirit - but it ultimately failed, Posetti, who will be the moderator during Ayyubs lecture at the journalism festival, told VOA.

It is essential that Ayyub be able to tell her stories and speak her truth within the international journalism community if the world is to believe that press freedom and genuine democracy have a future in India, Posetti noted.

More power to her for confronting the Indian authorities and demanding her rights be upheld, Posetti said.
The International Criminal Court trial of Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman, which began Tuesday, is a long-awaited moment for many former residents of Sudans Darfur region now living in South Sudan.

The former Janjaweed militia leader - also known as al-Kusayb  faces 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for actions allegedly committed in Darfur between August 2003 until March 2004.

The Janjaweed were armed groups that then-Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir deployed to crush a rebellion in Darfur in 2003.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Kushayb in 2007. He surrendered in 2020 and has been held at The Hague in the Netherlands ever since.

Ibrahim Yaya Osman, a trader from Darfur working in Juba, said If this man is confirmed [convicted as] a criminal by the court, then he has to be punished because we need justice. My people were killed in Darfur and we want to know why they were killed, he told VOAs South Sudan in Focus.

An estimated 300,000 civilians were killed in Darfur and another 2.7 million were displaced by July 2015. The key perpetrators were the Janjaweed and Sudanese government forces, said the ICC.

Mohamed Hussein, whose family was forced to flee Darfur due to the fighting, told VOA some of his relatives were killed by the Janjaweed.

My family was forced to become refugees in another country because of the Janjaweed. My relatives were killed, so my family members had to flee from Darfur to Chad. Now they are still refugees in Chad and we have waited for justice since 2003. Its been nearly 20 years now as a refugee because of Janjaweed, so I have suffered a lot and I need to see justice prevail, said Hussein.
A storied Russian liberal politician has sparked an outbreak of infighting among the countrys opposition groups after mounting a scathing attack on Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, arguing the path he would take the country down wouldnt lead to a life free of repression.



Everyone must decide whether to support Navalny or not, Grigory Yavlinsky wrote this week. But you need to understand. A democratic Russia, respect for people, and a life without fear and repression are incompatible with Navalnys policies, he added.



Yavlinsky, who ran twice for the Russia's presidency, in 1996 against Boris Yeltsin and in 2000 against Vladimir Putin, founded the Yabloko party, which favors free-market economics and social liberalism. Hes been critical of Navalny in the past and this week repeated his accusation that Navalny, Russias most high-profile opposition politician, is xenophobic and an authoritarian nationalist.



The attack by Yavlinsky has split the party he founded and triggered broader opposition infighting. It comes amid signs the recent protests against the Kremlin, and demands for Navalny to be freed from jail, are not resonating with most Russians, and that the paramilitary style crackdown on the dissenters is deterring others from considering protesting or enlisting in any future political action.



A poll conducted by the independent Levada Center carried out between January 29 and February 2 suggests there is little public appetite for agitation. Navalny survived a near-fatal poisoning, which he blames on the Kremlin and was arrested last month in Moscow on his return following life-saving treatment in Germany.



In the past two weeks, pro-Navalny supporters were on the streets in more than a hundred cities across Russias 11 time zones, with the largest protests mounted in the Russian capital and St. Petersburg. More than 11,000 people have been arrested at rallies opposing the jailing of Navalny, who started out as a blogger and became known as an anti-corruption campaigner.

The poll found that just 15% of Russians would be prepared to participate in future pro-Navalny protests, four percent less than the pollster found in November 2020. The percentage rose to 17% when asked if they would join rallies to protest economic conditions. Those figures represent Russians lowest willingness to protest since March 2018, according to the pollster.



The pollster also found that only 22% viewed the recent political protests positively. Younger respondents, who tend to get their news from the Internet and non-government media sources, viewed the protests slightly more favorably than older Russians, who generally receive their news and views from government-owned or controlled channels.



Government-sponsored channels have mounted unrelenting scorching attacks on Navalny and his allies, accusing them of being agents of foreign powers.



Among all respondents, two out of five said they view the protesters negatively. Another 37% expressed indifference to the political protests. Nonetheless, Russians do expect more political agitation in the future with 45% of people expecting more trouble, a jump from 23% last November, the highest it has been since 1998.



The poll findings are dismaying for Navalny supporters, who are in the process of taking stock and reorganizing to adjust for the high number of dedicated activists currently in detention. Navalnys team last week said it intends to shift tactics and mount neighborhood flash mobs this Sunday instead of urging large numbers of supporters to take to the streets, risking more detentions and giving the security services an easy target to hit.



Neighborhood flash mobs is a tactic pro-democracy activists have been using in recent weeks in neighboring Belarus.



Navalnys key aides are urging Russians to gather near their homes on February 14, Valentines Day, to shine torches and light candles in heart shapes. Navalny made multiple heart gestures to his wife Yulia in the courtroom where he was sentenced to two years and eight months on February 2.

He was convicted of violating the terms of his parole from a 2014 sentence for fraud in a case his supporters, international rights groups and Western governments say is spurious and politically motivated.



Opposition infighting is par for the course. President Vladimir Putins foes are drawn from across the political spectrum, from right-wing ultra-nationalists to old-school Communists, and with a variety of liberal groups in the middle. In 2016, an effort to stitch together a broad alliance of opposition groups, called the Democratic Coalition, was short-lived.



It fell apart when the leaders, who were meant to be working together to try to gain political influence, resumed their competition and tried to elbow each other out of the way.



The Kremlin gave it the coup de grace when it leaked to the government-sponsored NTV channel a video of former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, a key liberal opposition politician, and one of the founders of the Democratic Coalition, in which he was heard disparaging his political partners.



Different coalition configurations were tried before and have been since, too, but keeping opposition groups marching, agitating and campaigning as one also has always been difficult and temporary. Yavlinskys public criticism of Navalny this week has exposed once again the splits and political animosities.



Navalnys allies have urged Yabloko to expel Yavlinsky, and opposition social media forums have seen acrimonious exchanges, raising the prospect that opposition groups once again will end up squabbling and taking off in disparate directions in the run-up campaign to parliamentary elections in September.



Navalny was himself a member of Yabloko, but he was expelled in 2007 over what other members saw as unacceptable nationalist views. In the past, the Kremlin critic has participated in ultranationalist rallies and has been critical of migrants, using language his critics say make him unsuitable to be the figurehead of the opposition to Putin.



Navalny denies he is a xenophobe, and says he was expelled from Yabloko because he made little secret he wanted to replace Yavlinsky.



But some Yabloko leaders are infuriated with Yavlinskys attack, which they say is ill-timed and will put off voters. Other opposition figures say Yavlinsky shouldnt criticize someone now in jail as a political prisoner and unable to defend himself.



Last week, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the exiled former oil tycoon who emerged as a prominent critic of Putin after a 10-year spell in a Russian jail, said he disagrees with Navalny on some issues, But when a person becomes a political prisoner he must be supported.

In an interview on Echo of Moscow, an independent radio station, Yavlinsky noted he had also participated in the past in prohibited rallies. He added: I support everyone who is in prison.

But on Navalnys Twitter account, which is handled currently by his team, Yavlinskys criticism was put down to envy.
Gunmen killed 15 Nigerian soldiers and wounded more than a dozen others during an attack on an army base in the northern state of Kaduna, two army sources said Tuesday, in the latest attack on security forces by armed gangs.

The gangs, designated as terrorists by the government, have caused havoc in northwest Nigeria by attacking villages, towns and schools and kidnapping hundreds of students.

An army officer at the military base in the town of Birnin Gwari in Kaduna told Reuters that gunmen on motorbikes used rocket-propelled grenades and other heavy weapons during an attack that lasted more than two hours on Monday evening.

Eleven soldiers died during the attack, while 19 were injured and taken to three different hospitals in Kaduna. Four soldiers later succumbed to their injuries, the officer said.

"These are not ordinary bandits I know that we are fighting. The bandits took away several weapons from our base," said the officer, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

An army spokesman did not respond to several calls and messages on his mobile phone Tuesday.

Birnin Gwari shares a border with the states of Zamfara and Niger, which are among the hot spots of armed gangs.

Another soldier at the Kaduna base said three military vehicles were destroyed during the attack and several guns were missing from the armory.

A situation report from the base to army headquarters in Abuja that was seen by Reuters said the situation "is calm but highly unpredictable."

Nigeria's military is stretched as it fights an Islamist insurgency in the northeastern part of the country and armed gangs in the northwest.
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An alleged former militia leader in Sudans Darfur region has pleaded not guilty to 31 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The trial of the militia leader known as Ali Kushayb is the first at the International Criminal Court to deal with the Darfur conflict.



Wearing a blue suit, Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman sat with folded arms as he listened to a long list of atrocities he allegedly participated in nearly two decades ago.



Speaking here through a translator, he denied the charges against him.

I reject all these charges. I am innocent of all these charges. I am not accused of any of these charges.



International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan offered a very different take. He outlined brutalities supposedly committed by Abd-Al-Rahman and other alleged members of Sudans feared Janjaweed militia in 2003 and 2004.



Rapes against women and girls, children being targeted and attacked and abducted, men and boys amongst others, being executed and killed, homes being wantonly destroyed, people fleeing with nothing. For many, their lives never to be the same again.



This is the first trial at the Hague-based criminal court dealing with the Darfur conflict, which the United Nations says killed roughly 300,000 people and displaced some 2.5 million others. Its also the first trial resulting from a U.N. Security Council referral to the ICC.



This is a really important moment, expressed Elise Keppler, the associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch.



Its not the end, in fact its really just a beginning. But we have not seen any meaning accountability for crimes in Darfur and victims have been clamoring to see justice, that justice is such an important step, she added.



Also known as Ali Kushayb, Abd-Al-Rahman was considered a senior Janjaweed member. The militia group was fighting non-Arab rebels, who had launched a revolt, complaining of discrimination.



Rights groups claim the Janjaweeds response was a deliberate act of ethnic cleansing. Abd-Al-Rahman allegedly played a key role in Janjaweed attacks against at least four villages.



Prosecutor Khan aired clips of interviews of alleged witnesses and victims of the attacks.



What has hit me every time Ive interacted with Darfouris, and actually survivors throughout the world, is their dignity and remarkable resilience, Khan pointed out.



The trial comes amid an uptick of violence in Darfur, and unrest across Sudan following a military coup last October.



Sudans former president, Omar al-Bashir, and three others are also being sought by the ICC for alleged war crimes in Darfur. Khartoum has yet to hand them over.
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

For the latest developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, all times EDT:

10:51 p.m.: U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp INTC.O said on Tuesday it has suspended business operations in Russia, joining a slew of companies to exit the country following its invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported. The company, which had last month suspended shipments to customers in Russia and Belarus, said it has implemented business continuity measures to minimize disruption to its global operations.

Intel continues to join the global community in condemning Russia's war against Ukraine and calling for a swift return to peace, the company said. International Business Machines Corp IBM.N too had suspended shipments as Ukraine urged U.S. cloud-computing and software companies to cut off business with Russia. Servers from IBM, Dell Technologies Inc DELL.N and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co HPE.N top the market in Russia, where companies and government agencies have relied on technology developed by the West as the basis for their owned-and-operated IT systems.

9:25 p.m.: The top U.S. military officer is warning that the war in Ukraine will likely last years, raising concerns that the world "is becoming more unstable and the potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing, not decreasing."

During testimony in front of the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley called Russia's invasion of Ukraine "the greatest threat to peace and security of Europe, and perhaps the world, in (his) 42 years of service in uniform."

Asked by lawmakers what could have stopped Russian President Vladimir Putin from attacking Ukraine, Milley said the only defense possible may have been to put U.S. forces inside the country, which he would not advise because it would have risked an armed conflict with Russia.

8:50 p.m.: In his daily night-time video address to the nation late Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces are still trying to push deep into Ukraine in the east, but the Ukrainian army is holding them back.

And, he said, Ukraine is aware Russia is preparing for another offensive. Ukraine is outnumbered in troops and equipment.

We dont have a choice  the fate of our land and of our people is being decided, he said. We know what we are fighting for. And we will do everything to win.

8:12 p.m.: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin defended the U.S. response to the war in Ukraine on Tuesday in an exchange with a Republican lawmaker who said the Pentagon overestimating Russia's military capability, Reuters reports.

"Has it occurred to you that Russia has not overrun Ukraine because of what we've done? And our allies have done?" Austin asked rhetorically to Rep. Matt Gaetz before the House Armed Services Committee.

Austin and other U.S. officials say support from the U.S. and its allies to Ukrainian forces, along with their strong will to fight, has thwarted Russia's plans for a swift victory in a campaign now in its sixth week.

7:51 p.m.: Dressed in their bride and groom finery, a Kharkiv couple who have volunteered as medics since the start of the war were married on April 3 in the northern Ukrainian city, the scene of heavy bombing until recently. RFE/RL has their story from Kharkiv.

7:17 p.m.: Russia's invasion of Ukraine has internally displaced 7.1 million people in the country, a new report says. The report by the Organization for Migration (IOM), which covers data from March 24 to April 1, found that the number of internally displaced people increased 10% since the first round of the survey two weeks prior. "People continue to flee their homes because of war, and the humanitarian needs on the ground continue to soar," said IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino in a press release.

6:44 p.m.: People are still only able to flee the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol on foot or by private car as efforts to organize mass evacuations by bus to safer parts of Ukraine have failed, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. Efforts to evacuate civilians - some with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - have repeatedly broken down, with both sides blaming each other, Reuters reported.

In an online post, Vereshchuk said seven buses trying to get to Mariupol had not managed to make its way through a Russian blockade. Russia's defene ministry said Ukrainian forces had "cynically disrupted" the evacuation effort, Tass news agency cited a senior official as saying.

Speaking earlier on national television, Vereshchuk said buses could not reach the first part of the evacuation route from Mariupol, which is "nearly 80 km (50 miles)- people have to either walk or find a way to make this journey in a private car."

6:11 p.m.: U.S. astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who came back from the International Space Station a week ago, said Tuesday that the relationships between the U.S. astronauts and the Russian cosmonauts was positive on the station, despite the invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions placed on Russia by the U.S. and its allies.

"About my relationship with my Russian crewmates, they were, are and will continue to be very dear friends of mine," the American Vande Hei said during a press conference in Texas Tuesday.

"We supported each other throughout everything," he said. "And I never had any concerns about my ability to continue working with them."

5:25 p.m.: Update: Reuters is reporting that the Azburg, a Dominica-flagged cargo ship hit by Russian missile strikes in the port of Mariupol, sank on Tuesday. The ship, which was believed to be empty, was hit by two missiles on Sunday, the Dominica Maritime Administration said. It was fired on again on Monday. The crew of 12 evacuated to other vessels nearby; one crew member needed medical care.

4:50 p.m.: Journalists with The Associated Press are reporting seeing dozens of battered or burned bodies of civilians in Bucha, a town outside of Kyiv. Ukrainian officials have said at least 410 civilians have been found dead so far.

4:00 p.m.: A childrens summer camp in Ukraine is the site of another grisly atrocity. In a basement in the town of Bucha, near the capital Kyiv, there were bodies with their hands tied behind their backs and bullet holes in their heads. The Ukrainian authorities said it was a war crime committed by Russian forces. Borys Sachalko has this report for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

3:42 p.m.: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the West on Tuesday of trying to derail negotiations between Russia and Ukraine by fueling hysteria over alleged war crimes by Moscows forces, Reuters reported.

Kyiv and the West say there is evidence - including images and witness testimony gathered by Reuters and other media organizations - that Russia committed war crimes in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Moscow denies the charge and has called the allegations a monstrous forgery.

3:26 p.m.: VOA's Heather Murdock went to the town of Bucha, outside Ukraines capital Kyiv, and has this report on civilian deaths and destruction found there after Russian troops retreated from the area.

WARNING: This report contains graphic images that some may find disturbing.

3:11 p.m.: The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says it is gathering evidence of possible war crimes committed by Russian forces in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet has expressed horror at the images of civilians lying dead on the streets of Bucha, a town on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv. Her spokeswoman, Liz Throssell, says photos of bodies that have been desecrated are extremely disturbing. VOAs Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva.

2:59 p.m.: Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday held a Twitter chat with his followers and answered questions on a variety of topics, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys address to the United Nations Security Council, his governments position that Russia should be suspended from the U.N. Human Rights Council, the European Unions proposed fifth package of sanctions against Russia, Ukraines gratitude for international support, and efforts to prosecute Russia for war crimes.

2:56 p.m.: The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, met with European Union ambassadors in Geneva Tuesday to discuss humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, according to a post on Twitter. The gathering reiterated the need to respect international humanitarian law and expressed concern over a disinformation campaign against the ICRC which may endanger some of its staff on the ground.

2:42 p.m.: Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said in a statement on Tuesday that its team witnessed Russian strikes during a hospital visit on April 4 in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, and managed to take cover and escape unharmed. "Several explosions took place in close proximity to our staff over the course of about 10 minutes," said Michel-Olivier Lacharite, MSF head of mission in Ukraine. At least 11 people were killed and 61 wounded in a rocket attack on Mykolaiv on Monday that hit a bus stop and shopping area, Ukrainian human rights ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said on Tuesday.



2:22 p.m.: Four media outlets blocked in Russia for their coverage of Moscows invasion of Ukraine have filed lawsuits against media regulator Roskomnadzor and the Prosecutor-Generals Office. The Setevyye Svobody (Network Freedoms) Telegram channel said on Tuesday that editors for Mediazona, Republic, Taig.Info, and Lentachel had filed lawsuits against decisions to block their sites with the Tver district court in Moscow, adding that lawyer Leonid Solovyov will represent the media outlets in the court. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this report.

2:14 p.m.: A foreign-flagged merchant ship was hit by a Russian navy missile in the besieged southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol with one crew member needing medical care, a Ukrainian official said on Tuesday. The Dominica-flagged cargo ship Azburg's engine room was hit by a missile late on Monday, said Viktor Vyshnov, deputy head of Ukraine's Maritime Administration.

"The ship was burned and all 12 crew members were evacuated to another ship. One crew member needed medical help which was given to him and he was evacuated," Vyshnov told Reuters.



He did not know if the ship was carrying any cargo. British security company Ambrey Intelligence said separately the vessel arrived in Mariupol on Feb. 23 and was unable to leave Ukrainian waters because of the closure of the port.The vessel's Malta-based owner could not be reached for comment. Russian officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



1:58 p.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a grave miscalculation by invading Ukraine, triggering a conflict that could ultimately spill over its borders, possibly igniting a larger conflagration, a former presidential adviser and Kremlin spin doctor has said. In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys Georgian Service, Gleb Pavlovsky said Putin's decision to invade Ukraine on February 24 made "no political sense." He added,"Nobody, including myself, realized just how maniacally obsessed he must have been with Ukraine. We underestimated the extent of decay of the Russian government."



1:36 p.m.: The European Union on Tuesday ordered 19 Russian diplomats to leave host nation Belgium for engaging in activities contrary to their diplomatic status, Reuters reported. Based on the decision by High Representative Josep Borrell, 19 members of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the EU in Brussels have been declared personae non gratae for engaging in activities contrary to their diplomatic status, the bloc said in a statement. The decision to revoke the immunity of the diplomats at Russias mission to the EU follows similar decisions by a host of EU countries, including France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and Spain, accusing Russian envoys of spying. The EU said its decision was also in protest at reports of civilian killings in Ukrainian towns that were under Russian control.

1:21 p.m.: The U.N.s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Tuesday that, in cooperation with humanitarian partners, it delivered eight trucks of critical supplies for people in the city of Sievierodonetsk in eastern Ukraines Luhanska oblast. The convoy brought food rations, flour, plastic sheeting, and blankets for some 17,000 people, as well as four hospital electricity generators, amongst other items, the U.N. said. Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator Markus Werne added, we will continue to deliver here and to cities across Ukraine but what we require is protection of civilians and continued access.



12:41 p.m.: On Tuesday, Reuters compiled a report setting out the latest information about Russia's oligarchs and the current status of their assets.

12:22 p.m.: A great deal has been written about high-tech, high-precision weapons in Ukraine's battle against Russia's invasion. But Grad rocket systems, a technology many decades old, are also playing a role in the fight. Both the Russian and the Ukrainian militaries have this truck-mounted multiple launch rocket system in their arsenals. Correspondent Roman Pahulych spoke with a Ukrainian Army unit operating a Grad launcher in the country's east and has this story for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

12:13 p.m.: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made remarks to the media Tuesday before traveling to Brussels for a meeting of NATO and G7 foreign ministers aimed at supporting Ukraine and increasing pressure on Russia.

As this Russian tide is receding from parts of Ukraine, the world is seeing the death and destruction left in its wake, he said. What weve seen in Bucha is not the random act of a rogue unit. Its a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities, he added. Blinken said there is determination around the world "to make sure that one way or another, one day or another, there is accountability for those who have committed these acts, for those who ordered them.

11:48 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the United Nations Security Council Tuesday that "accountability must be inevitable" for Russia as he accused Russian troops of committing "the most terrible war crimes" since World War Two. Zelenskyy showed a short video of burned, bloodied and mutilated bodies, including children, in Irpin, Dymerka, Mariupol and Bucha, Reuters reported.

He questioned the value of the 15-member U.N. Security Council, which has been unable to take any action over Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine because Moscow has veto power, along with the United States, France, Britain and China. "We are dealing with a state that turns its veto at the U.N. security council into the right to (cause) death," Zelenskyy said in a live video address, urging reform of the world body. "Russia wants to turn Ukraine into silent slaves."



Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council: "We've heard once again a huge amount of lies about Russian soldiers and military."

11:22 a.m.: The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, on Tuesday addressed the U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine, beginning by sharing stories of Ukrainian refugees she had met on her recent trip to Moldova and Romania. I saw with my own eyes the refugee crisis caused by Russias unconscionable war, she said. I met with women and children who had fled Ukraine, who stuffed their lives into backpacks and left the only home they had ever known. These were sobering conversations.

Thomas-Greenfield also said there are some stories we will never get to hear referring to civilians killed in a brutal fashion in Bucha and elsewhere in Ukraine. As we work to independently confirm the events depicted in these images, I would remind this Council that based on the currently available information, the United States has assessed that members of Russias forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine, she said.

She renewed her call for Russia to be removed from the U.N. Human Rights Council. Russias participation on the Human Rights Council hurts the Councils credibility. It undermines the entire UN. And it is just plain wrong, Thomas-Greenfield said. Let us come together to do what is right -- and to do right by the Ukrainian people.

10:55 a.m.: U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths, who is seeking a humanitarian truce in Ukraine, said "we have a long road ahead of us" after meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow this week. "Perilous conditions are hampering our efforts to access civilians - or for them to access us. Civilians must be allowed to move to safer areas without the fear of attacks," Griffiths told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. He said he hopes to travel to Ukraine on Wednesday to meet with Ukrainian officials, Reuters reported.

10:48 a.m.: In remarks to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, political chief Rosemary DiCarlo called for the release of all those detained in Ukraine, including journalists, members of civil society, and local officials. As of March 30, the UN Hunan Rights Office has documented the arbitrary detention and possible enforced disappearance of 22 journalists and members of civil society in Kyiv, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia, VOAs Press Freedom Editor Jessica Jerreat reported. Since the Russian invasion, seven journalists have been killed and at least 15 others came under attack, DiCarlo said.



10:28 a.m.: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the U.N. Security Council Tuesday, saying The war in Ukraine is one of the greatest challenges ever to the international order and the global peace architecture, founded on the United Nations Charter. He added that he was deeply shocked by images of civilians killed in the war and noted that serious damage was being done to the global economy, and particularly to vulnerable people and developing countries. The war in Ukraine must stop  now, Guterres said. I urge the Council to do everything in its power to end the war and to mitigate its impact, both on the suffering people of Ukraine, and on vulnerable people and developing countries around the world.

10:23 a.m.: European and international donors agreed on Tuesday to extend $762 million in aid to Moldova, Europe's poorest country, which is hosting more than 100,000 refugees from Ukraine at a time of soaring energy prices. Speaking after a donor conference she hosted in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany would work to help Moldova free itself from its dependency on Russia for energy supplies. With fewer than 3 million people, Moldova has taken in more refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine per head than any other country, Reuters reported.

10:18 a.m.: Latvia ordered the closure of two Russian consulates in the country and told staff to leave the country, Reuters reported Tuesday. "The decision was taken in solidarity with Ukraine in its fight against the unprovoked and unjustified military aggression and war started by Russia," the foreign ministry said in a statement. The consulates in the towns of Daugavpils and Liepaja will have to close. Staff will have to leave by the end of April, the statement said.

10:03 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that if Russia withdrew its troops to positions it held before it invaded Ukraine, that would be a victory, for now, The Kyiv Independent reported. He said that fighting to retake the Donbas region, occupied since 2014, would cost us 40,000 or 50,000 of our best trained people, and the enemy would return next month, it reported. Zelenskyy, speaking during a group interview with several Ukrainian journalists Tuesday, rejected Russias claims that its invasion of Ukraine was aimed at denazification and demilitarization. He said, We told them to forget about it. We will not even discuss it, The Kyiv Independent reported.

9:52 a.m.: Israels prime minister says he is shocked by the gruesome images emerging from the Ukrainian town of Bucha, but he has stopped short of accusing Russia of being responsible or calling the atrocities a war crime. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told reporters Tuesday that we are, of course, shocked by the harsh scenes in Bucha. Terrible images, and we strongly condemn them. With Israel one of the few countries to have good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Bennett has emerged as a mediator in efforts to end the war, and Bennett has been measured in his criticism of the Russian president, the Associated Press reported.

9:49 a.m.: The United Kingdoms Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Tuesday accused Russia of lying about its treatment of civilians in Ukraine and said it will support efforts by the International Criminal Court to ensure that those responsible for war crimes in Bucha and elsewhere in Ukraine are held accountable.

9:47 a.m.: The United Nations Human Rights office on Tuesday said there have been at least 3,675 civilian casualties in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on February 24. It reported 1,480 deaths (including 123 children), and 2,195 injuries (including 183 children). The Human Rights office attributed most of the casualties to shelling and airstrikes, and it noted that the actual figure is likely much higher.

9:45 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak to the U.N. Security Council for the first time Tuesday, after the gathering receives briefings from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo, and U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths. The meeting is expected to focus on what appear to be deliberate killings of civilians in Ukraine by Russian troops. VOAs U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer is monitoring events.

Watch the meeting live starting at 10 a.m. EDT:

9:28 a.m.: Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says seven humanitarian corridors will be open on April 5 to evacuate civilians from several hard hit areas, including the southern port cities of Mariupol and Berdyansk. Vereshchuk said in a post on Telegram that those leaving the cities will be able to do so only via private transportation and will be able to travel to the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is under Ukrainian control. Other corridors will open from the city of Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia region, and the cities of Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Popasna, and Hirske in the Luhansk region, she added. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this report.

9:14 a.m.: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday he expects more atrocities to come to light in Ukraine as Russian troops continue to retreat from areas around Kyiv, The Associated Press reported. Stoltenberg rejected Russian assertions that the atrocities were staged. He said that these atrocities have taken place during a period in which Russia controlled these areas. So they are responsible.



8:36 a.m.: The President of the European Union Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Tuesday proposed a fifth package of sanctions against Russia which, she says, is waging a cruel, ruthless war in Ukraine. In a video clip shared on Twitter, she outlined six new measures including an import ban on coal from Russia, a full transaction ban on four key Russian banks, a ban on Russian transporters accessing EU ports and roads, further export bans in technical and mechanical fields, specific new import bans, banning Russian companies from public procurement, and further sanctions on individuals.

8:14 a.m.: A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross has been released after being held by Russian forces in the Ukrainian town of Manhush, while trying to reach the Russian-besieged city of Mariupol, Reuters reported Tuesday. The ICRC team was sent back to the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is under Ukrainian government control. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday Ukraine's efforts to push back Russian troops from Mariupol were facing difficulties and that the military situation there was "very difficult." He said Turkey had proposed a plan to help remove the wounded and dead from the city but cautioned that the initiative depended on the will of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Each side has blamed the other for the failure of repeated efforts to open "humanitarian corridors" to deliver supplies to Mariupol and evacuate civilians. The citys mayor says up to 170,000 people are trapped without power and have limited food.

8:09 a.m.: The flow of "bloody money" to Russia must stop, Kyiv's mayor said on Tuesday as the West prepared new sanctions on Moscow after dead civilians were found lining the streets of a Ukrainian town seized from Russian invaders. "Every euro, every cent that you receive from Russia or that you send to Russia has blood, it is bloody money, and the blood of this money is Ukrainian blood, the blood of Ukrainian people," Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko, dressed in military clothes, told a mayors' conference in Geneva via video link. Russia denies targeting civilians and said the deaths had been staged by the West to discredit it. Sanctions already imposed have isolated Russia's economy but its gas is still flowing to Europe, Reuters reported.

7:57 a.m.: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke at a press briefing ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting on the Ukraine crisis.

7:45 a.m.: Solomia Fedishin is drying her husbands freshly laundered Ukrainian Army uniform. The 19-year-old is trying to cope after his death in a Russian air strike. She says she needs to be strong for the son that she will soon give birth to, and bring up as a widow. She told her story to Current Time, a co-production of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and VOA.

7:41 a.m.: Attacks against Russian and Ukrainian migrants in Germany have risen since the start of Russias invasion of Ukraine, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in remarks made available on Tuesday. Faeser told the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung this week that since the end of February 308 anti-Russian offences were recorded by police, including 15 acts of violence. Offences against Russians and Russian facilities are on the rise, she said. Some 250,000 Russia-born migrants and 150,000 people born in Ukraine lived in Germany before President Vladmir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, Reuters reported.

7:36 a.m.: French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Tuesday that there is total determination from all 27 European Union countries for sanctions against Russia that could target oil and coal over evidence its troops deliberately killed Ukrainian civilians. Europes dependence on Russian oil, natural gas and coal means finding unanimity on energy measures is a tall order, but the reports of the killings outside Ukraines capital Kyiv have increased pressure for tougher EU sanctions, The Associated Press reported.

7: 22 a.m.: Some Ukrainians are swapping their regular jobs for journalism, many of them becoming fixers and assisting media companies from around the world who are in the country to cover the war. In journalism-speak, fixers are local people who work closely with foreign reporters on everything from securing interviews, translating, and booking hotels to more crucial work including advising on possible threats and no-go areas. Often these are journalists already established in their home country. But some are new to the profession  and learning on the job while navigating a war zone. VOAs Sirwan Kajjo has the story.



7:16 a.m.: A growing number of European nations have announced they are expelling Russian diplomats, Reuters reports. Sweden will expel three Russian diplomats for spying, Foreign Minister Ann Linde said on Tuesday. "It is because they are not following the Vienna Convention and they are undertaking illegal intelligence-gathering operations," Linde told reporters. France, Belgium and the Netherlands have recently expelled Russian diplomats over alleged spying activity. Spain will expel some 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff from Madrid, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday, in response to alleged war crimes by the Russian military in Ukraine. Denmark and Italy also announced Tuesday they were expelling Russian diplomats. Russia will give an appropriate response, TASS news agency quoted Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

6:50 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says there is "no other choice" than to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, even if it's difficult to do amid signs that Russian forces may have committed atrocities against civilians. Speaking in an interview with Ukrainian journalists that was broadcast on state television Tuesday, Zelenskyy called the events in Bucha "unforgiveable," and that "all of us, including myself, will perceive even the possibility of negotiations as a challenge." The interview comes a day after Zelenskyy made an emotional trip to Bucha outside the capital, where Ukrainian officials say the bodies of civilians have been found, many of them shot in yards, streets, and homes. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has this report.

6:31 a.m.: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell will travel to Kyiv this week for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, an EU spokesman said on Tuesday. The meeting will take place "prior to the pledging event #StandUpForUkraine on Saturday in Warsaw," EU spokesman Eric Mamer wrote on Twitter. Von der Leyen on Monday tweeted that she spoke with Zelenskyy about the murder of civilians in Bucha and elsewhere and that the EU is ready to send Joint Investigation Teams to document war crimes in coordination with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General."

6:20 a.m.: Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday met with Polands Minister of Climate and Environment to coordinate their cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is providing advice and assistance to maintain safety and security at Ukrainian nuclear facilities, and to discuss Ukrainian-Polish energy projects.

6:15 a.m.: Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer plans to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy in Ukraine in the coming days to discuss humanitarian and political support for the country, his office said in a statement on Tuesday according to Reuters.

For security reasons no further details of this trip can be announced for the time being, the statement said, adding that the two men had had a phone conversation on Monday evening.

5:30 a.m.: Italy has expelled 30 Russian diplomats because of security concerns, Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Tuesday, and Russia was set to retaliate, according to TASS, Reuters reported. A number of other Western governments have taken similar steps following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Italy summoned Russias ambassador to the foreign ministry on Tuesday to tell him that the diplomats were being expelled.

The measure is in agreement with other European and Atlantic partners and is necessary for reasons linked to our national security and in the context of the current crisis caused by the unjustified aggression against Ukraine on the part of the Russian Federation, Di Maio said in a statement. Russia will give an appropriate response, TASS news agency quoted Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.

5:00 a.m.: Denmarks Foreign Ministry says the country is expelling 15 Russian intelligence officers who worked at Russias Embassy in Copenhagen.

The ministry said the Russian ambassador was informed of the decision on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. It said Denmark strongly condemned Russias brutality against Ukrainian civilians in Bucha and stressed that deliberate attacks on civilians are a war crime. The officers have two weeks to leave Denmark. Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said, they pose a risk to our national security that we cannot ignore.

4:30 a.m.: Reuters reported that the United States Treasury blocked Russia from using reserves it holds at American banks to make more than $600 million in sovereign debt payments, raising the prospect of a Russian debt default. Reuters has the story.

3:30 a.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy said on Tuesday holding negotiations with Russia was the only option for his country although the possibility of having talks was now a challenge. But in comments broadcast on national television, he said it was possible that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin would not personally hold talks, Reuters reported.

3:00 a.m.: A top official in the global campaign against the use of land mines is urging Russia to halt the use in Ukraine of these weapons that too often kill and maim civilians, The Associated Press reported.

Alicia Arango Olmos, Colombias ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva and this years president of the state parties to the 1997 convention banning the production and use of land mines, expressed deep concern at media reports that Russia is using land mines in its war in Ukraine. She pointed to Human Rights Watch which said on March 29 that Ukrainian explosive ordnance disposal technician located banned ant-personnel mines in the eastern Kharkiv region a day earlier.

The rights group said Russia is known to possess the type of mines that were discovered, but Ukraine doesnt have them. Arango Olmos told a news conference Monday that Ukraine is one of the 164 state parties to the convention, but Russia is not. Monday was the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.

2:30 a.m.: Russias invasion of Ukraine becomes deadlier by the day, with world leaders accusing Russia of war crimes as video out of the Kyiv suburb of Bucha shows people shot and left dead in the streets. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has more.

Warning: This video contains graphic images and may not be suitable for all viewers.

2:00 a.m.: Ukrainian forces have retaken key northern terrain, forcing Russian forces to retreat from areas around the city of Chernihiv and north of the capital Kyiv, British military intelligence said on Tuesday.

Low-level fighting is likely to continue in some of the recaptured areas, but reduce this week as the remainder of the Russian forces withdraw, the defense ministry said in a regular bulletin on Twitter. Many of the withdrawing Russian units are likely to require significant re-equipping and refurbishment before they redeploy for operations in the country's east, the ministry added. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

1:30 a.m.: The U.N. Security Council is expected to focus a meeting Tuesday on the killings of civilians in Ukraine, a day after U.S. President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin should face a war crimes trial.

Tuesdays session includes briefings from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths, as well as an address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Britain holds the rotating presidency of the council this month, and its U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward told reporters the issue of civilian killings during the Russian invasion of Ukraine would be front and center.

1:15 a.m.: The Japanese government flew 20 Ukrainian refugees into Tokyo on Tuesday in a high-profile show of support for the international effort to help Ukraine by a country that has long been reluctant to take in foreigners. The 20 - aged from 6 and 66 and including 15 women  are not the first Ukrainian refugees to arrive in Japan since Russia invaded their homeland on February 24  but they are the first to be flown in on a special government plane on a trip arranged by Japans foreign minister, Reuters reported.

The government of Japan is committed to provide the maximum support to these 20 Ukrainians to help them live with a sense of peace in Japan, even though they are far away from their home county, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Poland shortly before he and the refugees set off for Japan.

12:00 a.m.: In the wake of Russia's withdrawal from towns surrounding the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, residents say they are heartbroken by the death and destruction left behind. The Ukrainian government has said evidence appears to show that Russia has committed war crimes. VOA's Heather Murdock reports from Kyiv and Vinnytsia in Ukraine.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
In parts of northern Ivory Coast, local militiamen called Dozos drive along the countryside's dusty roads, where they help the state keep the locals safe. Unlike the nation's prosperous south, development, security and rule of law have struggled to reach the north.

Armed groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaida already wreak havoc less than 100 kilometers away, over the country's northern border in Burkina Faso and Mali. As they begin to attack and try to recruit in Ivory Coast, Ivorian analysts say many of the conditions that caused conflict in Burkina Faso and Mali are present here: lack of state security, development, and intercommunal tensions.

One Dozo, who gave his name only as Sekongo, said violence and crime led the militias to organize.

He said the Dozos work with the rangers, the police, the gendarmerie. Often, the Dozos are called upon to join them on missions, he added.

In Burkina Faso and Mali, militia groups also emerged in areas now overrun by terror groups, where state control was weak.

Bakary Ouattara, who runs the chapter of the Dozos in Korhogo, a major city in the Ivorian north, believes the government does not have enough resources to install security forces in the smaller villages, especially those that are 25, 50, and 60 kilometers away from the gendarmerie or the police station.

"Imagine if the population is attacked, by the time the police arrive and intervene, the attackers will already have left," he said.

He added that security in the region remains good, however.

Traditional leaders in the north also supplement justice and the rule of law by arbitrating disputes.

Issa Coulibaly of Korhogo said when citizens have a problem that they are unable to deal with, they turn to him.

The traditional leader also said development in the north has improved in recent years, although the majority of those living outside of big towns or cities interviewed by VOA disagreed.

Another major cause of the conflict in neighboring countries is tension between herder and farmer communities, which analyst Lassina Diara of the Timbuktu Institute said is also a problem in Ivory Coast.

Diara said the lack of cohesion between herder communities and other communities has not yet seen a very strong response on the part of the state.

Arthur Ranga, a military historian at Felix Houphouet Boigny University in Abidjan, advises the government on the security situation in the north. He said tensions in the north have not reached a critical state.

There is concern, he said, but there is no exodus or displacement yet, because so far the government has been able to give a good military response and is also trying to build a social response.

The Ivorian Ministry of Security did not respond to an interview request by VOA.
U.S. government officials warn that many African countries will continue to face shortages and high food prices as long as Russia continues to wage war against Ukraine, from which Africa gets much of its wheat and cooking oil.

Speaking to journalists online Tuesday, the U.S. representative to U.N. agencies in Rome, Cindy McCain, said Ukraine is the world's breadbasket, and the attack on its land and people is raising hunger around the globe.

The Food and Agricultural Organization estimates that as many as 13 million more people worldwide will be pushed into food insecurity as a result of Russias invasion of Ukraine. The truth of the matter is Putins war forces us to take from the hungry to feed the starving. As long as Russia continues its brutal campaign, innocent people are going to pay the price, she said.

Ukraine annually exports 40% of its wheat and corn to Africa. The World Food Program feeds 138 million people in 80 countries, including Ethiopia and Nigeria, with the grain it gets from the European country.

With Ukrainian supplies cut off, food prices are on the rise across Africa. Meanwhile, increasing energy costs have driven up prices for fertilizers such as phosphate used in food production.

Jim Barnhart, assistant to the administrator for USAIDs Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, says the high cost of living will make life difficult for more families in Africa.

Reduced food supplies and subsequent price increases in these commodities make it harder for farmers in Zambia to access inputs they need to plant their crops, for families in Malawi to buy nutritious food for their children. So, if that is not mitigated, these price increases could result in significant increases in global poverty, hunger and malnutrition, particularly in regions like sub-Saharan Africa, he said.

The International Committee for the Red Cross says more than 346 million Africans face a food security crisis, making families skip meals every day.

The ICRC says it will ramp up its operations in 10 countries to combat the food shortages.

The head of ICRCs global operations, Dominik Stillhart, says the war in Ukraine has impacted their humanitarian work.

The other impact, which is more indirect, is that the rise in food and fuel prices, as well as supply chains that are seriously affected by the situation in Ukraine, they have an effect on our own capacity to scale up. Lead times are going to be longer, for instance, (and) food imports, and thats also why we are increasingly resorting to cash transfers to support people in various countries in which we are operating, he said.

Persistent drought, poor rains in some parts of Africa and conflicts have also exacerbated Africa's food situation.
Somalias National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) says terrorist group al-Shabab is plotting to assassinate the countrys president and prime minister.

Somalias spy agency said Tuesday that al-Shabab is targeting President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble.

In a Twitter post, the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) named the Islamist groups Mohamed Mahir as overseeing the plot.

NISA gave no further details on the alleged plot but said officials had been informed.

The warning follows a series of recent deadly attacks by the al-Qaida-linked group and comes as Somalia is struggling to complete long-delayed elections.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for a March 23 attack on Mogadishus international airport that left six people dead.

It came the same day a prominent female lawmaker, Amina Mohamed Abdi, was among several people killed in explosions claimed by the group in the central city of Beledweyne.

During a memorial for Abdi, Prime Minister Roble said his life was in danger.

Roble alleged Abdis killing was politically motivated and said he received threats on his own life after he ordered her seat to be openly contested in the election.

In February, al-Shabab attacked several police stations and checkpoints in the capital, Mogadishu, killing five people.

President Mohamed, popularly known as Farmaajo, and Prime Minister Roble have been at odds over Somalias election process.

The clan-based election was scheduled to take place a year ago but has yet to be finished. Last year, Farmaajo controversially tried to push through an extension of his term, but the measure was repealed under international pressure.

Farmaajo also has clashed with Roble and opposition candidates on election oversight.

The prime minister has upheld decisions by the electoral committee to not certify some lawmakers whose election was deemed unfair and who also share close ties with the president.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Monday the end of the country's state of disaster brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

That means that many restrictions on daily life and business that have been in place for 750 days have officially been removed.

But some measures remain.

Ramaphosa introduced a 30-day transition period that would uphold an indoor mask mandate and requirements to show vaccine certificates or PCR test results to attend large public gatherings.

In addition, international travelers will have to be fully vaccinated or present a negative COVID-19 test result.

A social grant to those who lost their jobs during the pandemic will extend through the transition period, after which all measures will lapse.

The repeal of the state of disaster comes roughly five months after the last major variant, omicron, was discovered by the country's scientists.

Ramaphosa said while case numbers are high, hospitalizations and deaths remain low. South Africa is the hardest-hit country in Africa with over 6 million COVID-19 deaths.

With less than half of the adult population vaccinated, Ramaphosa encouraged the public to get their shots.


Spain will expel some 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff from Madrid, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday, joining other European Union countries in its response to alleged war crimes by Russian troops in Ukraine.

"We have decided to expel Russian diplomats and staff from the Russian embassy in Spain who represent a threat to the interests and security of our country," he said after the weekly cabinet meeting, without ruling out further measures.

The minister added that the expulsions were also a response to "the terrible actions carried out in the past days in Ukraine especially in Bucha and the ones reported today from Mariupol." referring to the discovery of mass graves and civilian killings in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.

"The crimes cannot remain unpunished," he said.

Russia has denied killing civilians in Bucha.

Italy, Sweden and Denmark had already announced similar expulsions early on Tuesday.

Albares said his government expected Russia to expel a similar number of Spanish diplomats in response.

However, he said Spain would not expel the Russian ambassador as Madrid wants to keep its own ambassador in Moscow and leave diplomatic channels open for talks with Russia to end the war.
Ukraines president admonished the U.N. Security Council Tuesday for its inaction in stopping Russias war against his country and called for Moscow to face accountability for crimes it has carried out there.

We are dealing with a state that is turning the U.N. Security Council veto into the right to die, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said of Russia, which has used its veto to block any action in the council. This undermines the whole architecture of global security, it allows them go unpunished, so they are destroying everything they can.

The president spoke to the 15-nation council in Ukrainian via a videolink for about 15 minutes. He wore his now trademark army green shirt, and a Ukrainian flag was visible over his right shoulder.

He spoke just days after Russian troops withdrew from Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, where residents and local officials reported more than 300 civilians had been killed by Russian troops during the towns occupation. Moscow has denied any involvement and blamed Ukrainian radicals.

Are you ready to close the U.N.? Do you think that the time of international law is gone? Zelenskyy asked. If your answer is no, then you need to act immediately. The U.N. Charter must be restored immediately.

He said there must also be accountability for the atrocities committed against his people.

The Russian military and those who gave them orders must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said, a day after U.S. President Joe Biden asserted that Russian leader Vladimir Putin should face a war crimes trial.

Zelenskyy also showed diplomats a short but brutally graphic video of dead bodies in several Ukrainian cities, including Bucha. Many were burned and charred beyond recognition; some had their hands tied behind their backs. Most lay in the street or in piles. The remains of at least one child were among the corpses. A mass grave was also shown. Ukraines U.N. envoy watched the video with tears in his eyes.

Russias U.N. envoy dismissed the video and Ukrainian claims that Russia has committed atrocities, even acknowledging the Russian militarys difficulties in advancing through the country, claiming it was to spare civilian casualties.

Today we have heard once again a huge amount of lies about Russian soldiers and military, Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council.

He said hundreds of people were ready to testify to the cruelty of Ukrainian Nazis and radicals, whom he blamed for atrocities, and read fragments of their alleged statements. He repeated the Russian defense that all accusations are part of a propaganda war against Moscow, saying the only ones who would fall for this are Western dilettantes.

U.S. envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield made a quick trip to Moldova and Romania over the weekend to meet with Ukrainian refugees, who she said, stuffed their lives into backpacks and left the only home they had ever known.

She said the United States is studying the pictures emerging from Bucha.

As we work to independently confirm the events depicted in these images, I would remind this council that based on the currently available information, the United States has assessed that members of Russias forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine, Thomas-Greenfield said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also participated in Tuesdays meeting. He appealed for the war to stop now.

He had called Monday for an independent investigation into the killing of civilians in Bucha.

Last week, the U.N. chief said he would explore possibilities for a humanitarian cease-fire and sent his humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, to Moscow. Griffiths will travel to Kyiv on Wednesday. Since the war started on February 24, the United Nations has only been able to successfully get four aid convoys into Ukraine. The fourth arrived Tuesday in Sievierdonetsk in the countrys far east.

Griffiths spoke to the council from Geneva. He said he had frank exchanges with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, his deputy, and separately with the deputy Defense Minister.

I outlined possibilities for building on this cooperation, sharing specific suggestions for mutually agreed upon military freezes to allow for evacuations of civilians and for the safe passage of life-saving aid, he said.

He said he came away from the meetings believing that we have a long road ahead of us, but it must be traveled.

The United Nations has verified the deaths of at least 1,480 civilians, including more than 121 children. It says the real number is likely much higher. More than 10 million people have been displaced in less than six weeks of conflict. More than 4.2 million of them are now refugees.

New sanctions

In Washington, the White House said it is coordinating sweeping new sanctions with the G-7 and European Union to be imposed on Russia in response to atrocities committed in Bucha and elsewhere in Ukraine. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the sanctions would send Moscow further down the road of economic, financial and technological isolation.

This will include a ban on all new investment in Russia and increased sanctions on financial institutions and state-owned enterprises in Russia and sanctions on Russian government officials and their family members, Psaki said.

She said the new sanctions will be announced on Wednesday.

NATO to discuss Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as he left Washington for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels for more discussions on the Ukraine conflict, told reporters the horrors uncovered in Bucha are not the random act of a rogue unit. It's a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities. The reports are more than credible, the evidence is there for the world to see.

Britains defense ministry said Tuesday that Ukrainian forces have retaken areas in the northern part of the country after forcing Russian forces to retreat from the areas around Chernihiv and north of Kyiv.



The ministry added that those Russian forces are likely to require significant re-equipping and refurbishment before being available for fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraines General Staff said the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions are now a focus for Russia as it regroups with the goal of establishing full control of those areas.

Ken Bredemeier, Jeff Seldin and Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says it is gathering evidence of possible war crimes committed by Russian forces in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.



U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet has expressed horror at the images of civilians lying dead on the streets of Bucha, a town on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv. Her spokeswoman, Liz Throssell, says photos of bodies that have been desecrated are extremely disturbing.



Throssell notes that pictures of people with their hands bound, of partially naked women, and of bodies being burned strongly suggest they have been directly targeted.



Under international humanitarian law, she says, the deliberate killing of civilians is a war crime.



We are not saying that this specific incidence is a war crime. We cannot establish that yet. That is why there needs to be detailed forensic examinations, for example. That is why there needs to be detailed monitoring and information gathering of what happened to whom, by whom, and on what particular date. Now we are working to do that kind of work, as are other bodies.

The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into alleged war crimes by Russian military in Ukraine. The chief prosecutor of the ICC has said there was a reasonable basis to believe war crimes have been committed during the conflict. He said evidence was being gathered on possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.



Throssell says it is important for this work to continue and for perpetrators of such crimes to be held accountable and brought to justice.

We have been talking about war crimes in the context of shelling, of bombardment and civilian attacks. Now they need to be investigated. But you could argue they were used in a military context, for example to a building being hit. It is hard to see what was a military context of an individual lying in the street with a bullet to the head or having their bodies burned.



Russia dismisses as fake propaganda allegations that its soldiers have committed war crimes in Ukraine. It accuses Ukrainian special forces of staging a false scenario in Bucha to besmirch the Kremlins reputation.
UN Calls for Investigation into Massacre of Civilians in Mali

A UN human rights expert has called for a full and independent investigation into alleged mass crimes committed in central Mali's Mopti region late in March 2022, and has pleaded with all parties to ensure the "absolute protection" of civilians and an end to the current vicious cycle of violence. UN News reports that Alioune Tine, the independent expert on the human rights situation in Mali, expressed alarm about unconfirmed reports that members of the Malian armed forces, accompanied by Russian private military personnel, executed civilians during a military operation from March 27 to 31, in Moura.

According to news reports, and a detailed report from the the authoritative NGO Human Rights Watch, released on April 6, 2022, around 300 civilian men were allegedly killed over a period of five days, during a government-sanctioned operation carried out against suspected militants, UN News reports.



In addition to summary executions and other killings, the expert said in a press release, there had also been reports of rape, arbitrary arrests, looting and theft.



In a statement on April 1, the Malian Army Etat-Major confirmed that the armed forces had conducted a "large-scale" military operation in the Moura area from March 23 to 31 . As a result, it said, 203 fighters from "armed terrorist groups" were killed and 51 people arrested. In a statement on April 5, the Malian Army Etat-Major denied its involvement in human rights violations in Moura.

Mali has been plagued by violence, political upheaval and allegations of human rights abuses for the past decade, since a failed Islamist coup in the north, left swathes of the central and northern regions vulnerable to armed groups, and battling a humanitarian crisis, and constant food insecurity.
The U.N. human rights office is urging the Sri Lankan government to engage in peaceful dialogue, not violence, to quell rising discontent over the countrys economic crisis.

Tensions have been rising since Sri Lanka announced a state of emergency and other restrictions a few days ago. The action was taken to rein in mass gatherings of people protesting the countrys worst economic crisis in decades.

U.N. human rights spokeswoman Liz Throssell said there are worrying signs that the government is losing patience with the largely peaceful demonstrations taking place across the country. She said people are demanding action to stem the rising cost of living, shortages of fuel and other essential commodities.

We have seen brutality in the past and I understand that there were a number of arrests, dozens of arrests. Fifty or so people were detained in response to one of the protests. And there was, as I said, reports of excessive and unwarranted police violence against protesters, she said.

Throssell said there is concern that the state of emergency will be used to stifle dissent and peoples right to freedom of expression and assembly. She said using emergency powers to prevent people from expressing grievances through peaceful protests would violate international human rights law.

She said United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet previously has voiced concern about repressive measures taken by the government in response to criticism of its policies.

As the high commissioner noted in her recent report to the Human Rights Council in February, the drift towards militarization and the weakening of institutional checks and balances in Sri Lanka have affected the states ability to effectively tackle the economic crisis and ensure the realization of the economic, social, and cultural rights of all people in Sri Lanka, said the spokeswoman.

Throssell said the high commissioner believes meaningful dialogue between the government and political and civic critics would offer solutions to the economic and political crisis facing the country. She adds the human rights office will be closely watching developments.
An announcement by the U.S. Commerce Department last week that it would investigate allegations that solar panel manufacturers in Southeast Asia are using Chinese-made parts and evading U.S. tariffs has raised alarms concerning both trade and environmental policy.

The department announced March 28 that it would investigate claims by California-based solar panel manufacturer Auxin Solar that solar energy equipment manufacturers in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam have close business ties to companies in China that produce the raw materials and some components of solar panel assemblies.

In 2011, the Commerce Department ruled that China was "dumping" solar panels in the U.S. market, or pricing the panels below the cost of manufacturing them. This forced U.S. firms out of the business because they could not operate at a profit while matching Chinese prices.

In response, the Commerce Department imposed tariffs on Chinese solar panels of as much as 250% of their sales price. The result was a rapid decline in U.S. imports of Chinese solar equipment, from $2.8 billion in 2011 to less than $400 million in 2020.

In its complaint, however, Auxin points out that as imports of solar panels from China fell by 86% over that period, imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam surged by 868%. The company also produced evidence suggesting that during that period, exports of raw materials and solar panel parts from China to the four named countries also surged.

Investigation timeline

In a statement emailed to VOA, a Commerce Department spokesperson confirmed that the investigation had been initiated, saying that "Commerce will conduct an open and transparent investigation to determine whether circumvention is occurring. This inquiry is just a first step  there has been no determination one way or the other on the merits, and no additional duties will be imposed at this time."

The Commerce Department said it would complete its preliminary investigation within 150 days and make a final determination within 300 days.

So far, the response of the four affected countries to the department's announcement has been limited. The government of Thailand announced that it had filed a formal letter of complaint with the agency.

VOA reached out to U.S.-based representatives of the governments of Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam for comment on this story. None had replied by the time of publication.

US solar firms divided

Auxin's complaint and the Commerce Department's decision to pursue it have laid bare a major rift within the solar energy industry in the U.S. Many of Auxin's competitors, who would seem to suffer from the same disadvantages the company describes, have come out against the Commerce Department's actions, as have industry trade groups.

In a joint op-ed, Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute; Heather Zichal, CEO of the American Clean Power Association; and Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said the future for solar energy in the United States would be bleak if tariffs were applied to solar panels coming from the four named countries.

"Make no mistake  if the complainant is successful, solar energy will become as much as two to three times more expensive than it was just one year ago, setting back our efforts to achieve independence, putting hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs at risk along with the Biden administration's renewable energy goals," they wrote.

"If these tariffs are applied, we expect that far less solar generation will be installed in the U.S. during the four years of the Biden administration as compared to previous administrations," they added.

In a statement, Auxin CEO Mamun Rashid called the warnings of the trade groups "classic fearmongering tactics" and said, "We are grateful Commerce officials recognized the need to investigate this pervasive backdoor dumping and how it continues to injure American solar producers."

Dilemma for Biden administration

The solar panel case presents a dilemma for the Biden administration because it puts two of the president's priorities in conflict: assuring a level playing field for U.S. manufacturers, and leading the country to a carbon-neutral energy future.

The relationship between solar panel manufacturers in the United States and those in China is a complicated one. On the one hand, foreign-made solar panels made with Chinese parts are in direct competition with U.S.-made panels. However, U.S. solar firms rely on some of those same Chinese firms for raw materials and components.

Industry officials warned that even the possibility of sanctions being placed on panels imported from the four named countries would cause the rollout of solar energy products in the U.S. to slow dramatically because of uncertainty about costs. This in turn would make it more difficult for the Biden administration to meet its climate goals.

Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen said the Biden administration should look to other ways of supporting U.S. solar energy companies.

"I'm disappointed that the administration is initiating this investigation, because we should be repealing existing solar tariffs, not exploring adding new tariffs," she told The Hill newspaper March 28. "Direct assistance to American solar manufacturers would be much more meaningful to our domestic solar industry than a trade investigation or tariffs that will only increase consumer costs, threaten good-paying jobs, and set us even further back from our climate goals."


South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has described Operation Dudula as a vigilante-like force, which the ruling African National Congress (ANC) cant support.

According to Eyewitness News, Ramaphosa told reporters on the sidelines of an ANC conference that the party cannot support a vigilante-type-of move against a group of people and particularly targeting them as foreign nationals because what we are doing then is just to divide our people on the African continent.

But ANC spokesperson, Pule Mabe, told the Mail and Guardian recently that they support communities that fight for against illegal activities in the country.

Operation Dudula activists claim that Zimbabweans, Mozambicana and other nationals have grabbed most jobs and locals have also been pushed out of market places, which are supposed to be utilized by South Africans.

Nhlanhla Lux Dlamini, the leader of Operation Dudula, was recently arrested and charged with housebreaking and malicious damage to property. Dlamini and his colleagues raided a local home claiming that the owner, a member of Economic Freedom Fighters, was selling drugs.

Hundreds of foreigners have been tormented by Operation Dudula activists, who have evicted so-called illegal immigrants from rented homes, market places and businesses.

Some Zimbabweans have welcomed Ramaphosas remarks with caution saying the ANC appears to be supporting Operation Dudula.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the U.N. Security Council Tuesday that the world "has yet to learn the full truth" of Russian atrocities in other Ukrainian cities beyond the alleged brutal executions, rapes and attacks on civilians uncovered in the last few days in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

"Now the world can see what Russia did," Zelenskyy said in a video address as he appealed to the U.N. to "show the world how Russia will be punished."

Zelenskyy, sitting at a desk in a brown T-shirt alongside a blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag, said Russia's five-week-plus invasion and assault on his country "undermines the whole structure of global security."

"The Russian military must be brought to justice immediately," he said. He did not spell out exactly how he wanted the U.N. to act although he has appealed repeatedly for more Western military assistance and more lethal weaponry. Russia, with veto power over Security Council actions, would surely block any attempt for the United Nations to intervene directly in the war.

Mostly, Zelenskyy said, "Ukraine needs peace, Europe needs peace, the world needs peace." He appealed to the U.N. to act on the tenets of its post-World War II founding and act as a force for global stability.

SEE ALSO:

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as he left Washington for a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels for more discussions on the Ukraine conflict, told reporters the horrors uncovered in Bucha are "not the random act of a rogue unit. It's a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities. The reports are more than credible, the evidence is there for the world to see."

He said Russia's actions reinforce "our determination and the determination of countries around the world to make sure that one way or another, one day or another, there is accountability for those who committed these acts, for those who ordered them."

Blinken added, "There's also a strong determination to make sure that we're doing everything we can to continue to support Ukraine in its brave fight to push the Russian aggression out of Ukraine and, of course, to sustain and increase the pressure on Russia to stop this  aggression."

Zelenskyy's U.N. address came a day after U.S. President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin should face a war crimes trial.

Moscow has denied accusations of killing civilians in Bucha, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov characterizing the scenes as a "stage-managed anti-Russian provocation." Russia's U.N. ambassador said he would provide "factual evidence" at Tuesday's Security Council meeting.

A satellite image shows dead bodies on Yablonska Street in Bucha, Ukraine, March 19, 2022. Satellite image 2022 Maxar Technologies.

A spokesman for satellite company Maxar Technologies said in a statement Monday that images collected over Bucha in mid-March verify and corroborate "recent social media videos and photos that reveal bodies lying in the streets and left out in the open for weeks."

Britain's defense ministry said Tuesday that Ukrainian forces have retaken areas in the northern part of the country after "forcing Russian forces to retreat from the areas around Chernihiv and north of Kyiv." The ministry added that those Russian forces "are likely to require significant re-equipping and refurbishment" before being available for fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Russia has moved some of it forces toward eastern and southern Ukraine, away from the Kyiv region in north-central Ukraine.

Ukraine's General Staff said the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions are now a focus for Russia as it regroups with the goal of establishing "full control" of those areas.

The scenes of devastation left behind in Bucha and other suburbs have galvanized condemnation of Moscow.

Italy and Denmark announced Tuesday they are expelling Russian diplomats, following similar moves by Lithuania, France and Germany.

"You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal," Biden told reporters Monday. "Well, the truth of the matter, you saw what happened in Bucha. This warrants  he is a war criminal. But we have to gather the information."

"This guy is brutal and what's happening in Bucha is outrageous, and everyone's seen it," Biden said, referring to Putin. "Yes, I'm going to continue to add sanctions."

The U.S. State Department said that Washington, at the request of Ukraine, would support a multinational team of prosecutors who will collect evidence of alleged atrocities.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
The Nato device

"Subduing the enemy by force is not the highest art of war, the highest art of war is to subdue the enemy without shedding a single drop of blood.

Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

French General Philippe Lavigne of NATOs Allied Command Transformation (ACT) oversees research on new propaganda methods.

His command has 21 centers of excellence, including one for propaganda, the Strategic Communications Center of Excellence (STRATCOM) in Riga, Latvia [1]. It has created the NATO Innovation Hub (iHub) under the direction of Frenchman Francois du Cluzel, a former professor at the College militaire interarmes de Coetquidan. It funds research at John Hopkins University and Imperial College of London on cognitive abilities. This research covers the entire cognitive domain with various applications ranging from bionic soldiers to war propaganda.

Natos general idea is to add to the five usual domains of intervention (air, land, sea, space and cyber), a sixth: the human brain. "While actions in the five domains are carried out in order to have an effect on the human domain, the objective of cognitive warfare is to make each one a weapon," writes Francois du Cluzel.

If war propaganda was based, during the First World War, on false information popularized by great writers; then on the repetition of selected messages during the Second World War; today it is conceived as an illusionists act [2]. It is about moving people to distract their attention and hide from them what they should not see. They judge what they see with the uninteresting information they are fed. In this way, we manage, without lying to them, to make them take bladders for lanterns.

We are living the first application of this technique, on the occasion of the war in Ukraine.

To make myself understood, I will first present some information to be ignored, then come back on the treatment of the war by French State television. I would have obtained the same result if I had used a German, British or American example.

The responsibility of Western leaders for the war in Ukraine

In the West, the narrative of the war in Ukraine places all the blame solely on the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and secondarily on the political and financial figures of his regime. However, this version is clearly false if one considers the daily reports of the observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). They testify that they heard an attack from the Donbass (still Ukrainian) by Kiev forces on the afternoon of February 17. All news agencies reported that at least 100,000 civilians had fled into the Donbass or to Russia. In addition, the main political leaders of NATO heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tell them at the Munich Security Conference that he intended to acquire nuclear weapons against Russia. It is clear that it was not Moscow, but Kiev, that triggered the hostilities.

No one can imagine that Kiev has unleashed this war against a far superior enemy without having received prior assurances from allies apparently capable of defending the country against Russia. This can only be Nato or the United States and possibly the other two nuclear powers, France and the United Kingdom.

The first meeting where this war was presented as desirable was held to our knowledge in the House of Representatives on September 5, 2019. It was organized by the Rand Corporation, the think tank of the US military-industrial lobby. The purpose was to present two reports, "Overextending and Unbalancing Russia" and "Extending Russia: Competing from Advantageous Ground" [3] to the parliamentarians. The main idea is to use against it the particularity on which Russia bases its defense. Since it is a huge territory that the Russians defend by moving around and practicing the "scorched earth strategy", it is enough to force them to move abroad to exhaust them.

The importance of this event is shown to us by the incident that affected our collaborator, the Italian geographer Manlio Dinucci. His article on the subject was censored by his newspaper, Il Manifesto, which he had to leave [4].

Three events attest to the involvement of the United States, the United Kingdom and France in the secret preparation of the war.

 On March 24, 2022, a video of a 22-minute telephone conversation between the British Minister of Defense, Ben Wallace, and Russian comedians Vladimir (Vovan) Kuznetsov and Alexei (Lexus) Stolyarov was published. One of the Russians was posing as the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, whom Wallace never met.

 Asked whether the UK would help Kiev to acquire nuclear weapons, the Rt. Hon. Wallace replied that he had to consult with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and that "The principle is that we will support Ukraine as a friend in whatever choice you make. In one sentence, he swept aside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

 On the subject of the Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapon (NLAW) missiles that the United Kingdom has just sent to the Ukrainian army, Ben Wallace admitted that they were not working properly and that spare parts had also been sent.

 But it is especially on the subject of Nato that Ben Wallaces language has been too prolix. The British minister once again invited Ukraine to join the Atlantic Alliance. In passing, he unwittingly revealed that the United Kingdom had been sending military instructors to prepare the Ukrainian army for several years.

Boris Johnsons government used every means at its disposal to conceal, or rather minimize, these statements. It claimed that the interview lasted only 10 minutes and forbade YouTube/Google to broadcast the entire sketch. The Western media was asked to talk about his blunder on the atomic bomb and to cover up the other two points. This is how the British always do it: not to deny everything, but to make the most dangerous points disappear.

 On March 25, 2022, President Joe Biden visited the Congress Palace in Rzeszow, Poland. He was accompanied by the director of USAID, Samantha Power (former ambassador to the UN), and the Polish president, Andrej Duda. It is worth noting that Andrej Duda had his parliament pass a law denying the role of the Polish state in Nazi crimes and authorizing legal action against anyone who mentions them. Joe Biden spoke with various NGOs to praise their assistance to Ukrainian refugees. Afterwards, he gave a speech to his soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division, stationed there [5]. He also visited them in the dining hall and spoke to them without a teleprompter or cameras. As always at such times, the old man (79 years old) revealed state secrets. According to the witnesses, he thanked them for their commitment in Ukraine for a long time, even though officially there have never been any US soldiers in that country.

 On March 29, 2022, General Eric Vidaud, director of French military intelligence, was dismissed. No official explanation was given. It seems that in reality, General Viaud had deployed men on the direct instruction of President Macrons private staff, in 2021 when he was commander of special operations, to supervise the Azov Banderites regiment. Immediately, five Ukrainian helicopters tried to flee Mariupol, the stronghold of the Azov regiment. Two were shot down on March 30. The survivors were taken prisoner by the Russian army. They spoke immediately. The soldiers of the Special Operations Command are placed for all logistical matters under the orders of the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Thierry Burkhard, but they take their orders directly from the head of the armed forces, President Emmanuel Macron.

Relations between Presidents Macron and Putin cooled sharply.

How war propaganda masks reality

In France the state has France-Television for its own population, with France-2 being the most watched channel, and France Medias Monde for abroad. The latter group depends directly on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and broadcasts France-24 in several languages.

Anne-Sophie Lapix interviewing Andriy Sadovy for France 2 without noticing that he is a Banderite oligarch is a bit like interviewing the Propaganda Minister of the Third Reich, Joseph Goebbels, without noticing that he was a Nazi.

To begin with, France 2 proposed a live newscast from Lviv (Ukraine) presented by its star, Anne-Sophie Lapix, on March 14, 2022 [6]. This newscast gathers every day a little more than 20% of the public. The young woman showed a lot of destruction and traumatized refugees. She walked through the city, but did not notice the imposing monument to Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Ukrainian Nazi collaborators. She also questioned the mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovy, without explaining that he is one of the countrys leading oligarchs. She did not ask him about his media group, of which his wife is the director. So she did not ask him about the remarks made the previous day on his channel, 24 , calling for the killing of all Russians, women and children included, according to the method advocated by SS Adolf Eichman [7]. At no time was it specified that this program was an initiative of the Banderite oligarch Andriy Sadovy and his wife, both former clients of the Publicis agency of Arthur Sadoun, the husband of Anne-Sophie Lapix.

The viewer who ignores Ukrainian tributes to the Nazis and exhortations to follow their example can only weep at the accumulation of suffering that was shown to him. He cannot doubt that the Russians are liars and criminals and that Ukrainians in general are innocent victims.

Tatar journalist Fakhrudin Sharafmal addresses the Russians on March 13, 2022, on the channel of the mayor of Lviv : "You are garbage that must be swept off the face of the planet. If a Ukrainian has the chance to crush your bones, to slit your throats, to choke Ruskies, I hope he will seize his chance to contribute to the cause and kill at least one of you.

On March 25, France 24 in English, in its column Truth or Fake, reported on the interview of British Defense Minister Ben Wallace by Russian comedians. Following the instructions of Boris Johnsons cabinet, the French Foreign Ministrys television channel mocked his statements on the atomic bomb in order to better conceal those on the inefficiency of his anti-tank weapons and especially those on the presence of British military instructors in Ukraine for several years. The journalist presented the comedians as youtubers, whereas they work for the NTV channel, which allowed her not to mention that they are censored on YouTube in the country of the 1st amendment and freedom of expression. The column was produced by journalist Catalina Marchant de Abreu, a specialist in debunking fake news (sic)

The peak was reached on March 31 with France 2 news [8]. France-Television, which until now denied the ideological character of the Azov regiment, broadcast a report on this formation. The public television admitted that it had, in 2014, been infiltrated by neo-Nazi elements, citing one of its founders, Andriy Biletsky, but assured that it had since changed into a respectable Defense force. France-2 did not mention one of its other founders, Dmytro Yarosh, a NATO agent and former coordinator of European neo-Nazis and Middle Eastern jihadists against Russia [9], who has become a special advisor to the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armies [10].

France 2 cites neo-Nazi Andriy Biletsky as the leader of the Azov Battalion in 2014. The journalist, Arnaud Comte, deputy editor-in-chief of the channel, does not have time to point out that Biletsky, aka the "White Fuhrer," was elevated to the rank of lieutenant colonel and decorated by President Pedro Poroshenko, and then founded a political party (the "National Corps") preaching ethnic cleansing of Central Europe and was elected as a neo-Nazi deputy to the Verkhovna Rada (National Assembly).

France-2 referred to an old UN report on torture, but not to the discovery of his special prisons by the Russian army [11], nor to recent UN statements on the subject. The report also failed to explain what Banderites are in Ukrainian history and reduced the importance of neo-Nazis to the wearing of the swastika. Having thus glossed over the problem, the channel estimated the danger to be between 3,000 and 5,000 men, while Reuters assures us that the Banderite paramilitaries today represent 102,000 men divided into numerous militias incorporated into the Territorial Defense [12].
The government of Olaf Scholz is preparing to expel almost all Russian diplomats stationed in Germany.

The government is expected to accuse them of spying, but has no new facts to put forward. This move should reduce diplomatic relations between the two countries to a minimum.
Photo: HBO Max

The exact moment Ken Watanabe entered the elder-statesman portion of his career was his beleaguered line delivery of Let them fight in the 2014 film Godzilla, and he settles fully into that intersection of responsibility and regret as the best element of the new HBO Max series Tokyo Vice. That grimace, that hoarse voice, those scoffing eyes, those slumped shoulders  as Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department detective Hiroto Katagiri, Watanabe is the seriess heart and soul, a man who knows peace is impossible but knows he has to try for it anyway. Much of the marketing for Tokyo Vice (five episodes of which were provided for review) has focused on Ansel Elgort, who is unremarkable as journalist Jake Adelstein, an American expat who begins investigating the yakuza and its involvement in a series of suspicious suicides. But its Watanabe and the shows other Japanese actors  primarily Rinko Kikuchi, Sho Kasamatsu, and Hideaki Ito  whose performances and character backstories are compelling enough to overcome the slightly repetitive dialogue and sometimes workmanlike direction.

To a certain degree, Tokyo Vice is telling a story about modern-day Japan that you may think you already know. The point of entry into such stories is usually a white person (as in Kate and The Outsider), someone who at first gazes upon Japanese customs with a doe-eyed Whats up with that? mentality before adopting them as their own. The countrys yakuza, or organized-crime syndicates, have been stylish bogeymen in pop culture made by non-Japanese for a long time (Kill Bill, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift). And that duality of white protagonist with Japanese baddies is sometimes about as deep as these stories go, a fear initially caused by Tokyo Vice as well  until Watanabe shows up.

Created by J.T. Rogers (of the mixed-bag HBO film Oslo), Tokyo Vice is an adaptation of the memoir Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan, which Adelstein wrote after 12 years spent as a crime reporter for the Yomiuri Shimbun. In the premiere episode, directed by Michael Mann, the focus is on Jake and his simultaneous otherness and comfort within Japanese culture. His gangly frame and floppy hair make him stick out in a crowd of Japanese commuters, but hes an encouraging English teacher, a warmly greeted regular at various restaurants and grocery stores, an obsessive student of the Japanese language, and a rabid consumer of news stories about the yakuza.

When he lands a highly competitive gig at the Meicho Shimbun (renamed for the series), he imagines an All the Presidents Menstyle career path full of front-page bylines and bringing down bad guys. In reality, his editor (Kikuchi) slashes through his copy, colleagues call him gaijin (foreigner), and the newspaper has a strict policy of printing only what the police tell it when it comes to crime. That rigidity means the paper cant refer to the circumstances leading to a dead man on a bridge, with a knife still sticking out of his profusely stabbed body, as murder because the police say it isnt. Jake, with his gung ho American spirit, takes that censorship personally, and in deciding to investigate, he meets the three characters who will become the shows co-leads: the aforementioned Katagiri; fellow American expat Samantha (Rachel Keller), who works as a hostess at a yakuza-protected nightclub; and Sato (Kasamatsu), a newly promoted member of the Chihara-kai syndicate.

The premiere episode immerses us in the various locations that will serve as touchstones for Tokyo Vice (neon-lit nightclubs, rigidly impersonal police stations, the neatly organized Meicho newsroom, and Jakes cramped apartment) before ending with a beautifully shot self-immolation that makes plain the danger the yakuza can inject into normal peoples lives. Although the ensuing episodes, directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka (The Terror: Infamy, Narcos) and Hikari are less visually inventive, they methodically build out a sprawling cast with various threads: the many members of the Chihara-kai syndicate and the rival crime group led by Tazawa (Ayumi Tanida), Jakes friends and colleagues at the newspaper, the other hostesses at the club where Samantha works, and Katagiris fellow detectives, including the rakish Miyamoto (Ito). A glossary might have been helpful for Tokyo Vices early installments because the series throws out so many characters and story beats so quickly. Too often, the dialogue will refer to the other night instead of being clear about whether days, weeks, or months have passed, and that non-specificity is a detriment to understanding what else the yakuza do beyond fighting with one another over which businesses to squeeze, how Jake is growing as a reporter, and how long Katagiri has been trying to get his fellow detectives to care about more than just their clearance rate  all subplots that are supposed to hold our attention.

After doing all this groundwork, though, the series starts to hum at the end of the second episode, when Jake and Katagiri meet. That team-up brings together these individuals, their ambitions, and their fears and evokes a series like The Wire or Gangs of London, which make clear that a city is a living, breathing ecosystem with its own lines of power and its own kinds of currency. Any imbalance or disruption ripples outward, perhaps endlessly, and Tokyo Vice effectively maneuvers these characters to demonstrate the self-imposed and societally dictated cages in which they operate. (And hey, its funny! Jakes friends consistent razzing of him and an argument between Jake and Sato about the hidden meanings of various American pop songs are appreciated punctures in the shows otherwise self-serious tone.)

Admittedly, some stories are more engaging than others, and anyone hoping for a Mann-style burst of violence will have to wait past the eight-episode seasons midway point. As a character meant to be simultaneously charming, gritty, and resourceful, Elgort gets only about halfway there in each mode. He has a great fuck you smile while confronting sources and a believably furrowed brow while typing away on deadline, but he never quite captures the single-minded intensity required for someone who abandons his family and walks away from a familiar life for something new. The same goes for Keller, whose backstory is the skimpiest. She nails a prickly moment when Samantha tells off Jake for assuming shes a prostitute, but the other aspects of the character  like the bonds between her and the clubs other hostesses  never quite read as genuine.

Better served are Kasamatsu, whose Sato is a cross between Michael and Fredo Corleone, fed through a yakuza filter of traditional tattoos and slicked-back hair and freshly promoted to a position of power. Kasamatsus scenes with Shun Sugata as Ishida, the de facto head of the Chihara-kai syndicate, provide a glimpse into the personal cost of such a life, while his scenes with Elgort (including an episode-long discussion of whether Backstreet Boys or N Sync is superior) remind us of the relative youth of these men who have chosen such divergent paths. Kikuchi also stands out as Meicho editor Emi, whose familiarity with being on the outside of traditional Japanese culture due to her profession and her Korean heritage eventually aligns her with Jake. Like Elgorts chemistry with Kasamatsu, Elgort and Kikuchi do well together when she plays the straight woman to his silliness; her curt Dont be weird when he suggests they work as a reporting team is a particular highlight.

Best of all, though, is Watanabe, whose Katagiri at first seems mercurial, even morally ambiguous. He walks into a fight between two at-war yakuza groups Jake is spying on, calms the situation by whispering in one soldiers ear, and puts Jake in his place by demanding his camera and then taking the film out with barely any reaction at all. Whether Katagiri is aligned with one of these syndicates or out for himself remains open for debate as Tokyo Vice continues, and only an actor as grounded as Watanabe could make such a high-stakes question seem immaterial. Which matters more: who someone is working for, or what they are working toward? If it isnt money, what the fuck do you want? one character asks another in Tokyo Vice, and the series is at its most captivating and unexpected when it lets its Japanese characters answer.
07:59 | Lima, Apr. 5.

"The Council of Ministers has decreed the state of emergency in view of the acts of violence that some groups have wanted to create through blockades in accesses to Lima and Callao and in order to restore peace and internal order," he said in his speech.

In an Address to the Nation, the Head of State called on citizens to remain calm and tranquil, noting that every protest in the country is a constitutional right, but it must be done within the law.

He also noted that the measure will not prevent the supply of essential services for all Peruvians.

Moreover, he said the Council of Ministers approved the declaration of citizen immobility (curfew) from 2:00 am to 11:59 pm on Tuesday, April 5, to protect the fundamental rights of all people.

The President of the Republic called for continuing to work together to promote national growth and development, but stressed that this development must be fair and equitable to directly benefit all Peruvians in the national territory.





On the other hand, he underscored that there are demands in the country that have not been met for a long time, a situation that worsened following the COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts in the international arena.
?? En vivo | El presidente @PedroCastilloTe, acompanado de los ministros de Estado, se dirige al Congreso para participar en la reunion con la Mesa Directiva y voceros parlamentarios.https://t.co/8AW0VboyLS
Fine details still being worked out for a new visa scheme to allow digital nomads to live and work in Italy.

The Italian government has approved a decree that will grant a visa to remote workers or so-called digital nomads from non-EU countries for one year.

The scheme, signed into law last week as part of the Sostegni Ter decree, is designed to cut through red tape and offer one-year, renewable visas to freelancers or employees of companies based outside Italy.

The new visa is reportedly aimed at professionals who carry out highly qualified work activities through the use of technological tools that allow them to work remotely, autonomously or for a company that is not resident in the territory of the Italian state.

The visa would allow highly-qualified workers to work and reside in Italy, reports Italian business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, on condition that they have health insurance and meet an (as yet unspecified) minimum income requirement.

The new decree will see digital nomads and remote workers added to a limited number of categories of specialised foreign workers who can be issued with a permit to work in Italy, which currently ranges from university professors and circus workers to sailors and nurses, according to Il Sole 24 Ore.

The practicalities of the scheme have yet to be defined, including which categories of professional will qualify, however full details are expected in the coming months.

The move comes as the government prepares to invest 1 billion into rolling out high-speed internet in historic "ghost" towns and villages across Italy as part of plans to revive the local economy and community with an influx of remote workers.
En la fecha, el senor Canciller sostuvo una reunion con la Embajadora de Vietnam concurrente en el Peru desde Brasil, Pham Thi Kim Hoa, en la que se abordaron los principales temas de la relacion bilateral. pic.twitter.com/JhI56HSoHT
Italian foreign ministry said the expelled diplomats posed a national security risk.

The Italian government has expelled 30 Russian diplomats due to security concerns, foreign minister Luigi Di Maio said on Tuesday, describing the officials as "personae non grata".

The expulsion of the diplomats was taken "in agreement with other European and Atlantic partners and was necessary for reasons related to our national security, in the context of the current crisis situation resulting from the unjustified aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation", Di Maio told state broadcaster RAI News.

The Russian ambassador to Italy, Sergey Razov, was summoned to the Italian foreign ministry in Rome on Tuesday morning to inform him of the decision, reports newspaper Corriere della Sera

Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russian news agency TASS that Moscow would give an "appropriate response" to the expulsion of its diplomats from Italy.

The move comes the day after the French and German governments expelled 35 and 40 diplomats from the Russian Federation respectively, reports Corriere della Sera.

In a statement from the Russian diplomatic mission in Italy, Ambassador Razov "explicitly expressed his protest" against Italy's "unjustified decision" which will lead to a "further deterioration of bilateral relations".

The statement, cited by Corriere della Sera, reiterated that the move "will not go unanswered" by Russia and that "no proof has been provided" that the expelled officials posed a danger to Italian security.

Italy is the latest EU country to expel Russian diplomats amid international outrage over killings in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, near Kyiv, where dozens of bodies have been found in recent days in mass graves or on the streets.

The wave of expulsions of Russian diplomats in the EU has been slammed as a "short-sighted move" by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov who told reporters that it would "inevitably lead to retaliatory steps, reports Al Jazeera.

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A five-year investigation into the avoidable deaths of 201 babies and nine mothers at a U.K. hospital  described by one British newspaper as the worst maternity scandal in history  has ignited a debate over health care that has ramifications outside of Britain. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The official report by Donna Ockenden, a senior midwife and businesswoman, revealed this week that the health of expectant mothers and their babies was sacrificed to dogma. Former Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt, who ordered the inquiry five years ago, says the natural birth ideology ... proved to be absolutely catastrophic at Shrewsbury and Telford. That hospitals refusal to admit initial mistakes was another main factor. It does not continue to stand by those policies.

At Shrewsbury and Telford hospital trust, Debbie Greenway was one victim. When she asked for a caesarean section  her twins had with difficulty been conceived by IVF  the doctor repeatedly dismissed her request: Weve got the lowest caesarean rates in the country and we are proud of it and we plan to keep it that way. After an extended period of labor, Greenway lost one of her babies and was told it was a highly unusual occurrence. It wasnt.

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Greenways natural birth followed repeated doses of syntocinon, a drug used to bring on contractions after her extended labor. An earlier caesarean would likely have saved the life of the baby she had already named John.

Many other mothers-to-be were given similar brush-offs at Shrewsbury. No whistleblower at the hospital alerted the authorities when death rates rose and babies were permanently damaged by unnecessary forceps deliveries. It took a campaign by a few brave families to prompt a health minister to order an official inquiry after years of stonewalling. Ockenden reported that a culture of reluctance to perform Caesarean sections resulted in many babies dying during birth or shortly after their birth.

The scandal began with well-intentioned but unscientific thinking. In the 1980s, concerns grew that childbirth was being over-medicalized, especially by arrogant male doctors. Health lobbies began to advocate for fewer interventions. This development, it could be argued, was a course correction.

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But in 1985, the World Health Organization briefly threw its authority behind natural birth, declaring that health services should limit caesareans to 10-15% of all childbirths. By 2007 in Britain, that preference began to harden into dogma  despite the WHOs swift withdrawal of its ruling. The Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the National Childbirth Trust set a target of 60% normal childbirths in U.K. hospitals.

Soon it became fashionable for natural birth propagandists to sneer at successful women for being too posh to push, by electing for a caesarean. There was also pressure by some midwives on expectant mothers to give birth without the pain relief provided by epidural injections. This echoes a larger problem in health care of womens pain being taken less seriously. Caesareans are not cheap, so hospital managers had a perverse incentive to restrict operations too  just as their predecessors in the NHS in previous decades had saved money by ejecting mental patients from their wards. (C-section rates vary across the developed world.)

Shrewsbury and Telford was at the vanguard of this movement. Expectant mothers were denied the right to opt for a caesarian section, and only a senior consultant was allowed to authorize the procedure. By 2002, the trust had the lowest c-section rate in the country  eight to 12% lower than the 30% national average. That year David Redford, an obstetrician at the trust, boasted to a House of Commons committee, We have below intervention rates, and once that is known, we attract both midwives and obstetricians that like to practice in that way.

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Mortality rates in the hospital maternity services rose more than 10% above the national average. Yet according to Ockenden, two Clinical Commissioning Groups in 2013 gave the Trust a clean bill of health. That report stated that there is a robust approach to risk management, clinical governance, and learning from incidents. It is clear that Shropshire has a maternity service to be proud of and that the model of service provision is safe and robust.

Good hospitals measure, manage and hold clinicians to account through reviews and best-practice benchmarking. But what if higher medical authority subscribes to health fads too, willfully ignoring the evidence of failure?

Unfortunately, the natural birth movement is not an isolated case of unscientific thinking in the medical profession. Homeopathy, a natural treatment based on the use of highly diluted substances, which practitioners claim can cause the body to heal itself, was funded until recently by the NHS. In 2010, a House of Commons report declared that homeopathic remedies perform no better than placebos (dummy treatments), but it took a further seven years for the NHS to drop these useless (but fortunately harmless) treatments, which were promoted by the likes of Prince Charles and other establishment figures.

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The Royal College of Midwives ended its campaign to promote natural birth in 2017. Yet it was only last month that the NHS announced that it would no longer place a limit on the number of caesarean sections it performs. The countrys most senior midwife, Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, instructed health workers to stop using total caesarean section rates as a means of performance management because it was unsafe.

Despite the Ockenden report, three other hospital trusts continue to promote vaginal births over c-sections. An advertisement for Keighley Yorkshire Trust says successful candidates will be able to demonstrate their commitment  promoting the normal birth pathway and reducing interventions.

The best health-safeguarding systems in the world wont work if there are perverse incentives  such as misguided c-section targets and financial rewards  to override them. More maternity units across the U.K. are now being investigated by the department of health. Fear the worst.

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More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 What Does Covid Do to the Brain and Mind?: Therese Raphael

 Russias Push Into Crypto Is a Big Step Backwards: Izabella Kaminska

 Can We Please Stop Acting Like Jerks to One Another?: Chris Bryant

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Martin Ivens was editor of the Sunday Times from 2013 to 2020 and was formerly its chief political commentator. He is a director of the Times Newspapers board.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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When I was trying to trace the spiders web of companies and people around Wirecard AG, both before and after the German payments firm collapsed in a multi-billion euro fraud in 2020, I spent many hours and plenty of money trawling the corporate registries of different countries. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight This left me more familiar than most with the varying standards on ownership records and other data in a host of countries. Singapores register, for example, is extensive, but costly to use. Indias is cheap and often very good. Those in Luxembourg and Germany are relatively thin but helpful up to a point. The U.K.s is freely accessible and very useful, but also regularly missing required information.

In even the best registries, a big problem remains: The ultimate controlling shareholder, also known as the beneficial owner, is often obscure. People who want to hide can too easily use nominees from corporate secretarial agencies, or list the owner as a company or trust in a secretive haven like the British Virgin Islands or Seychelles. This is where the trail often hits a dead end.

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Financial secrecy is high on political agendas again along with efforts to sanction Russian oligarchs accused of backing President Vladimir Putins war in Ukraine. Real estate, yachts and other trappings of the superrich can, just like private businesses, often be owned through shell companies and trusts that make the true owner hard to trace.

This should be a moment for a big step in making life tougher for criminals, kleptocrats and other unsavory individuals wanting to hide money, though experts worry that todays political attention wont last. War, disaster or economic strife can galvanize politicians to push through big changes. Much of todays anti-money laundering rules in finance was born out of the attacks on New York and Washington in September 2001 when the U.S. led a global crackdown on terror financing.

Two decades and a string of scandals later  from HSBC Holdings Plc allowing drug lords access to its Mexican arm to Danske Banks $200 billion-plus Estonia laundromat  its clear that supervision and enforcement need resources. Billions of dollars in fines show the law in action, but the fact they keep coming shows the problem isnt fixed. For instance, ABN Amro paid nearly $600 million to Dutch authorities only last year.

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But as more efforts have focused on stamping out laundering through large banks, the industry of disguising money flows and asset ownership through shell companies and trusts has grown. The U.S. and U.K. remain big offenders on this front. Legislation is being bolstered  but slowly and with gaping holes.

The Financial Action Task Force, the intergovernmental money-laundering and terror-financing watchdog, last month strengthened its standards for recording beneficial ownership. All countries should now implement rules that meet these. They require that ownership of companies, real estate and other assets is recorded accurately  it must be verified, up-to-date and accessible at least to law enforcement, tax and other so-called competent authorities.

Full public access would be better: It allows anyone who is interested to help review and verify all that is filed. The U.K.s Companies House might be full of holes, but at least anyone can point to those and make a fuss.

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Secrecy has long been a key selling point for Swiss banking, but the U.S.-led crackdown on tax evasion by wealthy individuals after 2008 in effect ended that for international clients, at least for tax purposes, according to the Swiss Bankers Association. Its banks still have more than $200 billion of assets from rich Russians potentially, the SNB estimates, although banks have been quick to freeze accounts of those sanctioned.

But compliance and supervision in Switzerland are still questionable, says Maira Martini, a global money-laundering specialist at Transparency International. There are no visibility demands for company ownership there and no requirement for lawyers to make suspicious transaction reports related to setting up companies, she says.

Several countries are acting to shed more light on ownership. The U.K. government has said it will strengthen rules for Companies House and it just passed laws to force foreign owners of property to reveal themselves. Canada is accelerating rules on corporate transparency, Martini says. New Zealand is too, although its efforts ignore its growing trust industry, she adds.

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If any country can use its economic power and the extraterritorial reach of its currency to lead tougher standards it ought to be the U.S. President Joe Bidens administration has admitted that America has major money laundering failures of its own, but proposals to improve the rules still arent yet up to scratch.

The Corporate Transparency Act was passed by Congress in 2020 and adding a rule on beneficial ownership to this was proposed last December by the Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. But there are so many restrictions and exemptions that it should be called the Corporate Opacity Act, says Ross Delston, an independent American attorney and anti-money laundering expert based in Washington, D.C.

Only law enforcement and banks will get access to it, while it currently wont apply to many kinds of companies, or trusts, which are becoming a leading source of financial secrecy globally.

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South Dakota, home to a booming secrecy industry, had more than $350 billion in opaque trusts, according to estimates by the Guardian newspaper. For a comparison, the value of U.K. real estate owned by offshore companies, another popular way of socking away cash, has been estimated at more than 170 billion pounds ($223 billion).

U.S. trusts could yet be captured by FinCENs beneficial ownership rule, according to a background briefing from a senior Treasury official. The rule is a work in progress, they said, and would go beyond whats contained in the proposal, although they couldnt give any details. Todays events have mobilized opinion and made financial secrecy the subject of a lot of focused thinking and conversation, they added.

But others worry the moment will pass: Ownership and secrecy are too abstract for many voters.

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine may not have the lasting impact for U.S. or European voters of terrorism on home soil. U.S. voters may see the point in punishing some Russians, but oligarchs and Putin are not viewed as attacking the U.S. directly, says Delston.

Those who benefit from the business of financial secrecy find it easy to seed public debate with popular notions of freedom from heavy-handed government and privacy concerns. But this is a pernicious industry that aids tax evasion, theft and corruption on a huge scale. It helps states deploy secret cash to fund attacks on other governments and people. It is time to end it.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 You Cant Just Take a Russian Oligarchs London Townhouse: Chris Hughes

 The Father of Russias Oligarchs Wont Be the Last to Go: Clara Ferreira Marques

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 Russia Exploits Two Big Holes in Financial Sanctions: Paul J. Davies

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Paul J. Davies is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering banking and finance. He previously worked for the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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In recent months, a string of carmakers and electric vehicle battery producers have announced their intentions to build facilities in the U.S. Manufacturers from across the world are throwing around billions of dollars of investments into EV battery technology, too. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era provision to help increase the domestic availability of raw materials like lithium and graphite to boost battery manufacturing and reduce dependence on foreign supply chains. We need to end our long-term reliance on China and other countries for inputs that will power the future, he said.

As promising as all this is, its unlikely to move the needle. The U.S. has waited far too long to ramp up and prioritize the core of any electric vehicle strategy: batteries and how to charge them. For starters, factories wont be up and running for a while, so they wont be churning out power packs anytime soon. Capital isnt being directed in a focused way, either. Even with Biden kicking off a top-down, Beijing-style industrial policy, China is likely to stay well ahead in the battery race.

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Its also down to poor timing and planning. The hype around EVs has been present for a while. Thats pushed up demand and consumer awareness (think of all those EV advertisements during Super Bowl.) Yet, only last June did the U.S. release a blueprint for battery supply chain build-out to help guide investments. Upstarts have been trying to crack the right technologies for a while now, and manufactures have been talking up big changes to auto-making for cleaner vehicles.

Whats worse, as U.S. carmakers get desperate to make good on promises of investing billions of dollars in green cars to meet emissions regulation targets, theyre pressuring their Korean battery partners for technology. Ironically, its a tactic often associated with Chinas technology dominance goals, but it is also indicative of the lackluster progress on development of viable and scalable powerpack options.

China, on the other hand, continues to hurtle toward making batteries for most electric vehicles in the world. It has cornered 60% of battery production. Despite a faltering Covid-19 policy and supply chain delays, its been filling the growing gap between demand and supply.

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Tesla Inc. was able to churn out cars, export them across the world and open its Europe gigafactory because of a Chinese battery partnership and wide-scale manufacturing. Other carmakers have turned to Chinese suppliers of parts and raw materials for energy storage. One of the worlds largest car companies, Volkswagen AG, recently signed agreements with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. and Tsingshan Holding Group to ensure supply of nickel and cobalt for 160 gigawatt hours of batteries. Meanwhile, Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. is scouting out sites across North America for a $5 billion plant.

It isnt just about scale and Chinas manufacturing heft, though. The world largest battery maker, CATL, has been working on a third generation battery with cell-to-pack technology thats almost 13% more efficient than Teslas much-awaited 4680 battery in terms of space utilization, according to Daiwa Securities Co. analysts. The company is also developing key thermal control technology, an important safety feature to ensure fires dont spread in the latest types of powerpacks which are prone to combustion. If the U.S. cant lead on a key area of innovation now, its hard to say how the future for EVs will play out there.

The woes of the EV ecosystem have been compounded by a market imbalance and high raw material prices. That means it will only be harder to gather supplies and make affordable batteries. Chinese officials, though, have already started talking about more collaboration across their supply chain to ensure manufacturing isnt hit. The U.S. isnt quite there yet when it comes to addressing this big  and likely prolonged  barrier because it doesnt even have a robust supply chain.

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What options does the U.S. have now? Recreating everything from scratch may leave it further behind. Acknowledging that circumventing China wont be an option in the near future would be a good place to start. Channeling funds toward manufacturing and focusing on battery tech startups that are close to large-scale production could ensure a more streamlined approach for funding. In addition, facilitating greater production from the few  and small  existing mines in the U.S. may help integrate them into future manufacturing plans. Meanwhile, ensuring it can get a reliable supply of battery metals from its northern neighbor Canada  a current favorite for many manufacturers  would also help.

When it comes to electric vehicles and batteries, the U.S. will have to move beyond flaunting billions of dollars of investments and ambitious plans if it really wants to get ahead.

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This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Anjani Trivedi is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies in Asia. She previously worked for the Wall Street Journal.

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Googles groundbreaking DeepMind unit makes a pledge on its website to benefit humanity through research into artificial intelligence. It may need to solve a more practical problem first: allowing staff to speak freely about alleged mistreatment in the workplace. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight An open letter published last week by a former employee criticized DeepMind for stopping her from speaking to colleagues and managers soon after she started being harassed by a fellow employee. The senior colleague subjected her to sexual and behavioral harassment for several months, she said, and she claimed it took DeepMind nearly a year to resolve her case.

The complaints have been an embarrassment for DeepMind, and the company says it erred in trying to keep its employee from speaking about her treatment. But its clear that DeepMind has a lot of work to do to confront a broader culture of secrecy that led some at the organization to attempt to suppress grievances rather than work quickly to address them.

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No matter how much workplace training companies conduct with their staff, some people will behave badly. Sexual harassment is experienced by close to a third of U.S. and U.K. workers.(2) Where a firm really shows it has a handle on the problem is in how it deals with complaints. That is where Googles DeepMind seems to have fallen short.

The former DeepMind employee wrote that she was threatened with disciplinary action if she spoke about her complaint with her manager or other colleagues. And the process of the companys sending her notes and responding to her allegations took several months, during which time the person she reported was promoted and received a company award. DeepMind said in a statement that while it could have communicated better throughout the grievance process, a number of factors including the Covid pandemic and the availability of the parties involved contributed to delays.

Its discouraging but perhaps not surprising that an organization such as DeepMind, which proclaims such high ideals, would have trouble recognizing that harassment and bullying are occurring within its walls, and that it would try to suppress discussion of the problems once they surfaced.

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In an interview, the writer of the open letter told me that she herself had drunk the Kool-Aid in believing that nothing bad tended to happen at DeepMind, which made it hard to come to terms with her own experience. (Bloomberg Opinion verified the former employees identity but agreed to her request for anonymity over concerns about attracting further online harassment.)

She noted that DeepMind cared about protecting its reputation as a haven for some of the brightest minds in computer science. They want to keep famous names in AI research to help attract other talent, she said.

A DeepMind spokesperson said the company had been wrong to tell its former employee that she would be disciplined for speaking to others about her complaint. He said DeepMind, which Google bought for more than $500 million in 2014, takes all allegations of workplace misconduct extremely seriously, and that it rejected the suggestion it had been deliberately secretive about staff mistreatment. The individual who was investigated for misconduct was dismissed without severance, DeepMind said in a statement.

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Yet other employees seem to have gotten the message that it is better not to rock the boat. Matt Whaley, a regional officer for Unite the Union, a British trade union that represents tech workers, said he had advised staff members of DeepMind on bullying and harassment issues at the division. They showed an unusually high level of fear about repercussions for speaking to management about their concerns, compared with staff from other tech firms that he had dealt with.

They didnt feel it was a culture where they could openly raise those issues, Whaley said. They felt management would be backed up no matter what. Whaley added that DeepMind staff were put off by the way that the division had appeared to protect executives in the past. DeepMind declined to comment on Whaleys observations.

Heres an example that wouldnt have inspired confidence: In 2019 DeepMind removed its co-founder Mustafa Suleyman from his management position at the organization, shortly after an investigation by an outside law firm found that he had bullied staff. Then, Google appointed Suleyman to the senior role of vice president at the U.S. tech giants headquarters in Mountain View, California. DeepMind declined to comment on the matter. Suleyman also declined to comment, though in a recent podcast, he apologized for being demanding in the past. Earlier this month he launched a new AI startup in San Francisco that is redefining human-computer interaction. Suleyman wasnt involved in the harassment complaint that has more recently come to light.

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Since its investigation into the former employees claims concluded in May 2020, DeepMind said it has rolled out additional training for staff who investigate concerns and increased support for employees who lodge complaints.

But the ex-employee is pushing for a more radical change: ending non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, for people leaving the company after complaining about mistreatment. She wasnt offered a settlement and so wasnt asked to sign such an agreement.

NDAs were designed to protect trade secrets and sensitive corporate information, but they have been at the heart of abuse scandals and frequently used by companies to silence the people behind claims. Victims are often pressured to sign them, and the agreements end up not only protecting perpetrators but allowing them to re-offend.

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Harassment doesnt fall under sensitive corporate information. It certainly isnt a trade secret. Thats why NDAs shouldnt be used to prevent the discussion of abuse that may have taken place at work.

There are signs of progress. California and the state of Washington recently passed laws protecting people who speak out about harassment even after signing an NDA. And several British universities, including University College London, pledged this year to end the use of NDAs in sexual harassment cases.(1)

DeepMind said it is digesting its former employees open letter to understand what further action it should take. A bold and positive step would be to remove the confidentiality clauses in harassment settlements.

As with any company that takes this step, it might hurt their reputation in the short term to allow staff members to talk more openly about misbehavior on social media, in blogs or with the media. But it will make for a more honest working environment in the long run and protect the well-being of victims. High-ranking perpetrators of harassment for too long have been protected out of concern for a clean corporate image. In the end that doesnt inspire much trust in organizations, even those that want to benefit humanity.

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(1) According to recent polls by MSN and by the U.K. government.

(2) More than 300 NDAs costing 1.3 million were used to resolve complaints at nearly a third of the U.K.s universities between 2016 and 2020, according to a BBC News investigation.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Parmy Olson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. She previously reported for the Wall Street Journal and Forbes and is the author of We Are Anonymous.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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Theres a scene in the 1987 film Baby Boom where a distraught mother sits on a bench in Central Park being consoled by her friends upon learning that her child wasnt admitted to New Yorks prestigious Dalton School. Her resume was perfect, she sobs, looking down at her toddler. Her references were impeccable.

That bit of dialogue came to mind when I heard about how three of the Ivies, during the April 1 flurry of admission decisions, decided to keep quiet about what percentage of applicants got in. The schools in question are Cornell, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. Their notion seems to be that if the data become harder to find, student anxiety will be lower.

This idea is not only, as we say around campus, under-theorized. I suspect its also perfectly, wonderfully, exactly wrong.

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Heres the Wall Street Journal: [S]ome admissions officers say, drawing so much attention to how few candidates made the cut is doing more harm than good, ratcheting up panic among high-school students and their parents and perpetuating a myth that it is nearly impossible to get into a good college.

This tortuous argument isnt easy to follow. Does anyone seriously believe that students panic because of what they learn about admission chances after the decision is announced? They panic because they have plenty of data available in advance to tell them which schools are the most selective. And the colleges arent about to hide the information; theyre just not sending out a press release. The Education Department and the Common Data Set will still receive  and publish  acceptance rate data, just a little later in the year.

Meanwhile, other sources of admission data abound, from high school guidance counselors to private college admission services and various well-publicized rankings. And lets not forget the perceived rates of admission or rejection among ones friends.

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Its true that these are lagging indicators. Apart from the real-time experience of friends, these measures provide information about whats happened in past years, not whats happening this year. But those lagging indicators are themselves the source of the panic! Its bizarre to suggest that anxiety will be lower if the schools dont disclose until later how many applicants were admitted this year. The anxiety arises while young people and their parents wait for the schools decision.

Consider Stanford University, my alma mater, which adopted the same policy in 2018. No public announcement is made of the current years admission rate. But so what? Applicants worry about last years admission rate. A quick glance at the annual U.S. News and World Report rankings pegs this figure at 5%. Its those odds of nineteen-to-one against admission that create the anxiety.

That the challenge of admission to highly selective schools leads to anxiety has long been understood. The problem is not unique to the U.S. Its worldwide. A 2015 study of high school seniors in Taiwan found high levels of fatigue and depression among students who were trying to gain admission to selective colleges. Levels fell enormously when students got in.

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All of which is to say  as much other literature confirms  that the stress isnt created by what data highly selective colleges announce when the admission process is complete. It stems from the long series of narrow, treacherous, anxiety-inducing gateways young people have spent years struggling through by the time they get around to applying in the first place. Listen again to the desperate mother in Baby Boom:

Without the right preschool, she cant get the right kindergarten. Without the right kindergarten, I can forget any hope of an Ivy League college!

Yes, the fears are exaggerated for comic effect, but all parents who hope their children will attend highly selective colleges get the point. And although theres no way to tell what influence the film had, less than a year and a half after its release, Daltons board voted to phase out its highly selective preschool, on the reasonable ground that children that young shouldnt be involved in a rat race.

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But the kindergarten rat race was apparently OK, and so many other narrow gates remain along the path that a 2018 report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation warned of the toxic effects on mental health of adolescents educated in an environment characterized by extreme pressure to succeed or to outdo everyone else. Does anybody seriously believe this harm will be mitigated if a few colleges remain mum for a few extra months about exactly how selective they are?

Im all for colleges taking measures to reduce anxiety among high schoolers. The most obvious way to accomplish this end would be to admit a higher proportion of applicants. That would be hard to implement  looser admission standards would lead to more applicants  so theyd have to work actively to publicize not the beauty of their campuses or the excellence of their faculties, but the grimness and grind of undergraduate life.

Nobodys about to do that.

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So instead, as many observers  including me  have suggested, they could pool all applicants meeting a minimum qualification standard and choose whom to admit by lottery.

Alas, nobodys about to do that either.

So maybe the Ivies and their cousins should strive instead to be as transparent as possible. This would mean confessing that deep down, they would rather remain: Selective. Exclusive. Elite.

Those arent todays buzzwords, but everything about the admissions process suggests that theyre the truth.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of law at Yale University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His novels include The Emperor of Ocean Park, and his latest nonfiction book is Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down Americas Most Powerful Mobster.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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Howard Schultzs coffee has already gone cold with investors. Just three weeks ago, Starbucks Corp said that the architect of its transformation from boutique coffee house to global juggernaut would return as chief executive officer, sending shares up 5%. On Monday they fell by almost as much, after Schultz said he would immediately suspend the groups share buybacks in order to invest more in staff and stores.

Investors should look past the share-price slump. This is the right strategy for Starbucks.

Many consumer companies are now grappling with a shortage of labor. Starbucks, alongside Amazon.com Inc., also faces growing unionization among staff.

Last October, the company said it would spend $20 billion on dividends and buybacks over three years. It has now partly revoked that decision. It isnt providing details on how much of the money it will invest in staff, although they will be the primary focus. Nor has it disclosed how exactly it plans to redirect the spending. But this is an opportunity to redress the balance between investors and executives on the one hand and Starbucks employees on the other.

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The simplest route would be to use the money that would have been spent on buybacks to raise the wages of the more than 400,000 people employed in Starbucks restaurants.

The company might follow the example of the the John Lewis Partnership in the U.K., which is owned by its 80,000 employees. They receive annual bonuses based on the profits of the business, paid as a percentage of salary. Starbucks wouldnt be able to replicate this model exactly, as it is a publicly listed company, not a mutual like the John Lewis Partnership.

But Starbucks could award its staff in a similar manner to give them a greater stake in the companys performance. And if these payments were deferred  for example, half paid immediately and half delayed for two years  this would also help with employee retention.

Starbucks already has a share-option program, known as Bean Stock, for employees in the restaurants that the company directly owns, as opposed to the franchised stores or those operated under license. But this could be augmented, for example, with an extra allocation of shares based on the performance of the company over three years.

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Another British company, sportswear retailer Frasers Group Plc, has used just such a plan over the past decade to pay out substantial amounts to shop-floor staff. In 2013, it awarded 135 million pounds worth of shares to thousands of workers. At that time, a store employee earning 20,000 pounds a year would have received about 70,000 pounds in total, a transformational sum.

Neither of these models is perfect. The John Lewis Partnerships employee ownership did not protect it from the ravages of the pandemic. It closed stores and cut jobs. It paid out no bonus last year, but reinstated one last month. At Frasers, not all employees have been eligible for the share plans. While the group rewarded some staff handsomely, it came under fire for its treatment of others, such as warehouse personnel and people employed on contracts under which the company was not obliged to provide regular work.

But they are both useful starting points in a search for more effective ways to reward and retain staff. The ideal strategy will be good for Starbucks employees and will benefit shareholders, too.

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In a 2012 study, finance professor Alex Edmans found that companies on Fortunes list of 100 Best Companies to Work for in America outperformed peers by 2.3-3.8% per year from 1984 through 2011. A rough exercise based on Edmanss study suggests that the same relationship still holds. Only 10 companies that made the list a decade ago remain on it today, but their stocks have returned 484% in the period, on average, significantly more than the 389% total return for the S&P 500 Index.

Its easy to be skeptical of Schultzs return to Starbucks. That he has unveiled such a bold plan on his first day back in the job reinforces the impression that he continues to dominate the company, and this could make it hard to recruit the next CEO.

But if Schultzs third stint leading the group helps bring about a more equitable distribution of rewards to its armies of lower-paid workers, that would be a good thing.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the consumer and retail industries. She previously worked at the Financial Times.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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Oscar Wilde once said that the whole of Japan is a pure invention. There is no such country, there are no such people, Wilde wrote. He meant that the Japan we think of is mostly a product of the imagination of outsiders. But with the countrys borders closed to tourists for two years now and its international significance dimming, Wildes words are closer to becoming reality.

Japans out of sight, and threatens to become out of mind with one its main lines of communication to the world still cut  the tens of millions of tourists who returned home each year with gushing tales of encounters with the countrys people, culture and food. That was the single unquestionable success of the economic program of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. What was once a tourist backwater that attracted just 5 million visitors in 2003 saw a surge, swelling the numbers to more than 30 million in 2019.

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A cycle of tourists that attracted investment took hold, which then attracted more tourists. Foreign spending surged, department stores added Chinese, Korean and English-speaking staff, and hotel construction boomed. Around 40 million visitors were expected in 2020, when the Tokyo Olympic Games were planned. Instead, just 4 million came before the gates slammed shut due to the pandemic. The Olympics came and went in 2021 without even domestic spectators.

While Japan has recently, and belatedly, started to admit students and long-term workers, it remains closed to tourists. Neighboring South Korea is re-opening to vaccinated travelers and even Fortress New Zealand says its ready to reopen, but Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is yet to outline even a potential date when tourists might return.

Like many of the countrys Covid steps, strict border controls once had their place. Japans cautious approach to the pandemic has been vindicated, seeing fewer Covid deaths in the two years since the pandemic began than the U.S. saw in the month of March alone.

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But its no longer clear what Japan is waiting for. The population is well vaccinated, with more than 80% of those aged 65 or older having been boosted. Its not as if its keeping out a foreign threat. Unlike China, Japan has never attempted to pursue a Covid-zero strategy, and currently sees around 40,000 coronavirus cases a day.

In other words, Japan is simply keeping the stable door shut long after the horse has bolted. Alpha, delta and omicron all found their way in despite a lack of tourists. Japan does not fully control its porous borders, with the flow of U.S. military troops blamed by some for introducing omicron.

One reason the ban persists is that, effective or not, border controls are popular. An NHK opinion poll last month found fewer than a third were in favor in opening up further. At least some of this can be laid at the door of a fever-pitch campaign against holding the Olympics, which helped amplify in a nations mind the message that Covid was imported.

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But even before the pandemic, the Japanese were never as enamored with the idea of being a tourist paradise as visitors were. A key battle in the Feb. 2020 mayoral campaign in Kyoto was the problem of over-tourism, with residents fed up of littering and being pushed out by rising land prices. Elsewhere, local governments have passed ordinances cracking down on the use of apartments as Airbnb listings.

Kishida is sensitive to polls and conscious of an upcoming summer election. But the benefits of staying closed are questionable.

A year ago, when the world still hoped vaccinations might end the pandemic, waiting had merit. But its clear now that theres no eliminating Covid entirely. Fully vaccinated foreign travelers, particularly from countries with fewer cases per capita than Japan, carry little additional risk. If anything, they might take back home Japans common-sense approach to steps like masks.

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Japan doesnt even need to fully reopen to tourists. China, which accounted for about a third of visitors before the pandemic, wont be contributing anytime soon. A cautious opening could help Kishidas goal of restoring the economy to nearly normal.

And costs are mounting. Loans and government support have largely kept businesses afloat, but the tourism sector needs outside funding for sustainable growth. Infrastructure built for the Olympics goes unused. Japans listed airlines, rail operators and department stores are mostly in the red.

The wider need is also to halt the declining relevance of Japan to the outside world. Japanese politicians have long spoken of the shift from the Japan Bashing of the 1980s to Japan Passing  the phenomenon of Japan being overlooked internationally, coined after Bill Clinton skipped over the country on a visit to China.

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Thats now a common occurrence. But Japans isolation during the pandemic is only accelerating this trend, crowded out by South Korean soft power and Chinese economic might.

Steps are needed to redress that before Japan becomes in the eyes of the world  and the words of Wilde  simply a mode of style, an exquisite fancy of art.

More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion:



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This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg News senior editor covering Japan. He previously led the breaking news team in North Asia and was the Tokyo deputy bureau chief.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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SACRAMENTO  Authorities released the names Monday of the six people killed here in a shooting early Sunday, and police said they had arrested one person they described as a related suspect. The motive for the shooting, which occurred around 2 a.m. Sunday in a downtown nightclub district, remains unclear. Police examined the blocks-long crime scene Sunday into Monday, seeking clues to help them find what officials described as at least two shooters.

In a statement, Sacramento police said they had recovered more than 100 shell casings from the scene and arrested Dandrae Martin as a related suspect. Police officials said Martin, 26, has been charged with assault and illegal possession of a firearm.

Those killed in the shooting  three men and three women  range in age from 21 to 57 years old. The coroners office identified the men as Sergio Harris, 38, who lived northeast of downtown Sacramento; Devazia Turner, 29, of Carmichael, a town east of Sacramento; and Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32, of Salinas, an agricultural center several hours by car to the southwest of this city.

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The women killed were Johntaya Alexander, 21, of nearby Elk Grove; Melinda Davis, 57, whose address was not disclosed by coroner officials; and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21, of Selma, a couple hours drive down the Central Valley from here.

At a community vigil Monday evening in downtown Sacramento, city council member Katie Valenzuela, who represents the district where the shooting occurred, broke down crying as she spoke the names of the victims to a crowd of more than 100.

Not long after, a man who identified himself as Harriss cousin spoke out from the crowd, and then was invited to speak from the microphones at the front.

A change has to start, the man, Jackie Henderson, said. When the hell are we going to let it start?

After leaving the microphone, Henderson, 48, told reporters: He wasnt a gang member, he wasnt a dope dealer. He was just a solid individual who was trying to get his life right.

The mass shooting was the deadliest in Sacramento history; in addition to the six deaths, at least a dozen others were wounded. Police said gunfire began shortly after a fight, which was captured on video, among a group of people on the sidewalk outside the emptying nightclubs.

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Hours before the shooting, thousands of people had gathered Saturday night for a concert by Tyler, the Creator, a popular rap artist. The shooting broke out hours after the show, and it is unclear if any of those involved attended.

The crime has drawn condemnations from President Biden (D), California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg (D), among others.

Thoughts and prayers are not nearly enough, Steinberg said at a news conference Sunday. We must do more as a city, state and as a nation. This senseless epidemic of gun violence must be addressed.

Vice President Harris, a former California attorney general, said Monday in a tweet: Our thoughts are with everyone who lost a loved one in the terrible gun violence this weekend in Sacramento. Enough is enough. Congress must act to end the epidemic of gun violence in America.

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Like the vice presidents statement, the focus among Democrats has centered on the need for more firearms regulation in California, which already has among the most restrictive gun-control rules in the nation.

It remains unclear what weapons were used in the shootings, although police said they recovered a firearm at the scene.

In recent months, a particular focus of law enforcement officials and state lawmakers has been efforts to limit the quantity of stolen or untraceable handguns, including ghost guns, although it is unclear if the weapon recovered at the scene falls into either category.

Ghost guns have no serial numbers and can be bought online, in parts, and assembled by the purchaser at home. The process is unregulated and simple enough for minors to complete it.

In late February, a 39-year-old man shot and killed his three daughters in a Sacramento church, along with a 59-year-old man supervising the parental visit, before killing himself. Police officials said David Mora, who had a history of mental illness, used a ghost gun in the act.

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Given the high death toll and location just blocks from the state Capitol, the killings are also likely to add to a bitter debate unfolding here as a competitive off-year election begins over crime and sentencing rules in California, which many conservatives and some Democrats have criticized as too lax.

Newsom, who is traveling with his family on spring break outside the country, has called for California to adopt gun regulations that mirror the abortion restrictions passed in Texas and validated by the courts.

The proposal would apply to assault rifles, high-caliber weapons and ghost guns, allowing private lawsuits to proceed against gun manufacturers and sellers accused of not doing enough to control the distribution of their products.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a former Bay Area member of the state Assembly who was appointed by Newsom to the post last year, is pushing the measure, among others related to gun control, in the state legislature.

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Bonta faces voters statewide for the first time later this year. In a statement following the shooting, he said: My office continues our work to get illegal guns off our streets, hold those responsible for gun violence accountable, and push for  and defend in court  common-sense gun laws. This work is urgent. We must act now.

Among those running against him is Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, who has criticized some of the shifts in charging and sentencing policies adopted by district attorneys in some of the states largest cities.

Schubert, who is running against Bonta as an independent in a heavily Democratic state, has endorsed a harder line against crime and in prosecutions. She also condemned the large quantity of illegal guns on the city streets after the shooting.

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At the Monday night vigil, 61-year-old Michael Caldwell of Elk Grove, Calif., said hes gone to several similar vigils in the years since his son, Marcellis, was paralyzed from the neck down in a shooting on Memorial Day in 2016. Caldwell said his now 23-year-old son lives with him and requires round-the-clock care.

Asked whether hes seen change come out of any of them, he said no.

I go to the community centers, we all show up, and it looks good, Caldwell said. Then boom, thats another shooting.

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This offering skilfully guides us from the comfort of a frivolous show allegedly written in the woods of New Zealand during COVID to the unavoidable truth that the world is going to hell, the sheer scale of which she wrestles with addressing. Subjects such as the cesspool of internet discourse and pervasiveness of dumb people are well worn, so its testament to Davis subtlety and originality of thought that this never feels like medicine, with enough expertly triggered release points and unexpected turns to keep things moving. It would be a stretch to say that she stuck the landing, but while this is a show that does not shy away from a sense of helplessness, it is decidedly defiant and damn funny. The inimitable Davis might despair, but the good news is she will not be stopped. Patrick Horan Andrew Portelli, Tough Guy 

Fad Gallery until April 10 Quitting law to pursue comedy full-time in late 2019  as Andrew Portelli did  may not have been great timing, but on this evidence it was a judicious decision.

The nerdy Portelli delivers a remarkably consistent offering of observational material with the occasional sharp or unexpected edge. Hes less a fighter, more an anti-histamine guy who prefers delivering scathing online reviews to fisticuffs and he channels this energy to maximum effect. Ex lawyer Andrew Portelli. Impressive belly laughs are derived from potentially hack topics like how rom-coms dont resemble real life, overbearing parents and even stressing about penis size. The one caveat is that the duration is relatively short compared to other festival shows, with Portelli drafting a mate to warm up the crowd and top the show up to 45. All depends on whether you prefer padding to stringent quality control. We prefer the latter. Our advice: ignore the length, feel the mirth. Patrick Horan

Scout Boxall, Buck Wild 

Comedy Republic until April 10 When you combine a show from a nominee for last years best newcomer award, throw in direction by a nominee for last years most outstanding show (Michelle Brasier) and sprinkle in a Moosehead grant and all the creative luxuries that encompasses, youre in good hands. Despite the promotional material, Buck Wild isnt the rollicking spaghetti western you might imagine. Rather, its a subterranean dive into Boxalls experiences with mental health as a queer, non-binary person with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Plenty of laughs: Scout Boxall. Then theres the mullet so decadent they could probably be drafted by the Western Bulldogs.

Loading Thats not to say there arent laughs  they are plentiful  especially when Boxall employs their pipes. A diss track of Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen startles the audience like a late-night mugger on King Street, and they manage to elicit tears from the crowd through, of all things, a mournful rendition of LMFAOs 2011 electro-hit Sorry For Party Rocking. With a slight tightening of the script and without the technical issues that plagued this evenings performance, Buck Wild will be a must-see by the end of its season. Tyson Wray Madeleine Stewart, So Brave 

Malthouse Theatre until April 10 Having been born with congenital limb deficiency, Madeleine Stewart is possibly the only comic this festival that could get away with shouting f--k the disabled!

She means it literally, of course. After the deft touch of employing an audio track providing aid to the visually impaired, Stewart blasts onto the stage with a ten-minute torrent on living with a physical malady. So Brave: Madeleine Stewart Throughout the hour she ricochets through love and lust, dating and disability, stigmatisation and sex. A lot of sex. All with a pinpoint precision, conveying the reality of living with others constantly displaying ableism, pity, or even worse: prayer. Just dont call her the c-word, she mourns: courageous.

The conclusion is, while important to voice, jarring  as she abruptly shifts the discourse from jovial one-night stands and terrible life-drawing artists to horrendous statistics about the sexual violence disabled women in Australia endure and the chronic failures of the NDIS. Thought-provoking and eye-opening, the only thing missing from Stewarts debut hour is a tighter interwoven thread. Tyson Wray Annie and Lena, Different Now 

Queen Victoria Womens Centre until April 23 There can be a dark undercurrent to comedy double acts  a sense of tension, jealousy, even hatred simmering beneath the onstage camaraderie. Its a spiritual booster shot, then, to catch a duo whose genuine friendship seems to spill off the stage. Comedy duo Annie and Lena.

Its what allows Annie and Lena to deliver machine-gun banter while seeming so off-the-cuff, and this amiability makes it easy to forget that the two are essentially sketch comics. Its a surprise every time you realise theyve seamlessly switched from stand-up to absurd set-piece. Fady Kassab. Their style is millennial casual, and their fascinations appropriately relatable: weaponised incompetence, unsolicited advice, having to ask your workplace if you still work there. A 21st birthday speech opens with the Websters Dictionary definition of a slut, and a game show challenges a 30-year-old to make a single decision. The pair are willing to probe murkier waters, and a funny or upsetting? round of revelations is both. Theres never any danger of floundering, though, with this pairs irrepressible buoyancy. John Bailey Fady Kassab, Is This Legal? 

The Oxford Scholar until April 10

Since taking home the coveted RAW Comedy crown in 2019, a certain virus has meant that Fady Kassab has had to bide his time before launching his debut Melbourne solo show. Having grown up through the Lebanon war, Kassabs first outing dives into the only world he fears more than the battlefront: dating in his mid-40s. Blake Freeman. While his anecdotes of courting were amusing enough, Kassabs most engaging material came from his own unique perspective of living through warfare, immigration and racism, leading to juxtapositions and insights into the atrocities taking place in Ukraine and Palestine. Unfortunately, his rhythm was thrown multiple times due to a plague of latecomers.

In a festival that has a deluge of quips about the perils of dating apps and divorce, Kassab has the opportunity to stand out from the crowd by shaping a distinct voice due to a history most of us could never fathom  lets hope he hones in on this potential in the future. Tyson Wray Blake Freeman 

The Swiss Club until April 24 Blake Freeman is dumb. Its one of the first things he points out at the top of this show and has been a defining element of his stage persona since winning best newcomer in 2019. Given the quality of his writing, its an arguable claim, but it underpins his anxiety-ridden yet somehow easygoing style and recounting of personal experiences that clearly resonate with a mental health-conscious generation. His struggles with confidence and social interaction are again cheerfully covered here, but this show seems more preoccupied with class anxiety and Freemans unease with the contrast between his modest upbringing and family traits and the circles and relationships he now finds himself in.

Its rich territory in theory, but while Freemans storytelling is strong, theres not a lot of connective tissue between riffs on his personal preoccupations (the lack of a show title seems quite deliberate). Meanwhile, the relentless sorry about that deprecation becomes a little wearing, as do reheats and repeats of material from previous shows. His prodigious talent is undeniable and this certainly doesnt drag, but surely more polished  and hopefully ambitious  shows lie ahead. Patrick Horan Nats What I Reckon, Uncooked 

Forum Downstairs until April 3 If youre searching for a bizarre and confusing comedy set, Nats What I Reckon - Uncooked is certainly going to provide. Nat, who gained a cult following of more than 450,000 followers for his cooking videos on Instagram, attempts to bring his humour from the screen to the stage, with limited success.

Nats What I Reckon Uncooked Described as a multimedia p-ss-taking extravaganza, this 70-minute set consists of songs about parmas, a conspiracy theory on the coronavirus and Toyota Camrys, and a cooking segment using a phallic-shaped egg cooker. Though confusing, you certainly cant deny Nats originality. From a 60 Minutes parody to an analysis of photographs from a microwave cooking book from the 70s, Nat knows how to keep the element of surprise. The key ingredient missing from this show? A set that translates to wider audiences. Unless youre an avid superfan, much  if not all  of the show will fall flat. Carla Jaeger Sonia Di Iorio, Big Eyes, Big Pussy 

Coopers Inn until April 10

If youre searching for one of the smuttiest shows of the festival then Sonia Di Iorio has you covered. Explicit: Sonia Di Iorio As you may have guessed from the title, Di Iorio isnt shy in divulging her sexual escapades. But, after having awkwardly introduced herself to latecomers as a dumb slut, the vibe never quite lifts. Through a cavalcade of dick jokes, ejaculate entendres and explicit reminiscence, Di Iorio details her sex life with as much crudity and finesse as a 90s Comedy Central re-run. Loading
Carbon: the Unauthorised Biography 

G, 89 minutes, limited cinema release then on ABC This Australia-Canada co-production, the first under a new pact between the ABC and the CBC, has everything it needs to succeed: high production values, spectacular locations, a talented team with a passionate purpose, and what looks like a reasonable budget. On its own terms, its beautifully done. The question is, what are those terms? Its an attempt to reimagine the story of carbon, a science-based repositioning of the worlds greatest building block so that we can all understand its importance. Thus, we have astro-physicists like Neil deGrasse Tyson and Tamara Davis explaining we are all carbon-based life forms, and British geologist Martin van Kranendonk showing us the origins of life itself in the stromatolites of the Pilbara. Aquatic Biologist Dr Katey Walter Anthony lights methane under the Alaskan ice.. Credit: We go down a coal mine in Mongolia and across a frozen arctic lake, where a scientist punches a hole in the ice and lights the methane that comes out. Another shows us how technology can return CO2 into the earths crust  and stresses we must do it now. Its clear from the various science lessons here that we came from outer space and were doing a good job of accelerating the return to an ashy uninhabitable planet.

The voice of Sarah Snook, soothing and svelte, whispers a personal narration. She plays Carbon itself, or rather, herself, because everyone the filmmakers talk to has adopted the conceit that carbon has a gender and its female. This has its dangers. Ms Carbon explains that most of what we are doing to the planet is wrong  and she will not forgive us. We will pay; indeed, were already paying the price in climate change and extreme weather. Loading I didnt disagree with anything I heard here, but the manner of the message is problematic. By anthropomorphising carbon, the narration suggests a directive consciousness: we used to call that God, until Darwin gave us a different way of interpreting the natural world. Scientist James Lovelock suggested in the 1970s that Gaia is a thing  that the world is a self-correcting organism and we are the thing that needs correcting. The film never mentions Gaia, but by personalising carbon, giving Her a voice, they dont need to. Shes there in every sentence.
Men are often the silent victims of ageism in fashion but with his red carpet Grammys outfit musician Lenny Kravitz spoke up, offering an alternative to tucking your Seniors Card into a puffy vest, worn over a navy jumper, check shirt and corduroy trousers.

In skintight Saint Laurent leather pants and a chain mail top from designer Natalia Fedner, who has dressed Beyonce, Shakira and Doja Cat, the 57-year-old exuded greater sex appeal than the combined forces of 28-year-old Justin Bieber in an oversized Balenciaga suit and 25-year-old BTS member V in a Louis Vuitton suit with cascading corsage.

Are you going to go their way? Lenny Kravitz (57) and Jared Leto (50) bring sex to seniors dressing at the Grammys. Credit:AP

Equally at ease with showing moisturised skin on the red carpet was 50-year-old House Of Gucci actor Jared Leto, wearing an embellished metallic top from Gucci with a plunging neckline, showcasing a toned chest and layered necklaces.

Like their female equivalents Helen Mirren, 76, Jane Fonda, 84, and Sandra Bullock, 57, both celebrities are gifted with trim figures that can accommodate sample-sized requests from stylists but Nicholas Huxley, the 67-year-old former head of the TAFE NSW Fashion Design Studio, says dressing up on the other side of 50 is as much about attitude as a commitment to aerobics.
YEREVAN, APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS. In 2017 Green Climate Fund approved a 20 million USD grant for the greenhouse gas emissions reduction project in Armenia by improving buildings' energy efficiency. Later in 2020, history was made when the Armenian government approved buildings energy efficiency retrofits as eligible under the state subvention program. Having the Armenian government as a primary partner in this project is a huge advantage for all beneficiaries in public and residential buildings. It improves the living conditions of ordinary people and creates an opportunity for more mutual projects in the future.

UNDP and GCF joint forces with the Armenian government to make a difference in the energy efficiency sector in Armenia, a sector that needs a lot of work and has to be appropriately presented to the people in order to utilize its outcomes. Ordinary people need to understand the short and long-term advantages of transforming their residential communities to become energy efficient. Only then a real change will happen, and it will open the door for a green Armenia that contributes positively to global climate change and can guarantee a better quality of life for its people.

How does it impact climate change?

The projects direct impact is lowering greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants from burning fossil fuels for heating. Up to 5.8 million tons of CO2 will be saved over 20 years. It is equivalent to the CO2 emissions from about 630,000 homes energy use for one year! Or the CO2 sequestered by around 6,500,000 acres of U.S. forests in one year!

In a country with a cold winter like Armenia, where the temperature could drop to 20-30 degrees below zero, such emissions are not a surprise since individual gas boilers heat most residential properties with a total absence of energy-efficient solutions in the majority of the buildings. We consider addressing global climate change as our responsibility, and we aim to de-risk its effects in Armenia one building at a time. Still, we recognize the reality of our circumstances, and we know its impossible to retrofit every single building in the country.

Here comes the indirect impact of our project, which is to lead by example and spread the culture of energy efficiency among Armenian people by all possible means, whether by informative videos, publications, social media platforms, and even energy efficiency passports for the buildings we retrofit. We need to show them the change energy efficiency solutions can make to their lives and to gradually increase their interest in implementing such solutions at their own cost.

What added value does it have for the Armenian economy?

Scaling up the investment in energy efficiency solutions is one of the primary targets of this project. We want to encourage the private investors in Armenia to participate in this domain actively. Our project will gradually create the need for such solutions in the local market; hence supply will emerge to cover the increasing local demand. Sooner or later, it will help support existing workforces, create not temporary but permanent green jobs, bring foreign investments, improve the countrys competency in this field, and eventually fasten our steps towards addressing climate change.

We have witnessed promising signs of interest in local communities throughout the last two years, especially after we finished retrofitting over seventy residential buildings. As we move forward with our project, well motivate more people to take the initiative and join the green energy efficiency movement in Armenia.

Besides that, we cant ignore the role of energy efficiency solutions in meeting the growing energy demands in Armenia. Energy savings will support the Armenian national economy and increase governmental investments in other fields.

A better life for the Armenian population

Utility bills are always a big problem for the poor people in Armenia, especially the gas bills in the freezing winter and the electricity bills in the hot days of summer. Some families would struggle to maintain their heating or cooling systems running. Besides the climate and economic impacts, we estimate that over 200,000 people in Armenia will benefit from this project.

Residents of rural areas will have a chance of better living conditions for lower utility bills. The more people can save on utilities, the more they can spend in domestic markets to enhance their lives. While researching the selected regions and areas of the project, we found that the most vulnerable households are women-headed, ranging from 15% to 30% of the total beneficiaries. The project will support these women to help them provide a better life for their families. To put that in other words. Warmer residential buildings, lower monthly expenses, and a better lifestyle for the poor Armenian segment of the society.

Eliminating energy poverty

Many families in the rural areas of Armenia have bad economic circumstances. Despite the availability of energy solutions in the country like gas and electricity, they cant use it consistently due to expensive utility bills. One of our projects goals is to implement a sustainable solution to reasonably reduce the utility bills for these families by retrofitting residential buildings. Energy-efficient buildings consume fewer energy resources and provide better living conditions. So far, our effort has resulted in a substantial improvement in terms of cost savings in the buildings we've already retrofitted.

As a result of the energy efficiency retrofits we carried out at some residential communities, the total energy consumption decreased 2.4 to 4.2 times resulting in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and 20-60% savings in heating and cooling costs. Furthermore, the market value of apartments in retrofitted buildings has grown by 10-15%.

Achieving energy independence

Although the Project won't result in achieving total energy independence country-wise, it would assist communities in achieving partial energy independence. This step is only the beginning, and since we know it's impossible to retrofit all buildings in Armenia, and we can't implement energy efficiency solutions inside every apartment, our long-term plan, as demonstrated above, is to spread the energy efficiency culture across the country. We want local communities to take responsibility and engage in the energy efficiency movement on their own and look for solutions to become energy independent.

Practical steps towards an energy-efficient Armenia

The Project focuses on existing public and residential buildings, especially the old 60s-80s buildings that lack any signs of energy efficiency. Full and partial thermal retrofit plans were harmonized with improved building codes and standards of the Republic of Armenia and implemented in several buildings. Windows and doors on staircases were replaced, vestibule entrances were built, roofs and external walls were completely insulated, basic fire safety measures were addressed, and modern LED lighting systems were installed.

UNDP assisted in doing quality control on the supplied materials, goods, and construction. Our work is still in progress to finish transforming 110 buildings in 14 communities into energy-efficient facilities by 2022.

Project uniqueness and requirements

There are many energy-efficiency projects worldwide, but the uniqueness in this one was convincing the Armenian government to take part as a primary co-financing partner to retrofit buildings for the better future of Armenia and its people.

Having the government as a primary co-funding partner in this project was a significant step forward in the international collaboration with Armenian official bodies regarding climate change. However, the GCF, the UNDP, and the Armenian government cant fund the whole multi-building development project independently. The need for third-party funding partners is essential to keep pushing in the right direction. Only by that will our work result in a sustainable development model to achieve the energy efficiency transformation in Armenia.

International communities role in supporting the project is very noticeable, and it plays a crucial role in diversifying the financial sources required for the continuity of the project. We need to keep funds flowing to constantly push our project forward as we dont want to limit our accomplishment to 110 buildings, but we need to do more so we can keep spreading energy efficiency awareness.

We want to spread the energy efficiency culture and scale up the energy-efficient retrofit of buildings; even with a different funding plan, we want this progress to continue by collaborating with national and international parties for its success and sustainability of achieved partnership with the communities.

Conclusion

In light of surrounding circumstances and the current situation, the need for having an energy efficiency transformation in Armenia is vital and growing. As it would not only contribute to the life of the Armenian people, it would also join the international efforts to address the global climate change issues in the building sector. We've already come a long way in our endeavor, but there is a lot of work to do in the future to ensure the stability of our project and the sustainability of its results in the long term, and that requires the international support of all concerned parties.

The Armenia government has been dynamic and open to collaboration in this regard, which alone is a big step towards an energy efficiency change in the country and a chance we need to grasp. We need to take the opportunity and combine all efforts to keep the project moving forward towards a green Armenia.

Diana Harutyunyan

Climate Change Programme Coordinator UNDP
Ive been a barista in Melbourne since 2011, long enough to know that in hospitality our wages are constantly being suppressed. Wage theft has shaped this industry. And every year, no matter whether its a boom or recession, the employers association demands a wage freeze. Without fail.

Meanwhile, venues are being run on a skeleton staff amid worker shortages and we are expected to do more than ever. Many of us are working to the limit to keep businesses open, but this isnt being reflected in our wages.

Barista Jamileh Hargreaves says low wages are a big problem in the hospitality sector. Credit:Simon Schluter

Im not worried about $7 coffees, and you shouldnt either, its a scare campaign. Im worried about staff burnout, which is real. Hospitality staff need a wage increase. Casualisation has eroded confidence in the sector, with many workers juggling multiple jobs to keep up with the cost of living.

What I do worry about is if this $7 coffee scare campaign succeeds, and the Fair Work Commission buckles under pressure from bosses and puts our wages in the freezer.
GPs have asked older Australians who are yet to receive a COVID-19 booster to book one alongside their flu shot amid concern about dwindling immunity in the 1.8 million people who did not return for a third dose.

More than 450,000 vaccinated Australians have very little protection against an Omicron infection after they received the AstraZeneca vaccine last year but did not have a booster.

People aged 65 and over became eligible for a free flu shot this week, which can now be administered at the same appointment as a COVID-19 booster. Credit:Eddie Jim

People aged 65 and over, who received the bulk of AstraZeneca vaccines during the nations rollout last year, also became eligible for a free flu shot this week, which can be administered at the same appointment.

Data from the Australian Immunisation Register showed by the end of March 1.815 million COVID-19 vaccine recipients were considered overdue for their booster shot, meaning more than six months had passed since their second dose.
Former City of Perth councillor Keith Yong and his sister Angie Yong have been charged with giving false testimony during a 2019 inquiry into the beleaguered council.

The inquiry, which concluded the council was dysfunctional and poorly led under former Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi, found Mr Yong created a sham corporate lease within the CBD electorate to make him eligible to run for councillor in 2013 and 2017.

The inquiry also concluded Mr Yong arranged for his friends and family to make fake complaints against electors who did not intend to vote for him, and arranged for at least 45 friends and family to vote in the election, despite not being eligible.

During hearings investigating whether Mr Yong had engaged in voter manipulation, his sister, Ms Yong, was directed to produce a copy of her brothers corporate lease, which she provided the following day.
China has built, or is seeking to build, new bases in all three regions. None starts out as overtly military, but Beijing specialises in building infrastructure that is supposedly civilian, only to add military functions later. This has been a highly effective tactic in its incremental expansion. The artificial islands built by Beijing in the South China Sea are a case in point. Chinas President Xi Jinping said that Beijing never would militarise the islands, all of which are in maritime territories also claimed by Chinas neighbours. Illustration: Dyson Credit:The Age Beijing started to build bases on the islands, but swore that they were for civilian shipping and maritime surveillance only. Now some of those islands bristle with missile arsenals, hardened aircraft hangers and other military hardware. Two weeks ago, the commander of US forces in the Indo-Pacific, Admiral John Aquilino, said that China apparently had finished building its military bases on three of the islands of the South China Sea. Those are Mischief Reef, Subi Reef and Fiery Cross Reef.

The function of those islands is to expand the offensive capability of the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] beyond their continental shores, said Aquilino. They can fly fighters, bombers plus all those offensive capabilities of missile systems. Loading The news from Solomon Islands was that its government had drafted a secret security cooperation agreement with China. The deal would create a framework to allow China to send its police forces to the Solomons and for its navy to visit and replenish. Conceivably, it could be extended to allow China a naval base in the country. If so, Chinas closest naval base, now 6000 kilometres away from Australia, suddenly would be 2000 kilometres away.

Imperial Japan had to fight its way to the Solomons in 1942 to establish a base there as part of its campaign for the conquest of the entire Asia-Pacific. China is making good progress towards buying its way to a Solomons base. New Zealands Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described this as gravely concerning as a potential militarisation of the region. Australia and the US also raised objections. But Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare says that hell proceed with the agreement as a matter of the countrys sovereign choice. Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands has been fully developed by China . Credit:Maxar/AP Canberra had plenty of notice. For instance, Solomons Opposition Leader Matthew Wale told the ABC that hed warned Australia around August 2021 that such a deal was in the works. The whole Pacific step-up hasnt worked, says the ANUs Stephen Howes, an expert on Pacific aid, referring to the Morrison governments signature Pacific islands policy. Its inevitable that there will be more of this type of agreement. First, China is more powerful and, second, theres no consequence for these countries. As soon as we found out about this agreement, the Foreign Minister Marise Payne put out a press release announcing more aid money for the Solomons.

Indeed, Australia is by far the biggest aid donor to Solomon Islands, a low-income country of some 650,000 people. But Beijing is the biggest donor to its government members of parliament. One example: The Sogavare government controversially switched the Solomons diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019. The unpopularity of the decision helped sparked unrest in December last year. The opposition moved a motion of no confidence against Sogavare as a result. The government paid 250,000 Solomon Islands dollars, about $40,000, to each MP who voted to support Sogavare in successfully surviving the motion. The money, all declared and paid from the National Development Fund, is funded by the Chinese government. And then theres the Antarctic, 42 per cent of which is Australian territory. Anne-Marie Brady first warned five years ago that Canberra was being blindsided by Beijing, which had conducted undeclared military activities and mineral exploration on Australian territory under the guise of scientific expeditions.

Antarctica is essential to Beijings plan. Chinas recently completed satellite-based global positioning system, Baidou, depends on its ground stations there. Loading Beyond that, Brady says that China has designs on the continents rich resources and its strategic value for key transport routes. Most of Chinas Antarctic activities are on Australian territory, says Brady: They got to places on Australian territory Australia couldnt even get to because of a lack of resources. Theyve got what they want now. She points out that Beijing policy documents assert the right to make a formal territorial claim there. While Putins hurricane rages in Ukraine, Xi quietly is changing the entire geostrategic climate. Australia increasingly will find it uncomfortable to live in a climate where the weather is controlled from Beijing. Peter Hartcher is international editor.
The United States is war-weary and Russias invasion of Ukraine has shown Australia can only depend on itself for its national security, federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says.

Speaking at a Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA post-budget breakfast in Perth on Tuesday, the Treasurer held up his governments defence spending as a key pillar of his election pitch to the states business community.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Credit:James Brickwood.

Mr Frydenberg said there was a battle brewing between the worlds autocracies and democracies, pointing to Russias invasion of Ukraine and Chinas increased diplomatic, militarily and economic assertion on the global stage.

He said while Australia and others had sanctioned Russia and provided weapons and supplies to Ukraine, there had been no military support, which demonstrated that countries could only depend on themselves for their own national security.
Australian tenants face a worsening rental crisis, with competition for homes soaring as the proportion of vacant rental properties falls to its lowest level in years.

The national rental vacancy rate fell to 1 per cent in March, halving year-on-year, with all capital cities now operating in a landlords market, Domains latest Rental Vacancy Rate report found.

Australias rental vacancy rate dropped to 1 per cent in March. Credit:Peter Rae

Landlords in competitive markets are being inundated with applications amid the shortage of available rentals, and tenants are increasingly offering above the advertised price, or up to a years rent in advance, to try to secure a home, agents have reported.

Domains chief of research and economics, Nicola Powell, said Australia was facing a rental crisis, with already strained rental markets under increased pressure following the reopening of international and domestic borders.
YEREVAN, APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) welcomed news that Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) are introducing the Armenian Genocide Education Act, a bipartisan measure  advanced in the wake of official U.S. Congressional and Presidential recognition of this crime  to fund Library of Congress educational programs about the history, lessons, consequences, and ongoing costs of the Armenian Genocide.

This landmark legislation  strongly supported by the ANCA  seeks to provide $10 million in funding over five years for the Library of Congress to educate Americans about Ottoman Turkeys systematic and deliberate state-sponsored mass murder, national dispossession, cultural erasure, and exile of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians, between 1915 and 1923.

The ANCA thanks Congresswoman Maloney and Congressman Bilirakis, welcoming their pending introduction of this thoughtful and timely bill, brought forward in the wake of official U.S. recognition of the 1915 Genocide and amid renewed efforts by Azerbaijan and Turkey to complete this crime against the Armenian nation, remarked ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian. This federal legislation represents a responsible next step, building upon American remembrance, alerting Americans to the ongoing threat of genocide, and ensuring that future generations benefit from the lessons of this crime. The ANCA fully supports this bill and looks forward to this measure being passed by Congress and signed into law by the President, added the ANCA Chairman.

Building upon the 2019 passage of H.Res.296 and S.Res.150  which specifically rejected any official U.S. association with Armenian Genocide denial  the Armenian Genocide Education Act seeks to counter discourse and propaganda that claims that Ottoman Turkeys systematic and deliberate state-sponsored mass murder, national dispossession, cultural erasure, and exile of millions of Christians between 1915 and 1923 did not take place.

Members of Congress can join Representatives Maloney and Bilirakis as original cosponsors of the measure in the days leading up to its introduction timed around April 24th, the international day of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.
YEREVAN, APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS. Paris believes that maintaining dialogue on Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin is very important, French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Beaune told the RFI radio station, reports TASS.

When asked if French President Emmanuel Macron planned to continue telephone talks with Putin, he answered in the affirmative. Discussions with President Putin are very important, Beaune said.

Emmanuel Macron maintains this negotiating channel particularly based on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskys request, he added.
YEREVAN, APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS. On April 5, at the invitation of Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan, the delegation led by the Speaker of Parliament of Georgia Shalva Papuashvili arrived in Armenia on a two-day official visit, the Parliaments press service said.

The meeting of the Speakers of Parliaments of Armenia and Georgia began with a private talk, which was followed by the debate in the extended format.

Welcoming the guests, Alen Simonyan has documented that Armenia is concerned about the further development of special good-neighbourly relations with Georgia. Alen Simonyan has reminded that that position is also expressed in the Action Plan of the Government of Armenia for 2021-2026.

Both sides congratulated each other on the occasion of the establishment of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Georgia.

The parties have recorded that the deepening of relations in many spheres of the two countries is of mutual importance.

The Armenian Speaker of Parliament expressed conviction that the mutual trust, the strengthening of continuous dialogue and cooperation would promote the regional security and stability.

The rise of the important role of parliaments after the constitutional amendments in Armenia and Georgia was voiced. The sides considered the cooperation between the legislative bodies one of the important directions of the relations between the states.

During the discussion the closer cooperation between the Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Groups was spoken about. Proposals were sounded from both sides also on other formats of cooperation of parliaments, which would be documented in the near future.

Touching upon the regional security issues and the 44-day war aftermath, Alen Simonyan has noted that the high level of relations between Armenia and Georgia is one of the important factors ensuring the security in the South Caucasus.

The Head of Parliament considered urgent the distinct response of the international community for preventing the humanitarian crisis, as well as the immediate involvement of the international humanitarian structures without obstacles in the Nagorno Karabakh.

The colleagues also exchanged views over the membership in the European Union, discussing the priorities of the Euro-integration of Georgia.

After the meeting in the extended format the Speaker of Parliament of Georgia left a note in the Book of Honourable Guests of the National Assembly of Armenia, afterwards planted a fir-tree in the Parliaments Park.

During the official visit the delegation led by the Head of Parliament of Georgia will have meetings with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President Vahagn Khachaturyan and the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

A meeting is also scheduled with the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.
YEREVAN, 5 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 5 April, USD exchange rate down by 1.56 drams to 481.59 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 3.35 drams to 528.26 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.02 drams to 5.79 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.69 drams to 632.09 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 82.84 drams to 29887.75 drams. Silver price down by 1.63 drams to 381.90 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.
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YEREVAN, APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met at the Government with the participants of the "iGorts" program for the involvement of Diaspora specialists in public administration bodies of Armenia, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Miister.

Welcoming them, the Prime Minister noted. "I am glad that we continuously implement this program, despite all the difficulties and complications. I am also glad that we can state that the program has recorded concrete results in terms of achieving the goals we have set. And here we are talking about the involvement of the Diaspora potential in the public administration system of Armenia.

As you may already know, we have high-ranking officials from the program participants, in the person of the Deputy Minister of Economy and the Chairman of the Tourism Committee, which shows the seriousness of our intentions. Of course, first of all, the seriousness of the the program participants in their intentions was expressed, to which we responded accordingly.

I hope that we will continue this process, because we want the involvement of the potential of the Diaspora in the public administration system of Armenia and in solving the problems facing our country to be more and more tangible. We also want our esteemed representatives of the Diaspora to see the problems from the inside, to participate in their evaluation, and to offer concrete solutions, which may be left unnoticed by the ordinary everyday view.

Of course, I think we will continue this process. I also see from your eyes that you are really serious in your intentions, and I am sincerely happy for that, because you know that we are facing unprecedented challenges, and addressing and solving those unusual challenges requires unusual approaches. We hope that you will bring with you those unusual approaches, and that you will help us, that you will enrich us with your knowledge, skills, abilities, and if you will be able to take something useful from what has already been done, of course we will be happy."

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of cooperation with the Diaspora in this format - through the programs of the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs.

"Maybe I am not well informed, I do not rule out, but I do not remember the leadership of Armenia to have ever cooperated with the Diaspora in this format before. I think it is an important result of that institutional change: the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs is himself a representative of the Diaspora, although like many, he was a representative of Armenia before being a representative of the Diaspora. This topic is peculiar just for that reason. And we want those borders not to exist. In today 's global world, sometimes it does not meven matter where you are in the world. In the modern world, distance is more psychology than space. And, consequently, I do not want to underestimate space at all, but I do not want to underestimate psychology either. We must overcome psychology through space and space through psychology. I think this program is one of the most important platforms for the implementation of this vision.

Of course, I talked about specific cases, but I am convinced that the participants of the "iGorts" program have done a lot of work in different ministries, participated in the development and implementation of various laws, government decisions, programs. I apologise for that I can't list them all right now, but I know that really a lot of work has been done. And I hope that the participants and the initiators of this program, we all will be satisfied with the end result. Even if we do not have the opportunity to talk about very tangible results as much as we would like, this communication, this contact itself is very important and useful. I welcome you again, thank you for your readiness shown during this difficult period and express my readiness to answer, to address all your questions and, of course, to continue the cooperation."

According to Zareh Sinanyan, High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, the program, which was launched in 2020, can be considered successful. In the first year, in 2020, iGorts received 800 applications from 27 countries As a result, 52 Diaspora Armenian specialists from 19 countries worked in 19 different departments. By the end of the program about 70% of the first stage alumni decided to stay in the Motherland. By the completion of the program, 16 of them remained in the state system, 9 of which are financed through the Hovnanian Foundation. In 2021, 350 applications were received from 30 countries As a result, cooperation agreements were signed with 50 Diaspora Armenian specialists. At present, 47 specialists from 14 countries work in 25 different departments: the National Assembly, ministries, committees, inspection bodies, etc. Diaspora Armenian specialists have arrived from different countries of the world: Russia, USA, Lebanon, Belgium, Germany, Syria, France, Cyprus, Switzerland, etc.

During the meeting, the participants of "iGorts" thanked the Government of the Republic of Armenia for such an opportunity and presented their work carried out in various state agencies.

Prime Minister Pashinyan also answered a number of questions of the meeting participants, which referred to the reforms of the public administration system of Armenia, Armenia's international cooperation, economic stimulation, realization of the Diaspora's potential, problems of education, science and other spheres and the government's steps to solve them.

iGorts aims to involve Diaspora Armenian specialists with higher education, 3 years of professional experience in the field of public policy with a master's degree or a bachelor's degree with a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the public administration of Armenia, whose professional and expertise skills will contribute to the implementation of innovative ideas and conducting large-scale research. One of the goals of the program is to apply the work experience and skills of the participants in the work and programs carried out by the public administration bodies of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh, which will give an opportunity to promote professional repatriation, to support the processes of improving the public administration system.
YEREVAN, 5 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. NATO is not going to send its armed forces and air force to Ukraine, ARMENPRESS reports, Interafax informed , citing the announcement of Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg.



The allies agree that we should not send armed forces of NATO to Ukraine and should not send airplanes to air space of Ukraine, he said.



He emphasized that the alliance is of that position because is responsible for preventing war between Russia and NATO.



At the same time, according to Stoltenberg, ministers of foreign affairs of NATO countries on 6-7 of April meeting will discuss what kind of other support they will be able to provide to Ukraine.



He reminded that the alliance provides military, financial and humanitarian support to Kyiv.
Mischief Comedy will have a trio of shows heading to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer.

Company member Charlie Russell will present her solo show, which attempts to "hit as many solo fringe show tropes and styles as possible" in the space of an hour, at the Pleasance Courtyard from 2 to 27 August. After that, the much-loved improv bonanza Mischief Movie Night will return at the EICC from 3 to 28 August and, finally, Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer will give hit Magic Goes Wrong character the Mind Mangler his own spin-off show, also at the Pleasance Courtyard.

Lewis and Sayer said today: "We're absolutely delighted to be heading back to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year. The fringe is full of amazing memories for us and to be part of the 75th anniversary with three shows, including new work is incredibly exciting."

Russell also commented, "I'm thrilled to be able to create new work with Mischief, and to be returning to Edinburgh and sharing with festival audiences who have supported us from the beginning and helped us get to where we are now."
It's an intriguing thing that this latest addition to the canon of the American well-made play comes from the pen of a British writer. Alexis Zegerman has crafted a captivating if somewhat overstretched family drama exploring the meaning of inheritance in all its myriad messy forms, one that shows echoes from Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams to HBO's Succession.

Professor Richard Myers (Robert Lindsay) is dying of Parkinson's disease. A pioneer in the field of IVF and PGD (pre-implantation genetic diagnosis), his family have gathered in their shabby yet priceless Manhattan brownstone to see him honoured with a Lasker Award. But, naturally, all does not quite run smooth.

Granddaughter Lily (Nancy Allsop) has a rare genetic condition  the fever syndrome of the title  that makes her prone to fits. Her mother Dot (Lisa Dillon), Richard's daughter, is desperate to source money for her care and to go through IVF for another child with husband Nate (Bo Poraj), who's eager to reboot his disgraced career in research. Meanwhile twin brothers Thomas (Alex Waldmann), a gay artist, and Anthony (Sam Marks), a cryptocurrency investor, struggle in their own ways with their father's overbearing legacy, while stepmother Megan (Alexandra Gilbreath) is left carrying the can for his increasingly demanding care.

Roxana Silbert's lucid production unfolds on Lizzie Clachan's multi-storey, compartmentalised set. The various rooms are arranged like a cutaway doll's house, enabling us to witness both intimate conversations alongside family gatherings in the open plan ground floor. At one of these, a dinner, the shaking Richard implores his family not to stare at him eating ("You're boring holes into my sourdough!", he roars). Their conversation is peppered with Orwell, Van Gogh and Churchill; it captures perfectly the milieu of metropolitan intellectualism.

Zegerman dives headfirst into some big themes  biggest of all the ethics of genetic modification. Richard rails against the anti-science populists of the Republican Party, his bitter enemy (he acidly requests to have his ashes thrown in their faces). He's an unapologetic elitist, who believes scientists have every right to play gods. But it's in the more earthly observations that the play really hits home; the 12 year-old Lily's addiction to her phone screen; the way an educated family can use a Tom Lehrer song as a form of tribal bullying; the challenge of caring for elderly relatives in unsuitable homes.

Robert Lindsay wrings every drop out of the Lear-esque Richard, a snarling, wounded big beast. Lisa Dillon is an exquisitely anguished Dot (whose younger self haunts her father throughout), while Waldmann and Marks show palpable fraternal chemistry as the twins. Poraj and Jake Fairbrother (who plays Thomas's boyfriend) make for sympathetic outsiders, and Gilbreath imbues Megan with flirtatious, skittish longing ("humans are not designed to sleep alone," she tells her son-in-law). Top marks too to Allsop for ensuring Lily's condition feels wholly authentic.

Although long, at two hours and 40 minutes, the play rarely sags, largely because it sustains a gripping feeling of impending crisis. But this promised implosion never really arrives, and its surprisingly cosy ending feels anticlimactic. Its politics also seem dated to the recent past  there's a reference to Sarah Palin  and slightly behind current concerns. But as a portrait of blended family dysfunction it is highly enjoyable, while also raising provocative questions about the limits of science.
National Project Personnel - Climate Change Specialist, Kathmandu, Nepal

Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Country: Nepal

City: Kathmandu

Office: FAO Nepal

Closing date: Thursday, 14 April 2022

2200896

National Project Personnel - Climate Change Specialist

Job Posting: 31/Mar/2022

Closure Date: 14/Apr/2022, 9:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit : FANEP

Job Type: Non-staff opportunities

Type of Requisition : NPP (National Project Personnel)

Grade Level : N/A

Primary Location: Nepal-Kathmandu

Duration : 12 months with possible extension

Post Number : N/A

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture

Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply

Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAOs values

FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination

All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized technical agency of the United Nations established in 1945 whose mission is to contribute to eradicating hunger and achieving food security for all. FAO contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through FAOs Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agri-food systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.

Currently in Nepal, FAO projects focus on technical capacity building, policy development, enhancing agri-production, strengthening food systems, improving food & nutrition security, enhancing resilience to Disasters and impacts of Climate Change as well as threats posed by zoonotic diseases to human health through the One Health approach. FAO also contributes to the coordination of humanitarian assistance/relief and transition to livelihoods recovery within the agriculture sector, under the framework of the food security cluster.

Key priorities under FAOs Country Programming Framework (CPF) for Nepal (2018-22) includes strengthening of climate resilient agri-food systems, enhanced management of natural resources, and promotion of climate change adaptation and mitigation practices.

In this context, the Climate Change Specialist will be expected to work closely with and support the Programme team in delivery of country-level programmes, projects and interventions related to resilience building of ecosystem and vulnerable communities against the impact of climate change. He/she will coordinate and support the implementation of ongoing projects and programmes as well as the formulation and development of new project proposals contributing to this priority area. More specifically, she/he will contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation interventions within the agriculture, forestry and sustainable natural resource management sectors in line with priorities set forth by current FAO Nepals Country Programme Framework (CPF) (2018-2022). She/he will also be expected to support and contribute to the preparation of UNSDCF and the next CPF document (2023-2027).

Reporting Lines

The Climate Change Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative, direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative (Programme) and in close coordination with Administrative Section of the FAO Representation in Nepal.

Technical Focus

Provide needful climate change related expertise to carry out tasks as envisioned in the Terms of Reference (TOR).

Tasks and responsibilities

The Climate Change Specialist will be responsible to carry out the following tasks:

Support and contribute to the policy processes in the areas of climate change, disaster risk reduction and sustainable natural resource management.

Support in the coordination and implementation of on-going (National, Regional and Global) climate change related projects and programmes in the areas of Agriculture, forestry, and natural resource management under the funding windows of GEF, GCF, and FAOs Technical Cooperation Programme

Assist and support to formulate new concept notes and detail project proposals in the areas of climate change and natural resource management and contribute to resource mobilization.

Assist in the implementation of FAO Gender Equality Policy for mainstreaming gender in projects and programming.

Coordinate and facilitate the organization of policy dialogues, workshops and consultation meetings in close consultation with programme team, government counterparts and other relevant stakeholders.

Prepare plan for project periodic reviews, field monitoring and supervision missions and participate in different mission programs.

Prepare ToR of project consultants and assist in vacancy announcements, shortlisting, and interviews of potential candidates.

Contribute to the preparation of various written outputs on climate change related specific topics, e.g., draft background papers, analytical notes, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications and background material for the FAOR and AFAOR (Programme) including meeting minutes.

Provide technical inputs for development of appropriate communication and knowledge products related to climate change, DRR and sustainable natural resource management

Support in the collection, compilation and consolidation of climate related country data and information.

Act as country focal point for Climate change, DRR and natural resource management

Provide technical inputs for preparation of policy briefs, studies, and assessments.

Assist in identifying windows for and mobilizing extra-budgetary resources from climate financing windows such as GCF, GEF and other bilateral windows to support the implementation of relevant priorities of CPF, FAOs pipeline projects and programmes related to the climate change.

Perform any other duties as assigned.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

National of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal

Masters degree in Climate Change, DRR, Natural Resource Management, Agriculture, Forestry or related fields.

At least 5 years of proven working experience in climate change and natural resource management projects and programmes with relevant government agencies and/or non-profit organizations

Experience with UN agencies would be an asset.

Proficient in English language (both spoken and written)

Excellent in computer skills (MS Word, Excel and power point)

Proficient in report writing and technical programme document preparation.

FAO Core Competencies

Results Focus

Teamwork

Communication

Building Effective Relationships

Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

The expert shall have competency and demonstrated practical relevant experience on climate change related policies, programmes and projects.

Selection Criteria

Extent of relevant technical experience in the related areas

Ability to manage and work with a multidisciplinary and multicultural team.

High degree of team ethic, well organized, result focused and dynamic personality.

Previous experience of working with UN agencies is an asset.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)

Incomplete applications will not be considered. If you need help please contact: Careers@fao.org

Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted

Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/

For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/

Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances. Subject to certain exemptions, vaccination against COVID-19 will in principle be required. Vaccination status will be verified as part of the medical clearance process.

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills

Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile

Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application

Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications

Incomplete applications will not be considered

Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAOs behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application

Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered

Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile

We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date. If you need help, or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org

Link to the organizations job posting: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1648924954072
Regulatory Standards Specialist (P4), Vienna, Austria

Organization: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Country: Austria

City: Vienna

Office: IAEA Vienna, Austria

Closing date: Thursday, 21 April 2022

Regulatory Standards Specialist(P4)

( 2022/0203 (012715) )

Organization: NSRW-Radiation Protection Unit

Primary Location: Austria-Vienna-Vienna-IAEA Headquarters

Job Posting: 2022-03-31, 2:05:55 PM

Contract Type : Monthly Short Term

MST

Organizational Setting

The Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety develops and maintains standards for radiation protection, radioactive waste safety, and safety in the transport of radioactive material that enable the beneficial uses of radiation to be exploited while ensuring appropriate protection of workers, the public, patients and the environment. It also assists Member States in the implementation of these standards and provides related services.

The Radiation Safety and Monitoring Section is responsible for the delineation of an international programme to protect workers, patients and the public from all types of exposure to natural or artificial radiation, in line with the most recent scientific knowledge and information. The Section is also responsible for the provision of radiation safety technical services to staff members and experts who may be exposed to ionizing radiation as a result of activities conducted by the IAEA.

The Radiation Protection Unit is responsible for supporting the Radiation Safety Standards Committee (RASSC) and for providing oversight of the development of radiation safety standards within the Safety Standards Series. It serves as the focal point for the development of general radiation protection documents for all types of exposure and situations, and for their integration and implementation. It also develops safety standards and guidance related to the protection of the public in existing exposure situations such as radon in buildings, radionuclides in building materials and other commodities, and non-medical imaging. Finally, the Unit maintains professional links with other international and specialist agencies concerned with radiation safety and promotes international coherence and consistency of radiation safety practice.

Main Purpose

Reporting to the Unit Head, the Regulatory Standards Specialist advises and assists in the development and implementation of the IAEA programme for establishing radiation safety standards and providing for their application in Member States.

Role

The Regulatory Standards Specialist plays several key roles: (1) substantive expert, developing international recommendations and guidance related to the subject area of the unit; (2) adviser, providing authoritative and objective information to Member States and working with them, through the IAEAs technical cooperation programme, to identify means of improving the subject area of the unit; and (3) analyst, maintaining an overview of the status of the subject area of the unit in Member States and working collaboratively with experts in Member States on special projects related to new developments in the field.

Functions / Key Results Expected

Leads the development of international safety standards and/or guidance material on the subject area of the unit to form the basis of international activities in this area.

Leads and coordinates the technical support for the application of safety standards through national and regional technical cooperation projects.

Communicates the results of Member State and IAEA activities to a wider audience beyond higher-level management, including other Member States, through the preparation of papers, articles and documents for publication.

Builds and maintains strategic partnerships and alliances with a wide range of stakeholders in Member States and other international organizations to promote the application of international safety standards.

The incumbent may perform his/her work in areas involving exposure to radioactive materials. Therefore, as an Occupationally Exposed Worker, he/she must be medically cleared by VIC Medical Service and is subject to an appropriate radiation and health monitoring programme, in accordance with the IAEAs Radiation Safety Regulations.

Competencies and Expertise

Core Competencies

Name Definition

Planning and Organizing

Plans and organizes his/her own work in support of achieving the team or Sections priorities. Takes into account potential changes and proposes contingency plans.

Communication

Communicates orally and in writing in a clear, concise and impartial manner. Takes time to listen to and understand the perspectives of others and proposes solutions.

Achieving Results

Takes initiative in defining realistic outputs and clarifying roles, responsibilities and expected results in the context of the Department/Divisions programme. Evaluates his/her results realistically, drawing conclusions from lessons learned.

Teamwork

Actively contributes to achieving team results. Supports team decisions.

Functional Competencies

Name Definition

Commitment to continuous process improvement

Plans and executes activities in the context of quality and risk management and identifies opportunities for process, system and structural improvement, as well as improving current practices. Analyses processes and procedures, and proposes improvements.

Partnership building

Identifies and builds partnerships. Develops and maintains long lasting partnerships to strengthen relationships. Delivers programmatic outputs and acquires resources in support of Agency goals.

Technical/scientific credibility

Ensures that work is in compliance with internationally accepted professional standards and scientific methods. Provides scientifically/technically accepted information that is credible and reliable.

Required Expertise

Function Name Expertise Description

Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety

Application of Safety Standards

Experience in coordination with regulatory authorities in establishing radiation safety standards.

Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety

Radiation Measurements and Protection

Extensive knowledge and experience in the measurements of ionising radiation and in particulat those of natural origin. Experience in implementing radiation protection measures and communicating them to the public

Asset Expertise

Function Name Expertise Description

Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety

Development of IAEA Safety Standards

Experience in drafting radiation safety standards, particularly relevant to the protection of public and the environment and in developing policies in radiation protection at national level. Experience at international level

Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety

Radiation Protection of the Public- Radon in Homes

Extensive knowledge of approaches towards radiation protection of the public from exposure to radon.

Qualifications, Experience and Language skills

Advance University degree (masters) in Physics, Engineering or related science.

University degree (bachelors) in Physics, Engineering or related sciences with additional three years of relevant expereince may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Minimum seven years experience in radiation protection, of which at least four years experience related to public exposure. A background in the assessment and management of chronic exposure of the public is highly desirable.

Experience in the development of radiation safety standards and guidance, and in the implementation of those standards, would be an asset.

Regulatory experience would be an advantage.

Excellent oral and written command of English. Knowledge of other official IAEA languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish) is an asset.

Remuneration

The IAEA offers an attractive remuneration package including a tax-free annual net base salary starting at US $75602 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance), a variable post adjustment which currently amounts to US $ 31753*, dependency benefits, rental subsidy, education grant, relocation and repatriation expenses; 6 weeks annual vacation, home leave, pension plan and health insurance

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applications from qualified women and candidates from developing countries are encouraged

Applicants should be aware that IAEA staff members are international civil servants and may not accept instructions from any other authority. The IAEA is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. As part of the United Nations common system, the IAEA subscribes to the following core ethical standards (or values): Integrity, Professionalism and Respect for diversity. Staff members may be assigned to any location. The IAEA retains the discretion not to make any appointment to this vacancy, to make an appointment at a lower grade or with a different contract type, or to make an appointment with a modified job description or for shorter duration than indicated above. Testing may be part of the recruitment process

Link to the organizations job posting: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1648936036323
By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

The State Border Service has prevented over 34 kg of drugs, 3,557 psychotropic pills and 957 units of medicine from being smuggled into Azerbaijan from Iran in late March and early April, the service has reported.

The first incident occurred in the service area of the Horadiz border detachments border post near Fuzuli regions Gazakhlar village at about 2225, on March 31. A border guard serving in the area noticed an unknown person, who approached the border and immediately left the scene.

As a result of the operational measures, the area was cordoned off and taken under control.

During the inspection, 10.5 kg of drugs (5 kg 200 grams marijuana, 4.2 kg opium, 1.1 kg heroin), as well as 2,000 Methadone M40 - psychotropic substances were taken from a parcel found in the area as a result of a border search.

At about 2317 on April 2, the Goytapa border detachments border guard detained a suspect, who tried to leave the scene with a parcel near the state border in Bilasuvar regions Yukhari Aghali village.

During the inspection of the package, over 20 kg of drugs (14.4 kg of marijuana, 450 grams of methamphetamine, 510 grams of heroin, 4.9 kg of opium), as well as 957 pills and 10 grams of medicine were seized from Aghsu region Garadashli village resident Nijat Guliyev (25).

At about 1222, on April 3, border guards thwarted a border violation attempt from Iran to Azerbaijan in the Horadiz border detachments service area near Zangilan regions Minjivan settlement.

The border trespasser threw the contraband and escaped the scene, taking advantage of the thick reeds and complicated topography.

As a result of the inspection, over 3.5 kg of narcotic substance (marijuana), 200 units of psychotropic drug Methadone M40 and 400 units of psychotropic substance B2 were taken from a package found in the area along the Araz River.

The cases are undergoing the necessary operational and investigative procedures.

Border protection and search operations are underway to ensure reliable protection of the state border and combat drug trafficking and psychotropic substances.
YEREVAN< APRIL 5, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the delegation led by the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili, who is in Armenia on a two-day official visit, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

Greeting the guests, the Prime Minister said, I think that the Armenian-Georgian relations are in a unique period, we can see new dynamics, new mood, new perspectives at the political level. It is obvious that there is a mutual desire for closer cooperation between the governments and parliaments of our countries, which, I am convinced, stems from the desire for closer cooperation and partnership between our peoples. And I hope that with the high-level and intensive political relations we will be able to express that desire in an institutional way in the relations between our two countries. Once again welcome, I am very happy for this meeting."

Shalva Papuashvili thanked for the warm reception and said, I want to express my deep respect for you and the Armenian people, who follow you in such a spirit. As you mentioned, today the Armenian-Georgian relations are very close. It is especially visible at the level of the Prime Ministers. And with this visit I want to reaffirm once again that there are such close relations between both the Prime Ministers and the Presidents of parliaments. We discussed and talked about the fact that these meetings, these relations should be not only official, but also at the level of friendship groups, commissions and staffs. And we also talked about that today, when the region is facing such challenges, we should be able to do everything to build lasting peace in the region."

Shalva Papuashvili added that this year Armenia and Georgia mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, which is a good opportunity to re-evaluate the friendship and the centuries-old shared history of the two countries.

During the meeting the interlocutors referred to the further development of the Armenian-Georgian relations, the processes taking place in the South Caucasus, as well as in the international arena.
Communications Officer, Geneva, Switzerland

Organization: World Health Organization (WHO)

Country: Switzerland

City: Geneva

Office: WHO Geneva, Switzerland

Grade: P-3

Closing date: Wednesday, 13 April 2022

Communications Officer

( 2202237 )

Grade : P3

Contractual Arrangement : Fixed-term appointment

Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days) : 2 years

Job Posting: Mar 23, 2022, 2:32:43 PM

Unitaid is a multilateral partnership hosted by the World Health Organization. Unitaid is focused on making a unique and impactful contribution to the global response against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries. It catalyses improvements for the larger response through forward-looking and time-limited investments that are designed to increase access to better, more effective and more affordable health products (i.e. preventatives, medicines and diagnostics). These investments typically target market-based interventions such as price reductions,improvements in quality and supply,and the introduction of innovative products more suitable for the populations in need.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Operational support to the Team Lead for forward planning for communications, including development of planning tools, development of procedures and processes, particularly in light of the 2021external audit of key controls around communications, media monitoring and crisis management;

Contribute to the development of the annual corporate communications strategy, as well as thematic communication strategies;

Ensure quality assurance of translations, including putting in place of quality assurance process with external service providers;

Work on wide range of writing assignments, examples to include general content for the website, talking points for senior executives, news releases, brochures, fact sheets, etc.;

Contribute to the development of a communications and stakeholder engagement strategy to support the upcoming Unitaid Strategy 2022 cycle;

Play a proactive role in conceptualizing, planning and producing the annual report;

Performall other related duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: A first level university degree in communications, journalism, humanities, social science or other relevant subject.

Desirable: Experience

Essential:

At least five years of experience at national or international level in communications, or national, multilateral and/or international stakeholder engagement;

One years experience of working in multicultural teams;

Demonstrated experience of global health or international development health issues;

Proven experience writing about technically complex issues and making them understandable to diverse audiences

Desirable:

Experience working in a complex organization;

Proven ability to work in a multi-cultural environment;

Experience crafting messages for social media;

Ability to engage effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, inside and outside UNITAID.

Skills

Excellent writing skills combined with ability to make complex technical issues understandable to non-specialist audiences.

Strong analytical and planning capabilities, coupled with political awareness.

Demonstrable skill in communicating effectively to differentiated audiences.

Good knowledge of global health issues, and a sound grasp of HIV, TB and malaria preferred.

Ability to work in a fast-paced work environment to short deadlines and produce results under pressure. dBCbRFs Dh7qKS

Demonstrated ability to work smoothly and flexibly in a team.

WHO Competencies

Teamwork

Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

Communication

Producing results

Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English. Expert knowledge of French.

Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of Portugese. Intermediate knowledge of Spanish.

REMUNERATION

WHO salaries for staff in the Professional category are calculated in US dollars. The remuneration for the above position comprises an annual base salary starting at USD 62,692 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable), a variable post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, and currently amounts to USD 4326 per month for the duty station indicated above. Other benefits include 30 days of annual leave, allowances for dependent family members, home leave, and an education grant for dependent children.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level

Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

A written test may be used as a form of screening.

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Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.

Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.

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WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.

WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.

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WHO has a mobility policy which can be found at the following link: http://www.who.int/employment/en/. Candidates appointed to an international post with WHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.

Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.

*For WHO General Service staff who do not meet the minimum educational qualifications, please see e-Manual III.4.1, para 220.

As a WHO staff member assigned solely and exclusively to support this Partnership, selected staff will have no right of reassignment or transfer outside the Partnership either during or at the end of his/her appointment, including pursuant to WHO Staff Rule 1050. (This does not apply to WHO fixed-term staff members reassigned from a non-Partnership position.)

UNITAID is a partnership hosted and administered by WHO, located outside WHO premises in Le Pommier, 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex.

Link to the organizations job posting: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1648159017998
YEREVAN, 5 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. The National Assembly of the Artsakh Republic adopted a statement at the April 5 special sitting, noting that in the current conditions only by reaffirming the obligation of the Republic of Armenia to act as the security guarantor of Artsakh and the creation of an atmosphere of pan-Armenian unity can create sufficient conditions to guarantee the future of the Armenian people in their Motherland.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the parliament of Artsakh, tge statement says, The National Assembly of the Artsakh Republic, as the highest representative body with the primary mandate of the people of Artsakh, expressing the opinion and position of a wide range of socio-political circles, calls for a pan-Armenian consolidation on issues related to the fate of Artsakh.

We are convinced that the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh, having the full support of the Armenian communities of the Diaspora, becoming one fist, can jointly face the regional challenges, defending our national interests.

In this difficult period of geopolitical realities, when Azerbaijan, trying to thwart the Russian peacekeeping mission, continues to regularly fire at Armenian settlements, blows up the gas pipeline, tries to intimidate civilians living in their homeland, continues to occupy new territories, the National Assembly of Artsakh reaffirms the will and determination of the Artsakh people for their vision of a national liberation struggle which began in 1988 based on the right to live freely in their historic homeland.

By the declaration of September 2, 1991, and then through a nationwide referendum, the people of Artsakh formed the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) in accordance with all international norms. Throughout the 30 years we have gone through victories and failures. As a result of the war that was imposed on us on September 27, 2020, which lasted for 44 days, we suffered human and territorial losses. But nothing and no one can deprive us of the right to self-determination, to decide our own destiny. Bowing to the memory of all the martyrs of our struggle, we declare our devotion and readiness to be consistent in the processes of international recognition of the Artsakh Republic and restoration of its territorial integrity.

After the 44-day war of 2020, our security environment has changed fundamentally, and the fragile peace established in the region is maintained through the efforts of the Artsakh Defense Army and the Russian peacekeeping forces. As the events of the last 1.5 years have shown, our enemies continue their plan to evict Armenians from Artsakh. In the current conditions only by reaffirming the obligation of the Republic of Armenia to act as the security guarantor of Artsakh and the creation of an atmosphere of pan-Armenian unity can create sufficient conditions to guarantee the future of the Armenian people in their Motherland.

Dear compatriots,

The key to the existence of the Armenian statehood and the security of the Armenian people is in Artsakh."
Last week, two days before the release of an alarming report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Pierre Poilievre was in Winnipeg to advance his bid to lead the Conservative Party of Canada, promoting new opportunities to ship oil through the Port of Churchill.

Last week, two days before the release of an alarming report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Pierre Poilievre was in Winnipeg to advance his bid to lead the Conservative Party of Canada, promoting new opportunities to ship oil through the Port of Churchill.

If elected leader, and if he forms government in a future election, Poilievre envisions shipping 100,000 barrels a day of Alberta crude to Churchill using CanaPux, a process that allows bitumen to be converted into pellets and shipped as dry goods. If a pipeline were built to Churchill, another 200,000 barrels per day of oil could be shipped through northern Manitoba.

Theres a lot of inherent flaws to unpack in Poilievres announcement, including the fact the Ontario MP doesnt really understand the politics of Churchill, Canadas only Arctic port.

For decades, transportation and commodity companies have ignored the geographic logic Churchill represents in favour of shipping through West Coast ports and the St. Lawrence Seaway. That is unlikely to change under a Poilievre government.

However, the more worrisome flaw in Poilievres plan is the fact it flies directly in the face of macro political and economic forces at work to lessen the worlds reliance on fossil fuels.

For decades, transportation and commodity companies have ignored the geographic logic Churchill represents in favour of shipping through West Coast ports and the St. Lawrence Seaway. (Sarah Lawrynuik / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Investing federal tax dollars on schemes to boost the amount of oil exported from Canada is a losing strategy at a time when major automakers have already announced plans to electrify their fleets and most governments around the world are looking for strategies to enhance zero-emission energy production.

Which brings us to the UN climate change report.

The panel warned unless we all drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030  and by drastic, the panel means a 43 per cent cut  we will lose our opportunity to save the planet from wildfires, floods and droughts that accompany steadily climbing temperatures.

Examined against the backdrop of that report, Poilievres announcement is not just misguided, its dangerous and destructive. But can it be successful in winning the Tory leadership?

Poilievre is already one of Canadas most notorious climate change deniers. He has made it abundantly clear in the early days of his leadership campaign, if he becomes prime minister, he will cut the carbon tax, dismantle "anti-energy" policies introduced by the Liberals and take steps to bolster the countrys oil and gas industry.

Pierre Poilievre is already one of Canadas most notorious climate change deniers.

That perspective may not be shared by a majority of Canadians but it is warmly embraced by a significant constituency within the Conservative party. There is reason to believe there is method to the madness of Poilievres leadership strategy  particularly if he is able to attract new party members who share his skepticism about climate change.

It should be noted none of the other declared leadership candidates seem particularly strong on climate change policy. Most  including former Ontario Tory leader Patrick Brown, former Quebec premier Jean Charest, Ontario MPP Roman Baber and MP Leslyn Lewis  oppose the Liberal carbon tax without providing much in the way of concrete ideas about how to curb emissions.

That means, even if Poilievre fails, there is every reason to believe the person who does win will fall well-short of emission-reduction targets.

That is not an endorsement of the Liberal party; the self-declared champions of climate change policy have been nothing short of underwhelming since coming to power in 2015.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced a carbon tax to fund programs to promote clean energy and ween Canadians off fossil fuels. But the Trudeau Liberals have also struggled to use those revenues to produce real progress in reducing emissions.

Examined against the backdrop of that report, Pierre Poilievres announcement is not just misguided, its dangerous and destructive. (Michael Bell / Canadian Press files)

Canadas greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, and the economy continues to be disproportionately reliant on the oil and gas industry..

Recent changes to the Liberal climate change policy do commit the country to a 40 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, a target very much in keeping with the recommendations of the UN panel. However, to actually achieve those goals  and remember, Canada hasnt actually hit any previous emission-reduction targets  were going to need a level of political commitment that has so far escaped the Liberals.

The world needs governments heeding the warnings and making progress in reducing emissions to show average citizens carbon-neutral economies are within our grasp.

(The same UN report did note the growth in alternative energy sources have exceeded forecasts.So, there has been some progress. Just not enough to save the planet.)

If the climate change believers cannot start showing real progress, Canada and other countries will most definitely end up in the in the hands of deniers like Poilievre.

We dont have the time left to allow that to happen.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
OTTAWA - Provinces and territories should quickly get ready to offer fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the coming weeks starting with people over the age of 80 and long-term care residents, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended Tuesday.

A vaccine is drawn out during a drive-through COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Kingston, Ont., on Sunday, January 2, 2022. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends provinces and territories rapidly prepare to offer second booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines over the coming weeks. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg

OTTAWA - Provinces and territories should quickly get ready to offer fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the coming weeks starting with people over the age of 80 and long-term care residents, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended Tuesday.

NACI recommended that a second booster may be offered to people between 70 and 79 years of age, and to people from First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities.

"Preliminary data indicate that a second booster dose provides additional protection, including against severe disease," the committee reported Tuesday.

In general, a second booster dose should be given 6 months after the patients got their first booster shots, NACI says, though that optimal timeline will need to be weighed against how rampant COVID-19 is at the local level.

The committee also suggests a recent COVID-19 infection should be factored in, since boosters are best offered at least three months after symptom onset or a positive test.

The latest NACI advice also said a second booster appears to be as safe as previous doses and is well tolerated.

The committee is still studying whether a second booster shot is necessary for younger adults and adolescents.

Second boosters, or fourth doses, are not approved by Health Canada but can still be offered on an "off-label" basis.

The recommendations were made in light of the potential for waning effectiveness of booster doses against severe disease. Several provinces have already offered a second booster to higher-risk groups with plans to expand eligibility soon.

Approximately 90 per cent of Canadians over the age of 18 are considered fully vaccinated in Canada as of March 27, which for the majority of Canadians means two doses of the vaccines approved by Health Canada.

NACI recommended a third shot for adults in December but people have been slower to get their boosters than they were to get the first and second doses.

Just 57 per cent of people over 18 years old have received a booster dose, according to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

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Older people who are at higher risk of severe outcomes related to the virus have been more amenable to the idea of extra jabs, with more than 84 per cent of seniors over 70 getting a third dose and 68 per cent of those aged 50 to 69.

The Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health urged Canadians Tuesday to follow advice on boosters.

"Staying up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines provides you with strong protection against severe illness and hospitalization and helps to reduce the overall impact and severity at the population level," the council said in a statement.

The new NACI recommendations come at the same time as concerning indications that Canada may already be heading into another pandemic wave. The medical officers of health said vaccines are the best line of defence against a surge in hospitalizations.

"Vaccination remains the most important tool to protect ourselves and our communities against the impacts of future waves of COVID-19," they said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2022.
Several Canadian provinces are bolstering their defences against COVID-19 amid signs of a sixth wave.

Several Canadian provinces are bolstering their defences against COVID-19 amid signs of a sixth wave.

On Tuesday, Quebec and Prince Edward Island extended their provincial mask mandates until later this month as they try to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Tourists wear masks as they take in the sights on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 in Montreal. Quebec has announced it will be extending mandatory masking in indoor public places until the end of April. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia also said they would be expanding access to fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines as the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said all provinces and territories should prepare to start offering the boosters.

"Preliminary data indicate that a second booster dose provides additional protection, including against severe disease," the committee reported.

The decisions came several days after the Public Health Agency of Canada said a resurgence of COVID-19 appears to be underway and encouraged Canadians to be vigilant to help curb spread of the latest variant.

In Quebec City, interim public health director Dr. Luc Boileau said he was extending a mask mandate until the end of April due to a rise of infections and hospitalizations across the province.

The Health Department reported a 72-patient increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations Tuesday for a total number of patients with the infection of 1,479.

"Despite everything, the situation for hospitals is under control," Boileau said.

Masking is an effective way to reduce COVID-19 transmission, said Boileau, who added that while not everyone likes having to wear a mask, the health order is an "acceptable restriction in the current situation."

There were 3,619 active cases of in P.E.I. and 30 people were in hospital.

P.E.I.'s chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, said masks are more effective against the virus when there is a universal requirement to wear them. Plans are moving more slowly than had been hoped.

"Masks do matter," she said. "Masks will be one of the last measures lifted."

However, P.E.I. was to end all gathering and capacity limits as of midnight Tuesday. Morrison said cases are not growing as sharply as other jurisdictions.

"The fact that we are not seeing exponential growth may be attributed to the gradual easing of public health measures and that masks remain mandatory in indoor public places, including schools."

Other provinces have resisted calls to reimpose public health restrictions, including mask mandates, even as cases have risen in some parts of the country.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer for British Columbia, said the province is in a reasonably good position. Transmissions, hospitalizations and deaths are all down.

She said that means it's time to move away from public health orders. The province is, however, offering a fourth dose of vaccine to seniors. That is to start with residents of long-term care and assisted-living homes and, in the coming weeks, is to include people over age 70 in the community.

Quebec said it would also be expanding access to fourth doses, while Ontario said it would announce a plan Wednesday to start offering an additional booster to people 60 and older.

"Our medical advisers have recommended ... that we go to 60 to provide an added level of protection to the residents of Ontario," Health Minister Christine Elliott said at the provincial legislature.

Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Fourth doses in Ontario are already available to long-term care and retirement home residents, as well as to those who are immunocompromised.

The Ontario government's plan comes as hospitalizations there are also rising. The province reported 1,091 people in hospital with COVID-19, nearly 40 per cent higher than a week ago.

Ontario ended mask mandates in most public spaces two weeks ago, with the exception of public transit and health-care settings.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2022.

 With files from Kevin Bissett in Fredericton, Jacob Serebrin in Quebec and Holly McKenzie-Sutter in Toronto

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version misspelled Dr. Luc Boileau's first name.
CROSS LAKE, Man. - A Cree chief in northern Manitoba said Pope Francis fell short in his apology last week for the abuse Indigenous students faced in residential schools as the chief's First Nation prepared to investigate the site of where such an institution once stood.

CROSS LAKE, Man. - A Cree chief in northern Manitoba said Pope Francis fell short in his apology last week for the abuse Indigenous students faced in residential schools as the chief's First Nation prepared to investigate the site of where such an institution once stood.

Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias said he welcomed the apology, but was "saddened" the Pope did not acknowledge the discovery of what are believed to be unmarked graves at some former residential school sites in Canada.

The outbuildings of Cross Lake Residential School and church in Manitoba are shown in a 1947 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Societe historique de Saint-Boniface **MANDATORY CREDIT**

"It seems like the more grave sites that are found, people tend to accept it  people forget that these were children and that we have to make sure we find out what happened to these children," Monias said Tuesday.

Pimicikamak is one of a number of First Nations communities that are in the process of doing ground searches of former residential school sites.

It has worked with a researcher to identify the full and partial names of 85 children it believes died while attending residential institutions in the community, also known as Cross Lake.

The community found this information out last year. About a dozen of the children documented were only referred to as "boy" or "girl," says Monias.

"It was really devastating. We were glad to have (the names) but it triggered a lot of stuff for us  because when you read those things it has an effect on you," he said.

Earlier, the community was aware of 30 students who died while attending the school through documentation from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

Two schools operated in the community that were both destroyed by fires, Monias said. The community is aware of one mass grave for children who died in one of the fires in 1930, he said. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has documented that one teacher and 12 children died then.

A new school was rebuilt in 1940. By 1969, the schools were transferred to the province.

Monias says there are plans to search the sites with ground-penetrating radar as well as to review a collection of government, medical and church data to develop a database of student names.

"We want to know how many children went to school here, how many made it home and are there more missing children? And if they are missing, where are they buried?" he said.

"We need to tell the whole story."

Monias says the ground search hasn't started yet. But when it does, he expects it could take six months to a year.

The community also plans to build a permanent monument to honour former students, including Cross Lake children who attended other residential schools.

The First Nation is calling on all levels of government, along with Roman Catholic Church authorities in Manitoba and the Vatican, to join the investigation.

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The community has sent a letter inviting the Pope to visit Pimicikamak, says Monias. The Pope has said he plans to visit Canada, but no date has been set.

The school operated from 1912 to 1969 and was the main residential school for northern Manitoba.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2022.

The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program has a hotline to help residential school survivors and their relatives suffering with trauma invoked by the recall of past abuse. The number is 1-866-925-4419.

___

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
NEW YORK (AP)  When a scrappy group of former and current warehouse workers on Staten Island, New York went head-to-head with Amazon in a union election, many compared it to a David and Goliath battle.

Miembros del sindicato Amazon Labor Union (ALU) celebran tras una actualizacion durante los resultados de una votacion para sindicalizar un almacen de la compania en Staten Island, Nueva York, el 1 de abril del 2022. (AP Foto/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

NEW YORK (AP)  When a scrappy group of former and current warehouse workers on Staten Island, New York went head-to-head with Amazon in a union election, many compared it to a David and Goliath battle.

David won. And the stunning upset on Friday brought sudden exposure to the organizers and worker advocates who realized victory for the nascent Amazon Labor Union when so many other more established labor groups had failed before them, including most recently in Bessemer, Alabama.

Initial results in that election show the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union down by 118 votes, with the majority of Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer rejecting a bid to form a union. The final outcome is still up in the air with 416 outstanding challenged ballots hanging in the balance. A hearing to review the ballots is expected to begin in the coming weeks.

Chris Smalls, a fired Amazon worker who heads the ALU, has been critical of the RWDSUs campaign, saying it didnt have enough local support. Instead, he chose an independent path, believing workers organizing themselves would be more effective and undercut Amazons narrative that third party groups were driving union efforts.

They were not perceived as outsiders, so thats important, said Ruth Milkman, a sociologist of labor and labor movements at the City University of New York.

FILE - Staten Island-based Amazon.com Inc distribution center union organizer Chris Smalls, center, wearing baseball cap, celebrates with union members after getting the voting results to unionize workers at the Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, in New York, Friday, April 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File)

While the odds were stacked against both union drives, with organizers facing off against a deep-pocketed retailer with an uninterrupted track record of keeping unions out of its U.S. operations, ALU was decidedly underfunded and understaffed compared with the RWDSU. Smalls said as of early March, ALU had raised and spent about $100,000 and was operating on a week-to-week budget. The group doesnt have its own office space, and was relying on community groups and two unions to lend a hand. Legal help came from a lawyer offering pro-bono assistance.

Meanwhile, Amazon exercised all its might to fend off the organizing efforts, routinely holding mandatory meetings with workers to argue why unions are a bad idea. In a filing released last week, the company disclosed it spent about $4.2 million last year on labor consultants, who organizers say Amazon hired to persuade workers not to unionize.

Outmatched financially, Smalls and others relied on their ability to reach workers more personally by making TikTok videos, giving out free marijuana and holding barbecues and cookouts. A few weeks before the election, Smalls aunt cooked up soul food for a union potluck, including macaroni and cheese, collard greens, ham and baked chicken. Another pro-union worker got her neighbor to prepare Jollof rice, a West African dish organizers believed would help them make inroads with immigrant employees at the warehouse.

Kate Andrias, professor of law at Columbia University and an expert in labor law, noted a successful union  whether it is local or national  always has to be built by the workers themselves.

This was a clearer illustration of this," Andrias said. "The workers did this on their own.

Amazon's own missteps may have also contributed to the election outcome on Staten Island. Bert Flickinger III, a managing director at the consulting firm Strategic Resource Group, said derogatory comments by a company executive leaked from an internal meeting calling Smalls not smart or articulate and wanting to make him the face of the entire union/organizing movement backfired.

FILE - People arrive for work at the Amazon distribution center in the Staten Island borough of New York, Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. Amazon workers in Staten Island voted to unionize, 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. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

It came out as condescending and it helped to galvanize workers, said Flickinger, who consults with big labor unions.

In another example, Smalls and two organizers were arrested in February after authorities got a complaint about him trespassing at the Staten Island warehouse. The ALU used the arrests to its advantage days before the union election, teaming up with an art collective to project THEY ARRESTED YOUR CO-WORKERS in white letters on top of the warehouse. THEY FIRED SOMEONE YOU KNOW, another projection said.

A lot of workers that were on the fence, or even against the union, flipped because of that situation, Smalls said.

Experts note its difficult to know how much of ALUs grassroots nature contributed to its victory when compared with the RWDSU. Unlike New York, Alabama 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.

There was also a grassroots element to the union drive in Bessemer, which began when a group of Amazon workers there approached the RWDSU about organizing.

At a virtual press conference Thursday held by the RWDSU following the preliminary results in Alabama, president Stuart Appelbaum said he believed the election in New York benefited because it was held in a union-friendly state and Amazon workers on Staten Island voted in person, not by mail as was done in Alabama.

Despite some friction between the two labor groups in the leadup to the elections, both have adopted a friendlier public relationship in the past few days. Appelbaum praised Smalls during Thursday's press conference, calling him a charismatic, smart, dedicated leader. Likewise, Smalls offered the RWDSU words of encouragement after their initial election loss.

For now, ALU is focusing on its win. Organizers say Amazon workers from more than 20 states have reached out to them to ask about organizing their warehouses. But they have their hands full with their own warehouse, and a neighboring facility slated to have a separate union election later this month.

Organizers are also preparing for a challenging negotiation process for a labor contract. The group has demanded Amazon officials to come to the table in early May. But experts say the retail giant, which has signaled plans to challenge the election results, will likely drag its feet.

The number one thing is going to be fighting for the contract, Smalls said. We have to start that process right away because we know the longer drawn out the contract is, workers will lose hope and interest.

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.

Meanwhile, some workers are waiting to see what happens.

Tinea Greenway, a warehouse worker from Brooklyn, said before the election, she felt pressured by the messages she kept hearing both from Amazon and ALU organizers, and just wanted to make the decision herself. When the time came, she voted against the union because of a bad experience shes had in the past with another union who she says didnt fight for her.

They won, she said of the ALU. So lets see if they live up to the agreement of what they said they were going to do.

____

Follow Haleluya Hadero: http://twitter.com/masayett

Follow Anne DInnocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio
TORONTO - Canadian miner Kinross Gold Corp. is selling all of its assets in Russia as a growing number of companies withdraw from the country following the invasion of Ukraine.

The corporate logo of Kinross Gold Corp. is shown. Canadian miner Kinross Gold Corp. is selling all its assets in Russia after suspending its operations in the country last month following the invasion of Ukraine. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

TORONTO - Canadian miner Kinross Gold Corp. is selling all of its assets in Russia as a growing number of companies withdraw from the country following the invasion of Ukraine.

The Toronto-based gold miner said Tuesday it's selling 100 per cent of its Russian assets to the Highland Gold Mining group of companies and its affiliates for US$680 million in cash.

Kinross owns the Kupol underground mine in the country's eastern Chukotka region and surrounding exploration licenses as well as the Udinsk development-stage project in the Khabarovsk region.

The company said Highland Gold is one of the largest gold mining companies in Russia with mining operations in both of the areas where Kinross has assets.

The transaction is subject to the approval of the Russian government.

Mike Parkin, head of mining research at National Bank Financial, said in a client note that obtaining approval from the Russian government is a potentially significant hurdle.

Still, Parkin said in the note that selling the assets to a third-party mining company is positive as it eliminates potential environmental risks associated with the sale.

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RBC Dominion Securities Inc. analyst Josh Wolfson called the transaction fair.

In a note to clients, he said the closing of the deal and the ability for Kinross to receive funds under current sanctions is uncertain and carries above-average risk.

Kinross is the latest in a raft of companies to exit Russia following its unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

It's also one of the more significant withdrawals from the country, as other companies have largely paused or suspended operations but maintained assets on the ground.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:K)
Following the tragic events in the suburbs of Kyiv, German politicians are actively discussing the possibility of imposing an immediate embargo on energy supplies from Russia, Deutsche Welle reported.

April 5, 2022, 10:54 Germany not ready to impose immediate embargo on Russia energy

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 5, ARTSAKHPRESS: The German government still believes that such a step should not be taken, fearing that it could have dire consequences for the economy and society, according to dpa.

The co-leader of the Social Democratic Party, Lars Klingbeil, considers the immediate imposition of the Russian natural gas embargo wrong.

According to the Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, the German authorities work every day to become independent from the Russian oil, coal, and natural gas. According to him, Germany at the time mainly stopped producing its own oil and natural gas, giving up suppliers other than Russia, as well as "energy supply terminals" (liquefied natural gas).

"Now we are restoring all this and turning in another direction," Habeck added.

In her turn, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht stated the need to discuss the issue of the embargo with European partners. The politician called on the other EU countries to react quickly to what happened in Kyiv, urging to discuss further sanctions against Russia as soon as possible.

The head of the Bundestag Committee on European Union Affairs, Anton Hofreiter, spoke in favor of the embargo.

According to Brussels-based economic think tank Bruegel, EU countries pay about 380 million euros a day for Russian natural gas, and about 360 million euros for oil.
BEIJING (AP)  The COVID-19 outbreak in Chinas largest metropolis of Shanghai remains extremely grim amid an ongoing lockdown confining around 26 million people to their homes, a city official said Tuesday.

A security wearing a face mask to help protect from the coronavirus aligns the barricades at the Galaxy Soho commercial office building which was locked down for health monitoring following a COVID-19 case detected in the area, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Beijing. China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest city. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

BEIJING (AP)  The COVID-19 outbreak in Chinas largest metropolis of Shanghai remains "extremely grim" amid an ongoing lockdown confining around 26 million people to their homes, a city official said Tuesday.

The director of Shanghai's working group on epidemic control, Gu Honghui, was quoted by state media as saying that the outbreak in the city was "still running at a high level."

"The situation is extremely grim," Gu said.

China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from around the country to aid the city, including 2,000 from the military, and is mass testing residents, some of whom have been locked down for weeks.

Residents wearing face masks to help protect from the coronavirus talk to a health worker and they line up to get their throat swab at a coronavirus testing site, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Beijing. China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest city. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Most of eastern Shanghai, which was supposed to reopen last Friday, remained locked down along with the western half of the city.

Shanghai recorded another 13,354 cases on Monday  the vast majority of them asymptomatic  bringing the city's total to more than 73,000 since the latest wave of infections began last month. No deaths have been ascribed to the outbreak driven by the omicron BA.2 variant, which is much more infectious but also less lethal than the previous delta strain.

A separate outbreak continues to rage in the northeastern province of Jilin and the capital, Beijing, also saw an additional nine cases, just one of them asymptomatic. Workers shut down an entire shopping center in the city where a case had been detected.

While China's vaccination rate hovers around 90%, its domestically produced inactivated virus vaccines are seen as weaker than the mRNA vaccines such as those produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna that are used abroad, as well as in the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macao. Vaccination rates among the elderly are also much lower than the population at large, with only around half of those over 80 fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, complaints have arisen in Shanghai over difficulties obtaining food and daily necessities, and shortages of medical workers, volunteers and beds in isolation wards where tens of thousands are being kept for observation.

Shanghai has converted an exhibition hall and other facilities into massive isolation centers where people with mild or no symptoms are housed in a sea of beds separated by temporary partitions.

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Public outrage has been fueled by reports and video clips posted on the internet documenting the death of a nurse who was denied admittance to her own hospital under COVID-19 restrictions, and infant children separated from their parents.

Circulation of footage showing multiple infants kept in cots prompted the citys Public Health Clinical Center to issue a statement saying the children were being well looked after and had been in the process of being moved to a new facility when the footage was taken.

At a virtual town hall Monday, the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai warned of possible family separations amid the lockdown, but said it had an "extremely limited ability" to intervene in such cases.

Concern is growing about the potential economic impact on Chinas financial capital, also a major shipping and manufacturing center. Most public transport has been suspended and non-essential businesses closed, although airports and train stations remain open and the citys port and some major industries such as car plants continue to operate.

International events in the city have been canceled and three out of five foreign companies with operations in Shanghai say they have cut this years sales forecasts, according to a survey conducted last week by the American Chamber of Commerce. One-third of the 120 companies that responded to the survey said they have delayed investments.

Despite those concerns and growing public frustration, China says it is sticking to its hardline "zero-tolerance" approach mandating lockdowns, mass testing and the compulsory isolation of all suspected cases and close contacts.
Last year, Tivona Ko applied for over 100 jobs and ended up taking phone interviews with around 25 companies. Very few of these employers had included salary ranges in their job postings.

Last year, Tivona Ko applied for over 100 jobs and ended up taking phone interviews with around 25 companies. Very few of these employers had included salary ranges in their job postings.

It becomes taxing to sell yourself but not know what you are getting in return for the position, said the 24-year-old Torontonian, who eventually landed a job in talent acquisition.

A help wanted sign outside a store offering several positions is seen Wednesday, November 17, 2021 in Montreal as employers deal with the labour shortage.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Ko says she wouldn't waste time applying for the lower-paying job if two similar positions pay $36,000 and $60,000, given that she needs a minimum of $60,000 to live somewhat comfortably in Toronto.

In addition to helping candidates ensure a job is financially feasible, pay transparency helps reduce some of the stress for applicants during the job application process. It has benefits for employers and current employees as well, since uninterested candidates screen themselves out before the interview process begins and those on staff can find out if their own compensation is in line with incoming employees.

Since most employers Ko saw didnt offer salary information on their job ads, Ko did her own market research and chatted with friends to make an educated guess at what the appropriate salary range might be.

On May 15, employers in New York City must provide a good-faith salary range when advertising job opportunities. Amanda Hudson, founder of Toronto HR consultancy A Modern Way to Work, argues that Canadian employers would do well to follow suit.

Many candidates stress about the final salary negotiation stage when the number is unknown, said Hudson.

They worry about stating a number that's lower than what they could have negotiated, or they worry if they say something too high, they'll lose the position. Having a clear amount in the job posting reduces this uncertainty and lets candidates focus on what matters in the process.

Pay transparency also generates goodwill among prospective hires, Hudson said, especially since its a candidates market right now.

If a company comes out of the gate with transparency around the role, it starts to build trust with employees very early in the process before they even get hired.

According to Hudson, current employees also benefit from pay transparency because it creates a more equitable internal compensation system with the organization. When companies post salaries within a narrowly defined range, theyre providing data and insights to everyone else working in the company.

It promotes this level of equity because companies are not going to post a salary if they know that someones being deeply underpaid, for example, she said. Usually with our clients thats the initial resistance.

In her own consulting business, Hudson declines to take on recruiting gigs unless clients agree to post a salary range in their ads.

When clients realize theres pay inequity in their own company, theyll often internally correct someones salary before making the posting, she said.

Pay transparency also gives employers a leg up amid labour shortages and a war for talent.

In the current environment, the recruitment process needs to move quickly, Hudson said. When employers are specific about a salary range, it saves them time in the recruitment process because it deters applicants with different salary expectations from applying.

If youre a company thats hidden the salary and only makes an offer after spending extensive time reviewing applications, screening and interviewing, the whole deal can fall apart if the offer is less than the candidate needs or expected, Hudson said.

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If you share the salary in advance, however, theres often no need to negotiate. And, if there is negotiating, its usually within a $10,000 range, which is often doable for companies, she said.

Showing pay upfront also helps reduce unconscious bias in the hiring process, she added. It shows youve decided on what the job is worth, rather than what the candidate is worth, which also helps establish pay equity in your company.

Hudsons rule of thumb for listing salaries is to provide a maximum $5,000 range if not the exact number itself for positions under $80,000. If the job falls within $80,000 to $130,000 per year, Hudson recommends listing up to a $10,000 range.

For larger salaries, Hudson might include a wider salary range since candidates could have a more extensive range of experience. Theres more room to play, she said.

But, when it comes to lower salaries, the more specific the better.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2022.
BERLIN (AP)  The German government said Tuesday it has resolved a long-running spat that will allow the construction of more than 1,000 onshore wind turbines, boosting efforts to expand the use of renewable energy.

BERLIN (AP)  The German government said Tuesday it has resolved a long-running spat that will allow the construction of more than 1,000 onshore wind turbines, boosting efforts to expand the use of renewable energy.

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The economy and transport ministries said in a joint statement that a deal has been struck to amend safety rules for weather radars and ground-based radio beacons for aircraft navigation.

Officials said this would allow wind turbines with an installed capacity of about 5 Gigawatts to be built in regions where they were previously banned.

Germany had some 28,000 onshore wind turbines at the end of last year. The center-left government that came to power last year has pledged to massively expand the use of renewable energy to reduce Germany's greenhouse gas emissions and reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies in the wake of Russia's war in Ukraine.

The Cabinet is expected to agree on numerous additional measures Wednesday to expand wind and solar power use in Germany.

___

Follow all AP stories about climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate.
OTTAWA - One of Canada's most influential business lobby groups is making an unprecedented request for increased defence spending in Thursday's federal budget because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Defence Minister Anita Anand holds a press conference in Ottawa on Monday, March 28, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - One of Canada's most influential business lobby groups is making an unprecedented request for increased defence spending in Thursday's federal budget because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Business Council of Canada says it is time for Canada to commit to matching the NATO target on defence spending of two per cent of gross domestic product.

Canada's level currently stands at less than 1.4 per cent but has been pressured for years by the United States and other NATO allies to boost spending to the two per cent target.

In a March 15 letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, the council said the Russian invasion is forcing the world to shift its focus from domestic priorities to defence and security.

The council, formerly known as the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, is the advocacy group for the country's top business leaders and has not traditionally pushed for defence spending during past budget cycles.

President Goldy Hyder says it is important for the budget to signal a commitment to NATO and to embrace a larger global economic plan to show how Canada can address the volatile international landscape spawned by the Russian war on Ukraine.

"The war brought out the question of 'OK, so what's Canada doing?' And so, there we have some making up to do," Hyder said in an interview.

"And especially on the budget, I think the commitment to NATO, and demonstrating that it's more than just directional, is going to be important."

The letter refers to two new major spending commitments by Norway and Germany to meet the two per cent target.

Germany's commitment is particularly significant because the country had for decades maintained a less aggressive military posture that grew out of its Second World War history. Berlin has shifted its foreign policy by supplying weapons to Ukraine fighters.

Some Liberal cabinet ministers have publicly acknowledged the significance of the German shift on military spending and dropped hints this could pave the way for more by Canada.

Freeland was in Berlin last month to meet with officials there about their new defence spending commitments. Freeland said during that trip that she wanted to have some "firsthand conversations" about the shifting ground. "And certainly, defence spending is something we have to look at carefully."

The Conservative opposition reiterated its call for increased defence spending Tuesday.

"With the escalating war in Ukraine and threats to our national security around the world, Conservatives want to see a budget that ensures Canada re-establishes its position as a trusted global security partner and a reliable member of NATO," said the statement from defence critic Kerry-Lynne Findlay and procurement critic Pierre Paul-Hus.

On Tuesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh reiterated his view that the two per cent target is "arbitrary" but that the military does need further investments given what happened in Ukraine.

"When it comes to what we expect in the budget, we think that we've laid out our concerns," Singh said. "I expect that the government will heed our concerns, but also acknowledge that we need to invest in supporting the troops that do so much work for us."

The Liberals struck a deal last month to secure NDP support on key votes like the budget, in exchange for spending on some NDP priorities, and Hyder doesn't want that to derail necessary spending on defence.

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He said government appeared to be on track after the last federal election to introduce a budget focused on recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, and then "boom, the war happens," triggering widespread concerns over energy supplies, food security and the military.

"Now we have a new government or at least have a new formation of a government. I don't know how much influence that's going to have on the budget because that looks like a spending agenda here," said Hyder.

Now, Canada and its allies need to face the fact that Russia is a nuclear power led by an unpredictable and potentially unstable president in Vladimir Putin, he said.

"The nuclear option is what everybody is what everybody's scared of. He's a madman," he said.

"We need a long-term, ambitious, integrated strategy that includes our foreign policy agenda, our trade agenda, our natural resource agenda, our human resource agenda, our relationship-with-the-United States agenda. These are not one offs."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2022.
Millennials may still feel quite young (despite those pesky gray hairs and less-than-fine lines), but in so many ways, we have adulted. So its time for our money management to grow up a bit, too.

FILE- In this June 15, 2018, file photo, twenty dollar bills are counted in North Andover, Mass. Youve mastered the basics of money management  the bank accounts, the emergency fund, the 401(k) you contribute enough to so you get your employer match. Maybe youve even dabbled in investing, but otherwise youve been on autopilot for a few years. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

Millennials may still feel quite young (despite those pesky gray hairs and less-than-fine lines), but in so many ways, we have adulted. So its time for our money management to grow up a bit, too.

Your financial to-do list is small but mighty in your 20s. Setting up automatic transfers to a high-yield savings account, contributing enough to your 401(k) to get the full employer match and paying down high-interest debt can take you quite far.

Now, you can do more to propel yourself to financial success in your 40s and beyond.

MAKE USE OF A HIGHER CREDIT SCORE

You dont have to treat a high credit score like a precious work of art. Good credit can qualify you for better borrowing terms, so put that to work.

Try to cut back on the cost of borrowing. In terms of bang for your buck, refinancing is an important thing you should be doing, says Priya Malani, founder and CEO of Stash Wealth, a financial advisory firm in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you can move even a quarter of a percent on a really large mortgage, thats going to save you tens of thousands of dollars.

Get a better deal on high-interest credit card debt. If your financial situation has improved, you may qualify for a balance transfer credit card offering a year or more at 0% interest.

If you dont have credit card debt, but youre still using that barebones card you got at 21, switch to a card that earns cash back or travel rewards. However, leave that old credit card open and use it once in a while to keep it active. (The average age of your accounts is a factor in your credit score s, and the older, the better.)

MATCH INVESTMENTS TO A VARIETY OF GOALS

Here are two ways you can up the ante on your investing. First, if your employer offers a retirement plan with a match, and youve been contributing just enough to get that match, consider contributing more. A rule of thumb is to save 10% to 15% of your pretax income toward retirement.

Next, plot out your intermediate-term goals for the next five to 15 years. You can invest for these goals using other kinds of accounts, such as taxable brokerage accounts and 529s, to help fund early retirement, save for your childs education or plan for another large expense.

Money for short-term goals (within five years or less) shouldnt be invested. Instead, a high-yield savings account is a more appropriate place to hold that money until you need it.

THINK ABOUT HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CAREER  AND YOUR LIFE

If you spent the start of your career rising and grinding, you likely had little energy to think about what kind of work (and life) would actually bring you the most joy. When youre financially stable and advancing in your career, you can begin to think about what comes next for you.

Shehara L. Wooten, certified financial planner and founder of Your Story Financial, a financial advisory firm in Dallas, says you dont need to wait for retirement to do the things you truly enjoy.

You may even want to, if youve planned properly, take some time off, she says. If thats not something youre able to do, take some time to find out how you can get paid more, how you can really be appreciated for the work that you do.

Wooten also recommends seeking the help of a financial advisor to discuss what kind of lifestyle you want to have in retirement and the savings you need to accumulate to get there. You may have a skill set that can translate to a higher-paying career, which will help you accomplish your goals more quickly.

PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES

What worked when you were 25 and single isnt going to cut it when youre 35 with two kids and a mortgage. Here are some ways to protect your family:

 INSURANCE: Malani recommends a term life insurance plan if you own a home with someone else, someone is dependent on you for support or you have a co-signer on one of your loans.

 ESTATE PLANNING: Talk to an estate attorney about crafting a will, naming guardians for your kids, appointing a medical power of attorney and other scary-yet-necessary details.

 UPDATE BENEFICIARIES: Revisit who you listed as your beneficiaries on your bank and investment accounts. If that information is outdated and you were to pass away, your money wont go to the right person.

GIVE TO OTHERS

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As your salary grows, it becomes easier to meet your needs and still have money left over each month. Some of that money can be budgeted toward meaningful causes. Estate planning can also help you map out how youd like to donate money or valuable possessions to charity.

I like to have people write out their story and go to the end of their life, Wooten says. What do you want that to look like? What do you want people to say about you? What do you want your legacy to entail?

_______________________________________

This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance site NerdWallet. The content is for educational and informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. Sara Rathner is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: srathner@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @SaraKRathner.

RELATED LINKS:

NerdWallet: How to Invest Your Savings for Short-Term or Long-Term Goals https://bit.ly/nerdwallet-invest-savings-short-intermediate-long-term-goals
One of Canadas largest furniture makers plans to create 300 Winnipeg-based jobs by the end of 2022.

One of Canadas largest furniture makers plans to create 300 Winnipeg-based jobs by the end of 2022.

Palliser Furniture has seen a dramatic boost in sales over the past couple years due to the pandemic, new tariffs on foreign imports and a widespread increase in environmental consciousness.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Palliser president and CEO, Peter Tielmann.

"Theres a re-shifting  I would say onshoring  process going on where retailers want to get more products made domestically, or on the continent, rather than offshore," said Peter Tielmann, Pallisers president and CEO.

The company is looking to address Canadian demand in Winnipeg, Pallisers home base. Its expanding its near 500,000 square feet of manufacturing space  where the brands chairs, sectionals and other wares are made  with another 130,000 square foot facility (costing roughly $20 million).

Palliser has already begun hiring, Tielmann said. The company will continue to recruit production staff, supervisors and engineers, among others, in the coming months.

Its adding over 400 jobs at its plants in Mexico to meet sales in the United States, Tielmann said.

Orders for Palliser products jumped 15 to 20 per cent when Canada imposed tariffs on Chinese and Vietnamese furniture imports, Tielmann said.

"Weve seen an increase right away," he said.

Theres a re-shifting  I would say onshoring  process going on where retailers want to get more products made domestically, or on the continent, rather than offshore.  Peter Tielmann, Palliser president and CEO

In 2020, Palliser and other companies initiated an investigation by the Canadian Border Services Agency into "dumping" practices by the eastern countries.

They argued China and Vietnam were exporting goods to Canada for much cheaper prices than the countries local market prices.

"We said, Look, if nothing changes, we cannot stay here," Tielmann said. "Its impossible, because were dealing with unfair trade practices. It doesnt matter how low we drop our prices, we cant fight against it."

Last September, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal ruled in favour of Canadian furniture manufacturers. The independent quasi-judicial body said such practices coming out of China and Vietnam had "caused injury to the domestic industry." Canada imposed tariffs.

Tariffs on Chinese and Vietnamese companies importing upholstered furniture could climb as high as 204 per cent.

The downside is that, for people buying furniture, theyll probably have to pay more.  Barry Prentice, supply chain management professor at the University of Manitoba

Last May  before Canadas final decision  Ottawa imposed tariffs of up to 295 per cent on imported upholstered furniture from the two countries.

"The downside is that, for people buying furniture, theyll probably have to pay more," said Barry Prentice, a supply chain management professor at the University of Manitoba.

The Retail Council of Canada vocally opposed the new tariffs last year.

"On the one side, you could say, Oh my goodness, I have to pay more for my table, but on the other side, weve got fair competition, so people can have jobs here in Winnipeg too," Prentice said.

He called Pallisers Monday announcement "good news for North America".

"Three hundred jobs here in Winnipeg, thats a good boost to our economy," Prentice said. "Three hundred jobs means 300 families."

New tariffs are rare since the world has largely shifted to free trade, Prentice said. Tariffs often arent considered good policy  consumers pay more  but in some cases, they have their role, he said.

Three hundred jobs here in Winnipeg, thats a good boost to our economy  Barry Prentice

"If you need tariffs to always sustain your income (and) you never export anywhere else, (you) basically become hidden behind a tariff wall," Prentice said.

A shift to reducing carbon emissions has also favoured Palliser, Tielmann said. More consumers are looking to buy local.

"If you bring products, bulky items like furniture from across the ocean, thats a huge carbon footprint," Tielmann said. "Making it closer to market produces a much lesser carbon footprint."

Sustainability and being climate conscious are big drivers of Pallisers work, Tielmann said. The company aims to build products that last a lifetime, leading to less being thrown away, he added.

Pallisers sales are up compared to pre-pandemic, Tielmann said. The climb began as people settled in at home and started changing their interiors.

"The question were asking ourselves (is) How long will this last?" Tielmann said.

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Palliser is expanding because of shifts to onshoring rather than pandemic trends; the latter is temporary, Tielmann added.

The company employs around 4,300 people, including about 1,200 in Winnipeg, where the company is headquartered.

Global volatility and the rising costs of goods  which trickles down to the customer  could damper future sales, Tielmann said.

Still, Canadas furniture manufacturing sector is "back to reinvestment and growth and also innovation," he said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
A Winnipeg med-tech startup called Neuroptek is developing a ground-breaking device that would allow eye exams to be done remotely using an inexpensive device and a smartphone app.

A Winnipeg med-tech startup called Neuroptek is developing a ground-breaking device that would allow eye exams to be done remotely using an inexpensive device and a smartphone app.

The married couple who are founders of the device called Eye Mirage, are currently doing some final stage coding with the help of information technology, management and security students at Red River College Polytech through RRCs Ace Project Space. The program links companies or organizations that need technical assistance with students in information technology programs at RRC.

Drs. Neda Anssari and Behzad Mansouri, who both did their medical degrees at universities in Iran and who both became professors at the University of Manitoba, said the connection with RRC has been a positive element of the development of the technology.

I cant emphasize enough that our goal is to make this an affordable tool, Mansouri said.

Neuroptek and the other 16 companies currently working with a total of 75 students at Ace Project, do not have to pay anything to be involved in the project.

Ralph Dueck, RRCs ACE Project Space Coordinator, said it was able to obtain a grant from Mitacs, the national non-profit that funds all sorts of research in partnership with Canadian academic institutions, to pay some of the students on the project.

At least two of them will take on paid employment with Neuroptek when the work assignment part of the curriculum ends at the end of April.

Justin Horton, a business information technology student, said, The experience Im getting on this Neuroptek project will be 100 per cent appropriate when I go out looking for a job.

Anssari said the connection with the Ace Project was economically excellent for the development of the business  since it was work they did not have to pay for  and the fact that it will also aid in students development was also an attractive feature for them.

While the real-world work experience may be beneficial for career development for the student, Dueck said that is not a prime concern for the college.

When we are taking on projects, among everything else, the number-one concern for us is to provide the best, most meaningful educational opportunity for the students, he said.

In 2020, both Anssari and Mansouri left the U of M and started the Brain Vision and Concussion Clinic in Winnipeg.

Anssari, who is a neurologist and concussion subspecialist, said that traumatic brain injuries like concussions are a leading cause of death and disabilities and are very challenging to diagnose.

It is an invisible disability as there is no reliable objective measurements to diagnose concussions, she said. It is mostly based on the patients medical history or bystanders at the scene of the action. And when a person sustains a concussion it puts them at greater risk for having another one.

She said that they know that about 70 per cent of patients with concussion have some eye movement abnormality after the impact.

Neuropteks Eye Mirage will be able to accurately measure and record these abnormalities and hopefully diagnose the concussion sooner.

In addition to concussion diagnosis, the Eye Mirage can also perform regular eye exams using the smartphone as well as detection of conditions like cataracts and glaucoma. The thinking is that the device will have a great impact on diagnosing vision problems especially for people living in remote communities with minimal exposure to eye doctors.

Mansouri said there was a recent study done in suburban Toronto that found 25 per cent of students tested had some vision impairment requiring glasses.

And that is in the suburbs of a city like Toronto, he said suggesting that in remote communities diagnosing vision impairment might find even more incidents.

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Anssari and Mansouri hope to do a clinical study on their device this fall for a commercial launch next year. They plan to market the diagnostic device in Canada first but have a clear idea that it could definitely have a global market reach.

Meanwhile, the handful of students working on the project are set to graduate this spring.

The project not only expose them to information regarding vision health but they learned coding in a language they had not been exposed to before.

Kuldeep Kaur Sandhu, an information security student, said the work with Neuroptek will ease her path into a professional career.

It has been very beneficial to be involved in this project, she said. It is such a wonderful experience.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
TORONTO - Scotiabank faced criticism for not moving fast enough on climate change at the banks annual general meeting, while prepared remarks for chief executive Brian Porter, who missed the meeting due to COVID-19, focused especially on the economic challenges faced by Canadians.

A branch of Scotiabank is pictured in downtown Toronto on April 10, 2018. Scotiabanks climate change commitments and net-zero approach was a recurring theme brought up by shareholders and proxy holders at the banks 190th annual general meeting (AGM) this morning. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO - Scotiabank faced criticism for not moving fast enough on climate change at the banks annual general meeting, while prepared remarks for chief executive Brian Porter, who missed the meeting due to COVID-19, focused especially on the economic challenges faced by Canadians.

Speaking at the bank's 190th AGM Tuesday at the Scotiabank Centre, the Trottier Family Foundation, a Scotiabank shareholder, commended the bank for acknowledging climate change as a top risk, but said it was not acting with enough urgency.

"Last year, Scotia's financing of fossil fuels increased by 87 per cent or $14 billion in absolute numbers to a staggering $30 billion," Eric St. Pierre, executive director of the Trottier Family Foundation, said in the meeting. "While on paper commitments are being made, the reality is, fossil fuels are being financed massively."

Following this, a proxy holder brought up the bank's approach to Scope three greenhouse-gas emissions and what they believe is a lack of reduction targets in the bank's net-zero plan for this emissions group across all sectors, but especially for the oil and gas sector. Scope three emissions cover indirect emissions outside the direct control of a company.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace activists attempted to disrupt the meeting, criticizing Scotiabank for their approach to fossil fuels and membership in the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), an oil lobby group. The bank and lobby group held an oil and gas conference together in Calgary on Tuesday.

The company has however made numerous climate change commitments. In March, Scotiabank released its initial targets for achieving net-zero emissions, which includes reducing the emissions intensity, but not absolute emissions, of its oil and gas and its power and utilities portfolios.

The bank also highlighted in its annual ESG report that it had achieved a 25 per cent reduction of its scope one and two greenhouse-gas emissions, which measure emissions companies have more direct control over, four years ahead of the bank's 2025 target.

"ESG is built into our business strategy...and how we operate as a bank," said chief financial officer Raj Viswanathan.

Because Porter was absent after testing positive for COVID-19, Viswanathan delivered a condensed version of his prepared remarks which covered inflation pressures on Canadians, growing the economy and labour shortages, as well as criticizing the proposed federal bank tax expected as part of Thursday's federal budget, calling it "a knee-jerk reaction that sends the wrong message to the global investment community."

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On boosting the Canadian economy and improving living standards, Porter suggested in his prepared remarks that Canada should strike a modern version of the Macdonald Commission, which he explains opened up new trade and export markets, stimulated new businesses and industries and ushered in "a new era of growth and prosperity for Canadians."

Porter had also planned to talk about Scotiabank's confidence in its investments in digital, intentions to fund organic growth and the improvement in the company's market valuation.

Aside from Scotiabank's carbon footprint, shareholders also raised the issues of fees tied to discount brokerage Scotia iTrade, the bank's Chilean operations and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BNS)

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version had the incorrect first name for Scotiabank's board chair.
CALGARY - Suncor Energy Inc. is getting out of the wind and solar business, even as a new UN report on climate change says wind and solar technologies are the two best avenues to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and limit the planet's warming to a critical 1.5C.

A processing unit at Suncor Fort Hills facility in Fort McMurray, Alta., on September 10, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

CALGARY - Suncor Energy Inc. is getting out of the wind and solar business, even as a new UN report on climate change says wind and solar technologies are the two best avenues to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and limit the planet's warming to a critical 1.5C.

The Calgary-based energy giant  which has been involved in renewable energy production for two decades  announced Monday its plans to divest its wind and solar assets to focus on hydrogen and renewable fuels instead.

In 2002, Suncor partnered with Enbridge to build one of the first renewable energy projects in Canada. Since then, Suncor has developed eight wind power projects in three provinces  Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ontario.

But in a news release, the company  which has set a goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050  said it will sell those assets in order to bring more "fit and focus" to its portfolio.

"By doing so, we use our strengths, competitive advantages and resources to drive shareholder returns and value over the long term and help us meet our emissions reduction targets," said Suncor chief executive Mark Little in a news release.

Moving forward, Suncor plans to focus on "targeted activities" which include partnering with ATCO Ltd. on a project to build a hydrogen facility near Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. The proposed project, which was announced last spring and for which the partners expect to make a final investment decision in 2024, could produce more than 300,000 tonnes per year of clean hydrogen.

Suncor said it is also focused on renewable fuel technologies. The company is one of the founding investors in LanzaJet, a technology company that uses ethanol produced from corn or sugar cane as a feedstock to produce sustainable aviation fuel. (Suncor has committed to building and operating a commercial production facility somewhere in North America for LanzaJet).

It has also invested in Enerkem Inc., which operates a plant near Edmonton that turns non-recyclable, non-compostable mixed municipal solid waste into cellulosic ethanol, a popular biofuel.

The company said it wants to focus on areas that it believes "are complementary to and help decarbonize" its base business.

But Greenpeace Canada chief energy strategist Keith Stewart said the timing of Suncor's announcement is akin to "buying Blockbuster stock the day Netflix launches an IPO."

He pointed out that a new report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released Monday identifies wind and solar as the two most essential technologies in the battle against global warming, with the greatest potential for delivering the most extensive potential cuts to greenhouse gas emissions by replacing fossil fuels.

The IPCC report also stated that the costs of wind, solar and battery storage have come down so much in the last decade that the technologies are already commercially viable, giving the world an achievable pathway to halve its carbon emissions by 2030 through rapid deployment.

Stewart said hydrogen and biofuel technologies aren't anywhere near as advanced as wind and solar, but oil and gas companies like them because they don't require as much change to their business models. Biofuels, for example, can be used in existing engines as a top-up to regular gasoline and diesel, while hydrogen can be delivered in a pipeline just like oil and gas can.

"But that's not the future of energy," Stewart said. "The IPCC report was basically flashing a big red strobe light at (Suncor), saying wind and solar are where we need to be investing, and they just looked away, put on their sunglasses and said 'no, we're sticking with what we know.'"

Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers board chair and Crescent Point Energy Corp. chief executive Craig Bryksa said the ultimate goal of the Canadian energy sector is to advance production while reducing its overall emissions intensity. Some companies choose to do that by producing or purchasing renewable power while others focus on reducing carbon emissions directly from their oil business.

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"Individual companies make individual decisions. There are some other companies within our sector and within our membership that are picking up more renewables," Bryksa told reporters during the Scotiabank CAPP Energy Symposium on Tuesday.

"But what I would say is the sector as a whole...is very, very good and very efficient at producing oil and natural gas. And we do it in what we believe is the most environmentally friendly fashion that there is."

Suncor said moving forward it will continue to participate in many aspects of the electricity value chain, including producing power through its integrated cogeneration operations, through power marketing and trading, by providing customers with EV charging and potentially procuring renewable power through power purchase agreements.

Monday's announced exit from wind and solar marks Suncor's second major asset divestiture announcement in recent months. Last year, the company announced plans to divest its Norway exploration and production assets as well as the planned sale of its Rosebank interest in U.K. North Sea. That disposition process is underway and expected to close later this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:SU)
VATICAN CITY (AP)  The former head of the Vaticans financial watchdog testified Tuesday that the agency launched an intelligence investigation into a suspicious London real estate deal after it learned about it but had no power to stop the Vatican secretariat of state from concluding it.

FILE - Rene Bruelhart speaks during a press conference at the Vatican, on May 29, 2015. The former head of the Vaticans financial watchdog testified Tuesday that the agency launched an intelligence investigation into a suspicious London real estate deal after it learned about it but had no power or authority to stop the Vatican secretariat of state from concluding it. The testimony by defendant Rene Bruelhart in the Vaticans big fraud and extortion trial again put the spotlight on Pope Francis and the No. 2 in the secretariat of state, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, who Bruelhart said made clear the deal had to be concluded under all circumstances. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

VATICAN CITY (AP)  The former head of the Vaticans financial watchdog testified Tuesday that the agency launched an intelligence investigation into a suspicious London real estate deal after it learned about it but had no power to stop the Vatican secretariat of state from concluding it.

The testimony by defendant Rene Bruelhart in the Vaticans big fraud and extortion trial again put the spotlight on Pope Francis and the No. 2 in the secretariat of state, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, who Bruelhart said made clear the deal had to be concluded under any circumstances.

The Vaticans payment of 15 million euros to Italian broker Gianluigi Torzi to get full ownership of the building is at the heart of the trial into the London property, which has grown to include other financial charges. Prosecutors accuse 10 people, including Torzi, other Italian money managers and Vatican officials, of defrauding the Holy See and extorting it of millions, with losses totaling 217 million euros.

Several witnesses have previously asserted that Francis approved the payment to Torzi, with one saying the pope was so pleased with the outcome of the deal that he paid for a celebratory dinner on May 2, 2019 for the Vatican officials who negotiated it.

The payout to Torzi was deemed necessary because the Vatican secretariat of state had signed contracts with him at the end of 2018 giving him full control over the building. When the Vatican realized that it didnt own the building, a decision was made to negotiate an exit deal for Torzi rather than sue.

The concern in the Vatican was that Torzi might sell the building, leaving the Vatican empty handed after investing 350 million euros into it, and that the Holy See was in a weak position to try to sue, given the contracts it had signed. Pena Parra was also concerned about reputational damage if the losses became public, Bruelhart testified.

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Bruelhart is accused of abuse of office for having allegedly failed as president of the Financial Information Authority to file a formal complaint with Vatican prosecutors when he learned about the London deal on March 7, 2019, and of having failed to stop the payment to Torzi.

Bruelhart testified Tuesday that the agency had no authority to supervise the secretariat of state, much less stop it from paying off Torzi. But he said the agency promptly did its job when the secretariat of state filed a suspicious transaction report about the deal on March 22, 2019.

He said the same day he learned from Pena Parra about the deal on March 7, 2019, he met with Francis and the pope confirmed the need to help the secretariat of state. He said he briefed Francis on the progress of the agencys intelligence investigation after it was launched later that month.

Later, in April of that year, the Vaticans London-based law firm advised the Holy See of the risks if it wanted to continue negotiating an exit deal with Torzi. But Bruelhart told the Vatican tribunal: The decision was clearly and exclusively with the secretariat of state. AIF had no supervision over the secretariat of state.

And he said in his meetings with Pena Parra on April 16, 2019, he realized that the secretariat of state wanted to proceed under any circumstances.

Pena Parra and his superiors have not been charged. Also escaping indictment was Pena Parra's deputy, who actually signed the contracts with Torzi; he has turned into the prosecution's star-witness.
Images and videos of people lying dead on the streets of Bucha, some with their hands tied behind them, drew global condemnation

United Nations: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to address the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, the first time he will address the most powerful UN organ since Russia's invasion of his country and after streets strewn with corpses of what appeared to be civilians were found in the suburbs of Kyiv, sparking worldwide horror and condemnation.

The UK is the President of the Security Council for the month of April and it announced in a tweet on Monday that Zelenskyy will virtually address Tuesday's Security Council meeting on Ukraine following his visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

This will be the first time that Zelenskyy addresses the Security Council since Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Russia is a veto-wielding permanent member of the Council.

The Council and the General Assembly have held several meetings, including a rare Emergency Special Session in the 193-member Assembly on the situation in Ukraine.

The UK Presidency of the Council will ensure the truth is heard about Russia's war crimes. We will expose (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war for what it really is, the UK Mission to the UN said.

Images and videos of people lying dead on the streets of Bucha, some with their hands tied behind them, drew global condemnation and calls for investigation and tougher actions against Russia.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha.

It is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability, he said.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that she is horrified by the images of civilians lying dead on the streets and in improvised graves in the town of Bucha in Ukraine.

Reports emerging from this and other areas raise serious and disturbing questions about possible war crimes as well as grave breaches of international humanitarian law and serious violations of international human rights law, she said, adding that it is essential that all bodies are exhumed and identified so that victims' families can be informed, and the exact causes of death established.

All measures should be taken to preserve evidence, Bachelet said.

It is vital that all efforts are made to ensure there are independent and effective investigations into what happened in Bucha to ensure truth, justice and accountability, as well as reparations and remedy for victims and their families, she added.

US Ambassador at UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in Bucharest, Romania that Washington, in close coordination with Ukraine, European countries and other partners at the UN, is going to seek Russia's suspension from the UN Human Rights Council.

A hundred-and-forty UN Member States have already voted to condemn Russia over its unprovoked war and the humanitarian crisis it has unleashed upon the people of Ukraine.

My message to those 140 countries who have courageously stood together is simple: the images out of Bucha and devastation across Ukraine require us now to match our words with action. We cannot let a Member State that is subverting every principle we hold dear to continue to sit on the UN Human Rights Council, Thomas-Greenfield said.

She was referring to the UN Member States who voted in favour of General Assembly resolutions deploring Russian action and demanding that Moscow immediately withdraw its forces and cease hostilities.

Russia should not have a position of authority in that body, nor should we allow Russia to use their role on the Council as a tool of propaganda to suggest they have a legitimate concern about human rights.

In fact, we see every day, including yesterday, heartbreaking reports about how little they care about human rights. Russia's participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce. It hurts the credibility of the Council and the UN writ large. And it is simply wrong. Which is why we believe it is time for the UN General Assembly to suspend them, she said.

Thomas-Greenfield told National Public Radio that the US expects action in the General Assembly as soon as possible  this week, and possibly as early as Thursday.

Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, during a press briefing at the UN headquarters on the situation in Bucha, accused the Kiev regime, with active support from its Western sponsors, of promoting in Western mass media "fake news about alleged atrocities of Russian military forces.

From the very beginning, it has been clear that this is nothing else but yet another staged provocation aimed at discrediting and dehumanising the Russian military and levelling political pressure on Russia.

Not many of you know about the Russian military, but I assure you that the Russian military is nothing that it is being accused of, in particular what regards cruel atrocities' against the civilian population. It is not the case. It never was, and will never be, he said.

The Russian envoy asserted that Moscow has factual evidence to prove this point and it intends to present it to the Security Council as soon as possible so that the international community is not misled by the false narrative promoted by Kiev and its Western sponsors.

He said that there are no reports of atrocities which are accredited to the Russian military in Bucha, which happened before the Ukrainian army took control of the town.

Four days after the Russian military left the city of Bucha, there was not a single sign of any atrocities'. I repeat  not a single reference to it, anywhere, Nebenzia said.

"The infamous video depicting bodies on the city roads only appeared on April 3. It is full of discrepancies and blatant lies. According to its authors, the bodies were lying on the streets for at least four days by the time the video was filmed.

However, the bodies are not stiffened. How is that possible? It is against the law of biology. The bodies do not have signs of decomposition known to forensic experts, including cadaver stains. The wounds contain no blood," the Russian ambassador added.
OTTAWA - With Sept. 10 picked as the date for when the Conservative Party of Canada will have a new leader, time is ticking for prospective candidates and their teams to get into place. Those running have until April 19 to throw their hat into the ring and until June 3 to sell memberships.

OTTAWA - With Sept. 10 picked as the date for when the Conservative Party of Canada will have a new leader, time is ticking for prospective candidates and their teams to get into place. Those running have until April 19 to throw their hat into the ring and until June 3 to sell memberships.

Heres a look at the contest so far:

Whos in:

Pierre Poilievre: The 42-year-old longtime Ottawa-area MP declared his candidacy just days after former leader Erin OToole was ousted. He has begun fundraising and holding events in Montreal, Regina and soon Toronto. One of his chief promises is to cancel the federal carbon tax.

Leslyn Lewis: The third-place finisher in the 2020 leadership race is running again. In the past contest, the former Bay Street lawyer enjoyed heavy backing from the partys social conservative members and those in Western Canada. She was elected as an MP last fall in the rural southwestern Ontario riding of Haldimand-Norfolk.

Roman Baber: The independent member of the Ontario legislature was kicked out of the Progressive Conservative caucus by Premier Doug Ford for speaking out against COVID-19 lockdowns in January 2021. He says he was the first candidate in the race to do so, and also wants to stand up to cancel culture.

Jean Charest: The former Quebec premier who led the federal Progressive Conservatives in the mid-1990s is jumping back into politics and formally launched his campaign in Calgary. Hes running the under slogan "Built to Win." Charest, 63, is highlighting his years of experience to party members.

Patrick Brown: The mayor of Brampton, Ont., and former leader of Ontarios Progressive Conservatives entered the race March 13 at a launch in the Greater Toronto Area. He previously served as an MP. He pitched a bigger Conservative tent, with plans to rebuild trust with members of Canadas "cultural communities."

Joseph Bourgault: The businessman from rural Saskatchewan announced in a short Facebook video hes running for the leadership. An accompanying website says his platform includes the promise of eliminating all COVID-19 mandates and the "carbon tax." The website says Bourgault also co-founded Canadians for Truth, Freedom and Justice, an organization that claims governments and "globalists" are using the pandemic to "justify the great reset."

Scott Aitchison: The two-term Ontario MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka launched his campaign on March 20. Before being elected as an MP in 2019, he served as the mayor of Huntsville, Ont. Most recently, he was the Conservatives labour critic.

Marc Dalton: The MP for Pitt MeadowsMaple Ridge in British Columbia launched his campaign on Twitter on March 20. Dalton was first elected federally in 2019. A former teacher, he also served as a B.C. Liberal MLA from 2009 to 2017.

Leona Alleslev: The former Ontario MP is set to formally announce her candidacy in Ottawa on Wednesday, and has set up a campaign website. Alleslev joined the Conservatives in 2018 after crossing the floor from the Liberals. She was the partys deputy leader under former leader Andrew Scheer.

Joel Etienne: The Conservative candidate for York Centre in the 2021 federal election has a campaign website and is collecting signatures for nomination papers, but has not officially announced his candidacy. Hes a lawyer with a background in human rights and commercial law.

Bobby Singh: The businessman and entrepreneur from near Toronto says he plans to run for the party's top spot. His campaign website says he is a champion for human rights and the son of immigrants.

Whos out:

Peter MacKay: The cabinet minister in former prime minister Stephen Harpers Conservative government says hes decided not to run for leadership this time. He placed second to OToole in the 2020 leadership race in a contest many believed he was likely to win. MacKay is still fundraising to pay down his debts from that contest, and says he will support whoever wins this time around.

Michael Chong: The longtime Ontario MP ran in 2017 and says after reflection has decided not to run again. Chong says "now is not the time" and wants to focus on his role as the partys foreign affairs critic.

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Tasha Kheiriddin: The political commentator and consultant said after considering a bid, she decided against running and instead threw her support behind Charests campaign.

Rona Ambrose: The partys last interim leader, who was a cabinet minister in the Harper government, says shes not going to run despite many Tories hoping that she would.

Brad Wall: Saskatchewans former premier says hes enjoying life in the private sector and wont be returning to elected politics.

Doug Ford: The Ontario premier says his hands are full running for re-election provincially in June.

Jason Kenney: Alberta's premier says he's not interested in going after the partys top job, even though the former MP was a high-profile cabinet minister in the Harper government.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2022
Recovery  rather than relaxation  took over many Manitoba vacationers itineraries during spring break 2022, with COVID-19 seemingly everywhere only a couple of weeks after restrictions were lifted.

Recovery  rather than relaxation  took over many Manitoba vacationers itineraries during spring break 2022, with COVID-19 seemingly everywhere only a couple of weeks after restrictions were lifted.

As classes resumed Monday, an unknown number of students and education workers were isolating. At one metro division, nearly four per cent of employees  a record number  including teachers, custodians and other support staff, called in sick after the last weeks holiday.

Grade 8 student Natalie Thiessen is among the unlucky learners recovering from a bout with the virus.

The 13 year old said she had been looking forward to a week of sleep-ins, but instead found herself sleeping away a significant part of her vacation days.

"At first, it was just a bit of a headache, which was normal for me, but then the headache got worse and wouldnt go away. (it) got so bad to the point I couldnt do anything except sit in the dark," she said.

At first, it was just a bit of a headache, which was normal for me, but then the headache got worse and wouldnt go away. (it) got so bad to the point I couldnt do anything except sit in the dark.  Natalie Thiessen, student

One week after testing positive on a rapid antigen test, the middle-schooler said she still feels only about 65 per cent. The double-vaccinated teen noted one of her classmates had fallen ill with the virus during the week before spring break.

"I dont think its any surprise that since mask requirements have been dropped and people no longer have to isolate, COVID has exploded," said Karyn Balser, Natalies mother. "I know so many more people who have or had COVID in the last two weeks than the entire last two years."

Before last week, the Winnipeg family had  to their knowledge  avoided the virus.

Balser remains in good health despite caring for her sick daughter, but said its "incredibly frustrating" that Manitobans are being told to make individual health decisions for themselves when the province has stopped the flow of data required to make informed choices.

JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS From left to right: Natalie Thieseen, Isabelle Balser and Karyn Balser, sitting outside their home. The family had avoided catching COVID until Natalie tested positive earlier last week during spring break.

Last week, government officials stopped updating the COVID-19 school dashboard, which once included a map of active cases and outbreaks connected to K-12 buildings. The information was pared down earlier in the academic year when the pandemic response across schools began to pivot to a community-management model (instead of a case-by-case basis) and PCR testing eligibility shrunk.

The remaining limited data has now been scrubbed from the provincial website, along with other virus tables.

The Louis Riel School Division is the sole metro Winnipeg education authority that is publicly releasing information about COVID-related absences; 73 staff members were away from schools across southeast Winnipeg Monday. A total of 247 K-12 students were reportedly absent, either because they were showing symptoms, had received a positive test or were directed by public health to isolate after an exposure.

Those figures translate into 3.8 per cent and 1.89 per cent of their respective populations  increases of one per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively, in comparison to pre-spring break figures.

The previous daily record for staff absences in 2022 was 64, or 3.3 per cent of LRSD employees, on Jan. 21. On that same day, almost five per cent of the student population  a staggering 883 pupils  was away for similar reasons.

DANIEL CRUMP / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES The Louis Riel School Division is the sole metro Winnipeg education authority that is publicly releasing information about COVID-related absences.

Jennifer Oldfield suspects her youngest daughter brought COVID-19 home from preschool right before the high school teacher left for spring vacation. Oldfield, a mother of two, considers her family lucky, as theyve all experienced mild symptoms.

"My spring break was spent living vicariously through others vacation posts," Oldfield said, adding she is grateful to have the ability to use her teacher sick days as her family recovers.

Federal protocols require that any fully vaccinated traveller who is re-entering Canada must wear "a well-constructed and well-fitting mask" in both indoor and outdoor public spaces for 14 days after an international trip. Unvaccinated and partially immunized individuals who left the country over spring break are still required to quarantine for two weeks.

My spring break was spent living vicariously through others vacation posts.  Jennifer Oldfield

Meantime, Manitobas provincial public-health rules are virtually non-existent.

In every public school district except for Frontier School Division in northern Manitoba, face-coverings are not required among students or staff members. The executive director of the Manitoba Federation of Independent Schools could not say Monday how many, if any, private schools continue to mandate masks.

"As all public-health orders and mask requirements have ended, school divisions and independent schools can make their own decisions about mask use based on local needs," Education Minister Wayne Ewasko said in a email statement.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES As all public-health orders and mask requirements have ended, school divisions and independent schools can make their own decisions about mask use based on local needs, Education Minister Wayne Ewasko said in an emailed statement.

Citing the fact parents and students are entitled to safe schools, one teacher who specializes in science education criticized governments, boards and administrators for "an abdication of (professional) responsibility."

Both the Winnipeg-based educator, who is in his 30s, and his partner contracted COVID-19 late last month and spent the better part of their break in self-imposed quarantine together. His symptoms ranged from nasal congestion to fatigue.

"There is an inherent baseline sense of anxiety (when you work at a school during a pandemic), but the helplessness and anxiety has gone up since masks have gone away," he said, noting educators can no longer enforce proper masking etiquette among students.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie

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With emergency room wait times as long as 10 hours in Winnipeg and daily COVID-19 information updates no longer available to Manitobans, Health Minister Audrey Gordon is planning sofa conversations with her Southdale constituents.

With emergency room wait times as long as 10 hours in Winnipeg and daily COVID-19 information updates no longer available to Manitobans, Health Minister Audrey Gordon is planning "sofa conversations" with her Southdale constituents.

"If you are out walking and see me sitting on my sofa, stop by and say hello," the Tory MLA says in her newsletter to residents of the suburban Winnipeg riding.

In it, Gordon says she will visit parks and open spaces throughout her district this summer  and the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba caucus confirmed she will be taking a sofa with her. The idea: the furniture will allow for her to meet and have conversations with individuals and families.

Gordon was not made available to comment Monday.

"It is a clever idea, and fits in with her use of retail politics, which she has done since elected (in 2019)," said University of Manitoba political studies adjunct Prof. Christopher Adams.

"This includes doing food drives for those in need," said Adams (who disclosed he and Gordon, a former student, are friends).

It is not without risk, said Felix Mathieu, assistant professor of political studies at the University of Winnipeg.

"Gordon knows her government is very unpopular and these sofa conversations and visits to local parks appear as one way for her to reach out to her constituents to secure her seat (in the 2023 election)," Mathieu said.

"If shes seen as authentic and competent by the people she meets with, these small-scale events might boost her popularity However, constituents can be hard to please, and she might end up receiving all the frustration that Manitobans have accumulated towards their governments during the pandemic," Mathieu said.

"In this latter scenario, these events could damage her reputation and popularity."

Hosting "sofa conversations" as the member for Southdale doesnt limit her capacity as health minister, Mathieu said. "But if the Manitoba Nurses Union and other similar organizations still complain about not being heard by minister Gordon, while she is seen at the park talking about the weather and sports, the optics will be very bad for her and the government."

Nurses and front-line health-care workers "would love nothing more than five minutes to sit down in a park and take a load off," MNU president Darlene Jackson said Monday.

Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon.

"We invite the minister to bring her couch to any ER or urgent care centre in this city, to a long-term care facility or the home of a patient waiting to have a hip replaced in her constituency."

The union leader encouraged constituents who value health care to join Gordon on the couch: "Ask the minister when someone is going to accept some responsibility for this critical nursing shortage."

NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara also was not impressed with the "out-of-touch gimmick."

"Manitobans have tried every which way possible to have their voices heard by the minister, and shes been unable to be reached," Asagwara said.

"Shes doing this because she knows Manitobans are unhappy with their inability to get in contact with her, and get any accountability from their minister of health."

During question period Monday, the NDP tabled a chart showing wait times at the Health Sciences Centre emergency room in Winnipeg are higher now than in 2014  before the PC government formed government in 2016, and began consolidating hospitals.

Provincial data show at HSC, the longest wait times for nine out of 10 patients seeking medical care in February was 10 hours  up from 6.62 hours in January.

"Were seeing wait times longer than theyve ever been," NDP Leader Wab Kinew told reporters in a scrum.

"Once they started closing ERs and ICUs, we saw all sorts of strain on the system," Kinew said.

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"Rather than coming back with more talking points, what we really need to see are investments to fix the health-care system that has languished going back years prior to the pandemic."

Kinew also called on the province to restore daily updates on COVID-19 pandemic-related data.

"In a vacuum of information, thats where COVID can spread," he said.

During question period, Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont asked the government who "signed off" on the decision to stop reporting COVID-19 data daily and to explain why.

"There was no answer," Lamont told reporters outside the chamber. "This government is burying it."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
OTTAWA  A northern Manitoba reserve is preparing to begin ground radar searches for childrens graves at potential residential school burial sites next month after securing federal funding.

OTTAWA  A northern Manitoba reserve is preparing to begin ground radar searches for childrens graves at potential residential school burial sites next month after securing federal funding.

"A good majority of the cases that we have are not fully identified: who they are or where theyre buried," said Chief David Monias of Cross Lake First Nation.

La Societe historique de Saint-Boniface Cross Lake residential school outbuildings and church in 1947.

The Cree community 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg, known locally as Pimicikamak, has been trying to research, locate and commemorate children who died at the two local residential schools since last May when potential childrens graves were found at a Kamloops, B.C. First Nation.

The Catholic-run Cross Lake school housed First Nations children from 1912 to 1969, as did a smaller school from 1960 to 1967, known as the Notre Dame Hostel. Former students have said they were sexually and physically abused.

In the main school, nuns sometimes addressed students by numbers they had been assigned, instead of their name. Children from the community were banned for months from visiting parents who lived just kilometres away.

In mid-March, the reserve of 10,000 secured federal funding to hire three residents to lead the search, which will be guided by a handful of survivors, and supported by councils of elders and youth.

Neither the band nor the federal government was able to say Tuesday how much funding the band had received.

The team is selecting sites for ground-penetrating radar searches. The process involves taking drone photos of the land to look for anomalies in the soil, which data analysis could flag as possibly including a skeleton. The process could take six to 12 months.

The band will likely search an area called mission point, where the priests, nuns and students used to live.

"A lot of sites now have houses, an airport and a gas station," Monias said. "We have to search around those areas, unfortunately."

The community is combing over paperwork to learn about children from other communities who were sent to Cross Lake, as well as its own children who were sent to schools in the south. Monias said his band knows the local schools hosted children from northeastern Manitoba reserves, such as Fox Lake and Oxford House. The number who attended isnt known.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission documented the deaths of 30 children at the school, including names.

Last August, the local diocese presented documents that reveal 54 other children had died at the main school; many on the list only have a first name, or have no name but a record of their gender and family members.

Monias said the band is still working to get annual enrolment lists, as well as records that were withheld from commission researchers, such as diaries.

"We have to look at the historical journals of priests, nuns and basically the church," he said.

"With the historical records of band memberships, we can tie in the numbers or the names of the potential families who were affected."

Monias said the band needs to learn where burial sites exist, how many children attended schools in his community, how many were known to have died and how many never returned home.

He said First Nations deserve the same attention to detail related to those cases as the alleged war crimes by Russians in Ukraine.

"You will have the police involved (in Ukraine); they will put in a full investigation and treat it as a crime scene, and try to ascertain whom the remains (are) through forensics, and find who did the crime," he said.

"I dont see why they cant do that here, for all the mass graves."

Monias said numerous survivors believe that many of the 12 children who died in a 1930 fire at the main school had their remains buried in a single coffin.

The Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement recognized 14 schools in Manitoba. First Nations have started ground searches in Brandon, Dauphin, Pine Creek, Sandy Bay, Sagkeeng and Long Plain. Those involved in some of those searches said Tuesday they are still analyzing the data theyve collected.

Chiefs recently formed a council with provincial and federal help to co-ordinate research and what they need to investigate sites.

Monias said he was glad Pope Francis apologized last week for the Catholic Churchs role in residential schools, but was unsettled he didnt make any reference to unmarked graves.

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He also wants the Queen to apologize.

The Vatican is planning for the Pope to come to Canada to apologize in person, likely in late July, and Monias hopes hell go to Cross Lake.

He said western laws focus on assigning legal liability to a government or a church, but Indigenous people instead want justice through healing and entities taking responsibility.

"Indigenous people are about rebuilding, or addressing the relationship that was broken or violated by the person," he said.

"Its not about the people versus the state. Its about the relationship; the harm that was done needs to be addressed."

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
It was a love affair which briefly flared after the guns of war fell silent, but left a long-unknown connection.

It was a love affair which briefly flared after the guns of war fell silent, but left a long-unknown connection.

Now, decades after Canadian forces led the liberation of the Netherlands during the Second World War, two women  one from Winnipeg, the other Dutch  will meet for the first time because they have one thing in common: their dad.

Today, at the Winnipeg airport, Dolores Seller will greet her formerly unknown half-sister, Greetje Kaldewaaij.

"Im so happy," the 67-year-old Seller said Monday as she counted down the hours. "Im really happy. Im just so happy. And I know if my father was still alive, he would be right there and he would be so happy, too."

Harold de Paiva was a Canadian soldier who was born in 1923, and enlisted when he turned 18. He fought in the Italian campaign, but by April 1945, he was serving in the Netherlands.

Trudy Koerts, 19, had recently returned from a year of forced labour in a German camp, sewing army uniforms.

As far as the family on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean can figure out, it was likely at one of the numerous liberation celebrations in Groningen, the largest city in the northern part of the country, where de Paiva met Koerts.

After de Paiva shipped out back to Canada, Koerts realized she was pregnant. All she knew was his first name.

Seller said her dad returned to Winnipeg, and stayed in the army. A few years later, while with fellow soldiers in a Winnipeg coffee shop, he bumped into 18-year-old Helen Kehler who, having recently moved to the city, was celebrating her first paycheque by taking herself out for a meal.

Harold de Paiva, right - with his brother George

"She said she saw my dad walk in and it was  boom  love at first sight," Seller said. "They got married six weeks after that meeting and they were married for 42 years."

De Paiva had several jobs during his career, including public relations, associate director of the Red River Exhibition, and a writer and columnist at the Winnipeg Tribune. He was also part of the publicity committee for the 1967 Pan Am Games.

The couple had Seller and then a few years later, a set of triplets, of which only one, a son, survived. However, he died at 25 of a brain aneurysm.

Seller said her dad died in 1994, without ever knowing about the daughter he had fathered overseas.

Kaldewaaij, 74, had a tougher life in her early years.

"When I was born, my mother was 20 years old," Kaldewaaij recently told a Dutch newspaper. "It was a shame at that time to have a child as an unmarried girl."

Kaldewaaij said her mother married when she was two and she believed he was her biological dad.

"Unfortunately, they didnt have a good marriage," she told the newspaper. "I was about 10 years old when I sided with him in an argument. Then my mother shouted that he was not my father at all."

While her mother never said anything more about her real father, Kaldewaaij said an aunt once told her that her mother had dated a Canadian and "I looked like him."

Kaldewaaij later moved to Amsterdam, got married and had two children. Through the years, her mother died, then her step-father, as well as two half-sisters, and it was then she decided to hopefully find out about her potential Canadian connection by taking a DNA test.

SUPPLIED Greetje Kaldewaaij

On this side of the Atlantic, contact was made by Sellers cousin, Steinbach resident Phyllis Unger.

Her daughter took a DNA test and soon received an online message about a fairly close match with a woman in the Netherlands.

"She came over to my place and said, Mom, I think you should sit down. Ive got something to tell you," Unger said.

Unger said she was soon in contact with Kaldewaaij. However, because her DNA was close but not a perfect match, she asked Seller to also submit a sample.

"Her test came back 100 per cent: she is the sister and I am the cousin."

(How did the cousins have DNA so similar? Ungers dad, George de Paiva, was Harolds brother  and the two brothers married a pair of sisters.)

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Seller and Unger have plans to take their new relative on a tour of her Canadian dads boyhood home, the VIA Rail station where he and his brother left for war, and other places where he lived his life.

The women are already talking about a trip to the Netherlands.

Seller said a half-sister entering her life couldnt have come at a better time.

"My mom died April 28, 2020," she said. "It was a time we could only have 10 people at her funeral (due to the COVID-19 pandemic). I had no siblings alive and Greetje is a wonderful lady. She is so warm," she said.

"I couldnt have asked for a nicer sister."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
A flood watch has been issued for the Red River from the American border to the Red River Floodway, in advance of a forecast of three days of rain and snow this week.

A flood watch has been issued for the Red River from the American border to the Red River Floodway, in advance of a forecast of three days of rain and snow this week.

Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructures hydrologic forecast centre said Monday it expects the river to spill its banks at some places in the Red River Valley between April 8 and 15.

A weather system is expected to drop up to 30 millimetres of precipitation on southern Manitoba from Tuesday to Thursday, according to Environment Canada.

Boosted by snowmelt, water levels on the river are expected to peak between April 8 and 15, but the floodway will keep the levels in Winnipeg at James Avenue to a peak of between 17.3 to 18.3 feet from April 11 t0 16.

The water level reading at James Avenue was 15 feet Monday.

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The Red River Floodway cant be put into operation until the river ice breaks up and is cleared south of the inlet.

Ice is likely to clear by the end of this week, according to the province. The peak water flow is expected to be between 45,000 to 57,000 cubic feet per second.

The province will be deploying crews to a few communities near the Red River to watch water levels and decide whether to close dikes to protect people and property.

Water levels on the Assiniboine, Souris and Pembina rivers are all relatively low, with no flooding issues, the province said, noting the Portage Diversion could be operated to help water levels drop on the Assiniboine River if needed.

The risk of flooding on most of the major lakes remains low at this time, the province said.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
WARSAW  Its a bitterly cold morning in Polands capital, at the heart of the citys diplomatic row. Outside the concrete-and-glass edifice of the Canadian embassy, about four dozen people are waiting, mostly women with children in tow.

WARSAW  Its a bitterly cold morning in Polands capital, at the heart of the citys diplomatic row. Outside the concrete-and-glass edifice of the Canadian embassy, about four dozen people are waiting, mostly women with children in tow.

They huddle together under two black tents, hastily erected by security guards for protection from the swirling, wet snow.

As they wait, some greet each other in Ukrainian, others in Russian. New people arrive and ask questions about what to do and where to go.

Theyre all in this together in a way, all of them displaced by war and, now, trying to navigate the steps to come to Canada; even after the federal government simplified the process for Ukrainian refugees, it can be slow.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ukrainian refugees line up outside of the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw. Most are waiting to get their biometrics done, which has been a sticking point in getting visas processed for many.

Near the back of the line, a woman named Kateryna waits, holding a paper that explains, in English, why Canadian officials want her photograph and fingerprints.

Like most other people in line, she has an appointment to give that biometric data to the embassy; after that, she hopes, she will get her approval to travel to Canada in the coming days.

Kateryna does not want to go to Canada, not really.

What she wants is to go back home to Mykolaiv, a shipbuilding city on Ukraines southern steppes, nestled against a river that rushes into the Black Sea. But fighting came quickly to Mykolaiv, just days after Russian troops entered the country, and if Kateryna cannot go home, then she must find a place to be safe.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ukrainian refugees outside the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw.

So she left Mykolaiv, travelling first to Vinnytsia, about 260 kilometres west of Kyiv, and from there she followed the great mass of people making their way west, into Poland, where more than 2.3 million have fled since the war began Feb. 24. And she has an uncle in Oakville, Ont., so she decided to secure the opportunity to go to Canada, even as she longed to go home.

She does still have a home, she notes: her apartment is still intact. But people she knew have died under the bombs.

"If I will have an opportunity to stay in Ukraine, I will stay in Ukraine," says Kateryna, who asked us not to use her full name.

"But unfortunately now I cant stay there, because of the attacks I will manage. I was lucky to leave first days of the war, so I think Im lucky."

These sentiments could be echoed by hundreds of thousands of refugees here in Poland, on the doorstep of the war.

Now, their journeys are becoming intertwined with Canadas own. This is a familiar bond: Canada has the worlds second-largest Ukrainian diaspora, second only to Russia. Last week, a journalist who had recently returned from Ukraine told me that almost everyone he met there knew someone in Canada: an aunt, a cousin, a friend.

In Manitoba, those connections are especially tight. About one in six Manitobans identifies as Ukrainian-Canadian, making it host to Canadas largest per capita Ukrainian community. Its a place where the language is still spoken, where musicians and dancers still refine their traditions, where people still gather at the provinces many Ukrainian churches to pray.

"If I will have an opportunity to stay in Ukraine, I will stay in Ukraine... But unfortunately now I cant stay there, because of the attacks I will manage. I was lucky to leave first days of the war, so I think Im lucky." Kateryna

These bonds of culture and language, family and faith have been affirmed and renewed across generations. So what happens in Ukraine makes broad ripples across Manitoba; and it is because of this depth of connection that the Free Press decided to come to Poland so we can witness the sprawling humanitarian efforts here through our own eyes.

That journey begins on a weekday afternoon in the heart of old Warsaw, a puzzle of cobblestone streets lined by five-storey buildings. In planters that line the sidewalks, city workers have placed blue and yellow flowers, to match the Ukrainian flag; on lampposts, that same flag flutters alongside red-and-yellow banners of Warsaw, a statement of solidarity.

"Poland takes care of us very well, and this is quite touching," Tetiana Maksymtsiv says, as she strolls past the courtyard of Polands presidential palace, bounded by a low fence and empty save for a few watchful guards. "I feel that Im at home."

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ukrainian refugee Tetiana Maksymtsiv first learned about Winnipeg through a friend who had moved to the city about six years ago. In a few days, she will be flying to Winnipeg to settle in Canada.

This city reminds her a lot of Ivano-Frankivsk, her hometown in western Ukraine. Its a picturesque place of about 250,000 people tucked near the flank of the Carpathia mountains; Ivano-Frankivsk, she points out, was built by Polish nobility in the 17th century, so the textures and muted colours of Warsaws architecture look a lot like her own urban home.

"Not similar to Winnipeg," she says, with a laugh.

Maksymtsiv, 39, knows Winnipeg. She first learned about it through a friend who had moved to the city about six years ago. For years Maksymtsiv herself had been dreaming about moving to Canada, though shed initially had another destination in mind. But her friend intervened: "why Saskatchewan?" he asked, and urged her to consider Manitoba instead.

That coaxing worked. In November 2021, Maksymtsiv made her first trip to the province, as part of a program offered by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. She spent nine days in Winnipeg, where she toured the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and visited Ukrainian cultural centre Oseredok, which left her with a sense of the local diasporas pride.

"They can be Ukrainians in Canada, in Manitoba," she says. "They have their own culture safe."

"They can be Ukrainians in Canada, in Manitoba... They have their own culture safe." Tetiana Maksymtsiv

Although she was worried she might struggle to understand and be understood in English, which shed been studying for a few years, she was delighted to find that it was easy for her to navigate life in this new language. Everything seemed to be a perfect fit, she thought; she began pulling together the paperwork to immigrate to Manitoba over the winter.

"It was amazing," she says. "I was excited, and I was sure that this is the right time and the right place to be, for living."

Then came the war, and suddenly, that plan had to change.

Like many in Ukraine, Maksymtsiv didnt really believe the war would happen the way that it did. Of course, she knew that tensions were rising, and that Russia was amassing troops on the border: "I believed that it would be some provocation on the east of Ukraine," she says. "Something not so strong. But we were mistaken. Everyone was mistaken."

Early in the morning on Feb. 24, she got a message from her father, who lived near where the first missile struck an air base in Ivano-Frankivsk. The war had started, he said. He was in tears.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ukrainian refugee Tetiana Maksymtsiv shows the jewelry she brought with her when fleeing, which includes pieces given to her by her husband and her mom, in Warsaw.

The next days are a blur. One of the first things Maksymtsiv did was notify Canadian immigration officials that she would have trouble completing her documents; then, with her husbands help, she began to hastily pack a few bags with clothing and paperwork and one of her most prized possessions: a book about Canadian accounting practices, for her career.

All the while, she braced against the threat of more bombings.

"I cannot explain how I was feeling, listening all the time to the (air-raid) sirens," she says. "This is very, very scary. You cannot eat, you cannot live, you cannot move, because you are so afraid. It is a terrible thing."

On Feb. 26, Maksymtsiv began the journey out of Ukraine, along with her sister and her nephew. Her husband Yaroslav, a Soviet-era Navy veteran, stayed behind. Men aged 18 to 60 are banned from leaving the country under a martial-law edict; but he also wanted to stay, Maksymtsiv explains, to help care for his ailing and elderly parents.

"I cannot explain how I was feeling, listening all the time to the (air raid) sirens... This is very, very scary. You cannot eat, you cannot live, you cannot move, because you are so afraid. It is a terrible thing." Tetiana Maksymtsiv

The journey out of Ukraine was draining. Vehicles piled up at the borders as millions sought to flee; for nearly 24 hours, she says, they had no food and no water. They struck out for the border on foot, walking for hours, carrying their things without sleep. Finally, they made it across, where a network of volunteers was coalescing to help them.

For the first week in Poland, Maksymtsiv struggled to focus. She had brought the files she needed to continue working as an accountant, but she could not pull herself away from the news of the war. She even chose to keep receiving air-raid alerts on her phone: she worried about what was happening to her loved ones, but not knowing when to worry was worse.

"Sometimes, it can be four times per day or five times per day," she says, chatting over a cup of cappuccino at a cosy Italian cafe. "Even at night. I just sit and wait and wonder, what happened? Then I call my father, my husband and my friends: is everything OK?"

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS I am excited, because its Winnipeg, its Canada, its my dream, says Ukrainian refugee Tetiana Maksymtsiv.

What helped, she said, was keeping her plan moving forward. She made contact again with Canadian immigration officials, and got everything she needed together. She booked a temporary rental apartment in the Grant Park area, and friends offered to help her find a more permanent home. On Wednesday, she will fly to Winnipeg to start her life anew.

"I am excited, because its Winnipeg, its Canada, its my dream," she says, and searches for a word she cannot quite find. "But I have missing feelings. Some feeling that I cannot understand, I cannot explain how actually I am feeling. Probably some sadness. Im not sure what will happen with my family, with my husband. Something like this."

The English word shes searching for  is it apprehension?

"Yes," she says, with a quiet nod. "Exactly. Im happy, but Im not happy Im so much scared of everything, of my future, (for) my husband."

That fear, that apprehension, will be with her for a very long time. Even now, more than a month since she left Ukraine, she still jumps at certain noises, like the slam of trash-bin lids beneath the window of the apartment a friend offered for her to stay.

"Its unbelievable to me," she says. "(It feels like) yesterday I was in Ivano-Frankivsk and I saw the huge smoke from the missiles, the sirens and a lot of people crying, screaming. People, children, in my city, at the border. It was like horror."

"(It feels like) yesterday I was in IvanoFrankivsk and I saw the huge smoke from the missiles, the sirens and a lot of people crying, screaming. People, children, in my city, at the border. It was like horror."  Tetiana Maksymtsiv

But something keeps her going, she nods, and she gazes out the window of the coffee shop, down to the vibrant pedestrian life milling about the streets. Its life, she says, and a sense that, even if this was not how she imagined her path to Canada would go, she is still moving forward. Shes still making her life her own; the war has not taken that from her.

"I have no choice," she says. "I cannot stop this, so I just need to continue living. I have a plan to settle down in Winnipeg, probably I can arrange something, I can find something to help my family, my sister or my husband, and Ill just pray that Ivano-Frankivsk is safe.

"We cannot be sure of anything, 100 per cent. But life is going on. So we should continue living, planning."

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca

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Mikaela MacKenzie

Photojournalist Mikaela MacKenzie loves meeting people, experiencing new things, and learning something every day. That's what drove her to pursue a career as a visual journalist  photographers get a hands-on, boots-on-the-ground look at the world. Read full biography
Premier Heather Stefanson broke with tradition last week, skipping the biggest event on the provinces agricultural community calendar: the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair.

Premier Heather Stefanson broke with tradition last week, skipping the biggest event on the provinces agricultural community calendar: the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair.

"I was away on a holiday with my son on spring break," Premier Heather Stefanson said Monday of not attending the annual Brandon event (held March 28-April 2)

A number of her Progressive Conservative colleagues did, however, make appearances, including deputy premier Cliff Cullen. "Thats his role  to be at these things when I cant be at absolutely everything," Stefanson said.

Fair spokesman Rick Dillabough said Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson also attended several days of events.

Brandon University political science Prof. Kelly Saunders questioned the premiers decision to not make time to appear at the week-long fair.

"In the 20 years Ive been here in Brandon, I dont remember a premier not attending," she said. "Its an important tradition and its important for premiers of (any) stripes to attend."

Brandon is Manitobas second-largest city, a regional hub, and the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is more than just a fair, the academic said.

"It showcases our agricultural sector, which remains an important part of our provincial economy  its one of the premier events of the ag sector," she said. "For a PC premier to take a pass on this is really surprising."

The PCs hold both Brandon seats and most of the surrounding rural area.

"This is a vital part of their vote base," said Saunders. "Youd think the premier would want to be out here shoring up that support and making face time with an important part of her constituency The fact that she denied herself an important opportunity to do that is really unfortunate."

A general election is due to be held no later than Oct. 3, 2023.

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The Winter Fair had been on hiatus for the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its return was warmly received  from which Stefanson could have benefited, Saunders said.

"Of all the years to miss it, this would not be the year," she said. "On a number of things, the advice she receives on these political issues is surprising sometimes. For me, this would be a no-brainer."

NDP Leader Wab Kinew said he, too, was away for the March break and didnt attend the fair.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said he was there, and enjoyed it.

Stefanson thanked her colleagues for attending in her absence and said she looks forward to getting back to Brandon "very soon."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
TOM Ethans drove around the south end of Winnipeg in a red minivan Monday, rating the trash he spotted on the streets and boulevards on a scale of one to four.

TOM Ethans drove around the south end of Winnipeg in a red minivan Monday, rating the trash he spotted on the streets and boulevards on a scale of one to four.

One indicates no litter and four indicates a major garbage problem, the Take Pride Winnipeg executive director said, allowing the non-profit to plan its attack when organizing spring/summer volunteer cleanup crews.

"When we get individuals and groups to go out and do litter clean-ups, we want to send them to where theyre actually going to get a benefit out of helping," Ethans said.

Winnipegs remaining snow banks continue to conceal trash, causing the group to initially delay its two-week survey of roughly 500 kilometres of city streets. Last year, it held its informal survey in mid-March.

"This time of year, theres litter on almost every street," Ethans said. "Im sad to see how much litter is out there right now."

On Sunday, Point Douglas residents held a community cleanup in partnership with the Mama Bear Clan volunteer patrol to clear out garbage from abandoned encampments along the banks of the Red River.

Icy conditions posed a challenge for volunteers, as some items were frozen to the ground, but the roughly two dozen individuals persevered and collected a trailer and a truck bed full of trash.

"It was really heartening," said Howard Warren, chairman for the Point Douglas Residents Committees trails subcommittee.

The 60-year-old retiree said while volunteers made a dent in the trash along the Red River near the Disraeli Bridge, the banks are home to abandoned encampments all the way north to St. Johns Park.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg, what we did yesterday," Warren said, adding residents committee has another clean-up planned for April 30 at 11 a.m. at Michaelle Jean Park.

"If the city is not going to do (it), I guess it falls on us We get to the level where we say: enough is enough. Who wants to live in a garbage dump?"

Warren, a longtime Point Douglas resident, describes the neighbourhood issue as both an "eyesore" and a public safety hazard. On Sunday, the volunteers collected about 70 used needles, he said.

The neighbourhood litter problem is a symptom of the greater issue of homelessness in Winnipeg, Warren added.

"You have three choices, as far as I can see, when it comes to homelessness: you can criminalize it; you can try and ignore it, which is what I see us in the current status quo as doing as a society; or you can try and engender the political will to solve it."

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Litter doesnt only plague central, mature city neighbourhoods, Ethans said, and his Monday survey of areas near the Brady Road landfill confirmed as much.

Soft white plastics, styrofoam, and fast food packaging sat snagged in brush along ditches and fields near Kenaston Boulevard and the Trans-Canada Highway  an easy four in Ethans view.

Ethans, whos been with Take Pride Winnipeg for 25 years, said hes seen a slight rise in the amount of garbage on Winnipeg streets since the COVID-19 pandemic began two years ago (particularly disposable masks).

Meanwhile, volunteer numbers have declined due to public safety precautions. Take Pride Winnipeg hopes to see its volunteer base safely return to pre-pandemic levels this year, he said.

Before COVID hit the province, roughly 20,000 people from schools, church groups, businesses and community events attended clean-ups it facilitated or supplied bags and tools for each year.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca
A coalition of health-care unions is calling on the province to remove a member of the Shared Health board of directors with ties to a for-profit home care company.

A coalition of health-care unions is calling on the province to remove a member of the Shared Health board of directors with ties to a for-profit home care company.

Manitoba Health Coalition director Thomas Linner said the Progressive Conservative government must revoke the recent appointment of Brenda Martinussen.

Health Minister Audrey Gordon announced Martinussen was joining the board in a March 23 news release. The provincial government identified Martinussen as the chief operating officer of Nurse Next Door, a private for-profit company providing home care services through franchisees across Canada.

It is just explicitly wrong for a private competitor to the public home care system to be sitting on a board that governs the public home care sector, Linner said at a media availability with Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson and Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 204 president Debbie Boissonneault.

It shows a clear indication toward privatization of our health-care system, Linner argued.

The Free Press was unable to reach Martinussen for comment Monday.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Martinussen was COO for the Winnipeg Nurse Next Door Home franchise from January 2020 to March 2022. A spokesman for the company confirmed she was employed with the local franchise, but was not COO for the corporation.

Direct Action in Support of Community Homes is the franchisee for Nurse Next Door in Winnipeg. Martinussen is listed as the chief strategy and growth officer for the non-profit that runs residential services, day programs and respite for people with intellectual disabilities.

A request for an interview with DASCH chief executive officer and Nurse Next Door franchise operator Karen Fonseth was not returned by deadline.

Linner said private home care providers like Nurse Next Door recruit aggressively from the public sector, placing increased strain on a health system that has struggled immensely during the pandemic.

Boissonneault said home care in Manitoba has also been chronically underfunded and staff working in the system have not been heard by those setting health-care policy and direction.

You want to hear from everybody, but theyre not listening to the people that actually do the jobs that say they need more funding every day, Boissonneault said.

The union is currently in negotiations with Shared Health for a new contract, after five years without an agreement.

Jackson said the appointment was an insult to people working on the front lines of the health-care system.

This government needs to rethink that decision very quickly, Jackson said. Nurses are appalled by this type of behaviour.

Linner argued individuals with a financial interest in the operations and decisions of Shared Health should not be sitting on the board.

What should be in place on our board is people who are actually concerned about the public system here, about the clients that they need to serve right now, and the fact that we are dealing with massive staffing shortages, Linner said.

NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara (who uses they/them pronouns) put their support behind the coalitions call to remove the board member.

Manitobans want this government to invest in strengthening our public health care here in Manitoba, not handing positions to private corporations to potentially further their own private interest, the Union Station MLA said Monday.

A request for an interview with Health Minister Audrey Gordon was not accommodated Monday.

In a statement, an unnamed spokesperson for Manitoba Health said Shared Healths mandate does not include the provision of home care services in Manitoba.

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Home care services are run by the five regional health authorities and are not subject to oversight by Shared Health management or its board, the statement concluded.

Follow-up questions sent to the ministers office were not replied to by deadline.

According to the province, the board must must ensure Shared Health complies with legislation, regulations, provincial policies and ministerial directives.

Employees, medical staff, board members and individuals associated with organizations or corporations that receive funding from Shared Health were not eligible to be nominated to the board.

A spokesman for Shared Health said it currently does not have any funding relationships with DASCH.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca
SEOUL, South Korea, March 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dable, the world's leading content discovery and native advertising platform, announced it has recently appointed a Head of Business Development in Mainland China and Hong Kong to speed up its business expansion in Greater China.

Dable, based in South Korea, is a media-tech company that provides a personalized content recommendation solution and native ad platform to 11 markets by partnering with over 3000 premium media. Dable is currently the No.1 content discovery platform in Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia. It also ranked first in market share in Taiwan last year. Dable plans to accelerate its expansion in Greater China by appointing Tianxi Sun (mainland China) and Jan Cheng (Hong Kong), who bring extensive experience from the digital marketing and media tech sector in mainland China and Hong Kong, as the Head of Business Development.

Tianxi Sun and Jan Cheng, Head of Business Development at Dable Mainland China(left) and Hong Kong(Right)

Tianxi Sun, Head of Business Development at Dable Mainland China, has been working in the advertising industry for over 12 years. He started his career as a planner in the 4A's and jumped into the ad-tech world after receiving his MBA degree in 2012. Tianxi has previously worked for Miaozhen Systems, the leading third-party technology company in China as a pre-sale team leader and Tencent advertising platform as a senior sales manager. In the recent four years, Tianxi noticed that Chinese brands were starting to enter the overseas markets at an unprecedented scale. In regard to this trend, he helped many successful advertising campaigns of top Chinese brands to reach their target markets.

"As the team director of Dable Mainland China, I am in charge of strategizing the overall business expansion in the Chinese market. I'm also looking forward to finding out how brands in China can leverage Dable's native ad platform and AI technology to achieve exponential growth in the overseas markets." said Tianxi, Head of Business Development at Dable Mainland China.

Story continues

Jan Cheng, Head of Business Development at Dable Hong Kong, has 13 years of experience working in the media and ad-tech industry. He led publishers to switch to programmatic advertising. Jan developed key accounts to explore incremental investment opportunities via digital media planning and buying on different channels and led to monetizing the unsold inventory programmatically for the press such as the Asia City Media Group and the New York Times. In addition, he established a tailor-made programmatic solution and designed commitment packages for clients to secure sales volume and develop sustainable business relationships at Vpon Big Data Group, a leading big data company in Asia.

"Our business is based on monetizing inventories of publishers as well as contributing to the advertiser's profit through planning strategies. I will use my all-round business development and operational experience with solid digital knowledge to contribute to clients' growth by driving revenue and productivity." said Jan Cheng, Head of Business Development at Dable Hong Kong.

"Despite the fierce competition among global companies, Dable ranked first in market share in Taiwan last year following Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia based on its excellent technology. Tianxi Sun and Jan Cheng are top experts who are recognized in the industry. I trust that their experience, insight, and global business experience will play a major role in helping Dable establish and solidify its business in Greater China," said Chaehyun Lee, Dable's CEO. "We will establish ourselves as the No.1 content discovery and native advertising platform in Greater China while continuing to recruit professional talents from local industries to lead technological innovation."

About Dable

Dable is the world's leading content discovery and native advertising platform. Dable analyzes the interests of website visitors by using world-class big data processing and personalization technologies. It recommends personalized content and ads that visitors may find interesting. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Seoul, Dable is partnered with over 3,000 premium media worldwide including South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and mainland China. For more detailed information about Dable, visit http://dable.io/en/ .

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  A second suspect arrested Tuesday in connection with the mass shooting that killed six people in Sacramento had posted a live Facebook video of himself brandishing a handgun hours before gunfire erupted, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

Antoinette Walker cries on the shoulder of Frank Turner as Penelope Scott speaks to the media during an interview at the corner of 10th and K street in Sacramento, Calif., on Monday, April 4, 2022. Walker is the older sister of De'vazia Turner, who was shot and killed during a mass shooting a day earlier. Frank Turner and Penelope Scott are the mother and father of De'vazia Turner. Multiple people were killed and injured in the shooting (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  A second suspect arrested Tuesday in connection with the mass shooting that killed six people in Sacramento had posted a live Facebook video of himself brandishing a handgun hours before gunfire erupted, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

Smiley Martin, 27, who is the brother of the first suspect taken into custody, was arrested while hospitalized with bullet wounds from the shooting in California's capital.

Martin was released from prison on probation in February after serving his term for punching a girlfriend, dragging her from her home by her hair and whipping her with a belt, prosecutors said.

Martin may have been released sooner, but a Parole Board rejected his bid for early release in May after prosecutors said the 2017 felony assault along with convictions for possessing an assault weapon and thefts posed a significant, unreasonable risk of safety to the community.

"Martins criminal conduct is violent and lengthy, a Sacramento prosecutor wrote in a letter obtained by AP. Martin has committed several felony violations and clearly has little regard for human life and the law.

Penelope Scott talks about her son, De'vazia Turner, one of the victims killed in a mass shooting, during an interview with The Associate Press in Elk Grove, Calif., Monday, April 4, 2022. Multiple people were killed and injured in the shooting a day earlier.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Authorities are trying to determine whether the weapon seen in the video was used in the shooting, said the official, who was briefed on the investigation but was not authorized to publicly discuss details and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Investigators believe the brothers possessed stolen guns. They are reviewing financial documents, call records and social media messages to determine how and when they procured weapons, the official said. Authorities have searched several locations in connection with the shooting and the firearms investigation.

More than 100 shots were fired in rapid-fire succession early Sunday near the state Capitol, creating a chaotic scene with hundreds of panicked people trying desperately to reach safety. Twelve people were wounded by gunfire, including the Martin brothers.

Penelope Scott holds a collection of family photos including one of her son, De'vazia Turner, one of the victims killed in a mass shooting, during an interview with The Associate Press in Elk Grove, Calif., Monday, April 4, 2022. Multiple people were killed and injured in the shooting a day earlier. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Dandrae Martin, 26, was arrested Monday as a related suspect on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun. He was not seriously wounded and made a brief appearance Tuesday in Sacramento Superior Court wearing orange jail scrubs.

Smiley Martin will be booked for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun when his condition improves enough for him to be jailed, a police statement said.

Police were trying to determine if a stolen handgun found at the crime scene that had been converted to a weapon capable of automatic gunfire was used in the massacre.

Messages and candles are left at a makeshift memorial to the victims of Sunday's mass shooting at the corner of 10th and K street in Sacramento, Calif., on Monday, April 4, 2022. Multiple people were killed and injured in the shooting. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

Smiley Martin was taken to the hospital from the crime scene, police said.

Martin was quickly identified as a person of interest and has remained under the supervision of an officer at the hospital while his treatment continues, the statement said.

Detectives and SWAT team members also found a handgun during searches of three area homes.

In this undated photo provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry is Dandrae Martin. Sacramento police announced an arrest, Monday, April 4, 2022, connected to the shooting that killed and injured multiple people in the heart of California's capital as at least two shooters fired more than 100 rounds and people ran for their lives. Police said they booked Dandrae Martin, 26, as a "related suspect" on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun. (Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry via AP)

The shooting happened at about 2 a.m. Sunday as bars were closing and patrons filled the streets. The three women and three men killed included a father of four, a young woman who wanted to be a social worker, a man described as the life of the party, and a homeless woman.

The Sacramento County coroner identified the women killed as Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21. The three men were Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and Devazia Turner, 29.

Police were investigating whether the shooting was connected with a street fight that broke out just before gunfire erupted. Several people could be seen fighting in videos on a street lined with an upscale hotel, nightclubs and bars when gunshots sent people scattering.

In this 2018 photo provided by the Maricopa County (Arizona) Sheriff's Office is Dandrae Martin. Sacramento police announced an arrest, Monday, April 4, 2022, connected to the shooting that killed and injured multiple people in the heart of California's capital as at least two shooters fired more than 100 rounds and people ran for their lives. Police said they booked Dandrae Martin, 26, as a "related suspect" on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun. (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Officers were reviewing more than 100 videos and photos sent by witnesses for possible use as evidence, police said.

A 31-year-old man who was seen carrying a handgun immediately after the shooting was arrested Tuesday on a weapons charge, though police said his gun was not believed to be used in the crime.

District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert noted Monday that Dandrae Martin was not arrested on suspicion of homicide but said more arrests were expected.

A person who did not want to be identified holds a photograph of Melinda Davis, 57, during a candlelight vigil held at Ali Youssefi Square in Sacramento, Calif., late Monday, April 4, 2022. Davis was one of the people killed after a shooting that occurred early Sunday. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

Dandrae Martin, who was held without bail, was freed from an Arizona prison in 2020 after serving just over 1 1/2 years for violating probation in separate cases involving a felony conviction for aggravated assault in 2016 and a conviction on a marijuana charge in 2018. Court records show he pleaded guilty to punching, kicking and choking a woman in a hotel room when she refused to work for him as a prostitute.

Defense lawyer Linda Parisi said she doesnt know enough about the case yet and whether she will seek Dandrae Martin's release will depend on whether prosecutors bring stiffer charges.

If it turns out that the evidence demonstrates that this was mere presence at a scene that certainly argues more for a release, Parisi said. If it shows some more aggressive conduct then it would argue against it. But we dont know that yet.

Gabrielle Knox, 9, of Sacramento, stares at the flame of a candle during a vigil held at Ali Youssefi Square in Sacramento, Calif., late Monday, April 4, 2022. Multiple people were killed and injured after a shooting that occurred early Sunday. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

It wasn't clear if Smiley Martin had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Four of those wounded suffered critical injuries, the Sacramento Fire Department has said. At least seven of the victims had been released from hospitals by Monday.

At the scene where the chaos erupted, memorials with candles and flowers grew on the same sidewalks where people had run in terror as others lay on the ground writhing in pain.

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Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg reads the names of the shooting victims during a candlelight vigil held at Ali Youssefi Square in Sacramento, Calif., late Monday, April 4, 2022. Multiple people were killed and injured after a shooting that occurred early Sunday. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)

Politicians decried the shooting, and some Democrats, including President Joe Biden, called for tougher action against gun violence.

California has some of the nations toughest restrictions on firearms, requiring background checks to buy guns and ammunition, limiting magazines to 10 bullets, and banning firearms that fall into its definition of assault weapons.

But state lawmakers plan to go further. A bill received its first hearing Tuesday would allow citizens to sue those who possess illegal weapons, a measure patterned after a controversial Texas bill aimed at abortions.

Other proposed California legislation this year would make it easier for people to sue gun companies and target unregistered ghost guns," firearms made from build-it-yourself kits.

___

Associated Press writers Stefanie Dazio, Brian Melley and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, Don Thompson in Sacramento, Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix and News Researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York City contributed to this story.
COLUMBUS  The Columbus City Council unanimously approved a resolution to terminate tax incremental finance district 3 in the city during its meeting on Monday.

While the council had agreed in February to close TIF district 3, under Wisconsin law, the city terminating the TIF district and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue must agree on a final accounting submission date by April 15, Columbus City Administrator Kyle Ellefson said.

The final accounting submission date is on April 4, 2023.

The TIF district was started in 2007, and the city has the funds to close out the district early, which would save on additional interest the city would pay for those years.

TIF district 3, which is the oldest active TIF district in Columbus, includes property near the Highway 16/151 interchange.

Tax incremental financing is a tool cities can us to encourage development. It allows property values within a set area to be frozen. Tax revenues from growth are then invested in private development or public infrastructure.

For example, developer agreements can be negotiated to generally allow no- or low-interest loans to be issued to developers, or cities can use the proceeds to install infrastructure like streets, lighting, sewers and water lines.

When properties are taxed after completion, the increased valuation can pay for the investments made by the city and by the investors. Higher valuations increase the tax base, also helping to offset costs.

Follow Terri Pederson on Twitter @tlp53916 or contact her at 920-356-6760.

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Mellody Hobson to speak at William & Marys Commencement

Mellody Hobson, chair of the Starbucks board of directors and a nationally recognized voice on financial literacy, will speak at William & Marys 2022 Commencement ceremony.

Hobson, who formerly served as chair of DreamWorks Animation, will also receive an honorary degree from the university at the event, along with William & Mary alumna Rep. Stephanie Murphy 00 (D-Fla.), the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to the U.S. Congress.

This years undergraduate Commencement ceremony is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. on May 20 in Zable Stadium. A ceremony for graduate and professional students will be held May 21 at 9 a.m. in the same location.

Hobson, who serves as co-CEO and president of Ariel Investments and chair of the board of trustees for the Ariel Investment Trust, was originally scheduled to speak at W&Ms Commencement ceremony in May 2020. That event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She instead provided remarks for the virtual degree conferral, which the university streamed online. The Class of 2020 had an in-person Commencement ceremony on campus in fall 2021, along with the Class of 2021.

We are thrilled to welcome Mellody Hobson to campus in person at long last  and delighted that she will celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating class with us, said W&M President Katherine A. Rowe. She is an extraordinary businesswoman who generously gives of her expertise to improve the financial literacy of people around the world, laying the groundwork for a better future for all of us.

It will be a special pleasure, as well, to welcome Congresswoman Murphy back to campus as we celebrate the universitys Asian Centennial. She made history as the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to U.S. Congress, and her legacy will be her leadership and service to the nation. While we are proud to claim her as an alumna already, it is an honor to recognize her inspiring public service in this way.

In addition to Hobson, W&M Chancellor Robert M. Gates 65, L.H.D. 98, will speak at both Commencement ceremonies. The events are part of a weekend full of activities, including departmental receptions, affinity group ceremonies and other W&M traditions. A schedule of events is available on the W&M website.

Mellody Hobson

In her current role as co-CEO of Ariel Investments, Hobson is responsible for managing all areas of the company outside of research and portfolio management. As chair of the Board of Trustees, she leads the companys publicly traded mutual funds. Prior to becoming co-CEO, Hobson served as Ariels president for nearly 20 years. In 2015, Time Magazine named her one of the worlds 100 Most Influential People.

Hobson has served on the boards of multiple international businesses and currently serves as a director of JPMorgan Chase. In December 2020, she was named the non-executive director of the Starbucks board of directors, becoming the first Black woman to hold that position. She previously chaired the board of DreamWorks Animation and was also a longstanding board member of the Estee Lauder Companies.

An advocate for financial literacy, she has long shared her knowledge and experience on the national stage. She has researched minority investing patterns and writes a column for Black Enterprise Magazine. She has also been a contributor on CBS News and for ABCs Good Morning America. Her 2014 TED Talk Color Blind or Color Brave? has more than 4 million views.

Throughout her career, Hobson has sought ways to give back to the community. She chairs After School Matters, a nonprofit for teens in Chicago. She is also vice chair of World Business Chicago, co-chair of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a board member of the George Lucas Education Foundation and a board member for the Center for Strategic & International Studies and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Hobson received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and last year, was awarded the schools highest honor: the Woodrow Wilson Award. Hobson also has honorary degrees from Howard University, Johns Hopkins University, St. Marys College and the University of Southern California. In 2018, the governor of Illinois awarded her the Order of Lincoln  the states highest honor.

Rep. Stephanie Murphy 00

An immigrant and refugee from Vietnam, Murphy was the first woman in her family to attend college. During her time at William & Mary, she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority, a Japanese House resident and a research assistant. She also studied abroad and served on the Student Alumni Council.

After graduating from W&M with a bachelors degree in economics, she went on to receive a masters degree in foreign service from Georgetown University. She returned to W&M in 2018 to serve as speaker for the universitys Opening Convocation ceremony.

As a congresswoman in the U.S. House of Representatives, Murphy represents Floridas Seventh Congressional District, which includes Seminole County and much of northern Orange County, including downtown Orlando. She is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, serving on the Subcommittee on Trade and the Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support. She is also a member of the House Armed Services Committee, where she is vice chair of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations and a member of the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces. Since 2021, she has served on the bipartisan Select Committee to Investigate the January January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

Before being elected to Congress, Murphy worked as a businesswoman, college instructor and consultant. She also served as a national security specialist in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, where she received multiple accolades including the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service.

Registering for and attending events at William & Mary conveys a shared expectation of abiding by university policy, which is subject to change as conditions warrant. As of March 29, 2022, masking is optional both indoors and outdoors, with masking especially encouraged in large gatherings. Masks are required for students visiting the Student Health Center, for staff in the clinic, and for anyone using public transportation. COVID-19 vaccination and boosters are strongly encouraged for all William & Mary students, employees and external visitors, in alignment with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. We create these shared expectations of event participants in keeping with William & Marys core values of Belonging within this community and Respect for one another as individuals, and in recognition of the risks inherent to gathering amid pandemic.
Count Kathleen Cuddy among those in public health attempting to figure out why Cayuga County and central New York are experiencing an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

The region's case rate is the highest in New York. According to the latest data released by Gov. Kathy Hochul, central New York's case rate is 41.50 per 100,000 people, more than twice the statewide average of 17.46 per 100,000 people. CNY's rate increases to 49.08 when at-home test results from Onondaga County are included.

Cayuga County has a high COVID-19 community level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. It is one of 17 counties in the United States with a high community level, a metric that considers case rates, hospital admissions and hospital beds in use.

The Cayuga County Health Department's update on Monday was a mixed bag. Active cases decreased from 210 on Friday to 197 on Monday, but there were two COVID deaths  a man in his 80s and a woman in her 60s. Six residents are hospitalized with COVID.

Cuddy, Cayuga County's public health director, told The Citizen that the uptick in cases began after the school break in February. When students returned for classes in early March, the state lifted the school mask mandate.

Over a three-week period after the mandate was lifted, the Moravia school district reported 121 cases. Some districts, such as Auburn, had increasing numbers of cases. Others had no change in case totals.

"While schools certainly are not the only place where populations gather, that was one where it was most apparent because the schools are so involved in testing and reporting," Cuddy said.

But Cuddy did not want to single out schools as the source of the problem. She also noted that Cayuga County has a "very low vaccination rate." According to the state Department of Health, 59.6% of county residents are fully vaccinated  the second-lowest rate among central New York's five counties. Cortland County has the lowest vaccination rate (57.8%), while Onondaga (71.9%) has the highest.

With the approval of a second booster, Cayuga County has started to offer those shots at its vaccination clinics. The health department is also continuing its year-long effort to vaccinate more residents. The vaccines are offered to all eligible residents ages 5 and older and clinics are regularly held at either Fingerlakes Mall or another location within the county.

In addition to the vaccine, Cuddy reminded residents that there are other actions they can take to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Mask-wearing is one option. She acknowledged there has been opposition to masks, but noted the science backs up the effectiveness of face coverings. She also advised residents to stay home when they are sick and to take a COVID test if they have symptoms.

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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At the time of the US test, Biden was preparing for a visit to NATO allies in Europe, including a stop in Poland where he met with Ukraine's foreign minister and defense minister.
Extra funding to help Welsh councils provide domiciliary care

An extra 10 million is to be provided to local authorities across Wales to support domiciliary care and increase service provision.

Funded through the second supplementary budget, the funding can be used to pay for driving lessons for domiciliary care workers and purchase electric fleet vehicles to improve staff access to vehicles in order to increase service capacity.

Being unable to drive or not having access to a vehicle is one of the main barriers to recruitment into the sector and can limit the number of hours domiciliary care workers are able to work.

With demand for domiciliary support services in Wales remaining high, local authorities are having to find innovative ways to increase the capacity of their domiciliary support services and address longstanding difficulties in recruitment and retention.

The Welsh Government has already taken actions to build workforce capacity by introducing the Real Living Wage and undertaking a national recruitment campaign.

The Deputy Minister for Social Services, Julie Morgan said: I am very pleased we are providing an additional 10 million to local authorities to increase capacity in domiciliary care.

Domiciliary care workers being unable to drive is cited as one of the main barriers to recruitment and can limit what services can be offered by providers.

This funding will support the sector to meet these challenges and help people return home from hospital by increasing the provision of services.

In addition, there are significant delays for driving test dates due to the pandemic. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has agreed to prioritise test dates for Welsh domiciliary care workers who are waiting to sit their driving tests.

Ms Morgan added: I encourage anyone working in domiciliary care who is learning to drive to speak to their employer about how this funding could benefit them and their career.
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service set to open firefighter recruitment window this month

A five-day recruitment window is set to open for people looking to become full-time firefighters in North Wales.

The opening of the window comes seven months after the previous recruitment drive was paused due to a lack of resources

Last September, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service apologised for shelving plans to take on more full-time fighters due to, limited resources and staff time to recruit and train firefighters.

Chief fire officer Dawn Docx said at the time: The decision to delay opening the recruitment window for full-time firefighters for a few months was not taken lightly.

Registration for on-line applications will now open at noon on Friday 22 April and close at noon on Tuesday 26 April.

Head of Operations Anthony Jones said: We currently have an ongoing recruitment drive for on-call (or retained duty system) firefighter positions across our Service, where we encourage those interested in a part-time career to contact us at any time of year  with lots of information on this on our website.

Right now, were preparing to launch a new recruitment drive for full-time firefighters  and this recruitment window will be open for online registrations over a period of five days.

Were looking for people to join our team. We believe there is no such thing as a typical firefighter and applications from all backgrounds are encouraged.

The fire and rescue service has changed considerably over the last few years and the firefighter role has adapted to reflect this and to meet the demands of the local community.

We recruit based on merit and ability, so regardless of your gender identity or your ethnicity, if you think you have what it takes, keep an eye on our website and social media for updates on the recruitment process.

Our firefighters need to be able to communicate with all groups within the community but especially those at risk, such as the elderly and children.

They are able to switch from responding to a wide variety of incidents, to a more preventative role involving educating our communities, visiting the people we serve at home to ensure residents know how to keep themselves safe from fire and what to do in case of an emergency.

The role of a modern-day firefighter is therefore varied, challenging and immensely rewarding and we recently held taster days at Rhyl Fire Station because for such a diverse role we need a diverse workforce which reflects the communities we serve.

Were therefore especially keen to encourage applications from under-represented groups, which currently include women and people from LGBTQ+, black and ethnic minorities. Were also looking for Welsh speakers and learners as we want to deliver a first-class service to all our communities.

Follow us on social media for additional information. Our website also has a wealth of information for applicants on what it takes to become a full-time firefighter.
A new degree program starting in the fall semester at Cayuga Community College will provide students with foundational skills for careers as music educators and performers.

According to a news release, the music program will offer students academic avenues to study musical concepts, as well as solo and ensemble performances. Graduates from the program will earn an Associate of Science Degree, and the college said the program is ideal for students looking to transfer to a four-year college or university to pursue a bachelors degree in music education or music performance, because CCC has existing seamless transfer pathways with SUNY Oswego and SUNY Potsdam.

Students can expect a combination of classroom instruction and individual study developing expertise in voice or a major instrument. Students will also become proficient in at least one secondary instrument.

The program will also feature guest performances, lecturers, master classes and workshops, which will enable students to learn more about potential career avenues.

The college said that the program "will encourage a spirit of musical progression while also providing students a depth of knowledge preparing them for careers in education and performance."

The Music program promises students a versatile pathway to sharpen their skills not only in vocal and instrumental performance but also the history of music and its role in current society, Dr. Ron Cantor, CCCs Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, said in a statement. Students can develop musicianship expertise while also laying the groundwork for a future career in music education. Its an exciting new program whose diverse opportunities will appeal to students in our region.

For more information about the music program, visit cayuga-cc.edu/academics/schools/soma/degrees/music/.

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From April 1, key funding for infection control in social care settings, including free lateral flow testing (LFT) for visitors and sick pay for the precariously employed workforce has been discontinued. Free testing will be wound up a few weeks later by the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The move, which comes as the BA.2 variant is producing a record wave of infections and hundreds of deaths daily, will leave relatives and friends of the elderly and clinically vulnerable shouldering considerable costs. Those wishing to take a test before visiting a care home or for keeping loved ones safe in their own homes will now have to pay for an LFT. The legal requirement for people visiting care homes to take a test has been lifted, provoking widespread concerns that the sick, disabled, and elderly will be exposed to the virus.

In this April 20, 2020, photo, nurses guide a resident at Wren Hall nursing home in the central England village of Selston. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Nadra Ahmed, chair of the National Care Association, said, Visitors should never have been left out of the free testing regime, as theyre coming into high-risk environments for themselves and loved ones.

This is a community of frail, vulnerable people with complex medical conditions and we know the virus is still out there and is highly infectious within communities, and no testing is now the new normal.

Charity and care sector leaders have condemned the end of free testing as a tax on caring. Observing safe testing protocols for vulnerable relatives is an additional financial burden for working-class families, under conditions of a steep rise in the cost of living estimated to plunge 1.3 million people into absolute poverty in the UK. It could cost visitors to care homes upwards of 70 per month to individually fund the previous LFT testing protocols, providing yet another pandemic profit stream for big business.

Many firms are now jumping on the gravy train, with some charging exorbitant prices for the LFT kits they sell. Office supplies company Ryman, for example, is selling packs of 20 kits for 300, or 15 for a single test which some experts say cost only pennies to manufacture. More reliable PCR tests, which can confirm a COVID infection, are also no longer free. Here, private companies are charging anything between 45 and 100 for a single test. Those on a minimum hourly wage of 9.50 would have to work between 5 and 10 hours to pay for one test.

The abandonment of all public health measures will further isolate the clinically vulnerable, who have already effectively been excluded from safe access to society as ever more virulent coronavirus strains have been allowed to spread uncontrolled through workplaces, schools and the wider community.

A spokesperson for the Alzheimers Society said, Over the past two years, weve consistently heard many tragic stories from families struggling to visit their loved ones in care homes. With infection rates rising once again, the government must provide free lateral flow tests for all visitors to care homes so that families are not put in an agonising position where they are forced to ration visits, leaving people with dementia once again isolated and alone.

Even before the impact of these measures, infection rates in those aged 70 and older are already at the highest since records began, according to the Office for National Statistics. In the week ending March 18, 2022, there were 325 Covid-related deaths in those aged 86 years or older25 more than the previous week. The same period saw 187 Covid deaths in those aged 75 to 84, with the next highest death toll (78 deaths) recorded in individuals aged 65 to 74.

The recent Vivaldi study of 15,000 care home residents, backed by the UK governments Health Security Agency, found that immunity against hospitalisation and death declines rapidly in older generations compared to the young in the three to seven months following a second dose of the vaccine.

Although a second booster shot (or fourth dose) for the elderly (aged 75+) and vulnerable is now available, the roll out is slow and less than half the severely clinically vulnerable have had one. It remains to be seen how well the booster will perform against the BA.2 variant and further mutations that mass infection will produce.

For the moment social care staff, National Health Service (NHS) workers and other high risk workforces such as prison officers, will retain access to free testing together with care home visitors who perform personal care for relatives. Testing for residents, however, will only be carried out during a suspected outbreak instead of routine weekly testing.

Testing for domiciliary carers is to be reduced to twice per week rather than daily, in line with the guidance for care homes. Those providing home care can visit upward of a dozen households in a single week. The reduction in testing will increase the risk of infection for the nearly one million people dependent on such visits in the UK.

If more evidence were needed of the Conservative governments homicidal disregard for the lives and health of societys most vulnerable, it is laid bare by the latest testing guidance for severely immunocompromised adults. Although they will have access to some free tests, they are instructed to test only if they become symptomatic, when it may well be too late to save them from serious health complications or death. Their family members and friends will have to pay if they want regular testing, even if they live in the same household as a vulnerable relative.

Even before these measures, the effectiveness of testing in social care settings had already been drastically undermined with the sector on its knees from the combined impact of the pandemic and decades of austerity cuts and privatisation. Staff shortages stand at well over 10 percent of the workforce (120,000 in England alone), with attrition rates as high as 30 percent due to poverty wages and intolerable working conditions across the sector.

In the face of a renewed surge of the virus, such is the staffing crisis in care that many providers are encouraging infected staff to continue working if they are asymptomatic or develop only mild symptoms. Somerset Council public health consultant Alison Bell said, In some cases, we have no choice but to have people who are testing positive delivering care to people in Somerset. That risk is actually less than that person not receiving care.

Besides comprehensive free testing, a raft of other essential public health protections and support programmes have been abandoned as of April 1. These include:

Funding for sick pay for those self-isolating under the Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund has ended. The fund was introduced in May 2020, after the first deadly wave in care homes was linked partly to the absence of sick pay across the heavily privatised sector, which meant that workers could not afford to stay at home when infected.

Limits on workforce movements between care homes have been lifted. These were set up due to high levels of transmission related to the widespread dependence of the sector on heavily exploited agency workers who work shifts piecemeal across many different care homes and hospitals over a large geographical area.

The UK-wide compensation scheme which had provided families of NHS and social care staff who died of Covid with a miserly 60,000 bereavement payment has been closed, even though workers in the sector continue to die from workplace exposure. Ten NHS staff have died of COVID since the start of December 2021, according to official figures. Some 922 care workers died from COVID between the start of the pandemic and May 2021 in England, according to the workforce development body Skills for Care.

If you are or have been affected by the issues in this article, get in touch with NHS FightBack to share your experience and link up with our Facebook page. Sign up for the WSWS Health Care Workers News letter here .
Naftali Bennett, Israels right-wing prime minister, has utilised a string of terror attacks that have killed 11 people over 10 days as a pretext to launch a vicious crackdown on the Palestinians. He has placed Israels security forces on high alert in an operation named Break the Wave, which is tantamount to declaring war on the Palestinians.

Bennetts actions have sparked widespread anger among the Palestinians in Israel and in the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, illegally occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

IDF Paratroopers Operate Within Gaza [Credit: IDF, Wikimedia Commons]

On Wednesday evening, he issued a video statement saying, Whoever has a gun licence, this is the time to carry it. He added, Israel is facing a wave of murderous Arab terrorism, as he convened a special review of the security situation.

Defence Minister Benny Gantz announced he would send 1,000 soldiers to reinforce police and security forces within Israel and deploy 14 battalions to the West Bank and Israels border with Gaza. Police have reportedly switched their attention to surveillance and counterterrorism in the expectation of further attacks. Gantz warned that all means are legitimate to end this wave, and we will utilize any means that we think are proper to use, including calling up thousands of reservist soldiers.

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi said the IDF must be prepared for Guardian of the Walls 2, a reference to last May when Israel launched a murderous 11-day assault on Gaza. This was Israels response to Palestinian protests in East Jerusalem over an expected decision of the Supreme Court, still to be announced, on the eviction of six Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah and the harassment of worshippers and storming of the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, during Ramadan.

The Wall Street Journal reported, Israeli Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel said Israel may soon need to launch a wide-scale military operation similar to Operation Defensive Shield of 20 years ago, in which Israeli soldiers entered Palestinian towns to arrest or kill militants and seize their weapons,

This was a reference to the murderous assault on Jenin area in April 2002 that killed at least 52 Palestinians, including many civilians.

Earlier this year there were gunfights between Israeli forces and the Palestinians in the Jenin area and its refugee camp, with the Palestinian Authoritys security units unwilling to enter the camp. The city has been a focus of mass opposition to President Mahmoud Abbass corrupt Fatah-dominated PA for its role as Israels subcontractor in its efforts to permanently subjugate the Palestinians in their own land.

In the last fortnight, there have been four attacks on Israeli Jews that have killed 11 people. Islamic State (IS), possibly linked to ISs affiliate in Egypts Sinai Peninsula, which has for some years witnessed IS attacks on Egyptian security forces, claimed responsibility for two of themin Hadera and Beersheba. The shooting of two policeman in Hadera took place as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was holding talks with Bennett and leaders from Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Moroccoall signatories to the US-orchestrated Abraham Accordsand Egypt in the town of Sde Boker in the Negev desert. The talks centred on Washingtons relations with Iran and its proposal to remove Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from its list of terror organisations.

Israeli troops stormed and searched a house in the West Bank city of Jenin belonging to the family of the man they believed was responsible for a separate attack in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, that killed four Israelis. The soldiers vandalised the property and arrested some of his relatives and friends. When confronted with armed fighters and later civilians protesting the raid, the soldiers fired, killing two young Palestinians and injuring 15 who were throwing stones at the soldiers.

Israeli soldiers also killed three members of the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which had claimed responsibility for one of the attacks in Israel, during an ambush at a checkpoint near Jenin city, bringing the total number of Palestinians killed to eight.

Within Israel, the security forces have arrested dozens of suspects in the predominantly Palestinian towns in the central regions of the country and the Negev, with the number expected to grow as they target people suspected of links to IS and other Jihadist groups. They are expected to initiate a crackdown on the Palestinians, in the name of combating crime and the high incidence of gang murders and armed robbery that have swept the poverty-stricken towns, with the government on Thursday announcing a $60 million increase in the police budget.

The uptick in violence comes in the run-up to Ramadan, set to run between April 2 and May 1, and which this year coincides with Easter and the Jewish Passover. Israeli authorities have reportedly agreed to allow armed settlers, led by Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir, to enter the al-Aqsa Mosque compound en masse under police-protection during Passover.

There have been reports of dozens of incidents of damage to Palestinian property in Israel by right-wing extremists.

On Sunday, Israeli police used mounted forces, rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and batons to disperse crowds that traditionally gather outside the Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem after Ramadan evening prayers, injuring at least 19 Palestinians, and arresting ten during a second night of clashes. It follows the arrest of four Palestinians in the Old City the previous night.

The police crackdown came shortly after Foreign Minister Yair Lapid made a provocative visit to the Damascus Gate and the Old City to show support for the police.

Israels Palestinian political parties and groups, including the Raam party which is a member of Bennetts fragile, eight-party coalition government, condemned the IS attacks of March 22 and 27. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also issued a condemnation of the Bnei Brak attack, presumably a nod towards his meeting with Blinken last week. On Wednesday, King Abdullah of Jordan also condemned violence in all its forms as he hosted Israels President Isaac Herzog in Amman.

In Gaza, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated group that controls the besieged Palestinian enclave, held its traditional Land Day event, marking the loss of Palestinian lands, along the seafront, away from the Israeli border, in order to prevent any escalation in violence.

The UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) reported that in 2022 up to March 21, 18 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and 222 Palestinians injured, in Gaza and the West Bank.

None of this will cut across Israels plans for widespread repression.

No less a factor in Bennetts de facto declaration of war on the Palestinians is his determination to divert attention away from Israels economic and social crisis, as the cost of living, already one of the highest in the advanced countries, makes it hard for Israelis and Palestinians alike to put food on the table.

Last month, the national tax revenue report revealed that people in the bottom decile pay 47 percent of their income in taxes, while those in the top decile pay at a lower rate, 40 percent. Half of Israeli workers do not earn enough to reach the minimum income tax threshold, leading workers to demand wage increases in strikes that the trade unions have done everything they can to sabotage.

This explosive situation is set to deteriorate further as sanctions imposed by the US and major European powers on Russia have hit Israel hard. Much of Israels food and energy comes from Russia and Ukraine. With their own agricultural exports to Russia now unsold, Israeli farmers are preparing to destroy their produce.
After thousands of people protested on social media for a week against Facebooks deletion of an anti-war video by the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP), the tech company has restored the video. This marks an important success, but it also raises fundamental political questions.

Facebook deleted the video titled No Third World War! Against the Ukraine war, NATO aggression and German rearmament! on Saturday, March 26, without giving any reason and without the possibility of appeal. The SGP also received no response to its request to restore the video immediately and to respect the partys constitutional rights.

The deletion was undoubtedly an act of political censorship. The video contained no hate speech, did not violate any law, and did not breach any community policy. It was removed for purely political reasons in order to silence those who oppose the deafening war propaganda and the danger of a nuclear world war. The video unequivocally condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine but also shows how it was provoked by the countless wars of the NATO powers and the military encirclement of Russia.

Above all, the video explains the program of international socialism, which provides the only way to end the war and prevent a catastrophe. If the international working class does not intervene independently and build an international movement against war and capitalism, a world war is inevitable.

After the video had been viewed over 20,000 times within a few days, Facebook decided to block it. The aim was to suppress the SGPs independent anti-war policy and intimidate the broad popular opposition to war.

It took over a week for Facebook to restore the video and with it the close to 100 comments and almost 200 responses it generated. This decision was undoubtedly a reaction to the massive support that the SGP received.

A single post by the SGP on Facebook alone, which opposed the censorship of the video, was shared 81 times and supported over 400 times with a thumbs up. The three central hashtags of the campaign #SpeakOutAgainstWW3, #StopCensoringSocialism and #defendSGP were together used over 1,500 times. A repost of the video and its publication on other platforms reached almost 20,000 views combined.

In addition, the WSWS received numerous statements from workers and young people from Germany and around the world who protested in the strongest possible terms against Facebooks censorship.

Facebook has taken the side of death and destruction through its censorship. This is a criminal act and must be combated vigorously! No to war, No to censorship, a reader from the UK said.

A software developer called on Facebook colleagues to form independent rank-and-file committees to fight against censorship and warmongering by the corporation.

The censorship of the video is an attack on the broad anti-war sentiment in the population. The high number of views the video had before it was deleted underlines the broad interest among the population in a perspective on the fight against war and a real analysis of the causes of war, said a student from Baden-Wurttemberg.

But even if Facebook could not maintain the censorship in the face of this protest, it had a significant impact. First of all, the damage remains that the video was blocked at the peak of its popularity when it was being widely shared, and thus the wave of distribution was stopped.

Above all, however, the incident underscores that Facebook assumes the right to arbitrarily censor unwelcome facts and opinions that the company does not share. In doing so, the company has clearly violated applicable law. Most recently, in July last year, Germanys Federal Court of Justice ruled that Facebook must give due consideration to fundamental rights when deleting content, inform the users concerned and give them the opportunity to appeal.

Facebook was aware that the SGP video did not violate any laws or community guidelines and was therefore unable to comply with these requirements. However, it still censored the video and simply disregarded any jurisprudence.

It must be assumed that the tech giant acted in close cooperation with the government. Facebook has hired more than 20,000 employees for its security and enforcement team to monitor and censor the posts on its platform. Many of them are former intelligence and law enforcement officials, admitted Monica Bickert, Head of Counter-Terrorism at Facebook, in January 2018.

In Germany, more than 1,000 people are employed to monitor the content on Facebook. Cooperation with the government is particularly close. With the Network Enforcement Act, the state not only encourages the censorship of tech companies, but also encourages Facebook to delete as much content as possible by threatening the company with high fines. According to the Transparency Report, 11,699 posts were deleted from Facebook in Germany on this basis in the first half of 2021 alone, which represents a nine-fold increase compared to the previous half-year.

Facebook must explain how the Socialist Equality Party got into this censorship machine. Which persons were involved in the decision to carry out the deletion without providing any reason and without the possibility of appeal? What role did government agencies play in Facebooks decision?

If Facebook does not answer these questions, it will not be possible to ensure that they will refrain from further arbitrary and politically motivated censorship measures in the future. We therefore call on all our readers and supporters to continue to protest against the censorship and to demand answers to these questions from Facebook. In addition, the SGP and WSWS are fighting alongside all opponents of war whose content is still censored on Facebook and other social media platforms.
Two Republicans have filed petitions to qualify for the June 28 primary election, setting the stage for a fight to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. John Katko as the GOP nominee for Congress.

Mike Sigler, a Tompkins County legislator, said Monday that he submitted more than five times the 1,250 signatures required to be eligible for the ballot.

Sigler, who was endorsed by seven of the eight Republican party organizations in the 22nd Congressional District, thanked the volunteers who circulated petitions on behalf of his campaign. His supporters collected signatures from voters in every city and town in the district, which includes all of Onondaga and Tompkins counties, plus parts of Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Ontario, Schuyler and Seneca counties.

"Without these committees, I wouldn't be in this race," he said. "They want to retain this seat and believe I'm the person to do that."

Brandon Williams, a former U.S. Navy nuclear submarine officer who co-founded a software company, told The Citizen that he submitted about 2,500 signatures, twice the minimum number required to be eligible for the primary ballot.

Williams, a Sennett resident, already has the state Conservative Party's endorsement, which guarantees him a ballot line for the general election in November. But a win in the GOP primary would unite the two lines. Republican congressional candidates typically run with the Conservative Party's support.

"I am so very proud of the enthusiastic supporters who have rallied around my message and campaign to add my name on the Republican line of the primary ballot," Williams said. "As a political outsider and Navy veteran, my supporters are excited about a fresh perspective during these difficult times. I am humbled by their gratitude and encouragement to stand up for our rights and to fight against the destructive agenda of the hard left."

Barring any petition challenges, Sigler and Williams will appear on the June 28 primary ballot. The winner of the primary will be the GOP nominee in the 22nd district.

Republicans face an uphill battle in the newly drawn district, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by 50,000 voters. There are six Democratic candidates in the race.

The winner of the general election will succeed Katko, a Republican who announced in January that he will not seek reelection this year.

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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Firefighters in East Tennessee have been working to contain a series of wildfires that began last week. The fires have so far consumed over 3,000 acres and have led to the evacuation of roughly 11,000 homes and the displacement of hundreds of residents and tourists. Over 300 structures have been lost completely. As of this writing, no deaths or missing persons have been reported.

Damage from wildfire at Hatcher Mountain (Photo: TN Dept of Agriculture)

While officials have said that they are still investigating the cause of the fires, the National Weather Service (NWS) has indicated that the fires are most likely the result of strong winds mixing with dry ground conditions and low relative humidity. Imaging provided by the NWS shows that the region experienced winds ranging from 60 to 85 miles per hour on the day that the first fire was reported.

Manmade climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels has increased the average temperature in Tennessee by 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit over the last three decades. This has contributed to more extreme weather patterns, including the drought conditions which have primed conditions for the intensification of wildfires in the region.

In an April 4 press conference, the Tennessee Division of Forestry provided an update on the states efforts to contain the three blazes. In Sevier County, the Hatcher Mountain-Indigo Lane fire is 98 percent contained and has burned approximately 2,500 acres; the Millstone Gap-Dupont fire is 64 percent contained and has burned roughly 700 acres. In Campbell County, northwest of Sevier, the East Douglas Lane fire is 50 percent contained and has burned around 50 acres. Sevier County has lifted its evacuation orders, and only one road remains closed.

Over 200 personnel and 70 agencies have been called in to battle the fires. This includes the Tennessee National Guard, who have been using Blackhawk helicopters to conduct aerial water drops. Forestry official James Heaton explained some of the challenges that firefighters on the ground have been facing, telling local ABC affiliate WATE 6, This fire has been made more difficult due to the very steep terrain, very rocky slopes, so its very hard for firefighters to access the mountains.

The fires have also raised the danger of COVID-19. Tennessee was among the first states to begin dismantling COVID-19 protections, to the extent they existed. In November of last year, as the Omicron variant was ripping through society, the states far right governor, Bill Lee, signed into law legislation banning mask and vaccine mandates. Since then, his administration has begun ending daily case reporting, in tandem with the Democratic Biden administration.

Under conditions where the more infectious BA.2 subvariant is quickly spreading, evacuees from the fires were forced to shelter, with over one hundred people at one point occupying a single shelter, undoubtedly without even the most basic mitigation measures like masking, social distancing, and proper ventilation. A number of the evacuees were likely tourists who will now potentially be carrying the virus with them back to their own communities. According to official reporting, Sevier County has seen 30,259 total cases and 403 COVID deaths since 2020.

Sevier County is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state, with hundreds of thousands flocking each year to the mountain resort towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. The countys tourism industry, according to data published by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, produced nearly $2.4 billion in revenue in 2020, a 13 percent decline over the previous year that was due primarily to the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite this massive sum, the county only spent $1.12 million on Fire Prevention and Control the same year, even though the area is known to be particularly susceptible to wildfires. Highlighting the dilapidated state of the countys infrastructure, it was reported that the Sevier County Volunteer Fire Department had just a single fire tanker truck at their disposal, which was ultimately consumed in the inferno.

Indeed, this data is all the more damning considering that Sevier County was recently the site of one of the deadliest and most damaging fire disasters in the eastern United States. The 2016 Gatlinburg wildfires, which incinerated 16,000 acres over the course of a month, claimed the lives of 14, injured 190, and forced the evacuations of 14,000 residents and tourists. Over 2,000 structures were either damaged or destroyed. The total cost of damages was $2 billion.

The disaster was exacerbated by the mishandling of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), along with city and county officials. For example, TEMA failed to send out evacuation notices in time, and by the time the agency finally did, the fires had already devastated much of the town and many residents were without cell phone service.

Following the disaster, officials attempted to charge two teenagers with aggravated arson, but the case was dropped due to insufficient evidence. It was subsequently revealed that many of the fires were started by downed power lines, implicating local utilities and city officials.

Efforts by local residents to learn more about the causes of the disaster were hampered by Sevier Countys City Commission and mayor, who passed a resolution drastically limiting the ability of citizens to exercise their free speech rights at Commission meetings. Resolution 939 requires citizens to submit their questions no later than five days before a Commission meeting, who will then decide whether to address them.
New South Wales (NSW) Premier Dominic Perrottet travelled to the regional city of Lismore yesterday to belatedly announce grants for people who have lost their homes in two record floods throughout the states northeast and around Sydney over the past five weeks.

Flooding engulfs Lismore [WSWS Media]

It was a desperate bid to head off white-hot anger in working-class communities across northern NSW and around the country over the refusal of governments to protect and aid devastated residents.

But the amounts offered by the right-wing Liberal-National Coalition state premier are far too small to make any real difference to the thousands of people who are now homeless, living in cars, tents, couch-surfing, or cramped in small campervans.

Lismore, the epicentre of the floods disaster, has become the sharpest expression of a wider and deeper social crisis of poverty and inequality, which has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and repeated climate change-related catastrophes, like the bushfires and floods.

Having failed to even organise rescue and emergency services as floods engulfed entire communities, the federal and state governments have essentially abandoned the victims, as they did in the 201920 bushfires.

More than five weeks after the first flood wave hit on February 28, Perrottet claimed his government would review eligibility requirements for disaster relief payments and said a new $112 million support package would include up to $20,000 for households whose homes had been declared destroyed or uninhabitable.

For tenants, the offering was even smallerup to $5,000 to replace goodswhile landlords could claim up to $15,000 for repairs. The funds would be available only to owners or renters who were not insured and have not claimed Disaster Relief Grants.

These pittances would barely cover the repair of one room, let alone an entire house or flat. The $112 million stands in stark contrast to the hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into the military for war preparations, featuring long-range missiles and submarines.

Brett in Phyllis Street, Lismore [WSWS Media]

Nor is there any guarantee that the cash promises will be kept. Reportedly, more than 9,000 people have applied for NSW flood relief payments over the past month, but less than 550 people have actually been paid.

Significantly, Perrottet used the occasion to distance himself from the unravelling and detested federal government of his close colleague, Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Perrottet claimed that he had been waiting for the Morrison government to help fund the support package, but had decided to go it alone.

Just as significantly, during his visit to Lismore, Perrottet was flanked by the local state Labor MP Janelle Saffin. She expressed appreciation for the package, as did the state Labor leader Chris Minns. This underscores the essential unity between the two ruling parties and their mutual fear of unrest getting out of control.

Saffin praised the grants, but said they could have been up to $50,000 if the federal government had chipped in. I do want the federal government to step up, it's a bit too slow, Ill leave it at that, Saffin told reporters. But I welcome the ($20,000) today and I said to the premier that that is a good start.

Residents were not impressed. A South Lismore flood victim, currently housed in a campervan with poor facilities at nearby Alstonville Showground, told the WSWS that Perrottets offer would make virtually no difference to those who had lost their homes in the floods.

They might get their bathroom fixed, if that! she said. It wont do much at all. Even if the grants were $50,000, as proposed by Saffin, it would not be enough. The problem lay deeper, she commented.

She was still trying to obtain the previous assistance promised by governments. We are taking a group up to the community hub today to try to get onto Service NSW. Its online process is too hard to navigate, and Im quite tech savvy! I applied for a grant weeks ago, and have received nothing.

For housing until her home could be repairedwhich could be more than a yearthe state government had just asked her if she would accept a demountable house in a mobile village somewhere of its choosing, even in neighbouring Queensland. It could be anywhere! she said.

She reiterated that many residents had no flood insurance because of the exorbitant premiums charged by the insurance giants. One of her friends was paying $100 a week for house insurance and even then the terms and conditions were tricky as to what the policy covered.

Another Lismore resident, Lauren De Groot, a single mother with a three-year-old daughter, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that thousands of people were now homeless, but homelessness had been serious throughout the region even before the disasters.

We have nowhere to go, we have none of our possessions and we arent getting anything from the governmentall of these promises that arent been followed through on.

Her rented flat had been inundated on February 28. Like many others, she was rescued only hours later by a friend with a boat. The caravan in which she currently lives was lent to her by a friend for just six months, and she had to pay for it to be parked at a caravan park in Ballina, another flood-struck city.

It was the second time she and her daughter had been made homeless, having lost a previous home in the bushfires. We were homeless for three months after the fire I finally managed to get someone to give me a chance in a rental where I was paying a ridiculous rate of rent that left me on the poverty line.

Another Lismore resident, Isaac Campbell, whose home flooded twice, told the Australian he was still waiting for support he applied for weeks ago. Unless we get some money and some help pretty soon, this is just bad. Its a Third World situation heretheres raw sewage in the river and no one has power, hot water or a fridge.

Labor politicians have tried to focus all the blame on Morrison, accusing him of allocating funds preferentially to Coalition-held electorates. That charge has been echoed by a local state Liberal MP, Catherine Cusack, who declared today she would not vote for the Coalition in the looming federal election.

This is a political diversion. In the first instance, the $3,000 federal income support grants, which were eventually extended to most flood-affected areas, are themselves chicken feed compared to the losses that residents have suffered.

More fundamentally, the disaster has laid bare the policy of all capitalist governmentswhether Coalition or Labor. It is to leave ordinary working people to fend for themselves in the face of these catastrophes, including the worsening Omicron wave that is sweeping through schools, hospitals and households.

Morrison simply put it most crudely when he told a media conference in Lismore on March 8 that people had to be realistic. He contemptuously declared: In any natural disaster, we dont have those resources that are just waiting around the corner.

The following day, with Labors support, Morrison unveiled the largest increase to the size of the Australian military since the Vietnam War, at a cost of $38 billion. The purpose is to prepare to play a frontline role in the US-led conflicts with Russia and China, aimed at ensuring the global hegemony of American imperialism and shoring up the strategic interests of Australian capitalism.

The concept that the situation will change if a federal Labor government is elected is an illusion. There are no real differences between the policy of Labor, the Coalition or any of the political elites who populate parliament.

The residents of northern NSW and southern Queensland have been left to fend for themselves and rely on the support of ordinary people. That needs to be consciously organised into rank-and-file neighbourhood and safety committees that are independent of these political parties and the trade unions, which have lifted not a finger to assist, in order to advance an alternative to the dictates of the corporate elite.

As the Socialist Equality Party said in its March 6 statement, Australias floods: An indictment of capitalism: Every aspect of the floods crisisfrom the lack of preparation and warnings to people, to the inadequacy of basic infrastructure and support services, and the lack of assistance offered to the hundreds of thousands of flood victimsis the direct result of the subordination of society to the dictates of private profit.

In that statement we outlined a socialist policy, which would include:
Campaign teams from the Socialist Equality Party have been speaking to workers across the UK who want to record their opposition to Russias war in Ukraine and plans by the NATO powers to utilize a conflict they deliberately provoked to bring about regime change in Moscow that could end in a direct conflict between nuclear powers.

Megan and Karen

Karen, a student at the University of East London, said, Whats going on is very scary. I dont think we get the truth. The news is positioned towards many things that we cant know about for sure, so its difficult to get the truth and the wider picture. There are definitely political agendas in the background. Yemen doesnt get spoken about. I think people have to look for independent sources of news and not look at the mainstream too much and stand up for what you believe in. All the main parties are out of touch with the majority.

Megan, a student at Leeds University, said, Many people think its not going to affect us because its not directly in our country. They think they dont have to do anything. As one person we cant maybe do a lot, but even just speaking up about stuff it gets more conversations going and more people interested and aware of whats going on around them.

I am concerned because its not our voices being heard. The Conservative government is for one set of people with one mindset, making all these decisions and not telling us the truth about what is going on. Its about power and money at the end of the day. When something happens like this war, it shouldnt be down to just one party. It affects everyone.

Adam

Adam, a student studying law at Bradford university, said, I think the US and UK are hypocritical in their support for war in Ukraine.

The UK would not allow Russia to come over to Scotland and take Scotland the same way the UK and America had gone and taken over Ukraine. I think the UK and America should just stay out of it because I think they could cause a lot more trouble in the long run.

Its just double standards and something should be done about the way the UK and US are behaving. They haven't got a great history: they have carpet bombed whole countries calling it pre-emptive strikes. Ukraine is getting loads of coverage while Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine get no coverage. So it seems as though there is some agenda particularly with the press in the UK. They are trying to make the deaths in Ukraine the responsibility of Russia to make Russia look really bad.

Daniel

Daniel, 19, a Business Studies student at Bradford University, said, There is a lot of misinformation. If you use social media as a teenager, TikTok, Twitter, the thing is you see one video which looks correct, but then you see about another 10 where there are just lies and its hard to develop a correct view. I think with this war a lot of people have concerns based on what theyve seen, but its not always correct.

In the past young peoples thoughts on world issues werent as focused as they are now, so even though there is that misinformation around young people are still interested in wanting to know whats happening.

It's like a scary thought right, because everybodys idea is that as soon as that one person, or that one country releases a nuke theres going to be a massive response globally, even if youre an unrelated country. No matter where you are, youre going to have that fear of, OK, wheres my country going to stand on this? And especially the UK because as soon as anything happens its going to directly impact here.

I think another issue is the dependence on Russian gas. An average person going to work, driving however many miles, their petrol price has just gone up through no fault of their own. I think in Ukraine and Russia they grow one third or 30 percent of global wheat production. If you think about the poorest of the poor thats going to directly impact them because as the price goes up, for them its going to be a massive impact on their daily life.

Joe, Mercy and Khyatiare university graduates working for a project advising young people how to manage financially.

Joe said, Theyre both [Russia, America] as bad as each other. Anyone who hoards nuclear weapons is evil. Itll be us that pays for the war. Ive got a Karl Marx poster at home. Id join a revolution if there was one. Id overthrow capitalism.

Mercy, 24, said, What youre doing here is very important, informing people.'

Khyati (second right)

Khyati, 24 from Salford, said, I dont think its fair about the war. We have more important issues to deal with, like climate change. As soon as the pandemic is over, war is waiting to happen.

Abdur Rashid

Manchester taxi driver Abdur Rashid said, I oppose war. If petrol goes up, everything goes up. Why should we pay for the rising fuel prices? The government said 15 years ago, we have reserve fuel. Then why are they putting prices up? If theres no war, I dont pay higher prices. We send troops, who pays? Our tax money pays.

I have to work an extra 10 hours a week. I now work every day, nine hours, 10 hours. The government says you dont need to worry. I am worried. If I dont pay my mortgage for two or three months, theyll take my house.

Stanley from Sheffield said, I have been following the conflict in Ukraine, but am not watching the destruction of life and properties unnecessarily. I have been a soldier myself. I understand what making war means, and its implications for society. Its imperialism by the Americans, their desire to bring down the Putin regime and bring Western influence into Russia. The Americans would want to get rid of Russia and control the world.

Yazanani,a social researcher from South London, said, I think to only look at this war in Ukraine not only vilifies Russia but also erases how its territory has slowly been encroached upon by NATO. Russia isnt the first super-power to violate international law, but it seems to be the first to be denounced. As a society we should denounce those who enabled the scourge of war through acquisition of military weapons and such power plays. Its caused unnecessary loss of life and destruction of life chances for other reasons.

The US and UK arent seeking de-escalation but considering how to advance and defend their interests in a situation involving nuclear and other weapons!
A conspiracy of silence between the Conservative government and the Labour Party is covering up an unprecedented spread of coronavirus in the UK.

Officially recorded infections have always significantly underestimated the prevalence of the virus. Now, however, the governments living with COVID policy, including the scrapping of universal free testing, self-isolation, and sick pay support, has rendered the daily figures next to useless.

Clinical staff care for a patient with coronavirus in the intensive care unit at the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England, May 5, 2020 [Credit: Neil Hall Pool via AP]

A real picture is only available once a week when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes its coronavirus infection survey. The latest report shows 4.9 million people had infections in the week to March 26up 600,000 on the week before and a record since the survey began in April 2020. According to the ZOE COVID Symptom Study run by Kings College London, whose funding is threatened, 333,000 people are catching the virus every day.

Infection rates are so high that workplace and school absences due to self-isolation are increasing, despite the Johnson governments efforts to force people to stay on the job.

The most up-to-date data from the Department for Education reveals that 202,000 pupils were off school March 17 due to the virus, triple the number two weeks prior. Another 108,000 staff were absent, 9.1 percent, up from 5.8 percent two weeks earlier.

COVID absence rates range between 2-3 percent in the food and agriculture, transport and logistics, and manufacturing and construction sectors; 2-4 percent in hospitality, retail, health, education, and social care; and 3-4 percent in the civil service, IT, finance, and arts and recreation. A construction executive told the Financial Times the virus is spreading like wildfire people are working as they need the money and reinfecting each other.

Absences in the National Health Service have risen by 86 percent in three weeks since the week ending March 6, according to the BMJ. They increased in acute care trusts by more than a fifth last week.

International travel is also affected, with scores of flights cancelled yesterday and today due to shortages of airport and airline workers. There were over 1,100 cancellations between March 28 and April 3, over five times the amount for that period in a normal year.

The surge in cases which began among children and younger adults is now passing into the older and more at-risk age groups. An estimated 6.6 percent of the over 70s were infected with the disease during the period of the most recent ONS survey (a record), up from 5 percent a week before. Among the 50-69 age group, the rate increased from 5.6 percent to 7.2 percent.

Vaccination has substantially reduced the rate of severe disease caused by COVID. But thanks to the ruling classs pandemic policy, the wave of disease against which the wall of immunity in the population must hold has massively increased.

More than eight million people have yet to take up the offer of a third booster shot, thanks to the government and media effort to downplay the threat posed by Omicron. Immunity from vaccination wanes over time, especially in older people. A UK Health Security Agency study of more than 15,000 care home residents, published last month, found a sharp one-third reduction in protection against hospitalisation and death just three to seven months after vaccination.

The rollout of a fourth jab has only just begun and is limited to the over-75s, care home residents, and the immunocompromised.

Hospital admissions of patients with COVID are now outstripping the January Omicron peak, particularly among older age groups. Scotland last week had more COVID patients in its hospitals than at any other time in the pandemic. Increases in hospitalisations mean increases in deaths over the next several weeks.

The seven-day average of daily COVID deaths in the UK has already risen above 150. The disease was the third leading cause of death in England in February.

There is a rise among patients admitted primarily for COVID complications (roughly half of the total) as well as those admitted with COVID. Attempts to write off those patients not primarily being treated for coronavirus as irrelevant to discussion of the pandemics impact are a malicious fraud. A recent study published in the Lancet showing co-infection with flu and COVID increases the risk of death by 2.4 times highlights the serious dangers posed by an underlying infection.

University College Londons Clinical Operational Research Unit director Christina Pagel commented last week in the Guardian, We are currently pushing existing vaccines to their limits with high infection levels, but we should instead be supporting them by reducing transmission.

The idea that the UK had somehow finished our vaccination programme, and there is no point in waiting to return to normal was the third of the three big myths about Omicron, she explained.

The first is that coronavirus is now endemic, when the UK and the rest of the world are still suffering huge, unpredictable waves of disease. Pagel adds, in any case, endemicity certainly does not necessarily mean mild. There is a significant global burden of ill health and death, for instance, from endemic diseases such as TB and Malaria.

The second myth is that coronavirus is evolving to be milder, and each new variant will be milder than the last until it becomes a common cold, when in fact, most game changing new waves weve seen have come from variants that have evolved completely independently from each otherThere has been no progression through successive variants, and no building towards mildness.

The current surge in cases in the UK and elsewhere is being driven by the BA.2 strain of Omicron, with a much higher R rate than the original Omicron variant, making it roughly as infectious as measles. Yet more variants are already in circulation, including Deltacron, a combination of the two previous variants, and XE, a recombinant of the BA.1 and BA.2 strains. So far, more than 600 cases of XE have been identified in the UK and it is presenting a growth rate higher even than BA.2.

With such high levels of transmission, increases in the virulence or immune evasiveness of the virus would rapidly produce a catastrophe.

Speaking about the risks of new variants, University of Leeds virologist Dr Stephen Griffin told the Express, We are behaving as though this has become some kind of endemic, seasonal viruswhich it clearly has not Just relying on vaccines on their own is wrong.

In addition to 188,000 COVID deaths, government policies have produced a huge increase in debilitating long-term illness. Professor Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, told the Guardian COVID could totally lead to a generation affected by disability. Observer analysis of ONS data last month highlighted a 1.2 million rise in the number of people with a long-term health condition over the two years of the pandemic. The number had previously been increasing by 275,000 a year.

The Institute for Employment Studies Labour Market Statistics briefing for March explains, There remain nearly 600 thousand fewer people in work than before the pandemic began, noting, a worrying shift towards worklessness due to ill health.

A survey of employers representing 4.3 million employees by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found 26 percent list Long COVID as a main cause of long-term sickness absence. Queen Mary University of London researchers have found testing positive for COVID is associated with a five fold increase in someones chances of reporting long-term absence from work and a 39 percent increase in their likelihood of reporting inadequate income to meet basic needs.

Every faction of the ruling class is on board with enforcing this effective war on the working class. Not one politician speaks for the swathes of the population who have suffered more than two years of these conditions and are determined to see the pandemic ended.

According to the Hansard parliamentary record, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has not uttered the words COVID, virus or pandemic in the House of Commons since Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared the beginning of his living with COVID strategy on February 21. Except for one tangential reference in a short contribution focussed on sick pay, the leader of the Labour left Jeremy Corbyn has not used these words in the chamber since October 21, 2021.
The World Socialist Web Site has received this letter from a Russian socialist, commenting on a letter written by David North, posted on the WSWS on April 2.

I have read your letter to the Russian comrade, and it does not contradict my position.

There is a leftist milieu in Russia that correctly acknowledges the provocative role of the United States and Europe in the current conflict, but speaks of a Russian imperialist act of invasion.

I immediately raise the question, what do they mean by an imperialist act? After all, if you think about it properly, an imperialist act is an action carried out by a capitalist power in order to expand its economic, financial and military power, seeking to redivide the world under new conditions of existence.

First, the Russian bourgeoisie has no material basis for the expansion of its empire. (Financial capital of Russia is incredibly weak in comparison with Western financial capital. In fact, the influence of Russian financial capital is fully manifested only in Russia itself, and partially in a number of allied countriesBelarus, Syria and others). Second, there is also missing in the psychological character of the Russian bourgeois state (which, of course, results from the material conditions)it does not seek to defeat its rival imperialists, to take away its markets, to weaken its influence on the world stage. No, it seeks to make a deal with imperialism so that the Russian bourgeoisie, accustomed to its solely privileged parasitic position in a country rich in raw materials, will not be touched.

We can see that Putins invasion was not based on any motive to expand his markets (rather, it led to their reduction on a global scale), or a desire to redivide the world. Putin wants to keep the world as it has been for the last thirty years, when Russia was independent from Western partners. Over the past thirty years, this position has been constantly violated by NATOs eastward expansion, which is what the Russian bourgeoisie fears, not surprisingly.

And if one thinks of the fact that the Russian bourgeoisie seeks to expand its influence on the world stage in this way (that is, through war), that is also untrue. Putin does not need any expansion for the Russian world, as the material conditions for this are totally unsuitable and will not allow him to do so. His main task is not to expand, but to protect a position that will allow the Russian bourgeoisie not to fear a military intervention by NATO. Putin is incapable of destroying NATO (except for nuclear war), so he will reckon with NATO, but by protecting his interests in the border areas of Russia, as he did in 2008, 2014 and this year.

If Putins regime were imperialist, we would not see hesitant Russian bourgeois looking for a deal with imperialism, but real predators who would seize Ukraine and the Ukrainian population into bondage even before NATO did. Further, the Russian bourgeoisie would have reclaimed Belarus, northern Kazakhstan and many other Russian territories. But we dont see that because there is no real imperialist basis for that, i.e., there is no strong financial capital capable of expanding its interests into weaker countries in order to subjugate them to the center and exploit them for extraction of increased surplus value. In this way, Russia would indeed become imperialist, as pre-Soviet Russia once was.

Of course, the absence of a real basis for expansion does not exclude a layer in the Russian bourgeoisie that aspires to this, but this layer is in the absolute minority. In any event, for the realization of this aim, Russia would have to establish a national fascist dictatorship. In principle, the current isolation of Russia could give more influence to this pro-imperialist stratum, but as long as there is a Putin regime engaged in maneuvering, feverish and improvisational swings from side to side, we will not see any imperialist policy from Russia. I hope you agree with my position on this point.

One further point must be made: the establishment of fascism would require a tremendous militarization, hitherto unprecedented in Russia, to provide some real basis for its expansionary policy. But it is the duty of every revolutionary Marxist to prevent such consequences through socialist revolution. There is no other way to avoid negative consequences in this matter, and it would hardly exist within a class society where the revolutionary class is the proletariat.
A student at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) in New Zealand, who is suffering from Long COVID, spoke with the World Socialist Web Site last week for the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic. The 22-year-old biology student, who asked to be referred to as Rose, said she wanted more people to be aware of the dangers posed by the virus, including for young people.

Wellington Regional Hospital (WSWS Media)

Rose also told the WSWS she was disappointed with the Labour Party-led governments recent decisions to remove most public health restrictions during the peak of the countrys Omicron wave. She said the community was being put at risk and I really think they should have waited until the peak had gone down.

In October last year, Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns government ended its elimination policy, which had kept New Zealand free from COVID for most of 2020 and 2021. The government caved to the demands of big business for an end to lockdowns and, with the assistance of the trade unions, schools and businesses were reopened. With the arrival of the Omicron variant in January, the virus has been allowed to spread out of control, infecting hundreds of thousands of people.

The countrys death toll from the pandemic has soared from just 32 last October to 405 as of April 4. There are more than 700 people in hospital with the virus, and 10 to 20 deaths, or more, are being reported every day.

Rose has a liver disease, which places her at greater risk of serious illness from COVID-19. She said, Ive had quite a lot of trouble explaining to people that even though I look healthy I am actually immuno-compromised, and that it is not just the elderly who are at risk. For a lot of people its quite shocking to know that Im 22 and I could still die from it. I dont think a lot of people understand that.

The Hunter building (with the Robert Stout building to the left), Victoria University of Wellington. (Harry Chapman, December 11, 2013, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Rose contracted COVID in late February and was infectious for nine days. During this time she would often have difficulty breathing for periods lasting 10 to 20 minutes. There were about five days where I was pretty consistently calling Healthline [the public health advice service] and my doctor because I was really worried, she said. They were pretty hesitant about letting me go to the hospital, unless I actually was dying, because obviously you dont want to overwhelm the hospitals.

Public hospitals, chronically underfunded and understaffed, are struggling to cope with the Omicron surge. Wellington Hospital cancelled most non-urgent surgeries in mid-March, as 15 percent of staff had to stay home due to being infected with COVID, or having a positive case in their household.

Rose was thankful that she had been triple-vaccinated about a month before catching the virus, otherwise the illness could have been even more severe.

After she stopped being infectious, Rose found she had Long COVID, a condition that may affect more than one in 10 people who get the virus. Long COVID impacts people in different ways and little is known about its long-term effects. It can lead to serious damage to the brain, heart, and other vital organs.

Rose explained that she has become heavily reliant on an inhaler: I need to take four puffs, six times a day, which is a lot, because its a steroid and youre only really supposed to have three puffs a day at most. But my throat keeps closing up and my lungs feel like I cant catch my breath all the way to the bottom.

She said this had a big impact on her daily life, forcing her to stay home most of the time. With Long COVID, you get coughs really, really badly. If you go out in public coughing, everyone thinks that youve got COVID, and I dont want to make other people feel uncomfortable. Rose is currently only attending one university lab session per week, and taking the rest of her courses online. She is also unable to carry out the scientific field work that she was previously doing.

Im having to nap twice during the day, once before lunch and once at about 4 p.m., because I feel so tired after doing anything. Not just mentally tired, but physically, it feels like my joints are tired and aching, Rose said. It takes a decent chunk out of my day. It puts me behind in my studies, and I need my studies to get a job so that I can afford a house. It all just snowballs.

Roses doctor told her the symptoms could last weeks or months, but we dont know that much about the long term effects, including on her liver. Her liver condition also makes her more susceptible to reinfection with COVID.

Asked what she thought of VUWs response to the pandemic, Rose praised her lecturers, who had been accommodating and understanding and really empathetic. But she criticised the university administration, saying they dont particularly care about our singular experiences as students. I feel like they care more about making a profit. Hundreds of students in VUWs halls of residence have contracted COVID-19.

Rose pointed out that VUW had continued to charge very high fees to international students unable to enter New Zealand, who were learning remotely via Zoom. She said the students deserved a discount because they are not getting the university experience. They cant go to the labs, they cant attend lectures, and its just not the same.

A QR code in a Wellington shop window. Supermarkets and other shops are now removing these codes, which were used for contact tracing. (WSWS Media)

The WSWS spoke to Rose shortly after the government announced that it would lift vaccine mandates for most workers; remove the requirement for businesses to use vaccine passes; ease restrictions on indoor gathering numbers, and do away with QR code scanning previously used for contact tracing. With more than 10,000 new cases being reported every day, Rose said the removal of public health restrictions makes me really quite nervous.

She worried about using public transport, where physical distancing is no longer required and masking, while technically mandatory, is not enforced. Similarly, in shops, many people are no longer following masking requirements. The abandonment of QR scanning meant people would have no idea if they have been in a COVID hot spot and should therefore get tested.

Roses experience highlights how tests have become less reliable. The government is encouraging people to take less accurate, self-administered rapid antigen tests (RATs), which have largely replaced the more accurate Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests. When Rose became sick, she initially took three RATs, which all showed a negative result. Convinced that she had COVID, she went to a testing centre and tested positive with a PCR. She said, I had to fight for [the PCR test], because they kept on trying to put me in the lane to pick up the RAT, and I said: No, the RATs arent working.

Negative RAT results are now being used to clear people to return to work, including healthcare workers. Rose said this would lead to people unknowingly spreading the virus after receiving a false negative.

RATs can also be difficult for some people to obtain, because people who are not symptomatic need to pay $6 or more for a single test. Rose said it was pretty gross to monetise something that is a necessity to be able to see whether you are infectious or not.

Rose said she had voted for the Labour Party, but concerning COVID, I feel like theyve made questionable decisions of late. She said the Ardern government was listening to a small minority of angry people and not taking into account that theyre supposed to be protecting the citizens of Aotearoa [New Zealand]. She noted that about a month ago, the government denounced protests in Wellington against vaccine mandates and other public health measures, but now it is implementing the protesters main demands.

Anti-mandate protesters camped in front of parliament in February 2022. (Credit: Kiwichris, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)

Until recently, Rose thought that New Zealand had responded well to the pandemic, compared with other parts of the world where millions of people have died. She said her grandparents, who live in Spain, have been locked in their houses for two years and theyve had friends die; its horrible.

She denounced the unscientific herd immunity approach adopted by governments throughout the worldthe theory that if COVID infects masses of people, it will cease to be a threat. That is very dumb, because its just going to keep on mutating and killing people, Rose said. Even if the next strain is less deadly, theres still going to be people dying, and I dont think its worth even one person dying when it could be prevented.

Rose strongly objected to people justifying COVID deaths by comparing the virus to the flu. People shouldnt be dying from the flu either, she said. To me, that just says that more should be put into healthcare to prevent people dying from the flu, because it is preventable.

Influenza kills about 500 New Zealanders in a typical year, but this toll dropped to zero during 20202021 as a result of the COVID elimination policy. Experts are warning of a resurgence of flu, alongside COVID, this year. The flu and other respiratory viruses are exacerbated by inequality, including poor-quality housing and uneven access to healthcare.

Rose compared the failure to save lives during the pandemic with the failure to address climate change. Internationally, corporations would often refuse to fund the necessary scientific research and measures to stop global warming and environmental degradation, because it goes against their agenda. Similarly, governments had chosen money over people during the pandemic.
Last month, the US program that pays for COVID-19 tests for uninsured people stopped accepting claims due to lack of sufficient funds. This means that in large sections of the United States, those without health insurance will have no access to COVID-19 testing unless they can pay out of pocket. Some clinics have already started to turn away people without insurance who come to get tested and cannot afford to pay for it.

Nurse Debbi Hinderliter (left) collects a sample from a woman at a coronavirus testing site near the nation's busiest pedestrian border crossing, August 13, 2020, in San Diego [Credit: AP Photo/Gregory Bull]

This takes place as a new wave of infections from the even more contagious Omicron BA.2 subvariant is gathering strength. The example of Europe, where BA.2 is driving a new surge in infections and deaths, is a warning of what is to come in the United States.

Many low-income workers and unemployed have already experienced the humiliation of being turned away from testing centers or vaccination clinics because they were uninsured and could not afford to pay the $125 charge for a PCR test, the most accurate way to detect infection, or similar charges for vaccination. And of course, the uninsured have no way to pay the thousands of dollars that hospitalization for a COVID-19 infection would require.

Speaking last week, Biden ascribed the cutoff of funding for COVID-19 testing to congressional inaction. In reality, the ending of free COVID-19 testing and vaccination is entirely in keeping with the administrations COVID-19 policy.

The Biden administration has used the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant as a pretext to abandon all measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. It is allowing virtually the entire American population to become infected and re-infected with COVID-19 into the future indefinitely.

To that end, in December, as the Omicron surge was just beginning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) slashed the recommended duration of isolation in half for people infected with COVID-19. On January 21, the CDC, under the direction of the White House, launched a campaign for states to end mask mandates.

On March 26, Hawaii became the last US state to end its mask mandate. Every single governor, Democratic and Republican, has ended this most minimal mitigation measure.

The rollback of testing is occurring internationally. On April 1, free COVID-19 testing ended in the UK, almost simultaneously with the measure in the US.

Without testing, it becomes impossible to control the spread of the disease through isolation and quarantine, allowing it to spread unimpaired throughout the population, while suppressing official case numbers.

The effort to reduce testing is aimed at ensuring that major corporations continue to be provided with a steady stream of labor for exploitation, even if workers show up on the job ill and infect others.

The immediate cause of the end of free testing and vaccination was the failure of Congress to approve a $15.6 billion measure to extend the program, in which the federal government purchased testing supplies and vaccines and delivered them free of charge to state-run testing and vaccination sites. This was removed from the legislation to fund the federal government that passed both houses of Congress two weeks ago.

As a result of this legislative wrangling, the additional funding for COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccination, as well as further research, requires passage of a separate bill which needs the backing of at least 10 Republicans to overcome the expected filibuster in the Senate. The majority of ultra-right Republican senators want to shut down all coronavirus relief and mitigation measures based on the claim that the virus has become endemic and should no longer be fought.

The bipartisan deal announced late Monday afternoon by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and a small group of Republican senators led by Mitt Romney of Utah will do little to undo the ongoing cutoff. It provides $10 billion to purchase test supplies, therapeutic drugs like monoclonal antibodies and vaccines of various types. In other words, all this money will be paid to giant corporations, and not a penny will go to health care providers or their patients.

The $10 billion represents a further reduction in what was originally, as drawn up in February by the Department of Health and Human Services, a proposal for an additional $32.5 billion in spending to fight the pandemicand this before the emergence of Omicron BA.2. The White House slashed this figure to $22.5 billion in its proposal to Congress, and the House of Representatives cut it further to $15.6 billion. Now the Senate is cutting it still further, to $10 billionless than the funding of a single weapons system, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, in the latest gargantuan military budget proposed by the Biden administration last week.

The latest cut in COVID-19 spending comes by eliminating entirely a Biden administration proposal to spend $5 billion as the US contribution to global vaccination and anti-COVID-19 programs. This action testifies to the nationalistic bigotry and anti-scientific narrow-mindedness of both Democrats and Republicans, since it is impossible to fight the global outbreak of a deadly virus within the boundaries of one country.

In large portions of Africa, for example, only 15 percent of the population is vaccinated. There are figures nearly as high in parts of Asia, Latin America and even in poor, rural areas of the United States. Large populations of the unvaccinated, partly vaccinated, or unboosted are the ideal breeding ground for mutations of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The spread of the virus involves potentially billions of transmissions from one host to the next, each of which is an opportunity for the virus to mutate and find a more infectious, vaccine-resistant and lethal form.

The refusal of the worlds capitalist ruling elites to accept lockdowns that would result in a reduction in their profits is the cause of the worldwide spread of the infection and the emergence of such variants as Alpha, Beta, Delta, Omicron, and now Omicron BA.2, which has become the dominant strain of the virus all over the world.

In addition, the financial aristocracy calculates that there is an upside to the pandemic, since it disproportionately kills people who are elderly, retired or suffering from illnesses or other conditions that make it impossible for them to work. These millions are unproductive from the standpoint of the profit system and therefore best disposed of.

Even more people will be cut off beginning April 16 if the federal government ends the national emergency declared in 2020 by the Trump administration. Under the emergency, Medicaid coverage was greatly increased and many workers, previously ineligible because their incomes were too high, were added to the program. One study estimated that as many as 13 million people will be cut off throughout the rest of 2022 if the emergency declaration is allowed to lapse.

The impact on low-income working people is underscored by the Poor Peoples Pandemic Report, issued Monday, which found that the 300 poorest counties in America had twice the death rate from COVID-19 as the 300 richest counties. During the Delta and Omicron surges this disparity shot up, to as much as a six times higher death rate as the threadbare health care systems in the poorest counties became overloaded.

As the poverty report and the cutoff of US assistance to global vaccination programs both demonstrate, the struggle against the pandemic is a class question. The fight against COVID-19 requires class unity among all American working people, black, white, Hispanic and Asian, and the unity between American workers and their class brothers and sisters around the world. There is no national solution to a global pandemic, and no way to carry out an effective struggle under the domination of the capitalist class.

A critical part of this struggle is to identify the social and class forces responsible for what is not a natural disaster but a massive social crime. To carry forward this struggle, workers in every country should support The Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic, initiated by the World Socialist Web Site. This investigation is uncovering the impacts of the pandemic and identifying all those responsible for this needless suffering and death.
A three-alarm fire at a house in Trenton, New Jersey, killed 20-year-old twin brothers on Saturday evening. Trenton, the capital of New Jersey is a predominantly working class city. The fire broke out at 6:53 p.m. and the brothers were stuck on the buildings third floor. Family and firefighters were unable to reach them in time. The names of the brothers, who are said to have had autism, had not been disclosed as of publication.

The house on Carteret Avenue in Trenton before the deadly fire (Source: Google street view)

Two other residents evacuated the home during the fire, one by jumping from a window, city officials said. Their names also have not been made public.

The fire burned the wood siding on the buildings second floor, destroyed windows and caused part of the structure to collapse. The home is now uninhabitable. Red Cross New Jersey has provided temporary lodging, food and clothing to nine people from four families affected by the blaze.

I am praying for this family who lost two sons tonight. This is heartbreaking, and we will do everything we can to support [them] to get through this, Mayor W. Reed Gusciora said in a statement.

Four firefighters were injured while responding to the fire and received treatment at nearby Capital Health Regional Medical Center. One of the firefighters sustained a burn on his face, and three were injured when parts of the building collapsed. The firefighters were later released from the medical center and are now recovering at home. As of this writing, one has been cleared to return to duty.

Neighbors described the family that lived in the house as quiet and the two victims as kind. The guy that lives in the house, sometimes he would come and help me with my trash when he sees me struggling with it. They dont bother nobody, neighbor Ruth Davis told 6 ABC Action News.

While the cause of the fire remains officially undetermined, June Williams, the owner of the building, told 6 ABC that the fire was started with a candle. A neighbor alerted Williams to the fire and the latter has been in contact with the family since the incident. Every bone in my body is hurt right now for those kids, she said.

Trentons police, health and inspections departments are investigating the fire. County and state authorities are assisting with the investigation.

The fire is only the most recent tragedy in Trenton. Eight days before the blaze occurred, nine-year-old SeQuoya Bacon-Jones was shot during a brawl in the citys downtown area. The shooting occurred despite the presence of private security officers. The girl was rushed to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, then to Robert Wood Johnson New Brunswick Hospital before being pronounced dead. Then on Thursday a 16-year-old boy died after he was shot in the face.

Trenton, which is 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia, has long been plagued by violence. For more than a decade, the city has been setting new records for its annual number of homicides. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, the number of homicides reached 40. This total surpassed the 37 homicides recorded in 2013, which had in turn exceeded the previous record of 31 homicides in 2005. In 2005 and 2006, the Morgan Quitno survey ranked Trenton as the fourth most dangerous municipality of 126 cities with a population between 75,000 and 99,999.

This violence cannot be understood apart from the citys economic devastation. Trentons poverty rate is a shocking 27.2 percent, according to the US Census Bureau. Only about 57 percent of residents are in the civilian labor force, and just 14 percent have a bachelors degree or higher level of education.

These conditions are the product of the deindustrialization and deliberate neglect that many American cities have been subjected to for decades. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Trenton was an industrial city that produced goods such as pottery, rubber, iron and wire rope. Trenton erupted in protest, as did many other cities nationwide, after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. More than 200 businesses were burned during the unrest, and more than 300 people, predominantly young black men, were arrested. The city initially estimated that the businesses losses totaled $7 million.

After the riots, the citys industries began closing as part of an economic process that took place across the country. By the 1970s, crime and urban blight had increased. In 1983, Trenton was selected as an Urban Enterprise Zone, a designation given to a distressed area by the state of New Jersey. Such zones offer tax giveaways and relaxed regulation to attract business and investment. The citys persistent poverty and crime attest to the fact that businesses and banks are the only entities that have benefited from this program in the past four decades.

The tragic fire that claimed two young lives and destroyed a house in Trenton must be understood in the context of decades of attacks on the working class. Former industrial cities like New Jerseys capital have seen jobs destroyed, infrastructure and housing neglected and living conditions driven to an abysmal level. Whatever the immediate cause of the fire, it took place in dire social conditions that serve as an indictment of the capitalist system.
The jury in the trial of four men accused of plotting to kidnap and possibly kill the governor of Michigan completed its first seven hours of deliberations in US District Court in Grand Rapids on Monday without a verdict.

Top from left, Brandon Caserta and Barry Croft; bottom from left, Adam Dean Fox and Daniel Harris. These four stand accused in a plot to abduct Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, right, in 2020. (Kent County Sheriff, Delaware Department of Justice, and AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Deliberations began following closing arguments and jury instructions on Friday. In a significant move, Judge Robert Jonker told the jury that it can consider an entrapment defense even though this legal position was not specifically raised by the lawyers for the defendants during the trial. Judge Jonker said the jury can consider whether the government, through its informants, persuaded the defendants to commit the crimes they are charged with.

In a 40-minute explanation covering all the charges, Jonker said that if a defendant was already willing to commit the crime, this would not be entrapment even if FBI agents provided an opportunity or made it easier for the defendant to commit the crime.

The 12-person jury paused their deliberations and returned to the courtroom in the afternoon on Monday to ask Judge Robert Jonker a question about the legal definition of a weapon. The judge explained to the jury that a weapon is Something that can be used to injure, kill or destroy someone or something, as opposed to something you would use for fun. Jonker also said that the definition of a weapon could be applied very broadly, from a fist to a chair, to a weapon of mass destruction.

The four menBrandon Caserta, Barry Croft Jr., Adam Fox and Daniel Harrishave been charged with kidnap conspiracy for plotting to take Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer hostage, tie her up and take her by boat into the middle of Lake Michigan and abandon her there. Three of the four, Croft, Fox and Harris, have also been charged with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Part of the alleged plotand a critical element of the prosecutions case against the menincluded the construction of an explosive that was to be used to blow up a bridge to distract law enforcement while Governor Whitmer was being apprehended at her summer cottage near Elk Rapids, Michigan.

The men were arrested on October 7, 2020, in an FBI sting outside a warehouse in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where they were planning to place a down payment on explosives and pick up other gear needed for the planned raid.

The defense rested on Thursday after calling Harris to testify in his own defense, the only defendant in the trial to do so. Harris stated that he absolutely did not plot to kidnap the governor while he was a member of the paramilitary Wolverine Watchmen along with several of his codefendants.

Harris admitted that he was involved in building an explosive device but that it was not intended as part of the kidnapping plan. He said, I was putting BBs and a little bit of gunpowder into this balloon, and we were going to blow up a stove. We put it in a stove. We lit the fuse and we ran. In the end the bomb never went off.

Harris, a former Marine, described in detail how he joined the Wolverine Watchmen. Indicating a sympathy for fascistic politics, Harris said, When [COVID-19] happened, I was scrolling around on Facebook and I was on a Motorcity Boogaloo page. Harris said his friends had started the Facebook page and he was posting things on it with the account name of George Bunton. The Boogaloo movement is a far-right group started in 2012 that advocates a violent uprising (the boogaloo) against the US government that would lead to a second American civil war.

Harris said he wanted to engage in the military training exercises offered to the militia members because he wanted to keep his skills up. It was really for me to kind of keep what I already had, Harris testified.

He also said that the two government agents that had infiltrated the Wolverine Watchmen, known as Big Dan and Red, were the actual leaders of the conspiracy to kidnap the governor and not Harris and Croft as asserted by the prosecution. Harris also said that the testimony of the two codefendants, Ty Garbin and Kaleb Franks, against him and the three others were lies. During cross examination, the defiant Harris also called Big Dan a bitch for deciding to become an informant after joining the Wolverine Watchmen.

On Wednesday, five witnesses called by the defense refused to answer questions and pleaded their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Some of the witnesses had told Judge Jonker that they would testify right up to the day they were to take the stand. Three other witnesses did testify for the defense including two women who attended field training exercises organized by the militia in July and September 2020. Colleen Kuester and Megan Cooley testified that nothing violent was being discussed at the gatherings. Cooley said the men were drinking beer and only talking about guy stuff, porn and politicky things.

After Judge Jonker gave his definition of a weapon to the jury, all four defense attorneys objected. They said he added language that a weapon can also be used to destroy property. Joshua Blanchard, representing Croft, said that a weapon should only be defined as something that can cause harm to people.

Judge Jonkers presentation to the jury that it can consider entrapment defense was a gift to the defendants whose attorneys had argued that it should be included in the instructions. This adds to the judges insistence in pretrial hearings that the subject matter of the trial should not be the right-wing extremism that lay behind the actions of the defendants and others. This proscription meant that there would be no examination of the connections between the Wolverine Watchmen and the Boogaloo movement and other political tendencies and individuals in the Republican Party such as Donald Trump who advocated the use of violence as an instrument to change government policy and manipulate the elections in the US.

Jury deliberations resume on Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m.
Below two charts in the state's daily COVID-19 reports, there are asterisks.

The disclaimers provide an explanation for why central New York has two case rates and two positivity rates. Last week, the state Department of Health began including the asterisks because Onondaga County has been adding at-home test results to its positive case counts.

"Future reporting from Onondaga County will not include home test data to ensure alignment and consistency with other counties," the message states.

It's a significant revelation because at-home kits have become a popular testing option. Many counties are no longer holding testing clinics  a staple of the early pandemic response  and while testing is available through health care providers, at-home testing provides an easy way for people to confirm whether they are infected with COVID-19.

Last week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state has distributed 70 million COVID tests. But the results of those tests, even if they are positive, are not included in the daily tally.

According to the state Department of Health, self-administered tests "are not intended to be reported" to the Electronic Clinical Laboratory Reporting System, the database used by the state for positive COVID test reporting. The reasoning is that the tests are conducted by individuals instead of laboratories or testing providers.

Samantha Fuld, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health, added, "Since the start of the pandemic, the department has required all commercial and limited service laboratories to report COVID-19 tests results through (ECLRS), and this guidance has remained. This reporting allows the department to analyze trends and report consistent data to the public, serving as a fundamental component of the state's pandemic management and response."

Cayuga County Public Health Director Kathleen Cuddy further explained this in an interview with The Citizen. The Cayuga County Health Department accepts positive at-home test results and recently encouraged residents to send them those results so they can track an uptick in cases.

When an individual submits a positive at-home test result, Cuddy said the data is recorded in CommCare, a separate state-created COVID database. While data from ECLRS eventually populates CommCare, she continued, the data from CommCare does not populate ECLRS.

"Our home tests do not go into the state numbers that are reported," Cuddy said.

That's why the county's COVID case number differs from what the state publishes daily. According to Cuddy, the local health department receives about 20 positive home test results a day. While the state does not want that number, it is included in the county's situational updates released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

One benefit of adding the at-home test results to the case numbers, Cuddy said, is that it allows the health department to keep a "more accurate tally on what's happening in our community." But she acknowledged that not everyone is reporting these numbers, which means the actual case count is likely higher.

There is another reason why the health department encourages residents to report positive at-home tests. It ensures that there is a record of the positive test. This can help in cases where a venue accepts proof of prior infection for admittance.

"Unless you have that on an objective document, that won't happen for you," Cuddy said. "You won't be able to show that as verification."

To submit a positive at-home test to the Cayuga County Health Department, email a photo of the test to covidtest@cayugacounty.us. The email should include your full legal name, date of birth, date the test was taken and phone number.

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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The WTO Secretariat presented a revised report that compiles and summarizes relevant information on export prohibitions and restrictions that have been notified by members under the 2012 Decision on Notification Procedures for Quantitative Restrictions (QR Decision), the voluntary communications submitted by members to the Committee with information on trade-easing measures as well as other measures by WTO members collected under the WTO's Trade Monitoring Exercise and listed in COVID-19: Measures affecting trade in goods.

The report indicates that as of 25 March 2022, a total of 98 measures that prohibit or restrict exports as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have been adopted by members. These measures have either been formally notified as a quantitative restriction or recorded by the WTO's Trade Monitoring Exercise.

The majority of the 98 export-restrictive measures in response to COVID-19 have taken the form of full bans and prohibitions (36%), followed by export restrictions in the form of non-automatic export licences (18%) and other measures. Most of these measures were introduced between January and April 2020, which coincides with the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization (11 March 2020) and the consequent lockdowns and other health measures.

The types of products restricted for exports changed slightly during the pandemic. For example, personal protective equipment and sanitizers and disinfectants are less restricted for exports in 2022 compared to 2020. However, some products (pharmaceuticals, medical devices and equipment, other medical supplies, COVID-19 test kits and vaccines) appear to be almost as restricted as they were during the first six months of 2020, suggesting that global shortages in these products persist.

With regard to trade-easing measures, as of 25 March 2022 a total of 169 measures are recorded. Twenty-six communications have been submitted to the Committee by 14 members, even though there is no obligation to notify such measures. The majority of these measures (more than 70%) are tax-related measures that aim to reduce the price of critical imports.

Members stressed that the various reports produced so far by the WTO Secretariat have been very useful. The reports also underlined the importance of transparency, one of the main WTO principles. Some members expressed concern about the significant number of measures not notified and the lack of clarity about the duration of some of these measures. The chair of the Committee, Mr Chakarin Komolsiri, called on members to provide this information so that the Secretariat can prepare a more comprehensive and accurate analysis in the next revision.

In addition, a preliminary analysis on the impact of export restrictions on trade was presented by the WTO Secretariat. Many of the export restrictions were enforced in March/April 2020, a period marked by major global supply and demand shocks as well as transportation disruptions. Untangling these effects was a complex undertaking. It was further noted that more granular data would be required to do a more extensive analysis.

Under the agenda item on quantitative restrictions, Ukraine shared with members a notification dated 25 March, which indicates that due to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Government of Ukraine was forced to introduce export restriction measures on certain products in order to ensure national food security. The United States also notified import and export prohibitions on certain goods with regards to the Russian Federation.

Many members took the floor to express their strong opposition to the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian delegate responded by saying that the WTO was not the proper venue for a discussion of this nature.

Experience-sharing session

The chair reported on the first experience-sharing session on trade in COVID-19 related goods held on 4 March, where members exchanged views and identified the main lessons learnt from the pandemic in order to get better prepared for future challenges.

Representatives from six members participated as speakers, namely Canada, China, Ecuador, the European Union, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Several other members participated in the discussion by sharing their experiences at the meeting or by requesting the Secretariat to circulate written communications afterwards. The Secretariat summarized the discussions in a report, which also highlights the main lessons learnt (JOB/MA/152).

Members agreed on the value of this exercise and looked forward to the three additional experience-sharing sessions scheduled to cover other topics of interest. Tentative dates have been scheduled:

26 April 2022: to discuss how members have monitored and measured trade in essential goods to combat the pandemic, including through the creation of national tariff lines or statistical breakouts

20 June 2002: to focus on members' practices in relation to measures aimed at easing trade under the purview of the Committee, including tariff suspension, reduction or elimination

16 September 2022: to discuss how to improve transparency in export restrictions and share experiences with respect to the choices underpinning the use of such restrictions.

Uruguay Round derestriction

Following the discussion initiated at the Committee in January 2021, members agreed in principle to the overall derestriction process of the Uruguay Round negotiating material. However, some members requested more time to review the documents.

The chair recalled that the objective of the derestriction is to enhance transparency, in line with the WTO's efforts in this regard, and to make available to the public documents and materials of historical and research value. At the same time, he stressed that members would have the right to decide if certain information should remain restricted.

The bilateral negotiating materials of seven rounds of negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) have already been derestricted and, at present, only the bilateral negotiating materials of the Uruguay Round remain restricted.

World Customs Organization

A representative of the World Customs Organization (WCO) addressed some of the challenges faced by members with the tariff classification of COVID-19 essential goods due to the lack of specificity and ambiguity in the Harmonized System (HS). She noted that the HS is member-driven and proposals for classifications are meant to come from members or intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) representing members. So far, the WCO had received just one proposal to specify the classification of medical goods.

The WCO indicated that the HS review cycle was close to finishing, so if proposals did not arrive in the next few months the prospects for addressing the lack of specificity for critical medical products in the next version of the nomenclature (HS 2027) and to be better prepared to handle future health emergencies would be limited. She encouraged trade policy makers and health authorities to work in collaboration with customs administrations to prepare the inputs needed for the HS 2027 to address the issues identified during the pandemic.

Trade concerns

The Committee addressed 18 trade concerns, new and previously raised, including:

Sri Lanka's import ban on various products , raised by Australia, the European Union and Thailand

, raised by Australia, the European Union and Thailand Sri Lanka's import on palm oil , raised by Indonesia

, raised by Indonesia Angola's import-restricting practices , raised by the European Union and the United States

, raised by the European Union and the United States Canada's restriction on the commercial importation of cannabis and cannabis products for medical use , raised by Colombia

, raised by Colombia China's trade-disruptive and restrictive measures , raised by Australia

, raised by Australia The European Union's carbon border adjustment mechanism , raised by the Russian Federation and Indonesia

, raised by the Russian Federation and Indonesia The selective tax on certain imported products by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar , raised by the European Union, Switzerland and the United States

, raised by the European Union, Switzerland and the United States India's import policies on tyres , raised by the European Union, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei and Thailand

, raised by the European Union, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei and Thailand India's import restriction on air conditioners , raised by Japan and Thailand

, raised by Japan and Thailand India's plain copier paper quality order 2020 , raised by Indonesia

, raised by Indonesia India's quantitative restrictions on imports of certain pulses , raised by Australia, Canada, the European Union and the United States

, raised by Australia, Canada, the European Union and the United States Indonesia's import substitution programme , raised by the European Union

, raised by the European Union Indonesia's customs duties on certain telecommunication products , raised by the European Union and the United States

, raised by the European Union and the United States Mexico's import quota on glyphosate , raised by the United States

, raised by the United States Nepal's import ban on energy drinks , raised by Thailand

, raised by Thailand Peru's tax treatment of pisco , raised by the United Kingdom

, raised by the United Kingdom The Philippines' special safeguard on instant coffee , raised by Indonesia

, raised by Indonesia The United States' quantitative restriction on steel and/or aluminium imports, raised by China

Next meetings

The next formal meeting of the Committee is currently scheduled to take place on 18 and 19 October 2022. The next informal meetings for the Harmonized System (HS) multilateral review and other issues, as appropriate, are currently scheduled to take place on 27 June and 23 November 2022.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a Decree approving the "Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran on creating new communication links between the East Zangazur economic region of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through the territory of Iran"




Honda Cars has released the first official images of the 2023 HR-V SUV that will be launched in global markets in June this year. However, the carmaker has reserved key spec details of the SUV under wraps so far.

Honda has taken the covers off the second generation 2023 HR-V SUV for global markets. Taller and sleeker, with a longer hood and wheelbase, the 2023 HR-V draws some inspiration from the 2022 Civic, especially its headlights. The new Honda HR-V is also based on same platform used for the Civic. Though the exterior looks and features have been revealed, Honda has kept details about the interiors and the engine and performance specs under wraps. These will be revealed closer to the launch which is expected to take place in June this year.

2023 Honda HR-V appears sporty with expressive design language, featuring a bold new grille, longer hood and sleek roofline. The HR-V is larger than the first generation model, with a longer wheelbase and wider stance. Besides the new grille, the front face is dominated by a set of LED headlights. From the sides the large wheel arches stand out while the rear gets a more dynamic appearance with a spoiler that ends the roof to the contrasting bumper that conceals the exhaust outlets, passing through the new set of taillights.

Honda has not revealed the interior of the 2023 HR-V just yet. However, it promises excellent visibility in the new HR-V thanks to the door-mounted mirrors and HR-V's low cowl. The HR-V's windshield wipers hide under the hood line when not in use.

(Also see pics of the 2023 Honda HR-V SUV)

Michael Kistemaker, assistant vice president of Automobile Sales of American Honda Motor, said, "By gaining aspirational qualities beyond its segment, the all-new 2023 Honda HR-V will welcome a new generation of customers to Honda and grow in importance as a gateway to the Honda brand. This new HR-V will advance its position as the segment leader with young buyers, first-time buyers, and multicultural customers."

Honda has not revealed details about the engines of the new HR-V either. However it said that the new HR-V will feature a more responsive engine and a new independent rear suspension. In Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand, the new HR-V debuted only with the 1.5-litre turbo engine under the hood, while in Indonesia the model will have the e:HEV hybrid option. It is also not defined whether or not the 1.8-litre 16V engine applied in the current national HR-V will be preserved in some version for the new generation.

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Nissan had pushed the sales of its Ariya electric SUV last year as well due to the Covid-19 induced semiconductor shortage.

Nissan Motor Co has announced its decision to push back the release date of the all-electric Ariya SUV again due to the ongoing global semiconductor shortage and other supply chain disruptions.

Nissan Ariya electric SUV was slated for a mid-year launch last year but it got delayed due to the pandemic related chip crisis. All-electric Nissan Ariya SUV will go on sale in Japan from May 12. The company also mentioned that sales in Europe and the United States will start later this year.

(Also read | Nissan Ariya's e-4ORCE technology demonstrated in a mini radio-controlled car)

Nissan pioneered mass-market electric vehicles with the Leaf hatchback EV in 2010 and it brought the Ariya EV almost after a decade. The electric SUV is based on an Alliance-developed EV platform. The Ariya electric SUV base model is a rear-wheel-drive electric car that combines an electric motor that delivers a power of 215 hp and maximum torque of 300 Nm. It also features a 65 kWh battery pack.

The RWD variant of the EV promises a range of 627 km and is powered by a 90 kWh battery. The model can produce a power of 239 hp with a peak torque of 300 Nm. The all-wheel-drive which is the top variant comes with a 90 kWh battery pack with two electric motors that can give the EV power output of 389 hp and a maximum torque of 600 Nm.

(Also read | Nissan uses Ariya EV's e-4ORCE technology to deliver a bowl of ramen)

The Nissan Ariya electric SUV also features an e-4ORCE technology which the Japanese automaker calls its most advanced all-wheel control technology. This technology manages the power output as well as provides an efficient braking system that provides the electric vehicle with a smooth drive and stability. It also traces the driver's driving style over almost any road surface including wet and snowy roads.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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WORCESTER  While not yet sounding the alarm, city public health officials told the Board of Health Monday night they are looking at local COVID-19 variant upticks and outbreaks overseas with increasing concern that it could lead to another surge.

"I'm anxious and worried things might be changing a bit," said Dr. Jerry Gurwitz, chair of the Board of Health.

Cases in Worcester County are up, and in the city, case numbers have gone from 10 per day three weeks ago to 24 cases per day last week, Dr. Michael P. Hirsh, the city's medical director, told the board.

He said he shared with Gurwitz a sense of anxiety about the possibility of backsliding into another surge. This time around, the likely suspect if that were to happen would be the Omicron "BA.2" variant. Hirsh said the new variant is more transmissible but not as virulent as its predecessor, which was responsible for a massive wave of cases late last year into this year. Hirsh said estimates are that 70% of new cases now are of the BA.2 variety.

WORCESTER - Michael P Hirsh, MD, UMass Memorial Health Care, speaks during the COVID press briefing at city hall.

He said, for example, that several city colleges, including Clark University, the College of the Holy Cross, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute experienced a small outbreak last week, and the BA.2 variant was "the bad actor."

"The news is scary but thus far we're not sure where we're going," Hirsh said.

He said that so far, the medical centers and community health centers in the city are not reporting big spikes in cases. He said that if a surge takes hold in the coming weeks, he didn't think hospitalizations would necessarily go up drastically.

Hirsh said vaccines remain an important weapon in the fight against the pandemic, and he said if the city--which seems to have had difficulty moving the needle in recent months--could get vaccinations up and get people fully boosted and up-to-date, it could really blunt the impact of another variant surge. Additionally, Hirsh said better weather is coming, which means more outdoor activities that reduce the risk of spreading and contracting the virus.

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He said Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, seems to be the "canary in the coal mine" when it comes to what the U.S. can expect to see in another four to six weeks, and he pointed out that the U.K. recorded a record 5 million cases last week alone. And that's in a country that is 80% vaccinated and 70% boosted, Hirsh added.

He said yet another variant, dubbed Omicron XE, has cropped up in Denmark, and may be even more "vaccination elusive." It's unclear whether that variant will take off, he said.

Vaccine hesitancy persists

Board members asked public health officials Monday why the city has had such a tough time breaking through vaccine hesitancy, particularly in communities of color.

Karyn E. Clark, the city's public health director, said there is so much misinformation in the community--people have cited a number of false theories, including that the vaccine will change their DNA or make them unable to have children. There is a lot of mistrust out there, and the vaccination issue has been politicized. It has done damage to the credibility of the local public health initiative, Clark said.

The strategy has been to promote vaccination through trusted community-based and faith-based organizations, Clark said, and she added that vaccine equity clinics and mobile vaccine clinics remain ongoing.

Hirsh said another stumbling block has been that often the most trusted people in those communities--peoples' own primary care physicians--are not really administering many vaccines, even though supply is plentiful and logistical barriers have been removed.

Variant waves 'new normal'

Overall, having to weather waves of COVID-19 variants around the world will become the new normal, Hirsh said. He said eventually, scientists will design a "boutique" form of the vaccine designed to be more effective against variants.

Gurwitz asked Hirsh if the Board of Health should re-examine its schedule in case it has to call an emergency meeting if cases surge again.

Hirsh said it may be a little early at this point "to put people back in their bunkers," but said if the city keeps seeing numbers going up by the middle of the month, it may start issuing stronger messages suggesting people cut down on gathering in congregant settings or put masks back on if they are in at-risk categories.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester public health officials eye uptick in COVID-19 variant cases
A CNN news crew embedded with soldiers in Ukraine narrowly escaped a round of Russian artillery shells near the city of Mykolaiv on Monday, all while cameras were rolling.



The footage, which has aired on CNN throughout the day, shows CNN Senior International Correspondent Ben Wedeman and his five crew members scrambling to one of their cars after two rounds landed close to their position.



Now were trying to get out of this area as quickly as possible, Wedeman tells the camera as they make their escape. Our other car, completely destroyed.

In an interview with CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, Wedeman explained that their other car was inoperable after shrapnel from the artillery shells slashed all of its tires, severely damaging the windshield and side windows, and leaving petrol covering the ground beneath and around it.



We took cover and then another two shells landed, one of them maybe 10 yards from one of our cars, he said. And so we went running towards the cars to try to get out of the area after the officer in charge of that position told us we should leave because there may be more incoming rounds, only to find one of the two cars was completely destroyed.

Russian forces have intensified their attacks in Eastern Ukraine and in the suburbs of Kyiv over the past week. After Russian forces withdrew from the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukrainian forces found mass graves with hundreds of civilians as well as evidence of summary executions with corpses found in the streets with their hands tied behind their backs.



Despite condemning the atrocities as real genocide, Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky says peace talks with Russia will continue.



Watch the harrowing footage from CNN of their escape and interview with Wedeman in the clip above.




Snake found in Chula Vista couch

ABC 10 News/YouTube

A Chula Vista, California man recently found an unpleasant surprise waiting inside his couch.

According to KGTV, the ABC affiliate in San Diego, the unidentified man encountered a 7-foot snake slithering through his couch.

After the wild encounter, the homeowner phoned So-Cal Rattlesnake Removal. The company's owner, Alex Trejo, told the news outlet that while he responds to similar calls often, this specific encounter was rare.

"This guy calls me, is pretty frantic, and he's like, 'There's a snake in my couch,' " said Trejo, per KGTV.

Trejo visited the man's home and was shocked to find a snake not native to California in the sofa.

"I literally lift the cushion, and there this giant 7-foot Vietnamese blue beauty rat snake is just coiled up right behind the cushion," he added.

He continued, "You'd be more lucky to find a Rolex sitting on the ground than a snake like this."

RELATED: Family In South Africa Discovers Venomous Snake Slithering Through Their Christmas Tree

RELATED: Defiant Snake Island Soldiers Are Actually 'Alive and Well' Despite Earlier Reports, Military Says

Vietnamese blue beauty rat snakes are not venomous, but the reptile Trejo found did get defensive while being picked up.

"He didn't get my skin, but he actually got the lining of my shirt," he added, noting that the snake, which he took away with him, had a respiratory infection.

Vietnamese blue beauty rat snakes are native to tropical climates in Southeast Asia and require a warm basking area when kept as pets, according to the Northampton Reptile Centre. Trejo told KGTV that the snake from the couch is ill due to being out of a climate-controlled environment.

Trejo stated it is legal to keep the snake as a pet and believes this particular one might have escaped from its owner. It is unclear how the snake ended up in the couch where it was found. The couch's owner is not the owner of the snake, according to KGTV.
WEST HILLS, Calif.New pleasure products company PDX Brands announces its official launch, along with supporting B2B resource site pdxbrands.com for retail partners.

The new brand will be home to established collections including PDX Extreme, PDX Elite, PDX Plus, PDX Male, Fuck Me Silly and Ultimate Fantasy Dolls.

The new website is the ultimate online resource for everything PDX Brands, said a company rep. The products are unique, our audience is unique, so the story each brand tells should be unique as well. The brands need their own home to continue to drive growth and build awareness, which will help shoppers find these types of products in your store. The PDX Brands Pipeline is the perfect portal to deliver a curated experience along with the digital resources that resellers need to create eye-catching campaigns, engaging email blasts, stunning merchandising displays, and exclusive PDX-branded content.

The expansion will give retailers tailored marketing tools to target the PDX Brands core demographic and help increase distribution through resources including the ability to monitor daily updated inventory feeds, place online purchase orders, access order and billing history, chat with customer service representatives and product experts, and have full access to PDX Brands comprehensive library of digital sales and marketing tools.

For more information, visit pdxbrands.com.
Machine Gun Kelly blasts from No. 89 to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated April 9), reigning as the top musical act in the U.S. for a second total week, thanks to the opening-week success of his new LP, Mainstream Sellout.

The album launches at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 93,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data. It marks his second leader, after Tickets to My Downfall in October 2020 (when he first topped the Artist 100).

More from Billboard

Machine Gun Kelly concurrently places four songs on the latest Billboard Hot 100: Make Up Sex, with blackbear, debuts at No. 59; Maybe, with Bring Me the Horizon, hits a new high at No. 68; Emo Girl, with Willow, re-enters at No. 84; and Ay!, with Lil Wayne, returns at No. 88. The set also sparks 14 entries on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.

Coming in just behind Machine Gun Kelly, Ed Sheeran rises 4-2 on the Artist 100, as his new collaboration with J Balvin, Sigue, debuts at No. 89 on the Hot 100. Sheeran scores five total entries on the chart this week: Bad Habits (No. 11), Shivers (No. 13), Bam Bam (Camila Cabello featuring Sheeran; No. 34), Peru with Fireboy DML (No. 53), and now Sigue. Only Lil Durk places more songs on the Hot 100 this week, with six. Rounding out the Artist 100s top 5, Lil Durk falls 2-3, Doja Cat drops 3-4 and The Weeknd holds at No. 5.

Further down the Artist 100, Michael Buble makes a splash this week as he re-enters at No. 12 as his new album Higher debuts at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 (13,000 units) and Foo Fighters return at No. 14 following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins on March 25, led by the bands Greatest Hits, which vaults 147-18 on the Billboard 200 (22,000 units, up 179%).

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The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

Click here to read the full article.
Over $2 billion worth of yachts belonging to Russian oligarchs have been seized in Europe so far

Alisher Usmanov's super-yacht, "Dilbar." Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images.

At least 13 luxury boats have been seized in Europe since Putin launched a war on Ukraine.

The mega yachts are linked to Russian oligarchs and are valued between $8 million and $606 million.

Not all yachts have been seized, as some billionaires moved their vessels elsewhere.

More than $2 billion worth of mega yachts linked to Russian billionaires have been seized in Europe since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a war on Ukraine in late February, Bloomberg reported.

At least 13 yachts valued between $8 million and $606 million have been seized or impounded in the EU and UK as officials continue to sanction Russia's elite, according to the outlet.

The US, alongside the UK and EU, imposed economic sanctions on Russian oligarchs  many of whom moved their mega yachts to regions where they cannot be seized, including the Maldives.

It can be tricky to pin down the owners of the yachts, but enough "public speculation" suggesting a Russian oligarch is the owner is typically "sufficient for a seizure," Insider's Joseph Zeballos-Roig and Hillary Hoffower reported.

Spain is reportedly holding four of these yachts, including the $8 million Lady Anastasia linked to Alexander Mikheev, the $95 million Valerie linked to Sergei Chemezov, the $95 million vessel Tango linked to Viktor Vekselberg, and the $468 million yacht Crescent linked to Igor Sechin.

France holds three more vessels, including another yacht worth $125 million also linked to Sechin called the Amore Vero. The country is also holding two yachts linked to Alexey Kuzmichev  the $22 million Little Bear and the $77 million Big Bear.

Italy is reportedly holding the $34 million Lady M, which is linked to Alexei Mordashov; the $575 million Sailing Yacht A, which is linked to Andrey Melnichenko; and the $38 million Lena, which is linked to Gennady Timchenko.

Germany holds the largest ship, the Dilbar, which is linked to Alisher Usmanov and valued at $606 million.



Gibraltar, a British territory, is holding the $68 million Axioma, which is linked to Dmitry Pumpyansky, while England has taken control of the $38 million Phi, linked to Vitaly Kochetkov.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Pressure is mounting on the European Union to abandon Russian gas supplies as individual countries begin turning off the tap.

The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia became Europes first region to abandon Russian gas supplies entirely this weekend, and they urged other nations on the continent to do the same.

Lithuania, the first individual EU nation to make the move, declared on Saturday that the country was acting in response to Russias energy blackmail in Europe, according to a news release from the countrys Energy Ministry.

But whether this leads to other countries in Europe abandoning Russias gas is a big question.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Sunday said Russias crimes could not go unanswered, but on Monday argued a full-scale embargo would hurt Germany more than Russia.

We must plan tough sanctions, but gas cannot be substituted in the short term, Lindner told reporters before meeting with the Eurogroup, the informal body of EU finance ministers.

We would inflict more damage on ourselves than on them, Lindner said.

Germany is in a particularly difficult position, as it imported about 55 percent of its gas from Russia last year. The EU as a whole gets about 40 percent of its gas from Russia.

The Baltic states comparatively import much less gas from Russia. Lithuania received about 26 percent of its gas from Russia directly last year, according to Bloomberg. The country will now rely on liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from the U.S. and Norway, Bloomberg reported, citing the countrys energy minister.

Morgan Bazilian, a public policy professor at the Colorado School of Mines, told The Hill that Lithuania eight years ago developed a floating storage and regasification unit at the countrys Klaipeda LNG terminal, which enables the country to take in gas from other countries.

They were able to make the statements today because of planning they had done eight years ago, he said. And Latvia and Estonia are sort of coming along with them.

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While Lithuania might not be an example of how nations can get rid of Russian gas overnight, the country is a very good example of planning for your energy security and not just leaving it to market forces, Brenda Shaffer, an international energy specialist at the Naval Postgraduate School, told The Hill.

Lithuanias gas transmission system has been running without Russian gas imports since April 1, with zero flow of Russian gas coming through the Lithuanian-Belarusian interconnection, according to the countrys Ministry of Energy.

From this month on  no more Russian gas in Lithuania, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda tweeted on Saturday.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte followed up on Sunday by tweeting that from now and so on Lithuania wont be consuming a cubic [centimeter] of toxic Russian gas.

Meanwhile, Uldis Bariss, CEO of Latvias Conexus Baltic Grid, told Latvian radio this weekend that since April 1st Russian natural gas is no longer flowing to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.

The Baltic states are much smaller economies than other nations in Europe that import Russian gas, and as a result the moves, while important, will have a smaller affect on Russia than if larger nations turned off the spigot.

Bazilian noted that while the shift gives the right optics, it is a relatively small piece of the European puzzle.

Its very small in comparison to, say, Germany or Italy or other countries that rely on natural gas, Bazilian said.

In the short to medium term, a larger European embargo on Russian energy is unlikely given the dependence of nations such as Germany on Russian gas, Shaffer said.

Germany and other big EU members also have much larger industrialized manufacturing sectors dependent upon Russian gas. This has given Russia leverage over Germany, which before Moscows invasion of Ukraine was backing a controversial new pipeline from Russia.

For a country like Germany, which is heavy-manufacturing based  like steel and cars and other equipment  the question of the price of the gas has very different economic impact than for a country like Lithuania, which is mostly light industry, Shaffer said.

Shaffer also noted the tension between European climate goals and the present need to bolster traditional energy needs through more pipeline projects and LNG infrastructure.

There is a conflict in a sense between European climate goals and building new infrastructure that would ensure their energy security, Shaffer said. In a strange way, almost, the climate camp would prefer the status quo.

While the decision of the Baltic states to stop importing Russian gas will not likely carry over to the entire EU, Bazilian described the weekends events as a symbol that the rest of Europe is really serious about this and that the continent is going to look to diversify from Russia.

One way to do that will be through U.S. LNG supplies. President Biden recently announced the U.S. would be supplying an additional 15 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe this year.

The EU has also said it is going to release a pathway on how to wean off Russian energy imports by 2027, and Bazilian expressed confidence that the U.S. will be part of that solution.

Despite its small size, the Baltic region is yet another market that will be importing LNG, according to Shaffer. And while that wont be solely from American sources, more market demand for LNG in general also means more demand for American LNG, she explained.

Lithuanias capital, Vilnius, also houses the NATO Energy Security Center of Excellence, which reflects how the country views energy as a really important issue of national security, Shaffer added.

Theyre sort of like the main voice within NATO on these issues, so I think it will have some impact on NATO thinking, she said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Rhode Island veterans are appalled at what is happening in Ukraine.

They are dismayed at the Russian onslaught, they sympathize with the suffering civilians, and they are rooting for the undermanned Ukrainian military as it wages its David vs. Goliath battle.

They encourage the United States to supply all the military equipment and humanitarian aid that can possibly be mustered  but they are united on one point: No American boots on the ground.

We spoke with veterans from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, plus other brushfire conflicts in between, such as Panama and Kosovo. We spoke with men and women, old and young, colonels and corporals, pilots and infantry grunts, technicians and artillerymen, sailors and Marines. They all agreed: No American boots on the ground.

Paul Dillard, national commander of the American Legion, said, No one hates war more than a veteran who has been in one.

'They are living it.': A Ukrainian priest in Woonsocket prays and cries, fearing for his family

Justyn Charon is a former Marine who deployed to Lebanon in 2006. He now works at the Providence Vet Center, helping veterans with challenges that come with managing life during and after the military.

Charon

Clients he has spoken with want no part of another U.S. military intervention.

We just got out of a 20-year war, they tell him. Why should we be looking to get into another one right away?

They need a break, Charon says. Especially those guys in Special Forces, and others such as helicopter pilots who have lived with a constant operational tempo, one deployment after another ever since 9/11.

Marking our history: Like 9/11, COVID pandemic a 'generation-making event'

I say give the Ukrainians all the military tools we possibly can  such as Javelin antitank missiles. But we just cant send in ground troops.

Poland-Ukraine border: Cicilline calls it the 'worst humanitarian crisis I've seen'

Retired Army Col. Bill Babcock, 75, of Narragansett, served as an infantry platoon leader in Vietnam and also deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

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He agrees, saying, We need to support the Ukrainian people and government in every way we can, but not send troops at this time.

Alex Ortiz, 37, of Providence, served with the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade before being medically retired. He now heads the Rhode Island College chapter of Student Veterans of America.

The U.S. should continue to provide support with weapons, ammunition, and financing, said Ortiz. But deploying troops would create a world war, and would stretch the U.S. too thin.

[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has admitted that NATO has a superior military advantage, and for this reason, he would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons.

'Another prolonged standoff with Russia': A new Cold War, or the start of World War III? How historians see the invasion of Ukraine

Michael Fitzpatrick, a 69-year-old Warwick attorney, served many years as a JAG officer with the Rhode Island National Guard.

He endorses immediate and crushing financial sanctions, enlisting all U.N. members to sign on, isolating Russia financially and restricting Russian commercial carriers/airlines, from landing in any other countries.

Learn the backstory: Want to understand what led to Russia invading Ukraine? Read these 8 books

Fitzpatrick would provide weapons and intelligence. But once again  he wants no troops on the ground.

Retired Navy pilot Rich Suttie, who lived for many years in East Greenwich, says the United States should not attempt to enforce a no-fly zone or commit an armed NATO response.

Suttie

He does believe more could have been done to stop the invasion before it started.

He thinks the United States should have conducted military exercises within European Union countries in and around Ukraine from January through April.

Such military exercises would have made it more difficult for Putin, said Suttie.

He also says sanctions were too late, and too incremental.

Deterrents to war should have been clearly stated when the intent to wage war was clearly stated. No sports. No arts. No travel. No money. No access. All communicated on the eve of war.

What else can we do?

Air Force Veteran Lisa Levasseur of Cumberland says our early-warning aircraft have tremendous capabilities that can benefit Ukraine without actually flying into Ukrainian air space.

She deployed to the Gulf War in 1993 as a crew member in an Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS) aircraft. Mounted in a specially modified Boeing 707, this system provides long-range radar surveillance and a control center for air defense.

We used to spend 12, 15, 18 hours flying around, burning a hole in the sky, as we called it, being the giant eyeball for fighters whose range and visibility was only a fraction of ours.

I would be very surprised if we are not already assisting the Ukrainians with this capability. If for some reason we arent, then we should.

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The nightly news gives an exact count of the number of Russian missiles launched into Ukraine. Its unlikely that information came from counting strikes on the ground.

Our technology allows us to track every one of those launches, Levasseur continued. We can also see Russian fighters flying into an area, and report their speed and direction. This information would be very useful to the Ukrainian military. And it does not violate any borders or put us in direct conflict with the Russians.

Levasseur pointed a Florida college student, Jack Sweeney, who is tracking the movements of Russian oligarchs' aircraft  and even Putins own jet  on Twitter.

If a kid like that can track and report such information, imagine what the full force of the technology available to the U.S. and its allies can provide, she said.

Line in the sand for Putin?

When asked how far Putin would have to go before the United States intervened militarily, many veterans struggled with their answer.

All agreed there would be no choice if Russia invaded a NATO country such as Poland. That would trigger Article 5 of the 1949 NATO treaty, which states, "The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all."

But what does attack mean? Would a cyberattack count?

RI businesses: Narragansett Electric sale on hold indefinitely. How the cost of electricity in MA stopped it

Levasseur asks, What happens if Russia takes down a power grid in the Ukraine thats also powering cities and towns across the Polish border? Is that enough of a provocation?"

Lincoln resident Fran Geuvremont is a veterans advocate. Her late father and late husband were both Vietnam combat veterans.

I am conflicted because theres a huge difference between what is happening in Ukraine now and all the other conflicts we have gotten involved with in recent years. Just look at them: Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq  in how many of those countries did the majority of the population beg for our help? None.

This is the only time I know of where the people are saying, We are a democracy; were like you, and we need your support. Please come and protect us!

And we dont, because we cant. Theres just something wrong with that picture.

Veterans Voice: Lt. Patrick Potter fights crime in Providence, enemies abroad

Levasseur agrees.

I still have to pinch myself to believe that this is actually happening. I think we viewed conflict differently when it was being fought in a sandbox or desert, or in a sparsely populated area of the world. But you could take one of these Ukrainian cities and plunk it down into middle America and there would be little to distinguish it other than the language on the signs. I am still shocked to see the devastation of modern European cities in this day and age.

Veterans Voice: Quest to find vet's unmarked grave a family odyssey

Calendar : Events for veterans

VIRTUAL Women Veteran Voices Town Hall Series March 9 at 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, 5:30 p.m., Virtual Women Veteran Voices Town Hall series. The VA Providence Healthcare System is pleased to present Maj. Heather Lucky Penny (Ret), a defense policy expert at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace studies in Arlington, Virginia. She is best known for her role as one of two F-16 pilots who flew their unarmed planes in attempt to ram United Airlines Flight 93 before it reached Washington during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Each Town Hall is followed by a Q&A to make sure your veteran voice is heard. Email providenceveteranstownhall@va.gov for a meeting invitation.

Providence Vet Center activities: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Group, 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month through May, 2 to 3:30 p.m. Global War on Terrorism and Vietnam Veterans PTSD Group, 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month, 9:30 to 11 a.m.; Vietnam Veteran PTSD Group, 1st and 3rd Monday of each month, 10:30 a.m. to noon and 5:30 to 7 p.m.; Art Expression Group, Thursdays, 9 a.m. to noon.; Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn Group, Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to noon; Stress Management, Thursdays, 9 to 10 a.m.; Low Impact Walking Group, Tuesdays 9 to 10 a.m.; Guitar 4 Veterans, Wednesdays, 7 to 8:30 p.m.; Monday Mindfulness Group, Mondays, 10 to 11 a.m.; Yoga Group, Fridays, noon to 1 p.m.; Moral Injury Group, Fridays, 10 to 11 a.m.; Modern Warrior Support Group, 1st and 3rd Monday of each month, 2:30 to 4 p.m.

All Vet Center groups require that the veteran be enrolled with the Vet Center prior to attending. To check eligibility or for questions, call (401) 739-0167 or reach out to email Justyn.Charon@va.gov.

To report the outcome of a previous activity, or to add an event to our calendar, please email the details (including a contact name and phone number/email address) to veteranscolumn@providencejournal.com

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Veterans Voice: Local veterans oppose sending U.S. troops to Ukraine
JEFFERSON CITY  Consistent divisions within the Missouri Senate reached a fever pitch Wednesday, as a bipartisan majority of the chamber called a press conference to condemn the actions of a hardline subsect of Republicans.

A group of 22 senators  14 Republicans and eight Democrats  led by Republican Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder of Sikeston, told reporters the group had grown tired of action on "non-controversial and necessary legislation" being blocked by "self-serving politicians."

Rehder's comments came 12 hours after a member of the Conservative Caucus attempted to amend her bill, which seeks to expand the rights of sexual assault survivors, to charge school employees with misdemeanors who provide students with "obscene materials." The Senate adjourned for the night shortly after, without Sen. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville withdrawing his amendment.

Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder, a Sikeston Republican, speaks to reporters alongside a bipartisan group of senators in Jefferson City on March 9, 2022. Rehder condemned a group of hardline Republicans who have frequently blocked and attempted to sink legislation.

Throughout the current legislative session, members of the caucus have frequently attempted to attach amendments to other members' legislation and filibustered while discussing issues such as transgender youth in sports, abortion and the need for more aggressive congressional redistricting to favor Republicans.

Missouri legislature: Republicans pitch restrictions on transgender student-athletes

"A few senators who can't or won't put in the work to get their own legislation through the process want to attach their hot-button, partisan issues to other bills that in some cases have been worked on for months," Rehder said.

"It's time for us to end the empty negotiations and begging for civility with these guys behind closed doors. It's time for the Missouri Senate to do its work."

The caucus' most vocal members include Sens. Brattin, Mike Moon of Ash Grove, Bob Onder of Lake St. Louis, Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg and Bill Eigel of Weldon Spring. Sens. Eric Burlison of Battlefield and Andrew Koenig of St. Louis are also members, though they less frequently take the floor and participate in the caucus' debates. Several of them are running for other offices this year.

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"Despite constant adversarial and classless actions, they seem shocked and appalled daily that no one is rushing to help them with their legislation," Rehder said. "All they are after is political stunts and campaign soundbites. I'm not OK with that anymore. We are not OK with that anymore."

Asked whether senators would consider invoking a rare procedural motion to halt debate and move to an immediate vote, Rehder said "we're going to see about that."

Missouri Senate: How the redistricting fight has drawn ideological lines among Republicans

When the Senate convened minutes later Wednesday, the Conservative Caucus once again took the floor, with Hoskins discussing current rights for sexual assault survivors in Missouri. He argues that the bill is already enshrined in state law.

Almost halfway through the legislative session, which ends in May, the Senate has given final approval to three bills  an emergency spending package, an extension of a workforce scholarship program and a constitutional amendment to cap the state's income tax rate. For weeks, the chamber was bogged down by congressional redistricting, and has still not passed the map that was approved by the House in January.

Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com, (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Conservative Caucus members "self-serving," Missouri senators say
Theresa Bentaas, center, exits after her sentencing hearing on Thursday, December 2, at the Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls. She was sentenced to the South Dakota women's prison for 10 years with nine years suspended with credit for time served.

A woman convicted in 2021 after the death of her newborn son in 1981 was released on parole after serving less than three months in prison, according to the South Dakota Department of Corrections.

Theresa Bentaas, 60, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to prison time with a majority of the time suspended by Judge Bradley Zell on Dec. 2.

Bentaas reported to prison on Jan. 15 and was granted parole on March 17. She wasn't immediately released then. Monday a notification from the South Dakota Department of Corrections confirmed Bentaas was once again free.

Prior reporting: Theresa Bentaas sentenced to 10 years in prison with 9 years suspended in relation to the Baby Andrew case.

"He was not moving. He was not breathing. He was not alive, Bentaas said in March when asked by the parole board whether her son was alive when she left his body outside.

Several board members pushed to keep her behind bars until July during the hearing.

We have a citizen of our state who never had a chance to have a life, said board member Peter Lieberman of Bentaas' son in March, adding that her punishment amounted to a slap on the hand.

Bentaas, 60, was sentenced to 10 years in the womens prison but with nine years suspended and credit for time served for the 1981 death of her newborn son, who would later be called "Baby Andrew" in a case that went unsolved for decades.

You probably wont serve more than 60 days or so, Zell told Bentaas during her sentencing. Bentaas had already served 73 days in the county jail when she was first arrested.

Pregnancy denial and an unsolved death

Bentaas gave birth to the baby when she was 19, but defense attorneys told the court that Bentaas didn't know she was pregnant until the baby was born and that the child was not breathing after birth. Bentaas then wrapped the baby in blankets and put it in a ditch in what was then southern Sioux Falls before a passerby noticed it.

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The mystery of the baby's parents transfixed Sioux Falls residents until it was revealed by DNA match that Bentaas was the mother in 2019 and police charged her.

During Bentaas' court proceedings, the defense called a psychiatrist to the stand who claimed Bentaas was experiencing "complete pregnancy denial" while she was pregnant with Andrew.

Prior reporting: Six things we learned during Theresa Bentaas's sentencing in 1981 cold case

Angelotta said Bentaas never knew she was pregnant with the child until she went into labor and the baby was born. Medical records show she did not seek treatment for the pregnancy before the birth.

When questioned by the state, Angelotta said Bentaas said she had no recollection of what happened to the baby after his birth.

Bentaas described the infant to Angelotta as "pale, grey and lifeless" after giving birth to him. She also told Angelotta she didn't think he was alive because he wasn't crying.

Got a story idea from your community? Email reporter Alfonzo Galvan at agalvan@argusleader.com or follow him on Twitter @GalvanReports.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Theresa Bentaas free after serving 3 months in Baby Andrew case
Theresa Bentaas (Minnehaha County Jail)

A South Dakta woman who was convicted last year of the 1981 death of her newborn son has been released from prison after less than three months.

Theresa Bentaas, 60, was sentenced to 10 years behind bars, of which nine were suspended by a judge, after pleading guilty in December 2021 to first-degree manslaughter over the death of baby Andrew.

She reported to prison on 15 January and was granted parole on 17 March, and although not immediately released the South Dakota Department of Corrections has confirmed that she is now free.

Newborn baby Andrew John Doe was found wrapped in a blanket in a ditch in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on 28 February 1981 after the bundle was spotted by a motorist, but by the time officers arrived at the scene the baby was dead.

An autopsy determined that the newborn had likely died from exposure and failure to assist the baby in maintaining an airway during birth.

An investigation into the babys death and an attempt to identify his parents went cold for nearly four decades before a break in the case.

Sioux Falls Police Department detective Mike Webb, reopened the case to try and obtain DNA evidence for testing, after learnign that all previous testable evidence had been destroyed in 1995, according to court documents.

Baby Andrews body was exhumed in 2009 and sent to the North Texas University Science Center for DNA to be extracted from bone and tissue, but no genetic matches were found.

The DNA samples were tested every year without any match being found, but with technological advances in the field being made, they were submitted in 2019 to Parabon NanoLabs, Inc, which found two possible genetic matches.

Investigators used those matches to create a family tree that led to led to Theresa Bentaas and Dirk Bentaas, both of whom lived together in Sioux Falls.

Sioux Falls police then seized a cigarette butt, beer and water containers from trash at their home, and femal DNA on the evidence could not be excluded as being from the biological mother of Baby Doe, according to court documents.

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During a parole hearing in March, Bentaas, who was 19 when she gave birth to the baby, was asked by the board if her son had been alive when she left his body outside.

He was not moving. He was not breathing. He was not alive, she told them.

Her defence lawyers previously told the court that their client did not know she was pregnant until the baby was born and that he was not breathing after delivery.

The court heard that medical records show she did not seek treatment for the pregnancy before the birth.
Superyachts, if not properly looked after, could rapidly waste away. Getty Images

The seized yachts of sanctioned Russian oligarchs are in limbo as European authorities decide next steps.

Experts say that without maintenance, the yachts could quickly become an environmental hazard.

Proper upkeep for the superyachts would require millions of dollars.

Dozens of superyachts seized from Russian oligarchs could pose a significant environmental threat to marine life and surrounding environments if they are not maintained  a process that typically costs millions.

Earlier this month, Italy seized a $578 million megayacht belonging to Andrey Melnichenko, France seized a $120 million vessel owned by Igor Sechin, and Spain seized a $153 million superyacht linked to Sergei Chemezov. More recently, the UK detained a $50 million superyacht, whose owner remains concealed.

Insider spoke to three experts that said the superyachts have the potential to wreak havoc on the environment if the governments that seized them choose to let the vessels go without daily maintenance.

"Abandoned ships are an environmental hazard," Anna Barford, the Canadian Shipping Campaigner at the environmental group Stand.Earth, told Insider. "As the vessel breaks down contaminants leak into the marine environment."

Determining responsibility for maintenance costs

According to Benjamin Maltby, a partner at Keystone Law in the UK and an expert in yacht and luxury asset law, the maintenance cost of a yacht usually totals about 15% to 20% of its overall value. For Melnichenko's yacht, for example, that would translate to up to $115.6 million in annual expenses.

Even foregoing the costs to staff, repair, fuel, and insure the ship, the fees to dock the yacht can quickly add up. Todd Roberts, president of Marine Boat Works in California, previously told Insider that docking alone typically costs tens of thousands of dollars per month.

The "Crescent" yacht detained in the port of Tarragona, on 17 March, 2022 in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Laia Solanellas/Europa Press via Getty Images

Whether the asset is detained, seized or arrested, the maintenance costs will fall on the owner, Maltby said. However, there is a duty of care that comes into play as soon as any authority detains a possession.

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"Under English law, you are under a legal duty of care," Maltby said, noting that an authority will become a bailee, an individual who temporarily gains possession, but not ownership, of a good or other property.

"I think it would be embarrassing for the various European governments that seized the yachts to not take care of them," he said.

Environmental hazards

Crew members are essential to a superyacht's maintenance, for everything from washing the bow of the ship to technical maintenance. An unmanned ship could rapidly waste away and deteriorate in a matter of weeks.

According to Barford, if the superyachts are left without proper care, the local marine ecosystem could face any number of issues, from sewage leaks to industrial waste.

"If sewage is not properly maintained, it can have a fail rate of over 90%," she said. "That means you have gray water, raw or improperly broken down sewage leaking into the water. It can cause issues for fish, spread disease, even acidify the ocean to a degree."

Maltby added that another possible long-term risk is "accelerated galvanic corrosion," which English marine biologist Jannah Kehoe described as a phenomenon in which two different metals come in contact with each other and with an electrolyte which, in this case, is seawater.

"These conditions generate an electrical current and cause one metal to break down faster than the other, and will commonly cause the steel hull of a ship to break down if untreated," Kehoe said.

The 'Phi' yacht in Canary Wharf, London. Grace Dean/Insider

The corrosion can be extremely harmful for the environment. According to Barford, it could contaminate the water and cause plants and other marine life to die because either they cannot metabolize the industrial waste or it will get passed on through the food chain.

It could even get to a point where humans come in contact and consume contaminated fish or oysters from the site, she said.

Ultimately, the best move to avoid the deterioration of the yachts and local marine life would be to dry dock the yachts, but the process would be expensive, Barford said. It would require an intensive cleaning process, as well as the use of heavy machinery to lift the yachts out of the water and transport them to a new location.

The yachts could also lose their certification if they are not maintained, meaning they ultimately could lose their insurance, as well as any ability to cover costs in the event of serious environmental hazard such as an oil spill.

"Normal operations already have a negative impact on marine life," Barford said. "When you factor in an essentially unattended ship, it only gets worse."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Home and Away spoilers follow for UK viewers.

Next week on Home and Away, the Parata family face a new tragedy.

Elsewhere, Dean feels embarrassed by his mum's love life, while Cash reaches a turning point in his relationship with Jasmine.

Here's a full collection of 11 big moments coming up.

1. Ari's decision devastates his family

Photo credit: Endemol Shine - Channel 5

Ari reflects on the shocking news that he's terminally ill and the only way he can secure more time is to undergo an extreme surgical procedure. He announces that he doesn't want the surgery.

Mia, Tane and Nikau are all shocked by this, but Ari insists that a life drawn out in prison or a hospital bed is not one that he wants. Instead, he'd rather die on his own terms, surrounded by the people he loves.

2. Ari and Mia get married

Photo credit: Endemol Shine - Channel 5

Mia struggles to accept Ari's decision, but she realises that they must make the most of the time that he has left. She brings forward their planned wedding, which will now take place in the hospital.

Tane and Nikau dress Ari in a suit, but they refuse to reveal the reason why. All becomes clear when Mia enters the hospital room in her wedding dress.

Ari and Mia improvise their vows as they commit to each other in the tragic circumstances.

3. Ari dies

Photo credit: Endemol Shine - Channel 5

Ari collapses at the end of the wedding ceremony, leaving his family horrified. Logan assesses him and warns the family that it may be time to prepare for the worst.

Later, the family gather at Ari's bedside as he sings a powerful Maori song, before taking his last breath. Mia, Tane, Nikau and Chloe are all devastated by the death of Ari.

4. Mac breaks down

Photo credit: Endemol Shine - Channel 5

Ari's tragedy has a ripple effect across the local community, with everyone reflecting on his loss. Dean remembers how Ari saved him from bad decisions and put him on the right path.

Meanwhile, Mac breaks down over Ari's death and initially refuses to confide in Logan. Her reaction takes Logan by surprise, as he hadn't realised that Mac's romantic history with Ari was so serious.

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When Logan finds Mac crying in the store room at Salt, he encourages her to open up about the death of her former partner.

5. Ryder's good news is overshadowed by the tragedy

Photo credit: Endemol Shine - Channel 5

Ryder announces that he has graduated from TAFE. Although he's happy over the news, he wants to keep the celebrations low-key while the Parata family are grieving for Ari.

Alf feels otherwise and arranges a family lunch at the Stewart house to toast Ryder's success. Ryder feels ashamed over drinking champagne and eating fancy food while others are mourning, so he walks out on his own celebratory lunch.

6. Ryder and Theo come up with an idea

Photo credit: Endemol Shine - Channel 5

Ryder reaches out to Chloe with a supportive text, but he wants to do more to help the Parata family.

Theo suggests they should celebrate Ari with a video project, featuring contributions from members of the local community who want to share their memories. Theo and Ryder are excited over the idea, finally using their video-making skills for good.

7. Felicity bonds with Ryder

Photo credit: Endemol Shine - Channel 5

Ryder mentions that Ari's death has brought back memories of his own father passing away. He confides in Felicity, aware that she also lost her dad.

Ryder asks Felicity whether the pain ever subsides. She gives him some honest advice in response  admitting that the pain never goes, but a sense of acceptance gets stronger.

8. Ari gets his final send-off

Photo credit: Endemol Shine - Channel 5

The Parata family hold a tangi for Ari  a traditional Maori funeral rite. Ari's body is kept in the Parata house with an open coffin, while friends and family are invited to pay their last respects to him.

When the time comes to take Ari's body back to New Zealand, Tane, Nikau and the other Maori men perform an emotional haka in his honour.

9. Dean gets embarrassed over Karen and Brett

Photo credit: Endemol Shine - Channel 5

Karen and Brett reconcile following an intervention from Dean. Unfortunately, the couple go from one extreme to another as they turn the Astonis' farmhouse into their own personal love nest.

Dean is embarrassed to have to think about his mother's sex life and he starts to fear that she's outstaying her welcome in Ziggy's home.

10. Karen and Brett leave the Bay

Photo credit: Endemol Shine - Channel 5

Ziggy is understanding over the Karen situation, but she warns Dean that they'll have to kick her and Brett out eventually.

Fortunately, Karen and Brett are already making their own plans. Karen announces that she'll be moving in with Brett, so will be leaving the Bay again. Dean is pleased for his mum as she says a heartfelt goodbye in happy circumstances.

11. Cash changes his mind over Jasmine

Photo credit: Endemol Shine - Channel 5

Cash decides that he wants to move in with Jasmine after all, so he asks Irene if he can have a key to her house. Irene refuses when she finds out that Cash hasn't even spoken to Jasmine about this.

Later, Cash presents Jasmine with his toothbrush as a gift, explaining that he wants them to live together. Jasmine is sceptical over why he has changed his mind so quickly.

Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.15pm on Channel 5 and 6pm on 5STAR. First look screenings air at 6.30pm on 5STAR and the show also streams on My5.

Read more Home and Away spoilers on our dedicated homepage

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We have been toying with the idea of a rougher lesbian series for a while, something lighter in tone than our lesbian Pure Taboo episodes (formerly Lesbian Revenge) but with more extreme sexual performances, says Frank Stacy, Adult Times director of marketing. The very vocal lesbian fanbase on our platform makes for a perfect testing ground for new ideas and experiments - and were more than curious to hear what they have to say about this one!
The Smiley face, a yellow circle with two black lines for eyes and an upturned squiggle of a mouth, turns 50 this year. Yet it doesnt have one single wrinkle. In fact, if anything, Smiley  a signifier of kindness  has never seemed fresher or more of the moment than it is today for beauty brands, corporations and retailers alike.

All are increasingly keen to embrace and convey kindness in their corporate cultures, branding and marketing statements. And while kindness as a concept isnt not necessarily easy to quantify on a balance sheet or an income statement, all agree it makes good business sense.

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Aside from making a stronger and more productive workforce, the science behind kindness and acts of kindness  either giving or receiving  [shows it] modulates the neuroendocrine system and reduces inflammation in the body, said Brent Ridge, a cofounder of Beekman 1802, the microbiome-focused skin care brand centered around goat milk  and kindness.

Those things manifest how your skin looks and how every cell in your body ages, he continued. It actually does have physiological benefits to your body.

Further, in a workforce, where employees sometimes havent met each other in person, its more important than ever to have a commonality.

It cant always just be around a number or a KPI. There has to be a personal connection. Kindness is one of those things that can be a connector for your employees, according to Ridge.

Kind acts are not new to the beauty industry, but the pace of them has picked up steam since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic two years ago.

The Secret deodorant brand, from its founding in 1956, has had as its mission to empower women to deal with high-stress moments. Starting in the first phase of the recent health crisis, Secret chose to continue standing up for equal pay and representation as women were increasingly having to choose between their professional lives and taking care of their children.

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For part of its push, Secret teamed with the YWCA for the Superhero Mom campaign. In the video, mothers are interviewed about the hardships they face during the pandemic vis-a-vis childcare, their kids spoke about their super-human moms and the brand granted the women a full year of paid childcare.

What we loved about it so much is that this impacted real women that were dealing with the struggles of the pandemic on the front lines, said Christopher Talbott, senior brand director, global Secret and Gillette deodorant at Procter & Gamble. Our fight toward gender equality didnt take a backseat or go backward.

He said Secret has evolved how it measures the impact of acts of kindness and forces for good. The primary way is qualitative, through frequently speaking with women.

So its not always about: Hey, have sales increased? Talbott said. Sixty-two percent of consumers want companies to stand up for issues theyre passionate about.

Other quantifiable ways to measure success of a campaign are equity studies and brand-health trackers.

Kindness is something that we prioritize number one, two and three, he continued. We know its what our consumers and employees want, and so well continue fighting for that cause.

Simple, the Unilever-owned skin care label, in the U.K. has been running an Acts of Kindness Community Board online as part of a project with Kindness.org, the global nonprofit built on the belief that kindness is an essential ingredient in social change. The campaign has the stated aim of helping the nation become a better Britain. People have written: I am going to buy food for a stranger. I am going to praise a work colleague. I am going to ask how a friend is doing. I am going to take time to listen to a friend.

Simples Kindness Pledge - Credit: Courtesy of Simple

Courtesy of Simple

Kindness is at the heart of Simples philosophy  and we believe in clean and kind skin care that works, said Guy Linnegar, marketing manager of Simple U.K. and Ireland. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of kindness, and how the little things can make a big difference, which is why we decided to partner with Kindness.org and [TV and radio presenter] Mollie King in 2021 to continue to build on this philosophy.

Nadav Klein, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD, said small acts of kindness can pack a big punch.

What we find is that being just a little bit nice has the greatest return, he said. If you think about it, the more kind I am, the more altruistic, the more its costly for me to do that. If Im doing you a big favor, its more costly than if Im doing a small favor. But we find that people evaluate others who do small favors just as positively as others who do big favors, which would suggest there is a premium on being a little bit nice.

If youre a little bit nice to people, it really pays off over time, continued Klein. You can easily create a very positive reputation among people.

On a personal level, carrying out acts of kindness can make people happier and give more meaning to life, he said.

Kindness is an important factor in-store, too. Eric Costa, chief executive officer of Citynove, the real estate arm of Galeries Lafayette Group, realized that retailing strategies needed to shift, after speaking with an elevator mechanic. Whereas in the past, the ground-floor button was the one to break down the most, since everyone needs ultimately to leave a shop, the close-door button was now most out of order.

The most pressed was the door-closing button to gain 10 seconds, he mused. Fifteen years ago, no one used this button. Its heavy with meaning, but also symptomatic of a stress thats linked to digital, that everything has accelerated. Suddenly, we can no longer bear to waste time.

Costa and his team had to consider what would make people leave their homes for a physical store, instead of purchasing online. Their idea: Shopping in brick-and-mortar had to become like a leisure-time activity.

We have to create for our customers a feeling of positive emotion, of well-being, he explained. That can come from more open and light-filled spaces and  whats key  building up relationships with customers, who then feel loved.

We have an unlimited resource, which is the kindness of our employees, of our teams, Costa said. They are not a limited resource like cash or capex.

His group has worked with semiologists, symbologists and magicians to conjure up positive emotions on the customer journey. That can be through aesthetic choices taken. Citynove is working with Japans TeamLab on an in-store, interactive digital project involving a poetic landscape, for example.

We will create these positive emotions by making small axes of kindness, Costa said.

Some random acts of kindness include washing peoples cars parked in a stores lot.

It will contribute to making the magic of the location, Costa said.

Meanwhile, some beauty workplaces are becoming kinder.

One executive, for instance, said that an ethos of kindness has been cultivated at Coty Inc., since Sue Nabis arrival as CEO in September 2020. Caroline Andreotti, executive vice president global travel retail at the company, described this as kindness with people in the organization, accepting what is different and being very inclusive as a leader, [being] kind to the planet with the philosophy she has around products.

Phil Lewis, an organizational development consultant and founder of Corporate Punk, speaking of the increasing emphasis on kindness in workplaces, said: In simple terms, youve got an acknowledgement going on post-pandemic that the way a lot of organizations have worked and treated their people isnt necessarily going to be sustainable for them going forward.

Gen Z and Millennials have a heightened consciousness around corporate conduct, and digital media creates most organizations porous nature.

So poor treatment of staff now has opportunities to leak out in the way that it didnt previously, Lewis said. Organizations that treat people well tend to hang on to them longer.

Kindness also gives employees a higher energy level, so their pace of innovation and productivity go up.

He thinks most human beings are wired for good, but maintained: It is really difficult to build scalable organizations that are actually capable of treating people on the planet kindly  for all sorts of reasons to do with the fact that we need systems and processes that create uniformity in working. [Theres] the fact that weve got shareholders and incentives that trend toward profitability and growth at all costs and the fact that almost all organizations are tyrannical to some extent because they have to be, because there has to be a received way of doing things. You cant have everyone just doing what they want  its complete anarchy.

However, Lewis believes the smartest people in business are starting to work it out despite the tensions and challenges.

My sense is that a lot of organizations are at a very early stage in their exploration of this, he continued. What is happening is everybodys kind of emerging into the sunlight after COVID-19 and is going: What the hell are we going to do now?

Beekman, seemingly, has already nailed it.

The brand was founded by husband-and-husband team Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell from their Sharon Springs, N.Y., farm in 2009. Years ago, after losing their jobs, the couple relocated to upstate New York and said yes when a neighboring farmer put a note in their mailbox saying he sought refuge for his 100 goats.

We always say that we started with a single act of kindness, Ridge said.

The farmer brought them goat milk, and Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell began making soap out of it and researching into how the milk nourishes skins microbiome.

Beekman calls all its microbiome-friendly skin care clinically kind skin care. If you look at the ingredient deck on the back of every bottle, kindness is actually listed as an ingredient, Ridge said.

Beekman 1802 - Credit: Courtesy of Beekman 1802

Courtesy of Beekman 1802

(Kindness has entered numerous brands product nomenclature, including Ellen DeGeneres Kind Science skin care brand and Rare Beautys Lip Souffle Matte Lip Cream had the limited-edition shade Kindness.)

Kindness is at the core of Beekmans corporate culture. Each new employee learns in orientation that the brand begins with kindness and visits the farm.

Then every internal communication that we do really is around how we can treat each other more kindly in our sustainability efforts, how we can treat the world more kindly, Ridge said. Thats the lingo of our internal corporate culture.

Beekman also gives employees eight hours yearly to do some sort of volunteer work and an annual company-wide kindness day to be kind to themselves, family or community.

The companys Kindness Council was established last year and has as a perennial member Jaclyn Lindsey, a cofounder and CEO of Kindness.org. (Lindsey and Oliver S. Curry are conducting research around the development of a kindness quotient to assess the kindness of a corporate culture.)

Beekman has scored highly, and also conducts ongoing surveys of consumers, which it calls neighbors. The brands community is built up in numerous ways. Theres a live goat cam running 24/7.

The goats represent those moments of kindness, Ridge said. Some people check in every day.

Other community outreach includes Kindness Grants, micro-loans of up to $500 allowing people to spread a random act of kindness in their own community.

So that our consumers can see how powerful kindness can be, Ridge said.

Cards given after a consultation have little notes of kindness written on the back. And people keep making pilgrimages to the farm, which isnt exactly easy to get to, and where theres a baby goat tour and a kindness curriculum  a full-day immersion in kindness, with follow-up.

The people whove taken that course become their own little community, Ridge said.

Beekmans business strategy has paid off in spades. On the monetary front, sales keep rising and in December 2021, Eurazeo Brands invested $62 million for a controlling stake in the company, alongside co-investors Cohesive Capital Partners and the Cherng Family Trust. In total, $92 million poured in.

Eurazeo was attracted to the brand due to its focus on self care and kindness. At the time of the deal, Adrianne Shapira, managing director at Eurazeo Brands, told WWD: Self care is only gaining importance in a post-COVID-19 world  being kind to the planet, kind to your community, kind to yourself. Those are table stakes, frankly, and it is such a big part of Beekmans DNA that its frankly a private equitys dream.

The goat is the hero, but to us, this is a unicorn brand, she continued.

Meanwhile, for Beekman, the focus on kindness remains.

The beauty industry  its not always something that you think about necessarily as being kind, but I think that is getting better, Ridge said. Certainly, a lot of beauty brands are speaking about mental health and being accepting of ones self, but a lot of times people can see the beauty industry as being somewhat judgmental.

This idea of self-kindness and the way that you treat yourself creates a ripple effect, he said. Thats how it spreads around the world.

FOR MORE, SEE:

Jill Scalamandre Joins Beekman 1802 as CEO

Ellen DeGeneres Is Launching a Beauty Brand

Rare Beauty Brands Acquires Dr. Dana Beauty

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Tall ships fans will have to wait at least one more year to see the S/V Denis Sullivan sailing on Lake Michigan again.

The 137-foot ship  the world's only replica of a 19th-century three-masted Great Lakes schooner  will remain docked at Discovery World again this year, according to museum President and CEO Bryan Wunar. And its future at the museum is being reevaluated as Discovery World begins the process of seeking ways to use and care for the ship.

The decision to not sail this year was mostly a product of the Sullivan not having a captain.

In February 2021, Capt. Tiffany Krihwan, who had been the ship's captain since 2008 and Discovery World's director of marine operations since 2014, accepted a new job as captain of the schooner Ernestina-Morrissey at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Tiffany Krihwan at the helm of the S.V. Denis Sullivan.

When Krihwan became the Denis Sullivan's captain in 2008, she was one of only a handful of female tall ships captains in the industry; today, women represent 10% of all tall ships captains. In 2019, Krihwan won the Tall Ships America Sail Trainer of the Year award, which is given to a member who has made a significant contribution to sail training through the demonstration of leadership by means of empowerment and inspiration.

RELATED: S.V. Denis Sullivan captain Tiffany Krihwan on history of women at the helm

After not sailing in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Krihwan and Chief Mate Jonny Slanga  the ship's only year-round crew, who are responsible for maintenance of the boat in the winter  were furloughed indefinitely in October of that year. With the future of the Sullivan uncertain, both pursued new opportunities in 2021.

Krihwan said it was "really hard" leaving the ship she had captained for more than a decade, not knowing who was going to care for it in her absence.

"She was a part of my family, and then they're saying I'm not even allowed to be on her," she said.

Discovery World began searching for a new captain in August but had difficulty wooing candidates who had moved to more lucrative commercial jobs, as was the case for Slanga.

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"Even though I think we're on the upper end of the spectrum of compensation for our captain, we can't compete with compensation on the merchant side of sailing," Wunar said, noting they talked to other organizations in the tall ships community who were struggling with a similar problem. "The price that (commercial merchants) can command right now is not something that an educational nonprofit can afford."

New plan for Denis Sullivan

As Discovery World began talking to those other organizations, they also began exploring other possibilities for the Sullivan.

"Right now, as we're going through this period, we're exploring  is the approach that we've used in the past, is that the right approach? Are there other organizations that we need to be working with? Are there opportunities to sort of share resources with other partners?" Wunar said. "So right now, rather than just simply moving forward with the thought of, let's go back to where we were, maybe the path forward looks a little bit different."

Wunar doesn't know what that path looks like, but they started their exploratory process with Tall Ships America, a nonprofit focused on North America's maritime heritage. Through that organization, Discovery World began looking at what other groups similar to theirs do with their tall ships  from some that operate the ships year-round to others that only have dockside programs to others whose entire focus is maritime education and history.

The process has Discovery World thinking about new opportunities for the ship, including some that other organizations might take on.

Simultaneously, the museum is undergoing a strategic planning process to be completed by the fall, according to Wunar.

"It's giving us a chance to sort of redefine what is our scope of content.  How do we engage people from communities that we have not had a direct impact on and that, in some cases, have been historically excluded from STEM education opportunities?" he said. "So as we go through that and redefine that scope, there's that chance for us to think about not just the Sullivan, but all of the kinds of resources we have here.  What are the things that are very uniquely Discovery World, and then how do we use that to make sure that everything we do is guided by our educational mission, and that we're not just adding on side projects, but instead, they all try to meet some of those common goals."

A lot has changed for Discovery World and the Sullivan since it was completed in 2000.

The ship was built by the nonprofit Wisconsin Lake Schooner Education Association. Nearly 400 volunteers put in almost 1 million hours of work to build the schooner at a cost of $4.2 million. The group did it in a shipyard at the end of Michigan Street along the lakefront, home to Discovery World today. At the time, however, the museum shared a building with the Milwaukee Public Museum at 815 N. Lovell Ave.

The WLSEA hoped to build an educational center at the shipyard site for visitors to learn about Great Lakes history and ecology (called Pier Wisconsin), while another group, Great Lakes Future, had a similar idea. Discovery World simultaneously was looking for a new home.

Businessman and philanthropist Michael Cudahy  who was on Discovery World's board of directors  supported the Pier Wisconsin proposal and brought the three groups together. In 2006, the museum moved to its current home at Pier Wisconsin, where the Sullivan was docked.

Since then, the schooner has docked at Discovery World in the summer, where museum staff and volunteers conduct educational events, day sails and overnight adventures, sometimes sailing to other ports on the Great Lakes to take part in tall ships festivals.

As Discovery World explores options for the ship's future, the museum is not ruling out that it could have new owners or dock elsewhere.

"At this point, we're exploring all options," Wunar said. "We don't have an intended outcome. But if it turned out that there was an organization that their utilization of the Sullivan might support their mission and what that intent was, I think we'd want to talk about it."

The Sullivan, which costs $70,000 annually to maintain when it's not sailing and about $250,000 when it is, is "clearly not a moneymaker" for the museum most years, Wunar said. But finances won't factor into Discovery World caring for the schooner.

"There's a major financial commitment, regardless of how we're using the Sullivan, and that's something that we've been committed to throughout the years," he said. "Even now, we're committed to making sure that the financial aspect is not the reason that we will not care for it. It's just the opposite. We're making the financial commitment to ensure that Sullivan is very well maintained going forward."

The Denis Sullivan sails on Lake Michigan east of Discovery World, where it docks in the summer.

Maintenance of the Sullivan

For now, the ship remains docked at Discovery World, where it has been for most of the past year. Wunar said instead of moving it up the Menomonee River to its winter dock, they decided to keep it at Discovery World not only as a way to reduce costs but also so they could have constant access to it and keep working on it.

After Krihwan and Slanga were furloughed in 2020, there was concern among volunteers and Sullivan fans that the ship wouldn't receive the maintenance it needed.

But Wunar said it's in "the best shape that it's been in in a very long time." Discovery World staff and volunteers have been working with a professional shipwright on maintenance over the past year  some of it deferred from even before the pandemic  in addition to integrating the ship's systems with the museum's systems for better safety and security.

Krihwan, who saw the boat about a week ago, has concerns about the ship's state, however. She said there are issues from having it in direct sunlight and not moving for the past year, including dried-out wood on the starboard side, which has been facing the sun. She said both sides of the boat looked like they needed to be recalked.

"(Wooden boats) really need to be worked and moved to keep them healthy, just like a human, you know, it's a living thing. It needs to work to keep the moisture in it," she said.

While that might sound counterintuitive, she said the swelling of the wood when it gets wet is what makes the ship watertight. Wooden ships especially need saltwater, with salt acting as a preservative. Krihwan said she and the rest of the crew would salt the deck and bilges daily to help preserve the wood.

Krihwan is also concerned about the masts drying out. The crew would normally apply tung oil and Vaseline to the masts two or three times a year. Without that, they can develop small cracks.

Some of these issues are not a case of neglect but rather a case of Discovery World not knowing what they don't know, she said, and not asking experts for advice or taking that advice when it's given.

So while the ship might look like it's in decent shape to the average bystander  or even a regular sailor  it could be in rougher shape when examined by an expert.

"You cannot let it slide one single bit when it comes to these vessels," Krihwan said.

Tom Martens  who is not an expert on tall ships, but is a sailor  said the ship was in "decent shape" when he last saw it in January, noting Discovery World had done "quite a bit of work" on it.

Martens sits on Discovery World's S/V Denis Sullivan committee as a representative of the Friends of the S/V Denis Sullivan, an unofficial group that was formed about a decade ago and found new life during the pandemic. In the past volunteers have also served as sailors and educators, which is how Martens, who lives in Chicago, got involved about eight years ago.

Crew members work on the Denis Sullivan, docked outside Discovery World on April 5, 2013.

In addition to not sailing this year, there's not much hope for dockside programs, either. Without a properly licensed crew, only Discovery World staff and trained volunteers and contractors can step foot on board, per Coast Guard regulations, Wunar said.

But Discovery World has added some informational signs about the Sullivan to the south dock where it now sits, and the museum will incorporate the ship in its other programs, from freshwater content in its Reiman Aquarium to learn-to-sail summer camps in partnership with the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center.

Whatever its future might hold, the Sullivan will sail again, if Wunar has his way.

"I think the ideal is that the Sullivan is not docked indefinitely," he said, "that the Sullivan is able to sail, it's able to be utilized to explore the Great Lakes, it's able to be utilized to inspire a really broad range of audience from young children, who oftentimes haven't even been down to the lakefront, all the way up to those interested adults who are avid sailors that this is a way for them to sort of step on board and step back in time."

Martens, too, hopes to see the Sullivan take to Lake Michigan again.

"A number of people when I've been up in Milwaukee will come up to me and  they'll comment about how they love seeing the boat sail up and down the Milwaukee shoreline with the sails up  it is kind of iconic," he said.

More information: Discovery World, 500 N Harbor Drive, Milwaukee, is currently open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is $20 for adults; $16 for children (ages 3-17) and seniors (60 and older); $14 for college students, active military and veterans; and free for children ages 2 and under.

For more information on volunteering with the Denis Sullivan or other opportunities at Discovery World, see discoveryworld.org/volunteering or call (414) 765-9966.

Contact Chelsey Lewis at clewis@journalsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter at @chelseylew and @TravelMJS and Facebook at Journal Sentinel Travel.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Denis Sullivan won't sail in 2022; Discovery World explores options
New York City launched a campaign of digital billboards and social media ads to run in five Florida cities that promote the Big Apple as a place where top city officials say  in stark contrast to the Sunshine State  LGBTQ+ people are welcomed as tourists and as residents.

The ads, announced Monday by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, target a new Florida law that imposes new restrictions on discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in Florida schools.

The Parental Rights in Education" legislation, the one critics dubbed the Dont Say Gay bill, was signed into law last week by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis after it got approved by the GOP-dominated Legislature. Opponents have already challenged it in federal court.

Previous coverage:

Adams slammed the new law as the latest shameful, extremist culture war targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

Today, we say to the families living in fear of this state-sponsored discrimination that you will always have a home in New York City, he added.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks at a news conference about an NYPD gang bust on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.

"Mayor Adams is doing Florida a favor," Christina Pushaw, DeSantis' press secretary, told the USA TODAY Network - Florida. "If anyone is so upset about our governor defending parental rights that they want to leave Florida for a crime-ridden socialist dystopia, our state will be better off without them. In fact, the mayor should pay for their flights to NYC!"

The law prohibits Florida educators from teaching sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade classrooms. It bars discussing such topics in a manner that is not age- or developmentally-appropriate for students, which could extend the ban to higher grade levels. Parents can sue a school district if they notice a violation.

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The legislation garnered criticism from LGBTQ+ people across the nation. Celebrities wrote "I say gay" on social media. President Joe Biden denounced the move. Academy Awards hosts ridiculed DeSantis.

In signing the bill into law, DeSantis said it helps parents "send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination."

In case you missed it: 'Don't Say Gay' bill mentioned during Oscar's opening monologue

The billboards will appear in five Florida cities

Between Monday and May 29, the billboards will appear in the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa or West Palm Beach.

The digital billboards and online ads exhibit five different pieces of art. The creations were made and donated, along with ad space, by several companies affiliated with WPP, a multinational advertising network.

These ads will reaffirm New York Citys commitment to creating an inclusive school environment, in sharp contrast to the discriminatory policies of Governor DeSantis, said Daniel Dromm, an LGBTQ+ activist and New York City public school teacher in a statement released by city officials.

Florida is one of several states that has drawn national attention lately for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey approved two laws last week that target LGBTQ+ young people.

One blocks people under 18 from getting "irreversible gender reassignment surgery," and the other prohibits transgender athletes from competing in women's and girl's sports. Oklahoma passed a similar sports ban earlier the same day, making them the fourth and fifth states to pass an anti-trans sports ban.

Adams has faced criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates lately himself. Protestors gathered at City Hall Park on Feb. 24 after the mayor added three people to his administration who previously expressed anti-LGBTQ+ views.

Adams hired Fernando Cabrera and Gilford Monrose to his Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships, and Erick Salgado to the Office on Immigrant Affairs. Adams responded to pushback by vowing to move forward and allow people to "evolve."

Contributed: Tallahassee Democrat reporter James Call.

Sammy Gibbons is a culture reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Atlantic Region How We Live team. Email: sgibbons@gannett.com | Twitter: @sammykgibbons. For unlimited access to the most important news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Florida Don't Say Gay: NYC mayor billboard campaign in Florida opposes law
HEPSOR AS

Hepsor Marupe SIA, Hepsor AS group company, and SIA Mitt&Perlebach signed a construction agreement for the construction of Marupe Darzs development project in Marupe, Riga area, on 5 April 2022. The value of construction agreement is approximately 8.3 million euros excluding value added tax. Considering the rapid increase in commodity prices and overall supply chain issues the construction agreement was signed as open-end agreement (cost plus agreement).

The construction begins in the second quarter 2022 and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2023. Marupes Darzs project of four buildings with 92 apartments was granted a building permit at the end of 2021. A total of 8 booking agreements and 22 contracts under law of obligation have been signed.

According to Henri Laks, member of the Management Board of Hepsor AS, Marupes Darzs with A-energy class apartments is a good example of environmentally conscious residential development project. The project considers the natural surroundings and modern energy efficient solutions in creating sustainable living environment. This is the first time for Hepsor to sign an open-end construction agreement but considering the current economic and political environment it is the best for risk mitigation.

Additional information:

More information about Marupes Darzs projects can be found at https://hepsor.lv/marupesdarzs/en/ .

Anneli Simm

Head of Investor Relations

Phone: +372 5615 7170

e-mail: anneli@hepsor.ee

Hepsor AS (www.hepsor.ee) is one of the fastest growing residential and commercial real estate developers in Estonia and Latvia. Over the last ten years Hepsor has developed more than 1,400 homes and 23,000 m2 of commercial space. Hepsor has been the first real estate developer in the Baltic States to implement a number of innovative engineering solutions that make the buildings we construct more energy-efficient and thus more environmentally friendly. The company's portfolio is comprised of 26 development projects with a total sellable space of 177,000 m2.




A veteran police officer in Illinois resigned Tuesday after researchers connected him to a deluge of violent and bigoted social media posts that glorified Adolf Hitler and hate crimes.

The resignation of Springfield Police Department Officer Aaron Paul Nichols, 46, came shortly after his department announced an investigation into the posts, first surfaced by Anonymous Comrades Collective (ACC), a group of anti-fascist researchers.

If I found a genie and I had one wish? The Jews would be a distant memory in 72 hours, one of the posts allegedly written by Nichols reads.

The Springfield Police Department said on Friday that it had launched an investigation into Nichols racist comments, and that his police powers had been removed. On Tuesday, the department told HuffPost in a statement that Nichols, who joined the department in 2004, resigned instead of meeting with investigators.

Officer Aaron Nichols resigned after his department announced an investigation into racist social media posts connected to him. (Photo: Facebook)

Officer Aaron Nichols resigned after his department announced an investigation into racist social media posts connected to him. (Photo: Facebook)

The Springfield Police Department is committed to a complete and thorough investigation into the comments and actions of Aaron Nichols, regardless of his resignation, the statement said.

This latest revelation comes amid growing concern by the FBI that law enforcement has been infiltrated by white supremacists.

Nichols did not respond to repeated requests for comment from HuffPost.

An Avalanche Of Hate

Nichols was first identified last Thursday by ACC, the group of researchers that tracks down white supremacists and neo-Nazis. The group previously helped HuffPost in its report first identifying Andrew Casarez, the leader of a Dylann Roof-worshipping neo-Nazi group.

Nichols left a trail of breadcrumbs leading to his unmasking, including sharing details about his family, his time in the police force and his location. Several racist posts on Twitter under the account name SPD584 were traced to a Periscope account with the same handle, and which included his full legal name. Researchers were able to connect the Twitter account to an account on the far-right social media website Gab with the same name. On Gab, where extremism and hate speech proliferate, Nichols shared a photo of his partially obscured face in one of his anonymous posts.

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Aaron Nichols has resigned from the Springfield Police Department on Tuesday after his racist social media posts surfaced. (Photo: Gab)

Aaron Nichols has resigned from the Springfield Police Department on Tuesday after his racist social media posts surfaced. (Photo: Gab)

When I seize power, hate crimes will be encouraged, the Gab account researchers connected to Nichols said.

Many of Nichols alleged posts discuss killing Black and Jewish people, the same people he had sworn to protect for nearly two decades. (Note: Several of the quoted posts include uncensored racial slurs.)

I have metal stamps. I think Ill just stamp 14/88 into every nigger quarter I get, another of the Gab posts read. Easy.

The number 14 refers to a white supremacist slogan, and 88 refers to HH, or Heil Hitler.

Niggers ruin everything, another post read. Even if its White doing the stealing theyre likely selling the meat to blaq [sic] run restaurants or trading it to niggers for dope. Real talk.

Springfield, the capital city of Illinois, has a population of approximately 115,000 people, and SPD has just over 200 officers on its police force. Black citizens represent 20% of the population, according to the 2020 Census.

Along with Black people, posts connected to Nichols also expressed a deep hatred for Jews.

Ill say it in English. I am a supporter of as many holocausts as it takes to cleanse this world of talmudic influence, a post that has been archived read.

Another post said Hitler did nothing wrong, and another discussed how the user told a neighbor at a Christmas party that he didnt believe the Holocaust happened.

Members of the Illinois legislature wrote a letter Monday calling for an independent investigation into Nichols.

It would be disturbing enough to know someone with these views was living in your community, the letter said. But to learn that such a person is exercising authority over the very people he declares his hatred for is terrifying.

In one post connected to Nichols last year, the user expressed pride at being a cop.

I despise the government and have for nearly 3 decades, the post read. The best place I can possibly be is inside the beast. Ive done a lot of good in my careers.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
FORT LAUDERDALE  The slow process in selecting a jury that will decide the fate of Nikolas Cruz began Monday inside a Broward County courtroom.

Cruz, 23, is facing the death penalty more than four years after he killed 17 students and staff members and wounded 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

The 12 panelists who determine whether Cruz is sentenced to die or receives life in prison will be chosen from a pool of 1,000 candidates, according to court officials.

Getting to 12  as well eight alternates  won't be an easy or quick undertaking, judging from Monday's "pre-qualification" proceeding during which potential jurors were only asked if the expected four-to-six-month length of the trial would keep them from serving because of scheduling issues or other hardships.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz enters the courtroom before jury pre-selection in the penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse Monday in Fort Lauderdale. Cruz previously pleaded guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings.

Capital punishment: Death penalty for Parkland killer Nikolas Cruz will let pain linger for victims | Frank Cerabino

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Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer said she expects the trial to begin May 31 and run through September. The trial's expected duration drew noticeable expressions of alarm from prospective jurors.

Among the 60 candidates in the first group interviewed by Scherer on Monday, only 18 were asked to return in several weeks to undergo more questioning. A total of 180 people were screened Monday.

Nikolas Cruz jury selection: What were some reasons jurors said to be excused?

Many of those excused said issues related to work or care-taking made it impossible for them to take part in a long trial.

One man told Scherer he couldn't commit because his wife is 37 weeks pregnant. A female candidate recited a series of reasons she is unable to serve before concluding with, "Oh, and I'm getting married at the end of the month." Both were excused.

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Another man told Scherer he was a server at Cheesecake Factory and wouldn't get paid if he didn't work. Before Scherer could respond, the man offered: "I'll give you a free cheesecake."

Responded Scherer: "Those things are delicious, but deadly."

The most bizarre comment came from a woman who told Scherer: I have my sugar daddy that I see every day."

Im not really sure what you mean, Scherer said.

I go to see my sugar daddy every day," the woman repeated.

Scherer appeared perplexed. The woman was excused.

Nikolas Cruz jury selection: How many family members of victims were present?

Cruz, dressed in an olive green sweater worn over a purple dress shirt and wearing glasses and a face mask, sat quietly in between his attorneys with a phalanx of Broward County Sheriff's deputies directly behind him. He spoke only briefly while being questioned about a procedural matter by Scherer.

Eight family members of the victims watched Monday's proceedings. They were initially seated toward the rear of the courtroom but asked to be moved closer to the front, a request that Scherer granted. They were kept a few rows behind where Cruz sat for security reasons.

Scherer was receptive to dismissing jurors with conflicts but warned that knowledge of the case would not be sufficient to be removed from the jury pool.

"Please understand that although you may be familiar with the case, you will not be excused for that reason alone," she said.

Those people not excused by Scherer on Monday were asked to fill out questionnaires that asked about their backgrounds and their ability to handle graphic evidence.

Nikolas Cruz jury selection: How will the jury decide Cruz's fate?

The jury that is eventually chosen won't be asked to determine Cruz's guilt. He pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murders. His attorneys offered the guilty plea in exchange for a life sentence, but prosecutors refused.

Under state law, a jury would have to be unanimous in its recommendation to Scherer that Cruz be executed. If any of the 12 jurors opposed a death verdict, Cruz would be sentenced to life without the chance of parole.

Jurors must decide if at least one aggravating factor  there are 16 such circumstances under state law, including the number of people killed and the cruelty involved in the crime  was present in order to send someone to death row. Aggravating factors must outweigh mitigating factors  such as mental illness or sexual abuse  to impose the death penalty.

After the jury makes its recommendation, it will be up to Scherer to make the final decision.

Florida is one of 28 states that still uses the death penalty.

Cruz, then 19, took an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle through the halls of Building 12 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Feb. 14, 2018, killing 14 students and three staff members during a seven-minute rampage. He had been a student at the high school before being expelled 13 months before.

Cruz and his younger brother, Zachary, lived briefly in a mobile-home park near Lantana with a former neighbor. Nikolas Cruz was kicked out of the home following a violent tantrum.

He was scheduled to for trial in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic forced numerous delays.

Staff writer Liam Rooney contributed to this story.

jmilian@pbpost.com

@caneswatch

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jury selection off to slow start in Nikolas Cruz death penalty case
Apr. 4SANTA FE  New Mexico lawmakers will return to the Roundhouse on Tuesday for a special session focused on providing state residents with relief from high gas prices and the revival of a $50 million spending package.

The special session called by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to be brief  likely lasting just one day  and comes less than four weeks after the governor drew legislators' ire by vetoing the initial version of a spending bill containing funding for dozens of small projects around the state.

Top Democratic legislators said Monday a rebate plan crafted after discussions with the Governor's Office would provide $500 payments to individual taxpayers, regardless of their income level. Married couples filing jointly and individuals filing as heads of household would get $1,000 rebates.

"Given the tremendous revenue increases we're seeing, we think it's prudent to give a little more help to residents of our state," House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, told reporters during a news conference at the Roundhouse.

The new round of rebates would cost the state an estimated $690 million and would be sent out in two payments  the first by the end of June and the second in mid-October.

If approved, they would be in addition to tax rebates of $250 for New Mexicans who reported making less than $75,000 last year that were approved during this year's 30-day legislative session as part of a broad tax package.

Those checks will be sent out in July, and heads of households and married couples filing jointly will get $500 rebates if they reported earning less than $150,000 last year.

The state's financial largesse has been made possible by a record-setting revenue windfall, as New Mexico has seen its oil production more than triple over the last five years.

However, the spike in oil prices has also pushed New Mexico average gas prices to record-high levels  they averaged $4.114 per gallon as of Monday  and put a strain on state residents who live in rural areas or have to drive long distances for work.

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"Too many parents are having to make the choice between putting food on the table and filling up the gas tank to bring their kids to Little League practices and games," said House Majority Leader Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque.

"We have the money available," added Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, D-Gallup, the chairwoman of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee. "It's much better if it's out working for people than if it's sitting in a savings account."

Egolf insisted the rebates were not politically motivated in a year in which all 70 House seats are up for election and all statewide offices including governor  will be on the ballot.

"I really don't think the voters are going to decide whether or not someone should be elected based on the tax rebates they received," Egolf said.

Meanwhile, the special session will marks the third year in a row lawmakers will convene for a special session, which are called by the governor and can last for no more than 30 days.

After no special sessions were called in 2018 and 2019, lawmakers were called back to Santa Fe twice in 2020 and twice last year  including a December special session focused on the once-per-decade task of redistricting.

Special sessions have cost an average of $50,000 per day in recent years.

But Lujan Grisham said in a Monday statement the proposed financial relief would make a significant difference in New Mexicans' daily lives.

"We stand together in our support of New Mexico families by providing meaningful financial relief in the face of rising prices, and we have a real opportunity to ease the burdens so many are currently experiencing," the governor said. "Our state is in a good position financially, and we should do all we can to ensure that New Mexicans are feeling that success too."
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman seen in Kuwait, on December 10, 2021. Xinhua via Getty Images

Brent crude oil rose as much as 3% on Monday to $107.92 while WTI jumped to $102.45.

Saudi Aramco raised oil prices for next month's shipments to Asia to $9.35 a barrel on Monday.

This is almost double the rate for the previous month, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to affect the market.

Oil jumped on Monday, rising by as much as 4% after Saudi Arabia raised prices for some of its biggest customers to record highs for May, according to a Bloomberg report.

Brent crude futures were up 3.4% on Monday at $107.88 a barrel, having risen to a session high of $108.19, while West Texas Intermediate was up 4% at around $103.25 a barrel.

Oil prices soared to 14-year highs in March, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine threw uncertainty around oil supply, as the country is the world's second largest oil exporter. Surging cases of COVID in China, the world's largest importer of energy, has dampened some of that bullishness, as investors have grown concerned about the potential impact to demand.

Saudi Aramco, the country's state oil producer, will raise the selling price for its flagship Arab light crude for next month's shipments to Asia to $9.35 a barrel over its benchmark, Bloomberg said. This represents a price hike of $4.40 a barrel from the previous month, which was already a record high.

Traders tend to view a price rise as a sign that a seller is not worried about a drop-off in demand.

Saudi Aramco's price increase follows last week's OPEC+ meeting at which the group decided to stick to its existing supply plan and resisted international pressure to raise output more quickly to help tame sky-high energy prices.

The US and UK are banning imports of Russian oil and gas, while the European Union has yet to make a decision on the matter as the importance of Russian energy to several member states holds the union back.

With lockdowns in place in various big Chinese cities to control the spread of COVID, fewer people than usual will be travelling over the Qingming festival this week, when millions of people take to the roads and the skies to visit relatives and friends. This could dent demand even further.

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"The China holiday is definitely muting trading volumes in Asia today, leaving Brent crude unchanged at USD 104.50, and WTI unchanged at USD 99.35. With mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan all on holiday tomorrow, I expect the first part of the week in Asia to be quiet," Oanda Senior Market Analyst Jeffrey Halley wrote.

According to Bloomberg, Aramco raised all other Asian grades by a minimum of $2.70 a barrel, while also raising its US Arab light selling price by $2.20 to a premium of $5.65 a barrel, which is also a record high. Since the country is the world's biggest exporter of crude oil, it could set the tone for other exporters like Iraq and Kuwait to raise their own official selling prices.

Read the original article on Business Insider
SBM Offshore N.V.

April 5, 2022

SBM Offshore is pleased to announce that Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), an affiliate of Exxon Mobil Corporation, has confirmed the award of contracts for the Yellowtail development project located in the Stabroek Block in Guyana. Under these contracts, SBM Offshore will construct, install and then lease and operate the ONE GUYANA FPSO for a period of up to two years, after which the FPSO ownership and operation will transfer to EEPGL. The award follows completion of front-end engineering and design studies, receipt of requisite government approvals and the final investment decision on the project by ExxonMobil and block co-venturers.

The Yellowtail development is the fourth development within the Stabroek block, circa 200 kilometers offshore Guyana. EEPGL is the operator and holds a 45 percent interest in the Stabroek block, Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds a 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds a 25 percent interest.

The FPSO ONE GUYANAs design is based on SBM Offshores industry leading Fast4Ward program that incorporates the Companys new build, multi-purpose floater hull combined with several standardized topsides modules. The FPSO will be designed to produce 250,000 barrels of oil per day, will have associated gas treatment capacity of 450 million cubic feet per day and water injection capacity of 300,000 barrels per day. The FPSO will be spread moored in water depth of about 1,800 meters and will be able to store around 2 million barrels of crude oil.

SBM Offshore is committed to work with Guyanese companies for work to be performed in Guyana and is preparing to further recruit and employ Guyanese engineers into the ONE GUYANA project team.

The turnkey phase of the project is executed by a special purpose company (SPC) established by SBM Offshore and McDermott. SBM Offshore holds 70% and McDermott holds 30% equity ownership in this SPC. The FPSO will be fully owned by SBM Offshore.

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Corporate Profile

SBM Offshore designs, builds, installs and operates offshore floating facilities for the offshore energy industry. As a leading technology provider, we put our marine expertise at the service of a responsible energy transition by reducing emissions from fossil fuel production, while developing cleaner solutions for renewable energy sources.

More than 5,000 SBMers worldwide are committed to sharing their experience to deliver safe, sustainable and affordable energy from the oceans for generations to come.

For further information, please visit our website at www.sbmoffshore.com .

The Management Board

Amsterdam, the Netherlands, April 5, 2022

Financial Calendar Date Year Annual General Meeting April 6 2022 First Quarter 2022 Trading Update May 12 2022 Half Year 2022 Earnings August 4 2022 Third Quarter 2022 Trading Update November 10 2022 Full Year 2022 Earnings February 23 2023





For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations

Bert-Jaap Dijkstra

Group Treasurer and IR

Mobile: +31 (0) 6 21 14 10 17 E-mail: bertjaap.dijkstra@sbmoffshore.com Website: www.sbmoffshore.com

Media Relations

Vincent Kempkes

Group Communications Director

Mobile: +377 (0) 6 40 62 87 35 E-mail: vincent.kempkes@sbmoffshore.com Website: www.sbmoffshore.com

Market Abuse Regulation

This press release may contain inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

Disclaimer

Some of the statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements based on managements current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those in such statements. These statements may be identified by words such as expect, should, could, shall and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The principal risks which could affect the future operations of SBM Offshore N.V. are described in the Risk Management section of the 2021 Annual Report.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and performance of the Companys business may vary materially and adversely from the forward-looking statements described in this release. SBM Offshore does not intend and does not assume any obligation to update any industry information or forward-looking statements set forth in this release to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.

Nothing in this release shall be deemed an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities. The companies in which SBM Offshore N.V. directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this release SBM Offshore and SBM are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to SBM Offshore N.V. and its subsidiaries in general. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies.

"SBM Offshore", the SBM logomark, Fast4Ward, emissionZERO and Float4WindTM are proprietary marks owned by SBM Offshore.

Attachment




From the Star Tribune Editorial Board:

Justifying his call to try Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, President Joe Biden said on Monday that "what's happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone sees it."

Nearly everyone in uncensored societies worldwide indeed has, as graphic images of Russian troops' brutality against the residents of Bucha, Ukraine, became evident.

With its morgue overflowing, a mass grave had to be dug for slaughtered civilians. Ukrainian military vehicles had to weave around corpses in the road  some with their hands tied behind their backs before they were executed.

Overall, Ukrainian officials said they had found the bodies of 410 civilians in cities around Kyiv, the capital, and The Associated Press reported seeing 21 bodies, including nine in civilian clothes who were shot at close range. In one city, Motyzhyn, the bodies of the mayor, her son and her husband were found bound, blindfolded and thrown into a pit.

Human Rights Watch sees it too. In a report issued Sunday it said that it had "documented several cases of Russian military forces committing laws-of-war violations against civilians in occupied areas of Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv regions of Ukraine."

In an unflinching account, the human rights group detailed evidence of a "case of repeated rape; two cases of summary execution, one of six men, the other of one man; and other cases of unlawful violence and threats against civilians between Feb. 27 and March 14, 2022. Soldiers were implicated in looting civilian property, including food, clothing, and firewood."

The HRW investigation came before the revelations in Bucha, suggesting that the scope and scale of atrocities is far greater than HRW's geographically limited investigation. But even based on these cases, Hugh Williamson, HRW's Europe and Central Asia director, said in a statement that "the cases we documented amount to unspeakable, deliberate cruelty and violence against Ukrainian civilians. Rape, murder, and other violent acts against people in the Russian forces' custody should be investigated as war crimes."

Probes are already underway. One is from the International Criminal Court in the Hague, and the second, independent investigation was established after the passage of a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted on Monday that the European Union will soon send investigators to Ukraine to help document war crimes.

The call from Biden is "definitely justified," Alejandro Baer, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, told an editorial writer. Speaking from Spain, Baer added that "there is evidence of war crimes being committed across Ukraine."

Ukrainians "are being destroyed and exterminated, and this is happening in the Europe of the 21st century," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday's "Face the Nation." In fact, Russia's savagery goes beyond war crimes, Zelenskyy said: It is "genocide," a term also used by some European leaders, including the prime ministers of Poland and Spain. Regarding that specific charge, Baer said that "from a strictly legal and scholarly perspective, one has to look carefully whether the term applies to what's happening on the ground."

The West has acted with unusual alacrity in arming Ukraine and imposing sanctions. But both efforts can and must go deeper. Ukraine must be given every opportunity to protect its people against more war crimes, and even stricter economic penalties must immediately be inflicted. Most notably, every effort must be made to end, or hastily wean, European energy imports fueling Russia's war machine, a sacrifice that is straining the hard-earned European unity on Russia.

Tragically, too often the world does avert its gaze at atrocities, and there will be no shortage of attempts at disinformation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, for instance, called the searing images from Bucha "stage-managed anti-Russian provocation"  a claim proven false by satellite photos. These lies are likely to be echoed by Beijing, underscoring China's complicity in Russia's illegal and immoral war. Other countries with authoritative governments are also likely to either repeat Russia's obscene account or censor the truth.

Those living in countries with a free and unfettered press  the kind of society Ukrainians are fighting and dying for  should not buy into this lie or the larger false narrative coming from the Kremlin. In particular, a vocal cadre of American conservatives has consistently decried the generally bipartisan consensus on Russia and Ukraine. Dissent is essential for a vibrant democracy, and that is their right. But they and others must also see Putin's inhumanity. Denying it revictimizes those subject to such viciousness.

"If those that are witnessing and surviving the crimes themselves are exposed to this denialist propaganda, this is possibly the worst that can happen to them," said Baer. "Because the acknowledgment at this point means at least that there is an expectation or hope for justice in the future."

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Apr. 5Fourteen students at Algodones Elementary School were evaluated by hospital medical staff Monday after officials learned they had consumed cannabis-infused candy, Bernalillo Public Schools announced in a statement on its website.

Parents were notified about the incident, and all of the students were "stable," the statement said.

The incident comes just three days after the state launched legal sales of recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older.

The school district, which oversees the elementary in nearby Algodones  a community of about 700 that lies 40 miles southwest of Santa Fe just off Interstate 25  said in its statement one student brought THC-laden edibles to the school and shared them with others.

Superintendent Matthew Montano said the district is investigating how the student obtained the "THC-infused candies" and if the student knew they were not meant for children.

He wasn't sure of the ages or grade levels of the students who ingested the cannabis candy, he said.

"I think this is something that all schools in New Mexico are going to have to grapple with with," Montano said.

A student reported feeling ill around 1 p.m., which led to the discovery of the cannabis edibles, Montano said, adding the kids were taken to a local hospital, where they were examined and then released.

A woman who answered the phone at Algodones Elementary School around 2:30 p.m. declined to comment.

Montano shared an image of the candy discovered by school officials, which mimicked a colorful sour gummy roll commonly sold at candy shops.

"It is very clearly not meant to dissuade a child from thinking it is candy," he said.

Kids ingesting cannabis edibles has become a more common occurrence as more states have legalized recreational cannabis. New Mexico was the 18th state to approve legalization last year.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported more than 3,100 children, the majority 5 and younger, were exposed to a THC-infused edible in 2020, compared to just 187 in 2016.

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The number is likely to be higher, considering many people might not report such an incident.

States also have taken steps to deter children from accessing edibles, putting rules in place barring packaging that mimics popular candy brands and requiring explicit labeling.

A similar incident occurred in New Mexico in 2018, when a fifth grader at the Albuquerque School of Excellence accidentally shared a box of edible gummy candies with four other students. At that time, cannabis products were only legally sold to patients in the state's Medical Cannabis Program.

Only one of the students reported feeling ill, while some said they were fine and others were "giggly," according to an Albuquerque Journal report on the incident.

Montano said his district already had planned to hold town hall events with residents on a variety of subjects and now intends to include a discussion on cannabis.

"We have to deal with this from a straightforward position," Montano said. "We have to be transparent."
Apr. 5HAVERHILL  Haverhill High School senior Ruby Kimball told the School Committee, when it met Monday night to discuss what's being done to stop student fights and other disruptions, that the problem lies with school administrators.

Kimball said that over the past four years she's seen conditions in her school decline rapidly and that "now it's at a breaking point."

"Overall our principal (Jason Meland) has been soft in his way of dealing with misbehavior," she said. "Students have taken over the school."

Kimball added that the conditions are leading to students receiving a sub-par education and that she feels unprepared for college.

"I'm unable to get tutoring or counseling despite asking multiple times," she said. "I have fellow classmates who have failed the entire year of their high school career but are still getting pushed through to graduate. Some administrators are not concerned with their education and are only concerned about what looks good on paper."

The committee called the special meeting in an effort to obtain answers from Meland and Superintendent Margaret Marotta as to what they are doing to discipline students involved in fights and what they are doing to prevent future incidents.

The meeting was a response to an incident last Thursday in the high school's cafeteria when two female students got into a fight and one was arrested by police.

Mayor James Fiorentini called the fighting and behavior that occurred last week "totally and completely unacceptable."

"The kids who insist on settling their grievances by fighting must be dealt with strictly and repeat offenders must be removed from the high school," said the mayor, who serves as chair of the School Committee. "We can not tolerate this type of behavior."

A video recording of the 11:30 a.m. fight, which was posted to social media, shows a large crowd of students, some of whom are screaming, watching two peers involved in a fight. The video also captures the image of a knife on the cafeteria floor alongside a cell phone.

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"While there are rumors of a stabbing on social media, police found no evidence of this, however, a knife was found on the scene and immediately confiscated by police," Meland had said. "This is currently an active police investigation and all involved students, including those who videotaped the incident, will face appropriate school-based consequences."

Marotta said 14 staff members were in or around the cafeteria at the time and as quickly as the fight started they intervened.

"Unfortunately too many kids made bad decisions," Marotta said about students involved in the fight and those who stood up on cafeteria tables to cheer it on.

Parent Robert Dion pointed to Ruby Kimball's comments as being "100%" accurate.

"There needs to be order and people need to be suspended," he said. "My daughter tells me there are fights all the time."

Parent Brittany Quintana said her son, a freshman, has anxiety and that he was in the cafeteria when the fight broke out.

"I would be devastated if that knife that was brought into the school harmed my child, who was feet away from the incident," she said. "If that was the case, this would be a completely different meeting." Quintana said change needs to happen now and that she will continue to speak out.

Marotta said that one of the issues the high school is dealing with is a shortage of staff, including security guards.

She said she moved her office into Haverhill High School last Friday to "be where we are most needed" and that her team of 10 to 12 staff members are also there to assist in monitoring student movements and checking if they have hall passes.

Those who do not will be asked to return to their classroom and if they refuse their parents will be contacted and the student will be sent home.

Marotta said 20 students were sent home Friday and two were sent home on Monday.

Fiorentini pressed for answers as to what disciplinary actions are being taken in regard to students involved in fights.

Marotta said the punishment can range from suspension to expulsion if it's a serious enough fight or if it involves a weapon.

Carol Ireland, a former advisor to the high school's VIP program, told school officials they need to offer security guards more than a $20,000 annual salary, which drew applause from students and parents.

Committeeman Paul Magliocchetti said changes in laws that happened a few years ago have a lot to do with the problem of fighting while Committeeman Scott Wood said those changes "handcuffed" School Resource Officers.

"It's a sad day when students say they don't feel safe at Haverhill High School," said Wood, who asked Meland why it took so long to enforce hallway rules.

"We realized we needed to take a more assertive approach," Meland said. "There is now no excuse and no tolerance. If a scholar is in a hallway without a pass not heading to where they need to be they are being sent home immediately."

Wood said he was informed by students and teachers that the consequences have been extremely light and have fostered an environment where it's OK to break the rules.

"I don't know exactly what is true or what is not but if students and teachers don't believe there are consequences then we have a problem," Wood said.
Walmart has added health care to its catalog of goods and services in Florida, opening health clinics this week at its stores on Collins Road in Jacksonville and Branan Field Road in Middleburg and later at three other sites across the state.

The intent of Walmart Health centers, billed as "the future of health care," is to provide quality, accessible and affordable care in facilities adjacent to superstores.

"We know the convenience and cost of health care remains a barrier for many Americans," said Dr. David Carmouche, senior vice president of Omnichannel Care Offerings at Walmart. "Our state-of-the-art facilities provide a range of health care services in one convenient location for members of the local community so they can get the right care at the right time, right next door to where they do their grocery shopping."

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Florida, with 13 percent growth from 2010 to 2019, was clearly a state in need of more health clinics, he said.

"With only one primary care doctor per 1,380 Florida residents, these Walmart Health centers will help address the demand for care in three major cities in the Sunshine State...," he said. "We are part of these communities, and we are excited to bring more options for in-person and telehealth care services to our neighbors. Were making health care available when and where you may need it."

This is the entrance to Jacksonville's new Walmart Health center adjacent to the Collins Road superstore. It is one of five full-service health facilities being opened in Florida as part of the company's expansion to offer primary care, labs, X-ray and EKG, behavioral health and counseling, dental, optical, hearing and other services.

Walmart Health launched in 2019 with one clinic in Georgia and now has 21 locations in that state, Illinois and Arkansas. In addition to Jacksonville and Middleburg, Walmart Health's expansion into Florida includes later openings in the Orlando and Tampa areas.

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At least one more is planned for the Jacksonville area at the Philips Highway Superstore, according to city building officials.

Increasing access to care

The new Walmart Health clinics will create about 200 direct jobs in Florida, with many more indirectly connected to its construction and technology. The Jacksonville locations will account for nearly 40 percent of the total Florida hires, according to the company.

Clinic staff will include physicians, nurse practitioners, dentists, behavioral health providers and optometrists. Also, hosts and community health workers will be on-site to help patients navigate the process, according to the company.

"Something weve always known but has come into particular focus over the past two years during the pandemic is that health care is local," Carmouche said. "Patients want to be cared for by people they know and trust and who understand the nuanced challenges of where they live and work."

Lauren Eakins, administrator of the new Walmart Health center at the Collins Road superstore in Jacksonville, addresses the audience during Tuesday's opening ceremony. It is one of five clinics being opened in Florida as part of the company's expansion to provide increased access to health care.

U.S. Rep. Al Lawson of Jacksonville called the clinic opening a "pivotal moment for residents."

"The ability for my constituents to have convenient access to health care in their community is critical to preventive care," he said.

Lawson said the clinic was a "one-stop-shop" for chronic disease management, mental health counseling, dental and vision care services. He also noted that it provides telehealth services one day a week for "individuals who may have trouble making in-person medical appointments."

"This is a wonderful project that leads to a healthier community," he said.

Sunil Joshi, an allergy and immunology specialist and leader in the Duval County Medical Society, had mixed feelings about Walmart's clinic plans.

"By opening primary care clinics in current store locations, Walmart has the potential to increase access to care, especially if they are doing this in underserved areas," he said. "That has the potential to be a good thing."

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Patient demand: Mayo Clinic continues expanding Jacksonville campus with $432 million project to add 5 hospital floors

But he noted that the company often sells household goods at lower prices than its competitors.

"Health care is a different animal," Joshi said. "Cheapest care is not always the best care. Will this actually reduce the cost of health care or make things worse? The jury is out. In my opinion, Walmart should have more of a focus on placing grocery stores in food deserts. That may have a more positive impact on the health of a region."

The clinics will utilize Epic health technology, a comprehensive health records system used by about 2,000 hospitals and 45,000 clinics. Patients, health care professionals and insurance carriers will use a single, unified system, according to the company.

Walmart employees gather outside the new health clinic that opened Tuesday at the Collins Road superstore in Jacksonville. The center offers services seven days a week, including telehealth on Sundays.

"That means our patients will spend less time filling out forms on a clipboard and more time engaging with their provider," Carmouche said. "If they need to seek specialty treatment outside our Walmart Health  transitioning records will be easier. Thats just one more way we are keeping our patient needs at the heart of everything we do."

In Florida, Walmart has about 380 retail locations and 120,000 associates.

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

WALMART HEALTH

The new Jacksonville clinic is open at the Walmart Superstore at 7075 Collins Road, and the Middleburg clinic opens Thursday at the superstore at 1586 Branan Field Road. Hours at both are 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and, by telehealth, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. To make an appointment go to walmarthealth.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville site first of Walmart Health expansion into Florida
The 26-year-old man accused of shooting another man in downtown Flagstaff in March entered a not guilty plea in Coconino County Superior Court on Monday.

He's charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct with a weapon, in addition to drug and paraphernalia possession.

Ware's attorney, Ryan Stevens, entered the plea for his client, who is currently being held in the Coconino County jail. He's due to appear in court again on May 9 for a case management conference.

The defense doubled down on the claim that Ware shot Jackson in self-defense with a court filing Monday. The six-page disclosure says Ware's use of self-defense was justified as he was protecting his own life and that of his friend, Brandon Patrick. Patrick was allegedly assaulted by the victim's brother, leaving him unconscious, according to the filing and the probable cause statement.

Under Arizona law, "a person is justified in threatening or using physical force against another when there is a reasonable belief that it is necessary to protect themselves against the other person's attempted or actual use of unlawful physical force."

However, it must be considered "reasonable," the attack can't be provoked and it can't be based on verbal provocations alone.

Stevens described Jackson as the "initial aggressor," pointing to the "threatening" behavior of Jackson and members of his family, including allegedly throwing a bottle at Ware and the attack on Patrick.

The defense also pointed to previous text messages from both Jackson and his father that appeared to threaten Ware and his child.

"Im breaking yo jaw when i see you on YO DEAD HOMIES," one message allegedly sent by Jackson to Ware read.

By filing this disclosure, the prosecution now has the burden of proving that the defendant wasn't justified in using deadly force in self-defense.

The state had yet to respond to the filing as of Monday afternoon.

Reporter Bree Burkitt can be reached at 928-556-2250 or bburkitt@azdailysun.com.

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The ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance achieved a historic victory in Sundays general election, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said after a government meeting in Budapest on Monday.

Szijjarto thanked everyone who cast a vote. We thank you for the trust you put in us yesterday, he said in a video streamed on Facebook.



Singling out the 315,000 voters beyond the borders who thought it important to participate in a crucial election that will define the future of our nation for a long time, he noted that the number of voters beyond the borders was double of that in 2014 and up by 50,000 from 2018.



We stand up for our Hungarian compatriots beyond the borders; they can count on us just like we can count on them in important decisions like this one, he said. Sundays election was about peace or war, and Hungarians clearly chose peace and security, he said.
Sundays outcome was decided under clean and fair conditions, strategic director of the Centre for Fundamental Rights, Istvan Kovacs, said, adding that the election system had functioned perfectly.

This meant that Hungarys next parliament and prime minister would have very strong legitimacy. Rather it was the prime ministerial candidates that were the decisive factor in the performance gap between the two sides, Kovacs said, arguing that not a single survey indicated that the war in Ukraine was the singular factor behind Fideszs victory.



He said Marki-Zays shortcomings as a PM candidate had quickly come to the surface after he clinched the opposition nomination. Hes not actually a category A politician, Kovacs said of Marki-Zay. His qualities were far weaker than what the left had expected of him.



Nezopont Institutes director Agoston Mraz said that never before had a government received such a strong mandate by voters in a democratic election in Hungary.



Mraz noted that the opposition had captured 35% of the vote, down from 45% in 2010, adding that the opposition had lost three out of every ten voters compared with 2018. He said he believed opposition voters had not wanted to see Marki-Zay as prime minister, while voters who were not Fidesz supporters but had been satisfied with Orbans performance ultimately ended up voting for the ruling parties.



Mraz said the oppositions strategy of fielding a single candidate in each individual constituency had only worked in Budapest.



However, the opposition Democratic Coalition and Momentum parties could be satisfied with their results, he said, noting that while the former had increased its number of parliamentary seats from 9 to 16, the latter would enter parliament for the first time with 11 seats.



He said conservative Jobbik and green LMP were the biggest losers of the election, noting that Jobbik had lost 17 seats, while LMP may not even be able to form a parliamentary group.



Szazadveg Foundation vice president Zsolt Barthel-Ruzsa said he had shared other analysts view that Sundays ballot was a referendum on the prime minister. He branded Jobbiks attempt to become a peoples party a failure.



Meanwhile, the united oppositions list had been blown apart, he said. Barthel-Ruzsa added that the far right had found a home in the radical Mi Hazank party, which entered parliament for the first time. It is the opposition that has been replaced, he said.
President of the European Council Charles Michel has congratulated Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the Fidesz partys election win, the prime ministers media chief said in a statement on Tuesday.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also extended his compliments in the past couple of days, the statement said, adding that Herbert Kickl, head of Austrias Freedom Party, and Martin Helme, head of the Estonian Conservative Peoples Party, had also written congratulatory letters.



Former US President Donald Trump called Orban on Tuesday to congratulate him.



The prime minister also talked to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Bertalan Havasi said.



The presidents congratulated Orban and pledged to strengthen bilateral ties with Hungary, he said.



Earlier:



International Leaders Congratulate PM Orban on Election Landslide



Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the ruling Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliances victory in Hungarys general election, the Kremlins press office said.



Putin said he hoped that despite the difficult international situation, bilateral partnership ties will develop fully in line with the interests of the people of Russia and Hungary, the statement said.



Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a press conference that the results of Hungarys democratic election should be respected.



Regardless of our relations with Hungary, we must note that the Fidesz-Christian Democrat alliance won its fourth consecutive election with the best possible results, securing a two-thirds majority in the process, he said.



Concerning sanctions against Russia, the Polish prime minister said Hungary should not be used as a diversion by the media when Germany had delayed strong sanctions.



The European Union is not hindered in imposing more stringent sanctions by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban but rather by large countries looking out for their business ties, he said, noting that Orban had so far voted for all sanctions. Answering a question, Morawiecki said he would ask Orban to support even stricter sanctions against Russia.



Czech President Milos Zeman wired a message of congratulation to Orban, saying the Hungarian people support you because you have always put their interests first, and see serving your country as a calling. He praised Hungarian-Czech cooperation, and called for the Visegrad Group to be given high priority.



I am convinced that central Europe has great potential in bilateral and international cooperation, he said. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said he hoped Hungary would take a more active part in finding a solution to the situation in Ukraine.



Europe has to be united its support of Ukraine, where Russia is committing war crimes, he said. Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa congratulated Orban and Fidesz in a tweet on this historic victory for Hungary, Europe and the entire free world.



Former Slovak President Robert Fico, the head of the opposition Smer-SD party, said Orban had very clearly built on Hungarys independence and economic prosperity. Orban puts Hungarian interests first, and did not allow the country to be dragged into the conflict in Ukraine, he said.



Fico said the election results in Hungary were not surprising at all, and he noted that during his presidency, he and Orban had worked together to ensure stable Hungarian-Slovak ties.



Bertalan Havasi, the prime ministers press chief, said later on Monday that numerous other heads of state and government have also congratulated Orban.



Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him by phone on Monday, as did Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic , Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, and Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, he said.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India congratulated Orban on Twitter and Li Keqiang of China wired a message of congratulations, Havasi said.



Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic and French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, among others, published statements, he said.





MTI/PM's press office photo: Zoltan Fischer
A 34-year-old Salt Lake City woman fell to her death in the Grand Canyon Monday evening, officials said.

Grand Canyon National Park rangers received an alert of an unresponsive river trip participant near Ledges Camp at river mile 152 along the Colorado River. Park officials requested the assistance of a Department of Public Safety emergency helicopter due to the darkness.

DPS arrived at the scene around 8:30 p.m. and declared the woman, identified as Margaret Osswald, dead shortly after.

Officials said Osswald hiked into the canyon to meet the river trip at Phantom Ranch. She was on the sixth day of a multi-day private boating trip when she fell approximately 20 feet near camp. Members of the group noted she was unresponsive and started CPR.

The death was under investigation by the Investigative Services branch of the National Parks Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner Tuesday, according to park spokesperson Joelle Baird.

Additional information wasn't immediately available.

This marks the second death involving a participant in a private boating trip in recent weeks.

On March 24, 68-year-old Colorado resident Mary Kelley died on the ninth day of a private boating trip. Officials said her boat capsized at the top of Hance Rapid at river mile 77.

An average of 12 people die within the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park each year. The causes range from natural deaths to falls, drownings and heat-related deaths. More than 4.5 million people visit the park annually.

Reporter Bree Burkitt can be reached at 928-556-2250 or bburkitt@azdailysun.com.

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While speaking at the inauguration of five national highway (NH) projects, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on April 4 asserted that a better road network is the key to development. The Central government has been taking steps to improve road connectivity across the country. The road network is getting strengthened rapidly which is also helping generate new avenues of employment, said Gadkari.

According to an official statement, Gadkari inaugurated Jind-Gohana NH-352A built for Rs 132 crore, Bhiwani-Mundhal-Jind NH-709A at Rs 183 crore, Jhajjar-Loharu NH-334B at Rs 136.25 crore, UP/Haryana border to Gohana NH-334B at Rs 1,020 crore, and Mukarba Chowk to Panipat NH-44 constructed for Rs 1,400 crore.

Better road network is key to development, Gadkari said. He further said that for development four things are important. "Water, power, transport, and communication -- and where these four things are, there is industry, employment, and growth there," he said.

Also read: Royal Enfield motorcycle abruptly catches fire outside temple in Andhra Pradesh: Watch viral video

Pointing out how good roads bring progress, Gadkari said former United States President John F Kennedy had once said, "American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good."

The Union minister cited an example of the Delhi-Meerut highway and said with its completion, travel time, which used to be four-and-a-half hours earlier, has now reduced to 40 minutes. Gadkari further said that after the completion of the Delhi-Amritsar road project, travel time between the two cities will be reduced to four hours, the Delhi-Katra journey will be six hours, and Delhi to Srinagar will be covered in eight hours.

The Delhi-Chandigarh journey will soon be completed in two hours, he said, adding that many of those travelling by air will opt for road journeys after travel time is cut drastically. Gadkari also talked about several other projects and said Asia's biggest tunnel is being built in Zojila in J&K.

On the demand of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to start pod taxis in the state, Gadkari said that his department is working on it. We will start a pod taxi service from Delhi to Sonipat and Panipat for 250 people, and for this, the Haryana government should send a proposal to the Centre, he said.

Also read: Russia to resume international flights with 52 friendly countries after April 9

Speaking on the occasion, Khattar said that Gadkari always works on new technology. The chief minister said that the central government had announced 17 national highways for Haryana, of which at least 12 have been completed. Union Minister of State V K Singh, Haryana's Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, and Sonipat MP Ramesh Chander Kaushik were also present at the event.

Earlier, while inaugurating the Indradhanush Auditorium at GVM Mahila College, Sonipat, Khattar reiterated that girls of those families earning up to Rs 1.80 lakh annually will be given free education till post-graduation.

"Daughters of such families can either take education from private educational institutions or government centres," he said. Khattar said that the government has set up one college every 20km in the state so that girl students do not have to travel far for pursuing higher education.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Hyderabad Police has been taking bold actions fining celebrities for traffic rule violations. In a recent update, the state police recently issued a challan to Pushpa actor Allu Arjun, whose Range Rover luxury SUV was fined for having tinted glass with black film. It is to be noted that the use of black film on the windows of a car is banned in India.

Even after the ban, celebrities are known for using the tints on their expensive vehicles. Considering the weather, it also helps to protect the cabin from the greenhouse effect heating up the car. Taking this into notice, the Hyderabad Police have started operations of removing black tint from the vehicles or issuing challan for the same.

In this incident, actor Allu Arjun was fined Rs 700 for the tint on his black Range Rover. Under the drive, Hyderabad Police is also taking action against the fake stickers and MLA stickers along with the black tint. Apart from Allu Arjun earlier, Kalyan Ram, also an actor, was stopped for a similar violation.

Also read: Kia announces price hike up to Rs 70,000 on Carens, Seltos, Sonet and more

The use of tinted windows on vehicles is illegal in India under the MV Act. The rule was made to reduce the crimes that take place inside a vehicle. It is strictly enforced in the Metropolitan cities of the nation, including cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

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During a flight from Salt Lake City to Washington DC on March 31, a Delta Air Lines windshield shattered mid-air, forcing an emergency landing in Denver. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Delta Flight 760 landed safely at Denver International Airport around 11 a.m. local time. The cause of the windshield crack is unknown, but the FAA says it will investigate.

In a tweet, Kirk Knowlton posted a photo of the cracked windshield, showing a heavily fractured piece, and stating that the crack occurred "spontaneously," with the crew safely landing the plane shortly after.

The Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-200 involved in this incident took off from Salt Lake City at 10:08 local time with 198 passengers on board. The flight was supposed to land at Washington Dulles around 15:50 local time, however, the flight was diverted to the Denver International Airport after the incident.

Read also: Go First to increase daily flights from Abu Dhabi to THESE three Indian cities

Many passengers took pictures of the shattered cockpit window after landing in Denver. These pictures went viral on Twitter. After a several-hour delay, passengers were able to board another plane in Denver to travel to Washington, which landed at 21:41 local time.

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

The cause of this window cracking is unknown, but such events are common and crews have been trained to handle such situations. An incident similar to this occurred on 28 December 2021 with the British Airways Boeing 777 which was travelling from Gatwick to Costa Rica. A lump of ice from a jet 1,000 feet above the British Airways jet smashed into the plane at 35,000 feet which left its windscreen cracked.

A cockpit windshield consists of several panes of thick glass with a layer of plastic in between for heating, anti-ice, and anti-fog systems and is built to withstand extreme force and is similar to bulletproof glass.

Earlier this week, another Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-200 diverted to Denver International Airport after the cabin experienced a sudden loss of pressure, with six passengers requiring medical treatment.

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Electric Vehicles are the futuristic alternative to mobility and a true solution to increasing fuel prices. With global acceptance and ICE (Internal Combustion Engines) comparable products worldwide, the only road for the EV industry has been anything but uphill. With the progression in time and rapidly changing industry dynamics, EVs have only evolved to be better equipped with significant details, sophisticated technology, superior hi-tech systems, and well connected to its user through innovative mechanics. These are clear in their designs, performance, quality, usage, and expediency.

Hence, EVs are not just batteries on wheels anymore. They are an advanced, complex, and a well thought of integrated amalgamation of advanced elements. Any manufacturer within the EV industry today understands that it requires strong technical ability, quality standards, grading, and the right design-meet-performance matrix to be able to supply the right product to the right segment, accustomed to meeting the requisites of any Geography. Products are always tweaked and changed to match a particular Geographys Topography, Temperatures, Roads, Culture, Lifestyle, and Consumer mindset.

Also read: Why battery recycling is critical towards achieving India's Electric Vehicle goals?

Electric Vehicles have long been around in India too. Earlier, the country has seen some strong 4-wheeler, 3-wheeler, and 2-wheeler products in the market that have furthered the revolution and acceptance of the EV concept across all segments of the community. Following the lead and benchmarks set by other nations and evolved EV markets of the world, India has been at the epicenter of a new epoch in mobility. The entire ecosystem has begun to strive with staunch support from all spheres whether Governance, Manufacturing, Charging Infrastructure, or Consumer Adaptability.

Recent novel launches have not just brought convenience on the platter but also savings, sustainability, ease of use, and conservation. With this advancement, it is crucial to note and discuss how the momentum needs to be kept. The impetus to a striving industry only comes around with the use of newer technology, modified designs, and boosting the performance of an offering from time to time.

In a wave of recent events, the industry has been brought to discuss in detail certain components such as Batteries, Cells, and Battery Management Systems (BMS). There are several aspects to delve into and consider. An understanding of an EVs application, composition, harmonious balance of elements, battery structure, cell type, and adaptability also requires last-mile proper handling.

The onus lies across all legs in the delivery cycle with awareness being created and a proper channel through which information is issued. At the manufacturers level, three critical points exist; First is finding the right match between the type of cell vis-a-vis performance expected from the vehicle. Citing an example, if any manufacturer or start-up caters to one or more segments, then the whole design and performance of the vehicle must be synchronized along with the needs of that specific segment. In this scenario, the manufacturer needs to focus more on the designing of the battery pack, BMS, electrical connectivity, and cell management within the pack along with where and how the cells are being sourced from.

Also read: Ola S1 Pro electric scooter abruptly goes in reverse mode at 90 kmph

Second, the grading of these cells plays a crucial role in the overall functioning of the EV. These should be EV-grade cells and worked along with automotive-grade components. Any cell or part must be checked for quality when they arrive at the factory level. Third, consumer awareness of usage and product handling along with real-time data recording is needed.

Talking about what battery is the best? Both NMC and LFP battery types are robust. NMC is a great technology, with chemistry that has been proven over time. LFP on the other hand is a battery technology that has characteristics such as low toxicity, long cycle life, is cobalt-free, and has better thermal stability. The type of battery is not what makes the difference, it is the usage and the way it is being entrenched into the whole battery pack design along with connectivity. The focus should be more on the designing of the battery pack and how its performance can be made to go well with its BMS.

It's important to note that Thermal runaway has only come to the limelight now and is not restricted to any type of manufacturer. This is a vast region that covers all. There are EV-grade cells that exist across the world that match the dynamism of your vehicle and hence they should be chosen wisely. Quality checks need to be undertaken when receiving cells to ensure their grading to support the harmonious balance of these cells within the battery and their layout. The design of the battery pack should be such, that the pack can withstand temperatures.

The electronics that are associated with the BMS should be able to provide the right kind of input and connectivity at the right time. Connectors should be in place to ensure safety. All EV manufacturers- be any scale, should focus at least on having an EV grade cell and automotive graded electronic components.

Lets also look at testing. Tests should be conducted on imported vehicles specifically in line with the Indian environment, Indian roads, Indian consumer needs, and situations that prevail here. In addition to this, Consumer awareness is a top priority in understanding the product they own and its handling. The right means of communication and information about the product are key factors in ensuring the right EV way.

The article is authored by Madhumita Agrawal, Co-founder & CEO, Oben Electric and Dinkar Agrawal, Co-founder & COO, Oben Electric. All views are personal.

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Charge Zone, an EV charging network company partners with Marriott International to deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across all its properties in India. The company took its first step by installing a Fast DC 60kW/120kW Charging Station with Dual Charging Guns at the Westin Mumbai Powai Lake, and aims to complete the installation of 100+ EV chargers in a phased manner by December 2022.

This initiative is also a part of Marriotts commitment to sustainable operations and to creating an EV Charging infrastructure around the globe. These charging stations will be open to the public as well as to users of Marriotts EV fleet.

The Rapid DC charging points with the CCS2 charging protocol provides 80 per cent charge in 45-60 minutes and a full charge in 90-120 minutes depending on the EVs battery size. These chargers also come with an additional facility of Type-2 AC chargers wherever needed.

Also read: Delhiites can now enjoy free EV charging in afternoon at THESE spots

By partnering with Charge Zone, Marriott International is moving closer towards its goal of creating an Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, in its hotels around the globe, that can be accessible by its patrons and the general public alike, said Bhaskar Gurunath, Area Director of Engineering, Marriott South Asia.

This initiative can only help when we build a holistic ecosystem of both electric vehicles as well as charging infrastructure. Our long-term partnership with Marriott underscores our commitment to building a network of convenient and accessible charging in large metro locations as well as Tier-1 cities and is a strong indicator of the rapid adoption of EVs across the country, said Kartikey Hariyani, Founder & CEO, Charge Zone.

Charge Zone recently completed the electrification of over 1000 kms of National Highways in India, by installing a network of 20 unmanned, app-driven, Superfast EV charging points along the Gujarat- Maharashtra National highway.

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Chandigarh: The Haryana Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution seeking the completion of the SYL canal and the transfer of Hindi-speaking areas from Punjab while denouncing the neighbouring state for staking claim over Chandigarh.

The Haryana government had summoned the one-day assembly session just days after the Punjab House passed a resolution seeking the immediate transfer of the Union Territory of Chandigarh to the Aam Aadmi Party-run state.

This House notes with concern the resolution passed in the Legislative Assembly of Punjab on 1 April 2022 recommending that the matter for transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab be taken up with the Central government, the Haryana resolution said.

This is not acceptable to the people of Haryana, it said, adding that Haryana continued to retain its right to the joint capital of the two states. The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, was adopted unanimously after a three-hour debate. It was backed across party lines in Haryana.

Participating in the discussion, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda slammed the resolution passed by the Punjab Assembly. The Punjab resolution has no meaning, it is only a political gimmick, the Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly said.

Punjab's role as an elder brother is acceptable, but if it tries to play the role of the big brother, that is not acceptable to us, the Congress leader said. The resolution urged the Centre not to take any steps that would disturb the existing balance till all issues between the two states are settled.

Punjab has made similar moves in the past as well, staking complete control over Chandigarh. And Haryana has harped on Punjab's reluctance to share river waters through the long-delayed Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal project.

The tit-for-tat resolutions follow the recent row after Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the central service rules would now apply to the employees of the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

The new AAP government saw this as an attempt by the BJP-led Centre to diminish the state's say in the UT. But like Punjab, the Haryana resolution has raised objections over the recent amendment by the Central government on the appointment of members of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).

It said the amendment went against the spirit of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 which treats river projects as common assets of the successor states of Punjab and Haryana. Under these circumstances, this House resolved to urge the Central government not to take any steps that would disturb the existing balance and maintain harmony till all the issues emanating from the reorganisation of Punjab are settled.

The resolution urged the Central government to take measures for the construction of the SYL canal in compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court. It said the right of Haryana to share waters of the Ravi and Beas rivers by the construction of the SYL canal is historically, legally, judicially and constitutionally established over time.

Several agreements, accords, tribunal's findings and judgements of the highest judiciary of the nation have all singularly upheld the claim of Haryana to the waters and directed completion of the SYL canal, the resolution said.

In defiance and contrary to these directions and agreements, legislations were enacted by Punjab to deny the rightful claims of the State of Haryana, it said.

The resolution urged the Centre to ensure that the proportion of Haryana government officials serving in Chandigarh UT continued as envisaged during the reorganisation of Punjab. This is supposed to be 60:40 for Punjab and Haryana.

The resolution raised again the issue of the transfer of Punjab's Hindi-speaking areas to Haryana. The Indira Gandhi agreement, the Rajiv-Longowal accord and the Venkatramiah commission have accepted the claim of Haryana to Hindi speaking areas that fall within the territory of the state of Punjab, it said.

Haryana's Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala said Chandigarh was, is and will remain the capital of the state.

Opposition Congress leaders said their party will support the state government if it decides to meet the President, prime minister and Haryana governor over the issue. We will unitedly fight for protecting Haryana's rights, Hooda said.

But the party has taken contradictory stands in Punjab and Haryana. In the Punjab House just days earlier, Congress MLAs backed the immediate transfer of Chandigarh to that state. The AAP, which hopes to establish its presence in Haryana as well in the next assembly elections, could face the same contradictions in the future.

Congress leader Raghuvir Singh Kadian said it is time for Haryana to fight a "do-or-die" battle for its rights. Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said Punjab's resolution was a political resolution.

Punjab's AAP government knows full well that the tall promises they made before the polls can never be fulfilled, he said, claiming that the neighbouring state could face an economic crisis like that in Sri Lanka and the AAP government there was only trying to divert the people's attention.

Indian National Lok Dal leader Abhay Singh Chautala said the BJP-led Haryana government had not made enough efforts on the SYL canal issue.

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New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government of "step-motherly" treatment towards the three municipal corporations in Delhi - North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and East Delhi Municipal Corporation.

"The three municipal corporations in Delhi are not functioning properly due to the step-motherly behaviour of the AAP party," Shah said while introducing the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and passage.

Rajya Sabha later passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, with a voice vote. The Bill seeks amendment to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, to unify three municipal corporations of Delhi into a single entity. The Act was amended in 2011 by Delhi Legislative Assembly to trifurcate the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi into North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The bill was passed by Lok Sabha on March 30. The Home Minister said it is necessary to unify the three municipal corporations into a single entity so that it can work in a proper manner.

"AAP`s step-motherly attitude towards these municipal corporations has resulted in dissatisfaction among their employees, and the three units are functioning in different ways despite being part of one city," he said. Noting the importance of the three municipal corporations, Shah said over 250 protests have been witnessed in the last 10 years by the employees of these corporations.

The Home Minister stressed the need to merge the three municipal corporations into a single, integrated and well-equipped entity to ensure a robust mechanism for synergised and strategic planning and optimal utilisation of resources.

The Union Cabinet had, in the last week of March, approved a bill for the unification of three municipal corporations in the national capital. The bill provides for the appointment of a `Special officer` who will essentially discharge the functions of the elected wing of councillors in the interim till the first meeting of the new corporation is held.

The bill proposes to completely omit the section on directors, and local bodies in the amended act that governs the functioning of the MCDs. Delhi Municipal Corporation was trifurcated into three municipal corporations including South Delhi Municipal Corporation, North Delhi Municipal Corporation, and East Delhi Municipal Corporation in 2011.

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The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) on Tuesday said it has increased the minimum rate for buying farmland from Rs 3,500 per square metre to Rs 3,750 per sq metre with effect from April 1.

The GNIDA also announced an increase of around Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 per square metre in rates for residential sectors of Greater Noida. The prices of industrial and commercial land have also been hiked but the new rates would be notified soon, it said.

The decision, announced after the 126th board meeting of GNIDA held in Greater Noida on Tuesday, would benefit thousands of landowners in the villages falling under its notified area.

There are nearly 300 villages that fall in the notified area of GNIDA, which was formed in 1991 and functions under the Uttar Pradesh infrastructure and industries department.

"In the board meeting chaired by GNIDA chairman and UP Industrial Development Commissioner Sanjeev Mittal, a proposal was made by GNIDA CEO Narendra Bhooshan to increase the purchase price for buying land directly from the farmers," an official statement said.

"The board accepted it and increased the purchase price by Rs 250 per square metre from Rs 3,500 per square metre to Rs 3,750 per square metre," it added.

The purchase price for buying land directly from farmers in villages under the GNIDA was fixed at Rs 3,500 per square metre in 2016.

For residential sectors have been divided into four separate categories ? A, B, C and D. The new rates per sq metre of land will be Rs 39,000 for category A, Rs 36,000 for category B, Rs 34,000 for category C and Rs 29,000 for category D, the GNIDA said.

The old rates per sq metre were Rs 33,300 for category A, Rs 31,250 for category B, Rs 27,088 for category C and Rs 24,060 for category D, it added.

Sectors Alpha 1, 2, Beta 1, 2, Gamma 1, 2, Delta 1, 2, 3 and Swarn Nagri fall in category A.

Sectors CHI 2, CHI 3,CHI 4, CHI 5, CHI-PHI EXT. P 1, P 2, P 3, P 4, P 5, P 6, P 7, P 8, PI 1, PI 2, PHI 1, PHI 2, PHI 3, PHI 4, PHI-CHI, Sector-36 and Sector-37, Sector 2, 3 are in category B.

Category C includes sectors Eta 1, Omicorn 1, 1A, 2 and 3, XU 1, 2 and 3, Zeta 1 and 2, MU 1 and 2, Sigma 1, 2, 3 and 4; while category D includes Sectors 1, 11, 12, 16, 4, 16C, 17, 20 and Sector-Tech zone, the GNIDA said.

Bhooshan said the interest of investors for industrial investments in Greater Noida is increasing rapidly with companies from not only within the country but also from overseas asking for land to set up industries.

"The GNIDA is trying to develop industrial sectors by buying land from farmers, so that industrial investment can increase further and employment opportunities can be created for the youth. From April 1, 2022, it has been decided to buy land from farmers at the new rate," he added.
United Nations: India on Tuesday strongly condemned the alleged civilian killings in war-hit Ukraines Bucha as deeply disturbing and called for an independent investigation to punish the perpetrators behind the barbaric crimes.

The situation in Ukraine has not shown any significant improvement... Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing. We unequivocally condemn these killings and support the call for an independent investigation, T S Tirumurti, Indian representative at UNSC, said.

The situation in #Ukraine has not shown any significant improvement... Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing. We unequivocally condemn these killings & support the call for an independent investigation: TS Tirumurti, Indian representative, at UNSC pic.twitter.com/VjCwtQfakJ  ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2022

India also reiterated its call for an immediate cessation of violence and end to hostilities and urged both the countries  Russia and Ukraine  to come to the negotiation table to resolve all issues of conflict.

While addressing the UNSC, Tirumurti said, India continues to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation in Ukraine. We've emphasized right from the beginning of the conflict the need to pursue the path of diplomacy and dialogue.

India continues to remain deeply concerned at the worsening situation & reiterates its call for an immediate cessation of violence & end to hostilities. We've emphasized right from the beginning of the conflict the need to pursue the path of diplomacy and dialogue: India at UNSC pic.twitter.com/Sb4ks8raht  ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2022

The senior Indian diplomat added that India will continue to send humanitarian supplies to Ukraine and its neighbours, including medicines & other essential relief materials in view of the dire humanitarian situation there.

Keeping in view the dire humanitarian situation in #Ukraine, India has been sending humanitarian supplies to Ukraine & its neighbours, incl medicines & other essential relief materials. We stand ready to provide more medical supplies to Ukraine in the coming days: India at UNSC pic.twitter.com/PlBEDKVhzc  ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2022

We stand ready to provide more medical supplies to Ukraine in the coming days, the Indin diplomat said.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for urgent United Nations Security Council reforms to bring the Russian military to justice for the alleged war crimes committed by it in the newly liberated towns and cities of Ukraine.

Zelensky, while addressing the UN Security Council today via a translator, also gave graphic detail about alleged atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukrainian cities, including Bucha.

The Ukrainian leader alleged that the Russian troops "cut out the tongues of civilians", slaughtered and raped mothers in front of their children. Zelensky also told the UN Security Council how the Russian soldiers slit the throats of non-combatants, raped and killed women, and crushed innocent civilians under the tanks "because they didnt hear what they wanted to."

The Ukrainian President was referring to alleged war crimes committed by the Russian soldiers in the town of Bucha - northwest of the capital Kyiv - which was recently abandoned by Russian forces after Vladimir Putin ordered the military to shift focus back to the Donbas region.

The Ukrainian leader claimed that the atrocities were "just for their pleasure" and that Russian soldiers "cut off limbs" and "slashed throats of civillians" when they refused to take their orders.

Zelensky also urged the United Nations to act and reform its system which gives Security Council permanent member Russia a veto power, saying everything must be done to ensure the international body works effectively.

In a passionate address to the UNS, Zelensky alleged that Moscow wanted to turn Ukraine into silent slaves. Zelensky also compared Russia to ISIS during his address to the UN Security Council. He claimed that there was "not a single crime that they (Russian forces) would not commit". The Ukrainian President had paid a visit to Bucha on Monday.

(With Agency Inputs)

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The terms 'foreign influence' or 'external influence' are often heard in politics. The government and politicians - whenever there's a crisis in any country - would often blame 'foreign powers' for their internal issues. The question is - what are these foreign powers and do they really exist?

The straight and simple answer to this question is - yes they really exist!

In today's DNA, Zee News Editor-In-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary analyses the interference of foreign powers in the internal crises of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan recently made a visit to Russia that made US angry. The US, in no time, toppled the Pakistan government led by PM Imran Khan. The US - it is being said - was able to buy the entire Parliament of Pakistan to install a government that would favour its agenda.

Now the Opposition parties and the Army are echoing US' agenda that makes it evident that it's Washington D.C. that has sponsored the current crisis in the country.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka too is reeling under a severe economic crisis. The country's ruling government - led by the Rajapaksa family - used to be a big supporter of Chinese firms. It is said that Chinese companies had funded Rajapaksas' election campaign. However, problems started once the government started acting tough on the same Chinese firms.

Today, the entire nation is reeling under an economic crisis.

The Opposition parties are claiming that the Rajapaksa government in Sri Lanka is in minority. It's quite possible that these parties are getting support from Chinese firms.

As a conclusion, it can be said that foreign powers do exist and they may heavily impact the economy and internal politics of any nation.

Watch DNA with Sudhir Chaudhary for a detailed analysis of the current situation in China and Pakistan.
New Delhi: Becoming a parent is a joy in life and to celebrate the moment couples and family do all sorts of things. One such family marked their moment of happiness by bringing the child home in a chopper spending Rs 1 lakh.

A family from Shelgaon of Pune gave grand welcome to their newborn girl child bringing her home in the chopper. the family arranged this grand homecoming as the newborn was the first girl child in the family.

"We didn't have a girlchild in our entire family. So, to make our daughter's homecoming special, we arranged a chopper ride worth Rs 1 lakh," Vishal Zarekar the father of the newborn told ANI.

#WATCH Shelgaon, Pune | Grand Homecoming ! A family brought their newborn girlchild in a chopper We didn't have a girlchild in our entire family. So, to make our daughter's homecoming special, we arranged a chopper ride worth Rs 1 lakh:Vishal Zarekar,father (Source: Family) pic.twitter.com/tA4BoGuRbv  ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2022

The video shared by ANI on Twitter has been seen over 27k times and has garnered over 1500 likes. Twitterati across the country are praising the couple for celebrating the birth of a girl child in an amazing manner.

ALSO WATCH: Doggo's efforts to have snacks on airplane wins several hearts

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Nagpur: An IndiGo Nagpur-Lucknow flight returned to the Nagpur airport, from where it had taken off, following a suspected technical snag, said the airline on Monday (April 4). The airline further informed that all the passengers were safe after the return of the flight to Nagpur airport.

"IndiGo's Nagpur-Lucknow flight, returned to origin after take-off, following a suspected momentary technical snag, today. The pilots followed the standard operating procedures and returned safely to Nagpur airport. All passengers are safe," said the airline. Following the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation ordered an inquiry into the emergency landing of the IndiGo flight at Nagpur airport after smoke was seen coming out of the aircraft, said a senior DGCA official.

Recently, the Indian Air Force (IAF) identified 28 Emergency Landing Facilities (ELF) on highways across the country. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in a statement informed that five such ELFs are in Assam, four in West Bengal, three in Andhra Pradesh, three in Gujarat, three in Rajasthan, two in Bihar, two in Haryana, two in Jammu and Kashmir, two in Tamil Nadu, and one each in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

Also read: Kolkata-bound IndiGo flight grounded in Ranchi, develops snag while taking off

These ELFs are capable of operations by Military Aircraft and can also be used for a similar class of civilian aircraft if required. This information was given by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the ministry said. Gadkari also informed the House that as a policy, the barest minimum number of trees are felled in a marginal strip of land for implementation of the National Highways Projects adding that "no major impact on the environment" has been reported so far, due to National Highways Projects."There might be a marginal positive impact on the environment as more trees are planted in lieu of felled trees. The ministry has also taken a decision to utilize technology and expertise to transplant trees in place of telling them. This work is in progress," he added.

(With ANI inputs)

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MP Board 10th, 12th Result 2022: The Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) is likely to release the MP Board Class 10th and Class 12th exam results shortly. MP Board 10th and 12th Result 2022 will be announced on the MPBSE's official website.

The results for the MP Board Class 10th and Class 12th will be declared online at http://mpbse.nic.in.

MPBSE Matric, Intermediate Result 2022: Sites to check 10th, 12th Results

The Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) will release the MP Board 10th and 12th Result 2022 on its official website. The MP Board Class 10th and Class 12th students can check their results at http://mpbse.nic.in and https://mpbse.mponline.gov.in. Students can also view their MP Board 10th and 12th Result 2022 on the DigiLocker app.

Students are advised to save their scorecards for future reference.

MPBSE (MP Board) Matric (Class 10), Intermediate (Class 12) Result 2022: How to check Results

Once declared, MP Board Class 10th and Class 12th students can check their results on MPBSE's official website at http://mpbse.nic.in/.

On the homepage, students need to click on the 'EXAM RESULT' link.

Students then need to click on the 'MPBSE - HSSC (Class 12th) Examination Results -2022' or 'MPBSE - HSC (Class 10th) Examination Results -2022' links.

Students then need to enter their details including their roll numbers.

MPBSE - HSSC (Class 12th) Examination Results - 2022 or MPBSE - HSC (Class 10th) Examination Results - 2022 will appear on the screen.

Students are advised to keep visiting MP Board's official websites to get the latest updates on MPBSE 10th and 12th Result 2022.

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MP Board 12th Result 2022: The Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) is likely to announce the MP Board Class 12th results today (April 5, 2022).

The MP Board 12th Result 2022 will be announced on the MPBSE's official website at http://mpbse.nic.in.

MPBSE Intermediate Result 2022: Where to check 12th Results

The Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE) will release the MP Board 12th Result 2022 on its official websites. The MP Board Class 12th students can check their results at http://mpbse.nic.in and https://mpbse.mponline.gov.in. Students can also view their MP Board Class 12th Result 2022 on the DigiLocker app.

MPBSE (MP Board) Intermediate (Class 12) Result 2022: Here's how to check Results

To check MP Board Class 12th results, visit http://mpbse.nic.in/. On the homepage, click on the 'EXAM RESULT' link. You will be redirected to a new page where you need to click on the 'MPBSE - HSSC (Class 12th) Examination Results -2022' link. Enter your details including the roll number. MPBSE - HSSC (Class 12th) Examination Results - 2022 will appear on your desktop/mobile screens.

Students are advised to keep visiting MP Board's official websites to get the latest updates on MPBSE 12th Result 2022.

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New Delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday (April 5) asked Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to take remedial action over a book for nursing students listing the "merits and advantages" of the dowry system.

The 'Textbook of Sociology for Nurses' by T K Indrani, according to its cover, is written according to the Indian Nursing Council syllabus.

The suggestion that getting a share of parental property in dowry is one of the "merits" of the regressive practice is under the heading "The Merits of Dowry". The NCW, in a statement, said the matter is of serious concern and the commission has taken cognisance of it.

"It sends a very wrong message to students about the prevailing menace of 'dowry'. (NCW) Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to intervene and to take remedial action in the matter," it mentioned.

The chairperson has also written to Rajesh Bhushan, the Union health secretary, for initiating action in the matter to inform the NCW about it within a week.

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Srinagar: One CRPF Jawan was killed while four including a Kashmiri Pandit were injured in three separate terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday (April 4, 2022).

Two CRPF troopers were attacked at Maisuma in Srinagar and one of them succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. The other CRPF soldier injured in the attack is stable, an official said.

TRF, an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror outfit, has claimed responsibility for the attack on CRPF personnel.

Kashmiri Pandit shopkeeper shot at in Shopian

Terrorists have also fired upon a Kashmiri Pandit shopkeeper and injured him in the Shopian district. The man, identified as Bal Krishnan of Chotigam village in Shopian, suffered injuries in his hand and leg. He was taken to an Army hospital in Srinagar where doctors stated his condition to be stable.

Two non-locals shot at in Pulwama

In another incident, two non-locals were shot at and were injured in the Pulwama district. The labourers from Bihar were injured by suspected terrorists in the Lijora area of Pulwama.

"Unknown gunmen attacked the two non-locals, who are residents of Bihar and have been identified as Patlashwar Kumar and Joko Chowdary," a police official informed.

LeT terrorist held in Rafiabad

Jammu and Kashmir Police have held a LeT terrorist and said that the apprehension averted a major incident in North Kashmir. He was assigned to plan an attack on security forces and political leaders by his handlers. The said individual was previously apprehended on stone-pelting and militancy-related charges.

Arms, ammunition recovered along LoC in Poonch

The Indian Army and Special Operations Group (SOG) carried out a joint operation and recovered arms and ammunition from a village along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district. The search operation was conducted based on specific intelligence inputs by the Poonch Brigade of White Knight Corps and SOG Poonch in village Noorkote of Tehsil Haveli.

During the searches, the party recovered two AK-47 rifles, two AK 47 magazines, one 223 bore AK shape gun with handgrip, two magazines of 233 bore AK shape gun, one Chinese Pistol, one Chinese pistol magazine, 63 AK-47 rounds, twenty rounds of 223 bore AK Shape gun and four Chinese pistol rounds.

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New Delhi: Fuel price has been hiked once again. In Delhi, prices of petrol and diesel stand at Rs 104.61 per litre and Rs 95.87 per litre respectively today (increased by 80 paise). In Mumbai, the petrol and diesel prices per litre stand at Rs 119.67 (increased by 84 paise) and Rs 103.92 (increased by 85 paise) respectively. This is the 13th increase in prices since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22.

The consistent rise in fuel prices has led to sharp criticism from the Opposition. Congress leader KC Venugopal on Monday demanded that government should indulge in dialogue, deliberation and solution with regard to rising fuel prices across the country. "Congress is the only party agitating against these fuel prices all over India... what we are expecting from this govt is dialogue, deliberation and solution, which is not happening," said Venugopal.

The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that whenever the opposition parties raise issues in Parliament related to common people like fuel price hikes, government adjourns the House instead of having the discussion. "Whenever common people's issue gets raised, govt adjourns the House. At least, have a discussion and identify the issue. Government should clarify its stand on price rise," he said.

"This government has become merciless, cruel; increasing prices day by day...We moved an adjournment motion in Parliament House, especially on fertilizers and price rise, but they`re not even allowing us to mention it. What is the use of Parliament then?" he added. The Rajya Sabha was on Monday too was adjourned for the day following repeated disruptions over rising prices of petroleum products and essential commodities with the Opposition protesting on the issue as their demand to hold a discussion on the matter was rejected. Last month too, the Upper House faced a similar protest leading to adjournment over rising prices of fuel across the country.

In the first hike in four months, the fuel prices have been raised in India. Diesel and petrol prices have been hiked by 80 paise. It was in November when the country saw the last fuel price surge.

(With ANI inputs)

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SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh on Tuesday said that 42 terrorists have been killed in the past three months during various anti-terror operations and the presence of foreign terrorists is very low in the Union Territory.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the wreath-laying ceremony of CRPF jawan who was killed in yesterdays terror attack in Maisuma, Singh said that killing a person who is there to protect people is ''barbaric act'' and civil societies are also condemning these vile acts.

The J&K DGP said that in the month of Ramadan when prayers for peace and tranquillity are offered worldwide, no one can accept the killing of civilians in such an environment. That is why it has been condemned everywhere in civil circles, he added.

Replying to a question on increase in the number of OGWs, the J&K police chief said that there has always been a presence of OGWs and that the operations by security forces have also been stepped up.

Singh also said that the neighbouring country has left no stone unturned in their nefarious designs to disrupt peace and tourism in J&K. They don't want people here to earn their livelihood with peace, he claimed.

However, "we are committed to our responsibilities and will continue to do our duties", he added. Since Monday, there has been a spike in attacks on non-local civilians in Kashmir. Since Sunday, 5 non-locals were shot and injured, including a Kashmiri pandit.

However, all five were shot in a way that they got only injuries and none got killed till now. This had created an atmosphere of fear among non-locals and Kashmiri pandits living in Kashmir. Many believe it appears to be a fall out of The Kashmir Files movie and the politics being played over it everywhere.

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New Delhi: Deepika Padukone shared an anecdote related to her first pair of international branded denim. She got nostalgic and said I was gifted my first ever pair of Levis jeans by my parents for my 16th Birthday! I vividly remember them taking me to Levis Store on Brigade Road in Bangalore right after school to buy me my first ever pair; a moment I will never forget!

Deepika Padukone has been the brand ambassador of the Levis brand for almost a year now and since then she has shown us how to slip into Levis more blithely than anybody has ever done. She has many top-notch brands in her kitty, making her one of the most sought-after choices.

Meanwhile, on the work front, the actress recently wrapped a long schedule of Pathan which was shot in Spain. Apart from that, the actress has a massive lineup of projects which includes Fighter, Mahabharata, Project K, The Intern remake, and other Hollywood projects.
New Delhi: Star-crossed lovers Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are rumoured to be getting married in April and the buzz around their marriage is high as fans speculate where the wedding will take place, who will be invited and other juicy details about the festivities.

Well, wait no more because details on their guest list has emerged. As per a report by India Today, celebs including Zoya Akhtar, Arjun Kapoor, Manish Malhotra, Anushka Ranjan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Karan Johar, Masaba Gupta, Varun Dhawan, Ayan Mukerji among others will be part of this joyous ceremony.

Ranbir and Alia have been dating for years now and their bond only seems to be growing stronger with time. Although they've been lowkey about their relationship on social media, Alia does express her love for her boyfriend RK once in a while, making their fans' hearts skip a beat.

Needless to say, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor's family members including Kareena Kapoor, Riddhima Kapoor Sahini, Saif Ali Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Soni Razdan, Mahesh Bhatt will also be present at the event to give their blessings to the to-be-weds.

According to reports, it has been learnt that Ranbir is set to host a bachelor's party ahead of his wedding. An India Today report stated that close friends Arjun Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur and Ayan Mukerji will be invited to the bachelor's bash.

It should be noted that their wedding date hasn't been confirmed and no official statement has been made either by Ranbir or Alia yet.
New Delhi: 7th Pay commission: The Union Cabinet on March 30 hiked Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) by 3 per cent to 34 per cent to compensate for the price rise, benefitting over 1.16 crore central government employees and pensioners.

The additional instalment will be effective from January 1, 2022. The increase is in accordance with the accepted formula, which is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission. With the recent announcement, the hope for the next DA hike, which usually is stipulated for the month of July, has also taken pace. However, one bad news could be that the DA hike, scheduled for July may not be announced.

Why DA increase does not seem to be happening in July?

The Dearness Allowance of central government employees is revised twice a year. The first is given from January to June, while the second comes from July to December. Now that the first increase in dearness allowance for the year 2022 has been announced in March, some media reports state that it is unlikely that the second revision would come in July. The reason being that January and February AICPI index figures, that is instrumental in DA revision decision, have come. Compared to December 2021 figures, there has been a decline for two consecutive months.

All-India CPI-IW figures in last three months

In December 2021, the AICPI figure stood at 125.4. But, in January 2022, it declined by 0.3 points and fell to 125.1. The All-India CPI-IW for February, 2022 decreased by 0.1 points and stood at 125.0 (one hundred twenty five). On 1-month percentage change, it decreased by 0.08 per cent with respect to previous month compared to increase of 0.68 per cent recorded between corresponding months a year ago.

After two consecutive months of decline, this figure indicates that there will be no decline from the current DA. However, the AICPI figure falls further and goes below 124.7, then there could be a halt in DA raise. A figure at 124 level may mean that DA is kept at constant level. Zeebiz reports, citing experts said that it is also highly unlikely that there will be any reduction in DA.

DA hike in July impossible?

However, the possibilities of DA hike in July 2022 cannot be completely debunked. It is because the numbers for March, April, June are yet to come. If the AICPI index shows higher in graph during this period, then there will definitely be an increase in dearness allowance. Also, it is too early to predict the figures at the moment.

The next issue of CPI-IW for the month of March, 2022 will be released on Friday, 29th April, 2022.
New Delhi: The Karnata Government has announced to enhance the rates of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for the State Government Employees frorm the existing 24.50 percent to 27.25 percent of Basic Pay with effect fiom 01 January 2022.

"Government are pleased to enhance the rates of Dearness Allowance payable to the State Government Employees in the 2018 Revised Pay Scales frorn the existing 24.50% to 27.25% of Basic Pay with effect fiom 1st January 2022," the state finance ministry said. (Also read- Crorepati Calculator: Here is how to earn in crore by investing just Rs 6000 per month)

The state government also said that it will enhance the rates of Dearness Allowance from the existing 24.50 percent to 27.25 percent of the Basic Pension/Family Pension with etfect from 1st January 2022 to the State Government Pensioners,{Family Pensioners as well as Pensioners/Family Pensioners of the Aided Educational Institutions whose Pension/ Farnily Pension is paid out of the Consolidated Fund of the State. (Also read--TCS hiring freshers: Check application process, test date, registration status and other details)

These orders are also applicable to retired employees on UGC/AICTE/ICAR scales of pay. These orders will apply to the full time Government Employees, Employees of Zilla Panchayats, Work Charged Employees on regular time scales of pay, full time Employees of Aided Educational Institutions and Universities who are on regular time scales of pay.

It may be recalled that the Union Cabinet on March 30 hiked Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) by 3 per cent to 34 per cent to compensate for the price rise, benefitting over 1.16 crore central government employees and pensioners. The additional instalment will be effective from January 1, 2022, said an official release after the Cabinet meeting.

With Agency Inputs

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#mute
Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari, on her Twitter account today, confirmed that a footover bridge will be built connecting Sector 51 Metro Station with Sector 52 Metro Station. For the same, Noida Authority will float a tender soon. "As per todays board decision, Sector 52/51 metro stations to be soon linked by FOB by Noida authority, tender to be floated soon," wrote Maheshwari on here tweet.

The footover bridge will give impetus to metro travellers by connecting Aqua Line with Blue Line. While Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) operates the Blue Line Metro, Noida Metro Rail Corporation runs the Aqua Line Metro connecting Greater Noida to Central Noida. Due to different agencies running metros, there has always been a connectivity issue between both the metro stations.

As per todays board decision, Sector 52/51 metro stations to be soon linked by FOB by @noida authority; tender to be floated soon  CEO, NOIDA Authority #IndiaFightsCorona (@CeoNoida) April 4, 2022

Constructed at a distance less than 500 metres from each other, both the metro stations are not connected to each other aerially causing problems to metro commuters. Right now, travellers have to exit the metro station and walk for 400 metres to enter the other metro line.

Although Noida Authority constructed a separate lane between metro stations offering free of cost electric rickshaw ride to commuters, commuters say a lot of time is wasted while exiting and entering both the metro stations.

While IKEA, the Swedish furniture brand will be constructing a state-of-the-art Skywalk between the two stations, they have asked for a time of at least 6 years before operationalizing the skywalk.

This has led to Noida Authority approving the project to construct a 400-metre FOB connecting the two metro stations. Once the IKEA's skywalk will be made, the Noida Authority will dismantle the FOB. They have finalized March 31 the last day to submit the bid. Company providing the lowest bid will win the contract.

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#mute
New Delhi: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has directed the blocking of 22 YouTube-based news channels, of which four are from Pakistan, alleging that they were spreading fake news that could impact national security, foreign relations and public order.

This is the first time that action has been taken against the Indian YouTube-based news publishers since the notification of the IT Rules, 2021 in February last year, it said.

In an official statement, the ministry said that it issued an order on Monday to block 22 YouTube channels, three Twitter accounts, one Facebook account and one news website.

With this action, the ministry has, since December 2021, issued directions for blocking 78 YouTube-based news channels and several other social media accounts on grounds related to national security, sovereignty and integrity of India, public order, etc.

Through the recent blocking order, 18 Indian and four Pakistan-based YouTube news channels have been blocked, the ministry said, without naming them.

The blocked YouTube channels had a cumulative viewership of over 260 crore, the ministry said in an official statement, adding that they were spreading fake news and coordinated disinformation over social media on subjects sensitive from the perspective of national security, India's foreign relations, and public order.

According to the ministry, multiple YouTube channels were used to post fake news on various subjects such as the Indian Armed Forces, Jammu and Kashmir, etc.

The content ordered to be blocked also included certain anti-India content posted from multiple social media accounts operated in a coordinated manner from Pakistan.

It was observed that a significant amount of false content was published by the Indian YouTube channels related to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, and aimed at jeopardising India's foreign relations with other countries, it said.

The ministry said that the blocked Indian YouTube channels were using templates and logos of certain TV news channels, including images of their news anchors to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic.

False thumbnails were used, title and thumbnail of the videos were frequently altered to increase the virality of content on social media. In certain cases, it was also observed that systematic anti-India fake news was originating from Pakistan, it said.

The Government of India remains committed towards ensuring an authentic, trustworthy, and safe online news media environment, and thwarting any attempts at undermining India's sovereignty and integrity, national security, foreign relations, and public order, the ministry said.

Check full list here:

Indian YouTube Channels

ARP News (Total Views: 4,40,68,652)

AOP News (Total Views: 74,04,673)

LDC News (4,72,000 subscribers and 6,46,96,730 total views)

SarkariBabu (2,44,000 subscribers and 4,40,14,435 total views)

SS ZONE Hindi (Total Views:5,28,17,274)

Smart News (Total Views: 13,07,34,161)

News23Hindi (Total Views: 18,72,35,234)

Online Khabar (Total Views: 4,16,00,442)

DP news (Total Views: 11,99,224)

PKB News (Total Views: 2,97,71,721)

KisanTak (Total Views: 36,54,327)

Borana News (Total Views: 2,46,53,931)

Sarkari News Update (Total Views: 2,05,05,161)

Bharat Mausam (2,95,000 subscribers and 7,04,14,480 Total Views)

RJ ZONE 6 (Total Views: 12,44,07,625)

Exam Report (Total Views: 3,43,72,553)

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#mute
New Delhi: After ten years at Microsoft, James Phillips will leave the company immediately.

Phillips joined Microsoft in 2012 as a corporate vice president and strategic advisor to Satya Nadella, who has since become CEO of the company, reports Windows Central.

In 2020, Phillips became the president of the Microsoft`s Digital Transformation Group, which oversees the tech giant`s business applications and services.

With over 15,000 people around the world, the Group is quite large. It includes Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Azure AI Platform, Azure Data Platform, Azure IoT Platform, and the Microsoft Cloud.

ZDNet first reported the news publicly, citing an email from Microsoft Executive Vice President Scott Guthrie. Phillips has confirmed the departure on LinkedIn.

Guthrie`s email did not specify where Phillips was headed, instead stating that the president would leave for an unnamed "external opportunity".

Before his departure, Phillips was on an extended sabbatical, the report said.

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#mute
Colombo: Sri Lanka's Finance Minister, Ali Sabry, resigned on Tuesday (April 5), a day after being sworn in, amid growing public unrest over a worsening economic crisis. "I hereby tender my resignation from the post of Minister of Finance with immediate effect," Sabry said in a letter to the president, seen by Reuters.

In a letter to the President, Sabry said that he took up the job as part of a temporary measure. "However, after much reflection and deliberation and taking into consideration the current situation, I am now of the view for Your Excellency to make suitable interim arrangements to navigate the unprecedented crisis fresh and proactive, and unconventional steps need to be taken including the appointment of a new finance minister,? Sabry said in the letter.

Also read: Milk powder for Rs 1900, sugar Rs 240 a kg: A citizen explains the crisis in Sri Lanka

He was among the four new ministers appointed by President Rajapaksa on Monday. 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 months.

Newly-appointed FM of Sri Lanka, Ali Sabry resigns from his post "After much reflection&deliberation&taking into consideration the current situation I'm now of the view, for your Excellency to make suitable interim arrangement to navigate this unprecedented crisis," reads letter pic.twitter.com/HIPbRibZ3D  ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2022

Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa's ruling coalition loses majority in parliament

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's ruling coalition lost its majority in parliament on Tuesday after at least 41 lawmakers walked out of the alliance amid growing unrest over an economic crisis, according to parliamentary proceedings. "Our party is on the side of the people," said Maithripala Sirisena, leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party which withdrew its support for Rajapaksa`s coalition.

The shift left Rajapaksa with a minority government, which could make decision-making even more challenging, although independent lawmakers can still continue to support proposals of the government.

(With Agency inputs)

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UNITED NATIONS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called for urgent United Nations Security Council reforms to bring the Russian military to justice for the alleged war crimes committed by it in the newly liberated towns and cities of Ukraine.

Zelensky, while addressing the UN Security Council today via a translator, also gave graphic detail about alleged atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukrainian cities, including Bucha.

The Ukrainian leader alleged that the Russian troops "cut out the tongues of civilians", slaughtered and raped mothers in front of their children.

Zelensky also told the UN Security Council how the Russian soldiers slit the throats of non-combatants, raped and killed women, and crushed innocent civilians under the tanks "because they didnt hear what they wanted to."

Civilians were crushed by tanks, women were raped & killed in front of their children. What Russian military did in Bucha is cruelty. The UN Charter has been violated literally. The massacre in Bucha is only one of many examples...: #Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at UNSC pic.twitter.com/teD2foqFau  ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2022

The Ukrainian President was referring to alleged war crimes committed by the Russian soldiers in the town of Bucha - northwest of the capital Kyiv - which was recently abandoned by Russian forces after Vladimir Putin ordered the military to shift focus back to the Donbass region.

The Ukrainian leader claimed that the atrocities were "just for their pleasure" and that Russian soldiers "cut off limbs" and "slashed civilians' throats" when they refused to take their orders.

Zelensky also urged the United Nations to act and reform its system which gives Security Council permanent member Russia a veto power, saying everything must be done to ensure the international body works effectively.

UN needs to act immediately, its system must be reformed immediately...There must be a fair representation of all regions in the Security Council. Russian military must be brought to justice: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pic.twitter.com/iOgy1CbIpZ  ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2022

In a passionate address to the UNS, Zelensky alleged that Moscow wanted to turn Ukraine into silent slaves. Zelensky also compared Russia to ISIS during his address to the UN Security Council.

He claimed that there was "not a single crime that they (Russian forces) would not commit". The Ukrainian President had paid a visit to Bucha on Monday. Zelensky told the UNSC that families were slaughtered, troops tried to burn their bodies, and people were shot in the street or thrown into wells.

During his address, Zelensky said, "Today, as a result of Russia's actions in our country, in Ukraine the most terrible war crimes of all times, that we've seen since the end of World War Two, have been committed.

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Paris: French far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, whose presidential campaign has gained momentum in recent days, on Monday captured 48.5% of voter intentions in an opinion poll of a likely runoff against Emmanuel Macron, the highest score she has ever notched.

Harris Interactive in a poll for business weekly Challenges said that a victory by Macron - which pollsters considered almost a foregone conclusion in past months - was now within the margin of error.

"This is the first time that the two finalists of (the presidential election in) 2017 are tested so close," Challenges said on its website, adding that in March, Macron`s lead still ranged between 53-47% and 58-42%.

Monday`s Harris Interactive poll - in line with every other survey over the last month - still shows Macron as the likely winner. But his lead has shrunk substantially as he entered the campaign late, apparently distracted by the Ukraine crisis.

He has focused on rather unpopular economic reforms including raising the retirement age, unsettling his camp.

Less than one week ahead of the first election round, Le Pen`s focus on the declining purchasing power of middle- and lower-income voters has paid off. Her ratings have continued to improve for both the first round and the April 24 runoff.

Earlier on Monday, a poll by OpinionWay and Kea Partners for Les Echos daily and Radio Classique also forecast a narrowing 53%-47% margin of victory for Macron.

In 2017, Macron won the runoff vote against Le Pen with 66%.

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New Delhi: China on Tuesday (April 5, 2022) extended Covid-19 restrictions in its biggest city of Shanghai after new coronavirus cases surged to more than 13,000.

The two-stage lockdown, which was originally set to end on Tuesday in Shanghai's western districts, has now been extended until further notice. Authorities announced late on Monday that further restrictions would be placed on the city transportation networks from Tuesday, with more subway lines suspended.

The major Chinese financial centre had put over 26 million residents under lockdown last week to contain the city's biggest-ever coronavirus outbreak.

Shanghai reported a record 13,086 new asymptomatic Covid-19 infections on April 4, the city government said, up from 8,581 the previous day. Symptomatic cases fell on Monday to 268, from 425 a day earlier.

Military, doctors sent to Shanghai to test 26 million residents

At least 38,000 personnel have been deployed to Shanghai from other regions to fight the Omicron variant. State media has described it as the biggest nationwide medical operation since the shutdown of Wuhan in early 2020.

Sun Chunlan, China`s vice-premier in charge of the Covid-19 response, said during an inspection of testing sites in Shanghai on Monday that prevention and control work was now at a "critical point" and it was vital that every resident was tested.

New Covid-19 variant identified in Suzhou raises concerns

A new variant of Covid-19 has been identified in Suzhou, which borders Shanghai. Suzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province has identified a confirmed coronavirus disease patient infected with a mutation VOC/Omicron variant BA.1.1, unidentified in previously found strains worldwide.

It has now posed new threats to the already dangerous situation in the region.

1,235 new confirmed coronavirus cases in China

Nationwide, China recorded 1,235 confirmed coronavirus cases for April 4, down from 1,405 a day earlier, including 1,173 local transmissions. The number of new asymptomatic cases stood at 15,355, compared with 11,862 a day earlier.

The number of Covid-19 patients currently undergoing treatment stood at 25,724, including 54 in critical conditions. There was no new Covid-19

death and the toll has remained unchanged at 4,638.

(With agency inputs)
Warsaw: Poland on Monday berated French President Emmanuel Macron for negotiating with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying "nobody negotiated with Hitler", amid an international outcry over the killings of civilians during Russia`s invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine on Sunday accused Russian forces of carrying out a "massacre" in Bucha and Western leaders reacted with outrage to images of bodies strewn across the streets of the town. Russia denies Ukraine`s accusation.

Poland has on many occasions called for harsher sanctions on Russia and supply more arms to Ukraine. It has also called for an international tribunal to investigate killings of civilians in Ukraine. "Mr. President Macron, how many times have you negotiated with Putin, what have you achieved? Have you stopped any of the actions that have taken place?" Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a press conference on Monday.

"One should not negotiate with criminals, one should fight them...Nobody negotiated with Hitler. Would you negotiate with Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot?" he added.

Macron`s office said in a response that it is important for President Putin to understand the demands of Western countries and the cost for Russia of disregarding them.

"From the onset, the president has used all available means to make Putin stop the war: massive sanctions, support to Ukraine, demands made directly to President Putin during their calls," a French presidential official said.

Macron has spared no effort to mediate between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, travelling to Moscow and Kyiv in early February and speaking to Putin 16 times since the start of the year in telephone conversations the Elysee says have been confrontational but offered an opportunity to keep a communication channel open and gauge Putins state of mind.

Elysee officials have in the past offered scathing readouts of the calls, saying Putin has appeared "paranoid" in these calls, has lied to the French leader and that Macron told him he made a serious mistake in invading Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Russia sent its forces into Ukraine on what Putin called a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" the country. Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression.

Ukraine-Russia war: What you need to know right now

Global outrage spread over civilian killings near Kyiv including evidence of bound bodies shot at close range and a mass grave found in areas retaken from Russian troops.

WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATION?

US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal on Monday and said he would call for a war crimes trial.

Ukraine said 50 of some 300 bodies found in Bucha northwest of Kyiv city were victims of extra-judicial killings by Russian troops. Reuters could not verify the report.

Satellite images showed a 45-foot (14-m) -long trench dug into the grounds of a church where a mass grave was found.

Ukraine called for an International Criminal Court investigation that France and Britain said they would support, and rights group Human Rights Watch said it had documented "apparent war crimes".

The Kremlin said it categorically denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians in the town and that the graves and corpses had been staged by Ukraine to tarnish Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia`s mission to the United Nations would hold a news conference in New York with "the most detailed material to show the true nature of incidents in Bucha".

FIGHTING

Officials in Ukraine`s northern regions said Russian troops there had fully withdrawn or significantly reduced in number, leaving mines and damaged military vehicles behind.

Russia has repositioned about two-thirds of its forces from around Kyiv, with many of them consolidating in Belarus, a senior U.S. defence official said.

Ukraine`s defence ministry said Russia was preparing to launch a fresh assault in the east to try to take the city of Kharkiv and encircle the heavily fortified eastern frontline.

Explosions were heard in the cities of Kherson and Odesa, in the south and sounded across Ukraine`s east.

Heavy fighting has continued in Mariupol as Russian forces attempt to take the southeastern port city, British military intelligence said.

ECONOMY

Ukraine demanded crippling new sanctions from major Western powers over what it called the Bucha "massacre".

Russia maintained gas flows through key pipeline routes into Europe on Monday, despite uncertainty over payment terms and as the EU said it would "significantly tighten" further sanctions against Moscow

French President Emmanuel Macron said new sanctions were needed, including on oil and coal, and that there were "very clear clues pointing to war crimes" by Russian forces in Bucha.

PEACE TALKS

Russia said it had requested a U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday because of what Moscow called Kyiv`s attempts to disrupt peace talks and escalate violence with a "provocation" in Bucha.

Britain`s mission to the U.N. said that request had been denied and that the Council would discuss Ukraine on Tuesday.

QUOTES

"This guy is brutal. And what`s happening in Bucha is outrageous, and everyone`s seen it," Biden said.* "What is more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people," Zelenskiy said in a Grammy Awards video.

"I recognised him by his sneakers, his trousers. He looked mutilated, his body was cold," said Tetyana Volodymyrivna, a resident of Bucha, describing her husband.

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New Delhi: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday (April 4, 2022) visited the town of Bucha in the Kyiv region, where tied bodies shot at close range, a mass grave and other signs of executions were found in territory retaken from Russian troops. Following the visit, Zelenskiy spoke on national television from Bucha and said that it had become harder for his country to negotiate with Russia since Kyiv became aware of the scale of atrocities carried out by Russian troops in Ukraine.

"These are war crimes and will be recognised by the world as genocide," Zelenskiy said, wearing body armour and surrounded by his military personnel.

"It's very difficult to talk when you see what they`ve done here," he said.



(Zelenskiy visits the town of Bucha)

"The longer the Russian Federation drags out the negotiating process, the worse it is for them and for this situation and for this war," Zelenskiy said.

"We know of thousands of people killed and tortured, with severed limbs, raped women and murdered children," he added.

After Zelenskiy spoke, Ukrainian officials took journalists to the basement of what they said was a summer residence for children and showed them the bodies of five men with their hands tied behind their backs.

The officials said that the five people, who all wore civilian clothes, had been killed by occupying Russian soldiers before Ukrainian troops retook control of the town.

"They were shot, shot either in their head or in their chest. They were tortured before they were killed," said Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior ministry.

He said Russian President Vladimir Putin's soldiers had set up camp inside the building and stayed there for three weeks.

Earlier on Sunday, Bucha`s deputy mayor had said that 50 residents had been victims of extra-judicial killings carried out by Russian troops.



(Bodies of civilians lie in the street in Bucha)

Russia, however, denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians in Bucha.

"This information must be seriously questioned," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had told reporters on Monday.

"From what we have seen, our experts have identified signs of video falsification and other fakes," he had said.

Meanwhile, Zelenskiy has said that he would address the UN Security Council on Tuesday and predicted further, worse instances of mass killings of civilians by Russian troops would be discovered.

Tuesday`s Security Council session is to consider Ukrainian allegations of the murder of civilians by Russian soldiers in Bucha.

(With inputs and pictures from Reuters)
By Azernews

By Orkhan Amashov

Armenia is not exactly on the verge of unwaveringly conceding sovereignty over Karabakh to Azerbaijan via a firm and explicitly-worded official statement, but what is obvious is that, albeit reluctantly and unwillingly, it is becoming apparent through some ambiguous admissions that Yerevan is slowly coming to the worldview of Baku.

The prospects of this acquiescence appear to loom large prior to the summit meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, scheduled to take place in Brussels on 6 April 2022.

A journey to a comprehensive peace treaty, dictated by Azerbaijan, is an excruciatingly painful process of self-reflection for Armenia. The latter is gradually learning to sever its emotional ties with the old illusions and part with a once indefatigably-held policy of defending the indefensible and impracticable - the line that demanded the extrication of the region from Bakus territorial jurisdiction.

Sticking point modified

Yerevans reaction to Bakus five-point offer, which summarised Azerbaijans official line in writing, was one of implicit acquiescence. Armenia did not demur, but shifted its focus to the issue of the rights of Karabakh Armenians, in relation to whom Azerbaijans post-war rhetoric has been bold and based on a set-in-stone dictum that any specific set of rights enjoyed by the population in question should not constitute any form of administrative autonomy.

Both sides claim that negotiations over a peace deal must be held without preconditions, and each party has its own view as to what such a precondition might be, but the whole settlement unavoidably boils down to the question concerning the Armenians living in Karabakh.

Yerevan seems to be half-ready to accept that there is no future for the Armenian inhabitants of the region unless there is acceptance that they are living in Azerbaijan. Pashinyan has already articulated that, in the view of international law, that is indeed the case. The concept of remedial secession, which for long has been one of the key reference points of the separatists, no longer seems to be integral to Yerevans line, being last mentioned by the Armenian PM in June 2021.

Whilst commenting on the peace offer, Pashinyan stated that there was nothing unacceptable in what was communicated to Yerevan, but the document fell short of addressing the full spectrum of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations which, inter alia, entail the rights and freedoms of Karabakh Armenians.

A peace deal will need to address the nature of these claims. Yerevan will try to secure the recognition of the right to self-determination for Karabakh Armenians inside Azerbaijan, whereas Baku will take steps to ensure that the issue will be circumscribed to cultural rights.

One way of thinking prevailing in some quarters of the Armenian political elite is that, given the present dire situation, the most vital objective is to achieve a deal with Baku and ensure the continuance of Armenian presence in Karabakh, which may truly be endangered if a new escalation in the form of a mini-war cannot be avoided.

This appears to be in harmony with former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyans famous view, which was perceived in want of just ambition by the euphoric Armenian public when uttered in the mid-90s, that the existential goal was to guarantee that Armenians continued to inhabit Karabakh, and as long as they were physically there, the hope for a better future would remain alive.

The duty incumbent upon Pashinyans government is to prepare the nation for peace, and the recognition that Karabakh is Azerbaijan. This is an arduous and difficult task. Benjamin Poghosyan, Chairman at the Centre for Political and Economic Strategies, Yerevan, believes that the country is psychologically ready to accept this verdict, provided the rights of the Armenian segment of the region could be addressed in a more reassuring way.

New urgency

Azerbaijan, as the victorious nation, has been naturally most interested and therefore adamant in translating the results of the war from a ceasefire deal into a comprehensive peace agreement as quickly as possible since November 2020. The initial impression given was that Armenia, so as to obviate the unavoidable, would stick to procrastination.

Now it seems that Armenia, which has been in the doldrums for too long, is also in a hurry. There is a growing realisation that Baku, once determined to achieve a certain objective, is a force not to be trifled with  that was the overarching lesson of the Second Karabakh War.

What was also obvious from Yerevans reply was that there is still some hope on the Armenian side that the OSCE Minsk Group, the activities of which have scornfully and appositely referred to as tourist diplomacy in Baku, could potentially rise from its ashes.

The rationale here is not too difficult to understand. Baku views the OSCE Minsk Group as archaic and impotent. The organisation has not yet officially changed its terms of reference and very much lives in the past, making occasional references to the legal-diplomatic constructs worked out prior to the war.

For Yerevan, the OSCE Minsk Groups anachronistic proclivity, which is badly in need of readjustment, is one of the last vestiges of its dying hope as to the specific status of the region.

On a different note, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the deteriorated relations between the U.S. and France on one side, and Russia on another, renders the OSCE Minsk Group's competence even more futile.

Another point which seems to sully Armenian minds is its dependence on Russia. Being under the Kremlin's radar did not yield a desired outcome during the war against Azerbaijan. Now there is even a worry that a new existential threat may come from Russia itself.

The view is that Moscow is primarily driven by its own vital priorities and, if the need arises, for the sake of certain geopolitical gains over Crimea or Donbas, Russia may sell out Armenia to Turkey and Azerbaijan.

For some, it seems almost certain that Ankara would have more value to Russia as a possible conduit to bypass Western sanctions than the fate of Armenia. On the whole, there is some undeniable truth to this fear. When the chips are down, the Kremlin will reflect and be guided by its interests, in the light of which Yerevans urges may seem irrelevant.

Aliyevs meeting with Pashinyan could be the onset of substantive talks over a new peace deal. For three decades, Baku and Yerevan have contested the case with mutually exclusive and completely contrary narratives.

The recent exchange induced by Azerbaijans five-point plan makes one think that the sides are approaching a new framework, within which necessary talks could take place to achieve what is undoubtedly going to be a compromise of some sort, albeit strongly influenced by the interests of the victor.

The circumambient atmosphere of the present state of affairs is auspicious for a new start and a degree of optimism is appropriate.
A screenshot of Ursula von der Leyen's tweet.

On April 1, President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen tweeted a list of four things that China "must" do: Stop "unjustified trade measures" against Lithuania; remove sanctions on MEPs; Address the human and labor rights problems in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; and improve market access and conditions for EU companies.

This surprisingly undiplomatically condescending attitude toward China is made even more surprising as it comes when China and the EU held their first summit in almost two years. It's quite unclear why the EU believes this is the time to be demanding and overbearing towards China when it's clearly in their best interests to build relationships as it faces the Ukraine conflict on its doorsteps.

The age of colonialism is over. The only thing Chinese leaders "must" do is look after the interests of its people. Bullying and threats rarely achieve the desired results and often make a situation worse. What makes the situation worse is that von der Leyen gave four terse orders to China in her tweet that are based on smears and misinformation designed to isolate and diminish Beijing while shifting responsibility for Europe's own problems and mistakes onto China.

Von der Leyen ordered China to stop "unjustified trade measures against Lithuania." First of all, China has never discriminated against any country or enterprises and has always upheld the WTO rules and created a fair and competitive market environment for trade. However, Lithuania hasnt upheld its terms to China when it established diplomatic relations in 1991. The Lithuanian government allowed Taiwan authorities to set up a "Taiwan representative office" in Lithuania last year, in a brazen breach of the one-China principle. The Chinese government is within its obligation and responsibility to the national integrity to respond to such a breach of contract. This is a bilateral problem. The European Union as a whole should be very careful in assessing its participation in this bilateral relationship.

The tweet also said China "must" lift its sanctions against members of the European Parliament who have spread lies and disinformation alleging the mistreatment of Uygurs in Xinjiang. This conveniently leaves out the fact that China's sanctions are responding to sanctions the European Union first arbitrarily placed on China. The EU cannot expect to be able to freely sanction Chinese officials without a response, especially when the EU's sanctions on Chinese officials may have been politically convenient, but they had no factual basis and constituted gross interference in China's internal affairs.

The tweet stated that China "must" address "global concerns on human and labor rights, especially in Xinjiang." First of all, these so-called "global concerns" about Xinjiang are not global at all, but spread from shady disinformation coming from questionable U.S.-government-backed think tanks and Uygur separatist groups whose stated aim is breaking away from China. The clamor about so-called human and labor rights notably is not coming from the Islamic world, but the West, which has a notoriously poor track record on caring about the human rights of Muslims.

The U.S. government has put tremendous pressure on international corporations to pull out of Xinjiang, but strikingly no corporation has ever said it witnessed any human rights violations there. The U.S. and some politicians in the EU have made grave accusations about "genocide" in Xinjiang. Yet not one of them have been able to make a convincing case about it. Perhaps it's time to recognize that the reason why there's no convincing case is because theres no case at all, but rather the lies spread by media-attention-grabbers like Adrian Zenz.

The final demand of the tweet is that China "must" improve access and conditions for EU companies in its market. This is disingenuous because China and the EU have comprehensively dealt with these issues in their Comprehensive Agreement on Investment. This deal reached on December 30, 2020, after seven years and 35 rounds of negotiations, addresses both sides' concerns about market access and conditions.

It is Europe, not China, that's putting this deal on ice. It is ridiculous for the EU to demand random concessions from China simply because it has chosen not to sign a diligently negotiated trade deal that both sides agree would level the playing field between Chinese and European firms.

Although many people in the West still don't realize it, the age of colonialism is over. Treating other nations in an arrogant manner or without basic respect or consideration of their concerns get nothing done. The European Union "must" see that it bears responsibility for its own problems, instead of instructing others on how they "must" behave. (Source: CGTN)
The Beatrice City Council declared the area around Russs Market to be blighted and substandard and approved the master plan for potential improvements to Hannibal Park during its meeting on Monday.

City Administrator Tobias Tempelmeyer said the resolution to declare the lot around Russs Market blighted and substandard would be the first step toward the areas redevelopment.

This area would be from Court to Ella streets, 13th to Hayes streets, Tempelmeyer said. So any time you want to have Tax Increment Financing be available to individuals or for companies to use you have to first declare a certain as blight and substandard. You have to have a blight and substandard study done, and then you also need proof of a general redevelopment plan.

Tempelmeyer said an area needs to meet certain criteria established by the Nebraska Legislature, including dilapidation and obsolesce

I cant say we like the term, but thats the term the State Legislature has given us, he said. So thats the term we have to use here. Hanna Keelan did the study and determined those factors are present in the location here Usually the next question is how much can the city have to determine has blight and substandard? With this area here, the City would be at 34.02%. The State statue allows you to go up to 35%.

Russs Market paid for the Hanna Keelan report. The Council approved the designation and the redevelopment plan.

The Council discussed the master plan for potential improvements to Hannibal Park.

Basically what you see there is  the very top end of it are 6 and 7, he said. Those were the ones we built with grant money about 4 or 5 years ago now As you start coming south, those next fields are 4 and 5. If you go out there today, 4 and 5 are very close to one another. The dug out between the two of them is about two feet apart from one another. And so the idea is to take the one on the right-hand side and push it out a little bit toward the parking lot that is over there... If youve ever tried to sit and watch a game on fields 4 and 5, it is a foul bar nightmare.

Tempelmeyer said field 1 is complete; the grass need only firm up a bit before its ready to field a game.

In other business:

Mayor Stan Wirth proclaimed April to be Autism Acceptance Month.

The next regular City Council meeting will take place on Monday, April 18 at 7 p.m. in the Beatrice Public Schools Administration Building.

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A fledgling congregation in Chernihiv, Ukraine, weighs heavily on Pastor John Snyders mind.

Snyder, pastor at Liberty Christian Church, traveled with a friend and colleague, Keith Funk, to Chernihiv in October 2015 to help foster relations between the 30-person congregation and the Church of the Brethren.

At the end of his trip, he was confronted by the same ash-mouthed feeling that falls on many missionaries in places worn by poverty.

I felt like Keith and I really couldnt do that much, he said. But in their eyes, the mission was a great success. They kept thanking us and thanking us just for being there I wish I had great big arms so I could give them all a hug.

Now, with the city torn to rubble by Russian bombs, Snyder doesnt know if theres anyone left besides Pastor Alex, who is traveling through western Ukraine as a refugee with his family.

We dont know if the church is still standing, Snyder said. We dont know if the people are alive or dead.

Out of the blue

Snyder said, despite the 11th-century Byzantine-style cathedrals that dot Ukraines cities, faith proved hard to practice behind the Iron Curtain. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has liberalized its policies on religion, but theres nowhere near the separation of church and state you find in the United States, he said.

The Church of the Brethren is one of the three historic peace churches, alongside Mennonites and Quakers. Thats why, Snyder said, it may have appealed to a congregation in north-eastern Ukraine.

These people that live under oppression and force, that seemed really attractive to them, he said. That idea of peace and justice and reaching out attracted them, but it came out of the blue. It was kind of a freak thing. They contacted a friend of mine down in Kansas, and they said they wanted to affiliate.

Snyder said he got a call from his friend, Funk, not long after.

He said, I got great news for you John: We get to go to Ukraine, Snyder said.

Snyder and Funk arrived in Kyiv, teetering with a sense of exhausted excitement. On one hand, the trip lasted 53 hours, including a 12-hour layover in Frankfurt. On the other, it was Snyders first international mission trip, and hed never been to Europe before.

Pastor Alex, the leader of the congregation in Chernihiv, picked them up in a little car furnished by another Church of the Brethren congregation. Alex would serve as the pairs guide and translator throughout the trip.

Alex took them northeast, up the road to Chernihiv that would swell with a 30-mile long convoy of Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers in 2022. Chernihiv, less than 40 miles from the Belarussian border used for Russias northern offensive, fell under siege as soon as the invasion began on Feb. 24. For all of March, the city lost its quiet nights.

Alex lives on the outskirts of Chernihiv, and there were 300 tanks surrounding the city, Snyder said. They were blasting the city. And it was so bad form the rockets that his house was shaking.

During the month-long encirclement, Russian bombs hit residential areas and hospitals, reportedly killing hundreds of civilians.

[Alex] said there was very little left of the city, and the city is around 300,000 people, Snyder said. Right now, they are refugees.

Though recent developments in the warRussian troops pulling out of Kyiv and Chernihivmay seem like the end of the storm for northern Ukrainians, the continuing Russian offensives in the south and the east make the future uncertain. And still, the threat of landmines haunt every step.

Life before the war

You can hear points of tension even in the name Chernihiv. Snyder said there were usually two ways of saying something, the Russian and the Ukrainian. Chernigov is the Russian spelling and pronunciation, which he found easier to say.

That conflict of naming was like a sibling rivalry before hostilities. But then, Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, following the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovychs pro-Russian government. The spring of 2014 saw clashes between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian government escalate into a war over the self-declared republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. Ukraines government began legislating the Russian language into irrelevance in its borders, an embittered bucking of the Russias cultural influence.

That conflict hung like a shadow over Chernihiv when Snyder arrived in late 2015. Snyder witnessed parades and festivals celebrating Ukrainian cultureCossack horse riders dressed in tall, colorful wool hats, bands playing music pounding with patriotic fervor.

But the threat of war didnt hold a monopoly on the fears of Chernihivs residents. Snyder said poverty, hunger also did their part.

Theyre a beat up people, he said. Over there, youd pray for food and water. Right now, you probably pray for clear skies.

Snyder said he had never seen such a stark divide between the rich and the poor. He described a mall named Hollywood, complete with a golden statue inspired by the Oscars award, where you could find gaudy clothes and fresh seafood.

Most people couldnt afford to shop there, he said. Most of them would just look through what they couldnt buy.

The center of Chernihiv stands just 60 miles from the Chernobyl reactor that melted down in 1986. Snyder said cancer is prevalent and that the average life expectancy in the area is 64 for women and 60 for men.

Alcoholism is common too, Snyder said. He said seeing the impoverishment, the daily struggle to live, changed his view on ministry.

But he also found ironic points of light during his mission.

I found the people in the church to be very warm, very caring and very generous, he said. Building relationships with them was something very special.

In preaching and teaching, hed speak for a couple of sentences, wait for Alex to translate, and continue. Simple gestures, touches, spoke volumes when he couldnt speak directly to them.

Snyder said the congregation was healthy and looking to grow by the time he left.

This year, they had just put together the money to purchase a house where they could gather together, he said. But we dont know if the house is still there.

The Spring Sing

Around 50 people packed into Liberty Christian Church, nearly filling the narrow rows of wooden pews.

Snyder, sporting a springtime striped-yellow shirt, led the congregation in an evening of hymns. Their mood reflected the weather: breezy, euphoric, happy to be together. The congregation swayed back and forth during the song Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

After the songs, Snyder spoke through a slideshow about his mission to Ukraine. The event wasnt just a joyous occasion to relish springs blossoms; it was also a fundraiser for the Church of the Brethren congregation in Ukraine.

The free-will offering basket filled to the brim. So far, Snyder said theyve raised $3,300, significantly more than he was expecting.

Snyder told me hes happy with the cozy size of Liberty Christian Church. But he said since 2000, church attendance across the country has fallen sharply. In Ukraine, people seem to be moving in the opposite direction, he said.

I think a lot of people have turned to prayer, he said. They live in a hell, so they look forward to heaven. We live in a pretty good place, so we just look forward to a better future, a better life.

Snyders eyes, piercing blue, would at times wonder to the walls that wore stills of his time in Ukraine. He said he badly wants to return, that the West will replace the ruins with newly imagined city centers.

I think the money will come, but theyre going to need people to do it, he said.

But he also fears for the people of Ukraine, especially for those hes come to love. He knows Alex is safe, but even that news came after more than a week of nail-biting.

We lost contact with him for about 10 days, which was really scary, he said.

Snyder said he likely wont know the state of the congregation in Chernihiv for weeks or months. In the face of that fog, he said he wants to show grace.

We need to give what we can, he said. They need us right now.

Payments, for security reasons, will go out in $100 debit stipends at a time. Snyder said he is looking for more donations. You can reach Snyder at 402-696-4439.

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From the line of people waiting to cross the border from Ukraine into Poland, a woman emerged carrying her infant in a backpack. The baby was five-weeks old and her mother grabbed only a diaper bag when it was time to flee their war-torn country.

She was almost dropping that baby. She was like, so cold and tired, so I took baby...baby was cold and we wrap baby in emergency blanket, said Dr. Olga Lutsyk, a Ukrainian-born family medicine doctor with St. Vincent Healthcare.

Lutsyk recently returned from a 10-day mission trip to Poland where she supported and treated refugees who had traveled many miles to the border and waited in chilling temperatures for eight hours or more before crossing into Poland.

I saw a lot of people who were sitting for10 days in root cellars, and they were takenthrough the green corridors by cars and taken out of Ukraine, Lutsyk said.

Though St. Vs didnt send Lutsyk on the trip, the hospitals foundation arranged for two pallets of medical supplies to be shipped to Poland on the day Lutsyk departed and collected donations from the community to support refugees, said Tyler Wiltgen, executive director of St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation.

In a matter of weeks, about $30,000 was raised and wired directly to the center where Lutsyk cared for patients. Three meals a day are being served to 300 or 400 people every day on the border and at the refugee center, Wiltgen said, making a direct deposit the most practical use of the funds.

During Lutsyks trip, her time was split between the refugee center in Krakow, Poland and the border, where she stayed for 24 to 40 hours at a time taking blood pressure, assessing patient needs, distributing medication and translating English into Ukrainian.

Once safely into Poland, many refugees were dehydrated, hungry, cold and in need of the medications they had left behind. Tents at the border were set up with hot tea and food and another was designated for those who needed to rest. From there, people boarded buses that took them to service centers, like the one in Krakow.

At the center, Lutsyk prescribed the donated medications to patients who had gone days without treatment for heart conditions, diabetes and blood pressure issues. One patient hadnt had seizure medication for more than five days and began to seize at the center.

An outbreak of stomach flu swept through Krakow with 14 patients treated in isolation in one day.

It was like everybody was sick, Lutsyk said.

She used nearly all the antibiotics that she had brought with her and gave out Zofran, an over-the-counter medication that prevents nausea and vomiting. Plavix, a blood thinner used to prevent heart attacks and strokes, and Metformin, an anti-diabetic drug, were also prescribed often.

The goal was to send every patient with at least a months worth of their medication to help stabilize them until their next stop.

And in her down time, Lutsyk played with the children so their mothers could rest.

A lot of mamas were asking, OK, do you know where we can get job here because we need to provide for our kids, Lutsyk said. It was heartbreaking. Those mamas with husbands, fathers left behind to protect their countryA lot of, I think, like despair and some of them were really hopeless.

People from many European countries and some from South Africa have congregated at the border to help with the crisis, according to Lutsyk. Bringing stories from Montana helped lighten the metaphorical load for those fleeing their homeland.

When she told her patients that Montanans had raised money and sent medical supplies, the news brought many tears and comments from refugees saying they couldnt believe people so far away cared about them, Lutsyk said.

Lutsyks family

Her family's apartment in eastern Ukraine was destroyed on the first day of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. Lutsyk went days without hearing from them, until a brief message came through explaining that they were hiding in a root cellar, where they stayed for seven days without food, water or medication.

Her cousins father-in-law died while hiding in the cellar with them. Her cousin also lost her mother-in-law when she refused to go into hiding.

They bombarded her house. They couldnt find even pieces from her, Lutsyk said. She lost her father-in-law and mother-in-law, like, within a few days, like many of those stories.

Her cousin, her cousins daughter and granddaughter were able to flee to the Netherlands, where they will stay in an apartment for about three months. They were able to meet up with Lutsyk in Poland, but they refused to travel to the United States.

She refuses to be a refugee. She doesnt want to be a refugee. She said no, I will just live here for a little bit and once the war is over we are going back to build our house, Lutsyk said.

Lutsyk still has family in western Ukraine who were given firearms and plan to fight. Her own adult children embarked on a mission to help in Ukraine at an orphanage for disabled children displaced by the invasion.

Her children abroad took four of the bulletproof vests and ballistic helmets that Lutsyk has been sending to Ukrainian soldiers.

Since shes been back in Billings, she spends two hours every day doing telemedicine visits with Ukrainian people to help out as much as she can from here.

"It feels like I'm living in two dimensions. I'm still checking on people there and I'm trying to live a normal life here, but doesn't feel very normal because it's like, what I'm thinking, what else I can do," Lutsyk said.

Lutsyk has already applied to volunteer at a field hospital where, if accepted, she would spend six weeks in Ukraine treating injuries like gunshot wounds.

Despite being a little worn out, Lutsyk said she doesnt mind the extra work, she just goes to bed a little earlier at night.

At least I can do something, just a tiny bit something to help, Lutsyk said.

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The Billings School District 2 board has called another special meeting for Tuesday where it may change a policy that has drawn community outcry.

A special hastily-called board meeting last Thursday drew several hundred people to district's Lincoln Center downtown and lasted more than three hours as dozens of residents spoke publicly. The sometimes raucous meeting was interrupted several times by shouts from audience members.

At issue is a district policy that prohibits enrolling students in a school year beyond their 19th birthday. The issue was raised by the parents of 18-year-old West High junior Emily Pennington, a special-needs student with Down syndrome. Pennington has asked district officials to allow her to continue for another year in high school and graduate with her classmates. Emily turns 19 about two months before the enrollment deadline of Sept. 10. Officials have said district policy prohibits them from enrolling her, despite a new state law that would pay much of the cost of allowing some special-needs students to continue beyond age 19.

The Tuesday meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. at Lincoln Center, 415 N. 30th Street. Board members will consider several options in dealing with the policy. The board also will consider its options to adopt a permissive levy to pay for financial shortfalls that could be caused by the change in policy.

"Whatever the costs, taxpayers need to understand that the cost would shift to them," said Trustee Mike Leo last week.

One option is a return to a waiver policy that would allow special-needs student qualifying under House Bill 233 to remain enrolled as a 19-year-old.

The district would still not admit or assign any person who has reached age 19 on or before Sept. 10 of the year to be enrolled. But, the board, at its discretion, could assign and readmit a qualifying student over age 19 who has not reached 20 by Sept. 10 of the school year, and who meets the criteria outlined in the law.

This choice would leave the qualifying standards up to the state, arguably leaving less room for subjective decisions about admittance locally. The district is essentially balancing the possible legal ramifications of funding some special-ed students, while excluding others.

Secondly, the board could revise the policy to allow for enrollment of students up to age 20 on or before Sept. 10 of the year to be enrolled. The bill offers state-funding for qualifying students up to age 21, but the option would limit some of the funding deficit and act as a compromise. It is not mandated that school districts in Montana follow state law in extending education for certain special-needs students, but the amendment provides the opportunity for some funding.

The board could also choose to retain current policy or to postpone a decision.

Superintendent Greg Upham and the board have cited funding concerns, which was the reason the policy in question, 2050, was revised over the years to limit and eventually halt extended education for special-needs students.

The policy was created in 2004 at a time when the board was re-evaluating several policies at once, said Jeffrey Weldon the district's attorney.

In 2010, the policy was revised because of a lack of funding from the state, said Craig Van Nice, clerk to the board and chief financial officer for the district. Language was changed to the district will not usually assign or admit any person, striking the word usually.

The executive director of special-needs at the time, David Munson, requested the changes, according to a written excerpt from the meeting on April 19, 2010.

In SD2 alone, as many as 17 students would currently qualify in the 2021-'22 school year for extended enrollment, district officials said during the meeting last week. As the number of students accumulated over the years, the total could be 62 students by the 2024-'25 school year. Even with the state's funding, the cost of extending the education of that many students could leave SD2 with a deficit of $1.12 million annually, officials said.

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On Thursday, April 7 from 9 a.m. to noon, photographer and veteran Marcus Doc Cravens will be creating portraits of veterans at the Billings Symphony Offices, 2820 Second Ave. N.

The portraits will become part of a photographic essay to encourage new bonds between veterans and their communities. This collaboration is the first of a series with a focus on honoring the Billings veterans and expanding across Montana.
Hundreds of students walked out of class Tuesday morning at West High School in support of Emily Pennington, a junior there with Down syndrome who is fighting to be able to attend her senior year and graduate with her classmates.

Students rallied outside for at least 30 minutes and some chanted let her stay.

The school board meets tonight to consider possible changes to an existing age-out policy that would prevent the 18-year-old Pennington from enrolling for her senior year.

It is an issue that straddles a lack of sufficient funding from the state, and a board that is required to make systematic actions rather than address the needs of a single student.

A state law, House Bill 233, was recently amended to allow funding for some special-needs students like Emily to continue their education past age 19. The funding, however, would still leave the school district with a special education financial shortfall.

Ive always thought that [special-needs students] definitely need more attention because they go unrecognized for the struggles they get put through and how they get made fun of all the time, Cami Goodman, a West High sophomore attending the walk out said Tuesday.

This controversy brings awareness to those struggles, Goodman said.

Katie Rousch, a junior, has attended school with Pennington since seventh grade.

Ive had a few classes with her, and if anybody deserves to graduate, its her. She just has such a positive attitude about everything.

Rousch added that Pennington always tries her best in class. She frequently helped another special-needs girl in one class, Rousch remembers.

Rousch has had open-heart surgery, like Pennington, so she knows how hard it can be to recover.

I got it done during the summer because my parents didnt want me to have to try to catch up, but sometimes you dont get to choose, she said.

Emily faces aging out because she repeated kindergarten, because she had numerous serious health conditions and medical operations as a child, including open heart surgery, a seizure disorder and leukemia. At one point, she spent six months in a childrens hospital in Salt Lake City.

Ellie Peckham, a junior, said Pennington is the sweetest person she knows, and she is a light in our school.

Peckham has ADHD and receives some extra assistance in school. I have extended amount of time on work. She should have extended amount of school.

If we cant change it for her this year, then we need to look at changing the policy for future students so we dont run into this again, she added.

Emily and her mom, Jana, didnt expect the issue to get this big, they said, but they are grateful for all the support.

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Wind gusts predicted to hit 60 mph and 13 inches of fresh snow prompted the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center to raise its avalanche danger rating to "high" on Tuesday for the Cooke City area.

The center advised backcountry users to avoid steep, wind-loaded slopes and areas immediately below them as human-triggered avalanches are "very likely." In areas where the wind hasn't created cornices, the center still rated the danger "considerable."

Sixty to 80 mph gusts were predicted for the northern Gallatin and Madison ranges where 10 inches of snow fell, the report stated, raising the danger there to considerable as well.

The warnings come following a Sunday avalanche on Wilson Peak near Big Sky in the northern Madison Range that caught two skiers and injured one.

According to the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office's Facebook post, "One skier was able to self-extricate immediately. The other skier was swept down the slope, through some trees, and ultimately was able to self-extricate at the bottom of the slide." The skier sustained hip and upper leg injuries after hitting a tree that did not allow the two to hike or ski out.

Using a GPS communication device the skiers were able to call for help. Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue members from Big Sky and the helicopter team responded. The helicopter was able to land near the patient, load both into the helicopter and fly them to a waiting Big Sky Fire Department ambulance.

Sheriff Dan Springer commended the skiers for having a communication device that allowed them to call for help. "Having a plan and equipment for emergency events when recreating in the backcountry can make the difference between a quick rescue or spending an unexpected night in the mountains," the Facebook post noted.

So far this winter, 15 recreationists have been killed in avalanches, four in Montana and two in Wyoming.

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Editor's note: Valley Credit Union and The Billings Gazette are featuring 32 seniors throughout the 2021-2022 school year. We want to help students who are not typically eligible for scholarships and financial aid awarded to those attending a 4-year program. At the end of the year, Valley will award one $5,000 grant to a deserving student.

To be considered for the grant, students must show a clear career path for their future after high school in the form of an industry certification, technical associates degree, City College, trade school or apprenticeship. Students are nominated by a teacher, counselor, or principal from their high school.

Edward Zeus Schilf

Career Center

What are your plans after high school?

I am going to Montana Tech for Mining Engineering.

What is your favorite class in school and why?

History is my favorite class because I find it really interesting.

Who inspires you and why?

My little sisters inspire me to work hard and be a good role model for them.

What are some things you enjoy outside of school?

I really love working on cars and in my spare time, I play the bass.

What would make you feel successful in your career/work after school?

If I finally didn't have to worry about money all the time and no longer living paycheck to paycheck.

If you win the $5,000 grant, how will you use the money to help you reach your goals?

It would help to not have to take out loans for tuition and room and board since I will be paying for college entirely on my own.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring three things, what three things would you bring and why?

Hot sauce because it will make anything edible, clean dry socks, and a ham radio.

Do you have personal motto or inspirational saying that motivates you that you would like to share?

Be the change you want to see in the world.

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Crews over the weekend responded to fires that damaged a Bismarck home and destroyed much of a rural shop. No one was hurt in either blaze.

The Bismarck Rural Fire Department is investigating the cause of a Saturday fire that damaged a shop on 97th Avenue Northeast. Fire Chief Dustin Theuer said the 30-by-60-foot main building and a lean-to of the same size on the west side were total losses. Firefighters were able to stop the fire before it reached a lean-to on the east side, which saved several pieces of farm equipment, Theurer said.

Fifteen firefighters and six fire units responded to the scene just after 1 p.m. Some of the roof had collapsed when firefighters arrived and crews could not enter the building. The blaze was knocked down from the outside in 45 minutes, and crews stayed on site another three hours, the chief said. There were no injuries. A home near the shop had minor heat damage but the occupants were not displaced.

City firefighters responded just after 10 a.m. Sunday to a single-family home in the 1200 block of North 12th Street. Smoke was showing from the front door and the occupant of the home was outside when crews arrived.

Crews quickly extinguished the fire, which had started in the kitchen. The department said the fire was started accidentally but did not list a specific cause. Six fire units and 17 firefighters responded to the scene. Nobody was injured.

Crisis Care Chaplaincy and the American Red Cross provided support to the home owner. A dog that was missing when crews arrived was later located. Crews were unable to locate a cat that was reported missing.

Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com

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Dear Mr. President,

I sincerely congratulate you on the occasion of your reelection as the President of the Republic of Serbia.

Today, Azerbaijan-Serbia relations are developing successfully. I believe that we will continue to make joint efforts consistently to expand the traditionally friendly ties further and solidify the strategic partnership and mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries.

I extend my best wishes and wish you success in discharging the duties of the highest office for the sake of the prosperity of the friendly people of Serbia.

Sincerely,

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 5 April 2022
Morton County officials are investigating a grass fire they believe was started by an unattended campfire near the Heart River.

The Mandan Fire Department responded about 1:30 p.m. Monday to a fire south of the Fort Lincoln Trolley Station, according to the Morton County Sheriffs Office. Firefighters held the blaze to an area of about 50 feet by 150 feet. "No structures were damaged."

Officials arrested a suspect, who was taken to a Bismarck hospital for treatment of burns the department said were possibly related to the fire. No criminal charges were immediately filed.

The Morton County Commission implemented a burn ban on March 23, effective through Oct. 1, citing an abundance of dry prairie grasses and other vegetation. Violations are punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine.

The ban is in effect when the North Dakota Rangeland Fire Danger Rating is in the high, very high or extreme category, or when a red flag warning has been issued for the county. A prohibition on open fires in county parks is not tied to the fire danger rating. Open burning including campfires is banned in parks until further notice.

Eastern Morton County including Mandan is considered abnormally dry, with the rest of the county in moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a partnership of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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Wimpy's name no longer fits.

The 11-year-old chihuahua-weiner dog mix from California survived first a high-speed vehicle rollover on Interstate 94 and then four days alone in the North Dakota wilderness -- amid cold weather and coyotes, and with no food or water -- emerging with only a slight limp.

The chiweenie now awaits a reunion with his owner half a country away, the culmination of what Dennis Rivas considers a string of miracles.

The crash

Rivas, 43, of Palmdale, California, on March 30 was returning to the West Coast after having moved to Minnesota last year but deciding he couldn't take the Upper Midwest winters. He had recently accepted a job working in the warehouse of a movie equipment rental company, and was heading back to warmer climes.

He was cruising along in his Jeep Grand Cherokee at about 1 a.m., Wimpy riding in the passenger seat beside him, all of his worldly belongings packed in the back of the SUV, when he hit a patch of black ice near Glen Ullin in western Morton County.

The vehicle hit the ditch and rolled. Rivas was ejected and lost consciousness.

"I woke up and I was outside the vehicle," he said. "It was so dark. My first concern was my dog. I tried to stand up, and my leg buckled. That was when I went into shock. I was calling for my dog. It was a nightmare scenario."

Wimpy was just a puppy when Rivas rescued him from a Palmdale-area shelter more than a decade ago.

"I've had him all his life, that's why I was so desperate," Rivas said. "I don't have any kids. He's my only companion, and moving to California to start a new job is pretty daunting.

"I kept asking the deputy to go look for him," he said. "But they were taking me to the hospital (in Bismarck) for some abrasions I had, and I had a broken leg, as well."

Carrie Duppong, an electronic medical records nurse with the Glen Ullin Ambulance service, accompanied Rivas on the ride, he said.

It wouldn't be the last time he would hear from her.

The discovery

Four days later, this past Sunday, Duppong's 19-year-old son, Ethan, was leaving their family farm to head into Glen Ullin when he saw a dog about 200 yards off the road.

"He called me, said he had found the dog but couldn't catch him," Carrie Duppong said. "(Wimpy) went into a field, and that's where we caught him. We had some food and blankets. He was pretty scared. But he looks to be in pretty good health."

The farm is 2-3 miles from the crash scene, and the area in between is coyote country. Wimpy somehow found a way to navigate through.

"He came quite a ways," Duppong said.

Rivas called it "a miracle" that the nurse he remembers helping him after the crash is the same person who rescued his missing dog.

"One of the first responders just happened to live in the area near the crash," he said. "I'm just super grateful."

Duppong continues to care for Wimpy while making arrangements to take him to a veterinarian in Bismarck so he can get the necessary clearances to fly to California. Another woman who spotted a post about Wimpy on the Furry Friends Rockin' Rescue Facebook page has volunteered to take the dog with her when she flies to California this weekend.

Feeling blessed

Rivas still marvels at his streak of good fortune.

"I'm very lucky to, first of all, have survived the accident -- it was a nasty one -- and second of all, that Wimpy was found, and he's safe," he said. "That in itself is a miracle. It was pretty cold during those days, and the fact that he wasn't run over, the fact that he wasn't eaten by some coyotes or some other wild animal, that he didn't encounter any big dogs, is just a miracle.

"He was resilient -- he wanted to live," Rivas said. "He was able to tough it out for those days."

Overnight low temperatures at the time were in the teens and lower 20s, according to National Weather Service data.

Rivas said that back in California he was starting to lose hope he would ever see Wimpy again when he got the call that his dog had been found.

"I'm just blessed. There were a lot of people who came together to make this happen," he said. "I'm just very fortunate to have had all of these people helping me along the way."

Rivas isn't likely to change the name that Wimpy has answered to all of his life. But he acknowledges that "Wimpy" is no longer fitting.

"I'm going to have to find a better name for him, like Survivor," he said with a laugh. "He is definitely a scrapper. Maybe Scrappy would be a better name."

Reach News Editor Blake Nicholson at 701-250-8266 or blake.nicholson@bismarcktribune.com.

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"Many in Mideast See Hypocrisy in Western Embrace of Ukraine," read an Associated Press headline this week. Salon asked: "Whose Lives Really Matter?" and answered its own question in the next breath -- "How Racism Colors Coverage of the Crisis in Ukraine."

On social media, a tweet by Ayo Sogunro, a Nigerian human rights lawyer, has been shared tens of thousands of times: "Can't get it out of my head that Europe cried about a 'migrant crisis' in 2015 against 1.4m refugees fleeing war in Syria and yet quickly absorbed some 2m Ukrainians within days, complete with flags and piano music. Europe never had a migrant crisis. It has a racism crisis."

I beg to differ. In fact, Americans and Europeans have expended quite a lot of blood and treasure over the past several decades to defend or help non-whites and non-Christians. The most directly analogous case to Russia's invasion of Ukraine was Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The coverage of Kuwait's suffering at the time was heartrending, including stories about hospitals being plundered and civilians imprisoned, raped and tortured. Far from countenancing this assault on a non-white nation, the U.S. assembled an international coalition of 35 nations to drive Iraq out of Kuwait in what became the First Gulf War.

In 1992 and 1993, a civil war had devastated Somalia. A UN relief operation had run aground. President George H.W. Bush offered to send 25,000 U.S. troops to keep order so that the humanitarian aid could be distributed. What followed under the Clinton administration was the infamous "Black Hawk Down" episode in which 19 Americans were killed and 70 injured by al-Qaida-trained militants.

The U.S. took military action on behalf of Muslims six times in the past 30 years -- in Kuwait, Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, and participated (if only from behind) in the military operation that removed Moammar Gadhafi from power when he seemed poised to destroy the city of Benghazi. So call it seven. Say what you will about the wisdom of the Iraq invasion (or the other interventions), there is no doubt that they were undertaken with the goal of freeing people from a dictator, not imposing one. Those who make facile comparisons between our wars and the Russian invasion might want to reflect that no Ukrainians are mobbing the Russian embassy in hopes of visas and no Ukrainians are hanging onto Russian jets. You don't have to agree that the Iraq war was good policy or the long occupation of Afghanistan a wise use of resources to concede that we tried awfully hard to help both countries.

As for the different treatment of Ukrainian versus Mideast refugees, let's remember that Europe accepted more than 1 million refugees from Syria and the U.S. accepted several thousand, despite non-trivial fears that ISIS and al-Qaida elements might be among those asking for asylum. Arguably, the strain those immigrants placed on European societies -- because they did include some terrorists -- led directly to the rise of far-right parties. And while we're thinking of Syria, let's not forget that Russia also intervened in the conflict -- on the side of Bashar al-Assad, helping to reduce Aleppo and other cities to rubble and further immiserating that nation.

"Whose Lives Really Matter?" asks Salon. Well, African lives do. That's why the United States launched PEPFAR under George W. Bush's presidency, the largest commitment by any nation to fight a disease in history. The fund has already spent $100 billion and saved an estimated 20 million lives that would have been lost to HIV/AIDS.

So what has triggered this rash of commentary about Ukraine proving the racism of the West? On the BBC, a former Ukrainian official confessed that "It's very emotional for me because I see European people with blue eyes and blond hair ... being killed every day." An Al Jazeera anchor said, "These are not obviously refugees trying to get away from areas in the Middle East."

Those comments were stupid, but the reason I recited the history above is that you can't write whole nations off for the stray remarks of a few. In fact, identification with those most like us -- in appearance, culture, religion, nation, whatever -- is part of human nature, and no one of any color is completely immune. Arabs are more concerned about Palestinians than about the Rohingya or Sudanese. That's not racism, it's just fellow feeling.

Europeans and Americans have responded to Ukraine's plight with empathy and anger and admiration and love. And so have Kenyans and Japanese and Mexicans and Egyptians and billions more. We all have our tribal tendencies and must strive to recognize that all God's children are of equal moral worth. But looking at our recent history, we've done pretty well on that score. So let's not tar this moment of moral clarity with the racism brush.

Mona Charen is a syndicated columnist.

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International hacker group Anonymous continues to continue their war against Putin, this time involving Russian soldiers. The group said on Twitter they have leaked personal data of 120,000 Russian soldiers in Ukraine. The information, which Anonymous actually disclosed in March, according to Fortune, includes "dates of birth, addresses, passport numbers, and unit affiliation."

"All soldiers participating in the invasion of Ukraine should be subjected to a war crime tribunal," Anonymous added to the tweet (see below).

From Fortune:

While Anonymous announced the leak on Sunday, it occurred in early March and first appeared on Pravda, a Ukrainian news outlet, days after the invasion began. The outlet did not disclose the source of the leak but stated the "Center for Defense Strategies acquired this data from reliable sources," according to Newsweek. This week, the Russian military has been facing even more scrutiny after concern was raised over alleged human rights abuses in Bucha. Reports suggested civilians were being abused and killed, and some say corpses have been found in yards, streets, and cars.
Russia's censorship authority, Roskomnadzor, has warned Wikipedia it intends to fine it 4 million rubles ($50,000) if it doesn't stop "misinforming Russian users" about the horrific war crimes and human rights violations the Russian military has inflicted on Ukrainian civilians.

From Ars Technica:

The Wikimedia Foundation did not immediately respond to an email from Ars seeking comment. But the organization made its stance plain last month after the Russian government made similar demands. A March 3 statement on the Wikimedia website declared that "we will not back down in the face of efforts to censor and intimidate members of our movement."

When Russia invaded Ukraine, the government tightened its already strict media censorship regime. In early March, President Vladimir Putin signed legislation prohibiting the publication of "fake news." Violators could face prison terms of as long as 15 years. Passage of the law led a number of Western media organizations to suspend reporting in Russia.

Russian media is prohibited from describing the invasion of Ukraine as an invasion or a war; "special military operation" is the preferred euphemism. Russia blocked access to Facebook, Twitter, and a number of Western media outlets in March.
Someone returned two of Charles Darwin's original notebooks to the Cambridge University library twenty years after they went missing. They were left in the library inside a pink gift bag with a note saying "Librarian Happy Easter X." From the Associated Press:

The notebooks, which include the 19th-century scientist's famous 1837 "Tree of Life" sketch, went missing in 2001 after being removed for photographing, though at the time staff believed they might have been misplaced. After searches of the library's collection of 10 million books, maps and manuscripts failed to find them, they were reported stolen to police in October 2020.

Local detectives notified the global police organization Interpol and launched an international hunt for the notebooks, valued at millions of pounds (dollars)[]

The university's director of library services Jessica Gardner said her feeling of relief at the books' reappearance was "profound and almost impossible to adequately express."
BY JON HARRIS

Shortest retirement ever? Perhaps for this Kaleida executive

Cheryl Klass was at her winter home in Hilton Head Island, S.C., in February when she got a call from Kaleida Health CEO Bob Nesselbush.

Hearing from Nesselbush wasn't totally unexpected. When Klass retired in December as Kaleida's executive vice president and chief nursing executive, Nesselbush suggested they stay in touch. After all, there could be times when Kaleida might need to tap into the expertise of Klass, who had just finished a 45-year career that spanned nursing leadership, hospital operations and health care administration.

Nesselbush was calling with a pitch to shorten her retirement, asking the 66-year-old Klass if she would return as the interim president of Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute.

"I really didn't even hesitate," Klass recalled. "I didn't say, 'I'll call you back tomorrow.' I just said, 'yes.' "

"I've just always admired the clinical team here and the leadership team at Buffalo General," she said. "As a nurse, I can say it's just a very exciting place to be  cutting-edge care and procedures, medical and surgical. It just feeds the nurse in me."

Klass started in the temporary gig March 18. She took over for Christopher Lane, who left March 11 to become president and CEO of Virginia Hospital Center after a roughly six-year run atop Buffalo General and Gates Vascular.

The plan, while fluid, is for Klass to remain in the interim post until a national search for Lane's successor is completed by mid-summer.

Short-term stability

While that process plays out, Klass provides short-term stability at Kaleida's flagship hospital at a time when that's needed.

Consider:

 Since mid-November, Kaleida has announced several leadership changes, including an interim chief financial officer, appointments to the human resources and revenue cycle teams and, most recently, a few physician leadership changes.

 Kaleida also is in the midst of a high-stakes negotiation with the labor unions representing more than 60% of its workers. While Klass isn't involved in the talks, she was when the last contract was ironed out three years ago, so she could be a resource for Kaleida negotiators.

 In addition, Kaleida and other health networks are looking to emerge from a pandemic that strained finances, staff and morale.

"We are very pleased to have Cheryl return," Nesselbush said. "She has a demonstrated track record of operational leadership here, is very well known to the organization and can lead the Buffalo General team during the transition."

There aren't too many jobs Klass hasn't had in a career that started in 1977 as a registered nurse at Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo. She quickly advanced into nursing leadership roles that included director of the hospital's pediatric, surgical and critical care divisions.

After a series of executive and consulting positions, she was recruited to Kaleida in 2004, taking over as president of Women & Children's Hospital. Seven years later, she was appointed senior vice president of operations of Buffalo General and, in 2016, became the system's chief nursing executive.

Tightest hiring climate in her career

Among her accomplishments at Kaleida, Klass ranks creating the system's first nursing plan of excellence near the top. That plan included improving nursing operations, care quality and appointing chief nursing officers at each Kaleida hospital.

She also knows nurses have had a challenging couple of years, but they remain committed to taking care of their patients  something that was evident as she listened to nurse managers and staff nurses on a recent Monday.

Klass said it's the tightest hiring climate she's seen in her time in health care. It will take time to rebuild, and she noted Kaleida is talking to nursing students at universities near and far who will be graduating in May. Klass, for one, serves on the board of trustees at her alma mater, Niagara University.

What it all boils down to?

"I think supporting those new nurses in practice with a really solid orientation so that they stay, and certainly rewarding and valuing nurses who have stayed with us through the pandemic," she said.

Want to know more? Three stories to catch you up:

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Four years after unveiling the first of three separate mortgage fraud indictments against Rochester real estate mogul Robert C. Morgan and several other defendants, the federal government has dropped almost all of its claims against most of the remaining defendants.

Instead, without formally airing most of its evidence before a court, it settled Monday for minimal guilty pleas from Morgan's son, his finance chief and a Buffalo mortgage broker rather than proceed to trial.

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That appears to signal a major defeat for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Buffalo, which touted and led the prosecution since the first charges were formally filed in 2018.

It also marks a radical change in strategy under the new U.S. attorney, Trini Ross. And it leaves big questions about what happens next for Morgan, who was not included in a rash of plea deals early Monday morning, and still faces the brunt of the charges that he has steadfastly denied.

Todd Morgan, Michael Tremiti and Frank Giacobbe each pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to bank larceny, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The plea agreement includes a guarantee of no jail time.

By comparison, the defendants had faced possible sentences of up to 30 years in prison under the prior 104-count and 114-count indictments, which had accused all four defendants of a $500 million fraud scheme.

Todd Morgan was a project manager and senior executive at Morgan Management and Morgan Communities, the real estate empire that his father had built over the past 30 years with more than 100 properties across multiple states. Tremiti was the vice president of finance at the company.

Giacobbe was the founder and owner of Aurora Capital Advisors, a commercial mortgage brokerage firm that worked with multiple real estate developers and other borrowers  including Morgan Management  to finance their projects.

According to the plea deals before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford, Tremiti and Todd Morgan admitted that they provided false documentation to Rochester-based ESL Federal Credit Union in order to obtain a construction loan to build Ellison Heights Apartments, a multi-family apartment complex in the Rochester suburb of Penfield.

Giacobbe, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to providing falsified documents and information to Evans Bank that inflated the contractual purchase price for the Morgan Ellicott Apartments, located at 221 and 291 William St. in Buffalo. He also "falsely represented the obligations associated" with the project and "misrepresented the actual purchase price" of the complex.

And Giacobbe acknowledged he misrepresented to the bank that the loan proceeds were not being used to buy or maintain the property, as required under the loan agreement, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

The decision to settle is the latest in a series of stumbles in the case by prosecutors, who were overwhelmed from the start by the volume of documents and evidence they received, and unable to get their arms around everything  enough that they didn't even process several computers and servers because they ran out of time. Even the judge  who threw out the first set of indictments because of prosecutorial miscues and delays  has criticized their failures.

Meanwhile, Morgan had retained a team of high-powered attorneys from New York City law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, who bombarded the court and prosecutors with a flurry of motions, letters and other legal actions that drowned the government attorneys in a sea of endless paper, while raising a host of questions about the case even before any of its merits were ever discussed in court.

The plea deals came just before a scheduled evidentiary hearing was supposed to begin in federal court in Rochester before Wolford, over the defense's claims that prosecutors botched the evidence discovery process so badly  and allegedly with some awareness  that the entire case should be thrown out again. This time, though, the defense wants the judge to bar prosecutors from refiling.

The defendants were preparing to call and question a series of witnesses today, including the two assistant U.S. attorneys who formerly led the case, as well as two agents from the FBI and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. They also planned to cite nearly 300 affidavits, emails and other documents to back up their argument that prosecutors acted contrary to court directives and failed to comply with various judicial requirements.

Meanwhile, the case against Robert Morgan appears to be continuing, with a status conference hearing scheduled for Thursday morning at 11 a.m. before Wolford. Depending on the outcome of that hearing the judge could order the evidentiary hearing to begin next week.

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Patrick Byrne wanted a job where he could see his colleagues in person in an office a few days a week.

He found that last fall, when Evans Bank hired him as an information security officer. He typically works at the office three days a week and remotely two days a week.

"I think hybrid's a really good model," Byrne said. "It gives you that bit of flexibility, and it shows that your company really trusts you to be able to operate in any type of environment."

With the Omicron wave over, and the indoor mask mandate in New York State gone, employers are taking a fresh look at where their employees are working  and new work routines like Byrne's are staying around.

It's difficult to say how many employers have embraced a hybrid work schedule, but the idea has gained greater acceptance through the pandemic. Employers are balancing their desire for their workers to have more face-to-face contact with the option to work remotely for part of the week. M&T has brought back nonbranch employees at least one day a week, while Independent Health is sticking with its remote strategy. Even so, hybrid schedules aren't an option for jobs in all industries, such as manufacturing, where the work has to be performed on site.

With the labor market still tight, employers are being flexible, to prevent workers from leaving for a job with a more-appealing schedule. CareerBuilder research found that jobs allowing people to work from home full- or part-time received seven times more applications than in-person roles. And according to a survey by Robert Half International, 50% of professionals said they would look for a new job that offers remote options if their company required employees to return to the office full time. That was up 16 percentage points from a year ago.

Some employers say their remote workforces have been productive over the past two years, and don't see a need to change course.

But as the pandemic enters a new phase, many employers are ready for more of the in-person collaboration they were reluctant to push for when Covid cases were spiking.

"We're going to see different, distinct patterns play out over time, as we move further and further away from remote work as a mechanism to manage the public health crisis, to one that is much more a modality of working, and how does that work as a way of structuring and managing your workplace," said Paul Tesluk, dean of the University at Buffalo's School of Management.

Some workers are pleased to be back in an office full time, Tesluk said.

"But I think the larger majority prefer to have a combination: three or four days at work, where there's a thoughtful approach to use of time in the office, and the ability to be able to work a couple days at home and focus on things where you need uninterrupted work time," he said.

A changing workplace

Evans' administrative office in Amherst is using a hybrid work plan, built around reasons for employees to come into the office rather than a specific number of days, said Mary Ellen Frandina, chief administrative officer. Those reasons might include training a new employee, learning something new or working with fellow team members on a project.

Independent Health is taking a different tack. The Amherst-based health insurer has operated remotely through the pandemic and has decided to stick with that approach for the long term.

The company will have a primarily remote workforce, while maintaining the ability for workers to come on site in certain situations, said Patricia Clabeaux, chief human resources officer. The company has not reduced the amount of office space it uses.

Other companies around the Buffalo Niagara region have rolled out their own back-to-office policies:

 M&T Bank has asked its nonbranch employees to come into its offices at least one day a week. The bank is gradually making more use of its $58 million tech hub at Seneca One tower  sleek new office space that was built with in-person collaboration in mind, before the pandemic struck.

 KeyBank says it's seeing more and more of its employees coming into its offices. The bank has a plan under which  depending on the job  some nonbranch employees work remotely, some spend one to three days in the office, and the rest report to the office each day.

 Rich Products is renovating office space on the second floor of its Niagara Street headquarters, with technology and collaborative space to support its shift to a hybrid work model, said Allison Conte, a spokeswoman. In late spring or early summer, the company will shift to a hybrid format, encouraging workers to balance remote work with in-person connections.

 Delaware North continues to use its "Flex@Work" model, a mix of on-site, hybrid and remote jobs. At the height of Omicron, a greater number of employees chose to work from home, said Glen White, a spokesman. But as Covid cases have decreased, larger numbers of workers are coming into the office more frequently.

 Citi is starting to bring more employees back to its Getzville offices, for at least two days a week, said Nina Das, a spokeswoman. "Employees are excited to be back in the building for enhanced collaboration and increased employee engagement." During the pandemic, Citi hired 400 employees who will see what is available at its Getzville campus for the first time.

Companies all over the country are making these types of decisions. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon reportedly wants to get his employees back to the office five days a week. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has told employees they are welcome to keep working remotely as much as they want, but also said employees benefit from meeting in person.

Teams and routines

At Evans, Frandina's team typically meets in person on Mondays and Thursdays. "Teams have figured out what days or what routine works best for them," she said.

On an average day, about 60% to 70% of the administrative offices' employees are working on site, Frandina said.

"It's really nice when you're driving around the parking lot and you're searching for a parking spot because there are so many people here," she said.

Byrne previously worked for M&T Bank. Employees were allowed to come into the office if they chose, but Byrne said his co-workers were staying home, so there wasn't much point for him to come in.

Byrne said he sees benefits to working with his colleagues in an office for part of the week.

"There's a lot I didn't realize I missed in in-person teamwork," he said. "At the same time, I felt like I wasn't challenged enough in the remote environment and getting back into office allowed me to start reconnecting with some of our senior management team and start getting some of those challenges on my plate that I was looking for in my career."

That variety also changes the pace of the work week, he said.

"Being able to have a few days remote and a few days in office, I feel like my weeks are going by so much quicker than they were when I was at home 24/7," he said.

Hiring and culture

As employers implement their workforce plans, they are keeping in mind a couple of factors: employee recruitment and retention, and corporate culture.

With the unemployment rate low, workers can be selective about taking jobs that have a remote option, if that's their preference.

"We are having applicants ask us, 'Can I work remote?' " said Clabeaux, of Independent Health. "And if they can't work remote, they don't even want to continue on the interview process."

Compared to before the pandemic, when remote work was less common, employees can more readily find a job with a company in another city or even another state, without uprooting.

Evans Bank's Frandina said having an opportunity to work in person appeals to some job applicants.

"As we're talking to new folks looking to join Evans, they're saying, 'I'm reaching out to you because I don't want to be 100% remote. I do want to be face-to-face with my team. Maybe not five days, but a few days a week. I miss that interaction, I miss that collaboration,'" she said. "And people, quite frankly, like learning from one another, as well."

Employers are also thinking about how to maintain their corporate culture, especially in cases where workers come into the office infrequently, or when new hires come aboard.

Tesluk, the UB management school dean, said senior managers often assert that by far the best way to build culture "is to be in person. It's the conversation around the water cooler." But he said there's more to that idea.

"It certainly is through interaction," Tesluk said. "But we're getting better and better at having interactions happen also online and remotely and in teams in various ways. For instance, using time when you are physically face to face to be intentional about how you're building culture or creating cohesiveness in a team.

"I think being purposeful and intentional about it is more important than whether you're spending five days in the office or three days in the office," he said.

Matt Glynn

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Crystal Barton can have her job back as a principal of McKinley High School if she would like, under the terms of an agreement she reached with the district.

She has been principal of McKinley for 35 years. For the last five of those, she has been on paid administrative leave, receiving more than $600,000, while the Buffalo Public Schools sought to fire her.

The School Board on Monday approved a settlement that ends the districts effort to fire Barton, according to Robert Boreanaz, the attorney for the union that represents her.

The settlement also resolves Bartons discrimination complaint against former Superintendent Kriner Cash and the school district, he said.

She is eligible to return to service as a principal in the district. She is currently weighing her options, said Boreanaz, the attorney for the Buffalo Council of Supervisors and Administrators.

Barton and the school district have been locked in conflict since 2017, when the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against McKinley and the school district, accusing the school of discriminating against LGBTQ+ students.

The NYCLU eventually dropped the suit, and Barton steadfastly denied discriminating against any students.

Hearing, legal papers spill details as BPS tries to fire principal who fires back The school district is trying to fire Crystal Boling-Barton for allegedly misappropriating thousands of dollars while she was principal of McKinley High School  but shes not going

In early 2018, she asked a judge to direct the school district to reinstate her as principal of McKinley. District officials kept her on paid leave, though, saying that she was under investigation for African American artifacts she bought for the school, using $22,000 in student activity funds.

Nearly two years later, district officials said they had initiated proceedings under the State Education Law to fire Barton. Such an effort to fire a tenured public school employee typically lasts months, if not years, while the employee remains on paid leave.

The district said it found that the financial management system at McKinley was rife with irregularities. Barton was accused of mishandling or misusing $9,556 over about three years. She denied the accusation. The Erie County District Attorneys Office decided not to file charges against her, after investigating.

The termination proceedings were set to begin in April 2020, but the pandemic forced a cancellation. Her case still has not been heard, due to a number of reasons, some of them pandemic-related.

At the same time, Barton filed a complaint against Cash and the school district alleging age, gender and racial discrimination. The New York State Division of Human Rights has held several sessions in the case, beginning in December 2019.

Last week, Bartons attorney and an attorney for the school district told the administrative law judge with the Division of Human Rights that they had reached a tentative agreement and were working on finalizing it.

Neither Cash nor the school district admitted any wrongdoing with regard to the discrimination complaint as part of the settlement, Boreanaz said.

I really applaud the current school district leadership for really taking a close look at all these matters once Kriner Cash removed himself from the district, Boreanaz said.

A school district spokesperson released a statement Monday evening saying that she and the district have amicably resolved and settled various forms of litigation.

The statement lauded Barton as one of the longest tenured and highly regarded principals in the district.

We are all very pleased to have finally put all these matters behind us and the district is appreciative and thankful to Principal Barton for all of her years of service, the district said in the statement.

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RTHK: Russia blocked from paying debt using US bank funds

The United States is barring Russia from making debt payments using funds held at American banks, the US Treasury said on Tuesday, ramping up the economic pressure on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.

The European Commission, meanwhile, proposed new sanctions against Russia, including a ban on buying Russian coal and on Russian ships entering EU ports, and said it was working on banning oil imports too.

Today is the deadline for Russia to make another debt payment, a US Treasury spokesman said on Tuesday. Beginning today, the US Treasury will not permit any dollar debt payments to be made from Russian government accounts at US financial institutions.

Russia must choose between draining remaining valuable dollar reserves or new revenue coming in, or default.

Debt payments had so far been exempt from a near-complete lockdown that severed Russia from the global financial system, and Moscow had made several payments to foreign creditors through major US banks.

The country has also been allowed to receive payments for oil and gas sales, although the US has banned imports from Russia.

The White House warned on Monday however that more sanctions were coming against Russian leader Vladimir Putin following the emergence of alleged atrocities in formerly Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

The latest US move will further deplete the resources Putin is using to continue his war against Ukraine and will cause more uncertainty and challenges for their financial system, the Treasury official said in a statement.

In a speech posted on Twitter, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined new sanctions including a ban on imports of coal from Russia worth 4 billion euros per year, and a full transaction ban on four key Russian banks, including the country's second-largest, VTB.

"We are working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports, and we are reflecting on some of the ideas presented by the member states, such as taxes or specific payment channels such as an escrow account," von der Leyen said.

The EU will also ban Russian vessels and Russian-operated vessels from accessing EU ports, although there would be exemptions for agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid and energy.

In addition, the bloc will ban Russian and Belarusian road transport operators and prohibit the sale to Russia of quantum computers, advanced semiconductors, sensitive machinery and transportation equipment worth around 10 billion euros annually. (AFP, Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2022-04-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I offer my most sincere congratulations to you on the occasion of the victory of the coalition under your leadership in the parliamentary elections held in your country.

We attach particular importance to the comprehensive development of Azerbaijan-Hungary relations. The present level of our interstate relations and cooperation is gratifying.

I believe that through our joint efforts, the close friendly ties and productive cooperation between our countries will successfully continue, and our strategic partnership will expand in line with the interests of our peoples.

I wish you robust health, happiness and success in your responsible endeavors for the sake of prosperity of the friendly people of Hungary.

Sincerely,

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 5 April 2022
A familiar face has returned to Buffalo City Hall.

Mayor Byron Brown has named attorney Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney as his new deputy mayor and chief of staff.

Rodriguez-Dabney will coordinate all city government departments and divisions to align with his vision, the mayor said in a written announcement.

She returns to city government with a commitment to innovative and effective leadership that will greatly benefit the residents of Buffalo, Brown said.

She is a dedicated public servant with a proven track record of delivering measurable results, who shares my continued mission to build an equitable and inclusive city of opportunity, he added.

Rodriguez-Dabney began her new role Monday, replacing Elizabeth A. Betsey Ball, whose last day was Friday after seven years in the position.

Rodriguez-Dabney most recently served as chief of staff since 2018 to Katherine S. Conway-Turner, president of SUNY Buffalo State College. Rodriguez-Dabney acquired an additional role in 2020, when she was appointed the college's chief diversity officer, overseeing the equity and campus diversity program.

Prior to her work at Buffalo State, Rodriguez-Dabney served as the city's first chief diversity officer. Brown appointed her to that post in 2016.

During her first stint in City Hall, she spearheaded the creation of the Beverly Gray Business Exchange, an incubator space for minority- and women-owned business enterprises and veteran-owned businesses. She also led the crafting of the citys transgender employee policy, served as a founding representative on the Racial Equity Roundtable of Greater Buffalo; oversaw the implementation of Buffalos Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative; and engineered public/private sector collaboration for diversity, equity and inclusion.

I am elated to have the opportunity to return to the Mayors Office after four years of senior leadership at Buffalo State College, said Rodriguez-Dabney. I will use my experience as chief of staff and in equity and inclusion to build upon my predecessors successes and work to ensure that every corner of our city continues to participate in this remarkable renaissance. Having grown up on the citys East Side, I am proof that people can triumph over adversity, and I will dedicate my service to delivering the resources that our residents need to build strong communities from the inside out.

Rodriguez-Dabney holds an advanced certification in diversity and inclusion from Cornell University and a master of laws and a juris doctorate from the University at Buffalo Law School. She earned her bachelor's degree in social sciences from California State University in San Marcos.

Rodriguez-Dabney is one of two deputy mayors. Ellen Grant has been a deputy mayor since 2019.

The current budget lists a $126,131 salary for each deputy mayor.

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The rusty remains of a vessel that became stuck above the Horseshoe Falls 104 years ago appear to be breaking up, but the chances of any of it going over the falls are slim, a Canadian parks official said Tuesday.

The iron scow, as the craft is called, was the scene of one of Niagara Falls' most daring rescues on Aug. 7, 1918, when legendary riverman William "Red" Hill Sr. rescued two Buffalo men trapped aboard the boat.

The boat became stuck on the night of Aug. 6, 1918, after it broke loose from a cable that connected it to a tugboat during a dredging project.

A cannon fired a lifeline from the shore, and Hill helped the men use it to reach safety. But the men had to spend the night on the boat, about 650 yards from the brink, as the lifeline became tangled. Hill waded into the river the next morning and sorted out the tangle.

The scow was left in place. Apparently, it ran aground after the two men opened watertight compartments on the craft enough to make it sink a little and scrape bottom.

The craft, about 220 yards from the Canadian shore, remained stuck until Oct. 31, 2019, when a windstorm dislodged it and made it flip over onto its side and move about 55 yards closer to the brink of the Horseshoe Falls.

Sean Kirst: As scow disintegrates, honoring heroes of epic rescue at Niagara Falls 100 years ago this August, a crowd watched one of the most dramatic rescues in Niagara Falls history, the rescue of two workers stranded on an 80-foot scow that ran aground in the boiling rapids above the Horseshoe

Now, the deteriorated scow may be breaking up, according to Jim Hill, director of heritage for the Niagara Parks Commission in Ontario.

"Over the weekend, what's left of the scow had started to come apart," said Hill, who is not related to Red Hill. He said photos as far back as Friday show the changes.

"A piece facing upstream has broken off and the split in the hull has grown with the downstream portion lower in the water  probably broken away," Hill said in a text message. "All the pieces are in the immediate area, so no major movement along the river bed."

The Lake Erie ice boom's annual removal ended Monday, according to Lou Paonessa of the New York Power Authority, and Hill said there were heavy flows of ice chunks over the falls that have accumulated in the Niagara Gorge.

But the scow already was badly deteriorated, as the Canadians discovered in 2018 when they flew a drone over it.

"Much of it was gone already," Hill said. "Probably half of it already was washed away. From the Canadian shore it still looked like a boat. Then it flipped over in the current, finally."

He said the gap in the hull has become wider since the 2019 movement.

A photo taken by a New York State Parks staffer from the American side seems to show the vessel in two pieces.

"The portion that's facing toward the falls seems to have shifted lower in the water, too," Hill said. "It looks from the Canadian side as if it's broken into three pieces, but again, there was only about half of it left. There was literally nothing left of the side of the hull that faced the United States, probably because of the way it sat in the river. That side was being battered by the water for decades, so that sort of got sheared away over time."

The remnants of the scow protrude about six feet above the water level, Hill said, but the wreck is much more easily seen from the Niagara Parkway on the Canadian side than from Goat Island on the U.S. side, where rocks and brush block the view.

The scow is located near the defunct Toronto Power Generating Plant on the Canadian side. The 1918 rescue cannon was fired from the roof of that plant, Hill said.

Hill said it's unlikely that the scow will simply go over the falls. Niagara Parks issued a statement saying if it did, it is "not considered to be a public safety concern."

"The nature of the material, the heavy iron and steel construction  it takes a lot of force just to get it to budge, so I don't think we're seeing it move very far," Hill said.

But the water is shallow at the site, with a flat section of the riverbed right in front of the scow.

To get to the brink, the vessel's remnants would need to float closer to the Canadian shore and float over the water intakes for two old hydroelectric plants, Hill said.

"The chances of any big pieces of it getting that far, that would take a really, really big push," Hill said. "The material is just not buoyant."

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Here's a look at COVID-related news for today, April 4.

Senate has reached $10B COVID agreement

Senate bargainers have reached agreement on a slimmed-down $10 billion package for countering COVID-19, the top Democratic and Republican negotiators said Monday, but the measure dropped all funding to help nations abroad combat the pandemic.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the deal would give the government the tools we need" to continue battling the disease. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, trumpeted budget savings in the measure that he said meant it will not cost the American people a single additional dollar." Read more here:

Chinese military dispatched to help with virus outbreak in Shanghai

China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from around the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 from the military, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading outbreak in its largest city under its zero-COVID strategy.

Shanghai was conducting a mass testing of its 25 million residents Monday as what was announced as a two-phase lockdown entered its second week. Most of eastern Shanghai, which was supposed to re-open last Friday, remained locked down along with the western half of the city. Read more here:

German man gets dozens of COVID shots to sell fraudulent passes

A 60-year-old man allegedly had himself vaccinated against COVID-19 dozens of times in Germany in order to sell forged vaccination cards with real vaccine batch numbers to people not wanting to get vaccinated themselves.

The man from the eastern Germany city of Magdeburg, whose name was not released in line with German privacy rules, is said to have received up to 90 shots against COVID-19 at vaccination centers in the eastern state of Saxony for months until criminal police caught him this month, the German news agency dpa reported Sunday. Read more here:

Judge blocks Air Force discipline over vaccine objections

A federal judge has blocked the military from disciplining a dozen U.S. Air Force officers who are asking for religious exemptions to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine.

The officers, mostly from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, along with a handful of airmen and reservists, filed a lawsuit in February after their exemption requests were denied.

U.S. District Court Judge Matthew McFarland in Cincinnati granted a preliminary injunction last Thursday that stops the Air Force from acting against the officers, airmen and reservists until their lawsuit is resolved. Read more here:

***

Check out more of today's COVID-19 news here:
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)  Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unexpectedly decided against reopening schools Wednesday to girls above the sixth grade, reneging on a promise and opting to appease their hard-line base at the expense of further alienating the international community.

The surprising decision, confirmed by a Taliban official, is bound to disrupt efforts by the Taliban to win recognition from potential international donors at a time when the country is mired in a worsening humanitarian crisis. The international community has urged Taliban leaders to reopen schools and give women their right to public space.

The reversal was so sudden that the Education Ministry was caught off guard on Wednesday, the start of the school year, as were schools in parts of the Afghan capital of Kabul and elsewhere in the country. Some girls in higher grades returned to schools, only to be told to go home.

Aid organizations said the move exacerbated the uncertainty surrounding Afghanistan's future as the Taliban leadership seems to struggle to get on the same page as it shifts from fighting to governing.

It also came as the leadership was convening in Kandahar amid reports of a possible Cabinet shuffle.

U.S. Special Representative Thomas West tweeted his "shock and deep disappointment" about the decision, calling it "a betrayal of public commitments to the Afghan people and the international community."

He said the Taliban had made it clear that all Afghans have a right to education, adding, "For the sake of the country's future and its relations with the international community, I would urge the Taliban to live up to their commitments to their people."

The Norwegian Relief Committee, which spends about $20 million annually to support primary education in Afghanistan, was still waiting for official word from the Taliban about canceling the classes for girls above the sixth grade.

Berenice Van Dan Driessche, advocacy manager for the committee, said their representatives had not gotten official word of the change as of Wednesday night, and that girls in the 11 provinces where they work had gone to school but were sent home.

The committee's staff in the provinces "reported a lot of disappointment and also a lot of uncertainty" about the future, she said. It said that in some areas, teachers said they would continue to hold classes for the girls until the Taliban issued an official order.

Waheedullah Hashmi, external relations and donor representative with the Taliban-led administration, told The Associated Press the decision was made late Tuesday night.

"We don't say they will be closed forever," Hashmi added.

U.N. special representative Deborah Lyons will try to meet Thursday with the Taliban to ask them to reverse their decision, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Earlier in the week, a statement by the Education Ministry had urged "all students" to return when classes resumed Wednesday.

On Tuesday, ministry spokesman Mawlvi Aziz Ahmad Rayan had told AP that all girls would be allowed back to school, although the Taliban administration would not insist on it in those areas where parents were opposed or where schools could not be segregated.

He was reluctant to give details but promised if schools can meet these conditions, "there would no issue for them" to begin classes for girls in the higher grades.

"In principle, there is no issue from the ministry side, but as I said, it is a sensitive and cultural issue," he added.

The decision to postpone the return of girls at the higher grade levels appeared to be a concession to the rural and deeply tribal backbone of the hard-line Taliban movement that in many parts of the countryside are reluctant to send their daughters to school.

The decision also came as the movement's leadership has been summoned to southern Kandahar by the reclusive Taliban leader, Haibatullah Akhunzada, amid reports of a Cabinet shakeup, according to an Afghan leader who is also a member of the leadership council. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

The official said it was possible that some senior interim Cabinet positions could be changed.

Since the Taliban swept to power in August 2021, there have been persistent reports of differences among the senior leadership. According to these reports, more hard-line members are at odds with pragmatists, who want to see a greater engagement with the world. While staying true to their Islamic beliefs, they want to be less harsh than when they last ruled Afghanistan, banning women from work and girls from schools, the reports say.

Television is permitted in Afghanistan today, unlike in the past, and women are not required to wear the all-encompassing burqa. but must wear the traditional hijab, covering their heads. Women have also returned to work in the Health and Education ministries and at Kabul International Airport at passport control and customs.

The Taliban were ousted in 2001 by a U.S.-led coalition for harboring al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and returned to power after America's chaotic departure last year.

Girls have been banned from school beyond the sixth grade in most of the country since the Taliban's return. Universities opened earlier this year in much of the country, but since taking power the Taliban edicts have been erratic. While a handful of provinces continued to provide education to all, most provinces closed educational institutions for girls and women.

In the capital of Kabul private schools and universities have operated uninterrupted.

The religiously driven Taliban administration fears going forward with enrolling girls beyond the sixth grade could alienate their rural base, Hashmi said.

"The leadership hasn't decided when or how they will allow girls to return to school," he said. While he accepted that urban centers are mostly supportive of education for girls, much of rural Afghanistan is opposed, particularly in Pashtun tribal regions.

In some rural areas, a brother will disown a city-dwelling brother who allows a daughter to go to school, said Hashmi, adding that the Taliban leadership is trying to decide how to open education for girls beyond the sixth grade nationwide.

Most Taliban are ethnic Pashtuns. In their sweep through the country last year, other ethnic groups such as Uzbeks and Tajiks in northern Afghanistan either joined the fight with them or simply did not oppose them.

"We did everything the Taliban asked in terms of Islamic dress, and they promised that girls could go to school and now they have broken their promise," said Mariam Naheebi, a journalist who spoke to the AP in Kabul.

"They have not been honest with us," added Naheebi, who has protested for women's rights.

___
The need for higher education institutions to reinvent themselves in the face of increased competition for students can dovetail with community needs. The need to change serves the greater good, as seems the case with Daemen University in Amherst.

The university plans to open its own dental school and, by doing so, add to the schools health sciences offerings. This is pending state approval and accreditation.

Perhaps the greatest benefit would be the addition of a second dental school to the Buffalo Niagara region. Moreover, the planned operation would provide lower-cost dental care. Daemen President Gary Olson said the new college would help address a need for dental professionals in Western New York. It would add another option for services. The University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine is the only dental school in the area.

The school would offer another community benefit and health safety net. Last June, DYouville University in Buffalo opened a state-of-the-art health professions hub addressing community needs in the region, and primary care to West Side residents. The hubs goal also offers students increased clinical experience.

Daemens focus on dentistry is occurring in significant part because of the interest of Amherst dentist Dr. Todd Shatkin. His company, Shatkin Dental Health is working with Daemen to create the Shatkin College of Dentistry. The facility will be constructed in part of the Phillips Brothers Supply building on Kensington Avenue, near Shatkins Amherst dental facilities and the towns growing medical spine, along I-290.

Amherst Supervisor Brian Kulpa noted Shatkins renovation of the building, as an adaptive reuse of an old industrial space. The analysis is spot-on, as is his description of the proposed private Shatkin College of Dentistry: Its a partnership between higher education and private business helping the Buffalo Niagara economy grow while helping to build its education and medical sectors.

Daemens efforts with Shatkin began more than two years ago. The plan has been submitted for accreditation by the Chicago-based Commission on Dental Accreditation and the New York State Education Department. If approved, the new college would open in the fall of 2023, accepting 40 students per year, or 120 by the final year of a three-year program.

The result will not only increase opportunities for those interested in an in-demand medical field but help strengthen the growing health safety net around Western New York.

  

Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.
I. Introduction

1. Purpose of this Policy. We understand that privacy is very important to our visitors. We want to make sure that you understand why we collect certain information, how we use it, and how we protect it. We want our guests to feel confident that their information is handled with care, and in compliance with applicable laws. 2. Scope of Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy pertains to all Buffalo News websites including without limitation, www.Buffalonews.com, www.Buffalo.com, related web pages directly accessible through the navigation bars on Buffalonews.com and Buffalo.com, and to Buffalo News mobile apps, all of which have a direct link to this Privacy Policy. Note: There may be some web pages or sections directly accessible through Buffalonews.com, Buffalo.com, or through Buffalo News mobile apps which are maintained by third parties with whom The Buffalo News has a business relationship (e.g. www.legacy.com). These web pages are governed by, and link to a separate privacy policy maintained by that third party. If you are not sure which privacy policy applies on any particular website, click on the Privacy Policy link at the bottom of the webpage, or you may also contact The Buffalo News for more information (see Section X, later in this Policy, for contact information). PLEASE READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY. BY ACCESSING OR USING OUR WEBSITE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ALL THE TERMS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND OUR WEBSITE TERMS OF USE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, EXIT THIS PAGE AND DO NOT ACCESS OR USE THE WEBSITE. 3. Effective Date; Changes to the Policy. This Privacy Policy is effective as of January 1, 2020. The Policy may be modified from time to time. If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, you will be able to access those changes through the link to the Privacy Policy on our websites and we will also post those changes in other places we deem appropriate. We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please review it periodically. When this Privacy Policy changes, we notify users who have registered with and provided us with an email address, who have been active on our website in the last 90 days and all active subscribers of any privacy policy changes. 4. Information Covered by This Policy; Personal Information. All information you provide to The Buffalo News, or that is collected by The News on one of its websites, is covered under this Privacy Policy. This information may include (but is not limited) to "Personal Information". a) Personal Information is information, such as your name, address, telephone number, or email address, which identifies or is reasonably capable of being linked with a particular individual or household. Personal Information can also include Internet activity information, such as your browsing history, search history, and information about your interactions with a website or application. b) Information provided by you, or collected by The Buffalo News from its website visitors, includes the following categories of Personal Information:

Identifiers such as your name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, IP address, email address, social security number, driver's license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers

Bank account number, credit or debit card number or similar customer records

Commercial information, including records of products or services purchased, obtained or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies

Biometric information (such as fingerprints or DNA information)

Internet usage information, including browsing history, search history, and information regarding a consumer's interaction with our website, an application, or an advertisement

Geolocation data

Professional or employment-related information

Inferences drawn from any of the information identified in the previous bullets to create a profile reflecting the consumer's preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes

You have certain legal rights with respect to your Personal Information, including the right to know what categories of your Personal Information (listed above) have been collected or transferred. Please see Section VI, later in this Policy. 5. Why You Should Take Care of Your Information. Please keep in mind that whenever you voluntarily disclose information on a public website or on social media  for example, by commenting on an article or blog  that information can be collected and used by others. In short, if you post information online that is accessible to the public, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return. The Buffalo News is not responsible for the disclosure of your information under these circumstances and such disclosure is not covered under this Privacy Policy. Additionally, advertisers and vendors hosted on our site, or who link to our site, may collect information about you if you visit their websites, or purchase products or services from them. Information collected by vendors or advertisers hosted on Buffalo News websites or who link to Buffalo News websites is not covered under this Privacy Policy. This privacy policy only addresses the use and disclosure of information we collect from you. Other websites that may be accessible through our website have their own privacy policies and data collection, use and disclosure practices. If you link to any such website, we urge you to review the website's privacy policy. We are not responsible for the policies or practices of third parties. Finally, you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your passwords and/or any account information. Please be careful and responsible whenever you are online.

II. What Information Does The Buffalo News Collect?

1. When you register on a Buffalo News website, we collect the following information from you:

Email address

Name, address and telephone number

2. In addition to information obtained through registration, The Buffalo News may also obtain information from you when you purchase advertising, start a newspaper subscription, or sign up for contests, notices, email alerts or promotional offers. This information may include, but is not limited to, your name, address, telephone number, and email address. 3. We may also use industry standard technologies like pixel tags and web beacons to track use of our website pages and promotions, or we may allow our third party service providers to use these devices on our behalf. Pixel tags and web beacons are tiny graphic images placed on certain pages on our website, or in our emails, that allow us to determine whether a specific action has been performed. When these web pages are accessed or an email is opened or clicked on, pixel tags and web beacons generate a non-personally identifiable notice of that action. Pixel tags allow us to measure and improve our understanding of visitor traffic and behavior on our website, as well as give us a way to measure our promotions and performance. We may also utilize pixel tags and web beacons provided by our affiliates and/or marketing partners for the same purposes. 4. Furthermore, The News website uses other industry standard technologies that collect information from visitors like the uniform resource locator ("URL") of the website visited before coming to our website, the URL of the website visited after leaving our website, the type of browser being used and the Internet Protocol ("IP") address of the visitors computer. Computer IP addresses identify computers and the networks or Internet service providers to which they are connected. The Buffalo News tracks computer IP addresses to help with system administration and to compile information about traffic patterns on the site. We, and/or our authorized third party service providers and advertisers, may automatically collect this information when you visit our website through the use of electronic tools like cookies (see Section III, later in this Policy), web beacons and pixel tags, as described in the preceding paragraph of this Policy. We use this information to troubleshoot, administer the website, analyze trends, gather demographic information, comply with applicable law, and cooperate with law enforcement activities. We may also share this information with our authorized third party service providers and our marketing partners in order to measure the overall effectiveness of our online advertising, content, and programming, and to identify and target potential customers. 5. We monitor Buffalo News websites to gather statistical information, including the number of visits to the site, the pages visited, which domains visitors come from and the browsers used to visit the site. We may use marketing partners or other third parties to gather, collect and report on this information. This statistical information enables us to evaluate the effectiveness of the services we provide, to monitor site performance and to make it easier for visitors to use the site. 6. From time to time, The Buffalo News will conduct surveys on its websites for research purposes. When you participate in a survey, the information you provide about yourself and your responses are collected by The Buffalo News. We will always inform you how we will use this information. 7. If you contact The Buffalo News, we may keep a record of your correspondence. Children should always get their parents' permission before providing any Personal Information about themselves over the internet. The Buffalo News will not collect any Personal Information from any person who indicates they are 13 years of age or younger. The News will not transfer or sell to third parties any Personal Information of a person who indicates they are 16 years of age or younger unless that persons parent or guardian has authorized the transfer or sale.

III. Cookies and How The Buffalo News Uses Them

A cookie is a small amount of data that is transferred from a web server through your browser and stored on the hard drive of your computer. The cookie contains your user name and password so that when you log on, the web server recognizes you. Using a mobile communication device to photograph a QR code may also result in some information being transferred from the mobile communication device to the source of the QR code. Some advertisers on Buffalo News websites may use their own cookies. When you click on an advertisement, visit an advertiser's website, or make a purchase from an advertiser, that company may use cookies according to their own policies. Advertisers' cookies are not covered under this Policy. In addition, we may use third party advertising companies to display advertisements on our website. As part of their service, they may place separate cookies on your computer. We have no access to or control over these cookies. You do not have to permit the use of cookies. You can, through the options in your web browser, choose to accept all cookies, choose to reject all cookies or choose to receive notification when a cookie is being delivered so that you can make a decision whether to accept each cookie on a case-by-case basis. If you refuse all cookies, The Buffalo News websites will no longer remember you when you return, which means that you will have to log in each time you visit the site. Please note that if you decline or delete these cookies, some parts of the website may not work properly.

IV. How Does The Buffalo News Use the Information It Gathers?

Information collected on Buffalo News websites, including traffic patterns and user behavior, is used primarily for the following purposes: Internal research. The Buffalo News is continuously assessing how visitors use our websites. This data assists us in making decisions about how to improve the sites and to better serve our users. We may share research with our advertisers or marketing and business partners. As previously mentioned, The Buffalo News may use your information to contact you to ask for your participation in a focus group, survey, or some other type of research effort. To customize your experience on Buffalo News websites. As The Buffalo News improves its service, it may offer users more opportunities to customize content and other aspects of the site. Information provided by you may be used to assist in the customization process, if you elect to participate in these features. Page views are not guaranteed to any individual. An IP address is used as a base for metering. To tailor advertising efforts. Advertisers prefer to target their communication toward audiences who are most likely to be interested in their products. The information gathered on Buffalo News websites helps us advise advertisers and marketing partners about certain aspects of site visitors (e.g. how visitors use the site, general demographic attributes of visitors, usage patterns on various parts of our site, etc.). This information helps both The Buffalo News and its advertisers and marketing partners make better decisions about where to place advertising. Visitors who choose to conduct financial transactions with advertisers on Buffalo News websites may also provide specific data to those advertisers during the process of their transactions. Additionally, any information provided during the purchase of Buffalonews.com or The Buffalo News products or services will result in the collection of certain information required to complete the transaction. To use third party service providers. We provide some services and products through third parties. These third party service providers may perform functions on our behalf, like sending out and distributing promotional emails. We may share your Personal Information with such service providers as necessary to allow those service providers to fulfill orders, send mail or email, administer contests or sweepstakes, remove repetitive information on customer lists, analyze data, provide marketing assistance, provide search results and links, process credit card payments, operate the website, troubleshoot, or provide customer service. and may share your information with service providers to accomplish our administrative tasks. For example, when you order a service, the third party payment processor we use releases your credit card information to the card-issuing bank to confirm payment for the service. The use of your Personal Information by these third parties is governed by the privacy policies of these third parties and is not subject to our control. More specifically, here is how The Buffalo News may use information you provide:

Email addresses. If you supply The Buffalo News with your email address, either by registering on one of the sites, by communicating with us via email, or signing up for promotional offers or emails, we may, from time to time, send you information that we believe would be of interest to you via email. This information may be from The Buffalo News, or sent by us on behalf of one of our quality advertisers. Note: If we send you email on behalf of another company, your Personal Information is not disclosed to that company unless you purchase a product or service from that company in which case it may need your information to fulfill your purchase. Rather, the company provides us with the information it wants to send, and we prepare and send the email directly to you. We may use a third party service provider to manage or send emails on our behalf, but that third party is only authorized to use your information as necessary to send our email to you and it is not authorized to sell or transfer your information. If The Buffalo News sends you an email, the email will allow you to opt of any further emails from The Buffalo News.

If you supply The Buffalo News with your email address, either by registering on one of the sites, by communicating with us via email, or signing up for promotional offers or emails, we may, from time to time, send you information that we believe would be of interest to you via email. This information may be from The Buffalo News, or sent by us on behalf of one of our quality advertisers. Note: If we send you email on behalf of another company, your Personal Information is not disclosed to that company unless you purchase a product or service from that company in which case it may need your information to fulfill your purchase. Rather, the company provides us with the information it wants to send, and we prepare and send the email directly to you. We may use a third party service provider to manage or send emails on our behalf, but that third party is only authorized to use your information as necessary to send our email to you and it is not authorized to sell or transfer your information. If The Buffalo News sends you an email, the email will allow you to opt of any further emails from The Buffalo News. Postal addresses. If you supply The Buffalo News with your postal address, we may send you periodic mailings with information on new products, coming events, surveys or other research materials, or other information we think might be of interest to you.

If you supply The Buffalo News with your postal address, we may send you periodic mailings with information on new products, coming events, surveys or other research materials, or other information we think might be of interest to you. Telephone numbers. If you provide your telephone number or cell phone number, The Buffalo News may call or text you regarding orders you have placed, to tell you about new products, services, or coming events, or to offer other information that may interest you. Additionally, The Buffalo News, or one of its agents may call you for research purposes.

If you provide your telephone number or cell phone number, The Buffalo News may call or text you regarding orders you have placed, to tell you about new products, services, or coming events, or to offer other information that may interest you. Additionally, The Buffalo News, or one of its agents may call you for research purposes. Sale transaction information. From time to time, we provide offers from our advertisers who, as part of their offer, request information on customers who purchased their offer in order to allow the advertiser to fulfill the purchase. In those cases, we share some of your Personal Information with that advertiser. Sharing this Information may allow that advertiser to market directly to you should it choose to do so. However, we will only share Personal Information with an advertiser if you provide us that information and enter into a transaction with that advertiser on or through our websites. We are not responsible or liable for the actions of such advertiser.

From time to time, we provide offers from our advertisers who, as part of their offer, request information on customers who purchased their offer in order to allow the advertiser to fulfill the purchase. In those cases, we share some of your Personal Information with that advertiser. Sharing this Information may allow that advertiser to market directly to you should it choose to do so. However, we will only share Personal Information with an advertiser if you provide us that information and enter into a transaction with that advertiser on or through our websites. We are not responsible or liable for the actions of such advertiser. Business transfer. We may also share your information in the event that our business is sold or transferred. If this occurs, the successor company would acquire the information we maintain, including Personal Information.

We may also share your information in the event that our business is sold or transferred. If this occurs, the successor company would acquire the information we maintain, including Personal Information. Web usage information. As discussed earlier in this Policy the News tracks usage of our website pages and other websites by visitors, and collects other information, like the type of browser and the visitors IP address. The News shares this information with its business and marketing partners in order to tailor its advertising efforts and identify and target potential customers.

V. Disclosure of Personal Information

The Buffalo News may divulge a visitor's Personal Information to a third party in certain circumstances. For example:

If we believe in good faith that the law requires such disclosure or we are compelled to do so by a court of competent authority.

If we need to disclose the information in order to enforce the provisions of Buffalo News Terms of Service, or to stop or prevent damage or interference with The Buffalo News' legal rights or, to stop or prevent harm to Buffalo News users or others.

In the event The Buffalo News contracts with an outside research firm, we may provide them with your contact information. The research firm will only be authorized to use the information to contact you to request your participation in surveys, focus groups or other research activities that will help us improve Buffalo News products and services. Your participation in any such research project is strictly voluntary. The research firm will be bound by its contract with The Buffalo News to use your information strictly for Buffalo News research purposes, to keep your information confidential, and to adequately secure or delete your information when the research is complete.

As discussed elsewhere in this Policy, The News may disclose Personal Information to our advertisers and business and marketing partners in order to improve our online advertising, content, and programming, and to identify and target potential customers.

Credit card information provided directly to The Buffalo News is required to be secured in accordance with federal, state and local laws, and payment card industry data security standards. Often times, a third party vendor handles financial information on our behalf and the financial information is not accessible by The Buffalo News. In such case, the third party vendor is required to secure the information in accordance with federal, state and local laws, and payment card industry data security standards.

VI. Your Rights Regarding Your Personal Information

You have certain rights with respect to your Personal Information under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as described in this Section. 1. Right to Request Disclosure of Information Collected or Transferred. a) You have the right to request that The Buffalo News disclose to you the following:

The categories of Personal Information it has collected about you, and the sources of the collected information,

The categories of Personal Information with whom The News shares Personal Information, or to whom The News has sold or transferred Personal Information for a commercial or business purpose,

The business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling your Personal Information,

The categories of third parties to whom The News has sold or transferred Personal Information for a commercial or business purpose, and

If feasible, the specific pieces of Personal Information that The Buffalo News has collected about you.

b) The categories of Personal Information that the News collects are listed in Section I.4(b) of this Policy. c) You can request this disclosure by sending an email to digital@buffnews.com or by calling (toll free) 1 (800) 777-8640. In most cases, The Buffalo News will respond within 45 days of your request. The disclosure will cover information collected during the 12 months preceding the date of the request. You may not request such a disclosure more than twice in any 12 month period. d) The Personal Information we will disclose will not include information collected for a single, one-time transaction if, in the ordinary course of business, we do not retain that information. 2. Right to Opt Out of Certain Transfers of Personal Information. As discussed in this Policy, The Buffalo News discloses Personal Information to its marketing partners and other third parties in order measure the effectiveness of its online advertising, content, and programming, and to target potential customers. You have the right to opt out of the sale or transfer of your Personal Information. To do so, click on the Do Not Sell My Personal Information link on the Buffalo News website. 3. No Discrimination. The News will never discriminate against an individual because the individual exercised any rights under the CCPA, by denying goods or services, charging different prices for goods or services (including through the use of discounts) , or providing a different level or quality of goods or services to the individual. 4. Do Not Track (DNT). Your browser setting may allow you to automatically transmit a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal to websites and online services that you visit. There is no consensus among industry participants as to what DNT means in this context, and some browsers automatically apply DNT signals by default and therefore do not necessarily reflect our visitors choice as to whether they wish to receive advertisements tailored to their interests. As a result, like many websites and online services, we do not alter our practices when the Service receives a DNT signal from a visitor's browser. To find out more about DNT, please visit http://allaboutdnt.com.

VII. What if I don't want The Buffalo News to contact me?

You may opt out of any or all contacts from The Buffalo News at any time. All emails sent to you from The Buffalo News will allow you to opt out of any further email from us. You may email us at subscriberservices@buffnews.com to opt out of our email programs. You may also write or call us at the following address and phone number to notify us regarding use of your information: One News Plaza, P.O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240; (716) 849-4444.

VIII. Security Technologies

The Buffalo News uses industry-standard encryption technologies when transferring and receiving consumer data exchanged with our site. When we transfer or receive certain types of sensitive data, such as financial information, we will redirect you to a secure server. We have implemented appropriate security measures in our physical facilities to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of information that we have collected from you. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet or any wireless network can be guaranteed to be secure all of the time. We employ commercially reasonable security measures to protect data and seek to do business with companies which do the same, but we cannot guarantee the security of any information transmitted to or from our website, and are not responsible for the actions of any third parties that may receive any such information.

IX. Making corrections to your information

Upon request, you may review all information that we maintain in your record, including unique identifier, Personal Information (name, address, phone number, email), or any other information we may keep in your record. You may also request that inaccuracies be corrected in any information that we maintain in your record. Submit your request by contacting The Buffalo News via email, postal mail, or telephone, as described in the next Section.

X. Contacting The Buffalo News

If you have any questions about our privacy policy or the privacy practices of this site, please contact us at digital@buffnews.com. You may also telephone us at (716) 842-1111, toll free at 1 (800) 777-8640 , or write to us at: Buffalonews.com One News Plaza, P.O. Box 100 Buffalo NY 14240 Attention: Compliance Officer
On April 5, U.S.Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a phone call to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

During the phone conversation, Antony Blinken noted that the U.S. attaches importance to the meeting at the level of leaders between Armenia and Azerbaijan to be held on April 6 in Brussels with the support of the European Union.

President Ilham Aliyev underlined Azerbaijan's proposals and position on ensuring peace and stability in the region, normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, starting negotiations on a peace agreement, as well as establishing transport links and communications.

Pointing to humanitarian issues, the head of state stressed the need for Armenia to clarify the fate of 3,890 Azerbaijanis who had been missing since the first Armenia-Azerbaijan war and provide information on the location of mass graves.

During the phone talk, the sides also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.
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TORONTO, April 5, 2022 /CNW/ - The Gairdner Foundation is pleased to announce the 2022 Canada Gairdner Award laureates, recognizing some of the world's most significant biomedical and global health research and discoveries.

Gairdner logo (CNW Group/Gairdner Foundation)

"Canadian scientists remain an example to follow as they continue to lead in global health research and discoveries that help create a more resilient society, country, and world. Congratulations to this year's Canada Gairdner Award recipients, your work demonstrates the power of science to improve lives and solve major challenges facing humanity."

 The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health

"Congratulations to the 2022 Gairdner Awards recipients for your outstanding discoveries and contributions to medical science! Pleased to see four Canadians among the world's most creative and accomplished biomedical scientists. Your work is revolutionizing our understanding of the human body and how to live longer, healthier lives, right down to the cellular level."

The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

2022 Canada Gairdner International Award

The five 2022 Canada Gairdner International Award laureates are recognized for seminal discoveries or contributions to biomedical science:

Stuart H. Orkin, MD

David G. Nathan Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's Hospital.

Awarded "For the discovery of the molecular mechanism responsible for the switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin gene expression during human development and translating that knowledge into a novel treatment for the hemoglobin disorders -- sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia"

The work:

Dr. Stuart Orkin's pioneering work in genetic disorders of hemoglobin spans four decades and has unraveled molecular mysteries behind how blood cells develop and how disorders of blood arise. His most recent studies led to the discovery of the molecular mechanism responsible for the switch from fetal (HbF) to adult (HbA) hemoglobin gene expression that occurs during human development. Capitalizing on genetic clues from human population studies, Orkin and colleagues established that the protein BCL11A acts as the critical silencer of HbF expression in adults. Recognizing that turning HbF expression back on could lessen disease severity of sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia --genetic disorders affecting HbA production  he proposed downregulation of BCL11A as a therapeutic approach. Dialing down the amount of BCL11A would reactivate HbF expression and effectively substitute for mutant or deficient HbA in these disorders. His group first demonstrated that downregulation of BCL11A expression corrects sickle cell disease in engineered mice, an important proof-of-principle for therapeutic translation. He and colleagues identified a discrete site in a regulatory element within the BCL11A gene itself that, if deleted by CRISPR gene editing in blood stem cells, would impair BCL11A expression only within developing red blood cells, and safely reactivate HbF expression. This work laid the groundwork for highly promising, ongoing clinical trials in patients with sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia, diseases that affect >5 million individuals worldwide. Reactivation of HbF in patients in these genetic therapy trials has yielded transformative results: freedom from sickle crises and anemia in sickle cell disease and transfusion-independence in beta-thalassemia.

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The impact:

Much of what is known about the control of gene expression during blood cell development can be traced directly to Orkin's pioneering studies. His discoveries have paved the way for clinical approaches that will revolutionize the treatment of hemoglobin disorders  sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia  that affect more than five million people worldwide. Clinical trials that are currently underway establish the therapeutic potential of HbF reactivation. The outcomes of these trials will have significant impact for patients suffering from hemoglobin disorders around the globe, and will encourage the future development of cheaper and more readily accessible therapies for global application.

John E. Dick, PhD, FRS, FRSC

Senior Scientist and Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN; Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto

Awarded "For the discovery and characterization of leukemic stem cells, providing insights into the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of acute myeloid leukemia"

The work:

Dr. John Dick made the first discovery of leukemia stem cells (LSC) in an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patient. This finding established that individual cancer cells in the patient are not equal, rather they are organized as a cellular hierarchy where only rare leukemia cells possess self-renewal, the hallmark stem cell property. This discovery required two experimental components that Dick developed: a xenograft assay to detect LSC based on their ability to generate human leukemia upon transplantation into immune-deficient mice, and a method to purify leukemia cells into LSC and non-LSC populations. By combining functional LSC assays with genetic analysis, Dick tracked the complex evolutionary pathways of human leukemia development from normal blood stem cells to pre-leukemic stem cells that eventually generate LSC and AML up to a decade later. This work also showed that LSCs that can cause later relapse have already evolved prior to diagnosis, and can survive normal therapy procedures. Thus, LSC were directly linked to therapy failure and relapse in leukemia patients. The properties of LSC as reflected in their gene expression are predictive of therapy response and overall survival. Dick developed a 17-gene 'stemness score' that can be used clinically to determine patient risk of poor outcome and help guide therapeutic choice.

The impact:

Dick's discovery of LSC changed the understanding of the underlying biology of cancer and stimulated exploration of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in other human cancers, including those affecting the breast, brain, colon, pancreas, skin and liver. His work highlighted the importance of investigating the properties of individual cells of the neoplastic clone, rather than bulk cancer cells and that special attention needs to be on the CSC that are the only cells capable of long term cancer propagation. The focus on CSC is revealing a number of properties that enable their survival in the face of therapy including dormancy, stress signaling as well as stemness programs that enable disease recurrence. Dick's work points to the need to ensure that CSC are eradicated when therapy is delivered and the need for new therapies that target CSC vulnerabilities. The discovery that pre-leukemic stem cells are present many years prior to disease appearance and that relapse-fated LSC are already present at diagnosis both offer windows of opportunity to target pre-leukemia and relapse earlier to prevent disease and relapse from occurring, respectively. Dick's findings offer clear direction for improving clinical outcomes in leukemia through LSC targeting and potentially in other cancers that adhere to the CSC model.

Pieter Cullis, PhD

Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia

Katalin Kariko, PhD

Senior Vice President RNA Protein Replacement Therapies, BioNTech SE; Professor, University of Szeged; Adjunct Professor, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Drew Weissman, MD, PhD

Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research; Director Penn Institute for RNA Innovation, Director, Vaccine Research, Infectious Diseases Division; Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Awarded "For their pioneering work developing nucleoside-modified mRNA and lipid nanoparticle (LNP) drug delivery: the foundational technologies for the highly effective COVID-19 mRNA vaccines"

The work:

Drs. Kariko and Weissman discovered how to engineer mRNA  a molecule that carries instructions for making proteins  so that it could be used to produce the desired protein after introduction into mammalian cells. They overcame the inflammatory activation and rapid degradation of mRNA by modifying the RNA so that it could resist quick breakdown and avoid activating RNA sensors. Despite skepticism from others, Drs. Kariko and Weissman saw the potential of RNA therapeutics for vaccines and other applications and the data kept leading them forward. However, one major challenge remained: how to introduce the mRNA into the body in a way that it would be protected from degradation, and could enter into the cells for protein production.

Dr. Cullis had been working with such packaging systems for the past 50 years. Dr. Cullis is a pioneer in lipid chemistry and the formation of lipid nanoparticles (LNP). From his foundational work, many different clinical applications of LNPs have been developed, such as delivering anticancer drugs to cancer tissues while limiting toxicity in normal tissues. In the case of mRNA the LNP are designed to form a protective bubble around the mRNA and enable delivery to the interior of target cells. The LNP technology is critical to the potency of mRNA vaccines.

Following the emergence of the SARS-CoV2 virus, various teams around the world began working on potential vaccines using the knowledge gained about the mRNA and lipid nanoparticle through decades. The idea for both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines was to introduce modified mRNA molecules into the body via LNPs to briefly instruct human cells to produce the coronavirus' spike protein. The LNP-activated immune system would recognize the encoded viral protein and develop antibodies and immune memory so that the immune system would attack the coronavirus when entering the body.

The impact:

The work of Drs. Kariko, Weissman and Cullis enabled the rapid availability of highly effective and safe COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, which has become an important tool for the control of COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly their pivotal discoveries also have the potential to revolutionize the future delivery of effective and safe vaccines, therapeutics and gene therapies. The success of the mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 suggests paths forward for similar vaccines for viral threats like influenza or HIV. Clinical trials are already underway to test mRNA vaccines to prevent diseases, caused by Zika virus, chikungunya and rabies infections.

The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are built on over 30 years of established scientific research and highlight the importance of basic and applied research, and international collaboration.

2022 John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award

The 2022 John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award laureate Is recognized for outstanding achievements in global health research:

Zulfiqar Bhutta MBBS,DCH, FRCP, FRCPCH, FCPS, FAAP, PhD

Robert Harding Chair in Global Child Health, Co-Director, SickKids Centre for Global Child Health, Senior Scientist The Hospital for Sick Children; Professor Department of Pediatrics, Nutritional Sciences, and Public Health, University of Toronto; Founding Director, Center of Excellence in Women and Child Health and Institute for Global Health and Development, The Aga Khan University South-Central Asia, East Africa, United Kingdom

Awarded "For the development and evaluation of evidence-based interventions in child and maternal health for marginalized populations, focusing on outcomes for the 'first thousand days' of life."

The work:

Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta's career has focused on the improvement of child and maternal health and nutrition among marginalized and rural populations, using evidence based strategies and interventions to improve outcomes in the "first thousand days" of life (pregnancy, childbirth, and the first two years of life). Developing a unique collaboration between centres in Pakistan, United Kingdom and Canada, Bhutta has mobilized cluster randomized effectiveness trials (cRCTs) to gather data used to shape and improve intervention packages for community based maternal and newborn care, nutrition, and early childhood development.

The impact:

Dr. Bhutta's work has been the foundation of multiple international guidelines, including changing WHO policy on the treatment of persistent diarrhea and malnutrition along with establishing lady health workers (LHW) as foundational members of community-based interventions in Pakistan, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Further, his work provided the basis for the "Lancet 10" nutritional interventions used to inform global policy on malnutrition. Over the last two decades, his work on evidence-based interventions has helped guide global action plans to improve newborn health and survival. His rigorous approach to investigation has also challenged conventional wisdom, illustrating both the possibilities and limitations of vital interventions like community health workers.

Dr. Bhutta has worked extensively in low resource areas, using sustainable interventions that are available and affordable to disadvantaged populations. Through systematic investigation and analysis, he has established the foundations for current understandings of maternal and child health in rural, remote and conflict affected regions, and improved the survival and outcomes of world's most vulnerable women and children.

2022 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award

The 2022 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award laureate is a Canadian scientist recognized for outstanding leadership in medicine and medical science throughout their career:

Deborah J. Cook, MD, FRCPC, MSc (Epid), FRSC, OC

Distinguished University Professor of the Departments of Medicine, and of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact of McMaster University; Fellow, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences; Fellow, Royal Society of Canada; Officer, Order of Canada; critical care physician of St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton

Awarded "For pioneering research that has developed and defined evidence-based critical care medicine in Canada, informing best practices around the world."

The work:

As the foremost authority in critical care medicine and health research methodology, Dr. Cook's 30-year contributions to the design and the conduct of practice-changing clinical studies have led to major improvements in the care of hospital's sickest patients. Her multi-method multi-disciplinary research interests include advanced life support, prevention of ICU-acquired complications, research ethics and end-of-life care.

She has addressed complex ethical challenges as patients receiving technology transition from life to death through the internationally-adopted '3 Wishes Project'. This unique inter-professional model of end-of-life care encourages clinicians with different backgrounds to improve the dying experience for hospitalized patients by honouring their lives, easing family grief, and fostering humanism in practice. The 3 Wishes Project helps to identify and meet the needs of patients dying in hospital by eliciting and fulfilling final meaningful wishes for them, which has proven particularly helpful during the pandemic as family visits are limited for hospitalized patients, including those at the end-of-life.

Dr. Cook was a founding member of the first successful critical care research collaboration in the world  the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group  which flourished under her leadership as chair and champion of patient-centred investigator-initiated research.

The impact:

Dr. Cook's research has helped to alleviate the enormous human and economic costs of critical illness for patients, families, healthcare systems and society. Dr. Cook has designed and conducted several landmark national and international studies on how best to prevent common and often lethal complications of critical illness such as blood clots, lung infections and gastrointestinal bleeding, providing key evidence for reviews and guidelines used at the bedside worldwide. She has passionately improved the field of critical care, reducing morbidity and saving lives in the ICU, impacting critical care practice across the globe. She has also championed compassionate end-of-life care models that impact families, patients and care providers.

Over her career, Dr. Cook has garnered dozens of national and international honours recognizing her outstanding contributions to critical care research. Her research focuses on creating measurable health, social and economic benefits for patients needing advanced life support. Her pioneering research has transformed critical care medicine and has had an enduring global impact on patients, practice, and policy.

About the Gairdner Foundation:

The Gairdner Foundation was established in 1957 by Toronto stockbroker, James Gairdner to award annual prizes to scientists whose discoveries have had major impact on scientific progress and on human health. Since 1959 when the first awards were granted, 402 scientists have received a Canada Gairdner Award and 96 to date have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize. The Canada Gairdner Awards promote a stronger culture of research and innovation across the country through our outreach programs including lectures and research symposia. The programs bring current and past laureates to universities across Canada to speak with faculty, trainees and high school students to inspire the next generation of researchers. Annual research symposia and public lectures are organized across Canada to provide Canadians access to leading science through Gairdner's convening power. Gairdner is supported nationally by the Government of Canada.

https://gairdner.org/

SOURCE Gairdner Foundation

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2022/05/c5172.html
Munich-based Beta Film has closed a raft of major deals over Europe and beyond on Spanish TV dramas You Shall Not Lie and La Fortuna, two of the most successful recent originals produced by Movistar Plus, Spains biggest pay-TV/SVOD operator.

Both series have been sold to Italys RAI and to HBO for its platform HBO Max for Eastern Europe, Benelux, the Nordics, Netherlands, and Portugal, among other territories.

More from Variety

A six-part thriller by Pau Freixas, co-creator of The Red Band Society, You Shall Not Lie was sold to RTL Deutschland for Germany, where it will premiere on its streaming platform RTL Plus this spring.

In France, the drama has been picked up by M6 with an exclusive window for its SVOD service Salto. Furthermore, Antenna TV secured rights for Greece and Cyprus, as well as Blue TV for Turkey.

Produced by Movistar Plus in collaboration with Filmax, You Shall Not Lie is set in an upscale, coastal Belmonte, where the story circles around high school teacher Macarena, played by The Piers Irene Arcos. Her life falls apart when a video, showing her and one of her students in a compromising situation, goes viral.

La Fortuna, Oscar-winning director Alejandro Amenabars first-ever series, landed on Sky Deutschland for Germany. SBS took it for Australia, and AMC secured rights for Portugal.

Fox, The Walt Disney Company digital service, will stream in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands before the adventure series lands on Disney Plus.

Starring The Lovely Bones Stanley Tucci and Da 5 Bloods Clarke Peters, La Fortuna has also been sold by Beta to Nova for Greece and Cyprus, Blue TV for Turkey, and Shahid for the Middle Eastern territories, among others.

Story continues

La Fortuna is produced by Movistar Plus with AMC Studios and in collaboration with MOD Pictures, whose credits include Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritus Biutiful and Amenabars own Agora.

The six-part adventure thriller, inspired by the true-life events, follows rookie diplomat Alex and free-spirited archival clerk Lucia, who form a highly unlikely team to recover the biggest sunken treasure in history from a modern-day pirate, played by Tucci.

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France has voiced its concern over information that hundreds of civilians have been killed in the Malian village of Moura in an operation by elements of the armed forces accompanied by Russian mercenaries.

The French foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday that: "France is deeply concerned by information of mass abuses in the village of Moura by elements of the Malian armed forces accompanied by Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group, which are said to have caused the death of hundreds of civilians."

On Friday, Mali's army said that it had killed 203 combatants in an operation in Moura late last month, which it termed a "terrorist fiefdom."

Calls for investigation to bring killers to justice

The announcement came as numerous social media reports in Mali this week alleged that dozens of people, including civilians, had been killed in Moura.

The army's alleged death toll and the social media reports about civilian deaths remain unverified.

The French statement called for the rapid opening of "national and international investigations" to bring the perpetrators of the killings to justice.

"The fight against terrorist groups operating in the Sahel can in no way justify violations of human rights," the ministry said.

"Indiscriminate violence against civilian populations only strengthens these groups," it added.

EU says anti-terror operations no excuse for rights violations

The EU also said Monday that it was "very worried" about reports of a massacre in Moura, urging Mali to allow investigators to access the region.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the reports of abuses "very worrying," adding "The fight against terrorism can in no way justify massive human rights violations."

France announced in February that it was withdrawing its troops from Mali after a breakdown in relations with the country's ruling junta, ending a near 10-year deployment.

Anger in Paris about the alleged arrival of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group, which analysts say has close ties to the Kremlin, also hastened the French departure.
ILUS International Inc.

NEW YORK, NY, April 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- ILUS International Inc (OTC: ILUS) is a Mergers and Acquisitions company focused on acquiring and developing public safety technology-based companies across the globe. Following submission of its 2021 annual filings and Share Structure update by the required date, the company now wishes to summarize current progress and outline some expected highlights for the second quarter of 2022.



ILUS previously announced that its audit by AJSH & Co LLP is underway. The company expects its audit and subsequent name change to Ilus International Inc. to be completed during the summer of 2022, following which it plans to up list to the OTCQB. ILUS confirmed that these plans are running concurrently to plans for its subsidiaries such as Emergency Response Technologies, which are also in progress.

Having completed three acquisitions during the first quarter of 2022, ILUS also made significant sales progress within its group. Overall performance was strong, and the company achieved its first quarter targets, laying a solid foundation to exceed 2022 projections. ILUS will submit its filings for the first quarter when required on the 15thof May 2022. During the first quarter, ILUS completed the acquisitions of Vira Drones, KurveXR and Georgia Fire and Rescue Supply.

ILUS announced part of its European Phase 1 deal in Cacak, Serbia on the 31st of March 2022. The company plans to announce substantially more information once it takes occupation of the site. This information will include the deal structure for ILUS EV Technologies in Serbia and its enormous benefits to ILUS. The company will also outline more detailed growth plans for the site as well as release photos and videos of the facilities.

Following the Serbian elections which were held yesterday, with incumbent President Vucic remaining in power, ILUS expects its larger European Phase 2 deal to complete during the second quarter of 2022. With the strong support of the Serbian Government, ILUS is confident that the deal should progress smoothly following the elections. The Phase 2 deal is expected to include several phased emergency response and defense contracts.

Story continues

During the first quarter of 2022, ILUS completed further acquisition negotiations, with some Letters of Intent signed. The primary focus for the second quarter remains on the progress of ILUS Emergency Response Technologies (ERT) subsidiary. In addition to previously discussed acquisition plans, during the second quarter, ILUS is planning to complete the acquisition of a significant wildfire company with sales in 70 countries, including the US. The company is also planning to complete the acquisition of a well-established and rapidly expanding US based emergency response communications company. ILUS is also continuing with its due diligence on a potential acquisition with over $100m in annual revenue.

In terms of progress with current ILUS acquisitions, according to the groups sales forecasts for the second quarter, the outlook is very positive. Although there are still supply backlogs due to ongoing shipping and related logistics issues, travel has finally opened up, making it easier for demonstrations to take place and projects that have been stuck in the sales pipeline to progress. The teams at BCD Fire and KurveXR are currently negotiating large orders which are expected in the second quarter. In addition to this, FireBug, The Vehicle Converters and BCD Fire are currently discussing orders for large projects linked to the $500 billion NEOM smart city project in Saudi Arabia. In the US, Bull Head Products is expecting to receive two significant new manufacturing contracts during the second quarter, following successful proof of concept builds which are currently underway.

During the month of April 2022, Georgia Fire and Rescue supply will be moving into its new 9,000 square foot facility. This move will double the area of its current facility, providing much needed stockholding capability to fulfil the current increased demand and to hold stock of additional product lines, including those from FireBug and Bull Head Products. Bull Head Products is having a new 15,000 square foot facility built, with the building expected to be completed in six to seven months time. This would be in line with scale up plans for new manufacturing contracts that are in negotiation.

From the 28th to 30th of April 2022, ILUS will be exhibiting technology from Georgia Fire and Rescue Supply, FireBug, KurveXR, 911Inform and a new range of wildland firefighting equipment at the FDIC Conference in Indianapolis. From the 20th to 25th of June 2022, the company will then exhibit more technology, including the M500 rescue drone from Vira Drones at Interschutz in Hannover, Germany.

During its January 2022 Annual Shareholders Meeting, ILUS announced plans to create a Defense subsidiary. Using its existing capability to manufacture products for the defense sector, the company has already been manufacturing firefighting equipment and vehicles for the defense sector, however, this will soon be supplemented by defense acquisitions. ILUS is currently working on a significant defense acquisition, with discussions progressing well thus far. The targeted acquisition is strategically aligned with revolutionary technology and has a large pipeline of global sales.

ILUS confirms its plans to offer Shareholders the opportunity to lock shares up in a preference category. Within weeks, the company will release information on the details and incentives for Shareholders to lock up their shares in a preference category for a defined period. Following release of the information during the month of April 2022, interested Shareholders will be offered the opportunity to register their interest for the Share lock up, which is expected to commence during the second quarter of 2022. ILUS is currently working through the incentives and roll out plan with its attorneys, factoring in the considerations and incentives related to ERT and other ILUS subsidiaries, given the immense progress that the company is making in this regard. ILUS plans to announce an attractive incentive benefit to Shareholders and the subsequent share lock up is expected to cause a reduction in outstanding common shares.

ILUS Managing Director, John-Paul Backwell, commented: As stated in the most recent Shareholder Q&A released this past weekend, we have accomplished a great deal in only 15 months, although we do believe that the next 6 months will be even more exciting for ILUS and its Shareholders. With everything from completion of the European deals, tremendous acquisitions, contract awards, ERT plans coming to fruition and so much more, it is crunch time for the ILUS team and we have never been more excited.

For further information on the companies, please see their communication channels:

Website: https://ilus-group.com

Twitter: OTC_ILUS

Contact:

Email:IR@Ilus-Group.com

Source: ILUS

Related Links

https://ilus-group.com

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain information set forth in this press release contains "forward-looking information", including "future-oriented financial information" and "financial outlook", under applicable securities laws (collectively referred to herein as forward-looking statements). Except for statements of historical fact, the information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements and includes, but is not limited to, the (i) projected financial performance of the Company; (ii) completion of, and the use of proceeds from, the sale of the shares being offered hereunder; (iii) the expected development of the Company's business, projects, and joint ventures; (iv) execution of the Company's vision and growth strategy, including with respect to future M&A activity and global growth; (v) sources and availability of third-party financing for the Company's projects; (vi) completion of the Company's projects that are currently underway, in development or otherwise under consideration; (vi) renewal of the Company's current customer, supplier and other material agreements; and (vii) future liquidity, working capital, and capital requirements. Forward-looking statements are provided to allow potential investors the opportunity to understand management's beliefs and opinions in respect of the future so that they may use such beliefs and opinions as one factor in evaluating an investment. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or result expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although forward-looking statements contained in this presentation are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has provided guidance to issuers regarding the use of social media to disclose material non-public information. In this regard, investors and others should note that we announce material financial information via official Press Releases, in addition to SEC filings, press releases, Questions & Answers sessions, public conference calls and webcastsalso may take time from time to time. We use these channels as well as social media to communicate with the public about our company, our services, and other issues. It is possible that the information we post on social media could be deemed to be material information. Therefore, considering the SEC's guidance, we encourage investors, the media, and others interested in our company to review the information we post on the following social &media channels:

website: https://ilus-group.com Twitter: OTC_ILUS

Note: ILUS Coin does not sit within ILUS International Inc (Ilustrato Pictures International Inc), so the public are recommended to follow the correct Media Channels relating to the public company OTC: ILUS.




Online Learning

Champlain College Using InSpace Collaboration Platform to Enhance Online Learning Experiences

Vermont's Champlain College is expanding the use of InSpace, a video collaboration tool, in its online learning division. Students studying at Champlain College Online (CCO) will be able to engage with one another as well as with academic advisers in the platform's fully virtual environment, much like they would in physical spaces.

Conceived by Champlain data science and machine learning professor Narine Hall and spun off into a private company, InSpace provides a virtual environment in which each participant is represented by a video circle. Users can click and drag their video circle to move around the space, join breakout rooms, and converse with others. CCO has been using the platform since fall 2020 for faculty and student communication, peer collaboration and networking, and now plans to roll out the technology across all asynchronous courses. The platform will essentially serve as a full virtual campus, allowing online students to "experience all aspects of the Burlington, Vermont campus including a variety of campus buildings with event live-streaming, library spaces, staff and databases, orientations, panel discussions, wellness events, and more," according to a news announcement.

"We received feedback from our students that their sense of community and having a connection to the physical campus is of the utmost importance to them," said Johnna Herrick-Phelps, vice president of online learning at Champlain College Online, in a statement. "Using InSpace, students are able to communicate in new dynamic ways, create and foster collaboration, and a sense of community and connection to the brick-and-mortar college."

"When we started InSpace two years ago, our mission was to take the technology out of the way and let instructors and students connect and learn virtually," added Hall, who also serves as CEO and co-founder of InSpace. "The most innovative and forward-thinking institutions are seeking differentiated and effective video collaboration and learning partners like InSpace as a competitive advantage for their online courses."
Help wanted: Teachers.

Across the United States the teaching profession, one historically considered critical to the future of the country, has been struggling to find the next wave of educators or simply to fill existing positions. The number of students going into teacher education programs dropped from 11% of college students in 2000 to 4.3% in 2018.

Partially as a result, Wisconsin K-12 schools made 2,805 emergency teacher hires in 2019-20, rising to nearly 3,700 in 2020 when the pandemic began, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Every state had teacher shortages in 2020.

Although the situation could improve as the pandemic wanes, the impacts of fewer high school graduates going into teaching fields will be felt for years to come, said Deanna Schultz, director of the School of Education at University of Wisconsin-Stout.

The door is open for jobs in many teaching disciplines. UW-Stout provides seven four-year programs as well as options for those with professional experience seeking certification and a teachers license.

Nearly every community has a public school and they provide stable jobs with good pay and benefits, plus a schedule that allows parents to be on a schedule similar to their children. It is a great career for a high school student to consider, as well as someone who likes working with young people and is considering a career change, Schultz said.

We have education students who are passionate about teaching and bring excitement to the classroom. As we emerge from the pandemic, we are seeing some increased interest in education as a career, Schultz added.

In November, the university held its first Teach Day, a daylong program to help high school students explore a teaching career. The School of Education hopes to expand the event to include students interested in all teacher education discipline areas offered at UW-Stout.

A resource for those interested in teaching is coming up. The virtual Wisconsin Education Recruitment Fair is from 3 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 31. Participants can talk with school districts across the state and U.S. about position openings.

A degree opens the doors to teach and prepares students to make a difference in the lives of children and young adults.

Our approach to learning prepares students to walk into that first classroom and be ready. Im so proud of our faculty and staff and what they do to prepare students for working in our K-12 school systems, Schultz said.

School performance is typically measured by students academic performance, and having qualified teachers in each classroom positively impacts student performance.

Allison Rigotti graduated from UW-Stout in 2019 with a degree in marketing and business education. She was hired in the Melrose-Mindoro school district, in west-central Wisconsin. In fall 2021, she received the Early Career Teacher of the Year award from the Wisconsin Marketing Education Association.

The teachers and mentors (at UW-Stout) are amazing. They are all so devoted to seeing students succeed. That makes it easy to get excited about the major and get excited about teaching, Rigotti said.

Teacher education programs at UW-Stout engage students in their major the first year with hands-on opportunities and small class sizes.

Brianna North, of Greenwood, is a senior majoring in early childhood education and plans to become certified to teach through the sixth grade level. I really like the polytechnic and hands-on experiences. Its the reason I looked into Stout and only Stout, North said.

UW-Stouts teacher education majors have a 99% employment rate within six months of graduating.

Online programs offer flexibility

To support adult and place-bound learners who are interested in teaching, UW-Stout offers five of its seven undergraduate teaching programs online. The UW System recently approved an online program for early childhood education, which also is offered on campus.

The online programs have grown each year and are serving adult learners well, Schultz said. These programs serve individuals who may already be working in schools on emergency licenses or adults who are changing careers.

We pride ourselves in creating an engaging online learning environment for our students, Schultz added, citing student discussions, robust faculty feedback and technical support from Stout Online.

The university works closely with technical colleges to help students transfer credits, work toward a bachelors degree and become certified to teach.

The School of Education also has five Graduate School programs, along with numerous education certificates and add-on teaching certifications.

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RACINE  A Racine County Jail correctional officer is facing criminal charges for allegedly providing marijuana and alcohol to an inmate. He has since been fired.

The former CO has been identified as Joseph Michael Ammons of Milwaukee. He has been charged with felony misconduct in public office, felony delivery of marijuana in a jail and two counts of felony delivery of illegal articles to an inmate.

As of Monday afternoon, Ammons was back in the jail, this time as an inmate.

According to a criminal complaint filed Monday, on March 2, Ammons "was acting very suspicious during his shift at the Racine County Jail."

He allegedly once asked to work on a different floor, was told he "could not switch assignments," but then later went to that cell block (2B) anyway and asked the correctional officer on that floor if they "needed assistance," and was told no again.

Ammons then "insisted on doing a guard check of the dayrooms in block 2B," the complaint states, at which point "Ammons went straight to dayroom two and went to cell 11, in the middle of the dayroom, and motioned for the acting CO on the floor to open the cell."

He went into the cell and came out "a few minutes" later, the complaint says. The explanation he gave after the fact was that he saw "a blanket was hanging up," but the floor's correctional officer "knew that was not true as he had performed a guard check not long before this."

A Racine County Sheriff's Office sergeant was called and a shakedown of the cellblock was carried out.

In the cell Ammons had entered, officers reported finding "a bag that looked like Hot Cheetos with a THC sign on the outside" in addition to "a bag of Dank Gummies THC infused," and two other bags of THC-infused gummies.

The Racine County Sheriff's Office, which operates the jail, reported that all of those substances tested positive for a presence of THC and weighed a total of 182.5 grams (6.438 ounces).

Ammons also allegedly provided a Pepsi bottle that smelled of alcohol.

The complaint continues: "Ammons was spoken to about his actions. Ammons first stated he only went to 2B to talk to some of the guys. He eventually stated that he brought in some weed gummies for inmate Donley Carey," who is accused of murdering someone he believed to be an informant.

"Ammons said he knows Carey from the outside due to his relationship with his father," the complaint continues. "Ammons said 'He got to me.' Ammons was asked if anyone threatened him or his family and he said no. He was asked if he brought any weapons into the jail and he said no. Ammons was allowed to exit the jail and turned over his work ID, door access card, computer fob and duty belt."

A deputy reported that he later went to Ammons' residence in Milwaukee, but he was not at home. Later, when a deputy called Ammons and identified himself, Ammons allegedly "immediately hung up the phone."

During a Monday afternoon court hearing, Ammons was ordered to have no contact with Carey and for him to be placed on house arrest with GPS monitoring, with a $120 fee being required to be paid before Ammons would be released from the Racine County Jail. A $1,000 cash bond was also ordered.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. April 20.

The criminal complaint did not state when or how Ammons was taken into custody.

Donley Carey

Carey is facing a charge of intentional first-degree homicide related to the shooting death of DeMarcus Anderson on Feb. 25, 2020, at the Sin City Biker Club at the southeast corner of Ninth Street and South Memorial Drive.

Minutes before a jury was to begin deliberations after a trial in Carey's case in January, a mistrial was called when Judge Maureen Martinez found that statements made by Carey's defense attorneys in closing statements violated the rules.

Carey is still in jail. A new jury trial is scheduled to begin June 20.

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Four months until the fall partisan primary, some statewide Republican candidates are objecting to their party's endorsement process, prompting the state party to consider for the first time in more than a decade a "no endorsement" option at next month's party convention.

The party discourse further underscores a divided GOP seeking to take back the governor's office and hold on to a U.S. Senate seat  with some, including anti-establishment gubernatorial candidate Kevin Nicholson and a growing number of county parties, calling for an end to the endorsement process completely.

Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said he anticipates the conventions rules committee will meet before the May convention in Middleton to determine whether or not to allow a no endorsement option on the upcoming ballot.

I expect there will probably be a vote by the full convention as to whether a no endorsement option is allowed on the ballot," he said. "No matter what the rules committee decides, I expect the convention attendees will take up that question and vote on it.

The Republican Party of Wisconsin's 2022 endorsement policy was approved by the party's executive committee in December and stipulates that candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general must raise by March 15 at least $50,000 in campaign donations from at least 300 individual donors  not including contributions from the candidate, their immediate family or most political action committees. Candidates for governor or U.S. Senate must raise at least $100,000 from at least 1,000 individual donors.

The party's executive committee will determine the full list of names to be included on the endorsement ballot in the coming weeks.

Lancaster Mayor David Varnam, who announced his campaign for lieutenant governor in August, said he fell about $24,000 and 65 individual donors short of the state party's threshold. Varnam, who is vice chair of the Grant County Republican Party, said he campaigned in nearly 50 Wisconsin counties and has received key endorsements from groups like Wisconsin Right to Life PAC and Wisconsin Family Action PAC  factors he said should be weighed when determining a candidate's viability.

"I think the bottom line is that the standard was too high," Varnam said. "Viability means more than how much money you raised."

Lieutenant governor candidate Ben Voelkel, a former senior aide to U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson who met the necessary threshold to seek the party's endorsement, said he thinks it's a mistake to limit the number of candidates who are able to speak at the convention, which will be attended by hundreds of county delegates from across Wisconsin.

"I just think that sends the wrong message and I think its a mistake and I hope the party reconsiders," said Voelkel. "Im hopeful they will make sure as many voices as possible can be represented."

Close to two dozen county parties, including the Republican Party of Dane County, have called on the state party to allow delegates to choose not to endorse any candidate or skip the endorsement process completely.

Nicholson told the state Republican Party in February he was not seeking an endorsement and urged the party not to endorse any candidates before the primary. However, he later asked that delegates consider including his name on the endorsement ballot, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Nicholson reiterated in a statement to supporters Friday that he opposes the state party's endorsement process, but said he has asked that his name be included on the ballot as a stand-in for a "no endorsement" option.

Established policy

The state party's constitution requires an endorsement vote for any statewide race. While the party used to allow a "no endorsement" option, that was removed in 2009. Candidates must secure 60% of delegate's votes to receive an endorsement.

Eliminating the endorsement process entirely would require an amendment to the partys constitution, which could not occur before Mays convention, Jefferson said.

If they want to amend it for future years, that is a path that can be pursued by the party leaders and the grassroots," he said.

The fundraising threshold is designed to ensure that all candidates who speak at the upcoming convention have the support to conduct a viable statewide campaign. Other viability qualifications require a candidate to have filed all necessary paperwork, be in good standing with their respective county Republican party and have an established campaign plan demonstrating their ability to mount a statewide run for office.

The grassroots want to give the candidates a fair chance to get their message out and I think the candidates owe the grassroots in return assurances that they can run a competitive race and win," Jefferson said. "I think it boils down to that.

A notice of the threshold requirements was sent to all candidates on Jan. 14, two months before the deadline to meet that goal.

'Stacks the deck'

"That automatically puts a huge obstacle in my way," said Kyle Yudes, who joined the race for lieutenant governor in October.

Yudes, a political newcomer from Eau Claire, said the funding threshold unfairly favors candidates like Sens. Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point, and Roger Roth, R-Appleton, who are able to transfer funds from their previous campaign efforts into their lieutenant governor campaign. Testin joined the race back in September while Roth, a former Senate president and congressional candidate, entered the race in February.

It really stacks the deck against somebody like me or a lesser-known candidate," Yudes said. "Thats just not right."

Johnathan Wichmann launched his campaign for governor about two years ago before switching to the lieutenant governor race in February. Wichmann said he made the shift after Rep. Timothy Ramthun, R-Campbellsport, joined the gubernatorial race, which Wichmann said would likely split their votes in the primary.

Wichmann, who also has been invited to speak at the state's convention, said a fundraising requirement ensures that any candidate on the endorsement ballot has proven their ability to be viable in a statewide election.

"I understand a minimum donation threshold," Wichmann said. "If youre running for a statewide office and you can only raise $2,000-$3,000, who are we kidding, right?

"The ones who are making the biggest stink about it are the ones who didnt qualify or didnt get enough support," he added. "They understand (a party endorsement) is a bonus. I just feel theyre making a big stink because they didnt get enough traction."

Wichmann did take issue with allowing established lawmakers to transfer funds from previous efforts into a new campaign.

"If youre already an elected official and you decide to change lanes  say youre a senator and you want to go for lieutenant governor  I think you should start from scratch like everyone else," he added.

Testin, who said he raised more than $200,000 after successfully defending his Senate seat in 2020, said it's up to the state party's executive committee to determine who will, and will not, be on the endorsement ballot, but he added it's ultimately the voters who decide.

"We still have a primary that will take place, regardless of if theres an endorsement or not," Testin said. "It does open a lot of doors and resources that otherwise might not be there if they are not endorsed.

Roth did not respond to a request for comment.

The winners of the Aug. 9 GOP primaries for lieutenant governor and governor will be paired together for the Nov. 8 general election to face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who is seeking a second term.

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The delivery of Judith Rasmussens Braille ballot was stalled in the mail.

Rasmussen, who is blind, said she has always used Braille ballots to vote since they were first offered by the Madison Clerks Office, one of only a few offices that create the ballots in Wisconsin.

Ahead of the April 5 election, she requested her Braille ballot and was told that it had been put in the mail by the clerks office on March 16. When it still had not arrived a week later, she requested and received a typical absentee ballot. But she couldnt fill that out herself: theres no way for a blind person can read it.

So she called a friend who had to come over to her apartment and read the ballot out to her. She replied how she wanted the ballot filled out on her behalf, and she had to trust that friend to be honest in filling out the ballot and not making any mistakes. Then, she had him put the ballot into an envelope so she could drop it into the outgoing mail in her apartment building.

By having to rely on someone else to help her vote, Rasmussen gave up the privacy that most voters have over their ballot.

By having to rely on the United States Postal Service to deliver her ballot, Rasmussens ability to have her vote count could have been lost entirely. She does not know if it will have arrived by the end of the day Tuesday, the deadline for absentee ballots to have arrived.

Mailing it this time, I did put it in my outgoing mail a week ago. But our mail in Madison goes all the way to Milwaukee before it comes back here to be distributed, she said in a Monday phone interview. Im unsure whether it will be delivered by (Tuesday) to be counted.

Being able to vote absentee is an important provision for people with vision impairment and vision loss. Being able to vote at the polls is equally important, said Denise Jess, executive director of the Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired, where Rasmussen works. We (people who have visual impairment) have so many transportation and access barriers.

Jess called it "a huge benefit" to allow ballots to be delivered on behalf of another because "if I trust you and I put my ballot into your hands, then I know my vote will count.

"If I put my ballot out in a mailbox, even then I have to trust the postal network," she continued. It leaves us intensely vulnerable."

How Braille ballots work According to Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired Executive Director Denise Jess, just 2% of visually impaired and blind people actually can read Braille. Just saying Heres a Braille ballot is not sufficient" to allow people who have a visual impairment to vote, Jess said. Jess has been visually impaired since birth but never learned to read Braille. She said she prefers to vote in person, using the specialized technology required to be available at polling places. It keeps polling places accountable and ensures that she, as a blind person, is seen by the public. Still, for some voters, like Judith Rasmussen, absentee ballots in Braille are the preferred mode of voting. I can do it by feel. Heres how it works: Each races title and the names of the candidates are "printed" in Braille. Then, next to each name is a vertical line of raised dots. The voter is instructed to use a pen to write over the raised dots. Because Braille takes up more space than print and also requires specific paper, those ballots tend to be significantly bigger and are not fed into voting machines. Instead, when a Braille ballot is delivered to a polling place, the ballot will be remade by a poll worker on a separate ballot, which then can be fed into the machine in place of the Braille ballot. At polling places, it is common for accessible voting machines to be made available, which often have headsets through which visually impaired voters can listen to ballots read aloud and use a tactile device to make selections. Thats one of the few ways visually impaired voters can be sure their vote is secret. With Braille voting or absentee voting with assistance from another, the voter is entrusting another person to transcribe their desires correctly and honestly.

Overlapping laws

Laws in recent decades have aimed to make it easier for people with disabilities to vote. But the changes have been questioned and challenged by some who fear election fraud if laws are loosened too much.

The result has been inconsistent interpretations of state law, as seen in Wisconsin during the ongoing spring election.

If someone were to try to deliver an absentee ballot, such as their spouse or friend or anyone else, to the village halls of Mount Pleasant or Caledonia, election officials there would reject it. They say the voter or the USPS, must be the one to deliver the ballot.

In the City of Racine, if the person delivering the ballot says that they are "an authorized representative" of the voter, then the ballot will be accepted.

Advocates for both sides of Racine's interpretation say that the relevant state law is unambiguous in their favor.

It reads, in part, that "the envelope (containing the absentee ballot) shall be mailed by the elector, or delivered in person, to the municipal clerk issuing the ballot or ballots."

Those opposed to how Racine is interpreting the law point out that state law does not explicitly allow ballots to be delivered on behalf of another person, and thus shouldnt be allowed.

Those on the City of Racines side argue that the law does not preclude having someone else deliver your ballot. They also cite the federal Voting Rights Act which states that "any voter who requires assistance to vote by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write may be given assistance by a person of the voters choice, other than the voters employer or agent of that employer or officer or agent of the voters union."

In court

One Waukesha County judge ruled in January that, under his reading of the law, ballot harvesting/delivering ballots on behalf of another in Wisconsin is illegal.

That judge, Michael Bohren, also issued an injunction that bars the Wisconsin Election Commission from giving advisement that indicates it is legal how ballots can be delivered on behalf of another, that injunction is not binding to any of the more than 1,800 clerks statewide charged with running Wisconsin's elections.

The case is expected to be settled by the Wisconsin Supreme Court this summer.

Wanggaard: State law being violated

State Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, alleges that the City of Racine is violating state law and has taken to publicly criticizing the citys policies.

The City of Racine is willfully ignoring state law when it comes to absentee ballots, he said in a Sunday afternoon news release that called for "sanctions" on Racine Mayor Cory Mason and/or City Clerk Tara Coolidge."

In a follow-up phone interview Monday, he said: You cant deliver anyone elses ballot, period.

After noting the federal law that the city is citing, Wanggaard replied: First of all, this isnt a federal election. On Tuesday, only local elections and referendums, and regional court judge seats, are on ballots in Wisconsin.

Wanggaard then said that the citys policy is not making any distinction between if the voter is someone who is an average voter or who has one of those issues, such as those who are blind or have a physical disability.

For someone to designate another to deliver their ballot, citing the federal law allowing it for those with disabilities, Wanggaard said the person delivering the ballot should have to prove that youve got a blind person that theyre doing that for.

The City Clerk's office says it is taking those delivering ballots at their word, without seeking proof of another party's disability.

Racine is advocating for ballot harvesting, Wanggaard continued, referring to the practice of one person collecting a number of absentee ballots and delivering them all to a clerks office at once. That is illegal. That is not the intent of the law. Theres plenty of opportunity for people to vote  there are so many ways that people are allowed to vote, and people get a little bit ridiculous.

On dropboxes Judith Rasmussen said that in 2020, at the peak of COVID-19 fears, she once dropped off an absentee ballot in a dropbox to vote. Dropboxes are not currently being used anywhere for voting in Wisconsin, although they were used widely in both right-leaning and left-leaning areas leading up to the 2020 election. One time during the pandemic, some friends did pick me up, drove me to the dropbox, where she was able to drop her Braille ballot into the dropbox herself, Rasmussen said. The dropboxes are a good idea  The more people who can vote in this democracy, the better. Many Wisconsin Republicans are looking to ban ballot dropboxes, while state Sen. Kathy Bernier, a Republican who previously worked as a local clerk, has proposed allowing but limiting their use to four dropboxes at most per municipality.

'Intensely vulnerable'

Jess said it is absurd for it to be legal to have someone assist you with filling out your ballot, but then have it be illegal for that same person to drive it over to a polling place and drop it off.

Its a huge barrier, Jess said. For many folks with disabilities  because we do not drive, getting that ballot to the clerks can be a challenge.

Responding to Wanggaard's complaint, Coolidge said in an email: "The City of Racine is accepting absentee ballots in person from the voter, or an agent or authorized representative of the voter. Those returning absentee ballots in person have been asked to answer if they are the voter or an agent or authorized representative of the voter, if they state no they have been turned away and the ballot was not accepted."

Coolidge continued: "I have long fought for EVERY (Coolidge's emphasis) citizen who is legally able to vote to have an opportunity to vote. This includes Americans with disabilities who may be unable to physically return their ballot. I refuse to be the obstacle that prevents Americans with disabilities from submitting their absentee ballots. Although I am not a policy maker, nor an elected official, I take democracy extremely seriously and wish those on either side of the aisle would fact check prior to making announcements that attempt to tarnish the integrity of our democratic process."

She added that neither "Sen. Wanggaard nor his staff called or contacted the City of Racine Clerks Office."

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By Trend

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again expressed his readiness to meet with Russia's President Vladimir Putin but didn't rule out that the meeting might not take place, Trend reports citing Ukrainian media.

According to the president, it is necessary for Ukraine to have a stronger position than Russia in such talks, therefore all the country needs is unity.

He outlined the importance of 'choosing the next move'.

The issue will not be about whether you want the negotiations or not. There will certainly be an issue of negotiations. So, all that matters is how strong you will be at the negotiating table. And it depends precisely on these important points, Zelenskyy told reporters during the telethon.
The interim chancellor of UW-Whitewater resigned Monday in a move that other university leaders said was "unexpected."

Jim Henderson, who took over as leader of the 11,500-student university last July, said in a statement that one of his goals as interim chancellor was to help hire the best chancellor for the long-term success of UW-Whitewater.

Over the past few days it has become clear to me that I cannot make progress on that goal," he said.

But a search hasn't yet begun and just this fall, University of Wisconsin System President Tommy Thompson said at a UW Board of Regents meeting that Henderson had agreed to extend his service for a second year.

The System named Provost John Chenoweth as the next interim chancellor effective Tuesday. He has worked at UW-Whitewater since 2002, including a stint as dean of the College of Business and Economics. He has served as the university's deputy leader since last summer.

This is an unexpected situation, but I am confident that Provost Chenoweth will maintain continuity at UW-Whitewater, interim System President Michael Falbo said in a statement. I thank Jim for his service.

Henderson was the System's vice president for academic and student affairs from 2016 through 2018 and also served as interim UW-Madison provost in the summer of 2019. He did not immediately respond to an interview request made through a university spokesperson.

Regents President Ed Manydeeds is expected to provide an update on a search for a new permanent chancellor at a Thursday meeting on the UW-Stevens Point campus.

Henderson's resignation is the latest in a string of leadership shake-ups at UW-Whitewater.

The previous chancellor, Dwight Watson, resigned last year because of a cancer diagnosis. The year prior, the System investigated him after a former student at a previous job accused him of sexual misconduct. Investigators found the accusations to be without merit.

Watson's predecessor, Beverly Kopper, resigned after a System investigation found her husband had sexually harassed students and university employees, leading one of them to sue the university last fall for allegedly failing to protect women. Kopper's husband denied the allegations.

In a Monday message to the campus community signed by half of Henderson's cabinet  Chenoweth; Artanya Wesley, vice chancellor for student affairs; Jeff Arnold, interim vice chancellor for administrative affairs; and Katie Kuznacic, interim vice chancellor for university relations  the group acknowledged the leadership whiplash of the last few years. They said they had no details about Henderson's departure and highlighted UW-Whitewater's collective accomplishments, such as the largest freshman class in four years and a much stronger financial position.

"During a time of unprecedented challenges, our university family has shown strong resilience and achieved important successes," the vice chancellors said. "We deeply appreciate you."

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Two Major Banks Roll out Blockchain-powered ID Solution for Military Servicepeople

South Korean Army Special Forces infiltration training through the frozen rivers in winter. Source: Adobe/Yeongsik Im

Two of South Koreas largest banks are set to launch a blockchain-powered digital certificate platform for military personnel  which will allow soldiers to use smartphone-based ID solutions to open savings accounts without having to set foot in a brick-and-mortar bank branch.

Per the media outlet White Paper, the banks  Kookmin Bank (KB) and IBK Industrial Bank  have struck a cooperation deal that also involves the Military Mutual Aid Association public pension fund, the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute (an inter-bank payment systems provider) and Raon White Hat, an information security service provider that specializes in blockchain-based distributed identity authentication (DID) services.

Initially, the platform will allow KB to offer contact-free, remote access to its KB Soldier Tomorrow Reserve Savings (literal translation) financial product  a banking service designed exclusively for active-duty soldiers as of June this year.

The platform will make use of DID technology, allowing soldiers to obtain and make use of digital proof-of-identity certificates required to access the product.



The bank stated that soldiers would be able to access banking services and sign up regardless of their location and COVID-19-related restrictions  with provisions also made for personnel serving in units where smartphone usage is limited or restricted.

South Korean law requires all able-bodied males to serve in the armed forces for at least 18 months, and the nation also has a sizeable standing army. As of 2020, the nations military has a personnel strength of 3,750,000, with over 0.5 million deployed on active duty.

Numerous social groups have raised concerns over conscripts access to financial products during the time of their service. Some are angry that not only are conscript soldiers excluded from the job market during their military service, but also that they have their earning power damaged during their service by conscription-related laws.

The government has responded by extending a system of subsidies. And it appears the new KB offering seeks to tap into this, offering benefits such as a 1% interest subsidy and a social rehabilitation subsidy that is paid from the national budget  into tax-free savings accounts, with rates of up to 5.5% per annum.

Blockchain-powered DID services are becoming more commonplace in South Korea, where experts have previously spoken of a coming war between the many companies  including telecoms giants and hardware behemoths  hoping to implement a range of contact-free, paper- and plastic-less ID solutions.

___

Learn more:

- Woori Bank to Accept Blockchain-based Driving Permits as Form of Authentication

- Watch: Concordium's Chairman on Digital Identity, Growth Plans, Crypto Trends, and More



- How Countries Use Digital ID to Exclude Vulnerable People

- Why NFTs Arent Just for Art and Collectibles
Even though its located on North Hanover Street, Jewels of India is somewhat a hidden gem in downtown Carlisle, partly due to renovations to the original space and partly due to changes made during the pandemic.

Jewels of India opened in the former Andalusia restaurant at 26 N. Hanover St. in 2018. The owners transformed the Andalusias open bar near the front of the restaurant into a closed-in kitchen area that houses the tandoori ovens.

Then, the seating areas in the front near the windows were removed, making it easier to pick up takeout orders during the pandemic.

Combined, these two factors make it easy to think that Jewels of India is closed or not open to indoor dining. But keep going. A whole different world awaits beyond the takeout counter where the dining room erupts in bright colors accented by chandeliers, cascading light fixtures and statues to give the restaurant its distinct Indian character.

A small but friendly staff quickly showed me to a seat and answered any questions I had. The first of those concerned the lunch buffet, which is no longer being served in an effort to cut down on food waste.

Theres plenty to choose from in the regular menu, which includes descriptions of the various dishes for those who are unfamiliar with Indian cuisine. I asked the server for recommendations and she quickly pointed to the Chicken Tikka Masala, marinated pieces of chicken cooked in a tandoor oven and smothered in creamy tomato sauce with onions, bell peppers and spices and their Homemade Curry, a basic chicken curry with tomatoes, onion, ginger and garlic.

Lamb and seafood specialties that range from a salmon cooked in coconut, tamarind and Indian spices to scallops and shrimp cooked in different combinations of curry or pepper sauces are also featured on the menu.

The menu also includes a sizable vegetarian section featuring dishes like Palak Paneer, fresh ground spinach cooked with herbs, spices and cottage cheese, and the Avial, mixed vegetables cooked in a coconut sauce with turmeric, cilantro and coconut oil.

If the tandoori oven specialties are more your speed, theres kebabs, lamb chops and paneer tikka, a dish in which cheese cubes marinated in yogurt and spices are cooked in the clay oven with bell peppers and onions.

I went with the Chicken Tikka Masala with garlic naan, a delicious oven-baked bread with healthy amounts of garlic. On its own, the naan could easily be a quick and easy side to pick up for people who work downtown and need a little something to perk up the standard desk lunch.

When the bowl of basmati rice arrived ahead of the main dish, I knew I would need to ask for a box for leftovers. The bowl of rice was easily enough to feed a few people or, as the server told me, to give you a total of three meals. The rice was perfectly cooked, hitting just the right spot between being too gummy and being too dry.

The Chicken Tikka Masala came in an equally sizable bowl with large chunks of chicken swimming in a rust-red sauce. Jewels of India gives you the option to choose your spice level so I went with the medium, which gave the dish enough spice to give it a kick without burning your taste buds.

I skipped dessert, but seriously considered the rasmalai, which are Indian cheese patties in a cardamom-flavored milk and sugar syrup. Im also thinking that you couldnt go wrong with the gulag jamun, which are doughnut-like pastry balls in a honey syrup.

Though I would highly recommend dining in so you can soak in the atmosphere, Jewels of India should be high on the list of take-out options for those with a little more adventurous taste. Either way, you get a flavorful break from day-to-day cuisine, and thats something we can all use now and then.

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Texas Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez on Monday called on the Biden administration to revoke the visas of Mexican politicians who formed the Mexico-Russia Friendship Committee following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In recent days and in the midst of an international crisis in Eastern Europe, several legislators from Mexicos Federal Congress (Chamber of Deputies) took this opportunity to shun the free world and stand with Putin by forming a Mexico-Russia Friendship Committee, Gonzalez wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

The timing of this committee sent a clear message to the United States and the free world, wrote Gonzalez.

A group of Mexican lawmakers, led by Workers Party (PT) head Alberto Anaya, planned the Friendship Committee announcement in early March, shortly after Russias attack on Ukraine.

The official announcement came later in the month, in a televised meeting between Russian Ambassador Viktor Koronelli and 25 members and former members of the countrys Congress, led by Anaya.

U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar criticized the meeting, alluding to Mexico joining the Allies in the fight against Nazi Germany in World War II for historical context.

Local opposition figures also panned the group for its explicit support of the Russian regime, but Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declined to criticize the lawmakers.

While Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador continues to publicly maintain a neutral posture in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, actions taken by members of his own MORENA party and others suggest otherwise, wrote Gonzalez.

Anaya and many of the lawmakers and politicians present at the meeting are members of the PT, which operates as a satellite party of Lopez Obradors Morena party, at times exchanging legislators from one party to another to fill legislative vacancies.

Story continues

While Morena is in some ways a broader coalition party, the PT has traditionally taken hard-left public positions while operating close to larger power structures.

In 2021, Anaya raised eyebrows by declaring that North Korea is more of a friend to Mexico than the United States, while defending North Korean policies that generate development.

Lopez Obrador has not publicly come out in favor of the more extreme views in his coalition, but he has done little to tamp down those expressions, and Mexico remains officially neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Its disgraceful enough that Mexico  our closest neighbor to the South  has chosen to not stand in unity with the international community of democracies. They have instead refused to send any aid to Ukraine or impose sanctions on Russia, wrote Gonzalez.

Gonzalez also called on Blinken and Mayorkas to stand with Ukraine and condemn this friendship committee by issuing visa revocations for all Mexican members of Congress that have participated in this deplorable assembly.

The United States has at times used visa revocations as a strong individual sanction thats particularly effective in Latin America.

Gonzalez, a Texas border lawmaker with strong ties to Mexico, has taken a personal involvement in bilateral affairs, including as a member of the Western Hemisphere subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

In his letter, Gonzalez listed by name the 25 Mexican officials and former officials who took place in the meeting with Koronelli.

If these individuals refuse to condemn Russia, and instead choose to stand with tyranny, they should not be allowed the privilege of entering, traveling or investing in the United States of America, wrote Gonzalez.

I urge you to take action to ensure that no foreign government officials that support Russia during this aggressive and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine are allowed the privileges of entry into our country, he added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A physical altercation among multiple offenders at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (ERDCC) in Bonne Terre on Sunday left one inmate requiring treatment for stab wounds, officials said.

Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) Communications Director Karen Pojmann said six offenders were involved in a fight, and "one sustained injuries that appeared to be puncture wounds. He was treated at a hospital and returned to the facility later that day."

St. Francois County Ambulance District was dispatched to the prison at 5:46 p.m. Sunday. At 5:51 p.m., the Bonne Terre/Big River Fire Department was dispatched to the scene to establish a landing zone for an Air Evac helicopter.

The DOC did not release the identity of the inmate.

The reported stabbing is another added to the growing list of violent incidents that have reportedly taken place at ERDCC this year, including an inmate's death on March 27. At least three other stabbings are said to have occurred at the Bonne Terre facility within a single week at the beginning of February.

Officials have said that ERDCC is not adequately staffed.

Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com

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Patrick Tompkins never saw himself as president of a community college.

But after 20 years in the classroom and moving up the administrative ladder, hes seeking to take the reins of Piedmont Virginia Community College, Tompkins said at a forum Tuesday morning as part of a two-day campus visit.

Tompkins is one of four finalists picked to succeed Frank Friedman, PVCCs longtime president who is retiring at the end of this school year. The other finalists will visit the college over the next two weeks.

Finalists will interview with the PVCC board in closed session during their visits. The finalist itinerary also includes a campus tour and separate forums with staff, students and faculty. Ultimately, the PVCC board will recommend a candidate to the Virginia Community College System Chancellor, who will make the final decision.

Tompkins said at the forum, which was open to community leaders, that the colleges reputation is strong and that hes worked with current PVCC faculty and administrators over the course of his career, which prompted him to apply for the job.

Piedmonts reputation is deserved, he said, highlighting the statistic that students who transfer from PVCC earn a bachelors degree within an average of six years.

Tompkins is currently the vice president for academic, student and workforce education at Eastern Shore Community College  a position hes held since 2019. He shared at the forum how that experience has prepared him to lead PVCC.

At Eastern Shore, Tompkins was part of the team that was called in to reboot the college after it failed a viability assessment.

Every community should have a viable community college, Tompkins said.

Community colleges across the state and country are being asked to help employers find qualified employees as the labor force continues to adjust from the pandemic. Tompkins said that means PVCC needs to develop programs so that when the economy changes, the business community will be there for PVCC and when we need them more than they need us.

This is a really good time for community colleges and we need to make sure we seize the moment, he said.

Tompkins said hes good at building personal relationships and bringing people together to solve problems, skills he used to help restore confidence in Eastern Shore.

As a vice president at Eastern Shore, Tompkins also gained more fundraising experience. He said Eastern Shore took a team-approach to fundraising, which was driven by the director of the foundation. The team saw success eventually, increasing donations by 300%, he said.

As part of the community colleges role in economic development, Tompkins said he helped Accomack County successfully compete for a manufacturing facility. New Zealand-based Rocket Lab announced their decision to build a launch site and rocket manufacturing facility on Virginias Eastern Shore in February.

If selected as president, Tompkins said he would spend the first 90 or 100 days on the job learning about the college and community, adding that what he knows about PVCC now is just a partial picture. Then, he would work with the college community to develop a shared vision for the future.

At Eastern Shore, the college was in crisis, he said. I had to take action quickly and out of ignorance.

The senior administrators at PVCC have already told him that they want to take PVCC to the next level and become a nationally known college.

Going to the next level would mean, to Tompkins, bringing more students into the colleges program such as dual-enrollment who havent historically had access.

He also said that PVCC can better connect with the community so that community members can better help the college.

You have to have a strong story and tell that story to the community, he said. We need to make sure we are focusing on that central word in our name.

Julie Leidig, provost of the Loudoun Campus at Northern Virginia Community College, will visit PVCC next. Her forum will be at 9 a.m. April 7 in the V. Earl Dickinson Building Main Stage Theatre on the main PVCC campus.

For more information, go to pvcc.edu/presidential-search-0.

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On Wednesday, the public will be able to see all of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors members live and in person for the first time in more than two years.

The board will hold a budget work session and its first regular meeting starting at noon in Lane Auditorium at the McIntire Road County Office Building. The meeting will be hybrid with all the board members attending in-person with members of the public while others may still watch and speak virtually during public comment periods.

Albemarle is one of the last localities in the region to return to in-person meetings since the COVID-19 pandemic moved local government public gatherings online in 2020. As more in the community have been vaccinated and local hospitals are seeing fewer COVID-19 patients, the county decided to bring back Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission and School Board meetings to the COB.

I am so excited to come back because I get my energy from being around people, and Hollywood Squares is not a good way to get your energy, Board Chair Donna Price said.

But things will look a little different inside Lane Auditorium.

Community members will now be required to enter the auditorium through the center door in the back of the auditorium. Typically, that door was closed and community members would come in the two side entrances. That door will be staffed by an ambassador, who works for RMC Events.

The ambassador will let people know what the days mask rule is, and then also explain the seating situation, Albemarles Spokesperson Emily Kilroy said during a tour of Lane.

Masks are currently optional in the County Office Building. Kilroy said Albemarle doesnt have a set formula, but is looking toward the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions business best practices, CDC community levels, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry and new case and vaccination data, among other metrics, and evaluating decisions about the buildings posture weekly.

The CDC community levels are determined by looking at new COVID-related hospital admissions over the previous week, the percentage of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients and new cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period.

As of last week, Albemarle is at the CDCs medium level and Charlottesville, where the McIntire Road County Office building is located, is at the low level. For counties in the medium level, the CDC recommends talking to a doctor about mask use if a person is at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

But the data the CDC is using for this area is misleading, as the Blue Ridge Health District is cleaning the areas old COVID-19 case data to assign cases to the correct locality, resulting in negative cases in Charlottesville and high counts in Albemarle.

When it comes to seating, half of the first floor of the Lane will be open seating, while half will be physically distanced seating. Under that seating arrangement, approximately 200 people can fit on the first floor of Lane, and an additional 100 seats are on the balcony if needed.

At least two new faces will be at the dais  Supervisor Jim Andrews, who started in January, and Cynthia Hudson, an attorney with Richmond-based law firm Sands Anderson, who is on a 90-day contract as an interim county attorney. Former County Attorney Greg Kamptner retired April 1.

Neil Williamson, the president of the Free Enterprise Forum, is a regular at Board of Supervisors meetings. He said hes happy to be going back, but is also equally happy that the county seems to be trying to find a way to have the elected and appointed officials meet in person and retain the public engagement achieved during the Zoom era.

Local government is best done in person, he said. You miss so much between the recess period, as well as just the eye roll that you dont see because youre not focused on the right Hollywood Square, he said. I think the idea of Zoom, while incredibly efficient, may not be the best thing for government, but the increased participation has been very strong.

Kilroy said community members who choose to watch and speak over Zoom will just have their names show up on camera, not their faces.

Right now, the plan is that if youre presenting [in person] what well see on Zoom is just the slides, she said.

At noon on Wednesday, the board will have a budget work session on workforce stabilization. The regular meeting will start around 1 p.m., where the board is scheduled to get updates and information on specific transportation related projects. There are five public hearings scheduled after 6 p.m.

In June, county staff will present to the board their recommendation for moving the next group of county governing boards  including the Broadband Authority and the Architectural Review Board  to hybrid meetings and an update on when the final group of boards and commissions will again be meeting in-person.

More information about meetings is available on the countys website at albemarle.org.

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Charlottesville is looking to be environmentally friendly and save some bucks at the same time.

The city has hired CMTA Energy Solutions, an energy auditing firm, to check out its 40 buildings, including city schools, to find ways to cut power usage, reduce water use and lower its utility bills. In the process, it hopes to add some renewable energy systems as well.

The building audits are part of the first phase of the citys effort to fulfill its commitment to climate action and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

The city is conducting the audits as part of its Energy Savings Performance Contract through a cooperative program offered by a state agency, Virginia Energy. The audits include data analysis and inspections of the citys buildings. The contractor will collect data on each buildings existing systems and operation while looking for ways to decrease energy and water use and save money.

Most of the square footage in the citys building portfolio is in schools, so projects like this and the pending facilities work for reconfiguration are key to improve efficiencies and make significant progress on climate goals, said Kim Powell, Charlottesville City Schools chief operations officer.

Strategies and upgrades under consideration include standardizing the controls, plumbing fixtures and heating and air-conditioning equipment in city facilities. Officials are considering upgrading to the latest cost-effective LED lights with occupancy sensors to reduce energy costs when spaces are not in use.

The city is considering expanding its renewable energy resources through solar photo cell panels on various buildings, including schools, and is also upgrading its water systems to meet WaterSense specifications.

WaterSense is a voluntary partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designed to encourage water efficiency.

Once the audit firm completes the work, city officials will review options and work with the company to implement the recommendations.

- From staff reports

- From staff reports
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By Trend

The Iranian negotiation team will only return to Vienna in order to finalize an agreement Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said, Trend reports citing IRIB.

Saeed Khatibzadeh made the remarks during a press conference.

"We will not be going to Vienna for new negotiations but to finalize the nuclear agreement," said Khatibzadeh.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said there were still outstanding issues that it was waiting on the US to settle.

"We have passed on our proposals on the remaining issues to the American side through the EU senior negotiator," Iran's top diplomat said.
An Albany woman was formally accused of murder in Linn County Circuit on Monday afternoon, April 4, and a judge ordered her to be held without bail.

Elizabeth Nicole Tyler-Jimenez, 42, was arraigned on a charge of second-degree murder for the death of 75-year-old Albany resident Elvin Al Pierce. She also was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle for allegedly stealing Pierces 2004 Buick sedan.

The crimes occurred on Feb. 22, according to the charging document. Tyler-Jimenez was arrested by police in Oceanside, California on March 16.

She was being held in the Linn County Jail on Sunday.

Jessica Cooney, Linn County deputy district attorney, requested that Tyler-Jimenez be held without bail. Senior Judge Daniel Murphy stressed that was required by statute with murder cases in Oregon.

Murphy also told Tyler-Jimenez that he could not immediately appoint an attorney qualified enough to represent her in the case. We should be able to appoint an attorney shortly, within the next few days, he added.

Defense attorney Arnold Poole handled Monday afternoons session of teleconference arraignments, including Tyler-Jimenezs brief appearance from the Linn County Jail, and reserved her right to move against the charging document.

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For the most part, Tyler-Jimenez politely answered questions from Murphy during the hearing.

Her next appearance was scheduled for April 11.

Tyler-Jimenez also was arraigned on an amended indictment in a 2020 case where she is charged with third-degree criminal mischief and two counts of failure to appear on a criminal citation. She also has an open case for allegedly violating a courts stalking protective order. Murphy set her bail at $500 in each of those matters.

Pierce was found dead in his house in the 500 block of 26th Avenue Southeast on Feb. 25. The Albany Police Department described Tyler-Jimenez as Pierces roommate, and asked residents to be on the lookout for Pierces car.

On March 3, the missing vehicle was located by the Oceanside Police Department thanks to a camera system inside a vehicle that automatically reads license plates. The Buick looked abandoned, but Oceanside officers thought Tyler-Jimenez was still in the area. Oceanside and Albany officers started looking at evidence of transactions made by Tyler-Jimenez at nearby businesses.

After reviewing surveillance videos, officers were able to pinpoint her location. She made a lot of effort to conceal her appearance, said Jennifer Atenza, Oceanside Police Department spokesperson.

Mid-Valley Media reporter Maddie Pfeifer contributed to this story.

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The Linn County Sheriffs Office is asking for the publics help in identifying the body of a man left at a rural cemetery in the Harrisburg area.

The body was discovered at about 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, March 31, at the Masonic Cemetery off Powerline Road, Capt. Brandon Fountain said.

Deputies responded to a report of a suspicious wooden box at a cemetery in the 24000 block of Powerline Road, and discovered that the box appeared to be a hand-built casket left behind a tree, according to a news release.

Investigators spoke with members of the board of directors for the cemetery, who stated there were no scheduled burials and they could not explain why a casket was left at the location, the news release states.

The mans body had no obvious signs of trauma, and he was recently deceased, Fountain said. The casket had been left there recently, as well, Fountain added.

The unidentified man is described as a white adult between 30 to 60 years old, 5-foot-10, weighing 350 pounds with brown and gray hair. He wore size 10.5 shoes and had a healed surgery scar on his lower back.

Fountain said that he couldnt think of a similar incident in his 14 years of working with LCSO.

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Thats definitely a unique case, he said.

Fountain added that it was unclear exactly why someone would leave a body at the cemetery in that manner.

Were all scratching our heads, too, as far as the thought process behind what happened, he said. We wont know until we identify him and talk to the people who are closest to him.

The investigation is ongoing. Linn County detectives are working with the Oregon State Medical Examiners Office to determine the identity and cause of death of the man.

Those with information about the case should contact the LCSO detectives division at 541-967-3950.

Kyle Odegard can be contacted at 541-812-6077 or kyle.odegard@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter via @KyleOdegard.

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Naomi Judd died Saturday at age 76. Here are some of the entertainers, leaders, athletes and other notable people we've lost so far this year.
Oregon U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley will hold a remote and telephone town hall for Linn County constituents at 2 p.m. Monday, April 11.

He will update constituents on his work in Washington, D.C., answer their questions and invite their suggestions about how to tackle the challenges facing Oregon and America.

Hearing from Oregonians across the state is critical to doing my job, Merkley said in a statement. In these uncertain times, its more important than ever to hear directly from folks

Since joining the Senate in 2009, Merkley has held a town hall every year in each of Oregons 36 counties. This town hall will be his 503rd as a U.S. senator and his 35th town hall this year.

On a computer, smartphone or tablet, go to https://senate.zoomgov.com/j/1606128791?pwd=c2RmaDQ3QjdvUkN2ZUs4UjdkYTNRUT09#success to join the Zoom meeting. On a phone, dial 669-254-5252 and use meeting ID 160 612 8791#, participant ID # and passcode 05441664#.

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By Trend

Phone talks between President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz have been held, the Directorate of Communications of Turkey's Presidential Administration said, Trend reports.

During the talks, the parties discussed regional issues, as well as addressed Turkey-Germany relations, and the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.

President Erdogan stressed the significance of strengthening ties between Turkey and Germany and continuing close cooperation at all levels.

The Turkish president also noted the resolute continuation of efforts to end the military conflict in Ukraine.
A hookah lounge in Dothan has caused problems for police and some eastside residents for years. Now, city leaders are considering closing down the nightclub.

City administration is recommending that the city commission revoke the Hookah Palace Lounge, or BL3u Martini Lounge, business and liquor licenses following a public hearing on May 3. The business recently changed names.

The issue generally revolves around late night and early morning noise and disturbances in the adjoining neighborhoods, City Manager Kevin Cowper said.

Dothan Police Capt. Will Glover said the police department has received over 100 calls for service at the nightclub since 2019. The vast majority of those calls deal with noise complaints from music inside the business and people sitting inside their cars in the parking lot.

Obviously, it is problematic because it is close to neighborhoods, Glover said.

Glover said police have also responded to many fights, a couple of shots fired calls, a hit-and-run, numerous disorderly persons and breaking and entering calls, and a robbery.

Anecdotally, he said police respond to the hookah bar located in Plaza North Shopping Center on Ross Clark Circle near Denton Road a lot more than other nightclubs and bars in the city.

Residents nearby the business have complained about the activities of the hookah bar customers during city commission meetings in the past. Theyve complained primarily of noise, littering around the lake nearby, and feeling unsafe in their homes.

Cowper said the business owner will be made aware of the upcoming proceedings and more discussion will take place on May 3 before commissioners vote yay or nay on the agenda item during its meeting starting at 10 a.m. in the commission chambers on the second floor of the Civic Center.

Sable Riley is a Dothan Eagle staff writer and can be reached at sriley@dothaneagle.com or 334.712.7915. Support her work and that of other Eagle journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at dothaneagle.com .
Several severe storms hit the Wiregrass area Tuesday, downing trees, limbs, power lines and causing scattered property damage, and forecasters are warning residents there is a good chance for more storms on Wednesday.

Tornado sirens sounded in Houston County shortly after 2 p.m. with a tornado reported near Ashford. Earlier tornado warnings were issued for Henry County as well as Walton and Holmes counties in the Florida Panhandle.

Social media users posted videos of possible tornados, including one in Malvern, and storm damage was reported on South Park Avenue as well as in Cowarts and Ashford on U.S. Highway 84. Trees were down, including some on power lines and houses along U.S. 84 East. A metal building was heavily damaged near Chancellor, and there were also reports of damage in a mobile home park in Malvern.

Power outages were reported by Alabama Power and Wiregrass Electric.

Area school systems dismissed students early due to the threat of severe storms moving through the area.

Weather forecasts have the area under a slight risk for severe weather during the day Wednesday with another line of storms potentially moving in during the afternoon and evening hours. Scattered to numerous thunderstorms are expected. Some storms could be severe with damaging winds, large hail, and a potential for an isolated tornado, according to the National Weather Service in Tallahassee.

The National Weather Services issued a flood watch for the area until Thursday morning.

This weeks activity makes the third week in a row that severe weather has threatened the area.

Last week, a tornado killed two people along Gilberts Mill Road in Washington County, Florida, when it destroyed an anchored doublewide mobile home they were in during the storm. The same storm injured a man who was in a nearby singlewide mobile home that was also anchored. Debris from the two mobile homes was thrown into a tree line about 100 yards away.

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee confirmed that the March 31 tornado reached strengths of an EF-3 as it moved through Washington and Jackson counties during the early morning hours. As it formed and strengthened, the tornado snapped trees, destroyed a barn, and damaged a manufactured home, a camper, and a greenhouse before causing the two fatalities as an EF-2.

As it reached its peak strength, the tornado heavily damaged a brick home and destroyed a wood home with a block foundation. Even as it weakened, the storm damaged roofs, barns, and metal buildings, snapped tree trunks, and tossed a grain silo into a nearby field. The tornados path crossed U.S. 231 before it lifted just south of Interstate 10.

The tornados peak winds were 150 mph and the storm traveled more than 12 miles, measuring a maximum of 200 yards in width.

The Associated Press reported violent storms killed one person in Texas on Tuesday as hail pelted communities and high winds knocked trees into power poles elsewhere in the South. Authorities issued a flurry of tornado warnings at the start of what could be two days of violent weather in the region.

In eastern Texas, W. M. Soloman, 71, died when storm winds toppled a tree onto Solomons home in Whitehouse, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Dallas, Whitehouse Mayor James Wansley said.

More than 50,000 homes and businesses were without power Tuesday afternoon from eastern Texas to South Carolina. No injuries were reported.

Peggy Ussery is a Dothan Eagle staff writer and can be reached at aussery@dothaneagle.com or 334-712-7963. Support her work and that of other Eagle journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at dothaneagle.com.

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The national average price for a gallon of gas has fallen for the second straight week. Will the trend continue?

According to tracking site GasBuddy, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded dropped 5.4 cents from a week ago and stands at $4.17 per gallon as of Tuesday morning. Prices are still considerably higher than a month ago and a year ago, however  up 25.5 cents from a month ago and $1.31 per gallon from a year ago.

Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said there are several factors contributing to the decline.

Oil prices fell last week as COVID cases in China surged, prompting restrictions on movements and hurting oil demand. Meanwhile, President Bidens announcement that the U.S. would be releasing 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve caused an even further decline in oil, leading gas prices in nearly all areas of the country to fall over the last week, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

So long as oil prices remain under $100 per barrel and theres no escalations in Russias war on Ukraine, we may be poised to see gas prices decline again this week as the U.S. and other countries try to raise oil supply to tip prices lower, he added.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline in Alabama is $3.93, AAA shows. Thats down from $4.01 from a week ago but up from $3.61 a month ago and $2.64 a year ago.

In the Wiregrass area on Tuesday, the average price for a gallon of gasoline varied by as much as 30 cents from a high of $4.11 a gallon in Barbour County to a low of $3.81 in Covington County. The average price in other area counties include: Coffee, $3.95; Dale, Houston and Pike, $3.97; and Geneva and Henry, $3.99.

In Dothan, the prices varied depending on location, but motorists lined up at Sam's on the Ross Clark Circle Tuesday found $3.66 a gallon for regular unleaded. According to AAA, Dothan's average price was $3.98 compared to a week ago at $4.05, a month ago at $3.79, and last year at $2.70.

AAA notes the current average price for a gallon of diesel fuel is $4.95 in Dothan. Last April, the price averaged $2.85.

According to GasBuddy, the states with the lowest average prices: Oklahoma ($3.73), Kansas ($3.75), and Arkansas ($3.76). The states with the highest prices: California ($5.86), Nevada ($5.20), and Hawaii ($5.15).

Some gasoline prices in this al.com story, including those in the Wiregrass area. were updated by the Dothan Eagle staff.
Thomas Jacobs, the new IFC country manager for the Mekong region covering Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Photo courtesy of IFC

The International Finance Corporation has appointed Thomas Jacobs as its new country manager for the Mekong region, covering Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

He takes over from Kyle Kelhofer, who has taken on a new role as the senior country manager for Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo, according to a press release issued by the IFC on Monday.

Jacobs, an U.S. national, joined IFC in 2003 and has worked in Central Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific Islands.

He will work from Hanoi, prioritizing increased financing for local businesses, expanding renewable energy, and promoting climate-smart initiatives to support countries' climate agenda.

"It's vital to help [Mekong] countries power their future growth in a sustainable way so that economic development does not come at a detrimental cost to the environment," he said.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, operates in over 100 countries. It committed $31.5 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries the last fiscal year.

Its investment in Vietnam has steadily increased over the past five years, with a focus on infrastructure, renewable energy and agribusiness as well as facilitating climate-smart and innovative initiatives.
Photographer Nick Ut is holding in HCMC an exhibition of 22 photos he took 50 years ago during his time as a war correspondent, including his iconic Napalm Girl.

At the event, Ut once again introduces to visitors his "Napalm Girl," officially known as "The Terror of War," that sent shock waves the world half a century ago by starkly depicting the brutality of war.

The exhibition is open to the public from April 3 to 10 at the Lavelle Gallery in Thu Duc City.

An exhibition has opened in HCMC featuring 22 historical images captured by photojournalist Nick Ut. Photo courtesy of Lavelle

The photo, shot in Vietnam on June 8, 1972, went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography and the World Press Photo of the Year in 1973.

It shows nine-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc and other terrified children fleeing down a road near Trang Bang District in the southern province of Tay Ninh.

He took the shot after Phuc ripped off her burning clothes while fleeing. The other children were her two younger brothers and two cousins.

After taking the shot, Ut, who was 21 at the time, took the children to Barsky Hospital in Saigon.

The photo was published around the world, and hastened the end of the brutal invasion of Vietnam. It was voted the most powerful news image of the last 50 years.

The Pulitzer-winning "Napalm Girl", 1972. From left, the children are Phan Thanh Tam, who lost an eye, younger brother of Kim Phuc, Phan Thanh Phuoc, youngest brother of Kim Phuc, Kim Phuc, and Phucs cousins Ho Van Bon and Ho Thi Tinh. Photo courtesy of AP/ Nick Ut

After 50 years Ut reveals he is still haunted by the moment he took the photo.

He said when he carried Phuc to the hospital for emergency treatment, doctors refused to treat her because they could not afford the medicines.

Thinking if Phuc dies, the photo would have no meaning, Ut used his media card to pressure the hospital staff to treat her.

Doctors and nurses gave the child first aid and took her to a children's hospital in Saigon.

During his time as a war correspondent, Ut constantly encountered bombs and shells and bullets flying past his head and even singeing his hair. He was wounded thrice in the abdomen and thigh.

Like many people returning from the battlefield, he suffered deep psychological wounds and traumas.

"I still have nightmares sometimes when I sleep.

"Doctors say my condition is better than that of many other people in the same situation. To this day I restrict myself from viewing historical films and photos".

Ut has returned to Vietnam on numerous occasions since the Vietnam War ended in 1975.

He recently came back at the end of March to participate in some charity trips with friends.

He is relieved that after decades his photos message is still intact and helps people understand history.

Former photojournalist Nick Ut delivers a speech at the opening of his exhibition in HCMC on April 3, 2022. Photo courtesy of Lavelle

Ut, real name Huynh Cong Ut, was born in 1951 in the southern Long An Province. He had an older brother, Huynh Thanh My, who was also a war correspondent and was killed while on assignment with the AP in the Mekong Delta.

After his brother died, Nick joined AP.

After the war ended he moved to the U.S. to work as a reporter for the AP in Los Angeles.

In January 2021 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by then President Donald Trump.

He retired in 2017, and now, at 71, he says his health is still good. He still carries a camera with him wherever he goes.

He will next hold an exhibition in Italy in May.
The World Bank has cut its growth forecast for Vietnam this year to 5.3 percent, due to surging Covid-19 infection in Q1 and economic slowdown in its major export markets.

This has been the second time the bank lowers its 2022 projection for the country. Last October it had expected a growth rate of 6.5 percent, lowered to 5.5 percent in January.

Vietnam's GDP is expected to grow by 5.3 percent this year and stabilize at around 6.5 percent in a scenario with eased mobility restrictions domestically and internationally, it added in a report released Tuesday.

It forecasts the service sector to gradually recover during the year as consumer confidence is restored and tourism resumes from mid-2022 onward.

But manufacturing will grow at a slower pace mirroring moderating growth in Vietnams main export markets of the U.S., the European Union and China.

But it warned of the outlook of heightened risks from external economic shock, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and new Covid-19 variants, slowing recovery of domestic demand, and labor shortage due to a surge in infections.

"Additional shocks could lead to a low case scenario where GDP grows 4 percent in 2022, recovering to 6 percent and 6.5 percent in 2023 and 2024, respectively".

The World Bank recommended the Vietnamese government to deploy a strong fiscal policy support, and accommodative and prudent monetary policy.

It was also cautious about economic and human capital consequences from inequality, which was driven up by the pandemic and lockdowns between last May and September.

Vietnam's economy grew by 2.6 percent last year, well below its pre-pandemic trend of 7 percent.
Around 400 health workers in HCMC resigned in the first quarter, citing "unsuitable environment" and "low income".

Le Thien Quynh Nhu, deputy office head of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, on Monday said employees of hospitals and other public health entities quit every year. Among the reasons given were long commutes, low incomes and unsuitable environment, she added.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has caused hospitals' and other health facilities' income to drop, so it's inevitable that health workers are quitting," she said.

Nhu added the HCMC People's Council, the legislature, would have a meeting this week to pass certain support policies for health workers.

Within the first 10 months of 2021, the HCMC health department saw 968 health workers quit, while only 597 resigned during the same period in 2020. More doctors and nurses in medical stations are quitting, the department added.

"If health workers dont work in the public sector, they will work for the private sector. Doesnt matter if its public or private, they would both take care of peoples health," Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, office head of the HCMC health department, told a press meeting in November 2021.

HCMC also has the lowest ratio of medical workers out of all Vietnam localities, with only 2.31 for every 10,000 people, while the national average is seven for every 10,000 people.

The southern city has deployed multiple measures to raise the ratio, including by increasing medical capabilities, supplying health facilities with new graduates and encouraging retired workers to return. The health department has also proposed to the People's Council to increase health workers' income and support them with policies to help them develop their careers in the long run.
By Trend

Ecuador's government has retaken control of a prison in the city of Cuenca where 20 people were killed in a violent confrontation over the weekend, it said on Monday, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The violence at El Turi prison took place in the maximum security cell block and was the result of disputes between members of the same gang for control of the wing, the government said.

It was the latest incident of violence in Ecuadorean prisons, which the government usually attributes to gang confrontations over drug trafficking. Last year prison violence killed 316 people.
Covid vaccines for children aged 5-12 to arrive in May from Australia

A healthcare worker receives a dose of a Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at Messe Wien Congress Center, which has been set up as a coronavirus disease vaccination center, in Vienna, Austria February 7, 2021. Photo by Reuters/Lisi Niesner

The first batch of Covid-19 vaccine for children aged five to 12 is expected to arrive in Vietnam on May 10, the Ministry of Health said Monday.

Deputy health minister Do Xuan Tuyen said the vaccines are among the 13.7 million doses Australia has promised to donate, including nine million Moderna doses and the rest Pfizer.

His ministry had negotiated with U.S. company Pfizer to buy vaccines for children, and several embassies in Vietnam including the Australian, Dutch and American had also offered them, he said.

The vaccination would begin as soon the vaccines arrive, he said.

He said there are three domestic vaccines in the pipeline, Nanocovax by Nanogen, Covivac by the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals and ARCT-154 by Vingroup.

They are still in the clinical trial stage, and would be approved for use once "requirements are met," he added.

Vietnam has fully vaccinated 79.7 percent of its population, with 51.8 percent also getting a third shot.
All children aged 5-11 should be vaccinated against Covid-19 within the second quarter, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested the health ministry.

Following their vaccination, the children will begin summer school in the beginning of the third quarter, then enter the new school year at the end of the third quarter, the government office cited Chinh as saying on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Health on Monday said the first batch of Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5-12 will arrive in Vietnam on May 10, a donation from Australia. Vaccination will begin as soon as the vaccines arrive, it added.

10 million children aged 5-12 have yet to be vaccinated in Vietnam. The country has fully vaccinated 79.7 percent of its population, including children from 12 years old, with 51.8 percent also getting a third shot.
Vietnam has urged China to respect its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf after Beijing announced drills in the East Sea.

The Hainan Maritime Safety Administration announced March 4 the establishment of a no-go zone for military drills in the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea), the southwest of Hainan Island, saying the drills would start from the same day and last until March 15.

"Part of the above-mentioned maritime area belongs to Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as determined under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

"We ask China to respect Vietnam's sovereignty and not take actions to complicate the situation, thereby contributing to maintaining peace, security and stability in the East Sea area," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said Monday.

Hang said that Vietnam always closely follows developments in the East Sea and exercises its sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 UNCLOS.

China has held several drills in the East Sea recently, stoking regional tensions.

In mid-February, the Chinese navy sent a Type 903 replenishment ship and a hospital ship to conduct search and rescue drills, maritime logistics and live ammunition firing in the East Sea, but did not disclose the specific location.

Tensions in the East Sea area have continued to rise in the context of China's naval expansion and the establishment of military outposts on illegally built artificial islands.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and other Western nations such as Britain, France and Germany are increasing their military presence in the region.

The U.S. has also conducted many Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) in the South China Sea to challenge China's illegal sovereignty claims.

The infamous "nine-dash line" claim that China has unilaterally and illegally made, covering almost the entire East Sea area, has been clearly rejected by the international community. China has also illegally built seven rocks on Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago and turned them into artificial islands and militarized outposts.
The United States is promoting accountability for human rights abuses committed by the Russian government and the Lukashenka regime in Belarus.

Even as Russia pursues its unjustified war against Ukraine, the government has intensified its crackdown at home against freedoms of expression, press, association, and peaceful assembly. Those in Russia who provide factual reporting on the invasion or criticize Putin face criminal charges. Similarly, the Aleksandr Lukashenka regime in Belarus continues its violent repression against civil society, anti-war protestors, democratic opposition, independent media, and ordinary Belarusians.

In response, the Department of State has designated Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his immediate family members ineligible for entry into the United States for his involvement in gross violations of human rights and significant corruption.

The State Department issued a new visa restriction policy under the Immigration and Nationality Act against 38 individuals to demonstrate solidarity with the victims of Russias repression.

Two Russian Federal Security Service officers in Crimea, Artur Shambazov and Andrey Tishenin, were designated for their involvement in torture.

The Department of State also imposed visa restrictions on an additional six individuals who, acting on behalf of the Russian Federation, participated in attacks on Chechen dissidents living in Europe. This action is being taken pursuant to the Khashoggi Ban.

The United States has also imposed visa restrictions on 25 individuals responsible for undermining democracy in Belarus pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 8015.

The Department of State has designated 11 senior Russian defense officials which will impose severe costs on Russias Ministry of Defense as it pursues its brutal military invasion of Ukraine, which has led to unnecessary casualties and suffering, including the deaths of children.

Additionally, the Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control is imposing sanctions on Kurchaloi District of the Chechen Republic Branch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, two of its officers, a Kurchaloi District prosecutor, and a district court judge in Moscow, pursuant to the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012.

The United States will continue to promote accountability for those who support, enable, and perpetrate human rights abuses in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and elsewhere.
On March 21, Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that the Burmese military government committed genocide against the Rohingya minority.

There is such a thing as a path to genocide. Thats the groundwork for genocide, the fact that it is laid far in advance, over years, even decades, through a steady process of dehumanization and demonization, said Secretary Blinken. The Rohingya, who had been an integral part of Burmas society for generations, saw their rights, saw their citizenship methodically stripped away.

In 1962, the Burmese military staged a coup and soon thereafter began to demonize and persecute Rohingya and other ethnic minorities. The government stripped Rohingya of their citizenship, conducted campaigns of terror, rape and murder against them and destroyed their communities; then forced them into camps for the displaced. There were strong parallels between events in Burma that historically led to genocide elsewhere, said Secretary Blinken. Rohingya were compared to fleas, to thorns, to an invasive species, just as Tutsis were compared to cockroaches, and Jews to rats and parasites.

"And while todays determination of genocide and crimes against humanity is focused on Rohingya, its also important to recognize that for decades the Burmese military has committed killings, rape, and other atrocities against members of other ethnic and religious minority groups. Reports of these abuses are widespread; theyre well documented. Theyve occurred in states across Burma.

The United States strongly supports the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, as it collects, preserves, and analyzes evidence of the most serious international crimes in Burma.

Even as we lay the foundation for future accountability, were also working to stop the militarys ongoing atrocities, press for the release of all those unjustly detained, support the people of Burma as they strive to put the country back on the track to democracy, said Secretary Blinken.

The United States also continues to provide significant support to help meet the immediate humanitarian needs of Rohingya and all affected by their persecution  nearly $1.6 billion since 2017 for everything from shelter and education, specialized mental health and psychosocial support for the victims of trauma.

The case files are growing. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar alone has collected more than 1.5 million items of evidence and information, including witness testimonies, documents, messages, photos, videos, geospatial imagery, social media pages, said Secretary Blinken. The day will come when those responsible for these appalling acts will have to answer for them.
The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Eugenio Dario Molina-Lopez, an international drug trafficker from Guatemala. Molina is a leader of a Transnational Criminal Organization known as Los Huistas. Los Huistas is primarily based in the Huehuetenango region of Northwest Guatemala that borders Mexico. Molinas leadership within Los Huistas is well known to the U.S. and Guatemalan governments, and both are working together to bring him to justice.

The United States uses a well-coordinated approach to fighting transnational organized crime in Central America. The reward offer for Molina complements a Department of Justice indictment against him and other co-conspirators, as well as a Department of the Treasury action taken by the Office of Foreign Assets Control to impose financial sanctions on Molina and other individuals and entities associated with Los Huistas under Executive Order 14059.

Criminal groups such as the Los Huistas [drug trafficking organization], contribute to instability in Guatemala and the region, said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson. Los Huistas [drug trafficking organization] smuggles deadly narcotics, including cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, from Guatemala through Mexico for distribution in multiple U.S. cities. Treasury and our U.S. and Guatemalan government partners will continue to use every available resource to dismantle these criminal networks.

More than 75 transnational criminals and major narcotics traffickers have been brought to justice with the help of the Narcotics Rewards Program since its inception in 1986, with the State Department paying more than $135 million in rewards to-date.

Any tips regarding the whereabouts of Molina should be provided to DHS Homeland Security Investigations via WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal at +1-619-350-2012 or by email at molina.tips@ice.dhs.gov.

The Narcotics Rewards Program and Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program empower the United States to fight transnational crime and bring major fugitives who operate outside the United States to justice.
The Taliban have barred private television stations in Afghanistan from airing Voice of America, British Broadcasting Corporation, and German Deutsche Welle news programs.

VOA denounced the Taliban for taking its programs off the air. In a statement, Acting VOA Director Yolanda Lpez said, We ask the Taliban to reconsider this troubling and unfortunate decision. The content restrictions that the Taliban are attempting to impose are antithetical to freedom of expression that the people of Afghanistan deserve.

VOA produces a half-hour news bulletin in Pashto and Dari, the two main languages spoken in Afghanistan, five days a week for its Afghan partners, TOLO news and Shamshad TV.

VOA remains committed to broadcasting the truth, said Lpez, Our commitment to providing factual information to the people of Afghanistan is one that the Voice of America will continue on television, radio, and the internet on www.pashtovoa.com and www.darivoa.com, as well as on social media.

The head of languages at BBC World Service Tarik Kafala called on the Taliban to immediately restore its news bulletins. Such a ban he said, is a worrying development at a time of uncertainty and turbulence for the people of Afghanistan.

This is the latest in a series of moves the Taliban has taken to stifle freedom of expression in Afghanistan since seizing control of the country last August. According to a survey released by Reporters Without Borders in December, at least 40 percent of Afghan media outlets have disappeared, and more than 80 percent of women journalists lost their jobs since the Taliban takeover of the country.

Human Rights Watch researcher Fereshta Abbasi reported in February that Taliban harassment and attacks on journalists outside major urban areas have largely gone unreported, causing media outlets in outlying provinces to self-censor or close altogether.

In many provinces, the Taliban have virtually eliminated reporting on a wide range of issues and have driven women journalists out of the profession, she said.

State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement, The United States is committed to supporting the right of freedom of expression the world over, especially for journalists and human rights defenders, to operate freely without fear of violence against them.

The U.S. is committed to supporting the right of freedom of expression and continues to stand with the Afghan people.
RENO  Vietnam veterans and many of those who enlisted after them deployed overseas; others, like their brothers and sisters before them, paid the ultimate sacrifice, dying in a foreign land thousands of miles from the shores of the United States.

Both Army Col. Jerome Guerrero and Capt. Samuel Brown each experienced the life of a combat officer in Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively, while retired 1st Lt. Andy LePeilbet, one of the most decorated soldiers in Nevada, offered his perspective on Vietnam, and Steven Ward shed light on being a Gold Star father.

The annual Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Day ceremony held at the Reno Elks Lodge 597 on March 27 and presented by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 989, bridged the strength of camaraderie and understanding across generations.

Why are we here? asked J.R. Stafford, master of ceremonies and president of VVA 989. Many of these veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan served their country with honor.

Stafford said the aim is not to allow decades to pass for the current group of veterans like the years forgot about the Vietnam vets.

We welcome them home today and honor our Gold Star families, Stafford added.

Guerrero, who currently serves as the Nevada Army National Guards director of Personnel in Carson City, attended the University of Nevada, Reno and received most of his military training through the Army ROTC program. In 2002 as a young lieutenant, Guerrero found himself in Iraq as an air mission commander the 101st Aviation Regiment flying Apache helicopters.

It was the shot he didnt take that kept the audience guessing.

Guerrero said his unit was providing air support.

We were flying around the village, and I happened to look down and somebody was lining me up, he recalled.

Guerrero contacted the SEAL team commander on the ground, who eventually approved a strike.

The mud huts were built onto one another, Guerrero remembered, adding he also saw children playing.

Taking out a house or possibly more would leave villagers without shelter, he thought. Guerrero notified the commander on the ground who agreed to find the combatant.

I knew that would be something Id have to live with for the rest of my life, Guerrero said of the possible strike.

Guerrero also found himself with another mission after leaving Afghanistan to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In January 2003, Guerrero and the unit traveled to Kuwait, then into Iraq two months later.

Reality, though, shook Guerrero. A Reed High School classmate from Sparks, Capt. Josh Byers, was killed outside of Ramadi in June 2003 when an insurgent placed a homemade bomb under his Humvee. Up to that point, the war didnt seem real for Guerrero.

Guerrero said there are days that currently present challenges, especially with soldiers who have post-traumatic stress disorder or suicidal tendencies. Even with all the help offered to military personnel, Guerrero said he lost one of his Nevada soldiers three years ago to suicide.

As he wrapped up his presentation, Guerrero swept his eyes over the crowd.

I stand here on the shoulders of great men and women who served before me, Guerrero said. Vietnam, Desert Storm  you paved the way. This nation, this state is about freedom. Thats what we stand for. No one will ever defeat the United States.

Brown, a Reno businessman, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as war raged in Afghanistan in the new millennium. He said a new generation of warriors served in either Iraq or Afghanistan or both.

My journey started with 9/11,Brown said.

Brown, who grew up in Arkansas, said his generation was set to wear the military uniform because the United States was at war. Young men and women, he added, were trained to lead. Likewise, Brown, an infantry officer, found himself in Kandahar in September 2008 with the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division three years after graduating from West Point in 2005

Browns life changed in a matter of minutes. While on a mission, his platoon was ambushed and his vehicle struck a roadside bomb, severely injuring Brown. Fire caused by the IED engulfed Brown, causing him to worry about burning to death. He wondered if there was a next step to the afterlife.

He then heard a voice.

My gunner Kevin Jensen was over my body. Sir, I got you, he said.

The captains evacuation flight left Kandahar Air Field for a burn unit in Texas. He reflected on the evacuation but also the other homecomings his generation received.

We came back to a country that honored us, a country that loved us because your generation met us at the ramp, Brown said of his Vietnam War comrades. We have a brotherhood with you. Thank you for what your generation did for us.

Brown said he also wanted to honor the Vietnam veterans by welcoming them home.

LePeilbet served in Vietnam in 1969 as a young 22-year-old Army lieutenant. By the time he returned home, the Placerville, California, native had earned two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and a Distinguished Service Cross for displaying extraordinary heroism.

His unit also received the Cross of Gallantry with Palm award, the Presidential Unit Citation with one Oak Leaf Custer, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm and the Civil Action Honor Medal.

Until that first firefight, we really didnt know how we would be or how we would react, LePeilbet said.

In less than an hour, LePeilbet said about 50% of the platoon was wounded. On March 3, 1969, his men faced hostile fire from the North Vietnamese Army. Pinned down by grenade and small arms fire and butted against a river, this platoon couldnt escape or maneuver to avoid the firefight.

I saw the greatness of your soldiers in my soldiers 57 years ago, LePeilbet said, looking toward Guerrero and Brown.

He stressed soldiers who never give up will win.

It brought me back to thinking of them (his platoon soldiers) that day, LePeilbet said.

LePeilbet urged those in attendance never to abandon their fellow veterans. He said its important to welcome them home, and love and cherish them.

Ward, a fourth-generation Marine, offered a different perspective of war, one as a Gold Star father who lost his son almost 12 years ago. As a youngster, Ward said he didnt understand war, but when his father served in Vietnam, the 7-year-old asked his mother if he could watch the evening news so he could see his father.

Ward eventually served a tour with the Marines. His son Eric enlisted in 2008, and almost every Sunday afternoon, both Ward and his son would talk to each other on the phone. On one afternoon in July 2010 the call never came.

Wards former wife  Erics mother  said men in suits were at the door.

I went down to the basement. My wife at the time said some men are here, Ward said.

Ward learned from the visitors  four Marines dressed in their uniforms  that Eric, a Marine lance corporal, died in combat in Afghanistan on Feb. 21, 2010, at the age of 19 during what the Department of Defense called hostile action in the southern part of the country. The fifth-generation Marine was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom as a machine gunner with the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

That day became a long journey for me, Ward said.

Since that incident, Ward relocated to Nevada and lived in Fallon for a few months before accepting employment in Yerington. One of the first men to talk to Ward and help him with his tragedy was Tony Yarbrough, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Navy. Later, Ward became involved with Honor Flight Nevada, a program that takes veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the memorials.

Some of the best people I have met are sitting right here in this room, Ward said of his Honor Flight family.

Ward also attributes the Vietnam War veterans in his life as those who have defined him as a person.

Without you, I wouldnt be where I am, Ward said of the Vietnam vets who attended the Remembrance Day ceremony. Along with the others, I want to welcome you home.

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On March 28, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 1557  the Parental Rights in Education Bill  into law.

Supporters say it is indeed about parental rights: The right to know what their kids are being taught, and the right to be informed about matters pertaining to their kids mental, emotional, or physical well-being.

Opponents call it the Dont Say Gay Bill and assert that its purpose is to terrorize members of the LGBTQ community working in public education by forbidding mention of their sexual orientations/gender identities, and to isolate LGBTQ students who may be afraid to come out to their parents and, under this law, to seek support and affirmation at school, lest they be outed.

Both sides are right. The law does require parental access to student records, and notification of parents when school personnel address, or know of, issues related to a students mental, emotional, or physical well-being.

But it actual purpose is political.

Supporters use one snippet of the bill  [c]lassroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 ...  to claim that its just about sex education in the lower grades.

They leave out the following clause: ... or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.

Teachers rightfully fear that, say, casually mentioning their same-sex spouses might be deemed age-inappropriate classroom instruction. And LGBTQ students rightfully fear that teachers will consider themselves legally required to out them.

What gives the bill teeth is its enforcement mechanism: A parent may [b]ring an action against the school district .... A court may award damages ...

Its designed to encourage little Sallys parents to sue the school district if Sally mentions that her teacher said he and his husband went to Italy over summer vacation. Or if Sally asks to be called Sam and wear boys clothes, and they suspect that she mentioned this in school and it wasnt reported to them.

Its designed, above all, to energize Republican voters and get them to the polls for Republican candidates.

During the pandemic, many schools shut down and went to remote learning. Parents looking on during Zoom classes noticed what and how their kids were being taught. Some of them didnt like it.

The public education establishment reacted patronizingly, telling parents they were unqualified to have an opinion and should leave education to the experts (them). That dismissive attitude produced anger  as it should have.

Now Republicans are weaponizing that anger with bills like the Parental Rights in Education Bill, tailored not just to the anger itself, but also to specific fears that they know will mobilize and energize their electoral base.

The Dont Say Gay Bill is what we get when politics and education combine to produce a wedge issue. So long as education is politically funded and politically regulated, well never lack for such issues.

The only way to get the culture wars out of education is to separate school and state.

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Russia-Ukraine conflict: live blog

Hello and welcome to out daily live blog on Tuesday 5 April 2022. We'll bring you all the latest on the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Intelligence reports on Tuesday announced that Ukrainian forces have retaken almost all of the northern part of the country, as Russian troops redeploy to the east. In other developments, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell will travel to Kyiv this week for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russian forces returned Chernobyl to Ukrainian hands after various soldiers experienced radiation poisoning after digging trenches in the area.

Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine have been meeting in Istanbul for peace talks which have yet to yield an end to the conflict. The diplomatic discussions have been questioned by Russia after an attack on a fuel depot that the Kremlin is blaming on Ukrainian forces. Zelenskyy said today that Ukraine had no option but to negotiate with Russia to end fighting but added that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin might not personally hold talks.

Zelenskyy called the Russian invasion a "genocide" after reports of the alleged massacre of some 300 civilians in the town of Bucha as Russian forces retreated. The international community has called for an investigation and for any war crimes to be punished. Moscow has vehemently denied committing war crimes in Bucha, the Kremlin stating that "not one civilian" was harmed by occupying forces and calling the reports "another staged performance by the Kyiv regime for the Western media."

Moscow questioned why, if its forces withdrew from Bucha on 30 March and the mayor of Bucha declared the area free of Russian forces on 31 March, that the bodies of dead civilians were only shown for the first time on 3 April. Russia also says the bodies shown in some footage did not show characteristic signs of degradation that would be expected after a number of days.
By Trend

Turkey and the U.S. announced on Monday that they launched a strategic mechanism to further expand the countries' bilateral cooperation, Trend reports citing a joint statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

"In keeping with the commitment made by Presidents Erdogan and Biden during their meeting in Rome in October 2021, Turkey and the United States launched the Turkey-U.S. Strategic Mechanism on April 4 in Ankara. Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal and Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, with their respective delegations, met in Ankara to review topics of mutual interest, including economic and defense cooperation, counterterrorism, and key areas of shared regional and global interest.

They reiterated their shared commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The United States welcomed Turkey's efforts to facilitate a just, negotiated diplomatic solution to end the war.

U.S. Department of Commerce Under Secretary Marisa Lago will visit Ankara on April 5-6 to advance the economic and trade cooperation goals of the Strategic Mechanism.

Turkey and the United States look forward to a Ministerial-level meeting within the framework of the Strategic Mechanism later in 2022", the statement said.




An overview of the meeting (Photo: VNA)

PM Pham Minh Chinh lauded the socio-economic achievements and the dynamic development of Panama and briefed the guest on Vietnams attainments during the Doi Moi (Renewal) cause and COVID-19 control, as well as measures to speed up post-pandemic economic recovery.

The Vietnamese leader spoke highly of cooperation efforts and results made by the two countries over the years, especially in politics, diplomacy, economy and trade. He suggested that ministries and sectors of both sides should continue to work closely together to further boost bilateral economic, trade and investment partnership to match the potential, strength and aspirations of both countries.

The PM said he hopes Panama will become a bridge for Vietnamese products to reach the Latin American market, and pledged that Vietnam will serve as a gateway for Panama to enter Southeast Asia. Both sides should focus on strengthening cooperation in transport, logistics, making full use of the canals and ports of Panama as well as the position of Vietnam - one of the 20 economies with largest trade scale in the world - in the global supply chain.

In order to make bilateral relations more practical and effective, PM Chinh proposed that ministries and sectors of both sides increase the exchange of delegations and meetings on the sidelines of international events, while enhancing the efficiency of the Vietnam-Panama joint committee on economic, trade and investment cooperation, and strengthening collaboration in potential areas such as trade, maritime transport, finance-banking and agriculture.

PM Pham Minh Chinh also asked Panama, one of few countries in the world that have minus carbon emission, to share experience with Vietnam in applying green technologies and improving national capacity in sustainable development governance.

He highlighted Vietnams strong commitments in responding to climate change, including the implementation of mechanisms under the Paris Agreement, towards achieving net zero emissions in 2050.

For her part, Panamanian FM Erika Mouynes congratulated Vietnam on the countrys achievements in the Doi Moi cause and COVID-19 control, expressing belief in the success of Vietnams post-pandemic economic recovery programme and sustainable development.

She affirmed that the Panamanian Government hopes to further bolster ties with Vietnam, and pledged that Panama will work closely with the Vietnamese side to implement the ideas suggested by PM Chinh, including maintaining delegation exchange and meetings between the two countries as well as effective coordination at international multilateral forums, and promoting trade and investment ties and collaboration in climate change response and green and sustainable growth, thus further bolstering the friendship and multifaceted partnership between the two countries./.
Seven Vietnamese executives on the Forbes list of the richest people in the world.

The seven Vietnamese on the Forbes list of the richest individuals in the world are Vingroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong, VietJet Air CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Hoa Phat Steel Chairman Tran Dinh Long, Techcombank Chairman Ho Hung Anh, Thaco Chairman Tran Ba Duong, Masan Chairman Nguyen Dang Quang and Nova Group Chairman Bui Thanh Nhon.

This is the first time Nova Group Chairman Bui Thanh Nhon has been named among the richest people in the world by Forbes with his net worth of 2.9 billion USD, ranking 1,053rd worldwide. The other six were honoured last year.

Vingroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong, VietJet Air CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, and Hoa Phat Chairman Tran Dinh Long are among the 1,000 richest in the world.

The Vingroup executive has his net worth of US$6.2 billion, ranking 411th globally. This is his 10th year in a row he has been named as one of the richest people in the world. He was first honoured in 2013 with his net worth of 1.5 billion USD.

Various Vietnamese fruits able to be exported to Iran

Vietnamese dragon fruit (Photo: nongnghiep.vn)

Iran is a market with high demand for agricultural products and tropical fruits  which are Vietnams advantages, heard a recent export consultation session held by the Trade Promotion Agency, according to Vietnam News Agency.

Nguyen Thu Thuy, deputy head of the agencys Export Promotion Centre, said that with a population of nearly 86 million, the market holds a large consumption volume compared to other countries in the Middle East.

In recent years, the annual trade turnover between Vietnam and Iran has remained at just over 100 million USD  a modest figure considering the latters demand for many strong agro-products of Vietnam.

Vietnam mainly exports agricultural and fishery products such as pepper, cashew nuts, tea, coffee, natural rubber products, vegetables, fruits, handicrafts, and timber products to Iran.

According to Nguyen Thanh Long from the Vietnam Trade Office in Iran, Vietnamese and Iranian agro-products hold great complementary effects and do not have much competition within the same product category./.

Hoi An welcomes first foreign tourists in 2022

Tourists from the United States take photos at Cau Pagoda in Hoi An city. (Photo: VNA)

The popular tourist town of Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam welcomed 126 foreign tourists on April 5 following the hiatus caused by COVID-19.

The tourists, from the US, visited famous destinations in the ancient town then took a boat trip to Thanh Ha pottery village.

On April 7, Hoi An expects another group of 50 foreign visitors. Local authorities are hoping more foreign arrivals will revive the tourism industry, and promote the image of Hoi An as a safe, friendly destination.

Since the last foreign tourists visited last November, Hoi An has focused on preparing for its reopening.

On March 15 when the country fully opened the tourism sector and Da Nang resumed international flights, many foreign tourist groups have announced their plans to make Famtrips and Presstrips to Da Nang and Hoi An.

Vietnam hopes for technology transfer in coal mining, processing from Australia

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien. (Photo: moit.gov.vn)

Vietnam hopes to establish long-term stable trade and investment ties with Australia and receive technology in sustainable coal mining and processing from Australia, said Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien.

According to Vietnam News Agency, the minister made the suggestion during an online working session on April 5 with Tania Constable, Chief Executive Officer at Minerals Council of Australia, and leading coal and mineral exporters of Australia.

He also noted that the Governments of the two countries have agreed to set up dialogue mechanisms at ministerial level on trade, energy and minerals.

Regarding coal, Minister Dien said Vietnam wants to import from 18-25 million tonnes of coal for electricity and fertilizer production in 2022. He asked Australian coal exporters, especially members of the Minerals Council of Australia to increase supply for Vietnam right in April.

According to Dien, Vietnams coal import needs account for less than 5 percent of Australias total coal export. Therefore, he believed that Australian exporters are capable of supplying coal of suitable quality for Vietnams electricity generation.

The CEO of Minerals Council of Australia said Australia is fully capable of supplying coal and minerals for Vietnam. She affirmed that the council will work closely with the Vietnamese ministry to bolster cooperation between their enterprises in coal supply and technology transfer in coal and mineral mining.

Wall Street names Vietnam among hottest Southeast Asian markets

CNBC, the recognised world leader in financial news that features breaking news and the latest headlines from Wall Street, has included Vietnam in its three hottest markets in Southeast Asia for 2022, reported VOV News.

Vietnam is named among three hottest Southeast Asian markets (Photo:vietstock.vn)

This comes after CNBC asked analysts from Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Asset Management which Southeast Asian markets were their top picks. The result revealed that the Vietnamese market is one of three top Southeast Asian picks for both Wall Street banks.

Desmond Loh, a portfolio manager at JPMorgan Asset Management, termed Vietnam a star performer in the past few years in terms of economic resiliency and growth.

He added that the country is one of the few economies globally to have seen positive economic growth throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To capitalise on the growth, we are positioned in high quality consumer proxies and banks, he added, without naming specific stocks.

Elsewhere, Goldman Sachs remains bullish on the prospects of both Indonesia and Singapore moving forward./.
Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien. (Photo: moit.gov.vn)

The minister made the suggestion during an online working session on April 5 with Tania Constable, Chief Executive Officer at Minerals Council of Australia, and leading coal and mineral exporters of Australia.



He also noted that the Governments of the two countries have agreed to set up dialogue mechanisms at ministerial level on trade, energy and minerals.

Regarding coal, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said Vietnam wants to import from 18-25 million tonnes of coal for electricity and fertilizer production in 2022. He asked Australian coal exporters, especially members of the Minerals Council of Australia to increase supply for Vietnam right in April.

According to Minister Nguyen Hong Dien, Vietnams coal import needs account for less than 5 percent of Australias total coal export. Therefore, he believed that Australian exporters are capable of supplying coal of suitable quality for Vietnams electricity generation.

The minister also asked the Minerals Council of Australia, the Australian Embassy in Vietnam and ministries of Australia to continue coordinating with his ministry to more effectively support efforts to connect and building long-term partnership of leading enterprises in coal and minerals of the two countries.

The CEO of Minerals Council of Australia said Australia is fully capable of supplying coal and minerals for Vietnam. She affirmed that the council will work closely with the Vietnamese ministry to bolster cooperation between their enterprises in coal supply and technology transfer in coal and mineral mining.

At the session, the two sides also discussed in details the demand and regulations on coal and mineral export and import. Leading Australian exporters such as BHP, Glencore, Yancoal, Whitehaven Coal, Jellinbah Group engaged in talks with four leading Vietnamese coal importers  Vinacomin, PetroVietnam, Electricity of Vietnam and Dong Bac Corporation  on possibilities of cooperation in the time ahead./.




General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith receives Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung. (Photo: VNA)

At the meetings, Mr. Dinh Tien Dung conveyed cordial greetings and best wishes of health from the leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam to the leaders of Laos; congratulated Laos on the great, comprehensive achievements of historical significance it has won after more than 35 years of renovation; and expressed the trust that with the leadership of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, the administration of the Government, and the supervision of the National Assembly, Laos will continue to achieve new and greater achievements.

Reporting to Lao leaders on the results of his talks in the morning of the same day with Secretary of the Vientiane City Party Committee Anouphap Tounalom, Mr. Dinh Tien Dung said that the two sides had agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation for the period of 2022 -2025, affirming that this is an important step, creating a framework for cooperation activities between the two capitals in the new period. He emphasized that Hanoi capital always gives high priority to developing friendly and cooperative relations with localities of Laos, especially Vientiane capital.

Expressing his pleasure to welcome the Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee and a high-ranking delegation of Hanoi city to visit and work in the capital Vientiane on the occasion of Laos and Vietnam looking towards the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations and 45 years after signing the Vietnam - Laos Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith acknowledged and highly appreciated the results of the talks between Secretary of the Hanoi City Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung and Secretary of the Vientiane City Party Committee Anouphap Tounalom; and affirmed that the results of cooperation over the past time and the documents signed between the two capitals continue to deepen the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, the two cities, the States and people of the two countries Vietnam - Laos.

Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh receives Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung. (Photo: VNA)

Prime Minister Phankham Viphavan highly appreciated the cooperation results between Hanoi and Vientiane and other localities of Laos over the years; affirmed that the visit of the high-ranking delegation of Hanoi city once again deepened the comprehensive relationship between Vietnam and Laos; and expressed his wish that Hanoi with its management experience will share and help Vientiane capital as well as Laos' localities to develop more and more in the coming time.

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung paid a courtesy visit to National Assembly Chairman Xaysomphone Phomvihan. (Photo: VNA)

At the cordial reception for Secretary of the Hanoi City Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung and the Hanoi delegation, Lao National Assembly Chairman Xaysomphone Phomvihane expressed his delight at the good cooperation between the two countries youngsters being increasingly strengthened and expanded; and highly appreciated Hanoi for its practical contributions and support to the localities of Laos.

The Lao National Assembly Chairman also highly appreciated the results of the talks between the Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee and the Secretary of the Vientiane Party Committee, and highlighted in the cooperation agreement the content of enhancing experience sharing between the Hanoi People's Council and the Vientiane Capital People's Council in the development of legal documents, supervision and decision on important issues, as well as experience in organizing activities of the People's Council./.




Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (R) welcomes his Panamanian counterpart Erika Mouynes (Photo: VNA)

The two FMs expressed their wish to promote bilateral cooperation in promosing areas such as maritime transport, climate change response, and renewable energy.

They agreed on the viewpoint of settling international disputes through peaceful measures on the basis of international law.

They shared their delight at the growing ties between Vietnam and Panama, especially through the implementation of cooperation mechanisms. They concurred to continue to effectively promote the deputy ministeral level political consultation and Joint Committee on economic, trade and investment cooperation mechanisms, as well as face-to-face and online meetings between the two countries.

Vietnam and Panama have seen positive results in economic partnership, with Panama always being among Vietnam's 10 biggest trading partners in Latin America. Two-way trade between the two countries has risen from 250 million USD in 2014 to 467 million USD in 2021. Particularly, trade between the two countries surged 45.5 percent year on year in 2021 despite COVID-19 impacts.

FM Bui Thanh Son proposed that Panama support the protection of the interests of Vietnamese citizens living, studying and working in Panama, and effectively coordinate to make the country a transit place for Vietnamese products in the Latin American region. Vietnam will acts as a bridge for Panamanian products to enter the Southeast Asian market, he added.

Son affirmed that Vietnam is keen on bolstering the traditional friendship and all-round cooperation with Panama in a substantive and effective manner.

For her part, Minister Mouynes spoke highly of Vietnams achievements in implementing the Doi moi (Renewal) process, saying that the Panamanian Government always treasures and hopes to strengthen ties with Vietnam.

She agreed that the two countries continue to work closely together to reinforce bilateral cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral aspects, for benefits of the two countries' people, and for peace, stability and development in the two regions and the world as a whole.

Within the framework of her visit to Vietnam from April 5-6, the Panamanian FM paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi, met Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and had a working session with Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien./.
Ambassador Luong Quoc Huy meets leaders of Mavarid Karane Khazar Food Industry Company (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

During the working visit, the delegation met and worked with the Board of Directors of Mavarid Karane Khazar Food Industry Company, specializing in production of canned tuna in Iran.

At the meeting, the company introduced its production capacity, facilities and desire to import tuna from Vietnam to increase input materials, as well as discussing the cooperation possibilities and placing a tuna production factory of the company in Vietnam.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Iran Luong Quoc Huy also introduced Vietnam's seafood industry, and discussed with the company to find out the most effective ways for cooperation between the two sides./.
Photo for illustration (Source: VNA)

The information was released by Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son at the Governments regular press conference on April 4 evening.

On the same day, Hanoi had announced its plan to get pupils from the first to sixth grades in 30 districts and townships across the city back to school for face-to-face learning from April 6. Hanoi is also the only locality in Vietnam that is yet to allow the reopening of pre-schools./.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has allocated UAH 32.8 billion from the reserve fund for the urgent needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), government representative in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk said.

"It is planned to allocate UAH 32,900 to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine from the reserve fund of the state budget to meet the urgent needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Melnychuk wrote on the Telegram channel following the results of the government meeting.
Application for assistance to displaced persons under UNICEF program can be submitted through Diia

An application for assistance to displaced persons under the UNICEF program can be submitted through Diia, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said.

"For those who officially became a migrant, the state will pay UAH 2,000 monthly for an adult and UAH 3,000 for a child. International organizations, in particular UNICEF, are also joining government initiatives to support displaced persons," Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Tuesday.

According to him, the organization will help the most vulnerable categories of the population and will additionally pay money to people.

In particular, large families with small children, families with children with disabilities will receive UAH 2,200 for each member of such a family.

"We are working to ensure that an application for assistance from UNICEF can be submitted through Diia," he added.
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan will reissue nautical charts, update the electronic Caspian Sea maps for vessels sailing under the Azerbaijani flag and change the water areas of the countrys ports.

The decision was taken during a meeting of representatives from Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company and Baku International Sea Trade Port to update the electronic map of Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea water region.

The parties also discussed the specification of new trestle coordinates and their representation on new edition maps, the organization of a new anchorage in the water region of Sangachal village, and the maintenance and replacement of navigation equipment (buoys, sections, lighthouses and coastal signs).

As a result, the coordinates of the objects under construction will be indicated on the new sea maps.

They also reviewed the issues of removing from the water the element of metal bases, overpasses, and other buildings whose service life has expired.

Caspian Sea

Geographically, it is not a sea, but rather the world's biggest lake, covering 371,000 square kilometers.

It is surrounded by Kazakhstan from the north to the east, Russia from the north to the west, Azerbaijan to the southwest, Iran to the south and neighboring corners, and Turkmenistan along the eastern coast's southern portions.

The Kur and Samur rivers feed into the Caspian Sea. The Volga River, which runs through Russian territory, is the largest river flowing into the Caspian Sea. At the same time, the Caspian Sea has several islands, the largest of which is Pirlallhi.

Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan signed a memorandum of understanding on the joint exploration of the Dostlug gas field on January 21, 2021. The signing of the deal marks a turning point in the development of the Caspian's oil resources.

In 2018, the Caspian Sea's legal status was finally confirmed. At the Aktau conference in August 2018, the Caspian Sea littoral states ratified an agreement on Caspian Sea status. Because of its abundant natural resources (gas and oil), coastal states had difficulty striking an agreement. Despite signing the treaty in 2018, it is not yet in force due to Iran's lengthy ratification procedure.

Renewable energy potential

The Caspian Sea has great wind power potential for electricity production. Its wind power potential is estimated at 157 GW. The sea ranks second in the world for its wind energy potential.

It is worth noting that the potential of the Caspian Sea in the field of renewable energy is much greater than the total energy potential of Azerbaijan in terms of other types of alternative sources.

The fact suggests that the Caspian Sea is famous not only for its oil and gas resources but also for clean, alternative energy.

The wind turbines, with a height of more than 90 meters, will be installed in the Caspian Sea. In this respect, Deputy Energy Minister Elnur Soltanov stated that the installation of offshore turbines requires large investments, but the Caspian Sea wind energy potential makes them the most attractive for investors, and this would not result in an electricity tariff increase.

Azerbaijan aims to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the installed capacity of electricity from 16.5 to 30 percent by 2030. With the use of renewable energy sources to generate electricity, Azerbaijan will be able to ensure a sustainable energy balance and export the achieved gas volumes, allowing for an additional inflow of foreign currency into the countrys economy.
As of the morning of April 5, 2022, some 165 children in Ukraine were killed and 266 were injured of varying severity as a result of a full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, the Office of the Prosecutor General reported.

"These figures are not final, since work is underway to establish them in places of active hostilities, in temporarily occupied and liberated territories. In particular, in the city of Mariupol, in certain territories of Kyiv, Chernihiv and Luhansk regions," the report says.

Children suffered the most in Kyiv region - 77, Donetsk region - 78, Kharkiv region - 61, Chernihiv region - 49, Mykolaiv region - 35, Luhansk region - 31, Zaporizhia region - 22, Kherson region - 29, the capital - 16, Sumy region - 16, Zhytomyr region - 15.

It is noted that on April 4, as a result of the shelling of the city of Mykolaiv by the armed forces of the Russian Federation, a child was killed.

"Due to the bombing and shelling, 869 educational institutions were damaged, 83 of them were completely destroyed," the Prosecutor General's Office said.
Kuleba on massacre in Bucha: Russia has no place in UN Human Rights Council

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in a conversation with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said that evidence is being collected and Russian war criminals will be held accountable by all available UN mechanisms.

"Spoke with UN Secretary General @AntonioGuterres on the current security situation and the Bucha massacre. Stressed that Ukraine will use all available UN mechanisms to collect evidence and hold Russian war criminals to account. No place for Russia on the UN Human Rights Council," Kuleba said on Twitter.

As reported, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the day before that given the strong evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, including reports of mass graves and the horrific massacre in Bucha, Russia should be expelled from the UN Human Rights Council.
Street fighting continues in the area of Rubizhne and Popasna (Luhansk region), the enemy is shelling the area. The day before, in this area, Russian invaders tried to attack, but were repulsed, head of Luhansk regional military administration Serhiy Haidai said.

"Yesterday, near Novotoshkivske, Nyzhnie, Popasna and Rubizhne, the Russians tried to attack. But they were forced to retreat to their positions. In total, seven enemy attacks were repulsed in Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The Ukrainian defenders destroyed seven tanks, eight armored vehicles and three artillery systems of the enemy," head of Luhansk regional military administration wrote in Telegram on Tuesday morning.

According to him, one of the houses in Severodonetsk, which had already been shelled three times in a week and became uninhabitable, was on fire for the fourth and fifth time. First, three apartments on the 3rd floor were on fire, then one on the fifth.

Haidai also said that the situation is difficult. "Neither rescuers nor ambulances can reach some areas of Popasna and Rubizhne. The shelling is very dense, street fighting continues. In Rubizhne, the dead are buried in the yards," he wrote.
In Melitopol, invaders try to create so-called 'people's militia', in Polohy they mine internal territory of hospital

The Russian Federation continues its armed aggression against Ukraine, shelling peaceful villages and towns in Polohy district of Zaporizhia region.

"The civilian infrastructure of the settlements Mala Tokmachka, Orikhiv is shelled by the invaders almost every day. Many houses, shops and other buildings are destroyed," the Facebook page of Zaporizhia regional administration reported on Tuesday.

Rescuers of the State Emergency Service extinguished a fire in the School of Arts in the village of Inzhenerne, Polohy district. As a result of shelling by Russian invaders, the attic of the establishment caught fire.

"We have received information that the men of the temporarily occupied Melitopol are being sent fake summonses to serve in the so-called 'people's militia," the report says.

In addition, the Russian military try to connect the Russian Internet in the city.

"In the temporarily occupied city of Polohy, the occupiers seized and mined the inner territory of the central district hospital. Medical personnel and patients were forbidden to return to the institution. It is interesting that wounded Russian soldiers remained in the hospital," the report says.

According to information from the headquarters of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, as of the evening of April 4, 2022 and the morning of April 5, 2022, units of the Defense Forces of the Zaporizhia Region demolished 24 invaders, six armored combat vehicles, five cars, five Russian servicemen were wounded.

"In addition, one armored combat vehicle was captured, a satellite communications station and an enemy ammunition depot near the village of Staromlynivka were destroyed," the report says.
U.S. to announce additional military aid to Ukraine in coming days

In the coming days, the United States will announce additional military aid to Ukraine, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday.

Military assistance from the United States and its allies is arriving every day, including today, and we will be announcing additional military support in the coming days, Sullivan said during a White House press briefing on April 4.

He noted that since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the United States has provided Ukraine with weapons and ammunition in the amount of $1.65 billion.

Earlier it was reported that a group of U.S. senators asked Sullivan to speed up the supply of military assistance to Ukraine and report on the amount of weapons transferred to Kyiv since the start of a full-scale Russian invasion.

The letter was signed by 25 senators from two parties.
As result of shelling ten people killed in Mykolaiv on Monday

As a result of shelling on Monday, April 4, ten civilians were killed in Mykolaiv, another 46 people were injured, mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said.

As Senkevych said during the broadcast on Monday evening, as a result of shelling at 7 a.m., one person was killed, five were injured, two of them in serious condition.

In the evening, Russian troops opened fire on Mykolaiv again.

"In total, as a result of this shelling, just listen: nine people were killed, 41 people were injured," the mayor said and specified that the death toll could increase, since some of the wounded remain in serious condition.

"Thus, today ten people were killed during shelling and 46 were wounded," he said.

Earlier, Senkevych announced the use of cluster munitions by Russian troops during the shelling of Mykolaiv.
Biden: What happened in Bucha indicates that Putin is war criminal

U.S. President Joe Biden said that what happened in the city of Bucha, Kyiv region, indicates that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal.

"You may remember that I was criticized for calling Putin a war criminal. So, the truth matters - you saw what happened in Bucha. This is evidence that he is a war criminal," the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine quotes Biden's statement on Twitter.

The U.S. President also stressed the importance of gathering information and helping Ukraine.

"We must collect information, we must continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to continue the fight, and we must get all the details to make it work - to conduct a trial for war crimes," he said.

"This man is cruel. And w hat is happening in Bucha, screaming atrocities, and everyone saw it," the U.S. president said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has urged foreign ministers who doubt the need to strengthen sanctions against Russia to visit Bucha and see the crimes committed by the Russian military.

"I invite international representatives, my colleagues, those who still have doubts whether to disconnect Russian banks from SWIFT or whether to continue buying Russian gas, oil and coal, or whether to receive Russian ships in ports and process products sold to Russia or bought from Russia, visit Bucha immediately, visit a small town and stand in front of a mass grave, see the bodies of dead Ukrainian women who were raped before they were killed and whom the Russians tried to burn to hide the traces of their crimes," Kuleba said at a press conference with British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in Warsaw on Monday.

He stressed that he is addressing this appeal to all foreign ministers who will meet this week in NATO, in the EU, at the G7 ministerial meeting.

"If you have doubts, unwillingness or arguments about the need to continue business with Russia, first visit Bucha, and then talk to me," Kuleba added.

He pointed out that the same applies to weapons.

"The more weapons we have, the faster we can win this war and prevent Russia from committing even greater crimes," the minister said.
The general situation on the fronts as of Monday evening is characterized by the fact that the enemy has somewhat lost its offensive potential and is now engaged in replenishment, regrouping of its troops with the desire to continue the offensive in the area of the JFO zone, in Mariupol and Kharkiv region, Advisor to the Head of the President's Office Oleksiy Arestovych said at a briefing on Monday evening.

"In the rest of the front sectors, the enemy has been stopped, and if you look at Kyiv, Sumy and almost entire Chernihiv region, the enemy has left them," he said.

The adviser to the head of the President's Office noted that "the enemy will try to encircle our troops in the JFO zone and finish off Mariupol, but we are all sure that it will not succeed."

According to Arestovych, the enemy's losses today are 647 tanks (2.5 tank divisions), 1,844 armored combat vehicles, 330 artillery systems, 107 multiple launch rocket systems, 54 air defense systems, 147 aircraft (almost seven aviation regiments), 134 helicopters, 1,273 vehicles, seven ships and boats, 92 tactical unmanned vehicles, 25 special vehicles, four Iskander or Tochka-U tactical missiles.
Even the possibility of negotiations with Russia after the tragedy in Bucha will be a challenge, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky believes.

"All of us, including myself, will perceive even the possibility of negotiations as a challenge. The internal challenge, first of all, one's own, human. Then, when you pull yourself together, and you have to do it, I think that we have no other choice," he said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists shown as part of the all-Ukrainian telethon on Tuesday.

According to the president, "there will be another challenge inside the state, because everyone understands that what they did is unforgivable. Each such tragedy, each such Bucha will hit you on the hands in relation to certain negotiations. But we need to find opportunities for such steps."

"Just to say - let's not talk about anything today - is the easiest position. The most difficult thing is to say what they did, recognize them as an enemy and at the same time find an opportunity to meet and find a way out at this meeting without losing our territory," Zelensky said.

He spoke in favor of speeding up the investigation into the crimes in Bucha and other cities.

"It is unprofitable for Europe to drag out this process, because they see that there is more than enough evidence and, unfortunately, evidence will only appear," the president said.
By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Three people have been arrested over the nightclub explosion that took place in Baku on April 3, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor Generals Office has reported.

According to preliminary evidence, a gas cylinder filled with compressed propane gas was used illegally and in breach of existing standards in the facility's kitchen. The explosion of the gas cylinder caused destruction and fire in the building, the report added.

During the investigation, Rasul Rasulov, an administrator at Merser Food LLC, who rented the catering facility and was responsible for complying with fire safety rules, was charged under Azerbaijani Criminal Code Article 225.2 (violation of fire safety rules - negligently causing death or other grave consequences).

Orkhan Safarov, the founder and manager of the club, was charged under Criminal Code Article 314.2 (negligence resulting in the death of the victim or other grave consequences).

Moreover, during the investigation, the inspector of the 2nd Territorial State Fire Department of the State Fire Control Service of the Emergency Ministry, Ruslan Mammadov, who was responsible for ensuring fire safety in the area, was charged under Criminal Code Article 314.2 for neglecting his professional duties.

All three persons were remanded in custody under the Binagadi district court's relevant rulings.

The Prosecutor General's Office's investigation department has begun a criminal investigation into the case under relevant Criminal Code articles.

The public will be kept up to date on the investigation's progress and outcomes, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

It should be noted that one person was killed and 37 others were injured in the explosion at the Location nightclub on the first floor of a residential building in Bakus Sabail district at around 0300, on April 3. Moreover, 14 cars, one apartment and two non-residential facilities were damaged.




Ukraine does not yet have a list of countries ready to "engage 100%" for it as security guarantees, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists shown on Tuesday as part of the all-Ukrainian telethon

"Different countries are ready to guarantee different things. So far, we have not received a list of countries that are ready to 100% join guarantees for us. We need serious players. We need a circle of countries that are ready to provide any weapons within 24 hours, we need sanctions to be developed in advance and that in the first second, when we felt a threat from the Russian Federation, the circle of these states unite and introduce everything at once. So this state (Russia) be driven under the flask," he said.

The president of Ukraine also criticized the ideas of "demilitarization" and "denazification" that Russia would like to include in the agreement.

"We forgot the phrase "demilitarization" even when I was offered to leave Kyiv. Denazification sounds insulting, we can use this term in your direction and, as Bucha showed, we will be right," Zelensky said.

According to him, "we explained that the army should correspond to the army that we have, which is capable of defending our state. We understand that even if we sign the most powerful agreement, Russia can return in 2 years."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will have to choose "between Russia and the rest of the world."

In an interview with Ukrainian journalists aired on Tuesday as part of the all-Ukrainian telethon, he said that he will have to choose between Russia and the rest of the world. He may say that I choose Hungary, but Hungary is part of the rest of the world."

Zelensky said he had repeatedly invited Orban to meet.

"I wanted to find a relationship with him, I called him, invited him to a meeting, offered to meet with him. He was afraid, I'm sure of it. He might take offense at me and say, 'I'm not afraid of anyone.' He is afraid of the influence of the Russian Federation on his state. This influence exists, whether he likes it or not," Zelensky said.

At the same time, he is sure that the people of Hungary view Ukrainians positively.
The European Union is ready to provide financial and technical support to a joint investigation team that will investigate crimes against humanity committed by the Russian occupying forces in the suburbs of Kyiv, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said following talks with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

"I held talks with President of the European Commission von der Leyen. I informed about the inhuman crimes committed by the aggressor in the suburbs of Kyiv. We agreed: everyone should be punished! I appreciate the readiness of the EU to provide financial and technical support to the relevant joint investigation team," Zelensky said on Twitter on Monday evening.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he hopes for the removal of the bodies of dead defenders and the wounded from Mariupol.

"We have reached an agreement with Turkey today. Today it is ready to take out the wounded and the dead by ships, to transport them from Berdiansk. Everything is in place to evacuate the wounded and the dead," he said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists shown as part of the telethon on Tuesday.

"We are waiting for approval from Putin. This moment depends on him. If we fail, we will know for sure that the Russian president personally does not allow this to happen," he said.
At night, during shelling by Russian forces from the sea, a civilian ship under the flag of the Dominican Republic near one of the berths in Mariupol port was hit, wounding one crew member, Ukraine's State Border Guard Service has said.

"The hit caused a fire in the engine room, one crew member was injured. The captain on the international maritime security channel gave the SOS signal and the message: Attention! Attention! The ship under the flag of the Dominican Republic was brutally destroyed, everything was destroyed. The bridge was destroyed. There is a fire in the engine room. There are wounded," the message says.

The ship began to sink, and the fire covered an increasing area. Marine border guards promptly rendered assistance to the wounded and evacuated the crew to a safe place.

Now there is a fire on the ship, which is sinking. It is impossible to carry out a rescue operation under constant shelling.
Russian forces are regrouping and concentrating efforts on preparing an offensive operation in eastern Ukraine in order to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The enemy is trying to improve the position of units in the Tavriya and Pivdennobuzsky operational areas, General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) has said.

According to the information of the General Staff, published on Facebook on Tuesday morning, the movement of enemy units withdrawn from Polissia and the Siversky direction to new operational areas continues. Redeployment of the troops of the Central Military District from the territory of Ukraine has been completed. Certain units from the aforementioned, after the completion of the restoration of combat capability, will be moved to the area of the settlement of Valuyki and included in the offensive groupings of troops.

The movement of columns of weapons and military equipment across the territory of the republic in the direction of the Gomel, Yelsk and Mazyr railway stations for loading onto railway echelons is noted. A significant part of the aircraft and helicopters of the aerospace forces of the armed forces of the Russian Federation was relocated from the airfields of the Republic of Belarus to the territory of Russia.

With the help of individual units from the 6th and 20th Combined Arms Army, the 1st Tank Army, the Baltic and Northern Fleets, the enemy concentrated its main efforts on preparing for the resumption of offensive operations, as well as an attempt to encircle the Joint Forces grouping. The enemy is replenishing food supplies, fuels and lubricants and ammunition.

Russia-occupation forces continue to blockade Kharkiv with constant shelling and further destroy residential areas and infrastructure of the city.

In the direction of Sloviansk, the enemy is trying to resume offensive operations. In the direction of Barvenkove, it has partial success, advanced 7 kilometers, took control of the settlement of Brazhkivka. Also, with forces in the battalion tactical group of the 1st Tank Regiment, he advanced in the direction of the settlement of Sulyhivka, unsuccessfully.

To improve the movement of troops in the direction and ensure the crossing of the river, Siversky Donets is carrying out work to restore the bridge in Izium.

In the Donetsk and Luhansk directions, with a certain composition of forces, the occupiers are focusing their main efforts on taking control of the areas of the settlements of Popasna and Rubizhne, establishing full control over Mariupol, as well as preparing offensive operations in the area of the settlement of Zolota Nyva.

In the areas of the settlements of Borovske, Novoluhanske, Solodke, Maryinka, Zolota Nyva, the enemy continued shelling the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and civilian infrastructure.

Near the settlements of Novotoshkivske, Nyzhne, Popasna, Kalynove, Stepne, Rubizhne, Troitske, Novobakhmutivka, and Novoselivka Druha, the enemy carried out assault operations, but had no success.

The Russian invaders launched massive artillery and air strikes on the city of Mariupol.

In the Pivdennobuzsky direction, the occupying troops are carrying out assault operations with the support of artillery in order to take control of the settlement of Oleksandrivka, with partial success. In the area of the settlements of Liubyne, Myrne, and Kopani, the invaders fired at the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from artillery.

Russian troops shelled Mykolaiv with cluster munitions prohibited by the Geneva Convention. Civilian quarters and medical institutions, including a children's hospital, fell under enemy fire. There are dead and wounded, including children.

"The occupying troops continue to suffer losses. There are big problems with the recruitment of combat units and support units. The enemy personnel are demoralized, which has led to an increase in the number of desertions and refusals of the military personnel of the armed forces of the Russian Federation to participate in the war on the territory of Ukraine," the General Staff said.
Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova has reported the forced removal of residents of the temporarily occupied Izium, Kharkiv region, to cities in Russia.

"Residents of the temporarily occupied Izium in Kharkiv region are forcibly taken by Russian invaders to the territory of the Russian Federation. The enemy creates filtration camps and corridors through which they deport Ukrainian citizens to Russia," Denisova said on Telegram on Tuesday.

She stressed that this was not the first time such tactics had been used by Russian troops.

"After bringing the city to a critical situation, the enemy offers a conditional corridor to the Russian Federation, ostensibly to save people, leaving people no choice," Denisova said.

According to the Ukrainian ombudsman, the Russian side says 615,000 people have been taken out of Ukraine, of which 121,000 are children.

"Such treatment of civilians is a crime against humanity and a war crime, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court," Denisova said.
The Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk invited the Minister of Finance of Israel Agvidor Lieberman to visit Bucha to get acquainted with the consequences of the presence of Russian troops in the Ukrainian city. The Embassy of Ukraine in Israel reported this at Facebook.

I invite Mr. Lieberman to come to Ukraine. We will take him with a convoy to Bucha and to other places where he can see for himself the bodies of civillians and meet the women who were tied up and raped. Maybe then he will know what happened, - the ambassador said.

Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Finance, commenting on the events in Bucha, said that Israel must on the one hand - to maintain a moral position, and on the other - to take care of their interests. We all condemn war crimes. The parties blame each other. Ukraine blames Russia, and Russia blames Ukraine, - Lieberman said.

At the same time, after the withdrawal of Russian troops from Bucha, Ukrainian law enforcement officers removed more than 400 civilians from their mass graves.
The UK is launching a GDP 10 million fund to support organizations in Ukraine, including those helping victims of conflict-related sexual violence, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.

"Today I can announce that we launch a GDP 10 million civil society fund to support organizations in Ukraine, including those helping the victims of conflict-related sexual violence. We will not rest until these criminals are brought to justice," Truss said at a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Warsaw on Monday.

The head of the British Foreign Office assured that Britain would ensure that the criminals who committed the crimes in Bucha were brought to justice.

"What we have seen on the streets of Irpin, Bucha are scenes that we will never forget. We have seen massacres, evidence of rape and sexual violence, as well as indiscriminate killings of civilians. We will ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice for these barbaric crimes," Truss said.

She said that, together with allies, Britain will increase efforts to stop Putin's appalling war.
Spanish FM announces expulsion of 25 Russian diplomats from country  media

Spain's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday decided to expel 25 Russian diplomats from the country, Spanish radio station Cadena SER reported.

"Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares announced the expulsion of 25 diplomats of the Russian embassy from Spain," the radio station reports.

According to the minister, "they pose a threat to the country's security."
Laing O'Rourke, an international engineering and construction company with a major presence in UK, Australia and the Middle East, has completed a streamlining of its corporate structure to create a single, consolidated UK trading group under Laing ORourke Holdings and to reduce the number of legal entities in the UK group.

The changes create a new long-term structure for the business Europe Hub, reducing administration costs and enhancing financial reporting to stakeholders.

The consolidated UK trading group will comprise five operating entities:

*Laing ORourke Delivery (new name for Laing O'Rourke Construction), which will comprise the Buildings and Infrastructure trading businesses;

*Explore 2050 Engineering, comprising Expanded, the specialist civils and structures business, and Crown House Technologies, the specialist MEP business;

*Explore 2050 Manufacturing, which will include Laing ORourkes two UK manufacturing facilities  Explore Manufacturing in Nottinghamshire and CHt Manufacturing in the West Midlands  and well as geotechnical business Expanded Piling, and specialist stone contractor Vetter;

*Select Plant Hire remains a standalone trading business for cranes, plant and equipment; and

*Laing ORourke Services, made up of employment entities, as well as specialist digital design and recruitment businesses.

Seamus French, Europe Hub Managing Director and CEO-designate said: "This much simpler corporate structure is a positive move for the business and all our stakeholders. The restructure will simplify our financial reporting process and ensure we can run our corporate structure more efficiently, allowing management to focus their time on running the core trading companies that will drive the growth of the business."

Madeleina Loughrey-Grant, Group Director of Legal and Chair of the Groups Sustainability Steering Committee, said: "These structural changes represent another step forward in our governance journey, making compliance and governance simpler and streamlining further our corporate governance and ESG reporting."

Laing ORourke however, made it clear that the changes do not impact the leadership teams of any of its specialist trading entities and will not affect the delivery of live projects.

The business has informed key clients of the simplified structure and is engaging with counterparties to a small portfolio of contracts which are planned to transfer to different trading entities, it added.
Evidence has been received of the use of phosphorus and thermobaric munitions by Russian invaders in the village of Mala Rohan near Kharkiv, Liudmyla Denisova, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, has said.

"The occupiers used phosphorus and thermobaric munitions during the battles for Mala Rohan, near Kharkiv. Ukrainian servicemen have relevant evidence today  scorched land, destroyed buildings and captured enemy equipment," the Ombudswoman wrote on her Telegram channel on Tuesday.

In particular, according to her, the Russian military used TOS-1A Heavy Flamethrower System with shells for a rocket launcher  thermobaric and phosphorus ones.

"Due to the indiscriminate nature of the action of these types of weapons, they are prohibited from being used near settlements. According to military doctors, they managed to evacuate soldiers who were injured as a result of the use of these munitions. Many got burned, some suffered from the effects of white phosphorus vapor entering the respiratory tract" the Ombudswoman said.

Denisova stressed that, according to the testimony of the Ukrainian military, chemical munitions were used aiming at civilian targets, in particular, three phosphorus shells were fired at a dairy plant located near Mala Rohan.
The Main Intelligence Agency of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine has published a list of servicemen of the 96th separate reconnaissance brigade of the first tank army of the Western Military District (military unit No. 52634) in Nizhny Novgorod, who committed war crimes against the people of Ukraine in Kyiv region.

"Remember! For the crimes committed against the civilian population of Ukraine, all war criminals will be brought to justice and will be held accountable," the agency said on the statement.

Thus, the full list of the military is published on the website: https://gur.gov.ua/content/voennosluzhashchye-96-otdelnoi-razvedyvatelnoi-bryhady.html
In the coming weeks, the Russian Federation is expected to attack eastern and southern Ukraine to seize the entire Donbas and create a land bridge to the occupied Crimea, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

"We now see a significant movement of troops away from Kyiv to regroup, rearm and resupply. And they shift their focus to the east. In the coming weeks, we expect a further Russian push in the eastern and southern Ukraine to try to take the entire Donbas and create a land bridge to occupied Crimea. So this is a crucial phase of the war," Stoltenberg said ahead of the meetings of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels on Tuesday.

The NATO Secretary General said that Russia is withdrawing not only from Kyiv, but also from most of the north of Ukraine, at least significantly reducing its presence there, due to the fact that they were defeated.

President Putin was unable to achieve the goals he set for this military operation, he said. His goal was to capture Kyiv within days. Now several weeks have passed and yet he has not been able to capture Kyiv and many cities in the north. So now he is moving many of these troops from the north to Belarus and east to Russia, Stoltenberg said.

He said that a new very concentrated Russian military offensive in Donbas is expected after that. According to him, the repositioning will take several weeks.

In this window, it is extremely important that NATO allies provide support so that we can rearm and resupply Ukrainian forces. This is what I expect the allies to do and discuss at the meeting tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, Stoltenberg said.
The Estonian Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Vladimir Lipayev on Tuesday to present a diplomatic note on the closure of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Narva and the Consular Office of the Russian Embassy in Tartu.

"Estonia also decided to expel and declare as persona non grata 14 of their staff, including seven employees with diplomatic status," the Estonian Foreign Ministry's press service told Interfax.

Undersecretary Mart Volmer, who presented the diplomatic note to the ambassador, underlined that the individuals concerned must leave Estonia by 30 April.

Volmer said that in light of the constant news of atrocities committed by the Russian forces, including in Bucha and elsewhere, there can be no talk of business as usual, especially in view of Russia's grave violation of international law, including the international commitments it has taken upon itself.

The undersecretary added that the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity must be held accountable.

He reiterated that Russia's actions in Ukraine were unacceptable. Russia must also withdraw its forces from Ukraine and take responsibility for the war damages it has caused.
Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova reports on facts of mass torture of civilians in the liberated territories of Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions.

"In the children's camp Pidsnizhnyk [Snow Drop] in Kyiv region, there was a base for a division of the Rashist army for three weeks. In the basement of the building, five corpses of men with their hands tied behind their backs were found. They were tortured and then killed in cold blood. One of the dead was crushed in the skull with butt blows with special cruelty. The rest were shot in the back of the head or chest," the Ombudswoman wrote on her Telegram channel on Tuesday.

In addition, according to her, in the village of Viktorivka, Chernihiv region, which was under occupation for 25 days, the Russian military held civilians of various ages as hostages in the basement  from the elderly to newborns.

"In order to get at least a bucket of water, the villagers were sent under escort. They did not give any medicine even to those whose lives depend on certain medicines. A man with asthma died, his body was buried nearby in the forest," the Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.

Also, according to Denisova, in Konotop district of Sumy region, three local residents were found at the enemy's deployment sites and were tortured.

"Due to inhuman living conditions and infections brought by the occupiers, a number of diseases have spread, among which is chicken pox," the Ombudsperson also informed.

Denisova once again stressed that the torture and killing of civilians are a crime against humanity and a war crime in accordance with Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The leadership of Ukraine will continue to seek the introduction of an oil embargo on Russia.

"Unfortunately, we have not reached the oil embargo yet. We will continue to work to convince our partners of the oil embargo," the head of the President's Office wrote on Tuesday in his Telegram channel.

Thus, he commented on the introduction by the European Union of the fifth package of sanctions against the Russian Federation.

Earlier, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced proposals for new sanctions of the fifth EU package against the Russian Federation.
The 64th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 35th Combined Army of the Russian Federation, which previously occupied Bucha and committed massacres and torture of civilians, will be returned to the territory of Ukraine, the Main Intelligence Agency of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reports.

According to the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Russian command will not rotate personnel in this unit and again throw it to the front line.

"As of April 4, the brigade was withdrawn from Ukraine to Belarus and was located near the city of Mozyr. Until April 6, the personnel will be delivered by rail to Russian Belgorod. After a two-day rest, they plan to return to Ukraine in one of the most 'hot' spots [tentatively - Kharkiv direction]. As a rule, Russian units leaving the war zone get much more time to recover and rest," Ukrainian intelligence notes.

According to intelligence, such a schedule indicates that the 64th brigade is awaiting "special assignments" on Ukrainian territory.

"The first of them: intimidation of the inhabitants of the settlements of Ukraine. Those who committed the crimes of genocide in Bucha can repeat this again in other cities," the Defense Intelligence Agency notes.

Another goal of the rapid return of the 64th brigade to the territory of Ukraine is the rapid "elimination" of unnecessary witnesses, according to intelligence  that is, redeployment to a sector of the front where they will not have a chance to stay alive in order to prevent testifying in future courts.

"The personnel of the unit, realizing the resonance of the events in Bucha and the responsibility for the crimes committed, are massively opposed to returning to Ukraine. However, the Russian command ignores these sentiments and threatens the tribunal in case of refusal to continue participating in hostilities. Reports of dismissal are not accepted for consideration," the agency reports.

Ukrainian and international investigators are documenting numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian army. And not a single criminal-occupier will escape due punishment.
Civilian casualties from February 24, when Russia started the war against Ukraine, to April 4, 2022 amounted to 3,675 civilians (3,527 in the report a day earlier), including 1,480 killed (1,430), the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights said on Tuesday.

"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 the document, this concerns, for example, Mariupol and Volnovakha (Donetsk region), Izium (Kharkiv region), Popasna (Luhansk region), and Borodianka (Kyiv region), where there are allegations of numerous civilian casualties. These figures are being further corroborated and are not included in the above statistics.

"Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes," the UN said.

According to confirmed UN data, some 331 men, some 211 women, some 40 boys and 22 girls have been killed, while the sex of 61 children and 815 adults is yet unknown.

Among the 2,195 injured were 43 girls and 40 boys, as well as 100 children hose sex is yet unknown.

Compared to the previous day, according to the UN, two children were killed and five more were injured.

OHCHR said that in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as of midnight on April 5, there were 407 (405) dead and 808 (793) injured in government-controlled territory, and 67 (67) dead and 257 (253) injured in territory controlled by self-proclaimed "republics."

In other regions of Ukraine (the city of Kyiv, and Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Zhytomyr regions), which were under Government control when casualties occurred: casualties occurred: 2,136 casualties (1,006 (958) killed and 1,130 (1,051) injured).

According to the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, as of 08:00 (local time) on April 5, 165 (161) children were killed and 266 (264) were injured.

An increase in figures in this update compared with the previous update (as of 24:00 midnight on 3 April 2022 (local time) should not be attributed to civilian casualties that occurred on 4 April only, as during the day OHCHR also corroborated casualties that occurred on previous days, the OHCHR said in the document.

In turn, NATO Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said at a meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Ukraine in New York on Tuesday that the figures speak of a tragedy in a story that has not yet been completed.

According to her, OHCHR has received credible allegations that Russian troops have used cluster munitions in populated areas in Ukraine at least 24 times. Assumptions that Ukrainian troops used such weapons are also being investigated, the NATO under-secretary-general added.

DiCarlo said that more than 10 million people in Ukraine who have been displaced either within Ukraine or abroad are refugees.
Russia feels like a colonizer and turns the right of veto in the UN Security Council into the right to die, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video conference call at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

"The UN Charter has been violated from the first article, and if so, what is the point in the remaining articles? Today, as a result of Russia's actions on the territory of my country, the worst war crimes are being committed since the end of World War II," he said.

Zelensky also said that Russian troops are deliberately destroying cities, blockading them, provoking mass starvation. At the same time, according to him, "the massacres in Bucha are just one of many examples of what the occupiers are doing on our land."

"It is necessary once and for all to punish the one who considers himself privileged... The leadership of Russia feels like colonialists as in ancient times. They want our wealth and our people. Russia has already deported tens of thousands of our citizens to its territory. Russia wants to turn Ukrainians into silent slaves. The Russian military openly plunder our cities and villages, which they have captured. We are dealing with a state that turns the right of veto in the UN Security Council into the right to die, which undermines the entire architecture of global security," Zelensky said.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said he would visit Ukraine on Wednesday and Thursday.

At a meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Ukraine in New York on Tuesday, Griffiths said that tomorrow he plans to visit Ukraine, to have discussions with the top leadership of the Ukrainian government in Kyiv on the same subjects and others that they will undoubtedly present to him, and also to see firsthand the humanitarian response.

Griffiths said he visited Moscow on Monday, where he met with high-ranking officials to discuss the possibility of a humanitarian ceasefire, the issue of humanitarian convoys, and safe corridors.

The official said that his colleagues in Moscow received these proposals, assured him of their intention to carefully review these ideas, which he conveyed to them. They agreed to remain in close contact. Griffiths left these meetings, understanding that we had a very long road ahead of us, but we had to go and we will get through it.
Hong Kong: Chinese medicine plans introduced

The visiting expert group led by Tong Xiaolin, the head of the Mainland Chinese medicine (CM) expert group of the central authorities, attended a meeting today to introduce its CM anti-epidemic plans for clinical application.

Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan and representatives of the Food & Health Bureau, Department of Health and Hospital Authority also took part in the meeting.

Based on the Mainland's experience of using CM for anti-epidemic treatment, the specific epidemic situation of Hong Kong as well as the findings of its visit in the city, the expert group prepared a set of CM anti-epidemic plans for clinical application on the basis of the existing clinical plans of Hong Kong.

The plans provide guidelines on the application of CM at different levels and for different target groups to the CM sector and the public as a reference.

During the meeting, the expert group introduced the content of the plans and exchanged views with representatives of the local CM sector.

Prof Chan, on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the expert group for visiting Hong Kong and providing guidance on the CM epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic work in the city.

She pointed out that the expert group has already paid site visits to different facilities and met various stakeholders in the CM sector within just a week after arrival, with a view to gaining an in-depth understanding of the actual situation of the use of CM at different levels of epidemic prevention and control in Hong Kong.

Noting that the Chinese Medicine Development Committee and the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong are both important stakeholders in promoting the local development of CM, Prof Chan called on the attendees to further promote the plans drawn up by the expert group to members of their affiliated organisations, which serve as a reference for more CM practitioners and citizens.

The Hong Kong SAR Government will also step up its publicity to promote to the public relevant information regarding the use of CM in epidemic prevention and control, she added.

Regarding the "three easy" principles - easy to understand, easy to do and easy to get - put forward by the expert group, the health chief said the Hong Kong SAR Government will follow up and implement relevant recommendations so as to give full play to the advantages and effectiveness of CM in fighting the epidemic, thereby further promoting the development of CM in Hong Kong.

This story has been published on: 2022-04-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Saudi Chemical Company Holding (SCCH) has announced that it has reached an agreement with Eli Lilly, a leading global pharma group, to acquire the full prescription rights of treatment drug Cialis in the kingdom, for its key subsidiary, AJA Pharmaceutical industries (AJA Pharma).

Cialis is used in treatment for erectile dysfunction as well as other prostate conditions.

With this deal, AJA Pharma would be the sole manufacturer and supplier for Cialis in the Saudi market, said SCCH in its filing to Saudi bourse Tadawul.

The transaction was completed after the approval from the relevant government authorities was received, it stated.

The comes close on the heels of the acquisition agreement signed by SCCH and Eli Lilly in Dec last year.

According to SCCH, the project is expected to have a positive impact on the company's revenues and will be announced later.

Cialis revenues in Saudi Arabia reached around SR100 million ($26.7 million in 2021, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky proposed to the UN Security Council either to remove Russia as an aggressor and source of war from blocking decisions on its own aggression, or to show how the UN Security Council can be reformatted.

"And now we need the decisions of the Security Council. Peace in Ukraine. If you don't know how to make this decision, there are two things you can do. Either  remove Russia as an aggressor and a source of war from blocking decisions on its own aggression, its own war. And then do everything to establish peace. Or show how you can reformat," he said, speaking on Tuesday via video link at the UN Security Council.

"Or if your current format has no alternative, and there is no way out, then only self-dissolution. I'm sure you can do without the third option. Ukraine needs peace. The world needs peace," Zelensky said.
Ombudsman: Exhumation to be carried out to identify, establish circumstances of death of Bucha residents buried in mass grave

The prosecutor's office is preparing a resolution on the exhumation of the bodies of Bucha residents buried in a mass grave to identify the dead, the causes and circumstances of death, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova has said.

In the Telegram channel on Tuesday, the ombudsman said that she had visited Bucha, liberated from the invaders, in Kyiv region.

"Together with the secretary of Bucha city council Taras Shapravsky and journalists, they examined the terrible results of the 'Russian liberation' a huge 14-meter mass grave near the Church of St. Andrew the First-Called and All Saints, in which from 150 to 300 victims are buried," Denisova said.

According to her, she looked at the base equipped by the "Kadyrovtsy" unit along Yablonivska Street, where local residents were executed.

"The bodies have already been taken by law enforcement agencies for examination, but pools of blood remain on the walls of the building and on the asphalt. The room, which the militants hastily left, is filled with empty alcohol bottles and the remains of food taken from Bucha citizents," Denisova said.

According to the commissioner for human rights, in fact, half of the city was destroyed by enemy shelling, it is dangerous to approach houses because of the risk of detonation of unexploded shells, in most high-rise buildings, windows and holes in the walls from bombardments were blown out by explosions.

"Along the road from Kyiv to Bucha and Irpin, there are dozens of shot cars in which ordinary people died who tried to save their lives and leave the cities," the ombudsman said.

She said that now the bodies of the dead are being collected by law enforcement officers for the necessary examinations.

"To open the mass graves, prosecutors are preparing an exhumation order so that everyone who has lost relatives can find them and properly bury them, as well as to determine the circumstances of the death of all victims in order to bring the guilty occupiers to justice," Denisova said.

She said she would ensure control over the observance of the rights of relatives and friends during the return of the bodies of the dead for burial.

"I appeal to the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry during the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and the expert mission established by the OSCE participating States in accordance with the Moscow Mechanism, to take into account these facts of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, and it is better to visit Bucha, Irpin and other liberated cities of Ukraine on their own," the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights said.

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The Russian leadership is carrying out covert mobilization to recruit units of the Russian army that suffered losses during the hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine press service has said.

"In the western military district of Russia, in order to recruit units that have suffered losses on the territory of Ukraine, covert mobilization measures are being carried out. In addition, the command of the armed forces of Russia is trying to make up for the loss of personnel by attracting representatives of military educational institutions," the General Staff said on Tuesday.

It clarifies that at the Chita Suvorov Military School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, a written survey was conducted among the teaching staff about their readiness to take part in a "special operation" outside Russia.

"A significant part of the teachers refused to be involved in the 'performance of tasks' and are ready to be dismissed from military service," the General Staff said.

They said that Russia has not abandoned the operation to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, at the moment the Russian army is trying to improve the position of its units in the Tauride and South Buzh operational areas.

In addition, Russian troops, in defiant disregard for the norms of International Humanitarian Law, continue to use aircraft and artillery to strike civilian infrastructure and industry. Thus, as a result of the shelling of the city of Rubizhne, Luhansk region, the invaders damaged a tank with nitric acid.

In Siverske direction, military equipment of the armed forces of Russia is being exported from the territory of Belarus by rail and military transport aircraft.

"At the same time, the movement of individual units of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus in the direction of the state border of Ukraine was detected. Rotation of units involved in strengthening the protection of the state border of Belarus is not ruled out," the General Staff said.

It is specified that in Slobozhansky direction there is a blockade by the enemy of a separate district of Kharkiv region. In the settlements of Velyky Burluk, Prykolotne and Fedorivka, the invaders are searching for pro-Ukrainian residents and illegally detaining them.

In the city of Izium, Russian invaders are fabricating evidence about the alleged crimes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For this purpose, shelling of the settlement is carried out and a kind of "documentation" is created.

In Donetsk direction, the enemy, with the support of aviation and artillery, continues to storm the city of Mariupol. In the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhia region, in the city of Berdiansk, local residents are being detained.

In the city of Tokmak, medical personnel at local health facilities are forced to sign so-called "contracts" with the Health Ministry of Russia.

"The Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to carry out tasks to liberate the occupied territory from the Russian occupation troops," the AFU General Staff of the Armed Forces said.
AFU shots down enemy Ka-52 helicopter near Izium, destroys Russian tanks broke through in Barvinkove

On April 5, near Izium (Kharkiv region), the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed an enemy Ka-52 helicopter with the help of the Ukrainian Stugna missile, Head of the regional military administration Oleh Synehubov has said.

"Near Izium, our Heroes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down an enemy modern expensive Ka-52 helicopter. Remarkably, the helicopter was shot down by a Ukrainian-made Stugna missile. Thus, our military saved hundreds of Ukrainian lives!" Synehubov said in his Telegram channel.

In addition, near Izium, the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed Russian tanks that broke through in Barvinkove.

"The losses of the invaders are being counted. We are proud of our defenders!" Synehubov said.
The European Union (EU) has declared nineteen diplomats of the Permanent Mission of Russia to the EU persona non grata, who will be required to leave the territory of Belgium

"Based on the decision by High Representative Josep Borrell, 19 members of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the EU in Brussels have been declared personae non-gratae for engaging in activities contrary to their diplomatic status," the European Union External Action Service said on Tuesday.

According to the report, "the European Union is acting in response to the illegal and disruptive actions by designated members of the Russian Mission against the interests and security of the EU and its Members States. These actions have been in breach of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic relations. By virtue of Article 16 of Protocol 7 of the Treaty, the privileges and immunities of the Russian citizens concerned will be revoked and they will be required to leave the Belgian territory," the EU diplomatic service said.

In addition, it is said that the decision comes at the time of mounting reports about atrocities committed by Russia's armed forces in a number of occupied Ukrainian towns that have now been liberated, notably Bucha. "The European Union stands in full solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and will continue to provide all possible support, in coordination with international partners," the EU diplomatic service said.

Secretary General of the European External Action Service Stefano Sannino has summoned the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, in the afternoon to inform him about this decision.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Spanish state and society for their principled position on sanctions and called on Spanish businesses to completely stop working in Russia.

"We need really strong sanctions. How can Russian banks be allowed to generate revenue while the Russian military is torturing ordinary civilians to death in Ukrainian cities? How can European companies trade with a state that deliberately destroys an entire people? I know that many of your companies have already stopped financing the Russian war machine with their taxes. Grateful to them. I am also grateful to your state and society for their principled position on sanctions. But at the same time, I am asking companies like Maxam, Porcelanosa, Sercobe and others to stop doing business with Russia," he said on Tuesday, speaking via video link to the Spanish Parliament.

"What our city of Bucha, our Borodianka, our other cities experienced, these are war crimes. These are crimes against humanity. No statute of limitations. This is an absolutely clear basis for the Russian military and commanders to be convicted by an international court," Zelensky also said.

"Under these conditions, how can the countries of the world freely buy Russian oil and allow Russian ships into their ports?" he said.

Speaking about Mariupol, which was practically destroyed by bombing, Zelensky recalled the tragedy of Guernica, a Spanish city destroyed by bombing during the civil war. "Imagine that people now, in Europe, live for weeks in basements to save lives. From shelling, from air bombs. April 2022, but the reality in Ukraine is like in April 1937. When the whole world learned the name of one of your cities, Guernica," he said.

Zelensky said, addressing the parliamentarians, that "fear is not about you. But I ask you to do everything so that other European countries do not have fear."

"You can help us. Help the world. Give us the weapons we need. And we appreciate the one you've already provided. You can support further sanctions as needed. And also to destroy the fear of Russia everywhere you can see," he said. "Since democracy should not be afraid. Freedom must be protected," the president said.
Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buric issued a statement in connection with the atrocities of the Russian invaders in Bucha, in which she called for an urgent and independent investigation, followed by bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The text of the statement was distributed on Tuesday by the press service of the Council of Europe.

"I am appalled at the horrific images of atrocities emerging from the Ukrainian town of Bucha and other towns near Kyiv following the withdrawal of Russian forces. I call for an urgent, full and independent investigation into these horrendous crimes. The perpetrators must be brought to justice," the statement said.

In addition, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe expressed "firm solidarity with the Ukrainian people, who are faced with tremendous suffering." "I assure the Ukrainian authorities that the Council of Europe remains ready to assist them in these dark times," Marija Pejcinovic Buric said.
The United Nations and its partners on Tuesday delivered eight trucks with critical goods to residents of Severodonetsk, Luhansk region, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA).

"The east of Ukraine continues to suffer from intense fighting. Thousands of people were left without gas and water supply. Residential buildings in Severodonetsk have been repeatedly shelled, which does not allow people to evacuate safely and seriously restricts their access to basic necessities," the report says.

It clarifies that the humanitarian convoy delivered food, flour, plastic sheets and blankets to the city for almost 17,000 people, as well as four electric generators for hospitals from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the World Food Program (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), an international non-governmental organization "A Man in Trouble" and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The Red Cross Society of Ukraine will transfer this humanitarian aid to the most needy, including those who remain in their homes and are in shelters near Severodonetsk.
Gabri Labs, a leading US pharmaceutical technologies company, has signed an agreement with Dubai Science Park to set up its 10,000 sq ft production facility within the science-focused community at an investment of AED18 million ($4.9 million).

Leaders in the therapeutic areas of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) and Dermatology, Gabri Labs new facility will enable the pharmaceutical brand to produce an initial volume of 12 million units per year, with further expansions planned by 2023.

The medical devices will have the 'Make it in the Emirates' stamp  a government-backed initiative to boost the local manufacturing industry  and will be distributed to markets across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

The new facility will support the production of multiple lines and a diverse product portfolio, which includes ENT brand, Otomar and dermatological solutions line, Curadem.

Welcoming the new facility, Managing Director Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi said: "Our leaderships focused efforts to advance the manufacturing sector and boost innovation under 'Operation 300bn' are directly enhancing Dubais healthcare landscape. Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly choosing our emirate as a destination to expand operations into the Mena region, backed by an enabling business environment and regulatory framework."

"Dubai Science Park strives to facilitate the expansion of international firms like Gabri Labs by continually providing them access to robust infrastructure, communication with key regulatory bodies and a collaborative ecosystem that eases business set-up and growth," stated Janahi.

Elio Gebrayel, Managing Director of Gabri Labs, said: "We are thrilled to enter a new chapter of our story in Dubai and the wider Mena region with the construction of our brand-new facility in the emirate."

"Dubai Science Parks dynamic business environment and robust infrastructure have been essential in facilitating our seamless setup, allowing us to easily access Menas diverse markets, while participating in a vibrant community of researchers, scientists, pharmacists and more," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Units of the National Guard of Ukraine arrived at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant on Tuesday, April 5, and started guarding the facility, the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant State Specialized Enterprise reported on its Facebook page.

"The main tasks of the National Guardsmen at the site are the protection and defense of nuclear installations, as well as the physical protection of nuclear materials," the enterprise said.

Among the key tasks of the enterprise itself remains the verification of the safety of the site and its transport infrastructure by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as the verification of radiation in the premises and facilities of the station, where the occupying troops of the Russian Federation were located, which completely disregarded the rules of radiation safety.

It is also necessary to rotate the personnel of the shift, which is located on the site. These are 46 volunteer workers who went to the Chornobyl site on March 20, as well as 13 workers who have been at their workplaces since the very beginning of the occupation of the plant for about 1,000 hours.
A briefing with the participation of Russian military who voluntarily agreed to fight for Ukraine as part of the "Freedom of Russia" legion

Today, April 5, at 14:00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a briefing with the participation of Russian military who voluntarily agreed to fight for Ukraine as part of the "Freedom of Russia" legion (8/5a, Reitarska Street). Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot.
How Many More Deaths Of Ukrainians Do You Need To Hear Us?  Ihor Zhdanov

Ihor Zhdanov, Information Defence

Today, there will be no traditional daily review of the military-political situation by the Information Defence analysts. And not because we are not able to prepare it. No, we even started our daily work, which, despite the war, has already become a routine.

But having burrowed as always into the information flows, we have realised - all our thoughts are in Bucha, all our conversations turn to shocking photos of dead Ukrainians, to raped women who were later killed, to issues that have become commonplace  can this really happen in the twenty first century, are our neighbours inhuman and cannibals who have no morals, no conscience, and no basic human principles?

As we have come to understand, they do not have this fundamental reason that drives human dignity and decency, for as we have seen, such a terrible horror that is now unfolding is possible in the present day.

This is about russia. About the country, the name of which we, Ukrainians, undoubtedly, began to write in lower case.

russia kills and then lies. russia lies and then kills. The more lies, the more deaths.

We will not ask questions to the russians.

HOW MANY MORE DEATHS OF UKRAINIANS DO YOU NEED TO HEAR US?

They will not hear this question because they do not want to hear it. They will not answer this question because they claim they have nothing to answer.

All of us are shocked by the standard reaction of the vast majority of the representatives of the collective West. With words of sympathy we feel their reluctance to hear us.

We do not want to hear once again about deep concerns and calls to develop another package of sanctions, but which will not, God knows, harm the national security of their country and will not threaten the wellbeing of their citizens.

After all, turning on the tap at home and lowering the temperature by 2 degrees is almost a feat for the average, domesticated consumer of todays industrialised world.

Just do not talk about this to a small child who has been freezing for several weeks in the basements of Mariupol, do not tell this to pregnant women who gave birth during missile strikes, do not tell this to the families of ordinary soldiers who fought to the death defending their homes. Thousands of people killed and wounded.

HOW MANY MORE DEATHS OF UKRAINIANS DO YOU NEED TO HEAR US?

Not all Western leaders are complete pragmatists and cynics. The President of Poland Andrzej Duda has said that Ukraine needs weapons. He has repeated this on several occasions.

We hope that the President of Poland has been absolutely sincere and according to the bilateral agreements with Ukraine (without involving NATO in this matter), Poland will give us MiG-29 fighters, which we need at the front line of the war.

Yes, in principle, our appeal is not to the leaders of Western countries, but to their voters. We appeal to you to force your elected officials to help Ukraine.

We do not need words, but we need your actions - tanks, planes, anti-aircraft missile systems, grenade launchers, modern drones, and other weapons that our brave warriors so desperately need.

We, Ukrainians, do not need to answer the questions we asked the russian fascist invaders and our allies.

We have answered this question - both at the front and in the rear. Each of us has given an answer individually, and all of us, Ukrainians, gave an answer.

We say yes to the international tribunal  yes, we say yes to the court! But we know how long these lawsuits take. We are well aware that russia will not extradite these criminals under any circumstances, no matter how visually concrete the evidence of their guilt.

But I am convinced that the life of these freaks, murderers, and rapists will not be long. Period.

KILLERS WILL BE SENTENCED BY THE PENALTY THEY DESERVE

I apologise for this emotional and somewhat long introduction, but it was a collective decision of our project experts to place todays update in these terms. We could not publish standard analytics when the darkness of the Middle Ages was approaching our windows.

We could not bring ourselves to fulfill our routine professional duties in normal circumstances while the enormity of these crimes was being even more painfully exposed. Below is a daily review, which is devoted to one, but mercilessly painful topic - the genocide of the Ukrainian people, the mass murder of peaceful Ukrainians, Buchas massacre.

On April 1st, Bucha Mayor Anatolii Fedoruk announced the liberation of the city from the russian occupiers. After that, information was opened about the atrocities committed by the russian military in the occupied city. In particular, Mayor Anatolii Fedoruk said that a mass grave had been found in the city, where almost 300 people were buried, and dozens of corpses lay in the streets, some of them with their hands tied.

According to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova, as of the evening of April 3rd, 410 bodies of civilians killed by the invaders were removed from the liberated territory of the Kyiv region (Bucha, Irpin, Borodianka). The worst situation with regard to human casualties of the russian occupiers in the Kyiv region is in Borodianka.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Bucha, where evidence of mass killings of Ukrainian civilians by russians was found.

The mass grave was dug at least by March 10th.

Pictures of the mass grave in Bucha, dug on the territory of the Church of St. Andrew, have been published today. Satellite images from the American company Maxar Technologies demonstrate a trench of 45 feet (13.7 m).

The company Maxar Technologies has stated that the first signs of excavation of the mass grave were noticed on March 10th.

The reaction of the international community to the massacre of Ukrainians in Bucha.

The UN Security Council will not hold a meeting on April 4th at the request of russia, which demanded to discuss the outrageous provocation of Ukrainian radicals in Bucha. A meeting of the Security Council on the massacre of Ukrainian civilians will be held on April 5th according to the request of Ukraine.

The US President Joe Biden called russian president putin a barbarian and said that all evidence of russian atrocities should be gathered to punish russia for this war crime.

The European Union has accused the russian authorities of committing atrocities in the already liberated territories of the Kyiv region, which were previously under the control of russian forces. This is stated in a statement by EU Minister of Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell on Monday, made on behalf of the entire European Union.

The statement said that the EU strongly condemned the atrocities committed by the russian armed forces in a number of occupied Ukrainian cities that have now been liberated.

The UK MI6 intelligence chief Richard Moore said extrajudicial executions were part of putin's plans to invade Ukraine: We knew Putins invasion plans included summary executions by his military and intelligence services. The reports of execution-style killings of civilians emerging from liberated areas are horrifying and chilling.

Richard Moore responded to a statement by the UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss condemning the massacre of civilians in liberated towns and villages in the Kyiv region, saying we must bring to justice those responsible for the horrific actions of russian troops in Bucha, Irpin and elsewhere in Ukraine. The putin regime will not be allowed to hide its involvement in these atrocities.

The UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also said that the allies should agree on a new powerful wave of sanctions against russia after the world received information about the crimes of russian troops in the cities that were occupied.

The President of Poland Andrzej Duda said that Ukraine needed three things: weapons, weapons and again weapons: criminals must be called criminals, prosecuted and convicted. In fact, the defenders of Ukraine need three things in the first place: weapons, weapons, and again weapons.

Germany is a major obstacle to tougher sanctions against russia, said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The head of the Polish Government also called for the establishment of an international commission to investigate the events in Bucha and other districts of the Kyiv region, which he calls a genocide.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that in the coming days the West will agree to further sanctions against russia in connection with the war and in particular the atrocities committed in Bucha.

Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di Mayo said that following the atrocities in Bucha, Italy would support sanctions against russian gas.

Austrian authorities support new sanctions against russia after exposing military atrocities in Bucha, but reject an immediate embargo on russian energy.

russia cynically lies about the non-involvement of the russian occupiers in the shooting of civilians and the genocide of the Ukrainian people.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov and Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, despite photos and videos of the russian occupiers atrocities in Bucha near Kyiv, continue to call the genocide of Ukrainians a staging and a fake attack.

The Ambassador of the russian federation to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that the United States deliberately conceal the fact that immediately after the withdrawal of russian troops, the Armed Forces of Ukraine started artillery shelling in Bucha and this led to the death of civilians.

Antonov said that it is obvious that the Kyiv regime is trying to shift the blame for all its crimes to russia and that reports of killings of civilians in Bucha are false accusations that have already been completely refuted by the russian Ministry of Defence.

HOW MANY MORE DEATHS OF UKRAINIANS DO YOU NEED TO HEAR US?

KILLERS WILL BE SENTENCED BY THE PENALTY THEY DESERVE!
Where you can urgently treat teeth in Kyiv (free for Army and Territorial Defence)

The teeth should hurt the enemies, not the defenders of Ukraine. Therefore, since the beginning of the war, Kyiv dentists have been providing free dental care to the Armed Forces and the Territorial Defence. Soldiers must repel the enemy without being distracted by toothache.

Other residents of the city are served in turn.

Address: st. Yuriy Illenko, 69-a, doctor's phone number (067) 449-31-10
War-ravaged Ukraine received pledges for $6.5 billion more in humanitarian aid Thursday at an international donor's conference in Warsaw that sought to get Ukrainians urgent help while still planning for the country's post-war reconstruction.
Egypt is launching a set of promotional campaigns in different tourism markets to make up for the loss of Russian and Ukrainian visitors.

Egypts Tourism Development Authority (TDA) has embarked on promotional campaigns in different markets as part of a move meant to increase the number of tourists visiting Egypt and make up for the loss of Ukrainian tourists and some 50 per cent of Russian tourists as a result of the war in Ukraine.

Taken together, Russian and Ukrainian tourists make up one-third of Egypts market.

The campaigns focus on traditional markets, especially those that are easing travel restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, such as Italy and France, said Amr Al-Kadi, head of the TDA.

Egypts Follow the Sun campaign on social media in the UK, Germany, Italy, France, and the US runs through May this year. If successful, it will be extended for a further period, Al-Kadi said.

The European tourist market has not been affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he told Al-Ahram Weekly, adding that European tour operators have been most concerned by the regularity of flights to Egypt.

Tourist numbers from Germany and the UK have not decreased due to the war in Ukraine, he said. However, cancellations have been reported from countries whose flights pass over Russian or Ukrainian air space, such as Serbia and Belarus.

It is difficult to tell whether the lower numbers of tourists from Eastern Europe is due to the war in Ukraine or the Covid-19 pandemic, Al-Kadi said.

The campaigns were initially planned to target the Ukrainian and Russian markets, but the conflict led to postponed participation in travel shows in the two countries. We are taking it easy in these two markets. The coronavirus pandemic has taught us a great deal about dynamics and tactics, A-Kadi said.

The overall campaign is designed to address each country individually using social-media platforms based on age groups. Young people are more inclined to use Snapchat and TikTok, while the older generations are more attracted to Facebook, he explained, preferring not to disclose the budget allocated.

Egypt is also planning to launch a tourist campaign targeting the Arab world, including countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq and using satellite TV channels and social-media outlets to reach consumers this summer.

Spending on the campaign will be 25 per cent higher than it was in 2021, Al-Kadi said.

He added that the close proximity between Egypt and the Arab countries targeted in the campaign is a great advantage. Direct flights between Saudi Arabia and Sharm El-Sheikh have helped to increase the number of Saudi visitors to the Red Sea resort city, for example, he pointed out.

Egypt will be taking part in Seatrade Cruise Global, an international event dedicated to marine and cruise tourism, taking place in Miami, Florida, in late April, according to Al-Kadi.

During the show, films will be shown on Egypts coastlines and marine activities, with this being a way of paying more attention to the nautical tourism that the country will promote in southern Europe and the Middle East.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 31 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Putin announced last week that Russia will demand "unfriendly'' countries pay for natural gas only in Russian currency, instructing the central bank to work out a procedure for buyers to acquire rubles in Russia. That sent already high gas prices even higher amid fears it could be a prelude to a natural gas shutoff, which could disrupt Europe's economy and hurt Russia's finances. The Group of Seven major economies, including Italy and Germany, agreed to reject the demand.

The Italian leader indicated that Russia still had a desire for payments in rubles but that it might handle the currency conversion. Draghi said Putin gave a lengthy explanation of how to both maintain the payments in euros in dollars while satisfying Russia's "indication of payments in rubles.''

Draghi said he referred the discussion to experts and that analysis was underway "to understand what it means,'' including whether "European companies can continue to pay as foreseen, if this means something for the ongoing sanctions.''

"The feeling is one I have had since the beginning, that it is absolutely not simple to change the currency of payments without violating the contracts,'' Draghi said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz received similar assurances from Putin on Wednesday evening. Scholz had asked for further details of the process, which involves payments to a Russian bank not subjected to sanctions, his office said.

Italy's Draghi also told the foreign press corps that Europe is pushing for a cap on gas prices with Russia, saying its payments are funding the war in Ukraine and the prices being paid by Europe are out of line with the global market.

"We _ Germany and Italy, along with other countries that are importers of gas, coal, grains, corn _ are financing the war. There is no doubt,'' Draghi said. "For this reason, Italy along with other countries, are pushing for a cap on the price of gas. There is no substantial reason that the price of gas is so high for Europeans.''

Draghi noted that Russia has no other market for its gas, giving Europe room to maneuver. Asked about the risk that Russia would respond by turning off the taps, Draghi said, "no there is no danger.''

The prospect of continued gas deliveries in exchange for euros drew a cautious welcome from German industry.

"It's good news at least in the short term, because Russian gas deliveries can't be replaced in the short term,'' Achim Dercks, the deputy managing director of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told RBB24 Inforadio on Thursday.

He noted that companies are concerned that any cutoff would affect industry in particular, "but ultimately that would have severe economic effects for us all.''
The Ukrainian government says that 18 journalists have been killed in the country since Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24.

The Ukrainian Culture and Information Ministry said in a statement on social media Monday that each of the deaths and other crimes against media representatives will be investigated.

The ministry added that another 13 journalists had been wounded, eight had been abducted or taken prisoner and three journalists were still missing.

It said that several crimes had been committed against journalists from 11 countries, including Ukraine.

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NATO's chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday he feared "more atrocities" in Ukraine, as allies moved to rearm the country ahead of an expected Russian offensive in its east.

Speaking a day before NATO foreign ministers gather to discuss additional support to Kyiv, Stoltenberg said the alliance supported investigations into "the horrific images of murdered civilians in Bucha and other places" in Ukraine from which Russian forces had pulled back.

"When and if they withdraw the troops and Ukrainian troops take over, I'm afraid they will see more mass graves, more atrocities and more examples of war crimes," he told a media conference.

The Russian pull-back from areas around heavily defended Kyiv is seen by NATO countries as a redeployment to allow Moscow to focus instead on Ukraine's east and south.

Moscow has maintained Russian-speaking footholds in eastern Ukraine since 2014, when it annexed the Crimean peninsula and backed separatists in the eastern Donbas region bordering Russia.

"Moscow is not giving up its ambitions in Ukraine. We now see a significant movement of troops away from Kyiv, to regroup, rearm and resupply. And they shift their focus to the east," Stoltenberg said.

"In the coming weeks, we expect a further Russian push in the eastern and southern Ukraine to try to take the entire Donbas and to create a land bridge to occupied Crimea," he said.

"This is a crucial phase of the war," he said.

Stoltenberg said NATO foreign ministers meeting on Wednesday and Thursday were expected to discuss their countries providing "more advanced equipment and military support" to help Kyiv's forces withstand the predicted assault.

The weapons would include "Javelins and other anti-tank weapons which have proven extremely effective on the battlefield," he said.

Stoltenberg added that "the more strength we can provide to the Ukrainian armed forces, the better results they can achieve at the negotiating table" in peace talks with Russia.

The US ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, told journalists that the supply of weapons to Ukraine was not a NATO operation but "sovereign decisions" by countries in the alliance.

"I would say over two thirds of the allies are actually providing lethal assistance in one form or another," she said, declining to detail what arms were being given.

The NATO ministers were to be joined by counterparts from non-NATO partner countries Australia, Finland, Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Sweden.

On the sidelines of the NATO gathering, the foreign ministers of the G7 -- comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- will also meet.

The G7 has already agreed several waves of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

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Japan's giant automotive components producer Yazaki Europe Limited is set to establish a factory in Egypt's Fayum governorate, southwest of the capital Cairo, to produce braided wires for cars, with initial investments of up to 20 million euros.

The step comes after a memorandum of understanding was signed on Tuesday between the Japanese company and Egypt's General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Ambassador of Japan in Cairo Oka Hiroshi.

The MoU was signed by Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, CEO of GAFI, and Hans Lemmens, CEO of Yazaki Europe, a statement by the Egyptian cabinet said.

The 60,000-square-metre factory will focus on manufacturing car components such as wires and braided wires, with 100 percent of its production to be exported.

The factory's total export value is expected to hit 100 million euros annually, the statement added.

The project is set to start production by July 2023, creating around 3,000 jobs.

As per the MoU, the factory will introduce a new and innovative Japanese technology into the Egyptian market to help the country become a regional investment centre for the automotive industry.

Egypt has been seeking to localise the automobile industry.

GAFI is keen to provide all support to the Japanese company to implement its investment plan and to achieve maximum benefit from the competitive advantages in Egypt, Abdel-Wahab said.

The step will support Egypt's competitiveness in the automotive components industry, he added.

Founded in 1941, Yazaki is the world's main supplier of electrical braided wires, with 140 branches in 45 countries around the world, including Egypt. The company's sales exceed 12.5 billion euros annually.

Trade exchange between Egypt and Japan reaped $1.5 million in 2021, achieving a growth rate of 13 percent.

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Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, has said a team from UAE University has won the fourth edition of Al Robot.

AI Robot is EGAs annual competition that challenges students from UAE universities and higher education institutions to design and build industrial robots for use at EGAs aluminium smelters.

The winning team members from UAE University were Nasmah Baalfaqih, Aamna Ali Alshehhi, Rashfa Baalfaqih, Huda Al Khawaja, Lobna Shaikhoun and Muthanna Aziz, supervised by Dr Waleed Ahmed. Their prototype, powered by solar energy, will be further developed for long-term use within EGAs operations.

Applying academic learning

The Al Robot competition enables young engineers to practice applying their academic learning in the real world, including Industry 4.0 skills that are set to be vital to the UAEs industrial future and for the country to achieve the goals of Operation 300bn.

EGAs Chief Executive Officer, Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, said: I congratulate the team from UAE University on winning this years edition of our Al Robot competition. At EGA, our aim is to be the technology pathfinder for our global industry over the decades ahead. We are just one industrial company amongst many in the UAE that must use innovation and technology to drive global competitiveness.

We need the best young science, technology, engineering and mathematics minds to pursue careers in industry if we are to grow our national industrial sector for the benefit of everyone. I hope this competition has helped inspire these young people to consider what they can contribute.

Cleaning silt and mud

In this years competition, student teams were challenged to develop a robotic machine capable of cleaning silt and mud from the aeration basin at EGAs Al Taweelah site. Aeration increases the amount of oxygen in the water, safeguarding the marine environment.

The judging panel consisted of EGA engineers and technologists.

Three finalist teams  the first-place winners from UAE University, as well as teams from Abu Dhabi University who came second and third - developed prototypes for trial on-site at EGA. The finalist teams won cash prizes worth AED100,000 ($27,226) in total.

EGAs technology development team works extensively with universities in both the UAE and internationally, to combine the latest academic thinking with the companys industrial expertise.

Academic partnerships

EGAs academic partnerships include Khalifa University, the American University of Sharjah, Rochester Institute of Technology and Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE, and the University of Auckland, University of New South Wales, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

EGA also engages with students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through its Ambassador Programme, which sees young UAE National engineers discussing with students the practical application of their studies in industry.

The objective of the programme is to encourage young people to continue their interest after graduating and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, all critical fields for the development of the UAEs industrial economy.-- TradeArabia News Service
Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry along with members of the Arab Leagues Ukraine crisis liaison group held a consultation session with Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in the Polish capital Warsaw Tuesday with the aim of reaching a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine war.

During the meeting, the group stressed the need for a ceasefire and an end to the crisis on the basis of international law and the UN Charter, according to a statement issued by the group.

The Arab delegation also discussed with the Ukrainian FM the efforts exerted to reach a ceasefire and an agreement to resolve the crisis and restore peace and security.

Expressing its concerns over the prolonged crisis and its humanitarian, political, security and economic repercussions, the delegation affirmed its support for direct negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian sides and the cessation of military operations.

From his side, the Ukrainian FM reviewed the outcomes of the ongoing talks to reach a Ukrainian-Russian agreement.

The Arab ministers stressed the importance of continuing coordination to preserve the safety of the Arab communities currently in Ukraine, and to facilitate the transit of those who wish to leave to neighbouring countries.

Today, I met with the Arab Contact Group. Grateful to Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit and my Arab counterparts for their diplomatic efforts. Russia must unlock Ukrainian seaports to allow agricultural exports to global markets, especially to Arab countries, Kuleba said on his Twitter account.

According to Ukraines embassy in Cairo on Monday, Russia is blocking an Egypt-bound ship dubbed EMMAKRIS III, which was loaded with Ukrainian wheat that was purchased by Egypt.

Russias embassy in Cairo, however, later denied the allegations, saying that the statement has no basis and that Russia has no intention in preventing the free movement of commercial ships in the Black Sea.

Egypt, the world tops wheat importer, imported nearly 80 percent of its wheat from both Ukraine and Russia prior to the invasion.

Before travelling to Warsaw, Shoukry visited Moscow on Monday to hold discussions with Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers.

In Moscow, the top Egyptian diplomat met with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov to push for a diplomatic solution to end the war.

The Arab Leagues liaison group, which was formed during the 157th session of the Council of the league in March, aims to tackle the impacts of the Ukraine crisis on the Arab region.

The group comprises representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Sudan and the UAE  a current member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

In a press conference by the group on Monday, Shoukry affirmed the Arab states keenness to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, stressing the need for continued coordination to preserve the security and safety of the region, especially that of the Arab communities residing in the conflict areas.

Egypt has maintained a neutral political stance since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, repeatedly calling for mediation before the global crisis hit Arab countries on a political, security and economic levels.

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THE ARAB Leagues Ukrainian Crisis Liaison Group arrived in the Polish capital Warsaw on Tuesday to hold consultations with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

The visit came within the framework of a ministerial level tour to meet with parties involved in the conflict and followed a meeting in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In a press conference following the meeting, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri stressed the need for peaceful solutions to the Ukraine crisis and underlined the readiness of the Arab group to mediate in support of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

We called on all parties to the conflict to halt any escalation and stressed the need for peaceful solutions based on dialogue, he said.

Speaking during the same press conference, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Abul-Gheit highlighted the serious economic impact of the crisis on the Arab countries.

The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has disrupted supply chains of wheat from Black Sea ports to the Middle East and North Africa, and sent prices on international markets soaring.

The liaison group includes representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Iraq, Sudan, and the UAE, and was formed last month on the recommendation of the 157th session of the Council of the Arab League.

On Saturday, Shoukri discussed the Russia-Ukraine crisis in phone calls with his French and German counterparts, and briefed them on Egypts steps to contain the domestic impact of the war.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Without de-escalation in the region, negotiations on the nuclear deal with Iran are unlikely to succeed, writes Al-Ahram Weekly

The US administration finds itself between a rock and a hard place in the nuclear talks with Iran. After lengthy negotiations over the past 12 months, several drafts, and many obstacles, the outcome of the talks will depend on a central issue: how to deal with Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)?

From the Iranian perspective, the answer is clear. If the Biden administration wants to reach a deal, the Revolutionary Guard must be removed from the US list of foreign terrorist organisations (FTO), a designation that has applied since former US president Donald Trumps withdrawal from the deal in 2018.

But the administration is facing fierce resistance to the move internally and regionally, complicating Bidens decision.

Internally, some congressional Republicans are spearheading legislative efforts to bar the administration from lifting sanctions on the Revolutionary Guards Corps as part of a new nuclear agreement with Tehran.

Republicans Brian Mast and Scott Perry introduced on Monday the Preventing Terror Sympathisers from Appeasing Terrorists Act, a bill that would block the White House from delisting the IRGC from the FTO list without congressional approval.

The Mast-Perry bill states that the IRGCs terrorism designation may not be revoked or rescinded, except by a joint resolution of Congress. While the House of Representatives remains under narrow Democratic Party control, mounting opposition to the new accord on both sides of the aisle is likely to give the legislation a chance of passing.

A separate piece of bipartisan legislation was also introduced into the House last week that would require the Biden administration to disclose how sanctions relief for Iran will boost the IRGCs capabilities.

While the White House is required under a 2015 law to present any deal with Iran to Congress for approval, it has become increasingly clear that the administration will bypass this law. Former US president Barack Obama used executive powers to pass the original deal in 2015 when it became clear that Congress might kill it.

The increasing pressure on Biden to halt the removal of the Revolutionary Guards from the list of terrorist organisations is putting him in a difficult position. He wants to complete the nuclear deal with Iran to avoid looking weak in front of his European allies. Lifting the sanctions on Iran would also lead to pumping more oil into international markets, leading to lower energy prices.

At present, high-energy prices threaten a recession, economic slowdown, and a crisis in living standards.

But if Biden agrees to the Iranian request to secure a nuclear deal in the coming weeks, Washingtons relations with traditional allies such as Israel and the Gulf states will suffer.

Gulf diplomats say that relations with Washington are already going through one of their worst phases in the past 70 years. Officials in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have in recent weeks been uncharacteristically blunt to visiting diplomats about the nature of their grievances and how far they are prepared to take them.

One Western diplomat told the UK newspaper the Guardian that a Saudi counterpart had said that this is the end of the road for us and Biden, and maybe for the US also.

Gulf officials say that Bidens policies towards the Houthi rebels in Yemen, which he removed from the US list of terrorist organisations, the failure to support Saudi Arabia in its war in Yemen, Washingtons reluctance to sell the UAE F-35 fighter jets, and the administrations eagerness to return to the nuclear agreement and lift the sanctions on Iran compromise the Gulfs security while strengthening Iran.

Despite repeated calls by US officials for the Gulf to increase the supply of oil in the global market, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have confirmed their commitment to the agreed quotas under the OPEC Plus agreement, prompting Biden to announce an unprecedented use of the US strategic oil reserve in the hope of reducing energy prices.

All this has placed an additional burden on the already complex negotiations with Iran. The talks, stalled since mid-March, are now facing a moment of the truth, with Tehran and Washington blaming each other for the impasse.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that Iranian negotiators would not return to Vienna, the site of the year-long talks to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal with Iran until Washington settled outstanding issues.

We will not be going to Vienna for new negotiations, but to finalise the nuclear agreement, Khatibzadeh told reporters in Tehran. If Washington answers the outstanding questions, we can go to Vienna as soon as possible, he said.

At the moment, we do not have a definitive answer from Washington, he added, even as Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said an agreement was close during a telephone conversation with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

We have passed on our proposals on the remaining issues to the American side through the EU senior negotiator, and now the ball is in the US court, Irans top diplomat said.

However, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price suggested it was Tehran that was not giving way to make a deal possible. Price warned that time was running out, as Iran got closer to the nuclear breakout point when it has the capacity to construct a nuclear weapon.

Anyone involved in the talks knows precisely who has made constructive proposals, who has introduced demands that are unrelated to the JCPOA, and how we reached this current moment, he said.

We still believe there is an opportunity to overcome our remaining differences, he added. He warned that Irans continuing nuclear development had put it within weeks of a breakout, which would nullify the benefits of a new agreement.

Iran has been able to shrink that breakout time from where it started to a point where we can measure it in weeks rather than months. To us, that is unacceptable as a long-term proposition, Price said.

The State Department also noted that after Trumps withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018, the number of attacks by Iran-backed groups went up 400 per cent between 2019 and 2020. That was in the aftermath of leaving the [nuclear deal], the FTO designation, and killing [Iranian] general Suleimani, Price told reporters.

During his tour last week of Israel and Morocco, where he met with several Arab officials, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated similar warnings, saying that the longer it takes to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran, the more time Tehran will have to produce enough uranium to build a nuclear bomb.

US officials privately say that dropping the FTO designation would have little real effect on the IRGC because the group is under a long list of other sanctions that will not be lifted in any deal.

US Special Envoy Robert Malley recently reiterated that Washington would maintain sanctions on the IRGC even if the organisation is ultimately delisted.

Meanwhile, Washington continues to put pressure on Iran. Last week, the US Treasury announced sanctions targeting several entities it accuses of involvement in procuring supplies for Irans ballistic missile programme.

With negotiations still at a stalemate, Europe is concerned that the nuclear deal with Iran may stumble at the last hurdle.

The EUs foreign policy chief announced in mid-March that significant progress had been made in talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal, but that a pause was needed. During the last week of March, Enrique Mora, the leader of the EU delegation to the talks, travelled to Tehran and Washington to meet Iranian and American nuclear negotiators in a bid to overcome the remaining disputes.

With much at stake, negotiations are intensifying between the US and Europe to create the appropriate atmosphere for a return to the nuclear agreement in the hope of preventing Tehran from enriching uranium to military levels, subjecting its facilities to the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), lifting the sanctions, and returning Iranian oil to international markets, thus alleviating the global energy price crisis.

Without de-escalation in the region, the deal cannot survive, a European diplomat familiar with the talks told Al-Ahram Weekly. Even if a nuclear deal is reached now, the odds remain high that it could crumble within a few years if regional tensions remain high.

Some positive developments, including a ceasefire agreement between the Houthis in Yemen and the Saudi-led Coalition, could open the door for progress in the nuclear talks. America and Europe do not link this truce with the nuclear negotiations with Tehran as this will complicate the process because it will link the nuclear issue with other regional issues, he said.

Nonetheless, in closed-door meetings US officials tell their counterparts in the region that all regional issues will be on the table with Iran after the nuclear deal is reached. But there is a trust deficit between Washington and its traditional allies in the region, and this trust deficit is proving to be a big obstacle to closing the nuclear deal, the diplomat concluded.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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History shows that the best defence for any society derives from its internal strength, with destruction beginning with interior weakness that whets the appetite of outside powers, writes Azmi Ashour

Ever since empires first appeared on the world scene, their wars have been brutal. Victims have been counted in the millions, with ordinary people suddenly finding themselves the fodder for conflicts over terrain and resources.

The history of the Middle East testifies to the many wars that the ancient empires fought to defend their territory, as it was the theatre of the wars the empires that succeeded one another fought throughout history. The ancient Egyptians fought against invaders thirsting to control the fertile Nile Delta, and the campaigns of Alexander the Great were followed by Roman and Persian conquests. In the 7th century CE, the Islamic conquests followed, sweeping aside the former great powers.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, the European Crusaders arrived in the region, after which the European Renaissance gave rise to new states and new empires that would change the map of the world. Andalusia vanished after 800 years of flourishing under the Arab Umayyad kingdoms, while the Arab Levant fell to the Ottomans at the beginning of the 16th century.

The experiences of nations throughout history tells us that power with territory and a strong army to protect it has been the main factor that has given birth to civilisations. It also tells us that ordinary people have fallen victim to wars when those who govern them weaken and lose control over territory. Displacement and the appearance of refugees are disasters inflicted by warfare and greed. What we see today is part of the long continuum of human suffering in the region.

Whether maps are torn apart or remain the same has always hinged on power. This is what sustained the longest-lasting and richest civilisation in history, namely the Pharaonic civilisation. The succession of ancient Egyptian dynasties lasted 3,000 years thanks to a strong army, economic wealth, and scientific prowess. When these basic components began to erode, the state became vulnerable to the ambitions of outside powers, whether from Rome or from the Arab armies that brought Islam and the succession of Umayyad, Abbasid, Mameluke, and Ottoman rulers.

A turning point came with Mohamed Ali, who rebuilt a powerful army after coming to power in Egypt in 1805 and launched an economic renaissance, developing other components of strength. The results were reflected in Egypts territorial expansion, which reached the very gates of Istanbul until the Convention of London of 1840 stymied the emergent Egyptian empire.

Then there was violent foreign intervention and economic penetration after the British and French encumbered Egypt with heavy debts and forced the then ruling family to sell off the agricultural land used as collateral to secure them. This paved the way for the British occupation of 1882, delivering the coup de grace to the crumbling strength that Mohamed Ali had built.

But the occupation sparked the Egyptian awakening, especially since Egyptian society had been primed by the Orabi Revolution that had stood up to the British. The impetus continued to build until it blossomed in the 1919 Revolution, the dawn of a new age for Egyptian society.

With the 1952 Revolution, Egypt regained its strength, as had been first embraced by its pharaonic civilisation. But because of the context of the post-1952 period and various problems at home, mistakes were made. The 1956 Tripartite Aggression was followed by the war in Yemen and then the 1967 War. Despite defeat in the last of these, they were important stages in redefining the power of the Egyptian state at the dawn of a new era.

It was essential to rebuild the components of state power: a strong national army, a strong economy, and strong human resources. The October 1973 War proved a magnificent test for these authentically Egyptian elements, and it reconnected Egyptians with the wars fought by their predecessors.

But then a culture of backstabbing emerged targeting the victory makers. This coincided with the rise of the Islamist groups that aimed to turn back the clock in society. They not only introduced terrorism into society, but also tried to brainwash young minds with anti-patriotic notions and values. New developments also surfaced at the international level, ushering in international and regional wars using religion as a weapon in the service of the world powers.

The regions geography was exposed as vulnerable not just to the Islamists but also to other countries that utilised these under various guises such as fighting the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s. With the turn of the millennium, the pretext for intervention became the spread of democracy, and this was wrongly utilised as an instrument to achieve the ignoble ends of the great powers.

There was no democracy when the great empires arose across the millennia. The rulers who altered the course of history, men such as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, the Mameluke sultan Baybars and the Ayyubid sultan Salaheddin, did not come to power by democratic means. While the US experienced democracy as it rose as an imperialist power, it did so domestically. In foreign policy, it saw democracy as a means to exploit others, sow anarchy, and start wars in order to achieve its ends, even at the cost of millions of lives.

The Arab region became the theatre of a long-arm strategy paying lip-service to democracy and human rights. Somalia was the first on the list of victims. After all, who manufactured the chaos in that country? The crime committed by Iraq, a land with an ancient civilisation, was its mistake of invading Kuwait. After the liberation of the latter, the US revealed the real reason for its presence in the region, refusing to leave Iraq and other parts that sat atop great wealth.

The pretext for the later US invasion of Iraq proved to be a lie  that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction  and Iraq was reduced to the chaos we see today, prey to the rule of militias and Iranian intervention. It no longer possesses the sovereign power that starts with a strong army, because this was dismantled under the US occupation.

Syria met as dismal a fate as Iraq. Just as Iran took control of Iraq after the US failure there, it also took advantage of the symbolic US presence in Syria to support the regime, even if this drove millions of refugees to other countries. Syria has since become prey to all and sundry: factions that claim to possess the truth and massacre people right and left in its name; regional powers bent on annexing Syrian territory; a regime backed by powers ready to use it as a bargaining chip in order to keep Syria as an extension of their power and influence.

The best safeguard and defence for any society derives from its internal strength, and the process of destruction starts with interior weakness that whets the appetites of outside powers. History shows that these are the laws that govern how societies work in their struggle to survive.

* The writer is managing editor of the quarterly journal Al-Demoqrateya published by Al-Ahram.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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The Peace Treaty signed between Egypt and Israel in March 1979 remains an unfulfilled promise in the absence of a political resolution to the Palestinian question in line with UN resolutions.

Last month marked the 43rd anniversary of the Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel that was signed at the White House on 26 March 1979. The treaty laid the basis for a political settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the Palestinian question according to the United Nations.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and the peace that was intended to end all wars in the Middle East region has proved elusive. Not only that, but Israel has lived under extreme-right governments from Menachem Begin to Naftali Bennett, and Benjamin Netanyahu substituted the promise of region-wide peace with the imagined Iranian threat to the existence of the state of Israel.

The Israelis summarised this threat in that of Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb. Prior to the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015, Israel, under the premiership of Netanyahu that spanned almost two decades, kept warning the world that it would act alone if need be to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities that could produce atomic weapons.

The Israelis have used the imagined Iranian threat to achieve two objectives. The first is to push back against international and US efforts to negotiate a resolution of the Palestinian question with the Palestinian Authority (PA). The second stems from an Israeli strategy to remain the only Middle Eastern power that possesses nuclear arms and the long-range ballistic missiles that can carry those weapons.

Needless to say, the Israelis have never said that their country does possess such weapons of mass destruction, and they prefer to follow what they call strategic ambiguity in this regard. They have insisted on Israeli security, absolute security, in the face of all peace efforts in the Middle East.

Israel was aided significantly in this context by the former US Trump administration that went along with Israel to the extent that it decided to pull out of the Iranian nuclear deal on the pretext that this would help Iran to manufacture a nuclear weapon. This was the Israeli argument from day one. The Trump administration then took drastic steps under its strategy of maximum pressure on Iran to force Tehran to acquiesce to US demands concerning an altered deal with new provisions that would satisfy the Israelis.

The results of this strategy have been contrary to expectations. Today Iran, according to US, European, and Israeli officials and experts is nearer the point of producing a nuclear weapon than it had been prior to the US withdrawal from the JCPOA.

The Israelis with US backing provided by the Trump administration signed a series of peace accords with some Arab countries, which they dubbed the Abraham Accords. The intention was to expand these Accords to include other Arab countries aside from the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, the four Arab nations that have signed the accords with Israel.

Surprisingly enough, the accords, unlike the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, are not linked to the peaceful resolution of the Palestinian question (the two-state solution). This is why we should not consider the Abraham Accords and the Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel as one, at least from a historical and political point of view.

On 27 March, Israel hosted a regional meeting on the level of foreign ministers that it surprisingly called the Negev Summit. This was attended by the US secretary of state and the foreign ministers of Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco. Jordan, the second Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel in October 1994, was conspicuous by its absence.

The Israelis wanted the meeting to look like the launch of a regional coalition against the common enemy  you guessed it, this is Iran. Of course, Israeli senior officials and commentators were effusive in describing the ministerial meeting, calling it unprecedented and historic.

Four Arab foreign ministers had gathered in Israel with their US and Israeli counterparts to talk about common challenges and threats  primarily meaning Iran with terrorism as a footnote. It goes without saying that the Arab ministers at the meeting do not share the same definition of terrorism as the Israelis and Americans. For the Arab side, a Palestinian defending his plot of land or his house that is threatened with demolition by Israeli earthmoving equipment is not a terrorist.

Besides, the Israelis have not shown a markedly keen interest in fighting the terrorist groups that have been threatening the Arab countries over the past four decades.

Another fault line is the perception on their part of what the Israelis call an existential threat posed by Iran to Israel. The four Arab countries may conclude that Iranian policies in the region are challenging, but I guess they would prefer to discuss them with the Iranian themselves instead of being considered by Tehran as members of a regional alliance specifically targeting Iran.

Probably the four countries, like all the Arab countries, are against Iran becoming a nuclear power. However, they would prefer diplomacy and negotiations with Iran to preclude the possibility of its becoming a nuclear power. In other words, most of them would oppose the use of force by Israel against Iran because they are afraid that the cost to be paid would be quite high when it comes to regional security and stability.

As far as Egypt is concerned, I doubt that it would be interested in membership of a regional alliance targeting Tehran. Nor would it give its support, tacit or public, to an Israeli attack on Iran.

Given the divergent aims and core perceptions of the participating countries on the Arab side at the Negev meeting, this ministerial meeting was not the proper venue for celebrating the 43rd anniversary of the Peace Treaty that Egypt signed with Israel in 1979. It only served the foreign-policy objectives of Israel and to a lesser degree the US strategy of deepening relations between the signatories of the Abraham Accords and expanding them in future to include other Arab countries.

In the absence of a peaceful and political resolution to the Palestinian question in line with UN resolutions. I am afraid that the peace between Egypt and Israel will remain an unfulfilled promise of peace.

* The writer is former assistant foreign minister.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Commentators have discussed many possible causes for the war in Ukraine. Some have suggested Russian addiction to territorial expansion or Putins personal complex over the demise of the Soviet Union or, in other versions, of Czarist Russia. Others blame the US and its determination to expand NATO into Ukraine, drawing the analogy with the Cuban missile crisis, which triggered the first major nuclear alarm in history. Other reasons mentioned have to do with the nature of the mono-polar world order or a global order in which globalisation was not rooted in the principle of serving all countries. Some pinned it on President Biden, arguing that he saw his popularity ratings slump so low that he fabricated this crisis to rally American, NATO countries and the whole Western world behind him.

The list goes on, but whatever the actual causes  historians will one day battle it out  we can not eliminate the possibility that iberalism and democracy have a hand in the war. These principles have turned from noble ideas inspiring a system of government that took root in Western countries and enabled them to progress and flourish into a weaponised ideology that the US uses to destabilise other countries, delegitimise their governments, and intervene with forms of sociopolitical engineering that often backfires in drastic ways. None of it has to do with the liberalism, democracy and freedom the US claims to promote.

John Mearsheimer is among a minority of political scientists who, since the end of the Cold War, foresaw, not just how Washingtons liberalist enterprise would lead not just in war but also in tremendous failure. A good many of his books, articles and elections fall under the heading of The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities, the title of a book he published in 2018.

A political science professor at Chicago University since 1982, Mearsheimer was born on 14 December 1947, in Brooklyn, New York, which is where he grew up. At 17 he enlisted in the US army. He was then admitted into the West Point Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1970. After a five year stint as an air force officer, he enrolled in Cornell University, earning his doctorate in international relations in 1980.

Mearsheimer is an exponent of the realist school in international relations theory founded by Hans Morgenthau, one of the most influential political thinkers after World War II. Morgenthau also taught at Chicago University so it was from there that the realist school spread to other US universities and among the US public in general. Another proponent is Stephen Walt, international relations professor at the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, who co-authored with Mearsheimer The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy (2007), a study on the power of the pro-Israeli lobby in the US and how it shapes US foreign policies, towards the Middle East in particular, in ways that conflict with real US interests in the region.

Mearsheimer and his colleagues pose a great challenge to liberalism, or the great delusion as he called it, with his assertion that the liberal hegemony project that US foreign policy has embraced since the end of the Cold War has been a recipe for unmitigated disaster. He draws attention to two basic liberal assumptions related to human nature: firstly, that the individual takes precedence over the group and, secondly, that individuals are unable to attain a general consensus on first principles; passionate differences over those often lead to violence. Liberalisms solutions to such potential violence is threefold: inalienable human rights for the individual, an emphasis on tolerance despite disagreement, and a state to maintain order when disputes turn violent and to restrain those who threaten others rights. Such traits make liberalism a universalist theory which can turn liberal democracies into crusading states.

This underlies the US belief that it has a duty to spread liberal democracy across the world, to strengthen an open global economy and to build international institutions. It operates on the assumption that by remaking the world in Americas image, it will safeguard human rights, promote peace, and make the world safe for democracy. But this is not what happens. Instead, the US has become highly militaristic, and the military campaigns it wages ultimately undermine the prospects for peace, harm human rights, and jeopardise liberal values at home. What always happens, Mearsheimer concludes, is that the forces of nationalism and realism trump liberalism, which seems unable to resolve the economic, social and ethnic problems that other countries have to deal with in the context of very complex realities.

We in the Middle East probably do not need to hear what the US realist school has to say in order to understand the sins of US policy. The experiences of Iraq and Afghanistan bear vivid testimony to the consequences of years of liberal sociopolitical engineering. In one we see the inability to manage the state and in the other the return of the Taliban to power. For a full decade, Washington backed an Arab Spring that resulted in the rise of Islamism and terrorism. Revolutions with botanical names like lotus and cedar gave rise to a theocratic oriented clique (Egypt) or political and economic paralysis (Tunisia). In the former Soviet republics, the US-backed revolutions were named after colours, such as orange and velvet. They did not yield inclusive democracies capable of assimilating Russian-speaking minorities.

The American project that Joe Biden unveiled last year split the world into democracies versus authoritarian regimes. It signalled not just the intent to meddle in the internal affairs of other nations at whim but to delegitimatise their governments, especially in China and Russia. If this was a challenge to these powers attempts to revise the world order as it emerged after the Cold War, it ultimately produced the war in Ukraine. At the same time, it precipitated sharp tensions with Washingtons allies which began to see advantages in drawing closer to the superpowers that sought to revise the world order politically, strategically and economically.

There were no strategic reasons for NATO enlargement after the Soviet Union collapsed and Federal Russia, itself, was ready to join the pact for the purposes of mutual defence. NATO enlargement was motivated by ideological ambitions, above all the zeal to spread liberalism and the American model. Eventually, it drove Russia, whose political system was under constant ideological attack, to act preemptively with a military offensive in Ukraine.

A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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The two-month ceasefire, brokered by the UN special envoy to Yemen, which coincided with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan on Saturday, was a much needed respite from a war that has caused tremendous humanitarian suffering to the Yemeni people.

The truce will certainly remain fragile, with little trust between the two sides that have been fighting a prolonged war over the past seven years. Some analysts expect that the halt in hostilities might only last for the month of fasting. Others, however, are more cautiously optimistic, pointing out that regional and world circumstances have recently changed in a way that might give a little more hope to stop the ongoing war in Yemen.

The war between Russia and Ukraine, resulting in the disruption of global food and energy supplies, is certainly a key reason that contributed to the success of the intense effort by recently appointed UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg.

With oil prices skyrocketing after the beginning of the war nearly six weeks ago, world markets cannot bear the effects of further hikes in case Yemens Iran-backed Houthis continue targeting oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with missiles and drones.

As soon as the truce was announced on Friday, oil markets responded positively and the barrel of oil went down to $104 from a high peak of $140 a month ago. The decision by US President Joe Biden and other major consumers to release oil from their crude strategic petroleum reserves also contributed to this price drop, according to experts.

Meanwhile, amid reports that Iran, the United States and other major world powers are close to reaching a renewed agreement on Tehrans nuclear programme in ongoing talks in Vienna, perhaps the truce in Yemen might seem like a goodwill gesture on the part of Iran, the main supporters of the Houthis, who have been in control in the capital Sanaa since 2014.

With fighting on the ground at a stalemate for more than a year, the truce has become necessary to ease the painful, prolonged suffering of the Yemeni people.

Thousands of combatants and civilians have been killed since early last year in the province of Marib when the Houthis resumed a major offensive to seize control of the energy-rich city of Marib, the Yemeni governments last bastion in the northern part of the country.

Despite aggressive missile, drone and ground attacks on the city, the Houthis failed to take control and suffered thousands of casualties. Some Yemeni experts believe that the Houthis, who have long rejected many similar calls for a truce, were forced into accepting the latest UN-brokered ceasefire after failing to invade Marib.

The Houthis have also been laying siege to Taiz, Yemens third largest city, for more than seven years, after failing to take control of the city centre. They positioned forces on the outskirts, barring people from leaving or crossing into the city, and gunning down those who moved close to their positions.

The truce announced by the UN envoy will hopefully bring an end to this inhumane siege, along with other vital measures needed to bring minimum improvements to the lives of Yemenis.

Grundberg, the United Nations envoy, said he would use the truce for further discussions with the parties with the aim to reach a permanent c As Egypt now rightfully celebrates its ancient heritage, this must be accompanied by innovative and imaginative attempts at understanding its greatness, writes

Tarek Osman ease-fire, address urgent economic and humanitarian measures and resume the political process. He added in a statement, 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.

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have agreed to halt all ground, air and cross-border strikes, allow oil tankers to enter Hodeidah seaport, permit flights to depart and land at Sanaa Airport, and lift the siege on Taiz.

While announcing the ceasefire, the UN envoy stated: The truce can be renewed beyond the two-month period with the consent of the parties, during which he would intensify his effort to work on the more difficult task of reaching a political agreement among the warring parties.

Saudi Arabia already launched a new round of direct talks among rival Yemeni factions in Riyadh a week ago. The Houthis have boycotted the talks, claiming they were held on enemy territory. Yet the understandings expected to be reached among the influential Yemeni parties negotiating in Riyadh can certainly pave very solid grounds for further talks with the Houthis in case the UN envoy decided to move the talks to another European city, as the case has been in the past.

Yemens war has killed hundreds of thousands directly or indirectly, displacing millions and triggering the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations. At least 80 per cent of the countrys 30 million people are dependent on foreign aid.

As Grundberg stated, the success of this initiative will depend on the warring parties continued commitment to implementing the truce agreement with its accompanying humanitarian measures. The priority for all parties concerned with the situation in Yemen must be helping the Yemeni people meet their basic humanitarian needs, bringing to an end the Yemens status as the worlds worst humanitarian disaster, even though the country is traditionally known as the Happy Yemen.

A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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The hype surrounding recent meetings on regional security cannot obscure the realities on the ground.

Later this spring, the UAE is set to host a new round of meetings on regional security cooperation as part of the Mechanism for Middle East Security and Cooperation (MESAC) initiative.

The MESAC meetings are sponsored by the Institute for Islamic Strategic Affairs, a UK-based and Gulf-funded non-profit organisation with the announced mandate of providing practical solutions for peace and stability across the Islamic world and worldwide, the Berghof Foundation, a non-profit organisation that supports efforts to prevent political and social violence and peace research, and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The first round of meetings was initiated a few months after the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain in April last year.

The meetings, part of a wider momentum that the UAE, under the leadership of Mohamed bin Zayed, is pursuing, seek to establish a new regional architecture based on the assumption that the Palestinian leadership has to act realistically to allow for the resumption of negotiations, said an informed diplomatic source.

This new regional architecture will eventually normalise relations with Israel. Significantly, Bin Zayed is in agreement with Israeli leaders that Iran and radical Islamist groups constitute the main threat to the region.

Participants in the first three rounds of MESAC talks, the same source said, included representatives of most Arab countries, alongside Israel, Turkey, and Iranian opposition figures.

They were mostly former officials with close ties to current officials in their respective capitals, academics and think-tankers, said the source. He added the initiative promotes an idealistic vision for the region in a post conflict scenario.

It is an agenda likely to meet with resistance in more than one Arab capital, and informed diplomatic sources say that Bin Zayed has so far got his audience to listen, but not necessarily to agree.

On 22 March, Bin Zayed was in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt to meet with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. On 25 March, he was in Al-Aqaba, Jordan, where he met Jordanian monarch King Abdullah, Al-Sisi, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, and Saudi State Minister Turki bin Mohamed bin Fahd bin Abdel-Aziz.

After close coordination between Bin Zayed and Bennett, a ministerial meeting convened in Israel on 28 March that brought the foreign ministers of Israel and the US together with their counterparts from four Arab states, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Egypt.

The fact that Egypt did not immediately announce its participation in the meeting  it took a couple of days to announce the attendance of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri  explains Cairos parameters on the call for regional security cooperation, said one government official.

According to a Gulf-based political source, Egypts invitation was extended at the same time other foreign ministers were invited to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Egypt hesitated, and the understanding is that it did not want to come across as fully subscribing to a new security architecture that includes Israel and is anti-Iran.

He added that Egypt only announced its participation after having settled a date for the visit of the Qatari foreign minister to Cairo.

The Egyptian government source, while declining to confirm or deny this account, said: I think what the foreign minister made clear in the joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart is that Egypt is not joining any alliances against anyone.

On 26 March, Shoukri met with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdel-Rahman Al-Thani, and both men spoke positively of relations between their countries. Following the meeting Qatar announced an investment package in Egypt of $5 billion. In the same week Saudi Arabia put a new deposit of $5 billion in the Central Bank of Egypt and the UAE pledged $2 billion of investments in Egypt.

The same Gulf-based source argued that Qatar is carefully watching the UAE push to integrate Israel and isolate Iran.

Qatar does not necessarily object to the integration of Israel  the countries have had good relations for decades, after all. What it does oppose is the isolation of Iran, which Doha has found a credible ally.

He added that Egypt remains cautious about pushing forward the integration of Israel in the absence of any development on the Palestinian front, and while cautious about Iran, is not interested in being party to a scheme to isolate Tehran.

All of which means, he concluded, that Egypts foreign-policy interests are not fully compatible with those of any of its past, present or potentially future allies.

Egyptian officials argue that Egypt still shares some solid objectives with the UAE even if the two countries can disagree on the management of regional power dynamics and conflicts.

Things are more nuanced, says one. We have some things in common with the UAE, especially when it comes to radical political Islam, and things in common with Qatar, not least declining a firm alliance against Iran. And lets remember, a deal between Iran and Western countries over Irans nuclear programme looks to be round the corner.

What the Egyptian government official and the Gulf-based political source do agree is that it is hard to really synchronise the agendas of Egypt, Qatar, and the UAE, and harder to overlook the differences between Qatar and its traditional regional rivals. Moreover, they agree that the other players, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, also have their own visions for the future of the region security and cooperation mechanism.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have their issues with the US administration which is not the case with Iraq or Jordan, said the Gulf-based source. He added that the timing of the UAE push for a new security architecture comes at a moment of scepticism in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh over the commitment of the US to the security of their countries.

We have already seen Iranian-supported Houthi drones hit targets in the UAE, he said, and there are very real concerns that Tehran will seek to intervene via Shia communities in Iraq and other Gulf countries.

Another regional diplomatic source spoke of the possibility of maritime conflicts over potential gas fields in the region.

In his meeting with Arab foreign ministers in Israel, and in a subsequent meeting with Bin Zayed in Morocco, Blinken attempted to placate his Gulf interlocutors, say Cairo- and Washington-based diplomatic sources. They argue that the immediate goal of the UAE and Israel, shared with Saudi Arabia, is to convince the Biden administration to maintain the sanctions on Irans Revolutionary Guard.

Egypts goal in joining the meetings, according to Egyptian officials, was for it not to be excluded from any new political or security dynamic, though we cannot become involved in any large-scale regional military or intelligence cooperation, and we certainly do not see eye to eye, on the parameters of conflict-resolution mechanism in the region.

According to Cairo-based foreign diplomatic sources, the UAEs push has a number of long-term objectives. According to one, it is aiming to rework not just the security architecture of the region but its political make-up.

The diplomatic sources believe that a conflict-free Middle East is the only way that would allow for a new regional order.

Despite an awareness that such ambitions will raise eyebrows, informed diplomatic sources expect the UAE to continue to show its strength when it comes to regional, and maybe even international, security.

Earlier this week, the UAE hosted a meeting of the ministers of interior of 11 states, including Israel, Arab, Asian, European, and African countries.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Nearly 15.3 million people will be added to the countrys health insurance system in 2022, according to Egypts Ministry of Health on Tuesday.

Acting Minister of Health Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, explained that new segments of the population are being brought under the health insurance umbrella in 2022.

The new segments will include farmers, seasonal workers, taxi drivers, fishermen and quarry, construction, transport and shipping workers, Abdel-Ghaffar added.

He stated the number of the people benefiting from the insurance system in March reached 69.7 million, representing 69 percent of Egypt's population.

The acting minister added that during the first quarter of 2022, 481,525 surgical operations were conducted in health insurance hospitals at a cost of more than three billion Egyptian pounds.

Minister Abdel-Ghaffar said new medical equipment including open heart operations and CT scan machines had been delivered to a number of hospitals nationwide during the past period under the umbrella of the health insurance system.

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Cairo has been named the second most trending destination in the world, and ninth best destination for city lovers in 2022, according to the world's largest travel guidance platform Tripadvisor, while Hurghada was also named 10th most popular destination.

Tripadvisors methodology for The Travellers Choice Best of the Best Awards focuses on the quality and quantity of reviews and ratings from travelers on their platform over the 12-month period between 1 November 2020, and 21 October 2021, the website said.

Key areas such as accommodations, restaurants and popular activities in each city are all taken into consideration.

Cairo is an ancient city and modern metropolis, says Tripadvisor, adding that the Egyptian capital  known as the City of the Thousand Minarets  is a splendid place to explore Egyptian history and culture in addition to being one of the biggest cities in the Middle East.

Tripadvisor lists key landmarks such as the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, Al-Azhar Mosque, Khan Al-Khalili bazaar, Sharia Al-Muizz Li-Din Allah street and the Cairo Citadel among some of the top locations to visit in Cairo. It adds that the Egyptian capital is great also for its cultural, archaeological and historical tours, and suggested a private half day trip to Giza Pyramids Sphinx with camel riding.

In a separate ranking for popular destinations, Hurghada came in 10th.

Its stunning coral reefs and turquoise waters that are perfect for windsurfing have made Hurghada, on Egypt's Red Sea Coast, a busy resort town, said Tripadvisor.

Within easy reach of the stunning Giftun Islands and the Eastern Arabian Desert, Hurghada has seen enormous amounts of development in the past decadeand yes, it does seem overrun with tourists at times. But it is a relatively easy beach escape for Europeans, and some of the world's best diving and snorkelling sites are just offshore, the website said.

This comes at a time when Egypts tourism sector has been struggling to recover amid pressure from the Omicron wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and  most recently  the Ukraine-Russia war, from where Egypt receives a major part of its tourism share.

Egypts tourism sector had picked up momentum in the second half of the 2021 thanks the return of Russian tourists to Sinai in August and also the international events held such as the glitzy ceremonies of the Pharaohs Golden Parade in Cairo in April and the opening of the Avenue of the Sphinxes in Luxor in late November.

The sector had begun to recover following the setbacks caused by the spread of COVID-19 in early 2020.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Egypt received 3.5 million tourists in the first six months of 2021, representing revenues of $3.5 to $4 billion, almost equal to all the revenue gained in 2020.

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Against the backdrop of projections that the data analytics, artificial intelligence and cyber security business in the Middle East and Africa will grow at 20.4% to $28.36 billion by 2026, experts are readying for a key Forum.

Cogent Solutions Event Management (CS Events) has announced to schedule the 2nd Middle East Data Analytics Forum for June 22, 2022. The day-long international conference is supported by the UAE Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre.

Meanwhile, according to analysts at International Data Corporation (IDC), businesses were estimated to have spent a whopping $215 billion in 2021 on big data and business analytics solutions, which was a 10% increase over 2020.

UAE's National Innovation Strategy

The Forum is being organised in line with the UAE's National Innovation Strategy which aims to take UAE to a new height in the advancement of data analytics and national AI strategy 2031.

Enterprises in the end-user industries are increasingly deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to realise cost benefits, increase productivity, and improve their safety standards. Several government-driven initiatives are changing the dynamics of the industrial sector and contributing to reshaping the landscape in key economies like Saudi Arabia and UAE, and creating stronger institutional set-up and effective regulatory frameworks, to promote private sector investments.

The Forum aims to bring more than 350 C-Level international and regional stakeholders that have already embraced big data analytics and AI to discuss the current challenges, use-case scenarios, opportunities, hence providing a hands-on learning experience to the technology stakeholders converging from key sectors like Governments, BFSI, Healthcare, Retail, Manufacturing, Banking and Finance, Oil and Gas, Utilities and Transportation just to name a few.

Elite participation

The decision-makers attending the summit from Head of Data, CTO, Chief Data Officers, IT Directors, Head of Digital, CIO, Data Architecture, Director of Smart Data, Data Scientist, Head of AI analytics, Data Engineer and more.

Enterprises in the end-user industries are increasingly deploying artificial intelligence to realise cost benefits, increase productivity, and improve their safety standards. Several government-driven initiatives are changing the dynamics of the industrial sector and contributing to reshaping the landscape in key economies like Saudi Arabia and UAE, and creating stronger institutional set-up and effective regulatory frameworks, to promote private sector investments.

With Covid-19 becoming the new reality, organisations worldwide must respond proactively to cyber threats that have witnessed a spike during the pandemic. For this reason, cyber resilience, which refers to a sector or organisations ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from cyberattacks, has become an absolute necessity rather than a mere option in the current scenario, it said.

Artificial intelligence

Various governments in the region have conducted long-term plans for using artificial intelligence and ML as an economic stimulus or enhancing workforce efficiency and government structure agility. Now, artificial intelligence programmes are carried out with governments' direct support, but companies in the region would have their own AI departments in the short term, it said.

UAE government is the first country in the Middle East region to launch its artificial intelligence strategy, and the first in the world to create a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence. The government is planning to invest in artificial intelligence technologies in about nine sectors.

At present, many countries in the region are recognising the potential of applying ICT to improve both social and economic development. However, according to a study by SIS and McAfee, the UAE has the second most targeted country in the world for cybercrime, costing the country an estimated $1.4 billion per year.

Demand for data analytics professionals

The demand for data analytics professionals is also exploding. US Bureau of Labour Statistics researchers project strong growth (31%) in the field of data science through 2030. Nearly 90% corporations are predicted to value information as a critical enterprise asset and analytics as an essential competency this year.

Data is the new oil or gold. However, data means nothing without analytics. Businesses in the Middle East are deploying enormous resources to boost data analytics, artificial intelligence and cyber security  in order to benefit from consumer behaviour to market their products and services, Nizam Deen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CS Events says.

As a result, we see a major shift in business towards data analytics. Experts will share their thoughts on the new regional and global trends in data analytics, artificial intelligence and cyber security as digital businesses are gradually replacing brick-and-mortar businesses all over the world.

Fresh insights

The Forum will offer fresh insights into the future business. Thats why, participation in this important conference is of paramount importance.

Mohammad Hassan, Executive Director of the Statistics Sector at the Federal Competitiveness and Statistic Centre; Latifa Alshehhi, Head of Data Management at the Roads and Transport Authority, UAE; Ali Juma AlAjme, Director of Digital Health Department, Ministry of Health and Prevention  UAE; Thuraya Al-Harthi, Senior Specialist - Innovation and Emerging Technology at the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technology, Oman and Ali Abdulla Alsadadi, Head of IT, Ministry of Oil, Bahrain and more will lead the discussions at the Forum, which is well supported by key industry stakeholders.-- TradeArabia News Service
Egyptian authorities have announced they will test samples of imported chocolate bars currently in the Egyptian market after reports arose that their ingredients allegedly contain a narcotic.

The governments step came soon after well-known lawyer and former President of Cairo University, Gaber Nassar made public statements alleging that a brand of chocolate bar commonly sold in Egypt contains "a proportion of the poppy drug."

Nassar said on his Facebook page that he had received complaints from people in high-profile positions who failed drug tests at their places of employment after presumably consuming the chocolate.

Nassar posted a picture of a chocolate bar packaging, on which the list of ingredients said it contained 2.3 percent poppy.

Poppy seeds are commonly used as flavouring in food products, including pastries, muffins, cake and bread. However, poppy seeds, which first undergo processing, are widely known to cause false positive drug tests.

Poppy seeds themselves dont contain morphine, but they can absorb opium extract during harvesting as opium substance is extracted along with the poppy seeds from the seed pod of the opium poppy. The opium is composed of roughly 12 percent morphine, which is a narcotic, according to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

The interior ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that it will take samples of the chocolate to make sure its ingredients conform to international standards, though it added that poppy seeds are used in the ingredients for some foodstuffs after being processed to ensure they are free of narcotics.

In a follow-up post, Nassar said experts on the matter contacted him and clarified that the chocolate contains poppy seeds, not opiates.

The lawyer blamed the manufacturing company for the confusion, saying it did not elaborate on the matter, especially since the poppy plant is criminalised under Egyptian law, Nassar stressed.

"In the end, it is all up to the concerned authorities," the lawyer said.

In 2021, Egypt ratified a law allowing the government to sack employees who test positive for illicit drugs.

The law stipulates that those who are seeking jobs in state authorities, state administrative units, public sector companies, public utility management companies, rehabilitation centres, kindergartens, schools, and hospitals must also test negative for drugs.

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The new Elvis Presley biopic by Australian director Baz Luhrmann will get its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, the organisers confirmed on Tuesday.

Tom Hanks, who plays the rock'n'roll legend's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, will be among the stars attending the premiere, which comes ahead of the worldwide release of "Elvis" between June 22 and 24.

Relative unknown Austin Butler has the lead role in the latest spectacle from Luhrmann.

The Australian writer-director is the only person to open the Cannes Film Festival twice -- with "Moulin Rouge!" in 2001 and "Gatsby" in 2013.

"Elvis" could not open the festival this year due to a new rule about opening night films being released worldwide on the same day.

It joins Tom Cruise blockbuster "Top Gun: Maverick" in the line-up for this year's festival, which is being held on May 17-28.

The full line-up is due to be unveiled later this month.

Luhrmann's breakout moment was also at Cannes, when his debut feature "Strictly Ballroom" caused a sensation in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival in 1992.

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Award-winning Egyptian director Morad Mostafa has been invited to attend the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in May among ten directors selected for the La Fabrique Cinema programme for his debut feature film Aisha Cant Fly Away Anymore.

Very happy to announce that my first feature project, Aisha Can't Fly Away Anymore, was selected for the prestigious programme, stated Mostafa on Tuesday, thanking the films crew and producer Sawsan Yusuf, who was also invited by La Fabrique.

Co-written by Mohamad Abdel-Qader, Aisha Can't Fly Away Anymore is co-produced by Mohamed Hefzy, Safei El-Din Mahmoud, Sherif Fathy, and Basel Mawlawi, with Film Clinic acting as its distributor.

La Fabrique Cinema is a tailored programme that helps talented young directors from emerging countries increase their international exposure.

Each year, the programme  which is developed by the Institut Francais in partnership with many sponsors  invites ten directors working on their first or second feature films to attend the Festival de Cannes along with their producers.

Morad Mostafa, 34, has been touring the world in recent years with his first three short films  Henet Ward, What We Don't Know About Mariam, and Khadiga  which have competed in over 100 festivals across the globe and earned him dozens of awards, including Oscar and BAFTA qualifying awards.

Mostafa previously worked as an assistant director for many important names, including Hala Khalil, Sherif El-Bendary, Mohamed Diab, and Ayten Amin in her 2020-Cannes-selected feature Souad.

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The Ministry of Health has signed an agreement with digital health platform Altibbi to encourage the public to donate plasma.

The antibodies and proteins present in plasma are used in therapies for many serious health problems and chronic health conditions, including autoimmune disorders, hemophilia, and liver and kidney diseases. Egypts national project for blood plasma donation, launched in 2021 by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, aims to achieve self-sufficiency in plasma and its derivatives.

Altibbis CEO Jalil Al-Abadi told Al-Ahram Weekly that the partnership is a continuation of the companys effort to help the Egyptian government increase access to quality healthcare at reduced cost by encouraging new donors. Under the agreement, Altibbi Egypt will provide plasma donors with free medical consultations across all specialties for a year.

Consultations will be provided by the companys medical team, with donors able to log on to the platforms website and use it free of charge. Altibbi has also set up a hotline (1130) to help donors.

During the Covid-19 crisis Altibbi contributed to alleviating pressure on Egypts healthcare systems. We used to provide medical consultations for people with symptoms and directed them to the right doctor when necessary, said Al-Abadi.

The platform has expanded its presence in Egypt. We are now moving to a bigger office in New Cairo and recruiting more staff, says its CEO.

Work is underway to finalise promotional activities and the design and language of the donor programme which Altibbi hopes to launch immediately after the holy month of Ramadan.

We get more than 300,000 visitors to our website from Egypt each day. It has the largest medical content in Arabic; visitors have questions about the whole range of medical issues and are looking for answers, says Al-Abadi. We are going to tell all visitors about the plasma national project and the importance of donating.

Other promotional and advertorial channels such as the TV and social media will not be the best choice, Al-Abadi said.

The Ministry of Health and Population, which currently imports plasma and its derivatives, plans to be self-sufficient within six to eight years.

Nevine Al-Nahhas, supervisor of the national plasma donation project, says Egypts current capacity for plasma is 300,000 litres a year, and that plasma is most needed to produce albumin-factor 8 and immunoglobulin.

Al-Nahhas noted that many people are unaware of the importance of donating plasma and that the ministrys agreement with Altibbi will increase the number of donors.

We currently import 100 per cent of plasma derivatives, she said, despite Ministry of Health laboratories plasma collection capacity.

In December 2020, parliament approved a law regulating the collection of plasma for the manufacture and export of plasma derivatives.

The law included a roadmap for the collection of plasma and its derivatives and comprises 23 articles on blood operations, plasma collection, manufacture of plasma-derived products and plasma transfusion, with the intention of manufacturing derivatives abroad and then returning them in the form of biological products.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Stronger bilateral relations and better coordination between Egypt and Sudan will have a positive impact on the security of both states and the region, said a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity. That is especially true at a time when the Sudanese government must negotiate popular demands to facilitate the transition to a civilian-led democracy.

In addition, a unified stand towards Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is needed to break the current stalemate and help the parties reach legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam, he added.

Such is the context within which high-level visits between officials of the two countries are taking place.

The latest was last weeks summit meeting between President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and the Chairman of Sudans Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan.

The two leaders discussed ways to help Sudan out of its current political crisis without compromising Sudans security or regional stability.

A joint statement issued after their meeting emphasised Cairos understanding of the delicate situation through which Sudan is passing, and the need for joint work to ensure ongoing global developments do not undermine Sudans security and economic stability.

Sudan, for its part, expressed pride in the strength of bilateral rapprochement, and praised Egypts efforts to promote joint cooperation and support the safety and stability of Sudan.

The two leaders also addressed the dispute with Ethiopia over GERD. Highlighting the centrality of the water file to the security of their two peoples, they agreed to continue intensive consultations and coordination to reach a fair, equitable and legally-binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam in a manner that achieves the interests of all parties.

Last month, Osama Askar, the chief-of-staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces, met his Sudanese counterpart Mohamed Othman Al-Hussein in Cairo to discuss military cooperation between the two countries and agreed to fast-track the exchange of expertise between Cairo and Khartoum.

Askar expressed hopes that the coming period would see further cooperation between the two countries within the framework of Cairo and Khartoums firm strategic relations, while Al-Hussein highlighted the consensus between Sudan and Egypt on the need to formulate joint strategies promoting the interests of both countries. Al-Hussein was in Egypt to attend the eighth meeting of the Egyptian-Sudanese Military Committee.

Similarly reflecting Egypts keenness to maintain Sudanese security, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri met with UN Special Envoy for Sudan and head of United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission (UNITAM) Volker Perthes whose visit to Cairo coincided with Al-Burhans. iand Perthes discussed the latest developments in Sudan, with Egypts top diplomat stressing that Sudanese security and stability is indivisible from Egypts.

Perthes has begun consultations with Sudanese forces to pave the way for an intra-Sudanese dialogue.

Despite the difficult political situation in Sudan, explained the anonymous diplomat, adopting a unified stand with Egypt on the GERD file has helped strengthen the two countries positions towards Ethiopia.

Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly underlined the necessity of a legally-binding agreement with Ethiopia on the filling and operation of GERD, something Ethiopia continued to resist.

When Ethiopia announced in February that it was beginning to operate turbines at the dam, Cairo and Khartoum responded by issuing a joint statement calling on Addis Ababa to actively engage in talks under the auspices of the African Union (AU) to reach a legally-binding deal. Both states described the Ethiopian move as a breach of the Declaration of Principles (DoP).

The DoP was signed in Khartoum in March 2015 at a tripartite summit that included the heads of the three countries.

A decade of tripartite negotiations on the dam ground to a halt in April 2020 after Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia failed to reach an agreement ahead of the second filling of the dam.

Egypt fears continued filling of the dam in the absence of an agreement will reduce the flow of Nile water on which Egypt depends. Sudan is worried Ethiopias unilateral actions will endanger its own dams.



*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Allocations for social protection have increased in the new draft budget as well as measures to cushion the repercussions of global price hikes, reports Nahla Abul-Ezz

Despite the measures the government has adopted to cope with the wave of surging prices and the repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine war, it has decided to increase spending on social protection in the new 2022-23 draft budget presented to the House of Representatives, the lower house of Egypts parliament, in late March.

Allocations for the wages and compensations section in the new budget rose from LE318.8 billion in 2021-22 to LE400 billion divided into LE36 billion on wages, LE38.5 billion on pensions, LE8 billion on tax exemptions, and LE2.7 billion on the Takaful and Karama (Solidarity and Dignity) social-protection programmes, an increase of LE450,000.

The draft budget allocates LE332.1 billion for subsidies, grants, and social privileges, up from LE263.8 billion in 2021-22.

The government has been careful to widen the umbrella of social security protection by increasing the number of beneficiaries of the Takaful and Karama programmes and intensifying work on the Decent Life initiative in impoverished villages and on the Lifeboats initiative meant to raise awareness of the dangers of irregular migration.

It aims to lower unemployment rates by providing five million job opportunities in national projects.

The government has also decided to allocate LE5 billion to appointing 30,000 teachers and 30,000 physicians and to dedicate LE1 billion to promotions.

Egypt is the worlds largest importer of wheat from both Russia and Ukraine, and amid the global hike in prices the new draft budget allocates LE95 billion to bread subsidies. The value of the allocation compares to the LE87 billion the previous year and means that the government does not intend to move from in-kind subsidies to cash subsidies as planned earlier.

At the same time, the government has begun pinpointing the objectives of the states investment plans for the next fiscal year, focused on supporting Egyptians through the establishment and development of 36 hospitals, the provision of 1,500 new intensive care beds, and the establishment of 27 new desalination plants and 115 water-treatment plants.

The plans also include the construction of 25,000 classrooms in schools to decrease the number of students in each class.

Alia Al-Mahdi, a professor of economics at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University, said that increasing spending on social protection was necessary because the middle- and lower-income classes had borne the brunt of the economic reform measures applied since 2016.

She added that the government was responsible for providing all kinds of support to these groups and suggested replacing in-kind subsidies with cash subsidies.

Mustafa Salem, deputy chair of the Planning and Budget Committee in the House of Representatives, said the governments inclination to adopt radical measures had necessitated a review of some sections of the draft budget, excluding social protection.

The committee suggested reviewing the rights of entities included in the general budget, such as units of the states administrative apparatus, public-service bodies, and 648 local administration bodies, with the aim of integrating units with similar functions under one umbrella as a means to cut costs.

In addition, the committee proposed reformulating some ministries responsibilities to achieve optimal results and make best use of the allocations dedicated to them in the general budget.

It requested that officials be made accountable for any decisions that could be shown to result in wasting public money.

Salem said that some ministries had appointed a large number of expert advisers and more-than-needed representatives on diplomatic missions and in consulates. He called for limiting the number of officials to those with needed expertise.

Thorough studies should be carried out on projects before implementing them to measure their economic and social repercussions, whether they are funded from the state budget, loans, or grants, he said.

Plans to deal with the financing, organisational, and administrative challenges that might arise during the implementation of projects should also be set in motion, he concluded.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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On 30 March, following two weeks of debate, the House of Representatives approved a legislative amendment to Law 149/2019 regulating the performance of NGOs. The amendment, approved by the Senate on 27 March, now awaits ratification by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi.

The House initially passed an amended NGOs law in July 2019 after a previous version of the law, issued in 2017, was criticised for imposing restrictions on the work of tens of thousands of NGOs.

Abdel-Hadi Al-Qasabi, chairman of the Houses Social Solidarity Committee, told MPs that while the executive regulations of Law 149/2019 gave NGOs a one-year grace period to adjust their legal situation, many NGOs had found the grace period too short, not least because restrictive measures during the coronavirus pandemic had made it impossible for them to hold general assemblies. In addition, said Al- Qasabi, many NGOs found the electronic system legalising their status too complex.

As a result, the National Council for Human Rights had proposed the grace period be extended by 12 months.

The latest amendment to Law 149/2019 provides a new timeframe for NGOs to regulate their status, said Al-Qasabi. Article 2 now allows an addition six months for them to register, and contains a provision that this period can be further extended at the discretion of the minister overseeing the work of NGOs, and with cabinet approval.

MP Talaat Abdel-Qawi, chairman of the General Federation of NGOs and Civil Society Organisations, pointed out that only around 25,000 NGOs out of 52,000 were able to settle their legal status before the initial deadline of 12 January, 2022, while Senator Tarek Abdel-Aziz said that in some governorates barely a third of organisations had managed to complete the necessary procedures.

Abdel-Qawi added that the complicated electronic registration system required by the Ministry of Social Solidarity had proved particularly burdensome, and that he hoped the extension would allow organisations to complete the process.

He also proposed that Article 43 of Law 149/2019 be amended to clearly stipulate payments to NGO board members in return for their attending meetings, a suggestion approved by MPs.

The proposed one-year grace period was rejected by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Alaa Fouad in favour of the renewable six-month period, as drafted by the government.

Several MPs voiced concerns that the law opens the door to unregulated foreign funding of NGOs. Wafdist MP and journalist Mohamed Abdel-Alim warned that stricter supervision was needed of NGOs that obtained funding from the United States and the European Union, claiming in the past this kind of foreign money and funding spread like a cancer in Egypt, and aimed to manipulate internal political conditions.

Al-Qasabi responded by saying the Ministry of Social Solidarity was able to determine whether foreign funding comes from good or evil sources.

Abdel-Qawi explained that in order to secure approval for foreign funding from the Ministry of Social Solidarity, NGOs must answer three questions: where does funding come from, to which association or institution is the funding directed, and for what activities will it be used?

Regarding the first question, Abdel-Qawi said foreign organisations that grant funding to Egyptian NGOs must be on an approved list, and the recipient organisation must have no history of financial or administrative malpractice.

NGOs operating in Egypt are strictly prohibited from commercial activities that aim to generate profit and cannot be engaged in political activities or the funding of political parties or any other entity engaged in political activities, said Abdel-Qawi. He added that no more than 10 per cent of NGOs operating in Egypt are recipients of foreign funding.



*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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A superficial look at the French electoral map might lead us to say that there is nothing new under the sun in the run-up to the French presidential elections. We are heading towards a return match between Marine Le Pen of the extreme right and incumbent President Emmanuel Macron, who claims to represent the left and the right but who heads a coalition of centrists.

The president seems likely to win according to the opinion polls, albeit by a small margin. The downfall of Frances traditional political parties is not new, but its acceleration has been stunning, even if more or less expected.

However, a closer look at the electoral map leads to a different conclusion. We could be heading towards a major, and very disturbing, surprise. The only almost certain thing is that Macron will reach the second round of the elections. Le Pen should be able to make it too, but a third man, the mercurial leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon, could be the surprise.

We cannot exclude a scenario in which many leftist voters decide they will not vote for their preferred candidate but only for the one who has a chance of reaching the second round. (There are six leftist candidates in the elections, five of them scoring less than five per cent of the vote in the opinion polls.) If this happens, Melenchon may be able to outscore Le Pen, despite the six per cent difference between them.

This is improbable, but we cannot rule it out. Much more important are the dynamics of the race between the frontrunners. In the 2017 elections, Le Pen started the race with very high scores in the polls but inexorably lost ground and voters. After the first round, her TV debate with Macron was disastrous, and the vote for her collapsed. Even so, 35 per cent of French voters still opted for her.

This time round, things look different. Le Pen has had a difficult start, and she has had to ponder how to deal with the Zemmour factor. Eric Zemmour is another strong candidate from the extreme right and is much more hawkish. Le Pen has opted for a rightist strategy and has started gaining ground, constantly improving her standing.

Macron, on the other hand, seems to have mishandled his campaign. He had a comfortable score at the start, and the Ukraine war has strengthened his position due to what the British call the Falklands factor, named after then British prime minister Margaret Thatchers success in the polls following the 1982 Falklands War.

But Macrons decision to delay the start of his campaign, waiting for the very last moment, has backfired. It has given credence to the accusation that he does not want a debate because his achievements during his first term have not been that impressive. This is probably unfair, Macron being a formidable debater, but it has hurt.

The French senate, controlled by the right, has also unleashed a surprise in the shape of a report denouncing the unhealthy proximity between the US management consultants McKinsey and Macrons team. His score in the opinion polls went down by three or four per cent and has now stalled as a result, though it remains high. Yet, Macron seems to be unable to find proposals that are popular with the voters.

Le Pen has decided that she should not try to compete with Zemmour on immigration, Islam, and security. Her name and her party guarantee her hawkishness. Trying to outplay an extremist competitor on that kind of playing field would compromise her efforts to look like a normal candidate. Instead, she has focused from the beginning on the need to protect the purchasing power of the poor and lower middle classes. Most of her voters have that kind of social background. This decision has turned out to be prescient, as the war in Ukraine has caused a general rise in energy and wheat prices.

Le Pen has also tried to look responsible, and she has not criticised Macrons handling of the Ukraine crisis. She has tried to assess the cost of her proposals in a way that looks plausible: they are not, but the average voter is not an economic expert. She has also tried to present herself as a kind of anti-Macron: he presents himself as knowing everything and crushes his opponents with his mastery of different issues. She, on the other hand, looks nice, modest, and friendly.

Macron presents himself as a Jupiter on the heights of Mount Olympus, governing from above and from a distance. Le Pen is close to the people, touring France and organising smaller and larger meetings.

Macron has a solid electoral basis of around a quarter of the electorate. But the polls suggest that two-thirds of this base do not like him or his programme, instead considering him to be the best candidate and above the rest of the field. This is Macrons main asset: that his opponents are considered to be second or third-league players. He can also claim that he has handled the Covid-19 pandemic in an efficient way. His critics can point to a lot of bad choices, however, and say that the fact he has often reversed course proves that he is aware he has erred.

The collapse of Frances traditional mainstream parties, the Republicans and Socialists, is impressive and deserves analysis. The Republicans are faring better, but their 2017 candidate secured only 20 per cent of the vote, and their candidate this year may not even score 10 per cent. The Socialists plight is even more impressive: their candidate is struggling to cross the two per cent threshold.

In fact, these parties are coalitions of moderates and hawks. An impressive number of moderates have joined Macron, and many of the hawks have preferred more radical forces. In this difficult situation, these parties have opted for a strategy of soft radicalisation that has backfired. With the benefit of hindsight, trying to seduce the moderates would have been a better choice.

The main problem is that Macrons choice of a shortening of the campaign combined with the Covid-19 related restrictions and the overwhelming weight of the Ukraine war has had consequences. In a very serious situation, with a lot of old crises and an impressive number of new ones, there has not been serious debate, and the voters do not really know what the competitors are proposing.

The president of the French Senate, the rightist Vincent Larcher, has said that the result is that the next president of France will not be considered legitimate, as there has been no real campaign and no real race. As a result, the next president may well be unable to undertake much-needed reforms.

This is only one aspect of the run-up to the elections. We may be heading towards a major surprise if Le Pens rise does not stop. Even if she is cautious now, it is clear that she is not a fan of the EU or NATO. Her economic policies do not look sound. All the candidates have proposed a lot of costly solutions to the crisis in France, but all of them have also omitted to say how they will fund them. This is especially the case for Le Pen and Melenchon.

Nothing guarantees that the next French president will be able to secure a majority in the following legislative elections. Macrons party has a grassroots problem, and Le Pen is a polarising figure.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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By mediating the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Turkey is trying to establish its presence on the international arena, reports Haitham Nouri

Ankara began to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv before Russian troops attacked Ukrainian territories, believing that the longer the crisis lasted, the more losses Turkey would sustain.

Turkeys relations with Russia are complicated. It depends almost entirely on Russia for its energy imports. According to 2020 figures, Ankara imported 33.6 billion cubic metres of natural gas from Russia. That year, Turkeys total consumption of natural gas recorded 48.1 billion cubic metres.

Ankaras dependence on Russian natural gas rose, especially after a technical malfunction disrupted the flow of Iranian natural gas to Turkeys industrial sector, paralysing it completely for several days.

With the Russian incursion into Ukraine, Mehmet Dogan, general manager of GazDay Energy, told local media outlets that if the Russian-Ukrainian conflict lingers on until the summer and Russia stops exporting gas to Turkey, gas prices will surge, and if the conflict extends to the winter, Turkey will suffer greatly.

In addition, before the crisis, Turkey used to be an attractive destination for Russian tourists and Moscow was an important market for Turkish agricultural projects. Trade between Ankara and Kyiv recorded $7.5 billion in 2020.

Turkish mediation efforts between the Russian and Ukrainian capitals in early February, launched to prevent a military move, did not meet with success.

Turkey gave negotiations another go with the launch of the Russian military operation at the end of February, following Russian President Vladimir Putins recognition of the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu received his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Sergey Lavrov and Dmytro Kuleba, respectively, on the fringe of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in southern Turkey. Late in March, Moscow and Kyiv held talks in Istanbul, but they did not yield tangible results.

It is important to note, however, that the mediation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not without bias. Turkey is an old member of NATO, despite Ankaras purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system, which drew US and European criticism. Turkey nonetheless also provided Ukraine with drones, which strongly contributed to slowing down the Russian advance, according to Turkish media. Indeed, the Ukrainian the Ukrainian Defence Ministry posted a video in October 2021 showing a Turkish drone destroying Russian artillery in Donabas, east Ukraine.

In January, Putin criticised the immense support Turkey was extending to Ukraine, calling on Erdogan to reconsider his policies.

Erdogan promotes himself as the protector of Tatar Muslims in Crimea, and his government was planning to build houses and a large mosque in Kyiv for those who have left Crimea since 2014. Ankara and Moscow do not see eye to eye on the Syrian and Libyan issues and the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Turkish initiative will not yield results because stopping the fighting is in the hands of Russia, said Mohamed Abdel-Hadi, a professor of political science. Turkey feels isolated. It is not being shunned, but many countries are avoiding it.

Ankara is standing at a farther distance from the European Union than ever before, and its relations are sour with France, for example, which is a leading country in Europe, added Abdel-Hadi.

Turkish presence in the Arab world and the Middle East is at its weakest. It has no influence in the Syrian conflict and it has a weak presence in Libya. It is trying to make concessions to the Gulf and is not trying to engage in any battle with Egypt.

Abdel-Hadi added: In addition, Russia thwarted Turkeys attempt to be present in the Caucasus by supporting Azerbaijan against Armenia. Be that as it may, Turkey can only try to be in the midst of all this turmoil. However, the failure to reach results depends not on the Turkish impasse, but on the power formula between Moscow and Kyiv.

Russia has been demanding that Ukraine should be a neutral, demilitarised state, that it should recognise Crimea as part of Russia, Donetsk and Luhansk as independent republics, and not to join the NATO. All of which Kyiv rejected.

A number of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys government officials recently stated that their country is open to negotiating the Russian demand for Kyivs neutrality, but it will not give up an inch of its territory.

It is not in Turkeys hands to facilitate negotiations on these demands because Russia is the more powerful party in this conflict, especially after the West gave up on Zelensky, stated Abdel-Hadi.

Turkey has to be part of all the files, otherwise it will be utterly shunned.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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In the first week of the second month into Russias war on Ukraine, Moscow declared the end of the first phase of military operations. It is not clear when the second phase will begin, but unexpected developments on the ground have no decipherable motives.

Russia began withdrawing from areas surrounding the capital Kyiv. Some troops returned to their positions in Belarus, while others have been stationed in west Russia. As attacks in these areas subsided, they reignited in East Ukraine on the Donbas battle fronts and besieged coastal cities of Mariupol and Mykolaiv. There have also been limited attacks on the city of Odessa.

According to Western intelligence agencies, this retreat is the result of Moscows inability to sustain operations at the same level as it did at the beginning of the war. Russia has suffered failure and miscalculation, and is therefore now choosing to remain positioned in the East. However, Ukraines Ministry of Defence revealed on Monday that Russian troops are preparing to attack the city of Kharkiv. The first month may be summarised as follows.

Russia advanced slowly in eastern Ukraine on the borders of Kharkiv and Donbas, placing Kherson, Mariupol and Mykolaiv under siege, without being able to control these main cities. It faced sustained resistance by the Ukrainian army and militias, and the aboutface means it will change its tactics and take control of some cities in the East.

Russia, however, faces many challenges. Its air force  the Russian armys long arm  failed to impose blanket control of Ukraines airspace. Even though Russia destroyed most Ukrainian defence systems, Ukrainians have managed to execute limited but effective air operations.

Russia was mainly confronted with counterattacks by the Ukrainian side, and it did not expect Ukraine to be as resilient and resolute. While Russia focuses more on machinery than soldiers, Ukraine does the opposite since it lacks the machinery but has troops and militias trained in unconventional warfare. This has made Russias mission more difficult. Moving in extensive columns of Russian armoured vehicles provided the Ukrainian resistance with an easy target.

Moscow had not expected the Ukrainian regime so adamantly to hold onto and remain in power, which is a credit to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is keen on appearing at different locations either by himself or with government officials. This signals that Zelensky will remain on the scene until the end. He has stated more than once that Russias attempts to assassinate him have failed.

It is noteworthy that at the beginning of the war, Moscows goal was to take control of strategic sites including nuclear facilities, such as Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhya. However, it eventually withdrew from Chernobyl with no clear explanation as to why. Subsequent analyses opined that Moscow wants to discuss this issue at negotiations, especially nuclear matters. Russias moves in the first month also included taking control of some biological laboratories. Moscows narrative accused Washington of creating laboratories with the aim of threatening Russia, but this narrative eventually began to ebb.

According to many estimates, Russia is in the process of mobilising to launch more attacks, while improving the positions of its forces that took part in the first phase. These troops were partially replaced with offensive forces or bolstered by foreign fighters or combatants from former Soviet states, such as Chechnya. Belarus also expressed a desire to participate in these operations. Private military firms such as Wagner will also play a greater role in the next stage, and could be in charge of recruiting support from the Middle East, especially via its base in Syria, Hmeimim. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported mobilisation operations are underway in Syria to transfer these groups, while Western reports declare that some of these combatants have already been transported.

It is clear that by the end of phase one, Russias military operations had not achieved all their goals, and left a negative impression of Russias military proficiency in the war. The worst impact, however, was the destructive attacks on civilian locations across Ukraine. The US-based Institute for the Study of War found many reports of disorganised withdrawal around the capital Kyiv, which was disorderly and uncoordinated, indicating chaotic command and control overall.

Meanwhile, the position of Western countries compounds the challenges facing Russia as they continue to support Ukraine with weapons that pose a threat to Russian forces. At the beginning of the war, Ukraine possessed anti-vehicle and anti-aircraft missiles such as Stinger and Javelin missiles. Since then, Washington has said it could send more advanced anti-missile systems such as the offensive long range anti-aircraft system Switchblade. London also announced it would send its Starstreak offensive anti-missile weapons. If these are delivered, the Ukrainian forces will need rapid training by soldiers from the US and Britain.

In the meantime, Ukrainian forces are opting for parallel armament of tanks and defence systems, such as the S-300 and Russian MiG fighters belonging to former Soviet states. However, the West still feels it is unlikely they will send heavy weapons to Ukraine which Russia could easily intercept and destroy.

In parallel, Western powers have hastened defensive reinforcements in Eastern European countries, especially Poland, which has become a spearhead in the face of Russia, and is replacing its weapons such as fighter jets and defence systems with American ones. It is possible that every MiG will be replaced with an F-16 and every Soviet S-300 defence system by a US Patriot.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said defence expenditures of most NATO members have doubled. Thus, NATO, Europe, the US and Canada now have a unified defence policy consistent with the vision proposed by NATO last year.

Russia is suffering from economic challenges despite recent, partial improvement due to new economic decisions on collecting revenue from energy exports to Europe, or unfriendly countries as defined by Russia. And now, it has entered another spiral of crises, namely the Bucha massacres which would lead Russia to the International Criminal Court or a special tribunal. Zelensky talked about a tragedy of ethnic cleansing and a war of extermination, but Moscow denies it and claims this is a mere farce and blames Ukraine. In fact, Russia refused to discuss the issue at the Security Council, and Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also pointed to US war crimes in Yugoslavia and Iraq.

In conclusion, Russias military operation is taking turns that were unimagined at the beginning of the war. In any scenario, a Russian withdrawal will spell defeat and Moscow is unlikely to choose that path. It will change its tactics to correct past failures and will not engage in serious negotiations to end the war. This is evident in its position regarding talks in Istanbul that did not result in a breakthrough, but went a step further at least.

Ukraine asserts it will not join NATO and Zelensky has alluded to the possibility of negotiating on the Donbas region, but these are not enough to satisfy Moscow and push it to alter its position on the negotiations track.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Accelerating its drive to carbon neutrality and sustainable mobility, Toyota Motor Corporation recently hit a milestone with cumulative sales of electrified vehicles (EVs) surpassing more than 20 million units worldwide.

Toyota estimates that the use of its EVs has resulted in around 160 million fewer tonnes of CO2 emissions and has saved approximately 65 million kilolitres of gasoline to date.

Long-recognised as a pioneer in the development of eco-friendly vehicles, Toyota has adopted a multi-faceted approach that emphasises Sustainable and Practical solutions as part of its strategy to respond flexibly to the global demand for diverse mobility solutions.

Hybrid Electric Vehicle

In 1997, the company launched the iconic Prius, the worlds first mass-production Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), followed by the introduction of the first Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), the Prius PHEV. In 2014, the worlds first mass-produced hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV), the Toyota Mirai, was launched and is being well-received by customers across the globe.

We are thrilled to achieve this significant milestone, said Kei Fujita, Chief Representative, Middle East and Central Asia Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation. This is a testament from our valued customers around the world to the quality, durability, and reliability of our EVs. We are extremely grateful to each and every one of them for continuously supporting Toyotas drive to achieve carbon neutrality.

Fujita added: We remain committed to pursuing various technology options that are both sustainable and practical as we continue on our journey towards Creating Mobility for All and Producing Happiness for All.

Middle East sales of EVs rising

The companys sales of EVs in the Middle East are growing year on year, demonstrating increasing public awareness of the benefits electrified vehicles offer in terms of efficiency, performance, and sustainability.

Toyota currently offers the biggest line-up of EVs in the region, with a total of six HEV models including the Corolla, Camry, C-HR, Corolla Cross, RAV4, and Highlander. Meanwhile, Lexus continues to set new standards for sustainability in the luxury segment, where customers can choose from the Lexus ES, LC, LS, NX, and RX, models.

Toyotas EV strategy centres on a significant acceleration in the development and launch of diverse electric powertrains, including HEVs, PHEVs, FCEVs, and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). In December 2021, the company unveiled its BEV strategy, which includes plans to launch 30 models in the passenger and commercial segments by 2030. The ambitious roadmap also targets achieving 3.5 million annual electrified vehicle sales worldwide before the end of the decade.

Diversity of electrified powertrain

This drive to improve and increase the diversity of electrified powertrain options reflects Toyotas commitment to reducing the environmental impacts of manufacturing and driving vehicles across the globe and achieving carbon neutrality throughout its operations.

The company has set a series of targets inspired by key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are designed to embed sustainability throughout its entire operations.-- TradeArabia News Service
The three judges and the prosecutor had already taken their chairs on the bench. The family members of the victim and lawyers and witnesses were all seated. But the defendant in what could be one of Iraqs landmark criminal trials was not standing in the dock.

It was the third time that the suspected killer of Hisham Al-Hashimi, a leading expert on armed groups who advised successive Iraqi governments on counter-terrorism, did not show up for his trial in a Baghdad criminal court in March.

Al-Hashimi, who had appeared frequently in the media and was critical of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq, was shot dead by gunmen riding a motorbike near his home in the Ziyouna district of east Baghdad on 7 July 2020.

A year later, the authorities said they had arrested multiple people accused of being involved in Al-Hashimis murder, and Iraqi state-run TV broadcast clips of what it said was the confession of one suspect, a 36-year-old police lieutenant named Ahmed Al-Kinani.

Apart from that, the murder case of Al-Hashimi has remained stuck in the corridors of Iraqs muddled politics, despite repeated promises by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to ensure accountability and bring justice to his family.

Dozens of activists were assassinated, kidnapped, or disappeared following the anti-establishment protests in 2019, but none of the perpetrators has been brought to justice or the killers of hundreds of demonstrators.

The cases have highlighted the fact that Iraqs justice system is in a catastrophic state of disrepair. The lack of justice has destabilised the country, and the judicial institutions have withered to near non-existence.

One of the notable impediments to embracing restorative justice in Iraq includes political interference and sometimes lethal threats to judges and other law-enforcement personnel.

In one of the latest cases, an Iraqi judge specialising in drug cases was shot dead in February in southern Iraq, when unknown assailants blocked his route and opened fire on his car, shooting him 15 times with a Kalashnikov.

The judge, Ahmed Faisal, was known for handing down harsh sentences to drug traffickers in a province increasingly known as a trafficking hub. In September, another anti-drug judge escaped an assassination attempt in the same province.

Like in many conflict zones, cases of drug trafficking in Iraq underlie the relationships between the gangs and the political elites that provide immunity to criminals facing potential threats of prosecution.

In January, Iraqi President Barham Saleh pardoned a prisoner who had been convicted on charges of trading in narcotics. Details later emerged that the inmate was the son of Luay Al-Yassiri, a former governor of the Shia holy city of Najaf.

Jawad Luay Al-Yassiri, an intelligence officer, and two friends were arrested in 2018 driving into Baghdad with about six kg of hashish and 7,000 pills, as well as money and a pistol. A Baghdad criminal court found them guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced each to 15 years in prison.

Like many other cases of impunity, the pardon given by Saleh to Al-Yassiri could have gone unnoticed except that it coincided with political wrangling over his re-election to a second term.

Saleh later cancelled the pardon after widespread protests among many Iraqis who accused him of misusing his authority amid rising levels of drug abuse in Iraq.

He issued a statement saying that the pardon had been based on a recommendation by Al-Kadhimi. Critics claim Al-Kadhimi made the move in order to cement a political alliance, amid an ongoing process to form a new government.

Al-Yassiri, the son and his co-defendants, however remained at large.

Al-Kadhimi has also had his share of cases of sidestepping the judiciary.

Last month, Iraqs Supreme Court overturned a decree by Al-Kadhimi to set up a government committee tasked with investigating especially important cases and headed by the deputy interior minister.

Iraqs High Federal Court annulled the decision, which was taken in August 2020, as unconstitutional because it breaches the principle of separation of powers and violates basic human rights.

The committee, billed the Abu Righeef Committee after its leading figure, was accused of operating independently of the legal framework and blamed for arresting people without legal warrant and extracting confessions from them under torture.

According to critics, the committee was acting as a non-state entity, even though paradoxically within the state apparatus. It is not yet clear if it has been abolished and if cases it has handled have been reviewed, but its commander is still operating in his capacity as deputy interior minister.

There are increasing concerns that law and order in Iraq is being undermined by interference by oligarchs and political factions. Last week, the Iraqi security forces briefly arrested a tribal leader in the Anbar province acting under the influence of Parliamentary Speaker Mohamed Al-Halbousi, reportedly because of a political dispute.

For years, the role of Iraqs legal system has been eroding, with a significant increase in cases where the courts fail to function or carry out justice for the victims of crimes and violations.

The judiciarys weakness has led communities to take justice into their own hands. In many cities in Iraq, including the capital Baghdad, local tribes have been building vast power bases by exercising an increasing role in resolving neighbourhood and communal problems.

Tribal arbitration sessions are increasingly becoming the norm in handling criminal, family, and commercial disputes. Tribal tribunals are resolving cases such as marital problems, personal disputes, car accidents, childrens brawls, and doctors medical mistakes.

Acting within their often-arbitrary boundaries, the tribunals impose huge financial penalties that are usually guaranteed by tribal conflict-resolution traditions. In some cases, the victims are rewarded with women in line with some tribal codes.

Such tribal practices in Iraq are becoming so common that people now often turn to the tribal courts even to solve professional problems, such as teachers failing students or medical mistakes by doctors.

The result is not only severely undercutting the state legal system and police and court work but also undermining the education and medical institutions. Iraqi doctors are reportedly leaving their jobs or seeking exile abroad because they have been sought by tribes for making medical mistakes.

Many communities and neighbourhoods have fallen entirely under the tribes control, with clansmen imposing their own rules and levies under the noses of the local authorities.

Government institutions and the security forces have been infiltrated by tribal traditions as members of state authorities resort to tribal courts to resolve disputes instead of by-laws and disciplinary tribunals.

Many families now resort to clerics to conduct marriages and other personal status affairs, with rules especially on age and free consent sometimes not followed. The practice is often overlooked by law-enforcers, though it violates existing public law.

In 2019, a BBC investigation uncovered a secret world of sexual exploitation of children and young women by Shia religious figures. The clerics were using Shia Sharia marriage laws to exploit women for profit, all with seemingly total impunity.

The northern federal enclave of Kurdistan has also had its own share of the failure of the law-enforcement system. A court in Kurdistan sentenced three journalists and two activists to six years in prison on 16 February 2021 in deeply flawed proceedings.

The authorities arrested the men, who allegedly were planning unauthorised demonstrations against endemic corruption in the regions government and the delay of salary payments to public servants.

Human rights groups said the proceedings at the Irbil Criminal Court where the men were tried, were marred by serious violations of fair standards as well as high-level political interference.

They said the government had not provided sufficient evidence to charge two of the men and had refused to release them while awaiting further evidence from the prosecution.

Concerns have been raised by the Human Rights Office (HRO) of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) over legal processes for critics facing criminal charges in Kurdistan and the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression.

All these and many other cases highlight the politicisation of the judiciary in Iraq and the failure of the countrys judicial system to protect Iraqis, provide them with justice, and hold the perpetrators of crimes and the violators of the law accountable.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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if we want to know what officials really have in mind, it might be wise to pay attention to what they say off-script, before the remarks are walked back.

It would not be the first time. A senior official of a world power blurts out something that causes a political storm and then, after the race to contain the damage  claims that the remarks were off the cuff, taken out of context and not intended as understood  it turns out that the remarks have achieved precisely the intended aim.

The US President Joe Bidens recent outburst that Russian President Vladimir Putin can not remain in power has been described as shocking. How can the US president come out and say who should or should not stay in power in other countries without consideration of the will of the people or democratic procedures in that country? some gasped, as though George Bush Jr had not said that Saddam Hussein had to go or Barack Obama had not called on Hosni Mubarak to step aside Now, meaning now!

In these two instances - exceptionally - there was no back-peddling. But this time, Biden administration officials rushed forward to say that his remarks should not be taken literally, he was just speaking from the heart after finishing his scripted speech, etc, etc. But Washingtons message had already reached its intended recipients: some members of the Russian military establishment are now feeling threatened by Putins policies. News of these people has begun to circulate in the Western media and evidently some quarters of US intelligence decided to signal Washingtons support in case they had plans.

The same applies to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on how Ukraine belonged in the EU. There, too, EU officials scrambled to lighten the impact against the backdrop of the current Russian-Western dispute. There is no fast track to EU membership; accession takes years, they reminded everyone. But her message had already reached Ukrainians: keep facing westward and turn your backs on Russia. So, if we want to know what officials really have in mind, it might be wise to pay attention to what they say off-script, before the remarks are walked back. In politics nothing is genuinely spontaneous.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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There needs to be a greater emphasis on science and collaboration between science and industry to meet the challenges of climate change.

Science, as embodied in the theorists, researchers, and other experts that abound in universities and research centres around the world, is what is needed to address climate change and help countries meet their pledges regarding reducing carbon emissions.

It was science that sounded the early alarms cautioning humanity that it could not continue to abuse nature in such an aggressive and unrestrained manner without endangering the planet and human life on it.

Scientific papers have furnished proof after proof of the detrimental effects of mounting carbon emissions on the climate and environment as a whole. They have warned of increases in the numbers and severity of floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes, forest fires, drought and desertification, and the consequent loss of life and property.

However, due to the advice of those having vested interests in the status quo and to the many who have opted for denial, the world has lost decades without taking resolute action. When the warnings came true and the perils loomed right before our eyes, we saw the usual bewilderment and confusion that prevail in the face of crises that erupt after warnings have gone unheeded and precautions have come too late, if they come at all.

With the problems that have arisen in the management of climate change and securing energy sources, confusion then turned to bedlam, especially after the Ukrainian crisis erupted. Of course, this is hardly the first time that innocent people have ended up paying for crises in which they played no role. It will also not be the last.

Of crucial importance are the measures that need to be taken to reduce the planets average temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above its temperature at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The Paris Climate Accords, signed by nearly all governments around the world, set two degrees as the target, but the latest scientific studies have shown that even that is extremely risky, since the average temperature is already 1.1 degrees higher than it was.

Even if countries keep to the pledges they made under the Paris Agreement, temperatures could rise by a dangerous 2.7 degrees. Moreover, with the new pledges made at the Glasgow COP26 Summit held in November to salvage what could be salvageable, they would still not achieve more than 1.8 degrees above the temperature at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

This is also only if the countries meet their pledges. Lack of transparency is a passport to impunity and continued indulgence in bad practices while mouthing more promises.

It is not surprising to hear the increasing complaints over the lack of established criteria with which to assess commitments to climate pledges because of the spread of greenwashing  the provision of misleading information to deceive people into believing that a companys products or operations are environmentally sound.

For example, the London Financial Times newspaper recently reported that around $2.7 trillion worth of assets are managed in more than 2,900 funds around the world that apply ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria designed for investors looking for companies with positive social and environmental impacts.

The growing priority that investors are giving to climate change and sustainability has triggered a gold rush in ESG funds, complete with a boom in ESG ratings consultants to guide investors to the best available opportunities in the field in terms of risk and compliance. However, as the Financial Times also pointed out, problems have emerged because each of the consultancies has a method and approach of its own, making it hard to shop for the right investment.

A company could score well on the ESG ranking of one provider and poorly on another. Investors and other members of the public are confused and at a loss to compare which fund performs better.

According to experts at the MIT Sloan School of Management in the US cited by the Financial Times, the disparities in approaches and conflicting results create what they call aggregate confusion, ultimately hampering efforts to improve ESG performance. Companies themselves are unsure of how to proceed because of the many mixed signals they receive regarding what they need to do to improve performance or reduce risk.

In the light of the foregoing, one cannot help but welcome the news of the launch of a group of experts tasked with developing stronger and clearer standards to help businesses, investors, cities and regions, and others commit and live up to their pledges on reducing their carbon footprints. The creation of the UN High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities stems from the realisation that the only way to address problems related to climate-related pledges and investment is to agree on sets of concepts, criteria, and measures that will help ensure transparency and proper implementation.

The group, chaired by Catherine McKenna, a former Canadian minister of the environment and climate change, and consisting of prominent experts in climate change and the environment, finance, development, energy and other fields, will present recommendations by the end of the year addressing the following areas: standards and concepts for setting net-zero targets;

the criteria used to assess the objectives, measurement, and reporting of net-zero pledges; processes for verifying progress towards net-zero commitments and a roadmap towards developing international and national regulations.

It is to be hoped that the group will consult widely with the many relevant experts and professionals in prominent universities and research centres in order to benefit from the latest developments in science and its emphasis on empirical processes and proof.

Meanwhile, as we in Egypt prepare for the next climate summit, the COP27 meeting to be held in November in Sharm El-Sheikh, we should build on the contributions of the scientific bodies that supported the summit in Glasgow. Among the most important were the contributions of the COP26 UK Universities Climate Network, a group chaired by Alyssa Gilbert of Imperial College, London, and Emily Shuckburgh of Cambridge University that brought together eminent experts from over 55 UK-based universities.

If given the opportunity, scientific research institutions with their teams of specialists will not just diagnose the causes of climate deterioration but will also probe further in order to develop practical solutions to aid in the fight against carbon emissions and other environmental pollutants and the transition to clean energy.

There are now feasible and low-cost alternative energy sources, cleaner modes of transportation, and more ecologically friendly forms of urban expansion and agriculture. These all came about thanks to investments in human capital and scientific research and to promoting collaborations between the scientific community and the industrial and business sectors aimed at transforming theory and laboratory work into feasible projects.

These collaborations have also helped steer decision-makers, investors, and business operations towards the best means to transition to better policies and methods for water management, food provision, protecting infrastructure and coastal areas, and rural and urban development programmes.

Efforts to attain sustainable development, which include combatting climate change, offer science and research great opportunities to produce rational and informed solutions and policies that will enhance the efficacy of government and other agencies in dealing with problems. Once science comes up with the solutions and room is made for their implementation, the massive funding needed to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to protect the environment will step in because funders will feel assured that they have not been led astray.

* An Arabic version of this article appeared on Wednesday in Asharq Al-Awsat.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 7 April, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian troops of gruesome atrocities in Ukraine and told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that those responsible should immediately be brought up on war crimes charges in front of a tribunal like the one set up at Nuremberg after World War II.

Zelensky, appearing via video from Ukraine, told council members that civilians had been shot in the back of the head after being tortured, blown up with grenades in their apartments, and crushed to death by tanks while in cars.

"They cut off limbs, cut their throats. Women were raped and killed in front of their children. Their tongues were pulled out only because their aggressor did not hear what they wanted to hear from them,'' he said, recounting what he described as the worst atrocities since World War II.

Likening the troops' actions to those of Islamic State group, Zelensky said: "The Russian military and those who gave them orders must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes in Ukraine."

"Anyone who has given criminal orders and carried them out by killing our people will be brought before the tribunal which should be similar to the Nuremberg tribunals,'' he said.

The Ukrainian leader made his plea as grisly evidence continued to emerge of civilian massacres carried out by Russian forces on the outskirts of Kyiv before they pulled back from the capital.

He showed the UN's most powerful body brief video footage of bloody corpses that ended with the words "Stop Russian Aggression.''

Over the past few days, the images of battered and burned bodies left in the open or buried in hastily dug graves have stirred global revulsion and have led Western nations to expel dozens more of Moscow's diplomats and propose further sanctions, including a ban on coal imports from Russia.

Zelensky stressed that Bucha was only one place and that there are more with similar horrors.

The Kremlin has denounced the images as fake and suggested the scenes were staged by the Ukrainians. But high-resolution satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed that many of the bodies had been lying in the open for weeks, during the time that Russian forces were in the town.

The head of NATO, meanwhile, warned that Russia is regrouping its forces in order to deploy them to eastern and southern Ukraine for a "crucial phase of the war," and said that more horrors may come to light as Russian troops continue to pull back in the north.

"When and if they withdraw their troops and Ukrainian troops take over, I'm afraid they will see more mass graves, more atrocities, and more examples of war crimes,'' NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

Ukrainian officials said the bodies of at least 410 civilians have been found in towns around Kyiv that were recaptured by Russian forces and that a "torture chamber'' was discovered in Bucha.

Zelensky told the Security Council there was "not a single crime'' that Russian troops hadn't committed in Bucha.

"The Russian military searched for and purposefully killed anyone who served our country. They shot and killed women outside their houses when they just tried to call someone who is alive.

They killed entire families, adults, and children, and they tried to burn the bodies,'' he said. They used tanks to crush civilians "just for their pleasure,'' he said.

On Tuesday, police and other investigators walked the silent streets of Bucha, taking notes on bodies that residents showed them.

Survivors who hid in their homes during the monthlong Russian occupation of the town, many of them past middle age, wandered past charred tanks and jagged window panes with plastic bags of food and other humanitarian aid. Red Cross workers checked in on intact homes.

Associated Press journalists in the town have counted dozens of corpses in civilian clothes. Many appeared to have been shot at close range, and some had their hands bound or their flesh burned. A mass grave in a churchyard held bodies wrapped in plastic.

The Kremlin has denounced the images as fake and suggested the scenes were staged by the Ukrainians. But high-resolution satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed that many of the bodies had been lying in the open for weeks, during the time that Russian forces were in the town.

The AP and the PBS series "Frontline'' have jointly verified at least 90 incidents during the war that appear to violate international humanitarian law.

The War Crimes Watch Ukraine project includes details of apparent targeted attacks as well as indiscriminate destruction of civilian buildings and infrastructure.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the images from Bucha revealed "not the random act of a rogue unit'' but "a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities.'' He said the reports of atrocities were "more than credible," and that the US and other countries will seek to hold the culprits accountable.

"Only non-humans are capable of this,'' said Angelica Chernomor, a refugee from Kyiv who crossed into Poland with her two children, and who had seen the photos from Bucha. "Even if people live under a totalitarian regime, they must retain feelings, dignity, but they do not.''

Chernomor is among the more than 4 million Ukrainians who have fled the country in the wake of the Feb. 24 invasion.

Russia has rejected similar accusations against its forces in the past by accusing its enemies of forging photos and videos and using so-called crisis actors.

As Western leaders condemned the killings in Bucha, Italy, Spain and Denmark expelled dozens of Russian diplomats on Tuesday, following moves by Germany and France.

Hundreds of Russian diplomats have been sent home since the start of the invasion, many accused of being spies.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the expulsions a "short-sighted'' measure that would complicate communication and warned they would be met with "reciprocal steps.''

In another show of support, the European Union's executive branch proposed a ban on coal imports from Russia, in what would be the first sanctions from the bloc targeting the country's lucrative energy industry over the war.

That coal imports amount to an estimated 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year.

European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen denounced Moscow's "heinous crimes'' around Kyiv.

The 27-nation EU has been a steadfast backer of Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24 and has already pushed through four rounds of sanctions _ but Ukrainian officials have begged for more.

Just hours before the latest proposal was announced, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that to prevent "new Buchas'' the West must impose the "mother of all sanctions'' _ on Russian oil and gas.

"A few months of tightening your belts are worth thousands of saved lives,'' he said.

But Western nations are divided over how far to go. Some are calling for a boycott of Russian oil and gas imports, while Germany and others fear that such a move could plunge the continent into a severe economic crisis.

Western weapons have enabled Ukraine to mount a stiffer than expected resistance to Russia's overwhelming firepower. That resistance stopped Russian forces from overrunning the capital and other cities, and many troops have now withdrawn from areas around Kyiv.

But Western and Ukrainian officials say Russia is merely regrouping for another offensive.

"Moscow is not giving up its ambitions in Ukraine,'' NATO's Stoltenberg said. "We expect a further push in the eastern and southern Ukraine to try to take the entire Donbas and to create a land bridge'' to the Crimea Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Russia-backed separatists in the Donbas have been fighting Ukrainian troops for the last eight years.

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The Russian army said Tuesday it had shot down two Ukrainian helicopters trying to evacuate the leaders of a nationalist battalion defending the embattled port of Mariupol.

"This morning, April 5, around Mariupol, a new attempt by the Kyiv regime to evacuate leaders of the nationalist Azov battalion was aborted. Two Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters, trying to reach the city from the sea, were shot down by portable anti-aircraft systems," defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

He said Moscow had on Tuesday morning proposed that Ukrainian fighters lay down their arms and leave the city "via an agreed route" to territory under Kyiv's control.

He said the Ukrainian army had "ignored" the proposal.

"Since Kyiv is not interested in saving the lives of its soldiers, Mariupol will be freed from nationalists," said Konashenkov.

Last week, he said the Russian army had shot down a Ukrainian helicopter over the Sea of Azov that had come to evacuate commanders of the Azov battalion, which has been fiercely defending Mariupol for weeks.

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China and Ukraine's foreign ministers have spoken for the first time in over a month, with Beijing maintaining its push for peace talks even as allegations of Russian atrocities in towns around Kyiv grow.

International condemnation of Moscow has intensified in recent days with the discovery of dozens of bodies in areas around the Ukrainian capital from which Russian troops have withdrawn, though they have denied involvement in the deaths.

China has repeatedly refused to condemn its longtime ally Russia for the invasion of its neighbour, echoing Moscow's talking points in blaming American meddling and NATO expansion for setting the stage for a conflict.

Monday's phone call between Wang Yi and Ukraine's Dmytro Kuleba was the first reported high-level talks between the two nations since March 1, whereas Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited China last week for a series of meetings.

During the call, which Beijing said was made at Kyiv's request, Wang said China's "basic attitude towards the Ukraine issue is to promote peace talks", according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout.

"The war will someday end, and the key is how to learn from this painful experience to properly uphold lasting security in Europe," Wang said.

He added that Beijing believed in the establishment of a "balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism" based on "equal dialogue" and "the principle of indivisibility of security".

"China is willing to take an objective and fair position to continue playing a constructive role in its own way," Wang said.

Kuleba tweeted on Monday that he was "grateful to my Chinese counterpart for solidarity with civilian victims".

"We both share the conviction that ending the war against Ukraine serves common interests of peace, global food security, and international trade," he added.

China's diplomatic closeness to Russia has triggered fears that Beijing could be willing to help the Kremlin sidestep the impact of Western sanctions or even supply hardware to aid the war effort.

Top European Union officials on Friday warned Chinese President Xi Jinping against backing Russia and pushed Beijing to use its diplomatic clout to end the war.

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The European Union says 19 Russian diplomats are being expelled from Belgium.

The move comes amid blistering criticism of Russia's war in Ukraine and discussions on a new set of sanctions targeting the Kremlin for the Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbor.

"I decided to designate persona non grata a number of officials of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the EU for engaging in activities contrary to their diplomatic status,'' said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a video statement Tuesday.

He said the Russian envoy was being summoned to the EU to explain the move.

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Russia should be condemned for its invasion and Ukrainians deserve their freedom  not because they are Europeans from a largely peaceful continent, but because invasion and occupation by bullies are wrong wherever they occur and whoever they are.

The double standards in political commentary regarding the war in Ukraine have been widely discussed  from the welcoming of Ukrainian refugees (while Arab refugees face closed doors), to the support of Ukrainians right to self-determination and resistance to invasion (while these are denied to Palestinians), to the US and Europeans decrying the illegality of invading a sovereign nation (while ignoring our own histories).

One additional form of bigotry in some comparisons of Ukraine and the Arab World is particularly galling and requires a response.

An example: A prominent New York Times columnist, comparing the worlds response to Russias preparation to invade Ukraine with its response to Saddams invasion of Kuwait, wrote:

Kuwait is a small authoritarian emirate, representing few grand political ideals, in a war-torn region. Ukraine is a democracy of more than 40 million people, on what was a largely peaceful continent home to major democracies.

So much is objectionable in these two sentences; most egregious is the writers underlying thinking, i.e., Ukrainians are more deserving of defense than Kuwaitis. Looking more closely reveals the bias (and ignorance of history) that led to this observation.

We can dismiss the comparative size of the two countries. I feel certain the writer wouldnt claim that Egypt, because of its size, is more worthy of defense than Israel.

As for their forms of government, the writer clearly doesnt understand that Kuwait, while a traditional society, has a vibrant political culture, with highly competitive parliamentary elections. The parliament has a long history of challenging government ministers, frequently clashing on matters of policy and accountability. While Ukraine does have a democratically elected executive, its governance has not been without turbulence, unsavory characters, and charges of corruption. The form of government cant determine a nations worthiness to exist or a peoples right to self-determination.

The Times columnist appears to view Ukraine as more deserving of support than Kuwait because Ukraine comes from largely peaceful Europe while Kuwait is located in the war-torn Arab World  in other words, invasions and violence are expected from Arabs, but not Europeans. These few words demonstrate a willful ignorance of history and a healthy dose of bigotry.

Largely peaceful? In the last century, Europeans fought two bloody World Wars in which more than 60,000,000 people were killed. First, millions of young men were sacrificed as pawns in a competition between European powers. Then, the birth of fascism in Germany, Italy, and Spain gave way to an even more deadly war including an effort to exterminate the Jewish people, mass murders of Poles, Russians, Gypsies, and others, and cruel and indiscriminate mass bombings of cities (by both sides). At wars end, Europe was divided with the establishment and expansion of the Soviet Union which repressed and murdered millions as it consolidated control and brutally suppressed rebellion. The end of communist rule brought more violence in Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine, and the rise of far-right movements across Europe.

Beyond these murderous conflicts, European powers were fighting to expand colonial holdings or, by mid-century, repressing colonies that had independence movements. Millions of Arabs, Africans, and Asians died seeking to throw off European colonizers who had conquered their lands, exploited their treasures, and denied them their rights.

But the legacy of largely peaceful Europe didnt end there. European colonial powers then drew artificial lines dividing peoples and creating new states to serve their own interests. They pitted religious, tribal, or ethnic groups against one another, or gave lucrative concessions to compliant partners, who prospered at the expense of their compatriots. In these regions European powers left a legacy of division and seeds of future conflict.



Europe hasnt been largely peaceful, and deserves significant blame for the Arab World being war torn.

My intention isnt to dump on Europe nor totally absolve Arabs from responsibility for their current situation, nor pick on one NYT writer. Rather, my point is that the invasion of Ukraine isnt a solitary blot on an otherwise pure European landscape. Russia should be condemned for its invasion and Ukrainians deserve their freedom  not because they are Europeans from a largely peaceful continent, but because invasion and occupation by bullies are wrong wherever they occur and whoever they are.

* The writer is President of the Arab American Institute

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Shanghai will remain under lockdown as it reviews results of an exercise to test all of its 26 million residents for COVID-19, authorities said on Monday. The city began its two-stage lockdown on March 28, initially in Shanghai's eastern districts, and later expanded to cover the whole city.

The curbs, which have massively disrupted daily life and business operations in China's financial hub, were initially scheduled to end at 5 a.m. local time (9 p.m. GMT) on Tuesday.

"The city will continue to implement seal and control management and strictly implement 'staying at home', except for medical treatment," the city government said on its official WeChat account. It did not give an indication of when the curbs might lift.

The country sent the military and thousands of healthcare workers into Shanghai to help carry out COVID-19 tests for all of its 26 million residents on Monday, in one of the country's biggest-ever public health responses. Some residents woke up before dawn to stand in queues for white-suited healthcare workers to swab their throats as part of nucleic acid testing at their housing compounds.

The People's Liberation Army on Sunday dispatched more than 2,000 medical personnel from across the army, navy and joint logistics support forces to Shanghai, an armed forces newspaper reported. About 38,000 healthcare workers from provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and the capital Beijing have been dispatched to Shanghai, according to state media, which showed them arriving, suitcase-laden and masked up, by high-speed rail and aircraft.

It is China's largest public health response since it tackled the initial COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus was first discovered in late 2019. The State Council said the PLA dispatched more than 4,000 medical personnel to the province of Hubei, where Wuhan is, at that time.

Shanghai, which began a two-stage lockdown on March 28 that has been expanded to confine practically all residents to their homes, reported 8,581 asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and 425 symptomatic COVID cases for April 3. It also asked residents to self-test on Sunday. The city has emerged as a test of China's COVID elimination strategy based on testing, tracing and quarantining all positive cases and their close contacts.

The country has 12,400 institutions capable of processing tests from as many as 900 million people a day, a senior Chinese health official was reported as saying last month. China's primarily uses pool testing, a process in which up to 20 swab samples are mixed together for more rapid processing.

The city has also converted multiple hospitals, gymnasiums, apartment blocks and other venues into central quarantine sites, including the Shanghai New International Expo Center which can hold 15,000 patients at full capacity. Individuals who refuse to be tested for COVID for no justifiable reason will face administrative or criminal punishment, Shanghai police said on Saturday.
The carrier halted flights on the route in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Over 80 percent of seats were occupied on the first day of the flight's resumption with passengers consisting mostly of newlyweds and family members.
The Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO) has completed the procedures for importing 625,000 tons of wheat from the origins of Europe, North and South America, and Australia.



Governor of the SAGO Ahmad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Fares said that contracting this batch comes within the framework of strengthening the strategic stock of wheat, maintaining it at safe levels and meeting all the needs of milling companies, reported Saudi Press Agency (SPA).



He added that this batch will be supplied during September-November 2022 and distributed to 10 shipments; one shipment for Jeddah Islamic Port with the amount of 63,000 tons, six shipments for Yanbu Commercial Port with the amount of 379,000 tons, two shipments for King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam with the amount of 128,000 tons and one shipment for Jazan Port with the amount of 55,000 tons.



He pointed out that with the completion of this tender, the organization has contracted to import about 2.6 million tons of wheat during this year.


Korean scientists are relatively rarely cited in papers by their peers given how much the country spends on the field, partly because they conduct less original research and often just dutifully sum up the relevant work of others to meet their academic quota.

Korea spent W93.07 trillion or 4.81 percent of its GDP on research and development in 2020, the second highest amount in the world after Israels 4.93 percent (US$1=W1,215).

According to the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Korea was also in the Top 10 in eight of 10 fields of studies in terms of the number of science papers published between 2017 and 2019.

In terms of sheer numbers, the country came third in nanotechnology, fourth in electrical and electronics engineering and in material engineering, fifth in chemical engineering, sixth in chemistry, eighth in computer and information science, and ninth in physics and astronomy and in mechanical engineering.

But the country made it into the Top 10 in only six fields in terms of the top-1 percent most-cited publications, suggesting that quantity came before quality.

The six fields were nanotechnology (fifth), chemical engineering (sixth), electrical and electronics engineering (seventh), material engineering (seventh), computer and information science (eighth), and chemistry (eighth).

They are all related to Korea's vital semiconductor industry, where there is a lot of corporate R&D money floating around, while other areas languished.

Globally Korean science papers took up a mere four to five percent of the most-cited publications, compared to 40 to 70 percent from the U.S. and China, which spend a smaller proportion of GDP.

In four fields -- physics-astronomy, bio science, mechanical engineering, and clinical medicine -- Korea did not even make the Top 10.
Korea's lucrative duty-free industry is sniffing a fresher wind as travel restrictions are being dropped around the world.

Lotte Duty Free resumed operations at Hanoi Airport on March 31 in hopes that Vietnam's vaunted reopening to tourism will eventually crystallize into actual arrival of travelers.

The coronavirus pandemic closed the store just a few months after it opened in July 2019. Lotte's duty-free shop at Da Nang International Airport will also reopen later this month, and the store at Cam Ranh International Airport in Nha Trang by June.

"Vietnam recently authorized visa-free and quarantine-free entry, raising hopes of a recovery in tourism," a Lotte spokesman said.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 5, 2022 - 22:29 | All, Japan

A group of 20 evacuees from Ukraine arrived in Japan from Poland on Tuesday aboard a Japanese government plane, an exceptional move that comes as people fleeing Ukraine have been facing skyrocketing airfares in the wake of Russia's invasion.

Five men and 15 women, aged 6 to 66, had been hoping to travel to Japan but were unable to secure their own means of transportation. The government's support to them includes housing, employment and language lessons.

"Now I'm in a secure environment but sometimes things in Kyiv flash across my mind, making me uneasy," one of the evacuees, 34-year-old Olga Ruban, said. She fled to Poland late last month, leaving her parents in the Ukrainian capital.

Having learned kendo, a Japanese wooden sword fighting discipline, Ruban visited Japan for a tournament in 2018. She expressed hope that "the war ends as soon as possible, Ukraine returns to normal, and people live in peace."

Victoria Romashova, 37, arrived at Tokyo's Haneda airport with her 13-year-old son.

"I will tell that a war is really awful," she told reporters, adding that she wants Japanese people to know how the real situations in Ukraine are different from what they see through the internet.

The pair soon left Tokyo for Osaka Prefecture where her mother lives with her Japanese husband.

The 20 evacuees arrived in Japan shortly after Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi returned from his trip to Poland as a special envoy of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Japan is trying to show its commitment to the global efforts to help Ukraine and Poland, which has seen the biggest refugee influx from Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

Like other evacuees who have already entered Japan, the 20 evacuees will have short-term residency for 90 days, and will be permitted to later change their visas to a "designated activities" status for one year under which they are permitted to work, according to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.

Those who do not have guarantors in Japan such as relatives or acquaintances are expected to stay at hotels arranged by the government until municipalities or businesses provide new places to stay.

As of Monday, 321 companies, 147 municipalities and 17 nongovernmental or nonprofit organizations have offered to provide support, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference.

They will also receive financial aid for living expenses, medical care and vocational training, as well as language assistance such as arrangement of an interpreter.

On Monday, Hayashi vowed to accept "as many (Ukrainians) as possible" from a humanitarian perspective when he held talks with his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau in Warsaw, before meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

To see what aid Tokyo should provide to Ukrainian evacuees, Hayashi also visited a border checkpoint and a refugee reception center in Medyka and Japan's temporary liaison office in Rzeszow, both in southeastern Poland, during his stay in the country.

In a related move, Japan has decided to dispatch four officials to Moldova, another nation sharing a border with Ukraine, for a week from Tuesday to explore the possibility of a human resource contribution in the health and medical services sector.

As of Sunday, 4.21 million refugees had fled Ukraine since the start of the conflict, including 2.45 million to Poland and about 395,000 to Moldova, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, Japan had accepted 404 evacuees from Ukraine as of Sunday, according to the Japanese government.

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Japan's Hayashi to take 20 Ukraine evacuees to Japan from Poland
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian (R) shakes hands with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi in Tehran, Iran, on March 5, 2022. (Iranian Foreign Ministry/Handout via Xinhua)

TEHRAN, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Monday urged the United States to be "realistic" to help reach an agreement in Vienna talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The Iranian diplomat said in a tweet that "the excessive demands" of the United States could lead to a pause in the Vienna negotiation as Iran will "never give in" to such demands.

Amir-Abdollahian also pointed out that "an agreement can be reached if the United States is realistic."

Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that the United States should be responsible for protraction in Vienna talks.

Iran signed the JCPOA with the world powers in July 2015. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the Islamic republic to scale back some of its nuclear commitments under the agreement in retaliation.

Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in Vienna between Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely China, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany, to revive the deal.

Over the past weeks, reports from Vienna suggested that the negotiators were "close" to an agreement with few key issues remaining which required "political decisions" of the parties. 
Aerial photo taken on March 11, 2022 shows a view of the China-Laos Railway's Muangxay Station in Muangxay, northern Laos. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

The China-Laos Railway has enhanced connectivity between China and Southeast Asian countries, with Thailand hoping to export more agricultural products to China through the rail route.



BANGKOK, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The latest transportation of Thai fruits through the China-Laos Railway, after the first shipment of Thai rice to China in February, is fueling hope that the rail route would facilitate and boost exports of Thai agricultural products to their major market.



The batch of Thai fruits, 40 tons of durians and 20 tons of coconuts, was loaded on the train at the Vientiane South Station of the China-Laos Railway and reached the Nateuy Station in Luang Namtha Province on Friday, which borders southwest China's Yunnan Province. The fruits were then transited to trucks at the Nateuy Station and entered China by road.

The shipment came after Thailand used the rail route to transport 500 tons of rice to southwest China's Chongqing Municipality in February.

Yan Jianchao, the Thai chief representative of the Shanghai Minsheng Shipping Co., the logistics company responsible for the shipment of the Thai rice, said extra efforts were spent on communication and coordination because it was the first time, but it went well thanks to the support of relevant departments from China, Thailand and Laos.

The China-Laos Railway has opened a new gate for expanding trade cooperation between China's southwestern regions and Southeast Asian countries, Yan said.

The containers of fruits from Thailand are transported from China-Laos Railway cargo train to trucks at Nateuy Station in Luang Namtha Province, Laos, April 1, 2022. (Photo by Gao Jiabing/Xinhua)

China has remained Thailand's largest trading partner for nine consecutive years, and has been a major export market for Thailand's agricultural products. Bilateral trade volume surged 33 percent year on year to 131.18 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, according to data from China's General Administration of Customs.



Thailand expects 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, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The China-Laos Railway, which stretches over 1,000 km and links Kunming, capital of China's Yunnan Province, with Vientiane, has boosted regional connectivity and economic cooperation since it started operation four months ago.

"This rail route will become the new channel to transport goods from Thailand to China, especially agricultural products, which saves more time on transportation that can retain the freshness of agricultural products such as fruit and vegetable," Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the Department of Trade Negotiations under Thailand's Ministry of Commerce, told Xinhua in an interview.

As it is anticipated to reduce transportation time with reasonable cost, the China-Laos Railway would be considered as a new option for Thai exporters, Auramon said, adding that it would advantage not only agricultural products but also all other exporting products such as synthetic rubber, cassava and cassava starch.

Thailand is ready to ship more goods through this route after the construction of sanitary and phytosanitary facility at the Mohan railway checkpoint, which is scheduled to be ready by mid-year, Auramon said.

Given the majority of China-ASEAN trade has relied mainly on maritime routes rather than overland transportation, it is foreseeable that with the China-Laos Railway, there could be a significant shift from maritime trade to road and rail in the coming years, she said.

Auramon noted that the railway also helps open the possibilities of extending export routes to other countries such as in Europe with an approximately 15-18 days delivery, which is faster and lower cost compared to marine transportation.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (Front) attends a press conference at the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia, on April 3, 2022. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)

BEIJING, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a congratulatory message to Aleksandar Vucic on his reelection as president of Serbia.

In his message, Xi pointed out that in recent years, the China-Serbia comprehensive strategic partnership has maintained vigorous development momentum, with the two sides seeing solid political mutual trust and fruitful bilateral practical cooperation.

Facing major global changes unseen in a century, the two sides firmly respect each other, treat each other as equals, and join hands in building a community with a shared future for mankind, making positive contributions to safeguarding international equity and justice, said the Chinese president.

Xi also said that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Serbia relations, and cherishes the good working relationship and friendship with President Vucic.

He added that he is willing to work with President Vucic to strengthen strategic communication, consolidate political mutual trust, expand and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields between the two countries, and steer China-Serbia ties towards new achievements, so as to benefit the two countries and their people. 
An adult butterfly hangs on an indigenous tree at a demonstration farm at the entrance of Arabuko Sokoke forest, in Kilifi county, northern Kenyan coast. (Xinhua/Naftali Mwaura)

Kipepeo (Swahili for butterfly) farming project, which started in 1993 with funding from the government of Kenya and overseas donors, has revolutionized the conservation of the 420-km square indigenous forest through the provision of alternative sources of revenue to nearby farmers and dissuaded them from encroaching on it.

NAIROBI, April 5 (Xinhua) -- While growing up in a village adjacent to Arabuko Sokoke forest, a biodiversity hotspot in the Kenyan coastal county of Kilifi, Jonathan Charo used to marvel at its imposing green canopy and splendor.

The 45-year-old father of five learned at an early age that the largest indigenous coastal forest in East Africa had a special place in the history, culture and heritage of his community and preserving it for future generations was like a calling.

Charo is among more than 1,000 smallholder farmers embedded in Arabuko Sokoke's butterfly rearing project that seeks to provide them with alternative livelihood and enhance their contribution in protecting the unique ecosystem.

Started in 1993 with funding from the government and overseas donors, the Kipepeo (Swahili for butterfly) farming project has revolutionized the conservation of the 420-kilometer square indigenous forest through the provision of alternative sources of revenue to nearby farmers and dissuaded them from encroaching on it.

An adult butterfly hangs on an indigenous tree at a demonstration farm at the entrance of Arabuko Sokoke forest, in Kilifi county, northern Kenyan coast. (Xinhua/Naftali Mwaura)

According to Charo, since he started butterfly farming more than two decades ago and accrued financial rewards, he felt motivated to protect a biodiversity hotspot that is home to 20 percent of Kenya's bird species, 30 percent of butterfly species and about 24 rare and endemic birds and mammal species.

"What attracted me to butterfly farming was the realization it was intended to uplift our living standards while pulling us away from practices that could harm Arabuko Sosoke forest," Charo told Xinhua, adding that he has been able to earn a reasonable monthly income besides acquiring skills and exposure to the wider world.

His day job involves venturing into the innermost sections of Arabuko Sokoke forest where he traps male and female butterflies and confines them to a cage in his homestead to allow for the hatching of eggs. Charo and his peers sell pupae that develop from the eggs to a collection center domiciled within Arabuko Sokoke forest in readiness for export to overseas markets where they are used for research and ornamental purposes upon becoming adult butterflies.

On a good month according to Charo, he earns 30,000 shillings (261 U.S. dollars) from selling pupae, despite minimal overheads, hence enabling him to meet the basic needs of his immediate household.

"This has motivated me to sacrifice my time and energy towards conservation of Arabuko-Sokoke forest since it is very crucial to my livelihood if left intact," he added.

An adult butterfly hangs on an indigenous tree at a demonstration farm at the entrance of Arabuko Sokoke forest, in Kilifi county, northern Kenyan coast. (Xinhua/Naftali Mwaura)

Charo Kenga, a 28-year-old butterfly farmer, said that the insects besides providing him an alternative livelihood as opposed to felling trees to earn the daily bread, have also taught him the need to value natural habitats in his backyard.

"At least I cannot involve myself in cutting down trees at the Arabuko Sokoke forest, being aware they sustain a butterfly's life cycle," said Kenga.

"I have been telling my friends to protect this forest and avoid disrupting the breeding of butterflies that are currently an important source of income to many farmers," he added.

Msanzu Karisa, a middle-aged former cobbler who has engaged in butterfly farming for the last sixteen years, hailed their positive contribution to the livelihoods of his peers in the semi-arid sections of Kilifi county. He said that butterfly farming continues to resonate with small-holder farmers whose income had previously declined amid low crop yield and lack of ready market for their produce.

He disclosed that he was able to break even six months after venturing into butterfly farming, and has since been able to cater for household bills including rent, food and school fees with ease.

Karisa added that despite market volatility occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, butterfly farming as an enterprise was on a recovery trajectory, as demand for the insects in new export destinations grew.

Chemuku Wekesa, the assistant director for the Coast region at Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) noted that novel ways of conserving Arabuko Sokoke and other pristine coastal ecosystems have benefitted local communities.

Wekesa said that assisting communities to engage in beekeeping and butterfly farming has motivated them to protect the expansive indigenous forest, home to iconic land mammals like elephants and African buffalo.

He added that climate change, wildfires, sporadic incidents of illegal logging and rampant poverty among adjacent communities were some of the threats facing the Arabuko Sokoke forest block. 
Chinese and Kenyan drivers prepare to launch the train at Nairobi station of Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Nov. 17, 2021. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

A cool logistics corridor will be developed on the iconic Standard Gauge Railway system of Kenya for the transportation of fresh produce to the port of Mombasa on the coast of the Indian Ocean for onward export to Europe, says a Kenyan transport official.

NAIROBI, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Kenya and the Netherlands on Monday signed an agreement to facilitate the export of horticultural products through the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

James Macharia, the cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works, told journalists in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, that the deal involves the development of a cool logistics corridor on the railway system for the transportation of fresh produce to the port of Mombasa for onward export to Europe.

"To make the railway system ready for transporting refrigerated fresh produce, Kenya Railways Corporation has embarked on re-modification work to install reefer plug-in points for the containers," Macharia said.

Workers prepare roses at a flower farm in Naivasha, Nakuru County, Kenya, Feb. 10, 2022. (Xinhua/Robert Manyara)

According to the ministry of transport, Kenya's key gateway the port of Mombasa as well as the SGR stations will be equipped to support freight of frozen horticultural products in order to enhance international trade.

"The SGR network has the capacity and speed required to transport frozen fresh produce to the port of Mombasa from any consolidation center along the rail line," Macharia said.

The Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher said that her country is committed to creating a sustainable sea freight solution for fresh produce that will reinforce Kenya as a regional hub for handling perishable goods.

Horticulture is a major source of foreign exchange for Kenya alongside tea, tourism and remittances. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Kenya's earnings from exports of cut flowers, fruits and vegetables rose 5 percent in 2021 from the previous year.

Kenya's horticulture earnings rose to 158.1 billion Kenyan shillings (about 1.39 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021 from 150.2 billion shillings a year earlier. 
GABORONE, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Botswana will begin issuing electronic COVID-19 vaccination certificate services from this Wednesday, said a government official in statement released on Tuesday.

The decision is in response to some countries in the region requiring electronic vaccination certificates for all travellers, many Batswana and residents have had to flock to the ministry headquarters' offices for facilitation with the said electronic certificates, said Christopher Nyanga, Ministry of Health and Wellness spokesperson.

The electronic certificate will include a QR code, which allows officials at ports of entry to scan and access the traveller's vaccination data. This contributes to the assurance that all vaccination certificates presented at ports of entry are genuine. 
DENVER, United States, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The governor of Colorado on Monday signed landmark legislation, guaranteeing women's right to abortion.

Gov. Jared Polis signed into law the Reproductive Health Equity Act, which codifies women's right to make reproductive health-care decisions free from government interference.

"In the State of Colorado, the serious decision to start or end a pregnancy with medical assistance will remain between a person, their doctor, and their faith," he said.

"No matter what the Supreme Court does in the future, people in Colorado will be able to choose when and if they have children," Polis also told the media on Monday at a bill signing ceremony at the governor's mansion in downtown Denver.

The Colorado legislature approved a bill last month, with Republicans spending hours arguing against the measure's passage. The bill was debated in the House for 24 consecutive hours in what was one of the longest debates in the legislature's history.

Abortion in Colorado is currently legal at all stages of pregnancy. It is one of seven states without any term restrictions as to when a pregnancy can be terminated.

In a recent national poll by the Pew Research Center, 59 percent of adults said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

"A vast majority of women support their own right to an abortion," Richardson, a policy advisor during the Reagan administration, told Xinhua.

"But the voices of the current religious extremists - voices against the stated desires of America's founding fathers, who wanted a separation of church and state - are succeeding in pulling America back into the Stone Ages, against the overwhelming will of the people," Richardson added. 
Dubai-based pre-owned car dealership, GTA Cars, has launched a Ramadan offer where customers can trade in their old vehicles for one of the quality pre-owned vehicles and enjoy AED8,000 ($2,178) worth of giveaways.

Customers making use of this initiative will be able to enjoy a plethora of premium services on every car purchased. This includes free registration, free Salik, free oil service, preferential bank rates, free one-year extended warranty, dining vouchers, free detailing and ceramic protection, and much more.

The exclusive, limited-time Ramadan initiative titled Its time for a change will run throughout the holy month of Ramadan.

Trade in old cars

As part of the campaign, apart from enjoying free premium services, customers will also be able to trade in their old cars as they select a new, pre-owned vehicle at GTA Cars. A certified team of professionals will be on hand to evaluate and establish the value of the older vehicle models for customers interested in utilising the part exchange.

Additionally, in the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan, AED200 from each purchase will be donated towards building wells and providing drinking water in villages across Africa.

Aamir Shafiq, Managing Director of GTA Cars, said: The aim of this years offer is to say thank you to all of our beloved customers who put their trust in GTA Cars for finding their dream automobiles. We are especially excited to launch this exclusive campaign because, for every car purchased during Ramadan, AED200 will be donated towards building wells and providing drinking water in African villages.

250+ premium pre-owned vehicles

GTA Cars' collectively features 250+ premium pre-owned vehicles from over 30 brands. All the vehicles are available for immediate purchase across its three showrooms.

In addition to its expertise in buying, selling, and trading high-end pre-owned vehicles, GTA cars also provides seamless finance solutions, including car insurance from the most reputable insurance companies, helps initiate car finance facilities with 0% down payment and supports with vehicle registration and renewals for buyers.

GTA Cars also professionally guides their clients through the entire process. Individuals interested in utilising the Ramadan Offer or considering buying, selling, or trading their cars can visit gtacars.ae for more information.-- TradeArabia News Service
TAIPEI, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan on Tuesday reported 281 new COVID-19 cases, including 216 locally transmitted infections and 65 imported cases, said the island's disease monitoring agency.

It was the fifth consecutive day that new local cases surpassed 100, and it was also the highest daily number this year, breaking the previous record of 183 on April 3.

Of the new locally transmitted cases, New Taipei had the highest number at 91, followed by Keelung at 33, and Taipei at 28, the agency said.

To date, Taiwan has reported 24,866 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 16,664 were local infections. 
TEHRAN, April 5 (Xinhua) -- More than 190 Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday urged President Ebrahim Raisi to get firmer guarantees from the United States in the Vienna talks on restoring the 2015 nuclear deal.

The lawmakers put forward the demand in a letter addressed to the Iranian president, calling for full observance of the Islamic republic's red lines and safeguarding its people's interests in the talks, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Parliamentarian Ahmad Hossein Fallahi, who collected the signatures for the petition, confirmed that over 190 lawmakers had signed the letter.

In July 2015, Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers, under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for easing the U.S.-led sanctions. However, the U.S. government under former President Donald Trump unilaterally quitted the pact in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, prompting the latter to reduce its nuclear commitments in retaliation.

Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks on reviving the deal have been held in the Austrian capital of Vienna by Iran and the remaining JCPOA parties, namely China, Britain, France, Russia and Germany. The United States has been indirectly involved in the talks, which are reportedly nearing an agreement.

One of the remaining obstacles includes Iran's demand for U.S. guarantees that its succeeding governments would not quit the deal again. 
The photo taken on April 2, 2022 shows the outside view of the five-star Museum Hotel Antakya in Antakya, Turkey. (Photo by Li Zhenbei/Xinhua)

The Museum Hotel Antakya, a unique luxurious hotel built above an archaeologist site in Turkey's tourist city Antakya, serves as an ultra-modern hotel and a historical museum at the same time.

by Burak Akinci

ANTAKYA, Turkey, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Once a thriving metropolis in the Antioch era, Turkey's southern town of Antakya has many landmarks dating back to great ancient civilizations. A contemporary hotel that displays rare archaeological treasures is one of the latest landmarks here.

The Museum Hotel Antakya, a luxurious five-star hotel operating since 2019, features a hybrid architectural feat based on Roman mosaics and magnificent artifacts, serving as an ultra-modern hotel and a museum at the same time.

Clients often marvel at the splendidness of the history at the doorstep of their rooms, which are supported by 66 columns, giving the saying "a room with a view" a real meaning.

The photo taken on April 2, 2022 shows the outside view of the five-star Museum Hotel Antakya in Antakya, Turkey. (Photo by Li Zhenbei/Xinhua)

Along with the well-preserved mosaics, the museum comprises a range of ancient sites and antiques, including 5th-century Roman baths, a sumptuous villa, statues, and sculptural objects. A part of the ruins dates back to the third century B.C.

Through the glass in the hotel lobby, visitors can glimpse at the ancient walls and a streambed in addition to the mosaics of more than 1,000 square meters, which are considered one of the largest in the world.

According to the owner, construction costs of the hotel, which was built on an archaeological site found in 2010, have skyrocketed as it has been delayed for years.

The photo taken on April 2, 2022 shows the archaeologist site underneath the five-star Museum Hotel Antakya in Antakya, Turkey. (Photo by Li Zhenbei/Xinhua)

"It was a very hard project because you are trying to make something different and it's a new way of protecting the old, revealing the old and combining the old with the new world," Sabiha Asfuroglu Abbasoglu told Xinhua in an interview.

Abbasoglu, CEO of the company owning the hotel, said that they have devoted themselves to the laborious excavation, protection, and construction work because "we believed in the project."

"We believed that (the project) was going to be a present for our region, country, and world. When you look at it, you see that it's alive ... You really feel the energy, it's like a time tunnel," she said.

The photo taken on April 2, 2022 shows some of the antiques found at the archaeologist site underneath the five-star Museum Hotel Antakya in Antakya, Turkey. (Photo by Li Zhenbei/Xinhua)

Antakya, the capital of Hatay province, bordering Syria, sits over the ancient Antioch, and is a major tourism and gastronomy destination.

"And you can all gaze to all of that during your short walk to the dining rooms, the bar, the gym, or the swimming pool in the hotel, feeling the energy of the ancient world lying beneath your feet," Abbasoglu said.

"It's like you are spending a night at the museum, " she said.

The photo taken on April 2, 2022 shows tourists resting in a lobby of the five-star Museum Hotel Antakya in Antakya, Turkey. (Photo by Li Zhenbei/Xinhua)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (Front) waves to supporters at a rally in Budapest, Hungary, on April 3, 2022. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

Orban's government and the EU have been at odds in recent years over a series of issues, ranging from the "rule-of-law" to minority rights.

BUDAPEST, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The Hungarian government has asked the European Commission(EC) "not to punish the Hungarian voters" who allowed a new victory for Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Sunday's parliamentary elections, with the suspension of funds.

The EC is set to trigger a new, powerful disciplinary procedure allowing the disbursement of European Union (EU) funds to be suspended, it formally notified Budapest on Tuesday.

Orban's government and the EU have been at odds in recent years over a series of issues, ranging from the "rule-of-law" to minority rights.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for the meeting of European Union (EU) leaders in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2022. (European Union/Handout via Xinhua)

Orban's conservative Fidesz party won a fourth consecutive super-majority in the general elections held on Sunday.

In response to the EU executive's announcement, Gergely Gulyas, Orban's chief of staff, urged the Commission "not to punish Hungarian voters" for expressing an opinion "that Brussels does not like."

"The fundamental rules of democracy must be accepted by the Commission," he said, urging it to "return to common sense and dialogue."

The procedure could ultimately deny Orban's government more than 40 billion euros (43.6 billion U.S. dollars) in EU funding.

Photo taken on March 29, 2019 shows the Berlaymont Building, the European Commission headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium. B(Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)

However, it is likely to still take months to complete. The ultimate decision will rest with the Council of the EU, composed of representatives from each member state. 
TRIPOLI, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Monday that 362 illegal migrants were returned to Libya after being rescued off the coast last week.

"In the period of March 27 - April 2, 2022, 362 migrants were rescued/intercepted at sea and returned to Libya," IOM said in a statement.

IOM also said that since the beginning of the year, 74 illegal migrants died and 244 others went missing off the Libyan coast while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea.

So far in 2022, a total of 3,456 illegal migrants were rescued and returned to Libya, including 348 women and 147 minors, IOM added.

In 2021, a total of 32,425 illegal migrants were rescued and returned to Libya, while 662 died and 891 others went missing off the Libyan coast on the Central Mediterranean route, IOM revealed.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for illegal migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores. 
JAKARTA, April 5 (Xinhua) -- A 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Indonesia's eastern province of North Maluku early Tuesday with no damages or casualties reported, an official said.

The quake, which triggered no tsunami, rocked at 8:44 a.m. Jakarta time (0144 GMT), with the epicenter at 108 km northwest of Halmahera Barat district of the province and the shallow at 10 km under the seabed, the country's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said, adding that the tremor was also felt in the nearby province of North Sulawesi.

The head of the Operation Unit of the North Maluku province's Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency, Fehbi Alting, said that the tremors did not trigger any damage or casualty in the province, including in the hardest hit area, Gelela town.

"So far, there are no reports on houses or buildings damaged, or those wounded after the quake here. In Galela town, there was also no report on damage," the official told Xinhua over phone.

Indonesia sits on a vulnerable quake-hit zone called "the Pacific Ring of Fire." 
COLOMBO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) lost parliament majority as 42 members of parliament (MPs) on Tuesday announced they would sit independently.

Among the 42 MPs, 14 are from Sri Lanka Freedom Party, 10 belong to constituent parties of the government, and 12 are SLPP MPs, among others.

The ruling SLPP-led alliance won 146 seats in the 225-member parliament in the 2020 general election. 
Achronix offers unique FPGA and eFPGA IP solutions that enable high-performance data acceleration applications

SAN ANTONIO, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent North American semiconductor industry assessment, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Achronix Semiconductor Corporation (Achronix) with the 2022 North America New Product Innovation Award. As a second-time winner of the New Product Innovation Award, Achronix continues its history of developing innovative high-performance field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), embedded (eFPGA) IP, design tools, and accelerator card solutions. Achronix set itself apart as a semiconductor supplier that produces both high-performance standalone FPGAs and eFPGA IP integrated into a custom ASIC device to provide superior design flexibility.

2022 North American Semiconductor New Product Innovation Award

Click here to download the award report: https://www.achronix.com/frost_and_sullivan_award

"Achronix offers both standalone FPGAs and eFPGA IP solutions. This product breadth allows customers to deploy their solutions across of spectrum of data acceleration applications as standalone FPGAs or eFPGA IP integrated into a custom ASIC," said Sushrutha Sadashiva, an industry analyst for Frost & Sullivan. "For its outstanding commitment to innovation, high-quality products, and match to customers' and market needs, Achronix earns Frost & Sullivan's 2022 North America New Product Innovation Award in the semiconductor industry."

The Achronix Speedster7t FPGAs are shipping today and include a revolutionary two-dimensional network-on-chip (2D NoC) architecture for high-speed data transport, connecting their external interfaces to the programmable logic fabric. The 2D NoC acts as a data superhighway, routing data within the FPGA device at 2 GHz speeds and providing >20 Tbps of data bandwidth. The 2D NoC delivers high-performance data routing without utilizing additional FPGA logic resources required in traditional FPGA architectures.

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The architecture also includes machine learning processors (MLPs) optimized to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) workloads. The MLPs support multiple precision fixed- and floating-point formats, including Bfloat16, 16-bit, half-precision floating-point, 24-bit floating-point, and block floating point (BFP). Users can select the precision for their application to optimize performance, power, and area.

Achronix Speedcore eFPGA IP enables customers to integrate a programmable fabric into their ASICs. A customer defines the size and specifications of the eFPGA IP core for their application. A Speedcore eFPGA-enabled ASIC allows customers to continue to deploy new features and functionality after an ASIC is deployed in the field. Achronix leads the eFPGA IP industry with over 10 million eFPGA IP cores shipped into production applications.

To allow for rapid prototyping of Speedster7t FPGA applications, Achronix offers the VectorPath accelerator card, a PCIe form-factor card that features a Speedster AC7t1500 FPGA. It easily integrates into a server chassis to offload the main CPU and delivers hardware acceleration for performance-critical algorithms. The VectorPath accelerator card is available today and includes 400G Ethernet interfaces, PCIe Gen4, GDDR6, and DDR4 memory.

According to Sadashiva, "The proliferation of the Internet of Things, AI, ML, and Big Data technologies has triggered increased demand for programmable logic devices, specifically FPGAs. Achronix FPGAs and eFPGA IP provide the performance and differentiation required in industries such as wireless communications, networking, data centers, automotive, and industrial sectors."

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that develops an innovative element in a product by leveraging leading-edge technologies. The award recognizes the value-added features/benefits of the product and the increased return on investment (ROI) it gives customers, which in turn raises customer acquisition and overall market penetration potential.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About Frost & Sullivan

For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:

Claudia Toscano

P: 1.956.533.5915

E: claudia.toscano@frost.com

About Achronix Semiconductor Corporation

Achronix Semiconductor Corporation is a fabless semiconductor corporation based in Santa Clara, California, offering high-end FPGA-based data acceleration solutions, designed to address high-performance, compute-intensive and real-time processing applications. Achronix is the only supplier to have both high-performance, high-density standalone FPGAs and licensed eFPGA IP solutions. Achronix Speedster7t FPGA and Speedcore eFPGA IP offerings are further enhanced by ready-to-use VectorPath accelerator cards targeting AI, machine learning, networking and data center applications. All Achronix products are fully supported by the Achronix Tool Suite that enables customers to quickly develop their own custom applications.

Achronix has a global footprint, with sales and design teams across the U.S., Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.achronix.com.

Follow Achronix

Website: www.achronix.com

The Achronix Blog: https://www.achronix.com/blogs/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Achronixcorp

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/achronix-semiconductor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/achronix/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AchronixCorp

Contacts

Bob Siller

Achronix Semiconductor Corporation

408-889-4142

bobsiller@achronix.com

Achronix, Speedster and VectorPath are registered trademarks, and Speedcore and Speedchip are trademarks of Achronix Semiconductor Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their prospective owners.

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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan
ReportLinker

Anastomosis Devices Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Disposable, Reusable), By Application (Cardiovascular Surgery, Gastrointestinal Surgery), By End-user, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030

New York, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Anastomosis Devices Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product, By Application, By End-user, By Region And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06251014/?utm_source=GNW



Anastomosis Devices Market Growth & Trends



The global anastomosis devices market size is expected to reach USD 5.84 billion by 2030. It is projected to register a CAGR of 5.6% from 2022 to 2030. The rising prevalence of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases is poised to propel the demand for anastomosis devices in the forthcoming years. According to the WHO, an estimated 17.9 million people died from Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) in 2019, which represented 32% of all deaths in the world. It also states that 85% of these deaths are due to strokes and heart attacks. Coronary Heart/Artery Disease (CHD/CAD) is the most common type of heart disease and approximately 805,000 Americans have a heart attack each year. Surgery is crucial for the treatment of such life-threatening diseases, thereby increasing the adoption of anastomosis devices in these surgeries.



The outbreak of COVID-19 impacted elective procedures.Restrictions of COVID-19 resulted in postponements to the number of procedures performed.



Presently most countries have elevated restrictions on elective procedures.Consequently, there would be lucrative demand for anastomosis devices as these procedures start with full force.



Besides, demand for healthier patient outcomes will drive the introduction of advanced technologies in anastomosis devices and promotes market growth. For instance, in October 2020, GI Windows Corp. raised $16.4 million in a Series A-1 funding that involved investment from Johnson & Johnson Innovation and others. The funds are allotted to improve the development and clinical trials of the firms anastomosis technology.



Anastomosis Devices Market Report Highlights

 Disposable anastomotic devices will continue to dominate the market until 2030, commanding just over 88.0% of the overall revenue share. The growth can be attributed to wide product offering by various market players

 Reusable anastomotic devices are anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of about 6.0% over the forecast period owing to the increasing need to reduce biomedical waste

 Based on application, cardiovascular surgery held the largest share of the market in 2021 owing to the rising prevalence of CHD and the increasing number of CABG procedures around the globe

 The ambulatory care centers & clinics segment is anticipated to expand at a lucrative CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period. Increasing healthcare expenditure owing to the rising prevalence of chronic diseases and cases of hospital readmissions has encouraged the expansion of outpatient centers

 North America was at the forefront in the global arena owing to the presence of well-structured reimbursement policies, widening base of the target population, and local presence of a large number of key players

 Asia Pacific is expected to register a lucrative CAGR of 6.5% during the forecast period owing to the growing geriatric population, rising incidence of CVD, rapid developments in the healthcare sector, and increasing disposable income

 Key market players are engaged in various strategies such as distribution agreements and product innovation to augment their market penetration. For instance, in November 2020, GI Windows Medical Corp. broadcasted that the self-forming magnetic compression anastomosis device has received U.S. FDA Breakthrough Device Designation

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06251014/?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.



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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Saudi-based Acwa Power, a leader in power generation and water desalination plants, has announced the signing of a $900-million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement for the Neom Green Hydrogen Project to be set up within the kingdom's futuristic city Neom.

The project is being jointly developed by Acwa Power, Air Products, a world leader in industrial gases, and Neom, and will be the largest green hydrogen production facility in the world, that will use over 4GW of combined renewable energy capacity to generate the power used for producing green hydrogen.

Acwa Power Company owns 33.3% in the Neom Green Hydrogen Company alongside Air Products (33.3%) and Neom Company (33.4%).

The signing of the Limited Notice To Proceed (LNTP) agreements on April 3 was in relation to the EPC contract for the largest green ammonia facility in the world with an expected capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum coming up in Neom, stated Acwa Power in its filing to the Saudi bourse Tadawul.

The LNTP agreements included:

*In-kingdom LNTP in relation to the EPC contract between Neom Green Hydrogen Company and Air Products Middle East Industrial Gases;

*Out-of-lingdom LNTP in relation to the EPC contract between Neom Green Hydrogen Company and Air Products Equipment limited;

*Parent Company Guarantee And Co-Ordination Deed for the LNTP in relation to the EPC contract between Neom Company; Acwa Power Company; Air Products Saudi Arabia Investment Company; Air Products Equipment; Air Products Middle East Industrial Gases and Air Products and Chemicals.-TradeArabia News Service
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global automotive silicone market size is expected to reach USD 15.90 Billion in 2030 and register a revenue CAGR of 5.8% over the forecast period, according to latest report by Reports and Data. Increasing use of silicone-based film adhesives for customizing cars is expected to drive market revenue growth over the forecast period. Silicone is increasingly being used in combined with thermoplastics to produce paint finishes with mar and scratch repellent, due to recent technological breakthroughs in paint & coating industry. Growth of passenger car ownership in countries such as Mexico, India, China, and Vietnam, fueled by economic growth and rising income levels is expected to fuel automotive silicone market over the forecast period.

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Rubber, adhesives & sealants, and coatings are common uses for the product in automobiles. They play a significant role in improving vehicle fuel efficiency, resulting in lower harmful emissions. Silicones' superior properties over other products have led to an increase in their use in production of various automotive parts. It is utilized in almost every interior and exterior part, including door panels, flooring, tires, seat belts, cables, lubricants, and plugs. It comes in a variety of forms, including compounds, bases, and liquids, and can be used in a variety of automotive applications, such as exhaust mounts, fuel cells, spark plug boots, electronic control system seals, airbags, and grommets. The product has strong potential for use in hybrid engines. Thus, rising silicone rubber usage is expected to have a favorable impact on market over the forecast period.

Request a Sample Report  https://www.reportsanddata.com/sample-enquiry-form/1825

Some Key Highlights from the Report

Adhesives & sealants segment revenue is expected to grow at a significant rate over the forecast period. Dashboards and trims, engine compartments, electrical systems, light assembly, structural bonding, and glass bonding are examples of applications for silicone-based adhesives & sealants in automotive industry. Increase in need for fuel efficiency through vehicle weight reduction has increased demand for improving quality of silicone-based adhesives & sealants used in automobile industry.

Engines segment revenue is expected to register considerable revenue CAGR over the forecast period. Silicone is applied to multi-layer steel gaskets to keep them from clinging to other metal parts in engine and to increase cold sealing. Silicone has both anti-stick and adhesion characteristics, depending on its composition. Moreover, silicone's flexibility allows it to rapidly adapt to different thermal expansion coefficients, which is particularly effective on multi-material seams. Steel, aluminum, and plastic are examples of this.

Others segment include rain & distance sensors, paint & plastic polishes, sheathing & protecting, and break-protection caps. Silicone is beneficial to sensor technologies. Rain sensors on car windshields, for example, detect presence of rain and turn on the windshield wipers automatically. These are same sensors that regulate headlights. These sensors are at risk of being damaged if they are exposed to Ultraviolet (UV) light on a regular basis. Silicone is an ideal material for encasing these sensors due to its optical transparency and heat resilience, as it does not lose its transparency during UV exposure while still allowing them to function.

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Automotive silicone market in Europe is expected to register a rapid revenue growth rate over the forecast period. Europe, as a hub for automobile sector, is certain to have an impact on global market growth. Regional manufacturing of high-end cars and spending capacity support each other, which is fueling market revenue growth.

In February 2021, Elkem signed an agreement to acquire a brand-new plant in France that will manufacture highly specialized organo-functional silicones. Elkem's global reach and expansion will be bolstered by this purchase.

Major companies in the market report include Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., KCC Corporation, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Siltech Corporation, Momentive Performance Materials Inc., CSL Silicones Inc., Wacker Chemie AG, Evonik Industries AG, Elkem ASA, and Kaneka Corporation

To identify the key trends in the industry, research study at https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/automotive-silicone-market

For the purpose of this report, Reports and Data has segmented the global automotive silicone market based on product type, application, and region:

Product Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2019-2030)

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2019-2030)

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Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2019-2030)

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HONOLULU, April 05, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bank of Hawaii Corporation (NYSE: BOH) will release first quarter 2022 financial results on Monday, April 25, 2022 before the market opens and hold its quarterly conference call at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (8:00 a.m. Hawaii Time) on the same day.

The live call, including a slide presentation, will be accessible on the investor relations link of Bank of Hawaii Corporation's website, www.boh.com. The webcast link is https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/5x73dqat. The toll-free number for the teleconference is 1 (844) 543-5235 in the United States and Canada, and 1 (703) 318-2209 for other international callers. Use the pass code "Bank of Hawaii" to access the call.

A replay of the conference call will be available for one week beginning approximately 11:00 a.m. Hawaii Time on Monday, April 25, 2022. The replay number is 1 (855) 859-2056 in the United States and Canada, and 1 (404) 537-3406 from other international locations. Enter the conference ID 4637209 when prompted. In addition, the replay will be available on the Company's website, www.boh.com.

Additionally, the Board of Directors declared the quarterly dividend payment of its Fixed Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A, of $10.94 per share, equivalent to $0.2735 per depositary share. The depositary shares representing the Series A Preferred Stock are traded on the NYSE under the symbol "BOH.PRA." The dividend will be payable on May 2, 2022 to shareholders of record of the preferred stock as of April 18, 2022.

Bank of Hawaii Corporation is a regional financial services company serving businesses, consumers and governments in Hawaii and the West Pacific. The Companys principal subsidiary, Bank of Hawaii, was founded in 1897. For more information about Bank of Hawaii Corporation, see the Companys web site, www.boh.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220405006223/en/

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Contacts

Media Inquiries

Melissa Torres-Laing

Email: Melissa.Torres-Laing@boh.com

Telephone: 808-694-8384

Mobile: 808-859-1703

Investor/Analyst Inquiries

Janelle Higa

Email: Janelle.Higa@boh.com

Telephone: 808-694-8007
By Katie Mather

Northampton, MA --News Direct-- HP Inc.

Courtesy of Yahoo In The Know video

Just as with other professions within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) field, women are underrepresented in environmental science.

The 2021 UNESCO Science Report found that sustainability research still hasnt been a mainstream topic within mainstream scientific journals  despite the fact that climate change, biodiversity loss and the decline of ocean health impacted every single person in the world.

One common explanation for why women are so underrepresented in STEM careers is because of unconscious bias. Multiple studies found that when children were asked to draw pictures of a mathematician or scientists, young girls were twice as likely to draw men than to draw women in those roles.

HP Inc. and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are well aware of this gender gap in STEM and joined forces to invest in young female students who were interested in sustainability and environmental science. HP and MIT launched Girls Save the World as an incentive to encourage anyone between the ages 13 to 18 who identifies as a girl to submit ideas on how to address an environmental issue facing their local communities. This offered them the chance to win funding to put their idea into action.

Continue reading here

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from HP Inc. on 3blmedia.com

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LONDON & NEW YORK, April 05, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, announced today that Cornelia Gomez has joined the firm as its Global Head of ESG. Based in London, Ms. Gomez will oversee General Atlantics strategy to advance environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts at the firm and across its portfolio.

A recognized leader in the industry, Ms. Gomez brings experience across ESG, CSR strategy and ethical and environmental compliance, working across Europe, Asia and Latin America. Most recently, Ms. Gomez was Head of ESG and Sustainability at PAI Partners, where she established its ESG practice and was a key intermediary between investors, investment teams and portfolio companies, helping to integrate ESG factors from due diligence to exit. From 2020-2021, she also served as the Global Coordinator for the International Climate Initiative, a global initiative of private markets investors focused on combatting climate change, which is sponsored by the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Prior to this, Ms. Gomez led the Social Compliance unit at Casino Group, one of the world's largest food retailers.

"Cornelia has an outstanding track record building and leading high-impact ESG programs, and she shares our core commitment to responsible business stewardship," said Bill Ford, Chairman and CEO of General Atlantic. "Cornelias experience and expertise will help us maximize the positive impact we can have across our global portfolio of high-growth companies and the sustainable value we deliver to our capital partners. Were delighted to welcome her to the firm as Global Head of ESG."

Ms. Gomez commented, "Ive seen firsthand what can be achieved when organizations with a global network support bold and comprehensive ESG programs, and Im proud to be joining a firm that understands and supports this critically important work. I look forward to working with the team to ensure that ESG becomes a transformative value creation lever as General Atlantic continues to scale high-growth companies that are building the future."

Ms. Gomez graduated from ESCP Europe with a Triple Diploma in General Management and Strategy and is fluent in French, English and Spanish.

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"ESG is critical to building and adding value to enduring businesses, especially when theyre in the growth stage," John Toriello, Managing Director and Global Head of Transactions at General Atlantic, added. "I look forward to working closely with Cornelia to enhance our ESG considerations and decision-making throughout the entire lifespan of our partnerships with global entrepreneurs and their companies."

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 445 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic currently has over $84 billion in assets under management inclusive of all products as of December 31, 2021, and more than 215 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Stamford. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220404005752/en/

Contacts

Media

Mary Armstrong & Casey Gunkel

General Atlantic

media@generalatlantic.com
General Motors reveals its all-new modular platform and battery system, Ultium, Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at the Design Dome on the GM Tech Center campus in Warren, Michigan. (Photo by Steve Fecht for General Motors) (Steve Fecht for General Motors)

GM and Honda will co-develop a series of affordable EVs using a global architecture and GM's Ultium battery technology, the companies announced. They promised to build vehicles in multiple product segments, including the compact crossover category, calling it a "new chapter" in their partnership. That significantly expands on previous news that Honda would create two EVs using GM's battery technology.

"GM and Honda will share our best technology, design and manufacturing strategies to deliver affordable and desirable EVs on a global scale, including our key markets in North America, South America and China, said GM CEO and chair Mary Barra.

The companies promised to share technology, design and sourcing strategies, while working toward "standardizing equipment and processes to achieve world-class quality, higher throughput and greater affordability," GM's press release states. The companies will also discuss EV battery collaboration in an effort to drive down costs and improve performance and sustainability.

The Honda E

The word "affordable" comes up a lot in the press release, as both companies emphasized the idea of building cheaper EVs than are currently available. "Honda and GM will build on our successful technology collaboration to help achieve a dramatic expansion in the sales of electric vehicles," said Honda president & CEO Toshihiro Mibe.

The tie-up makes a lot of sense, particularly for Honda, which has lagged way behind rivals in terms of EV development. By joining forces with GM, it can share development costs and contribute its considerable BEV and hybrid expertise. The two automakers previously announced a collaboration in 2018 to produce autonomous vehicles, with Honda taking a stake in GM's Cruise self-driving division. The companies also joined force on hydrogen fuel cells.

Honda recently showed that it can build EVs with the Honda E, a cute and technologically advanced vehicle with limited battery range, designed mostly for urban use. More recently, it unveiled a pair of vehicles it's developing with GM including the Prologue, to be launched in early 2024, followed by Acura's first EV SUV.

GM, meanwhile, continues to develop its Ultium battery tech that uses pouch- and prismatic-style cells rather than cylindrical cells like Tesla. The aim to use it in up to 30-plus vehicles over the coming years, with the first models arriving in 2023. GM affirmed that it would release "a new all-electric product for North America positioned at a price point lower than the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV, building on the 2 million units of EV capacity the company plans to install by the end of 2025."
VANCOUVER, BC, April 5, 2022 /CNW/ - Group Eleven Resources Corp. (TSXV: ZNG) (OTC: GRLVF) (FRA: 3GE) ("Group Eleven" or the "Company") is pleased to report results from first-pass reconnaissance drilling at the 1km NW extension at the Carrickittle prospect ("Carrickittle") within its 100%-owned PG West project ("PG West"), Ireland. Group Eleven also announces that it plans two rigs and over 6,000m of drilling in 2022, its largest annual drill budget to date. This includes Stonepark JV1, Ballywire, Tullacondra (hole recently completed; assays pending), follow-up drilling at Carrickittle and other key prospects at PG West.

Highlights:

At Carrickittle, G11-2840-26 extended mineralization at Zone 1 by 30m (to 130m) to the NW, intersecting 9.33m of 0.48% Zn+Pb and 8.1 g/t Ag (true width 81%), including: (a) a narrow high-grade zone (0.10m of 20.0% Zn+Pb and 6.6 g/t Ag) and (b) a separate Cu-Ag bearing zone ( 2.77m of 0.10% Cu, 20.4 g/t Ag and 0.40% Zn+Pb, including 0.91m of 0.17% Cu , 37.6 g/t Ag and 0.41% Zn+Pb)

Although narrower than the massive sulphides recently intercepted at Zone 1 (e.g. 7.2m of 30.5% Zn+Pb and 108 g/t Ag 2 ), the above intercept is approximately ten times wider (at similar grades) than the nearest pierce point along the modelled lens (0.91m of 0.51% Zn+Pb in historic hole P21)

Follow-up drilling is in the planning stages to test the possibility of mineralization widening further towards the NW in an un-drilled area approximately 750m by 950m , immediately north of Zone 1

Three other holes drilled over 750m to the NW from Zone 1 returned encouraging results (local zinc mineralization in bedrock, suspected highly-weathered residuals of Zn-Pb mineralization and black-matrix breccia) despite not being able to directly test the target horizon due to significant karst cavities and faulting (with one hole lost mid-way due to excessive cavities)

The above results corroborate the presence of massive sulphide mineralization intersected in nearby historic drilling (12.1m of intermittent sphalerite and galena bearing veins, hosting 0.77m of 7.79% Zn+Pb and 15.4 g/t Ag, including 0.07m of 61.3% Zn+Pb and 107.0 g/t Ag , located in the upper wall of a 2.4m cavity in hole 2840/9), suggest more high-grade mineralization may be in close proximity

At Tullacondra, the Company recently completed a 144.5m-long hole (G11-3535-01; see news release dated February 2, 2022 for background details); assays expected over the next 3-6 weeks

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"Along with our extension of Zone 1 by 30% to a strike of 130m, our northerly holes add further evidence that the mineralizing system seen at Zones 1-4 likely continues NW and beyond," stated Bart Jaworski, CEO. "This justifies our recent move to start drilling at the Carrickittle North and West prospects1. Meanwhile, a large and prospective 950m x 750m area remains undrilled at the centre of the Carrickittle prospect. We look forward to testing this zone in the next few months, with a view to finding a wider 'blow-out' of Zone 1. Separately, our ongoing drilling at the Stonepark JV is progressing on schedule and we look forward to starting our drill program at Ballywire in the coming weeks. With two rigs and over 6,000m of drilling planned this year, 2022 is poised to be our busiest year to date."

Location of Tullacondra and Carrickittle Prospects at and near PG West Project (100% interest), Ireland

The Carrickittle prospect is located within the PG West Project (100%-interest), located in SW Ireland, approximately 10kms along the Pallas Green Corridor from Glencore's Pallas Green zinc deposit3 ("Pallas Green", see Exhibit 1). The Tullacondra Cu-Ag prospect is located approx. 20km south of PG West.

Exhibit 1. Location of Carrickittle Prospect at the PG West Project (100%-interest), Ireland. Notes to Exhibit 1: (a) Pallas Green MRE is owned by Glencore; (b) Stonepark MRE: please refer to the NI 43-101 Independent Report on the Zinc-Lead Exploration Project at Stonepark, County Limerick, Ireland, with an effective date of April 26, 2018, as found on SEDAR; (c) the historic estimate at Denison was reported by Westland Exploration Limited in 1988, the historic estimate at Tullacondra was reported by Munster Base Metals Ltd in 1973 and the historic estimate at Gortdrum was reported by G.M. Steed in 1986; these three historic estimates have not been verified as current mineral resources; none of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to prepare the historic estimates were reported and no resource categories were used; significant data compilation, re-drilling and data verification may be required by a Qualified Person before the historic estimates can be verified and upgraded to be compliant with current NI 43-101 standards; a Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify them as a current mineral resource and the Company is not treating the historic estimates as current mineral resources. (CNW Group/Group Eleven Resources Corp.)

Carrickittle  Drill Results from First Pass Drilling at the 1km NW Extension

Carrickittle represents one of the key vectors informing the Company's on-going drilling at the south-side of the Limerick Volcanic Complex. As previously reported, drilling at the NW Extension at the Carrickittle prospect was completed mid-December 2021, comprising four shallow holes (see Exhibit 2), totalling 727 metres. This represents the Company's first drill campaign at the NW Extension. Assay results from the laboratory were delayed due to Covid-19 related issues. This was the Company's first drill campaign at the NW Extension.

Exhibit 2. Companys Recent Drilling at the NW Extension at the Carrickittle Prospect, PG West Project. Note: New holes denoted with black labels; Outline of Zone 1 mineralization is shown as prior to extension by G11-2840-26; all historic drilling shown above, except for tight-spaced drilling at Zones 1 to 4; Sph mean sphalerite, Gal means galena. (CNW Group/Group Eleven Resources Corp.)

G11-2840-26 extended mineralization at Zone 1 by 30m (to 130m) along strike, intersecting 9.33m of 0.48% Zn+Pb and 8.1 g/t Ag (true width estimated to be 81%), including: (a) a narrow high-grade zone (0.10m of 20.0% Zn+Pb and 6.6 g/t Ag) and (b) a Cu-Ag zone (2.77m of 0.10% Cu, 20.4 g/t Ag and 0.40% Zn+Pb, including 0.91m of 0.17% Cu, 37.6 g/t Ag and 0.41% Zn+Pb).

Although weaker than the massive sulphides recently intercepted at Zone 1 (e.g., 7.2m of 30.5% Zn+Pb and 108 g/t Ag2), the above intercept is approximately ten times wider (at similar grades) versus the next nearest pierce point along the modelled lens (0.91m of 0.51% Zn+Pb in historic hole P21; see Exhibit 3). The above intercept also occurs on-trend as predicted, adding further confidence to Group Eleven's exploration model. Follow-up drilling is being finalized to test the possibility of mineralization widening further towards the NW in an un-drilled area measuring approximately 750m by 950m, immediately north of Zone 1 (see Exhibit 2).

Two holes (G11-2840-27 and -28) were drilled in the NW portion of the Carrickittle prospect, approximately 750m NW of Zone 1 (see Exhibit 2). This locality was drilled historically (in 2000) yielding a 12.1m zone of intermittent sphalerite and galena bearing veins, including a zone of clay and massive sulphide which averaged 0.77m of 7.79% Zn+Pb and 15.4 g/t Ag, including 0.07m of 61.3% Zn+Pb and 107.0 g/t Ag, located in the upper wall of a 2.4m cavity (historic hole 2840/9). Historic hole 2840/10, drilled approx. 100m to the NW, intersected a 2.95m zone with intermittent sphalerite and galena veinlets (not assayed). Importantly, both historic holes had large (7.8m and 1.7m, respectively) cavities at the base of the Waulsortian limestone and hence, the target horizon remained untested.

Exhibit 3. Recent Drilling at Zone 1 of Carrickittle Prospect, PG West Project, Ireland (CNW Group/Group Eleven Resources Corp.)

Exhibit 4. Summary of Recent Drill Results from Carrickittle 1km NW Extension, PG West, Ireland

Hole ID From Int Zn Pb Zn+Pb Ag Cu Comment

m m % % % ppm %

G11-2840-26 78.93 9.33 0.366 0.112 0.478 6.8 0.031 WL Lmst incl 82.30 0.10 18.900 1.100 20.000 6.6 0.021 WL Lmst and dyke and 85.49 2.77 0.209 0.195 0.404 20.4 0.100 WL Lmst incl 86.37 0.91 0.266 0.141 0.407 37.6 0.166 WL Lmst G11-2840-27 161.45 1.15 0.522 0.089 0.611 0.7 0.001 WL Lmst dol " 175.50 1.10 0.164 0.028 0.193 0.8 0.010 Karst Clay G11-2840-28 49.00 0.80 0.048 0.001 0.049 0.2 0.007 Karst Clay (1 of 8) G11-2840-29 - - - - - -

Volc vent, WL Lmst



Note: True width of hole -26 is estimated at 81%, whereas for holes -27 and -28, true widths are unknown; "WL Lmst" means

Waulsortian limestone; "dyke" is an intrusive rock; "dol" means dolomite (a magnesium alteration of limestone); "Volc vent"

means volcanic vent; Intercept noted for G11-2840-28 is one of eight clay samples which each returned over 300 ppm Zn+Pb;

The aim of Group Eleven's drilling in this locality was to drill in the vicinity of the above historic holes and test the base of the Waulsortian limestone (target horizon), while also assessing the nature of the prominent NW-trending magnetic-high anomaly in this area (see Exhibit 2).

G11-2840-27, drilled in between the two historic holes, returned 1.15m of 0.61% Zn+Pb in dolomitized Waulsortian limestone approximately 10-15m above the target horizon. A number of cavities were encountered in the hole and specifically, a large (5-10m) cavity was encountered at the base of the Waulsortian limestone (target horizon), similar to historic drilling. Sampling of residual clays recovered from this cavity returned very anomalous Zn+Pb levels (1.10m of 1926 ppm, including 0.60m of 2,035 ppm) suggesting mineralization was likely present before being weathered out in-situ.

G11-2840-28, drilled 50m SE of historic drilling, encountered an even higher number of cavities (with recoveries averaging only 45%), resulting in the loss of the hole at 113.5m (vs. anticipated target horizon at 200m). Samples collected across the recovered karst clays returned anomalous Zn+Pb levels (300-495 ppm). It is unclear if higher Zn+Pb levels (similar to G11-2840-27) would be observed in cavities closer to the target horizon (i.e., if the hole was completed). Despite not being completed, G11-2840-28 definitively shows the large mag-high feature on the west of this target area reflects karstic Waulsortian limestone. It is unclear if karst is spatially related (i.e., via preferential weathering) to mineralization in this area.

Despite not being able to directly test the target horizon, the above two holes are encouraging given they corroborate the presence of massive sulphide mineralization intersected in nearby historic drilling and suggest more high-grade mineralization may be in close proximity. Further work would be needed outside of the magnetic-high anomaly (i.e., outside the karst field; see Exhibit 2) in order to test for better-preserved zinc mineralization.

The fourth hole (G11-2840-29) was drilled by Group Eleven testing a circular magnetic-high feature (see Exhibit 2). The hole confirmed the presence of a volcanic vent and intersected a highly-brecciated and locally pyrite-rich package of Waulsortian limestone, including black-matrix breccia ("BMB", an important pathfinder for zinc in Ireland). The BMB intersected is similar to BMBs observed at the Company's Stonepark zinc deposit4, located 10km to the NW. The base of the Waulsortian limestone was faulted with approximately 20m of underlying lithologies removed, suggesting the hole was only a partial test of the target horizon.

Overall, this hole implies that the circular magnetic-high features located at the north side of the Carrickittle prospect (see Exhibit 2), likely represent volcanic vents. Given they seem to generally occur along a broad EW trending belt across the prospect, suggests a structural zone parallel to the southern edge of the Limerick Volcanic Complex. This structural zone is likely to be prospective for zinc mineralization, especially towards the north.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Information

Group Eleven inserts certified reference materials ("CRMs" or "Standards") as well as blank material, to its sample stream as part of its industry-standard QA/QC programme. The QC results have been reviewed by the Qualified Person, who is satisfied that all of the results are within acceptable parameters.

Qualified Person

Technical information in this news release has been approved by Paul Gordon, P.Geo., geological consultant at SLR Consulting, and independent 'Qualified Person' as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101.

About Group Eleven Resources

Group Eleven Resources Corp. (TSX.V: ZNG; OTC: GRLVF and FRA: 3GE) is a mineral exploration company focused on advanced stage zinc exploration in Ireland. Additional information about the Company is available at www.groupelevenresources.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bart Jaworski, P.Geo.

Chief Executive Officer

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future results of operations, performance and achievements of the Company, including the timing, content, cost and results of proposed work programs, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/ reserves and geological interpretations. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located. All of the Company's public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.



1 See News Release by Group Eleven dated January 19, 2022

2 See News Release by Group Eleven dated December 9, 2020

3 Resources and Reserves Report (Glencore, December 31, 2020)  45.4 million tonnes of 7% Zn + 1% Pb (Inferred)

4 Stonepark MRE: please refer to the NI 43-101 Independent Report on the Zinc-Lead Exploration Project at

Stonepark, County Limerick, Ireland, with an effective date of April 26, 2018

Group Eleven Resources Corp. Logo (CNW Group/Group Eleven Resources Corp.) (CNW Group/Group Eleven Resources Corp.)

SOURCE Group Eleven Resources Corp.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 05, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Under the theme "The riddim that connects the world", the Jamaica Pavilion at the World Expo 2020 Dubai, aims to introduce and position Jamaica as a logistic hub connecting the Americas to the rest of the world. With the island strategically located, providing direct connections to major gateways, this makes the destination even more appealing to tourism investors and stakeholders in the airline industry.

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Emirates Airlines is a premium airline from the Middle East region, and Jamaicas Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett, has initiated discussions with top representatives of the airline during his visits to the World Expo 2020 Dubai. (Photo: Business Wire)

Emirates Airlines is a premium airline from the Middle East region, and Jamaicas Tourism Minister, Hon Edmund Bartlett, has initiated discussions with top representatives of the airline during his visits to the World Expo 2020 Dubai. The aim of these discussions is to enhance connectivity between the regions by facilitating airlift.

In an ongoing effort to enhance the connectivity efforts between Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe to Jamaica and rest of the Caribbean and Latin American region, Minister Bartlett held meetings with His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Emirates Group.

Other Jamaican dignitaries present at the meeting were, Senator The Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, leading the delegation to World Expo 2020 Dubai; Ambassador Alison Stone Roofe, Under Secretary for Multilateral Affairs; Donovan White, Jamaicas Director of Tourism and Diane Edwards, President of JAMPRO. Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President International Affairs and Mr. Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer from Emirates Airlines were also present at the meeting.

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Jamaicas well developed and world-class infrastructure was an essential element of the dialogue as mention was made of the highways, airports and sea ports including the existing air and sea connectivity within the region. The islands meetings incentives conferencing and exhibitions (MICE) facilities which attract tens of thousands of business travellers for conferences, tradeshows and corporate activities are major advantages. Donovan White, Director of Tourism, Jamaica also presented relevant data on the islands tourism product as he provided details on potential growth in airlift capacity in terms of potential flyers.

Minster Bartlett also briefed the Emirates delegation on the expansion of the Panama Canal and the benefits that Jamaica will gain from new and innovative commercial ventures as it seeks to position itself to join Rotterdam, Dubai, and Singapore as the fourth node in the international logistics chain. Director White gave an update that the Montego Bay Convention Centre is preparing to host the World Free Zone Organization (WFZO) AICE 2022 and is expecting 3,500 delegates from across the globe, with over 70% of that expected from Asia, Africa and Europe. Launched in UAE, the World Free Zone Organization will be hosting its annual AICE 2022 June 13  17 in Jamaica.

Given Jamaicas geographical location in the center of the Americas, the efforts are being made at an opportune time between Emirates Airlines and Jamaica to be partners to the wider region.

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Contacts

Ms. Shweta Chawla | Public Relations

Jamaica Tourist Board

E: chawlashweta87@gmail.com
Auto and Flat glass industry software leader thanks customers and staff for success.

BELLEVILLE, Mich., April 05, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mainstreet Computers , the leader in glass software innovation, announces their 40th Anniversary pioneering software for the glass industry. Based in Belleville, Michigan, Mainstreet was founded in May 1982 with a vision to create custom software for clients. Forty years later, Mainstreet is the leading go-to-software for the glass industry.

Mainstreet  develops software for the auto and flat glass industry that is used by thousands of companies, franchises, and glass installers. The Auto Glass Point of Sale (POS) software suite is anchored by Mainstreet Glas-Avenue providing essential tools necessary for easy quotes, inventory control, scheduling, and billing. All applications are accessible securely via the Cloud on any smart device, with seamless access to the NAGS  (National Auto Glass Specifications) database and complemented by seamless insurance billing.

In the last few years, Mainstreet has released significant updates and improvements to the software suite. In 2021, web based browser-application, Mainstreet Glas-Avenue  10.0 was released allowing flat glass installers to manage glazing jobs for insulating glass units, glass railings, mirrors, tabletops, and shower glass. Another milestone in 2021 included texting enhancements within Glas-Avenue 10.0 providing easy text-to-pay options securely processed through Glas-Pay , and texting from POS to customers for rapid communication. In the latter part of 2020, the Mobile Tech App, MobilePro  was released specifically for iOS devices. Auto glass professionals are able to perform critical business functions on the go: scanning VINs, completing pre/post inspections, accessing document data for AGSC  compliance, and upselling other miscellaneous items and services to customers.

"Were driving towards our 40th Anniversary with significant momentum and a team dedicated to providing world class service to our valued customers. Our company has achieved success through the dedication of our team and our valued customers that we serve. In turn, customers benefit from our hard work, passion, and dedication of Mainstreet ; the development, adherence and continued improvements," said Bradley Rhoades, CEO of Mainstreet  and President of Convenient Brands.

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In 2019 Convenient Brands acquired Mainstreet , complementing their existing portfolio of SaaS innovation to include payment solutions provider IntelliPay, and a premium brand of collision center management software and consulting, ROME. The acquisition has fueled year-over-year revenue and customer growth, and an unprecedented expansion of its supported strategic technologies.

Much of this success is attributed to the longevity of the employees as Mainstreet  Executive Vice President of Operations Michael Casella explains, "In an industry where turnover is high, most of our employees have been with us for more than 20 years. When customers need our support, they are reaching us directly, and not just a call center where theyll be talking to a different tech every time who doesnt understand our software. They are talking to our experienced staff with decades of experience that have developed relationships with our customers and know their business."

Convenient Brands CEO Casey Leloux concludes, "We have dedicated ourselves to forty years of product innovation, engineering and business process improvements and efficiencies to provide our customers with the highest quality solutions and services. Throughout 2022 and beyond, we will be looking back at where we started, what we have achieved, and what our plans are for the future." Mainstreet  will be making more announcements in 2022 with regards to expansion and software enhancements. In the meantime, to learn more about working with Mainstreet  please visit: www.mainstreetcomputers.com.

About Mainstreet Computers 

Mainstreet Computers is North America's leading independent glass software provider. Mainstreet's flagship product, the Glas-Avenue software system, is built around the needs and 40 years of requests from glass businesses around the country. Mainstreet Computers  is part of the Convenient Brands portfolio of brands innovating and excelling in Automotive SaaS.

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Contacts

Jessica Castellano

Director of Marketing

650-888-3709

jessica@mainstreetcomp.com
VANCOUVER, BC, April 5, 2022 /CNW/ - April 5, 2022  MANTARO PRECIOUS METALS CORP. (TSXV: MNTR) (OTCQB: MSLVF) (FSE: 9TZ) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Craig Hairfield to the position of Chief Executive Officer and director of the Company. Mr. Hairfeld succeeds Dr. Chris Wilson who will continue as Executive Chairman and Chief Geologist for Mantaro.

Mantaro Silver Corp Logo (CNW Group/Mantaro Precious Metals Corp.)

Mr. Hairfield is an accomplished mining engineer with more than 17 years' global experience working with a number of private and publicly listed mineral resource companies as a mining engineer, private equity investor and M&A advisor.

From 2011 to 2018, Mr. Hairfield evaluated and executed investment opportunities globally for Resource Capital Funds, a leading natural resources-focused private equity fund, across a wide breadth of commodities. Thereafter, Craig provided M&A advisory services through Farnham Ventures to a number of international clients in the mining space.

Craig Hairfield, Chief Executive Officer of the Company states, "My primary focus will be to lead the capital markets strategy by connecting with both existing shareholders and new potential investors of the Company. Our path forward will be to communicate to the markets our continued progress on our impressive Golden Hill Property, located in Bolivia, as well as our Santas Gloria and San Jose Silver Properties in Peru. Our technical team has done an incredible job of acquiring these high-grade projects and preparing them for an aggressive drill campaign. The upcoming months will be exciting for shareholders of Mantaro."

"We are excited to have someone of Craig's caliber join the team to lead the development and growth of Mantaro Precious Metals going forward", commented Dr. Chris Wilson, Chairman of the Company. "Craig has a proven track record for M&A, investment evaluations and building shareholder value. His strong understanding of the financial and technical ingredients to successfully develop a project will be essential for our success as well as his operational experience will be a key compliment to the current Mantaro board and management team."

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In connection with the appointment, the Company has granted a total of 250,000 stock options to Mr. Hairfield exercisable at a price of $0.20 per share for a period of five years from the date of grant.

About Mantaro Precious Metals Corp.

Mantaro Precious Metals Corp. is a British Columbia company that holds a diversified portfolio of gold and silver focused mineral properties in Bolivia and Peru. The Company's holds an option to acquire up to an 80% interest in the advanced Golden Hill Property ("Golden Hill"), located in the underexplored, orogenic Bolivia Shield, Bolivia.

The Company also has a 100% interest in the high-grade Santas Gloria Silver Property as well as a 100% interest in each of the San Jose, La Purisima, Cerro Luque and Huaranay Properties (collectively, the "Silver Properties"). The Silver Properties are located in Peru.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Company's limited operating history and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Resulting Issuer undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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SOURCE Mantaro Precious Metals Corp.

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Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm, has reached a deal to acquire Booz Allen Hamiltons management consulting business serving the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.

The transaction is expected to close in 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquired entity will join Oliver Wymans India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) practice, further bolstering Oliver Wymans capabilities in both the Middle East and globally, as part of Oliver Wymans commitment to delivering impact for clients and helping unlock greater value.

Booz Allen is a leading strategic advisory firm and one of the Middle Easts longest serving management consultancies, supporting clients across the private and public sector.

Expanding strategic capabilities

With this acquisition, its Mena-based management consulting business will join Oliver Wymans more than 5,500 professionals worldwide fully focused on international management and strategy consulting, with dedicated investments in strategy, operations, risk management and organisational transformation.

Oliver Wyman, a business of Marsh McLennan, gains a management consulting practice fully dedicated to the Mena region, expanding the firms strategic capabilities and accelerating its growth position in the Middle East and beyond.

With Oliver Wymans unwavering commitment to breakthrough impact, weve long admired Booz Allen Hamiltons shared ethos of client excellence and deep sector expertise of the highest standards, said Pedro Oliveira, Managing Partner of Oliver Wyman IMEA.

DNA of deep-seated values

Indeed, Oliver Wyman and Booz Allen already share a long history, with two former Booz Allen Hamilton partners having founded Oliver Wyman, and we are deeply pleased this culture of entrepreneurship and DNA of deep-seated values endures some four decades later. We are confident this move to come together will offer exponential value to our clients, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Oliver Wyman team.

Booz Allens Mena-based management consulting business has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors across Energy, Climate and Sustainability, Real Estate, Financial Services, and will enhance Oliver Wymans range of competences and advisory credentials in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Climate and Sustainability, and more.

Additionally, Booz Allens specialised Cybersecurity offering will boost Oliver Wymans rapidly growing Digital capabilities in the Middle East.

Aspirational, ambitious and exciting markets

The Middle East is one of the most aspirational, ambitious and exciting markets we support. To help service this trajectory, we are deeply pleased to be investing in and bringing aboard talent of this caliber that will enable us to have even greater impact and exceed client expectations, said Nick Studer, President and CEO of Oliver Wyman.

Booz Allens experience and expertise will help propel both our firms strategic direction but most importantly the path of the clients we serve in this rapidly evolving and dynamic market.

Booz Allen will continue to serve US government clients requiring support within the Mena region, including in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Booz Allen will continue to provide proprietary cyber, defence, and security solutions and related support to clients in the Mena region.

Tremendous opportunity

This is a tremendous opportunity for our Mena-based management consulting business and talented workforce to grow in new ways, said Karen Dahut, Booz Allens Global Defence Sector President. Booz Allen has a proud, long-standing management consulting legacy in the Mena region and has become a true transformation leader. Oliver Wyman provides the management consulting focus, investment and culture that will allow our people and clients to thrive, while enabling Booz Allen to retain a core focus on serving US government clients at the centre of mission and technology.

Booz Allen Executive Vice President and Mena Managing Director Souheil Moukaddem will join Oliver Wymans Management Leadership Council, led by Pedro Oliveira.

Oliver Wyman is a global management consulting leader that will be a great home for our people, capabilities and clients. Bringing together our shared vision for the Middle East, cultures of entrepreneurship, inclusivity and diversity, and leading strategy consulting capabilities will deliver tremendous value as we enter a new era together, said Moukaddem.-- TradeArabia News Service
Hello and welcome back to Max Q. Welcome to all our new subscribers. For those who are new here, my inbox is always open for feedback, comments and tips at aria.techcrunch@gmail.com. You also can catch me on Twitter at @breadfrom.

In this issue:

SpaceX caps the Crew Dragon fleet at four

Funding for hyperspectral imaging startup Pixxel

A week with Space Capital's Chad Anderson

Dont forget to sign up to get the free newsletter version of Max Q delivered to your inbox.

It's the end of a (short) era. SpaceX will no longer be making new Crew Dragons, the spacecraft that ferries humans to and from space, and will instead focus on reusing the fleet of four already in existence, Reuters reported Monday.

Crew Dragon is SpaceXs first crewed spacecraft, borrowing its design from the Dragon cargo capsule thats used for resupply services to the ISS. Crew Dragon capsules have taken humans to space in five separate missions since its debut in 2020, including Inspiration4, a private crewed mission financed by billionaire Jared Isaacman.

While the company concludes production of Crew Dragon, it remains hard at work on development of the ultra-super-heavy next-generation launch system Starship. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that the company is targeting May for the first orbital flight test of the new spaceship, but the company is still awaiting key regulatory approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration before that can take place.

spacex crew dragon on launch pad

SpaceX's Crew Dragon on the launch pad for the Crew-3 mission. Image Credits: SpaceX

Pixxel, a startup with offices in the United States and India, has raised $25 million in funding to launch a constellation of satellites that will provide hyperspectral coverage on demand. It aims to send up a six-satellite constellation that will be able to provide five-meter resolution over much of the Earth's surface about every 48 hours.

Story continues

The money will go toward constructing and launching the satellites, as well as a software platform for customers. Founder and CEO Awais Ahmed said it would be a generalized platform with built-in models and analysis."

The $25 million Series A was led by Radical Ventures, with participation from Jordan Noone, Seraphim Space Investment Trust Plc, Lightspeed Partners, Blume Ventures and Sparta LLC.

Monochrome image on left and hyperspectral image on right of a satellite view of mountains.

Image Credits: Pixxel

This week with...Chad Anderson

Chad Anderson

Image Credits: Chad Anderson (opens in a new window)

Chad Anderson is founder and managing partner of Space Capital, an early-stage VC firm with $100 million under management. He also serves on the board of the U.K.'s Space Catapult and volunteers as board director of the nonprofit Explorers Club. He is also a member of the User Advisory Committee for the International Space Station U.S. National Lab in Washington.

TechCrunch: What are you working on?

Chad Anderson: On the heels of successfully closing $32 million for Space Capital II last month, we are continuing to actively invest. We have more amazing companies in the pipeline than I've ever seen -- we've already made eight investments out of the new fund, have another investment closing this week and have a term sheet out for our next investment. And the Space Capital I portfolio is starting to show some significant gains as our portfolio hits key milestones and our seed investments graduate to Series B. With three active funds under management, we're now supporting companies at all stages of the venture cycle, so a lot going on, and were having a lot of fun.

Whats something that happened in the news in the last week that you cant stop thinking about?

Alongside a slew of mostly underwhelming earnings calls from deSPAC'd space companies last week, the SEC proposed rules to overhaul SPACs by enhancing disclosure and investor protections. (TC note: Find more info here.) The proposal would tighten rules around forward-looking projections and often unrealistic growth forecasts that SPACs have become notorious for. And companies acquired by SPACs, as well as their officers and directors, would become liable for misrepresentations or omissions in the merger documents that SPACs file. I think this is a very healthy development and I've been thinking about all the ways it will improve the long-term health of the category.

What are you looking forward to this week?

While an orbital launch from South Texas likely wont actually happen this week, something Im watching closely is the progress at Starbase. I visited the production facility/test site/spaceport last week and the scale of whats happening there is awe-inspiring. The Super Heavy first stage that SpaceX will likely use for its first Starship orbital test flight was just moved to the Orbital Launch Site, so I'm excited to see what happens next. Like many others, Im looking forward to seeing them get their launch license and testing this thing on orbit.

What song has been on repeat?

"The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme song: Now, this is a story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down

More news from TC and beyond

Blue Origin successfully sent a crew of six to suborbital space Thursday on the New Shepard rocket. This is the fourth crewed mission for the company.

The Federal Aviation Administration has delayed releasing its final environmental assessment for SpaceXs Starbase/Starship in Boca Chica by another month. The new deadline is April 29. SpaceX cannot conduct the first orbital test launch of Starship until it receives this regulatory approval.

Impulse Space Propulsion closed a $20 million seed round led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. The startup wants to develop in-space transportation services, including last-mile payload delivery and space debris deorbiting.

NASA could receive up to $26 billion in funding for fiscal year 2023, $2 billion more than this year, if President Joe Biden's budget proposal is approved. That includes $7.5 billion for "Deep Space Exploration Systems," a category that includes the ambitious Artemis program to return humans to the moon.

Neuraspace , a Portuguese startup that is part of the European Space Agencys Business Incubator program, raised 2.5 million from Armilar Venture Partners to commercialize its space junk monitoring and collision avoidance platform.

Rocket Lab sent two payloads to orbit on behalf of Black Sky on Saturday from its launch facility on Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand. This is Rocket Lab's 25th Electron mission and second Electron mission of 2022.

Space Launch System , NASA's pricey, massive rocket system, began its wet dress rehearsal. The wet dress rehearsal is a final series of key tests to determine if SLS is ready to take to the skies for the Artemis 1 moon mission later this spring.

SpaceX launched Transporter-4 on Friday, carrying 40 customer payloads to space as part of its popular orbital rideshare service.

SPACs : Planet, Astra, Redwire and AST SpaceMobile all reported results this week. Find them by clicking on the links.

Synspective , a Japanese startup, raised $100 million to build out a constellation of synthetic aperture radar satellites.

Terran Orbital closed its SPAC merger Monday, making their debut on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol $LLAP -- an abbreviation of "Live Long and Prosper."

Weekly reading

Check out this fascinating Twitter thread by Kevin Bell, a lawyer at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. He details how a whistleblower informed him of a new spacecraft thruster system that used mercury, a powerful neurotoxin that, once emitted, would eventually fall back to the Earth's surface. It's an illustrative case of how legal and regulatory frameworks often don't keep up with the speed of technological development.

Max Q is brought to you by me, Aria Alamalhodaei. If you enjoy reading Max Q, consider forwarding it to a friend.
MetTel's Customer Service team and leaders recognized in three categories for their outstanding performance

NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MetTel, a digital transformation and communications leader, won three Stevie Awards, including gold for customer service in the 16th Annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. This is the ninth consecutive year MetTel has won Stevies for customer service.

MetTel was presented with a Gold Stevie for Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year - Technology Industries while also earning two additional Stevies for Best Use of Thought Leadership in Customer Service and Woman of the Year in Customer Service.

The Front-Line Customer Service Professional of the Year award, for which MetTel received the highest honor, out-performed companies such as IBM. The award acknowledged an individual in MetTel's Customer Service Department who rose to become the After-Hours Client Experience team lead and drove a composite score of 92 percent across key metrics and stellar client reviews. That individual is Karrington Howard, Customer Experience After-Hours Support.

Another standout Customer Service team member was also recognized for her work in driving significant improvements in service delivery. Wendy Bueno of the Customer Experience (CX) Frontline Support team was selected as the Customer Service Woman of the Year.

In the Thought Leadership in Customer Service category, MetTel was recognized for the transformation of its Customer Experience department, illustrated by double-digit gains in new order processing, contact center response times, client CRM adoption and employee satisfaction over the prior year. Altogether, MetTel has won more than 20 Stevie Awards and American Business Awards for excellence in customer service since 2014.

"Our commitment to excellence in customer service begins with our talented people, who consistently go above and beyond to ensure our customers' needs come first," said Bryan Phelps, Executive Director, Customer Care at MetTel. "To have our team recognized consistently each year by the Stevies is a fantastic achievement, and is at the heart of why our customers trust us so deeply to help manage their business."

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More than 2,300 nominations representing 51 countries and organizations of all sizes in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories.

More than 150 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year's Stevie Award winners. The awards will be virtually presented to winners during a live event on Wednesday, May 11.

About MetTel MetTel is a leader in communications and digital transformation (DX) solutions for enterprise customers. By converging all communications over a proprietary network, MetTel gives enterprises one, unified view and control point for all their communications and advanced network services. MetTel's comprehensive portfolio of customer solutions can boost enterprise productivity, reduces costs and simplifies operations.

Combining customized and managed communication solutions with a powerful platform of cloud-based software, the company's MetTel Portal enables customers to manage their inventory, usage, spend and repairs from one simple, user friendly interface. For more information visit www.mettel.net, follow us on Twitter (@OneMetTel) and on LinkedIn, or call us directly at 877.963.8663. MetTel. Connect Smarter.

Media Contact:

Mike Azzi

mazzi@mettel.net

347.420.0957

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View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mettel-secures-gold-stevie-award-for-sales--customer-service-301516960.html

SOURCE MetTel
Minister Guilbeault thanks the Canadian delegation participating in the 56th Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and reinforces Canada's commitment to achieve net-zero target

Minister Guilbeault thanks the Canadian delegation participating in the 56th Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and reinforces Canada's commitment to achieve net-zero target

Canada NewsWire

GATINEAU, QC, April 4, 2022

Statement

GATINEAU, QC, April 4, 2022 /CNW/ - "I would like to thank the Canadian delegation that took part in the fifty-sixth Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), along with the many Canadian authors who contributed to the report focusing on the mitigation of climate change. The science of climate change is complex and global in nature. Advancing our understanding of the issue requires collaboration with scientific experts from around the world.

"The science shows that it is vital that countries do more to address climate change and keep the Paris Agreement goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5C within reach, and on a faster timeline. We must increase our ambition to avoid catastrophic climate change and fully seize the economic opportunities that ambitious action presents.

"Canada is warming at twice the global rate and up to three times the global average in the North. Canadians regularly experience the devastating effects of weather and climate extreme events on their communities, economy, and environment.

"Across the country, Canadians are calling for ambitious climate action that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while building a strong economy for today and tomorrow. It's critical to Canada's economic and social well-being that we take rapid action to fight climate change.

"Through the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy, Canada has laid out its plan to meet its 2030 target of reducing emissions by at least 40 percent below 2005 levels. It builds on the significant progress made to address climate change across the country, including those measures outlined in Canada's strengthened climate plan released in December 2020, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy. Through these efforts, Canada is providing transparency and accountability to Canadians as the Government works toward its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

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"Canada has stepped up in a number of ways to increase ambition, including actions to significantly reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, landfills, and various agricultural sources; to transition to a net-zero emitting electricity grid by 2035; to make it easier for Canadians to switch to a zero-emission vehicle; and, lastly, to double the climate finance commitment to $5.3 billion over the next five years to help developing countries fightand adapt toclimate change and protect biodiversity.

"This IPCC report is a key resource in understanding our options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and removing them from the atmosphere. This work will continue to inform the Government of Canada's actions to improve resilience, reduce emissions, and build the netzero economy of the future."

SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada
This artistic rendering shows planned future Hermes reactor at the former K-33 area of the K-25 Site in Oak Ridge.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is looking for comments on a proposed nuclear test reactor in west Oak Ridge.

The deadline for those comments is April 19.

The reactor, planned by the company Kairos and to be called "Hermes" would be a "low-power test reactor," not generating power for the electrical grid, but instead testing technologies.

It will "support development of Kairos Powers fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) technology," the official NRC website states. The reactor will be at the East Tennessee Technology Park site near the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge on the city's Roane County side.

The NRC's website for the project https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power/hermes-kairos.html contains information and documents related to the new reactor.

NRC officials explained at a recent virtual meeting that they are looking for public comments about the new reactor. They want people to tell them the potential issues to investigate for an upcoming Environmental Impact Statement.

Comments

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a virtual open house in March to collect comments about possible issues with the reactor. Comments came not just from Oak Ridge and Roane County officials and residents, but from people throughout the state and .

Many commenters did not point out issues to investigate, but rather urged the NRC to approve the project or move along with it quickly. No one at the meeting said they were completely against the reactor's construction.

China is beating the pants off the United States, one such commenter, Brian Campbell said with regard to nuclear technology. Other people pointed to fossil fuels having risks such as oil spills and the need to consider those when looking at the risks of a nuclear reactor.

Mark Watson

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, who runs Oak Ridge's various city departments on behalf of City Council, brought up some general issues. He said there should be more time for City Council members to respond, that the plant should consider city regulations, and that the company should consider the ability of the Oak Ridge Fire Department to respond to emergencies.

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We have some of the best firemen that are around, Watson said of the ORFD.

We want to make sure that is done well and right, he said regarding the new Kairos reactor.

Roane County Executive Ron Woody

Roane County Executive Ron Woody also spoke and was positive about the proposed reactor.

Youre in a community that has welcomed the advancement of nuclear power for generations, he said at the virtual meeting. He said he would like to lend the support of the government of Roane County.

City Council member Ellen Smith also spoke positively about the reactor, although she shared some concerns.

I think our citizens are very excited about the Hermes Kairos reactor project and eager to see it come to fruition, she said. However, she said the upcoming report should explain about the new reactor's operating life and the "relation" between it and a planned airport nearby.

Oak Ridge resident David Adler also spoke. He is the director of the Quality and Mission Support Division at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management but did not introduce himself in that capacity, nor did he speak about his role with DOE. He said he enjoys the surface water bodies that flow away from this site and would like to see analysis of the reactor's effects on the Clinch River.

Still, he said, he is "supporting the project."

We need to move with some urgency away from the current sources," he said with regard to the current sources used for electrical power.

How to submit comments

You can submit comments by email to KairosHermes-CPEIS@nrc.gov.

You may submit them by by mail to Office of Administration, Mail Stop TWFN-7-A60M, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.

When submitting a comment, provide your name and email address so that the NRC may provide a copy of the draft and final Environmental Impact Statement.

This is the address to which people can submit scoping comments regarding the proposed Kairos Hermes Reactor.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: NRC seeks comments on test reactor in Oak Ridge
TORONTO, April 5, 2022 /CNW/ - With spring in the air, five of Ontario's largest utilities have joined forces to encourage customers to contact Ontario One Call ( OntarioOneCall.ca or 1-800-400-2255) to have their underground utilities located before digging, planting or starting any outdoor project this season.

To avoid potentially deadly interference with electrical infrastructure while digging, residential and business customers must contact Ontario One Call to request a free underground locate. This service is available 24/7 and can prevent potential power outages, personal injury or even loss of life.

Remember, requesting a locate before you dig  whether it be to plant a tree or build a new deck, pool or fence  is the law.

Residents looking to get started on any projects that involve digging must follow the steps below:

1. Visit OntarioOneCall.ca or contact Ontario One Call at 1-800-400-2255 a minimum of five business days before digging. The service is FREE and available 24/7.

2. Utilities in the vicinity of your work area will either provide markings on the ground or a clearance, along with a locate sheet.

3. Wait until you have received responses from all utilities listed on your Ontario One Call confirmation.

Dig safely, respect the marks and follow the instructions that are provided on locate sheets. More information is also available at:

About Alectra Utilities Corporation

Serving more than one million homes and businesses in Ontario's Greater Golden Horseshoe area, Alectra Utilities is now the largest municipally owned electric utility in Canada, based on the total number of customers served. We contribute to the economic growth and vibrancy of the 17 communities we serve by investing in essential energy infrastructure, delivering a safe and reliable supply of electricity, and providing innovative energy solutions.

Our mission is to be an energy ally, helping our customers and the communities we serve to discover the possibilities of tomorrow's energy future.

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About Elexicon Energy

Elexicon Energy powers life's most meaningful moments. As the fourth largest municipally owned electricity distributor in Ontario, our vision is to empower the communities we serve and help customers seize opportunities to ignite a better future. We provide over 171,000 residential and business customers with reliable and affordable energy services. Elexicon Energy is owned by five municipalities: the City of Pickering, the Town of Ajax, the Town of Whitby, the City of Belleville and the Municipality of Clarington. Learn more at elexiconenergy.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Hydro One Limited (TSX: H)

Hydro One Limited, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution provider with approximately 1.5 million valued customers, approximately $30.4 billion in assets as at December 31, 2021, and annual revenues in 2021 of approximately $7.2 billion.

Our team of approximately 9,300 skilled and dedicated employees proudly build and maintain a safe and reliable electricity system which is essential to supporting strong and successful communities. In 2021, Hydro One invested approximately $2.1 billion in its transmission and distribution networks, and supported the economy through buying approximately $1.7 billion of goods and services.

We are committed to the communities where we live and work through community investment, sustainability and diversity initiatives. We are designated as a Sustainable Electricity Company by the Canadian Electricity Association.

Hydro One Limited's common shares are listed on the TSX and certain of Hydro One Inc.'s medium term notes are listed on the NYSE. Additional information can be accessed at www.hydroone.com, www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov.

About Hydro Ottawa

Hydro Ottawa delivers electricity to more than 346,000 homes and businesses in Ottawa and Casselman. For 100 years, Hydro Ottawa has reliably supplied its customers with power, building and investing in the local electric grid. Proudly municipally owned, Hydro Ottawa contributes to the well-being of the community we serve. Its innovative services help customers manage their account and energy use.

About Toronto Hydro

Toronto Hydro owns and operates the electricity distribution system for Canada's largest city. Recognized as a Sustainable Electricity Company since 2014, it has approximately 787,000 customers located in the city of Toronto and distributes approximately 18 per cent of the electricity consumed in Ontario.

SOURCE Toronto Hydro Corporation

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Padma Lakshmi and daughter Krishna have fun on rope swing while vacationing in Hawaii

Padma Lakshmi/Instagram

Padma Lakshmi and her daughter Krishna are having fun in the sun!

On Monday, the Top Chef host, 51, shared a video on Instagram of the pair flying through the air on a rope swing and dropping into the water below at a beach in Hawaii. She included a clip of her walking along the water holding hands with her daughter.

"We found this wonderful secluded beach on our way north to Hanalei," she captioned the video. "Littlehands and I had so much fun playing with the rope swing and watching the 'iwa birds (or frigatebirds) gliding and diving in the air."

RELATED: Padma Lakshmi Marks End of Pomegranate Season with Her 'Most Favorite Snack' in ASMR Video

In addition to the rope swing, the Taste the Nation host has been documenting all of their adventures in Hawaii on social media.

Related video: Lakshmi's daughter has been learning about discrimination since 'day one'

Last week, she shared footage on Instagram of her and Krishna taking a "breathtaking" helicopter tour over the island of Kauai.

"Littlehands and I spent an hour suspended over the island taking in all of the sights and incredible natural beauty," she wrote.

RELATED: Padma Lakshmi Says She 'Struggled' with Whether to Include Daughter Krishna on Taste the Nation

The pair ate lunch at local favorite Hamura Saimin in Kauai, where they ordered noodles soup, tender BBW chicken skewers and passionfruit chiffon pie. "All the locals told us to go here for lunch and I'm so glad we did," she wrote.

Lakshmi shared their visit to Kauai Aadheenam, also known as Kauai's Hindu Monastery, and a sweet run-in with a bunny at the Farm at Hokuala, which is known for its farm-to-table dining.

"This is Chungis and she sweetly dozed off in my arms," she wrote. "Look at her little red paws! They're stained that color from all of the iron-rich red dirt around the farm and the island."

Story continues

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.

All throughout their trip, Lakshmi has been looking her stunning self.

"New perfume? No, just chlorine and the Hawai'i breeze," she teased while posing in a pink bikini. "Hanging by the pool "
Fortune Business Insights

Companies covered in rainscreen cladding market report are Dow (U.S.), FunderMax (Austria), Merson Group (U.S.), SFS Intec (Switzerland), ROCKWOOL International A/S (Denmark), Trespa International B.V. (Netherlands), Carea Group (France), Sotech Optima Company (UK), Kingspan Group (Ireland), Sika AG (Switzerland), and other players profiled

Pune, India, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global rainscreen cladding market size is projected to reach USD 17.17 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.3% during the forecast period. Booming growth in the global construction industry will drive the progress of this market, finds Fortune Business Insights in its new report, titled Rainscreen Cladding Market, 2020-2027. A recent research study released by Oxford Economics and Global Construction Perspectives stated that global construction output value will reach USD 15.5 trillion by 2030, surging at a prolific 85% from current levels with the average year-on-year growth standing at 3.9%. According to the study, China, India, and the US will account for 57% of this rise, thereby driving the growth of the construction industry worldwide. Rainscreen claddings are vital components in a building as these materials provide a tough shield for the buildings exterior, protecting the inner layers from harsh weather agents and anomalies such as storms. Thus, expansion of construction activities across the globe will augur well for the growth of this market in the forthcoming years.

The emergence of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill. We understand that this health crisis has brought an unprecedented impact on businesses across industries. However, this too shall pass. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly contagious disease. There are some industries that are struggling and some are thriving. Overall, almost every sector is anticipated to be impacted by the pandemic.

We are taking continuous efforts to help your business sustain and grow during COVID-19 pandemics. Based on our experience and expertise, we will offer you an impact analysis of coronavirus outbreak across industries to help you prepare for the future.

Story continues

Get a Sample PDF Brochure:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/rainscreen-cladding-market-102809

Fortune Business Insights lists out all the rain-screen cladding market companies that are presently striving to reduce the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the market:

Dow (U.S.)

FunderMax (Austria)

Merson Group (U.S.)

SFS Intec (Switzerland)

ROCKWOOL International A/S (Denmark)

Trespa International B.V. (Netherlands)

Carea Group (France)

Sotech Optima Company (UK)

Kingspan Group (Ireland)

Sika AG (Switzerland)

As per the report, the market value stood at USD 10,099.8 million in 2019. It also contains the following:

In-depth analysis of all the market segments;

Detailed evaluation of the market drivers, trends, and hindrances;

Accurate projections of the upcoming market opportunities; and

A comprehensive examination of the regional developments and competitive dynamics of the market.

Market Restraint

Coronavirus Outbreak to Subdue Market Prospects for 2020

The novel coronavirus has triggered a damaging global economic downturn and has affected activities in numerous sectors, including building and construction. According to the European International Contractors group, construction output is likely to decline between 20% and 40% as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, governments in many countries have imposed partial or complete lockdowns as they struggle to devise an effective plan to battle the pandemic as well as revive the economy simultaneously. Worker-absenteeism at construction sites has spiked in the past couple of months due to concerns surrounding catching the infection. For instance, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) reported that over 30% of construction workers have been staying away from sites, fearing getting infected by the virus. In sum, the rainscreen cladding market growth will be moderate in 2020 as the COVID-19 outbreak has stalled construction projects around the world.

Regional Analysis

Europe to Offer Lucrative Prospects; North America to Grow Substantially

With a market size standing at USD 4,424.8 million in 2019, Europe is anticipated to dominate the rainscreen cladding market share in the coming years owing to promising progress in the construction activities for industrial and residential purposes. Furthermore, credit infrastructure in the region is strong and is supportive to the construction industry, which is ensuring the stability of this market in Europe.

The market growth in North America is expected to consider on account of governmental support to commercial and infrastructure projects and schemes. On the other hand, in Asia-Pacific, the market outlook is optimistic owing to the heavy investments being made into the construction sector by governments and private entities in the region.

Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/rainscreen-cladding-market-102809

Competitive Landscape

Development of Energy-efficient Solutions by Companies to Fire up Competition

Key players in this market are breaching established frontiers of innovation and creating products that align with the present need of boosting energy-efficiency of buildings in urban areas. Launch of advanced and sustainable solutions is aiding these companies to cement their position in the market and gain a decisive edge against other competitors.

Detailed Table of Content:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Key Emerging Trends  For Major Countries Key Developments: Mergers, Acquisition, Partnership, etc. Latest Technological Advancement Insights on Regulatory Scenario Porters Five Forces Analysis

Global Rainscreen Cladding Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, By Material, 2016-2027 Key Findings / Summary Global Rainscreen Cladding Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Material Composite Material Metal Terracotta Fiber Cement High Pressure Laminate Others



Industry Developments:

September 2019: The Swiss chemical major, Sika AG, expanded its Vertical Glass series of products by introducing the SikaTack Panel-50. The new offering features a neutral curing silicone, which has superior mechanical strength and high elasticity. Aesthetically pleasing, the solution also ensures indoor comfort and promotes energy-efficiency of the building.

July 2019: NVELOPE, a subsidiary of the Switzerland-based SFS Group, engineered the NVF2F vertical cladding support system that facilitates quick installation of floor-to-floor placement of rainscreen facades. The rail system and the high-strength aluminum bracket also enhances the vertical strength of the rainscreen cladding.

Inquire Before Buying This Research Report:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/queries/rainscreen-cladding-market-102809

About Us:

Fortune Business Insights delivers accurate data and innovative corporate analysis, helping organizations of all sizes make appropriate decisions. We tailor novel solutions for our clients, assisting them to address various challenges distinct to their businesses. Our aim is to empower them with holistic market intelligence, providing a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

Contact Us:

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BuddeComm

Romania sees more telecom market consolidation

Sydney, April 05, 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/Romania-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW

The local units of all of these operators have focussed on upgrading their networks to support mobile broadband and data services. This has been particularly important since the pandemic started in 2020, since when data traffic has increased significantly in response to subscribers having to work and school from home. Fixed-line broadband networks have taken much of the strain, though mobile infrastructure has also been at the forefront.





To develop the mobile sector further, the operators have built up their 5G services. However, these are based on limited spectrum concessions awarded in 2019. They are awaiting a multi-spectrum auction scheduled for late 2021, which will offer them a range of bands suitable for rural and urban environments.



This auction had been suspended at the end of 2020 when the government sought to clarify the conditions by which vendors could contribute to core and non-core networks. In July 2021 the government passed legislation which effectively barred Chinese vendors from participating in Romanias 5G networks.







The number of mobile subscribers fell marginally in 2020, and this is expected to continue further into 2021, with growth returning in 2022 as customers respond to the greater availability of 5G services. The mobile penetration rate is about 117%, but this should have increased only marginally by 2024.







Read the full report: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Romania-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?utm_source=GNW

CONTACT: Nicolas Bombourg: nbombourg@budde.com.au Europe office: +44 207 097 1241 Oceania Office: +61 280 767 665




Properties Spanning Three Prestigious California AVAs Further Solidify the Family-Owned Winery's Estate Fruit Sourcing and Commitment to Quality

ST. HELENA, Calif., April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rombauer Vineyards today announced the acquisition of three premium vineyards totaling 154 vine acres in the prestigious California appellations of Carneros-Sonoma, Sonoma Valley and Fiddletown. The acquisitions include the Haire Vineyard in Carneros-Sonoma, the Carriger Vineyard in Sonoma Valley, and an historic vineyard in the Fiddletown AVA of Amador County, bringing the family-owned winery's estate and leased vineyards to a total of 830 planted vine acres.

Rombauer Vineyards, Napa Valley & Sierra Foothills

"Owning and farming our own vineyards is essential to the high-quality winemaking."

"The Rombauer family's goal has always been to produce the highest quality wines possible. Having control over our own vineyards and consistent access to premium fruit is key to our philosophy of continual improvement in wine quality and style" said President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Knebel. "The acquisition of these long-established premium vineyards also gives us the resources to satisfy the increasing demand for our world class portfolio of wines."

The 52-acre Haire Vineyard in Carneros has been a source of Chardonnay for Rombauer for nearly two decades, ever since Koerner Rombauer shook hands with owner Jim Haire on a deal to acquire the fruit. Planted by the Haire family in 2000 and farmed by them ever since, this historic block near the San Pablo Bay features Haire clay loam soils. Fruit from the vineyard is described by Rombauer Vice President of Viticulture and Winemaking Richie Allen as having the classic characteristics of melon, peach, and nectarine. It is a prized source for Rombauer's Carneros Chardonnay.

The Carriger Vineyard sits in a small pocket on the southwestern reach of Sonoma Valley, an historical AVA with a tradition of winegrowing dating back over 150 years. With well-drained soils of high rock content, the vineyard has been a source for Rombauer's popular Sauvignon Blanc, with 45 acres planted to the variety. Climatically the site is a "sweet spot" between Rombauer's other Sauvignon Blanc sources in the warmer Napa Valley and cooler Russian River Valley, and the fruit brings punchy varietal intensity to the wine. Rombauer plans to replant 45 additional acres at Carriger to Sauvignon Blanc to meet demand for this wine.

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The Rombauer family has long been a fan of the Sierra Foothills and the Fiddletown AVA in Amador County where it owns a winery, tasting room and vineyards. This new acquisition of 90 acres  13 planted to old vine Zinfandel  further solidifies its commitment to the growing region. Sitting at an elevation ranging from 1,600-1,700 feet, this new Fiddletown vineyard features multiple sloping hillsides with different aspects and sandy loam soils from decayed granite. With plans to plant an additional 50 acres to Zinfandel and Barbera, Rombauer has begun preparing the land and laying out new blocks destined to become part of the winery's classic California Zinfandel.

"Owning and farming our own vineyards is essential to the high-quality winemaking we are dedicated to, and these three sites are destined to become jewels in Rombauer's portfolio," said Vice President of Viticulture and Winemaking Richie Allen. "It's especially gratifying to see properties like Haire and Fiddletown pass from family to family. Rombauer is determined to be an excellent, long-term steward of these premium sites."

About Rombauer

Rombauer Vineyards is a Napa Valley based, family-owned winery founded in 1980 by Koerner and Joan Rombauer. Dedicated to providing gracious hospitality, the Rombauer family and staff take pride in creating joyful moments for their customers across the country and at their Napa Valley and Sierra Foothills tasting rooms. Rombauer owns and sustainably farms 830 acres of vineyards in Carneros, Atlas Peak, Stags Leap, St. Helena, Calistoga, Sonoma Valley, and the Sierra Foothills. Rombauer's Chardonnays, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignons, Barbera, Zinfandels and Sauvignon Blanc are beloved by wine enthusiasts around the world. www.rombauer.com

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rombauer-vineyards-announces-three-vineyard-acquisitions-301517346.html

SOURCE Rombauer Vineyards
NEW YORK, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The soft drink dispensers market size is expected to grow by USD 85.22 mn from 2021 to 2026. The growth momentum of the market will expand at a CAGR of 3.85% during the forecast period.

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Soft Drink Dispensers Market by Product Placement and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2026

View our exclusive sample report to obtain growth opportunities in the soft drink dispensers market using the insights provided by Technavio

Soft Drink Dispensers Market: Driver

The expansion of end-users of soft drink dispensers, which will create opportunities for the sales of new units, is one of the key factors driving the growth of the global soft drink dispensers market. For instance, in March 2018, KFC announced its plans to open around 500 more outlets in Germany by 2025. In August 2017, McDonald's announced its plan to add 2,000 new outlets across various locations in India by 2022. Such factors will drive the growth of the soft drink dispensers market during the forecast period.

Do you want to learn about additional factors impacting the growth of the soft drink dispensers market? Request Free Sample Report

Soft Drink Dispensers Market: Challenge

The growing consumer preference toward packaged soft drinks is challenging the global soft drink dispensers market growth. Many brands are also focusing on launching new variants of soft drinks to meet the rising demand from consumers. For instance, in February 2018, The Coca-Cola Company launched its new aerated soft drink brands in India. Similarly, in March 2018, Stute Foods launched new canned variants of soft drinks with less than 5% sugar to attract health-conscious consumers. In addition, some of the brands are focusing on improving the packaging quality to ensure an improved storage life for soft drinks. These factors may reduce the demand for dispensed soft drinks among consumers, which may hamper the market growth during the forecast period.

Get lifetime access to our Technavio Insights. Subscribe now to our most popular "Basic Plan" billed annually at USD 5000.

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Soft Drink Dispensers Market: Segmentation Analysis

By product placement, the market has been segmented into drop-in soft drink dispensers and countertop soft drink dispensers. The drop-in soft drink dispensers segment will have significant market share growth during the forecast period. The increase in the availability of drop-in soft drink dispensers with improved features will accelerate the growth momentum of the market in focus during the forecast period.

By geography, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. North America will have significant market share growth during the forecast period. The presence of a large number of vendors offering soft drink dispensers and the launch of NSF-certified soft drink dispensers will facilitate the soft drink dispensers market growth in North America during the forecast period. The US is the key country for the soft drink dispensers market in North America. Market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of the market in South America and Europe.

Know more about the contribution of each segment of the soft drink dispensers market. Download a Free Sample Report Now

Related Report

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Soft Drink Dispensers Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 3.85% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 85.22 million Market structure Concentrated YoY growth (%) 3.61 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution North America at 32% Key consumer countries US, China, Japan, Australia, UK, and France Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled Ben Shaws Brighton Ltd., Celli Spa, Follett LLC, Guangzhou Prince Western Kitchen Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Himalay Soda Fountain, HINDUSTAN SODA DISPENSER, HOSHIZAKI Corp., Marmon Foodservice Technologies Inc., PepsiCo Inc., The Coca Cola Co., Welbilt Inc., and YOGVALLEY VENDING EQUIPMENTS CO. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for 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

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

3.3 Market size 2021

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026

4 Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five forces summary

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

4.4 Threat of new entrants

4.5 Threat of substitutes

4.6 Threat of rivalry

4.7 Market condition

5 Market Segmentation by Product Placement

5.1 Market segments

5.2 Comparison by Market Segmentation by Product Placement

5.3 Drop-in soft drink dispensers - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

5.4 Countertop soft drink dispensers - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

5.5 Market opportunity by Market Segmentation by Product Placement

6 Customer Landscape

6.1 Customer landscape overview

7 Geographic Landscape

7.1 Geographic segmentation

7.2 Geographic comparison

7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

7.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

7.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

7.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

7.8 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

7.9 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

7.10 Japan - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

7.11 UK - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

7.12 France - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

7.13 Australia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

7.14 Market opportunity by geography

8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

8.1 Market drivers

8.2 Market challenges

8.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

8.4 Market trends

9 Vendor Landscape

9.1 Overview

9.2 Vendor landscape

9.3 Landscape disruption

9.4 Industry risks

10 Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

10.3 Ben Shaws Brighton Ltd.

10.4 Celli Spa

10.5 Follett LLC

10.6 Guangzhou Prince Western Kitchen Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

10.7 HOSHIZAKI Corp.

10.8 Marmon Foodservice Technologies Inc.

10.9 PepsiCo Inc.

10.10 The Coca Cola Co.

10.11 Welbilt Inc.

10.12 YOGVALLEY VENDING EQUIPMENTS CO.

11 Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

11.4 Research methodology

11.5 List of abbreviations

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

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Email: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/

Technavio (PRNewsfoto/Technavio)

SOURCE Technavio
Radisson Hotel Group said it in a new report that it is making a strong commitment to decarbonize its business by setting ambitious emission reduction targets to be net zero by 2050, in line with the SBTi Net-Zero Standard.



Radisson Hotel Groups 2021 Responsible Business Report outlines its latest sustainability targets in line with its strategic five-year plan. These include its commitment to becoming net zero by 2050, to accelerating the implementation of the cross-industry Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality and Hotel Sustainability Basics initiative, and to reaffirming the Groups commitment to People, Community, and Planet as an award-winning employer.



THINK PLANET  Radisson Hotel Group is building on its long heritage of sustainability by committing to set science-based emission reduction targets, and by strengthening its performance with a net zero carbon future in sight by 2050. This includes a long-term, science-based target to reach net zero value chain GHG emissions by no later than 2050, in line with the SBTi Net-Zero Standard. Radisson Hotel Group will be part of the Business Ambition for 1.5C campaign and will join the UNFCCC Race to Zero campaign as part of an important, globally coordinated effort to reach the goal of net zero.



In 2021, the Group reduced its carbon footprint by 23% per square meter and reduced 13% of its water footprint per square meter (vs. 2019). In line with the Groups renewable energy transition strategy, more than 56 properties run 100% on renewable electricity. In 2021, Radisson Hotel Group increased the number of properties equipped with electric car charging stations to nearly 500 in partnership with Allego, Sunfuel, and other global partners. Radisson Meetings continue to lead the industry by being 100% carbon neutral, and offsetting 37,800 tons of carbon since 2019.



THINK PEOPLE  One of Radisson Hotel Groups key priorities in 2021 remained the continued focus on the health, safety and security of its team members, guests, and business partners. Following the launch and implementation of the Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol across the full portfolio, 100% of eligible hotels have completed the third-party validation by SGS to ensure the latest safety protocols were in place and implemented correctly. To date, 133 hotels remain certified by Safehotels, the worlds leading safety and security certification company.



The Group reaffirmed its strong ongoing focus on human rights, business ethics, and diversity in hotels worldwide by issuing its sixth slavery and human trafficking statement and by increasing the number of women in leadership roles to 29%. Radisson Hotel Group continued to expand its online Learning and Development initiatives in partnership with hospitality training provider, Typsy, which resulted in a 120% increase in training hours in 2021 versus 2020. Radisson Hotel Group was recognized by Forbes as the #4 Best Employer in the Travel & Leisure industry, highlighting the Groups dedication to its employees and note-worthy distinction as a leading employer of choice.



THINK COMMUNITY - Radisson Hotel Group is deeply committed to supporting the communities where it works and operates. Team members volunteered more than 26,500 hours and donated more than 510,000 to charitable causes, including SOS Childrens Villages, the Groups global charity partner.



More than 28,500 people have been provided with access to safe drinking water and hygiene solutions via water aid partner, Just A Drop, in countries like India. Radisson Hotel Group has supported 12 environmental and social carbon offsetting projects in China, India, Peru, USA, Turkey, and Borneo through its industry-leading 100% Carbon Neutral Meetings initiative.



In addition to its focus on the responsible business pillars of Think People, Think Community, and Think Planet, Radisson Hotel Group is a leading member of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance and is playing a key role in the development of the Hotel Sustainability Basics in cooperation with the WTTC. The objective of the initiative is to create consistency across the industry and provide clear-to-recognize, easy-to-implement, and meaningful steps to improve sustainability at any given hotel. The Basics Framework will raise the global starting level of hotel sustainability in a transparent and easy-to-understand manner for all travellers and stakeholders.



I am delighted to announce that Radisson Hotel Group is setting emission reduction targets in line with climate science, and we are committed to decarbonizing our business. While net zero by 2050 seems far away, we need to take action immediately, said Inge Huijbrechts, Global Senior Vice President Sustainability, Security and Corporate Communications, Radisson Hotel Group.



Our world needs Responsible Businesses now more than ever, and we need to accelerate global climate action by 2030 in order to ensure a liveable future for both our people and our planet. Much needed progress can be made by taking everyone in the hospitality value chain on the sustainability journey by setting increasingly ambitious sustainability goals.



We are proud to be playing a leadership role in the development of the Hotel Sustainability Basics, which will launch later this year to establish a common industry framework to grow sustainable travel. Together with our new Build Planet guidelines to develop sustainable hotel asset portfolios, these are essential step-changes that need to be made on the route to Net Zero, Huijbrechts added.  TradeArabia News Service
XCPCNL Business Services Corporation

Charlotte, North Carolina, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XCPCNL Business Services Corporation (OTC Pink: XCPL), a venture development business that leverages knowledge, skill, and experience in the consumer products industry, is excited to announce phase one of the acquisition of Centiment Capital: the further development and commercial application of MantasPrime, a Crypto Trading Platform.

MantisPrime has developed a proprietary emotional search engine ("EiQ") that utilizes neuro data, machine learning and artificial intelligence to sense and predict emotional responses within any number of categories. This EiQ can predict movements in the market by analyzing public sentiment. In other words, the EiQ knows where the crowd is headed before the group becomes cognizant. This EiQ was initially developed at a hackathon at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Kansas School of Medicine (KUMC).

The EiQ can help serve as a signal generator by predicting market changes and pricing. This means an individual can lead the crowd instead of studying it. EIQ allows for a quick reaction to a changing market and sets the call to action for others to follow.

Via the Company's Crypto as a Service Platform (CaaS), Manta Prime, a Neuro / AI-Enabled Trading tool, will allow the processing of public news, data streams, and behavior patterns to inform a long/short trading strategy. MantisPrime currently operates short on crypto positions driven by AI research and automated trading technology. The algorithms have high EQs, read markets and apply neural-based sentiment models.

Mantis Prime will be the proprietary trading business arm of XCPCNL once the acquisition of Centiment Capital is complete.

The commercial application is anticipated to be a 9-figure generator.

We are beyond ecstatic to be in the commercialization phase with Micah and his team to finalize consumer-facing for Mantis and complete the acquisition. This will be one of many consumer-centric products to be developed from this partnership," said CEO Tim Matthews.

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Components of MantisPrime

Trade Entry System/Algorithmic Trade Platform MantisPrime uses an algorithmic trading platform (ATP) which is designed to carry out automated trading using supervised learning to place orders that require little to no human intervention.



Market Price Prediction System (Equities)/MantisPrime News Trading Algorithm

The MantisPrime news trading algorithm and associated strategy are a custom piece of software and set of databases that break down into stock selection, relationship modeling between stocks, event modeling, and instrument selection.

Market Volume Prediction Algorithm (Cryptocurrencies) a/k/a HJEM."

HJEM is an algorithm that predicts the action path of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, and trades for profit using machine learning derived from historical exchange behavior, emotional analytics based on top wallet holders and trading APIs built to integrate into multiple crypto exchanges. The strategy is to place short, extremely accurate second-by-second trades to achieve alpha on the resulting delta.

Network Event Effect RNN/Price Impact Algorithm.

The application will combine news and information about mergers & acquisitions and equity trades to generate actionable intelligence on any given asset class.

SaaS Solution

This is the to be built software as a Service solution that allows clients to deposit funds and see returns using the MantisPrime automated equity and crypto trading algorithmic systems. The system analyzes social media data to predict, aggregate and understand that data. In the context of MantisPrime, the SaaS solution is used to scan the web with the crypto asset or equity being traded.

This partnership is the future of the industry, said Centiment Capital CEO Micah Brown.

XCPCNL Business Services Corporation (OTC Pink: XCPL) encourages shareholders to visit their corporate Twitter account at https://twitter.com/RealXCPCNL .

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer:

This press release may include, and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company may have, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements regarding possible business combinations and the financing thereof and related matters, as well as all other statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions, as they relate to our management team or us, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company's management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in the Company's filing with the Over-the-Counter Market ("OTC"). All subsequent written or forward-looking oral statements attributable to persons or us acting on our behalf are qualified in their entirety by this paragraph. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.

About XCPCNL

Charlotte, NC-based XCPCNL Business Services is a venture development business that leverages its knowledge, skills, and experience in the consumer products industry. Our primary mission is to provide marketing, technology, and other business services to fast-growing consumer product companies and big-box retailers. XCPCNL is a minority-owned and controlled firm. To learn more about our businesses, services, and opportunities, please contact: info@xcpcnl.com .

To learn more about XPCNL, visit www.xcpcnl.com .

For Inquiries:

Email: ir@xcpcnl.com




Please note that it is not my intent to stop the data center project from coming to Culpeper, the senator wrote the supervisors. It is my intent to protect the currently proposed site as it is adjacent to two historically significant treasures in Culpeper which merit our protection and preservation for the use, enjoyment and education of future generations of Culpeper residents as well as visitors, both domestic and international.
Fredericksburg police are investigating a reported armed robbery that occurred early Monday at a city apartment.

City police spokeswoman Sarah Morris said police responded to the 1700 block of Dunes Street at 3:45 a.m. A man reported that he and his girlfriend were robbed as they were entering their apartment.

According to the report, three males carrying handguns came up behind them, forced them into their apartment and stole clothes, electronics and jewelry.

Police surrounded the area and had a police dog perform a track, but no suspects were found. The robbers were described only as black males wearing black clothes and masks.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call police at 540/373-3122. To make an anonymous tip, residents can send a text to 847-411 and text FPDtip followed by the tip.

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A King George County resident has been arrested in connection with a shooting last month outside a nightspot at Spotsylvania Towne Center.

Adriana G. Hernandez, 22, is charged with two counts of malicious wounding, malicious wounding by mob and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Court records show she has been transferred to Pamunkey Regional Jail and is being held without bond.

The charges stem from an early March 5 incident at the Cancun Margarita Bar & Grill in the 3100 block of Plank Road. Police reported that a large fight started inside the restaurant and moved out to the parking lot.

During the incident, a 37-year-old man was bleeding from head trauma and his 40-year-old brother-in-law suffered a gunshot wound to the hip. Both victims have since been released from the hospital.

Sheriffs Maj. Troy Skebo said witnesses at the scene were uncooperative and police still arent sure what started the fight. But Hernandez was identified as a suspect with the aid of video surveillance, Skebo said.

The King George and Richmond County sheriffs offices assisted in Hernandezs arrest. Skebo said Hernandez was part of the initial brawl that preceded the shooting. Police are investigating the incident and trying to identify other participants.

A preliminary hearing for Hernandez is scheduled for June 15 in Spotsylvania General District Court.

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Americans have long been among the most-generous givers to charity. Measured in terms of money and materials, in fact, we give more than anyone else, according to the World Giving Index.

Its also true that we have more to give than anyone else in the world. According to a recent study by Investopedia [10 Countries With the Highest Incomes, Feb. 27, 2022], The United States, with its 329.5 million people from 2020 per World Bank, tops the list with a disposable income per capita measure of $54,854, as of 2019.

Its not just what we give that matters, however, its why.

Sundays Free LanceStar edition highlighted the extraordinary generosity of local residents in assisting those whose lives have been turned upside down by the war in Ukraine. Local residents like Joe McElroy, who set up a table and simply asked residents in his over-55 community to write checks to the American Red Cross. Hed hoped to raise $5,000he raised $7,000.

That generosity has been amplified around the regionJim Powell, owner of Powells Furniture, donated a portion of sales to the American Red Cross to aid Ukranian relief efforts. The Fredericksburg Duplicate Bridge Club is also donating money to the United Nations World Food Program. Faith groups, movie fans are all doing their part to help the Ukranians.

This type of giving is the second-greatest of charity, according to Maimonides (11381204), who identified eight types of charitable giving and classified them from least to greatest.

To give to the poor without knowing to whom one gives, he wrote, and without the recipient knowing from who he received is the second highest approach on Maimonides list of charitable giving.

It requires our heart, and a willingness to take from our ourselves and support those we do not know. And it requires that we do so without ever knowing the extent to which that gift did or didnt help someone.

There is an even greater level of giving, however, according to Maimonides; one that asks much more of us.

The greatest level, above which there is no greater, he wrote, is to support a fellow [human] by endowing him with a gift or loan, or entering into a partnership with him, or finding employment for him, in order to strengthen his hand so that he will not need to be dependent upon others.

Tim Abbott, the Chick-fil-A operator at Celebrate Virginia off U.S. 17 in Stafford, is in a position to realize Maimonides greatest charitable gift. Freshly back from Poland, Slovakia and Romania, Abbott is now working with Chick-fil-As charitable arm, Lifeshape, to bring people from Europe, including Ukraine, to the United States this summer.

As powerful as these stories of generosity are, however, they also raise an equally troubling one about who we Americans are willing to help. Abbott, rather intentionally or not, points to this.

Speaking of the refugees he encountered who openly wept at the aid they were receiving, Abbott said: 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?

We need to take the very genuine and legitimate passion that we feel for those in Ukraine, and apply it to those coming across our southern boarder who are seeking refugee status here in the United States.

Like the families fleeing violence in the Ukraine, people from the Northern Triangle of Latin AmericaEl Salvador, Guatemala and Hondurasare also fleeing terrible violence brought on by violent gangs and drug cartels.

There is also unrelenting poverty in places like Cuba and Venezuela, two countries from which people are increasingly fleeing and attempting to cross into the U.S. along our southern border.

And then there are those people with family members already in the United States whom they simply want to be reunited with.

We are not suggesting that the solutions are simple. Nor are we suggesting that an open border policy is the answer.

However, we are calling on people to view the situations of those crossing the southern border with a bit more heart and understanding.

Many of them are as much victims as those from Ukraine. They deserve our charity, too.
Tuesday

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.

Letters to the Churches of Revelation, 10 a.m., Lighthouse, 84 W. Sixth St., Fremont.

Ready for Kindergarten, 10-11 a.m., Keene Memorial Library, 1030 N. Broad St., Fremont. This program is designed for children ages 2-5 and their caregivers. Stories, art, manipulatives and sensory stations will help build the skills needed for kindergarten.

Supportive Singles, 11:30 a.m., Thai & Maki Sushi Restaurant, 507 N. D St., downtown Fremont. For more information, call 402-660-8474.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous Steps of Freedom meeting, 1 p.m., LifeHouse, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont. The hotline number is 402-459-9511.

Fremont Eagles Club open, 3 p.m. to midnight, 649 N. Main St., Fremont. The club may stay open later or close early depending on business. There will be a Sons of the American Legion meeting at 7 p.m.

Promedcare business after hours/ribbon cutting, 4-6 p.m., 426 E. 22nd St., Fremont. The ribbon cutting ceremony will be at 5 p.m.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Mens and Womens Bible Study, 6 p.m., Lighthouse, 84 W. Sixth St., Fremont.

Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont.

Wednesday

Dodge County Board of Supervisors, Dodge County Board of Equalization and Dodge County Board of Corrections meetings, 9 a.m., board room, third floor, Dodge County Courthouse. The meetings are open to the public.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.

Mens Bible Study, 1 p.m., Lighthouse, 84 W. Sixth St., Fremont.

Fremont Eagles Club open, 3 p.m. to midnight, 649 N. Main St., Fremont. The club may stay open later or close early depending on business.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Fremont Eagles Auxiliary pork tenderloin dinner, 5:30-7 p.m., Fremont Eagles Club. The full meal is $10 plus tax while the half meal is $5 plus tax. Everyone is welcome.

Narcotics Anonymous Library Group, 7 p.m., Keene Memorial Librarys east building, 1030 N. Broad St., Fremont. The hotline number is 402-459-9511.

Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Thursday

Mens Bible Study, 8 a.m., Lighthouse, 84 W. Sixth St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous big book study, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

Fremont Kiwanis Club meeting, noon, Midland University Private Dining Rooms, Ninth and Pebble streets, Fremont.

Fremont Eagles Club open, 3 p.m. to midnight, 649 N. Main St., Fremont. The club may stay open later or close early depending on business. The kitchen will be open from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The menu will include hamburgers and cheeseburgers, tacos and soup. Pitch will be played at 6:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome.

Lego Club, 4-5 p.m., Keene Memorial Library, Fremont. Lego bricks will be supplied.

Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

The Banquet, 5:30-6:30 p.m., First Lutheran Church, 3200 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Drive-thru meals served. The dinner is free.

Grief support group, 6:30-8:30 p.m., third floor of Methodist Fremont Healths Health Park Plaza. The group is open to anyone dealing with the loss of a loved one  whether that is a spouse, parent, child or friend. Participants are asked to wear a mask and appropriately distance themselves while in the building. There is no charge to attend and refreshments will be provided. For more information or to register, call 402-727-3663.

WinItBack, TEA Party Patriots of Dodge County, meeting, 6:30-8:15 p.m., Keene Memorial Library, Fremont. Candidates for Fremont City Council Ward 3 will be participating in a forum. The public is invited. For more information, call Doug Wittmann at 402-317-1270.

Civil Air Patrol, 7 p.m., 1201 W. 23rd St., in yellow hangar at Fremont Airport.

Narcotics Anonymous Freedom Works Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1440 E. Military Ave.

Tally Ho Toastmasters, 7-8 p.m., Midland Universitys Anderson Building, Ninth and Clarkson streets, Fremont. Everyone is welcome to learn skills in communication, self-confidence and leadership. For more information, call 402-936-3479.

Narcotics Anonymous Back to Basics meeting, 7:30 p.m., First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 201 N. Davis St., Oakland.

Alcoholics Anonymous big book study, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.

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Pandemic hospitalization rates are at new lows, the vast majority of US counties have low community levels of the coronavirus, and as of March 25, all 50 states have lifted mask requirements.

But is there a cost to lifting restrictions and trying to return to a pre-pandemic normal?

In a new study, researchers predict that the lifting of masking and social-distancing restrictions in March 2022 could lead to resurgences of Covid-19 deaths in most states, based on projections from a simulation model.

The study also found that delaying lifting restrictions would not prevent surges in deaths for those states, concluding that there is no "magic moment" to lift restrictions.

The study, published Friday in the Journal of the American Medical Association Health Forum, projected deaths from Covid-19 in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico between March 1 and December 31, 2022. The researchers simulated lifting restrictions at different times in the year and predicted the number of deaths that would follow using current estimates for infection and vaccination rates, while accounting for differences in risk between age groups.

"There is likely no amount of additional waiting time in any state after which removing [Covid-19 restrictions] will not lead to a rise in morbidity and mortality," the study says.

In almost every state, it says, lifting restrictions at any point in 2022 would lead to a rebound of peak Covid-19 deaths seen during the Omicron surge due to the high transmissibility of the circulating variant.

However, when researchers repeated the analysis using the transmissibility of the less-contagious Alpha and Delta variants, they did not see a similar surge in deaths.

"If we didn't have Omicron, we wouldn't have this problem," said Dr. Benjamin Linas, co-lead author of the study and a professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine.

Delaying the lifts had a different effect on Covid-19 deaths depending on the state.

In California, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon, prolonging restrictions by just one month helped flatten the curve of deaths, though at no point could a surge in death rates be prevented. Nevertheless, delaying the lifting of restrictions could help relieve significant hospital burden in these states, the authors wrote.

The study found that prolonging Covid-19 restrictions caused higher peak incident deaths when the restrictions were to be removed in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Ohio. Linas said that this is probably due to waning immunity in states with lower levels of natural immunity, which is the kind acquired after an infection.

Meanwhile, in Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee and Washington, the predicted peak of deaths stayed relatively similar despite modeling delays in lifting restrictions. In these states, prolonging restrictions would not change the disease burden in the community.

For those states, "the thing to change is that background of vaccination and immunity, and that's the way out," Linas said.

Deciding when to remove mandates thus requires a cost-benefit analysis, he said. On one hand, some states will have to weigh postponing a surge in deaths, and on the other hand is a return to normalcy.

"I would like policy-makers to take the study and try to lead the honest discussion we need now, which is to say, what is the goal of our mitigation policies?" Linas said.

The study uses a simulation model in which several assumptions had to be made, and it can't predict the transmissibility and severity of any future Covid-19 variants. The model also does not account for interstate travel and the role it may play in infection transmission.

Additionally, it is possible that people will continue to wear masks and socially distance even once state restrictions are lifted, potentially easing the peak of deaths.

The-CNN-Wire

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Pakistan's Supreme Court has resumed its deliberations on the legality of political maneuvers that led Prime Minister Imran Khan to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections after he faced a no-confidence vote.



"Our concern is about the legality of the ruling of the speaker," Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said as a panel of five judges reconvened on April 5.



"We don't want to indulge in policy matters."

Khan lost his parliamentary majority last week and had been facing a no-confidence vote brought forward by a united opposition that he was expected to lose on April 3.

But the deputy speaker of the National Assembly, Qasim Suri, a member of Khan's Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party, rejected the motion as unconstitutional and part of a foreign conspiracy.

The ruling allowed Khan to get the presidency -- a largely ceremonial role -- to dissolve parliament and order an election, which must be held within 90 days.

The opposition filed a petition to the Supreme Court to rule on whether the move to block the vote was constitutional. The hearing began on April 4. The court has not said when it might hand down its ruling.

The standoff has thrown the nuclear-armed country of 220 million people, which the military has ruled for extended periods since independence in 1947, into political turmoil.

President Arif Alvi added to the tension by issuing a letter to the opposition saying that if they didn't nominate a candidate for interim prime minister, the process would continue without them.



Khan has already nominated former Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad for the role.

Khan had claimed that the no-confidence motion was an attack against him by the United States in retaliation for his close relations with Russia and China. But Washington has rejected that accusation.

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.

Khan denies ever having the backing of the military, and the military also maintains that it has no involvement in the political process.

With reporting by Reuters and BBC




Travel Man Series 10 turned up on the internet and I watched them all in one go. Joe Lycett is the new host, Richard Ayoade has finally had enough of going places. Joe has an upbeat take on travel, he seems quite happy to be there and vociferous about the local culture. He'd taken a trip with Richard to Amsterdam back in 2017.

The first episode of Series 10 was the Christmas Special with Bill Bailey, their trip to Iceland aired December 27 2021. The other 4 episodes in the series are airing through April on Channel 4 and the whole lot have been posted to their online channel All4.

Episode 2 has Joe and guest James Acaster travel to Basque Country and the cities of Bilbao and San Sebastian. Episode 3 finds Joe and guest Aisling Bea in Split Croatia. Aisling is the only guest to have been invited back for a second trip, she visited Budapest with Richard in 2017.

Episode 4 has Joe joined by Mo Gilligan for a visit to Cyprus and the last episode finds Joe and Katherine Parkinson in Antwerp. They stay at nice hotels, visit local landmarks, and have a bit of food and drink. I get a few laughs and see some nice scenery of places I'm less likely to visit than the local Target.
BLOCKED FROM POSTING LINKS TO THIS VERY NEWS SITE ON FACEBOOK (its executives involved in case since 1996/1997 - far before one even existed...
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) has marked the 50th anniversary of the airlines first passenger flight to Dubai, which arrived on April 5, 1972.



The anniversary flight was greeted on arrival at Dubai International Airport by airport representatives and KLM staff, who joined a ceremony to mark the milestone.



KLM started services to Dubai on April 5, 1972 with a once-a-week connection via Athens and Dhahran, operating an extended Douglas DC-8 jet aircraft. The flight returned from Dubai on April 6th. At that time, Dubai International airport handled around 500,000 passengers per year (1970 figures) and Schiphol Airport more than 5 million.



In 2021, Schiphol welcomed 25.5 million passengers (in 2019 pre-Covid the total was almost 72 million); Dubai International welcomed 29.1 million people in 2021, and 86.4 million in 2019 (pre-Covid).



Speaking about the 50th anniversary of KLMs first flight to Dubai, Simon Scholte, General Manager Middle East, Air France KLM said: This is a very special occasion marking the amazing milestone of KLMs first passenger service to Dubai. We have the additional honour of celebrating this anniversary during the UAEs Year of the 50th and at the conclusion of this extraordinary global event, Expo 2020 Dubai.



Its a time to pause briefly and reflect on Dubais remarkable progress over the last 50 years and to express our gratitude to Dubai government and the airport authorities for their tremendous support. Its also a time to look ahead at the strong and growing relationship between Dubai and KLM, and our shared commitment to innovation and sustainability.



Air France KLM offers flights from various cities in the Middle East to the airlines two hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol, connecting passengers to the global network of destinations in Europe, Canada and the Americas.



The KLM Corporate Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Program was launched in 2012 and now includes 16 partners, including ABN AMRO, Royal Schiphol Group and Arcadis. Through the program, KLM ensures that the fuel it buys is manufactured sustainably, using raw materials that do not cause deforestation, impede food production or harm the environment in any other way. KLM is also part of the Clean Skies for Tomorrow (CST) coalition, which was established within the World Economic Forum to ensure the availability of sufficient SAF to be able to fly CO2-neutral by the middle of this century. In addition to KLM, the coalition consists of other leading players in the airline industry such as Airbus Group, the Boeing Company, Schiphol, Neste, Shell, SkyNRG and Heathrow Airport.



Recently, KLM has announced that it will start adding 0.5% Sustainable Aviation Fuel for flights departing from Amsterdam. In addition, KLM will offer customers the option of purchasing an extra amount of SAF. In this manner, KLM aims to stimulate the market for SAF.



The face of travel is set to change in the future and SAF will play an essential role in this regard. In addition to fleet renewal and further innovation within the company and sector, KLM is committed to bringing about an energy transition.  TradeArabia News Service
A Senate committee unanimously advanced legislation Tuesday to ban adults from talking on cellphones while driving, except for when using a hands-free accessory.

Currently, adult drivers in Colorado are allowed to use cellphones for calls, but they cannot text or browse the internet. If passed, Senate Bill 175 would prohibit all hand-held cellphone use while driving. Drivers under 18 already are prohibited from all cellphone use, including hands-free.

I have been hit twice by a distracted driver, said bill sponsor Sen. Chris Hansen, D-Denver. This is a bill that, at its heart, is about improving the culture of safety in the state. ... The basic principle here is that folks need to have their hands free so they can safely operate their vehicle.

Last year, 91% of Coloradans admitted to driving while distracted, according to a survey from the Colorado Department of Transportation. The survey found that 54% of drivers said they read text messages while driving and nearly 50% talk on cellphones without hands-free accessories .

In 2020, there were 10,166 car crashes involving distracted drivers in Colorado, resulting in 1,476 injuries and 68 deaths, CDOT says. In 2021, there was a 47% increase in fatal crashes caused by distracted driving statewide, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

The Senate Transportation and Energy Committee approved the bill, 5-0, following testimony from several victims of crashes caused by distracted driving.

I was rear-ended three times within a six-month period, said Northglenn resident Bob Frank, adding that one driver was talking on the phone and two were texting. One driver, when I got out to check to see if they were OK, their response was, I gotta hang up, I just hit somebody. They hadnt even put their phone down yet.

Boulder resident Craig Towler said he lost both legs after he was crushed between two cars in 2016. He said the crash was caused by a distracted driver who crashed into a parked car behind Towler, pushing it forward and pinning him between it and his own car, which he was unloading.

Though I am thankful to be alive today, my life was changed forever, Towler said. What happened to me is preventable. ... We can no longer sit on the sidelines watching people be killed knowing that there is a solution. And if we do nothing, we only have ourselves to blame when the next person is killed in a crash that couldve been prevented.

Under the bill, a driver caught using their cellphone would get a $75 fine and two license suspension points for the first offense. If a driver gets another citation within 24 months, they would face a $150 fine and three points for the second offense, and a $250 fine and four points for all subsequent offenses.

The fines and points could be waived if the driver proves to the court they have bought a hands-free device, Hansen said.

Drivers exempt from the bill would include first responders, utility workers, commercial truckers, commercial license holders, drivers using their cellphones to report emergencies, and drivers who are lawfully parked.

The bill is about saving lives, said Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, the other bill sponsor. So much can go wrong when you take your eyes away from the road. ... Were trying to shift the culture and the mindset as it relates to having a hand-held device while youre driving. Were asking people to wait.

Using hand-held cellphones while driving is already banned in 24 states and the District of Columbia, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Colorado lawmakers have tried to ban talking on the phone while driving at least three other times. In 2020, Hansen sponsored SB 20-65, which is nearly identical to the new SB-175. Hansens predecessor, Sen. Lois Court, D-Denver, also pushed similar bills in 2018 and 2019.

The most recent bill in 2020 passed the state Senate but was rejected in a House committee due to concerns that it would result in disproportionate policing and racial profiling. Hansen said he updated the bill this year to include demographic reporting and a requirement that police cannot issue the citation unless they explicitly see a driver using their phone.
There is a 50% a rise in inquiries for travel opportunities from UAE residents ahead of Eid and summer, said Musafir.com, a leading online travel agency.



The agency sees pent-up demand for travel, as regulations ease and travellers prefer taking short trips to other destinations besides their home country.



Musafir.com is offering getaway packages / short trips to 5 destinations - Bishkek, Serbia, Kenya, Phuket and Turkey.



These summer and Eid packages include - airport transfers, flights, insurance, breakfast, free visa, and entrance to certain local spots.



Raheesh Babu, COO, Musafir.com said: There has been a pent-up demand for travel and UAE residents have been eager to travel to other destinations besides their home countries. There is a strong desire among travellers to take big bucket list trips this year, particularly to safer and closer international destinations. We have worked with our partners to offer these 8 destinations like Georgia, Baku, Serbia, Armenia, Turkey, Kenya, Phuket and Bishkek.



Musafir.com offers a hassle-free booking experience to book flights, visas, insurance, hotel stays etc. to over 50 destinations worldwide. In addition, it provides a flexible rescheduling policy - allowing customers to modify their travel package free of charge up to 6 business days from the travel date with a 24/7 customer care team to get assistance.  TradeArabia News Service
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An incarcerated man allegedly told his supervisor of faulty equipment on a work assignment and ended up losing two fingers as the result of an accident, but the federal appeals court based in Denver has thrown out his lawsuit alleging cruel and unusual punishment.
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For several displaced Kashmiri Pandits, the films depiction of Kashmiri Muslims as villains is untrue and will not help the battered community in their relocation and rehabilitation in Kashmir.

Fateh Guram and Rishabh Jain | TwoCircles.net

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JAMMU AND KASHMIR  Several Kashmiri Pandits residing in Jagti township on the outskirts of Jammu city have expressed displeasure with Vivek Agnihotris hit Hindi feature film The Kashmir Files, saying the film doesnt do justice to the plight of Kashmiri Pandits and makes them more vulnerable.

Jagti township was created in 2011, and nearly 4000 displaced Kashmiri Pandit families live here.

Talking to TwoCircles.net, Sunil Pandita, a social activist based in Jagti township, said, the film will not help the Kashmiri Pandit community in any way.

It will only help Vivek Agnihotri, the director of the movie, as it has earned more than 200 crores, he said.

Pandita said the movie has represented Muslims (who form the majority in Jammu and Kashmir) as villains. This depiction is going to make the life of 5000 Kashmiri Pandits residing in the valley difficult, he said.

Panditas fear of reprisal was echoed by the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), a Srinagar-based organization advocating for the welfare of resident Kashmiri Pandits. On March 16, four days after the film The Kashmir Files was released, KPSS tweeted, Kashmir files make resident Kashmiri pandits unsafe.

Kashmir files makes resident kashmiri pandits unsafe  KPSS (@KPSSamiti) March 16, 2022

The Kashmir Files claims to depict the exodus and the killings of the Kashmiri Pandits during the early nineties. Pandita said that the movie has been made with a certain agenda. It follows the ideology of the right-wing parties and groups like the BJP and the RSS, he said.

Pandita said he has been receiving threats ever since he started openly criticising the film. During a rally in support of the film, Pandita alleged that dozens of motorcycle-riding BJP goons harassed and threatened him. They were drunk. They came outside my residence and used foul language against me. My wife fainted twice and was so afraid that she did not let me step out of home, he told PTI.

KPSSs tweet came in the light of the hate that has been generated both online and offline. Since the release of the film, social media is filled with videos of people speaking against the Muslim community. In a video, which was also shared by BJP MP West Delhi Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, a man claims that if we dont stop Muslims now, incidents similar to the massacre of Kashmiri Pandits will happen across India.

       ,                 #KashmirFiles pic.twitter.com/iXTdlWvB1t  Parvesh Sahib Singh (@p_sahibsingh) March 14, 2022

Another Kashmiri Pandit, who did not wish to be named citing safety concerns, said she wasis scared of taking a stand concerning the film. There are a lot of things which I wish to say, but I have to censor myself. People who have spoken out against the film have been threatened by members of the BJP, while the film has also made life tough and unsafe for us in Kashmir. Hence, I have decided to not issue a statement on the film, she said.

Film depicts half-reality

Mohit Bhan, a Kashmiri Pandit and National Spokesperson for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was in power with the BJP in the last civilian government in Jammu and Kashmir, told TwoCircles.net that the film The Kashmir Files will result in the lengthening the reconciliation process in the valley.

No one denies that the exodus happened. No one denies that the killings took place. The Supreme Court failed us and the Parliament failed us in delivering justice, but the reconciliatory way which could have been adapted is critically missing from the film. This has, in turn, helped the right-wing fringe to hijack the original issue, and the genuine cause of a suffering community has gone on the backburner.

He further said that people across the country only remember the plight of the Kashmiri Pandit community when a movie comes out. Everyone starts talking about our issues, and within a few weeks the hullabaloo dies down, he said.

Questioning the role of the government, Bhan said that the Indian National Congress remained in power for almost 14 years after killings and migration of Kashmiri Pandits, and even the BJP has been in the absolute majority now for eight years now but what steps have they taken to bring Kashmiri Pandits back to the valley?

Stating that there is not a single person in Kashmir who says that Kashmiri Pandits did not face injustice, Bhan remarked, From Qazigund to Gurez, everyone admits that injustice took place. So why are we blaming an entire (Kashmiri Muslim) community?

Bhan said the incendiary speeches have been made by people who are not Kashmiri Pandits. The way no action is being taken against such people is going to discredit a genuine issue for which people have been fighting for close to three decades, he said.

For Sanjay Sapru, a technocrat and social activist, who is now based in Gurgaon but is originally from Srinagar, watching the movie was a reminder of the atrocities that his family went through in the past.

However, the most important issue for our community is our rehabilitation in our ancestral land, he said.

We want to go back to our homes, our culture. If we continue living away from our home, we will eventually forget our culture, and our traditions, and will be assimilated into the dominant Hindu fold. Keeping your language, your culture alive in an alien land is a difficult thing, he said.

Sapru said that when the BJP government came to power in 2014, he, just like many other Kashmiri Pandits, had expectations about their rehabilitation. Further, after the abrogation of Article 370, our hopes increased but till today no concrete step has been taken in that direction.

Sapru said that the film is nothing but marketing the miseries of the Kashmiri Pandits.

If Vivek Agnihotri is concerned about the plight of Kashmiri Pandits then he should donate a part of his earnings to set up a hospital or even a water treatment plant at places like Jagti colony where people still do not have proper living conditions, he added.

Versha Koul, a Kashmiri Pandit residing in Delhi believes that the film fails to address two critically important issuesone is the rehabilitation of the Kashmiri Pandits even after 30 years of displacement and the second one is the unhygienic condition in the migrant camps.

I have lived in a migrant camp. I have seen how pathetic the conditions are there. Many women often walk nearly 10 kilometres to use a public washroom, which is not even cleaned properly, thus exposing us to diseases. We dont even have proper drinking water, but no film has ever highlighted these extremely pressing issues, she told TwoCircles.net.



Fateh Guram is a Delhi based freelance journalist covering human rights, caste and communalism. He tweets at @GuramBhaaji. Rishabh Jain is a freelance journalist writer based in New Delhi who writes on minorities and society. He tweets at @ThisIsRjain.
Lloyd Ritter is managing partner of Green Capitol, LLC.

represents the Distributed Wind Energy Association and Amicus Solar Cooperative, which is based in Colorado.
Colorado could become the first legislature in the country to have a formal law in place that grants paid family leave to legislators.

A month ago, Senate President Steve Fenberg of Boulder toyed with the idea of paid leave for lawmakers, but wondered whether it would be constitutional, given that lawmakers cannot obligate future legislatures on funding matters.

Colorado's citizen legislature grapples with parental leaves

Last week, Fenberg introduced Senate Bill 184, which would modify the existing statute regarding compensation for lawmakers who need to take time off for parental leave.

Current law allows a member of the General Assembly to be gone for long-term illness. That law has been applied several times in the last two years to women lawmakers who gave birth.

About a dozen current lawmakers have added babies to their families in the last six years, including Fenberg, House Speaker Alec Garnett, House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar of Pueblo, two Democratic senators and six other members of the House on both sides of the aisle.

The existing statute deals with compensation. If a lawmaker is gone for one-third or more of the session  a minimum of 40 days  that portion of their pay would be forfeited. However, that can be waived by the speaker of the House or Senate president, and that's what happened for long-term absences for Sen. Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, who took a leave during the 2020 session, and Sen. Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge, who did the same this session. Pettersen was excused for 36 days out of the 84-day session, which got shortened during the pandemic. Danielson, meanwhile, was excused for 53 out of the first 54 days this year.

The statute appears to date back to 1953.

SB 184 removes long-term illness from one portion of the statute and replaces it with absence "for any purpose." But what makes SB 184 unique is that it allows lawmakers to take a maximum of 12 weeks of parental leave, plus an additional four weeks for a serious health condition related to pregnancy or childbirth complications, and do so during the session. The leave would also apply out of session, which would cover lawmakers who have extensive duties outside of session, including leadership.

Twelve weeks of paid leave during the legislature equates to 84 days, which would be more than two-thirds of the 120-day session.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only Massachusetts offers language around pregnancy, but it isn't really about leave or pregnancy. Instead, it's about who answers roll call on behalf of the absent lawmaker.

Massachusetts Senate Rule 57 says if a member is prevented from voting in the Senate because of disability or due to a condition related to pregnancy, childbirth or nursing a child, the chamber's president shall assign a court officer to answer the roll call on behalf of the member so long as the disability continues.

"We are an interesting workplace," Fenberg told Colorado Politics, referring to the fact that legislators are elected and technically not employed by the speaker or Senate president. So, lawmakers don't answer to bosses within the building. They also don't clock in, and, as a result, a different set of human resource policies applies to elected officials.

"We are accountable to our constituents," Fenberg said.

But the General Assembly wants to be inclusive and not intentionally  or unintentionally  create barriers for who can run or serve, the Senate's top leader said, adding, "I see this as a step toward a more inclusive democracy in terms of who can run and serve."

What his bill says is, if a lawmaker is absent because of parental leave, the lawmaker's pay won't get docked. That statute is not about whether someone can be absent; it's about forfeiting pay, Fenberg said.

"This says no one will be penalized for having a child while serving in the Legislature," he said, noting that, because the General Assembly is a citizen legislature with a fixed 120-day session, lawmakers can't take 40 days off and make up that time during the summer, Fenberg said.

"It's important that no matter who's in charge, and who the member is, that everyone knows that to be a legislator you don't forfeit the ability to have a family, and we want to be sure it's clear in policy," Fenberg said.

The bill's fiscal note says it codifies existing practice  no lawmaker has been penalized for missing extended periods of the session in recent history  and hence would not result in a fiscal impact.

The sponsors of the legislation are all lawmakers who have had children since joining the General Assembly: Fenberg, Pettersen, Esgar and Rep. Kerry Tipper, D-Lakewood.

The bill gets its first hearing on Tuesday in the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
Iowa Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley voted against confirming Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Democratic President Joe Bidens nominee to fill an upcoming vacancy to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Grassley, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, took issue with some of Jackson's judicial decisions while calling her "very personable and engaging" in a statement issued Monday ahead of the committee's vote on her nomination.

"Having carefully studied her record, unfortunately, I think she and I have fundamentally different views on the role judges should play in our system of government," Grassley said, according to prepared remarks posted Monday morning ahead of the committee meeting. "Because of those disagreements, I can't support her nomination."

Grassley, in shared prepared remarks, said she was evasive under questioning and that he disagreed with Jackson's interpretation of provisions put into law by the First Step Act. The 2018 bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation, which Grassley sponsored, reformed sentencing laws and made a number of reforms aimed at reducing recidivism and improving conditions in federal prisons.

Under a "compassionate release" provision in the First Step Act, Jackson reduced the sentence of Keith Young, who was convicted in 2018 of drug and weapons trafficking charges, from a previously mandated 20 years to 12 years.

Grassley argues that part of the law wasn't retroactive.

"Judge Jackson misused a motion for compassionate release to re-sentence a dangerous drug kingpin," Grassley said of the legislation he sponsored.

The committee, which is made up of 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans, deadlocked on the confirmation vote. Under Senate rules, Democratic leadership can still move the vote forward to the full Senate. A procedural vote to dislodge the nomination from the committee is expected to happen Monday night, with a final vote likely to be Thursday or Friday.

Jackson needs a simple majority to be confirmed in the evenly divided U.S. Senate, where at least one GOP Senator, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, has said she plans to vote for Jackson. Moderate Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has also indicated he will support Jackson's confirmation, providing two swing votes that all but guarantee her confirmation.

Previously, Grassley said Jackson was "very graceful, very smart in her answers," and said he was gratified that Jackson outlined a stricter judicial interpretation in answers to questions from Grassley.

He'd also praised Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., for "running a fair hearing." Though he did take issue with some documents not being provided to the committee, a sentiment he reiterated on Monday in his statement.

Grassley chaired the Judiciary Committee from chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2015 to 2019, overseeing several confirmation hearings including the hearings of now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

"Throughout this process, Ive focused on thoroughly and fairly assessing Judge Jacksons record. I think Ive done that. We need confidence that judges will interpret the laws as they are written. Judge Jacksons re-interpretation of laws Ive helped write does not give me that confidence," Grassley wrote.

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Hoozan wrote:

The Bolostus minatosis virus is usually fatal to humans unless treatment begins within the seven-day incubation period of the virus. A doctor can administer a blood test that will identify with 99 percent accuracy whether someone has contracted the virus, but the blood sample must be sent to a laboratory for analysis, a process that requires four days to complete. A new testing device analyzes a breath sample to identify the presence of the virus, and it performs the analysis instantaneously. Clearly, replacing the traditional blood test by making the breath analysis device available in all doctors' offices would reduce the number of fatalities caused by the B. minatosis virus.



The answer to which of the following questions would be LEAST useful in evaluating the claim made in the argument above?



(A) What proportion of people contracting B. minatosis undergo testing within three days of contracting the virus?

(B) What proportion of people contracting B. minatosis survive if they receive treatment during the incubation period of the virus?

(C) Is any specialized knowledge or training required to operate the breath analysis device or interpret its analysis?

(D) How accurate is the breath analysis device in identifying people who have contracted the B. minatosis virus?

(E) Does the survival rate for the virus depend on how soon within the incubation period a patient receives treatment?

The virus is fatal if detected after 7 days.If detected within 7 days, the person may survive.Blood test takes 4 days (so the person needs to get it done within first 3 days to survive)A new test gives result instantaneously.Conclusion: Replacing the blood test by making the breath analysis device available will reduce fatalities.What will not help evaluate this claim (will fatalities reduce if the new test is made available in doctor's offices?)(A) What proportion of people contracting B. minatosis undergo testing within three days of contracting the virus?This will help evaluate the claim. If 100% people already undergo testing within 3 days (because say they are educated about the rare circumstances that leads to contracting the virus), then making the new test available will not reduce fatalities. If a low percentage of people come in the first 3 days and many come in the first 7 days, then the test will save lives.(B) What proportion of people contracting B. minatosis survive if they receive treatment during the incubation period of the virus?We are given that there is a survival rate if treatment begins in 7 days. This survival rate is greater than 0%. Now whether it is 10% or 80%, does it matter? 'Some' lives would be saved in either case.(C) Is any specialized knowledge or training required to operate the breath analysis device or interpret its analysis?This will help in evaluating whether lives will be saved. The argument claims that making the device available will save lives but if specialised training is required, docs & nurses may not be able to use the device even if it is available. If no specialised training is required then it may save lives.(D) How accurate is the breath analysis device in identifying people who have contracted the B. minatosis virus?This will help in evaluating whether lives will be saved. If the breath analyser is only 25% effective say, then the 99% effective blood test might give better results regarding number of lives saved.(E) Does the survival rate for the virus depend on how soon within the incubation period a patient receives treatment?This too will help in evaluating whether lives will be saved. If the survival rate does depend on how soon treatment is given, the instant test is likely to save lives.Answer (B)_________________
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GRAHAM  Law enforcement in this small town ignited national outrage in 2020 when officers used pepper spray on a march that included children as young as 3. Video of a disabled woman seizing violently went viral.

A report recently made public through a civil rights lawsuit provides a glimpse of how Graham police evaluated their own performance shortly after the event.

The conclusion: They did nothing major wrong.

The plan for this event was well prepared and adhered to throughout the event, the after-action report states. In reference to the force used by all officers, there was no indication that either physical force or chemical agents were used excessively.

The report makes no mention of the children at the march, several of whom vomited in reaction to the chemicals.

Graham police used pepper fog, directed at the ground, in three waves that day. Sheriffs deputies also deployed pepper vapor. The first use was aimed at moving march participants off of Grahams Main Street following a moment of silence for George Floyd, the Black man who was killed by Minneapolis police.

Not everyone could hear the officers directions, including some parents on the sidewalk with their children. The crowd responded with a mix of defiance and confusion.

The News & Observer of Raleigh asked two professors who study policing at mass demonstrations to review Grahams after-action report. Both said the absence of any discussion about children was a signal that Graham police had not seriously grappled with what happened or with the community reaction.

If children were pepper-sprayed and that did not get addressed in the after-action report, then something is wrong with that report, said Edward Maguire, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Arizona State University who has written a guidebook on policing demonstrations.

The best after-action reports, the professors said, involve extensive community feedback, both during the information-gathering phase and upon completion. After an especially high-profile incident, departments will often hire an outside consultant to do an independent review.

Raleigh, for example, paid consultants $105,545 to compile an after-action report following May 2020 protests in the city. Charlotte did the same following protests there in 2016.

But Graham did not initiate an open review or hire an outside consultant. Three march participants who expected an invitation from the chief told The News & Observer they never got one.

The report was completed about two weeks after officers used chemical irritants to force marchers out of the road, said Tony Biller, an attorney Graham officials hired to handle matters related to the march. Though a police spokesman pledged to release the report, that never happened.

Graham police dont typically release those reports. Those are internal reviews, Biller said. He did not explain why he believed these documents are exempt from the states public records law.

After-action reports can be a tool for building community trust, said Damon Williams, board president of the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police.

Most of them become public, he said. Theyre not secret documents.

Even before the pepper-spray incident, relations between law enforcement in Alamance County and local Black and Latino residents were strained.

The county has a particularly bloody history of racial injustice, and at the time of the march, Graham and Alamance County were facing scrutiny from civil rights groups for their aggressive tactics against people who sought to protest Floyds murder and other instances of police violence, as well as the Confederate monument that sits in front of the towns historic courthouse.

In a written statement to The News & Observer, Biller emphasized the steps Graham police have taken since the march to the polls to improve public trust. Chief Mary K. Cole coordinated community meetings, launched a series of community surveys and began organizing a citizens advisory committee to advise her on issues including police-community relations.

The department also initiated quarterly de-escalation training and secured funds to hire six officers focused on community policing, he said.

Body camera footage that The News & Observer obtained independently after the event showed officers appearing to celebrate the use of pepper fog.

In one clip, an officer approaches Rodney King, then a sergeant and now Grahams assistant chief, to congratulate him for being the first to deploy it. I knew youd spray first, I knew it, the officer said. I love it. I love it. King laughed, and the two officers exchanged a fist bump.
Its a little disappointing.

Weve not had any sort of public celebration to commemorate getting past the worst of COVID-19. There should be banners and bandstands. Dance parties. Boring speeches from government officials.

But even though were slowly and cautiously coming back to life, its not exactly life as we knew it.

And thats appropriate. We never really beat COVID; weve just pushed it back. For now.

Its also hard to celebrate after COVID took so many lives  more than 1,150 in Guilford County, more than 23,000 in North Carolina, more than 980,000 in the U.S. and more than 6 million worldwide.

There were also far too many dissenters investing in misinformation and conspiracy theories for us to declare victory. There still are: people who believe, despite all rational evidence to the contrary from reliable and accountable sources, that a pandemic was made up to control the American people; that the number of infections was exaggerated; that doctors were paid to inflate the death count; and that vaccines were killing as many people as they were saving.

Some believed this irrational raft of paranoid gibberish because they were told so by a man who later touted the great accomplishment of the life-saving vaccines produced on his watch. For some similarly irrational reason, their trust in him faltered at that point.

They never seemed to consider the motivations or credibility of the fraudulent people who told them that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, dozens of medical institutions with solid credentials and reputations, infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, and their own doctors and nurses were all conspiring against them. They never seemed to consider the dead and dying, many of whom they knew personally. Somehow, the testimony of anonymous social media influencers or people previously caught in lies and political machinations were to be believed.

At the beginning of the year, Duke University began a serious study of ivermectin  which the Food and Drug Administration previously said should never be used to treat or prevent COVID-19, a policy that too many ignored  along with two other potential COVID-19 treatments. We eagerly await the results of the study, which has not yet been completed.

But another study has been. A peer-reviewed study of more than 1,350 COVID patients treated with the drug was published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine. It concluded that ivermectin has no effect whatsoever on COVID.

Treatment with ivermectin did not result in a lower incidence of medical admission to a hospital due to progression of COVID-19 or of prolonged emergency department observation among outpatients with an early diagnosis of COVID-19, researchers reported.

Unfortunately, the promotion of ivermectin, when other effective therapies were available, has likely resulted in the deaths of many Americans, David Boulware, a University of Minnesota epidemiologist and co-author of the report, said.

How much worse than dying of COVID is dying of preventable ignorance?

In Guilford County, the mandate for wearing masks has ended, a concession to the waning of the threat. Some will continue wearing them, because theyre immunocompromised or have other medical conditions or just want to be on the safe side  or because they want to support others who feel the need. They deserve our respect and support.

Dont be a jerk to them.

Another vaccine booster has been approved for people age 50 and older and for people 12 and older who have severely weakened immune systems. President Biden received his dose on national TV last week. Gov. Roy Cooper is urging our states congressional delegation to acquire additional federal relief funding, anticipating a possible rebound for which we should be prepared.

Other effects linger: Economic challenges. Emotional stress. Some may have forgotten how to behave around other people  with courtesy and patience.

Everyone take a deep breath.

Its not over.

But with cautious optimism, were stepping out.
Valerie Hellermann is back home in Helena after nearly a month of enduring air raid sirens and offering aid and comfort to war-torn Ukrainians whose lives were turned upside down by Russias brutal attack upon the country.

Its a lot to take in, she said recently in a telephone interview, later saying she is working on ordering medications to be sent to help the next wave of Hands On Global teams aiding the Ukrainians.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Russia's President Vladimir Putin wanted to depose of Ukraine's government, ending Ukraine's desire to join the Western defensive alliance NATO. More than 4 million people are seeking safety outside of Ukraine in what has been called the biggest movement of refugees seen within Europe since World War II. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via video before the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday accused Russian troops of gruesome atrocities in Ukraine and said those responsible should be brought up on war crimes charges.

Hellermann, executive director of Hands On Global in Helena, returned to Helena on April 1, after leaving town March 8. She was one of the members from Hands On Global who were helping people in Ukraine.

She sent several emails about her experience while she was gone, which were printed in the Helena Independent Record.

"We are all having difficulty sleeping," she wrote in one dispatch. "The weight of war is heavy." "The humanitarian corridors are all quite dangerous," she wrote in another. "The Ukrainian drivers are fiercely determined to bring the food water and medical supplies at the risk of being shot." "They are very brave. We are honored to know them, though quite briefly."

She said there are 37 shelters under the direction of the Western Ukraine Ministry of Health. The Hands on Global team crossed the border every morning at 8:30 a.m., would be shuttled to the clinic by 10 a.m. and would head back to Romania at 4:30 p.m., then rush to the pharmacy to get medications and have a debriefing with refugees.

A lot of people were in difficult situations, she said, speaking of women having to leave their husbands, brothers and fathers behind, men who were totally unprepared to fight a war.

Hellermann said the amount of destruction and damage in a months time has been shocking, with people suffering physical and psychological damage.

She said many Ukrainians have ties to Russia and have trouble understanding what this conflict is all about.

Hellermann said people would tell translators about their relatives in Russia and they could not believe they are fighting Russians.

Hellermann said she saw people with cancer who could not get chemotherapy. No one could get surgeries, and medications for chronic illnesses were not available.

She said the teams went to the shelters where people were being housed and were able to do primary health care. She said they anticipated need for chronic medications and brought a lot with them. This included medication for diabetes, cardiac care and high blood pressure.

The stress level is high, she said.

And some of the care involved hugging and holding people.

She said some people did not have the money to flee to another country.

Hellermann and her team worked inside Ukraine, 45 minutes from the border of Romania.

She said they would walk across the border every morning and their driver on the Ukraine side stayed with them at all times. They had tracking devices on their phones, and the team agreed to never stay in Ukraine past dark.

That rule was broken a couple times when air raid sirens forced the group to stay in shelters.

She said they went into Ukraine six days a week and on the seventh they restocked medications and supply boxes for the front.

I can tell you the first air raid drill was a little startling, she recalled. We were in the middle of the clinic, heard the sirens and someone said Drop everything and get down to the shelter.

Hellermann said they did not feel the Russians were going to bomb them as there were no military outposts in the city, there was no airport and the Turkish embassy was still open.

People said they would not bomb the city because the Turks are here, Hellermann said.

Putin is a madman, she said. When sirens went off it meant missiles were in Western airspace, she said. It takes a bit to recover from the experience. I am glad I can come back to the safety to my life.

She said some people delayed leaving the active war zones because of their pets.

Hellermann said a taped warning would play when the air raid sirens went off, telling people not to panic, get their bags and documents, go outside, go to shelter, help your neighbor, do not panic.

She said the scariest time was a major air strike 120 kilometers (75 miles) away.

Hellermann said people in the shelter were frantically calling friends and relatives. But she remembers the children were silent.

It was completely dark and terrifying, she said.

She said it was hard to leave but there are now five teams following each other. She said all are experienced workers.

Hellerman is back home now with husband Norman Rostocki.

She said her family was pretty freaked out about her adventures.

Many friends were concerned about her safety.

Mary Kitchen of Marysville was one of them.

She said Hellermann has spoken to her by telephone.

She called and told me to stop worrying, she was home, Kitchen said, adding that for all the work she has done for others, Kitchen did not want Hellermann to go to the Ukraine.

I did not want her to be there, she said.

She is the most giving, kindest person I have met in my life, Kitchen said. She is extremely down to earth and tells it like it is.

Kitchen said she and her husband, Guy, have taken several trips overseas with Hellermann, including India. But nothing quite as dangerous as Ukraine.

I think it was quite over the top, even for her.

Hellermann said Hands On Global is already planning for when this is over, adding there will be more to be done.

She offers a laundry list of medical professionals that will be needed, adding she hopes there is still a hospital where humanitarian groups can work.

Hellermann said there will also a tremendous psychological need from heightened fear and air raid sirens.

At 70, Hellermann said she is not too old for the work she does. Prior to going to the Ukraine, Hands on Global helped several families from Afghanistan relocate in Helena.

I have a lot of experience in the field and I am pretty stable, I can handle stress pretty well and I am good a setting this stuff up, she said, adding she has worked with other humanitarian organizations before joining Hands on Global.

Hellermann said she wants to continue service.

At this phase of my life, this kind of work is really meaningful, she said. But at this point I have a lot of offer.

To donate to Hands on Global, go to: http://handsonglobal.org/donate/

This story contains information from the BBC and the Associated Press.

Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021.

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Under a new law that requires legislators to weigh in on proposed ballot measures, an interim committee of lawmakers voted 8-2 Tuesday to oppose an initiative to add new environmental protections to stretches of the Gallatin and Madison rivers.

The Water Policy Interim Committee voted to oppose Initiative 191 following a 2  hour hearing. Three Democrats joined the committees five Republicans in opposition, while two Democrats voted to support the ballot measure. The vote will now appear on signature-gathering petitions, per a new state law.

I-191 would designate 35 miles of the Gallatin River, from the Yellowstone National Park boundary to the Spanish Creek confluence, and about 55 miles of the Madison River, from Hebgen Lake to Ennis Lake, as outstanding resource waters. The designation affords the states highest protection and would prohibit any new or increased pollution adversely affecting water quality. The permitting prohibition would also be extended to temporary changes causing an adverse change in water quality  only permanent changes are prohibited under current law.

Currently, waters within national parks and wilderness areas are under outstanding resource water designations. The public may petition the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to designate new waters, a process that includes criteria such as presence of endangered or threatened species, sources of municipal water supply or outstanding environmental or economic values. The process also includes completion of environmental analysis via an environmental impact statement. The Legislature holds final authority over whether to adopt the designation.

Proponents of the measure argued more stringent protections were necessary in response to pollution tied to booming growth in the area.

The secret of Montana is out, said John Meyer, executive director of Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, one of the groups backing I-191. People are coming here from all over the world to buy up a piece of heaven and as more and more people come here, our rivers are being threatened by pollution, and this is our last opportunity to protect these stretches of the Madison and Gallatin rivers for future generations.

Meyer pointed to the Legislatures changes to pollution permit standards for nutrients, namely nitrogen and phosphorus, saying it puts those rivers at risk.

Clinton Nagel with Gallatin Wildlife Association was also among supporters testifying, saying the aim of the initiative is simply to protect water resources for public health, wildlife and aesthetics.

But opponents included a diverse group of lawmakers, as well as those with agriculture, construction, mining, timber and recreation interests, with many arguing the measure went too far and would stifle economic growth and taxes for local and statewide needs.

Like many, I have serious concerns about water quality in the Gallatin River, said Sen. Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, whos district includes Big Sky. But I dont think designating the Gallatin an outstanding resource water is the right solution.

The initiative would circumvent statute that includes consultation with local governments before a legislative designation, he said. Flowers also raised concerns that the measure could lead to surges in unpermitted nutrient discharges, namely from septic tanks which are not permitted as opposed to waste water treatment facilities. That could ultimately lead to more pollution in the rivers, he said.

The issue of unintended consequences was a prevalent argument of opponents.

Rep. Ken Walsh, R-Twin Bridges, serving in a district that includes Madison County, questioned whether I-191 would allow for additional fishing access sites to be built.

Clayton Elliott with Montana Trout Unlimited told the committee while his organization advocates for cold, clean and connected water, it had concerns the designations could prohibit permitting for some restoration work.

Krista Lee Evans, a water rights consultant with the Association of Gallatin Agricultural Irrigators, said ambiguity in the initiative language, particularly the temporary change, could pose problems for routine maintenance of infrastructure.

And several opponents contended that restricting growth would stifle efforts to build affordable workforce housing.

Responsible development is feasible but extreme reactive measures such as I-191 mean only the most wealthy will be able to live in the Gallatin going forward," said Abigail St. Lawrence, representing the Montana Building Industry Association.

In weighing her vote on the issue, Sen. Jill Cohenour, D-East Helena, cited concerns over the ability to do permitting, and that while she would like to feel like she is taking a position of protecting the resource, what Im seeing is this is not going to be protecting the resource, this initiative goes too far.

Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, in explaining his opposition vote, said he believed a balance needed to be struck and that making the designation without environmental review in the form of an environmental impact statement was too big of a risk.

Sen. Jeff Welborn, R-Dillion, believed the measure would tie the hands of whoever is in the governors office.

I think the only thing we really know is what we dont know, he said.

Other lawmakers voting to oppose I-191 were Republicans Sen. Walt Sales, Reps. Rhonda Knudsen, Marty Malone and Bob Phalen; and Democrat Willis Curdy.

Democratic Reps. Tom France of Missoula and Robert Farris-Olsen of Helena voted against opposing the ballot measure but did not publicly state their reasoning.

Tuesdays meeting was the first required of a ballot initiative under House Bill 651. Sponsored by Rep. Marta Bertoglio, R-Clancy, the law inserts the Legislature into the initiative process, requiring an interim committee vote to be reflected on signature gathering petitions. The bill also requires a warning label be placed on signature petitions should the attorney general find the proposal could hurt business.

In January Attorney General Austin Knudsen found the initiative legally insufficient, ruling that it constituted a taking of private property without compensation to property owners. The determination was made under a provision of HB 651, requiring the attorney general to analyze the substantive legality of the proposed issue if approved by the voters.

Last month, the Montana Supreme Court overruled the attorney general, finding Knudsen lacked the authority to reject an initiative based on a government taking of property. The seven justices unanimously ruled that Knudsens legal finding misapprehends and misapplies the law that applies to constitutional takings and contradicts the statutory scheme creating the attorney generals review process.

The high courts ruling cleared the way for Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen to advance I-191 to the Legislature for its portion of the review process under HB 651.

Tom Kuglin is the deputy editor for the Lee Newspapers State Bureau. His coverage focuses on outdoors, recreation and natural resources.

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Recently, MacKenzie Scott announced an extraordinary donation of $25 million dollars to Habitat for Humanity International and an additional $411 million to 84 Habitat affiliates in the United States. While Helena Area Habitat for Humanity was not one of the affiliates chosen for the gift, we are amazed by the generosity of Ms. Scott; it is this type of philanthropy which will turn the page on addressing housing disparity in the United States.

In Helena, it seems that almost every week there are articles in the Independent Record about zoning issues, water rights, lack of housing, wages not keeping pace with the cost of homes, and families being packed into apartments that are too small that cost too much. I myself have written here over the past year about how the public and private sectors must find new ways to work together to solve the housing crisis.

Here is something you should know about Helena Area Habitat for Humanity. This last year we were in the top 50 of over 1,100 Habitat for Humanity organizations in the country for the number of homes we constructed. Habitat for Humanity organizations do some amazing work throughout the country, but our production in Montana has us sharing the top 50 alongside much larger Habitat affiliates in places like New York City, Nashville, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Seattle, Philadelphia, Orlando, and Atlanta. That is some pretty excellent company! Helena Habitat for Humanity is punching well above its weight. By the end of the decade we plan to be in the top 10!

The successes of Habitat for Humanity in Helena are directly tied to the generosity of our community. Over and over again weve seen that Helena is an extremely generous, engaged and caring community. The financial support of foundations, individuals and local businesses has been outstanding. We have hundreds of energetic and committed volunteers who contribute time and talent to helping build. This community clearly believes in the power of home and that safe and affordable housing should never be a privilege only some people enjoy.

In essence the MacKenzie Scott donation to Habitat for Humanity is a call to action for housing organizations to step up and solve the critical shortage of safe, decent and affordable housing affecting working families. Helena Area Habitat for Humanity has heard that call and is answering it with gusto. We couldnt do this work without the care and generosity of the people who live in Helena and believe as we do, that every man, woman and child deserves a safe, decent, affordable place to call home.

If there is ever a time which demands that everyone who is in a position to effect change sit down and start penciling out solutions, it is now.

Gifts from billionaires come maybe once in a lifetime to nonprofit organizations. It is unlikely that Montana will be the beneficiary of such largess anytime soon, so we will do what we always do in Montana: roll up our sleeves, band together, and do what is the right thing to do. I invite you to join us; come volunteer as we build this summer, maybe with family members or with a group from your workplace. Make a donation; quality housing is expensive and every dollar makes a difference. Spread the word; join our Facebook page to learn more about whats happening here in your backyard and invite your network to learn more about whats happening here with Helena Habitat.

As well, please consider reaching out to our legislators to ask them to put affordable housing on the front burner. For so many of our children, co-workers, our families and our neighbors who cant afford a home in Helena, this could not be a more important topic.

Jacob Kuntz is executive director of Helena Area Habitat for Humanity.

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As a child, I was fortunate enough to learn the value of the outdoors, the patience needed to go fishing, the respect owed to wildlife when hunting and the responsibility that we must preserve it all. As I grew older, I began to understand more, what it all meant. Now that I am running for Congress, I cant help but to use this as an opportunity to speak up on behalf of everyone who shares my love for our public lands, fish, and wildlife.

Ill be honest, I have been torn on how to address this issue, primarily because a huge part of me knows that this must be said, but also because a part of me just really didnt want to upset anyone, but here we go!

Like many of you, I am tired of politicians who are all talk and no action. I am tired of people like Congressman Rosendale, who does a lot of talking and his actions dont match his words. Mr. Rosendale has failed the people of Montana and he has failed to protect Montanas lands.

Rosendale stated on his website, Matt will always fight to protect and defend our public lands. As your next U.S. Congressman, Matt believes that our public lands must always stay in public hands.

The fact is that Congressman Rosendale has lied, just look at his voting record.

 2011 Rosendale voted for HB 292 gutting Montanans constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.

 2011, Rosendale voted for SB 306 to overturn Montanans ballot decisions to ban cyanide heap-leach open pit mining.

 2013 Voted for SJ 15 to study public land management which was a backdoor route to starting down the road of the transfer or sell-off of public land.

 2015 for HB 496, creating a new legislative task force to study the same issue even after overwhelming public outcry kept any reference of sell-off or transfer out of the final report for SJ 15.

 Voted against the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribal Water Compact, SB 262 in 2015.

 Voted in 2015 for SB 353 to bust the Coal Tax Trust Fund.

Additionally in 2021, he voted no to:

 H.R. 2074- Supporting Tribal Management of Bison

 H.R. 4502- Pro-Environment Funding Package

 H.R. 803- Protecting Public Lands and Waters Across the West.

I believe that it is time for a change, and it is time for Montana to have a representative that cares about not only the people, but the land as well. It is our responsibility to preserve and protect our public lands, protect Theodore Roosevelts legacy of conservation across the country and to ensure that when our children are grown, they will be able to experience the same privileges as we do today. If elected, I promise to not only address issues, such as, health care worker shortages, improving K-12 education standards, cutting taxes and wasteful spending, but to also protect our public lands, our waterways, and our wildlife.

James M. Boyette, 2022 U.S. congressional candidate for Montana's second congressional district.

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DECATUR  A Decatur Walmart customer was jailed after police said he punched a 17-year-old store employee in the face and then fought with a store security guard who had to wrestle the customer to the ground to control him.

A sworn affidavit from Decatur police said the trouble flared around 6:45 p.m. Saturday in the store at 4625 E. Maryland Ave. The 24-year-old customer had been asked to leave after getting into a brief altercation with the security officer.

The trouble continued outside, however, when the customer was accused by the security officer of haranguing himself and several employees with insulting and derogatory names.

The 17-year-old employee then told police the customer had approached him outside the store and hit him in the face. Police Officer Kyle Borders, who signed the statement, saw the teenager afterward and said he had a lump the size of a ping-pong ball forming near his left eye as he recounted his version of events.

The victim explained he had defended himself until (the security officer) stepped in between them, Borders said.

The victim stated (the customer) then began intentionally striking (the security officer) multiple times on the body until the officer could restrain him on the ground.

They were all waiting outside the store as police arrived and the customer is said to have admitted punching the 17-year-old employee. But he claimed he had been provoked after the employee and other workers followed him and began calling him names after he had been ordered to leave the store.

The customer is then quoted as telling police that he did not recall what else took place after the security officer intervened to restrain him.

The customer was booked on preliminary charges of aggravated battery to a peace officer and aggravated battery. A check of Macon County Jail records Monday showed he remained in custody with bail set at $15,000, meaning he must post a bond of $1,500 to be released. If he makes bail, he is banned from going to any Walmart store.

All preliminary charges are subject to review by the state's attorneys office.

Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid

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INDIANAPOLIS  For more than 30 years, the family of a woman who was sexually assaulted and killed while working an overnight shift at a Merrillville hotel has lived with the heightened state of awareness that comes from knowing there is evil in this world.

On Tuesday, the family of Margaret Mary "Peggy" Gill and two other women killed by the same man in 1989 learned his identity.

Law enforcement officials also thanked a fourth woman, who survived an attack by the man in 1990, for her assistance and said her case was critical to solving the homicides committed by the "Interstate 65 Killer," also known as "the Days Inn Killer."

Harry Edward Greenwell, who was identified as the suspect using modern DNA analysis, died Jan. 31, 2013, in Iowa at the age of 68, said Sgt. Glen Fifield, spokesman for the Indiana State Police Lowell post.

Greenwell, who was born in Kentucky, was known to travel frequently through the Midwest and had an extensive criminal history, police said.

DNA evidence and ballistics testing have now linked Greenwell to the homicides of Vicki Heath, 41, on Feb. 21, 1987, in Elizabethtown, Kentucky; Gill, 24, on March 3, 1989, at a Days Inn in Merrillville; and Jeanne Gilbert, 34, also March 3, 1989, at a Days Inn in Remington, Indiana.

The fourth woman, who survived and helped investigators, was attacked Jan. 2, 1990, at a Days Inn in Columbus, Indiana.

After police announced Greenwell's identity during a news conference in Indianapolis, Gill's family said she loved 1980s music, decorating cakes and cross-stitching. She grew up in unincorporated Merrillville, where Gill's parents, her two uncles and their families all lived next door to each other.

"She was very quiet, very easygoing," said Rene Parobek, Gill's sister. "You just don't expect this to happen to your family. And then it does."

Gill's cousin Karen Spoor, who was an 18-year-old high school senior when "Peggy" was killed, said they did everything together.

"It really got me," Spoor said. "And it still does."

Gill's mother, Anna Gill, said she was glad her daughter's killer was dead because the family would not have to experience going to his court hearings.

Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said multiple generations of police officers were dedicated to solving the case.

"The message is: You might be able to hide for a while, but we're going to find you," he said. "Even if you're not here."

He thanked them for their help over the years and assured them the cases made police better investigators.

Herbert Stapleton, special agent in charge for the FBI's Indianapolis field office, said law enforcement understood that the families of Health, Gill and Gilbert have never forgotten the pain of their losses.

"I know that this announcement can't take away the pain that you've felt," he said. "But what we hope is that through today's information and revelation, this provides some answers that may aid you in your healing process that you go through every single day and bring you some sense of peace."

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In the coming weeks, nearly 1.6 million Illinoisans will receive a check in the mail for $397 from Facebook, the result of a class action lawsuit filed against the social media company that began almost seven years ago. While Illinoisans across the state celebrate the extra cash in their pocket, they might not be aware of the privacy protections in place that led to that payout  protections that are in jeopardy in the state legislature right now.

The lawsuit against Facebook centered on the companys violation of the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), an Illinois state law passed in 2008 to guide how companies must handle Illinoisans biometric data, which includes fingerprints, hand scans, facial geometry, eye scans, voiceprints, and other unique biological information. Much like DNA, the distinctive anatomical features are unique, universal, and immutable. The ease with which biometric identifiers are electronically extracted, stored and disseminated makes them vulnerable to abuse from entities seeking to profit off the data, hackers bent on identity theft, and foreign governments building databases of U.S. citizens.

BIPA requires companies to get informed consent from an individual before collecting their data, and prohibits companies from selling or profiting in any way from that information. If you use face ID to unlock your iPhone, or your fingerprint to get into your bank account, the information a company can glean from those actions is protected by BIPA in Illinois.

BIPA is also one of the only laws of its kind that allows consumers to take a company that violates the law to court, which is how the lawsuit against Facebook came to be. In 2015, an Illinois man filed a lawsuit alleging that Facebooks practice of facial tagging in photos without consent violated BIPA, and nearly 1.6 million Illinoisans ended up joining the successful class action suit.

While the case against Facebook is certainly the most high-profile BIPA settlement, it is far from the only one. To date, there have been approximately 100 BIPA class action settlements, which have resulted in more than $900 million being recovered on behalf of the approximately three million Illinoisans whose biometric privacy rights were violated. In the employment context, the average recovery is approximately $900 per person.

However, these crucial protections for our most personal data, and the ability to hold those accountable who violate them, are under attack in our state Capitol. Right now, there are several pieces of legislation under consideration in Springfield that would chip away at BIPA and leave Illinoisans vulnerable to invasions of privacy and abuse of this data, including SB3874, SB3413, and SB3782. With our most personal information on the line, we cannot allow this legislation to move forward.

The legislation under consideration would make it easier for companies to collect biometric data without informed consent if they claim its being used for security purposes. It also gives certain employers the ability to keep records of their employees sensitive information. This is not just a slippery slope to the complete gutting of BIPA, but extremely dangerous in its own right.

Allowing biometric data to be used to identify and track people without their consent is not only an invasion of privacy, it can lead to discriminatory outcomes. Facial recognition technology has been proven time and again to be inaccurate, particularly for women and people of color. If companies can rely on this information to try to track down an individual who committed a retail theft or may have trespassed on private property  as proposed legislation would allow  it could lead to the wrong person being accused of these crimes.

Additionally, the greater the number of parties that have access to your biometric data, the greater the risk that it will be abused, misused, sold, or stolen. Biometric data isnt like credit card information or a phone number. You cant get a new fingerprint or change the results of a scan of your retina, which is exactly why we need to ensure this data is treated with the utmost security and protection.

Andrew C. Ficzko is a Partner at Stephan Zouras, LLP, a law firm helping people vindicate their biometric privacy rights under BIPA.

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Many high school seniors have been opening emails over the past weeks that tell them whether they got into the colleges of their choice. Even as they do so, the criticisms of published college rankings that may have guided their preferences are cropping up  again.

A math professor at Columbia University is challenging the data that the Ivy League school reported to U.S. News & World Report, which earned it the No. 2 ranking this year. The University of Southern California, which seems almost incapable of staying out of trouble for more than a few months at a time, pulled its graduate school of education out of the rankings this year after discovering a history of inaccuracies in the data it reported.

A couple of weeks ago, in what must be the granddaddy of fake-data scandals, the ousted dean of Temple Universitys business school received a 14-month sentence after he was convicted in federal court of sending bogus information to U.S. News & World Report to boost the schools prestige. Claremont McKenna College, The George Washington University and many other schools have tweaked data to boost rankings.

But the ultimate issue with the rankings doesnt lie with the cheaters. The problem is the rankings themselves. They can be a counterproductive way for families to pick schools  for example, a much less expensive school might offer an equal or better education than a more highly ranked but costlier one.

The most selective schools  Princeton, MIT and so forth  dont need rankings to boost their reputation or applicant pool. And the differences between a school that might be 70th on the list and one that might be 90th are unlikely to have much of an effect on a students post-graduate prospects or college experience.

Probably few college applicants are aware that the single biggest factor U.S. News uses to rank schools is their reputation among officials at other colleges, who might or might not have deep knowledge of the schools. That accounts for 20% of the score.

The second biggest factor is six-year graduation rates. But since low-income students are far less likely to graduate within that time period  or ever  than middle-class students, this is more an indication of student affluence than academic excellence. In fact, it can have the perverse effect of discouraging colleges from accepting more low-income students, lest it worsen their graduation rates.

What most high school students and parents need to know is whether a college offers a rich choice of courses with good instructors; whether graduates will leave with a load of debt; whether students will feel comfortable and engaged on campus; and whether theyll be prepared for a fulfilling career.

College administrators bemoan the rankings but they continue participating. They should stop going along with the charade and insist on being partners in drawing up more valid ways to evaluate higher education. What should matter most is how satisfied students and alumni were with their choice. Using the data from the 2017 poll, Jonathan Rothwell, an economist at Gallup, published a study in which he devised an alumni-satisfaction ranking but published only the 25 schools with the highest satisfaction marks. Many of them were among the top-rated in any published ranking, but there were some surprises, including the University of La Verne and Azusa Pacific in Southern California. Rothwells study also found that the price of a college didnt necessarily correlate with how happy alumni were with it.

If colleges and ranking organizations joined forces, though, they could create a uniform polling process for students and alumni that would be far more useful and a better reflection of colleges worth, combined with other factors.

A new approach could include specific issues students might find useful, for example: Which schools are more arts-oriented? Which ones specialize in experiential learning? Which ones have lots of extracurriculars, or a friendly, accepting campus environment?

Despite years of criticism, U.S. News and other college rankings publications arent going to give up on one of their popular and profitable annual features. Its up to colleges to stand up and refuse to go along with rankings that fall short, and collaborate on a method that gives students worthwhile information to navigate the bewildering task of picking a college.

Los Angeles Times

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Ballad Ventures, a health care venture capital subsidiary of Ballad Health, has selected John Perez to serve as its managing director.

As managing director of Ballad Ventures, Perezs primary responsibilities will consist of operational leadership and management oversight of the organizations venture capital efforts. He will manage the overall investment process, from conception to execution, for Ballad Ventures and will also lead due diligence efforts on potential investment opportunities and monitor industry dynamics and the finances and operations of portfolio companies.

We were very deliberate throughout the hiring process to ensure we got the right person to advance Ballad Ventures, Bo Wilkes, president of Ballad Ventures, said. This is a crucial role for Ballad Ventures, and John epitomizes what we were looking for in an innovative leader. In addition to the wealth of knowledge he brings, John has experience in what were trying to achieve here, including his established relationships with entrepreneurs, executives and investment partners across the health care industry.

As the new managing director, Perez will work alongside the Ballad Health Innovation Center  which interfaces with Ballad Healths research programs and Ballad Ventures to create opportunities to capitalize on new programs that have potential in the national health care marketplace  to link venture efforts to drive innovation within Ballad Health and leverage intellectual capital to improve the delivery of health care for patients and clinicians.

There is still so much potential to be realized in the health care industry today, and Ballad Ventures is incredibly well positioned to help bring to market new innovative ideas, services and experiences that can solve big health care problems that truly make a transformational impact, Perez said. I look forward to working with Bo and the rest of our team to make meaningful investments that will improve the lives of our patients and caregivers.

Formed in 2020, six months after the launch of the Ballad Health Innovation Center, Ballad Ventures is designed to serve as the venture capital arm for Ballad Health, an integrated community health improvement organization serving 29 counties of the Appalachian Highlands in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, northwest North Carolina and southeastern Kentucky.

Ballad Ventures has $25 million in assets under management and continues to strategically invest in initiatives designed to address Ballad Healths digital strategy and workforce challenges.

Perez brings more than eight years of experience in digital health to Ballad Ventures, with a focus on strategic venture capital investments, innovation and financial consulting. Most recently, he served as director at Abundant Venture Innovation Accelerator (AVIA) Network.

Perez designed, launched and led AVIAs Venture Network, a group of more than a dozen health systems, including Ballad Health, with more than $750 million in collective assets under management dedicated to investing in promising digital solutions. In addition to his responsibilities in that role, Perez also served as director of client engagement at AVIA, where he managed executive client relations across many of AVIAs health system network members.
Surrounded by almost a dozen beagles, Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Monday signed legislation to protect dogs and cats at breeding facilities  a legislative effort that stemmed from a series of animal welfare violations at a Cumberland County beagle mill.

The five beagle bills Youngkin signed will restrict some breeders with tainted records from engaging in future sales, and increase state oversight over facilities that breed animals for research purposes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cited a Cumberland beagle breeding facility  Envigo  for over 70 animal treatment violations. The agency found dogs with significant dental and skin disease, incidents of dogs euthanized without pain relief, and more. Video released last year by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, showed dogs in poor condition at the facility, which it described as a prison-like factory.

These historic bills that we will sign today clarify that dogs and cats that are bred and sold for experimental purposes are protected by Virginias cruelty to animals laws, Youngkin said in a ceremony outside the Executive Mansion. It will also help us ensure that animal welfare standards and the actions necessary to save the lives of animals are fully enforced.

Sens. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, and Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, and Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, championed the legislation and appeared alongside Youngkin on Monday. The bills cleared the legislature without opposition.

The bills Youngkin signed are:

 HB 1350 and SB 87, which will prohibit a dealer or breeder with certain violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act after July 1, 2023, from engaging in further sales of dogs or cats;

 SB 88, which will require breeders of cats and dogs for an animal testing facility to keep records of the animal for two years and submit quarterly reports to the state veterinarian;

 SB 90, which will require a breeder of unneeded dogs or cats to offer them for adoption before they are euthanized; and

 SB 604, which will tighten language in the state code that exempts federally regulated research animals from state animal welfare laws. The new language makes clear that dogs and cats in the possession of breeders are protected by Virginia law.

Daphna Nachminovitch, PETA senior vice president of cruelty investigations, said: Once these laws go into effect, Envigo wont be able to get away with depriving nursing mother dogs of food for days, letting puppies freeze to death or fall down drains and die, or allowing beagles to suffer with painful and untreated conditions.

Envigo has said that over the past four months, it has reduced the number of older, non-breeding dogs on-site by more 1,300, and its goal is to have fewer than 100 at any time. Envigo also said it has improved the ratio of caretakers to dogs and expects to achieve its goal of 100:1 in the second quarter of 2022.

The company also launched an effort to find homes for 480 of its dogs through partnerships with adoption agencies. On Monday, Youngkin said many of those dogs are still without homes.

Stanley, who adopted two of the dogs, has helped with the adoption efforts. Anyone interested in adopting a dog from the site can contact his office at (804) 698-7520 or email district20@senate.virginia.gov.
Dear Readers, President Bidens historic nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first black female nominee to the United States Supreme Court is winding its way through the byzantine Senate process. This marks a good time to explore what it means to be an attorney, as well as consider (next week) what has happened with our confirmation process.



The qualifications of the expected background of our Supreme Court Justices have changed, as has the legal profession. Only a minority of lawyers used to attend law school. Instead, after a period of apprenticeship, a mentor attorney would sponsor and vouch for a candidate becoming a member of the bar. Abraham Lincoln became a lawyer without any formal legal training.

This is not to say there were no law schools. The oldest law school in the United States still operating was started in 1779, in the William & Mary Law School in Virginia; it closed during the Civil War, reopening in 1920. This leaves the crown for the oldest, continuous, established law school to Harvard Law, which was first opened in 1817.

However, the very first law school was the Litchfield Law School, operated by Tapping Reeve and James Gould from 1774 to 1883 in Litchfield, Connecticut. It no longer exists, except as a museum. This is a remarkable quote from its website about its importance during this period, "the school spawned 2 vice presidents, 101 United States congressmen, 28 United States senators, and 6 cabinet members, 3 justices of the United States Supreme Court, 14 governors, and 13 chief justices of state supreme courts. Pretty impressive.

The idea of attending law school and taking a written exam, as the primary path to becoming an attorney, only took a foot-hold in the mid-21st Century. The last Justice who never attended law school (or at least obtained a bachelor of law, or L.L.B.) was James Byrnes in 1941 (of course he was a former Secretary of State). Stanley Forman Reed was the last sitting justice in 1957, who had never attended law school. Of the 115 Justices, thus far, only 50 had a law degree, 47 received legal education other than law school, and 18 had only some formal legal education.

An apprentice attorney learning how to practice law from a mentor system had its benefits, as opposed to just studying law books; aspiring lawyers learned by doing. Competence came from training and supervision. The downside is that this process tended to exclude women and minorities from being admitted to a States Bar. White males tended to mentor white males. This made for a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy of perpetuating the legal profession as overwhelmingly white and male; minorities and women were all but prohibited from the practice of law.

There had been ways to become a lawyer, outside the apprenticeship system. Delaware (in 1783) was the first state to also use an "oral exam to pass the bar; Massachusetts (as of 1885) allowed for a written, essay examination to "write onto the bar.

The first women attorney in the United States was Arabella Mansfield, who was admitted to the Iowa Bar in 1869 and was primarily an educator; Macon Bolling was initially denied admission to the Maine Bar (he was a non-citizen, as a pre-Civil War black man), before passing its bar in 1844. Later, he moved to South Carolina during Reconstruction and helped form the first black law firm in America.

Things changed during the Progressive Era, as passing a gender and racial neutral written bar exam became the primary pathway to obtaining a bar license. Starting in 1972, a multiple choice, "Multi-state examination, became de rigueur. Today, you may not have to go to an accredited law school to sit for a states bar examination (depends on the state). What you have to do is pass the test.

This opened up the profession to all types. A 2021 American Bar Association population survey reports 37% of attorneys are female; 63% male, but almost 85% is white and only 5% identify as black; you can see how only a tiny percentage of practicing attorneys are a black female attorney. From this, you can see how far the legal profession is enriched by the variety in its membership, though still lacking in diversity. Thankfully, we no longer rely on a conveyor belt of white male attorneys begetting another white male attorney.

Warner Robins attorney Jim Rockefeller is the former Chief Assistant District Attorney for Houston County, and a former Assistant State Attorney in Miami. Owner of Rockefeller Law Center, Jim has been in private practice since 2000. E-mail your comments or confidential legal questions to jim@rockefellerlawcenter.com
Community and Economic Development Director Kate Hogan addresses Mayor and Council.

WARNER ROBINS, Ga.  On Monday, April 4, Warner Robins Mayor and Council met in their usual chambers to hold their first biweekly pre-council and council meeting for the month. Pastor Daron Gray with Abundance Grace Church led the amassed crowd in a prayer, and members from the Houston County High School AFJROTC led the Pledge of Allegiance.



During their pre-council meeting Mayor and Council eventually made it to New Business. During their discussions of new business, Council discussed two major items: the citys sanitation fund and an item titled "ARPA fund designation.

Assistant Finance Director Holly Gross called the sanitation fund "upside-down. According to Gross, the citys sanitation provider has raised their rates each year for a number of years, while the citys sanitations rates have stayed stagnant. As a result, the city will lose $1.7 million by the end of FY 2022, and if they stay on the same path, $2.6 million by the end of FY 2023. Gross recommended to council the city increase its sanitation rates.

"We are recommending a rate increase, Gross said. "20% for residential, residential carts and commercial carts, and 31% on Dumpster, Vertipak and Shredder.

A typical residential sanitation bill would rise from $16.50 to $19.80.

Council did not make any decisions on this raise in rates during this meeting, however they are set to discuss the matter furth during the April 18 council meeting.

However, a raise in sanitation rates is not Gross only solution. To get Warner Robins "out of the hole, Gross suggested that the city use funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

"One of the allowed uses for ARPA funds is to make up for lost revenue from providing your general government services, Gross explained. Gross further explained to council that they could use a standard allowance to clear their negative balance.

No decisions were made on the use of ARPA funds during this meeting.

Following these items, Mayor and Council moved on to discuss the review of their 2012 SPLOST Account.

Councilman Kevin Lashley requested this review during a previous council meeting, specifically requesting a review of the funding for the City of Warner Robins Vietnam Veterans Memorial Project. During Mondays meeting, council was informed of the reviews results.

The review was initially meant to be completed by an outside organization; however, after several weeks, the bid was not accepted by any accounting firms. No review had yet been completed.

After some brief discussion, Mayor and Council elected to do an investigation internally, and upon finding anything questionable, decide to approach an external organization.

Following their Consent Agenda, Council approved an ordinance to amend Chapter 16 of their charter. Community and Economic Development Director Kate Hogan explained the purpose of the amendment during the pre-council meeting.

"Keep Warner Robins Beautiful has been working on this specific set of ordinances along with the Community and Economic Development team, in order to make sure the integrity of the parking lots that are privately owned, and that code enforcement has the teeth to regulate the integrity of those parking lots.

Council approved the item unanimously.

For their final item, Mayor and Council approved a resolution to transfer ownership of the property at 115 Prince Street from the citys Engage Warner Robins board to the city itself. During the pre-council meeting, Hogan explained to council why the transfer was necessary.

"This property has been a topic of conversation since I joined the team in September, Hogan said. "Its home to the Keep Warner Robins Beautiful Native Plant Center, which is an incredible asset and great partnership with Georgia Military College.

"Unfortunately, they havent been able to protect their investment with implementation of a fence surrounding that property, because its actually in Engage Warner Robins name.

In short, the property is used by Keep Warner Robins Beautiful, but owned by Engage Warner Robins. With Councils approval, the property was transferred to the city, allowing Keep Warner Robins Beautiful to implement a fence and maintain the land they use for their Native Plant Center.

For Item Four on their agenda, Mayor and Council approved a joint resolution with Integrated Science and Engineering, to implement the 2022 Long Term Water Quality Monitoring that is required by the Warner Robins Watershed Protection Plan. These groups will report annually to the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to ensure compliance.

Later in the meeting, Council approved another resolution, this time establishing a partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia, Inc. Mayor Patrick explained that city employees would be encouraged to volunteer as mentors to young children, while the mayor herself, according to the contract provided in the meetings documents, would "champion programs to garner community support.

Finally, Mayor and Council approved a resolution that would allow the City of Warner Robins to continue as Houston County Family Connections fiscal agent. This agreement allows the city, according to the provided resolution, to "continue to support the organizations goals and efforts by accommodating this request.

In addition to these items, Mayor and Council also approved a resolution for a temporary construction easement for phase one of the Elberta Road Project and executed a contract with Reames and Sons Construction for the completion of the citys Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant project. After each of these items was decided on by council, there was a brief period for comments from members of the public, council members and the mayor. Following this comment period, the meeting was adjourned.




A 23-year-old Shelby woman will not be facing the death penalty in the slaying of a 72-year-old Hickory man.

The ruling was handed down Monday in Catawba County Superior Court.

Bryana Salymar Martines is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Robert Godfrey. Godfrey was found dead Dec. 4 at the Preston Ridge apartment complex on Startown Road. Godfrey was found by his son and had been dead for a few days before being found, according to court documents.

Judge Gregory Hayes decided the case would not be a capital murder trial during Mondays court hearing.

Martines also is facing charges of larceny, larceny of a motor vehicle and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. She was present at the hearing with her attorney, Scott Matthews.

Martines next appearance in court was set for June 6. Matthews asked for a bond to be set then. Martines is being held without bond at the Catawba County jail.

Members of Godfreys family were in court Monday to watch the proceedings. The family declined to speak to the media regarding the case.

In court documents filed by the prosecution, Martines admitted to killing Godfrey and was planning to flee to Mexico. Martines told authorities she met Godfrey at a strip club where she was working and became intermittently involved in a relationship with him in early 2021, according to the documents.

According to the documents, Martines said Godfrey would provide money and gifts to her in exchange for sex. The documents also said Godfrey gave Martines a vehicle, took her on trips and bailed her out of jail several times.

Martines became involved with Abraham Adon Jr., of Fort Mill, South Carolina, during a break in her relationship with Godfrey, according to the documents.

Martines told Adon she would be able to get Godfreys car, according to the documents. After reaching out to Godfrey, Martines allegedly went to his apartment, where they had sex and spent some time together before she killed him, according to the documents.

Martines and Adon took some of Godfreys belongings, including his Honda Civic. On Dec. 2, the couple were spotted by police in Kingsland, Georgia, according to the documents.

Shortly after, Adon was arrested in South Carolina. Hickory police said in December that Adon, who was 28 years old at the time of his arrest, was facing charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and fleeing to elude arrest.

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My young granddaughter likes to build pillow forts. One day, as she was busy rearranging the cushions in my den, I suggested we visit a real fort.

Violet was all-in for the adventure as we headed toward Fort Dobbs near Statesville. The fort is a replica of the 18th-century blockhouse that guarded the western frontier of the North Carolina colony. After years of research by scholars from East Carolina University, Wake Forest University and elsewhere, the site formally opened in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, so chances are youve missed this attraction.

The state historic site includes a log cabin visitor center and the fort itself, a 40-by-53-foot log fortification thats three stories high. It was part of a line of defenses along the western frontier of the North American British colonies.

While Iredell County and the surrounding area were largely inhabited by Cherokee and a sprinkling of European settlers, Fort Dobbs came as a response to hostilities that were part of the Seven Years War involving Europe. In case youre a little rusty on that history, the conflict involved Britain and France  enemies for centuries  vying for control of lands in what is now Canada and the United States. Both sides recruited Native tribes to help, but the French were more dependent on Indians because they were greatly outnumbered by the British.

The conflict ended with a British victory 13 years before the start of the Revolutionary War.

The original structure served as a military post for a company of 50 men as well as a safe haven for neighboring settlers and their families. It was named for colonial Gov. Arthur Dobbs, who supervised construction of the original fort.

I love visiting historic sites and this one didnt disappoint. The building has been reconstructed true to form and has some furnishings to illustrate period weaponry, stores of ammo and food, and living quarters. Costumed guides offer a thorough history.

To 5-year-old Violet, the visit offered a chance to see how large real forts are and how soldiers lived and worked in them.

We happened to be the only visitors, so we had a personal guide to show us through the place and tell the story of the fort. It served as an outpost for soldiers, traders and officials and was surrounded by a shallow ditch later replaced by a palisade. It was the site of an engagement between the soldiers and Cherokee, with the colonials resulting in victory for the Provincials.

At times, settlers took refuge within the fort, but by 1770, it was abandoned. Timbers that remained were used to build other structures.

To visit, follow the directional signs from Interstate 40 as you approach Statesville. Take Exit 151, then proceed north on U.S. Highway 21 and go about a mile and half. Turn left onto Fort Dobbs Road and keep going. You cant miss the big block structure in a bend in the road.

Admission is $2 per adult and $1 for seniors and children 5-12. The fort is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Special reenactments and events are scheduled. Check the website at fortdobbs.org for information.

Tammy Wilson is a writer who lives near Newton. Her latest book is Going Plaid in a Solid Gray World: Collected Columns, published by Red Hawk Publications. Contact her at tamra@tamrawilson.com
" " When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941, almost half of the 2,341 service members who died were on the USS Arizona. National Archives and Records Administration

After Adolf Hilter and the Nazis invaded Poland in August 1939, World War II was all but certain. Hitler and Josef Stalin had signed the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact just a few months prior, which ensured Hitler wouldn't fight the Soviets in Poland.

Just a few days after the invasion of Poland, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany, and war swept through Europe, leaving a bloody trail in its wake. After the invasion of France, Hitler formed an alliance with Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, and together with Japan, the three countries made up the Axis powers.

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The Allies consisted of powerful nations like Britain, France and the United States. The war raged across the globe until 1945, when the United States dropped two atomic bombs, one on Hiroshima and one on Nagasaki. In total, more than 15,000,000 soldiers were killed during World War II and another 45,000,000 civilians died.

When you consider that these world powers were using technologically advanced explosives and weapons built to be efficient killing machines, it's no surprise that World War II includes some of the bloodiest battles ever fought. We've listed some of the most significant here, in no particular order.

Keep in mind, the exact number of casualties in these battles includes not only the number of dead, but also injured, sick and missing. These numbers are also often disputed, as they often vary among reputable sources.

We'll start with one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific theater.
" " L-R: Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie Scholl and their friend Christoph Probst are photographed in 1943. Public Domain/Jim Forest/Flckr

On Feb. 18, 1943, during the height of World War II, two German college students at the University of Munich entered one of the main campus buildings, walked to the top of a staircase and tossed a stack of leaflets over the railing and down into the crowded atrium. The leaflet, the sixth in a series of underground publications from a group calling itself the White Rose, exhorted fellow students to rise up against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi war machine.

"The Day of Reckoning has come," read the White Rose pamphlet, "the reckoning of our German youth with the most despicable tyranny ever endured by our nation ... Students! The German people are looking to us!"

The two students who dumped the pamphlets at the University of Munich were grabbed by the janitor and handed over to the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police. They were siblings, Hans and Sophie Scholl. And within days, Hans and Sophie, and their friend Christoph Probst, were convicted of treason and executed. Many of their co-conspirators in the White Rose resistance movement were executed in the months that followed.

Today, the name Sophie Scholl is synonymous in Germany with courage, conviction and the inspirational power of youth. At just 21 years old, Sophie fought a murderous regime  not with guns and grenades, but with ideas and ideals.

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The Awakening of a 'Hitler Youth'

Sophie was born into a Christian family in 1921. She was 12 years old when Hitler and his National Socialist Party came to power. Like her schoolmates and siblings, she eagerly participated in Nazi-run youth programs, the Hitler Youth for boys and the League of German Girls for girls, though her parents were critical of the Nazi party. With her enthusiasm and leadership abilities, Sophie quickly rose through the ranks.

" " Hans Scholl (left) and Sophie Scholl, circa 1940. Authenticated News/Archive Photos/Getty Images

By the time Sophie graduated from high school, though, Germany was at war, and two of her brothers and her boyfriend had been drafted to fight. The cheerful patriotism of her youth was replaced with heartache for the young people dying at the front, fear for her family and friends, and contempt for the fascist police state that controlled every aspect of their lives.

Intelligent and ambitious, Sophie wanted to study biology and philosophy at university, but was forced to work for a year in the National Labor Service, where she grated against the military regimen and mind-numbing chores. In diary entries and letters to her boyfriend, we get a glimpse of a young woman who hungered for peace and freedom.

"In these documents, we can trace Sophie's development from a child to a thoughtful young woman," says Hildegard Kronawitter, chair of the White Rose Foundation in Munich. "The closer we get to her, the more we're impressed by her thinking and her strong opinions."

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Leaflets Call for Passive Resistance and Sabotage

In 1942, Sophie enrolled in the University of Munich, where her older brother Hans was already studying medicine. Hans and his friends had been conscripted as medics on the Eastern Front and witnessed atrocities like the mass murder of Polish Jews and the needless deaths of countless German soldiers.

Unable to contain their anger at Hitler's criminal regime, Hans and a small circle of like-minded friends formed the White Rose in June 1942 and began to publish and distribute underground leaflets calling for ordinary Germans to stand up against Nazism.

"[W]hich of us can judge the extent of the shame that will come over us and our children when one day the veil has fallen from our eyes and the cruelest crimes, infinitely exceeding all measure, come to light?" wrote Hans and his friend Alexander Schmorell in the first leaflet. "Therefore, every individual must resist at this last hour as much as he can, aware of his responsibility as a member of Christian and Western culture, must work against the scourge of mankind, against fascism and every similar system of the absolute state."

In the second leaflet, Hans and Schmorell rightfully called the mass murder of Polish Jews in German concentration camps "the most terrible crime against human dignity, a crime for which there is no comparison in the entire history of mankind."

" " Embedded in front of the entrance to the main building of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat (University of Munich) at Geschwister-Scholl-Platz is a memorial to the leaflets of the White Rose resistance movement/group. Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

And by the third leaflet, the White Rose urged regular Germans to commit secret acts of sabotage wherever they labored: in munitions factories, government offices, newspapers, universities  "every one of us is capable of contributing something to bringing down this system."

Sophie joined her brother in the White Rose resistance and helped publish and distribute the leaflets around Munich and other German cities, which wasn't easy given wartime rationing and travel restrictions. "Please duplicate and pass on!!!" implored the third leaflet, with hope that it would find its way into the hands of more Germans opposed to the regime.

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'They Knew the Danger and Chose to Act'

By 1943, Sophie and the other members of the White Rose felt that the tide of the war had turned against Germany. During the disastrous Battle of Stalingrad in late 1942, Germany lost a staggering 500,000 troops. The White Rose began taking bolder steps to stir a disillusioned public into action.

The group painted graffiti all over Munich reading "Freedom" and "Down with Hitler." And instead of mailing their leaflets in secret, they decided to pass them out in person on campus.

"I wouldn't say that they were overly idealistic and didn't understand the danger of what they were doing," says Kronawitter. "They knew the danger and chose to act nevertheless."

The leaflet that Sophie and Hans rained down into the crowded atrium was the sixth leaflet, written by one of their professors, Kurt Huber, and ended with this hopeful exhortation: "Our nation is on the verge of rising up against the enslavement of Europe through National Socialism, in the new, devout breakthrough of freedom and honor!"

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A Life Cut Short and a Legacy of Resistance

When Sophie was arrested, she first denied any connection to the leaflets or the White Rose, but once Hans admitted his role, she confessed, too.

"We were convinced that Germany had lost the war and that every life that is sacrificed for this lost cause is sacrificed in vain," Sophie told her interrogators. "The sacrifice demanded at Stalingrad especially moved us to undertake something in opposition to the (in our opinion) senseless shedding of blood ... I readily knew that our conduct was intended to put an end to the current regime."

Sophie and Hans tried to protect the other White Rose conspirators by claiming that they two were solely responsible for writing the leaflets, but their friends were ultimately drawn into the investigation and suffered the same cruel fate, death by guillotine. The other White Rose members executed by the Nazis were Alexander Schmorell, Willi Graf, Kurt Huber and Christoph Probst.

One remarkable artifact from Sophie's trial and conviction is a document she was given that laid out the state's case against her. On the back, Sophie wrote the word "Freiheit" or "Freedom" in a decorative script.

"I think that's really touching," says Kronawitter. "Here she was in prison and had just been informed that the prosecutor demanded the death sentence. And after she reads this, her response was 'freedom.'"

Among Sophie's final words before being taken away for execution were: "It is such a splendid sunny day, and I have to go. But how many have to die on the battlefield in these days, how many young, promising lives. What does my death matter if by our acts thousands are warned and alerted."

As it happened, the sixth leaflet was snuck out of Germany and made it to the U.K. and the U.S., where the exiled German author Thomas Mann praised the members of the White Rose, saying, "Good, splendid young people! You shall not have died in vain; you shall not be forgotten. [...] A new faith in freedom and honor is dawning."

Now That's Cool The 2005 movie "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, and many streets, plazas and schools in Germany are named after Sophie, where she's celebrated as a folk hero.
Many of us find ourselves eating out more in recent years than we did a decade ago, and certainly more than a generation ago. In many regions, there has been a proliferation of eating options. For many of us, our lifestyle leads us to take advantage of these eating opportunities.

I find it interesting that we often dont have a good sense of what goes on back in the kitchen at these eating establishments.

What is the cleanliness of the food prep area?

How fresh are the ingredients?

Are those ingredients stored, cooked, and maintained at proper temperatures?

Is the mix of ingredients healthy for us?

Are there true cooks in the kitchen or just food preparers that know how to operate a microwave and convection oven?

Often, we take it on faith, assuming the kitchen knows what it is doing and that the local health department inspects and assures a degree of ongoing quality execution.

From food kitchens to lab kitchens

We can take this analogy and loosely apply it to what happens in the forage lab kitchen, especially as it pertains to near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR). In the last number of years, there has been a proliferation of meal choices when it comes to NIR analysis. Laboratories have developed and now provide more predictive equations for various feed materials and are evaluating for a constantly increasing number of nutrient definitions. These NIR equations are used on a growing array of NIR instruments of varying quality. That being the case, NIR has become the primary tool for analyzing most forage samples.

However, NIR prediction equations differ significantly in the quality and depth of prediction capabilities. Just because a laboratory publishes an NIR predicted value it does not mean that it truly reflects, with statistical confidence, what is being measured.

As users of this information, it is challenging to have enough knowledge to go into the kitchen, observe the process, and understand what is going on. Nutritionists, as gatekeepers of forage quality characterization on the farm, should be versed in understanding NIR as an analytical tool.

The necessary questions

Before we make an attempt to step into the kitchen and observe, lets review some key points to evaluate. We will discuss more general points below and dig into statistical concepts in a later communication.

How long has the lab been performing NIR analysis?

Do lab personnel understand the nuances of sample preparation and analysis?

Do they have the depth of experience to recognize a good prediction versus one that may be questionable?

Does the lab have broad experience in calibration development? The key forage laboratories will have personnel that have decades of development experience. Understanding how to choose calibration samples for a new development or for equation updates requires experience, and even seasoned developers evolve their understanding of the best approach over time.

Does the laboratory have access to many samples of various feed types that allow them to develop calibrations that have depth? Calibrations may perform well for a majority of samples but poorly when predicting nutrients on samples that are not consistent with library samples. As an example, it is much easier to put together an alfalfa hay calibration that performs well as opposed to a grass hay that represents many species grown over various climate regions.

Does the lab routinely open their calibrations to add new samples to the calibration set? Many larger calibrations may become static with little modification over time. Calibrations also may become weighted with too many samples, especially samples that are typical. A well-developed calibration will have an even distribution of sample spectra, not with spectra bunched as in a normal distribution. Based on improved analytical methods and to better represent current populations, we routinely redevelop calibrations for improved performance.

Does the lab have the internal chemistry lab capability to invest in the development and modification of calibrations over time? Chemistry analysis is expensive and smaller labs may find it cost prohibitive to invest in significant equation updates over time.

What about borrowed calibrations?

There is a current trend where larger labs with developed calibrations will lease calibrations to smaller labs or to businesses or farms that want to perform on-site analysis. This can be a very effective way to access quality calibrations. However, the same questions in terms of the quality and performance of the calibrations would apply. It becomes somewhat more difficult to evaluate performance, though, when the smaller lab does not understand the composition and performance of the NIR equation models that it leases.

These are a few concepts to consider as a user of NIR information. The user needs to have a basic understanding of NIR equation development and performance and lab operation in order to step into the kitchen, observe, and ask the right questions. In the next communication we will take a deeper look into how an NIR equation is developed and how to recognize quality.

To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.

(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2022

March 31, 2022
The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman.

Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) delegates gathered in Lansing, Michigan on March 24 to conduct official business during MMPAs 106th Annual Delegate Meeting. Over 200 attendees, including members and employees, heard from MMPA leadership and industry partners on how MMPA is taking charge of change, this years meeting theme.

MMPA board chairman Doug Chapin reflected on the prior year, showcasing how the MMPA board of directors guided the cooperative in line with taking charge of change. An area where your association has taken charge of change is in the purchase of Superior Dairy on December 31, 2021, he said. It was the culmination of years of working together and every time we met it was to discuss how we could win by working together.



Joe Diglio, MMPA president and CEO, expanded on the acquisition of Superior Dairy in Canton, Ohio, describing how taking charge of change begins with aligning in a vision. It isnt just one persons strategy that makes us successful, its a team of people that believe in the direction and help accomplish our desired outcome, he said. We are excited about our opportunities in front of us and look forward to taking charge of change together.

MMPA Treasurer Eric Frahm presented the financial status of the cooperative and reported on a strong balance sheet with annual net savings in fiscal year 2021 of $4.3 million. MMPA recently paid out $1.1 million in cash patronage refunds to its dairy farmer members, representing twenty-five percent of the net savings with the remaining non-cash balance allocated to certificates of equity to be revolved back to members in future years.



Business conducted by the delegates included the adoption of the 2021 MMPA resolutions and election of MMPA member Bruce Benthem of McBain, Mich. to his first at-large term on the board of directors and the reelection of Aaron Gasper of Lowell, Mich. to the board of directors. Both Benthem and Gasper will serve three-year terms on the board of directors.

In the board reorganizational meeting held at the conclusion of the delegate meeting, the following officers were reelected: Doug Chapin as board chairman, Tony Jandernoa as board vice chairman and Eric Frahm as treasurer.



The annual meeting proceedings also involved recognition of several MMPA members including Kip and Rochelle Siegler of Imlay City, Mich. as the 2021 Outstanding Young Dairy Cooperators (OYDC), Nolan Wieber, of Fowler, Mich. as the OYDC Runner-up and all the 2021 OYDC finalists. Koppenol Dairy Farms were also recognized as MMPAs Top Quality Award Winner. They achieved the best quality records in 2021 among all MMPA farms. Along with a plaque from MMPA, the Koppenols received a $250 gift certificate for the MMPA Farm Supply Store from Ecolab.

Chapin recognized 16 individuals holding MMPA membership for 35 years. He honored these individuals for their commitment and hard work to the dairy industry and MMPA. Each 35-year member was presented with a plaque. MMPA also recognized members with over 50 years of MMPA membership with the MMPA Milestone Award. Five individuals were recognized with this award and were presented with a plaque at the meeting.
A nursing research project at Hope College led by faculty member Dr. Vicki Voskuil seeking to help adolescent girls improve their health by becoming more physically active has won a Distinguished Abstract award from the Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS).

The recognition is for the written overview that Voskuil and her team of research students prepared for the societys annual conference, held in Schaumburg, Illinois, on Wednesday-Saturday, March 30-April 2. The MNRS honored 13 abstracts, out of more than 500 abstracts for research accepted for presentation at the conference.

The project was inspired, Voskuil explained, by a national need.

Evidence continues to demonstrate that most adolescents are physically inactive and many are also overweight or obese, leading to an increased risk for cardiovascular disease or other chronic conditions, said Voskuil, an associate professor of nursing who is also the departments curriculum and practicum director. Adolescent girls are less active than boys, and their inactivity increases with age.

She noted that attempts nationally to reverse the pattern have largely proven to be unsuccessful, making new approaches necessary. She said that while there have been studies examining whether or not fitness trackers have proven effective with adults, there hasnt been much research on how well they motivate adolescents.

Voskuil conducted the research during the summer of 2021 with Hope nursing majors Johanna Emmanuel of Wheaton, Illinois, who graduated this past December, junior Marisa Guidone of Chicago, Illinois; and senior Claire Magnuson of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Guidone and Magnuson were able to join Voskuil to present their work at the conference under the title Intervention to Support Physical Activity Independence and Routine Everyday: The INSPIRE Pilot Project for Inactive Adolescent Girls.

The research team provided fitness trackers for seven weeks to a group of inactive girls from the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. The researchers then measured if the trackers motivated the girls to become more active and enjoy it, and if their increased activity improved health measures like their resting heart rate.

The teams use of INSPIRE in the title was based on the Fitbit Inspire device, additionally reflecting both the overall effort to encourage physical activity and the themes developed for each week. INSPIRE serves as shorthand for INtervention to Support Physical activity, Independence and Routine Everyday. The weekly themes were for the participants to be: Informed, Nourished, Strong, Physical, Independent, Resilient and Engaged.

The results of the study, Voskuil said, were encouraging. The INSPIRE intervention proved to be feasible and efficacious among this sample of inactive adolescent girls, she said.

Voskuils next step is to expand the project. She and students will be conducting additional background research this summer with the hope of creating a larger study involving more girls in the future.
Students initiated into the Society must be sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduate/professional students in the top 35% of their class, demonstrate leadership experience in at least one of the five pillars, and embrace the ODK ideals. Fewer than five percent of students on a campus are invited to join each year.
Former Rural Hall Town Manager Megan Garner is now facing an alienation of affection lawsuit from the ex-wife of the towns former fire chief. The lawsuit, filed in Forsyth Superior Court on Friday, accuses Garner of seducing and having sex with Andy Marshall, who was fired as the towns fire chief in December, in part because of the alleged affair, and says that proof of the affair exists in text messages, emails, Facebook messages and SnapChat messages.

North Carolina is one of the few states that allow spouses to sue third parties they think ruined their marriage.

This is the latest in the head-spinning scandal that has embroiled the small town of 3,500 residents in northern Forsyth County starting about six months ago, when Garner, three members of Rural Halls Town Council, and the towns attorney all abruptly resigned at a meeting on Oct. 21, 2021. That happened after the majority of the town council approved a six-figure severance package worth $150,000 for Garner, who accepted a job the next day with the city of Graham, where she currently works.

The town filed a lawsuit about a month after Garner resigned, accusing her and the three former town council members  John McDermon, Ricky Plunkett and Jesse Stigall  of violating town protocols and state law in drafting and approving the severance package, which has also been referred to as a settlement agreement. The town filed an amended complaint in December accusing Garner of having an affair with Marshall, a subordinate to her, and violating town protocols in doing so. Garner filed a motion to dismiss and a counterclaim in February, denying the affair. Garner said in court papers that she was driven out of her job due to a sex-based smear campaign against her.

No official disclosed the amount of the settlement agreement, including the towns interim attorney, Randy James, until Garner filed her counterclaim in February. State law prohibits settlement agreements made on behalf of public officials from being confidential. James said he didnt disclose the settlement agreement amount because it was declared confidential and he wanted a judge to decide the issue.

Natalie Vermitsky filed the alienation of affection lawsuit on behalf of Stacy Marshall, the ex-wife of Andy Marshall. Vermitsky did not return a message seeking comment. Messages left for Garner and for her attorney, Valerie Bateman, were not immediately returned. Andy Marshall did not return a message left on two phone numbers associated with him.

Stacy Marshall also has objected to a subpoena she received from Garners attorney, seeking emails, texts and social media posts and messages between her and 20 other individuals, according to court papers. Bateman is also seeking copies of Facebook posts Stacy Marshall may have reviewed over the past two years between Garner, Andy Marshall and the town.

According to the lawsuit, Stacy Marshall and Andy Marshall were married May 28, 2016 and separated on April 4, 2019. According to court papers, their divorce was finalized on Nov. 16, 2020. Garner divorced her husband in 2016.

In the latest lawsuit, Stacy Marshall said Garner seduced her husband for months before their separation, starting in December 2017. That seduction included giving Andy Marshall an unexpected raise in March 2018. The lawsuit also alleges that Garner went after Andy Marshall, despite Stacy Marshall being pregnant with the couples daughter. Stacy Marshall said Garner would make up excuses to come over to the couples house when Andy Marshall was there to bring gifts and would text her husband at all hours of the day.

In or around March 2019 the texting had become so frequent and explicit that Andrew Gray Marshall started hiding his phone from Plaintiff and deleting whole conversations with Defendant in order to hide the text messages, the lawsuit said.

According to the lawsuit, Andy Marshall and Garner frequently had lunch together. The lawsuit alleges that the two had sex while one or both of them were on duty.

The aforementioned wrongful, intentional and malicious conduct of Defendant occurred in a number of ways including ... through illicit sexual liaisons, emails, phone calls, Face Book messages, Snap Chat messages and/or text messages, all of which occurred while Andrew Gray Marshall and Defendant were in the State of North Carolina, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said Stacy Marshall has suffered the loss of support, injury to her feelings and reputation, and had her marital relationship destroyed.

Moreover, Plaintiff has suffered great mental and emotional anguish, the lawsuit said.

According to the lawsuit, Andy Marshall and Garner continue to date.

The towns lawsuit alleges that Stacy Marshall discovered text messages between her husband and Garner, and that when she confronted Andy Marshall, he admitted the personal dating relationship with Garner.

According to the towns lawsuit, Garner also dated two other firefighters and that Andy Marshall retaliated against subordinates in the fire department over his relationship with Garner. The lawsuit also alleges that Garner did not allocate enough money for the fire department, resulting in fire trucks having bald tires, mechanical issues affecting basic performance of firefighting trucks, denial of firefighters access to Town Administration to voice concerns about Garners relationship with (Marshall) or an objective review of employees job performance.

Garner said that council member Susan Gordon, public works director Jason Hill and current town manager Misty Meadows, who previously worked as the towns interim clerk and administrative assistant, shared confidential information and spread false rumors about her personal life, violating her civil rights and creating a hostile work environment.

The town is expected to file an written answer to Garners counterclaim on Friday.

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A Forsyth County grand jury has declined to indict five former detention officers for involuntary manslaughter in the December 2019 death of John Elliott Neville.

Michelle Heughins, a nurse who worked at the Forsyth County jail, was the only defendant indicted Monday in John Nevilles death, according to court documents.

Forsyth County prosecutors can seek indictments for involuntary manslaughter against the detention officers at another session of the grand jury, which generally meets twice a month.

Forsyth County District Attorney Jim ONeill said in a statement Monday that in North Carolina, the grand jury process is set up to be a secretive undertaking and prosecutors do not participate or appear during the private hearings. The grand jury hears evidence presented by law enforcement officers.

While I was disappointed in todays outcome, our prosecutors will continue to meet again with investigators and speak with the Neville family and their attorneys before deciding on any further action, ONeill said. I understand that there is a great deal of interest in this case, and I ask for the continued peaceful support of this community as we gather with the Neville family in determining how we will proceed from here.

Sean Neville, the executor of his fathers estate, issued a written statement about the grand jurys decision to The (Raleigh) News & Observer on Tuesday.

It is shameful that another Black life has been extinguished at the hands of law enforcement and yet still, there is no accountability and no justice, the statement said. We will continue to fight for what is right and just.

Neville, 56, of Greensboro, died Dec. 4, 2019, three days after prosecutors and a federal lawsuit allege the detention officers  Lt. Lavette Maria Williams, Cpl. Edward Joseph Roussel, Officer Sarah Elizabeth Poole, Officer Antonio Woodley Jr. and Officer Christopher Bryan Stamper  and Heughins ignored his medical distress and had him pinned in a prone restraint in a cell for nearly an hour. Over the course of three minutes, Neville said I cant breathe at least 28 times while he was in a hog tie position on his stomach on a blue mattress in a narrow cell, video recordings showed.

Sean Neville called it disheartening that the videos of our father gasping for air and begging for mercy while he was bound and suffocated do not seem to have gained any purchase with Forsyth County or Wellpath Care.

He credited ONeill for his work in taking the case this far.

As executor of the estate, Sean Neville filed a federal lawsuit late last year against the defendants in the criminal case, Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr., Forsyth County and the jails former medical provider, Wellpath LLC.

Kimbrough issued this statement on Monday: My heart and my prayers go out to all those affected by this incident, but especially to the Neville family for the loss of their father.

Kimbrough continued: As it relates to the findings of the court and their determination, it would not be proper or ethical for me to comment as this is still a civil and criminal case up for litigation. Again, our prayers are still with the family and all those involved. May God give us peace and understanding.

Kernersville police officers arrested Neville on Dec. 1, 2019, on an outstanding arrest warrant for assault on a female, and Neville was taken to the Forsyth County Jail. At 3:26 a.m. on Dec. 2, 2019, Nevilles cellmate notified officers that Neville had fallen from his top bunk bed. When detention officers reached him, he was shaking and sweating, with vomit on his clothes and blood around his mouth.

Neville was placed in a restraint chair and moved from his cell to a multipurpose room on another floor, where Heughins tried to check his pulse, and eventually to another cell, where officers attempted to unlock his handcuffs. One key broke, and officers tried another key and two bolt cutters before the handcuffs were taken off. By that time, Neville was unresponsive.

At one point, as Neville cried for help, a detention officer told Neville to calm down, saying that if he was talking, he was breathing. That same officer, according to video, also appears to kneel on Nevilles back.

An autopsy report said Neville died from a brain injury caused when his heart stopped beating and his brain was deprived of oxygen. He asphyxiated while being restrained with his arms behind his back, and his legs folded.

Kimbrough did not publicly acknowledge Nevilles death for six months. On June 26, 2020, he provided limited information in response to questions from the Winston-Salem Journal.

In July 2020, ONeill announced involuntary manslaughter charges against Heughins and five former detention officers.

Nevilles death prompted protests during the summer of 2020, and Triad Abolition Project staged a 49-day occupation of Bailey Park. Protesters held signs saying that Kimbrough and ONeill had blood on their hands.

Triad Abolition Project issued a statement late Monday night, showing support for John Nevilles family. The group said that the criminal legal system can never be the site of true justice. Triad Abolition Project said that the criminal justice system is not designed to hold law-enforcement officers accountable for their actions.

In this way, even if every single person involved in the murder of John Neville was indicted, there could still be no justice because Mr. Neville is still gone from his loved ones and the conditions which allowed him to be brutalized in his cell while Sheriffs Deputies maliciously and callously joked about breaking handcuffs as he gasped for air still exist, the group's statement said.

The cases against the detention officers had been pending in Forsyth District Court since their arrest in July 2020, and their next court date was scheduled for May 20. Heughins case is now in Forsyth Superior Court, and she has a court date of May 20, according to court records.

Michelle Heughins was the only person who tried to save Mr. Neville at the jail that day, Claire J. Rauscher, one of Heughins attorneys, said Monday. It was the detention officers who restrained him and put him on his stomach, handcuffed, and had her leave the room.

According to the lawsuit, detention officers and Heughins went back into the cell after Heughins noticed that Neville wasnt breathing. She started CPR on Neville nearly 20 minutes after he was first placed in the prone position.

Rauscher said Heughins will be fully vindicated when the case gets to trial. Heughins attorneys filed a notice asking to waive a probable cause hearing in Forsyth District Court and to request a speedy trial, according to court documents.

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Six years ago, Isaiah Baskins accused a volunteer with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center of assaulting him and using a racist slur. He posted a YouTube video but the criminal charges against the volunteer were dropped after he failed to show up in court. Now, Baskins faces charges that he forged deeds as a way to illegally obtain real property after indictments came down Monday.
School support needed

I am a teachers assistant at Frank Morgan Elementary School and a full-time elementary education student at Salem College. I have been in contact with The Forsyth Promise, a local nonprofit, regarding public school funding. I have been heavily involved with advocating for equitable funding in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system and have come to find out it is something that is mentioned a lot but is not advancing past the talking stage. Especially with those who are not involved in education.

The upcoming Board of Education election is a serious matter to consider regarding funding. Funding in our school system is very unequitable. We have many Title I schools that do not get the same funds or help that other schools get. I, personally, see this being true as I work at a school that is heavily supported and equipped.

In order to help these Title I schools, we must decide who will be deciding what funds go where. And that starts directly at the Board of Education. They are the ones who decide what goes where, and whom they help. And it is our votes that count toward helping these students out, who desperately need it. They are the ones who need someone to advocate for them. Your vote counts!

Amber Esch

Winston-Salem

Fair in judging

Empathy is not a quality many Republican senators want to see in the next Supreme Court justice, reporter Lisa Mascaro writes to begin the March 3 story, Supreme Court nominees empathy is flashpoint. Aint that the truth.

But the main problem with the questions that some Republican senators peppered Ketanji Brown Jackson with is that they didnt want to know if she would be fair in judging these questions if they came before the court  they wanted to know if she agreed with their partisan views, which they aired ad nauseum.

She probably doesnt. I hope she doesnt. I dont.

There were plenty of Republicans who refrained from making speeches for their constituents and were decent and thoughtful, unlike the firebrands you rightly condemned (Our view: Ketanji Brown Jackson is the woman for the job, March 29). Both of North Carolinas senators, Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, said that she was well-qualified, but they voted against her anyway.

Burr, especially, since hes on his way out, could have done the decent thing. It would have cost him nothing; theres still going to be a conservative majority on the court. It might serve to heal our national rift a little bit. But party still comes before country, I guess.

Gerald Bean

Winston-Salem

Helping people

I agree with your March 31 editorial Families need housing, and with your conclusion that if the free market wont solve this problem  and it hasnt yet  the government should step in.

Some people only believe in a government that will make life worse for the people they dislike.

If government cant help, if it can only harm, it makes no sense to have a government.

Fortunately, it can help. If we elect the right people.

Martin Stribble

Winston-Salem

Consider the value

With primary elections beginning soon, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County voters need to consider which candidates for the Board of Education will best represent kids, teachers, parents and Forsyth County.

I urge those who do not already know Lida Calvert-Hayes to do their due diligence and support her with their vote. Lida has proven herself as a business leader in our community as well as a present member of the board. She works tirelessly for the good of all the people of the county.

Consider the value Lida brings and vote to reelect (www.lidaforschoolboard.com).

Bill Cowan

Winston-Salem
Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk on Tuesday received the endorsement of the Nebraska Farm Bureau in his bid for the vacated 1st District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and promised to be "a fighter and advocate" for Nebraskans who live in the congressional district.

"I have a record of being able to get things done," Flood said during a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda called to announce the endorsement.

Flood said he would battle unnecessary regulations that burden agriculture and protect the crop insurance program.

In the wake of Jeff Fortenberry's resignation from the 1st District House seat following his conviction on charges that he had lied to federal law enforcement officials about illegal foreign contributions to his 2016 reelection campaign, Flood will face three little-known contenders for the Republican nomination in the May 10 primary.

That could be followed by a Flood matchup with Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, who has been chosen to be the Democratic nominee in a special election June 28 to fill the remaining six months of Fortenberry's term.

The winner of that special election in June would take a seat in the House and begin to build congressional seniority in advance of the Nov. 8 general election, which presumably may create a rematch to determine who represents the district in the two-year term that begins next January.

"I tell people I'm going to have an election every month," Flood said. "The great news for voters of the 1st District is that they're going to get to know their candidates very well."

Asked about his views on efforts to revive support for the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline in the wake of a mounting and costly energy challenge, Flood said that "the Nebraskans I have talked to would rather purchase from friends and allies like Canada" than suppliers who may not be friends.

"The vast majority of Nebraskans support the Keystone pipeline," he said.

When he was in the Legislature for a previous two terms, Flood noted, "I worked to reroute that pipeline to protect the aquifer."

Mark McHargue of Central City, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, said Flood is "a strong advocate of agriculture and very well-respected," citing the senator's advocacy for tax reform, rural broadband expansion and rural economic development.

"The national stage is going to welcome him," McHargue said.

The Farm Bureau counts 58,000 family members.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon

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A warrant was issued Friday for the arrest of an Iowa man after the 35-year-old sent a series of threatening emails to dozens of elected officials in Lincoln and across Nebraska, according to court filings.

The Nebraska State Patrol first began its investigation into Thomas Blobaum in May 2021 after a state senator reported an email Blobaum had sent to more than 40 members of the Legislature calling for the torture of a Lancaster County judge who had previously presided over a case against him, according to the affidavit for Blobaum's arrest.

In the months since, Blobaum has sent more than a dozen emails with veiled and specific threats toward Lincoln attorneys, the mayor, local police officers, the county sheriff's office, a host of state senators, Gov. Pete Ricketts and U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, according to the affidavit.

Most of Blobaum's grievances with the officials appear to stem from what he described as his "wrongful" prosecution. He was convicted in Lancaster County in January of violating a harassment protection order.

In the emails, Blobaum made several references to a loaded gun that he said he often carried with him, though family members told the State Patrol he doesn't own or have access to firearms.

The Creston man has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Police haven't yet arrested Blobaum.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com. On Twitter @andrewwegley

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A 33-year-old Lincoln man was arrested and three others were treated for non-life-threatening injuries after a two-vehicle crash near 11th and L streets late Monday night.

Robinson Juarez was driving a 2012 Honda Accord south on 11th Street at 11:44 p.m. when he ran a red light and crashed into a Nebraska Department of Correctional Services transport van that was westbound on L Street, LPD Sgt. Justin Armstrong said.

The van's three occupants  a Community Corrections Center-Lincoln staffer and two inmates from the facility  were hospitalized, the Corrections Department said in a news release.

The staff member remained hospitalized Tuesday afternoon with serious injuries, while one inmate was still hospitalized with injuries to his back. The second inmate was treated and released from the hospital.

Juarez, who initially fled the scene on foot, later called police and reported he had been in a crash but didn't remember what happened, LPD Capt. Todd Kocian said. Police took him into custody shortly before 4 a.m. Tuesday.

Juarez was arrested on suspicion of fleeing the scene of an injury accident. He was also ticketed for DUI, not having valid insurance and violating a traffic signal.

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A 44-year-old Nebraska man has been charged in the alleged sexual assault of an 8-year-old Lincoln girl, according to court records.

Kenneth Walton, a transient, entered the girl's central Lincoln home Feb. 18 with permission from the girl's stepfather, who was allowing Walton to use the family's shower, according to the affidavit.

While inside the apartment, Walton asked the girl's stepfather if he could use the kitchen to make soup while the girl slept in the living room and her stepfather was in his own bedroom, LPD Investigator Jake McCord said in the affidavit.

After Walton left the apartment, the girl told her parents  and later, LPD investigators  she had awakened to find Walton sexually assaulting her, McCord said.

Swabs of the girl's waistband showed Walton's DNA was present inside the sweatpants she was wearing the day of the alleged assault.

Walton, who is incarcerated in the Douglas County Jail on an unrelated matter, was charged with second-degree sexual assault of a child in Lancaster County on Monday.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7223 or awegley@journalstar.com. On Twitter @andrewwegley

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The Omaha Public Schools students sat in a wide circle on the still-brown grass in Memorial Park on an afternoon in mid-March.

The seven seniors sitting in this group will graduate in 71 days, but they said some of the final lessons of their high school careers feel more like kindergarten.

Teachers have shown them PowerPoint presentations on how to have conversations and disagreements with peers.

At their school, Central High School, there is a new system called "Eagle Bucks" where students are given fake currency as a way to teach and encourage positive behavior. These bucks, which have been implemented at schools all across the district, can be traded in for rewards like candy and chips.

"We needed it because kids were out of control," said Dina Saltzman, a senior at Central.

At schools across the district, some students show up to school but never attend a class; hallways and bathrooms smell like marijuana as the smoke sets off fire alarms; and teachers have been injured while breaking up fights between students, according to nine students and nine current and former OPS staff members.

They all said the pandemic has changed the school environment as an increase in student misbehavior continues to hinder learning and staff retention. Some of the OPS employees spoke on the condition they not be named because they have not been authorized by the district to speak publicly about their jobs.

The exacerbated behavioral problems are not unique to OPS.

A high school in Connecticut temporarily transitioned to remote learning last fall due to misbehavior. And last month, teachers and school staff in Minneapolis reported similar issues, including more fights and drug use, as well as more kids with anxiety and depression.

For the seniors at the park, their last normal year of school before the COVID-19 pandemic was freshman year. For current freshmen, it was sixth grade.

I feel bad for them, but then they are also treating it like elementary school, said Isabella Manhart, a Central student of the underclassmen. Sometimes there are kids running through the hallways without shoes on and Im like, what is happening?

In their high school careers, these seniors have attended school online, watched overwhelmed teachers cry and felt social anxiety upon returning to school in person. They have watched their fellow students lose loved ones, develop substance abuse issues, drop out, fight in school hallways and do drugs in school bathrooms.

"A lot of people dealt with things like parents losing jobs, like really bad crisis-type situations, losing people during COVID, that school is the last thing they're concerned with and so that's kind of another reason people have stopped caring about school," Saltzman said.

The situations and behaviors described by Central students have been observed by other students, staff and parents at schools throughout the district.

Several medical groups have warned that pandemic isolation from school closures and lack of social gatherings has taken a toll on young peoples mental health.

"It's kind of off the rails as far as behavior. They're bad. Bad. They're naughty," Camille Horner, a junior at Central, said of her fellow students. "Like blunts in the bathrooms, skipping all the time."

The World-Herald reached out to OPS officials for comment on many of the issues outlined in this story. After being given two weeks to fulfill that request, the district offered interviews with OPS officials but only after the newspaper's intended publication date.

All nine members of the OPS board also received emails from The World-Herald requesting comment, but no one responded.

Instead, the school board and the district sent a lengthy joint statement.

"Young people across our community, like adults, have endured three disrupted and traumatic years. One can see this in every aspect of daily life, from schools to work and communities at large  and one can see it across our country," the statement said. "Our district has shared several times that addressing these disruptions will take time  and that we have immediate and long-term interventions in place."

The district said its student code of conduct outlines expectations and repercussions, including behavioral concerns and substance abuse.

"If issues arise, our administrators, safety officers and law enforcement partners intervene to address the concern," the statement said.

Teachers and other staff members have been vocal all school year about the issues inside of their schools. They have said at school board meetings that they are worried about the safety of students and the quality of education those students are getting because teachers don't have time to do their jobs. Because of staff shortages, teachers have been asked to cover additional classes for missing staff members.

One teacher said he has struggled to cover classes outside his content area.

"I was trying to teach Spanish and I know three words maybe and the kids know that," the teacher said. "The kids all knew more than I did."

In response, the district has given students extra days off this year so teachers can plan and prepare, sent district administrators back to the classroom as substitutes, created a concierge team that now has more than 70 employees working part time in the district, increased summer school pay for teachers from $28.50 per hour to $40 and are now paying student teachers and their supervising teachers stipends.

Robert Miller, president of the Omaha Education Association, said while the situation within schools hasn't gotten worse, it hasn't gotten much better either. He said the district's concierge program has helped with duties like serving lunch but it has not alleviated the issues in the classroom.

"Things haven't improved," Miller said. "And teachers must continue to feel valued and they're just not feeling that right now."

While teachers have repeatedly said they're worried that their peers will quit and not return next school year, it's too early to tell if that will actually happen. Teachers have to inform the district of their plans for next year later this month.

Some haven't waited until the end of the school year to quit. Candice Balkovic, who taught for 10 years, resigned from Lewis and Clark Middle School in January.

She said she received one of two responses when she told her co-workers about her resignation: Good for you, I wish I could or Good for you, Im thinking about doing it, too.

That's the state where our education is  every single teacher I talked to is either 'Good for you' or 'I'm right behind you,' she said.

Balkovic said she had to resign due to a cycle of problems in her building that became unbearable.

Student misbehavior causes classroom disruptions and leads to violence against teachers, she said. This can cause teacher burnout and staff shortages, which means theres less planning time and lower-quality instruction. Other staff members, like principals and counselors, have had to help out in classrooms, leaving them less time to do their jobs and address other issues in the buildings.

And the list stretches on and on, she said.

While fights at school happened before the pandemic, some teachers and students said theyve noticed an uptick in the number of altercations in their schools this year.

One OPS teacher said he breaks up at least three fights a week, sometimes a fight a day. Another said she had to break up a fight before noon on the first day of the spring semester this year.

When asked if the district had noticed an uptick in fights and violence at schools this school year, Lisa Utterback, community services chief officer for OPS, told The World-Herald earlier this year that some days are more challenging than others.

I will emphasize that our security officers, our school resource officers and our administrators are the individuals responsible for de-escalating and intervening when there is an altercation between two students, Utterback said at the time.

The teachers said they break up fights because they will not stand by and wait for security while children hurt each other. They also said there are not enough security guards in their buildings.

This school year several altercations have escalated and police have been called to middle and high schools around the district.

A student was cut with a knife during a fight at South High School in October. The student was sent to the hospital while another was ordered to the Douglas County Youth Center. Two 13-year-old students also faced charges last fall after an altercation at Beveridge Magnet Middle School.

A month into the spring semester, police had to use mace to separate students during two large fights on Feb. 11, at Benson High School and King Science & Technology Magnet Center.

A teacher who was present during the fight at King Science had to be sent to the hospital after she was shoved to the ground by a student while barricading a doorway, according to a police report.

One high school teacher spoke to The World-Herald a few hours after being knocked to the ground while trying to break up a fight among students.

You do get hurt," the teacher said. "Not because the kids want to be violent but because students are doing their best to harm one another. Ive never had a child trying to attack me but its not the first time I've been harmed trying to break up a fight.

Another teacher experienced injuries from students at more than one school she worked at in OPS. She said she has had multiple surgeries from the incidents and still deals with chronic pain today.

Violence in the workplace for teachers is real, she said.

The unpredictability of student violence at some OPS schools leaves staff feeling on edge, an OPS teacher said. She has become conditioned to constantly look for escalating behavior, which leaves her exhausted.

Teachers have said their co-workers are also routinely told to f--- off by some students.

Another teacher, during an interview with The World-Herald, described asking a student to pull up their mask and being told: F--- you, b----. Do your f------ job.

One teacher said she was once giving a student a redirection when he told her to shut up and threatened her with sexual assault.

Combative students aren't the only source of disruption.

Wait five minutes in the restroom at Central and youll see a cloud of smoke rising from a stall, said Noemi Gilbert, a junior. The Central High students said it's normal to find students smoking and vaping in the bathrooms, which sometimes sets off fire alarms. The students said this was also a problem before the pandemic.

Three teachers said they observe daily drug use among students in their buildings. One teacher said the blatant use of marijuana in the school is unbelievable.

Another teacher said administrators started locking bathrooms in her school after students continued to smoke marijuana in them.

Brad Podany, a security guard at South High School, said students even smoke marijuana in the halls.

If a security guard smells it, they will try to find whos smoking. Sometimes students will comply with being searched; other times, he said, they will say "I dont care" and walk out of the building.

Teachers said some students come to school only to spend the entire day roaming the hallways instead of going to class. Sometimes those students are loud or fights break out, causing teachers to leave their classrooms full of students to address the behavior in the hallway.

They don't care anymore. They don't care about repercussions, Podany said. And unfortunately, it's a game that they play, and they know that, If I get in a fight or if I smoke, I'm out of school for five days at home. And then I'm right back to doing the exact same thing.

Podany said the misbehaviors revolve around the same group of students who continue to be problematic.

The Central students said while some of their peers might be creating problems, most are just trying to get by as they grapple with what's happening to them outside of school.

Were all trying our best, said Jace Westphal, a senior.

Lydia Hernandez, a senior at Burke High School, said drug use or fights havent been a problem at her school this year.

I have not seen as many fights as I saw in middle school, Hernandez said. In middle school, there was a fight every week.

Hernandez said the main problem at Burke are freshmen students who misbehave, acting like they are still in elementary school.

The transition from remote learning to returning to the classroom full time has been challenging for both students and teachers.

Students went from learning at their own pace and being isolated in bedrooms  sitting in front of a computer for hours  to suddenly being expected to snap back to the rigid routine of in-person school.

The seclusion brought on by the pandemic has taken a toll on young peoples mental health.

A study published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on responses of nearly 8,000 students in 2021, shows 44% reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless during the past year.

About 66% also said they found it more difficult to complete their schoolwork.

Gilbert said just walking the hallways or sitting in a classroom can get overwhelming. Other students said they now deal with social anxiety after being remote for so long.

One teacher said while she was having a really good school year, a lot of her students' stamina was lost because of online learning. And it might take years to recover, she said.

Going back to normal was like going back to the normal expectations, but not providing the support systems to lay out those new expectations, which is, like, a wild thing to do, Manhart said.

The students have also noticed the toll the past few school years have taken on their teachers.

"The teachers don't even want to be there, Horner said. It just gets manifested into, like, how they teach and what we pick up. It's, like, why would we want to be here either?"

Another student said teachers would sit down with her to help her plan for college, but now they say they dont have time.

You can tell that they can't pour from an empty cup because, like, they're so burnt out that there's not really a lot that they can do, Saltzman said. I feel bad for, like, asking them for advice. I just feel really bad for the teachers.

Teachers said staff retention is a large problem in the district. Positions are going unfilled and too many young OPS teachers are burning out quickly, realizing the job cant support them, one teacher said.

People are leaving and not being replaced because theres no one to replace them, the teacher said.

Abigail Jane, a former teacher at South, was in the district for only two years before she resigned in 2021. She said she remembers a specific day when a student came into her classroom while she was teaching and attacked another student.

All the veteran teachers were like, Was that your first fight? And I was like, Yeah, and they said, You'll get used to that, Jane said. Thats just the attitude  if you want to make it in these schools, you literally have to be completely shut down to things. Nothing can shock you. Nothing can scare you.

Several OPS teachers told The World-Herald that they didnt think district administrators understood whats happening in OPS schools.

One of my teachers has two other jobs and that's just not OK, said Saltzman, a student. And I feel like it sucks that all these teachers are quitting, but I almost wonder if that's what the administration is going to need to be like, Oh, they're serious. We may need to listen to them and change something.

Horner said her experiences throughout the pandemic have helped her, and other students, to gain a lot of awareness about their own path in life.

Westphal said with COVID restrictions decreasing, he feels like students are just trying to get back to normal but are not mentally there. He said he feels pushed to go back to normal.

The students agreed that the pandemic has changed their outlook for their future after graduation. It has caused them to be more realistic about their goals, such as staying closer to home.

I think everyone's kind of waiting for the next ball to drop, Saltzman said. Because, like, there have been so many false alarms of, like, things are getting better. I think everyone's kind of lost hope of that. So hopefully this will be the last time, but we're all kind of waiting for another relapse.

Gilbert said they cant picture their life more than six months into the future.

I mean, what else is gonna happen? Gilbert said. And it feels kind of weird and futile, to try and plan a future when everything is working against us.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Pillen on Tuesday named Joe Kelly, former U.S. attorney for Nebraska and the former county attorney for Lancaster County before that, as his lieutenant governor running mate.

Pillen pointed to Kelly's record as a prosecutor in "keeping Nebraskans safe (and) holding criminals accountable" in announcing his choice at a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda.

Kelly was named by former President Donald Trump to be U.S. attorney for the District of Nebraska in 2017 and he served in that position for more than three years.

"This is the campaign that represents a majority of Nebraskans," Kelly said in remarks following Pillen's announcement. Pillen represents "rock-solid, conservative values," he said.

"We can't grow this economy if we aren't safe," Kelly said, noting that Pillen is "a law enforcement advocate."

The choice was hailed by supporters as a demonstration of Pillen's law-and-order credentials as he faces a spirited battle with Republican gubernatorial rivals Charles Herbster of Falls City and state Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha in a multi-candidate GOP primary contest.

Polling indicates that Herbster may be running out front a month in advance of the May 10 primary election.

Pillen said Kelly has been a friend for 40 years dating back to college days at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has served Nebraskans by "putting dangerous people behind bars."

Now, Pillen said, Kelly will be "a partner on a mission to keep Nebraska great."

"I can think of no better governing partner to help me lead our great state and pursue our conservative agenda," Pillen said.

Kelly currently serves as criminal bureau chief in the office of Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, a post he has held since early in 2021, and will complete his duties there Friday in order to join the Pillen campaign full-time.

Herbster has not yet chosen a running mate. Lindstrom has selected former State Director of Economic Development Dave Rippe.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon

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Gov. Pete Ricketts announced Monday he signed a trio of budget bills but made line-item vetoes totaling nearly $52 million, including cuts to increasing provider rates, middle-income housing and money for a trail between Lincoln and Omaha.

The reductions he penned totaled $51.8 million from the general fund and limit state expenditure growth to 4.8%.

"My vetoes will ensure that Nebraska is poised to provide top-notch government services while keeping tax relief a possibility," he said in a news release announcing his decisions.

The vetoes included on the bills (LB1011, LB1012 and LB1013):

* Reduce the 15% increase in provider rates that had been proposed to a 5% rate increase. The providers care for the most vulnerable Nebraskans, such as those in nursing homes and foster care.

* Cut $14.8 million in increased costs to the Capitol HVAC project, still allowing for an increase of $10.5 million.

* Eliminate a $14 million transfer to the cash reserve fund. He said the balance is necessary to fulfill obligations for hospital decompression units and allow for closeout of CARES Act grants.

* Eliminate a $20 million transfer for affordable workforce housing, which will still receive $40 million.

* Cut $8.3 million for trail development for the Missouri-Pacific Trail between Lincoln and Omaha to $4.15 million.

* Disallow the transfer of $15 million from a prison overcrowding fund to a vocational and life skills programming fund in the Corrections Department. He said the funds should be used to replace the deteriorating State Penitentiary.

Senators return Tuesday for the 53rd day of a 60-day session. At least 30 senators would need to vote yes to override the vetoes.

At least two-thirds of state senators supported each of the three bills in the package, despite some voting no or sitting out the vote to protest the lack of progress on a tax cut proposal.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa  From the moment the Navy announced that one of its newest ships would be named after Sioux City, local civic leaders swelled with pride, vowing to support the ship and its crew.

Barely three years after joining the Navy's fleet, the USS Sioux City will need every bit of that support to remain in service.

A U.S. Navy budget proposal unveiled last week recommends the decommissioning of the USS Sioux City and 23 other ships. Just like that, the ship could be mothballed when memories of the joyous 2018 commissioning ceremony still remain strong in the minds of many.

Though the ship's future is now uncertain, the community will continue to stand behind the ship's crew members and their mission, said Chris McGowan, Siouxland Chamber of Commerce president.

"We will continue to do our very best to support the courageous men and women who serve on the USS Sioux City and remain focused on expanding and enhancing the incredibly strong relationship we have built with these sailors," said McGowan, who co-chaired the ship's commissioning committee with retired Rear Adm. Frank Thorp.

The Navy's decommissioning recommendation must be approved by Congress, and lawmakers could block the plan. Thorp, a 28-year Navy veteran, said Thursday that process ensures the USS Sioux City will not disappear overnight.

The proposal is part of a five-year budget plan that calls for decommissioning 24 ships, including eight other Freedom Class Littoral Combat Ships, or LCS, similar to the USS Sioux City, for a total savings of $3.6 billion, Navy officials said at a news briefing.

Navy officials said other ships can perform the USS Sioux City's anti-submarine warfare mission, and mechanical problems with the water jet propulsion systems have plagued the LCS Freedom class vessels.

"It's a hard thing to make a decision to decommission ships, but what we are looking at is what offers the best capability against the threats that we are facing," Meredith A. Berger, acting Under Secretary Of The Navy, told reporters. "And so as we think about how to build a force that we can sustain within the budget that we have, that's how we've made some of these, again, tough decisions. And as we look across LCS, this is a place where we have identified that there are real costs ... for the Freedom class to be able to make some of the repairs that are needed."

When commissioned, Navy leaders said the USS Sioux City's expected lifetime would be 30 years, probably more. Mayor Bob Scott said the Navy's decision would be a waste of taxpayer money if the $362 million ship were decommissioned after serving just a fraction of that time.

"It's amazing they can spend that amount of money and then decommission it. It's unbelievable," Scott said. "We have a relationship with a lot of people who have served on that ship, and it's hard to believe that ship is unsalvageable.

"I would hope we at least try to voice our objection to this."

It was just 10 years ago that the Navy announced to an enthusiastic crowd at City Hall that the 11th ship of the LCS class would be named after Sioux City.

That enthusiasm never waned. Large numbers of area residents traveled in January 2016 to the ship's christening at a Wisconsin shipyard. Hundreds more traveled to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, to witness the ship's commissioning Nov. 17, 2018.

Before and since the ship's commissioning, ship commanders and crew members have received warm welcomes when visiting Sioux City, and more than $250,000 was raised to create a legacy education fund to help USS Sioux City crew members and their families pay for educational expenses.

Thorp repeatedly said during his many visits to Sioux City before the commissioning that he'd never seen a city embrace a namesake ship as Sioux City had done.

"The support for the ship and crew is unparalleled," Thorp said.

Since its commissioning, the USS Sioux City and its 75-member crew have been based in Mayport, Florida, and deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to support Joint Interagency Task Force South's mission, which includes counter-illicit drug trafficking missions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

In recent months, the USS Sioux City and its crew, working with the U.S. Coast Guard, stopped two vessels in the Caribbean Sea, seizing approximately 1,080 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated $44 million.

News of those missions has been a point of pride, McGowan said.

"We are very proud to serve as the namesake city for LCS 11 and we will remain so for as long as the USS Sioux City continues to serve our nation in the defense of freedom," he said.

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BURLINGTON  Two Park Board members and others involved in the Echo Lake issue have been appointed by Mayor Jeannie Hefty to a new steering committee to consider the troubled lakes future.

The new panel, called the Echo Lake Master Plan Steering Committee, includes several people who have already taken a stand on whether the city should remove an aging dam and drain the lake or rebuild the dam and maintain the lake.

Committee members are scheduled Tuesday for their first meeting, in a process that could continue for several months, working alongside a private consultant that is exploring the citys options.

The Burlington Park Board already has voted 6-1 to recommend removing Echo Lake and restoring the White River  an issue that ultimately will be decided by the Burlington City Council.

Hefty said she does not envision the new committee making another recommendation, but she said it will be important for the appointees to approach the issue with an open mind.

You go in there to look at the whole picture, she said.

Hefty has publicly declared her opposition to removing Echo Lake, which she regards as important for recreation and aesthetics.

In appointing the new eight-person steering committee, the mayor said she tried to include people with differing viewpoints on the issue. She added: Im trying to get it balanced here.

The group includes Park Board members Cassie Quist, who supported removing Echo Lake when the board voted in January, and Clay Brandt, who cast the only vote in opposition.

Other appointees include A.J. Schkeryantz, a member of a Save Echo Lake group working to maintain the beleaguered lake; Beth Reetz, general manager of the Veterans Terrace, an event center whose leadership opposes draining the lake; and Renee Richter, operator of another waterfront event venue called 1841 Farms & Vineyard.

Reetz, whose facility uses Echo Lake to attract private parties paying up to $4,900 each, said city officials understand that her interest lies in protecting Veterans Terrace.

I will consider anything that doesnt harm Veterans Terrace, she said.

Representing the local business community is Mary Lynch of specialty vehicle design firm LDV Inc., who the mayor said supports removing Echo Lake. Lynch could not be reached for comment.

The committees other members include Burlington Town Board member Russ Egan, and Burlington Catholic Central High School student Peter DeSmidt, a non-voting youth representative on the City Council.

Egan said he volunteered for the committee because the future of Echo Lake impacts residents in the town and other areas outside the city.

Egan said while he personally wants to see the lake maintained, he acknowledges that doing so would cost millions of dollars. Removing the lake would save money while creating opportunities for developing a new attraction around a restored White River, he said.

That would be very nice; Im not saying thats wrong, he added. You have to look at the whole picture.

Echo Lake is a manmade impoundment created in 1800s when a dam was built on the White River to power a mill. The 70-acre lake later became a popular recreation spot, but it has since grown neglected and polluted.

State regulators have determined that the city-owned dam no longer meets safety standards. As a result, the city must either expand and upgrade the dam, or remove it and allow the lake to drain back into the White River.

Consultants have estimated that salvaging Echo Lake would cost more than $5 million, to modify the dam and dredge the lake bottom. City officials say that borrowing $5 million would increase property taxes for the average homeowner by $68 a year over 20 years, or a total of $1,368.

Removing the dam and draining the lake would cost less, with estimates ranging from $1.1 million to $2 million. Borrowing $1.5 million to remove the lake would cost the average homeowner $20 a year, or a total of $409.

City officials are considering holding an advisory referendum in November, and they have asked the consulting firm Ayres Associates Inc. to present more details to help voters make a choice.

Ayres officials have said that any new report would not change their calculations showing that saving the lake would cost more than removing it. Additional features that could be added later  such as boardwalks or fishing piers  would be optional amenities to be decided separately.

The consultants and the steering committee are expected to report back to the City Council by August.

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MOUNT PLEASANT  A Racine man allegedly was involved in the theft of 19 kegs of beer and more than $1,600 from 1 of Us Brewing, 8100 Washington Ave.

Kawakte Francis, 42, of the 2000 block of De Koven Avenue, was charged with felony counts of burglary of a building or dwelling and theft of movable property between $2,500-$5,000 and a misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property.

He is the second person charged for the robbery. DeAndre Lee Blair, 44, of the 1200 block of Marquette Street, was charged in December with two felony counts of unauthorized use of an entitys identifying information or documents, uttering a forgery and fraud against a financial institution between $500-$10,000 and six felony counts of bail jumping.

According to a criminal complaint:

On Nov. 3, officers were sent to 1 of Us Brewing for a burglary.

Upon arrival, an officer spoke to the owner who said that he received a phone call from a neighbor stating the side door of his business had been smashed out. He drove to the business and saw a rock had been thrown through the glass side door. He walked through the business and said the safe had been emptied out and $1,613.80, two checks made out to the business and a checkbook were stolen. Nineteen kegs of beer and three cases of Duck Life beer were stolen, totaling $2,3750 in value.

While collecting evidence, officers found blood on the inside of the door. The owner also said that a bowl and fork that were in the fridge had been taken out during the robbery. Fingerprints and swabs for DNA were taken.

During the investigation, an officer was advised that a fraudulent check had been cashed at Taylor Mart, a convenience store at 1813 Taylor Ave.

It was identified as one of the stolen checks, and it was cashed out for $812.

Upon making contact with the woman who cashed the check, she said that she was trapped into it. A vehicle containing three men approached her and asked if she wanted to make some money. They took her to Taylor Mart, filled out the check for her and had her go inside to cash it.

She said one of the men claimed he and some friends went out and robbed something; when asked what they stole, he stated a bunch of beer ... cases and cases of beer.

She reported having seen the men unloading several kegs of beer from their vehicle and stacked them in a shed.

On March 17, an officer advised that the DNA samples taken from the bowl and fork belonged to Francis.

On March 18, an officer made contact with Francis at the Racine County Jail. Francis had been arrested in January for allegedly driving a stolen car on the wrong side of the road in Caledonia; burglarious tools were reported to have been found in the vehicle.

Francis said he was aware of the burglary, but because he had read about it in the newspaper. When asked why his name might have come up during the investigation, he said it was possible because of people that were handing out checks trying to get people to sign checks.

He claimed he had never been near the business and provided an alibi for the night, that he had been with a woman. The officer, though, was unable to locate the alibi or verify she existed, and Francis said he did not know how to get in contact with her.

Francis was given a $2,500 cash bond in Racine County Circuit Court on Monday. A preliminary hearing is set for April 13 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., online court records show.

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RACINE  The Racine Literacy Council is mourning the unexpected loss of their executive director, Steven Mussenden, who died on Feb. 22.

Mussenden guided the volunteer program through its most difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic, which included the establishment of online tutoring for adult students. His leadership led to several initiatives that included collaborative programs with the Racine Unified School District and Gateway Technical College.

Alexa Haigh, president of Racine County United Way, said Steven always brought a positive and cooperative energy.

His leadership abilities and kind nature made a huge impact on others, she said. On behalf of the United Way, we are deeply saddened by his loss.

Dr. Eric Gallien, RUSD superintendent, on learning of Mussendens sudden passing, said: Steven was a passionate leader and advocate for adult literacy.

He was committed to working collaboratively with RUSD to ensure alignment between post-graduation and early adult literacy as a continuum of services for the community, he added. His impact will be felt for years to come. His leadership will be greatly missed.

Mussenden was a native of New York who attended and received degrees from Queensborough Community College, St. Josephs College and recently obtained his masters degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

He became involved in numerous service organizations; former president of the Black Chamber of Commerce, Carthage College Urban Education Advisory, RUSD Superintendent Advisory Council, and served on the board of Cops N Kids till December 2018.

A celebration of life service was held March 7 in Bayside, N.Y. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Janice, and two daughters, Athena and Alexis.

Racine Literacy Councils Board President, Eric Markusen, said staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors have vowed to honor Mussendens seven years of leadership by re-dedicating their efforts to expand the outreach efforts he created. A tribute by the Racine Literacy Council is planned at a later date.

The primary work of the Racine Literacy Council, 734 Lake Ave., is to provide volunteer tutoring programs in Racine County for adults who seek to improve their basic literacy skills or to learn the English language. A memorial fund has been established in Mussendens name at the Racine Literacy Council.

Kay Gregor, the RLCs former executive director, is serving as interim director until a new executive director can be hired.

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RACINE  State Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, on Tuesday filed an elections complaint against the City of Racines mayor and clerk, his office announced.

Filed Tuesday with the Wisconsin Elections Commission, Wanggaard alleges the city is violating state law by accepting absentee ballots delivered by someone who is not the voter so long as the person delivering the ballot identifies themself as an agent or authorized representative of the voter.

State law does not explicitly ban or allow such a practice except in specific situations, where it is legal to deliver someone elses absentee ballot if they are hospitalized or a sequestered juror.

Wanggaard cited a ruling from Waukesha County Judge Michael Bohren in which Bohren interpreted state law to not allow ballots to be delivered by someone who isnt the voter.

However, that judges ruling and an accompanying injunction is not binding to the City of Racine or any other municipality in the state. Its primary effect, in a legal sense, was to require the WEC to pull back guidance issued to clerks on how they could accept ballots delivered by someone who isnt the voter; WEC has complied with the judges order.

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin is expected to settle the issue this summer.

The city has argued that the federal Voting Rights Act allows for those with disabilities to be assisted in casting their ballots. By requiring voters themselves to deliver their own absentee ballots, the clerks office could be violating federal law while also potentially disenfranchising those with disabilities, the city and voting rights advocates argue.

This incongruence between federal and state election law has put Wisconsin clerks between a rock and a hard place, and has led to municipalities running their elections in different ways, making it easier for voters to cast ballots in one city than in its neighbor.

Racine City Clerk Tara Coolidge told The Journal Times in an email Monday that The Waukesha Court case does not apply to the City of Racine.

The reason Bohrens ruling does not apply to Racine is that circuit court rulings can only affect those named in the lawsuit. The lawsuit in which Bohren ruled was against the WEC; no municipalities are named.

Wanggaard and other critics of Racines policy say it allows the often-frowned upon practice of ballot harvesting, through which one person, such as a partisan operative or other third party, collects an unlimited number of absentee ballots from voters and delivers them all at once.

The City of Racine is openly flaunting the circuit court, the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Wisconsin Elections Commission guidance. The law has been clear for months  you must return your own ballot. Wanggaard said in a Tuesday statement. Racine is intentionally ignoring the law. Not liking the law doesnt make it okay. Hoping for a different Supreme Court ruling in a few months does not make it okay. The law is the law ...

The City of Racine is allowing ballot harvesting, but other municipalities voting in the same election are not. This is granting Racine voters additional rights, and an outsized influence in those elections.

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1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

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The contest took place in Vologda from the 21st till the 28th March on the basis of the Vologda Regional Music College and the Vologda Regional State Philharmonic Society named after V.A. Gavrilin.

The 2nd Governors International Youth Contest named after the composer V.A. Gavrilin became an important event in a cultural life both of the Vologda Region and the world music community.

The main aim of the contest is to perpetuate the memory and to popularize the creative work of the eminent Russian composer, the native of the Vologda Region, the Peoples artist of the Russian Federation Valery Aleksandrovich Gavrilin, and also to reveal young talented musicians in Russian and foreign provincial educational institutions, to consolidate the best traditions of music pedagogics.

270 video-tape recordings were sent for the qualifying correspondence round of the 1st contest (April 2001) and 153 competitors were admitted to participation in the contest. In comparison with it, 403 applications were sent for the 2nd contest and 248 competitors were admitted to the audition. The increasing in the number of competitors confirms the rising of interest of representatives of different children music schools and colleges of Russia, Europe, America to the V. Gavrilins creative work. The participants came from the USA, the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia and from different regions of Russia: Siberia, Ural, the Far East, the Volga region, the European North, central and southern regions (72 cities).

The competitors (age of participants from 9 to 20 years) performed in three nominations: piano, the stringed instruments (violin, cello) and composition in three age groups.

The well-known authoritative musicians, professors of conservatories were members of the juri: of the Moscow conservatory  I. Osipova, of the Vilnius conservatory  Y. Dvarionas, of the Saratov conservatory  A. Tarakanov, of the Petrozavodsk conservatory  V. Portnoy, K. Veksler, A. Beloborodov, as well as of music academies and conservatories of Turkey  Y. Semenov, of Sweden  A. Fisher, of the Netherlands  T. Poddubnaya, of Norway  T. Stedle.

The musicians and composers from different cities of Russia: Ufa, Saratov, Voronezh, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Blagoveshchensk, Murmansk, Asrakhan, Kirov, Kursk and others became winners of the contest. Anya Yurova (Postov), Rustam Monasypov (Kazan), Asly Tezenish (Turkey) were awarded with the special prize of the Governor of the region for the best performance of the Gavrinins compositions.

The participation in the contest of students of educational institutions of the Vologda region is of great importance. The winners are: Yana Smorodina, violin (Veliky Ustyug), Aleksandr Shirikov, piano, Yury Snegirev, composition (Cherepovets), Nikolay Gorlov, piano (Vologda).

The public response of the contest favours the revival and development of cultural traditions in different regions of the country. The international status gave the possibility to show the world music community the features of different pedagogical schools of Russia and other lands.

To the opinion of the organization committee and members of the international jury the contest achieved its aim, the expenditures were completely justified, the level of organization satisfied the world standards. For the region the contest was of great public and professional importance, especially for popularization of creative work of V. Gavrilin.

The Vologda Gavrilins contest is directed to participants from the outlying districts of Russia and other lands, in contrast to a lot of similar projects. It doesnt compete with musicians from capitals and helps gifted children and young people to become professional musicians.
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Africa/Global: Updates from AfricaFocus

AfricaFocus Bulletin

March 25, 2022 (2022-03-25)

(Reposted from sources cited below)

Editor's Note This is the first AfricaFocus Bulletin since January. Towards the end of that month, major issues with my home office computer systems crippled the interface which I normally use to publish the Bulletin, and catching up on a variety of medical issues also limited what I could do. Nothing life threatening, but lots of doctor appointments. All is not totally back to normal, and events in the nation and world are still distracting. But I wanted to provide at least a few updates for your consideration. Much of what I was able to do during this period was concentrated on the AfricaFocus Bookshop on Bookshop.org. See https://bookshop.org/shop/africafocus, as well as several booklists highlighted below. have also continued my volunteer work with the US-Africa Bridge Building Project and most receently highlighted two inspiring dialogues between experienced activists Kumi Naidoo and Winona LaDuke on the hopes for grassroots action on the climate crisis despite the failure of governments to address the issues at last November's climate summit. ++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++

Kumi Naidoo and Winona LaDuke in Conversation

In December 2021, the month after the UN Climate Conference concluded in Glasgow, Al Jazeera featured Kumi Naidoo and Winona LaDuke in two inspiring conversations in London. Naidoo and LaDuke focused on the need and the potential for grassroots activists to step up when governments are failing to address the crisis.

The seven days beginning with the anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa on March 21, 1960 end Sunday with the anniversary of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend on March 27, 1814, in which future president Andrew Jackson led his troops against the Creek nation in what is now Alabama.

These dates make this a very appropriate time to be reminded of the central role of anti-racist and indigenous activists in global struggles for climate justice.

In each case, however, they were mowed down mercilessly by superior firepower.

Walter Rodney Symposium: 50th Anniversary

of How Europe Underdeveloped Africa

Tomorrow: Saturday March 26

5-hour symposium - register now - join at any time. To register click http://bit.ly/wrs2022 (link in image below is not clickable). Begins 10 AM Atlanta, Georgia time. For other time zones see timeanddate.com link here.



Sponsored by the Walter Rodney Foundation https://www.walterrodneyfoundation.org/





Selected Book Lists from AfricaFocus Bookshop

Stop the Bleeding: Illicit Financial Flows and Tax Justice

Book most highly recommended, by Tax Justice Network Africa, is Tax Us If You Can: Why Africa Should Stand Up for Tax Justice. Still the best short overview of the topic, although first published in 2011.





Understanding Global Apartheid

Particularly recommended are two new books: Not A Nation of Immigrants, by Roxanne Dunhar-Ortiz and Born in Blackness, by Howard W. French.





AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by William Minter. For an archive of previous Bulletins, see http://www.africafocus.org,

Current links to books on AfricaFocus go to the non-profit bookshop.org, which supports independent bookshores and also provides commissions to affiliates such as AfricaFocus.

AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus@igc.org. Please write to this address to suggest material for inclusion. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the original source mentioned. To subscribe to receive future bulletins by email, click here.
KEARNEY  Sharm Loeffler said shes politically conservative, so in early December 2000, when President Bill Clinton announced he was coming to Kearney and his visit would include a stop at The Archway, Loeffler wasnt exactly thrilled.

But a couple of days later, when a Secret Service contingent arrived at The Archway and began working with Loeffler on a security sweep, it began sinking in.

Loeffler knew she was in for an experience unlike anything in her life.

She said on Monday that most of her 22 years at The Archway were unusual, including the presidential visit to the attraction.

I worked with the Secret Service to get clearance for everyone. They were fantastic to work with, Loeffler said about Clintons historic visit.

By early December 2000 Clinton had visited every state except Nebraska. Many Nebraskans lost hope that Clinton would visit their state, but then came the big announcement.

Clinton would visit Kearney.

As The Archways top accountant, Loeffler played a key role in the attractions day-to-day operations. She also played a key role for Clintons visit. One of her duties was to make certain in an emergency that The Archways safe would be available for Clinton.

Loeffler will retire from The Archway on Friday. Asked to list highlights of her 20-year career at the attraction, she named Dec. 8, 2000  the date of the presidential visit.

She also listed the date in 2013 when the embattled attraction emerged from bankruptcy.

It was a key date in the history of The Archway and also for the community. Some Kearneyites believed so strongly that The Archway should be saved from bankruptcy that they pledged their own money. That was a leap of faith. Attendance in 2013 was 36,557  smallest in The Archways history.

In the reorganization plan that archway officials submitted to U.S. Bankruptcy Court, The Archway offered to pay vendors $50,000 out of the more than $121,000 owed, and to pay bondholders $50,000 out of the $20 million The Archway owed them.

The Archway was built for $60 million in 2000.

Working through The Archways bankruptcy period stressed Loeffler because she had to be careful how she paid bills. First, she had to be certain that all vendors had submitted their bills. Next she prepared the bills for payment, but payment had to be approved by a bankruptcy trustee. You couldnt just pay bills.

Loeffler said there were times during The Archways bumpy history when she feared she might lose her job so she took on extra duties.

She learned accounting while working 20 years for KN Energy in Albion.

After she and her husband, Dave, moved to Shelton The Archway was under construction and she answered a newspaper ad for the accounting position.

She said it was overwhelming arriving for her first day because the facility was so large, and so was her job. Loeffler set up The Archways chart of accounts, the road map that would guild the business in tracking its income and expenses.

It was fun, exciting and scary, all at the same time, she said.

The investors who built The Archway hired a Florida company, Baker Leisure Group, to manage the attraction.

I was here when they still were painting murals. I started one month before they were done, she said.

Before Loeffler finished her 22 years at The Archway, I greeted visitors out there, worked the gift shop and did other jobs, so I dont think of anything being an odd job to do.

There were many fascinating times at The Archway, Loeffler said, but her favorite part was working with others on the staff and the attractions board of directors.

When we had to go through bankruptcy, thats when you found out who your friends were, she said. That was not a pleasant time, but we made it through and were stronger for it.

She said the attraction now is profitable.

Last year was great, she said. The gift shop had a phenomenal year. It was just crazy. After the pandemic, people were just ready to get out and enjoy things.

Loefflers final day at The Archway will be Friday, Shes looking forward to spending lots of time with her six grandchildren.

She said her best experience during her 22 years was the day the bankruptcy judge accepted the agreement and handed ownership over to a local board.

The second best day was Clintons visit. After all the preparations, it was exciting to see him inside The Archway.

I shook his hand, she said.

Things went smoothly that day.

The president didnt have to duck into The Archways safe, but in case he did, Loeffler had a backup plan in case she panicked and couldnt recall the combination.

I had a key in my back pocket, she said.
Spring has sprung  believe it or not  and we are looking forward to some fun things happening in the weeks ahead, along with the expected springtime mud and rain!

If you are homeschooling your children, we would love the chance to show you what the library can do to help you. Please join us on April 8 at 1 p.m. for an information sharing session about what resources and programming needs you have and what we can do for you in those areas.

Please join our Conversations with Coffee on the third Friday of every month at 10:30 a.m., when we will travel the world from the comfort of an armchair, complete with coffee and snacks! On April 15 we will be visiting Iceland, and on May 20 we will pay a visit to Norway. The rest of the year is up in the air; we would like to hear from you what countries you would like to visit next.

Also for adults, we are continuing our series of Watercolor Flower Fun programs for all of you budding or seasoned artists. Come and unlock your inner artist with us at 2:30 p.m. on April 18th and again on May 16th; all supplies are provided, as well as lots of encouragement and absolutely no criticism! You may discover an unsuspected talent, or at least have a fun and relaxing time. Questions? Please give us a call at 608-452-3757 or email us at cvlib@wrlsweb.org.

Before you know it summer will be here! Our summer reading program this year will focus on Oceans of Possibilities water will be involved and a whole lot of fun, so keep checking with us for updates, so your kids dont miss out.

We have a lot of other fun things happening on a regular basis at KMLan easy way to keep in touch with everything going on is to like us on Facebook or Instagram, sign up for our monthly eNewsletter (go to our website, https://coonvalleylibrary.wrlsweb.org/ and click on the eNews sign up phrase in the green panel), or stop in and pick up a paper copy! We hope to see you soon.

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Fort McCoys fire and forestry officials and aircrew and Black Hawk helicopters with the Wisconsin National Guards 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment of Madison, teamed March 28 to complete prescribed-burn and conduct fire-suppression training in Training Area Bravo-26 on the installation's South Post.

The event built on a continuing relationship between the Fort McCoy prescribed burn team and the Wisconsin National Guard training, said Forester Charles Mentzel with the Directorate of Public Works (DPW) Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch (NRB).

Mentzel said Fort McCoy is the ideal place to hold fire-suppression training with the Black Hawks and the water buckets, which are also known as Bambi buckets.

We are a military training base, have the facilities to support the helicopters, and the land base to do the training, Mentzel said. The water sources also are on the installation, so helicopters dont have to cross any public roadways while carrying water to the fire.

Prescribed burns are typically completed every spring and fall through a combined effort of several post organizations that make up the prescribed burn team. The post prescribed burn team includes personnel with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Emergency Services Fire Department; NRB; Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; and the Colorado State University Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands, under a cooperative agreement to conduct natural resource management work on post.

Mentzel said the fire-suppression training has been going on at Fort McCoy for more than a decade, and its a great partnership of federal and state organizations working together to help each other.

The relationship has evolved over time so much that we now have each others cell phone numbers for the coordination efforts, Mentzel said. Many times we need to chat on a Sunday before the training for last-minute changes due to weather or training conflicts for the mission on a Monday. We have also learned on the ground exactly what the helicopters/water bucket capabilities are, and we try to give them real-world issues to practice on. It is a fun, yet stressful day of burning and training.

For the March 28 training, Big Sandy Lake on South Post was used for a water source for the Black Hawk crew to draw their water from. From there it was only a few miles to the drop area where a prescribed burn was taking place.

According to the Wisconsin National Guard, the bucket training allows Black Hawk flight crews to sharpen their skills. Understanding how to use the bucket can be used to potentially assist the people in a fire emergency, such as a wildfire response.

More prescribed burns will likely take place across Fort McCoy during spring 2022 and later in the year as conditions permit.

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A new study shows the drug ivermectin, a controversial treatment for COVID-19, is unsuccessful in preventing hospitalization.

The anti-parasitic drug has been touted by some as an effective prescription for those with the coronavirus, and individuals have taken the drug, which is not supported by most physicians, off label by purchasing it at farm supply stores, where it is sold for use on large animals.

The FDA warned in a tweet last summer, You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, yall. Stop it. Taking large doses of this drug is dangerous and can cause serious harm. However, some high profile athletes and media personalities have touted taking the drug themselves while positive for the virus.

A form of Ivermectin was considered as a potential treatment early in the pandemic, but studies, including one published March 30, 2022 in The New England Journal of Medicine, have proven it ineffective.

The double blind, randomized, placebo controlled study looked at 3,515 COVID positive patients at 12 clinics in Brazil who had symptoms up to a week and at least one risk factor for severe disease. Daily doses of ivermectin for three days were given to 679 patients, and another 679 had the placebo. The remainder were given other, unspecified treatments.

Looking at those who had ivermectin or the placebo, the drug did not reduce chance of hospitalization due to COVID infection.

The study authors note that while a few studies have shown benefits of ivermectin treatment, The overall number of events that occurred in our trial is larger than the number of all the combined events in these meta-analyses. The results of this trial will, therefore, reduce the effect size of the meta-analyses that have indicated any benefits.

One trial which showed Ivermectin efficacy was retracted due to suspected malfeasance and was withdrawn from publication. The World Health Organization, in addition to the FDA, recommends against the use of ivermectin in COVID patients.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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Just last weekend an event happened at the television event called the Oscars, which was viewed by many people (but also not by many people). It was an act of violence by one actor, Will Smith, against another actor, Chris Rock, who was the emcee.

Rock made a lame attempt at a humorous remark about the shaved head of Smiths wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith, defending his wife, smacked Rock as the cameras rolled. We all were treated to repeated replays of this over the next several days.

Many news reports explained Ms. Smith has a disease called alopecia (al-oh-PEE-she-ah) areata (er-ee-AH-th) or AA. After trying to treat many such patients for over 45 years, I am keenly aware of the disease and its emotional and psychological consequences.

Alopecia, meaning any kind of hair loss, comes from the Greek language. Alopex means fox, and alopecia is a disease like fox mange. Areata means in areas, the most common expression of AA. It mostly affects scalp, but it can appear with any body hair. Sometimes its the entire scalp, labeled alopecia totalis and even all body hair, called universalis. Fortunately the latter two expressions are uncommon in the well over 6 million patients with AA per the alopecia areata foundation.

Our perception of ourselves is very private, and nobody can tell us we are wrong to feel what we feel. Hair is a very important part of self-image! Its the one thing in our appearance that we can change fairly easily. The billions annually spent on hair care products and grooming testifies to its crucial role in image.

When we perceive a defect in ourselves, whether hair, body shape or parts, etc., we feel disfigured. Loss of hair for any reason makes a person feel different, whether male pattern balding or a disease like AA. If it is rapid and severe enough, not allowing a person time to adjust to the change, it can be traumatic.

The cause of the disease is unknown, but the primary mechanism is white blood cells inflaming follicles. This can be seen microscopically, but no one knows why. Age range can be from kids to geezers, with the peak in middle age.

The spectrum of loss is from one or perhaps two small patches to total body hair, such as the congressional Massachusetts representative, Ayanna Pressley, who first began losing hair in 2019. By 2020 it all was gone from her scalp. She has come to terms with her disease by going public. Most patients valiantly attempt to hide it.

The National Alopecia Areata Foundation site says, People with AA commonly report a variety of responses to their disease including: feeling alone, withdrawn and isolated; experiencing loss and grief; fearing that others may find out that they have the disease or are wearing a wig; embarrassment and anger; thinking they are to blame for their diagnosis; feeling guilty that their disease is affecting loved ones; frantically searching for an answer or cure.

Depression to some degree is also a consequence. These feelings are shared by many folks with chronic diseases, especially if they tend to improve and relapse, which is quite usual with AA. It is called a chronic or life-long condition in some references. It is not lifelong for everyone, unless the follicles give up the fight against the white blood cells, and go to that big scalp in the sky.

The emotional responses I have seen in the AA patients I have treated are as varied as their personalities. I have said informally to a few other dermatologists, that I spend more time talking to patients about their hair loss than if they had terminal cancer. Several agreed.

I have seen men and women break down in tears over AA during visits. One patient I recall vividly had had it for years, wore a wig, but still was searching for help. Before trying one treatment, we agreed that she understood the attempt might fail. I used the very standard approach of injecting dilute anti-inflammatory cortisone over half her scalp to squelch the inflammation around follicles. There was no response. After some understandably sad words, she put her wig back on and said goodbye with a smile. She at least tried. She had to come to peace with her disease once again.

One website called healthtalk.org discussed feelings in young patients. Hannah has had AA for 5 years and feels it was a massive acceptance journey. People said there were many different emotions they had experienced about AA, such as shock, fear, sadness, isolation, anger and frustration, low esteem and knocked confidence, awkwardness and embarrassment, anxiety, stress, and panic. These are all classic words when someone feels or is made to feel different.

The only bright spot in the story is that for males a shaved head is a common hair style now, but not so much for ladies. To make fun of, tease, or ridicule anyone with a condition that makes them feel different somehow, is precisely what my mother taught me not to do.

What happened on the Oscars stage highlighted the deep emotions that AA can evoke and reactions it can provoke. It makes for a very (un)hairy tale.

Dr. Bures, a semi-retired dermatologist, since 1978 has worked Winona, La Crosse, Viroqua and Red Wing. He also plays clarinet in the Winona Municipal Band and a couple dixieland groups. And he does enjoy a good pun.

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'We Will Not Hesitate to Defend Our Land': Assyrian Spokesman

Matay Hana, the spokesperson for the Syriac Military Council of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said that the SDF will defend northeast Syria against increasing Turkish attacks.

"The Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries had once again accelerated their attacks on the towns of Zarkan and Tal Tamr, injuring a civilian in the Zarkan town," Hana told the SDF Press Center on Tuesday.

"After the Turkish occupation shelling the Tal Tamr power station, the occupation army targeted using a drone the vehicle of Orom Maroge, a member of the General Command of the Syriac Military Council, while he was on his way to the station," he added. "Maroge and the translator were injured due to this attack."

A previous Turkish drone attack on Friday injured well-known poet Ferhad Merde near the town of Tirbespi (Qahtaniya) in northeastern Hasakah province. Turkish forces and their Syrian militia proxies also targeted at least 17 villages in Tal Tamr and Abu Rasin (Zirgan) north of Hasakah with artillery bombardments and drone strikes.

Hana claimed these attacks aim to destabilize northeast Syria and empower ISIS sleeper cells.

"We will not hesitate to defend our land, on which all components live in harmony and brotherhood," he declared. "We in the Syriac Military Council and the Tal Tamr Military Council are working under the banner of the SDF, so we have the legitimate and natural right to respond to the daily violations of the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries who violated the ceasefire agreement."

Turkish-backed groups and the Turkish Army continue to target SDF-held areas across northeast Syria despite separate ceasefire agreements between Turkey and Russia and Turkey and the United States implemented in October 2019 to halt fighting between Turkey and the SDF.
Two Suspects, Brothers, Arrested in Sacramento Mass Shooting

The Sacramento Police Department (Sac PD) has made two arrests in the mass shooting that happened in the early hours of April 3 in downtown Sacramento.

Brothers, Dandrae Martin, 26, and Smiley Martin, 27, are in SAC PD custody.

Dandre Martin was booked Monday for felony assault and illegal firearm possession charges, according to Sac PD. Charges against Smiley Martin, who was hospitalized after sustaining injuries during the shooting, are for possession of a firearm by a prohibitive person and possession of machine gun.

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According to public records, the younger Martin has an outstanding arrest warrant in Riverside County for violating two terms of his probation related to a domestic violence arrest in 2014.

Six people died from the shooting. The 12 wounded individuals who survived the incident suffer from minor to critical gunshot wounds. They are all in stable condition.

The investigation is ongoing.

We want to thank the community for the overwhelming assistance that has been provided. To date, we have received over 100 videos and/or photo files provided through the community evidence portal. We continue to encourage the community to use the community evidence portal to directly provide the department with photos and videos, Sac PD said in a statement Apr. 4

As the investigation progressed, Sac PD Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team and other detectives served search warrants at three residences in an area that has yet to be disclosed. At least one handgun reportedly related to the shooting has been recovered.

The shootings that have made headlines across the state and around the world happened in an area near the California State Capitol known for its restaurants and bars, a popular after-work hangout for politicians, staffers and other government workers. Around 2:00 a.m., Sac PD officers responded to the sounds of shots fired in the busy part of downtown around 10th and K Streets, four blocks east of the Golden 1 Center where the NBAs Sacramento Kings play. Over 100 rounds were reportedly fired into a crowd.

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The deceased are Sergio Harris, 38; Melinda Davis, 57; Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21; Johntaya Alexander, 21; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and 29-year-old DeVazia Turner.

Stevante Clark, a local activist, told California Black Media two victims, Harris and Turner, were related.

Clark said he was with Harriss wife Leticia Harris when a Sac PD Captain, at Clarks insistence, told her about her husbands death. Clark said Mrs. Harris was out there all (Sunday) morning, trying to get information.

This is so sad. It breaks my heart Clark said. This is community violence.

The Sacramento County District Attorneys Office will be reviewing all related evidence in this investigation to determine appropriate charges, the Sac PD stated.

On the afternoon of Apr. 3, Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester said a stolen handgun was recovered at the scene.

Sundays mass shooting is the second in Sacramento in under two months. On Feb. 28, five people were shot and killed after a man opened fire at a church in the states capital. The man shot and killed his three children and a man who was with them before taking his own life.

No link has been established between the mass shooting and organized crime, but gang activity has been on the rise in Sacramento.

In November 2021, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the results of a multiagency investigation into Sacramento-based criminal street gang activity that resulted in a number of arrests.

Gangs in the area are allegedly responsible for a series of violent crimes, including homicides. A total of 26 individuals were arrested, and more than 125 firearms were seized by state agents.

Most of the firearms confiscated were assault weapons, including ghost guns.

Ghost guns are un-serialized and untraceable firearms that can be purchased online and assembled. They are often sold through ghost gun kits.

Lester did not provide details of the stolen handgun used in Sacramentos most recent shooting, but the SAC PD chief said a semi-automatic, high-velocity weapon was used.

What happened is the biggest and most recent example of what we all know, Lester said at a news conference hours after the deadliest shooting in the citys history. Gun violence is truly a crisis in our community, and it has increased not only here in Sacramento but across the nation.
American President Joe Biden joined leaders around the world Monday in calling for a war crimes trial against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The appeal for justice followed the publication of pictures taken in towns around Kyiv that Russia had attacked. They included many images of dead civilians.

You saw what happened in Bucha, Biden told reporters on Monday. He called Putin a war criminal, adding, we have to gather all the detail so this can be an actual -- have a war crimes trial.

Several independent news organizations reported and showed images of civilian deaths over the weekend. Ukrainian officials said the bodies of 410 civilians were found in towns around Kiyv after its forces recaptured the area from the Russian military.

In the town of Bucha

About 300 bodies have been discovered in Bucha, about 40 kilometers northwest of Kyiv.

A resident told The Associated Press (AP) that Russian troops went building to building and took people out of their hiding places. He said the soldiers seized and searched phones from the captured. Then the man said the troops would either shoot the civilian or remove them.

The resident refused to give his name out of fear for his safety.

Another resident, Hanna Herega, said she saw Russian troops kill her neighbor. She said they shot him when he went out to gather wood for heating fuel.

They hit him a bit above the heel, crushing the bone, and he fell down, she said. Then they shot off his left leg completely, with the boot. Then they shot him all over.

The AP said its reporters saw the bodies of at least 21 people in several places around Bucha. A group of nine people in civilian clothes appeared to have been killed at close range. Their bodies were around an area that residents said Russian troops had used as a base. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs, one was shot in the head, and anothers legs were tied.

Taras Shapravskyi is the towns deputy mayor. He told Reuters that an examination of the bodies shows at least 50 civilians had been executed.

In Motyzhyn, about 50 kilometers west of Kyiv, residents told the AP that Russian troops killed the towns mayor, her husband and her son and threw their bodies into a hole.

An AP worker reporting from the site of the hole said there were four bodies inside. The reporter said it appeared all had been shot from a very short distance. The hands of one man had been tied behind his back and a plastic tie covered his eyes.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the Russian actions genocide after he visited the area.

Russian response

Russia has denied all accusations of wrongdoing in its war against Ukraine. The defense ministry said Sunday not a single local resident suffered from any violent actions when its forces were in control of the Kyiv area.

The ministry said Russian troops provided 452 tons of humanitarian aid to civilians around Kyiv before their withdrawal on March 30. Russia has called its invasion of Ukraine a special military operation.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the Ukrainian accusation on Monday. He said that photo and video materials from the area were manipulations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that they were staged to bring anti-Russian feelings. A Russian law enforcement agency added that it is investigating false information about Russian forces. Russia has also called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the issue.

International outrage

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Monday she is horrified by the images of civilians lying dead on the streets and in improvised graves. She said that reports from Ukraine raised questions about possible war crimes, and serious violations of international human rights law.

Kosovos Prime Minister Albin Kurti said, Russia must be held accountable, for what he described as the Bucha Massacre. He said the images showed a situation similar to that which his own people faced in war against Serbian forces 23 years ago.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of neighboring Poland condemned the Russian action in Ukraine. This is genocide, and this crime must be tried as the crime of genocide, he said.

From Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said, There is clear evidence of war crimes. It was the Russian army that was in Bucha. He added that France will also work with partners, especially Germany, to bring more economic pressures against Russia.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English based on reporting from The Associated Press, Reuters and VOANews.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

resident - n. someone who live in a particular place

manipulation - n. changing or controlling something for a particular purpose

stage - v. to arrange something for a purpose

improvise - v. to make or create something by using whatever is available

grave - n. a hole in the ground for burying body
Hong Kong Leader Carrie Lam announced Monday that she will not seek a new term in office.

The decision comes as Lam prepares to end her current five-year term during which she faced major anti-government protests and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The territorys next leader is expected to be chosen in May. The position is elected by a committee of lawmakers, industry members and legislative representatives loyal to the government in Beijing.

Hong Kong media have reported that Lams Chief Secretary, John Lee, is likely to enter the race to succeed her. Lee started his career as a police officer and rose to become the deputy chief of police in 2010. He served as Hong Kongs secretary of security during anti-government protests in 2019.

The election for the chief executive had been set for March 27. But it was postponed until May 8 as the city deals with a new rise in COVID-19 infections.

At a news conference, the 64-year-old Lam said, I will complete my five-year term as chief executive on the 30th of June this year, and I will also call an end to my 42 years of public service.

She added that her main reason for deciding not to run again was her family. I have told everyone before that family is my first priority. They think its time for me to go home.

Lam was born in British-ruled Hong Kong in 1957. She is a life-long government worker who describes herself as an active Catholic. She took office in 2017 with a promise to unite the city. People in Hong Kong were growing increasingly concerned with moves by the government in Beijing to strengthen its political control over the territory.

Two years later, millions of democracy supporters took to the streets of Hong Kong in sometimes violent anti-government protests. The unrest led to China approving a national security law in 2020. The law calls for offenses like subversion and secession to be punished with sentences up to life in prison.

Critics of the law say it seeks to silence dissent and crush freedoms promised to Hong Kong when it passed to Chinese control in 1997. Rights of the territorys citizens were to be guaranteed under its Basic Law for 50 years. Supporters of the national security law say it has brought stability to Hong Kong.

In 2020, the United States placed sanctions on Lam, Lee and other Hong Kong officials for supporting the national security law.

Lam was also heavily criticized for supporting a proposed extradition bill supported by Chinas government. That legislation, which was later withdrawn, would have permitted criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Reuters and The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

___________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

committee  n. a group of people chosen to represent a larger organization and make decisions for it

priority  n. something considered very important that must be dealt with before other things

secession  n. the act of becoming independent and no longer part of a country, area, organization, etc.

stability  n. the quality of not being likely to change or move
As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, a group of volunteers in Libya work long hours to repair old or damaged copies of the Quran. The Quran is Islams most important holy book.

Khaled al-Drebi is one of Libya's best-known Quran restorers. He is among the artisans who arrive at a workshop in Tripoli every day to meet the rising demand for Qurans during Ramadan.

For Muslims, Ramadan is a month of spirituality. There are daily sunrise-to-sundown fasts, along with prayer and acts of kindness. The month also means an increase in the sales of Qurans.

"The purchase of new Qurans traditionally increases before the month of Ramadan, but this has recently changed in Libya," Drebi told the French News Agency (AFP).

For many people, it has been harder to buy Qurans. There has been an increase in the cost of Qurans, especially "since the state stopped printing" them in Libya, Drebi said.

The North African nation has been through 11 years of conflict. The government is weak and the countrys economy, which depends on oil exports, is in poor condition.

But, Drebi said, Restoring old Qurans has gained unprecedented popularity.

A new Quran can cost more than $20. Drebi's workshop charges just a few dollars to restore one.

'Indescribable joy'

But cost is not the only important thing. For many people, the older Qurans also have sentimental value.

"There is a spiritual connection for some people, Drebi said. He added that many choose to save Qurans passed on from relatives. "Some say this Quran has the smell of my grandfather or parents."

Abdel Razzaq al-Aroussi works on going through thousands of Qurans based on their level of damage.

"The restoration of Qurans with limited damage takes no more than an hour, but for those that are very damaged, they could require two or more hours," Aroussi said.

They "must be undone, restored and then bound," he said. It is a difficult process that requires a lot of "time and concentration."

Mabrouk al-Amin is also involved with the workshop. He said the restoration process "requires a good number of artisans."

"Working with the book of God is very enjoyable and we don't get boredthere is an indescribable joy in this work," he said.

Restorers say they have repaired half a million Qurans since the workshop opened in 2008. More than 1,500 trainees have graduated from 150 restoration workshops.

Women restorers

In recent years, more and more women have been restoring Qurans.

One female restorer, Khadija Mahmoud, trains women at a workshop in Zawiya, 45 kilometers west of Tripoli. She said it is easier and faster to restore Qurans in a women's workshop.

She added that the restoration work has given many women a meaningful way to fill their free time. She has even held training sessions for blind women.

"A large segment of trainees and restorers are retirees," she said. "For them, there is nothing better than spending their spare time in the service of the Quran."

Im Dan Novak.

Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting from Agence France-Presse (AFP).

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

restore  v. to return (something) to an earlier or original condition by repairing it, cleaning it

fast  v. to not eat for a period of time

unprecedented adj. not done or experienced before

sentimental adj. something that is important to someone because of its connection with a happy time of life, a special person and similar feeling

bind  v. to put a cover or binding on a book

concentrate  v. to give your whole attention to the thing you are doing

bored  adj. to be tired or uninterested in something often because it is always the same
Tattoo artists in South Korea will continue to risk arrest if they violate a long-standing ban on their work. Last week, the highest court in the country ruled in support of the restriction. Only medical professionals may legally tattoo people in South Korea.

A tattoo is a permanent image on skin. Tattoo artists use needles filled with ink to mark the body with words or a design. Some people consider the practice an important form of expression.

The Constitutional Court voted 5-to-4 last week to keep the law in place. It said the tattooing is a medical process that carries risks. Tattoo artists do not have the training to provide acceptable medical care to the people, the court said.

Violators of the law risk serious punishment, including fines of about $40,000 and two years in prison.

Tattoo artist groups in South Korea began pushing for reform of the law in 2017. The ban is based on one that Japan established in 1992. However, that country has since repealed the law.

Kim Do-yoon leads an alliance of about 650 tattoo artists seeking reform. The group condemned the courts decision as a rejection of modern time.

The court is still walking on four feet when all citizens walk upright, Kim said. The popular tattooist is better known as Doy.

Tattoos in South Korea are becoming more popular. While they are rarely seen on television, some South Korean celebrities, including actors and musicians show their tattoos on social media.

Public opinion research in South Korea finds that most people support an end to the tattoo art restrictions.

Tattooists and their supporters say the law is too strong.

Kim Sho-yun is the president of the Korea Tattoo Federation. She called the courts decision nonsense. She spoke to reporters gathered at the courthouse in Seoul.

She wondered why the court still considered tattooing a medical treatment when, in her words, doctors can't and don't do that?"

Even South Koreas president-elect, Yoon Suk-yeol said he supported permitting tattoos that can be used to make hair seem darker.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by Reuters.

Do you have a tattoo? Are you thinking of getting one? Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page.

Words in This Story

ink n. colored liquid used for writing or printing

practice  n. the action of doing something or using something

celebrity  n. a person who is famous
LEXINGTON  Three Lexington Regional Health Center employees were honored on Friday, April 1 with a DAISY Award and two Tulip awards.

Chief Nursing Officer Nicole Thorell first presented the Tulip Awards to Gena Carpenter and Heidi Church. Carpenter has been with LRHC for 27 years.

Thorell explained that Tulip stands for, Touching Unique Lives and Practice, and for all non-nurses that have gone above and beyond.

Reading the nomination for the two staff members, Thorell said, it was 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2020 that four college friends and one of their fathers were involved in a rollover accident on Interstate 80.

Two of the five left the scene in an ambulance and the remaining three arrived at LRHC at 4 a.m. The group was five hours from their destination and all of their belongings were scattered along the I-80 median.

The entire staff of LRHC was very welcoming and went above and beyond to assist us in any way possible, the nomination read, Two staff members, Gena Carpenter and Heidi Church, offered up their time outside of work to assist us in settling into town. They offered to take us to a local supermarket, where they graciously spent their personal money on food items for us.

Later, both Carpenter and Church contacted the towing company that retrieved the vehicle and found a time where the group could pick up their belongings.

I cannot thank each of them enough for the care and attention they gave us over the short period of time we interacted with them, the nomination read, All five of us involved in the accident are truly grateful for their care, not only at the hospital, but outside of it as well.

The DAISY Award was presented to Registered Nurse, Liz Cote.

Cotes nomination was made by KRVNs Dave Schroeder and Thorell read the nomination saying, On Oct. 30, I entered LRHC with chest pain and shortness of breath. The attending physician and staff immediately worked to help determine the cause.

Liz checked me periodically and answered all of my questions, Schroeders nomination read, The initial test didnt reveal particular issues but Liz noted one additional sign and additional testing revealed the diagnosis.

Liz was with me when I was admitted to the hospital and wheeled me up to my room, read the nomination, While there she also communicated my story to the new nurses, this greatly helped my anxiety of about being handed off to a new nurse and having to explain my medical history.

Her care meant the world to me this day and in the moments when I needed it the most, the nomination stated, Thank you Liz for your care, your service and your medical commitment to your community.

Thorell noted the DAISY Foundation was established in 1999 by the members of the family of Patrick Barnes. He was 33-years-old at the time when he died due to complications of the auto-immune disease, Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP.)

After the loss, his family came up with DAISY, or Diseases Attacking the Immune System. The foundation would honor the nurses who had provided to Barnes during his eight week illness.

The family was very impressed by the clinical care Pats nurses provided, but what really overwhelmed them was the compassion and kindness that his nurses brought to Pats bedside day in and day out. The nurses sensitivity made a great difference in the Barnes experience and they wanted to say thank you, Thorell said.

As a result, the family created the DAISY Award for extraordinary nurses. In addition to the certificate, nurses are presented with a DAISY Pin and a sculpture called A Healers Touch.

The serpentine stone sculptures are hand-carved by the artists of the Shona Tribe of Zimbabwe. The sculptures are meaningful in that it depicts the embracing relationship nurses have with their patients but also due to the profound respect the Shona people have for their traditional healers.

The economy and politics of Zimbabwe have been in turmoil for decades and the artists are able to support hundreds of people and their families with this work, Thorell said.
Authorities evacuated a Monona apartment complex Monday after a dead person was found inside an apartment with a hazardous substance.

Monona police and fire personnel responded to 300 Owen Road just after 3 p.m. Monday for a report of a deceased person and discovered a possible hazardous substance, according to Monona Police Chief Brian Chaney Austin.

Monona Fire Chief Jeremy McMullen said a Madison hazmat team ventilated the eight-unit building and allowed residents to return to their apartments around 5:45 p.m. About 12 to 14 residents were temporarily displaced.

McMullen said he didnt know what the hazardous substance was.

Austin said there is no indication the death was suspicious.

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Madison police arrested six teenagers in connection with a stolen vehicle that crashed on the citys Far West Side Saturday.

According to police, officers were called around 7:15 a.m. to a home in the 9600 block of Shadow Ridge Trail where a resident said someone broke into the home overnight and stole his vehicle.

Three hours later police responded to a crash on the eastbound onramp to the Beltline from South Gammon Road and found the stolen vehicle had gone off the road and a group of teens was spotted running from the scene.

A 16-year-old girl admitted to driving the vehicle, and was taken to the juvenile detention center along with two other suspects. Three others, including a 16-year-old boy carrying a BB gun, were released to adults.

The suspects ranged in age from 14 to 17 and face charges including burglary, operating a motor vehicle without consent and unrelated warrants.

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The interim chancellor of UW-Whitewater resigned Monday in a move that other university leaders said was "unexpected."

Jim Henderson, who took over as leader of the 11,500-student university last July, said in a statement that one of his goals as interim chancellor was to help hire the best chancellor for the long-term success of UW-Whitewater.

Over the past few days it has become clear to me that I cannot make progress on that goal," he said.

But a search hasn't yet begun and just this fall, University of Wisconsin System President Tommy Thompson said at a UW Board of Regents meeting that Henderson had agreed to extend his service for a second year.

The System named Provost John Chenoweth as the next interim chancellor effective Tuesday. He has worked at UW-Whitewater since 2002, including a stint as dean of the College of Business and Economics. He has served as the university's deputy leader since last summer.

This is an unexpected situation, but I am confident that Provost Chenoweth will maintain continuity at UW-Whitewater, interim System President Michael Falbo said in a statement. I thank Jim for his service.

Henderson was the System's vice president for academic and student affairs from 2016 through 2018 and also served as interim UW-Madison provost in the summer of 2019. He did not immediately respond to an interview request made through a university spokesperson.

Regents President Ed Manydeeds is expected to provide an update on a search for a new permanent chancellor at a Thursday meeting on the UW-Stevens Point campus.

Henderson's resignation is the latest in a string of leadership shake-ups at UW-Whitewater.

The previous chancellor, Dwight Watson, resigned last year because of a cancer diagnosis. The year prior, the System investigated him after a former student at a previous job accused him of sexual misconduct. Investigators found the accusations to be without merit.

Watson's predecessor, Beverly Kopper, resigned after a System investigation found her husband had sexually harassed students and university employees, leading one of them to sue the university last fall for allegedly failing to protect women. Kopper's husband denied the allegations.

In a Monday message to the campus community signed by half of Henderson's cabinet  Chenoweth; Artanya Wesley, vice chancellor for student affairs; Jeff Arnold, interim vice chancellor for administrative affairs; and Katie Kuznacic, interim vice chancellor for university relations  the group acknowledged the leadership whiplash of the last few years. They said they had no details about Henderson's departure and highlighted UW-Whitewater's collective accomplishments, such as the largest freshman class in four years and a much stronger financial position.

"During a time of unprecedented challenges, our university family has shown strong resilience and achieved important successes," the vice chancellors said. "We deeply appreciate you."

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Madison voters will elect new School Board members in Tuesdays nonpartisan spring election as school board, city and county races around the state offer a preview of the sharp political fights in store for Novembers midterm elections.

Issues being discussed by candidates include police in schools, teaching about racial inequality, parental control of education, COVID-19 mitigation efforts and more, amid a backdrop of uncertainty regarding election integrity stoked by Republicans.

Its also the first general election under new municipal and county ward and district maps. The city of Madison clerks office is encouraging voters to verify their polling location, which may have moved due to the decennial redistricting process. Madison voters can check www.cityofmadison.com/clerk/where-do-i-vote/. Voters who reside outside of Madison can verify their polling location at myvote.wi.gov.

The only Madison School Board race with more than one official candidate features two newcomers, Shepherd Janeway (Joyner on the ballot) and Laura Simkin, running for Seat 3. Both share many of the same liberal positions on K-12 policy, but their main difference is on posting police officers in schools. Simkin is in favor of returning school resource officers to Madisons four main high schools while Janeway supports the boards 2020 decision to remove them.

Board president and incumbent Ali Muldrow, who was endorsed by Dane County Democrats, faces a registered write-in challenge from conservative blogger David Blaska for Seat 4. Nichelle Nichols, a longtime parent of Madison students and former administrative staff member, is running uncontested for Seat 5.

Outside of Madison, voters in the school districts of Barneveld, Belleville, Cambridge, Columbus, Deerfield, DeForest, Evansville, Lodi, McFarland, Middleton-Cross Plains, Milton, Mount Horeb, New Glarus, Pecatonica, Poynette, River Valley, Sun Prairie, Verona and Waunakee will see contested races on Tuesdays ballot.

Eighty-one school districts across the state are holding referendums. Of those, 35 are to issue debt, totaling $1.1 billion if all are approved; eight are to exceed revenue limits on a recurring basis, totaling $13.5 million if all are approved; and 38 are to exceed revenue limits on a non-recurring basis totaling $193 million if all are approved, according to the Wisconsin Association of School Boards.

Districts with referendums on the ballot include Argyle, Lodi, Marshall, Pardeeville, Rio, River Valley, Benton, Blackhawk, Brodhead, Markesan, Rosendale-Brandon, Necedah and New Lisbon, among others.

Municipal races

Madison voters will also see Dane County Board candidates on the ballot, though only one race in the city is contested, a Southwest Side contest between incumbent Anthony Gray and challenger Amanda Noles.

Only 10 of the boards 37 seats are contested. In some of those races, candidates have lacked a campaign presence or have been unwilling to be interviewed, leaving their opponents guessing about where they stand on various issues.

Several of the reticent candidates appear to be running in opposition to the countys COVID-19 policies, supervisors say, particularly Public Health Madison and Dane Countys mask mandate, which conservatives on the predominantly liberal County Board unsuccessfully challenged. The mandate expired at the end of February.

Those who have not responded to requests for information from the Wisconsin State Journal include Carlos Umpierre, who is running against incumbent Tim Kiefer for the 25th District seat to represent the Waunakee area; Herb Taylor, who is challenging incumbent Patrick Miles for the 34th District seat, which includes McFarland; Steven Schulz, who is challenging incumbent Kate McGinnity for the 37th District seat, which includes Cambridge; and Jerry OBrien, who is challenging incumbent Patrick Downing for the 30th District seat, which includes Mount Horeb and Belleville.

Other competitive races across Dane County include city council seats in Edgerton, Fitchburg, Middleton and Sun Prairie, and a mayoral race in Stoughton. Competitive village trustee races are being held in Belleville, Cambridge, Dane, Deerfield, McFarland, Mount Horeb, Rockdale, Shorewood Hills and Waunakee.

Prepare to vote

The election is taking place as Republicans continue to investigate unproven claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. In response to a Waukesha County judges ruling, the Wisconsin Elections Commission rescinded its previous advice that allowed absentee ballot drop boxes and someone other than a voter to return their ballot.

Voters are able to register on the same day of the election at their polling location, and absentee ballots must be returned to the clerks office or the polling location by Election Day, Maggie McClain, a representative of the clerks office, said in a statement.

To register to vote on Election Day, voters must bring a proof of residence which may be shown on paper or in an electronic format, such as an online utility bill, bank statement, City of Madison assessment, or My UW account.

McClain also reiterated that the address on a voters ID does not have to match their current address in order to vote, as its sole use is to verify identity.

Voters are also able to view a sample ballot before heading to the polls at myvote.wi.gov.

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U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn finally managed to annoy House Republican leaders, but he didnt do it by disparaging his country or snubbing his constituents. He does those things routinely.

Rather, Cawthorn, a North Carolina Republican, embarrassed Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy by claiming on an obscure right-wing podcast that an unnamed lawmaker had invited him to an orgy. Cawthorn also said he saw someone in a position of power using cocaine.

Those were the far-fetched claims that brought him criticism from his leaders. Never mind that Cawthorn has long been a prodigious liar. Never mind that he is cynical enough to leave his constituents for a new congressional district, only to come running back when the new district was tossed out in court. Never mind that he regularly traffics in unhinged conspiracy theories. Those things havent seemed to trouble McCarthy much.

But Cawthorn crossed a line, it appears, with a tale that might reflect poorly on McCarthy personally since some listeners might believe he and other GOP leaders were among the attendees at the alleged gathering. This is unacceptable, McCarthy fumed. Theres no evidence to this. ... He did not tell the truth. ... Thats unacceptable.

What penalty will Cawthorn suffer for smearing his fellow caucus members? Will he be censured or tossed off committees? McCarthy didnt pledge any sanctions that might actually affect Cawthorns behavior. Instead, he said, Theres a lot of different things that can happen. I just told him hes lost my trust. Hes going to have to earn it back. I mean, hes got a lot of members very upset.

So they werent already upset by Cawthorns previous conduct or the inflammatory rhetoric he has used about fellow members of Congress or U.S. allies? Recently, he called Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy a thug who is incredibly evil and incredibly corrupt. McCarthy, unlike a few Senate Republicans who criticized Cawthorn, was publicly silent on that.

Thats probably because Cawthorn, like other Trumpist zealots, has embraced the former presidents Big Lie about a stolen election  a false claim that, in the bizarro world of the current GOP, has become the partys foundational truth. Like Cawthorn, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., remain in good standing in Republican circles even though they are dangerous extremists who persist in spreading that lie. By contrast, partisans have placed a target on the back of Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., because she refuses to endorse the lie or bow to former President Donald Trump.

Cawthorn has drawn a slew of primary challengers because of his clumsy effort to get elected from a new district that would have stretched to the outskirts of Charlotte, giving him a higher profile and more national visibility. However, legal challenges resulted in a redistricting map that virtually wiped out the new district, and Cawthorn was forced to reverse course.

His character should have been clear early on. Confined to a wheelchair since a car accident during his senior year of high school, Cawthorn told outrageous lies during his rise to political stardom. He claimed that the accident kept him out of the Naval Academy when, in fact, hed been rejected before the crash. He also claimed that his best friend left him in the fiery wreckage to die when, in fact, the friend had dragged him to safety. Additionally, several college schoolmates have accused him of sexual misconduct.

With his latest antics, many of his old supporters are upset, accusing him of abandoning his constituents. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., also fed up with Cawthorns behavior, is backing one of his challengers. Still, Cawthorn has high name recognition and a formidable war chest, meaning he may well win the primary. If he does, he will easily remain in Congress, representing his heavily Republican district.

Meanwhile, Boebert and Greene are also sitting pretty, raising money and raising hell. During President Joe Bidens State of the Union speech, as he was discussing his late son, Beau, Boebert heckled him. Greene, for her part, spoke at a white nationalist rally in February. Her appearance did draw rare criticism from party leaders but no actual sanctions.

Its hard for anyone to fall out of favor with fellow partisans as long as they remain in favor with Trump.

Tucker won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2007: cynthia@cynthiatucker.com.
This State Journal editorial ran on April 4, 1972:

One of the bright spots in world news this Easter season is Berlin, where for the first time in six years the wall was opened to allow West Berliners to visit friends and relatives in the East.

For most travelers, the occasion was a family reunion, but for others the discovery of an entirely new world.

What, this is East Berlin? a 9-year-old boy exclaimed. It looks just like where we live.

The boy never had a chance to visit the East, sealed off when the communists built their border wall in 1961 to stem the flow of refugees to the West. ...

Hope is eternal in man, as an East Berliner, sealed inside his territory and viewing visitors from the West exclaimed, Maybe well be able to get out on Easter, too, in the future.

There is hope when you consider an American President stood by the Great Wall of China, built to hold back barbarian invaders from the north, and expressed the hope that his visit would help break down walls of any kind  whether physical or ideological  that divide people.
The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians opposes the continued operation of Line 5 in northern Wisconsin, including the proposed rerouting of the pipeline around the Bad River Reservation, about 280 miles north of Madison.

We also oppose the position taken by tribal member Ron Spoerl in a recent guest column in the Wisconsin State Journal, Let oil and gas pipeline detour tribal land in northern Wisconsin. Spoerls pro-Line 5 opinions are his own and not supported by the tribe.

Given what we know about climate change and advances in clean energy technology, there is no good reason to keep Line 5 open. This aging crude oil pipeline runs through the heart of the largest source of fresh water in North America  Michigans beloved Straits of Mackinac. Any claims about the safety of this pipeline should be met with the strongest level of skepticism.

That is why our tribe must respond to Spoerls view. While he tried to use his Native American heritage in an attempt to sow division, The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is united in its opposition to Line 5.

Spoerl also could make money by contracting with Enbridge on the pipeline work. The motivation for personal profits is clouding judgment on what is right for protecting our way of life throughout the Great Lakes region. That way of life  our businesses, homes, farms and even the ways we recreate  are all at risk if we do not permanently shut down Line 5.

The main argument Spoerl gave in favor of keeping Line 5 operational is his claim that we need to have affordable energy sources. But Line 5 has already been shut down once before. In 2020, a Michigan court-ordered shutdown of the pipeline had zero impact on gasoline prices compared to the national average.

Whats more, a recent report from Environmental Defense Canada found that the oil running through Line 5 could be rerouted away from the Great Lakes with minimal impact on gasoline prices. This can be done through using other pipelines to their fullest capacity, additional rail cars and one additional marine tanker. With an estimated increase of just $0.018 in the cost of gas, this is a far better solution than pumping millions of gallons of crude oil through the heart of the Great Lakes each day.

We must also consider that a new Line 5 will only lengthen our dependence on fossil fuels responsible for climate change. World leaders set a goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Continuing to invest in Line 5 goes against the very notion of addressing climate change that is damaging our fisheries and impacting our wildlife. In fact, a recent report found that the plants capable of thriving in northern Wisconsin and Michigans Upper Peninsula will be more like those currently in Kentucky by the end of this century.

Spoerl claims that Line 5 pipeline owner Enbridge has respectfully engaged with Native American leadership. Tribes all along the pipelines route  in northern Wisconsin, throughout Michigan and in northern Ontario  have all voiced united opposition to Line 5s continued existence and have demanded it be shut down. Our stances as sovereign nations have been ignored at every turn. It is a far stretch to label this disregard as respectful.

The respectful thing to do is to honor our land, homes and way of life by ending the operation of the Line 5 pipeline.

Johnson, of Manistee, Mich., is a tribal councilor for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians: lrboi-nsn.gov.
A Boise nonprofit that spent seven months experimenting with a four-day workweek found it worked so well it made the move permanent this month.

Healthwise, which provides educational materials to medical patients through hospitals and individual practices, found its 250 employees were more productive and were better able to manage a work-life balance when they figured out how to squeeze what used to be five days work into four.

That happened even as employees were mostly working from home because of the coronavirus pandemic.

During a typical work day in an office, theres a lot of inefficiencies that happen, Healthwise CEO Dr. Adam Husney, a physician, said in a Zoom interview. We have not asked them to commit to extra hours during the week. Weve asked them to get the work that we need done. That hasnt changed.

Husney said his employees have found ways to maximize working hours, reduce inefficiencies and noise, and use meeting times better. Employees, most of whom are salaried and not hourly, have been working a four-day week since August. Consistent with the companys previous practice, workers who generally had worked Monday through Friday werent told to work a certain number of hours. They just had to get their work completed.

The feedback weve gotten is very positive, Husney said. Ninety-five percent of our employees felt that the four-day workweek positively impacted their work-life balance. Eighty percent said that the four-day workweek made them more likely to recommend Healthwise as an employer to their family and friends.

Like many other companies, Healthwise sent its workers home from its offices on Bogus Basin Road during the early weeks of the pandemic in March 2020. But later, as the lines between home and work became blurred, company executives saw that workers were becoming burned out.

Healthwise has had a good record of retaining employees for a long time, but the company saw a higher percentage of people leave during the pandemic, Husney said. Rather than bring workers back to the office, Husney tried a different approach.

And so we decided it was a good time to try the four-day week, he said. Weve seen very little attrition since that time. Healthwise has always been a place that has cared a lot about its workers, and were proud of that.

The company heard about studies being conducted in New Zealand looking at a four-day workweek. The findings were pretty compelling, Husney said, leading the company to try it out.

It would have been really hard for us to do this if we did not have the experience of knowing that we could be productive when people were not sitting right next to us, Husney said. The pandemic taught us that our employees work really hard no matter where they are and they get the job done.

Americans once worked 70 hours, 6 days a week

In the 1800s, many U.S. employees worked 70 hours or more, according to the Economic History Association. Before the Civil War, most Americans worked in agriculture, mostly for themselves. Work hours were rarely recorded, the association said.

Workers involved in manufacturing, where hours were recorded, worked an estimated 69.1 hours per week in 1830. By 1890, that had fallen to 60 hours, according to studies at the time by the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Senate.

By 1919, after the end of World War I, the eight-hour workday and six days of work had become standard. In May 1926, the Ford Motor Co. introduced a five-day, 40-hour week in its automobile factories. That later became the standard across the United States, bolstered by the 1938 passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The law created a minimum wage and mandated overtime pay of time and a half for more than 40 hours worked in a week.

While labor unions began calling for four-day workweeks beginning in the 1950s, very little progress has been made. A March 2020 Gallup survey of 10,000 U.S. workers found that 5% worked a shortened week.

A survey of 4,000 American workers of all age groups last fall found that 83% would prefer a four-day workweek, according to GoodHire, which screens job applicants for employers.

Some lawmakers in Hawaii have called for creation of a task force to see if a four-day workweek for state government workers would be beneficial. And a California congressman has taken it a step further, introducing legislation that would create a 32-hour workweek.

In some other countries, the workweek has been getting shorter. Since 2000, workers in France have worked a 35-hour week, four days of eight hours each and one day of three hours. Overtime is paid for anything over 35 hours. In January, the United Arab Emirates government implemented a 4-day workweek.

Healthwise looked at New Z

ealand experience

Traditionally, companies with four-day workweeks still have their employees work 40 hours, just completed in four days rather than five. The latest trend is to have employees work 32 hours over four days for the same pay as 40.

Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform, began a pilot program this week with its 90 employees working 32 hours.

Microsoft in Japan conducted a four-day pilot program that saw productivity increase nearly 40%, while electricity costs fell 23%, the company reported. Unilever, the owner of brands such as Dove soap, Axe deodorant and Ben & Jerrys ice cream, completed a yearlong trial for 81 workers. And the government of Spain is in the middle of a three-year pilot where 200 companies were offered subsidies to participate. All three of these programs paid employees their full salaries for working fewer hours.

In New Zealand, estate planners Perpetual Guardian instituted a trial four-day workweek with its 240 employees before the pandemic. The company instituted an 80-100-100 rule: employees worked 80% of their former hours to accomplish 100% of the work for 100% of their pay. Productivity increased and workers were happy, the company reported.

Maintenance crews, general equipment operators and traffic operations employees for the Ada County Highway District work from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday or Tuesday through Friday.

The crews have to prepare each morning before heading out, so the longer days allow them spend more time in the field, spokesperson Rachel Bjornstad said by email.

Perpetual Guardian founder Andrew Barnes and his partner, Charlotte Lockhart, created a nonprofit foundation, 4 Day Week Global, to research outcomes and encourage other companies worldwide to give it a try.

At Healthwise, Leanne Downs, a project manager who lives in West Boise, said the four-day week has worked out well.

I very much enjoy a little faster-paced week, Downs said by phone. The extra day off on Fridays lets me take care of personal things in the community at businesses that arent open on the weekends.

Eventually, Downs, who has worked for Healthwise for 10 years, would like to return to the office at least a couple of days a week and continue to work from home the rest of the time. She was photographed at the office for this story, along with other employees interviewed.

Tom Williams, a business manager who works with Healthwise clients, said the company has always emphasized getting tasks accomplished more than working a specified number of hours. Sometimes, Williams said, he works a few hours on Friday to get work finished.

And then I take the afternoon off, said Williams, who served on an employee committee that provided feedback to management about the four-day weeks. But there have been several days where I took the whole day off.

One of the outcomes, Williams said, is that employees work harder to ensure they have Fridays off. He said he once crammed nine meetings into a Thursday to take the next day off.

That was a pretty hectic day, he said. But, to me, the tradeoff was worth it. Id rather work harder over the four days to get Friday off.

Connie Feiler, a registered nurse who serves as Healthwises clinical director of patient experience, said she previously spent 30 years working in a hospital. Even on her days off she was expected to check company emails. Feiler, who has worked for Healthwise for about a year from her home in Pittsburgh, said shes enjoyed having an extra day off.

When you know youre working Monday through Thursday, theres a higher energy level, she said by phone. Youre very focused and maybe even a little more organized and just want to make sure you make the most of those four days.

Before the pandemic, 90% of Healthwises employees resided in the Boise area, Husney said. After people began working from home, the company began recruiting more employees nationally.

The four-day workweek has helped attract them and has allowed us to recruit from a more diverse population, he said. So thats allowed Healthwise to improve with respect to diversity, both geographically and culturally.

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BELLEVUE  Swiftsure Ranch, the Valley Chamber and community members will celebrate the arrival of Swiftsures newest therapeutic apparatus on Friday with a ribbon cutting.

The ceremony will begin at 11:15 a.m. with a few words from The Valley Chamber Executive Director Mike McKenna and Swiftsure Ranchs Executive Director Paul Bennett in celebration of the ranchs new custom wheelchair-accessible therapeutic driving carriage.

The four-passenger Waggonette carriage was generously funded by Spur Community Foundation, and Heart of Gold Foundation. Bennington Carriages of England were instrumental in the custom build and delivery of the carriage. Unique to this carriage is that it was designed with a hydraulic lift system and sturdy aluminum ramps to enable easy wheelchair access and not limit any participant of the ranch.

The addition of the ADA carriage will allow individuals who cannot mount a horse the opportunity to explore the ranch in a way they have not been able tountil now, Bennett said. Learning to drive is a fun way for anyone to get out and enjoy nature while interacting with the horses. Driving a carriage works on core stabilization, and overall coordination among many other valuable skills.

For more information visit swiftsureranch.org.

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Prosecutors in Idaho say they will seek the death penalty against a woman charged with killing her two youngest children and her new husbands previous wife. The prosecuting attorneys from Fremont and Madison counties made the announcement in court documents filed Monday, saying Lori Vallow Daybell will qualify for capital punishment if convicted because the slayings were exceptionally depraved and carried out for financial gain. Lori Vallow Daybells co-defendant and husband, Chad Daybell, is also facing a potential death penalty if convicted. The pair are charged with murder, conspiracy and grand theft in connection with the deaths of 7-year-old Joshua JJ Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Branden Durst concedes that he probably would not win the Republican race for state superintendent if he were going against either of his two opponents alone. Getting 50 percent of the vote would be a high threshold for someone who cares little about winning over crowds.

But in a three-way race, where something around 35 percent could win the GOP nomination, Durst has a more optimistic view.

Hes not touting himself as the winner by any means. He knows that his two opponents  State Superintendent Sherri Ybarra and former State Board President Debbie Critchfield  have their followers. Ybarra has been in the office for eight years and represents the status quo. Critchfield has emerged as the establishment favorite.

Durst will tell people who will listen that they should vote for either of his opponents if they approve of the direction of education in Idaho. Durst, a former Democratic legislator who now aligns himself with the Republican Partys right wing, has carved out his niche with conservatives.

And those on that end of the political spectrum loathe whats happening with education. They want nothing to do with critical race theory, common core or anything that they perceive is within sniffing distance of liberal indoctrination.

This one is simple for voters  the contrasts are clear. Of all the races, this one probably is the most wide open, Durst said. I am the conservative candidate, and there is no question about that.

In a race with three or more candidates, the most conservative candidate often wins. This one might be decided in North Idaho, which over the years has evolved into friendly territory for conservatives.

People might be dancing on my grave after the early voting, but then votes will come from the north, Durst said. I could get as much as 50 percent from the north.

Durst is an odd sort of candidate  a description he doesnt run away from. He doesnt play to crowds, or particularly care about being well liked. And he has no great interest in broadening his base for the primary election.

Im not built that way, he said. Of course, I want people to like me, but Im not going to change who I am to accomplish that.

A case in point was his appearance in a recent candidate forum sponsored by Idaho Business for Education. According to Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News, Durst made it clear from the start that he was not going to change his message to suit his audience.

Mission accomplished, Richert wrote. Durst said a lot of things the IBE didnt want to hear. He said he opposed the all-day kindergarten bill headed to Gov. Brad Littles desk.  And he called out the IBE for opposing a school choice bill on constitutional grounds.

Durst added a few more jewels in my conversation with him.

I would be willing to push for a statewide prohibition on mask mandates in schools. I would be willing to push for a school choice system that would have public and private schools competing over dollars, he said. We need to get back to where we are trusting parents to decide whats best for the students.

The education system itself, he says, tends to be self-perpetuating. It doesnt care so much about the students or parents as much as the impact on itself.

He views Ybarra, a longtime state superintendent, and Critchfield, the former state board president, as defenders of system.

Going back to his time in the Legislature, Durst has never been a fan of the status quo. If anything, hes more of a rebel against the Republican establishment than he was as a Democrat in the House and Senate.

I certainly was at odds with the Republican establishment, he said. In subsequent years, we have seen a wing of the Republican Party that is taking on some of the fights I took on as a member of the Legislature. They have fought that good-old-boy network that I personally dont like.

Theres a good chance that two-thirds of Republicans wont like Durst if he wins the nomination and becomes state superintendent. But if he ends up being part of a conservative wave that hits the top levels of state government, there will be some big changes in store for public schools.

Chuck Malloy is a longtime Idaho journalist and columnist. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com.

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Egypts Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly Monday said the Arab republic is eager to host the new headquarters of the African Medicines Agency (AMA).

AMA headquarters, Madbouly hints, will be located in Egypts new administrative capital.

Madbouly, Arab News reports, indicated that Egypt has designated a diplomatic quarter in its new administrative capital to be the headquarters of diplomatic missions and the residence of their workers, and it could host the AMA headquarters.

The AMA came into being last year after the treaty for its creation came into force in November at the African Union (AU).

The agency, the AU notes, aspires to enhance capacity of State Parties and AU recognized Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to regulate medical products in order to improve access to quality, safe and efficacious medical products on the continent.

The continental body also indicates that AMA shall build on the efforts of the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) initiative (2009), which is led by the Africa Union Development Agency  the New Partnership for Africas Development (AUDA-NEPAD).
The Ministry of the Royal Household, Protocol and Chancellery, announced that at the invitation of King Mohammed VI, the President of the Spanish Government Pedro Sanchez will make an official visit to Morocco on Thursday, April 7.

In a press release, the ministry specifies that on this occasion, the Sovereign will have official talks with the President of the Spanish Government.

Sanchez will also be the guest of an iftar offered in his honor by King Mohammed VI.
A major rebel group announced Monday its withdrawal from peace talks in Qatar with Chads ruling junta since the death of President Idriss Deby, who was killed ten months ago at the front against the rebels.

The Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic (CCMSR), which is very active in southern Libya and northern Chad, has reluctantly decided to withdraw from the pre-dialogue, citing in a statement the hidden agenda () of the military junta.

We dont have to comment on this decision, said a member of the Chadian delegation, who spoke on the phone in Qatar on condition of anonymity. This Doha pre-dialogue, promised for many months and initially scheduled for February 27, had been postponed at the last minute to March 13.

One of the stated goals of the son of the late head of state, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, 38, who was proclaimed president of the Republic on April 20, 2021 at the head of a junta of 15 generals, is to bring the armed groups to the table for an inclusive national dialogue scheduled for May 10 with the political and armed opposition.

These armed groups have harassed Marshal Deby, sometimes right up to the gates of the presidential palace, during the 30 years he has ruled with an iron hand.
Burkina Faso, targeted since 2015 by frequent and deadly jihadist attacks, wants to diversify partnerships in the fight against armed groups, announced Monday Prime Minister Albert Ouedraogo, appointed by the junta in power since a pustch in late January.

As regards military cooperation with other states in particular, the option is now to diversify partnerships, in order to optimize the specific assets of each partner, Ouedraogo said as he presented the governments roadmap to the transitional legislative assembly. In any case, these partnerships will be based on respect for our territorial independence and sincerity, he continued.

No country was specifically mentioned by the Prime Minister, at a time when France, a historical partner, is withdrawing its troops from Mali. The presentation of the roadmap by Mr. Ouedraogo, which took place one month after the formation of the government, was followed by questions without a vote.

Faced with the terrorist threat, we have no choice but to safeguard territorial integrity, by liberating areas occupied by terrorist groups, bringing back security and ensuring the continuity of public services and local development, said the head of government.

Mr. Ouedraogo said he had also committed to major equipment projects that will strengthen the material and logistical resources of the security forces, build new security infrastructures and support the deployment of the public administration.

He also promised the governments support to accelerate the processing of terrorism cases pending before the courts, mainly concerning Burkinabe captured in the theater of operations or arrested for complicity.
Three members of a Congolese delegation held hostage for a month and a half by an armed group with which it had come to negotiate in Ituri (northeastern DRC) were released on Monday, while four remain held, a spokesman announced.

One of the companions of the group of eight, Professor Jean-Baptiste Dhechuvi, was released on March 21.

The three hostages released on Monday are former warlord Germain Katanga, the president of the Union of Cultural Associations for the Development of Ituri (Unadi) Janvier Ayendu Bin Ekwale and the groups driver, announced Pitchout Mbodina Iribi, spokesman for the Task Force for Peace, Reconciliation and Reconstruction of Ituri.

This is the result of talks we have been holding for several days with the Codeco militia, he said in a statement, without further details.

The Codeco militia (Cooperative for the Development of Congo) is a mystical-military organization that claims to defend members of the Lendu community. According to the UN and Congolese authorities, its militiamen are behind most of the current violence in Ituri.

The task force delegation was sent by President Felix Tshisekedi to negotiate a cease-fire and the demobilization of the rebels. While the negotiators were in talks with the Codeco militia, the latter took them hostage, blaming the army for bombing the area during the meeting.

The militiamen have since made known their demands for their release, namely the release of Codeco prisoners and members of the Lendu community arbitrarily arrested, the cessation of military operations, the lifting of the state of siege, etc.

The members of the mission still held hostage are former warlords Thomas Lubanga and Floribert Ndjabu, and two Congolese army colonels Justin and Desire Lobho.

Ituri and the neighboring province of North Kivu have been under a state of siege since May, but so far this has not stopped the abuses of armed groups.
On Monday, April 4, the Court of Appeal confirmed the verdict that had been handed down in the first instance against the hero of the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda for acts of terrorism. A setback for the Rwandan prosecutors office, which had appealed and had once again requested life imprisonment.

The appeals court found that there was no reason to increase Rusesabaginas sentence because this is the first time he has been prosecuted and the 25 years in prison, decided in the first instance, corresponds to the seriousness of his crime, said Judge Emmanuel Kamere. While Paul Rusesabagina has acknowledged being part of the opposition platform MRCD, he has always denied any responsibility for the attacks attributed to the armed wing of this movement, the FLN, perpetrated in Rwanda in 2018 and 2019.

Once again, the verdict was read in the absence of the main accused. Since the beginning of the proceedings, Paul Rusesabagina has boycotted the hearings. He had not appealed his conviction.

Today, those close to him denounce a verdict without any legitimacy, rendered by a justice system under orders and intended to frighten all critics of Paul Kagame. They are sounding the alarm about the health of the opponent.
The Ministry of the Royal Household, Protocol and Chancellery has announced that the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchez, will visit the Kingdom on Thrusday.

Upon the invitation of King Mohammed VI, H.E. Mr Pedro Sanchez, President of the Spanish Government, will pay a visit to the Kingdom of Morocco on Thursday, Ramadan 5, 1443 hegira, corresponding to April 7, 2022, says a statement released by the ministry.

The statement further notes that, on this occasion, His Majesty the King, may God preserve Him, will hold official talks with His Excellency the President of the Spanish Government.

HM the King, may God glorify Him, will offer an Iftar in honor of the Sovereigns illustrious guest, concludes the statement.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Shane Thompson knows the nightmare facing diabetics struggling to afford the insulin necessary to regulate their blood sugar.

The Plano, Texas, engineer was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a college senior about 15 years ago. For months beforehand, she had been losing weight and experiencing extreme thirst, hunger and fatigue.

Then she came down with what she initially thought was a nasty flu. She ended up in the intensive care unit, where doctors were stunned by her sky-high blood sugars and told her that she had nearly died.

"Going through that is terrifying," Thompson said.

Before she was able to land a "real life job," Thompson did not have health insurance and saw how her $300-a-month-or-more insulin bill quickly ate up the paychecks from her part-time work. That left her trying to snag free samples in an effort to blunt the financial hit.

Congress is debating proposals to help patients cope with access and cost issues. The House voted last week to cap patients' out-of-pocket costs at $35 per month.

An estimated 37 million Americans have diabetes, including about 2.7 million in Texas, where the situation is compounded by relatively high rates of uninsured individuals.

Even though insulin has been around for more than a century, prices for it have soared in recent years and forced many diabetics to ration doses.Texas adopted a law last year limiting insulin co-pays to $25 a month, but that cap only applies to state-regulated insurance plans and therefore a relatively small slice of the population.

There is bipartisan agreement in Washington that out-of-control insulin pricesand prescription drug prices overallrequire federal action, but widely differing views on the best way to address them.

Democrats have pushed various regulatory approaches, such as having Medicare negotiate drug prices, while many Republicans have resisted what they describe as government intervention in the private sector and a slippery slope to "price fixing."

While a bipartisan pair of U.S. senators is working to hammer out a compromise approach, the House last week sought to give them a nudge.

Democrats united Thursday behind the bill that would cap at $35 per month the out-of-pocket costs for Americans on private health insurance plans or Medicare. The legislation drew a dozen Republican votes and passed 232-193.

That proposal was plucked out of the Democrats' sweeping climate and social spending package formerly known as "Build Back Better," which has stalled in the Senate.

Texans divided

The Texas delegation split along party lines, with Democrats all voting yes and Republicans voting no. The only exception was Republican Rep. Kevin Brady of The Woodlands, who did not vote.

Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, has tried to spotlight the issue of insulin prices, inviting Thompson as his guest to the 2020 State of the Union address. In an interview, he cited statistics that one in four diabetics report rationing their insulin.

"What that really means is they're risking their life because they can't afford their medication." Allred said. "So to cap the cost is important to me and I'm going to keep trying to find ways to lower costs."

A number of House Republicans objected to the legislation as a move toward government price controls that would stifle innovation.

Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Irving criticized the bill as a government takeover of private health care and said it would do nothing to lower the real cost of insulin for Americans.

"In fact it allows manufacturers to raise their prices, as insurers pass them on to patients through a rise in premiums," she said in a statement.

She said she instead supports legislation that would take steps such as requiring the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services to publish more information about prescription drugs to advance transparency, reduce the annual out-of-pocket spending threshold in Medicare and permanently allow high-deductible health plans to waive deductibles for insulin.

Some of the criticism was bipartisan. For example, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, said on the House floor that he fully supported the bill because it offers some relief to insured individuals struggling to afford insulin.

But he also took issue with the way it would provide that relief.

"Instead of addressing pharmaceutical price gouging, this bill really only shifts how big Pharma is rewarded," Doggett said. "Since this bill does not reduce any insulin prices by a penny, all of us who are insured will ultimately pay through our premiums."

The bill offers no help, he said, to the 28 million Americansincluding more than 5 million Texanswho lack health insurance.

Allred acknowledged that dynamic and noted that the uninsured rate in Dallas County runs over 20%. He favors a range of proposals to get more people insured and to tackle prescription drug prices through negotiations, as the VA does.

But he said the insulin bill represents a good first step that can help break the ice on getting something bipartisan moving. He said he hopes it proves more attractive to Senate Republicans who have adamantly opposed any move toward price negotiation.

"Now, the question is, can we get 10 Republican senators to join us in doing this?" Allred said.

Controlling costs

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said recently she has landed on an agreement in principle with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on a bipartisan bill to lower insulin costs. They could use as a basis legislation they introduced previously that would reward drug companies who lowered overall insulin prices.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has indicated insulin-related legislation could hit the Senate floor later this spring.

Republicans are likely to offer additional ideas on prescription drugs. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, for example, has offered legislation that aims to bring drug costs down by preventing drug companies from gaming the patent system to block generic versions of drugs from market.

When Thompson, the Plano engineer, was first diagnosed with diabetes, she was a few months from being commissioned as a Navy officer. Her diagnosis rendered her medically disqualified and dashed her plans for a career in uniform.

Today, she's a project manager at an engineering firm where she focuses on private site development.

Thompson said she's fortunate to have health insurance, but her insulin still can cost her up to $90 a month.

She welcomed caps on insulin costs, both for her own peace of mind and out of consideration for those who are less fortunate and rationing their doses.

Going without medicine is not an option.

"If I don't take care of myself, if I don't have insulin, then I die," she said.

2022 The Dallas Morning News.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Residents line up to get their throat swab at a coronavirus testing site, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Beijing. China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest city. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

The COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest metropolis of Shanghai remains "extremely grim" amid an ongoing lockdown confining around 26 million people to their homes, a city official said Tuesday.

The director of Shanghai's working group on epidemic control, Gu Honghui, was quoted by state media as saying that the outbreak in the city was "still running at a high level."

"The situation is extremely grim," Gu said.

China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from around the country to aid the city, including 2,000 from the military, and is mass testing residents, some of whom have been locked down for weeks.

Most of eastern Shanghai, which was supposed to reopen last Friday, remained locked down along with the western half of the city.

Shanghai recorded another 13,354 cases on Mondaythe vast majority of them asymptomaticbringing the city's total to more than 73,000 since the latest wave of infections began last month. No deaths have been ascribed to the outbreak driven by the omicron BA.2 variant, which is much more infectious but also less lethal than the previous delta strain.

A separate outbreak continues to rage in the northeastern province of Jilin and the capital, Beijing, also saw an additional nine cases, just one of them asymptomatic. Workers shut down an entire shopping center in the city where a case had been detected.

A security guard wearing a face mask stands watch over a barricaded Galaxy Soho commercial office building locked down for health monitoring following a COVID-19 case detected in the area, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Beijing. China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest city. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

While China's vaccination rate hovers around 90%, its domestically produced inactivated virus vaccines are seen as weaker than the mRNA vaccines such as those produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna that are used abroad, as well as in the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macao. Vaccination rates among the elderly are also much lower than the population at large, with only around half of those over 80 fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, complaints have arisen in Shanghai over difficulties obtaining food and daily necessities, and shortages of medical workers, volunteers and beds in isolation wards where tens of thousands are being kept for observation.

Shanghai has converted an exhibition hall and other facilities into massive isolation centers where people with mild or no symptoms are housed in a sea of beds separated by temporary partitions.

Women wearing face masks to help protect from the coronavirus walk by a barricaded Galaxy Soho commercial office building which was locked down for health monitoring following a COVID-19 case detected in the area, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Beijing. China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest city. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Public outrage has been fueled by reports and video clips posted on the internet documenting the death of a nurse who was denied admittance to her own hospital under COVID-19 restrictions, and infant children separated from their parents.

Circulation of footage showing multiple infants kept in cots prompted the city's Public Health Clinical Center to issue a statement saying the children were being well looked after and had been in the process of being moved to a new facility when the footage was taken.

At a virtual town hall Monday, the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai warned of possible family separations amid the lockdown, but said it had an "extremely limited ability" to intervene in such cases.

Concern is growing about the potential economic impact on China's financial capital, also a major shipping and manufacturing center. Most public transport has been suspended and non-essential businesses closed, although airports and train stations remain open and the city's port and some major industries such as car plants continue to operate.

A security wearing a face mask to help protect from the coronavirus aligns the barricades at the Galaxy Soho commercial office building which was locked down for health monitoring following a COVID-19 case detected in the area, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Beijing. China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest city. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

A security wearing a face mask to help protect from the coronavirus barricades the Galaxy Soho commercial office building locked down for health monitoring following a COVID-19 case detected in the area, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Beijing. China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest city. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Residents wearing face masks walk by a masked security watch over a barricaded Galaxy Soho commercial office building locked down for health monitoring following a COVID-19 case detected in the area, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Beijing. China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest city. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Workers wearing face masks to help protect from the coronavirus scan their code for COVID-19 test near the Galaxy Soho commercial office building which was locked down for health monitoring following a COVID-19 case detected in the area, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Beijing. China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest city. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

Residents wearing face masks to help protect from the coronavirus talk to a health worker and they line up to get their throat swab at a coronavirus testing site, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Beijing. China has sent more than 10,000 health workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as it struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak in China's largest city. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong

International events in the city have been canceled and three out of five foreign companies with operations in Shanghai say they have cut this year's sales forecasts, according to a survey conducted last week by the American Chamber of Commerce. One-third of the 120 companies that responded to the survey said they have delayed investments.

Despite those concerns and growing public frustration, China says it is sticking to its hardline "zero-tolerance" approach mandating lockdowns, mass testing and the compulsory isolation of all suspected cases and close contacts.

Explore further Hong Kong urges testing, Shanghai struggles under lockdown

 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

For critical care nurses, identifying declines in patient condition as soon as possible can help improve the quality of care delivered and reduce medical emergencies.

Now, Eydie Tipton, a doctoral student at the MU Sinclair School of Nursing and nurse researcher at Blessing Hospital in Illinois, is part of a team that implemented an early warning detection systemone that employs real-time alerts monitored by an experienced, critical care registered nurse who is trained to recognize changes indicating a worsening of condition. The team found this evidence-based practice can reduce medical emergencies and mortality rates before patients' health declines.

The pilot project started at Blessing Hospital, where Tipton, Yvonne Goellner, Tammie Verzino and Laura Weigand work. The project included both an early warning detection system that details around-the-clock changes in patients' vital signs and cardiac rhythm, as well as the creation of a new, full-time nursing position, known as a high-acuity response team nurse. This nurse used constantly updated data to monitor subtle changes in a patient's condition and collaborated with the primary care nurses to make informed care decisions before a patient's condition rapidly deteriorated.

"We never want to wait until it is a crisis situation, so if the high-acuity response team nurse notices subtle changes in a patient's condition, including drops in blood pressure or rises in heartbeat, they can quickly talk with the primary care nurse and make informed decisions quickly and efficiently," Tipton said. "This allows for early interventions to be implemented when patients are clinically deteriorating, which ultimately improves the quality of care."

Tipton explained nurses may often be responsible for more than one patient at a time, so adding the new nurse position promotes professional collaboration and decreases the chances of declining patient condition to go unnoticed. She hopes more hospitals around the country can incorporate a similar model to improve the quality of care.

"When the right people are equipped with the right technology, we can help reduce mortality rates and improve patients' quality of life," Tipton said.

"Improving care quality through nurse-to-nurse consults and early warning system technology" was recently published in Nursing Management. Yvonne Goellner, Tammie Verzino and Laura Weigand were co-authors on the study.

Explore further Nurse work environment affects patient outcome

More information: Yvonne Goellner et al, Improving care quality through nurse-to-nurse consults and early warning system technology, Nursing Management (2022). Yvonne Goellner et al, Improving care quality through nurse-to-nurse consults and early warning system technology,(2022). DOI: 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000795580.57332.fa
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

New research from the University of Georgia suggests that highlighting coronavirus racial disparities could reduce white Americans' fear of the disease and empathy toward Black and other minority groups. More awareness of those disparities can also make them less supportive of safety precautions such as mask wearing and social distancing.

And that lack of support for safety precautions can exacerbate the devastating effects COVID-19 is having on minority populations, the researchers note.

Published in Social Science and Medicine, the study found that highlighting health disparities may perpetuate the very racial inequalities reporters and those sharing information on disparities are trying to correct.

"Sharing this information could be doing the exact opposite of what we want it to do," said Allison Skinner-Dorkenoo, lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the department of psychology. "Ignoring disparities can't be the answer. But we need to be thinking about what role reporting and the sharing of this information might be playing in perpetuating or making the problem worse."

The first part of the study assessed nearly 500 white Americans' perceptions of COVID-19 racial disparities and their knowledge of contributing factors to the disparities.

Participants reported whether they believed COVID-19 infection rates and deaths had a greater impact on white populations or people of color. They then ranked their agreement with fact-based statements about the systemic and structural contributors to COVID-19 racial disparities.

For example, participants were asked to rank their agreement with statements including: "Relative to White people in the U.S., people of color are disproportionately employed as 'essential workers'increasing their risk of exposure to COVID-19" and "People of color in the U.S. are less likely to have access to drive-through testing services (relative to White people), which increases the spread of COVID-19 among people of color."

Participants were also asked to rank their fear of contracting COVID-19 or having a loved one contract the disease, and whether they supported public safety precautions and their agreement that the public should follow public health recommendations.

The researchers found that white Americans who believed there to be greater racial disparities in COVID-19 were less fearful of the disease and less likely to support safety precautions. In contrast, participants who acknowledged the structural causes contributing to these disparities were more fearful and supportive of safety measures.

In the second part of the study, more than 1,500 participants were randomly assigned to read one of three articles about the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. public. One discussed the disease in general but didn't focus on racial disparities. Another mentioned racial disparities and highlighted the differences between people of color's health outcomes and those of white people. The third article discussed the disparities in the context of preexisting social inequalities.

Participants who read the articles with information on racial disparities were less fearful of the virus and less supportive of safety precautions. But the group given the information about systemic inequalities were even less concerned than the other group.

"What we found is the article that provided added context about systemic inequalities didn't actually help at all," Skinner-Dorkenoo said. "It actually made it worse. Whenever there is an issue where people can say, 'It's not me. It's not my group that's being affected,' that generally lessens their concerns about it."
Patients with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM), which is typically due to a neurocardiogenic mechanism, with migraine have lower odds of mortality and acute complications compared with TCM patients without migraine, according to a study published online March 24 in Cardiovascular Revascularization Medicine.

Jobin Joseph Varghese, M.D., from the MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., and colleagues queried the National Inpatient Sample database to examine in-hospital outcomes of TCM in patients with a concurrent diagnosis of migraine compared with those without migraine. Data were included for 172,025 TCM patients, of whom 3,610 had migraines.

The researchers found that the odds of mortality and acute complications were lower for TCM patients with versus without a diagnosis of migraine (odds ratios, 0.388 and 0.511, respectively). The odds ratios remained significant after adjustment for confounding variables (adjusted odds ratios, 0.622 and 0.563, respectively).

"There is limited research that describes a link between migraines and TCM, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the largest study investigating the relationship between migraines and TCM," the authors write. "Further studies are required to investigate this association of migraine and its protective neurohormonal effects on TCM patients."

One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical, medical device, and other industries.

Explore further Migraine more prevalent in women with endometriosis

More information: Jobin Joseph Varghese et al, Impact of migraine headaches on stress induced 'Takotsubo' cardiomyopathy, Cardiovascular Revascularization Medicine (2022). Jobin Joseph Varghese et al, Impact of migraine headaches on stress induced 'Takotsubo' cardiomyopathy,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.carrev.2022.03.005

 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Using specific protein markers, it is possible to observe structural details of organoids (yellow and red) as well as all the organoid cells in blue and green. Credit:  Novarino group/ISTA

To better understand the causes of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), it is crucial to look at what is happening in the brain during development. The closest we come to observing human brains this early is by using organoidsminiature models of organs. With their help, scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) discovered how mutations in a high-risk gene of autism disrupt important developmental processes.

Several hundred genes are associated with autism spectrum disorders. Some patients are only mildly affected, while others have severe disabilities. In addition to characteristic symptoms like difficulties in social interaction and communication with other people, as well as repetitive-stereotypic behaviors, patients with mutations of the gene CHD8 oftentimes have intellectual disabilities and macrocephalyan unusually large brain. How CHD8 causes these symptoms has long been unclear.

Tiny artificial brains

Since CHD8 mutations affect the brain at a very early stage of its development, it has proven difficult for scientists to get the full picture. Over the past years, many researchers therefore used mice as model organisms to better understand what is going on. "But mice with a CHD8 mutation barely showed the symptoms human patients are showing. The effects in mice are not comparable to humans. We needed some kind of human model," Professor Gaia Novarino explains.

Together with collaborators from the Italian Human Technopole institute, the European Institute of Oncology, and the University of Milan, as well as the Allen Institute for Brain Science, U.S., Novarino and her team at ISTA turned to organoids. These simplified miniature versions of organs are made from stem cells, which have the ability to become almost every other type of cell. By creating the right circumstances and giving the proper input at just the right time, the scientists were able to mimic developmental processes to create basic versions of brain tissue the size of lentils. "Organoids are the only way you can study human brain development at such an early phase," says Barbara Oliveira, postdoc in the Novarino group and one of the authors of the study.

At day 50, it is possible to notice the overgrowth of mutant organoids when compare to the control group. Credit:  Novarino group/ISTA

CHD8 mutations disrupt balance of neuron production

In petri dishes the team created brain organoids with and without mutations of the gene CHD8. "After some time, we could see by eye that the mutant organoids were much bigger. That was the first evidence that the model works," her colleague and co-author, Ph.D. student Christoph Dotter, describes. Like patients with a CHD8 mutation, the organoids were showing signs of brain overgrowth.

Getting an overview of all the cell types in the organoids, the team notices something very early on: The mutant organoids started to produce a specific type of neurons, inhibitory neurons, much earlier than the control group. So called excitatory neurons, however, were produced later. Furthermore, the mutant organoids produced much more proliferating cells that later on produce a larger amount of this kind of neurons. Over all, the scientists concluded, this leads to them being significantly bigger than the organoids without CHD8 mutations correlating with patient's macrocephaly.

Starting to understand our brain

Like previous studies by the Novarino group, their recent study shows just how important time is when studying autism. "Looking at different time points gives us the information that what you see in the end might not be the full picture of how the brain of a patient developedmuch more might have happened before," says Novarino. "We still have a limited understanding of how different trajectories affect functions of the brain." To one day help patients with a CHD8 mutation, the basics of brain development need to be better understood. By reproducing genetic and clinical features from ASD patients in brain organoids, the Novarino group was able to make an important contribution.

Explore further The potential role of genetic and environmental interaction in autism spectrum disorder

More information: Gaia Novarino, CHD8 haploinsufficiency alters the developmental trajectories of human excitatory and inhibitory neurons linking autism with transient cellular defects, Cell Reports (2022). www.cell.com/cell-reports/full  2211-1247(22)00363-1 Journal information: Cell Reports Gaia Novarino, CHD8 haploinsufficiency alters the developmental trajectories of human excitatory and inhibitory neurons linking autism with transient cellular defects,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110615
Fresh government data shows that COVID deaths among nursing home residents data have fallen to the lowest levels seen since the pandemic began.

Some 67 residents died nationwide of COVID during the week ending March 27, according to the latest statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But that doesn't mean that nursing home staff and residents can relax just yet, experts warned.

There is growing concern about the highly contagious BA.2 subvariant of Omicron. Nursing home residents continue to be more vulnerable both because of their age and underlying medical conditions, even if they have received vaccines and an initial booster shot.

Getting the second booster shot that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week to nursing home residents "is a real policy priority," David Grabowski, a health policy researcher at Harvard Medical School who studies nursing homes, told The New York Times. "We know this is protective."

Despite that, nursing homes were slow to roll out the first booster shot. Even now, only 76% of nursing home residents have first boosters, federal data shows. The data is worse for nursing home staff: About 86% are vaccinated, but only 43% have received boosters. Some states have fewer than one third of nursing home employees who have received booster shots, the Times reported.

"We have a lot of nursing homes around the country that lag behind," said Grabowski, adding that he was particularly worried about residents in facilities that serve predominantly people on Medicaid and minorities. "I think there are going to be real issues of equity here," he added.

The gap may widen further as Americans appear more skeptical about getting additional shots, experts said.

"I worry there has been a lot of mixed messages from the federal government," Brendan Williams, chief executive of the New Hampshire Health Care Association, a state nursing home trade group, told the Times.

"Right now, there doesn't appear to be a crisis," Williams said. "There's not that attention being paid, but things can always change. It's concerning."

Grabowski said there does not seem to be significant urgency in providing these extra doses, even though many nursing homes say they will.

In Connecticut, which issued an executive order in January mandating the first booster shots for workers in nursing homes, state health officials were reported to have indicated a similar directive for second boosters was not going to be issued.

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

 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
"OMG. Have you guys heard about this?"

So began a 2015 post by then-pregnant celebrity influencer Kim Kardashian, singing the praises of a "#morningsickness" drug called Diclegis to her tens of millions of followers on Instagram.

"It's been studied and there's no increased risk to the baby," she wrote, alongside a smiling selfie of her holding the pill bottle. "I'm so excited and happy with the results."

The Food and Drug Administration swiftly flagged the post for omitting the drug's long list of risks, required Kardashian to remove the post and dinged the drug maker with a warning letter.

But seven years later, the so-called patient influencers are alive and well, with pharmaceutical companies increasingly partnering with real-life patients who share their personal stories and advocate for brands online.

This trend intrigues and concerns Erin Willis, an associate professor of Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design at CU Boulder. In a new paper, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, she calls on the academic community to take a closer look.

"This is a growing phenomenon, but there is virtually no research on it and very little regulation," said Willis, who is interviewing dozens of patient influencers for a new study. "Is it going to help patients be better informed? Or is it going to get patients to ask their doctors for drugs they don't really need? We just don't know, because no one has studied it."

New twist on 'direct to consumer' marketing

In one of the first academic papers to date to explore the phenomenon, Willis and co-author Marjorie Delbaere, a professor of marketing at the University of Saskatchewan, framed patient influencers as "the next frontier in direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical marketing."

The controversial form of marketing, legal only in the United States and New Zealand, enables drug companies to target consumers directly, rather than through physicians. Since the first DTC ad ran in the 1980s, the ads have exploded, leading patients to ask their doctors about drugs they see on TV or in print. As Willis notes, about 44% who ask their doctor about a drug, get it.

Today, with trust in pharmaceutical companies, doctors and traditional media all declining, drug makers are now turning to patients themselves as messengers, with companies like WEGO health connecting patient influencers to healthcare companies for paid partnerships.

Having learned from the Kardashian incident, many ad agencies now avoid celebrity influencers altogether and instead engage "micro-influencers" like individual patients who share their personal stories and endorsements in condition-specific support groups (diabetes, heart disease, etc.) or those with a niche social media following.

"It's a lot like what we used to see with doctors and pharmaceutical companies," said Willis. "Only now it is patients using social media to advocate for disease awareness, and in some casespharmaceutical medications."

A blurring of the lines between ad and opinion

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) now requires that patient influencers disclose whether they are being paid (influencers use #ad or #sponcon to alert followers). And the FDA has published rules about what can and cannot be said on social posts. But such rules are open to interpretation and hard to enforce, said Willis.

The authors also have concerns that "a blurring of the lines" between ad and opinion could potentially deceive patients.

"When you see an ad and you recognize it as such, you are aware of the intent and you process it differently," said Delbaere.

As with any social media influencer, a patient influencer might omit crucial information, such as the availability of a cheaper generic option, or unintentionally disseminate misinformation due to lack of scientific expertise. But when health conditions or drugs are the subject of the posts, the stakes can be higher than with something like shoes or make-up, said Willis.

Upsides for patients and advertisers

All that said, she also sees many upsides to the patient influencer revolution. Patients often know more than their doctors about what it's like to experience a health condition, and sharing that expertise can potentially help other patients discover treatments they're unaware of.

And unlike other forms of DTC advertising, social media is interactive.

"If an influencer recommends a drug, there is an entire community of voices that get to weigh in on it and support it or share their negative experiences," said Willis.

Thus far in her interviews of patient influencers, Willis said she has found that only a small number are paid to post (some get free trips to conferences or are paid to sit on advisory boards). Some aren't paid at all.

"They all say they are really doing this so that other patients have information and can have a better life," said Willis. "That is their No. 1 motivation and I think that's awesome."

She said she hopes that her work, funded in part by the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication, and the new research agenda she has launched, will lead to a set of best practices for both patient influencers and the companies they work with.

"There is both value and risk in this growing trend and, like anything, it has the potential to become dangerous if we're not careful," Willis said.

Explore further Celebrities vs influencers: New research determines a winner

More information: Erin Willis et al, Patient Influencers: The Next Frontier in Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Marketing, Journal of Medical Internet Research (2021). Journal information: Journal of Medical Internet Research Erin Willis et al, Patient Influencers: The Next Frontier in Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Marketing,(2021). DOI: 10.2196/29422
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

People living in poorer counties died of COVID-19 at nearly two times the rate of people in wealthier counties, casting more light on the "shameful" impact of ongoing health and economic disparities, according to a report released Monday by a national civil rights group and research organizations.

The report comes as the number of COVID-19 related deaths in the United States approaches nearly 1 million.

"The finding of this report reveals neglect and sometimes intentional decisions to not focus on the poor," said William Barber, II, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, a national program focusing on social justice issues that commissioned the report. "There hasn't been any systemic or systematic assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the poor and low-income communities."

Barber and other advocates for the poor released Monday "A Poor People's Pandemic Report: Mapping the Intersection of Poverty, Race and COVID-19." The report highlights disparities, including economic and health, that were exacerbated during the pandemic and those potential factors in higher death rates in communities with high poverty rates.

Researchers analyzed county-level information, including COVID deaths, poverty, race, unemployment, rent and police violence, said Alainna Lynch, senior research manager for the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a project under the United Nations SecretaryGeneral that researches issues. Other groups involved with the report include Howard University in Washington, D.C., Repairers of the Breach and the Kairos Center, both groups fighting for social justice issues.

"What we can't say in this report is who are the people that died," said Lynch. "But what we can say is that in the poorest counties, the poorest counties grieved twice the number of deaths than the richest counties."

The death rates in poorer counties climbed up to five times higher than in richer counties during the recent waves of the Delta and Omicron variants, the report found.

Researchers also looked at 300 counties with the highest death rates and found many had a higher percentage of people living in poverty and a higher percentage of people of color, Lynch said.

The report highlighted examples in six counties, including Hinds County in Mississippi, and includes an interactive dashboard.

Lynch said the reports looked a people living at 200% or less of the poverty line, which meant $20,000 a year for a single person.

Barber said he wasn't surprised by the anomalies, but by the depth and broadness of the problem and how little governments did to collect data from, "the places of blatant neglect and in some places, downright intentionality, to not measure how poverty and COVID are connected."

Barber, who called the report's findings "shameful," said advocates for the poor have been calling for a meeting with the Biden administration for months to discuss the correlation between poverty and COVID and other issues, but that hasn't happened.

His group is planning a rally June 18 in Washington to highlight the COVID deaths disparities and other concerns facing the poor, including income gaps.

"We cannot wait any longer," he said. "This Congress and this country has got to take serious a comprehensive addressing of poverty."

Civil rights leaders and grassroots activists have long complained about the lack of racial data related to COVID cases and deaths. Early on, many jurisdictions did not track that data.

Health officials and advocates said the lack of racial data hinders efforts to target resources where it is most needed. A disproportionate number of people working on the frontlines or in essential jobs are people of color.

Some advocates have complained the federal government's slow response to the pandemic, particularly in communities of color, has had a devastating impact.

The Biden administration has defended its efforts to target people of color with resources, including more testing and more vaccination sites.

"Equity remains an important part of any of our plans," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, recently said.

Activists said Monday's report showed the consequences of health care and economic disparities.

"With this data and this analysis, we can see that who died during the pandemic, especially in these phases, in these worst phases, was also a policy choice," said Shailly Gupta Barnes, policy director of the Poor People's Campaign and the Kairos Center. "It was a choice to not see poverty, whether it was white, Black, Latina, Native, Indigenous or all of the above. It was a choice to have these death rates and to not prioritize them, across race, across geography and the worst public health crisis in this country."

"And we know that this wasn't just one policy," she said. "It was years of policies that predate the pandemic, but also continued through it and even now."

Recent Census data shows communities of color lagged economically behind white Americans before the pandemic. And vaccination rates remain lower in communities of color, particularly among children.

Tyrone Gardner said there was a lack of regard for him and other low-income residents who live in his housing projects in Goldsboro, North Carolina, during the first few years of the pandemic. He spent much of that time volunteering to distribute food to needy families. He joined the press conference in Washington to share his story and press for more attention for low-income families. He plans to return for the rally in June.

"We're going to be there marching," he said.

(c)2022 USA Today

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Air and surface sampling from patient rooms and adjoining anterooms. Air and surface samples were collected from patient rooms and adjoining anterooms and tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 by hid-RT-PCR. (A) Percentage of positive air and surface samples across different sampling locations. (B) Ct distribution of the samples collected in different sampling locations. Circles represent individual samples. Average Ct for patient room locations are 38.27 (room air), 3349 (air exhaust vent), 33.08 (bed rail), and 33.62 (floor). Average Ct for anteroom locations are 38.32 (room air) and 32.99 (air exhaust vent). Credit: Indoor Air (2022). DOI: 10.1111/ina.13023

A recent study published in Indoor Air by Antonio Rothfuchs et al, is the first to demonstrate active SARS-CoV-2 in air. Infectious SARS-CoV-2 was recovered from the air in rooms occupied by COVID-19 patients. This result strongly supports the aerosol route of transmission for SARS-CoV-2 and urges the revision of infection control frameworks for COVID-19 to include airborne transmission. We spoke with Antonio Rothfuchs, associate professor at MTC, and one of the co-authors of the study.

What are the most important results?

We recovered active SARS-CoV-2 from the air in rooms occupied by COVID-19 patients. Our study is the first to demonstrate infectious SARS-CoV-2 in air.

Why are these results important?

There has been a lack of understanding and consensus concerning the mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Our study is important because it strongly supports the aerosol route of transmission for SARS-CoV-2 and urges the revision of infection control frameworks for COVID-19 to include airborne transmission.

How can this new knowledge contribute to improving human health?

Understanding how a pathogen spreads is important for blocking its transmission in society. By demonstrating the aerosol route of transmission for SARS-CoV-2 we highlight the importance of ventilation-based measures in stopping the spread of the virus.

How did you conduct the study?

The study was carried out in the infectious disease ward of University Hospital Uppsala during the second SARS-CoV-2 wave in a joint, collaborative effort between our group at MTC; Erik Salaneck at Uppsala University (UU), University Hospital Uppsala; and Klas Udekwu at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and UU.

What is the next step in your research?

An important next step is to investigate how aerosols containing the virus are generated, e.g. through coughing, other expiratory maneuvers or re-aerosolization of virus from surface deposits.

Explore further Hamster study evaluates airborne and fomite transmission of SARS-CoV-2

More information: Nuno Rufino de Sousa et al, Detection and isolation of airborne SARSCoV2 in a hospital setting, Indoor Air (2022). Nuno Rufino de Sousa et al, Detection and isolation of airborne SARSCoV2 in a hospital setting,(2022). DOI: 10.1111/ina.13023
PHILADELPHIA  Nancy Damato walked past a garbage can the other day and caught a whiff of decaying banana peel.

"That was really great," she said.

She was not being sarcastic. Damato is among millions who lost their sense of smell due to COVID-19, and more than a year later, it is still not back to normal.

But every so often, she notices a small improvement  a hint of banana peel here, a trace of chocolate there  and she thinks the reason may be an unusual treatment she's been undergoing at a health clinic in Philadelphia.

Once a month since October, a physician extracts platelet-rich plasma from her blood, soaks a few bits of sponge in the yellowish substance, then deftly inserts them high up in her nose.

Damato and several others in a pilot study of the treatment have reported improvement, though it's not yet certain if the plasma-soaked sponges deserve the credit. Plenty of COVID patients have regained their sense of smell without treatment  in some cases, even up to a year after infection.

It's also not clear why the plasma might be helping, though there are several plausible hypotheses. Plasma has long been used to aid in wound healing and recovery from orthopedic injury, as it promotes the growth of new blood vessels, and that may be what's happening in Damato's nose. But other factors are thought to be at work  though it's not even fully understood why COVID impairs the sense of smell to begin with.

Solving these riddles is the goal of otolaryngologist David Rosen, an associate professor at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Flooded with pleas for help from across the country, he and colleagues are now embarking on a larger study with at least 100 patients.

Rosen realizes that on the list of long-term COVID complications, the loss of smell may seem less dire than some. But people whose sniff sense is fine often don't get it. Losing the ability to appreciate food, a cup of coffee, a breath of spring air, is truly disabling.

"They are miserable," he said.

Says Damato: "It's like a part of you is missing."

As she waited for physician Glen D'Souza to draw her blood at her March appointment, Damato, 54, put her nose to the test.

Using her fingernail, she scratched a series of chemically treated squares in a little booklet, releasing odors that she attempted to identify. Each mystery odor was accompanied by four multiple-choice answers.

Lemon, chocolate, strawberry, and black pepper, said one.

"That, I got," she said. "Chocolate!"

With others, she was not so sure. COVID can reduce or eliminate a person's ability to perceive odors, and it also can cause certain things to smell like something else.

In addition to impairing quality of life, the condition can be dangerous. It is linked to depression and social anxiety, and it raises the risk of injury. What if you couldn't smell a gas leak or spoiled food?

In January, a Texas couple who'd lost their sense of smell due to COVID were unable to smell the smoke from a fire. They survived after their 2-year-old son roused them from sleep, crying "Mama, hot. Mama, hot," his mother told "Good Morning America."

The other day, Damato was filling her car with gasoline, and she smelled what she knew had to be the petroleum fumes. But it didn't smell like gasoline at all.

"I couldn't even say, 'Oh it smelled like something else.' It just smelled really weird and different," she said. "Not at all what I remembered it smelled like."

At Damato's March 24 appointment at Jefferson, D'Souza drew blood from her right arm, placed it in a small receptacle, then spun it at high speed in a centrifuge. That caused the white blood cells and other heavier components of her blood to settle to the bottom, while her plasma, the lighter portion containing disc-shaped platelets, was diverted into a different chamber.

Other than the smell loss, Damato's illness was fairly mild. But as her olfactory symptoms dragged on, she looked everywhere for answers and found an article about the pilot study on Jefferson's website. A resident of Cold Spring, N.Y., she takes the train from New York City to Philadelphia each month.

In between visits, she uses an app called AbScent: a smell-training regimen that involves the use of essential oils, in hopes that she can teach her brain to recover what she has lost. And she waits.

People can lose their sense of smell in several ways, among them traumatic injury, exposure to a toxic substance, and brain diseases such as Alzheimer's. Or, as in the case of COVID, from an infection.

But early in the pandemic, physicians realized that COVID smell loss was different from the impairment caused by other respiratory infections. There was little to no swelling or visible inflammation in the nasal cavities, said Pam Dalton, an olfactory scientist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in West Philadelphia.

"They felt like they could breathe very clearly," she said. "That was the surprising thing."

Contrary to what some had feared at first, the coronavirus does not infect the nerve cells that perceive odors. Instead, they infect nearby cells that play a supporting role, Dalton said. Ordinarily, these support cells produce beneficial enzymes to detoxify harmful odorants, and they fuel the nerve cells with glucose. If infected, they die, and those support functions are temporarily lost.

But a mystery remains. The support cells regenerate in a few weeks, yet the loss of smell can persist for months.

The emerging consensus is that some sort of chemical inflammation is at work, Dalton said. In an effort to fight infection, the support cells release chemical warning signals and other inflammatory agents that may linger in the nasal passages long afterward.

They could be interfering somehow with the nerve signals involved in perceiving odor, Dalton said, or they might be causing subtle physical changes that have yet to be identified.

The idea of treating smell loss with platelet-rich plasma predates the pandemic.

Some of the initial evidence supporting the idea comes from animal studies. In one, mice that underwent a nasal "lavage" of platelet-rich plasma were able to find their food faster than those that did not.

In a small pre-pandemic study in humans, Stanford University physicians administered plasma to patients via injection inside the nose. All reported some improvement, but it did not last  perhaps because they received just one injection. More study is underway, said lead author Carol Yan, who is now at the University of California, San Diego.

As in any rigorous, controlled study, the key will be comparing those who get the treatment with those who do not, she said. That's also the plan in the larger Jefferson study, on which Dalton is collaborating with Rosen, D'Souza and others.

Though it isn't clear why the plasma might be helping, Dalton says there are several possibilities.

Platelets release growth factors that promote the growth of new blood vessels. Improved circulation could help to clear residual inflammation, or it might aid healing in other ways, she said.

Yet another possibility: Though odors are commonly imagined as ethereal sensations, they are triggered by a physical event  an odor molecule latching onto a receptor in the nose. And once a receptor has passed along the resulting signal through nerve cells, that molecule must be cleared before the receptor can "smell" again.

What's for sure is that the treatment is safe, said D'Souza, the Jefferson otolaryngologist. Patients are given an enriched concentration of something that was harvested from their own bodies.

"The idea," he said, "is to take advantage of whatever the body does to heal itself."
A man was arrested in Missoula after a survivor reported to law enforcement he threatened to harm her multiple times.

Lyle S. St. Goddard Jr. is charged with one felony count of aggravated assault and six misdemeanors: first-offense partner or family member assault, endangering the welfare of children, criminal destruction of or tampering with a communication device, first-offense privacy in communications, criminal mischief and stalking.

Early Friday morning, Missoula police were dispatched to a call from a woman saying St. Goddard had threatened to kill her and throw her off a balcony, according to charging documents.

The woman told officers she was living with St. Goddard up until about a week prior when he returned to Browning. On the morning of the incident, the woman and her 1-year-old baby were asleep when she heard the door open.

St. Goddard had been sending her multiple threatening text messages, including one saying, "I'm coming for you two," charging documents read. Because of this, the woman panicked.

He started grabbing at her and she tried to fight him off to protect the baby. When she reached for her phone to call 911, St. Goddard took it and threw it in the toilet and subsequently broke two computers. She reported he also hit her in the face. She went to her bedroom to text 911 and heard St. Goddard saying, "I could just throw you off the balcony," and "I told you I was going to come after you."

According to charging documents, the survivor was holding the baby throughout the altercation and said St. Goddard easily could have injured him, too. She also told law enforcement he had threatened to light her parents' house on fire and harm her dad. Police confirmed that over the last several days, St. Goddard sent the woman over 100 texts and called her more than 200 times.

St. Goddard was released on his own recognizance and placed on GPS monitoring. He was ordered to return to Browning and have no contact with the survivor.

There are many resources available in Missoula for domestic violence survivors.

The Missoula YWCA provides 24-hour crisis counseling, emergency shelter, transitional housing, mental health counseling, legal support and support groups for victims of crime. Their phone number is 406-542-1944.

The Missoula City-County Crime Victim Advocate Program provides legal advocacy for victims of crimes. Advocates can help you obtain a restraining order, report a crime to police or navigate options available to you through the justice system. They can be reached at 406-258-3830.

The University of Montana Student Advocacy Resource Center also provides support for survivors of violence and harassment. They offer free and confidential counseling, advocacy and a 24-hour support line at 406-243-6559.

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Inflows to Missouri River basin reservoirs above Sioux City, Iowa, were well below average in March, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported on Monday, as much of Montana continues to suffer from severe to extreme drought.

The March runoff of 1.5 million acre-feet (MAF) was 48% of average for the month. The updated 2022 upper basin runoff forecast is 17.8 MAF, 69% of average, approximately 2.6 MAF less than the March 1 forecast.

Runoff was well below normal due to dry soil conditions and well below normal precipitation across the entire Missouri River basin, said John Remus, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Missouri River Basin Water Management Division, in a press release. Due to the lack of plains snowpack in 2022, below-average mountain snowpack, and dry upper basin conditions, we expect upper Missouri River Basin runoff to be below average.

Water in Fort Peck Reservoir measured 2,222.9 feet at the end of March, 11 feet lower than at this time last year and 13 feet lower than in 2020.

Water conservation measures, such as minimum winter releases and reduced flow support for navigation, are implemented as the amount of water in the reservoir system declines, Remus said.

The six reservoirs above Sioux City, Iowa, contain 48.4 MAF, which is 7.7 MAF below the top of the carryover multiple use zone. That zone is designed to provide service to the eight authorized purposes, though at reduced levels, through a long-term drought, Remus said.

Mountain snowpack in the upper basin is accumulating at below-average rates. The April 3 mountain snowpack in the Fort Peck reach was 75% of average and the mountain snowpack in the Fort Peck to Garrison reach was 71% of average.

Much of southwestern Montana has snowpack of between 70% to 89% of normal, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Only northwestern Montana is in the 90% to 109% range. Large portions of eastern and northeastern Montana have no snowpack or less than 50% of average.

By April 1, about 95% of the total mountain snowpack has typically accumulated. Mountain snowpack normally peaks near April 15. Currently, plains snowpack in the upper basin is essentially nonexistent with only trace amounts in southern North Dakota and northern South Dakota remaining.

Public meetings to update the region on current hydrologic conditions and the planned operation of the reservoir system are scheduled for April 11-15 in seven communities along the river. The one in Fort Peck will be held on April 11 at 10:30 a.m. in the Fort Peck Interpretative Center.

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A Butte-Silver Bow official has formally declared two Uptown buildings that have served as the Butte Rescue Missions thrift store as dangerous, a move that could speed up their proposed demolition.

Building Official Rusty Christensen has invoked a public safety exclusion on the buildings at 123-125 E. Park St., negating any potential review or action on the matter by the Historic Preservation Commission, or HPC.

The council of commissioners must still approve the demolition and could do so Wednesday night, but the HPC will have no official say. Kate McCourt, who became the countys new historic preservation officer in March, acknowledged that during a county meeting last week.

That didnt stop the HPC from bringing up and discussing the proposed demolition at its meeting Tuesday night. A few members raised concerns or objections about it and one said the HPC should have been consulted anyway.

It seems that it should have come before us, said member Bobbi Stauffer.

But Christensen had already determined the buildings were at risk of collapse and demolition was needed to ensure public safety.

The overall plan also includes demolition of a vacant, crumbling building at 135 E. Park St. Commissioners authorized that but demo work was halted after it started in February 2021 because of a potential shared wall.

After more analysis, officials said it would have cost $150,000 just to stabilize a shared wall between the now county-owned building at 135 E. Park Street and the thrift store so demolition of the vacant structure could proceed.

But a structural engineer also inspected the thrift store buildings and determined they, too, were unstable and unsafe and needed repairs would cost well over $200,000.

Under a new plan, the county would pay the Mission $38,572 for the thrift store property and up to $12,000 in relocation expenses, then tear down all three buildings.

In an April 1 letter to commissioners, Christensen essentially said it was the only safe route to go.

The engineering report states that the building located at 123-125 East Park Street is at risk of collapse in its current condition and would still be at risk of collapse even if a new western wall is constructed, he wrote.

He pointed to a section of the municipal code that allows demolition to abate unsafe or dangerous conditions and said engineering reports indicate this is an appropriate measure to ensure public safety.

In early 2021, shortly after J.P. Gallagher became chief executive, the Historic Preservation Commission temporarily blocked a proposed demolition of the so-called Blue Range prostitution cribs on East Mercury Street, saying they were an iconic part of Buttes Red Light District history.

The property owners disagreed and even though the countys building official at the time cited an engineering analysis saying they were dangerous, the HPC was allowed to weigh in. They issued a temporary demolition stay that resulted in weeks of controversy.

It ended when the building official invoked the safety exclusion and the cribs were ultimately torn down. In hindsight, Gallagher said the county should have declared the safety exclusion from the start and avoided delays and added contention.

Christensens declaration, per county ordinance, should prevent any HPC delays in this case.

Last time we went against what we should have done once we had the engineering report that designated the building (cribs) unsafe, Gallagher said. It was a lesson learned on following the language of the ordinance.

The proposed demolition was not specifically mentioned on the HPC meeting agenda Tuesday night, but member John Riordan, who is also a commissioner, brought it up under the category of staff/member reports and suggested the HPC had been slighted on the matter.

I have heard from a couple of people who think the buildings can be fixed, he said.

Stauffer said the demolition decision seemed like a rush job and would be a costly job to carry out. Member Mitzi Rossillon said a new procedure was needed for addressing such issues.

The council meets at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday on the third floor of the courthouse at 155 W. Granite St. The meetings are also live-streamed on the county's website at www.co.silverbow.mt.us

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NorthWestern Energy released sobering news Monday for anglers and water users who favor the Madison River below Hebgen Dam. And this while the first hot, dry day of summer remains months away.

The utility said persistent drought, low snowpack and low soil moisture led it to decide to reduce water releases from the Hebgen Reservoir from April 4 to April 24. The goal is to capture more water in the reservoir to augment flows in the months ahead.

Reservoir water is used to control flows on the upper and lower Madison River year round to try to maintain the long-term health of the river system and its fishery.

NorthWestern Energy and our stakeholders decided to move forward with this plan to conserve water now to allow for that water to be used later in the year, said Andy Welch, NorthWestern Energy Manager of Hydro License Compliance.

Saving this water to supplement flows during the heat of the summer will help to reduce stress on fish from elevated water temperatures, Welch said.

River recreationists should be aware of the lower flows and use caution, the utility said, adding that the public should avoid walking on any rainbow trout spawning redds during this low flow period.

Mike Bias, executive director of the Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana, said the utilitys decision to cut flows now seems like a sound strategy in advance of what might be another challenging year.

Reducing flows out of Hebgen now to hopefully maintain adequate flows on the Madison through the summer and into fall is a necessary management decision although, not an easy one, Bias said in the news release.

We know too that NorthWestern Energy does not make this management decision in a vacuum, he said. Montana's Fish, Wildlife & Parks, BLM, and the Forest Service fisheries managers all think this is the best course of action at this time.

NorthWestern Energy said the Hebgen Reservoir is currently 10.3 feet below full pool and that inflows this winter have been about 79 percent of normal. Snowpack in the Madison River Basin is at 76 percent of normal.

Upper Madison River flows may be reduced to 550 cubic feet per second at the Kirby U.S. Geological Survey gage and to 950 cfs below Madison Dam at the McAllister U.S. Geological Survey gage, NorthWestern Energy said.

Meanwhile, other river basins reveal a need for more precipitation. The Upper Clark Fork, for example, is at about 81% of normal.

Alex Leone, restoration policy manager for the Clark Fork Coalition, is one of many people in southwest Montana, ranging from ranchers to anglers, who hope that the weeks ahead are cold and wet.

We are in for a challenging water year across most of the state unless things change big time atmospherically in the next month or two, Leone said Monday The last two winters have been below average from a snowpack perspective in southwest Montana and impacts from drought are often compounded over time.

Leone said the Madison Basin is experiencing its worse back-to-back snowpack years in over two decades and noted that the Jefferson River Basin is also struggling.

The big thaws in January and February really hammered the mid-and-low elevation snowpack in west-central and southwest Montana this winter, he said.

Mid-and-low elevation snowpack is a huge driver of early season water use practices and in many instances, late season flow forecasts. Unless the situation changes significantly, we should expect water users to turn on early this year, Leone said.

Hebgen Dam made news in November when a failure of part of an outflow gate drastically cut water releases to the Madison River. The consequent dewatering killed an unknown number of trout and sculpin.

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In the 1987 Legislative session, Montana ventured into using state taxation powers to impose a four percent tax on hotels, motels and campgrounds for the express purpose of promoting tourism in our state. We would take millions of tax dollars and create a new bureaucracy to promote Montanas scenic beauty, trout fishing, dude ranches, hunting, hiking, camping, open spaces, etc., to all of America and the world. We created the Travel Montana program and six Regional Tourism promotion programs. Visit Montana  come one and all. We need your money. I was a legislator that session and answered the call of Livingstons tourism-related businesses and cosponsored the bill.

It did not take very many years before I realized there is a limit to how much tourism we can handle without it seriously affecting our Montana resources and way of life.

Tourists have impacts and lots of tourists have lots of impacts. By 1993, Fishing Access Sites, trailheads, parks and rivers were being overrun. Weeds, trash, stream bank erosion, toilets, fire pits, trash collection and much more all required ongoing maintenance. Although money was tight in Helena, the program to promote tourism and thus expand the impacts on our communities and outdoor resources was flush with money  $5.4 million for state-sponsored promotion and $1.8 million for regional promotion. I sponsored a bill that legislative session to take a mere half a million dollars from those programs to use for state parks maintenance. The bill had 77 cosponsors and very bi-partisan support and became law. The travel industry was awestruck that the legislature would divert their money to address their impacts.

Promotion continued to grow, tourism continued to grow and impacts continued to grow. In 1997, I introduced a bill to cut travel promotion in half with all the revenue taken from promotion to go to addressing local needs and impacts such as public restrooms, ambulance services, parks, trails, parking, safe cross walks, traffic control, urban landscapes and natural areas. I kept asking  when does the tourism industry start paying for some of its impacts? It didnt happen in 1997 even though many papers in the state editorialized about the merits of the bill.

I tried again in 1999. However, the legislature was still not in the mood to reduce promotion of our special places. Since then, there has been little or no effort to control the squandering of tax dollars on a bureaucracy to promote tourism in a state that is saturated with tourists.

Are the citizens of Montana happy about all the tourists plugging up every recreational spot in the state? Im guessing not. Im also guessing that only those making money off the calamity can stomach the volume. The Madison and Missouri rivers have become so choked with boats its like bumper boats at a fair. Outfitters and guides took over the legislature to increase the marketing and killing of our public wildlife for their benefit  with a Governor showing how not to do it. We cant have sane restrictions on fishing because there are so many outfitters and guides making a living off public resources  with little or no return to the rest of Montanas citizens or protection and maintenance of the same resources. Our public campgrounds have become public parking lots with electricity to run TVs and porch lights on RVs. Many homes in our communities are now vacation rentals and are taking affordable housing away from potential homeowners. Growth in our state is rampant and newcomers are outbidding locals for homes. We just got a second Congressperson to commemorate our growth.

Here we are in an age where nearly everyone has access to a smart phone. There are many apps, developed by both private enterprise and various government agencies, available to show where to visit, what to see and do, when to go there, where to dine, where to fish and what to use, who to hire, how much to spend, where to hear music, how to get from here to there and so on. Just ask Google. In addition, rest areas, motels and local Chambers of Commerce are loaded with pamphlets provided by tourism related businesses.

And yet, this year, Montana government will spend millions of dollars again inviting people to visit Montana and stay awhile  and resources suffer. Really now, isnt it time to take a big chunk of that promotion money and invest it in addressing tourism impacts? Tell your Legislator how you feel.

Bob Raney represented Livingston in the Montana Legislature from 1985 to 2000 and southwest Montana on the Public Service Commission from 2005 thru 2008.

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Ive read an interesting, recently published book that offers a way out of our countrys deep political divide, which has polarized Americans more than at any time since the Civil War.

Its called Divided We Fall: Americas Secession Threat and How To Restore Our Nation, by pundit David French. French was a life-long Republican. Hes a devout Christian whos staunchly anti-abortion. Hes also a lawyer whos defended scores of conservative clients who believed their religious freedom was infringed on by some institution or the state.

But French became increasingly disillusioned with the autocratic presidency of Donald Trump, and expressed his concerns in print. In response, he was a target of vicious online attacks by alt-right trolls. French and his wife had adopted an Ethiopian boy, and the trolls posted a picture of the boys head photoshopped onto a Holocaust victim being herded into a gas chamber.

Not surprisingly, French is no longer a Republican, though hes not become a Democrat (and probably never will, given Democrats firm pro-choice stance). So, hes now a man without a party, which French claims gives him an objective perspective on American political polarization.

In his book, French argues our political discourse needs to redefine that much-used term tolerance. As an example, he cites how liberals believe they are tolerant when they support gay rights. But French points out, since liberals are fine with homosexuality, their position isnt real tolerance. If, on the other hand, liberals supported conservative Christians who consider homosexuality a sin, that would be true tolerance. By the same token, if right-wing Christians supported liberals defense of gay rights, that would also be true tolerance.

Though he doesnt use the quote in his book, French is echoing the view voiced by famous Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendel Holmes, who stated that freedom of speech is not free only for the thought we agree with, but freedom for the thought we hate.

French grounds true political tolerance in the wisdom of Americas founders, especially James Madison, who penned the Bill of Rights. The heart of Madisons political philosophy was pluralism. To Madison, pluralism meant that not only were citizens individual freedom of speech tolerated, even by those who strongly disagreed, but Americans were also free to form voluntary associations which represented a wide range of political positions. So long as all this individual and collective free speech was safeguarded, there was no danger of a single political ideology becoming tyrannically hegemonic.

Of course, for Madisons idea of pluralism to work Americans of every political stripe must be willing to tolerate views they consider intolerant for the good of the country as a whole. Is this possible in a nation as divided as ours? A realist, French isnt wildly optimistic.

But I draw hope from how united America seems to be in response to Putins unprovoked invasion of democratic, sovereign Ukraine. Save for a few outliers on the far right and the far left, Democrats and Republicans are united in their opposition to the brutal invasion and support for military aid to Ukraine and economic sanctions against Russia. I cant recall the last time Democrats and Republicans agreed on anything.

Moreover, while extremists on both sides of the political aisle make more noise, I sense there are many quieter Americans who are moderates, tired of all the political feuding and longing for a return to an era of stability and bipartisanship.

If political leaders on both left and right stop their endless partisan bickering and appeal to this moderate middle, maybe there is hope for our country yet.

Henry Gonshak is a retired English professor at Montana Tech. He was a longtime book and theater reviewer for The Montana Standard and is the author of Hollywood and the Holocaust (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015). His views do not necessarily reflect those of Montana Tech.

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ARCHIVED - Anxiety medication recalled from pharmacies in Spain



The Ministry of Health in Spain has warned that consuming the drug could be harmful

The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps) has withdrawn a batch of the medicine called Semonic 200 mg, which is used to treat anxiety disorders and depression.

On its official website, the Ministry of Health confirmed on March 31 that scientists had obtained an unusual result in stability studies of a similar batch and would be recalling the drug from market.

The affected drug is from batch number 110122 with an expiry date of July 31 2023. They are film-coated tablets that come in a 30-unit pack.

The ministry has warned that consuming the medication could be harmful and that the drug should be returned by consumers to their local pharmacy. All units will then be returned to the laboratory through the usual channels.

You might also like: Paxlovid Covid medication arrives in Spain

Image: Proma Farma
ARCHIVED - Mazarron was the eighth wettest place in Spain yesterday



The town of Mazarron had 17.8mm of accumulated rainfall, making it the eighth rainiest town in Spain

Perhaps it will come as no surprise to anyone who lives there, but on Monday April 4 Mazarron was the Spanish town with the eighth highest level of accumulated rainfall. As a result of the deluge, 17.8mm of rain fell in the Murcia municipality yesterday.

Mazarron came just behind Cadiz , which had 19mm of rainfall, but the wettest place in Spain yesterday was Melilla, on the northern coast of Africa, which had 30.2mm of rainfall.

According to the Murcia weather forecast this week , it is set to rain for the rest of today, Tuesday April 5, but then the sun should come out from Wednesday and brighten up the end of the week and the weekend.

Yesterday, there was even snow recorded in the high mountainous areas of Murcia like the Sierra Espuna and Moratalla , and emergency services cut off road access as a safety measure, sharing incredible videos and photos of the white-blanketed ground , while others have shared videos of the effects of the wind on the sea in Aguilas and Cabo de Palos.

Image: Aemet
Theres no marker at the 1850 Henry OConnor house atop West Hill on Cherry Street.

From reading Iowa history and the Alexander Clark story, theres no doubt in my mind that Iowans owe much to the Dublin-born lawyer whos been largely forgotten.

He arrived at age 29 in 1849 and joined the firm of David C. Cloud, the magistrate who had freed a fugitive slave in 1848. (Freedom seeker is todays term.) OConnors association with Clark may have started around that time. Surely by 1857 they were allies in the causes of abolition and equal rights.

Ten years later OConnor would be one of Clarks lawyers in a landmark school desegregation caseas well as Attorney General of Iowa. And both men were acclaimed as eloquent orators wherever they addressed crowds, often the same crowds. Ill write about their teamwork in future columns.

From Clarks entry in The United States Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-made Men (Iowa volume, 1878): His father was born a slave, yet the son of his master, an Irishman, who emancipated both him and his mother, who was a mulatto. The mother of Alexander Clark, who still lives, at the age of seventy-one years, is a full-blooded African, consequently our subject is two-thirds African and one-third Irish.

The biographer credits Irish ancestry in a great measure for the genius and brilliancy which so much adorn his character, for it must not be supposed that because the Irish element in his composition is comparatively small that its influence in the formation of his character is not very considerable. Scientific men are familiar with the fact that the potency rather than the quantity of an ingredient in any mixture determines the general effect; and we have no doubt that to the circumstance alluded to is mainly due the existence of those elements of character which have led to the success to which Mr. Clark has attained.

May we not, in our more enlightened time, dismiss this ramble as 19th Century eugenics nonsense? Sure and begorra, I say, in toast to Irish History Month. Certainly we should. Still, Im sure the readers of the day took it as gospel, published in a volume so durably and elegantly gotten up with leather binding and gilt letters.

Reading on, we learn the children Rebecca J., Susan V., and Alexander G., all inherit their fathers intellectual endowments, all severally graduates of the high school of Muscatine, and give promise of useful and honorable lives.

And, whatever the veracity of the author, this is the book that gives us the fine engraving that became Clarks best known portrait.

Traveling in Ireland in 2018 with Muscatine neighbors named Kelly, my wife and I visited the Museum of Country Life at Castlebar. We learned the National Land League founded there in 1879 was noted as a step toward freedom from English rule, having achieved some success in uniting tenant rights movements under a single organization.

Remembering about Irish independence in a Clark speech, I connected dots and found him addressing the state centennial convention of colored citizens held in Oskaloosa (Jan. 4, 1876): I am proud to pay homage  to the great party of progress which bears the name of Reform in England, in Ireland, Fenianism, in America the great Radical Republican party, which stood firm and uncompromising when treason and rebellion shook the nation as with the throes of an earthquake.

In 1881 the Journal reported the Muscatine branch of the Irish Land League holding meetings at Shamrock Hall and welcoming all lovers of liberty and fair play. The first meetings report lists 42 men who joined that night.

During the enrollment, lest there should be some doubt about the admission of other than Irishmen, Alex. Clark, G.W. Van Horne and A.W. Lee were called upon for their names. Mr. Clark responded with an eloquent and characteristic speech in which he announced himself ever in favor of liberty and expressed his hearty sympathy with the movement. He was loudly applauded.

From the Columbus Junction Safeguard: The antipathy generally supposed to exist between the Irish and the negroes seems to have been forgotten in Muscatine where Alexander Clark, the colored orator, made an eloquent speech at a meeting of the Land League and was elected one of the officers.

Later, answering a request for signers to a call for a statewide meeting, the names of President [Samuel] Sinnett, W.F. Brannan and Alex. Clark were chosen. The call appeared in the Des Moines Register with 39 names including the Muscatine three.

But the name of Muscatines most famous Irishman was missing. In 1872 Henry OConnor had accepted President Grants appointment and moved to the nations capital where he would serve nearly 14 years as Examiner of Claims under four secretaries of state.

He died at the Iowa Soldiers Home at Marshalltown in 1900.

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The Flowry, an online floral hub and marketplace, has launched The Bloomlist, an "eco-friendly florist community," said a news release from the Napa-based company.

Its purpose: To connect conscious consumers with floral designers taking a sustainable and socially-conscious approach to their craft by sourcing locally from American farms, prioritizing seasonality, and implementing more responsible design mechanics as alternatives to floral foam (#nofloralfoam), a major toxin and environmental threat.

"As someone who enjoys eating food in season, I was shocked to learn that flowers are so far behind the trend, said Lori Diamond, founder and former beauty industry publicist.

I never considered that roses werent a year-round commodity because theyre available in every corner store. Turns out, roses grow in the summer  the vast majority are traveling thousands of miles to get to our vase.

The Bloomlist is designed to re-connect consumers to seasonality and provenance in flowers through education  taking a cue from the local food movement, said the release.

Instead of chefs, "Diamond is working with progressive florists to drive the conversation and actionable change through artful, foam-free design and fresher, longer-lasting blooms, grown by local and domestic flower farmers."

No one is searching for sustainable or clean' flowers like they are for beauty, fashion and food because they don't know they have to, said Diamond, who lives in Napa.

The Bloomlist is intended to awaken flower lovers to the issues and empower them to shop smarter, by offering an alternative to traditional fast flowers in the interest of the planet.

The Flowry features more than 100 foam-free florists on The Bloomlist who share a like-minded value system around their business impact on the environment, economy and social justice.

Two Napa County florists on The Flowrys Bloomlist are Little Moon Farm and Monkey Flower Group.

The United States is the largest consumer of cut flowers in the world, Diamond noted.

To meet this demand, the majority of flowers sold in grocery stores, flower shops and used in wedding design, are imports  arriving by plane from Colombia and Ecuador, Europe, Israel, Africa and even Asia.

"While flowers are intended to be an expression of love, joy and compassion, these imports carry an unintended impact: A substantial carbon footprint, chemical pesticide use and poorly paid workers."

In 2018, Valentines Day flowers grown in Colombia and flown to US airports produced some 360,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions, according to estimates by the International Council on Clean Transportation. The organization estimates thats roughly equivalent to 78,000 cars driven for one year.

Diamond estimates the market opportunity is a multiple of 10 times that amount and growing, with several organizations building bridges between floral designers and farmers.

You can reach reporter Jennifer Huffman at 256-2218 or jhuffman@napanews.com
Tuesday, March 29

0826  An officer taught DARE classes to seventh-graders.

1031  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop on Main Street.

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.

1158  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop on Main Street.

1829  A fallen tree was blocking Dean York Lane. The fire department removed the branches.

1902  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop at Main/Dowdell.

1916  An officer cited someone for driving with expired registration on Main Street.

2101  An officer cited someone for speeding at Silverado/Howell Mountain.

Wednesday, March 30

0306  An officer assisted with a matter involving a dog on Stockton Street.

0507  An officer cited someone for speeding on Main Street.

0804  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop near Starr/Hunt.

0912  Vandalism on Grayson Avenue.

1041  A caller was concerned about a van and trailer near Adams/Library. A man appears to be living inside.

1118  An officer taught DARE classes to fifth-graders.

1148  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop near Madrona/Main.

1418  A big rig trailer was parked in front of a fire hydrant on Spring Street. The driver moved it.

1509  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop near Crane/Sulphur Springs.

1728  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop on Main Street.

1808  An officer cited someone for speeding near Main/Elmhurst.

1931  An officer cited a vehicle parked in a blue zone near Hunt/Main.

1946  An officer was flagged down by a man needing a ride to Calistoga.

2014  A man reported being physically attacked on Starr Avenue. There were no weapons involved. The man said his back hurt but declined medical attention. Police took a report.

2232  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop on Main Street.

2357  Police were asked to check on a woman on Starr Avenue.

Thursday, March 31

0759  Report of a two-car accident blocking Highway 29. An officer responded and didnt find any problems.

1106  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop on Main Street.

1326  Report of suspected drugs on Grayson Avenue.

1421  An officer taught a fifth-grade DARE class.

1535  A white Trek bike worth $800 was stolen from the front porch of a Hunt Avenue home.

1742  Non-injury accident blocking the westbound lane of the Pope Street Bridge.

1908  Lift assist on Del Campo Court.

Friday, April 1

0237  Lift assist on Del Campo Court.

0708  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop on Fulton Lane.

0847  Report of a leaky water pipe on Adams Street near Library Lane. The property owner shut off the water.

0937  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop on Main Street.

1058  Two-car minor-injury accident at Main/Vidovich.

1142  Report of five cows in the roadway near Sylvaner/Spring. Their owners were contacted and picked them up.

1318  Police took a report on a matter involving a juvenile on College Avenue.

1424  A woman reported being harassed via social media. Police advised her to get a restraining order against the other person.

1510  A very intoxicated man reportedly left St. Helena headed toward Santa Rosa. The CHP was notified.

1716  Medical aid for a man unable to walk on Sylvaner Avenue.

1827  Report of a reckless driver in a minivan last seen turning onto Zinfandel Lane.

1854  Report of vandalism on Crinella Drive.

1858  St. Helena police were asked to help Calistoga police respond to a call of a verbal disturbance that might be getting physical.

1905  Report of a suspicious man going door to door on Spring Street.

1924  Report of solicitors going door to door on Chiles Avenue. Police contacted a man and notified him of the citys permit process.

2011  Report of a solicitor on Allyn Avenue.

2020  Report of a solicitor with a clipboard on Andrea Avenue.

2359  Report of several juveniles running on the rooftops of downtown commercial buildings. Police contacted four of them.

Saturday, April 2

0147  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop near Main/Pratt.

0231  Non-injury lift assist on Del Campo Court.

0841  Medical aid for a fall victim in the bike lane on Pope Street.

0942  The fire department asked police to check on a woman on Del Campo Court.

1122  Report of a man and a woman yelling on Stockton Street.

1241  An officer cited a vehicle parked near Pratt/Main.

1410  Report of a loose chihuahua on Main Street. The dog was returned to its owner.

1726  A person brought two shotguns and ammo to the police department so they could be disposed of safely.

Sunday, April 3

0927  Police received a 911 call about a small dog running around near Grayson Avenue. Dispatch advised the caller to use the non-emergency business line for calls like that.

1045  Following a traffic stop near Charter Oak/Main, police arrested a 32-year-old woman for a misdemeanor warrant.

1356  Report of a black bear treed near Spring Mountain Road.

1705  An officer cited a vehicle parked on Charter Oak Avenue.

Monday, April 4

0935  Report of a reckless driver exhibiting road rage on Main Street. He was driving slowly and slamming on his brakes.

1103  A caller reported that an unknown woman was threatening to kill her for no apparent reason and yelling obscenities near Main Street. The caller said shed been doing laundry when the woman started yelling at her. Police arrested the 42-year-old Calistoga woman on suspicion of making criminal threats.

1146  Report of a parked travel trailer obstructing views at the corner of Hillview and Kearney.

1217  Police were asked to check on a man walking in the middle of Main Street at Mitchell Drive.

1249  Report of a several cars and a tow truck blocking Spring Mountain Road for over 10 minutes.

1507  A vehicle was stalled on the railroad tracks at Charter Oak Avenue.

1529  A large tow truck was going to be blocking Spring Mountain Road temporarily while it removed a piece of equipment.

1544  A caller said her sons EBT card was delivered to her old address and was now being misused in Napa.

1603  Report of an unwelcome person at a Sylvaner Avenue home.

1705  A caller reported receiving number scam phone calls claiming to be from Apple and masking their phone numbers to make it appear that the calls were originating in St. Helena. The caller didnt want anybody to be fooled by the scam.

1802  Report of an illegal leaf blower at Stockton/Adams.

1947  An officer cited a driver for speeding near Main/Adams.

2305  An officer arrested someone after a traffic stop at Silverado/Howell Mountain.

Tuesday, April 5

0034  Report of a vegetation fire near Silverado/Crystal Springs.

0510  An officer cited someone during a traffic stop on Main Street.
Spring has sprung, which means the Tuesday market returns April 5 and will be open through December. Twice as nice: now you have two opportunities to shop at the Napa Farmers Market for the rest of the year on Tuesday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at 1100 West St.

Our Tuesday lineup includes longtime favorites and some new faces. Check out www.napafarmersmaket.org/map for the full preview of family farmers, food makers and artisan vendors.

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Last April, we were still limiting the number of customers in the market, masks were required, and social distancing was the norm. On top of that, our ability to stay at the current location was uncertain.

Since then, we strengthened our relationship with the city of Napa, whose staff and elected officials truly understand the essential and unique role our market plays in providing community access to local food. I am elated to report that this month we expect to finalize our license agreement for the West Street location, which will ensure some stability and allow us to focus on being the best farmers market possible.

This April we welcome the return of community events that were on hold during the pandemic.

Next Sunday, April 10, from 1 to 3 p.m., the Napa Farmers Market will join other community organizations for a free, family-friendly celebration in Fuller Park organized by Napa County Public Health.

On April 24, the Earth Day Napa event returns to the Oxbow Commons. We will kick off the festivities early at the market on Saturday, April 23. Bring your kids and creativity for a recycled art activity with Hylah the Barn Faerie.

Aprils Harvest of the Month veggie is the hallmark of spring: asparagus. Enjoy the slenderest stalks raw, tossed with a little olive oil and salt, or try out this walnut pesto for some added flair.

See you Tuesdays and Saturdays at the Napa Farmers Market!

Asparagus with Walnut Pesto

Adapted from CUESA (Cultivating A Healthy Food System)'s seasonal recipe database featuring farmers market ingredients www.cuesa.org/eat-seasonally.

 cup walnuts

 pound Pecorino cheese, grated, plus more for garnish

1 bunch chives, chopped,

1 clove garlic, chopped

Salt and freshly cracked black

pepper, to taste

1 cup (or more) extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch asparagus

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and add the walnuts. Blanch the walnuts for about 10 minutes and drain, reserving some of the water. After the walnuts have cooled a bit, add to a food processor and pulse to chop. Add the pecorino, chives (reserve a bit of the chive for garnish), garlic, salt and pepper and process with a splash of the blanching water until all ingredients are fully incorporated. Drizzle in olive oil while processing until the pesto is the desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and set aside

Snap the woody ends off the asparagus. Add to a saute pan with a bit of water, cover and steam over high flame until asparagus has turned bright green and is just tender. Drain.

To serve: place asparagus on a serving platter. Spoon walnut pesto over the top and garnish with pecorino and chives. Youll have pesto leftover; use it as a topping for other vegetables, a spread for crostini or mix in with pasta. It will keep for up to a week refrigerated.
The city of Napa is seeking community input on how to spend $1.15 million in federal American Rescue Act Plan funds.

Those funds have been placed in a community recovery bank intended to help Napas residents and businesses recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. To figure out where the funds should specifically go, the city set up a survey, which will be open until April 15. The Napa City Council will ultimately use that survey data to guide their decisions on how to distribute the funds, according to a press release.

The six-question survey asks respondents to rank categories  housing assistance, childcare, addressing homelessness, workforce development and support for local businesses  they believe are most important to fund.

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It also asks respondents to rank programs that would best support housing assistance or addressing homelessness: rental assistance, housing location and barrier removal services, support for Accessory Dwelling Unit development, food support and eviction prevention services.

And it does the same with childcare and business assistance programs. Suggested childcare programs include support to local childcare providers, financial assistance for local families, tuition assistance, tuition reimbursement for the citys Parks and Recreation programs and assistance to non-profits that provide child development services.

The programs for supporting businesses included in the survey are small business grants, lease or rental assistance, rebate programs such as a gas-powered leaf blower rebate  as Californias 2024 ban on gas-powered leaf blowers inches closer  and workforce development or certification programs.

The ARPA, signed into law about a year ago, allocated about $350 billion in pandemic relief to local governments across the United States. Most of the citys $15.12 million in ARPA funding  half of which was originally allocated to help balance the citys current fiscal year budget  was reallocated in March to support city infrastructure needs, projects that went unfunded because of the pandemic, public health costs and the citys response to homelessness.

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Approvals for Accessory Dwelling Units, touted by lawmakers as one way to help solve Californias housing crisis, have been picking up across Napa County and California over the last few years.

Still, the need for housing units still remains astronomically higher in California than what the slowly increasing number of ADUs can provide for. California has a housing shortage of about 2 million homes statewide, according to a 2018 state report, while the number of ADU approvals statewide have averaged roughly 11,000 annually over the past few years.

Even so, efforts to smooth the ADU application process and spur interest in developing the units among local residents are ongoing, in the hopes that ADUs will help solve at least a small share of the housing crisis.

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Accessory Dwelling Units are, at a basic level, separate, self-contained living units that can be attached or detached from single-family homes. ADU development has boomed in recent years as a result of state laws that sped up and eased the approval of such units at the local government level.

But easing approval of permit applications doesnt help residents figure out if they want to build an ADU in the first place. The mission of the Napa Sonoma ADU Center is to help close that information gap, said Renee Schomp, director of the center. It started up in 2020 through a joint effort from the Napa Valley Community Foundation and Community Foundation Sonoma County, she said, both of which were concerned about housing affordability in the North Bay.

CEO Terence Mulligan said the foundation considers a lack of workforce housing to be a primary driver of poverty in Napa. Thats because many people who work in Napa pay a large percentage of their income on rent, he said, and therefore struggle to afford other necessities.

Rental housing, in general, can also be difficult to find, given that the city has maintained less than a 2% rental unit vacancy rate in recent years, which is considered a severe shortage.

Mulligan said ADUs may help improve the situation because they're generally affordable to low- or moderate-income households as rental units  they lease for about 20% less than traditional apartments because they tend to be smaller and offer less privacy, he said.

Schomp said the ADU center was founded after research from the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley indicated that providing community members information and technical assistance would likely significantly increase local ADU development.

The center now provides a wide swath of services to help people figure out whether they actually want to build an ADU and what their options are for doing so.

Services offered by the center include a calculator to assess the price of building an ADU in various North Bay jurisdictions, free feasibility consultations and regular webinars which cover topics such as types of ADUs, how to finance an ADU and how to create an ADU permit application.

I cant stress enough simply the importance of proactive outreach and community engagement, Schomp said. Marketing, outreach and community engagement is a huge piece of what we do.

All this support is necessary in part because of the high cost of constructing an ADU, which may represent one of the largest financial investments of someones life, said Mulligan.

This is real money were talking about, Mulligan said. Like, until the cavalry comes along and someone invents a 3-D printed, code conforming, mid-century modern place that would satisfy my wife and would only cost $75,000, this will still be a practice largely of people who have resources.

One effort to help open up the financial side of building an ADU to a greater number of residents is a partnership between the Napa community foundation and Redwood Credit Union for a construction loan program specifically for ADUs.

Pre-approved ADU plans are another upcoming effort that could help lower costs and speed up ADU permit approval and construction time, Schomp said. In theory, a gallery of designs will eventually be available for people to choose from; all would already be approved by city planning departments responsible for ADU approval, cutting down on the time they need to spend looking through the permit applications.

The policy is one thing, process is another, Mulligan said. Its not easy if youre not a professional. If youre a citizen and youre turning up at to check in and see if youve met the planning requirements, its super complicated. We hope the pre-approved or the permit-ready plans will help citizens be better able to pursue an ADU, and it should make it easier for the building and planning departments.

It remains to be seen how large of an impact the efforts of the ADU Center will have on Napas housing crisis, Mulligan added. So far, the ADU center has helped 335 homeowners figure out ADU projects since launching.

But housing affordability in Napa needs to be solved, Mulligan said. If it isn't, Napa's local economy will be served by an increasing number of commuters, he added, exacerbating environmental and traffic problems among much else.

We have to get this right, otherwise the precious and vibrant economy that we all enjoy may not be here in the same way in a period of years, Mulligan said. A future in which 75% of our workforce commutes in every day from more affordable places is not one in which most of us want to participate.

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A snowy sidewalk strewn with bloodied bodies. A beleaguered president roaming the streets of a country under attack. Missiles streaming. Sirens wailing. Teens making homemade bombs. And dead soldiers, so many of them, lying crumpled in fields and slumped in smoldering tanks.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has spawned a constant stream of online content, a deluge of audio-visuals that has countered Moscow's disinformation campaign, spurred global leaders to action and helped, as they have in other recent conflicts in Syria and Ethiopia, change the way we see and understand war.

The bombings and violence in cities like Mariupol, Kharkiv and Kyiv feature a cast of newly minted stars  social media standouts who rely on satire, grit and an insider's sensibilities to document the horrors for a global audience.

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become the most famous and tireless online presence with his riveting daily updates via the instant-messaging platform Telegram. But there are many others, including Illia Ponomarenko, a journalist who has garnered more than 1 million Twitter followers for his play-by-plays of military operations, and Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv and a former heavyweight champion boxer who delivers dispatches from the aftermath of bombings.

They offer a quick-pulse stream of consciousness in a morality play where ancient brutality meets raw, digitized immediacy. They are influencers amid the ruins, defiant voices echoing from battlefields and bunkers.

Zelenskyy's recent description of the relentless Russian siege of Mariupol as "a crime against humanity ... happening in front of the eyes of the whole planet in real-time" seized upon what has separated the Ukraine conflict from many past wars: instantaneous documentation.

In February, even as Russia denied it was planning an attack, hints of the coming siege were registered on TikTok, where users posted hundreds of videos showing Russian military vehicles massing along the Ukrainian border.

On Telegram, Twitter and Instagram, Ukrainians have raised money for refugees, organized the exit of civilians from hard-hit regions and chronicled horrors, such as the March 10 bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol, where bleeding pregnant women were evacuated on stretchers.

The war in Vietnam was often referred to as the "first television war," a technological advance from two World Wars decades earlier that had been recorded mostly through printed words and photographs. At the beginning of this century, the conflict in Iraq was still largely filtered to the outside world through journalists and documentary film crews.

The Arab Spring in 2011 was widely seen as the first revolutionary movement launched on social media. But the apps used then to spread uprisings  namely Twitter and Facebook  have evolved significantly in the years since, while new platforms more geared to sharing video have flourished. At the same time, the capabilities of the typical cellphone have expanded to the point where anyone can become an auteur.

Jane Lytvynenko, a senior research fellow at Harvard Kennedy's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy, said social media have played a critical role in shaping the world's reaction to Russia's attack.

Instant communication "is having a direct effect on how Western countries are responding to the Feb. 24 invasion, and the reason why it's having that effect is because regular people en masse are seeing what's happening," she said.

She compared the Ukraine war to the Soviet-era artificial famine imposed by Moscow on Ukraine in the 1930s, which killed more than 4 million people. "The facts of the genocidal famine did not get to Western audiences," she said. "And so Ukraine was left to fend for itself."

That is not the case today. While separating fact from fiction on social media isn't always easy, there's no question that the power and moral clarity of the many voices coming out of a once-peaceful nation of 44 million have made the crisis impossible to avoid. Some critics have argued that the social media feeds of white Europeans trapped in conflict have gained more attention than similar documentation of atrocities coming from Syria or African countries.

The drama of those in turmoil is compelling. Consider Klitschko, the boxer-turned-mayor, and the videos of him touring the sites of deadly strikes. Pacing around a rubble-filled Kyiv street in March, he pointed his cellphone camera at a destroyed apartment building, a bombed-out city bus and the crater where the munition hit. "These images (are) the truth," he said in English. "That's what Putin's war looks like."

Ponomarenko, a journalist with the Kyiv Independent who has been embedded with Ukrainian forces, has reported on the fighting with a mix of pain and awe. "One, two, three, four Russian tanks taken out," he said in a recent clip as he panned across the smoking wreckage of militarized vehicles. "I call that a good day."

On TikTok, young people have amassed huge followings for their simple explanations of what is happening in the war and their documentation of daily life in underground bomb shelters. One recent viral video showed a civilian carefully moving a land mine off a highway, a cigarette hanging from his lips.

And then there is Zelenskyy, a former comedic actor elected president in 2019 who is equal parts Jon Stewart and Winston Churchill. He seems to embody the spirit of the nation: exhausted, but still standing, and unrelenting in his demands that the West to do more to help Ukraine in what he has framed as a clear choice between good and evil.

His selfie-style videos lend a "social media authenticity that is pretty unimpeachable," said Eugene Kotlyarenko, a filmmaker who was born in Ukraine.
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy showcased the Shahid Nazeri-class IRIS Shahid Nazeri on the occasion of DIMDEX 2022, which was held in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on 2123 March 2022.

Shahid Nazeri-class IRIS Shahid Nazeri, Doha, Qatar. (Picture source: Navy Recognition)

Shahid Nazeri is a high-aspect-ratio twin-hull vessel operated by the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran.

The vessel is 55 meters long with a claimed long-range support capability of 5,400 nautical miles (10,000 kilometers). With a super-slender aluminum hull, she is capable of carrying some 100 troops and has also a helipad for one aircraft. Shahid Nazeri's speed is reportedly 28 knots.

A high-aspect-ratio twin-hull vessel (acronymed HARTH) refers to a certain design of a catamaran vessel with a small waterplane area. These vessels are built and used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran. Such design is considered relatively rare in military usage.

The Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also known by the English acronym IRGCN) is the naval warfare service of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps founded in 1985, and one of the two maritime forces of Iran, parallel to the conventional Islamic Republic of Iran Navy.
According to a tweet published by QasimPort on March 30, 2022, KS&EW, MTC, and the Pakistan Navy commissioned of Azmat-class Fast Attack Craft PNS Haibat.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

Azmat class Fast Attack Craft PNS Haibat (Picture source: QasimPort)

The Azmat-class fast attack craft (Azmat FAC(M) is a class of missile-bearing fast attack craft, currently in service with the Pakistan Navy as of 2017. The project was jointly designed and constructed in Pakistan and China after a partnership agreement was signed between two Chinese contractors, China State Shipbuilding Corporation and the Xingang Shipyard and the Pakistan-based KSEW Ltd.

The Azmat-class ships are intended for deployment in maritime patrol, anti-surface warfare, anti-air warfare, search-and-rescue (SAR), and anti-piracy missions. The displacement of the class is 500-600 tons and she has a length of 60-meter.

AZMAT Class Fast Attack Craft (Missile) has a crew of 12 to 14 sailors which is less than half that of a similar FAC(M). Each FAC(M) will cost around $50 million.

AZMAT Fast Attack Craft vessel (Missile) is equipped with C802A Surface-to-Surface Anti-Ship Missiles which have a range of 180 kilometers. AZMAT FAC(M) uses the latest stealthy features to avoid detection from long ranges. force.
North Korea does not consider South Korea the main adversary and is not going to attack it first, but is ready to use nuclear weapons against Seoul in the event of an escalation, said North Korean leader's sister, Kim Yo-jong, Central News Agency of Korea reported.

North Korea will not fire a single shot towards the South. If the South Korean armed forces do not take military action against us, they will not be considered a target for our army, said Kim Yo-jong, deputy head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

If South Korea chooses a military confrontation, our nuclear forces will be forced to do their duty, Kim Yo-jong concluded. Somewhat earlier, she noted that Pyongyang opposes the war, since the inhabitants of the Korean Peninsula are one people.